CHAPTER EIGHT.
Away sailed the Lion, those on board exulting in the rich booty they hadobtained, and looking ere many months had passed by once more to treadthe shores of Old England and to enjoy the wealth they had gotten withso much toil and danger. Good Master Walker, the minister, did his bestto warn them not to trust to the riches they had acquired, that richesare apt to take to themselves wings and flee away, and that it in no wayfollows that because people possess wealth they will have the power ofenjoying it. These and other similar remarks were received by theofficers and men in general with no good grace, and Master Walker lostpopularity simply because no one could deny the truth of his remarks.
"There is many a slip between the cup and the lip," he added one day,most greatly to the annoyance of his hearers.
The more conscious people are that a thing may probably come to pass,the more angry they are, if it is against their wish that it shouldhappen, when they are told so. Antony Waymouth was no despiser ofgold--or rather the good things of life which gold procures--but heloved his honour more, and he considered it his duty to go in search ofthe commander-in-chief and the rest of the fleet, if haply they mighthave reached the rendezvous at Bantam. Waymouth had full experience ofthe responsibility of power, though he had able assistants in Raymondand his first officer, Carlingford. Several of the crew had for manymonths shown a mutinous disposition, though the storms to which they hadbeen exposed, the fights in which they had been engaged, and theprospect of the attack on the Castle of San Pedro, had prevented anyserious outbreak. Now, however, they loudly expressed their disapprovalof continuing the search for Captain Wood, declaring that he and hisconsorts must long since have perished, and that they, having collectedso large an amount of wealth, would be acting like fools to remain out aday longer than they could help. Round the mess-table by day and duringthe watches of the night the only subject of conversation was the way inwhich they would spend their wealth when they got on shore. Theirdisappointment and anger therefore increased greatly when they foundthat the time for their return might be indefinitely delayed. Thoseeven who had hitherto been obedient began to express themselves in amutinous manner, and to hint that the sooner another man was captain thebetter it would, be for all hands fore and aft. This state of thingswas not unknown to Waymouth and his officers, and it put them on theirguard; but while no overt act was committed, it was impossible to takeactive steps to bring about a change. As at first, Peter Hagger, theboatswain, with his mate and Dick Soper, a seaman, were supposed to bethe ringleaders. Though narrowly watched, nothing could be provedAgainst them. The captain's two cabin-boys, Oliver Marston and AlfredStanhope, proud of the approval they had before received, determined todiscover, if possible, what was wrong. They had taken Dick Lizard intotheir councils, assured that he, at all events, might be depended on.In spite of all their wealth and their anticipations of the pleasures itmight procure, none of either high or low degree on board could boast ofmuch enjoyment. The happiest person was Master Walker. He was doinghis duty, and leaving the consequences in the hand of Heaven. TheIsland of Java was once more sighted and the Harbour of Bantam entered.No certain news could there be obtained of Captain Wood. Several largeships of the Hollanders had, however, visited the place since theirdeparture, and the people had done their best to spread evil reports ofthe English. Waymouth cared little for this, but he vowed, should heever come across the Hollanders, he would make them pay for theirslanders, and those who knew him best had no doubt that he would put histhreat into execution. Still his chief desire was to go in search ofhis friends, but even this could not be done without delay, for, hehaving ordered a survey of the Lion, the carpenters reported that shemust undergo a thorough repair before she would be fit to put to sea.No man knew better than the bold captain of the Lion how to get into thegood graces of people in power, and he soon gained the confidence andgood-will of the King of Bantam. At the same time he was too wise toput more confidence in his majesty than was necessary; he thereforecarefully kept concealed from him the amount of wealth the Lion had onboard, and rather let him suppose that he and his company were needyadventurers who had yet their fortunes to make at the point of theirswords, at the same time that the little they possessed they were readyto expend liberally. This policy answered so well that the repairs ofthe Lion were allowed to proceed without interruption.
