CHAPTER IX.
FOUNDERING OF THE HERMES.
I was dreaming of the party I had so recently left, and again I was confabulating with the mild placid women, and the fair child was also there. Oh, who can appreciate the delights of female society like the poor devil who has been condemned, month after month, to the gruff society of great he men on shipboard, and whose horizon has during all that time been the distant meeting of sea and sky! "Hillo, Brail, my boy—Brail."
"What is that—who the deuce hails so uproariously?" quoth I, more than half asleep; "why, what is the matter?"
"Oh, not a great deal," rejoined Donovan, from his berth at the opposite side of the small cabin; "only you snore so confoundedly loud that I could get no sleep for your trumpetings, Benjie; and as you spoiled my rest very sufficiently last night, I thought I would take the liberty of paying you off in the morning. But, Benjie, heard you ever any thing like that?"
"Like what?" said I.
"Why, like the noise of the rain on deck, just now."
I listened, and perceived a low rushing noise, that gradually increased, until the sound appeared to be produced by a cataract of peas pouring down on the deck above.
"There's a shower for you, Master Brail—when heard you such another?"
"Seldom, I confess—seldom—but why have you startled me in this way, Donovan?—if it should rain pike-staves and old women—I cannot help it."—Snore.
No rest for the wicked, however, for Lanyard now awoke, and began to don his garments as fast as he could. During which operation, he stumbled violently against my berth, which fairly wakened me. "Why, Dick, where away in such a hurry this fine morning?"
"On deck, my lad—on deck,—but how it does tumble down, to be sure!"
"On deck?—Don't, Dick, do that thing now—don't—what if the lightning should mistake you for a rusty conductor, man?"
He laughed as he vanished up the ladder, and once more I was falling over, when I was most effectually roused by my troublesome chum, Master Dennis Donovan, whose voice could scarcely be heard through the rushing of another heavy shower on the hollow deck overhead. But this time he was addressing some one on deck, and from where I lay I could see up the companion ladder.
"I say, Mr Peak" (the little midshipman), "Mr Peak, how does the weather look?"
It was some time before Joey heard him, from the noise of the rain; at length, he knelt down, and inclined his ear on the head of the small ladder, swathed in a large boat-cloak, with the water running off the snout of his cap in a small spout.
"Any one speaking below in the cabin there?" quoth Joey.
"Yes," said I; "what does the weather look like?"
"Very black, sir, all round, but no wind as yet—it rains a little now and then, sir."
"Rains a little now and then—Oh Lord!" ejaculated Donovan; "where is the commodore?"
"About a mile on the starboard bow."
"And the ship?"
"Close to, astern of us, sir."
"The swell seems heavy," continued I.
"Very, sir—it has been increasing during the whole of the watch; the ship you boarded yesterday evening is rolling awfully heavy."
Here some one from aft called to little Peak, but I could not make out what the voice said—"How do you think so?" answered the midshipman. The man said something in reply, but still I could not distinguish the words.
"I fear," said Joey now, "the merchantman has sprung something aloft, sir—there is a great bustle on board of her—there, there, her fore-topgallant-mast is gone."
Anxious to see what had befallen the ark of my interesting friends, I rose and dressed as fast as I could, and was in the act of going on deck, when another tremendous thunder plump came down with even greater fury than before. I waited until it was over, and by this time the day began to break. When I got on deck the sky was very lowering, and the sea as black as pitch; and although the increasing light proved that the sun was not far below the horizon, yet there was not the smallest clear streak in the east to be seen. The whole vault of heaven was ink-black, and I was startled by the clearness with which the undulations of the rapidly increasing swell, and the hulls and rigging of the two ships, could be seen. The frigate had her three topsails, foresail, and jib set, and rolled so heavily that she appeared to be dipping her yard arms alternately in the water. She had sent down topgallant yards and royal masts, and I could see through the glass the people busy in lowering the studding-sails out of the tops, so for her I had no fear; but the merchantman astern had either been caught by the suddenness with which the sea had risen, or the scantiness of her crew had prevented her taking the precautions rendered necessary by the threatening appearance of the weather, in proper time; for her main and mizen royal masts were still up, her topgallant sails still set; and altogether, from the evident confusion on board, now increased from the accident already alluded to, it was clear to me, that if any sudden squall were to overtake her before she had time to shorten sail, she would be caught all of a heap.
