England -- Social life and customs -- 19th century -- Fiction; Short stories, English
It brought forth Pym. Jack's head was turned away for a moment, and I
saw what he did not. That Pym had a fiery face, and walked as if his
limbs were slipping from under him.
"Oh, you are here at last, Mr. Pym--did you not receive my first
message?" cried Jack, turning round. "The cargo must be broken out to
find the place of leakage. See about it smartly: there's no time to
waste."
Pym had caught hold of something at hand to enable him to stand steady.
He had lost his wits, that was certain; for he stuttered out an answer
to the effect that the cargo might be--hanged.
The captain saw his state then. Feeling a need of renovation possibly,
after his morning's exertions, Mr. Pym had been making free, a great
deal too much so, with the bottled ale below, and had finished up with
brandy-and-water.
The cargo might be hanged!
Captain Tanerton, his brow darkening, spoke a sharp, short, stern
reprimand, and ordered Mr. Pym to his cabin.
What could have possessed Pym unless it might be the spirit that was in
the brandy, nobody knew. He refused to obey, broke into open defiance,
and gave Captain Tanerton sauce to his face.
"Take him below," said the captain quietly, to those who were standing
round. "Mr. Ferrar, you will lock Mr. Pym's cabin-door, if you please,
and bring me the key."
This was done, and Mr. Pym encaged. He kicked at his cabin-door, and
shook it; but he could not escape: he was a prisoner. He swore for a
little while at the top of his voice; then he commenced some uproarious
singing, and finally fell on his bed and went to sleep.
Hands were set to work to break out the cargo, which they piled on deck;
and the source of the leakage was discovered. It seemed a slight thing,
after all, to have caused so much commotion--nothing but an old treenail
that had not been properly plugged-up. I said so to Ferrar.
"Ah, Mr. Johnny," was Ferrar's answering remark, his face and tone
strangely serious, "slight as it may seem to you, it might have sunk us
all this night, had we chanced to anchor off Gravesend."
* * * * *
What with the pumps, that were kept at work, and the shifting of the
cargo, and the hammering they made in stopping up the leak, we had
enough to do this time. And about half-past three o'clock in the
afternoon the brave ship, which had gone out so proudly with the tide,
got back ignominiously with the end of it, and came to an anchor outside
the graving-dock, there not being sufficient water to allow of her
entering it. The damage was already three-parts repaired, and the ship
would make her final start on the morrow.
"'Twas nothing but a good Providence could have put it into my head to
sound the ship, sir," remarked the carpenter, wiping his hot face, as he
came on deck for something or other he needed. "But for that, we might
none of us have seen the morning's sun."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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