One enemy, however, could by no means be kept at a distance. It was theblack fever. While still many necessary repairs were yet to be done, itmade its baneful appearance. Strong men who had boldly confronted thefiercest foes and the raging storm turned pale when they heard that ithad already carried off six of their shipmates. From that time not aday passed but two or more died. Every one of the company laboured hardto get the ship ready for sea, under the belief that they should leavethe fell destroyer behind them. Now the qualities of Master Walker, thechaplain, shone forth brightly, for while others shrank back fromattending on the plague-stricken, he boldly went among the sick andattended the dying, giving them spiritual counsel and consolation,tending them, and administering medicines prescribed by the surgeon.Full thirty of her brave crew had succumbed to the destroyer, before theLion, having been got ready for sea, once more ploughed the waters ofthe ocean. Still the fever raged. Gladly would those on board havegiven all their wealth to have escaped with health from theplague-stricken ship. Day after day more and more were called away. Asmall number only of those who were attacked survived, but so sick andweak did they remain that their recovery was hardly expected.
Waymouth had received intimation that some ships, supposed to beEnglish, had been seen farther to the eastward, and from the descriptiongiven, believing them to be Captain Wood's squadron, he steered a coursein that direction. On sailed the Lion on her solitary course. TheAngel of Death still pursued her, continuing to summon one after anotherof her crew. Hope of finding his consorts, however, allured the bravecaptain on in spite of the ravages of the plague and the warnings givenhim of the increasing discontent of the crew.
"I know the varlets, and fear them not," he answered. "I showed thembefore who was master, and will show them again to their cost."
Meantime, Peter Hagger, the boatswain, had been biding his time andstrengthening his party by every device he could think of. He well knewthat he was watched, but he strove to throw the captain off his guard bya frankness of manner, an unusual attention to his duties, and thestrictness with which all orders were obeyed. He appeared to havesucceeded so far as to make Waymouth believe that he had abandoned hisevil designs, and might be trusted. In the fore-part of the ship, fardown in her inward depths, was situated his principal storeroom. Therethe light of day had never entered since the huge structure had been puttogether, nor had fresh air penetrated. It was redolent of pitchy andtarry odours, with numerous others of a far from fragrant character. Alarge horn lantern hung from a beam above, and shed a sickly lightthroughout the chamber. Here, seated on chests and casks, with theirheads bent forward together as if in earnest consultation, were about adozen seamen. Their naturally ill-favoured countenances were notimproved by long exposure to the burning sun of the tropics. Thepresiding spirit among them was evidently Peter Hagger, the boatswain.
"Are we all agreed, mates?" he asked in his usual gruff voice.
"All," said several. "Provided we take no lives," added others. "Thefever has been doing enough of that work lately among us."
"Dead men tell no tales," observed Hagger.
"If we secure the gold we need fear neither dead nor living men,"observed one of the men, who, from the tone of his voice, was evidentlyof superior education to the rest. "If they were ever to come backwithout a stiver in their pockets, who would take their word againstours, when we are rolling in wealth?"
"But if we don't heave them overboard or run them up to the yard-arm,what are we to do with them?" was a question put by another speaker.
"Why, land them on a desolate island, or sell them to some of theseEas
terns, or put them on board a prize with provisions to take them tothe nearest shore, that would be giving them a fair chance of escape,and no one need complain," was the remark of a mutineer who had sidedwith Hagger.
"That will do," observed the boatswain. "And now, mates, the sooner weset about this work the better. To my mind there's no time like thepresent. Every day we are going farther and farther to the eastward,and every day getting more and more out of our reckoning. Now d'ye see?All we've to do is to sail west, and when we get into the longitude ofBon Esperanza Cape, steer north, and we'll find our way back to OldEngland, never fear."
"Ay, ay! with you as captain, Master Hagger," exclaimed severalmutineers, "we shall go straight forward, not be running here and there,looking into this port and that port, and all to no purpose, to look forpeople who have long since gone to Davy Jones's locker. Peter Haggerfor captain! He's the man we want."
Peter Hagger bent forward, for the height of the cabin did not allow himto stand upright.
"Mates, I take your terms," he said in a low voice. "I've no wish toinjure any man, least of all Master Waymouth, who has good qualities,I'll allow; but we must have our rights, and if he has lost his wits--asthere's no doubt he has--it is seemly that some better man should takehis place, and as you choose me, mates, why, I'm not the man to gainsayyou."