As the morning lightened, the Gazelle, the instant that flags could be seen, telegraphed to send a boat on board the damaged vessel; and the word was accordingly passed.
"I say, Dennis, I think I will go on board myself, instead of sending any of the boys."
"As you please, Lanyard," quoth the lieutenant, who was by this time up and shaving on deck, in a very picturesque costume certainly—"As you—oh, confound you, you have made me cut myself—bless me, what a gash! Give me some felt off the top of my hat, steward."—He might as well have gleaned after an Irish tinker.—"But were I you," continued he, "I would trust some one else—confound this bleeding. Look at the weather, man—look at the weather, and the air."
The air indeed was hot and sultry beyond all my former experience at the same hour of the four and twenty; and Lanyard, I saw, began to have great doubts as to the propriety of sending a boat at all. He was about telegraphing to this effect, when, to the southward of us, a heavy shower fell perpendicularly from the surcharged clouds, in a grey column—"You are mistaken; there will be no wind, for you see how even-down the rain falls yonder," said Dick to Donovan, when he saw this.
"Well, well, man, since you will go—bless me how I have cut my chin!" as putting his head down the companion he roared out "Steward, why don't you bring the felt?"
"I can't scrape a pile off it," answered the Scotchman, appearing half-way up the ladder, with the castor in one hand, and a knife in the other.
"Bring the felt, you spalpeen, and no jaw."
Lennox, poor fellow, brought the hat, an old silk one, worn white at the edges, with the pasteboard frame-work appearing in numberless places—a most shocking bad hat certainly. He held it up to the lieutenant. The Irishman looked at it—"Hat!—that's not mine, steward—that's Mr Brail's.—Mercy on me, Benjamin, a'nt you ashamed to wear a thing like this?"—It was the vagabond's own all the while—"but don't mind, don't mind—so good-by, Lanyard—good-by," as his brother officer stepped into the boat, that was surging about on the fast-rising sea alongside.
"Stop, you may as well leave me the kay of the locker, for your visit will be longer in that same ship, or I greatly mistake, than you bargain for." He here coolly resumed his shaving, and Ricardo shoved off, taking me with him, as I was rejoiced to have another opportunity of seeing my amiable friends of last evening. We had not pulled above half a dozen strokes, when poor Lennox ran to the side—"Beg pardon, but a squall is coming, sir—there, sir, in the south-east, where we saw the rain just now."
I had not time to look round, when Donovan having put up his razor, again sung out—"By the powers, my lads, but the Scotchman is right; it requires no second sight to prophesy a squall anon.—There, there it is coming, sure enough; about ship and come back, Lanyard, or it is as clear as mud that we shall be minus your own beautiful self and the boat's crew in a jiffey, not forgetting Benjie there; and what's worse, our only boat that will swim."
It is folly to despise a hint where it is well meant, so in an instant we were on board again, and had just got the boat run up, when the commodore telegraphed, "Keep all fast with the boat."
Once more it cleared, and the rain ceased in the quarter where we had recently seen it falling with such violence; but the threatening clouds had sank down right over the spot, and began to boil and whirl in sooty convolutions; like the blackest and thickest of the smoke, as it leaves the funnel of a steamboat immediately after the fire is mended.
Under this gloomy canopy, as far in the south-east as we could see, the black waves were crested with white foam; and a low undefinable hoarse murmur, more like the hollow subterranean sound that precedes the shock of an earthquake than the roar of the ocean, gradually stole down upon us with increasing distinctness.
"Is that thunder?" passed among the men.
