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For Treasure Bound

<h3>Chapter Twelve.</h3> <h4>The Wreck of the “Copernicus.”</h4> At eight o’clock next morning, nothing having occurred during the night worthy of record, we went about and stood away about north-east on the starboard tack. The wind continued fresh, but steady, and we averaged quite thirteen knots during the whole of the next twenty-four hours. Having carried out our plan for eluding the brig, and being by this time well to windward of the spot where we parted company with her, I considered we might now with safety bear away upon our course, which we accordingly did directly after breakfast, setting our balloon gaff-topsail once more, and getting the spinnaker to the bowsprit-end again. This additional canvas had the effect of increasing our speed to fully sixteen knots; and the alteration of our course produced a corresponding and very agreeable change in the motion of the yacht; the quick jerky plunge of a vessel digging into a head-sea being exchanged for a long easy swinging roll, which was far more conducive to comfort, especially as we now enjoyed the added luxury of a dry deck. Three days passed utterly devoid of incident, except that the wind gradually hauled far enough aft to enable us to shift our spinnaker from the bowsprit-end to the starboard side; and once more we were flying along upon our course with the wind nearly dead fair, and every stitch of canvas spread that we had the means of packing upon the little craft. With our low hull, we must have presented the appearance of a snow-white pyramid, gliding, unsupported, over the surface of the ocean. On the morning of the fourth day, as I came upon deck at seven-bells to relieve Bob, whilst he looked after breakfast, the old fellow said, “Here, Harry, your eyes are younger than mine; what d’ye make this out to be away here broad upon our starboard-bow?” I looked in the direction indicated, and saw what appeared to be the stumps of three spars just showing above the horizon. I took the glass, and went aloft as far as the cross-trees, and from that “coign of ’vantage” made out that they were the lower-masts of a full-rigged ship of considerable size; for I could see the three lower yards with long streamers of canvas fluttering from them. The topmasts were carried away close to the caps and hung over the side, with topgallant-masts, yards, sails, etcetera, still attached, a great tangled mass of wreck. There was no signal of distress flying on board, so far as I could see, so I concluded that the vessel was derelict; but as it would not take us very much out of our way, and as we were in no great hurry, I resolved to haul up and take a nearer look at her. Accordingly, having advised Bob of what I had seen and of my intention, we took in the spinnaker and gaff-topsail, lowered the topmast, and then hauled up for the stranger. An hour afterwards we were near enough to make out that she was a most beautiful craft of about eighteen hundred tons register, with very little the matter with her apparently, except that she had been dismasted, doubtless in some sudden squall. We saw but one boat at her davits, and that was the one at her starboard quarter, which bad been smashed completely in two by the wreck of the mizzen-topmast in its fall; we therefore concluded that the crew, seized by an unaccountable panic, had left her. We were within a quarter of a mile of the vessel, when a solitary figure, that of a female, appeared upon her lofty poop. She no sooner saw us approaching than she waved her handkerchief to us vehemently, to which we responded by waving our hats; when, seeing that her signal had been observed, she sank down upon the lid of the skylight, and seemed to give way to a violent flood of tears. “Why, — me if it don’t look as if the mean cowardly crew have been and desarted the poor thing,” exclaimed Bob with unusual vehemence, as we noticed that the figure never moved as though to direct the attention of others to our approach. “It looks very like it,” I replied; “but we shall soon see. It will be an awkward matter to board, however, with all that wreck dangling about to leeward. Stand by to ease the jib-sheet up, as I put the helm down.” Another minute, and we were hove-to on the ship’s lee quarter, as near as we dared approach. The young girl (for such we now saw her to be) had by this time so far recovered her composure as to rise up once more and approach the lee-side of the deck. Taking off my hat, and making my best bow, I hailed: “Are you all alone on board there?” “Yes, oh yes,” she replied, in the sweetest voice I had ever heard; “I have been quite alone for more than a week. Pray, pray do not go away and leave me again, sir. I have been nearly mad, and I shall die if I remain alone here much longer.” “Make your mind quite easy, my dear young lady,” I replied; “we certainly will not leave you, come what may. But it will be very difficult for us to get on board, with those spars swaying about; and the attempt to do so may occupy much time. But do not suffer the slightest apprehension; we will get you off the wreck somehow, never fear. After all,” I remarked, half to her and half to Bob, “I believe the quickest way out of the difficulty will be for me to jump overboard and swim alongside; there are plenty of ropes-ends hanging over the side to help me on board.” “Oh no, sir!” she exclaimed eagerly; “indeed you must do nothing of the kind. There is an immense shark down