CHAPTER VIII.
Ay, fare you well, fair gentleman.
As You Like it.
While the tyro believes the vessel is about to capsize at every puff ofwind, the practised seaman alone knows when danger truly besets him inthis particular form. Thus it was with Harry Mulford, when the Mexicanschooner went over, as related in the close of the preceding chapter. Hefelt no alarm until the danger actually came. Then, indeed, no one therewas so quickly, or so thoroughly apprized of what the result would be,and he directed all his exertions to meet the exigency. While therewas the smallest hope of success, he did not lessen, in the least, hisendeavours to save the vessel; making almost superhuman efforts to castoff the fore-sheet, so as to relieve the schooner from the pressure ofone of her sails. But, no sooner did he hear the barrels in the holdsurging to leeward, and feel by the inclination of the deck beneath hisfeet, that nothing could save the craft, than he abandoned the sheet,and sprang to the assistance of Rose. It was time he did; for, havingfollowed him into the vessel’s lee-waist, she was the first to besubmerged in the sea, and would have been hopelessly drowned, but forMulford’s timely succour. Women might swim more readily than men, and doso swim, in those portions of the world where the laws of nature are notcounteracted by human conventions. Rose Budd, however, had received thevicious education which civilized society inflicts on her sex, and, as amatter of course, was totally helpless in an element in which it wasthe design of Divine Providence she should possess the common means ofsustaining herself, like every other being endued with animal life. Notso with Mulford: he swam with ease and force, and had no difficulty insustaining Rose until the schooner had settled into her new berth, or inhauling her on the vessel’s bottom immediately after.
Luckily, there was no swell, or so little as not to endanger those whowere on the schooner’s bilge; and Mulford had no sooner placed her inmomentary safety at least, whom he prized far higher than his own life,than he bethought him of his other companions. Jack Tier had hauledhimself up to windward by the rope that steadied the tiller, and he hadcalled on Mrs. Budd to imitate his example. It was so natural for evena woman to grasp anything like a rope at such a moment, that the widowinstinctively obeyed, while Biddy seized, at random, the first thing ofthe sort that offered. Owing to these fortunate chances, Jack and Mrs.Budd succeeded in reaching the quarter of the schooner, the formeractually getting up on the bottom of the wreck, on to which he wasenabled to float the widow, who was almost as buoyant as cork, as indeedwas the case with Jack himself. All the stern and bows of the vesselwere under water, in consequence of her leanness forward and aft;but though submerged, she offered a precarious footing, even in theseextremities, to such as could reach them. On the other hand, the placewhere Rose stood, or the bilge of the vessel, was two or three feetabove the surface of the sea, though slippery and inclining in shape.
It was not half a minute from the time that Mulford sprang to Rose’ssuccour, ere he had her on the vessel’s bottom. In another half minute,he had waded down on the schooner’s counter, where Jack Tier was lustilycalling to him for “help!” and assisted the widow to her feet, andsupported her until she stood at Rose’s side. Leaving the last in heraunt’s arms, half distracted between dread and joy, he turned to theassistance of Biddy. The rope at which the Irish woman had caught, wasa straggling end that had been made fast to the main channels of theschooner, for the support of a fender, and had been hauled partlyin-board to keep it out of the water. Biddy had found no difficulty indragging herself up to the chains, therefore; and had she been contentto sustain herself by the rope, leaving as much of her body submerged ascomported with breathing, her task would have been easy. But, like mostpersons who do not know how to swim, the good woman was fast exhaustingher strength, by vain efforts to walk on the surface of an element thatwas never made to sustain her. Unpractised persons, in such situations,cannot be taught to believe that their greatest safety is in leaving asmuch of their bodies as possible beneath the water, keeping the mouthand nose alone free for breath. But we have seen even instances inwhich men, who were in danger of drowning, seemed to believe it might bepossible for them to craw! over the waves on their hands and knees.The philosophy of the contrary course is so very simple, that one wouldfancy a very child might be made to comprehend it; yet, it is rare tofind one unaccustomed to the water, and who is suddenly exposed to itsdangers, that does not resort, under the pressure of present alarm, tothe very reverse of the true means to save his or her life.
Mulford had no difficulty in finding Bridget, whose exclamations of“murther!” “help!” “he-l-lup!” “Jasus!” and other similar cries, ledhim directly to the spot, where she was fast drowning herself by her ownsenseless struggles. Seizing her by the arm, the active young mate soonplaced her on her feet, though her cries did not cease until she wasordered by her mistress to keep silence.
Having thus rescued the whole of his companions from immediate danger,Mulford began to think of the future. He was seized with sudden surprisethat the vessel did not sink, and for a minute he was unable to accountfor the unusual fact. On the former occasion, the schooner had gonedown almost as soon as she fell over; but now she floated with so muchbuoyancy as to leave most of her keel and all of her bilge on one sidequite clear of the water. As one of the main hatches was off, and thecabin-doors, and booby-hatch doors forward were open, and all wereunder water, it required a little reflection on the part of Mulford tounderstand on what circumstance all their lives now depended. The matesoon ascertained the truth, however, and we may as well explain it tothe reader in our own fashion, in order to put him on a level with theyoung seaman.
The puff of wind, or little squall, had struck the schooner at themost unfavourable moment for her safety. She had just lost her way intacking, and the hull not moving ahead, as happens when a craft is thusassailed with the motion on her, all the power of the wind was expendedin the direction necessary to capsize her. Another disadvantage arosefrom the want of motion. The rudder, which acts solely by pressingagainst the water as the vessel meets it, was useless, and it was notpossible to luff, and throw the wind from the sails, as is usuallypractised by fore-and-aft rigged craft, in moments of such peril. Inconsequence of these united difficulties, the shifting of the cargoin the hold, the tenderness of the craft itself, and the force of thesquall, the schooner had gone so far over as to carry all three of theopenings to her interior suddenly under water, where they remained, heldby the pressure of the cargo that had rolled to leeward. Had not thewater completely covered these openings, or hatches, the schooner musthave sunk in a minute or two, or by the time Mulford had got all hiscompanions safe on her bilge. But they were completely submerged, andso continued to be, which circumstance alone prevented the vessel fromsinking, as the following simple explanation will show.
Any person who will put an empty tumbler, bottom upwards, into a bucketof water, will find that the water will not rise within the tumbler morethan an inch at most. At that point it is arrested by the resistance ofthe air, which, unable to escape, and compressed into a narrow compass,forms a body that the other fluid cannot penetrate. It is on this simpleand familiar principle, that the chemist keeps his gases, in invertedglasses, placing them on shelves, slightly submerged in water. Thus itwas, then, that the schooner continued to float, though nearly bottomupward, and with three inlets open, by which the water could and didpenetrate. A considerable quantity of the element had rushed in at theinstant of capsizing, but meeting with resistance from the compressedand pent air, its progress had been arrested, and the wreck continued tofloat, sustained by the buoyancy that was imparted to it, in containingso large a body of a substance no heavier than atmospheric air. Afterdisplacing its weight of water, enough of buoyancy remained to raise thekeel a few feet above the level of the sea.
