Outward Bound Or, Young America Afloat: A Story of Travel and Adventure

by Oliver Optic

  CHAPTER VII.

  HEAVING THE LOG.

  The Young America, under topsails and top-gallant sails, was makingabout ten knots an hour. After passing the last island in the bay, shewas headed to the south-east, which brought the wind over the starboardquarter. The ship was of the clipper class, though not as sharp as manyof this model. It was found that her sailing ability was excellent, andMr. Lowington and Mr. Fluxion expressed much satisfaction at herperformance, both in respect of speed and weatherly qualities.

  When the ship left her moorings, the principal had not decided where togo, or how long to remain at sea, intending to be governed by thecircumstances of the hour. It had never been his purpose to keep her atone anchorage, but to go from port to port, remaining a few days or afew weeks at each, as the discipline of the ship and the progress of theboys in their studies suggested. There were many elements of seamanshipwhich could not be effectively practised while the ship lay at anchor,such as heaving the log, sounding and steering, though the boys had beencarefully instructed in the theory of these operations.

  The instructor in mathematics, the boatswain, the carpenter, and thesailmaker, all of whom were good seamen, were in great demand as soon asthe ship was under way; but when she had sea-room enough, the helm washanded over to the boys, under the charge of a juvenile quartermaster.Peaks stood by, and gave the necessary directions, till the studentswere able to do the work themselves.

  "Now, my lads, we will heave the log," said the boatswain, when the shipwas well out from the land.

  "We know how to do that," replied Smith, one of the quartermasters.

  "I dare say you do, young gentlemen; but in my opinion, you can't do it.You know how to write a psalm, but I don't believe you could write one,"added Peaks. "You have to learn how to do these things by the feeling,so that they will do themselves, so to speak. After-guard, stand by tohaul in the log-line. Here, quartermaster, you will hold the glass, andthe officer of the deck will throw the chip."

  "We know all about it, Mr. Peaks," repeated Smith.

  "I know you do; but you can't tell within five knots how fast the shipis going," laughed the boatswain. "Let's do it right a few times, andthen you can be trusted."

  The quartermaster took the glass, and Gordon, then officer of the watch,the chip, which he cast into the water over the stern of the ship.

  "Turn!" said he, when the stray line had run out.

  Now, Smith, at this particular moment, was watching a vessel over thequarter, and he did not instantly turn the glass, as he should havedone; but Peaks said nothing.

  "Up!" cried the quartermaster, when the sand had all run through theglass.

  Gordon stopped the reel from which the line was running out, and notedthe mark.

  "Seven knots," said he.

  "Not right," replied the boatswain, sharply. "This ship is going nine orten knots an hour, and any man who has snuffed salt water for six monthscould guess nearer than you make it. Now try it once again, and if youdon't hit nearer than that next time, you may as well throw the reeloverboard, and hire a Yankee to guess the rate of sailing."

  "I thought we knew all about it," added Smith.

  "I think you do, young gentlemen; but you were star-gazing when youought to have been all attention. The line ran out two or three knotsbefore you turned the glass."

  Gordon took the chip again. It was a thin piece of board, in the form ofa quarter circle. The round side was loaded with just lead enough tomake it float upright in the water. The log-line was fastened to thechip, just us a boy loops a kite, two strings being attached at each endof the circular side, while the one at the angle is tied to a peg, whichis inserted in a hole, just hard enough to keep it in place, while thereis no extra strain on the board, but which can be drawn out with a smartpull. When the log-line has run out as far as desired, there would besome difficulty in hauling in the chip while it was upright in thewater; but a sudden jerk draws the peg at the angle, and permits theboard to lie flat, in which position the water offers the leastresistance to its passage.

  The half-minute glass used on board the Young America, held by thequartermaster, was like an hour glass, and contained just sand enough topass through the hole in the neck in thirty seconds. The log-line wasone hundred and fifty fathoms in length, and was wound on a reel, whichturned very easily, so that the resistance of the chip to the waterwould unwind it. The log-line is divided into certain spaces calledknots, the length of each of which is the same fractional part of a milethat a half minute is of an hour. If there be sixty-one hundred andtwenty feet in a nautical mile, or the sixtieth part of a degree of agreat circle, which is not far from accurate, and the ship be going tenknots an hour, she will run sixty-one thousand two hundred feet in anhour. If the chip were thrown overboard at eight o'clock, and the linewere long enough, the ship would have run out sixty-one thousand twohundred feet, or ten miles, at nine o'clock, or in one hour. In oneminute she would run one sixtieth of sixty-one thousand two hundredfeet, which is ten hundred and twenty feet; in half a minute, fivehundred and ten feet.

