Afloat and Ashore (44 page)

"Well, even two hundred and sixty-six dollars a year, is a good deal
for a young man like you to pay, for the pleasure of saying he owns a
pearl necklace that he cannot use."

"But it cost me nothing, sir, and of course I can lose nothing by it."

"I rather think you will lose what I tell you, if the ornament can be
sold for that sum. When a man has property from which he might derive
an income, and does not, he is, in one sense, and that the most
important, a loser."

"I have a sister, Major Merton; I may possibly give it to her—or,
should I marry, I would certainly give it to my wife."

I could see a smile struggling about the mouth of the major, which I
was then too young, and I may add, too American, to understand. The
incongruity of the wife of a man of two thousand, or five and twenty
hundred dollars a-year, wearing two years' income round her neck, or
of being magnificent in only one item of her dress, household, or
manner of living, never occurred to my mind. We can all laugh when we
read of Indian chiefs wearing uniform-coats, and cocked-hats, without
any other articles of attire; but we cannot imagine inconsistencies in
our own cases, that are almost as absurd in the eyes of highly
sophisticated and conventional usages. To me, at that age, there was
nothing in the least out of the way, in Mrs. Miles Wallingford's
wearing the necklace, her husband being unequivocally its owner. As
for Emily, she did not smile, but continued to hold the necklace in
her own very white, plump hand, the pearls making the hand look all
the prettier, while the hand assisted to increase the lustre of the
pearls. I ventured to ask her to put the necklace on her neck. She
blushed slightly, but she complied.

"Upon my word, Emily," exclaimed the gratified father, "you become
each other so well, that I am losing a prejudice, and begin to believe
even a poor man's daughter may be justified in using such an
ornament."

The sight was certainly sufficient to justify anything of the
sort. The dazzling whiteness of Miss Merlon's skin, the admirable
outlines of her throat and bust, and the flush which pleasure gave her
cheeks, contributed largely to the beauty of the picture. It would
have been difficult to say, whether the charms of the woman ornamented
the pearls, or those of the pearls ornamented the woman! I remember I
thought, at the time, my eyes had never dwelt on any object more
pleasing, than was Miss Merton during the novelty of that
spectacle. Nor did the pleasure cease, on the instant; for I begged
her to continue to wear the necklace during the remainder of the day;
a request with which she had the good nature to comply. Which was most
gratified by this exhibition, the young lady or myself, it might be
difficult to say; for there is a mutual satisfaction in admiring, and
in being admired.

When I went into the cabin to say good-night, I found Emily Merton,
with the necklace in her hand, gazing at it, by the light of a
powerful lamp, with eyes as liquid and soft as the pearls
themselves. I stood still to admire her; for never before had I seen
her so bewitchingly beautiful. Her countenance was usually a little
wanting in intellectual expression, though it possessed so much of
that which I have described as
angelic
; but, on this occasion,
it seemed to me
, to be full of ideas. Can it be possible,
whispered conceit—and what very young man is entirely free from
it—can it be possible, she is now thinking how happy a woman Mrs.
Miles Wallingford will one day be?—Am I in any manner connected with
that meditating brow, that reflecting air, that fixed look, that
pleased and yet doubting expression?

"I was about to send for you, Captain Wallingford," said Emily, the
instant she saw me, and confirming my conceited conjectures, by
blushing deeper than I had seen her before, in the whole of that
blushing, sensitive, and enjoyable day; "about to send for you, to
take charge of your treasure."

"And could you not assume that much responsibility, for a single
night?"

"'T would be too great—it is an honour reserved for Mrs. Wallingford,
you know."

This was smilingly said, I fancied sweetly and kindly, and yet it was
said not altogether without something that approached to an
équivoque
; a sort of manner that the deep, natural feeling of
Grace, and needle-like truth of Lucy had rendered unpleasant to me. I
took the necklace, shook the young lady's hand for good-night—we
always did that, on meeting and parting for the day—paid my
compliments to the father, and withdrew.

