Henry C. Rowland

“ Beyond a promontory a mile to windward I could see the uneven horizon that bespoke a heavy swell of which only the skirts reached us. A glance over the side showed me that we had found our lee none too soon. Amidships the deck was not eighteen inches above the water. Boles and Knapp had rigged out a sort of great sweep astern, made from a couple of planks nailed to one of the whaleboat masts. They had set a jib and the riding sail, and under this we were slowly approaching the beach. ”

“ But one great mass of dark green water came hurtling at our stern and struck the rudder full, just as it rose. There came a jar as though our stem had dropped upon a rock, and Boles went spinning across the deck as though slung by a giant hand. ”

“ Emilio had completely given out. Boles and I were hammering and sawing away at a raft, if the worst came to the worst, and steadily through the clatter of our hammers and the crash and seething of dying gale came the "gurgle—chunk, gurgle—chunk" of the pump as Knapp's great tireless frame swung up and down, up and down, hour in and hour out. ”

“ Sweet their wooing must have been—and wild, for who could listen to words of love where the moonlight flickers through the palms, and fail to feel the heart pound like the crashing surf that, with all its noise and tumult, will never tell to aching hearts the fates of those dear comrades who lie, who knows—a thousand fathoms deep. ”

“ I looked around despairingly, and in a bound Knapp was beside me. Together we hove for every pound that was in us, while the gale, catching the scrap of sail, paid us off and held us for a moment abeam to wind and sea. Just for a moment, when away came the kink and we piled on one another on the deck. But the mischief was done. Boles, seeing that the delay had lost us only chance to heave her up, clawed his wheel madly back again and tried to get her off before the comber rushing up astern should strike us. ”

“ Over we went to starboard—over and over and over till we seemed completely on our beam ends, and there we stayed while the deck was awash clean amidships, and the spume and flying spray struck our weather bilge and shot clean over us, making it seem as if we were lying under a Niagara. Forward I caught a momentary glimpse of a great struggling balloon as the wind got into the belly of the forestaysail, and the next moment there was a report like a gun and I saw it gyrating to leeward. ”

“ Knapp from a little New England State of the historic shrewdness of whose sons he was a shining exponent, and Boles was from London, that great whirling centre, the centrifugal force of which flings men to so many far comers of the earth. ”

“ Our Filipino boys, who knew nothing of barometers, but had the quick instinct of the seagull, were already on deck and frenziedly casting off the maintopsail halliards, anticipating the order. Boles was a dozen men in one incredibly swift-moving body.
"Brown, drop that wheel and get in the jib—quick! Knapp, help 'em with those topsails." As he shouted he was quickly throwing extra lashings around our whaleboat and dinghy.
"All right—leggo your foresail halliards—on the run. Knapp, get ahold of that foresail reefin' tackle—haul away, man—make fast. Look sharp there. ”

“ I could see—in fact, had seen—that underneath all of their indifference and coldness there was a powerful tie of affection, such as may exist between two brothers who often quarrel and never approve one another. On our first cruise to Samar, when Boles was so severely wounded by one of the Spanish traders whom we had fooled out of a rich cargo of hemp, Knapp was tremendously overcome, and tended him as a mother would her child—all of which, however, failed to prevent Boles' scathing criticisms of the manner in which he handled or, rather, navigated the schooner ”

“ The vertical movements of the star were caused by a great swell beneath us; an undulation so long that the whole of our little vessel was raised and lowered bodily, and the dull, distant rumble was caused by the crashing of these great smooth seas on the rocks of Batag Island, far astern.
My rough summons had brought all hands from their bunks on the jump. Boles gave one look around, then at the compass, and then he ducked down through the hatch for a look at the glass. ”

“ Boles doesn't want to take the lady to sea in this crate, and I don't blame him. But there are too many on this island, and the grub can't last forever, so I'm just going to get this yacht in commission, and then these gentlemen and I will take a little cruise to Pauee and send a schooner for the rest of you. You'll have to look after the greaser, but there 're enough of you to do it."
This, then, was his plan. Talk of Yankee daring! Alone in an open boat, a poor navigator, and with four scoundrels who would like nothing better than to knock him in the head and throw him overboard. ”

“ Looking aft over my shoulder I saw Boles lying on his side on the leeward side of the wheel, which he seemed to be going up hand over hand. His antics were purposeful, for soon the schooner, which had been broadside on to the squall, began to pay off and the wind came in on her quarter and then astern. Knapp and I crawled aft. I only saw one native boy where there should have been three. The lives of the others are charged up to the great profit and loss account of the sea. ”

“ I doubt if there ever lived two men of more heart and less principle. It seemed as if each felt that the world had used him unduly hard—thrown down the gauntlet, so to speak—and they had accepted the challenge ”

“ His wicked black eyes flashed across at the woman, who was moaning and muttering. Boles started to speak, but Knapp interrupted him.
"We don't know, and we don't care a damn. Who this woman is, is none of your business—and what's more, we don't like your kind, and I reckon you'd better just keep away from this camp—savvy?" ”

“ Knapp came and stood beside me, remarking casually that both of our boats had gone to hell, so it would be well to try and keep the schooner afloat if possible. Neither man had said, or ever did say, a word of reproach to me for my neglect in waiting so long before breaking them out.
When Boles came on deck the first thing that he did was to grab the long iron lever of the pump and suck her dry. Apparently we were leaking nothing to speak of. Then he cast a look all around, but there was nothing to see but flying spray.
"Seems to be going our way," he said, turning to us. ”

“ My studies were all lost in the wreck,—that is, those in my sketch-book,—but the studies that are still unfaded in head and heart can never be taken from me, and have already, I am told, done much to make me famous as a painter of marines. ”

“ The screaming of that gale as it tore at us through that breathless blackness was, without exception, the most nerve-racking torture that I have ever conceived, and I believe that if I had been less actively engaged I might have jumped overboard from sheer panic.
Knapp was not affected this way. He was working against time to save money, and the keen grey eye that he cast ahead was cool and calculating.
"Looks sort o' dusty," he remarked to me as he worked. "Darn it, there's that new forestaysail all over the place—hang on, kid—here she comes." ”

“ Now move on—sneak—and mind ye, if we catch a glimpse of ye prowlin' around this camp you'll be shy another shipmate, savvy?—Now vamoose—pronto!" He threw his rifle into the crook of his arm. The men lost no time in going, and slunk down the shore into the gathering shadows. ”