O"Rook also fulfilled his engagements to some extent, being not only able, but willing, to spin long-winded yarns, which, when genuine material failed, he could invent with facility.
Thus the time pa.s.sed pleasantly enough for several weeks, and the shipwrecked crew succeeded in keeping up their spirits, despite the undercurrent of heavy anxiety with which they were oppressed,--as indeed they could scarcely fail to be, when they reflected on the fact that the island, on which they had been cast, lay far out of the ordinary track of ships. This had been ascertained by the captain, who, it may be remembered, had taken his s.e.xtant from the ship, and who, the day before the destruction of the raft on the coral reef, had obtained a reliable observation, and fixed their position.
But this anxiety was deepened, and a darker gloom was cast over the party, by an incident which happened soon afterwards.
It has been said that Watty Wilkins was pa.s.sionately fond of fishing.
This business he prosecuted by means of a small raft, made from the remnants of the old one, which he pushed about with a long pole. But the raft was inconvenient; moreover, it had been more than once nearly upset by a shark. Watty therefore resolved to make a small boat out of the remains of the old boat beside which the skeleton had been found.
In this he was so ably a.s.sisted by his friends Jack and Ben, that the boat--which was a very small one--was launched in the course of two weeks. A pair of light oars was also made, and in this boat the fishing was prosecuted with redoubled vigour. Sometimes the three friends went off in company; more frequently little Wilkins went out alone.
One day he pushed off by himself, and pulled to different parts of the lagoon, casting his line now and then with varying success. The day happened to be unusually calm and bright. When he pa.s.sed the opening in the reef, the surf appeared less violent than usual, so that he was tempted to pull though it. The breakers were pa.s.sed in safety, and he soon found himself with a sensation of great delight, floating on the gentle swell of the open sea. He pulled out for a considerable distance, and then cast his lines. So intent was he on these, that he did not observe the approach of a squall till it was almost upon him.
Seizing the oars, he pulled towards the island, but he had drifted off sh.o.r.e a considerable distance. The wind, also, was against him. His efforts were vain. In short he was blown out to sea.
The desperate anxiety of the poor boy was changed to despair when the island gradually receded and finally disappeared. At first the little boat was nearly swamped, but by clever management of the oars Watty saved it. The squall was short-lived. Before long it again fell calm, and the sky cleared, but nothing was now to be seen save the unbroken circle of the horizon.
Who can tell the feelings of the poor youth when night descended on the sea? For hours he sat in the stern-sheets quite motionless, as if stunned. [Note: see frontispiece.] Rowing, he knew, would be of no use, as he might be pulling away from the island instead of towards it.
Fastening his jacket to an oar, he set it up as a signal, and sat down helpless and inactive, but his mind was busy as he gazed into the depths of the moonlit sky. He thought of home, of the father whom he had so deeply injured, of the prospects that he had unwittingly blighted, of his comrade Ben Trench, and his other friends on the Coral Island. As he continued to think, conscience rose up and condemned him sternly.
Wilkins bowed his head to the condemnation, and admitted that it was just.
"Oh!" he cried, in a pa.s.sion of sudden remorse, "O G.o.d! spare me to return home and be a comfort to my father,--my dear, dear father!"
He put his face in his hands and wept bitterly. Sitting thus, overcome with sorrow and fatigue, he gradually sank lower and lower, until he slid to the bottom of the boat, and lay at last with his head on the thwart, in profound slumber. He dreamed of home and forgiveness as he floated there, the one solitary black spot on the dark breast of the solemn sea.
CHAPTER SIX.
WATTY WILKINS IS TRIED, COMFORTED, RUN DOWN, RESCUED, AND RESTORED.
When Watty Wilkins awoke from sleep, the sun was high in the heavens and the sea smooth as a mirror.
The poor boy raised himself on one elbow and looked about him, at first with a confused feeling of uncertainty as to where he was. Then the truth burst upon him with overwhelming force. Not only was he alone in a little, half-decayed boat without sail, rudder, or compa.s.s, on the great Pacific Ocean, but, with the exception of a few fish, he was without food, and, worst of all, he had not a drop of fresh water.
What was to be done? An unspoken prayer ascended from his heart to G.o.d, as he rose and seized the oars. A belief that it was needful to act vigorously and at once was strong upon him. For several minutes he relieved his feelings by rowing with all his might. Then he stopped abruptly, and his spirit sank almost in despair as he exclaimed aloud--
"What"s the use? I don"t know where the island is. I may only be pulling farther away from it. Oh! what shall I do?"
