CHAPTER SEVEN.
DISMASTED!
It was about one bell in the first dog-watch; the weather was fine, thewater smooth, the breeze light; and the brig, with little more than baresteerage-way upon her, was laying her course, with squared yards, bothclews of her mainsail hauled up, and studding-sails set on both sides,her topsails occasionally collapsing and flapping to the masts for lackof wind to keep them "asleep." Miss Trevor was, as usual, on deck,seated in a deck-chair, with a book on her lap and the fingers of onehand playing abstractedly with an ear of the great dog that laystretched contentedly upon the deck beside her. Leslie, also with abook in his hands, was seated right aft upon the taffrail, with his feetupon the stern grating, in such a position that he could look past thehelmsman right forward and command the entire starboard side of thedeck, as far forward as the windlass-bitts--and, incidentally, study thevarying expressions that flitted athwart Miss Trevor's face as she read.The carpenter, with the rest of the men, was on the forecastle, lookingafter them and busying himself upon some small job that neededattention. The stillness of the peaceful afternoon seemed to havefallen upon the vessel; the men conversed together intermittently insubdued tones, that barely reached aft in the form of a low mumble; andthe only sounds heard were the occasional soft rustle and flap of thecanvas aloft, with an accompanying patter of reef-points, the jar of therudder upon its pintles, the jerk of the wheel chains, and the soft,scarcely audible seething of the water alongside.
Upon this reposeful quietude there suddenly broke the sound of a gentle"wash" of water close alongside, then a long-drawn, sigh-likerespiration, and a jet of mingled vapour and water shot above the portbulwark to a height of some ten or twelve feet, so close to the brigthat the next instant a small shower of spray came splashing down on thedeck in the wake of the main rigging.
So totally unexpected was the occurrence that it startled everybody.Leslie sprang to his feet and looked with mild surprise down into thewater; Miss Trevor dropped her book as she shot out of her chair; thedog, who had manifested a readiness to respond to the name of Sailor,leaped up and rushed to the bulwarks, where he reared himself upon hishind legs, emitting a succession of deep, alert barks; and the crewforward shambled over to the port bulwarks, staring curiously.
"Come up here, Miss Trevor," said Leslie, extending his hand to help thegirl up on to the grating beside him. "Here is a sight that you maynever have an opportunity to behold again--at least, under such perfectconditions as these."
The girl, closely attended by Sailor, sprang lightly upon the grating,and following with her eyes Leslie's pointing finger, gazed down intothe blue, transparent depths, where she beheld the enormous black bulkof a large sperm whale, lying right up alongside the brig--so close toher, indeed, that his starboard fin was right under her bilge, about athird of his length--from his blow-holes aft toward his tail--showingshiny as polished ebony, some six inches above water, while hisponderous tail stretched away some forty feet or more beyond thetaffrail, where it could be clearly seen gently rising and falling toenable him to keep pace with the brig.
"What a veritable monster!" exclaimed Miss Trevor, gazing down withwide-open eyes of mingled astonishment and dismay at the huge creature,as she clung unconsciously to Leslie's supporting arm. "Is itdangerous? I hope not, because it looks big enough and strong enough todestroy this ship at a single blow if it chose to do so!"
"You need not be in the least alarmed," answered Leslie, reassuringly."He will not hurt us if we do not interfere with him. These creaturesare only dangerous if attacked; then, indeed, they have been known toturn upon their assailants, with dire results. But ah! look there!--there is another one!"
And sure enough, up came another of the monsters, breaking water with arush that showed nearly half his length, at a distance of only somefifty yards from the brig.
"And there is another!" cried Miss Trevor, with unmistakabletrepidation, as a third came to the surface and blew close under thebrig's counter.
"Pity as we ain't a whaler, sir," remarked the helmsman. "If we was,here 'd be a chance to get fast to two of 'em at once, without so muchas havin' to lower a boat!"
"Yes," responded Leslie, good-naturedly. "Such chances do not, however,seem to come to whalers. Why, there blows another!" as a fourth whalebroke water about a hundred yards on the brig's starboard beam. "Weseem to have fallen in with a whole school of them!"
