Sunk at Sea | Page 9

gloominess arose from
anxiety. Not at all. It was simply his nature to be gloomy. If it had been
his duty to have proclaimed the approach of his own marriage, he
would have done it as sadly as if it had been the announcement of his
death. His thoughts were gloomy, and his tones were appropriate
thereto. Even his jokes were grave, and his countenance was
lugubrious.
"It is gaining on us, sir," added Mr Cupples.
"Then get all the spare hands to work with buckets immediately," said
the captain, "and send the carpenter here; we must have the leak
discovered."
"Yes, sir," sighed Mr Cupples, as if he had given way to despair;
nevertheless, he went off actively to obey the order.
"A strange man that," said the captain, turning to Will; "he is a capital
seaman, and a kind-hearted, honest fellow, yet he is melancholy enough
to throw a man into the blues."
"He and I get on famously notwithstanding," said Will, with a laugh.
"See, he is running aft--with bad news I fear, for his face is longer if
possible than--"
"Leak's increasing, sir," said the mate hurriedly; "we must have started

a plank."
This seemed to be too true. All hands were now plying pumps and
buckets vigorously, and every effort was being made to discover the
leak, but in vain. Hour by hour, inch by inch, the water gained on them,
and it soon became apparent that the ship must sink.
It is difficult for those who have never been at sea to realise the feelings
of men who are thus suddenly awakened to the awful fact that the
vessel which has been their home for many weeks or months can no
longer be counted on, and that, in a few hours, they shall be left in open
boats, far from land, at the mercy of the wide and stormy sea. So
terrible was the thought to those on board the Foam, that every man,
from the captain to the cabin-boy, toiled for hours at the pumps in silent
desperation. At last, when it was found that the water gained on them
rapidly, and that there was no hope of saving the ship, the captain
quietly left off working and put on his coat.
"Avast pumping, my lads," said he, in a grave, earnest tone; the good
ship is doomed, and now it behoves us to bow to the will of the Lord,
and do the best we can to save our lives. Stand by to hoist out the boats.
Get up bread and water, steward, and stow in them as much as you can
with safety. Mr Cupples, see my orders carried out, and have the
provisions properly divided among the boats. I want you, doctor, to
come below, and help me to get up a few things that will be of use to
us.
The prompt energy of the captain infused confidence into the men, who
soon executed the orders given them. Ere long the boats were ready to
be launched over the side, but this was a matter of the greatest
difficulty and danger, for the sea was still running high, and the ship
rolled heavily.
And now the great evil of not being provided with proper tackling to
launch the boats became apparent. One of the quarter-boats was the
first to be lowered; it was full of men. The order was given to lower,
and it dropped on the water all right. Then the order to unhook the
tackle was given. The man at the stern tackle succeeded in unhooking,

but the man at the bow failed. The result was fatal and instantaneous.
When the ship rose on the next wave, the boat was lifted by the bow
out of the water until she hung from the davits, and a terrible cry was
uttered as all the men were thrown out of her into the sea. Next moment
the boat was plunged into the waves, the tackle snapt, and she was
swept away.
"Lower away the long-boat!" shouted the captain.
This was eagerly and quickly done, and the mate with a number of men
leaped into it. The lowering was successfully accomplished, but when
they pulled to the spot where the quarter-boat had gone down, not one
of those who had manned her could be found. All had perished.
The remaining four boats were lowered in safety, and all of them pulled
away from the sinking ship, for latterly she had been settling down so
deep that it was feared every pitch would be her last, and had she sunk
while the boats were alongside, their destruction would have been
inevitable. They were rowed, therefore, to a safe distance, and there
awaited the end.
There was something inexpressibly sad in this. It seemed