by G. A. Henty
CHAPTER III
THE VOYAGE.
In addition to those already named, the _Flying Scud_ carried sometwenty other cabin passengers. She took no emigrants forward, as she wasfull of cargo, and was not, moreover, going direct to New Zealand.There were therefore only three or four young men in addition to theGrimstones forward. The fine weather that had favoured the startaccompanied them down the channel and across the bay. Life went onquietly on board. It was early in May when they started; and theevenings were still too chilly to permit of any sojourn on deck aftersunset. Each day, however, the weather grew warmer, and by the time thevessel was off the coast of Portugal the evenings were warm and balmy.
"This is not at all what I expected," Marion Renshaw said, as she sat ina deck-chair, to Mr. Atherton, who was leaning against the bulwarksmoking a cigar. "I thought we were going to have storms, and that everyone was going to be sea-sick. That is what it is like in all the books Ihave read; and I am sure that I have not felt the least bit ill from thetime we started."
"You have had everything in your favour. There has been just enoughbreeze to take us along at a fair rate with all our light canvas set,and yet not enough to cause more than a ripple on the sea. The ship hasbeen as steady as if in port; but you must not flatter yourself this isgoing to last all the time. I think we shall have a change before long.The glass has fallen a little, and the wind has shifted its quarter twoor three times during the day. The sky, too, does not look so settled asit has done. I think we shall have a blow before long."
"What! A storm, Mr. Atherton?"
"No, I don't say that; but wind enough to get up a bit of sea, and tomake landsmen feel very uncomfortable."
"But I suppose we should not be ill now even if it were rough, afterbeing a week at sea?"
"I do not think you would be likely to be ill so long as you might havebeen had you encountered a gale directly we got out of the river, but Ithink that if it comes on rough all those addicted to sea-sickness arelikely to suffer more or less. Some people are ill every time roughweather comes along, however long the voyage. I suppose you don't knowyet whether you are a good sailor or not?"
Marion shook her head. "We have been at the seaside almost every year,but we have never gone out in boats much there. Papa was always too busyto go, and I don't think he likes it. Mother gets a bad headache, evenif she isn't ill. So I very seldom went out, and never when it was theleast rough."
Mr. Atherton's predictions turned out well founded. The wind got upduring the night and was blowing freshly in the morning, and only two orthree of the lady passengers made their appearance at breakfast; andseveral of the gentlemen were also absent. Wilfrid, to his greatsatisfaction, felt so far no symptoms whatever of impending illness. Thetwo Allens were obliged to keep on deck during the meal, being unable tostand the motion below; but they were well enough to enjoy the cup oftea and plate of cold meat Wilfrid carried up to them. An hour or twolater they went below. The wind was rising and the sea hourly gettingup. Marion came up after breakfast, and for some time afterwards walkedup and down on the deck with Wilfrid enjoying the brisk air, andconsidering it great fun to try to walk straight up and down the swayingdeck. Presently, however, her laugh became subdued and her cheeks losttheir colour.
"I am afraid I am going to be ill, Wilfrid; but I shall stay on deck ifI can. Both the Mitfords are ill, I am sure, for neither of them got up,though they declared that they felt nothing the matter with them. I havemade up my mind to stay on deck as long as I possibly can."
"That is the best way," Mr. Atherton said as he joined them in theirwalk, and caught the last sentence. "There is nothing like keeping up aslong as possible; because if you do so it will sometimes pass off aftera short time, whereas if you give up and take to your berth it is sureto run its course, which is longer or shorter according tocircumstances--sometimes two days and sometimes five; but I should saythat people who are what you may call fair sailors generally get over itin two days, unless the weather is very bad. So fight against it as longas you can, and when you cannot bear it any longer I will wrap you up inrugs, and you shall have my great chair to curl up in close by the leebulwark. But determination goes a long way, and you may get over it yet.You take my arm, you won't throw me off my balance; while if the vesselgives a sharper roll than usual, you and your brother may both lose yourfeet together."
As soon as they started on their walk Mr. Atherton began an amusingstory of some adventure of his in the Western States of America, andMarion was so interested that she forgot all about her uncomfortablesensation, and was astonished when on hearing the lunch-bell ring shediscovered she was getting perfectly well.
"Where is Wilfrid?" she asked.
"There he is, leaning over the lee bulwark; the fiend of sea-sicknesshas him in its grip."
"Only think of Wilfrid being unwell and me being all right! You havequite driven it away, Mr. Atherton, for I was feeling very poorly when Ibegan to walk with you."
"I will go down and get you some luncheon and bring it up here to you.Curl yourself up in my chair until I return, and do not think more aboutthe motion than you can help. You had better not go near yourbrother--people who are ill hate being pitied."
