Across India; Or, Live Boys in the Far East

by Oliver Optic

  CHAPTER VII

  DR. FERROLAN'S EXPLANATION OF THE WRECK

  With the rising of the sun the gale had broken, and by the time the partyin the cabin left the table, the north-east monsoon was soothing the oceanwith its gentle blast. The angry sea was rapidly becoming good-naturedagain, though the waves were still high enough to give the ship an uneasymotion. But all the party, and no less the trio added to their number, hadtheir sea-legs on, and no reasonable motion disturbed any of them.

  The two engineers from the wreck of the Travancore had been as carefullylooked after as the strangers in the main cabin. They had been suppliedwith clothing, and they had breakfasted in the mess-room on the best thelarder afforded. The third person brought in by the second cutter was theHindu cook of the wrecked steamer; but he spoke English very well, and hadbeen otherwise Europeanized. He had been turned over to Baldy Bickling, thesecond cook of the ship, who had clothed and fed him, and seemed to beunable to do enough for him.

  The three gentlemen in the cabin were as sociable as could be desired; andthough it was Sunday morning, the scene at the tables had been veryanimated.

  When the meal was finished, the guests at their own request were shown overthe ship; and they were not at all reserved in the expression of theiradmiration at the elegance with which she had been fitted up, and not lessat the convenience of all the arrangements.

  Lord Tremlyn was particularly interested in the educational feature of theGuardian-Mother, as Captain Ringgold explained his pet scheme in thelibrary, or study, abaft the state-cabin, as it was called on the plan ofthe vessel prepared by the gentleman for whom she had been built. Theguests looked at the titles of the books, considerable additions to whichhad been made at Cairo, Alexandria, and elsewhere.

  "This is not a library of romances," said his lordship with a smile, as hetook in the encyclopaedias, books of travel, scientific treatises, andgeographical works.

  "No, sir; they cover a broad range of useful information," replied thecommander. "Those of our company who are disposed to read novels supplythemselves with that kind of literature. Quite a number of them arelecturers"--

  "Lecturers!" exclaimed the distinguished guest. "Then a large number ofyour passengers must be scientific people."

  "Not at all, sir; the large majority of them are men and women of goodeducation, and Professor Giroud is a learned Frenchman who has been alecturer at various colleges and schools. Dr. Hawkes is a leading member ofhis profession, and is sometimes a lecturer in various medical and surgicalinstitutions in New York. Both of these gentlemen are making this voyage toregain their health, injured by over-work."

  "You are fortunate in having such men on board," added his lordship.

  "But most of our lecturers are persons of fair education, and only three ofthem have been graduated from the university. We assign subjects to themsome time in advance, and they prepare themselves for the occasion. Thisgives the unprofessional people an interest in the exercises they would nototherwise have. For example, Mr. Woolridge"--

  "I beg pardon, but he is the father of the beautiful young lady who wasseated at the table next to Mr. Belgrave, is he not?" interposed LordTremlyn.

  "The same, sir. At first he considered the lectures a bore; and doubtlessthey were such to him, for he had been a sporting-man and a yachtsman,though he has since abandoned the races. But I gave him as a subject thehorses and other animals of Egypt. He did very well with it in his peculiarway; and since that he is one of the most interested in the lectures,--orperhaps I had better call them simply talks," added the commander.

  "Then this voyage will create a new taste for him."

  "I have no doubt of it. He is a Fifth Avenue millionaire, and he is able tocultivate any taste he may acquire. Mr. Belgrave is one of our most usefulspeakers, for he studies his subjects very faithfully. He is a devotedstudent, speaks French fluently, and gets along very well with Spanish.This voyage is a college course for him."

  "Do your ladies take an interest in these lectures, Captain Ringgold?"

  "All of them, though I have assigned a subject to only one of them. Theyall manifest their interest by asking questions. Like myself, Mrs. Belgraveand Mrs. Blossom are Methodists, while the Woolridge family areEpiscopalians, though none of us are bigoted. The sisters of my church arevery favorable to religious topics, such as were suggested on the Nile; andwhen we were near the land of Goshen and the Sinai peninsula Mrs. Belgravespoke to us in this connection. Mrs. Blossom is one of the "salt of theearth," a very good woman, very religious, and her studies have beenconfined to the Bible and her denominational newspapers. Her education wasneglected, and she is rather tonguey, so that she asks curious questions;but we all esteem her very highly, though her American peculiarities mayseem very odd to you."

  "I have known similar people in England, and your description of her leadsme to respect the lady," replied the titled gentleman, who appeared to bevery democratic so far as homely merit was concerned.

  Dr. Hawkes had taken his professional brother in charge, and Louis, SirModava, as the commander had Lord Tremlyn, and they were showing them overthe ship. We need not follow them or repeat their explanations; but theyfinally reached the promenade deck, where all the officers were presentedto the guests of the steamer. At Conference Hall the three couples met, andthe lectures were again commented upon; for this subject was uppermost inthe mind of the commander.

  "Do you have a lecture to-day, Captain Ringgold?" asked his lordship.

  "No, sir; this is Sunday, and we keep the Sabbath in a reasonable manner,and the conference is usually omitted on this day, though when the subjectis appropriate for the day the lecture is given. The professor is a RomanCatholic; but we have not had the slightest friction in regard to any man'screed. The owner and voyager in our consort, the white ship abreast of us,whose boat picked up five men of your ship's company, is a Mohammedan,though the captain and his wife are Congregationalists. We have a religiousservice on board at eleven o'clock, to which your party are invited, thoughno umbrage will be taken if you prefer to absent yourselves."

  "I shall certainly attend," replied his lordship; and his companions saidthe same. "Have you a chaplain?"

