CHAPTER FIVE.
HOMEWARD BOUND.
At the date of this story the discharging of a cargo was a much moreleisurely operation than it is at the present day; and Bob therefore hadseveral opportunities of taking a run ashore and looking round the townand suburbs of Sydney. The passengers--such of them, that is, as wereresidents in or near Sydney--had one and all given Bob most pressinginvitations to visit them whenever he could obtain leave; and on the daybut one following the arrival of the ship, a very prettily-worded andpressing little note had come to him from Blanche Lascelles to say thatthe friends with whom she and Violet were staying at Cookstown would bedelighted to make his acquaintance; so that Bob was never at a loss fora place whither to direct his steps whenever he could get ashore. Heconsequently managed to see a good deal of the place, and thoroughlyenjoyed the seven weeks during which the _Galatea_ lay in Sydneyharbour.
The outward cargo discharged, the homeward freight of wool began to comedown, and the stevedores were kept busy all day long screwing it into assmall a compass as possible in the hold.
Meanwhile Captain Staunton was in great tribulation. The gold-fever wasthen at its height in Australia. The precious metal had been discoveredsome years before, but about a month previous to the arrival of the_Galatea_ in Sydney, news had come down the country of the discovery ofa new auriferous region, the richness and extent of which was said to besomething past belief. The result of this rumour was that every idleloafer who arrived in an Australian port made it his first business todesert from his ship and start hot-foot for the gold-fields. If thematter had ended here the shipmasters would have had cause tocongratulate themselves rather than the reverse, but unfortunately forthem it was not so. The gold-fever had stricken _everybody_--merchantseven, mechanics, clerks, all in fact but the few cool hands who realisedthat by remaining in the half-deserted towns they were _sure_ of makingthat fortune the winning of which at the diggings was problematical; andone consequence of this was that when seamen deserted a ship no onecould be found to take their places; and Captain Staunton could stand onhis own poop and count at least fifty vessels whose cargoes were onboard, hatches battened down, and everything ready for sea; but therethey lay, unable to sail for want of a crew to man them.
Now the _Galatea_ was not in quite so bad a plight as this; for when thelast bale of wool had been screwed in and the hatches put on, therestill remained in her forecastle eight good men and true--six belongingto the port watch and two to the starboard--who had resisted all thealluring dreams of fortunes to be made in a day at the diggings. Theother eight had deserted in a body one Sunday, very cleverly eluding thepolice, whose chief duty it then was to prevent such occurrences. Thesecond mate and the cook were also missing. Hence Captain Staunton'sanxiety. On the one hand, he was averse to the extreme step of takinghis ship to sea half-manned; and on the other, he was haunted by theconstant dread of losing still more of his men if he remained in portuntil he had made up his complement.
At length, however, to his infinite relief, he chanced upon half a dozenmen who, in consideration of the payment of fabulous wages, undertook toship for the homeward passage. They were as lawless and ruffianly-looking a set of fellows as one need ever care to encounter; but, as MrBowles observed, they could at least pull and haul, and once at sea andaway from the demoralising influence of the grog-shops, who knew butthey might settle down into steady serviceable hands. At all eventsthey would not want for a good example on the part of their shipmates,the remnant of the original crew, for these were without exceptionthoroughly steady, reliable men, although one of them was Boyd, the manwho had been shot by Mr Carter for refusal to obey orders.
These men secured, Captain Staunton resolved to avoid all further riskby sailing at once. It was true that the ship would be still rathershort-handed--which was all the more to be regretted inasmuch as she wasin light trim and a trifle crank--but he reflected that he might lie inport for the next six months without securing another man; and ittherefore seemed to him best under the circumstances to make shift withwhat he had, and get away to sea forthwith. Hasty summonses wereaccordingly despatched to the few passengers who had taken berths; andthese all coming on board next day, the anchor was hove up, and eveningsaw the _Galatea_ standing off the land and heading to the eastward,with every sail set and dragging at her like a cart-horse.
