Afloat and Ashore Part 18

"It is, sir, beyond a doubt. It must be one of the coral islands; and this is the reef that usually lies to seaward from them. There is the appearance of trees ash.o.r.e!"

"It's a discovery, youngster, and will make us all great names!

Remember, this pa.s.sage I call 'Miles's Inlet;' and to the reef, I give the name of 'Yawl Reef.'"

I could not smile at this touch of Marble's vanity, for concern left me no thoughts but for the ship. The weather was now mild and the bay smooth; the night was fine, and it might be of the last importance to us to know something more of our situation. The cable might chafe off, probably _would_, so near a coral reef; and I offered to pull in towards the land, sounding as I went, and otherwise gaining the knowledge that might be necessary to our security. After a little reflection, the captain consented, ordering me to take provisions and water in the boat, as the duty might detain me until morning.

I found the bay between the reef and the island about a league in _breadth_, and across its entire _width_, the soundings did not vary much from ten fathoms. The outer barrier of rock, on which the sea broke, appeared to be an advanced wall, that the indefatigable little insects had erected, as it might be, in defence of their island, which had probably been raised from the depths of the ocean, a century or two ago, by some of their own ancestors. The gigantic works completed by these little aquatic animals, are well known to navigators, and give us some tolerably accurate notions of the manner in which the face of the globe has been made to undergo some of its alterations. I found the land easy of access, low, wooded, and without any sign of habitation. The night was so fine that I ventured inland, and after walking more than a mile, most of the distance in a grove of cocoa and bananas, I came to the basin of water that is usually found in the islands of this particular formation. The inlet from the sea was at no great distance, and I sent one of the men back to the yawl, with orders for the boat to proceed thither. I next sounded the inlet and the bay, and found everywhere a sandy bottom, and about ten fathoms of water. As I expected, the shoalest spot was the inlet; but in this, which I sounded thoroughly, there was nowhere less than five. It was now midnight; and I should have remained on the island until morning, to make further surveys by daylight, had we not seen the ship, under her canva.s.s, and so much nearer to us than we had supposed possible, as to satisfy me she was drifting in fast towards the land. Of course I did not hesitate, but pulled on board.

It was as I suspected. The rocks so near the reef had chafed off the cable; the ship struck adrift, and Marble was under his canva.s.s waiting my return, in order to ascertain where he might anchor anew. I told him of the lagoon in the centre of the island, and gave him every a.s.surance of there being water enough to carry in any craft that floats. My reputation was up, in consequence of the manner the ship had been taken through the first inlet, and I was ordered to conn her into this new haven.

The task was not difficult. The lightness of the wind, and uncertainty about the currents proving the only source of embarra.s.sment, I succeeded in finding the pa.s.sage, after a short trial; and sending the boat ahead, under Talcott, as an additional precaution, soon had the Crisis floating in the very centre of this natural dock. Sail was shortened as we came in, and the ship made a flying moor; after which we lay as securely, at if actually in some basin wrought by art. It is my opinion, the vessel would have ridden out the hardest gale, or anything short of a hurricane, at single anchor, in that place. The sense of security was now so strong upon us, that we rolled up our canva.s.s, set an anchor watch of only one man, and turned in.

I never laid my head down, on board ship, with greater satisfaction, than I did that night. Let the truth be frankly stated. I was perfectly satisfied with myself. It was owing to my decision and vigilance that the ship was saved, when outside the reef, out of all question; and I think she would have been lost after she struck adrift, had I not discovered her present berth. There she was, however, with land virtually all round her, a good bottom, plenty of water, and well moored. As I have said already, she could not be better secured in an artificial dock. In the midst of the Pacific, away from all custom-house officers, in a recently discovered and uninhabited island, there was nothing to fear. Men sleep soundly in such circ.u.mstances, and I should have been in a deep slumber in a minute after I was in my berth, had not Marble's conversation kept me awake, quite unwillingly on my part, for five minutes. His state-room door was open, and, through it, the following discourse was held.

