THE CASTING AWAY OF MRS. LECKS AND MRS. ALESHINE
PART I
I was on my way from San Francisco to Yokohama, when in a very desultoryand gradual manner I became acquainted with Mrs. Lecks and Mrs.Aleshine. The steamer, on which I was making a moderately rapid passagetoward the land of the legended fan and the lacquered box, carried afair complement of passengers, most of whom were Americans; and, amongthese, my attention was attracted from the very first day of the voyageto two middle-aged women who appeared to me very unlike the ordinarytraveler or tourist. At first sight they might have been taken forfarmers' wives who, for some unusual reason, had determined to make avoyage across the Pacific; but, on closer observation, one would havebeen more apt to suppose that they belonged to the families ofprosperous tradesmen in some little country town, where, besides thearts of rural housewifery, there would be opportunities of becomingacquainted in some degree with the ways and manners of the outsideworld. They were not of that order of persons who generally takefirst-class passages on steamships, but the stateroom occupied by Mrs.Lecks and Mrs. Aleshine was one of the best in the vessel; and althoughthey kept very much to themselves, and showed no desire for the companyor notice of the other passengers, they evidently considered themselvesquite as good as any one else, and with as much right to voyage to anypart of the world in any manner or style which pleased them.
Mrs. Lecks was a rather tall woman, large-boned and muscular, and herwell-browned countenance gave indications of that conviction ofsuperiority which gradually grows up in the minds of those who for along time have had absolute control of the destinies of a state, or themultifarious affairs of a country household. Mrs. Aleshine was somewhatyounger than her friend, somewhat shorter, and a great deal fatter. Shehad the same air of reliance upon her individual worth thatcharacterized Mrs. Lecks, but there was a certain geniality about herwhich indicated that she would have a good deal of forbearance for thosewho never had had the opportunity or the ability of becoming thethoroughly good housewife which she was herself.
These two worthy dames spent the greater part of their time on deck,where they always sat together in a place at the stern of the vesselwhich was well sheltered from wind and weather. As they sat thus theywere generally employed in knitting, although this occupation did notprevent them from keeping up what seemed to me, as I passed them in mywalks about the deck, a continuous conversation. From a question whichMrs. Lecks once asked me about a distant sail, our acquaintance began.There was no one on board for whose society I particularly cared, and asthere was something quaint and odd about these countrywomen on the oceanwhich interested me, I was glad to vary my solitary promenades by anoccasional chat with them. They were not at all backward in giving meinformation about themselves. They were both widows, and Mrs. Aleshinewas going out to Japan to visit a son who had a position there in amercantile house. Mrs. Lecks had no children, and was accompanying herfriend because, as she said, she would not allow Mrs. Aleshine to makesuch a voyage as that by herself, and because, being quite able to doso, she did not know why she should not see the world as well as otherpeople.
These two friends were not educated women. They made frequent mistakesin their grammar, and a good deal of Middle States provincialism showeditself in their pronunciation and expressions. But although they broughtmany of their rural ideas to sea with them, they possessed a large shareof that common sense which is available anywhere, and they frequentlymade use of it in a manner which was very amusing to me. I think, also,that they found in me a quarry of information concerning nauticalmatters, foreign countries, and my own affairs, the working of whichhelped to make us very good ship friends.
Our steamer touched at the Sandwich Islands; and it was a little morethan two days after we left Honolulu that, about nine o'clock in theevening, we had the misfortune to come into collision with aneastern-bound vessel. The fault was entirely due to the other ship, thelookout on which, although the night was rather dark and foggy, couldeasily have seen our lights in time to avoid collision, if he had notbeen asleep or absent from his post. Be this as it may, this vessel,which appeared to be a small steamer, struck us with great force nearour bows, and then, backing, disappeared into the fog, and we never sawor heard of her again. The general opinion was that she was injured verymuch more than we were, and that she probably sank not very long afterthe accident; for when the fog cleared away, about an hour afterward,nothing could be seen of her lights.
As it usually happens on occasions of accidents at sea, the damage toour vessel was at first reported to be slight; but it was soondiscovered that our injuries were serious and, indeed, disastrous. Thehull of our steamer had been badly shattered on the port bow, and thewater came in at a most alarming rate. For nearly two hours the crew andmany of the passengers worked at the pumps, and everything possible wasdone to stop the enormous leak; but all labor to save the vessel wasfound to be utterly unavailing, and a little before midnight the captainannounced that it was impossible to keep the steamer afloat, and that wemust all take to the boats. The night was now clear, the stars werebright, and, as there was but little wind, the sea was comparativelysmooth. With all these advantages, the captain assured us that there wasno reason to apprehend danger, and he thought that by noon of thefollowing day we could easily make a small inhabited island, where wecould be sheltered and cared for until we should be taken off by somepassing vessel.
