Chapter 11. Needham's Narrative...

________________________________________________
_ CHAPTER ELEVEN. NEEDHAM'S NARRATIVE--THE DROGHER DRIVEN OFF FROM SABA--CAPSIZED--THE MIDSHIPMEN SAVE THEMSELVES ON HER SIDE--TAKEN OFF BY THE SARAH JANE--STEER FOR CARTHAGENA--THE COLONEL ON SHORE--LOOK OUT FOR HIS RETURN.

"You remember that night at Saba, Mr Higson, when the three young gentlemen and I were left aboard the drogher, and you and the other gentlemen went ashore to look after Captain Quasho, as he called himself, and his rascally black crew," began Needham, who having recovered his voice, was inclined to make good use of it by spinning a long yarn.

"I should think I did, indeed," said Higson; "but go ahead, Dick: we want to hear how you and they were saved, for I had little hope that you would be, when I saw the drogher driven away from her anchorage by the hurricane."

"Nor had I, sir, I can tell you; but I've always held that there's nothing like trying to do one's best, in however bad a way one may seem to be," continued Needham. "I saw that there was only one thing we could do, and that was to run before the wind, and to try and keep the craft above water. As to beating back, I knew that the old drogher would either have capsized, or been driven on the rocks, if we had made the attempt so I took the helm, got a foot of the foresail hoisted, the hatches battened down, told the young gentlemen to lash themselves to the rigging, if they didn't wish to be washed overboard, and let the craft scud. It was precious dark, except every now and then, when the flashes of lightning darted from the clouds and went zigzagging along on either side of us, casting a red glare on the tops of the black seas, from which the foam was blown off just for all the world as if a huge white sheet had been drawn over them. The spoondrift, too, came straight along our deck, over the taffrail, as if it would cut our legs off; for, though we flew at a pretty good rate, it flew faster. As every now and then I turned my head I couldn't help thinking that one of thy big seas which came roaring on astern just for all the world like one of the savage monsters I've heard tell of, eager to swallow us up, would break down on the deck, and send us in a jiffy to the bottom. I didn't care so much about it for myself as for the brave young lads, likely to be admirals one of these days; but not a cry nor a word of complaint did I hear from them. Mr Rogers, maybe, was the most plucky, as he seemed to feel that it was his duty to set an example to his messmates; and I could hear his voice every now and then, as they all stood close together, lashed to the starboard rigging, and when the lightning flashed I could just get a glimpse of their faces, looking pale as death--not from fear, though, but contrasted, as it were, with the darkness around. I had made myself fast you may be sure; for I shouldn't have been long on the deck if I hadn't, as not once, but many a time a sea came tumbling over first one quarter, then the other; and, though it was but just the top of it, we should all of us have been swept overboard, and if the hatches hadn't been battened down, the old drogher would have gone to the bottom. We had managed to light the binnacle lamp before we got from under the land, and I saw by the compass that we were driving about south-east, so that I had no fear of being cast on the shore of any other island, and I hoped, if we could weather out the gale, that we might beat back to Saba. On we ran hour after hour. It seemed to me the longest night I'd ever passed since I came to sea. The wonder was that the drogher still kept afloat; but she was tight and light as a cork--now she was on the top of one sea, now climbing up the side of another. One comfort was that the longest night must come to an end, and that the hurricane could not last for ever. We were, I judged, too, on the skirts of it, and that if we stood on we should in time get beyond its power. It required pretty careful steering to keep the wind right aft, for if I had brought it ever so little abeam the vessel would have gone clean over in a moment. I was thankful, you may be sure, when daylight came at last--not that the prospect round us was a pleasant one. The big seas were rolling and leaping, and tumbling about like mad, on every side hissing and roaring, and knocking their white heads together, as if they didn't know what they would be at. It was a hard job to steer clear of the worst; it was often Dobson's choice, and many came with such a plump down on the deck that I thought after all we should be sent to Davy Jones's locker; but the lively little craft managed to run her nose up the next mountain sea, and to shake herself clear of the water, just as a Newfoundland dog does when he gets ashore after a swim. The only pleasant sight was to see the young gentlemen standing where they had been all night, and keeping up their spirits.

"'We are getting precious hungry, Dick,' sung out Mr Rogers, 'I'm thinking of going below to find some grub.'

