Natalie A Gem Among the Sea-Weeds Part 6

"There she blows! there she blows!" hailed the look-out from the mast-head, as a school of whales hove in sight, about three miles astern, one afternoon, when they had been four months on the whaling grounds. It was the first discovery that had been made, they having been thus far unsuccessful. All hands were immediately called up; every man was at his post, making ready for the coming scene of action; not as a man-of-war, in the charging of cannon, the priming of musketry, and the brandishing of swords, a battle between man and man, but the boats were lowered, the harpoons were got out, and everything was made ready for an encounter with the monster of the ocean. Now was the time when the captain would exhibit his skill as a whaler; all depends on his management as to their success; he must be cool, and collected, working systematically; for not only does it require great skill and caution in the capturing of the whale, but there are many dangers attendant upon the encounter.

"There she blows!" No sooner did Captain Jostler hear the report, than it seemed as if he would go beside himself; every man was ready to do his duty, and had they possessed the right kind of commander, might have done well; but where there is no head, nothing is accomplished.

Everything was confusion; the captain, springing into the first boat, bade his men follow, leaving, beside Harry, but two worthless fellows, who hardly knew a skysail from a jib-sheet, in charge of the ship. Harry kept his eye upon the boats for hours; he perceived they were evidently having a hard time of it. Running aft to get a gla.s.s, as they distanced him, he discovered a fog had sprang up, and was shutting in heavily on all sides; he returned to mark the boats; they were nowhere to be seen; he had lost them entirely; nothing was to be seen on all sides but thick fog banks! What was to be done? where they were, how far from the boats, and in what direction, they knew not. The boy was aware that they were all ignorant of the management of the ship, and what was worse, should the least breeze spring up, they would be borne,--they knew not whither.

A couple of hours pa.s.sed, and the fog did not lift. Night was coming on, and from the increased darkness, together with a low, rumbling noise of the sea, it was evident a storm was brewing. Harry anxiously walked the quarter deck; it would be certain destruction if they remained in that position till night should overtake them. The boy called to the men, asking what was to be done; but they in terror could do nothing but lament their situation, calling out against the captain for leaving them in such a state. Harry hesitated; what was done must be done speedily.

To take in sail was his first thought; then, with the a.s.sistance of the clumsy seamen, he rolled out a small cannon-piece, and for one long hour did he keep up an incessant fire. The coming storm was now plainly discernible; the distant rolling of thunder was heard, the sea was agitated, and occasionally a flaw would shake the rattlings. They were in momentary expectation that the storm would burst upon them. Harry had left his firing, and ascending the hurricane deck, stood with folded arms, as if bracing himself to meet the foe. It is coming in all its fury! kind heaven! the fog lifts! it rolls itself away as it were a great scroll. The ink-black heavens are fearfully majestic, seen in the lightning's lurid glare. A speck! yes, 't is the boats! do they see them? Once more the boy flies to the cannon, not pausing to see if they are nearing the ship; his heart beats wildly; 'tis their only chance for life! the hurricane has burst upon them! the enraged deep responds loudly to the deafening roar! Once again the feeble voice of the cannon is doing its best to be heard, when lo! the flash mingling with the forked lightnings which play in the rigging, reveals the men, as they come tumbling over the ship's side! They are saved! saved by that n.o.ble boy, who does not know of their approach, so intent is he upon his exertions, until Sampson clasps him in his arms, and a "G.o.d bless you!"

is upon the lips of every man, save the captain, who, having received a slight wound from a harpoon, and irritated by their bad luck, utters a curse which vies in blackness with that dreadful night.

"Down your helm!" shouted the captain; "hard down your helm!" The order was hardly given, when they were thrown on their beam ends; down, down they went, as if never to rise again, completely engulfed in the dark abyss! The boy, where is he? down in the hold, his arm made fast to the collar of old Neptune, that they may go down together; he kneels, his mother's gift, the bible, in his hand, calmly awaiting his time. Nature seems terrified, yet that boy knows no fear. Crash succeeds crash; ah, who can describe the scene! He alone who has stood upon the frail plank, which only separates him from death. Again a terrific crash,--their masts have gone by the board! It would seem that the enraged billows were bent upon their destruction. Still their stout bark is unwilling to give up, and trembling from stem to stern, she clings to life, n.o.bly resisting the gigantic attacks of the storm-king, who, having fought with terrific fierceness through the livelong night, puts on a less demon-like expression as his strength is well nigh spent, and the gray dawn sees no traces of the despoiler, who perhaps has slain thousands, save the swelling surges, which angrily gaze as if disappointed of their prey.

At the first dawn of day, Harry went on deck to learn their situation.

What a change had been wrought in a few hours. Their masts had been carried away, the decks had been swept clean; and he learned that several poor fellows had lost their hold, and were not seen more.

"Well, I'll be d----d if that son of a cannibal hasn't sneaked away into some hole, and kept his footing," exclaimed the captain, as he saw the boy appear above deck; "I was in hopes he had found safe quarters in Davy Jones's locker! But there's no getting rid of such scalawags!"

