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Sail Ho! A Boy at Sea, a novel by George Manville Fenn |
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Chapter 41 |
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_ CHAPTER FORTY ONE. The boat we were in rose as a long rolling swell which lifted the bows passed under it and swept on, while I gazed in awe at the falling pieces of burning wood, which were for the most part quenched in the sea, though others floated and blazed, shedding plenty of rays of light, and showing two boats being rowed with all the power of their occupants right away from where the ship rocked slowly, half hidden by a dense canopy of smoke which hung overhead. The great waves of burning spirit were there no more. It was as if they had suddenly been blown cut, and in their place there were volumes of smoke, through which, dimly-seen, were sparks and patches of smouldering wood. And as the burning pieces which were floating here and there gradually died out, a strangely weird kind of gloom came over the scene, which grew more and more dim till the sea was black once more, and the sole light came from the ship--a feeble, lurid glow nearly hidden by steam and smoke. And now we were half-stifled by the smell of the exploded powder and the steam evolved when the burning fragments fell in all directions, to be quenched over acres of water around the ship. It was a dank, hydrogenous odour, which made me hold my fingers to my nose till I forgot it in the interest with which I watched the ship. For Mr Brymer said sadly, but in a low voice, for fear that a boat should be within hearing-- "Poor old girl! she ought to have had a few more voyages before this. She'll go down directly." But the minutes passed, and the ship still floated and burned slowly, though it was a different kind of burning now. No soft floats of spirit-blaze rose gently and silently, but little sluggish bits of fire burned here and there where the tar had melted, and the flame was yellow and the smoke black; in other places where the wood had caught there were vicious hissings, spittings, and cracklings, as if it were hard work to burn. And so hard did it seem in some places that the scraps of wood gave it up as a bad job, and went out. But there was plenty of mischief still in the hold, from whence a dense body of smoke rose, the rolling volumes being dimly-seen by the reflections cast upon them, and tingeing the suffocating vapour of a dull red. We sat there almost in perfect silence, watching the ship for quite an hour; but though she was expected from moment to moment to heel over a little first to one side, then to the other, she still floated upon an even keel, and her masts with their unfilled sails retained their places. But we dared go no nearer for fear of the death-agonies of the monster coming on, and our being sucked down into the vortex she made as she plunged beneath the sea which had borne her triumphantly so many times in the past. The desire was strong amongst us to begin talking, but Mr Brymer forbade a word being spoken. "Jarette may be waiting somewhere close at hand with his two boats, till he has seen the last of the ship. We have had troubles enough; we do not want to increase them by a fresh encounter with the scoundrel." So there we sat watching, with the dull smouldering still going on in the hold of the ship. Sometimes it flashed up a little, and promised to blaze fiercely; but it was only a spasmodic attempt, and it soon settled down again to the dull smouldering, with a few vicious sparks rising here and there to hide themselves in the dull, rolling clouds, and we were in momentary expectation of seeing the vapour-enshrouded masts begin to describe arcs in the cloud, and then slowly settle down after the sinking vessel. And as I watched and calculated, I seemed to see the water rising slowly around the faintly-marked black hull, till it covered the ports, reached the deck, and then began to pour over into the burning hold, when of course there would be a fierce hissing, steam would rise in volumes, which would cover the clouds of smoke, and then all would be over, and we should be left on the wide ocean to try and fight our way to the land. How dim the sparks and tiny, darting flames grew, and how black the ship! I listened for the splash of oars, and the sound of voices; but I heard neither for a time, and then only in faint whisperings, whose import I could not grasp. Then our silence was broken by a slight moaning, for the doctor had gone to attend Walters, where he still lay insensible; and after that I faintly grasped the fact that in that darkness aft Mr Frewen had been attending to the captain and to Mr Denning. But I knew it all in a very misty way, and then I knew nothing whatever, for everything was a blank till I started up excitedly, and Mr Brymer said-- "Steady, my lad, steady; nobody is going to throw you overboard." I had been asleep for hours, and I moved out of the way now, feeling ashamed to look round; but when I did, it was to see that Mr Brymer, I, and two more were the only people awake. "Then the ship hasn't sunk," I said, as I looked at her about five hundred yards