The Voyage of the Arrow to the China Seas.: Its Adventures and Perils, Including Its Capture by Sea Vultures from the Countess of Warwick, as Set Down by William Gore, Chief MateHains, T. Jenkins (Thornton Jenkins)
General
The Voyage of the Arrow to the China Seas.: Its Adventures and Perils, Including Its Capture by Sea Vultures from the Countess of Warwick, as Set Down by William Gore, Chief Mate
It remained calm all that day, and the two vessels were in close
proximity. Miss Waters sat aft under an awning rigged over the after
part of the poop and gazed down at the smooth surface of the sea. Small
objects went floating slowly downward through the clear medium, sending
scintillating rays of light as they twisted with the motion. I found
time to do some work upon the wheel gear, for the calm weather permitted
the unreeving of the tackles as the vessel would not steer. Between
times I had a small chance to sit upon the taffrail and answer certain
questions that only a mate is expected to answer to passengers. Miss
Waters seemed preoccupied and took more than usual interest in the
movements of Brown, who seemed willing to aid me in my work by keeping
as close to me as possible. Twenty-five feet beneath the surface of the
sea the keel of the _Arrow_ showed above the void beneath all. Miss
Waters was gazing down absently into the depths when she suddenly made
out a vague form, brownish yellow in the light, as all objects appear at
great depths. The form grew larger, undulating, waving, but steadily
increasing in size. Then, at a depth of about fifty feet the shape of a
giant turtle appeared.
“Look,” she cried, “what a monster! What can it be?”
Brown looked over the rail, but failed to make the animal out. I saw the
turtle would come to the surface, and called two men to get a boat
ready.
“Looks like a logger-head,” I said, “and, if you care to, you can have
the sport of catching him.”
“I certainly will, then,” she cried, and sprang up ready to get into the
small boat. Crojack hardly liked the proceedings, but I made it all
right with him by a promise of a fine turtle steak for supper. Then,
getting the whale-irons, of which we had two aboard, into the small
boat, I called Brown and two men to get into her, and we were soon
alongside the _Arrow_.
“Come,” I said to Miss Waters, “let us see what kind of a sailor you
are, for, if you can get in and out of a small boat while the _Arrow_ is
rolling in this swell, you can prove yourself.”
She sprang instantly into the mizzen channels, disdaining the help
offered by Crojack, and then dropped lightly into the small boat’s
bottom. We were all ready and shoved clear of the ship’s side.
The turtle had risen to the surface of the sea about ten fathoms
distant, but, on seeing the ship and hearing the noise, he had sounded
again. However, I knew he would soon reappear, and I forthwith made my
way forward and made an iron ready for him. We rowed silently over the
oily ocean, keeping a sharp lookout for the game. The two ships seemed
suddenly very small and distant, and the vastness of the sea became
apparent. It is always that way, and when a person has never been upon
the broad sea in a small boat, the very greatness of the surrounding
space affects one. Miss Waters seemed subdued, and I noticed that she
was gazing anxiously now and then at the _Arrow_ that lay wallowing and
rolling like a log.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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