"Captain Jostler," cried Mr. Sampson, raising his hat, "it's none of my business, and you may knock me down the next minute, if you please, but G.o.d knows there's not a man aboard but owes his life to that boy. I have no mutinous designs, sir, but at such a moment as this I will speak, sir, come what will, and thank G.o.d the boy had sense enough to go below, when he knew he could be of no use here."

The captain looked daggers; he was about to seize Sampson by the throat, when a voice from the a.s.sembled crew was heard:

"Three cheers and long life to the boy, captain or no captain!

_Hurrah!_ HURRAH!! HURRAH!!!" shouted the grateful tars, making the welkin ring.

If Jostler had had the heart of a brave, n.o.ble sea-captain, he would have fought right and left till the last, ere his men should dare to show such insubordination, setting his authority at defiance; but he was a coward, and they were whole-hearted seamen, who would not see the innocent trampled upon, consequently the villain had to swallow his wrath; but he was determined to have his revenge, and Sampson noticed that he cast an evil eye upon the boy.

Upon examination it was found they had sustained no injuries, besides the loss of the masts, except that a small leakage had been made near the bows, and that was soon repaired by the carpenter, who proceeded to rig jury-masts, and it was not long before they were put in a condition capable of running into the islands for repairs.

About sunrise signals of distress were heard, and by the gla.s.s, a dismasted ship was made out, a long way astern, apparently in a sinking condition. The captain appeared to take little notice of her, and as the mate ventured to inquire if they should "'bout ship," he answered, "Thunder! no, we are safe; let them run their own chance."

Harry, hearing his reply, was shocked. Could the man turn a deaf ear to those repeated sounds of distress, when it was in his power to save them? Ah, boy, it is even so! but he is not a man. Harry could endure the thought no longer, as fainter and fainter grew the reports, as they bore away from them; he begged Sampson to implore the captain to return, Sampson telling him "it was of no use, that it would not do to cross him again."

"Then I will go myself to him; he cannot have the heart to leave them to perish!"

"Rash boy, your life will be the penalty! you must not do it."

"I will do my duty, though I should die for it! there is the least possibility of his hearing me, and what is one life compared with, it may be, a hundred."

"Stay, mad boy!" cried Sampson; but he had gone.

Reaching the quarter-deck, upon his knees he implored the captain to return. "Think, if it were your father, brother, or a son, in that hopeless condition, would you not render them all the a.s.sistance in your power?"

"I have three brothers and a father upon the ocean," vociferated the demon; "for aught I know it may be one of them! but were they all aboard that hulk yonder, I would not return! But who are you, sirrah, that dares to usurp my power? Now, upstart, you shall know your place!" and he seized him by the collar, bore him aft, lashed him to a spar, called for the cat, and lifting it high in air,--it falls, but the cursed invention of man's cruelty falls wide of its mark! Ere its descent had scarred that fair brow, a rush was heard from the main gangway, and old Neptune, with a fierce growl, has fastened his teeth in the monster's flesh! Quick as thought his master called him off, and every man stood trembling, as they observed the captain feeling for his pistols; but his strength failed him, the dog had met his teeth in the wound received by the mismanagement of the harpoon, tearing the flesh nearly from off his limb. It really was a pitiable sight to behold. Faint from the loss of blood, he was carried below, where his wound was dressed by one of the men, having no regular surgeon aboard, consequently its fatality was not realized. The groans and writhings of the sufferer were heart-rending; all day long did he rave, imploring Sampson, who attended him, to "take the fiend away! that he was being devoured alive!" and thus did he toss upon his bed till toward evening, when a change for the worse came over him. Sampson saw that the seal of death was stamped upon his features, and at set of sun, with an imprecation upon his dying lips, he had breathed his last. O, how fearful to enter that spirit land thus unprepared! to come before our Judge with a soul stained in the deepest sins, trembling with its burden of guilt. Lord, grant that we be not thus found when thou shalt call! Give us strength to overcome the world, the flesh, and the devil, so that at the last, we shall taste those joys which exist "where the wicked cease from troubling, and the weary are at rest." They buried him in the deep sea. Perhaps his body lay side by side with those who, through his unfeeling heart, had found a watery grave; but we trust that, unlike him, they had gone to meet the reward of having lived an holy life,--gone to the "sailor's home," in the skies.

The stars shone out, one by one, in the firmament, when the king of day had descended. Calmly the night looked down, and undisturbed were Harry's thoughts, as seated upon the taffrail, old Neptune by his side, he once again breathed the air of liberty. Not that he rejoiced that he was thus freed from him who had kept him in perfect slavery, for he alone had dropped a tear over the uncoffined burial of his persecutor; but his heart was filled with grat.i.tude, as he looked into the peerless night,--grat.i.tude to Him who has given us a soul, that we may admire the works of his hands. As Harry sat musing, turning from the heavenly orbs to their semblance on the bosom of the placid waters, he observed, as it were, a fallen star, mirrored therein, but rousing his dreamy senses, he found it was a small, shining object, floating near them. He drew it from the water; it was a block of wood, in the form of an octagon, highly polished, inlaid with bits of pearl, forming grotesque figures, and thickly studded with some bright mineral, representing stars, which gave it a very handsome appearance.