An hour later Wilfrid went below. In the evening, however, the winddropped considerably, and the next morning the sea was sparkling in thesunlight, and the _Flying Scud_ was making her way along with a scarcelyperceptible motion. Thenceforth the weather was delightful throughoutthe voyage to Rio. The passengers found upon closer acquaintance thatthey all got on well together, and the days passed away pleasantly. Inthe evenings the piano was brought up from the cabin on to the deck, andfor two or three hours there was singing, varied by an occasional danceamong the young people.
From the day of their leaving England Mr. Atherton had been the leadingspirit on board the ship. If a misunderstanding arose he acted asmediator. He was ever ready to propose pastimes and amusements tolighten the monotony of the voyage, took the leading part in theconcerts held on deck when the evenings were calm and clear, and wasfull of resource and invention. With the four or five children on boardhe was prime favourite, and Mr. Renshaw often wondered at the patienceand good temper with which he submitted to all their whims, and wasready to give up whatever he was doing to submit himself to theirorders. He had, before they had been ten days at sea, talked over withMr. Renshaw the latter's plans, and advised him upon no account to be ina hurry to snap up the first land offered to him.
"Half the people who come out to the colonies," he said, "get heavilybit at first by listening to the land-agents, and allowing themselves tobe persuaded into buying property which, when they come to takepossession of it, is in a majority of the cases almost worthless. Ishould advise you when you get there to hire a house in Wellington,where you can leave your wife and daughter while you examine the variousdistricts and see which offer the greatest advantages. If you do notfeel equal to it yourself, let your son go in your place. He is, Ithink, a sharp young fellow, and not likely to be easily taken in. Atany rate, when he has made his report as to the places that seem mostsuitable, you can go and see their relative advantages beforepurchasing.
"'There is no greater mistake than buying land in a locality of whichyou know nothing. You may find that the roads are impracticable and thatyou have no means of getting your produce to market, and after a whileyou will be glad to sell your place for a mere song and shift to anotherwhich you might at first have obtained at a price much lower than yougave for your worthless farm. I have knocked about in the States a gooddeal, and have known scores of men ruined by being too hasty in making achoice. You want to be in a colony six months at least before investingyour money in land, so as to know something of the capabilities andadvantages of each district. To a young man I should say--travel aboutin the colony, working your way, and making a stay of a month here and amonth there. Of course in your case this is out of the question; but apersonal examination of the places offered to you, which in nine casesout of ten men are rea
dy to sell for less than they have cost them, willensure you against absolute swindling."
"What are you going to do yourself, Mr. Atherton?"
"I have come out simply to study the botany of the island. I may stay inthe colony for a month or for a year. At any rate, if you depute Wilfridto travel about to examine the various districts where land can bebought, I shall be glad to accompany him, as I myself shall also be onthe look-out."
"You are not thinking of farming, Mr. Atherton?"
"No. My own idea is to take a bit of land on one of the rivers, to getup a hut to serve as my head-quarters, and to spend much of my time intravelling about. I am very fortunately placed. I have ample funds toenable me to live in comfort, and I am free to indulge my fancy forwandering as I please. I consider that I have been spoiled by being myown master too young. I think it is bad for a young man to start in lifewith a competence; but when it comes to one in middle age, when one haslearned to spend it rationally, it is undoubtedly a very great comfortand advantage. I suppose, however, that the time will come when I shallsettle down. I am thirty-five, and I ought to 'range myself,' as theFrench say."
Mr. Atherton had not been long upon the voyage when he discovered thatthe chances of success of the Renshaw party as settlers would be smallindeed if they depended upon the exertions of the head of the family. Hehad not been more than a day or two on board before Mr. Renshaw began todiscuss his favourite hobby with him, and confided to him that heintended thoroughly to investigate the history, customs, and religion ofthe Maoris, and to produce an exhaustive work on the subject. "Anexcellent idea, very," the stout man said encouragingly, "but onedemanding great time and investigation; and perhaps," he addeddoubtfully, "one more suited to a single man, who can go and live amongthe natives and speak their language, than for a married man with afamily to look after."
Mr. Renshaw waved the remark aside lightly. "I shall, of course, set towork immediately I arrive to acquire a thorough knowledge of thelanguage, and indeed have already begun with a small dictionary and aNew Testament in the Maori language, brought out by the MissionarySociety. As to my family, my exertions in the farming way will be of nouse whatever to them. My wife and daughter will look after the house,and Wilfrid will undertake the management of the men out of doors. Thewhole scheme is theirs, and I should be of no assistance to themwhatever. My bent lies entirely in the direction of archaeology, andthere can be little doubt that my thorough acquaintance with allrelating to the habits, and, so far as is known, of the language of theancient Britons, Saxons, Danes, and the natives of the northern part ofthe island, will be of inestimable advantage in enabling me to carry outthe subject I have resolved to take up. There are analogies andsimilarities between the habits of all primitive peoples, and oneaccustomed to the study of the early races of Europe can form a generalopinion of the habits and mode of living of a tribe merely from theinspection of an ancient weapon or two, a bracelet, and a potsherd."
