CHAPTER XV.

A CHANGE OF DESTINATION.

Mr. Frisbone had gone down into the fire-room as soon as the order was given to slow down, in order to see that the firemen did not do any mischief to the boilers or engine by too much firing while the steam was not used. But the men seemed to be very well disposed, and had opened the furnace-doors when the engineer on duty gave the order. The spare steam was blowing off at the same time. As the Prince was thus engaged in preventing a catastrophe in the engine- or fire-room, he did not learn the condition of things on board of the Castle William till the captain sent for him and for all the adult officers on board of the Ville d’Angers. It was a desperate case which the young officers were called upon to settle; and O’Hara was disposed to take the advice of all that were older and wiser than himself.

“Do you need assistance?” asked O’Hara, after he had sent for the adult portion of the ship’s company. But it seemed like a foolish question to ask; for here was a dismasted hulk, on board of which were thirty-two human beings, all but three of whom were disabled. There were not well ones enough to take care of the sick, to say nothing of handling the vessel. If left to themselves, they must all miserably perish in a few days, for the storms of the Bay of Biscay would soon make an end of the unmanageable hulk. Of course she needed assistance; and it would be inhuman in the last degree to refuse it.

“We need assistance very badly,” replied the mate of the Castle William. “We must all die of disease or go to the bottom, without it.”

“Do you need provisions and stores?” inquired O’Hara.

“We have provisions enough, but we want fresh vegetables and stores for the sick.”

“We will send you what we have,” replied the young captain. “What else do you want?”

“We can never get into port on this wreck. She has a very valuable cargo in the hold.”

“Do you wish for more seamen?”

“If we had a hundred men, they could hardly save the ship if it came on heavy weather. Will you tow the wreck into port?” asked the mate; and this last request was evidently what he had desired to reach from the beginning.

“We will consider it,” replied Capt. O’Hara, not a little startled at the request.

“Our sick people are well provided for; and this is the best thing you can do for us. You will make a good thing by it.”

By this time the Prince, Capt. Fairfield, and the adult forward officers, had gathered in the pilot-house for consultation. O’Hara stated the situation of the wreck and the people on board of it. He laid before the council all the information he had obtained from the mate of the Castle William; but he expressed no opinion or desire on his own part. He wished to hear the opinion of his elders before he gave his own.

Mr. Frisbone listened very attentively to the statement of the captain; and he did not speak a word till O’Hara had said all he had to say.

“I want your advice,” continued the captain. “Of course it was not supposed, when I was placed in command of the Ville d’Angers, that I should be called upon to settle such big questions as this one.”

“But I have faith to believe that you would settle it right,” added the Prince. “There is only one thing to be done in a case like this; and all the lawyers and doctors of divinity in the world couldn’t make our duty any plainer to us; and that is, to relieve the distressed, and at any cost of labor and trouble.”

“That’s the talk!” shouted the impulsive and warm-hearted Shakings, bringing his fist down upon the wheel with force enough to break his bones or split the wood. “Your honor is a sailor at heart, if you never did come in at the hawse-hole, and feel your way to the quarter-deck!”

So said Rimmer in his slower and more heavy tones.

“But there will be great risk in exposing the young gentlemen to small-pox and ship-fever,” suggested Capt. Fairfield: not that he intended to object to the performance of a humane duty, but because he desired to have both sides of the question considered; and there were thirty-one young lives to be cared for, as well as thirty-two older ones.

“I think we ought to save a fellow-creetur from death when the risk of losing our own lives is no greater than the chance of saving them that’s in danger,” replied the Prince emphatically. “That’s my doctrine!”

“Your honor was cut out for a sailor; and you missed your calling, that you are not now in command of the finest ship afloat!” exclaimed Shakings, with enthusiasm.

“That’s all gammon, Mr. What’s-your-name,” said the Prince.

“My name is Shakings.”

“I should think it might be; but do you suppose all the good feeling and humanity in the world belong to sailors?” demanded the Prince. “That’s only the shakings of a bad logic.”

“Your honor proves that the sailors haven’t all the good feeling in the world.”

