The Survivors of the Chancellor (10 page)

At high tide the Chancellor weighed anchor and floated
out into the sea, but she was not in a condition to sail until
she had been ballasted; and for the next twenty-four hours
the crew were busily employed in taking up blocks of stone,
and such of the bales of cotton as had sustained the least
amount of injury.

In the course of the day, M. Letourneur, Andre, Miss
Herbey, and I took a farewell walk round the reef, and
Andre, with artistic skill, carved on the wall of the grotto
the word Chancellor — the designation of Ham Rock, which
we had given to the reef — and the date of our running
aground. Then we bade adieu to the scene of our three
weeks' sojourn, where we had passed days that to some at
least of our party will be reckoned as far from being the
least happy of their lives.

At high tide this morning, the 24th, with low, top, and
gallant sails all set, the Chancellor started on her onward
way, and two hours later the last peak of Ham Rock had
vanished below the horizon.

NOVEMBER 24 to December1. — Here we were then once
more at sea, and although on board a ship of which the
stability was very questionable, we had hopes, if the wind
continued favorable, of reaching the coast of Guiana in the
course of a few days.

Our way was southwest and consequently with the wind,
and although Curtis would not crowd on all sail lest the
extra speed should have a tendency to spring the leak afresh,
the Chancellor made a progress that was quite satisfactory.
Life on board began to fall back into its former routine; the
feeling of insecurity and the consciousness that we were
merely retracing our path doing much, however, to destroy
the animated intercourse that would otherwise go on between passenger and passenger.

The first few days passed without any incident worth recording, then on the 29th, the wind shifted to the north, and
it became necessary to brace the yards, trim the sails, and
take a starboard tack. This made the ship lurch very much
on one side, and as Curtis felt that she was laboring far too
heavily, he clewed up the top-gallants, prudently reckoning
that, under the circumstances, caution was far more important than speed.

The night came on dark and foggy. The breeze freshened considerably, and, unfortunately for us, hailed from the
northwest. Although we carried no topsails at all, the ship
seemed to heel over more than ever. Most of the passengers
had retired to their cabins, but all the crew remained on deck,
while Curtis never quitted his post upon the poop.

Toward two o'clock in the morning I was myself preparing to go to my cabin, when Burke, one of the sailors who
had been down into the hold, came on deck with the cry:

"Two feet of water below."

In an instant Curtis and the boatswain had descended the
ladder. The startling news was only too true; the sea-water
was entering the hold, but whether the leak had sprung
afresh, or whether the caulking in some of the seams was
insufficient, it was then impossible to determine; all that
could be done was to let the ship go with the wind, and wait
for day.

At daybreak they sounded again — "Three feet of
water!" was the report. I glanced at Curtis — his lips were
white, but he had not lost his self-possession. He quietly informed such of the passengers as were already on deck of
the new danger that threatened us; it was better that they
should know the worst, and the fact could not be long concealed. I told M. Letourneur that I could not help hoping
that there might yet be time to reach the land before the last
crisis came. Falsten was about to give vent to an expression of despair, but he was soon silenced by Miss Herbey
asserting her confidence that all would yet be well.

Curtis at once divided the crew into two sets, and made
them work incessantly, turn and turn about, at the pumps.
The men applied themselves to their task with resignation
rather than with ardor; the labor was hard and scarcely repaid them; the pumps were constantly getting out of order,
the valves being choked up by the ashes and bits of cotton
that were floating about in the hold, while every moment
that was spent in cleaning or repairing them was so much
time lost.

Slowly but surely the water continued to rise, and on the
following morning the soundings gave five feet for its depth.
I noticed that Curtis's brow contracted each time that the
boatswain or the lieutenant brought him their report. There
was no doubt it was only a question of time, and not for an
instant must the efforts for keeping down the level be relaxed. Already the ship had sunk a foot lower in the water,
and as her weight increased she no longer rose buoyantly
with the waves, but pitched and rolled considerably.

All yesterday and last night the pumping continued, but
still the sea gained upon us. The crew are weary and discouraged, but the second officer and the boatswain set them
a fine example of endurance, and the passengers have now
begun to take their turn at the pumps.

But all are conscious of toiling almost against hope; we
are no longer secured firmly to the solid soil of the Ham
Rock reef, but we are floating over an abyss which daily,
nay hourly, threatens to swallow us into its depths.

DECEMBER 2 and 3. — For four hours we have succeeded
in keeping the water in the hold to one level; now, however,
it is very evident that the time cannot be far distant when the
pumps will be quite unequal to their task.

Yesterday Curtis, who does not allow himself a minute's
rest, made a personal inspection of the hold. I, with the
boatswain and carpenter, accompanied him. After dislodging some of the bales of cotton we could hear a splashing,
or rather gurgling sound; but whether the water was entering at the original aperture, or whether it found its way in
through a general dislocation of the seams, we were unable
to discover. But, whichever might be the case, Curtis determined to try a plan which, by cutting off communication
between the interior and exterior of the vessel, might, if only
for a few hours, render her hull more water-tight. For this
purpose he had some strong, well tarred sails drawn upward
by ropes from below the keel, as high as the previous leaking place, and then fastened closely and securely to the side
of the hull. The scheme was dubious, and the operation
difficult, but for a time it was effectual, and at the close of
the day the level of the water had actually been reduced by
several inches. The diminution was small enough, but the
consciousness that more water was escaping through the
scupper-holes than was finding its way into the hold gave us
fresh courage to persevere with our work.

The night was dark, but the captain carried all the sail he
could, eager to take every possible advantage of the wind,
which was freshening considerably. If he could have
sighted a ship he would have made signals of distress, and
would not have hesitated to transfer the passengers, and
even have allowed the crew to follow, if they were ready to
forsake him; for himself his mind was made up — he should
remain on board the Chancellor until she foundered beneath
his feet. No sail, however, hove in sight; consequently
escape by such means was out of our power.