"'No, no; just stay safe where you are, sir,' I answered. 'If you let go your hold, maybe that moment we shall have a sea come aboard us and carry you away with it, or if the companion hatch is lifted it may make its way below and swamp us.'

"'All right, Dick; we can manage to hold out for a few hours more,' cried the other two. 'Don't think of going, Tom; we wouldn't have you run the risk for our sakes.'

"From the gnawings in my own stomach I knew that the poor youngsters must be very sharp set. However, it seemed to me that the wind was somewhat less than it had been, and I hoped that in a few hours more the hurricane would be over, or that we should be out of it. I told them so, and I soon heard them laughing and talking as if nothing particular out of the way was happening. Well, in a couple of hours or so the wind fell, and I saw that we must have the foresail set, or run the chance of being pooped. I told them what I wanted, and casting off their lashings they all sprang together to the halyards, and soon had the sail hoisted and the sheet belayed. They then made their way aft.

"'Now I think we've earned our breakfasts,' says Mr Rogers, and slipping off the companion hatch he dived below, while the other two stood ready to draw it over again, in case a sea should come aboard us. He quickly returned with some bread, meat, a bottle of wine, and a basket of fruit. They wouldn't touch anything till they had fed me, for they said I had had the hardest work, and saved their lives. My hands, you see, had still enough to do in working the tiller, and my eyes, too, for that matter, in keeping a watch on the seas; so all I could do was just to open my mouth and let them put the food into it. All I wanted was enough to keep body and soul together, and I then advised them to get back to the shrouds, and to make themselves fast as before, as there was no saying what might happen while the sea was tumbling about in its present fashion. 'You must take a swig of the wine first,' says Mr Rogers, in his cheery way, just like the lieutenant, his brother, holding the bottle to my mouth. I'd got a gulp or two of the liquor, keeping my weather eye open all the time, when I saw an ugly big sea come rolling up on our quarter. I sung out to the other two to hold fast to the companion hatch for their lives, while I got a grip of Mr Tom between one of my arms and the tiller. I couldn't avoid the sea. Right over us it came, pouring down the still open hatchway, and sweeping across the deck. I had Mr Tom safe enough, though the breath was half squeezed out of his body; but I was afraid the others would have been torn from their hold. Like brave-hearted youngsters as they are they had held fast, though over head and ears in water. 'Och, but the venison has gone on a cruise,' sung out Mr Desmond, as soon as the sea had passed clear of us, 'and some big brute of a shark will be making his breakfast of it.'

"'Better that he should eat that than us, Paddy,' said Mr Rogers; 'don't let's fret about it, for, to say the truth, it was rather too high to be pleasant.' He was right as to that; for the bits he put into my mouth had a very curious taste; but it wasn't a time to be particular, so I had taken what was given me, and said nothing. I was thankful when I saw that the three lads had safely lashed themselves to the starboard shrouds as before. The day was wearing on, and I was beginning to feel that I'd rather not have to stand on my legs much longer, though the hope that the hurricane would quickly blow itself out kept me up. At last, I calculated about seven bells in the afternoon watch, it fell almost a dead calm, though we happily kept steerage way on the craft, for the sea tumbled about almost as madly as before, and it was a difficult job to prevent its breaking aboard. However we managed to set the mainsail, and I hoped we should soon have smoother water.

"One never can tell what tricks the wind will play. Suddenly, as you may see sometimes a hulking giant knock down a little chap with a blow of his fist, a sea struck the drogher on the starboard beam; and before a sheet could be let fly over she went. It was a mercy that the three young gentlemen were holding on at the time to the weather rigging. They all scrambled in a moment on to the chains, where I, making my way along the bulwarks, quickly joined them. I can't say that they were frightened exactly, but they didn't like it, which was but natural; no more did I.

"'What's going to happen next?' asked Mr Rogers quite calmly.

"'The hatches being on, the craft won't fill, and maybe when the squall has passed over another sea may right her,' I answered, as I saw that there was a chance of that happening.

"The squall didn't last ten minutes, and directly afterwards there was a flat calm, and the sea went down wonderfully fast. Still the drogher lay over on her side and gave no signs of righting. Mr Desmond proposed cutting away the mast.

