The South Sea Whaler Read online

  CHAPTER TEN.

  ON BOARD THE "CHAMPION"--MUTINY--FIRE BREAKS OUT--THE CREW, WITH THEDOCTOR AND TIDY, ESCAPE ON A RAFT--RUM, AND ITS EFFECTS--MEN LOST--STEERAWAY FROM THE DEAD WHALE--RUM CAUSES THE DEATH OF MOST OF THE PARTY--AMURDER--THE SURVIVORS RECEIVED ON BOARD THE BOAT.

  We must now go back in the order of events, and return to the_Champion_. After the boats had gone away on the expedition which wasto end so disastrously, Mr Lawrie, the surgeon, was walking the deck,meditating on the responsibility he had undertaken, when Dan Tidy cameup to him and whispered,--"Hist, sir! things are not going on altogetherstraight below, I'm after thinking; and if we don't keep a brightlookout, we shall have the boatswain and the Frenchmen running away withthe ship, and leaving the captain and the rest of the people in theboats to get back to her if they can. The only chance is that they cometo loggerheads together; for they have been quarrelling away for thelast hour, though what about, for the life of me I cannot make out."

  "Then, Tidy, call the true men aft, and I will arm them, and be readyfor whatever may happen," said the surgeon quietly.

  Tidy did as directed; and the man at the helm being one who could betrusted, a cutlass and a brace of pistols were given to him. Scarcelyhad these arrangements been made when a number of men came rushing upthe fore-hatchway, some shouting in English and others in French,--showing the surgeon that, although they might before have beenquarrelling, they were now united for one common object. He guessedthat their intention was to get possession of the helm, as he saw someof them squaring away the fore-yards.

  "If a man advances abaft the mainmast, or touches a brace, we fire!" hecried out.

  "Knock him over!" cried out a voice, which he recognised as that of theboatswain. "Do as I told you."

  "You, my brave fellows, who are resolved to stand faithful to thecaptain, be ready with your firearms," cried the surgeon. The boatswainand the others with him on this uttered loud shouts of derision, andseveral shots were fired at the surgeon and his supporters. He wascompelled now to give the order to fire in return. Two of his men hadbeen wounded; and three or four of the mutineers fell from the steadyfire poured in on them. The rest, led on by the boatswain, now made afierce onslaught on the surgeon--he and Tidy being knocked over; but hisparty, standing firm, drove back their assailants, and he was able torecover his feet. A second attack was about to be made, when loud criesof "Fire! fire!" arose from below, and smoke and flames were seenissuing up the fore-hatchway. The danger threatening had the effect ofcalming the fury of the mutineers, while Mr Lawrie's earnest appealsinduced them to exert themselves in putting out the flames. Indeed, hadnot the explosion which has been described taken place, they mightpossibly have succeeded. For a few moments they stood aghast; but theboatswain, who had already shown his courage, rallied the survivorsaround him, and urged them to assist him in building a raft. "It's ouronly chance of saving our lives," he shouted; "and the sooner we setabout it the better." Most of the men, obeying him, began cutting loosesuch spars as could be most easily got at, and launching them overboard.They then, with axes, cut away the bulwarks and other materials forforming a raft; while Mr Lawrie and his party still made desperateefforts to extinguish the fire. The boatswain showed himself a thoroughseaman, by the skilful way in which he put the raft together; and he hadfinished it before the flames had gained the mastery--thanks to thelabours of the surgeon and his party, who, though they could notextinguish it, had kept down the fire. Mr Lawrie, who had notforgotten Alice, was hurrying aft with the intention of trying to saveher, when some of the mutineers caught him. "Come along, sir!--comealong!" they shouted; "we want a doctor among us, and cannot leave youbehind;" and, in spite of his struggles, he was dragged to the side andlowered down on the raft. Dan had made a dash into the cabin, but onlyin time to see Nub and Alice floating away on a raft from the wreck.Notwithstanding the bruises he had received, he rushed forward in thehope of saving his life, and, unseen by the mutineers, he loweredhimself down among them.

