soon found that Mr. Plumb was right. The _Roarer_ wasaccordingly kept away towards her. As we approached her we saw signalsof distress flying from a spar which had been secured to the stump ofthe mainmast, and, on passing near her, a man held up a board on whichwas written, "We are sinking! No time to be lost!"
There was, however, still a good deal of sea running, and it was no easymatter for a boat to go alongside a vessel rolling as she was, withoutany masts to steady her. Captain Sharpe, however, was not a man todesert his fellow-creatures in distress; indeed, I may say, it would behard to find a captain in the British navy who would do so. Weaccordingly hove-to to leeward of the ship, and made a signal that wewould send assistance as soon as possible. After waiting for a littletime the boats were lowered. Mr. Blunt went in one of them, and Mr.Ormsby in the other. We watched them anxiously as they pulled towardsthe dismasted ship. Now they seemed as if about to be thrown upon herdeck; now they sank down, and it appeared impossible that they couldescape being crushed by her as she rolled over. At length, however,with great risk they got alongside, and we could see several women andchildren being lowered into them, and also a few men. At length theyonce more shoved off, and we watched them anxiously as they returned tothe _Roarer_. I was standing near Dicky Plumb at the time theyapproached the ship; I saw him fix his eyes intently on one of theboats; he seized a glass and looked towards it:--
"Yes, I'm sure I'm right! Why, I do believe there is my respectedmother! Yes, and there is the Brigadier and my sisters! Yes, yes! Howwonderful! Pray Heaven they may be got on board in safety!" he added,with more feeling than I had ever before known him exhibit.
Every preparation had been made by Captain Sharpe to get the people outof the boats as they came alongside. The young ladies were first liftedup, for Mrs. Brigadier would not go till she had seen them and herhusband safe on board; she came last, and not till then did she discoverthat the ship was the _Roarer_, and that her son was on board. Shereceived Dicky very affectionately; again and again she pressed him inher arms, and the tears rolled down her somewhat furrowed cheeks. Ofcourse, his father and sisters exhibited the feeling that might havebeen expected. The boats returned immediately to the ship; and, to makea long story short, all the people from her were got safely on board;scarcely, however, had the last person left her, when her bows lifted,and then down she went as if to make a long dive; we looked, and lookedin vain; she was never more destined to come up again.
"Oh, Jack!" said Dicky, a short time afterwards to me, "I am so thankfulthat my father and mother, and those dear sisters of mine, were gotsafely on board the _Roarer_; suppose we had been too late, and they hadall gone to the bottom! And, I say, Jack, I have been talking aboutyou; and have told them all the things you have been doing; and theywant to see you, and have a talk with you; the captain, too, I can tellyou, has been praising you, and said--what I have often said--that youought to be on the quarter-deck."
I thanked Master Dicky for his kind wishes; but replied (and I musthonestly confess I did not speak the truth), that I had no ambition thatway, but was very jovial and happy where I was.
"Maybe, Jack," he answered, "but I rather think you would find yourselfstill more jovial and happy as a midshipman."
Well, I had to go on the quarter-deck, where Mrs. Brigadier shook handswith me, as did the young ladies and the Brigadier himself.
"I have heard a good deal about you, young man," said the old officer,taking me aside. "If it had not been for you I should have lost my son;and, since then, I hear you have done many gallant things. I think alsothat there is another reason why Mrs. Brigadier is bound to give you ahelping hand. Do you happen to know your mother's maiden name?"
"Evans, sir--Mary Evans."
"I thought so," he said; "Evans was my wife's name. There were twosisters: one married a private of marines, and the other a captain, as Ithen was; but blood is blood, and I am not the man to deny its claims.Your father is a fine, honest fellow, and I should not have been ashamedto call him brother-in-law therefore; in fact, Jack Junker, you are mynephew."
