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diff --git a/36657.txt b/36657.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..2fd0828 --- /dev/null +++ b/36657.txt @@ -0,0 +1,9208 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Log of a Sea-Waif, by Frank T. Bullen + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Log of a Sea-Waif + Being Recollections of the First Four Years of My Sea Life + +Author: Frank T. Bullen + +Release Date: July 8, 2011 [EBook #36657] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE LOG OF A SEA-WAIF *** + + + + +Produced by Greg Bergquist, Matthew Wheaton and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This +file was produced from images generously made available +by The Internet Archive/Canadian Libraries) + + + + + + + + + + THE LOG OF A SEA-WAIF + + + +------------------------------------------------------------------+ + | =By FRANK T. BULLEN.= | + | | + | =The Log Of a Sea-Waif.= Being Recollections of the First Four | + | Years of my Sea Life. Illustrated. Uniform edition, 12mo. | + | Cloth, $1.50. | + | | + | The brilliant author of "The Cruise of the Cachalot" and | + | "Idylls of the Sea" presents in this new work the continuous | + | story of the actual experiences of his first four years at | + | sea. In graphic and picturesque phrases he has sketched the | + | events of voyages to the West Indies, to Bombay and the | + | Coromandel coast, to Melbourne and Rangoon. Nothing could be | + | of more absorbing interest than this wonderfully vivid account | + | of foks'l humanity and the adventures and strange sights and | + | experiences attendant upon deep-sea voyages. It is easy to see | + | in this book an English companion to our own "Two Years before | + | the Mast." | + | | + | =Idylls of the Sea.= 12mo. Cloth, $1.25. | + | | + | "This book is truly fascinating reading.... To everything Mr. | + | Bullen brings enthusiasm, a passion for accuracy, and the good | + | writing that comes of knowledge and sincerity."--_London | + | Academy._ | + | | + | "A fresh sea-breeze blows through the whole book, and | + | entertainment and instruction are delightfully blended."--_The | + | Daily Mail._ | + | | + | | + | =The Cruise of the Cachalot.= _Round the World after Sperm | + | Whales._ Illustrated. 12mo. Cloth, $1.50. | + | | + | MR. RUDYARD KIPLING writes the author: | + | | + | "It is immense--there is no other word. I've never read | + | anything that equals it in its deep-sea wonder and mystery, | + | nor do I think that any book before has so completely covered | + | the business of whale-fishing, and at the same time given such | + | real and new sea pictures. I congratulate you most heartily. | + | It's a new world that you've opened the door to." | + | | + | * * * * * | + | | + | =D. APPLETON AND COMPANY, New York.= | + +------------------------------------------------------------------+ + + + +[Illustration: It was a bleak, gloomy day in January when I first beheld +her.] + + + + + THE LOG OF A SEA-WAIF + + + BEING RECOLLECTIONS OF + THE FIRST FOUR YEARS + OF MY SEA LIFE + + BY + + FRANK T. BULLEN, F.R.G.S. + + _Author of The Cruise of the Cachalot, + Idylls of the Sea, Etc._ + + WITH EIGHT ILLUSTRATIONS + + NEW YORK + + D. APPLETON AND COMPANY + 1899 + + COPYRIGHT, 1899, + BY D. APPLETON AND COMPANY. + + + TO + + J. ST. LOeE STRACHEY, + IN + GRATEFUL RECOGNITION + OF HIS UNWEARYING ENCOURAGEMENT OF AND + PERSISTENT KINDNESS TO THE AUTHOR, + THIS BOOK + IS AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED. + + + + +PREFACE. + + +Notwithstanding the oft-reiterated statement that the days of sea +romance are over, it may well be doubted whether any period of our +literary history has been more prolific in books dealing with that +subject than the last twenty-five years. Nor does the output show any +signs of lessening, while the quality of the work done is certainly not +deteriorating. Writers like Kipling, Cutcliffe Hyne, Joseph Conrad, and +Clark Russell, each in his own style, have presented us with a series of +sea-pictures that need not fear comparison with any nautical writers' +work of any day, although they deal almost exclusively with the +generally considered unromantic merchant service. Having admitted this, +the question perforce follows, "Who, then, are you, that presumes to +compete with these master magicians?" + +To that inevitable question I would modestly answer that the present +book is in no sense a competitor with the works of any writers of +nautical romance. But having been for fifteen years a seafarer in +almost every capacity except that of a master, and now, by the greatest +kindness and indulgence on the part of men holding high positions in the +literary world, being permitted to cater for the reading public in +sterling periodicals, it has often occurred to me how little landsmen +really know of the seaman's actual life. "Two Years before the Mast," +although written by an American, and of life on board an American +merchantman, has long held undisputed sway as a classic upon the +subject. And for the only reason, as it seems, that no serious attempt +has been made by a Britisher to do the same thing for life in British +ships. + +Still, conscious as I certainly am of small literary equipment for such +a task, I should hardly have dared to try my hand but for the +encouragement most generously and persistently given me by Mr. J. St. +Loee Strachey, who, with that large faith in another's abilities that +breeds confidence in its object, however diffident, urged me strongly to +tell the public some of my experiences of sea life. And his advice to me +was to set them down, just as they occurred, as nearly as memory would +permit. Of course, it was not possible to cover the whole field of my +experiences at once, except in the most scrappy and unsatisfactory way, +and therefore I decided to take the first four years--from the age of +twelve to sixteen. Following my friend's advice, I have written nothing +but the truth, and, in most cases, I have given the real names of ships +and individuals. If the book, then, does not please, it will be owing to +my lack of discrimination between interesting and commonplace details, +and not because the pictures given of life at sea in the forecastle are +not faithful. + +And now, as I know that there are a great many people who do not read +prefaces, I will close mine by humbly commending this "autobiography of +a nobody" to that tremendous tribunal, with whom lies the verdict of +success or failure, and from whose fiat there is no appeal--the Public. + + FRANK T. BULLEN. + + CAMBERWELL, _September, 1899._ + + + + + CONTENTS. + + + CHAPTER + + I.--MY FIRST SHIP + + II.--OUTWARD-BOUND + + III.--ARRIVAL AT DEMERARA + + IV.--THE MUTINY AND AFTER + + V.--THE LAND OF LIBERTY + + VI.--TO HAVANA AND AFTER + + VII.--OFF TO SEA AGAIN + + VIII.--STRUGGLES IN LIVERPOOL AND LONDON + + IX.--BOUND FOR JAMAICA + + X.--ADVENTURES OF A SHIPWRECKED CREW + + XI.--AN EVENTFUL PASSAGE HOME + + XII.--ADRIFT IN LIVERPOOL ONCE MORE + + XIII.--THE DAWN OF BETTER DAYS + + XIV.--DUE SOUTH + + XV.--EIGHT WEEKS' CALM + + XVI.--UP THE INDIAN OCEAN TO BOMBAY + + XVII.--ON THE COROMANDEL COAST + + XVIII.--HOMEWARD TO LONDON + + XIX.--A CHANGE OF NATIONALITY + + XX.--THE PASSAGE TO MELBOURNE + + XXI.--I BECOME A COLONIAL COASTER + + XXII.--PROSPERITY PALLS UPON ME + + XXIII.--ANOTHER QUEER SHIP + + XXIV.--DEEP-WATER AMENITIES + + XXV.--PROCEEDINGS AT RANGOON + + XXVI.--HOMEWARD-BOUND IN DIFFICULTIES + + XXVII.--DEEP-WATER COASTING + + XXVIII.--WHICH BRINGS US TO PORT AT LAST + + XXIX.--CONCLUSION + + + + +THE LOG OF A SEA-WAIF. + + + + +CHAPTER I. + +MY FIRST SHIP. + + +Many boys clamour for a sea life, will not settle down to anything +ashore, in spite of the pleading of parents, the warnings of wisdom, or +the doleful experiences of friends. Occasionally at schools there breaks +out a sort of epidemic of "going to sea," for which there is apparently +no proximate cause, but which rages fiercely for a time, carrying off +such high-spirited youths as can prevail upon those responsible for them +to agree to their making a trial of a seafaring life. All this is quite +as it should be, of course, in order that Britain may continue to rule +the waves; but many a parent, whose affectionate projects for the future +of his offspring are thus rudely shattered, bitterly resents what he +naturally considers to be unaccountable folly. + +In my own case matters were quite otherwise. I belonged to the ignoble +company of the unwanted. In spite of hard usage, scanty food, and +overwork, I ridiculously persisted in living, until, at the approach of +my twelfth year, an eligible opening presented itself for me to go to +sea. Being under no delusions whatever as to the prospect that awaited +me, since I had known intimately those who had experienced all the +vicissitudes of a sailor's life, I was not unduly elated at the idea. +Nevertheless, food and shelter were objects peculiarly hard of +attainment ashore, while I felt satisfied that at sea these necessaries +would be always provided, even if their quality was none of the best. + +The vessel in which I obtained a berth as cabin-boy was commanded by my +uncle: a stubborn, surly, but thoroughly capable old seaman. Soured by +misfortune and cross-grained by nature, it was small wonder that he had +no friends, not even the sterling honesty of his character, or his high +ability, being sufficient to counterbalance the drawback of his +atrocious temper. His latest command was not calculated to improve him, +for she was a survival of a bygone day, clumsy as a Dutch galliot, +impoverished by her owner, who was heartily sick of seeing her afloat, +and would have rejoiced to hear that she was missing; and withal leaky +as a basket. When I first saw her huddled into a more than usually dirty +corner of the West India Docks, I was filled with wonder to see that her +cutwater was sunken between two swelling bows like the cheeks of a +conventional cherub. Though I could be no critic of marine construction, +this seemed an anomaly for which there appeared to be no excuse. Her +bowsprit and jibboom soared into the air exactly like those of the +galleons of old, and her three skimpy masts stood like broomsticks at +different angles--the foremast especially, which looked over the bows. + +It was a bleak, gloomy day in January when I first beheld her. The snow, +which had fallen heavily for some days previously, was, wherever it +could be, churned into filthy slush, and where undisturbed, was begrimed +more into the similitude of soot-heaps than anything else. Everything +wore a pinched, miserable appearance. So forbidding and hopeless was the +outlook that, had it been practicable, I should certainly have +retreated. But there was no choice; I had burned my bridges. + +Climbing on deck, I found such a state of confusion and dirt reigning as +I could hardly have believed possible. Owing to the parsimony of the +owner, not even a watchman had been kept on board, and, in consequence, +the decks had not smelt a broom for a month. The cargo and stores were +littered about so that progress was gymnastic, while in every corner and +hollow lay the dirty snow. Several discontented-looking men were engaged +aloft bending sails, others were gradually coaxing the cargo on deck +into the hold, but no one seemed to have any energy left. Seated upon an +up-ended beef-cask was a truculent-looking individual whom I +instinctively regarded as the boss. Him, therefore, I timidly +approached. Upon hearing my message, he rolled off his throne and led +the way aft, uttering all the time some, to me, perfectly unintelligible +sounds. I made no pretence of answering, so I suppose he took me for a +poor idiot hardly worthy of his attention. When, after some effort, he +disappeared down the cabin companion, I was close behind him, and, +understanding his gestures better than his speech, made out that here +was to be the scene of my future labours. The place was so gloomy that I +could distinguish none of its features by sight; but the atmosphere, a +rank compound of the reek of bilge-water, mouldering stores, and +unventilated sleeping-places, caught me by the throat, making my head +swim and a lump rise in my chest. A small locker by the ladder's foot, +reminding me curiously of a rabbit-hutch, was pointed out to me as my +berth, but I naturally supposed it to be a place for my bag. How could I +have dreamed that it was also to be my chamber? But everything began to +reel with me, so, blindly clutching the ladder, I struggled on deck +again, where the bitter wind soon revived me. + +Henceforth no one noticed me, so I roamed about the deck, prying into +holes and corners, until the stevedores knocked off for dinner. +Presently the mate came towards where I sat, shivering and solitary, on +the windlass end, and made me understand that I was to come ashore with +him. He conducted me through a labyrinth of mean streets to a spacious +building in a wide thoroughfare, around which were congregated many +little groups of seamen of all nations. We entered the place at once, +and soon reached a large bare room crowded with seamen. Here I was told +to wait while Mr. Svensen went to seek the captain. While I stood +bewildered by the bustle of the crowded place, I heard occasional +hoarse demands for "Three A.B.'s an' one ordinary for Pernambuck!" "Cook +an' stooard for Kingston, Jamaica!" "All the croo of the _Star o' +Peace_!" and similar calls, each followed by a general rush towards the +speaker, accompanied by a rustling of discharges in the air as their +owners sought to attract attention. + +After about an hour's wait I heard the cry of "Croo of the _Arabella_ +here!" which was followed by the usual rush; but, to the disappointment +of the watchers, the whole of the crew had been already selected. One by +one they squeezed through the crowd into an office beyond, whither I +managed to follow. I was too much amazed at the hurly-burly to notice +who were to be my future shipmates, but I paid a sort of awe-struck +attention to the reading of the "articles." Doubtless much excuse must +be made for the officials, who have to gabble the same rigmarole over so +many times each working day; but I certainly think some attempt might +always be made that the essential parts of the agreement should be clear +to men who are about to bind themselves for a long period to abide by +it. In our case, the only words clearly accented, heard, and understood +by all, were the last three, "no spirits allowed." Each man then signed +the articles, or made his mark, ending with myself, when I found I was +entitled to receive five shillings per month, without any half-pay or +advance. Each of the men received a month's advance, in the form of a +promissory-note, payable three days after the ship left the Downs, +"providing the said seaman sails in the said ship." None of them lost +any time in getting away to seek some accommodating (?) shark to cash +their notes at an average discount of about forty per cent., most of the +proceeds being payable in kind. + +This important preliminary over, I was free till next morning, when all +hands were ordered on board by ten o'clock. Not feeling at all desirous +of returning to the ship, yet being penniless, and in a strange part of +London, I made my way westward to the Strand, where I soon managed to +pick up enough for a meal. I spent the night in Hyde Park in a snug +corner, unknown to the police, that had often served me as a refuge +before. At daybreak I started East, arriving on board at about half-past +nine very tired and hungry. The mate eyed me suspiciously, saying +something which I guessed to be uncomplimentary, although I was still +unable to understand a word. But, as before, he did not interfere with +me, or set me any task. + +The litter of cases, bales, etc., about the deck was fast disappearing +under the strenuous exertions of the stevedores and dock-wallopers, +while the raffle of gear aloft was reduced to as near an approach to +orderly arrangement as it could ever be expected to assume. Presently a +grimy little paddle-steamer came alongside, through the clustering swarm +of barges, and was made fast ahead and astern. An individual with a +stentorian voice, a pilot suit, mangy fur cap, and brick-red face +mounted the forecastle, bellowing out orders apparently addressed to no +one in particular. Their effect was at once evident, however, for we +began to move deliberately away from the wharf, splitting the crowd of +barges asunder amid the sulphurous remarks of their attendants. Once out +into the comparatively clear centre of the dock, we made good progress +until the last lock was reached; but there we came to a full stop. As +yet none of the crew had arrived, the vessel being handled by a +shore-gang so far. After about a quarter of an hour's delay, during +which the captain and pilot exhausted their vocabulary in abuse of the +laggards, the latter hove in sight, convoyed by a motley crowd of +tailor's "runners," boarding-masters, and frowsy looking women. + +They made a funny little group. The sailors were in that happy state +when nothing matters--least of all the discounter of an advance-note; +hence the bodyguard of interested watchers, who would leave no stone +unturned to see that their debtors went in the ship, although being +under the vigilant eyes of the police, they dared not resort to violent +means. The ladies, possessing but a fast-fading interest in outward +bounders, were probably in evidence more from slackness of business than +any more sentimental cause. But having cajoled or coerced Jack to the +pierhead, he seemed unpersuadable to the final step of getting aboard. +Again and again a sailor would break loose and canter waveringly +shoreward, only to be at once surrounded by his escort and hurriedly +hauled back again. At last, exasperated beyond endurance by the +repetition of these aimless antics, the skipper sprang ashore followed +by the pilot. Bursting in upon the squabbling crowd, they seized upon a +couple of the maudlin mariners, hurling them on board as if they had +been made of rubber. With like vigour the rest were embarked, their +"dunnage" flung after them; the warps were immediately let go, and the +ship began to move ahead. + +Outside the dock-gate a larger tug was waiting in readiness to hook on +as soon as we emerged, and tow us down the river. With a final shove, +accompanied by a stifling belch of greasy smoke, our sooty satellite +shook herself free of us, retreating hastily within the basin again, +while, obedient to the increasing strain on our hawser ahead, we passed +rapidly out into the crowded stream. + +During the uneventful trip the shore-gang, under the direction of Mr. +Svensen and the second mate (who, being also the carpenter, was always +known as "Chips"), worked indefatigably to get the decks clear for +sea--lashing spars, water-casks, boats, etc. But their efforts were +greatly hindered by the crew, who, not being sufficiently drunk to lie +still in the forecastle, persisted in tumbling continually about the +decks, offering assistance while getting in everybody's way. In vain +were they repeatedly conducted to their doghole; no sooner were they +left than they were out again, until the hard-working "lumpers" were +ready to jump on them with rage. + +Meanwhile I grew so weary of standing about that I was quite grateful +when Chips ordered me to fetch him a marlinespike. What he wanted I had +not the slightest idea; but, unwilling to confess such ignorance, I ran +forward and asked a labourer who was stowing the cable. He told me that +it was a pointed bar of iron with a hole at one end for a lanyard to +hang it round the neck by, adding that I should find some in the +fo'lk'sle, "right forrard in the eyes of her." Away I went into the +thick darkness of the men's dirty cave, groping my way into its +innermost recesses among the bags, chests, and beds with which the deck +was bestrewn. Reaching the farthest corner, I felt a great bundle of +something upon what I took for a shelf, which barred my further search. +Tugging heartily at it to get it out of my way, I suddenly felt it move! +I did not wait to investigate, but floundered back on deck again almost +witless from fright. Breathlessly I reported to Chips my discovery, +which brought him quickly to the spot with a light. Sure enough there +was a sea-bag, about six feet long, stuffed full--the draw-string +tightly closing the mouth. As soon as it was touched, there was a +movement within. Its contents were evidently alive. Chips and his +assistant promptly muzzled the bag, dragging it out on deck, and, +casting the cord adrift, turned it bottom upwards. Out there tumbled, +head foremost, a lanky nigger-lad, who had been missing since the +previous morning and given up as having deserted. On being questioned as +to the meaning of this freak, he humbly explained that, despairing of +ever getting warm again, he had put on his entire wardrobe, lain down in +his bunk, and crept into his bag, managing somehow to draw the string +tight over his head; that he had been there ever since, and was likely +to have died there, since he could not get his arms up again to let +himself out. He was dismissed to work with a grim promise of being +warmed in an altogether different fashion if he was again guilty of +skulking. + +Upon arrival at Gravesend we anchored; the tremendous racket made by the +cable rushing over the windlass giving me a great fright. I thought the +bottom of the ship had fallen out. The tug departed for a berth close at +hand, the pilot and shore-gang leaving us in a wherry. I looked +longingly after them as they went, for I felt strangely that the last +link connecting me with England was now broken, and, although I had not +a single soul ashore to regret me, or one corner that I could think of +as home, there was sufficient sadness in the thought of leaving the land +of my birth to bring to my eyes a few unaccustomed tears. + +Fortunately the cook, a worn-out seaman, whom, in common with most +vessels of that class, we carried for the double duty of cook and +steward, was now sober enough to get supper ready. In the emphatic +sea-phrase, he "Couldn't boil salt water without burning it;" but, as +nobody expected anything different, that passed without comment. My +regular duties now began: my uncle, the captain, giving me my first +lesson in laying the table sea-fashion, showing me where to find the +gear, and so on. The curious atmospheric compound below was appreciably +improved, but still there was a prismatic halo round the swinging lamp. +The skipper and his two officers took no notice of it, seeming quite at +their ease as they silently ate their humble meal, though I got a +racking headache. Supper over, I was ordered to "Clear away the wreck," +and get my own meal in the pantry: a sort of little-ease in a corner of +the cuddy, wherein a man might successfully block all the crockery from +falling out by inserting his body in its midst. Hungry as I was, I could +not eat there, but stealthily seized the opportunity, as soon as the +skipper had retired to his state-room, to flee forrard to the galley +with the cook. His domain consisted of an erection about six feet +square, with sliding doors on either side, which was lashed firmly down +to ring-bolts in the deck. A coal-locker ran across it at the back, its +lid forming a seat. Between it and the stove there was just room to +turn, while most of the cooking utensils--no great store--had permanent +positions on the range. + +Here, by the dim flicker of an antique contrivance of a lamp like a +handleless teapot--the wick sticking out of the spout and giving almost +as much smoke as flame,--I spent quite a pleasant hour with the ancient +mariner who ruled there, eating a hearty supper of biscuit and tea. He +was not in the best of spirits, for the drink was dying out of him; but +his garrulous, inconsequent talk amused me mightily. At last, feeling +that I might be wanted, I returned to the cabin, where I found the +captain and Chips making melody with their snores; Mr. Svensen being on +deck keeping watch, for which none of the crew were yet available. And, +finding no other corner wherein I might creep, I made just such a lair +as a dog might, in the hutch that held my scanty stock of clothing, and, +crawling into it, was soon in the land of perfect peace. + + + + +CHAPTER II. + +OUTWARD-BOUND. + + +Something banging at the bulkhead close to my ear aroused me from a deep +sleep in great alarm. The hole in which I lay was so pitchy dark that, +even when I realised where I was, which took some little time, I fumbled +fruitlessly about for several minutes before I finally extricated +myself. When at last I stood upright on the cuddy-deck, I saw the +captain seated at the table writing. He looked up and growled, "Now +then, look lively! Didn't you hear, 'Man the windlass'?" Alas! I knew no +more what he meant than as if he had spoken in Hebrew; but I gathered +somehow that I ought to be on deck. Up I scrambled into a bitter, +snow-laden north-east wind and darkness that, but for the strange sheen +of the falling flakes, was almost Egyptian. Shivering as much with queer +apprehensions as with cold, I hurried forrard, where I found the mate +and Chips hard at work getting the hands out of the fo'lk'sle, and up on +top of it, to where the two gaunt levers of the windlass made a blacker +streak in the prevailing darkness. Tumbling up against Jem, the darky, +he said, as well as his chattering teeth would allow, "Specs yo gotter +haul back chain longer me, boy; yars a hook fer yer,"--putting into my +hand, as he spoke, a long iron hook with a cross-handle. Then, when at +last the half-dead sailors began to work the levers, and the great +clumsy windlass revolved, Jem and I hooked on to the massive links of +the cable, dragging it away from the barrel and ranging it in long +flakes beside the fore-hatch. Every few fathoms, when the chain had +worked its way right across the barrel, and the turns were beginning to +jam one another up against the bitt, Jem called out, "Fleet, oh!" Then a +couple of men descended from Mount Misery and hooked a mighty iron claw, +which was secured by a stout chain to the bitt, on to the cable before +the windlass. This held the whole weight while the turns of chain were +loosed and laboriously lifted back to the other end of the +windlass-barrel again. When thick with mud, so that each link was more +like a badly made raw brick than aught else, this primitive performance +was an uncouth job, and I could imagine many pleasanter occupations. + +Two o'clock on a winter's morning, struggling with mud-besmeared masses +of iron, upon a footing so greasy that standing was a feat, hungry and +sleepy withal, there was little romance about this business. At last the +mate bawled, "She's short, sir!" and told the men to "'Vast heavin'." +Out of the gloom around the tug-boat emerged, coming close alongside to +receive her end of the big rope by which she was to drag us out to sea. +No sooner was it fast than a strange voice aft--the Channel +pilot's--roared out, "Heave right up, sir!" "Aye, aye, sir!" answered +the mate. "Heave 'way, boys!" The clatter of the pawls recommenced, +continuing until the anchor was as high as it would come. The subsequent +"catting" and "fishing" of the big "mud-hook" was all a confused dream +to me. All I knew was that I had to sit down and pull at a rope which +was wound round a capstan by the steady tramp of the crew, of whom one +would occasionally growl at me to mind my "surge," and I would feel a +jerk at my rope that shook me up dreadfully. It seemed an interminable +job; but, like everything else, came to an end at last. The mate now +walked aft, ordering Jem and my small self to coil ropes up and clear +away generally. But he called out almost immediately, "All hands lay aft +to muster!" The whole crowd slouched aft, grouping themselves at the +break of the poop, where a sort of elevated deck began just before the +mizzenmast. Each individual's name was now read out and answered to as +announced. I found that there were six able seamen, and the nigger-boy, +Jem, "foremast hands." The captain, mate, Chips, cook, and myself formed +the "afterguard." + +The "crowd" were now divided into watches, the mate having first pick +for the port watch, and getting Jem over. This ceremony concluded, the +word was passed to "Pump ship." Several grumbling comments were made on +the "one-arm sailor" pumps: a mean, clumsy contrivance, only fit for the +smallest vessels, requiring twice the exertion for half the result +obtainable from any of the late patents. But the amazement and disgust +of the fellows can hardly be imagined when, after half an hour's +vigorous "Clankety, clankety, clankety, bang!"--three strokes and a +pause as the fashion is--there was no sign of a "suck." A burly +Yorkshireman, leaning up against the brake to mop his brow, said, "Well, +boys, if this ---- old scow ain't just sprung a leak, or bin left fur +'bout a month thout pumpin', we're in for a ---- fine thing ov it." There +was hardly any intelligible response, they all seemed choking with rage +and curses. However, they sucked her out, and then the big man asked +Chips quietly whether that "spell" was usual. Chips assured him that she +had not been baled out for a long time, and that she would certainly +"take up" in a day or two. Oil on the troubled waters, but very risky, +for he had only just joined himself; nor did he know anything of the old +tub's previous record. + +Meanwhile the cook, or "doctor," as his sea-sobriquet is, had been busy +making coffee. Unlike any beverage called by that name ashore, even the +funny mixture sold at a halfpenny a cup at street corners being quite +luxurious in comparison with it, yet it was a godsend--boiling hot, with +plenty of sugar in it--to those poor wretches with the quenchless thirst +of many day's indulgence in the vilest liquor making their throats like +furred old drain-pipes. It calmed the rising storm, besides doing them a +vast amount of physical good. I was at once busy supplying the wants of +the officers, to whom the refreshment was heartily welcome. All the +time, we were ploughing steadily along behind the strenuous tug at a +greater rate than ever I saw the old barky go afterwards. (I have +omitted to mention that we were bound for Demerara with a general cargo, +but our subsequent destination was not settled yet.) All hands were +allowed a pretty long spell of rest, with the exception of the man at +the wheel, and one on the look-out, because, until we were well out, +sail would have been more hindrance than help. The wind increased as we +got farther down, until, as we passed out of the river, quite a sea was +rising, to which the old hooker began to bob and curtsey like a country +girl looking for a situation. The relentless tug, however, tore her +through the fast-rising waves, making them break over the bows in heavy +spray. This was uncomfortable, but the motion was far worse. All the +horrors of sea-sickness came suddenly upon me, and, like an ailing +animal, I crept into a corner on the main-hatch under the long-boat, +wishing for oblivion. Sea-sickness is a theme for jesting, no doubt, but +those who have suffered from it much, know how little room there is for +laughter at such suffering--suffering too for which, at the time, there +seems no hope of alleviation except the impossible one of the motion +ceasing. + +From that morning for several days I remained in this miserable +condition, not caring a pin's point whether I lived or died, nor, with +the sole exception of the negro, Jem, did any one else on board seem to +give me one moment's thought. Not that I would lightly accuse them of +cruelty or callous indifference to suffering; but, being all fully +occupied with their work, they had little leisure to attend to a +sea-sick urchin that was of small use at his best. However, poor black +Jem never forgot me, and, although he had nothing likely to tempt my +appetite, he always brought his scanty meals to where I lay helpless +under the long-boat, trying in various quaint ways to coax me into a +returning interest in life. Fortunately for me, the wind held in a +quarter that enabled the ship to get out of the Channel fairly soon, +considering her limitations, and, once across the dreaded stretch of the +Bay of Biscay, she speedily ran into fine weather and smoother seas. + +When I did eventually find my sea-legs, and resumed my duties in the +cabin, I was received with no good grace by my uncle or the doctor. The +latter had, indeed, special cause to feel himself aggrieved, since he +had borne the burden of double duty during my illness: a hardship which +he was a long time in forgetting. But she was an unhappy ship. The +skipper held aloof from everybody, hardly holding converse with the +mate. He even kept the ship's reckoning alone, not accepting the mate's +assistance in taking the sun for the longitude in the morning, but doing +it all himself after a fashion of his own, so that the chief officer was +as ignorant of the vessel's true position as I was. Then the food, both +forrard and aft, was, in addition to being strictly on the abominable +official scale which is a disgrace to a civilised country, of so +unspeakably vile a quality that it was hardly fit to give to well-reared +pigs. I have often seen the men break up a couple of biscuits into a pot +of coffee for their breakfast, and, after letting it stand a minute or +two, skim off the accumulated scum of vermin from the top--maggots, +weevils, etc.--to the extent of a couple of table-spoonfuls, before they +could shovel the mess into their craving stomachs. Enough, however, for +the present on the food-question, which, being one of the prime factors +in a sailor's life, must continually be cropping up. + +The bleak, biting edge of the winter weather was now gone, the steady +north-easterly breeze blew mild and kindly, while from an almost +cloudless heaven the great sun beamed benignantly--his rays not yet so +fierce as to cause any discomfort. My sensations on first discovering +that no land was visible, that we seemed the solitary centre of an +immense blue circle, whose sharply defined circumference was exactly +joined to the vast azure dome overhead, were those of utter loneliness +and terror. For I knew nothing of the ways of navigators across this +pathless plain, nor realized any of the verities of the subject set +forth in the few books I had read. School learning I had none. Had there +been any one to whom I could have gone for information, without fearing +a brutal repulse, I should doubtless have felt less miserable; but, as +it was, use alone gradually reconciled me to the solemn silence of the +illimitable desert around. At rare intervals vessels appeared, tiny +flecks of white upon the mighty waste, which only served to emphasize +its immensity as the solitary light of a taper does the darkness of some +huge hall. + +But the sea itself was full of interest. Of course I had little leisure; +but what I had was spent mostly in hanging spell-bound over the side, +gazing with ever-growing wonder and delight upon this marvellous world +of abounding life. This early acquired habit never left me, for, many +years afterwards, when second mate of one of our finest passenger +clippers, I enjoyed nothing so much as to pass an hour of my watch +below, seated far out ahead of the ship by the martingale, gazing down +into the same beautiful sea. + +There were no books on board or reading matter of any kind, except the +necessary works on navigation on the captain's shelf; so it was just as +well that I could take some interest in our surroundings, if I was not +to die mentally as most of the sailors seemed to have done. As I got +better acquainted with them, even daring to pay stolen visits to their +darksome home in timorous defiance of the stern orders of my uncle, I +found to my amazement, that they could tell me nothing of what I wanted +to know. Their kindness often went the length of inventing fabulous +replies to my eager questions, but they seemed totally ignorant of +anything connected with the wonders of the ocean. + +The days slipped rapidly away, until we entered the Sargasso Sea, that +strange vortex in the middle of the Atlantic. It was on a Sunday +morning, when, according to custom, no work was a-doing, except for the +doctor and me. Even our duties were less exacting than usual; so that I +was able to snatch many a short spell of gazing overside at the +constantly increasing masses of Gulf-weed that, in all its delicate +beauty of branch and bud, came brushing past our sides. That afternoon +the sea, as far as eye could reach, bore no bad resemblance to a ripe +hayfield, the weed covering the water in every direction, with hardly a +patch of blue amid the prevailing yellow. Before the light trade-wind we +were hardly able to make any headway through the investing vegetation, +which overlaid the waves so heavily that the surface was smooth as a +millpond. Through the bewildering mazes of that aquatic forest roved an +innumerable multitude of fish of every shape, size, and hue, while the +branches themselves swarmed with crustacea, so that a draw-bucket full +of weed would have furnished quite a large-sized aquarium with a +sufficiently varied population. I could have wished the day forty-eight +hours long; but I was the only one on board that derived any pleasure +from the snail-like progress we made. The captain's vexation showed +itself in many ways, but mostly in inciting Chips to order various quite +uncalled-for jobs of pulling and hauling, which provoked the watch so +much that there was a continual rumble of bad language and growling. +Even the twenty minutes' spell at the pumps, which, from its regularity +every two hours, now passed almost unnoticed, was this afternoon the +signal for a great deal of outspoken and unfavourable comment upon the +characters of ship, owner, and captain. The latter gentleman paced his +small domain with uncertain tread, as usual; but the glitter in his eye, +and the set of his heavily bearded lips, showed how sorely he was +tempted to retaliate. But he prudently forebore, well aware of his +helplessness in case of an outbreak, as well as being forced to admit +full justification for the bitter remarks that were so freely indulged +in. + +Indeed, it was a serious question how long the present peace would last. +The rigging was dropping to pieces; so that a man never knew, when he +went aloft, whether he would not come crashing down by the run, from the +parting of a rotten footrope or a perished seizing. The sails were but +rags, worn almost to the thinness of muslin, every flap threatening to +strip them from the yards. There was no material for repairs, no new +rope, canvas, or "seizing-stuff;" half a barrel of Stockholm tar, and a +few pieces of old "junk" for sennit and spunyarn, representing all the +boatswain's stores on board. In fact, the absence of all those +necessaries, which are to be found on board the most poverty-stricken of +ships, for their bare preservation in serviceable condition, was a +never-failing theme of discussion in the fo'lk'sle. And one conclusion +was invariably arrived at, albeit the avenues of talk by which it was +reached were as tortuous and inconsequent as could well be. It was the +grim one that the _Arabella_ was never intended to return. This thought +tinctured all the men's ideas, embittered their lives, and made the most +ordinary everyday tasks seem a burden almost too grievous to be borne. + +Had it not been for the overwhelming evidence that the condition of the +afterguard was almost as miserable as their own, the abject humility of +the mate, in spite of his really good seamanship, and the +hail-fellow-well-met way in which Chips confessed his utter ignorance of +all sailorizing whatever, I very much doubt whether there would not +have been a mutiny before we were a fortnight out. But as the villainous +food and incessant pumping were not aggravated by bullying and "working +up," matters jolted along without any outbreak. Born as I was under an +unlucky star, my insignificance nearly overthrew the peace that was so +precariously kept. The deadly dulness of the cabin was so stifling, that +I felt as if I should die there in the long, dreary evenings between +supper and bunk. Nothing to read, nobody to speak to, nothing to do, and +forbidden with threats to go forrard among the men--that I should +transgress sooner or later was a certainty. I took to creeping forrard +oftener and more openly, because no detection followed, until a sharp +rope's-ending from my uncle brought me up "with a round turn," as the +sailor says. By this time I had become rather a favourite forrard, as +well as something of a toy, being very small for my age and precocious +as might be expected from my antecedents. One man especially--Joe, the +big Yorkshireman--became strongly attached to me, endeavouring to teach +me thoroughly the rudiments of sailorizing. This was at considerable +sacrifice of his own time, which, as he was an ardent model-maker, was +sufficient proof of his liking for me. + +Now I was almost destitute of clothing, and what little I did possess I +was rapidly growing out of. So the next day after my disciplinary +castigation, Joe walked aft in his watch below demanding audience of the +skipper. There was an unpleasant scowl on the old man's face, as he +came on deck to see the audacious man, that boded ill for the applicant +in any case. But when Joe boldly tackled him for a bit of light canvas +whereof he might make me a "Cunarder" (a sort of habergeon) and a pair +of trousers, the skipper's face grew black with rage. The insult, all +the grosser for its truth, was too obvious. When he found his tongue, he +burst into furious abuse of Joe for daring to come aft on such an +errand. Joe, being no lamb, replied with interest, to the delight of his +fellows, who strolled aft as far as the mainmast to hear the fun. This +unseemly wrangle, so subversive of all order or discipline, lasted for +about ten minutes, during which time I stood shivering at the foot of +the cabin ladder in dread of the sequel. Finally the old man, unable to +endure any more, roared, "Get forrard or I'll shoot ye, ye d--d ugly +thief of a sea-lawyer! I'll have ye by the heels yet, an' w'en I do +ye'll think Jemmy Smallback's gruppin' ye!" With this parting shot he +turned on his heel without waiting the retort discourteous that promptly +followed, descending abruptly into the cabin with the ironical cheers of +the delighted crew ringing unmelodiously in his ears. + +Under such provocation it was little wonder that I paid for all. It must +have been balm to my relative's wounded pride to rope's-end me; at any +rate, he did so with a completeness that left nothing to be desired. +And, in order to avenge himself fully, he closed our interview by +kicking me forrard, daring me, at the same time, ever to defile his +cabin again with my mischief-making presence under pain of +neck-twisting. + +Of course I was received in the fo'lk'sle with open arms. My reception +went far to mollify my sore back, for the seclusion of the cabin had +grown so hateful, that I would willingly have purchased my freedom from +it with several such coltings as I had endured, not to speak of the +honour of being welcomed as a sort of martyr. Before long I owned quite +a respectable rig-out, made up, by the dexterity of Joe, from all sorts +of odds and ends contributed by all hands at a tarpaulin muster. Now +each man vied with the other in teaching me all they knew of their +business, and I was such an apt pupil that, in a short time, they were +able to boast that there was no knot or splice known to seafarers, that +I was not capable of making in sailor fashion. Being no climbist, as +might be expected from an urchin born and bred in London streets, +getting used to the rigging was unpleasant at first; but that was +mastered in its turn, until nothing remained unlearned but the helm. The +one aim, apparently, of every man forrard was to so fit me for the work +I might be called upon to do, as that no excuse might be found for +cruelty of any sort. Whether I had the ability to meet his demands or +not, it did not seem prudent for the old man to try his hand on me again +in the colting line, and I went gaily enough on my progressive way. + + + + +CHAPTER III. + +ARRIVAL AT DEMERARA. + + +If all sea-voyages were like the usual passage to the West Indies, +except for an occasional nasty spell of weather in the English Channel, +the sailor's life would be a very easy one. Day succeeds day under the +same limpid blue sky fringed at the horizon with a few tufts of woolly +cumuli. Placid as a sheltered lake, every wavelet melting into its +fellow like a caress, the sapphire sea greets the gazer every morning +like a glad smile of unfathomable love. Beautiful beyond description is +the tender tropical sea, and hard indeed it is to realize that this same +delightsome expanse of inexpressible loveliness can ever become the +unappeasable destroyer, before whose wrath even the deep-rooted islands +seem to shake. + +The nights rival the days. During the absence of the moon the blue-black +vault appears like a robe of imperial purple, besprent with innumerable +diamonds of a lustre unknown to earth's feeble gems. So brilliant is the +radiance of the heavenly host that even the unassisted eye can detect +the disc of Venus or Jupiter, while the twin streams of the Galaxy +literally glow with diffused light, suggesting unutterable glories in +their unthinkable depths. And up from the horizon towards the zenith, +with clear yet indefinite outline, as of the uplifted finger of God, +rises the mysterious conical flame-shadow of the Zodiacal Light. Under +such a sky the sea seems to emulate the starry vault above, for in its +darkling depths there is a marvellous display of gleaming coruscations. +In the foam churned up by the vessel's bows they sparkle and glitter +incessantly, while in her wake, where the liquid furrow still eddies and +whirls from the passing of the keel, there are a myriad dancing lights +of every size and degree of brilliancy. Like a bevy of will-o'-the-wisps +they sport and whirl, glow and fade--never still, never alike, yet +always lovely. + +But when the full-orbed moon in a molten glow of purest silver, before +which the eye shrinks almost with pain, traverses the purple concave as +a conquering queen escorted by her adoring subjects, the night becomes a +sweeter, softer day, in which men may sit at ease reading or working as +fancy dictates. They dare not sleep in that white glare, lest with +distorted features and sightless eyeballs, they vainly regret their +careless disregard of the pale beam's power. And as the stately +satellite settles slowly horizonwards, or ascends majestically towards +the zenith, how dazzling the mile-wide pathway of shimmering radiance +she sheds along the face of the deep! The whalers, with more poetic +feeling than one would expect, call it the "moon-glade," as though she +must needs spread a savannah of splendour for her solemn progress over +the waste of ocean. + +Here, perhaps, I should pause to disarm criticism, if possible. Such +thoughts as I have feebly tried to express were undoubtedly mine in +those youthful days, in spite of squalid surroundings and brutal +upbringings. And if I could fairly reproduce the multitude of fancies +which throng my memory as being the daily attendants of my boyish +daydreams, I should fear no unfavourable reception of such a book as +they would make. + +But to our voyage. Coming on deck one morning soon after daylight, I was +startled to notice that the bright blue of the sea was gone. In its +place a turbid leaden flood without a sparkling wavelet extended all +around. I asked the doctor what this strange change meant. "Gettin' near +land, I s'pose!" was his gruff reply. Nor did I get any other +explanation from the men, for none of them knew that we were in fresh +water, which, rushing down to the sea from many mighty rivers, overlaid +the heavier salt flood for a great distance from land. We did not sight +the lightship _Demerara_ until next day at noon, although we were going +at fully five knots an hour. Behind it the low palm-fringed coast lay +like a sullen black cloud-bank just appearing above the horizon, for in +truth it was almost level with the sea. Thicker and dirtier grew the +water, until, as we passed the light-vessel, we seemed to be sailing in +a sea of mud. Between her and the shore we anchored for the night and to +await the coming of the pilot; thus closing our outward passage, which +might have been as successfully performed in an open boat, so steadily +fine had we found the weather. + +What a strange sensation is that of first inhaling the breeze from a +foreign shore! I stood on the forecastle that evening, hardly able to +realize that we had crossed the Atlantic, full of queer feelings as the +heavy sweet scent of the tropical forest came floating languidly off +from that dim, dark line of land. There was a continual chorus of +insects, like a myriad crickets chirping, the sharp, crisp notes +curiously undertoned by the deep bass of the sleepy line of surf upon +the beach. But this persistent music, by its unvarying monotony, soon +became inaudible, or acted as a lullaby to which we all succumbed except +the anchor-watch. + +Shortly after daylight a large canoe came alongside, manned by negroes, +bearing a pompous-looking negro pilot in what he, no doubt, took to be a +very swell costume of faded serge, surmounted by a huge straw hat. He +mounted the side by the man-ropes, with the air of a conqueror. As he +stepped over the rail with a ludicrous assumption of importance, he +said, patronizingly, "Good mawnin', cap'n, hope you'se berry well, sah?" +"Mornin', pilot, same t' you," curtly answered the old man; and, in +almost the same breath, "Dy'e think there's water 'nough on the bar +frus? We're drawin' fourteen feet aft." "Neb' mine 'bout dat, cap'n; +dat'll be all right. I'se bettin' big money dis yah packet gwine beat +'nuff watah 'head ob her ter float in er linerbattle ship. Gorbress my +sole, ef I ebber see sich er front eend on er craf' in my days. Wasser +name? de _Ark_ doan' it? ha! ha! ha!"----and he threw back his head, +laughing so capaciously that the broad, glistening range of his teeth +illuminated his coal-black visage like a shutter flung suddenly open to +the sun. But the old man looked sour. Such jeering at his command by a +nigger was in some sort a reflection on himself, and, thenceforward, he +held no more converse with our sable guide than was necessary for the +working of the ship. + +We were soon under way, though poor Jem and myself got in a disgusting +condition of mud by the time the anchor was up. The fo'lk'sle, too, from +the fact of the cable running through it, was like a neglected sewer, +the blocks of foul-smelling mud dropping continually from the links as +they came in through the hawsepipes. All sail was loosed previously, but +only the jib was set until the anchor was out of the ground, when, +humoured by the helm, she turned kindly off the wind, gathering way from +its pressure on her broad stern, while the "mudhook" was hove right up. +Then everything was set that would draw, the wind being fair and strong; +but, in spite of the favourable conditions, our progress against the +turbulent ebb of the great river was so slow that we were the best part +of the day going the few miles that lay between the roadstead and the +moorings. + +But at last we reached the group of vessels which lay off the business +part of the town. With great skill our pilot tried a "flying moor," +letting our anchor go while we were forging ahead at a good rate, then +immediately clewing up all sail. By the time our way was exhausted, +about ninety fathoms had been paid out on the first anchor. The second +was then let go, its cable being veered away as the first one was hove +in, until an equal amount was out on each; both were then hove in till +the moorings were taut, and the vessel swung almost on a pivot. This is +a ticklish evolution to perform successfully in a crowded anchorage; +but, in our case, the result was entirely satisfactory, saving much +labour. + +The sails being furled and decks cleared up, work ceased for the day. +The curious appearance of the wide verandahed houses embowered in +strange-looking trees, the assortment of vessels of all rigs--from the +smart Yankee schooner to the stately iron coolie-ship from Calcutta--the +muddy rushing river, all claimed attention, but for one attraction that +outweighed them all. Waiting alongside were two or three bumboats well +stocked with fruit, soft-tack, eggs, and such curios as a sailor might +be supposed to covet. I had seen such fruit before, on the other side of +plate-glass windows in the West End of London, or in the avenue at +Covent Garden, but never in such generous profusion as now. One boat +especially was laden to the gunwale with giant bunches of crimson +bananas, each fruit treble the size of ordinary ones; baskets of golden +mangoes, green limes, luscious-looking oranges flecked with green, and +clusters of immature cocoa-nuts: the kind that only contain sweet juice +and delicate jelly within a soft shell covered by husk as easy to cut as +a turnip. People accustomed to regular meals of decent food cannot +imagine how the sight of these dainties affected our ill-used stomachs. +Happily there was little delay in choosing our purveyor, who promptly +hoisted great part of his stock on deck for us to choose from. In virtue +of being the only person in the fo'lk'sle who could write, I was +appointed book-keeper, my remuneration being a fair proportion of the +good things without payment. In reply to eager inquiries, the bumboatman +declared that he had no rum, saying that he very well understood the +unwritten law prohibiting the supply of intoxicants by the bumboats, and +assuring the men that if he were detected breaking it, he would forfeit +his license as well as all payment for goods he had supplied on credit. + +We were a happy company that evening. A plentiful meal after such long +abstinence put every one in good spirits, although there was much +wishing for the cup that both cheers and inebriates. In spite of this +want, joviality was the order of the night. Song and dance went merrily +round, at which the two darkey boat-boys, hired by the skipper to take +him backwards and forwards to the shore, assisted with great glee. Their +fun was spontaneous and side-splitting, seeming superior to all external +influences--a well of continual merriment bubbling up. Song, quip, and +practical joke followed one another incessantly, with all the +thoughtless _abandon_ of happy children, and mirthful enjoyment that +might have thawed an anchorite. All the pent-up laughter of the passage +burst out that evening, the first really jolly one I had ever spent. + +At daylight all hands were busy rigging cargogear, for our lading was +long overdue. The discharging-gang of negroes were early on board, +awaiting only our preparations to begin their work. They were akin to +the boat-boys in their behaviour. Poor, even to the most utter +raggedness of the sacking most of them were covered with--hunger-bitten, +for all the provision brought by the majority was a tiny loaf, and about +two ounces of sugar each--they were yet full to the lips with sheer +animal delight of living. Some, the haughty aristocrats of the party, +proudly displayed fragments of salt fish or rusty-looking salt pork, +flanked by a green plantain, a coco, or chunk of wooden-looking yam; but +though these favoured ones were evidently stuck up, their poorer +brethren showed no envy. Their pay was the equivalent of one shilling +per day, which, as the price of food was high, except for a very few +local products, must have been all too little to keep hunger at bay. +Yet, when they got to work, how they did go at it! They seemed to revel +in the labour, although the incessant singing they kept up ought to have +taken most of their breath. Streaming with sweat, throwing their bodies +about in sheer wantonness of exuberant strength as they hoisted the +stuff out of the hold, they sometimes grew so excited by the +improvisations of the "chantey man," who sat on the corner of the hatch +solely employed in leading the singing, that often, while for a minute +awaiting the next hoist, they would fling themselves into fantastic +contortions, keeping time to the music. There was doubtless great waste +of energy; but there was no slackness of work or need of a driver. Here +is just one specimen of their songs; but no pen could do justice to the +vigour, the intonation and the _abandon_ of the delivery thereof. + + [Music: Sis-ter Seusan, my Aunt Sal, Gwineter git a home bime-by-high! + + All gwineter lib down shin bone al, Gwineter git a home bime-by. + + Gwineter git a home bime-by-e-high, Gwineter git a home bime-by.] + +The rushing, muddy stream literally swarmed with ground-sharks, who +sometimes came to the surface with a rush, looking terribly dangerous. +Yet the negroes took but little heed of them, merely splashing a bit +before diving if they had occasion to go down and clear some vessel's +moorings. Sharks and cat-fish were the only fish to be seen: neither of +them available for eating. Strange to say, the great heat troubled me +very little. Perhaps because, having for so long regarded cold as one of +the chief miseries of my life, the steady searching warmth by night and +day was grateful to my puny body. At any rate, but that the bloodthirsty +mosquitoes and sandflies tormented me cruelly, as they did all hands, +the tropical climate suited me very well. It may have been the healthy +season too, for, as far as I know, there was no illness on board any of +the ships. All our crew were in robust health, and putting on flesh +daily in consequence of the liberal diet. + +I wanted much to go ashore, but dared not ask leave; but, to my +astonishment, on Sunday afternoon the mate told me to get ready and come +ashore with him. Glad as I was of the chance to see a little of this +strange land, I felt small gratification at the prospect of being his +companion; I would rather a thousand times have gone with Joe. However, +it being Hobson's choice as well as dangerous to refuse, I rigged myself +up as best I could (a queer figure I made too), got into the boat with +my inviter, and away we went. Landing at one of the "sterlings," as the +wharves are locally named, we strolled up into the main street in +silence. It was a wide avenue with quite a river running down the +centre, and doubtless on week-days would have been very lively. But at +this time it was deserted, except by a few stray dogs and sleeping +negroes. We trudged along without a word, till suddenly Mr. Svensen +hauled up at a grog-shop, the bar of which was crowded with sea-farers. +Pressing through the throng to the bar he called for some drink, and, +meeting a couple of his countrymen, entered at once into an animated +conversation with them in Norwegian. For over an hour I waited +impatiently, the air of the place being stifling and the babel of +tongues deafening. At last, in desperation, I crept in behind him and +attracted his attention. He turned sharply upon me, saying, "Vell, 'n +vat _jou_ vant?" "Please, sir," I humbly replied, "may I go an' have a +look round?" "Oh, co to hell ef jou lige, I ton'd care. Only jou ked bag +to der poad pefoar sigs o'clog, or I be tamt ef I tond trown jou coin' +off--see!" "Thank you, sir," I said gratefully, disappearing promptly +before he had time to change his mind. + +What an afternoon I had, to be sure. I wandered right out of the town +through tangled paths crowded on either side by the loveliest flowers +growing wild I had ever dreamed of. I was like a boy in a dream now, +except for that haunting reality "sigs o'clog." And, to crown my +pleasures, when I had strayed as far as I dared, I came suddenly upon a +pretty villa in an open glade, the house itself being embowered in the +most gorgeous blossoms. I went up to the back of the premises to beg a +drink of water, which an amiable negress gave me with a beaming smile, +squeezing into it a fresh-fallen lime with a large spoonful of white +sugar. While I drank, a dear little white boy about five years old came +running round the corner. When he saw me he stood for a moment as if +petrified with astonishment; then, recovering his wits, darted back +again. A kindly-faced man in white, with a big brown beard, then +appeared, leading the little one. After a few inquiries he invited me +into the house to tea, treating me with so much kindness that, between +his attentions and those of his beautiful, weary-looking wife, I was +several times upon the point of bursting into tears. She plied me with +questions, soon getting all my sorrowful little life-story out of me; +and more than once I saw her furtively wipe away a tear. The little son +sat on my knee, great friends with me at once; and what with the good +fare, the pleasant talk, and the comfort of it all, I forgot everything +else in the world for a time. Suddenly I caught sight of the clock. It +was a quarter to six. I must have looked terrified, for my host, Mr. +Mackenzie, asked me with much solicitude whether I felt suddenly ill. As +soon as he heard the cause of my alarm he left the house, returning to +the front in a minute or two with a beautiful mule and a smart trap. I +took a hurried leave of my kind hostess and her child, promising to come +again if I could; and presently found myself bowling along a level road +at a great rate behind the swift hybrid, who seemed to glide rather than +trot. Arriving at the boat, nearly half an hour late, we found the mate +not yet there, one of the boat-boys volunteering the information that he +was well drunk up at the rum-mill. "That being so," said Mr. Mackenzie, +"I will see you on board." So we shoved off for the ship. During our +short transit I told my new friend how matters stood between my uncle +and myself, begging him not to inadvertently make matters worse for me. +He promised to be discreet. We reached the ship and climbed on board. I +fled forrard on the instant, while he interviewed the old man. Whatever +passed between them in their few minutes' talk, I don't know; I heard no +more of the affair. But I was never again allowed on shore while I +belonged to the _Arabella_. The mate came on board quietly and turned +in, no word reaching us forrard of any trouble about his little +flutter. + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + +THE MUTINY AND AFTER. + + +It must be confessed that during our stay in Demerara the fellows had a +pretty good time of it. Since there were no stores on board of rope, +paint, or canvas, the work was mainly confined to washing decks or +scrubbing paintwork, a good deal of time also being wasted making +sennit, _i.e._ plaiting rope-yarns for chafing-gear. What sailorizing +was undertaken was in the nature of kill-time, and well understood as +such by the men. Nevertheless they were by no means pleased with their +easy times, for they had not yet been able to get any drink; their +displeasure being heightened by the knowledge that the mate had been +ashore and got a skinful. Any one versed in the ways of seamen should +have known that mischief was brewing, even though no definite plan of +action had yet been discussed. It only wanted a bottle or two of rum to +fire the magazine. + +At last liberty day drew nigh. The cargo was all out, the ballast all +in, no cargo being obtainable for the crazy old _Arabella_ in Demerara. +I do not now even know whether it be a legal enactment that seamen shall +be allowed twenty-four hours' freedom in foreign ports, with some +portion of the wages due to them to spend, but if not, the custom is so +well established that it has all the force of law. The men were like +schoolboys at breaking-up time, half crazy with delight at the thought +of the joys (?) that awaited them ashore. They received but a few +shillings each, much to their disgust, because there was as yet little +wages due to them, and no amount of begging or bullying could avail to +get them any more. The mate's watch went first, among them my stout +friend Joe, whom I tearfully begged not to get drunk and kick up a row, +for my sake. Looking back I wonder at my temerity, for it must have been +like getting between a tiger and a shin-bone; but he took it very +meekly, and actually promised that he would come aboard sober. During +their absence the ship was strangely quiet, very little work of any kind +was done, and the waiting watch were as sulky as bears. Next morning +about eight o'clock the revellers returned, all except Joe in a +bedraggled, maudlin condition that told eloquently of their enjoyment. +Had it not been for Joe they would have all been in the lock-up, or +"chokey" as sailors invariably call it; but he had worked like a Trojan +to keep them together and out of harm as much as possible. He had quite +a triumphant air of unwonted virtue as I whispered my delight at seeing +him again, and _sober_. + +Then the starboard watch, with the doctor, took their innings, with +strict injunctions not to be late the next morning, as we were going to +unmoor and drop down stream a little in readiness for sailing. The day +passed like the previous one, black Jem doing the doctor's work as well +as he could with such assistance as I could give. The next morning at +daylight preparations were made for unmooring, and at eight o'clock a +pilot came on board, a smart-looking, sharp-featured Yankee who looked +around the old hooker with undisguised contempt. Nine, ten o'clock, and +no sign of the liberty men. The old man went ashore on business, leaving +full instructions with the mate about unmooring, which he expected to be +carried on in his absence. He had barely been gone half an hour when the +starboard watch returned; but it was evident at once that they had their +own views upon the unmooring question, which by no means coincided with +the skipper's. They were all half-drunk and quarrelsome, especially the +doctor, who strutted about more like a bloodthirsty pirate than an +elderly spoiler of ships' provisions. Unfortunately, too, each man had +brought with him a plentiful supply of rum, which they at once began to +share with the port watch, all except Joe, who would have none of it. +They even invited Mr. Svensen and Chips to partake, meeting their +courteous refusal with quite gratuitous displays of bad language and +ill-temper. + +At last the mate, mindful of the wigging he might certainly expect on +the skipper's return if no work was afoot, ventured to give the order, +"Man the windlass!" the pilot taking up his post on the forecastle. For +all answer there came a howl of derisive laughter from the den, where +all hands, with one exception, were busy "freshening the nip." Mr. +Svensen wisely took no notice; but, in a cajoling tone, said, "Now den +poys, gum along, mage a sdart; ids kedding lade, ju dond vant ter ked me +indo a row, do jer?" Forth strode the truculent doctor, an uncanny +figure, all asway with drunken rage. "Looky hear, yew square-headed son +of a gun, yew ain't agoin' ter horder me about any more, so I tell yer! +I ain't a goin' ter do another stroke abord the rotten barge-built old +bathin' masheen, so there!" (I suppress the every-other-word profanity +throughout). During the delivery of this speech he was wildly +gesticulating and spluttering right up against the mate's breast, +shaking his withered fists in the big man's face, and otherwise behaving +like a very maniac. The rest of them gathered around, adding to the +clamour; but the burden of all was the same, "No more work, not another +hand's-turn aboard this" (collection of all the abusive sea-epithets +known) "old lobster-pot." Joe, meanwhile, was calmly doing some trifling +job aft, by the break of the poop on the starboard side. To him +sauntered an Irishman, hitherto one of his best friends, now laboriously +polite and anxious to know whether he intended being a sneak, a +white-livered et-cetera and so forth. For all reply, Joe turned his back +on him. I was cleaning knives on the same side forrard by the galley +door, but not making much progress on account of so many distracting +episodes taking place. The babel of abuse around the unfortunate mate +was going strong all the time. A thrill of terror went through me as I +saw the Irishman suddenly lift his hand and strike Joe on the back of +the neck. He turned like a flash, shooting his right fist into Patsy's +face, with a crash that laid him out, sounding horrible to me. Without a +word Joe turned again to resume his work. Patsy gathered himself slowly +up and staggered forward, bleeding profusely, and muttering disjointed +blasphemy as he came. He passed me, going into the fo'lk'sle; but my +attention was suddenly attracted by a yell of laughter from the other +side of the deck. Peeping round the galley, I saw with amazement that +the drunken devils had actually triced the poor mate up spread-eagle +fashion in the main rigging, and were jeering him to their hearts' +content. Then they made a rush for the cabin. Chips was nowhere to be +seen. Presently they returned, bringing the ensign, which they proceeded +to hoist in the rigging, Union down, a sea signal of the most urgent +importance, denoting anything dreadful from fire to mutiny. + +A step beside me made me turn, startled, to see who it was, and I just +caught sight of the grim blood-besmeared visage of Patsy, who was +stowing the long cabin carving-knife in the waistband of his pants. +While I stared at him, breathlessly wondering what his little game might +be, he broke suddenly into a run aft to where Joe still pursued his +peaceful task, all undisturbed by the riot around. "Look out, Joe," I +screamed, "he's got the carving-knife!" The warning came only just in +time; for as Joe turned sharply he met the raging Patsy at close +quarters, aiming a savage stab at him. Naturally lifting his arm, he +received the descending blade through the fleshy fore-part of it; but, +with the other, he caught the Irishman by the throat, and jammed him +back against the rail. Kicking the knife, which had dropped from the +wound, far forward as he sprang, he plucked an iron belaying pin from +its socket, and brought it down with a sickening thud upon Patsy's +already battered face. Again he fell, this time to remain until dragged +forward, a limp, disfigured lump. + +By this time the inverted ensign had told its tale ashore, and a large +canoe well-manned with negro policemen, under a white sergeant, was +coming off to us at a spanking pace. This sight drew all the mutineers +to the side, whence they could watch her approach, which they hailed +with the liveliest expressions of joy. Chips now