CHAPTER IV.--ON THE WINGS OF THE WIND.
"Tramp, tramp, tramp, the boys are marching." So runs a line of the oldYankee war-song.
Tramp, tramp, tramp, the boys (Duncan and Frank) were treading the deckthat forenoon, talking, as sailors do, about anything or everything thatsuggested itself. And two subjects that always came to the front on suchoccasions were home life and their life on the ocean wave.
"So you thoroughly like the sea?" said Duncan.
"Well, Duncan, I never thoroughly liked anything, you know, but I thinkI love a sea-life better than most sorts of existence, with theexception, of course, of wandering over the hills of old Glenvoie;bird-nesting in the forests, or fishing in its beautiful streams. Onlythe sea has its drawbacks."
"Yes."
"Yes, for I do think it a nuisance to have to get up at all hours of thenight to keep watch--blowing or calm. I always feel I should be willingto give five years of my life for another two hours' sleep, when thefellow shakes me by the shoulder and says, 'Eight bells, sir, if youplease'. Just as if it would not be eight bells whether I pleased ornot. Then, neither the tommy nor tack is quite up to shore standard,and one could do well enough without cockroaches about a foot and a halflong--more or less--between his sheets, weevils in his biscuits, andspiders roasted and ground up with his coffee. The tea is alwayssea-sick too, and hens' milk[1] isn't the best, especially if the eggsbe old and decrepit. But I won't grumble, Duncan."
[1] An egg or two beaten up with water. Used at sea when no milk is tobe had.
"No, I wouldn't, if I were you. Sailors never do."
"And now you're laughing at me."
"That's nothing, Frank; one may live a long time after being laughedat."
"Well, come along below, and I'll play you something that will make thetear-drops trickle down that old-fashioned Scotch nose of yours."
"Wouldn't you rather hear the wild and martial strains of the bagpipes,my little Cockney cousin?"
"Oh, yes," answered Frank punnily, but standing well beyond the reach ofDuncan's swinger of an arm. "I dearly love the bagpipes when--"
He hesitated.
"When what?" cried Duncan.
"When they're o'er the hills and far awa'."
Then Frank made a bolt for the companion-ladder.
It was high time, too.
Well, when Frank Trelawney had that fiddle of his under his bit of aCockney chin, all his troubles, if, indeed, he had any that could becalled real, were forgotten, including weevils, hard tack, cockroaches,and all. For the time being, indeed, there was no one else in the worldsave he himself and the violin. And what worlds of romance and love andbeauty were thus conjured up before him!
But even at the risk of differing from Frank, I think a sailor'spleasures, if he is one who calls at many and different ports, faroutbalance any grievances he may have to growl about--short ofshipwreck. What though the biscuit be hard, and one's bed like thebiscuit! The wholesome healthy appetite one possesses, both for biscuitand sleep, makes up for all that; and one ought to be happy if he isn't.
But one chief enjoyment in a sailor's existence lies in visiting so manydifferent lands, and seeing life in every form and shape. He cannothelp being an anthropologist, and studying mankind. Not, mind you, thathe lays himself out for that sort of thing; for sailors, especiallyyoung fellows, take the world as it comes, the rough with the smooth, orrather alternately, only always forgetting the rough while they revel inthe smooth. But there must always be an element of comedy in Jack'sdelights, and when he goes on shore, take my word for it, "Jack's alive,and full of fun".
I am happy to say that drinking is much in the decrease both in theroyal navy and merchant service. Why, even since I myself canremember--and I'm not a very aged individual--our blue-jackets were likebabies, and if not in charge of an officer when on shore, would forgetthemselves, and come on board limp enough, with black eyes and brokenheads, and garments drenched in gore.
Jack in those days really paid for his pint in more ways than one, forif he escaped the dangers of the shore, riot and wretchedness, thethieves and the female harpies who lay in wait to cheat and rob him, theday after coming off was for him a day of sadness and mourning.
If able to stand, he had to go on duty. Perhaps he had no more brainsthan a frozen turnip; perhaps his head felt so big that he borrowed ashoe-horn to put on his hat, nevertheless he was drilled on deck justall the same, and it took him four days probably to recover his appetiteand equilibrium.