"'That mightn't help us,' I answered; 'I've an idea that the ballast has shifted over to port, and that with the water in her keeps the craft down. We must wait till the sea is smooth, and then we'll get the companion hatch off and have a look below; we may be able to bale the water out, and shift enough of the ballast to right her; but as long as the sea is running it's safer to trust to Providence, and to hold on with hands and teeth where we are, and--

"'Poor Spider, I'm afraid he'll have an uncomfortable time of it, left all alone in the dark below, and not knowing what can have happened to the vessel,' said Mr Rogers, as if he thought the monkey more to be pitied than himself or us.

"The poor brute had been made fast below, to keep him out of mischief, when they went on shore, and had remained there since. I had an idea that he was very likely drowned if he was over on the lee side, but I didn't say so for fear of grieving his young masters. Thinks I to myself, if we are hard up for grub, whether dead or alive, he'll serve us for a meal or two at all events.

"Having no longer the steering of the craft to attend to, as evening drew on I began to feel very drowsy, and it made me fear that the youngsters, who would be getting sleepy, likewise, to a certainty might drop off into the water and be drowned, or be grabbed by a shark. The thought had no sooner come into my head than I saw one of the brutes swimming by and casting his two wicked eyes up at us. I roused myself up in a moment, and getting hold of some lashings, pointed him out to the young gentlemen. When I told them what I feared, they did not object to my making them all fast to the chains with their legs along the shrouds. I afterwards secured myself close to them on the bulwarks. I hadn't been there many minutes before I went off into a sort of sleep, though it wasn't exactly sleep, because I knew where I was, and never forgot what had happened. I could hear, too, the voices of my young companions, trying by talking to keep each other awake, though it was a hard job for them, poor lads. The seas, do ye see, had been washing over us all the time, and even now, though they broke less heavily than before, pretty often nearly smothered us, but even they could not make me keep my eyes open. Darkness soon came down upon the ocean, but it was growing calmer and calmer, and I could feel that the vessel was no longer tossed and tumbled about, while the voices of the midshipmen ceased to sound in my ears. I tried to rouse myself up. That was, however, more than I could do, and at last I dropped off into a real sound sleep. When I awoke the vessel lay as quietly as in a mill-pond, and not a sound was to be heard except the soft lap of the water against the hull. I couldn't even hear the breathing of the midshipmen, and for a moment the dreadful thought came to me that they were dead, or had got loose somehow or other, and had slipped into the sea. I lifted myself up so that I could reach the shrouds. There they were safe enough, and all as fast asleep as they could have been in their hammocks. I wouldn't awake them, as I thought the sleep would do them good. I myself had no wish to go to sleep again, so I sat up watching the bright stars shining out of the clear sky, and thinking whether it would be possible to get the vessel righted; and if not, what chance there was if we could form a raft of reaching one of the islands, or falling in with a passing vessel. To my mind a man's a coward who cries die while there's life in him, and I determined, with the help of Him who I knew right well looks after poor Jack, to do my best to save myself and the young midshipmen. These things gave me enough to think about for the rest of that long night. At last the light of day came back, the stars grew dim, and presently the sun, like a huge ball of fire, with a blaze of red all around him over the sky, rose out of the glass-like sea. I knew that it was going to be blazing hot, and that we should feel it terribly. The midshipmen awaking, were much surprised to find that it was light again already, and couldn't believe that they had slept through the night. Having cast off their lashings they began to move about to stretch their cramped limbs, not that there was much space for that.

"'Now, messmates,' said Mr Rogers, 'there's one thing we ought to do before we think of anything else, and that is, to thank God for having preserved us through the night, and to pray to Him to protect us, and to take us ashore in safety. Needham, you'll join us, I know.'

"'Of course, I will, sir,' says I, and well pleased I was to hear the youngster speak in that way without any shamefacedness. It was just what I'd been thinking, for if a man dare not ask God to help him, he must be in a bad way indeed.

"Without another word we all knelt on the side of the vessel, and a right good honest prayer did Mr Rogers offer up. No parson or bishop either could have prayed a better, though he might have put more words into it. The young gentleman, do ye see, knew exactly what we all wanted, and that's just what he asked God to give us, and no more.

"'And now, Needham, what do you consider is the first thing we ought to do?' said Mr Rogers, as soon as he had finished.