  "We have not, and I am obliged to act in that capacity for the want of abetter," replied the captain. "We Methodists are all trained to 'speak inmeeting,' whether we have the gift or not."

  At the appointed time the gong was sounded for divine service, and fourwhistles were given, that all on board might hear the call. Chairs had beenprovided for the guests, and all the party were seated when six bellsstruck. The two engineers of the Travancore were seated on the platformwith, the cook, and all the officers and seamen who could be spared stoodwithin hearing.

  Most of the party were provided with tune-books, and the captain gave out"The Life-Boat." Books were passed to the strangers, and the commander ledoff in the singing. Lord Tremlyn and Dr. Ferrolan joined in with vigorousbass voices. Captain Ringgold then followed with an extemporaneous prayer,in which he poured forth his thanks to the God who rules the sea and theland for the mercy that had spared their brothers from other lands from themighty power of the raging billows. Instead of reading a printed sermon asusual, he gave an impromptu address relating to the event of the earlymorning. Its bearing was very religious, and it was as eloquent as it washomely compared with studied discourses.

  After the singing of "Nearer, my God, to thee," the service closed; but thepeople were invited to keep their seats. Without any explanation of whatwas to follow, the captain introduced Lord Tremlyn.

  "Mr. Commander, and ladies and gentlemen, I am utterly unable to express myhigh appreciation of the religious service in which we have all assisted.It went to my heart, and I am sure we who have been saved from perishing inthe stormy billows joined heartily with him who officiated in giving thanksto God for our preservation," his lordship began.

  "We are all profoundly impressed by the kindness, the unboundedhosp
itality, which have been extended to us in our unfortunate, I may sayour forlorn, condition; and I am sure that not one of us, from the amateurcaptain of the Travancore, to the coolies who were saved by the Blanche,will ever cease to bless the commander, the officers, the crew, and thepassengers of the Guardian-Mother for the overwhelming kindness and carethey have all bestowed upon us. Though we are not at the festive board, Iventure to propose to you the health of Captain Ringgold, as therepresentative of all to whom we are so gratefully indebted."

  "For he's a jolly good fellow! For he's a jolly good fellow! For he's a jolly good fellow! So say we all of us!"

  To the astonishment, and perhaps to the disgust, of the two Methodistladies, Dr. Ferrolan struck up this refrain, singing with a vigor whichproved his earnestness. Sir Modava, the engineers, and the cook immediatelyjoined in with him. Dr. Hawkes, Uncle Moses, Mr. Woolridge, and others,because they approved the sentiment of the words, struck in at the secondline, and it became a full chorus before the last line was reached.

  It is an English custom to follow a toast to a distinguished personage withthis refrain, as expressive of the sentiments of the company; and though itwas not adapted to Sunday use, it was sincere and heartfelt on the part ofall who sang it. Captain Ringgold rose and bowed his thanks, and LordTremlyn spoke again:--

  "It is very natural that you should desire to know something about theguests who have been so fortuitously cast into your kindly embrace, andespecially in regard to the calamity which has made us the recipients ofyour generous hospitality; and Captain Ringgold gives us this opportunityto gratify your reasonable curiosity. I am no orator, like my brother, thecommander of the Guardian-Mother, and I shall call upon my friend andsecretary, who has been travelling with me in India for his health, to giveyou the desired information." Though it was Sunday, even the commanderjoined in the applause that greeted the doctor when he mounted the rostrum.

  "Mr. Commander, and ladies and gentlemen, I beg to inform you that my LordTremlyn is quite as capable of speaking for himself as I am for him; but asI am called upon to make this explanation, I shall do so with pleasure. Ihave the honor to be the secretary of the Right Honorable Viscount Tremlyn,the son of the noble earl who is Secretary of State for India. He has beenon a mission in the interests of his father to obtain certain information,though he holds no official position.

  "Sir Modava Rao has held several official positions in India, and isperhaps more familiar with the country and its British and nativegovernments than any other man. He has been travelling with Lord Tremlyn,to assist him in obtaining the information connected with his unofficialmission. My lord has completed the work assigned to him; but the viceroywished him to visit the Imam of Muscat unofficially for a certain purpose Iam not at liberty to state.

  "In a small steam-yacht owned by Sir Modava, the most devoted friend of hislordship, in which he had been all around the peninsula, and up several ofits rivers, we embarked for Muscat, and safely reached that country. Thenthe viscount decided to proceed to Aden, where he had important business;for he intended to return to England by the Euphrates route, in order toinform himself in regard to the navigation of the river. We sailed forAden, believing we should have the calm and pleasant weather of thenorth-east monsoon.

  "Yesterday we encountered the gale from the south-west, which was veryunusual. But the Travancore was an able seaboat, and we went along verywell until we were run into by a steamer in the darkness and mist earlythis morning. The side of the little steamer was stove in, and she began tofill. We put on our life-preservers, and prepared for the worst. Westretched a life-line fore and aft, and listened to the gurgling watersbelow deck. Suddenly, when she was partly filled with water, she capsized.We clung to the life-line, which unhitched forward.

  "Of course we expected she would go down; but she did not for severalhours. We had our life-preservers on, and we made fast the lines forward,which saved us from being washed off the bottom of the vessel. I had arevolver in my pocket, and when I saw the port light of your steamer, Ifired it, and we all shouted at the top of our lungs.

  "We could hear the air and the water bubbling and hissing under us attimes, and it was understood that the confined air above the water in thehull had kept her afloat. But this air had all escaped as theGuardian-mother approached us, and with no warning she went to the bottom.We were floated by our life-preservers till your boats picked us up, thoughwe were fearfully shaken and tossed about by the waves. Our gallantsaviours know how we were rescued--all honor and glory to them!"

  The doctor finished his explanation and took his seat.