Jack at Sea Part 17

"It meant that it was a deep-sea living creature. You'll find, if you look into such matters, sir, that things which live in very deep water generally have very large eyes to collect all the light they can."

"But yours were living on the top of the water," said Jack.

"To be sure," cried the doctor, giving Sir John a sharp glance. "Come, captain, that's a poser for you."

"Well, no, sir," replied the captain modestly, and with a quiet smile; "I think I can get over that. Perhaps you know that fish which live in very deep water, where the pressure is very great, cannot live if by any chance they are brought to the surface. The air-vessels in them swell out so that they cannot sink again, and they get suffocated and die."

"But if it was their natural habit to live in deep water," said Jack, "they would not come to the surface."

"If they could help it, sir," said the captain; "but when a creature of that kind is ill it may float toward the surface, and turn up as you see fishes sometimes. I fancy that my great lizard things are still existing in some places in the mud or bottom of the sea, that they are never seen unless they are in an unnatural state, and then they soon die, and get eaten up by the millions of things always on the look-out for food, and their bones sink."

"I should like to see one," said Jack thoughtfully.

"And I should like to show you one, sir," said the captain. "There's no knowing what we may see if we cruise about. Well, I'll promise you sea-snakes and whales and sharks. I can take you too where there are plenty of crocodiles for you to practise at with a rifle. Good practice too to rid the world of some of its dangerous beasts."

Jack shuddered, and wanted to say that he did not care to see anything of the kind, but he did not speak, and just then the captain rose from the table, drew up the blind, and looked out.

"There you are, sir," he said. "Come and look. The lads were ready enough when I told them to light up to-night. Looks nice, don't she?"

Jack followed to the window, to see that it was a glorious night, with the sky and sea spangled with gold, while out where he knew the yacht lay, there shone forth with dazzling brilliancy what seemed to be a silver star, and dotted about it, evidently in the rigging of the yacht, were about thirty lanterns of various colours, but only seeming to be like the modest beams of moons in attendance upon the pure white dazzling silver star.

The boy gazed in silence, impressed by the beauty of the scene, as the captain now quietly opened the window to admit the soft warm air from off the sea, while faintly heard came the sound of music from some pa.s.sing boat.

"How beautiful!" said Sir John, who had come unheard behind them.

"Yes, sir," said the captain quietly, "with the simple beauty of home; but you will have to see the grand sunrises and sunsets of tropic lands to fully understand the full beauty of G.o.d's ever-changing ocean. But even now, Mr Meadows, I think you can hardly say you don't like the sea."

Jack made no reply, but drew a deep breath which sounded like a sigh.

"Well, Jack," said Sir John, when they were about to retire that night, "what do you think of Captain Bradleigh?"

"I liked him better this evening, father," said the boy thoughtfully.

"He did not treat me as if I were a child, and he left off calling me 'young gentleman.'"

"Good-night, Meadows," said the doctor, a short time after; "I wish you weren't going to spend so much money, but Jack has had his first dose of medicine."

"Yes," said Sir John; "and it has begun to act."

CHAPTER EIGHT.

NED FEELS THE MOTION OF THE VESSEL.

All aboard after the preliminaries had been arranged in the most satisfactory way, Sir John's arrangements made, and Jack, like a dejected prisoner, taken down to Dartmouth one day, following Edward, who had gone on in advance with the last of the luggage.

He was waiting in the station when the train came in, looking as eager and excited as a boy, and as full of delight as his young master was depressed. Captain Bradleigh was there too, and one of the yacht's cutters hanging on at the pier, ready for rowing the party on board the _Silver Star_.

"The luggage, Edward?" said Sir John.

"All aboard, Sir John, and things ready in the cabins," said the man.

"Then see that our portmanteaus are placed in the boat."

"All in, Sir John. I set the porters to get 'em from the van."

"Come along then, Jack, let's take our plunge."

Jack gave a wild look round, his eyes full of despair, but he said nothing, only felt that he was bidding good-bye to home, land, ease, and comfort for ever, and followed his father to the boat.

Two hours after they were standing out to sea, with Jack, Sir John, and the doctor watching the receding sh.o.r.e, the two latter feeling some slight degree of compunction at the last; but Edward was below inspecting the cabins once more, and as soon as he had done this, in spite of the yacht beginning to heel over so that the cabin floor was a good deal higher on one side than the other, he folded his arms, frowned, set his teeth, and began the first steps of a hornpipe, but before he had gone far a lurch sent him head-first toward the port bulkhead. Here he saved himself by thrusting out his hands, turned, and began again.

"Very well, uphill if you like," he cried, and he danced from port toward starboard. But this time his legs seemed to have turned wild, and he staggered to right.

"Wo-ho! heave-ho! you lubbers!" he cried, and giving a lurch to right, but with desperate energy he saved himself from a fall, and tried to begin again.

"Now then," he cried, "from the beginning! Wo-ho! No, I mean yo-ho!"

he muttered. "Why, it's like trying to dance on horseback. Here goes again. Tiddly-um-tum-tum! Tiddle-liddle-iddle iddle-liddle iddle-rum-tum!"--"_Bang_."

Edward crashed against one of the little state-room doors, cannoned off, and came down sitting on the cabin floor.

"Oh, that's it, is it?" cried the man. "Well, if you're going to dance it, I'll wait till you've done."

"Anything the matter?" said a voice, and the steward came in.

"Nothing particular," said Sir John's man, "unless it's the yacht gone mad."

"Oh, this is nothing," said the steward. "A bit lively after being at anchor so long."

"Oh, that's it, is it?" said Edward, rising. "You'll soon get used to it. Not much of a sailor I suppose?"

"Not a bit of one, but mean to be. I say, who are you?"

"Steward, and I suppose you are to be my mate?"

"Oh, am I?" said Edward; "very well, anything for a change."

The steward turned and left the cabin, for there were steps, and directly after Jack appeared at the door, tried to walk steadily to a seat, but a sudden careening over sent him to port, and he would have fallen heavily if the man had not made an effort to save him, when they went down together, the man undermost.

"Quite welcome, sir," said Edward, struggling up and helping Jack to a seat. "Sorry I ain't a bit fatter, sir; only if I was you I'd hold on till I get used to it, in case I'm not always there to be buffer."

"Oh!" groaned Jack, whose face was ghastly.

"Why, Mr Jack, sir, don't look like that. You fight it down. Feel a bit queer?"

"Horrible, Ned. Help me to get to my berth."

"Oh, I wouldn't cave in, sir. It'll soon go off."