it was a sharp squall that suddenly struck the guardian-mother, heeling her over so that everything movable on her decks or below went over to the lee side, and sending no small quantity of salt water over her pilot-house. it had begun to be what the ladies called rough some hours before; and with them captain ringgold's reputation as a prophet was in peril, for he had predicted a smooth sea all the way to bombay.
the blanche, the steam-yacht of general noury, which was only a trifle larger than the guardian-mother, rolled even more. she was following the latter, and seemed to be of about equal speed, though no trial had been made between them. miss blanche and louis had retreated to a dryer place than the promenade when the shower of spray broke over the pilot-house upon them, leaving the commander and mr. scott there.
captain ringgold frowned as he looked out on the uneasy waves, for the squall appeared to be a surprise to him; but it proved to be more than a white squall, which may come out of a clear sky, while with a black one the sky is wholly or partly covered with dark clouds. it continued to blow very fresh, and the commotion in the elements amounted to nothing less than a smart gale.
"this is uncommon in the region of the north-east monsoons," said the commander, who was planking the promenade deck with scott. "during january and february the wind is set down as moderate in these waters. i have made two runs from cape of good hope to bombay, and we had quiet seas from the latitude of cape comorin to our destination both times; and i expected the same thing at this season of the year on this voyage."
the captain was evidently vexed and annoyed at the failure of his prediction, though squalls were liable to occur in any locality; but the present rough weather had begun to look like a gale which might continue for several days. the north-east monsoons were what he had a right to expect; but the gale came up from the south south-west. the commander appeared to be so much disturbed, that the young officer did not venture to say anything for the next half-hour, though he continued to walk at his side.
at the end of this time the commander descended to his cabin, inviting scott to go with him. on the great table was spread out the large chart of the indian ocean. from aden to bombay he had drawn a red line, indicating the course, east by north a quarter north, which was the course on which the steamer was sailing.
"have you the blue book that comes with this chart, captain ringgold?" asked scott, rather timidly, as though he had something on his mind which he did not care to present too abruptly; for the commander was about the biggest man on earth to him.
"this chart is an old one, as you may see by the looks of it and the courses marked on it from the cape of good hope," replied the captain, looking at the young officer, to fathom his meaning. "i put all my charts on board of the guardian-mother when we sailed for bermuda the first time. if i ever had the blue book of which you speak, i haven't it now; and i forget all about it."
"i bought that chart at aden the first day we were there, when i expected to navigate the maud to bombay; and with it came the blue book, which treats mainly of winds, weather, and currents," added scott. "i studied it with reference to this voyage, and i found a paragraph which interested me. i will go to my state-room for the book, if you will permit me to read about ten lines from it to you."
the captain did not object, and scott soon returned to the commander's cabin with the book. the autocrat of the ship was plainly dissatisfied with himself at the failure of his prediction for fine weather, and perhaps he feared that the ambitious young officer intended to instruct him in regard to the situation, though scott had conducted himself in the most modest and inoffensive manner.
"i don't wish to be intrusive, captain ringgold, but i thought it was possible that you had forgotten this paragraph," said the young officer, with abundant deference in his tone and manner.
"probably i never saw it; but read it, mr. scott," replied the commander.
"the weather is generally fine, and the sky clear, with neither squall nor rain, except between ras seger and the island of masira,'" scott began to read, when the commander interrupted him, and fixed his gaze on the chart, to find the localities mentioned.
"ras sajer," said the captain, placing the point of his pencil on the cape whose name he read. "that must be the one you mention."
"no doubt of it, sir; and i have noticed that the spelling on the chart and in the books doesn't agree at all. the island is massera on my chart."
"they mean the same locality. go on, mr. scott," added the captain.
"'and the vicinity of the bay of kuriyan muriyan, where the winds and weather are more boisterous and variable than on any other part of the coast,'" continued scott.
"where is that bay?" asked the commander.
"it is between the two points mentioned before; but it is kuria muria on the chart;" and the captain had the point of his pencil on it by this time.
"we are within three hours' sail of the longitude of that bay, but a hundred and fifty miles south of it," said the commander. "the information in the book is quite correct. is there anything more about it?"
"yes, sir; a few lines more, and i will read them: 'respecting kuriyan muriyan bay, captain s.b. haines, i.n., remarks that the sudden change of winds, termed by the arabs belat, and which blow with great violence for several days, are much dreaded; but what surprised me more than these land winds were the frequent and heavy gales from the s.s.w. during february and march, blowing for six days together.'"
"this gale, for such it appears to be, instead of a mere squall, as i supposed it was at first, has come before it was due by a few days; but it proves that what you have read is entirely correct," said the commander. "my two voyages in the arabian sea took me twenty degrees east of this point, and therefore i had nothing but quiet water. but, mr. scott, you have put an old navigator into the shade, and i commend you for the care and skill with which you had prepared yourself for the voyage of the maud to bengal."