  Mr Lawrie's first inquiry on being placed on the raft, and just as theywere shoving off, was whether they had brought any provisions. "If weleave the ship without any, we shall only be seeking a more lingeringdeath than we should have found on board," he exclaimed.

  The cry arose from those near him, who saw the sense of hisremark,--"What provisions have we got?" Search was made, when it wasfound that they were actually leaving the ship without a particle offood or a drop of water!

  "This will not do," cried the boatswain. "Who will volunteer to go backand get what we want? I'll lead the way!" Saying this, he sprang upthe side, followed by several of the more daring of the crew. They madetheir way to the after-hold. A cask of beef was got up; but the men,breaking into the spirit-room, insisted on having some rum. One ofthem, wiser than his companions, managed to lower down a couple ofbreakers of water, while the rest were occupied in getting up threecasks of rum; precious time, which should have been employed insearching for more provisions, being thus wasted in procuring what wouldtoo likely prove their destruction. The spirit-casks had just beenlowered down, when the flames, bursting out with greater fury, made themdread another explosion.

  "Shove off!--shove off!" was the general cry; and the men who had beenlabouring on the deck for the good of the others had barely time tospring on to the raft, when the ropes which held it to the ship werecut, and they shoved away from the side.

  By this time a strong breeze had sprung up; the sail was hoisted, andthe raft, passing under the stern, glided rapidly away from the ship.Though it was large enough to support the people on it, they found itnecessary that each man should keep a certain place in order to balanceit properly. The boatswain took the command, and insisted that all therest should obey him. His own people seemed willing to do so; but theFrenchmen, who equalled them in numbers, from the first showed anevident inclination to dispute his authority, under the leadership oftheir own boatswain, a man not dissimilar to him in character. Capstickhad sense enough to know that he must assert his authority, and keep theFrenchmen in check, or they would very probably take the raft from him.

  "I see what these fellows are after, Mr Lawrie," he said to thesurgeon, who was seated near him. "You will stick by me, I know; for itwill come to a fight before long, when, if we don't gain the upper hand,we shall all be hove overboard."

  "Then I would advise you to get rid of the rum-casks at once," said thesurgeon. "I see that your people are already eyeing one of them as ifthey were about to broach it; and if they get drunk, which theycertainly will, we shall be in the Frenchmen's power."

  "I believe that you are right, sir; but I would not like to lose so muchgood rum," answered the boatswain, who was himself much too fond ofliquor. "I will see what I can do, though."

  "Avast there, lads," he shouted to the men. "If we wish to save ourlives, all hands must be put on a limited allowance of provisions andspirits. I cannot say how far off we are from the land; but it may bemany a long day before we get there."

  "We will think about that to-morrow," answered one of the men. "We arethirsty now, after the hard work we have been doing, and we want a glassof grog or two to give us a little strength."

  The boatswain expostulated; but he himself longed to have a glass ofrum, and his opposition grew weaker. The cask was broached, and acupful--a large allowance--was served out to each Englishman, includingthe doctor and Tidy. Mr Lawrie, however, managed to throw some of hisaway, and to fill it up with water from a breaker which he had secured,and on which he was sitting--treating Tidy's in the same way. TheFrenchmen, on seeing what was going forward, clamoured loudly for rum;for French sailors, and especially under the circumstances in whichthese were placed, generally show as strong an inclination for spiritsas do Englishmen.

  "Well, you shall have it if you obey orders," answered the boatswain;the grog he had taken making him more inclined to be good-humoured thanbefore, as well as to forget his suspicions. The seamen were alsowilling enough to share th
eir treasure with their companions inmisfortune. The quantity they had taken at first produced no apparentill effects, though it tended to raise their spirits and make themforget the dangerous position in which they were placed. Some becameloquacious, others sang songs; and both parties shook hands, and vowedthat they regarded each other as brothers and friends.

  The next day, however, a change had come over their spirits. The Frenchboatswain declared that, as he had assisted to build the raft, he had asmuch right to the command as Capstick, as well as to half the rum andprovisions. To this the latter would not agree; but the Frenchmen,after remaining quiet for some little time, suddenly sprang up, made adash at one of the casks of rum, and capturing it, carried it in amongthem.

