If you hadn't asked me," said the night watchman, "I should never havetold you; but, seeing as you've put the question point blank, I willtell you my experience of it. You're the first person I've ever openedmy lips to upon the subject, for it was so eggstraordinary that all ourchaps swore as they'd keep it to theirselves for fear of beingdisbelieved and jeered at.
"It happened in '84, on board the steamer George Washington, bound fromLiverpool to New York. The first eight days passed without anythingunusual happening, but on the ninth I was standing aft with the firstmate, hauling in the log, when we hears a yell from aloft, an' a chapwhat we called Stuttering Sam come down as if he was possessed, andrushed up to the mate with his eyes nearly starting out of his 'ed.
"'There's the s-s-s-s-s-s-sis-sis-sip!' ses he.
"'The what?' ses the mate.
"'The s-s-sea-sea-sssssip!'
"'Look here, my lad,' ses the mate, taking out a pocket-hankerchief an'wiping his face, 'you just tarn your 'ed away till you get your breath.It's like opening a bottle o' soda water to stand talking to you. Now,what is it?'
"'It's the ssssssis-sea-sea-sea-sarpint!' ses Sam, with a bust.
"'Rather a long un by your account of it,' ses the mate, with a grin.
"'What's the matter?' ses the skipper, who just came up.
"'This man has seen the sea-sarpint, sir, that's all,' ses the mate.
"'Y-y-yes,' said Sam, with a sort o' sob.
"'Well, there ain't much doing just now,' ses the skipper, 'so you'dbetter get a slice o' bread and feed it.'
"The mate bust out larfing, an' I could see by the way the skippersmiled he was rather tickled at it himself.
"The skipper an' the mate was still larfing very hearty when we heard adreadful 'owl from the bridge, an' one o' the chaps suddenly leaves thewheel, jumps on to the deck, and bolts below as though he was mad.T'other one follows 'm a'most d'reckly, and the second mate caught holdo' the wheel as he left it, and called out something we couldn't catchto the skipper.
"'What the d----'s the matter?' yells the skipper.
"The mate pointed to starboard, but as 'is 'and was shaking so that oneminute it was pointing to the sky an' the next to the bottom o' the sea,it wasn't much of a guide to us. Even when he got it steady we couldn'tsee anything, till all of a sudden, about two miles off, something likea telegraph pole stuck up out of the water for a few seconds, and thenducked down again and made straight for the ship.
"Sam was the fust to speak, and, without wasting time stuttering orstammering, he said he'd go down and see about that bit o' bread, an' hewent afore the skipper or the mate could stop 'im.
"In less than 'arf a minute there was only the three officers an' me ondeck. The second mate was holding the wheel, the skipper was holding hisbreath, and the first mate was holding me. It was one o' the mostexciting times I ever had.
"'Better fire the gun at it,' ses the skipper, in a trembling voice,looking at the little brass cannon we had for signalling.
"'Better not give him any cause for offence,' ses the mate, shaking hishead.
"'I wonder whether it eats men,' ses the skipper. 'Perhaps it'll comefor some of us.'
"'There ain't many on deck for it to choose from,' ses the mate, lookingat 'im significant like.
"'That's true,' ses the skipper, very thoughtful; 'I'll go an' send allhands on deck. As captain, it's my duty not to leave the ship till theLAST, if I can anyways help it.'
"How he got them on deck has always been a wonder to me, but he did it.He was a brutal sort o' a man at the best o' times, an' he carried on somuch that I s'pose they thought even the sarpint couldn't be worse.Anyway, up they came, an' we all stood in a crowd watching the sarpintas it came closer and closer.
"We reckoned it to be about a hundred yards long, an' it was about themost awful-looking creetur you could ever imagine. If you took all theugliest things in the earth and mixed 'em up--gorillas an' thelike--you'd only make a hangel compared to what that was. It just hungoff our quarter, keeping up with us, and every now and then it wouldopen its mouth and let us see about four yards down its throat.
"'It seems peaceable,' whispers the fust mate, arter awhile.
"'P'raps it ain't hungry,' ses the skipper. 'We'd better not let it getpeckish. Try it with a loaf o' bread.'
"The cook went below and fetched up half-a-dozen, an' one o' the chaps,plucking up courage, slung it over the side, an' afore you could say'Jack Robinson' the sarpint had woffled it up an' was looking for more.It stuck its head up and came close to the side just like the swans inVictoria Park, an' it kept that game up until it had 'ad ten loaves an'a hunk o' pork.
"'I'm afraid we're encouraging it,' ses the skipper, looking at it as itswam alongside with an eye as big as a saucer cocked on the ship.
"'P'raps it'll go away soon if we don't take no more notice of it,' sesthe mate. 'Just pretend it isn't here.'
