CHAPTER XIII
"Well, ma'am," continued the naval man, on again resuming his narrative,"as I told you, the sudden hail of 'Land!' brought us all on deck in atwinkling, in the midst of my ticklish conversation with the judge.'Hallo! you aloft!' shouted the chief officer himself, 'd'ye hear,sirrah! use your eyes before hailing the deck!' 'Land, sir!' camefalling down again out of the sunlight; 'land it is, sir--broad away onour larboard bow, sir.'
"By this time it was about half-past nine, or ten o'clock, of themorning. Heading nearly due south-east, as we now were, the Indiaman'sbowsprit ran up into the full white blaze of light, in which her flyingjib-boom seemed to quiver and writhe far away from her like an eel inwater; while the spread of her sails against it loomed twice as large asordinary from the sort of hazy double-edged look they had, with atwinkling thread of sun drawing all round them like a frame, as if onesaw through a wrong-screwed glass. You'd have thought by the glanceunder the fore-course, over the ship's head-gratings, she was travellingoff quietly into some no-man's-land or other, where it would be sobright we should have to wear blue spectacles: the light breeze beingalmost direct from nor'-west, and so fairly in her favour, with the helpof her studding-sails she was making wonderful progress for such a merebreath--about four knots to the hour, as I reckoned. The air aloftappeared in the meantime to be steadying and _sucking_ though the waterkept smooth, and her bows scarce made a noise in it: the wide softswells of the sea just floated up of a pale blue, and lifted her on,till she went seething gently down into it again; only, if you put yourhead over the starboard side, and listened, you thought you heard a sortof dull poppling ripple coming along the bends from round her counter.As for the line of horizon on one bow or the other, 'twas hardly to bemade out at all, with a streaky white haze overlying it, up in the skyas it were, on both sides, behind the dazzle of light. However, thepassengers were fancying all kinds of fine tropical matters lay hiddenthereaway; and in fact, what with the notion of land after a longvoyage, and what with the faint specks of bright cloud that seemed to bemelting far off in the glare--to anyone last from Gravesend, that hadnever seen anything stranger than Richmond Hill of a Sunday, the wholething ahead of the ship would have rather an enchanted sort of a look.At length the third mate was seen to shove his spy-glass together in thetop-gallant cross-trees, and came slowly down the rigging. 'Well, MrRickett,' said the chief officer, meeting him, as he landed on deck.'Well, sir,' said Rickett, 'it is land after all, Mr Finch!' The materapped out an oath, and took another turn: Macleod screwed his mouth asif he were going to whistle, then pulled his red whiskers instead, andlooked queer at Rickett; while Rickett stood peering into his spy-glassas he would have done into his hat, had he still been a foremast-man.The mate's eye met his, then turned to the passengers leaning over thepoop-railing; and they all three walked to the capstan, where they beganto overhaul the charts, and laid their heads together out of earshot.
"Now, whether this said land just made out on the north-east trendedaway back to south-east, as the clearer look of the horizon to starboardmade one think, it was hard to say--though in _that_ way of it, therewere _seemingly_ two plans for widening her distance. Either Finch mightthink it better to keep hold of a fair wind, and just edge her offenough to drop the point on her weather quarter--when, of course, ifthings stood as they were, we should soon set a good stretch of waterbetwixt us and the coast; or else they might brace direct round on theother tack, and head right south-west'ard, out to sea again; though ifwe were still in it, the current would set us every bit as much in itsown direction as ever. Accordingly, I sidled nearer to the capstan, andwatched anxiously for what the third mate had to propose, after hummingand hawing a little, and scratching his head under his cap for half aminute. 'At any rate, Mr Finch, sir,' said he, 'more especially thecaptain being off charge, I may say, why, I'd advise ye, sir, to----'Here he dropped his voice; but Finch apparently agreed to what he said.
"'Ready about ship, there!' said the second mate aloud to the boatswainforward; and in ten minutes afterwards the _Seringapatam_ was fairlyround, as I had expected, heading at a right-angle to her former course,with the breeze before her starboard beam, and the sun blazing on theother. I walked forward to the bows, and actually started to hear howloud and clear the ripple had got under them of a sudden; meeting herwith a plash, as if she were making six or seven knots headway, whilethe canvas seemed to draw so much stiffer aloft, you'd have supposed thebreeze had freshened as soon as the helm was put down. The mates lookedover the side and aloft, rubbing their hands and smiling to each other,as much as to say how fast she was hauling off the bad neighbourhood shewas in, though the heat was as great as ever, and you didn't feel abreath more air below, nor see the water ruffle. To _my_ notion, infact, it was just the set of the current against her that seeminglyfreshened her way, the ship being now direct in its teeth; so that, ofcourse, it would keep bearing her up all the time away north-eastward,with _her_ own leeway to help it; and the less could anyone notice thedifference betwixt the water going past her side, and her passing thewater. This tack of hers, which Rickett, no doubt, thought such a safeplan, might be the very one to put her in a really dangerous way yet:for when they did discover this under-tow, how were they to take her outof it, after all? Probably by trying to stand fair across the stream ofit to southward, which, without three times the wind we had, would atbest take us out many miles nearer the land it set upon, or leave usperhaps becalmed in the midst of it.
