CHAPTER 5

For some minutes after the cook had left the forecastle, Augustus

abandoned himself to despair, never hoping to leave the berth

alive. He now came to the resolution of acquainting the first of

the men who should come down with my situation, thinking it

better to let me take my chance with the mutineers than perish of

thirst in the hold,—for it had been ten days since I was first

imprisoned, and my jug of water was not a plentiful supply even

for four. As he was thinking on this subject, the idea came all

at once into his head that it might be possible to communicate

with me by the way of the main hold. In any other circumstances,

the difficulty and hazard of the undertaking would have prevented

him from attempting it; but now he had, at all events, little

prospect of life, and consequently little to lose, he bent his

whole mind, therefore, upon the task.

His handcuffs were the first consideration. At first he saw no

method of removing them, and feared that he should thus be

baffled in the very outset; but upon a closer scrutiny he

discovered that the irons could be slipped off and on at

pleasure, with very little effort or inconvenience, merely by

squeezing his hands through them,—this species of manacle being

altogether ineffectual in confining young persons, in whom the

smaller bones readily yield to pressure. He now untied his feet,

and, leaving the cord in such a manner that it could easily be

readjusted in the event of any person’s coming down, proceeded to

examine the bulkhead where it joined the berth. The partition

here was of soft pine board, an inch thick, and he saw that he

should have little trouble in cutting his way through. A voice

was now heard at the forecastle companion-way, and he had just

time to put his right hand into its handcuff (the left had not

been removed) and to draw the rope in a slipknot around his

ankle, when Dirk Peters came below, followed by Tiger, who

immediately leaped into the berth and lay down. The dog had been

brought on board by Augustus, who knew my attachment to the

animal, and thought it would give me pleasure to have him with me

during the voyage. He went up to our house for him immediately

after first taking me into the hold, but did not think of

mentioning the circumstance upon his bringing the watch. Since

the mutiny, Augustus had not seen him before his appearance with

Dirk Peters, and had given him up for lost, supposing him to have

been thrown overboard by some of the malignant villains belonging

to the mate’s gang. It appeared afterward that he had crawled

into a hole beneath a whale-boat, from which, not having room to

turn round, he could not extricate himself. Peters at last let

him out, and, with a species of good feeling which my friend knew

well how to appreciate, had now brought him to him in the

forecastle as a companion, leaving at the same time some salt

junk and potatoes, with a can of water, he then went on deck,

promising to come down with something more to eat on the next

day.

When he had gone, Augustus freed both hands from the manacles and

unfastened his feet. He then turned down the head of the mattress

on which he had been lying, and with his penknife (for the

ruffians had not thought it worth while to search him) commenced

cutting vigorously across one of the partition planks, as closely

as possible to the floor of the berth. He chose to cut here,

because, if suddenly interrupted, he would be able to conceal

what had been done by letting the head of the mattress fall into

its proper position. For the remainder of the day, however, no

disturbance occurred, and by night he had completely divided the

plank. It should here be observed that none of the crew occupied

the forecastle as a sleeping-place, living altogether in the

cabin since the mutiny, drinking the wines and feasting on the

sea-stores of Captain Barnard, and giving no more heed than was

absolutely necessary to the navigation of the brig. These

circumstances proved fortunate both for myself and Augustus; for,

had matters been otherwise, he would have found it impossible to

reach me. As it was, he proceeded with confidence in his design.

It was near daybreak, however, before he completed the second

division of the board (which was about a foot above the first

cut), thus making an aperture quite large enough to admit his

passage through with facility to the main orlop deck. Having got

here, he made his way with but little trouble to the lower main

hatch, although in so doing he had to scramble over tiers of

oil-casks piled nearly as high as the upper deck, there being

barely room enough left for his body. Upon reaching the hatch he

found that Tiger had followed him below, squeezing between two

rows of the casks. It was now too late, however, to attempt

getting to me before dawn, as the chief difficulty lay in passing

through the close stowage in the lower hold. He therefore

resolved to return, and wait till the next night. With this

design, he proceeded to loosen the hatch, so that he might have

as little detention as possible when he should come again. No

sooner had he loosened it than Tiger sprang eagerly to the small

opening produced, snuffed for a moment, and then uttered a long

whine, scratching at the same time, as if anxious to remove the

covering with his paws. There could be no doubt, from his

behaviour, that he was aware of my being in the hold, and

Augustus thought it possible that he would be able to get to me

if he put him down. He now hit upon the expedient of sending the

note, as it was especially desirable that I should make no

attempt at forcing my way out at least under existing

circumstances, and there could be no certainty of his getting to

me himself on the morrow as he intended. After-events proved how

fortunate it was that the idea occurred to him as it did; for,

had it not been for the receipt of the note, I should undoubtedly

have fallen upon some plan, however desperate, of alarming the

crew, and both our lives would most probably have been sacrificed

in consequence.

