On Board the Esmeralda; or, Martin Leigh's Log

by John Conroy Hutcheson_______________________________________________________________There is no doubt that John Hutcheson was a talented writer of books forteenagers. Most of his books were about the sea, but few of them wereas well-written as this one. What is meant here is that his Englishstyle is very good, even when he brings in characters whose command ofEnglish is less perfect; and also that he drives his characters from onegripping situation to another. 

The hero, Martin Leigh, is the son of a brave British Naval officer, whowas killed in Africa when the boy is very young. The mother also dies, and Martin is left an orphan, to be brought up by his father's brother. He has a horrible time in this family, and Aunt Matilda is his chieftormentor. Eventually he is sent to a cheap boarding school with aprospectus in no way matched by reality. Again he has a horrible time, for several years, but is befriended by another boy, Tom. One year, onGuy Fawkes' Day, they perpetrate a misdemeanour far beyond what theyshould have done, and are sentenced to be expelled. They run away, andstow away in a little coaster. When they are discovered, the captainbeats them even worse than the Headmaster of their school had done. SoMartin, aged thirteen, has known nothing but hard times. 

He meets with nice people, has a while in which he gets his acttogether, and then goes to sea again. This trip is full of adventure, near misses and disasters. Fire at sea, wrecked on the southern tip ofSouth Anerica, and finally back home to the kind people who hadbefriended him when he had that early chance to settle down. 

It is a well-written book, easy to read or to listen to, and I recommendit as one of Hutcheson's best. N. H. ________________________________________________________________

ON BOARD THE ESMERALDA; OR, MARTIN LEIGH'S LOG

BY JOHN CONROY HUTCHESON

CHAPTER ONE. 

EARLY DAYS. 

It is strange what trifling events--little things apparently inthemselves--seem to have the power of shaping our different destinies, and colouring, so to speak, the whole course of our subsequent life!

To illustrate this, I may state without exaggeration that, had it notbeen for Dr Hellyer's hat--taken in connection with the mischievouspromptings of that madcap Tom Larkyns, my special chum at the time--itis more than probable that the grand climax which so abruptly brought myschool-days to a close might have been averted; and, in that case, following out the argument, I should not have gone to sea; have neverstarted on that disastrous voyage round Cape Horn which nearlyterminated my then newly-commenced nautical career as summarily as mywhilom academical studies had been put a stop to just previously; and, as a natural consequence, I should most certainly have never had theopportunity or necessity for spinning the present yarn. But, perhaps, the best plan for me to pursue, in order to make you fully understandthe matter in all its bearings, will be to "begin at the beginning, " asyour regular 'longshore professional storytellers say, in the good old-fashioned way, without any more backing and filling, and veering andhauling, which mode of progression, as every decent sailor knows, onlytends to take a craft off her proper true course, and make lots ofleeway; whereas, if we sail on free, with a fair wind and a steady helm, you'll soon be able to follow in my wake and form a correct opinion ofyour own as to the merits of my logical conclusions. 

I will now, therefore, put back again and select a fresh point ofdeparture after this little bit of sea lawyering; so, here goes for astart in earnest!

My name is Martin Leigh, and my mother died shortly after I was born, worse luck for me! My father, who was a lieutenant in the Royal Navy, being within a year or two subsequently killed in action up the Nigerriver on the west coast of Africa, I was left an orphan at a very earlyage, without having ever experienced, even in my most remote childishrecollections, those two greatest of all blessings--a mother's love andparental guidance--which many who have been more fortunate than myselfto possess are, as I have frequently noticed in after-life, but toooften in the habit of undervaluing and making light of. 

At the time of my birth, my father was abroad on service in the exerciseof his profession, having no private fortune or other resources whichwould have enabled him to live at home on his half-pay; and on mymother's early death I was taken charge of at his request by hisbrother, a man considerably older than himself, with a wife and familyof his own. Of course, while my father lived he made over a portion ofthe _honorarium_ given him by a grateful country in return for exposinghis life at the call of duty; but, on his suddenly succumbing to theeffects of a murderous slug shot through the lungs, fired from the oldflint musket of one of the King of Abarri's adherents, in thepestilential African stream up which he had gone to demolish a nativestronghold that had defied the fetish of the British flag, thisallowance for my support ceased, and I was thenceforth left a poorpensioner on my uncle's bounty. I will do my relative the justice ofstating that I do not believe he would have grudged the extra expense Ientailed on his already well-populated household, had it not been for myaunt. This lady, however, affectionately regarded me as an interloperfrom the very first; and I have a vivid memory, even now, of theaggravating way she had of talking about the food I ate and the clothesI wore out--although, goodness knows, my tailor's bill could not haveamounted to much in those days, as I was invariably made the residuarylegatee of my elder cousin Ralph's cast-off jackets and trousers, which, when pretty nearly dilapidated, used to be made over to my use, afterbeing first cut down by my Aunt Matilda's own fair hands to suit my morejuvenile proportions. 

To make a long story short, I could plainly perceive, young as I was, long before I had cut my eye teeth, that I was looked upon as anuncalled-for incumbrance by my relatives, senior and junior alike--AuntMatilda never being dissuaded, by any fear of hurting my feelings, fromcontinually speaking of my pauper condition, and throwing it, as itwere, in my face, wondering in her hypocritical way what special sin shecould have committed that she should thus be afflicted in having to"deny her own children their rightful bread, " that I, miserable orphan, might "wax fat and kick, " as she said; while my cousins, who were a verymean lot, dutifully followed the example set them by their mother, inmaking me "realise my position, " as they termed their cruel tyranny. Uncle George used sometimes to take my part when some hazy recollectionof his dead brother came before his mind, declaring that as long as hehad a crust to spare I should not want; still, as the incessant droppingof water will in the end wear away stone, so my aunt's persistentnagging and iteration of my shortcomings in resisting my cousins'bullying had their due effect in time. 

The upshot was that, when I had just turned my twelfth year and hadexperienced a childhood of martyrdom which I trust few others situatedlike myself will ever have to undergo, my uncle came to thedetermination of sending me away to a cheap boarding-school at adistance, where I was to be taught and boarded and "found" for themunificent sum I believe of twelve pounds annually. The proviso was, Imay add, especially insisted on by my Aunt Matilda, that I was not toreturn "home"--I beg that hearty word's pardon for so misapplying it--for the holidays at any period whatever, but was to spend my whole timeunder the academical roof-tree until my pupilage should expire. 

Hitherto I had received no regular instruction whatever, and had it notbeen for the kind offices of a good-natured servant-maid, I would havebeen unable either to read or write. Indeed, I believe the neighboursmust have gossiped about my neglected state and the position I occupiedin the house, where I had to perform all sorts of menial offices, andwas hardly ever allowed out of doors, except on Sundays, when I had togo to the chapel which my aunt attended. Be that as it may, at allevents, I was told by my friend, the maid-servant aforesaid, that theminister of this chapel had remonstrated on my behalf. Thence came thedetermination on my uncle's part to send me to school; for I am certainthat if my dear aunt could have had her own way, without the fear ofbeing talked about in the locality, she would much rather have entrustedme to the care of the parochial authorities. However, in whatever waythe matter was decided, I know that when I heard the news I feltinclined to jump for joy, considering "going to school, " which is sodreaded at first by boys with happier homes than I had been accustomedto, would be a delightful deliverance from the misery to which I hadbeen condemned from infancy in my uncle's house--living like an Ishmael, with every hand, save that of Uncle George and Molly the maid, raisedagainst me. 

"Now, Martin, " said my uncle, when he informed me of the result of thefamily council held on my case, "as I'm only a poor man, I'm straining apoint and crippling my means in order to send you to school; but I amdoing it so that you may be educated to earn your own living, whichyou'll have to do as soon as the three years expire for which I havecontracted with Dr Hellyer; after that it will be out of my power to doanything further for you. "

"All right, uncle, " said I, buoyantly, so carried away with excitementat the news that I almost felt kindly disposed towards my aunt, who wasstanding by, although she tried to damp my spirits as much as in herlay. 

"You are only throwing away your money, George, " she remarked acidly tomy uncle. "He has always shown an ungrateful, thankless disposition;and his bad, undutiful temper will be certain to bring him to ruin!"

"Let us hope not, " replied uncle, placidly. He was a quiet, easy-goingbusiness man, employed in the City, and used to let things quietly taketheir own course, except when sometimes they touched him too keenly tobe left unnoticed. He then went on addressing me:

"You will have to be steady and diligent, making the most of your time;and the master will report to me every quarter as to your conduct andzeal in learning. "

"Nice reports they'll be!" interposed my aunt, mockingly. 

"Well, well, " hurriedly concluded Uncle George, to get the thing endedas soon as possible. "Your fortune is all in your own hands, and I hopeand trust, if only for your father's sake, you will turn out well!Remember, that if Dr Hellyer gives a good general report of you at theend of your three years' term, I'll try to get you into a City warehouseor office; but if you behave badly, why, you'll have to shift foryourself, and go your own course, as I shall wash my hands of you!"

There the conversation ended, with an intimation that I was to go to DrHellyer's school in three days' time. 

The interval passed like a whirlwind to me; for not only were mythoughts full of the new life on which I was entering, but there was inaddition the very unusual bustle attendant on my being provided with awardrobe--I for whom anything had been good enough before! My uncle, however, had now made it a _sine qua non_ that I should be fitted outproperly with decent clothes, and, consequently, my aunt was obliged tofurnish me with a thorough rig, selected from my Cousin Ralph's surplusstock. One thing pleased me in this better than all else! It was that, instead of having my outer raiment composed, as previously, of Ralph'scast-off garments, I was measured for an entirely new suit of my own. This alone was an unexpected gratification; for I hated the fact of mybeing compelled to wear Ralph's discarded clothes. It had been gall andwormwood to me. I loathed myself for having to put them on, and loathedhim as the malicious instrument that caused me to be so degraded--themore especially as my cousin would in "a friendly sort of way"frequently allude to the circumstance of the clothes having beenformerly his, calling attention to my want of care in treating themproperly!

All things have an end, fortunately, and the morning arrived at lastwhen I had to bid farewell to the villa on the outskirts of Islingtonwhere I had passed so many miserable years. Molly, the servant-maid, was the only one in the house with whom I parted with any regret; and itwas with feelings considerably more exultant than sad that I accompaniedmy uncle to the City in the omnibus which he always took to his place ofbusiness, that convenient vehicle passing by in its route the corner ofthe road where uncle lived. 

Arriving at the London Bridge terminus, Uncle George ensconced me and mybox in a train, bound for Beachampton, at which retired and out-of-the-way little watering-place was situated Dr Hellyer's school. 

Handing me then my railway ticket and a two-and-sixpenny "tip, " UncleGeorge gave me a hearty hand-shake, wishing me good-bye and a safejourney. 

"Mind you be a good boy, and pay attention to your lessons, " he said. "And--listen, Martin--should you ever be in any serious trouble, you canwrite and let me know. But mind, " added Uncle George, "you mustn'tforget, my boy, to address your letters to my office, and not to thevilla; for your Aunt Matilda might not like the idea, you know, eh!"

"All right, Uncle George, " I answered. "I will remember where to writeto, never fear. Good-bye now, and thank you for all your kindness tome. "

"Good-bye, Martin!" he echoed; and, as the train moved slowly out of thestation, I really felt quite sorry to part with him; but, as the pantingengine proceeded on its way, going faster as it emerged from thelabyrinthic terminus on to the open line, dragging the groaning, wheezing, jolting carriages behind it--the clatter of the wheels andrattle of the coupling-chains keeping time with the puffs and pants ofescaping steam--my temporary emotion at parting with Uncle George wasbanished by the exultant feeling of being set free, like a bird letloose from a cage. 

I was only conscious that I was flying along to new scenes and newsurroundings, where everything would be fresh and novel, and entirelyunlike what I had previously been accustomed to at Tapioca Villa. 

CHAPTER TWO. 

AT BEACHAMPTON. 

My journey "down the line" was a momentous matter to me in more waysthan one; for, independently of the fact of its being the firstopportunity I had ever had of riding in a railway train, it was whiletravelling down to Brighton, and thence along the endless south coastroute past Shoreham and Worthing, that I had my first sight of the sea--that sea on whose restless bosom my floating home was to be made formany a year afterwards in good fortune and ill. 

I must confess, however, that this first view of the element did notimpress me very greatly, in spite of the tendency of my mind at thatperiod to take a rose-coloured view of everything new that came withinrange of my vision, so long as it was totally disconnected with oldassociations of the Islington villa; for, from the window of the third-class carriage, whence I was peering out eagerly to see all that was tobe seen, the marine horizon that stretched out before my gaze appearedmore like a large inverted wash-hand basin than anything else, with theships that were going up and down Channel, seeming to be sailing in acurve along its outer rim; while, instead of the vivid hue of ceruleanblue that had been pictured in my imagination as the invariable tint ofNeptune's domain, the sober tone of the tumid element was that of a dullbrownish-grey, reflecting the unwholesome leaden-tinged sky above, and, there being no wind to speak of, there wasn't the ghost of a rippleperceptible on its sullen, silent surface!

Even novelty tires after a time, and long before I had reached mydestination I had got heartily sick of railway travelling; so, I wasvery glad when, after changing carriages at a junction between Brightonand somewhere else on the line, sometimes going fast, sometimes slow, and thus crawling along landwise and seaward through miles of countryfor four hours or more, the train came to a standstill beside theplatform of the little station to which I had been consigned on leavingLondon. 

"'Champt'n! 'Champt'n!" cried out somebody with a cracked voice, andthis sound approximating to the name of the place I was looking out for, combined with the fact that the engine began vigorously to blow offsteam, I became convinced that I had arrived at my goal; so, out I gotfrom the uncomfortable and cushionless carriage in which I had performedthe toilsome journey, not forgetting, you may be sure, the boxcontaining my grand rig-out of new clothes, which Aunt Matilda would notlet me wear on the journey for fear, as she said, of my spoiling them. This box I had carefully kept on a seat beside me, in full view of mywatchful eye, all the way, lest some accident might befall it, althoughnot another soul save myself occupied the compartment. 

When taking leave of me, Uncle George had said that some responsibleperson would meet me on my arrival at the station to take charge of me, from the "scholastic establishment;" and as I had conceived the mostmagnificent ideas of this place from a lithograph I had seen at the topof the prospectus referring to it, representing a palatial mansionstanding in its own grounds, with a commanding view of the adjacent sea, I stared about the platform, expecting to see a gorgeous footman inlivery or some other imposing personage, who would presently step uprequesting me to take a seat in a coach-and-four or similar statelyvehicle, and then drive me off in triumph to the educational mansion. 

But, lo and behold! no footman or imposing personage made hisappearance; nor did any one seem to be on the look-out for myinsignificant self. My spirits began to sink almost to zero, whichpoint they reached anon in the descending scale, when, as soon aseverybody else who had come by the train had bustled out of the station, an old and broken-down looking porter, in a shabby velveteen jacket, standing on the other side of the line, shouted out to me across therails in a tone of inquiry, and in a voice which I immediatelyrecognised as that which had screeched out the name of the place as thetrain ran in--

"B'y fur Hellyer's, hey?"

I felt annihilated. 

"Do you mean to ask whether I am the new pupil for Dr Hellyer'sestablishment?" I said--with some dignity, I flatter myself. 

But that horrible porter was not a bit abashed!

"Yees, " he drawled out in his cracked accents, with an intonation thatclearly evinced the fact of his having been born in Sussex. "Hellyer'sschool i' the village, b'y, that's wat I mean! Y'er to come along o'me. Poot yer box on yer shoulder and crass the line, young maister, an'I'll shoo yer way down. "

This was not to be borne. 

I had been treated like a menial in my uncle's household, and hadperforce to bear it, but I had made up my mind on leaving Tapioca Villathat I should never be so degraded again if I could possibly help it. 

It wasn't likely, therefore, that I was now going to be at the beck andcall of a railway porter, after all my boastful resolves--not quite!

I flew into a passion at once: I felt inclined to kill the unfortunateman. 

"Come over and take up my box yourself, porter, " I cried angrily, myface flaring up furiously as I spoke, I have no doubt. "I shall notforget, either, to complain to Dr Hellyer about your insolence. "

"Ho, ho, ho, the-at be a good un, " laughed the old man from his vantage-ground on the opposite platform. "I thinks I say un neow, an' you a-talkin' 'bout I!"

However, as I stamped my foot and repeated my order in a tone ofcommand, he, evidently much surprised and obeying from the force ofhabit in one accustomed to yield to others, crossed over the line, thebroad country yokel grin with which he had received my first reply, giving place to a surly look. 

"Y'er a foine young bantam, " he muttered grumblingly in his wheezycracked voice, as he stooped to raise my precious box, "but I specs, young maister, yer'll soon ha' yer comb cut, sure-ly!"

I said nothing further to this sally, my anger having by this timeevaporated; and the old man, poising the light load easily on oneshoulder, walked leisurely out of the station without uttering anotherword, I following him also in silence. 

Proceeding along a straggling street, which was more like a country lanethan anything else, with a few shops scattered about here and there atintervals, for more than half a mile or more--he in front with my box, Iclosely stepping in the rear--after turning sharp round to the right andthen to the left, past a little corner building which seemed to be awayside inn, but was triumphantly lettered "hotel" along the top of itsgable end, we at length debouched on to a solitary-looking semi-desertedrow of red-brick houses that occupied one side of a wild-looking, furze-grown common, which I could perceive faced the sea; the sound of the lowmurmurs of the waves on the beach alone breaking the stillness of thedesolate scene. 

This terrace apparently consisted entirely of lodging houses, and itbeing the month of November, and the "season" of the little watering-place having closed, bills with "Apartments to Let" were exposed in thewindows of almost all; almost, but not quite all, for my crack-voicedfriend when he arrived about the middle of the row stopped in front ofone of the most unprepossessing habitations of the lot, without anynotice displayed like the others. Here, putting down my box on thesteps, he rang a side-bell that gave out a melancholy clang for amoment, and caused quite a bustle of excitement in the two adjacenthouses, heads being popped out to see who the unexpected new-comersmight be. 

"Here be un, " said the old porter, taking off his leathern cap, andwiping his forehead with what looked like a tattered "Danger" flag thathad been used up on the line and discarded from further service. 

"Oh!" I ejaculated, having nothing further to say, for, on seeing thegrand establishment I had anticipated dwarfed to such very humbleproportions, I felt terribly small and contemptible in my own sight. The dignity that I had so recently aired at the old man's expense shrankinto nothingness, and I was quite relieved that he did not takeadvantage of the opportunity to "put me down a peg or two. "

As a sort of sop to Cerberus, and in order to try and maintain myposition of independence a few moments longer, I drew out the oddsixpence which Uncle George had put into my hand along with the twoshillings of my tip, giving it to the old porter with the air of onewith whom such trifling coins were as plentiful as blackberries!

"Take that, my good man, " said I, "for your trouble in showing me theway. "

"H'm!" he grunted between his teeth, but whether meaning to thank me ornot, I could not say; and then, without waiting for the door to beopened, as I naturally imagined, he turned on his heel, and made offback again towards the station. 

I had to ring a second time at the side-bell before any person appearedto answer my summons; and then, sad be it to relate, the portal of themansion was opened by a dirty, down-at-heels, draggle-tailed old womaninstead of the staid, respectable man-servant who should have officiatedas janitor to be in proper keeping with the brilliant prospectus beforementioned. 

"Oh, it's you, is it!" exclaimed the old woman, who had drawn back thedoor gingerly as if she had expected some one else on possibly a hostilemission, for an expression of relief came over her face when she sawonly me; and then, ushering me into a little room leading out of thehall, she left me there, telling me to sit down. I had brought my boxin with me, you may be sure, otherwise this feat would have beenimpossible, as there was not a single chair in the apartment, the majorportion of the furniture of the house, as I subsequently learnt, havingbeen seized by the sheriff's officers for rent. 

My first interview with Doctor Hellyer did not last very long; but itcertainly was to the point, so far as it went towards impressing me withhis ponderous personality, for he was a big, smooth-faced, fat, oilyman, with a crafty look in his little twinkling eyes. 

"Ah, Leigh--ah, " said he on coming, presently, into the room, "you'vecome at last--ah?"

This "ah-ing" of his was a confirmed habit, for he never seemed able tobegin or end a sentence without dragging in the ejaculation. 

"Yes, sir, " I replied, rising up from my box, and taking off my cappolitely. 

"Ah--I've had a nice character of you from your aunt, my dear younggentleman, " he proceeded, blinking his little ferret-like eyesfuriously, and with a dubious sort of grin expanding his wide mouth, which was furnished with a set of teeth like a shark's. "She tells me--ah--Master Leigh, that you are rude, and bold, and bad, anddisobedient--ah--and that I shall have to keep a strict watch over yourconduct; but I think--ah--you will find yourself in good hands here, mydee-er boy, really in good hands at last--ah!" and, smiling an ogreishsmile, he rubbed the palms of the said members together up and down andover one another in a circular way as if he were kneading up a littleball of putty within them, and I was that ball!

CHAPTER THREE. 

MY CHUM. 

Of course, as you may suppose, I offered no reply to this characteristicintroductory address of Dr Hellyer, although the allusion he made toAunt Matilda's treachery in trying to prejudice him against me--anattempt which, apparently, was as successful as it was intended to be--made me boil over with suppressed passion. It was just like her, Ithought! I had hoped, on leaving Tapioca Villa, to have escaped theinfluence of her spiteful malignity; and yet here, at a distance, it waspursuing me still, when I really believed myself for ever beyond itsreach. 

The reflection so maddened me that, as I was unable at the time to givevent to my anger, my face flushed up as it always did when I was soroused by my temper getting the better of me; and I dare say I lookedlike a bellicose young turkey-cock. 

My schoolmaster took advantage of the opportunity to "improve theoccasion. "

"Ah, I see, " he went on, "your aunt was quite right in her estimate ofyour disposition; but, my dear excitable young friend, I must--ah--giveyou fair warning that if you feel inclined to be rude at any time, you'dbetter not be rude here, and if you are bold--ah--you'll get bowled out!Ah--that was an unintentional pun, Leigh, but I don't think you'll findme joking when I have to come to the point. Mind, I never flog a boyunder any circumstances, but I've got an equally efficacious way of myown for making my pupils obey me, which never fails, and you'll probablyhave an early chance of getting familiar with it! Oh no, I never flog, but I've a way of my own, Master Leigh, a way of my own--ah!"

The infinite relish and gusto with which he repeated these last words ofhis are utterly indescribable; while the grin that overspread his fatcountenance, wrinkling up its fleshy folds, can only be compared to theexpression one sees carved out on those hideous gargoyles with which thearchitects of former days decorated the odd corners of our cathedrals. 

I couldn't help shivering in my shoes; and Dr Hellyer, noticing this, evidently thought that he had made sufficient impression for a start, for, dropping his terrible, rolling, ponderous voice, he spoke to memore amiably. 

"Now, leave your box here and it shall be taken up presently to thedormitory. Come along with me and I'll introduce you--ah--to yourschoolfellows. "

To hear was to obey; so, deserting my hitherto keenly-watched littleproperty with many misgivings as to the chances of my ever setting eyeson it again, I followed Dr Hellyer out of the room and along a narrowpassage that led directly to the back of the house. Throwing open adoor at the further end, a flight of short stone steps was disclosed, descending to a wide yard or garden--that is, if one solitary tree in aremote corner supplied sufficient vegetation to give the place such aname--where I could see a lot of boys of all ages and sizes jumpingabout and otherwise diverting themselves. 

"Ah--this is our--ah--playground, Leigh, " explained the master, with acomprehensive wave of his arm; and, then, the chorus of yells, shouts, screams, and stray laughter that at first echoed through my ears, likethe din of Pandemonium, having ceased as soon as the Doctor's presencein their midst was perceived by the boys, that worthy very brieflyintroduced me. 

"Here's a new boy--ah--make friends with him; but, ah--no fighting!"

Having thus done as much as he thought necessary, the master withdrew, shutting the door that communicated with the house behind him; and I, going down the steps, with some little hesitation in the face of all themass of boys who were now staring at me, with, it seemed to me, theconcentrated look of one, found myself in a minute surrounded by them. 

I was just like a solitary pigeon amongst a flock of rooks, for all, asif with a single voice, began eagerly shouting out a series of the mostpersonal questions, without giving me time to answer them individually. 

After a bit, the clamour somewhat ceased, and then a tall, slenderly-built chap, who appeared to be the cock of the school, came up to me, while the others formed a circle around us two, waiting for the upshotof their leader's action. It was enough to make one feel nervous, forthey all became suddenly silent, although I could see one or two nudgingeach other and grinning gleefully, as if some highly interesting episodewas expected at my expense. 

"What is your name?" said the tall one. 

"Martin Leigh, " I replied, civilly, seeing no harm in the question. 

"Oh, that's a fine name, " observed my interlocutor, sneeringly; "Isuppose you're the son of a duke, and a nobleman in disguise?"

"No, " said I, calmly, put on my mettle by hearing the others sniggeringat their leader's wit, as they thought it--"my father was an officer. "

"That's a good one!" said the tall chap, with a stagey laugh; "I thinkhe must have belonged to the Horse Marines--didn't he?"

At this there was a chorus of chuckles from the surrounding boys, withcries of "Go it, Slodgers!" and other impertinent interruptions, causingmy quick temper to fire up. 

"You're wrong again, `Mr Sharp, '" I said, angrily. "He was an officerin the navy, and a gentleman--more than yours was, I should think. "

"You impudent young beggar, what do you mean?" retorted the tall boy, taking a step nearer me, and raising his hand as if to give me a slap onthe face; "your father was a sweep, you hound!"

"You lie!" I yelled out, in a white heat with passion; and, withoutwaiting for him to give me the first blow, I sprang up and planted myfist between his eyes, knocking him back so suddenly that he would havefallen but for the others advancing closer and shoring him up, as itwere, by their pressure, so that he couldn't tumble down. 

"Oh, that's it, is it?" said my opponent, recovering himself at oncequickly; and, before I could put up my hands, he had dealt me twoswinging blows right and left, making my nose bleed and bringing me in aheap on to the ground. 

I was not beaten, however, for I was on my feet again in a second, dashing in madly at him; and, but for the intervention of another boy, not quite so tall as my antagonist, but with much broader shoulders andof heavier weight, who got in between us and prevented furtherhostilities, I should probably have come to sad grief. 

"Let him alone, Slodgers; he's only a new boy, remember, " said thispeacemaker, warning me off with one outstretched arm while he pushedback my antagonist with the other, as he was making for me again. 

"I know he's a new boy; but the cheeky young beggar has given me a blackeye, confound him! and the Doctor is safe to see it when we go in. Imust pay him out for it, Larkyns; move away, and I'll thrash him withinan inch of his life!"

With these words, the tall boy, or Slodgers, as he was called, madeanother rush at me; but the other interposed once more, and this timemore forcibly. 

"No, I tell you, " said he, "let him alone, or I'll have to make you, "and he gave Slodgers a quiet sort of tap on the chest that had theeffect of at once stopping his advance, the bully and coward, as heseemed to me to be, retiring sulkily to the corner of the yard under thetree, accompanied by two of his select cronies, grumbling in anundertone about "somebody's" meddlesomeness in interfering with "otherpeople's business, " although he did not take any further notice of thestalwart Samaritan who had thus come so opportunely to my aid, baulkingthe summary vengeance he had intended taking on my unhappy head. 

The other boys, too, were just as disgusted at the turn events hadtaken, for they had looked for rare sport in seeing me mauled by theirchampion. They also now went off in a body, leaving my protector andmyself alone together, close to the steps where the little fracas hadoccurred. 

"You are a plucky fellow, " said my new friend, confidentially, as soonas the rest were out of hearing. "I don't think Master Slodgers has hadsuch a prompt lesson before to correct that nasty way he has offrightening every new boy that comes here; but I tell you what, though, you mustn't go hitting out at big chaps like that, you know! Slodgerswould have pounded you into a jelly if I hadn't interfered. "

"I dare say he would, " I replied, passionately, not having yet quitecalmed down--the sight of the blood dropping from my poor nose adding toinstead of abating from my courage. "But, I would have made him feelsomething first! I don't care if he had killed me! I would do the sameagain if he made fun of my father. He said I told lies when I wastelling the truth. "

"Well, well, that's all right, " said my rescuer, soothingly. "I've nodoubt I should have struck him, too, if I had been in your place. Ilike you for standing up to him so bravely, and that's the reason I tookyour part, independently of my always trying to stop his bullying. Slodgers is a cur at heart, and I dare say you would lick him in the endif you could hold out long enough, although I wouldn't advise you totackle him until you know how to use your fists better, if I am not by!I think you said your name was Martin Leigh, to change the subject fromthe brute, eh?"

"Yes, " I answered, readily; "and I must now thank you for your kindnessin coming to my help. "

"Oh, stow all that! May I call you Martin?"

"By all means, " said I, gladly; "there's nothing I should like better. "

"All right then, that's agreed. My name is Tom Larkyns, and you maycall me Tom, if you like. "

"May I?" I asked, deferentially, proud of his condescending to be onsuch cordial terms with me. "Won't it sound too familiar?"

"Nonsense, " said he, laughing cheerily. "We'll swear a bond of eternalfriendship, like Damon and Pythias, " and he squeezed my hand in hisstrong grip, as if he meant it. 

Tears came into my eyes; but not with pain. It was at the happyconsciousness that at last I had come across some one who really caredfor me personally. Uncle George's scanty amount of affection for me wasdue to the fact of my being his brother's child, while Molly, the maid-servant, the only one else who had ever evinced any kindly feelingtowards me, had been actuated by pity for my forlorn and neglectedcondition amongst my own kindred; but Tom was my very own friend, mineby choice and selection. Had he not singled me out and taken my part, besides asking me to be his comrade? That alone would have made me hisstaunch ally, even without the proffer of his friendship; so, needlessto say, I vowed there and then my fealty as his chum through thick andthin!

Presently, Tom took me round to a side door of the house, through whichadmittance was gained to the kitchen, where, procuring some water, hehelped me to stop the bleeding from my nose, caused by Slodgers' blow, and otherwise wash away the traces of the combat. We subsequentlyreturned to the "playground, " Tom saying that we could remain there ifwe liked until the tea-bell rang, as it was a half-holiday, and therewere no more lessons for the day. 

The other boys had mostly gone in by this time, disappearing in batchesof twos and threes, tired of being out in the bare yard, and havingexhausted all attempts at amusing themselves. We remained here over anhour longer, walking up and down, exchanging confidences and forming themost wonderful plans of what we would do together bye-and-bye, not onlywhile at school, but when we grew up and went into the world. I, ofcourse, told him all about my cruel bringing-up under Aunt Matilda'sauspices, and he imparted the information that he was almost an orphanlike myself; his father, who was a clergyman, having died early and lefthis widowed mother with a large number of children to support on ascanty income; whence the fact of his being at such a poor second-rateschool as Dr Hellyer's, about which Tom then proceeded to unfold themost wonderful revelations. 

The master, he said, in spite of his generally having thirty boys atleast, from whom he managed to get an income of six hundred a year orso, was always in hard straits, and at his wit's end for money;although, apparently, he could not have any great expenditure, the rentof the house or houses occupied by the school being cheap, his cost forthe aid of masters not by any means excessive, and the boys' keep nottoo extravagant, judging by the meals they had. Dr Hellyer was "anignorant, uncultivated brute, " Tom averred, and his degree of "Doctor"was only derived from the fact of his having paid ten dollars to anAmerican university to air this specious prefix to his scholastic name!

The whole school, my new friend told me, was a sham, for, instead ofthere being some dozen of masters, as stated in the prospectus sent toUncle George, there were only two besides "The Doctor"--Mr Smallpage, the mathematical master, called by the boys "Smiley, " on the _lucus anon lucendo_ principle, I suppose, because his face ever bore anexpression of gravity; and Monsieur Achile Phelan, professor of foreignlanguages and dancing, christened by Tom Larkyns "The Cobbler, " onaccount of his teaching a certain number of extra-paying pupils how to"heel and toe. "

Whatever was the reason for "The Doctor's" hardupishness, however, thefact was undeniable; and Tom said that for weeks at a time theestablishment would be in a state of siege, from tradespeople comingafter their "little accounts, " which the master put off settling as longas he could. The old woman who had opened the door to me, my chumstated, was popularly believed to be the principal's maternal relative, as she kept a watchful eye upon the portal, besides presiding over theinterior economy of the school. She was so sharp, Tom averred, that shecould smell a "dun, " experience having so increased the natural keennessof her scent. 

Sometimes, too, Tom said, when Dr Hellyer could get no credit with thebutcher, they lived on Australian tinned mutton, which he got wholesalefrom the importers, as long as three months at a stretch; and once, hepledged me his word, when the baker likewise failed to supply any morebread by reason of that long-suffering man's bill not having been paidfor a year, Dr Hellyer, not to be beaten, went off to Portsmouth andbought a lot of condemned ship biscuits at a Government sale in thevictualling yard, returning with this in triumph to the school, andserving it out to the pupils in rations, the same as if they had been atsea!

In the midst of all these interesting disclosures, a terrible drumming, buzzing noise filled the air. 

"What's that din?" I asked Tom. 

"Oh, that's the tea-gong, " he replied. "We must go in now, as we'll getnone if we are late, for the Doctor teaches punctuality by example. "

"He told me he had `a way of his own' for making his pupils obey him, "said I. 

"Did he? Ah, you'll soon find out what a brute he is! Let us look atyour nose, though, Martin, before you go in. You recollect what he saidabout not fighting, eh?"

"Yes; does it look all right now?" I asked, anxiously. 

"Pretty well, " said Tom, critically examining the damaged organ. "Alittle bit puffy on the off side but I think it will pass muster, andyou'll escape notice if that sneak Slodgers doesn't split about hiseye--which I believe you've pretty nicely marked for him. "

"Do you think he'll tell?" I whispered to Tom as we ascended the stepsand he turned the handle of the door leading into the house. 

"More than likely, if the Doctor pitches on to him! He will spin a finestory about your having attacked him, too, to excuse himself; for he's aliar as well as a cur and a bully. But, come on, Martin, look sharp!There's the second gong, and if we're not at table in our seats beforeit stops, it'll be a case of pickles!"

With these words, Tom dashed into the passage with me after him; and, after racing up a bare, carpetless flight of stairs, I found myself in awide large room, which, the evening having closed in, was lighted uponly by a single gas-burner. This made its bareness all the moreapparent; for, with the exception of having a long table stretching fromend to end--now covered with a semi-brownish white table-cloth, and cupsand saucers and plates, not forgetting a monstrous big tin teapot like aChinese junk, in the centre, and a couple of narrow deal forms withoutbacks placed on either side for seats--the apartment had no otherfurniture, a broad shelf attached to the wall opposite the fireplaceserving as a buffet, and an armchair at the head of the festal board, for the presiding master, completing its equipment. 

Tom had whispered to me as we went up-stairs that either "Smiley" or"The Cobbler" would officiate at the tea-table, those two worthiestaking that duty in turn; but this evening, strange to say, whether inhonour of my arrival or on account of some other weighty motive, theseat of honour at the end of the table was filled by the portly form ofthe head of the establishment. 

"By Jove!" ejaculated Tom, sliding into a vacant place along the formnearest the door, and motioning to me to follow his example, "something's up, or he wouldn't be here!"

Tom's supposition proved correct. 

Something was "up" with a vengeance--at least as far as I was concerned. 

CHAPTER FOUR. 

SCHOOL EXPERIENCES. 

As two or three others, late like ourselves, were scrambling into theirplaces when Tom and myself took our seats, while the old woman who hadopened the door for me was bustling about the table, filling a series oftin mugs from the Chinese junk teapot and passing them along towards theoutstretched hands that eagerly clutched at them _en route_ downwardsfrom the head of the board, I hoped that my damaged face would haveescaped notice, but the master's ferret-eyes singled me out apparentlythe instant I entered the room, for he pounced on me at once. 

"Boy Leigh, " he shouted out in his deep rolling voice, "stand up!"

I obeyed the order, standing up between the table and the form on whichI had been sitting; but Dr Hellyer said nothing further at the time, after seeing me come to the attitude of "attention, " as a drill sergeantwould have termed it, and there I remained while the other pupilsproceeded with their meal. You must remember that I was almostfamishing, for I had had nothing to eat all day beyond the scantybreakfast which I was too much excited to eat before leaving my uncle'shouse at Islington in the morning; while the long journey by railcombined with the effects of the fresh sea air had made me very hungry. 

It may be imagined, therefore, with what wolfish eyes I watched the boysconsuming the piles of bread-and-butter which the old woman distributed, after serving out the allotted allowance of tea in each pupil's mug!Tom looked up at me sympathisingly every now and then between the biteshe took out of the thick hunches on his plate; but the fact of mystarving state did not appear to affect his appetite. This made me feelhurt at my chum's indifference to my sufferings, envying the while everymorsel he swallowed, and wondering when my suspense would cease; and, although I had not then heard of the tortures of the classic Tantalus, my feelings must have much resembled those of that mythical personduring this ordeal. 

At the expiration of, I suppose, about twenty minutes, within whichinterval every one of the busy crowd round the table had made short workof his portion, not leaving a crumb behind as far as I could notice, themaster, pushing back his armchair, got on his feet, an exampleimmediately followed by all the boys, and, all standing up, he saidgrace. 

This ended, the boys, with much shuffling of feet on the bare boardscomposing the floor of the apartment, were about to rush out _en masse_, when Dr Hellyer arrested the movement. 

"Stop!" he cried in stentorian tones, drowning the clatter of feet andwhispering of voices; "the pupils will remain in for punishment!"

Every face was turned towards him, with astonishment, expectancy, anddread marked in each feature; and, with a gratified grin on his broadflabby countenance, he remained for a moment or two apparently gloatingwith gusto over the consternation he had created, amidst a stillness inwhich you could have heard a pin drop. 

After holding all hearts for some time in suspense in this way, glaringround the room with an expression of diabolical amusement, such as a catmay sometimes assume when playing with a mouse before finally putting itout of its misery, Dr Hellyer spoke again. It was to the point. 

"Boy Leigh, " he exclaimed, "come here. "

I advanced tremblingly to where he stood. Though I was prettycourageous naturally, his manner was so strange and uncanny that hefairly frightened me. 

"What is the matter with your nose?" was his first query, as soon as Ihad come up close to him, pointing with his fat forefinger at theinjured member, which I had vainly thought would have escaped theobservation of his keen eye. 

"I--I--I've hurt it, sir, " said I, in desperation. 

"Boy Leigh, you are not truthful, " was his answer to this, shaking thefat forefinger warningly in my face, rather too near to be pleasant. "You've been fighting already, and that against my express injunctions;and now, you attempt to conceal the effects of your disobedience bytelling a falsehood--worse and worse!"

"I--I really couldn't help it; it wasn't my fault, sir, " I pleaded. 

"Ah, worse still! He who excuses, accuses himself, " said the sternRhadamanthus. "Boy Slodgers, approach. "

My whilom opponent of the playground thereupon came up to where I was infront of the Doctor; when on closer inspection, I could see that he wasin a fair way of having a splendid pair of black eyes from the blow Ihad given him. This was some satisfaction, and put a little more pluckinto me as I faced my judge. I trembled no longer. 

"Boy Slodgers, what's the matter with your eyes?" asked Dr Hellyer ofthe fresh culprit, in the same searching way in which he hadinterrogated me. 

"Please, sir, Leigh hit me, sir, " said the sneak, glibly, in a whiningvoice that was very different to the bullying tone he had adopted whencatechising me before our "little unpleasantness" occurred. 

"Ah--Leigh--ah--you see _my_ boys tell the truth, " observed the Doctorparenthetically to me; and then, turning again to Slodgers, he said, inquiringly, "And, I suppose, you then--ah--returned his blow?"

"Oh no, please, sir, " replied he, confirming what Tom had told me of hisinveracity; "I happened to have my hand up, sir; and, rushing at me inhis fury, he ran against it, sir, that's all. I wouldn't have hurt him, sir, for the world, as I know your orders, sir, about fighting. "

"Good boy! I'm glad you pay attention to my wishes, Slodgers, and asthe fight wasn't of your seeking, I'll let you off without animposition, as I had at first intended. You can go back to your place, Slodgers. I see--ah--ha--too, you've been punished already, which isanother reason for my leniency;" and so saying, the Doctor dismissedhim. 

Would you believe it? That cur went down the long room again with themost unblushing effrontery, after telling those flagrant falsehoods hehad done about me! I really don't know which I was the more angrywith--at him, for cooking up that story about me, or with Dr Hellyerfor believing him! The latter had not done with me yet, however. 

"Now, my pugilistic young friend, " he said to me aloud, so that all theboys could hear, "you and I have a little account to settle together. Hold out your hand!"

Nerving myself up to the inevitable, I stretched out my right palm; and"whish"--with the sound that a flail makes when wielded by anexperienced thresher--Dr Hellyer came down, right across my fingers, with a tingling blow from a broad flat ruler, which he must have keptconcealed behind his back, as I had not seen it before. He seemed tothrow all his strength into the stroke. 

The pain made me jump, but I didn't cry out or make the slightestexclamation. I would have bitten my lips through first; for all theboys were looking on, with the expectation probably of hearing me yellout--especially that sneak Slodgers, who, I made up my mind, should notbe gratified by any exhibition of yielding on my part. 

"The other now!" cried the Doctor; and, "whack" came a second dose ofthe flat ruler on my left digits. 

"The right again!" sang out the big brute, I obeying without wincingafter the first stroke; and so he went on, flaying my poor hands untilhe had given me six "pandies, " as the boys called the infliction, oneach, by which time both of my palms were as raw as a piece of ordinarybeefsteak, and, I'm certain, far more tender. 

"That will do for a first lesson--ah--Martin Leigh, " said my tormentor, when he had concluded this performance. "You can go now, but, mark me, the next time I hear of your fighting you shall have a double portion!Boys, you're dismissed. "

With these parting words, Dr Hellyer waved me off; on which I followedslowly after the rest, who had at once rushed off from the room. 

Being the last, when I got outside the door, all the boys haddisappeared, with the exception of Tom, whom I found waiting for me atthe head of the stairs. 

I felt inclined to be indignant with him at first for not speaking upfor me and contradicting the false statement of Slodgers; but Tom soonpersuaded me that such a course on his part would probably only haveincreased my punishment and brought him in for it as well, without doinggood to either of us, or harming the cur who had told such lies aboutme. 

"Dr Hellyer, " said Tom, "always takes everything Slodgers says forgospel, and it's not a bit of use going against him when brought tobook. The only way for you to pay him out, Martin, will be to learn touse your fists properly, and give him a good thrashing some day when weare out of doors. You will then only get some more `pandies' like whatyou had just now, and I think the gratification of punching his headought to be worth that. "

"Right you are, Tom, " I replied. "I'm game for it: I will never feelhappy till I make him acknowledge the lie he told to-day against me. "

"Bravo, that's hearty, " said Tom. "You're a big fellow for your age, and with a little training will soon be a match for that cur, as he's acoward at heart. But, look here, Martin--see, I didn't forget you, as Ibelieve you thought I did at tea-time. I saved this for you, as I couldsee you were hungry. "

The good-hearted chap had managed to stow away a thick slice of bread-and-butter in his trousers pocket, and this he now brought out andhanded to me. It was dirty and greasy, and had little bits of papersticking to it, from the mixed assortment of articles amidst which ithad been crammed; but, as it was the first morsel of food I had given meafter my long fast, I received it from my chum with the utmostgratitude, putting my teeth through it without delay. I really thinkthat it was the most appetising thing I had ever tasted in my life, upto the present, and I longed for more when I had finished it up, although, alas, no more was then to be had!

Little as it was, however, this slight apology for a meal made me feelbetter and stronger; so, I told Tom, after I had swallowed the bread-and-butter, that I was fit for anything, which pleased him very much. 

"You're just the sort of fellow I thought you were, " said he, clappingme on the back. "I have been looking out for a chum like you ever sinceI came here, and we'll have fine times together, my boy! But, comealong now, and put your hands under the pump--the cold water will painyou at first, but it will do a world of good, and to-morrow the hands'llfeel all right. "

So saying, Tom, catching hold of my arm, lugged me off down-stairs, andthrough a lot of mysterious passages and dark ways, to the wash-house atthe back of the kitchen again. Arrived here, he pumped away for a goodhalf-hour on my hands, in spite of all my entreaties to the contrary;but, at the end of that time, although they were almost benumbed, thepain from the Doctor's pandies had passed away, and the palms, which hadbeen previously almost rigid, had regained their flexibility. 

"There, that's enough for the present, " said Tom, quite out of breathwith his exertions at the pump-handle, kindly taking out his pocket-handkerchief and gently dabbing my hands with it until they were dry. "I think they'll do now, and won't pain you to-morrow; but you must try, old fellow, and avoid getting another taste of the Doctor's ruler tillthey're a bit more recovered. "

At that moment the gong struck up again its ringing, buzzing, drummingsound, and I pricked up my ears, in the vain hope of having a meal atlast. 

"Is that for supper?" I asked him, recollecting well what it had rungfor before. 

"Oh no, " answered Tom, "we never get anything else after tea here of anevening. That's the call to go to sleep: `Early to bed, early to rise, 'you know, Martin! I didn't think it was so late; look sharp and followme, and I'll show you the way to the dormitories. There are two ofthem, and I don't know which room you'll be sent to--I hope mine, butwe'll soon see, as `Smiley' arranges all that. "

Passing back through the same passages again by which we had descendedfrom the eating-room--or "refectory, " as Dr Hellyer styled that bareapartment--and up a second flight of stairs beyond, Tom leading the way, we finally reached a long chamber which must have stretched along thewhole front of the house, immediately above the room devoted to meals. 