"Thunder!" quoth old Dogvane, "I wish it were, my lads."
"It is Davy putting on the coppers for the parsons, and nothing else," said Drainings.
"What is that?"
The frigate had fired a gun to attract our attention, for the darkness had settled down so thick around us, that we could not have seen flags. She had furled every thing but the close-reefed main-topsail, and reefed foresail. "A nod is as good as a wink," said I, as Lanyard called all hands to shorten sail. When we had every thing snug, I looked out in the direction from whence we expected the wind to come. The white crests had increased, and again in the distance the grey screen descended from the clouds perpendicularly, like a watery avalanche, hiding every thing beyond it from our view.
Presently this column bent at the lower extremity, and drove away to the northward and westward, as if a shallow vein of wind had skimmed furiously along the surface of the sea, while all above was as yet dead calm. But the upper part of the shower gradually assumed the same slanting direction, indicating that the agitation of the air was extending upwards. Suddenly the rain fell right down from the heavens, and once more concealed the agitated billows beyond, like a black curtain dropped before them, indicating that it had again fallen calm.
"Come, I don't think it will end in wind of any consequence to speak of after all," said I.
"Don't you be too sure, my lovely little man," quoth the imperturbable Dennis. "Lanyard, pray have the kindness to furl every inch of canvass, or—fetch me a prayerbook—look there."
I followed the direction in which he pointed; the column of rain was still falling perpendicularly, and as well defined as if it had been a waterspout in reality; when suddenly the lower part of it again inclined to an angle of thirty degrees with the horizon, becoming much more dense and opaque than before. In a few moments the whole pillar of water took the same oblique direction, until it slanted straight as a sunbeam shooting forth from heaven. It continued thick and impenetrable to the sight for the space of half a minute; when, as if scattered by the fury of the tornado, it suddenly vanished in smoke, and the weather cleared. Right to windward, however, a white line crept down towards us, like dust flying along the road in a stormy day, after a long drought. The roar of the approaching squall increased, as did the swell, which now rolled on in mountainous undulations; and although it was calm as death where we lay tumbling about, the little vessel groaned and lurched like an evil spirit on his bed of liquid fire; while the tops of the seas began to break and growl as if the very waves had become conscious of the approaching tormenta.—It was now eight o'clock in the morning: but in place of getting lighter the clouds had settled down so darkly that the frigate had to make the night signals with lanterns to heave-to with our head to the southward, until we saw what might turn up. Sharp was the word—we prepared to do so—but before a single rope could be let go, the squall struck us; and for a minute, notwithstanding all our precautions, the Midge was fairly laid down on her beam ends, and I thought she would have turned keel up; however, the moment we were enabled to lay her to with her head to the southward and westward, she breasted it like a sea-gull, and, confident in her weatherly qualities, I had time amidst the row to cast a glance at the commodore and the merchantman. The former was lying-to under storm-staysails, rolling and plunging most delightfully, now rising on a heavy sea and making a bow to us, and then descending entirely out of sight—but the poor ship! All seemed confusion on board of her. Whether it was that they had been deceived by the long time the wind hung in the distance, and had persuaded themselves that there would be no squall worth dreading after all; or the accident of losing the fore-topgallant mast had confused them, I cannot tell; but they had not been able to get in their canvass in time, so that every thing had to be let go by the run when the squall came down; and the consequence was, that the fore and maintopsails had been fairly blown out of the bolt ropes, and were now streaming straight out in ribbons; while the foresail, which had stood, laid her over on her beam ends. The crew were, while I looked, endeavouring to set the jib, in order to get her away before the wind; but a sea at the very moment struck her, washing the boats off the booms, and everything else that would part company; for a moment I thought she would never have risen again. But there was another lull, and after having got some way on the vessel, she was brought to the wind, and enabled to heave-to also. This was not of long continuance, however, for it soon began to breeze up again, but steadily; and I thought, that the puff being over, we should have no more bother, although the heavens continued as black and threatening as ever. The commodore appeared to be of the same opinion, and now made the signal to bear up; a manoeuvre that was promptly followed both by the Midge and the ship, and old Donovan and I went below to breakfast, leaving the lieutenant in command looking out on deck.
