The Green Hand: Adventures of a Naval Lieutenant

  CHAPTER XXIII

  "Well, ma'am," continued our narrator, addressing himself, as usual, tohis matronly relative in the chair, and with the accustomed catch-word,which was like the knotting together of his interrupted yarn: "well--itwas between a fortnight and three weeks after losing sight of St Helena,that, being at last fairly in the latitude of the Cape, the frigate andschooner tacked in company, and stood close-hauled on a wind to theeastward. By the middle watch that night, when the moon set, we couldmake out the long flat top of Table Mountain heaving in sight off thehorizon over against her. Next day, in fact, we were both of us quietlyat anchor outside of the shipping in Table Bay; Cape Town glitteringalong on the green flat amongst the trees to southward, with the hillson each side of it like some big African lion lying on guard close by;while Table Mountain hove up, square-shouldered, blue to the left, fourthousand feet high, as bare and steep as a wall, with the rocks andtrees creeping up from the foot, and the wreaths of light cloud restinghalfway, like nothing else but the very breakwater of the world's end.The sea stretched broad off to north and west, and a whole fleet ofcraft lay betwixt us and the land--half of them Indiamen--amongst which,you may be sure, I kept a pretty sharp look-out with the glass, to seeif the _Seringapatam_ were there still.

  "I was soon saved further pains on this head, however, when shortlyafterwards the frigate was beset by a whole squadron of bumboats,shoving against each other, and squabbling in all sorts of niggertongues, who should be first: the chief of them being in evident commandof a fat old Dutch Vrouw, with an immense blue umbrella over her, twogreasy-looking Hottentot rowers in blankets, and a round-faced Dutchboy, the picture of herself, steering the boat; as the old lady made aclear berth for herself, by laying about her with her blue umbrella,till she was close under our quarter, sitting all the while with thebroad round stern of her bright-coloured gown spread over a couple ofbeer-barrels, like a peacock's train. In two minutes more the littlefellow was up the side, flourishing a bundle of papers under the firstlieutenant's very nose, and asking the ship's custom, even whilst thesentries were ordering them all off. A midshipman took this youth by thecuff of the neck, and was handing him rather roughly along to the careof the purser's steward, when I stepped betwixt them; and a bumboatbeing the best directory on the point, of course, I soon found the oldlady had had dealings with the _Seringapatam_, which her bluff-builtlittle progeny described as a very good ship indeed, all having paidtheir bills, except one young officer, who had left a balance standing,for which he had given a letter to his brother in a ship that was tocome after. As for the Indiaman herself, the Dutch boy said she hadsailed about a week before our arrival, along with two others; and hewas anxious to know if we were the vessel in question. I accordinglyunfolded the open letter, which was addressed: 'Thomas Spoonbill Simm,Esquire, of His Britannic Majesty's ship _Nincompoop_ (or otherwise)';and it ran somehow thus:--'_Hon. East India Company's ship_Seringapatam, _Table Bay, September 1, 1816_.--My dear Brother,--This isto certify that I have eaten four dozen and a half of eggs, supplied bythe worthy Vrouw Dulcken, the bearer of this, whom I can recommend as anold screw, and am due her for the same the sum of nine shillings andsixpence sterling, which you will kindly pay her, taking her receipt ormark, unless you are willing to forfeit our family watch, herewithdeposited by me in the hands of said Mother Dulcken. I may add that, injustice to the worthy Vrouw, three of the above-mentioned eggs ought tobe charged as _fowls_, which, by-the-way, I did not consume; and, withlove to all at home, remain your affectionate brother, JOHN SIMM,H.E.I.C.S.--_P.S._ The watch I have discovered to be pinchbeck, and itdoes not go; so that a sad trick must have been originally played uponour venerated uncle, from whom it descended.--J. S.'

  "This precious epistle was, without doubt, a joke of the fat mid Simm,who used to come such rigs over Ford the cadet, and that jumpedoverboard one night by mistake out of the Indiaman's quarter-boat,during the voyage. As for the existence of his brother Thomas, or thechance of his touching at that port, I set them down with the cominghome of Vanderdecken; though the thought of this young scamp of asea-lawyer breakfasting for a fortnight so comfortably, only a few feetdistant from my charmer's state-room, sent me all abroad again, andright into the Indiaman's decks, by this time far out of sight of land.Piece of impudent roguery though it was, I was actually loath to partwith the scrawl, which the reefer had fisted, no doubt, on the lid ofhis chest--probably with a pipe in his mouth at the time, it smelt so oftobacco--only seven days before: I could even see the grin on his fatface as he wrote it below in the steerage, with his chin up, and hiseyes looking down past his pipe; while the little Dutch boy's round flatfrontispiece glistened as he peered up at me, in the evident notion ofmy being the brother expected.

