CHAPTER FIVE.
A TRAGEDY; AND A NARROW ESCAPE.
For the next two or three days Purchas faithfully adhered to his promiseto refrain from taking enough liquor to "capsize" him; when, again atmidnight, on going below to call him, Leslie found the fellow socompletely intoxicated that it was impossible to arouse him; and he hadperforce to remain on deck the whole night through. And when at length,at the expiration of the morning watch, he again went below, hoping tofind that the man had at all events so far slept off the effects of hisover-night debauch as to be capable of coming on deck and soberinghimself by taking a douche under the head pump, he discovered, to hisintense disgust, that this glib maker of promises had somehow obtained afurther supply of rum during the night, and was at that moment in a morehelpless state than ever! The brig was, however, by this time within aday's sail of the equator, where Leslie felt tolerably certain that theywould fall in with one or more homeward-bound ships, and so be able totransfer Miss Trevor to safer and more eligible quarters; so he did notallow the incident to worry him greatly. He remained on deck longenough to secure sights for his longitude; and then, turning over thecare of the brig to the carpenter--a very steady and trustworthy man--hewent below and turned in, giving orders that he was to be called atseven bells; adding, in explanation of Purchas's non-appearance, that hewas not very well.
It seemed that he had been asleep but a few minutes when the carpenter,in pursuance of his instructions, knocked at his cabin door, with theinformation that seven bells had gone. He accordingly rose, plunged hishead into a basin of cold water, and within ten minutes was once more ondeck, with Potter's sextant in his hand, ready to take the sun'smeridian altitude, from which to deduce the latitude.
This done, his calculations completed, and the brig's position at noonpricked off on the chart, he once more hied him to Purchas's cabin, onlyto find the door locked from within. For the moment he felt verystrongly inclined to burst his way into the cabin, and haul the man upon deck, drunk or sober; but upon further reflection he realised that bythe adoption of such a course he would be irretrievably "giving the manaway" to his crew--which it was eminently undesirable to do--so,muttering to himself, "Let the brute drink himself out; he will perhapsbe better afterwards!" he entered the main cabin and seated himself atthe table, upon which the noonday meal was already spread.
Miss Trevor and he were of course the only persons present, with theexception of the steward, who was waiting upon them; and presently thegirl, noticing the absence of Purchas, inquired whether he was ill.
"He is not very well, I am sorry to say," answered Leslie, briefly; andthen he turned the conversation into another channel.
But later on, when the steward had left the cabin, he said to MissTrevor--
"You were just now inquiring about Purchas; and I told you that he wasnot very well. That reply, I must now explain to you, was not strictlyaccurate, but I gave it because the steward was present, and I did notwish to state the actual facts in his presence; for, had I done so, itis certain that he would have carried the news forward to the men, whichwould have been eminently undesirable. The truth, however, is thatPurchas has lately given way to drink, and is at this moment locked inhis cabin, helplessly intoxicated. It is a thousand pities; for the manhas now an excellent opportunity of confirming himself in the command ofthis brig, and so establishing himself in the position of ship-master,if he will but make use of it. That, however, is his affair; not ours.My reason for telling you this is, that if the present breeze holds weshall reach the equator by this time to-morrow, at a point where we mayhope to fall in with homeward-bound ships; indeed we may meet with themat any moment now; I would therefore advise you to pack up yourbelongings forthwith, in order that you may be ready to be transferredto the first suitable craft that comes along."
"Thank you very much for telling me this," answered the girl. "I shallbe more than glad, for many reasons, to once more find myself`homeward-bound,' as I believe you sailors term it. And although,thanks to your never-ceasing kindness and consideration, I have beenquite comfortable and happy on board this vessel, it will be a relief tome to leave her, for the memory of that terrible man, Potter, oppressesme. I should think that you, too, will be very glad to get away from aship that must be fraught, for you, with such unpleasant memories."
"I shall, indeed," assented Leslie. "But my deliverance, as I supposeyou know, must come later. The misfortune by which I became, mostunwillingly, the primary cause of Potter's death, renders it imperativethat I should go on to Valparaiso with this brig, there to surrendermyself to the authorities and answer for my action. I do not suppose,"he continued, in answer to the expression of consternation that suddenlyleapt into her eyes, "that they will be very hard upon me; Purchas andthe whole of the crew can of course testify that I acted under extremeprovocation and in self-defence; so that probably, if I have to stand atrial at all, the verdict will be one of `misadventure.'"
