Sunshine Bill Part 11

CHAPTER THIRTEEN.

There was no time for any one to be idle on board the brig. She had received a tremendous shaking in the hurricane, and was leaking considerably. It was a wonder, indeed, that she had not gone down. To have a chance of safety, jury-masts must be got up before another breeze should come on, or she might be driven on the reefs and lost.

Jack, having searched the cabin, brought all the papers he could find to Mr Collinson. By this he discovered that the brig was the _Beatrix_, bound from New Orleans to Point a Petre in Dominique.

"Poor fellows! Some probably died from the yellow fever before the hurricane came on, and the rest, unable to shorten sail in time, must have been washed overboard when the masts were carried away, as the wind struck her," observed Mr Collinson. "Pray Heaven that we may be preserved; but I will not deceive you, lads; it will require all your courage and resolution to carry the vessel safely into port. We have a long pa.s.sage before us, and I will do my best to navigate her, but I can do little more."

"And we will do our best, Mr Collinson, to obey your orders," answered Jack Windy.

"Then, Jack, the first thing will be to get hold of a quadrant and chart, and navigation books. Without these it will be very guess-work.

Fortunately, I understand the French; so that, if they are found, there will not be much difficulty in the matter."

As soon as Bill heard this, he hurried below, and soon returned with several books, a chart, and a quadrant.

"The first thing is to know whereabouts we are," said the lieutenant; "and, as it must be nearly noon, I will take an observation at once.

You must lift me up, though, lads; I am too weak to stand."

Supported by Jack and Bill Sunnyside, the lieutenant leant against the companion-hatch, and made the required observation.

"I was only just in time, though," he remarked. "The sun dipped not two minutes after I got a sight of him through the instrument. There," he said, pointing to a spot on the chart, "is where, by my calculations, we now are. If you steer south-west, you will make Cape Saint Antonio, at the westernmost end of Cuba; but look out for the Colorados, and do not run the s.h.i.+p upon them. I tell you this, should anything happen to me."

"But we hope, sir, nothing will happen to you," said Jack, "and that you will live to carry in the brig to Port Royal, before many weeks are over."

Mr Collinson replied that he had little hopes himself of ever again seeing land.

There appeared to be no want of provisions on board, for even in the cabin a couple of hams and cheese and a cask of biscuit were found, with several other articles; and on deck was a water-b.u.t.t, which, having been tightly bunged and well secured, had escaped being washed away, or filled with salt water.

All hands now set to work to get up spars from below, and canvas, and rope. As the wind came from the northward, they were eager to make sail without loss of time. Spars were therefore secured to the stumps of the masts, and stayed up, and a couple of royals set on them. Fortunately, the rudder had escaped injury; and though, as Jack Windy observed, the brig was under-rigged, she slipped through the water at the rate of a couple of miles an hour.

"'It's a long lane that has no turning,' I've heard say," said Bill; "and it's a long voyage, I conclude, that has no ending; and so, I suppose, if the brig keeps afloat as long, we shall reach port at last."

"You may well say '_if_,'" observed old Grim; "but, to my mind, the water's coming in faster than we are likely to pump it out; and directly we get a bit of a sea on, it will play old Harry with us."

Though old Grim grumbled on all occasions, yet he worked as hard as anybody else, and so n.o.body minded his grumbling. The very worst sort of character is the fellow who grumbles and does not work; and there are some such on board s.h.i.+ps, as well as on sh.o.r.e.

Having got up their temporary masts, they now set to work to build more permanent ones. In this, old Grim showed a good deal of skill, and ably carried out Mr Collinson's directions. Darkness put an end to their labours. They, in the mean time, however, had rigged an awning on deck, under which Mr Collinson might sleep, for they agreed that it might not be wise to remain any length of time in the cabin. Jack and Bill took one watch, and old Grim and Tommy Rebow the other.

The binnacle as well as the wheel had escaped, and, oil being found, they were able to light the lamp at night. Bill had already learned to take his trick at the helm. He was therefore able to steer part of his time during his watch; indeed, there was no great difficulty, in consequence of the small amount of sail the brig was carrying. When Jack came aft to take the helm, Bill remembered what old Grim had said.

"Don't you think it will be as well for us to try to sound the well, and see if the vessel has made more water?" he asked.

"Yes; hold on for a minute, and I will do it," said Jack.