As soon as Mulford had ascertained the facts of their situation, hecommunicated them to his companions, encouraging them to hope foreventual safety. It was true, their situation was nearly desperate,admitting
that the wreck should continue to float for ever, since theywere almost without food, or anything to drink, and had no means ofurging the hull through the water. They must float, too, at the mercyof the winds and waves, and should a sea get up, it might soon beimpossible for Mulford himself to maintain his footing on the bottomof the wreck. All this the young man had dimly shadowed forth to him,through his professional experience; but the certainty of the vessel’snot sinking immediately had so far revived his spirits, as to cause himto look on the bright side of the future, pale as that glimmering ofhope was made to appear whenever reason cast one of its severe glancesathwart it.
Harry had no difficulty in making Rose comprehend their precisesituation. Her active and clear mind understood at once the causes oftheir present preservation, and most of the hazards of the future. Itwas not so with Jack Tier. He was composed, even resigned; but he couldnot see the reason why the schooner still floated.
“I know that the cabin-doors were open,” he said, “and if they wasn’t,of no great matter would it be, since the joints ar’n’t caulked, andthe water would run through them as through a sieve. I’m afeard, Mr.Mulford, we shall find the wreck going from under our feet afore long,and when we least wish it, perhaps.”
“I tell you the wreck will float so long as the air remains in itshold,” returned the mate, cheerfully. “Do you not see how buoyant itis?--the certain proof that there is plenty of air within. So long asthat remains, the hull must float.”
“I’ve always understood,” said Jack, sticking to his opinion, “thatwessels floats by vartue of water, and not by vartue of air; and, thatwhen the water gets on the wrong side on ‘em, there’s little hope leftof keepin’ ‘em up.”
“What has become of the boat?” suddenly cried the mate. “I have been somuch occupied as to have forgotten the boat. In that boat we might allof us still reach Key West. I see nothing of the boat!”
A profound silence succeeded this sudden and unexpected question. Allknew that the boat was gone, and all knew that it had been lost by thewidow’s pertinacity and clumsiness; but no one felt disposed to betrayher at that grave moment. Mulford left the bilge, and waded as far aftas it was at all prudent for him to proceed, in the vain hope that theboat might be there, fastened by its painter to the schooner’s tafferel,as he had left it, but concealed from view by the darkness of the night.Not finding what he was after, he returned to his companions, stilluttering exclamations of surprise at the unaccountable loss of theboat. Rose now told him that the boat had got adrift some ten or fifteenminutes before the accident befell them, and that they were actuallyendeavouring to recover it when the squall which capsized the schoonerstruck them.
“And why did you not call me, Rose?” asked Harry, with a little ofgentle reproach in his manner. “It must have soon been my watch on deck,and it would have been better that I should lose half an hour of mywatch below, than that we should lose the boat.”
Rose was now obliged to confess that the time for calling him had longbeen past, and that the faint streak of light, which was just appearingin the east, was the near approach of day. This explanation was madegently, but frankly; and Mulford experienced a glow of pleasure at hisheart, even in that moment of jeopardy, when he understood Rose’s motivefor not having him disturbed. As the boat was gone, with little or noprospect of its being recovered again, no more was said about it;and the window, who had stood on thorns the while, had the relief ofbelieving that her awkwardness was forgotten.
It was such a relief from an imminent danger to have escaped fromdrowning when the schooner capsized, that those on her bottom did not,for some little time, realize all the terrors of their actual situation.The inconvenience of being wet was a trifle not to be thought of, and,in fact, the light summer dresses worn by all, linen or cotton as theywere entirely, were soon effectually dried in the wind. The keel made atolerably convenient seat, and the whole party placed themselves on itto await the return of day, in order to obtain a view of all that theirsituation offered in the way of a prospect. While thus awaiting, abroken and short dialogue occurred.
“Had you stood to the northward the whole night?” asked Mulford,gloomily, of Jack Tier; for gloomily he began to feel, as all the factsof their case began to press more closely on his mind. “If so, we mustbe well off the reef, and out of the track of wreckers and turtlers. Howhad you the wind, and how did you head before the accident happened?”
“The wind was light the whole time, and for some hours it was nearlycalm,” answered Jack, in the same vein; “I kept the schooner’s head tothe nor’ard, until I thought we were getting too far off our course,and then I put her about. I do not think we could have been any greatdistance from the reef, when the boat got away from us, and I suppose weare in its neighbourhood now, for I was tacking to fall in with the boatwhen the craft went over.”
“To fall in with the boat! Did you keep off to leeward of it, then, thatyou expected to fetch it by tacking?”
“Ay, a good bit; and I think the boat is now away here to windward ofus, drifting athwart our bows.”
This was important news to Mulford. Could he only get that boat, thechances of being saved would be increased a hundred fold, nay, wouldalmost amount to a certainty; whereas, so long as the wind held to thesouthward and eastward, the drift of the wreck must be toward the openwater, and consequently so much the further removed from the means ofsuccor. The general direction of the trades, in that quarter of theworld, is east, and should they get round into their old and properquarter, it would not benefit them much; for the reef runningsouth-west, they could scarcely hope to hit the Dry Tortugas again, intheir drift, were life even spared them sufficiently long to float thedistance. Then there might be currents, about which Mulford knew nothingwith certainty; they might set them in any direction; and did theyexist, as was almost sure to be the case, were much more powerful thanthe wind in controlling the movements of a wreck.
The mate strained his eyes in the direction pointed out by Jack Tier, inthe hope of discovering the boat through the haze of the morning, andhe actually did discern something that, it appeared to him, might be themuch desired little craft. If he were right, there was every reason tothink the boat would drift down so near them as to enable him to recoverit by swimming. This cheering intelligence was communicated to hiscompanions, who received it with gratitude and delight. But the approachof day gradually dispelled that hope, the object which Mulford hadmistaken for the boat, within two hundred yards of the wreck, turningout to be a small, low, but bare hummock of the reef, at a distance ofmore than two miles.
“That is a proof that we are not far from the reef, at least,” criedMulford, willing to encourage those around him all he could, and reallymuch relieved at finding himself so near even this isolated fragmentof terra firma. “This fact is the next encouraging thing to findingourselves near the boat, or to falling in with a sail.”
“Ay, ay,” said Jack, gloomily; “boat or no boat, ‘t will make no greatmatter of difference now. There’s customers that’ll be sartain to takeall the grists you can send to their mill.”
“What things are those glancing about the vessel?” cried Rose, almost inthe same breath; “those dark, sharp-looking sticks--see, there are fiveor six of them! and they move as if fastened to something under thewater that pulls them about.”
“Them’s the customers I mean, Miss Rose,” answered Jack, in the samestrain as that in which he had first spoken; “they’re the same thing atsea as lawyers be ashore, and seem made to live on other folks. Them’ssharks.”
