Percival Keene

by Frederick Marryat

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN.

  Although I have so much to say as to oblige me to pass over withoutnotice the majority of my companions, I think I ought to dedicate onechapter to a more particular description of those with whom I was nowprincipally in contact on board of the Calliope.

  I have already spoken much of the Honourable Captain Delmar, but I mustdescribe him more particularly. When young, he must have been a veryhandsome man; even now, although nearly fifty years of age, and his hairand whiskers a little mixed with grey, he was a fine-looking personage,of florid complexion, large blue eyes, nose and mouth very perfect: inheight he was full six feet; and he walked so erect that he looked eventaller.

  There was precision, I may say dignity, in all his motions. If heturned to you, it was slowly and deliberately; there was nothing likerapidity in his movement. On the most trifling occasions, he wrappedhimself up in etiquette with all the consequence of a Spanish Hidalgo;and showed in almost every action and every word that he never forgothis superiority of birth.

  No one, except myself, perhaps, would ever have thought of taking aliberty with him; for although there was a pomposity about him, at thesame time it was the pomposity of a high-bred gentleman, who respectedhimself, and expected every one to do the same.

  That sometimes a little mirth was occasioned by his extreme precision istrue; but it was whispered, not boldly indulged in. As to his qualitiesas an officer and seaman, I shall only say, that they were consideredmore than respectable. Long habit of command had given him a fairknowledge of the duties in the first instance, and he never condescended(indeed, it would have been contrary to his character) to let theofficers or seamen know whether he did or did not know anything aboutthe second.

  As to his moral character, I can only say, that it was very difficult toascertain it. That he would never do that which was in the slightestdegree derogatory to the character of a gentleman was most certain: buthe was so wrapped up in exclusiveness, that it was almost impossible toestimate his feelings. Occasionally, I may say very rarely, he mightexpress them; but if he did, it was but for a moment, and he was againreserved as before.

  That he was selfish is true; but who is not? and those in high rank arestill more so than others, not so much by nature, but because their selfis encouraged by those around them. You could easily offend his pridebut he was above being flattered in a gross way. I really believe thatthe person in the ship for whom he had the least respect was theobsequious Mr Culpepper. Such was the Honourable Captain Delmar.

  Mr Hippesley, the first lieutenant, was a broad-shouldered,ungainly-looking personage. He had more the appearance of a master inthe service than a first lieutenant. He was a thorough seaman; andreally, for a first lieutenant, a very good-natured man. All that wasrequisite, was to allow his momentary anger to have free escape by thesafety-valve of his mouth: if you did not, an explosion was sure to bethe result.

  He was, as we use the term at sea, a regular ship husband--that is tosay, he seldom put his foot on shore; and if he did, he always appearedanxious to get on board again. He was on good terms, but not familiar,with his messmates, and very respectful to the captain. There was noother officer in the service who would have suited Captain Delmar sowell as Mr Hippesley, who, although he might occasionally grumble atnot being promoted, appeared on the whole to be very indifferent aboutthe matter.

  The men were partial to him, as they always are to one who, whatever maybe his peculiarities, is consistent. Nothing is more unpleasant to menthan to sail under a person whom, to use their own expression, "theynever knew where to find."

  The second and third lieutenants, Mr Percival and Mr Weymss, wereyoung men of good family, and were admitted to a very slight degree offamiliarity with Captain Delmar: they were of gentlemanly manners, bothgood seamen, and kind to their inferiors.

  Mr Culpepper, the purser, was my abomination--a nasty, earwigging,flattering, bowing old rogue. The master, Mr Smith, was a very quietman, plain and unoffending, but perfectly master of, and alwaysattentive to, his duty.

  The marine officer, Mr Tusk, was a nonentity put into a red jacket.The surgeon was a tall, and very finicking sort of gentleman as todress; but well informed, friendly in disposition, and perfectlyacquainted with his profession.

  My messmates were most of them young men of good birth, with theexception of Tommy Dott, who was the son of a warrant officer, and MrGreen, whose father was a boot-maker in London. I shall not, however,waste my reader's time upon them; they will appear when required. Ishall, therefore, now proceed with my narrative.

  It is usually the custom for the midshipmen to take up provisions andspirits beyond their allowance, and pay the purser an extra sum for thesame; but this Mr Culpepper would not permit--indeed, he was the moststingy and disagreeable old fellow that I ever met with in the service.We never had dinner or grog enough, or even lights sufficient for ourwants.

  We complained to the first lieutenant, but he was not inclined to assistus: he said we had our allowance, and it was all we could demand; thattoo much grog was bad for us, and as for candles, they only made us situp late when we ought to be in bed: he was, moreover, very strict aboutthe lights being put out. This, however, was the occasion of war to theknife between the midshipmen and Mr Culpepper.

  But it was of no avail; he would seldom trust his own steward or themate of the main deck; whenever he could, he superintended the servingout of all provisions and mixing of the grog: no wonder that he was saidto be a rich man. The only party to whom he was civil was MrHippesley, the first lieutenant, and the captain; both of whom had thepower of annoying him, and reducing his profits.

