the process of adjudicating the reward due to the successful salvors of a ship is a very complicated one, and any description of it would be calculated to tire the most enthusiastic reader of a sea story. wherefore i do not propose to touch the subject further than by saying that the value of the woden and her cargo was adjudged to be £17,500, out of which frank was awarded £2500, and a most flattering testimonial from the underwriters engrossed on vellum, which i am sure pleased him much more than the money. the other members of the crew were duly awarded their shares by the court, and, as far as i have been able to learn, were not only satisfied but sensible in the way they disposed of these well-earned gains.
and now we must return to frank for a while, who at the earliest possible moment hastened home to dear old stony dewsbury, and was received, as you might expect, by the admiring crowd of friends and relatives with immense enthusiasm. but his mother and his sisters felt at once that the boy was gone for ever. in his place had returned a man with clear untroubled sight and firm voice, accustomed to command, and with confidence in his own power to do. his mother shed a few tears,[294] as women will, but secretly worshipped him; while his sisters hung upon his lightest word, and looked with scorn upon all the other young men they knew as utterly unworthy to compare with their stalwart brother. only his father of all the family now met him as an equal, and talked about men and things with him as one man to another, feeling his heart swell with pride as he looked upon this grave and self-possessed man of eighteen.
only a few days, however, had elapsed before he began to grow restless. he wanted to be off again. the company of the youths of his own age did not either interest or amuse him; they bored him with what he considered their inane, incessant conversation about cricket and football. had they talked business, he could have understood them and learned from them, but that topic they shunned as if it were the plague. the serious side of life appealed to him, and while his sense of humour was as strong as possible, and his enjoyment of life very keen, he turned with positive disgust from people who thought of nothing with any interest except games, and only thought of work under compulsion, taking no pride in it at all. as a result of this he was in an entirely receptive mood for the owner’s letter from liverpool, received after he had been at home a month, although one part of it disappointed him bitterly. it informed him that the sealark, having secured a good charter to carry case oil from new york to hong-kong, would of course not be coming to england at all until the close of the present voyage, if she did then. and by the same post came a farewell letter from captain[295] jenkins, full of heartiest congratulations upon his success, and keenest regrets at being compelled to sail without him.
the consolation, however, came in the postscript to the owner’s letter, which informed frank that he had been appointed third mate of the thurifer, a very large and fine steel ship, for those days, of 2000 tons register, and carrying twenty-two a.b.’s and eight apprentices. he would, of course, be an apprentice still, not a great deal more than half his time having been served; but he would live in the cabin, and be treated in every respect like an officer. this news caused frank’s heart to leap for joy, and he was especially elated at the prospect of having a cabin to himself; for although he had endured it cheerfully, the dog-hole of a place which he had been compelled to share with three other inmates on board the sealark, had always been his greatest hardship at sea.
and the fact that he had successfully striven to learn his navigation and do all the writing that it demanded was the best proof possible of his sterling quality of dogged perseverance. moreover the owner informed him that, in consequence of his proved ability, he would be paid a small wage of £3 per month, although, of course, he was not really entitled to any until the close of his indentures. the ship was loading salt in liverpool for calcutta, and was due to sail in a week’s time, so the sooner he joined her the better.
this summons drove all other thoughts out of his head, and he became immediately like a keen[296] hound straining at the leash, never even noticing the wistful looks cast upon him by his mother and sisters, and, it must be confessed, by several young ladies of their acquaintance also, who were piqued, as well as amazed, by his undisguised indifference to their charms and arch glances. no one mentioned the matter to him, but if they had he would certainly have retorted at once, “i have no time for silly spooning around at my age, nor inclination either.” yet there was not the slightest fear of his developing into either a prig or a superior person, his work was the thing, that’s all.
two days after he received the summons found him speeding towards liverpool, full of eagerness as well as curiosity to see his new ship. he had rather a hard parting from his people, for, besides their sorrow at losing him at all, they had hoped to keep him at home until after christmas, the great family festival being due in about a fortnight. but once away he speedily forgot all about that part of his life, and counted the stations with the utmost impatience until his train steamed into lime street.