“And yonder is truly the boat!” added Mulford, with a sigh that almostamounted to a groan. The light had, by this time, so far returned as toenable the party not only to see the fins of half a dozen sharks, whichwere already prowling about the wreck, the almost necessary consequenceof their proximity to a reef in that latitude, but actually to discernthe boat drifting down toward them, at a distance that promised to carryit past, within the reach of Mulford’s powers of swimming, though
not asnear as he could have wished, even under more favourable circumstances.Had their extremity been greater, or had Rose begun to suffer fromhunger or thirst, Mulford might have attempted the experiment ofendeavoring to regain the boat, though the chances of death by means ofthe sharks would be more than equal to those of escape; but still fresh,and not yet feeling even the heat of the sun of that low latitude, hewas not quite goaded into such an act of desperation. All that remainedfor the party, therefore, was to sit on the keel of the wreck, and gazewith longing eyes at a little object floating past, which, once at theircommand, might so readily be made to save them from a fate that alreadybegan to appear terrible in the perspective. Near an hour was thusconsumed, ere the boat was about half a mile to leeward; during whichscarcely an eye was turned from it for one instant, or a word wasspoken.
“It is beyond my reach now,” Mulford at length exclaimed, sighingheavily, like one who became conscious of some great and irretrievableloss. “Were there no sharks, I could hardly venture to attempt swimmingso far, with the boat drifting from me at the same time.”
“I should never consent to let you make the trial, Harry,” murmuredRose, “though it were only half as far.”
Another pause succeeded.
“We have now the light of day,” resumed the mate, a minute or two later,“and may see our true situation. No sail is in sight, and the windstands steadily in its old quarter. Still I do not think we leave thereef. There, you may see breakers off here at the southward, and itseems as if more rocks rise above the sea, in that direction. I donot know that our situation would be any the better, however, were weactually on them, instead of being on this floating wreck.”
“The rocks will never sink,” said Jack Tier, with so much emphasis as tostartle the listeners.
“I do not think this hull will sink until we are taken off it, or arebeyond caring whether it sink or swim,” returned Mulford.
“I do not know that, Mr. Mulford. Nothing keeps us up but the air in thehold, you say.”
“Certainly not; but that air will suffice as long as it remains there.”
“And what do you call these things?” rejoined the assistant steward,pointing at the water near him, in or on which no one else saw anythingworthy of attention.
Mulford, however, was not satisfied with a cursory glance, but wentnearer to the spot where Tier was standing. Then, indeed, he saw to whatthe steward alluded, and was impressed by it, though he said nothing.Hundreds of little bubbles rose to the surface of the water, much as onesees them rising in springs. These bubbles are often met with in lakesand other comparatively shallow waters, but they are rarely seen inthose of the ocean. The mate understood, at a glance, that those henow beheld were produced by the air which escaped from the hold of thewreck; in small quantities at a time, it was true, but by a constantand increasing process. The great pressure of the water forced thisair through crevices so minute that, under ordinary circumstances, theywould have proved impenetrable to this, as they were still to the otherfluid, though they now permitted the passage of the former. It mighttake a long time to force the air from the interior of the vesselby such means, but the result was as certain as it might be slow. Asconstant dropping will wear a stone, so might the power that keptthe wreck afloat be exhausted by the ceaseless rising of these minuteair-bubbles.
Although Mulford was entirely sensible of the nature of this new sourceof danger, we cannot say he was much affected by it at the moment. Itseemed to him far more probable that they must die of exhaustion, longbefore the wreck would lose all of its buoyancy by this slow process,than that even the strongest of their number could survive for such aperiod. The new danger, therefore, lost most of its terrors under thisview of the subject, though it certainly did not add to the small senseof security that remained, to know that inevitably their fate mustbe sealed through its agency, should they be able to hold out for asufficient time against hunger and thirst. It caused Mulford to muse insilence for many more minutes.
“I hope we are not altogether without food,” the mate at length said.“It sometimes happens that persons at sea carry pieces of biscuit intheir pockets, especially those who keep watch at night. The smallestmorsel is now of the last importance.”
At this suggestion, every one set about an examination. The result was,that neither Mrs. Budd nor Rose had a particle of food, of any sort,about their persons. Biddy produced from her pockets, however, a wholebiscuit, a large bunch of excellent raisins that she had filched fromthe steward’s stores, and two apples,--the last being the remains ofsome fruit that Spike had procured a month earlier in New York. Mulfordhad half a biscuit, at which he had been accustomed to nibble in hiswatches; and Jack lugged out, along with a small plug of tobacco, acouple of sweet oranges. Here, then, was everything in the shape ofvictuals or drink, that could be found for the use of five persons, inall probability for many days. The importance of securing it for equaldistribution, was so obvious, that Mulford’s proposal to do so metwith a common assent. The whole was put in Mrs. Budd’s bag, and she wasintrusted with the keeping of this precious store.
“It may be harder to abstain from food at first, when we have notsuffered from its want, than it will become after a little endurance,” said the mate. “We are now strong, and it will be wiser to fast as longas we conveniently can, to-day, and relieve our hunger by a moderateallowance toward evening, than to waste our means by too much indulgenceat a time when we are strong. Weakness will be sure to come if we remainlong on the wreck.”
“Have you ever suffered in this way, Harry?” demanded Rose, withinterest.
“I have, and that dreadfully. But a merciful Providence came to myrescue then, and it may not fail me now. The seaman is accustomed tocarry his life in his hand, and to live on the edge of eternity.”
The truth of this was so apparent as to produce a thoughtful silence.Anxious glances were cast around the horizon from time to time, in questof any sail that might come in sight, but uselessly. None appeared,and the day advanced without bringing the slightest prospect of relief.Mulford could see, by the now almost sunken hummocks, that they wereslowly drifting along the reef, toward the southward and eastward, acurrent no doubt acting slightly from the north-west. Their proximityto the reef, however, was of no advantage, as the distance was stillso great as to render any attempt to reach it, even on the part of themate, unavailable. Nor would he have been any better off could he havegained a spot on the rocks that was shallow enough to admit of hiswalking, since wading about in such a place would have been lessdesirable than to be floating where he was.
The want of water to drink threatened to be the great evil. Of this, theparty on the wreck had not a single drop! As the warmth of the daywas added to the feverish feeling produced by excitement, they allexperienced thirst, though no one murmured. So utterly without means ofrelieving this necessity did each person know them all to be, that noone spoke on the subject at all. In fact, shipwreck never produceda more complete destitution of all the ordinary agents of helpingthemselves, in any form or manner, than was the case here. So sudden andcomplete had been the disaster, that not a single article, beyond thoseon the persons of the sufferers, came even in view. The masts, sails,rigging, spare spars, in a word, everything belonging to the vessel wassubmerged and hidden from their sight, with the exception of a portionof the vessel’s bottom, which might be forty feet in length, and someten or fifteen in width, including that which was above water on bothsides of the keel, though one only of these sides was available to thefemales, as a place to move about on. Had Mulford only a boat-hook, hewould have felt it a relief; for not only did the sharks increase innumber, but they grew more audacious, swimming so near the wreck that,more than once, Mulford apprehended that some one of the boldest of themmight make an effort literally to board them. It is true, he had neverknown of one of these fishes attempting to quit his own element inpursuit of his prey; but such things were reported, and those around thewreck swam so close, and seemed so eager to get at those who wer
e on it,that there really might be some excuse for fancying they might resort tounusual means of effecting their object. It is probable that, likeall other animals, they were emboldened by their own numbers, and wereacting in a sort of concert, that was governed by some of the manymysterious laws of nature that have still escaped human observation.