there,” pointing under the counter; “he has scarcely left the ship a moment since the sailors went away.” This was awkward. There seemed no chance of being able to get on board to leeward, the whole of the ship’s starboard side being completely encumbered with wreck; and there was far too much sea to permit of our running alongside to windward. I took a careful glance at the gear aloft, and then made up my mind what to do. The ship’s fore-yard was lying nearly square, the yard-arms projecting several feet beyond the ship’s sides, and I decided to board, by means of the fore-brace, to windward. I hailed the young girl, telling her what to do to assist me, and then set about making preparations for leaving the Water Lily in Bob’s sole charge for a while. We took a double reef in the mainsail, and took the jib in altogether, running in the jib-boom also. This placed the craft under handy canvas for one man to work, and, at the same time, prevented the possibility of the jib-boom being carried away. We also got our cork-fenders upon deck, in case of unavoidably dropping alongside, and were then ready to make the proposed experiment. The young girl had, meantime, made the lee fore-brace fast, and had then gone over to windward and cast off the running part of the weather-brace, which she threw overboard. I now hailed again, telling her what we were about to do, and then signed to Bob to put the helm up. The cutter fell off until she was dead before the wind, when we gibed her and hauled again to the wind on the starboard tack, so as to cross the ship’s stern at a sufficient distance to insure the success of our contemplated manoeuvre. Bob was a splendid helmsman, or I should have hesitated about attempting the feat we were now going to put in practice, as the slightest nervousness or want of tact on his part would have resulted in very serious damage to the Lily, if it did not actually cause her total destruction. But I had full confidence in his skill; and, moreover, was there not a woman to be rescued from a position which might at any moment become one of the most imminent peril, even if it were not so already? So, as soon as we were far enough to windward, I signed to Bob to put down the helm, and round the little craft came like a top, and away we flew down towards the ship’s weather-side, going well free, but with the sheets flattened in, all ready to luff and claw off to windward the moment I had got hold of the brace. Down we swept direct for the ship’s weather-quarter, the fair girl standing again upon the poop and watching our motions with the most overwhelming anxiety. At exactly the right instant, Bob eased his helm gently down, and the cutter shot along the ship’s lofty side within ten feet of it. I stood just forward of the rigging, ready to seize the brace the moment it came within reach, and in another instant I had it. Shouting to Bob to luff, I swung myself off into the air, and made the best of my way aloft hand over hand. It had been my original intention to ascend to the yard-arm, and, laying in from thence, descend the fore-rigging to the deck; but, pausing for a moment, in my anxiety to see whether Bob would scrape clear—which he very cleverly did, having kept good way on the boat—I found that, aided by the roll of the vessel, I might easily swing myself in upon her rail. This I soon managed, landing upon the deck to find myself confronted by the most lovely little creature you can imagine, who extended both her hands impulsively to me as she exclaimed: “Oh, welcome, sir, welcome! and a thousand thousand thanks for coming to my help! and at such danger too! How can I ever repay you?” “I am more than repaid already,” replied I, “for the very slight trouble I have taken, by the happiness of finding it in my power to rescue you from your present situation. The first thing to be done,” I continued, “is to provide for the safety of my little craft, after which we shall have ample time, I hope, to make suitable arrangements for transferring you on board her. Ah! a lucky thought,” continued I, as I saw the sounding-rod and line attached to the fife-rail, “let us see what water the craft has in her.” I sounded, and found there was barely two feet of water in the hold, so it was evident that the vessel was perfectly tight and seaworthy, except as to the damage aloft Bob had by this time passed ahead and to leeward, and was now approaching on our lee quarter once more. I waited until he was within hail, and then told him to heave-to well clear of the ship, as I proposed to cut adrift all the wreck, a task which I thought I could manage without very much difficulty, and which, when done, would enable the Water Lily to come alongside to leeward. He waved his hand in reply, and the fore-sheet being already to windward, he left the cutter to take care of herself, while he seated himself composedly in a deck-chair to smoke his pipe and watch my proceedings. I soon found a tomahawk, and, armed with this, I went up the mizzen-rigging, intending to work my way forward. It was hard work single-handed; but by noon I had succeeded in clearing the whole mass away, and the ship soon drifted free of it, leaving her upper spars a confused floating mass upon the water. As soon as this was done, I got an eight-inch hawser off the top of the house forward, and managed with considerable labour to get it coiled down afresh upon the poop. I then bent on a heaving-line to one end of the hawser, which, by this means, I got to the