The passengers were this time only six in number, namely, Blanche andViolet, Messrs. Dale, Fortescue, and Brook, who had lost the contractwhich they went out in the hope of securing, entirely through theobstinacy of the head of the firm, and a Mr Evelin, formerly a captainin the Royal Engineers, who had thrown up his commission to go gold-digging, and who, thanks to his technical training, supplemented byarduous special study of geology, had been successful to anextraordinary degree, and was now returning home master of a handsomefortune.
Launcelot, or Lance Evelin, was a tall handsome man of about thirty-five, with the physique of a Hercules, the result of some six months'toil and exposure at the diggings, deeply bronzed, clear cut features,half concealed by a heavy moustache and beard of a golden chestnut hue,clear grey eyes, and wavy hair a shade darker than the beard. He provedan immense acquisition to the ladies, who would otherwise have beenalmost entirely dependent on Rex Fortescue for amusement; Mr Dale beingaltogether too savage at his recent failure to make an agreeableassociate, which indeed he never was, even at the best of times; whileBrook, willing though he was to do his best, was too pugnacious, ill-bred, and illiterate to be more than just barely tolerated. RexFortescue and Violet, it was perfectly clear, were daily sinking deeperinto that condition wherein people are conscious of the existence of twoindividuals only--their two selves--in the whole world; so that poorlittle Blanche would soon have found herself quite out in the cold hadnot Mr Evelin taken compassion upon her and devoted himself to heramusement. He knew London well; and, on comparing notes, it soontranspired that he knew several people with whom Blanche was alsoacquainted; so they got on capitally together, especially as Lancepossessed in an eminent degree the art of making his conversationinteresting. Later on, too, when he had thawed a little, he wouldrelate story after story of his adventures at the gold-fields, some ofwhich convulsed his companion with laughter, while others made hershudder and nestle unconsciously a little closer to the narrator.
But notwithstanding this Blanche still found time to chat occasionallywith Bob. The lad was very fond of steering, indeed he had won thereputation of being the finest helmsman in the ship, and he was alwaysready to take a "trick" at the wheel during either of the dog-watches,and so give the rightful helmsman a chance to stay "for'ard" and amusehimself with his shipmates; and when this was the case Blanche generallyused to seat herself in a deck-chair near him, and chatter away upon anytopic which came uppermost.
She had been thus amusing herself one evening when, as eight bellsstruck and Bob walked forward on being relieved from the wheel, LanceEvelin, who had been smoking his cigar on the break of the poop, andwatching from a distance the "carryings-on" of the men upon theforecastle, sauntered to her side and opened conversation with theremark--
"How singularly exact a repetition of the same features you will observein some families; doubtless you have often noticed it, Miss Lascelles?Now, there is that fine young fellow Legerton, _anyone_ would recognisehim as a connection of yours, and I have often been on the point ofasking you in what manner you are related to each, other. Am Iunpardonably inquisitive?"
"By no means, Mr Evelin. It is a question easily answered; I am notaware that we are related in the most remote degree."
"You are _not_?" he exclaimed in a tone of the greatest surprise. "I amsure I most earnestly beg your pardon; how very stupid of me to makesuch a mistake; but the resemblance between you two is so very strikingthat, although no one has ever said a word to lead me to such aconclusion, I have never doubted, from the moment I came on board, thatyou must be closely related. I am sure I am quite at a loss for wordswherewith to express my ap
ologies."
"No apology is necessary, I assure you, Mr Evelin," returned Blanche."On the contrary, I feel rather flattered by your supposition, for Igreatly admire Robert's many sterling qualities. And what a bold bravefellow he is too, notwithstanding his quiet unassuming manner. If youfeel any curiosity as to his history Captain Staunton will be only toohappy to furnish you with full particulars; he can enlighten you farbetter than I can, and the story is worth listening to; the manner oftheir first acquaintance especially is a romance in itself."