"All right, Captain Hagger; all right," said several of the men. "Butwhat is it you would have us do?"
"That's what I was coming to," answered Hagger, still more lowering hisvoice till it was only audible to those who put their ears close to hismouth.
The men talked long and earnestly together, till all their plans seemedmatured. Not only were their plans matured, but they appeared confidentof success. One by one they stole off from their place of meeting.They had no fear of having been overheard, for, suspecting that such hadbefore been the case, they had now placed sentries to give notice of theapproach of any one they might suspect. Separating, they went to theirhammocks, and, what may seem strange, all except the arch-mutineer sleptas soundly as if their consciences were free from blame. He could notrest; for though he believed that he was on the point of obtaining theobject of his desires--the larger portion of the store of wealthcontained in the Lion--yet all the time he was conscious that he had notthe ability to retain command over the lawless band who had selected himas their leader, nor the knowledge necessary to navigate the ship to anEnglish port. Still he was determined to persevere in his mad course.He trusted to chance for the future. The wealth he was resolved to haveat all risks. The following night had been fixed on for the outbreak.
It was the middle watch. The weather even for those latitudes was hotand close. Many of the officers found their cabins too warm to allowthem to sleep, and had come on deck to endeavour to obtain rest. Somehad thrown themselves down in spots where they were unobserved, and hadgone to sleep. Miles Carlingford had charge of the watch, with the twoyoung cabin-boys, Stanhope and Marston, under him. The captain,accompanied by Edward Raymond, after a time came also on deck. Waymouthcast his eyes round the horizon several times as he slowly paced up anddown with Raymond.
"I like not the look of the midnight sky," he observed to Carlingford;"I have known black storms, with fury so terrible that scarcely thestoutest ships could withstand them, spring out of such. We must be onthe watch. With our weakened crew we cannot shorten sail as we werewont to do, and yet I would not rouse up the men unnecessarily."
"Ay, ay, sir, I'll not let my eyes wink," answered Carlingford; "but Ihope the weather may clear without the storm. Still, there is notelling in these latitudes what may happen. I would we were out ofthem."
"So do I, Master Carlingford, believe me, most heartily," answered thecaptain. "I promise you, too, that if in two days we do not discoverthe admiral we will shape a course for the Cape of Bon Esperanza; afterrecruiting ourselves there we will lose no time in sailing for OldEngland."
"It will be a happy time indeed, sir, when we again see the white cliffsof our native land," remarked Raymond, anxious to keep his chief up tohis intentions. "I would that the crew were made acquainted with yourintentions; it would tranquillise their minds, and banish the discontentin which they now indulge."
"They will know in good time," answered Waymouth, somewhat angrily. "Itdoes not do to yield to their fancies, or they will become masters overthose they are bound to obey."
Scarcely had he spoken when from each of the hatchways, which had beenleft open on account of the heat, numerous dark forms sprang up, thoughso silently that neither did he nor the other officers who were lookingseaward hear or observe them. Like tigers on their prey the men threwthemselves on the knot of officers, who were instantly brought violentlyto the deck, and pinioned before they had time to cry out. In vain theystruggled; they were dragged to the guns, to one of which Waymouth,Carlingford, Raymond, and the two cabin-boys were securely lashed almostbefore the rest of the officers on deck had sprung to their feet,aroused by the cries they made. None had arms; and the rest of themutineers, rushing aft, grappled with them, threatening vengeance ifthey resisted. Surprised and bewildered by the suddenness of theattack, scarcely aware by whom it was made, they were easily knockeddown and secured.
The Welsh surgeon, Ap Reece, was below, sleeping soundly in spite of theheat and the noise, fatigued with his attendance on the sick, who werestill numerous. The shouts and cries of his struggling brother officersawoke him, and, seizing a rapier and a brace of pistols, which he stuckin his belt, he was about to spring on deck to their assistance, when itoccurred to him that it would be wiser to ascertain exactly what wasoccurring. The words which reached his ears--"Mutiny! mutiny! Help!help! Loyal men to the rescue!"--showed him clearly the state of thecase.