"The truth was, that although I hadn't seen what like the land was, andcouldn't have said, by the chart, _where_ we were, I began to have afaint notion of whereabouts we possibly soon might be, from what Iremembered hearing an old quartermaster in the _Iris_ say, a couple ofyears before, regarding a particular spot on the south-west coast, wherethe currents at some seasons, as he phrased it, made a regularracecourse meeting. The old fellow gave me also, at the time, somebearings of the nearest coast, with the landmarks at the mouth of ariver a little farther north--which, he said, he would know if you sethim down there of a dark night, though he had been in his bed at Gosportthe minute before, if there was just a bright streak of sky to theeastward--namely, a big black rock like two steps, and a block at thefoot of them, somewhat the shape of a chipped holystone, running down onone side out of a high headland, like an admiral's cocked hat, with sixmop-headed trees upon the root of the rock, for all the world like hairson a wart. Here I recollected how my worthy authority pointed modestlyfor example to a case of the kind on his own nose. The opposite shore ofits mouth was flat, with a heavy white surf; but it shut in so far uponthe other, he said, that, steering from the south'ard, one would neverknow there was a river there at all. The Bambar he called it; but if hemeant the Bembarooghe, we could scarcely be near _it_, or that muchtoward being abreast of St Helena. For all I saw, indeed, we might havenothing to eastward of us save a hard coast, or else the sandy coastfarther down, shoaling out of sight of land. At any rate, I knew we musthave got into the tail of the great sea-stream from round the Cape ofGood Hope, which would, no doubt, split out at sea on Viana's Bank, andturn partly to north-eastward thereabouts; so that it wasn't a very badguess to suppose we were getting up somewhere near Cape Frio, thelikeliest place in the world to find old Bob Martin's 'Maze,' which weused to joke about so in the _Iris_.
"What was done, though, required to be done quickly, and I looked aboutfor Tom Westwood, till I saw him on the poop amongst the rest, talkingagain to Miss Hyde, as they all crowded towards the lee-quarter to watchthe land-haze seemingly dropping astern. My heart swelled as it wereinto my throat, however, at such an appearance of good understandingbetwixt the two--whereas there was _she_, an hour ago that very morning,would scarce favour me with a look or a word!--and, for the life of me,I couldn't have spoken to Westwood at the time, much less gone hand inhand; for that matter he didn't seem to be suspecting aught wrong totrouble himself about. What to say or do, either, I couldn't think;since the more he cut me out, and the less friendly I felt to him, theless
could I risk the chance of showing us both up for what we_were_--which, of course, would bring him in for the worst of it; as if_I_, by Jove, were going to serve him some low trick for the sake ofshoving _him_ out with the young lady.
"Meantime I kept fidgeting about, as if the deck were too hot for me,snatching a glance now and then, in spite of myself, at Violet Hyde'sfairy-like figure; so different from the rest of them, as she stretchedeagerly from below the awning over the ship's quarter-gallery, trying tomake out where the land lay--now putting her little hand over her eyesto see better, then covering them altogether from the dazzle, as shedrew in her head again and shook her bright brown hair in the shadow,answering Westwood--confound him! The Indian servant each time carefullypoking out the red and yellow punkah-fringe for a cover over her, whilethe passengers were one and all ready to cry at not seeing the land, andleaving it behind. The judge himself was the only man that seemed tohave a dim notion of something queer in the whole case; for every fewminutes he walked quietly to the break of the poop, where I noticed himcast a doubtful look down upon the 'chief officer'; and when the surgeoncame up, he asked anxiously how Captain Williamson was, and if hecouldn't be seen below. However, the surgeon told him the captain hadjust fallen for the first time into a good sleep, and there was noadmittance, but he was likely to be much better soon.
"By this time there was no standing out from under the awnings, and thequarter-deck and poop had to be well swabbed to keep them at all cool,the steam of it rising inside with a pitchy, hempen sort of smell younever feel save in the Tropics; the _Seringapatam_ still feeling thebreeze aloft, and lifting on the water with a ripple forward, althoughher big courses went lapping fore and aft every time she swung. The longwhite haze on the horizon began to melt as the sun heightened, clearingfrom under the wake of the light, till now you could fairly see the skyto eastward. Near noon, in fact, we had almost dropped the hazealtogether on the ship's quarter; and at first I was glad to see howmuch way she had made in the two hours, when on second thoughts, and bynoticing some marks in the loom of it, I had no doubt but though shemight be farther off, why it was only while she set more up tonorth-eastward, so that we were actually, so to speak, leaving it bygetting nearer! However, as the men were at dinner, and most of thepassengers gone off the poop, down to 'tiffin,' I made up my mind to trywhat I could do in a quiet way, towards making the mate think of it moreseriously.