Lance's curiosity was aroused; but, instead of referring to the skipper,he preferred to hear the story from Blanche's own pretty lips; andsinking down into a deck-chair beside her he listened with interest toall that the fair girl could tell him respecting Bob.
"Poor fellow!" he remarked when Blanche had finished her story, "and hehas never been able to find a clue to his parentage! It is verysingular; there surely _must_ be relatives of his still in existencesomewhere. Did the fishermen who saved his life never make anyinquiries?"
"No, it appears not," answered Blanche. "According to Robert's ownaccount, though he always speaks with the greatest respect and affectionof the old man who adopted him, the people among whom he was thrown arevery simple and ignorant of everything outside the pale of their owncalling, and it would seem that they really did not know how to setabout instituting an inquiry."
"Well, what you have told me has interested me so much, and the ladhimself has made such a favourable impression upon me, that I believe Ishall really feel more than half-inclined to undertake the somewhatQuixotic task of seeking his relatives myself when we reach England.Who knows but that it might be my good fortune to gladden the heart of afather or mother whose life has been embittered for years by the loss ofperhaps an only son?" half laughingly remarked Lance.
"Ah! do not jest upon such a subject," exclaimed Blanche. "Youevidently have not the least idea what a complete blight such a loss maycast upon a parent's life. I have. There is my poor uncle, SirRichard, who has never held up his head since he lost his wife and childat sea. My mother has told me that before his terrible bereavementthere was not a more genial light-hearted happy man living than uncleDick; but he has never been known to smile since the dreadful news firstreached him; and though he has always struggled bravely against hisgreat sorrow, I feel sure he looks forward eagerly to the time when heshall be called away to rejoin his wife and his baby boy."
"How very sad!" remarked Lance in sympathetic tones. "I am slightlyacquainted with Sir Richard Lascelles, that is to say, I have met himonce or twice, and I have often wondered what great trouble it could bethat seemed to be pressing so heavily upon him. If it would notdistress you too much I should like to hear how he met with his terribleloss."
"I have no objection to tell you," answered Blanche. "It occurred veryshortly after I was born. My uncle was then a younger son, with verylittle expectation of ever succeeding to the baronetcy, for there weretwo brothers older than himself, and he had a captain's commission inthe army. He had married a lady of whom, because she happened to haveno money, his father strongly disapproved, and a serious quarrel betweenfather and son was the consequence.
"Shortly after his marriage my uncle's regiment was ordered off to NorthAmerica, and uncle Dick naturally took his wife with him. The regimentwas moved about from place to place, and finally, when my uncle had beenmarried about three years, was broken up into detachments; that which hecommanded being sent, in consequence of some trouble with the Indians,to an important military outpost at a considerable distance up theOttawa River.
"Of course it was quite impossible for my aunt to accompany her husbandinto the wilds, especially as she was then the mother of a son someeighteen months old, and the question which arose was, What was she todo?
"It was at first proposed that she should establish herself in Montrealuntil the return of the expedition; but a letter reaching her just atthat time stating that her mother's health was failing, it was hastilydecided that my aunt should return to England, taking of course herlittle son with her.
"Everything had to be done in a great hurry, and my uncle had barelytime to pack his wife's boxes and see her safely _en route_ for Montrealbefore he set out with his detachment for the post to which he had beenordered.
"My aunt arrived safely at Montreal, but failing to find there a shipready to sail for England, went on to Quebec, which she reached just intime to embark for London. She had written to my uncle from Montreal,and she wrote again from Quebec, the letter reaching her husband's handsas he was on the point of marching out of the fort on a night expeditionagainst a band of hostile Indians who had been discovered in theneighbourhood.