"Oh, but this is dreadful!" ejaculated the girl.
She pulled herself up suddenly, and appeared to consider the situationfor some moments; then she said very quietly--
"So, if I am to go home, it appears that I shall have to go alone?"
"I fear so," answered Leslie. "But," he continued reassuringly, "youmust not run away with the idea that I intend to pack you off aboard thefirst ship that happens to come along, suitable or otherwise; I reckonupon falling in with several ships within the next thirty-six hours, weshall therefore be able to pick and choose; and you may rest assuredthat I will not put you aboard a vessel until I have thoroughlysatisfied myself that you will be quite comfortable and happy in her.And although we have been speaking only of homeward-bound ships, thusfar, we must not forget that, if we should happen to run into a calm onthe Line, it is quite on the cards that we may encounter something_outward-bound_, either to the Cape, India, or Australia, into which totrans-ship you; in which case you will be able to continue your originaljourney with practically no loss of time."
"Yes," answered Miss Trevor, slowly. "That would be an advantage,certainly. On the whole, Mr Leslie, I think I should greatly prefer anoutward-bound to a homeward-bound ship, if you please."
"All right," laughed Leslie; "we will see what can be done. And now Imust go on deck to keep a lookout for a suitable craft."
He paused at Purchas's cabin, on his way on deck, and tried the door,but it was still locked from the inside; so he ascended the companionladder and went out on deck. It was a most gloriously brilliant andsparkling afternoon; the sky an intense blue, save where it was fleckedhere and there with woolly-looking patches of trade cloud sailingsolemnly up out of the east; the sea, too, was as brilliantly blue asthe sky, but of a deeper tint; there was not very much swell on,although the breeze was blowing fresh from the eastward; and the brig,with her weather-braces well checked, was staggering along under everyrag of canvas that would draw. Leslie glanced keenly ahead and then allround the crystalline clear horizon in search of a sail; but there wasnothing in sight save a school of porpoises that were gambollingalongside, racing the brig and chasing each other athwart her fore-foot,each fish apparently rivalling all the rest in an endeavour to see whichcould shave the brig's stem most closely without being touched by it.
Thinking that the sight might amuse Miss Trevor, he ran quickly down thecompanion ladder and entered the main cabin, with the object of invitingher to come on deck and witness it. He entered the cabin just in timeto catch sight of her effecting a distinctly hasty retreat into her ownprivate berth; and although it was only, a momentary glimpse that hecaught of her ere she slammed the door behind her, he could almost havesworn that she had her pocket-handkerchief to her eyes, as though shewere, or had been, crying. Vaguely wondering what was the trouble, hepaused uncertainly for a few seconds; then, in pursuance of his originalintention, he knocked at her door, and shouted--
"Miss Trevor, there is a school of porpoises at play alongside, if youwould care to come on deck and watch them. I
t is a pretty sight, and, Ithink, would amuse you."
There was no reply for a moment or two. Then, in a strangely muffledtone of voice, the girl answered--
"Thank you, Mr Leslie. I will be up in a few minutes."
It was fully ten minutes after this that the girl, clad entirely inwhite, made her appearance on deck; and as Leslie stole a covert glanceat her face, and noted its absolute composure, he told himself that hehad been mistaken; she had certainly _not_ been crying; and he wonderedwhat in the world it was that could have put so ridiculous an idea intohis head. She appeared to be frankly and unfeignedly interested in thegambols of the porpoises, laughing heartily from time to time; andaltogether seemed so absolutely happy and free from care that Leslie,while he could have kicked himself for being such a fool, felt quitereassured.
