Picked up at Sea Part 30

The night had no longer any terrors for them; and, although they waited anxiously for the sun to rise to see whether the _Sea Rover_ was still in sight--for the moon was frequently obscured by clouds, and its light too intermittent and deceptive for them to scan the ocean by--they did not dream of despairing now, even if their worst suspicions should be realised, and the ship have left them to their fate, as the boat offered them a tangible means of rescue, which the raft did not; albeit it had saved their lives for the while, and served as a "pis-aller."

Morning came at last, first tinging the horizon to the eastwards with a pale sea-green hue, that deepened into a roseate tinge, and then merged into a vivid crimson flush, that spread and spread until the whole heavens reflected the glory of the orb of day, that rose in all its might from its bed in the waters, and moved with rapid strides towards the zenith, the crimson colour of the sky gradually fading away, as the bright yellow sunlight took its place, and illuminated the utmost verge of the apparently limitless sea; but the _Sea Rover_ was nowhere in sight, nor was the tiniest speck of a distant sail to be seen on the horizon!

"Never mind, Jonathan," said David, cheering up his companion; "you mustn't be disappointed: it is only what I expected, although I didn't tell you so before! Now that we have the boat, you know, we are not half so badly off as we thought ourselves at first. We've no reason to despair!"

And then, sailor-like, he immediately began to overhaul their G.o.d-sent gift, to see whether it was all a-tanto and seaworthy, without losing any more time in vain repinings, and scanning the ocean fruitlessly for the _Sea Rover_; Jonathan sitting up, and beginning to be interested, as he regained his courage and self-reliance, through his companion's words and the warmth of the sun combined, and lost that feeling of hopeless despair that seemed to overwhelm him and weigh him down since they lost sight of the ship for the last time on the previous night.

"It must have been adrift a good while," said David, clambering on to the keel of the boat, and getting astride on it. "The bottom is quite slimy. Oh, my poor leg, how it hurts! I forgot all about that squeeze I had between the rudder beam and the wheelhouse, for a moment. Never mind," continued the brave boy, hiding his pain from his companion, who winced in sympathy; "it was only a little wrench I gave it, and it has pa.s.sed off now. But pray hold on tight to the stern, Jonathan--you can catch hold of it by the rudder-hinge--or else I'll be parting company, and going off on a cruise by myself."

Working himself along with his hands and knees on the slippery surface of the boat, he felt the exposed portion all over, and as far under water as his arm could reach down, when he proceeded to give his opinion like a consulting surveyor.

"The timbers are all sound, old chap," he said, "at least, as well as I can make out; and not a hole anywhere that I can see. I can't tell for certain, however, till we right her properly, and get the water out of her; and I think we'll find our work cut out for us to do that, Jonathan, my boy."

"I'm sure I don't see how we can manage it," replied his friend despairingly.

"Oh, don't you?" answered David cheerfully, his spirits rising with the sense of action and the feeling of having something to do, and as happy and unconcerned as if he were safe on board the _Sea Rover_. "Oh, don't you, Master Jonathan? Then allow me to inform you, as d.i.c.k Murphy says, that there are more ways of killing a pig besides hanging him; and that I see a way to our righting that boat."

"How?" inquired the other.

"I'll soon show you," said David. "But I guess and calculate it will take a pretty considerable time I reckon, and you'll have to help us, sirree."

"Of course I will," said Jonathan, laughing at David's apt imitation of an American pa.s.senger on board their ship, who had unwittingly been the source of much amus.e.m.e.nt to the two boys, with his drawling voice, and habit of speaking through his nose in regular "down eastern" fashion.

"Well, bear a hand, old c.o.c.k," said David jocularly, pleased at seeing Jonathan laugh again, and getting off the boat's keel gingerly on to their raft again. "The first thing we have to do, Jonathan, is to try and raise the bow of the craft on top of these timbers here--or rather, sink down the end of the wheelhouse roof so that it may get under the boat. We can do it easy enough by both going to the extreme point of it and bearing it down by our united weight; but mind you don't slip off, old boy. Hold on tight."

It was no easy task, as the motion of the waves hindered them, and the raft was lifting and falling as the surges rolled under them; besides which, the boat was heavy, and the suction of the water seemed to keep it down and resist their efforts.

However, they persevered, and, after innumerable attempts and failures, succeeded at length in getting part of the bow of the cutter on to the end of the raft, which it almost submerged, although it was itself lifted clean out of the sea.

"So far, so good," said David, puffing and blowing like a grampus with his exertions, and Jonathan following suit. "We'd better have a spell off for a bit; the heaviest part of the work is yet to come."

"Don't you think," said Jonathan presently, after a rest, "that it would be a good plan to float her stern round at right angles to the raft?

Then the waves would force her on to it, almost without our help."

"Right you are," said David. "Two heads are always better than one!"

"You stop where you are," said Jonathan. "You know your leg is bad; and besides, I'm more at home in the water than you are, although you're a sailor. I'll jump in, and soon turn her stern round, while you hold on to the bow, so that it doesn't slide off and give us all our trouble over again to get it back."

So saying, he let himself down into the sea, and catching hold of the aftermost end of the boat, which was now much deeper down in the water, owing to the bow being raised, struck vigorously with his free hand, swimming on his side, and soon managed to slew it round so that it pointed athwart-wise to the raft.

"Now, David," he said, when this was accomplished, "if you'll come into the water too,--I'm sorry to trouble you, old man, but I can't do it all by myself--and put your shoulder under the other gunwale of the boat, the same as mine is under this, and hold on to our staging at the same time, we'll be able by degrees to lift and drag it bodily on to the raft, as the send of the sea, as you call it, will a.s.sist us."