put in an appearance, +looking very sheepish, and, assisted by Joe, released the mate from his +undignified suspension in the rigging. He tottered aft, looking very +unwell, and muttering bitter reproaches on the carpenter for having +abandoned him to such a fate. The police-canoe bumped against the side, +her stalwart crew clambering on board like cats. While the officer +hastened aft to hear the news from the mate, his myrmidons were amazed +to find themselves hailed with delight by the excited crew, who +fraternized with them as if they had come to convoy them to a picnic. +The mate's tale being soon told, the sergeant of police gave orders to +his men to arrest the mutineers, and, with joyful outcry, all hands +hurried forward to prepare for their departure. + +During the preparations, the pilot, the mate, and the police-officer +foregathered on the poop to indulge in a smoke, and discuss the ways of +seamen in general. But though their palaver lasted a long time, there +was no sign from forrard. At last, his patience exhausted, the sergeant +strode forward to the fo'lk'sle, demanding, with many objurgations, the +reason of this delay. To his rage and dismay he found that the supply of +rum had been so plentiful, and had circulated so freely, that policemen +and sailors were involved in one common debauch. Indeed it was hard to +say which was the most drunken of the two gangs. Uproarious was the din, +nearly every man shouting some fragment of song at the pitch of his +lungs, or laughing insanely at the gorgeous fun of the whole affair. +Back came the sergeant, almost speechless with anger and apprehension, +for this no doubt meant dire disgrace to him. He was made worse, if +anything, by the unstinted laughter with which the mate and pilot +received the news. Small blame to them, the thing was so ludicrous. + +Up went the police-flag again--to the main truck this time. In addition +to this the sergeant hoisted a small weft at the peak, explaining +sulkily that this was an urgent private signal for reinforcements. He +added, "An' all _I_ hope is that the infernal scoundrels 'll fall out +an' kill one another before my boss comes, or else I'm booked for a +reduction in grade that'll dock me of a quarter of pay--none too much as +it is." Before many minutes had passed a large launch was seen +approaching, rowed by fourteen men, who, unlike the first lot, were all +white. With them came our old man, whose face was a study. I just +caught one glimpse of it, and its fury scared me so that I dared not go +near him. There was now no more fooling; in double quick time all the +roysterers, policemen as well as sailors, were collected from the +fo'lk'sle, handcuffs put on them, their effects flung into the launch, +and themselves bundled after with scant ceremony. So rapid was the work +that in less than ten minutes they were all on their way ashore, making +the air resound with their discordant yells. + +A painful quiet ensued. Joe and I, sole representatives of the foremast +hands, leisurely cleared up the decks, after which he busied himself +preparing a meal which should do duty for dinner and supper. The captain +went ashore again, much to my relief, for while he was on board I +couldn't get quit of the idea that in some way or other he would bring +me in responsible for his disappointment, and take his consolation out +of my poor little carcass. I had been so used to this vicarious sort of +payment of old, that the idea was a fixed one with me whenever there was +a row. In fact, I often feel the old sensation now. But to-day he seemed +unable to give vent to his feelings, so nothing disturbed the calm of +the afternoon. Joe informed me that he had gone ashore to ship a fresh +crew, and that we should certainly sail in the morning, he having heard +the old man tell the pilot as much when he took the dinner aft. + +Sure enough, just before sunset the skipper returned, bringing with him +a fresh crowd in place of the old hands, who had each, we were told, +received summary sentence of two months' hard labour. Quick work, +truly. The new crew were a mixed lot. There was a Newfoundland Irishman +named Flynn, a fat-faced blubber-bodied fellow, who was for ever eating +tobacco; a stalwart fiery-headed ex-man-o'-war's man who could only be +called Ginger; a long, melancholy-looking Englishman, who signed as +George Harris; a Eurasian of gentlemanly appearance, but most foul and +filthy behaviour; a delicate, pretty-faced Liverpool Irishman, with a +fair silky beard, for cook; a broad-shouldered Greek, who had not a word +of English; and, lastly, a precious piece of ornament in the shape of a +Chinaman, pigtail and all, as if he had just come out of Foochow, whom +the captain had shipped as steward for nothing a month. Gloomy Jem, the +unfortunate negro youth, of course, remained of the old crew. In some +misty fashion he went on his melancholy way, the butt of everybody but +myself, his only relaxation an occasional incoherent chatter with me in +some dark corner, when there was no work afoot. + +Next morning at daybreak we unmoored, and proceeded down the muddy +river, without hitch of any kind. The new crew worked well, glad enough, +no doubt, to leave such miserable quarters as they had lately been +enduring. You Sing, the Celestial, was a great acquisition. He was made +to understand at once, that whatever work was to be done, he must take a +hand in it, and he certainly toiled like a beaver. Beautiful weather +still favoured us, and with an occasional glimpse of what looked to my +exuberant fancy like fairyland rising out of the sparkling blue sea, we +crept steadily westwards into the great gulf of Mexico. In spite of the +miserable food and swinish forecastle, the fresh crew worked well and +peaceably. What growling they did was indulged in out of hearing, and, +after late experiences, I hardly knew the old ship. Without a single +incident worth recording, we rolled along until we sighted the Mexican +coast, which, as the position of our first calling-place was somewhat +vague, the captain proposed to skirt until he came to it. The weather +now became less settled, squalls of considerable violence being +frequent, making a great deal of sail-handling necessary. One night, +when we were suddenly called upon to shorten sail in a deluge of rain, +it happened that the long Englishman, George Harris, and Ginger, the +quondam man-o'-war's man, found themselves together furling the main +to'-gallant sail. Now, Ginger, though a big fellow, was, as usual with +his class, of very little use at furling sail under merchant-ship +conditions. Where one man is employed in the merchantman, six or seven +crowd in on board of _Andrew_; and the "bluejacket" is consequently +handicapped when he finds himself thus lonely. The sail was stiff with +wet, the wind was high, and George, in trying to make up for Ginger's +deficiency, ruptured himself badly. He got down from aloft somehow, and +took to his bunk, a very sick man. The treatment he received only +aggravated his mishap, while he grew rapidly weaker from his inability +to eat the muck, which even in his case was unchanged. Although never +very friendly with me, I was filled with pity for him, and actually so +far forgot my dread of the terrible "old man," as to creep below and +steal a few cabin biscuits, which were less coarse and whiter than ours. +It was comparatively easy to evade the officers, and I chuckled greatly +over my smartness, being richly rewarded by the gratitude of the +invalid, who made quite a hearty meal of my plunder soaked with some +sugar. But I reckoned without You Sing. That slit-eyed pagan in some +unholy fashion found me out, and at once betrayed me to the skipper, of +whom he stood in such awe, that he was ready to jump overboard at a nod +from him. I was called aft, questioned, and found guilty. There and +then, with a bight of the gaff-topsail halliards, he gave me such a +dressing down as I have never forgotten, You Sing standing by with a +face like a door-knocker for expressionless calm. Even amid my sharpest +pangs I rejoice to think I didn't howl. Perhaps I gained little by that. +At last the skipper flung me from him, saying grimly, "Now ye can go an' +thank George Harris for that." And when, twenty years after, I saw that +stern old man, reduced to earning a precarious living as a ship-keeper, +fall from a ship's side in the Millwall Dock, injuring himself so +frightfully that death would have been refreshment, I could not help +thinking of the grist which is ground by the Mills of the Gods. Joe, my +faithful ally, was furious when I went forward quivering with pain. He +was for vengeance, first on the old man, then on the placid pig who had +betrayed me; but I begged so hard that he wouldn't make matters worse +by interfering that at last he yielded. But he never settled down again +satisfactorily. + +Just a week afterwards we came to a slight indentation in the coast, +where a Norwegian barque lay at anchor. From her we got the information +that the place was called Tupilco, upon which we anchored, it being our +port of call for orders. The anchor was no sooner down than Harris +crawled aft and implored the captain to take him ashore so that he might +get some medical aid. Desire of life made the poor fellow quite +eloquent, but he might as well have appealed to a bronze joss. When, +exhausted, he paused for breath, the old man said, with bitter emphasis, +"Ef I'd ben a loafin' on my shipmets s'long's _you_ hev', I'd take 'n +heave me useless carcass overboard, ye wuthless sojer. Git forrard 'n +die. It's 'bout the bes' thing you ken do." George crept forrard again +without a word. + +We lay at this forsaken-looking spot for four days, holding no +communication with the shore except twice, when a launch came off, +manned by a truculent-looking crew of "dagoes," _i. e._ Greeks, +Italians, Spaniards, and half-bred Mexicans. Soon after their second +visit we weighed again, having received instructions to commence loading +at Sant' Ana, some distance along the same coast. We had an easy run +thither, with a fair wind all the way, and were pleasantly surprised to +find that, although an open roadstead like Tupilco, there was quite a +fleet of ships at anchor there. They were of all sizes and rigs, from +rakish-looking Yankee schooners to huge fullrigged ships, and of +several nationalities--British, American, and Norwegian predominating. +There was a heavy landward swell on when we passed through them to our +anchorage, and it was anything but cheering to see how they rolled and +tumbled about in far more unpleasant fashion than as though they had +been under way. In fact, some of the fore and afters had actually got +staysails set, with the sheets hauled flat aft, so as to counteract in +some measure the dangerous wallowing they were carrying on. I watched +one Baltimore schooner, with tremendously taunt spars, roll until she +scooped up the sea on either side with her bulwarks, the decks being all +in a lather with the foaming seas tearing across them, and I couldn't +help thinking what a heavenly time those Yanks must have been having +down below, for there were none visible on deck. + + + + +CHAPTER V. + +THE LAND OF LIBERTY. + + +We came to an anchor near the middle of the roadstead in seamanlike +fashion, every sail being furled before the anchor was dropped, and the +old tub brought-to as if going into dock. Then, as it was understood +that our cargo was ready for us, preparations were immediately made for +its reception. A stout spar was rigged across the forecastle, protruding +twenty-five feet on the starboard side, with a big block lashed to its +end through which ran a five-inch rope. A derrick was rigged over the +main-hatch with a double chain purchase attached, and a powerful winch +bolted to the deck, round which the chain revolved. Numbers of iron +spikes (dogs), with rings in them, were fitted with tails of rope about +three feet long, and lengths of hawser cut for "mother-ropes." The rafts +of mahogany and cedar logs are made by driving a tailed "dog" firmly +into the side of each log a foot or so from the end. As each one is thus +spiked it is secured by a "rolling-hitch" of the tail to the +"mother-rope" (_cabo madre_ of the Spaniards), until as many are +collected as required. This operation is always performed in the river +just inside the bar, where the logs are sorted after their long drift +from the interior. Then the raftsmen, who are equipped with capacious +boats pulling six oars, and carrying about three hundred fathoms of +grass rope, secure one end of their tow-line to the mother-rope, and +pull away seaward in the direction of the ship, the steersman casting +out line as they go. Arriving at the end of their tether they anchor, +and all hands turn-to with a will to haul the raft up to the boat. This +operation is repeated as often as is necessary to cover the three or +four miles between ship and shore, until at last the long line of +tumbling logs are brought alongside their destined vessel, and secured +to the big spar on the forecastle. At whatever time they arrive all +hands must turn out to receive them, and on board the American ships the +uproar used to be fearful; oaths, yells, and showers of belaying pins +rattling against the bulwarks, bearing eloquent testimony to the +persuasive methods of discipline in vogue on board of them. The +stevedores, or stowers of the timber, arrived on board shortly after we +anchored; like the rest of the population, they were a mixed crowd of +Latins and Greeks, but all speaking Spanish. Owing to their presence we +fared much better than we should otherwise have done, for they were fed +by the ship, and by no means to be offered any such carrion as usually +fell to our lot. Their pay was high, five dollars a day; but they +certainly worked well, besides being very skilful. With our first raft +there was trouble. Flynn, the "blue-nose" Irishman, was sent upon the +uncertain row of logs alongside to sling them; but after several narrow +escapes from drowning or getting crushed between the rolling ponderous +masses, some of them over five tons in weight, he clambered on deck +again, and flatly refused to risk his bones any longer. Nor, in spite of +the skipper's fury, could any other man be persuaded to attempt so +dangerous a task. Finally, the old man turned to one of the Greeks of +the stevedore gang, and ordered him to act as slingsman. "Oah yez, +capane," said Antonio, "sposa you giva me eight dolla day." After a +little more language the old man said, "All right, 'Tonio, I'll give you +eight dollars. An' I'll stop it out of your pay, you skulking sojer you" +(to Flynn). Which was mirthful, seeing that eight dollars represented a +fortnight's pay for our shipmate. + +However, Antonio proved a most expert raftsman, being almost amphibious +and smart as any eel. But the work was exceedingly severe. Lifting such +great masses of timber tried the old sticks terribly, and when she +rolled suddenly to windward, tearing the log out of water with a jerk, +you almost expected her to fall apart. When, at last, the log showed +above the rail, if she started her antics, all hands near stood by for a +run, for the log would suddenly slue inboard, and come across the deck +like a gigantic battering ram. The whole process was a series of +hairbreadth escapes. Down in the hold, where the stevedores toiled with +tackles, rousing the logs about, there were many casualties; but these +dagoes never seemed to care. For every hurt they had one remedy: plenty +of "cana," a fiery white spirit, fresh from the still. Poured into a +gash, or rubbed on a bruise, with half a pint to drink, this vitriolic +stuff seemed to meet every emergency. + +The enormous rate of pay prevailing here during the height of the +season, had the inevitable effect of causing frequent desertions; so +that as much as three hundred dollars was freely offered for the run to +New York or Europe for seamen. Consequently a vigilant watch was kept by +the officers of ships, lest any of the crew should take French leave, +although getting ashore was difficult. We, however, had a very large +long-boat, for which there was no room on deck, and, contrary to the +usual practice it was put overboard, and kept astern at the end of a +small hawser. The temptation was too much for my friend Joe, who, +accompanied by the Eurasian, slipped over the bows one dark night, and +swam aft to the unwieldly ark, unheard by the officer on watch. Poor +fellow! he couldn't keep awake night and day. At daybreak, when the +skipper came on deck, and looked over the taffrail, always his first +move, the idle rope hung down disconsolately--the long-boat was gone! +Seizing his glass he mounted to the cross-trees, and scanned the +horizon, discovering the derelict far out at sea. The gig was lowered +and manned by Flynn and Jem, the skipper himself taking the tiller, and +off they went in pursuit. It was nearly noon when they returned, towing +the runaway, and half dead with thirst and fatigue. Then only did the +skipper learn that two of his best men were gone. In his hurry he had +not stayed to inquire, and now his rage knew no bounds. Judge, then, how +he felt when he discovered, by the aid of his glass, that the deserters +were no further away than our nearest neighbour, an American brig that +lay less than half a mile away. Anger overcame his prudence, and he +actually went alongside the Yank, intending to go on board and claim his +men. He was received with contumely, the American skipper refusing to +allow him over the rail. His state of mind on his return must have been +pitiable; but he sought his cabin without a word, and remained there all +the rest of the day. + +In some way the news spread round the fleet, and that evening we were +boarded by the captain of the _Panuca_, a Liverpool barque, who came to +condole and relate his woeful experiences. He said that his men had +refused duty altogether, upon which he was advised to take them ashore +to the "Commandant," who would deal with them in summary fashion. +Accordingly he took them, finding the _soi-disant_ official to be a +stalwart Greek, who held the position by virtue of his election by his +fellow rascals, for law there was none. El Senor Commandante, however, +told him to leave his men with him, and he would soon bring them to +their bearings. Very reluctantly he followed this advice, since he had +no choice, and returned on board, cursing his stupidity for ever taking +them there. To his joyful surprise they returned on board, next morning, +as meek in their demeanour as if they had, indeed, been taught a lesson. +But two nights afterwards there was a desperate hubbub raised, during +which the rascals looted the cabin, and, getting into the whale-boat +hanging at the davits, went ashore with their plunder. They had strictly +followed the instructions given them by the commandant, who made them a +handsome present in return for the fine boat they brought him. When the +half-frantic captain arrived on shore, and learned the truth, he was so +enraged that he actually tried to take his boat off the beach where she +lay, narrowly escaping being shot for his pains. This tale, poured into +our skipper's sympathetic ears, somewhat reconciled him to his loss, +since he still retained his boat. + +But one disaster succeeded another. A curious malady of the feet +attacked every one of the crew. It caused the legs and feet to swell +enormously, and culminated in a suppurating wound horribly painful and +slow to heal. Then a deadly encounter took place between the cook and +You Sing, which was only settled by sending the Chinaman ashore, since +the two seemed bent upon murdering one another. Worst of all, when the +ship was half-full, the timber ceased to arrive. Ship after ship sailed +away, until there were only three of us left; and the season of the +"Northers" being close upon us, when those destructive gales blow right +home all along the coast, every one began to look very glum. The +unfortunate invalid, George Harris, after lingering longer than any one +could have believed possible, was set free from his misery at last, to +the manifest relief of his shipmates, who were heartily tired of his +taking so long to die. Sounds horrible, doesn't it? But it is the naked +truth. Under such circumstances as ours were, the better part of +humanity generally disappears, or only shines in individuals who are +often, almost always, powerless to help. + +Miserable as the time had been, it was not all lost upon me. As far as +the hardship went it was no worse, if as bad, as I had endured in the +London streets; and here, at any rate, it was always warm. I had learned +to chatter Spanish fluently, although much of it I would gladly unlearn +if it were possible, for I have always noticed that, in picking up a +language colloquially, one learns easiest and remembers longest the +vilenesses. And how vile the Latin tongues can be, few Englishmen can +realize. I did not grow much, not being well-enough nourished; but I was +wiry, hard as nails, and almost as brown as an Indian, being half naked +from want of clothes. At last, one morning, my uncle sent for me. +Although unconscious of any offence I was terribly frightened, but went, +shaking with dread, to meet him. To my utter amazement he spoke kindly, +saying that the ship was so old, and the season so late, that he feared +there was great danger of her never reaching home. Therefore he had +decided to send me on board the barque _Discoverer_, commanded by a +friend of his, in which, as she was a splendid vessel, I should be far +safer. She was to sail the next day, so I must go on board that night. I +only said, "Thank you, sir," but volumes could not have expressed my +gratitude. To leave this awful den, to be once more treated to a kind +word occasionally--for, since Joe was gone and Jem had been driven +ashore (which I have forgotten to mention), I had no friends at all on +board; the prospect was too delightful for contemplation. + +My wardrobe being on my back I was spared the labour of packing up. +Farewells there were none to say, although, being naturally a +tenderhearted little chap, I should have been glad of a parting +God-speed. But no one said anything to me as I bundled into the boat and +was rowed alongside my new home. As soon as I climbed on board I was met +with a very chorus of welcome. The warmth of my reception amazed me, +accustomed as I had been for so long to the miserable state of affairs +on board my old ship. But I soon overcame a strong temptation to cry for +joy, and, steadily choking down the lump in my throat, set about taking +stock of my new vessel. To my inexperience she seemed a most noble ship. +Everything was on a much finer scale than anything I had yet seen in my +brief travels. She had been built for the purpose of Arctic exploration, +and consequently presented a somewhat clumsy appearance outside from the +doubling of the bow planks and stern bends, and the diagonal oaken +sheathing with which she was protected. Inboard, though, she was roomy, +clear, and comfortable as could be imagined, while her rigging and spars +were all of the very best, and in tip-top condition. + +Quarters were assigned to me in the comfortable cabin of the steward, +whose helper I was supposed to be, although, from the first, I had the +free run of the ship fore and aft. Next morning we weighed with a +gentle favouring breeze, homeward bound. But I soon discovered that +there was one drawback to all this comfort--the captain was a confirmed +drunkard. While the process of getting under weigh was going on, he was +mooning about the deck with a fishy eye and an aimless amble, getting in +everybody's way, and causing much confusion by giving ridiculous orders. +Had he confined himself to that all would have been well, for the men +humoured him good-temperedly, and took no notice of his rubbish. But +when they had "catted" the anchor, they were obliged to leave it hanging +while they got some sail on her, the fall of the cat-tackle being +stretched across the deck and belayed to the opposite rail, as there was +no fo'lk'sle-head, and consequently no capstan. All hands being aft, the +skipper maundered forrard, to find his further progress stopped by this +rope. Muttering unintelligibly, he cast it off the pin to which it was +belayed. The result staggered even himself, for there was a rush and a +roar, a perfect blaze of sparks, a cloud of dust, and, with a jerk that +almost threw everybody flat, the last link of one hundred and twenty +fathoms of cable brought the ship up all standing. All hands had flown +forrard at the first bang, but they were powerless to do anything except +pray that the cable might part. It was too good for that, bearing the +terrible strain to which it was subjected of bringing a ship up, in +twenty fathoms of water, that was going nearly four knots an hour. + +The mate got the old man aft into his cabin while the fellows clewed up +the canvas again, and then issued the order to man the windlass once +more. But this the men flatly refused to do, alleging that after their +forenoon's work, it was unreasonable to expect such a thing. The mate +was powerless to insist, so nothing further was done till next day but +give the sails the loosest kind of a furl. At daybreak next morning the +heavy task of getting the anchor was begun, the skipper keeping out of +sight. There was a great deal of growling and bad language; but the mate +managed to get hold of a demijohn of the old man's whisky. This he +dispensed with no niggard hand, and so the peace was kept; but it was +late in the day when she was again fairly under way for home. + +After that, everything went on smoothly enough. Although, as usual, the +crew were of several nationalities, they all pulled together very well, +nor did they take the advantage they might have done of the utter +absence of any shadow of discipline on board. The whole working of the +ship devolved upon the mate, for the skipper was always more or less +drunk, and the second mate was helpless, having had his right foot +smashed by a log of mahogany in loading. What work was necessary during +the daytime was done cheerfully enough, and a general air of peace and +contentment pervaded the ship. For one thing the food was really good +and plentiful, and none of the men were of that blackguardly kind that +glory in taking every advantage of any weakness aft. Of course the +watch-keeping at night was bad. A big London boy, who was much disliked +for his lazy, dirty habits, was made to keep the look-out always in his +watch--a duty which he usually performed with his head between his +knees. The rest of the men slept the night through, seldom knowing whose +watch on deck it was; so that if sail required trimming all hands +generally turned out to it after a good deal of inviting. The captain +was supposed to keep the second mate's watch, but he set a shining +example to his crew, by sleeping it out wherever he happened to drop +when he came on deck. + +I was very happy. Never since the time my troubles began, that is, at +about eight years old, had I been treated so well. Being very small, and +fairly knowing, besides having a rather sweet treble voice, I was made a +sort of plaything--an universal pet. And in the dog-watches, when seated +upon the main hatch surrounded by the crew I warbled the songs I knew, +while not another sound disturbed the balmy evening but the murmur of +the caressing waters alongside and the gentle rustle of a half-drawing +sail overhead, I felt as if my halcyon days had dawned at last. That +fortnight is one of the pleasantest recollections of my life. The +weather was delightfully fine, and by day the ship was like a huge +aviary, a multitude of brilliant-hued little birds being continually +about her, although we were out of sight of land. They were of many +kinds, but all so tame that they freely came and went through cabin and +forecastle, hunting for the cockroaches with which she was infested. On +the upper yards a small colony of kestrels kept vigilant watch, +descending like a flash upon any unwary birdling that dared to venture +far into the open. The men made many nocturnal excursions aloft after +the "pirates," as they called them, giving them short shrift when they +caught them. So the days drowsed on quietly and peacefully, seeming, to +my youthful ignorance, as nearly perfection as they could possibly be. +Not but what I felt an occasional twinge of sorrow at the continual +drunkenness of the captain. Mixing with the men forrard freely as I did, +their rough but half-pitying comments upon him and his behaviour could +not fail to impress me, although I often wondered how it was that, being +so well aware of the danger they ran by reason of such general neglect, +they were not themselves more watchful, instead of taking such advantage +as they did of the captain's fault, to sleep all night. + +At last, on the fifteenth day from leaving port, on a clear starlit +night with a gentle, fair wind blowing, and all hands, including the +captain--whose watch it was--asleep, the vessel ran upon a coral reef +and became a total wreck. Having told the story in another place, I +cannot enlarge upon the circumstances attendant upon her loss here; it +must suffice to say that, after many perils, all hands escaped safely to +land upon the "cay" or sandy islet which crowned the highest point of +the reef. A fairly large quantity of food and water was saved; so that +we ran no risk of privation, even had the islet failed to furnish us +with fish, fowl, and eggs in plenty as it did. One circumstance I must +record in passing as being well worthy of notice. As soon as it was +evident that the vessel was hopelessly lost, the seamen forrard, though +perfectly well behaved, insisted that every drop of intoxicating liquor +should be thrown overboard, and, in order that it should be done +thoroughly, themselves carried it out. As the giant breakers destroyed +the upper works of the ship, much useful wreckage came ashore, and one +calm day a visit was paid to her, which was rewarded by the salvage of +several sails and a quantity of cordage. With these, comfortable tents +were rigged, and I have no doubt that, had it been necessary, we could +have put in several months on that barren patch of sand quite happily. +Huge turtle came ashore to deposit their eggs, and were easily caught. +Sea-fowl of many kinds, principally boobies and frigate-birds, swarmed +in thousands, whose eggs, especially those of the frigate-birds, were +delicious eating, although, never being pressed by hunger, we left their +rank, fishy flesh severely alone. Fish of course abounded, while the +crevices of the rocks concealed great numbers of clams and oysters, and +at night the lighting of our beacon fire attracted quite a host of crabs +from the sea, who fell victims in great numbers to their curiosity. +Hardships there were none, and I would far rather have lived there for +six months than for one week on board the old _Arabella_. + +Ten days passed gaily away, during which the sail-maker and carpenter +had made a fine seaworthy craft of the pinnace in which most of us +reached the shore. Fitted with new sails and rigging and half-decked, +she was fit for a much longer voyage than was necessary to reach the +mainland of Campeche, the nearest town of which, Sisal, was barely a +hundred miles distant. But one morning as the look-out man was ascending +the rocky promontory, where a flag-staff was erected to hoist the signal +of distress we always kept flying by day, he saw a handsome barque +lying-to only about two or three miles away. The French ensign was +flying at her peak, and a boat had left her side which was being rapidly +pulled shorewards. They soon landed, and by expressive signs the officer +in charge gave us to understand that he was prepared to take us all on +board, but that we must make haste, as the vicinity was much too +dangerous to linger in longer than was absolutely necessary. Not one +word of each other's language did we understand, yet we found no +difficulty in getting at one another's meaning sufficiently near for all +practical purposes. To my amazement, however, the skipper, the mate, and +four others, refused to avail themselves of the opportunity to escape. +They said they did not want to go to Havana, where the barque would land +us, preferring to sail in the pinnace to Sisal and take their chance +there. When the French officer realized this, he looked as if he thought +the small party refusing to come with him were mad. But after an +outburst of volubility, quite wasted upon our misunderstanding, he +shrugged his shoulders and retreated towards his boat, followed by all +who were ready to go with him. His men had made good use of their time +by getting a goodly quantity of birds and eggs collected, and now +disposed themselves, with a perfect uproar of chattering, in as small a +compass as they could, while our fellows took the oars and pulled away +for the barque. Looking back, I saw the little group of our late +shipmates standing watching us from the beach: a sight so pathetic that +I could not help bursting into tears, quite forgetting that it was +entirely in accordance with their own desires that they were thus +abandoned. + +[Illustration: We could have put in several months on that barren patch +of sand quite happily.] + +We soon reached the ship, swarmed on board, and swung the boat up to the +davits in a twinkling, while the officer who had brought us--the chief +mate--held an animated colloquy with the captain on the poop. From the +expressive gestures used, we had no doubt but that they were discussing +the incomprehensible resolve of our captain and his followers. They +terminated their conversation by mutual shoulder-shruggings, as who +should say, "But what would you, my friend? they are English, whose ways +are past finding out." Nothing could be more cordial than our reception +by all hands. The big long-boat was cleared out for our sleeping-place, +as the barque's fo'lk'sle accommodation was too limited to admit any +more than at present occupied it; and a bountiful meal of _fazhole +blanc_, a delicious _puree_ of haricot beans, good biscuit, and _vin +ordinaire_ was served out to us. + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + +TO HAVANA AND AFTER. + + +This seems to be an appropriate place for noticing how, at less cost, +the Frenchmen fared so much better than in any sailing ship I have ever +been in. The Board of Trade scale of provisions for the Mercantile +Marine must strike every landsman as being a most absurd compilation. On +four days of the week each man is entitled to one and a half pounds of +salt beef, including bone, accompanied by half a pound of flour, except +on Saturdays, when half a pint of rice _may_ be given, or nothing. The +other three days each bring one and a quarter pounds of salt pork and +one-third of a pint of split peas. Every day there is an allowance _per +capita_ of one pound of bread (biscuit), an eighth of an ounce of tea, +half an ounce of coffee, and three quarts of water; and each week twelve +ounces of sugar and half a pint of vinegar is allowed per man. + +What scope is there here for any variety or skill in cookery? Even +supposing that the beef and pork were in any way comparable with the +same articles on shore--which they cannot be in the nature of +things--such a diet must soon become infernally monotonous. But the very +best ship's beef and pork is not nice; the second best is nasty; and +what will pass an inspector, is often utterly unfit for men to live upon +entirely for any length of time, while it would be considered loathsome +ashore. And what can be done with half a pound of flour? Lacking +_anything_ else, except a few hops, obviously the best thing to do is to +make bread, which is a little more palatable than the flinty outrage on +the name of food that is called ship's biscuit. What is usually done is +to make "duff." This is really boiled bread, with the addition of some +skimmed grease from the coppers in which the meat is boiled. As an act +of grace, but by no means of necessity, a pannikin (pint) of molasses is +doled out for all hands on duff days, but the crew are not allowed to +forget that they have no claim to this dainty by Act of Parliament. + +On pork days pea-soup is made, or "yellow broth," as sailors call it. +But pease and water with a flavouring of pork (not too much lest the +soup become uneatable from salt) needs a stretch of courtesy to be +called soup. A little, very little, addition of vegetables would make it +palatable, but "'tis not i' the bond." And even if so, do you think, +reader, you would feel contented with fat pork and pea-soup for dinner +three times a week for four months on end? For breakfast and supper +(tea) there is biscuit and beef, or biscuit and pork, washed down with +the result of the modicum of coffee or tea. And that is all. For very +shame's sake, a minority of shipowners do provide a few extras: such as +butter, an occasional mess of tinned meat, and a few preserved potatoes +and pickles. But these are the exception and not the rule. Moreover, +whenever these additional helps are given, the men are always reminded +that they have no right to them, that no owner need give anything more +than the bare pound and pint of the Board of Trade scale. + +Contrast this with our living on board the Bordeaux barque _Potosi_. In +the first place the bread, which was in large puffy cakes, became, under +the slightest moisture, as easy to eat and as palatable as baker's +bread. This alone was an enormous boon. Breakfast, which, like all other +meals, was taken by all hands at once, was hardly a meal in our sense of +the term. It was only a cup of coffee (exceedingly good), some bread, +and about a gill of cognac. Luncheon at noon consisted of half a pound +of meat, free of bone, and some preparation of vegetables, bread, and +half a pint of wine. Dinner at four p. m. was a grand affair. The +changes were rung upon haricot beans, lentils, vermicelli, macaroni, and +such legumes cooked with meat and flavoured so that the smell was +intensely appetizing. Bread, and half pint of wine. And there was +abundance, but no waste. Yet I am persuaded that the cost was much less +than that of our authorized scale of provisions, about which it is +difficult to speak with patience. It will, I think, be admitted that +where men are shut up to a life of such monotony as the seaman's calling +must necessarily be, their food ought at least to have some +consideration. The meal-hours form almost the only breaks in the day's +sameness, and if the food be poor in quality and without variety, it is +bound to engender bad feeling and a hatred of those of whose fault it is +the outcome. This by way of apology for such a lengthy dwelling upon the +subject, if any be needed, though I have always felt that its importance +is great enough to merit much more attention than it commonly receives. + +We had a very pleasant passage. The barque was a wonderfully handy +vessel, and her equipment was so good that it excited the wondering +admiration of all our men. The discipline was quite naval in its +character, and the day's duties went on with the regularity of +clockwork. Of course we could not understand the language, and were, in +consequence, unable to know whether there was the same amount of +grumbling commentary forward, upon the sayings and doings of the +officers, as is almost universal in British ships, with the exception of +"Blue-noses" (Canadian vessels). But it was admitted by all of us that +the crew seemed well content and heartily willing, and that she was +indeed a model ship. My scanty knowledge of Spanish came in useful, for +the captain spoke that language about as well as I did. On his +discovering this fact he sent for me, and, by dint of patience, +succeeded in learning from me such facts as he wished to know, rewarding +me with many a tit-bit from his table, as well as some very useful gifts +of clothing, which, as I was almost naked, were most acceptable. + +Arriving at Havana, we were handed over to the British consul, leaving +the friendly Frenchmen with much regret and three hearty cheers, which +they returned with interest _a la Francaise_. We were no sooner clear of +her than they began to get under way again, and, by the time we were on +the wharf, she was once more heading for home. By the orders of the +consul we were marched up to a "fonda," or eating house, facing the +Plaza de Armas, which we understood was to be our home during our stay. +A plentiful meal was set before us, but we did not appreciate it much, +every dish being saturated with the flavour of garlic. But as two +bottles of wine were apportioned to each individual, the meal was a +merry one, all hands declaring that bread and wine would suit them down +to the ground. A bundle of cigars were distributed by a +benevolent-looking old stranger, who introduced himself as the +shipping-master, and spoke excellent American, being, as he informed us, +a native of New Orleans. + +After a smoke, we were conducted to a large paved room at the back of +the premises, which was simply furnished with a couple of huge tables +and sundry benches, and had in one corner an unprotected well. Here we +were told we must spread such bedding as we had, and make ourselves as +comfortable as we could, until our proper dormitory was vacated by the +recruiting party that at present occupied it. The said party were by no +means an inviting crowd. They swarmed about the big chamber we were in, +looking fit for any villainy, and ostentatiously displaying their +vicious-looking bowie-knives. All our fellows had been deprived of their +sheath-knives upon first coming ashore, under the plea that the +carrying of weapons was unlawful, though we were the only unarmed +people I saw in the city during my stay. However, we had no choice of +quarters, so we proceeded to spread such ragged blankets as we possessed +upon the flagstones against one of the bare walls, and in due time +ranged ourselves thereon. Owing, I suppose, to the unusual quantity of +wine they had drunk, all our men were soon asleep, and when some one +took away the smoky kerosene lamp, the place was pitchy dark, except +where the silver bars of moonlight, streaming through the unglazed holes +in the walls, divided the blackness into rigid sections. I could not +sleep. The novelty of the situation, the strange smells, and an +indefinable fear of that truculent crowd of armed men, kept all my +senses at highest tension. There was no door, and, through the opening +in the wall, dark shapes of men came and went softly on Heaven knows +what errands. I had reached a condition of mind when I felt as if I must +scream to relieve my pent-up feelings, when I saw some figures bending +over my sleeping shipmates as if searching for something. By this time +my eyes had become able to distinguish objects in the surrounding gloom, +and I found that there were at least twenty men in the place. + +Terribly frightened, and hardly knowing what I did, I roused the +carpenter, by whose side I lay, and whispered hoarsely in his ear what I +had seen. The word was passed along, and in a few minutes we were all +afoot and straggling out into the moonlight-flooded courtyard. There we +stood like a flock of startled sheep, irresolute what to do. But some +of the knife-carrying gentry emerged after us, and began whetting their +weapons on the blocks of stone laying about--portions of a ruined wall. +This significant hint decided us, and we passed out into the silent +street, feeling to the full that we were strangers in a strange land. +Lights of any kind there were none, and the intense brilliance of the +moon cast shadows as solid as does the electric glare. A few yards of +uncertain wandering, and we were lost. There seemed to be no one about, +and yet I could have sworn I saw dark shapes gliding along in the inky +shadows. And presently I fell headlong over something in the road, my +outstretched hands striking with a splash into a pool of mud. A cold +thrill ran along my spine when I found I was lying across a corpse, and +that the sticky paste on my hands was red. We quickened our steps after +that, keeping in the middle of the streets, but as ignorant of our +direction, or our purpose, as if we had been a herd of swine devoid of +instinct. At last, from sheer weariness, we sat down upon the steps of +some large building, and drooped our heads. As if he had risen from the +ground, a "vigilante" (watchman) appeared, bearing a short spear, from +the upper third of which dangled a lantern. "Vamos, perros!" he growled, +prodding those nearest to him into instant wakefulness. No one needed a +translation, or a second bidding to "Begone, dogs!" So we tramped +wearily along, our bare feet bruised by the littering stones. As often +as we dropped for a brief rest, one of those ubiquitous serenos moved us +on again to the same monotonous epithet of contempt. I often think what +a queer-looking procession we must have been. My only garments were a +flannel singlet and a pair of canvas trousers, so stiff that they +creaked woodenly as I trotted along. Cap or boots I had none. The rest +were in much the same plight, though none were quite so naked as me. +Going along a narrow lane, whereof I read the title, "Aguacalle," on a +building at the corner, I slipped off the hummocky sidewalk into a +slough of soft slush up to my armpits, and was dragged out by my next +friend with a new covering of such evil odour that I had to keep a +respectful distance from my companions thenceforth. Finally we emerged +upon what seemed to be a wide common or piece of waste ground. Here at +last we were permitted to squat unmolested. Fear of scorpions, +centipedes, and snakes, kept me from sleep; but all my companions lay +sound in strange attitudes, under the full glare of the moon, while I +watched, wondering if the night would ever end. At the first glimmer of +dawn I aroused my companions, who were all reeking with dew, and we made +for the streets again, going as straight back to our lodgings as if we +knew the road. When we entered, the warriors had all gone. No one +belonging to the establishment was astir, so we cast ourselves down on +our rags and slept like stones until roused at eight o'clock by the +servants. Until eleven we dozed on the benches, or in whatever corners +we could find, when a plentiful breakfast revived us in spite of the +garlic. + +After our meal the vice-consul paid us a visit. He listened gravely to +our complaints of the accommodation we had found. Then he invited us to +accompany him to the consul's office. On our arrival all hands were +shown into a large, bare room, while I was called upstairs to undergo a +searching cross-examination by the consul as to what clothes the men had +saved, the incidents of the shipwreck, etc. I suppose he thought that so +young a boy would be more likely to tell a true tale than those artful +rogues of sailors, as he seemed to regard them. He was not at all kind +or sympathetic: that was no part of his business, I suppose; but as he +was writing an order upon a slop-seller for some clothing for us, a +handsome young lieutenant from an English man-o'-war came in. His eyes +fastened upon me at once, and, after a hurried question or two of the +consul, he came to me and spoke pitifully, giving me two dollars out of +his pocket as a solid token of his sympathy. Then the consul had all +hands in and harangued them, telling them to be sure and keep sober +(which, as they were penniless, was rather uncalled-for advice), and by +no means to stray away from the immediate vicinity of the +shipping-office. They would be sure to get a ship in a day or two, he +said. Dismissing us with a curt good-day, he retired, while we followed +the vice-consul to the clothier's. Here the men received each a rig-out +of cheap garments, but I was treated much better; why, I do not know. +After all the men had been served and had returned to our lodging, I was +furnished with quite a nice suit of clothes, with good underclothing, +patent leather shoes, and broad-brimmed Panama hat. A brilliant red +silk sash was given me by the shopkeeper as a present, and, thus +glorified, I felt quite transformed. With many cautions as to my +behaviour, the official bade me good-day, and I was left to my own +devices. And then began one of the strangest experiences of my life. +Wherever I went, people looked kindly at me, and spoke to me as if they +were interested in me. I entered into shop after shop to spend some of +my money, but found it impossible, for the shopkeepers insisted upon +giving me what I asked for without payment, and often added to my store +of cash besides. When at last I returned to the fonda, I was loaded with +cigars, fruit, pastry, and all sorts of odds-and-ends, so that my +shipmates were loud in their welcomes. By nightfall we were all in a +very contented condition of mind, and, when the landlord politely +requested me to inform my friends that our sleeping apartment was +prepared, we felt that our comfort was complete. But our joy had a +tremendous setback when we were shown the said bedroom. It was a long +lean-to shed erected against an ancient wall of rubble that had never +known contact with a whitewash brush. The floor was of dried mud. Along +the centre of its whole length ran an open ditch, which carried in a +sluggish stream all the sewage of the house. On either side of this foul +_cloaca_ were ranged "charpoys," a sort of exaggerated camp-stool, which +constituted the entire furnishing of this primitive bed-chamber. It was +well ventilated, although there were no windows, for daylight was +visible in many places through gaps in the boarding of the outer wall +and roof. Many and vigorous were the comments passed upon the filthy +hole, but there was no suggestion of raising any complaint, as all felt +that it would be useless, and, at any rate, the place was our own, and +we could barricade the door. So spreading our blankets upon the +charpoys, we turned in, and were soon oblivious of all our surroundings. + +Next day, in the course of my wanderings, I entered the fine billiard +room of the Hotel St. Isabel and chummed up with the marker. I was well +acquainted with the game, having learned how to mark in one of the +strange by-paths of my nomad life before going to sea. And this +knowledge now came in usefully, for the marker was a one-armed man who +was often sorely bothered by the management of his three tables, +especially when the players were lively American and English skippers. I +was made heartily welcome, being helpful, in a double sense, from my +knowledge of Spanish as well as my acquaintance with the game. From that +time forward the "Fonda del buen gusto" saw little of me, and that +little at uncertain intervals. I had a comfortable chamber, the best +fare the hotel afforded, while as for money, the customers supplied me +so liberally that my pockets were always full. As I could not spend it, +most of it found its way to my shipmates, for I never came across one +without handing some of it over. The idea of saving any never dawned +upon me, and, when all my old shipmates were gone afloat again, I could +always manage to find some English-speaking mariners to whom I was +welcome company for a ramble round town. + +The time flew by on golden wings. All my former miseries were forgotten +in my present luxurious life, and I blossomed into that hateful thing, +an impudent boy uncontrolled by anybody, and possessing all the swagger +and assurance of a man. Such as I was, however, I attracted the +attention of a gentleman who held a most important post under government +as a civil engineer. He was a fairly constant visitor at the hotel when +in Havana, and our acquaintance ripened into a strong desire on his part +to adopt me, and save me from the ruin he could see awaited me. His only +son, a young man of three-and-twenty, was his assistant, the two being +more like brothers than parent and child. Having made up his mind, he +fitted me out with an elegant suit of clothes made to his liking, and +one day took me in his carriage to see the consul and arrange matters. +To his intense surprise and disgust the consul flatly refused to +sanction the affair, telling him that he was responsible for my return +to England, and that, as I had admitted that my father was alive, any +inquiry after me, which resulted in the discovery that I had been +allowed to remain in Cuba without my parent's consent, would make +matters very unpleasant for him. All attempts on Mr. D.'s part to shake +this decision were fruitless. The consul refused to discuss the matter +further, and closed the conversation by warning me that I was liable to +severe punishment for absenting myself so long from the home (?) where +he had placed me. What I felt I cannot describe. Mr. D., with a deeply +dejected face, bade me good-bye, his duties calling him into the +interior next day. He gave me twenty-five dollars as a parting present, +and advised me to get a ship as soon as possible for home. It may +readily be imagined that I had no hankering after the sea again. The +pleasant, aimless life I had been leading, the inordinate petting and +luxury I had grown accustomed to, had made me look upon ship-life with +unutterable loathing, and I secretly determined that if I could avoid it +I would never go to sea any more. + +About this time a terrible epidemic of yellow fever set in. So great was +its virulence, that even the never-ending warfare between the royalists +and insurgents slowed down, and instead of a ragged regiment of wastrels +being despatched into the mountains about twice a week, the authorities +were hard put to it to collect recruits at all. The great bell of the +cathedral tolled unceasingly. All night long the rumble of the waggons +over the uneven causeways sounded like subdued thunder, as they passed +from house to house collecting the corpses of the victims. The harbour +was crowded with vessels denuded of their crews, and from every masthead +flew the hateful yellow flag. It was heart-breaking to see and hear the +agony of the sailors being taken ashore to hospital. They knew full well +that there was hardly a glimmer of hope that they would return. The +Chinese, who acted as nurses, were destitute of any feeling of humanity, +and the doctors were worked to death. The nuns, who gave their lives +nobly, could do little but minister such ghostly comfort as they knew +how; but the net result of the hospital treatment was, with hardly an +exception, death. Yet, in spite of the scourge, and general paralysis of +trade in consequence, life, as far as I could see, went on much the same +as ever. The inhabitants seemed determined to put a brave air on, +whatever their inner feelings might be, and I declare that I saw very +little to frighten me. One can get used to anything, especially when one +has not learned to think. Several weeks passed away, and I was still +free, though not quite so flush of money, for the customers at the hotel +were necessarily fewer. + +One day I was taking a stroll down by the deserted wharves, when I +noticed a peculiar glow in the sky. It came from the heart of a gigantic +cloud that draped half the heavens, and seemed as if it hid hell behind +it. Fascinated by the sight, though my heart thumped furiously, I waited +on the wharf and watched its development. The cloud spread until the +whole dome was covered in by it, and the fierce glare took a strange +greenish tinge. All around the edge of the darkness ran an incessant +tangle of vari-coloured lightnings, and a continual rumble of thunder +seemed to make the earth vibrate. Suddenly the storm burst. Jamming +myself into a corner between some posts, whence I felt sure no wind +could dislodge me, I waited and watched. For the first few minutes I +thought I should have died of fright. Torrents of water, like the fall +of a sea, were lashed into foam as they fell, and all torn into gleaming +fragments by innumerable flashes flying in every conceivable direction. +An overpowering smell like burning sulphur pervaded all. As for the +wind, its force must have been frightful, judging from its effect upon +the shipping and houses; but where I stood only a very strong gale could +be felt, such as no seaman would think extraordinary. This lasted about +an hour (but I cannot say much for time), and then the rain ceased. What +a scene of horror the bay presented! Vessels of all kinds drifted +aimlessly about, wrecking each other, and covering the boiling maeelstrom +of the harbour with their _debris_. Overhead a louder roar occasionally +made me look up to catch sight of a flying roof like a cloud fragment +fleeting through the murky air. A large Yankee schooner was torn from +her anchors, and lifted on to a ledge beneath the Moro Castle, which +jutted out of the perpendicular cliff about a hundred feet above +high-water mark. There she remained upright, with her bottom stove in +like Columbus's egg. Of all the vessels in the harbour, the only ones +that survived without serious damage were the warships, which, with +topmasts housed and cables veered out to the clinch, were all steaming +full speed ahead, and, even then, hardly easing the tremendous strain on +the latter. + +Taking advantage of a lull I emerged from my corner, drenched to the +skin, of course, and so cramped from my long crookedness, that at first +I could hardly feel my feet. As hurriedly as I could I made my way +towards the hotel, finding the roadways almost blocked with ruins. The +hotel had escaped much damage, and I was received with open arms, soon +forgetting all my fears in a good meal and cheerful talk. In spite of +the havoc it had made, the general feeling was one of thankfulness, it +being taken for granted that the hurricane would be found to have swept +away the far more dreaded "Yellow Jack." And this was literally true, +for not a single fresh case was reported from that day forward. Business +revived with a bound, for there was much work to do everywhere, +shipwrights especially commanding almost any wages they liked to ask. +About a week after the hurricane, I was standing watching the transport +of a huge steam-launch over an isthmus to the dockyard, when I felt a +hand on my shoulder. Turning sharply, I saw the yellow visage of the +vice-consul, who was accompanied by a man in uniform, to whom he gave me +in charge. I was fairly caught, and without further delay, in spite of +my vehement protestations, I was put into a boat and taken on board a +large barque, the _Sea Gem_ of St. Andrews, N. S. The captain, a +kindly-looking old gentleman, heard my impudent remarks in amused +silence, until he thought I had gone far enough. Then he stopped me with +a quiet, "That'll do, my lad, you don't want a rope's-ending, I'm sure." +I had not lost all sense, so I pocketed my grievance and crept sullenly +forward. + + + + +CHAPTER VII. + +OFF TO SEA AGAIN. + + +The _Sea Gem_ had suffered greatly from the hurricane, but, by dint of +strenuous effort on the part of her agents, was now fairly seaworthy +again. The ravages of pestilence, however, had left her almost unmanned, +the only survivors being the second mate, the carpenter, and a couple of +American negro youths. The new captain, I learned from the +carpenter--who had taken me under his protection--had been retired for +some years, occupying a fairly well-paid post ashore in Havana. But +tempted by a lucrative offer from the agents, and greatly longing to +return home again, he had accepted the post of master of the _Sea Gem._ +He had succeeded in collecting another crew to take the vessel home; but +they were, indeed, a motley crowd. Three Austrians, a Montenegrin, a +Swede, a Frenchman and two more negroes made up the complement forward, +all of whom spoke a barbarous dialect of Spanish among themselves, +although the Austrians also conversed indifferently in some Slav tongue +as well as in Italian. There was as yet no chief mate, but another +American negro had been secured for cook and steward. + +No cargo being procurable, we were to proceed in ballast to Mobile for +cotton, and thence home. I had not yet lost hope of being able to escape +before sailing; and the carpenter, who seemed to be greatly amused by my +company, rather encouraged me in the idea. Strangely enough, nobody +seemed to trouble about me, and I foolishly sulked about all day, doing +nothing but brood over the possibility of getting away. At last a chance +presented itself. All the members of the new crew were taken ashore to +the consul's office to sign articles, and I, of course, went along. I +had still a good deal of money, and, as soon as I had signed, and been +ordered by the captain to go down to the boat and await his coming, I +demurely obeyed, and bolted in a contrary direction as soon as I had +turned the street corner. I was free. True, I had an uneasy feeling that +at any moment I might be arrested for desertion; but I refused to +entertain it, and hurried up town to the Hotel St. Isabel. Here I got a +shock. My old friend the billiard marker was gone, and the new man did +not look upon me at all favourably. My other acquaintances in the hotel, +too, appeared anxious to avoid me, as if they had been warned not to +give me harbourage there. So I wandered forth disconsolately, feeling as +if the place was quite strange to me. In the course of a long ramble I +fell in with a young American seaman who was outward bound, i. e. hard +up, but as full of fun as if he had just been paid off. We had a great +time together for a couple of days, getting as far away as Matanzas, and +using up my stock of dollars at an alarming rate. The third day we were +a bit weary of skylarking about, and decided to return to his +boarding-house and have a good night's rest. When we arrived there it +was past closing time, and the place was all dark and silent. It was a +big corner building, springing straight from the roadway, with flat +walls, up to a height of about fourteen feet, where a balcony ran right +round the building. To rouse the landlord was more than we dared; so, +after much scheming, we managed to find a light cart under a shed, which +we dragged from its place and up-ended under the balcony. My chum, who +was very tall, climbed up the shafts and scaled the balcony, then +lowered his long sash to me. I was speedily by his side, and together we +sought and found his room, which opened on to the balcony and was +luckily unoccupied. Feeling secure, our love of fun overcame weariness, +and after a boisterous pillow-fight we strolled out on to the balcony +again. Just then a sereno loitered round the corner and uplifted his +voice, "Ave Maria purissima, sin pecado concebida. Doce hora; noche +serena!" As the echoes died away, he caught sight of the cart standing +where it ought not, and proceeded to investigate. Moved by the same +spirit of mischief, we hurried to the chamber, and found a big jug of +water, which Zeke carefully poured upon the head of the muttering +vigilante. The effect was amazing. Raving like a lunatic, he assaulted +the great door with feet and spear-butt, making an uproar that speedily +aroused everybody within earshot. Our house hummed like a hive, and, +before many minutes, we heard the hurried tramp of feet along the +uncarpeted corridors, and the babel of many voices--the drenched +official's shrilly predominant. Presently they entered our room, to find +us just awaking from a sound sleep! and blinking at the lanterns like +owls. So deep had been our slumbers, that it was some time before Zeke +could explain how I came to be there; but the landlord, whom I +recognized as an old acquaintance, was quite easily satisfied about me. +Clearly we were not the offenders, and the search-party passed along, +leaving us to enjoy a frantic jig at the glorious disturbance we had +aroused. How the affair was settled I never heard, for the next day was +my last of liberty. + +Zeke went down to the shipping-office to look for a ship in the morning, +leaving me to my own devices. After an hour's ramble up town, I began to +feel a miserable reaction, helped on doubtless by the fact that I had +shared my last dollar with my chum, and couldn't for the life of me see +where any more were coming from. Presently I turned into a cafe +and called for a cup of coffee (I had not learned to drink +anything stronger). While I sat moodily sipping it, a drunken, +disreputable-looking man of about forty, roused himself from one of the +tables, and, coming over to where I was, addressed me in broad Scotch. +With maudlin tears he assured me that he was the chief mate of the _Sea +Gem_, and that he must get on board that day, but how he did not know. +He dared not go out for fear of being arrested; would I take pity on +him, and see him on board? He must have been in a queer state of mind, +for I was but a boy of thirteen, and small for my age. My pride was +touched, and I readily assented, leading him carefully down to the +wharf, and engaging a boat for him. There I would have left him, but he +held on to me like a bear, swearing he would be lost and undone without +me, so I had to go off with him. When we got alongside, the second mate +appeared at the gangway, and lowered a bowline, which I slipped over the +helpless creature's head and under his arms. Thus he was hauled on board +like a sack of flour. Then the second mate sternly ordered me to come +up. I refused. But he quietly said, "Well, then, I must come and fetch +you." That was sufficient; I mounted the side, and said good-bye to +Havana. + +That a rope's-ending awaited me, I felt sure; but instead of that, the +captain called me into his cabin, and gave me a most fatherly talking +to. His kindness made me feel bad, and I promised him forthwith to be a +good boy, and forget my vagabond, independent way of living ashore. +Patting me on the head, he dismissed me to make my peace with the second +mate, who was very angry with me indeed. He received my apologies in +silence, and, although never friendly, I had no cause to complain of his +treatment afterwards. Of the mate I saw nothing for two or three days, +for, although we left Havana the next morning, he was in such a woeful +condition, after his long debauch, that he could not leave his berth. +When he did appear he seemed to have forgotten who I was. His manner to +me was extremely brutal; in fact, he was a brute all round--although a +lively regard for his own skin made him careful how he treated the +curious crowd of "dagoes" forward. They were not at all a bad lot, and, +considering their limited vocabulary, got on fairly well with the work +of the ship. The little Frenchman, in particular, was like a bundle of +watch-springs. When he once comprehended an order, it was delightful to +see him execute it. But his desperate attempts to understand what was +said were quite pathetic. He spoke a mixture of Spanish and French, +which the others did not well understand; and at last he pitched upon me +as the only one he could hold anything like a conversation with, though +how we managed it I have now no idea. + +Everybody liked the old man. He was so genial, so simple, that it was a +pleasure to see him. But I am afraid he would have had a bad time of it +with a crew of Britishers. They appreciate a tight hand, and are quick +to take advantage of anything like easy-going on the part of their +officers. This polyglot crowd, however, gave no trouble; and, in spite +of the bungling stupidity of the mate, who never seemed to get quite +clear of the after-effects of his big drunk, things went on oiled +wheels. + +We were drawing near our port, when one afternoon, during a fine +wholesail breeze, there was a sudden gloom which rapidly overspread the +sky. Somebody was keeping a bad look-out, doubtless, for before any sail +could be reduced, a squall of wind and hail struck the vessel, throwing +her on her beam ends. It was so sudden that, although all halliards and +sheets were let fly at once, not a yard would come down, the ship lying +over at too great an angle. And above the roaring of the wind, and the +flapping of the flying canvas, the ominous rumble of the stone ballast +rattling down to leeward could be plainly heard. The deck was like the +wall of a house, and, when I saw the foaming sea rising up on the +leeside as high as the hatches, I felt sure she was turning bottom up. +By God's mercy, we had an old suit of sails bent, which the wind +stripped from the yards and stays like muslin. Great sheets of canvas +flitted away into the darkness to leeward, while the flying running-gear +cracked like volleys of musketry. Gradually as the pressure weakened she +righted, regaining as even a keel as the shifted ballast would allow, +and we were safe. But there were many pale faces besides mine, the old +captain especially looking terribly shaken up. + +Every stitch of canvas that had been set when the squall burst was gone, +and, as the weather gradually settled into a strong gale, there was a +desperate night's work ahead. In our position, with a great deal of land +about, it was imperatively necessary to get sail set; but before that +could be done it had to be "bent," that is, secured to the yards. Such a +task as this tests the capabilities of a crew very well. In a +man-of-war, where they can send a man to every roband, and a couple to +each earring, the job is fairly easy; but in a merchant-ship it means +almost superhuman labour, from the scarcity of hands. I shall not +attempt to describe the process, which bristles with technical details, +that cannot be grasped without a corresponding idea of the conditions of +work aloft in bad weather. Suffice it to say that by midnight the two +lower topsails, foresail, and fore-topmast staysail were set, and the +hands, thoroughly exhausted, allowed to rest a while. It was my first +experience of bad weather at sea, and I thought regretfully of the ease +and comfort of my late life. But a kind of philosophic determination not +to cry over spilt milk, which has attended me all my life, came to my +rescue, and prevented me from being too miserable. + +The poor old captain, however, was severely tried. Evidently his +fortitude and ability were less than he had imagined. He looked worn and +decrepit, a settled anxiety gave him a haggard appearance, and all hands +pitied him. The fine weather had entirely forsaken us, nothing but +fierce squalls and incessantly shifting winds prevailing until we made +Dog Island, at the entrance to Mobile Bay, under the lee of which we +came to an anchor. Our troubles were even then not over, for a gale +sprang up almost immediately, which raised so ugly a sea that the lively +vessel almost plunged bows under. All hands but the captain and myself +were aloft, furling the sails forward. I stood alone by the windlass, +ready to slack or make fast such running-gear as I was called upon to +look after, when, with