There was plenty of time for all necessary preparations, and these weremade with much order and subordination. Some of the ladies among thecabin passengers were greatly frightened, and inclined to be hysterical.There were pale faces also among the gentlemen. But everybody obeyed thecaptain's orders, and all prepared themselves for the transfer to theboats. The first officer came among us, and told each of us what boatswe were to take, and where we were to place ourselves on deck. I wasassigned to a large boat which was to be principally occupied bysteerage passengers; and as I came up from my stateroom, where I hadgone to secure my money and some portable valuables, I met on thecompanionway Mrs. Lecks and Mrs. Aleshine, who expressed considerabledissatisfaction when they found that I was not going in the boat withthem. They, however, hurried below, and I went on deck, where in aboutten minutes I was joined by Mrs. Lecks, who apparently had been lookingfor me. She told me she had something very particular to say to me, andconducted me toward the stern of the vessel, where, behind one of thedeck-houses, we found Mrs. Aleshine.
"'DO YOU SEE THAT BOAT THERE?'"]
"Look here," said Mrs. Lecks, leading me to the rail, and pointingdownward; "do you see that boat there? It has been let down, and thereis nobody in it. The boat on the other side has just gone off, full tothe brim. I never saw so many people crowded into a boat. The other oneswill be just as packed, I expect. I don't see why we shouldn't take thisempty boat, now we've got a chance, instead of squeezin' ourselves intothose crowded ones. If any of the other people come afterward, why, weshall have our choice of seats, and that's considerable of a p'int, Ishould say, in a time like this."
"That's so," said Mrs. Aleshine; "and me and Mrs. Lecks would 'a' gotright in when we saw the boat was empty, if we hadn't been afraid to bethere without any man, for it might have floated off, and neither of usdon't know nothin' about rowin'. And then Mrs. Lecks she thought of you,supposin' a young man who knew so much about the sea would know how torow."
"Oh, yes," said I; "but I cannot imagine why this boat should have beenleft empty. I see a keg of water in it, and the oars, and some tin cans,and so I suppose it has been made ready for somebody. Will you wait herea minute until I run forward and see how things are going on there?"
Amidships and forward I saw that there was some confusion among thepeople who were not yet in their boats, and I found that there was to berather more crowding than at first was expected. People who had supposedthat they were to go in a certain boat found there no place, and werehurrying to other boats. It now became plain to me that no time shouldbe lost in getting into the small boat which Mrs. Lecks
had pointed out,and which was probably reserved for some favored persons, as theofficers were keeping the people forward and amidships, the otherstern-boat having already departed. But as I acknowledged no reason whyany one should be regarded with more favor than myself and the two womenwho were waiting for me, I slipped quietly aft, and joined Mrs. Lecksand Mrs. Aleshine.
"We must get in as soon as we can," said I, in a low voice, "for thisboat may be discovered, and then there will be a rush for it. I suspectit may have been reserved for the captain and some of the officers, butwe have as much right in it as they."
"And more too," replied Mrs. Lecks; "for we had nothin' to do with thesteerin' and smashin'."
"But how are we goin' to get down there?" said Mrs. Aleshine. "There'sno steps."
"That is true," said I. "I shouldn't wonder if this boat is to be takenforward when the others are filled. We must scramble down as well as wecan by the tackle at the bow and stern. I'll get in first and keep herclose to the ship's side."
"That's goin' to be a scratchy business," said Mrs. Lecks, "and I'm ofthe opinion we ought to wait till the ship has sunk a little more, sowe'll be nearer to the boat."
"It won't do to wait," said I, "or we shall not get in it at all."
"And goodness gracious!" exclaimed Mrs. Aleshine, "I can't stand hereand feel the ship sinkin' cold-blooded under me, till we've got where wecan make an easy jump!"
"Very well, then," said Mrs. Lecks, "we won't wait. But the first thingto be done is for each one of us to put on one of these life-preservers.Two of them I brought from Mrs. Aleshine's and my cabin, and the otherone I got next door, where the people had gone off and left it on thefloor. I thought if anythin' happened on the way to the island, thesewould give us a chance to look about us; but it seems to me we'll need'em more gettin' down them ropes than anywhere else. I did intendputtin' on two myself to make up for Mrs. Aleshine's fat; but you mustwear one of 'em, sir, now that you are goin' to join the party."
As I knew that two life-preservers would not be needed by Mrs. Lecks,and would greatly inconvenience her, I accepted the one offered me, butdeclined to put it on until it should be necessary, as it wouldinterfere with my movements.
"Very well," said Mrs. Lecks, "if you think you are safe in gettin' downwithout it. But Mrs. Aleshine and me will put ours on before we beginsailor-scramblin'. We know how to do it, for we tried 'em on soon afterwe started from San Francisco. And now, Barb'ry Aleshine, are you sureyou've got everythin' you want? for it'll be no use thinkin' aboutanythin' you've forgot after the ship has sunk out of sight."
"There's nothin' else I can think of," said Mrs. Aleshine; "at least,nothin' I can carry; and so I suppose we may as well begin, for yourtalk of the ship sinkin' under our feet gives me a sort o' feelin' likean oyster creepin' up and down my back."
Mrs. Lecks looked over the side at the boat, into which I had alreadydescended. "I'll go first, Barb'ry Aleshine," said she, "and show youhow."
The sea was quiet, and the steamer had already sunk so much that Mrs.Lecks's voice sounded frightfully near me, although she spoke in a lowtone.
"Watch me," said she to her companion. "I'm goin' to do just as he did,and you must follow in the same way."
So saying, she stepped on a bench by the rail; then, with one foot onthe rail itself, she seized the ropes which hung from one of the davitsto the bow of the boat. She looked down for a moment, and then she drewback.
