The Golden Harpoon — page 25: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

THE DISAPPEARANCE, their general behaviour alone, give the most unequivocal proofs of a nature too weak and frivolous to evince resolution, or unselfish de- votion, under any circumstances.” ‘“"That’s so,” put in Stump, “and Molly Banks, of Nantucket, was one of them kind. In my young days, I made a lubber of myself, by propery. to splice hands with that young she. ut she hadn’t enough devotion in her natur’, she said, to marry a man that wore a pigtail. This took me all aback, as well it might; says I, ‘Why, Molly,’ says I, ‘the Stumps always wore ’em, and mine is very becoming to me!’ “* Nonsense!’ says. she, ‘it’s too old- fashioned; I'd never have courage to take a husband with one of them things.’ “©All right,’ says I, as I sheered off, ‘a woman that hasn’t neither devotion nor cour- age, isn’t to my taste.’ ” “You are a sensible man, Jack,” cried Harry, smiling. ‘I think I should have acted jn the same manner, had I been in your place.” Alice drew her cloak more closely about her, for a cold, drizzling rain had just commenced ‘to fall, increasing the chilliness of the atmo- sphere, and damping the young girl’s cheeks and the thick braids of her hair, Her lover, who had been watching her with tender concern, now motioned to Stump, and made his way to the spot near which the boat that Lark had provided for their accommoda- tion had been stove and sunk. ‘The wreck of the little craft was still partially visible, for, as the two men perceived, upon making an examination of it, the keel had become wedged in a narrow fissure that extended across a shelf of ice about a foot and a half beneath the sur- face of the water. “This is fortunate!” cried the harpooner, “for the wreck and its contents will be of great service to us. We can pull the boat out of the water, I think, with a little exertion.”’ “Ay, ay!” replied Stump, “we can do it with the help of some of the whale-line—a few coils of which are still left in one of the tubs, as you can see for yourself.” The young man threw off his jacket as his shipmate spoke, and roiled up one of his shirt- siceves to his shoulder. Then, stooping over the edge of the ice, he plunged his naked arm into the partially submerged boat, and, seiz- ing the end of the rope to which the ship- keeper had alluded, he drew it up and pro- ceeded to coil the line upon the surface of the frozen raft. After this task had been accom- plished, a part of the rope was secured to the shattered bow of the boat, whose contents, consisting of a few lances, a couple of harpoons, a hatchet, a small bucket of tar with a brush, the two line-tubs, the boat-sail, a few large chunks of salt beef, a breaker of fresh water— another containing hard bread—and a few of the other articles, were taken out. Then both Martine and his chum grasped that part of the Jiné which was about a fathom from the place where it was fastened, and tugged and strained at it until they had sueceeded in raising the head of the vessel above the edge of the ice. <A 23 quarter of an hour's work accomplished the rest, and, as the shattered craft lay dripping before them, upon the ice, the little party exchanged glances of the most intense satisfac- tion. “We'll soon have a shelter rigged for you now, Alice,” said the harpooner, as the young girl, who had been watching the operations of her lover with much interest, glided to his side. She looked up gratefully into his face as he spoke, and placed her hand upon his arm. “ How will you do it?” she inquired, “ with that broken boat and those line-tubs?” “You shall see,” replied Marline, and draw- ing his sheath-knife, he commenced to cut the pieces of rope-yarn that held the sail to the mast. It had previously been unrolled by Stump, and as the last rope-yarn was severed, the ship- keeper twisted the cloth into as small a com- pass as possible. Both men then seized it and began to wring it out, for it had become tho- roughly soaked, and required a “ little drying ” before it could be used for the purposes in view. The task was soon accomplished, and, spread- ing out the sail, the harpooner then proceeded to cover it with a coat of tar, so that the rain might not penetrate the cloth; while Stump, in accordance with the directions of the young man, lashed one of the line-tubs—turned upon its side—to the after part of the boat, and the other in like manner to the forward part. An oar was then placed lengthways above the ves- sel, with each of its ends resting upon one of the tubs, to which it was securely fastened in a short time by the skilful fingers of the har- pooner and his companion. The tarred sail was then thrown across the oar and secured to the broken gunwales, in such a manner as to form quite a respectable roof, and which could be opened at any mo- ment on one side. So much having been done, the young man seized the hatchet, and knock- ing away all the thwarts, with the exception of one, gave them to Stump, directing him to stop up the holes in the sides of the vessel with them, as well as he could. While the shipkeeper was engaged in this duty, Marline examined the inside bottom of the boat, and was glad to perceive that the planks which covered it were still in good condition. He wiped them with a piece of canvas, until they were as dry as he could make them ia this manner; and then, with the roll of sail- cloth that had been found among the other con- tents of the vessel, he assisted Stump in his efforts to stop up some of the many crevices and holes in the broken bows and sides of the boat. “There, Alice!” he cried, springing out upon the ice, as soon as this duty was finished, “you can now go into your ark, which will at least keep you from getting wet.” “Tt is very nice,” said the young girl, “but is there room for us all?” “Oh, yes, in case we should care to go in. But Jack and I prefer to stay outside for the present, so as to watch for Briggs and his party, or for any of the boats.” Comichboo S co —