"That chap was nearly caught, Benjie," said Dennis.
"Very. Shall I help you to coffee?"
"If you please."
"A slice of beef?"
"Thank you."
"Very nearly caught indeed. I hope nothing has happened to her beyond what we saw—beyond the loss of her boats and sails, and foretopgallantmast—she laboured so dreadfully before they could get her before the wind—what a state the poor women on board must have been in!"
"Terrible," said Donovan. "Bad enough for the men, but how I do pity tender women in such a predicament!"—and here he heaved a sigh that would have blown a candle out—"But you must have lost your heart, Brail, aboard there; you are so awfully sentimental since you returned. Come, now, describe the beauties of the fair creatures—give me as good a notion of them as you can—that's a good boy."
"Why, Donovan, they were both, I mean the ladies, as unlike Miss Cathleen, the affianced wife of a certain lieutenant of the navy, the son of widow Donovan, who lives at 1060, Sackville Street, as you can well imagine."—
Dennis laughed.—"Why, you have me there, Benjie. sure enough, so"——
Here Lennox interrupted him, as he hastily entered the small cabin. "The ship has made a signal of distress, sir."
"The devil she has!" We both jumped up the ladder as quick as we could. The frigate was steering large, about a mile on our lee-bow. All was right and snug with her; but the ship, that lay about half a mile abeam of us to windward, had her ensign flying at the mizen-peak, with the union down; and the signal for a boat flying at the head of the foretopmast.
To send her assistance before the sea went down was utterly impossible; no boat could have lived for a minute; so that all we could do was to haul by the wind, and close under her lee quarter. It was still blowing so fresh, that when the master hailed I could not hear him; but as she lay over, we could see that both pumps were manned, and the gush of clear water from the scuppers was a sad indication of what had befallen. I could distinguish the two young missionaries, in their trowsers and shirts, labouring most vigorously amongst the crew; while the patriarchal old man was holding on by the mizen-rigging, close to the master; evidently keeping his footing on the deck of the tumbling vessel with great difficulty. Seeing me on deck, he took off his hat, which was instantly blown overboard, and his long grey hairs streamed straight out in the wind. This to me was a moving incident, simple as it may appear to others, and it seemed to affect Donovan also.
"What a very fine-looking old man he is indeed!" said Dennis.
The lady passengers were both below, at least I could see nothing of them. When we closed, the captain hauled down the ensign, and as the flow of water from the pumps seemed to decrease, I began to hope that they were gaining on the leak. Lanyard now steered as near as he could without danger, and hailed, that the moment it was possible he would send assistance to them. The captain heard him, and made his acknowledgment with his trumpet.
We kept as close to her as was safe the whole forenoon; and although we saw that the crew were every now and then taking a spell at the pumps, yet they seemed quite able to keep the leak under; and every thing once more appeared to be going on orderly on board.
"Come," said I, to old Shavings the carpenter, who was looking out at her alongside of me, "if the weather would only moderate a bit, a small touch of your quality, Master Shavings, and a forenoon's spell of your crew, would set them all to rights again—eh?"
The warrant officer turned his quid, and thereby poisoned a dolphin or two, I make no doubt; by the jet of tobacco juice that he squirted overboard. He then took a long squint before he spoke.
"I ben't sartain of that, sir. The water flowing there from the scuppers is cruel clear still, sir. I fear she has started something serious; I don't think she would make so much by mere straining." I began to fear he was right. "And I sees some signs of a bustle on board again, sir; there, if the bloody fool of a cook has not set fire to the boarding of the small galley—the caboose they calls it in marchantmen."