I was dressing next morning, when Neb came bolting into my state-room,
with his Clawbonny freedom of manner, his eyes looking lobsters, and
his
necklace of pearl, glittering between a pair of lips that
might have furnished a cannibal two famous steaks. As soon as fairly
established in command, I had brought the fellow aft, berthing him in
the steerage, in order to have the benefit of more of his personal
service than I could obtain while he was exclusively a foremast
Jack. Still, he kept his watch; for it would have been cruel to
deprive, him of that pleasure.

"Oh! Masser Mile!" exclaimed the black, as soon as he could speak; "'e
boat!—'e boat!"

"What of the boat?—Is any one overboard?"

"'E whale-boat, sir!—Poor Captain Marble—'e whale-boat, sir!"

"I understand you, Neb—go on deck, and desire the officer of the
watch to heave-to the ship, as soon as it is proper; I will come up,
the instant I can."

Here, then, I thought, Providence has brought us on the track of the
unfortunate whale-boat; and we shall doubtless see the mutilated
remains of some of our old companions—poor Marble, doubtless, from
what Neb said—well, the will of God be done. I was soon dressed; and,
as I went up the cabin-ladder, the movement on deck denoted the nature
of the excitement that now prevailed generally, in the ship. Just as
I reached the quarter-deck, the main-yard swung round, and the sails
were brought aback. The whole crew was in commotion, and it was some
little time before I could learn the cause.

The morning was misty, and the view round the ship, until within a few
minutes, had been confined to a circle of less than a mile in
diameter. As the sun rose, however, the mist broke away gradually, and
then the watch caught a view of the whale-boat mentioned by
Neb. Instead of being floating about on the ocean, with the remains of
its unfortunate crew lying in its bottom, as I had expected to see it,
when I caught the first glimpse of the unlooked-for object, it was not
a mile distant, pulling briskly for us, and containing not only a
full, but a strong and an animated crew.

Just at that instant, some one cried out "Sail-ho!" and sure enough, a
ship was seen some four or five miles to leeward, a whaler evidently,
turning to windward, under easy canvass, in order to rejoin her boat,
from which she had lately been separated by the night and the
fog. This, then, was no more than a whaler and her boat; and, on
sweeping the horizon with a glass, Talcott soon discovered, a mile to
windward of the boat, a dead whale, with another boat lying by it, in
waiting for the approach of the ship, which promised to fetch as far
to windward, on its next tack.

"They desire to speak us, I suppose, Mr. Talcott," I remarked. "The
ship is probably an American; it is likely the captain is in the boat,
and he wishes to send letters or messages home."

A shout came from Talcott, at the next instant—then he cried out—

"Three cheers, my lads; I see Captain Marble in that boat, as plainly
as I see the boat itself!"

The cheers that followed, were a spontaneous burst of joy. They
reached the approaching boat, and gave its inmate an earnest of his
reception. In three more minutes. Marble was on the deck of his old
ship. For myself, I was unable to speak; nor was poor Marble much
better off though more prepared for the interview.

"I knew you, Miles; I knew you, and the bloody 'Pretty Poll,'" he at
last got out, the tears running down his cheeks like water, "the
moment the fog lifted, and gave me a fair glimpse. They've got
her—yes—d—n her—God bless her, I mean—they've got her, and the
bloody Frenchmen will not go home with
that
feather in their
caps. Well, it couldn't have happened to a cleverer fellow; and I'm
just as happy as if I had done it myself!"

There he stood, sound, safe, and sturdy as ever; and the four Sandwich
Islanders were all in the boat, just as well as if they had never
quitted the ship. Every man of the crew had to shake hands with
Marble, congratulations were to be exchanged, and a turbulent quarter
of an hour passed, before it was possible to get a coherent account
from the man of what had befallen him. As soon as practicable,
however, he motioned for silence, and told his own story aloud, for
the benefit of all hands.