"I think, on the whole," commenced the captain, "it will be better to _generalize_ a little more,"--this was a favourite expression of the ex-mate's, and one he often used without exactly knowing its application himself.--"Yes, to generalize a little more; it shall be Marble Land, Wallingford Bay, Yawl, Reef, _Talcott_ Inlet, Miles's Anchorage--and a d----d bad anchorage it was, Miles; but, never mind, we must take the good with the bad, in this wicked world."

"Very true, sir; but as for taking that anchorage, you must excuse me, as I shall never take it again."

"Perhaps not. Well, this is what I call comfort--ha! Talcott?--Is Talcott asleep, Miles?"

"He and the second-mate are hard at it, sir--full and by, and going ten knots," I muttered, wishing my tormentor in j.a.pan, at the moment.

"Ay; they are rackers at a sleep! I say, Miles, such a discovery as this will make a man's fortune! The world generalizes in discoveries, altogether, making no great matter of distinction between your Columbuses, Cooks, or Marbles. An island is an island and he who first discovers it, has the credit. Poor Captain Williams! He would have sailed this ship for a whole generation, and never found anything in the way of novelty."

"Except the Straits--" I muttered very indistinctly, breathing deep and hard.

"Ay, that _was_ an affair! Hadn't you and I been aboard, the ship never would have done that. We are the very offspring of luck! There was the affair of the wreck off Madagascar--there are b.l.o.o.d.y currents in the Pacific, too, I find, Miles."

"Yes, sir--hard-a-weather--"

"The fellow's dreaming. One word, boy, before you cut loose from all reason and reflection. Don't you think it would be a capital idea to poke in a little patriotism among the names; patriotism goes so far in our part of the world. Congress Rocks would be a good t.i.tle for the highest part of the reef, and Washington Sands would do for the landing you told me of. Washington should have a finger in the pie."

"Crust isn't down, sir."

"The fellow's off, and I may as well follow, though it is not easy to sleep on the honour of a discovery like this. Good night, Miles!"

"Ay, ay! sir."

Such was the account Marble afterwards gave me of the termination of the dialogue. Sleep, sleep, sleep! Never did men enjoy their rest more than we did for the next five hours, the ship being as silent as a church on a week-day, during the whole time. For myself, I can safely say I heard nothing, or knew nothing, until I was awakened by a violent shake of the shoulder. Supposing myself to have been aroused for an ordinary watch at sea, I was erect in an instant, and found the sun's rays streaming into my face, through the cabin-windows. This prevented me, for a moment, from seeing that I had been disturbed by Captain Marble himself. The latter waited until he perceived I could understand him, and then he said, in a grave, meaning manner--

"Miles, there is a mutiny in the ship! Do you understand me, Mr.

Wallingford?--a b.l.o.o.d.y mutiny!"

"A mutiny, Captain Marble! You confound me, sir--I had thought our people perfectly satisfied."

"Umph! One never knows whether the copper will come up head or tail. I thought, when I turned in last night, it was to take the surest nap I ever tasted afloat; and here I awake and find a mutiny!"

I was on my feet and dressing in an instant, as a matter of course, having first gone to the berths of the two other mates, and given each a call.

"But how do you know this, Captain Marble?" I resumed, as soon as there was a chance. "I hear no disturbance, and the ship is just where we left her," glancing through the cabin-windows; "I think you must be mistaken, sir."

"Not I. I turned out, ten minutes since, and was about to go on deck to get a look at your basin, and breathe the fresh air, when I found the companion-doors fastened, precisely Smudge-fashion. I suppose you will allow that no regular ship's company would dare to fasten the officers below, unless they intended to seize the craft."

"This is very extraordinary! Perhaps some accident has befallen the doors. Did you call out, sir?"

"I thumped like an admiral, but got no answer. When on the point of trying the virtue of a few kicks, I overheard a low laugh on deck, and that let me into the secret of the state of the nation at once.

I suppose you will all admit, gentlemen, when sailors laugh at their officers, as well as batten them down, that they must be somewhat near a state of mutiny."

