The White Squall Part 19

"I shall take a sight of the sun presently, my boy," he answered, with one of his odd winks, giving a quizzical glance at Mr Marline, as if telling me he thought he had shut him up for the time; "then I shall be better able to tell you. However, as we've been running twelve knots an hour good since four bells in the first watch, we ought to have made over a hundred miles or so from our last stopping place."

"And where shall we get to if we continue running on the same as now?"

I next inquired, thinking of what Mr Marline had said.

"To the Banks of Newfoundland, I suppose, if the same wind holds; but, I'm of opinion that we'll have a change as soon as we fetch the Gulf Stream, when we shall be able to shape a straight course for the Channel."

"And what is the Gulf Stream, captain?" I then asked.

"Bless the boy!" he exclaimed, "I never saw such a chap for questions; why, you're almost as bad as Mr Marline! Well, if you must know, the Gulf Stream, or 'Florida Current' as it is frequently called, is something very like a river of warm water, some eighty to three hundred miles wide, flowing through the surrounding ocean from the Gulf of Mexico to Europe in a circular nor'-east by east direction. Starting from between the Dry Tortugas and Cuba, it skirts the eastern sh.o.r.es of the United States, then pa.s.sing across the Atlantic to the south of the Banks of Newfoundland, where it branches off into two currents in mid ocean, near the Azores. One of these streams steers north, along the sh.o.r.es of Norway, while the other leg sweeps onward to the English Channel, circling round the Bay of Biscay and then pursuing a southerly course along the Spanish coast until it meets the great equatorial current coming up from the south Atlantic. Uniting now with this, the double current flows back westwards to the place of its birth, only to renew its onward course again from the Caribbean Sea."

"But what causes it?" I said.

"Well, that is a disputed point," replied the captain. "One authority says that the Gulf Stream 'is caused by the motion of the sun in the ecliptic,' and I think there is a good deal of reason in this. Another philosopher puts it down to the influence of the anti-trade and pa.s.sage winds blowing from the west to the east along the zone in which the stream travels; and I think much might be said about that argument, especially as the westerly current south of the tropic of Cancer is undoubtedly caused by the trade-wind. A third scientific gentleman ascribes the stream to the fact, that the earth being a globe, the water on the equator is higher than that of the tropics, and the lower stratum of fluid circles round constantly in its endeavour to reach into the bigger volume beyond its reach; but I can't say much for this theory myself, Tom."

"But how do you know the Gulf Stream from the rest of the ocean?" I here asked.

"As easily as you can distinguish a marlinespike from a capstan-bar,"

answered Captain Miles. "It is not only bluer than the surrounding water, through which it flows, as I've told you, like a river, but it is also several degrees warmer; for, when a ship is close to the stream and sailing in the same direction in which it is running, a bucket of water dipped from the sea on one side of the vessel will show an appreciable difference of temperature to that procured from the other. Besides, my boy, there's the Gulf-weed to tell you when you are within the limits of the current; however, you'll see lots of the weed by and by, no doubt, before we finish our voyage."

"You said, captain," I observed, "that the great currents of the ocean are produced by the trade-winds?"

"Undoubtedly," he replied. "Blowing with regular force on the surface of the sea, they cause it to move in the same direction in which they are travelling; and, this motion once acquired, the ocean stream keeps up its course far beyond where its original propelling power directly acted upon it. The 'Great Equatorial Current' is produced by the south- east trade, the Gulf Stream, as I've just explained to you, by the western or pa.s.sage winds; and the branch of the latter current that skirts the British Isles and Southern Europe, until it falls in again with the northern portion of the Equatorial Current, by the north-east trade-winds. Thus, the circle is completed, the water being ever in motion round the centre of the tropic of Cancer, just in the same way as the winds of this region are."

"But what causes the trade-winds?" I next asked.

"You young rascal!" said Captain Miles, shaking his fist at me in a jocular manner, "I'll have you keel-hauled if you utter another question! I will answer you this one, however--but it is the last time, though, mind that! The sun, my lad, is the source of the winds of the globe, as it is the prime agent of heat and life. The atmospheric air being heated by the solar orb at the equator, where its force is necessarily the greatest, ascends. This creates a vacuum, which the surrounding air hastens to fill, causing thus a constant indraught from both the north and south towards the equator; and the fact of the opposing winds meeting at this point produces those very calms which vex us poor mariners. There, Master Tom, that's all I can tell you; for, I must see about my s.e.xtant now to consult the great luminary we have been talking of, so as to see where our scudding has taken us to."