“If you are an American citizen, don’t call any man ‘your honor,’ unless it is the judge on the bench. You are getting things mixed up with them lords and dooks on this side of the ocean,” continued the Prince reproachfully. “I call myself an American Prince; and I don’t eat dirt before any man, and I don’t like to see other princes do it.”

“It is the first duty of an American sailor to be respectful to his betters; and I use the lingo I learned, because I am in the habit of doing so when I see a man do a handsome thing, as your honor always does,” said Shakings with a laugh.

“This is neither here nor there; only I don’t like to see any flunkying at any time. We are called upon to give some advice to the captain; though, in my opinion, he don’t need any.”

“I believe we are giving it; and I suppose he understands what we all think about it by this time,” continued Shakings.

“If I comprehend the views of Capt. Fairfield, he objects to rendering assistance in the present instance, as it would expose our ship’s company to these contagious diseases,” added the captain, turning to the instructor of the Ville d’Angers.

“By no means!” protested Capt. Fairfield warmly. “I should feel guilty to the end of my life if we should leave these poor people to perish without giving them all the aid in our power.”

Shakings thought the instructor had spoken like a “sodger” before; and his present speech was more like that of a sailor.

“Then there appears to be no disagreement among you, gentlemen,” added Capt. O’Hara. “I agree with you that the people on the wreck ought to be relieved.”

“Spoken like a true sailor!” ejaculated Shakings.

“Or like a true soldier!” exclaimed the Prince.

“Thank you, Mr. Frisbone; and I won’t stop to tell you what soldiers have done a thousand times for those in distress,” added Capt. Fairfield.

“We are to assist the people on the wreck,” interposed the captain. “How, and to what extent, is the next question.--Mr. Raymond, keep the whistle going every five minutes.”

“We are doing so, sir,” replied the officer of the deck, who was planking the forecastle.

O’Hara stated that the sufferers on the wreck needed no provisions, only fresh vegetables and comforts for the sick. As the steamer was abundantly provided with the former, it was promptly decided to send all that could be spared of them. As to comforts for the sick, which they understood to include medicines, the Prince declared that he would consult his wife, who was one of the best nurses in the world, and had saved his life when the doctors gave him up, by her intelligent care. The benevolent gentleman was on the point of starting for the cabin, when the captain interposed.

“We have not settled the worst and hardest question of the whole, Mr. Frisbone,” said O’Hara. “I have an opinion on the subject; but I wish for your advice.”

“What on airth comes now?” demanded the Prince, closing the door he had opened.

Since his wife had become Mrs. Frisbone, and they had crossed the ocean, she had been doing her best to improve the grammar and pronunciation of the Prince; and she had succeeded wonderfully well, considering the hard subject she had to deal with. He talked tolerably well under ordinary circumstances; but when he was dealing with a great question, or became very much excited, it was observable that he relapsed into nearly all his old barbarisms of speech.

“The mate of the Castle William wishes the steamer to tow the wreck into port,” added O’Hara.

“Into port!” exclaimed the Prince.

“He does not say what port; but the ship was bound to Portsmouth, England.”

“Where is that?” asked the Prince, whose geography was sometimes at fault.

“It is close by Southampton.”

“That’s not the nearest port?”

“By no means. We are not more than three hundred nautical miles from Lisbon; and about the same from Cadiz.”

“I expect, with those diseases on board, that the Spaniards, the Portuguese, or even the English at Gibraltar, would keep the people on the wreck in quarantine for about forty days; and the chances are that most of them would never see England again,” said Mr. Rimmer.

“How far is it to Southampton?” asked the Prince.

O’Hara went to the chart-room, measured off the distance, and returned to the pilot-house.

“I make it about twelve hundred miles,” he said, as he joined the circle.

“I don’t believe in taking this steamer into a French or Spanish port,” added the Prince. “I think that as much as one-half of her belongs to the academy squadron, as salvage; and a port in England is the best place to have the business properly fixed up.”

“The mate of the Castle William says she has a valuable cargo in her hold; and I suppose we shall be entitled to salvage in her,” suggested the captain.

“Of course you will; and I don’t think Mr. Lowington will lose any thing if we should take the wreck to--that place you mentioned.”

“Portsmouth.”

No one objected to this business view of the situation; and it was in council agreed, that it would be expedient to tow the wreck to Portsmouth in preference to any port on the Spanish peninsula.

