The White Squall Part 11

"Yes, my boy," he said kindly. "Only, mind you don't get into any danger! I promised your father, you know, to look after you."

"Oh, I'll take care," I replied with a joyous laugh at getting the permission; and, away I followed the others to the forecastle, where I had been longing to go ever since the early morning, when, it may be remembered, Davis ordered me back to the p.o.o.p on my attempting to pa.s.s forwards as I first came out of the cabin.

If it was jolly watching the progress of the ship from aft, it was ever so much more delightful from my new coign of vantage; for, as she dived her head and parted the waves with her bows, the water dashed up on either side in a column of spray like a fountain. The sunlight falling on this refracted the most beautiful prismatic colours, a perfect rainbow being formed to leeward which was ever being broken up and then arching itself anew into a sort of emerald and orange halo in front of the vessel's prow.

From where I stood on the knight heads, in the centre of the forecastle, just under the shadow of the bellying sails, the sea appeared much nearer to me, swelling up to the lee-rail as the _Josephine_ tore along through it in ploughing her course onward; and yet, the outlook conveyed a better idea of its vastness than when I was on the p.o.o.p aft and more elevated above the surface level, for the immense plain of water, in constant surging motion--now flat as a meadow, now ridged with curling waves as far as the eye could reach, and then again scooped out into a wide hollow valley covered over with yeasty foam, looking as if a giant custard had been poured over it--extended to where the curving horizon met the sky-line in the distance, our ship, in comparison with the limitless expanse, being only as it were a tiny cork, floating on the ocean of blue and blown along as lightly before the wind!

The fore-staysail, which had only recently been hoisted when the studding-sails were set, being now found to be in the way of getting in the anchors, as it prevented the hands from working freely, Mr Marline ordered the downhaul to be manned as soon as the halliards were cast- off. The sail was then loosely stowed for a while, and a double- purchase block and tackle rigged up in its place on the stay.

Mr Marline then sang out to Moggridge to cast-off the shank painter securing the best bower to the starboard side of the ship, this being the easiest anchor of the two to handle, for it was to windward, clear of the sheets of the head-sails; whereupon, the lifting gear being attached, the ponderous ma.s.s of metal was soon hoisted up above the cat- head and swayed inboard by means of a guy-line fastened to one of the flukes.

The command was then given to lower away, when, the anchor being deposited on the deck of the forecastle, it was made snug close to the foremast bitts, so that it could not shift its new moorings as the vessel rolled.

The chain-cable was next unshackled from the ring in the anchor-stock and rattled down into the locker in the fore-peak; after which, the starboard hawse-hole was plugged up to prevent any water from finding its way below through the orifice. Thus, in a very little time, half the task the captain had set the men to do was accomplished, the seamen working with a will and singing cheerily as they laid on to the falls of the tackle, "yo-ho-heaving" all together, and pulling with might and main.

The other anchor, however, being to leeward, was a little more difficult to manage, for it was submerged every now and then as the ship canted over, pitching her bows into the sea and splashing the spray up over the yard-arm; but, sailors are not soon daunted when they have a job on hand, and soon the shank painter of this was also cast-off and the purchase tackle made fast.

"Hoist away, men!" cried Mr Marline.

"Run away with the falls, you lubbers," echoed Moggridge, who was as busy about the matter as the first mate and doing two men's work himself; but, although the usual chorus was raised, and the sailors tugged away with all their strength, the anchor would not budge from its resting-place on the cat-head.

"The tackle has fouled the jib-sheet," said Jackson, who had been pulling like a horse at the rope's end, and now looked over the side to see what prevented them from lifting the port bower. "Shall I get over and clear it, sir?"

"Aye, do," replied the mate; when Jackson got over the bows in a jiffey, holding on with one hand while he used the other to disentangle the purchase tackle, and not minding a bit the water, which rose up as high as his neck when the ship dipped.

