Chapter 11

The boat of the _Sovereign_ towing at the quarter came abreast us as we dropped back. Chips still standing and glaring at the ship, with rage in his voice and eyes.

He stooped down and lifted an oar as the small boat came alongside, and with a half-suppressed yell smote her with all his strength upon the gunwale. The oar crashed through nearly to the water line under the power of the stroke.

"Blast ye," he cried, "ye'll niver leave that ship alive," and he smote the boat again and again, crushing her down until she began to fill. Johnson took a hand also in spite of England and Journegan hauling away at the painter. Our men backed water so hard they held her back until the boat was hopelessly stove and had settled to the thwarts. Then we let go and drifted away, while the men aboard the _Sovereign_ hurled belaying-pins and gratings at us.

"A pleasant voyage to you," came the soft notes of Mr. Bell's voice; and then we rowed slowly away to the northward, leaving the _Sovereign_ a dark, sunken grisly thing against the moonlit sky.

"Rig the mast and sail," I said. "It's no use getting tired before the struggle comes. We're some six hundred miles out, and may not raise a vessel for days."

The oars were taken in, and the tarpaulin which had done duty for a sail was rigged. Under the pressure of the light air the whale-boat made steering-way and a little more. The moon now made the night as light as day, and although it was slightly chilly in this latitude, we suffered little from the exposure, each settling himself into the most comfortable position possible, and gazing back at the strange black outline of the wrecked ship. Her sunken decks and patched-up jury rig with the trysail set from the after-stay gave her an uncanny look, while her masts and spars with the set canvas seemed as black as ink against the light sky beyond. There she lay, a horrid, ghastly thing, wallowing along slowly toward a port she would never reach.

While I looked at her, Miss Sackett burst into a hard laugh which jangled hysterically. She had been silent since she had entered the boat, and this sudden burst startled me. Her eyes were fixed upon the grim derelict. They shone in the moonlight and she choked convulsively.

"Can I hand you some water, ma'm?" asked Jenks.

"What made you come with us, you rogue?" she asked, without turning her head.

"I was with ye from the start, s'help me," said Jenks. "I only goes with the other side when I feared they'd kill all hands."

"Well, it's a good thing for you, you contemptible rascal," she answered in an even tone.

All of a sudden I noticed a flicker of light above the cabin of the _Sovereign_. It died away for an instant and then flared again, Miss Sackett laughed convulsively.

"Look," she said.

At that instant a red glare flashed up from the derelict. It shone on her maintopsail and staysails and lit up the ocean around her.

"Faith, but she's afire," cried Chips. "Look at them."

I turned the boat's head around and ran her off before the wind, hauling up again and standing for the wreck to get near her. Miss Sackett seized my arm and held it fast.

"Don't go back for them!" she cried. "You shall not go back for them!"

"I haven't the least intention of going for them," I answered; "I only wanted to get close enough to see what they'd do. Did you set her afire?" I asked bluntly.

"Of course I did," said the girl, passionately. "Do you suppose I didn't hear them telling you I should have to remain aboard? What else was there left for me to do? Would you have me fall into their hands?"

"Lord save ye, but ye did the right thing," said Chips. Johnson echoed this sentiment.

"An' I knew ye ware up to somethin' of the kind when ye went below," said Jenks, "fer I smelled the smoke and thought to stop it, but there ware too much risk as it was to add fire, so I had to step out o' the crowd an' jine ye. I never did nothin' in the fracas, as ye know, except get hurt."

In ten minutes we were close aboard the derelict, and her cabin was a mass of flame. Figures of men showed against the light amidships, and I finally made out all hands getting out a spar and barrels to make a raft. The oil in the cargo, however, was too quick for them. It had become ignited aft and had cut off all retreat by the stove-in boat. Several explosions followed, and the flames roared high above the maintopsail. Journegan, Andrews, and another man were seen making their way forward across the sunken deck. The heat drove them to the topgallant forecastle and in a few minutes we could see all standing there near the windlass. The bitts sheltered them from the heat.