"The scoundrels will be waiting to knock all who are below on the headas they come up," he thought to himself; "but I will disappoint them."
Thereon he began to make his way forward, where he was sure of findingsome of the men ready to side with him. There was a passage from oneend of the ship to the other, and at the division between the officers'quarters and the fore-part a sentry was usually placed, but sickness hadso diminished the numbers of the crew that there were not enough men toperform any but the most necessary duties. Ap Reece groped his way onin darkness. He heard some men hallooing out, but it was evident thatthey were bound, and could render him no assistance till they werereleased. On a sudden a hand grasped his arm.
"Who is this?" said a voice which he recognised as that of honest DickLizard.
"A friend to all hands," answered the surgeon. "I hope that you havenot turned mutineer, Dick."
"No, indeed, I should hope not, sir," replied Dick indignantly; "I havea guess of what's going on. What can we do to help the officers? Allthe true men are bound hand and foot, and I'm the only one who managedto slip away."
"We won't despair, Dick; are you armed?" asked the surgeon.
"I've a hanger, sir," was the answer.
"Come here and I'll give you some pistols," said Ap Reece. "Now we'llfirst loose all the true men, and then make a rush together and releasethe captain, if we can find him. With a sword in his hand he'll soongive good account of the mutineers and bring them to terms."
The surgeon, stepping back, armed Dick as he had promised, and togetherthey found their way without interruption to the fore-hatch. As theygot their heads up to the coamings they perceived that the scuffling hadceased, though the voices of a few of the officers were heard upbraidingthe men for their treachery.
"My friends, I beseech you to be silent. Let me speak to thesemisguided men," said a voice which they recognised to be that of MasterWalker, the minister. "Mutineers!--for such you are--you are triumphingnow in the success of your scheme, and the fancied possession of all thewealth this ship contains; but first let me ask you what does itadvantage you now? Nothing. What can it ever advantage you? You cannever enjoy it; for be assured that the vengeance of Heaven willovertake you sooner or later; even n
ow, wretched men, it is preparingfor you."
"Cease, cease, Master Walker," exclaimed Hagger, stepping up to theminister. "We wish you no ill; necessity makes us act as we do. Wewant to injure no one, but we won't stand opposition, and I for onecannot be answerable for the consequences."
It is needless to say that this threat was accompanied by numerous oathswhich need not be repeated; in truth, Peter Hagger never spoke withoutinterlarding his remarks with expressions of that description.
Ap Reece guessed correctly that the appeal of Master Walker would haveno present beneficial effect, and therefore he and Lizard slipped downbelow again and made their way to the cabins of some of the inferiorofficers whom the latter believed had not joined in the mutiny. Two ofthem, the gunner and carpenter, were found lashed in their berths, nothaving the slightest conception of what had occurred, and believing thatthey were the only sufferers. A few brief words explained matters tothem. Three other men who had positively refused to join the mutinywere found lashed in different parts of the ship. They were released,hangers were placed in their hands, and, together, led by Ap Reece, theysprang on deck and rushed aft to where the officers lay bound, theirprincipal object being to release Captain Waymouth and then to attackthe mutineers.
As they were on their way, a shout and a loud oath from Hagger, who sawthem coming, called the attention of his followers, the boatswainthrowing himself before the captain at the moment Ap Reece was aboutwith his hanger to sever the lashings which bound him. The surgeon wastherefore compelled to use his weapon to defend his own life, for theboatswain, seeing what he was about, attacked him with the greatestfury, and a desperate combat ensued. Lizard and the other men, foiledin their attempt to release some of the officers, were fighting fortheir lives. Dick and his party were, however, able to keep theirimmediate opponents at bay, the chief interest centring between Ap Reeceand the boatswain. Hagger was a huge, powerful man, with aroundbullet-head covered by black shaggy hair, and a face of the bull-dogtype. Ap Reece, on the contrary, was a slight active man, but he madeup by activity what he wanted in strength. He, too, had science, whichthe boatswain had not, and altogether the combatants were not unevenlymatched. The great strength of the boatswain gave him, however,somewhat the advantage, as he wisely only stood on the defensive,allowing the surgeon to exhaust his powers. Ap Reece sprang round andround him--now he retreated, now he advanced, but to no purpose--Haggerwas not to be betrayed into abandoning his tactics. He waited hisopportunity. It came. The surgeon's foot slipped, and unable torecover himself, his knees came with great force on the deck. At thatinstant a flash of lightning darting from the clouds revealed thecombatants to each other.
