mollie went to her state-room, and changed her clothes; and she did not come out till she had kneeled down and poured forth another prayer of thanksgiving for her safety from the horrible monster that would have devoured her. her father kissed her again, as she returned to the cabin. he was as grateful as she was, and he took no pains to conceal the emotions which agitated him.
"now tell me all about it, mollie," said he. "how happened you to fall overboard?"
"i was careless, father. noddy was persuading me to sit down at the moment when i went overboard," replied she.
"i was afraid of the sharks as soon as i knew what they were; and i was thinking what an awful thing it would be if she should fall overboard," added noddy.[168]
"if i had minded you, noddy, i shouldn't have been in danger."
the story was told by the two little adventurers, each correcting or helping out the other, till the whole truth was obtained. it was evident to the captain and the mate, that noddy had behaved with vigor and decision, and that, if he had been less prompt and energetic, poor mollie must have become the victim of the ravenous shark.
"you have saved her life, noddy; that's plain enough," said captain mcclintock, as he rose and went to his state-room.
"you were smart, my boy, and you deserve a great deal of credit," added mr. watts.
"i don't mind that; i was too glad to get her out of the water to think of anything else."
"well, noddy, you did good work that time, and you have won a great deal of honor by it."
"you shall win something better than that, noddy," said the captain, as he returned to the cabin with a little bag in his hand. "here are ten gold pieces, my boy—one hundred dollars."
he handed noddy the bright coins; but the little hero's face flushed, and he looked as discontented as[169] though he had been robbed of the honor of his exploit.
"you shall win a hundred dollars by the operation," continued the captain.
"thank you, sir, but i don't want any money for that," replied noddy, whose pride revolted at the idea, however tempting the money looked to him.
"take it, noddy. you have done a good piece of work, and you ought to win something for it," added the captain.
"i don't want to win any money for a job like that, captain mcclintock. i am already well paid for what i have done. i can't take any money for it. i feel too good already; and i am afraid if i take your gold i should spoil it all."
"you are as proud as a lord, noddy."
"i'm sure, if we had lost miss mollie, i should have missed her as much as anybody, except her father. i shouldn't feel right to be paid for doing such a thing as knocking a shark in the head. i hated the monster bad enough to kill him, if he hadn't been going to do any mischief."
"then you won't take this money, noddy?" continued the captain.[170]
"i'd rather not, sir. i shouldn't feel right if i did."
"and i shouldn't feel right if you didn't. you don't quite understand the case, noddy."
"i think i do, sir."
"no, you don't. let me tell you about it. you have done something which fills me with gratitude to you. i want to do something to express that gratitude. i don't know that i can do it in any other way just now than by making you a little present. i don't mean to pay you."
"it looks like that."
"no it don't look a bit like it. do you think i value my daughter's life at no more than a hundred dollars?"
"i know you do, captain."
"if i expected to pay you for what you have done, i should give you every dollar i have in the world, and every dollar which my property would bring if it were sold; and then i should feel that you had not half got your due."
"i don't care about any money, sir," persisted noddy.
"let me make you a present, then. it would make me feel better to do something for you."[171]
"i'm sure i would do anything to accommodate you."
"then take the money."
noddy took it very reluctantly, and felt just as though he was stealing it. mr. watts joined with the captain in arguing the matter, and he finally felt a little better satisfied about it. when he realized that he was the honest possessor of so large a sum, he felt like a rich man, and could not help thinking of the pleasure it would afford him to pour all these gold coins into bertha's lap, and tell how he had won them.
mollie had something to say about the matter, and of course she took her father's side of the question; and the captain concluded the debate by assuring noddy, if his daughter had to die, he would give more than a hundred dollars to save her from the maw of a shark, that she might die less horribly by drowning. on the whole, the cabin-boy was pretty well satisfied that he had won the money honestly, and he carefully bestowed it with his clothing in his berth.
early in the morning mr. watts went on shore with a boat's crew, to commence bringing off the water casks. it required the whole forenoon to re[172]move the old casks, and stow the new ones in the hold. about eleven o'clock the mate complained of a chilly sensation, and a pain in his back, which was followed up by a severe headache. he was soon compelled to leave his work, and take to his berth in the cabin. the next boat from the shore brought off a surgeon, who promptly pronounced the disease the yellow fever.
before the roebuck could get off, two of the sailors were attacked by the terrible malady. the only safety for the rest was in immediate flight; and the schooner got under way, and stood out to sea. the doctor had left ample directions for the treatment of the disease, but the medicines appeared to do no good. mr. watts was delirious before night. the two men in the forecastle were no better, and the prospect on board the vessel was as gloomy as it could be.
mollie stood by the sufferer in the cabin, in spite of the protest of her father. she knew what the fever was; but she seemed to be endued with a courage which was more than human. she nursed the sick man tenderly, and her simple prayer for his recovery ascended every hour during the long night. one of the men forward died before morning, and[173] was committed to the deep by his terrified messmates, without even a form of prayer over his plague-stricken remains.
towards night, on the second day out of barbadoes, mr. watts breathed his last. by the light of the lanterns, his cold form was placed on a plank extended over the rail. mollie would not permit him to be buried in his watery grave without a prayer, and captain mcclintock read one. many tears were shed over him, as his body slid off into the sea. noddy and mollie wept bitterly, for they felt that they had lost a good friend.
there was only one more patient on board, and he seemed to be improving; but before the morning sun rose, red and glaring on the silent ocean, there were three more. captain mcclintock was one of them. there was none to take care of him but mollie and noddy; and both of them, regardless of the demands of their own bodies, kept vigil by his couch. more faithful nurses a sick man never had. they applied the remedies which had been used before.
on the following day two more of the crew were committed to their ocean graves, and despair reigned throughout the vessel. the captain grew worse[174] every hour, and poor mollie was often compelled to leave the bedside that he might not see her weeping over him. he soon became delirious, and did not even know her.
