“I tell you it’s all wrong,” cried Schriften; “that is the man: let him give up the charm.”
“Yes, yes; let him give up the charm,” cried the sailors; and they rushed upon Philip.
Philip started back to where the captain stood. “Madmen, know ye what ye are about? It is the holy cross that I wear round my neck. Throw it overboard if you dare, and your souls are lost for ever;” and Philip took the relic from his bosom and showed it to the captain.
“No, no, men;” exclaimed the captain, who was now more settled in his nerves; “that won’t do—the saints protect us.”
The seamen, however, became clamorous; one portion were for throwing Schriften overboard, the other for throwing Philip; at last, the point was decided by the captain, who directed the small skiff hanging astern to be lowered down, and ordered both Philip and Schriften to get into it. The seamen approved of this arrangement, as it satisfied both parties. Philip made no objection; Schriften screamed and fought, but he was tossed into the boat. There he remained trembling in the stern-sheets, while Philip, who had seized the sculls, pulled away from the vessel in the direction of the Phantom Ship.
Chapter Forty Two.
In a few minutes the vessel which Philip and Schriften had left was no longer to be discerned through the thick haze; the Phantom Ship was still in sight, but at a much greater distance from them than she was before. Philip pulled hard towards her, but although hove to, she appeared to increase her distance from the boat. For a short time he paused on his oars, to regain his breath, when Schriften rose up and took his seat in the stern-sheets of the boat. “You may pull and pull, Philip Vanderdecken,” observed Schriften; “but you will not gain that ship—no, no, that cannot be—we may have a long cruise together, but you will be as far from your object at the end of it, as you are now at the commencement.—Why don’t you throw me overboard again? You would be all the lighter—He! he!”
“I threw you overboard in a state of phrenzy,” replied Philip, “when you attempted to force from me my relic.”