Part 38 (1/2)
Robarts was in a lethargy of fear. At this appeal he started into a fury of ephemeral courage. ”Stick to the s.h.i.+p,” he yelled; ”there is no danger if you stick to the s.h.i.+p,” and with this s.n.a.t.c.hed a life-buoy, and hurled himself into the sea.
Dodd caught up the trumpet that fell from his hand and roared, ”I command this s.h.i.+p. Officers come round me! Men to your quarters! Come, bear a hand here and fire a gun. That will show us where we are, and let the Frenchmen know.”
The carronade was fired, and its momentary flash revealed that the s.h.i.+p was ash.o.r.e in a little bay; the land abeam was low and some eighty yards off; but there was something black and rugged nearer the s.h.i.+p's stern.
Their situation was awful. To windward huge black waves rose like tremendous ruins, and came rolling, fringed with devouring fire; and each wave as it charged them, curled up to an incredible height and dashed down on the doomed s.h.i.+p--solid to crush, liquid to drown--with a ponderous stroke that made the poor souls stagger, and sent a sheet of water so clean over her that part fell to leeward, and only part came down on deck, foretaste of a watery death; and each of these fearful blows drove the groaning, trembling vessel farther on the sand, b.u.mping her along as if she had been but a skiff.
Now it was men showed their inner selves.
Seeing Death so near on one hand, and a chance of escape on the other, seven men proved unable to resist the two great pa.s.sions of Fear and Hope on a scale so gigantic and side by side. Bayliss, a mids.h.i.+pman, and five sailors stole the only available boat and lowered her.
She was swamped in a moment
Many of the crew got to the rum, and stupefied themselves to their destruction.
Others rallied round their old captain, and recovered their native courage at the brave and hopeful bearing he wore over a heart full of anguish. He worked like a horse, encouraging, commanding, doing; he loaded a carronade with a pound of powder and a coil of rope, with an iron bar attached to a cable, and shot the rope and bar ash.o.r.e.
A gun was now fired from the guard-house, whose light Robarts had taken for a s.h.i.+p. But no light being shown any nearer on the coast, and the s.h.i.+p expected every minute to go to pieces, Dodd asked if any one would try to swim ash.o.r.e with a line made fast to a hawser on board.
A sailor offered to go if any other man would risk his life along with him. Instantly Fullalove stripped, and Vespasian next.
”Two is enough on such a desperate errand,” said Dodd with a groan.
But now emulation was up, and neither Briton, Yankee, nor negro would give way. A line was made fast to the sailor's waist, and he was lowered to leeward; his venturesome rivals followed. The sea swallowed those three heroes like crumbs, and small was the hope of life for them.
The three heroes being first-rate swimmers and divers, and going with the tide, soon neared the sh.o.r.e on the s.h.i.+p's lee quarter; but a sight of it was enough: to attempt to land on that rock with such a sea on was to get their skulls smashed like eggsh.e.l.ls in a moment. They had to coast it, looking out for a soft place.
They found one, and tried to land; but so irresistible was the suction of the retiring wave, that, whenever they got foot on the sand, and tried to run, they were wrenched out to sea again, and pounded black and blue and breathless by the curling breaker they met coming in.
After a score of vain efforts, the negro, throwing himself on his back, went in with a high wave, and, on touching the sand, turned, dug all his ten claws into it clenched his teeth, and scrambled like a cat at a wall. Having more power in his toes than the Europeans, and luckily getting one hand on a firm stone, his prodigious strength just enabled him to stick first while the wave went back; and then, seizing the moment, he tore himself ash.o.r.e, but bleeding and bruised all over, and with a tooth actually broken by clenching in the convulsive struggle.
He found some natives dancing about in violent agitation with a rope, but afraid to go in and help him; and no wonder, not being seagulls. By the light of their lanterns, he saw Fullalove was.h.i.+ng in and out like a log. He seized one end of the rope, and dashed in and grabbed his friend, and they were hauled ash.o.r.e together, both breathless, and Fullalove speechless.
The negro looked round for the sailor, but could not see him. Soon, however, there was a cry from some more natives about fifty yards off and laterns held up; away he dashed with the rope just in time to see Jack make a last gallant attempt to land. It ended in his being flung up like a straw into the air on the very crest of a wave fifteen feet high, and out to sea with his arms whirling, and a death shriek which was echoed by every woman within hearing.
In dashed Vespasian with the rope, and gripped the drowning man's long hair with his teeth: then jerked the rope, and they were both pulled ash.o.r.e with infinite difficulty. The good-natured Frenchmen gave them all three lots of _vivats_ and brandy and pats on the back, and carried the line for them to a flagstaff on the rocks nearer the stern of the s.h.i.+p.
The s.h.i.+p began to show the first signs of breaking up: hammered to death by the sea, she discharged the oak.u.m from her opening seams, and her decks began to gape and grin fore and aft. Corpses of drunken sailors drowned between decks now floated up amids.h.i.+ps, and washed and rolled about among the survivors' feet These, seeing no hope, went about making up all quarrels, and shaking hands in token of a Christian end. One or two came to Dodd with their hands out.
”Avast ye lubbers!” said he angrily; ”do you think I have time for nonsense? Foksel ahoy! axes, and cut the weather shrouds!”
It was done; the foremast went by the board directly, and fell to leeward: a few blows of the axe from Dodd's own hand sent the mainmast after it.
The _Agra_ rose a streak; and the next wave carried her a little farther on sh.o.r.e.
And now the man in charge of the hawser reported with joy that there was a strain on it.
This gave those on board a hope of life. Dodd bustled and had the hawser carefully payed out by two men, while he himself secured the other end in the mizen top: he had left that mast standing on purpose.
There was no fog here; but great heavy black clouds flying about with amazing swiftness extinguished the moon at intervals: at others she glimmered through a dull mist in which she was veiled, and gave the poor souls on the _Agra_ a dim peep of the frail and narrow bridge they must pa.s.s to live. A thing like a black snake went down from the mizen-top, bellying towards the yawning sea, and soon lost to sight: it was seen rising again among some lanterns on the rock ash.o.r.e: but what became of it in the middle? The darkness seemed to cut it in two; the sea to swallow it. Yet, to get from a s.h.i.+p going to pieces under them, the sailors precipitated themselves eagerly on that black thread bellying to the sea and flickering in the wind. They went down it, one after another, and anxious eyes straining after them saw them no more: but this was seen, that scarce one in three emerged into the lights ash.o.r.e.