Some twenty beds were ranged down the length of this dormitory, in thesame way as is customary in a hospital ward, some of them alreadyoccupied by boys who had quietly undressed, while the rest of thefellows were hurriedly pulling off their clothes and preparing theirtoilets for the night. 

At the door of the dormitory stood a tall, cadaverous-looking man ofsome fifty years or thereabouts whom I had not before seen. To him Tomnow briefly introduced me in the most laconic fashion. 

"New boy, Mr Smallpage, " he said. 

"Oh, new boy--Leigh, I suppose, eh?" replied this gentleman in an absentsort of way--"Is he in your charge, Larkyns?"

"Well, sir, " said Tom, rather at a loss to answer this question, notwishing to tell an untruth and yet desirous for certain reasons that Ishould be associated with him, "I've made friends with him, that's all. "

"Ah, then, he can have that vacant bed next yours, " decided Mr"Smiley, " kindly, seeing Tom's drift. 

"Thank you, sir, " said my chum in a gleeful tone at having his wishgratified. "Come along with me, Martin, and I will show you your place. Is it not jolly?" he whispered to me as we proceeded up the room alongthe centre space left vacant between the two rows of beds lining thewalls on either side, "why, it's just the very thing we wanted!"

Tom's bed and mine were close to one of the windows in the front of thehouse, which fact delighted me very much, as I thought I should be ableto see the sea as soon as I woke in the morning. 

My chum, however, threw a damper on this reflection by suggesting that, when the first gong sounded our _reveille_ at six o'clock AM, we shouldhave such sharp work before us to dress and get down to the refectory inthe quarter of an hour allowed us for the operation, that unless Iwished to lose my breakfast--a dreadful contingency considering the thenempty state of my body--I should have precious little time for star-gazing!

Tom's mention of "shovelling on my clothes, " as he delicately termed theact of dressing, immediately reminded me of my box, which I had quiteforgotten all about ever since my leaving it behind me in the littleroom out of the hall on the termination of my first interview with DrHellyer. 

"I wonder where it is?" I asked Tom. 

"Oh, it has been brought up-stairs all right. The old woman would seeto that, " he said. 

"Then where is it?" I inquired. "I want my night-shirt now. "

"It is probably in the locker room, " replied my chum, "shall I askSmiley to let us go and see?"

"Do, if you don't mind, " said I; and Tom, whisking down the room in asomewhat neglige costume, readily obtained the requisite "permit ofsearch. " He then beckoned me to follow him towards a second doorcommunicating from the dormitory with a smaller apartment beyond, whosesides, I observed on entering within, were buttressed from floor toceiling with a series of diminutive square wooden chests, ranged alongthe walls on top of one another, like the deed boxes noticeable in theprivate office of a solicitor in large practice, and all numbered insimilar fashion, seriatim, with large black figures on their frontfaces. 

"Every boy has one of these lockers to stow his traps in, " explainedTom, "and Smiley said you could have 31, next to mine, which is 30--justin the same way, old fellow, as our beds are alongside--good of him, isn't it?"

"Yes, " I replied, "he seems a kind chap. "

"He is, " said Tom; "but, come, Martin, if your box is here you'd betterbundle in your things at once, and leave it out on the landing for theold woman to take down again to the cellar, where all our trunks andsuch-like are kept. "

My box was soon found; and my scanty wardrobe being quickly removed tothe numbered receptacle allotted to me, Tom and I returned to thedormitory, where, as I had taken care to bring back with me the garmentI required for present exigencies, we both soon made an end of ourtoilets and jumped into our respective beds. 

I had expected that as soon as all the boys were under the sheets, themathematical master would have left the room; but, no, "Smiley, " much tomy surprise, proceeded to undress, and occupy a large bed at the end ofthe dormitory close to the entrance. 

Under these circumstances, therefore, instead of the row that wouldotherwise have gone on, in the absence of any presiding genius of order, the room was soon hushed in quiet repose; and, the last thing I canrecollect hearing, ere dropping to sleep, after wishing Tom a _sottovoce_ "good night, " was the sound of the many-voiced sea as the waveswhispered to each other on the beach--the gentle lullaby noise it made, to the fancy of my cockney ears, exactly resembling that created by thedistant traffic of the London streets in the early hours of the morningto those living within the city radius. 

CHAPTER FIVE. 

A SECRET CONSPIRACY. 

I awoke from a confused dream of having a quarrel with Aunt Matilda atTapioca Villa about taking the tea-tray up to the parlour, and, in mypassion at being condemned to exercise Molly's functions, kicking overthe whole equipage, and sending all the cups and saucers flying down thekitchen stairs--where I could hear them clattering and crashing as theydescended--to the far different reality that, instead of being stillunder my uncle's roof at Islington, I was actually at school at DrHellyer's. And that dreadful gong which had interrupted my slumbers, and which must once have belonged to a mandarin of the most warliketendencies, and of three buttons at least, judging by the din it wascapable of, was banging away down-stairs and reverberating through thehouse; while the score of boys or so, who occupied the dormitory alongwith Tom and myself, were jumping out of bed and dressing as hurriedlyas they could in the semi-darkness of the wintry morning, which thetwinkling of the solitary gas-jet, still alight near the door, overSmiley's couch, rendered even more dusky and dismal by contrast. 

The windows were shrouded in a thick white fog, that had come up withthe rising tide from the sea, which I was thus prevented from seeing hadI the time to spare to look out; although, the thought of doing so nevercrossed my mind, for, independently of the noise of the gong and thescurrying of the other fellows out of the room as soon as they werepartly dressed, being suggestive of my also hurrying on my clothes asquickly as I possibly could, I hardly needed Tom's reminder to "looksharp!" Really, no sooner had I stood on my feet and been thoroughlyroused, than I was assailed by such a feeling of ravenous hunger that itwould have been quite sufficient inducement for me to make haste withoutany further spur to my movements. I certainly did not intend to be latefor breakfast--this morning at all events--and so I told Tom!

Within less than two minutes, I think, I had scrambled into my shirt andtrousers; and, throwing my other garments over my arm in imitation ofTom, I was racing along with him down to the lavatory in the lowerregions where our ablutions had to be performed. Thence, there wasanother mad rush up-stairs again to the refectory, which we reachedbefore the second gong, calling us to the matutinal meal, had ceased tosound. 

Porridge, with mugs of skim sky-blue milk-and-water, and a couple ofslices of bread-and-butter for each pupil, comprised the bill of fare;but it might have been a banquet of Lucullus from the way I did justiceto it after my prolonged fast. Noticing my voracity, the old woman, who, as on the evening before, acted as mistress of the ceremonies, gaveme an extra allowance of porridge, which made me her friendthenceforth--at least at meal-times, that is!

On breakfast being cleared away, the "refectory, " by the simple processof removing the dirty table-cloth from the long table occupying thecentre of the apartment, was converted into a school-room, Dr Hellyercoming in immediately after a third gong had rung for a short interval, and taking the armchair at the head--that seat of honour which had beentemporarily filled by "the Cobbler" during our meal being vacated byMonsieur Phelan with much celerity as soon as the Doctor's expansivecountenance was seen beaming on us through the doorway, "like the sun ina fog, " as Tom whispered to me. 

The great man had not long taken his seat before he called me up to him, and, with many "ah's, " interrogated me as to my acquirements. He wasevidently not greatly impressed with my proficiency; for, severelycommenting on the ignorance I displayed for a boy of my age, herelegated me to the lowest class, under Mr Smallpage, or "Smiley, " whoset me tasks in spelling and the multiplication table, after whichschool regularly began for the rest. 

Books were produced in the most extraordinary and mysterious fashionfrom hidden cupboards, and desks improvised out of hinged shelves ofdeal affixed to the walls, and supported by brackets likewise movable, one of the forms along the centre table being shifted for theaccommodation of those taking writing lessons; and, at intervals, DrHellyer had up a batch of boys before his throne of office, rigidlyputting them under examination, varied by the administration of"pandies, " and the imposition of ever so many lines of Caesar to belearnt by heart, when they failed in construing it. 

At sharp eleven, a large clock over the fireplace, with a round facelike that of our podgy preceptor, telling the time, Dr Hellyer pushedback his chair as a sign that our morning studies were over; and theboys then all trooped out into the playground for an hour, coming backagain punctually at twelve to dinner in the re-transformed room, at thesummons of the inveterate gong. 

As the butcher had been lately conciliated apparently, there was norecourse to tinned meats of Australian or South American brand on thefirst occasion of my partaking of this meal at the establishment. Roastbeef, and plenty of it, was served out to us, with the accompaniment ofpotatoes and cabbage, vegetables being cheap at that time on account ofthe watering-place's season being ended; while such of the pupils whoseparents paid extra for the beverage, in the same way as they did forFrench and dancing lessons from the "Cobbler, " were supplied with a mugapiece of very small beer--the remainder, and far larger proportion ofus, being allowed cold water "at discretion. "

After dinner came afternoon school, lasting till four o'clock; whenfollowed another hour's diversion in the playground; and then, tea, similar to the repast I had been a spectator, but not partaker of, theevening before. After tea a couple of hours' rest were allowed forreflection, in the same apartment, during which time the boys weresupposed to learn their lessons for the next morning, but didn't--DrHellyer relegating his authority at this period of the day generally toSmiley, who went to sleep invariably when in charge of the room, or theCobbler, who as invariably sneaked out and left the pupils tothemselves, when the consequences may be readily imagined. 

At eight o'clock, to bring this category of our day's doings to a close, the final gong sounded a tattoo, sending us all aloft, like poor TomBowling, to the dormitories to bed. 

Such was the ordinary routine of our life at the Doctor's, according tomy two years' experience, the only exception being that our mealsvaried, as to quantity and quality, in direct proportion to the Doctor'scredit in the neighbouring town; for, I will do our preceptor thejustice to state that, should fortune smile on him, in respect to thefacilities afforded him by the tradespeople with whom he dealt, hetreated us with no niggard hand and we fared well; while, should thefickle goddess Fortune frown, and provisions be withheld by the cautiouspurveyors thereof until ready money was forthcoming, then we sufferedaccordingly, there being a dearth upon the land, which we had to tideover as best we could, hoping for better times. Every Wednesday andSaturday, too, there was no afternoon school, the boys on these half-holidays being either allowed additional exercise in the so-called"playground, " or taken out for long dreary walks under the escort ofSmiley or the Cobbler; and on Sundays we were always marched to churchin state, be the weather what it might, wet or fine, Dr Hellyer leadingthe van on these high parade occasions--in full academical costume, andwearing a most wonderful sort of archdiaconal hat that had a veryimposing effect--with the two assistant masters acting as the rearguard, and closing the procession. 

In summer we used to have more latitude in the way of outdoor exercise, the boys being taken down every morning to bathe in the sea, when thetide allowed, before breakfast; or, if the far out-reaching sands werenot then covered with water, later on in the day. We had also cricketand football on the common during the hours of relaxation spent inwinter on the barren playground in the rear of the house. Sometimes, inour solemn walks under charge of the under-masters, we occasionallyencountered "the opposition school" or college fellows belonging to alarge educational institution near us, when it was no rare occurrencefor a skirmish to ensue between the two forces, that led to the mostdisastrous results, as far as subsequent "pandies" and impositions fromthe Doctor were concerned, or, rather, those who had to undergo them!

This, of course, was in the working terms--when the school was in fullblast, so to speak, and everything carried on by rule in regularrotation; but, at vacation time, when all the boys had dispersed totheir several homes and were enjoying themselves, as I supposed, totheir heart's content, in their respective family circles, the life thatI led was a very different one. As at my uncle's house, I was still thesolitary Ishmael of the community, doomed to spend holidays and periodsof study alike under the academical roof. 

The first of those educational interludes during my stay at theestablishment occurred at Christmas, shortly after I had taken up myresidence there, and the thought of all the jollity and merry-making mymore fortunate schoolfellows would have at that festive season, aboutwhich they naturally talked much before the general breaking-up, made mefeel very lonesome when left behind at Beachampton; although I did notfor a moment desire to return to Tapioca Villa, in order to share thedelightful society of my relatives there. However, this feeling woreoff in a few days, and long before the boys came back I had learnt to bepretty well contented with my solitary lot. 

But, when the midsummer recess came round, in due course, matters hadaltered considerably for the better on my being again left behind in myglory; and, but for the fact of being deprived of the closecompanionship of my constant chum Tom, I can honestly say that my lifewas far happier than when the school was going on as usual. 

I was alone, it is true, but then I had the great counterbalancingadvantage of almost entire liberty of action, being allowed to roamabout the place at my own sweet will and pleasure, with no lessons tolearn, and the only obligation placed on me that of reporting myselfregularly at meal-times; when, as the penalty for being late consistedin my having to go without my dinner or tea, as the case might be, and Ipossessed an unusually sensitive appetite which seldom failed to warn meof the approach of the hour devoted to those refections, even when I wasout of earshot of the gong, I earned a well-founded reputation for themost praiseworthy punctuality--the lesson I had when I first arrived atthe school having given me a wholesome horror of starvation!

In my wanderings about the neighbourhood I explored the country formiles round. As for the beach, I investigated it with the painstakingpertinacity of a surveying officer of the hydrographic department of theAdmiralty mapping out some newly-discovered shore. I knew every curveand indentation of the coast eastwards as far as Worthing, with thetimes of high and low water and the set of the tides, and was onfamiliar terms with the coastguardsmen stationed between Eastbourne andPreston and thence westwards. Crabs, too, and zoophytes, sea anemones, and algae, were as keenly my study as if I were a marine zoologist, although I might not perhaps have been able to describe them inscientific language; while, should a stiff south-westerly gale cast up, as it frequently did amongst other wreckage and ocean flotsam andjetsam, fresh oysters torn from carefully cultivated beds further downthe coast, none were sooner acquainted with the interesting fact than I, or gulped down the savoury "natives" with greater gusto--opening themskilfully with an old sailor's jack-knife, which was a treasure I hadpicked up amidst the pebbly shingle in one of my excursions. 

My chief resort, however, when I could steal away thither without beingperceived from the school, was the quay close to the entrance to theharbour, at the mouth of the little river which there made its efflux tothe sea. 

Here the small coasting craft and Channel Island steamers of low draughtof water that used the port would lay up while discharging cargo, beforegoing away empty or in ballast, as there was little export trade fromthe place; and it was my delight to board the different vessels and makefriends with the seamen, who would let me go up the rigging and mountthe masts to the dog-vane, the height of my climbing ambition, whiletelling me the names of the different ropes and spars and instructing mein all the mysteries of shipping life, in which I took the deepestinterest. 

I was a born sailor, if anything. 

There is no use in my denying the fact I must have inherited it with myfather's blood!

Once, Dr Hellyer spying about after me, on account of my not havingturned up either at dinner or tea--a most unusual circumstance--found memessing with the hands in the fo'c's'le of a coal brig. 

I recollect he pushed me along back to the school the whole way, holdingme at arm's length by the scruff of the neck; and, besides theinfliction of a round dozen of "pandies" and an imposition of fivehundred lines of Virgil's Aeneid to learn by heart, threatened me withall sorts of pains and penalties should he ever catch me going down tothe quay again. 

But, all his exhortations were of no avail! Go to the harbour amongstthe vessels I would, whenever I could get an opportunity of sneakingaway unnoticed; and, the more I saw of ships and sailors, the morefirmly I made up my mind to go to sea as soon as I saw a chance ofgetting afloat, in spite of the very different arrangements Uncle Georgehad made for my future walk in life--arrangements that were recalled tomy mind every quarter in the letters my relation periodically wrote tome after the receipt of the Doctor's terminal reports on my characterand educational progress. These latter were generally of a damagingnature, letting me in for a lecture on my bad behaviour, coupled withthe prognostication, which I am sure really came from Aunt Matildathrough this side wind, that unless I mended my ways speedily I shouldnever be promoted to that situation of clerk in uncle's office which wasbeing held open for me as soon as I was old enough, and the thought ofwhich--with the enthralling spell of the ocean upon me--I hated!

To tell the strict truth, these quarterly reports of Dr Hellyer inrespect of my conduct were not wholly undeserved; for, with theexception of displaying a marked partiality for mathematics, which, fortunately for my subsequent knowledge of navigation, Mr Smallpagekindly fostered and encouraged to the best of his ability, my studieswere terribly irksome to me, and my lessons being consequentlyneglected, led to my having impositions without number. I believe Imust have learnt the whole of Virgil by heart, although I could not nowconstrue the introductory lines of the first book of the Aeneid; and asfor history I could then, nor now, no more tell you the names of theRoman emperors, or the dates of accession of the various Kings ofEngland, than I could square the circle, or give you the cubicalcontents of the pyramids of Egypt off-hand. 

The personal rows, too, that I got into with Dr Hellyer wereinnumerable; and I really think he wore out three flat rulers while Iwas a member of the school, in inflicting his dearly-loved "pandies" onmy suffering palms. 

The most important of these, what I may term "private differences, "between my worthy preceptor and myself, after my first experience of his"way" of making the boys obey him, without flogging them, arose from thesame cause--Master Slodgers, my enemy from the date of my entrancewithin the select academy, although, if you recollect, he did not "getthe best of me" even then!

Some six months after that memorable occasion, having developed muchbone and sinew in the meantime, besides cultivating the noble art ofself-defence under the tuition of my chum Tom, I challenged the lankycur on the self-same ground where he had first assailed me; when I gavehim such a beating that he could not leave his bed in the dormitory fornearly a week afterwards. For this--what I considered--justretaliation, I received the encomiums of the majority of the fellows, who detested Slodgers for his sneaking as well as bullying ways with theyoungsters; but Dr Hellyer, with whom he still continued a favourite, took my triumph in such ill part, that he treated me to no less than sixdozen "pandies, " incarcerating me besides in an empty coal cellar, on adiet of bread and water, in solitary confinement below for the samelength of time that Slodgers was laid up ill in bed above stairs. 

However, after that day I had it all my own way with the boys, for I wasstrongly-built and thick-set for my age, looking two years older than Ireally was. I could fight and lick all the rest of the fellows at thetime, not excepting even Tom my instructor, although he and I were muchtoo good friends to try conclusions on the point, and I was theacknowledged leader of the school. Athletics, indeed, were my strongpoint, for I may say, almost without egotism, that I had so cultivatedmy muscles to the sad neglect of my proper studies, that I could swimlike a fish, dive like an Indian pearl hunter, run swifter than anybodyelse, and play cricket and football with the best; but, as far as myreal school duties were concerned, I'm afraid I was a sad dunce, as Iwas always at the bottom of my class. 

I am now approaching the period to which these reminiscences of myschool-days have all along tended, albeit I have been a long time inreaching it. 

You may remember my calling your attention to the fact of the Doctoralways marching us to church on Sundays, and heading the procession, wearing a most peculiar-looking hat the while?

Well, "thereby hangs a tale, " as a wise jester says in one ofShakespeare's plays. 

I had just completed my two years' residence under the academical roof;the summer vacation had come and gone; the boys were all back again atschool, and settled down for the winter term; the month of October hadflown by with unlagging footsteps; and November had come in, gloomy anddismal, with white fogs and sea mists--such as haunt some parts of thesouthern coasts in the autumn. 

The "Fifth" was a great anniversary at the establishment. 

If Guy Fawkes' Day were uncared for elsewhere, we at all events held thememory of the defunct conspirator in high reverence; and invariably didit such honour by the explosion of gunpowder, in the shape of squibs andcrackers as our means afforded. 

The pocket-money of those having friends with long purses was saved upfor weeks beforehand for this purpose; while any boys without a regularallowance had to "beg or borrow, " so that they might contribute to thegeneral fund. 

The couple of odd shillings Uncle George had slipped into my hand onleaving London, had, of course, melted away long ago, and, until thisyear, he never seemed to think of renewing the tip, supposing, perhaps, that I did not want anything, for I was too proud to ask him; but atMichaelmas, when my birthday came round--I was just fourteen then--hequite unexpectedly sent me a post-office order for half-a-sovereign inthe possession of which I felt as rich as Croesus. 

Tom, naturally, was told of the arrival of this enormous treasureinstantly. Indeed, he accompanied me on the next half-holiday, when wewere allowed out, to get the order cashed; but beyond expending abouteighteenpence in hot three-corner jam tarts and ginger beer, at afavourite confectioner's patronised by the school, we devoted the sum topurchasing the best fireworks we could get for the money, carrying ourexplosives back to the school carefully concealed on our persons, andsecreting them in our lockers. 

"We'll have such a lark!" said Tom. 

"Won't it be jolly!" I chimed in, with equal enthusiasm--adding, however, a moment afterwards, as the reflection occurred to me, "What apity, though, Tom, that the Fifth falls this year on a Sunday? Ideclare, I never thought of it before!"

"Nor I, " said he, and both our faces fell six inches at least. 

But, Tom's soon brightened up again, as some happy thought flashedacross his mind. 

"Why, it'll be all the better, Martin, " he cried out, greatly to mysurprise. 

"How can that be?" I exclaimed, indignantly. "The Doctor will neverallow us to have our bonfire, I'm sure!"

"Hush, you stupid, " said Tom. "I do declare your brains must be wool-gathering! Stop a minute and listen to me. "

He then whispered to me a plan he had thought of for signalising "theglorious Fifth, " in spite of Dr Hellyer, and in a manner which thatworthy would never dream of. It was a scheme quite worthy of Tom'sfertile imagination. 

"Oh, won't it be a lark!" I cried, when he had finished; and we boththen burst into an ecstasy of laughter at the very idea of the thing. 

CHAPTER SIX. 

OUR PLOT AND ITS RESULTS. 

"Now, mind, " said Tom, after a pause in our giggling, "we won't tell anyone else about it!"

"No, " I agreed; "it will be all the more fun to keep it to ourselves, and, besides, there will be less chance of our being found out. "

True to our compact, not a word of our conspiracy was breathed to a soulin the school; and the eventful day approached at last, if not "big withthe fate of Caesar and of Rome, " pregnant with a plan for astonishingour master, and celebrating the anniversary of the Gunpowder Plot in amanner never known before in the traditions of the establishment--although, perhaps, perfectly in keeping with the idea of the originaliconoclast, whose memory we intended to do honour to in fitting manner. 

When Dr Hellyer awoke to the knowledge of the fact that the Fifth ofNovember fell this year on a Sunday, had he generously made allowancefor the patriotic feelings of his pupils, and allowed them to have theirusual annual firework demonstration on the Saturday prior, whichhappened to be a half-holiday, the matter might have been harmoniouslyarranged, and Tom and I been persuaded at the last moment to abandon ourdaring enterprise--possibly, that is, though I doubt it much. 

But, no. Dr Hellyer grasped the chance afforded him by the fortuitouscycle of dates as a splendid opportunity for putting down what had beena yearly _bete noir_ to him; and so, he rushed madly on to his fate. 

After dinner in the refectory, on the third of the month--two daysbeforehand, so as to give them clear notice of his intentions, in ordernot be accused of taking them unawares, and causing them to lay outtheir savings uselessly--just as the boys were going to rush out of theroom for their usual hour's relaxation before afternoon school, hedetained them, with a wave of his well-known fat arm and the sound ofhis rolling accents. 

"Boys, " he cried, "wait a moment! I have--ah--determined that--ah--asGuy Fawkes' day this year--ah--will be next Sunday, when--ah--ofcourse--ah--you will be unable with any regard for the solemnassociations--ah--of the--ah--Sabbath, be--ah--able to celebrate it inyour usual fashion--ah--that--ah--you must--ah--postpone--ah--your--ahbonfire--ah--till next year. "

A loud murmur ran round the room at this, an expression of popularopinion which I had never heard previously in the school. 

The master, however, was equal to the occasion. 

"Silence!" he roared out at the pitch of his voice, making the ceilingring again, dropping his "Ahs" and drowning the sibillation of themalcontents by sheer dint of making a superior amount of noise. "Anyboy I catch hissing, or otherwise expressing disapproval of my orders, had better look out, that's all! There will be no celebration of GuyFawkes' day here, do you hear me! No, neither this year, nor next year, nor any year again, so long as I am master of this school! You candisperse now; but, mark my words, any one found letting off a squib orcracker, or discovered to be in the possession of gunpowder, or otherexplosive compound, will have to render an account to me. Boys, you'redismissed!"

Bless you, when Dr Hellyer ceased speaking there was a silence thatcould almost be felt, and we all sneaked out of the room withcorresponding quietude--adjourning to the playground as if we were goingto attend a funeral instead of going out for diversion!

But, it was a silence that meant mischief, a quietude that was next doorto hatching a mutiny; and, when we had got outside, there was a generalhowl of indignation that the Doctor could not have helped hearing, although the door communicating with the house was closed and he wasstill in the refectory in front, while we were at the rear of theestablishment. 

Of course, as was natural at such a crisis, the boys grouped themselvesinto little coteries, considering what should be done in such anunlooked-for emergency. Even Slodgers, the sneak, pretended to be asangry as anybody, desiring to have revenge for the deprivation of ourannual gala show; but Tom and I kept aloof from all, and held our owncounsel, much to the disgust of Slodgers, as we could easily see, forthe cur wanted to hear what we might suggest so that he could go andreport to Dr Hellyer. 

We were too wary birds for Slodgers, however; we were not going to becaught, like young pigeons, with his chaff--no, we knew better thanthat!

We agreed with the mass of our schoolfellows that the Doctor's arbitraryproclamation was an act of unmitigated tyranny and a "jolly shame;" but, beyond that, Slodgers could get nothing out of us, although we listenedcordially to all the others had to say, and regulated our procedureaccordingly. 

"I vote, " said Batson, one of the big boys like Tom and I were now, "that we buy our fireworks on Saturday, in spite of what Old Growler hasdeclared, and if he does not allow us to let them off in the evening, why we'll have `a grand pyrotechnic display, ' as the newspapers say, atnight in the dormitories. "

"Hear, hear!" shouted all the fellows in rapturous enthusiasm at such abold idea; and even Tom and I wondered whether this plan would not bebetter than ours. But it was only for a moment. Reflection told usthat the Doctor would certainly hear of our doings in time, throughSlodgers, to nip the brilliant design in the bud ere it could bematured; so, while the majority of the boys devoted all their spare cashon the Saturday afternoon, when some of us were allowed to go into thetown, in the purchase of squibs and crackers, and Roman candles, wedeclined all share in the enterprise on the plea of having no money--anexcuse readily recognised, as the finances of most of the pupils wereknown to be not in a flourishing condition. 

While Batson and his confreres took advantage of the half-holiday to goout to buy these fireworks, Tom and I remained indoors, he on the pleaof indisposition and I for the ostensible purpose of writing out animposition; but we both utilised the time thus afforded us by artfullyremoving the store of combustibles we had already secreted in ourlockers, bringing them down-stairs, and placing them for safety andconcealment in the cellar below, where our boxes were kept. 

It was a timely precaution. 

Slodgers had evidently played the sneak as usual, although keeping upthe semblance all the while of being one of the prime movers in thepyrotechnic display suggested by Batson. Indeed, he went so far as tobuy and bring home a shilling's-worth of detonating powder to aid thecontemplated _feu de joie_; but, no sooner had the boys got in and goneup-stairs to arrange their clothes for Sunday, as was our custom beforetea-time every Saturday afternoon, than Dr Hellyer, accompanied bySmiley and the Cobbler, and the old woman, who had the keenest eye ofthe lot for the detection of contraband stores, came round to thedormitories on an exploring and searching expedition. There was a grand_expose_ of the conspiracy, of course, at once; for, the contents of allthe lockers were turned out and the newly-purchased fireworksconfiscated to the last cracker!

"Ah--you can't deceive me!" exclaimed the Doctor, as he departedtriumphantly, his arms and those of his assistants loaded with thespoils of their raid, "I told you I would not have any fireworks in myschool this year, and shall keep my word, as you see! You have only tothank yourselves--ah--for wasting your money! But, for disobeying myorders the boys will all stop in next week on both half-holidays;" and, so concluding his parting address, with a triumphant grin on his hugeround face, he went out, leaving the baffled conspirators in agonies ofrage, swearing vengeance against the unknown spy who had betrayed theirpreparations. 

Tom and I were jubilant, however. Nothing could have worked better forthe end we had in view; as, after this failure of Batson, the surprisewe intended for the Doctor would be all the more unexpected andcorrespondingly successful. 

It was a sad night, though, for the other fellows. 

When Sunday morning came, the boys got up grumbling, moody, defiant, andalmost inclined to weep over their frustrated efforts; while Tom and Iwere so jolly that we could have sung aloud. 

We always breakfasted later on this day of the week, and after the mealwas done generally lounged about the room while the old woman wasclearing up, waiting till it was time for us to assemble for what westyled our "church parade;" but, this morning, the boys seemed out ofsorts, and went back again up-stairs after they had finished, leavingonly Tom and myself in the refectory, while the old woman was removingthe breakfast things and putting on a clean table-cloth for dinner. Shequitted the apartment as soon as she had swept up the fireplace, placingenough coal on the fire to last till the afternoon, and otherwisecompleting her arrangements--then going down to the kitchen, from whichwe knew she would not emerge until we came back from church again, whenit would be time to sound the gong for dinner--which meal was also anhour later on Sundays than on week days; and, being generally of a moresumptuous description, it required extra cooking. 

This was the opportunity Tom and I had waited for all along, inpursuance of our plan; so, long ere the old woman had reached hersanctum below, we were at work, having taken advantage of the time wewere washing in the lavatory before breakfast to put our fireworks andcombustible matter in our pockets, whence we now quickly proceeded toextract the explosive agents, and deposit them in certain fixedpositions we had arranged beforehand after much consultation. 

Now, what I am going to relate I would much rather not tell about, as itconcerns what I consider a very shameful episode in my life. The onlything I can urge in extenuation of my conduct is the lax manner in whichmy earlier life was looked after in my uncle's house, where my worsepassions were allowed full play, without that judicious control whichparental guidance would perhaps have exercised on my inherentdisposition for giving vent to temper, with no thought whatever of theconsequences of any hare-brained act I might commit. I narrate, therefore, the circumstances that led to my running away from school, merely because my mad and wicked attempt to injure Dr Hellyer is aportion of my life-history, and I wish to describe all that happened tome truthfully, without glossing over a single incident to my discredit. I thus hope that no boy reading this will, on the strength of myexample, be prompted to do evil, with the malicious idea of "paying offa grudge. " I may add that I entirely take all the blame to myself, for, had it not been for me, Tom Larkyns, I am sure, would have had no handin the matter; and you will see later on, if you proceed with my story, how, through the wonderful workings of Providence, I was almostsubjected to the same terrible fate I had been the means of preparingfor our schoolmaster; although, fortunately, the evil design I and Tomplanned only reverted on our own heads. Our diabolical scheme was morethan a thoughtless one. It might, besides, jeopardising the life of DrHellyer, have set fire to the house, when, perhaps, many of ourschoolfellows might have been burnt to death. 

The first thing Dr Hellyer always did on entering the refectory when hereturned from church was, as we well knew, to walk up to the fireplace, where he would give the bars a thorough raking out with the poker andthen heap a large shovelful of coals on from the adjacent scuttle. Inthis receptacle, Tom and I now carefully placed about a quarter of apound of gunpowder with some squibs, the latter blackened over like theshining Wallsend knobs, so as to escape detection; and then, such wasour fiendish plan, we concealed under the cushion of the Doctor'sarmchair a packet of crackers, connected with a long tiny thread of afuse leading midway under the centre of the broad table, so that itcould not be seen or interfered with by the boys' feet as they sat atdinner, along the floor to the end of the form where we usually sat, near the entrance to the apartment. 

"I shall manage to light this fuse somehow or other, " Tom said, assumingthe control of this infernal machine; and then, after going into thehall to get our caps, giving another look round the room when we cameback, to see whether our preparations were noticeable, we awaited DrHellyer's summons to proceed to church--with calm satisfaction at the sofar successful issue of our calculations. 

During our processional walk we were both in high glee at the grand"blowing up" that would happen on our return--a sort of "Roland for anOliver" in return for the many different sorts of blowings up we hadreceived at Dr Hellyer's hands at one time and another. I was all themore excited, too, for I had made up my mind to attempt another exploitof which I had not even warned Tom, but which would probably throw hissublime conception into the shade. 

I had, in my visits to the different coasting craft in the harbour, beenpresented by a fisherman with a lot of very small fish-hooks. These Ihad in the morning attached by thin pieces of thread to several firecrackers, which I intended for my own personal satisfaction to presentto the Doctor, although in a way he would not relish or dream of. 

If there was one thing more than another that Dr Hellyer esteemed Ithink I have already sufficiently pointed out it was his dignity--to theglory of which the archdeacon's hat he always wore on Sundays eminentlycontributed; and, as may be believed, he venerated this head-coveringaccordingly. 

It was against this hat I contemplated taking especial proceedings now. 

Being held to be an outlaw to all ordinary discipline, the Doctor, tohave me under his own eye, made me walk close behind him in theprocession formed for our march to and from church. Tom and some threeor four other unruly members were also similarly distinguished; and, aswalking two-and-two abreast we made such a long string, that the mastersbehind could not see what was going on in front, we usually had a gooddeal of fun in the rear of the Doctor, without, of course, hisperceiving it, or the teachers betraying us. 

Watching my chance, soon after we came out of church on this eventfuloccasion, I dexterously managed to fasten the fish-hooks with thecrackers attached not only to different points of the master's garments, but also to his hat; and, the scrunching of our feet on the gravelpathway from the village deadening the sound I made in scratching thematch I used, I contrived to light the crackers before any one, save theboys immediately alongside of me, perceived what I was doing. 

Everything favoured me. 

Presently, whiz--crack--and the Doctor's coat tails flew up as if bymagic, swaying to and fro in the air, although there was no wind; andthe fellows, smelling a "rat" as well as the burnt powder, began totitter. 

"What is that?" said the Doctor, sternly, turning round and confrontingus with an even more majestic deportment than usual. 

Of course, nobody answered; but, the crack, crack, cracking continued, and in another minute, with a bang, off went Dr Hellyer's hat!

Nor was that all. Putting up his hand, with a frantic clutch, to savehis headgear from falling into the mire, it being a drizzling, mizzling, dirty November day, our worthy preceptor pulled away what we had alwaysimagined to be a magnificent head of hair, but what turned out now, alasfor human fallibility, only to be a wig!

This was a discovery with a vengeance; and, as might have been expected, all the boys, as if with one accord, shouted with laughter. 

Dr Hellyer was speechless with indignation. He was mad with pain aswell, for in clutching at his hat he had got one of my fish-hooks deeplyimbedded in the palm of his hand--a sort of just retaliation, I thoughtit, for all he had made me suffer from his cruel "pandies. "

He guessed who was the offender at once, as he caught me laughing whenhe turned round, with the end of the smouldering match still heldbetween my fingers. 

"Oh--ah! It is you, is it?" he gasped out, giving me a ponderous slapon one side of my face with the big broad hand that was uninjured, whichmade me reel and tumble down; but a second blow, a backhander on theopposite side of my head, brought me up again, "all standing. " Still, although I felt these gentle taps, I could not help grinning, which, ofcourse, increased his rage, if that were possible. 

He certainly presented a most comical spectacle, dancing there beforeus, first on one leg and then on the other, his bulky frame swaying toand fro, like that of an elephant performing a jig, with the crackersexploding every instant, and his bald head surrounded apparently with ahalo of smoke like a "nimbus. " The boys fairly shrieked with laughter, and even Smiley and the Cobbler had to turn their heads aside, to hidetheir irrepressible grins. As for myself, I confess that at the momentof perpetrating the cruel joke, I felt that I wouldn't have missed thesight for anything. I was really extremely proud of my achievement, although conscious that I should have to pay dearly bye-and-bye for myfreak in the way of "pandies" and forced abstention from food; but Ilittle thought of the stern Nemesis at a later period of my lifeProvidence had in store for me. 

In a little time the crackers had all expended their force; when theDoctor, jamming down the wig and his somewhat crushed and dirty hat overhis fuming brows, with a defiant glare at the lot of us, resumed hismarch homeward--taking the precaution of clutching hold of my arm with apoliceman-like grip, as if he were afraid of my giving him the slipbefore he had pandied the satisfaction he clearly intended to have outof my unhappy body. But he need not have been thus alarmed on the scoreof any attempted flight on my part, at least then; for I was quite asanxious to reach the school as he was to get me there. Much as I hadenjoyed this cracker scene, which I had brought about on my own account, I was longing to see the denouement of the deeply-planned plot, thedetails of which Tom and I had so carefully arranged before starting forchurch. My little venture was nothing in comparison with what thiswould be, I thought. 

My ambition was soon gratified. 

Our little contretemps on the way had somewhat delayed dinner, which wasalready on the table on out arrival; so, without wasting any more time, Dr Hellyer marched us all in before him, still holding on to me untilhe had reached the top of the refectory, where, ordering me to stand upin front of his armchair, he proceeded as usual to poke the fire andthen shovel on coals. 

Bang!

In a second, there was a great glare, and then an explosion, whichbrought down a quantity of soot from the old-fashioned open chimney, covering me all over and making me look like a young sweep, as I wasstanding right in front of the fireplace, and came in for the fullbenefit of it. I was not at all frightened, however, as, of course, Ihad expected a somewhat similar result as soon as the coals went on. 

Not so the Doctor, though. With a deep objurgation, he sank back intohis armchair, as if completely overcome. 

This was Tom's opportunity, and he quickly took advantage of it. Glancing slily down under the table, I could see him in the distancestoop beneath it and apply a match to the end of the fuse, which being adry one at once ignited, the spluttering flame running along like astreak of lightning along the floor and up the leg of the chair on whichDr Hellyer was sitting--too instantaneously to be detected by any onenot specially looking out for it, like myself. 

Poof--crack--bang, went off another explosion; and up bounced OldHellyer, as if a catapult had been applied below his seat. 

You never saw such a commotion as now ensued. Tom and I were the onlyones who preserved their composure out of the whole lot in the room, although Dr Hellyer soon showed that, if startled at first, he had notquite lost his senses. 

He rushed at me at once, quite certain that as I had perpetrated theformer attack on his sacred person while on the way from church, I mustlikewise be guilty of this second attempt to make a Guy Fawkes of him;and, striking out savagely, he felled me with a weighty blow from hisgreat fist, sending me rolling along under the table, and causing me tosee many more stars than an active astronomer could count in the samespace of time--but I'm sure he had sufficient justification to havetreated me even worse!

"You young ruffian!" he exclaimed as he knocked me down, his passiongetting the better both of his scholastic judgment and academicaldignity, and he would probably have proceeded to further extremities hadnot Tom Larkyns started up. 

"Oh, please don't punish Leigh, sir, " I heard him cry out as I lay onthe floor, just within reach of the Doctor's thick club-soled boots, with which I believe he was just going to operate on me in "Lancashirefashion, " as fighting men say. "Please, sir, don't hurt Leigh--it was Iwho did it!"

At this interruption, which seemed to recall him to himself, the masterregained his composure in an instant. 

"Get up, boy!" he said to me, gruffly, spurning me away with his foot, and then, as soon as I was once more in a perpendicular position, heordered me, sooty as I was, to go and stand up alongside of Tom. 

"Brothers in arms, hey?" chuckled our incensed pedagogue, pondering overthe most aggravating form of torture which he could administer to us inretaliation for what we had made his person and dignity suffer. "I'llmake you sick of each other's companionship before I've done with you!Stand up there together now, you pair of young desperadoes, while therest of the boys have dinner, which your diabolical conduct has so longdelayed. Mr Smallpage, say grace, please. "

"Smiley" thereupon performed the Doctor's usual function; then thefellows were helped round to roast mutton and Yorkshire pudding--Tom andI, both hungry as usual, you may be sure--having the gratification ofsmelling without being allowed to taste. 

This was Dr Hellyer's very practical first stage of punishment; healways commenced with starving us for any offence against his laws andordinances, and then wound up his trilogy of penance with aproportionate number of "pandies" and solitary confinement. 

After dinner the other boys were dismissed, but Tom and I remained stillstanding there; Dr Hellyer the while seated in his armchair watching usgrimly as if taking pleasure in our sufferings, and without uttering aword to either of us. 

The afternoon progressed, and the fellows came trooping in to tea atsix, the old woman first arriving; to lay the cloth and put on the chinateapot and tin mugs. We, however, had to pass through the same ordealas at dinner; there was none for us, for still the Doctor sat there inthe armchair by the fire, looking in the dancing gleams of light likesome old wizard or magician weaving a charm of spells which was to turnus into stone where we stood, if that process should not be renderedunnecessary by our being frozen beforehand from cramp through remainingso long in the one position. 

When the bed gong sounded, we heard the boys trooping up-stairs; andthen Dr Hellyer rose at last. 

"Martin Leigh and Thomas Larkyns, " he rolled out in his very deepestvoice, making the ceiling of the refectory ring as usual. "I intend toexpel you from my school. I shall write to your friends in the morning;and, in the meantime, you will be confined here until they come toremove you!"

He then left the room, locking the door behind him, when the single jetof light from one burner went out suddenly with a jump, showing that hehad turned the gas off at the main, and that we should not have acheering beam to illumine our solitary vigil throughout the weary night. 

A little bit of fire was still flickering in the grate, however, and, bythis feeble light Tom and I looked at each other in desperation. 

We were in a hobble, and no mistake!

What was to be done?

CHAPTER SEVEN. 

CATCHING A TARTAR. 

"Well, this is a nice mess we're in!" said Tom, after a moment's pause, during which we stared blankly at each other in front of the fire, whichwe had approached as soon as our janitor had departed. My chum seatedhimself comfortably in the Doctor's armchair, which he drew near thehearth, putting his feet on the fender so as to warm his chilled toes;but I remained standing beside him, leaning against the chimney-piece. 

"Yes, " I replied, disconsolately. "It's too bad though; I say, oldfellow, I'm awfully hungry!"

"So am I, " said Tom, "but I don't suppose we'll be able to get anythingwhatever to eat before morning--if the Doctor lets us have breakfastthen!"

"Oh, bother him!" I exclaimed; "I'm not going to starve. "

"Why, what can we do, Martin? I don't think you'll find any grub here. The old woman swept away every crumb, even from the floor, after tea; Iwas watching her like a dog after a bone. "

"What are we to do, eh?" I repeated, cheerfully, my spirits rising tothe occasion; "why, get away from this as soon as we can!"

"Run away?" ejaculated Tom in astonishment. 

I nodded my head in the affirmative. 

"But how can we get out?"

"I'll soon show you, " I said, complacently. "I thought we'd be placedin a fix after our lark, and I made my preparations accordingly. "

"By Jove, Martin, you're a wonderful fellow!" cried Tom, as I thenproceeded to peel off my jacket and waistcoat, unwinding some twentyfeet of thick cord, which I had procured from my sailor friends in theharbour and had been carrying about me all day, rolled round my bodyover my shirt, so as not to lacerate my skin--fearing all the while thatthe podgy appearance which its bulk gave to me would be noticed, although fortunately it had escaped comment. 

"We'll get down from the balcony outside the window by the aid of this, "I explained, as soon as I had got rid of the rope from about my person, coiling it up handily, first knotting it at intervals, so that we coulddescend gradually, without hurting our hands, already sore from"pandies. "

"And, once outside the house, why, we'll make off for the harbour, whereI've no doubt my friends on board the coal brig, which was lyingalongside the quay last Wednesday, when I was down there, will take usin, and make us comfortable. "

"My!" exclaimed Tom, "why, you're a regular brick, Martin. One wouldthink you had planned it out all beforehand!"

"Just precisely what I did, " I replied, chuckling at having kept mysecret. "I have determined ever since last summer to run away to sea atthe first opportunity I got; and when you suggested our blowing up DrHellyer, and making a regular Guy Fawkes of him, I, thought it would betoo warm for us here afterwards, and that then would be the time tobolt. There is no use in our remaining now, to be starved first andexpelled afterwards--with probably any number of `pandies' given us to-morrow in addition. "

"No, " said Tom, agreeing with this pretty correct estimate of ourpresent position and future prospects. "Dr Hellyer will whack thatruler of his into us in the morning, without fail--I could see it in hiseye as he went out of the room, as well as from that grin he put on whenhe spoke. I dare say, besides, we won't be allowed a morsel to eat allday; we shall be kept here to watch the other fellows feeding--it's abrutal way of paying a chap out, isn't it?"

"Well, I'm not going to put up with it, for one, " said I, decisively. "You know, Tom, as soon as my uncle hears of my being expelled, promptedby Aunt Matilda, he will seize the chance of doing what he has longthreatened, and `wash his hands of me, ' and then, why I will be in onlyjust the same plight as if I take French leave of Dr Hellyer now!"

"My mother, though, will be grieved when she hears of this, " put in Tom, as if hesitating what he should do. 

"Nonsense, Tom, " I replied--still exercising the influence I possessedover my chum for evil!--"I am certain that if she knew that the Doctorhad treated you as he has done, starving you and keeping you here allnight in the cold out of your bed, she wouldn't mind a bit your runningaway from the school along with me; especially when I'm going to takeyou where you'll get food and shelter. "

This argument decided Tom at once. "All right, " said he, in the usualjolly way in which he and I settled all our little differences. "I'llcome, Martin. But it is getting late. Don't you think, too, we'dbetter look alive and start as soon as we can?"

"I was waiting till we heard the Doctor snoring, " I replied. "Go andlisten at the door; his room, you know, is on the other side of thelanding, and you'll be able to tell in a minute whether he is asleep ornot. "

Tom did as I requested, stealing noiselessly across the room for thepurpose, returning quickly with the news that our worthy preceptor wasfast in the arms of Morpheus, judging by the stentorian sound of hisdeep breathing. Dr Hellyer had made a hearty dinner, in spite of ourhaving upset his equanimity so unexpectedly. He had likewise disposedof an equally hearty tea; so he was now sleeping soundly--his peacefulslumbers doubtless soothed with sweet dreams in reference to thepunishment he intended inflicting on us on the morrow, not thinking fora moment, unhappy dreamer, that the poor birds whom he had, as heimagined, effectually snared and purposed plucking, would by that time, if all went well with our plans, have flown far beyond reach of hisnervous arm!

