CHAPTER V
“He sleeps; but dreams of massy gold, And heaps of pearl. He stretch’d his hands-- He hears a voice--
“Ill man withhold!’ A pale one near him stands.”
Dana.
It was near night-fall when the Swash anchored among the low and smallislets mentioned. Rose had been on deck, as the vessel approached thissingular and solitary haven, watching the movements of those on board,as well as the appearance of objects on the land, with the interest hersituation would be-likely to awaken. She saw the light and manageablecraft glide through the narrow and crooked passages that led into theport, the process of anchoring, and the scene of tranquil solitudethat succeeded; each following the other as by a law of nature. Thelight-house next attracted her attention, and, as soon as the sundisappeared, her eyes were fastened on the lantern, in expectation ofbeholding the watchful and warning fires gleaming there, to give themariner notice of the position of the dangers that surrounded the place.Minute went by after minute, however, and the customary illuminationseemed to be forgotten.
“Why is not this light shining?” Rose asked of Mulford, as the young mancame near her, after having discharged his duty in helping to moor thevessel, and in clearing the decks. “All the light-houses we have passed,and they have been fifty, have shown bright lights at this hour, butthis.”
“I cannot explain it; nor have I the smallest notion where we are. Ihave been aloft, and there was nothing in sight but this cluster of lowislets, far or near. I did fancy, for a moment, I saw a speck like adistant sail, off here, to the northward and eastward, but I ratherthink it was a gull, or some other sea-bird glancing upward on thewing. I mentioned it to the captain when I came down, and he appeared tobelieve it a mistake. I have watched that light-house closely, too, eversince we came in, and I have not seen the smallest sign of life aboutit. It is altogether an extraordinary place!”
“One suited to acts of villany, I fear, Harry!”
“Of that we shall be better judges to-morrow. You, at least, have onevigilant friend, who will die sooner than harm shall come to you. Ibelieve Spike to be thoroughly unprincipled; still he knows he can goso far and no further, and has a wholesome dread of the law. But thecircumstance that there should be such a port as this, with a regularlight-house, and no person near the last, is so much out of the commonway, that I do not know what to make of it.”
“Perhaps the light-house keeper is afraid to show himself, in thepresence of the Swash?”
“That can hardly be, for vessels must often enter the port, if port itcan be called. But Spike is as much concerned at the circumstance thatthe lamps are not lighted, as any of us can be. Look, he is aboutto visit the building in the boat, accompanied by two of his oldestsea-dogs.”
“Why might we not raise the anchor, and sail out of this place, leavingSpike ashore?” suggested Rose, with more decision and spirit thandiscretion.
“For the simple reason that the act would be piracy, even if I could getthe rest of the people to obey my orders, as certainly I could not.No, Rose: you, and your aunt, and Biddy, however, might land at thesebuildings, and refuse to return, Spike having no authority over hispassengers.”
“Still he would have the power to make us come back to his brig.Look, he has left the vessel’s side, and is going directly toward thelight-house.”
Mulford made no immediate answer, but remained at Rose’s side, watchingthe movements of the captain. The last pulled directly to the islet withthe buildings, a distance of only a few hundred feet, the light-housebeing constructed on a rocky island that was nearly in the centre of thecluster, most probably to protect it from the ravages of the waves.The fact, however, proved, as Mulford did not fail to suggest to hiscompanion, that the beacon had been erected less to guide vessels intothe haven, than to warn mariners at a distance, of the position of thewhole group.
In less than five minutes after he had landed, Spike himself was seen inthe lantern, in the act of lighting its lamps. In a very short time theplace was in a brilliant blaze, reflectors and all the other parts ofthe machinery of the place performing their duties as regularly as iftended by the usual keeper. Soon after Spike returned on board, andthe anchor-watch was set. Then everybody sought the rest that it wascustomary to take at that hour.
Mulford was on deck with the appearance of the sun; but he found thatSpike had preceded him, had gone ashore again, had extinguished thelamps, and was coming alongside of the brig on his return. A minutelater the captain came over the side.
“You were right about your sail, last night, a’ter all, Mr. Mulford,” said Spike, on coming aft. “There she is, sure enough; and we shall haveher alongside to strike cargo out and in, by the time the people havegot their breakfasts.”
As Spike pointed toward the light-house while speaking, the mate changedhis position a little, and saw that a schooner was coming down towardthe islets before the wind. Mulford now began to understand the motivesof the captain’s proceedings, though a good deal yet remained veiled inmystery. He could not tell where the brig was, nor did he know preciselywhy so many expedients were adopted to conceal the transfer of a cargoas simple as that of flour. But he who was in the secret left but littletime for reflection; for swallowing a hasty breakfast on deck, he issuedorders enough to his mate to give him quite as much duty as he couldperform, when he again entered the yawl, and pulled toward the stranger.
Rose soon appeared on deck, and she naturally began to questionHarry concerning their position and prospects. He was confessing hisignorance, as well as lamenting it, when his companion’s sweet facesuddenly flushed. She advanced a step eagerly toward the open window ofSpike’s state-room, then compressed her full, rich under-lip with theivory of her upper teeth, and stood a single instant, a beautiful statueof irresolution instigated by spirit. The last quality prevailed;and Mulford was really startled when he saw Rose advance quite to thewindow, thrust in an arm, and turn toward him with his own sextant inher hand. During the course of the passage out, the young man had taughtRose to assist him in observing the longitude; and she was now ready torepeat the practice. Not a moment was lost in executing her intention.Sights were had, and the instrument was returned to its place withoutattracting the attention of the men, who were all busy in gettingup purchases, and in making the other necessary dispositions fordischarging the flour. The observations answered the purpose, thoughsomewhat imperfectly made. Mulford had a tolerable notion of theirlatitude, having kept the brig’s run in his head since quittingYutacan; and he now found that their longitude was about 83 o west fromGreenwich. After ascertaining this fact, a glance at the open chart,which lay on Spike’s desk, satisfied him that the vessel was anchoredwithin the group of the Dry Tortugas, or at the western termination ofthe well-known, formidable, and extensive Florida Reef. He hadnever been in that part of the world before, but had heard enough insea-gossip, and had read enough in books, to be at once apprised ofthe true character of their situation. The islets were American; thelight-house was American; and the haven in which the Swash lay was thevery spot in the contemplation of government for an outer man-of-warharbour, where fleets might rendezvous in the future wars of thatportion of the world. He now saw plainly enough the signs of theexistence of a vast reef, a short distance to the southward of thevessel, that formed a species of sea-wall, or mole, to protect the portagainst the waves of the gulf in that direction. This reef he knew to bemiles in width.
