Jack at Sea Part 26

"Oh, one of the great mackerel tribe fellows they have in the Mediterranean. It isn't a bonito, for it's too big, but just as bright in its colours. Can't be a small tunny come down through the Ca.n.a.l, can it?"

"I'm puzzled," said the mate, bending over the beautiful prize. "It may be; but whatever it is, Mr Meadows here has had a fine stroke of luck, and we shall have fish for dinner."

Jack flushed with the excitement of the capture, and stood looking on at the beauty of the creature's colours in the bright sunshine, while the mate placed the end of the gaff-pole between its jaws before attempting to extract the great triple hook which hung by a swivel beneath the silvered shining bait.

"I should say it is one of the bonitos," said the doctor thoughtfully.

"It has that slimness just before the tail fin spreads out, and there are plenty of flying fish here, of course."

"Plenty, sir," said the captain. "I dare say if you go forward you'll see them beginning to skip out of the water, startled by the yacht.

Seen any yet, Mr Jack?"

"Not yet," was the reply.

"Yes," said the doctor, "I think that's what it is. They chase the flying fish, and this fellow must have taken your long spoon-bait for one of them. Don't you think so, Bartlett?"

"Yes, sir, you are right; but without exaggeration I never saw so fine a one as this. Why," he continued, clasping his hands round the thin part near the tail and raising the fish for a few moments before letting it fall back on the white boards, "it is very little short of forty pounds."

"It must be quite that," cried the doctor. "Well, it's always the way, the new beginner catches the biggest fish. I should have liked to hook that fellow. Did he pull much, Jack?"

"Dreadfully. My arms feel strained by the jerks it gave."

"I congratulate you, my boy," said Sir John. "It is a beauty."

Then the captain spoke:

"When you've done admiring it, gentlemen, there is some one else would like to have a word. I mean the cook. This fellow is fresh now, but they go off at a tremendous rate, and it will be worthless in a few hours. Pa.s.s the word there for the cook."

The word was pa.s.sed, and the worthy in question came up smiling.

"What do you say to him?" said the captain. "Too big and coa.r.s.e?"

"Oh no, sir," cried the man. "I'll answer for it I can send some cutlets off it that will be excellent, and make plenty for the crew as well."

It seemed a pity to Jack for the beautifully coloured prize to be handed over, but already some of the bright tints were fading, and as soon as it was borne off the mate made a sign to Lenny, who brought a swab and a bucket to remove the wet and slime.

"What do you say to another turn, Mr Meadows?" said the mate, smiling.

Jack smiled and began to rub his shoulder, so the tackle was hung in loops to dry, and the lad went forward to watch the flying fish spin out of the water and glide along upon their transparent wing-like fins; and he returned to watch the beautiful little creatures again and again as, evidently taking the hull of the yacht for some huge pursuing fish, they darted up from under her counter to drop back far away after their forced journey, and swim on till they gathered force and with swallow-like skim took another flight.

"Isn't it near dinner-time?" he said at last to the doctor, who was by his side watching the flights.

"Must be, I should say," was the reply, as that gentleman glanced at his watch. "Yes: close upon it. Glad of it, for I begin to feel a bit peckish in spite of this heat. I wonder what your fish will be like."

He soon learned, for the cook was right, and all p.r.o.nounced it excellent; but there was something more than ordinary flavour about the fish from the Red Sea, and the doctor gave Sir John a meaning look, one to which Jack's father responded by a short nod.

Edward had had his opinions too, about his young master--opinions which sometimes made him look pleased, at others shake his head.

"Young governor's going it," he muttered, as he stood near watching the fishing. "Fancy him getting excited over hooking a fish, and holding on by the line. Beats anything I ever knew of before. There, you never know what's in a boy till you begin to get it out of him. Why that line must have cut his hands awful, but he never reg'larly 'owled about it, only rubbed the places a bit when he got a chance. Wonder whether the doctor's giving him some kind of physic as makes him come out like this.

If he is, I should like to have a dose or two to bring me up to the mark. It's wonderful what a change he's made."

Edward ceased for a few moments.

