*CHAPTER XVI.*
*A WRETCHED NIGHT.*
The boys went reluctantly into their berths, but not to sleep.
Sick and frightened, they could only listen anxiously to the beating ofthe waves against the vessel, and the hurried movements of the two menon deck, as, tossed by the winds and the sea, the _Una_ rolled heavilyto and fro.
The moments seemed hours, and the hours seemed ages.
Never in their lives had they been so terrified. Several times the waterrushed down into the cabin, as the waves broke over the deck; andCaptain Dare looked down upon them, long enough to ask if they weredrowned out.
"Hear the thunder!" exclaimed Ralph, as the heavy roll and crash soundedoverhead, and the cabin was lighted almost continually with flashes oflurid light.
Ben made no reply, but buried his head under the blanket.
"It's queer I don't feel so scared as I did," said Ralph soberly. "Ifeel something as Captain Dare does--that after all we are in God'shand. Hear that peal! It seemed to roll right over the deck."
Ben made no answer, but cowered still closer under the blanket.
The rain now descended in perfect sheets upon the deck; and although thecabin door was closed, the water poured down through the cracks, andcame in around the small windows above the berths, adding to thediscomfort of the boys, who could not escape the drenching there withoutstepping into the water with which the cabin floor was covered.
The rain fell as if another flood had commenced; and the wind had nomercy on the little vessel--breaking her yards and snapping hertopmasts; and unreefing with goblin fingers the topsails, it whippedthem to tatters.
At length the thunder ceased to mutter, and after midnight the rain fellno more; but the wind continued to blow, and the little vessel to runbefore it.
It was sunrise when the captain opened the cabin door and looked down.
"Well, boys, get up and give thanks! The little vessel has weatheredthe toughest kind of a gale. We are all safe now."
"Is the danger really over?" asked the boys eagerly, as they sprang fromthe berth upon the wet floor.
"The worst is over, thank God! It was a tough storm and a stiff blow,but the _Una_ rode it out," he said proudly. "One mast got a badwrench, and all the canvas that could get loose got ripped into rags;but that's nothin' to what it might have been, considerin' how the windroared and howled over the sea. Folks blame the sea for these accidents;but bless you, the sea ain't to blame! How can it help rearing up, witha gale like that throwing it on its pitchfork? I don't like to seethings abused, and I stick up for the sea; it behaves well enough aslong as the wind lets it."
"Where are we?" asked the boys, as they reached the deck and lookedcuriously around. "There's no land at all in sight!"
"No; we got blown well out to sea. It's lucky we didn't try to make aport last night: we'd have been caught among some o' them islands if wehad, and knocked to pieces on the rocks."
"That's so," added Marcus, with a wise shake of the head.
"You two fellows did first-rate last night!"
"You are chaffing, captain," said Ralph, looking red.
"No, honestly. I expected I'd have trouble with you when that stormcame; but I'll say that for you--you did first-rate!"
"We were too scared to do any other way," confessed Ben with a laugh.
"Scared or not, some folks will make a rumpus just when they ought tokeep stillest.--Now, Marcus, give us a good breakfast, and then we'llshake out our canvas and see where our damages are. We must be workingback, for I don't propose to let this wind drive us off shore anyfurther than I can help.--One time last night, along the first of theblow, we came very near Whaleback, boys; but a miss is as good as a milewhen the danger is over."
"Whaleback! Oh, I wish we were there now! No, I don't either!"exclaimed Ralph.
"_I_ wish you was there, anyhow," said the captain gruffly. "That'swhere you belong. I believe the master there would take you back andforgive you. You've got a good dose of punishment, if ever a couple ofyoung liars had."
"You don't know how Mr. Bernard feels about lying. He will never wantthe other boys to be with us again,--never!" said Ralph.
"I don't know about that," and Captain Dare shook his head wisely. "Iknow there isn't nobody hates a lie worse nor me; but it ain't for me tohold back when a fellow is sorry for it, and quits the whole business oflying."
"And I mean to do that!" interposed Ralph with emphasis; "but Mr.Bernard doesn't know it."
"No, and that's just what I was wishing you on Whaleback for, so youcould tell him."
"He wouldn't believe us!" exclaimed Ben. "We couldn't expect him to,after we lied to him as we did. No, I don't want to see him. A storm atsea is bad enough; but I believe I'd rather go through another than goashore and face him."
"I'd like to have him know how I feel about it," said Ralph. "I mean towrite him a letter after I get back to father's. Of course we never canbe taken back into school."
"Breakfast!" shouted Marcus, flourishing the towel with which he hadbeen polishing the tin plates.