  "In fact, ma'am, I was so soft as to intend paying the nine-and-sixpencemyself, and keeping the letter, when I was startled to see the old ladyherself had contrived to be hoisted on board amongst her cabbages; andhaving got wind of the thing, seemingly, she came waddling towards me tohand over Simm's watch to boot. In another half-minute the letter wasbeing read aloud in the midst of the whole gun-room officers, amongstroars of laughter; the honest old Dutchwoman holding aloft the preciousarticle, and floundering through to find out the rightful owner, aseveryone claimed it and offered the nine-and-sixpence; while for my partI tried first to get down one hatchway, then another; and Lord Frederickhimself came up on the starboard side of the quarter-deck in the heightof the scene. Indeed, I believe it was a joke for months after in the_Hebe_, of a night, to say it was 'the second lieutenant's watch'; thesole revenge I had being to leave Mother Dulcken and her boy to expectthe 'ship that was coming after.'

  "A Government boat came aboard in the afternoon; and as soon as it leftus Lord Frederick took his gig and steered for a frigate lying somedistance off, which had the harbour-flag hoisted at her main, being theonly man-o'-war besides ourselves, and commanded by a senior captain.

  "Till it got dark I could see the crews of the nearest merchantmenlooking over their bulwarks at us and our prize, apparently comparingthe schooner with the frigate, and speculating on her character, as shelay a few fathoms off the _Hebe's_ quarter, both of us rising andfalling in turn on the long heave of the Cape swell from seaward. 'Twashard to say, in fact, so far as their hulls went, which was the mostbeautiful sample of its kind; though the schooner's French-fashionedsticks and offhand sort of rigging, showed rather like jury-gear besidethe tall regular sticks aloft of the _Hebe's_ decks, with all her hamperperfect to a tee. The _Hebe's_ men very naturally considered their ownship a model for everything that floated--a sort of a Solomon's temple,in short; and to hear the merciless way they ran down the Indiamen allround would have raised the whole homeward-bound fleet against us;whereas the schooner was our own, at any rate, and she was spoken ofmuch in the manner one mentions an unfortunate orphan, as good asalready christened by the name of the _Young Hebe_.

  "This our learned chaplain said was quite improper, and he gave anothername in place of it--the _Aniceta_--which meant, as he observed, the_Hebe's_ youngest daughter; so the _Aniceta_ she was called, happeningto be a title that went, according to the boatswain, full as sweetlythrough the sheave-hole.

  "Next day the schooner had landed not only her passengers from StHelena, but the prisoners also, as we still understood the French andtheir Kroomen to be. Not long after that Lord Frederick came back fromCape Town, looking grave, and went straight down to his cabin, or'cabins,' as his lordship preferred to have it said. The firstlieutenant dined that day with the captain; but they could scarcely havefinished when the 'young gentlemen,' who had been as usual from thereefer's mess, came up with a message from the captain, that hislordship would be glad if I would join the first lieutenant and himselfin a glass of wine. I found them sitting at the side of the tablenearest the open port, with the decanters between them, and the broadbright bay in full sight to the shore and the foot of Table Mountain,which rose up blocking the port with the top of it beyond view; thesounds of the merchantm
en clicking at their heavy windlasses, andhoisting in water-casks, floated slowly in from every side, while theschooner had hauled on her cable more abreast of the frigate, leavingthe sight clear over the eddy round her low counter.

  "'A lovely piece of workmanship, certainly!' observed Lord Frederickthoughtfully, as he leant back swinging his eyeglass round his finger,with the other hand in the breast of his waistcoat, and looking out atwhat was seen of the schooner. 'And how one might have improved herspars, too!' said Mr Hall, wistfully. 'I should have recommended longerlower-masts altogether, Lord Frederick, and a thorough overhaul, I maysay, from the combings upwards!' 'I would not have her hull touched forthe world, Mr Hall!' said the captain; ''tis too----excessivelyprovoking, at least! But pass the bottles to Mr Collins, if you please.'I had taken a chair, and quietly filled my glass, wondering what couldbe the matter, when his lordship turned to me and said, 'Do you know, MrCollins, this schooner of ours is likely to be laid up in Chancery,heaven knows how long. The Admiralty Court ashore are doubtful ofcondemning her, apparently, and she must either be sent home or to MonteVideo, or somewhere, where the master of her claims to belong!' 'Indeed,my lord,' said I, setting down my glass, 'that is curious.' 'Curious,indeed, sir!' replied he, biting his lips, 'though, after all, we reallycan scarce say what she is to be condemned for--only in the meantime Isail to-morrow for India.' 'She's French to the backbone, that I'llswear, Lord Frederick!' I said; 'and what's more, she was----' 'Ah,'broke in the captain, 'I know, I know; but the less we say of that, inpresent circumstances, the better! Once get her entangled with politics,and we may give her up altogether.' Lord Frederick twisted his eyeglassround his forefinger faster than before, still watching the schooner;the first lieutenant held up his claret betwixt himself and the light,and I sipped mine. 'I tell you what, gentlemen,' exclaimed his lordship,suddenly, 'I _must_ have that schooner at any cost!--What is to be done,Mr Hall?' 'She'd be of great service in the China seas, my lord,certainly,' said the first lieutenant, looking thoughtfully into hisempty glass; 'a perfect treasure for light service, especially if newsparred and----' I noticed Lord Frederick glancing sideways at me, as Ithought, with a slight gleam in his eye; and accordingly I suggestedthat he might buy her from the Frenchman himself; a very poor idea, nodoubt, as both the captain and first luff seemed to think, and we allthree kept eyeing her doubtfully through the port, without a word.