"Hagger, I saved your life once when all hope seemed gone," exclaimed ApReece, as the mutineer's weapon was about to descend on his head. "Idon't ask for my life from you or such a one as you. Strike, and add agross act of folly to your crimes and madness. But the fever has notleft the ship yet; and the time will come ere long when you and yourcomrades in your night's work will want my aid, and will be ready togive for it all the gold you have got in your possession. Strike, Isay."
The boatswain's hanger was again lifted as if to strike, when one of hisown party sprang forward.
"Hold, hold, Master Hagger," he cried out, interposing his own weapon."Our surgeon speaks the truth. We, any one of us, may want doctoringere an hour be over, and who's to doctor us an' we trust to TimRosemerry, who swears he knows the whole art, from having served anapprenticeship for six mouths to a foreign leech in the city ofWestminster? I put it, mates, are we to have a doctor who knowsnothing, or a friend who has set many of us on his legs when we thoughtthat we were never to walk again?"
"Let the doctor live! let the doctor live!" exclaimed all the men,surrounding the boatswain, who dropped the point of his weapon.
"Thanks, friends. I accept my life, for I have no wish to lose it,"said Ap Reece, rising to his feet. "The sick I will doctor as before;but remember, I will sanction no act of violence or cruelty while Iremain with you."
"Oh, we are all honourable men here," cried several of the men in aderisive tone, to which remark the surgeon thought it imprudent toreply.
While this scene was acting, Dick Lizard and his companions wereexchanging blows with the rest of the mutineers; but overwhelmed bynumbers, two were killed, and Dick and another were brought to the deckbadly wounded. Dick had been a general favourite; and although themutineers were exasperated with him for the attack he had made on them,and for the unmeasured abuse he now heaped on their heads, they agreedhe was too good a fellow to be put out of the way, and that if he wouldkeep a civil tongue in his head, he should live. This was a somewhatdifficult task for honest Dick, though, when his life was offered, likea wise man he accepted it without thinking it necessary to make anystipulations.
The mutineers had now decidedly gained the day; the officers were forcedat the sword's point to go below, and each was confined in his owncabin. The threatening state of the weather made Hagger anxious toarrange matters. There was no wind, but an ominous swell had got upwhich made the ship roll heavily, and loud claps of thunder rattledthrough the sky, while vivid flashes of forked lightning darted from theclouds, hissing like fiery serpents along the surface of the ocean, orplaying round the masts and threatening the Lion with destruction.
Waymouth lay in his cabin, feeling like a chained beast of the foresteager to be loose, indignant at the treachery practised on him, andfeeling also the probability that the ignorant men who had been guiltyof this act of atrocity would wreck the ship, and involve boththemselves and him and his officers in a common destruction. He knewthat they were totally unaware of the intricacies of the navigationthrough which the Lion had got so far to the eastward, and that it wouldbe impossible for them unaided to retrace their course. He had perhapsa grim satisfaction in contemplating this, though all his own prospectsof wealth would vanish, and life itself be lost. At length, however,the very intensity of his feelings overcame him, and he fell asleep.His sleep was far from refreshing, and his dreams were strangelytroubled. Yet on he slept for some time, he believed. Whenever he felthimself waking, he forced himself to doze off again rather than awake tothe disagreeable realities of his position. At length, however, theviolent rolling and pitching of the ship roused him completely up. Theroar of the sea, the howling of the wind, the dashing of the waves onthe side of the ship, the rattling of blocks and ropes, and the trampand shouts of men overhead, convinced him that the long-expected strifeof the elements had begun. The rolling and pitching and jerking of theship became more and more violent, the washing of the water up the sidesand over the deck showed him that the sea was running high, and the wayin which the ship occasionally heeled over showed him that the gale wasblowing furiously. The sounds which reached him from the deck told himalso that efforts were being made to shorten sail.