At that moment of extreme depression, the value of having had a G.o.d-fearing father who had taught him the Bible was unexpectedly realised, for there flashed into his mind, as if in reply to his question, the words, "Call upon me in the time of trouble; I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me."
He pulled in the oars at once, fell on his knees, and, clasping his hands, prayed fervently. Watty had been taught a form of prayer in childhood, and had often used it with little or no regard to its meaning. Now, in his distress, he prayed in earnest. He meant what he said. It followed, also, that he said what he meant. The old form, being quite unsuitable to the occasion, was forgotten, and very homely language indeed was used, but it was sufficient for the purpose. The substance of it was a cry for pardon and deliverance. That which winged it to the Throne of Grace was the name of Jesus Christ.
Resuming the oars, he rowed gently; not for the sake of directing the boat, but because a state of inaction was disagreeable, and as he rowed he thought of the promise that had been sent to him. Strange to say, the latter part of it, "Thou shalt glorify me," seemed to take a stronger hold of his mind than the first. "Yes," he thought, "the whole promise is true. He will deliver me and make me to glorify Himself in some way or other. Perhaps He will let me live to return home, and be a comfort to my father."
The thought of the sorrow he had caused his father weighed heavier than ever in the poor boy"s mind, and the desire to express his repentance, and, if possible, make his father glad again, became very intense. It seemed to him that a millstone would be removed from his heart if he could be allowed, even for one minute, to hold his father"s hand and say, "Oh, I am so sorry, sorry, sorry that I ran away!" The millstone was not removed at that time, however; but in answer to prayer it was unquestionably lightened.
The exercise of rowing and the fresh morning air produced their natural effect ere long on the little castaway. He became ravenously hungry, and turned his eyes inquiringly on the few fish which surged about in the pool of dirty water that had gathered in the bottom of the boat. It was not an inviting breakfast. Watty turned his eyes away from it, looked up into the fair blue sky, and tried to think of other things!
But the calls of nature were not to be silenced. Instead of thinking of other things, he somehow thought of bread and b.u.t.ter. He even fell into a species of argument with himself as to whether it would not be uncommonly pleasant in various supposable circ.u.mstances, to eat bread without b.u.t.ter. Then he found himself meditating on the delights of b.u.t.ter and jam together, which somehow suggested the scriptural figure of a land flowing with milk and honey.
"Oh!" he sighed at this point, "if the sea was only milk and honey--milk even without honey!--what a glorious prospect!"
He looked at it as if he half thought it would be transformed under the power of his intense wish. Then he looked again at the floating fish and shuddered. Well might he shudder, for they were contemptible little fish, most of them, with unnaturally large heads, and great staring eyes, as if they had failed, even in death, to get rid of their surprise at being caught. With their mouths opened to the uttermost, they seemed to wish to shout, but couldn"t.
"I may as well take them out of the dirty water anyhow," he muttered, suiting the action to the word, and spreading the fish on the thwart in front of him. Liking their appearance still less in that position, he put them on the thwart behind him, and tried to forget them.
Impossible! He might as well have tried to forget his own existence.
At last, after holding out as long as possible, the poor boy made up his mind to eat a little. Then he thought, "If I could only cook them; oh!
for only one small lump of live coal from the camp fire on--"
The thought was checked abruptly, for he suddenly remembered that he had a burning-gla.s.s in his trousers pocket. He might perhaps be able to roast them with that--in a somewhat underdone fashion, no doubt--still, any sort of cooking would be better than none!
It need scarcely be said that the attempt failed. The only results were a burnt spot or two and a faint odour that served to intensify his hunger. At last he bit a mouthful out of the back of one of the fish, chewed it viciously, swallowed it in a hurry, and felt very sick. The ice was broken, however, and he got on better than he had expected. But when hunger was appeased, there came gradually upon him the far less endurable condition of thirst. He really felt as if he should choke, and once or twice he dipped his baling-dish over the side, but restrained himself on remembering the journal of the skeleton, wherein it was recorded that one of the men had gone mad after drinking salt water.
Towards the afternoon hope was revived in his breast by the appearance of clouds indicating rain. It came at last, in a soft gentle shower-- far too gentle, indeed, for it could not be collected. What dropped upon the wooden baling-dish seemed to sink into or evaporate off it.
The few drops that fell upon his patiently protruded tongue served only to tantalise him. But Watty was not p.r.o.ne to give way to despair; at least, not to remain in that condition. He took off his jacket, spread it out so as to form a basin, and eagerly watched the result. Alas! the cloth was too soft. It acted like a sponge, into which the rain-drops disappeared.