a tremendous bound, the ship reared herself high +in air forrard, snapping the sorely-tried cable, the released links of +which flew aft over the windlass-barrel with a deafening crash and +shower of sparks. Everything was at once dropped aloft, the hands came +sliding down backstays at their best gait, and in less than five minutes +the other anchor was let go. Cable was veered away to ninety fathoms, +and fervent hopes expressed that she would hold, for night was almost +upon us, and our position was dangerous in the extreme. Happily the wind +hauled soon after, the sea became smooth, and we rode in comparative +comfort till noon next day, when a powerful tug came down and towed us +up among the shipping to a secure berth. + +A fine fleet of ships lay here, all loading cotton for Liverpool. Nor, +in spite of the number of vessels, was there any delay in commencing our +cargo, for the next day, after mooring, a gang of stevedores came on +board and set to work, with characteristic American energy, to prepare +the hold. Our captain left us for Mobile City in the same steamer that +brought them, returning with the first load of cotton, but only to bid +us farewell. He called us all aft, and, with a quivering lip, informed +us that he did not feel equal to taking the ship home. Therefore he had +determined to make way for a better man, who would be with us in a few +days. He thanked all hands for the way they had treated him, and then, +shaking hands all round, got into the boat and was rowed away to an +upward-bound steamer, which lay alongside our nearest neighbour, the +_Mary Durkee_. A hearty cheer followed him, which, if it lacked the +simultaneous volume peculiar to Britons, was certainly no less sincere. + +Then the cotton began to come in. The great loosely pressed bales, +weighing some six hundredweight each, were whipped on board like magic +by a single-purchase steam-winch on board the steamer, and tumbled into +the hold as fast as they came. Below, operations commenced by laying a +single tier of bales, side by side across the ship, on the levelled +ballast, leaving sufficient space in the middle of the tier to adjust a +jack-screw. Then, to a grunting chantey, the screw was extended to its +full length, and another bale inserted. The process was repeated until +at last long wooden levers were attached to the iron bars of the screw, +and the whole gang "tallied" on until the last possible bale was +squeezed into the tier, which was then almost as solid as a beam of +timber built into the ship. It was a point of honour among stevedores to +jam as many bales into a ship as she could possibly be made to contain, +and restraint was often needed to prevent the energetic workers from +seriously injuring vessels by the displacement of deck-planks, +stanchions, bulkheads, and even beams. + +On deck there was much to do. A winter passage across the Atlantic was +before us. The vessel had been greatly neglected in Havana, and a great +deal of sail-making had to be done. The mate, having obtained a demijohn +of "bug-juice" from one of the cotton-steamers, was constantly drunk; so +that all the work devolved upon the austere second mate, who toiled +early and late to keep matters in hand. Owing to the docility of the +crew, this was possible; but he was greatly relieved when one fine +morning a tall, determined-looking man with a sallow face, heavy black +moustache, and nasal twang arrived on board, and announced himself as +"Captain Jones, come to take command." Within half an hour of his +arrival, he had been all over the ship, had interviewed every member of +the crew, and had repeated at least a dozen times that he was a "down +Easter," and proposed to "run this packet Yankee fashion." With an +intuition I have always had, I determined at once that he was carrying a +good cargo of liquor; and it was as well for the besotted chief mate +that this was so, for he would not otherwise have been so friendly with +him, I'm sure. His rounds completed, he retired to the "saloon," +catching sight of me as he went, and appointing me cabin-boy on the +spot. My first duty was to call the mate into his presence. There and +then the two of them, seated _vis-a-vis_, began to drink themselves +speechless, while I stood in attendance, filling up their glasses until +they could no longer hold them. At last they rolled off their seats, and +lay across one another insensible. I retired and informed the steward, +who lifted his hands despairingly, exclaiming, "Fo' de good Lawd, dis +gwine ter be ole hell erfloat. One on 'em's bad nuff, but skipper en +mate bofe: wa' we gwine ter do _I_ doan know." But Captain Jones' +carouse only lasted a couple of days. At the expiration of that time he +"sobered up," and, though looking very demoralized, went about the ship +like a man that knew his business thoroughly and meant doing it. +Strangely enough, he allowed the mate to go on as he had been doing, +never interfering with him in any way. + +When two-thirds of our cargo was in, Captain Jones went up to the city +again. During his absence the stevedores quitted work and left us for +the Christmas holidays. By Christmas Eve there was not a steamer left in +the bay, and an aching sense of discontent manifested itself all through +the fleet. Not to speak of any festive provision, there was an actual +dearth of fresh stores of any kind, as no vessels had been down for +several days. Boats came and went from ship to ship on the same errand, +seeking wherewithal to make a Christmas dinner; but there was no hope, +all were alike unprovided. Gloom sat on every face as the prospect of a +salt-junk dinner on Christmas Day grew more definite, and the language +used about the matter was altogether improper and unseasonable. But, +just as dusk was stealing in, a solitary schooner was sighted coming +into the bay from the river under a press of canvas, which, in spite of +the light breeze prevailing, drove her along at a good pace. It was +quite dark by the time she reached us, and much to our surprise dropped +her anchor close aboard of us. As soon as she swung to the wind the +voice of Captain Jones hailed us from her deck, crying, "Send a boat +aboard!" He had no sooner spoken than a perfect chorus arose about him: +the squealing of swine, the cackling of geese, and the shrill war-cry of +turkeys. Blessed discord! filling us with visions of feasting too +delightful for speech. There was no delay in getting the boat afloat, +all hands being full of eagerness to assist. + +After receiving the skipper, the boat made a tour of the anchorage, +Captain Jones standing up as each ship was passed, and shouting the good +news at the top of his voice. Then returning to the schooner, the +boatmen laboured like Trojans to transfer the stock to our deck. Besides +the poultry and pigs, there was a huge pile of fresh beef, vegetables, +and enough drinkables to furnish a carouse for the combined crews of the +whole fleet. The transhipment was barely completed when customers began +to arrive. Soon we were the centre of a flotilla of boats, whose crews +lined our rails while the skippers examined the provisions. All the +lamps in the ship were lighted and hung about, and, a rostrum being +erected, Captain Jones began his auction. It was the strangest scene I +ever witnessed on board ship. Roars of laughter punctuated every remark +of the auctioneer, and, assisted by swiftly circulating bottles of +strong waters, the fun raged furiously until long past midnight. Then, +as the last of the visitors departed uproariously, our excited crowd +quickly calmed down, and quiet reigned until a late hour on Christmas +morning. Of the subsequent feast there is no need to speak. Sufficient +to say that it laid over all my experiences on board ship, for our +skipper, having cleared a goodly sum by his "cuteness" and enterprise, +could well afford to be generous; and he was. + +Four or five days elapsed before our stevedores returned, and the work +of shipping cargo re-commenced. But once they got to work again no more +time was lost. A week more saw every crevice, wherein it was possible to +jam, by the most violent means, a bale of cotton, utilized, and even +then the skipper growled because the time of year made it impossible for +him to risk carrying a few bales on deck. At last the day came on which +Captain Jones was to make his last journey to town to clear the ship for +sea. Before he went, he called all hands aft and offered to buy such +clothing as they required for the homeward passage. Being almost +destitute of "dunnage," I ventured to put in my plea for a little, but +was grievously disappointed. He would not buy me a rag, telling me that +I was not a wage-earner but a passenger, and he couldn't afford to spend +money out of his own pocket. Two days after we weighed for home. + +We had fairly good weather as we were swept through the tortuous Florida +Straits by the rush of the Gulf Stream, which, whether you will or not, +carries you to the north-east at the rate of a hundred miles in +twenty-four hours. But we were hardly clear of the land before a fierce +north-westerly gale came howling down upon us, and my sufferings +commenced in real earnest. For although I was supposed to be cabin-boy, +I had to be on deck almost as much as I was in the cabin. The mate +seemed to take a curious sort of pleasure in hazing me about, as if he +had some personal grudge against me, although I never could understand +why. I was so bitterly cold-footed that I stole a pair of the captain's +stockings--I had nothing but a pair of patent-leather shoes--for +footwear. They (the stockings) were very old, and I soon wore out the +feet, which I cut off at the ankles, sewed up the openings, and put +them on again. This ingenuity led to disaster, for springing up on the +after-house one day by the side of the captain, who was leaning against +it, he saw his initials on my leg. Investigation followed, in which I +pleaded my sufferings from cold and his refusal to get me anything to +wear in Mobile. My excuse was, of course, unacceptable, and, although he +did not beat me, I was forbidden the cabin precincts any more, and +compelled to go barefoot for the remainder of the passage. + +I was now in the mate's watch, and that worthy treated me with studied +brutality. I scarcely ever came within reach of him but I got a kick--he +seldom struck me with his hands. + +As we got farther to the eastward the weather grew worse and worse. Gale +succeeded gale with hardly a lull between, but our vessel being in such +fine trim, we were decidedly better off than as if she had been deep in +the water. At last, however, we fell in with a regular hurricane. Every +stitch of canvas was taken in but a storm-staysail, made of the heaviest +canvas woven, under which we lay-to until she gave a tremendous +weather-lurch, and, rolling to leeward with a vicious jerk, the +triangular patch of sail blew clean out of its bolt-ropes. From that +time we lay under bare poles for eighteen hours, during much of which I +sat on the poop beside the tiller, hauling back the slack of the +wheel-ropes, more dead than alive from the wet and cold. Never having +seen such a storm at sea before, I was dreadfully frightened, until I +saw how unconcernedly the sea-birds hovered about us. Then I reasoned +that if those tiny things were so secure, surely a big ship like ours +must be much more so. Unsound as my conclusion was, it comforted me, and +I had no more fear. A few days of light fine weather succeeded this +storm, during which everything was made ship-shape again aloft. The +captain was a prime seaman, and, having completely left off his +drinking, managed everything in first-rate style. But he never forgave +me for my theft, nor did he ever check the mate for his ill-usage of me. + +One lovely afternoon, to the surprise of all hands, the order was given +to shorten sail. There was not a cloud in the sky, and a gentle +south-westerly breeze was wafting us along about four knots an hour. +But, as the work of furling the upper canvas proceeded, the rumour went +round that the "glass," as seamen always term the barometer, was falling +very fast. It may have been, but for twenty-four hours we lay under +lower topsails and courses, not a trace of change in the serene weather +prevailing. In the first watch of the next night there stole over the +sky a gloomy shade, which deepened until the heavens were black. Not +black as night, or black as ink, but as if a pall of black velvet had +been suspended over the sea, scarcely higher than the mastheads. The +wind died completely away. The water was smooth as oil, and so still +that not a creaking rope or rattling sheave disturbed the deathlike +silence. When the look-out man struck four bells, the sound seemed to +wound like a sword-cut, so sharp and unnatural was its clangour. This +state of things lasted for about three hours. Then, gradually, tiny +threads of light ran waveringly in every direction, as if the solemn +dome of darkness above was cracking, and revealing an immense glow above +it. The brilliant crevices widened, grew longer and more vivid, until +the whole firmament was aglow with flashes of intensest light, while all +our spars were outlined in lambent flame. This display lasted for about +an hour, then faded away; the gloom disappeared, and the deep blue sky, +studded with innumerable stars and unflecked by a single cloud, extended +from horizon to horizon. This beautiful weather lasted for another +twenty-four hours, and then a gentle westerly breeze sprang up, which +gradually freshened, until we were flying along homeward at tremendous +speed, carrying every stitch of canvas the ship could stagger under. + +Meanwhile the mate's treatment of me got worse, until one night he dealt +me a savage kick, which hurled me off the poop on to the main deck, +where I lay insensible for some time. Although no bones were broken, I +had received such severe injury that I was unable to walk for two days. +During my confinement I made a desperate resolution, and, as soon as I +resumed work again, carried it into effect by boldly approaching my +merciless tyrant, and telling him that I was a consul's passenger, as he +very well knew. I promised him that if there was any law that could +reach him, I would endeavour to have him punished for his cruelty. And +now I said, "You can kill me if you like, I don't care." Much to my +surprise, he weakened at once, and for the remainder of the voyage I +was freed from his cowardly attacks. + +The brave westerly wind that was hurling us homeward acted as usual. +That is to say, it strengthened until, slowly and reluctantly, sail was +reduced to the two lower topsails and reefed foresail. The ship was so +buoyant that the mountainous seas which surrounded her, and often rose +upon either side to such a height as to make it appear as if we were +racing through a deep green valley, never broke on board. But the +skilful, courageous steering required could only be performed by a few +selected members of the crew. Several men had to be suddenly relieved of +the task, for their nerve failed them at sight of the mighty green walls +soaring above their heads, and they were within an ace of letting her +broach-to. This terrible calamity, which has been the end of so many +fine ships, occurs when the vessel swings broadside on to a great sea, +which either smashes her up or rolls her over. In the most favourable +cases much damage is bound to follow. We saw one sorrowful instance of +it in a brig, which we flew by, helpless to aid. She was just sinking, +the doomed crew clinging to the weather rigging as if to put off their +inevitable fate for a few fleeting minutes. A huge sea rose between us, +hiding her from view, and when we soared on the crest of the next one, +she was gone like a foam flake. + +Thus we ran until the colour of the water told us we were nearing the +land, and soon we saw through the flying spindrift the lonely outpost of +the Fastnet rock, with its sturdy lighthouse, which looked to me like +a beckoning finger. Then mist-wreaths and snow-squalls shut out +everything from view, except a barque, which, apparently going to +Liverpool like ourselves, kept steadily on about a mile in front of us. +So exactly did we keep in her wake that it looked as if we were +following her lead. The weather got thicker, but the gale was unabated, +and still we flew before it. Suddenly we were all startled by the report +of a gun, and out of the fog on the starboard bow loomed the figure of a +lightship with three ball-crowned masts. Our leader had disappeared. As +we passed the lightship she fired another gun, and a lift in the fog +showed the name on her side--_Coningbeg_. Still we kept on, all hands +watching the skipper's troubled face. But a sudden roar of "Breakers +right ahead!" sent all hands flying to the braces. Hard down went the +helm, and round came the ship on her heel, the spray from the heavy +following sea flying high over our topsail-yards, while the tender +vessel heeled over until the lee rail was under water. Not a moment too +soon, for the furious roar of the baffled breakers sounded deafeningly, +as their fleecy crests boiled and foamed under our lee only half a dozen +cables-length away. Slowly, slowly we clawed off that ugly reef. For +more than an hour the issue was in gravest doubt; then hope began to +revive as the good ship's weatherly qualities became manifest, and it +was plain to all that we were drawing clear. The breeze now began to +take off a bit, and more sail was made. Without any further incident, we +ran steadily up-channel to Point Lynas, where we got a pilot and a tug, +which by daylight brought us safely to an anchorage in the Mersey. We +only anchored for an hour or two, waiting for high water, when we were +coaxed into the Brunswick Dock, and made solidly fast on the side next +the street. As soon as ever I could do so unobserved, I slipped down a +fender lanyard and touched England with my feet, feeling a delightful +thrill as I did so. Why, I did not know, but the fact remains. A +homeless, friendless waif, with no prospects before me, no one to +welcome me, I rejoiced to be in England again, as if I, too, felt it +good to be at home. + +[Illustration: A huge sea rose between us, hiding her from view, and +when we soared on the crest of the next one she was gone like a foam +flake.] + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + +STRUGGLES IN LIVERPOOL AND LONDON. + + +In a very short time all hands had left the ship but myself. A decrepit +old man arrived from somewhere to act as watchman; but he took no notice +of me, and I made no advances. Not a word had been said to me by anybody +when they left the ship, and I was greatly in doubt as to whether I was +supposed to clear out like everybody else. But I was very sure that I +did not know where to go, and so I coiled myself up in my bunk and went +to sleep, as it was getting late. When I woke it was morning. A heavy +fall of snow had covered everything during the night, and the outlook +was as desolate and dreary as could be imagined. Making my way aft, I +found the cabin all locked up; so that, though I was ravenously hungry, +there was no chance of getting anything to eat. The ancient watchman was +fast asleep in the galley, into which I stole to warm my freezing bare +feet. As soon as I got the chill out of my bones I returned to the +fo'lk'sle, and found, to my delight, an old pair of boots that one of +the chaps had discarded. With these and some rags I covered my aching +feet, and then, mounting on the rail, looked long and eagerly +shorewards. Presently I made out, over the window of a small shop, the +legend, "Brunswick Dock Eating-house," and noted with satisfaction a +feather of smoke curling from one of the chimneys belonging to the +building. Hardly stopping to think, I slipped down a rope and ran across +the road, knocking boldly at the door. A ruddy-faced little girl about +my own age opened it, and said, hesitatingly, "What d'you want?" Trying +to look big, I said, "I'm a sailor belonging to that ship there, an' I +want to come an' lodge here till I'm paid off." With a doubtful glance +at my beggarly outfit, she said, "I'll go and call aunty," and ran off +upstairs. There was a glorious fire roaring in a great open fireplace at +the end of the low flagged room, so, without waiting permission, I +entered, and seated myself on a bench close to the bright blaze. In a +few minutes a sharp, business-like woman came down. In response to her +keen questions I told my story, carefully avoiding any reference to my +"passenger" status on board. Apparently she was satisfied, for in a very +short time I was supplied with such a breakfast as had long haunted my +hungry dreams. Rashers of toasted bacon, boiled eggs, new +bread-and-butter, fragrant coffee--it was just heavenly. All my miseries +were forgotten in present joys, and I ate and ate until, suddenly +looking up, I saw the little girl gazing at me with awe. No wonder she +was astonished. The way I was demolishing the food was a sight to see. +But, meeting my eye, she blushed crimson, and gabbled something in a +strange tongue (which I afterwards learned was Welsh) to her aunt, who +stood also looking at me with a good-humoured smile on her face. + +Being warmed and fed, two satisfactory experiences to which I had long +been a stranger, I was in no hurry to leave such comfortable quarters +for the bleak outer world. But during the morning I ran over to the +ship, and finding there the cook, I learned that she was to be paid off +the next day. I determined to present myself with the rest at the +shipping-office, although my hopes of getting any money were very faint. +Still I knew enough of the world to be certain that, without money, I +should not be allowed to remain at my present lodgings. So at the +appointed hour I marched up to the Sailors' Home, meeting with a cordial +welcome from my shipmates, especially the little Frenchman. Better +still, as each of them received their money, they very kindly gave me a +little, the total amount thus contributed being twenty-two shillings. +Then came my turn to appear at the pay table. My heart beat fast with +apprehension as I faced Captain Jones, my head only just appearing above +the counter. His words were gruff and his manner unkind, but I believe +he was moved with pity for my forlorn position, for he actually gave me +two pounds ten shillings, pay at the rate of one pound a month. I was so +glad that I knew not what to say, but I hastily retreated lest he should +change his mind and take the money away again. As fast as my legs would +carry me, I ran back to the boarding-house to exhibit my wealth to the +landlady. I had never had so much money of my own before, and was +proportionately elated, the thought of how much I needed it never +entering my head. The landlady immediately suggested that I should treat +her and her crony from next door, who was in conversation with her, at +which proposition I felt quite a man, and inquired loftily what the +ladies would take. A little drop of "Donovans" appeared to be the +favourite liquor, a totally unknown beverage to me, but I should have +agreed had it been champagne. The little niece was dispatched for it, as +well as a couple of bottles of ginger-beer for us, who were too young +and wise to thirst for "Donovans"--which I knew, as soon as it arrived, +to be rum. + +To do my landlady justice, she interested herself in getting me some +decent clothing, and promised to keep me on what remained of my money +until I got another ship or some employment ashore. But getting a ship, +I found, was an impossible task. My diminutive size and weakly +appearance obtained for me only derision when I ventured to ask for a +berth on what I considered likely-looking craft, and it soon appeared +hopeless to look in that direction any more. Help came from an +unexpected quarter. Next door to my lodging-place was the workshop of a +figure-head carver, who was a young, energetic man of great skill, and +very intimate with my landlady. He was kind enough to employ me in his +business, where I soon became useful in sharpening tools and +roughing-out work for him and his brother to finish. He paid me +sufficient for my board and lodging, which, considering that he was +teaching me his trade, was very generous. Here I was quite happy, for +my new master was kindness itself; and I believe I was really quick to +profit by all I was taught, so as to be worth my pay. But my evil genius +pursued me still. His brother became jealous of the attentions I +received, and, after I had been with them a couple of months, quarrels +between them on my account were of almost daily occurrence. This +unsatisfactory state of things culminated in my getting knocked +senseless one morning by my enemy during his brother's absence at a job. +When Mr. R. returned he was alarmed at my appearance, for I had an ugly +cut on the head which made me look quite ghastly. A tremendous row +followed, the upshot of which was that Mr. R. sorrowfully informed me +that he was obliged to send me away before serious harm was done. He +advised me to return to London, where I was better known (?), and gave me +ten shillings to pay my fare thither. I took his advice forthwith, +finding no difficulty in getting a half ticket to Euston, where I +arrived with two shillings and sixpence in my pocket. + +The well-known streets looked strange to me after my long absence. In +fact, I felt more in the way than ever. I knew nobody that could or +would shelter me, and I had got out of the way of street life. +Husbanding my scanty store of coppers as well as I could, I haunted +Thames Street in the hope that I might pick up a coaster at the King's +Head, where, in those days, skippers of small craft used to get most of +their crews. There is a cook-shop with a tank of pea-soup in the window, +where for a penny I could always get a bellyfull of the thick, +comforting stuff--the best value for money in the grub line that I knew +of, and I was no bad judge. It--the tank--used to be cleaned out every +three days, and a fresh jorum of soup made. On the first day it was +comparatively thin; on the second, being filled up without removing the +solid matter settled at the bottom, it was better; but on the third day +you could almost cut it--a spoon would stand upright in it. And, anxious +to clear it out, they gave bigger penn'orths. I often used to go without +on the second day, so that I could have two separate portions on the +third; after which I felt as bloated as an alderman after a civic feast. +But the pence failed, and I picked up very few more; so that, though I +slept in any hole or corner I could find, to avoid the expense of +lodgings, the time soon came when I was face to face with starvation +again. Then a bright idea occurred to me, so obvious that I wondered why +it hadn't struck me before. I had my discharge from the _Sea Gem_. I +would seek a kindly boarding-master, and ask him to keep me till I got a +ship, paying himself out of my advance. I knew better than to go to the +so-called "Sailors' Home." They don't take in hard-up seamen there. It +is only a home for those who can pay down for their accommodation. + +With my fortunate idea burning in my mind, I hastened down the West +India Dock Road, attacking the first house I saw with "boarding-house +for seamen" painted up over it. The proprietor, an old bo'sun, grumbled +at my request a good deal, but he took me in, God bless him! More than +that, he got me a ship three days after by means of his influence that +way, and once again I was freed from the misery of being masterless. The +vessel in which I was to sail was a splendid barque, reminding me +strongly of the luckless _Discoverer_, and about the same size. I shall +call her the _Bonanza_, for reasons of my own, though that was not her +name. She was bound to a port in Jamaica, with a general cargo for new +owners, and with a new captain and officers. When we came up to sign on +at "Green's Home," I found, to my delight, that I was to have twenty +shillings a month. Like all the rest, I received a month's advance, out +of which my boarding-master paid himself, and provided me with a +"donkey's breakfast" (straw-bed), hook-pot, pannikin, and plate; a +knife, and a suit of oilskins. So _he_ didn't rob me to any great +extent. He also gave me a few odds and ends of clothing, which had been +left by boarders, out of which, being a fair hand with my needle, I +managed to botch up enough garments to change. I bade him good-bye with +hearty feelings of gratitude, which he fully deserved, and took my +departure on board my ship. + + + + +CHAPTER IX. + +BOUND FOR JAMAICA. + + +All hands had been ordered on board in the afternoon, the tide serving +about five p.m., but from some unexplained cause we did not sail at the +time appointed. This delay led to complications, for although the crew +had, for a wonder, come on board fairly sober, they all rejoiced at the +opportunity afforded them of a last carouse. By some mysterious means +some money was obtained; all hands departed for the purlieus of +Shadwell, with the result that at ten o'clock the officers were scouring +the slums hunting for them. It was a hopeless task, as the event proved, +for by midnight only two had been found, and they were both helplessly +drunk. They were dragged on board like bundles of rags, and hoisted into +their bunks, where they remained in peace. That tide being lost, the +officers had a few hours' rest, turning out again about four a.m. to +renew the search. Meanwhile the vessel was shifted into the Shadwell +Basin, ready to start the moment her crew were on board. The morning +broke cheerlessly enough with a light fall of snow, gradually increasing +to a blinding mist of white, through which occasionally a little party +came dragging some oblivious mariner, who had spent his respite in +filling himself with whatever fire-water he could obtain. At last, weary +of waiting, the skipper determined to go on, although he was still two +men short. Accordingly the warps were cast off, the tug backed in and +took hold of us, and away we went down the river through the thick veil +of snow that made the "mud pilot's" job both difficult and dangerous. +There was another boy besides me, a burly fellow of sixteen, who very +soon made it clear to me that I was not going to lead a pleasant time +with him. He had come from the _Warspite_, and knew nothing of the ways +of merchant-ships, which gave me a little advantage over him in one way. +But he was well provided with plenty of warm clothing, by the bounty of +the Marine Society, while I was so thinly clad that the piercing cold +benumbed all my faculties, and I crawled about like a snail, making a +very bad impression upon the officers. Our arrival at Gravesend came as +a blessed relief, for there was a good hot meal of fresh food ready as +soon as the anchor was down. And as all the seamen were in a deep, +drunken slumber, Bill, my colleague, and myself had a mighty feed all to +ourselves, after which we turned in, and slept unmolested till +supper-time. The skipper had gone ashore to get a couple of men in place +of the defaulters, and did not return till after dark. He brought two +sober seamen with him, who looked as though they had been outward-bound +for a very long time. Their cheeks were quite hollow with hunger, and +they had hardly more clothing than they stood in. Yet they were both +able men, proving indeed the best seamen on board. After they had eaten +a good meal, they were set to keep anchor-watch turn about, until at +midnight all hands were called to man the windlass. + +I wish it was possible to give my readers an idea of the misery involved +in this operation under such conditions. First of all, the officers were +obliged to drag the sodden sleepers from their lairs; then to shake, if +possible, some gleam of sense into them, some faint idea of what was +required of them. After nearly an hour's struggle, the miserable men +were at last mustered on the fo'lk'sle head at the windlass levers, +where, exposed to the full fury of the bitter wind, they cowered more +like sheep than men. Their feelings, as the drink died out of them, and +the cold searched their very vitals, must have been horrible. +Occasionally one of them would slip down gently from the fo'lk'sle and +disappear, only to be hunted up again by the vigorous boatswain, who +kept a watchful eye upon any would-be skulkers. More by dint of the +bo'sun's energy, I believe, than any vitality in the limp crew, the +anchor was at last lifted, the hawser passed to the hovering tug, and +away we glided ghost-like down-stream. Ben, the big boy, and myself were +pretty well fagged out with hauling back the big links of cable, and +stowing them in neat fakes abaft the windlass; but the bo'sun believed +in keeping boys on the go, so we got no time to think about being tired. +Luckily for us the wind was dead on end, so that it was useless making +sail. All hands were kept busily employed clearing up the decks, +getting the running-gear into its proper places, and generally preparing +the ship for independent travelling. By daylight the weather grew +better, the wind veered to the eastward a little, and the fore-and-aft +sails were set. So we drew slowly round to the North Foreland, where the +tug slipped our hawser; all sail was set, and we were fairly started on +our voyage. As I got a little warmth into my stiffened limbs, I won back +some of the good opinion I had forfeited by my clumsy, spiritless +movements of the previous day. Being sent aloft to loose some of the +square sails, I was cheered by hearing the elderly mate remark quietly, +"That's a smart little boy," and I must confess I was not displeased to +note that Ben only succeeded in drawing down maledictions on his head +for his clumsiness and general inability to do what was required of him. +There was a vengeful gleam in his eye, as he saw how inferior he was in +smartness to myself, which boded no good to me, and from the first day +out he never lost an opportunity of doing me an ill turn. + +The captain was a fine, manly specimen of a seaman, with glowing red +hair and beard, and a voice of thunder. Fiery tempered, yet easily +pacified, he was also one of the most energetic of men, and I never saw +a skipper better liked by his crew. The mate was a middle-aged man, at +least ten years the captain's senior, rather slow and sedate, but a +thorough seaman and navigator. The bo'sun, who was acting second mate, +was an old shipmate of the skipper's, and quite his equal in energy. He +was one of that fast-decaying type of seamen, a Blackwall rigger, to +whom every detail of sailorizing was as familiar as eating his +breakfast. Besides this, he was a born leader of men, who would enforce +his will regardless of consequences. No man durst give him "slack lip" +on pain of being instantly knocked endways; a feat of which, by reason +of his size and strength, he was fully capable. As a result we were a +well-disciplined crowd, from whom no growling was heard whatever the +work imposed. There were eight A.B.'s, out of whom only three were +foreigners; but not one of them calls for any special description from +me. They all had the bad old idea that boys were born slaves, who must +do all the dirty work on deck, and when below be content with their +leavings, wait upon them hand and foot, and take uncomplainingly all the +ill-treatment it was their prerogative to bestow. Being at the bottom of +the scale, I had a wretched life. For I was no match for Ben, who +unfailingly passed on his share of blows to me, so that I was seldom +without some visible marks of ill-usage. But the food was certainly +above the average. The skipper had the provisioning of the ship, and, +being a just man, he did not do as so many would have done under the +same circumstances: starve the men to fatten his own pocket. What with +the decent meals, and the masterfulness of the bo'sun, she was a +contented ship, and more work was done in a day on board than I have +ever seen before or since. As usual on this passage, fine weather +prevailed, the wind being so steady that for days together we never +touched a brace. This was taken advantage of by the skipper to +practically refit the ship, all hands being kept at work all day long +splicing, turning-in blocks, serving shrouds, fitting new running-gear, +and doing rigger's work generally. At night they all slept, with the +exception of the helmsman, the look-out man, the officer of the watch +and a boy, who had to keep near the officer to carry his commands to the +sleepers should the need arise. Really I was kept so constantly at work +that, for all I saw of the sea and its marvels, I might as well have +been ashore. Except at night, and then I was always half asleep through +getting so little legitimate opportunity for rest. + +Twenty-eight days flew rapidly past without a single incident worth +noting, the same blue sky overhead, and steady breeze astern, until one +morning the beautiful shores of Jamaica loomed up ahead. A few hours +later we sailed in between the points of a sheltering coral reef to an +anchorage in the pretty little harbour of Falmouth, pompously announcing +our arrival by the firing of a four-pounder gun as the anchor was +dropped. While we were furling sails and clearing up the decks, visitors +were arriving from the four vessels in harbour as well as from the +shore, so that by the time work was over our decks were thronged. The +skipper seemed a prime favourite here, judging by the number of people +who came to see him and congratulate him upon his new command--the +largest vessel that had yet entered the little port. There were high +times forrard as well as aft, for canoe-loads of good things were +brought, and all hands invested recklessly on credit, forgetting that +as yet they had no money owing to them by the ship. Not only eatables +but sundry bottles of new rum made their appearance, which potent fluid +soon made things exceedingly lively in the fo'lk'sle. Matters +culminated, of course, in a free fight, which so alarmed me that I crept +into a corner under the heel of the bowsprit, out of the way of the +revellers. There I went to sleep so soundly that it was morning when I +again emerged at the hoarse cry of the boatswain calling us to "turn +to." + +The darkies here were even merrier than my old friends of Demerara. Such +a jovial, musical lot I never saw. Living from hand to mouth on the +coarsest food, and with the oddest assortment of rags for clothing +possible to be imagined, they really seemed to be perfectly happy. The +feeblest joke was sufficient to send them into convulsions of laughter, +and the gift of an old shirt or pair of pants would keep them on the +broad grin for a couple of days. My life was so consistently miserable +from harsh treatment, that I continually envied them their careless +existence, wondering all the time how they managed to be so jolly under +what I often saw to be painful circumstances. To crown my misfortunes I +fell ill. After suffering for two or three days, I was sent ashore to +hospital. Then I was thankful for what I had thought the climax of my +misery. For in the hospital I was allowed to do pretty well as I liked. +There was no discipline, no rule of any kind. The doctor, as we called +him (I think he must have been the dispenser), was a mulatto, or +quadroon, with a comical notion of his vast importance, but a kindly +young fellow enough. Sometimes I had medicine; but only by accident, I +believe. At any rate, I soon got better, and rambled about the great +building or played on the beach outside with the darky boys of about my +own age, forgetting that such a place as the _Bonanza's_ fo'lk'sle +existed. At last I began to hope that the captain had forgotten my +existence, having some dim idea, I suppose, that I might be allowed to +spend an indefinite time in this pleasant way. But I was to be rudely +undeceived. One day, when I was presiding with much importance over a +game at cricket (much I knew about it), with twenty or thirty youngsters +of almost as many shades of colour around me, I suddenly heard my +captain calling me, with an angry note in his voice that boded me no +good. He had come up from the town to inquire about me, and had caught +me unaware. "You lazy young sodjer!" he cried, "this is how sick you +are, is it? I'll give you a lesson for this! Get down to the boat!" The +thought of returning to the ship was so terrible to me that I actually +dared to ask him to let me go--to discharge me. In a voice that shook +with fear and anxiety I told him how I had been treated, and implored +him not to take me back with him. I believe he was half-melted, but his +anger at what he thought was my skulking got the better of him. "Serve +you very well right," he said. "I'll give you a rope's-ending myself +when I've got time. Now be off with you, straight down to the boat." +With that he strode on to the hospital, while I, feeling as if I was +going to the scaffold, trudged through the sand down to the +landing-place. In about an hour he returned, but said no word more to me +as the boat danced over the wavelets back to that hateful prison. It was +"knock-off" time, and I busied myself in sweeping up decks with all the +alacrity I could muster, until I was free to fetch my many masters their +tea from the galley. They hailed me with many sarcastic queries after my +health, and the noble time they supposed I had enjoyed ashore at their +expense, commiserating Ben exceedingly for having been obliged to do my +work, as they said, while I had been loafing ashore. Happily I got over +the evening without anything worse than hard words being thrown at me. +Some grievance or another had excited the anger of a big Irishman, and +he soon monopolized all attention by a recital of his wrongs. It +appeared that the bo'sun had "got a down on him," in his opinion; but if +the bo'sun thought that he, Mike, was going to be played with, that was +just where he was all adrift. He, Mike, was a blank Fenian, so he was, +an' he'd just shwim in blood before he was put upon by any blank +dock-walloper that ever mooched around Blackwall, so he would. In the +fervour of his harangue he omitted to notice how he had raised his +voice; but he was presently reminded of it by the voice of the bo'sun at +the fo'lk'sle door, calling, "Mike, I want you a minute!" There was +complete silence in a moment, which reigned until the bo'sun repeated +his words, with the quiet addition, "You don't want me to fetch you +out, I s'pose?" Then Mike protested feebly that it was his watch below, +that he was having his supper, that various reasons, in fact, prevented +him from emerging. Like a tiger the bo'sun leapt into the crowded space. +There was a medley of arms, heads, and legs, a hubbub of inarticulate +noises, but out of it all the bo'sun and Mike emerged on deck. How they +got there, I don't believe any one knew. I heard the bo'sun imploring +Mike to stand up to him like a man, and Mike piteously reminding him +that he was by no means his match, that he was twenty years older (which +was nearly true). "Very well, then," said the boss, "not so much of your +slack next time. If you're an old man, behave like one, an' don't open +your mouth so wide, in case anybody jumps down your throat." There was +peace after that. Not even a word was said to me when I ventured to +crawl into the raffle of rags which was my bunk. + +At daylight next morning all hands were called to get under way. In the +cabin the skipper had been entertaining a large party of friends, who +had been keeping up an extensive carouse all night. Uproariously they +departed their several ways as we toiled at the windlass, while boats +from all the other vessels in port came and fastened on to us to assist +us out from between the reefs. Such aid was absolutely necessary unless +the miserably slow method of warping out by a kedge-anchor was resorted +to. For in these West Indian ports there is invariably, during the +night, a gentle air from the land, which soon after daybreak dies away +to a complete calm, lasting perhaps an hour, and succeeded by the +invigorating "doctor," or sea-breeze. This latter soon gathers strength +and blows more or less forcibly all day long. In consequence of this it +becomes imperative to gain an offing before the "doctor" begins, in +order that the vessel may be able to fetch off the land in the teeth of +an increasing breeze. + +Having assisted us to get about two miles out, the boats cast off from +us, and with many hearty farewells returned to port, taking with them +our pilot. A stark calm succeeded as usual, during which all hands +lounged about and whistled for a breeze, until some of the keener +observers noticed that the strong undertow was sweeping us rapidly +towards a long spit of sand that stretched seaward, about three miles to +the northward of us. Presently the mate's anxiety constrained him to +approach the captain, who, with flushed face and abstracted air, was +pacing the poop, and suggest that the anchors might be prepared for +letting go. Strange to say, the skipper received this hint with a bad +grace, answering his officer so abruptly and angrily that his words were +distinctly audible all over the ship. The mate, whose age and +experience, apart from his other undeniably good qualities, entitled him +to very different treatment, bowed and retired, evidently much hurt. A +short period of silence followed, while the vessel, her sails hanging as +if carved in stone, and her hull motionless, as if in dry dock, was +being carried along over the now visible coral bottom at the rate of +nearly four knots an hour. At last the bo'sun, unable to contain +himself, strode up to the captain and said boldly, "Cap'n----, if you +don't anchor this ship'll be ashore in another ten minutes." "Get off my +poop, you impudent rascal! How dare you come an' speak to me like that! +For two pins I'd put you in irons. D'ye think I don't know my duty? I +never heard such cheek in my life!" and he stamped with fury. But the +bo'sun simply said, "Well, don't you say you wasn't warned, that's all," +and, turning on his heel, left the angry, unreasonable man to himself. +By this time all hands were fully possessed of the idea that only a +miracle could save the ship, for the reef seemed to be actually touching +the keel through the clear water which was carrying us so swiftly over +it. And the idea of the vessel's loss filled me with unholy joy. No one +could realize how terribly I dreaded the homeward passage, and, now that +deliverance seemed so near, I could hardly restrain my feelings. +Slinking into the empty forecastle, I waited breathlessly for the crash +I felt sure was imminent. It came, a long grinding sensation, like a +boat grounding on a pebbly beach magnified a thousand times. Almost +delirious, I danced about the place, in the middle of which unpardonable +exercise I was discovered by the bo'sun. Outraged beyond speech, he +dealt me one savage kick, which put all dancing out of my power for many +a day, and for the present stretched me motionless on the deck. Not, +however, to lie there long, for hearing my name shouted outside, I +dragged myself up, mustering all my energy, and hobbled off to obey the +call before some worse thing should befall me. + +I found all hands toiling like ants, getting out anchors and hawsers, +and doing all that experience could suggest to free the vessel from the +position of danger into which she had been brought so recklessly. But +the calm was over, the sea-breeze had commenced, and was increasing so +fast that already the hitherto placid sea was beginning to foam. +Breakers, too, born of the jagged reef so close to the surface, were +rolling in steadily, although as yet they were of puny height and +weight. Being at so short a distance from the port we had left, our +plight was plainly visible to those on shore. Consequently, in a couple +of hours, every boat of sufficient size in the place was alongside. +Scores of willing hands plied every means by which good might be done, +but the steady increase in wind and sea, driving directly shoreward, +mocked all efforts at heaving the ship off. There were no steam vessels +either in Falmouth or the adjacent ports, so that, when every purchase +that could be got upon the anchors and cables laid out astern was +brought to a standstill, that branch of the work was perforce abandoned. + +Then the cargo was attacked at all three hatches, everybody working as +if their very lives depended upon their labours. The negroes especially +seemed to regard the whole affair as a gigantic spree, for without +abating one jot of their labours, they yelled, sang, danced about, and +behaved generally like a pack of schoolboys just let loose without any +supervision. As the day wore on the wind increased to a strong gale, and +the rollers attained so formidable a height that at times they lifted +the vessel bodily from her jagged bed of rock, letting her fall again +with a crash that threatened to shake all her stout timbers apart. After +each of these blows she seemed to slide seawards a little, but all her +buoyancy was gone--the stern went down at an increasing angle, and the +water rose in the hold so freely that it was evident there were some +serious gaps in the hull. Still the work went on. Drogher after drogher +left us filled with salvage, while others crowded as near as they dared +to receive the bags, cases and bundles, that were constantly being +hurled overside. By nightfall all our own crew were worn out, and +transferred to one of the small craft which clung to our side receiving +the salved cargo. Each man secured what he could of his poor belongings, +but I, being unable in the scramble and confusion to get hold of the few +rags composing my stock of clothing, contented myself with carrying off +an old wide-awake hat containing five blind kittens. The anxious mother +kept me close company, much to the amusement of the toiling darkies. + +All through the night the wind maintained a most unusual force, and hour +by hour the work of salvage became increasingly difficult. Every package +had to be dived for into the blackness of the hold, which was quite full +of water up to the hatch-coamings. Great torches of tarred rope, lashed +to conspicuous points, roared and flared in the gale. By their uncertain +glare the black toilers darted hither and thither with astounding energy +and a deafening incessant tumult of wild song. Every one was +mother-naked, and their ebony skins shone like those of a school of +gambolling porpoises. At each tremendous lift and heave of the doomed +vessel all hands would make a frantic rush to the side, leaping with +blood-curdling yells into the waiting droghers. But the instant it was +seen that she yet survived the shock, back they all came and attacked +the cargo with renewed vigour. At last a bigger breaker than ever came +along, rearing its hoary crest against the paling sky. Reaching the +vessel, it enwrapped her in masses of shining foam, lifting her at the +same time with such power that for half a minute she seemed all afloat. +As it receded, the ill-used hulk, as if loth to leave its embrace, slid +along the reef with a rending crash, nor stopped until all that remained +visible of her was the jibboom, pointing upward to the sky like a +warning beacon. In the whirl of weltering foam left by her sudden exit, +the droghers danced like mad things, all having been cut adrift as the +yelling crowd sprang from the sinking ship. As nothing more could +possibly be done for the present, the little fleet made sail, and stood +in towards the town with their spoil. In every conceivable and +inconceivable position the utterly wearied negroes lay about asleep, +regardless of the flying spray or such minor inconveniences as being +trampled upon by the crews. I found a snug corner out of everybody's +way, and there, cuddling my cats, I, too, fell into sweet oblivion. When +I awoke, the vessel was just taking the beach in front of the town. The +sun was only just rising, but all the population of Falmouth appeared to +be there, and intensely solicitous for our welfare. We were +immediately taken to the "hotel," only a few hundred yards away, and all +manner of creature comforts pressed upon us with kindly persistence, as +if we had been adrift for a month. Suddenly I realized that I was quite +a centre of attraction--the fact of my having rescued the kittens +appearing to appeal to all the visitors in a way that I should hardly +have believed possible. But, indeed, our reception generally was so kind +that we were all in danger of being spoiled. Within the memory of the +oldest inhabitant no wreck of such importance had occurred near the +port, and consequently, I suppose, we reaped the benefit of +long-suppressed benevolence. + +[Illustration: At each tremendous lift and heave of the doomed vessel +all hands would make a frantic rush to the side.] + + + + +CHAPTER X. + +ADVENTURES OF A SHIPWRECKED CREW. + + +The hotel to which we had been brought upon our arrival was, although +the only one in the place, far too small to stand the strain of such an +influx of visitors as we were, as far as sleeping accommodation went. +Therefore arrangements were made for our lodgment in an empty house in +town, while for all meals we were to return to the hotel. To this +sheltering place we were escorted by a delighted band of darkies, who +insisted upon carrying such traps as we possessed, and also worked like +bees to sweep and cleanse the house. Such bedding as we had was spread +upon the floor in a big front-room, and in Oriental fashion; with the +sailor's ready adaptability to circumstances, we made ourselves +comfortable. We had plenty of company, for the whole coloured population +made holiday and visited us. Few came empty handed, the majority +bringing such gifts as they thought would please us: mostly fruit, +tobacco, and rum. There was such abundance of the latter, that by +dinner-time there was a universal debauch, from which I gladly escaped. +Making my way down to the beach I found the work of salvage in full +swing, for the hull of the ship had broken apart so much that the +floatable cargo was coming ashore in great quantities. Puncheons of rum, +bundles of walking-sticks, cakes of bees-wax and innumerable cocoa-nuts +were heaped in scattered piles upon the beach, each of which was guarded +by some one, whose allies were either scouring the shores or paddling +furiously after some piece of flotsam apparently worth pursuit. +Everywhere I found friends. Such a godsend as this had not fallen to the +lot of the dusky Falmouthians before, and they were willing to recognise +even the humblest member of the crew as in some sense a benefactor. When +I got tired of roaming about the beach, I sought the hotel for something +more satisfying than fruit, and was received by the host's buxom +daughter, Marian, with great delight. She had taken charge of my hatful +of kittens, and showed me, with manifest pride, how comfortable the old +cat and her blind progeny had been made. Ungrateful puss would hardly +recognise me, her changed circumstances had made her forget old but +humble friends. + +Noticing that I limped considerably, Marian inquired anxiously whether I +had cut my foot, which made me smile, since, not having worn boots for +months, my natural soles were almost as hard as tanned leather. But I +admitted that there was something hurting me a great deal, upon which +she peremptorily ordered me to sit down while she had a look. A short +search resulted in her finding the place, which she proceeded to +investigate with a needle, and presently drew therefrom a bag about as +large as a marrowfat pea, which she opened, and showed me was full of +tiny eggs. "You'se had dem chigoes mighty bad, chile," she said, "but I +gwineter put stop to 'em right now." With that she went and fetched a +tub of warm water. After bathing my feet thoroughly, she searched most +carefully for more of these pests, finding two other nests, full like +the first, of eggs, but which had caused me only a slight itching +sensation. Having removed all she could see, she made a vile compound of +tobacco-ash and kerosene, which she rubbed into the wounds, causing me +exquisite pain. It took all my fortitude to keep from screaming, and I +was unable to prevent a few big tears dropping. With many strange words +of endearment she assured me of her sympathy, but declared this heroic +treatment to be the only way of effecting a radical cure. I have no +doubt that she firmly believed in her treatment, and I must admit that +in the end it was certainly effectual; but it was so harsh that I was +quite crippled for over a week. During this miserable time I was a close +prisoner in our empty house, being generally alone during the day, while +through most of the night the drunken antics of my shipmates kept me in +constant terror. Nevertheless there was some slight consolation, for by +some means it had got about that I could sing, and I was sent for by the +officers of the garrison to warble some of my simple ditties for their +amusement. As I was unable to walk, the messengers made a rude litter, +upon which they carried me to the hotel, where I was propped up in an +armchair while I sang. The generosity of the officers provided me with +plenty of money, unfortunately of no service to me, since I dared not +refuse the constant demands of my shipmates, who, of course, had none of +their own. I made two or three friends among the better-class people in +the town, who gave me quite a respectable bag of half-worn clothes, and +also promised their aid in other directions. + +At last, after the lapse of three weeks, during which time a perfunctory +sort of inquiry into the loss of the vessel was held, and the captain +acquitted of all blame, it was decided to send all the crew round to +Kingston, whence we might get shipped home. A small schooner was +chartered for this purpose, as no steamers ran round the island; and +after considerable delay, provisions for three days were put on board, +and we set sail, doubtless much to the relief of those worthies who had +been obliged to feed such a hungry horde as we were. But, to our great +disgust, we found at the first meal-time that, in addition to the stock +of food being disgracefully small, it consisted solely of ship-biscuit, +yams, and salt beef of the worst sort. If the kind providers of this +outfit could have been affected by the maledictions of our party, they +certainly would not have survived the first day of our voyage; after +that, the subject dropped from very monotony. Calms and light airs +prevailed, and all faces began to lengthen when, on the evening of the +third day, the cook announced that the last of the supply of food was +before us for supper, while our passage was only beginning. Luckily a +young shark was caught, making us a meagre breakfast. Then hunger +stared us in the face. We were at least fifteen miles off the land, with +a dead calm, and nothing but water left to supply the needs of fourteen +hungry men. No fish came to our hooks, no vessels came near us, and, as +there was nothing whatever to occupy the men's minds, the subject of +food-supply was soon discussed threadbare. Then, as often happens among +crews similarly situated, the possibility of there being a Jonah among +us was mooted, and called forth an amazing variety of opinions and +reminiscences. Unhappily for me, the bo'sun was indiscreet enough to let +out the story of my behaviour at the time of the vessel's striking on +the reef. He told it laughingly, referring, with a good deal of +satisfaction, to the swinging kick he had dealt me, the bruise from +which had not even then disappeared. But the effect of his statement +upon those ignorant and frightened men was most strange and significant. +They accepted it without question as positive proof: first, that all +their misfortunes were due to the presence of a Jonah among them, and, +secondly, that I was that Jonah! + +It may be found difficult of belief that, among the crew of a London +ship in the year 1871, such a thing should have been possible; but I +solemnly declare it to be true that they at once decided that unless I +were cast overboard they would never reach Kingston. I was immediately +seized by them and commanded to say my prayers quickly, as I had only a +few minutes to live. I looked at those cruel, brutish faces and saw no +gleam of pity; I cried for mercy in incoherent terms while they only +scowled. With trembling lips, and scarcely beating heart, I tried to do +as they told me--say my prayers; but my senses were fast leaving me, and +I do not really know what I did say. Then one of them tied my hands +behind my back with a bit of fishing-line; and this act first seemed to +awaken the three negroes, who were the crew of the schooner, to the fact +that murder was intended. It almost drove them crazy with fear and +horror. Regardless of the odds against them, they rushed to my rescue, +only to be beaten back with the assurance that little would make my +tormenters serve them the same. The bitterness of death was almost past, +when, to my unbounded amazement, and renewing all my hopes of life, help +came from the most unexpected quarter. The bo'sun, who, I do not think, +had realized himself how far in earnest they were until then, suddenly +bestirred himself, making one stride across the deck to where I lay, +hardly conscious. Oh, how god-like I thought him! The scene returns to +me across the chasm of years as vividly as a photograph. His manly +figure, erect before my poor little shrinking body, and the sweep of his +strong right arm as he drove those bloodthirsty pagans back, will never +fade from my mind. "That's enough now," he said, "ye ---- idiots. Did ye +think I was goin' ter let yer drown the kid? S'elp me, ef I thought yer +really meant it, damfi wouldn't drown two or three of ye meself, ye +yelpin' cowardly scum!" For a short minute or so they faced him, their +eyes glaring with the lust of superstitious cruelty, and then (it should +be remembered that there were ten of them) they slank away, muttering +blasphemies between their clenched teeth. With a bitter laugh of +derision he stooped and cut my hands adrift from the lashing, and then +resumed his pipe as if nothing extraordinary had happened. It hardly +needs saying that I cowered close to his side, nor did I once get out of +arm's length of him during the remainder of that passage. + +Happily for us a breeze sprang up, sending the schooner bustling along +at a good rate into the harbour of Savannah Le Mar, where we arrived +late that evening. By some means or other, which I don't understand, +considering our penniless condition, a good supply of yams, salt fish, +and water was obtained, and we set sail again at about ten p. m. by the +light of the incandescent moon. Our troubles were at an end for the +time, the wind holding strong and fair; so that in less than forty-eight +hours we were running in swiftly past Port Royal and up to the wharves +at Kingston. + +It probably had never occurred to any one of us to doubt that when we +arrived there it would be all plain sailing for us. As shipwrecked +seamen, and in a British port, we naturally supposed that all we needed +to do was to march in a body to the Sailors' Home, show our credentials, +and be received with the warmest of welcomes. And the rest of our stay, +until ships were found for us to go home again in, would, of course, be +one delightful round of eating, drinking, and sleeping, varied by such +amusements as the place afforded. Accordingly, every man shouldered his +belongings, and off we marched, guided by friendly darkies, to the +Sailors' Home, which we entered with the air of proprietors. It was a +fine, large building, with a double row of verandahs and an air of +coolness and comfort extremely grateful to us after our miserable trip +in the schooner. We were received with great courtesy, and shown to the +dormitory, which, with its rows of clean beds and white +mosquito-curtains, looked like fairyland. We were told that breakfast +would be ready in a few minutes; so all hands had a good wash, hastening +down grubwards at the first stroke of the welcome bell. There appeared +to be scarcely any other boarders; at any rate, there were none visible +then. Coffee and bread were brought, and then a white man came, who +introduced himself as the superintendent. He called our attention to the +fact that there were three tariffs here, according to the kind of food +desired, and wished to know which of them we would choose. The bo'sun +replied that, as we were the guests of our country, we might as well +have the best, and added that, as we were somewhat sharp-set, the sooner +we got it the happier we should be. "Oh," said the official; "if that's +the case, I'm afraid I can't take you in. I've had no orders; and our +rule here is payment in advance." Blank amazement overspread every face, +and half a dozen voices volubly attempted to explain the situation. But +to all remarks, remonstrances, and objurgations, the superintendent was +adamant. He had no doubt it was all true enough; but he had no +instructions on our behalf, and, until he had, we could either pay or +go. When asked who we ought to apply to, he was blandly ignorant; but +it was increasingly evident that he wanted us gone very badly. + +[Illustration: For a short minute or so they faced him, their eyes +glaring with the lust of superstitious cruelty.] + +Well, there was no help for it, and so, breakfastless and dispirited, we +started off again to the town, intending to go to the shipping-office, +as the only place we could think of. In a foreign port we should, of +course, have gone to the consul at once; but here, under our own flag, +no one knew what to do. Our escort of negroes grew quite imposing as we +trudged along, and the news of our reception passed from mouth to mouth. +Floods of advice were poured upon us by our sable friends, and offers of +hospitality also without limit. Indeed, had any of our crowd been +orators, there seemed to be all the materials necessary for a very +decent riot. But, peaceably enough, we reached the shipping-office, +where we asked humbly if we might see his high-mightiness the +shipping-master. After keeping us waiting for nearly an hour, this +gentleman came out, and in bullying tones demanded our business. Our +spokesman, the bo'sun, laid our hard case before him in a most +respectful manner; but before he had finished his story the +shipping-master cut him short, roughly telling him that we had no +business to come there whining, and that he had nothing to do with us. +And with that he ordered us out of the office. Utterly amazed and +dispirited at this treatment, we retired. Upon reaching the street we +were surrounded at once by the friendly darkies, who made good their +previous promises by carrying all hands off to breakfast in their +several huts, talking and gesticulating violently all the time. +Fortunately I remembered that I had a letter of introduction to a +gentleman in the town; so, refusing all offers of hospitality, I hurried +off to present it. I was not very cordially received; but a note to the +superintendent of the Sailors' Home was at once given me, which procured +me instant admission to that institution, with a right to the best +entertainment they could give. + +Meanwhile the crew had formulated a plan of campaign, romantic enough, +but promising well. It should be remembered that Port Royal, at the +entrance to Kingston Harbour is, or was, one of our most important +colonial naval stations. A huge old line-of-battle ship, called the +_Aboukir_, was then the guard-ship, and lay moored opposite the dockyard +at Port Royal, several miles from Kingston. A deputation of two, one of +which was the bo'sun, determined to board the guard-ship and lay the +case before the commodore, feeling, like all British seamen abroad, +that, although not to be lightly approached, the captain of a British +man-o'-war could always be depended upon to see justice done to any +sailor, however humble. Accordingly, they availed themselves of a +friendly fisherman's canoe, and immediately set out on their long paddle +down the bay to Port Royal. At the same time the elderly Irishman before +spoken of, volunteered to tramp out to Spanish Town, the residence of +the Governor of Jamaica--a distance of about ten miles, as nearly as I +can remember. He said he was well used to the road, having tramped +between nearly every seaport in England. And so, while the majority of +the crew lay around in the shade discussing the situation over and over +again with a deeply interested crowd of darkies, male and female, the +messenger fared forth. The Port Royal deputation reached their goal +first, and, climbing up the steep side of the great guard-ship, saluted, +and asked to see the commodore. They were promptly conducted aft before +this officer, who listened patiently to their yarn, and did not +interrupt them in its recital. When they ceased speaking, he said, "Is +that all, my men?" "Yes, yer honour." "Then go forward and get some food +at once, and, when you have done so, the second lieutenant will return +with you. You shall be cared for. Good morning." With a salute they +retreated, and, not being hungry, received a tot of grog instead. Then, +to their astonishment and delight, they saw a natty little steam-launch +alongside, into which they were invited to descend. A smart young +lieutenant in full uniform joined them, the white-clad crew jumped in, +and away they went back to Kingston. Long before they arrived at the +landing-place the anxious watchers had descried them, and, when they +touched land, there was quite an excited crowd ready to welcome them. +Straight to the shipping-office went the lieutenant, and at his brief +request the shipping-master was immediately forthcoming. Without wasting +a word the lieutenant came to the point, demanding to know whether his +commanding officer had been rightly informed by these men of the state +of their case. As the facts were undeniable there was little reply. +Sternly, scornfully, the young officer reminded the discomfited official +of his obvious duty to British seamen in distress, with an expression of +wonder at its being necessary for him to do so. "You will be good enough +to see all these men's wants immediately attended to, and a passage home +found for them at the earliest possible opportunity. The commodore +trusts he will hear no more complaints of a like nature." Then, turning +on his heel, the lieutenant bade our delighted fellows good day, +returning to his launch amid the cheers of the darkies. A clerk was at +once sent with the men to the "Home" with instructions to the +superintendent, and the trouble was over. + +Not so those of the unfortunate shipping-master, who must have been +heartily sorry for his foolish behaviour. For late in the afternoon our +other messenger returned in state from Spanish Town in one of the +governor's carriages, accompanied by a secretary who bore a message from +the governor that made the shipping-master quake. He could only return +an abject apology, with an assurance that the shipwrecked crew were now +well cared-for, and that nothing on his part should be lacking for their +comfort. But, though we heard no more of the affair, I doubt very much +whether the shipping-master did. From the stir the event made in +Kingston, I am inclined to think it was a long time before he was +permitted to forget it. + +For about a fortnight I had a rattling good time in Kingston. Confident +in the assurance that I should not be forgotten whenever a chance +presented itself of getting away, I cast all care to the winds, and set +about enjoying myself all I knew how. Moonlight fishing-excursions in +ramshackle canoes to sheltered coves around the great harbour, long +rambles in the wonderful brakes and jungles with darkies, that, though +men in years, were children in their fresh enjoyment of everything; +singing-parties along the beautiful beaches in the silky evenings, and +all with never a thought of to-morrow--oh, it was heavenly! I scarcely +saw anything of my shipmates. I didn't want to. My new associates, +although black, were full of kindliness, and as pleased with me as I was +with them; what wonder that I avoided, as far as I could, any +intercourse with men whose presence only reminded me of miserable days +better forgotten. Out of the many incidents that are mellowed by time +into a haze of half recollection, one grotesque affair stands out +sharply, and even now makes me quiver with laughter as its vivid details +reappear. A favourite pastime with the _elite_ of the coloured +population was to gather in large numbers, dressed in all their finery, +upon an old disused pier, whose crazy piles and beams actually swayed +with a stronger breeze than usual. Upon this ancient structure, when the +day's work was over, the young men and women would frisk or loll about, +according to their humour; but their chief amusement was the singing of +chanties, camp-meeting hymns, and, in fact, anything with a rousing +chorus in which all hands could join. On the night in question, song had +succeeded song until somebody sent an electric thrill through the whole +gathering by starting the negroes' great anthem of freedom, "Marching +through Georgia." You could hear the pulses of that great crowd beat +while they waited breathlessly for the last word of the sonorous verse; +and then, in one tremendous burst of melody, every one lifted up heart +and voice, while from far-away fishermen on the bay and labourers on the +hills the inspiring chorus rolled on. As verse succeeded verse the +enthusiasm rose to fever-heat; every one sprang to their feet, waving +their arms and stamping in unison until the crazy structure upon which +they stood trembled to its ancient foundations. It was a wonderful +sight, having its ludicrous side, doubtless; but the high seriousness, +and irrepressible energy of the actors, prevented all desire to laugh. +Suddenly, in the height of the chorus, there was a rending crash, and +the entire fabric collapsed in one chaotic heap of disjointed timbers +and shrieking humanity into the placid waters beneath. No one was hurt, +for the tide was high, and every darky swam like a fish; but the scene +of mad merriment on the beach, as one draggled figure after another +emerged from the wreckage, was indescribable. Not until long after +midnight did the peals of laughter entirely cease, for they rose again +and again in all quarters of the town, as the participants rehearsed the +scene to those who had not been fortunate enough to witness it. + +I had begun to feel as if I had always lived there, and the thought of +leaving had quite disappeared from my mind, when one day I received a +note from the gentleman to whom I had brought the letter of +introduction, telling me to go on board a large steamer, which had +arrived at Kingston that morning, as he had seen the captain, and made +arrangements for me to be allowed to work my passage home. + + + + +CHAPTER XI. + +AN EVENTFUL PASSAGE HOME. + + +Now that the time of my departure drew near, the same old feeling of +reluctance to leave a place to which I had become accustomed came upon +me with its usual force. Possibly because I was never very long in one +place, I have always, except in one instance, felt loth to begin +wandering again; and, even now, my mind often turns regretfully to the +many ports I have visited, and quite a painful longing seizes me to see +them all again. Therefore I am afraid I did not feel nearly as grateful +to my friend as I ought to have done; but, fully realizing how dangerous +it was for me not to take advantage of this offer, I made myself as +presentable as I could and hurried on board. The captain, a big, burly +gentleman in a smart uniform, received me with a sharp glance, and +dismissed me at once with a curt "All right; go and tell the chief +steward I've sent you to him." I thanked him, and left the presence, +very much in awe of the gorgeous surroundings and great size of +everything, so different to all my previous experience of shipboard. She +was a fairly large steamship for those days, I suppose of nearly three +thousand tons; but to me she was vast beyond conception. When I entered +the saloon, I felt utterly crushed beneath the splendour of the +place--oh, how small and shabby it would look now, beside the floating +palaces of to-day!