And so indeed it proved, for within ten minutes there were no less thanseventeen of the monsters in view at the same moment within a radius ofa quarter of a mile of the brig, which craft appeared to possess afascination for them; for they not only swam round and round her, butapproached her so closely and so persistently that Miss Trevor becameseriously alarmed; while even Leslie began to grow somewhat uneasy lestthe brutes, whose temper he knew to be rather uncertain, should developan inclination to attack the craft. To the relief, however, of allhands, the curiosity of the creatures at length appeared to besatisfied, and they drew off from the brig a little, still remainingupon the surface, however. And presently the huge brutes began todevelop a playful disposition, that commenced with their chasing eachother hither and thither, first of all in a leisurely manner, then, astheir excitement grew, their rapidity of movement increased until theywere rushing through the water--and round the brig--with the speed of afleet of steamers. And finally they took to "breaching," that is,throwing themselves completely out of the water, to a height of from tento twenty feet, coming down again with a splash, that soon set the waterboiling and foaming all round them, and creating a commotion that causedthe brig to roll and pitch as though she were in a choppy sea. Thisexhibition of strength and activity lasted for a full three-quarters ofan hour, when the creatures disappeared as suddenly as they had come,much, it must be confessed, to the relief of all hands aboard the brig.
From this time nothing of moment occurred until the _Mermaid_ arrivedoff Staten Island, the eastern extremity of which she sighted atdaylight on a cold, bleak morning some ten weeks after the date whenLeslie and Miss Trevor had become members of her ship's company. Theweather had, in the interim, been fine upon the whole, with occasionalcalms and contrary winds; but, taking everything into consideration,Leslie felt that they had done by no means badly.
On this especial morning, however, appearances seemed to point to theprobability that they were about to experience an unpleasant taste oftypical Cape Horn weather. The sky was gloomy and overcast, the entirefirmament being obscured by a thick pall of cold, leaden-hued cloudlying in horizontal layers, and presenting the appearance described bysailors as "greasy"--an appearance that usually forebodes plenty of windand, not improbably, rain. The breeze was blowing fresh from thewestward, having hauled round from the north-west during the night, andthe brig was pounding through a short, lumpy sea under single-reefedtopsails. The air was damp and raw, with a nip in it that senteverybody into their thick winter clothing, and called for a fire in thecabin stove; and the deck, as far aft as the waist, was streaming withwater that had come in over the weather rail in the form of spray.Everybody on deck, except Miss Trevor, had donned sea boots andoilskins, and the only creature who appeared to enjoy the weather wasSailor, the dog, who trotted about the deck and through the heavyshowers of spray with manifest delight. There was no hope whatever ofgetting a sight of the sun that day; but this was a matter ofcomparatively slight importance, since Leslie had very carefully takenthe bearings of the land, and had thus been able to verify hisreckoning.
As the day wore on the wind freshened perceptibly, while with every milethat the brig made to the southward the sea grew longer and heavier, andthe air more bleak and nipping. At noon, when the watch was called,Leslie seized the opportunity to take a second reef in the topsails, andto haul up and furl the mainsail; an arrangement that was productive ofan immediate change for the better, since the brig went along almost asfast as before, while she took the seas more easily, and was altogetherdrier and more comfortable. The barometer, however, was
fallingsteadily; a circumstance that, combined with the look of the sky towindward, led Leslie to the conclusion that they were booked for aregular Cape Horn gale. All through the afternoon the weather steadilybecame more unpleasant, and about one bell in the first dog-watch, itcame on to rain--a cold, heavy, persistent downpour--while the windpiped up so fiercely that Leslie decided to haul down the third reef inhis topsails, brail up and stow the trysail, and take in the inner jibwithout further delay, thus snugging the brig down for the night.
The next morning dawned dark, gloomy, and so thick with driving rainthat it was impossible to see anything beyond half a mile from the brigin any direction. But within that radius the scene was depressingenough, a steep, high sea of an opaque greenish-grey tint sweeping down,foam-capped and menacing, upon the brig from to windward, while the airwas thick with spindrift and scudwater. The foresail had been taken induring the middle watch; and the brig was now under close-reefedtopsails and fore-topmast staysail only, under which canvas she wasmaking a bare three knots in the hour, leaving behind her a short wakethat streamed out broad on her weather quarter. So unpleasant were theconditions that, except for brief intervals during the fore andafternoon, Miss Trevor remained below, whiling away the time as best shemight with a book; disregarding Sailor's importunate invitations toaccompany him on deck.