The master asleep, we had no fear of interruption from any one else, forthe old woman took her repose in the back kitchen, out of earshot ofanything happening in the front of the house, and Smiley and the Cobblerwere probably snoring away as composedly as their chief in thedormitories above, of which they were in charge; so, Tom and I at oncebegan operations for effecting our "strategic retreat" from theestablishment. 

The windows of the refectory opened on to a narrow balcony that ranalong the front of the house; and these, having heavy wooden shutters, fastened by horizontal iron bars, latching into a catch, we had somelittle difficulty in opening the one we fixed on for making our exit by, the bar securing it being some height from the floor and quite beyondour reach. 

However, as Tom magniloquently quoted, difficulties were only made forbrave men--or boys--to surmount. By lifting one of the forms as quietlyas we could close to the window, and standing on this, the two of usmanaged to raise the iron bar from the catch and let it swing down, although the hinges made a terrible creaking noise in the operation, which we thought would waken Dr Hellyer up. However, on going to thedoor to listen again, we heard him still snoring, so we then proceededto unfasten the window, letting in the cold night air, that made usshiver as it blew into the room from the sea. 

It was quite dark when we got outside into the balcony, although wecould see a star or two faintly glimmering overhead; while away to thewestward, across the common, the red light at the pier-head marking theentrance to the harbour was visible. 

Like most watering-places in the "dead season, " everybody went to bedearly in the terrace; so that, although it could have been barely teno'clock, not a light was to be seen from the windows of the neighbouringhouses. 

"Just the night for a burglary!" said Tom with a snigger, on ourcautiously looking round us to see if the coast was clear. 

"Yes, " I chimed in, joyously, "only, we are going to burgle out, insteadof breaking in;" and we then both had a hearty chuckle at this littlejoke. 

Still, no time was to be lost, now that we had got so far. The nextthing, therefore, to do, was to descend the balcony; and, here, myhappily-thought-of rope ladder came in handily to deliver us fromdurance vile. 

Knotting it securely to the top rail of the balustrade, I gave it astrong tug or two to test its strength, making the balcony shake andtremble with the strain. 

"Do you think it will bear our weight?" asked Tom, anxiously, noticingme do this and feeling the vibratory movement. 

"Bear our weight, you shrimp, " I rejoined, "why, it would hold forty ofus, and Dr Hellyer too!"

At this we both sniggered again, suppressing our merriment, however, forfear of being overheard; and then, drawing-to the shutter inside asclose as I could, so that it should not show too plainly the fact of itsbeing unbarred, and closing the window itself, which was a much easiertask, we prepared to slide down to the pavement below. 

"I had better go first, " I said to Tom, "I'm the heaviest; so, if Ireach the ground all right, there'll be no fear of the rope giving waywith you. "

Tom argued the point, considering that the question was one of honour, like that of leading a forlorn hope; but, on my saying that I hadplanned the enterprise and thereby was entitled by right to be the firstto venture down, quite apart from the fact of my supplying the rope, heyielded gracefully. Thereupon, without any more fuss, I got over therailings of the balcony, and holding on tightly to the frail cord withboth hands, letting my legs drop, and then obtaining a grip below withmy ankles, I allowed myself to slide down below, checking the rapidityof my descent by the knots I had previously placed there, a foot or soapart, for this especial purpose. 

I swayed round a bit, but the rope held firmly; and in a few seconds Iwas standing on the steps below, waiting for Tom to join me. 

He came down much easier than I did, from the fact of my holding theother end of our improvised ladder, thus preventing it from twirling himabout in the same way as it had treated me, causing me almost to feelgiddy. 

As soon as he stood beside me I coiled up the end of the cord, flingingit back with a dexterous heave, in the way my sailor friend had taughtme, over the balcony again, so that the end of it might not be seenhanging down, and so betray us too soon should any passer-by notice it. 

"Come on, Tom, " I then said, "a long good-bye to the Doctor's, my boy, the blessed place shall never see me again, if I can help it! Let usmake for the quay now, and get on board the brig if we can--that is, unless it be too late, in which case we must hide somewhere till themorning. "

"All right, " he replied; and the two of us at once started off at a jog-trot up the terrace and along the road that led into the town. 

We were successful so far, but we were almost captured on the thresholdof victory through an unforeseen contingency; for, just as we turnedround the corner of the terrace by the country inn, or "hotel, " which Ihad noticed on my way from the station when I first arrived at the placewith Grimes, the cantankerous old railway porter escorting me to theschool, who should we meet point-blank but that identical worthy!

He was evidently going home to bed having just been turned out of theinn, which was shutting up for the night. He had, apparently, spent amost enjoyable evening, for he seemed in good spirits--or, rather, perhaps had a pretty good amount of spirits or beer in him--as he reeledsomewhat in his gait, and, although it was Sunday, was trying in hiscracked falsetto voice to chant a Bacchanalian ditty assertive of thefact that he wouldn't "go home till morning!"

But, in despite of being tipsy, he recognised us both instantly. He wasin the habit of coming constantly to and from the station to DrHellyer's with parcels, and was, besides, frequently employed by theDoctor in odd jobs about the house, consequently he was perfectlyfamiliar with our faces--especially mine, which he had never forgottensince that little altercation I had with him on my first introduction. I believe the old fellow bore me a grudge for having spoken to him soperemptorily on that occasion, which even my present of sixpence had notbeen able to obliterate. 

He saw us now without doubt, as we passed by hurriedly, close to one ofthe street lamps which shone down full upon us; and, alert in a moment, he hailed us at once. 

"Hullo, you young vaggybones, " he screeched out with a hiccup; "where beye off ter now, hey?"

We made no answer to this, only quickening our pace; and he staggeredafter us waveringly, wheezing out in broken accents, "I knows you, Master Bantam, I does, and you Tom Larkyns; and I'll tell the Doctor, Iwill, sure--sure--sure-ly. "

But, unawed by this threat, we still went on at our jog-trot until wewere well out of his sight, when, retracing our steps again, we watchedat a safe distance to see what he would do. We were soon relieved, however, from any anxiety of his giving the alarm, for, although heattempted to take the turning leading down to the school, his legs, which had only been educated up to the point of taking him home andnowhere else after leaving the inn, must have refused to convey him inthis new direction, for we could see him presently clinging to the lamp-post that had betrayed us, having a parley with the mutinous members--the upshot being that he abandoned any design he might have formed ofgoing there and then to Dr Hellyer, postponing his statement as to whathe had seen of us, as we could make out from his muttered speech, "tillmarn-ing, " and mingling his determination with the refrain of the dittyhe had been previously warbling. 

This was a lucky ending to what might otherwise have been a sadmischance, if Dr Hellyer had been at once made acquainted with ourflight; so, devoutly thankful for our escape, we resumed our onward jog-trot towards the quay, which we reached safely shortly afterwards, without further incident or accident by the way. 

After being out in the open air a little while, the evening did not seemnearly so dark as we had thought when first peering out from the windowof the refectory before making our final exit from the school. Oureyes, probably, became more accustomed to the half-light; but whether orno this was the case, we managed to get down to the harbour ascomfortably as if going there in broad day. 

The brig which I had been on board of on many previous occasions, the_Saucy Sall_, of South Shields, was lying alongside the jetty in her oldberth, with a plank leading up to the gangway; and, seeing a light inthe fo'c's'le, I mounted up to her deck, telling Tom to follow me, making my way forwards towards the glimmer. 

All the hands were ashore, carousing with their friends, with theexception of one man, who was reading a scrap of newspaper by the lightof a sputtering dip candle stuck into a ship's lantern. He lookedrather surprised at receiving a visit from me at such a time of night;but, on my telling him the circumstances of our case, he made us bothwelcome. Not only this, he brought out some scraps of bread and meatwhich he had stored up in a mess-tin, most likely for his breakfast, urging on us to "fire away, " as we were heartily free to it, andregretting that was all he had with which to satisfy our hunger. 

This man's name was Jorrocks, and he was the first seafaringacquaintance I had made when I had timidly crept down to the quay twoyears before during the summer vacation; thus, we were now old friends, so to speak. He told us, after we had polished the mess-tin clean, thatthe brig was going to sail in the morning, for Newcastle, with the tide, which would "make, " he thought, soon after sunrise. 

"Why, that'll be the very thing for us, " I exclaimed. "Nothing can bebetter!"

But Jorrocks shook his head. 

"I don't know how the skipper'd like it, " he said doubtingly. 

"Oh, bother him, " interposed Tom; "can't you hide us somewhere till thevessel gets out to sea; and then, he'll have to put up with our presencewhether he likes it or not?"

"What, hide you down below, my kiddies!" said the man, laughing. "Why, he'll larrup the life out of you with a rope's-end when he finds youaboard. I tell you what, he a'most murdered the last stowaway we hadcoming out of Shields two years ago!"

"Never mind that, " I put in here; "we'll have to grin and bear it, andtake monkey's allowance if he cuts up rough. All we want to do now isto get away from here; for, no matter how your captain may treat us, DrHellyer would serve us out worse if he caught us again! Do help us, Jorrocks, like a good fellow! Stow us away in the hold, or somewhere, until we are out of port. "

Our united entreaties at last prevailed, Jorrocks consenting finally toconceal us on board the brig, although not until after much persuasion. 

"Mind, though, you ain't going to split on who helped yer?" heprovisoed. 

"No, Jorrocks, we pledge our words to that, " Tom and I chorused. 

"Then, come along o' me, " the good-natured salt said, and lifting thescuttle communicating with the hold forwards, he told us to get downinto the forepeak, showing us how to swing by our hands from the coaminground the hole in the deck, as there was no ladder-way. 

"There, you stow yourselves well forrud, " he enjoined, as soon as we haddescended, chucking down a spare tarpaulin and some pieces of canvasafter us to make ourselves comfortable with. "Lie quiet, mind, " headded as a parting injunction, "the rest of the hands and the skipperwill be soon aboard, and it'll be all up if they finds you out afore westart. "

"All right, we'll be as still as if we're dead, " I said. 

"Then, belay there, " replied Jorrocks, shouting out kindly, as hereplaced the hatch cover, which stopped up the entrance to our hidingplace so effectually that the interior became as dark as Erebus. "Good, night, lads, and good fortune! I'll try and smuggle you down somebreakfast in the mornin'. "

"Thank you; good night!" we shouted in return, although we doubtedwhether he could hear us now the scuttle was on. 

Thus left to ourselves, we scraped together, by feeling, as we could notsee, the materials Jorrocks had supplied us with for a bed, on which weflung ourselves with much satisfaction, thoroughly tired out on accountof the Doctor's having kept us standing up all day, in addition to theexertions we had since made in making our escape from school. 

The novelty of our new situation, combined with its strangesurroundings, kept us awake for a little time, but we were too muchfatigued both in body and mind for our eyelids to remain long open; andsoon, in spite of our daring escapade and the fact that the unknownfuture was a world of mystery before us, we were as snugly asleep as ifin our beds in the dormitory at Dr Hellyer's--albeit we were down inthe hold of a dirty coal brig, with our lullaby sung by the incomingtide, which was by this time nearly on the turn, washing and splashingby the bows of the vessel lying alongside the projecting jetty, in itsway up the estuary of the river that composed the little harbour. 

How long we had been in the land of dreams, and whether it was morning, mid-day, or night, we knew not, for a thick impenetrable darkness stillfilled the forehold where we were stowed; but, Tom and myself awoke tothe joyful certainty that we were at sea, or must be so--not only fromthe motion of the brig, as she plunged up and down, with an occasionalheavy roll to port or starboard; but from the noise, also, that thewaves made, banging against her bow timbers, as if trying to beat themin, and the trampling of the crew above on the deck over our heads. 

We listened to these sounds for hours, unable to see anything and havingnought else to distract our attention, until Tom, becoming somewhataffected by the smell of the bilge water in the hold as well as by theunaccustomed rocking movement of the brig, began to feel sea-sick andfretful. 

"I declare this is worse than the Doctor's, " he complained. 

"We'll soon be let out, " I said, "and then you'll feel better. "

But, the friendly Jorrocks did not appear; and, at length, wearied outat last by our vain watching, we both sank off to sleep again on ouruneasy couch. 

After a time we woke up again. There was a noise as if the hatchway wasbeing raised, and then the welcome gleam of a lantern appeared above theorifice. 

It was Jorrocks come to relieve us, we thought; and so we both startedup instantly. 

The hour for our deliverance had not yet arrived, however. 

"Steady!" cried our friend. "We're just off Beachy Head, and you mustlie where you are till mornin'; but, as you must be famished by now, I've brought you a bit of grub to keep your pecker up. Show a hand, Master Martin!"

I thereupon stretched out upwards, and Jorrocks, reaching downwards, placed in my grip our old acquaintance of the previous night, the mess-tin, filled with pieces of beef and potatoes mixed up together, afterwhich he shoved on the hatchway cover again, as if somebody had suddenlyinterrupted him. 

I made a hearty meal, although Tom felt too qualmish to eat much, andthen we both lay down with the assurance that our troubles wouldprobably soon be over. 

I suppose we went to sleep again, for it seemed but a very briefinterval, when, awaking with a start, I perceived the hatchway open. 

"Rouse up, Tom, " said I, shaking him; "we'd better climb on deck atonce. "

"All right, " replied Tom, jumping up, and he was soon on the fo'c's'le, with me after him. 

"Who the mother's son are you?" a gruff voice exclaimed; and, lookinground, I saw the skipper of the brig advancing from aft, brandishing ahandspike. 

I immediately stepped forwards in front of Tom. 

"We've run away to sea, sir, " I explained. 

"So I see, " said the skipper, drawing nearer; "but, what right have youto come aboard my craft?"

"We couldn't help it, sir, " I answered, civilly, wishing to propitiatehim. "It was our only chance. "

"Oh, then you'll find it a poor one, youngster, " said he grimly. "Boatswain!"

"Aye, aye, sir!" responded Jorrocks, stepping up. 

"Do you know these boys?"

"I've seen 'em at Beachampton, " said our friend. 

"You don't know how they came aboard, eh?"

"No, I can't say as how I can say, 'zactly, cap'en. "

"Well, then tie 'em up to the windlass and fetch me a rope's-end. Now, my jokers, " added he, turning to us, "I've sworn to larrup everystowaway I ever finds in my brig, and I'm a going to larrup you now!"

CHAPTER EIGHT. 

"A FRIEND IN NEED. "

Jorrocks had no option but, first, to proceed to pinion us, and then tieus separately to the windlass, using us as kindly as he could in theoperation and with a sympathising expression on his face--that said asplainly as looks could speak, "I am really very sorry for this; but Itold you what you might expect, and I can't help it!"

He afterwards went aft to the skipper's cabin, bringing forwards fromthence a stout piece of cord, with the ends frayed into lashes likethose of a whip, which had evidently seen a good deal of service. This"cat" he handed deferentially to the commander of the brig; who, seizingit firmly in his right fist, and holding the handspike still in hisleft, as if to be prepared for all emergencies, began to lay stroke uponstroke on our shoulders with a dexterity which Dr Hellyer would haveenvied, without being able to rival. 

It was the most terrible thrashing that either Tom or myself had everexperienced before; and, long ere the skipper's practised arm had tired, our fortitude broke down so, that we had fairly to cry for mercy. 

"You'll never stow yourself away on board my brig again, will you?"asked our flagellator of each of us alternately, with an alternate lashacross our backs to give emphasis to his question, making us jump upfrom the deck and quiver all over, as we tried in vain to wriggle out ofthe lashings with which we were tied. 

"No, I won't, " screamed out Tom, the tears running down his cheeks fromthe pain of the ordeal. "I'll promise you never to put my foot within amile of her, if you let me off!"

"And so will I, too, " I bawled out quickly, following suit to Tom. 

I can really honestly aver that we both meant what we said, mostsincerely!

"All right then, you young beggars; that'll do for your first lesson. The thrashing will pay your footing for coming aboard without leave. Jorrocks, you can cut these scamps down now, and find them something todo in the fo'c's'le--make 'em polish the ring-bolts if there's nothingelse on hand!"

So saying, the skipper, satisfied with taking our passage money out ofour hides, walked away aft; while Jorrocks began to cast loose ourlashings, with many whispered words of comfort, which he was afraid toutter aloud, mixed up with comments on the captain's conduct. 

"He's a rough customer to deal with--as tough as they make 'em, " saidhe, confidentially, removing the last bight round Tom's body and settinghim free; "but, he's all there!"

"So he is, " said Tom, with much decision, rubbing his sore shoulders. "I will vouch for the truth of that statement!"

"And, when he says he'll do a thing, he allys does it, " continuedJorrocks, in testimony to the skipper's firmness of purpose. 

"He won't flog _me_ again, " said Tom, savagely, in answer to theboatswain's last remark. 

"Nor me, " I put in. 

"Ah, you'd better keep quiet till you're ashore ag'in, " advised ourfriend, meaningly. "You won't find much more harm in him than you'vedone already; and bye-and-bye, when he's got used to seeing you about, he'll be as soft and easy as butter. "

"Oh yes, I can well believe that!" said Tom, ironically; but then, acting on the advice of Jorrocks, although more to save him from gettinginto a scrape on our behalf, than from any fear of further molestationfrom the skipper, against whom our hearts were now hardened, we bustledabout the fo'c's'le, pretending to be awfully busy coiling down theslack of the jib halliards, and doing other odd jobs forward. 

Up to this time, neither of us had an opportunity of casting a glanceover the vessel to see where she was, our attention from the moment wegained the deck having been entirely taken up by the proceedings of thelittle drama I have just narrated, which prevented us from making anyobservations of the _mise en scene_, whether inboard or over the side. 

Now, however, having a chance of looking about me, my first glance wasup aloft; and I noticed that the brig was under all plain sail, runningbefore the wind, which was almost dead aft. Being "light, " that ishaving no cargo on board beyond such ballast as was required to ensureher stability when heeling over, she was rolling a good deal, lurchingfrom side to side as her canvas filled out to the breeze, with everyfresh puff of air. 

Away to the left, over our port beam, I could see land in the distance, which Jorrocks told me was the North Foreland--near Margate--a placethat I knew by name of course, although this information did not give meany accurate idea of the brig's whereabouts; but, later on in the day, when the vessel had run some fifteen or twenty miles further, steeringto the north-east, with the wind to the southward of west, we passedthrough a lot of brackish mud-coloured water, close to a light-ship, that my friend the boatswain said was the Kentish Knock, midway betweenthe mouth of the Thames and wash of the Humber, and it was only thenthat I realised the fact, that we were running up the eastern coast ofEngland and were well on our way to Newcastle, for which port, as I'veintimated before, we were bound. 

"Hurrah!" exclaimed Tom, when I mentioned this to him. "We'll soon thenbe able to give that brute of a skipper the slip. I won't stop on boardthis horrid brig a minute longer than I can help, Martin, you may becertain!"

"Avast--belay that!" interposed Jorrocks, who was close behind, andheard this confession. "Don't you count your chickens afore they'rehatched, young master! Take my word for it, the skipper won't let youout of his sight 'fore you've paid him for your grub and passage. "

"But how can he, when we've got no money?" asked Tom. 

"That makes no difference, " said Jorrocks, with an expressive wink thatspoke volumes. "You'll see if he don't make you work 'em out, andthat'll be as good to him as if you paid him a shiner or two. You jestwait till we gets to Noocastle, my lad, and I specs you'll larn whatcoal-screening is afore you've done with it. "

"And what if we refuse?" inquired Tom, to whom this grimy prospect didnot appear over-pleasant. 

"Why, there'll be larruping, " replied the boatswain, significantly, withanother expressive wink, and Tom was silenced; but, it was only for amoment, as he looked up again the instant afterwards with his usualbright expression. 

"Perhaps it will be wisest to make the best of a bad job, Martin, eh?"he said, cheerfully. "We have only to thank ourselves for getting intothis scrape, and the most sensible thing we can do now is to grin andbear whatever we've got to put up with. "

This exactly agreed with my own conclusions, and I signified my assentto the sound philosophy of Tom's remark with my usual nod; but, as forJorrocks, he was completely carried away with enthusiasm. 

"Right you are, my hearty!" he cried, wringing Tom's hand in the grip ofhis brawny fist as if he would shake it off. "That's the sort o' ladfor me! You've an old head on young shoulders, you have--you'll get onwith the skipper, no fear; and me and my mates will make you both ascom'able aboard as we can; theer, I can say no better, can I?"

"No, " replied Tom, in an equally hearty tone. 

The _Saucy Sall_ being only of small tonnage, she had a correspondinglysmall crew, seven men and a boy--including the skipper and Jorrocks, andexcluding ourselves for the present--comprising "all hands. "

Of this number, one was aft now, taking his turn at the wheel, with theskipper standing beside him, while a couple of others were loungingabout, ready to slacken off or haul taut the sheets; and the remainder, whose watch below it was, were seeing to the preparations for dinner--asavoury smell coming out from the fo'c's'le heads, that was mostappetising to Tom and me, who were both longing to have once more a goodhot meal. 

Presently, the skipper shouted out something about "making it eightbells, " whereupon Jorrocks took hold of a marlinspike, which he hadseemingly ready for the purpose, striking eight sharp, quick blows on alittle bell hanging right under the break of the little topgallantfo'c's'le, with which the old-fashioned coaster was built. 

"That's the pipe down to dinner, " he said to us in explanatory fashion. "Come along o' me, and I'll introduce you to yer messmates in propershipshape way!"

Thereupon, we both followed Jorrocks into the dark little den in thefore-part of the vessel, with which Tom had first made acquaintance thenight we went on board, after escaping from Dr Hellyer's, now four dayssince--a long while it seemed to us, although only so short an interval, from the experiences we had since gained, and our entirely new mode oflife. The place was small and dark, with bunks ranged along eitherside, and a stove in the centre, at which one of the hands, selected ascook, was just giving a final stir to a steaming compound of meat, potatoes, and biscuit, all stewed up together, and dubbed by sailors"lobscouse. "

Most of the crew I already knew, from my visits to the brig duringvacation time; but, Tom being a comparative stranger--albeit all of themhad witnessed the "striking proof" of the honour the skipper consideredour coming on board had done him--Jorrocks thought best to introduce usin a set speech, saying how we were "a good sort, and no mistake"; andthat, although we were the sons of gentlemen, who had "runned away fromschool, " we were going to shake in our lot with them "like one oftheirselves. "

This seemed to go down as well as the stew, of which we were cordiallyinvited to partake, that disappeared rapidly down our famished throats;and, thenceforth, we were treated with that good fellowship which seemsnatural to those who follow the sea--none attempting to bully us, ortake advantage of our youth, and all eager to complete our nauticaleducation to the best of their ability. Perhaps this was principally onaccount of Jorrocks constituting himself our friend and patron, andkeeping a keen eye on our interests in the food department, so as to seethat we had a fair share of what was going; but, at any rate, thus itwas, for, with the exception of the skipper, we had no reason tocomplain of the treatment of any one on board the brig, from the time wejoined her in the surreptitious manner I have described, to the momentof our leaving her. 

Towards evening, the wind shifting more to the westwards and bearing onour quarter, the yards had to be braced round a bit and the jib sheethauled in taut to leeward, giving Tom and me an opportunity of showingour willingness to bear a hand. Otherwise, however, until we arrived atNewcastle there was little to do in the way of trimming sails, as thewind was fair all the way, giving no occasion for reefing or furlingcanvas until we got into port. I don't believe, either, we were out ofsight of land once during the progress of the voyage; for, the skipper, like the commanders of most coasting craft, hugged the shore innavigating to and fro between the different places for which he wasbound, never losing sight of one prominent landmark or headland till hecould distinguish the next beyond, in the day-time, and steering by thelighthouses and floating beacons, by night. 

If times had been easy for us so far, when we arrived at Newcastle wehad terrible work to balance our good fortune in this respect. 

Talk of galley slaves! no unfortunate criminals chained to the oar inthe old days of that aquatic mode of punishment ever went through halfwhat poor Tom and I did at this great coal centre of the north--none atleast could have suffered so much in body and spirit from the effects ofa form of toil, to which the ordinary labour of a negro slave on a Cubanplantation would be as nothing!

The skipper never allowed us once to leave the vessel to go ashore, although all the other hands went backwards from brig to land as itseemed to please them, without any restraint being apparently put ontheir movements; but, whether our stern taskmaster was afraid of our"cutting and running" before he had his pound of flesh out of us, orwhether he feared being called to account under the terms of theMerchant Shipping Act for having us on board without our names being onthe brig's books as duly licensed apprentices, when he might have beensubjected to a penalty, I know not. The fact remains, that there hekept us day and night as long as we remained taking in a fresh cargo ofcoals. We never once set foot on land during our stay in port. 

And the work!

We did not have to carry the bags of coal, as the rest of the crew did, from the wharf to the gangway of the vessel, as then we might have beenseen; but we had to bear a hand over the hatches to shunt the bags downinto the hold, into which we were afterwards sent with rakes and shovelsto stow the rough lumps into odd holes and corners and make a smoothsurface generally, until the brig was chock full to the deck-beams, whenwe couldn't even creep in on our hands and knees to distribute the cargofurther!

This job being finished, the hatches were battened down, and the brigmade sail again for the south. 

This time, our destination was further along the coast westwards, thecollier brig proceeding to Plymouth instead of returning to our previousport of departure--a circumstance which rejoiced us both greatly, as weshould not have liked to have been landed again at the place we hadleft: Dr Hellyer, perhaps, would have been more pleased to see us thanwe should have been to meet him!

The wind, on our return trip, was still westerly, and consequentlyagainst us; so I had no reason to complain of any lack of instruction inseamanship on this part of the voyage. It was "tacks andsheets"--"mainsail haul"--and "bout-ship"--"down anchor" as the tidechanged, and "up with it!" again, when the flood or ebb was in ourfavour--all the way from the Mouse Light to Beachy Head!

In performing these various nautical manoeuvres, I had plenty ofexercise aloft, so that my previous teaching, when I used to go down tothe quay in the summer vacations on being left alone at school, stood menow in good stead; and in a little while I became really, for a lad ofmy years, an expert seaman, able to hand, reef, steer, and take a watchwith any on board, long before we got to Plymouth!

But, it was not so with Tom. 

The coal business, he thought, having no turn for colliery work, was badenough; but, when it came to have to go aloft in a gale of wind and takein sail on a dark night, with the flapping canvas trying to jerk one offthe yard, Tom acknowledged that he had no stomach to be a sailor--hepreferred gymnastics ashore!

Although, otherwise, I had found him bold and fearless to desperation, he now evinced a nervous timidity about mounting the rigging that Ididn't think he had in him. It seemed utterly unlike the dauntless Tomof old acquaintanceship on land. 

He said that he really "funked" going aloft, for it made his head swimwhen he looked down. I told him that if he got in the habit of lookingdown at the water below whenever he ascended the shrouds, instead of itsonly making his head swim, as he now complained, it would inevitablyresult in his entire self being forced to do so! However, he said hecould not possibly help it, and really I don't believe he could. 

Some people are so constituted. 

The upshot was that the skipper, noticing his inefficiency in the workof the ship, made him his cabin boy, in place of the lad who hadhitherto occupied that enviable position, and whom he now sent forwardamongst the other hands in the fo'c's'le. 

But the change did not bring any amelioration to poor Tom's lot. It was"like going from the frying-pan into the fire;" for, now, my unfortunatechum, being immediately under the control of the skipper, who was asurly, ill-tempered brute at bottom, he paid him out for his laziness in"shirking work, " as he termed the constitutional nervousness that he waspowerless to fight against--Tom coming in for "more kicks thanhalfpence" by his promotion to the cabin, and having "purser'sallowance" of all the beatings going, when the skipper was in one of histantrums. 

I got into a serious row with the brute for taking Tom's part one day. In his passion, the skipper knocked me down with his favouritehandspike, giving me a cut across my temple, the scar of which I'llcarry to my grave. My interference, however, saved Tom and myself anyfurther ill-treatment, as I bled so much from the blow he gave me andwas insensible so long, that the men thought the skipper had killed me. They accordingly remonstrated so forcibly with him on the subject thathe promised to let us both alone for the future, at least so far as thehandspike was concerned. 

Fortunately, however, we were not much longer at the mercy of thebrute's temper; for, the morning after this, we reached Beachy Head, anchoring there to await the ebb tide down Channel, and the windchopping round to the north-eastwards, made it fair for us all the way, enabling us to fetch Plymouth within three days. 

Here, no sooner had the brig weathered Drake Island, anchoring insidethe Cattwater, where all merchant vessels go to discharge their cargoes, than the skipper at once gave us notice to quit, almost without warning. 

"Be off now, you lazy lubbers, " he cried, motioning us down into the_Saucy Sall's_ solitary boat, which had been got over the side, andwhich, with Jorrocks in charge of it, was waiting to take us ashore. "I'm glad to get rid of such idle hands; and you may thank your starsI've let you off so cheaply for your cheek in stowing yourselves awayaboard my brig! You may think yourselves lucky I don't give you incharge, and get you put in gaol for it!"

"You daren't, " shouted back Tom, defiantly, as soon as he was safelydown in the stern-sheets of the dinghy. "If you wanted to give us incharge, you ought to have done so in Newcastle, instead of making uswork there for you like niggers. I've a great mind to have you upbefore the magistrates for your ill-treatment!"

This appeared to shut up the skipper very effectively, for he didn'toffer a word in reply; and, presently, Jorrocks landed us at the jettystairs, close inside the Cattwater. 

Our old friend seemed quite sorry to part with us; and, knowing ourdestitute condition, he kindly presented us with the sum of fiveshillings, which he said was a joint subscription from all hands, whohad "parted freely" when they learnt that we were about to be turnedadrift from the brig, but which I believe mainly came out of his ownpocket. 

"Good-bye, my lads, " were his last words. "Keep your pecker up, and ifyou'll take the advice of an old sailor, I'd recommend you to write toyour friends and go home. "

"Much he knows of my Aunt Matilda!" I said to Tom, as we watched thegood-hearted fellow pulling back to the old tub on board of which we hadpassed through so much. "If he were acquainted with all thecircumstances of the case I don't think he'd advise my going home at allevents!"

"I'm not quite sure of that, Martin, " replied Tom, who was nowthoroughly tired of everything connected with the sea, vowing that, after the experience he had gained, he would not go afloat again, to bemade "Lord High Admiral of England!"

"Well, we'll deliberate about it, " said I, as we turned away from thejetty and walked towards the town, where our immediate intention was toenter a coffee-shop and get a substantial breakfast out of the fundswhich Jorrocks had so thoughtfully provided us with. 

Here, Tom's fate was soon decided; for, we had not long been seated in asmall restaurant where we had ordered some coffee and bread-and-butter, which were the viands we specially longed for, than an advertisement onthe front page of an old copy of the _Times_ caught my eye. 

It ran thus:--

"If Tom L---, who ran away from school in company with another boy onthe night of November the Fifth and is supposed to have gone to sea, will communicate with his distressed mother, all will be forgiven. "

"Why, Tom, " said I, reading it aloud, with some further particularsdescribing him, which I have not quoted--"this must refer to you!"

"So it does, " said he. 

"And what will you do?" I asked him. 

"Well, Martin, I don't like to leave you, but then you know my mothermust be so anxious, as I told you before, that I think I'd better writeto her. "

I suggested a better course, however, as soon as I saw he wished to gohome; and that was, that, as his mother lived not very far from Exeter, he should take the balance of the money we had left after paying for ourbreakfast, and go off thither by train at once. 

This, after some demur, he agreed to; so, as soon as we had finished ourmeal and discharged the bill, which only took eightpence put of ourstore, we made our way to the railway station. 

A train was luckily just about starting, and Tom getting a ticket forhalf-price, he and I parted, not meeting again until many days hadpassed, and then in a very different place!

When I realised the fact that Tom was gone, and that I was now leftalone in that strange place, where I had never been in my life before, Ifelt so utterly cast down, that instinctively I made my way to the sea, there seeking that comfort and calm which the mere sight of it, somehowor other, always afforded me. 

I got down, I recollect, on the Hoe, and, walking along the esplanade, halted right in front of the Breakwater, whence I could command a viewof the harbour, with the men-of-war in the Hamoaze on my right hand, andthe Cattwater, where the _Saucy Sall_ was lying, on my left. 

I was very melancholy, and after a bit I sat down on an adjacent seat;when, burying my face in my hands, I gave way to tears. 

Presently, I was roused by the sound of a man's voice close at hand, asif of some one speaking to me. 

I looked up hastily, ashamed of being caught crying. However, the good-natured, jolly, weather-beaten face I saw looking into mine reassuredme. 

"Hullo, young cockbird, " said the owner of the face--a middle-aged, respectable, nautical-looking sort of man--speaking in a cheery voice, which went to my heart; "what's the row with you, my hearty? Tell oldSam Pengelly all about it!"

CHAPTER NINE. 

OLD CALABAR COTTAGE. 

I don't know why, excepting that the words had a kindly ring about them, in spite of the almost brusque quaintness of the address, that touchedme keenly in the depressed state of mind in which I was; but, instead ofanswering the speaker's pertinent question as to the reason of my grief, I now bent down my head again on my arm, sobbing away as if my heartwould break. 

But this only made the good Samaritan prosecute his inquiry further. 

"Come, come, stow that, youngster, " said he, taking a seat beside me onthe bench, where I was curled up in one corner, placing one of his handsgently on my shoulder in a caressing way. "Look up, and tell me whatails you, my lad, and if Sam Pengelly can help you, why, there's hisfist on it!"

"You--you--are very k-kind, " I stammered out between my long-drawn sobs;"but--but--no--nobody can--help me, sir. "

"Oh, nonsense, tell that to the marines, for a sailor won't believeyou, " he replied, briskly. "Why, laddie, anybody can help anybody, thesame as the mouse nibbled the lion out of the hunter's net; and, as forMr Nobody, I don't know the man! Look here, I can't bear to see a shipin distress, or a comrade in the doldrums; so I tell you what, youngcockbird, raise your crest and don't look so peaky, for I'm going tohelp you if it's in my power, as most likely it is--that is, saving ashow it ain't a loss by death, which takes us all, and which the goodLord above can only soothe, bringing comfort to you; and even then, why, a friendly word, and a grip o' some un's hand, sometimes softens downthe roughest plank we've got to tread. 

"I tell you, my hearty, " he resumed again, after a brief pause, duringwhich my sobs ceased, "I ain't a going to let you adrift, now I've bornedown alongside and boarded you, my hearty--that's not Sam Pengelly'sway; so you'd better make a clean breast of your troubles and we'll seewhat can be done for 'em. To begin with, for there's no use argufyingon an empty stomach, are you hungry, eh?"

"No, " I said with a smile, his cheery address and quaint languagebanishing my melancholy feelings in a moment, just as a ray of sunshineor two, penetrating the surface mist, that hangs over the sea and landof a summer morning before the orb of day, causes it to melt away anddisappear as if by magic, waking up the scene to life; "I had breakfastin the town about an hour ago. "

"Are you hard up?" was his next query. 

"No, " I answered again, this time bursting into a laugh at the puzzledexpression on his face; "I've got a shilling and a sixpence--there!" andI drew the coins from my pocket, showing them to him. 

"Well, I'm jiggered!" murmured the old fellow to himself, taking off thestraight-peaked blue cloth cap he wore, and scratching his headreflectively--as if in a quandary, and cogitating how best to get out ofit. "Neither hard up or hungry! I call this a stiff reckoning to workout. I'd better try the young shaver on another tack. Got anyfriends?" he added, in a louder key--addressing himself, now, personallyto me, not supposing that I had heard his previous soliloquy, for he hadmerely uttered his thoughts aloud. 

This question touched me on the sore point, and I looked grave at once. 

"No, " I replied, "I've got none left now, since Tom's gone. "

"And who's Tom?" he asked, confidentially, to draw me out. 

Thereupon, I told him of my being an orphan, brought up by relatives whodidn't care about me, and all about my being sent to school. I alsodetailed, with much gusto, the way in which Tom and I had made our exitfrom Dr Hellyer's academy, and our subsequent adventures in the coalbrig, down to the moment when I saw the last of my chum as he steamedout of the Plymouth railway station in the Exeter train, leaving medesolate behind. 

My new friend did not appear so very much amused by the account of ourblowing up the Doctor as I thought he would be. Indeed, he looked quiteserious about it, as if it were, no joking matter, as really it was not, but a very bad and mischievous piece of business. What seemed tointerest him much more, was, what I told him of my longing for a sea-life, and the determination I had formed of being a sailor--which eventhe harsh treatment of the _Saucy Sall's_ skipper had in no degreebanished from my mind. 

"What a pity you weren't sent in the service, " he said, meditatively, "Ifancy you'd ha' made a good reefer from the cut of your jib. You'rejust the very spit of one I served under when I was a man-o'-war's-manafore I got pensioned off, now ten year ago!"

"My father was an officer in the Navy, " I replied rather proudly. "Helost his life, gallantly, in the service of his country. "

"You don't say that now?" exclaimed my questioner, with much warmth, looking me earnestly in the face; "and what may your name be, if I maybe so bold? you haven't told it me yet. "

"Martin Leigh, " I answered, promptly, a faint hope rising in my breast. 

"Leigh?--no, never, it can't be!" said the old fellow, now greatlyexcited. "I once knew an officer of that very name--Gerald Leigh--andhe was killed in action up the Niger River on the West Coast, whileattacking a slave barracoon, ten years ago come next March--"

"That was my father, " I here interposed, interrupting his reminiscences. 

"Your father? You don't mean that!"

"I do, " I said, eagerly, "I was four years old when Uncle Georgereceived the news of his death. "

"My stunsails!" ejaculated the old fellow, dashing his cap to the groundin a fever of excitement; and, seizing both my hands in his, he shookthem up and down so forcibly that he almost lifted me off the seat. "Think of that now; but, I could ha' known it from the sort o' feelingthat drew me to you when I saw you curled up here, all lonesome, like acock sparrow on a round of beef! And so, Lieutenant Leigh was yourfather--the bravest, kindest officer I ever sailed under! Why, youngster, do you know who I am?"

He said this quite abruptly, and he looked as if he thought I wouldrecognise him. 

"No, " I said, smiling, "but you're a very kind-hearted man. I'm sure, to take such an interest in a friendless boy like me. "

"Friendless boy, be jiggered!" he replied--"You're not friendless fromnow, you can be sarten! Why, I was your father's own coxswain in the_Swallow_, off the coast, and it was in my arms he died when he receivedthat murdering nigger's shot in his chest, right 'twixt wind and water. Yes! there's a wonderful way in the workings o' Providence--to thinkthat you should come across me now when you needs a friend, one whomyour father often befriended in old times, more like a brother than anofficer! I thank the great Captain above, "--and the old fellow lookedup reverently here to the blue heaven over us as he uttered these lastwords--"that I'm allowed this marciful chance o' paying back, in a poorsort o' way, all my old commander's kindness to me in the years agone!Yes, young gentleman, my name's Sam Pengelly, and I was your father'scoxswain. If he had ha' lived he'd have talked to you, sure enough, about me. "

"I'm very glad to hear this, " said I; and so I was, for my hopefulsurmise had proved true. 

"Well, laddie--you'll excuse my speaking to you familiar like, won'tyou?"

"Call me what you please, " I answered, "I'm only too proud to hear yourkind voice, and see your friendly face. I have had all nonsense aboutdignity and position knocked out of me long since!"

"Well, perhaps, that's all for the best--though mind, Master Leigh, being your father's son, you mustn't ever forget you've been born a truegen'leman, and don't you ever do an action that you'll have cause to beashamed on! That's the only proper sort o' dignity a gen'leman's sonneed ever be partic'ler about, to make people recognise him for what heis; and, with this feeling and eddication, you'll take your proper placein the world, never fear! Now, what do you think about doing, my lad?for the day is getting on, and it's time to see after something. "

"I'm sure I don't know, " I replied. "I should like to go to sea, asI've told you. Not in a coasting vessel, like the coal brig, but reallyto pea, so as to be able to sail over the ocean to China or Australia;and, bye-and-bye, after awhile, as soon as I am old enough and havesufficient experience, I hope to command a ship of my own. "

He had shown such sympathy towards me, that I couldn't help telling himall the wild dreams about my future which had been filling my mind forthe last two years, although I had not confided them even to Tom, for Ithought he would make fun of my nautical ambition. 

Instead of laughing at me, however, my new friend looked highlydelighted. 

"I'm blessed if you aren't a reg'ler chip of the old block, " he saidadmiringly, gazing into my face with a broad smile on his weather-beatencountenance, that made it for the moment in my eyes positively handsome. "There spoke my old lieutenant, the same as I can fancy I hear him now, the morning we rowed up the Niger to assault the nigger stockade wherehe met his death. `Pengelly, ' sez he, in the same identical way as youfirst said them words o' yourn, `I mean to take that prah, ' and, take ithe did, though the poor fellow lost his life leading us on to theassault! I can see, very plain, you've got it all in you, the same ashe; and, having been a seafaring man all my life, first in the sarvice, and then on my own hook in a small way in the coasting line, in course Ihonours your sentiments in wishing to be a sailor--though it's a hardlife at the best. Howsomedevers, `what's bred in the bone, ' as theproverb says, `must come out in the flesh, ' and if you will go to sea, why, you must, and I'll try to help you on to what you wish, as far asSam Pengelly can; I can't say more nor that, can I?"

"No, certainly not, and I'm much obliged to you, " I answered; for hemade a pause at this point, as if waiting for my reply. 

"Well, then, that's all settled and entered in the log-book fair andsquare; but, as all this can't be managed in a minute, and there'll be alot of arrangements to make, s'pose as how you come home along o' mefirst? I'm an orphan, too, the same as yourself, with nobody left tocare for or to mind me, save my old sister Jane, who keeps house for me;and she and I'll make you as welcome as the flowers in May!"

I demurred for a moment at accepting this kind proposal, for I wasnaturally of a very independent nature; and, besides, the lessons I hadreceived in my uncle's household made me shrink from incurring theobligation of any one's hospitality, especially that of one with whom Ihad only such brief acquaintanceship, albeit he was "an orphan"--arather oldish one, I thought--"like myself. "

But my new friend would not be denied. 

"Come on, now, " he repeated, getting up from the seat, and holding out abig, strong hand to me, with such a beaming, good-natured expression onhis face and so much genuine cordiality in his voice, that it wasimpossible for me to persist in refusing his invitation; the moreparticularly as, seeing me hesitate, he added the remark--"leastways, that is, unless you're too high a gen'leman to consort with an humblesailor as was your own father's coxswain!"

This settled the point, making me jump up in a jiffey; when, withoutfurther delay, he and I went off from the Hoe, hand in hand, in thedirection of Stoke, where he told me he lived. 

It was now nearly the middle of December, six weeks having passed bysince the memorable Sunday on which I and Tom had made a Guy Fawkes ofDr Hellyer, and run away from school--the intervening time havingslipped by quickly enough while on board the coal brig at Newcastle, andduring our voyage down the coast again--but the weather, I recollect, was wonderfully mild for the time of year; and, as we walked past theterraces fronting the Hoe, the sun shone down on us, and over the bluesea beyond in Plymouth Sound below, as if it had been a summer day. Indeed, no matter what the weather might have been, I think it wouldhave seemed fine and bright to me; for, I don't believe I had ever feltso happy in my life as I did when trudging along by Sam Pengelly's sidethat morning. 

"You're a pretty strong-built chap for your age, " said Sam, as we wentalong. "I suppose you're close on sixteen, eh?"

"Dear me, no, " I laughed, light-heartedly. "Why, I'm only justfourteen! I told you I was four when my poor father was killed; andthat, as you yourself said, happened ten years ago, so you can calculateyourself. "

"Bless me, so you must be by all accounts; but, sure, you look fully twoyears older! Humph, you're a little bit too young yet to getapprenticed to the sea regularly as I thought of; but there's plenty o'time for us to study the bearings of it arter we fetch home. Comealong, step out. I feel kind o' peckish with all this palavering, andthinks as how I could manage a bit of dinner pretty comfably, and it'llbe just about ready by the time we reach Stoke, as Jane's mightypunctual to having it on the table by eight bells; step out, my hearty!"

Presently, turning off from the main road into a sort of bye-lane, myconductor finally stopped before the entrance porch of a neat littlecottage, standing in a large garden of its own, that stretched away forsome distance on either side. There was an orchard also in the rear, the fruit-trees of which, such was the mildness of the season, appearedready to break into bud. 

"Here's my anchorage, laddie, " said he, with a wave of his hand--indicating the extent of his property. 

"What a jolly little place!" I exclaimed. 

"Yes, " he replied, with pardonable pride, "I set my heart on the littlecabin years ago--afore I left the navy--and I used to save up my pay andprize money, so as to buy it in time. I meant it for mother, but shedied before I could manage it; and then I bought it for myself, thinkingthat Jane and I would live here until we should be summoned for thewatch on deck above, and that arter our time Teddy, my nephew, Jane'sonly boy, would have it. But, not long arter we settled down comfably, poor Teddy caught a fever, which carried him off; and Jane and I havegone on alone, ever since, with only our two selves. "

"You must miss your nephew Teddy, " I said, sympathisingly, seeing agrave look on his face. 

"Yes, laddie, I did miss him very much, but now, my cockbird, " and herehis face brightened up with another beaming smile, as he laid a meaningemphasis on his words, "but now I fancy, somehow or other, I'll not missTeddy as much as I used to; d'ye know why?"