  The half-minute glass is the measure of time generally used in heavingthe log. While the sand is dropping through, the line runs out fivehundred and ten feet, the ship going ten knots an hour being the basisof the calculation. One knot, therefore, will be fifty-one feet. If theline pays out five hundred and ten feet in thirty seconds, by the glass,the ship is going ten knots an hour. If it pays out four hundred andeight feet in half a minute, or eight hundred and sixteen feet in aminute, she will pay out a mile in as many minutes as eight hundred andsixteen feet is contained in sixty-one hundred and twenty feet, which isseven and a half minutes. Then the ship goes a mile in seven and a halfminutes, or eight miles an hour.

  A knot on the log-line is therefore invariably fifty-one feet; and thenumber of knots of the line run out in half a minute indicates also theship's speed per hour, for fifty-one feet is the same part of a nauticalmile that half a minute is of an hour. The calculations are givenwithout allowances, merely to show the principle; and both the glass andthe line are modified in practice.

  On board the Young America, ten fathoms were allowed for "stray line;"this length of line being permitted to run out before the measuringcommenced, in order to get the chip clear of thee eddies in the wake ofthe ship. The ten fathoms were indicated by a white rag, drawn throughthe line; and when the officer paying out comes to this mark, he ordersthe quartermaster to turn the glass, and the operation actually begins.At every fifty-one feet (or forty-seven and six tenths, making theallowances) there is a mark--a bit of leather, or two or more knots. Theinstant the sands have all run through the glass, the quartermastersays, "Up," and the officer notes the mark to which the line has runout. Half and quarter knots are indicated on the line.

  "Now, quartermaster, mind your eye. When the officer of the deck says,'Turn,' you repeat the word after him, to show that you are alive,"continued Peaks.

  "Ready!" said Gordon.

  "Ready!" replied Smith.

  The lieutenant threw the chip into the water, and when the stray linehad run off, he gave the word to turn the glass.

  "Turn!" repeated Smith.

  Gordon eased off the log-line, so that nothing should prevent it fromrunning easily.

  "Up!" shouted Smith; and Gordon stopped the line.

  "Very well," added Peaks. "What's the mark?"

  "Ten and a quarter," replied the officer.

  "That sounds more like it. I knew this ship was going more than sevenknots. You see, young gentlemen, you can't catch flies and tend thelog-line at the same time. Now, you may try it over again."

  The experiment was repeated, with the same result. Other officers andseamen were called to the quarter-deck, and the training in heaving thelog continued, until a reasonable degree of proficiency was attained.

  "Land ho!" cried the lookout on the top-gallant forecastle, at abouteleven o'clock in the forenoon.

  "Where away?" called the officer of the deck.

  "Dea
d ahead, sir."

  "What is that land, Mr. Lowington?" asked Paul Kendall.

  "Don't you know?"

  "I'm sure I don't."

  "Then you should study your map more. Look at the compass, and tell mehow she heads."

  "South-east, sir," replied Paul, after looking into the binnacle.

  "Now, what land lies south-east of Brockway Harbor?" asked theprincipal.

  "Cape Cod, I think."

  "You are right; then that must be Cape Cod."

  "Is it, really?"

  "Certainly it is," laughed Mr. Lowington. "Have you no faith in yourmap?"

  "I didn't think we could be anywhere near Cape Cod. I thought it wasfarther off," added Paul, who seemed to be amazed to think they hadactually crossed Massachusetts Bay.

  "The land you see is Race Point, which is about forty miles from theentrance to the bay, at the head of which Brockway is located. We havebeen making about ten knots an hour, and our calculations seem to bevery accurate. By one o'clock we shall come to anchor in ProvincetownHarbor."

  This prediction was fully verified, and the Young America was moored offthe town. Those who had been seasick recovered as soon as the motion ofthe ship ceased; and when everything aloft and on deck had been madesnug, the crew were piped to dinner.

  In the afternoon, part of the students were permitted to go on shore;the band played, and several boat-races took place, very much to thedelight of the people on shore, as well as those on board. At sixo'clock the ship was opened for the reception of visitors, who came offin large numbers to inspect the vessel. After dark there was abrilliant display of fireworks, and the Young America blazed withblue-lights and Roman candles, set off by boys on the cross-trees, andat the yard-arms. At ten the festivities closed, and all was still inthe steerage and on deck.

  The next morning, the ship got under way, and stood out of the harbor,bound for Brockway again. She had a light breeze, and a smooth time, andthe boys had the satisfaction of seeing every rag of canvas spread,including studding-sails alow and aloft; but it was not till after darkthat the ship came to anchor at her former moorings.

  Wilton and Monroe were released from confinement in the morning, andpermitted to go on deck. Whatever their shipmates might have said, theyfelt that they had been severely punished, especially as they had failedin their runaway expedition. Wilton did not feel any more kindly towardsShuffles when he was released than when he had been ordered to his room.He felt that his late crony had been a traitor, and he was unable totake any higher view of the circumstances.