Meanwhile the gale was steadily increasing, and between five and sixbells in the afternoon watch the main-topsail suddenly split with a loudreport, and immediately blew out of the bolt-ropes; with the resultthat, despite the utmost efforts of the helmsman, the brig at once felloff into the trough of the sea. Hearing the report, and the subsequentcommotion on deck, Leslie, who had been snatching a little rest in hiscabin, dashed up on deck and, taking in the position of affairs at aglance, gave orders for the fore topsail to be at once clewed up, andthe spanker to be set; which being done, brought the brig once more tothe wind, and extricated her from her dangerous situation. Then heordered a new main-topsail to be at once brought on deck and bent;having no fancy for leaving the brig all night under such low andineffective canvas as the spanker--a sail that, with the heavy sea thenrunning, was half the time becalmed.
By the time that the remains of the burst main-topsail had been unbent,and the new sail brought on deck, it was eight bells, and all hands wereset to work to bend the sail. This, under the existing weatherconditions--with the wind blowing at almost hurricane strength, and thebrig flung like a cork from trough to crest of the mountainous,furious-running sea, with wild weather rolls as the seas swept away fromunder her, succeeded by sickening rolls to leeward that at times laidher almost on her beam-ends as she climbed the lee slope of the nexton-coming sea--was a long, difficult, and perilous job for the handsaloft; and Leslie heaved a sigh of relief when at length, having bentand close-reefed the sail, the little party laid in off the yard, anddescended to the deck to assist in sheeting it home. This delicate jobwas happily accomplished without mishap; and, the trysail being brailedin and stowed, the brig was then hove-to under close-reefed main-topsailand fore-topmast staysail.
All through the night and the whole of the succeeding day the galecontinued to rage furiously, and although the _Mermaid_ proved herselfto be an unexpectedly good sea-boat in such exceptionally heavy weather,riding easily the mountainous sea that was now running, she rolled withsuch terrific violence that it was impossible to move anywhere on boardher, whether on deck or below, without incurring the risk of seriousinjury. As for Miss Trevor, acting on Leslie's advice, she kept to herown cabin, and passed the disagreeable time in the comparative safety ofher bunk, which she left only at meal times.
The morning of the fourth day brought with it a change. The gale brokeabout the time of sunrise, and soon afterwards the sky cleared, thecanopy of cloud broke up, and drifted away to the eastward in tatteredfragments, revealing a sky of hard pallid blue, in which the sun hunglow like a ball of white fire. The sea went down somewhat, and nolonger broke so menacingly, while it changed its colour from dirty greento steel-grey. Far away on the southern horizon a gleam of dazzlingwhite betrayed the presence of a small iceberg, and the air waspiercingly cold.
Gladly welcoming the change, Leslie--who had spent the whole of thepreceding night on deck--ordered the close-reefed fore topsail to beset, as well as the foresail and main trysail; under which considerableincrease of canvas the brig was soon once more moving with comparativerapidity through the water, and looking well up into the wind. Then,watching for a "smooth," they wore the craft round, and brought her toon the port tack, during the progress of which evolution the windshifted a couple of points to the southward, enabling them to lay acourse of north-west by west, which Leslie hoped would suffice him todraw out clear of everything, and carry him into the Pacific Ocean.
This hope was strengthened as the day wore on, for the wind continued todraw gradually still further round from the southward, while it steadilydecreased in force--though growing colder every hour--thus enablingLeslie to shake out first one reef in his topsails, then a second, andfinally the last, also to set his jib and main-topmast staysail; so thatby sunset the brig, under whole topsails and main-topgallantsail, wasbooming along famously, with an excellent prospect of finding herselffairly in the Pacific in the course of the next twenty-four hours.
A disconcerting circumstance, however, that rather tended to dampLeslie's hopes, was the fact that the barometer persistently refused torise, although the wind was subsiding so rapidly that it threatened todwindle to a calm, and as the evening faded into night the stars grewdim and finally disappeared. Still, there was nothing that could becalled actually alarming in the aspect of the weather; and as Leslie hadbeen almost continuously on deck during the entire duration of thegale--snatching a brief half-hour of rest from time to time as best hecould--and it was now his eight hours in, he decided, after deliberatingthe matter until four bells in the first watch had struck, to go belowand turn in until midnight; leaving instructions with the carpenter toinstantly call him in the event of anything occurring to necessitate hispresence on deck.