"i protest that it was only an accident that i happened on that paragraph!" exclaimed scott, blushing under his browned face.
"you found what you were looking for, and that was no accident. i feel that i have added an excellent young officer to the number of my officers," added captain ringgold.
"i thank you, sir, with all my heart; but may i ask one favor of you?" inquired the third officer.
"name it, and i will grant it if possible."
"i earnestly request that you do not mention this little matter to any person on board of the ship."
the commander of the guardian-mother was an honest and just man, and he was disposed to give credit to any one who deserved it, even at his own expense, and he looked at the young officer in silence for some moments. then they argued the question for a time; but the captain finally granted the new officer's request, praising him for his modesty, which was rather a newly developed virtue in his character.
the steamer continued to roll violently when louis assisted miss blanche down the stairs to the main cabin. the dozen passengers who had not gone on deck after luncheon were in excellent humor, for all of them were experienced sailors by this time, and beyond the discomforts of seasickness. all of them held the commander in such high respect and regard, that not one of them mentioned the failure of his prediction of fine weather for the next five or six days. perhaps all of them wondered, for the captain's predictions before had been almost invariably verified; but not one of them spoke of his missing it in this instance.
the gale continued the rest of the day and during the night. when the morning watch came on duty at four o'clock, captain ringgold was pacing the promenade deck, peering through the darkness, and observing the huge waves that occasionally washed the upper deck. he had not slept a wink during the night, though he had reclined an hour on the divan in the pilot-house. he was not alarmed for the safety of his ship, but he looked out for her very carefully in heavy weather.
he was particularly interested in the conduct of the blanche. she had taken a position to windward of the guardian-mother, and appeared to be doing quite as well in the heavy sea as her consort. she had been built with all the strength and solidity that money could buy; and she was as handsome a craft as ever floated, not even excepting her present companion on the stormy sea, and she was proving herself to be an able sea-boat.
"good-morning, mr. scott," said the commander, as the young officer touched his cap to him.
scott had been temporarily placed in the watch with the first officer, and his post of duty was at the after part of the ship.
"good-morning, captain ringgold," replied scott, as he halted to ascertain if the commander had any orders for him. "the gale does not appear to have moderated since i turned in, sir."
"on the contrary, it blows fresher than ever. i did not expect such a nasty time as we are having of it," added the commander.
"according to captain haines of the indian navy, we may expect it to last five days longer, for we have had nearly one day of it."
"not quite so bad as that, mr. scott. if we had stayed in the vicinity of kuria muria bay, we might have got five days more of it; but this is a local storm, and we shall doubtless run out of it in a day or two at most, and come again into the region of the north-east monsoon."
"i hope so for the sake of those in the cabin; and i did not think of the local feature you mention."
"the deck is well officered now," added the captain with a gape, "and i will take a nap in my cabin for an hour or two. mr. boulong will have me called if the storm gets any worse."
the commander went to his cabin, and scott walked aft to the compass abaft the mainmast. the binnacle was lighted, and he looked into it. the course was all right, though the ship yawed a good deal in the trough of the sea, the gale pelting her squarely on the beam. though it was not an easy thing even for a thorough seaman to preserve his centre of gravity, the young officer made his way fore and aft with the aid of the life-lines which had been extended the evening before. he watched the motions of the blanche, for there was nothing else to be seen but the waste of angry waters.
far ahead the light of the breaking day began to penetrate the gloomy black clouds. it was a pleasure to come out of the deep darkness, and he observed with interest the increase of the light. while he was watching the east, the lookout man in the foretop hailed the deck. he listened and moved forward to the foremast to hear what passed between him and the first officer.
"steamer on the port bow, sir!" reported the man aloft.
scott saw the vessel, but she was too far off to be made out. she passed and disappeared; but about the moment he lost sight of her, he thought he heard the report of a musket, or some other firearm, to the northward of the ship. he listened with all his ears, and then distinguished very faintly shouts from human voices. he waited only long enough to satisfy himself that he had not mistaken the roar of the sea for calls for help, and then went forward to the pilot-house, where he announced that he had heard the shots and the cries.
"are you sure of it, mr. scott?" asked the first officer.
"very sure, sir."
"we have heard nothing, and the lookouts have not reported anything," added mr. boulong.
"on deck, sir! wreck on the port beam!" yelled the lookout aloft.
"call the captain, mr. scott," said the first officer, as he went out on deck.
he made out the ominous sounds, and judged that they came from a point not more than a mile distant. the commander and scott appeared immediately; and with the increased daylight they discovered several men clinging to what appeared to be a wreck.