At sunset, that night, the breeze still held as fresh as ever; but nosail had yet been sighted, either meeting or overtaking the brig; acircumstance that somewhat disconcerted Leslie, for he was aiming tocross the equator in the longitude of 30 degrees West, at which point itis quite usual for a number of outward and homeward-bound ships to meet;and the _Mermaid_ was now so near that point that, with the wind holdingso fresh and steady as it did, he would not have been in the leastsurprised to fall in with quite a procession of craft proceeding ineither direction. It was disappointing, this bareness of the horizon inevery direction; for he felt that his companion and charge must beintensely anxious to exchange into something that would be taking hereither back to her home, or out to her friends; and he was keenlydesirous to relieve her anxiety at the earliest possible moment. Andyet, at the back of his mind, behind his earnestness of desire, he wasashamed to discover that there existed a certain feeling of satisfactionthat the moment for parting with the girl was still deferred. He hadfound his connection with her very pleasant--the strong and virile manalways _does_ find it pleasant to have something or somebody to protectand be dependent upon him--she was the only intellectual companion nowleft to him; and with her would go the only individual with whom hecould exchange an idea worth uttering. Yes, he admitted to himself, hewould miss her when she was gone, miss her badly; ay, and more thanbadly. Well, it couldn't be helped; she must go, of course; and thiscurious feeling of depression that was worrying him at the thought wasbut an additional imperative reason for her departure with the leastpossible delay. If by any chance her departure were to be delayed muchlonger it might be that by then he would feel that he did not want topart with her at all! He stamped his foot on the deck in impatientanger at the novel and unpleasant turn that his thoughts were taking;and sprang into the fore-rigging on his way to the royal-yard, to take alast look round ere darkness fell. He soon reached his destination, andswept the whole circle of the horizon with an eager intensity of gaze.And so clear and transparent was the air that had there been anything inthe nature of a sail within thirty miles he could have seen it. Thehorizon, however, was as bare as it had been from the deck; and hepresently descended from his post of observation with an obstinatefeeling of relief that made him intensely angry with himself.
Three times, that evening, during the dog-watches, did Leslie try thedoor of Purchas's cabin, in an endeavour to gain access to the man andascertain his condition. On the first two occasions he failed, the doorremaining locked against him; but when for the third time he found thedoor still fastened, he lost patience and, setting his shoulder to theobstruction, burst it open; having arrived at the conclusion that thefellow ought not to be left to himself any longer.
He found the cabin, as he had quite expected, reeking with the fumes ofrum, and Purchas still insensible in his bunk. It had been a matter ofastonishment to him how the man had contrived to keep himself suppliedwith drink; for although Leslie, Miss Trevor, and the steward wereconstantly in and out of the main cabin--from which alone access was tobe gained to the lazarette, wherein the ship's stores and the spiritswere stowed--no one had seen him moving about. Stifling therefore thefeeling of loathing and nausea that possessed him, he proceeded toinstitute a search of the cabin with the object of ascertaining whetherthe drunkard had secreted a supply therein. The search resulted in thespeedy discovery of twelve bottles, seven of them empty, an eighth abouta quarter full, and four still unbroached. The whole of these he atonce got rid of by opening the port in the side of the cabin, andlaunching them through it into the sea. Then, leaving the portwide-open to sweeten the air somewhat, and assist in the revivificationof the man in the bunk, he retired from the cabin, closing the doorbehind him, and went on deck.
The prolonged incapacity of the new skipper rendered it necessary forLeslie to make some arrangement whereby he could secure a proper amountof rest; and therefore, the carpenter being a steady and fairly reliableman, he arranged with him that the latter should take charge of thestarboard watch during Purchas's "indisposition." It was Leslie's eighthours in, that night, and consequently he was free to retire to hiscabin between the end of the second dog-watch and midnight; but theweather was now so hot that the comparative coolness of the night air ondeck proved irresistibly attractive to Miss Trevor, who, "sleeping in"all night, was naturally indisposed to go to bed at so early an hour aseight o'clock in the evening; and as she evinced a disposition to keepthe deck for an hour or two, Leslie also remained on deck to bear hercompany.
For some time the two walked the weather side of the brig's flush deck,between the stern grating and the mainmast, conversing more or lessintermittently upon various topics, until at length Leslie's attentionwas attracted to the man at the wheel, who, he noticed, was continuallyglancing over his shoulder with a perturbed air at the water astern,instead of keeping his eyes upon the compass card. It seemed also toLeslie that the man was trying to attract his attention, although he wastoo bashful, in Miss Trevor's presence, to speak.
So when the pair next reached the stern grating in the course of theirpromenade, Leslie paused, and said--
"What is the matter, Tom? You seem to be bestowing quite an unusualamount of attention on the wake of the ship; is there anythingremarkable to be seen there?"
The man straightened himself up with the satisfied air of one who, aftermuch striving, has at length achieved success.
