CHAPTER FIVE.
ALL THINGS TO ALL MEN.
Under the influence of favouring breezes and bright skies the _Walrus_swept gaily over the ocean at the beginning of her voyage, with"stuns'ls slow and aloft, royals and sky-scrapers," according to CaptainStride. At least, if these were not the exact words he used, theyexpress pretty well what he meant, namely, a "cloud of canvas."
But this felicitous state of things did not last. The tropics werereached, where calms prevailed with roasting heat. The SouthernAtlantic was gained, and gales were met with. The celebrated Cape wasdoubled, and the gales, if we may say so, were trebled. The IndianOcean was crossed, and the China Seas were entered, where typhoons blewsome of the sails to ribbons, and snapped off the topmasts likepipe-stems. Then she sailed into the great Pacific, and for a time the_Walrus_ sported pleasantly among the coral islands.
During all this time, and amid all these changes, Charlie Brooke, trueto his character, was the busiest and most active man on board. Notthat his own special duties gave him much to do, for, until the vesselshould reach port, these were rather light; but our hero--as Strideexpressed it--"must always be doing." If he had not work to do he madeit--chiefly in the way of assisting other people. Indeed there wasscarcely a man or boy on board who did not have the burden of his toil,whatever it was, lightened in consequence of young Brooke's tendency toput his powerful shoulder voluntarily to the wheel. He took the dailyobservations with the captain, and worked out the ship's course duringthe previous twenty-four hours. He handled the adze and saw with thecarpenter, learned to knot and splice, and to sew canvas with thebo's'n's mate, commented learnedly and interestingly on the preparationof food with the cook, and spun yarns with the men on the forecastle, orlistened to the long-winded stories of the captain and officers in thecabin. He was a splendid listener, being much more anxious to ascertainexactly the opinions of his friends and mates than to advance his own.Of course it followed that Charlie was a favourite.
With his insatiable desire to acquire information of every kind, he hadnaturally, when at home, learned a little rough-and-tumble surgery, witha slight smattering of medicine. It was not much, but it proved to beuseful as far as it went, and his "little knowledge" was not"dangerous," because he modestly refused to go a single step beyond itin the way of practice, unless, indeed, he was urgently pressed to do soby his patients. In virtue of his attainments, real and supposed, hecame to be recognised as the doctor of the ship, for the _Walrus_carried no medical man.
"Look here, Brooke," said the only passenger on board--a youth ofsomewhat delicate constitution, who was making the voyage for the sakeof his health,--"I've got horrible toothache. D'you think you can doanything for me?"
"Let's have a look at it," said Charlie, with kindly interest, though hefelt half inclined to smile at the intensely lugubrious expression ofthe youth's face.
"Why, Raywood, that is indeed a bad tooth; nothing that I know of willimprove it. There's a cavern in it big and black enough to call toremembrance the Black Hole of Calcutta! A red-hot wire might destroythe nerve, but I never saw one used, and should not like to try it."
"Horrible!" exclaimed Raywood. "I've been mad with pain all themorning, and can't afford to be driven madder. Perhaps, somewhere orother in the ship there may be a--a--thingumy."
"A whatumy?" inquired the other.
"A key, or--or--pincers," groaned Raywood, "for extracting--oh! man,couldn't you pull it out?"
"Easily," said Charlie, with a smile. "I've got a pair of forceps--always carry them in case of need, but never use them unless the patientis very bad, and _must_ have it out."
Poor Raywood protested, with another groan, that his was a case inpoint, and it _must_ come out; so Charlie sought for and found hisforceps.
"It won't take long, I suppose?" said the patient rather nervously, ashe opened his mouth.
"Oh no. Only a moment or--"
A fearful yell, followed by a gasp, announced to the whole ship'scompany that a crisis of some sort had been passed by some one, and theexpert though amateur dentist congratulated his patient on hisdeliverance from the enemy.