The oil in the ship was not submerged in the after part, owing to her trimming by the head. It had been the last stuff put aboard and was well up under her cabin deck. Even that which was awash caught after the fire had started to heat things up well, and the entire after part of the _Sovereign_ was a mass of flames. They gave forth a brilliant light, glowing red and making the sky appear dark beyond. Great clouds of sparks from the woodwork above soared into the heavens. The light must have been visible for miles.

There was absolutely no escape for the men aboard now, except by getting away on some float. Journegan, Dalton, and England were working hard at something on the forecastle which appeared to be a raft. The one they had started aft they had been forced to abandon after an explosion. The carpenter's tools being below in the hold when the ship filled, they had nothing but their knives and a small hatchet left to work with.

Suddenly Mr. Bell made us out in the darkness less than a quarter of a mile distant. He screamed for us to come back and take him off the derelict.

"Pay no attention to him," said Chips.

I hesitated, with the tiller in my hand. The end of those men seemed so horrible that I forgot for the instant what they had done.

"You shall not go back for them while I'm aboard this boat," said Miss Sackett, quietly, from her seat beside me, and she seized the tiller firmly to luff the craft.

"I didn't intend to," I answered; "yet that man's cry had so much of the woman in it that it was instinctive to turn."

"Instinctive or not, here we stay. He is the biggest devil of the lot," answered the girl. "There's some horrible game in getting us away. I'm certain of it, but don't know what it can be. We'll find out when it's too late."

"We might take them aboard one at a time and bind them," I suggested. This was greeted with growlings from Chips and Johnson. Even Jenks declared it would never do, and the other sailors made antagonistic remarks. There was nothing to do but keep away and let them save themselves as best they might.

We sailed slowly around the wreck, watching her burn. Hour after hour she flamed and hissed, the heat being felt at a hundred fathoms distant. And all the while, the sharp, piping voice of our third mate screamed shrilly for succor.

After midnight the _Sovereign_ had burned clear to the water line from aft to amidships. Even her rails along the waist were burning fiercely with the oil that had been thrown upon them by the explosions of the heated barrels. And as she burned out her oil, she sank lower and lower in the water until she gave forth huge clouds of steam and smoke instead of flaring flames. In the early hours of the morning, we were still within two hundred fathoms of her; and she showed nothing in the gray light save the mainmast and the topgallant forecastle. Her canvas had gone, and the bare black pole of her mast stuck out of the sea, which now flowed deep around the foot of it. Upon the blackened forecastle head, five human forms crouched behind the sheltering bulk of the windlass. They were silent now and motionless. While I looked, one of them staggered to his feet and stretched out his hands above his head, gazing at the light in the east. It was Andrews. He raised his clenched fists and shook them fiercely at us and at the gray sky above. Then over the calm, silent ocean came the fierce, raving curses of the doomed villain.

A gentle air was stirring the swell in the east, which soon filled our sail. We kept the boat's head away until she pointed in the direction of the African cape. And so we sailed away, with the echoes of that villain's voice ringing in our ears, calling forth fierce curses upon the God he had denied.

I turned away from the horrible spectacle of that grisly hulk with its human burden. As I did so, my eyes met those of Miss Sackett. She lowered hers, took out her handkerchief and, bowing over, buried her face in it, crying as though her heart would break.

XVII

"If you'll pass the pannikin, I'll take a drink, sir," said Jenks, after the sun had risen and warmed the chilly air of the southern ocean.

I tossed the old man-o'-war's man the measure, and he proceeded to draw a cupful from the water breaker, which was full and lay amidships.

"It's an uncommon quare taste the stuff has, sure enough," said he, after he had laid aside his quid and drank a mouthful, "Try a bit, Tom," he went on, and passed the pannikin to a sailor next him.

"You're always lookin' fer trouble, old man," said the sailor, draining off the cupful.

"An' bloomin' well ready to get out of it by any way he can," added another. "Fill her up agin an' let me have some. This sun is most hot, in spite of the breeze. Blast me, Jenks, but you're a suspicious one. It's a wonder you ever go to sleep."

The young sailor, Tom, put down the cup and watched Jenks draw it full again. Then he grew pale.

