THE PATERNOSTERS
"And do you really mean that we are to cross by the steamer, Mr. Virtue,while you go over in the Seabird? I do not approve of that at all.Fanny, why do you not rebel, and say we won't be put ashore? I call ithorrid, after a fortnight on board this dear little yacht, to have toget on to a crowded steamer, with no accommodation and lots of seasickwomen, perhaps, and crying children. You surely cannot be in earnest?"
"I do not like it any more than you do, Minnie; but, as Tom says wehad better do it, and my husband agrees with him, I am afraid we mustsubmit. Do you really think it is quite necessary, Mr. Virtue? Minnieand I are both good sailors, you know; and we would much rather have alittle extra tossing about on board the Seabird than the discomforts ofa steamer."
"I certainly think that it will be best, Mrs. Grantham. You know verywell we would rather have you on board, and that we shall suffer fromyour loss more than you will by going the other way; but there's nodoubt the wind is getting up, and though we don't feel it much here, itmust be blowing pretty hard outside. The Seabird is as good a seaboatas anything of her size that floats; but you don't know what it is tobe out in anything like a heavy sea in a thirty tonner. It would beimpossible for you to stay on deck, and we should have our handsfull, and should not be able to give you the benefit of our society.Personally, I should not mind being out in the Seabird in any weather,but I would certainly rather not have ladies on board."
"You don't think we should scream, or do anything foolish, Mr. Virtue?"Minnie Graham said indignantly.
"Not at all, Miss Graham. Still, I repeat, the knowledge that there arewomen on board, delightful at other times, does not tend to comfort inbad weather. Of course, if you prefer it, we can put off our starttill this puff of wind has blown itself out. It may have dropped beforemorning. It may last some little time. I don't think myself that it willdrop, for the glass has fallen, and I am afraid we may have a spell ofbroken weather."
"Oh, no; don't put it off," Mrs. Grantham said; "we have only anotherfortnight before James must be back again in London, and it would be agreat pity to lose three or four days perhaps; and we have been lookingforward to cruising about among the Channel Islands, and to St. Mao,and all those places. Oh, no; I think the other is much the betterplan--that is if you won't take us with you."
"It would be bad manners to say that I won't, Mrs. Grantham; but I mustsay I would rather not. It will be a very short separation. Granthamwill take you on shore at once, and as soon as the boat comes back Ishall be off. You will start in the steamer this evening, and get intoJersey at nine or ten o'clock tomorrow morning; and if I am not therebefore you, I shall not be many hours after you."
"Well, if it must be it must," Mrs. Grantham said, with an air ofresignation. "Come, Minnie, let us put a few things into a handbag fortonight. You see the skipper is not to be moved by our pleadings."
"That is the worst of you married women, Fanny," Miss Graham said, witha little pout. "You get into the way of doing as you are ordered. I callit too bad. Here have we been cruising about for the last fortnight,with scarcely a breath of wind, and longing for a good brisk breeze anda little change and excitement, and now it comes at last, we are to bepacked off in a steamer. I call it horrid of you, Mr. Virtue. You maylaugh, but I do."
Tom Virtue laughed, but he showed no signs of giving way, and tenminutes later Mr. and Mrs. Grantham and Miss Graham took their places inthe gig, and were rowed into Southampton Harbor, off which the Seabirdwas lying.
The last fortnight had been a very pleasant one, and it had cost theowner of the Seabird as much as his guests to come to the conclusionthat it was better to break up the party for a few hours.
Tom Virtue had, up to the age of five-and-twenty, been possessed of asufficient income for his wants. He had entered at the bar, not that hefelt any particular vocation in that direction, but because he thoughtit incumbent upon him to do something. Then, at the death of an uncle,he had come into a considerable fortune, and was able to indulge histaste for yachting, which was the sole amusement for which he reallycared, to the fullest.
He sold the little five tonner he had formerly possessed, and purchasedthe Seabird. He could well have afforded a much larger craft, but heknew that there was far more real enjoyment in sailing to be obtainedfrom a small craft than a large one, for in the latter he would beobliged to have a regular skipper, and would be little more than apassenger, whereas on board the Seabird, although his first hand wasdignified by the name of skipper, he was himself the absolute master.The boat carried the aforesaid skipper, three hands, and a steward, andwith them he had twice been up the Mediterranean, across to Norway, andhad several times made the circuit of the British Isles.
