The Works of Edgar Allan Poe — Volume 3

by Edgar Allan Poe

  CHAPTER 5

  FOR some minutes after the cook had left the forecastle, Augustusabandoned himself to despair, never hoping to leave the berth alive.He now came to the resolution of acquainting the first of the men whoshould come down with my situation, thinking it better to let me take mychance with the mutineers than perish of thirst in the hold,--for it hadbeen ten days since I was first imprisoned, and my jug of water was nota plentiful supply even for four. As he was thinking on this subject,the idea came all at once into his head that it might be possibleto communicate with me by the way of the main hold. In any othercircumstances, the difficulty and hazard of the undertaking would haveprevented him from attempting it; but now he had, at all events, littleprospect of life, and consequently little to lose, he bent his wholemind, therefore, upon the task.

  His handcuffs were the first consideration. At first he saw no methodof removing them, and feared that he should thus be baffled in the veryoutset; but upon a closer scrutiny he discovered that the irons couldbe slipped off and on at pleasure, with very little effort orinconvenience, merely by squeezing his hands through them,--this speciesof manacle being altogether ineffectual in confining young persons,in whom the smaller bones readily yield to pressure. He now untied hisfeet, and, leaving the cord in such a manner that it could easilybe readjusted in the event of any person’s coming down, proceeded toexamine the bulkhead where it joined the berth. The partition here wasof soft pine board, an inch thick, and he saw that he should havelittle trouble in cutting his way through. A voice was now heard at theforecastle companion-way, and he had just time to put his right handinto its handcuff (the left had not been removed) and to draw the ropein a slipknot around his ankle, when Dirk Peters came below, followed byTiger, who immediately leaped into the berth and lay down. The dog hadbeen brought on board by Augustus, who knew my attachment to the animal,and thought it would give me pleasure to have him with me during thevoyage. He went up to our house for him immediately after first takingme into the hold, but did not think of mentioning the circumstance uponhis bringing the watch. Since the mutiny, Augustus had not seen himbefore his appearance with Dirk Peters, and had given him up for lost,supposing him to have been thrown overboard by some of the malignantvillains belonging to the mate’s gang. It appeared afterward that he hadcrawled into a hole beneath a whale-boat, from which, not having room toturn round, he could not extricate himself. Peters at last let him out,and, with a species of good feeling which my friend knew well how toappreciate, had now brought him to him in the forecastle as a companion,leaving at the same time some salt junk and potatoes, with a can ofwater, he then went on deck, promising to come down with something moreto eat on the next day.

  When he had gone, Augustus freed both hands from the manacles andunfastened his feet. He then turned down the head of the mattress onwhich he had been lying, and with his penknife (for the ruffians hadnot thought it worth while to search him) commenced cutting vigorouslyacross one of the partition planks, as closely as possible to the floorof the berth. He chose to cut here, because, if suddenly interrupted, hewould be able to conceal what had been done by letting the head of themattress fall into its proper position. For the remainder of the day,however, no disturbance occurred, and by night he had completely dividedthe plank. It should here be observed that none of the crew occupied theforecastle as a sleeping-place, living altogether in the cabin sincethe mutiny, drinking the wines and feasting on the sea-stores of CaptainBarnard, and giving no more heed than was absolutely necessary to thenavigation of the brig. These circumstances proved fortunate both formyself and Augustus; for, had matters been otherwise, he would havefound it impossible to reach me. As it was, he proceeded with confidencein his design. It was near daybreak, however, before he completed thesecond division of the board (which was about a foot above the firstcut), thus making an aperture quite large enough to admit his passagethrough with facility to the main orlop deck. Having got here, he madehis way with but little trouble to the lower main hatch, although in sodoing he had to scramble over tiers of oil-casks piled nearly as high asthe upper deck, there being barely room enough left for his body. Uponreaching the hatch he found that Tiger had followed him below, squeezingbetween two rows of the casks. It was now too late, however, to attemptgetting to me before dawn, as the chief difficulty lay in passingthrough the close stowage in the lower hold. He therefore resolved toreturn, and wait till the next night. With this design, he proceeded toloosen the hatch, so that he might have as little detention as possiblewhen he should come again. No sooner had he loosened it than Tigersprang eagerly to the small opening produced, snuffed for a moment, andthen uttered a long whine, scratching at the same time, as if anxiousto remove the covering with his paws. There could be no doubt, fromhis behaviour, that he was aware of my being in the hold, and Augustusthought it possible that he would be able to get to me if he put himdown. He now hit upon the expedient of sending the note, as it wasespecially desirable that I should make no attempt at forcing my way outat least under existing circumstances, and there could be no certaintyof his getting to me himself on the morrow as he intended. After-eventsproved how fortunate it was that the idea occurred to him as it did;for, had it not been for the receipt of the note, I should undoubtedlyhave fallen upon some plan, however desperate, of alarming the crew, andboth our lives would most probably have been sacrificed in consequence.