"It's no use," she said. "We must wait until she sinks more, and I canget in easier."
This remark made me feel nervous. I did not know at what moment theremight be a rush for this boat, nor when, indeed, the steamer might godown. The boat amidships on our side had rowed away some minutes before,and through the darkness I could distinguish another boat, near thebows, pushing off. It would be too late now for us to try to get intoany other boat, and I did not feel that there was time enough for me totake this one to a place where the two women could more easily descendto her. Standing upright, I urged them not to delay.
"You see," said I, "I can reach you as soon as you swing yourself offthe ropes, and I'll help you down."
"If you're sure you can keep us from comin' down too sudden, we'll tryit," said Mrs. Lecks; "but I'd as soon be drowned as to get to an islandwith a broken leg. And as to Mrs. Aleshine, if she was to slip she'd goslam through that boat to the bottom of the sea. Now, then, be ready!I'm comin' down."
So saying, she swung herself off, and she was then so near me that I wasable to seize her and make the rest of her descent comparatively easy.Mrs. Aleshine proved to be a more difficult subject. Even after I had afirm grasp of her capacious waist she refused to let go the ropes, forfear that she might drop into the ocean instead of the boat. But thereproaches of Mrs. Lecks and the downward weight of myself made herloosen her nervous grip; and, although we came very near going overboardtogether, I safely placed her on one of the thwarts.
I now unhooked the tackle from the stern; but before casting off at thebow I hesitated, for I did not wish to desert any of those who might beexpecting to embark in this boat. But I could hear no approachingfootsteps, and from my position, close to the side of the steamer, Icould see nothing. Therefore I cast off, and, taking the oars, I pushedaway and rowed to a little distance, where I could get whatever view waspossible of the deck of the steamer. Seeing no forms moving about, Icalled out, and, receiving no answer, I shouted again at the top of myvoice. I waited for nearly a minute, and, hearing nothing and seeingnothing, I became convinced that no one was left on the vessel.
"They are all gone," said I, "and we will pull after them as fast as wecan."
And I began to row toward the bow of the steamer, in the direction whichthe other boats had taken.
"It's a good thing you can row," said Mrs. Lecks, settling herselfcomfortably in the stern-sheets, "for what Mrs. Aleshine and me wouldha' done with them oars I am sure I don't know."
"I'd never have got into this boat," said Mrs. Aleshine, "if Mr. Craighadn't been here."
"No, indeed," replied her friend. "You'd ha' gone to the bottom, hangin'for dear life to them ropes."
When I had rounded the bow of the steamer, which appeared to me to berapidly settling in the water, I perceived at no great distance severallights, which of course belonged to the other boats, and I rowed as hardas I could, hoping to catch up with them, or at least to keepsufficiently near. It might be my duty to take off some of the peoplewho had crowded into the other boats, probably supposing that this onehad been loaded and gone. How such a mistake could have taken place Icould not divine, and it was not my business to do so. Quite certainthat no one was left on the sinking steamer, all I had to do was to rowafter the other boats, and to overtake them as soon as possible. Ithought it would not take me very long to do this, but after rowing forhalf an hour, Mrs. Aleshine remarked that the lights seemed as far off,if not farther, than when we first started after them. Turning, I sawthat this was the case, and was greatly surprised. With only twopassengers I ought soon to have come up with those heavily laden boats.But after I had thought over it a little, I considered that as each ofthem was probably pulled by half a dozen stout sailors, it was not sovery strange that they should make as good or better headway than I did.
It was not very long after this that Mrs. Lecks said that she thoughtthat the lights on the other boats must be going out, and that this,most probably, was due to the fact that the sailors had forgotten tofill their lanterns before they started. "That sort of thing oftenhappens," she said, "when people leave a place in a hurry."
But when I turned around, and peered over the dark waters, it was quiteplain to me that it was not want of oil, but increased distance, whichmade those lights so dim. I could now perceive but three of them, and asthe surface was agitated only by a gentle swell, I could not supposethat any of them were hidden from our view by waves. We were being leftbehind, that was certain, and all I could do was to row on as long andas well as I could in the direction which the other boats had taken. Iha
d been used to rowing, and thought I pulled a good oar, and Icertainly did not expect to be left behind in this way.
"I don't believe this boat has been emptied out since the last rain,"said Mrs. Aleshine, "for my feet are wet, though I didn't notice itbefore."
At this I shipped my oars, and began to examine the boat. The bottom wascovered with a movable floor of slats, and as I put my hand down I couldfeel the water welling up between the slats. The flooring was insections, and lifting the one beneath me, I felt under it, and put myhand into six or eight inches of water.
The exact state of the case was now as plain to me as if it had beenposted up on a bulletin-board. This boat had been found to beunseaworthy, and its use had been forbidden, all the people having beencrowded into the others. This had caused confusion at the last moment,and, of course, we were supposed to be on some one of the other boats.
And now here was I, in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, in a leaky boat,with two middle-aged women!
"Anythin' the matter with the floor!" asked Mrs. Lecks.
I let the section fall back into its place, and looked aft. By thestarlight I could see that my two companions had each fixed upon me asteadfast gaze. They evidently felt that something was the matter, andwanted to know what it was. I did not hesitate for a moment to informthem. They appeared to me to be women whom it would be neither advisablenor possible to deceive in a case like this.
