CHAPTER IV.
THE WRECK.
"I CAN see the buoy, uncle, over there on the weatherbow."
"That is right, Jack. I am always glad when we get that buoy; it is thehardest to find of any of them. We shall have to jibe going round it.You stand by to brail the sail up when I give the word; we might carryaway the gaff at the jaws if we let the sail go over all standing now."As soon as they neared the buoy Tom Hoskins got in the oar with whichthe mainsail was boomed out. "Now, Jack, brail up the sail as she comesround. Haul in the sheet as fast as you can, Tom, and pay it out againhandsomely as it comes over. That is the way. Now fasten the sheet andthrow off the main-tack and trice the sail up pretty near to the throat.
"That will do. Slack the brail off, Jack. Now haul in the sheet a bit.You had better let the foresail down, Tom; the wind is heavy, and thereis too much sea on here to drive her through it too fast."
The sea would have been far heavier than it now was in another twohours' time, but the water was still very shallow on the sands, and thisbroke the force of the waves. The boat was now running along the narrowchannel of deep water leading between the Spitway Buoy and the BellBuoy, and almost at right angles to the course they had before beenfollowing. The wind was almost on their beam, and even under the reducedcanvas the _Bessy_ was lying far over, the water covering three planksof her deck on the starboard side. They could see the buoy, andpresently could hear its deep tolling as the hammers struck the bellwith every motion of the buoy.
"Ah! here is another heavy rain squall coming down. I am glad we areround the Bell Buoy before it came up. Jack, you may as well put thetea-kettle on. A cup of tea will be a comfort."
All three were wrapped up in oil-skins; but in spite of this they had ageneral sensation of dampness, for it had been raining more or less eversince they started. Jack was below, when he heard a far louder roar ofthe wind than before, and heard his uncle shout, "Brail up the main asfar as you can, Tom--the jib is about all we want now!"
Jack looked out from the fo'castle. The wind was blowing tremendously,sweeping the heads off the waves and driving them into sheets of spray;then great drops of rain struck the deck almost with the force ofbullets, and a minute later it came down almost in bucketfuls.
"Do you want me, uncle?" he shouted. His voice did not reach Ben's ears,but he guessed what he had said and waved his hand to him to remain inthe fo'castle. Jack took off his sou'-wester and shook the water fromhis oil-skin, and then opening the locker where the coke was keptreplenished the fire. It settled down so dark when the squall struck theboat that he could scarce see across the little cabin. Regardless of thehowling of the wind and the motion of the vessel, he sat on the floorputting in stick after stick to hasten up the fire. As soon as thekettle boiled he put in a handful of tea and some sugar and took thekettle off the fire, then he got a couple of large mugs and half-filledthem with tea, and sat balancing them until the fluid was sufficientlycool to be drunk. Then tying on his sou'-wester again he made his wayout and gave a mug to each of the others.
"Go down below again, Jack!" his uncle shouted at the top of his voice,and although Jack was within two or three feet of him, he scarcely heardhim. "There is nothing to be done at present here, and it is no uselooking out for the Swin Middle at present."
Jack took a look round before he went below. Away at some distance oneither hand were white masses of foam where the sea was breaking on thesands. He went up to the bow and looked ahead through the darkness, thenhe went back to his uncle. "I caught sight of a light right over thebowsprit."
"Ah! they have lit up then," Tripper said. "I thought they would, forit is almost as dark as night. You had best get the side-lights readyand the flareup. I don't suppose we shall want them, for if we see asteamer coming down we will give her a clear berth. They won't be ableto look far ahead in the face of this wind and rain." Jack went forwardagain and lay down on the lockers. He thought little of the storm. Itwas a severe one, no doubt, but with the wind nearly due aft, and aweather tide, it was nothing to the _Bessy_, whose great beam incomparison to her length enabled her to run easily before the wind, whena long narrow craft would have been burying herself.
Presently he thought he heard his uncle shout, and getting up lookedaft. Tom Hoskins was now at the helm. Tripper was standing beside him,and pointing at something broad away on the beam. Jack at once made hisway aft.