  Having concluded to write, the difficulty was now to procure thematerials for so doing. An old toothpick was soon made into a pen; andthis by means of feeling altogether, for the between-decks was asdark as pitch. Paper enough was obtained from the back of a letter--aduplicate of the forged letter from Mr. Ross. This had been the originaldraught; but the handwriting not being sufficiently well imitated,Augustus had written another, thrusting the first, by good fortune, intohis coat-pocket, where it was now most opportunely discovered. Ink alonewas thus wanting, and a substitute was immediately found for this bymeans of a slight incision with the pen-knife on the back of a fingerjust above the nail--a copious flow of blood ensuing, as usual, fromwounds in that vicinity. The note was now written, as well as it couldbe in the dark and under the circumstances. It briefly explained that amutiny had taken place; that Captain Barnard was set adrift; and that Imight expect immediate relief as far as provisions were concerned, butmust not venture upon making any disturbance. It concluded with thesewords: “_I have scrawled this with blood--your life depends upon lyingclose._”

  This slip of paper being tied upon the dog, he was now put down thehatchway, and Augustus made the best of his way back to the forecastle,where he found no reason to believe that any of the crew had been inhis absence. To conceal the hole in the partition, he drove his knife injust above it, and hung up a pea-jacket which he found in the berth. Hishandcuffs were then replaced, and also the rope around his ankles.

  These arrangements were scarcely completed when Dirk Peters came below,very drunk, but in excellent humour, and bringing with him my friend’sallowance of provision for the day. This consisted of a dozen largeIrish potatoes roasted, and a pitcher of water. He sat for some time ona chest by the berth, and talked freely about the mate and the generalconcerns of the brig. His demeanour was exceedingly capricious, andeven grotesque. At one time Augustus was much alarmed by odd conduct.At last, however, he went on deck, muttering a promise to bring hisprisoner a good dinner on the morrow. During the day two of the crew(harpooners) came down, accompanied by the cook, all three in nearly thelast stage of intoxication. Like Peters, they made no scruple of talkingunreservedly about their plans. It appeared that they were much dividedamong themselves as to their ultimate course, agreeing in no point,except the attack on the ship from the Cape Verd Islands, withwhich they were in hourly expectation of meeting. As far as could beascertained, the mutiny had not been brought about altogether for thesake of booty; a private pique of the chief mate’s against CaptainBarnard having been the main instigation. There now seemed to be twoprincipal factions among the crew--one headed by the mat
e, the other bythe cook. The former party were for seizing the first suitable vesselwhich should present itself, and equipping it at some of the West IndiaIslands for a piratical cruise. The latter division, however, which wasthe stronger, and included Dirk Peters among its partisans, were bentupon pursuing the course originally laid out for the brig into the SouthPacific; there either to take whale, or act otherwise, as circumstancesshould suggest. The representations of Peters, who had frequentlyvisited these regions, had great weight, apparently, with the mutineers,wavering, as they were, between half-engendered notions of profit andpleasure. He dwelt on the world of novelty and amusement to be foundamong the innumerable islands of the Pacific, on the perfect securityand freedom from all restraint to be enjoyed, but, more particularly, onthe deliciousness of the climate, on the abundant means of good living,and on the voluptuous beauty of the women. As yet, nothing had beenabsolutely determined upon; but the pictures of the hybrid line-managerwere taking strong hold upon the ardent imaginations of the seamen, andthere was every possibility that his intentions would be finally carriedinto effect.

