Australian Tales - Setis

oard, when Captain Gimble, glistening with spray, entered the cabin,
and smilingly asked him “How he was getting on?”
“I am not happy, Captain,” replied Mr. Moans, sitting up in his bed.
“The fact is, I am frightened, and fear terribly interferes with a person's
enjoyment, either on sea or on shore. I have seldom, if ever before,
experienced such a feeling on shipboard, but really this ‘dreadful noise of
waters in my ears’ makes my flesh creep. The clanking of those pumps
sounds like a horrible mill, grinding up the bones of drowned sailors to
make putty for worm-eaten planks; and the creaking jaws of the maingaff
seems to me like Satan laughing approvingly at his friends, who, for
the sake of a few pounds of freight-money, imperil the lives of all on
board. Have you stopped the leak?”
“Not yet: the spear of one of the pumps is disabled; but we will soon
get it to work again. The carpenter was laid up sea sick; so I went down
to his berth just now, and gently hinted to him that the ship was sinking,
and that he had better turn out and mend the pump spear. Ha, ha! my
blocks! he roused out as smartly as if there was a buck rat in his bunk! I
never before saw such a prompt cure for sea sickness.”
“Pray what is your real opinion of our present position, Captain?”
asked Mr. Moans. “Don't scruple to tell me the worst, for after all I am
not afraid of death, let it come in whatever shape it may. Thank God I
know that before the ship got to the bottom of the sea, if she sank just
now, my soul would be far beyond the influence of storms and tossing
waves. But it has never been my disposition to lie down and die. ‘Never
let the ship sink for want of pumping’ is an old maxim of mine: so I will
turn out and take a turn at the pumps, if you like, Captain.”
“There is no necessity for your doing that,” said the Captain; “our
present position is not very enviable certainly; still we might be much
worse off, under bad owners. Our ship is only leaking in her top sides,
through baking so long in the sun, and her seams will probably take up in
a few hours. Then our hull is sound and strong, our rigging and sails are
good, and we have plenty of sea room. Our shipping so much water, and
making such bad weather of it, is of course owing to our being
overloaded; but we cannot help that now, it would not be safe to take off
the hatches, to lighten her. Fortunately she is not straining at all, and
though it is certainly disagreeable for you, there is not much danger if we
don't lose our masts. That is my candid opinion, as you have asked me
for it. But if any of those old leaky coasting colliers have got caught in
this breeze,” added the Captain with a shrug of horror, “there will be
more sailors' orphans, and sorrowing widows and mothers, to remember
this night's fatal work; for a rotten ship could not weather it out.”
“Tell me, Captain, why are owners permitted to send rotten vessels to
sea?” asked Mr. Moans, with earnestness.
“Ah, why indeed!” said the Captain, “but there is no law to prevent