Under the Meteor Flag Part 3

"But have I really done anything very dreadful?" I inquired, more than half taken in by the young monkey's serious manner.

"Oh, Lord! hold me, somebody, while I faint!" he exclaimed, turning up the whites of his eyes like a dying duck in a thunder-storm, and flinging himself so suddenly backwards into the arms of Harvey that the latter went down stern foremost, landing on the deck with one hand in the beef-kid and the other in the blacking-box, while Markham rolled on the top of him, kicking spasmodically, and simulating the feeble struggles of an expiring person.

Luckily for "Goliath," it was the ludicrous side of this episode which presented itself most strongly to his victim, or a sound thrashing would, in all probability, have been his portion; as it was, the pair scrambled to their feet again with a hearty laugh, as good friends as ever.

"I declare, Chester, you'll be the death of me some day, if you go on like this," resumed my would-be tormentor; "your touching innocence would move a bra.s.s monkey to tears. Why," he continued, looking round and addressing in low, measured tones, intended to express overwhelming astonishment, the fragment of gla.s.s which still clung to one corner of its frame, and, hanging suspended against the bulkhead, did duty as a mirror--"he asks if he has really done anything very dreadful!! Is it actually possible, my gentle infant, that you are ignorant of the fact that you yesterday took the command out of your superior officers'

hands, and that the punishment for such a crime--when it happens to be a first offence--is keelhauling, while a repet.i.tion thereof is visited with the extreme penalty of the law?"

"And pray what is _keelhauling_?" I inquired, beginning to perceive that my mercurial friend was merely indulging in a joke at my expense.

"Keelhauling, sir," he replied, "is a form of punishment which consists in being lashed to a stout rope which is pa.s.sed under the ship's bottom, and whereby the unhappy criminal is dragged along the keel from forward, aft; he being required, during the journey, to gather a sufficiency of barnacles off the ship's bottom to furnish a satisfying breakfast for the captain next morning. If the unfortunate wretch fails, the process is to be repeated, with this addition, that on the second occasion the quant.i.ty of barnacles provided is to be sufficient for both the captain and the first lieutenant."

"Good gracious, how horrible!" I exclaimed, a.s.suming as well as I could an expression of serious concern. "I had no idea I was exposing myself to the risk of such a fearful punishment. What would you advise me to do?"

"Well, that is by no means an easy question to answer," he replied.

"I'll tell you what I'll do, though. I should like to help you out of the sc.r.a.pe if I can, and I'll take an opportunity of speaking to the skipper before he goes down to dinner, and asking him not to pa.s.s sentence of punishment upon you for the present. Then, if you'll keep my watch for me to-night, I'll get another interview with him on the quiet while you are doing so. I have some little influence with him--my modesty forbids me to say how I got it--and if I ask him _for my sake_ to forgive you, he may very possibly do so. I expect he'll make some reference to the affair while at dinner though, and if he does, your only chance will be to keep him in a good-humour, which you can easily do if you only know how."

"But unfortunately I _don't_ know how!" I exclaimed, infusing as much anxiety as I could into my tone and manner.

"No?" returned he. "Well, I'll tell you, if you solemnly engage never, under any circ.u.mstances, to divulge the source of your information."

I thought this extremely good, with Harvey sitting by, demurely listening to the conversation, but, instead of saying so, I gravely entered into the required engagement.

"That's all right," he remarked. "Now listen attentively to me. The skipper has one overpowering weakness, and that is a fondness for a comic song. Let him be ever so exasperated, a comic song--_a good comic_ song, mind you--never fails to soothe him. Therefore, if he should happen to-night, by any chance, to refer to your unfortunate lapse of duty yesterday, listen patiently and respectfully to all that he has to say, and when he has finished, even if what he says strikes you as being of a laudatory character--he is a very curious fellow in that respect, often beginning by praising a man, when he means to end by blowing him up sky-high--just bow to him and say, 'With your permission, sir, I will now change the subject by singing a comic song,' and strike up boldly at once. I may safely venture to say you will be supremely astonished at the effect you will produce, and if--"

"Mr Clewline wishes to see you on deck _at once_, please, Mr Markham,"

said a marine, popping his head in at the door.

"Oh! all right," returned Markham. "I'll be up in a minute or two.

It's a great nuisance, but I a.s.sure you, my dear Chester, that poor, old Clewline is positively at sea, unless he has me constantly at his right hand to--"

"Mr Clewline said, if you didn't come at once, Mr Markham, I was to just fetch ye," said the marine, introducing his head once more.