It seemed to him that he had scarcely laid his head upon his pillow andclosed his eyes ere he was awakened from a profound sleep by a suddenscreaming roar of wind; the brig heeled over to port until she appearedabout to capsize; and as Leslie, dazed for the moment by his suddenawakening, sprang from his bunk, a loud crash on deck, immediatelysucceeded by a lesser one, told a tale of disaster. The brig righted asthe harassed man sprang up the companion ladder, clad only in hispyjamas, and dashed out on deck to find everything in confusion, themainmast gone by the board and hammering viciously at the ship's side,while a furious banging forward told that the fore-topmast also hadgone, and, with everything attached, was hanging to leeward by itsrigging. Moreover, a howling gale from the _northward_ was sweepingover the brig and deluging her with showers of cutting spray.
"Where is the carpenter?" was Leslie's first cry as he emerged from thecompanion and groped blindly about him in the blackness of the starlessnight.
"Here I be, sir," answered Chips, close at hand. "Oh, Mr Leslie,here's a dreadful business! And I be to blame for it, sir--"
"Never mind, just now, who is to blame," exclaimed Leslie. "Call allhands, and let them get to work with their tomahawks upon that mainrigging. Cut everything away, Chips, and be smart about it, my man, orwe shall have the mast punching a hole in the ship's side, and therewill be an end of us all."
And so saying, without waiting for an answer, Leslie made a spring forthe rack in which the tomahawks were kept, and, seizing the first of thesmall axes that he could lay hands upon, he set an example to the restby hacking away at the lanyards of the main shrouds. It was aheart-breaking business, that blind hewing and chopping at thecomplicated gear that held the wreck of the mainmast fast to the hull;but it was accomplished at last, and then, the brig having paid offalmost dead before the wind, it drifted astern and went clear, with muchscraping and a final bump under the counter that made the old hookertremble, and must
have infallibly destroyed the rudder had it chanced tohit it. Then all hands went to work and attacked the topmast rigging,which, being less complicated, was soon cleared away.
The harassed crew now had a moment in which to collect their energiesfor fresh efforts, and take stock, as it were, of the extent of thedisaster that had befallen them. And the first matter into which Lesliemade particular inquiry--after he had gone below and got into hisclothes--was the state of the crew; it had been impressed upon him--although he had hitherto been too busy to mention it--that some menseemed to be missing--or rather, he had vaguely felt that there were notso many men on deck as there ought to be.
So he now turned to the carpenter, and said--
"Muster all hands, Chips, and let the steward give them a good, generoustot of grog; they will be all the better for it after their hard work inthe wet and cold. Moreover, I wish to satisfy myself that they are allright; it has struck me more than once since I came on deck that some ofthem are missing."
"I pray to God that you're wrong, sir," answered the carpenter; "but,now that you comes to speak of it, the same thing have struck me too.Here, lay aft, bullies, all of yer, and let's have a look at ye," hecontinued, sending his voice forward to the forecastle, where the menwere now grouped, awaiting further orders.
They came aft, slouching along the deck after their usual manner, andgrouped themselves about the binnacle, "Why, where's the rest of ye?"demanded the carpenter, glaring angrily from one to the other; "where'sBill--and Jim--and Joe? Jump for'ard, one of ye, and tell 'em to layaft here for a tot o' grog."
"We're all here, Chips--all that's left of us, that is. Bill, and Jim,and Joe are all missin'; ain't to be found nowheres. Anyhow, they ain'tin the fo'c's'le; I'm ready to swear to that!" answered one of thelittle crowd that grouped themselves round the binnacle, their eyesgleaming in the dim light of the binnacle lamp with that transienthorror that sailors feel at the sudden loss of a shipmate.
"Not in the fo'c's'le!" ejaculated the carpenter, staring wildly abouthim, "Oh, my God! three men gone, and all of 'em in my watch!" he cried,flinging his clenched fists above his head in his agony ofself-reproach. "You're sure that they ain't in the fo'c's'le? Thenthey ain't nowhere else aboard this unlucky hooker; they're overboard--that's where they are--went when the squall struck us and very nighthrowed us on our beam-ends. And it's my fault--all my fault; it's _I_that have lost them three men. Ye see, Mr Leslie, it's like this here.I'm a man what can't do without his proper 'lowance of sleep, and thishere last gale have fair knocked me up and made me that stupid that Ihaven't knowed what I've been doin' latterly. And the fact is, that inthis here last watch of mine I was fair overcome wi' want of sleep, andI dropped off without knowin' it, and without wantin' to; and thishere's the consekence,"--flinging his right hand wildly out to indicatethe crippled state of the brig--"this an' the loss o' three good men."
