Part 34 (1/2)
”I do not like it,” the Malay replied. ”I think that there will be a great hurricane. I have seen many changes of the monsoon, but never one that looked so threatening as this.”
”It does look bad,” Harry said, ”though, as I have never been at sea before, at the change of the monsoon, I am no judge at all; but it certainly looks as if we were in for a bad gale. At any rate, we shall be safer, here, than we were in that hut in the mountains.”
The Malay made no reply, for some time. Then he said:
”Yes, sahib, but there was something to do, there. Directly we got in, you began to prepare for an escape. It was not certain that we should succeed. They might have come in and killed us, before you were ready but, as we were busy, we had not much time to think of the danger.
”Here we can do nothing.”
”No. But, as you see, everything has already been done. You and I have not been working, but the sailors have been busy in taking off sail, and getting down all the upper spars. We are ready for the worst, now; just as we were when we had opened the pa.s.sage for our escape, and we felt fairly confident--although we might meet with many dangers, we had a good chance of getting safely away.”
”There are the danger signals, Lindsay,” the captain said, as a pale light suddenly shone out above.
Looking up, Harry saw a ball of fire on the main-mast head. Presently, this seemed to roll down the mast, till it reached the top-sail yard; then it broke into two, and these rolled out until they remained stationary, one at each end of the yard. Harry had never seen this phenomenon before.
”What is it?” he asked Fairclough, in an awed voice.
”They are often seen, before the outburst of a severe tempest. Of course, they look like b.a.l.l.s of phosphorus; but in reality they are electric, and are a sign that the whole atmosphere is charged with electricity. Sailors have all sorts of superst.i.tions about them but, of course, excepting that they are signs of the condition of the air, they are perfectly harmless.”
He raised his voice.
”Don't stand near the foot of the masts, lads; keep well away from them. There is nothing to be afraid of, in those lights; but if we happened to be struck by lightning and it ran down the mast, some of you might be knocked over.
”I don't know why,” he continued, to Harry, ”the first flash of lightning at the beginning of a storm is always the most dangerous. I can't account for it, in any way, but there is no question as to the fact. I always feel relieved when the first clap of thunder is over; for I know, then, that we are comparatively safe from danger, in that way.”
Gradually the stars disappeared.
”Mr. Hardy,” the captain said to the lieutenant, who was standing near, ”will you go down to my cabin, and see how the gla.s.s stands?”
Harry did not hear the answer, when Hardy returned, but Fairclough said to him:
”It has gone down another quarter of an inch since I looked at it, half an hour ago; and it was as low, then, as I have ever seen it.
”Mr. Hardy, you had better send the men aloft, and furl the main top-sail, altogether; and run down the fore stay-sail. We can get it up again, as soon as the first burst is over. Put four men at the wheel.”
There was still no breath of wind stirring. The stay sail was run down, but the men hung back from ascending the shrouds of the main mast.
”They are afraid of those lights,” Fairclough said, ”but I do not think there is the slightest danger from them.”
”I will go up, myself, sir,” Hardy said; and he ran up the starboard shrouds while, at the same moment, one of the mids.h.i.+pmen led the way on the port side. The sailors at once followed their officers.
The latter had nearly reached the yard, when the two b.a.l.l.s of fire began to roll along it, joined in the centre, and then slowly ascended the topmast. The fireb.a.l.l.s paused there for half a minute, and then vanished.
”Now, Eden,” the lieutenant said, ”let us get the work done, at once, before that fellow makes his appearance again.”
The men followed them out on the yard, and worked in desperate haste, with occasional glances up at the mast head. In a couple of minutes the sail was firmly secured in its gaskets, and all made their way below.
”Thank goodness, here it comes, at last,” Fairclough said; ”the suspense is more trying than the gale itself.”
A low murmur was heard, and a faint pale light was soon visible to the south.