Willis the Pilot : A Sequel to the Swiss Family Robinson

  CHAPTER XXII.

  THE UTILITY OF ADVERSITY--AN ENCOUNTER--THE HOROKEN--BILL ALIAS BOB.

  A light but favorable breeze carried them away from land, and theywere once again on the open sea. Willis, after a prolongedinvestigation of the sun's position, taken in relation to someobservations he had made the day before, concluded that the bestcourse to pursue, under existing circumstances, was to steer for theMarian Islands.[H] In addition to the distance they had originally totraverse, all the way lost during the storm was now before them. Asregards provisions, they had little to fear; they could rely uponfalling in with a boobie or sea-cow occasionally, and fresh fish wereto be had at any time. Their supply of water, however, gave them someuneasiness, for the quantity was limited, and they might be retardedby calms and contrary winds. The chances of meeting a European shipwere too slender to enter for anything into their calculations.

  "It appears to me," said Jack, one beautiful evening, when they weresome hundreds of miles from any habitable spot, "that, having escapedso many dangers, the watchful eye of Providence must be guarding usfrom evil."

  "Very possibly," replied Fritz; "one of the early chroniclers of theChristian Church says that Lazarus, whom our Saviour resuscitated atthe gates of Jerusalem, became afterwards one of the most popularpreachers of Christianity, and in consequence the Jews regarded himwith implacable hatred."

  "But what, in all the world, has that to do with the Pacific Ocean?"inquired Jack.

  "Very little with the Pacific in particular, but a great deal withthe ocean in general. Lazarus, his sisters, and some of his friends,were thrown into prison, tried, and condemned."

  "And stoned or crucified," added Jack.

  "No; the high priest of the temple had a great variety of punishmentson hand besides these. He resolved to expose them to the mercy of thewaves, without provisions, and without a mast, sail, or rudder."

  "Thank goodness, we are not so badly off as that."

  "_He_, for whom Lazarus suffered, and who is the same that nourishesthe birds of the air and feeds the beasts of the field; watched overthe forlorn craft; under his guidance, the little colony of martyrswere wafted in safety to the fertile coasts of Provence. They landed,according to the tradition, at Marseilles, of whom Lazarus was thefirst bishop, and has always been the patron saint. Who knows?--thesame good fortune may perhaps await us."

  "We are not martyrs."

  "True; but Providence does not always measure its favors by the meritsof those upon whom they are bestowed--misfortune, alone, is often asufficient claim; so it is well for us to be patient under a littlesuffering, for sweet often is the reward."

  "A little hardship, now and then," added Jack, "is, no doubt,salutary. The Italians say: '_Le avversita sono per l'animo cio ch' eun temporale per l'aria_.' Suffering teaches us to prize health andhappiness; were there no such things as pain and grief, we should beapt to regard these blessings as valueless, and to estimate them asour legitimate rights. For my own part, I was never so happy in mywhole life as when I embraced you the other day, after escaping out ofthe clutches of the savages."

  "There are many charms in life that are almost without alloy: theperfume of flowers--music--the singing of birds--the riches ofart--the intercourse of society--the delights of the familycircle--the treasures of imagination and memory. Some of the mostbeneficent gifts of Nature we only know the existence of when we aredeprived of them; occasional darkness alone enables us to appreciatethe unspeakable blessing of light. Man has a multitude of enjoymentsat his command; but so many sweets would be utterly insipid without afew bitters."

  "The rheumatism, for example," said Willis, rubbing his shoulders.

  "Many enjoyments," continued Fritz, "spring from the heart alone; theaffections, benevolence, love of order, a sense of the beautiful, oftruth, of honesty, and of justice."

  "On the other hand," said Willis, "there are dishonesty, injustice,disappointment, and blighted hopes; but you are too young to know muchabout these. When you have seen as much of the world on sea and onland as I have, perhaps you will be disposed to look at life fromanother point of view. In old stagers like myself, the tender emotionsare all used up; it is only when we are amongst you youngsters that weforget the present in the past; when we see you struggling withdifficulties, it recalls our own trials to our mind, rouses in ussentiments of commiseration, and softens the asperities of our years."

  "According to you, then," said Fritz, levelling his rifle at a petrel,"the misfortunes of the one constitute the happiness of the other?"

  "Unquestionably," said Jack; "for instance, if you miss that bird, somuch the worse for you, and so much the better for the petrel."

  "It is very rarely, brother, that you do not interrupt a seriousconversation with some nonsense."