"Well, Chips, it is a pity," said Leslie, soothingly andsympathetically; "if you had but told me how completely you were knockedup, I would have taken your watch for you, although I am pretty wellknocked up myself. The mischief, however, is done and cannot now behelped, so it is useless to worry any more about it. We must not,however, allow the ship to run further to leeward than we can help; soclew up the foresail, lads; we will let her scud under bare poles untildaylight. Then we will see what can be done to mend matters. Now takeyour grog, men; and when you have clewed up and furled the foresail, gobelow. You, too, Chips. I have had a little rest, and can doubtlesshold out until the morning. I will look after the brig until then."
As the men shambled away forward, leaving Leslie at the wheel, thelatter dimly caught sight of something huddled up in the companion-way,at the top of the ladder; and while he stood staring at it in anendeavour to make out what it was, it moved; and the next moment MissTrevor, enveloped in a dressing-gown, stepped out on deck, and, withteeth chattering with cold, exclaimed--
"Oh, Mr Leslie, what dreadful thing has happened? I was awakened bythe terrible noise and confusion--the crashing and thumping, thethrashing of the sails, the howling of the wind, and the shouting of thesailors--and I feared that the ship was sinking--for it seemed just asbad as on the night when the _Golden Fleece_ was run into; so I wrappedmyself in this dressing-gown, and have been to and fro between the topof the stairs and my own cabin for quite an hour, I should think. But Iwould not come out on deck, for I saw at once that you were allextremely busy; and I knew that, if I did, I should only interrupt you,and be in your way."
"You would, indeed," answered Leslie, bluntly. "And even now," hecontinued, "the deck is no place for you on this wild and bitter night;you will get wet through and `catch your death of cold,' as they sayashore. Therefore I beg that you will forthwith go below and turn in;there is no further danger at present; the brig is scudding quitecomfortably, as you may see; and there is nothing that we can run upagainst between this and the morning; you may therefore finish yoursleep in comfort and with an easy mind."
"But please tell me exactly what has happened," the girl persisted; "Ishall be better able to rest if you will let me know the worst."
"Well, if you insist on knowing, the brig was caught aback by a suddenshift of wind, and we have lost our mainmast and fore-topmast," answeredLeslie, saying nothing about their further loss of three men, as he didnot wish to harrow her mind with such a distressing detail until itbecame impossible any longer to conceal it, Miss Trevor was not,however, to be so easily put off.
"But I heard the carpenter crying out that he had lost three men," shesaid. "What did he mean by that?"
"Precisely what he said," answered Leslie, reluctantly. "The poor chapwas overcome with the fatigue of the last three days, and fell asleep inhis watch on deck. The result is the loss of our spars, and--worsestill--of three men, who, there can be no doubt, somehow got washed orknocked overboard when the squall struck and dismasted us."
"Oh, how dreadful!" exclaimed the girl in tones of horror. "This isindeed an unfortunate ship! We have met with nothing but tragedy sincewe came on board. I wish now--oh, I wish most fervently!--that we hadmet some other ship into which we could both have changed; we shouldthen have escaped all these horrors."
"Possibly," agreed Leslie. "Yet `_quien sabe_?' as the Spaniards say,who can tell? We might have trans-shipped into some craft quite as, ifnot even more, unfortunate than ourselves. In any case, it is too latenow; and even were it not so, you appear to have forgotten that we couldnot _both_ have trans-shipped; _I_ at least am bound to go on toValparaiso in this brig. This, however, is not the moment to discussthese matters; you are shivering and your teeth chattering with cold; Imust therefore _insist_ that you go below and turn in at once. And asyou pass through the cabin, mix yourself a good stiff glass of grog; itwill do you good. I prescribe it."
"Very, well doctor, I will obey you," answered the girl. And forthwithshe disappeared down the companion, without saying "Good night!"somewhat to Leslie's chagrin.
The apparent discourtesy was, however, soon explained; for a minute ortwo later she reappeared, bearing in her hand a tumbler of generouslystiff grog, which she handed to Leslie, saying--
"_I_ `prescribe this.' Please drink it at once; for I am certain thatyou need it far more than I do. Oh yes, I will take some myself, sinceyou so strenuously insist upon it. There, now you will feel better," asshe received the empty tumbler from him. "And now, good night. I wishI were a man, for then I could stay here and help you."