He had unlimited confidence in his boat, and cared not what weather hewas out in her. This was the first time since his ownership of her thatthe Seabird had carried lady passengers. His friend Grantham, an oldschool and college chum, was a hard working barrister, and Virtue hadproposed to him to take a month's holiday on board the Seabird.
"Put aside your books, old man," he said. "You look fagged andoverworked; a month's blow will do you all the good in the world."
"Thank you, Tom; I have made up my mind for a month's holiday, but Ican't accept your invitation, though I should enjoy it of all things.But it would not be fair to my wife; she doesn't get very much of mysociety, and she has been looking forward to our having a run together.So I must decline."
Virtue hesitated a moment. He was not very fond of ladies' society, andthought them especially in the way on board a yacht; but he had a greatliking for his friend's wife, and was almost as much at home in hishouse as in his own chambers.
"Why not bring the wife with you?" he said, as soon as his mind was madeup. "It will be a nice change for her too; and I have heard her say thatshe is a good sailor. The accommodation is not extensive, but the aftercabin is a pretty good size, and I would do all I could to make hercomfortable. Perhaps she would like another lady with her; if so by allmeans bring one. They could have the after cabin, you could have thelittle stateroom, and I could sleep in the saloon."
"It is very good of you, Tom, especially as I know that it will put youout frightfully; but the offer is a very tempting one. I will speak toFanny, and let you have an answer in the morning."
"That will be delightful, James," Mrs. Grantham said, when theinvitation was repeated to her. "I should like it of all things; and Iam sure the rest and quiet and the sea air will be just the thing foryou. It is wonderful, Tom Virtue making the offer; and I take it as agreat personal compliment, for he certainly is not what is generallycalled a lady's man. It is very nice, too, of him to think of myhaving another lady on board. Whom shall we ask? Oh, I know," she saidsuddenly; "that will be the thing of all others. We will ask my cousinMinnie; she is full of fun and life, and will make a charming wife forTom!"
James Grantham laughed.
"What schemers you all are, Fanny! Now I should call it downrighttreachery to take anyone on board the Seabird with the idea of capturingits master."
"Nonsense, treachery!" Mrs. Grantham said indignantly; "Minnie is thenicest girl I know, and it would do Tom a world of good to have a wifeto look after him. Why, he is thirty now, and will be settling downinto a confirmed old bachelor before long. It's the greatest kindness wecould do him, to take Minnie on board; and I am sure he is the sort ofman any girl might fall in love with when she gets to know him. Thefact is, he's shy! He never had any sisters, and spends all his time inwinter at that horrid club; so that really he has never had any women'ssociety, and even with us he will never come unless he knows we arealone. I call it a great pity, for I don't know a pleasanter fellow thanhe is. I think it will be doing him a real service in asking Minnie; sothat's settled. I will sit down and write him a note."
"In for a penny, in for a pound, I suppose," was Tom Virtue's commentwhen he received Mrs. Grantham's letter, thanking him warmly for theinvitation, and saying that she would bring her cousin, Miss Graham,with her
, if that young lady was disengaged.
As a matter of self defense he at once invited Jack Harvey, who was amutual friend of himself and Grantham, to be of the party.
"Jack can help Grantham to amuse the women," he said to himself; "thatwill be more in his line than mine. I will run down to Cowes tomorrowand have a chat with Johnson; we shall want a different sort of storesaltogether from those we generally carry, and I suppose we must do herup a bit below."
Having made up his mind to the infliction of female passengers, TomVirtue did it handsomely, and when the party came on board at Rydethey were delighted with the aspect of the yacht below. She had beenrepainted, the saloon and ladies' cabin were decorated in delicateshades of gray, picked out with gold; and the upholsterer, into whosehands the owner of the Seabird had placed her, had done his work withtaste and judgment, and the ladies' cabin resembled a little boudoir.
