The Two Shipmates.
by William H. G. Kingston.
CHAPTER ONE.
The stout trading brig _Amity_, Samuel Mudge master and part owner, was gliding up Plymouth Sound on a summer"s evening towards her accustomed berth in Cat.w.a.ter, a few years before the termination of the last war between England and France. She had no pilot on board; indeed, her crew averred that the old craft could find the way in and out of the harbour by herself; at all events, her master knew it better than most men trading from the port, as did his young mate, Ralph Michelmore.
The last rays of the setting sun were glancing on the topgallant mast-heads of the brig when her anchor was dropped, and by the time her sails were furled and all was made snug the gloom of night had settled down on the Pool, and twinkling lights began to appear from the houses on sh.o.r.e.
"You"ll be wishing to go on sh.o.r.e, my boy," said the old master, as Ralph, the duties for the day over, came into the cabin to join him at tea, which the boy had just placed on the table. "There"ll be some one who"ll be right glad to see thee, lad;" and the speaker looked up at the mate, whose handsome countenance beamed with pleasure, a slight blush rising on it as he answered--
"Thank you, sir; thank you heartily. I should very much like to pay Mistress Treviss--and--and her granddaughter a visit. I had few opportunities of seeing them when we were last in port, and as we have been long on this trip they may be anxious about us. But would not you prefer going on sh.o.r.e yourself, captain? It"s my duty to remain on board."
"No, do you go, as I tell ye," replied the kind old master. "I"ll stay on board and look after the ship. But I say, lad, take your protection with you. The press-gangs are sure to be out, and you may chance to fall in with one of them."
"Thank you, sir, I have it here," said Ralph, producing a tin case from his pocket; and hurriedly swallowing his tea without sitting down, he went into his cabin to rig himself in his sh.o.r.e-going suit.
Ralph"s father, the commander of a merchant vessel, and an old friend and shipmate of Captain Mudge, had been lost at sea, washed from the deck in a heavy gale, leaving his wife and young child but ill provided for. The widow, a truly Christian woman, exerted herself to the utmost of her strength to support and educate her boy, but when he was about fourteen years of age her health gave way, and she died, committing him to the charge of good Captain Mudge.
Ralph, who had set his heart on going to sea, was taken as an apprentice on board the _Amity_ the next voyage she made. By his steadiness, intelligence, and activity, he soon became a prime seaman. When on sh.o.r.e he studied navigation, and as soon as his time was out, Captain Mudge, the berth being vacant, made him his mate. Most of the crew heartily congratulated Ralph on his promotion, for they acknowledged him, young as he was, to be the best seaman among them. The only one who grumbled was d.i.c.k Bracewell, who had also been an apprentice on board the _Amity_, and being a year older than Ralph, and a very fair sailor, considered that he had superior claims to promotion.
"I"m not going to quarrel with you about the matter, Ralph," he said, though he looked very much inclined to do so. "If the skipper chooses to favour you that"s not your fault; but you can"t expect me, as good a man as yourself you"ll allow, to be jumping here and there at your orders; and so as soon as we get back to Plymouth I shall take my chest and clear out of the old ship for good. I shall easily get a berth as mate on board another craft, and if we meet again we shall be as good friends as ever, I hope."
"No doubt about that, d.i.c.k," answered Ralph; "I am sorry, however, that you have made up your mind to leave us; still it"s but natural, I own."
"Ay, I should think so," said d.i.c.k, walking forward.
d.i.c.k might have been as active and bold a seaman as Ralph, but the captain had, notwithstanding, ample reason for refusing to make him his mate, for he was known to be wild on sh.o.r.e, and was often far from attentive to his duty on board; while, though he professed to have learned navigation, his calculations were not to be depended on. Still, being good-natured and brave as need be, he was liked by the rest of the crew, in spite of being thoughtless and inclined to give way to temper.
Ralph had a sincere regard for him. He saw his shipmate"s errors, but believed him possessed of redeeming good qualities, and hoped that he would in time amend his bad ways.
d.i.c.k kept to his intention, and on reaching Plymouth bade his old captain and shipmates good-bye. This occurred about a couple of years before the time we are speaking of, and since then Ralph had heard nothing of d.i.c.k Bracewell.
No sailor takes long to dress. Ralph was quickly ready, and a fine young fellow he looked as he stepped back into the cabin habited in what the old captain called his "sh.o.r.e-going toggery." Promising to be on board again before midnight, he jumped into a boat which had just come alongside, and told the waterman to pull for the landing-place.