"God forbid!" ejaculated Leslie, fervently. "Not even to secure thebenefit of your help would I have you other than as you are. A thousandthanks for the grog; and now good night; let me not see you again untilthe morning!"
The disaster to the brig had happened shortly before midnight; and forthe rest of that wild and bitter night, until seven bells in the morningwatch, Leslie stood there alone at the wheel, keeping the brig stern-onto the fast-rising sea. Then the carpenter and the remainder of thecrew appeared on deck, and one of them cam
e aft to his relief. The cooklighted the galley fire; the steward presently brought him aft a cup ofsmoking hot cocoa; and then, when he had stripped to the skin, beenpumped on copiously under the head pump, rubbed down vigorously with arough towel, and invested in a complete change of dry garments, he felta new man, ready for another arduous day's work, if need be. He,however, insisted that all hands should take a thorough good breakfastbefore starting the day's work; and the wisdom of this revealed itselfimmediately that the work began.
Meanwhile it is necessary to say that during those long weary hours ofLeslie's lonely vigil at the wheel, the wind, that at the first outflyhad come away from about due north, had gradually veered round until, bysunrise, it was a point south of east, in which quarter it seemeddisposed to stick. Furthermore, with the coming of dawn it had evinceda disposition to moderate its violence somewhat, while the sky hadcleared for a few brief minutes in the eastern quarter, revealing aglimpse of the sun; and upon examining the barometer, Leslie had noticedthat the mercury in the tube showed a convex surface--a sign that it wasabout to rise; he therefore suffered himself to indulge the hope thatwith improving weather, they would ere nightfall be enabled, by goodsteady hard work, to get the brig into such shape as to once more haveher under command.
Seen now, in broad daylight, the poor little brig presented a trulypitiful sight as compared with her appearance on the previous evening.She was then all ataunto, with every spar, rope, and sail intact; athing of life, obedient to her helm, responsive to the will of hercommander, and as fit as such a craft could be to cope with any andevery possible caprice of wind or weather. _Now_, she was a poor maimedand disfigured thing; her mainmast gone, leaving nothing of itself but asplintered stump standing some ten feet above the deck; her fore-topmastalso gone--snapped short off at the cap; and, of her normal spread ofcanvas, nothing now remained save her fore-course. And her loss was notconfined to that of her spars only, although that of course was seriousenough. But, in addition to this, she had lost a complete suit ofcanvas, and practically all her running and standing rigging--the latteritem being one that it would be quite impossible to replace until herarrival at a port. Fortunately for all concerned, her owners had beenprudent enough to provide her with two complete suits of sails; and shealso carried a fairly liberal equipment of spare spars; it wouldtherefore be no very difficult job to extemporise a "jury rig" for her;but the trouble would be to find the wherewithal to replace the loststanding and running rigging, blocks, and all the other items that wouldbe needed to make that jury rig effective.
Needs must, however, when there is no alternative; and the Britishsailor is, with all his faults, an ingenious fellow, not altogetherdevoid of the inventive faculty, and possessed of a pretty turn foradaptation; give him but the idea and he will generally find the meansto carry it out.
So while Leslie and Chips went the round of the deck immediately afterbreakfast, inspecting their stock of spare spars, and the navy manprepared a rough sketch illustrating his idea of the manner in whichthose spars could be most effectively made use of, the rest of the crewturned-to with a will to overhaul the boatswain's locker, the saillocker, and the fore-peak, routing out therefrom and bringing up on deckevery article and thing that could conceivably be of use in the taskthat lay before them. Then, when Leslie had completed his arrangementswith the carpenter, the latter brought his tools on deck; the sparespars were cast loose and placed conveniently at hand for working upon;and in a very short time everybody but Leslie, Miss Trevor, the cook,and the steward, was busily engaged on the forecastle, measuring,cutting, splicing and fitting rigging, while the carpenter trimmed thespars and otherwise prepared them to go into their destined positions.
As for the others, the cook and steward had their usual duties to attendto, and could not therefore be spared to lend a hand in re-rigging thebrig, even had they possessed the necessary knowledge--which they didnot; although later on, perhaps, when it came to mere pulling andhauling, their strength would be found useful, and would beunhesitatingly called for. Meanwhile the brig, although under herfore-course only, and running before the wind, needed to be steered; andthis job Leslie undertook to personally attend to throughout the day,thus sparing another man for the pressing work on the forecastle.