  "Keep your temper, Fritz; I am about to propose a serious questionmyself. How is it that the petrel you are aiming at does not come andperch itself quietly on the barrel of your rifle?"

  "Jack, Jack, you are incorrigible."

  "Did you ever see a hare or a pheasant come and stare you in the facewhen you were going to shoot it?"

  "Stunsails and tops!" cried Willis, "if I do not see somethingstranger than that staring us in the face."

  "The sea-serpent, perhaps," said Jack.

  "I thought it was a sea-bird at first," said Willis, "but they do notincrease in size the longer you look at them."

  "They naturally appear to increase as they approach," observed Fritz.

  "Yes, but the increase must have a limit, and I never saw a bird withsuch singular upper-works before. Just take a cast of the glassyourself, Master Fritz."

  "Halls of AEolus!" cried Fritz, "these wings are sails."

  "So I thought!" exclaimed Willis, throwing his sou'-wester into theair, and uttering a loud hurrah.

  "If it is the _Nelson_" said Jack, "it would be a singular encounter."

  "_The Nelson_!" sighed Willis, "in the latitude of Hawai; no, that isimpossible."

  "She is bearing down upon us," said Fritz.

  "Just let me see a moment whether I can make out her figure-head,"said Willis. "Aye, aye!"

  "Can you make it out?"

  "No; but, from the sheer of the hull, I think the ship is Britishbuilt."

  "Thank God!" exclaimed both the young men.

  "Yes, you may say 'Thank God;' but, if it turns out to be aman-of-war, I must report myself on board, and I doubt whether mystory will go down with the captain."

  "But if it is the _Nelson_?" insisted Jack.

  "Aye, aye; the _Nelson_," replied Willis, "is not going to turn uphere to oblige us, you may take my word for that."

  "I have better eyes than you, Willis; just let me see if I can makeher out. No, impossible; nothing but the hull and sails."

  "It is just possible," persisted Jack, "that the _Nelson_ may havebeen detained at the Cape, and afterwards blown out of her course likeourselves."

  "All I can say is," replied Willis, "that if Captain Littlestone be onboard that ship, it will make me the happiest man that ever mixed aration of grog. But these things only turn up in novels, so it is nouse talking."

  "She has hoisted a flag at the mizzen," cried Fritz.

  "Can you make it out?"

  "Well, let me see--yes, it must be so."

  "What, the Union Jack?" cried Willis.

  "No, a red ground striped with blue."

  "The United States, as I am a sinner!" cried Willis. "Well, it mighthave been worse. We can go to America; there are surgeons there aswell as in Europe--at all events, we can get a ship there for England.But let me see, we must hoist a bit of bunting; unfortunately, we haveonly British colors aboard, and I am afraid they are not inparticularly high favor with our Yankee cousins just now."

  "Never mind a flag," said Fritz.

  "Oh, that will never do, they have hoisted a flag and are waiting areply. But let me see," added Willis, rummaging amongst some stores,"here is one of our Shark's Island signals--that, I think, will puzzlethe Y
ankee considerably."

  The Pilot's signal was answered by a gun, the report of which rangthrough the air. The strange ship's sails were thrown back and shestood still. A boat then put off with a young man in uniform and sixrowers on board.

  "Pinnace ahoy!" cried the officer through a speaking trumpet, "who areyou?"

  "Shipwrecked mariners," cried Fritz, in reply.

  "What is the name of your craft?"

  "The _Mary_."

  "What country?"

  "Switzerland."

  "I was not aware that Switzerland was a naval power," observed Willis.

  "She has no sea-port," said Jack, "but she has a fleet--of row boats."

  "Where do you hail from?" inquired the officer.

  "New Switzerland."

  "That gentleman is very curious," observed Jack.

  Here a silence of some minutes ensued; the officer seemed at fault inhis geography.

  "Where away?" at last resounded from the trumpet.

  "Bound for Europe," replied Fritz.

  This reply elicited an expression of doubt, accompanied with such atremendous exjurgation as made both Fritz and Jack almost shrink intothe hold.

  A few minutes after the Yankee in command stepped on board, andexplanations were entered into that perfectly satisfied the republicanofficer. He continued, however, to eye Willis curiously.

  The _Hoboken_, for that was the name of the strange ship, was anAmerican cruiser, carrying twelve ship guns and a long paixhan. Shewas attached to the Chinese station, but had recently obtainedinformation that war had been declared between England and the States.She was now making her way to the west by a circuitous route to avoidthe British squadron, and, at the same time, with a view to pick up anEnglish merchantman or two.