  "Wilton," said Mr. Lowington, when he met the runaway on deck, the dayafter the Fourth, "I told you that you had made a mistake. Do youbelieve it yet?"

  "I suppose I do, sir."

  "You suppose you do! Don't you know?"

  "Yes, sir, I think I did make a mistake," replied Wilton, who found itvery hard to acknowledge the fact.

  "I do not refer to your punishment, when I allude to the consequences ofyour misdeed, for that was very light. You have fallen very low in theestimation of your superiors."

  "Do you mean Mr. Shuffles, sir?"

  "I did not mean the officers exclusively, though I believe they have aproper respect for the discipline of the ship."

  "I don't think Shuffles need to say anything."

  "He hasn't said anything."

  "He is worse than I am."

  "Shuffles has done very well, and merits the approbation of theprincipal and the instructors."

  "They don't know him as well as I do," growled Wilton.

  "They probably know him better. Your remarks do not exhibit a properspirit towards an officer. He defeated your plan to escape, but he didno more than his duty. He would have been blamed, perhaps punished, ifhe had done any less."

  "I don't find any fault with him for doing his duty, but I don't like tobe snubbed by one who is worse than I am. If you knew what I know, sir,you would turn him out of the after cabin."

  "Then it is fortunate for him that I don't know what you know," repliedMr. Lowington, sternly. "If you wish to injure him in my estimation, youwill not succeed."

  "He is going to get up a mutiny one of these days. He told me all aboutit," continued Wilton, desperately, when he found that the principal wasin no mood to listen to his backbiting.

  "That will do, Wilton? I don't wish to hear anything more about thatmatter. Your testimony against Shuffles, under present circumstances, isnot worth the breath you use in uttering it."

  "I thought it was my duty to tell you, if any one was trying to get up amutiny."

  "You did not think so; you are telling me this story to revenge yourselfagainst the third lieutenant for his fidelity. Whether there is, or isnot, any truth in what you say, I shall take no notice of it."

  "It is all true, sir. He did speak to me about getting up a mutiny,locking up the professors, taking the ship, and going round Cape Horn;and he will not deny it."

  "He will have no opportunity to deny it to me, for I shall not mentionthe subject to him. Go to your duty, and remember that you have injuredyourself more than Shuffles by this course."

  Wilton hung his head, and went forward, cheated of his revenge, anddisconcerted by the rebuke he had received.

  Mr. Lowington was quite willing to believe that Shuffles had talkedabout a mutiny, while he was in the steerage, but there was at least nopresent danger of an extravagant scheme being put into operation. Heunderstood Shuffles perfectly; he knew that his high office and hisambition were his only incentives to fidelity in the discharge of hisduty; but he had fairly won his position, and he was willing to let himstand or fall by his own merits. He was not a young man of high moralprinciple, as Paul Kendall, and Gordon, and Carnes were; but thediscipline of the ship was certainly doing wonders for him, though itmight ultimately fail of its ends.

  The ship came to anchor, the band was sent on shore, and the Fourth ofJuly holidays were ended. On the following morning the studies wereresumed, and everything on board went on as usual. A few days later, theship went on a cruise to the eastward, spending a week in each of theprincipal ports on the coast. The students soon became so accustomed tothe motion of the ship, that none of them were seasick and therecitations were regularly heard, whether the Young America was in portor at sea.

  When the cold weather came, stoves were put up in the cabins and in thesteerage, and the routine of the ship was not disturbed; but Mr.Lowington dreaded the ice and snow, and the severe weather ofmid-winter, and in November, the Young America started on a cruise tothe southward, and in the latter part of December she was in ChesapeakeBay. In March she returned to Brockway. By this time the crew were allthorough seamen, and had made excellent progress in their studies. Mr.Lowington was entirely satisfied with the success of his experiment, andwas resolved to persevere in it.

  The boys were in splendid discipline, and there had not been a case ofserious illness on board during the year. Besides the six hours of studyand recitation required of the pupils per day, they were all trained ingymnastics by Dr. Winstock, the surgeon, who had a system of his own,and was an enthusiast on the subject. This exercise, with the ordinaryship's duty, kept them in excellent physical condition; and while theirbrown faces and rosy cheeks indicated a healthy state of the body, theirforms were finely developed, and their muscles scientifically trained.

  Greek and Latin, German and French, with the ordinary English branchespursued in high schools and academies, were taught on board, and theinstructors were satisfied that the boys accomplished twice as much aswas ordinarily done in similar institutions on shore, and without injuryto the students. Everything was done by rule, and nothing was left tothe whims and caprices of teachers and scholars. Just so much study wasdone every day, and no more. There was no sitting up nights; there wereno balls and parties, theatres and concerts, to interfere with the work;no late suppers of escalloped oysters and lobster salads to be eaten.Boys who had bad habits were watched, and injurious tendenciescorrected.