"'Ah,' said I, in a would-be brisk and confidential kind of way, 'gladwe're leaving that--a--you know, that land, Mr Finch.' 'Indeed, sir,'said he indifferently. 'Oh, you know,' said I, 'it's all very well forthe _passengers_ there to talk fine about land--land--but you and I, MrFinch, don't need to be told that it's always dangerous at sea, youknow.' The mate lifted his head and eyed me for a moment or two betweenthe disgust a sailor feels at seeing a fellow pretend to aught likeseamanship, and a particular sort of spite toward me which I'd noticedgrowing in him for the last few days--though I daresay my breakfastingthat morning in Sir Charles's cabin might have brought it to a height.
"'Land dangerous, sir!' answered he carelessly, as he went on wipinghis quadrant again; 'who put _that_ into your head?' 'Oh, well,'returned I, just as carelessly, 'if it's to leeward of course--or with acurrent taking you towards it--only then. But I've no doubt, Mr Finch,if this wind _were_ to--ah--you know, heave more abaft, that's to sayget stronger, the craft would at least stand still, till you got her.''What on earth _are_ you talking about, Mr Ford--Collins, I mean?' askedhe sharply. 'Really, sir, I've got something more to attend to atpresent, than such trash about a current, and the devil knows whatelse!' 'How, why, Mr Finch,' said I, seemingly surprised in my turn,'_are_ we not in a current just now, then?' 'Current!' replied Finch,almost laughing outright, 'what _does_ the man mean?' 'Why, every onethinks so, in the cuddy,' said I, as if rather taken aback, andventuring what you fair ladies call a 'fib,' 'ever since we picked upthe bottle last night.' This, by-the-by, had got spread through some ofthe men to the passengers, though, of course, nobody knew what had beenin it yet. '_There_, I declare now,' continued I, pointing to ourlee-bow, where I'd had my eyes fixed during the five minutes we spoke,'we can try it again. Do you see that bird yonder on the water?' Themate turned his head impatiently, and 'Look, watch him, sir,' said I.
"This was a tired man-o'-war bird afloat about twenty fathoms off, withits sharp white wings stretched just clear of the water, and its blackeye sparkling in the sunlight, as it came dipping on the long, smooth,hot-blue swell into the lee of the ship's lofty hull, till you saw itsvery shadow in the glitter below it. The Indiaman seemed to pass him asif he rode there at anchor; only the curious thing was, that the birdapparently neared her up from leeward, crossing her larboard quarterwithin a fathom or two, when all of a sudden he got becalmed, as itwere, in the wake right astern, and by the time either of us could walkto the ship's taffrail, she was close over him; as if, whenever her hullwas end-on, it took his surface-drift away from him, and, what was more,as if the _ship_ kept hold of it--her eighteen feet or so to his littleinch of a draught--for it couldn't be owing to the wind.
"However, the man-o'-war bird took offer of the next swell to get air inhis wings, and rose off the heave of it with a sharp bit of a scream,away after some black boobies diving for fish, which no doubt he wouldcatch, as they dropped them at sight of him.
"The mate upon this started and looked round, then aloft. 'Confound it!'said he to himself, 'if this breeze would only freshen! There _is_ asort of set on the surface just now,' continued he to me, coolly enough,'though how you idlers happened to have an idea of it puzzles me, unlessbecause you've nothing else to do but watch the water. Currents arepretty frequent hereabouts, however.' 'Dear me!' said I, 'but if weshould----' 'Stuff, sir!' said he, quickly, 'the coast here must besteep-to enough, I should think, since if it weren't for the haze, we'dhave sighted it thirty miles off! What we want is wind--wind, to let'scross it.' 'But then a calm, Mr Finch,' I said; 'I'm hanged afraid ofthose calms!' 'Well, well, sir,' said he, not liking just to shake meoff at once, after my proving less of a ninny in sea matters than he hadsupposed, 'these long currents never set right ashore; even if we losethe wind, as we may soon, why, she'll take off into the eddy seaward,sir, if you _must_ know--the dead-water in-shore, and the ebb-tide,always give it a safe turn!'
"All this, of course, was as much to satisfy himself as me. 'Well,that's delightful,' said I, as if quite contented, and Mr Finch walkedaway hastily down one of the poop-ladders, no doubt glad to get rid ofme in a decent manner, though I saw him next minute glancing in at thecompass-boxes.
