XVII
How We Came to Our Own Country
Now, when the day came on which we made to leave the nearness of theisland, and the waters of that strange sea, there was great lightnessof heart among us, and we went very merrily about such tasks as wereneedful. And so, in a little, we had the kedge tripped, and had castthe ship's head to starboard, and presently, had her braced up uponthe larboard tack, the which we managed very well; though our gearworked heavily, as might be expected. And after that we had gottenunder way, we went to the lee side to witness the last of thatlonesome island, and with us came the men of the ship, and so, for aspace, there was a silence among us; for they were very quiet, lookingastern and saying naught; but we had sympathy with them, knowingsomewhat of those past years.
And now the bo'sun came to the break of the poop, and called down to themen to muster aft, the which they did, and I with them; for I had come toregard them as my very good comrades; and rum was served out to each ofthem, and to me along with the rest, and it was Mistress Madison herselfwho dipped it out to us from the wooden bucket; though it was the buxomwoman who had brought it up from the lazarette. Now, after the rum, thebo'sun bade the crew to clear up the gear about the decks, and getmatters secured, and at that I turned to go with the men, having becomeso used to work with them; but he called to me to come up to him upon thepoop, the which I did, and there he spoke respectfully, remonstratingwith me, and reminding me that now there was need no longer for me totoil; for that I was come back to my old position of passenger, such as Ihad been in the _Glen Carrig_, ere she foundered. But to this talk ofhis, I made reply that I had as good a right to work my passage home asany other among us; for though I had paid for a passage in the _GlenCarrig_, I had done no such thing regarding the _Seabird_--this being thename of the hulk--and to this, my reply, the bo'sun said little; but Iperceived that he liked my spirit, and so from thence until we reachedthe Port of London, I took my turn and part in all seafaring matters,having become by this quite proficient in the calling. Yet, in onematter, I availed myself of my former position; for I chose to live aft,and by this was abled to see much of my sweetheart, Mistress Madison.
Now after dinner upon the day on which we left the island, the bo'sun andthe second mate picked the watches, and thus I found myself chosen to bein the bo'sun's, at which I was mightly pleased. And when the watches hadbeen picked, they had all hands to 'bout ship, the which, to the pleasureof all, she accomplished; for under such gear and with so much growthupon her bottom, they had feared that we should have to veer, and by thiswe should have lost much distance to leeward, whereas we desired to edgeso much to windward as we could, being anxious to put space between usand the weed-continent. And twice more that day we put the ship about,though the second time it was to avoid a great bank of weed that layfloating athwart our bows; for all the sea to windward of the island, sofar as we had been able to see from the top of the higher hill, wasstudded with floating masses of the weed, like unto thousands of islets,and in places like to far-spreading reefs. And, because of these, the seaall about the island remained very quiet and unbroken, so that there wasnever any surf, no, nor scarce a broken wave upon its shore, and this,for all that the wind had been fresh for many days.
When the evening came, we were again upon the larboard tack, making,perhaps, some four knots in the hour; though, had we been in proper rig,and with a clean bottom, we had been making eight or nine, with so good abreeze and so calm a sea. Yet, so far, our progress had been veryreasonable; for the island lay, maybe, some five miles to leeward, andabout fifteen astern. And so we prepared for the night. Yet, a littlebefore dark, we discovered that the weed-continent trended out towardsus; so that we should pass it, maybe, at a distance of something likehalf a mile, and, at that, there was talk between the second mate and thebo'sun as to whether it was better to put the ship about, and gain agreater sea-room before attempting to pass this promontory of weed; butat last they decided that we had naught to fear; for we had fair waythrough the water, and further, it did not seem reasonable to supposethat we should have aught to fear from the habitants of theweed-continent, at so great a distance as the half of a mile. And so westood on; for, once past the point, there was much likelihood of the weedtrending away to the Eastward, and if this were so, we could square-inimmediately and get the wind upon our quarter, and so make better way.
Now it was the bo'sun's watch from eight of the evening until midnight,and I, with another man, had the lookout until four bells. Thus itchanced that, coming abreast of the point during our time of watching,we peered very earnestly to leeward; for the night was dark, having nomoon until nearer the morning; and we were full of unease in that we hadcome so near again to the desolation of that strange continent. Andthen, suddenly, the man with me clutched my shoulder, and pointed intothe darkness upon our bow, and thus I discovered that we had come nearerto the weed than the bo'sun and the second mate had intended; they,without doubt, having miscalculated our leeway. At this, I turned andsang out to the bo'sun that we were near to running upon the weed, and,in the same moment, he shouted to the helmsman to luff, and directlyafterwards our starboard side was brushing against the great outlyingtufts of the point, and so, for a breathless minute, we waited. Yet theship drew clear, and so into the open water beyond the point; but I hadseen something as we scraped against the weed, a sudden glimpse ofwhite, gliding among the growth, and then I saw others, and, in amoment, I was down on the main-deck, and running aft to the bo'sun; yetmidway along the deck a horrid shape came above the starboard rail, andI gave out a loud cry of warning. Then I had a capstan-bar from the racknear, and smote with it at the thing, crying all the while for help, andat my blow the thing went from my sight, and the bo'sun was with me, andsome of the men.