"No, " I said, hesitatingly, and somewhat untruthfully, for I pretty wellguessed what he meant. 

"Then I'll tell you, " he continued, with much feeling and heartiness ofexpression, "I've christened this here anchorage o' mine, `Old Calabar, 'in mem'ry o' the West Coast, where I sarved under your father in the_Swallow_, as I told you just now; and, Master Leigh, as his son, I hopeyou'll always consider the little shanty as your home, free to come andgo or stay, just as you choose, and ever open to you with a welcome thesame as now?"

What could I say to this?

Why, nothing. 

I declare that I couldn't have uttered a word then to have saved mylife. 

But he did not want any thanks. 

Pretending not to notice my emotion, he went on speaking, so as to allowme time to recover myself. 

"Rec'lect this, laddie, " said he, "that my sister Jane and I haveneither chick nor child belonging to either of us, and that yourpresence will be like sunshine in the house. Come along in now, my boy. I'll give Jane a hail to let her know we're here in harbour, so thatshe can pipe down to dinner. Hi--hullo--on deck there!" and, raisinghis voice, in this concluding shout--just as if he were standing on thepoop of a vessel in a heavy gale of wind and hailing a look-out man onthe fore-crosstrees--he opened the door of the cottage, motioning mecourteously to enter it first. 

CHAPTER TEN. 

A WELCOME GUEST. 

The little hall, or passage way, opening out of the porch, in which Inow found myself, was like the vestibule to a museum. 

It was crammed full, from floor to ceiling, with all sorts of curios, brought from foreign parts, evidently by the worthy owner of thedwelling, when returning home after his many cruisings in strangewaters--conch shells from the Congo and cowries from Zanzibar; aswordfish's broken spear from the Pacific, and a Fijian war-club; casesof stuffed humming-birds from Rio, and calabashes from the CaribbeanSea; a beautiful model, in the finest ivory work, of a Chinese junk onone side, _vis-a-vis_ with a full-rigged English man-of-war on theother; and, above all, in the place of honour, the hideous body of ashark, displaying its systematic rows of triangularly arranged saw-liketeeth, now harmless, but once ready to mangle the unwary!

All these objects, of course, immediately attracted my attention, but Ihad not much time for glancing round the collection; for, almost as soonas we got inside the little hall, a bright-faced middle-aged woman, withjet-black hair and eyes, the very image of my new friend, only much morecomely in feature, stepped forward from a room opening out of the otherend of the passage. 

"Dear me, Sam, is that you?" she cried out in a voice closely resemblinghis in its cheery accents, although more musical by reason of itsfeminine ring; "I'm just dishing up, and dinner'll be ready as soon asthe pasty's done. "

Her brother did not apparently pay any attention to this highlyimportant announcement for the moment. 

"Come here, Jane, " he said, "I've brought home a visitor. "

With this she advanced, courtesying, her face changing as soon as shecame nearer and saw who the stranger was. 

"My, Sam!" she exclaimed, "who is he? Why, he's the very image of poorTed!" and she raised the corner of her apron to her eyes as she spoke, as if to stop the ready-starting tears. 

"Whoever do you think he is?" said Sam Pengelly, triumphantly; "look athim carefully, now. No, Jane, my woman, I don't believe you'd everguess!"

"Who?"

"Why, the son of my good old commander, Lieutenant Leigh, of the_Swallow_, him as I've spun you so many yarns about! Why, Jane, mywoman, I found the poor little laddie a desarted young orphan on the Hoejust now. He's friendless, with never a home to go to; and so I askedhim to come along o' me, saying as how you'd welcome him to `OldCalabar' the same as I. "

"And so I will, too, Sam, " replied the other, coming up to me andspeaking; "I'm main glad to see you here, young gentleman, for I'veoften heard Sam talk of your father, saying how good and kind he was tohim. You're heartily welcome to our little home. My gracious, Sam!"she added, turning aside and using her apron again; "he's as like my Tedas two peas! I can't help it!" and so saying, she threw her arms roundmy neck and kissed me. 

The action somewhat confused me; for, it was the first motherly caress Ihad ever experienced in my life. Aunt Matilda, you may be sure, neveronce thought of so greeting me!

"Avast there, Jane, " laughed out Sam, much pleased at the way in whichhis sister had received me. "What d'ye mean by boarding my prize inthat fashion? But I'm glad you think he's like Teddy--it will make itmore like old times and home-like for us to have the laddie with us. "

"Aye, and he can have Ted's room, " answered the other--all eagerness nowto see to my being completely arranged for--"I think the poor boy'sclothes will fit him too. "

"So they will, and just in time, too, for he wants a new rig, " said herbrother, casting a critical eye over my wardrobe, which had not beenimproved by my stay on board the coal brig. 

We then proceeded to enter a nice roomy old-fashioned kitchen, with acleanly-scoured floor like the deck of a man-of-war, and all resplendentwith rows of plates and burnished pewter pots and dish-covers, where wehad, what I considered both then and now to be, the best dinner I hadever eaten in my life, winding up with an apple tart that had Devonshirecream spread over it like powdered sugar--a most unparalleledprodigality of luxury to my unaccustomed eyes and palate!

Afterwards, I was shown a little room at the back, looking out into thegarden, which had been formerly occupied by Teddy. Of this I was nowput in formal possession, along with a good stock of clothes which thebereaved mother had carefully preserved in the chest-of-drawers in onecorner, just as if her boy had been still living, all ready for use. These, she now told me, with tears in her eyes, I was heartily welcometo, if I were not too proud to accept them, as, in wearing them, shesaid, I should make her think that she yet had poor Ted to comfort her, and I would take his vacant place in her heart. The good woman, however, with housewifely care, brought up to the room a large tub witha plentiful supply of hot water and soap, so that I might have "athorough wash, " as she called it, before putting on the clean clothes. Thus, through the kind hospitality of brother and sister alike, beforethe day was out, I was as thoroughly at home in the household as if--having stepped into the lost Teddy's shoes metaphorically as well aspractically--I had lived there for years!

It would take a volume for me to tell of all the kindness I receivedfrom these people, the brother and sister vying with each other in theirendeavours to make me feel comfortable and at ease with them in my newhome. 

Sam Pengelly, thinking it the right thing to do, wrote to Uncle George, informing him where I now was; and saying, that, if my relatives had noobjection, he should like to be allowed to look after my future as if Iwere his own son. 

To this a reply soon came, to the effect that, as I had of my own willthrown away all the advantages that had been secured for me in puttingme to a good school and holding out the offer of a situation afterwardsin a merchant's office, my uncle "washed his hands of me" on account ofmy ungrateful and abandoned behaviour; and that, henceforth, he did notcare what became of me, nor would he be answerable for my support!

"That's a good 'un, " said Sam Pengelly, as he read this. "That crankyAunt Matilda, you told me about, laddie, must ha' had a hand in this, sartin; for, perhaps you don't know that I've diskivered as your uncledrawed what they calls a `compassionate allowance' from My Lords of th'Admiralty for your keep all them years they starved you under their roofand pretended you was livin' on their charity!"

Sam Pengelly looked quite fierce and indignant as he made this, to me, new revelation. 

"Really?" I asked him, eagerly. 

"Yes, laddie, it's true enough, for I've taken the pains to find it outfor a fact from a friend o' mine at head-quarters. Th' Admiralty allersgive an annual 'lowance for the support of the childer o' them officersas is killed in action, that is when their folks are left badly off; andsome one must ha' put up your uncle to this, for he took precious goodcare to draw it every year you was along o' him. "

"Oh, I'm so glad!" I exclaimed, joyfully. "I only wish, though, I hadknown it before, so that I could have thrown it back in Aunt Matilda'steeth when she used to tell me that I was robbing her children of theirbread every meal I took in the house, taunting me with being only apauper!"

"Never mind that now, " said Sam Pengelly--quite his composed, calm, genial self again, after the little ebullition he had given way to on mybehalf. "Better let byegones be byegones. It is a good sailin'direction to go upon in this world; for your cross old aunt will besartin to get paid out some time or other for her treatment o' you, I'llwager! Howsomedevers, I'm glad we've got that letter from your uncle, though. You see, laddie, it cuts them adrift altogether from any claimon you; and now, if you be so minded, you can chuck in your lot with oldSam and his sister--that is, unless you want to sheer off and partcompany, and desart us?"

"Oh no, I'll never do that if I can help it, " I replied, earnestly. "Why, I did not know what it was to be happy and cared for till I metyou, and you brought me here to your home. I shall never willingly, now, leave you here--that is, except you want me to. "

"Then, that'll be never, " said he, with an emphasis and a kindly smilethat showed his were no empty words. 

Nor did they prove to be as time rolled on. 

For many months after that casual meeting of ours on the Hoe, which Ilittle thought was going to lead to such happy consequences, the littlecottage at Stoke was my home in winter and summer alike; when Nature wasgay in her spring dress, and when dreary autumn came; although, it wasnever dreary to me, no matter what the season might be. 

In the summer months I used generally to accompany Sam in the shorttrading trips he made in a little foretopsail schooner--of which he wasthe registered owner, and generally took the command--when we wouldfetch a compass for Falmouth or Torquay, and other small western ports;between which places and Plymouth the schooner went to and fro when windand weather permitted. 

Sometimes, tempted by the inducement that early potatoes and green peaswere plentiful and cheap at Saint Mary's, Sam would venture out as faras the Scilly Isles; and once, a most memorable voyage, we made a roundtrip in the little craft to the Bristol Channel and back--facing all theperils of the "twenty-two fathom sandbank" off Cape Cornwall, with itsheavy tumbling sea. 

This was not time wasted on my part; for I had not forgotten my ambitionof being a sailor, and now, under Sam Pengelly's able tuition I wasthoroughly initiated into all the practical details of seamanship, albeit I had not yet essayed life on board ship in an ocean-goingvessel. 

Sam Pengelly said, that, at fourteen, I was too young to be apprenticedregularly to the sea, and that it would be much better for me to waituntil I should be able to be of use in a ship, and get on more quicklyin navigation. Going to sea before would only be lost time, for I couldgain quite as much experience of what it was necessary for me to know inthe schooner along with him, until it was time for me to go afloat inreal earnest. 

This was what my old friend advised; and, although he declared himselfwilling to forward my wishes should they go counter to his own views, Ivalued his opinion too highly to disagree with it, judging that hisforty years' experience of the sea must have taught him enough to knowbetter than I about what was best in the matter. 

My life, therefore, for the two intervening years, after I had run awayfrom school and before I went actually to sea, was a very even andpleasant one--cut off completely, as it was, from all the painful past, and the associations of Aunt Matilda and Dr Hellyer's. I had heard oncefrom Tom, my whilom chum, it is true, telling me that his mother hadpersuaded him to go back to the Doctor's establishment, and that Ishould not have any further communication from him in consequence--whichI didn't; and there was the one letter from Uncle George to SamPengelly, "washing his hands of me, " which I have already alluded to. With these, however, all connection with my former existence ceased; andI can't say I regretted it, cherished as I now was in the great lovingCornish hearts of Sam and Jane Pengelly. 

Sam would not let my education be neglected, however. 

"No, no, laddie, we must keep a clear look-out on that, " he often saidto me. "If I had only had eddication when I was in the sarvice, I'd ha'been a warrant officer with a long pension now, instead o' having ashort one, and bein' 'bliged to trust to my own hands to lengthen itout. If you wants to be a good navigator, you must study now whenyou're young; for arterwards it will be no use, and you may be as smarta sailor as ever handled a ship, and yet be unable to steer her acrossthe ocean and take advantage of all the short cuts and currents, and soon, that only experienced seamen and those well up in book knowledge canknow about. "

Acting on this reasoning, he got the master of a neighbouring school togive me after-time lessons in mathematics and geography; and, in thecourse of a few months, I was able to be inducted into the mysteries ofgreat circle sailing and the art of taking lunars, much to theadmiration of Sam, whom I'm afraid I often took a delight in puzzlingwith trigonometrical phrases that sounded full of portentous difficulty, albeit harmlessly easy. 

As time went on, although I was happy enough at the cottage, I wascontinually asking Sam if he had found me a ship yet, he having promisedto "keep his eye open" and let me know as soon as he saw a goodopportunity of placing me with some captain with whom I was likely tolearn my nautical calling well and have a chance of getting on up theladder; but, as regularly as I asked him the question, the old saltwould give me the same stereotyped answer--"No, laddie, our ship's notgot into port yet. We must still wait for an offing!"

But at last, after many days, this anxiously awaited "offing" was, muchto my satisfaction, apparently thought within reach by my old friend. 

One morning I did not accompany him as usual into Plymouth afterbreakfast, where the old fellow regularly proceeded every morning--neverfeeling happy for the day unless he saw the sea before dinner. I wasbusily engaged trimming up a large asparagus bed in the garden, whereinmy adopted mother took considerable interest. 

I recollect the morning well. 

It was just at the beginning of summer, and the trees were all clothedin that delicately-tinged foliage of feathery green, which they loselater on in the season, while the ground below was covered with fruitblossoms like snowflakes, a stray blue flag or daffodil just springingup from the peaty soil, gleaming out amidst the vegetable wealth around, and the air perfumed with a delicious scent, of the wallflowers thatwere scattered about the garden in every stray nook and corner. 

Sam was late on his return. 

"Eight bells, " his regular hour, had struck without his well-known voicebeing heard hailing us from the porch; and it was quite half-past twelvebefore the customary shout in the porch of the cottage told of hisarrival, for I was keeping strict watch over the time, having beenrendered extra hungry by my exertions in the garden--our dinner beingpostponed till the missing mariner came. 

However, "better late than never, " says the old proverb; and here he wasnow--although as soon as I saw him I noticed from his face thatsomething unusual and out-of-the-way had happened, his expression alwaysdisclosing if anything was on or in his mind, and being a sad tell-tale. 

He did not wait to let me ask, though. 

"Hullo!" he cried, as soon as he came into the kitchen-parlour, wherethe principal meal of the day was invariably partaken of, "I've got somenews for you. "

"A ship?" I said, questioningly. 

"Yes--an A1 too, my hearty. "

"Hurrah!" I exclaimed--"Going a long voyage?"

"To Callao and back again, on a round trip. "

"Better and better still, " I said, in high glee, in which Sam Pengellyshared with a kindred feeling, while his sister put up her apron to hereyes, and began to cry at the idea of my going to sea. "Is she a largevessel?"

"Aye, aye, my cockbird. A barque of a thousand tons, or more, and hername's the _Esmeralda_. "

CHAPTER ELEVEN. 

SIGNING ARTICLES. 

"She's loading at Cardiff--cargo o' steam coals, I b'lieve, for some o'them Pee-ruvian men-o'-war out there, " explained Sam, presently, whenthe first excitement occasioned by his announcement of the news hadsomewhat calmed down. "It's lucky, laddie, as how the schooner's allready for sailing, as I thought o' fetching down to Saint Mary's morrermornin', arter some new taties; but the taties must wait now, and Ifancy as how this arternoon tide'll sarve jest as well for us--thewind's right fair for the Lizard, too!"

"What, Sam--you don't mean that, really?" exclaimed Jane Pengelly, notexpecting such a hurried sending of me off to sea. "Surely not so soon, my man, eh?" She was almost breathless with grief and surprise. 

"Aye, but I do mean it, " persisted he. "The shep's a loadin' now, Itell you, and she oughter start on her v'yage in a fortnight's time atth' outside; and if you reckon as how we'll take a week to reachCardiff, we'll ha' no time to lose, for, if the wind changes arter werounds the Longships, we'll ha' all our work cut out to beat up theBristol Channel, in time to see the lad comf'ably off!"

"My, Sam! couldn't you take the train across country to Cardiff, whenyou'd all ha' more time for getting ready, and I could see to mendingall the poor dearie's things before he goes for--it'll be the last sightI'll ever see of his blessed face?"

Jane Pengelly said this timidly, wiping her eyes carefully, with eachcorner of her apron in turn; for, she well knew her brother's horror ofthe railway, and all conveyances--indeed, he disliked any mode of landtravelling, save on foot, or "on Shank's mare, " as he called it, whichwas the plan he invariably adopted for reaching such places which hecould not get to by water. 

"Why, Jane, my woman, " Sam indignantly rejoined; "your brains must allbe a wool-gathering! Catch me and the lad agoing by that longshoreschreechin', smokin', ramshacklin' fire engine, when we can ha' a boat'ssound plank under our foot, and sail over the sea in a nat'ral sort o'way, such as we're born to! You're the last person to think as how SamPengelly 'd desart his colours and bringing-up, for to go over to suchan outlandish way o' fetching the port for which he's bound! No, Jane--I ain't angry, but I feels hurt a bit on the h'insinivation--but there, let it be. We'll go round to Cardiff in the schooner, as is as smart alittle craft for a passage boat as ere a one could wish to clap eyes on, though I says it as shouldn't, and we'll start, laddie, this arternoon, as soon as the tide sets down Channel; so, you'd better see after yourtraps, and stow your chest when dinner's over--and then, we'll get underweigh, and clear outwards!"

Little dinner, however, was eaten that day at the cottage, notwithstanding the fact that Jane Pengelly, as a reward for my industryin making up and remoulding her asparagus bed, had concocted a favouriteCornish dish for our repast, y'clept a "Mevagissey pie"--a savourycompound consisting of alternate slices of mutton and layers of applesand onions cut into pieces, and symmetrically arranged, the whole beingsubsequently covered with a crust, pie-fashion, and then baked in theoven until well browned; when, although the admixture seems somewhatqueer to those unused to a Cornish cuisine, the result is not by anymeans to be despised; rather is it uncommonly jolly!

Generally, this dish would have been considered a _tour de force_ on thetable, and not much left of it after our united knife and fork play whenoperations had once begun; but now, albeit Sam Pengelly made a feeblepretence of having a tremendous appetite, failing most ridiculously inthe attempt, while his sister heaped up my plate, we were all too muchperturbed in our minds to do justice to the banquet. So it was that theMevagissey pie, toothsome as it was, went almost untasted away, Janeremoving the remains presently to the larder--that was, as she said, butI could not help noticing that she did not return afterwards to clearaway the dinner things and make matters tidy in the kitchen, as was herregular custom when we had finished meals. 

I soon found out the reason of this, when, on going up shortlyafterwards to my little room, I discovered the soft-hearted creaturebending over the sea-chest which I had been presented with--in additionto her son Teddy's clothes and other property--"having a good cry, " asshe said in excuse for the weakness. 

From some cause or other, she had taken to me from the moment herbrother Sam first brought me to the cottage, placing me in the vacantspot in her heart left by Teddy's early death, and I am sure my ownmother, if she had lived, could not have loved me more. 

Of course I reciprocated her affection--how could I help it, when sheand her brother were the only beings in the world who had ever exhibitedany tenderness towards me?

Strangely enough, however, she would never allow me to call her "mother"or "Mistress Pengelly, " as I wanted to--thinking "Jane" too familiar, especially when applied by a youngster like myself to a middle-agedwoman. 

No, she would not hear of my addressing her otherwise than by herChristian name. 

"If you calls me Missis anything, dearie, mind if I don't speak to youalways as `Master Leigh'--that distant as how you won't know me, " shesaid; so, as she always said what she meant, I did as she wished, andshe continued to style me her "dearie, " that being the affectionate petname she had for me, in the same way as her brother Sam had dubbed mehis "cockbird, " when he first introduced himself to me on the Hoe, amode of address which he still persisted in. 

I may add, by the way, to make an end of these explanations, that JanePengelly had married her first cousin on the father's side, as thematter was once elaborately made plain to me; consequently, she was notcompelled, as most ladies are, to "change her name" when she weddedTeddy's sire, and still retained after marriage her ancestralpatronymic--which was sometimes sported with such unction by herbrother, when laying down the law and giving a decided opinion. 

Partings are sad things, and the sooner they are over the better. SoSam thought too, no doubt, for he presently hailed us both to come down-stairs, as time was up, and a man besides waiting with a hand-truck totrundle my chest down to the quay in the Cattwater, off which Sam'slittle schooner was lying. 

Thereupon, Jane giving me a final hug, my chest was bundled below in abrace of shakes, and Sam and I, accompanied by the man wheeling thetruck, were on our way down the Stoke Road towards Plymouth--a lingeringglance which I cast behind, in order to give a farewell wave of the handto my second mother, imprinting on my memory every detail of the littlecottage, with its clematis-covered porch, and the bright scarletgeraniums and fuchsias in full bloom in front, and Jane Pengelly'stearful face standing out amidst the flowers, crying out a last loving"good-bye!"

We reached the schooner in good time so as to fetch out of the Soundbefore the tide ebbed, and, after clearing the breakwater, as the windwas to the northward of east, Sam made a short board on the port tacktowards the Eddystone, in order to catch the western stream--whichbegins to run down Channel an hour after the flood, when about six milesout or so from the land, the current inshore setting up eastwardstowards the Start and being against us if we tried to stem it byproceeding at once on our true course. 

When we had got into the stream, however, and thus had the advantage ofhaving the tideway with us, Sam let the schooner's head fall off; andso, wearing her round, he shaped a straight course for the Lizard, almost in the line of a crow's flight, bringing the wind nearly rightaft to us now on the starboard tack as we ran before it. We passedabreast of the goggle-eyed lighthouse on the point which marks thelandfall for most mariners when returning to the English Channel after aforeign voyage, close on to midnight--not a bad run from Plymouth Sound, which we had left at four o'clock in the afternoon. 

It was a beautiful bright moonlight night, the sea being lighted up likea burnished mirror, and the clear orb making the distant background ofthe Cornish coast come out in relief, far away on our western bow. Thewind being still fair for us, keeping to the east-nor'-east, Sam broughtit more abeam, bearing up so that he might pass between the Wolf Rockand the Land's End, striking across the bight made by Mount's Bay inorder to save the way we would have lost if he had taken the inshoretrack, like most coasters--and, indeed, as he would have been obliged todo if it had been foggy or rough, which, fortunately for us, it wasn't. 

By sunrise next morning we had fetched within a couple of miles of theLongships; when, bracing round the schooner's topsail yard and sailingclose-hauled, with the wind nearly on our bow, we ran for Lundy Islandin the British Channel. 

I never saw any little craft behave better than the schooner did now, sailing on a bowline being her best point of speed, as is the case withmost fore and aft rigged vessels. She almost "ate into the wind's eye;"and, although the distance was over a hundred miles from the Longships, she was up to Lundy by nightfall, on this, the second day after leavinghome. 

From this point, however, we had to beat up all the way to Cardiff, asthe easterly wind was blowing straight down the Bristol Channel, andconsequently dead in our teeth, as soon as we began to bear up. It wasa case of tack and tack about--first a long leg over to the Mumbles onthe starboard tack, followed by a corresponding reach towards DunkeryBeacon on the port hand; backwards and forwards, see-saw, turn and turnabout, until, finally, we rounded Penarth Heads, arriving at ourdestination on the afternoon of our fourth day from Plymouth. 

We got to Cardiff none too early, either. 

The _Esmeralda_ having completed loading in her cargo sooner than theowners had expected, had cast-off from the jetty and was now lying inthe stream off the harbour. She was quite ready to start on her voyage, and seemed longing to be on the move, for her topsails were hangingloose and the courses were in the brails, so that they could be let falland sheeted home at a moment's notice. 

We could see this for ourselves, as we rounded close under the vessel'sstern when running into the harbour; and further particulars of theship's readiness to set sail we learnt at the agent's ashore, with whomSam Pengelly had been in communication for some time, unknown to me, with reference to having me articled as a first-class apprentice in oneof their best ships. The good-hearted fellow, too, without myknowledge, although I learnt this later on, had entered into anagreement to pay a good round sum as a premium for me in order that Imight have accommodation aft and mess with the officers. 

Sam enlightened me about some of these particulars, mentioning thearrangements he had made for my comfort, while we were making our tripround to the Bristol Channel in the schooner, our departure from thecottage having been too hurried for me to gain any information on thepoint, save the great fact of my being about to go to sea at last. Thereason for the delay in this, Sam now explained to me, was on account ofthe absence of the _Esmeralda_ on a long round voyage to the China seasand back, my worthy old friend having picked that vessel out fromamongst the many that had put into Plymouth since I had been with him, and which he had overhauled for the special purpose in view, because ofher staunch sailing qualities and the clipper-like cut of her lines, besides his personal knowledge that she was "commanded by a skipper asknew how to handle a shep, " as he said, "so as a b'y might expect tolarn somethin' under him, " and he had therefore set his heart on mygoing in her. 

We had not now been long at the agent's, from the windows of whose smalloffice we could see the barque riding at her moorings, before thisidentical gentleman came bustling in as if in a most desperate hurry. 

"Why, here he is!" ejaculated Sam aside to me as he entered, saying tothe other as he took off his cap with one hand and shoved out his otherfist in greeting, "Sarvent, sir, Cap'en Billings; how d'ye find yourselfsince we last met in Plymouth Sound?"

"Oh, is that you, Pengelly?" responded the skipper of the _Esmeralda_cordially, accepting Sam's proffered hand and shaking it heartily, "Iwas just thinking of you and your boy--have you brought him with you?"

"Aye, there's the b'y, " replied Sam, pushing me forward affectionately, "and a right good straight up and down youngster you'll find him, Cap'enBillings, with all the makings of a sailor in him, I tell you, sure's myname's Sam Pengelly!"

"Well, I'll take your word for that, " laughed the other. 

He seemed to me at first sight a genial good-tempered man--with roughreddish hair and beard, and a pair of merry twinkling blue eyes; but Icould also see, from a quick sharp look he threw over me, reckoning meup from top to toe, that he'd all his wits about him and was used tocommand. 

He looked like one of those sort of fellows that wouldn't be trifledwith when roused. 

"I'm glad to see you, Leigh, and have you with me, " he said to me, affably--although he didn't offer to shake hands, some distance lyingbetween the position of a skipper and an apprentice. "You're lucky tobe just in time, though, for we're all ready to sail as soon as the tideserves for us to cross the outer bar and be off. Got all the papersready, Mr Tompkins?"

"Yes, captain, " replied the agent. "Here they are; Leigh and MrPengelly have just signed them. "

"All right then. If you'll come along with me over to the MarineSuperintendent's office, " said Captain Billings, to us two, "we'll havethe signatures witnessed to these indenture articles; and then thething'll be all settled, and the boy can come aboard at once. "

"Heave ahead, my hearty, " replied Sam. "We're both ready and willing;"and thereupon we all adjourned to the presence of the responsibleofficial of the port entrusted with the supervision of all mattersconnected with the mercantile marine, in whose presence I was formallybound apprentice to the captain of the _Esmeralda_. 

These preliminaries duly arranged, Sam Pengelly had some furtherdealings of a private nature with the captain and agent, in which thechinking of gold coin had apparently a good deal to do; and then he andI, at the skipper's invitation, taking our seats in a boat that waslying by the side of the jetty started off for the _Esmeralda_, whitherSam had previously directed one of the schooner's men to have my sea-chest removed while we went on to the agent's. 

Really, I could not explain the mingled feelings of hope, joy, pride, and satisfaction, that had filled my breast at the thought that I wasreally going to sea, and having the darling wish of my heart at lastgratified--my contentment much increased by my overhearing a whisperedcomment of my new captain to Sam Pengelly, that I "wasn't a pigeon-toedlandsman, thank goodness!" He said he could see that from the manner inwhich I put my feet on the side cleats, as I got out of the boat andswung myself up to the gangway. 

"Now at length, " thought I, speaking of myself in Sam's fashion, as if Iwere some other person--"Martin Leigh you are going afloat at last!"

And, although I was only an humble reefer in the merchant service, whosespick-and-span uniform of blue serge and gold-banded cap had never yetsmelt salt water to christen them, I felt as proud on first stepping "onboard the _Esmeralda_" as Nelson must have done, when standing on thequarter-deck of the _Victory_ and seeing her close with the Spanishfleet immediately after his famous signal was displayed--"Englandexpects every man this day to do his duty!"

CHAPTER TWELVE. 

MAKING "WESTING. "

She was a fine-looking barque--as Sam had explained to me beforehand, when first telling me the news of his having secured a berth for meaboard her--with a good forecastle and clean run of deck aft to thepoop, saving a small deck-house amidships, on a line with the cook'scaboose, where were the separate cabins devoted to the use of theboatswain and carpenter. 

Captain Billings showed us over her, pointing out the specialarrangements for the comfort of his officers; and then, much to mysurprise, and to that of Sam as well, for that matter, although he hadstipulated for good treatment on my behalf, the skipper said that Icould have an empty bunk to myself, alongside of the boatswain'squarters. 

It was almost too good to be true!

"Why, laddie, you'll be a blessed sight better off than if you were amiddy aboard a man o' war!" said Sam, exultantly; but, whilst he wasengaged showing me how to put my chest and stow my things, so as to beeasily within reach and yet out of the way, in order not to encroach onthe limited space at my command, our attention was drawn away from theconsideration of such personal matters by the loud hail of CaptainBillings ringing through the ship fore and aft--

"All hands, make sail!"

The pilot had come off from shore in the same boat with us; and, as theonly thing the _Esmeralda_ had been awaiting was the water to risesufficiently for her to cross the bar, Cardiff being a tidal harbour, now that it was approaching the flood, it was time to make ready for astart. We were going to make a move "while the day was yet young, " soto speak, for it was only about five o'clock yet in the afternoon. 

On hearing the skipper's cry, Sam and I at once made our way aft up theladder on to the poop, where Captain Billings was standing, shouting outhis orders, according to the directions of the pilot standing besidehim--that gentleman, while in charge, being commanding officer, havingthe precedence of a captain even on board his own ship!

I was all eagerness to assist, and anxious to enter on my duties; butthe skipper motioned me aside, saying that he'd put me into a watch andgive me regular work to do as soon as we had got fairly to sea, for he"didn't want any idlers hanging round them to encumber the men. " So, acting on the principle that "a nod was as good as a wink to a blindhorse, " I sheered over to the other side of the deck. Here, SamPengelly was standing by the taffrail, and from this coign of vantage weboth watched with much interest the operation of getting the ship underweigh. 

The vessel's topsails, as I have mentioned before, were already castloose from the gaskets and her courses hung in the brails, while she waslying in the stream, heading almost due south and facing the entrance ofthe harbour, into which the tide was still running and, consequently, keeping her cable as taut as a fiddle-string; but now, on the captain'scommand causing the hands to man the topsail halliards and run up theyards to the mast-head, the ponderous folds of canvas expanded with thewind, which was still to the nor'-east and blowing from aft, and theship, in spite of the incoming tide, surged up to her anchor, bringingit right under her fore foot, thus slackening the strain on the cable. 

Another party of the crew, meanwhile, under the superintendence of theboatswain, had manned the windlass, bringing in the cable slack with a"slip-slap" and "click-clack" of the pall, as the winch went round, themoment the skipper's warning cry, "Hands up anchor, " was heard from aft. 

"Hove short, sir, " then sang out the boatswain. 

"Up with it, then, men, " returned the skipper; and in another minute, for we were only in some six-fathom water, the anchor-stock showeditself above the surface and was run up to the cathead. 

Now, free from the ground, the bows of the vessel began to rise and fallas she curtsied politely to the stream, which was just on the turn, preparing to bid adieu to Cardiff harbour; so, Captain Billings himselfjumped from where he had been standing, by the pilot's side, to thewheel, making the spokes rapidly fly round until the helm was hard up, putting the ship before the wind and steering towards the mouth of theharbour ahead. 

"Sheet home!" was the next order; and, with a "yo-heave-ho, " the clewsof the topsails were hauled out to the end of the yards, while theclewgarnet blocks rattled as the main sheet was brought aft; then, theyards were braced round a bit to the starboard and the vessel headed outinto the Channel, with the wind on her quarter, on the port tack. 

"Hoist away the jib!" shouted out Captain Billings, on this much beingachieved; when the _Esmeralda_ began to gather way, the bubbles nowfloating past astern as she commenced to move through the water--atfirst slowly, and then with more speed, as the sails, already set, filled and drew. 

"Look smart there, men, and run away with those halliards, " echoed themate, repeating the captain's order anent the jib; and the _Esmeralda_, being now well under control of her helm, a picked hand came aft to takeCaptain Billings' place at the wheel, of which he had retained chargeuntil now, while another man was put in the main chains with the lead, heaving it at intervals and chanting out the soundings in a monotonoussing-song drawl of "By the mark, four, " and so on, until we reached six-fathom water, and then "The deep nine!"

All this time we had been heading over to the Somersetshire shore; butwhen we were a couple of miles or so out from Cardiff, the pilot toldthe skipper that it was time to come about, as we had got into theproper fairway of the Channel and our course now should be west insteadof south. 

Captain Billings didn't need a second hint as to what he should do. 

"Hands 'bout ship!" he roared out the instant the pilot had spoken, themate and boatswain repeating as before the order after him in turn, andthe man at the wheel putting down the helm instanter. 

"Helm's a lee!" shouted the skipper, the head sheets being let go as hespoke, and the jib flattened on the vessel going into stays. 

"Raise tacks and sheets!" and the fore-tack and main sheets were cast-off, while the weather main brace was hauled taut. 

"Mainsail haul!" was the next order; when, on the heavy yard swinginground, the _Esmeralda_ came up to the wind slowly, as if casting a long, lingering farewell look at the Welsh coast, in deep regret at leavingit. 

The head yards were then braced round, the fore-tack boarded, and themainsheet hauled aft; after which the spanker was set, and the men sentaloft to loosen the topgallant sails, the yards of which had beencrossed while we were still at anchor, so as to be ready when wanted. The ship then filled away again on the port tack, starting off withrenewed speed, in a due west direction now, down the Bristol Channel, with the wind, which was on her beam, blowing at the rate of about aneight-knot breeze. 

"We've made a good start, Pengelly, " said Captain Billings, coming up towhere we were still standing, rubbing his hands cheerfully together andseemingly much at ease now that we were well under way. "It isn't oftenone gets a nor'-east wind at this time of year, hereabouts, and when wedo chance upon it, why, there's no use in wasting it. "

"Sartinly not, Cap'en Billings, " responded Sam; "them's jest mysentiments! I suppose as you'll be a'most out of the Channel bymornin', if the wind holds?"

"Aye, we ought to be off Ilfracombe soon after sunrise, the pilot says. Will you like to go ashore when we drop him there, eh?"

"That'll do nicely, Cap'en, " replied Sam. "I only jest wanted for tosee the last of the b'y, and I s'pected as how you'd land your pilotthereabout or at Bideford, where I told the man in charge o' my schoonerto call in for me; but it don't matter much where I get ashore. "

"All right then, " said Captain Billings; "so, now, as the ship's goingon at a spanking rate, with no danger ahead and in charge of the pilot, suppose you and the lad come down to the cabin along with me and have abit of something to eat, for it's getting late? I dare say thesteward'll find us some grub somewhere, though it's rather early in thevoyage for regular meals. "

So saying, the skipper dived down the poop ladder, we two after him, when we found a well-spread table below, the sight of which pleased Samas much as the appearance of my bunk--although, mind you, only onaccount of his interest in me, as there wasn't a bit of the gourmandabout him. 

"See, my laddie, " said he, nudging me, and speaking in a whisper. "Thecap'en ain't a going to starve you!"

When we got on deck again, after a hearty meal, the sun had set and theevening was closing in; but, it was bright and clear overhead and thetwinkling Nash lights, two white and one red, by Saint Donat's Castle, were well away to windward on the starboard hand. 

Although there was no necessity whatever for my keeping up, I was toomuch excited to turn in, even for the purpose of seeing how snug my newquarters were; so, Sam keeping me company, in order to have as much ofme as he could--for the time was now approaching for our parting--he andI paced the poop all night, talking of all sorts of things, and planningout a wonderful future when I should be captain of a ship of my own. 

Early in the morning watch, the wind lulled down to a gentle breeze, asit frequently does in summer before sunrise. This checked the ship'srate of speed through the water considerably, so staying our progressthat, instead of our arriving off Ilfracombe close on to daylight, asCaptain Billings had sanguinely reckoned, it was long past eight bellsand the hour of breakfast, to which we were both again invited into thecabin, before we neared the headland marking the bay sufficiently for usto heave to and signal for the pilot's boat to come off and fetch him. 

We were not long detained, however. 

Hardly had the _Esmeralda's_ main-topsail been backed, ere a smartlittle cutter came sailing out towards us, with the familiar "P" and hernumber displayed on her spanker; so Sam hastened to bid his lastfarewell to me, making ready to accompany the pilot ashore. 

"Good-bye, my cockbird, " said he, wringing my hand with a grip that madeit wince again, a tremble the while in his voice and somethingsuspiciously like a tear in his eye. "Keep honest, and do your duty, and never forget your father, laddie, nor old Sam Pengelly, who'll beright glad to see you again when you return from this v'yage!"

"Good-bye, and God reward you, Sam, for all your kindness to me, " Ireturned, almost breaking down, and having to exercise all my self-command in order not to make an exhibition of myself before my newshipmates. "I'll be certain to come and see you and Jane the moment Itouch English ground again. "

"All right, my hearty, fare thee well, " said he, stepping into the boatof the pilot after that worthy, while the _Esmeralda's_ sails were letfill again on the vessel resuming her course down the Bristol Channel;but, as I bent over the taffrail, and waved my hand to Sam for the lasttime, I could hear his parting hail in the distance, sounding as loudalmost as if he were alongside. 

"Good-bye, my laddie, and good luck to the _Esmeralda_ on her v'yage. Cap'en Billings, remember the b'y!"

"Aye, aye, my hearty, so I will, " shouted out the skipper, cordially. "Good luck to you, Pengelly!" and then the pilot made in for the land, and the ship's yards were squared. The royals were soon afterwards sentaloft, the wind having sprung up again steadily, still from the nor'-east, as the tide began to make, and we ran now before it, almostsailing free, so as to pass to the southwards of Lundy Island andweather Hartland Point, on our way out into the open sea. 

Captain Billings, seeing the wind so favourable, instead of hugging theland, determined to make all the westing he could at this the veryoutset of our voyage, in order to avoid the cross currents hanging aboutthe chops of the Channel, and off the Scilly Isles--which frequently, when aided by the contrary winds they engender, drive a ship on to theFrench coast, and into the Bay of Biscay, thus entailing a lot ofbeating up to the northwards again to gain a proper westerly course. 

Under these circumstances, therefore, my skipper, who I could see thusearly "had his head, " as they say, "screwed on straight, " taking hispoint of departure from Lundy, and so bidding farewell to the land whichhe didn't intend approaching again for the next few weeks if he couldhelp it, kept a straight course by the compass due west for twenty-fourhours, by the end of which time, and this was about noon on our secondday out, we had cleared the Scilly Islands, passing some twenty leaguesto the northward of the Bishop's Rock. We were now well in with theAtlantic Ocean, and pursued the same direction, right before the wind, until we reached the meridian of 12 degrees 15 minutes West, when wehauled round more to the southwards, shaping a course to take us well tothe westward of Madeira. 

Before this, however--that is, on our first day out, shortly after wehad cleared Lundy Island, and when Sam and the pilot and his cutter wereout of sight, and the ship clear of "strangers"--Captain Billings calleda muster of all hands aft, when he divided the crew into two watches, officered respectively by the first and second mates. 

The "complement, " as they say in the Royal Navy, of the _Esmeralda_, Imay as well state here, consisted of the skipper, Captain Billings; thetwo mates, one occupying the proud position of "chief of the staff, " andthe other being merely an executive officer of little superior grade toone of the foremast hands; a boatswain, carpenter, sail-maker, cook, steward, and eighteen regular crew--the vessel, on account of her beingbarque-rigged, not requiring such a number of men in proportion to hertonnage as would have been necessary if she had been fitted as a ship, with yards and squaresails on the mizen-mast. 

When apportioning out the hands to their several officers, CaptainBillings assigned me to the starboard watch, under charge of the secondmate, telling the boatswain at the same time to "keep an eye upon me, "so as to have me thoroughly initiated into the practical part of myprofession. 

I had not observed this latter individual previously, he having beenemployed forwards while I had been mostly on the poop ever since I hadcome on board the ship; now, however, that the skipper thus speciallyentrusted me to his care, I looked across the deck, when I noticed thathis face seemed strangely familiar to me, although I could not exactlysay how and where I had seen him before, although I puzzled my head invain to guess who he was. 

But, my quandary did not last very long; for, on Captain Billingsdismissing the men after the full-dress parade he had held on thequarter-deck, the boatswain came up to me with a genial grin on hishairy face. 

"Hullo, Master Leigh, " said he, "Who'd a' thought of us two meetingag'in like this?"

CHAPTER THIRTEEN. 

AN OLD ACQUAINTANCE. 

"What!" I exclaimed, in much amazement. "Is it really you, Jorrocks?I can hardly believe my eyes!"

"Aye, aye, it's me sure enough, " replied my old ally of the _SaucySall_, shaking hands with great heartiness, as if he were really glad tosee me again under such altered circumstances. "It's me sure enough, Master Leigh--that is, unless I've got some double of a twin brother, aslike me as two peas, a-sailing round in these latitudes!"

There could be no question of his identity after I had once heard thetones of his well-remembered voice; but the beard which he had allowedto grow since I had last seen him had so completely altered theexpression of his face, or rather indeed its entire appearance, thatthere was some excuse for my not recognising him at the moment. 

Jorrocks, however, he was without doubt; and, I need hardly say that Iwas quite as much pleased at this unexpected meeting as he seemed tobe--albeit the sight of him, when I realised the fact that it was reallyhimself and heard his cheery familiar accents, brought back in aninstant to my mind the scene on board the coal brig that eventful daywhen the _Saucy Sall's_ surly skipper discovered that Tom and I hadstolen a march on him, and treated us each to a dose of his sovereignspecific for stowaways!

"How is it, though, Jorrocks, that you've abandoned the brig?" I askedhim presently, when we had got over our mutual surprise at thus meetingin such an unlooked-for fashion. "I thought you were a fixture there, and didn't know you were a regular sailor--I mean one accustomed to sea-going ships like this?"

I said this with much dignity, being greatly impressed with theresponsibility of my new position; and I'm sure I must have spoken as ifI were a post captain at least, addressing some subordinate officer!

Jorrocks, however, took my patronage in good part, although I coulddetect a faint cock of his eye, denoting sly amusement at my ridiculousassumption of superiority. This he now proceeded to "take down a peg"in his roundabout way. 

"Why, bless you, Master Leigh, I sailed as able seaman in a Chinaclipper afore you were born, and when I were that high!" he replied, laughing, putting his hand about a foot above the deck to illustrate hisapproximate stature at the period referred to, and representing himselfto be at that time certainly a very diminutive son of Neptune. 

"You must have been very young, then, " said I, a little bit nettled athis remark--thinking it a slur on my nautical experience, so bran-new asthat was!

But Jorrocks went on as coolly as if I had not cast a doubt on theveracity of his statement concerning his early commencement of sailorlife. 

"Aye, aye, " he answered, quite collectedly, "I grant I were young, butthen you must rec'lect, my lad, I got the flavour o' the sea early in alighthouse tower, where I was born and brought up, my father having thelantern to mind; and, since then, I've v'y'ged a'most to every part youcould mention, and shipped in a'most every kind of craft, from an EastIndyman down to a Yarmouth hoy. Bless you! I only took to the coastingline two or three years ago, when you and I first ran foul of eachother; and the reason for my doing that was in cons'quence of my gettingspliced, and the missus wanting me to take a 'longshore berth. Howsomedevers, I couldn't stand it long, being once used to a decentfo'c's'le in a proper sort of vessel v'y'ging o'er the seas in trueshipshape fashion; and so, I parted company with the brig and cameaboard the _Esmeralda_ eighteen months ago come next July--a long spellfor a sailor to stick to one ship without changing, but then Cap'enBillings 's a good sort, and he made me boatswain o' the craft lastv'y'ge but one, so I hopes to remain with him longer still. "

"You like him, then?" I said, tentatively, looking him straight in theface. 

"Oh, aye--first-class, " replied Jorrocks to my implied question, withmuch seriousness, "He's not only a good skipper--as good as they make'em, treating the hands as if they were men, and not dogs--but he's aprime seaman, and knows what's what in a gale, better nor most I've eversailed with. Howsomedevers, he'll stand no nonsense; and when he putshis foot down, you may as well give up, as you might sooner soft-sawdera trenail into a two-inch plank as get over him and shirk your duty!The old man, easy-going when you take him right, is as stiff as aporkypine when you runs foul of his hawse; so, you'd better not try onany o' them pranks o' yours you told me you and your messmate played offon your old schoolmaster, for Cap'en Billings has cut his eye teeth, myhearty. "

"Why, I wouldn't dream of such a thing, " I exclaimed, indignantly, "whatTom and I did to Dr Hellyer was quite different, and served him rightfor his cruelty. "

"Aye, aye, that may be accordin' to your notion, " said Jorrocks, sententiously; "but that schoolmaster were the skipper of his own ship, the same as Cap'en Billings is here aboard this here craft, and it ain'tright to trifle with them as is set in authority over us!"

I can't tell what I might have replied to this appropriate little sermonthat Jorrocks delivered about the mischievous and dangerous trick thatTom and I conspired together to commit, and which I have oftensubsequently reflected might have led to the most disastrousconsequences, and perhaps injured the Doctor for life; but, at thatmoment, Captain Billings, seeing my old friend and I chatting together, came over to leeward, where we were standing. 

"Hullo, boatswain!" he shouted out, "making friends with the youngster, eh?"

"Why, bless you, Cap'en Billings, " answered Jorrocks, touching his cap, "he and I are old shipmates. "

"Indeed! I had no idea of his having been at sea before, " said theskipper, apparently very much astonished at this news. 

