But if the flames could be savage, I felt that I could too, for, you
see, I looked upon it as my fault, for sleeping at my post, when I ought
to have seen the first flash out. So I got down amongst the smoke and
steam, and as they handed me buckets of water, I placed them well, and
by degrees we got the fire under again. It was just about daybreak as
we turned all the glow and flame into blackness, half hidden by steam;
but even then we daren't leave off, for another such outbreak would have
made an end of us. Even now, most of the cargo seemed destroyed, and it
was cruel work, for everything fought against us except the weather,
which certainly did keep clear and calm, or we must have gone to the
bottom. But, as I said, it did seem such cruel work to have things,
that we were ready to die for the want of, destroyed before our eyes.
We were all worn out; but sooner than run any more risks, we kept on
pouring water here and there, till it seemed quite impossible for fire
to break out again; and there we were at last with the ship our own,
what there was of it; but though there was a good-sized piece of the
fore-deck left, and a little round the wheel, the only way to get from
stem to starn was by climbing down amongst the burned rubbish, and then
making your way through it till you reached the poop.
By means of a little hunting about, though, we managed to get at some
provisions, and among other things a cask of pork, with the top part
regularly cooked. We got at water, too, and some rum; and then it
didn't seem to matter, danger or no danger, fire breaking out or
mutineers coming back, sleep would have its way, and one after the other
we dropped off, the fat passenger in a corner, and Mr Tomtit with his
legs dangling down over the burned hold.
I talked to Miss Bell and Mr Ward afterwards about my having neglected
my duty, but they would hardly hear a word about it; and now I found
that though we had all slept, Miss Bell had been awake and watching; but
now she went into the sort of tent we had rigged her up; and Mr Ward
having the same thing in his head as I had, we went and had a talk
together, and an hour afterwards we had poor Mr Bell neatly wrapped in
a piece of sailcloth, with some iron stanchions and bolts at the feet,
and lying decently waiting for Miss Bell to wake again.
She came out of her tent at sundown, looking pale and haggard; and as
soon as she saw what we had been about, the tears began to roll down her
cheeks, and she came and knelt down by her brother's head and joined her
hands.
I did not want the sign Mr Ward made me to do as him and Mr Tomtit
did, and there we knelt for some time on that calm, solemn sort of
evening, with the ship just gently rolling on what seemed a sea of
orange. There wasn't a breath of wind stirring, but all was quiet and
peaceful, with only Miss Bell's sobs and the twittering of birds to
break the stillness.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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