CHAPTER XXV.
"Let us think of them that sleep Full many a fathom deep, By the wild and stormy steep, Elsinore!" _Campbell_.
Long and dreary did the hours appear to Barnstable, before the fallingtide had so far receded as to leave the sands entirely exposed to hissearch for the bodies of his lost shipmates. Several had been rescuedfrom the wild fury of the waves themselves; and one by one, as themelancholy conviction that life had ceased was forced on the survivors,they had been decently interred in graves dug on the very margin of thatelement on which they had passed their lives. But still the form longestknown and most beloved was missing, and the lieutenant paced the broadspace that was now left between the foot of the cliffs and the ragingocean, with hurried strides and a feverish eye, watching and followingthose fragments of the wreck that the sea still continued to cast on thebeach. Living and dead, he now found that of those who had lately beenin the Ariel, only two were missing. Of the former he could muster buttwelve, besides Merry and himself, and his men had already interred morethan half that number of the latter, which, together, embraced all whohad trusted their lives to the frail keeping of the whale-boat.
"Tell me not, boy, of the impossibility of his being safe," saidBarnstable, in deep agitation, which he in vain struggled to concealfrom the anxious youth, who thought it unnecessary to follow the uneasymotions of his commander, as he strode along the sands. "How often havemen been found floating on pieces of wreck, days after the loss of theirvessel? and you can see, with your own eyes, that the falling water hasswept the planks this distance; ay, a good half-league from where shestruck. Does the lookout from the top of the cliffs make no signal ofseeing him yet?"
"None, sir, none; we shall never see him again. The men say that healways thought it sinful to desert a wreck, and that he did not evenstrike out once for his life, though he has been known to swim an hour,when a whale has stove his boat. God knows, sir," added the boy, hastilydashing a tear from his eye, by a stolen movement of his hand, "I lovedTom Coffin better than any foremast man in either vessel. You seldomcame aboard the frigate but we had him in the steerage among us reefers,to hear his long yarns, and share our cheer. We all loved him, Mr.Barnstable; but love cannot bring the dead to life again."
"I know it, I know it," said Barnstable, with a huskiness in his voicethat betrayed the depth of his emotion. "I am not so foolish as tobelieve in impossibilities; but while there is a hope of his living, Iwill never abandon poor Tom Coffin to such a dreadful fate. Think, boy,he may, at this moment, be looking at us, and praying to his Maker thathe would turn our eyes upon him; ay, praying to his God, for Tom oftenprayed, though he did it in his watch, standing, and in silence."
"If he had clung to life so strongly," returned the midshipman, "hewould have struggled harder to preserve it."
Barnstable stopped short in his hurried walk, and fastened a look ofopening conviction on his companion; but, as he was about to speak inreply, the shouts of the seamen reached his ears, and, turning, theysaw the whole party running along the beach, and motioning, with violentgestures, to an intermediate point in the ocean. The lieutenant andMerry hurried back, and, as they approached the men, they distinctlyobserved a human figure, borne along by the waves, at moments seeming torise above them, and already floating in the last of the breakers. Theyhad hardly ascertained so much, when a heavy swell carried the inanimatebody far upon the sands, where it was left by the retiring waters.
"'Tis my cockswain!" cried Barnstable, rushing to the spot. He stoppedsuddenly, however, as he came within view of the features, and it wassome little time before he appeared to have collected his facultiessufficiently to add, in tones of deep horror: "What wretch is this, boy!His form is unmutilated, and yet observe the eyes! they seem as if thesockets would not contain them, and they gaze as wildly as if theirowner yet had life--the hands are open and spread, as though they wouldstill buffet the waves!"
"The Jonah! the Jonah!" shouted the seamen, with savage exultation, asthey successively approached the corpse; "away with his carrion into thesea again! give him to the sharks! let him tell his lies in the claws ofthe lobsters!"
Barnstable had turned away from the revolting sight, in disgust; butwhen he discovered these indications of impotent revenge in the remnantof his crew, he said, in that voice which all respected and stillobeyed:
"Stand back! back with ye, fellows! Would you disgrace your manhood andseamanship, by wreaking your vengeance on him whom God has alreadyin judgment!" A silent, but significant, gesture towards the earthsucceeded his words, and he walked slowly away.
