It came at length with awful speed and fury.
At first there was a stifling1 heat in the atmosphere; then clouds began to dim the sky. Mysterious and solemn changes seemed to be taking place in nature—noiselessly for a time. Ere long the war began with a burst of heaven’s artillery2. It was distant at first; muttering, prolonged, and fitful, like the rattling3 musketry of advancing skirmishers. Soon a roar of deafening4 thunder rent the sky. Another and another followed, with blinding flashes of lightning between, while rain came down in torrents5.
The order had been given to take in the mainsail, and the little vessel6 was almost under bare poles, when the storm burst upon it, and threw it nearly on its beam-ends.
Righting from the first shock, it sprang away like a living creature trying to escape from some deadly foe7. Ere long the waves were up and the storm was raging in all its fury.
“If it holds like this till to-morrow, we’ll be in port by noon,” said Haco Barepoles to Gaff as they stood near the wheel, holding on to the backstays, and turning their backs to the seas that swept heavily over the side from time to time.
“You speak as if you wor sure o’ gettin’ in,” said Gaff.
“Well, we an’t sure o’ nothin’ in this world,” replied the skipper; “if Providence8 has willed it otherwise, we can’t help it, you know. We must submit whether we will or no.”
“D’ye know,” rejoined Gaff, “it has often bin9 in my mind, that as Christian10 men, (which we profess11 to be, whether we believe our own profession or not), we don’t look at God’s will in the right way. The devil himself is obliged to submit to God whether he will or no, because he can’t help it. Don’t ’ee think it would be more like Christians12 if we was to submit because it is His will?”
Before Haco could answer, an enormous wave came curling over the stern.
“Mind your helm, lad!”
The words were scarce uttered when a heavy mass of water fell inboard, almost crushing down the deck. For some moments it seemed as if the little vessel were sinking, but she cleared herself, and again rushed onward13.
That night the wind chopped round, and Haco was obliged to lay-to until daylight, as the weather was thick. Before morning the gale14 took off and at sunrise had moderated into a stiff breeze. All that day they beat slowly and heavily against the wind, which, however, continued to decrease. At night the wind again veered15 round to the northward16, enabling the “Coal-Coffin” to spread most of her canvass17, keep her course, and bowl pleasantly along before the breeze. But the weather was still thick, necessitating18 a sharp look-out.
During most of this time our friend Billy was confined, much against his will, to the bandbox cabin, where he did as much mischief19 as he could in the circumstances.
Towards midnight, while Haco and Gaff were standing20 by the man on the look-out, who was on the heel of the bowsprit, they fancied they observed something looming21 up against the dark sky on the weather bow.
The look-out gave a shout.
“Port! port! hard a-port!” roared the skipper, at the same moment bounding aft.
“Port it is!” replied the man at the wheel, obeying with promptitude.
The sloop22 sheered away to leeward23. At the same instant the hull24 of a great vessel bore right down upon them. The yell of the steam-whistle betrayed her character, while the clanging of the fog-bell, and shouts of those on board, proved that the sloop had been observed. At the same time the seething25 sea that flowed like milk round her bow, showed that the engines had been reversed, while the captain’s voice was heard distinctly to shout “starboard! starboard hard!” to the steersman.
The promptitude with which these orders were given and obeyed, prevented the steamer from running down the sloop altogether. A collision, however, was unavoidable. The crew of the sloop and the Russians, seeing this, rushed to the place where they expected to be struck, in order to leap, if possible, into the head of the steamer. Even the steersman left his post, and sprang into the weather shrouds27 in the hope of catching28 some of the ropes or chains below the bowsprit.
On came the steamer like a great mountain. Her way had been so much checked that she seemed merely to touch the side of the sloop; but the touch was no light one. It sent the cutwater crashing through bulwark29, plank30, and beam, until the “Coal-Coffin” was cut right down amidships, within a foot of the water-line. There was a wild cry from the men as they leaped towards their destroyer. Some succeeded in grasping ropes, others missed and fell back bruised31 and stunned32 on the sloop’s deck.
Billy had been standing beside his father when the steamer was first observed, and naturally clung to him. Gaff put his left arm tight round the boy, and with the others prepared for a spring, believing, as did all the rest, that the sloop would be sunk at once.
Not so Haco Barepoles, who went to the wheel of his little vessel, and calmly awaited the result.
Gaff’s spring at the chains of the cutwater was successful, but in making it he received a blow on the head from one of the swinging blocks of the sloop which almost stunned him, insomuch that he could only cling to the chain he had caught with the tenacity33 of despair.
One of the sailors observed him in this position of danger, and instantly descending34 with a rope fastened it under his chest, so that he and Billy were safely hauled on board, and the former was led below to have his head examined by the surgeon.
Meanwhile the men in the bow of the steamer shouted to Haco to come on board.
“No, thank’ee,” replied the skipper, “shake yourself clear o’ my riggin’ as fast as ye can, and let me continoo my voyage.”
