Boy Tar Page 48

  CHAPTER FORTY EIGHT.

  A TORRENT OF BRANDY.

  Sleep followed, brought on by weariness and long exertion; and when Iawoke, I felt my strength greatly restored. Singular enough, my spiritswere a good deal lighter, and I was far less despairing than I had beenbefore. It seemed as if some supernatural influence sustained me--perhaps an inspiration given by the great Creator himself, to enable meto persevere. Notwithstanding that my disappointments had been many andoft-repeated, I bore up under the infliction as meekly as I could, andnever yet had I felt in my heart a rebellious feeling against God.

  I still continued to offer up prayers for my success, and to placereliance upon the hope that His mercy would yet be extended to me. Thisfeeling it was--I am sure it was--that upheld me, and kept me fromfalling into utter despondency.

  On awaking again, as I have said, my spirits felt lighter, though I knownot why, unless it was that I was cheered by some influence from above.I can only account for it in this way, since there was no change in thecircumstances that surrounded me--at least none for the better--nor hadI conceived any new hope or plan.

  It was certain that I could penetrate no further through the boxes ofcloth and bales of linen, as I had no place to stow their contentsbehind me. That side, therefore, was now no longer the object of myattention.

  There were still two other directions in which I might search--the onedirectly in front, and that toward the left, which last I knew to be inthe direction of the bows of the ship.

  In front, the space was taken up by the great water-butt, and of courseI did not think of cutting a way through this. It would lead to theloss of my supply of water. I did for a moment imagine that I mightmake a hole high up above the water-line, through which I might squeezemy body, and then get through to the opposite side by making a secondhole. I knew that the butt was now scarce half full, as the heat hadkept me almost continually athirst, and, confident in my supply, I haddrunk large quantities. But it occurred to me that if I made this greatopening, I might lose all my water in a single night. A sudden squallmight arise--for several had been encountered already--and set the shipa-rolling. In that case, if the vessel, crank as she was, came neargetting upon her beam-ends, which she often did, my butt would be turnedhalf over, and the water of course would all escape--the precious waterthat had hitherto stood my friend, and but for which I should have longago miserably perished.

  Another consideration influenced me not to touch the butt: there was aneasier direction to proceed in, and that was _through the brandy-cask_.

  This stood end towards me, and, as already stated, shut me in upon theleft. Its head or bottom--I could not say which--lay quite up againstthe end of the water-butt; but for some reason it had been cleatedcloser up to the side timbers of the ship, so that there was hardly anyvacant space behind it. For this reason, nearly one half of itsdiameter overlapped the end of the water-butt--the other half completingthe enclosure of my cabin.

  Through this last half I resolved to cut my way, and then, creepinginside the cask, to make another hole that would let me through itsopposite side.

  Perhaps, beyond the brandy-cask I might find food and safety? It wasonly blind guessing on my part; but I again prayed for success.

  Making an incision across the thick oak plank that formed the bottomstaves, was a very different affair from cutting through soft sprucedeal, and I progressed but slowly. A beginning had already been made,however, where I had formerly tapped the cask; and entering my blade atthis same hole, I worked away until I had cut one of the pieces clearacross. I then put on my buskins, and, getting upon my back, kickedupon the stave with all my might, using my heels as a trip-hammer. Itwas a stiff job; for the piece, being jointed into the others on bothsides, refused for a long time to yield. But the constant hammering atlength loosened it, by breaking off one of the joinings, and I had thesatisfaction to find that it was giving way. A few more strongfinishing blows did the business, and the stave was at length forcedinward.

  The immediate result was a gush of brandy that completely overwhelmedme. It rushed over me, not in a jet but in a grand volume as thick asmy body; and before I could raise myself into an erect position, it wasall over and around me, so that I had a fear I was going to be drownedin it! The whole space I occupied was filled up, and it was only byholding my head close up to the ship's timbers that I could keep mymouth clear of being filled. At the first gush, a quantity had got intomy throat, and eyes as well, and well-nigh choked and blinded me; and itwas some time before I got over the fit of coughing and sneezing whichit had suddenly brought on.

  I was in no mood to be merry at the time; yet strange enough, I couldnot help thinking of the Duke of Clarence and his odd fancy of beingdrowned in the butt of malmsey.

  The singular flood subsided almost as rapidly as it had risen. Therewas plenty of space for it down below; and in a few seconds' time it hadall gone down to mix among the bilge-water, and jabble about during theremainder of the voyage. The only traces it had left were in my wetclothes, and the strong alcoholic smell that filled the atmospherearound me, and almost hindered me from getting breath.

  As the ship's head rose upon the waves, the cask was tilted upwards, andthis movement in ten minutes emptied it so completely that not a singlepint remained inside.

  But I had not waited for this. The stave I had kicked out left anaperture large enough to admit my body--it did not need to be very largefor that--and as soon as my coughing fit had ended, I squeezed myselfthrough to the inside of the cask.

  I groped around for the bung, believing that this would be the bestplace to cut across one of the staves. The hole, usually a large one,would admit the blade of my knife, and would be so much of my work doneto hand. I found the place easily enough, and fortunately it was not onthe top, where I fancied it might be, but on the side, and just at aconvenient height. Closing the blade of my knife, I hammered on thewooden plug with the half. After a few strokes, I succeeded in forcingit outwards, and then set to work to make the cross-cut of the stave.

  I had not made a dozen notches, before I felt my strength wonderfullyincreased. I had been weak before, but now it appeared to me as if Icould push out the staves without cutting them. I felt in a measurecheerful, as if I had been merely working for the play of the thing, andit was of but little consequence whether I succeeded or not. I havesome recollection that I both whistled and sang as I worked. The ideathat I was in any danger of losing my life quite forsook me, and all thehardships through which I had been passing appeared to have been onlyimaginary--a chimera of my brain, or, at most, only a dream.

  Just then I was seized with a terrible fit of thirst, and I remembermaking a struggle to get out of the brandy-cask for the purpose ofhaving a drink from the water-butt. I must have succeeded in gettingout of the cask, but whether I actually did drink at the time, I couldnever be certain; for after that I remembered nothing more, but was fora long while as completely unconscious as if I had been dead!