"'Keep her up to her course, sirrah; luff, d'ye hear,' said he toJacobs, who was, perhaps, the best helmsman aboard. 'She falls offtremendous bad, sir,' answered Jacobs, with another whirl of the spokes;her want of actual headway making the Indiaman _sag_ dead away toleeward, as she shoved into the force of the sea-stream, running moreand more direct upon her starboard bow. One minute the courses wouldsink in with a long sighing fall to the lower-masts, the next hertopsails would flutter almost aback, and the heat even in the shadow ofher awnings was extreme, yet she still seemed to have a breeze throughthe white glare aloft. I was determined to bring things to a pointsomehow or other, so I followed the mate down the steps. 'Oh, by-the-by,Mr Finch!' said I eagerly, 'suppose one of those dreadful--what do youcall 'em?--ah, tornadoes--were to come on! I understand this is just theway, near Africa--baffling breeze--heat suffocating--hazyatmosphere--long swell--and current rising to the surface!'
"At this Finch stood up in a perfect fury. 'What the devil d'ye mean,sir,' said he, 'by dodging me about the decks in this fashion, withthese infernally foolish questions of yours?' 'Oh, my fine fellow,'thought I, 'you shall settle with me for that.' 'Tornadoes never blowhereabouts, except off-shore, if you _must_ know, sir!' he rapped out,sticking his hands in his jacket-pockets as he said so, and taking aturn on the quarter-deck. 'That's quite a mistake, I assure you, sir!'said I, carried away with the spirit of the thing; 'I've seen thecontrary fifty tim
es over, and, from the look of the sky aloft just now,I'd bet----' Here I stopped, recollected myself, put the top of my canein my mouth, and peered under the awning at the sea with my eyeshalf-shut, as sleepily as usual with my messmates the cadets. The chiefofficer, however, stepped back in surprise, eyed me sharply, and seemedstruck with a sudden thought. 'Why, sir,' said he, rather anxiously,'who may--what can _you_ know of the matter?' 'Pooh!' replied I, seeingsome of the passengers were coming on deck, 'I'm only of an inquiringturn of mind! You seafaring persons, Mr Finch, think we can't get any ofthat kind of knowledge on land; but if you look into Johnson'sDictionary, why, you'll find the whole thing under the word Tornado:'twas one of the pieces I'd to get by heart before they'd admit me intoour yacht-club--along with Falconer's _Shipwreck_, you know!' 'Indeed!'said the mate, slowly, with a curl of his lip, and overhauling me fromhead to foot and up again; 'ah, indeed! That was the way, was it, sir?'I saw 'twas no use. I daresay he caught the twinkle in my eye; whileJacobs' face, behind him, was like the knocker on a door with trying toscrew it tight over his quid, and stuffing the knot of his neckerchiefin his mouth.
"'Of course, sir,' answered I, letting my voice fall; 'and the long andthe short of it is, Mr Finch, the sooner you get your ship out of thiscurrent the better! And what's more, sir, I daresay I could tell you_how_!'
"Whether he was waiting for what I'd to say, or thinking of somethingjust occurred to him, was doubtful: he still gazed steadily at me,without saying a word; so I went on. 'You must know I had an old unclewho was long in His Majesty's Royal Navy, and if there was one point hewas crazy upon, 'twas just this very matter of currents--though, for mypart, Mr Finch, I really never understood what he meant till I made avoyage. He used to tell my mother, poor woman--who always fancied theyhad somewhat to do with puddings--that he'd seen no less thanhalf-a-dozen ships go on shore, owing to currents. Now, Jane, he'd say,when you're fairly in a current, never you try to cross out of it, asfolks often do, _against_ the run of it, for in that case, unless thewind's strong enough, why, instead of striking the eddy to take yourcraft right off-shore, it'll just set you over and over to the _inside_.You'll cross, in the end, no doubt--but ten to one it's exactly wherethe water begins to shoal; whereas, the right plan's as simple asdaylight, and that's why so few know it! Look ye, he'd say, always youcross _with_ the stream--no matter though your head seems to makelandward; why, the fact is, it'll just set you outside of itself, clearinto its own bight, when you can run off to seaward with the eddy, if yechoose. _That's_ the way to cross a current, my uncle used to say,provided you've but a light wind for handling her with! Now, Mr Finch,'added I, coolly, and still mouthing my stick as before--for I couldn'thelp wishing to give the conceited fellow a rub, while I lent him ahint--'for my own part, I can't know much of these things, but it _does_seem to me as if my uncle's notions pretty well suited the case inhand!'
