The Wreck of the Red Bird: A Story of the Carolina Coast

by George Cary Eggleston

  CHAPTER VIII.

  THE BEGINNING AND END OF A VOYAGE.

  The first care of the boys the next morning was to dig their well. Thiswas a comparatively trifling task, as they had only to dig four or fivefeet through soft alluvial soil and sand. Instead of makingperpendicular sides to their well, they dug it out in the shape of abowl, so that they could walk down to the water and dip it up as theyneeded it.

  Having a hut to live in and a well from which to get fresh water, theywere now free to begin the sport for which they had come to the island.They went fishing first, of course, that being the obvious thing to do,but after a few hours of this the tide became too full, and the fishceased to bite satisfactorily.

  "Let's crusoe a little," said Jack, winding up his line.

  "In what particular way?" asked Ned.

  "Why, let's sail around our domain and see how the island looks on itsother sides. Perhaps we may discover the savages, or find some game."

  "A good idea; but we must go back to camp first, to leave our fish andget the gun and the sail; and while we're there we'd better get somedinner."

  So said, so done. Dinner was very hastily dispatched, as the boys wereanxious to get off, in order that the circuit of the island might becompleted before night.

  "It looks like rain," said Ned, as he shook out the sail, "but we don'tmind a wetting."

  There was a good breeze, and the boat bounded away, rocking a good deal,for the wind had been blowing all day, and there was more sea on thanwas usual in those quiet waters. Ned let the centre-board down, whichsteadied the boat somewhat, and enabled her to carry her sail withoutdanger. The plan was to coast along about half a mile off shore in orderthat the island might be seen to good advantage; but as the easternshore was reached the sea became heavier, and the roar of the surf onshore warned Ned of broad sands upon that side.

  "I've got to make more offing here," he said.

  "What do you mean by that? turn it into English," said Charley Black,who persistently refused to understand any thing that sounded like anautical term.

  "Well, I mean I've got to sail farther away from the shore."

  "'Cause why?" asked Jack.

  "Because of two things," replied Ned. "In the first place the sea comesin between those two islands over there, and has a fair sweep at abouthalf a mile of our island's coast, and so for the next half mile weshall have some pretty rough water, and I prefer to be well off shore."

  "I should think you'd prefer to be close inshore if there's danger. Thenif any thing happens we can land."

  "That's all you know about it," said Ned. "I don't think there's theleast danger, so long as we keep off shore, because this boat, with hercentre-board down, is seaworthy; but as she isn't beach-worthy--and novessel is that--I don't want to get her upon a beach. That brings me tomy second reason. I want to take a good offing, because by the way thesurf roars here, and by the look of it, I judge that there's a longsandy beach running out from this part of the island, and I don't wantto risk getting into too shallow water."

  "But why couldn't we land if there were danger?" asked Jack Farnsworth."If I had the helm that would be the first thing I'd try to do."

  "So should I if I had a harbor to run into," replied Ned. "But don't yousee that if we ran upon a sandy beach when there was a sea on, we shouldsoon come to a place where there wouldn't be water enough except as awave came in? Then the boat would be lifted up by every wave, andsuddenly dropped upon the hard sand, and I can tell you she wouldn'tstand much of that. Did you never notice that nearly all shipwrecksoccur along shore?"

  "Yes, that's true," replied Jack. "Ships that come to grief nearlyalways run on breakers or something; but I never thought of it before."

  By this time Ned had secured at least a mile of offing but the sea grewevery moment heavier. The wind had risen to half a gale, and in spiteof the close reefing of the sail the boat lay far over and Ned directedhis companions to "trim ship" by sitting upon the gunwale.

  Jack Farnsworth soon discovered that Ned was becoming anxious. Hequietly said:

  "You suspect danger, Ned?"

  "Oh, no," replied Ned, "at least I think not."

  "Yes you do. I see it in your face. Now I want to say at once thatwhatever the danger is, we can only increase it by losing our wits. Theimportant thing is for you to keep perfectly cool, because you know morethan we do about sailing. Then you can tell us what to do, if there'sany thing."