Thus passed the earlier hours of that appalling day. Toward noon,Mulford had insisted on the females dividing one of the oranges betweenthem, and extracting its juice by way of assuaging their thirst. Theeffect was most grateful, as all admitted, and even Mrs. Budd urgedHarry and Tier to take a portion of the remaining orange; but this bothsteadily refused. Mulford did consent to receive a small portion of oneof the apples, more with a view of moistening his throat than to appeasehis hunger, though it had, in a slight degree, the latter effect also.As for Jack Tier, he declined even the morsel of apple, saying thattobacco answered his purpose, as indeed it temporarily might.
It was near sunset, when the steward’s assistant called Mulford aside,and whispered to him that he had something private to communicate. Themate bade him say on, as they were out of ear-shot of their companions.
“I’ve been in sitiations like this afore,” said Jack, “and one l’arnsexper’ence by exper’ence. I know how cruel it is on the feelin’s to havethe hopes disapp’inted in these cases, and therefore shall proceed withcaution. But, Mr. Mulford, there’s a sail in sight, if there is a dropof water in the Gulf!”
“A sail, Jack! I trust in Heaven you are not deceived!”
“Old eyes are true eyes in such matters, sir. Be careful not to startthe women. They go off like gunpowder, and, Lord help ‘em! have nomore command over themselves, when you loosen ‘em once, than so manyflying-fish with a dozen dolphins a’ter them. Look hereaway, sir, justclear of the Irishwoman’s bonnet, a little broad off the spot where thereef was last seen--if that an’t a sail, my flame is not Jack Tier.”
A sail there was, sure enough! It was so very distant, however, as torender its character still uncertain, though Mulford fancied it was asquare-rigged vessel heading to the northward. By its position, it mustbe in one of the channels of the reef, and by its course, if he werenot deceived, it was standing through, from the main passage along thesouthern side of the rocks, to come out on the northern. All this wasfavourable, and at first the young mate felt such a throbbing of theheart as we all experience when great and unexpected good intelligenceis received. A moment’s reflection, however, made him aware how littlewas to be hoped for from this vessel. In the first place, her distancewas so great as to render it uncertain even which way she was steering.Then, there was the probability that she would pass at so great adistance as to render it impossible to perceive an object as low as thewreck, and the additional chance of her passing in the night. Under allthe circumstances, therefore, Mulford felt convinced that there was verylittle probability of their receiving any succour from the strange sail;and he fully appreciated Jack Tier’s motive in forbearing to give theusual call of “Sail, ho!” when he made this discovery. Still, he couldnot deny himself the pleasure of communicating to Rose the cheeringfact that a vessel was actually in sight. She could not reason on thecircumstances as he had done, and might at least pass several hours ofcomparative happiness by believing that there was some visible chance ofdelivery.
The females received the intelligence with very different degrees ofhope. Rose was delighted. To her their rescue appeared an event so veryprobable now, that Harry Mulford almost regretted he had given riseto an expectation which he himself feared was to be disappointed. Thefeelings of Mrs. Budd were more suppressed. The wreck and her presentsituation were so completely at variance with all her former notions ofthe sea and its incidents, that she was almost dumb-founded, andfeared either to speak or to think. Biddy differed from either of hermistresses--the young or the old; she appeared to have lost all hope,and her physical energy was fast giving way under her profound moraldebility.
From the return of light that day, Mulford had thought, if it wereto prove that Providence had withdrawn its protecting hand from them,Biddy, who to all appearance ought to be the longest liver among thefemales at least, would be the first to sink under her sufferings. Suchis the influence of moral causes on the mere animal.
Rose saw the night shut in around them, amid the solemn solitude ofthe ocean, with a mingled sensation of awe and hope. She had prayeddevoutly, and often, in the course of the preceding day, and herdevotions had contributed to calm her spirits. Once or twice, whilekneeling with her head bowed to the keel, she had raised her eyes towardHarry with a look of entreaty, as if she would implore him to humble hisproud spirit and place himself at her side, and ask that succour fromGod which was so much needed, and which indeed it began most seriouslyto appear that God alone could yield. The young mate did not comply,for his pride of profession and of manhood offered themselves asstumbling-blocks to prevent submission to his secret wishes. Though herarely prayed, Harry Mulford was far from being an unbeliever, orone altogether regardless of his duties and obligations to his DivineCreator. On the contrary, his heart was more disposed to resort to suchmeans of self-abasement and submission, than he put in practice, andthis because he had been taught to believe that the Anglo-Saxon marinerdid not call on Hercules, on every occasion of difficulty and distressthat occurred, as was the fashion with the Italian and Romish seamen,but he put his own shoulder to the wheel, confident that Hercules wouldnot forget to help him who knew how to help himself. But Harry had greatdifficulty in withstanding Rose’s silent appeal that evening, as sheknelt at the keel for the last time, and turned her gentle eyes upwardat him, as if to ask him once more to take his place at her side.Withstand the appeal he did, however, though in his inward spirit heprayed fervently to God to put away this dreadful affliction from theyoung and innocent creature before him. When these evening devotionswere ended, the whole party became thoughtful and silent.
It was necessary to sleep, and arrangements were made to do so, ifpossible, with a proper regard for their security. Mulford and Tierwere to have the look-out, watch and watch. This was done that no vesselmight pass near them unseen, and that any change in the weather might benoted and looked to. As it was, the wind had fallen, and seemed about tovary, though it yet stood in its old quarter, or a little more easterly,perhaps. As a consequence, the drift of the wreck, insomuch as itdepended on the currents of the air, was more nearly in a line with thedirection of the reef, and there was little ground for apprehending thatthey might be driven further from it in the night. Although that reefoffered in reality no place of safety, that was available to his party,Mulford felt it as a sort of relief, to be certain that it was notdistant, possibly influenced by a vague hope that some passing wreckeror turtler might yet pick them up.
