Chapter 17
861 Words
"But surely," I protested, "it will not be difficult to throw
overboard a few hundred bales of cotton; two or three days at
most will suffice for that."
"Likely enough," he replied, "when the business is once begun;
but you must remember, Mr. Kazallon, that the very heart of the
cargo is still smouldering, and that it will still be several
days before any one will be able to venture into the hold. Then
the leak, too, that has to be caulked; and, unless it is stopped
up very effectually, we shall be only doomed most certainly to
perish at sea. Don't, then, be deceiving yourself; it must be
three weeks at least before you can expect to put out to sea. I
can only hope meanwhile that the weather will continue
propitious; it wouldn't take many storms to knock the
'Chancellor,' shattered as she is, completely into pieces."
Here, then, was the suggestion of a new danger to which we were
to be exposed; the fire might be extinguished, the water might be
got rid of by the pumps, but, after all, we must be at the mercy
of the wind and waves; and, although the rocky island might
afford a temporary refuge from the tempest, what was to become of
passengers and crew if the vessel should be reduced to a total
wreck? I made no remonstrance, however, to this view of our
case, but merely asked M. Letourneur if he had confidence in
Robert Curtis?
"Perfect confidence," he answered; "and I acknowledge it most
gratefully, as a providential circumstance, that Captain Huntly
had given him the command in time. Whatever man can do I know
that Curtis will not leave undone to extricate us from our
dilemma."
Prompted by this conversation with M. Letourneur I took the first
opportunity of trying to ascertain from Curtis himself, how long
he reckoned we should be obliged to remain upon the reef; but he
merely replied, that it must depend upon circumstances, and that
he hoped the weather would continue favourable. Fortunately the
barometer is rising steadily, and there is every sign of a
prolonged calm.
Meantime Curtis is taking active measures for totally
extinguishing the fire. He is at no great pains to spare the
cargo, and as the bales that lie just above the level of the
water are still a-light he has resorted to the expedient of
thoroughly saturating the upper layers of the cotton, in order
that the combustion may be stifled between the moisture
descending from above and that ascending from below. This scheme
has brought the pumps once more into requisition. At present the
crew are adequate to the task of working them, but I and some of
our fellow passengers are ready to offer our assistance whenever
it shall be necessary.
With no immediate demand upon our labour, we are thrown upon our
own resources for passing our time. Letourneur, Andre and
myself, have frequent conversations; I also devote an hour or two
to my diary. Falsten holds little communication with any of us,
but remains absorbed in his calculations, and amuses himself by
tracing mechanical diagrams with ground-plan, section, elevation,
all complete. It would be a happy inspiration if he could invent
some mighty engine that could set us all afloat again. Mr. and
Mrs. Kear, too, hold themselves aloof from their fellow
passengers, and we are not sorry to be relieved from the
necessity of listening to their incessant grumbling;
unfortunately, however, they carry off Miss Herbey with them, so
that we enjoy little or nothing of the young lady's society. As
for Silas Huntly, he has become a complete nonentity; he exists,
it is true, but merely, it would seem, to vegetate.
Hobart, the steward, an obsequious, sly sort of fellow, goes
through his routine of duties just as though the vessel were
pursuing her ordinary course; and, as usual, is continually
falling out with Jynxtrop, the cook, an impudent, ill-favoured
negro, who interferes with the other sailors in a manner which, I
think, ought not to be allowed.
Since it appears likely that we shall have abundance of time on
our hands, I have proposed to M. Letourneur and his son that we
shall together explore the reef on which we are stranded. It is
not very probable that we shall be able to discover much about
the origin of this strange accumulation of rock, yet the attempt
will at least occupy us for some hours, and will relieve us from
the monotony of our confinement on board. Besides, as the reef
is not marked in any of the maps, I could not but believe that it
would be rendering a service to hydrography if we were to take an
accurate plan of the rocks, of which Curtis could afterwards
verify the true position by a second observation made with a
closer precision than the one he has already taken.
M. Letourneur agrees to my proposal, Curtis has promised to let
us have the boat and some sounding-lines, and to allow one of the
sailors to accompany us; so to-morrow morning, we hope to make
our little voyage of investigation.
- Writer