  "At this time the schooner's counter had been slowly sheering towardsthe frigate's beam, owing to the ebb-tide, and her holding only by asingle cable, till her stern began to show right opposite the cabin, Ishould say not twenty feet off. Lord Frederick put his glass to his eye,and was peering through it, when he remarked that they had brought uprather too near, leaving scarce room for the schooner to swing as shedid, earlier than we, so that she would be in danger in getting foul ofthe frigate's cables. 'The worst of it is, Lord Frederick,' said I,'that in case of a gale from seaward here, she might have to slip andrun upon very short warning, whereas the _Hebe_ has plenty ofground-tackle to let her ride it out. Considering it was Table Bay, atthis season, he ought to have kept her a clearer berth for herself, orelse have gone well outside!' 'Ah!' said Lord Frederick quickly, meetingmy eye for half-a-minute, till the gleam came into his again; andsomehow or other mine must have caught it, though I must say the notionthat struck me then all at once wasn't in my head before. 'Do you know,that's well thought of, Collins!' said his lordship. 'You've weatheredthe Cape before, by-the-by?' 'A dozen times, Lord Frederick,' said I;when a regularly jovial roar of laughter broke fair through the portinto the cabin from the schooner's taffrail, as she sheered end-on tothe frigate's quarter, and Lord Frederick leant forward with the glassscrewed into his right eye to see along their decks, which were coveredaft with an awning like the open gable of a tent at a fair. 'Singular!'said he; 'by the Lord Harry, who or what can that be Mr Hammond has gotthere?' Dangling over the French schooner's taffrail were to be seen thesoles of two immense boots, with calves and knees to match, and a pairof tightish striped trousers worked up more than halfway, till you sawthe tops of the stockings; just beyond the knees was the face leaningback in the shade of the awning and a straw hat together, out of which ahuge green cabbage-leaf hung like a flap over one eye, while the otherkept gazing in a half-closed sleepy sort of way at the sky, and the redend of a cigar winked and glowed in the midst of the puffs of smokelower down. The first lieutenant started up shocked at the sight, thenoble captain of the _Hebe_ sat with his eyeglass fixed, betweenamusement and wonder; for my own part, when the voice of this sameprodigy broke all of a sudden on us out of the awning, in a mixture ofstuttering, hiccuping, Yankee drawling, and puffs at the cigar, 'twasall I could do to hold on, with the knowledge of where I was. 'Wall now,general,' said the American, as if he were talking to someone aloft orin the sky, 'ye-you're qui-quite wrong--I ki-kick-calc'late I've fit adeal more be-be-battles than you have--I re-respect you, Ge-Ge-GeneralWashington; but I ho-ho-hope you know who--hic--who I am!' Here MrDaniel Snout, who was in a state of beastly intoxication, swayed himselfup bodily into the schooner's taffrail, and sat with his arms folded,his long legs swinging over the stern, and his head trying to keepsteady, as he scowled solemnly aloft over the frigate'smizzenroyal-mast-head; while the third lieutenant, Mr Hammond, and themaster's mate he had aboard with him, could be heard laughing at hisback, as if they had gone mad--Hammond being a wild sprig of anIrishman, who would go any length for a piece of fun.

  "Just then the American's one eye lighted on the side of the frigate,till it settled lazily on the port of the captain's cabin: first heseemed to notice Lord Frederick Bury, and then myself, the firstlieutenant having just recovered himself enough to rush toward the doorto get on deck. Daniel himself surveyed me scornfully for a moment, thenwith a sort of doubtful frown, and a gravity that passes me to describe,unless by the look of an old cock a-drinking--evidently trying torecollect me. 'Hallo, mister!' shouted he suddenly, 'you haven't touchedthose _notions_ of mine, I hope.' With that he made a spring off wherehe sat, as if to come towards us--no doubt thinking of the_Seringapatam_, and the valuables he had left aboard, without seeing thewater between; and a pretty deep dive Mr Snout would have made of it,into an ebb-tide that would have swept him under the frigate's bottom,if Mr Hammond and the midshipman hadn't both sprung forward in time tocatch him by the neck of the coat. There, accordingly, was the Yankeehanging like a spread eagle over the schooner's taffrail, yelling andturning round at the same time like a fowl on a spit--the thirdlieutenant's and the mate's faces two pictures of dismay, as they heldon, at finding for the first time where the schooner had shied themround to, with their two pairs of eyes fair in front of the captain'seyeglass--while Mr Hall was singing out like thunder from the deck aboveus, 'The schooner ahoy!--d'ye see where you've got to, sir? Haul aheadon that cable, d'ye hear, you lubbers, and keep clear of the ship!'