There was little time for speculation, Spike soon bringing the strangeschooner directly alongside of the brig. The two vessels immediatelybecame a scene of activity, one discharging, and the other receivingthe flour as fast as it could be struck out of the hold of the Swash andlowered upon the deck of the schooner. Mulford, however, had practised alittle artifice, as the stranger entered the haven, which drew down uponhim an anathema or two from Spike, as soon as they were alone. Themate had set the brig’s ensign, and this compelled the stranger to bemarkedly rude, or to answer the compliment. Accordingly he
had shownthe ancient flag of Spain. For thus extorting a national symbol fromthe schooner, the mate was sharply rebuked at a suitable moment, thoughnothing could have been more forbearing than the deportment of hiscommander when they first met.
When Spike returned to his own vessel, he was accompanied by adark-looking, well-dressed, and decidedly gentleman-like personage, whomhe addressed indifferently, in his very imperfect Spanish, as Don Wan,(Don Juan, or John,) or Se¤or Montefalderon. By the latter appellationhe even saw fit to introduce the very respectable-looking stranger tohis mate. This stranger spoke English well, though with an accent.
“Don Wan has taken all the flour, Mr. Mulford, and intends shoving itover into Cuba, without troubling the custom-house, I believe; but thatis not a matter to give us any concern, you know.”
The wink, and the knowing look by which this speech was accompanied,seemed particularly disagreeable to Don Juan, who now paid hiscompliments to Rose, with no little surprise betrayed in hiscountenance, but with the ease and reserve of a gentleman. Mulfordthought it strange that a smuggler of flour should be so polished apersonage, though his duty did not admit of his bestowing much attentionon the little trifling of the interview that succeeded.
For about an hour the work went steadily and rapidly on. During thattime Mulford was several times on board the schooner, as, indeed, wasJosh, Jack Tier, and others belonging to the Swash. The Spanish vesselwas Baltimore, or clipper built, with a trunk-cabin, and had everyappearance of sailing fast. Mulford was struck with her model, and,while on board of her, he passed both forward and aft to examineit. This was so natural in a seaman, that Spike, while he noted theproceeding, took it in good part. He even called out to his mate, fromhis own quarter-deck, to admire this or that point in the schooner’sconstruction. As is customary with the vessels of southern nations, thisstranger was full of men, but they continued at their work, some halfdozen of brawny negroes among them, shouting their songs as they swayedat the falls, no one appearing to manifest jealousy or concern. Atlength Tier came near the mate, and said,
“Uncle Sam will not be pleased when he hears the reason that the keeperis not in his light-house.”
“And what is that reason, Jack? If you know it, tell it to me.”
“Go aft and look down the companion-way, maty, and see it for yourself.”
Mulford did go aft, and he made an occasion to look down into theschooner’s cabin, where he caught a glimpse of the persons of a man anda boy, whom he at once supposed had been taken from the light-house.This one fact of itself doubled his distrust of the character of Spike’sproceedings. There was no sufficient apparent reason why a mere smugglershould care about the presence of an individual more or less in aforeign port. Everything that had occurred, looked like pre-concertbetween the brig and the schooner; and the mate was just beginningto entertain the strongest distrust that their vessel was holdingtreasonable communication with the enemy, when an accident removed alldoubt on the subject, from his own mind at least. Spike had, once ortwice, given his opinion that the weather was treacherous, and urgedthe people of both crafts to extraordinary exertions, in order that thevessels might get clear of each other as soon as possible. This appealhad set various expedients in motion to second the more regular work ofthe purchases. Among other things, planks had been laid from one vesselto the other, and barrels were rolled along them with very littleattention to the speed or the direction. Several had fallen on theschooner’s deck with rude shocks, but no damage was done, until one,of which the hoops had not been properly secured, met with a fall, andburst nearly at Mulford’s feet. It was at the precise moment when themate was returning, from taking his glance into the cabin, towardthe side of the Swash. A white cloud arose, and half a dozen of theschooner’s people sprang for buckets, kids, or dishes, in order tosecure enough of the contents of the broken barrel to furnish them witha meal. At first nothing was visible but the white cloud that succeededthe fall, and the scrambling sailors in its midst. No sooner, however,had the air got to be a little clear, than Mulford saw an object lyingin centre of the wreck, that he at once recognised for a keg of thegunpowder! The captain of the schooner seized this keg, gave a knowinglook at Mulford, and disappeared in the hold of his own vessel, carryingwith him, what was out of all question, a most material part of the truecargo of the Swash.
At the moment when the flour-barrel burst, Spike was below, in closeconference with his Spanish, or Mexican guest; and the wreck being sosoon cleared away, it is probable that he never heard of the accident.As for the two crews, they laughed a little among themselves at therevelation which had been made, as well as at the manner; but to oldsea-dogs like them, it was a matter of very little moment, whether thecargo was, in reality, flour or gunpowder. In a few minutes the affairseemed to be forgotten. In the course of another hour the Swash waslight, having nothing in her but some pig-lead, which she used forballast, while the schooner was loaded to her hatches, and full. Spikenow sent a boat, with orders to drop a kedge about a hundred yards fromthe place where his own brig lay. The schooner warped up to this kedge,and dropped an anchor of her own, leaving a very short range of cableout, it being a flat calm. Ordinarily, the trades prevail at the DryTortugas, and all along the Florida Reef. Sometimes, indeed, this breezesweeps across the whole width of the Gulf of Mexico, blowing home, as itis called--reaching even to the coast of Texas. It is subject, however,to occasional interruptions everywhere, varying many points in itsdirection, and occasionally ceasing entirely. The latter was thecondition of the weather about noon on this day, or when the schoonerhauled off from the brig, and was secured at her own anchor.
“Mr. Mulford,” said Spike, “I do not like the state of the atmosphere.D’ye see that fiery streak along the western horizon--well, sir, as thesun gets nearer to that streak, there’ll be trouble, or I’m no judge ofweather.”
“You surely do not imagine, Captain Spike, that the sun will be anynearer to that fiery streak, as you call it, when he is about to set,than he is at this moment?” answered the mate, smiling.
“I’m sure of one thing, young man, and that is, that old heads arebetter than young ones. What a man has once seen, he may expect to seeagain, if the same leading signs offer. Man the boat, sir, and carry outthe kedge, which is still in it, and lay it off here, about three p’intson our larboard bow.”
Mulford had a profound respect for Spike’s seamanship, whatever he mightthink of his principles. The order was consequently obeyed. The mate wasthen directed to send down various articles out of the top, and to getthe top-gallant and royal yards on deck. Spike carried his precautionsso far, as to have the mainsail lowered, it ordinarily brailing atthat season of the year, with a standing gaff. With this dispositioncompleted, the captain seemed more at his ease, and went below to joinSe¤or Montefalderon in a siesta. The Mexican, for such, in truth, wasthe national character of the owner of the schooner, had preceded himin this indulgence; and most of the people of the brig having laidthemselves down to sleep under the heat of the hour, Mulford soonenjoyed another favourable opportunity for a private conference withRose.
