XIV
_The Ghost Ships_
At four o'clock, when again we went on deck, the Second Mate told me togo on with a paunch mat I was making; while Tammy, he sent to get outhis sinnet. I had the mat slug on the fore side of the mainmast, betweenit and the after end of the house; and, in a few minutes, Tammy broughthis sinnet and yarns to the mast, and made fast to one of the pins.
"What do you think it was, Jessop?" he asked, abruptly, after a shortsilence.
I looked at him.
"What do you think?" I replied.
"I don't know what to think," he said. "But I've a feeling that it'ssomething to do with all the rest," and he indicated aloft, with hishead.
"I've been thinking, too," I remarked.
"That it is?" he inquired.
"Yes," I answered, and told him how the idea had come to me at mydinner, that the strange men-shadows which came aboard, might come fromthat indistinct vessel we had seen down in the sea.
"Good Lord!" he exclaimed, as he got my meaning. And then for a little,he stood and thought.
"That's where they live, you mean?" he said, at last, and paused again.
"Well," I replied. "It can't be the sort of existence _we_ should calllife."
He nodded, doubtfully.
"No," he said, and was silent again.
Presently, he put out an idea that had come to him.
"You _think_, then, that that--vessel has been with us for some time, ifwe'd only known?" he asked.
"All along," I replied. "I mean ever since these things started."
"Supposing there are others," he said, suddenly.
I looked at him.
"If there are," I said. "You can pray to God that they won't stumbleacross us. It strikes me that whether they're ghosts, or not ghosts,they're blood-gutted pirates.
"It seems horrible," he said solemnly, "to be talking seriously likethis, about--you know, about such things."
"I've tried to stop thinking that way," I told him. "I've felt I shouldgo cracked, if I didn't. There's damned queer things happen at sea, Iknow; but this isn't one of them."
"It seems so strange and unreal, one moment, doesn't it?" he said. "Andthe next, you _know_ it's really true, and you can't understand why youdidn't always know. And yet they'd never believe, if you told themashore about it."
"They'd believe, if they'd been in this packet in the middle watch thismorning," I said.
"Besides," I went on. "They don't understand. We didn't ... I shallalways feel different now, when I read that some packet hasn't beenheard of."
Tammy stared at me.
"I've heard some of the old shellbacks talking about things," he said."But I never took them really seriously."
"Well," I said. "I guess we'll have to take this seriously. I wish toGod we were home!"
"My God! so do I," he said.
For a good while after that, we both worked on in silence; but,presently, he went off on another tack.
"Do you think we'll really shorten her down every night before it getsdark?" he asked.
"Certainly," I replied. "They'll never get the men to go aloft at night,after what's happened."
"But, but--supposing they _ordered_ us aloft--" he began.
"Would you go?" I interrupted.
"No!" he said, emphatically. "I'd jolly well be put in irons first!"
"That settles it, then," I replied. "You wouldn't go, nor would any oneelse."
At this moment the Second Mate came along.
"Shove that mat and that sinnet away, you two," he said. "Then get yourbrooms and clear up."
"i, i, Sir," we said, and he went on forrard.
"Jump on the house, Tammy," I said. "And let go the other end of thisrope, will you?"
"Right" he said, and did as I had asked him. When he came back, I gothim to give me a hand to roll up the mat, which was a very large one.
"I'll finish stopping it," I said. "You go and put your sinnet away."
"Wait a minute," he replied, and gathered up a double handful of shakinsfrom the deck, under where I had been working. Then he ran to the side.
"Here!" I said. "Don't go dumping those. They'll only float, and theSecond Mate or the Skipper will be sure to spot them."
"Come here, Jessop!" he interrupted, in a low voice, and taking nonotice of what I had been saying.
I got up off the hatch, where I was kneeling. He was staring over theside.
"What's up?" I asked.
"For God's sake, hurry!" he said, and I ran, and jumped on to the spar,alongside of him.
"Look!" he said, and pointed with a handful of shakins, right down,directly beneath us.
Some of the shakins dropped from his hand, and blurred the water,momentarily, so that I could not see. Then, as the ripples cleared away,I saw what he meant.
"Two of them!" he said, in a voice that was scarcely above a whisper."And there's another out there," and he pointed again with the handfulof shakins.
"There's another a little further aft," I muttered.
"Where?--where?" he asked.
"There," I said, and pointed.
"That's four," he whispered. "Four of them!"
I said nothing; but continued to stare. They appeared to me to be agreat way down in the sea, and quite motionless. Yet, though theiroutlines were somewhat blurred and indistinct, there was no mistakingthat they were very like exact, though shadowy, representations ofvessels. For some minutes we watched them, without speaking. At lastTammy spoke.
"They're real, right enough," he said, in a low voice.