"What is it, uncle?"
"I saw the flash of a gun. Ah! there it is again. There is a ship ashoreon the Middle Sunk." Jack gazed in the direction in which his uncle waspointing. In a minute there was another flash.
"It is all over with her," Ben Tripper said solemnly. "The strongestship that ever was built could not hold together long on that sand withsuch a sea on as there will be there now."
"Cannot we do something?"
Tripper was silent for half a minute. "What do you think, Tom? We mightget there through the swashway. There is plenty of water for us, and wecould lay our course there. It is a risky business, you know, and we maynot be able to get near her when we get there; but that we cannot telltill we see how she is fixed. Still, if we could get there before shegoes to pieces we might perhaps save some of them."
"I don't mind, Ben, if you don't," the other said. "I have neither wifenor child, and if you like to take the risk, I am ready."
Ben Tripper looked at Jack. "I would not mind if it wasn't for the boy,"he said.
"Don't mind me, uncle," Jack burst out. "I would not have you hang backbecause of me, not for anything in the world. Do try it, uncle. It wouldbe awful to think of afterwards, when we hear of her being lost with allhands, that we might have saved some of them perhaps if we had tried."
Ben still hesitated, when another bright flash was seen. It was anappeal for aid he could not resist. "Put down the helm, Tom," he said."Now, Jack, help me to rouse in the sheet. That will do. Now then for apull on the jib-sheet. Now we will put the last reef in the foresail andhoist it, slack the brail and haul down the main-tack a bit. We mustkeep good way on her crossing the tide." Now that they were nearlyclose-hauled instead of running before the wind, Jack recognized muchmore strongly than before how heavy was the sea and how great the forceof the wind. Lively as the boat was, great masses of water poured overher bow and swept aft as each wave struck her. Her lee bulwarks werecompletely buried.
"Give me the helm, Tom," Tripper said; "and get those hatchways up andcover the well, and lash the tarpaulin over it. It is bad enough here,it will be worse when we get into broken water near the wreck." Most ofthe bawleys are provided with hatches for closing the long narrow placeknown as the 'well,' but it is only under quite exceptionalcircumstances that they are ever used. Jack and the man got them up andmanaged to fit them in their places, but getting the tarpaulin over themwas beyond their power.
"I will throw her up into the wind," Ben said. "Haul on the weatherfore-sheet as I do, and belay it with the foot of the sail just towindward of the mast. Now rouse in the main-sheet. That is right."
Quitting the tiller as the boat lay-to to the wind, Ben lent his aid tothe other two, and in three or four minutes the tarpaulin was securelylashed over the hatches, and the boat completely battened down.
"Now, Jack, you had best lash yourself to something or you will be sweptoverboard; we shall have it a lot worse than this presently. Now, Tom,before we get well away again get the last reef in the mainsail, then wecan haul the tack down taut again; the sail will stand much better so,and we shall want to keep her all to windward if she is to go throughthe swashway."
When all was ready the fore weather-sheet was let go, and the lee-sheethauled taut. The main-sheet was slacked off a little and the _Bessy_proceeded on her way. It was a terrible half-hour; fortunately the denseheavy clouds had broken a little, and it was lighter than it had been,but this only rendered the danger more distinct. Once in the swashway,which is the name given to a narrow channel between the sands, the waveswere less high. But on either hand they were breaking wildly, for t
herewere still but four or five feet of water over the sands. The sea wasnearly abeam now, and several times Jack almost held his breath as thewaves lifted the _Bessy_ bodily to leeward and threatened to cast herinto the breaking waters but a few fathoms away. But the skipper knewhis boat well and humoured her through the waves, taking advantage ofevery squall to eat up a little to windward, but always keeping hersails full and plenty of way on her. At last they were through theswashway; and though the sea was again heavier, and the waves frequentlyswept over the decks, Jack gave a sigh of relief. They could make outthe hull of the vessel now looming up black over the white surf thatsurrounded it. She had ceased firing, either from the powder beingwetted or her guns disabled.
"Which way had we better get at her, Tom?" Ben Tripper asked. "She ispretty near on the top of the sand."
