Salt Water Part 28

When I told Jack Stretcher what had occurred, he slapped his hand on his thigh, and exclaimed:

"Mr Waller was right, sir, that he was, not to think of deserting the poor n.i.g.g.e.rs; and there isn't a man of us but would gladly stick by him to the last."

I told Waller what Jack had said, and he replied that he was sure all our people would have refused to have deserted the poor blacks, even if he had proposed so cruel a proceeding to them. We husbanded to the utmost the provisions we had brought from the brig; though, divided among all the people, there was scarcely more than enough to sustain life for a day. Still, not a seaman grumbled. Far from so doing, he willingly shared his own scanty allowance with any negro who appeared more particularly to require sustenance. It was amusing to see the weather-beaten, thick-bearded men carrying about the little black children, whose mothers were too weak to bring them on deck.

Though these Africans had hitherto been taught, with good reason, to look upon white men as incarnations of devils, they began to consider our gallant fellows as something approaching to angels; and, like savages in general, always in extremes, they were ready now to worship us. Providentially the easterly wind continued, and the sea remained calm, so that we made very good way, and were able to keep the leak under. It was with a sense of deep grat.i.tude that we at length made the land, when we had not a drop of water remaining, and with scarcely food enough to sustain life for another day. We fondly believed that all our troubles were over. The negroes shouted, and clapped their hands, and laughed with joy: some of them fancied, I believe, that they had got back to Africa. The next morning we dropped our anchor in the harbour of Bahia. Waller proposed to get the schooner repaired, to take in a supply of provisions, and to return to Sierra Leone, intending, if necessary, to bear all the expenses himself. Now I am going to relate a circ.u.mstance which may seem very strange, but is, nevertheless, perfectly true. As soon as we brought up, Waller went on sh.o.r.e, intending to report all that had occurred to the British Consul, and to get his a.s.sistance in carrying out his intentions. I was in the meantime left in charge on board. Waller had been gone a couple of hours, and I was looking anxiously for his return, hoping that he would bring some provisions and water, when, as I was walking the deck, I observed three boats pulling off towards us. As they came near, I saw that one of them contained several men in uniform. They stepped on board without ceremony; and one of them presented a paper, in Portuguese, which looked like an official doc.u.ment, though, of course, I could not make it out. I shook my head to signify this, when he commenced explaining in broken English that he and his party were sent by the Governor to convey the negroes on sh.o.r.e, that the vessel might be the more speedily hove-down to be repaired. I was somewhat surprised that Waller had not first returned; but it never occurred to me to suspect a fraud in the matter.

While the Portuguese were speaking, three more boats came alongside, and in a very few minutes all the blacks were transferred from the schooner into them. Without an instant's delay, the boats left the schooner's sides; but instead of making towards the town, they pulled away to a spot some distance from it, where the negroes were landed, and I lost sight of them. About an hour after this, Waller returned.

"I have settled with the Consul, who will have a large store, where our poor blackies can be housed comfortably while the schooner is repaired; but he says we must keep a strict watch over them, for the people here are such determined slave-dealers, that they will kidnap them before our eyes."

My heart sunk as I heard these words, and I felt like a culprit.

"Why," I exclaimed, "the Governor has sent and had them all conveyed on sh.o.r.e."

Waller could scarcely believe his senses when he found all the negroes gone. He hurried back to the Consul, who went with him to the Governor.

The Governor knew nothing whatever of the matter, nor did any of the officials of the town. The Consul and some of the British in the place made every inquiry in their power, but no information whatever could they obtain. There could, however, be no doubt that some slave-dealers had carried out the nefarious plot, while, by the employment of bribes, they easily contrived to escape detection. Waller felt the matter very severely. To have the poor negroes, in whom he took so great an interest, carried into slavery, after all the toil and danger he had gone through, was almost heartbreaking. For long afterwards he could scarcely bear to speak on the subject.

It was not without difficulty that we got the schooner repaired; but at last she was ready for sea, and without further delay we made sail for Sierra Leone. We had a very fine run across. Within a day's sail of the coast, we fell in with a slaver, which, supposing us to be of the same kidney as herself, allowed us to ran alongside; so that, without the slightest opposition, we took possession of her. Although she had no slaves on board, she was in every respect fitted to carry them. She had but a small crew, it being evidently intended to take more men on board when the slaves were shipped. Waller thought it best to remove them into the _Zerlina_, while he sent me and three hands, with Jack Stretcher as my first-lieutenant, to navigate the prize into port. As may be supposed, I felt very proud of my new command, and pictured to myself the satisfaction I should have in reporting my arrival at Sierra Leone.