"I believe the fright last night took away my seasickness," said Ralph,as he helped himself to the fish Marcus had broiled. "The fright didit, or else it died a natural death, for I had it long enough. I feelmore like myself than I have since I came on board."
"So do I," said Ben, following Ralph's example.
"When is this voyage going to end, captain?"
"Oh, when I get my load, I told ye before. It will take some time forthis sea to go down enough to give us another chance at the fish; butwith fair luck I reckon a week more will fill us."
The boys groaned.
"What! don't you like it? You seem so fresh after the storm, Iconcluded you was makin' up your mind to follow my profession. Then youdon't mean to take to the business as a steady thing?" Captain Dareasked, with a twinkle in the funny light-gray eyes overshadowed withbushy brows.
"No," answered the boys laughing. "Dry land for us."
After breakfast, the two men unreefed the sails, and began to repairdamages. The small boat that had been stowed on deck during the stormwas again launched and towed behind.
The broken topmasts were useless; but the most serious injury was to theforemast, which was sprung out of position.
This they braced as well as possible, and setting all available canvas,they began the process of tacking, to regain their former-position.
As the wind abated, they began to troll for fish; and in spite of therough sea, the boys felt well enough to help with the lines.
"If you stay aboard long enough, I'll make good fishermen of you yet,"said the captain with a chuckle, as he noticed the colour in theircheeks and the sparkle in their eyes when they surveyed the mass of fishthey had helped to catch.
"Now, just turn to and help to dress 'em," said Marcus.
The boys respectfully declined to join in this work, and went to sit inthe bow as far as possible away from the board on which the fish werebeing prepared for drying.
They had been so busy fishing, the time had passed very quickly, and,tired and sleepy, they soon went to bed, thankful that the storm wasover and their seasickness gone.
The morning dawned bright and clear, and when they went on deck atsunrise, Captain Dare pointed to the islands toward which they were oncemore sailing.
"Home again! home again, from a foreign shore!" sang Ben; and Ralph wasat ease enough now to join in the song.
"That sounds good," said the captain approvingly. "Give us another.Sing us a hymn tune."
After a little consulting together the two boys sang the chant, "TheLord is my Shepherd." When they ceased, the captain said,--
"Give me that again; twice more, and then I'll let you off. I neverheard anything so good as that!"
The boys complied, and wondered, as they sang it, why there seemed somuch more in the chant than they had ever noticed before in singing itat school.
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"I never noticed that chant much," said Ralph: "it means a lot more thanit used to. I wonder why?"
"Bless your heart, boy! you've got more feelin' in your soul now, andmore thoughts in your head. I tell you that's a psalm that has to growon you. It don't mean nothin' particular to folks that haven't hadtrouble, but to them that have, it keeps growin' and growin', until theysee more and more in it every time they think of it. I say that psalmover and over to myself when I'm sittin' here o' nights with my hand onthe helm, but I never knew it could be sung. I used to sing once; Iwonder if I could learn that. I'd give 'most anything to do it."
"Why, of course you can," exclaimed Ralph. "See here, it is just aseasy;" and he hummed the first line. "Strike right in and sing it withus."
The two boys sang the chant again and again, until the captain hadmastered it; and during the day he hummed it as he worked, resolving inhis joy over his success that he would go out of his way to do thoselads a favour, but it should be a surprise, and he would not tell Marcuseven of his intention.
It proved a fine day for fishing. School after school of mackerel cameby, and the boys worked industriously, helping the fishermen to gathertheir harvest. At night, tired and sleepy after their unusual labours,they went below early, and the captain, with a wink and crook of hisfinger at Marcus, beckoned him to his side.
"That's Whaleback yonder."
"Yes, I know it is; what of it?"
"There's a good breeze."
"Yes."
"I'm going to make for that island, and anchor off the south end, wherethe beach is."
"You are?" asked Marcus, puzzled to know what this could be for.
"In the mornin' when our two chaps wake up they'll be so near theirmates it won't be my fault if that affair doesn't get settled," and thecaptain rubbed his hands and laughed softly.
"Oh, I see! All right. Just as you say."
So while Ralph and Ben slept soundly in the cabin of the _Una_, thelittle vessel sailed on and on in the moonlight, and before midnightdropped anchor just off the south end of Whaleback. The weather-beatenface of the old captain broadened with mirth as he looked across at thecluster of tents showing white in the moonlight, and thought of thecommotion he would create in the morning. As he crept down into thecabin to indulge in a nap, he laughed aloud over his manoeuvre; but thetwo boys were too soundly asleep to be easily disturbed.