الفصل الفصل 6 · THE MAN WHO HAD NOWHERE TO GO.

. THE MAN WHO HAD NOWHERE TO GO.

In the early morning (it was the second morning after my recovery, and

I believe the fourth after I was picked up), I awoke through an avenue

of tumultuous dreams,—dreams of guns and howling mobs,—and became

sensible of a hoarse shouting above me. I rubbed my eyes and lay

listening to the noise, doubtful for a little while of my whereabouts.

Then came a sudden pattering of bare feet, the sound of heavy objects

being thrown about, a violent creaking and the rattling of chains. I

heard the swish of the water as the ship was suddenly brought round,

and a foamy yellow-green wave flew across the little round window and

left it streaming. I jumped into my clothes and went on deck.

As I came up the ladder I saw against the flushed sky—for the sun was

just rising—the broad back and red hair of the captain, and over his

shoulder the puma spinning from a tackle rigged on to the mizzen

spanker-boom.

The poor brute seemed horribly scared, and crouched in the bottom of

its little cage.

“Overboard with ’em!” bawled the captain. “Overboard with ’em! We’ll

have a clean ship soon of the whole bilin’ of ’em.”

He stood in my way, so that I had perforce to tap his shoulder to come

on deck. He came round with a start, and staggered back a few paces to

stare at me. It needed no expert eye to tell that the man was still

drunk.

“Hullo!” said he, stupidly; and then with a light coming into his eyes,

“Why, it’s Mister—Mister?”

“Prendick,” said I.

“Prendick be damned!” said he. “Shut-up,—that’s your name. Mister

Shut-up.”

It was no good answering the brute; but I certainly did not expect his

next move. He held out his hand to the gangway by which Montgomery

stood talking to a massive grey-haired man in dirty-blue flannels, who

had apparently just come aboard.

“That way, Mister Blasted Shut-up! that way!” roared the captain.

Montgomery and his companion turned as he spoke.

“What do you mean?” I said.

“That way, Mister Blasted Shut-up,—that’s what I mean! Overboard,

Mister Shut-up,—and sharp! We’re cleaning the ship out,—cleaning the

whole blessed ship out; and overboard you go!”

I stared at him dumfounded. Then it occurred to me that it was exactly

the thing I wanted. The lost prospect of a journey as sole passenger

with this quarrelsome sot was not one to mourn over. I turned towards

Montgomery.

“Can’t have you,” said Montgomery’s companion, concisely.

“You can’t have me!” said I, aghast. He had the squarest and most

resolute face I ever set eyes upon.

“Look here,” I began, turning to the captain.

“Overboard!” said the captain. “This ship aint for beasts and cannibals

and worse than beasts, any more. Overboard you go, Mister Shut-up. If

they can’t have you, you goes overboard. But, anyhow, you go—with your

friends. I’ve done with this blessed island for evermore, amen! I’ve

had enough of it.”

“But, Montgomery,” I appealed.

He distorted his lower lip, and nodded his head hopelessly at the

grey-haired man beside him, to indicate his powerlessness to help me.

“I’ll see to _you_, presently,” said the captain.

Then began a curious three-cornered altercation. Alternately I appealed

to one and another of the three men,—first to the grey-haired man to

let me land, and then to the drunken captain to keep me aboard. I even

bawled entreaties to the sailors. Montgomery said never a word, only

shook his head. “You’re going overboard, I tell you,” was the captain’s

refrain. “Law be damned! I’m king here.” At last I must confess my

voice suddenly broke in the middle of a vigorous threat. I felt a gust

of hysterical petulance, and went aft and stared dismally at nothing.

Meanwhile the sailors progressed rapidly with the task of unshipping

the packages and caged animals. A large launch, with two standing lugs,

lay under the lee of the schooner; and into this the strange assortment

of goods were swung. I did not then see the hands from the island that

were receiving the packages, for the hull of the launch was hidden from

me by the side of the schooner. Neither Montgomery nor his companion

took the slightest notice of me, but busied themselves in assisting and

directing the four or five sailors who were unloading the goods. The

captain went forward interfering rather than assisting. I was

alternately despairful and desperate. Once or twice as I stood waiting

there for things to accomplish themselves, I could not resist an

impulse to laugh at my miserable quandary. I felt all the wretcheder

for the lack of a breakfast. Hunger and a lack of blood-corpuscles take

all the manhood from a man. I perceived pretty clearly that I had not

the stamina either to resist what the captain chose to do to expel me,

or to force myself upon Montgomery and his companion. So I waited

passively upon fate; and the work of transferring Montgomery’s

possessions to the launch went on as if I did not exist.

Presently that work was finished, and then came a struggle. I was

hauled, resisting weakly enough, to the gangway. Even then I noticed

the oddness of the brown faces of the men who were with Montgomery in

the launch; but the launch was now fully laden, and was shoved off

hastily. A broadening gap of green water appeared under me, and I

pushed back with all my strength to avoid falling headlong. The hands

in the launch shouted derisively, and I heard Montgomery curse at them;

and then the captain, the mate, and one of the seamen helping him, ran

me aft towards the stern.

The dingey of the _Lady Vain_ had been towing behind; it was half full

of water, had no oars, and was quite unvictualled. I refused to go

aboard her, and flung myself full length on the deck. In the end, they

swung me into her by a rope (for they had no stern ladder), and then

they cut me adrift. I drifted slowly from the schooner. In a kind of

stupor I watched all hands take to the rigging, and slowly but surely

she came round to the wind; the sails fluttered, and then bellied out

as the wind came into them. I stared at her weather-beaten side heeling

steeply towards me; and then she passed out of my range of view.

I did not turn my head to follow her. At first I could scarcely believe

what had happened. I crouched in the bottom of the dingey, stunned, and

staring blankly at the vacant, oily sea. Then I realised that I was in

that little hell of mine again, now half swamped; and looking back over

the gunwale, I saw the schooner standing away from me, with the

red-haired captain mocking at me over the taffrail, and turning towards

the island saw the launch growing smaller as she approached the beach.

Abruptly the cruelty of this desertion became clear to me. I had no

means of reaching the land unless I should chance to drift there. I was

still weak, you must remember, from my exposure in the boat; I was

empty and very faint, or I should have had more heart. But as it was I

suddenly began to sob and weep, as I had never done since I was a

little child. The tears ran down my face. In a passion of despair I

struck with my fists at the water in the bottom of the boat, and kicked

savagely at the gunwale. I prayed aloud for God to let me die.