"You know how I left you, men," Marble commenced, swabbing his eyes
and cheeks, and struggling to speak with something like an appearance
of composure, "and the errand on which I went. The last I saw of you
was about half an hour before the gust broke. At that time I was so
near the ship, as to make out she was a whaler; and, nothing doubting
of being in sight of you in the morning, I thought it safer to pull
alongside of
her
, than to try to hunt for the schooner in the
dark. I found an old shipmate in the whaler's captain, who was looking
for a boat that had struck adrift the night before; and both parties
were pleased. There was not much time for compliments, however, as you
all know. The ship bore up to speak you, and then she bore up, again
and again, on account of the squalls. While Mr. Wallingford was
probably hugging the wind in order to find
me
, we were running
off to save our spars; and next morning we could see nothing of
you. How else we missed each other, is more than I can say; for I've
no idee you went off and left me out here, in the middle of the
ocean—"

"We cruised for you, within five miles of the spot, for a whole day!"
I exclaimed, eagerly.

"No, no—Captain Marble," the men put in, in a body, "we did all that
men could do, to find you."

"I know it! I could swear to it, without a word from one of you. Well,
that's the whole story. We could not find you, and I stuck by the ship
as a matter of course, as there was no choice between that and jumping
overboard; and here has the Lord brought us together again, though we
are every inch of five hundred miles from the place where we parted."

I then took Marble below, and related to him all that had occurred
since the separation. He listened with the deepest interest,
manifesting the strongest sympathy in our success. Nothing but
expressions of gratification escaped him, until I remarked, as I
concluded my account—

"And here is the old ship for you, sir, just as we lost her; and glad
am I to see her once more in so good hands."

"Who put that bloody poop on her, you or the Frenchman, Miles?"

"The Frenchman. Now it is peace, however, it is no great matter; and
the cabin is very convenient for the Major and his daughter."

"It's just like 'em! Spoiling the neatest quarter-deck on the ocean,
with a bloody supernumerary cabin!"

"Well, sir, as you are master now, you can have it all cut away again,
if you think proper."

"I! I cut away anything! I take the command of this ship from the man
who has so fairly won it! If I do, may I be d—d!"

"Captain Marble! You astonish me by this language, sir; but it is
nothing more than a momentary feeling, of which your own good
sense—nay, even your duty to the owners—will cause you to get rid."

"You never were more mistaken in your life, Master Miles Wallingford,"
answered Marble, solemnly. "I thought of all this the moment I
recognised the ship, and that was as soon as I saw her; and my mind
was made up from that instant. I cannot be so mean as to come in at
the seventh hour, and profit by your courage and skill. Besides, I
have no legal right to command here. The ship was more than
twenty-four hours in the enemy's hands, and she comes under the usual
laws of recapture and salvage."

"But the owners, Captain Marble—remember there is a cargo to be taken
in at Canton, and there are heavy interests at stake."

"By George, that would make me so much the more firm. From the first,
I have thought matters would be better in your hands than mine; you
have an education, and that's a wonderful thing, Miles. As to sailing
a ship, or stowing her, or taking care of her in heavy weather, or
finding my way across an ocean, I'll turn my back on no man; but it's
a different thing when it comes to figures and calculations."

"You disappoint me greatly in all this, sir; we have gone through so
much together—"

"We did not go through
the recapture of this vessel
together,
boy."

"But it was
your
thought, and, but for an accident, would have
been your
deed
."

"I don't know that; I have reflected coolly in the matter, after I got
over my mortification; and I think we should have been flogged, had we
attacked the French at sea. Your own plan was better, and capitally
carried out. Harkee, Miles, this much will I do, and not a jot
more. You are bound to the island, I take it for granted, to pick up
odds and ends; and then you sail for Canton?"

"Precisely—I am glad you approve of it, as you must by seeing into it
so readily."

"Well, at the island, fill up the schooner with such articles as will
be of no use at Canton. Let her take in the copper, the English goods,
and the like of that; and I will carry her home, while you can pursue
the v'y'ge in the ship, as you alone have a right to do."

No arguments of mine could turn Marble from his resolution. I fought
him all day on the subject, and at night he was put in command of the
"Pretty Poll," with our old second-mate for his first officer.