CHAPTER TWENTY TWO.

MY NEW COMMAND--A HEAVY SQUALL AND CAPSIZE--SAVED ON THE BOTTOM OF THE SCHOONER--TAKEN OFF BY A SLAVER--CHASED BY THE OPOSSUM--THE SPANIARD'S THREAT--A HURRICANE--SHIPWRECK--MY FRIENDS THE MARLOWS--CONCLUSION.

There is a common saying that "there's many a slip between the cup and the lip." I experienced the truth of it on the present occasion.

Scarcely had I got on board my new command, when one of the thick fogs I have before described came on. The _Zerlina_ was leading, and being by far the faster vessel of the two, was already a mile ahead of us.

However, I was pressing on all sail to keep up with her, while Waller shortened sail to enable me to effect this object. The fog grew thicker and thicker, and at last night came on, and we lost sight of our consort. The fog lasted two days. When at length it partially cleared, we saw a sail hull down to the southward; but not another speck was visible in the whole circle of the horizon.

"We must pack on her, and try and overtake Mr Waller," said I to Jack Stretcher. "He will heave-to for us, probably, when he finds we are so far astern."

Pack on her we did, in truth. If Jack had a fault as a seaman, it was a too great fondness for carrying on to the last. We neither of us took warning from our misfortune in the _Opossum_. The faster the little schooner ran through the water, the greater was our satisfaction.

"If we continue to make as good way as we do at present, we shall soon overtake the _Zerlina_," said I to Jack.

"She's got a clean pair of heels of her own, I'll allow; but we have taught our little craft to go along too," he answered, looking up with no small amount of pride at our well-set canvas.

A true sailor has a pride in the good behaviour of any craft he happens to be on board. Thus a couple of hours pa.s.sed, and we certainly were gaining on our consort. I own that I had not been keeping that look-out to mark any change in the weather which I ought to have done. In a tropical climate, especially, a seaman cannot be too careful--the changes are so very sudden. I had gone below to dinner, that meal consisting of some cold salt beef and hard biscuit, washed down with rum-and-water drunk out of a tin cup. I had been off the deck rather more than half an hour, and was just putting my head up the companion-hatch, when I heard Jack Stretcher sing out, "Let go the fore-sheet!--down with the helm!--down with the--"

Before he could finish the sentence, there came the rushing sound of a heavy squall. Down bent the schooner to its fury--over, over she went.

To spring on deck and to clamber up to the weather-bulwarks was the work of a moment. Still the vessel rose not: the helm had lost its power; the sheets remained fast; her sails reached the water.

"She's gone!--she's gone!" shouted my crew.

I still had a faint hope she might right herself again; but when she made the attempt, the furious wind beat her back, the sea washed over her sails, and in another moment she turned completely over. I can scarcely describe my sensations. I had no time, I fancy, to experience any; at all events, I do not remember what they were. I never lost hope; for, bad as things were, I did not expect to be drowned. In the meantime I had clambered to the outside of the bulwarks.

"Give me your hand here, sir!" I heard Jack Stretcher sing out, and looking up, I saw that he was hanging on to the main-chains. With his a.s.sistance, as the vessel went over, I managed to climb up on her keel, and there we together sat for the moment in comparative security. Like a true sailor, he had caught hold of a rope, and brought the end up with him. Our first thought was to look out for our shipmates. One had, unhappily, been below; the other two had been washed off the deck. They were, however, supporting themselves in the water, at no great distance from the vessel. When they saw us they shouted to us to help them, for neither of them were good swimmers.

"Keep up, my lads!" cried Jack, in return. "Get a little nearer, and I'll lend you a hand."

Meantime he was hauling in on the rope, and coiling it up ready to heave to them.

Just then I saw something dark moving under the water close astern of the vessel. Jack saw it also, as I guessed by the glance of his eye.

"What's that!" I asked, a thrilling sensation of horror creeping over me, for I knew too well.