He came aft again in a short time.

"To my mind, she's leaking faster than is pleasant," he observed. "If you will stand to the helm, I will rig the pump, and see if we can't clear her a little."

In a short time the pump was heard going. It awoke Mr Collinson.

"I thought it would be safer, sir, to keep the pump going," sung out Jack; "but don't be concerned about it, sir; it's just on the safe side."

Jack pumped and pumped away till he could pump no longer; he then went and roused up old Grim, who grumbled fearfully.

"Come, Grimshaw," he said, "just you take a spell at the pump. If we cannot manage to stop the leak, or to get the vessel clear, there's not much chance of our getting into Port Royal harbour, that I can see."

Old Grim, although he grumbled, pumped away as l.u.s.tily as Jack; and then Tommy jumped up and took a spell, and when he was tired he called Bill, and took his place at the helm; and thus they went on till daylight, when Grim declared the water was considerably lessened in the hold.

This gave them encouragement. Poor Mr Collinson felt very much vexed that he could not help. The men would not hear of it.

"No, sir, you just lie quiet there. Our lives depend upon your holding on, as much as your life depends on our exertions; for if you were to leave us, how should we ever find our way into port again?"

Jack insisted that the two boys should lie down again, and get some rest, while he and Grimshaw took it by turns at the pump. At length they agreed that by labouring at the pump every alternate hour, they might keep the leak under. They now again turned to, to get up jury-masts. A sufficient supply of rope was found for the standing rigging, and by night they had a very respectable foremast stepped and well secured with a short jib-boom, on which a fore-staysail was set.

The night was spent much as the former had been, though all hands began to feel very weary with their exertions. Their only comfort was that Mr Collinson appeared to be gaining strength. Although the caboose had been carried away, there was a stove in the cabin, and in this they were able to cook their provisions. Some good tea was found, and other luxuries, which tended much to restore the lieutenant's health. The following day they got up a mainmast, and besides this they rigged a small mizzen-mast, on which they were able to set a sail to a.s.sist in steering the vessel. It was rigged just in time, for the wind began to draw somewhat round to the north-west, making the coast of Cuba, which at length appeared in sight, a lee sh.o.r.e. They hauled up, therefore; but not without some anxiety weathered the Colorados, which they saw not a couple of miles to leeward of them.

In a short time, Mr Collinson was well enough to take the helm for several hours each day, giving more time to his small crew to work the pump and obtain necessary rest. At length Cape Saint Antonio appeared in sight; and, weathering it, the course was altered to south-east.

Once more they were out of sight of land. Mr Collinson had showed all of them the chart, that they might the better understand where they were going, and that the progress they had made might keep up their spirits.

They had still a pa.s.sage of some four or five hundred miles before them; but though their vessel was somewhat leaky, and even with a good breeze they could not make more than three or four knots an hour, still, as Bill observed, "it must some day or other come to an end."

The brig was now about mid-way between the main land of Central America and Cuba, when the wind, which had been for some time light, dropped altogether. In vain old Grim growled; in vain Jack whistled for a breeze. The water they had brought on board, as well as that in the cask, was almost exhausted.

"It will be pretty well time to be getting this cask filled again,"

observed old Grim, as he drew out a tin cupful of water. "I will just go down below, and see about getting up another."

He was a considerable time absent, hunting about with a lantern in his hand. At length he came up again, with a look of dismay on his countenance.

"Jack," he said, "do you know I have been hunting from stem to stern, and not a cask, which looks as if it had water in it, can I find?"

Mr Collinson, who was steering at the time, guessed from the looks of the men that something was wrong.

"We ought to have economised it more," he observed; "it was wrong in me not to warn you. However, we must make the most of what we have got; and perhaps in another search we may be more fortunate."

"I will have a look," said Jack; "and here, Bill, you come with me."

Jack and Bill hunted about as old Grim had done. At length, he appeared under the hatchway, and shouted out--

"Here's a cask of some sort, at all events: it contains liquor, if it does not contain water."

The cask was got up.

"You must promise me, lads, if that cask contains spirits, not to drink it. Let's broach it, however, and see."

On a hole being bored, wine spouted out.

"We should be thankful for this," said Mr Collinson, "it is light claret, and a small quant.i.ty will probably do us all good."

It was arranged that a pint of wine only should be taken by each of them every day. This would save the consumption of water.