"Very well, lead on, fellow, I follow," e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.ed he of Gath in a voice expressive of deep disgust, and he forthwith disappeared up the steep ladder, followed by a hearty peal of laughter from us, his late audience.

"What a fellow it is!" exclaimed Harvey presently. "I am very glad to see that you understand him, Chester. Otherwise, I am afraid he would have got you into no end of sc.r.a.pes. Not that he _means_ any harm, far from it. He is one of the best-natured fellows alive, but he is so wedded to practical joking that I believe nothing will ever break him of it. He keeps the whole ship alive, as you will have seen by this time; but he is always in disgrace, and during the last cruise may be said to have taken up his permanent abode at the mast-head: I daresay he is there now."

It was even so, for when I went aft to the cabin, in compliance with the captain's invitation, a glance aloft revealed him comfortably perched on the crosstrees, from which commanding position he reminded me pantomimically of the potent charm to be found in a comic song.

The dinner-party, that evening, consisted of Captain Brisac, Mr Sennitt, old Bolus the doctor, and myself. The table was liberally furnished, the wine good, and the party in excellent spirits, as was natural after securing a prize so speedily. Moreover, Captain Brisac was a thorough gentleman, and knew exactly how to make his guests feel at ease, which is not always the case where the superior is also the host. The conversation turned pretty frequently, as might be expected, on technical matters, but there were frequent divergences in the shape of laughter-provoking anecdotes, in which the doctor shone forth conspicuously.

It was not, however, until after the cloth had been removed that the skipper made any reference to the occurrences of the previous day.

Then, addressing himself to me, he said, "Let me take this opportunity, Mr Chester, of thanking you for saving my life yesterday. But for your timely interposition, I must infallibly have been killed; and I thank you very sincerely for the prompt.i.tude with which you acted. Sailors are not in the habit of making overmuch of such services; we perform them for each other, and think very little about it; but the fact remains, all the same, and I shall not forget it. I have also to thank you for the conspicuous gallantry you displayed in boarding the prize, gallantry which evidently had a strong effect upon the men, and contributed in no inconsiderable degree to our success. So pleased am I with your conduct that I have felt justified in making special mention of you in the despatch which I sent in with the prize, and I think I may venture to promise you that what I have said will be found to exercise a favourable influence on your future prospects. Go on as you have begun, and you will do well. Above all things, study hard; you will find it uphill work at first, no doubt, but every step you take will make those which succeed it easier, until you will at length find that you can acquire naturally and without effort all the knowledge that is required to make you proficient in your profession. Of course I do not mean that you should give your _whole_ time to study, a little recreation now and then is not only allowable, but beneficial; but do not give your whole thoughts to play, as I am sadly afraid your messmate Markham does."

This mention of my mercurial friend brought back so vividly to my mind the recent scene in our berth that I was--as the newspaper reporters say--"risibly affected," a circ.u.mstance which did not fail to attract general attention.

Captain Brisac looked both disconcerted and annoyed. "What is it, Mr Chester? What have I said to afford you so much amus.e.m.e.nt?" he asked.

"I beg your pardon, sir," I replied. "I was not laughing at anything _you_ said, but your mention of Mr Markham reminded me of something ridiculous which _he_ said. I hope you will be pleased to excuse me, sir. I should be extremely sorry to do anything having the appearance of rudeness or disrespect."

"I feel quite sure you would," returned the skipper, his brow clearing once more, and an amused look coming into his eyes.

"But let us hear what that jocular young gentleman has been saying; it is not a state secret, I suppose, is it?"

"Oh dear no, sir; at the same time I know he would never have said it, had he had the least idea it would ever reach your ears; it was only a little bit of fun on his part--an attempt, in fact, to impose upon me."

"Out with it, Mr Chester," exclaimed the doctor, his eyes fairly dancing with fun; "I'll be sworn he has been in some way taking your name in vain, sir," he continued, turning to the captain.

"I think it more than likely, but it is quite impossible to feel offended with the lad, he is always so utterly devoid of anything like evil intention."

Seeing that my narrative would not be likely to do any harm, I thereupon proceeded to tell my story, which proved productive of a great deal of laughter. At its conclusion the skipper said, "Pour yourself out another gla.s.s of wine, Mr Chester, and then, I suppose, I must excuse you. Mr Sennitt will not easily forgive me, if I prevent you from keeping your proper watch."

On reaching the deck I found that the wind had hauled round to about W.N.W., bringing with it a raw and dismal fog, which speedily saturated with moisture everything with which it came in contact. As the night wore on, it became more and more dense, and by midnight it had become so thick that it was impossible to see from one end of the ship to the other, and Captain Brisac gave orders for the "Scourge" to be hove-to.