"Oh, aye, sir, he has, " returned my old friend, glad to be able to putin a good word for me, as he thought, after the little lecture he hadjust given me. "He was on board a coal brig with me two years ago, acoasting craft that plied up along shore to Noocastle and back; andyou'll find him no green hand, Cap', but a smart able chap, one that'llget out to the weather earing when there's a call to reef topsailssooner than many a full-grown seaman, for he knows his way up therigging. "

"I'm very glad to hear that, " said the skipper, turning to me, with anaffable smile that lighted up his twinkling blue eyes. "When SamPengelly told me you were a capable lad, of course, I naturally took hisopinion to proceed more from personal bias than practical comment onyour seamanship; but, now that I learn from Jorrocks here, on moreindependent testimony, that you're no novice on board ship and havealready mastered the rough rudiments of your profession in the best waypossible--that of having been before the mast as a regular hand--why, you'll be able to get on all the faster, and be able to command the deckby-and-by on your own hook. How are you up in navigation, eh?"

"I can take the sun, sir, " said I, modestly, not wishing to blow my owntrumpet. 

"Anything else?"

"Yes, sir, I can work out a reckoning, I believe, " I answered. 

"Ha, humph, pretty good! I'll try you by-and-by, Leigh, " said CaptainBillings, turning aside for the moment to order the port watch to giveone extra pull to the weather braces--"mind and bring out your sextantwhen you see me on deck at eight bells. I suppose you've got one inyour chest, eh?"

"Oh yes, sir, Sam Pengelly gave me one, " I replied, and the skipper thenwent into the cabin while Jorrocks and I resumed our interruptedconversation. 

My old friend took advantage of the opportunity to put me up to a goodmany wrinkles concerning my fellow-shipmates. 

The mate, Mr Macdougall, who was a tall, hatchet-faced Scotsman, withhigh cheek-bones and a very prominent nose--Jorrocks told me, inconfidence--was a tight-handed, close-fisted, cross-tempered man, everfond of displaying his authority and working the hands to death, underthe plea of preventing their idling or "hazing, " as he called it. 

"I advise you not to get into a row with him, Mister Leigh, if so as youcan help it; 'cause, once a chap falls foul of him in any way, heneversomedevers by no chance forgets or forgives it, nohow. "

"I shan't give him the chance, " I answered to this, with a laugh. "Isuppose he doesn't think himself greater than the captain!"

"Ah, you just wait a bit 'fore you decide that p'int. The first mateaboard a marchint ship is a sight more powerful than a judge on thebench, as you'll find out! The skipper allers tells him what he wishes, and the mate sees to its being done, an' it depends what sorter fellow_he_ is, and not on the cap'en, as to how matters go on when a vessel'sat sea; for, it's in his power for to make things pleasant like and allplain sailing, or else to cause the crew for to smell brimstone aforetheir time, I tell you! That Macdougall, now, though you laugh in thatlight-hearted way, ain't to be trifled with, Mister Leigh, I warn you;and if you go for to raise his dander ag'in you, why, you won't find itworth grinning at, that's sartin, for he's as nasty as he's spiteful, and every man Jack of us hates him like pizen, and wishes he were out ofthe ship. The skipper, I knows, wouldn't have him aboard if he couldhave his own way, but he's some connection of the owners, and he can'thelp himself. "

"All right, Jorrocks, I'll try and steer clear of him, " I said, tryingto look grave, for I saw the old sailor was in earnest, and onlyspeaking for my good. "I will endeavour to do my duty, and then hewon't have any occasion to find fault with me. "

"Ah, but you'll have to do more than that; for, like most of them uppishchaps, if you don't truckle under to him and purtend as how he's theLord Mayor, he's safe to be down on you. "

"I'm not going to crawl under any man's feet, first mate or no firstmate!" I said, proudly. "Why, I'm a first-class apprentice, and thecaptain has rated me as third officer in the ship's books. "

"Now, Mister Leigh, don't you go on for being bumptious, now, my lad!"replied Jorrocks, laughing heartily at my drawing myself up on mydignity. "A third officer or `third mate, ' as we calls him, has a dog'sberth aboard a ship if he doesn't lend his hand to anything and buttonto the first mate! You needn't go for to really humble yourself aforethat Macdougall; I only meant you to purtend like as how you thinks hima regular top-sawyer, and then you'll sail along without a chance of asquall--Mr Ohlsen, the second mate, in charge o' your watch, is aneasy-going chap, and you'll get on well enough with him. "

"All right, " I said in response, as if agreeing with his advice; but Iformed my own resolution as to how I would treat the Scotsman should hetry to bully me unjustly. 

He would find no cringe in me, I vowed!

The rest of my shipmates, Jorrocks then went on to tell me, were a veryjolly set of fellows, forming as good a crew as he'd ever sailed with--fit for anything, and all able seamen "of the proper sort. "

Haxell, the carpenter, he said, was a quiet, steady-going, solemn sortof man, with no nonsense about him, who kept himself to himself; whileSails, the sail-maker, whom I have omitted mentioning in his properplace as one of the officers ranking after the boatswain, was a cheerychap, who could sing a good song on Saturday night in the fo'c's'le;but, the life of the crew, Jorrocks said, was Pat Doolan, the cook, anIrishman, as his name would imply. He was always ready to crack a jokeand "carry on" when there was any skylarking about, besides willing tolend a hand at any time on a pinch. Jorrocks told me "to mind and begood friends with Pat, " if it were only for the sake of the pannikin ofhot coffee which it was in his power to dispense in the early morningwhen turning out on watch in the cold. 

"Ah, you were not born yesterday, Jorrocks!" I said, when he impartedthis valuable bit of information to me, as one of the state secrets ofthe fo'c's'le. 

"No, Mister Leigh, " he answered, with a meaning wink; "I've not been tosea, twenty year more or less, for nothing, I tell you. "

The steward--to complete the list of those on board--was a flabby half-and-half sort of Welshman, hailing from Cardiff but brought up inLondon; and, as he was a close ally of the first mate, I need hardly sayhe was no favourite either of my friend Jorrocks, or with the crewgenerally--all the hands thinking that he skimped the provisions whenserving them out, in deference to Mr Macdougall's prejudices in the wayof stinginess!

The _Esmeralda_, therefore, carried twenty-seven souls in all of livingfreight, including the skipper and my valuable self, besides herthousand tons of coal or so of cargo; we on board representing a littleworld within ourselves, with our interests identical so long as thevoyage lasted. 

While Jorrocks and I were talking in the waist of the ship to leeward, Iobserved the first mate, Mr Macdougall--who had the forenoon watch, andwas in charge of the vessel for the time--approach close to the break ofthe poop, and stop in his walk up and down the deck once or twice, as ifhe were on the point of hailing us to know what we were palaveringabout; but something seemed to change his intention, so he refrainedfrom calling out, as I expected, although he glowered down on Jorrocksand I, with a frown on his freckly sandy-haired face, "as if he couldeat us both up without salt, " as the boatswain said, on my pointing outthe mate's proximity. 

I believe Mr Macdougall took a dislike to me from the first; and theskipper's apparent favour did not subsequently tend to make himappreciate me any the better, I could see later on. 

That very day, shortly before noon, when Captain Billings came out ofhis cabin with his sextant, and found me all ready for him with mine, inobedience to his order, I heard Mr Macdougall utter a covert sneerbehind the skipper's back respecting me. 

"Hoot, mon, " he said aside to Ohlsen, the second mate--"Old son of agun" as the men used to call him, making a sort of pun on his name--"theold man's setting up as dominie to teach that bairn how to tak' a sight, you ken; did you ever see the like? These be braw times when gentlefolkcome to sea for schoolin', and ship cap'ens have to tak' to teachin''em!"

Ohlsen didn't reply to this save by a grunt, which might have meantanything, but I was certain Macdougall was trying to turn me intoridicule. 

Captain Billings, however, did not overhear the remark; and proceeded totest my accuracy with the sextant, making me take the angle of the sunand that of the distant land on the port bow. He was delighted when, afterwards, I had worked out my calculations, based on the sight takenof the sun's altitude, and, deducting the difference of the ship's meantime from that observed, found out that our true position on the chartwas very nearly 50 degrees 55 minutes 20 seconds North and 4 degrees 50minutes 55 seconds West, or about ten miles to the south-west ofHartland Point on the Devonshire coast. It was all a labour of love, however, for the land was still within reach, and we had not long takenour "point of departure;" while soundings could still be had, if wewished, in thirty fathom water; so, there was no necessity for ourtaking an observation so early in the voyage. The skipper only did itto test my knowledge, and he was perfectly satisfied with the resultapparently. 

"Why, Macdougall, " he said to the Scotsman, who was waiting by with anair of ill-concealed triumph on his face, hoping to hear of my failureto work out the reckoning, "he's a better navigator than you are!"

This, you may be certain, did not please the mate, who mutteredsomething of it's "all being done by guess work. "

But the skipper wouldn't have this at any price. 

"No, no, Macdougall, " he replied, quickly, "it's all fair and squarecalculation, such as I couldn't have managed at his age;" then, turningto me, he added, kindly, "you stick to it, my lad, and you'll beat usall with the sextant before we get to Callao!"

The captain desired me, also, to work out the ship's reckoning each dayand to keep a log, the same as the first mate had to do, which thatindividual resented as a sort of check exercised upon him, and hated meaccordingly. As I afterwards found out, he was an extremely badnavigator, and ignorant of all the newest methods, such as Sumner's, forshortening calculation, consequently, he was afraid of his errors beingdiscovered too easily if his log should be compared every day with mine. 

Unaware of all these kindly feelings towards me, Captain Billings filledup the measure of Mr Macdougall's wrath by inviting me to come into thecabin to dine with him that day at six bells, instead of waiting untilthe termination of Ohlsen's watch, and go in with him to the "secondtable, " as it was termed, after the skipper and first mate had finishedtheir repast--such being the etiquette in merchant ships. 

Macdougall almost boiled over with anger when he heard the skipper askme. His freckled face looked just like a turkey's egg--boiled!

"Vara weel, vara weel, Cap'en Billings, " said he, with a mock deferencethat little disguised his rage: "but I'd ha'e you to know that I didn'tship aboard here to mess wi' 'prentice lads. "

The skipper fired up in an instant, a light darting from his blue eyeswhich one would not have thought their liquid depths capable of. 

"And I would have you to know, Mr Macdougall, " he retorted, quickly, uttering every word, however, with distinct emphasis, "that I'm captainof my own ship, and shall ask whom I please to my table. Steward, " headded, calling out to that worthy, who was just sauntering by into thecabin from the cook's galley with a covered dish in his hands, "lay aplate and knife and fork for Mr Leigh; and bear in mind that he dineswith me every day when his duties allow!"

"Aye, aye, sir, " replied Owen Williams, proceeding on into his pantrywith his dish, and I followed the skipper into the cabin shortlyafterwards. 

This was undoubtedly a blow to the mate, as I thought, sniggering overthe little episode at the time; but, Mr Macdougall did not forget thefact of my having been the occasion of his getting a "dressing down"from the skipper, and he debited it carefully in his account against me, determining to pay me out for it on the first convenient opportunity--aresolution that was carried out quite soon enough for me, as you willpresently learn!

CHAPTER FOURTEEN. 

IN THE HORSE LATITUDES. 

At noon on our second day out, running right before the north-east byeast wind all the while and making but little southing, with our royalsand studding-sails set, and everything that could draw--the _Esmeralda_averaging nearly ten knots an hour every time we hove the log from thetime of our clearing the Bristol Channel--we had reached the meridian of12 degrees 15 minutes west; for Captain Billings wisely took advantageof such a favourable breeze, as I've remarked before, to get well towindward of the French coast, knowing well that we might shortly meetwith westerly winds of a variable nature that would probably put usquite as far to the eastward as we should want--in the event of ourmaking too much westing. 

However, having now gained such a good offing, we hauled our wind, andsteered a west-sou'-west course, as previously mentioned, towardsMadeira. 

Up to this time we had not started a brace, or loosed a sheet, the windbeing fair from aft while we were steering to the west, and now wellabeam, on our bearing up to the southward on the port tack; but, we hadhardly made a couple of days' sail in our new direction, running down tothe parallel of 45 degrees north, which we crossed in 15 degrees west, before the wind began to come in light puffs. Shortly afterwards, itshifted round to the westward, backing occasionally to the east andsouth-east and causing us plenty of work in the way of tacking, first tostarboard, and then to port again--the skipper striving all the while tokeep all the westing he had made, and preserve a diagonal course for theLine; although the set of the Gulf Stream, in towards the coast ofPortugal, gave us a lot of leeway to add to our dead reckoning. 

What with the baffling breezes and occasional calms, it took us anotherfour days to get to the southwards of the Azores, passing them muchfurther to the eastwards than Captain Billings had calculated on; butthen a fresh wind sprang up from the north-west, bidding fair to last, which took us down to the thirty-fifth parallel in fine style, the_Esmeralda_ covering over three hundred miles between the morning of oneday and noon the next. 

All hands now began hoping we were going to make a quick run of it afterall, in spite of the tedious delays of the last few days; but it was avery fallacious hope, as we quickly found out. 

The favourable north-wester lasted another twelve hours, driving us downour latitudes on the starboard tack, the ship sailing pretty free, withthe wind nearly abeam and all her canvas set that could draw, racingthrough the water like a crack cutter at a regatta; when, on the eveningof our eleventh day out, by which time we had nearly reached theparallel of Madeira, although forty miles or so to the westward of theisland, the breeze failed us all of a sudden, just close on to midnight, a dead calm setting in, accompanied by a heavy rolling swell. 

"Ah, " said Jorrocks, who was sharing the first watch with me--MrOhlsen, the second mate, being ill and excused from duty--"we're now inthe Hoss Latitudes, Mister Leigh, and may know what we've got toexpect!"

"Horse Latitudes?" I repeated after him, inquiringly, thinking he washaving a little joke at my expense, and taking advantage of myignorance. 

"Aye, I ain't trying to bamboozle you, my lad! They calls them so, 'cause, in the old days, the West India traders that carried out hossesto the Windward Islands had frequently to throw 'em overboard during theshifts of wind and changes they had when they got hereabouts; for theweather can't be depended on for an hour at a time, it being calm, justas now, one minute, and the next a gale springing up strong enough toblow the masts out o' your ship 'fore you can let the sheets fly. "

"Oh!" I exclaimed; "and, do you think there's any likelihood of ahurricane now?"

"Can't say, " replied Jorrocks, sententiously. "We'd better give theskipper a hail; he left orders to be called if the wind dropped, or incase of any change. "

"All right, " said I, turning to leave the poop. "I will go down androuse him at once, and I may as well knock up Mr Macdougall at the sametime to relieve the deck, for it's past eight bells. "

"Aye, aye, do so, sir, " responded the boatswain; so I hastened below toperform my mission, leaving him in charge until I returned. 

Captain Billings answered my call almost the instant I rapped at hisdoor, coming from his cabin fully dressed, having turned in to his bunk"all standing, " as if prepared for the summons; but the first mate was aheavy sleeper, and it took me more than ten minutes to rouse him, sothat when I had gained the deck again the port watch had come on duty, the "starbowlines" having gone to their bunks as soon as relieved by thefresh hands. Jorrocks, however, I noticed, remained still on the poop;and, knowing that he would not thus inconvenience himself by goingwithout his proper "caulk, " like the rest, unless there was some urgentreason--for he dearly loved his sleep when duty did not interfere withthe indulgence--I stayed behind, too, the more especially as Iremembered what he had said about there being the chance of a "blow. "

In the short time I had been away, a change was apparent, even to myunaccustomed eyes, unused as they were as yet to many nauticalphenomena. 

The stillness of the atmosphere I had noticed when I quitted the deck tosummon the skipper, had been succeeded by a series of light puzzlingpuffs of air; while, although the night was clear, with a few starsshining overhead, fleecy fragments of cloud were whirling about ineddies, some settling in heavy masses on the water and bankingthemselves round the horizon. 

But, the sea itself showed much the greatest sign of coming disturbance. The waves, no longer following each other in long heaving rollers, werecurving upwards and jostling each other--like so many fiery coursers, suddenly thrown back on their haunches, by reason of being reined inwhen in the full burst of their mad career, and now champing their bitswith angry impatience!

There was, likewise, an alteration in the aspect of the ship. 

Captain Billings had already reduced his canvas, the topgallant sailshaving been taken in and the courses clewed up; and now, pretty nearlystripped of all her "drapery, " like a gladiator entering the arena, the_Esmeralda_ appeared awaiting the issue of whatever decision theelements might arrive at--ready to take her part in the conflict shouldstrife ensue between the opposing forces of the wind and waves; or, inthe event of a contest being avoided through the disinclination of thestorm fiend to "come to the scratch, " equally prepared to spread herwings again and proceed on her voyage. 

"It's just a toss up now, whether we'll have it or not, " whisperedJorrocks to me as we stood side by side together on the poop, watchingthe skipper, whose eyes were as intently riveted on the dog-vane at themain truck above. 

Just at this moment, Mr Macdougall came lazily sauntering up the poopladder. He did not see that Captain Billings was on deck; and, eyeingthe change in the ship's appearance, exclaimed, angrily, with thatScottish burr of his, which was always more pronounced when he wasexcited--

"Hoot, mon, wha' the dickens hae ye takken the sails off her--whoordered ye, I'd like ta ken?"

He was addressing Jorrocks; but the skipper, who was annoyed by his latearrival to relieve the watch, answered him sharply--

"I gave the order, Mr Macdougall, which you should have been up in timeto have seen carried out; and, if you're a seaman and will just give aglance round, you'll soon see the reason why!"

The first mate made no reply to this save to follow out the captain'ssuggestion of looking over the side; and what he saw there did notappear to give him any excuse for controverting the skipper's words;for, the clouds had now spread over the horizon--except to thesouthward, where it was still clear, and from which a short sharp gustof wind came every now and then, filling out the loose folds of thecourses, and then, as it died away, letting them flap against the mastswith a heavy dull sound as of distant thunder, an occasional streak ofpale lightning darting across the sky to the north-west, where theheavens were most obscured, as if to bear out the illusion. 

"We're in for it now, for certain, " said Captain Billings presently, noticing a faint stir in the air above amidst the whizzing clouds, theupper strata of which were going in a contrary direction to that inwhich the vane pointed, which was still to the south-east. "Boatswain, rouse out the watch below!"

Jorrocks thereupon immediately went forward towards the fo'c's'le, knocking with a marlinspike three times on the deck, and shouting outthe well-known hail that every sailor knows but too well. 

"Tumble up there! All hands shorten sail!"

The men, who had hardly shifted their clothes and turned in, after beingrelieved by the port watch at eight bells, came tumbling up on deckhurriedly, and the skipper at once ordered the topsail and foresail tobe reefed, spanker to be brailed up, and the main course furled; whilethe vessel was kept with her head to the southward, that is, as well asthe cross sea and the fitful gusts of wind would allow, under her jib, fore and main-topsails and forecourse. 

Presently there was an ominous hum in the surrounding atmosphere, whenthe waves calmed down as if by magic; and then, a large rent discloseditself in the sombre curtain of cloud to the north-west, the heavymasses of vapour that had been previously piling themselves along thehorizon there and spreading up to the zenith falling back again andscurrying away in a retrograde direction, like skirmishers on a battle-field driven-in on to their supports by a rush of cavalry trying to cutthem off. 

"Here it comes!" shouted out Captain Billings, ordering the hands at thesame time to "stand by" the braces and topsail halliards; and, almostere the crew could get to their respective posts, the clouds haddisappeared, with what seemed a supernatural celerity from the heavens, letting the clear blue sky be seen again and the bright twinkling starspeep down to see what all the fuss was about, all being calm and easy upthere!

Thanks to the skipper's precautions, the outburst of the gale did nottake the _Esmeralda_ aback, as would most probably have been the case ifthe first mate had been in charge of the deck, when we should have mostlikely lost our spars, if the vessel had not foundered, as frequentlyhappens when a ship is caught unprepared; as it was, she only wincedslightly, with a shiver through her frame, as the wind struck her on thequarter, the masts and yards creaking and the topsails expanding with asound like that of an explosion as they were blown out to their fullestextent, almost jumping from the bolt-ropes, and then her hull lay overto leeward while she began to push through the water, driven alongbefore the blast at racehorse speed. 

"Ease off those starboard braces there, and haul in to leeward?" criedout Captain Billings, directing the man at the wheel by a wave of hishand to put the helm down slightly, so as to bring her head more up tothe wind; but this was more than the steersman could do unaided, thevessel--carrying out the analogy I recently used--resembling a viciouscharger that had taken the bit between his teeth--so, Mr Macdougall atonce sprang to help the steersman, when the two together managed, byexerting all their united strength, to jam the spokes round so that theship's head was brought over to the south-west, bearing off then withthe wind before the beam. 

The north-west gale was then blowing with tremendous force andincreasing to the power of a hurricane each instant as it whistledthrough the cordage, wailing and shrieking like the lost souls inDante's "Inferno. " The momentarily quiet sea, too, had got up again, and was now covered with huge broken waves--raised aloft in pyramids onemoment, and the next scooped out into yawning valleys, into which thevessel plunged, with a shock that made her timbers vibrate with thesledge-hammer thud of the bows meeting the billows full butt, theconcussion causing columns of spray to be thrown up that came in overthe cathead, drenching the fo'c's'le and pouring in a cascade into thewaist, whence the broken water, washing aft along the deck, forming alake on the lee-side, where the scuppers were level with the sea, fromthe ship's heeling over. 

We were still carrying too much sail; and this the skipper was as quickas any one to perceive, although he was anxious to pursue his course aslong as he could, and make as much capital as he could out of the north-wester in his way to the Line. 

"Hands shorten sail!" accordingly was the repeated cry; and, knowingwhat was wanted, the crew were soon racing up the shrouds to close-reefthe topsails, although the force of the wind nearly pinned them to therigging like spread eagles, and they had hard difficulty in gaining theyards, and working out along the foot-ropes, especially on those towindward. 

The topsail halliards had of course been let go before this, and theloose sails were filled out like balloons, so that it took some time toget in the bunt and tie the reef points; but it was at last done, and wereturned to the deck--I being especially triumphant at having out-pacedone of the smartest topmen in the ship, in gaining the weather earing ofthe foretop sail before him, and completing my task so quickly as to getdown on deck before some of the rest had yet left the yard. 

Captain Billings, I was pleased to see, noticed my activity, giving mean approving smile, which more than counterbalanced the scowl thatMacdougall greeted my reappearance with below; but all such thoughtswere soon banished by the skipper's fresh order to go aloft and take inthe topsail we had only just close-reefed, the vessel being buried toomuch by the head. 

Away up the rattlins we all climbed again; while those below, on thehalliards being started by the run, began hauling on the clewlines andbuntlines, bagging up the sail so that we could hand it easier. It wasstiffer work furling it than the reefing had been; but, at length this, too, was accomplished, albeit I nearly narrowly got knocked off theyard-arm by the flapping back of the folds of canvas in my face as thewind caught the leech sideways. We then returned once more to the moresubstantial platform of the deck, glad enough to get down safe again. 

"Let go the jib halliards!" was the next command, some of the handsstarting forwards to man the down haul; but the moment the halliardswere cast loose, the accommodating sail saved us any further trouble inthe way of stowing it, by blowing clean away to leeward with a report asif a small cannon had been fired off on the fo'c's'le--floating outagainst the dark background of the sky like a child's kite whose stringhas parted and let it go to grief, tumbling down from its soaringheight, and disappearing in the dim distance to leeward, where theclouds had already vanished. 

The ship was now only under her close-reefed main-topsail and reefedforesail, all the rest of her canvas having been taken off her bydegrees; still, she laboured so greatly, and got such a list toleeward--with the topmasts bent like fishing rods under the strain, while the weather shrouds were as taut as fiddle-strings, and those onthe port side hung limp and loose through the stretching of therigging--that the skipper saw she would not stand driving any more. Theonly thing now to be done, he thought, was to lay her to, so that, as hecould not get her any further on her forward journey, she should not, atall events, lose the progress she had already made save by leeway drift, which of course was unavoidable. 

"Ease down the helm!" he cried to the two men, who were now necessary atthe wheel, while the fore-tack was boarded, the lee braces hauled aft, and the mainyard braced in, when the ship was brought up to the wind, bowing and scraping, and taking in tons of water over the fo'c's'le, inthis operation, that washed everybody off their legs in the waist, bundling them away to leeward in a bunch. 

For a time the _Esmeralda_ now behaved very well, the mizen trysailbeing set to steady her, although, being hove to on the starboard tack, she drifted sideways, before the fierce north-west gale, making as muchleeway towards the south and east as if she had been running free; but, presently, there was a loud crack heard forwards, and Haxell, thecarpenter, came up to the skipper on the poop, looking even more seriousthan usual as he crawled aft under shelter of the bulwarks. 

"The foremast is sprung, sir, " said he in a melancholy tone of voice, asif he were announcing the fact of his just going to be hanged. 

"Is it serious?" asked Captain Billings. 

"Aye, aye, sir, it's all that, " replied Haxell. "There's a big flawclose under the slings of the foreyard. It won't stand the pressure ofthat foresail ag'in it much longer, Cap'; and it'll be safe to carryaway presently. "

"Then we must relieve it before that happens, " said the skipper, givingorders for us to furl the foresail and hoist the fore-topmast staysailin its place, for that would serve to keep control of the helm, hethought. The ship required some headsail, and this would not try thedamaged mast so severely as the foresail had done, with its wide extentof canvas. 

By the time all these different manoeuvres had been essayed and effectedit was broad daylight. It was a fine morning, too, although the windwas still blowing a hurricane and the sea was fearfully high and choppy, for there wasn't a cloud to be seen in the heavens, while the sun wasshining down with almost tropical heat; but, in spite of its looking sobright, we hadn't done with the nor'-wester yet. 

Towards mid-day, when we found from observation that we were in latitude27 degrees North and longitude 18 degrees West--nearly abreast of theisland of Palma in the Canaries, and a terrible distance to the eastwardof our position on the previous day, thus showing all the leeway we hadlost--the wind increased so much in strength that it blew now with evengreater force than at its first onset the evening before on the breakingout of the gale. 

This was not all, either. 

The heavy waves that dashed against the ship as she headed them, brokeupon her bows with such fury that it seemed every moment as if theywould beat in the timbers; while, every now and then, some billowmightier than its fellows would force her head away, making her falloff, and then, the succeeding sea would take her broadside on, hurlingtons of broken water on her decks that would have soon filled her hadnot the hatches been battened down, which precaution had been taken whenwe first reduced sail. 

The situation became serious on this being repeated several times duringthe afternoon, for there was great danger of the vessel being any momentthrown on her beam ends, when there would certainly be a clean sweepmade of everything on board and the _Esmeralda_ be speedily convertedinto a floating wreck!

Captain Billings accordingly called a council of his officers, Istanding by and listening to what Mr Macdougall and Jorrocks advisedshould be done in the emergency. These both, however, came to the sameopinion as the skipper, that scudding would be the best course to pursueunder the circumstances--although, like him, they were well aware thatthe difficulty which faced us all consisted, not so much in runningbefore the wind, as in managing to get the vessel's head round so as todo it without broaching or letting her to. 

Still, the manoeuvre had to be tried as a last resource. 

"I don't see that anything else can be done, " said Captain Billings, with a more anxious look on his face than I had ever noticed therebefore. "I only hope we'll manage it successfully; for, if we once getbroadside on in the trough of this sea, she'll never rise out of it, with the heavy cargo she carries, and so it will be a case of DavyJones' locker for the lot of us!"

CHAPTER FIFTEEN. 

"A LITTLE UNPLEASANTNESS. "

"Say, Cap', we'll have to strip her first, " suggested Jorrocks, when itwas thus decided to carry out the contemplated measure for the relief ofthe ship--"if we don't do that, we'll have every stick taken out of heras soon as we try to wear her!"

"Oh, aye, boatswain, I haven't forgotten that, you may be sure, " saidthe skipper; and the hands were then once more sent aloft to furl themain-topsail, while the mizzen trysail was hauled down and the bracesmanned, so as to help the vessel round with the yards the moment thehelm was put up. 

It was a ticklish job, though. The utmost care was necessary in orderthat the manoeuvre might be successfully accomplished. 

Should one of the heavy rollers strike her after she had once yielded tothe influence of the rudder and while coming round with the wind, beforeshe had fully paid off--thus presenting her stern to the attack of herstubborn assailants even as she now faced them, like a stag at bay or acat fronting a bull-dog--why, the gale would undoubtedly catch herbroadside on. In such a case, the _Esmeralda_ would be exposed at herweakest point to the full force of the wind and sea, in the same way asthe deer or cat turning tail to its pursuer--with what result we onboard could readily anticipate, even without the skipper's warningwords!

As Jorrocks expressed it, in the event of such a catastrophe happening, "It was all Lombard Street to a China orange we'd lose the number of ourmess and sarve as food for fishes!"

Everything, therefore, depended on our seizing the right moment forputting the helm up and bringing her head round, the critical periodbeing that between the onslaught of one of the rollers and the advent ofthe next; when, if the vessel answered her helm smartly, rising out ofthe trough of the sea ere the following wave had time to reach her, shewould be away scudding in front of the gale safely, before many minuteswould be past and the present peril might then be a thing to look backupon with feelings of thankfulness and satisfaction. 

Captain Billings explained this to Jorrocks, while all the remainingcanvas was being stripped off the vessel, with the exception of thefore-topmast staysail, which was still retained in order to assist inforcing her head round when all was ready for trying the hazardousexperiment. 

"You know what I want, Boatswain, " he said, sending Jorrocks forwards towatch for a favourable opening between the following waves and turn theship--"the moment you see our chance, give the word; and then, Heavenhelp us to get round in time and not broach-to!"

"Aye, aye, sir, I knows what you want, " answered Jorrocks, who thenproceeded to crawl as carefully towards the fore-chains, as thecarpenter had come aft--bending down beneath the protection of theweather-bulwarks as he crept along the waist, and holding on by a strayrope's-end here and there to preserve his balance--although he did thisas much to prevent exposing his body as leverage for the wind to forcethe vessel over to leeward before the proper time, as to shield himselffrom its boisterous buffeting. 

Arrived at the point he had selected, Jorrocks drew himself up gingerlyinto the fore-rigging, his hat blowing from off his head and his hairstreaming out before the wind the instant he abandoned the shelter ofthe bulwarks. However, he had not long to remain in that exposedposition. 

He had waited to stand up until he heard the blow of one of the heavybillows as it careered before the gale, coming against the bows in duerotation, and the instant he heard this he raised himself erect at once, receiving part of the deluge that broke over the cathead in a fountainof spray on his exposed head and hairy face, the impromptu shower bathmaking him appear like a dripping merman fresh from the briny deep. 

Jorrocks, however, did not mind the cold bath. He had much more seriousmatter on hand to take notice of it, beyond giving himself a shake likea retriever fresh from a dip. 

Looking over the side to windward, as quickly as he dashed the waterfrom his eyes, he noticed that the following wave succeeding the onewhich had just delivered its attack, was quite two cable lengths off--amore than usually long interval between the waves as yet. 

It seemed like an interposition of Providence in our favour, I thought, noticing the lull from my station on the poop almost as soon as Jorrocksperceived it in the bows, and I feared he would have missed theopportunity. 

But the boatswain was too good a seaman for that. The very instant thereflection crossed my mind that he would be too late, for the wholething happened in the "wink of an eye, " he raised his right hand high inthe air, standing up to his full height on the bulwarks, while holdingon to the ratlines of the foreshrouds--thus allowing his body to act asa sort of additional headsail to aid the fore-topmast staysail, which, as I've said before, was the only rag the ship had on her, in forcingher bows round. 

Captain Billings was watching Jorrocks even more intently than I; and, without a second's delay, the moment the latter gave the signal that thecritical point for action had arrived, he roared out in a voice ofthunder, "Hard up with the helm, hard up, my men, for your lives!"

Mr Macdougall and the two seamen who were standing on either side ofthe wheel, clutching hold of the spokes and holding on to them with alltheir might, shifted it round almost as quickly as the skipper's orderwas given. But they had to put all their strength into the task toovercome the resistance of the dead weight of the hull, aided as thatwas by the mountain of water pressing it back upon them and thusresisting their efforts to shift the helm over to port. 

For a brief space of time, hardly an instant though it seemed aneternity, the ship appeared somewhat sluggish to respond to the movementof the rudder, hanging in stays and settling down into the great valleyof water that loomed on our lee; but the next moment a glad cry ofrelief burst from all as she answered her helm, a wavering motion of herbows denoting this being then perceptible. 

"Now, men, look alive, " cried the skipper. "Cast-off those lee braceshere; haul round to windward sharp, and square the yards!"

These orders were executed as rapidly as they were given, the handsbeing ready at the braces, and only waiting for the word of command toease the yards round. When these were squared, however, the fore-topmast staysail fluttered and filled with a jerk that made the foremastcrack and tremble, the vibration shaking the ship to her centre andpenetrating even as far as to the deck beneath our feet as we stoodawaiting the issue of the operation--the very planks "creeping" with theconcussion caused by this and the bows meeting the send of the sea. 

But the power of the little staysail forward, and the effect of theexposed surface of the boatswain's body in the rigging, both catchingthe wind at the same time, settled the matter. 

Without making any further opposition to our wishes, the _Esmeralda_payed off handsomely; and, rising up on the crest of an enormous greenroller, that had swept up to overwhelm her, but which now passedharmlessly under her keel instead, she surged through the water, gathering way every moment as she showed her heels to the gale, careering over the stormy billows before the blast like a mad thing, asif rejoicing in her freedom after so long being forced to lay to--although the fore-topmast staysail, which had done such good work ingetting her head round, parted company as soon as the yards were bracedround, blowing away to atoms, and floating off in the distance in thesame kite-like fashion in which the jib had previously disappeared. 

The loss, however, seemed to affect the ship's speed but little, for shescudded off under bare poles at as great a rate as if she had all hercanvas set, and was running before a ten-knot breeze. 

"Thank Heaven!" I heard Captain Billings exclaim in a low voice, takingoff his cap reverently, as soon as we were safely round before the wind;and I could see his lips move as if in silent prayer. In this, Iconfess, I joined with all my heart; for, if ever in my life Iexperienced the feeling of religious emotion which causes us to expressour gratitude for rescue from peril, I had that feeling then!

The _Esmeralda_, though, was not out of all danger yet. 

There was still the fear of her being pooped by the following waves, which now raced after, in anger at her having escaped their clutches;so, to lessen this possibility, the skipper had the reefed main-topsailset again, and the mizzen trysail once more hoisted, so that the shipmight get through the water faster than the pursuing rollers. Thestrain on the masts was tremendous; but, fortunately, everything held, and under the impetus of this additional sail power she doubled herspeed, bidding defiance to the harpies of the ocean that had so nearlyworsted her in the combat. 

It was just four bells in the afternoon watch when we got her head roundbefore the wind, although it was not until nearly midnight that thehurricane blew itself out, the wind then dropping almost as suddenly asit had sprung up twenty-four hours before. 

During all this time, only one of the watches had a short spell below, and neither the skipper, Jorrocks, nor I, had ever left the deck afterthe gale had begun--the only exception being Mr Macdougall, who hadturned in for a caulk when we were lying-to. Had it not been, however, for the praiseworthy exertions of Pat Doolan, the Irish cook, I do notbelieve we should have been able to hold out so long. 

The willing fellow, despite the series of liquid avalanches that wereconstantly flooding the ship as she took in the green seas over herbows, managed in some wonderful way or other to keep his galley firealight, supplying us with a grateful cup of hot coffee at intervalsthrough the harassing night; and, late in the afternoon, when we wereall utterly exhausted, he served out to each of us, much to oursurprise, a pannikin apiece of the most delicious pea-soup I evertasted--"It was enough, " as one of the men said on receiving the welcomerefreshment, "to have put life in a post!"

This was while our struggle with the elements yet lasted; but as soon asthat was over, and when all fear of peril was dispelled by the lullingof the gale, the inevitable reaction after such protracted exertionswithout any recuperative rest became painfully apparent, and I was notat all sorry when Captain Billings told the hands belonging to the portwatch that they might go below. 

"And I fancy, Mister Leigh, " said Jorrocks to me, "we can go down andturn in too; for we ain't a going to have another such a blow in a hurryagain for a month of Sundays!"

Nor did it look like it either, the stars twinkling away in a cloudlesssky, and the night being perfectly bright and clear, although there wasno moon, while the rollers were rolling less angrily, as if the oceanwere hushing itself down into repose at last. 

There was nothing, therefore, to keep me on deck any longer; so, following the example of my old friend Jorrocks, I speedily sought mybunk, and, turning in, did not wake again until nearly noon on thefollowing day--the good-natured skipper having given orders to MrMacdougall not to disturb me when the starboard watch was relieved inthe early morning, saying that I had earned my rest fairly by rollingtwo days' duty into one, which, indeed, I believe I had!

I was up on deck again, however, in time to "tak' the soon, " as theScottish mate termed it in his north-country accent, for I was anxiousto see how far the gale had driven the vessel off her proper course. 

It was our thirteenth day out, counting from the time we "took ourdeparture, " as navigators say, from Lundy Island; and both the skipperand I made it out, after working the reckoning, that we were as far downas the twenty-fifth parallel, although a good deal to the eastward ofwhat our true position should be--the leeway we had made while lying-to, and our subsequent scudding for nearly twelve hours before the north-wester, having taken us much too close in towards the African continent, thus causing us to lose all that westing we had secured on our firststart from the Bristol Channel, and which we had afterwards so carefullypreserved, even amidst the baffling winds of the middle latitudes. 

Still, this mortifying conclusion had a redeeming feature. 

If we were too far to the eastwards, we were as assuredly beyond theregion specially designated by Jorrocks as the "Horse Latitudes, " wherethe calms of Cancer hold sway; for, now, setting all plain sail before asteady breeze from off the land, we soon managed to run into the regularnorth-east Trades, picking them up in the next degree or two we ran downto the southward. 

From this point, keeping on the starboard tack again, with the wind wellon our beam, we ran for the Line; but before crossing the equator, MrMacdougall and I, between whom relations had been somewhat strainedalmost from our first introduction, came to an open rupture, the "littleunpleasantness" happening in this wise. 

Mr Ohlsen, the second mate--"Old son of a gun, " as the crew called him, from his taciturn manner of going about his work--was still on the sicklist; and Captain Billings, who had expressed himself much pleased withmy behaviour since I was on board, especially during the storm, hadassigned the performance of this gentleman's duties to me. 

At this Mr Macdougall was extremely indignant, remonstrating with theskipper for putting so young a lad as myself in such an important postas that of second mate. 

"What are your reasons for objecting to him?" asked Captain Billings. 

"Why, the loon's but a bairn, " said Mr Macdougall, at a nonplus forsome objection to my promotion. 

"If he's young, " answered the skipper, "he's got a man's courage and aseaman's aptitude, which is more than I can say for some aboard here!"

"Hoot, mon, d'ye mean to eenseenuate?"

"I insinuate nothing, " interrupted Captain Billings, hotly. "If the capfits you, why, you can wear it! Leigh is a strong, sturdy fellow, worthany two hands on a yard; and, as for navigating, he can work out areckoning better than--than myself!"

"That mebbe, that mebbe, I dinna gang for to denee that stat'ment, Cap'en, " said the Scotsman, sneeringly, implying that I or anybody elsemight easily eclipse the skipper's powers of calculation; "but I hae mydoots, mon, I hae my doots. "

"You can `hay' your grandmother if you like, " retorted Captain Billings, decisively; "still, it's my order that Leigh acts as second mate untilMr Ohlsen is able to return to duty. I'm captain of this ship, MrMacdougall, please remember!"

This was the invariable expression the skipper always made use of whenhe had made up his mind to anything, so the mate knew that there was nouse in his trying to argue the point any further, and he left the poop, where the altercation had taken place, in a towering rage. This hisfreckles plainly showed, his equanimity not being restored by the ill-concealed titters of the men standing by, for they had overheard most ofwhat had been said, and repeated the substance of the conversation to meafterwards. 

I was, it is true, only sixteen at the time; but, being a sturdy, broad-shouldered chap, I looked all two years older; and I really do not thinkthe skipper complimented me too strongly when he said I was worth acouple of hands on a yard, for, during my experience in the coal brigunder Jorrocks' tuition, I had acquired considerable proficiency anddexterity in most of a seaman's functions, which aptitude I had furtherimproved while sailing in Sam Pengelly's schooner between the variousports between Plymouth and the Land's End for two years nearly at astretch afterwards. 

My nautical education, too, as I have already mentioned, had not beenneglected all the time I had been waiting to get on board a sea-goingship, for since I had joined the _Esmeralda_ I had not lost a singleopportunity for developing my book learning by practical examples inseamanship, Captain Billings encouraging me to persevere whenever he sawme inclined to laziness, and giving me all the advantage of his owntraining and experience; so that, by this time, I believe I was almostas competent to take charge of the ship on an emergency and navigate herto her destination, as if I had passed the Trinity House examination andreceived a first mate's certificate like Mr Macdougall, whom in themathematical part of navigation I could beat easily. 

Of course, I was not up in sailor lore as to atmospheric changes andthose signs and tokens which it takes a long apprenticeship to the seathoroughly to learn; but in the ordinary work of the ship I was secondto none, the men, with whom I was a prime favourite, thanks to Jorrocks, acknowledging that I could reef, hand, and steer, with any of them. 

Mr Macdougall was jealous of me--that was the reason of his animosity;so he took advantage of every chance he had to discount the captain'sfavour by making me in the wrong, to prove his assertion as to myincompetence to take charge of a watch. 

One day I had taken an observation at noon as usual, the skipper of lateleaving that operation entirely to me, for he knew Mr Macdougall wouldbe certain to get a sight too, if only in order to have a wrangle withme as to the right position of the ship. Having made out the reckoningwith a stop watch, I was busily engaged marking out our place on thechart on top of the cabin sky-light, as it was a fine day, with a pairof callipers and parallel rulers, when the Scottish mate came up to me. 

"And whaur d'ye find us the noo?" said he, insinuatingly, to me. 

"We're in 1 degree 35 minutes north, and 28 degrees west; and I thinkought to alter our course a trifle more to the southward to avoid theSaint Paul islets, which we must be heading for direct, steering south-west as we are now. "

"Whaur d'ye mean, bairn? There's no land near us, I ween, save theRocas, and that is far awa' to the westwar'. "

"I tell you, " said I, positively, with perhaps a good deal ofbumptiousness, "we're heading on straight for those rocks there markedon the chart!"

"Why, ye're mad--a stork staring loon!" retorted Mr Macdougall, in themost irritating way; "ye'd better gang awa' to schule again. "

"I think you had, " I answered; "I have forgotten more than you everlearned!"

Now this was very rude and impertinent for me to remark to a man so mucholder than myself, and my superior officer; but I did not reflect at themoment what I said to my tormentor, for he used to nag at me every dayabout the very same point--my taking the sun and working out thereckoning. It was a very sore subject with him ever since the skipperpraised me at his expense on our first day out. 

At all events, rude or not, my reply had the desired effect ofexasperating Mr Macdougall to the last pitch of endurance, for he wasvery easily excited. 

"Gin you say that ag'in, ye onmannerly loon, " said he, foaming withpassion, his pale complexion becoming paler, which made the frecklesstand out prominently, "I'll knock ye doon. "

"Will you?" I cried, "you just try it, that's all!"

He did; and down I went on the deck, as flat as a pancake, from a well-directed blow of his brawny fist!

I was not beaten, however. 

Jumping up, I faced him again, only to undergo a repetition of theflooring process; when, seeing that I with my boy's strength was nomatch for him as yet, and losing my temper quite as much as he had done, I seized a large snatch-block which was lying by on the deck close to myhand, hurling it at his head with all my force. 

The mate started back in terror, for the missile only missed him by halfan inch, and if it had struck him would most certainly have killed himon the spot, although I did not think of that when I pitched it at him;and, just at that moment, I heard Captain Billings' voice behind us. 

CHAPTER SIXTEEN. 

BREAKERS AHEAD!

"Hullo, steady there--belay that!" exclaimed Captain Billings, half-wayup the poop ladder, which he was ascending hastily, two steps at a time, "Mr--Mr Macdougall--Martin Leigh! What's this disgraceful row about?"

I had quickly picked up a handspike when I saw that I had missed my aimwith the snatch-block, while my antagonist--who, to do him justice, hadplenty of pluck, and had only been startled for the moment by the heavymissile hurtling through the air close to his projecting nose--wasadvancing to attack me again with his fists clenched, a savage look thewhile on his face, as if he meant to settle me this time; but, on thisinterruption from the skipper, we both relinquished our hostileattitudes, Mr Macdougall slinking towards the binnacle, as ifinnocently engaged in studying the bearings of the compass there, and Idropping the handspike incontinently. 

There was a ringing tone of command in the skipper's voice which meantthat he intended to be obeyed; but mixed with this, beyond a slightsuspicion of surprise at the unexpected scene which met his gaze, therewas a good deal of subdued irritation, which really was not to bewondered at. 

He had been having an afternoon nap in his cabin, which was situatedimmediately below the deck where the mate and I had been rehearsing thelittle drama I have just detailed; and the noise we had made with "themovements of the piece, " to speak theatrically, having veryunceremoniously disturbed his slumbers before the period he generallyallowed himself for his "forty winks" had expired, his temper was notsweetened thereby beforehand, only just needing the unseemly _fracas_which he noticed on coming on the poop to send it up to fever-heat. 

I had never seen Captain Billings so angry since I had been on board the_Esmeralda_; his blue eyes fairly flashed forth fire!

He took no notice of me at first, advancing towards the chief mate. 

"Mr Macdougall, " said he, sharply, "I call upon you for an explanationof this--this--discreditable affair!"