"This boat has a leak in it," I said. "There is a lot of water in heralready, and that is the reason we have got along so slowly."
"And that is why," said Mrs. Aleshine, "it was left empty. We ought tohave known better than to expect to have a whole boat just for three ofus. It would have been much more sensible, I think, if we had tried tosqueeze into one of the others."
"Now, Barb'ry Aleshine," said Mrs. Lecks, "don't you begin findin'fault with good fortune, when it comes to you. Here we've got acomfortable boat, with room enough to set easy and stretch out if wewant to. If the water is comin' in, what we've got to do is to get itout again just as fast as we can. What's the best way to do that, Mr.Craig?"
"'WE WILL PULL AFTER THEM.'"]
"We must bail her out, and lose no time about it," said I. "If I canfind the leak I may be able to stop it."
I now looked about for something to bail with, and the two women aidedactively in the search. I found one leather scoop in the bow; but as itwas well that we should all go to work, I took two tin cans that hadbeen put in by some one who had begun to provision the boat, andproceeded to cut the tops from them with my jack-knife.
"Don't lose what's in 'em," said Mrs. Lecks; "that is, if it's anythin'we'd be likely to want to eat. If it's tomatoes, pour it into the sea,for nobody ought to eat tomatoes put up in tins."
I hastily passed the cans to Mrs. Lecks, and I saw her empty thecontents of one into the sea, and those of the other on a newspaperwhich she took from her pocket and placed in the stern.
I pulled up the movable floor and threw it overboard, and then began tobail.
"I thought," said Mrs. Aleshine, "that they always had pumps for leaks."
"Now, Barb'ry Aleshine," said Mrs. Lecks, "just gether yourself up onone of them seats, and go to work. The less talkin' we do, and the morescoopin', the better it'll be for us."
I soon perceived that it would have been difficult to find two morevaluable assistants in the bailing of a boat than Mrs. Lecks and Mrs.Aleshine. They were evidently used to work, and were able to accommodatethemselves to the unusual circumstances in which they were placed. Wethrew out the water very rapidly, and every little while I stoppedbailing and felt about to see if I could discover where it came in. Asthese attempts met with no success, I gave them up after a time, and setabout bailing with new vigor, believing that if we could get the boatnearly dry I should surely be able to find the leak.
But, after working half an hour more, I found that the job would be along one; and if we all worked at once we would all be tired out atonce, and that might be disastrous. Therefore I proposed that we shouldtake turns in resting, and Mrs. Aleshine was ordered to stop work for atime. After this Mrs. Lecks took a rest, and when she went to work Istopped bailing and began again to search for the leak.
For about two hours we worked in this way, and then I concluded it wasuseless to continue any longer this vain exertion. With three of usbailing we were able to keep the water at the level we first found it;but with only two at work, it slightly gained upon us, so that now therewas more water in the boat than when we first discovered it. The boatwas an iron one, and the leak in it I could neither find nor remedy. Ithad probably been caused by the warping of the metal under a hot sun, anaccident which, I am told, frequently occurs to iron boats. The littlecraft, which would have been a life-boat had its air-boxes remainedintact, was now probably leaking from stem to stern; and in searchingfor the leak without the protection of the flooring, my weight haddoubtless assisted in opening the seams, for it was quite plain that thewater was now coming in more rapidly than it did at first. We were verytired, and even Mrs. Lecks, who had all along counseled us to keep atwork, and not to waste one breath in talking, now admitted that it wasof no use to try to get the water out of that boat.
It had been some hours since I had used the oars, but whether we haddrifted, or remained where we were when I stopped rowing, of course Icould not know; but this mattered very little; our boat was slowlysinking beneath us, and it could make no difference whether we went downin one spot or an other. I sat and racked my brain to think what couldbe done in this fearful emergency. To bail any longer was useless labor,and what else was there that we could do?
"When will it be time," asked Mrs. Lecks, "for us to put on thelife-preservers? When the water gets nearly to the seats?"
I answered that we should not wait any longer than that, but in my ownmind I could not see any advantage in putting them on at all. Why shouldwe wish to lengthen our lives by a few hours of helpless floating uponthe ocean?
"Very good," said Mrs. Lecks; "I'll keep a watch on the water. One ofthem cans was filled with lobster, which would be more than likely todisagree with us, and I've throwed it out; but the other had baked beansin it, and the best thing we can do is to eat some of these right away.They are mighty nourishin', and will keep up strength as well asanythin', and then, as you said there's a keg of water in the boat, wecan all take a drink of that, and it'll make us feel like new cre'tur's.You'll have to take the beans in your hands, for we've got no spoons norforks."
Mrs. Lecks and Mrs. Aleshine were each curled up out of reach of thewater, the first in the stern, and the other on the aft thwart. The daywas now beginning to break, and we could see about us very distinctly.Before reaching out her hands to receive her beans, Mrs. Aleshine washedthem in the water in the boat, remarking at the same time that she mightas well make use of it since it was there. Having then wiped her handson some part of her apparel, they were filled with beans from thenewspaper held by Mrs. Lecks, and these were passed over to me. I wasvery hungry, and when I had finished my beans I agreed with mycompanions that although they would have been a great deal better ifheated up with butter, pepper, and salt, they were very comforting asthey were. One of the empty cans was now passed to me, and after havingbeen asked by Mrs. Lecks to rinse it out very carefully, we allsatisfied our taste from the water in the keg.