"Finch was too much of a fair seaman not to catch my drift at once, butin too great a passion to own it at the time. 'D'ye think, sir,' saidhe, with a face like fire, 'so much sense as there is in this longrigmarole of yours, that I'm such a--that's to say, that I didn't knowit before, sir? But what I've got to do with _you_, Mr Collinson, orwhatever your name may be--you may have been at sea twenty years, foraught I care--but I'd like to know _why_ you come aboard here, and giveyourself out for as raw a greenhorn as ever touched ropes with a kidglove?' 'Well, Mr Finch,' said I, 'and what's that to you, if I chooseto be as green as the North Sea whaling-ground?' 'Why, sir,' said Finch,working himself up, 'you're devilish cunning, no doubt, but perhapsyou're not aware that a passenger under a false rig, in an Indiaman,may be clapped in limbo, if the captain thinks fit? Who and what areyou, I ask?--some runaway master's mate, I suppose, unless you've gotsomething deeper in hand! Perhaps,' ended he, with a sneer, 'apickpocket in disguise?' 'Sir,' said I, getting up off the bulwark I'dbeen leaning upon, 'at _present_ I choose to be a cadet, but at anyrate, you shall make an apology for what you said just now, sir!''Apology!' said the mate turning on his heel, 'I shan't do anything ofthe sort! You may be thankful, in the meantime, if I don't have youlocked up below, that's all! Perhaps, by-the-by, sir, all you wanted wasto show off your seamanship before the young lady in the round-housethere?' Here the glance the fellow gave me was enough to show he knewpretty well, all the while, what we were matched against each other for.
"I could stand this no longer, of course; but, seeing that one or two ofthe passengers were noticing us from the poop, I looked as polite as ispossible to do when you've lost your temper; and, in fact, the wholedisappointment of this hair-brained cruise of mine--not to speak of afew things one had to stand--carried me away at the moment. There was noscheme I wouldn't rather have been suspected of, by this time, than thereal one--namely, having gone in chase of Violet Hyde. I took a card outof my pocket and handed it quietly to Mr Finch. 'You don't seem able toname me, sir,' said I. 'However, I give you my word, you may trust thatbit of pasteboard for it; and as I take you to be a gentleman by yourplace in this ship, why, I shall expect the satisfaction one gentlemanshould give another, the first time we get ashore, although it _should_be to-morrow morning! And, by Jove!' thought I, 'I hope I'm done withthe most foolish trick ever a fellow played himself! The man thatventures to call me _green_ again, or look at me as if he wanted to coolhis eyes, hang me if he shan't answer for it! As for a woman,' thoughtI, but, oh, those two blue eyes yonder--confound it! as I caught sightof a white muslin skirt in the shade of the poop-awning above.
"I must say, for Finch, he took my last move coolly enough, turninground to give me another look, after glancing at the card. 'Indeed!'said he, as if rather surprised; 'well, sir, I'm your man for _that_,though it can't be just as soon as to-morrow morning! A Company'sofficer may meet a lieutenant in the Navy any time--ay, and take hisship off the land too, I hope, sir!' and with that he walked offforward. 'Lieutenant!' said I to myself; 'how did he give me mycommission so pat, I wonder?' and I pulled out another card, when Ifound, to my great annoyance, that in my hurry that morning I hadhappened to put on a coat of Westwood's by mistake, and instead of plain'Mr Collins,' they were all 'Lieutenant Westwood, R.N.' 'Here's anotherconfounded mess!' thought I, 'and all will be blown in the end!'However, on second thoughts, the notion struck me, that, by sticking tothe name, as I must do _now_ at any rate, why, I should keep Westwoodclear of all scrapes, which, in _his_ case, might be disagreeableenough; whereas, at present, he was known only as the Reverend MrThomas--and, as for _his_ either shamming the griffin, or giving hintshow to work the ship, he was one of those men you'd scarce know for asailor, by aught in his manner, at least: and, indeed, Tom Westwoodalways seemed to need a whole frigate's ways about him, with perhapssomewhat of a stir, to show what he really was.
"Five minutes or so after this, it didn't certainly surprise me much tosee the Indiaman laid on the opposite tack, with her head actuallynorth-by-east, or within a few points of where the light haze faded intothe sky: the mate seeming by this time to see the matter clearly, andquietly making his own of it. The ship began to stand over towards theouter set of the current, which could now be seen rippling along hereand there to the surface, as the breeze fell slowly: you heard nothingsave the faint plash of it astern under one counter, the wafting andrustling of her large main-course above the awnings, for she was coveredover like a caravan--the slight flap of her jibs far ahead on thebowsprit startled you now and then as distinctly as if you got a fillipon your own nose; the stunsail, high up beside the weather-leech of herfore-topsail, hung slack over the boom, and one felt each useless joltof the wheel like a foot-slip in loose sand when you want to run--allbetwixt the lazy, listless voices of the passengers, dropping anddropping as separate as the last sands in an hour-glass. Still, everyminute of air aloft helped her nearer to where you saw the water windingabout the horizon in long swathes, as it were, bluer than the rest, andswelling brimful, so to speak, out of a line of light; with the longdents and bits of ripple here and there creeping towards it, till thewhole ro
und of the surface, as far as you could see, came out into thesmooth, like the wrinkles on a nutmeg.
