Part 12 (1/2)
”Just so,” he answered; ”and, sie, do not take into consideration our passage along the river and down channel, only counting our distance fro and the first we sight of that we're bound to Our first day's run, therefore, will be e get over from the Lizard up to the time the cap'en takes the sun at noon to-itude then, when, by the aid of this fixed starting-point or 'point of departure,' and calculating our dead reckoning and courses steered, ill be enabled to know our precise position on the chart”
”I see, sir,” said I ”I won't forget what you've told me another time, and shall know in future what the term means, sir, thank you”
”You're quite welcome, Graham,” he replied pleasantly as he resulance to ard and a look at the co the shi+p on the course the captain had directed before going below a short time before--west-sou'-west, and as close up to the wind as we could sail, so as to avoid the French coast and get well across the mouth of the Bay of Biscay into the open Atlantic ”I hope to ator of you in ti to keep pace with his ot out of step as he turned regularly at the end of his walk, which was backwards and forwards between the cabin skylight and the binnacle ”I will tryin et to mention, too, that is off the Lizard, he sang out to Tim Rooney the boatswain to send the hands aft
”Aye, aye, sorr,” responded Ti his shrill whistle and hoarse shout ”A-all ha-ands aft!”
”Now for a bit of speechifying,” said To withthe crew as they ether on the main-deck underneath ”The 'old man' loves a jaw”
But Tom was mistaken; for the captain's speech was laconic in the extre ”much shorter, indeed, than his nose,” as e in a whisper toover the brass rail at the head of the poop, and gazing down into the faces of the rough-and-ready fellows looking up at him expectantly, with all sorts of funny expressions on their countenances, as they wondered as to coether I only wish you to do your duty and I will doto coht it; but if you come in a body, I'll take no notice of ye Ye knohen I say a thing I ”
”Aye, aye sir!” shouted the hands, on his pausing here as if waiting for their answer ”Aye, aye, sir!”
”All right then; ye understand me, I see That will do the watch”
Whereupon, half of them went back into the forecastle to finish their tea, while the re on deck until their span of duty was out, the whole lot having been divided into two groups, styled respectively the port and starboard watches, under charge of Mr Mackay and the secondin the port watch with the first mate; while Sam Weeks and Mattheas like the fifth wheel of a coach as ”third mate,” a very anomalous position on board-shi+p, mustered with the starbowlines under Mr Saunders
Counting in Captain Gillespie, with the three mates, us apprentices, the boatswain, sailory--the three latter all ”old hands,” having sailed several voyages previously together in the shi+p--the steward Pedro Carvalho, Ching wang our cook, Billy the boy, our ”second-class apprentice,” and the eighteen fresh men who had come aboard with the Chinaman at Gravesend, our crew mustered all told some thirty-one hands; and, to cos, the Silver Queen was a sharp-bowed, full-rigged shi+p, with a treo, which consisted, as I believe I ham hardware, besides a private speculation of our captain consisting of a peculiarly novel consignment of Dundee marmalade, packed up in tins like those used for preserved meats and such like dainties
About thisto say by and by; but I think I had better go on withevents in the order in which they occurred--ive a full account of all concerning us, that, in addition to the particulars of our cargo as already detailed, we had sundry ites, which were stowed in the long- boat on top of the deck-house; three cats, two belonging to the Portuguese steward and rant To friends with the carpenter Gregory, or ”old chips” as he was generally called, was allowed to take up his quarters in the forepeak,sagacity; a lot of fowls, accommodated aristocratically in coops on the poop; and, lastly, though by nodown Channel, and which now see up to a ringbolt in his cabin next to arded as a sort of joint property between us two
There, you have our list of passengers; and, now, to continue hthouse, which we did some few minutes before ”Billy,” the shi+p's boy, came out of the forecastle and struck ”six bells,” eleven o'clock, near the end of the port watch's spell on deck, the wind, which had freshened considerably since sunset, began to bloith greater force, veering, or ”backing” as sailors say, h our yards were braced up to the full and the vessel was sailing almost close-hauled, we had to drop off a point or tithin the next half-hour from our true western course
Within the next half-hour, south-west by as as close as we could now keep her head outward across ”The Bay,” the wind even then continuing to show a tendency to shi+ft further round still to the northwards and ards, and naturally forcing us yetCaptain Gillespie wished
The sea, too, had got up wonderfully during the short period that had elapsed fro the Chops of the Channel--I suppose fro controlled by the narrow liht of the twinkling stars and pale sickly ht fleecy clouds floating across it in the east, showed the tu tempestuously as far as the eye could reach The waves were tu past the shi+p in sport, sending their flying scud high over the foreyard, or else trying vainly to poop her; and, when foiled in this, they would dash against her boith the blow of a battering-rary cataract that poured down fro the waist up to the height of the bulwarks to leeward, for we heeled over too h the scuppers, these and our port gunwale as well being well-nigh under water
Presently, we had to reduce sail, brailing up the spanker and taking a single reef in the topsails; but still keeping the topgallant-sails set above the frequently done by a skipper who kno to ”carry-on”
Then, as the wind still rose and as with less canvas the shi+p would go all the better and not bend over or bury herself so th, when Mr Mackay and I quitted the deck atto clew up the main-sail, the captain, who had come up from beloith Mr Saunders when the starboard watch relieved us, having ordered it to be furled and another reef to be taken in the topsails, as it was then blowing great guns and the shi+p staggering along through a storn that we had not seen the worst of it yet!
The Silver Queen pitched soan occasional heavy roll to starboard as her bows fell off fro up out of the water, and rolling back quickly to port again on her taking the helm as the men jammed it hard down--that I found it all I could do to descend the poop ladder safely I cli I could clutch until I reached the deck-house, which was now nearly knee-deep in the water that was sluicing fore and aft the shi+p with every pitch and dive she gave, or washi+ng in a body athwart the deck as she rolled, and dashi+ng like a wave against the bulwarks within
I went to turn in to my bunk, which was on top of that occupied by Sa aft on duty with the rest of the starboard watch; for, in les to ascend to the little narrow shelf that served me for a bed, and which from the motion of the shi+p was almost perpendicular one moment and the next horizontal, I would have pretty well tra to stand on the lower bunk to reach the upper one assigned to ed to climb up to my perch and pulled my blankets aboutof the wind and rushi+ng wash of the sea, in concert with the creaking of the chain-plates and groaning of the shi+p's timbers and myriad voices of the deep, would let h I had been hts on board and had sailed all the way fro the river and down the Channel, I had never yet been sea-sick, s at Tim Rooney's stereotyped inquiry each day of me, ”An' sure, Misther Gray-ham, aren't ye sorry yit ye came to say?”
Since the afternoon, however, when the water had becoun to experience a queer sensation such as I recollect once having at home at Christmas-time--on which occasion Dr Jollop, as called in to attend , just in order to give me some of his nasty pills, of course!