in twenty minutes he was alongside the thurifer, and his heart swelled with pride. he had expected a grand ship, but not one so splendid as this. her mighty masts towered into the sky full 200 feet from the waterline, her lower yards were over 100-feet spread, the fore and main, that is; and although the jibboom was rigged in, he could see what a gigantic spar it was. moreover the extraordinary number of her yards delighted and awed[297] him, for, while the sealark and woden had only carried ten yards altogether, two masts each, being barques, the thurifer carried seven on each of her three masts, and frank could just imagine what a mountain of white she would appear at sea with all her great area of canvas spread and drawing. but he was specially charmed with her figurehead. she had been named by a man who had been attracted by the sound of the word without knowing its meaning, but when the carver was asked to design a figurehead for her, he, being an artist, made a splendid figure of a priest in full canonicals, who held a thurible on high by its triple chain, and the effect was exceedingly grand, especially when, as now, it was properly painted and gilded in its correct colours.
all this observation of his took but very little time, and he soon called a couple of idlers and bade them carry his traps on board. he was met at the gangway by a huge forbidding-looking man whom he instinctively recognised as the mate. this gentleman, although i strain courtesy in calling him so, with a deepening of the set scowl on his heavily bearded face, growled out in a deep voice, “well, what do you want?”
“i am the third mate, come to join the ship, sir,” replied frank, looking him squarely in the eyes.
“ho, ho,” retorted the mate with a very definite sneer, “you’re the sucking skipper we’ve been hearing so much about, then, captain frank brown, i presume,” with an ungainly bow of mockery.
poor frank flushed crimson and stood irresolute,[298] not knowing what to do. go forward he could not, for the mate barred the way, and he had never felt so awkward since the day he joined the sealark. suddenly the mate seemed to notice that he was blocking the gangway, and moved aside, saying as he did so, “ah, well, i s’pose you think yourself a little tin god on wheels now, and it’ll be my painful dooty to put you in your right place again. and i won’t have any third-officer nonsense either, mind you; you’re brown, senior apprentice, that’s all, and don’t you forget it. go and get your dunnage stowed away as soon as you can, i’ve got a job for you.”
and frank, feeling dazed and cut to the very soul, hastened into the half deck like a man in a dream, while the mate stood and chuckled to himself over the impression he had made on the boy who, as he thought, needed taking down a peg or two.
frank’s first impulse was to sit and be sorry for himself, but happily his natural strength of spirit and determination came to his assistance, and he hastily unpacked such of his traps as contained his working rig, and in ten minutes appeared in a well-worn suit of dungaree, from which all its original blue had faded, looking eminently fit and workmanlike. going up to the mate, who was standing picking his teeth in front of the saloon, he said, “i’m ready for work now, sir.”
“oh, you are, are you? very well, just go into the saloon there and see the captain, he’s waiting for you.”
frank turned at once and entered, doffing his[299] cap as he did so, and walking up to a keen-looking, clean-shaven man of about forty who sat there writing, he said respectfully, “i’m the third mate, sir, frank brown. i’ve just come aboard, and the chief officer has told me you want to see me.”
the skipper, looking up, laid down his pen and stared steadily at his interlocutor without speaking for about a minute. then he said, “so you are the lad that brought the woden home, eh? well, as long as you don’t suffer from swollen head i daresay you’ll do very well, but understand once for all, i’ll have no owner’s favourites in any ship i command. you are nominally third mate, and on the articles as such, but you are really only the senior apprentice, and if you want to be treated properly you must remember that. another thing, you are in a very different ship to that old tub the sealark, and will have to learn to do things big-ship fashion. if you behave yourself you’ll find me what they call a decent skipper, but if you put on any frills i shall have to put you in your proper place in two shakes. now go and do what the mate tells you.”
he turned to his writing, when frank, stepping a little closer, said, “beg pardon, sir, but it seems to me that the fact that i have done my best successfully has made me enemies already. i’m sure i don’t want to put on any frills, as you and the chief officer have termed it, but if i am to be the third mate and given any responsible duty to perform, i shan’t be able to get anybody to obey me, if it is seen that my superiors have a dislike to me from the outset. please give me a fair[300] trial before you make up your mind to dislike me.”
the skipper rose to his feet and thundered, “get out of my cabin, boy! how dare you bandy words with me? mr. vincent” (to the mate), “give this fellow something to do, he wants employment.”
