CHAPTER IX.

THE NEW SHIP’S COMPANY.

The vice-principal was very much perplexed at the condition of things he found on board of the Tritonia. He was greatly annoyed that his involuntary absence had raised a tempest in the vessel. He was astonished to find the schooner in tow of the steamer; and, before he made any inquiries into the case of discipline, he listened to the report of the captain of the events which had transpired since the consorts parted company.

Before Wainwright had proceeded far with his account, the cutter which had conveyed Mr. Pelham on board returned with Mr. Fluxion. The two vice-principals heard the story, and then retired to the cabin to consult together in regard to it. Mr. Primback was called; and his charges against the captain and the second lieutenant were heard.

Wainwright and Scott were questioned in the presence of the professor; and, when they had retired, the charge against Scott was declared to be frivolous, as any sailor could see that it was.

“I think if you will read the regulations, Professor Primback, you will see that you had no authority to suspend the captain or the second lieutenant,” said Mr. Fluxion, who was disgusted with the conduct of the instructor.

“I admit that the regulations give me no authority over the officers of the vessel in purely nautical matters,” replied Mr. Primback. “I take pride and pleasure in acknowledging that I know nothing about a ship or its management.”

“It would be better if you knew enough about nautical matters to understand the duty of the officers,” added the senior vice-principal. “It is very unpleasant for me to decide against you; but the case is so very plain, that I can’t do otherwise.”

“I think you have not fully examined the premises, Mr. Fluxion,” continued the professor, nettled at the obvious displeasure of the senior authority. “The scholastic department is under my direction in the absence of the junior vice-principal.”

“That is admitted.”

“But the captain, a mere boy, may send away one-half of the students, and then require the other half to be on duty all the time in the management of the vessel. In other words, he may practically abolish the scholastic department,” added Mr. Primback triumphantly, for he believed he had made out a very strong case.

“And the head of the scholastic department takes pride in being so ignorant of nautical affairs as to be incapable of judging whether or not the captain is justified in sending away one-half of his ship’s company, and requiring the other half to do duty on board of his own vessel,” answered Mr. Fluxion, with some excitement in his manner.

“Then, as the acting principal, I may be carted all over the ocean at the pleasure of this boy!” exclaimed the professor. “I may not even protest when he chooses to depart from the course of any boyish enterprise that happens to excite his imagination.”

“That is precisely the situation,” replied the senior vice-principal, with a smile. “The boy will be held responsible for the management of the vessel; and, if he depart from the prescribed course without sufficient reason for doing so, he would be punished for it. If he took the vessel out upon such a boyish expedition as you describe, he would certainly lose his place as commander.”

“But the boy is placed over the man: I am ignored, though I am old enough to be the boy’s father,” protested the professor.

“The boy has no authority over you, any more than you have over him, in nautical matters. The sailor is placed over the landsman. But you forget, Mr. Primback, that this is an exceptional case. The accidental absence of the vice-principal in charge caused all the difficulty. This is a thing that is not likely to happen again. A sudden squall rendered it impossible for him to return to his vessel.”

“Am I to understand that you approve the conduct of this boy, sir?” demanded the professor.

“If he had obeyed your orders, he might have been compelled to abandon Mr. Frisbone and the two ladies to their fate, to say nothing of the duty of saving the steamer. I do approve the conduct of Capt. Wainwright; and I think he deserves nothing but praise and commendation for what he has done. I am sure the principal will take the same view of the matter,” replied Mr. Fluxion.

“Then I am to be snubbed by this boy?”

“I understand you to say that he has been courteous and polite to you.”

“I have no fault to find with his manner; only with his refusal to obey me.”

“Then I think nothing more need be said about the matter. If you had confined yourself to your own duties, there would have been no trouble.”

“I consider myself censured by your decision; and I desire to resign my position as an instructor in this institution,” added Mr. Primback, with all the dignity he could assume.

“I have nothing to do with your resignation: that should go to the principal,” replied Mr. Fluxion, who hoped to see a more reasonable person in his place, and one who knew a brace from a bobstay.

The professor disappeared in his state-room, and related his grievances to Dr. Crumples, who had no sympathy at all with him.