"Well, I don't exactly know, sir, as you would call it _remarkable_" heanswered; "but there's something visible over the starn as perhaps thelady might like to see."
"Oh!" answered Leslie. "Then let us have a look at it."
And offering his hand to Miss Trevor, he assisted her to mount thegrating and led her to the taffrail, over which they both leaned, gazingdown into the black profundity beneath them.
The brig was travelling at the rate of about six knots; at which speedshe was wont to create a considerable amount of disturbance in theelement through which she ploughed her passage; the water wasbrilliantly phosphorescent, and as a result of this the wake of the brigwas on this occasion a mass of sea-fire, the foam that she churned up oneither side of her glowing and sparkling with luminous cloudsinterspersed with thousands of tiny stars that waxed and waned withevery plunge of the vessel. The water was almost as transparent as airitself, and by leaning out over the taffrail it was possible to see therudder, the brig's "heel," and a considerable amount of her "run," allaglow with bluish white light that streamed away far astern like aminiature Milky Way. It was a beautiful spectacle, and one at which animaginative person might have gazed for a full hour or more withouttiring. But Tom, the helmsman, was not an imaginative man, and thespectacle of a ship's wake glowing and scintillating with sea-stars wasone that he had beheld so often that it had long ceased to appeal to himas anything at all uncommon. It was something else that had attractedhis attention, and that he had thought might interest "the lady." Forthere, in the very thickest of the swirling mass of clouds and discs andcircles and stars of sea-fire, at a depth of perhaps six feet below thesurface, was to be seen, brilliantly illuminated by its own movementthrough the water, the glowing shape of an enormous shark, fully twentyfeet in length, keep
ing pace with the brig as steadily as if he werebeing towed by her. The whole bulk of the monster was clearly,startlingly, distinct, much more so than would have been the case atdaytime, for his body showed against the black water like a shape ofwhite fire, while with every sweep of his powerful tail he scattered atrail of glowing sparks behind him that constituted of itself quite arespectable wake.
"Oh, what a dreadful creature!" exclaimed Miss Trevor, shrinking back indismay at the sight. "It is like a nightmare! That must surely be ashark; is it not? It is the first shark I have ever seen, Mr Leslie;and I am certain that I never wish to see another. I had no idea thatsharks were such monstrous creatures; I always thought that they wereabout the same size as the porpoises that we were looking at thisafternoon."
"Yes," laughed Leslie, "very possibly. This, however, is rather anexceptionally fine fellow, although I have seen even bigger specimensthan he. Do not look at him too long," he continued, "or possibly youmay dream of him, in which case he would be likely to prove a nightmareto you indeed."
"He've been followin' of us for the last hour, sir," remarked thehelmsman. "And they _do_ say that when a shark hangs on to a ship likethat, somebody's goin' to die aboard of her."
"Yes," answered Leslie, carelessly, "I have heard that story myself; butI don't believe it, for I have been in ships that have been followed fordays on end by sharks, without anything coming of it--except that wehave generally managed to catch the sharks themselves at last. No; thisfellow is following us because he happens to be hungry, and hopes thatthe cook will heave overboard enough scraps to take the sharp edge offhis appetite. But the dew is falling very heavily, Miss Trevor; had notyou better fetch up a wrap?"
"No, thanks," answered the girl, as she moved away and extended her handfor him to help her down off the grating on to the deck; "it is growinglate, so I will bid you good night and go to my cabin."
"Sorry to hear that Mr Purchas is bad, sir," observed Tom, tentatively,when Miss Trevor had vanished down the companion ladder. "Hope it ain'tnothin' serious?"
"Oh dear, no," answered Leslie, perceiving with annoyance that the manwas connecting the presence of the shark under the counter withPurchas's invisibility; "merely a rather sharp bilious attack, which isnow over, I am glad to say. He will probably be on deck againto-morrow."
Then, as the carpenter--who had been keeping out of the way during MissTrevor's presence on deck--came aft, Leslie gave over the charge of thebrig to him, and turned in.
The remainder of the first watch, and the whole of the middle watch,passed without incident save that, when Leslie went on deck at midnight,he found that the wind had softened down somewhat--as was indeed to beexpected, with the brig drawing so near to the equator--the vessel'sspeed having dropped to about four knots. But the weather held superblyfine, and the barometer remained absolutely steady; Leslie thereforeretired to his bunk at the end of the middle watch with a perfectly easymind, and the fixed determination to have Purchas on deck and under thehead pump at seven bells, when he himself would be called.