"Hold on a bit with that water, you men. There's something wrong with it," he said. He gulped and placed his hand over his abdomen, while a spasm of pain passed over his features.

"My God!" he muttered, and doubled up. Then he vomited violently and his spasms increased.

I saw Chips turn white under his tan, and Johnson look with staring eyes at the water breaker, as though it were a ghost.

"Knock in the head," I said, "and let's see what's inside of it."

Two men held the poor fellow gasping over the rail while his agony grew worse. The rest crowded around aft as much as possible to see what terrible fate was in store for us.

The breaker was upended in a moment. Jenks stove in the head with an oar handle, and we peered inside.

The water was a clear crystal, like that in the _Sovereign's_ tanks. It was not discolored in the least.

"Pass the bailer here," I said; "and then turn the barrel so we can get the sunlight into it."

I bailed out a few quarts, looked at it carefully, tasted it slightly, and then put it carefully back again. I noticed a strange acrid taste. The barrel was turned toward the sun, and its light was allowed to shine straight into its depths. I put my head down close to the surface and peered hard at the bottom. Then I was aware of a whitish powder which showed against the dark wood. Reaching down, some of this was brought up; and then I recognized the same powder Captain Sackett had told me was bichloride of mercury.

By this time Tom was in convulsions. He strained horribly, and we could do nothing to relieve his agony. Brandy was given, but it did no good, and finally he lost consciousness. Miss Sackett nursed him tenderly and did all she could to make him comfortable, but it was no use.

The horror of the thing fairly took my senses for a moment. There we were, miles away from land, without water. The villains had meant us to tell no tales. All adrift in an open boat, with food and water poisoned, we had a small chance indeed of ever telling the story of the _Sovereign's_ loss. Vessels were not plentiful at the high latitude we were in; and, as we were out of the trade, it was doubtful if we could even get into the track of the regular Cape route inside a week, to say nothing of being picked up. It seemed as though Andrews' villany would finish us yet.

Far away on the southern horizon, the single mast stuck up above the blue water like a black rod. I stood up and gazed at it. Chips appeared to read my thoughts, for he spoke out:--

"'Tis no use now, sir; the tanks would be a couple o' fathoms deep, an' we couldn't get at them. She won't float more'n a day or two, anyhow, wid th' afterdeck an' cargo burnt free. She'll go under as soon as the oil's washed out wid a sea, and that'll be th' last av a bad ship."

I saw that the carpenter was right. There was no water for either Andrews or ourselves, and it would be foolish to go back to force the tank.

"Heave the stuff overboard," I said, and Johnson and Jenks raised the barrel upon the rail. It poured out clear into the blue ocean, and showed no sign of its deadly character.

"Break out that barrel of ship's bread," said Chips.

It was found to be moistened with water all through, and as even the little poison I had drunk made me horribly nauseated, there was no thought of tasting the stuff. Over the side it went, floating high in the boat's wake. Then came the beef.

"Hold on with that," said Miss Sackett. "It isn't likely they'd poison everything. I don't remember there being over several pounds of that mercury in the medicine chest, and you know it won't dissolve readily in water. They must have had something to dissolve it in first, and it would have taken too long to fill everything full of the stuff."

"Who cares to taste the beef?" I asked.

"Give me a piece, sir," said Johnson.

He put it in his mouth and chewed slowly upon it at first, as though not quite certain whether to swallow it or not. Finally he mustered courage and made away with a portion of it, waiting some minutes to see if it produced pain. It was apparently all right, and then he swallowed the rest. We concluded to keep the beef and eat it as a last resort.

The breeze freshened in the southeast, and we ran along steadily. If it held, we could make about a hundred miles a day, and raise the African coast within a week. There was a chance, if we could stand the strain.

It was now the sixth day since we had left the _Pirate_, and we figured that she must have rounded the Cape, and would now be standing along up the South Atlantic with the steady southeast trade behind her. Other ships would be in the latitude of Cape Town, and if we could make the northing, we might raise one and be picked up. I pictured the horrors the poor girl sitting beside me must endure if we were adrift for days in the whale-boat. What she had already gone through was enough to shake the nerves of the strongest woman, but here she sat, quietly looking at the water, her eyes sometimes filled with tears, while not a word of complaint escaped her lips.