  "'Mr Collins,' said his lordship quietly to me, as soon as he could keephis countenance, and looking the sterner for the trouble he was put toin doing it, 'you will get your things and go aboard the schoonerdirectly--take her in charge, sir, and send Mr Hammond back here.' 'Verywell, my lord,' said I, waiting in the doorway for something more,which, from something in Lord Frederick's look, I had reason to expect,knowing it of old. 'I can only spare you a dozen of the men she has,'added he; 'but if you choose, you can send ashore at once to pick up afew makeshifts, or anything you find!' 'Ay, ay, my lord,' said I; 'thebest hand for that would be Mr Snelling, if I may take him, LordFrederick?' 'Oh, certainly,' was the answer; 'and harkye, Collins, youhad better shift your berth a few cable-lengths farther off, or more, ifyou please.' 'One thing, my lord,' said I, stooping down to see throughthe port, 'I don't much like the heavy ground-swell that begins to meetthe ebb, and I fancy it won't be long ere Table Mountain spreads itssupper-cloth--in which case I'd consider it necessary to slip cable andrun out at once, though I mightn't get in again so easily. Am I to findthe frigate here again, Lord Frederick?'

  'Deuce take it,
man--no!' said his lordship. He turned his back to hidethe evident twinkle of his eye. 'Should we part company, of course youmake for the Bay of Bengal! You can't be sure of the _Hebe_, short ofthe Sandheads--and if not there, then opposite Fort William, atCalcutta.' 'Very good, my lord,' said I, and had made my bow to go ondeck, when Lord Frederick called me back. 'By-the-by,' said he hastily,'about that Indiaman of yours, Collins--she is here no doubt?' 'No, LordFrederick,' answered I, 'I believe she sailed a week ago.' 'Dear me, thedeuce!' exclaimed he; 'why, I meant to have sent to-morrow to have yourfriend Westwood arrested and brought aboard!' I started at this, onwhich his lordship explained that if Westwood got to Bombay, whither the_Seringapatam_ was bound, the authorities there would have news of thething by this time, and could send him overland at once to England,which would be far worse for him than being carried to Calcutta, wherehis uncle the Councillor's interest might do something for him. 'Thebest thing you can do, Collins,' added Lord Frederick, 'if you areobliged to run out to sea, is to look after that Indiaman! With such aneat thing of a sea-boat under you, you might do anything you please; socruise to windward or leeward in chase, find her out and take outWestwood bodily--lose him afterwards in the Hoogley, if you like--carryaway those old spars of hers, and send up new ones--only don't lose theschooner, I beg; so good-bye to you, my dear fellow, lest we should notmeet on this side the line again!' 'Good-bye, my lord!' said Icheerfully, and hurried on deck, understanding all he wanted as well asif I'd been ordered to set her jib that moment and heave up anchor. Inten minutes I was over the frigate's side, and in ten more Hammond wasback in her, with the men who were to leave; while I sent my baggagebelow, set the hands to work shifting the schooner's berth, and bysundown we were lying beyond hail of the ship, opposite thecustom-house, and a long line of a main street in Cape Town, where wecould see the people, the carriages, and the Dutch bullock-carts passingup and down; while Table Mountain hove away up off the steep Devil'sHill and the Lion's Rump, to the long level line a-top as blue and bareas an iron monument, and throwing a shadow to the right over the peaksnear at hand.

  "Our friend from the United States being by this time in quite anoblivious condition, the first thing I did was to have him put quietlyinto the boat with which Mr Snelling was to go ashore for fresh hands,and I instructed the reefer to get clear of him anyhow he liked, if itwas only above tide-mark. When they were gone I walked the schooner'slittle quarter-deck in the dusk by myself, till the half-moon rose witha ghostly copper-like glare over the hollow in the Lion's Rump,streaking across the high face of Table Mountain, and bringing out allits rifts and wrinkles again. The land-breeze began to blow steadilywith a long sighing sweep from the north-east, meeting the heavy swellthat set into the broad bay; and the schooner, being a light cranklittle craft, got rather uneasy; whereas you could see the lights of thefrigate heaving and settling leisurely, less than half-a-mile off. I hadonly six or seven good hands aboard altogether at the time, which, withthose the midshipman had, were barely sufficient to work her in suchseas; so with all I had to do, with the difficulty of getting men in thecircumstances, a long voyage before us, and things that might turn up,as I hoped, to require a touch of the regular service, why the verypleasure of having a command made me a good deal anxious. Even of that Ididn't feel sure; and I kept watching Table Mountain, eager for theleast bit of haze to come across the top of it, as well as sorry I hadsent Snelling ashore. 'I'd give a hundred pounds at this moment,'thought I, 'to have had Bob Jacobs here!'