“all right, captain forrest,” answered the mate, “i’ll set him goin’. come along here and get to work stowin’ the stores in the lazaret. you’ll find some of your fellow-apprentices there. it’s aft, not forrard.”
for one wild moment frank felt impelled to throw up everything and go ashore without considering what his next step would be afterwards. but a sudden fierce determination seized him to show these cowardly bullies, as he thought them, that he was not to be driven out of the ship or out of his chosen profession by any such accidents as they were, and he choked his rage down, merely replying in stereotyped phrase, “very good, sir,” and walking out of the saloon.
now of course it will be asked by every one unconnected with the sea, “whatever could such extraordinary conduct mean?” alas, although i will admit that this was an extreme case, it is a type of conduct towards subordinates that is, or used to be, exceedingly common on board ship. it is the outcome of one of the lowest and most despicable passions in our nature, “envy, the eldest born of hell.”
viewed in its baleful light, frank’s offence was indeed unpardonable. he had distinguished himself as no boy could be expected to do, and would[301] naturally be exceedingly puffed up in his own estimation, according to their narrow ideas. besides, he had been very strongly recommended to the captain by the owner, which, to some men, is an almost inexpiable offence in itself, and one that causes more ill-feeling on board ship than enough. and as both the captain and chief officer were men of an exceedingly suspicious and resentful, as well as envious, turn of mind, their treatment of frank was only to be expected. i could give instances of similar behaviour, which have come under my notice, and which i myself have experienced, but will refrain in order to get on with my yarn.
frank strode aft to the lazaret hatch and lowered himself down promptly into the midst of four youngsters of about sixteen years of age, who were busily engaged in roasting one of their number, a boy evidently somewhat younger than the rest of them, and obviously about to make his first voyage. three of them were certainly experienced to the extent of at least one voyage, and it was a great game for them to break johnny newcome in. but they all desisted from their sport as frank dropped among them, and stood half on the defensive, like hens when a strange fowl is introduced to them. frank just smiled cheerfully upon them and said, “all right, boys, i’m one of yourselves, don’t mind me. but the mate’ll be here in a minute or two, if i don’t mistake, and i don’t know how you stand with him, but i don’t want him to find me one of the unemployed. what are you supposed to be doing?”
[302]the eldest boy present piped up, “we’re supposed to be stowing the stores, but, as we don’t know anything about it, we’re not getting on very fast. we heard that the third mate was coming to-day, and then i s’pose we shall be all right.”
frank laughed, but with a supreme effort, for his heart was very heavy, and said, “well, i’m supposed to be the third mate, so i’d better start in, i think. but first of all, what’s your names?”
“mine’s thompson,” piped up the first speaker.
“selden me,” chipped up another.
“fitzgerald,” said a third.
the new-comer, who had not settled yet after his ragging, sullenly mumbled, “my name is reginald percy smith, and i want to complain to the captain.”
there was a short, violent burst of laughter from the other young rascals at this, and frank, tapping him kindly on the shoulder, said, “all right, reggie, we’ll see about complaining afterwards. at present what we’ve got to do is to get these cases and bags and barrels stowed away snugly, so that they won’t get adrift when we are at sea. so here goes,” and seizing one of the cases he up-ended it, and worked it into a vacant space which gaped to receive it.
in five minutes the whole of them were labouring energetically under frank’s direction to get the chaos of packages reduced to something like order. and then the mate came down with words of snarling disparagement of frank’s ability as a stevedore, made them do most of the work over again, while frank set his teeth and said nothing.[303] but even the new-comer could see the purposeful malice in the mate’s behaviour, and, although he could not understand it, he dimly resented it, for it reminded him of the bully at school.
