The Phantom Ship

by Frederick Marryat

  CHAPTER TEN.

  The sudden gloom which had succeeded to the pale light, had the effectof rendering every object still more indistinct to the astonished crewof the Ter Schilling. For a moment or more not a word was uttered by asoul on board. Some remained with their eyes still strained towards thepoint where the apparition had been seen, others turned away full ofgloomy and foreboding thoughts. Hillebrant was the first who spoke:turning round to the eastern quarter, and observing a light on thehorizon, he started, and seizing Philip by the arm, cried out, "What'sthat?"

  "That is only the moon rising from the bank of clouds," replied Philip,mournfully.

  "Well!" observed Mynheer Kloots wiping his forehead, which was dampedwith perspiration, "I _have_ been told of this before, but I have mockedat the narration."

  Philip made no reply. Aware of the reality of the vision, and howdeeply it interested him, he felt as if he were a guilty person.

  The moon had now risen above the clouds, and was pouring her mild palelight over the slumbering ocean. With a simultaneous impulse, every onedirected his eyes to the spot where the strange vision had last beenseen; and all was a dead, dead calm.

  Since the apparition the pilot, Schriften, had remained on the poop; henow gradually approached Mynheer Kloots, and looking round, said--

  "Mynheer Kloots, as pilot of this vessel, I tell you that you mustprepare for very bad weather."

  "Bad weather!" said Kloots, rousing himself from a deep reverie.

  "Yes, bad weather, Mynheer Kloots. There never was a vessel which fellin with--what we have just seen but met with disaster soon afterwards.The very name of Vanderdecken is unlucky--He! he!"

  Philip would have replied to this sarcasm, but he could not; his tonguewas tied.

  "What has the name of Vanderdecken to do with it?" observed Kloots.

  "Have you not heard, then? The captain of that vessel we have just seenis a Mynheer Vanderdecken--he is the Flying Dutchman!"

  "How know you that, pilot?" inquired Hillebrant.

  "I know that, and much more, if I chose to tell," replied Schriften;"but never mind, I have warned you of bad weather, as is my duty;" and,with these words, Schriften went down the poop-ladder.

  "God in heaven! I never was so puzzled and so frightened in my life,"observed Kloots. "I don't know what to think or say.--What think you,Philip? was it not supernatural?"

  "Yes," replied Philip, mournfully. "I have no doubt of it."

  "I thought the days of miracles had passed," said the captain, "and thatwe were now left to our own exertions, and had no other warnings butthose the appearance of the heavens gave us."

  "And they warn us now," observed Hillebrant. "See how that bank ofclouds has risen within these five minutes--the moon has escaped from itbut it will soon catch her again--and see, there is a flash of lightningin the north-west."

  "Well, my sons, I can brave the elements as well as any man, and do mybest. I have cared little for gales or stress of weather; but I likenot such a warning as we have had tonight. My heart's as heavy as lead,and that's the truth. Philip, send down for the bottle of schnapps, ifit is only to clear my brain a little."

  Philip was glad of an opportunity to quit the poop; he wished to have afew minutes to recover himself and collect his own thoughts. Theappearance of the Phantom Ship had been to him a dreadful shock; notthat he had not fully believed in its existence; but still, to havebeheld, to have been so near that vessel--that vessel in which hisfather was fulfilling his awful doom--that vessel on board of which hefelt sure that his own destiny was to be worked out--had given a whirlto his brain. When he had heard the sound of the boatswain's whistle onboard of her, eagerly had he stretched his earing to catch the ordergiven--and given, he was convinced, in his father's voice. Nor had hiseyes been less called to aid in his attempt to discover the features anddress of those moving on her decks. As soon, then, as he had sent theboy up to Mynheer Kloots Philip hastened to his cabin and buried hisface in the coverlid of his bed, and then he prayed--prayed until he hadrecovered his usual energy and courage, and brought his mind to thatstate of composure which could enable him to look forward calmly todanger and difficulty, and feel prepared to meet it with the heroism ofa martyr.

  Philip remained below not more than half an hour. On his return to thedeck, what a change had taken place! He had left the vessel floatingmotionless on the still waters, with her lofty sails hanging downlistlessly from the yards. The moon then soared aloft in her beauty,reflecting the masts and sails of the ship in extended lines upon thesmooth sea. Now all was dark: the water rippled short and broke infoam; the smaller and lofty sails had been taken in, and the vessel wascleaving through the water; and the wind, in fitful gusts and angrymoanings, proclaimed too surely that it had been awakened up to wrath,and was gathering its strength for destruction. The men were still busyreducing the sails, but they worked gloomily and discontentedly. WhatSchriften, the pilot, had said to them, Philip knew not; but that theyavoided him and appeared to look upon him with feelings of ill-will, wasevident. And each minute the gale increased.