  "As the moon got higher, I could see the swell washing up between thedifferent merchantmen in sight, into their shadows, and heavy enoughsome of them seemed to roll round their cables, betwixt a breeze and aswell running the contrary ways; first one let go a second anchor, andthen another, to help their heads shoreward; but still there was nodanger, as things went. It wasn't long before I made out two boatscoming from toward the town, round the stern of one of the ships, thefrigate lying betwixt her and us, so that they took her by the way, anda good deal of hailing seemed to pass between them. I could even seeepaulets glisten over the _Hebe's_ quarter, as if there was a stir madeaboard; after which the boats were plainly pulling for the schooner.What all this might mean I couldn't very well conceive, unless it wereeither Snelling come back already, or else some hands Lord Frederickhimself had provided before this, as I saw both boats were full ofpeople. 'Forward there!' I sung out, 'hail those boats.' 'Ay, ay, theschooner ahoy!' was the answer in a sharp voice from the headmost ofthem, 'from the shore--all right! Stand by to heave us a line, will ye?'Next came a hail from Snelling, in our own gig; so I at once gaveorders to heave them a rope and have both boats brought under thegangway, naturally supposing the sharp little fellow had come somemarvellous good speed in shipping hands. As soon as he jumped on deck, Iaccordingly inquired how many men he had brought, when to my greatsurprise he informed me there was only one, 'a scuffy sort of a swab,'as he expressed it, 'who would do for cook!' 'The devil he will! youyoung rascal,' I broke out.

  "'Hush, sir, for heaven's sake,' said he, making some extraordinarysign, which I didn't understand; 'it'll all be right in the end, MrCollins. Now then, sir,' to someone in the boat alongside, as hecarefully handed him the accommodation-ropes, 'here you are--hold on,sir--so-o!' This was a rather youngish fellow in a huge pilot-coat and aglazed cap, with some kind of uniform inside, and a large breastpin inhis shirt, who handed me a paper the moment he stood firm on deck,without speaking a word; though, by the light of the deck-lantern, Ididn't much like the look of his foxy sort of face, with the whiskers onit coming forward from both cheeks to his mouth, nor the glance he gaveround the schooner with his pair of quick sharp little eyes. 'Much morelike a custom-house officer than a cook!' thought I, 'unless we mean tohave a French one'; but what was my astonishment, on opening the paper,to find him called 'Gilbert Webb, harbour master's assistant, herebyauthorised by the Admiralty Court, sitting in Cape Town, to take chargeof the doubtful vessel described in her papers as the _Ludovico_,belonging to Monte Video--from the officer commanding the prize crew ofhis Brittanic Majesty's ship _Hebe_.' My first thought was to have MrGilbert Webb pitched over into his boat again, when Lord Frederick's ownsignature met my eye at the bottom of the paper, addressed below to'Lieutenant Collins of His Majesty's schooner _Aniceta at sea_.'

  "A wonderfully mysterious squint from Snelling, behind the officer, wassufficient to clinch the matter in my own mind, showing that the reeferwas as sharp as a needle; and I handed back the document to the harbourgentleman, with a 'Very well, sir, that will do.' 'I suppose I'd betterhave my men up, Lieutenant Collins?' said he, with a quick pert kind ofaccent, which made me set him down at once for a Londoner, while at thesame time he seemed impatient, as I thought, to get the management.'Why, sir,' said I, 'I suppose you had.'

  "Hereupon up mounted four or five decent enough looking_stevedores_[24]--one or two of whom had rather the air of sailors, therest being broad-beamed, short-legged Dutchmen, with trousers likepillow-slips--followed by a whole string of fourteen or fifteen IndianLascars, their bundles in their hands, and an ugly old _serdug_ at theirhead; while a lame, broken-down, debauched-like fellow of aman-o'-war's-man, that Snelling had found sitting on a timberheadashore, got aboard with our own boat's crew. Our gangway was choke-full,to my fresh dismay, for, to get rid of such a tagrag-and-bobtail, incase of running to sea, was impossible; even if they weren't oddsagainst us, here was it likely to get a thick night, the swell growingunder the schooner till she began to jerk at her anchor, head to wind,like a young filly at a manger; so that dropping them back into theirboat when needful, as I intended at first, was out of the question forthe present. I found from the harbour officer that the number of handswould all be required with the morning tide, when his orders were tohave the schooner towed in opposite the Battery Dock, especially asthere was much chance of the wind blowing strong from seaward next day.The swell on the water, he said, was such that, after putting off, hethought of going back again till the tide began to turn; if he h
ad notbeen encouraged to stick to it and keep on by the midshipman, whom hefell in with near the quay. This piece of news was the finish to therage I felt brewing in me, vexed as I naturally was to give up thenotion of a free cruise, in command of a craft like the schooner; and assoon as Mr Webb was comfortable in the cabin, over a tumbler of stiffgrog and some cold beef, I sent for Snelling to my own cupboard of astate-room.