  Fritz and Jack being citizens of a sister republic, and subjects of aneutral power, were received on board with a hearty welcome, and withthe hospitality due to their interesting position. Willis alsoreceived some attention, and was treated with all the courtesy thatcould be shown to the native of an enemy's country.

  The pinnace was taken in tow till the young men made up their minds asto the course they would adopt. A free passage to the States waskindly offered to them, and even pressed upon their acceptance; butthe captain left the matter entirely to their own option.

  Fritz and Jack were delighted with the warmth of their reception; and,after being so long cooped up in the narrow quarters of the pinnace,looked upon the Yankee cruiser, with its men and officers in uniform,as a sort of floating palace. The _Nelson_ having been only adespatch-boat, it had given them but an indifferent idea of aman-of-war. On board the Yankee every thing was kept in apple-pieorder. Discipline was maintained with martinet strictness. Thefittings shone like a mirror. The brass cappings glistened in the sun.Complicated rolls of cable were profusely scattered about, but withoutconfusion. The deck always seemed as fresh as if it had been plankedthe day before. The sails overhead seemed to obey the word of commandof their own accord. The boatswain's whistle seemed to act upon themen like electricity. The seamen's cabins, six feet long by six feetbroad, in which a hammock, locker, and lashing apparatus wereconveniently stowed, were something very different from theaccommodation on board the pinnace. These things were regarded byFritz and Jack with great interest; and nowhere is the genius of manso brilliantly displayed as on board a well-appointed ship of war.

  The young men, however, when they sat down to dinner in the captain'scabin, and beheld a long table flanked with cushioned seats, commandedat each end by arm-chairs, the side-board plentifully garnished withplate and crystal of various kinds, fastened with copper nails toprevent damage from the ship's pitching, they did not reflect thatthey were in the crater of a volcano, and that two paces from wherethey sat there was powder enough to blow the ship and all its crew upinto the air.

  They were likewise highly amused by the perpetual "guessing,""calculating," "reckoning," and inexhaustible curiosity of the crew;but their admiration of the ship, her guns, her stores, and hertackle, were boundless; they felt that their pinnace was a mere toy incomparison. The urbanity of the officers also was a source of muchgratification to them; Jack even declared that all the civilization ofEurope had been shipped on board the _Hoboken_, and in so far as thatwas concerned, they had no occasion to go on much further.

  The object of this expedition, however, was a surgeon. There was oneon board. Would he go to New Switzerland? Jack determined to try, andaccordingly he walked straight off to the personage in question.

  "Doctor," said he, "would you do myself and my brother a great favor?"

  "Certainly; and, if it is in my power, you may consider it done."

  "Well, will you embark with us for New Switzerland?"

  "For what purpose, my friend?"

  "My mother is laboring under a malady, which there is every reason tofear is cancer."

  "And suppose a fever was to break out in this ship whilst I amabsent, what do you imagine is to become of the officers and crew?"

  "There are no symptoms of disease on board; but my mother is dying."

  "You forget, young man, that disease may make its appearance at anymoment. There are many sons on board whose lives are as dear to theirmothers as your mother's is to you, and for every one of these lives Iam officially accountable."

  Jack hung down his head and was silent.

  "No, my good friend, it is impossible for me to grant such a request;but, from what I know of your history, and the means at your command,you may be able to obtain the services of a competent medical man. Iwould, therefore, recommend you to abandon your boat, and proceed withus to our destination."

  After a lengthy consultation, the two brothers and Willis determinedto adopt this course. The cargo of the pinnace was accordinglytransferred to the hold of the _Hoboken_. A short summary of theirhistory was written, corked up in a bottle, and fastened to the mastof the _Mary_, which was then cut adrift. A tear gathered on thecheeks of the young men as they saw their old friend in adversitydropping slowly behind, and they did not withdraw their eyes from ittill every vestige of its hull was lost in the shadows of the waters.

  As Fritz and Jack were thus engaged in gazing listlessly on the ocean,and reflecting upon their altered prospects, and perhaps trying topenetrate the veil of the future, Willis came towards them rubbing hisbreast, as if he had been seized with a violent internal spasm.

  "Hilloa," cried Jack, "the Pilot is sea-sick! Shall I run for somebrandy, Willis?"

  "No, stop a bit; we were in hopes of falling in with CaptainLittlestone, were we not?"

  "Yes; but what then?"

  "We were disappointed, were we not?"