--and I hardly dared to tread upon the thick carpet +which was laid, the vessel being in harbour. When I found the chief +steward, he cross-examined me pretty sharply as to my qualifications, +etc.; but, being short-handed, he was glad of even such help as I could +give, and promptly set me to work. Now, for the first time, I became +acquainted with the toilsome routine of housemaid's duties which have to +be performed by the steward's staff of a passenger steamer: endless +dish-washing, knife and silver-cleaning, floor-scrubbing, and +metal-polishing. And all the work had to be done by a staff of four, +exclusive of my insignificant self; so that the chief steward had no +time to play the gentleman at large that he so often appears where the +manning is on a more liberal scale. Indeed, but for the second +steward--a dapper Chinese, rejoicing in the most unappropriate name of +"Hadji"--I don't think we could ever have kept things straight. But +Hadji was a host in himself. Never in a hurry, always looking +well-groomed and smart, the amount of work that this wonderful little +man got through in a day was marvellous. Not more so, however, than his +history, of which one episode will suffice as a sample. While working on +board a large steamer of this same employ lying in Colon, there was a +terrific explosion on board--whether of gunpowder or nitro-glycerine I +have forgotten. Men, decks, fittings, were hurled skyward amidst a vast +cloud of smoke, and the fragments fell in an immense area, extending for +hundreds of yards around the unfortunate ship. When the first alarm had +subsided, the stewards of an adjacent vessel returned to their tasks +below, and found Hadji on the saloon table, having crashed through the +skylight in his descent, but unhurt, and apparently unaffrighted. It was +not easy to imagine what would disturb his smiling _sang-froid_. If in a +gale of wind a heavy sea found its way below, causing the utmost hubbub +and terror among the passengers, whether by night or day, Hadji would +appear in the thick of the _melee_, calmly setting everything and +everybody to rights, his pleasant smile most reassuring to behold. + +But, in my admiration for this invaluable Celestial, I am forgetting +current events. The day we were to sail, I was much astonished to see +all my old shipmates march on board, having been sent by the +shipping-master for a passage to England in his anxiety to avoid another +interview with the offended powers. They were passengers in the sense +that no work was expected of them; but they lived and messed with the +crew. However, as we were at different ends of the ship, we did not come +in contact at all, for which I was grateful. Yet, strangely enough, I +got into my first and only scrape on board through them. The waste of +food from the saloon table was very great; but my instructions were to +throw all broken meats into a "dog-basket" at washing-up time, with all +sorts of dirty odds and ends, which basket was presently emptied over +the side. I managed to obtain a clean basket, into which I turned all +such broken victuals as I considered worth saving, and, watching my +opportunity, I carried this provender forward to my shipmates, who I +knew were getting only the usual miserable fare. In this benevolent work +I was discovered by the chief steward, who "clouted my ear," as he +termed it, and threatened me with all sorts of pains and penalties if I +dared to so offend again. So from thenceforth all the good food not +wanted aft went overboard as before. + +We were bound to Liverpool _via_ Port-au-Prince, in the island of Hayti, +and, from a few words let fall by the passengers, I gathered that it was +just possible we might see some "fun," as they termed it. I did not then +know that Hayti was in the throes of a successful revolution against the +sovereignty of Spain and France, which eventually resulted in the +establishment of two republics in the island; one-half calling itself +the republic of Hayti, the other that of St. Domingo. At that time the +long struggle must have been drawing near its close, for on land the +triumphant negroes had things all their own way, while at sea the fleets +of France and Spain played at what they were pleased to call a blockade. +Whether any vessels trading with Hayti paid any attention to the alleged +blockade, I do not know; certainly we did not. Nothing at all in our +proceedings would have suggested to any one that we were making for a +blockaded port. Even when, as we steamed briskly up the long V-shaped +gulf, at the apex of which Port-au-Prince lies, we sighted two +grimlooking war-ships lying at anchor on either side of the fairway +with steam up, no more notice was taken of them than the usual curiosity +evinced by passengers at a strange sail. As we passed between them we +could see that one was French, the other Spanish, by their ensigns +flying. We rendered the usual sea-courtesy of dipping our flag, but of +that no notice at all was taken by them. Doubtless, as usual, they felt +none too amicably disposed towards the all-pervading _Anglais_. Right +onward we steamed into the harbour, and alongside the Company's hulk, +where such scant cargo as could be collected awaited us. The only other +vessel lying there was a long, low steamer of perhaps 700 or 800 tons, +whose raking, schooner-spars and funnel, and the light grey-blue that +everything was painted, to say nothing of the miniature stars and +stripes that floated from her flag-staff, spelt "Yankee filibuster" as +plainly as if she had been lettered with those words in characters two +feet wide. There was no sign of life on board of her, except a mere +suggestion of bluish smoke, that curled slowly from her funnel, telling +of banked fires below. For some time she was an object of the greatest +interest to all on board, until other matters occupied all our +attention. + +The town was in a pitiable condition. What with the long rebellion and +civil broils, in addition to the careless, happy-go-lucky fashion in +which the farce of government was carried on, whole streets were in +ruins; business was at a standstill, and even the few merchants who +still clung to the remnants of their trade were in despair. It was no +place for white men, anyhow. The negro was master of the situation. He +had fought long and savagely for his independence, and now that he had +got it he was drunken with it as with brandy. That careless white man +who omitted, from any cause, to salute in the humblest manner any +functionary of the Government of the hour, however ludicrous in +appearance, speedily found himself in serious trouble, out of which he +did not easily extricate himself. And since new officials were +constantly emerging from the rag-tag and bob-tail, the only wise course +was to salute _every_ black man, no matter how menial his capacity might +be. One never knew whether the road-mender of to-day might not be a +general of division to-morrow, having power of life and death even while +wanting a decent pair of trousers. + +A party of our fellows were allowed to go ashore, by a serious error of +judgment, and, as they strolled carelessly along one of the principal +thoroughfares, they met a company of soldiers so scarecrow-like that +they simply stood and roared with laughter. This had been crime enough, +but the sailor-men must needs aggravate their offence. The officer in +command, swelling with rage, demanded their salute. Instead of complying +they indulged in some ribaldry, in which his get-up, as well as that of +his ragged regiment, was held up to ridicule in effective fashion. This +behaviour could not be tolerated. They were surrounded, overpowered, and +dragged off to the "calabozo." Then, when they saw what their folly had +led them into, they repented sorely. It had been worth any amount of +"ko-tow" to have escaped from such a fate as now befell them. The +lock-up was apparently an ancient cow-byre, standing like an island in a +lake of sewage, which, under that blazing sun, sent up a steam of +putridity into the heavy air. Through this foul morass they were dragged +with every indignity their exulting captors could devise, and there, +more dead than alive, they were left for twenty-four hours, when the +captain managed to overcome the stubborn attitude of the sable +authorities, and induce them to accept a substantial fine. When they +were released and brought on board they looked like resuscitated +corpses, and every article of clothing they wore had to be flung +overboard. The doctor examined them with gathering anxiety upon his +face, but his only comment was "The sooner we're out of this hell-hole +the better." + +Fortunately we were to sail in the morning, for every one was feverishly +anxious to be gone. That evening a passenger embarked, who came +alongside in a canoe paddled by two negroes, bringing with him several +weighty chests. He was a well-dressed black man, with an air of nervous +anxiety; and he hovered around, while his baggage was being hoisted on +board, as if he dared not trust it out of his sight. When it was all +safely embarked and carried below, to a muttered accompaniment of growls +at its weight, the canoe and its sable crew disappeared into the +darkness, while the passenger also hid himself, and rarely appeared +thenceforward. + +At daybreak all hands were astir, the firemen working like sooty gnomes +down in their gloomy pit to get steam up, while dense volumes of smoke +poured from our funnels, gladdening the eyes of all hands. Amidst the +universal activity we yet found time to notice that the thin coronal of +vapour hovering above the smoke-stack of the filibuster was also getting +more palpable, and the knowing ones winked at each other meaningly. At +last a hissing from our steam-pipe betokened full pressure in the +boilers, the "old man" mounted the bridge, and all hands took their +stations. "Cast off fore and aft!" shouted the skipper. Willing hands +released the heavy hawsers from the bitts, and, with a rattle of +steam-winches and cheerful yells from the crew, we moved slowly away +from the hulk, the ensign and "house-flag" being run up at the same +time. Then, to our breathless amazement, the filibuster, apparently of +her own accord, stole from her position and came gently alongside, a +tall, romantic-looking figure mounting her bridge as she did so. So +close did she come that the figure on the bridge was able to step nimbly +on board of us. He was a spare, elegantly-built man, dressed in a +well-fitting suit of grey silk, with an immense white Panama sombrero on +his head. He was strikingly handsome, having a dark, oval face, with a +heavy black moustache and Velasquez beard, while his black, brilliant +eyes, wide set, seemed to take in everything at a glance. Shaking hands +cordially with our captain, he said a few words inaudible on deck; then +the pair descended from the bridge, and, joined by the mate, entered the +chart-room. They remained there for a couple of minutes with the door +closed, and then, coming out again, the Yankee leapt on board his own +vessel, while our two officers took their stations--the captain on the +bridge and the mate forward. Our engine-room bell clanged the order, +"Full speed ahead," and, as the engines responded, our good ship +vibrated from stem to stern under their impulse. Without any apparent +effort the Yankee kept her place by our side, not a soul visible on +board, except the tall figure lolling calmly on the bridge, meditatively +puffing at a big cigar. + +The decks being cleared, there was, for a brief space, nothing to do; so +all hands, including passengers, crowded the rails, watching with +breathless interest the two war-ships which lay in grim silence where +they were when we entered the harbour. Not a word was spoken, and the +clanging chorus of the massive machinery below seemed many times louder +than we had ever heard it before. The scene was sufficiently impressive +to fix itself permanently in the memory of every one on board. There was +not a breath of wind, the water of the widening gulf lying like another +sky before us, tinted in innumerable shades by the floating clouds and +the richly-coloured hills on either hand. Every thrust of the pistons +drove us nearer those two surly sentinels laden with potential +destruction, which we all well knew might, at any moment, be let loose +upon us. But there was much comfort in an occasional glance at the +splendid old red ensign flying gallantly overhead, for everybody on +board felt how much might and majesty it represented. Nearer and nearer +we drew to the point midway between the war-ships, that now began to +show a thickening cloud of smoke at their funnels, and a white feather +of escaping steam. At last we were fairly between them. Suddenly the +silent Yankee alongside straightened himself, made us a sweeping bow, +and said, "A thousand thanks, captain. Farewell, ladies and gentlemen, +and a pleasant passage. G'lang ahead!" At his word a gong boomed below, +and the lithe vessel sprang forward like an unleashed greyhound, the +pitchy fumes from her funnel filling the clean air with the stench of +burning petroleum. Boom! boom! went two big guns from the men-of-war as +they both started in chase, while from the filibuster's masthead the +flag dipped as if in ironical courtesy. Many shots were fired after the +daring craft; but although the fountains cast up by the massive shot +apparently played all around her, none actually reached her. And as she +certainly steamed nearly two knots to their one, she was soon hopelessly +out of range. Recognising this, they gave up the chase. I suppose, +according to the rules of romance, they should now have intercepted us; +but this is fact, not fiction, and so it must be admitted that they paid +not the slightest attention to us, but returned to their old position. +Despite our good rate of speed, in less than four hours there was +nothing visible of our _protege_ but a long grimy streak in the bright +blue sky. + +Under ordinary circumstances such an adventure would have afforded an +inexhaustible topic of conversation during the remainder of the +passage, but unhappily, a much more serious matter soon claimed +everybody's attention. Those truly awful words, "Yellow fever," began to +circulate in terrified whispers, while the merry, genial doctor's face +looked terribly solemn. There was little suspense. The very next day the +first victim died--one of the men who had spent the night in that +unspeakably filthy calabozo at Port-au-Prince. Ordinary prudence forbade +any delay in disposing of the poor remains. In less than an hour after +death came the solemn little meeting, the bare-headed group at the +gangway, the long white bundle on a hatch at an open port, the halting, +diffident reading of the old sublime Service, and then the hoarse +s-s-s-s-h, and the sullen plunge into unknown depths. + +[Illustration: Everybody on deck was terrified at the apparition of a +mother-naked giant, armed with the cook's axe.] + +The destroyer made such strides that a large tent had to be rigged over +the main hatch as an open-air hospital, and there the brave, unwearying +doctor laboured day and night at his hopeless task. There was no +discrimination, except as far as the passengers were concerned--perhaps +because they were better seasoned to the climate. At any rate none of +them were attacked; but of the ship's company, officers, engineers, +firemen, sailors, and stewards all gave tithe to death. The disease was +terribly swift in its operation. One Friday morning our bo'sun's mate, a +huge, hirsute Irishman, suddenly complained of his head. This was at +eight a.m. At ten a.m. he was in the hospital grinding his teeth in +delirium. A few minutes after everybody on deck was terrified at the +apparition of a mother-naked giant, armed with the cook's axe, which he +had snatched from beside the galley door, rushing madly about the +decks. Not many seconds elapsed before he was alone, striking furiously +at everything in his way, while the foam flew from his gaping mouth. +Having made the round of the deck aft, he came to the weather side of +the wheel-house, within which the quarter-master was calmly steering +quite unconscious of what was happening. Suddenly the maniac caught +sight of him through the side window, and immediately rained a torrent +of tremendous blows upon the stout teak door. Poor Teddy fled out of the +lee door, and up into the main rigging just as Carney burst in. Then all +was quiet. After a while some one was courageous enough to creep along +and peer in. There was Carney, lying at full length on the grating, +having fallen upon the upturned edge of the axe, which had sunk deep +enough into his chest to have let out a dozen lives. The place was like +a slaughter-house. That afternoon one reading of the Service sufficed +for three burials, two more men having died while the maniac had +possession of the deck. + +Naturally there was little levity on board. Cooped up with such an awful +scourge none felt inclined for merriment. But the ordinary routine of +work went on without a hitch. My shipmates were set to work on full +wages to supply the places of the dead, and, although they did not +relish doing firemen's duty, they were not sorry to have the prospect of +a little money when they reached home, supposing they were still alive. +My turn came. One morning at five o'clock, when, as usual, I was called +to begin my day's work, I lifted my head to rise, but it fell again +like a piece of lead. A feeling of utter helplessness had seized my +whole body, although I could not say I felt ill. But not even the awe in +which I stood of the chief steward could overcome my want of strength, +and I humbly said, "I'm not able to get up, sir." Instantly alarmed, the +steward fetched the doctor, who, after feeling my pulse, etc., pulled me +out of the bunk, and set me on my trembling legs, telling the steward to +put me to some work that did not require any running about, but on no +account to allow me to sit down. His orders were strictly obeyed, but +how I got through that dreadful day I cannot tell. I felt as if I would +gladly have given the whole world to be allowed to lay down for a little +while, and several times my legs doubled up under me, letting me sink in +a heap on the pantry deck, but there was no respite allowed me. This +stern treatment was completely successful, for by supper-time I felt +quite strong again, and I was troubled no more by any recurrence of +those alarming symptoms. What was the matter with me, I never knew; but +undoubtedly I owed my life to the doctor's wisdom, much as I hated his +treatment at the time. Day after day dragged on, each bringing with it a +death for some one of our diminishing number, while the doctor, worn +almost to a shadow, still battled with the enemy with unabated vigour. +His chief task was with those who had won through the crisis, to nurse +them back to strength again. Beef-tea with brandy was his sheet anchor, +and this potent reviver he was continually administering in tiny doses, +while commenting cheerily on its marvellous virtues, to his wasted +patients. Then, as if to fill up our cup of misfortunes, the engines +suddenly stopped. The boilers were old--in fact, too old for safe +use--and one of them had sprung a dangerous leak. The engineers attacked +the trouble with that stolid heroism for which their class is famous, +although, from its prosaic nature, little is thought or said about it by +a world that loves its heroes to glitter with pomp and circumstance, and +to do their great deeds upon some conspicuous stage. Down beneath the +boilers, where the narrow limits compelled them to lie at full length, +half roasted by the fierce heat, and scalded from head to heel by the +spurtings of boiling water, they laboured with hardly a pause for a day +and a night. They succeeded in the almost incredible task of patching up +the leaky source of our speed, doing moreover their work so well that, +although our rate of going was greatly reduced, the repairs held good +until we reached port. + +The joyful day arrived at last when the faithful doctor was able to +announce that the yellow fever had left us, and that, unless some of the +convalescents died of weakness, there would be no more deaths from that +scourge. It was high time. In the short period of twenty days we had +buried thirty men, every one of whose deaths was distinctly traceable to +that foul den in Port-au-Prince. Happily the weather held fine, and the +wind held to the south-west, so that we were able to help her along with +the sails, until one morning a thrill of delight ran through the ship at +the sight of green water alongside, sure sign of our nearness to the +Channel. Presently that solitary sentinel, the Fastnet, hove in sight, +and soon behind it we saw the green hills of Ireland. All our miseries +were now forgotten, and there was a general air of joyful expectation +mixed with deep thankfulness that we had been spared. That afternoon our +negro passenger, whom we had hardly seen during the passage, made his +appearance on deck. He was evidently seeking the captain, for, as soon +as he caught sight of him, he hastened towards him and the two went +straight into the captain's state-room. From thence there soon issued +strange noises as of a foreigner under strong excitement, while now and +then the deep tones of the skipper chimed in as if he were speaking +soothingly. Suddenly the door was flung open and the captain called for +the mate. That officer responded promptly, but did not succeed in +hushing the din. On the contrary, the shrill voice of the black man rose +higher than ever, until he was fairly yelling with fury. The mate blew +his whistle, and, when the bo'sun appeared in answer to it, he received +an order to bring the carpenter with a pair of irons and three or four +men. The reinforcements manhandled the excited negro, hauling him with +scant ceremony on deck, and bundling him forward into an empty cabin, +wherein they locked him and left him to his own reflections. This +mysterious affair caused much excitement among both passengers and crew, +but it was not until after the vessel had been in dock some days that +any explanation was forthcoming. It appeared that, according to _his_ +story, the negro had been First Lord of the Treasury, or whatever +grandiloquent title they had bestowed upon their keeper of the funds, +and, seizing a favourable opportunity, he had levanted with quite a +large sum (he said $100,000). Getting safely on board he had committed +his loot to the care of the captain and mate, who, however, most +unaccountably forgot all about it when he claimed it coming up Channel. +Finding that he could by no means recall it to their memories, he went +temporarily mad--insane enough, at any rate, to institute proceedings +against them for its recovery. His story, which I have given above (with +the exception of the way in which he obtained his wealth), was simply +laughed at, and he was fain to revert to his original profession of +scullion or some such occupation. + +The passage up Channel was uneventful. The hateful yellow flag +(quarantine) was hoisted as we entered the Mersey; but, as soon as the +Health Officer boarded us, we learned that there would be no delay in +docking, yellow fever being innocuous in our favoured land. So the dock +gates swung wide and we passed in to our berth, the vessel being in two +hours deserted by everybody except the night watchman and me. + + + + +CHAPTER XII. + +ADRIFT IN LIVERPOOL ONCE MORE. + + +That night I slept soundly, heedless of to-morrow; but when the day +dawned the problem of what I was to do confronted me, and a very awkward +question it was. For I was still so puny in size and so delicate-looking +that I knew it would be no easy matter to persuade any one to employ me. +Besides, I was penniless. I had little clothes but what I was wearing, +and I felt sure no boarding-master would take me in on the chance of my +paying him out of my advance-note here. My only hope was that I might be +allowed to work by the ship, at a small weekly wage, until I had earned +enough to pay for a week's board, either in the Sailors' Home or some +boarding-house where they would try and get me a ship. That hope was +soon dashed when the chief steward appeared. With unnecessary gruffness, +as I thought, he told me that I was not wanted, and the sooner I got +ashore "out of it" the better. Hadji was kinder. He gave me a cheerful +smile, a hearty shake of the hand, and half a crown, besides wishing me +luck. In a few minutes I stood outside the dock gates with all the town +before me, but not a friend or even an acquaintance, as far as I knew, +within its limits. Conscious that I had no time to lose, I wandered +about the docks until I was weary, speaking to every likely looking +officer on board the various ships I visited, and getting nothing but +plenty of good-natured chaff as well as outspoken comments upon my +childish appearance. Yes, I got one good meal; so that when night fell, +and I sought a great heap of hay in the Cobourg Dock that I had noted as +a promising place to spend the night, my precious piece of silver was +still unbroken. I slept soundly, though none too warm, my long stay in +the tropics having thinned my blood. At daylight I crept stealthily from +my nest and recommenced my tramp, but it was fruitless. Then I +remembered the wood-carver, and thought I would look him up again. But +there was another name over the shop, and I saw that another business +was being carried on there. I did not like to go into my old +boarding-house next door, feeling sure that I should be unwelcome with +only two shillings and sixpence in my pocket and no prospects. I went to +the Sailors' Home and told my story, but they refused to take me in--as +indeed I had fully expected they would. + +For the next week I roamed about those wretched docks, getting more and +more discouraged every day, until, at last, I was afraid to ask for a +berth in case I got a cuff as well as a refusal. Finally, when I had +been reduced to picking scraps out of the gutter, I resolved to go to +the workhouse. How such an idea entered my head I can't imagine, but it +did, and seemed feasible too. So off I started up Brownlow Hill, but the +strains of a German band arrested my none too eager progress, and, all +hungry as I was, I stayed to listen. Perhaps the music cheered me up; at +any rate, while listening, I determined to go to my old +boarding-mistress and offer my services to her in return for a shelter +and such scraps as she could spare. She received me ungraciously enough; +but I pleaded hard, having learned well the hard lesson of not to take +"no" for an answer without a struggle, and eventually she agreed. The +place was a poor kind of cookshop, the staples of which were penny bowls +of broth and tea for the poverty-stricken dock labourers, with twopenny +plates of potato-pie for the better-off. I honestly earned my keep, and +more; but business getting slack, she told me plainly that she could not +afford to keep me much longer, and she would allow me a couple of hours +a day for a week to look for a ship, at the end of which time I must +shift for myself again. I was not altogether sorry at this chance, +slender though it was. Every day I hunted diligently about during the +time allotted me, and, after four days, I succeeded in getting a job as +cabin-boy on board a German barque, the _Greif_ of Rostock. The captain +had his wife and little daughter on board, neither of whom spoke a word +of English; but the captain said he had just discharged an English boy, +who had pleased them very well, and whose name of "Dan" I was in future +to answer to. I took up my new duties with zest, doing my best, not only +to give satisfaction in my work, but to master the (to me) awful +difficulties of the German language. For a time I succeeded admirably, +except that the ladies called me "schoufskopf" (sheep's-head) far more +frequently than Dan, being irritated, I suppose, by what they considered +my stupidity in not being able to understand them. The only person on +board who seemed inclined to be hard upon me was the mate, a huge North +German, who never missed an opportunity of giving me a blow, apparently +by way of keeping his hand in. Therefore, I exercised all the ingenuity +I possessed in keeping out of his way--no easy task--for, as soon as my +work in the cabin was finished, I was always called on deck to lend such +a hand as I was able. And I could not help noticing that, in spite of +the difficulty I had always found in getting a berth, whenever I did +succeed in finding one there was never any trouble in keeping me fully +employed. So matters progressed in fairly even fashion for three weeks, +while the _Greif_, which lay in the Huskisson Dock, was taking in a +general cargo for Demerara. I made fair progress with the language, and +was certainly something of a favourite with the bo'sun, the cook, and +the sailors. I began to hope that I should succeed at last in making +myself comfortable, as well as necessary, in some way, to the comfort of +others; and only my dread of the mate gave me any uneasiness. But one +morning the cook took advantage of some brief leisure I had to get me to +chop some firewood for him. Gaily I started to obey him, using one large +piece for a block, and was halfway through my task, when the axe struck +a knot, glanced off, and entered the deck, making an ugly mark. The next +moment I received a blow under the ear from behind which stretched me +bleeding and senseless on the deck. When I came to I felt very sick; but +there was such an uproar around me that I speedily forgot my own trouble +in my anxiety to know what was the matter. The mate stood, white as +chalk, the centre of an angry little crowd of the men, one of whom, a +tall, fair Swede, was fairly raving with excitement, and seemed by his +threatening motions to be hard put to it to keep his hands to himself. +Gradually it dawned upon me that all this row was about me. The mate had +struck me brutally and unjustly for what was a pure accident, and his +cruelty had actually caused the whole crew to resent his action. This +was really one of the strangest experiences I ever had. I have been +beaten innumerable times in all sorts of vessels, but only once was a +voice ever raised on my behalf besides this occasion, and that was by +Joe, the Yorkshireman, against my uncle in my first ship. That a mixed +crew of Germans and Scandinavians, on board a German vessel, should +raise a protest against the ill-treatment of an English boy, was an +unheard-of thing, especially when it is remembered that in those days +brutality to boys at sea, except in American ships, was the almost +invariable rule. + +I was more frightened at the consequences of the mate's action than +anything else, especially as it looked as if there would be a regular +riot directly. Before, however, any blows were exchanged, the captain +arrived. His presence acted like magic. He made no noise, but just +pushed his way into the centre of the disturbance, speaking quietly to +the men, who at once dispersed to their several duties. Then he turned +to me, and said, in the same passionless voice, "Ashore mit you. If I +findt you hier in den minutes more, I schlings you oferbordt." I did not +linger. In less than five minutes I was out of the ship, and again in +the unenviable position of being masterless. There was a change in my +hitherto persistent bad luck, however. Strolling dejectedly round the +dock, I came to the very biggest sailing-ship I had ever yet seen. When +I had done admiring her enormous proportions, my attention was caught by +a new spar, which lay upon the quay nearly ready for going aloft. I +walked round it wondering, with all my might, whatever kind of mast it +could be. At last I stopped, and, according to a lifelong habit of mine, +began thinking aloud. "T'aint a schooner's topmast, 'cause there's three +sheave-holes in it; nor yet a barque's mizzen-topmast, for the same +reason. N'ther ain't a ship afloat as 'ud carry sech a stick fur a +to'-gallanm'st, nor yet fur a jibboom. _I_ never see sech a spar 'n _my_ +life." "You give it up, then, I suppose?" said a grave voice behind me. +Turning sharp round I confronted a tall, distinguished-looking +gentleman, who was regarding me with an amused smile. "Yes, sir," I +said, "I thought I knew all about ships' masts; but I can't think what +this one can be for." "Well," he replied, "I'll enlighten you. It's my +ship's foreto'-gallanmast, and that third sheavehole that puzzled you so +much is for the skys'le-halliards. Now do you see?" I thanked him and +said I did; but I was none the less surprised that any ship could carry +such a mighty spar so high up. And then, by a happy inspiration, I told +him my story, right down to the last episode. He heard me in silence, +and, as soon as I had finished, turned and went on board, telling me to +follow him. Gladly enough I obeyed, until we reached the quarter-deck, +where we found the shipkeeper. Telling him to find me something to do, +the captain then turned to me, saying, "I shan't be able to take you to +sea with me, for all our gear is so heavy that we never carry any boys; +but while the ship is in Liverpool you may stay on board doing what you +can, and I will pay you twelve shillings a week, out of which you must +keep yourself. Now, be a good boy, and I'll see what I can do for you +when we sail." I was hard put to it to express my gratitude; but he cut +me short by walking away, and leaving me to realize my extraordinary +good fortune. As soon as he was gone, I hunted up the shipkeeper, who +had taken himself off somewhere, and asked him for a job. He was an +easy-going individual, not over fond of work himself, or given to +expecting much from any one else. So he said, "Oh, I can't be bothered +just now. You scull round a bit 'n have a look at the ship, 'n I'll fine +yer sutthin to do bimeby." That was good enough for me. For the next two +or three hours I exhausted all my powers of admiration over this +magnificent vessel. She was called the _Jorawur_ of London, and built +frigate-fashion, with imitation quarter galleries, which added to her +already great appearance of size. She belonged to a school that has now +departed, whereof the _Superb_, _Calcutta_, _Lady Jocelyn_, and +_Hydaspes_ (the last two converted steamships), were conspicuous +examples. She carried thirty-two A.B.'s and six petty officers, so that +she was well manned, even taking her great size and enormous spars into +account. But alas! years after, I saw her bought by a firm of Jewish +ship-knackers, who razeed her taunt spars, sold the yards off her +mizzenmast, turning her into a barque, and finally sent her to sea with +_seven_ A.B.'s forrard. No one was surprised when she took entire charge +of the poor handful of men before she got clear of the Channel. God help +them! they could hardly get her yards round, much less shorten sail. She +was eventually picked up, almost derelict, and towed into Falmouth, +where the ill-used crew promptly refused to do any more in her, and +were, of course, clapped in gaol therefor, with that steady application +of the rights of owners so characteristic of our seaport magistrates. +But this is digression. + +"Knock-off" time came, and with it the exodus of all the motley crowd of +riggers, painters, and stevedores who had been busy about the ship all +day. Seeing them depart homewards I remembered, with some misgivings, +that I too could only be considered a day-worker, and might also be +required to clear out, but whither? So I sought the shipkeeper, and +timidly approached the question whether I might be allowed to stay on +board. I found him very glad to have some one who would relieve him of +the necessity of keeping so close to the ship as he had been doing. He +at once gave me the free run of the cabin, and hastened to "clean +himself" preparatory to a cruise down town. I busied myself in hunting +up such odds and ends as lay about the staterooms available for bedding, +and before long had rigged myself quite a cosy nook, near the glowing +stove, which, as the weather was cold, was very comforting. My friend +having departed, I was left quite alone on board the huge vessel; but +this, so far from giving me any uneasiness, was just in my line--I was +more than contented. I found the keys of the pantry and store-room, +where my eager search soon discovered plenty of cuddy bread (biscuits), +half a chest of tea, sugar, oatmeal, sago, and arrowroot. There was +nothing else eatable or drinkable. This find, however, gave me great +delight. I felt no apprehensions now that I should have to spend much in +food--a fear which had somewhat daunted me before, seeing how badly I +wanted to save all my wages to get myself a few clothes and pay for a +week's board in the Sailors' Home when the _Jorawur_ sailed. Another +expedition to the galley provided me with a saucepan, with which I at +once proceeded to make myself a mighty bowl of arrowroot, thinking, in +my ignorance, that not only was it very nice to eat, but that it must be +most strengthening as well. How could I know that it was only starch? A +couple of biscuits and the half-gallon of arrowroot (plenty of sugar in +it) made me feel at peace with all the world, if even I was in rather an +inflated condition. Fed and warmed, with a good roof over my head, and a +fairly comfortable bed (if it _was_ composed of rags), I only wanted +one thing more to be perfectly happy. And even that was forthcoming--a +book. "Bleak House" lay in one of the pantry drawers waiting for me, I +felt. Putting the lamp handy and replenishing the fire, I settled down +luxuriously into my nest, all my troubles forgotten in present bliss. + +When the shipkeeper came on board I don't know, for when I awoke it was +morning--five o'clock. I jumped up, hustled my bed out of sight, and lit +the fire. While it was burning up I went on deck for a wash, returning +sharp-set to a good breakfast of tea and biscuit, after which I felt +ready for anything that might come along. By the look of the shipkeeper +when at last he appeared, his last night's excursion had been anywhere +but in the paths of virtue. But his amiability was unimpaired, and it +was in quite a deprecatory tone that he requested me to "pop across the +road" and get him a drop of rum, as he didn't feel very well. Whether it +was my alacrity in obeying his request, or the speed with which I +afterwards got him a cup of tea, I don't know, but thenceforth our +relations were of the pleasantest kind. I wished, though, that he hadn't +found me quite such a miserably cold job; for that forenoon he set me to +clean out the row of 400-gallon tanks in which the sea-stock of fresh +water was carried, my slender body being easily able to slip in through +the "man-hole"--a feat that was really impossible to him. Now, some of +these tanks had over eighteen inches of water in them: all had enough to +come well above my ankles. As it was late autumn I got chilled to the +marrow, for, as I must needs bale all the water into buckets and pass it +up to him through the man-hole, I soon got wet through. Then I had to +scrub and sluice vigorously to get the thick coating of rust off, in +which process I became very much like a piece of rusty old iron myself. +As each tank was thoroughly cleansed, a pail of limewash was handed in +to me with a big brush, and I gave top, bottom, and sides a liberal +coating of it. In consequence of this occupation my appearance was +filthy beyond words; but I did not mind that, until, one day, having +come on deck for something, I met the captain. Looking at me with an +expression of the liveliest disgust, he said, "Dirty little beast!" This +cut me to the quick, as being both unkind as well as utterly undeserved. +However, I made no defence. One of the earliest lessons inculcated on +board ship is "no back answers," and the boy of gumption loses no time +in understanding that the less he says, by way of excuse, the better for +his welfare. Much injustice is thus suffered, of course, but there is +apparently no help for it. From that day forward I carefully avoided the +captain, lest he should discharge me--a fate which I dreaded. + +The peculiar diet beginning to pall, even upon my palate, I hit upon a +plan which, however indefensible morally, gave me then no qualms, while +the results were extremely gratifying. The gang of painters who were +re-decorating the cabin brought their meals with them, and I supplied +them with tea out of the half-chest in the storeroom, receiving in +return a portion of their food. By this means I still kept my wages +intact. The only money I spent while on board was on one unlucky +Saturday. Fired by the description of a savoury dumpling, filled with +bacon and kidney, which I read in the late steward's cookery book, I +slipped ashore and bought the necessary ingredients. On Sunday morning I +tried my hand, and, having succeeded in making the dumpling, dropped it +clothless into a saucepan of boiling water, made up a roaring fire +under, and hungrily awaited the result. Rigidly repressing an eager +desire to peep into the pot, I watched the clock until the specified +time had elapsed. Then, my fingers trembling with excitement, I lifted +the lid and peered through the dense steam. A greyish soup with a +villainous burnt smell greeted my sight; my dumpling had melted. Crying +with vexation and disappointment, I turned the mess out into a dish, but +I couldn't eat it. It was too bad even for me. So I fell back upon sago, +and made no more experiments in cookery. + +The inevitable day drew near when the ship was to sail. Her cargo of +salt (for Calcutta) was nearly all in, the riggers had bent the sails, +and a smart steward took charge of the cabin, ejecting me summarily. I +took refuge in the forecastle that night, and the next morning, having +made myself as presentable as I could (I _was_ a queer-looking little +scarecrow), I waylaid the captain and besought him to ship me for the +voyage. Giving me a half-laughing, half-pitying look, he said, "No, my +boy, there is no duty here light enough for you; I cannot take you to +sea with me. But I will take you up to the Home, and tell them to get +you a ship. You shan't have to prowl the docks again if I can help it." +I thanked him, but ventured to say that I should have liked much better +to sail in such a splendid ship as the _Jorawur_. He seemed pleased, but +shook his head decidedly, and in a few minutes we were ashore, making +for the Sailors' Home. Arriving at the great building, the captain +immediately made for the office, and sought an interview with the +superintendent. As soon as that gentleman appeared I was brought +forward, and introduced to him, with a brief summary of my adventures +and present position. My good friend the captain concluded his remarks +by paying down a fortnight's board for me, at the same time expressing a +hope that they would find me a berth as speedily as possible in some +outward-bound ship, so that I should for some time at least be beyond +the reach of homeless destitution. The superintendent readily promised +his aid, and, bidding me good-bye, the kindly captain returned to his +duties, happier, I hope, for the knowledge that he had done me a really +good turn, for which it was highly improbable I could ever repay him. + +I was at once handed over to the care of one of the stewards, who led +the way up a seemingly interminable series of staircases to a cubicle on +the fourth floor. The place was built in tiers of galleries, running +right round a large central space lighted from above, and paved at the +bottom. This covered-in quadrangle was used as a promenade, +smoking-room, and lounge by the inmates, while it was, of course, +possible to take in a complete view of the whole interior from any one +of the seven galleries. Before we arrived at my berth, the steward was +in possession of most of my story, and began to regard me with more +friendly interest than I looked for, seeing that no "tip" was to be +expected from me. He seemed surprised when, in answer to his inquiry for +my "dunnage," I told him I had none but what I stood in; and at once +promised that he would see what he could do by way of beating up a few +duds for me--a promise he faithfully kept. Then he ushered me into the +snug little chamber, with its clean bed and handy lockers, and, giving +me a key of it, left me to my own devices. + + + + +CHAPTER XIII. + +THE DAWN OF BETTER DAYS. + + +At last I felt as if I was standing on firm ground. Here, a solvent +boarder in this great institution, with thirty-six shillings in my +pocket, of which no one knew but myself, and with the superintendent +pledged to get me a ship, there did seem a prospect that the days of my +waifhood were over and done with. I looked around me at the comfort and +cleanliness of my little room, I thought of the precarious existence I +had been suffering, and I felt very thankful. Outside my door was a row +of big basins, well furnished with soap, jack towels, and abundance of +water. Off went my clothes, and I fairly revelled in a good wash. I had +barely finished when the clangour of a great gong startled me. I rushed +to the railings, and looked over to see a general move of the inmates +from all quarters towards one goal. Instinct informed me that this +strange noise was a summons for dinner; so I hastened to join the +throng, and presently found myself in an immense dining-hall filled with +long tables, at which a steady stream of men were seating themselves. At +one of these tables I took my place, in joyful anticipation of a good +dinner, when suddenly a sharp "Hi!" from the head of the board arrested +my attention. It was the steward in charge, who stood waiting to serve +out the food. He had spied a stranger. As soon as he caught my eye, he +said, "What flat are you on?" Now the barges in Liverpool are known as +"flats," and, jumping at the conclusion that I was suspected of being a +bargee-boy, I replied with much heat, "I'm not on any flat; I've just +left a two-thousand-ton ship!" Surely never did a more feeble +unintentional joke meet with a warmer reception. My neighbours roared +with delight, and, as the words were repeated from table to table, very +soon the whole vast chamber reverberated with merriment. Utterly +bewildered, I sat speechless, until it was explained to me that the +galleries in the Home were called "flats" too. They were lettered for +convenience of distinction, and the steward's query was in order to +assure himself that I occupied a room on the flat under his charge, as, +otherwise, I had no right at his table. That little matter was soon +cleared up, and feasting began. Never in my life had I sat at such a +board. Every one ate like giants, and mountains of food vanished, washed +down by huge cans of ale, served out liberally by the attendants. I am +ashamed to remember how I ate; but the blissful thought that this sort +of thing would be a regular incident of each day heightened my +enjoyment. The meal over, diners wandered forth again in very different +style to their entrance of half an hour before. Hardly knowing whither I +went, I sauntered along one of the galleries, when suddenly the words, +"To the Library," caught my eye. No longer undecided, I hurried in the +direction indicated, and found a really fine room, most comfortably +furnished, with roaring fires and an enormous number of books. There +were only three people in it; indeed, it was never well patronized. I +found a volume of Captain Cook's Travels, coiled myself up in a big +armchair, and passed at once into another world. Thenceforth, during my +stay, that peaceful chamber was my home. Except for a little exercise, +sleep, and meals, I scarcely left it, and, long ago though it is, I can +vividly remember how entirely happy I was. Occasionally I heard, through +the mighty void that separated me from the outer world, a ringing shout +of, "Where's that shipwrecked boy? Anybody seen that shipwrecked boy?" +as the huge doorkeeper, standing in the centre of the quadrangle below, +bellowed for me. The said shipwrecked urchin was far too comfortable to +desire any change in his present circumstances, and, it must be +confessed, did nothing to assist the authorities in their efforts to get +him a ship. To tell the truth, whenever I must needs go out, I used to +watch my opportunity and evade the officials downstairs. I had tasted +the sweets of life and was loth to return to the bitter. + +During my seclusion in the library, however, I made the acquaintance of +several officers of ships, through whose kindness I obtained quite a +respectable lot of clothes, so that I was able to reserve my precious +little hoard to purchase sea-stock with when the inevitable day came. +But, in the meantime, I saw as little of Liverpool as I possibly could. +Apart from my love of the library and its contents, the town was +hateful to me. Its streets seemed to scowl at me, and every turning +reminded me of misery. But one day, as I was darting across the +quadrangle on my return from some errand, a long arm shot out from +behind a pillar and grabbed me. Panting with my run, I looked up and saw +the form of the doorkeeper towering over me. "Why, where ha' you been +stowed away all this time, you young rascal?" he said. "Here have I ben +shoutin' myself hoarse after you, an' never a sight of yer could I get. +Come along!" And with that he marched me off to the shipping-office in +the same building, and handed me over to one of the clerks, who +immediately brought me before a jolly-looking captain who was just +engaging his crew. What he said I don't remember; but, in a few minutes, +I had signed articles as boy at twenty-five shillings per month on board +the _Western Belle_ of Greenock, bound to Bombay, and sailing two days +after, at eight in the morning, from the Alfred Dock, Seacombe. I +received a month's advance like the rest, half of which I had to pay for +a week's board, as I had been three weeks in the Home. But with my +well-kept little hoard I had sufficient to buy my oilskins, bed, +hookpot, pannikin and plate, soap, matches, knife, etc., so that I was +better off, in those respects, than I had ever been before. + +Early on the morning of the appointed day, in company with several +others of the crew who had been lodging at the Home, I was escorted +across the Mersey by the official belonging to the institution, whose +business it was to see us safe on board. Like all my companions, I had +not the slightest idea what sort of a craft I was going in, except that +she was a ship of 1225 tons register. This, however, is one of the most +common experiences of the sailor. Of late years it has become more the +practice for men to cruise round and choose a ship, handing their +discharges to the mate as a sort of guarantee that they will be shipped +when she signs articles. But, even now, thousands of men take a leap in +the dark, often finding themselves in for a most unpleasant experience, +which a little forethought on their part would have saved them. When +forethought is a characteristic of the sailor, his lot will rapidly +amend. That, however, is almost too much to hope for. + +We soon arrived at our ship's side, finding her to be an old +American-built soft-wood ship, fairly comfortable looking, and with a +house on deck for the crew instead of the villainous den beneath the +top-gallant-forecastle, far in the fore-part of the ship, which is the +lair of seamen in most English ships. I was told off to the petty +officers' quarters, or "half deck," a fair-sized apartment in the after +part of the forward deck-house, with bunks for eight, and separated from +the men's berth by the galley and carpenter's shop. There was no time to +take stock. She was moving, all hands being on board, and, for a wonder, +not so drunk as usual. She was rapidly warped down to the dock gates, +where one of the powerful tugs, for which Liverpool has long been justly +famous, awaited her--the _Constitution_. The hawser was passed and +secured, the ropes which held us to the pier cast off, and away we went +down the river at a great rate--our voyage was begun. Much to the +discomfiture of our fellows a large ship, the _Stornoway_, came rushing +past us, bound into dock, having just finished the long round we were +beginning. The sight of a "homeward bounder" is always a depressing one +for Jack who is just starting again. And it is usually made harder for +him by the jocular remarks of the fortunate crew, who shout of "bright +pots and pannikins and clean donkey's breakfasts" (straw beds), usually +throwing some of their rusty tinware overboard, at the same time, to +give point to their unkind remarks. + +There was little time though for thought, despondent or otherwise. We +were rapidly nearing the bar, upon which the rising wind was making a +heavy sea get up, and our jibboom had to be rigged out. What this means +is, I am afraid, impossible to make clear to a landsman. The amount of +work involved in getting the long, heavy spar into position, with all +its jungle of standing rigging, which looks to the uninstructed eye a +hopeless mass of entanglement, is enormous. When, too, it has to be done +as the ship is dragged relentlessly through a heavy head sea, as was now +the case, the difficulty and danger is certainly doubled. Yet it must be +done, and that speedily, for none of the upper spars on all three masts +are secure until what seamen call the "head gear" is set up, to say +nothing of the urgent necessity which may, at any moment, arise of +setting the head sails, as the jibs are termed collectively. So rapidly +did the sea rise, and so powerful was the tug, that before long heavy +masses of water began to come on board, and several ugly lumps came over +the forecastle head, half drowning the unfortunate men, who, in poor +physical condition, were toiling at the head gear. Some of them were, of +course, compelled to work right over the bows, where, as she plunged +along, the boiling foam now and then surged right over their heads. +Under these circumstances some disaster was inevitable. It came. +Suddenly I saw the boatswain leap from the forecastle-deck aft, a +distance of some twenty feet, yelling, while in the air, "Man +overboard!" There was hardly a minute's delay before the tug stopped, +and everybody gave a sigh of relief to see that the unfortunate man had +caught one of the life-buoys thrown to him. He placed his hands upon the +edge of the buoyant ring, which rose edgeways and fell over his head, +making him perfectly safe. But he was so eager that he got his arms +through, and, with both hands on the buoy, tried to raise himself +higher. Unfortunately he succeeded, and immediately overbalanced, his +head going down while his legs hung over the sides of the ring. Burdened +as he was with oilskins, sea-boots, and much thick clothing underneath, +it was impossible for him to regain his position, and when the boat from +the tug picked him up he was quite dead. Steaming back alongside of us +the skipper of the tug reported the sad fact, suggesting that he might +as well take the body back to Liverpool when he had finished towing us. +This was of course agreed to, and the towage resumed. But no sooner had +the news of our shipmate's death reached us, than there was a rush to +the forecastle by our crew, to divide the dead man's belongings--a piece +of barbarism quite uncommon among seamen. They made such a clean sweep +of everything, that when the captain sent to have the deceased seaman's +effects brought aft, all that was produced would hardly have filled a +large handkerchief, although he had brought two great bags and a bundle +on board with him. So passed from among us poor Peter Hill, a steady +middle-aged seaman, leaving a widow and two children to mourn their +loss, and exist as best they could without the meagre half pay he had +left them. + +After this calamity the speed of the tug was reduced until the jibboom +was rigged and the anchors secured. Then the impatient tug-skipper tried +to make up for lost time. Green seas rolled over the bows as the bluff +old ship was towed through the ugly, advancing waves at a rate quite +beyond anything she could have done unaided. She strained and groaned as +if in pain, while the severity of her treatment was attested by a long +spell at the pumps, the quantity of water she had in her giving rise to +many ominous mutterings among the crew. At last the Tuskar was reached, +the topsails and lower staysails were set, and the tug let go of us, +much to our relief, as the motion at once became easier. Then came the +muster and picking for watches, when the grim fact became apparent that +we were grievously undermanned. There were but twelve A.B.'s and one +ordinary seaman forward, four tradesmen, _i.e._ bo'sun, carpenter, +sailmaker, and painter, with three boys in the half-deck, steward and +cook. Aft were the captain and two officers. Under any circumstances +this would have been a very small crew for a ship of her size; but, to +make matters worse, she was what sailors call "parish rigged," meaning +that all her gear was of the cheapest--common rope, that with a little +usage grew swollen and clumsy, often requiring the strength of one man +to pull the slack of it through the wretched "Armstrong patent" blocks, +and not a purchase of any kind to assist labour except two capstans. +Already we had gotten a taste of her quality in setting the scanty sail +she now carried; what would it be, later on, when all sail came to be +made, we could easily anticipate. The crew were, as usual, a mixed lot. +There was an elderly Yankee bo'sun's mate answering to the name of Nat, +who, in spite of his fifty years, was one of the best men on board; a +smart little Yorkshireman, very tidy and quiet; and two +Liverpool-Irishmen--dirty, slovenly, and obscene always--Flanagan and +Mahoney. They, I learned afterwards, had come home a fortnight before +from the East Indies with a fairly good pay-day, which they had never +seen a copper of, having lain in one continuous state of drunkenness in +a cellar, from the evening of their arrival, until the vampires who +supplied them with liquor had somehow obtained a claim upon all their +wages. Then, when the money was drawn, the two miserable fools were +flung into the gutter, sans everything but the filthy rags on their +backs. A jovial darky from Mauritius, with a face whose native ugliness +was heightened by an extraordinary marking from smallpox, kept all +hands alive with his incessant fun. He signed as Jean Baptiste, which +sacred appellation was immediately anglicized to Johnny the Baptist, nor +did he ever get called anything else. There was also a Frenchman from +St. Nazaire, who, though his English was hardly intelligible, had sailed +in our country's ships so long that he had lost all desire for anything +French. He was also a fine seaman, but the wrong side of forty. A +taciturn Dane, tall and thin, but a good man as far as his strength +went, was also of our company; and a brawny, hairy Nova Scotiaman, John +Bradley, able enough, but by no means willing to exert his great +strength. Lastly, of those whom I can remember, came Peter Burn and +Julius Caesar. When the first-named signed in Liverpool, he looked like a +hale old sea-dog about fifty, worth half a dozen young, unseasoned men. +Unfortunately for us, he had come out of the experienced hands of Paddy +Finn, a well-known boarding-master renowned as a "faker-up" of worn-out +and 'long-shore sailors. Rumour had it, too, that he had recently +married a young woman, who had eloped with several years' savings, +leaving him without any prospect but the workhouse, until Paddy Finn +took him in hand for the sake of his month's advance. Be that as it may, +it was almost impossible for any one to recognise in the decrepit, +palsied old wreck that crawled aft to muster, and answered to the name +of Peter Burn, the bluff, hearty old seaman that had signed on so boldly +two or three days before. Julius Caesar was a long, cadaverous lad, +willing and good-natured, hailing from Vermont, but so weak and +inexperienced that you could hardly feel him on a rope. The other three +men have entirely faded from my memory. + +Of the petty officers with whom I lived, it only needs just now that I +note them as all Scotch, belonging, like the skipper and mate, to the +shores of the Firth of Forth, with the exception of the painter. He was +a Yarmouth man, really an A.B., but, in consequence of his great ability +in decorating, mixing paints, etc., given five shillings a month extra, +with a bunk in the half-deck. There was no sea-sobriquet for him, like +"Bo'sun," "Chips," "Sails," or "Doctor," so he was called by his +rightful surname, "Barber." The cook, or "doctor," was a grimy little +Maltese, not quite such a living libel on cookery as usual, but dirty +beyond belief. I said there were three boys in the half-deck, but that +statement needs qualifying. The eldest of the trio was as good a man as +any on board the ship, and deserves much more than passing notice. He +had been, like myself, a London Arab, although never homeless; for his +mother, who earned a scanty living by selling water-cresses, always +managed to keep a corner for him in her one room up a Shoreditch court. +But Bill was far too manly to be a burden to his mother a day longer +than he could help, so, after trying many ways of earning an honest +crust, he finally managed to get taken on board the _Warspite_ +training-ship, whence he was apprenticed in the _Western Belle_ for four +years. He was now in his third year of service, a sturdy, reliable young +fellow of eighteen, not very brilliant, perhaps, but a first-class +seaman: a credit to himself and to his training. The other boy, besides +myself, was a keen urchin about my own age, on his first voyage, of +respectable parentage, and with a good outfit. Whatever his previous +experience had been I don't remember; I think he came straight from +school. Anyhow, he was artful enough to early earn the title of "a young +sailor, but a d---d old soldier," which concise character sums up all +that a seaman can say as to a person's ability in doing as little as +possible. Captain Smith, our chief, was a jolly, easy-going Scotchman of +about sixty, always good-tempered, and disinclined to worry about +anything. He had his wife and daughter with him, the latter a plain +young lady of about twenty-two. Both of them shared the skipper's good +qualities, and the ship was certainly more comfortable for their +presence. Mr. Edny, the chief mate, was a splendid specimen of manhood, +a Scotchman about thirty-five years of age, with coal-black hair and +eyes. He was the most hirsute individual I have ever seen, a shaggy +black mane, longer and thicker than any Newfoundland dog's, waving all +over his chest and back. Mr. Cottam, the second mate, was a +square-built, undersized man from the Midlands, the bane of my +existence, but a prime seaman who loved work for its own sake. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV. + +DUE SOUTH + + +Perhaps an undue amount of space has been given to particularizing the +_Western Belle's_ crew, but my excuse must be that this was my first big +ship (the steamer didn't count), as well as my first long voyage. To me +it was the commencement of a new era. Hitherto I had not been long +enough on board any one ship to take much interest in either her or her +crew. The changes had been so numerous and rapid, that while I was +certainly accumulating a large stock of varied experiences, I was unable +to put them to much practical use, because I remained so small and weak. +But now I knew that, barring accidents, I was in for a twelve-months' +voyage; I should cross the "line" four times, round the Cape twice, and +return a regular "Sou'-Spainer," looking down from a lofty height of +superiority upon other sea-boys who had never sailed to the "Suthard." + +When the watches had been picked I found myself under the second mate, +whom I dismissed rather summarily at the close of the last chapter, +because I shall have a great deal to say about him later on. For the +present it suffices to note that my evil genius must have been in the +ascendant, for "Jemmy the Scrubber," as we always called Mr. Cottam +behind his back, was a regular tyrant, who spared nobody, not even +himself. The men of his watch took things easily, as usual, knowing full +well that he was unable to coerce them; but I was helpless in his hands, +and he did not fail to let me know the fact. There was some compensation +for me in having Bill Smith, the sturdy apprentice before mentioned, as +my watch-mate, for he was both able and willing to lend me a helping +hand whenever possible, although of course he could not shield me from +the amiable weaknesses of Jemmy the Scrubber. Still, his friendship was +very valuable to me, and it has endured unto this day. + +At the outset of the voyage I found, that if I had never earned my pay +in my life before, I was going to do so now. When there was one hand at +the wheel and one on the look-out, there were four A.B.'s, Bill and +myself, available to make or shorten sail. Consequently it became the +practice to send me up alone to loose whatever sail was going to be set +during the night, and I would go up and down from one masthead to the +other while the men did the hauling on deck. Then when the job was +finished the men retired to their several corners, more often than not +into their bunks in the fo'lk'sle, leaving me to coil up all the ropes +and then return to my post aft in front of the poop, ready to carry +Jemmy's orders when he gave any. She was a very heavy-working ship, as +before noted, making the ordinary duties of trimming sail for such a +handful of men most exhaustive; but, in addition to that, the food was +so bad that it reminded me strongly of the _Arabella_. Yet so usual, so +universal, was this shameful condition of things, that there was no more +than the ordinary quantity of "growling"; no complaints brought aft; and +things went on pretty comfortably. Of course she leaked--"made a good +drop o' water," as sailors say--but still in fine weather the pumps +would "suck" in ten minutes at four-hour intervals. But sail she +couldn't. A Rochester barge would have given her two miles in ten, and +as to "turning to windward"--that is, zig-zagging against a contrary +wind--it was a mere farce. She made so much leeway that she just sailed +to and fro on the same old track till the wind freed. Therefore it was a +weary time before we got down as far as that dreaded stretch of stormy +sea known to seamen as the "Bay," although it extends many a league +Atlantic-wards from the Bay of Biscay. Here we battered about for +several days, against a persistent south-westerly wind that refused to +let us get south, until at last it freshened into a bitter gale, +accompanied by the ugly cross sea that gives this region such unenviable +notoriety. Under two lower topsails and reefed foresail we wallowed and +drifted, watching with envious gaze the "flyers" gliding homeward under +enormous clouds of canvas, steady and dry, while we were just like a +half-tide rock, swept fore and aft by every comber that came hissing +along. Here I got a narrow squeak for my life. I was coiling up the gear +in the waist when she lurched heavily to windward, just as a green mass +of water lifted itself like a hill on that side. Before she could rise +to it, hundreds of tons of foaming water rolled on board, sweeping me +blindly off my feet and over the lee rail. Clinging desperately to the +rope I held, I waited, swollen almost to bursting with holding my +breath, but quite unconscious of the fact that I was overboard. At last +she rolled to windward again, and I was swept back by another wave, +which flung me like a swab into the tangle of gear surrounding the +mainmast, little the worse for my perilous journey. And thus she behaved +all that night, never free from a roaring mass of water that swept fore +and aft continually, leaving not a dry corner anywhere. Sundry noises +beneath the fore-hatch warned us that something heavy among the stores +had broken adrift; but it was impossible to go down and see, not only +for fear of the water getting below, but because of the accumulated gas +from the coal, which, unventilated for days, would only have needed a +spark to have blown the ship sky-high. Towards morning, however, the +weather fined down. As soon as possible the fore-hatch was taken off, +and there we found in the 'tween decks a mess awful to contemplate. The +whole of our sea-stock of salt beef and pork in tierces had broken +adrift, together with two casks of Stockholm tar, and had been hurled +backwards and forwards across the ship until every barrel was broken in +pieces. There lay the big joints of meat like miniature islands in a sea +of tar, except that, with every roll of the ship, they swam languidly +from side to side in the black flood. All hands were set to work to +collect the food--it was all we had--hoist it on deck, and secure it +there in such fashion as we could. Then it was scraped clear of the +thickest of the tar, the barrels were set up again and refilled with the +filthy stuff, into the midst of which freshly-made pickle was poured. It +was not good food before, but now, completely saturated with tar, it was +nauseous beyond the power of words to describe. Yet it was eaten, and +before long we got so used to the flavour that it passed unnoticed. This +diversion kept all hands busy for two or three days, during which the +weather was kind to us, and we gradually stole south, until the steady +trade took hold of us and helped us along into settled fine weather. + +By this time all hands had settled down into their several grooves, +determined to make the best of a bad bargain. One thing was agreed +upon--that, except for her short-handedness and starvation, she was a +pretty comfortable ship. There was no driving, no rows; while the +feminine influence aft made itself felt in the general freedom from bad +language that prevailed on deck. But we were not yet low enough in +numbers, apparently. The old man, Peter Burn, who shook so much that he +was never allowed aloft, became perfectly useless. He had been an old +man-o'-war's man, living, whenever possible, a life of riot and +debauchery, for which he was now called upon to pay the penalty. At a +time of life when many men are not long past their prime, he was reduced +to childishness--a very picture of senile decay. His body, too, in +consequence, I suppose, of the foul feeding, became a horrible sight +upon the opening of more than forty abscesses, from which, however, he +seemed to feel no pain. Strange to say, his rough shipmates, who of +course had to make good his deficiency, showed no resentment at the +serious addition to their labours. With a gentleness and care that could +hardly have been expected of them, they endeavoured to make the ancient +mariner's declining days as comfortable as the circumstances would +allow, and I am sure that nowhere could the old fellow have been more +carefully looked after. + +She was an unlucky ship. Her slow gait, even with favouring winds, was +something to wonder at; but, as if even that were not delay enough, we +met with a most abnormal amount of calms and light airs--hindrances that +would have made some skippers I have known unbearable to live with. But +Captain Smith was one of a thousand. Nothing seemed to ruffle his serene +good-humour. It must have been infectious, for the conditions of food +and work were so bad that a little ugly temper added thereto would +certainly have caused a mutiny. As usual I, unluckiest of urchins, was +about the worst-off person on board. Jemmy the Scrubber, unable to imbue +the rest of his watch with his own restless activity, gave me no peace +night or day. Woe betide me, if, overcome by sleep in my watch on deck +at night, I failed to hear his first call. With a bull's-eye lantern in +one hand, and a piece of ratline stuff in the other, he would prowl +around until he found me, and then--well, I was wide-awake enough for +the rest of that watch. In the half-deck I was treated fairly well, +except in the matter of food, and even that got put right in time. I +have often wondered since how four men of good standing, like our petty +officers, could deliberately cheat two boys out of their scanty share of +the only eatable food we had; but they certainly did. Every other day +except Saturday was "duff" day, when the modicum of flour allowed us was +made into a plain pudding by the addition of yeast and fat. The portion +due to each made a decent-sized plateful, and, with a spoonful of +questionable molasses, furnished the best meals we got. Now the duff for +the half-deck was boiled in a conical bag, and turned out very similar +in shape and size to a sugar-loaf. It was brought into the house in a +tin pan not wide enough to allow it to lay flat, so it stuck up +diagonally. The sailmaker always "whacked it out," marking off as many +divisions as there were candidates. So far so good. But when he cut off +his portion, instead of cutting fair across the duff, he used to cut +straight down, thus taking off half the next portion as well, owing to +the diagonal position of the duff. Then came the bo'sun, who of course +followed suit, and the others likewise, until the last two "whacks" +falling to the share of the boys was really only the size of one. For a +long time this hardship was endured in silence, until one day, at the +weekly apportionment of the sugar, much the same sort of thing took +place. Then Bill Smith broke out, and there was a rare to-do. Our +seniors were dreadfully indignant at his daring to hint at the +possibility of their being unfair, and, for some time, I feared a +combined assault upon the sturdy fellow. All their tall talk, however, +only served to stiffen his back, and, in the result, we got our fair +share of what was going. + +Hitherto I had not seen any deep-sea fishing; so, when one day a school +of bonito came leaping round the bows, and the mate went out on the +jibboom end with a line, my curiosity was at fever-heat. How ever I +endured until eight bells I don't know. Once or twice the wrath of Jemmy +was kindled against me for inattention, and I got a sharp reminder of my +duties. At last eight bells struck. I had the dinner in the house in a +twinkling, and in another minute was rushing out along the boom to where +the mate had left his line while he went in to "take the sun." The +tackle was simplicity itself, consisting solely of a stout line about +the thickness of blind-cord, with an inch hook firmly seized to its end, +baited with a shred of white rag. My fingers trembled so that I could +hardly loose the neat coil the mate had left, for below me, gambolling +in the sparkling foam beaten forward from the bluff bows, were quite a +large number of splendid fish, although they did not seem nearly as +large as they were in reality. At last I got the line free, and, +bestriding the boom-end with my legs firmly locked between the jib guys, +I allowed the lure to flutter away to leeward, jerking it gently so as +to imitate a leaping squid or bewildered flying-fish. Splash! and the +graceful curve of my line suddenly changed into a straight; I had hooked +one. In a perfect frenzy of excitement I hauled madly, scarcely daring +to look below where my prize dangled, his weight fairly cutting my +hands. At last I had him in my arms, but such was the tremendous +vibration of his massive body that, although I plunged my thumbs through +his gills, I was benumbed from head to heel. All feeling left me, and my +head was beginning to swim, when I bethought me of plunging him into the +folds of the jib, which was furled on the boom. With a flash of energy I +accomplished this, falling across the quivering carcase half dead +myself. But before he was quite dead I had recovered, and, prouder than +any victorious warrior returning from the hard-won field, I bore him +inboard. I was received in the half-deck as a benefactor to my species, +for had I not provided twenty pounds of fresh food. How welcome my catch +was can hardly be comprehended by those who have never known what it +means to subsist upon beef and pork, which when dry turns white and hard +as salt itself, with the flavour of tar superadded, and that for many +weeks. The first flush of excitement over, attention was called to my +gory appearance. I had not noticed it before, but now I found that I was +literally drenched in blood, black-red from the chin downwards. What of +that? I had caught my first big fish, and nothing else mattered. Out I +went again, succeeding in a few minutes in hooking another. But one of +my watchmates must needs come interfering, and take it away from me, in +spite of my protests. I was actually bold enough to tell him that the +way he was carrying it was unsafe--the idea of me, with my five minutes' +experience, dictating to an old "shellback" like Bradley. I was right +though, for, when half way in, the fish gave a convulsive plunge and +fell, leaving his gills in Bradley's fist. I didn't say anything, but, +like the parrot, I did some tall thinking. All the fish left us +instanter, attracted doubtless by the blood of their mutilated fellow; +so, sulkily coiling up the line, I came in. There was a plentiful supper +at four bells, and, though I should now pronounce the flesh of a bonito +as dry and tasteless, then it was sweeter to me than I could express. +While it was yet in my mouth, yea! ere it was chewed, retribution +overtook me. I heard the watch on deck setting sail forward, and more +conversation ensuing upon the performance than usual. Suddenly a +shock-head thrust itself into the half-deck. The voice of Caesar said +ominously, "Tom, th' mate wanse yer!" With a thrill of dread crawling up +the roots of my hair I obeyed, following the messenger forrard. There +stood the port watch, grouped round the mate, gazing upward at the sail +they had just been setting, the jib. Well they might. From head to tack +down its whole length ran ghastly streaks and patches of gore, a sight +that made my flesh creep. "Did _you_ do that?" said the mate in an awful +tone. There was no need for any answer; my guilt was manifest. Vengeance +lingered not, and, in a few minutes, the _manes_ of my first fish were +propitiated. Lamely I retired to complete my supper with what appetite I +could muster, and to vow that the next fishing I did I would take a sack +out with me. But the evidence of my offence was permanent, surviving the +bleaching of sun, rain, and spray throughout the whole of the voyage. +My waspish little tyrant, the second mate, could hardly rope's-end me +again for the same fault; but he made it an excuse for robbing me of a +goodly portion of each day-watch below, keeping me on deck sorting the +carpet-thrums of which he was for ever making hearthrugs. Oh, how I did +hate his fancy-work and him too. But I dared not complain or refuse, +although at night I was always getting into trouble for going to sleep, +which I really couldn't help. + + + + +CHAPTER XV. + +EIGHT WEEKS' CALM. + + +Leisurely as our progress had been hitherto, we had always managed to +make some Southing each day. But now ensued a time unique in all my +experience. What our exact position was I do not know; but I fancy it +must have been somewhere near the Equator in the Atlantic. When the +faltering, fitful breezes first failed us, a long succession of rain +deluges set in, which at first were most heartily welcome. For, like +many other ships of her class in those days, the _Western Belle's_ store +of water-tanks contained barely enough of the precious fluid to suffice +us for half the voyage, even upon the regulation allowance of three +quarts per man each day. Rain was depended upon to replenish them in +time, and on such voyages, of course, seldom failed to afford a +bountiful supply. Now, however, it fell for whole days in one solid, +roaring downpour that, in spite of the many openings by which the decks +were drained, filled them so that it was possible to swim from poop to +forecastle in fresh water. Everybody turned out all their belongings +that were washable, and a regular carnival of soap and water took place. +Then the ports were opened and the decks cleared of water. It still +poured over the front of the poop like a small Niagara, and from thence, +as being the cleanest, we refilled all our tanks. Still the flood came +down without a break, until the incessant roar became awe-inspiring. +Many of the crew spoke of it as passing all their experience, even +hinting at the possibility of another flood. It was so heavy that the +experiment was successfully tried of scooping up drinkable water off the +sea-surface, which was like a mill-pond for its level, although all +a-foam with the falling torrent. The ship lay as nearly motionless as it +is possible for a ship to be out in mid-ocean. For Coleridge's simile of +"A painted ship upon a painted ocean" is only a poet's licence, and +grates upon a seaman as the sole picture in that wonderful work which is +not literally true. Admiral Wharton's remark that "In all the +incalculable mass of the ocean not one particle is ever absolutely at +rest," may strike most people as strange; but it is sober truth, and +therefore it is impossible for a vessel at sea ever to be perfectly +motionless. + +Gradually the massive downpour abated, the sun peeped out, and the +sodden decks and gear dried up. But there was no breath of wind. And as +Captain Smith was a practical man, with all his patience, he decided to +utilize this otherwise barren time in carrying out a scheme he had +purposed leaving for some long spell of waiting in Indian harbours. We +had on deck three huge, rough spars--long logs, in fact. These were +loosed from their lashings and lifted on to the gallows, whereon the +boats usually rested. A big rip-saw was produced--the only time I ever +saw one on board ship--and the strange spectacle was witnessed of a +ship's deck being turned into a saw-pit, sailors into sawyers. Thick +slabs were sawn off the spars, after which the carpenter, and a couple +of men who could handle axe and adze, set to work to fashion them into +topsail-yards. Meanwhile, the rest of the hands toiled like beavers, +unbending sails, sending down yards, and overhauling standing rigging, +until the old ship looked as if she were in some snug dock-corner being +dismantled. All day long this work went on, no one knowing or caring +whose watch on deck it should be, and at night the weary workers lay +around promiscuously, sleeping away the hours of darkness in calm +certainty of being undisturbed. This curious interlude in an ocean +voyage developed strange faculties in our men. The iron bands, which +form part of the fittings of a ship's yards, were, owing to the +skipper's desire to have heavier spars, found to be too small. No +matter. An impromptu forge was rigged up on a barrel filled with sand, a +most ingenious bellows was made by somebody, and, as if born and bred in +a smithy, the bo'sun and two hands manipulated that ironwork in such +workmanlike fashion that it answered its purpose as well as if turned +out of a Blackwall foundry. + +For many days this work went on, with apparently no more notice taken of +its strangeness than as if it were the normal course of events. But +gradually the deathly stillness of our surroundings, the utter absence +of the faintest air of wind, or sign of any other vessel in a similar +plight, began to tell upon everybody's nerves. Men took to gathering in +twos and threes in the evenings to recount their experiences of +lengthened calms, and the yarns they had heard of bygone tragedies +connected with ships that had strayed into windless seas. Even the busy +working-hours could not prevent the men from gazing uneasily over the +side where the familiar, smiling face of the sea was undergoing a +mysterious change. There is about the deep sea, even in the hottest +weather, a delicious atmosphere of cool cleanliness, a searching purity, +such as the earth can never yield, giving one the fixed idea that to +this vast, unpollutable limpidity the nations owe their health. In some +dim fashion this thought is present with all sea-farers, however dense +and unnoticing they may be. Therefore, when that familiar freshness was +found to be giving place to a stale, stagnant greasiness to which a +mawkish, uninvigorating atmosphere clung, what wonder that +uneasiness--all the more difficult to bear quietly because +undefinable--became generally manifest. Adding to the sense of +eerieness, was the fact that old Peter was failing fast. I have already +mentioned how willingly his share of the common burden was borne by his +shipmates, and how loyally they tended him, even though such service as +he needed could not be spoken of without offence. But now his mind had +completely gone. He lived in some misty past, about which he babbled +unceasingly. Often, in the still evenings, all hands would gather round +him, listening in perfect silence to his disjointed reminiscences of +desperate deeds in the way of duty, of long-drawn-out debaucheries in +filthy rookeries of home ports, as well as the well-known hells at Hong +Kong, Calcutta, or Callao. They were strange scenes, those dog-watch +gatherings, nothing distinctly visible but the red glow of the +pipes--except when the sudden glare of a match, struck to light fresh +tobacco, shed a momentary gleam over the group of haggard, bearded +faces, each beclouded with an unwonted shadow. In the midst, a placid +stream of sound, Peter's voice prattled on, its lurid language in the +strangest contrast to the gentleness of his speech. Still the days +dragged on and the faces grew longer. All the refitting was finished, +and only the ordinary routine of ship-life was left to be carried on. +Happily those duties are always, in the hands of capable officers, +sufficiently onerous to prevent time ever hanging heavily. One of the +strangest of all the strange notions current ashore about sea-life is +that sailors have nothing to do but watch the ship go along, except +during stormy weather. One would have thought that the never-ending, +ever-beginning round of work in a house that is properly kept would have +taught all landsmen and women that the great complicated machine called +a ship would demand at least equal labours to keep it fit and in working +order. But "watch and watch" was now restored, which, of course, threw a +great deal of additional time upon the men's hands, since they could +still sleep through the night, if they chose, without fear of being +disturbed. So for hours, when unemployed, men took to hanging over the +rail, watching, with an unnatural curiosity, the myriads of strange +creatures that, lured from their silent haunts in the gloomy +middle-depths of the ocean by the long-enduring stillness above, came +crawling about, blinking glassily with dead-looking eyes at the +unfamiliar light. Truly it was an uncanny sight. Not only +fish of bizarre shape abounded, but vast numbers of great +medusae--semi-transparent simulacra of all the hideous things that ever +haunted a maniac's dream--crawled greasily about us, befouling the once +clear blue of the sea, and coating its sleek surface with stagnant +slime. And, deeper down, mighty shadows passed sluggishly to and fro, +filling the gazers with wordless terror as the days crept wearily away +and those formless apparitions gradually chose higher levels. Overhead +the sweet fathomless azure of the sky paled as if in sympathy with the +silent sea. Cloudless, indeed, but overspread with a filmy veil of +strange mist, that, while it robbed the sun of its glare, seemed to +enclose us within a dome of heat, unventilated and stale. When night +fell, instead of cool refreshment--such as comes, even in tropical +calms, after sunset at all ordinary times--there arose a foul odour of +decaying things that clung clammily to the palate like a miasma. The +densely populated ocean beneath palpitated with pale fire, the gleaming +of putrescence. Instead of the usual brisk movement seen among the +glowing denizens of the deep, everything crawled languidly, as if +infected with some universal pestilence. Moon and stars lost their +strong silver glow, and were no longer reflected in the smoothness +beneath as if shining in another heaven. And at moonrise, when the +fantastic mist-wreaths writhed about the horizon, the broad red disc of +the moon would be distorted into many uncouth shapes, or patterns of +strange design were drawn across her paling surface. + +At last, one night, when old Peter was holding his usual levee, he +suddenly raised his voice, and authoritatively demanded that his +auditors should bear him on to the forecastle head. They instantly +obeyed, lifting him tenderly upon his mattress, and laying him gently by +the side of the capstan. Then all hands gathered round him in the +darkness, only the glow of the pipes fitfully illuminating the rugged +countenances. Slowly the moon rose, but sent no silvery pathway across +the sea, until suddenly, as if with a great effort, she broke through +the hampering mist-wreaths that seemed to clog her upward way. A pure, +pale beam shot right athwart our vessel, lighting up the little group of +watchers on the forecastle, and lingering as if lovingly upon the +withered, weather-scarred face of our ancient shipmate. As it did so he +smiled--a patient, happy smile--his lips unclosed, and, with a sigh of +relief like a weary child, he died. + +Breaking the steadfast silence came the mate's mellow cry, "Square the +mainyard!" As the men rose to obey, a gentle breath, welcome as the +first thrill of returning health, kissed the tanned faces. Slowly the +great yards swung round, a pleasant murmuring as of a mountain rivulet +arose from the bows, and the long calm was over. In quiet attendance +upon the dead came the sailmaker, with a roll of worn canvas under his +arm in which the poor, shrivelled remains were reverently wrapped and +neatly sewn up. A big lump of coal was found and secured to the feet, +and the long parcel was borne gently aft to the gangway. There in the +moonlight we all gathered, while the skipper, with faltering, +unaccustomed voice, read the stately words of the Burial Service, all +hands standing like statues as they listened to what all admit to be one +of the most solemn as well as majestic selections known in our splendid +language. Suddenly there was a pause; the skipper raised his hand, and +those who supported the plank on which the worn-out tabernacle of old +Peter lay, gently raised its inner end. There was a subdued s-s-s-h as +the white fardel slid slowly seaward, followed by a sullen plunge. All +rushed to the side, where an ascending column of green light marked the +descent into those calm profundities of our dead. An almost inaudible +sigh of relief escaped from every lip, as if a well-nigh intolerable +burden had been removed. Undoubtedly that was the predominant feeling, +intensified by the fact that a sweet breeze was now blowing steadily. In +the blue dome above, the moon and her attendant stars were shining with +their full splendour, and from the now sparkling face of the surrounding +sea the sickly mist was rolled quite away. + +Thenceforward, although our progress was wretchedly slow, of course, we +were little troubled by calms. But our tribulations were not yet all +over. Barber, the painter A.B., was taken ill; so ill as to be quite +useless, nor did he ever again that voyage recover sufficiently to +resume his place as an active member of the crew. And other men were +grievously tried by scurvy, which, though in a mild form, was painful +and weakening. How it was that they were no worse, I cannot think, for +the food was bad enough truly for the development of that malignant +disease in its worst form. But, somehow, we worried along in dogged +fashion, every one showing rare patience under their unmerited +sufferings. + +And so, in laborious fashion, we crept southward and round the Cape +without any bad weather worth mentioning, until well to the eastward of +that justly dreaded point. Then one night we had a narrow escape from +serious disaster. It was our (the second mate's) watch on deck from +eight to midnight. We were jogging along before a light south-westerly +breeze, at about four knots, the weather being singularly fine for those +latitudes. Down in the cabin the skipper, his wife and daughter, and the +mate were playing cards, while the second mate, with a carelessness most +unusual with him, was hanging over the open scuttle, absorbed in +watching the game. Rees, the old Frenchman with a Welsh name, was on the +look-out, and I heard him muttering and grumbling because the officer of +the watch was oblivious of the fact that an ominous-looking cloud was +rising in the northeast, or almost right ahead. Presently from its black +bosom faint gleams of lightning showed themselves, while the subdued +murmur of the breeze we had became hushed in an unnatural quiet. With a +quickness that seemed miraculous, the threatening cloud ahead +overspread the sky, and still the second mate did not realize what was +coming. As all sail was set, the position began to look so threatening +that all the watch took the alarm, and gathered in the waist, ready for +the sudden emergency imminent. Presently the wind dropped dead, its +sudden failure arousing the supine officer, who, lifting his head, took +in the situation at a glance. But before he could issue an order, there +came a smart patter of rain, followed immediately by a roar as the +north-east wind, like a savage beast, leapt upon us, taking us flat +aback. Then there was a hubbub. Up rushed the skipper and mate, shouting +for all hands. Everything was let go at once; but the sails, jammed +backward against the masts, refused to allow the yards to come down. The +ship began to drive astern most dangerously, nor could she be got round +by any means. Presently she dipped her stern right under, taking a sea +in over the taffrail that filled the decks fore and aft. It was now a +question of minutes with us. If she could not be got round she would +certainly go down stern foremost, for again and again she drove her +broad stern under the rising sea as the now furious gale hurled her +backwards. The feeble efforts of the crew seemed utterly unavailing +against the mighty force of this sudden tempest. But, providentially, a +huge sea caught her on one bow, flinging her head off far enough for the +wind to grip the head sails. Round she spun upon her heel like a top, +and in another minute the shreds of the rending sails were thundering +above our heads as they flew to fragments. In an indescribable uproar, +wherein the howling of the gale, the reverberations of the thunder, and +the crash of our yards were all mingled, the ill-used vessel sped away +before the wind as if fleeing for her life. An almost continual glare of +lightning shed an unearthly light over all, by which the havoc that was +being wrought was plainly to be seen. How that night's work was ever +accomplished I have no idea. But when morning dawned we were +fore-reaching under the three lower topsails and fore topmast staysail, +the fluttering rags of what remained of our lighter sails being secured +in some haphazard sort of fashion to the yards. We had escaped the doom +of many a fine ship, whose crew have paid the penalty of carelessness +with their lives. It was long, however, before we overtook the labour +which those few hours involved us in. For many days we jogged along +under easy sail, getting farther and farther to the northward every day, +happily for us, and so putting a greater distance between us and bad +weather. + + + + +CHAPTER XVI. + +UP THE INDIAN OCEAN TO BOMBAY. + + +At certain seasons of the year the minds of mariners navigating the +Indian Ocean are always, more or less, upon the tension of expectancy +concerning the possibility of their encountering one of those tremendous +meteors known as cyclones. A keen watch is continually kept upon the +mercury in the barometer for any deviation from its normal ebb and flow, +which occurs with the greatest regularity in the tropics during settled +weather. For these truly awful storms are so justly dreaded, by even the +bravest seaman, that no danger of navigation claims more attention. The +possibility of meeting, or being overtaken by one, bulks largely in the +dog-watch discussions among the foremast hands, and he who has +successfully braved an encounter with a cyclone, speaks with an +authority denied to his fellows who have never had such a painful +experience. Even to me, juvenile as I was, an almost deferential hearing +was accorded when I spoke of my Havana experience--the hurricane of the +West Indies, the typhoon of the China seas, and the cyclone of the +Indian Ocean being only different names for the same mighty atmospheric +convulsion. Happily, our leisurely progress northward was unattended by +any such deeply perilous adventure as the encounter with a cyclone would +have been. Doubts were freely expressed as to the probability of the +_Western Belle_ weathering one at any time, but especially under our +present short-handed conditions. Every day, therefore, that passed +seeing us nearer port was noted with delight, as lessening our chances +of utter extermination. And when at last we passed the latitude of Cape +Comorin and entered the Arabian Sea, there was a distinct lightening of +faces and a tendency to make little of the weary passage now gradually +nearing its end. We did not see a vessel of any description, during our +journey from the Cape, until within two hundred miles of Bombay, neither +did we sight any land. But one morning, to my amazement, I saw a vessel +nearing us, unlike any I had ever seen before--except in pictures. She +had a hull like the half of an egg cut lengthways, and was propelled by +an enormous white sail of lateen shape, or almost like one of our jibs. +She could not have been more than ten or fifteen tons capacity, and how +she stood up under such an immense spread of sail was a mystery. She +came flying along like a huge sea-bird, shooting up almost in the wind's +eye, and presently, graceful as an albatross, rounded-to under our stern +and "spilled" her sail. Seated in the after part of this queer craft +were two or three dignified-looking men in white raiment, with the +peculiar stiff headgear affected by Parsees. One of the black, unclad +natives forming her crew hooked on to our fore-chains, and, with an +agility I should have hardly believed possible, one of the white-robed +visitors seized a rope flung over the side and skipped on board. +Speaking correct English, he saluted the mate, who stood at the gangway; +then hastened aft, and, making a low salaam to the skipper, solicited +the honour of being our "dubash," or general purveyor, while we were in +harbour. To his great disappointment, however, Captain Smith was an old +Bombay trader, and always employed the same dubash; so that, after a few +compliments, our visitor politely took his leave, hoping for better luck +next time. + +Thenceforward we met many native craft, or "buggalows," as they call +them, lumbering along the coast on various errands, all characterized by +a general makeshift appearance that made me wonder how ever they dared +brave the dangers of the sea at all. But that is a peculiarity of all +Eastern native craft. They are things of shreds and patches, and look as +seaworthy as a waggon with a worn-out tarpaulin set. Most of them creep +along shore pretty closely, and, at night, lower their wooden anchors +down about twenty fathoms, furl sail, and turn in--or, at least, go to +sleep. She is pretty safe to fetch up somewhere, and time doesn't +matter. If she gets run down by some bustling ship or another, it is +Kismet, and not to be helped. + +At last we drew near Bombay--that Liverpool of the East--the first sight +of which is so amazing to an untravelled Briton. I was almost stupefied +with wonder at the mighty stream of traffic, the immense fleet of ships +that lay at anchor in the magnificent harbour, and the beauty of the +great city. We had shipped a white pilot, who, being anxious to get up +to the anchorage before dusk, and make one job of the mooring, was +"cracking on" to an exceedingly stiff breeze, making the old ship heel +over alarmingly. Suddenly I heard my name called. Running aft, I was met +by the second mate, who, handing me a coil of line, ordered me to go up +and reeve the signal halliards in the mizzen truck. Now, I should +premise that, like all American-built ships, we carried very long "royal +poles," or bare tapering extensions of the masts above the highest part +of the rigging. Ours were extra long--some sixteen feet or so--and +crowned at the top, which was not much thicker than a man's wrist, with +a flat piece of wood about as large as a cheese-plate, in one side of +which was a sheave for the signal halliards or flag-line. I started +aloft boldly enough; but when I reached the base of the pole, and saw to +what a height its bareness towered above me, while the staggering ship +lurched to leeward and the foaming sea roared a hundred and twenty feet +below, my heart failed me, my head swam, and all my scanty stock of +strength left me. For some time I sat with my legs clutched round the +pole, just clinging, without power to move. Then I heard the voice of +the second mate pealing up from the deck. "Hurry up there with those +halliards!" Strange as it may appear, although I felt that I was going +to certain death, my fear of him was so great that I made the attempt. +Pulling myself up, I shut my eyes and murmured a prayer. Trembling in +every nerve, but fighting against my benumbing weakness, I actually +struggled to the top. As I write, the cold sweat bursts from every pore, +for I feel again the terrible agony of that moment. Opening my eyes, I +thrust at the opening of the sheave with the end of the line; but it was +knotted, and would not go through. I _had_ tried and failed, and with my +last flash of energy I grasped the pole again in both arms, and slid +down on to the eyes of the royal rigging. Here I clung for a few minutes +to recover myself, and to be violently sick; then, feeling as if the +bitterness of death was past, I descended to the deck, walked up to Mr. +Cottam, and said, "I have tried, and I can't do it, sir--not if you kill +me." He stared at me blankly for a moment. Then turning away, as if the +situation was beyond him, he called my constant chum, Bill Smith, and +gave him the job. He, being strong as a bear and agile as a monkey, very +soon managed it; not without considerable grumbling at Jemmy for sending +a "weakly kid" like me on such an errand. The whole episode may seem +trivial; but I frankly declare that having, in my experience, faced +death many times, I have never felt such terror as I did then. + +We made a "flying moor" in fine style, in spite of the great fleet of +ships surrounding us, the sails were furled, decks cleared up, and all +hands dismissed forrard to meditate upon the successful close of our +passage of seven months from Liverpool. Soon everybody's attention was +drawn to a large ship near by, whose crew were weighing anchor, homeward +bound. It was the _Stornoway_, the vessel we had seen towing into +Liverpool as we left. She had discharged and loaded in Liverpool, made +her passage out, and now, having discharged and loaded in Bombay, was +returning again. Such differences there are between sailing ships. + +The morning brought a chattering crowd of coolies carrying little +shallow baskets and short hoes. At first, the idea of discharging two +thousand tons of coal by such childish means seemed absurd, and, when a +start was made, impossible. For the poor wretches--men, women, and +children--did not appear to have the faintest idea of working, or to +possess enough strength to do more than carry their attenuated bodies +about. But they were formed into lines, from the hatches to the +gangways, and, while some scratched the coal into the baskets with the +hoes, the rest passed them from hand to hand to a monotonous chant of +"Jal marck ooday, jal marck oodayleeallah, jal marck ooday." The +spelling, of course, is phonetic, and I haven't the faintest idea what +it meant. So mechanically did they "puckarow" those baskets, that often +one would pass from the hatch to the gangway empty, the coolie on the +rail going through the motions of tilting it over into the lighter and +returning it. In any case, I do not think the average weight of coal +passed in a basket was seven pounds. Yet somehow the lighters got +filled. There was such a number of coolies, and the passing was so +incessant, that it was bound to tell. The crew, apart from the +discomfort of the all-pervading coal-dust, had a very good time, as +little work being required of them as possible. And, while a plentiful +allowance of fresh meat and vegetables was provided by the ship, there +was also a bumboat in attendance that kept the men well supplied, at +their own cost, with fruit, eggs, etc. I was fortunate enough again to +be book-keeper, receiving in return as much fruit as I wanted. + +Except on Sundays, matters went on in a very humdrum style, the only +incident out of the common being a picnic excursion to the rock-temples +of Elephanta. But I have no intention of describing such places, that, +indeed, are as well known to readers as the Isle of Wight. My object is +a totally different one. On Sundays I should think the bulk of the +trading population got afloat, and came ship-visiting. If our ship's +deck was a fair sample of those of the rest of the fleet, there could +have been little merchandise left in the bazaars. From the cabin to the +forecastle the decks were almost impassable for the piles of curios of +all kinds--clothes, cigars, birds, etc. The bulk of the stuff was +dreadful rubbish, almost worthless, in fact; yet, owing to the ignorance +of sailors of what can be bought in decent shops at home, the trash +fetched high prices, at least double what really good articles of the +same style and place of origin could be bought for in London. And, in +addition to that, by a system nothing short of robbery, each man was +charged two shillings and fourpence for every rupee he drew against his +hardly earned wages, while at that time the rupee was quoted officially +at one shilling and eightpence. Who pocketed the eightpence, I do not +know; but I shrewdly suspect that it was considered, like the +backsheesh levied from the tailor and the bumboat-wallah, the captain's +legitimate perquisite. I have known a captain pocket fifty rupees off a +bumboat bill of two hundred and fifty, and, of course, the keen-witted +Hindu based his charges to the men on the expectation of such a tax; so +that Jack was robbed on every hand, unless he sternly made up his mind +to spend nothing "in the country." And, as not one in a hundred sailors +have such resolution as that, there are some very pretty pickings out of +their scanty wages. + +The time sped swiftly away, and soon the coal was all out and most of +the stone ballast in. No cargo was obtainable for us in Bombay, so we +were ordered to proceed to Bimliapatam on the Coromandel coast, and +after that to Coconada to complete. But, before our departure, the +time-honoured custom of giving the crew twenty-four hours' liberty must +be observed. Consequently the mate's watch duly received twenty rupees +each, and, dressed in their best, started for the shore one morning at +eight o'clock. All of them returned the following morning except +Bradley, the hirsute Bluenose who lost my fish for me on the passage +out. But oh! what a pitiful, dirty, draggled lot they were. And, in +spite of their miserable condition, they must needs get up several +fights among themselves in order to crown the delights they had been +indulging in ashore. It was quite out of the question to allow the +second mate's watch ashore that day; and this decision nearly caused our +first serious row, so eager were the other half of the crew to go and do +even as their fellows had done. But as there was nothing to prevent the +petty officers going, they all furbished up and started, taking us two +boys with them. My chum Bill Smith was of the party; but as soon as we +landed he went off with me, being far too old a hand to be led by +anybody. Of course, poor fellow! having no wages, he had contrived to +earn a little by washing, etc., and every copper was carefully hoarded +for the Bombay bazaars, where, he informed me, better bargains in +clothes could be got than anywhere in London. Up and down the crowded +lanes of the bazaar he led me, driving away with contumely the pilots +who offered to personally conduct us for a consideration, and fingering +the goods of the various shopkeepers with the air of one who is bursting +with wealth. At last, finding a booth to his mind, he entered, and +forthwith selected a great heap of things: such as soldier's trousers, +woollen shirts, dungaree jumpers and trousers, towels, caps, soap--in +fact, a regular outfit. At last the middle-aged Mussulman who ran the +show began to look suspicious, and said, "You got plenty rupee, Johnny?" +"I've got all I want, Johnny," said he. "Gimme jar o' ginger. _Ginger_, +mind; none o' yer m'lasses." The ginger was brought and added to the +heap. Then Bill said, "Now, then, Johnny, how much for the lot?" A +portentous calculation ensued, which occupied, I should think, twenty +minutes. At last the account was made up--forty-five rupees. Without +moving a muscle of his face, Bill immediately replied, "I'll give you +ten." Horror, amazement, indignation, chased one another over the +countenances of the shopkeepers. At last one of them found words. "You +make plenty laugh, Johnny; speakee barabba one time. Gib forty rupee." +"Not another pice," said Bill, pulling out his money and counting it +ostentatiously. Well, the antics those two natives did cut, to be sure! +They worked themselves up into a foaming rage, they cast their turbans +recklessly in the dust; in such English as they could command they +reviled their tormentor and all his relations to the remotest degree, +and finally came down to thirty rupees. That, they swore with sudden +solemnity, was absolutely the bottom figure, at which they would lose at +least five rupees on the transaction. "Oh, very well," said Bill, "then +I'm off." And, rising, he said, "Come along, Tom." Out we went, and +strolled leisurely along the alley for about a hundred yards, when +suddenly one of the merchants came flying after us, and, with many +smiles, besought Bill to return and "speakee barabba" now. Back we went, +and the game began again. I got thoroughly weary of it at last; but +Bill's patience was inexhaustible. He was rewarded, finally, by their +absolute submission to his terms, when, to my consternation, he refused +to have the goods unless they gave him a large bottle of pepper as +backsheesh. Surely, I thought, this will so disgust them that they will +assault us. But no; after another quarter of an hour's haggling they +yielded the last point, and, laden like a sumpter mule, Bill took his +triumphant departure. + +By this time I had seen more than enough of the steaming hubbub of the +bazaars. But Bill had more business to transact; so we parted company; +and I wandered away alone, gazing with wide-eyed wonder at the +innumerable strange sights to be seen in this great humming city. No one +molested me, although many curious glances were cast at me by groups of +languid natives, of all shades, as I trudged along without any definite +idea whither I was going. At last, utterly weary, I found myself down at +the water's edge again. The afternoon was getting on, and I should soon +have to return on board; but as I had still two rupees, I thought I +would like a trip up the harbour to Mazagan, or beyond it. Full of my +project, I chartered a canoe with two men in it to take me for a sail, +bargaining, as well as I was able, in my ignorance of the language, for +a two hours' sail, ending on board my ship. We started, and, for perhaps +half an hour, I thoroughly enjoyed myself, as the canoe glided along +right up past the P. and O. moorings and the Arsenal. Then, when we were +clear of the shipping, my boatmen suddenly stopped and began an animated +discussion with me, which was somewhat complicated by the fact that +neither of us understood the other. Eventually I became convinced that +they wanted more money, and their previously mild behaviour grew +certainly more aggressive. I felt very nervous, but struggled to conceal +the fact, speaking boldly, as if accustomed to be obeyed. Finally I +produced my money, and turned my pockets inside out to show that I had +no more. Upon seeing this they held a long conversation, during which +the canoe drifted idly and I sat upon thorns. At last, much to my +relief, they turned the boat's head towards the anchorage again, and, +without another word, paddled homeward. Arriving at about a cable's +length from the ship they stopped, and demanded their money. But I, +having seen the stalwart figure of the mate standing on the forecastle +head, stood up, and, with all the voice I could muster, shouted, +"_Western Belle_, ahoy!" Mr. Edny heard me and waved his hand. This move +on my part evidently disconcerted them, and they paddled vigorously for +the gangway. As soon as the canoe touched the side, I sprang up and told +Mr. Edny what had happened. He asked me what I had promised them. I told +him one rupee. Taking eight annas from me, he went down the gangway and +offered it to them. When they set up a perfect storm of protests, he +just pitched the piece of money into the canoe and pushed it away from +the side, returning on board without taking any further notice. Needless +to say, I was heartily thankful to be well out of what at one time +looked like an ugly scrape. + +Next morning the liberty men returned on board in the usual condition, +but Bradley was not with them. That night, however, he paid us a visit +by stealth, coming up the cable and rifling several of his shipmates' +chests of whatever was worth carrying off. Then he went ashore again +unperceived, showing what a very slack watch was kept. There was +consternation in the forecastle when the robbery was discovered, and a +good deal of wild talk; but Bradley was something of a "bucko," and I +very much doubt whether any of them would have said much to him had he +been there in person. Three days longer we remained at anchor, although +apparently quite ready for sea. On the second morning Bradley returned, +and climbing on board, walked aft and coolly asked the mate for a rupee +to pay his boatman with. Being curtly refused and ordered forward, he +stripped off the filthy white shirt he was wearing, and rolling it up, +flung it over to the dinghy-wallah, bidding him to "Kinnaree jao, +jildee" (get ashore quick). With this the poor beggar was perforce +content, making off hurriedly. Bradley then made for his bunk, saying no +word to any one until the afternoon, when he bade Julius Caesar go and +tell the skipper that he was very ill. This message actually made the +old man angry. He came forward and gave the defaulter a piece of his +mind; but being evidently impressed by the look of the man, who had been +gutter-raking in all the filth of "coolie town" for three days, he sent +for the harbour doctor. That worthy, after examination, gave it as his +opinion that there was nothing the matter with the fellow but bad gin +and want of food, assuring the skipper that he would be all right as +soon as we got to sea. + +Next morning we got under way and sailed, not without another protest +from Bradley, of which no notice was taken, as the medical officer, who +was then paying his final visit, adhered to his opinion. We took a +favourable wind at the harbour's mouth, and slid gently down the coast +under easy sail, the vessel being "tender" from scanty allowance of +ballast. But the weather was lovely, the wind fair, and everything +promised a delightful trip. Bradley, however, steadily got worse. +Presently an angry-looking eruption of pimples burst out all over his +body, even the inside of his mouth being invaded. Then my purgatory +commenced. No one would have anything to do with him, although he was +quite helpless. He was shifted out of the forecastle up on to the +forecastle-head, and a sort of tent rigged over him to keep the sun off. +Then I was told off to attend to him. The horror of that time will never +leave me. He was, as I have before noted, with the exception of the +mate, the most hairy man I ever saw, the black shaggy covering of his +arms and legs being at least an inch and a half long, while his chest +and back were more like a great ape's than a man's. Therefore, when all +those pimples grew until they were large as a finger-top, and so close +together that not a speck of sound flesh was visible, the task of +washing him, which I had to perform alone, was really an awful one. I +must draw a veil over the further development of those horrible +pustules.... Happily for the patient he became delirious and apparently +insensible to pain. How I kept my reason I don't know; but I thought, +and still think, that it was a frightful ordeal for a youngster under +fourteen to endure for a whole week. I had nothing else to do; no +relief, except my ordinary watch below, during which he was left quite +alone. On the eleventh day after leaving Bombay we entered Bimliapatam +Roads, and just as we did so death mercifully came to his rescue and +mine. The carpenter botched up a rough coffin, into which the +unrecognizable heap, with all its bedding, was hurriedly bundled, taken +ashore, and buried at the foot of the flagstaff without any ceremony +whatever. No one seemed to know what the disease had been; but I can +only say that having seen lepers in all stages of disfigurement, and +many other cases of terrible pestilential ravages, I have never seen +anything so awful as the case of William Bradley. + + + + +CHAPTER XVII. + +ON THE COROMANDEL COAST. + + +Freed from that horrible incubus, I had now leisure to look about and +enjoy the varied scenes that presented themselves. The place we were +lying at was, I suppose, a typical native coast village, a big hill +facing the anchorage having a rock-hewn temple upon its sea-front. There +was no harbour or shelter of any kind, so that vessels lay all ready for +sea in case of bad weather setting in. All cargo was brought off in the +crazy "massulah" boats, which have been so often described by visitors +to Madras, and are the only craft able to stand the rough usage of the +surf-beaten beach. The fishermen went out on primitive contrivances of +three logs lashed together without any attempt at hollowing out or +fashioning bow and stern. Kneeling upon the two outer logs in the centre +of the crazy thing, the poor wretch would paddle seaward until out of +sight, his sole equipment a palm-leaf basket secured just in front of +him, and containing his fishing-tackle. Neither food nor water could be +carried, yet in this miserable condition they would remain out for many +hours, at the mercy of every wave that came along, and often being +rolled over several times in succession. The catches of fish they made +were always pitifully small, it seemed to me, sometimes consisting of +only a couple of dozen large prawns, though how they caught _them_ out +there was a mystery to me. + +Our cargo was an assorted one. Jaggery, or palm sugar--looking like bags +of black mud, and almost as nice to handle,--buffalo horns and hides, +cases of castor oil, bags of myrabolums (a kind of dye-nut), and sundry +other queer things came off to us in small quantities at a time, and +were flung on board in a most haphazard fashion, owing to the constant +swell, which made the boats tumble about alongside vivaciously. All the +stowage was done by the crew under the direction of Jemmy the Scrubber, +who proved himself as capable a stevedore as he was a seaman. No one +went ashore except the skipper while we lay there, and he would gladly +have avoided the necessity, if possible, since it usually meant a +thorough drenching. On the whole, we were by no means sorry when the +news came that we were to leave and proceed down the coast to Coconada. +As we were always ready to sail, there were none of the usual +preliminaries; we just hauled in the fenders, hove the anchor up, and +started. Here our skipper's local knowledge was of great service. For we +hugged the coast closely all the way down, keeping a favourable wind, +which brought us into Coconada Bay in a few hours, while the +_Andromeda_, a big Liverpool ship that sailed at the same time for the +same port, stood off the land, got into bad weather, and did not arrive +for twenty-eight days. She had also sustained severe damage to both ship +and cargo. + +While Coconada was evidently a much more important place than +Bimliapatam, we saw nothing of the town, for we lay a long way off in +the centre of a huge bay. We were near enough, though, to hear the +various cries of the wild beasts, among which the hideous noise of the +hyenas was especially noticeable. Our unhappy painter, who had remained +in Bombay hospital during the whole of our stay there, was again so ill +that he had to be landed here. But, getting convalescent, he and a +fellow patient went for a stroll one day, and, wandering out of the +town, they met a hyena. Barber was so scared that he fainted right away, +but the other man found sufficient vitality to scramble up a tree. He +had not got very high, though, before weakness overcame him, and he +fell, breaking his leg. When Barber came to there was no trace of the +hyena, but he and his fellow were in a pitiable plight. There they would +doubtless have stopped, and had their bones picked clean by the morning, +but for a party of friendly coolies who came along, and, seeing their +condition, fetched a couple of "palkees" and carried them back to +hospital again. + +Here, then, we remained for three weeks, filling the hold with a +miscellaneous collection of Indian produce, of which cotton, linseed, +and myrabolums formed the staple, until the great capacity of our ship +for cargo was effectually satisfied, and she was jammed full to the +hatch coamings. Then all hands, released from their stifling labours +below, bent their energies to getting ready for sea. Meanwhile, although +our crew were certainly a most patient set of men, their discontent at +the short-handedness, which ever since leaving home had pressed so +hardly upon us all, gathered to a head, culminating in a visit of all +hands to the quarter-deck with a request to see the skipper. Genial as +ever, Captain Smith appeared, his ruddy face wearing an expression of +benign wonderment at the unusual summons. "Well, what is it, men?" said +he. Then stepped forward an elderly Yankee, who had been a bo'sun's mate +in the American navy, a shrewd, intelligent man with a rich fund of +native humour, and a prime favourite fore and aft. "We've taken the +libbaty, sir, ov comin' aft t'ask ye ef it's yeur intenshun ter sail +'thout shippin' enny more hands?" was his reply. "Well, in the first +place, Nat," answered the skipper, "there's no hands ter be got here, +an' besides, in sech a easy-workin' ship as this is, there's no hardship +in bein' a cupple o' hands short." "The good Lawd fergive ye, sir!" +exclaimed Nat; "ef thishyers a heasy-workin' ship, what mout ye reckon a +_hard_-workin' one 'ud be like? Why, cap'n, it takes two men to haul +thro' the slack ov th' braces, an' it's all a man's work to overhaul the +gear of a to'gantsle. 'Sides, sir, yew know it takes all hands to +shorten her down to the taupsles, 'n what we k'n do with her in a +squall--well, I hain't fergot thet plesant evenin' off the Cape, ef yew +have." At this vigorous reply the old man could only laugh to show his +appreciation of the home-thrusts it contained, but with native +shrewdness he changed his base, still preserving his cheery good temper. +"Mind ye, I don't say we ain't short-handed," he said--"very +short-handed; but we're gettin' out ov the Bay o' Bengal 'fore the +sou-west monsoon sets in, 'n yew know 's well 's me that it's fine +weather 'mos' all the way ter the Cape once we cross the line. 'N if we +git enny dirt offn the Cape I'll keep her under easy sail, 'n let the +'Gulhas current sweep her roun', 'n then we'll jest be home in no time. +Yew leav' it t' me. We hain't been eight months together 'thout knowin' +each other, 'n yew all know yew k'n depend on me to do the best I k'n +ter make ye comfortable. But I _can't_ get any hands in this +God-forsaken place if we only had two left forrard." That speech settled +it. If Captain Smith had been an irritable man, inclined to put on airs +of outraged dignity because his crew asked him a perfectly reasonable +question, and to rate them like a set of fractious children, there would +have been an instant refusal of duty on the part of the men, followed by +much suffering and loss on both sides, for the chaps were thoroughly in +earnest. But the skipper's frank good-humour and acceptance of the +situation disarmed them, and they returned forward with minds made up to +see the voyage out as best they could. Next day we weighed anchor and +sailed for London, the windlass revolving to the time-honoured tune of +"Good-bye, fare-you-well; hurrah, my boys, we're homeward bound." + +Just prior to our departure we received on board some two or three +hundred fowls and two goats, which, added to about twenty pigs--mostly +bred on board, two large dogs, two monkeys, sundry parrots and two cats, +made the ship bear no bad resemblance to Noah's Ark. None of these +animals had any settled abiding place; they just roamed about the decks +whithersoever they would, except on the sacred precincts of the poop, +which were faithfully guarded by one of the dogs, who allowed no +intrusion by any of the grunting, clucking, or chattering crowd. But +this state of things was a great trial to all concerned. For one of the +cardinal necessities of British or American ships is cleanliness, which +is secured by copious floods of salt water, and vigorous scrubbing every +morning. Under present conditions keeping the vessel clean was +manifestly impossible, the crowd of animals even invading the men's +quarters, as well as every nook into which they could possibly squeeze +themselves. There was a great deal of dissatisfaction forward at this +state of things, and fowls were continually flying overboard, being +chased and smitten by angry men, who found everything under their hands +befouled and stinking. Still the nuisance was unabated until we were ten +days out. Just off Cape Comorin we got our first stiff breeze of the +homeward passage, and very soon, in accordance with her invariable +custom, the old ship began to take sufficient water over the rail to +flood the decks fore and aft. Then there was a commotion in the +farmyard. The watch, up to their waists in water, splashed about +collecting the squawking chickens, and driving the bewildered swine into +a temporary shelter, rigged up under the topgallant forecastle. Next +morning at least four dozen dead fowls were flung overboard, in addition +to many that had fled blindly into the sea on the previous day. This +loss so disgusted the skipper that he ordered all hands to be fed on +poultry until the stock was exhausted. At first this benevolent (?) +command gave a good deal of delight, but when the miserable, leathery +carcases, boiled in salt water, unclean and unsavory, were brought into +the forecastle, there was almost a riot. A deputation waited upon the +captain to protest and demand their proper rations of "salt horse." They +were received by the skipper with a very ill grace, and the usual +senseless remarks about sailors' fastidiousness in the matter of food +were freely indulged in by the "old man," who seemed quite out of +temper. We got no more Coromandel poultry, though, which was a blessing, +albeit they were served up to the cabin as usual. Being prepared in a +civilized fashion, I suppose, the officers found them eatable. But in +various ways the flock of fowls diminished rapidly, much to our relief, +and gradually the decks began to assume their normal cleanliness. The +pigs, numerous as they were, could be kept within bounds forward; in +fact, the dogs rarely permitted them to come abaft the foremast. As for +the two goats, they grew so mischievous, gnawing the ends of all the +ropes, and nibbling at everything except iron, that orders for their +execution went forth, and since no one would eat them, their bodies were +flung overboard. + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII. + +HOMEWARD TO LONDON. + + +As Captain Smith had foretold, we were having an exceedingly +fine-weather passage. All the way down the Indian Ocean we were favoured +with pleasant breezes, fair for our course, and glorious weather. Every +care was taken to make the work as light as possible for the small crew, +although we in the starboard watch were sorely exasperated by the second +mate's devotion to sand and canvas--a mania that had given him his +well-earned sobriquet of "Jemmy the Scrubber." If he could only have his +watch slopping about with a few buckets of sand and rags of old canvas, +rubbing away at the dingy interior of the bulwarks, that with all his +attentions never _would_ look white, he was in his glory. But oh! how we +did hate the messy, fiddling abomination. It made our discontent the +greater to notice that the mate's watch scarcely ever touched it. Like a +sensible man, Mr. Edny preferred to have one thoroughly good scrub down +at lengthy intervals, going over the whole of the paint in one day, to +scratching like a broody hen, first here and then there, in patches, and +never making a decent job after all. It kept the watch in a chronic +state of growl, which was only prevented from breaking out into +downright rebellion by the knowledge that the second mate was always in +hot water aft, although, owing to his seven years' service in the ship, +the skipper and mate allowed him to have pretty much his own way. Apart +from this, things went on smoothly enough. Many a time did Jemmy, with +only such assistance as Bill and I could give him, set and take in the +lighter sails without disturbing the rest of the watch, who were fast +asleep in their several bunks. They knew this well, and consequently +never turned out, even upon the most urgent necessity, without a chorus +of growls at the second mate, although he never took the slightest +notice of them. + +So we slowly lumbered homeward in uneventful monotony, until one morning +we made the land about East London, and congratulated ourselves that we +were near the southern limit of our journey home. Still the weather was +kind to us. No envious southerly gale battered us back from the Cape we +were striving to get round, and presently we found ourselves in the +embrace of the great Agulhas current that for ever sets steadily round +the Cape westward. Homeward bounders have reason to rejoice when they +enter the limits of this mighty marine river, for, in spite of contrary +winds or calms, they are irresistibly carried on the way they would go +at a rate that is the same for the bluff-bowed sea-waggon as for the +ocean-flyer. And one day, to my intense delight--for I had heard a tale +from Bill--the wind died completely away and the water became as smooth +as a mirror. Every bit of line in the ship that could by any +possibility serve as a fishing-line was ferreted out, and fishing +commenced. At first only the favoured few, whose lines were fifty or +sixty fathoms long, got a look in, bringing up from the bank far below +us some magnificent specimens of cod. Then, as the fish followed their +disappearing comrades up, the shorter lines came into play, and the fun +became general. It was a regular orgie of fishing. At least three +hundred splendid fish of various kinds, but chiefly cod, rewarded our +efforts, the subsequent feast being something to date from. Better +still, the weather being cool, we were able to salt down a large +quantity for use later on, so that we had fish for nearly a month +afterwards. After about eight hours of this calm a gentle south-easterly +breeze sprang up, which persisted and strengthened, until, with the dim +outlines of the high land behind the Cape of Good Hope on our starboard +quarter, we were bowling cheerily along under every rag we could muster, +our head pointing north-north-west, homeward-bound indeed. + +Then the work that must be undertaken in every respectable ship on the +"home-stretch" came with a rush. Setting up rigging, rattling down, +general overhaul of running and standing gear, chipping iron-work and +painting it with red lead, scraping bright woodwork, etc., etc., kept us +all busy, although we were allowed watch and watch all along. In most +ships it is the custom while in the south-east trades, homeward-bound, +to give no afternoon watch below in order that the bulk of the +"redding-up" may be done before crossing the line. But for several +reasons our skipper did not think it advisable to tax his scanty crew +too much. As for attendance on the sails, we might have been a steamship +for all the work of that kind required--the "south-east trades" being +notoriously steady and reliable in the Atlantic, while the north-east +trades are often entirely wanting. So we had trades, from the Cape to +the line, that did not vary a point in force or direction for three +weeks; and, if she would have steered herself, she could have made that +part of the passage unmanned. The time literally flew by, being +delightfully punctuated every Sunday by a glorious feed of roast +pig--two of our large stock of home-bred porkers being sacrificed each +Saturday, and fairly apportioned among all hands. + +St. Helena was sighted ten days after losing sight of the African +land--a huge black mass, towering to an enormous height, as it seemed to +me. We approached it very closely, purposing to report ourselves there, +but not to anchor. Coming round under the huge crags of the southern end +with all sail set, we had a splendid view of the cliffs, rising sheer +from the sea, whereon the gliding shadow of our ship was cast in almost +perfect resemblance. Who was responsible for the neglect, I do not know, +but suddenly down a gorge in the mountain rushed a fierce blast almost +at right angles to the wind we were carrying, and making the canvas +shake and flap with a thunderous noise. There was a great bustle to get +sail off her, but unfortunately she paid off rather smartly, and +_crack_ went the mizzen-topmast before the sails came down. A piece of +gross carelessness! for no coast of that kind should ever be approached +under sail without all due precautions for shortening down. Neglect of +such preparation has caused the loss of many a fine ship and countless +boats, with appalling sacrifice of life. It was the only spar we lost +during the whole of that voyage. + +By the time we had got the kites off her we had opened out the great +gorge, in which, as if it had been dropped from the cliffs above, lies +the town, the houses appearing curiously jumbled together. We were so +close in that the great ladder, credited, I believe, with a rung for +every day in the year, which leads up on to the cliffs from the town, +was plainly visible. Only one ship, the _Noach VIII._, of Rotterdam, one +of the regular old Dutch East Indiamen from Java, was at anchor, for +even then the prosperous days of St. Helena as a sort of ocean "half-way +house" had departed, never to return. We spelt out our name and ports of +departure and destination with the length of passage, our information +being duly acknowledged from the flag-staff. In a few minutes more we +were again in the grip of our faithful friend the south-east trade, and +feeling that another important milestone was passed on our long journey. +Placidly, equably, we jogged on, four days afterwards sighting and +signalling to the barren volcano-scarred island of Ascension, the +exclusive domain of men-o'-war, for whose behalf a large naval +establishment is maintained in highest efficiency. Another landmark +left behind. Onward we sped with freshening trades and increasing speed +until we were actually in eight degrees north latitude, so kindly had +the fair wind we took off the pitch of the Cape favoured us. But our +good fortune still held. Instead of at least a week of the detestable +doldrums we fully expected, we had only one day's detention before the +north-east trades swept down upon us, and away we went, braced sharp up +on the starboard tack to the north-westward. And now for a while, all +the tarry work being done, all hands were transformed into painters, and +varnishers. Within and without also, as far as the wash of the sea +alongside would allow, we painted and polished, until the grimy, once +shabby old packet looked quite smart and shining. The second mate was +right in his element. He begrudged himself necessary rest, and often +looked angrily at the sun when setting, as if he felt he was being +defrauded out of a few minutes more of his beloved labour. Never surely +was there a man who loved work for its own sake better than he. Never +had a ship a more energetic seamanlike officer. Yet he was by no means +appreciated aft, although his worth was undeniable. And as so often +happens, he was doomed to be a junior officer all his life, for he could +not do the simplest problem in navigation without making the most +ludicrous mistakes. However he "passed" for second mate was a mystery +known only to the examiners. Mainly, I believe, by his untiring efforts, +all our painting operations were successfully completed before we +reached the northern verge of the tropic, where changeable weather +began to appear. But, when once the paint was on, he was like a hen with +one chick. His eager eye was ever on the watch for any unfortunate who +should dare to sully the whiteness of the bulwarks within, or heave +anything overboard carelessly that might mark the glossy blackness +outside. But his great carnival was yet to come. One morning shortly +after four, under his directions, I lugged up from the fore-peak a +number of lumps of sandstone, which he busied himself till daylight in +shaping into sizable blocks, while I pounded the smaller pieces into +sand. Promptly at four bells the watch were gathered aft, and +"holystoning" commenced. This delightful pastime consists of rubbing the +decks, along the grain of the wood, with blocks of sandstone, the +process being assisted by scattered sand and water. For three days the +decks were in a continual muck of muddy sand, and Jemmy's face wore a +steady, beaming smile. When, at last, all the grit was flooded away, the +result was dazzling. The decks were really beautiful in their spotless +cleanliness. Then, to my unbounded amazement, no sooner were they dry, +than a vile mixture of varnish, oil, and coal-tar, was boiled in an +impromptu furnace on deck, and with this hideous compost the spotless +planks were liberally besmeared. I felt personally aggrieved. "Why"--I +could not help asking my chum Bill--"why, in the name of goodness all +this back-breaking holystoning only to plaster such a foul mess on the +decks immediately afterward?" "Preserves the wood," was the sententious +reply, and it was all the answer I could get. Certainly the poop was +varnished only, which made it a golden hue until the first water was +poured on it. After that it always looked as if a lot of soapsuds had +been poured over it and left to dry. + +But with this final outrage on common sense, as I couldn't help +considering it, our ship-decorating came to an end. Henceforth the chief +object in view apparently was to preserve, as far as possible, the spick +and span appearance of the vessel until she reached home. Those +beautiful decks, especially, were the objects of Jemmy's constant +solicitude. He found some nail-marks one day left by somebody's boots, +and one would have thought the ship had sprung a leak like a well-mouth +by the outcry he made. As far as possible work was confined to the fore +part of the ship, and beside the ordinary routine little was done but +the plaiting of rope yarns into sennit--always a kill-time. But we were +now so far north that the variable weather of the North Atlantic began +to give us plenty of occupation in the working of the ship. Fortunately +we were not long delayed by contrary winds. The brave westerlies came to +our assistance, driving us along in fine style and at increasing speed, +until one day through the driving mist we sighted Corvo, one of the +northern outposts of the Azores. It was fortunate that we did so, for +thenceforward thickening weather and overcast skies prevented any +observation of the heavenly bodies, and "dead reckoning" was our only +means of knowing the ship's position. Now Captain Smith, though +thoroughly at home on the Indian coasts, had a great dread of his own +shores, and as the distance from land grew less he became exceedingly +nervous, until at last, when by his estimate we were well up Channel, he +dared no longer run as fast as the following gale would have driven him, +but shortened sail, much to every one else's disgust. Ship after ship +came up astern, passed us, and sped away homewards, while we dawdled +through those crowded waters, running the risk of the fair wind blowing +itself out before we had gained our port. Before we had sighted land or +light it came down a thick fog--a regular Channel fret--which is a +condition of things dreaded by all seamen on our dangerous coasts. We +hove-to, keeping the foghorn going with its melancholy bray. Thus for +six mortal hours we lay helplessly tossing in the fairway, listening to +the miserable discord of foghorns, syrens, and whistles, but unable to +see the ship's length away from us. The anxiety was exceedingly great, +for at any moment we were liable to be run down by something or another, +whose commander was more venturesome than ours. Suddenly out of the +gloom came a hoarse hail, "D'ye want a pilot, sir?" A sweeter sound was +never heard. Without a moment's hesitation the old man replied, "Yes, +where are you?" He had hardly spoken before the dim outlines of a lugger +came into view close alongside. "Are you a Trinity pilot?" asked the +skipper. "No, sir, but I can run you up to him," replied the voice. "How +much?" queried the captain. "Five pounds, sir!" came promptly back. +"All right, come aboard!" said the old man, and all hands crowded to the +side to see our deliverer from suspense. "Heave us a line, please, sir!" +came up from the darkness, where we could see the shadowy form of the +big boat tossing and tumbling in the heavy sea. The main brace was flung +out to her, and, as she sheered in towards us, a black bundle seemed to +hurl itself at us, and in a few seconds it stood erect and dripping on +deck--a man swathed in oilskins till he looked like a mummy. Only +pausing to dash the water out of his eyes, he shouted, "Square the +mainyard!" and walking aft to the helmsman ordered him to "Keep her +away." A minute before all had been miserable in the extreme, and the +bitter gale roaring overhead seemed to be withering all the life out of +us. But what a change! The man seemed to have brought fine weather with +him; the perfect confidence that every one had in him dispelling every +gloomy thought. The lesson of that little episode, so commonplace, yet +so full of instruction, has never been forgotten by me. It is so +palpable that I dare not enlarge upon it. + +Meanwhile one of the lugger's crew had followed his chief, and was busy +begging tobacco, meat, and anything else the steward could find to part +with. When he had got all he could, the lugger sheered in again, and he +tumbled back on board with his booty. Very soon the fog cleared away, +and as soon as it did so we saw the light on Dungeness close aboard. We +ran up to the pilot's cruising ground and hove-to, burning a blue light +as a signal, while our friendly hoveller pocketed his five pounds and +departed, well pleased with his four hours' earnings. These men get +called some very hard names, and may perhaps occasionally deserve them; +but as long as sailing-ships exist they will be found, as we undoubtedly +found one, a very present help in time of need, and the salvation of +many a fine ship. + +The Trinity pilot was some time making his appearance, for there were +many ships about, and we must needs wait our turn. But in due time we +were supplied, the yards were again squared, and away we went around the +Foreland. Presently there was a welcome sound of paddle-wheels, and up +came a tug anxious for the job of towing us up to London. But our +captain's Scotch economy forbade him to take steam while there was so +much fair wind going for nothing; and the subsequent haggling was almost +as protracted as Bill's celebrated feat in Bombay. At last, after two or +three departures of the tug in fits of irritation, a bargain was struck, +and the ever-welcome command came pealing forward, "Get the hawser +along!" No need to call all hands. Everybody came on the jump, and that +mighty rope was handled as if it had been a lead-line. In a wonderfully +short time the end was passed to the tug, a severe turn was taken with +our end round the windlass bitts, and with what the sailor calls "a fair +wind ahead," we went spinning up through the intricate channels of the +Thames estuary. All hands worked with a will to get the sails clewed up +and unbent from the yards, as it was now daylight. Such a morning's +work had not been done on board for many a day, for was not the end of +the voyage here. As for me, I was continually in hot water, for I could +not keep my eyes off the wonderful scenes through which we were passing. +It was my first home-coming to London by sea, and on the two previous +occasions of leaving, I had either no heart to look about me or I had +come down at night. Just stopping at Gravesend long enough to exchange +pilots, since the sea-pilot never takes a ship into dock, we sped onward +again, the tug straining every nerve to save the tide. Soon everything +was ready for docking, and all hands were allowed to "stand by," resting +until we should reach Blackwall. + +The East India Docks at last, with the usual little group of expectant +yet nonchalant officials and the loafers in the background. Are we going +to dock at once, or will she tie up in the basin? As anxiously as if +docking was going to take a month were these questions bandied about, so +eager were all the fellows to get ashore. Joy!