The vessel was accordingly brought to the wind on the starboard tack, with her head pointing in the direction of the French coast, and the watch, with the exception of half-a-dozen of the smartest hands, who were placed on the lookout, were allowed to dispose themselves about the deck in the most sheltered spots they could find.

The fog lasted all through the first watch, and when I went on deck at midnight to take my turn of duty, it was thicker than ever. The vapour came sweeping down upon the ship in great opaque ma.s.ses, some of which were so dense that it was barely possible to distinguish objects on the opposite side of the deck, while the lower yards were only visible from the deck at very rare periods. The few men moving about loomed more like gigantic shadows than human beings, and the binnacle lamps (the only lights visible) emitted a feeble and ghostly glimmer which hardly sufficed to render visible the features of the man who stood by the wheel. No lights of any kind were exhibited on board the "Scourge,"

Captain Brisac preferring to trust to a good lookout, and the precautions adopted by other vessels, for our safety from collision, rather than run the risk of betraying our presence to an enemy by the exhibition of lights. For the same reason he had given orders that the ship's bell should on no account whatever be struck during the continuance of the thick weather.

Somehow I could not help thinking that the skipper's precautions exposed us to a great deal of danger. Supposing, for example, that some other ship, practising the same "precautions," happened to be in our immediate neighbourhood and approaching us on the opposite tack, what would be the result? Why, in all probability the two craft would fall on board each other, inflicting serious mutual damage, amounting perhaps to the complete destruction of one or both. The idea made me very uneasy, so much so, indeed, that, my imagination at length becoming excited, I was on the point of giving an alarm at least a dozen times, thinking every now and then that I could discern the dim outline of a strange ship sweeping silently down upon us like a gigantic ghost. So strong, indeed, did the illusion at length become, that I could have sworn I caught a momentary glimpse of a light to windward, and, after hesitating a few minutes, I became so convinced that I _had_ seen a light, that I went up to Mr Sennitt and reported it.

"A light, Mr Chester. Where away?" said he rather anxiously.

"Here, sir," I replied; "broad on our starboard quarter."

He gazed steadfastly in the direction I had indicated for two or three minutes, and then turned away, saying,--

"You did quite right, my lad, to speak to me, but I really think you must have been mistaken. Why, if it had really been so, the stranger must have been close aboard of us; it would be impossible to see an ordinary light at a much greater distance than a hundred fathoms in such a fog as this; why, it is thick enough to cut with a knife, the old barkie can scarcely force her way through it."

As he finished speaking I seemed to catch another glimpse of the light, just for a single instant, and I breathlessly exclaimed, "There it is again, sir!"

"_I_ can see nothing," he returned somewhat impatiently, after taking another long look. "Here, let us go round and examine the lookout men."

Every man was found broad awake and keenly watchful, yet none of them had seen anything resembling a light, or indeed anything at all of a nature to lead them to suppose that there was another ship in close proximity to ourselves. I could not believe that my imagination had been playing me a trick, yet it required no very great penetration on my part to see that my superior thought but little of my a.s.sertion in comparison with the reports of the lookout men. We both returned to the spot from which we had started, and stood intently gazing to windward, until, for my part, I was almost ready to declare upon oath that the atmosphere was full of faint twinkling lights. The impression was beginning to force itself upon me that I had been making a fool of myself, and I was about to say so, when a faint and almost imperceptible sound seemed to float down to us out of the thick folds of impenetrable mist to windward.

"There, sir!" I exclaimed; "did you hear nothing then?"

"Why, to tell you the truth, Mr Chester, I half thought I did," replied Sennitt; "but after all I believe it is only fancy; your imagination has infected my own, and if we stand here much longer we shall fancy a whole French fleet there to windward. Luckily it is eight bells," he continued, consulting his watch by the light of the binnacle, "so we will turn the ship over to the care of a fresh set of eyes and ears.

Let the watch be called as quietly as possible."

This was done, and so completely had I already acquired that confidence which is conveyed in the expression "Let those look out who have the watch," that, notwithstanding all my previous apprehensions, in another ten minutes I was fast asleep.

CHAPTER FIVE.

WE FLY FROM THE FRENCHMAN.

When I went on deck again at the change of the watches, it was still very thick, but the breeze was freshening, and it and the sun together promised soon to disperse the vapour. It was still so thick, however, that it was impossible to see more than three or four lengths away from the vessel, and the "Scourge" was consequently kept hove-to.