  [24] Men employed in the stowing of ship's cargoes.

  "'You cursed unlucky little imp, you!' I burst out, the moment he madehis appearance, 'what's the meaning of this, sirrah, eh?' 'What is it,if you please, sir?' said Snelling, pretending to hold down hisshock-head like a frightened schoolboy, and looking up all the time bothat me and the lamp at once, while he swayed with the uneasy heave of thedeck in such a way as made me grip him by the arm in a perfect fury,fancying he had got drunk ashore. 'You young blackguard, you!' said I,shaking him, 'didn't I tell you to get hands--didn't you know I meantto--to----' 'Oh yes, Mr Collins,' gasped the reefer, 'I did indeed--youmeant to cut and run--I saw it by your eye, sir, and--don't shake me anymore, sir, or you'll spoil my hair--and I don't deserve it--it's--allright!' And on my letting him go, the ugly little scamp sunk down on achair with his eyes starting from his head, and a leer like a perfectdemon incarnate: but so perfectly laughable it was, not to mention theair of complete confidence between us that he threw into it, that I satdown myself, ready to grin at my bad luck. 'Well, Mister Snelling,' saidI quietly, 'you _are_ a touch beyond me! Let's have the joke, atleast--out with it, man, else another shake may be----'

  "The reefer pointed with his thumb over his shoulder to the cabin,shoved his chin forward, and whispered, 'Why, sir, I'm only doubtfulwhether you could make him third officer--but at any rate, he'll alwaysbe useful at a rope, Mr Collins--won't he, sir?' I gave Snelling onelook, meant to be as grave as an Old Bailey chaplain's, but it wouldn'tdo--my conscience wouldn't stand it--in fact the very self-same notionseemed to me to have been creeping into my mind. 'You--young--rascal!'was all I could manage to say, before making bolt to go on deck.'By-the-by, Mister Snelling,' said I, turning and looking down from thehatchway, 'you must want a glass of grog--tell the boy to let you havesome--and go and keep the officer company, sir.'

  "By this time it was raining hard, the half-moon coming out at momentsand shining through it with a sudden sharp gleam, in some gust of thewind off the land--showing the swell in as far as the wet whitecustom-house and the bare quays, the ships with their hazy lights allhither and thither, while Table Mountain was to be seen now and thenpeering half over the mist, first one corner and then another, of acolour like dead ashes. One time I looked down toward the dusky littlecabin, where the midshipman, quite in his element, was sitting with theharbour officer, the lamp jerking and making wild swings betwixt them,while Snelling evidently egged on his companion to drink; then I gave aglance seaward, where there was nothing but a glimmer of rain and sprayalong the dark hollows of the water.

  "I couldn't make up my mind, all I could do--it was too barefaced athing to slip from the roadstead with a breeze blowing off-shore; butthe worst of it was, that I didn't feel easy at the idea of parting withan anchor in the circumstances, not to say carrying off the Governmentpeople, unless forced to it. I accordingly went below to mix myself astiffener, and found the officer a cool head, for, in spite of allSnelling could do, the reefer himself had got provoked, whereas thesharp Mr Webb was only a little brisker than before. 'A rough sort ofnight,' said I, nodding to him, as I knocked the water out of my cap.'Well, it seems,' said he, free and easy. 'S'pose I go on deck then,gentlemen--I've refreshed, I assure you, so you needn't trouble aboutthis 'ere schooner no farther--glad to get quit of it and turn in, Idesay lieutenant?' 'No trouble in the world, Mr Webb,' said I, going onwith my mixture, 'far from it; but sit down a minute, pray, sir--MrSnelling here will take charge of the deck for us in the meantime'; andSnelling vanished at once, Mr Webb apparently flattered at my wishinghis company. 'Will that cable of yours hold, think ye, LieutenantCollins?' asked he, filling up another glass. 'Why,' said I, almostlaughing, 'to tell you the truth, I begin to feel rather doubtful ofit.' 'What!' broke out the harbour officer, starting up, 'then I must'ave another put down immediately: why, what's the effect, sir--we'll becarried out to sea!' 'You said it exactly, Mr Webb,' I said: ''twouldhave been much worse, I suppose, if we were driven ashore, though! Nowlook you, if I were to let go a second anchor at present, I couldn'tlight upon a better plan either to break her back or lose both anchorsin the end, from the difference of strain on the two cables with thisground-swell. The fact is, my good fellow, you're evidently not fit totake charge at present.'