"Well, if the youngster isn't picking up moonshine," remarked Sampson, examining the curiosity. "Some poor fellow designed that for his sweetheart, likely; but I suppose it will make but little difference with her, if she hears he's among the missing, she can just as well set her colors for another. These bright-winged b.u.t.terflies go upon the principle that 'there's as good fish in the sea as ever was caught.'"

"O, ho, Sampson," cried the jolly faced mate, who had now taken the captain's berth, "you are inclined to give the fair ones no quarters. I shouldn't wonder if they had given you the slip, in some of your cruisings."

"Well, sir, nothing of that kind, exactly; I never had much notion for shipping under one captain for life."

"A little frightened, eh?"

"Well, between you and I, I was a little skeery, for fear I should find my mate at the helm."

"Yes, but you don't mean to say woman is a craft sailing without a compa.s.s, do you? that is, minus a heart?"

"Aye, aye, but it's hard to get in their wake. I never met but one whole-souled woman in my life, and she has gone--where such as she do go. Ah, that was a hard time! I was the only one saved of two hundred!"

"How was that, Sampson? come, spin us that yarn."

"Land ho! land ho!" hailed the lookout, and every eye welcomed Manilla, as they ran in for repairs, after cruising about for months without taking a drop of oil. Harry was delighted with the prospect before him, and laying the little curiosity, which would remind him of a sad event in his voyage, away with his bible, he entered upon the duties before him with his whole heart, realizing the visions of his earlier days, and gaining a thorough knowledge of--the life of a sailor boy.

CHAPTER VI.

SOME DAYS ARE BORN OF SORROW.

"The path of sorrow, and that path alone, Leads to the land where sorrows are unknown."

ANONYMOUS.

"Through sorrow's night, and danger's path, Amid the deepening gloom, Ye children of a heavenly king Are marching to the tomb."

H. KIRKE WHITE.

It is a destiny, that every life be, to a greater or less degree, fraught with that heart-purifying element, which we term sorrow. And who would have it otherwise? Who would glide pa.s.sively along the bright river of smiles, without one taste of that chiefest of disciplines, sorrow? How grateful should we be to Him who has permitted us to drink of the same cup with his only Son! for he was a "man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief." Who is so blind that will not see the kind designs of our Father, in the disposition of those works of his hands which he p.r.o.nounced good. Truly His eye is all-seeing; the overflow of his tender mercies toward the children of men are unbounded. What cell of goodness is there within the human heart, of which the breath of sorrow cannot raise the valve? In a word, what countless numbers of souls have been stayed in their mad career, have been saved from eternal destruction, through the chastening rod of the Lord.

It was the morning after the sailing of the Nautilus; the Sea-flower had arisen with the sun, and calling for old Nep, as was her wont, to accompany her on her morning's walk, she tripped lightly along, humming a farewell to the last altheas, as they nodded their shrivelled heads, in view of their departure; but their words of adieu were made brief, by a voice as of one in distress; and coming near, it proved to be the musical Vingo, trilling the wild melodies of his old Virginia days.

"Good morning, Vingo; you must have been up a long time to have been away down to the sh.o.r.e; you must take it easier, and get more sleep.

Even old Nep dislikes to leave his warm kennel this cool morning, for he did not come at my call, and so I would not disturb him."

"Ah, missy, de old fellow am getting along in years as well as de rest ob us; and if it wasn't for de gray hairs, dat will keep at de top ob de heap, in spite ob ebery ting, I should feel dat old age am coming wid long strides, when I see dat de wee bud ob de Sea-flower am almost in bloom. But see here, missy," said he, holding up a fresh cod which he had taken, "I'm tinking dat make ma.s.sa Harry's eyes sparkle."

It was the hour for family prayers.

"Had you not better go to Harry's room, dear, and see if he is ill this morning? he is unusually late," said Mrs. Grosvenor.

"I tink de fragrance ob de salt water about dat cod fetch him soon,"

remarked Vingo, endeavoring to smooth his face into a proper state of sobriety.

Gently the Sea-flower tapped at her brother's door, but receiving no answer, she ventured in; the room was in the same order in which she had left it the day before, for she took great pleasure in arranging the flowers upon his dressing table, and no one could impart such a coziness, arranging everything to his mind, as could Sea-flower. The bed had not been disturbed, and the book from which she had read to him, was lying thereon, opened at those beautiful verses of "The Iris of the Deep," which he loved so well to hear her read. What could it mean?

Calmly her breath came and went; but for that she appeared like a beautiful piece of statuary, her eyes turned upward, as if seeking for strength to meet the vague sense of desolation which was creeping into her heart. Upon the table were two notes, one addressed to her mother, the other to herself, in his hand-writing. With nerveless hand she broke the seal; no emotion was visible, save the delicate glow upon her cheek, which came and went, and the playing of the muscles about her compressed lips, as she read the following: