It was a bad plan, for the first thing they did was to loosen the men in the forksel, when out they came yelling and savage, but only to stand and stare for a few moments at the smoke rolling up through the tarpaulin, which now began to blaze.
That it was an accident, was now plain enough, for, taking no notice of us, they began, in a hurried sort of way, to draw buckets of water and throw over it; then two men got to one of the pumps, but what they did seemed a mere nothing. Then a panic seemed to seize them, and throwing down the buckets, they began busily to get one of the boats ready, throwing in a compass and anything they could lay hands on, some fetching rum and biscuit up out of the cabin, and all in a hurried frightened way, as if not a moment was to be lost, and they might expect the ship to blow up any minute.
All at once Mr Ward darts forward, shouting, “Lend a hand here, and we shall save her yet!” and for the next quarter of an hour no one would have thought there had been a mutiny, for we were all working away side by side against what was an enemy to both parties; and bucket after bucket was poured into the burning hole, but with no more effect than if the buckets had been thimbles.
The fire and smoke came rolling up, and rising higher and higher, while, as if to fan the flames, a sharp wind blew seemingly from all four quarters at once, making the flames roar again; and first one and then another threw his bucket into the fire, and began running below for provisions to put in the two boats.
I think Mr Ward was the last man to drop his bucket; and that was when the flames had risen and risen in a column of fire to lick the rigging, and then began leaping from rope to rope, and sail to sail, till the mizen was one blaze of light, brightening the sea far and wide, till it looked like so much golden oil, without a ripple upon it anywhere.
They soon had one boat lowered, and were busy over the other, getting in everything that they thought would be useful, we all helping; and it was in this boat that Van seemed to intend going; for, letting Brassey take charge of the other, and telling him to push off and lay-to, he kept back four of his party, and helped with a will.
All at once I missed Mr Tomtit; but he appeared directly after; and I knew what he had been doing—letting loose his birds; and there were the poor little things fluttering about, and uttering strange cries, as they circled round and round the flames, some only to scorch themselves and fall in; but, as he said, it was better to set them free, than leave them there in their cages to be burned.
At last the boat seemed to contain all that could be put in, and Van’s four men were waiting, when the fat passenger, who was all in a tremble, stepped forward to get down; but Van shoved him back, saying, “Ladies first;” and, crossing to where Miss Bell was kneeling beside her brother, he caught her roughly round the waist, lifted her, and made towards the side, when she shrieked out to me to save her.
“Best go in the boat, miss,” I had half said, when, like as I supposed she did, I seemed to see through Van’s designs, and stepping forward, there was a short scuffle, and I had the panting bird tight in my arms; while, before any one could take a step to stay him, Van slipped over the side into the boat, and stood up in her, shaking his fist at us, and laughing, like a demon as he was, as he told us to “burn and be damned.”
It was hard to realise it at first; but there were both boats rowing slowly away, plainly to be seen in the golden light shed by the flames; and we eight souls, one a fair delicate woman, left to burn upon that roaring furnace of a ship.