Captain Miles's mission after his s.e.xtant, however, was a vain quest to- day, for a ma.s.s of fleeting clouds were continually pa.s.sing to and fro across the zenith, obscuring the heavens so much that not a single peep of the sun could be had either at noon or later on.

The wind now, too, began to come in violent gusts, striking the ship every now and then with a force that seemed to bury her in the water; while the sea got rougher and rougher, looking as angry as it was possible to conceive.

Presently, with a loud report, the main-topsail split in half, and then the pieces blew away bit by bit ahead of the ship like paper kites, the useful foretop-sail which had been again set in the afternoon being now the only sail left on her; but, still, on she plunged through the waste of waters as madly as ever, the sky getting more and more overcast as the day wore on, and a heavy bank of blue-black clouds gathered together right in front, to the north-west, whither we were trending.

"Don't you think, captain," said Mr Marline, who had returned to the p.o.o.p after having a short rest below--he having remained on deck while the captain had turned in during the early part of the morning watch--"I say, don't you think we're running into the very jaws of the gale again?"

"It certainly looks like it," replied Captain Miles shaking his head.

"We must try and lay her to, if we can, though I dread the job! See to the hands being ready to set that mizzen staysail; it will help her head round when we ease off the yards."

This sail had been bent all ready the night before, and now with great difficulty was hoisted; but then came a greater difficulty, that of getting the ship about--for, what with the gusty wind and the heavy sea it was a very perilous proceeding, the vessel running the risk of being p.o.o.ped as well as broaching-to.

"We'll have to wear her!" said the captain, after thinking over the matter a bit. "Send a hand or two forwards to see to the fore-staysail, so as to be ready for hoisting it when I give the word!"

Jackson, to whom this latter order was addressed, immediately went forwards on the forecastle, accompanied by a couple of other men; although the three found it a serious matter to escape the thick green seas the vessel took in over her bows as she dived into the trough of the waves, washing the decks fore and aft. After a struggle, however, they managed to climb out to their station, getting the fore-staysail ready to haul up as the captain had commanded, although he only meant to use it in case the topsail carried away as we wore ship, which was very possible.

Then, watching our opportunity when the _Josephine_ was rising on the crest of a gigantic wave that had rolled up astern to p.o.o.p her, but had fortunately instead pa.s.sed underneath her keel, the helm was put up and the fore-yards easied round.

She answered the rudder; but one sea came in over her quarter just when she was fully exposed to the side force of the wind. Luckily, however, everything held; and, as the foretop-sail got gradually taken aback the mizzen staysail drew, casting her stern round, so that her head at last faced the wind and sea. The vessel plunged fearfully, but held her own grandly, not falling off again as we all expected.

"By Jingo, she's a beauty!" exclaimed the captain in high delight at the success of the manoeuvre. "I never saw a ship behave better in my life!

I was frightened of her at one time, I confess."

"So was I," said Mr Marline, much relieved by our now being hove-to and better prepared to meet any change of wind. "She's all right now, though!"

He had spoken too quickly, however, "counting his chickens before they were hatched," according to the old proverb; for, no sooner had he got out the words than for one single instant the gale lulled, coming to a dead stand-still, and the very next moment it began to blow from the exactly opposite direction--the storm proceeding now from the north-west quadrant instead of the south-east, and the headquarters of our fresh a.s.sailant being the thick bank of black clouds we had noticed in front of our previous position before wearing ship low down on the horizon.

We had evidently only got round in the very nick of time.

Otherwise, there is little doubt that the _Josephine_, meeting the wind from this new quarter full b.u.t.t, would have been taken aback. Now, from her change of position it struck her aft, making her scud again before it as she had previously done--strangely enough causing her to retrace the very same course she had just pa.s.sed over, in almost a straight line!

"Square away the yards!" shouted out Captain Miles, while the men at the wheel shifted the helm to prevent the vessel from broaching-to; and, in another moment we were pitching and tossing through the choppy head-sea which we had now to meet, the ship rolling from side to side, and tumbling about like a whale in its death flurry, as she raced on ahead again before the stiff north-western blast.