It was still quite dark when he was startled out of a profound sleep bya sudden loud outcry on deck, followed by a rushing and scuffling offeet overhead accompanied by the flapping of canvas, as though the brighad been suddenly luffed into the wind.
Leslie was well acquainted with the vagaries of equatorial weather, andtherefore, under the apprehension that a squall was threatening, hesprang from his berth and dashed up on deck without waiting to exchangehis pyjamas for other clothing. As he emerged from the companion hecame into violent contact with some one who was evidently about to makea hasty descent of the ladder; and when the pair had recovered from theshock, he discovered that he had collided with the carpenter, whobetrayed every symptom of the most violent agitation; while the entirecrew, apparently, shouting to each other excitedly, were grouped uponthe stern grating. The brig had been luffed into the wind, andeverything, including studding-sails, was flat aback. It was well forthe craft, and all concerned, that the wind had fallen light, or therewould have been mischief up aloft, and plenty of wreckage among thelighter spars.
"What in the world is the matter, Chips?" demanded Leslie testily, aswith a single glance he took in the full condition of affairs.
"Oh, Mr Leslie, sir, something awful has just happened!" exclaimed theman addressed, stammering with agitation and excitement. "I werestandin' as it might be just there," pointing to a spot on the deckabout midway between the skylight and the mainmast, "fillin' my pipe,when out of the corner of my heye I seen somebody step out of thecompanion on deck; and fust of all I thought 'twas you; but, lookin'again, I see as it was the skipper--not Cap'n Potter, you'll understand,sir, he bein' dead and buried; but Cap'n Purchas. I were just goin' upto him to say how glad I were to see 'im about again, when he steps overto the binnacle, takes a peep into the compass-bowl, and then, afore aman could say `Jack Robinson,' up he jumps on to the starn gratin', fromthere to the taffrail--an' overboard! Scotty, there, who was at thewheel, owns that he more'n half guessed, from the queer look in theskipper's heyes, that somethin' was wrong, and made a grab at 'im as 'epassed; but Mr Purchas were miles too quick for 'im, and Scotty on'yreached the taffrail in time to see the pore man strike the water. Andthe next second that devil of a shark that have been followin' of us had'im!"
Leslie reeled as though he had been struck a heavy blow. Here wasanother tragedy; the second that had happened within the short space oftime that had elapsed since he had joined this unlucky brig. And evenas he had blamed himself for being in some sort responsible for thefirst, so now he reproached himself as being in a measure responsiblefor this. He felt that he had been remiss. In his anxiety to shieldthe unhappy man from the observation and unfavourable comment of thecrew, he had carefully concealed from everybody the true cause ofPurchas's retirement, leaving the man alone to recover from his drunkenbout instead of telling off somebody to watch him. Had he done this, hereflected in self-reproach, this dreadful thing would not have happened.The need for concealment was now past, however; so, rallying hisfaculties, he called all hands to group themselves round him, as he hadsomething to say to them.
"My lads," he began, "I believe that you all profoundly regret the awfulthing that has just happened; for Mr Purchas was a most kind andconsiderate officer to every one of you. But none of you can regret histerrible end so much as I do; for I feel that I am to some extent toblame for it. A certain wise man has said, `Of the dead speak nothingbut good;' and it is well to carry out this precept, so far as ispossible. There are occasions, however, when the truth--the wholetruth--must be told, even though it reflect discredit upon those who aregone; and this is one of them. I am sorry to be obliged to tell youthat what really ailed Mr Purchas was--drunkenness! Very little morethan a week had elapsed after Captain Potter's death when I discoveredin Mr Purchas a tendency to take rather too much rum. I spoke to himabout it, with the result that he promised to be more moderate in hispotations. But he did not keep his promise, and upon one occasion, atleast, he was so thoroughly intoxicated that he slept through his entirewatch, stretched out upon a hencoop."
"Ay, ay, sir; that's gospel truth. I remember it perfectly," murmuredtwo or three of the men, interrupting.