----
There was every appearance now that the _Flora M'Vayne_ would have apleasant voyage.
Talbot was kind to his fellows, and a rattling good crew they made. So,although they passed Madeira and the Canary Islands to the west, theylooked in at Santiago, one of the largest in the group of Cape de VerdeIslands.
Three days were spent here, and they managed to secure some really goodwater. It was only the distilled they used at sea, and this, to say theleast of it, is always somewhat vapourish.
The men had leave, and behaved fairly well, returning sober and withmany curios, which they hoped to take home to their sweethearts andwives, and also laden with fruit of many kinds, all of which is good forthe health of the sailor.
Plenty of fruit was also secured for the saloon, so they put to seaagain in capital heart and spirits.
One little incident is perhaps worth noting. A huge bunch of bananaswas hung up to ripen against the saloon bulkhead. That was rightenough; but when a venomous little snake--slender in form and about thecolour of hedge-sparrow's egg--popped out his head and neck, andwhispered angrily at Conal, then Conal called his comrades, and a courtof inquiry was held. It was believed to be the best plan to take thebunch of bananas on deck by means of a blacksmith's tongs, and shake itover the sea.
But that beautiful green demon of the jungle thought perhaps that he didnot merit the honour of a sailor's grave, so he popped out and skippedgaily into Duncan's cabin.
"Here's a pretty go," said Conal; "and I should be sorry to sleep inthat state-room until the reptile is found."
So a search was instituted instanter, and a dangerous one it was. Butwherever it had taken refuge that snake could not be found.
The young fellows took rugs on deck that night, and slept on the planks.
Theirs was the forenoon watch, and when turning out to keep it, lo! thatlittle green demon glided quietly out from Conal's very bosom, and wentleaping and rolling along the deck, aft, finally tumbling down theskylight and on to the table where the captain was lingering over hisbreakfast.
For more than a week that snake--known to be one of the most poisonousthere is--was the terror of the ship. He was in entire command fore andaft, and the skipper was nowhere. The awful, though lovely thing,appeared in so many places, moreover, that it was believed to beubiquitous. Sometimes it would glide out of a sea-boot or a sou'westerhat. It was twice found in the sleeve of an oilskin-jacket, once itcurled up for the night with Viking, and once in the pocket of the manat the wheel.
This sailor had dived his hand into the outside pocket of his coat tofind his "baccy", when, instead of this, he felt the coldwriggling-wriggling thing; he gave a whoop like a Somali Indian with sixinches of square-0 gin in his stomach! The scream started the snakefrom his lair, and he went girdling along the deck and disappeared belowas usual.
But he was smashed at last and heaved far into the sea.
Strange to say, Mr. Snakey, as he was called, appeared again all aliveand beautiful next morning.
"He's the d--l for sartin," said a blue-jacket. "Dead one day andsquirming around the next. Yes, Bill--what else can he be but the d--l,and maybe just the same bloomin' old snake as tempted Mother Heve in theGarding of Heden!"
But this snake was killed next, and there was no more trouble afterthis.
Captain Talbot, however, issued an order that before bananas were againbrought on board the bunches were to be well examined. Or, in doctor'spa
rlance, when taken, they must be well shaken.
----
Ascension was their next place of call. It is generally called a rockin mid-ocean. It is somewhat more than that, being over seven miles inlength and fully six broad. It is hilly, its chief peak being aboutthree thousand feet in height.
Well, the _Flora M'Vayne_ was enabled to get coals here anyhow, and theyfound the place what I might call semi-garrisoned. Moreover a gun-boatlay here. The officers of the _Flora_ visited her, and were hospitablyreceived, and invited to dinner, everyone both afloat and on shore beinganxious to receive news from England, while the papers the _Flora_ hadbrought were a sort of godsend.
The beautiful island of St. Helena did not lie in their direct route,but Tristan d'Acunha--more than a thousand miles directly south--did,and here they determined to cast anchor for a spell, and give theislanders a treat.
