My First Cruise, and Other stories, Page 2

  STORY ONE, CHAPTER 2.

  NOTES FROM MY LOG.

  The capstern went round with a merry tune--the boatswain's whistlesounded shrilly along the decks with a magic effect--the anchor was hoveup--the sails were let fall and but a few minutes had passed, after thecaptain gave the word of command, before the ship, under a wide spreadof snowy canvas, was standing down the Solent towards the Needlepassage. It was a lovely summer's day, the sky was blue and so was thewater, and the land looked green and bright, and the paint was so fresh,and the deck so white, and the officers in their glittering uniform hadso polished an appearance, and the men in their white trousers andshirts with worked collars and natty hats, looked so neat and active asthey sprang nimbly aloft, or flew about the decks, that I felt veryproud of the frigate and everything about her, and very glad that I hadcome to sea. To be sure matters below were not quite in the same orderjust then. Still prouder was I when we saluted the Queen, who was atOsborne--firing away first on one side and then on the other, with aflash and a roar, and a huge puff of smoke. We passed out at theNeedles with the cheese-like castle of Hurst and its red ninepin-lookinglighthouses on our right, and a little further to the west on our rightwith the high cliffs of Alum Bay striped curiously with coloured sandand three high-pointed rocks, wading out into the sea, as if wanting toget across to the north shore. These are the Needle rocks. We had runthe high white cliff at the west end of the island out of sight beforedark, and that, except a thin blue tint of land away to the north-east,was the last I saw of the shores of dear old happy England. I daresayothers felt as I did, but we all had so much to do that we hadn't timeto talk about it. Dickey Snookes had been to sea already for a fewmonths, and of course knew a great deal more than I could--at least hesaid that he did, and on the strength of it offered to tell me all abouteverything. I thought I saw a twinkle in his eye, but his eyes alwaysare twinkling, so I did not suspect him of intending mischief. We hadsome vegetables for dinner--some carrots and turnips--and he asked me ifI knew where they grew? I said in some garden, I supposed. "Of course,young 'un," he answered. But you wouldn't suppose we had a garden up inour foretop, where we grow all sorts of greens and other things. Youhave not found your way there, I suspect. I told him that I had not,and he said that I must go up there that very afternoon with him, andthat he would introduce me to the head-gardener, who was always up therelooking after the gooseberry bushes. I knew that this was a joke, butstill I wanted to see what he meant. I said that I was ready at once,but he kept putting me off; and whenever he saw me going up the rigginghe always got some one to send for me or to call me, so that it wasquite late in the day before I succeeded in getting into the shrouds.The sun had now gone down, the sky was overcast, and the sea had aleaden gloomy look--there was a swell also, and the ship rolled so muchfrom side to side, that, as I looked up and saw the mastheads formingarches in the sky, I could not help fancying that I should be sent offwhen I got up there like a stone from a sling, or an ancient catapult,right into the water. The idea made me hold on very tight, let me tellyou; yet, as it would never do to give it up, on I went with my teethpretty closely clenched, and my eyes fixed on the top, which seemed togrow farther and farther away from me, like Jack's bean-stalk. At lastI got up just under the top. There are two ways of getting on to it.One is by going along some ropes, called the futtock shrouds, when onehangs very much as a fly does crawling along the ceiling. I didn't likeit, being up there all alone in the gloom, for it was very different toclimbing an apple-tree or the oak-tree at the bottom of the lawn, withour nest on the top of it, where you and I used to sit and smoke canecigars, and fancy ourselves Istelson and Collingwood. It wasn'tpleasant going along the futtock shrouds, and still less getting roundthem outside into the top, for as the ship rolled it felt as if the mastwas coming right down on the top of me. I waited, however, holding onas a cat does to a bough when you shake it, till the ship rolled overthe other way, and then up I sprang easily enough, and there I sawDickey Snookes and Polly and My Lord all standing by the side of thecaptain of the top, and grinning from ear to ear, as if they had somevery good joke in hand. At first I thought that the captain of the topwas a very important person, but I soon found that he was only one ofthe seamen who is more active and smarter than the rest, and takescommand of those aloft. "Here comes Midshipman Green," they allexclaimed, as they saw my head appearing between the topmast shrouds.When I stood in the top they all insisted on shaking hands with me,pinching my fingers terribly. "And so you want to see our garden uphere," said Snookes; "you're the greenest thing we've got in it justnow, let me tell you--ha! ha! ha!"