"I don't know," I answered.
"I mean we weren't mistaken this morning," he said.
"No," I replied. "I never thought we were."
Away forrard, I heard the Second Mate, returning aft. He came nearer,and saw us.
"What's up now, you two?" he called, sharply. "This isn't clearing up!"
I put out my hand to warn him not to shout, and draw the attention ofthe rest of the men.
He took several steps towards me.
"What is it? what is it?" he said, with a certain irritability; but in alower voice.
"You'd better take a look over the side, Sir," I replied.
My tone must have given him an inkling that we had discovered somethingfresh; for, at my words, he made one spring, and stood on the spar,alongside of me.
"Look, Sir," said Tammy. "There's four of them."
The Second Mate glanced down, saw something and bent sharply forward.
"My God!" I heard him mutter, under his breath.
After that, for some half-minute, he stared, without a word.
"There are two more out there, Sir," I told him, and indicated the placewith my finger.
It was a little time before he managed to locate these and when he did,he gave them only a short glance. Then he got down off the spar, andspoke to us.
"Come down off there," he said, quickly. "Get your brooms and clear up.Don't say a word!--It may be nothing."
He appeared to add that last bit, as an afterthought, and we both knewit meant nothing. Then he turned and went swiftly aft.
"I expect he's gone to tell the Old Man," Tammy remarked, as we wentforrard, carrying the mat and his sinnet.
"H'm," I said, scarcely noticing what he was saying; for I was full ofthe thought of those four shadowy craft, waiting quietly down there.
We got our brooms, and went aft. On the way, the Second Mate and theSkipper passed us. They went forrard too by the fore brace, and got upon the spar. I saw the Second point up at the brace and he appeared tobe saying something about the gear. I guessed that this was donepurposely, to act as a blind, should any of the other men be looking.Then the Old Man glanced down over the side, in a casual sort of manner;so did the Second Mate. A minute or two later, they came aft, and wentback, up on to the poop. I caught a glimpse of the Skipper's face as hepassed me, on his return. He struck me as looking worried--bewildered,perhaps, would be a better word.
Both Tammy and I were
tremendously keen to have another look; but whenat last we got a chance, the sky reflected so much on the water, wecould see nothing below.
We had just finished sweeping up when four bells went, and we clearedbelow for tea. Some of the men got chatting while they were grubbing.
"I 'ave 'eard," remarked Quoin, "as we're goin' ter shorten 'er downafore dark."
"Eh?" said old Jaskett, over his pannikin of tea.
Quoin repeated his remark.
"'oo says so?" inquired Plummer.
"I 'eard it from ther Doc," answered Quoin, "'e got it from therStooard."
"'ow would 'ee know?" asked Plummer.
"I dunno," said Quoin. "I 'spect 'e's 'eard 'em talkin' 'bout it arft."
Plummer turned to me.
"'ave you 'eard anythin', Jessop?" he inquired.
"What, about shortening down?" I replied.
"Yes," he said. "Weren't ther Old Man talkin' ter yer, up on ther poopthis mornin'?"
"Yes," I answered. "He said something to the Second Mate aboutshortening down; but it wasn't to me."
"They are!" said Quoin, "'aven't I just said so?"
At that instant, one of the chaps in the other watch, poked his head inthrough the starboard doorway.
"All hands shorten sail!" he sung out; at the same moment the Mate'swhistle came sharp along the decks.
Plummer stood up, and reached for his cap.
"Well," he said. "It's evydent they ain't goin' ter lose no more of us!"
Then we went out on deck.
It was a dead calm; but all the same, we furled the three royals, andthen the three t'gallants. After that, we hauled up the main andforesail, and stowed them. The crossjack, of course, had been furledsome time, with the wind being plumb aft.
It was while we were up at the foresail, that the sun went over the edgeof the horizon. We had finished stowing the sail, out upon the yard, andI was waiting for the others to clear in, and let me get off thefoot-rope. Thus it happened that having nothing to do for nearly aminute, I stood watching the sun set, and so saw something thatotherwise I should, most probably, have missed. The sun had dippednearly half-way below the horizon, and was showing like a great, reddome of dull fire. Abruptly, far away on the starboard bow, a faint mistdrove up out of the sea. It spread across the face of the sun, so thatits light shone now as though it came through a dim haze of smoke.Quickly, this mist or haze grew thicker; but, at the same time,separating and taking strange shapes, so that the red of the sun struckthrough ruddily between them. Then, as I watched, the weird mistinesscollected and shaped and rose into three towers. These became moredefinite, and there was something elongated beneath them. The shapingand forming continued, and almost suddenly I saw that the thing hadtaken on the shape of a great ship. Directly afterwards, I saw that itwas moving. It had been broadside on to the sun. Now it was swinging.The bows came round with a stately movement, until the three masts borein a line. It was heading directly towards us. It grew larger; but yetless distinct. Astern of it, I saw now that the sun had sunk to a mereline of light. Then, in the gathering dusk it seemed to me that the shipwas sinking back into the ocean. The sun went beneath the sea, and thething I had seen became merged, as it were, into the monotonous greynessof the coming night.
