Part 2 (1/2)
”We rave I have been thinking about it this last hour, and I have made up my mind to remain with you They intend to take poor Captain Osborn with theive him a chance, and have offered to take me; but I shall stay here”
”To perish?” replied Mr Seagrave, with surprise
”As God pleases, Mr Seagrave I am an old man, and it is of little consequence I care little whether I am taken away a year or two sooner, but I do not like to see blosso: I may be of use if I remain, for I've an old head upon my shoulders, and I could not leave you all to perish when you ht be saved if you only kne to act But here the seamen come - the boat is all ready, and they will now take poor Captain Osborn with them”
The sailors came aft, and lifted up the still insensible captain As they were going away one of them said, ”Come, Ready, there's no time to lose”
”Never mind me, Williams; I shall stick to the shi+p,” replied Ready ”I wish you success with all my heart; and, Mr Mackintosh, I have but one promise to exact from you, and I hope you will not refuse et those you leave here on board, and takethe islands”
”Nonsense, Ready! come into the boat,” replied the firstthat you will prorave's friends hat has happened, and where it is most likely we may be found, if it please God to save us Do you promise me that?”
”Yes, I do, if you are deter up to Ready, and whispering to him, ”it is madness:- come away, man!”
”Good-bye, Mr Mackintosh,” replied Ready, extending his hand ”You will keep your promise?”
After much further expostulation on the part of Mackintosh and the seaave a deaf ear, the boat was pushed off, and they made sail to the north-east
Chapter VII
For some time after the boat had shoved off from the shi+p, old Ready rerave stood by hiined that as the boat increased her distance from the vessel, so did every ray of hope depart, and that his wife and children, himself, and the old man as by his side were doomed to perish His countenance was that of a man in utter despair At last old Ready spoke
”They think that they will be saved and that we et that there is a Power above, ill himself decide that point - a power coht”
”True,” replied Mr Seagrave, in a low voice; ”but still what chance we can have on a sinking shi+p, with so ine”
”We must do our best, and submit to His will,” replied Ready, who then went aft, and shi+fted the helain before the wind
As the old man had foretold to the seaale was now over, and the sea had gone down considerably The shi+p, however, dragged but slowly through the water, and after a short time Ready lashed the wheel, and went forward On his return to the quarter-deck, he found Mr Seagrave had thrown himself down (apparently in a state of despair) upon the sail on which Captain Osborn had been laid after his accident
”Mr Seagrave, do not give way,” said Ready; ”if I thought our situation hopeless, I would candidly say so; but there always is hope, even at the very worst, - and there always ought to be trust in that God without whose knowledge not a sparrow falls to the ground But, Mr Seagrave, I shall speak as a seaman, and tell you what our probabilities are The shi+p is half-full of water, froale, and the heavy blohich she received; but, now that the gale has abated, she has recovered herself very much I have sounded the well, and find that she has not made many inches within the last two hours, and probably, as she closes her seams, will make less If, therefore, it pleases God that the fine weather should continue, there is no fear of the vessel sinking under us for sost the islands, it is not impossible, nay, it is very probable, that we may be able to run her ashore, and thins save our hives I thought of all this when I refused to go in the boat, and I thought also, Mr Seagrave, that if you were to have been deserted by me as well as by all the rest, you would have been unable yourself to take advantage of any chances which ht turn up in your favour, and therefore I have re, under God's providence, to be theyou and your family in this sore position I think noould be better that you should go down into the cabin, and with a cheerful face encourage poor Mrs Seagrave with the change in the weather, and the hopes of arriving in some place of safety If she does not know that the men have quitted the shi+p, do not tell her; say that the steward is with the other h, and, if possible, leave her in the dark as to what has taken place Master William can be trusted, and if you will send him here to me, I will talk to him”
”I hardly knohat to think, Ready, or how sufficiently to thank you for your self-devotion, if I ency That your advice is excellent and that I shall follow it, you may be assured; and, should we be saved froratitude--”
”Do not speak of that, sir; I am an old man with feants, and whose life is of little use now All I wish to feel is, that I a to do my duty in that situation into which it has pleased God to call hed it all his life, and who has neither kith nor kin that he knows of to care about his death?”