cutter, when we moored her securely astern of the ship. Bob then came on board up a rope which I had lashed to the mizzen boom-end for his accommodation; and we found time to look around us. As soon as our fair hostess saw me fairly at work upon the wreck aloft, she had betaken herself to the galley; and I saw her from time to time, during the intervals of my labour, busying herself in sundry culinary operations; and she now came upon the poop where Bob and I were standing, and announced that dinner was ready, adding, “And I am sure you must stand in need of it after your hard morning’s work.” I thanked her and said, “But before we go below, permit me to introduce myself. My name,” raising my hat and bowing, “is Henry Collingwood, and I am the owner of the small craft now hanging on astern. This,” indicating Bob, who took off his hat and made a most elaborate “scrape,” “is my friend and well-tried shipmate, Robert Trunnion, who, with myself, will do all we can to make you comfortable on board the cutter, and will stand by you to the death if need be, until we have placed you in perfect safety.” The fair girl seemed much affected by my speech, but bowing most gracefully in return, she said, “And my name is Ella Brand. I have been left alone in this ship by what I cannot but believe was a dreadful mistake, and I accept your hospitality and help as frankly as you have offered it. And now, gentlemen, that we are properly introduced,” with a gay laugh, “permit me to conduct you to the cabin. Come, pussy.” This last invitation was bestowed upon a pretty little playful kitten which had been following the girl about the ship all the morning. When we entered the cabin, which, as is the case in most large ships, was on deck, we found a most sumptuous meal prepared. Whatever other dangers the little fairy might have been exposed to, it was quite evident that Miss Brand had been in no immediate danger of starving. Like a sensible girl, she had obtained access to the ship’s stores, and was evidently well acquainted with the most approved methods of preparing food for human consumption. The meal was a thoroughly pleasant one, for we were all happy; she, that assistance had come to her, and we, that it had been our good fortune to bestow it. Whilst sitting at table the sweet little creature gave us her history, and recounted the circumstances which had placed her in her present position; but as there was nothing very remarkable in either, I shall give both in a condensed form, as I have a most wholesome dread of wearying my readers. She told us that she was an only child, and that for the last ten years she had been a resident in Canton, whither her father had proceeded to take possession of a lucrative appointment. After a residence of five years there, her mother died; and her father, who was passionately attached to his wife, seemed never to have recovered from the blow. Five years more passed away, and the husband followed his fondly-loved companion, dying (so Ella asserted sobbingly) of no disease in particular, but of a gradual wasting away, the result, as she believed, of a slowly breaking heart. She thus found herself left alone and almost friendless in a strange land, and, after taking counsel with such friends as her father had made, she had, with their assistance, disposed of everything, and had taken passage in the Copernicus to London, in the faint hope of being able to find some friends of her mother’s of whom she had heard, but had never seen, her mother having contracted what is termed a mesalliance—in other words, a love-match with one whom her friends chose to consider infinitely beneath her in social position. The ship was bound home by way of Cape Horn, having to call at the Sandwich Islands and Buenos Ayres on her way; and all had gone well until eight days before, when, it appeared, the ship was struck by a sudden squall some time during the night, thrown on her beam-ends, and dismasted; and as Ella had remained, during the whole time, cowering and terrified in her berth, she supposed the crew had gone away in the boats, forgetting her in their hurry and panic. As soon as the squall was over, the ship had gradually righted again; and when she went on deck next morning, she found everything in a state of wreck and confusion. Dinner ended, Bob and I adjourned to the deck to make preparations for transferring our fair young guest to the Water Lily, so as to be fairly away from the wreck again before nightfall. As soon as we were out of the cabin, Bob observed: “I call the falling in with this here wrack,” (so he pronounced the word) “downright providential, Harry. Here we has, fust of all, the very great pleasure of being of sarvice to a most charming young ’oman; and next, we has a chance of filling up our stores and water—and not afore ’twas time, too, for I bethought me this morning of seeing how our tank stood, and I’m blest if we ain’t a’most at our last drop. It’s lucky there’s plenty of it aboard here. I sees more water-casks about the deck than will supply all as we wants; and I think our first job had better be to get the hose and pump under weigh, and fill up our water; a’ter which we can soon strike a few odds and ends into the cutter such as’ll be useful, and then the sooner we’re off the better.” We set to work with a will; and Ella coming on deck at the moment, I requested her to pack her boxes in readiness for sending them over the side, asking her, at the same time, whether it would take her long. She