Part 20 (2/2)
The wind hauled round ulhas Bank, reaching down to the southward until ere in latitude 39 degrees South; so, squaring our yards again, we preserved this parallel until we fetched longitude 78 degrees east, just below Saint Paul's Island, a distance of some three thousand ht after rounding the Cape; and then, steering up the chart again, we shaped our course nor'-east by north, so as to cross the southern tropic in longitude 102 degrees East
After two or three days, we reached a war variable we crossed our topgallant and royal yards again, spreading all the sail we could so as to led with occasional showers of rain, as is customary with the south-westnoell into the hted the captain, and, indeed, all of us on board, with her sailing powers, averaging over two hundred knots a day, which considering her great bilge was as fast as the ed a paltry hundred or so, going but five or six per hour instead of ten to twelve, ”Old Jock”
began to gru fault with everybody in turns
Theline, there not being so reat s became very unpleasant in the shi+p
One day I really thought there was going to be a mutiny
The men came in a body aft, headed by the carpenter, whoh on ever since he found hi and abetting Ching wang in his cruel cock- fighting propensities; although, strange to say, ”Old Jock” see a hard word for the Chinee albeit plenty for Gregory, the carpenter
On this eventful occasion Captain Gillespie was seated on the poop in an Aht up fro his nose over the al down limply from the yards; and he did not disturb hiory and the others advanced fro the main-deck one by one to the nu the under the poop ladder, above which the captain had fixed his chair, looking as if they ” himself up, rather surprised at the de below there?”
”We wants iving a scrape back with his left foot, so as to begin politely at any rate ”We aren't got enough to eat in the fo'c's'le, sir, an' ants our proper 'lowance o' meat, instead of a lot of rotten kickshaw marmalade!”
”Wh-a-at--what the dickens d'ye mean?” roared out ”Old Jock,” touched on his tenderest point, the word ” on a bull ”Didn't I tell ye if ye'd any coly and I'd attend to 'em, but that if ye ever came to me in a body I'd not listen to ye?”
”Aye, aye,” said Gregory, ”but--”
”Avast there!” shouted the captain interrupting hio forrud again as quick as ye can, or I'll coroan burst from the men at this; while ”Jock” danced about the poop brandishi+ng a e, stor away until the hands had all, very reluctantly, withdrawn gru to the forecastle
In the afternoon, they refused to turn out for duty; when, after a terrible long palaver, in which Mr Mackay ed to smooth downhalf their ed only to accept a half- pound tin of er quantity as previously Both sides consequently gained a sort of victory, the only person discontented at this ter the steward, Pedro, who took aout thewith a sort of fiendish glee the disappointed faces of the hands as they looked at the open casks of pork and beef, which he somewhat ostentatiously displayed before the all the uese was upset at the amicable end of the difficulty between the captain and crew, for I saw hi from underneath the break of the poop; and, when the hands raised a cheer in token of their satisfaction at the settlement, he ian kicking the despised marmalade tins about as if twenty riveters and boiler-makers and hah
A westerly current being against us as well as the winds light, it took us nearly a week to get up to the thirty-third parallel of latitude, during which ti up the south-east trades off the Australian coast, ent bowling along steadily again northward for the Straits of Sunda, e so as to be to ard of a strong easterly current that runs through the strait
I was the first on board to see Java Head, a bluff pro out into the sea that ot , and while up in the hty-fifth day out frouished the headland far-away in the distance, over our starboard quarter
”Land ho!” I sang out; ”land ho!”
”Are you sure?” cried Captain Gillespie fro foreshortened, see him the most peculiar appearance ”Where away?”
”Astern now, sir,” I answered ”South-east by south, and nearly off the weather topsail”
”I think I'd better have a lookup theas he caught sight of the object I pointed out--”by Jingo, you're right, boy! It's Java Head, sure enough”
He then scuttled down the ratlines like winking
”Haul in to leeward!” he shouted ”Brace round the yards! Doith your helm!”
”Port it is,” said the boat the shi+p towards the mouth of the straits ”Keep her east-nor'-east as nearly as you can, giving her a point if she falls off!”
By and by, we entered the Straits of Sunda; and then, keeping the Java shore on board, we steered so as to avoid the Friar's Rock in thefor Prince's Island