"One of those sea-devils--a shark, sir," he answered, in a low tone.

Then he shouted out, "Strike away, my lads!--strike away! you'll soon be within reach. Never say die! Strike away! Hurra!"

Inspirited by these words of encouragement, one of the men at length got within reach of the rope. Jack hove it to him. He made a spring and grasped the end, and without difficulty we hauled him up, he little suspecting the terrific danger he had for the present escaped. The strength of the other poor fellow was evidently fast failing. The dreaded monster of the deep was not far from him. Still, happily, he did not know of its presence, and the exertions he made kept it at a distance.

"I'm afraid poor Sandy will never reach us, sir," said Jack, looking at him compa.s.sionately. "Just do you, sir, and Jim Dore, lay hold of the end of the rope, and I'll try and carry it out to him. There isn't much fear of Jack Shark as long as one keeps moving; and I see a bit of a stick down there, which I'll catch hold of, and give him such a rap on the nose if he attempts to meddle with me, that he'll remember it for many a day to come."

He said this as he was coiling up the rope again. I could not dissuade him from his gallant resolve, and yet so dreadful seemed the risk of his being destroyed by the shark, that I almost wished he had not thought of it.

Jim and I caught hold of the other end of the rope, and seizing it without another word, he plunged into the sea, encouraging Sandy to perseverance with his loud shouts. He first grasped the piece of wood he had seen, and with it in his hand he swam towards Sandy, every now and then stopping to strike the water vehemently with it. Although the foam was flying over the tops of the waves all the time, and the sea was washing up the sides and almost sweeping as off from where we sat, under the lee of the vessel it was comparatively calm. Anxiously indeed did I watch my brave shipmate's proceeding. Every moment I expected to see the shark make a dash at him, but his splashings and kickings kept the monster at bay. He was almost up to poor McTavish, when the latter threw up his arms and disappeared from our sight. Jack was after him, though; and, diving down, in another instant appeared holding him by the hair. Throwing the bight of the rope under his arms, he sang out to us to haul away on it. We did so, while he supported the man with one hand, and kept slashing the water with the stick which he held in the other.

Meantime I saw the fin of the shark as the monster kept swimming about in his neighbourhood, eager evidently to make a dash at him, yet afraid of approaching. At length we got the almost drowned man up to the side of the vessel, and were hauling him up, Jack still being in the water, when some feeling, I scarcely know what, prompted me to look in the direction where I had just before seen the shark. The monster was no longer there. I instantly cried out to Jack. The words were scarcely out of my mouth, when he made a spring and scrambled out of the water by the main-chain-plates. Then, turning round, he dealt a tremendous blow at the tail of the shark, who had closely followed him.

"I'll teach you to play such a sneaking trick as that, my boy!" he shouted, as the greedy fish swam off discomfited.

I breathed more freely when brave Jack was once more seated alongside of me on the keel of the vessel Sandy McTavish, whose life he had thus so gallantly preserved, now came to his senses, and in a short time was sufficiently recovered to take care of himself. Our position, however, was far from enviable. Here were we, four human beings, seated on the keel of a vessel which might any moment go down, with neither land nor a sail in sight. For some time, after all our exertions, we sat silent, collecting our thoughts.

"Well, Jack," said I, "what are we to do?"

"Wait patiently, till G.o.d sends us help, sir," he replied. "We can't help ourselves. It's fortunate we've just had our dinners. We shall hold out the longer."

We scarcely exchanged another word for some hours, but kept wistfully glancing our eyes round the horizon, in the hopes of a sail appearing.

Shortly before darkness came on, and the hour of ten pa.s.sed by, I began to feel rather hungry. At the same time I happened to put my hand into my pocket, and there I found the greater part of a ship's biscuit, which, as I was quitting the cabin, I had mechanically thrust into it.

I almost shouted for joy as I found the prize--though it was not much to be divided among four men. The discovery made the rest fumble in their pockets. McTavish had a tobacco-box, which he had only just filled, and Jack found a huge lump of grease, which, though not very savoury, was not to be despised. How it had come there he could not recollect.