The bottom of the schooner and the destitute condition of the partyadmitted of only very simple arrangements for the night. The femalesplaced themselves against the keel in the best manner they could, andthus endeavoured to get a little of the rest they so much needed. Theday had been warm, as a matter of course, and the contrast produced bythe setting of the sun was at first rather agreeable than otherwise.Luckily Rose had thrown a shawl over her shoulders, not long beforethe vessel capsized, and in this shawl she had been saved. It had beendried, and it now served for a light covering to herself and her aunt,and added essentially to their comfort. As for Biddy, she was too hardyto need a shawl, and she protested that she should not think of usingone, had she been better provided. The patient, meek manner in whichthat humble, but generous-hearted creature submitted to her fate, andthe earnestness with which she had begged that “Miss Rosy” might haveher morsel of the portion of biscuit each received for a supper, hadsensibly impressed Mulford in her favour; and knowing how much morenecessary food was to sustain one of her robust frame and sturdy habits,than to Rose, he had contrived to give the woman, unknown to herself, adouble allowance. Nor was it surprising that Biddy did not detect thislittle act of fraud in her favour, for this double allo
wance was merelya single mouthful. The want of water had made itself much morekeenly felt than the want of food, for as yet anxiety, excitement andapprehension prevented the appetite from being much awakened, while theclaims of thirst were increased rather than the reverse, by these verycauses. Still, no one had complained, on this or any other account,throughout the whole of the long and weary day which had passed.
Mulford took the first look-out, with the intention of catching alittle sleep, if possible, during the middle hours of the night, and ofreturning to his duty as morning approached. For the first hour nothingoccurred to divert his attention from brooding on the melancholycircumstances of their situation. It seemed as if all around him hadactually lost the sense of their cares in sleep, and no sound wasaudible amid that ocean waste, but the light washing of the water, asthe gentle waves rolled at intervals against the weather side of thewreck. It was now that Mulford found a moment for prayer, and seatedon the keel, that he called on the Divine aid, in a fervent but silentpetition to God, to put away this trial from the youthful and beautifulRose, at least, though he himself perished. It was the first prayer thatMulford had made in many months, or since he had joined the Swash--acraft in which that duty was very seldom thought of.
A few minutes succeeded this petition, when Biddy spoke.
“Missus--Madam Budd--dear Missus”--half whispered the Irish woman,anxious not to disturb Rose, who lay furthest from her--“Missus, bees yeasleep at sich a time as this?”
“No, Biddy; sleep and I are strangers to each other, and are likely tobe till morning. What do you wish to say?”
“Anything is better than my own t’oughts, missus dear, and I wants totalk to ye. Is it no wather at all they’ll give us so long as we stay inthis place?”
“There is no one to give it to us but God, poor Biddy, and he alone cansay what, in his gracious mercy, it may please him to do. Ah! Biddy,I fear me that I did an unwise and thoughtless thing, to bring my poorRose to such a place as this. Were it to be done over again, the richesof Wall Street would not tempt me to be guilty of so wrong a thing!”
The arm of Rose was thrown around her aunt’s neck, and its gentlepressure announced how completely the offender was forgiven.
“I’s very sorry for Miss Rose,” rejoined Biddy “and I suffers so muchthe more meself in thinking how hard it must be for the like of her tobe wantin’ in a swallow of fresh wather.”
“It is no harder for me to bear it, poor Biddy,” answered the gentlevoice of our heroine, “than it is for yourself.”
“Is it meself then? Sure am I, that if I had a quar-r-t of good, swatewather from our own pump, and that’s far betther is it than the Crothonthe best day the Crothon ever seed--but had I a quar-r-t of it, everydhrap would I give to you, Miss Rose, to app’ase your thirst, I would.”
“Water would be a great relief to us all, just now, my excellent Biddy,” answered Rose, “and I wish we had but a tumbler full of that you name,to divide equally among the whole five of us.”
“Is it divide? Then it would be ag’in dividin’ that my voice would beraised, for that same ra’son that the tumbler would never hold as muchas you could dhrink yourself, Miss Rose.”
“Yet the tumbler full would be a great blessing for us all, just now,” murmured Mrs. Budd.
“And is n’t mutthon good ‘atin’, ladies! Och! if I had but a good swatepratie, now, from my own native Ireland, and a dhrap of milk to helpwash it down! It’s mighty little that a body thinks of sich thrifleswhen there’s abundance of them; but when there’s none at all, they getto be stronger in the mind than riches and honours.”
“You say the truth, Biddy,” rejoined the mistress, “and there is apleasure in talking of them, if one can’t enjoy them. I’ve been thinkingall the afternoon, Rose, what a delicious food is a good roast turkey,with cranberry sauce; and I wonder, now, that I have not been moregrateful for the very many that Providence has bestowed on me in mytime. My poor Mr. Budd was passionately fond of mutton, and I usedwickedly to laugh at his fondness for it, sometimes, when he always hadhis answer ready, and that was that there are no sheep at sea. How truethat is, Rosy dear! there are indeed no sheep at sea!”
“No, aunty,” answered Rose’s gentle voice from beneath theshawl;--“there are no such animals on the ocean, but God is with us hereas much as he would be in New York.”
A long silence succeeded this simple remark of his well beloved, andthe young mate hoped that there would be no more of a dialogue, everysyllable of which was a dagger to his feelings. But nature was strongerthan reflection in Mrs. Budd and Biddy, and the latter spoke again,after a pause of near a quarter of an hour.
“Pray for me, Missus,” she said, moaningly, “that I may sleep. A bit ofsleep would do a body almost as much good as a bit of bread--I won’t sayas much as a dhrap of wather.”
“Be quiet, Biddy, and we will pray for you,” answered Rose, who fanciedby her breathing that her aunt was about to forget her sufferings for abrief space, in broken slumbers.
“Is it for you I’ll do that--and sure will I, Miss Rose. Niver would Ihave quitted Ireland, could I have thought there was sich a spot on thisearth as a place where no wather was to be had.”
This was the last of Biddy’s audible complaints, for the remainder ofthis long and anxious watch of Mulford. He then set himself about anarrangement which shall be mentioned in its proper place. At twelveo’clock, or when he thought it was twelve, he called Jack Tier, who inturn called the mate again at four.
“It looks dark and threatening,” said Mulford, as he rose to his feetand began to look about him once more, “though there does not appear tobe any wind.”
“It’s a flat calm, Mr. Mate, and the darkness comes from yonder cloud,which seems likely to bring a little rain.”
“Rain! Then God is indeed with us here. You are right, Jack; rain mustfall from that cloud. We must catch some of it, if it be only a drop tocool Rose’s parched tongue.”
“In what?” answered Tier, gloomily. “She may wring her clothes when theshower is over, and in that way get a drop. I see no other method.”
“I have bethought me of all that, and passed most of my watch in makingthe preparations.”
Mulford then showed Tier what he had been about, in the long andsolitary hours of the first watch. It would seem that the young manhad dug a little trench with his knife, along the schooner’s bottom,commencing two or three feet from the keel, and near the spot whereRose was lying, and carrying it as far as was convenient toward the run,until he reached a point where he had dug out a sort of reservoir tocontain the precious fluid, should any be sent them by Providence. Whiledoing this, there were no signs of rain; but the young man knew that ashower alone could save them from insanity, if not from death; and inspeculating on the means of profiting by one, should it come, he hadbethought him of this expedient. The large knife of a seaman had servedhim a good turn, in carrying on his work, to complete which thereremained now very little to do, and that was in enlarging the receptaclefor the water. The hole was already big enough to contain a pint, and itmight easily be sufficiently enlarged to hold double that quantity.