"The only way we have a chance of helping her is by laying-to, oranchoring on the edge of the sand to leeward of her. They may be able todrift a line down to us. I do not see any other way. Our anchorswouldn't hold to windward of her."
"No; I suppose that is the best way, Tom. We must make the bestallowance we can for the wind and the set of tide, otherwise they willnever drift a line down to us. She won't hold together long. Her sternis gone as far as the mizzen, so we must be quick about it."
The wreck was evidently a sailing vessel. Her masts were all gone, herbulwarks carried away, and she lay far heeled over. A group of peoplecould be seen huddled up in the bow as they neared her. Tom Hoskins andJack had for the last ten minutes been busy getting the spare anchor upon deck and fastening to it the wrap of the trawl-net, which was by farthe strongest rope they had on board.
"What water is there on the sand, Ben?"
"Six or seven feet on the edge, but less further on. We do not draw overfive feet, so we will keep on till we touch. The moment we do so let thetwo anchors go. Wind and tide will take her off again quick enough. Payout ten or twelve fathoms of chain, and directly she holds up drop thelead-line overboard to see if she drags; if she does, give her some morerope and chain."
The anchors were both got overboard and in readiness to let go at amoment's notice, the instant the _Bessy_ took ground.
The foresail was lowered and the mainsail partly brailed up, so that shehad only way on her sufficient to stem the tide. As they entered thebroken water Jack was obliged to take a step back and hold on to themast. Her motion had before been violent, but to a certain extentregular; now she was tossed in all directions so sharply and violentlythat he expected every moment that the mast would go. Tom looked roundat Ben. The latter pointed to the sail and waved his hand. Tomunderstood him, and going to the mast loosened the brail a little togive her more sail, for the waves completely knocked the way out of her.When she forged ahead again, Tom returned to his post.
Jack held his breath every time the boat pitched, but she kept onwithout touching until within some eighty yards of the wreck; then asshe pitched forward down a wave there was a shock that nearly threw Jackoff his feet, prepared for it though he was. In a moment he steadiedhimself, and crept forward and cut the lashing of the hawser just as Tomsevered that of the chain. The latter rattled out for a moment. Therewas another shock, but less violent than the first, and then the renewedrattle of the chain showed that she was drifting astern. Ben now leftthe tiller and sprang forward. The jib was run in by the traveller andgot down, the foresail had been cast off and had run down the forestaythe moment she struck, and the three now set to work to lower themainsail.
"She is dragging," Tom said, examining the lead-line, "but not fast."
"Give her another five or six fathoms of chain," Ben said, himselfattending to the veering out of the hawser.
This done they again watched the lead-line. It hung straight down by theside of the vessel.
"They have got her!" Ben said. "Now then for the ship."
For the first time since they entered the broken water they had leisureto look about them. Those on board the ship had lost no time, and hadalready launched a light spar with a line tied to it into the water.
"It will miss us," Ben said, after watching the spar for a minute. "Yousee, I allowed for wind and tide, and the wind does not affect the spar,and the tide will sweep it down thirty or forty yards on our port bow."
It turned out so. Those on board payed out the line until the sparfloated abreast of the smack, but at a distance of some thirty yardsaway.
"What is to be done?" Ben asked. "If we were to try to get up sail againwe should drift away so far to leeward we should never be able to beatback."
"Look here," Jack said; "if you signal to them to veer out some morerope I could soon do it. I could not swim across the tide now, but if itwere twenty fathom further astern I could manage it."
"You could never swim in that sea, Jack."
"Well, I could try, uncle. Of course you would fasten a line round me,and if I cannot get there you will haul me in again. There cannot be anydanger about that."
So saying Jack at once proceeded to throw off his oil-skins andsea-boots, while Ben went to the bow of the boat and waved to those onthe wreck to slack out more line. They soon understood him, and the sparwas presently floating twenty yards further astern. Jack had by thistime stripped. A strong line was now fastened round his body under hisarms, and going up to the bow of the boat, so as to give himself as longa distance as possible to drift, he prepared for the swim.