--she is hauled in to the +side of the basin, made fast temporarily, and the mate, with a merry +twinkle in his eye, says the closing benediction, "That'll do, men." By +this time the voracious crowd of boarding-masters' runners, tailors' +ditto, and unclassified scoundrels were swarming on board (it was before +the beneficent regulations were passed forbidding these gentry to board +an in-coming ship), and the forecastle was a perfect pandemonium. But +one by one the chaps emerged with their dunnage, and were carried off in +triumph by one or other of the sharks, until, the last one having gone, +we of the half-deck were left in peace. And now I _was_ home what was I +going to do? I felt like a stranger in a strange land, and it was with a +sense of great relief that I accepted an invitation to stay by the ship +for the present. + + + + +CHAPTER XIX. + +A CHANGE OF NATIONALITY. + + +Much as I longed for my liberty, the certain sense of a home afforded by +the ship was so comforting that I was in considerable dread of the time +when, as I supposed, I should be paid off and sent adrift like the rest +of the crew. Therefore it was with joy that I received the welcome news +from the mate that I might remain and work by the ship, and that my +wages would be fourteen shillings a week, out of which I was to keep +myself. The future, which had begun to worry me greatly with its +possibilities of misfortune, owing to my still insignificant size, now +took a decidedly roseate hue. My arch-enemy (as I considered him), the +second mate, became quite amiable, even condescending to inform me that +the plenteous kicks and cuffs he had bestowed upon me had all been +prompted by a sincere desire for my best interests, and that, before I +was much older, I should thank him heartily for his rigorous treatment. +In this latter prophecy he was grossly in error, for I have never been +able to find any excuse for the brutality of a man to the helpless who +chance to be in his power, whether human or brute. + +Pay-day came and I received my account of wages, finding that I was +entitled to nine golden sovereigns. At the appointed hour I made my way +up the East India Dock-road to Green's Home, where I foregathered with +most of my shipmates, who were dogged by villainous-looking men as +closely as if they were criminals out for an airing. While waiting, they +made frequent visits to the public-house at the back of the office, +which fairly hummed with the accumulated rascality of the neighbourhood. +But for the danger of actions for libel, I would tell some pretty little +stories of what I have seen in some of the highly respectable (see +evidence before the Licensing Committees) liquor-shops in "sailor town." +But I must refrain, comforting myself with the knowledge that such tales +have already been better told elsewhere. When at last my turn came, and +I received that little pile of gold--more money than I had ever seen at +one time before--I was almost afraid of being the possessor of so much +wealth. And knowing well, as I did, the risk I ran if any one got an +inkling of my riches, did not lessen my fears. I did not think of the +Post Office, strange to say; but, in a few minutes, formed a resolution +to lay all my money out in a stock of clothes--which, indeed, I was +urgently in need of--and depend upon my weekly earnings from the ship to +keep me. The thought of losing my employment never seems to have dawned +upon me. Full of my project, I started for Aldgate; but brought up +sharply at the Baths before I had gone a hundred yards. A nice warm +bath--what a luxury! In I went and enjoyed myself immensely. In about +half an hour I was out again and walking briskly westward, when I +stopped to make some trifling purchase--to find my money gone, purse and +all. On the instant I turned and rushed back to the Baths, flew past the +doorkeeper, and up the corridor towards the bath I had recently left. +The door stood wide open, and there was my purse on the seat, with the +money intact. I grabbed it and drew a long breath, the first, it seemed +to me, since I missed it. Going out, I met an angry man at the door, who +was anxious to know what I thought I was up to, and so on. A shilling +assuaged all his curiosity and lit up his lowering face with sudden +smiles. Clutching my purse, I made all the haste I could to Messrs. +Moses and Sons, arriving there with a sigh of thankfulness. I didn't +feel capable of owning so much money, much less taking care of it. A +gorgeously attired individual strode forward with an ironical air of +courtesy as I entered, and, bowing low, wished to know my pleasure. Ah! +if I was going to spend all my money, here was at least a chance to +taste the sweets of that power which its possession brings. With all the +hauteur I could assume, I said, as I swelled my four feet of stature in +opposition to the shopwalker's majestic presence, "I want an outfit, +something plain and substantial; say about nine or ten pounds." And as I +spoke I secretly emptied my purse in my pocket, and drawing out a few +sovereigns nonchalantly, I passed them through my fingers and dropped +them into another pocket. Out of the corner of my eye I watched my +gentleman's face. All his sarcastic attitude vanished, and for the time +he was my obsequious, humble servant. But oh! how shamelessly he made me +pay for his attendance. Even after this lapse of years I blush to think +how I was taken in--the shoddy rags which I received for my gold, and +the swelling pride with which I ordered them to be sent down to _my_ +ship. When I left the huge shop I felt quite an important personage, +although I had but five shillings left out of my year's wages. Still, +such as they were, I had a complete stock of clothing, including a chest +and bedding, oilskins and sea-boots; in fact, such an outfit as I had +never owned before. When I returned on board I informed Bill of my +purchases. He applauded my resolution, but blamed me for not keeping a +little money in case of an emergency--he always did himself, he said. +For a fortnight, however, I found no reason to regret my precipitate +action. Then, on a Saturday afternoon, came the stunning intelligence +that, as there was no more work to be done, I was no longer wanted. +Fortunately I had saved enough out of my weekly wage to pay for a week's +board; so I immediately made my way to my old boarding-house in the West +India Dock-road, and was received with open arms. I paid my twelve +shillings down manfully, telling the master that I wanted a ship as soon +as possible. After finding out by cross-examination that I had been paid +off with nine pounds, he was much less cordial. In fact, he grumbled a +good deal; but finally promised to do his best to get me a ship at once. +Fortunately (as I thought at the time), before the week was out, I got a +berth on board a large American ship--the _Pharos_ of Boston, which was +lying in the South-West India Dock, loading general cargo for Melbourne. +As she was only about half full, I begged permission to come and work on +board for my food, so that I should not get into debt at the +boarding-house. The mate, who engaged me, readily granted my request; in +fact, he seemed to take no interest in the matter. So I took up my +quarters on board, becoming great friends immediately with the amiable +old mulatto steward, who, besides being a most valuable servant, was a +deeply religious man according to his lights. + +And now my lines were cast in truly pleasant places. I had heard of the +good times enjoyed by boys in American ships--such floating hells for +their crews as a rule--and my experiences at present fully bore out the +truth of my information. But I very soon saw that all was not right on +board. The mate was utterly neglectful of the cargo, spending most of +his time tippling in his berth with all sorts of visitors. The second +mate, a stalwart youth of twenty, busied himself constantly with the +rigging, studiously avoiding any encroachment upon the mate's province +of attending to the shipment of the cargo. The captain rarely appeared. +He was a very old man, with an awful scowl, and, although bearing +himself erect, and smart-looking, was evidently long past the efficient +performance of his duties. The only other members of the crew on board +were the carpenter, a Finn of about sixty years of age, and the cook, a +garrulous Dane, who spent most of his time yarning at the galley door +with a huge knife in one hand as if it were his sceptre. A good deal of +drinking went on about that galley, and often at knock-off time the +stevedores had much ado to get ashore, so drunk were they. At last the +mate left--how or why I do not know--and from thenceforward no pretence +was made of tallying in the cargo at all. Not until three days before +she was advertised to sail did we get another mate, a prim little man, +who had been long master of English ships, and looked like a fish out of +water on board the _Pharos_. + +Shipping day came, and, leaving the second mate, steward, and carpenter +(who were on the original articles) on board, the rest of us went down +to a shop in Ratcliff Highway to "sign on." It was a Jew tailor's, of +all places in the world, and never shall I forget my astonishment at the +sight it presented. When we got there the shop was full of as motley a +crowd of scallawags as one could collect anywhere. Apparently they were +shipping in some other American ship, from the scraps of conversation I +heard. Presently one of the fellows asked a question of the +sturdy-looking Israelite behind the counter. Looking up from his book, +that worthy said fiercely, "Get out!" The man hesitated, and muttered +some reply. With a howl like an enraged tiger the tailor snatched up a +pair of shears and sprang over the counter after him. There was a +regular scuffle among the crowd for a few seconds, as the thoroughly +scared candidate rushed for the door, just succeeding in making his +escape as the vengeful Jew reached the pavement. In another second the +tailor was back at his book as if nothing had happened. But I noticed +that nobody asked any more questions, except one man, whom I took to be +the captain of the ship signing on. After some little confusion the +first crowd took their departure, and another assortment took their +places, ready to sign in the _Pharos_. The whole proceedings were an +utter farce, though with a semblance of legality; but what surprised me +most of all was that each man received, whether he wanted it or not, two +months' advance in the form of a promissory note, payable at this shop +three days after the ship left Gravesend. Only three out of the whole +crowd signed their names, the rest modestly made their mark, and the +tailor wrote down such fantastic designations as his fancy suggested. +Then one of his assistants marshalled us all together like a flock of +sheep, and convoyed us to the office of the American Consul-General in +the city, where, in wholesale fashion, we were made citizens of the +United States of America. The ceremony was no sooner over than we were +told to go, but sharply reminded of the hour of sailing. Our guide +mysteriously disappeared, leaving us to find our way back to sailor-town +as best we could. + +To my surprise and gratification I found myself shipped as an ordinary +seaman, at thirty shillings per month, three pounds of which I already +held in the form of a "promise to pay." I immediately hastened to my +boarding-house to get the said paper converted into money, but, as I +didn't owe him anything, the master refused to touch it, and further +favoured me with his opinion that I shouldn't find anybody who would +give me more than ten shillings for it. Somewhat alarmed at this, I +hurried to various places where they professed to discount seamen's +advance notes, finding to my amazement, that he had spoken the truth. +Then I suddenly remembered an old acquaintance with whom I had become +friendly, and who, being a tradesman, might be able to change my note. +Off to him I hurried, finding him both able and willing; so I got my +three pounds in full. But I afterwards learnt that the highest amount +any of the sailors had been able to get for their notes of six pounds +had been two pounds ten shillings, and of this a goodly portion had to +be taken out in clothes. And this I was told was because of the +uncertainty attaching to the payment of these notes when they were +presented. Under such conditions there was little room for wonder that +cases of disappearance of the men who had obtained these advance notes +were frequent. It was no unusual thing for half of a crew to be missing +when a vessel sailed, when, of course, those who had given anything for +the notes lost their money beyond hope of recovery. + +Although it seems premature to say so, I feel bound to add that the +friend who cashed my note received his money, when it was due, without +question. Seven of the men who signed on with me did not turn up on +sailing-day, so that we left the dock shorthanded to that extent. We +anchored at Gravesend, however, and a scratch lot of "hard cases" were +found to make up our complement. For three days we lay at the Red Buoy +below Gravesend, while I wondered mightily at such delay, foreign +altogether to my notions of the despatch of Australian packets. But +finally a huge lighter painted a brilliant red came alongside, and +immediately the order was issued for all fire or light of any kind to be +extinguished, as we were going to ship gunpowder. As soon as the +officers were satisfied that there was no danger from a stray spark to +be apprehended, the transhipment began, and soon fifty tons of +explosives were transferred to the square of our main hatch, in cases +and kegs, from which a good deal of loose powder was leaking. The +stowing completed, the hatch was securely battened down for sea, the +lighter left, and the order was given to man the windlass. Hitherto I +had been agreeably surprised to see how quietly the work went on, +altogether a different state of affairs to what I had expected on board +a Yankee ship. But the reason was not far to seek. Vicious as the +captain looked, he was utterly helpless to inaugurate a reign of terror +on board, for he had no truculent set of officers to back him. The mate +was a quiet, elderly man, looking as unlike a seaman as possible, and +certainly was not the man to develop into a bully. The second mate was +too young, although as smart a man as ever stepped, to tackle the whole +crew single-handed, even had he felt disposed; and, of course, the +ancient carpenter counted for nothing. Half the crew were exceedingly +hard citizens, who looked as if all the ways of "Western Ocean +blood-boats" were familiar to them; the other half were Norwegians and +Swedes, who were unable to speak English, and ready to endure any kind +of brutality, at whoever's hands it might be presented. Poor wretches! +had they but known it, they were fortunate, for the worst that befell +them was being treated as boys by the hard-bitten members of the crew, +and made to wait on them hand and foot. On deck their lives were easy +enough and the food was really good. + +In order to save the skipper trouble, I suppose, we had a Channel pilot +on board to take the ship as far as Portland. He, poor man, was sadly +out of his element with the skipper, whom he early described, to the +half-dozen passengers we carried, as an unmitigated hog. Still there was +no open breach between them until we arrived off the Wight. Then when +the pilot altered the course (we had been coming down in mid-channel), +too close in with the land, the old man walked up to the helmsman and +sternly ordered him to resume the course he had been steering, right +down the centre of the Channel. Of course there was an explosion. The +pilot protested in no measured terms against his behaviour, saying that, +as his contract was performed, he was anxious to be put ashore. The +captain, however, treated him with cool insolence, assuring him that he +wasn't going one mile out of his way to land him, and the utmost he +would do would be to put him on board any homeward-bounder we might pass +near enough. This nearly drove the pilot frantic. We could hear him all +over the ship. But, for all the impression he made upon the venerable +Yankee, he might as well have saved his breath. Then there was trouble +with the passengers. They had been led to believe that they would be +sumptuously fed and waited upon, the charterers in London having painted +in glowing colours the comforts sure to be met with in so large a ship +for seven passengers. Now, however, they found that even the cooking of +their food was a privilege for which they must fee the cook, the steward +was forbidden to wait upon them, and they were entirely thrown upon +their own resources. When they complained to the captain he calmly told +them that their difficulties were no concern of his; he had quite +sufficient annoyance in seeing them occupying his saloon, which he could +assure them was intended for the reception of a very different class of +people to them. Happily they were all fairly well used to roughing it, +and so they sensibly set about making the best of their very bad +bargain, and thenceforward ignored the scowling skipper altogether. The +unfortunate pilot was kept on board five days, and finally put on board +a homeward-bound Mediterranean steamer that we spoke half-way across the +Bay. As he went over the side he hurled his opinion of the skipper back +at him, his voice rising higher and higher, until he was no longer +audible, to the huge delight of passengers and crew alike. + + + + +CHAPTER XX. + +THE PASSAGE TO MELBOURNE. + + +We were now fairly on the voyage, and it must be confessed at the outset +that the work of the ship, in spite of the paucity of officers, went on +with automatic regularity. No disturbance of any kind marred the general +peace, all hands seeming well content to do their duty quietly, although +fully aware of the weakness of the afterguard. My own position was a +queer one. Although I was on the articles as an ordinary seaman, and +slept in the forecastle among the men, neither of the officers ever gave +me any work to do, and I was compelled in self-defence to fall back upon +my old friend the steward for something to occupy my time. I had all my +food with him, and whenever I could do so without fear of being +discovered by the captain, he allowed me to perform a few small offices +for the unfortunate passengers. Before we had been a fortnight out, a +circumstance, which I dare not hint at the nature of, compelled me to +give up my quarters in the forecastle and take refuge in the cabin, +where I spread my nightly couch under the saloon table. The captain +never seemed to notice my existence at all, at which I used to wonder +much; but feeling that obscurity was not a bad thing for me, I kept out +of his way as much as possible. I do not think it would be possible to +find a more perfect representation of Bunyan's "Pope" than he was. +Whenever he looked at one of the men his scowl was shocking, almost +murderous, and he was continually snarling at the mate for not using +violence towards them. But the first gale we encountered revealed a new +and still more unpleasant side of his character. Although the ship was +new, and staunch as faithful building could make her, her equipment in +all details of the very best procurable, I was astonished to see how +rapidly sail was reduced, as if she had been the veriest +poverty-stricken old hulk that ever was sent to sea to sink. Long before +the gale attained its height she was "fore-reaching" under a main +lower-topsail and storm staysails, and he, the commander, like an +unquiet spirit, was prowling incessantly about the cabin, or pacing +restlessly in front of the wheel. In one hand he held a large plug of +tobacco, from which his trembling fingers tore leaf after leaf and +crammed them into his mouth until it would hold no more. Then he would +pause for a moment at the lee rail and disgorge, only to resume his +feeding an instant later. He even consulted the poor old steward, asking +him, in quite familiar tones, whether he thought the gale was taking +off, although at other times he spoke to him rather more brutally than a +costermonger would to his donkey. But the crowning act of almost lunatic +fear was to come. I was doing something in his beautiful state-room, +when I heard him descending the ladder. I could not get out without +passing him, so I hid myself behind a curtain, feeling sure that he +would not remain there more than a minute. Peeping cautiously out, I saw +him standing gazing fixedly at a large print of the Lord's Prayer that +adorned one of the panels. Presently he burst out into the most terrible +blasphemies: guttural cursings that sent cold chills of horror chasing +one another over my scalp. Then he began to moan pitifully, as if in +pain, and suddenly, to my intense relief, he hurriedly went on deck +again. I fled in to the steward, shaking from head to foot, and told him +what I had heard. "Doan tak' no notice, honey," said the kind old +fellow. "I guess he's a-gettin' mighty ole 'n scared, so's he don' know +haef wat he sez. Ennyhaow, we cain't he'p his cussedness, 'n de good +Lawd ain't a-gwine ter mek us pay fer him. I knows Him better'n dat. +Don' yew lissen t'im no mo', sonny, ef yew kin he'p it." Little need to +tell me that, I thought. There was really nothing extraordinary in the +gale. Even the passengers, apart from the discomfort of their +surroundings, were unmoved by it, for the splendid vessel behaved +herself grandly, hardly shipping a drop of water. Gradually the wind +took off; but not until every trace of bad weather was out of the sky +was any attempt made to set sail again. And when at last orders were +given to loose the topsails and staysails, the captain seemed half +afraid of his own temerity, although two or three vessels passed us with +every stitch set, their crews lining the bulwarks to stare at us in +wonder as to why we were thus wasting the fine fair wind. + +This cautious navigation, however, troubled nobody but the passengers; +and even they were less disturbed by it than they would have been had +they known anything of the ship's position. But that no one in the ship +knew, with any certainty, except the old fellow himself; for he +navigated the vessel, and did not allow the mate to take an observation, +treating him in this matter, as in all others, with a contempt almost +too great for words. Why, no one could tell; for Mr. Small was a good +officer and seaman, keeping the ship in perfect order, and attending to +all his duties in a most exemplary way. The only reason that could be +imagined for the captain's behaviour to him was that he had none of the +loud-voiced bully about him, and utterly refused to beat, kick, or swear +at any member of the crew. One thing was especially noticeable: neither +of the officers ever went forward of the men's quarters after dark, +unless absolutely compelled to do so in the course of trimming or +setting sail. This reluctance, on their part, to venture into what they +had come to look upon as the men's part of the deck, was of the greatest +assistance to the crew in the pursuit of their nefarious schemes of +plunder, which were carried on here to a greater extent than I have ever +heard of elsewhere. It has been already noticed that a good deal of +drunkenness was indulged in before the vessel left the dock, owing to +the previous mate's total neglect of duty, and this was principally +focussed about the galley. Now, it so happened that the stock of +kindling-wood fell very low, and this furnished an excellent excuse for +the cook to be much in the fore-hold, seeking such stray pieces of +dunnage-wood as he might burn. He was a poor cook, but a superlatively +ingenious robber. For, finding that the 'tween decks held little worth +his attention, he wrought unceasingly to get the lower hatches lifted--a +tremendous task, from the massive weights stowed on top of them. At last +he succeeded in getting into the lower hold, and laying open the vast +accumulation of valuable cargo that lay beneath. Having done this he +informed the "hard-case" members of his exploit, and considerately +arranged the fastenings on the fore-hatch so that they could get below +when they listed. Thenceforward that forecastle was a scene of luxury +such as I believe has never been equalled in a merchant ship. Wire +chandeliers, fitted with massive wax candles, lit up the usually +darksome house, the burning of costly cigars filled it with aroma, +liquors of every kind were drunk from tin pots, and at meal-times all +sorts of canned meats, seasoned with various condiments, tickled their +palates. Yet, strange to say, there was no drunkenness. One man, the +ringleader in this systematic robbery, possessed sufficient force of +character to actually prevent any of his shipmates from "giving the show +away," as he termed it. In consequence, this eating and drinking of +luxuries went on for fully three months, and never a whisper of the +goings-on reached the officers' ears. Even the passengers shared in the +plunder. Their stores, besides being of bad quality, were so limited in +quantity and variety that they were glad to purchase from the sailors a +little of their spoil, asking no questions as to its origin. As the +various cases were emptied the cook broke them up, carried the fragments +into the galley and burnt them, so that no trace was left of the +depredations. + +The nightly excursions below were attended with awful risk. In the first +place the men possessed no dark lantern, so that they carried naked +candles flaring in their hands as they crawled through the restricted +spaces between the cargo and the deck overhead. And, on first entering +the lower hold, they had to make their way over hundreds of drums of +naphtha. These were all sealed, it is true; but had there been one leaky +can in that temperature over which a naked light passed! More than that, +in their investigations the marauders penetrated as far aft as the +stern, passing among little heaps of loose gunpowder which had sifted +through the hatches of the between-decks, and writhing over kegs of +blasting-powder which were stowed right across the vessel amidships. At +first they did this unthinkingly; but when they realized it they still +went on as before. No doubt this statement of mine will stagger many who +have found no difficulty hitherto in accepting my word that this book +contains absolutely nothing but the truth, and is a record of my +personal experience. Nevertheless, I solemnly declare that I have not +deviated one iota from the simple facts of the case. What is strange to +myself about it is that I did not, could not, then realize what +frightful danger we were continually in; but ever since, when I recall +the events of that voyage, the cold sweat starts out upon me and I +tremble violently. + +True to his traditions the old man kept north as soon as we were well +round the Cape, afraid to run the easting down in the usual latitudes +because of the stern vigour of the brave west winds. Consequently, we +dawdled along with variable winds and dirty weather, never keeping a +steady breeze for more than a day or two at the outside. But, as the +longest passage must come to an end at last, when nearly four months had +elapsed since leaving London, a rumour ran round the ship that we were +on the meridian of Cape Leeuwin, the south-westernmost point of +Australia. This put all hands in an exceedingly good humour, and +incidentally had strange consequences. Not that she had ever been an +uncomfortable ship, except for the mate and the passengers. There was +never an angry word or a growl heard. Orders were executed with as much +alacrity as if there had been half a dozen belaying-pin-wielding +officers prowling about, ready to knock any skulker senseless on the +instant. No doubt this was owing to some strange under-current of +feeling about their nefarious proceedings on the part of the crew, as if +they could, in some measure, set-off their wholesale robbery by the +prompt, cheerful obedience they paid to all orders. But, as I have said, +the report of our nearness to port sent a glow of unusual cheerfulness +through the ship. Under its influence the prime mover in the plundering +felt so benevolent that he actually went and fetched a bottle of brandy +out of his chest, and, hiding it in the breast of his jumper, brought +it to the old carpenter as he sat solitary in his berth at the after-end +of the forward-house. Chips was profuse in his thanks, earnest in his +protestations that he would be _very_ careful not to take too much and +so let the officers into the secret. No sooner was he left alone, +however, than, pouring himself out about half a pint of the glowing +"Three Star," he drank it off at a draught. His age fell from him like a +shed garment. With a strange glitter in his eye he seized the bottle +again, and treated this new man that had entered into him to another +jorum like the first. Then, on the instant, all the contumely that he +had so long and patiently endured from the skipper rushed into his +mind--a hateful burden of memories too heavy to be longer tamely borne. +Flinging wide his door he stepped on deck and solemnly marched aft, high +determination apparent in every motion of his transformed body. Halting +before the cabin door, he shouted, "Cap'n Collier, ye mouldy-headed old +son of a gun, come out here! I'm jest goin' ter lam de measly ole hed +off'n ye!" The rest of his harangue was unfit for publication. +Sufficient to say that, in spite of his deficient acquaintance with the +English language, he showed himself marvellously fluent in all the +quaint profanity of which Americans are the acknowledged masters. Thrice +was he forcibly removed to his berth by the two officers, redoubling his +efforts to induce the captain to appear, and thrice he burst forth again +and clamoured for the old man's blood. At last, seeing that nothing else +would suffice, he was put in irons, his feet were lashed together, and, +thus bound, he was cast into his bunk to "sober up," while the second +mate searched his berth for the _fons et origo mali_. He soon found it, +and brought it aft to the captain. Then a close examination of the +fore-hatch was made, revealing the fact that it was unlocked, although +the cook swore that he _had_ always locked it before he returned the +keys to the second mate. However, it was now made secure, and the keys +brought aft and given to the captain. Neither of the officers +remembered, though, that a spacious ventilator through the fore-part of +the house led directly down into the hold. This was accordingly left +unfastened, and every night one or other of the unhappy foreigners were +compelled to slide down it and pass up such stores as they could lay +their hands on. And so the game went merrily on. + +Meanwhile the weather holding fine and the wind fair, we drew rapidly +nearer to the end of the passage. For my part, easy as my lot had been, +I was thoroughly sick of it. I had never been aloft all the passage, nor +had I been allowed to take any part in the ordinary work of the ship. +Consequently I felt as if I were losing all my knowledge of my business, +and I had gloomy forebodings of my sufferings in the next ship. Moreover +I felt very uneasy in my mind as to the probable outcome of the +goings-on in the forecastle and galley. I had been so much amongst it +that I felt sure it would be difficult for me to clear myself if it came +to court, and as each day passed I felt more and more certain that there +would be a wholesale arrest as soon as the vessel arrived. Therefore I +was thoroughly unquiet, longing for the passage to end, yet dreading +the arrival in port. But, so far as I could see, these dismal +reflections troubled the crew not at all. The seasoned hands had +evidently prepared a plan of campaign, and had made ample provision for +a lengthy tramp up-country, by stocking their bags with such preserved +foods as they fancied. In addition each man had a fine gun, out of a +case they had found, and a goodly quantity of cigars and spirits. Such +utter recklessness, in the face of their probable wholesale arrest +before the ship came alongside the wharf, was hard to understand; yet so +they acted. + +At last the long-looked-for light on Cape Otway was sighted, and before +a splendid westerly breeze we sped through Bass's Straits, and northward +for Port Phillip Heads. Without any hindrance, except to take up a +pilot, we raced onwards until we reached the anchorage off Williamstown, +where, with the red flag flying at our mainmast head in token of the +dangerous nature of our cargo, we brought up and furled all sail, 155 +days out from London. It was the longest passage that any vessel had +made for years, and great was the astonishment manifested by all who +boarded us to hear of it. None of them could understand how it was that +so fine a ship could possibly have taken the time, especially as another +ship, belonging to the same owners, and admittedly a much slower vessel, +had been in port a fortnight, having left London one month after us. +Captain Collier told the reporters a terrible tale of the severity of +our passage, which did great credit to his imagination, but left his +veracity derelict. Four days passed at the Williamstown anchorage before +we finally got rid of our powder--days of utter misery for every one +concerned in the depredations, for they were in momentary expectation of +the arrival of a police-boat with orders for their arrest. To this day +it is a mystery to me why this did not happen. Of course the skipper +could not know how far the robbery had gone, but that "broaching of +cargo" had been indulged in he must have been well aware. But he was so +utterly contemptuous of all things English, that he may have felt quite +indifferent as to what became of Englishmen's property. As his ship was +chartered by a London firm it was doubtless their loss. At any rate, he +did not trouble himself to order any examination of the hold, or make +any inquiry into the suspicious circumstances that had taken place on +the passage. At last, all being ready, we weighed anchor and were towed +over to the Sandridge Pier. We arrived there late in the afternoon, so +that by the time we were moored it was dusk. The decks were cleared up, +and all hands sent to supper. About an hour afterwards every man +forrard, with the exception of the young foreigners, who had hardly +learned English, shouldered their bags and walked ashore. The old man +was parading the poop as the row of deserters marched up the pier, but +he either did not or would not see them. So they disappeared, and we saw +them no more. Nor did we hear of them again, although two days +afterwards a reward of four pounds each was offered for their +apprehension--a piece of folly almost inconceivable in its fatuity. Of +course the cook had gone along with them, the danger of his position far +outweighing the loss of twenty pounds in wages which he thus forfeited. + +As far as I was concerned, things ran along as smoothly as heart could +wish. But I was unsettled, nor could all the kindness of the worthy +steward avail to satisfy me. Theoretically, I ought to have been +exceedingly comfortable. I had literally nothing to do but avoid the +skipper; I had thirty shillings a month as wages, abundance of good +food, and I was on the best of terms with every soul on board but one. +Yet, somehow, I longed to be out of it all, and could not bring myself +to face the possibility of going to sea again in the ship. I took to +frequenting the large coasting-steamers, which used to lie at the shore +end of the pier, and at last made great friends with the chief cook of +one of them: the _Wonga Wonga_. This worthy was a herculean negro, +rejoicing in the name of Sam White, which, as a piece of charcoal would +have made a white mark on him, was somewhat inappropriate. At the close +of a delightful evening spent in his company on board the _Wonga Wonga_, +I made bold to ask him if he could get me a passage to Sydney with him. +Oh, there could be nothing easier than that, according to him; it was +only necessary for him to speak the word, and he could take half a dozen +friends up with him. But it was usual to make him a small present. I, of +course, had no money; but I timidly offered him a gold scarf-pin, which +had been given me by the passengers as a present (I afterwards learnt +that it was worth fifty shillings). He was graciously pleased to accept +it, and told me to bring my dunnage along at once. In a fever of +excitement I returned on board the _Pharos_, and packed up all my +belongings, now swollen to a goodly heap by the many articles of +clothing given me by the passengers when they left. When I had completed +my packing, I could scarcely drag the great pile of chest, bag, and +bundle along the deck, and I dared not ask any one on board to help me. +But I had plenty of resource; so I hooked on the yardarm cargo-tackle to +the lot (all well lashed together), and after a struggle succeeded in +hoisting it high enough to swing on to the wharf, having first seen that +the watchman was comfortably dozing in the galley. Very carefully I +lowered my precious cargo on to the pier, then crept ashore, and dragged +it under a railway truck, while I went back to the _Wonga Wonga_, and +enlisted the services of the cook's mate to come and carry it up to +their ship, and place it under Mr. White's care. Then I got my final +instructions. I was to return on board the _Pharos_, and remain there +till the next day at dinner-time, when I must hasten on board the +steamer, where Mr. White would receive me, and in an hour I should be on +my way to Sydney. Making my grateful acknowledgments, I returned on +board, and upon a heap of old canvas slept dreamlessly until morning. + + + + +CHAPTER XXI. + +I BECOME A COLONIAL COASTER. + + +Surely never morning contained so many hours as did this one. Never +before, in all my varied experience, had I felt time to be so +leaden-footed. For, do what I would, the thought that at the last moment +some hindrance would arise and prevent me from following all my earthly +possessions would not be put aside. My good old friend, the steward, +noted my nervous condition, and at last called me into the pantry and +asked me, in kindly, serious tones, what was the matter. In a few broken +words I told him all, so fully did I trust him. He was silent for a +couple of minutes, then he said, "Well, Tommy, my boy, I'm sorry you'se +gwine; but I couldn't wish to keep ye here. It's no place for ye. And, +alldough I'm 'fraid I'm not doin' de right ting to let ye go, I cain't +fine it in me heart to stop ye. I only hope you'll be a good boy an' do +well, and I shall pray God to bless ye. I don't s'pose you've got any +money, so here's ten dollars for ye. Don't let anybody know you've got +it, or you'll be sure to get it stole; an' if de times should be bad in +Sydney it'll keep ye fur a while. Good-bye, my son." And with that he +kissed me. That broke me all up. I declare that, never since I lost my +dear old aunt, had I ever felt the genuine thrill of human affection as +I felt it then at the touch of that good old coloured man, whose memory +I shall cherish as long as I live. + +At last the whistle sounded for dinner, and, almost immediately after, I +heard the hoarse notes of the _Wonga Wonga's_ warning that she was ready +to depart. Like an eel I glided over the side, and off up the pier I +ran, catching a glimpse between the trucks of the grim figure of Captain +Collier as he prowled up and down the sacred limits of his poop. When I +reached the steamer, she was in a great state of bustle. A host of +passengers with their baggage were embarking, and it was one of the +easiest of tasks to slip on board unnoticed. I rushed below to the +cook's quarters, finding him in the thick of preparations for the saloon +dinner. Hardly looking at me, he uttered a few hurried instructions: the +purport of them being that I must creep down through a dim alleyway into +the chain-locker, and there remain until he should send for me. At the +same time he gave me a hunk of bread and meat. Then it dawned upon me +that I was nothing but a "stowaway" after all, especially as he +whispered a final command to me not to mention his name upon any +account. It was a shock indeed, but there was no place for repentance; I +had burned my bridges. So wriggling through the dark crevice he had +indicated, I wormed my way along until I reached the chain-locker, where +I made myself as comfortable as the rugged heaps of chain-cable would +allow. Overhead I heard, as if at an immense distance, the hurry-scurry +of departure, and presently, that all-pervading vibration following the +deep clang of the engine-room gong that told me we were off. Satisfied, +so far, that I was unlikely to return, I went to sleep, and, despite the +knobby nature of my couch, slumbered serenely. How long I had thus been +oblivious of my strange surroundings I don't know, but it suddenly +occurred to me that some one was pulling my legs as they protruded +beyond the bulkhead of the chain-locker. + +"Sailor-man, by his boots, sir!" said a gruff voice, answered by +another, "All right, rouse him up!" Roused up I was accordingly, and, +sliding forward, I confronted an elderly man in uniform, whom I took to +be the mate, and a stalwart fellow in a guernsey--apparently a +quarter-master. In answer to their inquiries, I told them that I had run +away from an American ship at Sandridge, and, being anxious to get to +Sydney, had stowed away. "Why didn't you come and ask me for a passage?" +said the officer. "I didn't dare to risk a refusal," I answered. "Don't +you know you can be punished for stowing away?" queried my interlocutor, +severely. "No, sir," I replied, "an' I don't care much. I'm satisfied to +know that, unless you head me up in a beef-cask and throw me overboard, +I shall get to Sydney anyhow." At this impudent reply he frowned a +little; but being, as I afterwards found, one of the best-tempered men +in the world, he merely said, "Well, come along on deck and we'll see if +we can't find you something to do." + +Thenceforward I was regarded as one of the crew, and very pleased I was +to find things turn out so comfortably. On the third day out we arrived +off Sydney Heads, and went up the magnificent bay to the city amid +scenes of loveliness that I do not believe can be surpassed by any +harbour in the wide world. Mr. White had kept me at arm's length all the +passage, apparently prepared to deny all knowledge of me should I show +any signs of discovering our bargain to any one; but now, as we neared +the A.S.N. Company's wharf, he called me to him and endeavoured to make +me believe that my good treatment was entirely owing to his having +interested himself on my behalf. I didn't believe a word he said, but I +had thoroughly learned how unwise it was to make enemies needlessly, so +I pretended to be grateful for his protection. He inquired what my plans +were, and, finding that I had none, offered me the hospitality of his +home until he should be able to find me a berth in one of the steamers. +This offer I accepted, feeling glad to have somewhere to go to as well +as to avoid the necessity of breaking into my little stock of money. So +we parted for the time on the best of terms, and I returned to my work +until knock-off time, when it was understood that I was to accompany him +ashore. While I was washing I was agreeably surprised to be called by +the mate, who with great kindness presented me with a sovereign, and +promised to do his best to get me a berth as lamp-trimmer. He also gave +me some good advice as to the company I got into, warning me to beware +of the larrikins that infested certain quarters of the town. I thanked +him as earnestly as I was able, telling him that I was going to lodge +for the present with one of the crew, and, bidding him good-bye, went +down the gangway and through the warehouse to wait for the cook as we +had arranged. He soon joined me, followed by his two mates bearing my +chest, which was put upon a lorry and conveyed up town. I found his wife +a kindly, slatternly white woman, and his home a weather-board house in +Lower York Street, with hardly any pretensions to comfort. Still, I +reasoned, it would do for the time as well as any other place I should +be likely to find, and, from the stories I had heard of "down town" +Sydney, was probably a great deal safer. + +I spent a week ashore wandering wherever I had a mind to, and seeing the +beautiful place thoroughly; but I made no acquaintances. One thing was +early impressed upon my mind, and subsequent experience only confirmed +my belief, that Sydney was the most shamelessly immoral place I had ever +seen. That, of course, was twenty-seven years ago, so may not be at all +the case to-day. At the end of the week I was overjoyed to get a berth, +without anybody's assistance, as lamp-trimmer on board a pretty little +steamer, called the _Helen M'Gregor_, that ran regularly between Sydney +and the town of Grafton on the Clarence River, calling at Newcastle and +sundry places on the river _en route_. By closely observing the duties +of the "lamps" on board the _Wonga Wonga_, I had been fairly well +prepared to take such a berth; but I thought, with a bitter smile, how +little my sailorizing would avail me now. Still, the wages were two +pounds ten shillings per month, the same as the A.B.'s had been paid on +the outward passage, so I was well content. + +My lamp-room was a mere cupboard by the side of the funnel, on deck, and +just abaft the galley. To do my work I had to kneel on a hot iron plate +in front of the said cupboard, exposed to whatever weather was going. +But the cook had all my sympathies. In his tiny caboose he had to +prepare meals for seventy or eighty people, while all his pastry-making, +butchering, etc. (for we carried live sheep and fowls with us), must +needs be done on deck. Now the vessel, though exceedingly pretty to look +at in harbour, was utterly unfit to cope with the tremendous seas that +sweep along the eastern shores of Australia. Somewhere, in one of Henry +Kingsley's books (the "Hillyars and Burtons," I think), he speaks of a +little steamer climbing one of those gigantic seas like a bat clinging +to a wall. That was a common experience of ours. Her motions were +frightful. I have seen every soul on board sea-sick while she crawled +up, up, up one mountainous wave after another, plunging down into the +abysses between them as if she would really turn a complete summersault. +Everybody was black and blue with being flung about, and the passengers, +who had perforce to be battened down in the sweltering saloon, or second +cabin, suffered misery untellable. Yet even that wretchedness had its +ludicrous side. To see our fierce little hunchback cook astride of a +half-skinned sheep, to which he held on with a death-like grip, his +knife between his teeth and a demoniacal glare in his eye, careering +fore and aft in a smother of foam, surrounded by the _debris_ of the +preparing dinner, made even men half dead with fatigue and nausea laugh. +But it was terrible work. As for me, I got no respite at all at night. +For I had to keep the lamps burning; and she thought nothing of hurling +both the big side-lanterns out of their slides on deck, or shooting both +binnacle-lights at once into the air, leaving the helmsman staring at a +black disc instead of the illuminated compass-card. And often, as I +painfully made my way forrard with the side-lights, after a long +struggle with wetted wicks and broken glass, she would plunge her bows +under a huge comber, lifting a massive flood over all, which seized me +in its ruthless embrace and swept me, entangled with my burden, the +whole length of the deck, till I brought up against the second-cabin +door right aft, with a bang that knocked the scanty remnant of breath +out of my trembling body. Down in the engine-room the grey-headed +chief-engineer stood by the grunting machinery, his hand on the +throttle-valve, which he incessantly manipulated to prevent the +propeller racing the engines out of their seats whenever she lifted her +stern out of the water and the screw revolved in thin air. For the +old-fashioned low-pressure engines had no "governor," and consequently, +no automatic means of relieving the terrific strain thrown upon them in +such weather as this. And the firemen, who _had_ to keep steam up, +though they were hurled to and fro over the slippery plates like toys, +were probably in the most evil case of all. + +She must have been staunchly built, for she bore the fearful buffeting +without any damage worth speaking of, except to the unfortunates who +were compelled to attend to their duties under such difficulties. And +after the gale blew itself out, and the glorious sun mounted +triumphantly in the deep blue dome above, the scene was splendid beyond +description. We always kept fairly close in with the land, except when +crossing a deep bight, and the views we obtained of the magnificent +scenery along that wonderful coast were worth enduring a good deal of +hardship to witness. We arrived off the entrance to the Clarence River +just at dark, and, to my great astonishment, instead of going in, sail +was set, the fires were damped down, and we stood "off and on" until +daylight. As soon as there was sufficient light to distinguish objects +on shore, we stood in; all passengers were ordered below and everything +was battened down. All hands perched themselves as high as they could on +the bridge, upper-deck, and in the rigging, while we made straight for +the bar. These precautions had filled me with wonder, for I knew nothing +of bar harbours. But when, on our nearer approach, I saw the mighty +stretch of turbulent breakers rolling in mountains of snowy foam across +the river's mouth, I began to understand that the passage through _that_ +would mean considerable danger. Every ounce of steam we could raise was +on her, and the skipper, a splendid specimen of a British seaman, stood +on the bridge, the very picture of vigorous vigilance. We entered the +first line of breakers; all around us seethed the turmoil of snowy +foam, with not a mark of any kind to show the channel, except such +bearings as the skipper knew of on the distant shore. Perched upon the +rail, a leadsman sounded as rapidly as he could, calling out such depths +of water as amazed me, knowing our draught. Along came an enormous wall +of white water, overwhelming the hull and hiding it from sight. +"Lead--quick!" yelled the skipper above the thunder of the sea; and Joe +screamed, "Two, half one, quarter less two." Ah! a long and grinding +concussion as she tore up the ground, then along came another mighty +comber over all. When it had passed we were over the bar and in smooth +water, only the yeasty flakes of the spent breakers following us as if +disappointed of their prey. A very few minutes sufficed to dry up the +decks, and the passengers appeared well pleased to be in the placid +waters of the river and at peace once more. What a lovely scene it was! +At times we sped along close to the bank, while a great stretch of river +extended on the other side of us a mile wide, but too shallow for even +our light draught. On gleaming sand-patches flocks of pelicans performed +their unwieldy gambols, and shoals of fish reflected the sunlight from +their myriad glittering scales. Turning a sharp bend we would disturb a +flock of black swans that rose with deafening clamour in such immense +numbers as to darken the sky overhead like a thunder-cloud. And, about +the bushes that clothed the banks, flew parrots, cockatoos, and magpies +in such hosts as I had never dreamed of. For an hour we saw no sign of +inhabitants; then, suddenly, we sighted a little village with a rude +jetty and about half a dozen houses. All the population, I suppose, +stood on the pier to greet us, who came bearing to them in their lonely +corner a bit of the great outside world. Our skipper, though noted for +his seamanship, was equally notorious for his clumsiness in bringing his +vessel alongside a wharf, and we came into the somewhat crazy structure +with a crash that sent the shore-folk scurrying off into safety until it +was seen to be still intact. We were soon fast, and all hands working +like Chinamen to land the few packages of goods, for we had a long way +to go yet and several other places to call at. Our discharging was soon +over, the warps cast off, and, followed by (as I thought) the wistful +looks of the little community of Rocky Mouth, we proceeded up the river +again. Occasionally we sighted a homestead standing among a thick +plantation of banana trees, each laden with its massive bunch of fruit, +and broad acres of sugar-cane or maize. From amongst the latter as we +passed rose perfect clouds of cockatoos and parrots, screaming +discordantly, and making even the dullest observer think of the heavy +toll they were levying upon the toiling farmer. Again and again we +stopped at villages, each bearing a family likeness to the first, but +all looking thriving, and inhabited by well-fed, sturdy people. Just +before sunset we arrived at Grafton, having passed but two vessels on +our journey up--one a handsome brigantine, whose crew were laboriously +towing her along at a snail's pace in a solitary boat, and the other a +flat-bottomed stern-wheel steamer of so light a draught that she looked +capable of crossing a meadow in a heavy dew. There was a substantial +jetty built out from the steep bank, to the end of which, after +considerable fumbling about, we moored. The only house visible was a +rather fine dwelling whose front verandah overlooked the jetty from the +top of the bank. But, when work was done for the evening and I climbed +up the bank, I was surprised to find quite a considerable town, with +well-laidout streets and every appearance of prosperity. There was +little inducement to remain, however, and I soon hurried on board again +to enjoy some grand fishing over the side. + +Here we remained for a week discharging our cargo and reloading with +maize, cases of preserved beef and mutton, and bags of tin ore. Just +before sailing we received a good deal of farm produce, including +several hundred bunches of bananas, for which there was always a good +demand in Sydney. In order not to miss a tide we sailed sometime before +daylight one morning, and, when about twenty miles down the river, ran +into the region of a bush fire. As we had to hug the bank rather closely +just there, we had an anxious time of it, the great showers of sparks +and sheets of flame reaching out towards us as if determined to claim +us, too, among their victims. The sight was terribly grand; the +blood-red sky overhead and the glowing river beneath making it appear as +if we were between two furnaces, while the deep terrific roar of the +furious fire so near drowned every other sound. All hands were kept on +the alert dowsing sparks that settled on board of us, and right glad +was everybody when we emerged into the cool and smoke-free air beyond. +After that we had a most humdrum passage all the way to Sydney. + +I made at least twenty trips afterwards, all very much alike in their +freedom from incidents worth recording here--except one, which made a +very vivid impression upon me of the hardships endured by settlers in +that beautiful country. It had been raining steadily for several days, +making our transhipment of cargo a miserable operation; and it was +noticed by all of us, as we lay at Grafton jetty, how rapidly the river +was running. Before dark one evening the skipper ordered the warps to be +cast off, and we hauled out into the fairway, anchoring there with a +good scope of cable. All night long the rain poured down harder than +ever. When daylight broke, so thick was the obscurity caused by the +deluge of rain, that we could hardly make out the familiar outlines of +things ashore, even at that short distance. But we could both feel and +see that the river was now a torrent, bringing down with it massive +trees and floating islands of _debris_ torn from the banks higher up. +Towards noon the rain took off, and revealed to us a disastrous state of +affairs ashore. The river had risen over twenty feet; so that we now +floated on a level with the top of the bank, and might have steamed over +the wharf at which we had lain the previous evening. It became necessary +for our skipper to go ashore, although it was a most dangerous task +navigating the boat through that raging, tumultuous current. But the +sight of those poor folks' plight in the town made us forget all else. +The turbid flood was everywhere; all the houses standing like islands in +a muddy sea, and boats plying busily to and fro, carrying loads of +stricken people who had seen the labour of years destroyed in a night. +And all down the river the tale was the same: homes, crops, +stock--everything that had been slowly and painfully accumulated by +years of self-sacrifice--buried under the all-devouring flood. It was +too pitiful for words. How terribly true those words of warning returned +now which I had read some months before in one of the Sydney newspapers, +"Beware of the rich alluvial soil along the banks of rivers." As far as +I remember, but little notice was taken of the matter in Sydney; for +there had been a great flood on the Hunter River, much nearer to them, +at about the same time, and that seemed to occupy most of the public +attention. So many pathetic incidents were witnessed by us on that trip +that it would be invidious to make a selection, even if it were not +outside the scope of my purpose to do so; but one scene, from the +intensity of its pathos, has haunted me ever since. A certain homestead +on the shores of a lovely bend of the river, some twenty miles from +Grafton, was one of the most familiar of our landmarks. The man and his +wife were a splendid couple, full of energy and ability, and they had, +by their own unaided efforts, made such a home of this out-of-the-way +corner as gladdened the eyes to look upon. Whenever we went up or down +there the worthy couple would be surrounded by their vigorous group of +sunburnt youngsters, shouting greetings to us as if we were all old +friends. At this particular season they had a more than ordinarily fine +crop of sugar-cane, for which they had already received a good offer +from the manager of a new sugar-mill erected in one of the reaches above +Grafton. When we passed down after the flood, there, on a heap of muddy +rubbish, sat the man, his head bowed on his knees and his children +crouching near in the deepest wretchedness. Blowing our whistle, as +usual, we roused him; but after a momentary glance his head fell again. +All was ruin and desolation, utter and complete. Even the grove of +banana trees that used to embower his house had been swept away. And his +wife was nowhere to be seen. + +[Illustration: Twenty miles down the river we ran into the region of a +bush fire.] + + + + +CHAPTER XXII. + +PROSPERITY PALLS UPON ME. + + +As I grew better acquainted with the conditions of life on board the +coasting steamers, I became extremely dissatisfied with my treatment on +board the _Helen M'Gregor_. For while I had the usual duties of a +lamp-trimmer to attend to, I was also compelled to work at all hours as +one of the crew, while the heavy weights I was ordered to handle were +far beyond my strength, and several times I was severely hurt. So that +at a fitting opportunity I left her, taking up my abode with a +shoemaker, who had a large connection among steamer-hands, and for two +or three weeks led the unprofitable life of a gentleman at large. This +was bad for me in many ways. The company I was thrown amongst was +doubtful; I did not then know how much so, and, although I did not get +involved in any of their shadier exploits, I began to drink pretty +heavily, and, to put it briefly, go to the devil generally. This career +was fortunately put a stop to by the emptying of my purse, which +compelled me to get employment again. + +My next ship was one of the finest on the coast, the last new vessel of +the Australasian Steam Navigation Company's (A.S.N.) fleet, which was +called the _Wentworth_. To my juvenile ideas she was a floating palace, +everything on board