The Ocean Cat's Paw: The Story of a Strange Cruise

by George Manville Fenn

  CHAPTER TWENTY ONE.

  QUERY--A COWARD?

  Joe had stationed himself on the larboard bow with his elbows restingupon the bulwark and his chin in his hands, gazing straight away to sea,his eyes fixed a little to the left of the dazzling path of light thatextended from the moon to the schooner.

  So intent was he upon something he fancied he saw, that he did not hearRodd's approach, and started violently upon being touched.

  "All right, sir; not asleep," he cried. "Oh, it's you, Mr Rodd! Ifancied that it was the skipper, who thought he had caught me napping.Just you look yonder, sir. You are coming fresh to it. I have beenstaring till the little flashes of light make my eyes swim. Now then,just you look about half a cable's length left of that line of light,and see if you can't see something breaking water there."

  Rodd gazed intently in the direction indicated for some little timewithout speaking.

  "See anything, sir?" said Joe at last. "No."

  "That'll do then, sir. It was my fancy. Well, we are having a quietnight of it, sir. No more signs of that old sea bogy, and like enoughwe shan't get a squint at it again."

  "I don't suppose we shall now, Joe."

  "Sleepy, sir?"

  "Not a bit, Joe. Here, I want to speak to you about that thing."

  "I am listening, sir. Talk away. Rather queer, warn't it, to come upona thing like that just when you didn't expect it?"

  "Yes, Joe; and you said something about my not being frightened."

  "Yes, sir. You quite capped me."

  "Stop a minute, Joe. I want to say something to you."

  "All right, sir," cried the sailor, looking wonderingly at the lad, whowas speaking to him in a husky impressive tone.

  But Rodd remained speechless, and it was the sailor who broke thesilence.

  "I'm a-listening, sir. Heave ahead."

  "Yes," cried Rodd desperately. "Look here, Joe; were you making fun ofme?"

  "Fun of you? No, sir. It was only my way, just to make things a bitmore cheery, for every one on deck seems to be in the doldrums, all onaccount of that great squirmy thing."

  "No, no, I don't mean that," cried Rodd. "I mean, making fun of me whenyou told the men I wasn't frightened."

  "Fun on you? No, sir. Why, it was as I said. You quite capped me, tosee you standing facing that thing without shrinking a bit. I shouldhave expected to see you frightened to death."

  "Then it was because you didn't look well, Joe," said Rodd, in a lowhoarse voice, as he made a brave effort to set himself right with theman. "I was frightened--so horribly frightened that I couldn't stir."

  "Well, and no wonder, sir. Enough to make you. Why, it would havefrightened a brass monkey, let alone a man. Look at Ikey Gregg. Ibelieve if you'd ha' 'eard him you would have found he was calling`Mother!' Poor old chap. There aren't no way of proving it, as onedon't know how heavy he was afore, but I believe he melted away a bit.Why, we was all like it, sir. It was a regular startler and nomistake."

  "Do you mean honestly that all the men were very much frightened?"

  "Why, of course, sir. I telled you I was as bad as bad could be, and myhair stood right up on end--leastwise, it felt as if it did; and I cantell you this: I didn't feel like that when we were going into action,and that's saying a good deal, when a fellow didn't know whether thefirst sixty-four pounder that was fired wouldn't send its shot rightinto his chest. And so you felt regular skeart, did you, sir?"

  "Yes, Joe; and it made me ashamed to hear you talking about me to themen as you did."

  "Oh, well, I don't know as it matters, sir. I said just what I thought,and I rather like to hear what you say, because it seems to brighten meup a bit."

  "Why? How?"

  "Oh, because it makes me feel that I wasn't quite such a cur as Ithought I was. There, it's all right, sir, and I suppose it's quitenat'ral for any one to feel afraid when there's something really worthfeeling afraid on. I dare say we should both be just as bad again ifthat thing was to shove its head out of the water again close by here."

  "Then you don't think I was such a coward, Joe?"

