Gascoyne, The Sandal Wood Trader | Page 2

deep silence of night. A
few sea-birds rested on the water, as if in the enjoyment of the
profound peace that reigned around; and far away on the horizon might
be seen the tops of the palm trees that grow on one of those coral
islands which lie scattered in thousands, like beautiful gems, on the
surface of that bright blue sea.
Among the men who lay sleeping in various easy, off-hand attitudes on
the schooner's deck, was one who merits special attention--not only
because of the grotesque appearance of his person, but also because he
is one of the principal actors in our tale.
He was a large, powerful man, of that rugged build and hairy aspect
that might have suggested the idea that he would be difficult to kill. He
was a fair man, with red hair, and a deeply sun-burned face, on which
jovial good humor sat almost perpetually enthroned. At the moment
when we introduce him to the reader, however, that expression
happened to be modified in consequence of his having laid him down
to sleep in a sprawling manner on his back--the place as well as the
position being, apparently, one of studied discomfort. His legs lay over
the heel of the bowsprit, his big body reposed on a confused heap of
blocks and cordage, and his neck rested on the stock of an anchor so
that his head hung down over it, presenting the face to view with the
large mouth wide open, in an upside-down position. The man was
evidently on the verge of choking, but, being a strong man, and a
rugged man, and a healthy man, he did not care. He seemed to prefer
choking to the trouble of rousing himself and improving his position.
How long he would have lain in this state of felicity it is impossible to
say, for his slumbers were rudely interrupted by a slight lurch of the
schooner, which caused the blocks and cordage attached to the sheet of
the jib to sweep slowly, but with rasping asperity, across his face. Any
ordinary man would have been seriously damaged--at least in
appearance--by such an accident; but this particular sea-dog was tough

in the skin,--he was only awakened by it--nothing more. He yawned,
raised himself lazily, and gazed round with that vacant stare of
unreasonable surprise which is common to man on passing from a state
of somnolence to that of wakefulness.
Gradually the expression of habitual good-humor settled on his visage,
as he looked from one to another of his sleeping comrades, and at last,
with a bland smile, he broke forth into the following soliloquy:
"Wot a goose, wot a grampus you've bin, John Bumpus: firstly, for
goin' to sea; secondly, for remainin' at sea; thirdly, for not forsakin' the
sea; fourthly, for bein' worried about it at all, now that you've made up
your mind to retire from the sea; and fifthly--"
Here John Bumpus paused as if to meditate on the full depth and
meaning of these polite remarks, or to invent some new and powerful
expression wherewith to deliver his fifth head. His mental efforts
seemed to fail, however; for, instead of concluding the sentence, he
hummed the following lines, which, we may suppose, were expressive
of his feelings, as well as his intentions:--
"So good-by to the mighty ocean, And adoo to the rollin' sea. For it's
nobody has no notion Wot a grief it has bin to me."
"Ease off the sheets and square the topsail yards," was at that moment
said, or rather murmured, by a bass voice so deep and rich that,
although scarcely raised above a whisper, it was distinctly heard over
the whole deck.
John Bumpus raised his bulky form with a degree of lithe activity that
proved him to be not less agile than athletic, and, with several others,
sprang to obey the order. A few seconds later the sails were swelled out
by a light breeze, and the schooner moved through the water at a rate
which seemed scarcely possible under the influence of so gentle a puff
of air. Presently the breeze increased, the vessel cut through the blue
water like a knife, leaving a long track of foam in her wake as she
headed for the coral-island before referred to. The outer reef or barrier
of coral which guarded the island was soon reached. The narrow

opening in this natural bulwark was passed. The schooner stood across
the belt of perfectly still water that lay between the reef and the shore,
and entered a small bay, where the cairn water reflected the strip of
white sand, green palm, and tropical plants that skirted its margin, as
well as the purple hills of the interior.
Here she swept round in a sudden but graceful