Australian Tales - Setis

Simultaneously I heard the well-known voice of the captain, shouting
loudly for help; so I ran aft, and found him at the helm, and the late
steersman (who was thrown over the wheel and had his jaw broken),
lying in the lee scuppers groaning with pain. I was about to lift the poor
fellow, when the captain called to me “to let him lie, and to run forward
and rouse the hands out.” My allusion to the improved discipline in
coasting steamers in the present day, will be appreciated when I state that
the captain, the second mate, and the steersman, were the only persons
belonging to the ship on deck at the time of the mishap. I ran forward,
but found that the crew were “rousing out” without being called, for the
forecastle was nearly half filled with water, and the sailors were hurrying
up like drowning rats, and grumbling after their usual custom under such
circumstances, while the second mate was violently kicking at the chief
mate's cabin door, accompanying each kick with a curse, or something
equivalent to it. Presently the door was opened, and the chief in a furious
tone demanded what the other meant by knocking at his door in that
sledge-hammer style.
“Can't you see the ship is on her beam ends? Heave out and rouse some
of this deck load up to windward, if you are not too drunk to stand. Bear
a hand, or the ship will go down under us!” roared the second mate.
“Bless the ship!” vociferated the savage chief. “How dare you talk to
me in that manner? Bless your impudence! what do you mean by it? I'll
punch your head in a minute,” he added, as he hastily drew on a
necessary garment.
“Will you?” exclaimed the second mate, squaring up like a professional
boxer; “come on, I'm your man. I'll knock marlinspikes out of you!”
While that angry dialogue was going on, the captain was shouting
loudly from his post at the wheel, but no one heard what he said, or
heeded his orders in the excitement of the affray, for the crew seemed all
more interested in the sea fight than for the safety of the ship, which was
plunging about in the trough of the sea, with one paddle-wheel
submerged, and the other one high out of the water; while scarcely more
than a quarter of a mile to leeward were the dark cliffs, looming upon us
like the jaws of death. In the meantime my terrified friend was clinging
to the pumphandle, in awful dread of tumbling into the engine-room, or
being washed overboard, if he relaxed his hold for an instant, and
wondering at the same time if that were an extraordinary occurrence in
sea-life, or a mere nothing if he were used to it.
I rushed in between the sparring mates, and in a tone of authority,
which the emergency of the case warranted, I asked, “If they were mad,
to waste time in quarrelling and fighting, when the lives of all on board
were in peril?” adding, “get the ship upright, gentlemen, for mercy's
sake! and fight afterwards if you choose. Be reasonable, gentlemen, I
pray: leave off wrangling, and get the ship in trim, or we shall soon be