  "You! You a coward! Tchah! Let me hear any fellow say you are, andI'll hit him in the eye. But there, it's just as if that thing knowedwe were all ready and waiting for it, and so it won't show. I'mbeginning to wish that the skipper would send everybody but the watchfor their spell below; but I don't suppose he will, and so we must makethe best of it. But if I was you, sir, and didn't belong to the crew, Ishould just slip off below and turn into my bunk till breakfast-time inthe morning. What do you say?"

  "No," said Rodd shortly; and he stopped on deck and watched with the mentill the sun was well on high.

  Then the suggestion of breakfast seemed so full of promise that afterpartaking thereof he went back on deck, to stand scanning the beautifulsunlit plain with the glass; but no further glimpse was seen of thestrange monster that day, nor yet during the next six weeks, duringwhich time they glided into port for fresh provisions twice, the secondtime in that of the sunny Canary Islands. There a week was spent ininspecting the beauties and the wonders of the old volcanic caverns,before they were well at sea again with the sun daily growing hotter andsea and sky more beautiful.

  Days upon days were spent in exploring the attractions of the SargassoSea, till the doctor cried "Hold! Enough!" For the bottles in thelaboratory were being filled up too fast, and there was too much to doyet in the farther south, towards which they sailed slowly and steadilyon, till one day a holiday was announced, for the men had been hard atwork rowing here and rowing there, hauling in drag and dredge, soundingand hoisting, harpooning fish, and busying themselves with the spoilthey dragged on board, while Captain Chubb stumped up and down with hishands very deep in his pockets, scowling at his sullied deck, andwearing clouds upon his sun-tanned brow, till Dr Robson bade the menthrow all the rest overboard, this order, for which the skipper had beenimpatiently waiting, being immediately supplemented by another, briefand prompt.

  "Buckets! Swabs!"

  And then as the slime of mollusc, fish and seaweed was washed away, andthe deck of the schooner rapidly grew white again, the skipper smiledand entered into a pleasant chat with the tired naturalist and hisnephew.

  The men's holiday was spent after the fashion of such holidays, over thebuffoonery enjoyed by the crew, especially in olden days, in crossingthe line; and then it was onward again amidst glorious sunrises andsunsets, amidst calms and fervent seas that seemed to blaze back theheat of the sun.

  It was all new to Rodd, and all glorious. He was never tired of seeingthe flying-fish skim out of the water to seek safety, scattered by thepursuit of some bonito or dolphin, watching them till they dipped downinto the smooth surface, as if to gather new strength, and then skim outagain.

  The dolphins and bonito were caught, the boy growing skilful in dartingdown the harpoon-like "grains," the modern form of Neptune fish-spear.

  There were times too when the boy expressed his wonder that in spite ofall the time they had been sailing south, it had been such a rare thingto meet or overtake another vessel.

  "A pretty good proof," the doctor would say, "of the vastness of theocean."

  "And of how there is plenty of room, uncle, for any number of wonderfulcreatures such as we have never seen yet. But are you always goingsailing on like this?"

  "Why, aren't you satisfied?" said Uncle Paul.

  "Satisfied, uncle? Oh yes, with what we are doing. But I haven't hadnearly enough. I should like to go oil sailing like this for--"

  "Ever?" said the doctor dryly.

  "Oh no, uncle; I mean for long enough yet. But I say, isn't the worldbeautiful?"

  "More beautiful, boy, than words can express," replied the doctorgravely. "But no. Now we are getting into the Southern Tropics I amthinking of going more to the east and into the great bay, so as to getwithin range of the African shores. Perhaps we shall make for themouths of one or two of the rivers, and get within sou
ndings where wecan do more dredging. I anticipate some strange discoveries in thoseportions of the ocean; but at present we will keep on skimming thesurface and finding what we can."

  And so during the next two or three days they went sailing on, and foundsomething that they had least expected, to Rodd Harding's great wonderand delight.