  "The wind is not steady," observed Hillebrant: "there is no saying fromwhich quarter the storm may blow: it has already veered round fivepoints. Philip, I don't much like the appearance of things, and I maysay with the captain that my heart is heavy."

  "And, indeed, so is mine," replied Philip; "but we are in the hands of amerciful Providence."

  "Hard a-port! flatten in forward! brail up the trysail, my men! Besmart!" cried Kloots, as from the wind's chopping round to the northwardand westward, the ship was taken aback, and careened low before it. Therain now came down in torrents, and it was so dark that it was withdifficulty they could perceive each other on the deck.

  "We must clew up the topsails while the men can get upon the yards. Seeto it forward, Mr Hillebrant."

  The lightning now darted athwart the firmament, and the thunder pealed.

  "Quick! quick, my men, let's furl all!"

  The sailors shook the water from their streaming clothes, some worked,others took advantage of the night to hide themselves away, and communewith their own fears.

  All canvass was now taken off the ship, except the fore-staysail, andshe flew to the southward with the wind on her quarter. The sea had nowrisen, and roared as it curled in foam, the rain fell in torrents, thenight was dark as Erebus, and the wet and frightened sailors shelteredthemselves under the bulwarks. Although many had deserted from theirduty, there was not one who ventured below that night. They did notcollect together as usual--every man preferred solitude and his ownthoughts. The Phantom Ship dwelt on their imaginations and oppressedtheir brains.

  It was an interminably long and terrible night--they thought the daywould never come. At last the darkness gradually changed to a settledsullen grey gloom--which was day. They looked at each other, but foundno comfort in meeting each other's eyes. There was no one countenancein which a beam of hope could be found lurking. They were all doomed--they remained crouched where they had--sheltered themselves during thenight, and said nothing.

  The sea had now risen mountains high, and more than once had struck theship abaft. Kloots was at the binnacle, Hillebrant and Philip at thehelm, when a wave curled high over the quarter, and poured itself inresistless force upon the deck. The captain and his two mates wereswept away, and dashed almost senseless against the bulwarks--thebinnacle and compass were broken into fragments--no one ran to thehelm--the vessel broached to--the seas broke clear over her, and themainmast went by the board.

  All was confusion. Captain Kloots was stunned, and it was withdifficulty that Philip could persuade two of the men to assist him downbelow. Hillebrant had been more unfortunate--his right arm was broken,and he was otherwise severely bruised; Philip assisted him to his berth,and then went on deck again to try and restore order.

  Philip Vanderdecken was not yet much of a seaman, but, at all events, heexercised that moral influence over the men which is ever poss
essed byresolution and courage. Obey willingly they did not, but they did obey,and in half an hour the vessel was clear of the wreck. Eased by theloss of her heavy mast, and steered by two of her best seamen, she againflew before the gale.

  Where was Mynheer Von Stroom during all this work of destruction? Inhis bed-place, covered up with the clothes, trembling in every limb, andvowing that it ever again he put his foot on shore, not all thecompanies in the world should induce him to trust to salt-water again.It certainly was the best plan for the poor man.

  But although for a time the men obeyed the orders of Philip, they weresoon seen talking earnestly with the one-eyed pilot, and after aconsultation of a quarter of an hour, they all left the deck, with theexception of the two at the helm. Their reasons for so doing were soonapparent--several returned with cans full of liquor, which they hadobtained by forcing the hatches of the spirit-room. For about an hourPhilip remained on deck, persuading the men not to intoxicatethemselves, but in vain; the cans of grog offered to the men at thewheel were not refused, and, in a short time, the yawing of the vesselproved that the liquor had taken its effect. Philip then hastened downbelow to ascertain if Mynheer Kloots was sufficiently recovered to comeon deck. He found him sunk into a deep sleep, and with difficulty itwas that he roused him, and made him acquainted with the distressingintelligence. Mynheer Kloots followed Philip on deck; but he stillsuffered from his fail: his head was confused, and he reeled as hewalked, as if he also had been making free with the liquor. When he hadbeen on deck a few minutes, he sank down on one of the guns in a stateof perfect helplessness; he had, in fact, received a severe concussionof the brain. Hillebrant was too severely injured to be able to movefrom his bed, and Philip was now aware of the helplessness of theirsituation. Daylight gradually disappeared, and as darkness came uponthem, so did the scene become more appalling. The vessel still ranbefore the gale, but the men at the helm had evidently changed hercourse, as the wind that was on the starboard was now on the larboardquarter. But compass there was none on deck, and, even if there hadbeen, the men in their drunken state would have refused to listen toPhilip's orders or expostulations. "He," they said, "was no sailor, andwas not to teach them how to steer the ship." The gale was now at itsheight. The rain had ceased, but the wind had increased, and it roaredas it urged on the vessel, which, steered so wide by the drunkensailors, shipped seas over each gunnel; but the men laughed, and joinedthe chorus of their songs to the howling of the gale.