"Four bells of the afternoon watch had struck--two o'clock, thatis--when Rickett, the third mate, and one or two men, went out to thearm of the spritsail-yard across the bowsprit, where they lowered away aheavy pitch-pot with a long strip of yellow bunting made fast to it, andweighted a little at the loose end, to mark the _set_ of the current;and as the pot sank away out on her larboard bow, one could see thebright-coloured rag deep down through the clear blue water, streamingalmost fairly _north_. She appeared to be nearing the turn of the eddy,and the chief officer's spirits began to rise. Rickett screwed one eyeclose, and looked out under his horny palm with the other, doubtful, ashe said, that we should 'sight the land off-deck before that. As forthis trifle of an air aloft, sir,' said he, 'I'm afraid we won't----''Hoot, Mr Reckett,' put in Macleod, stepping one of his long trouserlegsdown from over the quarter-deck awning, like an ostrich that had beenaloft, 'ye're aye afraid; but it's not easy to see aloft, Mr Fench,sir.' 'How does the land lie _now_, Mr Macleod?' asked the firstofficer. 'Well, I wouldn't wonder but we soon dropped it, sir--that's to_east'ard_, I mean,' replied he; 'though it's what we call a bitmountainous, in Scotland--not that unlike the Grampians, Mr Fench, yeknow!' 'Hang your Grampians, man!--what's _ahead_ of us, eh?' said themate hastily. 'Why, sir,' said the Scotchman, 'there _is_ some more ofit on the nor'-east, lower a good deal--its just flush with the waterfrom here, at present, Mr Fench--with a peak or two, trending awaytoo'ard north; but the light yonder on our starboard bow makes them hardfor to see, I may say.'
"In fact, some of the men forward were making it out already on thestarboard bow, where you could see the faint ragged shape of a headlandcoming out, as it were, of the dazzle beyond the water, which laynickering and heaving between, from deep-blue far away into pale; whilealmost at the same time, on her starboard quarter, where there was lessof the light, another outline was to be seen looming like pretty highland, though still fainter than the first. As for the space betwixtthem, for aught one could distinguish as yet, there might be nothing_there_ except air and water over against the ship's side.
"'Well,' said the mate briskly, after a little, 'we're pretty sure,_now_, to have the land-breeze to give us sea-room, before two or threehours are over--by which time, I hope we'll be in the eddy of thisinfernal current, at any rate!' However, I was scarce sure he didn'tbegin to doubt the plan I'd given him; whereas had he known the wholecase in time, and done the thing _then_, it was certain enough--and thebest thing he could do, even as it was: but what troubled me now, why,suppose anything happened to the ship, mightn't he turn the tables on meafter all, and say I had some bad design in it? I loitered about with myarms folded, saying never a word, but watching the whole affair keenerthan I ever did one of Shakspeare's plays in the theatre after a dullcruise; not a thing in sea, sky, or Indiaman, from the ripples far offon the water to ugly Harry hauling taut the jib-sheet with his chums,but somehow or other they seemed all to sink _into_ me at the time, asif they'd all got to come _out_ again strong. You hardly knew _when_ theship lost the last breath of air aloft, till, from stealing through thesmooth water, she came apparently to a standstill, everything spreadbroad out, not even a flap in the canvas almost, it had fallen a deadcalm so gradually.
"However, _my_ troubles weren't seemingly over yet, for just then upcame the judge's dark kitmagar to the gangway where I was, and, from thesly impudence of the fellow's manner, I at once fancied there wassomething particular in the wind, as if he'd been seeking meabout-decks. 'S'laam, mistree!' said he, with but a slight duck of hisflat brown turban, 'Judge sahib i-send Culley Mistree hischupprass'--_message_, forsooth!--'sah'b inquire the flavour ofgentlyman's Ees-Inchee Coompanee, two-three moment!' 'The flavour of myEast-India Company, you rascal!' said I, laughing, yet inclined to kickhim aft again for his impertinent look; 'speak for yourself, if youplease!'