“I am confident that if Mr. Lowington or Mr. Fluxion were here, he would send the steamer to England with the wreck,” said Mr. Shakings.

“But I desire to do all I can to find the consorts before we do any thing,” interposed O’Hara. “When that is done, I am willing to act on my own responsibility, with your advice.”

“There is no let-up in the fog,” added Mr. Rimmer, as he took a long look on all sides of the steamer.

It was decided to wait till it could be ascertained whether or not the Josephine and the Tritonia were anywhere in the vicinity. The boatswain and the carpenter were instructed to fire the gun, which the Prince had used so effectually on the night of the collision, every thirty minutes during the rest of the day, or until the fog cleared off. The first gun was discharged immediately. At the moment of the report, the quartermaster struck eight bells in the pilot-house; and it was repeated on the great bell forward.

“All the port-watch on deck!” shouted the acting boatswain’s mate, as he piped the call through the ship.

It was the first dog-watch; and the first part of the port-watch had the deck for one hour. It was in charge of Gregory; and Raymond gave him the orders he had received, and handed him the trumpet as the indication of his authority. But there was nothing to do on board, except to keep a sharp lookout, and to give the fog-signals.

The stewards had been directed to get out the vegetables to be sent to the wreck; and they were attending to this duty. About a dozen boxes of onions, turnips, and potatoes, and a smaller variety of other vegetables, were now in readiness at the gangway to be conveyed to the Castle William. In the mean time the American Prince had gone into the cabin to consult his wife in regard to the needs of the sick on board of the vessel.

Mrs. Frisbone had been seasick for several days; but she had now completely recovered. The motion of the steamer, even while she was hove to, was quite easy; and the lady was sitting at the table in the after-cabin, as the part in the stern which was separated from the rest by the curtain was called. Miss Rodwood was at her side; and both of them listened with the deepest interest to the story of the Prince.

“I want you to see about getting together some things to send to these poor people,” said the Prince, when he had finished his narrative. “Perhaps you can tell what medicines they need, and get them out of the chist.”

“I will get them out of the chest”--

“Out of the chest, and not out of the chist,” added Mr. Frisbone, with a laugh. “I suppose we ought to let ’em all die while we make the chist into a chest.”

“Not so bad as that; but chist is particularly bad pronunciation. I cannot tell what the sick sailors and soldiers need in the way of medicines without seeing them,” protested the lady.

“But they are all sick with contagious diseases!” exclaimed the Prince.

“I have had the small-pox, and I am not afraid of that. I have taken care of many people who were sick with the typhoid-fever, of which ship-fever is only another form. I will go on board of the ship, and do all I can for the poor creatures,” replied Mrs. Frisbone earnestly.

“You, my dear?”

“I never yet shrunk from doing my duty, and I shall not now,” added the lady.

“I will go with you, sister!” exclaimed Miss Rodwood.

“You will not expose her to these diseases?” demanded Mr. Frisbone, not a little alarmed at the proposition.

“I cannot prevent her from doing a duty which is as binding upon her as it is upon me,” replied Mrs. Frisbone, with a sort of solemnity that greatly impressed her husband.

“Very well; and I shall go with you,” continued the benevolent American noble. “If it is your duty,--and I don’t dispute that it is,--it is as much mine, and I shall share it with you. But we must not expose any of these boys to the contagion. I wouldn’t have one of them catch the small-pox or the ship-fever for a million dollars. I haven’t any thing in particular to do on board of this vessel; and I can just as well be on board of the other, doing what I can to make the sick comfortable.”

The adults and the officers were astonished when the decision of the Frisbone party was announced. Capt. Fairfield and O’Hara did their best to reason them out of the purpose; but that was useless. Mrs. Frisbone declared that God had given her this duty to perform, and she should be recreant to her trust if she failed to do it. This was her opportunity to do the will of Heaven; and she could no more neglect it than she could refuse her daily bread.

“If I take any disease, and die, I shall die at the post of duty; and I should be afraid to die anywhere else,” said the heroic woman; “and I shall not have lived in vain. Louise can do as she pleases. I do not ask her or my husband to go with me.”

