by Mayne Reid
CHAPTER THIRTY FIVE.
MYSTERIOUS DISAPPEARANCE.
As I had eaten so many biscuits for breakfast, I intended to makebreakfast serve me for that day; but, hungering as I was, I could notcarry out my good intent. About mid-day, I found myself groping at thebox, and the result was, that I abstracted another biscuit. I resolved,however, to eat only half of it for dinner, and keep the other half forsupper. Following out this resolution, I broke the biscuit across themiddle, and laid one half aside. The other I ate, washing it down witha little more water.
You may think it strange that I did not fancy a little brandy along withit, which I might have had without any trouble, since there were atleast a hundred gallons of it within reach. The brandy, however, wasnothing to me; and the great cask might as well have contained vitriol,for aught I cared for it. There were several reasons why I did notmeddle with it. First, because I did not relish it; second, because itmade me feel sick, and nauseated both my palate and stomach. I supposeit had been of an inferior kind, intended, not as an article ofcommerce, but for the use of the sailors, as casks of very bad brandyand rum are carried in most ships for the use of the crew. A thirdreason why I kept clear of the brandy was, that I had already drunk ofit--only about one wine-glassful--and it had the effect of making me sothirsty that I drank nearly half a gallon of water before I succeeded infully quenching my thirst again. I reasoned, therefore, that if Itouched the brandy, it would cause me, either great suffering fromthirst, or that I should have to use more water than I could spare.Therefore it was, that I determined to abstain altogether from thisalcoholic spirit.
When my watch warned me that it was my usual hour to go to sleep, Iresolved to eat the odd half biscuit, which I had reserved for supper;and then "retire for the night."
This operation consisted simply in stretching myself in a new position,and drawing a fold or two of the broadcloth over me, to keep me fromgetting chilled while asleep.
For the first week after leaving port, I had found it very cold, for itwas the winter season when we left home. The cloth, however, after itwas discovered, enabled me to wrap up snugly enough, and I no longercared for the cold. After a time, however, I began to perceive that thecold had quite taken its departure, and each day and night theatmosphere in the hold of the ship appeared to be growing warmer. Onthe night after the storm had passed, it did not feel at all cold, andthe slightest covering sufficed.
At first, I was surprised by this sudden change in the state of theatmosphere; but when I reflected a little, I was able to explain it tomy satisfaction. "Beyond a doubt," thought I, "we have been all thewhile sailing southward, and we are getting into the hot latitudes ofthe torrid zone."
I knew but little of what that meant, but I had heard that the torridzone--or the tropics, as it was also called--lay to the south ofEngland; and that there the climate was hotter than the hottest summerday at home. I had also heard that Peru was a southern country, andtherefore we must be going in a southerly direction to reach it.
This was a very good explanation of the warm weather that had set in.The ship had now been sailing for nearly two weeks; and allowing her tohave made two hundred miles a day (and ships, I knew, often go fasterthan that), she would at this time be a long way from England, and in adifferent climate altogether.
Thus reasoning with myself, I contrived to pass that afternoon andevening, and as I felt the hands of my watch indicating the hour of ten,I resolved, as already stated, to eat the half biscuit, and then go tosleep.
I first drew a cup of water, so that the biscuit might not be eaten dry;and, this done, I stretched forth my hand for the bread. I knew theexact spot where it lay, for I had a little corner, just alongside thegreat beam, where I kept my knife and cup, and wooden almanack--a sortof little shelf, raised by a roll of the cloth above the common level ofmy cell. There I had placed the half biscuit, and there, of course, Icould lay my hand upon it as well without a light as with one. Soperfectly had I become acquainted with every corner of my apartment, andevery crevice leading from it, that I could place my finger on any givenspot of the size of a crown-piece, without the slightest deviation.
I reached forth my hand, then, to clutch the precious morsel. Judge myastonishment when I touched the spot where I supposed it to be lying,and found _it was not there_!
At first, I fancied I might be mistaken--that perhaps I had not left itin the usual place on my shelf. There it certainly was not.
I felt the cloth cup, for that was in my hand full of water. The knifewas in its place--so, too, the little notched stick, and the pieces ofthe string which I had used in measuring the butt--but no half biscuit!
Could I have put it anywhere else? I thought not; and yet, to makesure, I felt all over the bottom of my cell, and among the folds andwrinkles of the cloth, and even in the pockets both of my jacket andtrousers. I felt in my buskins too, for these were not upon my feet, asI no longer needed them, but lying idle in a corner. I left not an inchof the place that I did not examine--and minutely too--yet still no halfbiscuit could be found!
I looked carefully for it, not so much on account of its value; but thatits disappearance from the shelf was something rather strange--strangerstill that I could nowhere lay my hand upon it.
_Had I eaten it_?
I began to fancy that I had done so. Perhaps, during a period ofabsent-mindedness, I might have swallowed it up, without ever thinkingof what I was doing. Certainly, I had no remembrance of having tastedfood since I ate its counterpart--the other half; and if I had eaten italso, it must have done me very little good. I had neither enjoyed themeal, nor yet did my stomach appear to have received much benefit fromit, since I was just as hungry as if I had not tasted food that day.
I recollected perfectly having placed it alongside the knife and cup;and how could it part from the place, unless it had been taken away bymy own hand? I could not have thrown it accidentally from the littleshelf, for I did not remember making a movement in that direction. Buteven so, it would still have been somewhere about me? It could not getunderneath the butt, for the crevice there was closed up, regularlycaulked with pieces of the cloth. I had done this for the purpose ofmaking a level surface to rest upon.
Certainly the half biscuit was not to be found. It was gone--whetherdown my throat or in some other way, I could not decide--but if theformer, I thought to myself, what a pity I had eaten it without knowingwhat I was about, for certainly my absence of mind had deprived me ofall enjoyment of the meal.
I wavered for a long while, as to whether I should take another biscuitout of the box, or go to bed supperless. But the dread of the futuredecided me to abstain; and, summoning all my resolution, I drank off thecold water, placed my cup upon the shelf, and laid myself down for thenight.