Part 21 (2/2)
”'Then we must set to and build a raft,' said Mr Rogers, nothing daunted.
”'How are we to cut away the spars and bulwarks without axes?' asked Mr Gordon. 'It would be a hard job to do it with our knives and hands.'
”'You are right, my boy, and faith, the only thing we can do that I can see is to sit quiet, and wait till Providence sends us help,' says Mr Desmond, quite calmly. 'We should be thankful that the old tub keeps above water.
”We were all agreed as to this. When I came to think of it, I saw that without a single axe or tool of any sort there was no hope of making a raft fit to carry tins, though it had seemed possible to me in the night-time, when I was half asleep. The mids.h.i.+pman was right, all we could do was to sit quiet, and look out for a sail. I made another trip below, and got up some more biscuit and fruit and three pots of preserves, which were very welcome, and some nuts for Spider. These we put into the basket, which was secured to the rigging. I then shut to the companion hatch, and sat down on the bulwarks. The sun soon dried out clothes, but we shouldn't have minded having them wet to have escaped the heat. As the sun rose in the sky it grew hotter and hotter, but not a word of complaint did the young gentlemen utter. All day long they sat talking to each other, or amusing themselves with Spider. They kept him fast by his chain for fear of his slipping off the vessel's side. If he had done so he would have been down the throat of a shark in an instant, for the brutes had found us out, and I saw half a score at a time cruising round the wreck as if they expected a feast before long. It wasn't pleasant, and I couldn't help sometimes thinking that they would not be disappointed. I kept my eye turning round the horizon in the hopes of seeing the signs of a breeze which might bring up a vessel to our help. I looked in vain. The ocean shone like a sheet of gla.s.s--not a cat's-paw even for a moment played over its surface. We ate but little, even the fruit did not take away our thirst. It was water we wanted, and without it the rum, of which we had plenty, was of no use. It tasted like fire when we put it to our lips, so the young gentlemen would not touch it.
”The scorching day came to an end at last. The night gave us some relief, and then Mr Rogers served out half a gla.s.s of wine to each of us with our biscuit and fruit. We made ourselves fast to the rigging as we had done the night before, and the mids.h.i.+pmen went to sleep with Spider nestling down among them, just as if they had been accustomed to it all their lives. Before I could close my eyes I made certain that they were secure--I don't mean to say that they slept all the night through. I several times heard them talking, and even joking, trying to keep up each other's spirits, and then they would get drowsy and go to sleep, and then rouse up again and have another yarn. I couldn't sleep many minutes together, for I couldn't help thinking of what might befall the poor young gentlemen if the calm was to continue, for the fruit was spoiling, we had only an orange apiece for the next morning, and the wine and dry biscuit without water wouldn't keep life in them many hours, while another day's sun was striking down on their heads--I might hold out long after they were gone. This was the thing that troubled me. I couldn't lie quiet, and I was every ten minutes getting up and looking round, though I knew well enough that without wind no vessel could come near us. Towards morning I fell asleep for a longer spell.
I was awoke by the sun coming into my eyes, and looking round what should I see but Master Spider sitting close to the basket of provisions, sucking away at an orange in his paws. I shouted out to the rascal, who only looked up and grinned and chattered as much as to say, 'I want my breakfast as much as you do.' My voice awoke his masters, who starting up, saw what their friend was about. The rascal had already eaten two of our precious oranges, and had just begun a third.
When Mr Rogers took it from him, Master Spider seemed to think he was very hardly treated, and grinned, and chattered, and tried to get hold of it again.
”'There's no use punis.h.i.+ng the poor brute,' said the young gentleman; 'he only acted according to his nature, and of course he thinks that he has as much right to the fruit as we have, only he ought not to have taken more than his proper share.'
”Those two oranges, with some biscuit, served us for breakfast, and after that, except the remainder of the wine and some rum, we hadn't a drop of liquid to drink. The sea was as calm and the sun as hot as the day before, and we all soon became fearfully thirsty. Unable to bear it longer I again went below to have another search for water. I looked into every locker; I hunted through the hold, and examined every hole and corner in the forepeak, but to no purpose. I discovered, however, what made me more uneasy than ever--that the water was leaking in through the deck. It came in very slowly, but I had marked a line when I was down before, and I found since then that it had risen nearly half an inch. I couldn't hide from myself that the vessel was sinking. I said nothing about it to the young gentlemen when, having shut the hatch, I climbed back to my place. It went to my heart to hear them still joking and laughing, in spite of their hunger and thirst, when I thought that in two or three days at furthest their merry voices would be silenced by death. They didn't keep up their joking long, for as the sun got higher the heat became greater, and roasted out their spirits, as it were, poor fellows, in spite of what each one in turn did to keep them up. Spider was the only one of the party who was as merry as ever, for the heat didn't hurt him, and he kept frisking about to the end of his chain, trying, when he thought he was not watched, to get at the basket to see if there were any more oranges or any other fruit to his taste in it.