  "Thank you," said Ned; "the fact is this: I think by the look of thehorizon out there at sea, that we are likely to have a squall--that is,a sudden and very violent blow, added to the steadier wind that blowsnow. If we can run across this open space before it comes, we'll be allright under the lee of that island over there, and if no squall comeswe're safe enough even here, because the boat is seaworthy. But aknock-over squall might capsize us. It's coming, too--let go thesheet--cut it--any thing!"

  As he said, or rather shouted this, Ned tried to head the boat to thewind, while Jack and Charley let go the sheet, and thus set the sailfree. If the squall had struck the boat with the sheet fastened and thesail thus held in position, the _Red Bird_ would have capsizedinstantly; but with the sail swinging freely, less resistance wasoffered, and Ned expected in this way to avoid a catastrophe. He headedthe boat to the wind, which was the best thing to do.

  The squall struck just as the sail swung free, but before the _Red Bird_could be brought completely around.

  It seemed to the boys that the boat had been struck violently by a solidball of some kind, so sharply did the squall come upon it. Having herhead almost to the wind, she reared like a horse, swung around, and verynearly rolled over, but she did not quite capsize. The mast, however,snapped short off, and the sail fell over into the water, being heldfast to the boat only by the guys.

  "Cut the guys, Jack," cried Ned, "or that sail will swamp us! There! nowall sit down in the bottom of the boat; no, no, Charley, not on thethwart, but on the bottom!"

  Ned had to shriek these orders to be heard above the roar of the squall,which had not yet subsided. He knew that the immediate danger now wasthat the boat might turn over, and to prevent this, he ordered hiscompanions to sit upon the bottom, as he himself did, in order thattheir weight might be where it would best serve as ballast.

  This brought the three very nearly together, so that they could speak toeach other without shouting quite at the top of their voices.

  "Well, Ned?" said Charley Black.

  "Well," replied Ned, "we shan't capsize now. That danger is over; butthere's another before us that is just as bad."

  "What is it?" asked Charley.

  "And what shall we do toward meeting it?" asked Jack, whose superbcalmness and manly resolution to look things in the face and to makefight against danger won Ned's heart.

  "We're being driven at railroad speed upon the beach," answered Ned,"and we'll strike pretty soon. We've already lost the oars, and wecouldn't use them if we had them in this sea; so we have nothing to dobut wait. When we strike, the boat will be mashed into kindling wood.Every thing depends then upon where we strike. If it is far from shorethe big waves will beat us to a jelly on the sand. Our only chance willbe, as soon as the boat strikes, to catch the next wave, swimming withit toward shore, taking care, when it recedes, to light on our feet, andthen run with all our might up the sand. If we can get inside the breakof the surf before the next wave catches us we're safe; but that's theonly chance. Every thing depends now on where we strike."

  "Boots off," cried Jack; "we may have to swim."

  Ned and Charley accepted the suggestion. All now anxiously scanned theshore, which seemed to be coming toward them at a tremendous speed.Suddenly Ned cried out:

  "There's a reef just ahead; when we strike try to cross it into thestiller water."

  At that moment it seemed as if the sandy reef had suddenly shot up frombelow, striking the bottom of the boat as a trip-hammer might, andshivering it into fragments. What had really happened was this: theboat, drivin
g forward on the crest of a wave, had been carried to apoint immediately over the sand ridge or reef, and there suddenlydropped by the receding of the wave. It had struck the sandy bottom withsufficient violence to crush its sides and bottom into a shapeless mass.

  The boys were wellnigh stunned by the blow, but rallying quickly theyran forward in water only a few inches deep, and before the nextincoming wave struck, they had crossed the narrow sand reef, and plungedinto the deep, but comparatively still water that lay inside. The surfwas broken, of course, upon the reef, and although the waves passedcompletely over it, their force was expended upon it, so that inside thebarrier the boys found the water disturbed by nothing more than a swell.The distance to the shore was small, and they soon swam it, pullingthemselves out on the sand, drenched, bare-headed, bootless, and wearybeyond expression, not so much from exertion as from the strain throughwhich their brains and nerves had passed.