"Why, Tom, I should have hardly known her!" Grantham, who had oftenspent a day on board the Seabird, said.
"I hardly know her myself," Tom said, rather ruefully; "but I hopeshe's all right, Mrs. Grantham, and that you and Miss Graham will findeverything you want."
"It is charming!" Mrs. Grantham said enthusiastically. "It's awfullygood of you, Tom, and we appreciate it; don't we, Minnie? It is such asurprise, too; for James said that while I should find everything verycomfortable, I must not expect that a small yacht would be got up like apalace."
So a fortnight had passed; they had cruised along the coast as far asPlymouth, anchoring at night at the various ports on the way. Then theyhad returned to Southampton, and it had been settled that as none ofthe party, with the exception of Virtue himself, had been to the ChannelIslands, the last fortnight of the trip should be spent there. Theweather had been delightful, save that there had been some deficiency inwind, and throughout the cruise the Seabird had been under all thesail she could spread. But when the gentlemen came on deck early in themorning a considerable change had taken place; the sky was gray and theclouds flying fast overhead.
"We are going to have dirty weather," Tom Virtue said at once. "I don'tthink it's going to be a gale, but there will be more sea on than willbe pleasant for ladies. I tell you what, Grantham; the best thing willbe for you to go on shore with the two ladies, and cross by the boattonight. If you don't mind going directly after breakfast I will startat once, and shall be at St. Helier's as soon as you are."
And so it had been agreed, but not, as has been seen, without oppositionand protest on the part of the ladies.
Mrs. Grantham's chief reason for objecting had not been given. Thelittle scheme on which she had set her mind seemed to be workingsatisfactorily. From the first day Tom Virtue had exerted himself toplay the part of host satisfactorily, and had ere long shaken off anyshyness he may have felt towards the one stranger of the party, and heand Miss Graham had speedily got on friendly terms. So things were goingon as well as Mrs. Grantham could have expected.
No sooner had his guests left the side of the yacht than her owner beganto make his preparations for a start.
"What do you think of the weather, Watkins?" he asked his skipper.
"It's going to blow hard, sir; that's my view of it, and if I was youI shouldn't up anchor today. Still, it's just as you likes; the Seabirdwon't mind it if we don't. She has had a rough time of it before now;still, it will be a case of wet jackets, and no mistake."
"Yes, I expect we shall have a rough time of it, Watkins, but I want toget across. We don't often let ourselves be weather bound, and I am notgoing to begin it today. We had better house the topmast at once, andget two reefs in the mainsail. We can get the other down when we getclear of the island. Get number three jib up, and the leg of muttonmizzen; put two reefs in the foresail."
Tom and his friend Harvey, who was a good sailor, assisted the crew inreefing down the sails, and a few minutes after the gig had returned andbeen hoisted in, the yawl was running rapidly down Southampton waters.
"We need hardly have reefed quite so closely," Jack Harvey said, as hepuffed away at his pipe.
"Not yet, Jack; but you will see she has as much as she can carry beforelong. It's all the better to make all snug before starting; it saves alot of trouble afterwards, and the extra canvas would not have made tenminutes' difference to us at the outside. We shall have pretty nearly adead beat down the Solent. Fortunately the tide will be running strongwith us, but there will be a nasty kick up there. You will see we shallfeel the short choppy seas there more than we shall when we get outside.She is a grand boat in a really heavy sea, but in short waves she putsher nose into it with a will. Now, if you will take my advice, you willdo as I am going to do; put on a pair of fisherman's boots and oilskinand sou'wester. There are several sets for you to choose from below."
As her owner had predicted, the Seabird put her bowsprit under prettyfrequently in the Solent; the wind was blowing half a gale, and as itmet the tide it knocked up a short, angry sea, crested with white heads,and Jack Harvey agreed that she had quite as much sail on her as shewanted. The cabin doors were bolted, and all made snug to prevent thewater getting below before they got to the race off Hurst Castle; andit was well that they did so, for she was as much under water as she wasabove.
"I think if I had given way to the ladies and brought them with us theywould have changed their minds by this time, Jack," Tom Virtue said,with a laugh.