"In fact, the whiff of cocoa-nut oil, and other dark perfumes about him,came out in a hot calm at sea, when everything sickens one, as to needno inquiry about the matter; however, I walked straight aft to theround-house, and in at the open door, through which Sir Charles was tobe seen pacing from one side of his cabin to the other, like a Bengaltiger in a cage. 'Harkye, young man,' said he sternly, turning as soonas I came in, with my hat in my hand, 'since I had the honour of yourcompany here this morning, I have recollected--indeed, I find that oneof my servants had done the same--that you are the person who molestedmy family by various annoyances beside my garden at Croydon, sir!''Indeed, Sir Charles!' said I coolly, for the bitter feeling I had mademe cool: 'they must have been unintentional then, sir! But I wascertainly at Croydon, seeing my mother's house happens to be there.''You must have had some design in entering this vessel, sir!' continuedthe judge, in a passion: ''gad, sir, the coincidence is too curious!Tell me what it is at once, or by----' 'My design was to go to India,sir,' answered I, as quietly as before. 'In what capacity?--who areyou?--what--who--what do you want _there_, eh?' rapped out the judge.'I'm not aware, sir,' said I, 'what right you've got to question me; butI--in fact, I'll tell _so_ much to any man--why, I'm an officer in theNavy.'
"Sir Charles brought short up in his pacing and stamping, and stared atme. 'An officer in the Navy!' repeated he; 'but yes--why, now I think, Ido remember something in your dress, sir--though it was the _face_ thatstruck me! In short then, sir, this makes the case worse: you are hereon false pretences--affecting the very reverse, sir--setting yourself upfor a model of simplicity,--a laughing-stock indeed!' 'I had reasons fornot wishing my profession to be known, Sir Charles,' said I; 'mostspecial reasons. They're now over, however, and I don't care _who_ knowsit!' 'May I ask what these were?' said the judge. '_That_ I'll nevertell to any man breathing!' I said determinedly.
"The judge walked two or three times fore and aft; then a thought seemedto strike him--he looked out as if at the decks and through below theawnings, then shut the door and came back to me again. 'By-the-way,'said he seriously, and changing his tone, 'since this extraordinaryacknowledgment of yours, sir, something occurs to me which makes mealmost think your presence in the vessel in one sense opportune. I havereason to entertain a high opinion of naval officers as technical men,professionally educated in His Majesty's regular service, and--you lookrather a _young_ man--but have you had much experience, may I ask?' 'Ihave been nine or ten years at sea, sir,' replied I, a little takenaback, 'in various parts of the world!' 'I have some suspicion lately,'he went on, 'that this vessel is not navigated in a--in short, that atpresent, probably, we may be in some danger--do _you_ think so, sir?''No, Sir Charles,' said I, 'I don't think she _is_, as mattersstand--only in a troublesome sort of quarter, which the sooner she's outof the better.' 'The commander is, I find, dangerously unwell,'continued he, 'and of the young man who seems to have the chief care ofthe vessel, I have no very high--well--_that_, of course I----Now, sir,'said he, looking intently at me, 'are _you_ capable of--in short, ofmanaging this Company's vessel, should any emergency arise? I have seensuch, myself--and in the circumstances I feel considerablealarm--uneasiness, at least--Eh, sir?' 'Depend upon it, Sir Charles,' Isaid, stepping toward the door, 'in any matter of the kind I'll do mybest for this ship! But none knows so well as a seaman, there are casesenough where your very best can't do much!'
"The judge seemed rather startled by my manner--for I _did_ feel alittle misgiving, from something in the weather on the whole; at anyrate I fancied there was a cold-bloodedness in every sharp corner of hisface, bilious though his temper was, that would have let him see _me_ goto the bottom a thousand times over, had I even had a chance with hisdaughter herself, ere he'd have yielded me the tip of her little finger:accordingly 'twas a satisfaction to me, at the moment, just to make himsee he wasn't altogether in his nabob's chair in Bengal yet, on anelephant's back.
"'Ah, though!' said he, raising his voice to call me back, 'to returnfor an instant--there is one thing I must positively require, sir--whichyou will see, in
the circumstances, to be unavoidable. As a mere simplecadet, observe, sir, there was nothing to be objected to in a slightpassing acquaintance--but, especially in the--in short, equivocal--sir,I must request of you that you will on no account attempt to hold anycommunication with my daughter, Miss Hyde--beyond a mere bow, of course!'Twill be disagreeable, I assure you. Indeed, I shall----' 'Sir,' saidI, all the blood in my body going to my face, 'of all things in theworld, _that_ is the very thing where your views and mine happen tosquare!' and I bowed.
