Mary Liddiard Part 6

Thus the hours of darkness pa.s.sed away. The canoe, from the lightness of her construction, rode easily over the seas, driving, as she now was, directly before the gale, and we were not pitched and tumbled about as we had been when the wind was on her side, and we were attempting to steer for the island. When morning dawned the foaming waters were around us on every side, and we could just distinguish in the far distance, almost astern, the dim outline of the island which we had hoped to reach. Had the weather been moderate the canoe men might have attempted to make their way towards it, but that, was now impossible, and we continued to drive on, leaving it further and further behind.

Where we were going we could not tell. The natives knew of no islands in that direction, and I heard them reminding each other of several canoes which had been blown off the land and had not again been heard of.

We asked Mr Norton his opinion. He had, he said, during the last day he was on board examined a chart, and he could afford us but little hope that we should reach any sh.o.r.e where we might obtain a new mast and sail and be able to return the way we had come. "There are islands a long way off; but as the inhabitants, I fear, are savage in the extreme, it would be dangerous to land amongst them," he added. "Still, though we speak of the dangers we may have to encounter, let us continue, trusting firmly that G.o.d is watching over us, and though we cannot yet see the way by which He intends to save us--if such is His good will--He has nevertheless got it ready, while we on our part are bound to make every exertion to preserve our lives. As we may not for a considerable time reach land, I must therefore, in the first place, strongly urge the people to place themselves on an allowance of food and water. We should use as little as will suffice to sustain life, that we may the longer be able to hold out."

I explained what the young Englishman said to Abela; and she and Tofa spoke to their countrymen, and persuaded them to do as he advised. The wind had somewhat abated, but as it was still too strong to permit of our making head against it, we continued to drive on as before. We read the Bible, and prayed several times during the day, and occasionally some of the heathen crew came, and, kneeling down near us, listened while I read.

Abela, although she had not begun her studies till about two years before this, read very fairly, but she was especially powerful in prayer, and her whole heart and soul seemed lifted up as she poured forth her pet.i.tions--seldom failing to exclaim, "Lord be merciful to me a sinner."

The hours pa.s.sed on, and we felt that an all-powerful hand was protecting our frail bark from the fury of the seas. When the water washed into the canoe beneath the platform, it was quickly bailed out again, and everything was so firmly secured, that in spite of the tossing and tumbling of the vessel she held as tightly together as at first.

Another day and another and another pa.s.sed by, and still the strong wind prevented us from attempting to return. Many of the heathen crew appeared to have resigned themselves to their fate, and had it not been for the influence Abela exerted over them--supported as she was by the young Englishman and Tofa--I believe that they would quickly have consumed all the provisions, and have then laid down to die.

We were already feeling the ill effects of the small amount of food we could venture to eat. The sun too, burst forth, and its burning rays striking down upon us; we now, in addition to hunger, began to feel the fearful sufferings of thirst. What must it be should a calm come on!

And although the crew might then use their paddles with effect, their strength would be gone, and very many days must pa.s.s before we could regain the island from which we had been driven.

Often and often I thought of my poor father. I persuaded myself that he had certainly remained with Mr Hilton, and that had we arrived in safety we should have had the happiness of seeing him. Now should he return to the settlement, what would be his feelings to find it desolate, and to suppose, as he must, that we had shared the fate of the other inhabitants.

Our condition was also becoming, humanly speaking, fearful in the extreme. As I looked at Maud's pale countenance I feared that she could not long endure such suffering. I was not aware that I looked equally ill. The young Englishman treated us with the most gentle and constant attention; he even insisted on our taking a portion of his scanty allowance of food and water, and when we refused to deprive him of it I am sure that he took means to add it unseen to our shares. At length the gale ceased, the canoe no longer tumbled about, and the heat of the sun's rays--as they shone upon the gla.s.s-like surface of the ocean on which we floated--was intense in the extreme. Abela urged the crew to get out their paddles, but they answered, as I had expected, "we cannot live to reach the island, and when our food and water are exhausted, we will lie down and die. There is nothing else for us to do."

CHAPTER NINE.