Now the bo'sun had seen my stroke, and so sprang upon the t'gallant rail,and peered over; but gave back on the instant, shouting to me to run andcall the other watch, for that the sea was full of the monsters swimmingoff to the ship, and at that I was away at a run, and when I had wakedthe men, I raced aft to the cabin and did likewise with the second mate,and so returned in a minute, bearing the bo'sun's cutlass, my owncut-and-thrust, and the lantern that hung always in the saloon. Now whenI had gotten back, I found all things in a mighty scurry--men runningabout in their shirts and drawers, some in the galley bringing fire fromthe stove, and others lighting a fire of dry weed to leeward of thegalley, and along the starboard rail there was already a fierce fight,the men using capstan-bars, even as I had done. Then I thrust thebo'sun's cutlass into his hand, and at that he gave a great shout, partof joy, and part of approbation, and after that he snatched the lanternfrom me, and had run to the larboard side of the deck, before I was wellaware that he had taken the light; but now I followed him, and happy itwas for all of us in the ship that he had thought to go at that moment;for the light of the lantern showed me the vile faces of three of theweed men climbing over the larboard rail; yet the bo'sun had cleft themor ever I could come near; but in a moment I was full busy; for therecame nigh a dozen heads above the rail a little aft of where I was, andat that I ran at them, and did good execution; but some had been aboard,if the bo'sun had not come to my help. And now the decks were full oflight, several fires having been lit, and the second mate having broughtout fresh lanterns; and now the men had gotten their cutlasses, the whichwere more handy than the capstan-bars; and so the fight went forward,some having come over to our side to help us, and a very wild sight itmust have seemed to any onlooker; for all about the decks burned thefires and the lanterns, and along the rails ran the men, smiting athideous faces that rose in dozens into the wild glare of our fightinglights. And everywhere drifted the stench of the brutes. And up on thepoop, the fight was as brisk as elsewhere; and here, having been drawn bya cry for help, I discovered the buxom woman smiting with a gory meat-axeat a vile thing which had gotten a clump of its tentacles upon her dress;but she had dispatched it, or ever my sword could help her, and then, tomy astonishment, even at that time of per
il, I discovered the captain'swife, wielding a small sword, and the face of her was like to the face ofa tiger; for her mouth was drawn, and showed her teeth clenched; but sheuttered no word nor cry, and I doubt not but that she had some vague ideathat she worked her husband's vengeance.
Then, for a space, I was as busy as any, and afterwards I ran to thebuxom woman to demand the whereabouts of Mistress Madison, and she, in avery breathless voice, informed me that she had locked her in her roomout of harm's way, and at that I could have embraced the woman; for I hadbeen sorely anxious to know that my sweetheart was safe.
And, presently, the fight diminished, and so, at last, came to an end,the ship having drawn well away from the point, and being now in theopen. And after that I ran down to my sweetheart, and opened her door,and thus, for a space, she wept, having her arms about my neck; for shehad been in sore terror for me, and for all the ship's company. But,soon, drying her tears, she grew very indignant with her nurse for havinglocked her into her room, and refused to speak to that good woman fornear an hour. Yet I pointed out to her that she could be of very greatuse in dressing such wounds as had been received, and so she came back toher usual brightness, and brought out bandages, and lint, and ointment,and thread, and was presently very busy.
Now it was later that there rose a fresh commotion in the ship; for ithad been discovered that the captain's wife was a-missing. At this, thebo'sun and the second mate instituted a search; but she was nowhere to befound, and, indeed, none in the ship ever saw her again, at which it waspresumed that she had been dragged over by some of the weed men, and socome upon her death. And at this, there came a great prostration to mysweetheart so that she would not be comforted for the space of nigh threedays, by which time the ship had come clear of those strange seas, havingleft the incredible desolation of the weed-continent far under ourstarboard counter.
And so, after a voyage which lasted for nine and seventy days sincegetting under weigh, we came to the Port of London, having refused alloffers of assistance on the way.
Now here, I had to say farewell to my comrades of so many months andperilous adventures; yet, being a man not entirely without means, Itook care that each of them should have a certain gift by which toremember me.
And I placed monies in the hands of the buxom woman, so that she couldhave no reason to stint my sweetheart, and she having--for the comfort ofher conscience--taken her good man to the church, set up a little houseupon the borders of my estate; but this was not until Mistress Madisonhad come to take her place at the head of my hall in the County of Essex.
Now one further thing there is of which I must tell. Should any,chancing to trespass upon my estate, come upon a man of very mightyproportions, albeit somewhat bent by age, seated comfortably at the doorof his little cottage, then shall they know him for my friend thebo'sun; for to this day do he and I fore-gather, and let our talk driftto the desolate places of this earth, pondering upon that which we haveseen--the weed-continent, where reigns desolation and the terror of itsstrange habitants. And, after that, we talk softly of the land where Godhath made monsters after the fashion of trees. Then, maybe, my childrencome about me, and so we change to other matters; for the little oneslove not terror.
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