"Well, we did pretend as well as we could; but everybody hugged the portside o' the ship, and was ready to bolt down below at the shortestnotice; and at last, when the beast got craning its neck up over theside as though it was looking for something, we gave it some more grub.We thought if we didn't give it he might take it, and take it off thewrong shelf, so to speak. But, as the mate said, it was encouraging it,and long arter it was dark we could hear it snorting and splashingbehind us, until at last it 'ad such an effect on us the mate sent oneo' the chaps down to rouse the skipper.
"'I don't think it'll do no 'arm,' ses the skipper, peering over theside, and speaking as though he knew all about sea-sarpints and theirways.
"'S'pose it puts its 'ead over the side and takes one o' the men,' sesthe mate.
"'Let me know at once,' ses the skipper firmly; an' he went below aginand left us.
"Well, I was jolly glad when eight bells struck, an' I went below; an'if ever I hoped anything I hoped that when I go up that ugly brute wouldhave gone, but, instead o' that, when I went on deck it was playingalongside like a kitten a'most, an' one o' the chaps told me as theskipper had been feeding it agin.
"'It's a wonderful animal,' ses the skipper, 'an' there's none of younow but has seen the sea-sarpint; but I forbid any man here to say aword about it when we get ashore.'
"'Why not, sir?' ses the second mate.
"'Becos you wouldn't be believed,' said the skipper sternly. 'You mightall go ashore and kiss the Book an' make affidavits an' not a soul 'udbelieve you. The comic papers 'ud make fun of it, and the respectablepapers 'ud say it was seaweed or gulls.'
"Why not take it to New York with us?' ses the fust mate suddenly.
"'What?' ses the skipper.
"'Feed it every day,' ses the mate, getting excited, 'and bait a coupleof shark hooks and keep 'em ready, together with some wire rope. Git 'imto foller us as far as he will, and then hook him. We might git him inalive and show him at a sovereign a head. Anyway, we can take in hiscarcase if we manage it properly.'
"'By Jove! if we only could,' ses the skipper, getting excited too.
"'We can try,' ses the mate. 'Why, we could have noosed it this mornin'if we had liked; and if it breaks the lines we must blow its head topieces with the gun.'
"It seemed a most eggstraordinary thing to try and catch it that way;but the beast was so tame, and stuck so close to us, that it wasn'tquite so ridikilous as it seemed at fust.
"Arter a couple o' days nobody minded the animal a bit, for it was aboutthe most nervous thing of its size you ever saw. It hadn't got the soulof a mouse; and one day when the second mate, just for a lark, took theline of the foghorn in his hand and tooted it a bit, it flung up its'ead in a scared sort o' way, and, after backing a bit, turned cleanround and bolted.
"I thought the skipper 'ud have gone mad. He chucked over loaves o'bread, bits o' beef and pork, an' scores o' biskits, and by-and-bye,when the brute plucked up heart an' came arter us again, he fairlybeamed with joy. Then he gave orders that nobody was to touch the hornfor any reason whatever, not even if there was a fog, or chance
ofcollision, or anything of the kind; an' he also gave orders that thebells wasn't to be struck, but that the bosen was just to shove 'is 'eadin the fo'c's'le and call 'em out instead.
"Arter three days had passed, and the thing was still follering us,everybody made certain of taking it to New York, an' I b'leeve if ithadn't been for Joe Cooper the question about the sea-sarpint would ha'been settled long ago. He was a most eggstraordinary ugly chap was Joe.He had a perfic cartoon of a face, an' he was so delikit-minded andsensitive about it that if a chap only stopped in the street andwhistled as he passed him, or pointed him out to a friend, he didn'tlike it. He told me once when I was symperthizing with him, that theonly time a woman ever spoke civilly to him was one night down Poplarway in a fog, an' he was so 'appy about it that they both walked intothe canal afore he knew where they was.
"On the fourth morning, when we was only about three days from SandyHook, the skipper got out o' bed wrong side, an' when he went on deck hewas ready to snap at anybody, an' as luck would have it, as he walked abit forrard, he sees Joe a-sticking his phiz over the side looking atthe sarpint.
"'What the d---- are you doing?' shouts the skipper, 'What do you meanby it?'
"'Mean by what, sir?' asks Joe.
"'Putting your black ugly face over the side o' the ship an' frighteningmy sea-sarpint!' bellows the skipper, 'You know how easy it's skeered.'
"'Frightening the sea-sarpint?' ses Joe, trembling all over, an' turningvery white.
"'If I see that face o' yours over the side agin, my lad,' ses theskipper very fierce, 'I'll give it a black eye. Now cut!'
"Joe cut, an' the skipper, having worked off some of his ill-temper,went aft again and began to chat with the mate quite pleasant like. Iwas down below at the time, an' didn't know anything about it for hoursarter, and then I heard it from one o' the firemen. He comes up to mevery mysterious like, an' ses, 'Bill,' he ses, 'you're a pal o' Joe's;come down here an' see what you can make of 'im.'
"Not knowing what he meant, I follered 'im below to the engine-room, an'there was Joe sitting on a bucket staring wildly in front of 'im, andtwo or three of 'em standing round looking at 'im with their 'eads onone side.