However this accident seemed very trivial, for the man immediately to all appearance extinguished it again; but the alarming part of it was, that it seemed to have taken place while he was taking his spell at the pumps, a sure indication that the crew were more exhausted than I had allowed for, since they could not spare a hand to look after the fire in such boisterous weather.
The master now came suddenly on deck, and at the same moment a man bolted up the fore-hatchway, and ran aft to him; showing by the energy of his action that the matter he was communicating was alarming, whatever its nature might be. The pumps were instantly manned again, and after a long spell, I noticed the carpenter sound the well, and then shake his head. At this several of the men threw off their shirts, as if preparing for a tough bout, and set to, working harder than ever; the water once more gushing out over the ship's side in strong clear jets.
The young missionaries, who had for a minute disappeared, were again on deck, and as well as the master himself now took their spell at the pumps with the crew; but still there was no rushing nor alarm apparently amongst them. By and by, I noticed the master go aft, and take upon his knee one of the black boards used to shut up the front of the hencoops in bad weather; on which he appeared to write something, in order, as I conjectured, to communicate with us, as, from the increase of the gale and the sea, there was no use now in attempting to be heard through the trumpet. Evidently with a desire not to alarm the crew, he now quietly slipt the board over the side. On it was written in chalk.
"THE LEAK IS GAINING ON US."
The gale now came thundering down with such violence, that we found it necessary to clew up every thing but the close-reefed foresail, and the tremendous seas that roared astern of us made it doubtful how long we should be able to scud. The distress of the ship was fast increasing; and I noticed that the poor helpless women were now on deck clinging to the old man, whose age rendered it out of the question his attempting to be of any use at the pump.
I shall never forget the group. He was holding on by the mizen-backstay, in a half kneeling position; the youngest woman was beside him in her nightdress, with her long hair hanging lank down and drenched with rain over her deadly pale features, while her fair and taper naked arms were clasped convulsively round his neck, as she hid her face in his bosom. The elder lady was sitting covered with a boat-cloak on the small bench, that ran along the larboard-side of the companion, with one of her arms over the top of it to keep her in her seat, which she seemed to accomplish with great difficulty, as the labouring ship sweltered about on the boiling sea. A sheep, apparently a pet lamb, stood, or rather staggered about, on the deck beside her, every now and then turning up its innocent face and bleating, and trying to poke its head under her cloak.
A sea at this moment broke over the starboard quarter of the ship, and drenched all of them, washing aside the skirt of the cloak that covered the oldest of the females, and disclosing, alas, alas! my poor dear little boy, crying in his mother's arms, and stretching and struggling with his little limbs, as if he had slept through it all, until the very moment when the unruly surge washed him in his nest.
"Mind your helm," sung out Mr Marline, sharp and suddenly.
I turned to look aft from whence the voice came. Heavens, what a sight! A huge green wave was curling its monstrous crest, like revolving wheels of foam, close aboard of us astern, and pursuing us with a hoarse growl, increasing to a roar, like a sea monster rushing on its prey.
Lanyard had only time to sing out, "All hands, secure yourselves," when it rolled in over the tafferel, and swept the deck fore and aft, washing boats, hen-coops, spare spars, and every thing that was not part and portion of the solid deck and upperworks, overboard, and submerging us several feet under water.
I thought the little Midge's buzzing and stinging were for ever over, and that she never would have risen again; but the buoyant little craft gallantly struggled from under the sea, and rose gaily to the surface like a wild-duck shaking her feathers after a long dive; and having hove-to, we soon made capital weather of it again—her strong bows dancing over the advancing surges, as if in contempt, until they hissed away under foot, like serpents foiled in their attack. It was a fearful sight every now and then to look down from the summit of a gigantic sea, on the frigate and shattered merchantman, as they were tossed to and fro beneath us like objects seen from a hillside; and then to feel yourself sinking, and see them rising, as you in your turn sank into the trough, until they appeared to hang above you in act to slide down and swamp you, and again to lose sight of them altogether, as a roaring wave rose between us.
