Crown and Anchor Part 27

We were, by this means, hauled up alongside until we were right below the quarter, with the side of our n.o.ble vessel towering above us like a great wall, and swinging over our heads; the creaking boat falls, oscillating backwards and forwards as if they were a couple of pendulums, rendering it very difficult to hook on the cutter, especially as she was lifted up one moment by a wave pa.s.sing under the keel to the main deck ports, and lowered the next down to the s.h.i.+p's bilge.

But, at last, the task was accomplished, and then at the pipe of the boatswain, which we could now hear more clearly than before, the cutter, with all her crew and pa.s.sengers still in her, was run up to the davits and secured, the s.h.i.+p at once filling and bearing away on her course again, now close-hauled on the starboard tack.

Captain Farmer was standing on the p.o.o.p talking with the commander when we gained the deck; and, as Mr Jellaby at once went up to them to make his report, while Dr Nettleby was busying himself with superintending the removal of the man we had rescued, who had not yet regained consciousness, down to the sick bay, a couple of other marines being called to help the corporal, I thought I might as well go below also and s.h.i.+ft my uniform, which was pretty nearly soaked through, making me feel very cold and uncomfortable.

This was a day of surprises.

For, no sooner had I got down to my chest in the steerage and begun to peel off my wet clothes, than Ned Anstruther came up to me.

I thought at first he was going to congratulate me on having got off from the wreck before she foundered, all on board, having, of course, seen her sink.

But, greatly to my astonishment, my watch-mate raised a rope's-end which he held in his outstretched hand and proceeded to lay it across my shoulders; the beggar giving me several sharp cuts with the "colt" ere I realised what he was up to.

"That will teach you not to supplant me and go in my boat again, you young rascal!" he cried, pegging away merrily with the rope's-end on my bare back. "I intend to give you one of the best thras.h.i.+ngs you ever had in your life for doing it!"

"What do you mean?" I exclaimed, trying to ward off the cuts with my arm. "Anstruther, you're mad, I think! I never wished to supplant you.

It was the commander who would not let you go in the cutter, not I."

"Oh, was it?" said he, ironically, still laying on as hard as he could with the rope's-end, which really stung me very much. "Well, as I can't lick him, my joker, I shall lick you!"

"Will you?" I retorted; and, finding expostulation of no avail, I tried retaliation, commencing now to hit out with my fists in return. "Two can play at that game, old fellow; and as you force me to do it, take that and that!"

My action followed suit to my words, as I gave him a smart "one, two"

with my left, which knocked him backwards against Mr Stormc.o.c.k just as the latter was coming out of the gunroom.

"Hullo, what is this?" cried the master's mate, as Ned Anstruther, cannoned off his stomach, sending him flying across the deck from the s.h.i.+p lurching. "Fighting again? By jingo, I never saw such a pack of young gamec.o.c.ks in my life. There was, cheeky little Tom Mills wanting to peg into that swab Andrews last night, and now here are you two at it hammer and tongs. Why, I thought you were chums and both of you in the same watch, the very closest of friends."

"Of course we are," said I, laughing at the comicality of the situation, which struck me all of a moment. "Anstruther and I are very good friends. I'm sure I don't want to do him any harm."

"So I should think," replied Mr Stormc.o.c.k, drily. "It looks uncommonly like it, judging by the way you are slogging each other about! But come now, I won't have any more of this. Shake hands and make it up at once, do you hear, or I'll report you to the commander."

"Why," exclaimed my antagonist, rubbing his eye ruefully, "Commander Nesbitt is the cause of it all!"

"Indeed!" said Mr Stormc.o.c.k, with a whistle of surprise at this extraordinary a.s.sertion. "How do you make that out?"

"Because he sent Jack Vernon in the first cutter in my place."

"Oh, you a.s.s! It was for that, then, that you were fighting this poor chap here, who I'm sure you ought to be grateful to for taking a very nasty job off your hands. See, he's not only wet to the skin, but narrowly escaped going to the bottom, as you know; and now, in return for this kindness, you try to wop him, and end in getting wopped instead yourself. Anstruther, you're an a.s.s, and more than that, you're an ungrateful a.s.s; and I've half a mind to thrash you myself for your conduct to Vernon!"

"I never thought of it in that light," said Ned, holding out his fist to me in a different fas.h.i.+on to that in which I had presented mine to him shortly before. "Let us be friends again, old chap. I'm very sorry I struck you, Jack; but I was so jealous of your going off in the cutter and angry at being left behind that I didn't think of what I was doing."

"Well, I'm sorry I hit you, too, my dear Ned," said I, shaking hands in a cordial grip. "I hope I didn't hurt you much."

"You've only given me a black eye, which will make me go on the sick list," he replied with a grin. "I can't very well appear on the quarter-deck with the 'Blue Peter' hoisted; for, the cap'en would notice it in a minute and ask me how I came by it."

"There would be no difficulty about that," interposed Mr Stormc.o.c.k; "you could tell him the commander gave it to you, for you said just now he was the cause of all the row, you know."

This made us both laugh, and dinner being now ready, Ned Anstruther and I went into the gunroom together as soon as I had completed my interrupted toilet.

