The Wreck of the Nancy Bell | Page 7

the sable gentleman may be!"
What Mrs Major Negus might have rejoined to this, cannot
unfortunately be told, for at that moment, just as she had drawn herself
up to her full height of some five feet ten inches, or thereabouts, and
appeared prepared to demolish Mr Meldrum for his temerity in
laughing at her--in laughing at her, forsooth; the wife of the deputy
assistant comptroller- general of Waikatoo, New Zealand--the captain
called out to him to bear a hand to raise the wounded darkey from out
of his self-selected prison. Mr Adams, the second mate, turning out of
his cabin at the same time to take his watch, the two managed to raise
"Snowball"--the captain and the Irishman easing the burden by lifting

him from below. As for the grand Mrs Major Negus, she had to content
herself with looking on with an undisguised contempt at the whole
proceeding, wondering all the while that they should dare to introduce a
negro into the saloon in that manner without having first asked her
permission!
Help generally comes when it is not specially wanted; so, by the time
the stowaway had been lifted and placed on a berth in one of the vacant
cabins, having his wounds, which were somewhat serious, seen to and
bound up, some others of the passengers appeared on the scene.
Notably amongst these was Mr Zachariah Lathrope, of Providence,
Rhode Island, an American gentleman of a particularly inquisitive
nature, but who, professing some knowledge of medical craft, was
really of some use in this instance, as there was no regular ship surgeon
on board; and, secondly, young Master Negus, a "born imp of
mischief," whose acquaintance will be further improved as the voyage
proceeds; while, Llewellyn, the steward, summoned courage at last to
descend the companion, in company with his wife the stewardess, who
had been forward to the cook's galley in search of some early tea for the
lady passengers. Seeing her husband on the poop she had brought him
below, being, as Mr McCarthy observed, "twice the man" that her
presumptive "lord and master" could possibly have been supposed,
even by his warmest admirer.
The mystery being thus satisfactorily explained, and the stowaway
made comfortable for the while in a much more sumptuous lodging
than he ever expected--Captain Dinks waiting to call him to account
until he should have recovered from his injuries--the debris of broken
crockeryware was cleared away, and the saloon party piped to breakfast,
throughout which meal, it need hardly be added, Llewellyn got chaffed
immeasurably anent his supernatural visitor, never having a moment's
peace about his discovery of the "ghost in the cabin" and subsequent
terrific fight therewith.
And, all this while, the ship was tacking every now and then to make
the most out of the wind, which was shifting from the west to the south,
and veering occasionally from the east to the north; rising as it shifted

and blowing with an ever-increasing force, till the vessel was running
under reefed topsails and foresail, with her spanker half brailed up, her
spread of canvas having been reduced by degrees, in preparation for the
threatening gale that seemed coming from the south-west, that is, if the
appearances of the sea and sky were to be trusted.
CHAPTER THREE.
A NARROW SQUEAK.
During the forenoon watch, the deck was in charge of Mr Adams, the
second mate--a plain, steady-going, matter-of-fact sort of man, with
none of that buoyant spirit and keen sense of humour which
characterised hid senior shipmate McCarthy, although he was a
thorough sailor to the backbone, and believed the human race to be
divided into two classes, those who were seamen and those who weren't.
The wind now took a more favourable turn, settling itself in the
south-east quarter as if it meant to remain there, thus enabling the ship
to steer a better course; and, meanwhile, the sky clearing up a bit, the
threatening clouds drifted to leeward and the sun shone out again just
as it did when the captain first came on deck in the early morning.
Taking advantage of the change, the reefs were shaken out of the
topsails, the courses let fall again, the jib and flying-jib hoisted, and the
topgallants set; and soon, with her head steering south-west and a half
south, the Nancy Bell was bounding over the waves under all plain sail,
as if anxious to make up for the time she had lost in tacking about
against the head-wind that had barred her southward progress ever
since she took her departure from the Lizard Point on the previous day
when she hauled out from the Channel.
The breeze was freshening, and there was a nasty sort of chopping sea,
when the captain came on the poop at noon to take