"The man's coolness disgusted me, sticking such a thing in my teeth,after just reckoning on my services with the very same breath--and allwhen it wasn't required, too! And by Heaven! thought I, had _she_ shownme favour, all the old nabobs in Christendom, and the whole world toboot, shouldn't hinder me from speaking to her! What I said apparentlypuzzled him, but he gave me a grand bow in his turn, and I had my handon the door, when he said, 'I suppose, sir, as a naval officer, you haveno objection to give me your name and rank. I forget what----' Here Iremembered my mistake with the mate, and on the whole I saw I must stickby it till I was clear of the whole concern; as for _saying_ my name wasWestwood, that I couldn't have done at the time for worlds; but Iquietly handed him another card, meaning, of course, to give Westwoodthe cue as shortly as possible, for his own safety. The judge started onseeing the card, gave me one of his sharp glances, and made a suddenstep towards me. 'Have you any relation in India, Mr Westwood?' said he,slowly, to which I gave only a nod. 'What is he, if I may inquire?'asked he again. 'A councillor or something, I believe,' said I,carelessly. '_Thomas_ Westwood?' said Sir Charles. 'Ah,' said I, weariedof the thing, and anxious to go. 'An uncle, probably, from the age?' hestill put in. 'Exactly, that's it!' I said. 'Why--what!--why did you notmention this at first?' he broke out suddenly, coming close up; 'why,Councillor Westwood is my very oldest friend in India, my dear sir! Thisalters the matter. I should have welcomed a nephew of his in my house,to the utmost! Why, how strange, Mr Westwood, that the fact shouldemerge in this curious manner!' and with that he held out his hand. 'Ofcourse,' said he, 'no such restriction as I mentioned could for a momentapply to a nephew of Councillor Westwood!'
"I stared at him for a moment, and then--'Sir,' said I, coolly, 'itseems the whole matter goes by names; but if my name were the devil orthe Apostle Paul, I don't see how it can make a bit of difference in_me_: what's more, sir,' said I, setting my teeth, 'what_ever_ my namemay be, depend upon it, I shall never claim acquaintance either with youor--or--Miss Hyde!' With that I flung straight out of the cabin,leaving the old gentleman bolt upright on the floor, and as dumb as astock-fish, whether with rage or amazement I never stopped to think.
"I went right forward on the Indiaman's forecastle, clear of all theawnings, dropped over her head out of sight of the men, and sat with mylegs amongst the open woodwork beneath the bowsprit, looking at thecalm--nobody in sight but the Hindoo figure, who seemed to be doing thesame. _Westwood!_ thought I, bitterly; then in a short time, when themistake's found out, and he got safe past the Cape, perhaps--it'll benothing but Westwood! He'll have a clear stage, and all favour; but atany rate, how_ever_ it may be, _I_'ll not be here, by Heaven, to see it.That cursed councillor of his, I suppose, is another nabob--and no doubthe'll marry her, all smooth! Uncles--I little thought, by Jove! when Iknocked off that yarn to the mate about _my_ uncle--but, after all, it'sstrange how often a fellow's paid back in his own coin!
"The heat at the time was unbearable--_heat_, indeed! 'twasn't onlyheat--but a heavy, close, stifling sort of feeling, like in a hot-house,as if you'd got a weight on your head and every other bit of you: thewater one time so dead-blue and glassy between the windings of it, thatthe sky seemed to vanish, and the ship looked floating up into where_it_ was--then again you scarce knew sea from air, except by thewrinkles and eddies running across each other between, toward a sullenblue ring at the horizon--like seeing through a big twisted sieve, orinto a round looking-glass all over cracks. I heard them clue upeverything aloft, except the topsails--and _they_ fell slapping back andforward to the masts, every now and then with a _thud_ like a thousandspades clapped down at once over a hollow bit of ground--till all seemedas still between as if they'd buried something. I wished to Heaven itwere what I _felt_ at the time, and the thought of Violet Hyde, that Imight be as if I never had seen her--when on glancing up betwixt thefigure-head and the ship's stern, it struck me to notice how much theland on her starboard bow and beam seemed to have risen, even during thelast hour, and that without wind; partly on account of its clearing inthat quarter, perhaps; but the nearest points looked here and therealmost as if you could see into them, roughening barer out through thehue of the distance, like purple blotches spreading in it. Whereas, faraway astern of us, when I crossed over her headworks, there were two orthree thin white streaks of haze to be seen just on the horizon, oneupon another, above which you made out somewhat like a dim range ofpeaked land, trending one couldn't say how far back--all showing howfairly the coast was shutting her in upon the south-east, as she setfarther in-shore, even while the run of the current bade fair to takeher well clear of it ahead; which was, of course, all we need care forat present. Her want of steerage-way, however, let the Indiaman sheerhither and thither, till at times one was apt to get confused, andsuppose her more in with the landloom than she really was. Accordinglythe mate proved his good judgment by having a couple of boats loweredwith a tow-line, to keep her at least stem-on to the current, althoughthe trouble of getting out the launch would have more served hispurpose, and the deeper loaded the better, since in fact there were_two_ favourable drifts instead of one, between every stroke of theoars. The men pulled away rather sulkily, their straw hats over theirnoses, the dip of the hawser scarce tautening at each strain, as theysquinted up at the _Seringapatam's_ idle figure-head. For my part I hadthought it better to leave him by himself, and go below.
The Green Hand: Adventures of a Naval Lieutenant Page 16
