King o' the Beach: A Tropic Tale

  CHAPTER SIX.

  The sun was sinking low as the doctor and his companion reached the deckand then ascended to the bridge to have a hasty glance round before thebrief tropical evening should give place to darkness, and in thatrapidly made observation they grasped that the great steamer,wonderfully uninjured, lay aground in comparatively shallow water,doubtless upon the coral rocks which formed the bottom of a broadlagoon.

  Everything loose had been carried away by the waves which had swept thedecks, but the masts and funnel were standing comparatively uninjured,and as far as they could make out, scarcely any injury had been done tothe structure of the ship.

  "The mischief's all below, sir, I expect," said the old sailor. "Weshall find she's got a lot of water in her hold."

  "But she lies immovable, I suppose," said the doctor.

  "Quite, sir; she's fast as fast can be, and'll lie till she rusts away,which won't be this side o' fifty year."

  "Then there is no immediate danger?"

  "Not a bit, sir, and it's a bad job as those boats was launched; they'dall have been better here if the skipper could have known."

  "Yes; waited till the storm had passed," assented the doctor.

  "Ay, sir, but who could tell that we were going to be floated over thereef and set down, as you may say, in dock? Besides, if the skipperhadn't ordered the boats out when he did there'd ha' been a mutiny."

  "I suppose so; the crew would have risen against their officers."

  "The crew, sir? Yes, and the passengers too. There'd ha' been a panicand a rush."

  The doctor sighed, shaded his eyes, and looked out from the side wherethey stood at the golden lagoon.

  In the distance he could see the huge rollers breaking regularly on thecoral reef--a wonderful sight in the setting sun, the water glowingorange and blood-red, while the spray which rose was a fiery gold.

  "Magnificent," said the doctor, softly, and he turned to cross to theother side of the deck to look out westward over a couple of hundredyards of smooth water to a grove of cocoanut-trees, beyond which wasdense forest, and above that, hill and ravine running up glorious in thegolden sunset for hundreds of feet.

  "An island--a coral island, I suppose," said the doctor.

  "Nay, sir; there's coral all about here, but that's not a coral island;it runs up too big. I daresay that's been an old volcano some time, andwhen we land we shall most likely find a bit of a lake of good water upyonder among the hills. Yes, that we shall, for look there among thetrees, flashing like in the sunshine; that's a bit of a waterfall. It'sa little river, you see, where the lake empties out."

  The doctor nodded. "I think we have seen enough for this evening,Bostock," he said, with a sigh; "everything would look so beautiful ifone did not feel so sad."

  "Sad, sir?" cried the old sailor, wonderingly. "What, with young MasterCarey coming round instead o' lying dead and cold; and us safe and soundwith a well-stored ship anchored under our feet?"

  "Yes, that is all good and comforting, Bostock," said the doctor; "butwhat about all our companions and friends?"

  "Ay, and mates too," said the old sailor. "Yes, that's bad, but there'salways a bit o' blue sky behind the clouds. Who knows, sir, but whatthey may all be making for port over this smooth red sea after ridingout the storm?"

  "I hope they are," said the doctor, fervently.

  "Same here, sir," said the old sailor. "Perhaps they are, and mebbejust at this here very blessed moment there's some on 'em feeling assorry as we are 'cause they think as the _Susan's_ gone down in the deepsea and taken with her that there dear boy, the doctor, and poor old BobBostock. Ay, sir, some of our chaps didn't much like me, because I washard on some o' the young ones over making 'em tackle to. But I'll bebound to say, sir," cried the old man, chuckling till the tears stood inhis eyes, "some on 'em'll be saying among theirselves that old BobBostock was as good a mate as ever stepped the deck."

  "I hope so too," said the doctor, smiling; "people are very fond offinding out a man's good qualities when he's dead."

  "But I aren't dead, sir, and I don't mean to be dead as long as I canhelp it. But don't you feel awful sick and faint, sir?"

  "Faint?"

  "Yes, sir. Human nature's human nature, you know, sir, and if you stopits victuals it gets ravenish. I aren't had a mouthful of anything butsalt water for quite thirty hours, and I don't believe you haveneither."

  "I don't believe I have, Bostock," said the doctor, smiling.

  "Thought not, sir. So what do you say to going and looking up thestooard's and the cook's quarters and seeing what we can find?"

  "Yes, Bostock, the wisest thing we can do, and I must be thinking aboutmy patient too. I must not let him starve."