Here, sitting side by side, the best of friends, and enjoying our pea soup, no one looking at us not in the secret would have readily imagined that any such "little unpleasantness," as I have described had just occurred between us two; though, I am happy to be able to state, this was our first and last quarrel, Ned and I remaining the closest chums ever after and never subsequently having even a word squabble.

During the afternoon, the wind veered to the north-west, blowing stronger after the sun pa.s.sed the meridian and increasing hourly so much in force that, at Four Bells, we hauled down the jib and close-reefed the spanker, the mizzen topsail being also taken in at the same time.

There was every indication of our having a gale, the barometer having fallen considerably since the morning; while the sea got up more and more and the horizon ahead became banked with a ma.s.s of blue-black clouds as dark as night, patches of lighter vapour also scudding rapidly across the sky.

At Six Bells things began to look serious, the wind now shrieking as it tore through the rigging and the heavy rolling waves to break inboard, was.h.i.+ng the decks fore and aft; so, the hands were turned up to furl the mainsail and take in the spanker.

This relieved the s.h.i.+p somewhat; but, as she still laboured very much, the topsails were close-reefed and a reef taken in the foresail, the men being almost blown off the yards when aloft while doing this and having hard work to get down safely on deck again when the job was done, the force of the gale being such that they were flattened against the rigging and had to hold on "by the skin of their teeth," as sailor folk say.

Even this amount of canvas, however, reduced though it was, presently proved too much for her; and the commander therefore gave the order to furl the foresail and haul down the foretopmast staysail, a storm staysail being set on the forestay to keep the vessel under steerage way as she tore through the tempest-tossed water like a maddened thing, rolling her gunwales under and pitching sometimes to that extent that she seemed about to dive into the deep never to rise again.

There were four men at the wheel; and yet, with all their exertion, it was impossible to preserve a straight course, for the s.h.i.+p yawed from side to side, as if seeking to escape the following seas that raced after her, rearing their threatening crests right over the taffrail.

So, fearing that we might get p.o.o.ped, we now furled the foretopsail and lay-to under our close-reefed maintopsail and storm staysails; thus awaiting what might further be in store for us, although it did not then seem possible that anything could be worse!

We were all soon undeceived, however, on this point; although we had about half-an-hour's let off, during which interval the commander and gunnery lieutenant employed themselves in having the guns secured with double breechings and stout seven-inch hawsers triced up along the decks in their rear, a separate tackle being bent on into this and pa.s.sing under the neck ring of each of the long thirty-two pounders, in order to prevent their taking charge and waltzing about amids.h.i.+ps when the vessel rolled.

Ay, and she did roll, too!

The decks also were battened down to keep out the floods of water, which she was continually taking in over the bows, from pa.s.sing too freely below, where a considerable quant.i.ty had already, indeed, gone, making us rather damp down in the steerage.

Lifelines were likewise rove on the p.o.o.p and upper deck, where it was now impossible to move a step without having something to lay hold of.

This was not only on account of the heavy lurches the vessel gave from port to starboard and then back again to port; but, the planks were wet and slippery, and besides, as she plunged and pitched, head to sea, great green, rolling waves would break on the forecastle and pour down into the waist, rus.h.i.+ng aft like a river and sweeping anyone off his legs who was caught unprepared.

The wind itself was blowing so strongly that I couldn't stand upright, having to shelter myself under the lee of the bulwarks when I was on the p.o.o.p.

But, this was nothing to what came later, old Boreas then putting a fresh hand to his bellows.

Hardly had the guns been properly secured and everything made snug and fast below and aloft, when the gale recommenced with tenfold violence; constant squalls bursting over the s.h.i.+p, accompanied by showers of hail that pattered on the planks like rifle bullets and took the skin off any fellow's face that was exposed to it without protection.

It made mine smart, I know!

In the midst of one of these sharp squalls, the maintopsail was blown to pieces with a report that sounded as if a gun had been fired off close to my ear; and, at the same moment, there was a loud crack heard from the top as if something had given way in addition to the sail.

Nothing, though, could be done about this for the moment, more pressing business being on hand; for, in consequence of the topsail giving, the s.h.i.+p's head payed off and getting into the hollow of the sea she precious nearly rolled her masts out her in less time than one could count.

"Down with that fore staysail," shouted the commander through his speaking trumpet. "Look alive man and set the topsail at once!"

His voice could not be distinguished beyond the length of the trumpet he roared through; but the boatswain's mates pa.s.sed on the order from hand to hand until it reached the first lieutenant and the master, both of whom were stationed forwards, where it was instantly acted on and the s.h.i.+p's head brought back to the wind.

After this the storm staysail was rehoisted and we lay-to again in comparative safety.

Mr Cleete, the carpenter, then went up into the maintop to see what had happened to cause the loud crack we had heard.

He came back from his perilous journey with the unwelcome news that the topsail yard had been sprung and was in a very ticklish state, the carpenter adding that the spar ought to be fished as soon as possible or it might part company.

It had to remain as it was, however, for the present, the commander not wis.h.i.+ng to peril the men's lives needlessly by sending them aloft unless it was absolutely necessary for the safety of the s.h.i.+p; for it was not any easy thing to s.h.i.+ft such a big spar as the topsail yard in a gale of wind. "If it chooses to go by the board before it could be seen to,"

said he, "why, well and good, go it must, that's all!"