Jack at Sea Part 23

Jack's eyes begin to open.

"No," said Sir John, in reply to a question addressed to him by the captain, one beautiful moonlight evening, as they were running down within sight of the coast of Portugal; "unless it is necessary, or my son wishes to see the towns, I should prefer going steadily on eastward.

For my part I want to get away from civilisation, and see Nature unspoiled or unimproved, whichever it is."

"And that depends upon individual taste, eh, Jack?" said the doctor.

"I suppose so," said the lad.

"Bah! he's going back again," said the doctor to himself.

"Would you like to stop at Gibraltar and see the Rock and its fortifications, Jack?"

"No, father, thank you," said the lad.

Sir John looked disappointed, but he said quietly--

"Then we'll go right on, captain, according to your plans. Let's see, what were they?"

"If you wish to get right away to the East, then I propose that we just touch at Gib, and stay long enough to fill up our water-tanks and take in fresh provisions and vegetables, run straight on to Naples, do the same there again, and then make for the Ca.n.a.l, unless you would care to see Vesuvius. Naples and its surroundings are very fine."

"Yes, very," said Sir John.

"Oh yes," growled the doctor; "but the place swarms with visitors. I want to get where we can land on some beautiful coast with our guns and collecting tackle, where we shouldn't see a soul, unless it's a naked savage."

"So do I," said Sir John. "What do you say, Jack?"

"Wherever you like, father," said the boy resignedly; and he rose and walked right forward to where a couple of the men were on the look-out, and Mr Bartlett was walking slowly up and down with a gla.s.s under his arm.

Sir John sighed, and there was perfect silence for a few minutes.

"It is very disappointing," he said at last.

"What is?" cried the doctor sharply. "Rome wasn't built in a day."

"But he seems to take it all as a duty, and as if he was compelled to obey me."

"And a good thing too," cried the doctor sharply. "What's better than for a son to feel that he is bound to obey his father? If I had been a married man instead of a surly bachelor, and I had had a son, I should have expected him to obey me and do what I thought was for his good; eh, captain?"

"Yes, sir, of course; and on your part, tried to be reasonable."

"Of course. Well, we--I mean Sir John--is reasonable. No, he isn't now. He wants Rome built in a day with the fresh paint on as well, and a grand procession of big drums and trumpets and soldiers with flags to march through the princ.i.p.al streets."

"Come, not quite so bad as that, Instow. Don't be cross."

"Then don't make me so. Now, I appeal to the captain here. Has not the boy been wandering about the deck all day with Bartlett, asking him questions about the sails, and talking to the men, and using his gla.s.s whenever there was a good bit of the land to see?"

"Well, yes."

"Well yes, indeed! What more do you want? We can only go on two legs, we men; we can't fly."

"Captain Bradleigh seems of a different opinion with this yacht. He makes us swim and pretty well fly."

"Yes, but what was Jack a month ago? Going about the house like a boy in a nightmare, or else with his hands supporting his heavy head, while he was A plus B-ing, squaring nothing, and extracting roots, or building up calculations with logs. He isn't like the boy he was when he came on board."

"That's true," said the captain quietly. "His interest is being awakened, and something else too--his appet.i.te."

"Yes; he certainly eats twice as much, and is not so particular as to what it is."

"There!" cried the doctor triumphantly. "And what does that mean?"

"That the sea-air makes him hungry."

"Bah! that isn't all. It means that Nature keeps on asking for more bricks and mortar to go on building up the works that were begun years ago and not finished--muscle and bone and nerve, sir, so as to get him a sound body; and mind you, a sound body generally means a sound brain.

Everything in a proper state of balance."

"I suppose you are right," said Sir John.

"Right? of course I am. Only give him time."

"Where is he now?"

"Along with Bartlett," said the captain.

"Yes, I can see him. They're examining something over the bows. Found something fresh. Isn't that a healthy sign? He was only a bit tired and bored just now. Look here, Meadows, you and I must not be too anxious, and keep on letting him see that we are watching him. Why, look at the other morning when he was just up from his sea-sickness. Do you think if I had begged him to eat that rasher of ham he would have touched it? Not he. Let him alone, and he'll soon be coming to us."

"Certainly that will be the best course. I should like to see though what he is doing now?"

"Better leave him alone. Sensitive chap like that, with a body like a little boy and a head like an old man, don't want to feel that he is being led about by a nurse. But there, I must humour you, I suppose.

Come away."

The doctor set the example by rising, and they walked slowly forward, hearing Jack talking in an animated way as they drew nearer, and, as if in obedience to an order, one of the sailors trotted by them.

As they reached the port bows Jack turned round where he was leaning over the starboard side, as if to look for the man who had gone on some errand, and he caught sight of his father.

"Come and look here, father," he cried. "Something so curious."

"Eh? What is it?" said Sir John coolly, and, followed by the doctor, he crossed to where his son stood with the mate.

"Look over here, straight down into the black water," said Jack.

"Hah! Yes, very beautiful, looks as if we were sailing through a sea of liquid pale gold."

"And it's all black where it is not disturbed. As soon as the yacht's prow rushes through, everything is flas.h.i.+ng out with phosph.o.r.escent light, and you can see myriads of tiny stars gliding away."

"Yes, beautiful," said Sir John. "Grand," cried the doctor.

"And Mr Bartlett here says it is nothing compared to what he has seen off Java and the other islands. Look now! it's just as if the sea as deep down as we can pierce was full of tiny stars. Oh, here's the pail."

The sailor had returned, and way was made for him to drop the bucket at the end of a rope down into one of the brightest parts, and bring it up full of the phosph.o.r.escent water.