"I should think so," his friend agreed; "this is not a day for a fairweather sailor. Look what a sea is breaking on the shingles!"
"Yes, five minutes there would knock her into matchwood. Another tenminutes and we shall be fairly out; and I shan't be sorry; one feelsas if one was playing football, only just at present the Seabird is theball and the waves the kickers."
Another quarter of an hour and they had passed the Needles.
"That is more pleasant, Jack," as the short, chopping motion wasexchanged for a regular rise and fall; "this is what I enjoy--a steadywind and a regular sea. The Seabird goes over it like one of hernamesakes; she is not taking a teacupful now over her bows.
"Watkins, you may as well take the helm for a spell, while we go down tolunch. I am not sorry to give it up for a bit, for it has been jerkinglike the kick of a horse.
"That's right, Jack, hang up your oilskin there. Johnson, give us acouple of towels; we have been pretty well smothered up there on deck.Now what have you got for us?"
"There is some soup ready, sir, and that cold pie you had for dinneryesterday."
"That will do; open a couple of bottles of stout."
Lunch over, they went on deck again.
"She likes a good blow as well as we do," Virtue said enthusiastically,as the yawl rose lightly over each wave. "What do you think of it,Watkins? Is the wind going to lull a bit as the sun goes down?"
"I think not, sir. It seems to me it's blowing harder than it was."
"Then we will prepare for the worst, Watkins; get the trysail up ondeck. When you are ready we will bring her up into the wind and set it.That's the comfort of a yawl, Jack; one can always lie to without anybother, and one hasn't got such a tremendous boom to handle."
The trysail was soon on deck, and then the Seabird was brought up intothe wind, the weather foresheet hauled aft, the mizzen sheeted almostfore and aft, and the Seabird lay, head to wind, rising and falling witha gentle motion, in strong contrast to her impetuous rushes when undersail.
"She would ride out anything like that," her owner said. "Last timewe came through the Bay on our way from Gib. we were caught in a galestrong enough to blow the hair off one's head, and we lay to for nearlythree days, and didn't ship a bucket of water all the time. Now let uslend a hand to get the mainsail stowed."
Ten minutes' work and it was securely fastened and its cover on; tworeefs were put in the trysail. Two hands went to each of the halliards,while, as the sail rose, Tom Virtue fastened the toggles round the mast.
"All ready, Watkins?"
"All ready, sir."
"Slack off the weather
foresheet, then, and haul aft the leeward. Slackout the mizzen sheet a little, Jack. That's it; now she's off again,like a duck."
The Seabird felt the relief from the pressure of the heavy boom toleeward and rose easily and lightly over the waves.
"She certainly is a splendid seaboat, Tom; I don't wonder you are readyto go anywhere in her. I thought we were rather fools for starting thismorning, although I enjoy a good blow; but now I don't care how hard itcomes on."
By night it was blowing a downright gale.
"We will lie to till morning, Watkins. So that we get in by daylighttomorrow evening, that is all we want. See our side lights are burningwell, and you had better get up a couple of blue lights, in caseanything comes running up Channel and don't see our lights. We hadbetter divide into two watches; I will keep one with Matthews andDawson, Mr. Harvey will go in your watch with Nicholls. We had betterget the trysail down altogether, and lie to under the foresail andmizzen, but don't put many lashings on the trysail, one will be enough,and have it ready to cast off in a moment, in case we want to hoist thesail in a hurry. I will go down and have a glass of hot grog first, andthen I will take my watch to begin with. Let the two hands with me godown; the steward will serve them out a tot each. Jack, you had betterturn in at once."
Virtue was soon on deck again, muffled up in his oilskins.
"Now, Watkins, you can go below and turn in."
"I shan't go below tonight, sir--not to lie down. There's nothing muchto do here, but I couldn't sleep, if I did lie down."
"Very well; you had better go below and get a glass of grog; tellthe steward to give you a big pipe with a cover like this, out of thelocker; and there's plenty of chewing tobacco, if the men are short."
"I will take that instead of a pipe," Watkins said; "there's nothinglike a quid in weather like this, it aint never in your way, and itlasts. Even with a cover a pipe would soon be out."
