Salt Water: The Sea Life and Adventures of Neil D'Arcy the MidshipmanKingston, William Henry Giles
General
Salt Water: The Sea Life and Adventures of Neil D'Arcy the Midshipman
Kingston, William Henry Giles
Midshipmen -- Juvenile fiction; Seafaring life -- Juvenile fiction
"Where we now are," said I; and I should probably have gone on to
explain the reason of the name, but that I was very anxious to hear more
of her account. As far as I could make out, three very anxious weeks
passed by while the ship remained in this condition, when, as they were
getting near soundings, a gale sprang up and drove her furiously before
it. "One evening," continued the little girl, "papa and I were in our
cabins, when suddenly the ship rolled over dreadfully on her side, and--
most horrible!--the water came rushing down into them. At the same time
there was a frightful crash, and we heard sad shrieks and cries. Poor
papa flew into my cabin, and seized me in his arms, for he thought the
ship was sinking, so did I, and we wished to die together."
"The ship had broached to, and had been thrown on her beam-ends, and the
masts had gone by the board," I remarked. "It was fortunate they did
so, or she would have been sent to the bottom to a certainty. When the
masts went the ship righted, and you saw there was a chance of escape."
"I was too frightened to think anything just then," said she. "All I
know is, that papa, carrying me in his arms, found his way in the
darkness to the companion-ladder, and then up on deck. When we got
there, I wished that we were in our cabin again. We were in the midst
of high, black, foaming waves and bright flashes of lightning; and when
I looked up, there were no masts and no sails, but the deck was covered
with their broken remains. It was so very dreadful, I cannot talk more
about it now. I did not cry or faint, but I felt my heart beat very
quick as I clung to papa, while he held tight to the companion-hatches,
which, as you see, still remain firm."
"But where have you lived all the time you have been on the wreck?" I
asked.
"Oh, I remained where you first found me," she answered. "At night they
covered me up with cloaks and a sail, and in the daytime I was able to
walk about, for the sea, fortunately, was tolerably smooth. The kind
sailors also, though suffering much from hunger, I heard papa say,
brought me all I required to eat, which was not much, you may suppose."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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