The Works of Edgar Allan Poe — Volume 3

CHAPTER 8

AS I viewed myself in a fragment of looking-glass which hung up inthe cabin, and by the dim light of a kind of battle-lantern, I wasso impressed with a sense of vague awe at my appearance, and at therecollection of the terrific reality which I was thus representing,that I was seized with a violent tremour, and could scarcely summonresolution to go on with my part. It was necessary, however, to act withdecision, and Peters and myself went upon deck.

We there found everything safe, and, keeping close to the bulwarks,the three of us crept to the cabin companion-way. It was only partiallyclosed, precautions having been taken to prevent its being suddenlypushed to from without, by means of placing billets of wood on the upperstep so as to interfere with the shutting. We found no difficulty ingetting a full view of the interior of the cabin through the crackswhere the hinges were placed. It now proved to have been very fortunatefor us that we had not attempted to take them by surprise, for they wereevidently on the alert. Only one was asleep, and he lying just at thefoot of the companion-ladder, with a musket by his side. The rest wereseated on several mattresses, which had been taken from the berths andthrown on the floor. They were engaged in earnest conversation; andalthough they had been carousing, as appeared from two empty jugs, withsome tin tumblers which lay about, they were not as much intoxicatedas usual. All had knives, one or two of them pistols, and a great manymuskets were lying in a berth close at hand.

We listened to their conversation for some time before we could makeup our minds how to act, having as yet resolved on nothing determinate,except that we would attempt to paralyze their exertions, when we shouldattack them, by means of the apparition of Rogers. They were discussingtheir piratical plans, in which all we could hear distinctly was, thatthey would unite with the crew of a schooner _Hornet_, and, if possible,get the schooner herself into their possession preparatory to someattempt on a large scale, the particulars of which could not be made outby either of us.

One of the men spoke of Peters, when the mate replied to him in a lowvoice which could not be distinguished, and afterward added moreloudly, that “he could not understand his being so much forward with thecaptain’s brat in the forecastle, and he thought the sooner both of themwere overboard the better.” To this no answer was made, but we couldeasily perceive that the hint was well received by the whole party, andmore particularly by Jones. At this period I was excessively agitated,the more so as I could see that neither Augustus nor Peters coulddetermine how to act. I made up my mind, however, to sell my life asdearly as possible, and not to suffer myself to be overcome by anyfeelings of trepidation.

The tremendous noise made by the roaring of the wind in the rigging, andthe washing of the sea over the deck, prevented us from hearing what wassaid, except during momentary lulls. In one of these, we all distinctlyheard the mate tell one of the men to “go forward, have an eye uponthem, for he wanted no such secret doings on board the brig.” It waswell for us that the pitching of the vessel at this moment was soviolent as to prevent this order from being carried into instantexecution. The cook got up from his mattress to go for us, when atremendous lurch, which I thought would carry away the masts, threw himheadlong against one of the larboard stateroom doors, bursting it open,and creating a good deal of other confusion. Luckily, neither ofour party was thrown from his position, and we had time to make aprecipitate retreat to the forecastle, and arrange a hurried plan ofaction before the messenger made his appearance, or rather before he puthis head out of the companion-hatch, for he did not come on deck.From this station he could not notice the absence of Allen, and heaccordingly bawled out, as if to him, repeating the orders of themate. Peters cried out, “Ay, ay,” in a disguised voice, and the cookimmediately went below, without entertaining a suspicion that all wasnot right.

My two companions now proceeded boldly aft and down into the cabin,Peters closing the door after him in the same manner he had found it.The mate received them with feigned cordiality, and told Augustus that,since he had behaved himself so well of late, he might take up hisquarters in the cabin and be one of them for the future. He then pouredhim out a tumbler half full of rum, and made him drink it. All this Isaw and heard, for I followed my friends to the cabin as soon as thedoor was shut, and took up my old point of observation. I hadbrought with me the two pump-handles, one of which I secured near thecompanion-way, to be ready for use when required.

I now steadied myself as well as possible so as to have a good view ofall that was passing within, and endeavoured to nerve myself to the taskof descending among the mutineers when Peters should make a signal tome, as agreed upon. Presently he contrived to turn the conversation uponthe bloody deeds of the mutiny, and by degrees led the men to talkof the thousand superstitions which are so universally current amongseamen. I could not make out all that was said, but I could plainly seethe effects of the conversation in the countenances of those present.The mate was evidently much agitated, and presently, when some onementioned the terrific appearance of Rogers’ corpse, I thought he wasupon the point of swooning. Peters now asked him if he did not think itwould be better to have the body thrown overboard at once as it was toohorrible a sight to see it floundering about in the scuppers. At thisthe villain absolutely gasped for breath, and turned his head slowlyround upon his companions, as if imploring some one to go up and performthe task. No one, however, stirred, and it was quite evident that thewhole party were wound up to the highest pitch of nervous excitement.Peters now made me the signal. I immediately threw open the door of thecompanion-way, and, descending, without uttering a syllable, stood erectin the midst of the party.