"Of course," assented Leslie, "you could not have avoided noticing it.It was after that occurrence that I remonstrated with him; and for a fewdays thereafter he was better. Then he began again, finally giving wayaltogether, with the melancholy result that you have all witnessed. Iknew how injurious to his interests it would be, and how seriously itwould weaken discipline if you men should once come to understand thatyour skipper was a drunkard; so I let it be understood among you thatMr Purchas was confined to his cabin through a slight illness; while,as a matter of fact, he was all the time lying there in a drunkenstupor.
"_Now_, when it is too late, I feel that I committed an error ofjudgment in attempting to conceal from you all the actual facts.Instead of being so keenly anxious to shield him that I could
think ofnothing else, I ought to have anticipated the possibility that upon hisreturn to consciousness he might be tempted to do something foolish;and, anticipating this, I ought to have told off a man from each watchto sit with and keep an eye upon him."
"Ay," observed the carpenter, "it might ha' been a good thing to ha'done that, certingly. But you haven't got nothin' to reproach yourselfwith, sir; you done what you did with a good and kind intention; and youwasn't to know that the fust thing he'd do when he come back to hissenses 'd be to up and jump overboard. Oh no, sir, you ain't to blamein noways for what's happened. What do _you_ say, bullies?"
"No, no; in course the gen'leman ain't to blame; nobody what's seen howthe land lay--like we have--and how Mr Leslie have been a-doin' all hecould to help the skipper, could ever say as he's any way to blame. Nothe!" answered one and another of the men, each of them in one way oranother endorsing the carpenter's verdict.
"Thank you, men," returned Leslie; "it is a great relief to me to feelthat you think as you do in this matter. Now, that being disposed of,there is a further point to be considered; and it is this. The shockingfate of Mr Purchas leaves us with no navigator on board save myself. Ihave no great desire to proceed in this brig all the way to Valparaiso;but, nevertheless, there are reasons that, to me, seem to make itdesirable that I should do so. I may tell you that we are now very nearthe Line; so near, indeed, that we may fall in with other craft, aimingto cross it at the same point as ourselves, at any moment. Now if weshould fall in with a ship, would you wish me to communicate with herand ask her captain to place a navigating officer on board this brig, totake her to Valparaiso; or would you prefer that I should take charge--with Chips, here, as mate--and navigate you to Valparaiso myself?"
"Speakin' for myself," answered the carpenter, promptly, "I don't wantnobody better'n what you are, Mr Leslie, in command of this herehooker. We knows you, sir; and we've seen what you can do--we've tookyour measure, sir--if you'll forgive the liberty of my plain speakin'--and we're all agreed as you're a prime seaman--one o' the best as _I've_ever sailed under--and I'd a precious sight sooner see you in commandthan what I would a stranger. And, if I ain't mistook, that's thefeelin' with all hands of us. Am I right, mates, or ain't I?"
"Right you are, Chips; no stranger for me."
"Mr Leslie's the skipper for us; we don't want nobody else." Thus, andin similar terms, the entire crew expressed their perfect agreement withthe view enunciated by the carpenter; and there and then the matter wassettled.
It was with a very considerable amount of trepidation that, nextmorning, Leslie undertook the task of communicating to Miss Trevor thenews of Purchas's death--taking care to suppress the full horror of thetragedy by simply stating that the unfortunate fellow had committedsuicide by jumping overboard, omitting all mention of the shark. Butalthough the girl was naturally much shocked at the occurrence of asecond death on board, following so quickly upon that of Potter, thiswas the full extent of her emotion; Purchas was not at all the sort ofman to appeal to her or to arouse in her any sort of interest or feelingbeyond that of disgust at his weakness in surrendering himself to theseduction of so degrading a vice as that of drink; and she received theinformation quite calmly, much to her companion's relief.
Meanwhile, and quite contrary to expectation, the breeze again freshenedan hour or so before sunrise, with the result that when Leslie took hisobservation at noon he found that the brig was within a mile of crossingthe equator. And, what was a much more remarkable circumstance, thehorizon was still absolutely bare, not a single sail of any descriptionbeing in sight, even from the main royal-yard!