A CALM.--THE CANOE FLOATS MOTIONLESS ON THE OCEAN.--MANY OF OUR NUMBER APPEAR TO BE DYING FOR WANT OF WATER.--I FEAR CHIEFLY FOR MAUD, WHEN A SAIL IS SEEN, AND, WITH A RISING BREEZE, SHE APPROACHES.--WE ARE RECEIVED ON BOARD THE "TRUE LOVE," AND KINDLY TREATED BY CAPTAIN HUDSON AND HIS WIFE.

The canoe still floated motionless on the calm ocean, which shone like a sheet of burnished gold. Maud and I lay in each other's arms, expecting thus to die. Still we could whisper together, and talk of the glories of that heaven we hoped soon to reach. Abela sat like a mother watching over us, but she too was sinking. Of the heathen crew several appeared to be dying, if they were not already dead; but others, who had listened to the Word of Life, gathered round us that they might hear the instruction which Abela, as long as she had the power of speech, afforded them. Young Tofa bore up bravely, and Mr Norton struggled wonderfully with his sufferings. He occasionally rose to his feet and gazed around, as if he still hoped help would come ere it was too late.

Another day I felt sure must terminate the existence of most of those on board.

I closed my eyes, feeling a faintness coming over me, when I was aroused by Mr Norton's voice. I saw him standing up, with his arms outstretched, and his dim eye lighted up.

"A sail! a sail!" he exclaimed. "She is bringing up the breeze--she is standing this way."

This announcement gave me a strength I did not believe that I possessed--I raised Maud in my arms. "We shall be saved, dearest; our prayers have been heard," I whispered. She opened her eyes, and seemed to comprehend me.

"We must make a signal, or the vessel may pa.s.s us," said Mr Norton.

"Can you direct the natives to a.s.sist me? The broken spars, if lashed together, will answer for a flagstaff."

I explained what the young Englishman required, and Tofa and a few others, although scarcely able to lift themselves from the deck, secured the spars, and fastened them together as he desired. A piece of matting answered for a flag, and the flagstaff was held up on the deck.

How eagerly we watched the distant sail.

"She looks like a whaler, and if so, a bright look-out is certain to be kept on board," observed Mr Norton.

On she came. Unless our small flag was observed, as the deck of the canoe rose but a few feet above the water, should she pa.s.s only a mile or two on either side she might sail away without noticing us. We did not forget to pray that we might be seen. She came nearer and nearer.

At length, to our joy, we saw a flag run up to her mast-head as an answer to our signal.

We were seen. Still the breeze was light, and the ship seemed to be a long time coming up to us.

Every moment was of consequence. I dreaded lest aid should come too late for dear Maud, while several others appeared unable to last much longer.

How often do we mistrust G.o.d's mercy. The vessel came close to us, and heaving-to, a boat was lowered.

"She is a whaler," exclaimed Mr Norton. "Water, water--bring water with you," he shouted; but his voice was faint and hollow, he pointed to his lips.

The sign was understood, for the boat put back, and a cask was lowered into it. In another minute, with st.u.r.dy strokes, the boat's crew dashed alongside. We heard the sound of English voices.

"You seem in a sad plight, my lad," said the officer of the boat. "We thought you were all savages. Are there any more of you on board?"

Mr Norton pointed to where Maud and I lay. The cask of water was lifted on deck, and the officer approached us with a cup. I begged him to give Maud some. He poured a few drops down her throat.

"Come, young lady, you must take some now," he said.

How delicious was that draught--it almost instantly revived me. I gave Maud some more, and then offered the cup to Abela. Those of the crew who could move crawled towards the cask. The young seaman poured it out from the cask into their hands, that they might obtain it sooner. I remember thinking it a fearful waste that any of the precious liquid should be spilled. Not till all the rest had received some water would Mr Norton take the cup which the mate offered him.

"Now, young ladies, the sooner we get you on board, where our captain and his good wife will look after you, the better," exclaimed the mate, as he offered to carry us to the boat. I begged that Abela might be brought with us. He lifted me up in his arms as if I had been a feather, and others followed, with Maud and Abela. Mr Norton had scarcely strength to reach the boat. I explained that Tofa was a chief's son, and that having rendered us great service, I begged that he might be treated with attention.