”'Well, Needham, don't you think matters will mend soon?' says Mr Rogers to me, seeing that I had been sitting silent and downcast for a long time. 'We surely shall have a breeze before the evening, and some craft or other coming to look for us.' For the life of me I couldn't say 'yes.' I shook my head--I was beginning to lose all hope. At noon Mr Rogers served out half a gla.s.s of wine to each of us and some biscuit. This put a little more life into me, and I again took to thinking whether we could form a raft with the bulkheads and lining of the cabin, which we might tear away by main strength, and the two empty water-casks, and the hatches, and the gaff and boom. The job would be to lash them together; for though we might stand on the bulwarks which were under water, there would be no small danger of being carried off by the sharks swarming round us. At all events, if the craft was to sink, as I made no doubt she would, we should have a struggle for life, instead of going down with her and being eaten up by the sharks. It cost me a good deal to say it, but at last I told the young gentlemen that I was sure the vessel wouldn't float much longer, and what I proposed doing.
”'Don't let us lose any time about doing it, then,' says Mr Rogers, jumping up as brisk as possible; 'we'll get the two casks from below, and lash the stoutest pieces of board we can tear from the bulkheads on the top of them. This will make a small raft, and I will go out on it and cut away the gaff and get out the topmast.'
”While he was speaking I saw him turn his eye to the eastward.
”'See! see there comes the breeze; and look--yes, I am sure of it--a sail! a sail!'
”He was right. Just rising above the dark blue line which marked the coming breeze were the royals of a vessel, standing directly towards us; her topgallant-sails quickly appeared, and in a short time we could see half-way down her topsails. We were so eagerly watching her that we forgot all about the raft we had intended putting together. The young gentlemen made no doubt that the stranger would pa.s.s close to us, but I had my fears that, low down as we were, we might not be seen. This made me sorry that we had not built the small raft, that one of us might paddle off to the stranger should she seem as if about to pa.s.s at any moderate distance from us. As there was still time I made my way below to bring up the casks. As I was feeling for them in the hold my legs struck against a pretty long spar. I hauled it out and handed it up to the mids.h.i.+pmen. 'This will serve as a signal-staff,' I said; 'it will give us a good chance of being seen by the stranger, and I'll try to find a flag.' The drogher's ensign was in an after-locker. We soon made it fast to the spar, which we then set up. By this time we could see that the stranger was a brig, and unless she altered her course that she would not pa.s.s very far from us. On she quickly came; cat's-paws were already playing over the smooth water; presently the breeze itself struck our cheeks. How cool and pleasant it felt; hunger and thirst were forgotten. The mids.h.i.+pmen tried to shout--their hollow voices showed how much they had suffered. I wasn't quite so happy as they were, for it seemed to me that the brig would pa.s.s not much short of a mile from us, and that we might not after all be seen. I couldn't help saying so.
”'Sooner than that I'll swim off to her,' says Mr Rogers.
”'You forget the sharks, sir,' I answered.
”Just then the brig, altering her course, stood directly for us. We were seen; of that there could be no doubt. We all stood up, and waved and shouted at the top of our voices; even Spider, who sprang up on the shoulders of Mr Rogers, seemed to understand that there was something in the wind, and chattered and grinned with delight.
”The brig was a large, rakish craft, with a black hull, and as I looked at her I had some doubts about her character. It struck me, indeed, that she was the same wicked-looking vessel I had seen come into English Harbour the day we sailed in the drogher. However, we couldn't be worse off aboard her than we were, and I couldn't suppose that any human beings would leave us to perish. Before long she let fly her topgallant-sails and royals, clewed up her topsails and courses, and a boat was lowered, which pulled towards us.
”'We must not leave our change of clothes behind us,' says Mr Gordon.
'My carpet-bag is in the starboard berth.'
”'I'll get the bags for you, young gentlemen,' says I, for I did not like to trust any of them below again, for fear of accidents. I jumped down as I said this, and by the time, after groping about for them, I had got hold of the three bags, the boat was alongside.
”'Jump in, my lads,' sung out the mate in charge of her; 'we have no time to stop.'
”The young gentlemen and Master Spider had scrambled down into her. 'We are not going without Needham, though,' they all sang out together, just as I got my head up the companion hatch.
”'What, is there another of you?' said the mate. 'Be smart, my man, or I must leave you behind.'
”'Thank you, sir, but I would rather go,' says I, as I made a leap into the boat, with the carpet-bags, just as the bow-man was shoving off.
While we were pulling for the brig the mate asked how we came to be there. Mr Rogers told him in a few words.
”'I heard say in English Harbour that you were supposed to be lost,' he observed.
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