  Schriften, the pilot, appeared to be the leader of the ship's company.With the can of liquor in his hand, he danced and sang, snapped hisfingers, and, like a demon, peered with his one eye upon Philip; andthen would he fall and roll with screams of laughter in the scuppers.More liquor was handed up as fast as it was called for. Oaths shriekslaughter, were mingled together; the men at the helm lashed itamid-ships, and hastened to join their companions and the Ter Schillingflew before the gale; the fore-staysail being the only sail set,checking her, as she yawed to starboard or to port. Philip remained ondeck by the poop-ladder. Strange, thought he, that I should stand here,the only one left now capable of acting,--that I should be fated to lookby myself upon this scene of horror and disgust--should here wait thesevering of this vessel's timbers,--the loss of life which mustaccompany it--the only one calm and collected, or aware of what mustsoon take place. God forgive me, but I appear, useless and impotent asI am, to stand here like the master of the storm,--separated, as itwere, from my brother mortals by my own peculiar destiny. It must beso. This wreck then must not be for me, I feel that it is not,--that Ihave a charmed life, or rather a protracted one, to fulfil the oath Iregistered in heaven. But the wind is not so loud, surely the water isnot so rough: my forebodings may be wrong and all may yet be saved.Heaven grant it! For how melancholy, how lamentable is it to behold mencreated in God's own image, leaving the world, disgraced below the brutecreation!

  Philip was right in supposing that the wind was not so strong, nor thesea so high. The vessel, after running to the southward till past TableBay, had, by the alteration made in her course, entered into False Bay,where, to a certain degree, she was sheltered from the violence of thewinds and waves. But although the water was smoother, the waves werestill more than sufficient to beat to pieces any vessel that might bedriven on shore at the bottom of the bay, to which point the TerSchilling was now running. The bay so far offered a fair chance ofescape, as, instead of the rocky coast outside, against which, had thevessel run, a few seconds would have insured her destruction, there wasa shelving beach of loose sand. But of this Philip could, of course,have no knowledge, for the land at the entrance of the bay had beenpassed unperceived in the darkness of the night. About twenty minutesmore had elapsed, when Philip observed that the whole sea around themwas one continued foam. He had hardly time for conjecture before theship struck heavily on the sands, and the remaining masts fell by theboard.

  The crush of the falling masts, the heavy beating of the ship on thesands, which caused many of her timbers to part, with a whole sea whichswept clean over the fated vessel, checked the songs and drunken revelryof the crew. Another minute, and the vessel was swung round on herbroadside to the sea, and lay on her beam ends. Philip, who was towindward clung to the bulwark, while the intoxicated seamen flounderedin the water to leeward, and attempted to gain the other side of theship. Much to Philip's horror, he perceived the body of Mynheer Klootssink down in the water (which now was several feet deep on the lee sideof the deck), without any apparent effort on the part of the captain tosave himself. He was then gone, and there were no hopes for him.Philip thought of Hillebrant, and hastened down below; he found himstill in his bed-place, lying against the side. He lifted him out, andwith difficulty climbed with him on deck, and laid him in the long-boaton the booms as the best chance of saving his life. To this boat theonly one which could be made available, the crew had also repaired; butthey repulsed Philip who would have got into her; and, as the sea madeclean breakers over them, they cast loose the lashings which confinedher. With the assistance of another heavy sea which lifted her from thechocks she was borne clear of the booms and dashed over the gunnel intothe water, to leeward, which was comparatively smooth--not, however,without being filled nearly up to the thwarts. But this was littlecared for by the intoxicated seamen, who, as soon as they were afloat,again raised their shouts and songs of revelry as they were borne awayby the wind and sea towards the beach. Philip, who held on by the stumpof the mainmast, watched them with an anxious eye, now perceiving themborne aloft on the foaming surf, now disappearing in the trough. Moreand more distant were the sounds of their mad voices, till, at last, hecould hear them no more,--he beheld the boat balanced on an enormousrolling sea, and then he saw it not again.

