In the Wilds of Africa | Page 8

utterly useless; and I was afraid that even if Stanley or the other gentlemen spoke to him, he would be as little likely to attend to them as to me.
I must confess that the captain's death and this conduct of Kydd made me forget altogether the almost dying injunctions of the former to anchor as soon as we got into shallow water. The latter also seemed entirely to have forgotten that we were already in soundings.
"Well, sir," he said, coming up to Stanley, "I suppose we must see about getting the old man buried. I am no hand at preaching or praying, and so I will ask you to read the funeral service. We will do all things ship-shape and right."
"Why, sir," exclaimed Stanley, in a tone of indignation, "the poor man's breath is scarcely out of his body! You would not throw him overboard at once surely!"
"We have to manage that sort of thing pretty sharply out in these latitudes," answered Kydd. "I shall be wanting his cabin, too; and as it may be two or three days before we reach Loando, we cannot have him buried on shore. We are not far off that place, and I hope we shall be able to get an observation in a short time, and see exactly where we are."
"You are now master of the vessel, and I shall not interfere with your authority," said Stanley; "but I think it would be more decent to wait as long as we can for the sake of the poor little boy there. When his feelings are more calm he would like to see his dead father."
"Oh, certainly, sir, as you please, as you please," said the mate, turning away. "I will give you another hour to indulge your fancy, but I have no maudlin feelings of that sort."
If the look of unutterable disgust which passed over my cousin's countenance could have made Kydd ashamed of himself, he would have hid his face; but he continued pacing the deck and turning his head about as if considering which order he should next issue. I saw Kate at length take Natty down into the captain's cabin, and I thought it best to allow her and the boy to be alone there together at that sad moment. The boatswain then came aft and said that he and the crew wished to see their late captain.
"What is that for?" asked Kydd, and I thought he was going to refuse the request.
"He was our friend, and we would like to have a last look at his kind face," answered the boatswain.
"Well, if the passengers do not mind your going into the cabin, I do not," said the mate, turning aside.
Perhaps he did not quite like the expression of old Barker's countenance. I led the way into the cabin, and the crew came, one by one, following the boatswain. "Well, you was an honest, kind man as ever lived, and that's more than can be said of him who has stepped into your shoes," said old Barker, apostrophising the captain. "He is less of a sailor than your little finger was; and as to sense, he has not as much as was in your thumb-nail." The remarks of the other men, as they passed by, were still less complimentary to the new master; and had he heard them, he might well have doubted his power of keeping his crew in order. I felt, indeed, very anxious, for though I had thought very little of Kydd, I was not aware how he was despised and detested by the men.
I more than ever wished that a breeze would spring up, that they might have something to do, and that we might get away from this dangerous part of the coast. The calm, however, still continued, and at length the time came for lowering our late captain into his ocean grave. The sailmaker came aft with the boatswain to superintend the operation of enclosing him in a hammock, into which they fastened a pig of iron ballast.
"Them sharks shan't have him, nohow," observed the sailmaker; "for though the bottom may be a long way off, he will reach it pretty quickly, and lie quiet there till the day when we all come up from the land or sea--it will not then matter where we have lain in the meantime--to answer for ourselves. I only wish I was as sure to give as good an account of myself as he is."
"Be quick there!" cried the mate from the deck. "There is a breeze coming up, I have a notion, and we shall have to trim sails. I wish to get this business over first."
Kate had been keeping Natty by her side while this was going forward. Two of the other men now came below