The Pirate Slaver | Page 3

the cabin,
I grasped the worthy man by the shoulder and shook him gently, calling
him by name at the same time in subdued tones in order that I might
not awake the occupants of the contiguous berths.

"Ay, ay," was the answer, as the snoring abruptly terminated in a
convulsive snort: "Ay, ay. What's the matter now, youngster? Has the
ship tumbled overboard during the night, or has the skipper's cow gone
aloft to roost in the main-top, that you come here disturbing me with
your `Mr Bates--Mr Bates'?"
"Neither, sir," answered I, with a low laugh at this specimen of our
worthy master's quaint nautical humour; "but the first lieutenant
directed me to let you know that the land is in sight on the port bow,
bearing east-half-south, distant twenty miles."
"What, already?" exclaimed my companion, scrambling out of his cot,
still more than half asleep, and landing against me with a force that sent
me spinning out through the open doorway to bring up prostrate with a
crash in the cabin of the doctor opposite, half stunned by the
concussion of my skull against the bulkhead and by the avalanche of
ponderous tomes that came crashing down upon me as the worthy
medico's tier of hanging bookshelves yielded and came down by the
run at my wild clutch as I stumbled over the ledge of the cabin-door.
"Murther! foire! thieves! it's sunk, burnt, desthroyed, and kilt intoirely
that I am!" roared poor Blake, rudely awakened out of a sound sleep by
the crashing fall of his pet volumes upon the deck and by a terrific
thwack across the face that I had inadvertently dealt him as I fell.
"Fwhat is it that's happenin' at all, thin? is it a collision? or is it a case
of sthrandin'? or"--he looked over the edge of his cot and saw me
sitting upon the deck, ruefully rubbing the back of my head while I
vainly struggled to suppress my laughter at the ridiculous
contretemps--"oh! so it's you, thin, is it, Misther Dugdale? Bedad, but
you ought to be ashamed of yoursilf to be playin' these pranks--a lad of
your age, that's hitherto been the patthern of good behaviour! But wait
a little, my man--sthop till I tell the first liftinint of your outhrageous
conduct--"
By this time I thought that the matter had gone far enough; more over, I
had in a measure recovered my scattered senses, so I scrambled to my
feet and, as I re-hung the book shelf and replaced the books, hurriedly
explained to the good man the nature of the mishap, winding up with a

humble apology for having so rudely broken in upon what he was
pleased to call his "beauty shlape." Understanding at once that my
involuntary incursion into the privacy of his cabin had been the result
of pure accident, "Paddy," as we irreverently called him--his baptismal
name was William--very good-naturedly accepted my explanation and
apology, and composed himself to sleep again, whereupon I retreated in
good order and re-entered the master's cabin. The old boy had by this
time slipped on his breeches and coat, and was bending over the table
with the chart of "Africa--West Coast" spread out thereon, and a pencil
and parallel ruler in his hands. He indulged in one or two of the grimly
humorous remarks that were characteristic of him in reference to my
disturbance of the doctor's slumbers; and then, pointing to a dot that he
had just made upon the chart, observed--
"If the first lieutenant's bearing and distance are right, that's where we
are, about twelve miles off Shark Point, and therefore in soundings. Did
you see the land, Mr Dugdale? What was it like?"
"It made as a long stretch of undulating hills sloping gently down to the
horizon at its southernmost extremity, and extending beyond the
horizon to the northward," I replied.
"Ay, ay, that's right; that's quite right," agreed the master. "It is that
range of hills stretching along parallel with the coast on the north side
of the river, and reaching as far as Kabenda Point," indicating the
markings on the chart as he spoke. "Well, let us go on deck and get a
cast of the lead; it is time that we ascertained the exact position of the
ship, for the deep-water channel is none too wide, and although there
seems to be plenty of water for us over the banks on either side, I have
no fancy for trusting to the soundings laid down here on the chart.
These African rivers are never to be depended upon, the shoals are
constantly shifting, and where you may find water enough to float a
line-of-battle ship to-day, you may ground in that same ship's launch a
month hence."
He rolled up the