"Yes; I was lying in the cabin of this very brig, which was bound for the west coast of Africa, with a cargo of salt fish from the Provinces. It seemed that, while lying becalmed that morning, they had drifted close to the wreck of the Sea Robin, and the mate, with a couple of men, had boarded it out of curiosity. They had got into their boat again to leave, without a suspicion that anybody was in her, when they heard the noise I made pounding with the old watch. The men said it was only rats, and wanted to go on; but the mate insisted on finding out what it really was.
"All hands, from the captain down, did everything for me; but it was a long time before I recovered from the horror of those two days shut up with the rats in that wreck. I was always on the lookout for some vessel on which I might get a passage to the United States, but we only spoke two on the whole voyage. One of these was bound for South America and the other around the Horn, so I stuck by the brig.
"We made a quick run out, discharged our cargo promptly, and tried to take in our return cargo of palm-oil quickly, so as to start back before the sickly season set in. Somehow, though, everything seemed to work against us. One delay followed another, until we had spent three months on the coast cruising from the mouth of one pestiferous river to another, picking up our cargo in small lots here and there.
"At last the fever broke out among us, and the captain was the first one to go. Then the cook died, and we got Nimbus in his place. Fortunately for us, he was visiting his old home at that time, and ever since he came aboard he has proved one of the best all-round hands I ever had on a vessel. The mate and crew begged me to act as captain and take the brig home, which I finally consented to do. I got away from the coast as quickly as possible, in hopes of saving the rest of them; but having once got its hold, the fever would not let go, and they dropped off one after another. I was taken down nearly a month ago, and the first mate not until two weeks later; but the fever made short work with him, poor fellow! When I got about again I found that Nimbus and I were the only ones left, and nothing but his constant care and good nursing pulled me through. The vessel has been left to drift for I don’t know how long; but, fortunately, we have had no very severe weather, and with such help as Nimbus could give her, she has taken care of herself.
“It’s a sad story, but it’s all past and done with now. After this wonderful meeting with you, I think the hard luck of the old brig must have left her, and within a few days more we’ll carry her, safe and sound, into Gloucester harbor.”
Captain McCloud and Wolfe Brady stood watch for the first half of that night, and at midnight they turned in, while Breeze and Nimbus came on deck.
Two hours later Nimbus, who was steering, lashed his wheel, and said they must heave the log, as the wind had freshened considerably. They got a lantern on deck, and Breeze was to turn and watch the glass, while Nimbus held the reel.
The line had run about half out when it was suddenly slacked by the rising of the brig on a heavy sea. The slack caught on something, and Breeze leaned far over the taffrail to clear it. As he did so the big sea that had lifted her seemed to slide out from under the vessel, she dropped into the hollow with a sharp lurch, and the boy was flung far from her. Without a sound he disappeared, and the blackness of the night closed over him as the brig swept on her course.
CHAPTER XVII.
OVERBOARD AND INBOARD.
Nimbus was of a peculiarly nervous temperament, and very apt to do things in moments of excitement that he regretted exceedingly as soon as he found time for reflection. So, in the present instance, acting impulsively, as he saw Breeze flung overboard in the darkness, he did just the wrong thing, and what, half a minute later, he would have given anything to undo. He should have tossed overboard a life-preserver or other object that would float, put the helm hard down, and thrown the brig up into the wind, thereby checking her headway and putting her into a position to sail back over the course she had just come. At the same time he should have called Captain McCloud and Wolfe. Above all, he should have instantly cut loose dory No. 6, which was towing astern by a short but stout line, so that Breeze might have a chance of seeing and reaching it almost as soon as he came to the surface after his plunge.