"Wonder how he gives it him, and what he takes it in. He don't know he's taking it, that's for certain. It must be on the sly, or I should have seen it, and the gla.s.s and spoon. That's it. He puts it in his coffee; I'll be bound to say that's it--in his coffee. I'll be on the watch."

"Dunno why I should though," said the man, after a few moments' musing.

"'Tain't my place to know anything about it, and if it does him good, where's the harm? And it is doing him good, that's for certain; but I should like to know what it is, and when he gives it."

CHAPTER THIRTEEN.

BEGINNING TO GROW BACKWARD.

"Regular volcanic cinder heap, Jack," was Sir John's not new opinion of sun-scorched Aden, where, while the coal-bunkers were filled up again, the lad had amused himself by inspecting the place with his gla.s.s as he sat contentedly under the awning, preferring to submit to the infliction of the flying coal-dust to a hot walk through the arid place. Then he leaned over the side and half-contemptuously threw threepenny-bits and sixpences into the clear water in response to the clamouring young rascals who wanted to scramble for them far below and show their swimming and diving powers.

"Come on board," cried the doctor, blowing his nose hard and coughing to get rid of the black dust. "Sacks counted, iron stopper put back in the pavement, and the wagon's gone, Jack."

The lad looked up at him as if wondering whether he had gone out of his senses.

"What are you staring at, sober-sides?" cried the doctor. "I know it's poor joking, but I'd have done better if I could. Hallo! what's the matter?" he continued, as, in what seemed to be a motiveless way, the boy threw sixpence over the side. "Got too much money?"

"No: look!" said Jack.

The doctor glanced over the rail to where the bright piece of silver was sinking fast and flashing as it turned over, while two merry little young scamps were diving down after it, racing to see which would get first to the coin. This soon disappeared in the disturbed water, while the figures of the boys grew more and more shadowy and distorted by the varying refraction.

"My word!" cried the doctor, "how the little n.i.g.g.e.rs can dive! Look: here they come again."

It was curious to see them rising with the water growing more still as their frantic struggles ceased, and their forms grew plain as they rose quickly, one dark head suddenly shooting up like a cork on a pike line after the fish had rejected the bait, and its owner showing a brilliantly white set of teeth as he shouted, "Nurrer! nurrer!"

The next moment a second head shot into the brilliant sunshine, the boy's lips opening into a wide grin of delight as he showed his white clenched teeth with the captured sixpence held between them.

"Tell him to put it in his pocket, Jack," cried the doctor. "Puzzle him, eh? Hold your noise, you chattering young ruffians," he shouted.

"Come, a dozen of you. Here, Jack, I'm going to waste a shilling, for it won't do the young vagabonds any good. It's only encouraging them to run risks of asphyxiating themselves or getting caught some day by the sharks."

He held up a shilling as he spoke, and quite a dozen boys of all sizes splashed in out of canoes, and left the pieces of wood and one old boat to which they clung. They came swimming about near where the doctor and Jack looked over, shouting, splashing each other, and generally clamouring for the piece of money to be thrown in.

"Ah! we must have a race for this," said the doctor, and he drew himself up and made a feint of throwing the shilling.

There was a rush like a pack of black water spaniels going after a thrown stick, but the boys had been tricked too often by pa.s.sengers stopping at Aden in the regular steamers, and they did not go far, but turned round, treading water and shouting.

"Come back then," cried the doctor. "Here, close to the yacht."

In all probability the boys did not comprehend a word, but the gestures made with the hand containing the shilling brought them all back, and they ranged themselves in a line close in, and shouted and splashed away till the doctor, whose left hand had been in his pocket, threw the shilling shining and twinkling through the sunny air as far as he could.

Away went the boys with a tremendous rush, making the water foam, and naturally the biggest and strongest took the lead, leaving three little fellows well behind.

The doctor had antic.i.p.ated this, and drew their attention with a shout, at the same time holding up another shilling, and as they turned to swim back, he suddenly dropped the coin about six feet away from the yacht's side, where the water was still.

_Plop_! down went one little fellow, who rose up, turned over, sent his heels gleaming in the sunshine, and disappeared, as _plop! plop_! down went the two others.