"The mutinous varlets! Now is the occasion to prove their seamanship,if they have any," he muttered to himself. "What the idiots will do itis hard to say, except let the good ship drive on the rocks. What arethey about now? There's not one of them can stow the mainsail properlybut Hagger in a gale like this. They'll capsize the stout ship, or sendthe masts over the sides--the idiots!"
Thus he spoke, or rather thought, for some time. The ship plunged onthrough the mountainous seas, her timbers creaking and groaning as ifthey were about to be torn asunder. The cabin was in obscurity, for allthe hatches were battened down, and not without good reason, for thefoaming seas often broke so completely over the ship that without thisprecaution she might have filled and gone bodily down. Waymouthbelieved that the day was advancing from the sensations of hunger whichhe was beginning to experience. In vain he tried to release himselffrom the ropes which bound him. The more he struggled the tighter theybecame. Nor could he manage to get his mouth down to any part of therope, or he would have tried to gnaw it asunder with his teeth. Heshouted over and over again to his friends in captivity; but though thesou
nd of his voice reached them, he could not, from the noises in theinterior of the ship, make out what they said in return. They wereevidently as securely bound as he was, and also confined in theircabins.
"Patience is a virtue, I doubt not, but it is sore difficult to exerciseit just now," he said to himself, with a mocking laugh.
Suddenly the ship heeled over more than ever--there was a loud crash--the sea seemed with fierce roars to be washing over her--shrieks andcries of distress reached his ears even where he lay. Again sherighted, and seemed to go tearing on through the ocean as before.
"One or more of our masts have gone," muttered Waymouth. "Well, letthem go; it is but the beginning of the end. The sooner thosescoundrels find out their folly the better. Had we shortened sail as Iwas about to do, this disaster would have been avoided."
On, on went the ship, plunging down, again to be lifted up, trulyreeling to and fro like a drunken man. Once more she was pressed down;another fearful crash followed, and there were piercing shrieks andcries. Waymouth believed fully that the ship was foundering; but no,she rose again, and rushed on still more unsteadily than before. On, onshe went. Time was pressing. A hatch was removed for an instant, and agleam of light penetrated into the cabin. Again it was obscured, and alantern was lighted; three or four men descended. Waymouth heard themgo to his lieutenant's cabin. They were offering him the command, if hewould help them out of their difficulties. An indignant refusal was thereply.
"Scoundrels that you are, you may all sink with us before I'll takecharge of the ship while the rightful commander remains alive," saidCarlingford.
They then applied to Raymond, who was known to be a good navigator. Hisreply was of the same nature. None of the temptations the mutineerscould hold out would induce an officer of any rank acquainted withnavigation to take command. A consultation was then held, and aftersome time the mutineers approached the cabin where Waymouth lay. Thelight of a lantern flashed on his eyes, and, the door opening, Hagger,Soper, and other mutineers stood before him.
"What is your pleasure with me, knaves?" he asked in a haughty,undaunted tone.
"An' please your honour, the ship is driving we know not where, and islike to strike on some strange rock or island, if she go not downfirst," said Hagger, holding his hat in his hand.
"Maybe: it is what I expected," answered Waymouth calmly. "When foolstake the helm, they are certain to steer to destruction."
"An' please your honour, we wish to know whether you will please to takecharge of the ship, and save her and all on board," said Soper humbly.
"Likely enough--to have my throat cut, and the throats of the gentlemenwith me, by you mutinous varlets, when you find the ship in safety,"answered Waymouth. "No, knaves; you have brought yourselves into thisstrait, and you may get out of it as best you may."
"If your honour will take command and save the ship, and overlook ourconduct, we will be obedient in future," said Soper, who acted asspokesman.
"Seize that man, then, and put him in irons first," answered Waymouth,casting his glance on Hagger, who clapped his hand on his hanger, as ifabout to defend himself, but the rest threw themselves on him, and borehim in spite of his great strength to the deck.
"Now haste and release my officers, and beg them to come here,"continued Waymouth, addressing one of the men who was not required tohold the chief mutineer.