"Yon dratted loon, Capting, sought me life!" replied the other, glibly. "He hove a snatch-block at me, and takkin' the pairt of my ain defeenceI was gangin' to poonish him a wee when ye came on deck. "

"And did you give him no occasion for behaving so insubordinately, sir?"asked the skipper, looking Mr Macdougall straight in the face with apiercing glance, as if defying him to answer him untruthfully. 

But the mate was too old a hand at "spinning a yarn, " as sailors termdealing in fictitious statements. He could utter a falsehood withoutwinking once!

"Nae, sir, " said he, as cool as a cucumber, making no reference to thefact of his having twice knocked me down before I retaliated on him, "Idid naething to the loon, naething at a'! I only joost reprovit him awee for his bad language and inseelance, ye ken, an' he oops wi' yonblock an' heaves at me puir head. It's joost a marcy o' Proveedence hedid nae knockit me brains oot!"

Fortunately for the Scotsman, his good or bad angel was in the ascendantat this moment, substantiating this incomplete account he gave as towhat had happened. As luck would have it, too, Captain Billings hadonly got up the poop ladder in time to take heed of the latter part ofthe fray, and thus the evidence of his own eyesight corroboratedapparently the mate's assertion, that I had made a most unjustifiableassault on him. 

Greatly incensed, therefore, he now turned on me. 

"I saw the assault myself, Mr Macdougall; so I don't merely take yourword alone for it. What have you got to say, Leigh, in excuse for youroutrageous behaviour? It's--it's scandalous; I could thrash youmyself!"

My pride, however, was roused by the fact of his having accepted themate's explanation without asking me for any explanation first, and socondemning me unheard; consequently, without taking into considerationthe thought that it was only proper that Captain Billings should supportthe authority of his chief officer unhesitatingly, I answered him ratherpertly, only feeling my own wrong, and not considering what was theskipper's obvious duty. 

"If you believe Mr Macdougall, " I replied, in a rude, off-hand way, "there's nothing for me to say. "

"You ungrateful young hound!" cried out the skipper, who, if angrybefore, was now as mad as a hatter at my impudence. "That's the thanksI get, is it, for favouring you and promoting you out of your station!Listen; consider yourself disrated from this instant--do you hear?"

"Yes, I hear, Captain Billings, " said I, in a sullen voice. 

"Then, heed sharply, my lad, " he retorted. "Get off this deck and goforward. Your place, henceforth, sir, will be in the fo'c's'le, alongwith the other hands; and the sooner you lug that chest of yours out ofthe spare bunk I gave you amidships, the better!"

This was a terrible downfall; but, of course, there was no use myarguing against the skipper's decision, the master of a merchant shipbeing lord paramount on board his own vessel, and having the power tomake and unmake his officers, like a nautical Warwick, the whilomcreator of kings!

So, much chapfallen, I withdrew from the poop; and, abandoning all mydignities as acting second mate and first-class apprentice, proceeded tomake myself at home with the crew forward--much against the grain, Iconfess, although the men received me cordially, and took my part, notonly from their liking for me personally, but from their hatred of thechief mate as well. 

Mr Macdougall, I could plainly see, was cock-a-hoop at my disgrace, from the malicious grin on his freckled face. 

His triumph, however, was not very long-lived. 

On making me relinquish my functions on the quarter-deck, the skipperhad sent for Jorrocks, telling him that he would have to take charge ofMr Ohlsen's watch in my place. 

"But I doesn't know nothing o' navigation, Cap', " said the boatswain, who felt keenly my abasement, and was loth to "step into my shoes, " asit were. 

"Oh, never mind that, " replied the skipper. "Mr Macdougall will giveyou the courses to steer; and, if anything particular happens--which Idon't expect, with the wind we have now and us in the open sea--why, youcan call me. "

"Aye, aye, sir, " answered Jorrocks, being thus foiled in his attempt atgetting me reinstated, which he thought might have been the case on hispleading his inability to con the ship; and so, when Macdougall wentbelow with the starboard watch at eight bells in the afternoon, theboatswain took charge of the deck with the relief hands--the matetelling him still to keep to the same west-sou'-west course which I hadsuggested to Mr Macdougall, a couple of hours or so before, should bealtered to a more southerly one, and the controversy about which hadcaused that "little unpleasantness" between us, which had terminated sodisastrously for myself. 

To explain this matter properly, I should mention that, when, on ourthirteenth day out, after the cessation of the north-westerly gale thathad driven us to the south of the Canaries, Captain Billings discoveredthat we were so near in to the African coast, in taking advantage of thewind off the land he had perhaps committed an error of judgment inmaking an attempt to recover our lost westing, instead of pursuing acourse more directly to the southwards; for, in the early part of thenorthern summer, the Equatorial Current begins to run with greaterrapidity towards the west, causing vessels to lose much of their truedirection, and the most experienced navigators recommend crossing thisstream at right angles, if possible, so as to get beyond its influenceas speedily as circumstances will permit, at least at that time of year, when an easterly passage of the equator is advisable. 

However, the skipper acted for the best, wishing to get well to thewindward of Cape Blanco and the contrary currents and variable breezesgenerally encountered in that vicinity; and so, the _Esmeralda_ hadtherefore continued on a diagonal course across the equatorial streameven after we had picked up the regular north-east Trades, until we hadreached the meridian of 25 degrees West, when we had run as far south as8 degrees 15 minutes North. 

Here, we lost the Trades that had blown us so far on our route, enteringinto the second great belt of calms met with in the Atlantic to perplexthe mariner when essaying to pass either to the north or south of theequator--a zone of torpidity, known popularly under the name of the"Doldrums, " which was originally derived most probably from the oldPortuguese phrase _dolorio_, "tormenting. "

This belt of calms separates the two wind zones of the north-east andsouth-west Trades, which meeting here, their opposing forces areneutralised, and the air they bring with them from the colder regions ofthe north and south, becoming rarified by the heat of the equator, passes up into the higher atmosphere, producing a stagnation of the windcurrents; and hence ensue calms that vary in duration according to theposition of the sun, whether north or south of the Line, calms that aresometimes accompanied by tremendous rain showers, and sometimes variedwith frequent squalls and thunder and lightning, followed sometimes bythick fogs hanging on the surface of the water. 

The belt of the Doldrums has an average width of some six degrees, orabout five hundred miles of latitude, roughly speaking; and in crossingit we were not much more favoured than most navigators, having to knockabout for seven days under a sweltering tropical sun--taking advantageof whatever little breeze we could get that aided our progress to theequator, until we emerged from the retarding influence of this zone ofinactivity, some three degrees to the northward of the Line, when wefortunately succeeded in sailing into the south-east Trades almostbefore we expected. 

We had, however, lost some little way eastwards through the sweep of theGuinea current, a stream which seems strangely enough to take its risein the middle of the ocean, and makes a sudden set thence towards theBight of Benin; so, Captain Billings, who appeared to be prejudiced onthe subject of the western passage of the equator, instead of now tryingagain to shape a true south course towards our point of destination, Cape Horn, directed a parallel so as to fetch the Brazilian coast. Theship, consequently, after leaving the Doldrums was steered south-westand by west, a direction which, if preserved, would have run us on in astraight line to the Rocas, a dangerous reef stretching out into the seaoff the westward peak of the island of Fernando Noronha, some eighty-four miles out from the mainland to the northward of Cape Saint Roque. 

This was on our thirtieth day out from the Bristol Channel, two daysbefore the first mate and I had come to loggerheads; and since then thevessel had kept on in the same course, closing with the equator eachhour under the steady south-easterly breeze which we had with us, on theport tack, and speeding even more rapidly to the west than our skipperimagined--for, through the set of some current to the northward andwestwards, our dead reckoning showed a wide discrepancy from theposition of the ship by observation, as I made it on the day of therow--when, as I've stated, the skipper, feeling indisposed, had left meto take the sun, knowing that the mate would check my calculations. 

But, as things turned out, the altercation which occurred completelytook off the attention of Captain Billings from the subject; and, as Ileft the chart which I had been using on the top of the cabin sky-lightwhen he ordered me to quit the poop without informing him of the seriouserror I had discovered, and Mr Macdougall, wise in his own conceit andconfident that he and the dead reckoning were both right, did not hintof the ship's course being wrong, on we went, with all our canvasspread, racing into the teeth of a danger which the skipper never dreamtof our being near. 

The weather was now beautifully fine, the breeze tempering the heat ofthe sun, and flying fish and albicore playing around the vessel as weneared the equator; while, occasionally, a school of whales would spoutto windward, or a shoal of porpoises, having a game of high jinks asthey leaped out of the water in their graceful curves one after theother, would cross our bows backwards and forwards in sport, apparentlymocking our comparatively slow progress through the sea in contrast totheir own rapid and graceful movements, and showing how easily theycould outstrip us when they so pleased. 

I was standing on the fo'c's'le head, sadly looking out over the bows, while the light lasted, at the moving panorama of Nature around me; thedancing waves curled up on either side of the catheads as the vesselplunged her forefoot down, and streaming aft in a long wake to leeward;the cloudless sky above; the vast solitary expanse of the horizon; theleaping fish and spouting whales--keenly alive to everything and yet mymind full of all my grievances, being especially wrathful with theskipper for accepting Mr Macdougall's statement against me, withoutfirst allowing me to utter a word in my own defence. 

It was worse than tyranny, I thought, this arbitrary conduct indisrating me unjustly!

I remained here till I heard one bell strike soon after the second dog-watch commenced; for I was waiting for Jorrocks to be relieved, as Iwished to speak to him in order to get him to put in a word for me withCaptain Billings, when he had calmed down and could listen to reason. While I was waiting, the evening closed in, the sun having not long set;for, in the tropics, night succeeds day with startling rapidity, therebeing no twilight to temper the transition between bright sunshine anddarkness--the one ensuing almost immediately after the other without any"toning down, " as painters express it, to lessen the effect of thechange. 

Hearing, as I fancied, a whale spouting nearer than usual--thesemonsters of the deep making a noise as they eject the water through thespout-holes on top of their heads in a fountain of spray, after drawingit with their gills, like surf breaking on a distant shore--the soundsomehow or other took back my thoughts to the chart, and I suddenlyremembered what I had told the mate about the danger of the shipapproaching the Islets of Saint Paul. 

These are a cluster of rocks, called by the early Portuguese navigatorsthe Penedo de Saint Pedro, lying almost in mid-ocean, close to theequator, in latitude zero degrees 55 minutes 30 seconds North, andlongitude 29 degrees 22 minutes West; and, from the water being beyondsoundings in their immediate neighbourhood, they must form the peak ofsome submarine mountain range. They are only about sixty feet or so inheight clear above the level of the sea; and, consequently, being onlyvisible at a comparatively short distance off--not more than a couple ofleagues at the outside, even in broad daylight--and situated as theshoal is in the direct track of the trade wind, the rocks form a sourceof great peril to mariners traversing their bearings, especially atnight time, nothing existing to give warning of their proximity until avessel may be right on to them, as it were. 

Thinking of all this, which I had read in the "Sailing Directions forthe North Atlantic, " a book which the skipper had lent me to study, inorder to perfect me in navigation, I felt a sudden fear lest the shipshould be wrecked on the reef, making up my mind to tell Jorrocks aboutthe error I had discovered in our position on the chart, which Idetermined to ask him to fetch for me, so as to show it to CaptainBillings. 

Jorrocks, however, was a long time coming forwards after being relievedfrom charge of the deck by Mr Macdougall, remaining some little timetalking to him on the poop; so that it was nearly two bells, and quitedusky, when he made his way to where I was standing looking out for him, I having asked one of the hands to say that I wanted to speak with him. 

"Well, Mister Leigh, " he said, on making his appearance, "here I am atlast; better late nor never, as the old folks say! But that blessedScotchman would have a long yarn with me, about goodness knows what!"

"I'm glad you've come, " I replied; and then I went on to tell him aboutmy fears of peril to the ship from our vicinity to the Rocks of SaintPaul, which I was certain we were approaching every mile we ran furtherwest. 

But the boatswain was almost as incredulous of our being near the shoalas the first mate had been in the afternoon. 

"Bless you, Mister Leigh, we're miles to windward of that place, " saidhe with a laugh. "But it's allers the way with your young navigators asis full chock up to the bung with book larnin' and hasn't had no real'sperience o' the sea yet! They allers fancy all sorts o' dangers thatyour old seamen who've been a v'yage or two never thinks o' reckonin'on!"

However, the good-natured fellow, seeing how earnest I was in thematter, promised to take the chart to the skipper, who was lying down inhis cabin again, feeling far from well of late, as, indeed, his lookslately showed--and we were all afraid he had caught the same sort of lowfever like Mr Ohlsen, the second mate. 

"An; I'll tell him as mildly as I can, Mister Leigh, of this here mare'snest as you've found out, so as not to make him angry with you again. "

"Thank you, Jorrocks, " I replied heartily; but, just at that moment, hearing the whales making a noise quite close to the ship's side as Ithought--although I could not see them within the limited circle ofdusky light to which the surrounding gloom narrowed my vision, I said, "What a row those whales are making, are they not? They're quite near, and yet, although it's not dark enough yet to hide them from our gaze, there's not a trace of one in sight!"

Jorrocks cocked his head on one side and listened; but in an instantthere was a striking alteration in the quizzical look with which he hadat first regarded me, under the evident idea that I had discoveredanother "mare's nest. "

"By Jingo, Mister Leigh, you're right after all!" he exclaimed, his faceturning pale as if with sudden fright. 

"What, do you think we're running on the rocks I spoke about?" I asked, anxiously. 

"Aye, not a doubt of it, " he answered, in the same quick way, bendinghis head again to listen over the side. "Either them identical ones, orelse we're on the Rocas off the Brazilian coast. "

In another moment, however, if in doubt previously, his suspicions wereapparently confirmed; for, springing up again, and rushing aft as if hewere suddenly possessed, Jorrocks roared out at the pitch of his voice--the words ringing like a trumpet note through the ship--

"Breakers ahead on the weather bow! Hard up with the helm--hard!"

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN. 

PAT DOOLAN "CARRIES ON. "

Jorrocks's cry to put the helm up was instantly obeyed by the man at thewheel, who jammed it hard-a-port with all his strength. The handsbelonging to the watch on duty, at the same time, knowing with theaptitude of seamen what this order necessitated, rushed to the leebraces, easing them off without any further word of command, while thoseon the weather side were hauled in, thus squaring the yards and gettingthe ship round before the wind, when she ran off to the north-westwards, on a course almost at right angles to her former direction--which was ona bowline, with the sou'-south-east wind nearly on her beam. 

"Hoot mon, what d'ye mean?" shouted Mr Macdougall, when he hadrecovered from the surprise which the unexpected order of the boatswain, so rapidly carried out, had caused. "Are ye gone clean daft?"

But Jorrocks had no need to explain the reason for his interference withthe mate's duties. 

As the vessel payed off, the sound of surf, loudly thundering againstsome rocky rampart projecting from the deep which opposed the onwardroll of the ocean billows, was heard louder and louder; and, in anotherinstant, Mr Macdougall and those who stood beside him on the poop heldtheir breath with awe as the _Esmeralda_ glided by a triangular-shapedblack peak that seemed as high as the foretopsail yard--so closely thatthey could apparently have touched it by merely stretching out theirhands, while over it the waves, driven by the south wind, were breakingin columns of spray, flakes of which fell on the faces of all aft, asthey looked over the side, and trembled at the narrowly-avoided danger. 

"Whee-ew!" whistled Jorrocks through his teeth. "That were a squeak, an' no mistake!"

It was. 

We had been saved by a miracle. 

Five minutes, nay, half a minute longer on our previous course, and the_Esmeralda_ would, with the way she had on her, have been dashed topieces on the jagged teeth of these isolated rocks standing in mid-ocean, when never a soul on board would have lived to tell the tale ofher destruction; for, in the pale phosphorescent light emitted by thebroken water surrounding the crag, some of the sailors averred, as wesheered by, that they saw several sharks plunging about--ready to devourany of us who might have tried to swim ashore had the vessel come togrief. 

It was an escape to be thankful for to Him who watches over those whotravel on the treacherous seas, and protects them from its perils "inthe night, when no man seeth!"

A dead stillness prevailed for a moment on board after the bustle ofwearing the ship round had ceased, so that you might have heard a pindrop, as the saying is, although in the distance away astern themelancholy cadence of the waves breaking on Saint Paul's Islets wasborne down to us on the wind. As I stood in the waist, whither so faraft I had followed Jorrocks, I could have caught any words spoken on thepoop above me, but I noted that Mr Macdougall didn't utter a syllablein continuance of the reprimand he had begun against the boatswain forhis "officiousness, " as he apparently considered his order to put theship off her course. He was terror-stricken on realising the motive forthe boatswain's interference; however, before he had time to open hismouth again, the skipper, who had been roused up by the sudden commotionon the deck over his head, rushed past me up the poop ladder likelightning. 

Captain Billings' first look, sailor-like, was aloft; and noticing thevessel was before the wind, while the spanker, which had been eased off, prevented him from seeing the shoal we had so narrowly avoided, heturned on the mate for explanation. 

"Hallo, Macdougall!" he exclaimed, "what's the reason of this, eh?"

But the mate did not answer at once. He still seemed spellbound. 

"We've just wore her, sir, " said Jorrocks, stepping forwards, andaccompanying Captain Billings as he made his way to the binnacle. 

"So I see, " drily replied the skipper, after a hasty glance at thestandard compass. "But what has been the reason for thus altering thecourse of the ship? I gave orders for her to be steered south-west bywest; and here we are now heading direct up to the northward again!What's the reason for this, I want to know? Speak, now, can't you?"

Macdougall, on this second inquiry being directed to him by theskipper--who for the moment seemed to ignore the boatswain's presencebeside him--mumbled out something about the rocks, but he spoke in sothick and indistinct a voice that Captain Billings believed he wasintoxicated. 

"Rocks, your grandmother!" he cried angrily. "The only rocks hereaboutsare those built up in your brain through that confounded bottle you'realways sucking at below!"

"Indeed, sir, " put in Jorrocks at this point, taking the mate's part, "Mr Macdougall's right, Cap'. We've just had the narrowest squeak ofgoing to the bottom I ever 'sperienced in all my time. Look there, sir, o'er the weather taffrail, an' you'll see summat we pretty nearly ranfoul of just now--it were a risky shave!"

Captain Billings, somewhat puzzled by the boatswain thus "shoving hisoar in" for a second time unasked, cast his eyes in the directionpointed out to him, where, now lighted up by the newly risen moon, couldbe distinctly seen the Penedo de San Pedro, with the surf breaking overit in sheets of silver foam. 

He recognised the place in a moment, having passed close by the spot ona previous voyage; and he was greatly astonished at our being in itsnear vicinity now. 

"Good gracious!" he ejaculated, "what an escape we must have had; buthow came we near the place at all?"

"That I can't explain, sir, " replied Jorrocks meaningly. "Perhaps, though, as how there was something wrong in the ship's position on thechart to-day. "

"Ha, humph!" muttered the skipper to himself. "This comes of my beingill and entrusting my duties to other hands; but I'll never do it again, I'll take care! Mr Macdougall, " he added aloud, "I beg your pardon forwhat I said just now in the heat of the moment, and I hope you'll excuseit, as I was greatly flurried, and do not feel very well yet. Whatposition did you place the vessel in to-day, by the way, when you tookyour observation at noon?"

This was a ticklish question, and the mate hardly knew how to answer it, recollecting, as he did in an instant, what I had said--of our beingmuch further westwards than the skipper thought. Even if he did notagree with me, the point should have been referred to Captain Billings, as it so vitally concerned the interests of all on board. Almosttongue-tied, therefore, now by his former silence on the subject, hetemporised with the difficulty, determined not to be cornered if hecould help it. 

"'Deed an' I mad' it e'en the same as the deed reck'nin' cam' to, Cap'en, a wee bit to the westwar' o' twenty-seven, and close to theleen. "

"Then your sextant must have been out of order, or your calculationswrong, " replied the skipper, shortly. "We are evidently much to thewestwards of your reckoning. How did you observe the danger--was therea man on the look-out?"

"Nae, sir, I didna think we required yon, " answered Macdougall, now athis wit's end for a reply. 

"No, I should think not, " said Captain Billings, in his dry way; "butwho was it that warned you in time to wear the ship?"

"Mister Leigh, sir, " put in Jorrocks, thinking the time now come tospeak up for me. "He heard the noise of the breakers first, and calledmy 'tention to 'em, and I then sung out to put the helm up. "

"Oh!" ejaculated the skipper, quite taken aback by my name being thussuddenly brought up by Jorrocks--just as he was thinking of me and myrecent shortcomings, as he afterwards explained to me. 

"Yes, sir, " continued my old friend the boatswain, believing it best topush the matter home, now he had once introduced me on the carpet; "andhe begged me to tell you, sir, as how he'd left his chart on the cabinsky-light, where he'd jotted down summat as he'd diskivered when takingthe sun, before the rumpus arose 'twixt him and Muster Macdougall. "

"Chart!" interposed the mate, making a step towards the sky-light, andtrying to throw the tarpaulin that was hanging there over it whilstpretending to drag it off, "I see no chart here. "

"Why, here it is, " exclaimed the skipper, noticing one end of the roll, which projected from beneath the tarpaulin; and, pulling it out, hewalked back again towards the binnacle, by the light of which heinspected my tracing of the ship's path on the chart carefully. 

"Pass the word forwards for Martin Leigh, " he cried out presently; andI, listening below in the waist, just under the break of the poop, toall that had transpired, very quickly answering to the call of my nameas it was sung out by Jorrocks, mounted up the poop ladder, and advancedaft to where Captain Billings stood. 

"Leigh, " said he, quietly, "I have sent for you to explain matters aboutthis chart. Did you take an observation to-day as I told you?"

"Yes, sir, " I replied. 

"And did you agree with Mr Macdougall?"

"No, sir, " said I, unable to avoid the joke, "we didn't agree--we fellout, as you saw!"

Jorrocks burst out laughing at this, and even the skipper himselfcouldn't repress a smile--although he bit his lips to hide it, seeingthe first mate scowling at me as if he could eat me up without salt, forhe was afraid of the truth now coming out. 

"Don't be impudent, Leigh! you know what I mean well enough. Did yourcalculation agree with that of Mr Macdougall?" asked Captain Billingsagain. 

"No, Captain Billings, " I answered, this time gravely enough. "I foundthat our dead reckoning was nearly thirty leagues out, some set ofcurrent having carried us considerably to the westward; but when I toldthis to Mr Macdougall, he called me a fool. "

"Why did you not come and report the matter to me?"

"Well, sir, I didn't have time to, " I said. "When Mr Macdougall spoketo me in that way, I suppose I gave him a cheeky retort, for hethreatened to knock me down. "

"And then?" asked the skipper, when I paused here, not wishing to tellof my being floored. 

"Why, I dared him to touch me, " I continued, "and he did knock me down. "

"Did he? I heard nothing of this before! I thought that you hadattacked Mr Macdougall first--indeed, he told me so himself!" CaptainBillings said, with much surprise, eyeing the first mate suspiciously. 

At this point, an unexpected witness stepped forth in my defence, in theperson of Haxell, the taciturn carpenter. This individual seldom spoketo any one unless previously addressed; so his voluntary testimony on mybehalf was all the more striking and effective, especially as it wasgiven in the very nick of time. 

"Aye, but the lad didn't, " now sang out Haxell, who had come up on thepoop without any one previously noticing him. "I saw Mr Macdougallknock him down twice afore ever he raised his hand ag'in' him. "

"The deuce he did!" exclaimed the skipper, indignantly; and then turningon the first mate, he gave him another "dressing down" before all themen, such as I never heard given to any one before. It, really, almostmade me feel sorry for him!

"You lying thing!" he cried to Mr Macdougall in withering accents, thescorn of which was more than I could express in words. "I can't callyou a man, and you aren't a sailor, by Jove, for sailors don't behavelike that to poor friendless orphan boys! You have told me a heap offalsehoods about this whole occurrence from first to last, and I despiseyou from the bottom of my soul for the way in which you have actedthroughout. I'm only sorry we're at sea, for you shouldn't stop an hourlonger in my ship if I could help it!"

"But, Cap'en, " interposed Mr Macdougall, feebly, trying to ward off thestorm of the skipper's wrath, "the ill favourt loon provokit me, and wasmair than inseelent. "

"Phaugh, man!" exclaimed Captain Billings, with intense disgust. "Don'ttry and excuse yourself; it only makes matters much worse! I don't mindyour knocking the lad down, and I daresay Leigh would forgive you forthat, too; but what I am indignant at is the fact of your telling such agross lie about the transaction, and allowing me to take an unjust viewof the quarrel--making me disrate the young fellow, and punish him as Idid, under a false, impression of what his conduct had been, all ofwhich a word from you might have altered! Besides, just think how inyour conceited ignorance you nearly wrecked the ship and sacrificed allour lives through your refusal to take a hint from the lad as to ourposition. Why, I don't mind receiving a suggestion from the humblestforemast hand any day!"

"But--" put in the mate again, trying to defend himself. 

His appeal, however, was in vain, for the skipper would not listen tohim for a moment. 

"You had better go below, Mr Macdougall, " he said. "I cannot speakcalmly to you now, and the sooner you're out of my sight the better foryou! But stop a minute, " he added, as if on after reflection. "As youwere present when I disrated Leigh--on the ground mainly of your falsestatements as to his having assaulted you without any provocation onyour part, which has now been proved to have been false--it is onlyright that you should also be present at the restoration of the lad tohis former post. Leigh!"

"Here, sir, " I replied to this last hail of the skipper's, on hiscompleting his reprimand to the mate. I anticipated, of course, whatwas coming, and my heart gave an exultant thump, almost "leaping into mymouth, " as the saying is. 

"I'm sorry, my boy, I did you a wrong this afternoon, " said CaptainBillings, stretching out his hand kindly to me as he spoke. "I hope, however, you'll forgive me, and bear no malice. I now wish you toreturn to your duties as acting second mate in Mr Ohlsen's place untilhe's fit and well again; and I trust you'll have no furtherdisagreements with any of the officers of the ship. "

"Thank you, sir, " I answered respectfully, accepting the hand he offeredand giving it a cordial shake. "I will be very careful of my conduct infuture, and I'm sorry for being impertinent to Mr Macdougall--"

I turned here towards where the first mate had been standing; but he haddisappeared, so the skipper accepted the apology I intended for him, onhis behalf in his absence, making short my _amende honorable_. 

"Never mind him now, my lad, " he said, waving his hand as if dismissingMr Macdougall from further consideration. "He's gone below, and joy gowith him, if he's got any conscience! And, by the way, Leigh, I shan'tforget that you've saved all our lives to-night by your timely warning. "

"It was more Jorrocks than I, sir, " I interposed here, stopping theskipper's thanks. "I thought the sound of the breakers was caused by alot of whales blowing near us; but he knew better, and he it was whosang out to the helmsman. "

"Well, well, we won't argue the point, " replied Captain Billings, laughing. "I will say you both had a hand in it, if that'll suit youbetter; but now, to end the controversy, you can go and turn in to yourold bunk, as I intend keeping the first watch till we're safe on ourright track again. "

To hear was to obey, although, before I left the poop, the _Esmeralda_having got well away from the perilous rocks that had nearly been herruin, I had the satisfaction of seeing her hauled round again up to thewind, with her head pointing south, thus resuming her proper coursetowards Cape Horn--only now with a more southerly pitch, sailing close-handed on the port tack. 

Towards four bells in the morning watch we achieved the wonderfulnautical feat of "Crossing the Line, " and, as I was on deck at the time, interviewing Pat Doolan in order to coax some coffee out of him, theIrish cook had a joke or two at my expense, under the plea ofchristening me on my entrance into Neptune's rightful "territory"--ifthat term be not a Hibernian bull, considering the said territory issupposed to lie below the sea!

It was only our thirty-third day out, and some of the hands werecongratulating themselves on our having got so far on our journey, manyvessels knocking about the equator when within reach of it for daysfrequently before they can accomplish the passage. 

"Be jabers!" said Doolan, "I call to mind once whin I was goin' from NooYark to Australy in a schooner with a cargo o' mules--"

"Lor', here's a bender coming now!" interrupted one of the crew with alaugh. 

"Whisht, now!" ejaculated the cook indignantly. "Sure an' it's thetrooth I'm tell'n ye, an' niver a lie! Whin I were a goin' to Australyin this here schooner, we kept dancing about hereabouts till a lot ovthem blessed mules died, an' in coorse we hove 'em overboard as soon asthey turned up their toes. "

"That's a good un!" put in Jorrocks, who was standing by. "This is thefust time I ever heard tell of a mule having toes!"

"Well, hooves thin, if you likes them betther, " said Pat, a little upsetby this correction. "But, as I was a sayin' when this omahdaun heretook the word out ov me mouth, unlike the raal gintleman he ginerallyis--"

"Stow that flummery, " cried Jorrocks, putting his hands before his face, under pretence of blushing at the compliment; but Doolan took no noticeof him further, proceeding with his yarn. 

"Whin we hove them mules over the side, I noticed one as was coolluredmost peculiar, all sthripes ov black on a white skin, jist like one ovthem zaybrays they haves in the sarcus show, an' they're called so, bythe same token, 'case they brays like a donkey and comes over the zay, you see?"

"Aye, we see, " said the hands, winking at each other and whispering thatPat was "carrying on finely this morning!"

"Well, bhoys, as I was a sayin', " continued the narrator, serving outpannikins of hot coffee to the watch the while, and so attending to dutyand pleasure in the same breath, "I notic't this sthripy mule when itwas chucked over the side at the beginning of the month. It was lastAugust twelvemonth as how we was crossing the Line; and, after pitchingthe poor brute over, we sailed on and on--would you belayve it?--aye, for thray weeks longer, as I'm a living sinner, whin one foine mornin', jist the same as this now, the look-out man sings out as he says a boatfloating ahid ov the schooner! Our old man, thinkin' there might besowls in the blissid thing, puts the vessel off ov her coorse to fetchto windward ov it; and blest if what the look-out man thought was a boatwasn't the self-same carkiss ov that there sthripy mule we hove overthree weeks before!"

"You'll do, " was the comment of Jorrocks to this story. "You 'mind me, Pat, of a yarn I heard once about an old lady and a chap who knew how to`bowse his jib up, ' same as yourself. "

"What was that?" I asked, seeing that Jorrocks looked as if he wereprimed up to fire off another story, and only needed a little pressingto make him reel it out. 

"Lord, Mister Leigh, it ain't nothing to speak of, " he began, with apreliminary hitch of his trowser stocks; "it's only what them book-people calls a nanny goat. "

"An anecdote, eh?" I said. "Well, that'll be all the better. Heaveahead with it now you're on the tack. "

"All right, then, " replied Jorrocks. "Here goes. You must know as howthis old lady were going over the Atlantic for the fust time, being on avoyage from Falmouth to Saint Kitts, in the West h'Indies; and she weremighty curious, when she had rekivered from sea-sickness, about all thestrange sights o' the h'ocean, pestering the cap'en to death withquestions. 

"One day she tackled the old man 'bout flying fish. `Bless me, MrCapting, ' she says, `is it really true as how there be fishes as flyhereabouts?'

"Now, it were just on to noon that day, and the old man was busy 'bouttaking a sight o' the sun, the same as you're so handy with, MisterLeigh; so he says to the old lady, `I'm engaged, mum, at present, but ifyou axes that man there at the wheel while I goes below, he'll tell youall about it. '

"So, as soon as he dives down the companion to take the time of thechronometer below, the old lady goes up to the helmsman--all bridling upand curtseying down, the same as a ship in a heavy head sea. 

"`Good-morning, Mr Sailor, ' says she. 

"`Mornin', ' says the man at the wheel, who was a rough old shellback, and didn't waste his words like Pat Doolan here. 

"`Is it really true, Mr Sailor, ' says the old lady, `as how there arefishes in the sea in these latitoods, as can fly in the air, like birds?The capting told me to ax you, or I wouldn't trouble you. '

"`Bless you, mum, no trouble at all, ' answered the man. `In coursethere be flying fish hereabouts; you'll see flocks of 'em presently. '

"`And are they very large, Mr Sailor?' says the old lady. 

"`Large, mum?' repeats the helmsman, looking around as if in search ofsomething to liken the size of the fish to. `Why, I've seed em as biground as--aye, as the stump of that there mizzen-mast there!'

"`My good gracious!' screams the old lady, `Why, they must be larger norcrocodiles!'

"`Aye, all that, ' says the man, as cool as you please. `The last voyageI was on, my mate was in the foretop of the vessel I was in, looking outto windward, when pop jumps one of 'em right down his throat!'

"`And the fish was as big as the mizzen-mast there?' says the old lady, curious like, in her surprise at the chap's awful bender; although shedidn't misdoubt his telling her the truth, for she would ha' took inanything!

"But he was too fly for her, was my joker!

"`You mustn't speak to the man at the wheel!' says he, gruffly; and sohe got out cleverly from answering any more questions on the point--smart of him, wasn't it?"

I could not help laughing at this story, the other hands joining in themerriment; all of us, though, wondering how Pat Doolan would take it. 

The Irishman, however, did not consider there was anything personal init. Other people's pulls at the long-bow always seem much more apparentthan one's own!

"Ov coorse that chap was takin' a rise out of the ould lady, " he saidparenthetically; "but what I tould you ov the mule was thrue enough. "

"What! do you mean to say that you were sailing away from the carcasefor three weeks and came across it again?" I inquired, with a smile. 

"Not a doubt ov it, " replied the Irishman, stoutly, "and going goodsiven knots an hour by the log, too, at that! I rec'lect that v'yage o'mine in that schooner well, too, by the same token! It was there Ifound that Manilla guernsey ov mine so handy ag'in' the could. "

"A Manilla guernsey?" said Jorrocks, in much amazement. "I know whatManilla cables are, and I've heard tell o' Manilla cigars, though I'venever smoked 'em; but a Manilla guernsey--why, who ever came across sichan outlandish thing?"

"Be jabers, I have, boatswain, " cried Pat Doolan. "Sure, an' I made itmysilf; so, if you'll listen, I'll till ye all about it. "

"Hooray, here's another bender!" sang out the chaps standing by; but, seeing that the cook appeared as if he would turn rusty if they showedany further incredulity at his statements, they composed theirfaces--"looking nine ways for Sunday, " as the phrase goes; or, like theCarthaginians when the pious Aeneas was spinning that wonderful yarn ofhis which we read about in Virgil, in the presence of Queen Dido and hercourt, _conticuere omnes et ora tenebant_!

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN. 

CAUGHT IN A PAMPERO. 

"Sure an' you must bear in mind, messmates, " commenced Pat, comingoutside his galley and leaning against the side in free-and-easyfashion, "when I wint aboord that vessel in Noo Yark, I was a poorgossoon, badly off for clothes, having no more slops than I could carryhandy in a hankercher. "

"Not like your splendiferous kit now, " observed Sails, the sail-maker, with a nudge in Jorrocks' ribs to point the joke--the cook's gear in theway of raiment being none of the best. 

"No, not a ha'porth ov it, " proceeded the Irishman, taking no notice ofthe sarcastic allusion to his wardrobe. "To till the truth, I'd onlyjist what I stood up in, for I'd hard times ov it in the States, an' wasglad enough to ship in the schooner to git out ov the way ov thim rowdyYankees, bad cess to 'em! They trate dacint Irishmen no betther nor ifthey were dirthy black nayghurs, anyhow! How so be it, as soon as I gotafloat ag'in, I made up my mind to git some traps togither as soon as Icould. "

"Let you alone for that!" interposed Sails again, maliciously. 

"Arrah, be aisy now, old bradawl and palm-string, or I'll bring ye upwith a round turn!" exclaimed Pat, getting nettled at the remark. 

"Why can't you let him be?" cried the rest, thereupon. "Heave ahead, cooky;" and, so encouraged, the Irishman once more made a fresh start, declaring, however, that if he were once more interrupted they'd "neverhear nothing" of what he was going to tell them, "at all, at all!"

Peace being then restored, he resumed the burden of his tale. 

"As soon as the ould schooner was riddy to start with all thim mulesaboard, we got a tugboat to take us in tow down the harbour out to theNarrows, as they calls the entrance to Noo Yark Bay; and whin the tug'shawser was fetched over our bows to be fastened to the bollards I seesthat the rope's a bran-new Manilla one. 

"`Aha, ' thinks I, `that's a foine pace of rope anyhow! I'll have a bitov you, me lad, to stow away with my duds; mayhap ye'll come in handyby-and-bye!' and so saying to meeself, I sings out to the chap on thetugboat a-paying out the hawser, to give me some more slack, and heheaves over a fathom or two more, which allowed me to cut off a goodlength, lavin' plenty yit to belay around the bollards; an' whin no onewas lookin' I takes the pace ov cable below and kicks it away in theforepeak, so as I could know where to foind it forenenst the time Iwanted for to use it. 

"Well, we sailed away from Sandy Hook down to the Line, an' sailed andsailed, losin' most of our mules, and making no headway, as I've touldyou, until at last we got into the south-east Trades, same as this shipis now, and fetched down the coast to Cape Horn. 

"Presently, it begins to get so could, that for want of clothing I wasnearly blue-mouldy with the frost in the nights, until I could stand itno longer; but none ov the chaps had any duds to spare, an' I was claneout of me head what for to do. 

"One evening, howsoever, whin I were that blue with could as I couldhave sarved for a Blue Pater if triced up to the mast-head, a sinsiblekind ov idea sthruck me. 

"`Be jabers, ' sez I to mesilf, `I'm forgettin' that pace of Manillahawser I've got stowed away; sure an' it'll make an illigant overall!'

"No sooner I thinks that, than down I goes to the forepeak, where Ifound me rope all right; and thin, thin and there, boys, I unreaves thestrands, making it all into spun yarn--you know, I s'pose, as how I'm asail-maker by rights, like Sails here, and not a reg'ler cook?"

"The deuce you are!" ejaculated Sails; "you never told us that before. "

"No fear, " replied Pat. "Faix, I don't till you iverythin' I knows--Ilarnt better nor that from the monkeys in Brazil, old ship!"

"But what did you do with the Manilla hemp arter you unrove the hawser?"asked Jorrocks, his curiosity now roused by the matter-of-fact way inwhich the Irishman told his story--relating it as if every word was "thetrue truth, " according to the French idiom. 

"Why, you omahdaun, I jist worked it into a guernsey, knitting it fromthe nick downwards, the same as the ladies, bless 'em! do them woollenfallals that they wear round theirselves. "

"You wove it into a guernsey?" cried Sails, in astonishment. 

"Aye, I did that so, " returned Pat; "and wore it, too, all round CapeHorn!"

"Then let me look at you a little closer, " cried the sail-maker, pullingDoolan towards him, and passing his hand over his nose. 

"What the blazes are ye afther, man?" asked Pat, not being able to makeout what the other meant by handling him in that fashion. 

"Only seeing if you had my mark, " said Sails, calmly; "and here it is, by all that's powerful!"

"Your mark, Sails? What on airth d'ye mane?"

"Why, whenever I sews up a chap in his hammock as dies at sea, whichI've often had to do as part of the sail-maker's duty in the many shipsI've been in, I allers makes a p'int of sticking my needle through thecorpse's nose, to prevent him slipping out of his covering. "

"What!" ejaculated the Irishman, startled for the moment out of hisnative keenness of wit; "an' is it m'aning to say as it's a could corpusI've been, an' that I've bin did an' buried in the bottom of the say?"

"Aye, aye, my hearty, " answered Sails, with great nonchalance. "AndI've sewed you up in your hammock, too, for sarten--that is, just assure as you fetched across that there streaky mule of yourn, artersailing over the ocean for three weeks, and made a guernsey frock out ofa Manilla hawser!"

There was a regular shout of laughter from all hands at the sail-makerthus turning the tables so completely on the Irishman, who got so angryat our merriment for the moment that he retired within his caboose, slamming the half-door too, and declaring that not a single mother's sonof those present should have the taste of hot coffee again in themorning watch!

However, Pat's fits of temper were as evanescent as they were quicklyproduced, and presently he was laughing and talking away as if he hadnot been offended, enjoying the joke Sails had against him almost asmuch as any of the others. 

Two days after crossing the Line we sighted the Rocas, on passing theparallel of Fernando Noronha, where the Brazilians have a penalsettlement; and, on the third day, we cleared the Cape of Saint Roque, which is the most projecting point of the South American continent--stretching out, as it does, miles into the Atlantic Ocean, while thecoast-line on either side of it trends away in a wide sweep, awaywestwards, north and south, back from the sea. 

After passing Saint Roque, we ran down our latitudes rapidly, the south-east Trades keeping with us until we had reached the twentieth parallel;and we fetched Rio on our forty-second day out. This was not bad time, considering the great distance we were driven out of our way by thegale, and the fact of our subsequently knocking about for a week in theDoldrums. 

With regard to matters on board the ship, I may state here, that, fromthe date of that eventful night when the _Esmeralda_ had soprovidentially escaped being wrecked on the Rocks of Saint Paul, andCaptain Billings, after "dressing down" the mate, had restored me to myformer position aft, Mr Macdougall had not spoken a single word to me, although I had made many overtures of peace towards him, wishing thematter to drop--nothing being so unpleasant as to be on awkward termswith any one with whom one is brought in constant contact, especiallywhen the daggers-drawn parties are cooped up together in a vessel on thehigh seas. 

But, no; he would not accept the olive branch. 

When it was time for me to relieve his watch, the mate invariably sentone of the hands to summon me, telling me through the same medium thecourse to be steered, and giving what orders were necessary for theworking of the ship, so that there should be no occasion for anyconversation between us; and it likewise happened that when we were ondeck together, as was frequently the case during the day, he alwayswalked on the weather side of the poop, while I took the leeward place--that is, unless the skipper was there too, when of course the latterpromenaded the more honourable beat, and I walked by his side, while MrMacdougall had the lee-side then all to himself. 

At meal-times also, in the cabin, he took care that we should not meet, never coming in until after I had left the table, and always rising upto go on deck should I enter while he was there. 

The mate held aloof in a similar fashion from the skipper, the two neverinterchanging a word save with reference to the navigation of thevessel. He seemed, indeed, to have sent us both to Coventry, althoughCaptain Billings made no comment to me on his conduct; but I did notfail to notice--what indeed was the popular belief through the ship--that, if the first mate was paying us out in this way, he did not forgetto "take it out of the crew" in another and very practical mode of hisown, which was by driving them as hard as a workhouse superintendent incharge of a lot of poor paupers. 

To return to the ship and her voyage, I should observe that, after thesouth-east Trades failed us--succeeded for a short spell by lightvariable winds, as we kept well away from the coast, and so perhapsmissed the land breeze that we might have had--we picked up the south-west monsoon, which carried us past Rio Janeiro. 

The term monsoon, or "monsun, " I may explain, is derived from an Arabicword, _mausim_, meaning "a set time, or season of the year;" and isgenerally applied to a system of regular wind currents, like the Trades, blowing in different hemispheres beyond the range of those old customerswith which ordinary voyagers are familiar. 

From Rio we ran down in five days to the Plate River, having fineweather and making pretty good sailing all the time, as indeed we haddone since crossing the Line; but, arrived off Monte Video, we soon hadwarning that our quiet days of progress through the water on one tack, without shifting a brace or starting a sheet, were numbered with thefortunate things of the past. 

One morning, just when we were in latitude 34 degrees 55 minutes south, and 55 degrees 10 minutes West, or nearly a hundred miles off the wideestuary of the Rio de la Plata, I noticed a peculiar phenomenon. 

The wind was blowing from the northward of west, while the atmospherewas bright and clear, so that the horizon was extended to almost doubleits ordinary distance; but, although no land was to be seen anywhere insight, myriads of little winged insects began all at once to hover overus, just as if we were close in shore under the lee of some tropicalforest, while our hands, clothes, faces, and the ship's rigging as well, began to be covered with long, white, hair-like webs, similar to thosewoven by spiders in a garden shrubbery! I couldn't make it out at all, feeling inclined to view the matter as one of those extraordinary freaksof Nature, which even science is unable to throw any light on--phenomenathat are every now and then exhibited to us, as if only to show ourignorance of the workings of the invisible Power around us guiding themovements and physical cosmogony of our sphere; but Jorrocks, who was athorough seaman, believing in portents, and thinking that everythingunusual at sea was sent for a purpose, and "meant something, " advised mycalling the skipper. 

"I 'specs, Mister Leigh, " said he, "as how there's a squall brewing, orsummat, for they're pretty plentiful down here when the wind bears roundto the west. "

"All right, Jorrocks; I'll give him a hail, " I replied; and leaving theboatswain in charge of the deck, it being my watch, I went down to wakeup the skipper, he having only turned in just before I came on duty. 

"How's the glass?" asked Captain Billings, as soon as I had roused himand told him what I had observed. 

"I didn't think of looking at it, sir, " I replied. 

"Then do so at once, " he said; "a sailor should never fail to consulthis barometer, even when the weather is apparently fine, for it giveswarning of any change hours, perhaps, before it may occur. It is anunswerving guide--more so than the wind and sky in some latitudes. "

I hastened now to look at the instrument, and noticing that it hadfallen, I reported the fact to the skipper as he was dressing. 

"Ah, " said he, "then that has occurred since I turned in;" and, completing his toilet rapidly, he soon followed me on deck, whither Ireturned at once. 

In the short interval of my absence below, however, there was a markedalteration in the scene. 

The wind had dropped to the faintest breeze, which presently, too, diedaway, succeeded by a dead stillness of the atmosphere, while the seabecame like glass, except where an occasional heave of the unbrokensurface betrayed the restless force beneath that seeming calm; and, instead of the clear sky and wide-stretching horizon melting into theazure distance, which had previously struck me with admiration, a thickhaze had crept up over the heavens from the westwards, which, extendingright up to the zenith, had soon shut out the bright sunlight, making itdarker than night--the air becoming at the same time chill and cold. 