“Harry,” commenced the latter, as soon as they were alone; “I have muchto tell you. While you have been absent I have overheard a conversationbetween this Spanish gentleman and Spike, that shows the last is intreaty with the other for the sale of the brig. Spike extolled hisvessel to the skies, while Don Wan, as he calls him, complains that thebrig is old, and cannot last long; to which Spike answered ‘to be sureshe is old, Se¤or Montefalderon, but she will last as long as your war,and under a bold captain might be made to return her cost a hundredfold!’ What war can he mean, and to what does such a discourse tend?”
“The war alludes to the war now existing between America and Mexico,and the money to be made is to be plundered at sea, from our ownmerchant-vessels. If Don Juan Montefalderon is really in treaty forthe purchase of the brig, it is to convert her into a Mexican cruiser,either public or private.”
“But this would be treason on th
e part of Spike!”
“Not more so than supplying the enemy with gunpowder, as he has justbeen doing. I have ascertained the reason he was so unwilling to beoverhauled by the revenue steamer, as well as the reason why therevenue steamer wished so earnestly to overhaul us. Each barrel of flourcontains another of gunpowder, and that has been sold to this Se¤orMontefalderon, who is doubtless an officer of the Mexican government,and no smuggler.”
“He has been at New York, this very summer, I know,” continued Rose,“for he spoke of his visit, and made such other remarks, as leaves nodoubt that Spike expected to find him here, on this very day of themonth. He also paid Spike a large sum of money in doubloons, and tookback the bag to his schooner, when he had done so, after showing thecaptain enough was left to pay for the brig could they only agree on theterms of their bargain.”
“Ay, ay; it is all plain enough now, Spike has determined on a desperatepush for fortune, and foreseeing it might not soon be in his power toreturn to New York in safety, he has included his designs on you andyour fortune, in the plot.”
“My fortune! the trifle I possess can scarcely be called a fortune,Harry!”
“It would be a fortune to Spike, Rose; and I shall be honest enough toown it would be a fortune to me. I say this frankly, for I do believeyou think too well of me to suppose that I seek you for any other reasonthan the ardent love I bear your person and character; but a fact isnot to be denied because it may lead certain persons to distrust ourmotives. Spike is poor, like myself; and the brig is not only getting tobe very old, but she has been losing money for the last twelve months.”
Mulford and Rose now conversed long and confidentially, on theirsituation and prospects. The mate neither magnified nor concealed thedangers of both; but freely pointed out the risk to himself, in beingon board a vessel that was aiding and comforting the enemy. It wasdetermined between there that both would quit the brig the moment anopportunity offered; and the mate even went so far as to propose anattempt to escape in one of the boats, although he might incur thehazards of a double accusation, those of mutiny and larceny, for makingthe experiment. Unfortunately, neither Rose, nor her aunt, nor Biddy,nor Jack Tier had seen the barrel of powder, and neither could testifyas to the true character of Spike’s connection with the schooner. It wasmanifestly necessary, therefore, independently of the risks thatmight be run by “bearding the lion in his den,” to proceed with greatintelligence and caution.
This dialogue between Harry and Rose, occurred just after the turn inthe day, and lasted fully an hour. Each had been too much interested toobserve the heavens, but, as they were on the point of separating, Rosepointed out to her companion the unusual and most menacing aspect of thesky in the western horizon. It appeared as if a fiery heat was glowingthere, behind a curtain of black vapour; and what rendered it moreremarkable, was the circumstance that an extraordinary degree ofplacidity prevailed in all other parts of the heavens. Mulford scarceknew what to make of it; his experience not going so far as to enablehim to explain the novel and alarming appearance. He stepped on a gun,and gazed around him for a moment. There lay the schooner, without abeing visible on board of her, and there stood the light-house, gloomyin its desertion and solitude. The birds alone seemed to be alive andconscious of what was approaching. They were all on the wing, wheelingwildly in the air, and screaming discordantly, as belonged to theirhabits. The young man leaped off the gun, gave a loud call to Spike, atthe companion-way, and sprang forward to call all hands.
One minute only was lost, when every seaman on board the Swash, from thecaptain to Jack Tier, was on deck. Mulford met Spike at the cabin door,and pointed toward the fiery column, that was booming down upon theanchorage, with a velocity and direction that would now admit of nomisinterpretation. For one instant that sturdy old seaman stood aghast;gazing at the enemy as one conscious of his impotency might havebeen supposed to quail before an assault that he foresaw must proveirresistible. Then his native spirit, and most of all the effects oftraining, began to show themselves in him, and he became at once, notonly the man again, but the resolute, practised, and ready commander.
“Come aft to the spring, men--” he shouted--“clap on the spring, Mr.Mulford, and bring the brig head to wind.”
This order was obeyed as seamen best obey, in cases of sudden andextreme emergency; or with intelligence, aptitude and power. The brighad swung nearly round, in the desired direction, when the tornadostruck her. It will be difficult, we do not know but it is impossible,to give a clear and accurate account of what followed. As most ofour readers have doubtless felt how great is the power of the wind,whiffling and pressing different ways, in sudden and passing gusts,they have only to imagine this power increased many, many fold, andthe baffling currents made furious, as it might be, by meeting withresistance, to form some notion of the appalling strength and frightfulinconstancy with which it blew for about a minute.
Notwithstanding the circumstance of Spike’s precaution had greatlylessened the danger, every man on the deck of the Swash believed thebrig was gone when the gust struck her. Over she went, in fact, untilthe water came pouring in above her half-ports, like so many littlecascades, and spouting up through her scupper-holes, resembling theblowing of young whales. It was the whiffling energy of the tornadothat alone saved her. As if disappointed in not destroying its intendedvictim at one swoop, the tornado “let up” in its pressure, like adexterous wrestler, making a fresh and desperate effort to overturnthe vessel, by a slight variation in its course. That change saved theSwash. She righted, and even rolled in the other direction, or whatmight be called to windward, with her decks full of water. For a minutelonger these baffling, changing gusts continued, each causing the brigto bow like a reed to their power, one lifting as another pressed herdown, and then the weight, or the more dangerous part of the tornado waspassed, though it continued to blow heavily, always in whiffling blasts,several minutes longer.
During the weight of the gust, no one had leisure, or indeed inclinationto look to aught beyond its effect on the brig. Had one been otherwisedisposed, the attempt would have been useless, for the wind had filledthe air with spray, and near the islets even with sand. The lurid butfiery tinge, too, interposed a veil that no human eye could penetrate.As the tornado passed onward, however, and the winds lulled, the airagain became clear, and in five minutes after the moment when the Swashlay nearly on her side, with her lower yard-arm actually within afew feet of the water, all was still and placid around her, as one isaccustomed to see the ocean in a calm, of a summer’s afternoon. Thenit was that those who had been in such extreme jeopardy could breathefreely and look about them. On board the Swash all was well--not arope-yarn had parted, or an eyebolt drawn. The timely precautions ofSpike had saved his brig, and great was his joy thereat.