Luckily for everybody concerned, the half-hearted promise of finerweather that the morning had given was more than fulfilled; for aboutfour bells the sky cleared, the sun shone brilliantly, and the airbecame pleasantly mild, while although the wind still blew strongly fromthe east, the sea grew more regular, so that the dismantled brig nowscudded quite comfortably, not shipping a drop of water, and forgingahead, at the rate of about three knots per hour, on her proper course.
Miss Trevor had not made her appearance at the cabin table when Lesliehad been summoned below to breakfast by the steward, nor had sheresponded when the former had gently knocked at her cabin door. Thiscircumstance, however, had not aroused any very serious alarm in thebreast of the ex-Lieutenant, who, remembering the incident of the nightbefore, when the young lady had come on deck after the accident to thebrig, thought it quite probable that, in consequence of her rest beingso rudely broken, she was now oversleeping herself. And in theconfidence of this belief he had ordered the steward not to attempt todisturb her, but to prepare breakfast for her immediately upon herappearance. And he furthermore instructed the man to notify him if shefailed to put in an appearance before four bells. As it happened, theyoung lady appeared on deck, fresh and rosy as a summer morning, andwith Sailor in close attendance, a few minutes before that hour.
"What!" she exclaimed, lifting her hands in dismay as she saw Lesliestanding at the wheel, precisely as she had left him on the previousnight, "still at that dreadful wheel! Do you mean to say that you havebeen standing there all this time?"
"By no means, madam," answered Leslie, cheerfully. "I have since thenhad a most refreshing bath, changed my clothes, taken breakfast, anddone quite a useful amount of very necessary work. It is scarcelyneedful to inquire after _your_ health, your appearance speaks foritself; yet for form's sake let me say that I hope you are none theworse for your very imprudent behaviour last night."
"Oh no," she answered, with a laugh and a blush that vastly became her--so Leslie thought; "I am perfectly well, thank you. I took the grogthat you prescribed, and then went dutifully to my cabin, in obedienceto orders, where I at once fell asleep, and so remained until an hourago. Then I rose, dressed, and had my breakfast; and here I am, readyand anxious to do anything I can to help."
"Help!" echoed Leslie, with a laugh. "You talked of helping lastnight--and most kind it was of you to have and express the wish--but inwhat possible way could a delicately nurtured girl like you help? Andyet," he continued more soberly, "you _could_ render me a little help,once or twice a day, if you would. It is not much that I would ask ofyou--merely to note the chronometer times for me when I take myobservations of the sun for the longitude. I have sometimes thoughtthat Chips has been a little erratic in his noting of the time; and Ihave more than once had it in my mind to ask you to undertake this smallservice for me."
"Why, of course I will," assented the girl, eagerly. "Why did you notask me before? And there is another thing that I can do for you, now--this moment--if you will only let me. I can steer the ship for youwhile you go downstairs and obtain a few hours' much-needed rest. Youreyes are heavy and red for want of sleep; you look to be half dead withfatigue! And if you should break down, what would become of the rest ofus? Please let me try at once, will you? I am quite sure that I couldmanage it; it looks perfectly easy."
Leslie laughed. "Yes," he assented; "I have no doubt it does; because,you see, I happen to know just how to do it. But _you_ would find itvery hard work, and would soon be terribly tired. No; you could notpossibly steer the craft in this heavy sea, especially as we are runningbefore the wind--which constitutes the most difficult condition forsteering. But, if you wish to learn to steer, I shall be delighted toteach you as soon as
we again get fine weather and smooth water."
