CHAPTER VI.
A VOLUNTEER SHIP’S COMPANY.
The carpenter of the Tritonia climbed up the rope, and reached the deck of the steamer. The moment he saw Mr. Frisbone, he recognized him, and saluted him with nautical politeness.
“Mr. Rimmer, the carpenter of the Tritonia,” said O’Hara, by way of introduction.
“I am glad to see an American seaman on board of this steamer,” replied Mr. Frisbone heartily. “You are the carpenter of the Tritonia, and you can soon tell whether this vessel is worth saving.”
“She don’t seem to be in very bad condition with the exception of that hole in her starboard bow,” added Mr. Rimmer, as he cast his eyes about him.
“I wish you would look her over; and then we can decide what is best to be done.”
The carpenter began his survey of the vessel, accompanied by Mr. Frisbone and O’Hara. They visited every part of her, examining very carefully into her condition.
“I suppose I know as much about the engine as anybody; and I can say that it is in good order,” said Mr. Frisbone, as they passed the door of the engine-room.
“I don’t know any thing about engines,” added the carpenter modestly. “But I can say that the vessel is in first-rate condition; and that hole in her bow can be stopped so that she will live in any sea. The opening is above the water-line, so that there will be no great pressure upon it.”
“Then we can save the vessel,” replied the American Prince, as he claimed to be, and as he had named his steam-yacht. “That will be a feather in the caps of you boys.”
“I should like to take a hand in the game,” said O’Hara, his face lighting up at the prospect.
“But we want help; and there is a great deal of hard work to be done,” continued Mr. Frisbone. “How many hands have you in your boat?”
“Ten besides Mr. Rimmer.”
“If they are good stout hands, we may do something with them.”
“But I must report the condition of the vessel, and wait for further orders,” interposed O’Hara.
“Quite right,” added the Prince, with a smile. “I forgot that you live on your discipline.”
“But the boat came off to take you and the ladies on board the Tritonia.”
“I think we are safe enough here for the present; and I know the women-folks won’t think they can get into that boat while it is bobbing around like corn in a popper. Return to your ship, and give my respects to the captain and the old folks on board, and tell them I think the steamer can be saved.”
O’Hara tried to explain how easy it would be to get the ladies into the cutter; but Mr. Frisbone seemed to be unwilling to leave the steamer while there was a chance to save her. He conducted the young officer into the cabin, the door of which opened from the main deck.
“Here, Maggie,” said the Prince, calling to his wife, who was in her state-room. “One of the vessels of the academy squadron has come to get us out of this scrape.”
Mrs. Frisbone came out of the state-room, looking very pale and sick. She was followed by her sister the invalid, who, however, looked better than the Prince’s wife.
“This is Lieut. O’Hara, of the Tritonia; Mrs. Frisbone.”
The young officer took off his cap, and bowed politely to the lady.
“Miss Louise Rodwood, my wife’s sister,” continued the prince.
O’Hara thought she was a very pretty girl, and he indulged in an extra flourish as he saluted her.
“With the compliments of the captain, I beg to tender you the hospitalities of the Tritonia,” said the lieutenant, when he had formally greeted the ladies.
“Good!” roared the American Prince. “That is a very pretty way to address a couple of shipwrecked women; and it is a credit to your bringing-up.”
“I beg to place our vessel at the disposal of the ladies; and whatever else we may not be able to do for you, we will keep the ship right side up.”
“That’s handsome; and the boat is all ready to take you to the steamer, Maggie.”
“I would rather drown where I am than attempt to get into that boat,” protested Mrs. Frisbone. “I saw it from the window in my room; and it jumps about like a wild horse.”
“I am sure I can’t slide down a rope into the boat as I saw that man come up,” added Miss Rodwood.
“All right; and we will stay where we are for the present,” said Mr. Frisbone.
“We can rig a whip, and lower the ladies into the cutter without any difficulty,” persisted the young officer, who perhaps thought it would be pleasant to have such a passenger as the younger lady.
“If we are in no danger here, as Mr. Frisbone says we are not, I prefer to stay where I am,” replied Mrs. Frisbone; and her sister was of the same mind.
