The Missing Merchantman | Page 4

than ever sorry that his former
mates were not to be with him on the forthcoming voyage. For, it must
be explained, the late chief-mate of the Bride of Abydos had been
promoted to the post of master of that ship--or captain, as the masters
of merchant ships like to be called--and the second-mate had met with
an accident, and was lying disabled in an hospital. However, it could
not be helped, and Captain Blyth was obliged to content himself with
the hope that Mr Bryce--who had come to him with a very good
recommendation--would turn out to be a better chief-mate than, at the
moment, seemed likely.
The Flying Cloud's crew were shipped that day, and they comprised a
second-mate, a steward, a cook, a carpenter, a sailmaker, a boatswain
and boatswain's-mate, eight A.B.'s (or able seamen), including the
swarthy man--whose name, by the way, was entered upon the articles
as Joshua Williams--and his five shipmates, and ten ordinary seamen.
These, with the captain, chief-mate, and four midshipmen-apprentices,
made up a crew of thirty-one, all told; which, exclusive of the captain,
cook, steward, carpenter, and sailmaker, neither of whom kept watch,
made up a crew of thirteen hands in a watch, none too many for a full-
rigged ship of the size of the Flying Cloud, with such a spread of
canvas as she could show to the breeze.
During the afternoon Ned made a little journey up into the Minories, to
the studio of a clever marine artist to whom he had given a commission
to paint the portrait of the ship; and when he reached the place he was
much gratified to find that not only was the picture finished, but also

that it was a capital representation of the Flying Cloud as she would
appear at sea under all plain sail upon a taut bowline. Her ensign was
shown flying from the peak; the house-flag--a large square white flag,
with blue border, blue Saint Andrew's cross, and a large letter B in red
in the centre--floated from the main-skysail-mast-head, and her number
from the mizen, in response to a signal from another ship seen in the
distance. It was a very spirited picture, and as Ned paid down its price,
and gave instructions for its immediate despatch to his father's address,
he felt that the money had been well laid out.
The hatches were put on, and, with the exception of the after-hatch,
battened down that evening; and, whilst this was being done, Captain
Blyth made his appearance on board, accompanied by a friend, a
certain Captain Spence, who had been invited to take a farewell glass of
wine in the Flying Cloud's saloon. Captain Spence was in command of
a very fine ship, named the Southern Cross, some two hundred tons
larger than the Flying Cloud. She also was in the Australian trade; and
though the two ships belonged to rival lines, and there was intense
emulation between the skippers of the "Bruce" and the "Constellation"
clippers, Captains Blyth and Spence were old and sincere friends, and
the rivalry between them was all in good part. They had long been
secretly anxious to have a fair race together; but hitherto circumstances
had been against them. Now, however, their opportunity had come, for
the Southern Cross had also been loading in the London docks for
Melbourne, the port to which the Flying Cloud was bound, and, like the
latter, was to haul out of dock with the morrow's tide; and the two
skippers had each made a bet of a new hat that his own ship would
make the passage from Gravesend to Port Phillip Heads in a less
number of hours than the other, which bet was now to be ratified over
their parting glass of wine. The Southern Cross, however, would get
the start by about one day, as the Flying Cloud was to call at Tilbury
Fort to take on board a quantity of ammunition for the guns and rifles
which she was carrying out, and Captain Spence was cherishing an
inward hope that a fine easterly breeze which had been blowing for
some days would carry him well down channel and then chop round
from the southward in good time to baffle his old friend during the
passage of the Flying Cloud through the Downs. A somewhat curious

and amusing characteristic of the friendly rivalry between the skippers
was that, whilst each implicitly believed in his own ship, he affected a
faith in the superior qualities of the other, and framed his remarks
accordingly. So when the little farewell chat and the parting bottle of
wine had come to an end, and Captain Spence rose to go, he held out
his hand with:
"Well, good-bye, Blyth, and a pleasant passage to you. You will