THE GREAT STORM
NOW, AS I have said, we came at last in safety to the open sea, and so
for a time had some degree of peace; though it was long ere we threw
off allof the terror which the Land of Lonesomeness had cast over our
hearts.
And one more matter there is regarding that land, which my memory
recalls. It will be remembered that George found certain wrappers upon
which there was writing. Now, in the haste of our leaving, he had
given no thought to take them with him; yet a portion of one he found
within the side pocket of his jacket, and it ran somewhat thus:--
"But I hear my lover's voice wailing in the night, and I go to find
him; for my loneliness is not to be borne. May Godhave mercy upon me!"
And that was all.
For a day and a night westood out from the land towards the North,
having a steady breeze to which we set our lug sails, and so made very
good way, the sea being quiet, though with a slow, lumbering swell
from the Southward.
It was on the morning ofthe second day of our escape that we met with
the beginnings of our adventure into the SilentSea, the which I am
about to make as clear asI am able.
The night had been quiet, and the breeze steady until near on to the
dawn, when the wind slacked away to nothing, and we lay there waiting,
perchancethe sun should bring the breeze with it. And this itdid; but
no such wind as we did desire; for when the morning came upon us, we
discovered all thatpart of the sky to be full of a fiery redness,
which presently spread away down to the South, so that an entire
quarter of the heavens was, as it seemed to us, a mighty arc of
blood-colored fire.
Now, at the sight of these omens, the bo'sun gave orders to prepare
the boats for the storm which we had reason to expect, looking for it
in the South, for it was from that direction that the swell came
rolling upon us. With this intent,we roused out so much heavy canvas
as the boats contained, for we had gotten a bolt and a half from the
hulk in the creek; also the boat covers which we could lash down to
the brass studs under the gunnels of the boats. Then, in each boat, we
mounted the whaleback--which had been stowed along the tops of the
thwarts--also its supports, lashing the same to the thwarts below the
knees. Then we laid two lengths of the stout canvas the full length of
the boat over the whaleback, overlapping and nailing them to the same,
so thatthey sloped away down over the gunnels upon each side as though
theyhad formed a roof to us. Here, whilst some stretched the canvas,
nailing its lower edges to the gunnel, others were employed in lashing
together the oarsand the mast, and to this bundle they secured a
considerable length of new three-and-a-half-inch hemp rope, which we
had brought away from the hulk along with the canvas. This rope was
then passed over the bows and in through the painter ring, and thence
to the forrard thwarts, where it was made fast, and we gave attention
to parcel it with odd strips of canvas against danger of chafe. And
the same was done in both of the boats, for we could not put our trust
inthe painters, besides which they had not sufficient length to secure
safe and easy riding.
Now by this time we hadthe canvas nailed down to the gunnel around our
boat, after which wespread the boat-cover over it, lacing it down to
the brass studs beneath the gunnel. And so we had all the boat covered
in, save a place in the stern where a man mightstand to wield the
steering oar, for the boats were double bowed. And in each boatwe made
the same preparation, lashing all movable articles, and preparing to
meet so great a storm as might well fill the heart with terror; for
the sky cried out to us that it would be no light wind, and further,
the great swell from the South grew more huge with every hour that
passed; thoughas yet it was without virulence, being slow and oily and
black against the redness of the sky.
Presently we were ready,and had cast over the bundle of oars and the
mast, which was to serveas our sea-anchor, and so we lay waiting. It
was at this time that the bo'sun called over to Josh certain advice
with regard to that which lay before us. And after that the two of
them sculled the boats a little apart; for there might be a danger of
their being dashed together by the first violence of the storm.
And so came a time of waiting, with Josh and the bo'sun each of them
at the steering oars, and the rest of us stowed away under the
coverings. From where I crouched near the bo'sun, I had sight of Josh
away upon our portside: he was standing up black as a shape of night
against the mighty redness, when the boat came to the foamless crowns
of the swells, andthen gone from sight in the hollows between.
Now midday had come and gone, and we had made shift to eat so good a
meal as our appetites would allow; for we had no knowledge how long it
might be ere we should have chance of another, if, indeed, we had ever
need to think more of such. And then, in the middle part of the
afternoon, we heard the first cryings of the storm--a far-distant
moaning, rising and falling most solemnly.