Having concluded to write, the difficulty was now to procure the

materials for so doing. An old toothpick was soon made into a

pen; and this by means of feeling altogether, for the

between-decks was as dark as pitch. Paper enough was obtained

from the back of a letter—a duplicate of the forged letter from

Mr. Ross. This had been the original draught; but the handwriting

not being sufficiently well imitated, Augustus had written

another, thrusting the first, by good fortune, into his

coat-pocket, where it was now most opportunely discovered. Ink

alone was thus wanting, and a substitute was immediately found

for this by means of a slight incision with the pen-knife on the

back of a finger just above the nail—a copious flow of blood

ensuing, as usual, from wounds in that vicinity. The note was now

written, as well as it could be in the dark and under the

circumstances. It briefly explained that a mutiny had taken

place; that Captain Barnard was set adrift; and that I might

expect immediate relief as far as provisions were concerned, but

must not venture upon making any disturbance. It concluded with

these words: “_I have scrawled this with blood—your life depends

upon lying close._”

This slip of paper being tied upon the dog, he was now put down

the hatchway, and Augustus made the best of his way back to the

forecastle, where he found no reason to believe that any of the

crew had been in his absence. To conceal the hole in the

partition, he drove his knife in just above it, and hung up a

pea-jacket which he found in the berth. His handcuffs were then

replaced, and also the rope around his ankles.

These arrangements were scarcely completed when Dirk Peters came

below, very drunk, but in excellent humour, and bringing with him

my friend’s allowance of provision for the day. This consisted of

a dozen large Irish potatoes roasted, and a pitcher of water. He

sat for some time on a chest by the berth, and talked freely

about the mate and the general concerns of the brig. His

demeanour was exceedingly capricious, and even grotesque. At one

time Augustus was much alarmed by odd conduct. At last, however,

he went on deck, muttering a promise to bring his prisoner a good

dinner on the morrow. During the day two of the crew (harpooners)

came down, accompanied by the cook, all three in nearly the last

stage of intoxication. Like Peters, they made no scruple of

talking unreservedly about their plans. It appeared that they

were much divided among themselves as to their ultimate course,

agreeing in no point, except the attack on the ship from the Cape

Verd Islands, with which they were in hourly expectation of

meeting. As far as could be ascertained, the mutiny had not been

brought about altogether for the sake of booty; a private pique

of the chief mate’s against Captain Barnard having been the main

instigation. There now seemed to be two principal factions among

the crew—one headed by the mate, the other by the cook. The

former party were for seizing the first suitable vessel which

should present itself, and equipping it at some of the West India

Islands for a piratical cruise. The latter division, however,

which was the stronger, and included Dirk Peters among its

partisans, were bent upon pursuing the course originally laid out

for the brig into the South Pacific; there either to take whale,

or act otherwise, as circumstances should suggest. The

representations of Peters, who had frequently visited these

regions, had great weight, apparently, with the mutineers,

wavering, as they were, between half-engendered notions of profit

and pleasure. He dwelt on the world of novelty and amusement to

be found among the innumerable islands of the Pacific, on the

perfect security and freedom from all restraint to be enjoyed,

but, more particularly, on the deliciousness of the climate, on

the abundant means of good living, and on the voluptuous beauty

of the women. As yet, nothing had been absolutely determined

upon; but the pictures of the hybrid line-manager were taking

strong hold upon the ardent imaginations of the seamen, and there

was every possibility that his intentions would be finally

carried into effect.