Her example nerved me. I had passed the order to stop all talking except when necessary, as it would only add to thirst. We ran along in silence.

We had no compass save the one hanging to my watch-chain, as big as my thumb-nail, but I managed to make a pretty straight course for all that. The wind freshened and was quite cool. The sunlight, sparkling over the ocean, which now turned dark blue with a speck of white here and there to windward, warmed us enough to keep off actual chill, but the men who had taken off their coats to make a little more of a spread to the fair wind soon requested permission to put them on again. Sitting absolutely quiet as we were, the air was keener than if we were going about the sheltered decks of a ship.

On we went, the swell rolling under us and giving us a twisting motion. Sometimes we would be in a long hollow where the breeze would fail. Then, as we rose sternwrard, the little sail would fill, and away we would go, racing along the slanting crest of the long sea, the foam rushing from the boat's sides with a hopeful, hissing sound, until the swell would gain on us and go under, leaving the boat with her bow pointing up the receding slope and her headway almost gone, to drop into the following hollow and repeat the action.

The English sailor who had drank the water was now stone dead. Johnson gave me a look, and I began a conversation with Miss Sackett, endeavoring to engage her attention. A splash from forward made her look, and she saw what had happened. Then she turned and, looking up at me, placed her soft little hand on mine which lay upon the tiller.

"You are very good to me, Mr. Rolling, but I can stand suffering as well as a man," she said. "I thank you just the same." Then her eyes filled and she turned away her face. I found something to fix at the rudder head, and when I was through she was looking over the blue water where the lumpy trade clouds showed above the horizon's rim.

As the day wore on, the hunger of the men began to show itself. Jenks kept his wrinkled, leather face to the northward, looking steadily for a sail, but the other sailors glanced aft several times, and I noticed the strange glare of the eye which tells of the hungry animal. Some of these men had eaten nothing for twenty-four hours. One big, heavy-looking young sailor glanced back several times from the clew of his eye at the girl sitting aft. But I fixed my gaze upon him so steadily that he shifted his seat and looked forward.

Late in the afternoon some of the men insisted on eating the beef, and it was served to them. No ill effects followed, so all hands took their ration. This satisfied them for the time being, but I knew the thirst which must surely follow. I had been adrift in an open boat before in the Pacific. There had been sixteen men at the start, and at the end of four weeks of horror seven had been picked up to tell a tale which would make the blood curdle. The memory of this made me sick with fear and anxiety.

Johnson felt so much better from his meal that he stood in the bow with his little monkey-like figure braced against the mast, his legs on the gunwales. He said jokingly that he'd raise a sail before eight bells in the afternoon. Suddenly he cried out:--

"Sail dead ahead, sir!"

"'Tis no jokin' matter," growled Chips, angrily. "Shet yer head, ye monkey, afore I heave ye over th' side."

Johnson turned fiercely upon him.

"Jokin', you lummax! Slant yer eye forrads, an' don't sit there a-lookin' at yerself," he snarled.

"Steady, there!" I cried. "Where's the vessel?"

"Right ahead, sir, and standing down this ways, if I see straight."

I stood up on the stern locker and looked ahead. Sure enough, a white speck showed on the northern horizon, but I couldn't see enough of the craft's sails to tell which way she headed.

The men all wanted to stand at once, and it took some sharp talk to get them under control; but the young girl at my side showed no signs of excitement. I looked at her, and her gentle eyes looked straight into mine.

"I knew she would come," she said. "I've prayed all the morning."

In twenty minutes, spent anxiously watching her, the ship raised her topsails slowly above the line of blue, and then we saw she really was jammed on the wind and reaching along toward us rapidly.

"'Tis the _Pirit_, an' no mistake!" cried the carpenter. "Look at them r'yals! No one but th' bit av a mate, Trunnell, iver mastheaded a yard like that."

"The _Pirate_!" yelled Johnson, from forward.

And so, indeed, it really was.

