Читать книгу Picked up at Sea - John C. Hutcheson - Страница 10

After passing the derelict ship, the Susan Jane met with nothing more of an eventful character in her voyage; and after making a very fair run across the Atlantic, thereby gladdening the heart of Captain Blowser, sighted Nantucket lights, rounding Cape Cod the next day, and dropped her anchor, finally, in Boston harbour, opposite the mouth of the River Charles; about which Longfellow has written some pretty lines, beginning—

“River! That in silence windest

Through the meadows bright and free,

Till at length thy rest thou findest

In the bosom of the sea!”

Before the American coast was reached, however, an arrangement was come to.

When taking his grog one evening with Seth Allport and Mr. Rawlings, the second mate having the watch, the Captain was expressing his regret at the approaching loss of several of those who had sailed with him for many voyages, for he knew that they would ship in other vessels when they found that the Susan Jane was to be laid up for a thorough overhaul.

“Well, Cap,” Seth Allport said, “I shall not be sorry myself for a spell on shore. Since I had them three years over among the mines in Californy I get restless at sea after a spell, and long for a turn among the mountains.”

“Were you at work on the surface all the time, or did you work in any of the deep mines?” asked Mr. Rawlings.

“I worked for a few months on the Yuba,” Seth said, “but then I went to sinking. I worked with some mates first, and then I bossed a mine down Grass Valley. It was held in shares. I only had a few, but I was spry and handy, you see, and I worked up till I got to be boss, or what you would call manager. The lode paid well for a while; then it fell off, and I got to longing for the sea again; so I just chucked it up, and made tracks from ‘Frisco.’ ”

“If you would like another spell at mining, Seth, I can put you in the way of it,” said Mr. Rawlings. “I am on my way out to Dakota, to prospect a mine there. I will tell you how it has come about. I had a cousin, a wild young fellow, who left home in the early days of the Californian gold fever, and was not heard of for many years. Eighteen months ago he returned. His father and mother were long since dead, and having not a friend in the world he hunted me up, for we had been great chums in our boyhood. He was a broken man, and I did not think he had long to live. I took him in, and he lingered on for fifteen months, and then died. He told me all his history during the twenty years he had been mining, and a strange, wild story it was—at one time almost starving, at another wealthy enough to have come home and lived in comfort. The most important part, and that which is of most interest at present, is that in a valley in the heart of Dakota he had discovered what he believed to be a most valuable gold mine. Among the hills he had found some lumps of very valuable ore. He had traced down the outcrop of the lode, which on the surface looked poor enough, to a point near the river. Here another lode intersected it, and believing this to be the richest point, he began with four comrades to sink a shaft. For a long time the lode was poor, but at a depth of eighty feet they came upon ore of immense richness. Three days after they had made the discovery a band of Indians fell upon them. Ned’s four comrades were killed, but he managed to escape. The Indians burnt the hut and destroyed the surface-workings, and then left. Alone and penniless, Ned could do nothing. He made his way back to the settlement, and then worked on the railway. He was afraid to tell any one his secret, and was in no hurry, as he had no fear of any chance miners discovering the spot, which he said looked by no means a promising one. Then he fell ill, and a yearning for England seized him, and so he came to me. Before he died he told me the story, and gave me the fullest directions for finding the spot where, he said, a great fortune awaited me. I was by profession a civil engineer and knew a little of mining, so I determined to undertake the adventure. I was preparing to start, having made arrangements for a prolonged absence, when in London I met my old friend Captain Blowser, and mentioning to him that I was about to take a passage in a Cunarder for America, he said that he was sailing for Boston in a few days, and would be glad of my company. I accepted his invitation, and here I am. I have sufficient capital to open the mine and carry on operations for a year. I should be glad of an energetic man whom I could trust, and who understands the country and mining. I might travel far before I found one who would so thoroughly suit my views as yourself, Seth; so if you will throw in your lot with me, as working manager of the affair, we shall have no difficulty whatever in coming to terms.”

“I’m your man,” Seth said, holding out his hand. “Yes, sir, I reckon that this venture is just the thing that will suit me. I’m all there, you bet.”

And so the agreement was made, and before arriving at the end of the voyage Seth had selected four of the best and most trustworthy men on board to join the party. It was arranged that each, in addition to his pay, should receive a small share in the undertaking, should it turn out a success; and, with the prospect of an adventure that might render them independent for life, they gladly “signed articles,” as they called putting down their names to an agreement which the mate had drawn out, binding those who expressed their willingness to embark in the enterprise to be true to Mr. Rawlings to the last, and obey his directions; he on his part promised that the treasure, should they succeed in finding it, would be divided share and share alike amongst their number. And thus the list was filled.

The band consisted so far of Tom Cannon and Black Harry, two of the foremast hands; Jasper the black steward, and Josh the cook, another darkey, as has been already mentioned; besides Seth and Sailor Bill, whom Seth stoutly declared his intention, with Mr. Rawlings’ consent, of taking with him, declining the skipper’s proposal of giving him up to the British Consul when they arrived at Boston, so that he might be sent home to England as a lunatic sailor at the government expense.

“Nary a bit,” said Seth; “whar I goes, thaar goes he, poor chap! Under Providence, he saved my life; and under Providence I’ll never desart him, Cap, till he chooses to cast off the hawser hisself!”

Mr. Rawlings encouraged the seaman in his resolution; for he took great interest in the lad, and looked forward to noting any change in his mental condition, whom he firmly believed would some day be suddenly restored to his senses by some similar mode to that by which he had been deprived of the proper use of his faculties.