now i do not care to dwell further upon the way in which, during the remaining days of the ship in dock, the mate endeavoured to make life a burden to the young third mate, and succeeded in making him nervous and diffident about his work, anxious as ever to do that work well, but doubtful of his ability. still i must record one fact that commends itself to me as being the act of a brave man, to say nothing of a youth. in the midst of this sore trial frank allowed no word of complaint to escape him to his father or the owner. and this he did knowing as well as possible what a voyage was awaiting him. i feel that he was quixotically heroic, but there it is, he made up his mind that he would go through this thing no matter what the cost might be. and out of this grew one good thing. the other lads, three of whom were new and the other four all second voyagers, grew to admire him immensely, some of them to love him, and of course that helped.
then came sailing day, and with it a crowd of wasters, the dregs of liverpool, there being a dearth of foremast hands just then, and skippers being glad to take what they could get. only three out of the twenty appeared to be good sailormen, the rest looked as if a tramp steamer was the only kind of craft they had ever known, and in consequence they were almost as much out of place on board of a ship dependent for her motive[304] power upon the wind as a landsman would be, except for the matter of sickness.
the second mate, who joined late, was a splendidly clean-built young fellow, who looked not only the highest type of seamen, but bore unmistakably the hall-mark of a gentleman; and, as like cleaves to like, he soon found frank out, and took to him at once, uttering a few kindly words in appreciation of his late feat that gave frank the first sensation of pleasure he had known since he came on board. he had served his time in one of the splendid ships of messrs. patrick henderson & co., the oamaru, on the long trail from england to new zealand, being third mate on his last voyage, and this was his first essay as second. his name was james wilson, an englishman from the midlands.
precisely at noon on a grim december day, the 13th of that stern month, the thurifer was seized by the tug and dragged out into the river, looking most ungainly and helpless among the huge trim liners lying easily at anchor on the bosom of the grey mersey as she submitted clumsily to the fussy efforts of the great jolliffe tug. no sooner was she in the river, and the mooring gear cleared away, than the big business of rigging the jibboom out was taken in hand, and here the mate got the first taste of the quality of his crew. fortunately he had as a bo’sun a huge londoner from blackwall, one of those splendid seamen of the old school who, although he could hardly write his name, could do anything with rope and wire and canvas that was possible, having been, as he was wont to say laughingly, almost born in a rigging-loft.[305] in addition he was immensely strong, and stood well over six feet.
this worthy seaman, under the orders of the mate, marshalled his motley gang, who tumbled over one another, got in the way of the good men, and showed conclusively that they were hopelessly bewildered at the vast entanglement. there was much shouting and cursing and objurgation generally of men who sign on as seamen and are only labourers, the mate being almost beside himself with rage. frank was in the thick of it toiling like any beaver, and by his intelligent seamanship completely winning the heart of the bo’sun, who, being so good a sailor himself, was fully able to appreciate frank’s ability, smartness, and industry. but even frank was amazed at the magnitude of the spar which they were handling, and the complication of gear attached to it, for, as he afterwards said in conversation with the bo’sun, the sealark’s jibboom was only a walking-stick compared with it. and as the number of really useful hands engaged upon it was limited to four men and two lads, the work proceeded but slowly, while the mate raved and swore like a man possessed of a devil.
steadily seaward went the ship into a rising gale, a nasty sea, and the coming night. gradually she began to dip and curtsy to the seas as she was dragged to meet them, adding to the immense difficulty of the work being performed by the devoted handful of workers, because of the great showers of spray that were continually breaking over the bows. but at last the mighty job was[306] finished as well as it could be under the circumstances, and wearied to the very bone, the workers’ thoughts were turned to rest. but in cases of this kind, especially leaving liverpool, where a ship is on the high sea so soon, those that have knowledge have the burden laid upon them of using that knowledge, with generally the added satisfaction of finding that the wasters and loafers have a far better time all round.
however, respite came at last, and all hands, with the exception of those at the wheel and look-out, went to supper, with the prospect of presently being started at setting the great sails and proceeding independently. frank went to his cabin, which he was to share with the second mate, and while waiting for his call to supper prepared to have a wash.
but he had hardly entered before he heard the harsh voice of the mate shouting, “brown, where have you got to?”
frank presented himself at once, and the mate said impressively, “what sort of an officer do you think yourself, sneaking off below directly you see a slant, like any other waster? you’ll keep watch up here with the pilot, while the captain and i go to get our suppers, and don’t let me catch you shirking again.”