I had not much leisure, though, to note the pictorial effects of thescene; for I heard the skipper's voice behind me. 

"By Jove, Leigh!" he exclaimed, "we're going to have one of thosepamperos, as they call them, that come off the mouth of the Plate; andwe'll have all our work cut out for us to be ready in time. Call theother watch, boatswain!"

"Aye, aye, sir, " replied Jorrocks; and quickly his familiar hail rangout fore and aft, as he rapped on the scuttle forwards--

"All ha-a-ands take in sail!"

We were carrying a full spread of canvas at the time; but the men, tumbling out of their bunks with a will, not having had much of thatsort of work lately, were soon clambering up the rigging, furling theroyals and topgallant sails--I amongst them, you may be sure, havingbeen the first, as usual, on the main royal yard. 

"Now, men, take in the flying jib, " cried Captain Billings, when we hadcome below, having so far stripped the ship for the coming fight; andthe headsail was stowed, the spanker and trysail were brailed, thecourses hauled up and the yards squared, when we awaited the attack ofthe pampero. 

"It'll soon be on us now, " said the skipper, seeing that the heavensbecame blacker and blacker to the westwards; and presently it came!

A streak of vivid lightning shot out from the blue-black storm-cloudsthat were hung over the ship like a funeral pall, lighting up thesurrounding gloom and making it appear all the more sombre afterwardsfrom the momentary illumination; and then, with a crash of thunder--thatseemed as if the sky above was riven open, it was so awfully loud andreverberating--the tornado burst upon us, accompanied by a fierce blastof wind, that almost took the ship aback, and would have sent her downbeneath the water in an instant to a certainty if we had been undersail. 

"Let fly everything!" shouted the skipper; and the halliards being castloose, the topsails came down on the caps by the run; when the_Esmeralda_, paying off from the wind, began to exhibit her old form ofshowing her heels to the enemy--tearing away through the sea with allher sheets flying. 

Along with the pampero came a terrific shower of hail that lacerated ourfaces and almost took away our breath for the moment; but, never heedingthis, on the skipper issuing his orders, we were up aloft again reefingtopsails in a jiffey, and, as soon as the halliards had been manned andthe yards rehoisted, the courses were furled and the jib hauled down, the fore-topmast staysail being set in its place. Everything being nowmade snug, the vessel was brought once more round to her course on thestarboard tack, heading a little to the westward of south. 

To the hail succeeded a heavy storm of rain; and then, the pamperohaving blown itself out by its sudden frenzy, a short calm now came on, after which the wind chopped round to the old quarter, the southwardsand eastwards, bringing us back again to the port tack as we steeredbetween the Falkland Islands and the South American continent--keepingin closer to the land now, for any fresh wind that might spring up wouldbe certain to come from off shore. 

The day of the pampero, however, did not pass by before another incidenthappened on board the _Esmeralda_. 

When "all hands" were called, of course Mr Macdougall came up too; and, although he did not go aloft the same as I did to help in reefingtopsails and furl the canvas--for he was neither so young nor so activeas myself, and besides, it was not his place as first mate of the shipthus to aid the crew in doing the practical part of their duty--yet, ondeck, he was of much assistance to the skipper in seeing that hisdifferent orders were promptly executed at the moment required; beingnot chary either of lending a hand at a brace when help was necessary, and exerting himself as much as any one, in a way very unusual for him. 

So now, when the pampero had passed away and the excitement was over, Captain Billings, in his joyful exuberance of feeling at the _Esmeralda_having weathered the peril, went up to him and shook hands cordially. 

"Hurrah, Macdougall!" he exclaimed, "the old barquey has been too muchfor my River Plate bully of a pampero. "

"Aye, mon, she's weethered it weel, I ween, " replied the mate, acceptingthe proffered pledge of restored friendship; and he was shaking away atthe skipper's fist as if he was never going to relinquish its grasp, when, suddenly, the calm came on that I have mentioned, and the sailsflapped against the masts heavily, shaking the ship and making therigging vibrate. 

Both Mr Macdougall and the skipper looked aloft, impelled by the sameinstinct, as they stood aft, the mate close to the taffrail; when, atthat instant, the spanker boom swinging round, the lee sheet--not beinghauled taut--caught the mate athwart his chest and swept himincontinently over the side!

I was on the opposite side of the deck, witnessing with muchsatisfaction the mode in which he and the skipper had made up theirdifferences, the feud having lasted for over a fortnight; but, on seeingthe accident, was for a moment horror-struck. 

However, I soon recovered myself. 

"Man overboard!" I shouted out, with all the power of my lungs; andthen, without hesitation, I plunged after Mr Macdougall into the sea. 

CHAPTER NINETEEN. 

ON FIRE IN THE HOLD!

The wind had dropped to a calm, as I've mentioned, just before this; butthe sea was still running high, with those heavy waves that get up in amoment in the lower latitudes as soon as it begins to blow. But I neverthought of this when I plunged in to the mate's rescue. 

When I was at Dr Hellyer's, the only two things I ever really learntthat were of any use to me in my after-life were, a substantialgrounding in mathematics--thanks to "Smiley"--which subsequently madethe study of navigation easy to me when Sam Pengelly put me under chargeof a tutor; and, secondly, the art of swimming, the place where theschool was situated and the practice of taking out the boys on the beachfor the purpose every day, offering great facilities to any one with theleast aptitude for taking to the water and possessed of a desire tolearn how to support himself in it. 

Now, therefore, I found the second of these acquirements to stand me ingood stead--the consciousness of knowing how to swim, not only giving methe courage to leap over the vessel's side after the unfortunate man, but also enabling me to decide what to do when I found myself battlingwith the waves on my errand of succour. 

The _Esmeralda's_ quarter was a good height from the sea level; so, onmy diving off, what with this and the impetus of my leap, I wentconsiderably below the surface, coming up panting for breath somedistance away from the ship, which, having still a little way on her, besides offering a considerable surface of hull for the waves to actupon, was drifting further and further off each instant. 

I had no concern about this, though, the only impression on my mindbeing the necessity of getting hold of Mr Macdougall as soon as Icould; and when I had recovered from the half-suffocating feelingproduced by my impromptu long dive beneath the Atlantic rollers, Iraised myself on the top of one of these, and proceeded to look for thefirst mate, who ought, I thought, to be pretty close to me. 

The water struck bitterly cold, as I trod it down in order to elevatemyself as much as I could and so have a wider view around, for it mademy limbs feel as if cramp was coming on; but I kicked out vigorously, and the sensation passing off I began to feel more at home in the water, and as confident as if I were bathing off the shore at Beachampton--albeit I was now having a bath in the middle of the Southern ocean, withmy ship almost half a mile from me by this time!

I did not see Mr Macdougall anywhere at first, so I feared that theforce with which the boom sheet had come against his chest might have soinjured him as to paralyse his movements when he fell overboard; but, presently, when I rose on the crest of another huge rolling billow thattook me up a little higher aloft, I saw him struggling in one of thewatery valleys between the ridges of the waves about half a cable'slength away to the windward of me, so that I was between him and theship, whose sails alone now were all I could see of her from my lowposition in the water. 

Catching sight of him, at once inspired me with fresh courage, making meas buoyant as a cork; and I faced the task before me, offering up aheartfelt prayer that I might accomplish it successfully. 

"Hold up, Mr Macdougall! I'm coming to help you!" I cried out asloudly as I could, for he seemed just then, from the look of despair Isaw on his face, to be on the point of chucking up his hands andallowing himself to sink to the bottom, impressed probably with thehopelessness of attempting to reach the vessel. Then, striking out witha good strong breast-stroke, which is worth all your fancy side businessin rough water, I made towards him; although, having to go against theset of the sea, I found it much harder work than merely keeping myselfafloat, which was all that I had previously tried to do, withoutactually swimming. 

He did not hear my shout, being to windward; but, when I rose presentlyon another wave-crest nearer him, I could perceive that he saw me, fromthe way in which he raised one of his arms in his excitement--the effectof which was, of course, to cause his head to go under and make himbelieve his last hour was come. 

"Help, help!" he screamed, when he got above the surface again, spluttering out words and water together; "I'm droonin', mon--help, mon, help!"

I could hear him distinctly from my being to leeward, and as I was muchnearer to him now, I cried out again to encourage him--

"Hold on, Mr Macdougall! I'll be with you in a minute!"

Then, with half a dozen strong, sturdy strokes, aided by a wave thatworked him towards me, I was by his side. 

He was utterly exhausted, having, like most unpractised swimmers, pumpedhimself out by splashing about with short jerky movements of his handsand legs, which only wearied him without advancing him through theopposing billows or assisting him to keep up; and, on my coming up tohim, as all drowning men in similar circumstances invariably do, he madea frantic clutch at me, when, if he had succeeded in grasping me, weshould both have sunk to the bottom. 

But I took very good care he should not touch me, for Tom Larkyns and Iwhen at Hellyer's used to make a practice in fun of pretending we weregoing down when out bathing, and the one or other of us who acted thepart of rescuer would always study how to approach the feigning drowner, so as to help him effectually without incurring any risk of being pulledbelow the surface; so, on Mr Macdougall stretching out his clutchinghands, endeavouring to get hold of me, I was quite on my guard to avoidhis grip. 

Diving below him, I seized him by the back of the neck, his long sandyhair, which was streaming with water, enabling me to take a firm grip. 

"Don't try to hinder me, " I cried hurriedly between breaths, for the seawas very rough, and it wasn't easy to speak. "Keep perfectly quiet, andI'll save you. "

The Scotsman gave a wriggle or two, but, like most of his countrymen, hehad a good deal of common sense and self-command, which made him remainpassive after a bit; when, throwing myself on my back, I floated, dragging his head across my body, so that he might rest awhile andrecover himself before trying to swim towards the ship. 

Presently he endeavoured to look round, so as to see who it was that hadcome to his assistance. 

"Hold hard!" I said. "You mustn't move, or I'll have to let you go;"for, I can state, it was a difficult job supporting him in that way, andit took all my paddling to keep our united weight up. 

"Ah!" he exclaimed, "I ken the voice--eet's you, Leigh, eesn't it?"

"Yes, Mr Macdougall, it's me, " said I. "Do you feel better now?"

But he did not answer me for a moment, although I felt a tremble gothrough his frame. 

A moment afterwards, with what sounded like a sob, he cried out, "Youbrave laddie! To theenk that you of all ithers should ha' coom to savea reckless loon lik' me, the noo! It's a joogement on me for me cruelleeing again' you, boy; you've heapit coals o' fire on me head!"

"Never mind that now, Mr Macdougall, " I said. "We've got to see aboutgetting back to the ship, and then we can let bygones be bygones! Haveyou got your breath back now?"

"Eh?"

"Do you think you can manage to put a hand on my shoulder, and restquiet in the water while I tow you along?"

"Aye, I'll try it, laddie. "

"Mind, you mustn't clutch hold of me too hard, " I cried; and, easyinghim off from my chest, I turned round again in the water. 

He sank about a foot at first from the change of position, but, keepingstrict heed to my injunctions, and gripping my shoulder with a grasp ofiron, he was presently floating half alongside and half behind, with hishead well out of the water, as I struck out to where I could still seethe ship as we rose every now and then at intervals on the crests of thefollowing waves; although, when we descended again between theintervening hollows, we seemed shut in by a wall of sea. 

The pampero having blown off from the pampas inland--whence the localname for these tornadoes--had come from the westwards, and, of course, the set of the waves, even after the wind had ceased to move them, continued in a south-westerly direction, whither the _Esmeralda_ hadalso been carried away from us, the exposed surface of her hull driftingher more rapidly away than such tiny atoms as we presented to theinfluence of the rollers. When, therefore, Mr Macdougall was so farrecovered as to permit of my attempting to regain the ship, she wasalready quite a mile off, if not more!

As I looked at her distant sails, which came in sight when we got atopof the billows, they seemed to be gliding further and further away eachfresh time that I saw them, showing that there was no wind; so, knowingthat a boat would have to pull all that distance against a heavy headsea in order to fetch us, I almost despaired of our being picked up. 

No one but those who have undergone a similar experience, can imaginethe utter loneliness that strikes upon the heart of a solitary swimmer, struggling in the middle of the ocean for dear life. The sea neverlooks so terribly wide and vast as then, the sky never so far off, as hegazes upwards in piteous entreaty; while the elements appear to mock hispuny efforts to reach the receding vessel containing his comrades of amoment ago, who now seem basely leaving him to perish!

These thoughts flashed through my mind as I struck out in the directionof the _Esmeralda_. All the sins and omissions of my past life thenrose before my mental kaleidoscope, making me conscious of myunpreparedness to die, and yet want of justification to live; but Istruck out bravely nevertheless, and I need hardly say, I did notwhisper a word of my fears to the mate, who kept silent and motionlessthe while, without incommoding my efforts. 

My strokes got slower and slower, for the wash of the sea over us everynow and then was terribly fatiguing; for, although I was very strong formy age, and powerfully built, still the strain of supporting MrMacdougall besides myself, was more than I was able to manage--thestrongest man couldn't have done it. 

He saw this even before I did, and took away his hand from my shoulder. 

"Let me bide, laddie, " he said. "You've doon your best to save me, butyou canna do't mair; gang awa' and save your ain sel'. "

"No I won't, Mr Macdougall, " I cried, stopping and treading water for aminute or two, while he imitated my example. "If I'm saved, you shallbe saved; and if you drown, I'll drown too!"

"That's bravely said, laddie, " he replied, "but your streength will nalet you bear my lumpy karkus. I'm a meesereeble sinner, ye ken, andit's na richt as a brave lad lik' you should lose his ain life for aworthless loon lik' me!"

"No more of that, Mr Macdougall!" I cried, stoutly. "I made up mymind to try and save you when I jumped overboard after you; and save younow I will, with God's help--so there's no use trying to prevent me!Now put your hand on my shoulder again, for it's time for us to bemoving on after our rest. "

The short "spell off" from swimming had rested me, and I struck out oncemore with renewed vigour, my progress with the mate in tow being nowmuch more rapid, for the sea was calming down, beginning to feel thecessation of the wind. 

"We'll reach the ship, never fear!" I said presently, seeing her stillin the distance when we rose upon a wave from the watery abyss in whichthe previous dialogue had taken place. 

"I hope so, laddie, I hope so, " said Mr Macdougall, but his words didnot sound very cheering, and I went on swimming hard, saying nothingfurther. By-and-bye, just when my strength began to fail again, and Ifelt that I could never get over the distance that separated us from thevessel, I saw to my joy a large object floating near. 

"Hullo!" I cried, "here's a boat, or raft, or something in sight; cheerup, Mr Macdougall, we're saved!"

But, he was so worn out with the exposure, and his previous efforts tokeep up before I went to his assistance, that he had now almost lost thepower of speech, only moaning something like "Eh, laddie?" behind me. 

I saw, therefore, that I must now trust entirely to my own exertions forour joint safety--the more so since that, as the mate lost hisconsciousness, although still keeping hold of me in the way I haddirected him, his limp, passive weight pressed me down lower and lowerin the water; so, putting out all my energies for a final effort, andclenching my teeth together with grim determination, I struggledforward, swimming as hard as I could towards the floating object I hadseen, and which I had caught sight of only just in time. 

One stroke--two--three--and a roller throws me back again. I renew thecontest--another stroke, accompanied by as vigorous a kick out as I canmanage, with Mr Macdougall's prostrate body touching my legs; andthen--I clutch hold of the thing at last--hurrah!

It was a large hencoop, which used to be fixed on the starboard side ofthe _Esmeralda's_ poop; so I suppose some one must have pitched itoverboard after me the moment I gave the alarm. 

But, no matter when it was sent adrift or why, it now saved both ourlives; for I don't believe I could have swum a stroke further, while asfor Mr Macdougall, he was already like a man dead. 

There was a piece of rope lashed round the coop, and with this I at oncemade the mate fast to it, raising his head well up, and shouting in hisears to revive him. 

In a minute or two, he opened his eyes, and appeared more like himself, a smile spreading over his face, as if in thankfulness for escapingdeath. 

As for me, I was as right as a trivet now that I had come across such asplendid raft; and, climbing on top, and balancing myself so as not tolet it lurch over, I proceeded to look for the ship--which I had almostforgotten while striving to reach this nearer haven of refuge. 

No sooner, however, had I mounted the hencoop, which floated nearly afoot above the surface, even with my weight on it--for it was a bigpiece of woodwork, with plenty of timber in it, and as light as a cork--than I felt a faint current of air blowing in my face from a directionquite opposite to that of the drift of the waves, the tops of which nowbegan to curl and break off. 

"Hullo, the wind has changed!" I sang out to Mr Macdougall, as helooked up at me to hear my report; and then, glancing round, there I sawthe _Esmeralda_, with her yards squared, approaching us rapidly, thebreeze having caught her up long before it reached us. 

I could have shouted aloud for joy. 

"Cheer up, Mr Macdougall!" I said, repressing my emotion as much as itlay in my power. "The ship is making for us, and we'll be on boardagain in a brace of shakes. "

"Nae, ye're jookin', laddie!" he cried despairingly. "She'll neverreach us 'fore dark. "

"Aye, but she will, though, " I replied, as she was nearing us so fastthat I could now see her hull, which had before been invisible; and, almost as I spoke the words, she rose higher and higher, until I couldmake out an object at the mast-head like a man on the look-out for usand signalling, for I could see his arms move. 

"Hurrah! she's coming up fast now!" I cried, to convince MrMacdougall; when, seeing my excitement, he at last believed the goodnews, the effect on him being to cause him to burst into a passion oftears, of which I took no notice, leaving him to recover himself. 

Presently, I could not only perceive the _Esmeralda_, but a boat alsoahead, to which the man I had noticed in the foretop was making motions. 

"We're all right now, Mr Macdougall, " I said. 

"I thought they wouldn't desert us! They have launched a boat, and itis pulling towards us now. Let us give them a hail; raise your voice, sir--one, two, three--now then. Boat ahoy!"

The mate did not help the chorus much, his voice being too weak as yet, and his lungs probably half full of salt water; but still, he joined inmy shout, although those in the boat were too far off to hear it. 

"We must hail them again, " I said, "or else they'll pass to windward ofus. Come, Mr Macdougall, one more shout!"

This time our feeble cry was heard; and a hearty cheer was borne backdown on the breeze to us, in response, the men in the boat pulling forus as soon as they caught our hail. 

In another five minutes, it seemed, but perhaps it was much less--thetension on one's nerves sometimes making an interval of suspense appearmuch longer than it really is--the _Esmeralda's_ jolly-boat wasalongside our little raft, with the two of us tumbled into the stern-sheets, amidst a chorus of congratulations and handshakings fromJorrocks, who was acting as coxswain; and, before we realised almostthat we were rescued, we were safe on board the old ship again. 

It was all like a dream, passing quite as rapidly!

The skipper, when I climbed the side ladder which had been put over forus, assisted up by a dozen pairs of willing hands, almost hugged me, andthe crew gave me three cheers, which of course gratified my pride; but, what I valued beyond the praises bestowed on me for jumping overboardafter Mr Macdougall--which was a mere act of physical courage whichmight have been performed by any water-dog, as I told Jorrocks--was theconsciousness that I had made a friend of one who had previously been myenemy, returning good for evil. It was owing to this only, I ferventlybelieve, that my life was preserved in that perilous swim!

Mr Macdougall was ill for some days afterwards, the shock and exposurenearly killing him; still, before the end of the week he was able toreturn to duty, a much changed man in every respect. Thenceforth, hetreated the men with far greater consideration than previously, and hewas really so painfully humble to me that I almost wished once or twicethat he would be his bumptious, dogmatic old self again. However, itwas all for the best, perhaps, for we all got on very sweetly togethernow, without friction, and harmony reigned alike on the poop and in thefo'c's'le. 

The south-easterly wind, which had sprung up so fortunately for ourrescue, lasted the _Esmeralda_ until she had run down the coast ofPatagonia to Cape Tres Puntas, some three hundred and twenty miles tothe northward of the Virgins, as the headlands are called that mark theentrance to the Straits of Magellan. 

Of course, our skipper did not intend to essay this short cut into thePacific, which is only really practicable for steamers, as the currentsthrough the different channels are dangerous in the extreme, and thewinds not to be relied on, chopping round at a moment's notice, andcausing a ship to drop her anchor in all sorts of unexpected places; buthe intended to go through the Straits of Le Maire, instead of goinground Staten Island, and thus shorten his passage of Cape Horn in thatway. 

However, when, on our fifty-ninth day out, we were nearing the easternend of Staten Island, the wind, which had of late been blowing prettysteadily from the northward of west, hauled round more to the southward, and being dead against the Le Maire channel, we were forced to give theisland a wide berth, and stand to the outside of it. 

It was fine light weather, with clear nights, all the time we had beensailing down the coast; for we could see the Magellan clouds, as theyare called, every evening. These are small nebulae, like the Milky Way, which occupy the southern part of the heavens, immediately above CapeHorn, whose proximity they always indicate. 

Shortly after our passing Staten Island, however, a change came, thewind blowing in squalls, accompanied by snow and sleety hail, and thesea running high as it only can run in these latitudes; but still, everything went well with us until we were about 55 degrees South and 63degrees West, when a violent gale sprang up from the north-west. 

Everything was hauled down and clewed up, the ship lying-to under herreefed main-topsail and fore-topmast staysail, and Captain Billings wasjust saying to me that I was now going to have "a specimen of what CapeHorn weather was like, " when I noticed Mr Macdougall--who had beenmaking an inspection of the ship forwards--come up the poop ladder withhis face much graver than usual, although, as a rule, his expression ofcountenance was not the most cheerful at any time. 

"Whatever is the matter with Mr Macdougall?" I said to CaptainBillings. "I'm certain something has happened, or he would not look soserious!"

"Bless you, Martin, you mustn't judge by his phiz. I daresay the menhave only been skylarking in the fo'c's'le, and it doesn't please him. "

But it was something far more important than that which had occasionedthe gravity of the mate's face, as the skipper soon heard; for, on MrMacdougall coming up close to us, he whispered something in theskipper's ear which made him turn as white as a sheet. 

"Martin, Martin, " he said to me, dropping his voice, however, so thatthe men might not hear the terrible news before it was absolutelynecessary to tell them, "the coals are on fire in the main hold!"

CHAPTER TWENTY. 

THE LAST DISASTER. 

After the first shock of surprise at the alarming intelligence--the mostawful that can be circulated on board a ship, and one that fills up theseaman's cup of horrors to the brim--Captain Billings quickly recoveredhis usual equanimity. He was his own clear-headed, calm, collected selfagain in a moment. 

"How did you discover it?" he asked the mate, in a low tone. 

"I was ganging forwarts, " said Mr Macdougall, in the same hushed key, so that only Captain Billings and I could catch his words, "when a' atonce I smeelt somethin'--"

"Ah, that raking flying jibboom of yours wasn't given you for nothing!"whispered the skipper, alluding to the mate's rather "pronounced" nose. 

"Aye, mon, it sairves me weel, " said Mr Macdougall, feeling the ridgeof his nasal organ with much apparent satisfaction, and then proceedingto finish his statement. "But I could no meestake the smeel, the noo. "

"Something burning, I suppose?" said the skipper interrogatively. 

"You're right, Cap'en; the smeel was that o' boornin' wood and gas. "

"What did you do then?" asked Captain Billings. 

"I joost slippet off the main hatch, and the smeel was quiteoverpowerin', enough to choke one! so I e'en slippet the hatch on again, walking forwarts so as not to alarm the crew; and then I cam' aft totell your ain sel'. "

"You did right, " said the skipper. "I'll go presently and have a lookmyself. "

Captain Billings' inspection proved that the mate's fears were but toowell-founded; so he immediately had the pumps rigged by the watch onduty--"all hands" not being called yet, as the vessel was lying-to, andthere was not much work to be done. But a lot of water was pumped intothe hold, after which the hatches were battened down, and we hoped thefire would die out from being smothered in this way. 

Meanwhile the north-westerly gale increased to almost a hurricane, theship taking in great seas over her bows that deluged the decks, so thatthe waist sometimes was all awash with four feet of water on it; butthis did not trouble us much, for of the two elements the sea was nowthe least feared, as we hoped that the one would check the spread of theother. 

Next day, however, when the gale lightened a little, and the _Esmeralda_rode easier, still head to sea, the men complained that the fo'c'sle wasgetting too hot for them to live in it, although the temperature of theexterior air was nearly down to freezing point. 

This looked ominous; so Captain Billings, determining to adopt morestringent measures to check the conflagration that must be raging belowin the cargo, caused the hatches to be opened; but such dense thickvolumes of smoke and poisonous gas rolled forth the moment the coverswere taken off, that they were quickly battened down again, holes nowbeing bored to insert the hose pipes, and another deluge of water pumpedinto the hold, forwards as well as amidships. 

"I don't know what to do, " said the skipper to Mr Macdougall. "If itwere not for this gale I would try to run for Sandy Point, where wemight get assistance, as I've heard of the captain of a collier once, whose ship caught fire in the cargo like mine, careening his ship ashorethere, when, taking out the burning coals, he saved the rest of hisfreight and stowed it again, so that he was able to resume his voyageand deliver most of the cargo at its destination. But this wind isright in one's teeth, either to get to Sandy Point or fetch any otherport within easy reach. "

"We moost ae just trust to Proveedence!" replied the mate. 

"Oh, yes, that's all very well, " said the skipper, impatiently. "But, still, Providence expects us to do something to help ourselves--what doyou suggest?"

"I canna thaenk o' naught, Cap'en, " replied Mr Macdougall, in hislugubrious way. 

"Hang it, neither can I!" returned the skipper, as if angry with himselfbecause of no timely expedient coming to his mind; but just at thatmoment the gale suggested something to him--at all events in the way offinding occupation!

All at once, the wind, which had been blowing furiously from thenorthwards, shifted round without a moment's warning to the south-west, catching the ship on her quarter, and heeling her over so to leewardthat her yard-arms dipped in the heavy rolling sea. 

For a second, it seemed as if we were going over; for the _Esmeralda_remained on her beam ends without righting again, the waves breakingclean over her from windward, and sweeping everything movable from herdecks fore and aft; but then, as the force of the blast passed away, sheslowly laboured up once more, the masts swaying to and fro as if theywere going by the board, for they groaned and creaked like living thingsin agony. 

"Put the helm up--hard up!" shouted the skipper to the man at the wheel;but, as the poor fellow tried to carry out the command, the tiller "tookcharge, " as sailors say, hurling him right over the wheel against thebulwarks, which broke his leg and almost pitched him over the side. Hadthis occurred it would have been utterly impossible to have saved him. 

Mr Macdougall and I immediately rushed aft; and, the two of us graspingthe spokes, managed to turn the wheel round with our united strength;but it was too late to get the ship to pay off, for, a fresh blast ofwind striking her full butt, she was taken aback, the foremast comingdown with a crash across the deck, carrying with it the bowsprit andmaintopmast, the mizzen-topmast following suit a minute afterwards. 

This was bad enough in all conscience, without our having theconsciousness that besides this loss of all our spars, making the vessela hopeless log rolling at the mercy of the winds and waves, our cargo ofcoals was on fire in the hold, forming a raging volcano beneath ourfeet!

Fortune was cruel. Mishap had followed on mishap. The powers of evilwere piling Ossa on Pelion!

The skipper, however, was not daunted yet. 

All hands had rushed aft, without being specially called, roused by thecrash of the falling spars, so he immediately set them to work with thehatchets fastened round the mainmast bitts, cutting away at thewreckage; and then, as the clouds cleared away and a bit of blue skyshowed itself aloft, Captain Billings expressed himself hopeful ofgetting out of the meshes of that network of danger in every directionwith which we seemed surrounded. 

"Look alive, men, and don't despair, " said he to the crew, encouragingthem; for they were almost panic-stricken at first, and it was all thatJorrocks and I could do to get them to ply their tomahawks forwards andcut away the rigging, which still held the foremast with all its top-hamper attached to the ship, thumping at her sides as the lumber floatedalongside, trying to crunch our timbers in. "Look alive, men, and putyour heart into it; all hope hasn't left us yet! The gale has nearlyblown itself out, as you can see for yourselves by that little bit ofblue sky there overhead, bigger than a Dutchman's pair of breeches; so, as soon as the sea goes down a little, we'll hoist out the boats, so asto have them handy in case we have to abandon the ship, should the firein the hold get too strong for us, although I don't fear that yet, myhearties, for the water may drown it out soon, you know. But work awaycheerily, my lads, and clear away all that dunnage, so that we can set alittle sail presently on the mainmast and mizzen, which we still havestanding, when we can make a run for some islands lying close by underthe lee of Cape Horn, where I'll heave her ashore if I can; but, if thevessel don't reach the land, you needn't be afraid of not being able todo so in the boats, which we can take to as a last resource, so there'sno fear of your lives being lost, at any rate!"

"Hurray!" shouted out Jorrocks, leading a cheer; and Pat Doolanseconding him heartily, the hands started at the rigging with greatlyrenewed vigour, slashing at the shrouds and stays until they parted, andthe foremast was at last cut away clear, floating astern on the top ofthe rolling waves. 

"There it goes!" cried the skipper, "and joy go with it for deserting usin that unhandsome way!"

"Ah, sir, " observed Haxell, the carpenter, who was standing close besidehim now, quiet a bit after exerting himself like a navvy in helping toclear the wreck, "you forgets as how the poor dear thing never recoveredthat spring it had off Madeiry!"

"No; for it has lasted well, nevertheless, and I oughtn't to complain ofit now, " said Captain Billings, with a responsive sigh to thecarpenter's lament over the lost foremast. Haxell looked upon all theship's spars as if they were his own peculiar private property, andspoke of them always--that is, when he could be induced to abandon hischronic taciturnity--as if they had kindred feelings and sensibilitiesto his own!

The dark threatening clouds which had enveloped the heavens for the pasttwenty-four hours now cleared away, although the wind still blew prettyfresh from the south-west, and the sun coming out, Captain Billings toldme to go and fetch my sextant in order to take an observation so as toascertain our true position; for, first with the north-easter, and thenwith the squall from the south, we had been so driven here, there, andeverywhere, that it was difficult to form any reasonable surmise as towhere we really were--especially as there was a strong current supposedto run round Cape Horn from the Pacific towards the Atlantic Ocean atcertain tides. 

I fetched my sextant and took the sun; and I may say confidently to allwhom it may concern that this was the last observation ever made by anyone on board the ill-fated _Esmeralda_!

The skipper checked me in the time, from the chronometer in the cabin;and when I had worked out the reckoning, we compared notes on the poop. 

"What do you make it?" said he. 

"56 degrees 20 minutes South, " I said. 

"And the ship's time makes us about 66 degrees West. Ha! humph! we mustbe about forty miles to the south of Cape Horn; and, by Jove, " he added, looking to the north-west, where the blue sky was without a fleck save alittle white cloud, like the triangular sail of a boat, seen dimly lowdown on the horizon, "there's my gentleman over there, now!"

The knowledge of the vessel's position appeared to give the skippergreater confidence; and, the waves ceasing to break over us, althoughthe huge southern rollers swept by in heavy curves, he gave directionsfor getting some tackle rigged to launch the long-boat, which, althoughit was right in the way, had escaped injury when the foremast fell. Atthe same time, the mainsail and mizzen staysail were set, and the vesselsteered in the direction of that Cape which she seemed destined never toround. 

"We'll run for the Wollaston group, " said the skipper--"that is, if thefire will let us stop aboard till we reach there; and if not, why, theless distance there will be for us to trust ourselves to the boats inthis strong sea. "

No time was lost in making preparations to quit the ship, however--provisions and stores being brought up from the steerage by the stewardand a couple of seamen who were told off to help him. 

In the last few hours the fire had made considerable headway; for thinwreaths of smoke were curling up from the deck forwards, where the pitchhad been melted from the seams, and the heat was plainly perceptible onthe poop, accompanied as it was by a hot sulphurous smell. 

"Be jabers, I fale like a cat on a hot griddle, " said Pat Doolan, as hedanced in and out of the galley, engaged in certain cooking operationson a large scale which the skipper had ordered; "I'll soon have no sowlat all, at all, to me cawbeens!"

The men laughed at this, but there was a good deal of truth in thejoking words of the Irishman, as, although washed with water, the deckwas quite unbearable to one's naked foot. 

It was now early in the afternoon, and the long-boat and jolly-boat wereboth launched and loaded with what stores were available, the skipperpersonally seeing that each was provided with a mast and sails and itsproper complement of oars and ballast--barrels and barricoes containingwater being utilised to this latter end, thus serving for a doublepurpose. 

Other things and persons were also attended to. 

Mr Ohlsen, the second mate, and Harmer, the seaman who had had his legbroken when thrown against the bulwarks--and who, by the way, had theinjured limb excellently set by Mr Macdougall, who had passed through ahospital course in "Edinbro' Toon, " he told us--were brought up from thecabin in their cots, being both invalids. The skipper likewise securedthe ship's papers and removed the compass from the binnacle; while I, ofcourse, did not forget my sextant and a chart or two which CaptainBillings told me to take. The foremast hands having also selected asmall stock of useful articles, all of us were ready to leave the vesselas soon as she gave us notice to quit. 

The fire was waxing hotter and hotter, the curling wreaths of smokehaving expanded into dense black columns of vapour, and an occasionaltongue of flame was licking the edges of the coamings of the forehatchway, while sparks every now and then went flying up in the air andwere wafted away to leeward by the wind. 

"She can't last much longer now without the flames bursting forth, " saidCaptain Billings. "The sooner we see about leaving her the better now. Haul up the boats alongside, and prepare to lower down our sick men. "

"Hadn't we better have a whip rigged from the yard-arm, sir?" suggestedJorrocks. "It'll get 'em down more comfortable and easy like. "

"Aye, do; I declare I had forgotten that, " said the skipper; "I'm losingmy head, I think, at the thought of the loss of my ship!" He spokethese words so sadly that they touched me keenly. 

"No, no, Cap', you haven't loosed your head yet, so far as thinkingabout us is concerned, " observed Jorrocks, who was watching the man hehad sent out on the mainyard fasten a block and tackle for lowering downthe cots of the two invalids. I'm sure we all acquiesced in this heartyexpression of the boatswain's opinion, for no one could have morecarefully considered every precaution for our comfort and security thanthe skipper, when making up his mind to abandon the ship. 

No further words were wasted, however, as soon as the boats were hauledalongside. 

Mr Ohlsen and Harmer were lowered down carefully into the long-boat, and the provisions, with the captain's papers and instruments, weresubsequently stowed in the stern-sheets by the side of the invalids. Asimilar procedure was then adopted in reference to the jolly-boat, onlythat there were no more sick men, fortunately, to go in her; and theskipper was just about mustering the hands on the after part of the maindeck, below the break of the poop, when there was a terrible explosionforwards, the whole fore-part of the ship seeming to be rent in twainand hurled heavenward in a sheet of flame as vivid as forked lightning!

I don't know by what sudden spasm of memory, but at that very instant mythoughts flew back to my boyish days at Beachampton, and my attempt toblow up Dr Hellyer and the whole school with gunpowder on thatmemorable November day, as I have narrated. The present calamity seemedsomehow or other, to my morbid mind, a judgment on my former wickedconduct--the reflection passing through my brain at the instant of theexplosion with almost a similar flash. 

CHAPTER TWENTY ONE. 

HERSCHEL ISLAND. 

"Maircy on us!" exclaimed Mr Macdougall, who at that moment was justgingerly passing down the standard compass to Jorrocks, the boatswain, standing up in the stern-sheets of the long-boat alongside, andstretching up his hands as carefully to receive the precious instrument;and the sudden blinding flash of the explosion and concussion of the airthat it caused, almost made him drop this in his fright. "Whateever onairth ees that noo?"

"Matter?" repeated the skipper after him coolly, taking in cause andeffect at a glance. "Why, the gas generated by the heated coal in thehold has blown out the forepeak, that's all! It is providential, though, that the wrench which the foremast gave to the deck-beams andbulkhead there when it carried away, so far weakened the ship forwardsas to enable the gas to find vent in that direction, otherwise theentire deck would probably have been blown up--when it would have been apoor look-out for all of us here aft!"

"Gudeness greecious!" ejaculated the mate again, blinking bewilderedly, like an owl unexpectedly exposed to daylight; but Captain Billings didnot waste time in any further explanations or unnecessary words. 

"I hope nobody's hurt! Run forwards, Leigh, and see, " he said to me. 

Fortunately, however, all had escaped without a scratch, althoughfragments of the knees and other heavy portions of the vessel's timbershad been hurled aloft and scattered in all directions, as if a mine hadbeen sprung below--the woodwork descending afterwards in a regularhailstorm on our heads, blown into small pieces no bigger than matches, and mixed up with a shower of blazing sparks and coal-dust, making usall "as black as nayghurs, " as Pat Doolan said. 

The stump of the foremast, in particular, described a graceful paraboliccurve in the air, coming down into the water in close proximity to thebows of the long-boat--where, under the supervision of the boatswain, the steward and the carpenter were stowing provisions under the thwarts, making the two almost jump out of their skins. It descended into thesea with the same sort of "whish" which the stick of a signal rocketmakes when, the propelling power that had enabled it previously to soarup so majestically into the air above being ultimately exhausted, it isforced to return by its own gravity to its proper level below, unable tosustain itself unaided by exterior help at the unaccustomed height towhich it was temporarily exalted. 

And in this respect, it may be observed here, although I do not believethe remark is altogether original, that a good many human rockets may beencountered in our daily life, which exhibit all the characteristicpoints and weaknesses of the ordinary material model that I have likenedthem to--composed of gunpowder and other explosive pyrotechnicsubstances, and familiar to all--for, they go up in the same brilliantand glorious fashion, and are veritable shining lights in the estimationof their friends and the fickle testimony of public opinion; only, alas, to descend to the ordinary level of every-day mortals, like the rocket-stick comes down in the end!

I need hardly say, though, that I had no thought of these reflectionsnow; for, immediately after the explosion forwards, the flames whichmounted aloft with it burst forth with full vigour, released from theconfined space of the hold to which they had been previously limited, and the entire fore-part of the ship, from the waist to the knight-heads, became a mass of fire, the cavity disclosed by the riven deckadjacent to the fo'c's'le being like a raging volcano, vomiting upclouds of thick yellow smoke from the glowing mass of ignited coalbelow, which almost suffocated us, as the ship went too slowly throughthe water for the vapour to trail off to leeward. 

The mainmast was still standing, with the mainsail set before thesoutherly wind, that was blowing in towards the land, the force of theexplosion not being vented much further aft than the windlass bitts;but, almost as we looked, tongues of flame began to creep up the mainrigging, and the huge sail was presently crackling away like tissuepaper to which a lighted match has been applied, large pieces of theburning material being whirled in the air. 

The heat now became unbearable, and Captain Billings, much to his grief, saw that the time had come for him to abandon the ship. 

"We must leave her, Leigh, " said he to me, with as much emotion asanother person might have displayed when wishing a last farewell to somedearly-loved friend or relative. "There is no good in stopping by theold barquey any longer, for we can't help her out of her trouble, andthe boats may be stove in by the falling mainmast if they remainalongside much longer. Poor old ship! we've sailed many a miletogether, she and I; and now, to think that, crippled by that gale andalmost having completed her v'yage, she should be burnt like a log offirewood off Cape Horn!"

"Never mind, sir, " said I, sympathisingly. "It has not happened throughany fault of yours. "

"No, my lad, I don't believe it has, for a cargo o' coal is a ticklishthing to take half round the world; as more vessels are lost in carryingit than folks suppose! However, this is the last we'll ever see of theold _Esmeralda_, so far as standing on her deck goes; still, I tell youwhat, Leigh, you may possibly live to be a much older man than I am, butyou'll never come across a ship easier to handle in a gale, or one thatwould go better on a bowline!"

"No, sir, I don't think I shall, " I replied to this panegyric on thedoomed vessel, quite appreciating all the skipper's feelings of regretat her destruction; but just then the flames with a roar rushed up themain hatch, approaching towards the poop every moment nearer and nearer. 

This at once recalled Captain Billings from the past to the present. 

"Have you got everything aboard the boats?" he sang out in his customaryvoice to Mr Macdougall, his tones as firm and clear as if he had notbeen a moment before almost on the point of crying. "Are all theprovisions and water in?"

"Aye, aye, an' stoowed awa', too, Cap'en, " answered the mate, to whomhad been entrusted the execution of all the necessary details. "A verythin's aboord, and naething forgot, I reecken. "

"Then it's time we were aboard, too, " said the skipper. "Boatswain, muster the hands!"

Jorrocks didn't have to tap on the deck with a marlinspike now to callthem, in the way he used to summon the watch below to reef topsails inthe stormy weather we had off Madeira and elsewhere; for the men wereall standing round, ready to start over the side as soon as the skippergave the word of command to go. 

Captain Billings then called over the list of the crew from the musterroll, which he held in his hand along with the rest of the "ship'spapers"--such as the _Esmeralda's_ certificate of registry, the manifestof the cargo, and her clearance from the custom-house officers atCardiff; when, all having answered to their names, with the exception ofthe two invalids, Mr Ohlsen, and Harmer, the seaman, both of whom werealready in the long-boat, the skipper gave the word to pass down thegangway, apportioning seven hands in all to the jolly-boat, under chargeof Mr Macdougall, and the remainder of our complement to the long-boat, under his own care. 

Including the invalids, we were seven-and-twenty souls in all--nowcompelled to abandon our good ship, and trust to those two frail boatsto take us to the distant coast of Tierra del Fuego, of which we werenot yet even in sight; and it was with sad hearts that we went down theside of this poor _Esmeralda_ for the last time, quitting what had beenour floating home for the two months that had elapsed since we leftEngland, for the perils we had encountered in her had only endeared herthe more to us!

Captain Billings was the last to abandon the ship; lingering not merelyuntil we had descended to the boats, seven in one and nineteen as yetonly in the other without him, but waiting while we settled ourselvesalong the thwarts; when, turning round, he put his feet on the cleats ofthe side ladder and came down slowly, looking up still at the oldvessel, as if loth to leave her in such an extremity. 

The jolly-boat had been already veered astern on receiving her allottednumber, the long-boat only waiting alongside for the skipper, with a manin the bows and another amidships, fending her off from the ship's sidewith a couple of boat-hooks, so that the little barque should not dashagainst the hull of the bigger one, now she was so loaded up--acollision would have insured destruction to all in her, the huge billowsof the Southern Ocean rolling in at intervals, and raising her so highaloft as to overtop the ship sometimes, and again carrying her downright under the _Esmeralda's_ counter, thus making her run the risk ofbeing stove in every instant. 

It was too perilous a proximity; so, as soon as Captain Billings had gotdown into the stern-sheets, he gave the order to shove off. 

"Easy her away gently, men, " he said, as he took up the tiller lines, watching with a critical eye the movements of the men amidships and inthe bow, as they poled the boat along the side of the ship until itpassed clear of her by the stern. "Be ready there with your oars, sharp!"

In another moment the boat was tossing about in the open sea, the heightand force of the waves becoming all the more apparent now that we hadlost the protection of the _Esmeralda's_ lee. The flames just then, asif angry at our having escaped them, darted up the mizzen rigging, andpresently enveloped the poop in their blaze, so that the whole ship wasnow one mass of fire fore and aft, blazing like a tar-barrel. 

The skipper would have liked to have lain by and seen the last of thevessel, but there was too much sea on, and the wind seemed getting upagain; so, knowing how treacherous the weather was in the vicinity ofthe Cape of Storms, he determined, for the safety of those under hischarge, to make for the land as speedily as possible--an open boat notbeing the best craft in the world to be in, out on the ocean, when agale is about!

As Captain Billings could see, the wind was blowing on shore, in thevery direction for us to go; and, as the rollers were racing towards thesame goal, the only way for us to avoid being swamped by them was totravel at a greater rate forwards than they did, or else we wouldbroach-to in the troughs of the waves, when a boat is apt to get for themoment becalmed, from the intervening wall of water on either sidestopping the current of air, and taking the breeze out of her sails. 

The long-boat was fitted with a couple of masts, carrying a largemainsail and a mizzen, both of which the skipper now ordered to be set, the former close-reefed to half its size. A bit of a staysail was alsohoisted forwards in place of the jib, which was too large for the windthat was on; and then, it was wonderful to see the way the long-boatbegan to go through the water when the sail was put on her! She fairlyraced along, dragging astern the jolly-boat, which we had taken in tow, the little craft leaving a curly wave in front of her cutwater, higherthan her bows, and looking as if it were on the point of pouring over ontop of those in her. 

It was now late in the afternoon of this, our sixty-third day out ofport; and, as the sun sank to rest in the west, away in the east, according to our position in the boat, there was another illumination onthe horizon. 

It was that caused by the burning ship. But it did not last so long:the fire of coals and wood could not vie with that of the celestial orb. 

We could still see the blazing hull, as we rose every now and then onthe crest of the rollers; while, when we could not perceive it from thesubsidence of the waves under the boat's keel, making us sink down, apillar of smoke, floating in the air high above the _Esmeralda_ in along fan-like trail, and stretching out to where sky and sea met in theextreme distance, told us where she was without any fear of mistake. 

Soon after we had quitted the vessel the mainmast, when half consumed, tumbled over the side; and, presently, the burning mizzen, which hadbeen standing up for some time like a tall fiery pole, disappeared in ashower of sparks. 

The end was not far off now. 

As we rose on the send of the next sea, Captain Billings, by whose sideI was sitting in the stern-sheets of the long-boat, grasped my arm. 

"Look!" he said, half turning round and pointing to where the burningship had last been seen. 