Mr. Atherton looked down upon his companion with half-closed eyes, andseemed to be summing him up mentally; after a short conversation heturned away, and as he filled his pipe muttered to himself: "It is wellfor the family that the mother seems a capable and sensible woman, andthat the lad, unless I am mistaken, has a dogged resolution about him aswell as spirit and courage. The girl, too, is a bright sensible lass,and they may get on in spite of this idiot of a father. However, the manshows that he possesses a certain amount of sense by the confidence withwhich he throws the burden of the whole business of providing a livingfor the family on their shoulders.
"Of course they would be much better without him, for I can foresee hewill give them an awful lot of trouble. He will go mooning away amongthe natives, and will be getting lost and not heard of for a tremendoustime. Still, I don't know that he will come to much harm. The Maorishave fine traits of character, and though they have been fighting aboutwhat they call the king question, they have seldom been guilty of anyacts of hostility to isolated settlers, and a single white man goingamong them has always been received hospitably; besides, they willprobably think him mad, and savages have always a sort of respect formadmen. Still, he will be a terrible worry to his family. I have taken afancy to the others, and if I can do them a good turn out there in anyway I will."
As the voyage went on Mr. Atherton's liking for Mrs. Renshaw, her sonand daughter, increased greatly, while his contempt for Mr. Renshawbecame modified as he came to know him better. He found that he wasreally a capable man in his own particular hobby, and that although weakand indecisive he was very kind and affectionate with his wife andchildren, and reposed an almost childlike confidence in his wife's goodsense.
Madeira had been sighted lying like a great cloud on the horizon, andindeed the young Renshaws had difficulty when they came up on deck inthe morning in believing that it was really land they saw. No stay wasmade here, nor did they catch a glimpse of the Canary Islands, being toofar to the west to see even the lofty peak of Teneriffe. The first timethe ship dropped anchor was at St. Jago, one of the Cape de VerdeIslands; here they took in a supply of fresh water, meat, andvegetables. The passengers all landed, but were much disappointed withthe sandy and uninteresting island, and it was no consolation for themto learn from the captain that parts of the island were much morefertile, although the vegetables and fruit came for the most part fromthe other islands. "Now," he said, "if all goes well you will see noland again till you get to Rio. We shall keep to the east of St. Paul,and unless we get blown out of our course we shall not go nearAscension."
As the wind continued favourable the ship kept her course, and at twelveo'clock one day the captain, after taking his observations, told themthat he expected to be in Rio on the following evening. The next morningwhen they came up on deck land was in sight, and in the evening theydropped anchor in the harbour of Rio, one of the finest ports in theworld.
"Yes, it is a splendid harbour," Mr. Atherton agreed as he listened tothe exclamations of delight of the Renshaws. "I do not know that it isthe finest, but it is certainly equal to any I have ever seen. As aharbour New York is better, because even more landlocked. San Franciscois, both in that respect and in point of scenery, superb. Bombay is agrand harbour, but exposed to certain winds. Taken altogether, I think Ishould give the palm to San Francisco."
A few minutes after the anchor had dropped a number of shore-boats camealongside filled with luscious fruit, and rowed for the most part bynegroes, who chatted and shouted and gesticulated, making such a dinthat it was impossible to distinguish a single word amid the uproar.Wilfrid, the Allens, and others quickly ran down the ladders, andwithout troubling themselves to bargain returned with quantities offruit. Several negresses soon followed them on to the deck, and going upto the ladies produced cards and letters testifying that they were goodwasherwomen and their terms reasonable. The captain had the eveningbefore told them it would take him three or four days to discharge hiscargo for Rio, and that they had better take advantage of theopportunity if they wanted any washing done. They had, therefore, goteverything in readiness, and in a few minutes numerous canvas bagsfilled with linen were deposited in the boats.
In addition to the fruit several great bouquets of gorgeous flowers hadbeen purchased, and the cabin that evening presented quite a festiveappearance. After it became dark and the lights of Rio sparkled out, allagreed that the scene was even more beautiful than by daylight. The airwas deliciously balmy and soft, the sea as smooth as glass. The moon wasnearly full, and the whole line of the shore could be distinctly seen.Boats flitted about between the vessels and the strand; fishing-boats,with their sails hanging motionless, slowly made their way in by the aidof oars. The sounds of distant music in the city came across the water.