away, with a pillar of smoke rising out of her hold, and the masts, yards, and sails all in their places intact. "Yes; she still floats," said Mr Brymer, quietly; "and we are going closer to see how she stands." "Where are Jarette and the men?" "They rowed away to the east," replied Mr Brymer, "and are quite out of sight." "Then we can talk aloud," I cried. "Ay, and shout if you like." It was morning, and there were signs of the sun being just about to roll up above the smooth sea, as the men gently dipped their oars so as not: to waken the sleepers, and the boat began to move softly toward the ship. "It is a puzzle to me that she has not gone down, Dale," said Mr Brymer, in a low voice. "That explosion was enough to drive out her sides, as well as rip up her deck; and I am beginning to think that after all she may float." "But she is on fire still," I said; "and though burning slowly, the fire must be eating its way through the bottom." "Perhaps not, my lad," he replied. "There was an immense amount of cargo solidly stowed below, and it may be only that which is burning." "But you will not venture to go on board?" I said. "Why not, my lad?" "She may suddenly sink." "She does not look now as if she would; at all events not during this calm. Yes; I am going on board, and you may come too if you like." I looked at him wonderingly, and felt a strange shrinking; but I fancied that I could detect a faint smile at the corner of his lip, and this touched me home, and made me speak at once. "Very well," I said. "I'll go with you, sir." "That's right, my lad," he said, laying his hand on my shoulder. "Why, Dale, you will be chief mate of some ship, young as you are, almost before I get to be captain. But we won't waste time passing compliments. What should you say if we find that the old ship is strong enough to carry us into port?" "Oh, it is impossible," I cried. "Not so impossible perhaps after all; but we are getting near, and we'll see." "But suppose she is so near sinking that the addition of our weight proves to be enough to make her begin settling down?" "Well, I should be greatly surprised if it did," he said with a smile. "But we'll be on the safe side. As soon as we mount on deck through the cabin-window, the boat shall be backed out of the way of danger, and our first task shall be to cut loose a couple of the life-buoys. Then, if the ship drags us down, we shall be sure to rise again and float." I could not help a shudder at the idea of being dragged down in such a horrible vortex, perhaps to be entangled in some part of the rigging, and never rise again; and seeing what I was thinking, Mr Brymer laughed. "No fear, my lad. She will not sink now, unless there is a storm; perhaps not even then. Row right round, my lads," he continued to Bob Hampton and Barney; and we made a circuit of the ship, passing from astern right forward, without the hull showing any damage; and though Mr Brymer touched her just about opposite to where the principal body of smoke arose, there was no perceptible heat to be felt. Then as we pressed on under the bowsprit, I looked up at the bob-stay and the rigging about that spritsail where I had climbed; and we began to go back on the other side, to find the hull intact, and no sign of damage, but here the side was decidedly warm. Then on to the stern and under the first window, where a rope was still hanging out. "Will you go first, Dale, or shall I?" said Mr Brymer. For answer I began to climb, and in a very short time reached the window and crept in. Then the rope was drawn taut again, and the mate climbed in after me, turned, and spoke gently-- "Row aft about a hundred yards, my lads. It is only for form's sake." And as the men began to paddle gently away, he said to me quietly-- "There is no fear of her going down, Dale, for many hours, if at all. I want to see what damage there is forward, and whether we can come aboard and attack the fire with any chance of success." "But shall we not be safer in the boat?" I said. "Most decidedly not. And fancy, boy, there are three sick and wounded people, and a lady! It is our duty to study them, and besides, after all, we may save the ship." This sent a thrill of enthusiasm through me as we passed out of the cabin, littered with all kinds of stores and fittings, out along the damaged saloon, and thence through the companion on to the deck, which was blackened with pieces of burnt wood, scraps of a heterogeneous kind that had probably been sent skyward by the explosions, to fall back half-charred. The smell of burnt powder now was terrible, and I could not help stopping. "What is it?" said Mr Brymer. "Do you think there is any more powder below?" I said, as I thought of the possibility of another explosion. "Indeed I don't," said the mate, decisively. "Not a grain. It is all honest fire, my lad, smouldering away in the cargo, and waiting for a little encouragement in the shape of wind to burst out into an unconquerable blaze." We had been advancing again through the charred embers and fragments, to stand at last by a large ragged cavity, torn up in the deck. The whole of the hatches and combings were blasted away, and a clean sweep had been made