Only three of the ship's company, however, had witnessed the operation.One was Dick Darvall, the seaman who chanced to be steering at the time,and who could see through the open skylight what was being enacted inthe cabin. Another was the captain, who stood beside him. The thirdwas the cabin-boy, Will Ward, who chanced to be cleaning some brassesabout the skylight at the time, and was transfixed by what we may styledelightfully horrible sensations. These three watched the proceedingswith profound interest, some sympathy, and not a little amusement.
"Mind your helm, Darvall," said the Captain, stifling a laugh as theyell referred to burst on his ears.
"Ay, ay, sir," responded the seaman, bringing his mind back to his duty,as he bestowed a wink on the brass-polishing cabin-boy.
"He's up to everything," said Darvall in a low voice, referring to ourhero.
"From pitch-and-toss to manslaughter," responded the boy, with a broadgrin.
"I do believe, Mr Brooke, that you can turn your hand to anything,"said Captain Stride, as Charlie came on deck a few minutes later. "Didyou ever study doctoring or surgery?"
"Not regularly," answered Charlie; "but occasionally I've had the chanceof visiting hospitals and dissecting-rooms, besides hearing lectures onanatomy, and I have taken advantage of my opportunities. Besides, I'mfond of mechanics; and tooth-drawing is somewhat mechanical. Of courseI make no pretension to a knowledge of regular dentistry, whichinvolves, I believe, a scientific and prolonged education."
"May be so, Mr Brooke," returned the captain, "but your knowledge seemsdeep and extensive enough to me, for, except in the matter o'navigation, I haven't myself had much schoolin', but I do like to see afellow that can use his hands. As I said to my missus, not two daysbefore I left 'er: `Maggie,' says I, `a man that can't turn his hands toanything ain't worth his salt. For why? He's useless at sea, an', byconsequence, can't be of much value on land.'"
"Your reasoning is unanswerable," returned Charlie, with a laugh.
"Not so sure o' that," rejoined the captain, with a modestly dubiousshake of his head; "leastwise, however unanswerable it may be, my missusalways manages to answer it--somehow."
At that moment one of the sailors came aft to relieve theman-at-the-wheel.
Dick Darvall was a grave, tall, dark, and handsome man of aboutfive-and-twenty, with a huge black beard, as fine a seaman as one couldwish to see standing at a ship's helm, but he limped when he left hispost and went forward.
"How's the leg to-day, Darvall!" asked young Brooke, as the man passed.
"Better, sir, thankee."
"That's well. I'll change the dressing in half-an-hour. Don't disturbit till I come."
"Thankee, sir, I won't."
"Now then, Raywood," said Charlie, descending to the cabin, where hispatient was already busy reading Maury's _Physical Geography of theSea_, "let's have a look at the gum."
"Oh, it's all right," said Raywood. "D'you know, I think one of theuses of severe pain is to make one inexpressibly thankful for the mereabsence of it. Of course there is a little sensation of pain left,which might make me growl at other times, but that positively feelscomfortable now by contrast!"
"There is profound sagacity in your observations," returned Charlie, ashe gave the gum a squeeze that for a moment or two removed the comfort;"there, now, don't suck it, else you'll renew the bleeding. Keep yourmouth shut."
With this caution the amateur dentist left the cabin, and proceeded tothe fore-part of the vessel. In passing the steward's pantry a youthfulvoice arrested him.
"Oh, please, sir," said Will Ward, the cabin-boy, advancing with a slatein his hand, "I _can't_ make out the sum you set me yesterday, an' I'mquite sure I've tried and tried as hard as ever I could to understandit."
"Let me see," said his friend, taking the slate and sitting down on alocker. "Have you read over the
rule carefully?"
"Yes, sir, I have, a dozen times at least, but it won't come right,"answered the boy, with wrinkles enough on his young brow to indicate thevery depths of puzzlement.
"Fetch the book, Will, and let's examine it."
The book was brought, and at his teacher's request the boy read:--
"Add the interest to the principal, and then multiply by--"
"Multiply?" said Charlie, interrupting. "Look!"
He pointed to the sum on the slate, and repeated "multiply."
"Oh!" exclaimed the cabin-boy, with a gasp of relief and wide-open eyes,"I've _divided_!"
