Part 22 (1/2)
”What shi+p is that? Where do you come from? How many days out?”
The captain answered the questions through his speaking-truth came to an anchor about a mile from the city of Rio de Janeiro, in one of the most beautiful and picturesque harbours in the world I can't stop to describe it, or the fine-looking city, or the curiously-shaped boats filled with black, brown, and white people, though the whites were decidedly in the minority; indeed some of them could be only so called by courtesy To our disappointo on shore The captain and second mate almost i-place
”I suppose they intend to send us off soh for them to hear; but they took no notice, and pulled on We waited in anxious expectation for the arrival of the provisions, but no boats appeared It looked very otten our necessities At last a setables, which those who hadinenough for hi he could do very ithout thees between us How delicious they tasted! We both felt like different creatures Those of the creho had money were put into much better humour, but the rest were ht off some fresh water, but no provisions When the captain caht we learnt that he had refused to purchase any, on account of their high price Whether this was the case or not I don't know, but it ain, returning in the afternoon with four gentleers round to Columbia River, in North A them speak, that they were Scotch, and of this I had no doubt when I learned their names, which were McTavish, McDonald, McKay, and Fraser Their vessel had been wrecked off Cape Frio, and notwithstanding the character borne by Captain Longfleet, they were glad to have an opportunity of continuing their voyage in the ”Eside with fruit and vegetables; but they were all for the cabin, and the creere none the better for the we sailed at daybreak with a land wind, followed by three or four other vessels, some bound round Cape Horn, others to cross the Atlantic They were still in sight when it caot up which made the shi+p tumble about in a way I had not experienced since I had been down in the hold The captain stood on, wanting to keep ahead of the other vessels The topmasts bent like ands, and every o over the sides We carried on, however, until it was nearly dark, when he ordered the hands aloft to reef sails I had not as yet been ordered to perform this duty, but Mark was as active as any one He and Tom were on the lee fore-topsail yard-arm Two reefs had already been taken in when the sail had to be closely reefed It was now quite dark The operation was being performed, when there was a cry froht have been hazardous; but the second mate, as the best of the officers, at once shouted out for volunteers to lower the boat
”Hold hard,” says the captain; ”I'll not have the hands throay for a careless, useless lubber who can't hold fast”
I had run aft when I heard soone was To for orders I hove overboard an oar and a hen-coop, with half-a-dozen cackling hens in it, which not having been properly secured, had fetched away Into throw some spars and other articles into the sea, when the captain, catching sight of me, ordered me to desist
”Let the fellon,” he exclaimed; ”it's his own fault, and it'll be a lesson to the rest of you”
Though the men had no love for Toed them
”He cares noIt would have been just the saone,” exclainant at the captain's barbarity Two of theo in the boat, and they all declared that the seaht have been saved if proper efforts had immediately been made I heard the captain in a pereues, as they knew nothing about the matter He was captain of the shi+p, and would act as he thought fit, and not endanger her safety for the sake of a single rieved for Tom since I discovered that he had been my firm friend, and I truly believed that I owed ht have watched to see whether he had got hold of any of the things thrown overboard, but almost iale lasted only a short tiain as soon as we could, and quickly lost sight of the other vessels
Now that Toone, my position became harder than ever, as I had no friend to stand up for me I had often been protected by him when the others were inclined to bully me, and thus escaped many a cuff and kick Julius Caesar was the only person who befriended me, and he didn't dare to do so openly He often, indeed, appeared to be bullying me worse than the rest I had been ordered to assist in cleaning his pots and pans, and sweeping out the caboose Whenever the rigging had to be blacked doas sent to do it, and was called to perforentle ly have helped me, but he was always sent aft to soladly have changed places with him, but he told ot as much kicked about by the captain and officers as I was by the et the opportunity of saying much to him I felt that I had not a friend aboard The men, when they had exhausted a few fresh provisions which they therumble at the bad quality of their food
They took care, however, to say nothing when the third mate was forward, but they went about their duty in ahe did not observe
One evening, beingI had endured, I had crept into my berth to be out of the way ofto his duties in the cabin
I had fallen asleep, when I akened by hearing soh it was too dark to see who they were, and even if they had looked into nised the voices of old Growles and the boatswain, and two otherspirits for bad on board I was not h I scarcely dared to breathe for fear of attracting their notice I cannot repeat all they said, for they frequently made allusions which they knew that each other understood; but I heard enough to convincea plot to overpower the officers and passengers, and to take the vessel into Buenos Aires, or some other place on the banks of the River Plate
One of thetheested that they should be put into a boat and allowed to shi+ft for themselves, just as their officers were treated by the ht the best way of treating them would be to put them on shore on some desert island far-away to the southward, seldom visited by shi+ps, so that they could not er, if you do that,” remarked another man
”They'll die, at all events, so it et rid of the on our own account, or to sell the shi+p at a Spanish port to the ard, and enjoy ourselves on e get for her”
”Dead men tell no tales,” muttered the first speaker
”Heave them overboard at once, and we shall be done with the,” said old Growles ”I shouldn't like to see their white faces as they dropped astern; they'd be haunting us, depend on that”
The boatswain and the others laughed