During the night the canvas covering yielded to the pressure of the waves, and this morning, after taking the sounding, the boatswain could not suppress an oath when he announced, "Six feet of water in the hold!"

The ship, then, was filling once again, and already had
sunk considerably below her previous water-line. With
aching arms and bleeding hands we worked harder than
ever at the pumps, and Curtis makes those who are not
pumping form a line and pass buckets, with all the speed
they can, from hand to hand.

But all in vain! At half-past eight more water is reported in the hold, and some of the sailors, overcome by despair, refuse to work one minute longer.

The first to abandon his post was Owen, a man whom I
have mentioned before as exhibiting something of a mutinous spirit. He is about forty years of age, and altogether
unprepossessing in appearance; his face is bare, with the
exception of a reddish beard, which terminates in a point;
his forehead is furrowed with sinister looking wrinkles, his
lips curl inward, and his ears protrude, while his bleared and
bloodshot eyes are encircled with thick red rings.

Among the five or six other men who had struck work I
noticed Jynxstrop, the cook, who evidently shared all Owen's
ill-feelings.

Twice did Curtis order the men back to the pumps, and
twice did Owen, acting as spokesman for the rest, refuse;
and when Curtis made a step forward as though to approach
him, he said savagely:

"I advise you not to touch me," and walked away to the
forecastle.

Curtis descended to his cabin, and almost immediately returned with a loaded revolver in his hand.

For a moment Owen surveyed the captain with a frown
of defiance; but at a sign from Jynxstrop he seemed to
recollect himself, and, with the remainder of the men, he
returned to his work.

DECEMBER 4. — The first attempt at mutiny being thus
happily suppressed, it is to be hoped that Curtis will succeed
as well in future. An insubordinate crew would render us
powerless indeed.

Throughout the night the pumps were kept, without
respite, steadily at work, but without producing the least
sensible benefit. The ship became so water-logged and
heavy that she hardly rose at all to the waves, which consequently often washed over the deck and contributed their
part toward aggravating our case. Our situation was
rapidly becoming as terrible as it had been when the fire
was raging in the midst of us; and the prospect of being
swallowed by the devouring billows was no less formidable
than that of perishing in the flames.

Curtis kept the men up to the mark, and, willing or unwilling, they had no alternative but to work on as best they
might; but in spite of all their efforts, the water perpetually
rose, till, at length, the men in the hold who were passing
the buckets found themselves immersed up to their waists,
and were obliged to come on deck.

This morning, after a somewhat protracted consultation
with Walter and the boatswain, Curtis resolved to abandon
the ship. The only remaining boat was far too small to hold
us all, and it would therefore be necessary to construct a
raft that should carry those who could not find room in her.
Dowlas, the carpenter, Mr. Falsten, and ten sailors were told
off to put the raft in hand, the rest of the crew being ordered
to continue their work assiduously at the pumps, until the
time came and everything was ready for embarkation.

Hatchet or saw in hand, the carpenter and his assistants
made a beginning without delay, by cutting and trimming the
spare yards and extra spars to a proper length. These were
then lowered into the sea — which was propitiously calm —
so as to favor the operation (which otherwise would have
been very difficult) of lashing them together into a firm
framework, about forty feet long and twenty-five feet wide,
upon which the platform was to be supported.

I kept my own place steadily at the pumps, and Andre Letourneur worked at my side. I often noticed his father
glance at him sorrowfully, as though he wondered what
would become of him if he had to struggle with waves to
which even the strongest man could hardly fail to succumb.
But come what may, his father will never forsake him, and
I myself shall not be wanting in rendering him whatever
assistance I can.

Mrs. Kear, who had been for some time in a state of
drowsy unconsciousness, was not informed of the immediate
danger; but when Miss Herbey, looking somewhat pale with
fatigue, paid one of her flying visits to the deck, I warned
her to take every precaution for herself, and to be ready for
any emergency.

"Thank you, doctor, I am always ready," she cheerfully
replied, and returned to her duties below. I saw Andre
follow the young girl with his eyes, and a look of melancholy
interest passed over his countenance.

Toward eight o'clock in the evening the framework for
the raft was almost complete, and the men were lowering empty barrels, which had first been securely bunged,
and were lashing them to the woodwork to insure its
floating.

Two hours later and suddenly there arose the startling
cry, "We are sinking! we are sinking!"

Up to the poop rushed Mr. Kear, followed immediately
by Falsten and Miss Herbey, who were bearing the inanimate form of Mrs. Kear. Curtis ran to his cabin, instantly
returning with a chart, a sextant, and a compass in his hand.

The scene that followed will ever be engraven in my
memory; the cries of distress, the general confusion, the
frantic rush of the sailors toward the raft that was not yet
ready to support them, can never be forgotten. The whole
period of my life seemed to be concentrated into that terrible
moment when the planks bent below my feet and the ocean
yawned beneath me.

Some of the sailors had taken their delusive refuge in the
shrouds, and I was preparing to follow them when a hand
was laid upon my shoulder.. Turning round I beheld M.
Letourneur, with tears in his eyes, pointing toward his son.
"Yes, my friend," I said, pressing his hand, "we will save
him, if possible."

But Curtis had already caught hold of the young man,
and was hurrying him to the main-mast shrouds, when the
Chancellor, which had been scudding along rapidly with the
wind, stopped suddenly, with a violent shock, and began to
settle. The sea rose over my ankles, and almost instinctively I clutched at the nearest rope. All at once, when it
seemed all over, the ship ceased to sink, and hung motionless
in mid-ocean.