replied briskly, Oh, no; she had brought hardly anything with her—only three large boxes and one small one. Only! A chest apiece held Bob’s and my own stock of clothing, and we considered ourselves opulently supplied; and here was a young girl who had brought hardly anything with her—only such few trifles as she could stow away in three large boxes and one small one. The three large boxes, by the way, turned out to be considerably larger than either of our sea-chests, and the small one would have sufficed for a seaman on a three years’ voyage. We did not hesitate about helping ourselves freely to the best the ship afforded, judging that it was highly improbable she would ever reach a port, unless fallen in with and taken possession of by an exceptionally strong-handed vessel (and even then our petty appropriations would never be missed); and we laid in a liberal stock of dainties of various kinds, for the especial benefit of our lady passenger, which we should never have dreamed of taking on our own account. We also transferred one coop, with as many fowls as it would conveniently accommodate, to the cutter; and I made free with a very handsome swinging-cot which I found in the captain’s cabin, also for our passenger’s use, together with a good stock of bedding. All these we collected together on the lee-side of the deck; and when everything was ready, we got the cutter alongside, and, with considerable difficulty, got them over the side and down on her deck. Bob went on board the Water Lily to receive them and stow them away as I lowered them down, and at length all was ready, and it only remained to get Ella herself on board and shove off. We had less difficulty with her than I expected. She was rather nervous; but, nevertheless, she seated herself courageously with her beloved kitten in her lap, in the bo’sun’s chair I had rigged for her accommodation, and held on tight, shutting her eyes as she swung off the ship’s bulwarks, until she felt Bob’s brawny arms receive her on the deck of the cutter. I then quickly followed; the fasts were cast off, and we wore round and stood away once more upon our course, just as the sun dipped below the horizon. Our first task was to crowd all the canvas we could muster upon the yacht, to make up for the day’s delay; and when Ella came up from the cabin, whither she had gone upon an exploring expedition, she expressed the greatest surprise and a little alarm at the change we had wrought in the Water Lily’s appearance. She could not understand, she said, how so small a vessel could support such a towering spread of canvas as she now saw courting the fresh evening breeze. The presence of our fair guest on board made certain alterations necessary in the internal arrangements of the cutter, and I left Bob at the helm in animated conversation with Ella, whilst I went below to effect them. Our cooking-stove was shifted aft, and the whole of the fore-compartment was thus left free for the accommodation of the young lady; and I at once converted it into a sleeping apartment for her by swinging her cot there. I selected this part of the vessel for this purpose, as it was the only one in which she would be entirely uninterrupted by our passage to and fro; and it was a nice light and roomy apartment, in proportion to the size of the vessel, there being nothing in it, and having a large circular plate of very thick roughened plate-glass let into the deck above. Having made the place as comfortable as our resources permitted, I returned to the deck and relieved Bob at the tiller, desiring him to look, after the arrangements for tea. Our guest was sitting close by in one of our deck-chairs, which Bob had gallantly offered her, and hearing me speak of tea, and understanding that friend Robert was about to turn cook, she started up with child-like impetuosity and said, “That is my work now; come along, Mr Trunnion, and show me your pantry, and where you keep all your things, and I will soon have your tea ready for you.” I protested against this, as did Bob, both of us declaring that we could not possibly consent to her being troubled with the cooking or anything else; but she drew herself up in a pretty wilful way and said, “Not let me do the cooking? Indeed, but you must; I insist on it. Why, it is woman’s peculiar province to attend to the cooking always. Men never understand how to cook properly; they have neither tact nor patience for it. They dress food, but women cook it; and I will soon prove to you how great a difference there is between the two. Now you must let me have my own way just this once, please,” turning coaxingly to me, as she saw that I was about to make a further protest, and then, when I had reluctantly consented, she turned to Bob, and said, “Come along, Bob—Mr Trunnion, I mean; I really beg your pardon—you shall help me this time, and afterwards I shall know exactly where to find everything,” and the strangely-contrasted pair dived below, Bob grinning from ear to ear with delight at his novel situation. “Reminds me of little ‘sauce-box’” (my sister), “this do,” he murmured gleefully, as he followed his fair companion below. In rather over half an hour I was invited into the cabin to the evening meal, Bob taking my place at the tiller meanwhile; and when I descended I found that a change had indeed taken place in the aspect of culinary affairs. A snow-white table-cloth was spread, having been routed out from the deepest recesses of my chest, where it, in company with