  I didn't see anything to laugh at; but I laughed just to keep themcompany, thinking the joke was over. However, before I knew what theywere about they caught hold of me, and while one blinded my eyes with ahandkerchief, I found myself lashed up to the rigging with my arms andlegs spread out just like the eagle on a Russian flag. Presently allwas silent. The ship kept rolling backwards and forwards as before, andI began to feel somewhat queer in the region of my waistband and rightup to my throat, still I wouldn't cry out. Suddenly I found the bandagewhisked off my eyes, and then I could see only one top man standing onthe other side of the top, but my messmates had disappeared. I calledto the man. He touched his hat with the greatest respect. I told himto cast me loose. "My orders were, sir, not to touch you," he answered.I argued the point. "Well, sir, if as how you pays your footing, I'lldo it," he replied; "but, sir, you'll take care that I'm not tied up andget two dozen for disobeying orders." I was ready to promise anything,for it was very unpleasant rolling about up there in the dark. Aftersome hesitation and further talk, Tom Hansard, that was the topman'sname, cut off the lashings. I gave him five shillings, all the money Ihad in my pocket. "You'll keep it secret, sir," said he. "You'll saynothing against a poor fellow like me, sir; that you won't, I know." Ipromised him, and he then helped me down through the lubber's hole, foras to going down outside, I couldn't just then have done it to save mylife. When I got back to the berth, there were all my three messmatesseated round the table, taking their tea, and pretending to be very muchastonished at hearing all which had happened to me. Of course, I saidnothing about Tom Hansard, and they pretended that they could not makeout how I had got loose. I found out, however, that the whole plan wasarranged beforehand by Dicky Snookes and my other messmates with thecaptain of the top, just to see what I was made of, and what I would do,it being understood that he was to keep whatever he could get out of me.Had I cried or made a fuss about the matter, or said that I wouldcomplain to my uncle, I should have been looked upon as a regular sneak.The fellows hate telling of one another here just as much as we did atschool. From the way I took the trick I believe they liked me betterthan they did before. Of course, all about the garden and thevegetables was nonsense, and I should have been green to have believedit, which I didn't. Away we went rolling along with a westerly swelland a northerly wind, while many of the fellows in the berth weresinging: "There we lay, all the day, in the Bay of Biscay, O;" andothers "Rule Britannia," old Gregson not forgetting his standing joke of"Bless the old girl; I wish, while she was about it, that she had ruledthem straighter." The very next morning the gale, of which the swellwas the forerunner, came down upon us with a sudden gust. "All handsshorten sail," was shouted along the decks. The men flew aloft, thatis, they climbed up so nimbly that they looked as if they were flying,and they lay out on the yards to reef the sail. Snookes had to go also,as he was stationed in the foretop. "Any greens up there to-day?" Iasked as he passed me, not looking happy, for the ship was tumblingabout, the spray was flying over us, and the wind was howlingterrifically in the rigging. It was altogether very different to whatit had been on the previous evening. Still poor Snookes had to go up.The boatswain's whistle and the voices of the officers sounded loudabove the gale, and so did the cries of the midshipmen. I contrived tomake myself heard, though, of course, I only sung out what I was told tosay, and wasn't alway
s certain what would happen after I had said it,any more than does a person in a fairy tale, who has got hold of somemagic words and doesn't know what effect they will produce. Thetopgallantsails and royals were quickly furled--those are the sailshighest up, you know; and then the huge topsails came rattling down themasts, and the men lay out on the yards and caught hold of them, as theywere bulging out and flapping fearfully about, to reef them. One of thetopmen, Tom Hansard, was at the weather yardarm, and had hold of theearing, which isn't a bit like those gold things our sisters wear intheir ears, but is a long rope which helps to reef the sails. Suddenlythe ship gave a tremendous lurch, I heard a cry, I looked up, and therewas Tom Hansard hanging by one hand to the earing from the yard-arm,right over the foaming ocean. I felt as if I had swallowed a bucketfull of snow. I thought the poor fellow must be dropped overboard, andso did everybody else, and some were running to one of the boats tolower her to pick him up. He swung fearfully about from side to side.No human power could save him. I was watching to see him drop, when hemade a great effort, and springing up, he caught the rope with his otherhand. Still he was only a degree better off. Fancy dangling away atthe end of a thin rope, jerked backwards and forwards high up in theair, with certain death were he to fall on board, and very smallprospect of escape if he fell into the foaming, tumbling sea, throughwhich the ship was flying at the rate of some ten knots an hour. I feltinclined to shriek out in sympathy, for I am sure that I should haveshrieked out, and very loudly too, had I been up there in his place. Ifelt sure that he would come down when I saw two of the topmen going outto the end of the yard-arm and stretching out their arms towards him tohelp him. He saw them, and began to climb up the thin rope till theycould catch hold of his jacket, then up they pulled him, though thesails flapping about very nearly tore him out of their hands. They heldhim on to the yard for a minute till he could recover himself, and thenhe scrambled in on to the top. There was a general shout fore and aftwhen he was safe. Another man went to the weather earing, and threereefs were taken in the topsails. I heard the first lieutenant observeto Uncle Tom that he was very glad to get the ship snug at last; but Icannot say that I thought her snug, or anything snug about her, forthere we were among clouds of sleet and spray, tumbling and rollingabout in that undignified way in which I had not thought it possible sofine a frigate could have been tumbled and rolled about. It broughtdown the ship a peg or two in my estimation, and took the shine out ofmany of us, let me tell you. That fellow Snookes was continuallyoffering me a lump of fat bacon, and at dinner he contrived to slip allthe most greasy bits into my plate. I held out manfully, and tried tolook very heroic, or, at all events, indifferent; but, oh Harry, I didfeel very wretched, and began to reflect that I might possibly have beenrather happier on shore. I suspect that the way my lips curled, and theyellow look of my eyes, betrayed me. The gale lasted for three days. Iwas very glad when it was over; so you understand it is not all sunshineat sea.