Harry and Mr. Stubbs had a hurried conference.
"Can"t we help at this work, Mr. Stubbs?" asked Harry. "The poor men look utterly exhausted."
"Well thought of, my boy! I am with you. I will speak to the captain."
But Mr. Holdfast, the mate, chanced to be nearer, and to him Mr. Stubbs put the question:
"Can"t I help at the pumps?"
"And I, too, Mr. Holdfast," put in Harry.
"I accept your offer with thanks. The men are very tired."
So Harry and Mr. Stubbs helped at this necessary work, and when the professor and the Melbourne merchant heard of it they, too, volunteered. But Marmaduke Timmins, the valetudinarian, and Montgomery Clinton felt quite inadequate to the task.
Harry found his work tiresome and fatiguing, but he had the comfort of feeling that he was relieving the exhausted sailors, and doing something to save his own life and the lives of his companions.
He caught sight of poor Jack, looking ready to drop.
"Jack, you must be very tired," he said, in a tone of deep sympathy.
"If I stood still I should drop on the deck fast asleep," said Jack.
"Can"t you lie down for an hour? I am taking your place."
Mr. Holdfast coming up at this moment, Harry suggested this to him, and the mate said kindly:
"Jack, my lad, go below and catch a little nap. I will call you when I want you."
So Jack, much relieved, went below, and, without a thought of the danger, so fatigued was he, fell asleep the moment he got into his bunk, and was not called up for four hours.
After a while they reduced the flow of water, but ascertained that the ship was badly strained, and by no means safe. It was not till the next day, however, that an important decision was reached.
All were called on deck.
"It is my duty to tell you," said Captain Hill, "that the ship is so damaged by the recent storm that it is liable to sink at any time.
Those who choose to run the risk may remain, however. I propose, with such as choose to join me, to take to the boats. I will give you fifteen minutes to decide."
Excitement and dismay were painted on the faces of all. The ship might be insecure, but to launch out upon the great ocean in a frail boat seemed to involve still greater danger.
CHAPTER XIII
"WHO WILL STAY?"
The decision was a momentous one. It might be death to remain on the ship, but to a landsman it seemed still more perilous to embark on an angry sea in a frail boat.
The pa.s.sengers looked at each other in doubt and perplexity.
They had but fifteen minutes in which to make up their minds.
The mate stood by, his face and manner serious and thoughtful.
"Mr. Holdfast," said Mr. Stubbs, "do you agree with the captain that it is our best course to take to the boats?"
"I should prefer to try the ship a little longer. I say so with diffidence, since the captain has a longer experience than I."
"I don"t think much of your judgment, Mr. Holdfast," said Captain Hill, in a tone of contempt.
The mate"s face flushed--not so much at the words as the tone.
"Nevertheless Captain Hill," he said, "I stand by what I have said."
"Mr. Holdfast," said Mr. Stubbs, who seemed to speak for the pa.s.sengers, "if some of us decide to remain on the ship, will you remain with us?"
"I will!" answered the mate, promptly.
"Then set me down as the first to remain," said Stubbs.
Somehow this man, rough and abrupt as he was, had impressed Harry as a man in whom confidence might be reposed. He felt safe in following where he led.
"I am but a boy," he said, "but I have to decide for my life. I shall remain with the mate and Mr. Stubbs."
Quietly Stubbs shook hands with Harry.
"I am glad to have you with us," he said earnestly. "We will die or live together."
Next came Professor Hemenway.
"Put me down as the third," he said. "Harry, we sailed together, and we will remain together to the end."
"I go in the boat," said John Appleton. "I have a great respect for Mr. Holdfast, but I defer to the captain"s judgment as superior."
He went over and ranged himself beside the captain.
"You are a sensible man, sir," said Captain Hill, with a scornful glance at the mate and the pa.s.sengers who sided with him.
"Mr. Holdfast can go down with the ship, if he desires. I prefer to cut loose from a doomed vessel."
Marmaduke Timmins, the invalid, looked more sallow and nervous than ever. He had swallowed a pill while the others were speaking, to give himself confidence.
"I will go with the captain," he said. "My life is likely to be short, for my diseases are many, but I owe it to myself to do my best to save it."
"In deciding to go with me, you are doing your best, sir," said Captain Hill.
He had not hitherto paid much attention to Mr. Timmins, whom he looked upon as a crank on the subject of health, but he was disposed to look upon him now with more favor.