The Second Mate glanced down, saw something and bent sharply forward.
"My G.o.d!" I heard him mutter, under his breath.
After that, for some half-minute, he stared, without a word.
"There are two more out there, Sir," I told him, and indicated the place with my finger.
It was a little time before he managed to locate these and when he did, he gave them only a short glance. Then he got down off the spar, and spoke to us.
"Come down off there," he said, quickly. "Get your brooms and clear up.
Don"t say a word!--It may be nothing."
He appeared to add that last bit, as an afterthought, and we both knew it meant nothing. Then he turned and went swiftly aft.
"I expect he"s gone to tell the Old Man," Tammy remarked, as we went forrard, carrying the mat and his sinnet.
"H"m," I said, scarcely noticing what he was saying; for I was full of the thought of those four shadowy craft, waiting quietly down there.
We got our brooms, and went aft. On the way, the Second Mate and the Skipper pa.s.sed us. They went forrard too by the fore brace, and got up on the spar. I saw the Second point up at the brace and he appeared to be saying something about the gear. I guessed that this was done purposely, to act as a blind, should any of the other men be looking.
Then the Old Man glanced down over the side, in a casual sort of manner; so did the Second Mate. A minute or two later, they came aft, and went back, up on to the p.o.o.p. I caught a glimpse of the Skipper"s face as he pa.s.sed me, on his return. He struck me as looking worried--bewildered, perhaps, would be a better word.
Both Tammy and I were tremendously keen to have another look; but when at last we got a chance, the sky reflected so much on the water, we could see nothing below.
We had just finished sweeping up when four bells went, and we cleared below for tea. Some of the men got chatting while they were grubbing.
"I "ave "eard," remarked Quoin, "as we"re goin" ter shorten "er down afore dark."
"Eh?" said old Jaskett, over his pannikin of tea.
Quoin repeated his remark.
""oo says so?" inquired Plummer.
"I "eard it from ther Doc," answered Quoin, ""e got it from ther Stooard."
""ow would "ee know?" asked Plummer.
"I dunno," said Quoin. "I "spect "e"s "eard "em talkin" "bout it arft."
Plummer turned to me.
""ave you "eard anythin", Jessop?" he inquired.
"What, about shortening down?" I replied.
"Yes," he said. "Weren"t ther Old Man talkin" ter yer, up on ther p.o.o.p this mornin"?"
"Yes," I answered. "He said something to the Second Mate about shortening down; but it wasn"t to me."
"They are!" said Quoin, ""aven"t I just said so?"
At that instant, one of the chaps in the other watch, poked his head in through the starboard doorway.
"All hands shorten sail!" he sung out; at the same moment the Mate"s whistle came sharp along the decks.
Plummer stood up, and reached for his cap.
"Well," he said. "It"s evydent they ain"t goin" ter lose no more of us!"
Then we went out on deck.
It was a dead calm; but all the same, we furled the three royals, and then the three t"gallants. After that, we hauled up the main and foresail, and stowed them. The crossjack, of course, had been furled some time, with the wind being plumb aft.
It was while we were up at the foresail, that the sun went over the edge of the horizon. We had finished stowing the sail, out upon the yard, and I was waiting for the others to clear in, and let me get off the foot-rope. Thus it happened that having nothing to do for nearly a minute, I stood watching the sun set, and so saw something that otherwise I should, most probably, have missed. The sun had dipped nearly half-way below the horizon, and was showing like a great, red dome of dull fire. Abruptly, far away on the starboard bow, a faint mist drove up out of the sea. It spread across the face of the sun, so that its light shone now as though it came through a dim haze of smoke.
Quickly, this mist or haze grew thicker; but, at the same time, separating and taking strange shapes, so that the red of the sun struck through ruddily between them. Then, as I watched, the weird mistiness collected and shaped and rose into three towers. These became more definite, and there was something elongated beneath them. The shaping and forming continued, and almost suddenly I saw that the thing had taken on the shape of a great ship. Directly afterwards, I saw that it was moving. It had been broadside on to the sun. Now it was swinging.
The bows came round with a stately movement, until the three masts bore in a line. It was heading directly towards us. It grew larger; but yet less distinct. Astern of it, I saw now that the sun had sunk to a mere line of light. Then, in the gathering dusk it seemed to me that the ship was sinking back into the ocean. The sun went beneath the sea, and the thing I had seen became merged, as it were, into the monotonous greyness of the coming night.
A voice came to me from the rigging. It was the Second Mate"s. He had been up to give us a hand.
"Now then, Jessop," he was saying. "Come along! come along!"
I turned quickly, and realised that the fellows were nearly all off the yard.
"i, i, Sir," I muttered, and slid in along the foot-rope, and went down on deck. I felt fresh dazed and frightened.
A little later, eight bells went, and, after roll call, I cleared up, on to the p.o.o.p, to relieve the wheel. For a while as I stood at the wheel my mind seemed blank, and incapable of receiving impressions. This sensation went, after a time, and I realised that there was a great stillness over the sea. There was absolutely no wind, and even the everlasting creak, creak of the gear seemed to ease off at times.
At the wheel there was nothing whatever to do. I might just as well have been forrard, smoking in the fo"cas"le. Down on the main-deck, I could see the loom of the lanterns that had been lashed up to the sherpoles in the fore and main rigging. Yet they showed less than they might, owing to the fact that they had been shaded on their after sides, so as not to blind the officer of the watch more than need be.
The night had come down strangely dark, and yet of the dark and the stillness and the lanterns, I was only conscious in occasional flashes of comprehension. For, now that my mind was working, I was thinking chiefly of that queer, vast phantom of mist, I had seen rise from the sea, and take shape.
I kept staring into the night, towards the West, and then all round me; for, naturally, the memory predominated that she had been coming towards us when the darkness came, and it was a pretty disquieting sort of thing to think about. I had such a horrible feeling that something beastly was going to happen any minute.
Yet, two bells came and went, and still all was quiet--strangely quiet, it seemed to me. And, of course, besides the queer, misty vessel I had seen in the West I was all the time remembering the four shadowy craft lying down in the sea, under our port side. Every time I remembered them, I felt thankful for the lanterns round the maindeck, and I wondered why none had been put in the mizzen rigging. I wished to goodness that they had, and made up my mind I would speak to the Second Mate about it, next time he came aft. At the time, he was leaning over the rail across the break of the p.o.o.p. He was not smoking, as I could tell; for had he been, I should have seen the glow of his pipe, now and then. It was plain to me that he was uneasy. Three times already he had been down on to the maindeck, prowling about. I guessed that he had been to look down into the sea, for any signs of those four grim craft. I wondered whether they would be visible at night.
Suddenly, the time-keeper struck three bells, and the deeper notes of the bell forrard, answered them. I gave a start. It seemed to me that they had been struck close to my elbow. There was something unaccountably strange in the air that night. Then, even as the Second Mate answered the look-out"s "All"s well," there came the sharp whir and rattle of running gear, on the port side of the mainmast.
Simultaneously, there was the shrieking of a parrel, up the main; and I knew that someone, or something, had let go the main-topsail haul-yards.
From aloft there came the sound of something parting; then the crash of the yard as it ceased falling.
The Second Mate shouted out something unintelligible, and jumped for the ladder. From the maindeck there came the sound of running feet, and the voices of the watch, shouting. Then I caught the Skipper"s voice; he must have run out on deck, through the Saloon doorway.
"Get some more lamps! Get some more lamps!" he was singing out. Then he swore.
He sung out something further. I caught the last two words.
"...carried away," they sounded like.
"No, Sir," shouted the Second Mate. "I don"t think so."