"Well!" exclaimed Captain Miles presently, "of all the sudden changes of wind I ever encountered on the ocean, this beats everything! It has literally jumped round the compa.s.s."

"I fancy it is the tail-end of the hurricane," said Mr Marline. "It is a very lucky thing we wore ship in time."

"Lucky, you call it?" rejoined Captain Miles gravely, eyeing the foremast anxiously the while, fearful of anything being carried away, when we would be left to the mercy of the cruel waves. "Man alive, it is only through the mercy of Providence that we are not now sunk fathoms deep below the sea!"

CHAPTER THIRTEEN.

ON OUR BEAM-ENDS.

Up to now, although we had experienced bad weather for two days and the special gale before which we were driving had lasted some eighteen hours at a stretch, no serious accident had happened on board, the _Josephine_ being as sound and staunch in every way as when she left port, with the exception of losing her mainsail and having her rigging, perhaps, rather tautly stretched.

The galley fire had been put out once or twice by the heavy seas which we took in over the bows, but Cuffee, with the cordial co-operation of his brother darkey, Jake, was easily able to light this again; and the men, having their rations regularly and little or no work to do--save taking their trick at the wheel, when four would have to go on duty together at once--had nothing to grumble at. Everything, indeed, proceeded comfortably enough while the ship was scudding first one way and then the other--"doing diagonals," as it were, across her lat.i.tudes!

Down below in the cabin all had been what sailor's term "a hurrah's nest" ever since the gale began, the loose water knocking about the decks having washed all sorts of odds and ends together and kept us always wet; while the rolling of the vessel from side to side, like a pendulum, as she ran before the wind had smashed most of the crockery- ware and gla.s.ses in the steward's pantry, besides causing the benches round the saloon table and the chairs to fetch away from their lashings.

For days past, our meals had resembled amateur picnics more than anything else--whenever we were able to get them, that is, the old regularity of breakfast and lunch and dinner being completely abolished; for the captain and Mr Marline and myself had to take odd snacks and stray bites at various hours whenever opportunity and appet.i.te allowed their indulgence.

Harry, the steward, was at his wit's end to get things in proper keeping.

No sooner had he cleared up one batch of breakages and made matters ship-shape than over would sway the _Josephine_ hard to port; when, bang would go something else, undoing in one instant the work of hours of labour in putting the place below in order.

"Lor' a mussy, me nebber get tings right nohow!" he would exclaim, setting to work again; and then, a sea would come floating in over the combings of the cabin bulkhead, tumbling him over and washing him aft amidst the debris, almost drowning the man before he could fish himself up again and set to his task anew. His toil, like that of Sisyphus, was ever being renewed when on the verge of completion.

To me, however, all these little disagreeables seemed immensely jolly; so, whenever the captain or Mr Marline or Harry happened to get capsized in this way down in the cabin during the day, it sent me at once into fits of merriment, the fact of my being washed off my feet as well only adding to the enjoyment of the joke, for I could grin quite as much with my own head in the scuppers and my mouth full of water as I would when the others were similarly situated.

"Bless the boy!" Captain Miles said. "He's a regular sailor. He laughs at everything."

And so I did; especially one afternoon, when a sea coming in suddenly so jammed Mr Marline inside an arm-chair, whose seat had given way, that the watch had to be called below to extricate him. The mate took the matter with great good-humour, I may add, only saying to me, "Ah, never mind, Master Tom, we'll see who'll laugh best bye and bye."

Jake used to sneak down on the sly to put my bunk in order so that I might be more comfortable, having, like most pure negroes, a thorough contempt for the mulatto steward. He believed him quite incapable of looking after me properly.

"Him only poor trash, Ma.s.s' Tom," he would say to me; "he can't do nuffin', I'se like to come an' look after um cabin for young ma.s.sa, when I'se in watch below."

Then, the good-natured fellow would scrub away energetically at the floor, deluged with water, and fix up things straight for me; making the place far more neat and tidy in five minutes than Harry the mulatto could have done if he had been all day over the job. He eclipsed the steward in his own line, while proving himself as good as any seaman in the ship.