“I hope we should do our duty if we did have a fire, discipline or no discipline,” said the captain gruffly, and the subject dropped.
It was a trifling incident, but it set several people on board thinking. It was, however, soon forgotten, and with the sea, as Billy Widgeon said, as smooth as a mill-pond, and all sail set, the great East Indiaman continued her course, the journey now being thoroughly enjoyable.
There were plenty of little incidents occurring to keep the trip from being monotonous. About every twenty-four hours Mr Gregory was finding fault with David Jimpny, who seemed to be one of those unfortunates who never succeed. From scraps of his history, which he insisted upon retailing to Mark when he could find him alone, it seemed that his life had been so many scenes of trouble.
“I’m a-trying hard, sir, as hard as I can, to be a sailor, but I don’t get on. My hands never seem to manage ropes, and it’s no use for Mr Gregory to bully me. I daren’t go up these rope ladders; if I did I know I should be drowned.”
In spite of this Mr Gregory one day ordered him aloft, and the poor fellow managed to get up as high as the mainmast head, when he seemed entirely to lose his nerve, and, letting his legs slip in between the shrouds, he clung there with his hands clutching the ratlines, and holding on for life.
“Go on up, sir; go on up,” shouted the first-mate, and his hoarse orders attracted the attention of the passengers. But the poor fellow did not move, and growing tired at last, the mate ordered him to come down.
This order was of as much effect as those which preceded it, the man remaining motionless.
“If this was only the royal navy,” cried the mate, “I’d have you spread-eagled up there and lashed to the rigging till you got used to it. Here, where are you going, youngster?”
“Up to see what’s the matter,” said Mark coolly; and swinging himself up he began to climb the rigging.
It was his first attempt, and as his feet began to make acquaintance with the ratlines he awoke for the first time to the fact that though they looked just like a ladder to climb it was a very different matter. They gave and the shrouds felt loose and seemed to sway; the height above looked terrific, and the distance below to the deck quite startling. That clean-boarded deck, too, appeared as if it would be horribly hard to fall upon; but a doubt arose in his mind as to what would be the consequences if he slipped—would he fall with a crash upon the deck, or slip part of the way down the shrouds, and be shot off into that extremely soft place, the sea?