(I have given the ordinary name to this lonesome isle of the ocean, butcorrectly, I believe it should be Tristan Da Cunha--pronounced Coon'ya.It is really a group of three, the chief being about twenty-one miles incircumference, and having in its centre a very lofty mountain peak morenearly 8000 feet than 7000 in height.)
They found about one hundred souls living on this isle. The settlement,or glen in which they have their habitat, is fairly fertile, and theubiquitous Scot is so much in evidence here that the village is calledNew Edinburgh.
It is in reality a republic, and the oldest man is chief or governor.The cattle and sheep number about two thousand, and belong, of course,all in common. Well, they are happy enough, and crime is unknown, thechief reason of this being perhaps that drink is also unknown.
There were some really very pretty girls here, but when they wereassembled an evening or two after the _Flora's_ arrival in a barn tolisten to the strains of Frank's fiddle, recitations, and songs, thosegirls looked laughably quaint in their strange old-fashioned dresses.
The concert was a great success, and really the skirl of Duncan'sHighland bagpipe as he strode back and fore on the rude stage, quitebrought down the house, to use theatrical parlance. It almost broughtdown the barn too, so thrilling and loud was it. Never mind, Duncanreceived no less than three hearty encores, and surely that was enoughto please anyone.
"What a lonely life to lead!" said Conal next day at breakfast.
"Yes," said Morgan, "and I shouldn't care to get spliced and settle downhere all my life, pretty and all as the girls are."
"Well, you would live long and be healthy anyhow if you did," saidCaptain Talbot.
The mate laughed as he helped himself to another huge slice ofbarracouta.
"Never mind that, sir. I wouldn't marry and live in Tristan if theygave me three wives."
"But aren't these girls shy?" said Frank. "Why, I asked one innocentlyenough to give me a kiss, and she blushed like a blood orange."
"Did she give you the kiss?" asked Morgan mischievously.
"No, that she didn't, but--I took it."
The _Flora M'Vayne_ lay here for a whole week, fishing and curing eachcatch.
This was a rare holiday for the islanders, who were the gayest of thegay all the time.
One morning a sailor of the crew sought an interview with Captain Talboton the quarter-deck.
"Well, my man?"
"Well, sir, it's like this. I've fallen in love here with theslickest-lookin' bit of a lass I ever clapped eyes upon 'twix' here,sir, and San Domingo; and if you please, capting, I wants to stay hereand marry her right away, and live happy hever arterwards."
The captain laughed.
"My good fellow," he said, "I am truly sorry to disappoint you; but yousigned articles for all the cruise, you know, and I fear I can't let yougo. I'd be one hand short, you see."
"That you would not, sir, for there is Billy Ibsen, as good a seaman, Ibelieve, as ever 'auled taut a lee main brace, and he'll be 'appy toexchange."
"Well then, Smith, if that's the case, and the substitute is suitable, Imustn't throw any obstacles in your way."
And so all ended well. Ibsen proved fit, and Smith went on shore. Whenthe _Flora_ sailed away he was the last man visible, standing on aneminence waving a red bandanna, with the girl of his choice standingmodestly by his side.
Little did this island lassie think when the ship hove in sight that itwas bringing her a lover and a husband.
But although rare at Tristan Da Cunha, the young ladies of that solitaryrock, in the midst of the Atlantic broad and wild, do sometimes countupon the possibility of such an event, and may be heard singing:
"He's coming from the north that will marry me, He's coming from the north, and oh happy I will be, With a broad-sword by his side and a buckle on his knee, And I know it, oh, I know it, that he'll marry me".
But the Tristan Da Cunha people are moral and good, and although theyhave no parson on board they have services on Sunday. As tomarriage--well, the governor does the splicing, and it is consideredquite as binding as if the ceremony had been performed by the Archbishopof Canterbury.
Southward now they sailed away in a delightful breeze, and when the sunwas slowly sinking towards the western sea, the weird wee island ofTristan appeared but as a hazy cloud far away on the northern horizon.
So strange a place our young heroes had never visited before, and formany days it seemed but an island of dreamland.
But that island, readers, is still there amidst its waste of waters, andit is within the kaleidoscope of events, that some of you may yet visitits iron-bound and surf-beaten shores.
Who knows?