“All right, lieutenant,” added the Prince. “I thought the women would rather stay where they are; and I think you had better return to your ship, and report to the captain. If he will send as many men as he can spare, I believe we can put this craft into sailing-trim in a few hours.”
“I will do so, sir. But you forget that we have no engineers on board of the Tritonia to run the engine,” suggested O’Hara.
“I will run the engine myself. I never went to sea much, but I have run an engine on a river and bay steamer enough to understand the business,” replied the American Prince. “If you will find firemen, I will look out for the engine.”
“I will report all you say to the captain.”
“Let me see: you have a vice-principal, or something of that sort, in each of the consorts. Of course he will direct in this matter.”
“We have no vice-principal in the Tritonia just now;” and O’Hara explained how they happened to be without one.
“Then I suppose the professors attend to this business.”
“No, sir: the captain attends to it in the absence of the vice-principal. The professors have nothing to do with the management of the vessel, for they are not sailors.”
“And I would rather trust the young gentlemen in matters of seamanship than the professors,” added Mr. Rimmer, with a chuckle.
O’Hara bowed to the ladies, and retired from the cabin. He tried to be dignified and graceful; but the heavy rolling of the steamer interfered sadly with the poetry of motion. Both of the ladies were holding on with all their might at the brass rods which extended the entire length of the cabin on each side, except across the doors of the state-rooms. Every thing seemed to be in good order, and every article was lashed so that it could not move at the motion of the vessel.
O’Hara and Rimmer slid down into the boat, which was protected from the full force of the sea by being under the lee of the steamer. The cutters were all life-boats, and when well handled would keep right side up in any ordinary sea. The crews had been thoroughly disciplined in the roughest weather in which it was safe to launch a boat; so that they were perfectly at home on the present occasion.
The second cutter pulled under the davits, and the falls were hooked on. This feat was accomplished not without great difficulty, and only by watching for the favorable moment. A blunder might have smashed the boat, and thrown its crew into the sea. When the falls were fast, the hands on deck hoisted the boat up to the davits.
O’Hara reported to the captain, and explained why the passengers on board the wreck had not come off in the boat. Wainwright was not a little surprised to learn that Mr. Frisbone, the munificent donor of the American Prince, was on board of the steamer with his wife. He knew precisely what Mr. Lowington would do if he had been within hail, and precisely what he would wish to have done in his absence.
“Mr. Frisbone desires you to send as many hands as you can spare; and with help enough he is confident we can save the steamer, and take her into port,” continued the fourth lieutenant.
“How many of our ship’s company can we spare, Mr. Marline?” asked the captain, turning to the adult boatswain, who had been called to hear the report of the lieutenant.
“We can get along well enough with one watch,” replied the old salt.
“That was just my view of the matter,” added the captain. “But I will not detail either watch as a whole. There will be a great deal of hard and dirty work to be done on board of the steamer, and I will call for volunteers.”
All hands were piped to muster in form, for they had already come on deck to witness the expected arrival of the passengers from the wreck. The seamen laid hold of the life-lines and such parts of the vessel as afforded them a hold, and waited impatiently to learn what was to be done. Capt. Wainwright made a speech in which he explained the situation on board of the steamer. She was to be saved and sent into port if possible. This announcement was greeted with yells and cheers.
“I purpose to select a crew to man the steamer,” continued Wainwright. “The work on board of her will be difficult, and some of it very dirty and disagreeable. I shall therefore call for volunteers.”
“Stop, Wainwright!” suddenly interposed Mr. Primback, who had crawled on deck in season to hear the last part of the captain’s speech, after one of the stewards had informed him what was transpiring on board.
“I beg your pardon, Professor Primback; but this business admits of no delay,” replied the captain, vexed at the interruption of the “philosopher.”
“What do you mean, Wainwright, by sending half the students out of the vessel without saying a word to me?” demanded the irate instructor.
“I have consulted with Mr. Marline, as you desired, sir; and I don’t think there is any other way to do.”
“But I object. You have taken the ship a long way out of her course; and here you are wasting your time and mine in some Quixotic adventure.”