Upon ascertaining this last disconcerting fact, Leslie turned to MissTrevor, who was on deck, and said--
"Fate appears to have a grudge against you, and to be determined thatyou shall not yet leave us. I had confidently reckoned upon falling inwith something hereabout to which I could transfer you; but thecontinuance of this breeze--which most sailors would regard as a strokeof marvellous good fortune--has enabled everything bound south to slipacross the Line without suffering the exasperating experience of a moreor less prolonged period of calm; while, as your ill-luck will have it,there happens to be nothing northward-bound on the spot just when we aremost anxious to meet it. Furthermore, every mile that we now sail willlessen your chance of effecting a trans-shipment, because our coursewill be ever diverging from that of northward-bound shipping. Ofcourse, now that I am in command, I can continue to steer for a day ortwo longer in such a direction as may enable us, with luck, still tofall in with a homeward-bounder, but--"
"Is my presence on the ship then, so _very_ embarrassing to you, MrLeslie?" she interrupted with the ghost of a smile. "It would certainlyappear so; for the burden of your conversation, ever since we came onboard, has been my trans-shipment!"
"Embarrassing!" ejaculated Leslie, in extreme surprise. "Most certainlynot; on the contrary--" he interrupted himself. "That is not the pointat all," he continued. "I have assumed--very naturally, I think--thatyou are anxious either to return home and make a fresh start, or else tocontinue your outward journey, according as circumstances may determine;and I, on my part, have been most anxious to meet what I conceived to beyour wishes. But, as to your presence aboard the brig being an_embarrassment_ to me, I assure you that the longer you are compelled toremain here, the better I shall be pleased."
"Thank you," answered the girl; "I suppose I must accept that admissionas a compliment. Well, Mr Leslie, of course you are quite right inassuming that, if a favourable opportunity should offer, I would gladlyavail myself of it. But my greatest anxiety is to allay that of myfriends; which, I imagine, they will not begin to experience until somelittle time has elapsed after the date at which the _Golden Fleece_might reasonably be expected to reach Melbourne. And about that time Ishould think we ought to be at Valparaiso, ought we not? Very well. Inthat case, it will be easy for me to despatch from there a reassuringcable message to my Australian friends, following it up with a letter ofexplanation, and all will be well. Moreover, though you would perhapsnever suspect it, I am of a decidedly roving and adventurousdisposition, and I shall not at all object to visiting Valparaiso; youneed, therefore, worry yourself no further upon that feature of thematter. But, of course, if you would rather not have me--"
"Pray say no more, I beg you," interrupted Leslie. "Your continuedpresence on board this brig can only be a source of the keenest pleasureand satisfaction to me; and if you can be content to remain, I shall bemore than content that you do so."
And thus was settled a matter that was destined to exercise a mostimportant influence upon the lives of these two people.
Singularly enough, within an hour of the occurrence of theabove-recorded conversation, a sail was sighted ahead, steering north;which upon her nearer approach proved to be a South Sea whaler,homeward-bound. She was steering a course that promised to bring thetwo craft close alongside each other; and at Leslie's suggestion MissTrevor at once went below and hurriedly penned three letters--one to herpeople at home, one to her father in India, and one to her friends inAustralia--briefly detailing the particulars of the loss of the _GoldenFleece_ and what had subsequently befallen the writer, together with herintention to proceed to Valparaiso, if necessary; after which she wouldact according to circumstances. At the same time Leslie wrote to theowners of the _Golden Fleece_ apprising them of the loss of the ship,and the fact that, as far as his knowledge went, there were but threesurvivors, namely, Miss Trevor, himself, and the seaman whom he hadtaken off the wreckage.
By the time that these letters were ready, the whaler was close at hand,upon which the brig's ensign was hoisted, and the signal made that shewished to communicate. Thereupon both craft were brought to the wind,and hove-to; the brig's quarter-boat was lowered, and the carpenter,with three hands, pulled alongside the whaler, taking the letters withhim, with the request that the skipper would kindly post them at thefirst port arrived at. This the man readily agreed to do
--such littlecourtesies among seamen being quite usual; and then, with mutual dips oftheir ensigns, the two craft proceeded upon their respective ways.
The _Mermaid_ was singularly fortunate in the weather experienced by heron this occasion of crossing the Line, as it often happens that ships inthese latitudes are detained--sometimes for weeks--by persistent calms,during the prevalence of which, by constantly box-hauling the yards andtaking the utmost advantage of every little draught of air that comesalong, they may succeed in gaining a mile or two in the course of everytwenty-four hours; whereas she carried a breeze with her that ran her,without a pause, from the north-east trades, across the calm belt, rightinto the south-east trade winds, which happened just then to be blowingfresh. She therefore made excellent progress to the southward afterparting from the friendly whaler.
