The Boats of the Glen Carrig Read Free

pork; a small
barrel of vinegar; a case of brandy; two barrels of flour—one of which
proved to be damp-struck; and a bunch of tallow dips.
    In a little while we had all these things up in the big cabin, so that
we might come at them the better to make choice of that which was fit for
our stomachs, and that which was otherwise. Meantime, whilst the bo'sun
overhauled these matters, Josh called a couple of the men, and went on
deck to bring up the gear from the boats, for it had been decided that we
should pass the night aboard the hulk.
    When this was accomplished, Josh took a walk forward to the fo'cas'le;
but found nothing beyond two seamen's chests; a sea-bag, and some odd
gear. There were, indeed, no more than ten bunks in the place; for she
was but a small brig, and had no call for a great crowd. Yet Josh was
more than a little puzzled to know what had come to the odd chests; for
it was not to be supposed that there had been no more than two—and a
sea-bag—among ten men. But to this, at that time, he had no answer, and
so, being sharp for supper, made a return to the deck, and thence to the
main cabin.
    Now while he had been gone, the bo'sun had set the men to clearing out
the main cabin; after which, he had served out two biscuits apiece all
round, and a tot of rum. To Josh, when he appeared, he gave the same,
and, in a little, we called a sort of council; being sufficiently stayed
by the food to talk.
    Yet, before we came to speech, we made shift to light our pipes; for the
bo'sun had discovered a case of tobacco in the captain's cabin, and after
this we came to the consideration of our position.
    We had provender, so the bo'sun calculated, to last us for the better
part of two months, and this without any great stint; but we had yet to
prove if the brig held water in her casks, for that in the creek was
brackish, even so far as we had penetrated from the sea; else we had not
been in need. To the charge of this, the bo'sun set Josh, along with two
of the men. Another, he told to take charge of the galley, so long as we
were in the hulk. But for that night, he said we had no need to do
aught; for we had sufficient of water in the boats' breakers to last us
till the morrow. And so, in a little, the dusk began to fill the cabin;
but we talked on, being greatly content with our present ease and the
good tobacco which we enjoyed.
    In a little while, one of the men cried out suddenly to us to be silent,
and, in that minute, all heard it—a far, drawn-out wailing; the same
which had come to us in the evening of the first day. At that we looked
at one another through the smoke and the growing dark, and, even as we
looked, it became plainer heard, until, in a while, it was all about
us—aye! it seemed to come floating down through the broken framework of
the skylight as though some weariful, unseen thing stood and cried upon
the decks above our heads.
    Now through all that crying, none moved; none, that is, save Josh and the
bo'sun, and they went up into the scuttle to see whether anything was in
sight; but they found nothing, and so came down to us; for there was no
wisdom in exposing ourselves, unarmed as we were, save for our
sheath-knives.
    And so, in a little, the night crept down upon the world, and still we
sat within the dark cabin, none speaking, and knowing of the rest only by
the glows of their pipes.
    All at once there came a low, muttered growl, stealing across the land;
and immediately the crying was quenched in its sullen thunder. It died
away, and there was a full minute of silence; then, once more it came,
and it was nearer and more plain to the ear. I took my pipe from my
mouth; for I had come again upon the great fear and uneasiness which the
happenings of the first night had bred in me, and the taste of the smoke
brought me no more pleasure. The muttered growl swept over our heads and
died away into the distance, and there was a sudden silence.
    Then, in that quietness, came the bo'sun's voice. He was