"Please yourself, Watkins; tell the two hands forward to keep a brightlookout for lights."
The night passed slowly. Occasionally a sea heavier than usual came onboard, curling over the bow and falling with a heavy thud on thedeck, but for the most part the Seabird breasted the waves easily;the bowsprit had been reefed in to its fullest, thereby adding to thelightness and buoyancy of the boat. Tom Virtue did not go below when hisfriend came up to relieve him at the change of watch, but sat smokingand doing much talking in the short intervals between the gusts.
The morning broke gray and misty, driving sleet came along on the wind,and the horizon was closed in as by a dull curtain.
"How far can we see, do you think, Watkins?"
"Perhaps a couple of miles, sir."
"That will be enough. I think we both know the position of every reef towithin a hundred yards, so we will shape our course for Guernsey. If wehappen to hit it off, we can hold on to St. Helier, but if when we thinkwe ought to be within sight of Guernsey we see nothing of it, we mustlie to again, till the storm has blown itself out or the clouds lift.It would never do to go groping our way along with such currents as runamong the islands. Put the last reef in the trysail before you hoist it.I think you had better get the foresail down altogether, and run up thespitfire jib."
The Seabird was soon under way again.
"Now, Watkins, you take the helm; we will go down and have a cup of hotcoffee, and I will see that the steward has a good supply for you andthe hands; but first, do you take the helm, Jack, whilst Watkins andI have a look at the chart, and try and work out where we are, and thecourse we had better lie for Guernsey."
Five minutes were spent over the chart, then Watkins went above and JackHarvey came below.
"You have got the coffee ready, I hope, Johnson?"
"Yes, sir, coffee and chocolate. I didn't know which you would like."
"Chocolate, by all means. Jack, I recommend the chocolate. Bring twofull sized bowls, Johnson, and put that cold pie on the table, and acouple of knives and forks; never mind about a cloth; but first of allbring a couple of basins of hot water, we shall enjoy our food moreafter a wash."
The early breakfast was eaten, dry coats and mufflers put on, pipeslighted, and they then went up upon deck. Tom took the helm.
"What time do you calculate we ought to make Guernsey, Tom?"
"About twelve. The wind is freer than it was, and we are walking alongat a good pace. Matthews, cast the log, and let's see what we are doing.About seven knots, I should say."
"Seven and a quarter, sir," the man said, when he checked the line.
"Not a bad guess, Tom; it's always difficult to judge pace in a heavysea."
At eleven o'clock the mist ceased.
"That's fortunate," Tom Virtue said; "I shouldn't be surprised if weget a glimpse of the sun between the clouds presently. Will you get mysextant and the chronometer up, Jack, and put them handy?"
Jack Harvey did as he was asked, but there was no occasion to use theinstruments, for ten minutes later, Watkins, who was standing near thebow gazing fixedly ahead, shouted:
"There's Guernsey, sir, on her lee bow, about six miles away, I shouldsay."
"That's it, sure enough," Tom agreed, as he gazed in the direction inwhich Watkins was pointing. "There's a gleam of sunshine on it, or weshouldn't have seen it yet. Yes, I think you are about right as to thedistance. Now let us take its bearings, we may lose it again directly."
Having taken the bearings of the island they went below, and markedoff their position on the chart, and they shaped their course for CapeGrosnez, the northwestern point of Jersey. The gleam of sunshine wastransient--the clouds closed in again overhead, darker and grayer thanbefore. Soon the drops of rain came flying before the wind, the horizonclosed in, and they could not see half a mile away, but, though the seawas heavy, the Seabird was making capital weather of it, and the twofriends agreed that, after all, the excitement of a sail like this wasworth a month of pottering about in calms.
"We must keep a bright lookout presently," the skipper said; "thereare some nasty rocks off the coast of Jersey. We must give them a wideberth. We had best make round to the south of the island, and lay tothere till we can pick up a pilot to take us into St. Helier. I don'tthink it will be worth while trying to get into St. Aubyn's Bay byourselves."
"I think so, too, Watkins, but we will see what it is like before itgets dark; if we can pick up a pilot all the better; if not, we will lieto till morning, if the weather keeps thick; but if it clears so thatwe can make out all the lights we ought to be able to get into the bayanyhow."
