“A strong odour of tar! Depend upon it, we are down in the hold of a ship!”
“Ha! that’s the ripple of water! she moves,—she moves!”
We were again afloat on the waters!
[ CHAPTER XIX.]
A STORM AND ITS CONSEQUENCES.
“Farewell St. Petersburg, stately city! with thy flat green roofs, and star-spangled domes! Farewell merry-hearted, sandy-haired Russians, bearded Tartars, gay Circassians,—never may we behold you again! Farewell kwas and shtshee, and all the luxuries for too brief a time enjoyed! Where are we going now,—where!”
Such were the complaints which I was wont to pour out during the long tedious voyage which succeeded. Whiskerandos never grumbled, it was not in his nature; he quietly fed on his corn without uttering one melancholy word: but I suspected that he, like myself, associated sailors with rat pies; and to hear any one approach the hold, drove me almost wild with terror.
That was a horrible voyage! A fearful tempest came on before the vessel readied the place of her destination, whatever that might be. The winds whistled and raged, and the ship reeled and plunged like a restive horse; and again and again torrents of salt water came sweeping down into the hold! Then, as the furious storm continued, the very seams of the ship seemed to open like pores, to let in the sea, which was knocking and raging without for admittance, till at length the hold became like a ditch, which we rats could not cross but by swimming!
Then the pumps were set to work—I could hear the men toiling at them day and night; yet the water gained on them notwithstanding their efforts. There were tremendous noises on deck; I fancied once or twice that I could distinguish human cries; and what with the constant splashing of the water as the vessel rolled heavily from side to side, and the bumping and thumping of some casks that had got loose, and were smashing against one another, and the shouting, and the roaring of wind and waves, there was enough to stun and terrify any creature, be he quadruped or biped!
Such of the corn as remained in our sack was becoming so soft from salt water that it had acquired the consistence of a pudding. But we had now no heart even to eat!
We had so often heard the captain’s voice raised to give loud orders, that we had ceased to pay any particular attention to them, little dreaming that any would concern us further than as they regarded the safety of the vessel. But at length the result of an order to lighten the ship was speedily felt in the hold! Our sack (for we still made it our hiding-place) was suddenly lifted with others; and before we had time even to guess what was intended, splash we went into the sea!