"'Let us try and get some water,' sang out Mr Desmond. 'I'm terribly thirsty, I could drink a bucketful if I had it.

"'So could I, for my thrapple is as dry as a dustbin,' added Mr Gordon.

"'As to that, I am not better than either of you,' says Mr Rogers, 'but I thought that I'd try to hold out as long as I could.'

"'Well,' says I, 'I'll make my way below and see what I can bring up. Water will be better than wine or spirits, and if I can find any you shall have it.'

"'No, no, Needham, you stay where you are,' says Mr Rogers. 'Just pass a rope aft and I'll make it fast round my waist till I can get the hatch off. The water is pretty well up to the coamings already, and my weight won't make the difference which yours might.'

"He seemed to think that there was more danger than I did--that the weight of a single man might capsize the craft altogether. I believed that if we had all gone below together it wouldn't have mattered. However, I did as he ordered me. It was a sliding-hatch, you remember, and he soon got it off far enough to let himself down into the cabin. We all sat watching for him to come back again. At last I heard his voice singing out to me to hoist away. Looking down I saw him seated on the companion hatch with Master Spider, the monkey clinging to his neck while he was making fast the end of the rope to a basket full of all sorts of things which he had collected below. I hauled it up, and he followed with Spider.

"'Water! water!' cried the others.

"'I couldn't find a drop,' he answered, 'but I've brought some oranges and a bottle of wine. It's the last in the locker, so we must take care how we use it.' There was just one orange apiece, and for my part I'd have given a five-pound note for mine rather than go without it. As to the wine we couldn't touch it, though we were glad of some before long. The only solid food we had was biscuit, for the fish and venison had gone bad, and we were not sharp set enough to eat it; but then we had, besides the oranges, several sorts of fruit; their outlandish names I never can remember. Though they didn't put much strength into us they were what we wanted, seeing that we had no water to moisten our throats. Still, while they and the biscuits lasted, and the monkey Spider to fall back on, I wasn't afraid of starving, though I didn't say anything to the young gentlemen about him, as I knew they wouldn't like the thoughts of feeding on their pet. When we had finished our breakfasts we began to talk of what we had best do. We had the choice of three things, to try and right the drogher, to make a raft out of her spars and upper works, or to sit quietly where we were till some vessel should come by and take us off. At last I got leave from Mr Rogers to go below, and judge what chance there was of righting the craft. I soon saw that without buckets we should never be able to bale her out. There wasn't one to be found, nor would the pump work, while, as I had guessed, the ballast had shifted over to the port side, so till we could free her of water we couldn't reach that; besides, it would have been a difficult matter to get it back to its place. As I was groping about in the hold I came upon two water-casks. Here is a prize I thought, but the bungs were out, and the only water in them was salt. At last I went back with my report.

"'Then we must set to and build a raft,' said Mr Rogers, nothing daunted.

"'How are we to cut away the spars and bulwarks without axes?' asked Mr Gordon. 'It would be a hard job to do it with our knives and hands.'

"'You are right, my boy, and faith, the only thing we can do that I can see is to sit quiet, and wait till Providence sends us help,' says Mr Desmond, quite calmly. 'We should be thankful that the old tub keeps above water.

"We were all agreed as to this. When I came to think of it, I saw that without a single axe or tool of any sort there was no hope of making a raft fit to carry tins, though it had seemed possible to me in the night-time, when I was half asleep. The midshipman was right, all we could do was to sit quiet, and look out for a sail. I made another trip below, and got up some more biscuit and fruit and three pots of preserves, which were very welcome, and some nuts for Spider. These we put into the basket, which was secured to the rigging. I then shut to the companion hatch, and sat down on the bulwarks. The sun soon dried out clothes, but we shouldn't have minded having them wet to have escaped the heat. As the sun rose in the sky it grew hotter and hotter, but not a word of complaint did the young gentlemen utter. All day long they sat talking to each other, or amusing themselves with Spider. They kept him fast by his chain for fear of his slipping off the vessel's side. If he had done so he would have been down the throat of a shark in an instant, for the brutes had found us out, and I saw half a score at a time cruising round the wreck as if they expected a feast before long. It wasn't pleasant, and I couldn't help sometimes thinking that they would not be disappointed. I kept my eye turning round the horizon in the hopes of seeing the signs of a breeze which might bring up a vessel to our help. I looked in vain. The ocean shone like a sheet of glass--not a cat's-paw even for a moment played over its surface. We ate but little, even the fruit did not take away our thirst. It was water we wanted, and without it the rum, of which we had plenty, was of no use. It tasted like fire when we put it to our lips, so the young gentlemen would not touch it.