  "Yes. That has not made you ill, has it?"

  "No; somebody else has turned up; there is one of the _Nelson's_ crewon board this ship."

  "One of the _Nelson's_ crew?"

  "Aye, and if you only knew how my heart beat when I saw him."

  "I can easily conceive your feelings," said Jack, "for my own hearthas almost leaped into my mouth."

  "And I am thunderstruck," added Fritz.

  "I went towards my old friend," continued Willis, "with tears in myeyes, threw my arms round him, and gave him a hearty but affectionatehug."

  "And what did he say?"

  "Nothing, at first; but, as soon as I left his arms at liberty, hegave me such a punch in the ribs as almost doubled me in two; it wasenough to knock the in'ards out of a rhinoceros--ugh!"

  "A blow in earnest?" exclaimed Fritz in astonishment.

  "Yes; there was no mistake about it; it was a real, good, earnest JohnBull knock-down thump; it put me in mind of Portsmouth on a payday--ugh!"

  "Extremely touching," said Jack, smiling.

  "Then, when I called him by his name Bill Stubbs, and asked what hadbecome of the sloop, he said that he knew nothing at all about thesloop, and swore that he had never set his eyes on my figure-headbefore, the varmint--ugh!"

  "Odd," remarked Jack.

  "Are you sure of your ma
n?" inquired Fritz.

  "But you say his name is Bill, whilst he declares his name is Bob."

  "Aye, he has evidently been up to some mischief, and changed histicket."

  "Then what conclusion do you draw from the affair."

  "I am completely bewildered, and scarcely know what to think; perhapsthe crew has mutinied, and turned Captain Littlestone adrift on adesert island. That is sometimes done. Perhaps--"

  "It is no use perhapsing those sort of melancholy things," said Fritz;"we may as well suppose, for the present, that Captain Littlestone issafe, and that your friend has been put on shore for somemisdemeanour."

  "May be, may be, Master Fritz; and I hope and trust it is so. But tohave an old comrade amongst us, who could give us all the informationwe want, and yet not to be able to get a single thing out of him--"

  "Except a punch in the ribs," suggested Jack.

  "Exactly; and a punch that will not let me forget the lubber in ahurry," added Willis, clenching his fist; "but I intend, in themeantime, to keep my weather eye open."

  A few weeks after this episode the _Hoboken_ was slowly wending herway along the bights of the Bahamas. Fritz, Jack, and Willis werewalking and chatting on the quarter-deck. The sky was of a deep azure.The sea was covered with herbs and flowers as far as the eye couldreach--sometimes in compact masses of several miles in extent, and atother times in long straight ribbons, as regular as if they had beenspread by some West Indian Le Notre. The ship seemed merely displayingher graces in the sunshine, so gentle was she moving in the water. Theair was laden with perfumes, and a soft dreamy languor stole over thefriends, which they were trying in vain to shake off. In one directionrose the misty heights of St. Domingo, and in another the cloud-cappedsummits of Cuba. Sometimes the highest peaks of the latter pierced theveil that enveloped them, and seemed like islands floating in the sky,or heads of a race of giants.

  "The air here is almost as balmy and fragrant as that of NewSwitzerland," remarked Fritz.

  "Aye, aye," said the Pilot; "but it is not all gold that glitters: inthese sweet smells a nasty fever is concealed, with which I have nowish to renew my acquaintance."

  "By the way, talking about acquaintances, Willis, have you obtainedany further intelligence from your friend Bill, _alias_ Bob?" inquiredJack.

  "No, not a syllable; the viper is as cunning as a fox, and keeps hismouth as close as a mouse-trap."

  "He seems as obstinate as a mule, and as obdurate as a Chinaman intothe bargain."

  "All that, and more than that; but," added Willis, "I have found outfrom the mate that he was pressed on board this ship at New Orleans."

  "Pressed on board?" said Fritz, inquiringly.

  "Yes; that is a mode of recruiting for the navy peculiar to Englandand the United States. Would you like to hear something about how thesystem is carried out?"

  "Yes, Willis, very much."

  "The transactions, however, that I shall have to relate are in no waycreditable, either to myself or anybody else connected with them; andI am afraid, when you hear the particulars, you will be ready to turnround and say, your friend the Pilot is no good after all."

  "Have you, then, been desperately wicked, Willis?"

  "Well, that depends entirely upon the view you take of what I am totell you. Listen."

  FOOTNOTES:

  [H] Sometimes called the _Ladrones_ or _Archipelago of Saint Lazarus_.