"Cold baked beans and lukewarm water ain't exactly company vittles,"said Mrs. Aleshine, "but there's many a poor wretch would be glad to get'em."
I could not imagine any poor wretch who would be glad of the foodtogether with the attending circumstances; but I did not say so.
"The water is just one finger from the bottom of the seat," said Mrs.Lecks, who had been stooping over to measure, "and it's time to put onthe life-preservers."
"Very good," said Mrs. Aleshine; "hand me mine."
Each of us now buckled on a life-preserver, and as I did so I stood upupon a thwart and looked about me. It was quite light now, and I couldsee for a long distance over
the surface of the ocean, which was gentlyrolling in wide, smooth swells. As we rose upon the summit of one ofthese I saw a dark spot upon the water, just on the edge of our nearhorizon, "Is that the steamer?" I thought; "and has she not yet sunk?"
At this there came to me a glimmering of courageous hope. If thesteamer had remained afloat so long, it was probable that on account ofwater-tight compartments, or for some other reason, her sinking hadreached its limit, and that if we could get back to her we might besaved. But, alas, how were we to get back to her? This boat would sinklong, long before I could row that distance.
However, I soon proclaimed the news to my companions, whereupon Mrs.Aleshine prepared to stand upon a thwart and see for herself. But Mrs.Lecks restrained her.
"Don't make things worse, Barb'ry Aleshine," said she, "by tumblin'overboard. If we've got to go into the water, let us do it decently andin order. If that's the ship, Mr. Craig, don't you suppose we can floatourselves to it in some way?"
I replied that by the help of a life-preserver a person who could swimmight reach the ship.
"But neither of us can swim," said Mrs. Lecks, "for we've lived wherethe water was never more'n a foot deep, except in time of freshets,when there's no swimmin' for man or beast. But if we see you swim,perhaps we can follow, after a fashion. At any rate, we must do the bestwe can, and that's all there is to be done."
"The water now," remarked Mrs. Aleshine, "is so near to the bottom of myseat that I've got to stand up, tumble overboard or no."
"All right," remarked Mrs. Lecks; "we'd better all stand up, and let theboat sink under us. That will save our jumpin' overboard, or rollin' outany which way, which might be awkward."
"Goodness gracious me!" exclaimed Mrs. Aleshine. "You set the oysterscreepin' over me again! First you talk of the ship sinkin' under us, andnow it's the boat goin' to the bottom under our feet. Before any sinkin''s to be done I'd ruther get out."
"Now, Barb'ry Aleshine," said Mrs. Lecks, "stand up straight, and don'ttalk so much. It'll be a great deal better to be let down gradual thanto flop into the water all of a bunch."
"Very well," said Mrs. Aleshine; "it may be best to get used to it bydegrees; but I must say I wish I was home."
As for me, I would have much preferred to jump overboard at once,instead of waiting in this cold-blooded manner; but as my companions hadso far preserved their presence of mind, I did not wish to do anythingwhich might throw them into a panic. I believed there would be no dangerfrom the suction caused by the sinking of a small boat like this, and ifwe took care not to entangle ourselves with it in any way, we might aswell follow Mrs. Lecks's advice as not. So we all stood up, Mrs. Lecksin the stern, I in the bow, and Mrs. Aleshine on a thwart between us.The last did not appear to have quite room enough for a steady footing,but, as she remarked, it did not matter very much, as the footing, broador narrow, would not be there very long.
I am used to swimming, and have never hesitated to take a plunge intoriver or ocean, but I must admit that it was very trying to my nerves tostand up this way and wait for a boat to sink beneath me. How the twowomen were affected I do not know. They said nothing, but their facesindicated that something disagreeable was about to happen, and that theless that was said about it the better.
The boat had now sunk so much that the water was around Mrs. Aleshine'sfeet, her standing-place being rather lower than ours. I made myselfcertain that there were no ropes nor any other means of entanglementnear my companions or myself, and then I waited. There seemed to be agood deal of buoyancy in the bow and stern of the boat, and it was afrightfully long time in sinking. The suspense became so utterlyunendurable that I was tempted to put one foot on the edge of the boat,and, by tipping it, put an end to this nerve-rack; but I refrained, forI probably would throw the women off their balance, when they might fallagainst some part of the boat, and do themselves a hurt. I had justrelinquished this intention, when two little waves seemed to rise one oneach side of Mrs. Aleshine, and gently flowing over the side of theboat, they flooded her feet with water.
"Hold your breaths!" I shouted. And now I experienced a sensation whichmust have been very like that which comes to a condemned criminal at thefirst indication of the pulling of the drop. Then there was a horriblesinking, a gurgle, and a swash, and the ocean over which I had beengazing appeared to rise up and envelop me.
"'STAND UP STRAIGHT, AND DON'T TALK SO MUCH.'"]