In the midst of the infernal din of the tornado, screams had ascendedfrom the cabin, and the instant he could quit the deck with propriety,Mulford sprang below, in order to ascertain their cause. He apprehendedthat some of the females had been driven to leeward when the brig wentover, and that part of the luggage or furniture had fallen on them. Inthe main cabin, the mate found Se¤or Montefalderon just quitting hisberth, composed, gentleman-like, and collected. Josh was braced in acorner nearly grey with fear, while Jack Tier still lay on the cabinfloor, at the last point to which he had rolled. One word sufficed tolet Don Juan know that the gust had passed, and the brig was safe, whenMulford tapped at the deor of the inner cabin. Rose appeared, pale, butcalm and unhurt.
“Is any one injured?” asked the young man, his mind relieved at once,as soon as he saw that she who most occupied his thoughts was safe; “weheard screams from this cabin.”
“My aunt and Biddy have been frightened,” answered Rose, “but neitherhas been hurt. Oh, Harry, what terrible thing has happened to us? Iheard the roaring of--”
“ ‘T was a tornado,” interrupted Mulford eagerly, “but ‘t is over. ‘Twas one of those sudden and tremendous gusts that sometimes occur withinthe tropic
s, in which the danger is usually in the first shock. If noone is injured in this cabin, no one is injured at all.”
“Oh, Mr. Mulford--dear Mr. Mulford!” exclaimed the relict, from thecorner into which she had been followed and jammed by Biddy, “Oh, Mr.Mulford, are we foundered or not?”
“Heaven be praised, not, my dear ma’am, though we came nearer to it thanI ever was before.”
“Are we cap-asided?”
“Nor that, Mrs. Budd; the brig is as upright as a church.”
“Upright!” repeated Biddy, in her customary accent,--“is it as a church?Sure, then, Mr. Mate, ‘t is a Presbyterian church that you mane, andthat is always totterin’.”
“Catholic, or Dutch--no church in York is more completely up and downthan the brig at this moment.”
“Get off of me--get off of me, Biddy, and let me rise,” said the widow,with dignity. “The danger is over I see, and, as we return our thanksfor it, we have the consolation of knowing that we have done our duty.It is incumbent on all, at such moments, to be at their posts, and toset examples of decision and prudence.”
As Mulford saw all was well in the cabin, he hastened on deck, followedby Se¤or Montefalderon. Just as they emerged from the companion-way,Spike was hailing the forecastle.
“Forecastle, there,” he cried, standing on the trunk himself as hedid so, and moving from side to side, as if to catch a glimpse of someobject ahead.
“Sir,” came back from an old salt, who was coiling up rigging in thatseat of seamanship.
“Where-away is the schooner? She ought to be dead ahead of us, as wetend now--but blast me if I can see as much as her mast-heads.”
At this suggestion, a dozen men sprang upon guns or other objects, tolook for the vessel in question. The old salt forward, however, had muchthe best chance, for he stepped on the heel of the bowsprit, and walkedas far out as the knight-heads, to command the whole view ahead of thebrig. There he stood half a minute, looking first on one side of thehead-gear, then the other, when he gave his trousers a hitch, put afresh quid in his mouth, and called out in a voice almost as hoarse asthe tempest, that had just gone by,
“The schooner has gone down at her anchor, sir. There’s her buoywatching still, as if nothing had happened; but as for the craft itself,there’s not so much as a bloody yard-arm, or mast-head of her to beseen!”
This news produced a sensation in the brig at once, as may be supposed.Even Se¤or Montefalderon, a quiet, gentleman-like person, altogethersuperior in deportment to the bustle and fuss that usually marks themanners of persons in trade, was disturbed; for to him the blow washeavy indeed. Whether he were acting for himself, or was an agent of theMexican government, the loss was much the same.
“Tom is right enough,” put in Spike, rather coolly for thecircumstances--“that there schooner of yourn has foundered, Don Wan, asany one can see. She must have cap-sized and filled, for I obsarvedthey had left the hatches off, meaning, no doubt, to make an end of thestorage as soon as they had done sleeping.”
“And what has become of all her men, Don Esteban?” for so the Mexicanpolitely called his companion. “Have all my poor countrymen perished inthis disaster?”
“I fear they have, Don Wan; for I see no head, as of any one swimming.The vessel lay so near that island next to it, that a poor swimmer wouldhave no difficulty in reaching the place; but there is no living thingto be seen. But man the boat, men; we will go to the spot, Se¤or, andexamine for ourselves.”
There were two boats in the water, and along-side of the brig. One wasthe Swash’s yawl, a small but convenient craft, while the other was muchlarger, fitted with a sail, and had all the appearance of having beenbuilt to withstand breezes and seas. Mulford felt perfectly satisfied,the moment he saw this boat, which had come into the haven in tow of theschooner, that it had been originally in the service of the light-housekeeper. As there was a very general desire among those on thequarter-deck to go to the assistance of the schooner, Spike ordered bothboats manned, jumping into the yawl himself, accompanied by Don JuanMontefalderon, and telling Mulford to follow with the larger craft,bringing with him as many of the females as might choose to accompanyhim. As Mrs. Budd thought it incumbent on her to be active in such ascene, all did go, including Biddy, though with great reluctance on thepart of Rose.
With the buoy for a guide, Spike had no difficulty in finding the spotwhere the schooner lay. She had scarcely shifted her berth in the least,there having been no time for her even to swing to the gust, but she hadprobably cap-sized at the first blast, filled, and gone down instantly.The water was nearly as clear as the calm, mild atmosphere of thetropics; and it was almost as easy to discern the vessel, and all herhamper, as if she lay on a beach. She had sunk as she filled, or on herside, and still continued in that position. As the water was little morethan three fathoms deep, the upper side was submerged but a fewinches, and her yard-arms would have been out of the water, but for thecircumstance that the yards had canted under the pressure.
At first, no sign was seen of any of those who had been on board thisill-fated schooner when she went down. It was known that twenty-onesouls were in her, including the man and the boy who had belonged tothe light-house. As the boat moved slowly over this sad ruin, however,a horrible and startling spectacle came in view. Two bodies were seen,within a few feet of the surface of the water, one grasped in the armsof the other, in the gripe of despair. The man held in the grasp, waskept beneath the water solely by the death-lock of his companion, whowas himself held where he floated, by the circumstance that one of hisfeet was entangled in a rope. The struggle could not have been longover, for the two bodies were slowly settling toward the bottom whenfirst seen. It is probable that both these men had more than once risento the surface in their dreadful struggle. Spike seized a boat-hook,and made an effort to catch the clothes of the nearest body, butineffectually, both sinking to the sands beneath, lifeless, and withoutmotion. There being no sharks in sight, Mulford volunteered to dive andfasten a line to one of these unfortunate men, whom Don Juan declared atonce was the schooner’s captain. Some little time was lost in procuringa lead-line from the brig, when the lead was dropped alongside of thedrowned. Provided with another piece of the same sort of line, which hada small running bowline around that which was fastened to the lead,the mate made his plunge, and went down with great vigour of arm. Itrequired resolution and steadiness to descend so far into salt water;but Harry succeeded, and rose with the bodies, which came up with theslightest impulse. All were immediately got into the boat, and away thelatter went toward the light-house, which was nearer and more easy ofaccess than the brig.