Had the felucca been a deep-waisted vessel, she must have inevitably been swamped; but having no ledge or rail whatever, and the hatches having been got on and well secured early in the forenoon, we took little or no water below. We lost one hand overboard, however, more lamented for the time, I believe, than if he had been the best man in the ship. It was poor Dicky Phantom, the monkey, who, when the word was passed for the men to hold on and make themselves fast, seeing them lay hold of ropes, in imitation caught one too; but, alas for Dicky! it was the slack end he had got in his paw, so that the sea washed him overboard like smoke, when, being unable to stand the drag through the water, the poor brute had to let go, and perished miserably.
As his little black gibbering face, with the eyes starting from his head, and his mouth open and grinning, while he coughed and spluttered out the sea water, looked its last at us from the curling ridge of a wave, a general "Ah! there goes poor Dicky Phantom," burst from all hands.
The ship had also hove to; but in the few minutes that had passed since I had last seen her, her condition was clearly much altered for the worse.
The crew had knocked off from the pumps, and several, I could see, were employed casting loose the hen-coops, spare spars, and every thing that would float; while the greater part appeared absolutely insane, and rushed about the deck stretching out their hands towards us with imploring faces, as if we could have helped them; while others, alas, alas! were drunk—brutally, bestially drunk—and grinned and gibbered, and threatened us with their fists.
It was indeed a humiliating and a heart-breaking sight, to see fellow-beings, endowed with sense and reason like ourselves, debasing themselves in their last moments below the level of the beasts that perish, and recklessly rushing into the presence of the Almighty in a state of swinish intoxication.
"What is that?" cried Mr Marline. "Heavens, if they have not set fire to the rum in the spirit-room!"
As he spoke, a wavering flash of blue flame gleamed for a moment up the after hatchway, the hatches of which, in the increasing confusion, had been knocked off. Presently this was followed by a thick column of white smoke, speaking as plain as tongue could have told, that the fire had caught. The column became suddenly streaked with flame, which drove the miserable group of women and men forward into the waist. In a minute, the fire burst out of the main hatchway also, and scorched away the two young missionaries and the captain from the pumps, to which, although deserted by the crew, they had, with noble intrepidity and calm resolution, clung until this very moment.
The eldest lady was now lying motionless on the wet deck, as if she had been dead or in a faint, with her bare arms clasped round her child, who, poor little fellow, was tossing his tiny hands, and apparently crying piteously, while the younger woman was clinging convulsively round her husband's neck, as, along with his companion and the old captain, he now sat on the deck; the whole grouped round the patriarchal old Moravian, who was kneeling in the middle, seemingly with outstretched hands imploring Heaven for mercy; while over all, the sea, now lashed into redoubled fury by the increasing gale, broke in showers of spray.
The whole after part of the ship was by this time on fire; and falling off before the wind under her foresail, she ran down in the direction of the frigate that was lying to about a mile to leeward. As she bore up and passed us, the old captain, drenched, half-naked, and bareheaded, with a face pale as death, was endeavouring to seize the ensign union down in the main rigging, but it was torn from his feeble hands by the strength of the wind; and, as if it had been the last faint gleam of hope finally deserting them, flew down to leeward like a flash of red flame. He then again hung the board on which he had formerly telegraphed over the gangway. The following fearful legend was now written on it:
ON FIRE, AND SINKING!
To have followed her, after having once been pooped, and nearly swamped already, would have been downright madness, especially as we could render no earthly assistance. We had therefore nothing for it but to keep the Midge lying to.
The firmament now became black as night. A thick squall, with heavy rain, that had been some time brewing to windward, burst down on us with the most terrific fierceness. For a minute we could neither see nor hear any thing but the roaring of the tormented waters, and the howling, or rather thundering of the wind. The shred of sail that we had set flew out of the bolt-rope into ribbons, with a sound like a cannon-shot, and I thought the little vessel would never have righted again. At length it passed us, and cleared where we were, only to show us the poor disabled ship overtaken by it. And now it was evident that she was water-logged, from the heavy sickly way in which she rolled and pitched, while the fire tinged the whole dark sky overhead with a red murky glare, as if it had been midnight.