“Have you been informed that Mr. Frisbone, the gentleman who presented the American Prince to the principal, is on board of that steamer, with his wife and her sister, sir?”
“I have been so informed; but that don’t affect the case at all. You sent a boat to convey them on board of this vessel, which was a very proper thing to do, as it involved the possible saving of human life. To that I did not object: I do not now object to such just and proper action as may be necessary to insure the safety of any persons on board of the unfortunate vessel,” continued Mr. Primback, whose speech became more precise and dignified as he cooled off. “I do not propose to interfere with the management of the vessel; but when you indicate your intention to send away one-half of my pupils on a boyish expedition of very doubtful practicability, I feel it to be my duty to interfere as one having authority.”
“I shall be very sorry to do any thing without your approval, Professor Primback,” replied Wainwright, in a very respectful tone.
“Do I understand you to mean by that, you intend to proceed with the plan you have just announced without my sanction, and even in opposition to my direct prohibition?” demanded Mr. Primback, controlling his wrath as well as he could.
“I hope you will not compel me to do any thing of the kind, sir.”
“I understand you perfectly, Wainwright. You are prepared, I see, to set at defiance my authority,” continued the professor, biting his lips to repress his anger.
“I should like to speak with you a few moments, brother Primback,” interposed Dr. Crumples, the other instructor of the Tritonia.
“I am ready to hear any thing you have to say, doctor,” replied Mr. Primback coldly.
Though the two professors never quarrelled, or exhibited any signs of variance, before the students, there was no sympathy whatever between them. Dr. Crumples was a genial, good-natured man, rather fond of a joke; while the other cared for nothing but Greek, Latin, science, and philosophy.
“I have been reading the regulations, and I have come to the conclusion that you and I have nothing to do or say about the nautical affairs of this vessel,” said the doctor, in a low tone, not intended for the ears of the students.
“Do you intend to sustain the boys in their resistance to my authority, Dr. Crumples?” demanded the philosopher, straightening himself up to the full height of his dignity.
Unfortunately for him, in doing this he let go of the life-line; and a sudden jerk of the vessel would have pitched him down into the scuppers if Marline had not seized him by the arm, and held him. He came down from his dignity all in a heap. The students turned away to hide the laugh they could not suppress.
“I certainly do not intend to sustain the boys in their resistance to your authority, for the simple reason that I don’t believe you have any authority in the premises. If you will come into the cabin, where both of us will be more at ease than on this unstable deck, I shall be happy to explain my view of the case,” replied Dr. Crumples, when his associate was fairly planted on his legs again.
“I do not care to know your opinion of the case, Dr. Crumples,” added Mr. Primback tartly.
“You know it already, professor,” chuckled the doctor.
“I am the senior professor of the ship, with full powers to direct every thing”--
“In the scholastic department,” interposed the doctor.
“Do you suppose I am placed here to follow the lead of a boy?” demanded Mr. Primback, pointing at the captain of the Tritonia in the most contemptuous manner.
In releasing his hold upon the life-line he was in great danger of being upset again, and Marline grasped his arm, this time so vigorously that the professor groaned with pain. Possibly the old salt was disgusted with the “philosopher,” and expressed his feeling in this way.
“Do you mean to break my arm, Mr. Marline?”
“I beg your honor’s pardon, but I was afraid you were going to be shied into the scuppers again,” pleaded the boatswain.
“I shall call for volunteers, my lads,” Capt. Wainwright continued, resuming his speech to the ship’s company where he had left off.
“You will not call for volunteers, Wainwright!” interposed Mr. Primback warmly. “I forbid you to call for volunteers! I forbid any student to volunteer! It is my order that you proceed on the voyage to Madeira, according to the direction of the principal.”
“Shall I leave Mr. Frisbone and the ladies to perish on the wreck?” asked the captain mildly.
“I have already given you permission to bring them on board of the Tritonia. You may still do that,” replied the senior professor.
“But the ladies decline to get into the boat while the sea is so rough.”
“Is it possible to get the ladies into the boat, Mr. Marline?” asked the professor, turning to the boatswain.
“I suppose we could hoist them into the boat by main force; but they said they preferred to drown where they were, rather than slide down on a rope into the cutter,” replied the boatswain, rather doggedly. “If we can save the steamer we ought to do it, in my judgment.”