"Why, Jonathan, you ought to be a sailor," said David admiringly. "It's the very thing to be done, and just what I was going to suggest." And he also slid off into the sea, taking particular care of his wounded leg, and went to his companion's a.s.sistance, placing himself in the position he had advised.

The two boys exerted themselves to the utmost, held on tightly to the raft as they "trod the water," as swimmers say, with their feet, lifting the boat an inch or two at a time with each wave that rolled towards them, until, little by little, they got one end well upon the raft, which it sank quite a foot in the water, when they clambered out of the sea and got on to it, too.

"Now," said David, "comes the tug of war, to get the boat over, right side uppermost."

"And then," rejoined Jonathan, "we'll have to bale her out. How will you manage that?"

"With our boots, to be sure," was the prompt answer.

"Oh yes," said Jonathan, "I quite forgot those. Let us get her over at once; it is cold work standing thus in the water; and we may as well be comfortable as not!"

After a long and weary struggle, during the course of which the boys were in the water, with their weight hanging on to the keel, and endeavouring to turn it over--they succeeded at last, almost when they were half inclined to give up the task as hopeless.

Then when the boat was righted, they pushed it off the raft, and David kept it in proper position, while Jonathan, taking off one of his boots, baled away until he was tired; David relieving him, and he taking his place in keeping the boat steady. It was slow work, but it was done in time; and when it was half emptied of its contents, they both climbed in, and being now able to bale together, they soon had it clear, and floating bravely like a cork.

Much to their joy, it did not leak a bit; and after having satisfied themselves on that point, they went on to examine their craft in detail.

It was a smart ship's cutter, which had evidently, as David had surmised, been washed off the bows or davits of some sea-going vessel through being carelessly fastened, for it was perfectly uninjured, and, to the delight of the boys, it had its proper oars and a mast and sails lashed fore and aft under the thwarts. There was also a locker in the stern-sheets which was locked, and on David prising it open with his clasp knife, it was found to contain some fishing-line and hooks. A small cask, or breaker, was also locked in the bow of the boat, and this was found to contain water, a trifle impregnated by the sea, and slightly brackish, but still quite drinkable. It need hardly be mentioned what a great boon this was to them, as they had begun to be afflicted with thirst as the sun's heat grew more powerful towards mid-day.

"Oh, David," exclaimed Jonathan presently, from his seat in the stern of the boat, where he had been giving way to his thoughts while his friend was bustling about in the bows, stepping the mast, and seeing that the sail and tackle answered properly, "G.o.d has been very watchful over us!"

"Yes," replied the other, "we have much to be thankful for, old man, and I am for one, as I've no doubt you are; but still I don't see why we should remain here, as there is no chance of the _Sea Rover_ coming back for us now, and there is a good southwesterly breeze blowing just on purpose for us."

"Why, in what direction would you steer?"

"Nor'-east, to be sure, and we'll fetch the Cape of Good Hope in time, besides the chance of falling in the track of pa.s.sing vessels."

"Have you any idea of where we are, David?"

"Well, the ship yesterday was in lat.i.tude 36 degrees and something, and just nearing the longitude of Greenwich, which is neither east nor west, as you know, so I suppose we're about a thousand miles or so off the Cape."

"Good heavens, David! a thousand miles!"

"It isn't such a tremendous long way, Jonathan. We can run it easily, if the wind lasts from the same quarter, in about eight days; and if we don't quite fetch the Cape, we'll reach some part of South Africa at all events--that is, if we don't come across the track of a ship, and get picked up before then."

"But even eight days, David. What shall we do for food all that time?"

said Jonathan, who was by no means of so hopeful a disposition as his friend.

"Don't you recollect, old fellow," rejoined David, "what you said just now, of G.o.d watching over us? As He has done so up to now, don't you think He'll look after us still, and provide some means by which we shall not starve?"

"Yes," said the other, feeling the rebuke, "you are quite right, David; and I was wrong to doubt His mercy. But, oh, I do feel so hungry!"

"So do I," replied David. "But we'll have to grin and bear it for a while, old chap, as we are not near old Slush's caboose, on board the _Sea Rover_, and I don't see any grub anywhere in sight. However, Jonathan, we haven't felt the pangs of real hunger yet, and needn't begin to shout out before we're hurt. Let us do something--make sail on the boat and abandon our old raft, which has served us a good turn--and we'll wear off the edge of our appet.i.tes."

David's advice was followed. Taking only the life-buoy with them, they cast loose from the raft almost with feelings of regret, for it had saved their lives, and it seemed like ingrat.i.tude to leave it there tossing alone on the surface of the deep now that they had no further service for it; and, hoisting the cutter's "leg-of-mutton" sail, and steering with an oar, as the boat's rudder was missing, they ran before the wind, David directing their course, as nearly as he could possibly guess to the north-east, by the sun, which had now pa.s.sed the meridian.

"I say, Jonathan," said David, after a time, when they had quite lost sight of the raft, and must have run some miles, "just rummage in the locker again, and see if their is anything else we pa.s.sed over in our first search?"

"No," said Jonathan, after going down on his knees and looking into every corner of the receptacle with his fingers, so that not a crevice was left unsearched, "nothing but the fishing-lines."

"Well, let us have them out and see if we can catch anything."

"But we've got no bait."

"Oh, we can tie a bit of my red flannel shirt or your white one to the hooks. Fish bite at anything at sea, if they can only see it. Hullo!"

added David, "I didn't see that before."