Jack was no sooner made acquainted with what had been done, than he outknife and commenced tearing splinter after splinter from the planks, tohelp enlarge the reservoir. This could only be done by cutting onthe surface, for the wood was not three inches in thickness, and thesmallest hole through the plank, would have led to the rapid escape ofthe air and to the certain sinking of the wreck. It required a gooddeal of judgment to preserve the necessary level also, and Mulford wasobliged to interfere more than once to prevent his companion from doingmore harm than good. He succeeded, however, and had actually made acavity that might contain more than a quart of water, when the firstlarge drop fell from the heavens. This cavity was not a hole, but along, deep trench--deep for the circumstances--so nicely cut on theproper level, as to admit of its holding a fluid in the quantitymentioned.
“Rose--dearest--rise, and be ready
to drink,” said Mulford, tenderlydisturbing the uneasy slumbers of his beloved. “It is about to rain, andGod is with us here, as he might be on the land.”
“Wather!” exclaimed Biddy, who was awoke with the same call. “What ablessed thing is good swate wather, and sure am I we ought all to bethankful that there is such a precious gift in the wor-r-ld.”
“Come, then,” said Mulford, hurriedly, “it will soon rain--I hear itpattering on the sea. Come hither, all of you, and drink, as a mercifulGod furnishes the means.”
This summons was not likely to be neglected. All arose in haste, and theword “water” was murmured from every lip. Biddy had less self-commandthan the others, and she was heard saying aloud,--“Och! and did n’tI dhrame of the blessed springs and wells of Ireland the night, andhaven’t I dhrunk at ‘em all? but now it’s over, and I am awake, no goodhas’t done me, and I’m ready to die for one dhrap of wather.”
That drop soon came, however, and with it the blessed relief which sucha boon bestows. Mulford had barely time to explain his arrangements, andto place the party on their knees, along his little reservoir and thegutter which led to it, when the pattering of the rain advanced alongthe sea, with a deep rushing sound. Presently, the uplifted faces andopen mouths caught a few heavy straggling drops, to cool the parchedtongues, when the water came tumbling down upon them in a thousandlittle streams. There was scarcely any wind, and merely the skirt of alarge black cloud floated over the wreck, on which the rain fell barelyone minute. But it fell as rain comes down within the tropics, and insufficient quantities for all present purposes. Everybody drank, andfound relief, and, when all was over, Mulford ascertained by examinationthat his receptacle for the fluid was still full to overflowing. Theabstinence had not been of sufficient length, nor the quantity taken oflarge enough amount, to produce injury, though the thirst was generallyand temporarily appeased. It is probable that the coolness of the hour,day dawning as the cloud moved past, and the circumstance that thesufferers were wetted to their skins, contributed to the change.
“Oh, blessed, blessed wather!” exclaimed Biddy, as she rose from herknees; “America, afther all, isn’t as dhry a country as some say. I’veniver tasted swater wather in Ireland itself!”
Rose murmured her thanksgiving in more appropriate language. A fewexclamations also escaped Mrs. Budd, and Jack Tier had his sententiouseulogy on the precious qualities of sweet water.
The wind rose as the day advanced, and a swell began to heave the wreckwith a power that had hitherto been dormant. Mulford understood this tobe a sign that there had been a blow at some distance from them, thathad thrown the sea into a state of agitation, which extended itselfbeyond the influence of the wind. Eagerly did the young mate examine thehorizon, as the curtain of night arose, inch by inch, as it might be,on the watery panorama, in the hope that a vessel of some sort or othermight be brought within the view. Nor was he wholly disappointed. Thestrange sail seen the previous evening was actually there; and what wasmore, so near as to allow her hull to be distinctly visible. It was aship, under her square canvas, standing from between divided portions ofthe reef, as if getting to the northward, in order to avoid the opposingcurrent of the Gulf Stream. Vessels bound to Mobile, New Orleans, andother ports along the coast of the Republic, in that quarter of theocean, often did this; and when the young mate first caught glimpses ofthe shadowy outline of this ship, he supposed it to be some packet, orcotton-droger, standing for her port on the northern shore. But a fewminutes removed the veil, and with it the error of this notion. A seamancould no longer mistake the craft. Her length, her square and massivehamper, with the symmetry of her spars, and the long, straight outlineof the hull, left no doubt that it was a cruiser, with her hammocksunstowed. Mulford now cheerfully announced to his companions, that theship they so plainly saw, scarcely a gun-shot distant from them, was thesloop-of-war which had already become a sort of an acquaintance.
“If we can succeed in making them see our signal,” cried Mulford, “allwill yet be well. Come, Jack, and help me to put abroad this shawl, theonly ensign we can show.”
The shawl of Rose was the signal spread. Tier and Mulford stood on thekeel, and holding opposite corners, let the rest of the cloth blow outwith the wind. For near an hour did these two extend their arms, andtry all possible expedients to make their signal conspicuous. But,unfortunately, the wind blew directly toward the cruiser, and instead ofexposing a surface of any breadth to the vision of those on board her,it must, at most, have offered little more than a flitting, waving line.
As the day advanced, sail was made on the cruiser. She had stood throughthe passage, in which she had been becalmed most of the night,under short canvas; but now she threw out fold after fold of herstudding-sails, and moved away to the westward, with the stately motionof a ship before the wind. No sooner had she got far enough to thenorthward of the reef, than she made a deviation from her courseas first seen, turning her stern entirely to the wreck, and rapidlybecoming less and less distinct to the eyes of those who floated on it.
Mulford saw the hopelessness of their case, as it respected relief fromthis vessel; still, he persevered in maintaining his position on thekeel, tossing and waving the shawl, in all the variations that hisingenuity could devise. He well knew, however, that their chances ofbeing seen would have been trebled could they have been ahead insteadof astern of the ship. Mariners have few occasions to look behind them,while a hundred watchful eyes are usually turned ahead, more especiallywhen running near rocks and shoals. Mrs. Budd wept like an infant whenshe saw the sloop-of-war gliding away, reaching a distance that renderedsight useless, in detecting an object that floated as low on the wateras the wreck. As for Biddy, unable to control her feelings, the poorcreature actually called to the crew of the departing vessel, as if hervoice had the power to make itself heard, at a distance which alreadyexceeded two leagues. It was only by means of the earnest remonstrancesof Rose, that the faithful creature could be quieted.
“Why will ye not come to our relaif?” she cried at the top of her voice.“Here are we, helpless as new-born babies, and ye sailing away from usin a conthrary way! D’ye not bethink you of the missus, who is much ofa sailor, but not sich a one as to sail on a wrack; and poor Miss Rose,who is the char-rm and delight of all eyes. Only come and take off MissRose, and lave the rest of us, if ye so likes; for it’s a sin and ashame to lave the likes of her to die in the midst of the ocean, as ifshe was no betther nor a fish. Then it will be soon that we shall ag’infeel the want of wather, and that, too, with nothing but wather to beseen on all sides of us.”