“We have nothing to do with saving the vessel. We are not out upon the ocean for any such purpose.”
“Just as your honor pleases.”
“If the ladies will not get into the boat, you must either force them to do so, or leave them where they are,” added Mr. Primback.
Wainwright said nothing more. It could make no difference to him if the senior professor did forbid any further action towards the saving of the steamer. His action was approved by all the other adults on board; and he was confident that the officers and seamen would obey his orders, possibly with greater readiness than if the head of the scholastic department had not forbidden them to do so.
The Tritonia had filled away again on the return of the second cutter from the wreck. By this time it was necessary to come about again, and stand towards the steamer. Wainwright politely notified Mr. Primback that the vessel was about to “go in stays;” hoping that he would retire to the cabin, and permit him to finish the business of the hour.
“Go in stays! Will you ever speak English, Wainwright? Do you mean to insult me by using that gibberish to me when I have forbidden you to do so?”
“That is the proper nautical expression for what we are about to do,” replied the captain.
“Do you mean that you are going to turn the vessel?”
“That is substantially what we intend to do; but sailors would not understand me if I called it turning the vessel.”
“Do you presume to instruct me in the use of language, Wainwright?”
“By no means, sir; but I use nautical language as I was instructed to use it by Mr. Lowington and the other instructors in seamanship and navigation.--Mr. Greenwood, let the vessel go in stays,” continued the captain, turning to the first lieutenant.
“Man the fore and main sheets!” called the executive officer. “Ease down the helm!”
As the vessel came up into the wind in obedience to her helm, the fore and main sheet began to bang and thrash as the pressure was removed.
“Haul in on the sheets,” called the first lieutenant; and the order was repeated by the other officers in charge of the sheets.
“I’m afraid you will get hit by the sheet-blocks if you stand here any longer, sir,” said Mr. Marline to Professor Primback. “Excuse me, sir, but you had better go below, or the vessel will shake you up badly as she catches the wind on the other tack.”
The professor made a dive at the companion-way. As the vessel at that instant was on an even keel, he succeeded in reaching his destination. The line of seamen “walking away” with the fore-sheet then crowded upon him, and he fled to the cabin in disgust. The Tritonia gave a terrible lurch as the sails filled on the port tack; and the grouty professor, losing his hold of the stair-post, was pitched down to the lee side of the cabin. One of the stewards picked him up; but his temper got the better of him. Dr. Crumples tried to comfort him; but he would not be comforted.
The Tritonia was again headed towards the steamer. The captain took some time to consult with Mr. Marline and Mr. Rimmer in regard to the detail of officers and seamen for duty on the disabled vessel. Then he had a talk with O’Hara, though no one could hear what passed between them. All hands were again called; and every one on board volunteered, as the captain had told Marline they would.
“Perhaps, when I have explained the duties of the crew on board of the steamer, you will not be so willing,” said the captain, with a laugh. “It will be necessary for a portion of the volunteers to act as firemen; and I need not tell you that the fire-room of any steamer is a very hot and dirty hole. But this work will be fairly divided among all the seamen.”
“But not among the officers,” added a young salt, laughing.
“Certainly not: I shall detail two officers for duty in the engine-room; but I select them simply because they understand the business,” replied the captain. “Lieut. O’Hara will act as captain of the steamer; first master Speers as chief officer; second master Raymond as second officer.”
These names were received with cheers by the seamen; but the three lieutenants whose names had not been mentioned thought it a little strange that they had been passed over, though the third lieutenant, Alexander, was competent to run an engine, which explained why his name had been omitted.
“Lieut. Alexander will act as chief engineer, and fourth master Richards as assistant,” continued the captain, reading from a paper he had made out.
The names of eighteen seamen and petty officers were then read; and Wainwright desired any one who had any objections to make, to make them now, for it would be too late when the party had gone on board of the steamer. No one made any objections; and the order was given to clear away the second and third cutters. They were lowered into the water, one at a time, and their crews pulled for the steamer. Mr. Rimmer, the second cook, and two stewards were sent with them.