others, had lain in undisturbed repose since the commencement of the voyage, and upon it was spread a variety of dainties of various kinds, the produce of our raid upon the Copernicus’s provision lockers; and, of all things in the world, a plentiful supply of delicious little cakes, smoking hot, which Miss Ella’s own dainty hands had prepared. The tea, too, instead of being boiled in the kettle, as was our usual practice, had been prepared in accordance with the most approved rules, and was certainly a very different beverage from what we had been in the habit of drinking; and, altogether, the meal was a perfect Epicurean feast compared with what we were accustomed to. Ella presided, doing the honours of the small table with the grace of a princess, and I began to feel as though I had suddenly become an inhabitant of fairy-land. As soon as my meal was over I relieved Bob, and he went below for his share of the good things; and though Miss Ella had been very demure with me, I soon discovered, by the peals of musical laughter which, mingled with Bob’s gruffer cachinnations, floated up through the companion, that the two had completely broken the ice between them. As soon as the remains of the meal had been cleared away, and the wants of her pet kitten attended to, the little lady came on deck and commenced an animated conversation with Bob and me, as we smoked the pipe of peace (Ella declaring that she quite liked the odour of tobacco), asking a thousand questions, and full of wonder that such a “dear little tiny yacht” had come all the way from England. She was most anxious to try her hand at steering, which she thought she could do quite well; and I promised I would instruct her at a more favourable opportunity, explaining that we were just then so circumstanced that none but experienced helmsmen could be trusted with the tiller, it being more difficult to steer properly when running before the wind than at any other time. “But it looks quite easy,” she persisted, “to hold that handle. You do not move it much, and surely I could do the little you are doing. I used to steer the Copernicus sometimes, but she never would go straight with me; and it was so tiring to keep turning that great wheel round.” Bob laughed joyously at this quaint speech, and proceeded laboriously to hold forth on the science of the helmsman, interlarding his lecture copiously with nautical illustrations and sea phrases, which were so much Greek to his pupil, who listened with an open-eyed earnestness which was most entertaining. She heard Bob with the utmost patience and attention until he had utterly exhausted his entire stock of precepts, when she thanked him as courteously and sweetly as though she had understood every word of it; and then electrified us both, and set me off into a fit of perfectly uncontrollable laughter, by asking him, in the same breath, to sing her a song. Whatever Bob’s accomplishments might be, singing was certainly not one of them. He could hail the fore-royal-yard from the taffrail in a gale of wind, and make himself pretty plainly heard too; but when it came to trolling forth a ditty, he had no more voice than a raven; and my sister had often thrown him into a state of the most comical distress by proffering a similar request to that now made by his new friend. As soon as she found that Bob really could not sing, she tried me; and, as I was considered to have a very tolerable voice, I immediately complied, giving her “Tom Bowling” and a few more of Dibdin’s fine old sea-songs, as well as one or two more frequently heard in a drawing-room, which I had learnt under my sister’s able tuition. She then sang us a few favourites of her own in a sweet clear soprano, and with a depth of feeling for the sentiment of the song which is but too seldom heard in the performances of amateurs. About ten o’clock she wished us “good-night,” and retired to her cot; and Bob then also went below and turned in, it being his “eight hours in” that night, and I was left to perform the rest of my watch alone. The next morning, Bob turned out of his own accord, and made a surreptitious attempt to resume the duties of the cuisine; but at the first rattle of the cups and saucers he was hailed from the fore-compartment and ordered to desist at his peril, and in a very short time the little fairy appeared, blooming and fresh as the morning, and Master Bob received such a lecture that he was fain from that time forward to leave the cookery department entirely in her hands, and he retired discomfited to the deck, and began forthwith to wash down. A permanent improvement now occurred in our style of living, and we began to enjoy many little comforts which, it is true, we never had missed, but which were singularly welcome nevertheless; and altogether we found ourselves vastly gainers by the presence of the sweet little creature on board. She quickly learned to take the chronometer time for my observations, and that, too, with a precision which Bob himself could not surpass; and in a very short time she could steer as well as either of us, which was an immense advantage when shortening or making sail. Add to all this the amusement we derived from her incessant lively prattle, and the additional cheerfulness thus infused into our daily life, and the reader will agree with me, I think, that it was a lucky day for us when we first fell in with little Ella Brand. <hr> <div style="break-after:column;"></div>

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