“But Miss Rodwood has been an invalid, and it will be a pretty severe experience for her to act as a nurse on board of a mere hulk, taking care of soldiers and sailors,” said Capt. Fairfield.

“Perhaps it is just the experience my sister needs; and it may prove to be a blessing to her,” replied Mrs. Frisbone. “If she can put her whole mind to this humane task, I am sure it will be a benefit to her.”

The lady evidently had views of her own on this subject; and, as it appeared that her sister’s mind was somewhat affected, it was possible that she understood the case better than any other person.

The next thing was to get the devoted party on board of the wreck without exposing any of the students to the danger of infection. O’Hara studied the case, and talked it over with the carpenter and boatswain. It was not prudent to board the Castle William on the weather side, for the sea would be likely to stave the boat against her sides. If it went to leeward, the crew of the boat would be exposed to the peril of the pestilential air from the ship. At last it was decided that none of the students should go in the boat that conveyed the passengers and stores. The Prince, the adult forward officers, and one of the stewards, were to act as oarsmen. The stores were sent first; and they were hoisted by the three well men on board of the ship. The ladies who had been so unwilling to be lowered in a boat when the object was to save their own lives were let down into the cutter in a sling; and they were safely hoisted on board of the Castle William. The boat returned with all its crew except the Prince.

The Ville d’Angers then ran off a considerable distance from the wreck, as far as she could and not lose sight of it. It was very quiet on deck and in the cabin. The vessel was rolling in the sea, and there was nothing to be done but to wait for the fog to lift. Gregory, the officer of the deck, was like a monarch without a kingdom; and when Clinch came in his way, he insisted that it was dull music.

The steamer had been turned head to the sea, and the screw was revolved just enough to keep the vessel from drifting upon the Castle William. When she was in danger of losing sight of the wreck, the engine was stopped for a time. But the quartermaster attended to all this business, and to the sounding of the whistle.

“I wish I was back in the Josephine again,” said Gregory when he met Clinch.

“Why so? This isn’t a bad craft to be on board of,” replied the third officer.

“This steamer is officered by about all the Tritonia’s fellows,” growled Gregory. “Those that came from the Josephine are mere ciphers. O’Hara hasn’t spoken a word to me since we made out that wreck; and I am the first officer of the steamer.”

Clinch did not say any thing; but he thought the captain had not much encouragement to consult his first officer, who had done nothing but object and protest when he did any thing.

“I suppose he had made up his plan; but he hasn’t said any thing to me about it,” continued Gregory. “He has put the Frisbones on board of the wreck, and sent off all the vegetables we had on board. We may get the scurvy for the want of them. Now we are as fast here as though we were aground.”

“What are we waiting for?” asked Clinch.

“I don’t know. Don’t I keep saying the captain don’t tell me what is going on?” snarled Gregory, as though he were anxious to find a sufficient cause for getting up a mutiny.

And so the day wore away. In the evening the fog lifted; but nothing could be seen of the two schooners, for they were far on their way to Madeira. But O’Hara was not quite satisfied to undertake such an enterprise as had been agreed upon, until it was no longer possible to confer with the vice-principals of the squadron. As the night was clear, he decided to run for three hours to the south-west, and return if he found nothing of the rest of the fleet. At midnight, when the steamer was over forty miles from the Castle William, nothing could be seen of the lights of the Josephine and Tritonia; and, very unwillingly, he ordered the Ville d’Angers to be headed to the north-east. After a run of less than three hours, the wreck was readily found, for lights were exhibited on board as before she lost her masts. Raymond, who was in charge of the deck of the Ville d’Angers, hailed the wreck, and was answered by Mr. Frisbone. The wind was freshening, but the sea was tolerably smooth.

O’Hara was still up, though he had taken a little nap, and directed the steamer to be run as close as possible to the hulk; and a small line was heaved to her deck by Shakings. With this the heavy hawser of the ship was drawn over the stern of the steamer, where it was made fast. While the boatswain was attending to the securing of the hawser, O’Hara and the Prince had some talk about the condition of the sick. They were all comfortable; and Mrs. Frisbone had worked out a revolution in the state of things between decks. The captain laughed when the Prince said he had been at work whitewashing since he came on board.

When the hawser was ready, O’Hara gave the order to go ahead; and the steamer started on her voyage to England.