The squall crept up to her, thickened round her, and gradually concealed both her and the frigate, hiding them entirely from our view within its watery veil; but the conflagration still lit up, and shone through the grey mist-like shroud (alas, in very truth a shroud to one of them!) giving horrible indications as to her whereabouts.
It suddenly disappeared, and the tornado of wind and rain drifted down to leeward. The clouds rose—the weather cleared away—Great God, what do I see!—The frigate is there——BUT THE SHIP IS GONE!
*****
For several minutes, the thunder-storm continued with great violence. At one time I thought the lightning had struck our mast-head; but it was the breaking up of the weather, for with startling suddenness a bright slanting beam from the evening sun pierced through the dark masses of cloud in the west, and floated on the tempestuous surface of the troubled waters where the ship had gone down, like a ray of hope breaking through clouds and shadows on the tumultuous agitations of a departing spirit. Was it in very truth the eye of Providence glancing on the watery grave of the innocent and virtuous, and evincing, through our senses, that the quenching of their gentle light amidst the howling waste of waters, although unseen of men, was not unmarked of the Eternal, "who maketh the clouds his chariot, and who walketh on the wings of the wind?" And was the doom of the wicked in the rolling thunder? The thought stirred me like a trumpet-note.
The sunbeam travelled on, as if drifting before the wind, until it glanced on the dark hull, and lofty spars, and storm staysails of the noble frigate; and the weather moderating at the same time, we ran off the wind to close the commodore, sailing over the spot where the ship had foundered, as near as we could judge. Several hencoops and spars were floating about; but the whole crew were gone to "where the wicked cease from troubling, and the weary are at rest."
"Keep her away a bit," sung out Lennox, in a sharp excited tone, from forward—"keep her away a bit, Mr Lanyard, there is something struggling in the water close to. More yet—more yet," as the noble fellow fastened a rope round his waist; "that will do—now, messmates, hold on, and mind you haul me in if I miss." In a twinkling the poor fellow was overboard, striking out gallantly amongst the choking spray.
"I see the object," I exclaimed, forgetting all etiquette in the excitement of the moment, "that is flashing and struggling in the water; whatever it may be, he has it; down with the helm, and bring her to the wind; down with it, hard-a-lee. He has it—he has it!—No, missed it, by Heaven! No, no, he has fast hold; gently, haul him in, men—gently, that's it; now, handsomely, in with him. Hurra, well done, Lennox! You are on board again, my lad."
"Why, what have they hauled in with him?" said Donovan, who was standing aft beside me, while Lennox was got on board at the bows. I was myself confoundedly puzzled. "A sheep, and a bundle of clouts, ha, ha, ha!" shouted Joe Peak. I jumped forward. A bundle of clouts—alas, alas! it was the breathless body of the beautiful child I had seen on board the ship.
It was lashed to the neck of the pet lamb with a silk handkerchief, and now lay at my feet a little blue and ghastly corpse. I snatched it up in my arms, more from the impulse of the moment, than any expectation of the ethereal spark being still present in the little cold clammy body; and, to the great surprise of the crew, I called Lennox, and desiring him to get some hot salt in a piece of flannel, and two bottles of hot water, and to bring some warm cloths into the cabin immediately, I descended, stripped the child, and drying his little limbs with a piece of blanket, clapped him into my own berth—Donovan and Lennox followed; and, against all appearances, we set to, and chafed and manipulated the frigid limbs of the darling boy, and applied hot bottles to his feet, and the hot salt to his little chest and stomach; but it was all in vain. It was a moving sight to see great rough bushy-whiskered hard-a-weather seamen, in despite of all formality and discipline, struggling like children at a raree show to get a peep at what was going on below, through the open skylight that ventilated the little well cabin.