"The scorching day came to an end at last. The night gave us some relief, and then Mr Rogers served out half a glass of wine to each of us with our biscuit and fruit. We made ourselves fast to the rigging as we had done the night before, and the midshipmen went to sleep with Spider nestling down among them, just as if they had been accustomed to it all their lives. Before I could close my eyes I made certain that they were secure--I don't mean to say that they slept all the night through. I several times heard them talking, and even joking, trying to keep up each other's spirits, and then they would get drowsy and go to sleep, and then rouse up again and have another yarn. I couldn't sleep many minutes together, for I couldn't help thinking of what might befall the poor young gentlemen if the calm was to continue, for the fruit was spoiling, we had only an orange apiece for the next morning, and the wine and dry biscuit without water wouldn't keep life in them many hours, while another day's sun was striking down on their heads--I might hold out long after they were gone. This was the thing that troubled me. I couldn't lie quiet, and I was every ten minutes getting up and looking round, though I knew well enough that without wind no vessel could come near us. Towards morning I fell asleep for a longer spell. I was awoke by the sun coming into my eyes, and looking round what should I see but Master Spider sitting close to the basket of provisions, sucking away at an orange in his paws. I shouted out to the rascal, who only looked up and grinned and chattered as much as to say, 'I want my breakfast as much as you do.' My voice awoke his masters, who starting up, saw what their friend was about. The rascal had already eaten two of our precious oranges, and had just begun a third. When Mr Rogers took it from him, Master Spider seemed to think he was very hardly treated, and grinned, and chattered, and tried to get hold of it again.

"'There's no use punishing the poor brute,' said the young gentleman; 'he only acted according to his nature, and of course he thinks that he has as much right to the fruit as we have, only he ought not to have taken more than his proper share.'

"Those two oranges, with some biscuit, served us for breakfast, and after that, except the remainder of the wine and some rum, we hadn't a drop of liquid to drink. The sea was as calm and the sun as hot as the day before, and we all soon became fearfully thirsty. Unable to bear it longer I again went below to have another search for water. I looked into every locker; I hunted through the hold, and examined every hole and corner in the forepeak, but to no purpose. I discovered, however, what made me more uneasy than ever--that the water was leaking in through the deck. It came in very slowly, but I had marked a line when I was down before, and I found since then that it had risen nearly half an inch. I couldn't hide from myself that the vessel was sinking. I said nothing about it to the young gentlemen when, having shut the hatch, I climbed back to my place. It went to my heart to hear them still joking and laughing, in spite of their hunger and thirst, when I thought that in two or three days at furthest their merry voices would be silenced by death. They didn't keep up their joking long, for as the sun got higher the heat became greater, and roasted out their spirits, as it were, poor fellows, in spite of what each one in turn did to keep them up. Spider was the only one of the party who was as merry as ever, for the heat didn't hurt him, and he kept frisking about to the end of his chain, trying, when he thought he was not watched, to get at the basket to see if there were any more oranges or any other fruit to his taste in it.

"'Well, Needham, don't you think matters will mend soon?' says Mr Rogers to me, seeing that I had been sitting silent and downcast for a long time. 'We surely shall have a breeze before the evening, and some craft or other coming to look for us.' For the life of me I couldn't say 'yes.' I shook my head--I was beginning to lose all hope. At noon Mr Rogers served out half a glass of wine to each of us and some biscuit. This put a little more life into me, and I again took to thinking whether we could form a raft with the bulkheads and lining of the cabin, which we might tear away by main strength, and the two empty water-casks, and the hatches, and the gaff and boom. The job would be to lash them together; for though we might stand on the bulwarks which were under water, there would be no small danger of being carried off by the sharks swarming round us. At all events, if the craft was to sink, as I made no doubt she would, we should have a struggle for life, instead of going down with her and being eaten up by the sharks. It cost me a good deal to say it, but at last I told the young gentlemen that I was sure the vessel wouldn't float much longer, and what I proposed doing.

