George Manville Fenn

“ Hang it, Harry; you can always squeeze another boy into a seventy-gun ship.”
“Well, I suppose it will be all right,” said the captain; “and if it is we’ll get you rigged.”
“Yes, and if you’ll be a good lad, and try and learn your profession, I’ll make you a present of your outfit, Syd. The best that can be had,” said Sir Thomas.
“And I’d give you a gold watch,” said the captain, “only you’d lose it, or get it stolen or broken before you had been to sea a month. There, my boy, no objections. It’s all settled for you, and we want to see you a post-captain before we go into the locker.” ”

“ I am glad. When would you like me to be ready, sir? Shall I go on first and begin overhauling?”
“You, Strake?” said the captain, thoughtfully.
“You’re not going to leave me behind, sir? No, no, sir; don’t say that, sir—don’t think it, sir. I’m as strong and active as ever I was, and a deal more tough. Ask him to take me, Master Syd.”
“Take you, Strake?” said the captain again. “Why, what is to become of my garden?”
“Your garden, captain! What do you want with a garden when you’re at sea? Salt tack and biscuit, and a few bags o’ ’tatoes about all you want aboard ship.” ”

“ Sydney Belton, as he felt the pressure of his father’s hand, could not speak for a few minutes, and when he did find utterance, he seemed to have caught a fresh cold, for his voice sounded husky.
“I want as a favour, father—” he began, in a faltering voice.
“Here, it’s all right, Syd, my boy,” said his uncle; “don’t bother your father for money. Now then, how much do you want?”
“I don’t want money, uncle.”
“Eh? Don’t want money, sir? Wait a bit then till you get among your messmates, and you’ll want plenty.” ”

“ But at last Syd passed Terry lying with his eyes closed; and with Roylance staggering after him almost as wild and delirious as he, they paused by the hut where Mr Dallas lay. Syd passed his hand over his eyes to clear away the mist which hung before him and obscured his sight, and then, fairly sane for the moment, he looked about him to see that every man was prostrate, and that his faithful henchman, Barney Strake, was leaning against a rock, helpless now. ”

“ If you feel that you have run the enemy to earth, stop and fire as a signal.”
“Ay, ay, sir,” they cried together. “But what’s the enemy like, sir?”
“Find him and see,” said Syd, sharply. “Now off.”
The men separated at once, and the toilsome job began, with the sun beating down with tropical power, but the brisk wind reducing the ardour to bearing point.
“Nice job this,” thought the boy, as leaving the cleft centre of the rock a little to his left, he began his arduous clamber. “Why, it’s as bad as being an ant in a loaf-sugar basin. Given myself the hardest job.” ”

“ He felt a thrill of horror run through him like a spasm of pain, and he shrank away, for there above the clear water was gliding the triangular back fin of a shark—two—three, and one monster’s long, black, rounded muzzle rose up; the creature curved over and dived down under one of its fellows, showing its soft white under-parts, and telling the miserable being on the rock above that it was no peaceful sleep he would find there, but an end of unutterable horror. ”

“ The old man chuckled and wiped his eyes.
“I haven’t forgotten the sensation yet, Harry. You remember too?”
“Oh yes, I remember,” said the captain, thoughtfully.
“Of course you do. I say, what a pair of young gamecocks we were. Why, I can remember now flourishing the tooth-pick about, with its blade half blue steel and a lion’s head on the hilt. Never you mind about Syd; the uniform will set him right.”
“I hope so.”
“Hope so. Don’t I tell you it will! I like the boy; plenty of downright British courage in him. Isn’t afraid of either of us. Egad, I like him, Harry; and he’ll turn out a big man.” ”

“ We’ll drink it in our hearts, boy. Here’s to Admiral Belton—my dear boy—our dear boy, Harry, eh?”
“God bless you, my lad!” cried Captain Belton. “You’ve made me feel more proud of you and happy than I have felt for years.”
“Here, hi!” roared the admiral; “where’s that lubber Strake? I want some one to help me cheer. Sydney, boy, God bless you! I am glad you ran away.”
“Then you forgive me, father?”
“Hold your tongue, sir,” cried Captain Belton, laying his hand on his son’s shoulder. “There are things that we all like to forget as soon as we can—this is one of them. Let’s blot it out.” ”

