STORY ONE, CHAPTER 6.
OVERBOARD.
Once more we were at sea. Had it not been for the honour of the thing,we should have preferred being on board the frigate, for although I havea great respect for many Africans, I must say that it is not agreeableto have some hundreds of them as shipmates. We had happily very fineweather, and the poor people were able constantly to take the air ondeck. They seemed to have forgotten all their sufferings and miseries,and would sing and dance and tell stories, and laugh all day long. Istill continued to take Peter Pongo in hand, and began to teach him notonly to speak but to read and write English. Snookes used to laugh atme at first, but when he saw the progress Peter made he wanted to teachhim likewise. To this I said No, he might try and teach some one else,but he was not to interfere with my pupil. He agreed to this, buteither he selected a stupid subject, or his mode of teaching was notgood, for he made wonderfully little progress. For a week he was tryingto teach his pupil Tommy Toad, as he called him, three letters of thealphabet, and at the end of the time he could not tell B from C. MrTalbot took care also that we should not be idle, and kept us knottingand splicing and doing all sorts of work aloft. We were approaching ourport, and were congratulating ourselves on having made a favourablepassage, when two of our men were taken sick, then another and another,till our strength was sadly reduced. One poor fellow died, and thereappeared every prospect of our losing more. The negroes were generallyready enough to work, but as they did not know how, they were of littleuse. Mr Talbot and Sommers worked away most heroically, attending tothe sick, pulling and hauling, and often steering the vessel. Dickeyand I did our best to help them. While the fine weather lasted ourdifficulties were not very great; at the same time, we were so shorthanded that the labour fell heavily on those who remained well. Dickeyand I, though not very big or strong, from going constantly aloft, wereof no little use, we flattered ourselves. One evening as we wereapproaching our destination, being closed hauled under all sail andstanding on our course--Sommers was at the helm, Mr Talbot was below,and Dickey and I with two men were on deck, all we could muster for thewatch--Sommers kept looking anxiously round the horizon, especially tothe southward, where I observed some dark clouds banking up. As Iwatched them, they seemed suddenly to take it into their heads to rollrapidly onward, and down they bore upon us like a flock of sheepscouring over the downs. "All hands shorten sail," shouted Sommers."Stafford. Rushforth, aloft lads, and furl the fore-topgallantsail."Up we sprang into the rigging. As yet the breeze was very light, andthere was no difficulty in what we had to do, but a few minutes' delaymight make the task impracticable. Dickey was spirited enough inreality. We lay along on the yard, and had begun to haul the sail,when, as I was stretching over to get a hold of the canvas to gather itup, I lost my balance, and over I went head first. I heard a shriek.It was from Dickey. He thought I should be killed. So should I, if Ihad had time to think about the matter; but providentially at thatmoment a sudden puff of wind bulged out the foretopsail to its utmostextent, and I striking it at the moment, away it sent me, as from acatapult, right over the bows, clear of the vessel. Had I struck thedeck or bulwarks I should have been killed. I sank, but quickly comingto the surface, looked about me with very little hope of being saved,for there was the schooner flying on before the fast-increasing gale;and as I knew full well, with so few seamen on board, that it would takesome time to put about to come to my relief. All this flashed rapidlythrough my mind. Farther and farther away flew the schooner, still Idetermined not to give in. I could swim pretty well, and I managed tothrow off my jacket and kick off my shoes, and as only a thin pair oftrousers and a shirt remained, I had no difficulty in keeping myselfabove water; but the knowledge that sharks abounded in those seas, andthat any moment one of those horrid monsters might catch hold of my legand haul me down, gave me very unpleasant sensations. I watched thereceding vessel--moments seemed hours. There was no sign of her puttingabout. I at length was about to give way to despair, when my eye fellon an object floating between her and me. It was of some size--agrating I concluded--and I made out a black ball on the other side ofit. The grating was moving towards me. I struck out to make it, andthen I saw that it was pushed by a negro. "Keep up, Massa Pringle, keepup," said a voice in a cheery tone, which I recognised as that of PeterPongo. My spirits returned. I had been a careless, thoughtless fellow,but I prayed then as I never prayed before, that the dreadful sharksmight be kept from me, that I might reach the grating, and might by somemeans or other be saved. I felt a strength and courage I had not feltbefore. I struck out with all my power, still it seemed very very longbefore I reached the grating, and in my agitation I almost sank as I wascatching hold of it. Peter Pongo had, however, sprang on to it andcaught hold of me. I soon recovered. Words enough did not just thencome into my head to thank him, but I took his hand, and he understoodme. So far I was safe, for the grating was large enough to hold usboth, but the sea was rapidly rising, and we might easily again bewashed off. We looked about us, the schooner had not yet tacked, andthe squall had already caught her. She was heeling over on herbeam-ends, and everything seemed in confusion on board--yards swingingabout, ropes flying away, and sails shivering to tatters. It was latein the evening, the sky was obscured, and darkness was coming on. Theseas, too, began to dance wildly about us; their white tops, curlingover and leaving dark cavern-looking hollows underneath, into which itseemed every instant that we must glide and be swallowed up. Theprospect altogether was gloomy in the extreme. I felt how much I owedto poor Peter Pongo, who had voluntarily exposed himself to it for mysake, and I felt that had he not done so, I should long before this havebeen numbered with the dead. I still thought that we should both besaved. There were some bits of rope fastened to the grating, and bythese we lashed ourselves to it, or we should inevitably have beenwashed off. We were constantly under water, but as it was warm that didnot signify, as we soon again came to the surface. Our fear was lestsome hungry shark should make a dart at us on those occasions and pickus off. Darker and darker it grew, the seas as they dashed wildly aboutmade a loud prolonged roar, and at last, as we cast our eyes forward,not a glimpse of the schooner could we see. As the conviction of ourforlorn condition broke upon me--I could not help it--I gave way totears. I could not wring my hands because they were busy holding on tothe grating. I thought of you, mother, and papa, and dear Harry, andour sisters, and that I should never see you any more; or old England,or the Hall, or Uncle Tom, or any of my friends. Peter wasn't sounhappy, because he had no friends remaining, and his native village wasin ruins. The darkness came thicker and thicker down upon us. Nothingcould we see but the dark waves rising up on every side against the sky.Not a star was visible. We no longer, indeed, knew in which directionto look for the schooner. It appeared, I remember exactly, as if wewere being tossed about inside a black ball. I could not calculate howlong a time had passed since I had fallen overboard, when I began tofeel very hungry. I had had a bit of biscuit in my pocket, but that hadbeen lost with my jacket, and now I had nothing to eat. I bore it forsome time, and then I felt very faint, and thought that I could notpossibly hold on any longer. Still I did my best not to let go, andevery now and then Peter spoke to me and encouraged me, "Neber fear,massa," said he. "Him you tell me of, live up in sky, Him watch overus." We did not speak much, however; we could not, I do not know why.Oh, that was a dreary, awful night, not likely to be forgotten! Yethere I am alive. I shall never despair after that, and shall alwaysfeel, in however terrible a position I am placed, that a merciful God iswatching over me, and that He will find means to save me.