It is probable that one of these unfortunate men might have been revivedunder judicious treatment; but he was not fated to receive it. Spike,who knew nothing of such matters, undertook to direct everything, and,instead of having recourse to warmth and gentle treatment, he orderedthe bodies to be rolled on a cask, suspended them by the heels, andresorted to a sort of practice that might have destroyed well men,instead of resuscitating those in whom the vital spark was dormant, ifnot actually extinct.
Two hours later, Rose, seated in her own cabin, unavoidably overheardthe following dialogue, which passed in English, a language that Se¤orMontefalderon spoke perfectly well, as has been said.
“Well, Se¤or,” said Spike, “I hope this little accident will not preventour final trade. You will want the brig now, to take the schooner’splace.”
“And how am I to pay you for the brig, Se¤or Spike, even if I buy her?”
“I’ll ventur’ to guess there is plenty of money in Mexico. Though theydo say the government is so backward about paying, I have always foundyou punctual, and am not afraid to put faith in you ag’in.”
“But I have no longer any money to pay you half in hand, as I did forthe powder, when last in New York.”
“The bag was pretty well lined with doubloons when I saw it last,Se¤or.”
“And do you know where that bag is; and where there is another
thatholds the same sum?”
Spike started, and he mused in silence some little time, ere he againspoke.
“I had forgotten,” he at length answered. “The gold must have all gonedown in the schooner, along with the powder!”
“And the poor men!”
“Why, as for the men, Se¤or, more may be had for the asking; but powderand doubloons will be hard to find, when most wanted. Then the men werepoor men, accordin’ to my idees of what an able seaman should be, orthey never would have let their schooner turn turtle with them as shedid.”
“We will talk of the money, Don Esteban, if you please,” said theMexican, with reserve.
“With all my heart, Don Wan--nothing is more agreeable to me thanmoney. How many of them doubloons shall fall to my share, if I raise theschooner and put you in possession of your craft again?”
“Can that be done, Se¤or?” demanded Don Juan earnestly.
“A seaman can do almost anything, in that way, Don Wan, if you will givehim time and means. For one-half the doubloons I can find in the wrack,the job shall be done.”
“You can have them,” answered Don Juan, quietly, a good deal surprisedthat Spike should deem it necessary to offer him any part of the sum hemight find. “As for the powder, I suppose that is lost to my country.”
“Not at all, Don Wan. The flour is well packed around it, and I don’texpect it would take any harm in a month. I shall not only turn overthe flour to you, just as if nothing had happened, but I shall put fourfirst-rate hands aboard your schooner, who will take her into port foryou, with a good deal more sartainty than forty of the men you had. Mymate is a prime navigator.”
This concluded the bargain, every word of which was heard by Rose, andevery word of which she did not fail to communicate to Mulford, themoment there was an opportunity. The young man heard it with greatinterest, telling Rose that he should do all he could to assist inraising the schooner, in the hope that something might turn up to enablehim to escape in her, taking off Rose and her aunt. As for his carryingher into a Mexican port, let them trust him for that! Agreeably to thearrangement, orders were given that afternoon to commence the necessarypreparations for the work, and considerable progress was made in themby the time the Swash’s people were ordered to knock off work for thenight.
After the sun had set, the reaction in the currents again commenced,and it blew for a few hours heavily, during the night. Toward morning,however, it moderated, and when the sun re-appeared it scarcely everdiffused its rays over a more peaceful or quiet day. Spike caused allhands to be called, and immediately set about the important business hehad before him.
In order that the vessel might be as free as possible, Jack Tierwas directed to skull the females ashore, in the brig’s yawl; Se¤orMontefalderon, a man of polished manners, as we maintain is very apt tobe the case with Mexican gentlemen, whatever may be the opinion of thisgood republic on the subject just at this moment, asked permission to beof the party. Mulford found an opportunity to beg Rose, if they landedat the light, to reconnoitre the place well, with a view to ascertainwhat facilities it could afford in an attempt to escape. They did landat the light, and glad enough were Mrs. Budd, Rose and Biddy to placetheir feet on terra firma after so long a confinement to the narrowlimits of a vessel.
“Well,” said Jack Tier, as they walked up to the spot where thebuildings stood, “this is a rum place for a light’us, Miss Rose, and Idon’t wonder the keeper and his mess-mates has cleared out.”
“I am very sorry to say,” observed Se¤or Montefalderon, whosecountenance expressed the concern he really felt, “that the keeper andhis only companion, a boy, were on board the schooner, and have perishedin her, in common with so many of my poor countrymen. There are thegraves of two whom we buried here last evening, after vain efforts torestore them to life!”
“What a dreadful catastrophe it has been, Se¤or,” said Rose, whose sweetcountenance eloquently expressed the horror and regret she so naturallyfelt--“Twenty fellow-beings hurried into eternity without even aninstant for prayer!”
“You feel for them, Se¤orita--it is natural you should, and it isnatural that I, their countryman and leader, should feel for them, also.I do not know what God has in reserve for my unfortunate country! Wemay have cruel and unscrupulous men among us, Se¤orita, but we havethousands who are just, and brave, and honourable.”
“So Mr. Mulford tells me, Se¤or; and he has been much in your ports, onthe west coast.”
“I like that young man, and wonder not a little at his and yoursituation in this brig--” rejoined the Mexican, dropping his voice soas not to be heard by their companions, as they walked a little aheadof Mrs. Budd and Biddy. “The Se¤or Spike is scarcely worthy to be hiscommander or your guardian.”
“Yet you find him worthy of your intercourse and trust, Don Juan?”
The Mexican shrugged his shoulders, and smiled equivocally; still, ina melancholy manner. It would seem he did not deem it wise to push thisbranch of the subject further, since he turned to another.
“I like the Se¤or Mulford,” he resumed, “for his general deportment andprinciples, so far as I can judge of him on so short an acquaintance.”
“Excuse me, Se¤or,” interrupted Rose, hurriedly--“but you never saw himuntil you met him here.”