A voice came to me from the rigging. It was the Second Mate's. He hadbeen up to give us a hand.
"Now then, Jessop," he was saying. "Come along! come along!"
I turned quickly, and realised that the fellows were nearly all off theyard.
"i, i, Sir," I muttered, and slid in along the foot-rope, and went downon deck. I felt fresh dazed and frightened.
A little later, eight bells went, and, after roll call, I cleared up, onto the poop, to relieve the wheel. For a while as I stood at the wheelmy mind seemed blank, and incapable of receiving impressions. Thissensation went, after a time, and I realised that there was a greatstillness over the sea. There was absolutely no wind, and even theeverlasting creak, creak of the gear seemed to ease off at times.
At the wheel there was nothing whatever to do. I might just as well havebeen forrard, smoking in the fo'cas'le. Down on the main-deck, I couldsee the loom of the lanterns that had been lashed up to the sherpoles inthe fore and main rigging. Yet they showed less than they might, owingto the fact that they had been shaded on their after sides, so as not toblind the officer of the watch more than need be.
The night had come down strangely dark, and yet of the dark and thestillness and the lanterns, I was only conscious in occasional flashesof comprehension. For, now that my mind was working, I was thinkingchiefly of that queer, vast phantom of mist, I had seen rise from thesea, and take shape.
I kept staring into the night, towards the West, and then all round me;for, naturally, the memory predominated that she had been coming towardsus when the darkness came, and it was a pretty disquieting sort of thingto think about. I had such a horrible feeling that something beastly wasgoing to happen any minute.
Yet, two bells came and went, and still all was quiet--strangely quiet,it seemed to me. And, of course, besides the queer, misty vessel I hadseen in the West I was all the time remembering the four shadowy craftlying down in the sea, under our port side. Every time I rememberedthem, I felt thankful for the lanterns round the maindeck, and Iwondered why none had been put in the mizzen rigging. I wished togoodness that they had, and made up my mind I would speak to the SecondMate about it, next time he came aft. At the time, he was leaning overthe rail across the break of the poop. He was not smoking, as I couldtell; for had he been, I should have seen the glow of his pipe, now andthen. It was plain to me that he was uneasy. Three times already he hadbeen down on to the maindeck, prowling about. I guessed that he had beento look down into the sea, for any signs of those four grim craft. Iwondered whether they would be visible at night.
Suddenly, the time-keeper struck three bells, and the deeper notes ofthe bell forrard, answered them. I gave a start. It seemed to me thatthey had been struck close to my elbow. There was somethingunaccountably strange in the air that night. Then, even as the SecondMate answered the look-out's "All's well," there came the sharp whir andrattle of running gear, on the port side of the mainmast.Simultaneously, there was the shrieking of a parrel, up the main; and Iknew that someone, or something, had let go the main-topsail haul-yards.From aloft there came the sound of something parting; then the crash ofthe yard as it ceased falling.
The Second Mate shouted out something unintelligible, and jumped for theladder. From the maindeck there came the sound of running feet, and thevoices of the watch, shouting. Then I caught the Skipper's voice; hemust have run out on deck, through the Saloon doorway.
"Get some more lamps! Get some more lamps!" he was singing out. Then heswore.
He sung out something further. I caught the last two words.
"...carried away," they sounded like.
"No, Sir," shouted the Second Mate. "I don't think so."
A minute of some confusion followed; and then came the click of pawls. Icould tell that they had taken the haulyards to the after capstan. Oddwords floated up to me.
"...all this water?" I heard in the Old Man's voice. He appeared to beasking a question.
"Can't say, Sir," came the Second Mate's.
There was a period of time, filled only by the clicking of the pawls andthe sounds of the creaking parrel and the running gear. Then the SecondMate's voice came again.
"Seems all right, Sir," I heard him say.
I never heard the Old Man's reply; for in the same moment, there came tome a chill of cold breath at my back. I turned sharply, and sawsomething peering over the taffrail. It had eyes that reflected thebinnacle light, weirdly, with a frightful, tigerish gleam; but beyondthat, I could see nothing with any distinctness. For the moment, I juststared. I seemed frozen. It was so close. Then movement came to me, andI jumped to the binnacle and snatched out the lamp. I twitched round,and shone the light towards it. The thing, whatever it was, had comemore forward over the rail;
but now, before the light, it recoiled witha queer, horrible litheness. It slid back, and down, and so out ofsight. I have only a confused notion of a wet glistening Something, andtwo vile eyes. Then I was running, crazy, towards the break of the poop.I sprang down the ladder, and missed my footing, and landed on my stern,at the bottom. In my left hand I held the still burning binnacle lamp.The men were putting away the capstan-bars; but at my abrupt appearance,and the yell I gave out at falling, one or two of them fairly ranbackwards a short distance, in sheer funk, before they realised what itwas.