An hour later the rain ceased and the sky appeared somewhat clearer.Suddenly Watkins exclaimed, "There is a wreck, sir! There, three milesaway to leeward. She is on the Paternosters."
"Good Heavens! she is a steamer," Tom exclaimed, as he caught sightof her the next time the Seabird lifted on a wave. "Can she be theSouthampton boat, do you think?"
"Like enough, sir, she may have had it thicker than we had, and may nothave calculated enough for the current."
"Up helm, Jack, and bear away towards her. Shall we shake out a reef,Watkins?"
"I wouldn't, sir; she has got as much as she can carry on her now. Wemust mind what we are doing, sir; the currents run like a millstream,and if we get that reef under our lee, and the wind and current bothsetting us on to it, it will be all up with us in no time."
"Yes, I know that, Watkins. Jack, take the helm a minute while we rundown and look at the chart.
"Our only chance, Watkins, is to work up behind the reef, and try andget so that they can either fasten a line to a buoy and let it floatdown to us, or get into a boat, if they have one left, and drift to us."
"They are an awful group of rocks," Watkins said, as they examined thechart; "you see some of them show merely at high tide, and a lot of themare above at low water. It will be an awful business to get among themrocks, sir, just about as near certain death as a thing can be."
"Well, it's got to be done, Watkins," Tom said firmly. "I see the dangeras well as you do, but whatever the
risk it must be tried. Mr. Granthamand the two ladies went on board by my persuasion, and I should neverforgive myself if anything happened to them. But I will speak to themen."
He went on deck again and called the men to him. "Look here, lads; yousee that steamer ashore on the Paternosters. In such a sea as this shemay go to pieces in half an hour. I am determined to make an effort tosave the lives of those on board. As you can see for yourselves there isno lying to weather of her, with the current and wind driving us on tothe reef; we must beat up from behind. Now, lads, the sea there is fullof rocks, and the chances are ten to one we strike on to them and go topieces; but, anyhow, I am going to try; but I won't take you unless youare willing. The boat is a good one, and the zinc chambers will keepher afloat if she fills; well managed, you ought to be able to make thecoast of Jersey in her. Mr. Harvey, Watkins, and I can handle the yacht,so you can take the boat if you like."
The men replied that they would stick to the yacht wherever Mr. Virtuechose to take her, and muttered something about the ladies, forthe pleasant faces of Mrs. Grantham and Miss Graham had, during thefortnight they had been on board, won the men's hearts.
"Very well, lads, I am glad to find you will stick by me; if we pullsafely through it I will give each of you three months' wages. Now setto work with a will and get the gig out. We will tow her after us, andtake to her if we make a smash of it."
They were now near enough to see the white breakers, in the middle ofwhich the ship was lying. She was fast breaking up. The jagged outlineshowed that the stern had been beaten in. The masts and funnel weregone, and the waves seemed to make a clean breach over her, almosthiding her from sight in a white cloud of spray.
"Wood and iron can't stand that much longer," Jack Harvey said; "anotherhour and I should say there won't be two planks left together."
"It is awful, Jack; I would give all I have in the world if I had notpersuaded them to go on board. Keep her off a little more, Watkins."
The Seabird passed within a cable's length of the breakers at thenorthern end of the reef.
"Now, lads, take your places at the sheets, ready to haul or let go as Igive the word." So saying, Tom Virtue took his place in the bow, holdingon by the forestay.
The wind was full on the Seabird's beam as she entered the broken water.Here and there the dark heads of the rocks showed above the water. Thesewere easy enough to avoid, the danger lay in those hidden beneath itssurface, and whose position was indicated only by the occasional breakof a sea as it passed over them. Every time the Seabird sank on a wavethose on board involuntarily held their breath, but the water here wascomparatively smooth, the sea having spent its first force upon theouter reef. With a wave of his hand Tom directed the helmsman as to hiscourse, and the little yacht was admirably handled through the dangers.
"I begin to think we shall do it," Tom said to Jack Harvey, who wasstanding close to him. "Another five minutes and we shall be withinreach of her."