“Never--I understand you, Se¤orita, and can do full justice to the youngman’s character. I am willing to think he did not know the errand of hisvessel, or I should not have seen him now. But what I most like him for,is this: Last night, during the gale, he and I walked the deck together,for an hour. We talked of Mexico, and of this war, so unfortunate formy country already, and which may become still more so, when he utteredthis noble sentiment--‘My country is more powerful than yours, Se¤orMontefalderon,’ he said, ‘and in this it has been more favoured by God.You have suffered from ambitious rulers, and from military rule, whilewe have been advancing under the arts of peace, favoured by a mostbeneficent Providence. As for this war, I know but little about it,though I dare say the Mexican government may have been wrong in somethings that it might have controlled and some that it might not--butlet right be where it will, I am sorry to see a nation that has takenso firm a stand in favour of popular government, pressed upon so hardby another that is supposed to be the great support of such principles.America and Mexico are neighbours, and ought to be friends; and whileI do not, cannot blame my own country for pursuing the war with vigour,nothing would please me more than to hear peace proclaimed.’”
“That is just like Harry Mulford,” said Rose, thoughtfully, as soon asher companion ceased to speak. “I do wish, Se¤or, that there could be nouse for this powder, that is now buried in the sea.”
Don Juan Montefalderon smiled, and seemed a little surprised thatthe fair young thing at his side should have known of the treacherouscontents of the flour-barrels. No doubt he found it inexplicable, thatpersons like Rose and Mulford should, seemingly, be united with one likeSpike; but he was too well bred, and, indeed, too effectually mystified,to push the subject further than might be discreet.
By this time they were near the entrance of the lighthouse, into whichthe whole party entered, in a sort of mute awe at its silence andsolitude. At Se¤or Montefalderon’s invitation, they ascended tothe lantern, whence they could command a wide and fair view of thesurrounding waters. The reef was much more apparent from that elevationthan from below; and Rose could see that numbers of its rocks were bare,while on other parts of it there was the appearance of many feet ofwater. Rose gazed at it with longing eyes, for, from a few remarks thathad fallen from Mulford, she suspected he had hopes of escaping amongits channels and coral.
As they descended and walked through the buildings, Rose also took goodheed of the supplies the place afforded. There were flour, and beef, andpork, and many other of the common articles of food, as well as waterin a cistern, that caught it as it flowed from the roof of the dwelling.Water was also to be found in casks--nothing like a spring or a wellexisting among those
islets. All these things Rose noted, putting themaside in her memory for ready reference hereafter.
In the mean time the mariners were not idle. Spike moved his brig, andmoored her, head and stern, alongside of the wreck, before the peoplegot their breakfasts. As soon as that meal was ended, both captain andmate set about their duty in earnest. Mulford carried out an anchor onthe off-side of the Swash, and dropped it at a distance of abouteighty fathoms from the vessel’s beam. Purchases were brought from bothmast-heads of the brig to the chain of this anchor, and were hove uponuntil the vessel was given a heel of more than a streak, and the cablewas tolerably taut. Other purchases were got up opposite, and overhauleddown, in readiness to take hold of the schooner’s masts. The anchor ofthe schooner was weighed by its buoy-rope, and the chain, after beingrove through the upper or opposite hawse-hole, brought in on board theSwash. Another chain was dropped astern, in such a way, that when theschooner came upright, it would be sure to pass beneath her keel,some six or eight feet from the rudder. Slings were then sunk over themast-heads, and the purchases were hooked on. Hours were consumed inthese preliminary labours, and the people went to dinner as soon as theywere completed.
When the men had dined, Spike brought one of his purchases to thewindlass, and the other to the capstan, though not until each wasbowsed taut by hand; a few minutes having brought the strain so far oneverything, as to enable a seaman, like Spike, to form some judgmentof the likelihood that his preventers and purchases would stand. Somechanges were found necessary to equalize the strain, but, on the whole,the captain was satisfied with his work, and the crew were soon orderedto “heave-away; the windlass best.”
In the course of half an hour the hull of the vessel, which lay on itsbilge, began to turn on its keel, and the heads of the spars to riseabove the water. This was the easiest part of the process, all that wasrequired of the purchases being to turn over a mass which rested on thesands of the bay. Aided by the long levers afforded by the spars, thework advanced so rapidly, that, in just one hour’s time after his peoplehad begun to heave, Spike had the pleasure to see the schooner standingupright, alongside of his own brig, though still sunk to the bottom. Thewreck was secured in this position, by means of guys and preventers, inorder that it might not again cant, when the order was issued to hook onthe slings that were to raise it to the surface. These slings were thechains of the schooner, one of which went under her keel, while for theother the captain trusted to the strength of the two hawse-holes, havingpassed the cable out of one and in at the other, in a way to serve hispurposes, as has just been stated.
When all was ready, Spike mustered his crew, and made a speech. He toldthe men that he was about a job that was out of the usual line of theirduty, and that he knew they had a right to expect extra pay for suchextra work. The schooner contained money, and his object was to get atit. If he succeeded, their reward would be a doubloon a man, which wouldbe earning more than a month’s wages by twenty-four hours’ work. Thiswas enough. The men wanted to hear no more; but they cheered theircommander, and set about their task in the happiest dispositionpossible.
The reader will understand that the object to be first achieved, was toraise a vessel, with a hold filled with flour and gunpowder, from offthe bottom of the bay to its surface. As she stood, the deck of thisvessel was about six feet under water, and every one will understandthat her weight, so long as it was submerged in a fluid as dense as thatof the sea, would be much more manageable than if suspended in air.The barrels, for instance, were not much heavier than the water theydisplaced, and the wood work of the vessel itself, was, on the whole,positively lighter than the element in which it had sunk. As for thewater in the hold, that was of the same weight as the water on theoutside of the craft, and there had not been much to carry the schoonerdown, beside her iron, the spars that were out of water, and herballast. This last, some ten or twelve tons in weight, was in fact theprincipal difficulty, and alone induced Spike to have any doubts abouthis eventual success. There was no foreseeing the result until he hadmade a trial, however; and the order was again given to “heave away.”
To the infinite satisfaction of the Swash’s crew, the weight was foundquite manageable, so long as the hull remained beneath the water.Mulford, with three or four assistants, was kept on board the schoonerlightening her, by getting the other anchor off her bows, and throwingthe different objects overboard, or on the decks of the brig. By thetime the bulwarks reached the surface, as much was gained in this way,as was lost by having so much of the lighter woodwork rise above thewater. As a matter of course, however, the weight increased as thevessel rose, and more especially as the lower portion of the spars, thebowsprit, boom, &c., from being buoyant assistants, became so much deadweight to be lifted.
