appearing on deck, archy is severely reprimanded by the captain, a strict, yet a kind and religious man—his first sunday at sea—among the icebergs and ice—capture of a whale.
archy hughson felt very weak and very wretched. the ship had for some hours been tumbling fearfully about, so it seemed to him, now pitching into the seas, which struck her stout bows with heavy blows, now rolling from side to side. he knew that a strong gale was blowing, and he could not help dreading that the casks might break loose, and come down upon him. he longed to escape from his prison, and began to think that max must have forgotten him altogether. at length he again fell asleep. he was awakened by three heavy knocks above his head, max’s promised signal. he waited the time agreed on, and then began to crawl out, and grope his way upwards. at last he saw daylight above him, and scrambling along, he reached the foot of a ladder. climbing up with uncomfortable feelings at his heart as to the reception he might meet with, he gained the upper deck.
the first person he encountered was an old man with weather-beaten features, but a kind expression of countenance, andrew scollay by name, a boat-steerer, who was at that moment about to descend.
“why, lad, where do you come from?” asked old andrew, putting his hand on the boy’s shoulder.
“i wanted to come to sea; so i hid myself away,” answered archy. “i hope i have not done wrong.”
“you have not done right, boy, or you would not have needed to hide yourself away,” said andrew, scanning his features. “i think i have seen you before. what is your name?”
archy told him.
“what, widow hughson’s son? oh, boy, boy, you have acted a cruel part towards your poor mother. anyhow, i would we had found you out two days ago. however, come along with me to the captain—you’ll hear what he has to say.”
andrew led archy aft, where captain irvine was standing, and explained in a few words what he knew of him. captain irvine, looking sternly at him, inquired how he had managed to conceal himself so long on board? on that point archy gave a truthful reply.
“how did you know you could find a place where you could hide yourself?” asked the captain.
“i have often before been on board whalers, and knew how the casks were stowed,” answered archy, hoping that he should avoid further questions which might implicate max inkster.
“you are deserving of severe punishment for coming on board without my leave,” said the captain. “i must consider how i shall treat you. if we fall in with a homeward-bound ship, i shall put you on board. if not, see how you behave yourself. had your mother asked me to take you i would have done so, and you would have come in for a share of profits; but you have done more wrong to her than you have to me; and though i might flog you, as you deserve, i shall let your own conscience punish you. i hope you have got one, which will make you mourn for your fault. now go for’ard. you must not eat the bread of idleness, and mr scollay will put you to some work or other. i must speak to you again about this, and let me see, as you have chosen to come on board, that you do your best to learn your duty.”
archy’s conscience was not aroused. he went forward, well pleased at having, as he thought, got off so cheaply; yet he did not feel at his ease. he looked, indeed, very pale and sick, and miserable. old andrew’s kind heart was touched, as he remarked his woe-begone appearance. he took him below, and got the steward to give him some food. he then sent him to wash himself.
“i must see about rigging you out,” he said. “the clothes you have on are not fit for the work you will have to do.”
archy felt grateful to old andrew, and thanked him warmly.
“don’t speak about that, boy,” remarked andrew. “it’s not that you deserve what i may do for you; but you are poor, and helpless, and wretched, and that’s just the state man was in when christ came down from heaven to help him; and so i have a notion that it becomes his disciples, who desire to be like him, to assist the helpless and miserable.”
the crew generally did not treat archy as kindly as old andrew had done. they attacked him, as soon as he got among them, with all sorts of questions, laughing and jeering at his folly. no one laughed at him more than max inkster. archy felt inclined to retort, but he remembered his promise to max, and gave him no sign of recognition, he was treated as one of the ship’s boys, and was put to do all sorts of drudgery and dirty work. often and often he wished that he had remained at home, to look after his mother’s farm, and help maggie in attending to her.
several days passed by—archy was beginning to find himself at home among the crew—max at length spoke to him as if to a stranger.
“we must make a sailor of you, boy, as you have chosen to come to sea,” he said, when the order had just been given to reef topsails. “lay out on the yard with me, and i’ll show you what to do.”
archy had several times been aloft, but had never assisted in reefing. he now followed max up the rigging. there was a heavy sea running, and the ship was pitching violently.
“now, don’t be afraid—come out on the yard,” said max. “there—lean over, and catch hold of those reef points. cling tight though, with your knees and elbows, or you will pitch down on deck, and have your brains dashed out.”
archy did as he was bid. he felt very nervous, though, and was thankful when he was safe off the yard. it was coming on to blow harder and harder, and the canvas was still further reduced. max did not again invite him to go aloft—none but practised seamen could have ventured on the yards. at length, all the canvas was taken off the ship, except a close-reefed main-topsail, when the helm was put down, and she was hove-to. the wind whistled shrilly through the bare poles and rigging. it was blowing a perfect hurricane. all around appeared mountains of heaving water, each succeeding sea threatening to swallow up the labouring ship. archy was surprised at the calmness of the officers and crew, when he expected every moment that one of those tremendous seas would come on board, and send the ship to the bottom. he wished that he could pray, as his mother had taught him to do, but he dared not; yet he trembled at the thought of what would happen.
night came on—the gale seemed to increase. he, with all except the watch on deck, had gone below.