The three men went away in about an hour, and no one else entered

the forecastle all day. Augustus lay quiet until nearly night. He

then freed himself from the rope and irons, and prepared for his

attempt. A bottle was found in one of the berths, and this he

filled with water from the pitcher left by Peters, storing his

pockets at the same time with cold potatoes. To his great joy he

also came across a lantern, with a small piece of tallow candle

in it. This he could light at any moment, as he had in his

possession a box of phosphorus matches. When it was quite dark,

he got through the hole in the bulkhead, having taken the

precaution to arrange the bedclothes in the berth so as to convey

the idea of a person covered up. When through, he hung up the

pea-jacket on his knife, as before, to conceal the aperture—this

manoeuvre being easily effected, as he did not readjust the piece

of plank taken out until afterward. He was now on the main orlop

deck, and proceeded to make his way, as before, between the upper

deck and the oil-casks to the main hatchway. Having reached this,

he lit the piece of candle, and descended, groping with extreme

difficulty among the compact stowage of the hold. In a few

moments he became alarmed at the insufferable stench and the

closeness of the atmosphere. He could not think it possible that

I had survived my confinement for so long a period breathing so

oppressive an air. He called my name repeatedly, but I made him

no reply, and his apprehensions seemed thus to be confirmed. The

brig was rolling violently, and there was so much noise in

consequence, that it was useless to listen for any weak sound,

such as those of my breathing or snoring. He threw open the

lantern, and held it as high as possible, whenever an opportunity

occurred, in order that, by observing the light, I might, if

alive, be aware that succor was approaching. Still nothing was

heard from me, and the supposition of my death began to assume

the character of certainty. He determined, nevertheless, to force

a passage, if possible, to the box, and at least ascertain beyond

a doubt the truth of his surmises. He pushed on for some time in

a most pitiable state of anxiety, until, at length, he found the

pathway utterly blocked up, and that there was no possibility of

making any farther way by the course in which he had set out.

Overcome now by his feelings, he threw himself among the lumber

in despair, and wept like a child. It was at this period that he

heard the crash occasioned by the bottle which I had thrown down.

Fortunate, indeed, was it that the incident occurred—for, upon

this incident, trivial as it appears, the thread of my destiny

depended. Many years elapsed, however, before I was aware of this

fact. A natural shame and regret for his weakness and indecision

prevented Augustus from confiding to me at once what a more

intimate and unreserved communion afterward induced him to

reveal. Upon finding his further progress in the hold impeded by

obstacles which he could not overcome, he had resolved to abandon

his attempt at reaching me, and return at once to the forecastle.

Before condemning him entirely on this head, the harassing

circumstances which embarrassed him should be taken into

consideration. The night was fast wearing away, and his absence

from the forecastle might be discovered; and indeed would

necessarily be so, if he should fail to get back to the berth by

daybreak. His candle was expiring in the socket, and there would

be the greatest difficulty in retracing his way to the hatchway

in the dark. It must be allowed, too, that he had every good

reason to believe me dead; in which event no benefit could result

to me from his reaching the box, and a world of danger would be

encountered to no purpose by himself. He had repeatedly called,

and I had made him no answer. I had been now eleven days and

nights with no more water than that contained in the jug which he

had left with me—a supply which it was not at all probable I had

hoarded in the beginning of my confinement, as I had every cause

to expect a speedy release. The atmosphere of the hold, too, must

have appeared to him, coming from the comparatively open air of

the steerage, of a nature absolutely poisonous, and by far more

intolerable than it had seemed to me upon my first taking up my

quarters in the box—the hatchways at that time having been

constantly open for many months previous. Add to these

considerations that of the scene of bloodshed and terror so

lately witnessed by my friend; his confinement, privations, and

narrow escapes from death, together with the frail and equivocal

tenure by which he still existed—circumstances all so well

calculated to prostrate every energy of mind—and the reader will

be easily brought, as I have been, to regard his apparent falling

off in friendship and in faith with sentiments rather of sorrow

than of anger.

The crash of the bottle was distinctly heard, yet Augustus was

not sure that it proceeded from the hold. The doubt, however, was

sufficient inducement to persevere. He clambered up nearly to the

orlop deck by means of the stowage, and then, watching for a lull

in the pitchings of the vessel, he called out to me in as loud a

tone as he could command, regardless, for the moment, of being

overheard by the crew. It will be remembered that on this

occasion the voice reached me, but I was so entirely overcome by

violent agitation as to be incapable of reply. Confident, now,

that his worst apprehensions were well founded, he descended,

with a view of getting back to the forecastle without loss of

time. In his haste some small boxes were thrown down, the noise

occasioned by which I heard, as will be recollected. He had made

considerable progress on his return when the fall of the knife

again caused him to hesitate. He retraced his steps immediately,

and, clambering up the stowage a second time, called out my name,

loudly as before, having watched for a lull. This time I found

voice to answer. Overjoyed at discovering me to be still alive,

he now resolved to brave every difficulty and danger in reaching

me. Having extricated himself as quickly as possible from the

labyrinth of lumber by which he was hemmed in, he at length

struck into an opening which promised better, and finally, after

a series of struggles, arrived at the box in a state of utter

exhaustion.