  To the captain he was all humility; every expense that he required was,with his proffered bow, cheerfully submitted to; but he gained on thewhole by this apparent liberality, as the captain was rather inclined toprotect him in all other points of service, except those connected withhis own comforts and luxuries; and many a good job did Mr Culpepper getdone for him, by humbly requesting and obsequiously bowing.

  We had been at sea for about a week, and were running down towards theisland of Madeira, which we expected to reach the next morning. Ourdestination was a secret, as our captain sailed with sealed orders, tobe opened when off that island.

  The weather was very fine and warm, and the wind had fallen, when atsundown high land was reported from the mast-head, at about forty milesdistant. I was, as on the former cruise, signal midshipman, and did dayduty--that is, I went down with the sun, and kept no night watch.

  I had been cogitating how I could play some trick to Mr Culpepper: themidshipmen had often proposed that we should do so, but I had made up mymind that, whenever I did, I would make no confidant. Tommy Dott oftensuggested an idea, but I invariably refused, as a secret is only asecret when it is known to one person: for that reason I never consultedBob Cross, because I knew that he would have persuaded me not to do so;but after anything was happily executed, I then used to confide in him.

  I observed before that Mr Culpepper wore a flaxen wig, and I felt sure,from his penuriousness, that he was not likely to have more than one onboard. I, therefore, fixed upon his wig as the object of my vengeance,and having made up my mind on the night that we made the island ofMadeira, I determined to put my project in execution.

  For convenience, the first lieutenant had a small ladder which went downthrough the skylight of the gun-room so that they could descend direct,instead of going round by the after-hatchway, and entering by thegun-room doors, where the sentry was placed.

  I went to my hammock and slept till the middle watch was called; I thengot up and dressed myself without being perceived.

  As soon as the lieutenant of the middle watch had been called by themate, who lighted his candle and left him to dress himself, I came up bythe after-ladder, and, watching an opportunity when the sentry at thecaptain's cabin door had walked forward, I softly descended by theskylight ladder into the gun-room.

  The light in the cabin of the lieutenant
, who was dressing, was quitesufficient, and the heat of the weather was so great, that all theofficers slept with their cabin doors fastened back, for ventilation; Ihad, therefore, no difficulty in putting my hand on the purser's wig,with which I escaped unperceived, and immediately turned in again to myhammock, to consider what I should do with my prize.

  Should I throw it overboard; should I stuff it down the pump-well, orslip it into the ship's coppers, that it might re-appear when thepea-soup was baled out or dinner; or should I put it into the mangerforward, where the pigs were?

  In the meantime, while I was considering the matter, the midshipman ofthe first watch came down and turned in, and all was again quiet, exceptan occasional nasal melody from some heavy sleeper.

  At last, quite undecided, I peeped through the clews of my hammock tosee what the sentry at the gun-room door was about, and found that hehad sat down on a chest, and was fast asleep. I knew immediately thatthe man was in my power, and I did not fear him; and then it was thatthe idea came into my head, that I would singe the purser's wig. I wentsoftly to the sentry's light, took it from the hook, and went down withit into the cockpit, as being the best place for carrying on myoperations. The wig was very greasy, and every curl, as I held it inthe candle, flared up, and burned beautifully to within a quarter of aninch of the caul.

  It was soon done, and I replaced the sentry's light; and finding thatthe gun-room door was a-jar, I went in softly, and replaced the wigwhere I had taken it from, repassed the sentry, who was still fastasleep, and regained my hammock, intending to undress myself in it; butI had quite forgotten one thing (I was soon reminded of it)--I heard thevoice of the officer of the watch I calling out to the sentry at thecabin door--

  "Sentry, what's that smell of burning?"

  "I don't know, sir," replied the sentry; "I was just thinking of goingforward for the ship's corporal."

  The smell, which had gradually ascended from the cockpit, now spreadfrom deck to deck, and became stronger and stronger. The gun-room-doorsentry jumped up at the voice of the lieutenant, and called out thatthere was a very strong smell in the cockpit. The lieutenant and mateof the watch came down, and it was immediately supposed that thespirit-room had caught fire, for the smell was really very powerful.

  The first lieutenant, who had wakened up at the voices, was out in aminute; he put his head over the cockpit, and ordering the officer ofthe watch to call the drummer, and beat to quarters, ran up to informthe captain.

  The drummer was out in a moment, and, seizing his drum, which hung up bythe mainmast, ran up in his shirt and beat the tattoo.

  The whole ship's company rose up at the sound, which they knew was thesignal for something important; and the beat of the drum was followed upby the shrill piping of the boatswain's mates at each hatchway.

  At that moment, some frightened man belonging to the watch cried outthat the ship was on fire, and the lower decks were immediately a sceneof bustle and confusion.

