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Page 85
"You know the regulation for the officer of the deck. He is not
permitted to alter the course of the ship, unless to avoid some sudden
danger, without informing the captain."
"I had to alter the course, or have the topsails thrown aback," replied
Pelham.
"Very likely it was proper to alter the course; but it was also proper
to inform me, especially when I was on deck."
"Very well, Captain Gordon. I will not alter the course again without
your order," added the fourth lieutenant, stiffly.
"The regulation is not mine, Mr. Pelham," continued the captain,
sternly.
As the wind increased, sail was reduced to topsails and courses, jib and
spanker; but at seven bells even these were found to be too much for
her.
"Captain Gordon, it is coming heavier," said Mr. Fluxion. "I think it
will be necessary to reef."
"I was thinking of that, sir. The wind is north-east, and blowing a
gale."
"You had better call all hands, and do it at once."
"Mr. Pelham, you will call all hands to reef topsails!"
"All hands, sir?"
"Certainly, Mr. Pelham; that was my order," replied the captain, more
sharply than usual, for there was something in the manner of the officer
of the deck which he did not like, and he found it necessary to maintain
the dignity of his position.
Pelham touched his cap; he felt the weight of authority upon him heavier
than ever before. Until recently he had always performed his duty
cheerfully, and was considered a first-rate officer. Since the new
regulation had been put in force, and he had been compelled to deliver
up ten sovereigns in his possession he had been rather disagreeable. In
the cabin he had used some language reflecting upon the principal, and
he was now regarded as a malcontent by the captain, and by those who
still sustained the discipline of the ship.
"Morrison," called he, as he went forward to the waist.
"Here, sir," replied the boatswain, who belonged in this quarter watch;
and there was a boatswain's mate in each of the others.
"Call all hands to reef topsails."
The shrill pipe of the boatswain's whistle soon rang above the howling
winds, which now sounded gloomily through the rigging. The call was
repeated in the steerage, and at the door of the after cabin, where it
could be heard by the officers, for no one on board is exempted when all
hands are called. This was the first taste of the hardships of a
seaman's life to which the students had been invited. It is not
pleasant, to say the least, to be turned out of a warm bed in a gale,
when the wind comes cold and furious, laden with the spray of the ocean,
and be sent aloft in the rigging of the ship, when she is rolling and
pitching, jumping and jerking, in the mad waves. But there is no excuse
at such a time, and nothing but positive physical disability can exempt
officer or seaman from duty.
It was the first time the boys had seen a gale at sea, and though it was
not yet what would be called a strong gale, it was sufficiently terrific
to produce a deep impression upon them. The ship was still close-hauled,
under topsails and courses, with jib and spanker. The wind came in heavy
blasts, and when they struck the sails, the Young America heeled over,
until her lee yard-arm seemed to be dipping the waves. Huge billows came
roaring down from the windward, crowned with white foam, and presenting
an awful aspect in the night, striking the ship, lifting her bow high in
the air, and breaking over the rail, pouring tons of water on the deck.
Before the whole crew had been called, every opening in the deck had
been secured, and the plank guards placed over the glass in the
skylights. Life lines had been stretched along the decks, and the
swinging ports, through which the water that came over the rail escaped,
were crossed with whale line by Peaks, to prevent any unlucky boy from
being washed through, if he happened to be thrown off his feet by a rush
of water to the scuppers.
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