"An engagement took place, in which my uncle was desperately wounded andnarrowly escaped falling into the hands of the Indians. His mensucceeded, however, in saving him and making good their own retreat intothe fort, where poor uncle Dick lay hovering for weeks between life anddeath. After a long and weary struggle his splendid constitutiontriumphed; and with the return of consciousness came anxious thoughtsrespecting his wife and child. He remembered the letter which had beenhanded to him as he marched out upon that ill-starred expedition, theletter which he had never had an opportunity to read, and he made eagerinquiries respecting it. It was found in an inner breast-pocket of hisuniform coat, but it had been so thoroughly saturated with his ownblood, poor fellow, that it was practically undecipherable; by carefulsoaking and washing he at last succeeded in ascertaining that my auntand her baby had actually sailed from Quebec, but on what date or inwhat ship it was quite impossible to learn. And that was the last newshe ever heard of them."
"How very dreadful!" murmured Lance. "Of course he made every possibleinquiry respecting their fate?"
"Not immediately," answered Blanche. "He waited patiently for news ofmy aunt's arrival in England; but as mail after mail came withoutbringing him any intelligence he grew uneasy, and finally wrote to hismother-in-law asking an explanation of the unaccountable silence. Thisletter remained unanswered; but just when his uneasiness had increasedto such a pitch that he had determined to apply for leave of absence inorder to proceed to England, it was returned to him through the dead-letter office. This decided him at once. He applied for leave and itwas refused. He then threw up his commission, and at once proceeded toEngland; the fearful conviction growing upon him that something dreadfulhad happened. He stopped at Quebec for a fortnight on his way home,making inquiry at all the ship-owners' and brokers' offices in theplace, endeavouring to learn the name of the ship in which his wife hadbeen a passenger; but, strange to say, he could gain no trace of them.Whether it was that the people of whom he inquired were careless andindifferent, or whether it was that passenger-lists were not at thattime regularly kept as they now are, it is of course impossible to say,but it is a fact that he was compelled to leave America without thesmallest scrap of information respecting his dear ones beyond thatcontained in the blood-stained letter.
"On his arrival in England he proceeded direct to his mother-in-law'sformer residence, to find it, as he feared, in the possession ofstrangers. He then, with considerable difficulty, hunted up the lawyerwho had managed Mrs Percival's (his mother-in-law's) money matters, andlearned from him that the old lady had died some seven months before.And in reply to his further inquiries he was informed that his wife andchild had never reached Mrs Percival's home. The old lady hadcertainly expected them, the lawyer said, but she had never receivedmore than one letter which my uncle had hurriedly written mentioning thefact of their departure for England.
"Poor uncle Dick now found himself completely at a loss; so, as the bestplan he could think of, he put the affair into his lawyer's hands,handing him also the blood-stained letter. This letter was soonafterwards intrusted to a chemist, who, in attempting to cleanse it,destroyed it altogether, and thus passed away the only clue which myuncle possessed. It is now rather more than sixteen years since my auntsailed from Quebec, and poor uncle Dick has never
succeeded in gaining atrace of her fate to this day."
"Poor fellow!" ejaculated Lance, in an absent sort of way. "I'm sure Isincerely pity and sympathise with him. What! going below already?Then allow me to conduct you as far as the companion."
Blanche bade Lance good-night at the head of the saloon staircase; heraised his smoking-cap, and then returning sauntered up and down thepoop for over an hour, with his hands behind him, and his eyes fixed onthe deck, apparently in a brown study.
A few days after the narration of Blanche's story, Lance Evelin,noticing Bob at the wheel, strolled up to him and asked him for hishistory.
"Miss Lascelles gave me the outlines of it a night or two ago, and itstruck me as so peculiar and interesting that I should like to hear fullparticulars," he explained, puffing lazily at his cigar meanwhile.
"Where would you like me to begin, Mr Evelin?" asked Bob.
"At the beginning of course, my dear fellow," laughingly answered Lance."I want to know _everything_. Do you remember being found on board thewreck?"