In a moment, however, my head was out of the water, and, looking hastilyabout me, I saw, close by, the heads and shoulders of Mrs. Lecks andMrs. Aleshine. The latter was vigorously winking her eyes and blowingfrom her mouth some sea-water that had got into it; but as soon as hereyes fell upon me she exclaimed: "That was ever so much more suddintthan I thought it was goin' to be!"
"VIGOROUSLY WINKING AND BLOWING."]
"Are you both all right?"
"I suppose I am," said Mrs. Aleshine, "but I never thought that a personwith a life-preserver on would go clean under the water."
"But since you've come up again, you ought to be satisfied," said Mrs.Lecks. "And now," she added, turning her face toward me, "which wayought we to try to swim? and have we got everythin' we want to take withus?"
"What we haven't got we can't get," remarked Mrs. Aleshine; "and as forswimmin', I expect I'm goin' to make a poor hand at it."
I had a hope, which was not quite strong enough to be a belief, that,supported by their life-preservers, the two women might paddlethemselves along; and that, by giving them in turn a helping hand, Imight eventually get them to the steamer. There was a strong probabilitythat I would not succeed, but I did not care to think of that.
I now swam in front of my companions, and endeavored to instruct them inthe best method of propelling themselves with their arms and theirhands. If they succeeded in this, I thought I would give them somefurther lessons in striking out with their feet. After watching meattentively, Mrs. Lecks did manage to move herself slowly through thesmooth water, but poor Mrs. Aleshine could do nothing but splash.
"If there was anythin' to take hold of," she said to me, "I might getalong; but I can't get any grip on the water, though you seem to do itwell enough. Look there!" she added in a higher voice. "Isn't that anoar floatin' over there? If you can get that for me, I believe I can rowmyself much better than I can swim."
This seemed an odd idea, but I swam over to the floating oar, andbrought it her. I was about to show her how she could best use it, butshe declined my advice.
"If I do it at all," she said, "I must do it in my own way." And takingthe oar in her strong hands, she began to ply it on the water very muchin the way in which she would handle a broom. At first she dipped theblade too deeply, but, correcting this error, she soon began to paddleherself along at a slow but steady rate.
"Capital!" I cried. "You do that admirably!"
"Anybody who's swept as many rooms as I have," she said, "ought to beable to handle anythin' that can be used like a broom."
"Isn't there another oar?" cried Mrs. Lecks, who had now been left alittle distance behind us. "If there is, I want one."
Looking about me, I soon discovered another floating oar, and brought itto Mrs. Lecks, who, after holding it in various positions, so as to get"the hang of it," as she said, soon began to use it with as much skillas that shown by her friend. If either of them had been obliged to usean oar in the ordinary way, I fear they would have had a bad time of it;but, considering the implement in the light of a broom, its useimmediately became familiar to them, and they got on remarkably well.
"THEY GOT ON REMARKABLY WELL."]
I now took a position a little in advance of my companions, and as Iswam slowly they were easily able to keep up with me. Mrs. Aleshine,being so stout, floated much higher out of the water than either Mrs.Lecks or I, and this permitted her to use her oar with a great deal offreedom. Sometimes she would give such a vigorous brush to the waterthat she would turn herself almost entirely around, but after a littlepractice she learned to avoid undue effo
rts of this kind.
I was not positively sure that we were going in the right direction, formy position did not allow me to see very far over the water; but Iremembered that when I was standing up in the boat, and made mydiscovery, the sun was just about to rise in front of me, while the darkspot on the ocean lay to my left. Judging, therefore, from the presentposition of the sun, which was not very high, I concluded that we weremoving toward the north, and therefore in the right direction. How faroff the steamer might be I had no idea, for I was not accustomed tojudging distances at sea; but I believed that if we were careful of ourstrength, and if the ocean continued as smooth as it now was, we mighteventually reach the vessel, provided she were yet afloat.
"After you are fairly in the water," said Mrs. Aleshine, as she sweptalong, although without the velocity which that phrase usually implies,"it isn't half so bad as I thought it would be. For one thing, it don'tfeel a bit salt, although I must say it tasted horribly that way when Ifirst went into it."
"You didn't expect to find pickle-brine, did you?" said Mrs. Lecks."Though, if it was, I suppose we could float on it settin'."
"And as to bein' cold," said Mrs. Aleshine, "the part of me that's in isactually more comfortable than that which is out."
"There's one thing I would have been afraid of," said Mrs. Lecks, "if wehadn't made preparations for it, and that's sharks."
"Preparations!" I exclaimed. "How in the world did you prepare forsharks?"
"Easy enough," said Mrs. Lecks. "When we went down into our room to getready to go away in the boats we both put on black stockin's. I've readthat sharks never bite colored people, although if they see a white manin the water they'll snap him up as quick as lightnin'; and blackstockin's was the nearest we could come to it. You see, I thought aslike as not we'd have some sort of an upset before we got through."
"It's a great comfort," remarked Mrs. Aleshine, "and I'm very glad youthought of it, Mrs. Lecks. After this I shall make it a rule: Blackstockin's for sharks."
"I suppose in your case," said Mrs. Lecks, addressing me, "dark trouserswill do as well."
To which I answered that I sincerely hoped they would.
"Another thing I'm thankful for," said Mrs. Aleshine, "is that I thoughtto put on a flannel skeert."