There was no singing or dancing on board the _Flying Scud_ that evening.All were content to sit quiet and enjoy the scene, and such conversationas there was was carried on in low tones, as if they were under a spellwhich they feared to break. The next morning all went ashore soon afterbreakfast; but upon thei
r assembling at dinner it was found that thegeneral impression was one of disappointment. It was a fine city, butnot so fine as it looked from the water. Except the main thoroughfaresthe streets were narrow, and, as the ladies declared, dirty. The youngpeople, however, were not so critical; they had been delighted with thestir and movement, the bright costumes, the variety of race and colour,and the novelty of everything they saw.
"The negroes amuse me most," Marion said. "They seem to be alwayslaughing. I never saw such merry people."
"They are like children," her father said. "The slightest thing causesthem amusement. It is one of the signs of a low type of intellect whenpeople are given to laugh at trifles."
"Then the natives ought to be very intelligent," Marion said, "for as awhole they appeared to me to be a serious race. Of course I saw many ofthem laughing and chattering, but most of them are very quiet in manner.The old people seem to be wrinkled in a wonderful way. I never sawEnglish people so wrinkled."
"All southern races show age in that way," Mr. Atherton said. "You seemarvellous old men and women in Spain and Italy. People who, as far aslooks go, might be a hundred and fifty--little dried-up specimens ofhumanity, with faces more like those of monkeys than men."
"Are the negroes slaves, Mr. Atherton? They still have slavery inBrazil, do they not? They certainly are not at all according to my ideaof slaves."
"The estates are mostly worked by negro slaves," Mr. Atherton said, "andno doubt many of those you saw to-day are also slaves. Household slaveryis seldom severe, and I believe the Brazilians are generally kindmasters. But probably the greater portion of the negroes you saw arefree. They may have purchased their freedom with their savings, or mayhave been freed by kind masters. It is no very unusual thing for aBrazilian at his death to leave a will giving freedom to all his slaves.Government is doing its best to bring about the entire extinction ofslavery. I believe that all children born after a certain date have beendeclared free, and have no doubt that in time slavery will be abolished.Great changes like this take some time to carry out, and even for thesake of the slaves themselves it is better to proceed quietly andgradually. I suppose nobody inclines to go on shore again to-night?"
There was a general negative. The day had been very warm, and havingbeen walking about for hours no one felt any inclination to make a freshstart. The following morning the vessel began to unload her cargo. Someof the older passengers declared that they had had enough of shore, andshould not land--at any rate until the afternoon. The rest went ashore;but the greater part of them returned at lunch-time, and the heat in theafternoon was so great that none cared to land again.
In the evening the two Allens and Wilfrid agreed to go ashore to visit atheatre. Mr. Atherton said that as he had no inclination to melt awayall at once he would not join them, but would land with them and strollabout for a time, and see the town in its evening aspect. Several otherparties were made up among the male passengers, and one or two of theladies accompanied their husbands.
Wilfrid and the Allens did not stay out the performance. The heat wasvery great, and as they did not understand a word of the dialogue theysoon agreed that it would be more pleasant to stroll about, or to sitdown in the open air before a cafe and sip iced drinks.
Accordingly after walking about for a while they sat down before a cafein the Grand Square, and as they sipped iced lemonade looked on withmuch amusement at the throng walking up and down.
"It is later than I thought," James Allen said, looking at his watch."It is nearly twelve o'clock, and high time for us to be on board."
They started to make what they thought would prove a short cut down tothe landing-place; but as usual the short cut proved delusive, and theysoon found themselves wandering in unknown streets. They asked severalpersons they met the way down to the water, but none of them understoodEnglish, and it was a considerable time before they emerged from thestreets on to the line of quays.
"We are ever so much too far to the right," James Allen said as theylooked round. "I fancy that is the ship's light not far from the shorehalf a mile away on the left. I hope we shall find some boatmen to takeus off; it would be rather awkward finding ourselves here for the nightin a place where no one understands the language."
"I think we should manage all right," Wilfrid said. "We know the wayfrom the place where we landed up into the part where the hotels are,and are sure to find people there who understand English. Still I hopeit will not come to that. They would be in a great fidget on board if wewere not to turn up to-night."
"I do not think they would be alarmed," James Allen replied. "Every oneis in bed and asleep long ago, and we should be on board in the morningbefore the steward went to our cabin and found that we were missing. Iconsider we are quite safe in that respect, but Atherton might be doingsomething if he found we did not come back."
"He might do something, perhaps," Wilfrid said; "but I am quite sure hewould not alarm my father and mother about it. He is the last sort offellow to do that."