“‘No,’ I says firmly; ‘we don’t want no grog. What we require is to know what you mean to do?’
“Instead of answering, he lay back, turned over and shut his eyes; so, seeing that there was no satisfaction to be got, we came away and went forrards again. The men were now thoroughly scared. They said they warn’t going to stand skylarking of this kind, and if the captain didn’t turn to and take charge and sail the ship back to Liverpool, they’d knock off work. I went aft once more with this message, but though I nearly dragged the captain out of his bed, I couldn’t make him understand, nor even rouse him up. So I walked up to the mate and told him of the men’s resolution.
“‘I don’t care,’ says he; ‘it’s no business of mine. I’m not going to do anything without the captain’s orders.’
“We was in a regular fix. The weather was so thick that it would need a ship to come very close to make out any signal we might hoist; we none of us knew where we were, in what direction to steer, what to do with the barque if we took charge of her. Whilst we were debating, the mate came out, and orders us to square the yards.
“‘What for?’ says the crew.
“‘Why, for Liverpool,’ he answers.
“We turned to with a will, the mate standing at the cabin door looking at us. We held on E.S.E. till about midnight, when we spied a light on the port quarter, and the mate said it was the Chickens off the Calf o’ Man. It proved to be nothing of the kind, but Morecambe Bay light. At daybreak the land was plain to be seen about four miles distant, and the captain, who was now on deck, gave orders for the helm to be put up to let her drive ashore, which she did, the lifeboat coming out when we was close on to the beach, and taking us all off. The first to drop into the boat was the skipper; he wasn’t too drunk to do that.
“What d’ye say to this tale of the sea, sir? What’ll the public think of merchant sailors after hearing it? Should you think proper to print it, I’ll allow that there’ll not be a landsman as won’t reckon it an out-and-out twister, spun from the winch o’ your own invention. But, that there may be no doubt about it, just add what the finding of the Court was as inquired into this business: ‘Neither the master nor the mate attended properly to his duties in navigating the vessel. They were both under the influence of drink during the voyage. The vessel was not navigated with proper and seaman-like care. She was stranded owing to the utter neglect from drunkenness of both master and mate. The Court considered that this was about as gross a case as ever came before a court of inquiry, and found both master and mate grievously and wrongfully in default.’
“Mild enough, sir. Had the Court been aboard, you may take your oath they’d have drawed it considerably stronger.”