  "Let them have their way," said Mr Lawrie. "Keep your own peoplesober, and if the Frenchmen get drunk, you will the more easily masterthem."

  This advice, however, was not followed; some even of the better menmaking such frequent visits to the cask that several of them wereutterly stupified. The Frenchmen meantime having broached their cask,many of them were soon in the same condition. The raft, however, wastumbling about too much to allow them to move,--this more than anythingelse preventing the two parties from coming to blows on the subjects ofdispute which frequently arose. Those who had retained their senses hadbecome hungry, and now demanded food. The doctor and Tidy had managedto knock off the head of the beef-cask, and they served out a portion toeach man. It was, however, salt and hard, and tended to increase theirthirst.

  Thus the day wore on, and Mr Lawrie could not help looking with seriousapprehensions to the future. As yet the two parties had not come toactual blows, but it was evident that they would do so on a very slightprovocation. The only person over whom he could assert any beneficialinfluence was Tidy, who, notwithstanding an Irishman's proverbialaffection for a "dhrop of the crater," willingly followed his advice,and took only a small quantity of spirits with his share of water. Tidyhad fortunately filled his pockets with biscuit when he went into thecabin to look for Alice. This he shared with the doctor, thuspreventing the beef from producing the thirst which it did in theothers, who ate it by itself. The Frenchmen had complained that smallerrations were served out to them than the Englishmen took for themselves,and, watching their opportunity, they suddenly rushed towards thebeef-cask. Capstick and his party defended it, and soon drove them backagain. Though no knives were drawn on the occasion, blows wereinflicted, and two of the combatants struggling together felloverboard,--when, locked in a deadly embrace, they sank before theircompanions could rescue them. Their fate for a time had the effect ofsobering the rest; and the doctor, in the hope of keeping them at peace,advised that the two boatswains should together serve out the beef, andsee that their countrymen had equal shares.

  We cannot follow the history of the unhappy men from day to day. Theirprovisions had now come nearly to an end. One cask of rum and a portiononly of a breaker of water remained; and had not the doctor and Tidyexerted themselves, this also would have been exhausted. Several menwere lying on the raft, and the doctor knew that they were dying, but hecould do nothing for them. He warned the rest; but they only laughed athim, declaring that the men had only a little too much grog aboard, andwould soon come round.

  They had made some progress to the westward, sometimes becalmed, andsometimes considerably tossed about, when, soon after daybreak onemorning, they caught sight of a dead whale floating on the surface. Theboatswain steered towards it, intending, as he said, to get someblubber, which would help out their beef. But perceiving a fire on itsback as he got nearer, he at once declared his conviction that thecaptain and his boat's crew, and perhaps those of the other boats, mustbe there; so he vowed that nothing should induce him to place himself inhis power, telling his own people that if the captain were to take thecommand of the raft, he would stop their grog, and eat up the remainderof the provisions. He called on them, therefore, to stand by him whilehe kept the raft on a course which would carry her some distance fromthe whale. The Frenchmen, in the meantime, seeing the flag on thewhale, and the fire burning, and believing that boats must be alongside,frantically stretched out their hands, and shouted at the top of theirvoices, not recollecting that they were too far off to be heard. Theyshrieked and shouted, and danced about, every now and then turning withviolent gestures towards the boatswain, telling him to steer for thewhale. He, however, took no heed of their entreaties, but, feelingdependence on the men about him, continued his course till the raft hadgot considerably to leeward of the whale, when it was impossible to getup to it--all the oars which had been on board, with the exception ofthe one by which he steered, having been lost during the frequentstruggles which had taken place. The Frenchmen, finding their shoutsdisregarded, then returned to their seats, talking together, and castingthreatening looks at the whaler's crew. The boatswain and hiscompanions laughed at their threats.

  Hunger and thirst were by this time assailing them, when one of the menproposed to broach the remaining cask of spirits. In vain the doctorendeavoured to dissuade them from touching it; the boatswain offered buta slight resistance. They dragged it from the spot in the after part ofthe raft, where it had been stowed, and were soon engaged in drinkingits contents.