  Perhaps there is nothing more awful than the alarm of fire at sea; thefeeling that there is no escape--the only choice being by which element,fire or water, you choose to perish. But if it is awful in daylight,how much more so is it to be summoned up to await such peril when youhave been sleeping in fancied bounty.

  The captain had hurried on his clothes, and stood on the quarter-deck.He was apparently calm and collected; but, as usual, the firstlieutenant carried on the duty, and well he did it.

  "Where's the gunner? Mr Hutt, bring up the keys from my cabin, andhave all ready for clearing the magazines if required. Firemen, getyour buckets to bear; carpenters, rig the pumps. Silence there, foreand aft."

  But the confusion became very great, and there evidently was a panic.The captain then interposed, calling out to the boatswain and his matesto send every man aft on the quarter-deck.

  This order was obeyed; the men came thronging like a flock of sheep,huddling together and breathless.

  "Silence there, my men," cried Captain Delmar--"silence. I say; is thisthe conduct of men-of-war's-men? Every man of you sit down on deck--pass the word there for every man to sit down."

  The order was mechanically obeyed, and as soon as the ship's companywere all seated, the captain said--

  "I tell you what, my lads, I'm ashamed of you: the way to put out a fireis to be cool and calm, obeying orders and keeping silence. Now collectyourselves, all of you, for until you are all quiet and cool, you willsit where you are."

  After a pause of a few seconds--

  "Now, my men, are you more steady? Recollect, be cool, and keepsilence. Carpenter, are the pumps rigged?"

  "Yes, sir," replied the carpenter.

  "Now, firemen, go for your buckets; let nobody else move. Silence--nota word: three foremast guns main-deck, to your quarters. Silence andquiet, if you please. Now, are you all steady?--then, to your quarters,my men, and wait for orders."

  It was astonishing how collected the ship's company became by thejudicious conduct of the captain, who now continued to command. Whenthe men had gone down to their stations, he directed the two juniorlieutenants to go and examine where the fire was, and to be careful notto lift the hatches if they discovered that it was in the spirit-room.

  I had been on the quarter-deck some time, and, being aware of the cause,of course was not at all alarmed: and I had exerted myself veryassiduously in keeping the men cool and quiet, shoving the men down whowere unwilling to sit down on the deck, and even using them veryroughly; showing a great deal more _sang froid_ than any other of theofficers, which of course was not to be wondered at.

  Mr Culpepper, who was most terribly alarmed, had come up on deck, andstood trembling close to the side of the captain and first lieutenant;he had pulled on his wig without discovering that it had been burnt, andas I passed him, the burnt smell was very strong indeed; so thought thecaptain and the first lieutenant, who were waiting the return of theofficers.

  "I smell the fire very strong just now," said the captain to the firstlieutenant.

  "Yes, sir, every now and then it is very strong," replied the firstlieutenant.

  The purser's wig was just between them,--no wonder that they smelt it.After two or three minutes the officers came up, and reported that theycould discover no fire, and that there was very little smell of firedown below.

  "And yet I smell it now," said Captain Delmar.

  "So do I, sir," said the second lieutenant; "and it really smellsstronger on deck than it does down below."

  "It's very odd; let them continue the search."

  The search was continued; the first lieutenant now going down, and aftera time they said that the strongest smell was from the purser's cabin.

  "Mr Culpepper, they say the smell is in your cabin," said CaptainDelmar; "go down, if you please; they may want to open your lockers."

  Mr Culpepper, who still trembled like an aspen, went down the ladder,and I followed him; but in descending the second ladder his footslipped, and he fell down the hatchway to the lower deck.

  I hastened down after him; he was stunned, and I thought this a goodopportunity to pull off his wig, which I did very dexterously, andconcealed it. He was taken into the gun-room, and the surgeon called,while I walked up on deck, and quietly dropped the wig overboard at thegangway.

  My reason for doing this was, that having no idea that my trick wouldhave created so much confusion, and have turned up the officers and menas it did, I thought that the purser's wig would, the next morning,account for the smell of fire, and an investigation take place, which,although it might not lead to discovery, would certainly lead tosuspicion; so the wig was now floating away, and with the wig went awayall evidence.

  After a search of nearly half an hour, nothing was discovered; thedrummer was ordered to beat the retreat, and all was quiet again.

  I went to bed quite satisfied with the events of the night, and sleptthe sleep of innocence--at least I slept just as soundly.

  This mysterious affair ever remained a mystery: the onl
y loss was thepurser's wig, but that was nothing, as Mr Culpepper acknowledged thathe did not know himself what he was about, and, for all he knew to thecontrary, he might have thrown it overboard.

  My conduct on this occasion again gained me great credit. It had beenremarked by the captain and officers, and I rose in estimation. How Imight have behaved had I really supposed that the ship was on fire, isquite another affair--I presume not quite so fearlessly. As it was, Iwas resolved to take all the credit given to me and for that reason itwas not till a long while afterwards, that I hinted the secret even toBob Cross.