And with this promise the girl had to be content, although she persistedin believing it to be quite easy to turn the wheel a few spokes eitherway, and so keep the brig sailing on a perfectly straight course.Meanwhile, the crew got to work and rigged a pair of sheers over thestump of the mainmast, firmly staying it with guys leading aft to thetaffrail and forward to the windlass-bitts. Then they rigged at theapex of the sheers the strongest threefold tackle that they couldextemporise; and with the assistance of this they swayed aloft a sparemain-topmast, that had been carefully prepared by the carpenter forfishing to the stump of the mainmast. This spar was accurately adjustedin the precise position that it was intended it should occupy, and itsheel was then firmly secured to the stump of the mainmast by means ofstrips of stout planking about eight feet long, closely arranged allround and secured in position by a long length of chain wound tightlyround, and further tightened by driving in as many wedges as possible.Then the spar was further secured by shrouds, stays, and backstays; thusproviding a very respectable substitute for a mainmast. The sheers werethen struck; a spare main-yard, fitted with brace-blocks and all othernecessary gear, was next swayed aloft and firmly secured to the head ofthe extemporised mainmast; a spare main-course was bent and set; and bysunset that same evening Leslie had the satisfaction of seeing the brigonce more in condition to be brought to the wind when occasion shouldarise. What the crew had accomplished that day constituted a mostexcellent day's work, especially taking into consideration the fact thatthey were almost worn-out with fatigue, Leslie therefore resolved tocall upon them for nothing further in the shape of work that day; but heforesaw that it would be a great help to the craft to have a forestaysail that could be set when sailing on a wind; and a main trysailmight also prove useful; he determined therefore that the next dayshould see these two sails in place, if possible. He would then haveaccomplished the very utmost that lay in his power, and sufficient, hehoped and believed, to enable him to take the brig to Valparaiso.
His observations, taken at noon and at three o'clock that day, showedhim that the _Mermaid_ was far enough to the southward and westward tojustify a shift of the helm; and accordingly at four bells in the firstdog-watch he altered the course to north-west by West, which he hopedwould enable him to just clear Desolation Island and carry him fairlyinto the Pacific. It also afforded him an opportunity to test theefficiency of his jury rig; and his satisfaction was great at findingthat with the yards braced forward the brig, under main and fore-coursesonly, behaved in a thoroughly satisfactory manner; although what shewould do when hauled close on a wind still remained to be proved.
Happily for him the weather had by this time again become quite fine;the wind had softened down to merely a fresh breeze, and the sea hadgone down considerably. He was therefore enabled to secure a few hours'sleep--a refreshment that he now absolutely needed, for he was by thistime so completely worn-out and exhausted that he felt he could do nomore.
The next day was nearly as busy an one as that which had preceded it,for it saw the completion of Leslie's plans, and left the brig underfore and main-courses and fore staysail; with main trysail bent andready for setting when occasion should require. This achievementbrought the ex-lieutenant to the end of his resources; but, on the otherhand, he felt that the brig was now once more in reasonable trim forfacing any contingency except a recurrence of really bad weather; andthis last he hoped he would have done with when once the brig had fairlyentered the Pacific. Luckily, the weather was now as fine as he couldwish; the sky clear enough to enable him to get all his observations;not very much sea running; and a spanking fair wind driving the brigalong upon her course at a speed of nearly five knots. Moreover, thefine weather would enable his crew and himself to get a sufficientamount of rest to thoroughly recuperate their exhausted energies, andprepare themselves for future contingencies. On the following morning,just as he had completed his forenoon observations for the longitude,land was sighted broad on the starboard bow, that proved to be thesouth-eastern extremity of Desolation Island; and at six bells in theafternoon watch the brig had arrived in the longitude of 75 degreesWest, and was therefore at last ploughing the waters of the vast PacificOcean, to Leslie's profound satisfaction. He now shifted his courseanother point to the northward; and began to calculate the probable dateof their arrival in Valparaiso.
It was his intention to maintain a north-west course for the ensuingtwenty-four hours, in order to obtain a good offing, and then to haul upto the northward; but, to his disgust, when he turned out on thefollowing morning he found that the wind had shifted and was blowingstrong from about north-east, and that, with her yards braced rightforward, and main trysail set, the brig would look no higher thannorth-west. It was, however, comforting to reflect that although thehooker was taking a wider offing than was at all necessary, she wasedging up to the northward, in which direction lay their port ofdestination. And sooner or later they would be certain to get awesterly slant of wind that would help them. So, being in fact unableto do better, Leslie kept his starboard tacks abroad, and went drivingalong to the north-westward. And with every mile of progress that theynow made there came an improvement in the weather; the air growing eversofter and more balmy, the water more smooth, and the skies clearer andmore deeply and exquisitely blue.
Thus the brig drove steadily and pleasantly enough along, day after day,until the wondering voyagers seemed to have arrived in the lotus-eaters'region, "where it is always afternoon;" and still the wind hunginexorably in the north-east quarter, and the brig's bows obstinatelyrefused to point higher than north-west, until Leslie's patience worethin, and he grew moody and morose with long waiting for a shift ofwind. For this condition of affairs lasted not only for days, but atlast mounted to weeks; a circumstance that was practically unique in thehistory of those waters.