  "'What, lieutenant!' said he, looking fierce and foolish at the sametime, 'here's strange lang'age to a Gov'ment officer, sir; I hask themeanin' of it _at once_, mister!' 'But I depend a good deal on yourknowledge of Table Bay weather,' I continued, leaning back with myweather eye screwed to bear upon him. 'D'ye think this wind likely tomoderate soon, sir? come now.' 'No,' replied he sulkily, 'I'm sure itwon't; and to-morrow it's certain to blow back ten times worse.' 'Then,Mr Webb,' said I, rising, 'you oughtn't to have come aboard to-night; asthe short and the long of it is, I shall get the schooner an offing thefirst possible moment!' The officer stared at me in a bewildered manner;and as for the schooner, she seemed to be bolting and pitching in a wayworse than before, with now and then a plunge of the swell on herbroadside, as if she had been under weigh. Suddenly Snelling lifted theskylight-frame and screamed down into the cabin: 'Mr Collins, MrCollins! she's been dragging her anchor for the last ten minutes, sir!'

  "I sprang on deck at two bounds; the schooner had somehow or other gother anchor out of hold at the time, with the cable as taut as afiddle-string. It was quite dark aloft, and not a vestige of TableMountain to be seen, though the moonshine, low down to westward, broughtout two or three tracks of light along the stretch of water, and you sawthe lights in the ships slowly sweeping past. Where we happened to be,it blew two ways at once, as is often the case in Table Bay, round thebluffs of the mountain, and as soon as she brought up again with a surgeat the windlass, the heave of a long swell took her right on thequarter, lifting her in to her anchor again with a slack of the hawser,at which every second man sung out to 'hold on!' Over she went to port,a sea washing up the starboard side, and throwing a few dozen bucketfulsat once fair into the companion, where our friend the harbour officerwas sticking at the time; so down plumped Mr Webb along with it, and thebooby hatch was shoved close after him, while the poor devils of Lascarswere huddled together as wet as swabs in the lee of the caboose forward.'A hand to the wheel!' shouted I, as soon as I recovered myself; when tomy great surprise I saw Snelling's new hand, poor creature as I'dthought him, standing with a spoke in each fist, as cool and steady aspossible, and his eye fixed on me in the true knowing way which I feltcould be trusted to. 'Jib there!' I sung out, 'see all clear to run up afew hanks of the jib--stand by to cut the cable at the bitts!' 'Ay, ay,sir,' answered Snelling, who was working away with the harbour men, hisbare head soaked, and altogether more like an imp than a young gentlemanof the navy--'all's clear, sir.'

  "Five minutes I daresay we stood, everyone in the same position, whileI waited for a good moment in the run of the swell looking into thebinnacle; till she hung slack, as it were, in a wide seething trough ofthe sea, when I signed to the man behind me to put the helm gradually tostarboard. I glanced at the fellow again, caught his sharp weatherly eyeonce more--then putting both hands to my mouth I sung out to bowse onthe jib-halliards. 'Now--cut--the cable!' shouted I, springing forwardin my anxiety.

  "The schooner rose away from her anchor on the heavy roll of the sea; Isaw two quick strokes of the axe on the instant, and she was spinninghead off from the wind, heeling over betwixt the force of it and theground-swell together, while the mass of black water was washing bodilyaway with us; the new helmsman showing down below me he as leant to thewheel, like somebody at the foot of a slide. If he had'nt helped her atthe moment w
ith a back turn of the spokes to port, 'twould have been allup with us. As it was, the schooner fell off gallantly in his hands,with a sliding surge into the lee of the next swell, that buried hersharp bows in the green sea till it foamed about our very shoulders aswe hung on like grim death to the weather bulwark. She was just shakingherself free, and rising like a buoy over the broad tops of the waves,when Snelling, myself, and two or three of the men staggered down to hermainmast to swing up the throat-halliards, letting her feel a little ofthe boom mainsail; and we had scarce belayed, as the last glimpse of thefrigate's lights was caught astern of us, heaving and setting, as sherode with her two bower anchors down; we had driven past close enough tohave heard the creak of her hamper aloft. After that I had thefore-staysail set on her, then the reefed mainsail, and the livelyschooner yielded to the long rolling seas so well, as very soon to makeher own weather of it, especially since--clear of the high land aboutTable Bay--it was blowing only a strong breeze; and the more I began tofeel master of her, the more inclined I was to let her show her goodqualities.

  "Such a craft I never had had the full management of before in my life;and you may easily fancy how I felt at dividing the hands into the twowatches, giving little Snelling command of one, as first mate, andpicking out our men in turn. I looked round amongst mine, rather at aloss for one to make a second mate for the cruise, though there werethree prime enough man-o'-war's-men, and I had chosen one of theGovernment officer's gang for his activity. As for the Lascars, weslumped in half of the number to each of us, for make-weights--whenSnelling's fresh hand, who had fallen to my share, caught my eye againas he stood at the wheel. Every half-spoke he gave the schooner told;she was topping the heavy seas as they rose, and taking them just wherethey melted one to the other, with a long floating cleave that carriedher counter fairly free of the after-run, though nearly right before thewind: the main-boom had been guyed over to the lee-quarter, till a thirdof the sail hung clear of her hull, and the breeze swept into the hollowof it, thick with spray. The light from the little binnacle shone updistinctly on the man's face, and with all the desperate, used-up,marbled sort of look of it, like one getting the better of a long spreeashore, I thought there was something uncommonly promising about him,not to say greatly above the run of foremast men. The wet, the wind, andthe work he was at took off the seediness of his clothes; even the oldrag of a handkerchief round his hairy neck had got a gloss to it, and hestood handling the wheel with a strange mixture of recklessness andcare, as he glanced from the compass to the gaff of the mainsail againstthe scud, and down again.