“It is of no use,” said Harry, mournfully, stepping down from the keel,and laying aside the shawl. “They cannot see us, and the distance is nowso great as to render it certain they never will. There is only one hopeleft. We are evidently set to and fro by the tides, and it is possiblethat by keeping in or near this passage, some other craft may appear,and we be more fortunate. The relief of the rain is a sign that we arenot forgotten by Divine Providence, and with such a protector we oughtnot to despair.”
A gloomy and scanty breaking of the fast succeeded. Each person had onelarge mouthful of bread, which was all that prudence would authorizeMulford to distribute. He attempted a pious fraud, however, by placinghis own allowance along with that of Rose’s, under the impression thather strength might not endure privation as well as his own. But thetender solicitude of Rose was not to be thus deceived. Judging of hiswishes and motives by her own, she at once detected the deception,and insisted on retaining no more than her proper share. When thisdistribution was completed, and the meagre allowance taken, onlysufficient bread remained to make one more similar scanty meal, if meala single mouthful could be termed. As for the water, a want of whichwould be certain to be felt as soon as the sun obtained its noon-daypower, the shawl was extended over it, in a way to prevent evaporationas much as possible, and at the same time to offer some resistance tothe fluid’s being washed from its shallow receptacle by the motion ofthe wreck, w
hich was sensibly increasing with the increase of the windand waves.
Mulford had next an anxious duty to perform. Throughout the whole ofthe preceding day he had seen the air escaping from the hull, in anincessant succession of small bubbles, which were formidable throughtheir numbers, if not through their size. The mate was aware that thisunceasing loss of the buoyant property of the wreck, must eventuallylead to their destruction, should no assistance come, and he had markedthe floating line, on the bottom of the vessel with his knife, eredarkness set in, on the previous evening. No sooner did his thoughtsrecur to this fact, after the excitement of the first hour of daylightwas over, than he stepped to the different places thus marked, and saw,with an alarm that it would be difficult to describe, that the wreck hadactually sunk into the water several inches within the last few hours.This was, indeed, menacing their security in a most serious manner,setting a limit to their existence, which rendered all precaution on thesubject of food and water useless. By the calculations of the mate,the wreck could not float more than eight-and-forty hours, should itcontinue to lose the air at the rate at which it had been hitherto lost.Bad as all this appeared, things were fated to become much more serious.The motion of the water quite sensibly increased, lifting the wreck attimes in a way greatly to increase the danger of their situation. Thereader will understand this movement did not proceed from the waves ofthe existing wind, but from what is technically called a ground-swell,or the long, heavy undulations that are left by the tempest that ispast, or by some distant gale. The waves of the present breeze werenot very formidable, the reef making a lee; though they might possiblybecome inconvenient from breaking on the weather side of the wreck,as soon as the drift carried the latter fairly abreast of the passagealready mentioned. But the dangers that proceeded from the heavyground-swell, which now began to give a considerable motion to thewreck, will best explain itself by narrating the incidents as theyoccurred.
Harry had left his marks, and had taken his seat on the keel at Rose’sside, impatiently waiting for any turn that Providence might next giveto their situation, when a heavy roll of the wreck first attracted hisattention to this new circumstance.
“If any one is thirsty,” he observed quietly, “he or she had betterdrink now, while it may be done. Two or three more such rolls as thislast will wash all the water from our gutters.”
“Wather is a blessed thing,” said Biddy, with a longing expressionof the eyes, “and it would be betther to swallow it than to let it belost.”
“Then drink, for Heaven’s sake, good woman--it may be the last occasionthat will offer.”
“Sure am I that I would not touch a dhrap, while the missus and MissRosy was a sufferin’.”
“I have no thirst at all,” answered Rose, sweetly, “and have alreadytaken more water than was good for me, with so little food on mystomach.”
“Eat another morsel of the bread, beloved,” whispered Harry, in a mannerso urgent that Rose gratefully complied. “Drink, Biddy, and we willcome and share with you before the water is wasted by this increasingmotion.”
Biddy did as desired, and each knelt in turn and took a little of thegrateful fluid, leaving about a gill in the gutters for the use of thosewhose lips might again become parched.
“Wather is a blessed thing,” repeated Biddy, for the twentieth time--“ablessed, blessed thing is wather!”
A little scream from Mrs. Budd, which was dutifully taken up by themaid, interrupted the speech of the latter, and every eye was turned onMulford, as if to ask an explanation of the groaning sound that had beenheard within the wreck. The young mate comprehended only too well. Therolling of the wreck had lifted a portion of the open hatchway abovethe undulating surface of the sea, and a large quantity of the pent airwithin the hold had escaped in a body. The entrance of water to supplythe vacuum had produced the groan. Mulford had made new marks on thevessel’s bottom with his knife, and he stepped down to them, anxious andnearly heart-broken, to note the effect. That one surging of the wreckhad permitted air enough to escape to lower it in the water severalinches. As yet, however, the visible limits of their floating foundationhad not been sufficiently reduced to attract the attention of thefemales; and the young man said nothing on the subject. He thought thatJack Tier was sensible of the existence of this new source of danger,but if he were, that experienced mariner imitated his own reserve, andmade no allusion to it. Thus passed the day. Occasionally the wreckrolled heavily, when more air escaped, the hull settling lower and lowerin the water as a necessary consequence. The little bubbles continuedincessantly to rise, and Mulford became satisfied that another day mustdecide their fate. Taking this view of their situation, he saw no use inreserving their food, but encouraged his companions to share the wholeof what remained at sunset. Little persuasion was necessary, and whennight once more came to envelope them in darkness, not a mouthful offood or a drop of water remained to meet the necessities of the comingmorn. It had rained again for a short time, in the course of theafternoon, when enough water had been caught to allay their thirst, andwhat was almost of as much importance to the females now, a sufficiencyof sun had succeeded to dry their clothes, thus enabling them to sleepwithout enduring the chilling damps that might otherwise have preventedit. The wind had sensibly fallen, and the ground-swell was altogethergone, but Mulford was certain that the relief had come too late. So muchair had escaped while it lasted as scarce to leave him the hope thatthe wreck could float until morning. The rising of the bubbles wasnow incessant, the crevices by which they escaped having most probablyopened a little, in consequence of the pressure and the unceasing actionof the currents, small as the latter were.
Just as darkness was shutting in around them for the second time, Roseremarked to Mulford that it seemed to her that they had not as large aspace for their little world as when they were first placed on it. Themate, however, successfully avoided an explanation; and when the watchwas again set for the night, the females lay down to seek their repose,more troubled with apprehensions for a morrow of hunger and thirst,than by any just fears that might so well have arisen from the physicalcertainty that the body which alone kept them from being engulfed inthe sea, could float but a few hours longer. This night Tier kept thelook-out until Jupiter reached the zenith, when Mulford was called tohold the watch until light returned.