It could be seen now that there was a group of people clustered in thebow of the wreck. Two or three light lines were coiled in readiness forthrowing.
"Now, Watkins," Tom said, going aft, "make straight for the wreck. Isee no broken water between us and them, and possibly there may be deepwater under their bow."
It was an anxious moment, as, with the sails flattened in, the yawlforged up nearly in the eye of the wind towards the wreck. Her progresswas slow, for she was now stemming the current.
Tom stood with a coil of line in his hand in the bow.
"You get ready to throw, Jack, if I miss."
Nearer and nearer the yacht approached the wreck, until the bowsprit ofthe latter seemed to stand almost over her. Then Tom threw the line. Itfell over the bowsprit, and a cheer broke from those on board thewreck and from the sailors of the Seabird. A stronger line was at oncefastened to that thrown, and to this a strong hawser was attached.
"Down with the helm, Watkins. Now, lads, lower away the trysail as fastas you can. Now, one of you, clear that hawser as they haul on it. Nowout with the anchors."
These had been got into readiness; it was not thought that they wouldget any hold on the rocky bottom, still they might catch on a projectingledge, and at any rate their weight and that of the chain cable wouldrelieve the strain upon the hawser.
Two sailors had run out on the bowsprit of the wreck as soon as the linewas thrown, and the end of the hawser was now on board the steamer.
"Thank God, there's Grantham!" Jack Harvey exclaimed; "do you see himwaving his hand?"
"I see him," Tom said, "but I don't see the ladies."
"They are there, no doubt," Jack said confidently; "crouching down, Iexpect. He would not be there if they weren't, you may be sure. Yes,there they are; those two muffled up figures. There, one of them hasthrown back her cloak and is waving her arm."
The two young men waved their caps.
"Are the anchors holding, Watkins? There's a tremendous strain on thathawser."
"I think so, sir; they are both tight."
"Put them round the windlass, and give a turn or two, we must relievethe strain on that hawser."
Since they had first seen the wreck the waves had made great progress inthe work of destruction, and the steamer had broken in two just aft ofthe engines.
"Get over the spare spars, Watkins, and fasten them to float in front ofher bows like a triangle. Matthews, catch hold of that boat hook and tryto fend off any piece of timber that comes along. You get hold of thesweeps, lads, and do the same. They would stave her in like a nutshellif they struck her."
"Thank God, here comes the first of them!"
Those on board the steamer had not been idle. As soon as the yawl wasseen approaching slings were prepared, and no sooner was the hawsersecurely fixed, than the slings were attached to it and a woman placedin them. The hawser was tight and the descent sharp, and without a checkthe figure ran down to the deck of the Seabird. She was lifted out ofthe slings by Tom and Jack Harvey, who found she was an old woman andhad entirely lost consciousness.
"Two of you carry her down below; tell Johnson to pour a little brandydown her throat. Give her some hot soup as soon as she comes to."
Another woman was lowered and helped below. The next to descend was Mrs.Grantham.
"Thank God, you are rescued!" Tom said, as he helped her out of thesling.
"Thank God, indeed," Mrs. Grantham said, "and thank you all! Oh, Tom, wehave had a terrible time of it, and had lost all hope till we saw yoursail, and even then the captain said that he was afraid nothing could bedone. Minnie was the first to make out it was you, and then we began tohope. She has been so brave, dear girl. Ah! here she comes."
But Minnie's firmness came to an end now that she felt the need for itwas over. She was unable to stand when she was lifted from the slings,and Tom carried her below.
"Are there any more women, Mrs. Grantham?"
"No; there was only one other lady passenger and the stewardess."
"Then you had better take possession of your own cabin. I orderedJohnson to spread a couple more mattresses and some bedding on thefloor, so you will all four be able to turn in. There's plenty of hotcoffee and soup. I should advise soup with two or three spoonfuls ofbrandy in it. Now, excuse me; I must go upon deck."
Twelve men descended by the hawser, one of them with both legs broken bythe fall of the mizzen. The last to come was the captain.
"Is that all?" Tom asked.
