Part 4 (2/2)
Soon after they had shoved off, the first mate said that he saw a small craft of some sort under sail coming in from the offing. All the telescopes on board were at once directed towards her, and before long she was p.r.o.nounced to be a whale boat. On she came, steering for our s.h.i.+p, which, as we had the British flag flying, was easily distinguished from the American's. The crew were lying along on the thwarts, the heads of two of them just raised above the gunwale, as if their eyes were directed towards us; one man only was sitting up steering, and he was leaning back seemingly in an exhausted state. I looked at him several times through my gla.s.s till the boat drew nearer, when I was convinced that he was my kind friend Captain Bland. Yes, there was no doubt about it. Fearful apprehensions crowded into my mind. What could have become of the ”Lady Alice”?--had any accident happened to her?
Captain Bland would, I was certain, not willingly have deserted his wife and daughter. How eager I felt to inquire!
Directly the boat came alongside the mate and I, with two other men, descended to a.s.sist up the people in her. ”Take them first; they want help more than I do,” said the captain, pointing to the others, one of whom kept murmuring, ”Water! water!”
The others scarcely spoke. Captain Bland himself looked bad enough--so haggard and thin. We soon had him and the rest on deck and their boat hoisted in, when their captain was carried into Captain Hake's cabin.
After he had taken some weak spirits and water and some food, he was able to speak without difficulty.
”O sir, do tell me where are Mrs Bland, and Mary, and the 'Lady Alice,'” I said, as I was taking away his plate.
”I wish, Jack, that I could answer the question,” he answered. ”They will be fearfully anxious about me, but I trust that they and the s.h.i.+p are safe enough. Just a fortnight ago, when off the Galapagos, we sighted three whales. I went in chase of one of them to the northward.
The other boats pulled after the rest. The whale I was following headed away from the s.h.i.+p, but still I hoped to come up with him before dark and make him my prize; I had nearly succeeded, and in another minute should have had my harpoon in his side, when he turned flukes and disappeared. Though the sun was setting, I expected that he would come up again while there was light enough to strike him, so waited on the look-out, but the weather changed; a thick mist came up, the night became very dark, and though we heard the sound of spouting in the distance during the night, when morning broke no whale was to be seen-- nor was the s.h.i.+p in sight. Anxious to be on board, I steered in the direction where I expected to find her, with, as I hoped, one or two whales alongside. It was blowing fresh with some sea on, but not sufficient to make it necessary to cut the whale adrift, should one have been secured. Every hour I expected to come in sight of the s.h.i.+p, but we had reached the spot where I thought she would be found, and she was nowhere to be seen. We then steered to the southward and south-east, supposing that she might have stood after the boats in that direction.
Once we saw a sail, some small craft, a schooner apparently; we tried to speak her, to learn if she had fallen in with the 'Lady Alice,' but she kept away from us. At length I came to the painful conclusion that if we did not before long fall in with the s.h.i.+p, we should run a fearful risk of being starved. We had providentially brought away a bag of biscuits of about fourteen pounds weight, half a dozen sausages, and a breaker of water, and we had besides a pound and a half of wax candles.
A portion of the biscuits and sausages had already been consumed, but I now put the crew on an allowance, so that the food might last us for eight or nine days--the time I calculated it would take us, should the wind hold from the westward, to reach this place, for which I at once steered. The sausages were soon gone, and then the wax candles helped out the biscuits. We should have died, I think, though, had not we caught six flying fish on one day and three another--for our last crumb of biscuit and drop of water were gone before we sighted the land.”
”I hope that Captain Hake will at once sail in search of the 'Lady Alice,'” I exclaimed, ”no time should be lost.”
I thought of the schooner, but I did not mention my fears respecting her, lest I should increase the anxiety of my friend.
”Captain Hake has not yet offered to sail, but I trust that he will without delay,” he answered.
Soon afterwards Captain Hake entered the cabin. My friend at once told him his wishes.
”Sorry that part of my crew are on sh.o.r.e; we must wait till they return,” was his answer.
”Could not you send for them?” asked Captain Bland. ”I wish to relieve the anxiety of my wife and daughter.”
”I'll go on sh.o.r.e, sir, and bring them back!” I exclaimed, eagerly.
”More easily said than done,” observed the captain. ”However, you may go.”
I hurried on deck, selected Pepper and Salt and two Sandwich islanders, all of whom I could trust--which I could not the English seamen--lowered a boat, and pulled away. I trusted to Medley and the doctor, who were on sh.o.r.e, to help me. My aim was to get hold of the men before they were too tipsy to move. Going up the river we landed at Donna Anna's, where I found Medley, and together we hastened on to Tumbez. On the way we fell in with our doctor, McCabe. We told him our object.
”I'll manage it for you,” he said. ”I'll frighten them out of their wits, and make them ready enough to return on board. I'll just hint to them that the liquor is poisoned, and so it is, for it's poison itself.
They saw how the other watch looked when they came back, more dead than alive, and they'll be ready enough to believe me. I'll go on first, and then do you come up, and we'll get them down to the boat before they've time to think about it.”
We agreed, and the doctor hurried on. We followed slowly. On arriving at the town we found some of the men already half-seas over, and the rest looking very much scared at what the doctor had told them. Some proposed attacking the place, and burning it down in revenge, but we suggested that they would be better employed in carrying their helpless s.h.i.+pmates to the boats, that they might be the sooner under the doctor's care. The wine-shop keepers and their friends, afraid of losing their prey, did their utmost to prevent this, but we succeeded, and half-carrying half-dragging, we got the tipsy men down to the boats.
The doctor observing that exercise was the best thing to keep off the effects of the poison, the more sober willingly took to the oars, and to the surprise of the captain we soon made our appearance alongside. The doctor took good care to dose all hands round, and though several were very ill from the effects of the abominable aguadente, he got the credit of saving their lives.
The captain, having no excuse for not sailing, gave the order to weigh at daybreak. The question was in what direction we should steer?
Should we go back to the Galapagos, look into their harbours, and cruise about those islands? It was not likely that the mate of the ”Lady Alice,” after losing his captain, would remain long in that neighbourhood when all hope of finding him had been abandoned. Captain Bland thought that he would go either to the Marquesas or Sandwich Islands, to obtain hands, without whom he could not prosecute the object of the voyage.
”Then what will your wife and daughter do?” asked Captain Hake. ”Will they remain on board, or take a pa.s.sage home in the first full s.h.i.+p they fall in with?”
<script>