  But the students enjoyed
their life on shipboard. As the vessel wentfrom port to port, new scenes were opened to them. Those who could betrusted were allowed to go on shore in their off-time; and as all theirprivileges depended upon their good conduct, they were very careful todo their duty, both as students and as seamen, cheerfully andfaithfully.

  The Young America dropped her anchor in Brockway Harbor on the 5th ofMarch, on her return from her southern cruise. The first term of thesecond year was to commence on the 1st of April, and it was understoodthat the ship would sail for Europe on the last day of March. The vesselneeded some repairs, and all the students were allowed a furlough oftwenty days to visit their homes.

  Several of the larger boys, including Carnes, had obtained places in thenavy, and were not to return. Two or three were to enter college in thesummer, and a few were to go into mercantile houses; but these vacancieswould be more than filled by the applicants who had been waiting monthsfor an opportunity to join the ship.

  After the departure of the students, the Young America was docked, andthe necessary repairs made upon her. She was thoroughly cleansed andpainted, and came out as good as new. Before the return of the boys, herprovisions, water, and stores, were taken on board, and all thepreparations made for a foreign voyage. On the 25th of the month she wasanchored again at her old moorings, and in the course of the next twodays all the instructors and pupils were in their places. There wereeleven new boys.

  "Young gentlemen," said Mr. Lowington, as he mounted his usual rostrum,"I am happy to see you again, and to welcome you on board. Ourexperience during the coming season will be much more interesting andexciting than that of the last year. We shall proceed immediately toEurope, and all who are worthy of the privilege will have an opportunityto visit the principal cities of Europe--London, Paris, Naples, St.Petersburg. We shall go up the Baltic and up the Mediterranean, in thisor a subsequent cruise, and I can safely promise you, not only aninteresting, but a profitable trip. In a circular I have informed yourparents and guardians of my purposes, and you are shipped this time fora foreign voyage, with their consent and approval."

  This speech caused no little excitement among the boys, who anticipateda great deal from the summer voyage. It was no small thing to visitLondon, Paris, and St. Petersburg, and not many boys obtain such anopportunity.

  "But, young gentlemen, I believe in discipline and progress, as most ofyou know. I expect every student to do his whole duty; and I wish totell you now, that misconduct, and failures at recitation, will bringheavy disappointments upon you. If you do nothing for yourselves, youneed expect nothing from me. For example, when the ship is going up theThames, if any one of you, or any number of you, should be guilty offlagrant misconduct, or gross neglect of your studies, you will see nomore of the city of London than you can see from the cross-trees, foryou shall not put a foot on shore."

  "Rather steep," whispered one of the new comers.

  "That's so, but he means it," replied an old student.

  "We shall be at sea, out of sight of land, for twenty or thirty days,"continued Mr. Lowington. "We shall encounter storms and bad weather,such as none of you have ever seen; for in going from port to port, lastseason, we were enabled to avoid all severe weather. We shall go to seanow with no harbor before us till we reach the other side of theAtlantic, and we must take whatever comes. But the ship is as strong asa ship can be built, and with good management she would stand any galethat ever blew. Good management includes good discipline, and everyofficer and seaman must be faithful in the discharge of his duty, forthe safety of the ship and all on board of her will depend upon thefidelity of each individual.

  "Young gentlemen, there are eleven new scholars: they must take thevacant berths after the ship's company is organized on the old plan. Theoffices will be given out and the berths drawn by the merit roll forJanuary, February, and a portion of March--only about nine weeks of termtime."

  Shuffles, who stood near the principal, looked very much disconcertedwhen this announcement was made, and whispered to Paul Kendall that itwas not fair to distribute the offices by last year's record. While theYoung America was lying at anchor in Chesapeake Bay, in December,Shuffles, then second lieutenant, had received a letter from his mother,in which she had informed him that his family would visit Europe in thefollowing spring, and that he would leave the ship, and form one of theparty. This information had caused him to relax his efforts as astudent, and he had fallen very low in rank. This was the reason why theproposed distribution of offices was not fair.

  When Shuffles went home on his furlough of twenty days, he had behavedso badly that his father refused to have him form one of the party inthe trip abroad, and compelled him to return to the ship for anotheryear of wholesome discipline under Mr. Lowington. Angry and indignant,Shuffles did return and the announcement that the offices were to bedistributed by the merit roll did not add to his equanimity.

  "I will now read the record of marks," said the principal, "and announcethe officers for the next term."

  The boys were silent and anxious; for places in the after cabin weremore highly valued than ever, now that the Young America was going toEurope.