"Haul away, it's all clear now!" he called out presently; and he was just stepping inboard again when, the _Josephine_ suddenly luffing up to the wind, the jib flapped, and, the sheet knocking the poor fellow off his balance, he tumbled backwards into the sea, without having time even to utter a cry.

"Man overboard!" shouted Mr Marline at the top of his voice.

For a moment, the wildest confusion seemed to reign throughout the vessel, the hands scurrying to the side; and looking over into the sea below, where we could see Jackson's head bob up for an instant; but as we gazed down he was drifted rapidly astern and quickly lost to sight in the trough of the waves.

The hubbub, however, only lasted an instant; for almost as soon as the mate's shout had been heard aft, Captain Miles's voice rang through the vessel in brief words of command, sharp and to the point.

"Stand by, men," he cried. "Hands 'bout ship!"

The crew at once jumped toward the braces, singing out "Ready, aye, ready," as they cast them off, some going to the lee-sheets to haul in there.

"Helm's a-lee!" then came from aft, followed by the orders "Tacks and sheets!" and "Mainsail haul!" when, the _Josephine's_ bows paying off under the influence of the tacked head-sails, the yards were swung round in a trice; and, within less than five minutes the vessel was retracing the same track she had just gone over in quest of the missing man.

A man was sent up in the foretop, while Captain Miles himself ran up the ratlines of the mizzen shrouds to look out; and, at the same time, preparations were made for lowering the gig, which fortunately was still slung from the davits astern, not having been yet housed inboard with the other boats amidships--that being the next job the captain intended seeing to after the anchors were got in.

I, of course, was as much excited as anyone, and remained on the forecastle, looking out eagerly for any sign of Jackson, although I could not see him anywhere. I believe I was so confused with the ship having gone round on the opposite tack, in order to go back on her course, that I hardly knew in which direction to look for the unfortunate man, for what had before been ahead of the ship was now necessarily astern from her reversing her position.

In another minute, however, the look out in the foretop discerned Jackson, and he hailed the deck at once.

"There he is! there he is!" he sang out.

"Where?" cried Captain Miles impatiently.

"About four cables' length off the weather bow. I can see his head quite clear above the wash of the sea; and he seems swimming towards us."

"All right then, keep your eye on him, so as to pilot us! Mr Marline,"

continued Captain Miles, "lower the boat at once with four hands; we can't go close enough without it to the poor fellow, for we are to leeward of him."

"Aye, aye, sir," replied the chief mate, who had gone aft and was seeing to the falls of the boat; which presently, with himself in the stern- sheets and four hands to pull the oars, was lowered down all standing, the helmsman "luffing up" at the proper moment, so that the way of the ship might be arrested to prevent the gig being upset before getting on an even keel in the sea, it being a rather ticklish thing to launch a boat from a vessel under sail.

Luckily, however, the manoeuvre was safely accomplished without any mishap, the fall tackles being unhitched the instant the gig touched the water; and then, the boat's crew shipping their oars without delay, she was pulled off to windward of us in the direction indicated by the look out man in the foretop, who with his hand extended pointed the course to be steered.

The _Josephine_ meanwhile gathered way again slowly and followed astern of the boat, although somewhat more to leeward, the wind being almost in her teeth and the ship having to sail close-hauled.

After a little time--for we had run nearly half a mile before going about and some minutes were consumed in getting the ship round on the opposite tack--we approached the spot where the accident had occurred; then, all of us could see Jackson plainly from the deck.

He was swimming grandly; now rising up on the top of a rolling wave, and then, as he surmounted this, sinking for a moment from sight in the hollow of the next, but making steady progress towards the ship all the while. Every now and again, too, he lifted one of his hands out of the water on commencing his stroke, as if to tell us he was all right and in good heart, noticing that we were coming to his rescue. The boat, the while rowed ahead of us as fast as the men in her could pull, putting their backs into the oars with all their strength, although making for the gallant swimmer in a slanting course to that of the _Josephine_.

Nearer and nearer we sailed, but much more slowly than all hands on board could wish, for the breeze was very light; nearer and nearer the gig approached Jackson, until we could see the very expression of his face.