"o, noddy," exclaimed she, when she fully realized the situation of her father, "i shall soon be alone."
"don't give up, mollie," replied the cabin-boy sadly.
"i have prayed till i fear my prayers are no longer heard," sobbed she.
"yes, they are, mollie. don't stop praying," said noddy, who knew that the poor girl had derived a great deal of hope and comfort from her prayers.
he had seen her kneel down when she was almost overcome by the horrors which surrounded them, and rise as calm and hopeful as though she had received a message direct from on high. perhaps he had no real faith in her prayers, but he saw what strength she derived from them. certainly they had not warded off the pestilence, which was still seeking new victims on board. but they were the life of mollie's struggling existence; and it was with the utmost sincerity that he had counselled her to continue them.[175]
"my father will die!" groaned the poor girl. "nothing can save him now."
"no, he won't die. he isn't very bad yet, mollie."
"o, yes, he is. he does not speak to me; he does not know me."
"he is doing very well, mollie. don't give it up yet."
"i feel that he will soon leave me."
"no, he won't, mollie. i know he will get well," said noddy, with the most determined emphasis.
"how do you know?"
"i feel that he will. he isn't half so bad as mr. watts was. cheer up, and he will be all right in a few days."
"but think how terrible it would be for my poor father to die, away here in the middle of the ocean," continued mollie, weeping most bitterly, as she thought of the future.
"but he will not die; i am just as sure that he will get well, as i am that i am alive now."
noddy had no reason whatever for this strong assertion, and he made it only to comfort his friend. it was not made in vain, for the afflicted daughter was willing to cling to any hope, however slight, and[176] the confident words of the boy made an impression upon her. the morrow came, and the captain was decidedly better; but from the forecastle came the gloomy report that two more of the men had been struck down by the disease.
there were but three seamen left who were able to do duty, and mr. lincoln, the second mate, was nearly exhausted by watching and anxiety. fortunately, the weather had been fine, and the roebuck had been under all sail, with a fair wind. noddy had obtained a little sleep during the second night of the captain's illness, and he went on deck to report to the mate for duty. he was competent to steer the vessel in a light breeze, and he was permitted to relieve the man at the wheel.
he stood his trick of two hours, and then went below, to ascertain the condition of the captain. as he descended the ladder, he discovered the form of mollie extended on one of the lockers. her face was flushed, and she was breathing heavily. noddy was appalled at this sight, for he knew too well what these indications meant.
"what is the matter, mollie?" asked he, hardly able to speak the words from the violence of his emotion.[177]
"it is my turn now, noddy," replied she, in faint tones. "who will pray for me?"
"i will, mollie; but what ails you?"
"i am burning up with heat, and perishing with cold. my back feels as if it was broken, and the pain darts up through my neck into my head. i know very well what it means. you will take care of my poor father—won't you, noddy?"
"to be sure i will. you must turn in, mollie, and let me take care of you, too," said he, trying to be as calm as the terrible situation required of him.
he assisted the stricken maiden to her state-room, and placed her in her berth. taking from the medicine chest the now familiar remedy, he gave her the potion, and tenderly ministered to all her wants. she was very sick, for she had struggled with the destroying malady for hours before she yielded to its insidious advances.
"thank you, noddy. i feel better now, and i shall soon be happy. go now and see to my father; don't let him want for anything."
"i will not, mollie; i will take first-rate care of him," answered noddy, as he smoothed down the clothing around her neck.[178]
"my father is the captain of the ship, you know," added she, with a smile. "he is a great man; bigger than any shark you ever saw."
her mind had begun to wander already; and her patient nurse could hardly keep down his tears, as he gazed at her flushed cheeks, and smoothed down the curls upon her neck. she was beautiful to him—too beautiful to die there in mid ocean, with none but rude men to shed great tears over her silent form. how he wished that bertha was there, to watch over that frail little form, and ward off the grim tyrant that was struggling to possess it! she would not fear the pangs of the pestilence; she would be an angel in the little state-room, and bring down peace and hope, if not life, to the lovely sufferer.
noddy felt as he had never felt before, not even when the dread monster of the deep had almost snapped up the slight form before him. all the good lessons he had ever learned in his life came to him with a force they had never possessed in the sunny hour of prosperity. he wanted to pray. he felt the need of a strength not his own. mollie could not pray now. her mind was darkened by the shadows of disease. he went out into the cabin. it looked as cheerless, and cold, and gloomy, as the inside of[179] a tomb. but god was there; and though noddy could not speak the words of his prayer, his heart breathed a spirit which the infinite father could understand. he prayed, as he had promised the sick girl he would, and the strength which prayer had given to her was given to him.
"here is work for me," said he, as he approached the door of the captain's state-room. "but i am able to do it. i will never give up this work."
he did not know what he was to win by this work of love, amid trials and tribulation. he had struggled with the disposition to despond; he had worked like a hero to keep his spirits up; and that which he was called upon to do with his hands was small and trivial compared with that which was done by his mind and heart. he had conquered fear and despair.
thus prepared to battle with the giant ills which surrounded him, he entered captain mcclintock's room.