It may seem singular that any could sleep at all in such a situation.But we get accustomed, in an incredibly short time, to the most violentchanges; and calamities that seem insupportable, when looked at from adistance, lose half their power if met and resisted with fortitude. Thelast may, indeed, be too insignificant a word to be applied to all ofthe party on the wreck, on the occasion of which we are writing, thoughno one of them all betrayed fears that were troublesome. Of Mulford itis unnecessary to speak. His deportment had been quiet, thoughtful, andfull of a manly interest in the comfort of others, from the first momentof the calamity. That Rose should share the largest in his attentionswas natural enough, but he neglected no essential duty to hercompanions. Rose, herself, had little hope of being rescued. Hernaturally courageous character, however, prevented any undue exhibitionsof despair, and now it was that the niece became the principal supportof the aunt, completely changing the relations that had formerly existedbetween them. Mrs. Budd had lost all the little buoyancy of her mind.Not a syllable did she now utter concerning ships and their manoeuvres.She had been, at first, a little disposed to be querulous anddespairing, but the soothing and pious conversation of Rose awakeneda certain degree of resolution in her, and habit soon exercised itsinfluence over even her inactive mind. Biddy was a strange mixture ofcourage, despair, humility, and consideration for others. Not once hadshe taken her small allowance of food without first offering it, andthat, too, in perfect good faith, to her “Missus and Miss Rosy;” yether moanings for this sort of support, and her complaints of bodilysuffering much exceeded that of all the rest of the party put together.As for Jack Tier, his conduct singularly belied his appearance. No onewould have exp
ected any great show of manly resolution from the littlerotund, lymphatic figure of Tier; but he had manifested a calmnessthat denoted either great natural courage, or a resolution derived fromfamiliarity with danger. In this particular, even Mulford regarded hisdeportment with surprise, not unmingled with respect.
“You have had a tranquil watch, Jack,” said Harry, when he was called bythe person named, and had fairly aroused himself from his slumbers. “Hasthe wind stood as it is since sunset?”
“No change whatever, sir. It has blown a good working breeze the wholewatch, and what is surprising not as much lipper has got up as wouldfrighten a colt on a sea-beach.”
“We must be near the reef, by that. I think the only currents we feelcome from the tide, and they seem to be setting us back and forth,instead of carrying us in any one settled direction.”
“Quite likely, sir; and this makes my opinion of what I saw an hoursince all the more probable.”
“What you saw! In the name of a merciful Providence, Tier, do not triflewith me! Has any thing been seen near by?”
“Don’t talk to me of your liquors and other dhrinks,” murmured Biddy inher sleep. “It’s wather that is a blessed thing; and I wish I lived, thenight and the day, by the swate pump that’s in our own yard, I do.”
“The woman has been talking in her sleep, in this fashion, most of thewatch,” observed Jack, coolly, and perhaps a little contemptuously.“But, Mr. Mulford, unless my eyes have cheated me, we are near that boatagain. The passage through the reef is close aboard us, here, on ourlarboard bow, as it might be, and the current has sucked us in it in afashion to bring it in a sort of athwart-hawse direction to us.”
“If that boat, after all, should be sent by Providence to our relief!How long is it since you saw it, Jack.”
“But a bit since, sir; or, for that matter, I think I see it now. Lookhereaway, sir, just where the dead-eyes of the fore-rigging would bearfrom us, if the craft stood upon her legs, as she ought to do. If thatisn’t a boat, it’s a rock out of water.”
Mulford gazed through the gloom of midnight, and saw, or fancied he saw,an object that might really be the boat. It could not be very distanteither; and his mind was instantly made up as to the course he wouldpursue. Should it actually turn out to be that which he now so muchhoped for, and its distance in the morning did not prove too great forhuman powers, he was resolved to swim for it at the hazard of his life.In the meantime, or until light should return, there remained nothing todo but to exercise as much patience as could be summoned, and to confidein God, soliciting his powerful succour by secret prayer.
Mulford was no sooner left alone, as it might be, by Tier’s seeking aplace in which to take his rest, than he again examined the state of thewreck. Little as he had hoped from its long-continued buoyancy, he foundmatters even worse than he apprehended they would be. The hull had lostmuch air, and had consequently sunk in the water in an exact proportionto this loss. The space that was actually above the water, was reducedto an area not more than six or seven feet in one direction, by some tenor twelve in the other. This was reducing its extent, since the eveningprevious, by fully one-half; and there could be no doubt that the airwas escaping, in consequence of the additional pressure, in a ratio thatincreased by a sort of arithmetical progression. The young man knew thatthe whole wreck, under its peculiar circumstances, might sink entirelybeneath the surface, and yet possess sufficient buoyancy to sustainthose that were on it for a time longer, but this involved the terriblenecessity of leaving the females partly submerged themselves.
Our mate heard his own heart beat, as he became satisfied of the actualcondition of the wreck, and of the physical certainty that existed ofits sinking, at least to the point last mentioned, ere the sun cameto throw his glories over the last view that the sufferers would bepermitted to take of the face of day. It appeared to him that no timewas to be lost. There lay the dim and shapeless object that seemed to bethe boat, distant, as he thought, about a mile. It would not have beenvisible at all but for the perfect smoothness of the sea, and the lowposition occupied by the observer. At times it did disappear altogether,when it would rise again, as if undulating in the ground-swell. Thislast circumstance, more than any other, persuaded Harry that it was nota rock, but some floating object that he beheld. Thus encouraged, hedelayed no longer. Every moment was precious, and all might be lost byindecision. He did not like the appearance of deserting his companions,but, should he fail, the motive would appear in the act. Should he fail,every one would alike soon be beyond the reach of censure, and in astate of being that would do full justice to all.
Harry threw off most of his clothes, reserving only his shirt and a pairof light summer trowsers. He could not quit the wreck, however, withouttaking a sort of leave of Rose. On no account would he awake her, for heappreciated the agony she would feel during the period of his struggles.Kneeling at her side, he made a short prayer, then pressed his lips toher warm cheek, and left her. Rose murmured his name at that instant,but it was as the innocent and young betray their secrets in theirslumbers. Neither of the party awoke.
It was a moment to prove the heart of man, that in which Harry Mulford,in the darkness of midnight, alone, unsustained by any encouraging eye,or approving voice, with no other aid than his own stout arm, and theunknown designs of a mysterious Providence, committed his form to thesea. For an instant he paused, after he had waded down on the wreck toa spot where the water already mounted to his breast, but it was not inmisgivings. He calculated the chances, and made an intelligent use ofsuch assistance as could be had. There had been no sharks near the wreckthat day, but a splash in the water might bring them back again in acrowd. They were probably prowling over the reef, near at hand. Themate used great care, therefore, to make no noise. There was the distantobject, and he set it by a bright star, that wanted about an hourbefore it would sink beneath the horizon. That star was his beacon, andmuttering a few words in earnest prayer, the young man threw his bodyforward, and left the wreck, swimming lightly but with vigour.
VOLUME II.
Jack Tier; Or, The Florida Reef Page 8