"Ah, my poor little fellow, you are gone; your unhappy mother might have spared her dying heart the pang of parting with you, when she made you fast to the lamb—you would then at least have died in her arms, and beside her heart, my sweet child!" As I said this, Donovan, Dick Lanyard, who had now joined us, and Lennox, the latter all dripping with sea water, and still pale and breathless with his recent exertions, were standing looking down on the body of the child, having done all they could, but in vain.
The tears were rolling down the Scotch lad's cheek, and Dennis, honest fellow, once or twice blew his nose very suspiciously, contriving during the trumpetings to steal a small swab at his eyes, lest the share which the old lady in Sackville Street, Dublin, had in him, might become too apparent.
"He is gone," said Lennox, after a long pause, as he stepped to the berth, with the intention of covering the dead body with the sheet. He no sooner stooped down, however, than he suddenly started back, and held up his hand to attract our attention. I looked—one eyelid quivered—it opened a little, then shut again, and again the aguish appearance passed over it; the chest heaved, and the little sufferer drew a long sigh. "He lives, he lives!" said Lennox, in a low voice, and speaking as if he was himself choking. The word was passed through the skylight to the warm-hearted expectants clustered round it on their knees on the deck above. My eye, what a row! They instantly jumped to their feet, and began to caper about overhead as if a legion of dancing devils had suddenly possessed them.
"He's alive," shouted one poor fellow, "and we can now spare Dicky Phantom."
"Forward with you, men," sung out Mr Wadding; "forward with you; how dare you lumber the quarterdeck in that way, with your lubberly carcasses?"
We now increased our exertions, and had the inexpressible pleasure of seeing them crowned with success; and having poured some tepid wine and water down the child's throat—he was as yet too weak to drink it himself, or to speak—we had the happiness to see him open wide his fine dark blue eyes, and take a steady, and apparently, a conscious look at us; and presently his respiration, though as yet slow and sigh-like, became regular; the animal heat of his body over his heart began to be perceptible—the blue clayey colour of his skin and face, the sharpness of his features, and the blackness of his shrunk lips, began to fade and give way before the accelerating circulation—and after coughing up a large quantity of salt water, he turned his little face to the ship's side, and fell into a sound sleep.
By this time it was near sunset, and the gale was rapidly abating, but the sea was still very high. We ran down and closed the commodore, keeping him in view the whole night.
Donovan and I were sitting in the cabin regaling ourselves with a glass of grog, about nine o'clock in the evening—"I say, Benjie, how that poor little fellow snores—do you hear him?"
"I do, and it is music to mine ear, my darling. What a scene it must have been when the ship foundered! I am glad we did not see it, Donovan."
"And so am I—why, we have rather had a stirring time of it lately, a number of odd circumstances have happened; but what do you make of the commodore's taking on so, as you and Sprawl said he did, when he heard that young De Walden was missing—had he any hand in the young chap, think you?"
"Oh, no," said I laughing, "none; besides he used to keep him tighter set up than any other mid in the ship. However, that would neither make nor mend as to the probability of your surmise, Donovan; but I verily believe he was no connexion of the commodore's."
"Well, well," said Dennis, "give me t'other glass of swizzle, Lennox—thank ye. I say, Lennox, my lad—gallant conduct enough that of yours—after having been so ill too—I wonder you had strength." The man bowed.—"Now since I have had time to consider, what are you going to do with the child there, Dick?" said Donovan.
"Send him on board Gazelle, I presume, when the weather moderates—but, good-night, I am off to my cot—who has the watch, Lennox?"
"Mr Peak, sir."
"Tell him to keep close to the commodore, and call me the instant any thing worth reporting occurs."
"Yes, sir."
"How is the weather?"
"Clearing away fast, sir," answered the marine—"and the sea is greatly gone down."
"Very well, let them trim by the commodore, do you hear—keep way with him, but no more; Sir Oliver likes no one to run past him—tell Mr Peak so."
"I will, sir."
"Now, good-night, Brail—good-night, Dennis, dear."
********