"Sometimes I think I do; and at other times I think it must be only therecollection of a dream which has produced a more than usually strongimpression upon me," answered Bob. "Now and then--perhaps not more thanhalf a dozen times altogether--when I have been lying half asleep andhalf awake, a confused and indistinct idea presents itself of a ship'scabin seen through a half-opened state-room door, with a lamp swingingviolently to and fro; of a woman's face, beautiful as--oh! I cannotdescribe it; something like Miss Dudley's, only still more beautiful, ifyou can imagine such a thing. Then the dream, or whatever it is, getsstill more confused; I seem to be in cold and wet and darkness, and Ifancy I hear a sound like men shouting, mingled with the roar of thewind and the rush of the sea; then--then--I seem to have been kissed--yes--and the beautiful face seems to be bending over me again, but I amin the light and the warmth once more; and--then it all passes away; andif I try to carry my thoughts back to the first circumstance which I candistinctly remember, I see myself again with other boys, paddling aboutbarefoot on the shore at Brightlingsea."
"Ah!" ejaculated Lance, contemplatively. "I have no doubt but that--ifthe truth could be arrived at, which of course it never can be in thisworld--this dream, or whatever you like to call it, is the faintrecollection which still remains impressed on your memory of some of theincidents connected with the wreck of your ship--what was her name, bythe by? The _Lightning_, of London! Um; that's not a very difficultname to remember, at all events. And the beautiful face of which youspoke--is your impression of it clear enough to enable you to describeit? Or, supposing it possible for you to see a picture of the original,do you think you would recognise it?--Do you mind my asking thesequestions? No; that's all right; but if it is in the least painful toyou, I will not put them. You see, Legerton, I have very little doubtthat face was the face of your mother; and I confess I feel a triflecurious to know how far back a man can carry his remembrance of hismother. I cannot remember anything about mine previous to my fourthbirthday."
"Well," answered Bob, "I can scarcely remember the face clearly enoughto describe it. All I can say about it is that it was very beautiful,with tender loving eyes and dark hair, which I am almost sure must havebeen worn in curls; but I think that if ever I saw a really good pictureof it I should recognise it directly."
"You would, eh?" said Lance. "Very well, now go ahead--if you are nottired of talking--and tell me about the old fellow who found you, andthe sort of life you led as a fisherman, and so on; it is all veryinteresting, I assure you; quite as much so as any of the novels in thesaloon book-case."
Bob accordingly went ahead, his companion occasionally interrupting himwith a question; and when the story was finished Lance rose andstretched himself, saying as he turned to walk away--
"Thank you very much. Your story is so interesting that I think I shallmake a few notes of it for the benefit of a literary friend of mine; soif you meet with it in print some day you must not be very muchsurprised."
And as Bob saw him shortly afterwards, note-book in hand; and as thisstory actually _is_ in print, it is to be presumed that Mr Lance Evelinreally carried out his expressed intention.
On the day following this conversation the wind, which had been blowingsteadily from the westward for some time, suddenly dropped; and by fourbells in the afternoon watch it had fallen to a dead calm; the shiprolling like a log on the heavy swell. Not the faintest trace of cloudcould be discerned in the stupendous vault which sprang in delicatecarnation and primrose tints from the encircling horizon, passingthrough a multitude of subtle gradations of colour until it became atthe zenith a broad expanse of clearest purest deepest blue. Theatmosphere was transparent to an almost extraordinary degree, the slow-moving masses of swell rising sharply outlined to the very verge of thehorizon, while the mast-heads of a far-distant ship stood out clear andwell-defined, like two minute and delicately drawn thin lines on thepale primrose background of the sky.
Suddenly, however, a curious phenomenon occurred. A subtle but distinctand instantaneous change of colour took place, which made it seem asthough the spectators were regarding the scene through tinted glass.All the brilliance and purity and beauty of the various hues had diedout. The dazzling ultramarine of the zenith became indigo; the cleartransparent hues of the horizon thickened and deepened to a leaden-grey;the sun gleamed aloft pallid and rayless, like a ghost of its formerself; and the ocean, black and turbid, heaved restlessly, writhing as ifin torture. An intense and unnatural silence, too, seemed suddenly tohave fallen upon nature, enwrapping the scene as with a mantle, asilence in which the flap of the canvas, the pattering of the reef-points, the _cheep_ of blocks, and the occasional clank of the rudder-chains, fell upon the ear with a sharpness which was positively painful.