being on a grand scale as compared with the little +_Helen M'Gregor_. The mate was a huge Scotchman named Wallace, rough as +a bear, but very just and straightforward. When he engaged me, he gave +me to understand that my duties consisted solely in attending to the +lamps and polishing the ornamental brass-work about the deck, and that I +was on no account to do anything else or take orders from anybody but +himself or the captain. This, added to the fact that my wages were now +to be three pounds ten shillings a month, made me feel quite an +important personage--in fact, I was almost "too big for my boots." +Everything on board was so excellent in quality, and so well managed, +that I felt great pride in my ship, and I determined that, as I had only +one master to please, I would do all I could to succeed. The first thing +I resolved was that no ship in harbour should have such dazzling brass +as mine, and, after I had polished it all, I used to go round the other +ships and look at theirs. If there was one that I thought looked more +brilliant than mine, I would come back and go over my polishing again +until I was satisfied, and so I gradually got the reputation of being +smart at brass-cleaning anyhow. I lived entirely alone in a little +cubicle by my lamp-room, which was a spacious apartment, well fitted and +quite sheltered from the weather, being on the main-deck. In return for +trimming the cook's lamps, I received all my meals from the saloon +messes, and thus I lived better than I have ever done before or since. +Not that the men fared indifferently. The food supplied to them was of +the best quality, and as for quantity--well, they had steaks, chops, and +potatoes, with unlimited baker's bread, for breakfast; roast joints and +potatoes for dinner, and for supper the same as for breakfast. The waste +was shameful. The first two or three hands to arrive on the spot where +they took their meals, would cut all the brown off a ten or twelve-pound +joint. When the laggards came along, if the appearance of the meat was +not to their liking, which was usually the case, they would just fling +it over the side and go to the galley for more. The cook dared not +complain, as the officers always took the crew's part. This partiality +was owing to the system obtaining, whereby a contractor ashore supplied +all provisions at so much per head, finding cooks and stewards himself. +And any suggestion upon the part of his servants that food was being +wasted was always fiercely resented by every member of the crew, who +would immediately accuse them of trying to fatten their employer at the +sailor's expense. The result was that as much food was wasted each +passage as would have supplied another ship of the same size. + +Those were the palmy days of Australian coasters. A.B.'s received L7 per +month, and one shilling and sixpence per hour overtime when in harbour, +while the day consisted of eight hours only. Firemen got L10, and +trimmers L8 per month, with overtime in addition like the sailors. And, +in justice to them, it must be said that they seemed to value their +privileges, and did not behave in the senseless way that deep-water +sailors usually do. They spent a lot of money on dress and +theatre-going, it is true; but many of them owned house-property or +land. Nor was their life a hard one. There was none of that tremendous +drive and tear seen on the American coast, where high wages are paid--as +if the officers are determined to get the last ounce of energy out of +every man because he was well paid. No; take it all round, it was the +most comfortable sea-service that ever I saw or heard of, and I never +ceased to wonder at it, or imagine that it was much too good to last. +From all reports that have reached me of late years, my ideas on the +latter point seem to have been well founded, for I hear that neither pay +nor conditions of service are in any degree comparable with what then +obtained. + +As for me, I led a gentleman's life. Called at daylight to take in the +lamps, I was able to finish all my work before ten a. m., and from +thenceforward I was my own master. So heavily did the time hang when at +sea, that I took in washing from both sailors and firemen at the rate of +three shillings and sixpence per dozen, and thus earned a lot of extra +money. Unfortunately, I had no ideas of thrift; and so, although I must +have been in receipt of at least thirty shillings weekly, I never saved +a penny. My earnings used to leak away as if all my pockets were sieves. +But, on the other hand, the comfortable life, abundance of good food, +and freedom from ill-usage, had such an effect upon my hitherto puny +body, that I began to look and feel as if I was capable of doing a good +day's work, and should, therefore, not now be ashamed to ask for +employment. I no longer felt like a sailor, nor did the prospect of a +return to the old life ever enter my head--in fact, I am afraid I never +thought of the future at all. My life was very pleasant; and there was +nobody in the world who cared a row of pins what became of me--what more +natural than that I should, like any other pampered animal, live +contentedly in the present? + +Our usual trip was between Sydney and Melbourne, and it generally +occupied from eight to ten days. Anything more delightful than the +ordinary run along the coast would be hard to imagine. I got to know +every landmark between the two ports as intimately as one knows the +route between his work and his own street-door. But, although I was +always interested in the Australian scenery, I felt delighted to hear +one trip that we were bound to Auckland next voyage. I had heard so much +of New Zealand that I had got to regard it as a sort of fairy-land--a +group of Islands of the Blest. We left Sydney on Christmas Eve for our +Auckland trip, much to the disgust of everybody on board except myself; +but as we carried the mails no delay could be allowed. The next day we +were, of course, out of sight of land, steering straight across that +stretch of the Pacific that lies between Australia and New Zealand; the +sea was like a lake of glowing oil, and the sky a fleckless dome of +deepest blue, with one mighty globe of molten gold hanging in its midst. +Festivities began early--so early, indeed, that by dinner-time some of +the fellows were getting very frivolous. There was a Gargantuan feed, +of course; and, after that--well, it was surely expecting too much of +human nature to suppose that steam would or could be kept up as usual. +At any rate it wasn't. It went down, down, down, until, by four p.m., +the propeller was just feebly revolving, the vessel making no more than +two knots at the outside. By dusk I verily believe that the only two +sober males on board were the captain and myself. Drunkenness reigned +supreme in saloon, stokehold, and forecastle. By-and-by the screw +stopped altogether, and we lay almost motionless. A few of the more +vigorous revellers made spasmodic efforts to "keep it up"; but gradually +the "fun" fizzled out, and general sleep succeeded. How long it lasted I +don't know, for I turned in as usual; but in the morning she was going +again, though at no great speed, it is true. The only redeeming feature +about the whole orgie was the absence of quarrelling. General +good-humour prevailed everywhere on board, and not a word was said in +recrimination after the resumption of work. A day late, we sighted the +Three Kings--those solitary rocks off the north point of New Zealand +that stand up so sternly out of the blue waste about them. When we made +them out, it was in the tremulous lovely light of dawn--beautiful beyond +expression in those latitudes--and their rugged outlines stood out +sharply against the tenderly tinted sky, through that lucent atmosphere, +like the shadows cast by an electric beam. Then, as the sun sprang into +the smiling heaven, they were gilded, and became like some fantastic +ruin in black marble fringed with fiery rays and floating on a sea of +many-coloured flame. A few hours' run brought us to the Gulf of Hauraki, +up which we steamed amidst some of the most beautiful scenery in the +world. As we glided onward to where, apparently, a huge mountain +completely blocked up the apex of the gulf, a lovely island was pointed +out to me on the starboard hand as the earthly paradise of Sir George +Grey--Tiri-tiri. Here I was told it was his custom to receive troops of +his Maori friends, and entertain them for days, mingling with them +without the slightest consciousness of any difference of rank or colour +between him and them. No wonder they loved him, and will hand his memory +down to their remotest descendants as the great white chief who loved +them and justice. + +Nearer and nearer we drew to Rangitoto, the frowning peak that loomed +heavily right in our path. At last, when within a very short distance of +it, we made a sharp turn, and, skirting a reef that extended some +distance from its base, we presently opened up Auckland Harbour, which, +if not so picturesque as its approaches might have led one to expect, +had all the merits that a good harbour should have--pre-eminently, the +chief one of being safe with all winds. In a few minutes we were +alongside the wharf, and besieged by an eager crowd who had been +anxiously awaiting us, as we were so much over our time. As was my +constant habit, I began at once to inquire as to the fishing +possibilities of the place, learning, to my intense delight, that the +harbour literally swarmed with fish of all kinds, and that even from +the wharf they could be caught in enormous quantities. That settled my +spare-time occupation for me. During our three visits to the city, +although our stay lasted a week each time, I only went "up town" twice, +and then strictly on business. My beloved sport claimed all my +attention. For some reason, perhaps to avoid accidents, the authorities +did not permit fishing from the wharf in working hours. So at daylight, +enthusiastic fishermen like myself would gather along its lee edge, +where the furious current boiled and bubbled around the piles, and +eagerly try to "jag" a few of the tiny mackerel that clustered in shoals +wherever there was an eddy. As soon as one was caught he would be +impaled on a large hook, fastened to the end of a long, stout line, and +cast out into the current without any other gear attached. As the line +"slithered" through one's fingers an eager watch was kept where the bait +might be expected to be. Presently, like a bar of silver, a huge fish +would leap into the air, and it was pull for your life. There was no +finesse, no sport, in the angler's sense of the term, but I doubt if any +angler ever enjoyed his fishing more than I did. This particular kind of +fishing, however, always had to cease at six o'clock, that is, when work +began. At other times I fished on the bottom from the ship, and was +often at a serious loss to know what to do with the enormous numbers I +caught. But even then I did not realize how vast were the shoals of fish +in the harbour, until one day I took an oar in a boat conveying a +pleasure party from our vessel down the bay. When near the reef which +fringed Rangitoto Mountain, the numbers of kauwhai (a fish much like an +overgrown mullet, and averaging four or five pounds in weight) were so +great, that each dip of the oar slew them until the water around us was +reddened with their blood. They were a fish of most delicate flavour, +and would have commanded a high price in any civilized fish-market. But +the people of Auckland seemed quite indifferent to the piscatorial +advantages they enjoyed. + +So in this pleasant, easy-going fashion the months passed away, until +one day we left Sydney for Melbourne in the teeth of a southerly gale. +It was hopeless to expect that we should make any progress; but I was +told, that because we had the mails on board, we were bound to "show +willing." We managed to get round the South Head, and there we stuck; +the engines doggedly pounding away, green seas coming over all, +passengers all sea-sick, and we not gaining an inch against the fierce +wind that roared up from its icy breeding-place in the Antarctic +regions. At last the "governor" carried away, and all attempts to repair +it were ineffectual. This, coupled with the fact that night was coming +on, determined our skipper to run back and anchor in Watson's Bay, just +behind the North Head, for shelter. The word was given, and she spun +round as if rejoicing to be freed from the enormous strain she had been +undergoing. As we drew rapidly near the mouth of the harbour the sight +was one of the grandest conceivable. From the summit of the North +Head--a gigantic cliff over four hundred feet high--fountains of spray +shot up forty or fifty feet into the air, the incalculable pressure of +those tremendous waves, rolling up against it from their thousand-league +journey, having forced the reluctant sea upwards through the interstices +of that massy cliff to such a stupendous height. We flew in through the +entrance and immediately all was still. As we rounded to in the quiet +little bay and dropped anchor, it was almost impossible to realize what +a tormented waste of boiling sea we had just left, since here we lay +perfectly motionless, without a ripple on the waters around. As it was +dusk I prepared the "riding-lamp," which is always suspended from the +fore-rigging of a vessel at anchor; but, for some stupid reason of my +own, I did not place it in its position. Then I forgot all about it. The +captain was the first to discover its absence, and, blowing his whistle +for the chief officer, he reproved him sternly for his inattention to +this important detail. Smarting at this, the mate called me and asked +why I had not put the light up. I made some idiotic excuse, telling him +that it was already lighted and awaited his orders. He was almost +speechless with rage; but controlled himself so far that he presently +said calmly, "Well, go and hang it up." I did so promptly, and soon +thought no more about it. There was just this shade of excuse for +me--that I had never been anchored in a fairway before, since I had been +a lamp-trimmer, except up the Clarence River, and there the gangway-lamp +sufficed. + +We resumed our voyage on the morrow, and returned to Sydney without +incident worth remembering. On the first morning after our arrival the +mate called me, and, giving me the balance of my month's money, +discharged me. Not a word was said, but I felt sure of the reason, and +did not feel sufficiently courageous to try and appease him. +Nevertheless I was very sore, for I knew that, while I had had one of +the best ships on the coast, I had also done my work thoroughly well, +for over and over again the mate had commended me upon it. I slunk +ashore like a beaten dog, not caring what became of me, and, returning +to my old lodgings at the shoemaker's, set about spending my little +stock of cash in reckless fashion. It did not last long, of course, and +I was soon fain to look for a ship; but, strange to say, I hadn't the +heart to try for another berth as a lamp-trimmer. It suddenly occurred +to me that I would like to go "home" again. That is one of the most +incomprehensible things imaginable to me. Never, during the first +thirteen years of my life at sea, did I have any home in England, or one +friendly face to welcome me back there. Yet, however well I was treated +in foreign countries or in the Australasian colonies, I always felt a +longing to get back to my own country again; and the sight of my +home-land never failed to make a lump come in my throat and raise a +feeling of wordless love for her in my breast. Why a homeless waif +should thus love his native land, I do not profess to understand; but it +is a solid fact, and one that has to be reckoned with, since I do not +for a moment suppose that I am any different to the ordinary run of +people. + +In consequence of this strange longing to see the white cliffs of +England once more, I neglected the intercolonial steamers altogether, +and spent much of my time hanging about Circular Quay watching the +proceedings on board the splendid clipper-ships that lay in that +beautiful cove discharging their outward cargoes of merchandise, or +filling their capacious holds with the wool, tin, copper, and meat of +the Colonies for transhipment to the mother country. But, owing to a +diffidence that has always afflicted me, I did not venture on board any +of them to ask whether my services were required, although I was now a +sturdy youngster, well able to do a day's work and looking like it. One +day, as I was prowling round one of the outlying wharves, I got into +conversation with a burly Londoner, who was second mate of an old barque +lying there, apparently waiting for freight, which was not forthcoming +for any such out-of-date craft as she was. This individual informed me +that his ship was in want of two ordinary seamen, and that if I would go +to a certain hotel (_Anglice_, public-house) in the vicinity, I should +find the skipper there, and that he would probably engage me at once if +I was willing. This was by no means the kind of ship that I had proposed +going home in; but I was heartily weary of being ashore doing nothing +(my money was all gone), so I turned my steps towards the skipper's +haunt at once. I found it without any difficulty--indeed, the place was +fairly well known to me by sight--and, entering, I inquired of a +red-faced man (who, in his shirt-sleeves, with unbuttoned vest, was +leaning over the bar from the inside, smoking a "churchwarden" pipe) if +he could tell me where I might be likely to find Captain Bunker. He +turned a liquorish eye upon me, and murmured, between the puffs of +smoke, "What might ye be wantin' of him?" "I'll tell him when I see +him," was my ready reply; at which he removed his pipe and laughed most +unmusically, much to my annoyance, as I did not feel like being made +game of. At last he said, "I'm Captain Bunker, m' lad; whadjer want of +me?" For a moment I stared at him incredulously; and then, the +conviction dawning on me that he was speaking the truth, I told him my +errand. Immediately he assumed a magisterial air, and began to +cross-examine me as to my qualifications, etc. My replies being +satisfactory, he then tried to cut me down in the wages. But I held out +for three pounds per month, and, strange to say, succeeded in getting +his consent to give it to me; but not before he assured me that, if I +couldn't fulfil what he was pleased to call the duties of an ordinary +seaman, he would stop my pay altogether. As, in addition to my +confidence in my own abilities, I knew that he was talking nonsense, I +made no complaint about this; and he drew me a glass of ale to clinch +the bargain. Then he told me I might go on board and consider myself one +of the crew, and that he would "sign me on" with the other new hands in +a day or two. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIII. + +ANOTHER QUEER SHIP. + + +Having thus satisfactorily arranged for my future during some months, at +all events, I lost no time in getting on board my new ship, finding her +fairly comfortable, although the crew's quarters were under the +top-gallant forecastle--that abominable place that no men should ever be +housed in. She was called the _Harrowby_, a barque of some five hundred +tons, and, as nearly as I could judge, about twenty years old. She had +been absent from England nearly two years, having been running backwards +and forwards between the Colonies and Mauritius for some time, and was +now, in the absence of any other freight offering, going in ballast to +Rangoon for a cargo of rice to the United Kingdom. Of her original crew +but half was left: the captain, mate, and second mate aft, two +apprentices, the carpenter, and three seamen forward. The mate was a +tall, wiry, red-headed Cumberland man, stern and morose, but a good +seaman, and inflexibly just. The second mate was so fat and easy-going +that he looked more like an East-end Jew tailor than a sailor; but he +was a very jolly fellow, knowing his business well, and thoroughly +independent, so that he stood not the slightest in awe of his superior +officers, but did pretty much as he liked. The two apprentices were +gentlemanly lads, whose parents had paid heavy premiums for their +indentures in this old tub, where they were just loblolly boys, at every +one's beck and call, no one pretending to teach them anything, and kept +on precisely the same level as the crew, except that they had a little +pigstye of a berth to themselves beside the carpenter's in a house on +deck. Poor lads! they were bitterly disillusioned, and full of projects +for showing up this shameful neglect when they got home again. At this +time one of them was acting as cabin-boy, and the other was playing at +cook, with such casual direction as he could get from Hansen, an old +Danish seaman. But, generally speaking, the hands went ashore to dinner +and chalked their bills up to the skipper's account. The old carpenter +was a philosopher in his way. Nobody interfered with him, and he just +muddled along from day to day, finding himself enough work to keep him +from being actually idle, and coming forrard every evening for a smoke +and a yarn with old Hansen, who, with a lanky Irishman and a pimply +faced young cockney, formed for the present the whole of the crew +forrard. + +To my amazement I learned that for nearly a fortnight the vessel had +been ready for sea, but the old man was so enamoured of his snug +quarters behind the bar of the little pub, that he could not tear +himself away. Nobody seemed to care very much. They killed time in a +variety of ways, making believe to do some work, but principally +occupied in "dodging Pompey." This state of things was broken into by +my advent. Whether the act of engaging me had recalled Captain Bunker to +a sense of his duty or not, I can not tell; but in the course of a +couple of days we were joined by an elderly Yankee A.B., rejoicing in +the name of Oliver Peck, an ex-mounted policeman, whom we always called +Joe; a tall, merry Suffolk man, who was the very incarnation of +good-humour; a white-faced Scotchman, who said he had been chief cook of +a huge steamship called the _Mikado_, and had just shipped with us as +cook to work his passage home; another ordinary seaman, like myself, a +Londoner, but twice the man I was; and a delicate, artful little fellow, +about my own age, who shipped as cabin-boy. Now we had a full crew, and +soon the skipper made his appearance on board, marching us up to the +shipping-office with him in great pomp and putting us all on the +articles. Having once broken the spell that had bound him to the pub, he +kept free, remaining on board that night, and hauling off into the +channel at daylight ready to sail. But while we were actually getting +under way a boat came alongside, bearing a lady in deep mourning and an +official, who mounted the side, and solemnly presenting the skipper with +a piece of stamped paper, informed him that he had come to stop the ship +until all charges due to Mrs. Blank, landlady of the St. Margaret's +Hotel, for board, lodging, and refreshments supplied, had been settled. +The old man made a ghastly attempt to smile, but the thing was too +palpable. Besides, all his crew were witnesses of his attempt to pay the +widow with the "foretopsail sheet," as sailors say, and, hugely as +_they_ enjoyed the spectacle, he looked as if he had been suddenly +attacked by _cholera morbus_. There was no help for it; he had to pay +up, although how he did it I don't know. At any rate he succeeded in +satisfying the bailiff, who bade him an elaborate farewell and descended +to the boat, where the widow was volubly holding forth, in our delighted +hearing, upon the many delinquencies of our skipper. The news of the +settlement of her claim only seemed to add fuel to her fire, and, as +long as she was within hearing, she continued to favour us with a minute +account of the many acts and deeds of meanness of which Captain Bunker +had been guilty. As the shrill sounds grew fainter, I could not help +thinking that it was an inauspicious commencement for our voyage; and, +in accordance with an old mental trick of mine, began to run over in my +mind the probable state of my feelings had I been in the skipper's +place. There was quite a little spell of silence after the boat's +departure, during which all hands looked first at one another and then +at the rubicund face of the skipper, which bore a peculiar vacant smile, +but not the slightest symptom of shame. At last the uneasy quiet was +broken by the harsh voice of Mr. Messenger, our chief, shouting, "Man +the windlass!" In an instant we were all busy again, and did not cease +our labours until the old barque, under all canvas, was gliding gently +down the beautiful bay towards the wide Pacific. + +At first my hopes were high that we should be going north about, for, in +addition to a strong desire to avoid the unpleasantness inseparable +from working to the westward through the Great Australian Bight, I was +anxious to see something of the East Indian Archipelago. But the thought +of Torres Straits, with its intricacies and baffling currents, was +evidently too much for Captain Bunker's courage or confidence in his +navigating ability, for we made the best of our way to the southward as +soon as we were well clear of the Heads. At the picking of watches I +found myself, much to my satisfaction, under the second mate, who seemed +to have some little liking for me as his townsman. My watch-mates were +the Yankee, Oliver, the ex-policeman, and the Suffolker. As I could +steer, and, except for being rather a light weight on a rope, was well +up to my work, we felt pretty well manned on our side. But the mate's +watch came worse off, as their "ordinary" could not steer. Oh, it was +weary work after my late life of ease! The deadly slowness of our +progress, too, down the coast I had been used to skirt with the +regularity of a railway-train, was hard to bear. And, in addition to all +this, I soon found that my poor three pounds a month was rankling in the +skipper's mind, and he was determined to try and reduce it if possible. +I got a friendly hint or two from the second mate, who, although he +liked me well enough, certainly did not intend to openly side with me +against the old man. In most matters, it is true, he treated the skipper +with such scant courtesy that I was amazed, but he put in no word of +backing for me. A fortnight passed away, and we had all fairly shaken +down into sea-life, while I, by strenuous efforts, had managed to +recall all my previous experience and use it, with the added benefit of +my additional strength. What troubled me most were the stun'sails. +Studding-sails, as the word should be spelt, are the _betes noire_ of +seamen. Modern vessels have practically discarded them, happily for +their crews; but such vessels as the _Harrowby_ cling to them as long as +they live. They are temporary sails, which in fair weather are set at +the ends of some of the yards, thereby extending the spread of canvas +(when they are carried on both sides) to nearly double its normal width. +They are set by means of booms, which slide along in two hoops screwed +into bands on the yards. These booms vary in size, of course, with the +ship, and also with the height at which they are carried; but even a +top-gallant stun'sail-boom, the size of an average scaffold-pole, which +has to be rigged out by one man, or even a boy, is a quite heavy enough +piece of timber to have loose on your hands, or hand (since you _must_ +hold on), while swaying on a footrope some eighty or ninety feet above +the deck. Then the sails themselves, with their complicated gear, +require deft handling to get them adjusted in their lofty positions, and +as the upper ones need to be taken into the tops, there is some fancy +gymnastic work involved in handling them, which generally falls to the +boys. But when they _are_ set, if there is any wind worth mentioning, +and the vessel does not steer well, the helmsman has a bad time, for +their gear being necessarily slight and simple, catching them aback is +apt to bring them down by the run in a raffle of ropes, torn canvas, +and splintered booms. These delights on a dark, wet night cannot be +explained; they must be endured to be appreciated. No doubt a ship with +stun'sails set below and aloft, flying along with a steady breeze just +abaft the beam, the golden sunlight glancing on her canvas, and making +her look like a mountain of snow, while the sparkling wavelets leap +around her or are churned into lovely wreaths of dazzling foam by the +eager sheer of her cutwater, makes a magnificent picture, and one that +will be soon only seen in pictures. But when one remembers the cruel +toil and deadly danger attached to these "flying kites," as sailors term +them, one can only feel devoutly thankful that their day is done. +Unfortunately, in the _Harrowby_ we were continually harassed by these +wretched things, which was the more aggravating as she was a dull +sailer, to whom they made not a shadow of difference as far as any +acceleration of her speed went. But we accepted them grumblingly, as +sailors do any other crook in their never very straight lot. +Nevertheless I felt pretty sure that, sooner or later, I should suffer +in some severe way from them, and the fulfilment of my forebodings was +not long delayed. We got a heavy breeze from the north-east off Cape +Leeuwin, and the skipper, laudably anxious to get round that awkward +corner and up north into finer weather, carried on all the sail the old +barkey could stagger under, including topmast and lower stun'sails. Now +the _Harrowby_ steered none too well at the best of times, for she was +fitted with the old-fashioned chain and barrel steering-gear, that made +a two hours' trick at the wheel a fairly stiff ordeal for a youngster +like me. By dint of the hardest trying, however, I had managed so far to +get along without more than an occasional growl from the skipper to the +effect that I was making a devilish bad course. At last, on the night in +question, I came aft at four bells, fully equipped in oilskins, for it +was raining as well as blowing. As I reached to take the spoke from +Oliver, he muttered, "Yew'd better shed them oilskins, er she'll sweat +yer hull soul out. She's kickin' like a broncho." I took his advice, +preferring to get wet than to be hampered by too many coverings at such +a task. It was as dark as the inside of a coal-sack, so that there was +nothing to steer by but the compass and the "feel" of the wheel, which +every sailor knows is not conducive to keeping a straight course, as the +compass, however lively, never moves at the same moment the ship's head +does, and consequently you can't meet her with the helm as quickly as +when the stars or clouds are visible and indicate her slightest +movement. Besides, the "old man" was on deck, and, before I had time to +get into her present peculiarities, he was at me with, "Now, then! mind +y'r weather hellum. Where th' ---- er ye goin' with the ship? Meet +her--meet her! Blast your eyes, meet her! Goin' to sleep--er what?" and +so on. I might have done fairly well but for this brutal nagging; but +now I certainly steered badly, and the thought of wiping her up into the +wind and bringing all that raffle of stun'sails and gear down about the +ears of the watch on deck made me as nervous as a cat. However, I +sculled her along somehow--about two points each way, I reckon--the "old +man" keeping up a running commentary all the time, until suddenly, along +came a howling big sea, hitting her on the weather-quarter and sending a +dense mass of spray right over the quarter-deck, drenching my tormentor +and twisting her up into the wind till the weather-leech of the lower +stun'sails began to flap. Down sprang the second mate to my assistance, +and hove the wheel up so that she spun off the wind again like a +weather-cock. "Oh, we can't have any more of this!" yelled the old man. +"That ---- fellow's no good. 'Nother hand to the wheel!" "'Nother hand to +the wheel!" roared the second mate; and I declare I wasn't sorry, though +my pride was sorely hurt at the injustice of the thing. The Suffolker +came aft, good-humoured as was his wont, and smiled pleasantly as he +took the wheel from my clammy hands. He favoured me with a sly wink, +too, as much as to say, "Now you'll see some fun!" As I went forrard +along the lee alley-way, the old man followed me, saying. "I'll log ye +to-morrow. I'll show ye how ter come aboard my ship on false pretences." +This did my business, and I turned savagely round, saying, "I _can_ +steer as well as any man in the ship if I'm let alone, and you know +that. You only want an excuse to stop my wages----" Further remarks were +drowned in a tremendous roar of tumbling water and cracking spars as the +ship flew up into the wind, taking a mighty mass of black sea over all, +and bringing the stun'sails down with an uproar truly terrific. "All +hands on deck! Tumble up, there! Shorten sail!" screamed the skipper, +fairly dancing in his excitement. Well, there _was_ a mess, and no +mistake! It took us three hours of hard struggle before we got her clear +and shortened down, and during that time there were as many curses +levelled at the old sinner as would have sunk the British Navy if their +weight had been proportionate to the wishes of their utterers. For my +part I was speechless with delight, for I felt if ever a poor fellow was +vindicated promptly it was me. The diversion gave us all sore bones, +though; and when, at last, we got below, we were almost too weary to +growl. Stripping off our drenched rags we tumbled into our bunks, and +slept so soundly that the two hours and a half left of our watch seemed +only like five minutes. I took my usual trick at the wheel again without +comment; but after breakfast, to my amazement, I was called down into +the cabin. The skipper solemnly read to me an entry in the Official +Logbook to the effect that on the night of ----, in lat. --, long. --, it +having been found that I could not steer, I was sent from the wheel as +unfit for my work, and, in consequence, my wages were reduced to one +pound per month. This libel was signed by the second mate as a witness. +I was then invited to sign it; but I refused, saying that the entry was +false, and appealing to the second mate to support my protest. He, +standing behind the skipper, gave me a reassuring wink which cheered me +mightily, and after bandying a few more compliments with the skipper, I +was told to "Get out of my cabin." The events of the past night were +the subject of a good deal of comment forrard, and the general +conclusion arrived at was that the old man was no good, and any +deference or politeness towards him might usefully be dropped in future. + +But something happened that day which, although in no wise the skipper's +fault, made the feeling of insubordination ten times stronger than it +otherwise would have been. Hitherto we had been living fairly well upon +fresh meat and vegetables, although the cooking was very bad. The +pasty-faced Scotchman who had shipped as cook _might_ have been cook of +the _Mikado_ as he said; but, if so, he had certainly forgotten the most +elementary portion of his duties. Having just come to an end of the +fresh provisions, he informed us pompously that he was going to make us +"duff" to-day, "An', ma wurrd," said he, with an air, "a'll gie ye +somethin' ye _can_ eat! Ye dinna ken whatn' duff's like aboord ther +win'jammers." As may be imagined, we were in high glee at the prospect +of such a notable benefit as high-class duff would be. The last stroke +was hardly off the bell at seven bells before I was at the galley with +the kid, my mouth watering in anticipation of this superlative duff. But +it strikes me that the subsequent proceedings were important enough for +a new chapter. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIV. + +DEEP-WATER AMENITIES. + + +The cook stood by the galley stove, swelling with conscious dignity, as +of a man whose position is unassailable--above criticism. "Now then, +cook!" I cried, "where's that duff?" For all answer he seized his +"tormentors"--a sort of miniature pitchfork--and began jabbing them down +into the seething copper. "Look out, cook!" I said, in terror, "you'll +bust the duff-bag, won't you?" No answer deigned he, but presently, with +a mighty heave of both hands, he produced a square grey mass of +something unlike anything edible that ever I had seen. This he dumped +into the kid without a word, and waved his hand to bid me begone. Too +much amazed to speak, I bore the ugly thing into the fo'lk'sle, setting +it down in the midst of my expectant watch-mates, and silently retired +to my corner in hungry anticipation of some fun presently. Joe +approached the kid, knife and plate in hand, but on seeing the contents, +drew back with a start and an exclamation of "What the ---- is _that_?" +"Duff, the cook calls it," I murmured softly. "Well, I'll be ---- if ever +I see or smelt anything like it in all my life," said he; "but p'raps it +eats better'n it looks, so here goes." So saying, he attacked it with +his knife, but only succeeded in removing some sodden, sloppy morsels +from the outside of the lump. Upon the stuff itself he could make no +impression; it was like a piece of indurated gutta-percha. Heavens! how +he did swear. Then Oliver had a try; but in a minute he, too, was +reciting the commination service. For the mess was hopeless. It was +nothing but a mixture of flour and water, without yeast or fat, which +had been roughly moulded into a square, and, without any covering, had +been dropped into a cauldron of boiling, dirty sea-water. Of course it +had hardened and toughened, as well as attracted to itself all the +suspended grime in the water, until it had emerged the outrageous +abomination before us. The men's wrath was really too great for ordinary +bad language; they wanted to kill somebody. Presently Joe snatched up +the kid and rushed to the galley with it, but the cook had wisely +retreated to the cabin. Thither the furious men followed him, shouting +in strident tones for him to "Come out of that!" they wanted to speak to +him. Of course the old man showed himself first, blustering grandly +about the impudence that thus invaded the holy calm of his cabin. This +precipitated matters, and in about a minute there was a furious row. It +culminated presently in Joe hurling the kid and its slippery contents +right into the cabin, and striding forward with a savage string of oaths +to the effect that not another stroke would _he_ do until he got +something that he could eat. Quiet reigned for a brief space, until +presently Harry, the cabin-boy, poked his nose round the fo'lk'sle +door, saying with a grin, "Cook's awful sorry he spiled the duff, but +he's coming forrard presently with a tin o' soup and bully as soon's the +old man's back's turned. Don't go fer him, pore beggar! he's nearly +frightened to deth." The wrath having been mostly diverted to the +skipper, this proposition was not unfavourably entertained, and in due +time the cook sneaked forrard with a hang-dog air, a huge tin of +preserved soup under his apron. And so it came to pass that peace was +patched up for the time, although this outbreak of hostilities made the +way plain and easy for a succession of rows, until the skipper's +authority was a thing of naught. To make matters worse we actually fell +short of provisions. This was a most scandalous thing to happen, for we +were only six weeks out from Sydney, where all sorts of ship's +consumable stores were both excellent and cheap. And we were informed by +one of the apprentices that he knew for a fact that the owners had +ordered Captain Bunker to provision the ship fully in the colonies for +this very reason. We were stinted in everything; but by the connivance +of the cabin-boy, Harry, who used to leave the pantry door unlocked, I +made many a nightly raid upon its contents, such as they were. Many a +time I had to crouch in its dark recesses, while the old man, prowling +about on his bare feet, was peering in and inquiring querulously, "Who's +there? I thought I heard somebody!" The instant his back was turned I +would bolt for the fo'lk'sle, with my cap full of sugar or the breast of +my jumper full of cuddy biscuits, or whatever spoil was comeatable. +These nocturnal depredations were a source of endless delight to the +second mate. His fat sides would shake with silent laughter as he +watched the stealthy glidings to and fro, and heard the mutterings of +the suspicious skipper, who never dared say a wry word to him. One +night, at the wheel, I was telling him how savagely hungry I was, when, +to my amazement, he replied, "Well, there's a meat pie on the swingin' +tray, why don't ye go an' pinch it?" "What?" I said in a horrified +whisper, "an' have the old man come out an' catch me! Why he'd put me in +irons for a month." "G'way," he muttered scornfully, "he'd never hear +ye. No man thet smokes ez much ez he does is a light sleeper. You ain't +got pluck enough, that's what's the matter with _you_. Yew'd rather go +hungry than run a little risk." The fact was, I didn't trust him any too +much, for it occurred to me that it might fall in with his notions of +fun to see the old man come out and muzzle me in the very act of +embezzling that pie. His next move, however, completely dissipated all +my fears. For he rolled off the hen-coop, where he had been lolling, and +disappeared below, returning in a few minutes with the information that +he had lashed the old man's state-room door-handles together, so that he +couldn't get out if he did wake. I immediately resigned the wheel to +him, shot down into the darkness, and had that pie on deck before you +could count ten. I sat on the break of the poop and ate it, while the +second mate steered as well as he could for laughing at the precipitous +disappearance of the pie. When I had concealed it all, I replaced the +empty dish on the swinging tray, and returned to the wheel. Then the +second mate cast adrift the lashings on the door, and all resumed its +normal calm, preceding the hurricane at breakfast-time, when the loss +was discovered. But there was no breach of confidence, and the vanished +pie took its place among the unsolved mysteries of life for Captain +Bunker. + +As we crept closer and closer to our port, favoured by fine weather, +discipline disappeared altogether as far as the skipper was concerned. +Work still went on as usual out of deference to the officers, with whom +the chaps felt they had no quarrel, but if the old man opened his mouth +he was sure to be insulted by somebody. I have not told--indeed, I dare +not tell--a tithe of the things that were said to him; the only persons +preserving any show of deference towards him being old Hansen and the +boys. The officers, of course, did not openly flout him--they just +ignored him, while he almost cringed to them. And then one day, a week +before our arrival off the mouth of the Irrawaddy, Harry came forrard +and told us something that made sport for all hands for the rest of that +voyage. Everybody was hungry now, fore and aft, the commons being +woefully short. But at the usual time for taking the forenoon sights for +longitude, the skipper being in his state-room with the door shut, Harry +went to call him, supposing him to be asleep. After knocking two or +three times, Harry heard a muffled voice within saying, "Go away, I'm at +my devotions." Such a statement took Harry's breath away for a moment, +but yielding to an uncontrollable impulse, he stooped and peeped through +the keyhole. There sat Captain Bunker, a square tin of biscuits between +his knees, a pot of jam open by his side, and his mouth bulging with the +delicate food. Harry had seen enough; and in ten minutes it was all over +the ship. From that time forward, "Don't disturb me, I'm at my +devotions," was heard whenever it was possible to drag it in, until the +monotonous repetition of the phrase became wearisome as a London +catch-word. It annoyed the skipper almost to madness; but that only gave +delight to the men, who felt that at last they had got hold of a cheap +and effective way of repaying him for the hardships they were enduring +through him. + +We were favoured with splendid weather, although the north-east monsoon, +being almost "dead on end"--that is, blowing right from the direction in +which we had to go--made our progress exasperatingly slow; and as the +scanty stock of bad provisions got lower and lower the gloomiest +anticipations prevailed. But we managed to reach Elephant Point before +we were quite starved, and with the utmost joy received a white pilot on +board, who, finding that he was likely to hunger if he had to make any +lengthened stay with us, used all his skill to get us into port quickly. +There were some fine screw-tugs plying on the Irrawaddy, but, of course, +we could not avail ourselves of their assistance, the towage being +enormously high, and our old man most anxious to curtail expenses to +balance his waste in other directions. So we were treated to an +exhibition of backing and filling up the river on the flood, just as the +old Geordie colliers do to this day up the Thames: a feat of seamanship +requiring a great deal of skill for its successful accomplishment. Of +course the tide will carry a vessel up the river, but it is necessary to +keep her under control, and, with the wind blowing straight down the +river, the only way of doing this is to stand across the stream, say on +the starboard tack, with all sails full; then, when as far as possible +has been sailed, to haul the yards aback, and go stern foremost back +again. In this manner we worked up the noble stream, finding ourselves +at the turn of the tide within a few miles of our destination, at a spot +known as Monkey Point. Here we anchored for the night, the rushing of +the swift ebb past us keeping up a continual undertone of energy, and +straining our cable out taut as if we were stemming a gale. All manner +of bloodthirsty insects boarded us in battalions, lured in our +direction, doubtless, by the smell of fresh supplies of food, and +through their united efforts we spent a most miserable night. So much +were we tormented, that when daylight called us to resume our journey we +were languid and worn-out, hardly able to tear the anchor from its +tremendous hold upon the thick, elastic mud forming the bed of the +river. We got under way at last, however, and then another couple of +hours brought us up to the anchorage off the city, where a great fleet +of steamers and ships lay loading rice, mostly for India, for the relief +of a famine which was then raging. + +We moored with an anchor ahead and another astern, as is usual in +crowded anchorages, so that the vessel, as I have before explained, +swings round and round as if moored to a post, taking up little more +room than her own length. In many respects this was the strangest place +that I had yet visited, the pointed spires of the numerous pagodas +rising out of the dense leafage giving the city a truly Eastern +appearance, while the lofty shining summit of the great pagoda dominated +everything else. As soon as the work of furling sails and clearing up +decks was done--as the skipper had hurried ashore--we were allowed the +remainder of the day to rest, and, rigging up an awning over the +forecastle, we proceeded to enjoy ourselves. Here the boats are +propelled by the boatmen in exactly the same way as a gondola is, and +the way those fellows managed their cumbrous craft in the swift current +was something compelling all our admiration. The native vessels, too, +that came majestically gliding down from far up country laden with rice +for shipment, were the most interesting that I had yet seen. They were +of large size, some of them carrying fifty tons of cargo, and roofed in +by a deeply slanting covering of bamboo mats to protect the cargo. Both +stern and bow rose in a graceful curve, while the stem often towered +high in air--a perpendicular beam of teak most richly carved into +elaborate designs of the quaintest and most eerie character. A tiny deck +aft accommodated the steersman, who with great effort manipulated a +gigantic oar working through a hole in the stern, also richly carved and +decorated in some cases with gilding. But the men--the yellow, +almond-eyed Burmese--not satisfied with the prodigious amount of labour +expended on the adornment of their craft, decorated their own bodies so +elaborately that it was difficult to understand however they could have +borne the tedium of the tattooing, to say nothing of the pain. No people +in the world carry the practice of tattooing to such artistic lengths as +the Burmese universally do. Every man we saw had a magnificent series of +designs covering his trunk to the waist, executed in vermilion, and +representing flowers, animals, and graceful whorls filling in any spaces +too small to allow of anything else being tattooed there. From the waist +to the knees they were tattooed in blue, the designs being plainer and +not so artistic as above. They were a jolly, cheerful lot; but +dignified, too, having none of the exuberance of the negro about them. + +Just across the river, opposite to where we lay, was a great saw-mill, +where a herd of a dozen elephants were gravely occupied in drawing +teak-logs from rafts in the water up through the mud, and piling them in +stacks well above high-water mark. They worked in couples, and seemed to +need no directing what to do. Two or three natives lounged about among +them; but every effort they made was apparently the result of their own +initiative as far as could be seen. They worked in couples--sedately, +ponderously; but the sum-total of their labour was quite in keeping with +their huge bulk. One enormous beast was apparently the foreman (our +fellows called him the bo'sun). He roamed about leisurely, bearing in +his trunk a couple of yards of massive chain, which he flourished now +and then as if it were a scourge which he would use upon his toiling +charges should he see fit to encourage them to more strenuous effort. +But as we stared at the strange sight with intense interest, there was a +jet of steam from the mill, a deep whistle sounded, and on the instant +every elephant dropped whatever he had in his trunk and, with quickened +steps, made for his quarters. It was "knock-off time." + +Work proceeded in a very easy-going fashion, for the captain had taken +up his quarters on shore and did not return for several days, being +supposed by all of us to have entered upon a steady course of spree. We +got the hold ready to receive the cargo, and did such other duties as +were required of us, without any undue strain upon our energies, while +our bumboatman kept us well supplied with all such luxuries, in the way +of fruit, soft-tack, eggs, etc., as sailors delight in in Indian ports. +Matters proceeded in this way until one day an order came off from the +skipper that an anchor-watch must be kept. This meant that, instead of +one man keeping watch all night, and being free from any other duty, +every man must take one hour's watch in addition to his day's work. Now, +this sort of vigil is only kept during a temporary anchorage, never as a +harbour duty; and, consequently, there was an instant refusal to obey +unless the day's work was shortened. The officers, having no authority +to do this, refused to entertain the idea, and the result was that no +regular watch was kept at all. Two or three nights passed until, in the +midst of a tremendous storm of thunder, lightning, and rain, I was +roused by old Hansen with the words, "Tom, id's your vatch, und de olt +man's 'longside, kigging up de fery teufel 'cause dere's nopody avake." +I was lying on the forecastle head under the awning, nearly stifled with +the heat; and, muttering a blessing upon the old man, I pulled off my +sole garment, and sallied forth into the black, steaming deluge in the +costume of Adam before the fall. As I reached the gangway the old man +just climbed on board; and at that moment a flash of lightning revealed +everything as if in full noonday glare--especially my shining white +skin. He was just angry drunk; and the sight of me standing there, naked +and not ashamed, nearly made him split with rage. He howled like a hyena +for the mate, who, startled beyond measure, came rushing out of his +cabin into the flood. Turning savagely to him, the skipper, almost +unintelligibly, demanded the reason of this disgraceful state of +affairs--pointing to me, standing, like Lot's wife, under the incessant +play of the lightning. It was an irresistibly funny tableau. Over the +rail peered the black faces and glaring eyeballs of the Hindu boatmen +who had brought the skipper off, their impassive faces showing no sign +of the wonder they must have felt at these unprecedented proceedings. +The hissing downpour of rain descended pitilessly, its noise almost +drowning the infuriated voice of Captain Bunker, who, foaming with +rage, berated the saturnine mate. Every other second we were all +invisible to each other--the darkness engulfed us. Then a rending glare +of white light revealed us all again, standing as if posing for our +portraits. The mate tired of it first, and, turning to me, said grimly, +"Go an' get some close on. Y'ought ter be 'shamed o' yerself comin' aft +like that." I instantly retreated forrard, while the old man, still +raging, followed the mate as he returned to his cabin without deigning a +word of reply. I rigged myself hurriedly and came aft again, prepared to +keep the rest of my watch under the poop-awning in such comfort as I +could. But I had hardly lit a cigar (the rupee a hundred sort), and +settled myself cosily in the skipper's long chair, when that restless +man emerged from the companion and strolled towards me. I did not +stir--indeed, it was too late, since I was caught. I could only brazen +it out. At first I feared his rage would choke him, for he gasped as if +the flow of eloquence was literally strangling him in its frantic +efforts to find a vent. Suddenly he made two steps towards me, gurgling +as he did so, "Git off my poop or I'll kick ye down the steps!" I sprang +lightly out of my seat and stood on the defensive, saying nothing, but +backing cautiously to the ladder, which I descended with my face towards +him. I heard no more of him afterwards, for my watch was soon over, and +my relief, one of the apprentices, came on watch at once. Next day there +was a regular inquiry into the vexed anchor-watch question; and, after +much heated discussion, it was arranged that we should resume work one +hour later each morning and keep regular watch one hour each through the +night. As soon as this was settled our worthy chief departed on shore +again; and there, to our great relief, he remained. + + + + +CHAPTER XXV. + +PROCEEDINGS AT RANGOON. + + +Freed from the annoyance of the captain's presence, we were by no means +an unhappy crowd. Lying in such a crowded anchorage there was plenty of +sight-seeing, and the coming and going of vessels was incessant, owing +to the demand for rice to feed the famishing millions on the other side +of the Bay of Bengal. Besides that, we youngsters often got a run ashore +when the mate or second mate wanted to go up town, which was pretty +frequent, as there was no restraint upon them. To while away the time of +waiting on the pier for them we used to have great fun with the boatmen, +who squatted there sucking their eternal hubble-bubbles and chattering +continually. Many a queer yarn, in queerer gibberish, did I hear from +those good-natured fellows, only understanding about one word in ten +that they said, and averaging the rest; so that I have no doubt that a +comparison between my idea of a story and the story itself must have +been exceedingly funny. But one day, when surrounded by a knot of +Hindus, I suddenly remembered that when I was quite a child I had read +in _Chambers' Miscellany_ a number of stories of Hindu mythology, all of +which were as fresh in my memory as the alphabet. Accordingly I +commenced to repeat the "Avatar of the Fish" in such broken English, and +occasional native words, as I thought would best convey my meaning. The +effect was wonderful. Usually undemonstrative, they seemed fairly +startled out of all their reserve, and over the ring of eager black +faces wave after wave of conflicting expressions chased one another, +while broken ejaculations burst irrepressibly from their parted lips. As +the well-known names of Rama, Vishnu, Siva, Ganesh and Co. rolled +trippingly off my tongue, their delight knew no bounds; and when at last +I halted for lack of breath, they were ready to give me anything they +possessed. Thenceforward I was a prime favourite among them. Well for me +that it was so, for very shortly afterwards an event happened that +nearly brought my career to a premature close. I had been shaking hands +with them all round, and boy-like, had been showing off my strength by +squeezing their delicate hands in mine, extorting from them all sorts of +queer grimaces and expressions of wonder at my strength of wrist. +Presently a Mussulman joined the group. He had just come up from the +water, where he had been bathing, after having his poll shaven. Clad +only in a waist-cloth, his torso was fully revealed, its splendid +proportions showing a development that many a pugilist would have +envied. Our proceedings did not appear to please him, for he wore a most +diabolical scowl, which, as he was anything but handsome, gave me a +serious disrelish for his company. But suddenly, as if by an +uncontrollable impulse, he thrust out his hand to me, making signs for +me to try my strength on him. I would have refused, but pride forbade; +so I placed my hand in his and waited for his grip, determined to show +no sign even if the blood should spurt from my finger-tips. We stood +facing one another thus for almost a minute, when, without warning, he +lifted my arm high, and at the same time thrust me backwards towards the +edge of the wharf, which was thirty feet above the mud (the tide being +out) and totally unprotected. Another second and I should have been +over, when the whole crowd of boatmen rushed at him, and, dragging him +off me, forced him to retreat up the wharf shorewards. Mad with rage I +seized a log of wood and rushed after him; but the remainder of my +friends surrounded me, and implored me not to pursue him, as I should +certainly be killed. And, indeed, as soon as I cooled down somewhat, the +justice of their contention was evident, for in those tortuous alleys +one might be attacked from a dozen differing directions at once, and +never see the aggressor. Therefore I felt glad that I had not been +allowed to have the way my mad folly would have led me, and thankfully +meditated upon my undoubtedly narrow escape. The affair made a deep +impression upon me, for it was the only time in all my experience that I +was ever attacked abroad. + +The loading of our vessel proceeded very slowly, which was not to be +wondered at, since all the energies of the shipping people seemed to be +absorbed by the demands of the big steamships that were incessantly +carrying rice to Calcutta because of the famine. But, slow as it was, +it gradually approached completion, and the important question began to +occupy all our minds: Were we going to get any liberty or money? Since +the night of the skipper's surprise-visit, we had only seen him once, +and that was when he returned on shore the next morning. The officers +were warily approached upon the subject, but they knew no more than we +did of the skipper's movements or intentions. At last, after a prolonged +council of war, it was decided to send him a letter, signed by one of +the A.B.'s on behalf of the rest. But then the difficulty arose: who was +to write the important document? Not one of the men was capable of doing +so--in fact, I was the letter-writer in ordinary for all hands. So I was +approached as to my willingness to do what was required. I readily +consented, only stipulating that I should be held blameless in the event +of trouble ensuing. "Oh, of course," said they all, "we wouldn't let you +take the blame." Well, I wrote the letter, and, although I was no hand +at composition, I remember that it was exceedingly terse and to the +point. With a good deal of pride I read it to the assembled conclave, +and all agreed that it was a model of what such a letter ought to be. +But when it came to signing the document, I was disgusted to find that +each man was anxious that some other fellow should have the honour. All +professed readiness to take the responsibility, but when it came to +putting their names to paper they hung back. At last, to my secret +amusement, the old Dutchman, Hansen, said, "Oh, all righd, put my name +to id; I tondt care for te oldt man nodt a liddle pidt." It struck me +at once that the old fellow had no idea of the vigour of the language +used, but that was none of my affair. So "Hans Hansen" was appended to +the letter; it was enclosed in an envelope, and sent per the "dubash" to +the "British Burmah Bar," where the old man was living. In a perfect +fever of excitement I awaited the result. It was not long delayed. +Shortly after dinner the skipper came on board in a perfect fury, and, +before he had got his foot over the rail, yelled for Hansen. The poor +old Dutchman paddled aft, shaking like a feather-vane in a gale of wind, +and, when he got to where the old man was standing, he looked as if his +legs would double up under him. Good heavens! how the skipper did rave. +Seeing who he had to deal with he just spread himself, so to speak, and, +much to his satisfaction, succeeded in scaring Hansen nearly to death. +Suddenly my name was called, and, in a moment, I recognized that I had +been given away. Well, I had to face the music; so I determined to put +the best face I could upon the matter, and, in any case, to show no +cowardice. I strolled quietly aft, and received the old sinner's +broadside with a perfectly unmoved front. He threatened me with +prison--almost hanging--for the unparalleled crime I had committed; but +I smiled sweetly, and, as soon as I could get in a word, I told him he +couldn't do anything to me at all. Then he changed his tactics, and +tried to wheedle me into saying that the men had compelled me to write, +and begged me to tell him whose composition it was. Having by this time +grown bolder, I told him that I was the author, and that I felt proud of +it. This so enraged him that he ran at me foaming and screaming to me to +get out of his cabin. But, even then, his prudence did not desert him, +for he never ventured to strike me, and both the officers remained +strictly neutral. And, after all, the desired end was attained for every +one except myself, for the next day liberty was announced, with cash to +the extent of twenty rupees each. But from this I was to be excluded. +However, after the other fellows had gone, my fellow ordinary seaman and +I were told by the mate that we might go too, if we chose, but that he +had no money to give us. We had a couple of rupees between us, enough to +get ourselves something to eat, so we gladly availed ourselves of his +permission and were soon ashore. + +From the first hour of our arrival I had looked with longing eyes upon +the mighty mass of the Golden Pagoda, and never ceased hoping that I +might be able to see it near at hand; and now I determined to lose no +time in realizing my desires. Bill wanted to go down town, and hunt up +some of our shipmates for the purpose of borrowing a little from them; +but I dissuaded him, and, after a bottle of beer each, and the purchase +of a fistful of cigars for the equivalent of twopence, we trudged off. +There was no mistaking the way, for the road was broad and the pagoda +itself was our guide; but I have ever since rejoiced that I did not know +how far it was, or I certainly should never have visited it. The fierce +sun glared down upon the white dusty road so that it was like walking +in an oven; gharries and ekkas rolled tantalizingly by, and our throats +became like leather. But we persevered, and after I am afraid to say how +long, we came at last to the imposing avenue of colossal black marble +monsters leading to the first plateau. Immensely broad flights of steps +led up to an enormous platform, around which we roamed, bewildered by +the wonderful array of uncouth monsters grouped everywhere. Then up more +steps on to another plateau from whence sprang the central mass, a sort +of pyramid without angles, and rising in broad steps of masonry which, +flat at first, gradually sloped upward until they were lost in the +glittering cone of the towering summit. Around the base of this vast +structure were small temples like porticoes leading to the interior of +the main building; but far as we could see, each of them was +self-contained, and no entrance to the central edifice was visible. I +made many inquiries whether that great pyramid was solid, or contained +chambers of any sort; but the answers I got were so conflicting that I +could come to no conclusion at all. The strangest feature of the whole +wonderful place was the number of elaborately decorated bells of all +sizes which hung about, some of them on the most flimsy erections. They +emitted, when struck, tones of the most silvery sweetness, such as I +have never heard from bells (except specimens from the same country) +before or since. And presently we came upon one in a secluded corner +that must be, I should think, one of the largest bells in the world, +although I have never seen any mention of it in books or articles where +big bells are spoken of. It was hanging under a sort of conical shed, +suspended from a gallows built of huge baulks of teak, but its lip was +only about eighteen inches off the ground. It was covered with +inscriptions--in Burmese, I suppose--but had no other enrichment. +Curious to hear its tone, I struck it with a large deer-horn, of which +there were many lying about; but there was no response. Harder and +harder I struck, until at last Bill hove a massive fragment of stone +against it with all his force; but still not a sound could be heard--no, +not so much as an iron wall would have given back. Baffled in sampling +its tone, we tried to measure it roughly, and found that with +outstretched arms we could reach round it in four times. This would make +its circumference about twenty feet. Then, lying flat on my back, I +tried to measure its thickness of metal; but my arm was not long +enough--it was much thicker than I could reach in from outside. Its +height I should estimate at twelve feet; but that is very rough, since +we had no pole. Altogether a grandfather of bells. Gilding was going on +in all directions, the workmen perched upon flimsy bamboo scaffolding in +all sorts of precarious positions; and I remember trying to calculate +how much gold it must take to keep so great a place brilliant. I did not +then know that the gold-leaf was one of the principal offerings made by +worshippers, although, when we presently entered one of the temples, and +witnessed the worship, the strangeness of the proceedings ought to have +enlightened me. Yellow-garbed, close-shaven Phoongyees were squatting +all over the pavement of the building, apparently absorbed in reverent +adoration of the row of idols ranged along the inner end of the place. +Yet, at the same time, more workmen were busily engaged in gilding the +idols themselves--one, especially, was plastering the face of the +central figure with it, until it shone in that dim hall like a setting +sun. I was speechless with wonder at what seemed such a strange mixture +of irreverence and worship. While I stood silently gazing at the strange +scene, a voice near me said, in most perfect high-bred English, "I +suppose you don't believe in this, do you?" I turned sharply; and there +at my elbow stood a Chinaman, simply dressed in white silk, with purple +cap and shoes. A delightful subtle scent exhaled from his robes, and a +gentle smile played about his calm, intellectual face. In fact, +"gentleman" was writ large upon him; but I could not grasp the idea that +it was he who had spoken. As soon as my bewilderment had passed a +little, I said, "Was it you that spoke just now?" He nodded, and +repeated his question. "Of course not," I answered; "neither do you, I +should imagine?" With the slightest possible shrug of his shoulders, he +said, "Why not? I do not claim to be wiser than the myriads of my +ancestors whose faith it was. What sufficed them may surely content me." +"But," I replied eagerly, "you have evidently studied in some +English-speaking country, and you must have read our books. Did they not +alter your opinions as to the wisdom of your ancestors?" "I have taken +my B.A. degree at Cambridge," said he, "and I am fairly conversant with +Western literature; but upon religious topics I do not profess any +opinions. The subject is far too vast for me to attempt to take up, +since it would necessarily mean the exclusion of all others; and I have +much to do. Consequently I accept unquestioningly that form of religion +in which I was born, taking the line of least resistance. But I must bid +you good day, hoping you will enjoy your visit." And before I could say +another word he was gone. I felt very small and ignorant beside this +exquisite Oriental, whose gracious manners and beautiful voice have +haunted me ever since, and, although I am fully conscious how poor a +figure I must have cut beside so gifted and highly educated a man, I +have never ceased to regret that I did not have a longer enjoyment of +his pleasant company. While I still stood musing over this strange +encounter, a heavy hand was laid upon my shoulder, and, turning sharply +round, I was confronted by our second mate, whose ill-fitting clothes, +gross, animalized face and boisterous behaviour, formed a complete +contrast to the dainty gentleman who had just quitted my side. "Hullo!" +he said with a sneer, "what you doin' ere, hay? Goin' ter turn +Me'ommedun?" I made some jesting reply, looking anxiously meanwhile at +his cigar, and then at the silent row of priests, in grave doubt as to +how they might take his noisy behaviour in their sacred building. But +they were apparently used to it, for they took not the slightest notice. +"Got 'ny money?" he queried with a grin, knowing pretty well how +unlikely it was. Upon my telling him how poorly we were off, he +kindly gave me two rupees and then went on his way. + +[Illustration: "I suppose you don't believe in this, do you?"] + +As I had by this time had quite enough of sight-seeing, besides being +hungry and thirsty, I started to look for my chum; and, after some +search, found him sitting in a