"And what's the good of it," said Mrs. Lecks, "when it's soppin' wet?"
"Flannel's flannel," replied her friend, "whether it's wet or dry; andif you'd had the rheumatism as much as I have, you'd know it."
To this Mrs. Lecks replied with a sniff, and asked me how soon I thoughtwe would get sight of the ship; for if we were going the wrong way, andhad to turn round and go back, it would certainly be very provoking.
I should have been happy indeed to be able to give a satisfactory answerto this question. Every time that we rose upon a swell I threw a rapidglance around the whole circle of the horizon; and at last, not aquarter of an hour after Mrs. Lecks's question, I was rejoiced to see,almost in the direction in which I supposed it ought to be, the darkspot which I had before discovered. I shouted the glad news, and as werose again my companions strained their eyes in the direction to which Ipointed. They both saw it, and were greatly satisfied.
"Now, then," said Mrs. Aleshine, "it seems as if there was somethin' towork for"; and she began to sweep her oar with great vigor.
"If you want to tire yourself out before you get there, Barb'ryAleshine," said Mrs. Lecks, "you'd better go on in that way. Now what Iadvise is that we stop rowin' altogether, and have somethin' to eat; forI'm sure we need it to keep up our strength."
"Eat!" I cried. "What are you going to eat? Do you expect to catchfish?"
"And eat 'em raw?" said Mrs. Lecks. "I should think not. But do yousuppose, Mr. Craig, that Mrs. Aleshine and me would go off and leavethat ship without takin' somethin' to eat by the way? Let's all getherhere in a bunch, and see what sort of a meal we can make. And now,Barb'ry Aleshine, if you lay your oar down there on the water, Irecommend you to tie it to one of your bonnet-strings, or it'll befloatin' away, and you won't get it again."
As she said this, Mrs. Lecks put her right hand down into the water, andfumbled about, apparently in search of a pocket. I could not but smileas I thought of the condition of food when, for an hour or more, it hadbeen a couple of feet under the surface of the ocean; but my ideas onthe subject were entirely changed when I saw Mrs. Lecks hold up in theair two German sausages, and shake the briny drops from their smooth andglittering surfaces.
"'THERE'S NOTHIN' LIKE SAUSAGES FOR SHIPWRECK.'"]
"There's nothin'," she said, "like sausages for shipwreck and that kindo' thing. They're very sustainin', and bein' covered with a tight skin,water can't get at 'em, no matter how you carry 'em. I wouldn't bringthese out in the boat, because, havin' the beans, we might as well eatthem. Have you a knife about you, Mr. Craig?"
I produced a dripping jack-knife, and after the open blade had beenwaved in the air to dry it a little, Mrs. Lecks proceeded to divide oneof the sausages, handing the other to me to hold meanwhile.
"Now don't go eatin' sausages without bread, if you don't want 'em togive you dyspepsy," said Mrs. Aleshine, who was tugging at a submarinepocket.
"I'm very much afraid your bread is all soaked," said Mrs. Lecks.
To which her friend replied that that remained to be seen, and forthwithproduced, with a splash, a glass preserve-jar with a metal top.
"I saw this nearly empty, as I looked into the ship's pantry, and Istuffed into it all the soft biscuits it would hold. There was some sortof jam left at the bottom, so that the one who gets the last biscuitwill have somethin' of a little spread on it. And now, Mrs. Lecks," shecontinued triumphantly, as she unscrewed the top, "that rubber ring haskept 'em as dry as chips. I'm mighty glad of it, for I had troubleenough gettin' this jar into my pocket, and gettin' it out, too, forthat matter."
Floating thus, with our hands and shoulders above the water, we made avery good meal from the sausages and soft biscuit.
"Barb'ry Aleshine," said Mrs. Lecks, as her friend proceeded to cut thesecond sausage, "don't you lay that knife down, when you've done withit, as if 't was an oar; for if you do it'll sink, as like as not, aboutsix miles. I've read that the ocean is as deep as that in some places."
"Goodness gracious me!" exclaimed Mrs. Aleshine, "I hope we are not overone of them deep spots."
"There's no knowin'," said Mrs. Lecks, "but if it's more comfortin' tothink it's shallerer, we'll make up our minds that way. Now, then," shecontinued, "we'll finish off this meal with a little somethin' to drink.I'm not given to takin' spirits, but I never travel without a littlewhisky, ready mixed with water, to take if it should be needed."
So saying, she produced from one of her pockets a whisky-flask tightlycorked, and of its contents we each took a sip, Mrs. Aleshine remarkingthat, leaving out being chilled or colicky, we were never likely to needit more than now.
Thus refreshed and strengthened, Mrs. Lecks and Mrs. Aleshine took uptheir oars, while I swam slightly in advance, as before. When, withoccasional intermissions of rest, and a good deal of desultoryconversation, we had swept and swam for about an hour, Mrs. Leckssuddenly exclaimed: "I can see that thing ever so much plainer now, andI don't believe it's a ship at all. To me it looks like bushes."
"You're mighty long-sighted without your specs," said Mrs. Aleshine,"and I'm not sure but what you're right."
