"Oh, Glynn, how very, _very_ much I do wish I could go down there and play with the dear, exquisite, darling little fishes!"
"You"d surprise them, I suspect," said Glynn. "It"s rather too deep a pool to play in unless you were a mermaid."
"How deep is it, Glynn?"
""Bout ten feet, I think."
"So much? It does not look like it. What a very pretty bit of coral I see over there, close to the white rock; do you see it? It is bright pink. Oh, I would like _so_ much to have it."
"Would you?" cried Glynn, jumping up and throwing off his jacket; "then here goes for it."
So saying he clasped his hands above his head, and bending forward, plunged into the pool and went straight at the piece of pink coral, head-foremost, like an arrow!
Glynn was lightly clad. His costume consisted simply of a pair of white canvas trousers and a blue striped shirt, with a silk kerchief round his neck, so that his movements in the water were little, if at all, impeded by his clothes. At the instant he plunged into the water King b.u.mble happened to approach, and while Ailie stood, petrified with fear as she saw Glynn struggling violently at the bottom of the pool, her sable companion stood looking down with a grin from ear to ear that displayed every one of his white teeth.
"Don"t be "fraid, Missie Ally," said the negro; "him"s know wot him"s doin", ho yis!"
Before Ailie could reply, Glynn was on the surface spluttering and brushing the hair from his forehead with one hand, while with the other he hugged to his breast the piece of pink coral.
"Here--it--ha!--is. My breath--oh--is a"most gone--Ailie--catch hold!"
cried he, as he held out the coveted piece of rock to the child, and scrambled out of the pool.
"Oh, thank you, Glynn; but why did you go down so quick and stay so long? I got _such_ a fright."
"You bin pay your "spects to de fishes," said b.u.mble, with a grin.
"Yes, I have, b.u.mble, and they say that if you stare at them any longer with your great goggle eyes they"ll all go mad with horror and die right off. Have you caught any codlings, b.u.mble?"
"Yis, me hab, an" me hab come for to make a preeposol to Missie Ally."
"A what, b.u.mble?"
"A preeposol--a digestion."
"I suppose you mean a suggestion, eh?"
"Yis, dat the berry ting."
"Well, out with it."
"Dis am it. Me ketch rock-coddles; well, me put "em in bucket ob water an" bring "em to you, Missie Ally, an" you put "em into dat pool and tame "em, an" hab great fun with "em. Eeh! wot you tink?"
"Oh, it will be _so_ nice. How good of you to think about it, b.u.mble; do get them as quick as you can."
b.u.mble looked grave and hesitated.
"Why, what"s wrong?" inquired Glynn.
"Oh, noting. Me only tink me not take the trouble to put "em into dat pool where de fishes speak so imperently ob me. Stop, me will go an"
ask if dey sorry for wot dey hab say."
So saying the negro uttered a shout, sprang straight up into the air, doubled his head down and his heels up, and cleft the water like a knife. Glynn uttered a cry something between a yell and a laugh, and sprang after him, falling flat on the water and dashing the whole pool into foam, and there the two wallowed about like two porpoises, to the unbounded delight of Ailie, who stood on the brink laughing until the tears ran down her cheeks, and to the unutterable horror, no doubt, of the little fish.
The rock-codlings were soon caught and transferred to the pool, in which, after that, neither Glynn nor b.u.mble were suffered to dive or swim, and Ailie succeeded, by means of regularly feeding them, in making the little fish less afraid of her than they were at first.
But while Ailie and Glynn were thus amusing themselves and trying to make the time pa.s.s as pleasantly as possible, Captain Dunning was oppressed with the most anxious forebodings. They had now been several weeks on the sandbank. The weather had, during that time, been steadily fine and calm, and their provisions were still abundant, but he knew that this could not last. Moreover, he found on consulting his charts that he was far out of the usual course of ships, and that deliverance could only be expected in the shape of a chance vessel.
Oppressed with these thoughts, which, however, he carefully concealed from every one except Tim Rokens and the doctor, the captain used to go on the point of rocks every day and sit there for hours, gazing out wistfully over the sea.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN.
MATTERS GROW WORSE AND WORSE--THE MUTINY--COMMENCEMENT OF BOAT-BUILDING, AND THREATENING STORMS.
One afternoon, about three weeks after the _Red Eric_ had been wrecked on the sandbank, Captain Dunning went out on the point of rocks, and took up his accustomed position there. Habit had now caused him to go to the point with as much regularity as a sentinel. But on the present occasion anxiety was more deeply marked on his countenance than usual, for dark, threatening clouds were seen acc.u.mulating on the horizon, an unnatural stillness prevailed in the hot atmosphere and on the gla.s.sy sea, and everything gave indication of an approaching storm.
While he sat on a low rock, with his elbows on his knees, and his chin resting in his hands, he felt a light touch on his shoulder, and looking round, found Ailie standing by his side. Catching her in his arms, he pressed her fervently to his heart, and for the first time spoke to her in discouraging tones.
"My own darling," said he, parting the hair from her forehead, and gazing at the child with an expression of the deepest sadness, "I fear we shall _never_ quit this dreary spot."
Ailie looked timidly in her father"s face, for his agitated manner, more than his words, alarmed her.
"Won"t we leave it, dear papa," said she, "to go up yonder?" and she pointed to a gathering ma.s.s of clouds overhead, which, although heavy with dark shadows, had still a few bright, sunny points of resemblance to the fairy realms in which she delighted to wander in her daydreams.
The captain made no reply; but, shutting his eyes, and drawing Ailie close to his side, he uttered a long and fervent prayer to G.o.d for deliverance, if He should see fit, or for grace to endure with Christian resignation and fort.i.tude whatever He pleased to send upon them.
When he concluded, and again looked up, Dr Hopley was standing beside them, with his head bowed upon his breast.
"I fear, doctor," said the captain, "that I have broken my resolution not to alarm my dear Ailie by word or look. Yet why should I conceal from her the danger of our position? Her prayers for help ought to ascend, as well as ours, to Him who alone can deliver us from evil at any time, but who makes us to _feel_, as well as _know_, the fact at such times as these."
"But I am not afraid, papa," said Ailie quickly. "I"m never afraid when you are by me; and I"ve known we were in danger all along, for I"ve heard everybody talking about it often and often, and I"ve _always_ prayed for deliverance, and surely it must come; for has not Jesus said if we ask anything in His name He will give it to us?"
"True, darling; but He means only such things as will do us good."
"Of course, papa, if I asked for a bad thing, I would not expect Him to give me that."
"Deliverance from death," said the doctor, "is a good thing, yet we cannot be sure that G.o.d will grant our prayer for that."
"There are worse things than death, doctor," replied the captain; "it may be sometimes better for men to die than to live. It seems to me that we ought to use the words, `if it please the Lord," more frequently than we do in prayer. Deliverance from sin needs no such `if," but deliverance from death does."
At this point the conversation was interrupted by Tim Rokens, who came up to the captain, and said respectfully--
"If ye please, sir, it "ud be as well if ye wos to speak to the men; there"s somethin" like mutiny a-goin" on, I fear."
"Mutiny! why, what about?"
"It"s about the spirits. Some on "em says as how they wants to enjoy theirselves here as much as they can, for they won"t have much chance o"