I looked at her and then at the sweet face at my side. All the hard lines of suffering and fright had left it. The eyes now had the same gentle, trusting look of innocence I had seen the first morning we had taken off the _Sovereign's_ crew. The reaction was too much for me. I was little more than a boy in years, so I reached for the girl's hand and kissed it.

When I looked up I caught the clew of Jenks' eye, but the rest were looking at the rapidly approaching ship.

XVIII

When the _Pirate_ neared us, we could make out a man coming down the ratlines from the foretop, showing that she had evidently sighted us even before we had her. As she drew nearer still, we could see Trunnell standing on the weather side of the poop, holding to a backstay and gazing aloft at his canvas, evidently giving orders for the watch to bear a hand and lay aft to the braces. He would lay his mainyards aback and heave her to. Along the high topgallant rail could be seen faces, and on the quarter-deck Mrs. Sackett stood with our friend Thompson, better known in the Antipodes as Jackwell, the burglar. As I watched him standing there pointing to us, I thought of poor Jim.

"Wheel down," I heard Trunnell bawl as the ship came within fifty fathom. "Slack away that lee brace; steady your wheel."

Before the ship's headway had slackened we had out the oars and were rowing for her. In a moment a sailor had flung us a line, and we were towing along at the mizzen channels, with the men climbing aboard as fast as they could.

Miss Sackett was passed over the rail, and her mother took her below. I was the last one except Johnson to climb up. He stood at the bow ready to hitch on the tackles. But other men took his place, and as I went over the rail Thompson came and shook my hand warmly.

"Sink me, Mr. Rolling, but you've had a time of it, hey?" he said. "How are the men on the _Sovereign_? We've been standing along north and south for six days, expecting to pick you up, and here you are. It's all that Trunnell's doings. I was for going ahead the day we missed you, but that big-headed little rascal insisted on hunting for you after seeing you leave the wreck. Where's Jim and Phillippi, and the rest?"

The sincerity of his welcome had taken me off my guard, and I found myself standing there shaking his hand. Then I recovered myself.

"It's a pity Captain Thompson missed this ship the day she sailed," I said quietly. "We were informed the night before that he'd be with us. It might have saved the lives of some good men."

He let go my hand and smiled strangely at me, his hooked nose working, and his eyes taking that hard glint I knew so well.

"So you were really waiting for a man you'd never seen, hey? Was that the lay of it? And when I came aboard and said I was Thompson, you gulped down the bait, hey, you bleeding fool. Who the dickens do you think I am, anyhow?"

"I happen to know that you pass by the name of Jackwell," I said. "Here, Chips," I called, but the carpenter was already at my side. "What name did Jim give the captain, and what was his business?"

"'Tis no use av makin' any more av it, cap'n. We know all about ye. Th' best thing ye can do is to step down from the quarter-deck."

"Trunnell," said Thompson, with his drawl, "what d'ye think of these men coming back clean daft?"

The mate was close beside us, giving orders for the disposal of the small boat, and he turned and clasped my hand for the first time.

"Mighty glad t' see ye both back. I suppose the rest are aboard the _Sovereign_" said he, looking us over.

"And they come aboard with a tale that I'm some other man than Captain Thompson; that I knew that he was coming, and got aboard before him and went out in his place," said Jackwell. "Sink me, Trunnell, but I'm afeard you'll have to put them in irons."

"That's quare enough," said the mate, with a smile. "Come below, Rolling, and let's have yer yarn. You, too, Chips, ye'll need a nip of good stuff as well. I'm sorry ye've turned up with a screw loose. All right, cap'n. Square away when ye're ready. The boat's all right." And the little bushy-headed fellow turned and led the way down over the poop, entering the forward cabin, where the steward was waiting to tell us how glad he was we had turned up, and also serve out good grog with a meal of potatoes and canned fruit.

I was so tired and hungry from the exertions of the past twenty-four hours that I went below without further protest, Chips following sullenly.

"I'se sho nuff glad to see yo' folks agin, Marse Rolling," said the steward. "Take a little o' de stuff what warms an' inwigerates."