  Philip knew that now his only chance was to remain with the vessel, andattempt to save himself upon some fragment of the wreck. That the shipwould long hold together he felt was impossible; already she had partedher upper decks, and each shock of the waves divided her more and more.At last, as he clung to the mast, he heard a noise abaft, and he thenrecollected that Mynheer Von Stroom was still in his cabin. Philipcrawled aft, and found that the poop-ladder had been thrown against thecabin door, so as to prevent its being opened. He removed it andentered the cabin, where he found Mynheer Von Stroom clinging towindward with the grasp of death,--but it was not death, but theparalysis of fear. He spoke to him, but could obtain no reply, heattempted to move him, but it was impossible to make him let go the partof the bulk-head that he grasped. A loud noise and the rush of a massof water told Philip that the vessel had parted amid-ships, and heunwillingly abandoned the poor supercargo to his fate, and went out ofthe cabin door. At the after-hatchway he observed somethingstruggling,--it was Johannes the bear, who was swimming, but stillfastened by a cord which prevented his escape. Philip took out hisknife and released the poor animal, and hardly had he done this act ofkindness, when a heavy sea turned over the after part of the vessel,which separate
d in many pieces, and Philip found himself struggling inthe waves. He seized upon a part of the deck which supported him, andwas borne away by the surf towards the beach. In a few minutes he wasnear to the land, and shortly afterwards the piece of planking to whichhe was clinging struck on the sand, and then, being turned over by theforce of the running wave, Philip lost his hold, and was left to his ownexertions. He struggled long, but, although so near to the shore, couldnot gain a footing; the returning wave dragged him back, and thus was hehurled to and fro until his strength was gone. He was sinking under thewave to rise no more when he felt something touch his hand. He seizedit with the grasp of death. It was the shaggy hide of the bearJohannes, who was making for the shore, and who soon dragged him clearof the surf, so that he could gain a footing. Philip crawled up thebeach above the reach of the waves, and, exhausted with fatigue, sankdown in a swoon.

  When Philip was recalled from his state of lethargy, his first feelingwas intense pain in his still-closed eyes, arising from having been manyhours exposed to the rays of an ardent sun. He opened them, but wasobliged to close them immediately, for the light entered into them likethe point of a knife. He turned over on his side, and covering themwith his hand remained some time in that position, until, by degrees, hefound that his eyesight was restored. He then rose, and, after a fewseconds, could distinguish the scene around him. The sea was stillrough, and tossed about in the surf fragments of the vessel; the wholesand was strewed with her cargo and contents. Near him was the body ofHillebrant, and the other bodies who were scattered on the beach toldhim that those who had taken to the boat had all perished.

  It was, by the height of the sun, about three o'clock in the afternoon,as near as he could estimate; but Philip suffered such an oppression ofmind, he felt so wearied, and in such pain, that he took but a slightsurvey. His brain was whirling, and all he demanded was repose. Hewalked away from the scene of destruction, and having found a sand-hill,behind which he was defended from the burning rays of the sun, he againlay down, and sank into a deep sleep, from which he did not wake untilthe ensuing morning.

  Philip was roused a second time by the sensation of something prickinghim on the chest. He started up, and beheld a figure standing over him.His eyes were still feeble, and his vision indistinct; he rubbed themfor a time, for he first thought it was the bear Johannes, and again,that it was the supercargo Von Stroom, who had appeared before him; helooked again, and found that he was mistaken, although he had warrantfor supposing it to be either, or both. A tall Hottentot, with anassaguay in his hand, stood by his side; over his shoulder he had thrownthe fresh-severed skin of the poor bear, and on his head, with the curlsdescending to his waist, was one of the wigs of the supercargo VonStroom. Such was the gravity of the black's appearance in this strangecostume (for in every other respect he was naked), that, at any othertime, Philip would have been induced to laugh heartily; but his feelingswere now too acute. He rose upon his feet, and stood by the side of theHottentot, who still continued immovable, but certainly without theslightest appearance of hostile intentions.

  A sensation of overpowering thirst now seized upon Philip, and he madesigns that he wished to drink. The Hottentot motioned to him to follow,and led over the sand-hills to the beach, where Philip discoveredupwards of fifty men, who were busy selecting various articles from thescattered stores of the vessel. It was evident by the respect paid toPhilip's conductor, that he was the chief of the kraal. A few words,uttered with the greatest solemnity, were sufficient to produce, thoughnot exactly what Philip required, a small quantity of dirty water from acalabash, which, however, was to him delicious. His conductor thenwaved to him to take a seat on the sand.