"Bury him in the sands, boys," said Merry, when his commander was atsome little distance; "the next tide will unearth him."
The seamen obeyed his orders, while the midshipman rejoined hiscommander, who continued to pace along the beach, occasionally haltingto throw his uneasy glances over the water, and then hurrying onward, ata rate that caused his youthful companion to exert his greatest power tomaintain the post he had taken at his side. Every effort to discover thelost cockswain was, however, after two hours' more search, abandoned asfruitless; and with reason, for the sea was never known to give up thebody of the man who might be emphatically called its own dead.
"There goes the sun, already dropping behind the cliffs," said thelieutenant, throwing himself on a rock; "and the hour will soon arriveto set the dog-watches; but we have nothing left to watch over, boy; thesurf and rocks have not even left us a whole plank that we may lay ourheads on for the night."
"The men have gathered many articles on yon beach, sir," returned thelad; "they have found arms to defend ourselves with, and food to give usstrength to use them."
"And who shall be our enemy?" asked Barnstable, bitterly; "shall weshoulder our dozen pikes, and carry England by boarding?"
"We may not lay the whole island under contribution," continued the boy,anxiously, watching the expression of his commander's eye; "but we maystill keep ourselves in work until the cutter returns from the frigate.I hope, sir, you do not think our case so desperate, as to intendyielding as prisoners."
"Prisoners!" exclaimed the lieutenant; "no, no, lad, it has not got tothat, yet! England has been able to wreck my craft, I must concede; butshe has, as yet, obtained no other advantage over us. She was a preciousmodel, Merry! the cleanest run, and the neatest entrance, that art everunited on the stem and stern of the same vessel! Do you remember thetime, younker, when I gave the frigate my top-sails, in beating out ofthe Chesapeake? I could always do it, in smooth water, with a whole-sailbreeze. But she was a frail thing! a frail thing, boy, and could bearbut little."
"A mortar-ketch would have thumped to pieces where she lay," returnedthe midshipman.
"Ay, it was asking too much of her, to expect she could hold togetheron a bed of rocks. Merry, I loved her; dearly did I love her; she wasmy first command, and I knew and loved every timber and bolt in herbeautiful frame!"
"I believe it is as natural, sir, for a seaman to love the wood and ironin which he has floated over the depths of the ocean for so many daysand nights," rejoined the boy, "as it is for a father to love themembers of his own family."
"Quite, quite, ay, more so," said Barnstable, speaking as if he werechoked by emotion. Merry felt the heavy grasp of the lieutenant on hisslight arm, while his commander continued, in a voice that graduallyincreased in power, as his feelings predominated; "and yet, boy, a humanbeing cannot love the creature of his own formation as he does the worksof God. A man can never regard his ship as he does his shipmates. Isailed with him, boy, when everything seemed bright and happy, as atyour age; when, as he often expressed it, I knew nothing and fearednothing. I was then a truant from an old father and a kind mother, andhe did that for me which no parents could have done in my situation--hewas my father and mother on the deep!--hours, days, even months, has hepassed in teaching me the art of our profession; and now, in my manhood,he has followed me from ship to ship, from sea to sea, and has onlyquitted me to die, where I should have died--
as if he felt the disgraceof abandoning the poor Ariel to her fate, by herself!"
"No--no--no--'twas his superstitious pride!" interrupted Merry, butperceiving that the head of Barnstable had sunk between his hands, asif he would conceal his emotion, the boy added no more; but he satrespectfully watching the display of feeling that his officer in vainendeavored to suppress. Merry felt his own form quiver with sympathy atthe shuddering which passed through Barnstable's frame; and the reliefexperienced by the lieutenant himself was not greater than that whichthe midshipman felt, as the latter beheld large tears forcing their waythrough the other's fingers, and falling on the sands at his feet. Theywere followed by a violent burst of emotion, such as is seldom exhibitedin the meridian of life; but which, when it conquers the nature of onewho has buffeted the chances of the world with the loftiness of his sexand character, breaks down every barrier, and seems to sweep beforeit, like a rushing torrent, all the factitious defences which habit andeducation have created to protect the pride of manhood. Merry had oftenbeheld the commanding severity of the lieutenant's manner in moments ofdanger, with deep respect; he had been drawn towards him by kindness andaffection, in times of gayety and recklessness: but he now sat for manyminutes profoundly silent, regarding his officer with sensations thatwere nearly allied to awe. The struggle with himself was long andsevere in the bosom of Barnstable; but, at length, the calm of relievedpassions succeeded to his emotion. When he arose from the rock, andremoved his hands from his features, his eye was hard and proud, hisbrow lightly contracted, and he spoke in a voice so harsh, that itstartled his companion:
"Come, sir; why are we here and idle? are not yon poor fellows lookingup to us for advice and orders how to proceed in this exigency? Away,away, Mr. Merry; it is not a time to be drawing figures, in the sandwith your dirk; the flood-tide will soon be in, and we may be glad tohide our heads in some cavern among these rocks. Let us be stirring,sir, while we have the sun, and muster enough food and arms to keep lifein us, and our enemies off us, until we can once more get afloat."