“what, lad, art afraid?” asked max, who observed his pale countenance. “you thought a life at sea was all sunshine and calm.”
“i have found out what it is, and i wish that i had not been fool enough to come,” answered archy, with some bitterness.
max laughed. “many a lad thinks like you,” he said. “they get accustomed to it, and so must you, though the training is not pleasant, i’ll allow.”
while max was speaking, a tremendous blow was felt, as if the ship had struck a rock, and then came a sound of rending and crashing timbers, while the water rushed down the hatchway.
“the ship’s on her beam ends,” cried several voices, and all hands sprang on deck. archy followed. a scene of wreck and destruction met his sight. the sea had swept over the ship, carrying away the staunchions, bulwarks, and rails, the binnacle, and the chief portion of the wheel. a fearful shriek reached his ears, and he caught sight for an instant of a man clinging to the binnacle. no help could be afforded him—the poor fellow knew that too well; still he clung to life; but in a few seconds a sea washed over him and he disappeared.
the captain was on deck, calmly issuing his orders,—the crew flew to obey them, while archy clung to the main-mast, expecting every moment to be his last. things were at length put to rights; spare spars were lashed to the remaining staunchions—life lines were stretched along the deck, fore and aft. the names of the crew were then called over—two did not answer, another, it was found, had unseen been carried to his dread account.
the next day was the sabbath. the gale had moderated, and the ship was again put on her course. on that day the captain invariably invited all not on duty to assemble for service in his cabin; max and a few others generally made excuses for not attending. the captain took this occasion to speak of the uncertainty of human life.
“the fate of our shipmates may be that of any one of us, my lads,” he observed. “i do not ask how they were prepared to meet their god, but how are you prepared? even if you are living pure and blameless lives, have you made peace with tim according to the only way he has offered to reconcile you to himself? have you a living faith in the atoning blood of jesus shed for you? he wishes you to be reconciled to him, and he has offered to you the easiest and simplest way, the only way by which you can be so. remember, ‘now is the accepted time,’ ‘now is the day of salvation.’ it is god tells you this. if you put off that day it may be too late—for he says nothing about to-morrow. some of you may say that you lead hard lives, have little enjoyment, and much suffering, and that that must satisfy god and give you a right to heaven. god does not tell you that; but he says, ‘believe on the lord jesus christ, and thou shalt be saved. he that believeth not is condemned.’ oh lads, if you knew of the love of jesus for you, and how he longs for you all to be saved, you could not stand aloof from him as you do, and try to keep him out of your thoughts, and do nothing to please or serve him. i speak to young and old, for he loves the youngest boy on board here as well as the oldest, and his blood, which cleanseth from all sin, will wash away the sins of the greatest criminal as completely as it will cleanse the most harmless youngster, though he, too, needs to be washed as much as the other.” such was the substance of captain irvine’s discourse on the sunday after the storm. archy had attended, and the words were continually haunting him. max, as usual, had kept away.
“i wonder you can stand that sort of thing,” he said to archy, when he next met him. “i have no fancy for those discourses of the skipper; but if you want to curry favour with him, by all means go, just as old andrew and dr sinclair, and some others do. they have prayers with him every morning in his cabin. you will not turn psalm-singer, i hope, lad.”
“i don’t suppose i shall,” answered archy. “but still i should not like to be washed overboard, as bill and ned were the other night.”
“as to that, you must run your chance as others do,” answered max. “i don’t let such things trouble me.”
archy could not help letting them trouble him, though.
the next day the whole crew were busily employed in getting the whale boats ready and the gear fitted. there were seven boats in all—three slung to the davits on each side, and one over the stern, with a harpooner to each. the whale lines were spliced and coiled away in the stern of the boats; the harpoons were spanned, that is, fastened to the ends of the lines, and various articles were stowed away in the boats, so that they were all ready to be lowered, and to shove off at a moment’s notice, should a whale appear. the crow’s-nest was also got up to the main topgallant mast-head. it is like a tall cask with a seat in it, where the officer can take his station and look out far and wide over the ocean to watch for the spouting of the monsters of the deep.
next morning, when archy went on deck, he saw at no great distance from the ship a vast white towering mass, glittering like alabaster in the rays of the sun. at the lower part were projecting points and curious arches, and a deep cavern, with numberless columns and long icicles hanging from the roof, while the summit was crowned with pinnacles and towers of every possible shape. from the higher points, as the ice melted under the rays of the hot sun, came down two or three tiny cascades of bright water, leaping from ledge to ledge till they fell with a splash into the calm ocean.
archy had often heard of icebergs, but he had formed little conception of what they really were. he stood gazing at it for some minutes, lost in wonder.