He was actually grinning, and appeared from the movement of his mouth once when on top of a roller, to shout out some chaffing exclamation to us, seeming to regard the whole thing as a huge joke; and, Captain Miles was just about issuing some order about backing the main-topsail in order to heave the ship to, so as to get him and the boat aboard again, when, all at once, our antic.i.p.ated joy at welcoming the poor fellow was turned into dismay by a startled cry from Jake, who was standing up in the weather rigging near me.

"Golly, Ma.s.s' Tom!" he yelled out, loud enough for all to hear him, his black face changing nearly to a sickly sea-green colour with horror and consternation. "Dere's one big shark swimmin' right ahind de poor buckra. O Lor', O Lor', he jus' up to him now!"

At this time the ship was not quite a cable's length from the unfortunate man, who was about a point off our port bow; while the gig couldn't have been half that distance away from him; and, no sooner had Jake's startling announcement of the shark's proximity alarmed us all at the new and terrible peril threatening the swimmer, than the crew, led by Captain Miles, shouted out a concentrated cry of warning. "Ahoy!

Look out! Shark!"

The words came out almost simultaneously, as it uttered by one voice, thrilling through the air with their fearful meaning, when, hardly had the sounds died away than we could see that Mr Marline and those in the gig with him heard us; for, recognising the urgency of the case, they redoubled their exertions to reach Jackson in time, so as to frustrate the intentions of his terrible antagonist. They seemed to put fresh steam in their oars, pulling all they knew against the choppy sea and wind, both of which were against them, counteracting their efforts and pressing the boat back as they urged it forwards.

From the fact, however, of our being to leeward of him and the wind bearing our shout away, Jackson unfortunately did not appear to hear us.

At all events, he made no sign in response whatever, still swimming onwards in the direction of the ship, but leisurely, as if ignorant of any new source of danger.

Captain Miles grew intensely excited, as, indeed, we all were by this time; so, jumping up on the p.o.o.p bulwarks and holding on to the mizzen shrouds, he repeated the cry of warning, all hands taking it up as before in one hoa.r.s.e shout.

"Shark! shark! Look out, man alive! He's now close in upon you, and coming up fast astern!"

This time Jackson caught our hail, but still, evidently mistook its import. He thought we only called to him by way of encouraging him to strike out more vigourously for the ship, and he waved his hand in acknowledgment of the signal; then he breasted the waves anew in fine style, although taking it quite easy as if thoroughly confident in himself and not a bit alarmed.

The reason he made for the _Josephine_ was that he did not perceive the boat, which he had not seen lowered; and, besides this, it was every now and then hidden from view as it sank down between the ridges of the rollers, while, in addition, his face was turned in the opposite direction to that in which the little craft was approaching him.

The captain was in a perfect agony.

"Shark! shark!" he again screamed, more than cried, out. "For heaven's sake, strike out, man, or you're lost!"

Then, all at once, Jackson appeared to grasp the meaning of the warning; and, looking behind him hurriedly, he caught sight of the cruel monster that was swimming after him, stroke by stroke and ready to sheer up alongside when it thought the proper opportunity had arrived for seizing its prey.

It must have given the poor fellow an awful sensation!

He could not but have realised the fearful doom that possibly awaited him; for we could, in a moment, even at that distance, notice his face change--a terror-stricken look coming over it in place of its previously buoyant expression. The brave fellow, however, uttered never a word, but only continued swimming on towards us in grim desperation.

"Pull, Marline, for G.o.d's sake, pull!" shouted out Captain Miles to the mate and those with him in the boat; but, although the men made the water churn up over the bows of the gig in their mad haste to urge it forwards, the relentless shark was quicker in its movements and crept up closer to poor Jackson.

It was close in his rear, while the boat was yet thirty or forty yards away; and then, like a flash of lightning, we saw the monster's gleaming white stomach as it threw itself over on its back and opened its wide maw lined with rows of serrated teeth.