Part 29 (2/2)
his brother, who fancied de little piece, carried it. Dere's one of de cartridges in it yet.”
So saying, he took down a short carbine of the Spencer pattern, and unlocking the slide, took out a cartridge and handed it to La Salle. It displayed at the end of the ball the copper capsule of a rifle-sh.e.l.l.
”Let us go on deck,” said Blake, rising; but as they pa.s.sed again through the narrow pa.s.sage, they heard the struggles of the delirious captain, and his oft-repeated cry, ”I couldn't save him! I couldn't save him!”
[Ill.u.s.tration]
CHAPTER XXII.
THE FORECASTLE OF THE SEALER.--A SEALER'S STORY.--THE LAST HUNT.--ARRIVAL AT ST. JOHN'S.
In the quarters of the men forward, between the lofty and wedge-like bows, the rest of the party met with a warm reception; and although grease was everywhere a prominent feature of the surroundings, still the sense of comfort, warmth, and security, made it a paradise to men who had pa.s.sed so many days of discomfort and anxiety.
Huge kids of beef, potatoes, and bread, with hot pannikins of strong black tea, formed their dinner, which most of the men preferred to eat on deck; but the boatswain, or rather captain of the forecastle, with, perhaps, a dozen others, seated themselves at the long hanging shelf which formed the table, and listened intently to the story of their varied wanderings and adventures.
As Regnar concluded, a grizzly-haired sealer from Kitty Vitty seized him by the hand.
A SEALER'S STORY.
”Ye've ben lucky, sur; de Lord be praised for't, for dere's many a better man nor you dat's died wid hunger an' cold on de ice. I mind once myself dat I sailed out o' Conception in March, an' tree weeks after dat we were up off Hamilton Inlet. Dere was a big fleet of us boys, for dat was in de ould times when dere were no steamers, but only brigantines mostly.
”Well, dere was ould Ned Shea in de Li'n, an' Jim Daygle in de Ringdove, an' Bill 'Hearne in de Swiler's Bride, an ourselves in de Truelove, all in company; an' dat night at dusk we made de Greenland ice. Well, de wind was west-nor'-west, an' we put de studdin'-sils onto her, an' away we went flamin' mad through der slob.
”Well, de ice giv us many a heavy thump dat night, but de ould Truelove was well fastened, an' at daylight next mornin', we heard de watch cry, 'Swiles! Swiles! On deck, below dere!' You may be sure we wasn't long in gettin' on deck wid our guns an' gaffs, an', sure enough, dere dey was, ould an' young, _atin' de shaydn_ (sheathing) _off her_.
”Den we launched de boats an' took to de ice; an' when we landed, de capten said, 'Trow your guns in de boats, an' at dem wid de gaff;' an'
such a ma.s.sacree I never saw since. De first I killed was a 'harp;' an'
den I killed a 'hood' wid de first lick; an' den a 'jenny' an' tree 'white coats;' but I took my toe to dem, an' all of 'em in a bit of a hollow not bigger den dis fo'c's'le, an' I sculped dem an' put dere sculps on a pinnacle; an' so it was all day an' de next.
”But on de t'ird day we were hard at it a good way from de vessil, an' I tought I saw some swiles under a hummock, an' I ran up swingin' my club; but dey didn't stir, an' den I saw dat dey wasn't swiles. Dey was Huskies, two of 'em, dead an' frozen stiff. Dere lines an' lances lay beside 'em, an' knives of hoop-iron, wid bone hannles, were in dere boots; but dere was no sign of anythin' to ate, an' dey looked wasted to 'natomies.
”I called de odders, an' de capten come up an' looked at dem a minute sorrowful-like, an' den said, 'Poor fellows! dey've been carried off'n de ice, an' starved till dey froze to death;' an' he tould us to bury dem daycently, an' we closed dem up in a pinnacle.
”But it was lucky we was near loaded, for dat put a chill on our min', an' de tought of dose dead Huskies lost us many a fine swile, for de boys wouldn't scatter over de ice as dey used to.
”It wasn't long after dat de capten tould us dat we were full enough, an' away we sailed to de sou'-east.”
”Dat was de time de Li'n was lost--wasn't it?” inquired another islesman.
”Yes; on de way down we had an awful gale, an' de Li'n put into de pack an' got 'nipped,' so dat she went down; but her crew was all saved in de boats. We put off to say, an' for two days an' nights I tought we should never say land. Why, we lay to as long as we dared, an' until our deck was full of water, an' de capten said we mus' do somethin' else, or we should founder.
”I stood in de fore-riggin' an' watched de big says as dey come down upon us; an' I'll tell you one thing you'll do well to remember.
Whenever a big wave come dat I knew would sink us, if it broke upon us, _I made de sign of de holy cross, an' de wave broke before it reached us_.”
”I've done de same ting often myself, an' nivir knew it to fail,” said the younger man, who, it appeared, was the son of the veteran sealer.
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