frank merely uttered the formula, “very good, sir,” and turned away rather relieved than otherwise, for he noted that the mate had recognised him as an officer, against his previous declaration that he was only a senior apprentice.
so he paced the broad expanse of the poop,[307] looking round at the darkening, lowering sky and rising sea, and feeling a sense of responsibility coming back to him again to compensate him. also the pilot spoke a few cheery words to him about his recent exploit, warming his heart anew, because praise from such men is of all the most valuable to a sailor.
then came the mate, who said ungraciously, “go and get your supper, and make haste up again. don’t sit there half the night.”
frank went, and found to his delight mr. wilson already at the table, and the two had a most delightful meal, hurried, it is true, but the food was good, and they were in full sympathy with each other on every point. wilson, however, was inclined to be pessimistic, dwelling upon the obvious incapacity of the crew and the harshness of the skipper and mate. he had already come into conflict with the former, who, although a prime seaman, had the unfortunate belief that the way to treat young officers was to bully and discourage them, forgetting entirely his own first nervous essay as junior mate, so that, apart from the fact that he was a genial, gentlemanly young fellow, his heart went out to frank, who, he felt, was going to be his brother in affliction, although of course they would see little of each other, being in different watches.
having finished their meal, they both hastened on deck, to be met immediately by the thundered order of the skipper to get sail on the ship. “now,” thought frank, “the fun begins.” and it was even so. the utter incapacity and helplessness of the[308] crew generally became at once a very real and pressing danger. they could not go aloft in most cases; those who did, always excepted the three prime seamen before mentioned, could do nothing when they got there but cling tenaciously to whatever rope came first, to do the smallest thing was beyond their power entirely.
but here, as so often happens, the boys came to the rescue. there were five of them, including frank, who had been to sea at least a voyage, and three had received a comprehensive sea education in the conway, the cadet-ship at rock ferry. so they were now called upon to exert all their youthful strength and skill in making up for the deficiencies of the men. the work, of course, took a shockingly long time to perform, for the wasters of the crew did not even know how to pull, being clumsy almost beyond belief, but still one by one the huge sails were spread, until the thurifer, under whole topsails, foresail, and lower fore and aft sails, began to gain upon the tug, the wind blowing quite strongly from the west, with promise of a speedy increase.
the time had come to part, the ship being now in mid-channel, abreast of bardsey island, with the deep bight of cardigan bay under her lee, the narrow strait between carnsore and st. david’s ahead of her, a gale imminent, and night coming on thick and black. but whatever any one felt he showed no sign, and the usual signal having been made to the tug, she eased astern in order to assist the crew to get in the mighty hawser. indeed it is most probable that had she not done so they would[309] have been unable to do it without losing a tremendous lot of ground. as it was, the job was got over fairly well, the tug dropped alongside and took off the pilot as previously arranged, and the thurifer was left to herself and her crew.
no sooner were the yards trimmed and the hawser stowed away than the word was passed along for all hands to lay aft, while frank was told to take the wheel. the skipper came to the break of the poop when they were all assembled and said, “before the officers pick for watches i want to tell you fellows, all but the three sailormen among you, that if you think you’re going to ship as a.b.’s aboard my vessel not knowing the first thing about your business, if you think you’re going to obtain money under false pretences like that and have a good time, you’ve made the one mistake of your worthless lives. you are just a gang of low-down bummers, up to every dirty trick of loaferdom, and would see honest able men kill themselves doing your work, if you’re allowed to. but you won’t be. until you pick up your work, and put all the guts into it you’ve got, i’m going to make this ship a floating hell for you, and don’t you forget it. now go ahead and pick your vermin, mr. vincent.” and he turned on his heel and walked away.
the business of the selection was soon over, and the men were dismissed to begin, as inauspicious a voyage as could well be imagined. and whatever we may think of the behaviour of the skipper and mate, it must be remembered that the problem they had to face was a hard one—especially so[310] under the present circumstances. but fortunately the gale increased in force very slowly, and held true to its point. also the ship was splendidly staunch and strong, every item of her equipment being of the very best, so that they were able to carry sail until the morning, when the danger point was passed, and what had become an imperative necessity of shortening sail could be safely yielded to without jeopardising the safety of the ship.