“ There’s no ship in sight, but you and I mustn’t give up; we must set an example to the men.—No, no, Barney, I tell you I will not go.”
“Terry, Mike Terry, come and help me,” cried Roylance; but the midshipman did not stir from where he lay under a shadowing rock.
“Not for a hundred of you I would not go. Eh! Water—where? Ah, beautiful water! Can’t you hear it splashing? Plenty to-night. Rain.”
“Come into the shade, Belt,” said Roylance, who felt now that their last day had come, and that there was nothing to be done now but lie down and die.
“No,” said Syd, sharply, “I want to see the men. ”

“ As the lieutenant heard the lad’s voice, he opened his eyes, looked round wildly, and then his gaze rested on Syd’s anxious face.
“Ah, Belton,” he said in a hoarse whisper, “bad job. The gear gave way—confounded gun—fell—crushed my legs. Ah!”
He uttered a groan full of anguish and fainted away.
“It’s horrible!” cried Roylance, as every one looked on helplessly. “No surgeon; the gale increasing, and the ship out of sight. Here, some one get some brandy or rum. Ah, Belton!” he whispered, with the tears in his eyes, “such a good fellow, and I’m afraid it’s all over.” ”

“ Why, there have been times when I’ve said to myself, ‘Maybe when the young master gets his promotion and a ship of his own, he’ll come and say to me, Now then, Barney, now’s your time to get rid o’ the rust; I’ll get you painted and scraped, and you shall come to sea with me.’”
“You, Barney? You are too old now. What would you be then?”
“Old! Old! Get out! I don’t call myself old by a long way, Master Syd; and if it hadn’t been for the captain laying up I should ha’ been at sea now. But you’ll think better on it, sir; you’ll go.” ”

“ Syd drew back, thinking to himself that Pan could not be much happier than he was himself with the red-faced cook, who ruled over all the servants, to play tyrant to the boy as well.
“Now what could two lads do if they went right away?” mused Syd. “We couldn’t go abroad without going to sea. I don’t think I want to be a soldier, and we’re not big enough if I did. I know—we’d go to London. People seek their fortunes there.”
He seated himself beneath the walnut tree to think it out, but somehow the idea of running away did not seem bright. ”

“ Still the long-drawn-out space of time went slowly, and doubts began to intrude which made Syd glance anxiously up to right and left, as he thought how helpless they would be should they be taken in rear or flank.
“Make a good fight for it all the same,” said Roylance, who read his looks. “But I don’t see how they could land anywhere round the rock without men on the cliff top to help them.”
“Terry would not do that,” thought Syd, and he glanced sharply round to gaze above him at the upper gun. ”

“ I don’t believe it.”
“Go and shake hands with your uncle, Syd,” said the captain, sternly.
The boy walked across to where the admiral was seated on the arm of one of the great easy-chairs, and held out his hand.
“Here, what’s this?” cried the bluff, choleric old sailor. “Not a boy’s hand, is it. Feels like the tail of a codfish. Shake hands like a man, you dog. Ah, that’s better. There, cheer up; you’ll soon get used to the sea and love it. You won’t be happy ashore after your first voyage.”
“Want any money, Syd?” said the captain. ”

“ In spite of the novelty of everything about him, Syd had plenty of time to feel low-spirited, and to envy the light-heartedness of his new friend, who in the course of the evening seemed to feel that further apology was due for their first encounter that day.
“I say, Belton,” he said, “I am sorry I played you those tricks and sided with Terry as I did. It was all meant for a game. We have such a rough, uncomfortable life here that one gets into the habit of making fun of everything and everybody, from the captain downwards.” ”

“ He led the way, but the jolly old admiral could not follow for laughing. He leaned up against the larder shelf, and stood wiping his eyes; and every time he got over one paroxysm he began again. But at last he beckoned to Barney.
“Here, give me your arm, bo’sun,” he said, “and help me into the library; I feel as if everything were going by the board. Oh, dear me! oh, dear me! Wait till I’ve buttoned this waistcoat. Well, it’s a lesson. Done for you, Syd, if you had been going to sea. Never attack without proper signals to know who are enemies and who are not.” ”

“ The bustle about him at daybreak woke Syd up to find that it was a glorious morning, but a sharp breeze had arisen; the sea was alive with breaking waves, and great rollers kept coming in to thunder upon the rock, sending up the broken water so far that it was evidently the first duty to get all the tackle and raise the remainder of the cases and barrels to the level of the cleft. ”