"'Don't let us lose any time about doing it, then,' says Mr Rogers, jumping up as brisk as possible; 'we'll get the two casks from below, and lash the stoutest pieces of board we can tear from the bulkheads on the top of them. This will make a small raft, and I will go out on it and cut away the gaff and get out the topmast.'

"While he was speaking I saw him turn his eye to the eastward.

"'See! see there comes the breeze; and look--yes, I am sure of it--a sail! a sail!'

"He was right. Just rising above the dark blue line which marked the coming breeze were the royals of a vessel, standing directly towards us; her topgallant-sails quickly appeared, and in a short time we could see half-way down her topsails. We were so eagerly watching her that we forgot all about the raft we had intended putting together. The young gentlemen made no doubt that the stranger would pass close to us, but I had my fears that, low down as we were, we might not be seen. This made me sorry that we had not built the small raft, that one of us might paddle off to the stranger should she seem as if about to pass at any moderate distance from us. As there was still time I made my way below to bring up the casks. As I was feeling for them in the hold my legs struck against a pretty long spar. I hauled it out and handed it up to the midshipmen. 'This will serve as a signal-staff,' I said; 'it will give us a good chance of being seen by the stranger, and I'll try to find a flag.' The drogher's ensign was in an after-locker. We soon made it fast to the spar, which we then set up. By this time we could see that the stranger was a brig, and unless she altered her course that she would not pass very far from us. On she quickly came; cat's-paws were already playing over the smooth water; presently the breeze itself struck our cheeks. How cool and pleasant it felt; hunger and thirst were forgotten. The midshipmen tried to shout--their hollow voices showed how much they had suffered. I wasn't quite so happy as they were, for it seemed to me that the brig would pass not much short of a mile from us, and that we might not after all be seen. I couldn't help saying so.

"'Sooner than that I'll swim off to her,' says Mr Rogers.

"'You forget the sharks, sir,' I answered.

"Just then the brig, altering her course, stood directly for us. We were seen; of that there could be no doubt. We all stood up, and waved and shouted at the top of our voices; even Spider, who sprang up on the shoulders of Mr Rogers, seemed to understand that there was something in the wind, and chattered and grinned with delight.

"The brig was a large, rakish craft, with a black hull, and as I looked at her I had some doubts about her character. It struck me, indeed, that she was the same wicked-looking vessel I had seen come into English Harbour the day we sailed in the drogher. However, we couldn't be worse off aboard her than we were, and I couldn't suppose that any human beings would leave us to perish. Before long she let fly her topgallant-sails and royals, clewed up her topsails and courses, and a boat was lowered, which pulled towards us.

"'We must not leave our change of clothes behind us,' says Mr Gordon. 'My carpet-bag is in the starboard berth.'

"'I'll get the bags for you, young gentlemen,' says I, for I did not like to trust any of them below again, for fear of accidents. I jumped down as I said this, and by the time, after groping about for them, I had got hold of the three bags, the boat was alongside.

"'Jump in, my lads,' sung out the mate in charge of her; 'we have no time to stop.'

"The young gentlemen and Master Spider had scrambled down into her. 'We are not going without Needham, though,' they all sang out together, just as I got my head up the companion hatch.

"'What, is there another of you?' said the mate. 'Be smart, my man, or I must leave you behind.'

"'Thank you, sir, but I would rather go,' says I, as I made a leap into the boat, with the carpet-bags, just as the bow-man was shoving off. While we were pulling for the brig the mate asked how we came to be there. Mr Rogers told him in a few words.

"'I heard say in English Harbour that you were supposed to be lost,' he observed.

"I was then sure that the brig was the craft I had seen there. We were soon alongside. Who should we see as we stepped on deck but the old colonel and his daughter, and the little black girl Polly, who came with us from Trinidad. They seemed mightily pleased at finding that we were not drowned; especially the young lady, who told the midshipmen how anxious every one on board the frigate had been about them. Mr Rogers had to go over the whole story again.

"'It's pleasant to find that we are of some account in the world,' says Mr Desmond, in his offhand Irish way; 'but if you please, Miss O'Regan, we are as hungry as hounds, and as thirsty as hippopotami, and I'm sure you'll say a good word to get us something to eat and drink.'