The intense effect produced by this sudden apparition is not at allto be wondered at when the various circumstances are taken intoconsideration. Usually, in cases of a similar nature, there is left inthe mind of the spectator some glimmering of doubt as to the reality ofthe vision before his eyes; a degree of hope, however feeble, that heis the victim of chicanery, and that the apparition is not actually avisitant from the old world of shadows. It is not too much to say thatsuch remnants of doubt have been at the bottom of almost every suchvisitation, and that the appalling horror which has sometimes beenbrought about, is to be attributed, even in the cases most in point,and where most suffering has been experienced, more to a kind ofanticipative horror, lest the apparition might possibly be real, thanto an unwavering belief in its reality. But, in the present instance, itwill be seen immediately, that in the minds of the mutineers therewas not even the shadow of a basis upon which to rest a doubt thatthe apparition of Rogers was indeed a revivification of his disgustingcorpse, or at least its spiritual image. The isolated situation of thebrig, with its entire inaccessibility on account of the gale, confinedthe apparently possible means of deception within such narrow anddefinite limits, that they must have thought themselves enabled tosurvey them all at a glance. They had now been at sea twenty-four days,without holding more than a speaking communication with any vesselwhatever. The whole of the crew, too--at least all whom they had themost remote reason for suspecting to be on board--were assembled in thecabin, with the exception of Allen, the watch; and his gigantic stature(he was six feet six inches high) was too familiar in their eyes topermit the notion that he was the apparition before them to enter theirminds even for an instant. Add to these considerations the awe-inspiringnature of the tempest, and that of the conversation brought about byPeters; the deep impression which the loathsomeness of the actual corpsehad made in the morning upon the imaginations of the men; the excellenceof the imitation in my person, and the uncertain and wavering lightin which they beheld me, as the glare of the cabin lantern, swingingviolently to and fro, fell dubiously and fitfully upon my figure, andthere will be no reason to wonder that the deception had even more thanthe entire effect which we had anticipated. The mate sprang up from themattress on which he was lying, and, without uttering a syllable, fellback, stone dead, upon the cabin floor, and was hurled to the leewardlike a log by a heavy roll of the brig. Of the remaining seven, therewere but three who had at first any degree of presence of mind. Thefour others sat for some time rooted apparently to the floor, the mostpitiable objects of horror and utter despair my eyes ever encountered.The only opposition we experienced at all was from the cook, John Hunt,and Richard Parker; but they made but a feeble and irresolute defence.The two former were shot instantly by Peters, and I felled Parker witha blow on the head from the pump-handle which I had brought with me. Inthe meantime, Augustus seized one of the muskets lying on the floorand shot another mutineer Wilson through the breast. There were now butthree remaining; but by this time they had become aroused from theirlethargy, and perhaps began to see that a deception had been practisedupon them, for they fought with great resolution and fury, and, but forthe immense muscular strength of Peters, might have ultimately got thebetter of us. These three men were--Jones, Greely, and Absolom Hicks.Jones had thrown Augustus to the floor, stabbed him in several placesalong the right arm, and would no doubt have soon dispatched him(as neither Peters nor myself could immediately get rid of our ownantagonists), had it not been for the timely aid of a friend, upon whoseassistance we, surely, had never depended. This friend was no other thanTiger. With a low growl, he bounded into the cabin, at a most criticalmoment for Augustus, and throwing himself upon Jones, pinned him to thefloor in an instant. My friend, however, was now too much injured torender us any aid whatever, and I was so encumbered with my disguisethat I could do but little. The dog would not leave his hold upon thethroat of Jones--Peters, nevertheless, was far more than a match for thetwo men who remained, and would, no doubt, have dispatched them sooner,had it not been for the narrow space in which he had to act, and thetremendous lurches of the vessel. Presently he was enabled to get holdof a heavy stool, several of which lay about the floor. With this hebeat out the brains of Greely as he was in the act of discharging amusket at me, and immediately afterward a roll of the brig throwinghim in contact with Hicks, he seized him by the throat, and, by dint ofsheer strength, strangled him instantaneously. Thus, in far less timethan I have taken to tell it, we found ourselves masters of the brig.

The only person of our opponents who was left alive was Richard Parker.This man, it will be remembered, I had knocked down with a blow from thepump-handle at the commencement of the attack. He now lay motionless bythe door of the shattered stateroom; but, upon Peters touching him withhis foot, he spoke, and entreated for mercy. His head was only slightlycut, and otherwise he had received no injury, having been merely stunnedby the blow. He now got up, and, for the present, we secured his handsbehind his back. The dog was still growling over Jones; but, uponexamination, we found him completely dead, the blood issuing in a streamfrom a deep wound in the throat, inflicted, no doubt, by the sharp teethof the animal.