From somewhere further forrard, the Old Man and the Second Mate camerunning aft.
"What the devil's up now?" sung out the Second, stopping and bending tostare at me. "What's to do, that you're away from the wheel?"
I stood up and tried to answer him; but I was so shaken that I couldonly stammer.
"I--I--there--" I stuttered.
"Damnation!" shouted the Second Mate, angrily. "Get back to the wheel!"
I hesitated, and tried to explain.
"Do you damned well hear me?" he sung out.
"Yes, Sir; but--" I began.
"Get up on to the poop, Jessop!" he said.
I went. I meant to explain, when he came up. At the top of the ladder, Istopped. I was not going back alone to that wheel. Down below, I heardthe Old Man speaking.
"What on earth is it now, Mr. Tulipson?" he was saying.
The Second Mate made no immediate reply; but turned to the men, who wereevidently crowding near.
"That will do, men!" he said, somewhat sharply.
I heard the watch start to go forrard. There came a mutter of talk fromthem. Then the Second Mate answered the Old Man. He could not have knownthat I was near enough to overhear him.
"It's Jessop, Sir. He must have seen something; but we mustn't frightenthe crowd more than need be."
"No," said the Skipper's voice.
They turned and came up the ladder, and I ran back a few steps, as faras the skylight. I heard the Old Man speak as they came up.
"How is it there are no lamps, Mr. Tulipson?" he said, in a surprisedtone.
"I thought there would be no need up here, Sir," the Second Matereplied. Then he added something about saving oil.
"Better have them, I think," I heard the Skipper say.
"Very good, Sir," answered the Second, and sung out to the time-keeperto bring up a couple of lamps.
Then the two of them walked aft, to where I stood by the skylight.
"What are you doing, away from the wheel?" asked the Old Man, in a sternvoice.
I had collected my wits somewhat by now.
"I won't go, Sir, till there's a light," I said.
The Skipper stamped his foot, angrily; but the Second Mate steppedforward.
"Come! Come, Jessop!" he exclaimed. "This won't do, you know! You'dbetter get back to the wheel without further bother."
"Wait a minute," said the Skipper, at this juncture. "What objectionhave you to going back to the wheel?" he asked.
"I saw something," I said. "It was climbing over the taffrail, Sir--"
"Ah!" he said, interrupting me with a quick gesture. Then, abruptly:"Sit down! sit down; you're all in a shake, man."
I flopped down on to the skylight seat. I was, as he had said, all in ashake, and the binnacle lamp was wobbling in my hand, so that the lightfrom it went dancing here and there across the deck.
"Now," he went on. "Just tell us what you saw."
I told them, at length, and while I was doing so, the time-keeperbrought up the lights and lashed one up on the sheerpole in eachrigging.
"Shove one under the spanker boom," the Old Man sung out, as the boyfinished lashing up the other two. "Be smart now."
"i, i, Sir," said the 'prentice, and hurried off.
"Now then," remarked the Skipper when this had been done "You needn't beafraid to go back to the wheel. There's a light over the stern, and theSecond Mate or myself will be up here all the time."
I stood up.
"Thank you, Sir," I said, and went aft. I replaced my lamp in thebinnacle, and took hold of the wheel; yet, time and again, I glancedbehind and I was very thankful when, a few minutes later, four bellswent, and I was relieved.
Though the rest of the chaps were forrard in the fo'cas'le, I did not gothere. I shirked being questioned about my sudden appearance at the footof the poop ladder; and so I lit my pipe and wandered about themaindeck. I did not feel particularly nervous, as there were now twolanterns in each rigging, and a couple standing upon each of the sparetop-masts under the bulwarks.
Yet, a little after five bells, it seemed to me that I saw a shadowyface peer over the rail, a little abaft the fore lanyards. I snatched upone of the lanterns from off the spar, and flashed the light towards it,whereupon there was nothing. Only, on my mind, more than my sight, Ifancy, a queer knowledge remained of wet, peery eyes. Afterwards, when Ithought about them, I felt extra beastly. I knew then how brutal theyhad been ... Inscrutable, you know. Once more in that same watch I had asomewhat similar experience, only in this instance it had vanished evenbefore I had time to reach a light. And then came eight bells, and ourwatch below.
The Ghost Pirates Page 16