but the toil and strain upon the handful of competents, especially the boys, was very great, for they had to do all the work that was hardest and most dangerous, in spite of the relentless driving exercised by the mate and bo’sun upon the wasters. their lives were indeed made a burden to them, and doubtless in the eyes of all the others they deserved it, but landsfolk should be able to spare a grain or two of pity for them, seeing that they had never before realised the difference between a tramp steamer and a sailing ship.
as a plain fact, nobody on board could boast of having much of a good time during the first fortnight of the thurifer’s voyage. nothing but sheer seamanship and dogged determination on the part of the skipper and mate brought her through gale after gale, which rose up against her, and tried to drive her back. so severe was the strain and the stress of iron discipline introduced by the skipper that christmas passed unnoticed in the midst of the hard work of sail-handling and working up of the greenhorns, only the very slightest addition[311] being made to the grub served out, and the very word christmas being unmentioned in the after part of the ship.
and yet i feel sure that this iron time did frank and the second mate good. it brought out all that was best in them, and the terrific training stiffened their muscles. also, though they received no word of kindness or praise for the splendid manner in which they rose to the occasion, they got no active persecution, their services were far too valuable for that. and as frank felt day by day that every boy in the half-deck was looking to him as their leader, he felt more and more of the bone and sinew of manhood developing within him, and a fine pride in himself came to help him live his life as it should be lived in spite of all drawbacks.
and then came the fine weather with its opportunities for the skipper and mate to work up the wastrels, an operation conducted with the utmost ruthlessness as regards their work, although being under the english flag there was no downright cruelty such as would have been dealt out unstintedly in an american vessel. but the effect of this working was most severe upon frank. he was now recognised as third mate tacitly, although never called “mr.” or “sir,” and had to supervise the work which his watch were driven to do all day long, for except the good hands, no one forward had any watch below. and the bo’sun’s services were far too valuable in the direction of the rigger work to make him just an overseer of labourers.
[312]so frank got no watch below in the daytime, he got no word of pleasant intercourse from anybody, the men he was compelled to drive hated him with a most virulent hatred, and he was fast degenerating into a mere machine. worst of all for himself, he felt he got no opportunity at all to practise his navigation or add to his studies, and felt that all he had learnt in the past was slipping away from him. there was another point which he hardly admitted to himself, it seemed like some grim spectre threatening him; he was actually beginning to dislike his profession, which so short a time ago had seemed the one thing in the world to him.
mr. wilson, the second mate, was also in parlous case, even worse than frank, for he had no such deep and enduring love of the sea as frank had to console him. but having worked his way so painfully upward as far as his present position, it was a bitter reflection to him that he was in the hands of a man who not only had it in his power to destroy his career, but would do this diabolical act without compunction. there are occasions, of course, when to stop a man from going farther in so responsible a life as that of a sea-officer becomes a positive duty to a conscientious man; but when some infernal kink in the brain leads the man in power to abuse that power for the purpose of destroying the career of his junior, who with a little encouragement would become an entirely estimable officer, no words of mine could convey the horror and detestation that i feel at such an act. most happily, with the passing[313] away of the sailing ship that vile abuse of opportunity is becoming less and less frequent in its incidence, and i hope will soon finally disappear.
under the incessant grind and constant supervision of the skipper, who, if he spared nobody on board, certainly did not spare himself, the noble thurifer gradually worked down to the region of the “roaring forties” without any mishap, and this with a crew so drilled that the majority of them could not knot a ropeyarn, and could not go aloft and do something else besides hang on when they got there. it was a triumph, and captain forrest’s grim face showed that he realised it to the full as he strode to and fro on his spacious quarter-deck, nothing escaping his keen eye. yet it was strange that with these splendid qualities so manifest in him he could not, or would not, recognise merit in others, for even his chief officer and coadjutor was never admitted to any terms of intimacy with him. he apparently preferred to reign alone, unbendingly, an absolute monarch, who was self-satisfied, self-contained, self-centred, who could command, and did so supremely well, but had wilfully and deliberately crushed out of himself all the finer feelings of humanity, and apparently would have subjected all who came under him to the same stern rule of a loveless life.