Mr Seagrave pressed the hand of Ready, and went doithoutany reply He found that his wife had been asleep for the last hour, and was not yet awake The children were also quiet in their beds Juno and Willia up
Willian to his father that his mother was asleep, and then said in a whisper, ”I did not like to leave the cabin while you were on deck, hut the steward has not been here these two hours: he went to oat for baby and has not returned We have had no breakfast, none of us”
”Williao on deck,” replied his father; ”Ready wishes to speak to you”
William went on deck to Ready, who explained to him the position in which they were placed; he pointed out to hi all he could to assist his father and him, and not to alarm his mother in her precarious state of health Williarave, did, however, immediately enter into Ready's views, and proceeded to do his best ”The steward,” said he, ”has left with the other men, and when my mother wakes she will ask why the children have had no breakfast What can I do?”
”I think you can et the other things ready; I can leave the deck, for you see the shi+p steers herself very nicely; - and, William, I have sounded the well just before you came up, and I don't think sheround him, and up above, ”we shall have fine weather, and a sht”
By the united exertions of Ready and Williarave still continued in a sound sleep The motion of the shi+p was now very little: she only rolled very slowly froone down, and the sun shone brightly over their heads; the boat had been out of sight soh the water faster than three miles an hour, for she had no other sail upon her than the allant sail hoisted up on the stump of the foremast Ready, who had been sorave that Juno and all the children should go on deck ”They cannot be expected to be quiet, sir; and, now that Madam is in such a sweet sleep, it would be a pity to wake her After so er the better, for you know that (in a short tireed to the good sense of this proposal, and went on deck with Juno and the children, leaving William in the cabin to watch his mother Poor Juno was very much astonished when she came up the ladder and perceived the condition of the vessel, and the absence of the rave told her what had happened, and cautioned her against saying a word to Mrs Seagrave Juno proer of their position, and, as she pressed little Albert to her bosom, a tear or two rolled down her cheeks Even To where the masts and sails were, and what had become of Captain Osborn
”Look there, sir,” said Ready, pointing out sorave
”I perceive it,” said Mr Seagrave; ”but what then?”
”That by itself would not be quite proof,” replied Ready, ”but we sailors have other signs and tokens Do you see those birds hovering over the waves?”
”I do”
”Well, sir, those birds never go far froo down for itude just now, at all events I can find out the latitude we are in, and then by looking at the chart shall be able to give souess whereabout we are, if we see land soon
”It is nearly noon now,” observed Ready, reading off his quadrant, ”the sun rises very slowly What a happy thing a child is! Look, sir, at those little creatures playing about, and as er, as if they were at horeat blessing for a child to be called away early; and that it is selfish in parents to repine”
”Perhaps it is,” replied Mr Seagrave, looking mournfully at his children
”It's twelve o'clock, sir I'll just go down and work the latitude, and then I'll bring up the chart”
Mr Seagrave reht; nor was it to be wondered at - the shi+p a wreck and deserted - left alone on the ater with his wife and helpless family, with but one to assist him: had that one deserted as well as the rest, ould have been his position then? Utter helplessness! And nohat had they to expect? Their greatest hopes were to gain some island, and, if they succeeded, perhaps a desert island, perhaps an island inhabited by savages - to be er and thirst It was not until soh his rave could recall hi hitherto preserved them, or could say with hu once succeeded in repressing his o every trial which ht be imposed upon him
”Here is the chart, sir,” said Ready, ”and I have drawn a pencil line through our latitude: you perceive that it passes through this cluster of islands; and I think weon for dinner, and then look sharp out for the land Will you take a look round, Mr Seagrave, especially a-head and on the bows?”
Ready went down to see what he could procure for dinner, as the seamen, when they left the shi+p, had collected almost all which came first to hand He soon procured a piece of salt beef and some potatoes, which he put into the saucepan, and then returned on deck
Mr Seagrave was forward, looking over the bows, and Ready went there to hi, but I can hardly tell what it is: it appears to be in the air, and yet it is not clouds Look there, where I point ht, sir,” replied Ready, ”there is so; it is not the land which you see, but it is the trees upon the land which are refracted, as they call it, so as to appear, as you say, as if they were in the air That is an island, sir, depend upon it; but I will go down and get rave,” said Ready, after exalass - ”yes, it is so,” continued he, ; ”I wish that we had seen it earlier; and yet we must be thankful”
”Why so, Ready?”
”Only, sir, as the shi+p forges so slowly through the water, I fear that we shall not reach it before dark, and I should have wished to have had daylight to have laid her nicely on it”
”There is very little wind now”