These treasures, however, we determined not to begin to consume till the following morning, for that night we had no hopes of being taken off the wreck. The squall had rapidly pa.s.sed off, and the ocean was now as calm as before. The sky was clear, and the sun went down in a blaze of glory, shedding a bright ruddy hue over the wide expanse which surrounded us. Night came on, and the stars burst forth from the blue vault of heaven, and cast their reflection on the smooth, mirror-like water, as we sat on, hour after hour, afraid of going to sleep, lest we should slip from our hold, yet longing for repose. At last it occurred to me to have the rope pa.s.sed from one to the other, and secured round our waists, so that if one fell asleep and began to slip, the rest might support him. Thus we got through the longest night I had ever then pa.s.sed.

The grey dawn came at length, and as the light rapidly increased, we looked anxiously around the horizon, but nothing but the smooth gla.s.sy sea met our sight. Oh, then, well do I remember it! There came over me a deep sense of our utter helplessness, and of the palpable necessity of dependence on a higher power. Of what use was our strength? Of what use was our seamanship? Our strength without food would quickly leave us; while all we could do was to sit still. I spoke my thoughts to my companions. They listened attentively, and we all knelt down together on our unstable support, and prayed to G.o.d for preservation from our great peril. After this act we felt refreshed and encouraged; and I observed that the voices of my companions a.s.sumed a more cheerful tone than before. Our trials, however, were but commencing. As the sun rose in the sky, his beams struck down on our undefended heads and scorched us dreadfully, till Jack bethought him of fastening his handkerchief over the top of his, and we followed his example. Instead of breakfast, we each of us took a quid from Sandy's box, and that had the effect of staying our appet.i.tes for some hours. This, however, did not satisfy our stomachs entirely, and a short time after noon we could no longer resist attacking our scanty store of provisions. My biscuit I broke in two, and returning one-half to my pocket, I divided the other into four parts, Jack treating his lump of grease in the same way. We ate it with a relish I can scarcely describe. It was the only food we consumed for the whole of the day. Again the sun went down without a sail having appeared. That night pa.s.sed away as had the former one, though each of us got rather more sleep. The next morning there was the same dull calm. Noon came, and with a heavy heart I served out the remainder of our provisions, but none of us seemed to care much for food. Water was what we craved for. A thimbleful to moisten our tongues would have been worth its bulk in gold. A raging thirst was growing on us. I urged the men to abstain from drinking salt water, for I well knew that if they did, it would only increase their sufferings. Earnestly did I pray that we might not have to endure another night on the wreck, for I thought that we could never exist through it; but the night came, and we pa.s.sed it, how, I scarcely know, for, though not asleep, I was certainly not fully awake, except to a sense of some overpowering misfortune. The day came, a day which we must pa.s.s without food or water. Our sufferings. .h.i.therto had not been great, but this morning they became very intense.

Hope, which had till now never deserted us, began to grow faint, and alas! even trust in G.o.d's providence to wane. I tried to pray, but my thoughts were confused. I could not for two consecutive minutes fix them on the same subject, and I experienced practically the folly of attempting to wait for a death-bed repentance, for sickness, or for such a moment as the present, for reconciliation with G.o.d. I speak of my own feelings, and I believe that they were not far different from those of my men. Hour after hour we sat gazing stupidly at each other. The hot sun rose and scorched us as before, while the bright glare his rays cast on the smooth ocean almost blinded our eyes. Several times I tried to rouse myself to talk to my men, and to encourage them; but I own that I failed miserably in the attempt, and, from weakness, I was scarcely able to refrain from giving way to a flood of tears. It was some time past noon, when I saw Jack's countenance brighten up.

"What is it?" I asked.

He pointed eagerly to the southward. I turned round, and looked, and there I saw in the horizon a long, thin, well-defined, dark blue line, and in the centre of it a white speck.

"A breeze! a breeze!" I cried.

"Ay, and a sail, too," added Jack. "She is standing this way. Huzza!

my lads."

Jim and Sandy cheered faintly. They were the first words they had uttered for some hours. We now all found our tongues, a fillip had been given to our spirits, and we thought scarcely of our hunger or thirst.

The dark blue line advanced, and grew wider and wider, till it spread itself over the ocean; and the white speck grew higher and higher, till the topsails of a vessel were seen rising out of the water. Oh! with what intense anxiety did we watch her, fearing every moment to see her alter her course, or pa.s.s by without noticing us.