"That is all," the captain said. "Six men were swept overboard when shefirst struck, and two were killed by the fall of the funnel. Fortunatelywe had only three gentlemen passengers and three ladies on board. Theweather looked so wild when we started that no one else cared aboutmaking the passage. God bless you, sir, for what you have done! Anotherhalf hour and it would have been all over with us. But it seems like amiracle your getting safe through the rocks to us."
"It was fortunate indeed that we came along," Tom said; "three of thepassengers are dear friends of mine; and as it was by my
persuasion thatthey came across in the steamer instead of in the yacht, I should neverhave forgiven myself if they had been lost. Take all your men below,captain; you will find plenty of hot soup there. Now, Watkins, let us beoff; that steamer won't hold together many minutes longer, so there's notime to lose. We will go back as we came. Give me a hatchet. Now, lads,two of you stand at the chain cables; knock out the shackles the momentI cut the hawser. Watkins, you take the helm and let her head pay offtill the jib fills. Jack, you lend a hand to the other two, and get upthe trysail again as soon as we are free."
In a moment all were at their stations. The helm was put on the yacht,and she payed off on the opposite tack to that on which she had beforebeen sailing. As soon as the jib filled, Tom gave two vigorous blowswith his hatchet on the hawser, and, as he lifted his hand for a third,it parted. Then came the sharp rattle of the chains as they ran roundthe hawser holes. The trysail was hoisted and sheeted home, and theSeabird was under way again. Tom, as before, conned the ship from thebow. Several times she was in close proximity to the rocks, but eachtime she avoided them. A shout of gladness rose from all on deck as shepassed the last patch of white water. Then she tacked and bore away forJersey.
Tom had now time to go down below and look after his passengers. Theyconsisted of the captain and two sailors--the sole survivors of thosewho had been on deck when the vessel struck--three male passengers, andsix engineers and stokers.
"I have not had time to shake you by the hand before, Tom," Granthamsaid, as Tom Virtue entered; "and I thought you would not want me ondeck at present. God bless you, old fellow! We all owe you our lives."
"How did it happen, captain?" Tom asked, as the captain also came up tohim.
"It was the currents, I suppose," the captain said; "it was so thickwe could not see a quarter of a mile any way. The weather was so wild Iwould not put into Guernsey, and passed the island without seeing it.I steered my usual course, but the gale must have altered the currents,for I thought I was three miles away from the reef, when we saw it onour beam, not a hundred yards away. It was too late to avoid it then,and in another minute we ran upon it, and the waves were sweeping overus. Everyone behaved well. I got all, except those who had been sweptoverboard or crushed by the funnel, up into the bow of the ship, andthere we waited. There was nothing to be done. No boat would live for amoment in the sea on that reef, and all I could advise was that when shewent to pieces everyone should try to get hold of a floating fragment;but I doubt whether a man would have been alive a quarter of an hourafter she went to pieces."
"Perhaps, captain, you will come on deck with me and give me the benefitof your advice. My skipper and I know the islands pretty well, butno doubt you know them a good deal better, and I don't want anothermishap."
But the Seabird avoided all further dangers, and as it became darkthe lights of St. Helier's were in sight, and an hour later the yachtbrought up in the port and landed her involuntary passengers.
A fortnight afterwards the Seabird returned to England, and two monthslater Mrs. Grantham had the satisfaction of being present at theceremony which was the successful consummation of her little scheme ininviting Minnie Graham to be her companion on board the Seabird.
"Well, my dear," her husband said, when she indulged in a littlenatural triumph, "I do not say that it has not turned out well, and Iam heartily glad for both Tom and Minnie's sake it has so; but you mustallow that it very nearly had a disastrous ending, and I think if I wereyou I should leave matters to take their natural course in future. Ihave accepted Tom's invitation for the same party to take a cruise inthe Seabird next summer, but I have bargained that next time a storm isbrewing up we shall stop quietly in port."
"That's all very well, James," Mrs. Grantham said saucily; "but youmust remember that Tom Virtue will only be first mate of the Seabird infuture."
"That I shall be able to tell you better, my dear, after our nextcruise. All husbands are not as docile and easily led as I am."