Captain Taber being still too weak to be moved with safety, and Mr. Winsloe never having been into the place before, Mr. Merritt became pilot, and C. B., who was well able to criticize, was charmed at the consummate ease with which his chum took the vessel in under all sail in spite of the baffling winds, which necessitated constant attention to the braces and halyards. Port Lloyd is nothing but the crater of a mighty volcano, extinct ages ago, and by some awful convulsion of nature sunk down low enough for one breach in it to form the entrance with a general depth of over twenty fathoms, while the remaining sides of the crater tower up to a height of seven or eight hundred feet. As might be expected there are many reefs and ledges within the harbour, but they are easily seen from aloft when coming in, and the central anchorage, into which a vessel must needs be warped by kedges, is a natural dock with an almost level bottom of ten fathoms depth, secure from every wind that blows and with splendid holding ground.
Into this beautiful nook the Eliza Adams was taken and secured to the immense satisfaction of all on board, and especially to Mr. Winsloe, who now felt able to take that rest which he badly needed, and, as there were several whaleships there, to get advice from other commanders about the state of his captain’s health. Besides, it was an ideal place for all those things that a ship like a whaler needs, good water, plenty of fruit and vegetables, and swarms of excellent fish.
The sails were hardly furled before the captains of three of the whaleships, the Phoenix, the James Arnold, and the Coral were alongside and coming on board were received by Mr. Winsloe with great delight. They heard of the adventure which had laid Captain Taber low with grave faces, and after Mr. Winsloe had first ascertained that Captain Taber was fit to receive them they descended to his cabin and greeted him with that deep cordiality which used to be so marked a feature among these men, brothers in arms, knowing and respecting one another from a thorough knowledge of the high qualities that went to make up the complete whaleman.
But when they saw the wreck of their old friend, and had made a careful examination of his injuries, they decided that although it was nothing short of a miracle that he had made so good a recovery, it was hopeless his attempting to finish the voyage. It was evident, they said, that he must for at least a year to come have complete rest and immunity from worry, and they gave it as their decided opinion that he should give up the ship to Winsloe and go home. And although they did not say so to him, they were also of opinion that George Taber would never again be fit to command a ship in the great and strenuous business of sperm whaling.
CHAPTER XV Farewell to the Ship
It would be difficult if not impossible to convey to the reader the consternation that fell upon Captain Taber’s mind when the decision of his fellows were made known to him. How he fought against, not only their sentence, but his own convictions, for during the long hours that he had lain there sensible that the strength and vigour that he once possessed had gone from him and gave no sign of returning, he had been compelled to acknowledge that at last he had, as he put it, come up against a difficulty that he could neither get around nor leap over. And as soon as they were gone, he turned his face to the bulkhead and shed the bitter tears of a strong soul compelled to admit complete defeat.
And then came a gleam of comfort. In his dire distress of mind he thought of C. B., the gentle Christian man, who without making any special effort had twined round his heart strings, who through great and undeserved trials had still retained his serenity of soul, and he felt that here indeed was a man that he could turn to in his hour of need, one who would be able to impart to him some of that inner calm that seemed proof against all outward disturbance however great. Man fashion he hardly thought of the source of that calm, as we enjoy the warmth of a fire in winter without feeling grateful to the elements which make the fire possible. But for that we may not blame him, since he is in this respect so completely at one with the great majority of mankind.
A dim indefinite purpose was shaping itself in his mind, but he did not try to bring it into concrete form, he just laid back upon his pillow exhausted and went to sleep, being indeed almost made worse by the mental strain of the last few hours. And Mr. Winsloe, coming down softly to inquire after his welfare, seeing that he was resting, tip-toed up again. He, the mate, was quite insensibly bettered by this series of happenings, for although, like all other mates, he had ambitions, longed to command a ship, he actually forgot all about the possible benefit to himself, forgot the strong words addressed to him by the skipper in Oahu, forgot all his previous bitterness against C. B. in sorrow for the sympathy for his sorely stricken friend. As yet, however, he had refused to contemplate the possibility of Captain Taber becoming a helpless invalid for life. Terrible though he knew his injuries to be, he had been accustomed to seeing so many what we should call miraculous recoveries, that the fact of his skipper being alive and his wounds healed seemed to him the best evidence that presently he would resume command as if nothing had happened.