  "A short life and a merry one," cried the party, as they passed the cuprapidly round. The liquor soon began to take effect on their alreadyexhausted frames. They shouted and sang songs, but their voices soundedhollow and cracked; and several rolled over, laughing idiotically attheir own condition. The Frenchmen, who had been watching theseproceedings, and waiting their opportunity, now rushed aft, and knockingover those who opposed them, seized the cask, and carried it off intriumph. The French boatswain endeavoured to persuade them to take onlya small quantity; but they laughed at his warnings, and were soon in thesame condition as the Englishmen. Some sang and shrieked; and others,getting up, attempted to dance, till one unhappy man in his gyrationstumbled overboard. Some of his companions attempting to catch hold ofhim, nearly fell in likewise. Their efforts were of no avail, and hesank almost within arm's length. The accident partly sobered some ofthem. Capstick, calling on the Englishmen, who were still sober enoughto move, then endeavoured to regain possession of the cask, when in thestruggle the bung-hole was turned downwards, and the greater portion ofthe contents ran out. A general fight ensued, both parties accusingeach other of being the cause of the loss. Knives were drawn, andwounds inflicted. The Englishmen, however, secured the prize, and hadto continue the fight to preserve it. The two boatswains stood aloofencouraging their respective parties; while the doctor and Tidy, whoattempted to act the part of pacificators, were knocked over, theIrishman narrowly escaping being thrown into the sea. The fightcontinued for some time, till the combatants, many of them badlywounded, sank down utterly exhausted. The doctor, notwithstanding thehurts he had received, wished to do his duty, and went among them toexamine their hurts. His sorrow was great when he found that no lessthan five were dead,--chiefly, he believed, from the effects of thespirits they had drunk; while several more were in a state which showedhim that, even should help speedily come, they were too far gone torecover. Before the sun rose next morning, not a dozen people remainedalive on the raft.

  The doctor and Tidy had agreed to keep watch and watch, to protect eachother, and they were thus able to preserve a little of the water and asmall piece of beef which remained in the cask. It might be supposedthat the fearful results of the drink would have been a warning to thesurvivors; but their desire for liquor was as strong as ever; and assoon as they awoke, they insisted on again attacking the rum-cask. Acommon misfortune seemed at length to have united the two parties; buttheir leaders stood aloof from each other. The men, however, begansharing the rum out equally among themselves. This went on for sometime, till, the liquor running short, they commenced quarrelling asbefore. The doctor urged Tidy to take no part in any dispute. "Ourcountrymen are as much to blame as the Frenchmen," he observed. "If weassist ou
r boatswain, we shall be guilty of their death." Tidy's Irishspirit, however, would hardly allow him to follow the doctor's advice.

  It had now fallen perfectly calm. Mr Lawrie, overcome by the heat, hadfallen fast asleep, and Tidy, who had undertaken to keep watch, wasdozing by his side. Most of the party were by this time reduced to sucha state of weakness that very few appeared likely to survive muchlonger. Evening was rapidly approaching, when suddenly the doctor wasawakened by hearing the Irishman exclaim, "Faith, sir, they are at itagain; and if they are not stopped, one or both of them will get theworst of it." The doctor started up, when he saw the two boatswainsstanding facing each other at the further end of the raft. Each had adrawn knife in his hand. The Frenchman was at the outer end of theraft, while two of his countrymen, the only men among them able to exertthemselves, were standing near him. "Hold! What murderous work are youabout?" shouted the doctor. But his voice came too late; the combatantsclosed as he spoke, stabbing each other with their weapons. The nextmoment the Frenchman, driven back by the English boatswain, was hurledbleeding into the water. His two countrymen, who had hitherto remainedlooking on, sprang to his assistance. One of them, losing his balance,fell overboard; while the boatswain, seizing the other by the throat,stabbed him to the heart. Then turning round with fury in his eyes, heshrieked out, "I will treat every man in the same way who interfereswith me!" No one, however, appeared inclined to do so. The sun,already dipping, disappeared beneath the horizon as the scene of bloodwas concluded; and the boatswain, who seemed suddenly to have beenexcited into savage fury, sank down exhausted on the raft.