The occupants of the _Galatea's_ deck glanced from one to another,dismayed; Violet Dudley's startled whisper to Rex Fortescue of "Whatdreadful thing is about to happen?" being but the utterance of thethought which flashed through every brain.
Captain Staunton, turning to Mr Bowles, who was standing beside him, inlow tones requested that trusty officer to keep a look-out for a minuteor two; and then hurried down to the saloon to consult his barometer.He returned to the deck in less than a minute, his face wearing a lookof anxiety and concern which was very rarely to be seen there.
"_The glass has fallen a full inch within the last half-hour_" hemuttered, as he rejoined the mate.
Then in a louder tone of voice he added, "Call all hands, Mr Bowles, ifyou please, and shorten sail at once. Stow everything except the lowerfore and main topsails and the fore-topmast stay-sail; I think we aregoing to have a change of weather."
The seamen were as much startled as the occupants of the poop, by thepreternatural change in the aspect of the sky; and they sprang to theirposts with all the alacrity of men who anticipate a deadly struggle, andbelieve they may have none too much time for preparation. The work ofshortening sail proceeded rapidly but methodically and in an orderlymanner--Captain Staunton had never before in all his experiencewitnessed anything quite like what was now passing around him, and wasoppressed by an undefined foreboding of some terrible catastrophe; buthe was too brave a man and too thorough a seaman to allow aught of thisto appear in either countenance, voice, or manner; nor would he allowthe work to be hurried through with inconsiderate haste; he saw that themen were startled; and it rested with him to steady them, restore theirconfidence, and so prepare them for the coming struggle, whatever itsnature might be.
Meanwhile, the atmospheric phenomena were momentarily assuming a moreand more portentous aspect. The sky deepened in tint from indigo to apurple black; the sun lost its pallid sickly gleam and hung in the sableheavens a lurid blood-red ball until it became obscured by heavy massesof dusky vapour which had gathered imperceptibly in the firmament, andnow seemed to be settling slowly down upon the ship's mast-heads,rolling and writhing like huge tortured serpents, meanwhile. Thesilence--broken though it w
as by the sounds of preparation on board--grew even more oppressively intense and death-like than before; anddarkness now came to add new terrors to the scene; not the wholesomesolemn darkness of nightfall, but a weird unearthly gloom which wasneither night nor day, a gloom which descended and encompassed themstealthily and menacingly, contracting the horizon until nothing couldbe seen further than half a mile from the ship, and which still seemedto be saturated with a pale spectral shimmering light, in the which menlooked in each other's eyes like reanimated corpses. The oceanpresented an aspect no less appalling; at one moment black as the watersof the Styx, and indistinguishable beyond the distance of a cable'slength, and anon gleaming into view to the very verge of the horizon, apalpitating sheet of greenish ghastly phosphorescent light.
The canvas was stowed, down to the lower fore and main topsail and thefore-topmast stay-sail, and the men were about to hurry down from aloftwhen Captain Staunton stopped them.
"Clew up and stow the lower topsails as well," he shouted; adding in anundertone to Mr Bowles, "I don't know _what_ to expect; but itthreatens to be something terrible; and the less canvas we show to itthe better. The stay-sail will be quite as much as we shall want, Iexpect."
The topsails were stowed, and the men came down on deck again, evidentlyglad to find themselves there once more, and huddling together on theforecastle like frightened sheep.
The passengers were clustered together on the poop, standing in a groupsomewhat apart from the skipper and the mate, awaiting pale and silentthe _denouement_. Bob, who had been aloft helping to stow the mizencanvas, stepped up to them as he swung himself out of the rigging, and,addressing himself more particularly to Violet and Blanche, recommendedthem to go below at once.