Raymond, Carlingford, Master Walker, Ap Reece, and the other officersquickly made their appearance, surprised at the turn matters had taken.In their presence he made the mutineers cast off his fetters, andordering Hagger to be bound and secured in a place of safety, heexclaimed, "Follow me, gentlemen!" and sprang with an elastic step ondeck. The scene which met his eye was, however, far from encouraging.Two of the masts had gone by the board, and now hung with a mass ofrigging and shattered spars over the sides. Part of the foremast onlywas standing, on which the foresail was set, driving the ship onfuriously through the water, while the seas, foaming up on either hand,threatened to overwhelm her, and sent the masts and spars dashing likebattering-rams against the sides as if about to stave them in. All theboats were gone or knocked to pieces, and booms and caboose--indeed, thesea had made a clean sweep of every thing movable on deck. Fearfully,too, was the number of the crew diminished--not a dozen mutineersremained alive; the rest had been carried away when the masts fell, orhad been swept off the decks by the raging seas which had broken onboard. The officers and men who had remained faithful outnumbered themutineers. It appeared, however, that human skill and courage would bebut of little avail, and that the gallant ship was doomed todestruction.
"The scoundrels have summoned us too late," said Waymouth to MilesCarlingford, a sigh, unheard amid the howling of the tempest, for thefirst time escaping his bosom. "Howbeit, we'll do what men can do tosave the ship. Summon all hands with axes to clear the wreck of themasts."
In an instant every man, accustomed to the commanding voice of hischief, was actively employed. Ropes and broken spars were quicklysevered, and the shattered masts and their heavy rigging were soonfloating away astern. The huge foresail, which had hitherto threatenedto tear the mast out of the ship, was skilfully reefed, and withsomewhat diminished speed the Lion plunged onward through the foamingocean. Still the rate at which she drove was far too great for safety,yet all had been done that could be done, and Waymouth and his followersresigned themselves like brave believing men to the rule of Him whorules the universe, and without whose will not a sparrow falls to theground. As they tore on, the masts of a tall ship appeared ahead. Hermore lofty spars and masts were snugly housed, and with the little sailshe carried, evenly balanced, she rode hove to nearly head to wind. On,on drove the Lion. It was feared that she might strike the stranger.With difficulty this was avoided. People were seen on the stranger'sdeck, but no assistance could be expected from them. No flag flew fromher peak. Her nation could not be ascertained; she might be a Hollanderor a Portugal--scarcely English, from the appearance of the people andher build; certainly not one of Admiral Wood's squadron. The people onboard waved and shouted, but their voices were unheard. A board wasshown, but ere what was written on it could be deciphered the Lion haddriven a long way by. Soon the stranger was lost to sight; no aid couldbe hoped for from her. On, on drove the once-gallant Lion, now, ahelpless wreck on the waste of waters. Far from abating, the fury ofthe storm increased. Another damage was discovered; the wreck of themast had struck the rudder, and now a sea carried it away. Dreadfullythe battered ship laboured through the foaming seas. The well wassounded. Aghast, the carpenters declared that there were seven feet ofwater in the hold.
"To the pumps! to the pumps!" was the cry.
The diminished crew began to labour at the pumps, but weakened bydisease they could hardly gain on the water. Buckets were employed, andthose who could not work at the pumps passed them from hand to hand frombelow, but even thus but little progress was made in freeing the ship.All hands must work. The arch-mutineer Hagger was released from hisshackles, and came to take his spell at the pumps. Without remonstrancehe obeyed, though somewhat sulkily. The sick came from below, but soonsank overcome with the exertion. Others, too, who had hitherto escapedwere struck by the fever. Those whom the sea had spared disease nowgrasped, and the numbers of the crew of the ill-fated Lion began againfearfully to diminish. Still the gale blew, and still the ship droveon. At last, the almost unknown Pacific was entered. What land wouldbring them up no one could tell.
They had no chart to guide--no knowledge of the unmeasured ocean acrosswhich they were driving. Thus the Lion helplessly pursued her course,the sport of the raging tempest, and vanished, as it were, intoobscurity.
Antony Waymouth; Or, The Gentlemen Adventurers Page 8