  The three men went away in about an hour, and no one else entered theforecastle all day. Augustus lay quiet until nearly night. He then freedhimself from the rope and irons, and prepared for his attempt. A bottlewas found in one of the berths, and this he filled with water from thepitcher left by Peters, storing his pockets at the same time with coldpotatoes. To his great joy he also came across a lantern, with a smallpiece of tallow candle in it. This he could light at any moment, as hehad in his possession a box of phosphorus matches. When it was quitedark, he got through the hole in the bulkhead, having taken theprecaution to arrange the bedclothes in the berth so as to convey theidea of a person covered up. When through, he hung up the pea-jacketon his knife, as before, to conceal the aperture--this manoeuvre beingeasily effected, as he did not readjust the piece of plank taken outuntil afterward. He was now on the main orlop deck, and proceeded tomake his way, as before, between the upper deck and the oil-casks tothe main hatchway. Having reached this, he lit the piece of candle, anddescended, groping with extreme difficulty among the compact stowage ofthe hold. In a few moments he became alarmed at the insufferable stenchand the closeness of the atmosphere. He could not think it possiblethat I had survived my confinement for so long a period breathing sooppressive an air. He called my name repeatedly, but I made him noreply, and his apprehensions seemed thus to be confirmed. The brig wasrolling violently, and there was so much noise in consequence, that itwas useless to listen for any weak sound, such as those of my breathingor snoring. He threw open the lantern, and held it as high as possible,whenever an opportunity occurred, in order that, by observing the light,I might, if alive, be aware that succor was approaching. Still nothingwas heard from me, and the supposition of my death began to assume thecharacter of certainty. He determined, nevertheless, to force a passage,if possible, to the box, and at least ascertain beyond a doubt the truthof his surmises. He pushed on for some time in a most pitiable state ofanxiety, until, at length, he found the pathway utterly blocked up, andthat there was no possibility of making any farther way by the coursein which he had set out. Overcome now by his feelings, he threw himselfamong the lumber in despair, and wept like a child. It was at thisperiod that he heard the crash occasioned by the bottle which I hadthrown down. Fortunate, indeed, was it that the incident occurred--for,upon this incident, trivial as it appears, the thread of my destinydepended. Many years elapsed, however, before I was aware of this fact.A natural shame and regret for his weakness and indecision preventedAugustus from confiding to me at once what a more intimate andunreserved communion afterward induced him to reveal. Upon finding hisfurther progress in the hold impeded by obstacles which he could notovercome, he had resolved to abandon his attempt at reaching me, andreturn at once to the forecastle. Before condemning him entirely on thishead, the harassing circumstances which embarrassed him should be takeninto consideration. The night was fast wearing away, and his absencefrom the forecastle might be discovered; and indeed would necessarily beso, if he should fail to get back to the berth by daybreak. His candlewas expiring in the socket, and there would be the greatest difficultyin retracing his way to the hatchway in the dark. It must be allowed,too, that he had every good reason to believe me dead; in which eventno benefit could result to me from his reaching the box, and a world ofdanger would be encountered to no purpose by himself. He had repeatedlycalled, and I had made him no answer. I had been now eleven days andnights with no more water than that contained in the jug which he hadleft with me--a supply which it was not at all probable I had hoarded inthe beginning of my confinement, as I had every cause to expect a speedyrelease. The atmosphere of the hold, too, must have appeared to him,coming from the comparatively open air of the steerage, of a natureabsolutely poisonous, and by far more intolerable than it had seemed tome upon my first taking up my quarters in the box--the hatchways at thattime having been constantly open for many months previous. Add to theseconsiderations that of the scene of bloodshed and terror so latelywitnessed by my friend; his confinement, privations, and narrow escapesfrom death, together with the frail and equivocal tenure by which hestill existed--circumstances all so well calculated to prostrate everyenergy of mind--and the reader will be easily brought, as I have been,to regard his apparent falling off in friendship and in faith withsentiments rather of sorrow than of anger.

  The crash of the bottle was distinctly heard, yet Augustus was not surethat it proceeded from the hold. The doubt, however, was sufficientinducement to persevere. He clambered up nearly to the orlop deck bymeans of the stowage, and then, watching for a lull in the pitchings ofthe vessel, he called out to me in as loud a tone as he could command,regardless, for the moment, of being overheard by the crew. It willbe remembered that on this occasion the voice reached me, but I wasso entirely overcome by violent agitation as to be incapable of reply.Confident, now, that his worst apprehensions were well founded, hedescended, with a view of getting back to the forecastle without lossof time. In his haste some small boxes were thrown down, the noiseoccasioned by which I heard, as will be recollected. He had madeconsiderable progress on his return when the fall of the knife againcaused him to hesitate. He retraced his steps immediately, and,clambering up the stowage a second time, called out my name, loudly asbefore, having watched for a lull. This time I found voice to answer.Overjoyed at discovering me to be still alive, he now resolved to braveevery difficulty and danger in reaching me. Having extricated himself asquickly as possible from the labyrinth of lumber by which he was hemmedin, he at length struck into an opening which promised better, andfinally, after a series of struggles, arrived at the box in a state ofutter exhaustion.