Spike kept a watchful eye on his spars, and the extra supports he hadgiven them. He was moving, the whole time, from point to point, feelingshrouds and back-stays, and preventers, in order to ascertain the degreeof strain on each, or examining how the purchases stood. As for thecrew, they cheered at their toil, incessantly, passing from capstan barsto the handspikes, and vice versa. They, too, felt that their task wasincreasing in resistance as it advanced, and now found it more difficultto gain an inch, than it had been at first to gain a foot. They seemed,indeed, to be heaving their own vessel out, instead of heaving the othercraft up, and it was not long before they had the Swash heeling overtoward the wreck several streaks. The strain, moreover, on everything,became not only severe, but somewhat menacing. Every shroud, back-stay,and preventer was as taut as a bar of iron, and the chain-cable thatled to the anchor planted off abeam, was as straight as if the brig wereriding by it in a gale of wind. One or two ominous surges aloft, too,had been heard, and, though no more than straps and slings settling intotheir places under hard strains, they served to remind the crew thatdanger might come from that quarter. Such was the state of things, whenSpike called out to “heave and pall,” that he might take a look at thecondition of the wreck.
Although a great deal remained to be done, in order to get the schoonerto float, a great deal had already been done. Her precise condition wasas follows: Having no cabin windows, the water had entered her, when shecapsized, by the only four apertures her construction possessed. Thesewere the companion-way, or cabin-doors; the sky-light; the main-hatch,or the large inlet amid-ships, by which cargo went up and down; and thebooby-hatch, which was the counterpart of the companion-way, forward;being intended to admit of ingress to the forecastle, the apartment ofthe crew. Each of these hatch-ways, or orifices, had the usual defencesof “coamings,” strong frame-work around their margins. These coamingsrose six or eight inches above the deck, and answered the double purposeof strengthening the vessel, in a part, that without them would beweaker han common, and of preventing any water that might be washingabout the decks from running below. As soon, therefore, as these threeapertures, or their coamings, could be raised above the level of thewater of the basin, all danger of the vessel’s receiving any furthertribute of that sort from the ocean would be over. It was to this end,consequently, that Spike’s efforts had been latterly directed, thoughthey had only in part succeeded. The schooner possessed a good deal ofsheer, as it is termed; or, her two extremities rose nearly a foot aboveher centre, when on an even keel. This had brought her extremities firstto the surface, and it was the additional weight which had consequentlybeen brought into the air that had so much increased the strain, andinduced Spike to pause. The deck forward, as far aft as the foremast,and aft as far forward as the centre of the trunk, or to the sky-light,was above the water, or at least awash; while all the rest of it wascovered. In the vicinity of the main-hatch there were several inches ofwater; enough indeed to leave the upper edge of the coamings submergedby about an inch. To raise the keel that inch by means of the purchases,Spike well knew would cost him more labour, and would incur more riskthan all that had been done previously, and he paused before he wouldattempt it.
The men were now called from the brig and ordered to c
ome on board theschooner. Spike ascertained by actual measurement how much was wantedto bring the coamings of the main-hatch above the water, until which,he knew, pumping and bailing would be useless. He found it was quite aninch, and was at a great loss to know how that inch should be obtained.Mulford advised another trial with the handspikes and bars, but to thisSpike would not consent. He believed that the masts of the brig hadalready as much pressure on them as they would bear. The mate nextproposed getting the main boom off the vessel, and to lighten the craftby cutting away her bowsprit and masts. The captain was well enoughdisposed to do this, but he doubted whether it would meet with theapprobation of “Don Wan,” who was still ashore with Rose and her aunt,and who probably looked forward to recovering his gunpowder by meansof those very spars. At length the carpenter hit upon a plan that wasadopted.
This plan was very simple, though it had its own ingenuity. It willbe remembered that water could now only enter the vessel’s hold at themain-hatch, all the other hatchways having their coamings above theelement. The carpenter proposed, therefore, that the main-hatches, whichhad been off when the tornado occurred, but which had been found on deckwhen the vessel righted, should now be put on, oakum being first laidalong in their rabbetings, and that the cracks should be stuffed withadditional oakum, to exclude as much water as possible. He thought thattwo or three men, by using caulking irons for ten minutes, would makethe hatch-way so tight that very little water would penetrate. Whilethis was doing, he himself would bore as many holes forward and aftas he could, with a two inch auger, out of which the water then in thevessel would be certain to run. Spike was delighted with this project,and gave the necessary orders on the spot.
This much must be said of the crew of the Molly Swash--whatever they didin their own profession, they did intelligently and well. On the presentoccasion they maintained their claim to this character, and were bothactive and expert. The hatches were soon on, and, in an imperfectmanner, caulked. While this was doing, the carpenter got into a boat,and going under the schooner’s bows, where a whole plank was out ofwater, he chose a spot between two of the timbers, and bored a hole asnear the surface of the water as he dared to do. Not satisfied with onehole, however, he bored many--choosing both sides of the vessel to makethem, and putting some aft as well as forward. In a word, in the courseof twenty minutes the schooner was tapped in at least a dozen places,and jets of water, two inches in diameter, were spouting from her oneach bow, and under each quarter.
Spike and Mulford noted the effect. Some water, doubtless, still workeditself into the vessel about the main-hatch, but that more flowed fromher by means of the outlets just named, was quite apparent. After closewatching at the outlets for some time, Spike was convinced that theschooner was slowly rising, the intense strain that still came from thebrig producing that effect as the vessel gradually became lighter. Bythe end of half an hour, there could be no longer any doubt, the holes,which had been bored within an inch of the water, being now fully twoinches above it. The auger was applied anew, still nearer to the surfaceof the sea, and as fresh outlets were made, those that began to manifesta dulness in their streams were carefully plugged.
Spike now thought it was time to take a look at the state of things ondeck. Here, to his joy, he ascertained that the coamings had actuallyrisen a little above the water. The reader is not to suppose by thisrising of the vessel, that she had become sufficiently buoyant, inconsequence of the water that had run out of her, to float of herself.This was far from being the case; but the constant upward pressure fromthe brig, which, on mechanical principles, tended constantly to bringthat craft upright, had the effect to lift the schooner as the latterwas gradually relieved from the weight that pressed her toward thebottom.
The hatches were next removed, when it was found that the water in theschooner’s hold had so far lowered, as to leave a vacant space of quitea foot between the lowest part of the deck and its surface. Toward thetwo extremities of the vessel this space necessarily was much increased,in consequence of the sheer. Men were now sent into the hatchway withorders to hook on to the flour-barrels--a whip having been rigged inreadiness to hoist them on deck. At the same time gangs were sent to thepumps, though Spike still depended for getting rid of the water somewhaton the auger--the carpenter continuing to bore and plug his holes as newopportunities offered, and the old outlets became useless. It was truethis expedient would soon cease, for the water having found its levelin the vessel’s hold, was very nearly on a level also with that on theoutside. Bailing also was commenced, both forward and aft.
Spike’s next material advantage was obtained by means of the cargo. Bythe time the sun had set, fully two hundred barrels had been rolled intothe hatchway, and passed on deck, whence about half of them were sentin the lighthouse boat to the nearest islet, and the remainder weretransferred to the deck of the brig. These last were placed on the offside of the Swash, and aided in bringing her nearer upright. A greatdeal was gained in getting rid of these barrels. The water in theschooner lowered just as much as the space they had occupied,-and thevessel was relieved at once of twenty tons in weight.