She was gone!

The smoke still hung in the air in the distance, like a funeral pall;but the wind was now rapidly dispersing it to leeward, there being nofurther supply of the columns of cloud-like vapour that had originallycomposed it. 

Soon, too, the smoke had completely disappeared, and the horizon was ablank. 

"All's over!" cried the skipper, with a heavy sigh. 

All was over, indeed; for, whatever fragments of the ill-fated_Esmeralda_ the remorseless fire may have spared, were now, withoutdoubt, making their way down to the bottom of that wild ocean on whichwe poor shipwrecked mariners were tossing in a couple of frail boats--uncertain whether we should ever reach land in safety, or be doomed tofollow our vessel's bones down into the depths of the sea!

Night fell soon after this; but the long-boat still held her way, running before the wind, and steering a nor'-nor'-west course bycompass. We had now been going in that direction some two hours ormore, and the skipper calculated that we were some thirty miles off theWollaston Islands, which we ought to fetch by daylight next morning. 

Fortunately, it was a bright clear night, although there was no moon, only the stars twinkling aloft in the cloudless azure sky; and, thus, wewere able to watch the waves so as to prevent them pooping us when twoseas ran foul of each other, which they frequently did, racing againstthe wind, and eager, apparently, to outstrip it. Still, the mostcareful steering was necessary, and Jorrocks had to have out an oarastern, in order to aid the skipper's control of the tiller, when he putthe helm up or down suddenly so as to get out of the wash of thebreakers. 

The jolly-boat, too, occasioned us much uneasiness; for when the tow-rope slackened at these moments of peril, she ran the chance of slewinground broadside on to the sea. However, thanks to the interposing aidof Providence, we got through the dangers of the night, and day dawnedat last. 

It was a terribly anxious watch, though, for all hands--especially forthe skipper and Jorrocks, and the men told off to hold the sheets of thesails; for these latter couldn't be belayed, having to be hauled taut orlet go at a moment's notice. 

With the advent of day came renewed hope, in spite of our not being ableyet to see land--nothing being in sight ahead or astern, to the right orthe left, but the same eternal sea and sky, sky and sea, which therising sun, although it lent a ray of radiance to the scene, only madeinfinitely more dreary and illimitable. 

Towards noon, however, away on the port bow, the peak of a snow-toppedmountain was perceived just above the horizon. 

"Hurrah!" cried Captain Billings. "There's our old friend Cape Horn!Another couple of hours straight ahead, and we ought to rise thoseislands I was speaking of. Do you see the Cape?" he shouted out acrossthe little intervening space of water to Mr Macdougall in the jolly-boat. 

"Aye, aye--and it's a glad seeght!" replied the mate, to which statementall hands cheered. Some provisions, which, through the thoughtfulprecaution of the skipper and the assistance of Pat Doolan, had beencooked before being placed on board, were now served out around--thelong-boat the while steadily progressing on her course, now hauled a bitmore to the westwards of north. 

About three o'clock in the afternoon another cheery hail broke thestillness that reigned amongst us; for we were all too anxious to talk, and those of the crew who were not attending to the sheets of the sailshad composed themselves to sleep, under the thwarts amidships and on thegratings aft. 

"Land, ho!"

The cry came from a man on the look-out in the bows; and theannouncement was received with a ringing shout, for the heavens werebeginning to get overcast, and the wind was rising, promising that, should we be compelled to remain afloat another night, we should notfind it quite so pleasant as our experiences of the past one, in spiteof what we then thought the dangerous character of the following waves;and, if it came on to blow in addition, the heavy running sea which wehad then to contend with would be mere child's play in comparison withwhat we might expect would get up in an hour or two. 

But, the nearness of the land led us to hope that we should notexperience any further risk of being swamped. Long before sunset weapproached it close enough to see where we were going. 

The nearest shore was that of an island, with high mountain peaks, butof little apparent extent, looking, as we saw it, barely a mile long. Near this were three or four other islands, although further to thenorthwards; while on the extreme left, some miles to the westwards, wasthe high snow-white peak which the skipper had said was Cape Horn, standing on a little island of its own that stretched out into the seato a more southerly point than any of the other islets composing thearchipelago. 

"Why, sir, " said I to Captain Billings, "I always thought that Cape Hornwas part of the mainland, jutting out from the end of Tierra del Fuego--that's what my school geography taught, at all events!"

"Oh, no, " he replied. "It is on an island, sure enough, as all marinersknow, although these chaps that write books for schools may not think itisland enough to mention the fact. Where it stands is called HornIsland, and the next large one beyond it Wollaston Island; but I'm goingto make for that little one ahead, as it is the nearest. "

"And what is that called?" I asked. 

"Herschel Island, after the great astronomer, " answered the skipper. "I've been here before, my lad, and recognise the whole lot of them, andthat is how I come to know about 'em. "

"Are any people living there?" said I, presently, the boat nearing theisland so quickly that we could see a line of white beach, with thewaves breaking on it, lying below the chain of mountain ridges that ranacross it "fore and aft, " as a sailor would describe it. 

"Only cannibals, " replied the skipper, placidly. 

"Cannibals on Herschel Island, and we going there!" I exclaimed, halfastonished, half frightened. 

"Aye, they are there or thereabouts; but, at all events, we're going toland on Herschel Island, as it's a case with us of any port in a storm!Look out there, forwards!" he called out a moment or two after to themen. "Be ready to down the mainsail when I give the word. Steady withthe sheets. Now!"

And, with a grating noise, the boat's keel struck the shore, carriedforwards on the top of a huge wave, whose backwash, however, dragged usback into the deep the next second, slewing the head of the boat roundat the same time, so that she hung broadside on. 

"Out oars, men--out oars for your life!" shouted the skipper, seeing theterrible danger that now threatened us in the very moment of safety;but, before the order could be executed, the long-boat was upset, and wewere all tumbling about in the surf!

CHAPTER TWENTY TWO. 

AN AUSTRAL AURORA. 

A wild cry went up to Heaven as we struggled for dear life in the water, battling with the under-tow of the in-rolling waves, which tried to dragus down in their angry clutches; but first one and then another emergeddripping on the sands, even Mr Ohlsen having saved himself withouthelp, although he had been snugly tucked up in his hammock a momentbefore, and was lying down in the stern-sheets when the boat capsized. 

Poor Harmer, however, whose broken leg was only fresh set, and the bonesnot united, was unable to put out a hand on his own behalf, and seeinghe had not gained the beach with the others, I looked eagerly about forhim, knowing that in his crippled state it was almost impossible for himto have got ashore. 

Just then, his head appeared some twenty feet out from the land, in themidst of the boiling surf, with his hands stretched out in mute entreatyto us, appealing for succour as he was being carried out rapidly to sea. 

Who could refrain from venturing in again to rescue him?

Certainly not I; and, as I dashed in, Pat Doolan followed my example, the cook uttering a wild Irish yell that had the effect of animatingseveral of the rest of the sailors to lend us a helping hand, althoughthey had not the pluck to dash in too. 

"Hooroo, boys!" he shouted. "Follow me leader, ye spalpeens, and let ussay who'll raich the poor drowning chap first! Ould Oireland for iver!"

He reached Harmer almost as soon as I, and the two of us took hold ofhim together--the poor fellow, however, being already insensible, madeno effort whatever to keep up and help himself, and was absolutely limpin our grasp. 

We managed to swim back in with our burden on the top of a roller, wellenough; but when we tried to secure our footing on the shore, the under-tow took us out again, although Pat Doolan flung himself face downwardson the sand, clutching it with one of his hands while he held the half-drowned man with the other in the same way as I did. Once, twice, wemade the attempt; and yet, in spite of our desperate struggles, both ofus putting forth all our strength, the backwash of the waves laughed atour resistance, floating us back again out into deep water. At ourthird try, however, and it would have been the last, for we were bothexhausted by this time, the men on the beach--who had formed a lineholding on to one another, Jorrocks being foremost and Captain Billingsnext, wading in up to their necks in the sea--managed to catch hold ofus, when we were dragged out by sheer force; Pat and I, with Harmerbetween us, all lumped together in a confused mass, and the handshauling us in with a "Yo, heave ho!" as if they were pulling at thetopsail halliards or getting the main tack aboard!

My swim after Mr Macdougall was nothing to this, although I had thenbattled with the sea for over an hour, while now the Irishman and I hadnot been ten minutes over our fight with the remorseless waves; but itwas a terrific contest whilst it lasted, and albeit we had both come offvictorious, thanks to the timely assistance of our comrades, we werenearly worsted, and so utterly pumped out that another five minutes ofit would have ended the matter very differently. As it was, I had tolie on the sands, whither Jorrocks had lifted me beyond the reach of thetide, for a considerable period before I could either move or speak, while Pat Doolan was in an equally sorry plight. 

When I at last gained my voice, I stammered out a question--

"How's Harmer?" I asked, anxiously. 

But Captain Billings, who was beside me, lifting up my head tenderlywith his arm placed round me, shook his head sadly. 

"Poor fellow, " he said; "you did your best, but he must have been gonebefore you reached him. He's quite dead--you were too late to savehim!"

I declare this news affected me more than all I had gone through; and, whether from weakness, or from the reaction after such violent exertionproducing a feeling of hysteria, I cannot tell; all I know is, that Iturned my face away from the kind-hearted skipper who was supporting me, and cried like a child--I, who thought myself then a man!

Meanwhile, as I found out when I had recovered from my emotion and wasable to stand up and look about me, my shipmates had not been idle intrying to retrieve the effects of our unfortunate landing; for which theskipper upbraided his own carelessness, laying the blame on himself, andsaying that he ought to have known better than to have tried to rush theboat in with such a ground swell on!

The tow-rope of the jolly-boat had been cast-off shortly before weapproached the shore, Captain Billings hailing Mr Macdougall andtelling him to bring her head to the sea, and lay off until we gotashore; so, there she was, riding in safety, about half a cable's lengthout, beyond reach of the surf, while we were tumbling about in it afterthe long-boat had upset us so unexpectedly without ceremony. 

Mr Macdougall was about to pull in at once, on seeing the_contretemps_, but the skipper, the moment he fetched the shore, andbefore I had gone in after Harmer, had directed him still to keep offand get a line ready to heave in, as by that means those in the jolly-boat would not only be able to land in a better way than ourselves, but, also, some portion of the stores of our boat might be recovered, as wellas the craft itself--the long-boat having only turned over, and stillfloating in the midst of the breakers, bobbing up and down bottomupwards. 

This task was now being proceeded with by all hands. 

Forming again a line, as when they had dragged Pat Doolan and myselfout--the men holding each other's hands, for they had no rope as yet totackle on to--several articles near in shore had been already picked up;and, now that I was all right again, the skipper at once set aboutgetting the jolly-boat in, besides trying to secure the long-boat. 

Each, amongst other necessary parts of his equipment, had been providedwith a coil of strong half-inch line, in addition to their properpainters, and on Captain Billings singing out to the first mate, andtelling him what to do, the jolly-boat with her six oars manned wasbacked in just beyond reach of the surf. The end of the line, which MrMacdougall held ready with a sounding-lead attached to it to make itswing further, was then hove ashore. 

It fell short, some ten feet out in the midst of the eddy caused by thebackwash, but the leading hand of the long-boat's crew, after one or twodives in the surf, in which he got knocked down and rolled over, succeeded finally in grasping the sounding-lead. 

Then, with a loud hurrah, the end of the line was hauled in towards us, communication being thus established with those in the jolly-boat. Thestay the rope afforded steadied her in the water, so that she rode moreeasily, which made the next operation, that of getting hold of theoverturned long-boat, more practicable, and not as likely to jeopardiseher safety as would otherwise have been the case. 

The coil of rope was fully a hundred feet long, and of sufficient lengthto pass twice between the jolly-boat ashore and back again, leaving afew spare yards over; so, first throwing over a grapnel to anchor herhead out to the sea, the water being only some three fathoms deep whereshe was riding, and the men in her being now wanted for something elsebesides rowing to keep her from drifting in, the other end of the linewas belayed, and the boat easied in with the utmost care, two of thehands still keeping to their oars, until she reached the wrecked boat. 

Then Haxell, the carpenter, pluckily volunteered to jump over the side, and try, by diving underneath, to catch hold of the long-boat's painteror some of her headgear, all attempts to reach such by the aid of aboat-hook being impossible from the motion of the two boats in therestless water. After a bit, the taciturn but useful man obtained theobject in view, dragging out from below the long-boat's stern the verytow-rope with which we had been previously pulling the jolly-boat alongwhile sailing towards the land, before casting her off, and oursubsequent upset. 

This rope was now fastened to the shore-line with a double hitch, andour lot on the beach hauling in, we presently had the satisfaction ofseeing the stern of our own craft working in towards us, the jolly-boatstill remaining out beyond reach of the rollers, until the long-boat hadgrounded; when, seeing a proper opportunity, she too was got in safely--without, however, any previous upset, like ours, and indeed without hertaking in any perceptible quantity of water so as to damage her cargo orgive her crew a ducking, all of whom, with the exception of Haxell, whoof course had sought a bath of his own accord, getting to land dry-shod, unlike us, who had been drenched from head to foot, and were nowshivering with cold, the temperature of the air being below freezingpoint. 

It was now high-water, as Captain Billings observed from the marks onthe shore; so, as nothing more could then be done towards getting thelong-boat further in and righting her, and the hands were pretty welltired out with their exertions, he called a rest as soon as the jolly-boat was hauled up well beyond reach of the waves, which still brokethreateningly on the beach--impelled by the force of the wind, nowblowing a stiff gale from the south-west, and covering the beach withbreakers that sent showers of foam over us, even when we had moved manyyards away. 

"Spell O!" sang out the skipper. "Boatswain, pipe down the men todinner. "

We had to encroach on the jolly-boat's stores, the provisions beingdivided between the two boats although our craft, being the larger ofthe two, had of course carried the major portion. This could, however, only now be looked upon as lost; for the seawater must have spoilteverything eatable. 

However, as the crew had gone through a good deal of hardship, theskipper did not attempt to ration them down to any smaller allowance onthis our first evening on Herschel Island; and so, when a fire was builtup, and some hot coffee brewed by Jorrocks, who usurped Pat Doolan'sfunctions on this occasion, the Irishman being still too weak from hisefforts to rescue poor Harmer to be of much use yet, we all had a heartymeal, feeling much the better thereby. 

After this, the skipper told the men to lie down round the fire, whichwe found very grateful when the sun had set, besides its enabling us todry our wet clothes; but the crew were warned that they would have torouse up about midnight, when Captain Billings expected the tide wouldhave gone down sufficiently to enable us to get the long-boat out ofdanger, and turn her over on the beach beyond high-water mark. 

I confess that I went off to sleep at once; and neither the shaking ofJorrocks, nor the noise the men made in righting the long-boat, servedto wake me up till it was broad daylight next morning, when I opened myeyes to find the sun shining down on a calm sea that hardly made aripple on the beach, with the long-boat upright in her proper position, alongside the jolly-boat, and high and dry ashore. 

There was a delicious smell of something cooking in one of Pat Doolan'sgalley pots, hung gipsy fashion over a roaring fire, and superintendedby the Irishman, now himself again. A large tent had also been riggedup by the aid of the boat sails and tarpaulins, making the place havethe appearance of a cosy encampment, and offering a pleasant change tothe desolate look it had worn the previous afternoon--when the sea wasroaring in, hurling a deluge of foam on the beach, and we, wet andforlorn, were endeavouring to save the flotsam and jetsam of the long-boat's cargo. 

"Sure an' you're a foine gintleman, taking it aisy, " said Pat Doolan, when I went up to him. "An' is it a pannikin o' coffee you'll be aftherwanting, this watch?"

"I shouldn't refuse it if you offered it, " said I, with a laugh. 

"Be jabers, you're the bhoy for the coffee!" he replied cheerily. "An'its meeself that's moighty proud to sarve you. Sure an' I don't forgithow you thried, like a brave gossoon, to save that poor chap lastnight!"

"Ah!" I ejaculated, feeling melancholy when he thus brought up Harmer'sfate, which had passed out of my mind for the moment. "But you did yourbest, too, Pat. "

"Bad was the bist then, alannah, bad cess to it!" said he. "There, now, Mister Leigh, dhrink your coffee an' ha' done with it. The poor chap'sgone, and we can't call him back; but have you heard tell of the news?Misther `Old-son-of-a-gun' is moighty bad this morning, too, and theskipper think's he's a going too, by the same token!"

"Indeed!" I cried, turning towards the tent, seeing Captain Billingsstanding close by it. The news was too true. The wetting and shock tothe system had completed what a low fever had begun, and Mr Ohlsen'sdays--nay, hours--were numbered. Ere the sun had again set, we had tomourn the loss of the second of our shipmates!

Towards evening of this day, the wind got up again even more fiercelythan it had done the night before--the heavy southern billows rolling inagain upon the beach with a terrible din, although they could do no harmnow to either of our boats, both being snugly sheltered beyond theirreach. 

But when it grew dark, we witnessed a wonderful phenomenon. 

It made many of the seamen believe that they were dreaming over againthe scene connected with the burning of the _Esmeralda_; while otherswent almost wild with terror, fancying that the end of the world wascome--or that, at all events, the natural display we saw of the greatestwonder of the arctic and antarctic worlds, was a portent of freshdisasters to us, greater than all we had already passed through!

The heavens were as black as death all around, with no moon. Not a starto be seen; when, all at once, the whole horizon glowed with a livingfire, lighting up the ocean in front of us, and reflecting upwards andoutwards from the snow-covered peaks on the background of water beyondthe beach. The wave-tossed surface of the sea changed to a brightvermilion tint, making it look like a lake of raging flames. Throughthe crimson sky, streaks of brighter light shot across at intervals fromright to left, and back again from left to right, in coruscations ofdarting sparks that would ever and anon form themselves into crosses anddiamonds of different shapes; while, in the middle of this wonderfultransformation scene, the wind blew with immense force, howling over seaand land with a wild shriek and deep diapason, accompanied by blindingshowers of hail and sleet and snow, that made us all creep under thefolds of the canvas of our tent for shelter. 

"What is this? What does it mean?" I asked Captain Billings, whoseemed the only one of us unmoved by the unwonted sight, that had asmuch terror as grandeur about it. 

"It is what is called an Austral aurora--the _aurora Australis_, asscientific men term it; though, how it is caused and what it isoccasioned by, I'm sure I can't explain to you, my lad. All I know isthis, that it is never seen in the vicinity of Cape Horn without a stiffgale and rough weather following in its track; so we had better all ofus look out for squalls!"

CHAPTER TWENTY THREE. 

"ALL THE WAY ROUND. "

The skipper was right in his prognostication about the weather; for, during the next few days, we experienced a terrible gale from the south-west, snow falling without intermission all the time, and making hugedrifts to the windward of the island, while even in sheltered places itwas over four feet deep, with the pile continually increasing as theflakes drove down in one steady stream. 

Of course, it was bitterly cold, but, knowing what sort of climate thevicinity of Cape Horn rejoiced in, Captain Billings, before abandoningthe ship, had ordered the men to bring all their warm clothes with them, he himself adding to the stock with all the spare blankets he could findin the cabin; and now, although these things were amongst the stores ofthe long-boat when she capsized, they fortunately escaped being throwninto the sea and lost on her "turning the turtle, " for they weresecurely fastened below the thwarts, so when the boat was recovered theywere still to the good all right--with the exception of their beingthoroughly soaked in sea water, which an exposure before Pat Doolan'sfire, and a hang-out in the fresh breezy air, soon remedied. 

It was now the month of August, about the coldest time of the year onthe coast of Tierra del Fuego, or "The Land of Fire, " as this portion ofthe South American Continent was somewhat inappropriately christened byits original discoverer, the veteran navigator Magalhaens. He called itso, when he sailed round it in 1520, from the fact of the nativeslighting watch-fires in every direction as soon as his ship wasperceived nearing any of the channels transecting the archipelago, as ifto give warning of his approach, a practice still pursued by the Tierradel Fuegans up to the time present, as all voyagers round Cape Horn wellknow. 

However, in spite of the inclemency of the season, we made ourselvespretty comfortable. We had lost the greater portion of the threemonths' stock of provisions we had taken with us; but still we hadenough to last for three or four weeks, and Captain Billings hoped tospin out our store by the aid of the different species of wild fowlwhich frequented the islands, in addition to the abundant supply of fishthat the southern waters contain--that is, until, as we hoped, somepassing ship should pick us up and convey our little party to morecivilised regions. 

But, while the snowstorm lasted, we all suffered more or less from theseverity of the weather, many of the men having their feet and handsfrostbitten, and poor Mr Macdougall almost losing his nose!

"I say, " said Sails to Pat Doolan, on seeing that worthy shivering whiletrying to re-light the fire--which an avalanche of snow, descending froma precipitous rise above the site of our tent, had suddenly buried, along with the cook's pots and pans, just as he was preparing ourmorning meal, on the fourth day of the storm--"how about that Manillaguernsey o' yourn now, old flick? Guess it would come in handy, eh!"

"Be jabers, an' it would that, " replied the Irishman, with muchheartiness; "I only wish I had it across me back now, and I was aboardthat schooner ag'in; an' faix, I'd die happy!"

Pat's fire was soon lighted again; but the fall of snow from above, without any previous warning, might have caused serious injury to someof us if it had come down in the night. It quite broke down our tent, and it took us some hours' hard work, using broken oar-blades forshovels, to dig away the immense heap of frozen debris that theunexpected slip of the accumulation on the top of the cliff had caused. Really, if the avalanche had fallen when we were all inside and asleep, perhaps not one of us would have escaped alive, as it must have beenmany tons in weight!

We thought, from the continuation of the snowstorm, that we would haveto endure all the miseries of an antarctic winter; but, towards theevening of the fourth day, the south-westerly gale gradually lost itsforce, shifting round a bit more to the northwards. Strange to say, although the wind now came from what, in our northern latitudes, weesteem a colder quarter, it was ever so much warmer here, on account ofits passing over the warm pampas of the Plate before reaching us, theeffect of which soon became apparent in the melting of the snow on theground as rapidly as when a thaw takes place at home. Properlyspeaking, however, the snow rather may be said to have dried up thanmelted, for it was absorbed by the air, which was dry and bracing. 

The flakes, that had up to now continued coming down without cessation, also ceased to fall--much to our satisfaction, as I need hardly add;for, albeit it is very nice to look out from a warm, well-furnished roomat the beautiful winter garb of Nature, and highly enjoyable to go outsnowballing, when you can leave it off and go indoors to a jolly firewhen you like, it was a very different matter to us now to experienceall the discomforts of those dreadful, icy, spongy, little featherynuisances penetrating beneath every loophole they could find entranceto, in the apology for a tent that we had, and to have our clothingsodden by it, our fire put out, and our blood congealed. Perhaps eventhe most ardent snow-lover would lose his taste for the soft moleculesunder such circumstances!

On the fifth day, the sun appeared again, when Captain Billings tookadvantage of the opportunity for getting an observation as to ourposition, using Mr Macdougall's sextant, his own and mine having goneto the bottom when the long-boat was upset. The skipper, I may add, hadalso to make use of the mate's watch--the chronometer that had beenbrought from the ship having shared the fate of the other instruments, standard compass and all having passed into the safe keeping of oldNeptune and his Tritons, who, if they cared about the study ofmeteorology, had a rare haul on this occasion!

The observation he now obtained only confirmed the skipper's previousimpression that we were on Herschel Island, one of the Hermite, or CapeHorn group, the mountainous peaks of which are mainly composed of greenstone, in which hornblende and feldspar are more or less conspicuous, and the presence of iron very apparent, some of the rocks beingintensely magnetic, causing the needle of a little pocket compass I hadto execute all sorts of strange freaks. 

When the weather got fine, we took a walk round the island as far as theridge that bisected it would allow, finding the elevated ground clothedwith thickly growing trees, principally a species of spruce fir calledthe antarctic beech, which runs to a height of some thirty or fortyfeet, with a girth of five or six feet. It is a magnificent evergreen, and would look well on an English lawn, for it has a splendid spreadinghead. 

Beside this beech, there was a pretty little laurel tree, and thearbutus, which one of the sailors, who was from Devonshire, wouldpersist in calling a myrtle bush, although the skipper showed him theberries to convince him to the contrary. There was also a sort of wildstrawberry plant plentiful enough about, running like a vine over therocks under the cliff; but there was nothing like what we call grass tobe seen anywhere, only clumps or tussocks of a fibrous material likehemp, with long, ragged, straggling ends. 

So much for the botany of the island; as for the living creatures, "barring ourselves, " as Pat Doolan would have expressed it, there were"race horses, " "steamer" ducks, and penguins, besides a species of wildgoose that we had seen off the Falkland Islands, and which Sailsdescribed to me as being so tough that a shipmate of his, who was oncetrying to gnaw through the drumstick of one when in Stanley Harbour, hadhis eye knocked out by the bone "fetching back" sharply through theelasticity of the tendon which his teeth missed hold of--a tough morselto chew away at, if the yarn be true, eh?

But, amongst all these specimens of animated nature, we did not see atrace of any of the natives--a fact which I took care to point out tothe skipper, expressing my belief that he had only been romancing aboutthe "cannibals, " as he termed them. 

He, however, denied this. 

"No, my lad, " he said. "The natives of this coast are a small, barbarous race of beings, whom one can hardly call men. They go aboutin the inclement climate without a rag of covering on, save a bit of rawsealskin which they shift from shoulder to shoulder as a protectionagainst the wind, just as we get a vessel's sails round on the port orstarboard tack. 

"The inhabitants of one island are hostile to those of the next, killingthem, and eating them too, whenever they have the chance! They have nosort of government, as most other islanders, even the most savage, have, and, of course, no laws--in which perhaps they are all the better off. They never cultivate the soil, or do anything for a living, as we wouldsay at home; and they mainly occupy the sea-shore, living on whatevermussels they can manage to pick up, and the blubber of any occasionalfish they come across. I'm told they also eat that toad-stool we seegrowing on the beech trees; and if they'd do that, they'd eat anything!Sometimes they venture out long distances to sea in their rude canoes, like catamarans, which they contrive out of a couple of branches of atree and sealskins sewn together with fish-gut, but they never gowithout their blessed fire, though--always carrying it along with themwherever they go, up the mountains, on the beach, in their frail boats, the live embers resting always in the latter on a bed of leaves--thereason for this solicitude being, not that they are followers ofZoroaster and worship the god of fire, but because they know thedifficulty they would have in rekindling it again if they once allowedit to go out, as Pat Doolan suffered ours to do the other day, when youknow the consequences, eh?"

"Yes, I remember well, " I said, laughing. "We hadn't another matchleft, none of us having thought of bringing a supply from the ship, savea box which one of the men in the jolly-boat fortunately had in hispocket that first evening of our landing. Then we wanted a fire badly, and couldn't build one until he got ashore, and this box was expended upto the last match; so, on the second occasion, Mr Macdougall had tosnap off nearly all the caps he had for his gun before he could get alight, the snow having damped them. Oh, yes, I remember Pat's firegoing out very well!"

A day or two after this conversation I had the chance of corroboratingthe skipper's statement about the natives. 

We had now been on the island nearly a fortnight, and our stores werebecoming rapidly diminished; for we were now only twenty-five in all, since Mr Ohlsen and the seaman Harmer had died, but still this was alarge number to provide for out of the scanty stock we had left usthrough the loss of nearly two-thirds of our provisions by the upsettingof the long-boat--the few perishable articles saved when we righted heragain being uneatable from the effects of the salt water, which turnedthe meat putrid and converted our flour and biscuit into the mostunpalatable paste. 

Captain Billings had hoped that some of the sealing schooners thatrendezvous about the neighbourhood of Cape Horn, in search of theblubber and skins of the marine animals frequenting the shoals there, would have put in ere this and taken us off the inhospitable shore onwhich we had been forced to take refuge, or else that some passing shiphomeward bound or sailing west into the Pacific would have picked us up;but, never a sail hove in sight, and, as our provisions daily grew less, although the men had been rationed down to a couple of biscuits and anounce of salt pork per day, something had to be done, or else starvationwould quickly stare us in the face!

The skipper therefore summoned Mr Macdougall to a consultation, atwhich I also was allowed to be present, for our sad plight had united usall together on the most brotherly terms, if I may so speak of therelations both the mate and Captain Billings bore towards me--althoughthe skipper had always remembered Sam Pengelly's exhortation on partingwith me when he left me in his charge, to "remember the b'y!"

I think, too, I have already mentioned that since I had helped to savehis life, Mr Macdougall had not only completely changed in histreatment towards me, but was an altogether different man in everyrespect. The men used to say, "That bath of salt water washed all theconfounded bumptiousness out of him!"

"I have determined--that is, if you agree with me, Macdougall, " said theskipper, when we had assembled in the tent, pointing with his ringer toa spot on a chart of the coast that he had brought with him from the_Esmeralda_, and which the wetting it had received in our spill amongthe breakers had not damaged very materially, for it looked right enoughnow, spread out on top of Mr Macdougall's chest, he being lucky enoughto get his safe on shore--"I have determined, " repeated CaptainBillings--"that is, if you agree with me--to make a tour of inspectionof the neighbouring islands, to see if we can get any help or someprovisions to keep us going until a ship passes. "

"That's weel, vara weel, " said Mr Macdougall, with an approving cough. 

"And if our quest should be unsuccessful, why, we must proceed to GoodSuccess Bay--that point to the south-east of the mainland, oppositeStaten Island--where there'll be more chance of our intercepting avessel. "

"Hech, mon, but it's a gude long deestance, I reecken?" replied themate, in a questioning way. 

"About a hundred miles I make it, " said the skipper, measuring the spaceon his chart with his fingers, for lack of a pair of callipers. "But, with the southerly and westerly wind that we nearly always have here, the boats ought to fetch the place in a couple of days at most. "

"Vara weel, Cap'en, I'm ae weelin' to agree to eenything; but I misdoubttak'ing to the sea since more in yon open boat. 'Twas only the grace o'Proveedence that saved us in landin' here, and we didna get clear offthen!"

"No, we didn't, " said the skipper, with a chuckle. "But we won't essaythat long trip yet awhile--at all events, not until we are forced to. We will try the islands near us first; and then, if we meet with no luckthere, why, we'll shape a course for Good Success Bay. "

"All richt, I'm agree'ble, " answered Mr Macdougall, quite satisfiedthat we were not going to put to sea again in a hurry in our frailcraft, which were indeed not very staunch to brave the perils of theopen sea; so it was decided, accordingly, that the jolly-boat, with apicked party, should proceed the next day on a surveying tour amongstthe neighbouring islands. 

The following morning, therefore, Captain Billings, Jorrocks, and I, with three of the sailors--Mr Macdougall being left behind at his ownrequest in charge of the remainder of the crew--started on theinvestigating expedition, directing the boat first towards a smallisland lying-to the westwards, and the closest to us of all that wecould distinguish from the beach where our camp was. 

This island, however, we found to be uninhabited, and even more bare andsterile than the one we had landed on; so, hoisting the small lugsailwhich the jolly-boat carried, we made over more to the north-west, towards Wollaston Island, the largest in the archipelago, and about thesame distance away from us that the Isle of Wight is from Selsea Bill. 

On reaching this we found a couple of native families living on theshore in rude huts, composed of the branches of trees, and with mud andstones heaped over them. The people were the ugliest I had ever seen, being more like baboons than men and women. They were dwarfish instature, the tallest of the party not exceeding five feet in height, andthe majority of the others quite a foot shorter. I noticed also, as theskipper had told me, that their apparel was of the very scantiestpossible, consisting only of a piece of sealskin, which was movable, sothat it could be placed on the most convenient side for protecting themagainst the weather. 

They were not able to help us much, looking miserably off; but they werehospitable enough, offering us some mussels and fish, and berriessimilar to those we had seen on the arbutus trees on our own island. 

If they could not assist us materially, they put us up to one thing, andthat was how to catch fish; for, although we had seen many of themjumping in the water, and swimming about the beach in front of ourencampment, we had been unable to capture any, owing to there not beinga single hook brought in the boats; and, sailors not being accustomed touse pins about their garments, we could not make use of these for asubstitute. 

The Tierra del Fuegans had a rare dodge to supply the deficiency. Theyfastened a limpet to the end of their lines, and, heaving it into deepwater, the fish readily gorges it; when, before he can bring it upagain, they pull him out, and thus they get their fish without losingtheir mussel. 

"They're just like Turks!" cried Captain Billings, with a broad grin onhis face. 

"Why?" asked I, knowing that something funny was coming. 

"Because they're regular musselmen!" said the skipper, laughing outloudly at the old joke, Jorrocks and I, of course, joining in. 

The natives spoke some sort of gibberish of a language which we couldnot understand; nor could we make them comprehend what we wished tolearn with reference to the sealing schooners, although the skippershouted out the word "ship" to them as loudly as he could bawl, thinkingthereby to make himself more intelligible. 

Seeing, therefore, that we could do no good by remaining here, westarted back for Herschel Island to rejoin our companions, getting therebefore it was dark--much to our own relief and to that of MrMacdougall, who was anxiously looking out for us. 

For another fortnight we remained here, experiencing the utmostprivation, for our stock of provisions gradually dwindled down, our two-biscuit ration being reduced to one, then to half-a-one a day, and thento none at all, when all of us had to eat berries with the little pieceof salt pork served out to us, and an occasional fish that we sometimessucceeded in catching in the native fashion. 

At last, at the beginning of September, the skipper determined that allhands should put to sea again in the two boats, in order to make our wayacross the intervening gulf of water to Good Success Bay, at the extremesouth-east point of Tierra del Fuego, opposite to Staten Island, on theother side of the Strait of Le Maire. 

This plan was adopted, and we launched the boats, now much lighter thanwhen they originally had left the poor _Esmeralda_, for they had nothingnow to carry but ourselves, save water, our provisions being allexhausted. 

For three days and nights we suffered terribly from hunger, besidesbeing buffeted about by adverse winds; but, happily, the fourth morningbrought us relief, although we had not yet got in sight of StatenIsland. 

Far away on the horizon, on our starboard hand, Jorrocks saw a shipstanding to the westward; so, rigging up the long-boat's sails again--for the wind was contrary to the course we had been trying to fetch, andwe had hauled them down in despair, allowing the boats to drift about onthe ocean without heart or energy--we made a board to the south, so asto cut off the vessel as she steered towards Cape Horn, taking thejolly-boat in tow behind us, for she spread such little canvas that shecould not keep up with the larger boat. 

Fortunately, the wind held, and the ship did not change her course; so, about mid-day, we came up with her. 

She was a London vessel, the _Iolanthe_, bound to Valparaiso; so hercaptain, seeing that we were shipwrecked mariners in distress, took uson board at once, and treated us like brothers, without waiting even tohear our story about the loss of the _Esmeralda_. 

In thirty days more we were landed at Valparaiso. 

Here, by rights, I ought to finish my yarn, for I said when I began thatI was only going to give a full, fair, and truthful statement as to howI came to go to sea, and of my escape, just by "the skin of my teeth, "as the saying goes, from the perils of the ocean off Cape Horn on thisfirst voyage; and now, as the _Esmeralda_ got burnt and her keel andbottom timbers are lying beneath the waves--the catastrophe terminating, of course, my voyage in her, to which this story only refers--whatrelates to myself further on is of no concern to any one!

However, not to leave you in suspense, I'll tell you how I got back homeagain to old England, although it was by a terribly roundabout route. 

When we arrived at the _Iolanthe's_ port, Captain Billings took passagehome in the mail-steamer for Mr Macdougall and himself, as well as forthree of the hands who wished to return to their native country; but therest preferred to run the risk of picking up a ship and working theirway back in that way, so as to have some little money on the landing, the wages due to them from the _Esmeralda_ ceasing from the day of herloss. 

The men of the mercantile marine have to put up with some hardship inthis respect, for, when a vessel in which they may have shipped comes toan untimely end, like our unfortunate barque, they not only lose alltheir traps and personal belongings, but their wages as well--that is, beyond the period at which they actually assisted in working the ship, although they may have signed articles for a three years' voyage. 

The skipper offered to take me home, too, but I was of the same opinionas the majority of my late shipmates. I did not desire to go back onSam Pengelly's hands, like a bad penny, especially as I liked what I hadseen of the sea in spite of its perils; so, when I mentioned this toCaptain Billings, he said that although he would prefer my coming backto England with him and waiting till he got a fresh ship, he would notinterfere with my wishes as to finding another berth at once. Indeed, he added, he already knew of one, as an old friend of his who commandeda ship just leaving Valparaiso for Australia had told him that he wanteda third mate. 

"And if you like, " said the skipper, "I'll recommend you to CaptainGiles for the post. "

"I shall be only too glad, " I replied. The skipper did so; and thewhole thing was settled off-hand, I signing articles with my new captainthe same day, shortly before my late one left in the mail-steamer, whichwas just on the point of starting. 

I took a cordial farewell of Captain Billings, promising that as soon asI got back to England, from the voyage I was just starting on, I wouldlook him up. He promised, likewise, to give me a berth on board anyship he commanded--should the Board of Trade not withhold hiscertificate after the inquiry that would be held on the loss of the_Esmeralda_ on his arrival home; and I may as well state here, that theofficials entirely exonerated him from any blame in the destruction ofthe ship and cargo, putting the matter down to one of the ordinary risksof commercial life. 

The skipper also promised to see Sam Pengelly for me, and to tell himhow I was getting on. These mutual engagements being gone into, I andJorrocks, having shaken hands with Captain Billings and Mr Macdougall, the latter of whom said he would "never forget me as long as he lived, "were both making our way along the front of the one long street thatValparaiso consists of, thinking of taking off a boat soon to our newship, the _Jackmal_, lying out in the offing--for Jorrocks, learningthat Captain Giles wanted a boatswain, and knowing that I was going withhim, agreed to go to sea with him in a moment--when, all at once, whoshould we come full butt on but the very last person in the world Iexpected to see here. I thought he was still at Dr Hellyer's, atBeachampton, cramming for an Oxford scholarship, as far as I knew to thecontrary--who but--

Yes!--

Tom Larkyns, my old chum, who acted so wickedly in concert with me, whenwe blew up the schoolmaster and ran away to sea!

His uncle, he told me, had a foreign agency here; and the old gentlemanhaving written home to his mother offering Tom a situation, he had atonce been sent out at his own wish, preferring such a life greatly tothat of going to the university and afterwards having to take holyorders, that being the only opening held out to him in England. 

Tom also related that the Doctor had become a bankrupt, and the schoolbroken up; but I was unable to hear anything further about the scene ofmy past misdeeds and experiences of "pandying" and "way of his own" ofmy former master, for while we were yet chatting together, Captain Gilescame up, saying he was going off to the _Jackmal_ at once, and wouldlike Jorrocks and myself to come on board with him, as he intendedsailing that afternoon. 

So, wishing Tom good-bye, before many hours were over I was againfloating on the deep. 

From Valparaiso, we sailed to Sydney; then, taking a cargo of all sortsof "notions, " as the Yankees say, we went on to Singapore; going thenceto Bombay, in ballast. From India we proceeded back again to Australia, going to Melbourne this time; finally coming home to England, round theCape of Good Hope--a good two years after I joined my new ship; for itwas in October that I landed in Liverpool, while I had started away fromCardiff in the _Esmeralda_ two years and five months previously exactly. 

I was, however, all the better for my absence; for I had saved up over ahundred and fifty pounds, and I had grown a big strapping chap, withwhiskers and beard in a small way, of which I was very proud. 

Need it be asked where I first bent my steps on leaving my ship atLiverpool?

Why, to Plymouth, of course!

I got there early in the morning; and, being acquainted with SamPengelly's every-day practice, I knew exactly where to come across him, that is, unless he should happen to be ill; for every morning--exceptSunday, when he always went to church, unless he chanced to be on boardhis little foretopsail schooner, which was not likely at this time ofthe year--he was invariably to be found on the Hoe, seated on one of thebenches in front of Esplanade Terrace, looking over at the vessels outin the Sound, below and beyond. 

Here I sought him; and here I found him, sure enough!

He did not see me coming; so, going behind the seat on which he wassitting, I clapped him suddenly on the back, exclaiming at the sametime, in slight paraphrase of his old address to me that memorableDecember day when I first heard his friendly voice--

"Hallo, old cockbird! How are you?"

Gracious me, you should only have seen him jump!

CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR. 

AT HOME AGAIN. 

Sam Pengelly started up, and looked at me as if he thought I was aghost. 

"What, laddie, is it you really?" he exclaimed, peering into my facewith his own, which, usually as florid as a peony, was now all whitewith emotion; while his lips trembled nervously as he spoke. "Why, " hesaid, after a close inspection to see whether I was actually MartinLeigh or else some base impostor assuming his voice and guise, "it _is_the young cockbird, by all that's living--ain't I glad!" And, then, throwing his arms round me in a bear-like hug, he almost squeezed everyparticle of breath out of my body. 

"Now, come along, " he said presently, when he could speak again, thekind-hearted fellow's joy choking him at first, and preventing him fromuttering a syllable; though he sighed, and drew his breath again in along sigh like a sob, and finally cleared his throat with a cough thatmight have been heard on Drake Island. 

"Where?" I asked. 

"Why, to Old Calabar Cottage, in course!" he replied, indignantly. "Doyou think Jane won't be glad to see you? Why, she's been fretting herheart into fiddle-strings arter you all these last six months that younever wrote, thinking you was gone down to Davy Jones's locker!"

"I'm very sorry I couldn't write from Melbourne, " I said. "We were sohurried that I had hardly time to get once ashore. You got my otherletters, though, eh?"

"Oh, aye, " replied Sam, as we went along the familiar old Stoke roadthat I knew so well, although it was now so long since I had seen it. "You've been main good in writin', laddie, an' I don't know what Janewould ha' done without your letters. She thinks you're Teddy still, Ibelieve, and seems to have got fonder than ever of you since you left. Do you know what the woman did when Cap'en Billings came to tell us howhe'd seen you, and you was goin' on first-rate?"

"No, I'm sure I can't say, " I answered. 

"Blest if she didn't throw her arms round his neck and kiss him--justbecause he had last seen you!"

I did not laugh at this, as Sam did; I only thought of the greataffection, which, so undeserved by me, I had drawn from Jane Pengelly'sgreat heart!

Presently, we came in sight of the cottage. 

There it was, porch, creepers, and all, just as I had left it, only nowthe glow of the fuchsias had gone, with that of the scarlet geraniumsand other flowers of summer; still, the autumn tints of the Virginiancreeper, hanging down in festoons of russet and yellow and red from theroof, gave all the colouring that was wanted. 

Sam opened the door and walked in, as usual; but it was before his usualtime for returning from Plymouth, so Jane came out of the kitchen insurprise--this I could hear, for I remained without in the porch till hehad warned her of my coming. 

"Deary me, Sam, you are early, " she said. "Why, the pasty won't be donefor an hour and more. "

"What, have you got a Mevagissey pie ag'in for dinner?"

"Yes, Sam, " she replied. 

"Now, that's curious, " Sam said. 

I could almost have felt certain that I knew what he was doing when hespoke those words in that way. He must have taken off his hat and begunscratching his head reflectively with the other hand, I'm certain!

"Curious?" repeated Jane. "Why?"

"Why, because we had it for dinner when the poor laddie left us. "

"Deary me!" exclaimed Jane, her voice full of alarm. "There's notidings of any harm come to he, surely!"

"No, no, Jane, my woman, " said he, "the lad's all right; 'fact, I've--I've seen him this morning. "

"This morning!" cried she, all excitement. "Why, what are you holdingthe door back for? It's him--he's here!"

And, in another moment, my second mother, as I shall always call her, was clinging round my neck with almost more than a mother's love forme--if that were possible!

"Deary me!" she said a little while after, "isn't he like Teddy, now?"

Sam burst out laughing. 

"Why, Teddy was a slim boy of fourteen, and this laddie here's a finestrapping fellow, nearly six feet high, and as broad in the beam as aDutch sloop!"

However, Jane wouldn't be convinced but that I was the very image of herown lost child; and, as I had all her wealth of affection inconsequence, I'm sure I have no reason to complain. 

I took up my quarters at "Old Calabar Cottage, " as Sam loved to hearpeople call it, rolling out the full name himself with great gusto; and, in a little while, as things went on in the old way, I got so accustomedto everything around me that I could almost fancy my first voyage andthe burning of the _Esmeralda_ were a dream, as well as all my laterexperiences of the sea. 

But, after a time, I began to long again to be on the deep, desiringonce more to be daring its dangers and glorying in that "life on theocean wave" which, once tasted by the true-born sailor, can never begiven up altogether. I had just begun to deliberate with myself as towhat sort of ship I should seek, and whither I would prefer to voyagefor my next trip, when Sam came back from Plymouth one morning brimfulof news. 

"Well, laddie--who d'ye think I met to-day?" he called out to me, almostbefore he was quite inside the house. 

"I'm sure I can't guess, " I replied. "Who?"

"Why, Cap'en Billings, my cockbird!"

"Captain Billings!" I said, with surprise. "I thought he was inChina. "

"No, but he's going there this voyage. "

"This voyage?" I repeated questioningly, after Sam had said the words. 

"Aye, laddie; he's got a bran' new ship, which the owners of the_Esmeralda_ have had built, and just made him skipper of. And, what doyou think, laddie?"

"I'm sure I can't tell, " said I. 

"He's going to have a bran' new second mate, who he hears has just gothis certificate from the Trinity House Board--that is, if he'll acceptthe berth under his old captain. "

"What!" I exclaimed, breathless with excitement, "does he offer to takeme with him as he promised?"

"Aye, laddie, the berth's open to you if you'll have it, he says. Willyou go?"

"Go?" I repeated, "of course I will!"

And so it came about that I am going to sail under my old skipper again. 

THE END.