“ The rigging up of a kind of tripod, and hoisting each gun up into its place on the carriage, was a mere matter of every-day detail, and before dark Syd had the satisfaction of seeing his father’s wishes carried out, and each piece ready with its pile of shot and ammunition stowed under the shelter of a niche in the rock which made an admirable magazine. ”

“ Let’s talk of Admiral Tom. How is the dear old boy?”
“Like I am—growing old and worn with disappointment.”
“Nonsense, Belton; nonsense. We can’t shape our own lives. Better make the best of things as they are. Well, my boy, what ship have you joined?”
“None, sir—yet.”
“I came up to see Dashleigh, on the strength of his having been under my brother, and asked him to take my son.”
“And he wouldn’t, of course,” said the old gentleman, more fiercely still. “Wrong man, my dear sir. Ladder kicker. And so, young sir, you haven’t got a ship?” ”

“ By making almost superhuman efforts the party on the rock managed to get abreast of Roylance just as he was half-way between the boat and a patch of rugged boulders which had seemed to promise foothold till help could reach him from above, and still the brave fellow swam on with the rope in his teeth, ring after ring slowly gliding out over the boat’s side.
“Now,” cried Syd, as he grasped mentally the spot where his companion would land. “A man to go down.” ”

“ But if we go on we shall be punishing ourselves. Oh,” cried Sydney, in a voice full of rage against himself, “how could I have been such a donkey!”
“It warn’t my fault,” said Pan, dolefully. “Father was after me with the rope’s-end. I was obliged to go. Let’s try another way, Master Syd.”
“There is no other way,” cried the boy passionately. “There’s only one way for us to go, and that’s straight back home.”
“Oh, there’s lots of other ways, Master Syd.”
“No, there are not. There’s only one that we can tread.”
“Which way’s that, sir?” ”

“ Come, rouse and bit.”
“I couldn’t, Barney,” said Syd, feebly. “The very thought of a bit of anything makes me feel worse.”
“Yah! not it; and I didn’t mean eat; I meant turn out, have a good wash, and dress, and come on deck.”
“I should die if I tried.”
“Die, lad? What, you? Any one would think you was ill.”
“I am, horribly.”
“Yah! nonsense! On’y squirmy. Weather’s calming down now, and you’ll be all right.”
“No, Barney; never any more,” sighed Syd. “I say.”
“Ay, my lad. What is it?”
“Will they bury me at sea, Barney?”
“Haw—haw—haw!” laughed the bo’sun. “He thinks he’s going to die! ”

“ Syd walked straight to the lower gun, descended a rope-ladder, which had been made and slung down for their convenience, and found the little group on the natural pier.
“Mr Terry, a word, please, with you.”
“With me? yes,” said the midshipman, looking at him wonderingly as he followed his young companion aside. “What is it?”
“You have forgotten that you are under arrest, sir,” said Syd. “I know it may seem absurd,” he added quickly, as he saw Terry smile, “but it would be the captain’s wish that good discipline should be kept up on the rock. Be good enough to stay with the men.” ”

“ Terry’s jaw dropped at this unexpected reply, and Roylance burst into a roar of laughter, in which he was joined by Syd, while Strake stood with his face puckered up like a year-old pippin, and rubbed his starboard ear.
“Mr Roylance!” cried Terry at last, “how is discipline to be preserved while you encourage the men in this tomfoolery? I shall report it to the captain, sir.”
“Look here, Mr Terry,” said Roylance, firmly; “the man is, in his way, quite right.” ”

“ Syd could see right down into the clear water whenever the disturbance made by the lad’s strokes did not ruffle the surface, and his starting eyes were plunged down into the depths in search of fresh dangers.
“Oh!” he said to himself, “if he only knew how near that savage beast is! Swim, Roy, swim, lad! Why don’t you let go of the rope and save yourself?” ”

“ Syd ceased speaking, and asked the remainder of his question with his eyes.
“Yes, sir, fire upon them, if necessary. If that boat is from a French man-of-war, her men must not land.”
Syd drew in a long breath, nodded shortly, and was going out without a word.
“Stop!” cried the lieutenant. “Take off that plaything, my dear lad, and buckle on my sword. That’s right, take up a hole or two in the belt as you go. Here’s a motto for your crest when you sport one, ‘Belton—Belt on’! Now God bless you, my lad! Do your duty for your own and your father’s sake.” ”