"'Bless my heart,' exclaimed the colonel, 'I forgot, my boys, that you had been hanging on to the drogher's bottom for the last three days, on short allowance.'

"'Yes, sir,' says I, thinking it was as well to speak on my own account, for he didn't seem to understand that I had been with them; 'the young gentlemen and I had nothing to stow away in our insides all that time but hard tack and rotten fruit.'

"'You shall have supper, then, this moment, my lads,' says the colonel, and having shouted to the steward to put some food on the table, he invited the midshipmen to go below.

"'And I hope this poor man, who has suffered as much as they have, may come too,' says the young lady, and I blessed her sweet face as she spoke.

"'Of course,' says the colonel, 'he might fare but badly forward.'

"The skipper, a dark-looking chap, who had been walking the deck all the time, scarcely stopping to welcome us aboard, looked daggers at me, but I didn't mind him.

"'Come along, Needham, you saved our lives, and should be the first attended to,' says Mr Rogers kindly to me; I, of course, know my place, and that it isn't for the likes of me to sit down to table with my betters; but just then, if the Queen herself had asked me to take a snack with her, I'd have said, 'Yes, marm, please your ladyship, with the greatest pleasure in the world.'

"The steward soon had all sorts of good things on the table, but there was one above all others I wanted most, and that was a big jug of water; I could have put it to my mouth and drained it dry. The young gentlemen filled up their tumblers, and passed on the jug to me.

"'Stop,' says the colonel, 'you shall temper the water with claret.' But before he could finish speaking, the glasses were drained dry. We held them out again, however, and the colonel and the young lady filled them up, half-and-half, with wine and water. This brought back our appetites, and we turned to with a will, the colonel's daughter filling up our plates with a smile, to watch how we ate. When I'd had enough I got up and made my bow, and the colonel told the steward to get me a berth somewhere, as he was sure I should be glad to turn in and take a snooze. He was right, for my eyes were winking, and the young gentlemen were pretty nigh asleep in their chairs. There were two spare cabins, and they were in them, with their eyes shut, before I had made my last scrape and bow at the cuddy-door. The steward told me to turn into his cot, and it didn't take me long before I was as sound asleep as I ever was in my life. When I turned out the next morning, I found that the young gentlemen were still snoozing away. They didn't turn out till noon, and even then they kept rubbing their eyes as if they hadn't had enough sleep yet. Otherwise, they seemed in no way the worse for what they had gone through. In the meantime, the young lady had sent for me aft, and asked all sorts of questions about our cruise, which Mr Rogers hadn't told her, and spoke ever so kindly to me. I thought as she was talking that there wasn't anything in the world I wouldn't do for her. The colonel also had his say, and after telling me that he was sure I was a brave, trustworthy fellow, asked me should I like to go ashore with him, and assist him in an adventure he had in hand. I answered, that though I liked a spree on shore as well as others, that it was my duty to stick by the three young gentlemen to look after them, and to see them safe aboard the frigate again by the first opportunity. He seemed somewhat taken aback, and said nothing more.

"The dark-looking skipper, Captain Crowhurst they called him, hadn't as much as spoken to me, nor had the mate, and it's my belief that if it hadn't been for the colonel and his daughter they would have left us to perish on the wreck. There was something I didn't like in either of them, and I made sure that they were about no good. After I had spoken my mind to the colonel, he didn't seem quite as friendly as at first, though his daughter was just the same. The young gentlemen made themselves happy, as they were sure to do, with plenty of grub, and no watch to keep. The skipper, however, told me that as I couldn't be kept for nothing, I must go forward and do duty. Of course I said, 'Yes, sir; it's what I'm always ready for.' I managed to make friends with the ship's company, though they were a rough lot of blacks, browns, and whites, and while I remained aboard I worked as hard as any of them.