"It does look so, indeed, sir. We had better arm the moment we are dressed, Captain Marble."

"I have done that already, and you will each find loaded pistols in my state-room."

In two minutes from that moment, all four of us were in a state for action, each man armed with a brace of ship's pistols, well-loaded and freshly primed. Marble was for making a rush at the cabin-doors, at once; but I suggested the improbability of the steward or Neb's being engaged in any plot against the officers, and thought it might be well to ascertain what had become of the two blacks, before we commenced operations. Talcott proceeded instantly to the steerage, where the steward slept, and returned in a moment to report that he had found him sound asleep in his berth.

Reinforced by this man, Captain Marble determined to make his first demonstration by way of the forecastle, where, by acting with caution, a surprise on the mutineers might be effected. It will be remembered that a door communicated with the forecastle, the fastenings of which were on the side of "'twixt decks." Most of the cargo being in the lower hold, there was no difficulty in making our way to this door, where we stopped and listened, in order to learn the state of things on the other side of the bulkhead. Marble had whispered to me, as we groped our way along in the sort of twilight which pervaded the place, the hatches being on and secured, that "them b.l.o.o.d.y Philadelphians" must be at the bottom of the mischief, as our old crew were a set of as "peaceable, well-disposed chaps as ever eat duff (dough) out of a kid."

The result of the listening was to produce a general surprise. Out of all question, snoring, and that on no small scale of the gamut of Morpheus, was unequivocally heard. Marble instantly opened the door, and we entered the forecastle, pistols in hand. Every berth had its tenant, and all hands were asleep! Fatigue, and the habit of waiting for calls, had evidently kept each of the seamen in his berth, until that instant.

Contrary to usage in so warm a climate, the scuttle was on, and a trial soon told us it was fast.

"To generalize on this idee, Miles," exclaimed the captain, "I should say we are again battened down by savages!"

"It does indeed look so, sir; and yet I saw no sign of the island's being inhabited. It may be well, Captain Marble, to muster the crew, that we may learn who's who."

"Quite right--do you turn 'em up, and send 'em all aft into the cabin, where we have more daylight."

I set about awaking the people, which was not difficult, and in a few minutes everybody was sent aft. Following the crew, it was soon found that only one man was missing, and he was the very individual whom we had left on deck, when we had all gone below on securing the ship. Every soul belonging to the vessel was present in the cabin, or steerage, but this solitary man--Philadelphians and all!

"It can never be that Harris has dared to trifle with us," said Talcott; "and yet it does look surprisingly like it."

"Quite sure, Miles, that Marble Land is an uninhabited island?" said the captain, interrogatively.

"I can only say, sir, that it is as much like all the other uninhabited coral islands we have pa.s.sed, as one pea is like another; and that there were no signs of a living being visible last night. It is true, we saw but little of the island, though to all appearances there was not much to see."

"Unluckily, all the men's arms are on deck, in the arm-chest, or strapped to the boom or masts. There is no use, however, in dillydallying against one man; so I will make a rumpus that will soon bring the chap to his bearings."

Hereupon Marble made what he called a rumpus in good earnest. I thought, for a minute, he would kick the cabin-doors down.

"'Andzomelee-'andzomelee," said some one on deck. "Vat for you make so much kick?"

"Who the devil are you?" demanded Marble, kicking harder than ever.

"Open the cabin-doors, or I'll kick them down, and yourself overboard."

"Monsieur--sair," rejoined another voice, "_tenez_--you air _prisonnier_. _Comprenez-vous_--prisonair, eh?"

"These are Frenchmen, Captain Marble," I exclaimed, "and we are in the hands of the enemy."

This was astounding intelligence; so much so, that all had difficulty in believing it. A further parley, however, destroyed our hopes, little by little, until we entered into an arrangement with those on deck, to the following effect: I was to be permitted to go out, in order to ascertain the real facts of our situation; while Marble and the remainder of the crew were to remain below, pa.s.sive, until the result should be reported.