Presently, all the Southern part of the horizon so high up, maybe, as
some seven to ten degrees, was blotted out by a great black wall of
cloud, over which the red glare came down upon the great swells as
though from the light of some vast and unseen fire. It was about this
time, I observed that the sun had the appearance of a great full moon,
being pale and clearly defined, and seeming to have no warmth nor
brilliancy; and this, as may be imagined, seemed most strange to us,
the more so because of the redness in the South and East.
And all this while the swells increased most prodigiously; though
without making broken water: yet they informedus that we had done
wellto take so much precaution; for surely they were raised by a very
great storm. A little before evening, the moaning came again, and then
a space of silence; after which there rose a very sudden bellowing, as
of wild beasts, and then once more the silence.
About this time, the bo'sun making no objection, I raised my head
above the cover until I was in a standing position; for, until now,
Ihad taken no more than occasional peeps; and I was very glad of the
chance to stretch my limbs; for I had grown mightily cramped. Having
stirred the sluggishness of my blood, I sat me down again; but in such
position that I could see every part of the horizonwithout difficulty.
Aheadof us, that is to the South, I saw now that the great wall of
cloud had risen some further degrees, and there was something less of
the redness; though, indeed,what there was left of it was sufficiently
terrifying; for it appeared to crest the black cloud like red foam,
seeming, it might be, as though a mighty sea made ready to break over
the world.
Towards the West, the sun was sinking behind a curious red-tinted
haze, which gave it the appearance of a dull red disk. To the North,
seeming very high in thesky, were some flecks of cloud lying
motionless, and of a very pretty rose color. And here I may remark
that all the sea tothe North of us appearedas a very ocean of dull red
fire; though, as might be expected, the swells, coming up from the
South, against the light were so many exceeding great hills of
blackness.
It was just after I had made these observationsthat we heard again the
distant roaring of the storm, and I know not how to convey the
exceeding terror of that sound. It was as though some mighty beast
growled far down towards the South; and it seemed to make very clear
to me that we werebut two small craft in a very lonesome place. Then,
even while the roaring lasted, I saw a sudden light flare up, as it
were from the edge of the Southern horizon. It had somewhat the
appearance of lightning;yet vanished not immediately, as is the wont
of lightning; and more, it had not been myexperience to witness such
spring up from out of the sea, but, rather, down from the heavens. Yet
I have little doubt butthat it was a form of lightning; for it came
many times after this, so that I had chance to observe it minutely.
And frequently, as I watched, the storm would shout atus in a most
fearsome manner.
Then, when the sun was low upon the horizon, there came to our ears a
very shrill, screaming noise, most penetrating and distressing, and,
immediately afterwards the bo'sun shouted out something in a hoarse
voice, and commenced to sway furiously upon the steering oar. I saw
his stare fixed upon a point a little on our larboard bow, and
perceived that in that direction the sea was all blown up into vast
clouds of dust-like froth, and I knew that the storm was upon us.
Immediately afterwards a cold blast struck us; butwe suffered no harm,
forthe bo'sun had gotten the boat bows-on by this. The wind passed us,
and there was an instantof calm. And now all the air above us was full
of acontinuous roaring, so very loud and intense that I was like to be
deafened. To windward, I perceived an enormouswall of spray bearing
down upon us, and I heard again the shrill screaming, pierce through
the roaring. Then, the bo'sun whipped in his oar under the cover, and,
reaching forward, drew the canvas aft, so that it covered the entire
boat, and he held it down against the gunnel upon the starboard side,
shouting in my ear to do likewise upon the larboard. Now had it not
been for this forethought on the part of the bo'sun we had been all
dead men; and this may be the better believed when I explain that we
felt the water falling upon the stout canvas overhead, tons and tons,
though so beaten to froth as to lacksolidity to sink or crush us. I
have said "felt"; for Iwould make it so clear asmay be, here once and
for all, that so intense was the roaring and screaming of the
elements, there could no sound have penetrated to us, no! not the
pealingof mighty thunders. And so for the space of maybe a full minute
the boat quivered and shookmost vilely, so that she seemed like to
have been shaken in pieces, and from a dozen places between the gunnel
and the covering canvas, the water spurted in upon us. And here one
other thing I would make mention of: During that minute, the boat had
ceased to rise and fall upon the great swell, and whether this was
because the sea was flattened by the first rush of the wind, or that
the excess of the storm held her steady, I am unable to tell; and can
put down only that which we felt.