The more interesting question to be settled was the destination of the Ville d’Angers. The vice-principals talked it over for some time, without coming to a conclusion, and then decided to visit the steamer to confer with Mr. Frisbone. The Prince gave them a hearty greeting; but he had no opinion in regard to the disposal of the vessel. There was no law, so far as they were aware, that required the vessel to be taken to one port rather than another; and it was finally decided that the voyage to Madeira should be continued, the steamer accompanying the two schooners.

But Mr. Fluxion was not satisfied with the present arrangement in regard to the ship’s company of the Ville d’Angers, since it was composed of one-half of the Tritonia’s people, while the Josephine remained fully manned. He thought the burden of taking the steamer into port should be more equally divided between the two vessels. Mr. Pelham doubted whether it was expedient to mix the two crews; but his senior overruled his objection, and a new list was made out for the ship’s company of the extra vessel. The names were shown to O’Hara by the vice-principals.

“I suppose you don’t object,” said Mr. Fluxion, with a rather sarcastic smile; for he was not much inclined to consult the wishes of the young gentlemen when he detailed them for duty outside of their own craft. “You will have more officers, and a larger crew for the steamer.”

“Upon me sowl, I do object!” exclaimed O’Hara, with no little excitement in his manner, after he had looked at the list of officers.

“Well, what’s the matter now?” demanded the senior vice-principal, with something like a frown on his bronzed face.

“I like the ship’s company we have now a great dale better,” replied O’Hara decidedly.

“It would be quite as respectful if you should pronounce the English language properly when you address your superior officers,” added Mr. Fluxion, who was by far the severest disciplinarian in the squadron.

“I beg your pardon, sir,” said O’Hara, touching his cap, and taking it off while he bowed low to the senior officer present. “I did not intend to be disrespectful.”

“Very well, Mr. O’Hara: you have shown that you can speak English as well as French, Italian, and Irish,” replied Mr. Fluxion, his face relaxing into a smile again. “What objection have you to the list in your hand?”

“I like the present detail better, sir.”

“That is no answer to my question. What objection have you?”

“The first is, that this reduces Mr. Speers to the rank of second officer, when he has done all the hard work of putting the steamer into sailing-trim as first.”

“If an officer from the Tritonia has the command, the Josephine should have the second place on board,” added Mr. Fluxion.

“I think that is quite fair,” interposed Mr. Pelham.

“I think so myself, if the Josephine is to take part in getting the vessel into port,” continued O’Hara, who could not help recognizing the fairness of the senior’s decision. “But my second objection is to mixing the two crews at all.”

“I see no objection to that,” said Mr. Fluxion.

“I’m afraid they won’t agree together,” suggested O’Hara, shaking his head.

“If there is any danger of a disagreement of this kind, it is time the two crews were mingled, so that they may learn a new lesson in discipline.”

“There has always been a good deal of rivalry and some hard feeling among the different vessels of the squadron, sir,” continued O’Hara; and it is probable that the boy knew more about this matter than the man, and the junior vice-principal, who had been a student in the institution, understood it better than the senior.

“I can conceive of no disagreement among officers and seamen while on duty. You are to be in command of the steamer, Mr. O’Hara; and if any one from the Josephine refuses to obey your orders, or makes trouble on board, you will promptly report it to me; and, if the offender is an officer, he shall take the lowest number in the ship,” replied the stern disciplinarian, with the feeling, that, if there were any such insubordination in the vessel, he would like to get hold of it.

“But the vessels may be separated again, as they have been before,” suggested O’Hara, who was certainly very much opposed to having any of the Josephine’s officers under his command.

“We are not likely to be separated again: we have had one hard storm, and we are not in much danger of having another before we get to Madeira, which will be in three or four days at the most.”

“I will do the best I can, sir,” replied O’Hara, touching his cap to the senior.

“I don’t like to have the students serve as firemen,” continued Mr. Fluxion. “Possibly I may be able to find a crew of firemen for the steamer.”

“How will it be possible for you to find a crew of firemen here in mid-ocean?” asked Mr. Pelham, smiling with incredulity.

“The Josephine has not been without an adventure any more than the Tritonia,” replied Mr. Fluxion. “Yesterday morning at daylight we picked up a boat in which were six men. They are all Frenchmen and Italians; and say their steamer was sunk in a collision with another vessel in the night. Most of the crew and passengers got on board of the other vessel, and they took a boat to go to her; but it was upset in the heavy sea. They righted the boat, and all but one of them succeeded in getting into it again; but the other vessel was out of sight in the fog then, and they were unable to find her. This is the story they tell; and I have no doubt it is true. Very likely they belonged to the Ville d’Angers.”

“If they did, how was it possible for you to have picked them up?” asked Mr. Pelham.

“The steamer could not have been a great way from either of us when you heard the guns, though the Tritonia, as we may see by comparing the reckoning, was considerably to the northward of the Josephine,” added Mr. Fluxion.

“But where are these men? They have recognized the steamer by this time, if she was the one in which they were employed.”

“Probably they have not seen her yet,” replied Mr. Fluxion, laughing. “They slept all day yesterday; and, as I did not see them on deck when I left the schooner, I suppose they are sleeping off another day. They asked for wine, and insisted that they must have it; and they have slept all the time since I told them we had none on board.”

The change was announced to the ship’s company of the Ville d’Angers; and the half-dozen students who were required to return to the Tritonia were indignant and dissatisfied; but none of them dared say any thing in the presence of Mr. Fluxion. They were ordered into the Josephine’s boat, and left on board of their own vessel. The cutter then proceeded to the Josephine, and both vice-principals boarded her. O’Hara went with them.

It was found that the men picked up in the boat were still asleep under the top-gallant forecastle, where quarters had been fixed up for them. Mr. Shakings, the adult boatswain of the Josephine, was directed to call them; and they soon presented themselves in the waist, where the vice-principals were waiting to examine them in regard to their vessel. They were a very hard-looking set of men; and it was evident enough that severe discipline would be required to keep them in order.

As soon as they came on deck, they discovered the Ville d’Angers, which lay astern of the Josephine. They threw up their hands in astonishment when they saw her, and uttered a great many wild exclamations.

“What was the name of your steamer?” asked Mr. Fluxion in French.

“The Ville d’Angers,” replied one of them; and then they all indulged in another volley of exclamations.

“Is that the Ville d’Angers?” inquired the senior, pointing at the steamer.

“It is not possible!” shouted several of them at once. “She was sunk. A big hole was cut in her bow; and the water was pouring into her when we left her.”

They all talked together, and it was almost impossible to understand them. Some spoke in French, and others in Italian; for it appeared that there was a scarcity of Frenchmen, so many of them had gone into the army. The most intelligent one was an Italian; and he was conducted to the quarter-deck, where O’Hara was instructed to question him. But all the information needed had been obtained from Mr. Frisbone.

This man said his name was Alfonzo. He was asked if he and his companions were willing to work as firemen of the steamer on the trip to Funchal, if they received good wages. Then the fellow put on a cunning look, and it was plain that he was disposed to drive a sharp bargain. He thought a moment; and the interpreter saw that he was studying up some hard terms, and was going to ask for something which he regarded as exorbitant.

“We worked on the Ville d’Angers six days for which we have received no pay,” said Alfonzo, with a cunning leer on his face. “Pay us for this time, and we will work on the steamer.”

“What were your wages on the steamer?” asked O’Hara.

The fellow hesitated a moment, and then said three francs a day. O’Hara reported the substance of Alfonzo’s reply to the senior, at the same time expressing his belief that the Italian was lying, and that the firemen--for such they all were--had not been paid more than two francs, or at most not more than two and a half.

“Sixty cents a day is little enough for men who work in the fire-room of a ship at sea; and they shall have their own price,” replied Mr. Fluxion.

O’Hara informed Alfonzo that his terms were acceded to, and he was told to settle the matter with his companions. He looked quite sad, instead of rejoicing that his terms had been accepted: he was sorry that he had not asked more. The others assented.

“This young gentleman is the captain of the steamer,” said Mr. Fluxion, pointing to O’Hara.

The firemen all laughed as they surveyed him from head to foot; and possibly they thought they should have an easy time of it on board of the Ville d’Angers, if she was to be managed by boys like those of the Tritonia. They were ordered into the boat, and were put on board of the steamer.