shady angle of the great flight of steps, +intently watching the impassive figure of one of a long row of +mendicants that lined the side of the way up to the temple. He was quite +happy, and very much interested in the queer offerings that he had seen +made to the beggar whom he had been studying. Shreds of tobacco, a few +grains of rice, and other trifles unfamiliar to us, but of the tiniest +possible value, were being dropped into his basket by the native +passers-by, in response to the mellow note which resounded from a +triangular piece of metal which he held suspended from a stick, and +occasionally tapped with a bone. "Goin' ter give him anythin', Bill?" I +asked. "'Oo? Me? Wot djer tek me for? Lazy ole swine! I bet 'ees got +a ---- sight more brass 'n you er me'll ever 'ave. No bloomin' fear!" It +may have been fancy, but certainly I thought I saw a gleam in that +beggar's filmy eye as if Bill's contemptuous words were quite understood +by him. "Well," I said, "I'm goin' ter give 'im a tanner fer luck." And, +as I spoke, I fished out four annas and dropped the little piece of +silver into his cup. I turned to go immediately; but he stretched forth +a skinny arm, offering me a withered, blood-red flower, and murmuring +some (to me) utterly unintelligible words. Now, I would not willingly +hurt any one's feelings gratuitously; so I smiled cheerfully back, +accepted his flower, and saying, "Bote accha; Salaam, ole stockin'," +skipped off down the steps, followed grumblingly by Bill. As we went, I +told him of the second mate's gift. He immediately suggested taking a +gharry back. I was in no wise loth to agree, for the remembrance of our +morning's trudge was anything but pleasant. But, when we arrived at the +place where the vehicles were grouped, those infernal gharry-wallahs +were all so independent that they wouldn't bate a pice of three rupees +for the trip. As this was quite out of the question, we took the road +again with heavy hearts and aching feet: Bill cursing, in choicest +Bermondsey, niggers in general and gharry-wallahs in particular. For +about half a mile we trudged along, when, suddenly turning a slight bend +in the road, we sighted a gharry ambling along with one door open. A +bright thought seized me, and, whispering to Bill my idea, we hurried +noiselessly after the slowly-moving carriage. As soon as we got near +enough, we saw that the driver was soundly asleep upon his box, the +reins dangling loosely from his fingers, and the old horse plodding +along at his own sweet will. Gently we popped into the crazy old +ambulance, quietly closed the door, and lounged back like two +plutocrats. I don't think I ever enjoyed a ride more, for, slowly as we +went, we arrived at the gharry-stand in Phayre Street all too soon to +suit me. Before the gharry stopped we opened the door, and, quietly as +we had entered, were stepping out, when that unlucky Bill caught his +foot in the step, and, catching at the door to save himself, gave the +whole concern a heavy lurch. This effectually roused the driver, who +jumped down off his box and demanded his fare. Bill was furious (at +being caught, I suppose), and was proposing to slay and eat the fellow, +whose yells speedily brought all his chums round. As I was getting +nervous I offered him eight annas, at the same time trying to pacify my +burly shipmate, who was carrying on like a madman. Fortunately a white +policeman came along, before whose dignified approach all the clustering +natives stood respectfully back. To him I told the exact facts of the +story. Without a word he took the eight annas from me, gave it to the +hack-man, and uttered the single word "Jao." The effect was magical. The +crowd melted away, and we were at liberty to resume our journey. The +rest of the day passed uneventfully enough. We had a splendid dinner in +one of the bazaar dining-rooms at a rupee each, washed it down with a +bottle of Bass, and, after sundry cigars, strolled leisurely down the +pier, and sat there enjoying the coolness of the evening, until, feeling +tired of shore, we hailed the ship, and were fetched on board by the two +apprentices. A quiet night's rest succeeded; but the morning brought +diversions. The ex-policeman came on board quietly enough, as befitted a +man accustomed to discipline; but the rest, with the exception of old +Hansen, who returned early on the previous day, were in a parlous state. +Two did not return; and, later, news came that they were safely in +chowkey, having covered themselves with glory by routing a whole +brigade of native police who tried to arrest them, and caused grievous +bodily harm to several white constables who had finally carried them +off. One of them was the jolly Suffolker, who had thus falsified all my +previous estimates of his amiability; the other was Mick, the long +Irishman, at whose outburst nobody was surprised. It is hardly +necessary, perhaps, to say that no work was done that day, except a +little clearing up decks, for which of course we boys were available. +But, towards evening, the repentant revellers began to realize the +extent of their folly, and to appear, in some measure, ashamed of +themselves. Just at sunset a police-boat arrived bringing Mick, a +deplorable object, his clothes hanging from him in festoons, and his +flesh caked up with dried filth and blood. He was certainly much the +worse for wear, but filled with an unholy delight at the thought of the +glorious time he had enjoyed. It appeared, however, that the behaviour +of Charley the Suffolker had been so outrageous, and his refusal to +return to his ship so decided, that the authorities--lenient, as they +undoubtedly were, to sailors--were compelled to give him a month's hard +labour. Upon hearing his sentence he lifted up his voice and shouted, +"Hooray!" to the great annoyance of the magistrate, who had him +incontinently man-handled off to the cells. + + + + +CHAPTER XXVI. + +HOMEWARD-BOUND IN DIFFICULTIES. + + +And now--our cargo being all on board, sails bent, and hatches battened +down--we began to look forward to the homeward passage. But our +anticipations were in no sense pleasurable, for, although we had +certainly lived well while in port, we had as yet received no stores for +sea use, and we were in grievous doubt as to the intentions of our +commander in this respect. At last, when we were fully prepared to +refuse to proceed unless we saw some reasonable prospect of being fed +while at sea, a boat-load of stores came off, accompanied by a new +recruit to take the place of Charley, who was busy mat-making in Rangoon +gaol. He was an old acquaintance of mine, having been cook of a barque +called the _Gemsbok_, which lay at Auckland during one of my visits--a +fair-haired, happy-go-lucky Englishman; but a very poor sailor, however +able he might have been as a cook. He had not been half an hour on board +before he had joined us in solemn condemnation of the scanty stock of +provisions he had accompanied on board, declaring that we should all be +starved before we got home, unless we made a wonderfully rapid passage. +But, with the carelessness of sailors, we allowed our opportunity of +protesting to slip by; and next morning, we unmoored and dropped down to +Monkey Point, ready to proceed down the river. For some unexplained +reason we lay here all day doing nothing, although everything was as +favourable as it could well be for our departure. Towards evening, when +all hands were sitting on the top-gallant forecastle, enjoying the cool +and smoking the universal cheroot of Burmah, the devil entered into +Mick, and induced him to sneak down into the forecastle and search for +something to drink. He succeeded in discovering a bottle of square +gin--the cayenne and turpentine brand at twelve annas a bottle--in +Hansen's chest, which, as is customary in all ships' fo'lk'sles, was +left unlocked. Knocking the neck of it off immediately, he poured the +contents into a hookpot, and, at one draught, swallowed about a pint of +the horrible stuff. Another drink nearly finished it; and in a few +minutes he returned to our midst, not drunk, but a raving lunatic. For a +little while we were highly amused at his antics; but presently, +yelling, "Well, so long all!" he rushed to the rail with the evident +intention of flinging himself overboard. Bill--the other ordinary +seaman--and I rushed at him, dragged him back, and, after a severe +struggle, got him to lie down. Then commenced such a night of labour as +I have never experienced before or since. Every device that his mad +cunning could suggest did he try in order to take his own life. We got +not a moment's rest. Sometimes he would feign to be asleep; but, the +moment we were off our guard, he would be at it again, startling us +almost out of our wits, and giving us a fearful struggle before we could +get him quieted again. None of the others would relieve us, or lend us a +hand--nay, they cursed us for a pair of idiots that we did not let him +go, with a wannion on him. How could we? Although we bitterly resented +the utterly uncalled-for toil, we dared not relax our vigilance: both of +us feeling that, if we did, his blood would be upon our heads. And, to +add to our miseries, a land-breeze brought off mosquitoes and sandflies +in myriads, so that, in our exposed condition, we were stung almost +beyond bearing. At last, just as the first streak of dawn appeared over +the jungle, he dropped off to sleep in reality. Before we had time to +snatch the briefest doze came the strident voice of the mate, "Man the +windlass!" Of course Mick was excused--he was ill; but we, poor +wretches, who had been engaged in a life-and-death struggle with him the +whole night through, were compelled to work as if we had enjoyed our +lawful night's rest. And we were so weary! Hardly able to crawl about +from our tremendous exertions, and continually blackguarded for our lack +of smartness, it was with no kindly feelings towards Mick that we +dragged ourselves forecastlewards at breakfast-time, when, the ship +being under way and pointed down the river, we had a short spell of +leisure. Of course he sat up and looked for his breakfast, confound him! +As I handed him his coffee, I said, "A pretty fine dance you led Bill +and me last night, Mick!" "Fhwat the divil d'yez mane?" growled he. I +told him as frankly as I could; and, as soon as I had done, he said, +"Well, I alwuz tought yez wur a pair ov ---- fules, an' now oim ---- well +sure ov ut. Fhwy'nt yez let me go, ---- yer dhirty sowls t' hell?" I +answered him never a word; but swore solemnly to myself that, come what +might, I would never again move one inch to protect a drunken man from +the consequences of his own act, and I have devoutly kept that oath. + +Our progress down the river was but little faster than the flow of the +tide, for there was not sufficient breeze to keep the sails full, and we +all noticed that the old man seemed to be in an unusual state of nervous +agitation. A tiny pillar of smoke astern seemed to attract most of his +attention; so palpably, indeed, did he watch it, that we began to +whisper among ourselves that he had been paying somebody with the +"fore-topsail sheet" again. And the event proved that we were right in +our surmise, for before long a steam-launch overtook us, and a +peremptory order was given from on board of her for us to lay the +foreyard aback. Our pilot immediately complied, the launch sheered +alongside, and a red-uniformed official climbed on board. His first act +was to present the skipper with a piece of paper. But that worthy had no +need to read it; he knew well enough what it contained. Then a white +man, very well dressed, came on board, and began slanging the miserable +captain in rare style. He had been at his old games again; eating and +drinking--especially drinking--at somebody else's expense during the +whole of our stay in port, and then trying to get away without paying +his bill. This time, however, matters looked serious for him, for he +had very little money, and his bill amounted to one hundred and fifty +rupees. There was a tremendous amount of haggling done before the +hotel-keeper would accept a compromise; but at last, a number of bolts +of new canvas and several coils of rope were transferred to the launch, +and with these, I have no doubt, the creditor was very well paid indeed. +But what excuse the skipper would hatch up to satisfy his owners about +those missing stores we could none of us imagine. Undoubtedly he placed +himself completely in the power of every one on board by his mean and +dishonest behaviour. As if we had only been waiting for his +discomfiture, no sooner had the launch left us than we squared away to a +spanking breeze, which took us well clear of the land before nightfall, +fairly started on our long homeward passage. + +And now we all pursued a definite course of action. It was unanimously +agreed that the skipper had fairly put himself out of court, and that to +him no respect whatever was due. The officers, on the other hand, who +did their part well under these trying circumstances, were treated by +every one with that deference which was their right, and consequently +the work of the ship went on in seamanlike fashion. We were fortunate, +too, in getting out of the Bay of Bengal before the setting in of the +south-west monsoon, when the weather is unspeakably vile. Steaming +weather, variable winds, and frequent deluges of rain make life at sea +in the Bay then a burden almost too grievous to be borne. The ropes +swell so much that they can hardly be hauled through the blocks without +any weight attached to them, and the sails become like boards for +stiffness. But we had a steady northerly wind, nights of perfect beauty, +and days of unclouded sunshine; so that but for the harassing want of +good food, which attacked us as soon as we were clear of the land, our +lot was as pleasant as any sailor can ever expect. Very little work of +any kind was done beyond the necessary handling of the sails, for no +doubt the officers felt that it would be unwise to attempt too much +under the strained conditions of things. + +And now in the long night-watches, when over a quiet sea, flooded with +moonlight, the sturdy old vessel glided silent as a disembodied spirit, +not a flap of a sail or creak of a rope breaking the solemn stillness, I +spent many, many hours alone communing with my own soul. The old +boy-life was fast slipping away from me, and the ugly sordidness of much +that I had endured for the past seven years was already beginning to be +mellowed by the softening haze of time. I felt deep, hungry longings for +better things--often flushing hotly in the darkness as I remembered how +I had wasted my opportunities in Australia, and again thinking wearily +how utterly friendless and alone I was in the world. I felt that if I +only had some one to work for, some one to whom my well-being was a +matter in which they took a lively interest, that I was capable even +now--in spite of my ignorance--of doing something in the world; and I +built whole cities full of castles in the air upon the most filmy +foundations. And then all my hopes and dreams would die in thickest +darkness of despair. What gleam of bright prospect _could_ there be for +me, a mere bit of driftweed upon the awful ocean of humanity, with no +destination, except that which I shared with all mankind? So I would lay +musing, looking upward into the infinite blue overhead where the +never-ceasing glory of the stars kept me most comfortable company. These +nights were a grand counterpoise to the petty discomforts and miseries +of the day, when the discontent of their lot made the men of my watch so +humpy and disagreeable that I could hardly keep out of hot water with +them. I had no books but a Bible, for which I am now most grateful, +because I read that grand old book--a literature in itself--through and +through from end to end I know not how many times. And although I know I +had not the smallest devotional intent, I am sure that the very fact of +saturating myself from such a well of English undefiled was of the very +greatest service to me. Religion, indeed, was a byword among us. We knew +that the owners of the ship were considered a highly religious firm, and +that Captain Bunker was believed by them to be a holy man. Illogically, +we transferred some of our hatred of his hypocrisy to his employers, who +were probably not in the least to blame for our sufferings. Therefore, +in the many discussions which took place in the forecastle on things in +general, the conversation usually turned upon the general worthlessness +and scoundrelism of religious people in general, and our captain and +owners in particular. There were no arguments, for we were all of one +way of thinking, and there was no one to show us any light upon the +subject. As far as I was concerned my early piety had all gone, with the +exception of an awful fear of death, in what I felt was my unprepared +(!) condition, and an utter inability to accustom my tongue to the +continual blasphemy of sailor-talk. In other directions my language was +as foul as anybody's, so that I had nothing to brag about if I had +thought of doing so. As we drew down towards the African land, the +question of food became very serious again. The flour which had been +bought in Rangoon was already almost uneatable--full of vermin of +various kinds, and of a dirty grey colour. Our cargo was not available, +being unhusked rice, or "paddy," and the meat was the worst I had ever +seen, with the exception of that in my first ship. A portion of it +boiled, and left for a few hours, became white and hard as a piece of +marble, with the exuding salt. There was an increasing monotone of +grumbling, which nothing but the lovely weather and easy times prevented +from breaking into open revolt. At last we made the land somewhere about +East London, and it began to be whispered about among us that the old +man meant going into Algoa Bay for supplies. What foundation there was +for the rumour I don't know, but it had a marked effect upon every one's +spirits, so that she was quite a different ship. Port Elizabeth had been +the _Harrowby's_ first port at the beginning of her long voyage, and +probably that had some weight in making the skipper determine to call +there again. Some of his old cronies would doubtless welcome him, for he +had not then begun to practise leaving without settling his accounts. +Whatever the cause, the confirmation of the rumour that we were going to +put in re-invigorated us, and we all showed the utmost willingness at +every task. + +The weather now began to play tricks upon us: baffling winds, fogs, and +cold, raw rain replacing the idyllic climate we had so long been +enjoying. And, as we gradually crept south, more than one gale gave us a +severe drubbing--sometimes blowing us so far off the land that we began +to fear he would give up the idea of going in, after all. But when one +morning the order came to get the anchor over the bows, and bend on the +cables, all doubts and fears were silenced, and a general air of +expectancy took their place. The next night the wind veered to the +eastward, and blew hard; but under a heavy press of sail we stood in for +the land, heading, as we believed, straight for our port. All through +the night a keen look-out was kept, but nothing was seen. When the grey, +cheerless dawn broke we were still plunging shoreward through the ugly +cross-sea, making wretched weather of it, not a dry corner to be found +forrard or aft. A dense mist prevented us from seeing many ships' +lengths ahead, but that gave none of us forrard any uneasiness, as we +believed that with all his faults the old man was a fairly good +navigator. Two of us were on the look-out, peering through the grey +veil, when suddenly on the starboard bow, not more than a mile away, +appeared the tall spectre of a lighthouse, the red and white bands upon +it just visible. A chill of horror ran through us all, added to the +next moment by the appalling cry of "Breakers right ahead!" The helm was +instantly put up and the yards squared, but oh! how lazily she answered +her helm. Then the haze lifted, and, as she slowly paid off, we saw all +along our starboard beam, and apparently not a cable's length off, the +mighty foaming range of breakers that seemed hungry for us, flinging +their tops high into the air and bellowing like a thousand savage bulls. +Just as if there was some almost irresistible attraction drawing us +broadside on to that tumult of death, we crawled along, burying the +lee-rail under water with the tremendous press of sail we were carrying, +and expecting each moment to hear a crack overhead, and see some of our +spars go, sealing our death-warrant. But our end was not yet. Presently +the most despondent among us could see that we were gaining ground, and +gradually we clawed off that frightful reef out to the friendly sea +again. A good offing having been made, we stood to the westward once +more, for the lighthouse we had seen was Cape Recife, and our objective +was but a short distance to the northward of it. We had just struck the +wrong side of it, that was all. Still, with all our efforts, it was as +much as we could do to get into Algoa Bay before dark, and anchor well +to seaward of all the other vessels, in readiness to leave again. + + + + +CHAPTER XXVII. + +DEEP-WATER COASTING. + + +Landing that night was quite out of the question, for all the surf-boats +had been secured, and even had we possessed a good boat of our own +(which we did not) we could not have landed in this tumultuous bay as +ever was. So the anchor-watch was set, and everybody else turned in to +sleep the curious, uneasy sleep of the sailor just in port, after a long +series of watches at sea four hours on and off. But the earliest +surf-boat out in the morning came alongside, and took Captain Bunker +ashore. His last words to the mate were to "heave short" at noon, for he +would then be off with the stores, and we should weigh immediately. That +was all very well for him, but by ten o'clock a howling black +south-easter was blowing, and we had a full taste of the delights of +Algoa Bay. The gale blew right into the open harbour, and by noon the +scene was one of the most savage grandeur. Every vessel there was +plunging and straining at her moorings as if she must tear herself to +pieces or uproot the steadfast anchors, while great sheets of spray +often hid the labouring craft from view. Our position was dangerous in +the extreme. Vessels anchored in Algoa Bay for any length of time +always have a huge hawser bent to the cables, which, of course, has more +elasticity than chain, and to this they ride, even in the worst weather, +with comparative comfort. But we had no such device. In the first place +we had no hawser fit for it, in the next we had made no preparations for +such an emergency. So all that we could do was just to give her all the +chain we had got on a single anchor, and stand-by to let go the other +one in case of the first one carrying away. For hours we watched that +tortured windlass, and listened to the horrible grind of the massive +links around the iron-shod barrel thereof, wondering each moment whether +the next would be the last or not. Again we were spared, although +better-prepared vessels than ours came to grief, piling their poor +remains up among the many other relics scattered about that ravenous +shore. By nightfall the wind had taken off greatly, although the old sea +still kept her leaping and curtseying like a lunatic, and made our sleep +a mere pretence. And we all felt sure that our reverend skipper was +snugly ensconced in some red-curtained bar ashore, with a jorum of grog +and a churchwarden aglow; and would be rather relieved than otherwise to +know that his ship had come to grief, and thus prevented the catastrophe +that was surely awaiting him on his return home. Along about noon, +however, he hove in sight. When he came alongside the cargo he had +brought with him set all our mouths watering. There was a side of fresh +beef, two carcases of mutton, and a small cartload of potatoes, +cauliflowers, and onions. But of sea-stock there was hardly any. Three +packages comprised the whole--one of peas, one of flour, and one of lime +juice. Yet with an obtuseness that is even now a mystery to me, no one +raised any objection. The things were just hoisted on board, the boat +left, and, when the order was given to man the windlass, there was not a +dissentient murmur. Of course remarks were bandied about as freely as +usual upon the never-failing subject of the old man's delinquencies; but +that was because he stood upon the house aft, his knobbly face glowing +like a port sidelight, his hands upon his hips, and his whole bearing +that of a man whom a skinfull of whisky had put upon the best of terms +with himself. Up and down went the windlass-brakes cheerily, while Bill +and I hauled back the chain; but presently she gave a dive, and, when +she sprang upward again, there was a sudden grind of the cable, and out +flew several fathoms of it, tearing the chain-hooks from our hands, and +treating us to an extremely narrow escape of following them. Then there +was a chorus of language from the men on the forecastle. All sorts of +epithets were hurled at our unfortunate heads for our failure to hold +on. But while they yet spake, she gave another curtsey, and out went +some more. That was sufficient to indicate the kind of a picnic we were +in for, and no time was lost in rigging a big fourfold or "luff"-tackle, +which was stretched right along the deck from a stout ringbolt near the +mainmast, and the forrard end hooked on to the chain. The fall was then +taken to the after-capstan, and we two ordinary seamen, aided by the +skipper and the two boys, hove at it continually as the chain came +slowly in. As long as there was any scope of cable out, things went on +all right, but as soon as we were hove short, it looked as if some +damage was bound to ensue. Sail was loosed, ready to get way upon her as +soon as the anchor was off the ground, she all the time straining and +jumping at her cable like some infuriated wild beast. At last she dipped +her bows right to the level of an incoming swell, which, as it passed +under her forefoot, flung her high in air. There was a rending crash, a +shower of sparks, and she was free. "Anchor's gone, sir!" shouted the +mate, springing off the forecastle amid a chorus of "---- good job, too," +from all hands. As hard as we could pelt we got the sail on her, and in +a few minutes were outside the Bay, the loose end of the parted cable +hanging at the bows. So closed our expensive visit to Port Elizabeth, +and before nightfall we were under all canvas, slipping down towards the +Cape with the favouring current and wind at a great rate, our starboard +anchor still hanging over the bows. All minor discomforts were +forgotten, however, in the glorious feed provided for us by the cook. +While we were revelling in the good fresh mutton and vegetables, that +worthy came into the forecastle, and received our congratulations with +the self-satisfied air of one who feels that he has deserved well of his +fellows. Presently he informed us confidentially that he had received no +orders as to the disposal of the provisions, and that it was therefore +his fixed determination to serve them out to all hands, both forrard and +aft, impartially, as long as they lasted. He kept his word right +manfully. For a week, during which we hugged the land right round the +Cape with the anchor still outboard, we lived as we had never done since +we left Sydney. Our gaunt faces filled up their sombre hollows, our +shrunken muscles developed, and we grew skittish as young colts. Then, +without warning, our luxuries all ceased, and the same grim state of +privation set in as before. + +As I have so often experienced since, we took a steady southerly wind +right off the pitch of the Cape, before which we hurried homewards under +every rag of sail we could muster--every hour bringing us nearer home. +According to all the established rules on board ship, we should now have +begun that general "redding-up" to which every homeward-bounder is +subjected as soon as she gets into the south-east trades. Thanks, +however, to our skipper's peculiar notions of how to deal with his +owners' property, we had no new ratline stuff on board wherewith to +"rattle down"--as the process of fitting new rungs to the rope-ladders +leading aloft is termed. We could not reeve new running-gear for the +same reason, or fit new footropes, or repair the "service" where chafed +out aloft. We had hardly any paint, or varnish, or tar, yet the +apprentices declared that when she left home she was fully provided with +such stores for a three years' voyage--as the owners were large +ship-chandlers and never let their own ships go to sea meanly supplied. +She had been out barely two years--very little of anything had been +used--so that she was quite poverty-stricken aloft, and yet there was +nothing left to make her look respectable coming home. We all had easy +times, it is true; but that was not altogether a blessing, since +sailorizing is generally liked by seamen, who would growl like tigers at +the petty half-and-half scavenging often done on board such ships as the +_Harrowby_ under a pretence of smartening ship. So restless and +irritable did the men become that it was easy to see trouble at hand. +Only a spark was needed to kindle a big explosion. This was supplied by +the unhappy cook, who burnt most scandalously the only meal we could +really eat with any heartiness--our pea-soup. Poor wretch!--in answer to +the ferocious inquiries of the men for something to stay their gnawing +stomachs with, he could only bleat feebly that he "hadn't got nothing; +nothing at all to give 'em." They knew very well that this was true; but +our latest recruit, Sam, the ex-cook, swore he would have something to +eat or he'd know the reason why. So, snatching up the steaming kid of +soup, he rushed aft with it, and, in a voice broken with rage and +excitement, demanded the skipper of the grinning boy at the cabin door. +"Tell him I'm engaged--can't see him now!" shouted the skipper from +within. That was enough. In bounced Sam, pale with fury, and, shoving +the reeking tub of soup under the skipper's nose as he sat at the table, +hissed, "W'at kinder stuff djer think _thet_ is fer men t' eat?" Leaning +back as far as possible from the foul mess the skipper panted, "Git out +o' my cabin, yew impident scoundrel! What jer mean by darin' ter come in +'ere like thet?" Splash! and over went the kid of soup on top of the +skipper's head, which rose from out of that smoking yellow flood like a +totally new kind of Venus. The liberal anointing ran down the old man's +beard and back, even unto the confines of his trouser-legs, while he +spluttered, choked, and scooped at his eyes in utter bewilderment. As +for Sam, he stood like a statue of wrath, in full enjoyment of his +revenge, until the outraged skipper recovered his voice, and screamed +for help. Down tumbled the mate through the after-companion, but the +sight which greeted his astonished eyes fairly paralyzed him. "Seize +him! put him in irons!" yelled the skipper, "He's scalded me! th' +infernal vagbon's scalded me!" But Mr. Messenger was disinclined to +undertake the job single-handed--knowing, too, how likely it was that +any such attempt would almost certainly bring all hands on the scene +ripe for a row. Therefore, Sam, after unpacking his heart of a few +hearty curses upon skipper and ship, made good his retreat forward to +the fo'lk'sle, where his version of the encounter was received with +delirious merriment. The delight shown at this summary assault upon the +old man actually took the place of dinner, and, although no substitute +for the spoiled soup was forthcoming, nothing more was said on the +subject. When the cabin-boy came forrard that evening with his nightly +budget of stories about the common enemy, he convulsed us all by his +graphic details of the skipper's struggles to free himself from the +clinging mess congealed about him. But there was not heard one word of +pity--no, not even when Harry told us that his bald head was as red as +a beetroot. This affair kept all hands in quite a good humour for some +days, until one evening, Chips, who rarely left his lonely den, came +mysteriously into the fo'lk'sle and said oracularly, "Boys, we ort ter +be gittin' pretty cluss ter Sant Elener. I don't blieve th' ole man means +ter sight it at all; but if he don't we shall all be starved ter death +afore we cross the line. _I_ think we ort ter go aft in a body 'n tell +him 'at we ain't er-goin' ter do another hand's turn less he goes in 'n +gits some grub ter carry us home." All agreed at once, and the time for +our ultimatum was fixed for the next day at noon. But I happened to be +doing some trivial job on the main-royal yard next morning, and, before +coming down, took, as I usually did, a long look all round the horizon. +And I saw far aft on the port quarter the massive outlines of the island +of St. Helena, fully thirty or forty miles away. This so excited me that +I could not wait to descend in the usual leisurely fashion, but, +gripping the royal backstay, came sliding to the deck like a monkey. +Without losing a minute I rushed forrard and told my news. There was no +longer delay. Headed by the carpenter, all hands came aft and demanded +an interview with the skipper. As soon as he appeared the option was +given him of either going in to St. Helena, or sailing the ship himself. +He then informed us what was our exact position, and dwelt upon the +length of time it would take to beat back against the strong trade +blowing. Old Chips, however, was ready for him. He said at once, "Very +well, sir, why not go into Ascension?" "Oh, they won't let us have any +stores there: it's a Government dockyard, 'n they only supply +men-o'-war." "That be hanged for a yarn," said Chips; "w'y, I've had +stores there myself only two year 'n a half ago. Anyhow, cap'n, there it +is: you k'n do wot yer like, but we ain't a-goin' ter starve 'n work the +ship too." After a minute or two's cogitation, the old man replied +wearily, "Oh, very well, I'll go and draw up the happlication, an' +you'll all 'ave ter sign it." Artful old curmudgeon! Still, we didn't +care as long as we got some grub; so, when he called us aft again and +read out the string of fabrications he had concocted, carefully omitting +all mention of our call at Algoa Bay, all hands signed it as cheerfully +as if it had been their account of wages. + +But the look-out that was kept from that day forth, and the careful +calculations of course and distance every watch, I have never seen +equalled in a ship's fo'lk'sle before or since. And when at last the +rugged burnt-up heap of volcanic _debris_ appeared above the horizon +right ahead, our relief was immense. Our simple preparations for +anchoring were soon made, and our one serviceable boat cleared for +hoisting out, for, like the majority of that class of vessels, the boats +were stowed and lumbered up with all sorts of incongruous rubbish, as if +they were never likely to be needed; and the long-boat--upon which, in +case of disaster to the ship, all our lives would depend--was so leaky +and rotten, that she would not have kept afloat five minutes in a +millpond. As we opened up the tiny bay, where the Government buildings +are clustered, we saw, fluttering from the flagstaff at the summit of a +conical hill, most prosaically like a huge "ballast"-heap, a set of +flags silently demanding our business. Our set of signals being +incomplete, we could only reply by hoisting our ensign and standing +steadily in for the anchorage. But before we came within a mile of it, a +trim cutter glided alongside, and a smart officer in naval uniform +sprang on board. With just a touch of asperity in his tone, he inquired +our business, and, upon being deferentially informed by the skipper, +immediately ordered the main-yard to be laid aback while he went below +to inspect the contents of our store-room. Apparently his scrutiny was +satisfactory, for, returning on deck, he ordered the main-yard to be +filled again, and conned the ship up to the anchorage. He then +re-entered his boat and sped away shoreward, while we, as soon as ever +the ship had swung to her anchor, just clewed up the sails, and then +made all haste to get the boat into the water. As soon as this was done, +four hands and the skipper got into her and pulled for the shore; the +old man's last words being, "I 'spect I shall be back in an hour." + +To while away the time, pending their return, I started fishing; but I +never want to get among such fish as they were again. Lovely in their +hues beyond belief, but with nothing else to recommend them, they tried +my patience sorely. I have since learned that they were a sub-variety of +_Chaetodon_, having teeth almost like a human being, but so keen and +powerful that they were able to sever copper-wire. After losing most of +my hooks, I at last "snooded" with a few strands of silk not twisted +together. By this means I succeeded in getting half a dozen of the +gorgeous creatures on deck. But their amazing colours, fearful +spikiness, and leathery skin effectually frightened us from eating them, +as most of us were painfully aware of the penalty for eating strange +fish. The swelled and burning head, lancinating pains, and general +debility afterwards, consequent upon fish-poisoning, make sailors very +careful to taste none but known kinds of deep-sea fish, and any queer +shape or colour among reef-fish is sufficient to bar their use as food. + +At the expiration of two hours and a half our boat returned, laden to +the gunwale with bags and cases, showing plainly that here, at any rate, +the old man had not been permitted to exercise his own judgment as to +what his requirements were likely to be. In feverish haste we got the +stores on board, the skipper appearing in a high state of nervous +apprehension lest the keen-eyed watchers ashore should deem him slack in +leaving. Indeed, the report of the boat's crew was to the effect that +the skipper had been treated with very scant courtesy--not even being +allowed to say how much of this, that, or the other, he would take; and, +when he was leaving, being sternly admonished to lose no time in getting +under way, or he would certainly find himself in trouble. Such was the +haste displayed all through, that, within four hours from the time of +the officer's boarding us, we were off again, our head once more +pointing homeward. + +From that time onward, until our arrival in Falmouth, we never had cause +to complain of bad food. Everything supplied us from the Naval Stores +was the best of its kind--as, of course, it should be. It filled us all +with respect for the way in which men-o'-war's men are fed, even without +the many opportunities allowed them for exchanging the service rations +for shore provisions. In consequence of this welcome change everything +on board went on greased wheels. The old man effaced himself, as usual, +never interfering with anybody, and, for a month, we were as quiet a +ship as you would find afloat. Slowly we edged our way across the belt +of calms to the northward of the Line, inch by inch, our efforts almost +entirely confined to working the ship and making sennit. By-and-bye we +came into a calm streak, where sea and sky were so much alike that it +was hard to tell where one left off and the other began: weather +beautiful beyond description, but intensely aggravating to men tired of +the ship and the voyage, and exceedingly trying to the temper of all +hands. For a week this stagnant state of things prevailed; and then, one +morning, we were all interested to find another barque within a couple +of miles of us. In that mysterious way in which two vessels will draw +near each other in a stark calm, we got closer and closer, until at last +our skipper took a notion to visit her. So the boat was got out, and we +pulled alongside of her. She was the _Stanley Sleath_ of London, from +'Frisco to London, one hundred and sixty days out. She was an iron +vessel, and never shall I forget the sight she presented as she rolled +her lower strakes out of water. Great limpets, some three inches across, +yard-long barnacles, and dank festoons of weeds, clothed her below the +water-line from stem to stern, and how she ever made any progress at all +was a mystery. She smelt just like a reef at low water; and it looked as +if the fish took her for something of that nature, for she was +accompanied by a perfect host of them, of all shapes and sizes, so that +she rolled as if in some huge aquarium. She certainly presented a +splendid field for the study of marine natural history. None of us went +on board but the skipper; but some of the watch below leaned over the +rail as we swung alongside and told us a pitiful story. Through +somebody's negligence the lid of their only water-tank had been left +off, with the result that some rats had got in and been drowned. This +had tainted all the water so vilely that no one save a sailor burning +with thirst could drink it, and nothing would disguise that rotting +flavour. The captain had his young wife on board, and she had been made +so ill that she was delirious, her one cry being for "a drink of water." +And no one seemed to have had sufficient gumption to rig up a small +condenser! It hardly seemed credible, had it not been that similar cases +were well known to most of us. We had plenty of good water, and our +skipper sent us back on board with orders to the mate to fill a +two-hundred-gallon cask, bung it up tight, and lower it overboard. We +were then to tow it back to the _Stanley Sleath_. As a cask or tank of +fresh water floats easily in the sea, this was not a difficult task, nor +were we long in executing it. It was the best deal made by our old man +for many a long day, for he got in exchange a fat sow, weighing about +fifteen stone, two gallons of rum, and a case of sugar. Followed by the +fervent thanks of her anxious commander, we rowed away from the _Stanley +Sleath_, our approach to our own vessel again being heralded by the +frantic squeals of our prize, who lay under the thwarts, her feet +securely bound but her voice in splendid working order. That evening a +breeze sprang up, and, slow as we were, we soon left our late consort +hull down. Thenceforward for nearly a fortnight we saw nothing of our +teetotal skipper. The rum had been given us in lime-juice bottles, +packed in the original case, so that nobody knew but what a case of +lime-juice had come on board. And yet, as we had an abundance of +lime-juice, we wondered why the skipper had not chosen something else in +payment for the water. The cabin-boy, as usual, got the first inkling of +the mystery. Somehow he was a prime favourite with the old man, who, I +suppose, turned to Harry in his loneliness and made something of a pet +of him, getting, in return, all his little weaknesses reported verbatim +to the fellows forrard every evening. Going to call the captain to +supper on the same evening we visited the other ship, the boy noticed an +overpowering smell of rum, and, upon tapping at the state-room door, he +heard a thick voice murmur, "'Mnor vry well shevenin'; shlay down bit." +That was enough for Harry. Peeping in, he saw the skipper lolling on his +chest, a big black bottle wedged securely down by his side, and a glass +in his hand. From that spell of drink he did not emerge until the last +of the bottles was emptied. + + + + +CHAPTER XXVIII. + +WHICH BRINGS US TO PORT AT LAST. + + +Fortunately for us the condition of the skipper didn't count for +anything, as we made our usual progress homeward indifferent to his +pranks. The north-east trades hung far to the eastward, allowing us to +make an excellent course northward; but, as we were very light, our gain +from their favouring cant was slight. Just upon the northern verge of +the tropic we lost them altogether, and lay lolling about in windless, +stagnating ease for another week, exasperating all hands at this +unlooked-for extension of our already lengthy passage. But even this +enforced wait had its advantages. We spoke another barque--homeward +bound from Brisbane--and again our adventurous commander would go +ship-visiting. In fact, he allowed it to become known that, but for our +determined attitude about calling at Ascension, he had intended to _beg_ +his way home--a peculiarly irritating practice much fancied by men of +his stamp, who thus levy a sort of blackmail upon well-found ships. They +pitch a pitiful yarn about bad weather and abnormal length of passage, +with such embroidery as their imagination suggests, and generally +succeed in getting quite a lot of things "on the cheap." + +What sort of a yarn our mendacious skipper spun to this last vessel we +had no means of knowing, as the boat's crew were not allowed to board +her; but he succeeded in getting a couple of cases of preserved beef and +some small stores. Much to his disgust, however, there was no liquor of +any kind to be had. The only thing that the other ship wanted was a few +coals for the galley fire; so, while our skipper stayed on board, the +boat was sent back for them. Now it was Sunday afternoon, and when Bill +and I were ordered to go down into the fore-peak and fill three sacks +with coal, we felt much aggrieved. So, grumblingly, we dived into the +black pit forrard, and began to fill the sacks. But, suddenly, a bright +idea struck us. The only pretence at ship-smartening we were likely to +make was "holystoning" the decks, and, to this end, several lumps of +sandstone had been saved ever since we left Sydney. Now, I have before +noted in what abhorrence holystoning is held by all who have to perform +it, and here was a heaven-sent opportunity to make the job impossible. +So we carefully interspersed the lumps of stone among the coal in the +sacks, taking every precaution to leave not a fragment behind. Away it +went to the other ship; it was hoisted on board, our boat returned, a +breeze sprang up and we parted company, seeing each other no more. Two +or three days after the order was given to get up the holystones for +cleaning ship. Words could not express the wrath of the mate when it was +reported to him that none were to be found. Every bit of coal in the +fore-peak was dug over under his immediate supervision, he getting in a +most parlous mess the while, but in vain. I never saw a man get so angry +over a trifle. He swore that they had been thrown overboard by somebody, +being certain that there had been an ample store. Singularly enough, he +never dreamed of the real way of their going, and the actual +perpetrators of the certainly immoral act were never even suspected. We +had to do the best we could with ashes and brooms, but they made a poor +substitute for the ponderous scouring of the stones. I regret to say +that neither of us felt the slightest remorse for our deed, and, when we +heard the delighted comments of the men were more puffed up, I am +afraid, than we should have been by the consciousness of having acted +ever so virtuously. + +And now, as we were approaching the area of heavy weather, and our +stun'sails were worn almost to muslin, we began to send down the +stun'sail gear. The first thing that happened: the ex-cook, in sending +down one of the top-gallant stun'sail-booms (a spar like a smooth +scaffold-pole), made his "rolling-hitch" the wrong way. Perfectly +satisfied that all was in order he sung out to us on deck to "hoist +away." The moment we did so, and the boom swung out of the irons in +which it had been lying, it assumed a vertical position and slid through +the hitch like lightning, just missing the rail, and plunging end-on +into the sea alongside. We were going about four knots at the time, and +when it sprang upwards again it struck us under the counter with a bang +that almost stove in the outer skin of the ship. And, instead of being +at all chagrined at such a gross piece of bungling, the offender simply +exhausted his copious vocabulary of abuse when the "old man" ventured to +rebuke him. Oh, our discipline was grand! Hardly an hour afterwards, in +taking in the fore-topmast stun'sail, the halliards carried away. The +tack and sheet, rotten as cobwebs almost, followed suit, so we lost that +too. The rest of the rags were saved for the old-rope merchant. + +Still the fine weather persisted, and at last we crawled up under the +lee of Terceira in the Azores, where we got becalmed within a couple of +miles of Angra. That was on a Sunday afternoon--and if Captain Bunker +didn't actually propose to go ashore and have a donkey-ride! He was +perfectly sober, too. But this was too much for even our quiet mate's +patience. He turned upon his commander at last. I was at the wheel, and +heard him tell the skipper that if he carried out his proposal, and a +breeze sprang up while he was ashore, he, the mate, would certainly make +sail and leave him there. He was sick to death of the state of things, +and he would have no more of it. This outburst frightened the old fellow +terribly, and, with a feeble remark that he was "only joking," he +disappeared below. The calm continued all through the night, some +invisible influence setting the vessel so closely inshore that I began +to fear we were going to lose her after all. Yet nothing whatever was +done to prepare for such a contingency. The anchor was securely lashed +in its sea-position on the forecastle, and, to all outward appearance, +no notice was taken at all by the officers of our undoubtedly perilous +proximity to the shore. Just before dawn, however, a little +south-easterly breeze sprang up, to which we trimmed the yards, and soon +glided away from all danger. Gradually the wind freshened and veered +until at west-southwest it was blowing a strong steady breeze, and, with +all square-sail set, the old _Harrowby_ was bowling along at a good +eight knots for the Channel. Faithful as usual, this well-beloved wind +to the homeward-bounder never relaxed its strenuous push until the +changing hue of the water, plain for all men to see, told us that we +were once more on soundings. Oh, blessed sight, that never palls upon +the deep-water sailor, the fading away of that deep fathomless blue +which for so many, many weary watches has greeted the eye! Somehow or +other, too, the green of the Channel of Old England has a different tint +to any other sea-green. It is not a pretty colour, will not for a moment +bear comparison with the blazing emerald of some tropical shore, but it +looks welcome--it says home; and even the most homeless and hardened of +shellbacks feels a deep complacency when it greets his usually +unobservant eye. Contrary to my usual experience of the brave +westerlies, this breeze of ours did not culminate in a gale; but as we +neared the Scilly Isles it gradually took off, and the weather +brightened, until one heavenly morning at daybreak we saw under a +pale-blue sky, bathed in brilliant sunshine, those straggling outposts +of dear old England like bits of fairyland--uncut jewels scattered over +a silver sea. And here, to our intense delight, came a dandy: one of +those staunch Falmouth boats with the funny little jigger perked up aft +like the tail of a saucy cockerell. She made straight for us in a +business-like fashion, rounded to alongside, and her commander climbed +nimbly on board, while the other two men in her hove on board a splendid +mess of fish. The enterprising boatman was the runner for a Falmouth +tailor, who had come out thus far seeking customers. He was, of course, +elated to find that we were bound into Falmouth, and that his diligence +was likely to be rewarded. For few indeed are the homeward-bounders +calling at Falmouth for orders, whose crews do not liberally patronize +the Falmouth outfitters, getting good value for their money, and being +able to choose their goods with clear heads, apart from the bestial +distractions of sailor-town. And the captains of such vessels are never +loth, _of course_, to allow their men to run up a bill with the tailor, +and to forward the amount from the port of discharge, wherever it may +be. + +Favoured still by fortune we sped on toward the lovely harbour, and at +four p.m. rounded the well-known old tower of Pendennis and entered the +anchorage. Sail-furling and clearing up decks was got over as if by +magic, and, by the time we were at leisure here was the prompt +tailor-man with his leather-covered trunks full of boots and clothes, +ready to reap the first-fruits of our labours. + +Here we lay in serenest peace for a couple of days, the weather being +more like late spring than November, so fine and balmy as to make us +wonder whether we had not mistaken the time of year. Then orders came +for us to proceed to London. We towed out of the harbour on a lovely +afternoon, with the Channel looking like a glimpse of fairyland under +the delicate blue of the cloudless sky. Under all sail we gently jogged +along the coast, standing more to seaward as night came on, and noting, +with comfortable compassion, the outward-bounders just beginning the +long journey of which we were so near the end. I had the ten to midnight +wheel, and, in consequence of the mild weather, was lightly clad in the +usual tropical rig of shirt, trousers, and cap. Before half my "trick" +was over there was a sudden change. The wind came out from the +north-east, and piped up with a spiteful sting in it that pierced me +through. My thin blood seemed to suck up the cold until I was benumbed +and almost unable to move the wheel. But there was no chance to wrap up. +All hands were as busy as bees shortening her down, for the wind rose +faster than they could get the sail in, and at midnight it was blowing a +gale, with squalls of sleet and driving banks of fog. One o'clock came +before I was relieved, and then I had hardly enough vitality left to get +forrard, my two garments being stiff upon my lead-coloured flesh. +Somehow I got into the forecastle and changed my rig; then, rolling my +one blanket round me, I crawled into my bunk. No sleep and no warmth +could I get, nor did I feel more than half alive at eight bells. But I +dragged myself on deck and suffered, till at five a.m. the cook shouted +"Coffee!" as usual, and then the pannikin of boiling brown water did +comfort my frozen vitals. + +We were now just fore-reaching under two lower topsails, reefed +foresail, and fore-topmast staysail--not even holding our own. Every +little while the big flyers outward-bound would spring out of the +fog-laden gloom, and glide past us under a pyramid of canvas like vast +spirits of the storm. Or a panting, labouring tramp-steamer would plough +her painful way up channel right in the wind's eye, digging her blunt +snout into the angry brine, and lifting it aboard in a roaring flood +that hid her for a minute entirely under a mantle of white foam. We had +even some pity to spare for the poor devils in such evil case as that on +those perishing iron decks, or being flung like a tennis-ball between +bunker, bulkhead, and furnace-door in the Gehenna below, while the +freezing floods came streaming down upon them through the grated +"fidley" above. Fifteen days did that merciless north-easter thrash and +wither us, until we felt that nothing mattered--we had reached such a +dumb depth of misery. Still, we did make _some_ progress, for on the +sixteenth day we sighted Dungeness, the first clearly distinguishable +land we had seen since leaving Falmouth. The arrival of the pilot +cheered us up, as it always does. He seems to bring with him the +assurance of safety, to be a hand stretched out from home able and +anxious to draw you thither. And, as so often happens, too, the weather +fined down almost immediately. Under his wise guidance we stole +stealthily along the coast until, off Dover, a big tug-boat sallied +out and made for us. None of us took any notice of him; we knew too well +that we were not the sort of game he was after. A ship about five times +our size was nearer his weight. Still, he came alongside and hailed us +with, "'R ye takin' steam up, cap'n?" ironically, as we all felt. "Ah!" +replied the old man, "yew're too big a swell f'r me." "Nev' mind 'bout +that," promptly came back. "I'm a-goin' up, anyhow, 'n _you_ won't make +any diff'rance ter me. Come, wot'll yer gimme?" "Ten poun'," sniggered +the old man. "Oh! Go on ahead!"--the interjection explosive, and the +order snarled down the speaking-tube to his engineer. Before, however, +the paddles had made one revolution he stopped them, and shouted back, +"Looky 'ere, I ain't foolin'; I'll take ye up fur thutty poun'. Thet +won't 'urt yer." "Can't do it," drawled the skipper. "Owners wouldn't +pay it. 'Owever, ef yew mean bizness, I'm 'lowed to go ter twenty, n' +not 'nother pice." Then the fun began. They argued and chaffed and swore +until, finally, the tug got so close that her skipper stepped off the +paddle-box on board of us, and, as he did so, we saw a bottle sticking +out of his pea-jacket pocket. They both went below, and there was +silence. When they reappeared our old man's face was glowing like +burnished copper, and Oliver muttered, "I'm off'rin' big money thet +bottle's empty, and the steam-boat man ain't a-hed much neither." But +they hadn't settled the bargain. No; the next game was to toss one +another--best two out of three--whether the tug should take us up for +twenty pounds or twenty-five. Steam won; and the old man immediately +signed to the mate to get the hawser up. Great Caesar! how we did snake +the hatches off before the order came, forgetting that we hadn't got a +hawser fit for the job. That made no odds; the tug-boat man wasn't going +to let a little thing like that stand in his way, especially as his coal +supply was so low that every minute was precious. So he lent us his +tow-line, and in less than five minutes the _Robert Bruce_ was pelting +away homeward as if nothing was behind her at all, and we were all +admiring the first bit of speed the old _Harrowby_ had put on since we +had belonged to her. Night fell as we passed the Nore, but there was no +delay. Onward we went, until, passing everything on the way, we anchored +at Gravesend. Off went the tug with the last shovelful of coal in the +furnaces, just in time. Then down came the fog, a regular November +shroud, so thick that the mainmast was invisible from the poop. Somehow +the "mud"-pilot found us, his boat taking away our deep-water man, in +whom--such is the fickleness of mankind--we had now lost all interest. +All the next day that thick darkness persisted; but about seven in the +evening it lifted a little. The tug was alongside of us directly, so +anxious was her skipper to get his cheap job over. We were mighty smart +getting under way, being off up the river in less than half an hour from +the first glimmer of clear. All went well till we entered Long Reach, +when down came the curtain again thicker than ever. The tug turned round +and headed down the river, just keeping the paddles moving as we +dropped up with the young flood. It was a terribly anxious time. The +river was full of craft, and every minute or two there was a tempest of +howls as we bumped into some bewildered barge, or came close aboard of a +huge ocean steamer. At last the pilot could stand it no longer, and, +telling the carpenter to get his maul ready for knocking out the +ring-stopper of the anchor, he shouted, "Stand clear the chain!" At that +instant, as if by some pre-arranged signal, the fog rolled up, and in +five minutes the sky was as clear as heart could wish. The tug swung +round again, and, under a full head of steam, we rushed onwards, +entering the Millwall Docks just at the stroke of midnight. The process +of mooring in our berth was all a confused jumble of rattling chains, +hoarse orders, and breathless, unreasoning activity, succeeded by that +sweetest of all sounds to a homeward-bound sailor's ears, "That'll do, +men." + +Unearthly as the hour was, most of the fellows would go ashore, +delivering themselves over to the ever-watchful boarding-house runners +like a flock of sheep. But three of us--Oliver, Bill, and myself--rolled +once more into our bunks, and, utterly wearied, soon fell fast asleep. +When we awoke in the morning the new sensation of being our own masters, +able to disregard the time, and lay in till noon if we chose, was +delightful. But just because we could do as we liked we rose at +daylight, had a leisurely wash, and, dressed in our best, climbed over +the rail and sauntered along the gloomy, grimy quays towards the +dock-gates. We had just two shillings and sixpence between us, +sufficient to get a good meal only, but we knew where we could get +more. And that is one of the first pitfalls that beset the path of the +homeward-bounder. Many skippers have sufficient thoughtfulness to +advance their crews a little money upon arriving in dock, and thereby +save them from the dangerous necessity of borrowing from those harpies +who abound and batten upon the sailor. Nothing of the kind could be +expected from our skipper, of course, so we just had to take our chance. +As I was at home and familiar with every corner, I became the guide, and +led the way to a snug eating-house in the West India Dock Road, where I +knew we could get a civilized breakfast. But Oliver hove-to at the first +pub, and swore that what _he_ needed was rum. I tried hard to dissuade +him, assuring him that he wouldn't be able to eat any breakfast if he +got drinking rum first. I might as well have tried to tie an elephant +with a rope-yarn. He had his rum: a full quartern of the famous brand +that used to be sold about sailor-town, whereof the bouquet was enough +to make a horse sick. Then I hurried him off to the coffee-shop, where, +with a lordly air, I ordered three haddocks, three hot rolls and butter, +and three pints of coffee. Oh, the ecstatic delight of that meal!--that +is, to us two youngsters. Oliver just pecked a little daintily, and +then, turning to a burly carman sitting by his side who had just +finished a mighty meal, he said coaxingly, "I say, shipmate, I ain't +touched this grub hardly, can you help me out?" With a commiserating +look the carman reached for the food, and concealed it like an expert +conjurer. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIX. + +CONCLUSION. + + +As I had no home, and cared little where I lodged, I was easily +persuaded by Oliver to accompany him to the little beershop in the +Highway, where he had put up before. I had my misgivings, for I knew +that unsavoury neighbourhood well (it is somewhat different now); but it +was necessary to find harbourage somewhere until the ship paid off, +which was, as usual, likely to be three days longer. Bill departed unto +his own place among the purlieus of Bermondsey, and we two trudged off +to Oliver's hotel. After the glowing accounts of it I had received from +Oliver, I was dumfounded to find it a regular den; the bar filled with +loafers furtive of look and mangy of clothing, while the big taproom at +the back was just a barn of a place open to all. The fat landlord seemed +a decent fellow, but his fatter wife was a terror. She had vigour enough +to command a regiment, and woe to the loafer who crossed her. Still I +felt that it was now too late to draw back, and besides, I had little to +lose; so I had my scanty kit brought up from the ship, and saw it shoved +into a corner of the common room, where I reckoned it would be ransacked +thoroughly as soon as darkness set in. The landlord lent me a sovereign +readily enough, and, as soon as I received it, I bade good-day to +Oliver, who was fast drinking himself idiotic, and, taking the train +from Shadwell to Fenchurch Street, was whirled out of that detestable +locality. All the rest of the day I roamed about the well-known streets, +where the very buildings seemed to greet me with the air of old friends. +I thoroughly enjoyed myself, and, with only a couple of shillings gone +out of my sovereign, returned to my lodging shortly after ten. I found +things worse than ever. The landlady was half inclined to abuse me +because I hadn't been in to my meals, and every loafer in the place was +sponging for a drink. Outside I knew was not healthy at this time of +night for me, so I quietly asked permission to go to bed. Grumbling at +such an unreasonable request, the landlady snarled, "You'll 'ave ter +wite till yer bed's ready. 'Ow wos hi ter know as you'd wanter sleep all +day?" I said nothing, seeing it was the wisest course; but perching +myself in a corner under the big flaring kerosene-lamp, tried to read a +book I had brought in with me. I had not been thus quietly engaged for +more than five minutes, before an awfully repulsive-looking fellow came +up to me, and, pushing down my book, said, "Got enny munny in yer close, +young 'un?" I looked at him in silence for a minute, thinking hard how +best to answer him. But growing impatient he growled, "Look 'ere, giv us +the price of a drink, er I'll bash yer jor in." That settled it. +Indignation overcame prudence, and I shouted at the pitch of my voice, +"Mr. Bailey, do you allow this to go on in your house?" There was an +uproar immediately, in the midst of which Mrs. Bailey cleared the room +of the swarming loafers--my assailant escaping among them. Then, turning +indignantly to me, she abused me roundly for making a disturbance, +treating my statement as a "pack er lies." I got to bed safely, though, +and really the bed was better than I had expected, although the room was +just a bare box of a place with damp-begrimed walls, that might have +been a coal-cellar. + +Rising early in the morning I went down and had an interview with +Bailey, in which I asked him to have my dunnage put away, as I was going +on a visit and should not return that night. He was pleasant enough +about it, and offered me a rum-and-milk at his expense, being greatly +amazed at my refusal. Then I escaped and took up my abode at a +lodging-house in Newman Street, Oxford Street. The time dragged rather +heavily until pay-day, as I dared not do anything costing money; but at +last I found myself once more at Green's Home, with my account of wages +in my hand, telling me that after all claims were satisfied, I was +entitled to sixteen pounds. It was a curious paying-off. Every man, as +he got his money, gave the skipper a piece of his mind; and but that a +stout grating protected the old man from his crew, I am afraid there +would have been assault and battery. I came last, with the exception of +Bill, and when I held out my account of wages to the clerk, the old +rascal said, "I've a good mind to stop yer wages as I promised yer." +What I said doesn't matter, but I never felt the poverty of language +more. And when I saw that he had given me on my certificate of discharge +an excellent character for conduct (which I didn't deserve) and a bad +character for ability (which was utterly unjust), I felt that his +malignity would pursue me long after I had seen the last of him. For +such a discharge is a millstone round a young man's neck. Captains don't +take much notice of a character for conduct--whether it be good or +bad--but they do want their men to be of some use at their work, and +will return such a discharge as mine was contemptuously. Bill took his +pay without looking at it, and, without a word passing between him and +the old man, joined me outside. We strolled away together along the East +India Dock Road, he bungling over his money all the time, till suddenly +he cried, "Why, I've got a five-pound note too much! Here, come on, +let's get out o' this, case he sends after us." And thus was I avenged. +The morality of the thing never troubled me in the least, I only felt +glad from my heart that mine enemy would have to refund all that money. + +And now I have reached the limit of my book. At the outset I only +proposed to deal with the vicissitudes of my life on board ship as a +boy. And with the close of this voyage I felt that I was a boy no +longer. I was getting more confident in my ability to hold my own in the +struggle for life, and, although I saw nothing before me but a dreary +round of the drudgery of the merchant seaman's career before the mast, +the prospect did not trouble me. I had no plans, no ambitions, nobody +to work for, no one to encourage me to thrive for better things. I lived +only for the day's need, my only trouble the possible difficulty of +getting a ship. Of the future, and what it had in store for me, I +thought nothing, cared nothing. And yet I was not unhappy. If at times +there was a dull sense of want--want of something besides food and +clothing--I did not nurse it until it became a pain. Only I kept away +from sailor-town. The museums, picture galleries, and theatres kept me +fully amused, and, when I was tired, a good book was an unfailing +resource against dulness. In fact I lived in a little world of my own, +quite content with my own company and that of the creations of my fancy +or the characters of the books I devoured. + +This unsatisfactory life, thank God! was soon to be entirely changed; +but that, of course, was hidden from me, nor does it come within the +scope of this book. As I write these last few words I think curiously +whether, if ever they see the light, those who read them will think +contemptuously, "This fellow seems to imagine that the commonplace +details in the life of a nobody are worth recording." Well, I have had +my doubts about that all along, and my only excuse must be that I have +been assured, upon very high authority, that a book like mine, telling +just the naked, unadorned truth about an ordinary boy's ordinary life at +sea, could not fail to be of interest as a human document. And, in spite +of the manifest shortcomings, the obvious inability to discriminate +wisely always between things that are worth the telling and things that +are not, I do confidently assert that I have here set forth the truth +impartially, as far as I have been able to do so. I feel strongly +tempted to draw a few conclusions from my experience; but I must resist +the temptation, and allow the readers to do that for themselves. In the +hope that some good may be done, some little pleasure given, by this +simple recital of a boy's experiences at sea, I now bid my readers, +respectfully, + + + SO LONG! + + + + +Transcriber's notes; + + +Italics displayed _like this_. + +Small caps displayed LIKE THIS. + +Bold displayed =like this= + +p. 4 "were were" amended to "were" + +p. 71 "ostentaiously" amended to "ostentatiously" + +p. 321 "neven" amended to "never" + +p. 326 "group" amended to "grouped" + +p. 354 "standstone" amended to "sandstone" + + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's The Log of a Sea-Waif, by Frank T. 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