  "The very contrast between the man's manner and his outward rig wassufficient to strike one, though plenty of seamen are to be found in thelike state ashore; but what fixed me to him above all was the expressionin those two keen, searching, _living_ eyes of his, when they once ortwice met mine on their way from aloft to the compass-boxes. 'Twas as ifthey'd woke up since he came aboard out of a sleepy, maudlin condition,with the 'blue-devils,' or scarce fully out of 'em; like a sick man's inthe lull of a fever, suddenly seen watching you out of the dusk of thebed, when one happens to glance up from the nurse's seat.

  "'What's your name, my man?' asked I, stepping aft to the binnacle. 'Myname is Jones, sir,' said he readily. 'And your first name?' I said.'Jack,' was the answer in an offhand way, with a hitch of one shoulder,and a weather-spoke to the wheel; spoken in an accent you'd haveexpected more in a West-End drawing-room than from a common sailor.'Ah,' said I sharply. 'Jack Jones? I wonder how many Jack Joneses thereare afloat! An able seaman, I think, Jones?' 'Why, sir,' replied theman, 'I never rate myself, sir--'tis all one to me, able, ordinary,landsman, or boy--I carry no papers, and leave my betters to rate me.''Where were you last, my man?' I asked; whereupon I met such a cool,steady, deep look out of the fellow's strange light-coloured eyes,bloodshot as they were with drinking, that I felt almost our very twosouls jostle in it; as much as to say: To all eternity fathom me if youcan! 'Well, I forget where, sir,' said he, lowering his look to thecompass-box again; 'always the way with me after a trip, a cruise, avoyage, or whatever it may be. I've got--ha!' and he yielded his bodycoolly to a jerk of the schooner's wheel. 'A sweet craft this, sir, buta little ticklish!' 'You've got what?' said I, not unwilling to wear outthe time. 'I've got--no memory!'

  "Still there was somewhat so gloomy and mournful in the next glancealoft, I don't know how it was, but I felt inclined to offer him amate's place on trial, and so I hinted, if he knew half as well how tohandle a craft as he did of steering her. To my own surprise, Jones'swonder didn't seem to be roused at the notion, except that he gave meanother quick glance, from head to foot, with a queer smile that struckme as if I were being questioned, instead of _him_; then he looked downover his own outfit, judging by which you'd have said he'd beenshipwrecked. 'Well,' said I, 'I daresay you've been hard put to it,somehow, Jones--so as soon as you leave the wheel, you can go below tothe steward, and get a seagoing suit of my own, till we see Calcutta,when your mate's wages will set you all right again.' The man touchedhis battered old straw hat; but I noticed his eyes gleam for a moment bythe binnacle light, and a strange twitch run round his mouth at themention of the mate's wages, the only way I could account for it at thetime being his late hard-up condition; and nothing to my mind was moredeucedly pitiable than to see the thought of a few paltry additionalrupees light up a head like that, with the glistening sort of expressionof a miser as I fancied.

  "The man had a head on him, in fact, when you eyed him, fit for agentleman's shoulders, or more--his hair and his whiskers curly anddark, draggled though they were with the rain, not to say Cape Townmud--while the wearing away of the hair about the temples, and the redgrog-streaks in the veins of his face, made him, no doubt, a dozen yearsolder to appearance than he was. For my part I was quite convincedalready, this same Jack Jones hadn't been sent out a cabin boy; therewas not only a touch of high blood in him at bottom, but I'd have swornhe had been some time or other in the place of a gentleman, afloat orashore, though plainly now 'going to the devil.'

  "Meanwhile the breaking look of the clouds away on our larboard bowshowed it wasn't far off dawn; so, sending another hand to the wheel,and finding a snug spot under a stern-grating for a snooze on deck, Itold Jones to begin with taking charge of the deck for me. 'One thing,sir,' said he, touching his hat again, as I lay down, 'I've only shippedfor the outward voyage, and leave at the first port.' 'Why, what!' saidI, lifting my head; 'what do you mean to do there, eh?' 'I--I want to goashore,' answered he, eagerly; 'ay, if we're years on the cruise, somuch the better, sir, but so soon as she drops anchor off Calcutta, I'mmy own master?' 'Have your own way, then,' said I; 'at any rate I'll tryyou in the meantime--so Mister Jones, let's see how you mind theschooner till eight bells!' Whereupon I turned myself over to sleep, andit was as broad daylight as we had any likelihood of about the Cape,when I woke.