  It was a novel and appalling, and, nevertheless, a ludicrous scene:there was the white sand, rendered still more white by the strong glareof the sun, strewed with the fragments of the vessel, with casks, andbales of merchandise; there was the running surge with its foam,throwing about particles of the wreck: there were the bones of whaleswhich had been driven on shore in some former gale and which, nowhalf-buried in the sand, showed portions of huge skeletons; there werethe mangled bodies of Philip's late companions, whose clothes, itappeared, had been untouched by the savages, with the exception of thebuttons, which had been eagerly sought after; there were nakedHottentots (for it was summer time, and they wore not their sheepskinkrosses) gravely stepping up and down the sand, picking up everythingthat was of no value, and leaving all that civilised people mostcoveted;--to crown all, there was the chief, sitting in the still bloodyskin of Johannes, and the broad-bottomed wig of Mynheer Stroom, with allthe gravity of a vice-chancellor in his countenance, and without theslightest idea that he was in any way ridiculous. The whole presented,perhaps, one of the most strange and chaotic tableaux that ever waswitnessed.

  Although, at that time, the Dutch had not very long formed theirsettlement at the Cape, a considerable traffic had been, for many years,carried on with the natives for skins and other African productions.The Hottentots were, therefore, no strangers to vessels, and, ashitherto they had been treated with kindness, were well-disposed towardsEuropeans. After a time, the Hottentots began to collect all the woodwhich appeared to have iron in it, made it up into several piles, andset them on fire. The chief then made a sign to Philip, to ask him ifhe was hungry; Philip replied in the affirmative, when his newacquaintance put his hand into a bag made of goat-skin, and pulled out ahandful of very large beetles, and presented them to hum. Philiprefused them with marks of disgust, upon which, the chief very sedatelycracked and ate them; and having finished the whole handful, rose, andmade a sign to Philip to follow him. As Philip rose, he perceivedfloating on the surf, his own chest; he hastened to it, and made signsthat it was his, took the key out of his pocket and opened it, and thenmade up a bundle of articles most useful, not forgetting a bag ofguilders. His conductor made no objection, but calling to one of themen near, pointed out the lock and hinges to him, and then set off,followed by Philip, across the sand-hills. In about an hour theyarrived at the kraal, consisting of low huts covered with skins, andwere met by the women and children, who appeared to be in highadmiration at their chief's new attire: the showed every kindness toPhilip, bringing him milk, which he drank eagerly. Philip surveyedthese daughters of Eve, and, as he turned from their offensive, greasyattire, their strange forms, and hideous features, he sighed and thoughtof his charming Amine.

  The sun was now setting, and Philip still felt fatigued. He made signsthat he wished to repose. They led him into a hut, and, thoughsurrounded as he was with filth and his nose assailed by every varietyof bad smell attacked, moreover, by insects, he laid his head on hisbundle, and uttering a short prayer of thanksgiving, was soon in a soundsleep.

  The next morning he was awakened by the chief of the kraal, accompaniedby another man who spoke a little Dutch. He stated his wish to be takento the settlement where the ships came and anchored, and was fullyunderstood; but the man said that there were no ships in the bay at thetime. Philip, nevertheless, requested he might be taken there, as hefelt that his best chance of getting on board of any vessel would be byremaining at the settlement, and, at all events, he would be in thecompany of Europeans, until a vessel arrived. The distance, hediscovered, was but one day's march, or less. After some littleconversation with the chief, the man who spoke Dutch desired Philip tofollow him and that he would take him there. Philip drank plentifullyfrom a bowl of milk brought him by one of the women, and again refusinga handful of beetles offered by the chief, he took up his bundle, andfollowed his new acquaintance.

  Towards evening they arrived at the hills, from which Philip had a viewof Table Bay and the few houses erected by the Dutch. To his delight,he perceived that there was a vessel under sail in the offing. On hisarrival at the beach, to which he hastened, he found that she had sent aboat on shore for fresh provisions. He accosted the people, told themwho he was, told them also of the fatal wreck of the Ter Schilling, andof his wish to embark.<
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  The officer in charge of the boat willingly consented to take him onboard, and informed Philip that they were homeward bound. Philip'sheart leaped at the intelligence. Had she been outward bound, he wouldhave joined her; but now he had a prospect of again seeing his dearAmine before he re-embarked to follow out his peculiar destiny. He feltthat there was still some happiness in store for him, that his life wasto be chequered with alternate privation and repose, and that his futureprospect was not to be one continued chain of suffering until death.

  He was kindly received by the captain of the vessel, who freely gave hima passage home; and in three months, without any events worth narrating,Philip Vanderdecken found himself once more at anchor before the town ofAmsterdam.