It was about a week later that the brig, thrashing along to thesouthward, close-hauled, and with her fore topgallantsail and main royalstowed, experienced a thrillingly narrow escape from destruction.
It was just two bells in the first watch, that is to say nine o'clockp.m. The night was fine, with bright starlight, and no moon, thatluminary happening then to rise late. The wind was piping up strong andsending the trade clouds scurrying across the spangled sky at a greatpace; and there was a fair amount of sea running, into which the_Mermaid_ dug her bluff bows viciously, smothering her forecastle withspray and darkening the weather clew of her fore-course with it halfwayup to the yard. Miss Trevor was on deck, taking the air, and graciouslyfavouring Leslie with her company for an hour or two prior to turning infor the night. The pair were promenading the deck together, fore andaft, between the stern grating and the mainmast, the girl availingherself of the support of Leslie's arm to steady her upon the dancingdeck.
Suddenly, as they were in the act of wheeling round abreast the mainrigging, a flash of ruddy light illumined the tumbling surface of thesea, the deck they trod, the sails, and every detail of the brig'sequipment; and glancing skyward, they beheld a meteor trailing a longtail of scintillating sparks behind it, high aloft over the brig's portquarter. With inconceivable rapidity the glowing object increased insize, its light meanwhile changing as rapidly from red to a dazzlingwhite, until the light became almost as intense as that of the noondaysun. It was a magnificent spectacle, but one also full of unspeakablehorror for those aboard the brig who stood gazing in speechlessfascination at it; for it was evident that it was not only fallingthrough the air at a speed far surpassing that of a cannon shot, _butwas also coming straight for the brig_. A deep humming sound that, asit seemed, in the space of a single moment increased to an almostdeafening scream, marked the speed of its flight through the air; and asLeslie grasped the fact that in another second that enormous glowingmass--weighing, as he conceived, some hundreds of tons--must infalliblystrike the brig and smash her to atoms, he instinctively interposed hisown body between his companion and the gigantic hurtling missile--asthough such frail protection could have been of any service to her!Then, while it was still some two hundred yards from the brig--at whichdistance the heat of it fell upon their white upturned faces like thebreath of a suddenly opened furnace--the dazzling white-hot mass burstwith a deafening explosion into a thousand pieces, some of which flewhurtling over and about the brig, but happily without touching her; andthe danger was over. It had come and was gone again in the brief spaceof some seven seconds.
"That is the narrowest shave I have ever had in my life," ejaculatedLeslie, catching his breath. "And you, Miss Trevor, have had anexperience such as falls to the lot of few people, I imagine--theexperience of being threatened with destruction by a falling meteor, andsurviving to tell the tale! I wonder how many others, beside thislittle ship's company, have ever beheld so appalling and magnificent asight as we have this night witnessed?"
"Have you any suspicion, Mr Leslie, that this brig is especially markedout and chosen as the theatre for exceptionally thrilling experiences?"quaintly demanded the girl. "Because if there is a probability thatsuch is the case, I really think I shall be obliged to reconsider mydecision to proceed to Valparaiso in her, and ask you to land me at thenearest port. The tragic deaths of those two men, Potter and Purchas,were quite thrilling enough to upset the nerves of any ordinary girl;but when it comes to being bombarded by meteors, I would really verymuch rather be excused."
"Of course you would," assented Leslie, laughingly. "All the same," hecontinued, "although I must confess that I have never heard of such athing happening, it might as probably have occurred in the heart ofLondon itself as out here at sea. That meteors actually fall to theearth we know, for there are numerous records of such happenings; theyhave been seen to fall, and have immediately afterwards been foundpartially buried in the ground and still hot from the friction of theirflight through the air. Precisely where they will fall and strike isnecessarily a matter of the merest chance; you are, therefore, so far asfalling meteors are concerned, quite as safe here as anywhere else."
"Thank you," answered Miss Trevor, gravely, "it is reassuring to learnthat, no matter where I am, I am liable to have a huge incandescent massof meteoric stone hurtling at me out of space at any moment--for that iswhat your statement really amounts to, you know--isn't it? And now Iwill bid you good night and retire to my cabin, with the fixedresolution not to dream of falling meteors."
And therewith she gave him her hand for a moment, and then vanished downthe companion-way.