The wondering boy, whose experience had not yet taught him to appreciatethe reaction of the passions, started at this unexpected summons to hisduty, and followed Barnstable towards the group of distant seamen. Thelieutenant, who was instantly conscious how far pride had rendered himunjust, soon moderated his long strides, and continued in milder tones,which were quickly converted into his usual frank communications, thoughthey still remained tinged with a melancholy, that time only couldentirely remove:
"We have been unlucky, Mr. Merry, but we need not despair--these ladshave gotten together abundance of supplies, I see; and, with our arms,we can easily make ourselves masters of some of the enemy's smallercraft, and find our way back to the frigate, when this gale has blownitself out. We must keep ourselves close, though, or we shall have theredcoats coming down upon us, like so many sharks around a wreck. Ah!God bless her, Merry! There is not such a sight to be seen on the wholebeach as two of her planks holding together."
The midshipman, without adverting to this sudden allusion to theirvessel, prudently pursued the train of ideas in which his commander hadstarted.
"There is an opening into the country, but a short distance south of us,where a brook empties into the sea," he said. "We might find a coverin it, or in the wood above, into which it leads, until we can have asurvey of the coast, or can seize some vessel to carry us off."
"There would be a satisfaction in waiting till the morning watch, andthen carrying that accursed battery, which took off the better leg ofthe poor Ariel!" said the lieutenant--"the thing might be done, boy, andwe could hold the work, too, until the Alacrity and the frigate draw into land."
"If you prefer storming works to boarding vessels, there is a fortressof stone, Mr. Barnstable, which lies directly on our beam. I couldsee it through the haze, when I was on the cliffs, stationing thelookout--and----
"And what, boy? speak without a fear; this is a time for freeconsultation."
"Why, sir, the garrison might not all be hostile--we should liberate Mr.Griffith and the marines; besides----"
"Besides what, sir?"
"I should have an opportunity, perhaps, of seeing my cousin Cecilia andmy cousin Katherine."
The countenance of Barnstable grew animated as he listened, and heanswered with something of his usual cheerful manner:
"Ay, that, indeed, would be a work worth carrying! And the rescuingof our shipmates, and the marines, would read like a thing of militarydiscretion--ha! boy! all the rest would be incidental, younker; like thecapture of the fleet, after you have whipped the convoy."
"I do suppose, sir, that if the abbey be taken, Colonel Howard will ownhimself a prisoner of war."
"And Colonel Howard's wards! now there is good sense in this scheme ofthine, Master Merry, and I will give it proper reflection. But here areour poor fellows; speak cheeringly to them, sir, that we may hold themin temper for our enterprise."
Barnstable and the midshipman joined their shipwrecked companions, withthat air of authority which is seldom wanting between the superiorand the inferior, in nautical intercourse, but at the same time with akindness of speech and looks, that might have been a little increasedby their critical situation. After partaking of the food which had beenselected from among the fragments that still lay scattered, for morethan a mile, along the beach, the lieutenant directed the seamen to armthemselves with such weapons as offered, and also to make sufficientprovision, from the schooner's stores, to last them for four-and-twentyhours longer. These orders were soon executed; and the whole party,led by Barnstable and Merry, proceeded along the foot of the cliffs,in quest of the opening in the rocks, through which the little rivuletfound a passage to the ocean. The weather contributed, as much as theseclusion of the spot to prevent any discovery of the small party, whichpursued its object with a disregard of caution that might, under othercircumstances, have proved fatal to its safety. Barnstable paused in hismarch when they had all entered the deep ravine, and ascended nearly tothe brow of the precipice, that formed one of its sides, to take a lastand more scrutinizing survey of the sea. His countenance exhibited theabandonment of all hope, as his eye moved slowly from the northern tothe southern boundary of the horizon, and he prepared to pursue hismarch, by moving, reluctantly, up the stream, when the boy, who stillclung to his side, exclaimed joyously:
"Sail ho!--It must be the frigate in the offing!"