It was now about one o’clock in the morning, and the wind was stillblowing tremendously. The brig evidently laboured much more than usual,and it became absolutely necessary that something should be done with aview of easing her in some measure. At almost every roll to leewardshe shipped a sea, several of which came partially down into the cabinduring our scuffle, the hatchway having been left open by myself when Idescended. The entire range of bulwarks to larboard had been swept away,as well as the caboose, together with the jollyboat from the counter.The creaking and working of the mainmast, too, gave indication that itwas nearly sprung. To make room for more stowage in the afterhold, theheel of this mast had been stepped between decks (a very reprehensiblepractice, occasionally resorted to by ignorant ship-builders), so thatit was in imminent danger of working from its step. But, to crown allour difficulties, we plummed the well, and found no less than seven feetof water.

Leaving the bodies of the crew lying in the cabin, we got to workimmediately at the pumps--Parker, of course, being set at liberty toassist us in the labour. Augustus’s arm was bound up as well as we couldeffect it, and he did what he could, but that was not much. However, wefound that we could just manage to keep the leak from gaining upon usby having one pump constantly going. As there were only four of us, thiswas severe labour; but we endeavoured to keep up our spirits, and lookedanxiously for daybreak, when we hoped to lighten the brig by cuttingaway the mainmast.

In this manner we passed a night of terrible anxiety and fatigue, and,when the day at length broke, the gale had neither abated in the least,nor were there any signs of its abating. We now dragged the bodieson deck and threw them overboard. Our next care was to get rid of themainmast. The necessary preparations having been made, Peters cut awayat the mast (having found axes in the cabin), while the rest of us stoodby the stays and lanyards. As the brig gave a tremendous lee-lurch, theword was given to cut away the weather-lanyards, which being done, thewhole mass of wood and rigging plunged into the sea, clear of the brig,and without doing any material injury. We now found that the vesseldid not labour quite as much as before, but our situation was stillexceedingly precarious, and in spite of the utmost exertions, wecould not gain upon the leak without the aid of both pumps. Thelittle assistance which Augustus could render us was not really of anyimportance. To add to our distress, a heavy sea, striking the brig tothe windward, threw her off several points from the wind, and, beforeshe could regain her position, another broke completely over her, andhurled her full upon her beam-ends. The ballast now shifted in a massto leeward (the stowage had been knocking about perfectly at random forsome time), and for a few moments we thought nothing could save us fromcapsizing. Presently, however, we partially righted; but the ballaststill retaining its place to larboard, we lay so much along that it wasuseless to think of working the pumps, which indeed we could not havedone much longer in any case, as our hands were entirely raw withthe excessive labour we had undergone, and were bleeding in the mosthorrible manner.

Contrary to Parker’s advice, we now proceeded to cut away the foremast,and at length accomplished it after much difficulty, owing to theposition in which we lay. In going overboard the wreck took with it thebowsprit, and left us a complete hulk.

So far we had had reason to rejoice in the escape of our longboat,which had received no damage from any of the huge seas which had come onboard. But we had not long to congratulate ourselves; for the foremasthaving gone, and, of course, the foresail with it, by which the brig hadbeen steadied, every sea now made a complete breach over us, and infive minutes our deck was swept from stem to stern, the longboatand starboard bulwarks torn off, and even the windlass shattered intofragments. It was, indeed, hardly possible for us to be in a morepitiable condition.

At noon there seemed to be some slight appearance of the gale’s abating,but in this we were sadly disappointed, for it only lulled for a fewminutes to blow with redoubled fury. About four in the afternoon it wasutterly impossible to stand up against the violence of the blast; and,as the night closed in upon us, I had not a shadow of hope that thevessel would hold together until morning.

By midnight we had settled very deep in the water, which was now up tothe orlop deck. The rudder went soon afterward, the sea which tore itaway lifting the after portion of the brig entirely from the water,against which she thumped in her descent with such a concussion as wouldbe occasioned by going ashore. We had all calculated that the rudderwould hold its own to the last, as it was unusually strong, being riggedas I have never seen one rigged either before or since. Down its maintimber there ran a succession of stout iron hooks, and others in thesame manner down the stern-post. Through these hooks there extendeda very thick wrought-iron rod, the rudder being thus held to thestern-post and swinging freely on the rod. The tremendous force of thesea which tore it off may be estimated by the fact, that the hooks inthe stern-post, which ran entirely through it, being clinched on theinside, were drawn every one of them completely out of the solid wood.

We had scarcely time to draw breath after the violence of this shock,when one of the most tremendous waves I had then ever known broke righton board of us, sweeping the companion-way clear off, bursting in thehatchways, and filling every inch of the vessel with water.