“Aisy, now—avast—row of all!” he cried out in turn; and then, with a sullen, grating sound the boat brought up against a large mass of broken timberwork which the men had no difficulty in recognising as the larger portion of the poop deck. It had the combings of the companion and skylight still attached, as well as a part of one of the ladder-ways, and was in every sense a treasure trove.
“Sure we’re in luck, boys, anyhow,” said Mr McCarthy joyfully. “Be jabers, I niver expected to git so much ov it all at once without any trouble!”
The first mate proceeded without delay to attach the small hawser which they had used for towing the raft to a ring-bolt, left as if for the purpose on the floating mass; and then the men, backing water on one side, and pulling sharp on the other, soon had the boat on her way back to the land, with the mass of broken timberwork trailing behind her. It was in itself, without picking up another plank, more than sufficient to supply all the carpenter’s needs for the roof of the house, “besoides making the ladies a prisint of a staircase for the front door,” as Mr McCarthy observed!
It was fortunate they came across this, for little more of the wreckage was secured, the tide having evidently carried out the lighter portions of the planking too far to sea for it to be brought back again by the returning flood. It was probably only owing to the weight of the poop-deck that they had been able to make certain of that.
Still, on making a trip out to the reef later on, to see whether any more of the timbers remained there, a “find” was discovered which greatly rejoiced Snowball’s heart when it was brought on shore.
This was nothing less than one of the ship’s coppers, which had become detached from the galley framework and in falling on to the reef had managed to get securely fixed between the rocks, just a little below the surface of the water. A couple of the men were easily able to pull it up into the jolly-boat, where, on being inspected, it was found perfectly sound and as good as ever!
“Golly, massa,” exclaimed the darkey, when Mr Meldrum presented him with the recovered copper—which Snowball looked upon almost as the apple of his eye—“me able cook pea-shoop now, sah, and bile de beef in ’spectable style, sah! Dat sospan, massa, no good for ship’s company. Um bile, and bile, and bile, and nebbah bile enuff!”
“Ah! mind you don’t go cooking too extravagantly,” said Mr Meldrum. “If I see you wasting anything, I’ll taboo the copper.”
“Lor, massa, I’se too careful for dat,” replied the negro cook, with a grin which displayed his ivory-mounted mouth from ear to ear; “when de men sing out for more thoop, why, sah, I just water um grog! Yah, yah! ho, ho!” and he burst into a roar of laughter in which those around could not help joining, the darkey’s hearty merriment was so contagious.