"You must keep a sharp look-out not to fall in with the press-gangs, master," observed the latter. "They are out every night, and are in no ways particular on whom they lay hands."
"Thank you," answered Ralph; "I"ve no cause to fear them, and am not going where they are likely to be looking for their prey."
Ralph had proceeded a few paces after landing, when he heard steps behind him and felt a hand placed on his shoulder. Turning round he saw a sailor-like man, who exclaimed, "What, Ralph Michelmore, old chum!
Don"t you know me? I am d.i.c.k Bracewell. I"m sure I can"t be mistaken in you, for I saw the _Amity_ come in at sunset, and hoped to fall in with you, though I"d no fancy to go on board, do you see."
"And I"m right glad to meet you, d.i.c.k," said Ralph, grasping the other"s proffered hand. "Where have you been all these years?"
"Knocking about in one craft or another, and seeing something more of the world than you have in your jog-trot old tub, I fancy," answered Bracewell, with a laugh. "I"ve just come back from a voyage to the West Indies, with my pockets full of shiners, which I"m going to try and get rid of in enjoying myself. Come along, Ralph, and help me. I only stepped on sh.o.r.e for the first time just as you did, so I"ve not begun yet."
"Thank you, d.i.c.k; you mean it kindly, but I"m on my way to see some friends, and have promised to be on board again to-night," said Ralph, as they walked on together.
"What, not take a gla.s.s or two of grog with an old shipmate!" cried d.i.c.k in an aggrieved tone. "Come, come, man, just for once be social."
"Even if I ever took liquor, which I don"t, I haven"t time to stay with you," said Ralph, firmly; adding, after a moment"s reflection, in the hope of preventing his companion from committing the folly he meditated, "Instead of doing as you propose, come along with me to see an old lady and her granddaughter. They are great friends of mine, and will welcome you for my sake; indeed, I"ll confess that I hope some day to marry the little girl."
"No, no, my boy; I should be left to do the polite to the old dame, while you make love to the young one," answered d.i.c.k, with a hoa.r.s.e laugh, which Ralph did not like. "That sort of thing is not to my taste; still, to please you, if you"ll come in here and do as I want you, I"ll think about it." The door of a public-house stood temptingly open. d.i.c.k endeavoured to drag in Ralph, who however resisted manfully, and tore his arm away from his companion"s grasp.
"Once more hear me, d.i.c.k," he said, unwilling to abandon his old friend without another effort to save him. "If you take one gla.s.s you"ll take another and another, till you won"t know what you are about, and then ten to one you"ll fall into the hands of crimps who"ll fleece you of every shilling in your pocket, or you"ll get picked up by a press-gang and be carried on board a man-of-war, not to regain your liberty for years to come."
"Don"t preach to me, Ralph; I know how to take care of myself; so if you go on I"ll follow you, and you shall see that I"m as sober as a judge,"
answered d.i.c.k, and with a laugh he darted into the public-house.
Ralph, though eager to be with his friends, waited a minute or more in the hope that he might come out, and then, as he did not appear, reluctantly walked on. At length, having pa.s.sed through the town, he reached a small cottage in the outskirts, with a few yards of garden in front. Pa.s.sing through the wicket-gate he stopped for a moment at the door. The window was partly open, and he could hear a sweet voice reading. He caught the words; they were from the Book of Books, which he had learned to know and value. He was unwilling to interrupt the reader. She stopped, however, having come to the end of the chapter.
He knocked. "May I come in?" he asked. "Oh, granny, it is Ralph!" The words were uttered by the same person who had just ceased reading, but in a very different tone. He well knew the sweet voice. His heart beat quick. He heard the speaker come flying to the door. In a moment it was opened. "Jessie, my own dear Jessie!" he exclaimed, as he pressed the hand of a fair blooming girl, who welcomed him with a bright smile.
"I hoped that you might come to-day, and yet as the hours drew on I began to fear that I might again be disappointed," she said, as she looked up affectionately into his face. "How slow the _Amity_ must have sailed!"
"She is like other craft, not able to make way without wind, and we had scarcely a cup-full all the voyage round from the Thames; besides which, we were detained there much longer than usual; but she has safely reached port at last," he answered; adding, as he advanced into the room towards a neatly-dressed old lady in a high mob-cap, seated in an arm-chair, with knitting-needles in her hands and spectacles on her nose,--"And how is Mrs Treviss?"
"Ever glad to see thee, dear Ralph," answered the old lady, trying, not without difficulty, to rise, till the young man springing forward quietly made her sit down again. "In spiritual health I am well--the Lord be praised for all His mercies; but bodily infirmities creep on apace with old age, and remind me that my earthly course is well-nigh run."