When it became evident that the coat was a failure--refusing even to part with a single drop when wrung,--Watty chanced to cast down his eyes, and they naturally fell on his trousers. They were stiff canvas trousers, and very greasy from much service among the dishes. Instantly he had them off, and spread out as the coat had been. Joy inexpressible--they held water! To convert the body of them into a lake and the legs into two water-courses was not difficult for one whose ingenuity was beyond the average. But oh! the lake basin was slow to gather the precious drops! He caused the two legs to debouch into the baling-dish, and watched eagerly for half an hour, at the end of which period about a winegla.s.sful was collected. He sucked it in, to the last drop, and waited for more. It seemed as if the very sky sympathised with the boy"s distress, for soon afterwards the rain increased, then it poured, and finally, Watty Wilkins was more than satisfied, he was drenched. Fortunately the downpour was short-lived. It ceased suddenly; the clouds broke up, and the evening sun came out in full splendour, enabling him to partially dry his garments.
In the Southern Seas at that time, the weather was particularly warm, so that our castaway felt no inconvenience from his ducking, and spent the second night in comparative comfort, his dreams--if he had any--being untroubled with visions of food or drink. Once, indeed, he awoke, and, looking up, recalled so vividly the fate of the man who had been cast alone and dying on the Coral Island, that he became deeply depressed by the thought of meeting a similar fate; but the text of the previous day again recurred to him. Clinging to it, he again fell asleep, and did not wake till morning.
Looking over the side, he saw what sent a gush of hope and joy to his heart. A ship, under full sail, not half a mile off! He rubbed his eyes and looked again. Was he dreaming? Could it be?
He sprang up with a cry of delight and gave vent to a long, loud cheer, as much to relieve his feelings as to attract attention. It was almost too good to be true, he thought. Then a voice within whispered, "Did you not ask for deliverance?" and the boy mentally responded, "Yes, thank G.o.d, I did."
While he was thinking, his hands were busy refastening his jacket (which he had taken down to sleep in) by a sleeve to its former place at the end of an oar. But there was no occasion to signal. The vessel, a barque, was running straight towards him before a light breeze under full sail--as Baldwin Burr would have said, with "stuns"ls slow and aloft." Believing that he had been observed, he ceased waving his flag of distress.
But soon a new idea sent a thrill through his heart. No sign of recognition was made to him as the ship drew near. Evidently the look-out was careless.
Leaping up, Watty seized the oar, waved his flag frantically, and yelled out his alarm. Still the ship bore majestically down on him, her huge bow bulking larger and higher as she drew near. Again Watty yelled, loud and long, and waved his flag furiously. The ship was close upon him--seemed almost towering over him. He saw a sailor appear lazily at the bow with his hands in his pockets. He saw the eyes of that seaman suddenly display their whites, and his hands, with the ten fingers extended, fly upwards. He heard a tremendous "Starboard ha-a-a-rd!"
followed by a terrific "Starboard it is!" Then there was a crashing of rotten wood, a fearful rushing of water in his ears, a bursting desire to breathe, and a dreadful thrusting downwards into a dark abyss. Even in that moment of extremity the text of the morning flashed through his whirling brain--then all was still.
When Watty"s mind resumed its office, its owner found himself in a comfortable berth between warm blankets with a hot bottle at his feet, and the taste of hot brandy-and-water in his mouth. A man with a rough hairy visage was gazing earnestly into his face.
"Wall, youngster, I guess," said the man, "that you"d pretty nigh slipped your cable."
Watty felt thankful that he had not quite slipped his cable, and said so.
"You went over me, I think," he added.
"Over you! Yes, I just think we did. You went down at the bows--I see"d you myself--and came up at the starn. The cap"n, he see"d you come up, an" said you bounced out o" the water like the cork of a soda-water bottle. But here he comes himself. He told me I wasn"t to speak much to you."
The captain, who was an American, with a sharp-featured and firm but kindly countenance, entered the berth at the moment.
"Well, my boy, glad to see you revived. You had a narrow escape.
Wouldn"t have been so if it hadn"t chanced that one of our worst men was the look-out--or rather wasn"t the look-out. However, you"re all right now. Your ship went down, I expect, not long since?"
"About three or four months ago," answered Watty.
"Come, boy, your mind hasn"t got quite on the balance yet. It ain"t possible that you could be as fat as a young pig after bein" three or four months at sea in an open boat. What was the name of your ship?"
"The _Lively Poll_."