Wolves of the Sea | Page 6

I lay there, staring blindly about,
conscious of every horror, and so weak and unnerved as to tremble like
a child.
Yet the complete knowledge of what had actually occurred in that
frightful hole was only revealed when the violence of the storm finally
ceased, and the guards above again lifted the hatch. The gray light of
dawn faintly illumined the inferno below, and the sweet breath of
morning air swept down among us. Then I saw the haggard, uplifted
faces, the arms tossed aloft, and heard the wild yell as the stronger
charged forward struggling for the foot of the ladder. The place was a
foul, reeking shambles, so filthy as to be positively sickening, with
motionless bodies stretched here and there along the deck. Sailors and
guards fought their way down among us, driving back the unarmed
wretches who sought to oppose their progress, while others bore to the
deck above those who were too helpless to rise. There were five dead
among them, and twice as many more who had lost consciousness.
These were all removed first and then, feeling helpless to resist the rush,
the others were permitted to clamber up the ladder. Surging out upon
the deck, we were hurdled against the lee rail, menaced by leveled guns,
and thus finally fed, while the filthy quarters below were hastily
cleansed.
It was a dark, lowering morning, the desolate sea still threateningly
rough, the heavy clouds hanging low. The Romping Betsy was hove to,
under bare poles, a bit of the jib alone showing, with decks and spars
exhibiting evidence of the terrific struggle to keep afloat. I never
witnessed wilder pitching on any vessel, but the fresh air brought new
life to the wretches about me, and a species of cheerfulness was quickly
manifested. Bad as the food was we ate it gladly, nor did the memory
of the dead, already laid out on the main deck, long depress us. Why
should we mourn for them? We scarcely knew any among them by
name, and, facing the uncertainty of our own fate, each man secretly
felt that these had possibly found the easier way. Our own misery was
now greater than theirs. So we hung on to whatever would help us to

keep erect, and ate the food given us like famished animals. Rough and
threatening as the surroundings still were, I was seaman enough to
realize that the backbone of the storm had broken, and so rejoiced when
the skipper ordered sail set. In a few moments the brig was once again
headed on a westerly course, and riding the heavy seas much more
steadily.
We were permitted to remain on deck scarcely more than an hour, and
during that time only a very few passengers made their appearance aft.
Although watching eagerly I perceived no flutter of a skirt in the wind,
but the Spanish looking man emerged from below, and clung to the rail
for several minutes before we were ordered from deck. He spoke with
the Captain, pointing and gesticulating, and the few detached words
blown to me on the wind were sufficient to convince me that the fellow
knew ships and the sea. I had thought him a mere dandy, but now saw
in him harder stuff, even getting close enough to learn that he had
visited America before, and possessed knowledge of its shores and
currents. Ay, and he spoke English well, with never pause for a word,
even to terms of seamanship a bit obscure.
The next few days, while uneventful, sufficed to make our discipline
complete, obedience being roughly enforced by blows and oaths. At
first a spirit of resistance flamed high, but the truly desperate among us
were few, and without leadership, while the majority were already
thoroughly cowed by months of imprisonment. Left to themselves the
more reckless and criminal were soon obliged to yield to force, so that
nothing more serious resulted than loud talk and threats. The hatch
above remained open, but carefully guarded night and day, while we
were permitted on deck for air and exercise only in squads of ten, two
hours out of every twenty-four. This alone served to break the dread
monotony of the voyage, for while we almost constantly encountered
baffling head winds, no other storm of any magnitude obstructed our
passage. The brig carried heavy canvas, and the skipper loaded her with
all she could bear, but at that she was a slow sailor, dipping so deeply
in a seaway as to ship considerable water even in quiet weather. From
our exercise on deck we generally returned below drenched to the skin,
but glad to even pay that price for two hours of fresh air, and an

opportunity to gaze about at sea and sky. There was little else