"I hope that you will live many years to be a blessing to us, granny,"
said the young sailor, affectionately, taking her hand.
"I am ready to remain if it is the Lord"s will," she answered. "And now tell me, Ralph, how is good Captain Mudge? I hope that he will pay me a visit before he sails again, as I want much to talk to him on a matter of importance."
"He is tough and hearty as ever; he will, I am sure, come and see you,"
said Ralph.
Mrs Treviss, however, did not entirely occupy the young sailor"s attention. He and Jessie had a good deal to say to each other of especial interest to themselves as they sat side by side, Jessie"s hands having found their way into those of Ralph. At last Mrs Treviss reminded her that their guest might possibly be hungry, and that it was full time for supper, which she, in obedience to her grandmother, got up to place on the table. "How neat-handed and graceful in all her movements she is!" thought Ralph, as his eyes followed her about the room; and they were seldom off the door watching for her return when she went into the kitchen to warm up the old dame"s posset and prepare some other viands. Mrs Treviss took the opportunity of her absence to speak to Ralph on a subject which he found especially interesting. "If I was younger and stronger I would not give you this advice I am about to do,"
she said. "I would say, wait for a few years till you have the command of a ship, and Jessie is older and better able than now to keep house and have the cares of a family, but as I fear my poor son-in-law, her father, Captain Flamank, will never more be heard of, and I may ere long be called to my rest, she will have no one in this world to protect her but you; and so it"s my wish that you should marry as soon as you can manage to spend a few weeks on sh.o.r.e."
"Then that may be at once," exclaimed the young lover, delighted. "The _Amity_ requires some repairs, and the captain is much in a mind, unless a good freight offers, to go into dock, and his wish to serve me may settle the matter. I little thought when I came up this evening what good news you had in store for me; I can never thank you enough."
"Nay, Ralph, though I love you, it"s my grandchild"s welfare I have at heart, for I can with perfect confidence confide her to you," said the old lady, taking Ralph"s hand and looking him earnestly in the face.
"You will cherish her and watch over her, and guard her from all evil."
"Indeed I will, if health and strength is given me," he answered solemnly.
"For that we must trust to G.o.d," said Mrs Treviss. "All we can do is to exercise the sense He has given us, and guard against the dangers we know may occur. I have therefore made my will, and left the very small property I possess to Jessie; but most of my income, as the widow of a warrant-officer killed in action, ceases at my death, so that as a single woman she would be but poorly off, though she will have something to help keep house."
"I would as willingly marry her if she had not a sixpence," exclaimed Ralph, warmly. "More willingly I could not, but it would be a satisfaction to know that I was saving her from poverty or from having to toil for her living."
"I know you will, Ralph, and I believe you, so say no more about that,"
observed Mrs Treviss. "If your good captain settles to put the _Amity_ into dock, you may perhaps marry some day next week. You can ask Jessie, and I don"t think she will say you nay."
Ralph was pouring out his thanks from the bottom of his heart, with all the ardour of a young sailor, when Jessie returned. He would at once have broached the subject had not Mrs Treviss given him timely warning that by so doing he would considerably interfere with the supper arrangements. Jessie therefore went back to the kitchen and returned several times, unaware of the interesting conversation which had taken place, though she might have observed the animated expression of her lover"s countenance. When all was ready and they sat down to table Ralph ate so little that Jessie began to fear he was unwell, and she at last could not help looking up affectionately in his face and asking him if such was the case.
"Oh no, I never felt better in my life, Jessie; and so happy!" he answered.
Perhaps she herself might just then have had some suspicion of the truth, for she forgot to eat any more; and shortly afterwards her granny, getting up, hobbled out of the room. The young people were alone, and, as may be supposed, Ralph did not lose much time in telling Jessie what Mrs Treviss had said, and asking her if she would consent to the arrangement. Jessie was as ready to obey her granny"s wishes as Ralph could desire, and as he told her there would be no difficulty in obtaining a licence she consented to fix the following Monday for their wedding-day, if he could, as he hoped, remain in Plymouth. He was naturally very sanguine in the expectation of being able to obtain a holiday. He even thought that, should the _Amity_ be offered a freight which could not be refused, Captain Mudge would propose getting another mate for the voyage, as it was summer time; not that he should like him to do that. Jessie thought that Captain Mudge would not hesitate about having the _Amity_ repaired. How could he, when so important an event depended on his decision! At length granny came back into the room, with a smile on her countenance, and, sitting down in her arm-chair, looked up at the tall clock in the corner, which had gone "tick! tick!