for fully thirty feet onward, and twenty or so across; and everywhere was of a blackish grey, showing the effects of the blasting-powder. Still there was room enough on both sides to walk along by the hole; and as we looked down we could see that, in spite of the destruction, with one exception the great cross-beams which supported the deck were intact. "She will not sink, Dale," said the mate, quietly; and as a feeling of confidence on that question made me feel better, the fire suddenly flamed up in one place, burning briskly with a good deal of crackling and sputtering, making me feel doubtful of the ship's stability on that side. Mr Brymer gave me a nod, meant for encouragement, as he went on-- "All the force of the powder went upwards, as it usually does. If it had been dynamite, the explosion would have struck down, driving out the bottom, and then of course the ship would have sunk." "But the fire!" I said; and the anxiety I felt affected my voice, making it sound husky. "Oh, the fire," he said coolly. "We must fight that. It is dangerous, but the explosive spirit has burned out, or been destroyed; the powder has gone, and we have nothing to fear now but the slow working of our friend or enemy, whichever you make it." "But it may burst out furiously at any moment." "It may, my lad, but I hardly think it possible. Of course a great deal of the cargo is highly combustible, but things will not burn quickly without room and plenty of air. Fire shut in only smoulders, and eats its way slowly, as you see it there. Come, I think we may hail the boat, and get our friends on board." "But do you think it will be safe?" "Safer than leaving them in an open boat." "But the mast--the main-mast? Suppose the fire has eaten its way through that?" "If it had the mast would fall; but the fire has worked forward, and, as far as I can see, the mast is untouched. Run up to the main-top, it is clear now. Have a look round, to see if you can make out the two boats with our friends." I looked at him sharply, and he laughed. "Not afraid that the main-mast will give way with your weight, are you?" I felt the colour burn in my cheeks at this, for he had read my thoughts exactly; and without another word, I sprang to the side, climbed above the main-chains, and made my way upwards. But I had not gone far before, as I rose higher and more over the burning hold, I became aware of a hot, stifling fume, and the irritating smoke which rose from beneath me. But I persevered, and though it increased for a time, a few feet higher still the oppressive sensation of breathing these hot fumes grew less; and by the time I had reached and climbed into the top, the smoke was so much dissipated as to trouble me very little indeed. The moment I was up I laid hold of a rope and began to look round, my eyes falling, naturally enough, first upon our boat lying a short distance away, with Mr Frewen, who had just awakened, bending over Walters; and I watched him anxiously, to see if I could make out how my messmate was. But I was brought back from thoughts of him and his position by the mate's voice, as he hailed me from the deck. "Well," he said, "what can you see?" I looked sharply round before answering, and there was the wide sea in all directions, glistening in the morning sunshine. "Nothing," I said at last. "Try again. Take a good look round, my lad. The boats look small in the distance. They can hardly have passed out of sight." I shaded my eyes, and looked long and carefully east, west, north, and south, but could see nothing, and said so. "Well, that's good news; but I don't want them to see that the ship is still floating, and come back again. Go up to the main-topgallant mast-head, and have a look from there." I mounted higher, and reached the head, to pause there and survey, but as far as I could see there was nothing visible. "That will do; come down," shouted Mr Brymer; and I descended as quickly as I could to the deck, when we took a hurried peep at the forecastle, to find there and in the galley plenty of traces of the hurried departure of Jarette and the crew. "They do not seem to have been disposed to stop for the explosion, Dale," said Mr Brymer, smiling. "Now let's hail the boat, and have our friends on board." "But do you really think it safe for them to come?" I said again. "I told you before, my lad, safer than in an open boat. My good fellow, escaping as we were last night, we were glad to do anything; but think of the sufferings of Miss Denning and our wounded in such close quarters! They must come on board while we fight the fire; and if matters get too bad, there will be the boat all ready, swinging astern, and we can take to it." The boat was hailed, one of the gangways amidships opened, and by means of a sling, which Bob Hampton and Barney soon had rigged, Miss Denning and our invalids were quickly hauled on deck. Then after the boat had been made fast, they were left in charge of the doctor and Mr Preddle, who had orders to join us as soon as the sufferers were attended to in the cabin; while Mr Brymer led us forward to see if something could not be done to save the ship. _ |
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