  Some more hours passed away, when Mr Lawrie, Tidy, and the boatswainalone remained alive of all those who had lately peopled the raft. Thesurgeon did his utmost to restore the wretched boatswain, binding up hiswounds, and pouring a little of the remaining spirits and water down histhroat. It seemed surprising, considering the injuries he had received,that he had not succumbed as the others had done. He evidentlypossessed no ordinary amount of vitality. A few scraps of beef remainedin the cask, of which the surgeon gave him a portion. He ate iteagerly. His continual cry, however, was for water.

  As the night advanced, the sea got up, tumbling the raft fearfullyabout. Mr Lawrie and Tidy dragged the boatswain to the centre of theraft, and it was only by great exertions they held themselves and himon. The dark, foam-crested seas came rolling up, threatening everyinstant to break aboard and sweep them away. The boatswain hadsufficient consciousness to be well aware of his danger; and fearfulmust have been the sensations of that bold bad man, his hands red withthe blood of his fellow-creatures, as he contemplated a speedy death andthe judgment to come. He groaned and shrieked out, yet not daring toask for mercy. The surgeon would thankfully have shut out those fearfulcries from his ears. Like a true man, he resolved to struggle to thelast to preserve his own life and the lives of his companions.

  Thus hour after hour went slowly by, till the grey light of morningappeared above the horizon, broken by the rising and falling seas. MrLawrie found his own strength going, and Dan was in a still worsecondition. They had no food, and not a drop of water remaining, and noland in sight. Stout-hearted as they both were, they could not helpfeeling that ere long they must yield, and share the fate of those whowere already buried beneath the waves. The doctor knew, however, thatit was his duty to struggle to the last, and he did his utmost toencourage poor Dan.

  "Shure, Mr Lawrie, it's myself has no wish to become food for thefishes, if it can be helped at all at all, and as long as I can I'llhold fast for dear life to the planks," he said in answer to MrLawrie's exhortations. "Maybe a ship will come and pick us up. Justlook out there, sir! What do you see? If my eyes don't decave me,there is a boat; and she's pulling towards us."

  Mr Lawrie looked, as Dan told him; and there, sure enough, he saw aboat approaching the raft, but very slowly. Now she was hidden byintervening seas, and now again she came into sight on the crest of awave.

  "Shure, can it be the captain's boat, or one of the other boats whichhave been looking for us since the ship went down?" exclaimed Dan.

  On hearing the word "captain," the boatswain lifted up his head andtried to get a glimpse of the approaching boat. "It may be one of ourboats; but if it is the captain's, just heave me overboard at once, forhe will hear all that's happened."

  "Rest assured that if the captain is in yonder boat he will pity yourcondition, and not call your deeds to account," said the surgeon,anxious to soothe the mind of the dying man.

  The boat got nearer and nearer, when the surgeon recognised Waltersteering, with Alice by his side, and the mate and Nub pulling. Theywere soon near enough to hail him.

  "Thankful to fall in with you," shouted Mr Shobbrok, who just then madeout the surgeon and Tidy though he could not distinguish the boatswain."Who's that with you?"

  The surgeon told him.

  "Where are the rest?" was the next question.

  "Gone! all gone!" was the answer.

  "Heave us a rope, and we will hold on under your lee till the water iscalm enough to take you on board," cried the mate.

  Tidy unrove the halliards, and made several attempts to heave the end onboard the boat. At length she came in nearer, when he succeeded; andthe rope being made fast, the boat floated back to a safe distance.Questions were now put and answered between them, but they could offerlittle consolation to each other. The surgeon had to acknowledge thatthey were without food and water. "If you can manage to send us alittle, we shall be thankful," he shouted out.

  "We have scarcely enough for another day for ourselves," was thealarming answer; "though we will share what we have when we get you onboard."

  It was nearly noon before Mr Shobbrok thought it safe to haul up to theraft, when the surgeon and Tidy, exerting all their strength, and withthe mate and Nub's assistance, lifted the boatswain into the boat.