“Your sloop is sinking,” urged the captain of the steamer.
“Not sinkin’ yet; I’ll stick to her as long as she can float.”
“But you’ve none of your men left on board, have you?”
“No; better without ’em if they’re so easy frightened.”
As he said this one of his own men slid quickly down a rope that hung from the steamer’s bowsprit, and dropt on the deck of the sloop, exclaiming—
“It’ll never be said o’ Tom Grattan that he forsack his ship so long as a man wos willin’ to stick by her.”
Haco took Tom by the hand as he went aft and shook it.
“Any more comin’?” he said, glancing at the faces of the men that stared down upon him.
There was no reply.
“You can’t expect men to volunteer to go to the bottom,” said the captain of the steamer. “You’re mad, both of you. Think better of it.”
“Back your ship off, sir!” said Haco in a deep stern voice.
The order was given to back off, and the vessels35 were soon clear. Haco put his sloop at once on the larboard tack36, and looking over the side observed that the bottom of the yawning gap was thus raised nearly three feet out of the water.
“Tom,” said he, resuming his place at the wheel, “go and nail a bit of canvas over that hole. You’ll find materials down below. We’ll have to steer26 into port on this tack, ’cause if we try to go on the other, she’ll sink like a stone. I only hope the wind’ll hold as it is. Look alive now!”
In a few minutes the little craft was away and the captain of the steamer, seeing that she did not sink, continued his course.
Next day Haco Barepoles steered37 the “Coal-Coffin” triumphantly38 into the port of London, with a hole in her side big enough, if Tom Grattan’s report is to be believed, “to admit of a punt bein’ row’d d’rect from the sea into the hold!”
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1
stifling
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| a.令人窒息的 | |
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2
artillery
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| n.(军)火炮，大炮；炮兵(部队) | |
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rattling
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| adj. 格格作响的, 活泼的, 很好的 adv. 极其, 很, 非常 动词rattle的现在分词 | |
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4
deafening
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| adj. 振耳欲聋的, 极喧闹的 动词deafen的现在分词形式 | |
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5
torrents
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| n.倾注；奔流( torrent的名词复数 )；急流；爆发；连续不断 | |
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vessel
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| n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管 | |
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7
foe
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| n.敌人，仇敌 | |
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providence
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| n.深谋远虑，天道，天意；远见；节约；上帝 | |
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9
bin
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| n.箱柜；vt.放入箱内；[计算机] DOS文件名:二进制目标文件 | |
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10
Christian
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| adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒 | |
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profess
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| v.声称，冒称，以...为业，正式接受入教，表明信仰 | |
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12
Christians
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| n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 ) | |
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13
onward
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| adj.向前的，前进的；adv.向前，前进，在先 | |
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gale
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| n.大风，强风，一阵闹声（尤指笑声等） | |
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15
veered
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| v.（尤指交通工具）改变方向或路线( veer的过去式和过去分词 )；（指谈话内容、人的行为或观点）突然改变；（指风） （在北半球按顺时针方向、在南半球按逆时针方向）逐渐转向；风向顺时针转 | |
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northward
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| adv.向北；n.北方的地区 | |
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canvass
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| v.招徕顾客，兜售；游说；详细检查，讨论 | |
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necessitating
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| 使…成为必要，需要( necessitate的现在分词 ) | |
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mischief
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| n.损害，伤害，危害；恶作剧，捣蛋，胡闹 | |
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standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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looming
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| n.上现蜃景（光通过低层大气发生异常折射形成的一种海市蜃楼）v.隐约出现，阴森地逼近( loom的现在分词 )；隐约出现，阴森地逼近 | |
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sloop
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| n.单桅帆船 | |
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leeward
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| adj.背风的；下风的 | |
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hull
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| n.船身；(果、实等的)外壳；vt.去(谷物等)壳 | |
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seething
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| 沸腾的，火热的 | |
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steer
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| vt.驾驶，为…操舵；引导；vi.驾驶 | |
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shrouds
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| n.裹尸布( shroud的名词复数 )；寿衣；遮蔽物；覆盖物v.隐瞒( shroud的第三人称单数 )；保密 | |
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catching
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| adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住 | |
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bulwark
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| n.堡垒，保障，防御 | |
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plank
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| n.板条，木板，政策要点，政纲条目 | |
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bruised
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| [医]青肿的，瘀紫的 | |
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stunned
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| adj. 震惊的，惊讶的 动词stun的过去式和过去分词 | |
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tenacity
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| n.坚韧 | |
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descending
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| n. 下行 adj. 下降的 | |
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vessels
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| n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人 | |
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36
tack
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| n.大头钉；假缝，粗缝 | |
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37
steered
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| v.驾驶( steer的过去式和过去分词 )；操纵；控制；引导 | |
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triumphantly
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| ad.得意洋洋地；得胜地；成功地 | |
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