"That's so, Will, and there's a considerable difference between divisionand multiplication, as you'll find all through life," remarked theteacher, with a peculiar lift of his eyebrows, as he handed back theslate and went on his way.
More than once in his progress "for'ard" he was arrested by men whowished hint to give advice, or clear up difficulties in reference tosubjects which his encouragement or example had induced them to take up,and to these claims on his attention or assistance he accorded such aready and cheerful response that his pupils felt it to be a positivepleasure to appeal to him, though they each professed to regret givinghim "trouble." The boatswain, who was an amiable though gruff man inhis way, expressed pretty well the feelings of the ship's companytowards our hero when he said: "I tell you, mates, I'd sooner be rubbedup the wrong way, an' kicked down the fore hatch by Mr Brooke, than I'dbe smoothed or buttered by anybody else."
At last the fo'c'sl was reached, and there our surgeon found hispatient, Dick Darvall, awaiting him. The stout seaman's leg had beenseverely bruised by a block which had fallen from aloft and struck itduring one of the recent gales.
"A good deal better to-day," said Charlie. "Does it pain you much?"
"Not nearly as much as it did yesterday, sir. It's my opinion that I'llbe all right in a day or two. Seems to me outrageous to make so muchado about it."
"If we didn't take care of it, my man, it might cost you your limb, andwe can't afford to bury such a well-made member before its time! Youmust give it perfect rest for a day or two. I'll speak to the captainabout it."
"I'd rather you didn't, sir," objected the seaman. "I feel able enoughto go about, and my mates'll think I'm shirkin' dooty."
"There's not a man a-board as'll think that o' Dick Darvall," growledthe boatswain, who had just entered and heard the last remark.
"Right, bo's'n," said Brooke, "you have well expressed the thought thatcame into my own head."
"Have ye seen Samson yet, sir?" asked the boatswain, with an unusuallygrave look.
"No; I was just going to inquire about him. No worse, I hope?"
"I think he is, sir. Seems to me that he ain't long for this world.The life's bin too much for him: he never was cut out for a sailor, an'he takes things so much to heart that I do believe worry is doin' morethan work to drive him on the rocks."
"I'll go and see him at once," said our hero.
Fred Samson, the sick man referred to, had been put into a swing-cot ina berth amidships to give him as much rest as possible. To allappearance he was slowly dying of consumption. When Brooke entered hewas leaning on one elbow, gazing wistfully through the port-hole closeto his head. His countenance, on which the stamp of death was evidentlyimprinted, was unusually refined for one in his station in life.
"I'm glad you have come, Mr Brooke," he said slowly, as his visitoradvanced and took his thin hand.
"My poor fellow," said Charlie, in a tone of low but tender sympathy, "Iwish with all my heart I could do you any good."
"The sight of your kind face does me good," returned the sailor, with apause for breath between almost every other word. "I don't want you todoctor me any more. I feel that I'm past that, but I want to give you amessage and a packet for my mother. Of course you will be in Londonwhen you return to England. Will you find her out and deliver thepacket? It contains only the Testament she gave me at parting and aletter."
"My dear fellow--you may depend on me," replied Brooke earnestly."Where does she live?"
"In Whitechapel. The full address is on the packet. The letterenclosed tells all that I have to say."
"But you spoke of a message," said Brooke, seeing that he paused andshut his eyes.
"Yes, yes," returned the dying man eagerly, "I forgot. Give her my dearlove, and say that my last thoughts were of herself and God. She alwaysfeared that I was trusting too much in myself--in my own goodresolutions and reformation; so I have been--but that's past. Tell herthat God in His mercy has snapped that broken reed altogether, andenabled me to rest my soul on Jesus."
As the dying man was much exhausted by his efforts to speak, his visitorrefrained from asking more questions. He merely whispered a comfortingtext of Scripture and left him apparently sinking into a state ofrepose.
Then, having bandaged the finger of a man who had carelessly cut himselfwhile using his knife aloft, Charlie returned to the cabin to continuean interrupted discussion with the first mate on the subject ofastronomy.
From all which it will be seen that our hero's tendencies inclined himto be as much as possible "all things to all men."