“Mr. Speers particularly desires that the studies may be continued while we are on board of the steamer,” said O’Hara, when the men had been sent away.

“Speers!” exclaimed the senior vice-principal, evidently astonished at the suggestion. “He is the young man who went from the steerage up to first master, and whose guardian is looking for him, I believe.”

“The same, sir.”

“He shall be gratified; and Capt. Fairfield, our extra instructor, who is the most versatile scholar in the squadron, shall be transferred to the Ville d’Angers,” added Mr. Fluxion.

“Capt. Fairfield!” exclaimed O’Hara, afraid the instructor might be a sailor, and be placed over his head as an acting vice-principal; for, like most young men, he preferred to have the supreme command of the vessel.

“He is a West-Pointer, and knows no more about a ship than a marine; though he is perfect in the theory of navigation,” Mr. Fluxion explained. “You will divide your authority with no one, Mr. O’Hara. I shall send boatswain Shakings of this vessel with you to look out for your rigging.”

“What are my orders in case the vessels should be separated?” asked the young commander of the Ville d’Angers, though he was a year older than a young man we knew who had the full command of a thousand-ton ship; or another who brought his bark safely into port through the worst storm of the season.

“I suppose you would prefer to have your steamer separated from the rest of the squadron,” added Mr. Fluxion, laughing.

“I beg your pardon, sir; but I might have run for any port in the world when I had the steamer all to myself: but, instead of that, I went to look for the Tritonia,” replied the captain, a little hurt by the remark of the senior.

“You did exceedingly well, Capt. O’Hara; and I may add that I have full confidence in you. I know of no officer in the squadron whom I should prefer for the service to which Capt. Wainwright first appointed you; and I commend him for the good judgment he exercised in his selection. I only wonder that he did not appoint Scott, who is a prime favorite of his.”

“I thank you, sir,” replied O’Hara, touching his cap. “But Mr. Scott is a good officer, sir.”

“As good as any in the squadron, but not the best for an independent command,” added the senior.

By this time the cutter had returned; and the Josephine’s portion of the crew of the Ville d’Angers were sent on board. The Tritonia’s part were already on duty. As soon as the boat was hoisted up at the davits, the two schooners filled away. A six-knot breeze was blowing, and they were soon at a considerable distance from the steamer; for O’Hara had been instructed to station his ship’s company under the new arrangement before he got under way.

He immediately called all hands, now consisting of six officers and twenty-four seamen beside himself. As he had twelve hands in each watch, he divided each into quarter-watches. He appointed four quartermasters, who were to have charge of the wheel under the officer of the deck, and a few petty officers for other duties. The state-rooms were assigned to the students; and the regulations of the academy squadron declared to be in full force on board, so far as they were applicable.

“It is now four bells in the afternoon watch; and the second part of the starboard watch has the deck,” said Capt. O’Hara, when all the arrangements had been completed. “The officers and seamen will take their stations.”

Raymond was the officer of the second part of the watch indicated; and he repaired to the pilot-house to assume his duties. The quartermaster of the second part was there, with a seaman to assist at the wheel.

“I don’t like this arrangement,” said Gregory, the first officer, who had been fourth lieutenant of the Josephine, as he followed the captain forward.

“I am sorry you don’t, Mr. Gregory,” replied O’Hara, rather coldly.

“I don’t think there is any need of quarter-watches in this steamer,” added the first officer, with more emphasis than before.

“I don’t think so either,” chimed in Clinch, the third master of the Josephine.

“That shows that we differ in opinion a little taste,” returned O’Hara with a smile. “You may start her now, Mr. Raymond,” continued the captain, when he came to the pilot-house.

“Start her, sir,” repeated Raymond. “One bell, quartermaster.”

“One bell, sir,” returned the quartermaster, as he pulled the handle on the wheel-frame.

The screw began to turn slowly, and the Ville d’Angers went ahead. A few minutes later the speed-bell was rung, and the steamer increased her rate to something like ten knots an hour, though she was capable of making twelve or more. But a thick fog had settled down upon the ocean, and nothing could be seen of the rest of the little fleet. The captain ordered the regular fog-signal to be sounded at intervals, and a sharp lookout to be kept for the other vessels.