Now, in a little, the first fury of the blast being spent, the boat
began to sway from side to side, as though the wind blewnow upon the
one beam,and now upon the other;and several times we were stricken
heavily with the blows of solid water. But presently this ceased, and
we returnedonce again to the rise and fall of the swell, onlythat now
we received a cruel jerk every time thatthe boat came upon the top of
a sea. And so a while passed.
Towards midnight, as I should judge, there came some mighty flames of
lightning, so bright that they lit up the boat through the double
covering of canvas; yet no man of us heard aught of the thunder; for
the roaring of the storm made all else a silence.
And so to the dawn, afterwhich, finding that we were still, by the
mercy of God, possessed of our lives, we made shift to eat and drink;
after which we slept.
Now, being extremely wearied by the stress of the past night, I
slumbered through many ours of the storm, waking at some time between
noon and evening. Overhead, as I lay looking upwards, thecanvas showed
of a dull leadenish color, blackened completely at whiles by the dash
of spray and water. And so, presently, having eaten again, and feeling
that all things lay in the hands of the Almighty, I came once more
upon sleep.
Twice through the following night was I wakened by the boat being
hurled upon her beam-ends by the blows of the seas; but she righted
easily, and took scarce any water, the canvas proving a very roof of
safety. And so themorning came again.
Being now rested, I crawled after to where the bo'sun lay, and, the
noise of the storm lullingodd instants, shouted in his ear to know
whether the wind was easing at whiles. To this he nodded, whereat I
felt a most joyful sense of hope pulse through me, and ate such food
as could be gotten, with a very good relish.
In the afternoon, the sunbroke out suddenly, lighting up the boat most
gloomily through the wet canvas; yet a very welcome light it was, and
bred in us a hope that the storm was near to breaking. In a little,
the sun disappeared; but, presently, it coming again, the bo'sun
beckoned to me to assist him, and we removed such temporary nails as
we had used to fasten down the after part of the canvas, and pushed
back the covering a space sufficient to allow our heads to go through
into the daylight. On looking out, I discoveredthe air to be full of
spray,beaten as fine as dust, and then, before I could note aught
else, a little gout of water took me inthe face with such force as to
deprive me of breath; so that I had to descend beneath the canvas for
a little while.
So soon as I was recovered, I thrust forth my head again, and nowI had
some sight of the terrors around us. As each huge sea came towards us,
the boat shot up to meet it, right up to its very crest, and there,
for the space of some instants, we would seem to be swamped in a very
ocean of foam, boiling up on each side of the boat to the height of
many feet. Then, the sea passing from under us, we would go swooping
dizzily down the great, black, froth-splotched back of the wave, until
the oncoming sea caught us up most mightily. Odd whiles, the crest of
a sea would hurl forward before we had reached the top, and though the
boat shot upward like a veritable feather, yet thewater would swirl
right over us, and we would have to draw in our heads most suddenly;
in such cases the wind flapping the cover down so soon as our hands
were removed. And, apart from the way in which the boat met the seas,
there was a very sense of terror in the air;the continuous roaring and
howling of the storm; the screaming of the foam, as the frothy summits
of the briny mountains hurled past us, and the wind that tore the
breath out of our weak human throats, are things scarceto be
conceived.
Presently, we drew in our heads, the sun having vanished again, and
nailed down the canvas once more, and so prepared for the night.
From here on until the morning, I have very little knowledge of any
happenings; for I slept much of the time, and, for the rest, there was
little to know, cooped upbeneath the cover. Nothing save the
interminable, thundering swoop of theboat downwards, and then the halt
and upward hurl, and the occasional plunges and surges to larboard or
starboard, occasioned, I can only suppose, by the indiscriminate might
of the seas.
I would make mention here, how that I had little thought all this
while for the peril of the other boat, and, indeed, I was so very full
of our own that it is no matter at which to wonder. However, as it
proved, and as this is a most suitable place in which to tell it, the
boat that held Josh and the rest of the crew came through the storm
with safety; though it was not until many years afterwards that I had
the good fortune to hear from Josh himself how that, after the storm,
they were picked up by a homeward-bound vessel,and landed in the Port
ofLondon. [ tobe continued....]
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