Just after the sun had set, Se¤or Don Juan Montefalderon and his partyreturned on board. They had staid on the island to the last moment, atRose’s request, for she had taken as close an observation of everythingas possible, in order to ascertain if any means of concealment existed,in the event of her aunt, Biddy, and herself quitting the brig. Theislets were all too naked and too small, however; and she was compelledto return to the Swash, without any hopes derived from this quarter.
Spike had just directed the people to get their suppers as the Mexicancame on board. Together they descended to the schooner’s deck, wherethey had a long but secret conference. Se¤or Montefalderon was a calm,quiet and reasonable man, and while he felt as one would be apt tofeel who had recently seen so many associates swept suddenly out ofexistence, the late catastrophe did not in the least unman him. It istoo much the habit of the American people to receive their impressionsfrom newspapers, which throw off their articles unreflectingly, andoften ignorantly, as crones in petticoats utter their gossip. In a word,the opinions thus obtained are very much on a level, in value, with thethoughts of those who are said to think aloud, and who give utteranceto all the crudities and trivial rumours that may happen to reach theirears. In this manner, we apprehend, very false notions of our neighboursof Mexico have become circulated among us. That nation is a mixed race,and has necessarily the various characteristics of such an origin, andit is unfortunately little influenced by the diffusion of intelligencewhich certainly exists here. Although an enemy, it ought to beacknowledged, however, that even Mexico has her redeeming points.Anglo-Saxons as we are, we have no desire unnecessarily to illustratethat very marked feature in the Anglo-Saxon character, which promptsthe mother stock to calumniate all who oppose it, but would rather adoptsome of that chivalrous courtesy of which so much that is lofty andcommendable is to be found among the descendants of Old Spain.
The Se¤or Montefalderon was earnestly engaged in what he conceived to bethe cause of his country. It was scarcely possible to bring together twomen impelled by motives more distinct than Spike and this gentleman.The first was acting under impulses of the lowest and most grovellingnature; while the last was influenced by motives of the highest. Howevermuch Mexico may, and has, weakened her cause by her own punic faith,instability, military oppression, and political revolutions, giving tothe Texans in particular ample justification for their revolt, itwas not probable that Don Juan Montefalderon saw the force of all thearguments that a casuist of ordinary ingenuity could certainly adduceagainst his country; for it is a most unusual thing to find a mananywhere, who is willing to admit that the positions of an opponentare good. He saw in the events of the day, a province wrested from hisnation; and, in his reasoning on the subject, entirely overlooking thenumerous occasions on which his own fluctuating government had givensufficient justification, not to say motives, to their powerfulneighbours to take the
law into their own hands, and redress themselves,he fancied all that has occurred was previously planned; instead ofregarding it, as it truly is, as merely the result of political eventsthat no man could have foreseen, that no man had originally imagined, orthat any man could control.
Don Juan understood Spike completely, and quite justly appreciated notonly his character, but his capabilities. Their acquaintance was not ofa day, though it had ever been marked by that singular combination ofcaution and reliance that is apt to characterize the intercoursebetween the knave and the honest man, when circumstances compel not onlycommunication, but, to a certain extent, confidence. They now paced thedeck of the schooner, side by side, for fully an hour, during whichtime the price of the vessel, the means, and the mode of payment andtransfer, were fully settled between them.
“But what will you do with your passengers, Don Esteban?” asked theMexican pleasantly, when the more material points were adjusted. “Ifeel a great interest in the young lady in particular, who is a charmingse¤orita, and who tells me that her aunt brought her this voyage onaccount of her health. She looks much too blooming to be out of health,and if she were, this is a singular voyage for an invalid to make!”
“You don’t understand human natur’ yet, altogether, I see, Don Wan,” answered Spike, chuckling and winking. “As you and I are not only goodfriends, but what a body may call old friends, I’ll let you into asecret in this affair, well knowing that you’ll not betray it. It’squite true that the old woman thinks her niece is a pulmonary, as theycall it, and that this v’y’ge is recommended for her, but the gal is ashealthy as she’s handsom’.”
“Her constitution, then, must be very excellent, for it is seldom Ihave seen so charming a young woman. But if the aunt is misled in thismatter, how has it been with the niece?”
Spike did not answer in words, but he leered upon his companion, and hewinked.
“You mean to be understood that you are in intelligence with each other,I suppose, Don Esteban,” returned the Se¤or Montefalderon, who did notlike the captain’s manner, and was willing to drop the discourse.
Spike then informed his companion, in confidence, that he and Rose wereaffianced, though without the aunt’s knowledge,--that he intended tomarry the niece the moment he reached a Mexican port with the brig, andthat it was their joint intention to settle in the country. He addedthat the affair required management, as his intended had property, andexpected more, and he begged Don Juan to aid him, as things drew near toa crisis. The Mexican evaded an answer, and the discourse dropped.
The moon was now shining, and would continue to throw its pale lightover the scene for two or three hours longer. Spike profited by thecircumstance to continue the work of lightening the schooner. One of thefirst things done next was to get up the dead, and to remove them to theboat. This melancholy office occupied an hour, the bodies being landedon the islet, near the powder, and there interred in the sands. Don JuanMontefalderon attended on this occasion, and repeated some prayers overthe graves, as he had done in the morning, in the cases of the two whohad been buried near the light-house.
While this melancholy duty was in the course of performance, thatof pumping and bailing was continued, under the immediate personalsuperintendence of Mulford. It would not be easy to define, with perfectclearness, the conflicting feelings by which the mate of the Swashwas now impelled. He had no longer any doubt on the subject of Spike’streason, and had it not been for Rose, he would not have hesitated amoment about making off in the light-house boat for Key West, in orderto report all that had passed to the authorities. But not only Rose wasthere, and to be cared for, but what was far more difficult to get alongwith, her aunt was with her. It is true, Mrs. Budd was no longer Spike’sdupe; but under any circumstances she was a difficult subject to manage,and most especially so in all matters that related to the sea. Then theyoung man submitted, more or less, to the strange influence which a finecraft almost invariably obtains over those that belong to her. He didnot like the idea of deserting the Swash, at the very moment he wouldnot have hesitated about punishing her owner for his many misdeeds. In aword, Harry was too much of a tar not to feel a deep reluctance toturn against his cruise, or his voyage, however much either might becondemned by his judgment, or even by his principles.
It was quite nine o’clock when the Se¤or Montefalderon and Spikereturned from burying the dead. No sooner did the last put his footon the deck of his own vessel, than he felt the fall of one of thepurchases which had been employed in raising the schooner. It was so farslack as to satisfy him that the latter now floated by her own buoyancy,though it might be well to let all stand until morning, for the purposesof security. Thus apprised of the condition of the two vessels, he gavethe welcome order to “knock off for the night.”
Jack Tier; Or, The Florida Reef Page 5