I will not say how I felt; indeed, I cannot very clearly. I know I feltvery jovial; and my heart bumped and thumped in a way it had never donebefore. I thanked my uncle, the Brigadier, for his kindness; and toldhim I was very glad I had been of service to his son--though I littledreamed at the time that he was my cousin--and that I liked him forhimself; and that ever since I had been on board the _Roarer_ he hadproved a steady friend to me. I confess one thing--I could not helpsecretly hoping that my new aunt would not be too demonstrative in heraffection. Dicky soon afterwards came up, and shook me warmly by thehand.
"You are to be on the quarter-deck from this day forward," he exclaimed."I am so glad! I have not been more jovial for many a day. TheBrigadier is to get your outfit, so you will have no trouble or botherabout the matter."
This announcement was confirmed soon afterwards by Captain Sharpehimself, who complimented me very kindly on my conduct on severaloccasions; and said that even had not the Brigadier and my aunt made theapplication, he himself purposed endeavouring to obtain an appointmentfor me on our arrival in England. From that day I entered themidshipmen's berth; and, to the credit of my new messmates, I must saythey treated me with the greatest kindness and consideration. Ofcourse, I was only provisionally a midshipman, but there was no doubt ofmy appointment being confirmed by the proper authorities, as captainshave no longer the power they once had of making midshipmen.
Dicky and I had a very pleasant time of it at Calcutta; he, generousfellow, insisting on calling me cousin, and introducing me wherever hewent. We were both very sorry when at length the ship was ordered awayon her return to England; however, our feelings were not shared in bythe majority of the officers and ship's company, who rejoiced at thethoughts of once more returning to the shores of their native land. Bythe time we reached England, I found that my father had gone to sea, mysisters were married, and our poor stepmother had been driven out ofexistence by her uproarious offspring. Ned Rawlings, on our arrival, inconsequence of the recommendation of Captain Sharpe, got his warrant asa boatswain. Sergeant Turbot went on shore with his company, and hetold me that he thought if he was ever ordered foreign again, he mustquit the service.
"As long as I have got a ship's deck or a plain to fight on--providedthere's not much marching--it's all very well, Jack," he said; "but if Ihad to climb a hill, I should run a risk of losing my honour, if not mylife, for up it I never could get."
I was very glad to find that shortly afterwards he got a snug littleappointment, and was never likely again to be sent to sea.
Little Joss, who had accompanied us to England, remained on shore as aservant in Captain Sharpe's family. Becoming a Christian, he had nodesire to return to his own country; and being a faithful andintelligent fellow, he ultimately became the captain's butler, aposition he still holds.
I occasionally have the honour of dining with my old captain, and at nohouse am I so well looked after by the servants. I always stopafterwards to have a yarn about the Flowery Land with Mr. Joss. Hetells me that he thinks he could do very well at Hong Kong, and I shouldnot be surprised to find him going off to establish himself there, withthe wages gained during his long and faithful service.
Dicky and I, soon afterwards, through Captain Sharpe's interest, gotappointed to a smart frigate; and when she was paid off, he havingserved his time, received his promotion as a lieutenant. All nonsensehad long since been knocked out of him; and he was a universal favouritewith officers and men, and acknowledged to be as gallant a fellow asever walked a ship's deck.
Captain Sharpe is now an admiral, and highly esteemed in the service.One of my cousins married Mr. Ormsby, who a short time before had beenmade a commander; and when I am not at sea I always find a pleasant homeat his house, or at that of my kind-hearted uncle, who, after a few moreyears' service, returned to England, and, in spite of his liver, hasmanaged to live to a green old age. Mrs. Brigadier has in no waychanged;
and owing to her exertions, Dicky, in a short time, was made acommander, and I became a lieutenant--a rank I at present hold. Myfriends flatter me, by saying that I am such a very goodfirst-lieutenant, that it would be a loss to the service to make me acommander. I am jovial and contented as ever; and after all, in myopinion, I am in a far more enviable position than many who, as theythink, have risen to the summit of fame.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The End.
Off to Sea: The Adventures of Jovial Jack Junker on his Road to Fame Page 21