In a few minutes we were on board the "True Love," and in Captain Hudson's cabin, under the care of his kind motherly wife. She almost shed tears as she saw us; Maud especially excited her sympathy.

"Poor dear child, she could not have lasted another hour, and she now will require all the care we can bestow on her. And we must look after you too," she added, addressing me. "I wonder you have held out so well. You must tell me all about it by-and-by. You are too weak to talk now. I cannot get a word out of any one else--not even from the young Englishman. He fainted on reaching the deck, and my husband is attending to him; but you need not be alarmed, he will come round in time."

I inquired for Abela.

"The native woman is in one of the mate's cabins. I will go and attend to her directly, and all the rest who are alive are safe on board; but five or six of the poor Indians were dead, I am told, before they could be lifted from the deck of the canoe."

I grieved much to hear this, for I had entertained hopes that all when brought under Christian instruction would have accepted the truth; but G.o.d's ways are inscrutable--we only know that they are just and right.

Soon after Mrs Hudson had placed me in bed, I sank into a state of almost insensibility, and was conscious only that I was attended by a kind hand. I could neither speak nor think, and knew not to what place the ship was carrying us. My first inquiry on coming to myself, when I saw Mrs Hudson standing over me, was for dear Maud. My heart leaped with joy when I heard her voice saying, "I am here Mary--I am so very very glad to hear you speaking again." I found that she was lying on a sofa outside my cabin, to which Mrs Hudson said she had entreated to be brought, that she might be near me. Abela, I found was also recovering, and Mr Norton was well, and devoted himself to the care of the sufferers, some of whom were still in a precarious state.

"He is trying to learn their language, and the young prince is never weary in giving him instruction," said Mrs Hudson.

"They call Tofa the young prince, because the rest of his people pay him so much respect," observed Maud.

I was truly thankful to hear this of Mr Norton. I should have trembled for him, lest after getting safely on board the ship had he shown that he had forgotten his good resolutions.

"That young Englishman is a very superior person indeed," observed Mrs Hudson. "He has made inquiries about you and your sister every hour in the day, and I really believe had you been taken from us it would have broken his heart; he looked so anxious when I told him how ill you were.

He constantly also speaks to our crew, and reads the Bible to them, and prays with them in the forecastle. They seem very well pleased to hear him, and though my husband has prayers every Sunday, he cannot go among them and talk to them in the familiar way this young man does. He tells me, though I am sure he is a gentleman born by his manners, that he has served before the mast, and therefore knows their habits and ways, and that there is nothing like being on an equality with people to win their hearts."

"Yes, that is what a missionary must be if he follows the example of his Master," I said. "Jesus made Himself equal to the poorest, and of no reputation, that He might gain souls to Himself."

"Ah yes, my dear young lady, if all ministers of the gospel as well as missionaries acted thus, His blessed religion would make more progress in the world than it now does."

In addition to my other causes of grat.i.tude I thanked G.o.d that we had been taken on board a ship commanded by a believing captain, with a kind excellent wife. Through His mercy we were greatly indebted to Mrs Hudson's constant and affectionate care for our recovery.

CHAPTER TEN.

MAUD AND I WITH MOST OF OUR PARTY RECOVER.--MR NORTON INSTRUCTS THE CREW, AND PROVES THAT HE IS REALLY CONVERTED.--THE GREAT KINDNESS OF CAPTAIN AND MRS HUDSON.--THEY OFFER TO TAKE US TO ENGLAND, BUT WE RESOLVE TO REMAIN ON AN ISLAND INHABITED BY CHRISTIANS, ON WHICH WE LAND, THAT WE MAY DEVOTE OURSELVES TO MISSIONARY WORK.--MAUD IS RESTORED TO HER PARENTS.--CAPTAIN HUDSON, ON A SUBSEQUENT VOYAGE, BRINGS MY FATHER TO US, AND I, HAVING BECOME THE WIFE OF MR NORTON, WE RETURN TO OUR ISLAND, WHERE MASAUGU HAVING BECOME A CHRISTIAN, WITH LISELE AND HER HUSBAND, ARE RESIDING.--THE WHOLE OF THE INHABITANTS BEFORE MY FATHER'S DEATH BEING ALSO CONVERTED TO THE TRUTH.