“well, boy, what do you think of it?” asked andrew scollay, who was passing at the time.
“it’s very wonderful,” said archy.
“all god’s works are wonderful,” observed old andrew. “you will see thousands of such bergs as this where we are going, all formed by god’s will, just as he forms everything else in the world; and yet if all the kings of the earth and their people were to try and build up one like them, they could not succeed. now, archy, i put it to you, whether it is not wise to try and be friends with such a god—to know that you are under his care and protection, instead of disobeying him and daring his power? the time may come before long when you will feel how helpless you are to take care of yourself, boy. i have seen stout ships crushed in a moment between masses of ice, as if they had been made of paper, and once i saw one of those large bergs come down and overwhelm a passing ship, not a soul on board escaping. ay, and i have known numbers of poor fellows, when their ships have gone done, wandering over the ice till they have been frozen or starved to death. i don’t tell you these things to frighten you, but that you may learn to put your trust in god. the person who truly trusts him is never frightened. it is a blessed thing to know that he cares for us.”
archy was unable to make any reply; but the old man’s words were not forgotten.
the next day many more icebergs were seen, and as the ship passed near some of them, archy could not help dreading that they might topple over and carry her and all on board to the bottom.
in a short time the ship made the ice. as far as the eye could reach, the whole ocean was covered with broken sheets of ice,—some several miles in extent, others of smaller size, which the seamen called floes,—huge icebergs towering up among them. the ship sailed along the edge of a large floe for some distance, till an opening appearing, her head was pointed towards it. she entered and sailed onwards for a considerable distance, the water being as smooth as in the most sheltered harbour. the captain, or an officer, was continually stationed in the crow’s-nest to look out for the widest openings. into these she forced her way, now and then being impeded by pieces of ice, against which her bow was driven to turn them aside. at length, after running through a narrow passage, her further progress was stopped by a sheet of ice through which she could not force her way, while beyond the water appeared perfectly open. the sails were furled; the ice-saws got out, and the crew commenced sawing out large blocks, so as to form a passage towards the open water. the work was very laborious; for, in addition to the operation of sawing, each block had to be towed out into the wider channel. at length a canal was formed, and the ship glided through it. once more the sails were set and she steered to the northward. again, however, she had to encounter similar obstructions. still the captain pushed on, eager to get to a part of the bay where whales were plentiful. generally there was a breeze, and she made good progress through the open water, but sometimes she lay becalmed, with her sails hanging against the masts. all the time a sharp look out was kept for whales, but hitherto, although a few had been seen, the wary monsters had escaped the harpoons of their pursuers.
at that season, in those northern regions, when the sun but just sinks below the horizon ere it rises again, night and day are much alike.
archy, with the watch below, had turned in. he was awakened by a loud stamping on the deck, and the cry of “a fall, a fall.” the men rushed up on deck, carrying their clothes with them, and dressing as they went. instantly running to the boats, they began to lower them. in the distance was a boat with a flag flying, a signal that a whale had been struck, and was fast. the boats shoved off, and away they went at a rapid rate to the assistance of their friends. the monster soon appeared on the surface. the boats pulled towards it, and numberless lances were darted at its body. again it sounded, to reappear shortly still closer to the ship. once more the boats dashed on—the water around the animal was dyed red with blood, mixed with oil, which issued from its wounds and blow-holes. the boats again drew near, and more lances were hurled at it. suddenly the creature reared its tail high in the air, whirling it round with a loud noise, which reached the ship. at the same moment the nearest boat was thrown upwards several feet, while the crew were sent flying on every side into the water, the boat itself being reduced to a mass of wreck. their companions went forward to rescue the drowning men, who were seen to be hauled into the boats; but whether any had perished could not be discovered by those who, with archy, were eagerly watching what was taking place, from the deck of the ship. directly afterwards the whale rolled over on its side, and remained perfectly quiet. the flag was lowered, and the men, standing up in the boats, gave three loud huzzas, which were echoed by those on board. two holes being made in the tail of the whale, ropes were passed through them, which being made fast to the boats, they towed their prize in triumph to the ship. the animal now being secured alongside, the process of flensing or cutting off the blubber commenced. tackles were rigged with hooks, which were fixed in the blubber. this was cut by means of spades, and the tackle being worked by a windlass, as the blubber was cut off in long strips, it was hoisted on board. here it was cut into pieces, and stowed in casks in the hold. thus, as the whale was turned round and round, the blubber was stripped off, till the whole coat was removed. the whalebone, of which the gills are formed, being then extracted, the carcase was cast adrift, when it was seen to be surrounded by vast numbers of fish and wild sea-birds, coming from all directions to banquet on the remaining flesh. the operation, which lasted five hours, being concluded, the crew were piped to supper.
“there, archy, you have seen our first whale killed,” observed max. “i hope we shall have many more before long, and soon be back home again; and if you are tired of the life, you can go on shore and look after your mother’s farm.”