For ten minutes or more I had been puzzling over the shape of the darkspot, which was now nearly all the time in sight. Its peculiar form hadfilled me with a dreadful fear that it was the steamer, bottom upward,although I knew enough about nautical matters to have no good reason tosuppose that this could be the case. I am not far-sighted, but when Mrs.Lecks suggested bushes, I gazed at the distant object with totallydifferent ideas, and soon began to believe that it was not a ship,either right side up or wrong side up, but that it might be an island.This belief I proclaimed to my companions, and for some time we allworked with increased energy in the desire to get near e
nough to makeourselves certain in regard to this point.
"As true as I'm standin' here," said Mrs. Lecks, who, although she couldnot read without spectacles, had remarkably good sight at long range,"them is trees and bushes that I see before me, though they do seem tobe growin' right out of the water."
"There's an island under them; you may be sure of that!" I cried. "Isn'tthis ever so much better than a sinking ship!"
"I'm not so sure about that," said Mrs. Aleshine. "I'm used to the ship,and as long as it didn't sink I'd prefer it. There's plenty to eat onboard of it, and good beds to sleep on, which is more than can beexpected on a little bushy place like that ahead of us. But then, theship might sink all of a suddint, beds, vittles, and all."
"Do you suppose that is the island the other boats went to?" asked Mrs.Lecks.
This question I had already asked of myself. I had been told that theisland to which the captain intended to take his boats lay about thirtymiles south of the point where we left the steamer. Now I knew verywell that we had not come thirty miles, and had reason to believe,moreover, that the greater part of the progress we had made had beentoward the north. It was not at all probable that the position of thisisland was unknown to our captain; and it must, therefore, have beenconsidered by him as an unsuitable place for the landing of hispassengers. There might be many reasons for this unsuitableness: theisland might be totally barren and desolate; it might be the abode ofunpleasant natives; and, more important than anything else, it was, inall probability, a spot where steamers never touched.
But, whatever its disadvantages, I was most wildly desirous to reach it;more so, I believe, than either of my companions. I do not mean thatthey were not sensible of their danger, and desirous to be freed fromit; but they were women who had probably had a rough time of it during agreat part of their lives, and on emerging from their little circle ofrural experiences, accepted with equanimity, and almost as a matter ofcourse, the rough times which come to people in the great outside world.
"I do not believe," I said, in answer to Mrs. Lecks, "that that is theisland to which the captain would have taken us; but, whatever it is, itis dry land, and we must get there as soon as we can."
"That's true," said Mrs. Aleshine, "for I'd like to have ground nearerto my feet than six miles; and if we don't find anything to eat and anyplace to sleep when we get there, it's no more than can be said of theplace where we are now."
"You're too particular, Barb'ry Aleshine," said Mrs. Lecks, "about yourcomforts. If you find the ground too hard to sleep on, when you getthere, you can put on your life-preserver, and go to bed in the water."
"Very good," said Mrs. Aleshine; "and if these islands are made ofcoral, as I've heard they are, and if they're as full of small p'ints assome coral I've got at home, you'll be glad to take a berth by me, Mrs.Lecks."
I counseled my companions to follow me as rapidly as possible, and weall pushed vigorously forward. When we had approached near enough to theisland to see what sort of place it really was, we perceived that it wasa low-lying spot, apparently covered with verdure, and surrounded, asfar as we could see as we rose on the swells, by a rocky reef, againstwhich a tolerably high surf was running.
I knew enough of the formation of these coral islands to suppose thatwithin this reef was a lagoon of smooth water, into which there wereopenings through the rocky barrier. It was necessary to try to find oneof these, for it would be difficult and perhaps dangerous to attempt toland through the surf.
Before us we could see a continuous line of white-capped breakers, andso I led my little party to the right, hoping that we would soon seesigns of an opening in the reef.
We swam and paddled, however, for a long time, and still the surf rolledmenacingly on the rocks before us. We were now as close to the island aswe could approach with safety, and I determined to circumnavigate it,if necessary, before I would attempt, with these two women, to land uponthat jagged reef. At last we perceived, at no great distance before us,a spot where there seemed to be no breakers; and when we reached it wefound, to our unutterable delight, that here was smooth water flowingthrough a wide opening in the reef. The rocks were piled up quite high,and the reef, at this point at least, was a wide one, but as we nearedthe opening we found that it narrowed very soon, and made a turn to theleft, so that from the outside we could not see into the lagoon.
I swam into this smooth water, followed closely by Mrs. Lecks and Mrs.Aleshine, who, however, soon became unable to use their oars, owing tothe proximity of the rocks. Dropping these useful implements, theymanaged to paddle after me with their hands, and they were as muchastonished as I was when, just after making the slight turn, we foundstretched across the narrow passage a great iron bar about eight or teninches above the water. A little farther on, and two or three feet abovethe water, another iron bar extended from one rocky wall to the other.Without uttering a word I examined the lower bar, and found one end ofit fastened by means of a huge padlock to a great staple driven into therock. The lock was securely wrapped in what appeared to be tarredcanvas. A staple through an eyehole in the bar secured the other end ofit to the rocks.
"These bars were put here," I exclaimed, "to keep out boats, whether athigh or low water. You see they can only be thrown out of the way bytaking off the padlocks."
"They won't keep us out," said Mrs. Lecks, "for we can duck under. Isuppose whoever put 'em here didn't expect anybody to arrive onlife-preservers."