"These warnings," said he, "are not for nothing. The precautions whichCaptain Staunton has taken show clearly enough that he expects somethingquite out of the common; and the change is likely enough to come upon ussuddenly, bringing perhaps some of our top-hamper about our ears; so, ifyou ladies will be advised, I would recommend you to go below where youwill certainly be in much less danger."
Blanche and Violet looked at each other inquiringly. "_I_ shall remainhere," said Violet, unconsciously tightening her hold upon RexFortescue's arm as she spoke. "Whatever happens, I would very muchrather be here, where I can see the full extent of the danger, than pentup in a cabin picturing to myself I know not what horrors."
Blanche expressed the same determination; but Mr Dale hurried at onceto the companion, loudly lamenting that he had ever intrusted hisprecious self to the `beastly treacherous sea!'
His remarks attracted Captain Staunton's attention to the party; and heat once stepped hurriedly toward them exclaiming, "Good heavens, ladiesand gentlemen! let me beg you to go below at once; I had no idea youwere here. The saloon is the safest place for you all at a time likethis; you will be out of harm's way there, while here--"
"Look out!" shouted Mr Bowles. "Here it comes with a vengeance. Takecare of yourselves, everybody."
The gloom had visibly deepened, until it became difficult for thosegrouped together on the poop to distinguish each other's features, and alow deep humming sound was now audible, which increased in volume withstartling rapidity.
"Go below all of you, I beg," repeated Captain Staunton in anxioustones, "and be as quick as you can about it, please. What is thematter, Mr Dale?" as that individual stood a few steps down thestaircase, grasping the handrail on each side, neither descendinghimself nor allowing anyone else to do so.
"My book," exclaimed Dale; "I left a book on one of the hen-coops,and--"
His further remarks were drowned in the deafening din of the tempest,which at this moment swooped down upon the ship with indescribable fury,striking her full upon her starboard broadside, and hurling her over inan instant on her beam-ends. The group gathered about the companion-waymade an instinctive effort to save themselves, Rex Fortescue flinginghis arm about Violet Dudley's waist and dragging her with him to themizen-mast, where he hung on desperately to a belaying-pin. Brooknimbly scrambled upon the upturned weather side of the companion.Evelin, exasperated by Mr Dale's ill-timed anxiety about his book, hadstepped inside the companion-way and down a stair or two to summarilyremove the obstructor, and the two were flung together to the bottom ofthe staircase. Blanche, left thus without a protector, clungconvulsively for a moment to one of the open doors of the companion; buther strength failing her, she let go and fell backwards with a shriekinto the water which foamed hungrily up over the lee rail.
Bob, who had made a spring for the weather mizen rigging, was justpassing a turn or two of a rope round his body when, happening to turnhis head, he saw Blanche fall. To cast himself adrift and springheadlong after her was the work of an instant, and he succeeded ingrasping her dress just in the nick of time, for in another instant theship would have driven over her, and Blanche's fate would have beensealed. As it was, they both had a very narrow escape, for Bob in hishaste had omitted to take a rope's-end with him, and had consequently nomeans of returning inboard, or rather, for the lee side of the deck wasburied in the water, of regaining a place of safety. In this emergencyBrook, who was a witness of the scene, acted in a very prompt andcreditable manner. The rope, by which Bob had been in the act ofsecuring himself, streamed out in the wind in such a way as to comewithin Brook's reach, and by its aid he at once drew himself up towindward, and, climbing out on to the weather side of the ship,dexterously dropped from thence a coiled-up rope's-end, which he hadtaken off a belaying-pin, directly down upon Bob's head. Bob at oncegrasped the rope with his disengaged hand, and with a rapid twist threwtwo or three turns round his arm, whereupon Brook, exerting all hisstrength, drew his prizes steadily up the steeply inclined deck untilthey were able to scramble into the place he had vacated upon thecompanion.
The Pirate Island: A Story of the South Pacific Page 5