"A sail!" repeated his commander; "where away do you see a sail in thistempest? Can there be another as hardy and unfortunate as ourselves!"
"Look to the starboard hand of the point of rock to windward!" cried theboy; "now you lose it--ah! now the sun falls upon it! 'tis a sail, sir,as sure as canvas can be spread in such a gale!"
"I see what you mean," returned the other, "but it seems a gull,skimming the sea! nay, now it rises, indeed, and shows itself like abellying topsail: pass up that glass, lads; here is a fellow in theoffing who may prove a friend."
Merry waited the result of the lieutenant's examination with youthfulimpatience, and did not fail to ask immediately:
"Can you make it out, sir? is it the ship or the cutter?"
"Come, there seemeth yet some hope left for us, boy," returnedBarnstable, closing the glass; "'tis a ship lying-to under hermaintopsail. If one might but dare to show himself on these heights, hewould raise her hull, and make sure of her character! But I think I knowher spars, though even her topsail dips, at times, when there isnothing to be seen but her bare poles; and they shortened by hertop-gallantmasts."
"One would swear," said Merry, laughing, as much through the excitementproduced by this intelligence, as at his conceit, "that Captain Munsonwould never carry wood aloft, when he can't carry canvas. I remember,one night, Mr. Griffith was a little vexed, and said, around thecapstan, he believed the next order would be to rig in the bowsprit, andhouse lowermasts!"
"Ay, ay, Griffith is a lazy dog, and sometimes gets lost in the fogs ofhis own thoughts," said Barnstable; "and I supp
ose old Moderate was in abreeze. However, this looks as if he were in earnest; he must have keptthe ship away, or she would never have been where she is; I do verilybelieve the old gentleman remembers that he has a few of his officersand men on this accursed island. This is well, Merry; for should we takethe abbey, we have a place at hand in which to put our prisoners."
"We must have patience till the morning," added the boy, "for no boatwould attempt to land in such a sea."
"No boat could land! The best boat that ever floated, boy, has sunk inthese breakers! But the wind lessens, and before morning the sea willfall. Let us on, and find a berth for our poor lads, where they can bemade more comfortable."
The two officers now descended from their elevation, and led the waystill farther up the deep and narrow dell, until, as the ground rosegradually before them, they found themselves in a dense wood, on a levelwith the adjacent country.
"Here should be a ruin at hand, if I have a true reckoning, and know mycourses and distances," said Barnstable; "I have a chart about me thatspeaks of such a landmark."
The lieutenant turned away from the laughing expression of the boy'seye, as the latter archly inquired:
"Was it made by one who knows the coast well, sir? Of was it done bysome schoolboy, to learn his maps, as the girls work samplers?"
"Come, younker, no sampler of your impudence. But look ahead; can yousee any habitation that has been deserted?"
"Ay, sir, here is a pile of stones before us, that looks as dirty andragged as if it was a soldier's barrack; can this be what you seek?"
"Faith, this has been a whole town in its day! we should call it a cityin America, and furnish it with a mayor, aldermen, and recorder--youmight stow old Faneuil Hall in one of its lockers."
With this sort of careless dialogue, which Barnstable engaged in, thathis men might discover no alteration in his manner, they approachedthe mouldering walls that had proved so frail a protection to the partyunder Griffith.
A short time was passed in examining the premises, when the weariedseamen took possession of one of the dilapidated apartments, anddisposed themselves to seek that rest of which they had been deprived bythe momentous occurrences of the past night.
Barnstable waited until the loud breathing of the seamen assured himthat they slept, when he aroused the drowsy boy, who was fast losing hissenses in the same sort of oblivion, and motioned him to follow. Merryarose, and they stole together from the apartment, with guarded steps,and penetrated more deeply into the gloomy recesses of the place.