"We had fine weather, with light winds, and in about a fortnight we sighted this here coast. All the time we hadn't fallen in with any vessel bound for Jamaica, or indeed any English craft. Instead of steering for Carthagena, or one of the larger places, we put into a small harbour, called Sapote, some miles away from the chief town. I forgot to say that the day after we were taken off the wreck we had fallen in with a sloop, the _Billy_, which kept company with us, and now anchored astern of the brig. The skipper of the _Billy_ came aboard, and from the way he and the colonel and Captain Crowhurst talked, I guessed that there was something in the wind. As soon as it was dark, a boat from the shore came off, bringing an officer-like looking Spaniard, who shook hands with the colonel as if they were old friends. The colonel introduced the skipper to the stranger, and after another long talk we were ordered to get up a number of cases from the hold, and to lower them into the boat alongside. Two of our boats, with one from the sloop, were then got ready, with their crews all armed. The colonel and the stranger went in one of them, and the two skippers in the other, leaving the mate in charge. Just as they were ready to shove off, the colonel and his daughter came on deck, followed by the three midshipmen."

"'Oh, father, may Heaven protect you, but I cannot help trembling for the danger you run,' I heard the young lady say.

"'No danger at all,' he answered, in a cheery tone; 'and I am sure that my three young friends here will take very good care of you.'

"'That we will, that we will;' they all cried out together, and thinks I to myself, 'and so will I as long as I've an arm to strike with, or a head to think what to do.'

"Away the boats pulled into the darkness; there wasn't a light to be seen on shore; indeed, there didn't appear to be many houses thereabouts. Mr Rogers came on deck again after the young lady and they had gone below.

"'I am sorry to find the brig engaged in this sort of work,' he said; 'there is to be a rebellion or something of that sort on shore, and if the colonel is caught it will be a serious matter for him, and, what is worse still, for his daughter. What do you think of it, Needham?'

"'What you do, sir,' says I; 'I wish that he was safe aboard again, and that we were on our way back to Jamaica; but I don't think the skipper is likely to steer northward, till he has landed the whole of his cargo, and a good portion of it consists of arms and warlike stores.'

"While we were talking the mate came aft, and asked Mr Rogers, somewhat rudely, if he was going to take charge of the deck, while he ordered me forward.

"'I shall be very happy, if you wish it,' said Mr Rogers.

"'Maybe if you do the ship will run away with you, my lad,' said the mate, with a sneer.

"I didn't hear more, but I saw Mr Rogers walking the deck quite as if he didn't mind what the mate had said, and was officer of the watch. It was my opinion, from the way the skipper and first mate behaved to the young gentlemen and me, that they wanted us to leave the ship, so that we might not be spies on their actions. I waited till I saw the first mate go below and the second mate come on deck. He was a quiet sort of young man, and he and Mr Rogers were on friendly terms. I then went aft. They seemed anxious, from what they were saying, about the colonel not coming back by that time. While they were talking, the young lady, with Polly, came on deck, and heard some of their remarks before they knew she was near them.

"'Oh, Mr Rogers, do you really think the people on shore will interfere with my father?' she asked. 'He surely ought to have returned by this time.'

"'We are expecting him every moment, Miss O'Regan,' answered Mr Rogers, putting her off as it were, and not wishing to say what he thought. 'All seems perfectly quiet on shore.'

"The other young gentlemen had followed her on deck, and they all three tried to persuade her to go below again, telling her that they were afraid she might suffer from the night air. Still she stood looking out towards the shore; but no lights were seen, and no sound of oars could we hear. At last Mr Rogers said, just as if he was a grown man,--'You know, Miss O'Regan, that the colonel put you under our charge, and we must respectfully insist on your going below. You may suffer from the night air coming off the shore, and you cannot hasten the colonel's return by remaining on deck. We will let you know immediately he appears or that we can get tidings of him.'

"If it had been Lieutenant Rogers or the captain himself saying this, neither of them could have spoken more firmly.

"'I will do as you advise, and trust to your promise,' said the young lady, and she and her maid went below, helped down the companion ladder by Mr Gordon and Mr Desmond.

"After this one or the other was constantly coming on deck, sent by Miss O'Regan, to learn if the boats were returning. I felt somehow as if all was not right, and I could not bring myself to leave Mr Rogers, who didn't go below all night, except for a few minutes to get supper." _

Read next: Chapter 12. Needham's Narrative (continued)...

Read previous: Chapter 10. Cruise Of The Supplejack...

Table of content of Three Lieutenants


GO TO TOP OF SCREEN

Post your review
Your review will be placed after the table of content of this book