"'He's been like that for three hours,' ses the second engineer in awhisper, 'dazed like.'
"As he spoke Joe gave a little shudder; 'Frighten the sea-sarpint!' seshe, 'O Lord!'
"'It's turned his brain,' ses one o' the firemen, 'he keeps sayingnothing but that.'
"'If we could only make 'im cry,' ses the second engineer, who had abrother what was a medical student, 'it might save his reason. But howto do it, that's the question.'
"'Speak kind to 'im, sir,' ses the fireman. 'I'll have a try if youdon't mind.' He cleared his throat first, an' then he walks over to Joeand puts his hand on his shoulder an' ses very soft an' pitiful like:
"'Don't take on, Joe, don't take on, there's many a ugly mug 'ides agood 'art,'
"Afore he could think o" anything else to say, Joe ups with his fist an'gives 'im one in the ribs as nearly broke 'em. Then he turns away 'is'ead an' shivers again, an' the old dazed look come back.
"'Joe,' I ses, shaking him, 'Joe!'
"'Frightened the sea-sarpint!' whispers Joe, staring.
"'Joe,' I ses, 'Joe. You know me, I'm your pal, Bill.'
"'Ay, ay,' ses Joe, coming round a bit.
"'Come away,' I ses, 'come an' git to bed, that's the best place foryou.'
"I took 'im by the sleeve, and he gets up quiet an' obedient and follersme like a little child. I got 'im straight into 'is bunk, an' arter atime he fell into a soft slumber, an' I thought the worst had passed,but I was mistaken. He got up in three hours' time an' seemed all right,'cept that he walked about as though he was thinking very hard aboutsomething, an' before I could make out what it was he had a fit.
"He was in that fit ten minutes, an' he was no sooner out o' that onethan he was in another. In twenty-four hours he had six full-sized fits,and I'll allow I was fairly puzzled. What pleasure he could find intumbling down hard and stiff an' kicking at everybody an' everything Icouldn't see. He'd be standing quiet and peaceable like one minute, andthe next he'd catch hold o' the nearest thing to him and have a bad fit,and lie on his back and kick us while we was trying to force open hishands to pat 'em.
"The other chaps said the skipper's insult had turned his brain, but Iwasn't quite so soft, an' one time when he was alone I put it to him.
"'Joe, old man,' I ses, 'you an' me's been very good pals.'
"'Ay, ay,' ses he, suspicious like.
"'Joe,' I whispers, 'what's yer little game?'
"'Wodyermean?' ses he, very short.
"'I mean the fits,' ses I, looking at 'im very steady, 'It's no goodlooking hinnercent like that, 'cos I see yer chewing soap with my owneyes.'
"'Soap,' ses Joe, in a nasty sneering way, 'you wouldn't reckernise apiece if you saw it.'
"Arter that I could see there was nothing to be got out of 'im, an' Ijust kept my eyes open and watched. The skipper didn't worry about hisfits, 'cept that he said he wasn't to let the sarpint see his face whenhe was in 'em for fear of scaring it; an' when the mate wanted to leavehim out o' the watch, he ses, 'No, he might as well have fits while atwork as well as anywhere else.'
"We were about twenty-four hours from port, an' the sarpint was stillfollowing us; and at six o'clock in the evening the officers puffectedall their arrangements for ketching the creetur at eight o'clock nextmorning. To make quite sure of it an extra watch was kept on deck allnight to chuck it food every half-hour; an' when I turned in at teno'clock that night it was so close I could have reached it with aclothes-prop.
"I think I'd been abed about 'arf-an-hour when I was awoke by the mostinfernal row I ever heard. The foghorn was going incessantly, an' therewas a lot o' shouting and running about on deck. It struck us all as 'owthe sarpint was gitting tired o' bread, and was misbehaving himself,consequently we just shoved our 'eds out o' the fore-scuttle andlistened. All the hullaballoo seemed to be on the bridge, an' as wedidn't see the sarpint there we plucked up courage and went on deck.
"Then we saw what had happened. Joe had 'ad another fit while at thewheel, and, NOT KNOWING WHAT HE WAS DOING, had clutched the line of thefoghorn, and was holding on to it like grim death, and kicking right andleft. The skipper was in his bedclothes, raving worse than Joe; and justas we got there Joe came round a bit, and, letting go o' the line, askedin a faint voice what the foghorn was blowing for. I thought the skipper'ud have killed him; but the second mate held him back, an', of course,when things quieted down a bit, an' we went to the side, we found thesea-sarpint had vanished.
"We stayed there all that night, but it warn't no use. When day brokethere wasn't the slightest trace of it, an' I think the men was as sorryto lose it as the officers. All 'cept Joe, that is, which shows howpeople should never be rude, even to the humblest; for I'm sartin thatif the skipper hadn't hurt his feelings the way he did we should nowknow as much about the sea-sarpint as we do about our own brothers."
MRS. BUNKER'S CHAPERON