Owen Hartley; or, Ups and Downs Part 24

In a short time Mike and Nat managed to get up to him. Owen proposed that they should form a raft with the spars and smaller pieces of timber floating about, on which they might be able to make their way to the land. The large piece of wreck on to which Mike and Nat had now climbed seemed to be stationary. They were therefore able to move about it, and began to form the proposed raft from the spars which they secured alongside.

Scarcely had they commenced the work, when a voice was heard at no great distance.

"Who is that?" shouted Owen. "Do you want help?"

"Langton," was the answer. "I thought I heard voices. Do not move, I will be with you presently."

In a short time Langton swam up. Owen and his two companions greeted him warmly. Ashurst lay still, occasionally uttering a groan.

"I am indeed thankful that you have escaped," said Owen to Langton. "We were doing our best for poor Ashurst; he wants a.s.sistance, and I should have been much troubled how to act. Do you think any one else has escaped?"

"I hope a few have," replied Langton; "but the greater number of our s.h.i.+pmates are, I fear, lost."

"Although our lives have been saved for the present, we are still surrounded by dangers. We must do our duty and trust to G.o.d. I'll now turn to and help you to build the raft. It is the first thing we have to do, that is certain."

Langton's a.s.sistance was of great value, as he was experienced, and very active. Having lashed all the spars they could find of about the same length side by side, they crossed them with others of a smaller size, and pieces of plank, placing a sort of platform in the centre, the whole being lashed together with ropes which they cut off the spars. It was, of course, roughly formed, but was large enough to support, not only themselves, but any other people they were likely to pick up. By the time it was finished, Ashurst had somewhat recovered, and Langton and Owen carried him and placed him on the platform where he could be out of the wet. They had kept two of the lighter spars for a mast and yard, and they picked up a royal unburnt, which would serve as a sail.

Dawn broke just as they were ready to shove off from the wreck.

"Where are we going?" asked Ashurst, in a faint voice.

"To the nearest sh.o.r.e we can reach," answered Langton; "when there we must consider what next to do."

"Can't you give me some water, or some fruit? I am very thirsty," said Ashurst.

"I am sorry we have nothing to give you," answered Langton; "we may possibly pick up something when we have daylight."

"I've a chaw of baccy, sir," said Mike; "it's me last, but it's at yir sarvice."

Poor Ashurst uttered an expression of disgust. Just then Owen thankfully recollected that he had put a couple of small limes, some of which he had been eating late on the previous evening, into his pocket.

He immediately skinned one of the refres.h.i.+ng fruit, and handed it in small pieces to Ashurst.

"This from you, Hartley?" he said, as he swallowed it eagerly.

"I have another which will be at your service when you want it," said Owen, not noticing the remark, and feeling intense pleasure at thus being able to help his suffering messmate. Every thought of the ill-treatment he had received vanished from his mind. Langton and Owen now examined Ashurst's hurts. They found that his left arm had either been dislocated or broken, and that a splinter had torn his side and severely wounded him.

"He is in a bad way," whispered Langton to Owen; "had one of the surgeons been with us, he might have been doctored, but as it is, I do not think he will weather out what we shall have to endure. I ought to tell him so if he gets worse, but we will do our best for him."

As daylight increased, they saw other ma.s.ses of wreck floating about, while a portion of the shattered upper works of the frigate appeared above the water with several men clinging to them. A current, however, was running from the wreck, slowly drifting the raft away. Who the people were it was impossible to say at that distance.

"Unless a breeze springs up to blow us back we cannot get up to them,"

said Langton; "we will rig our sail, however, in case it should come."

While engaged in setting up the mast, Mike and Nat especially were keeping an eye on the water around them, in the hopes of picking up something that might be floating by.

Without giving notice of what he was about to do, Mike suddenly sprang off the raft and swam out towards an object of which he had just caught sight.

"This will serve us for mate and drink too," he exclaimed, as he swam back, pus.h.i.+ng before him a couple of melon-like fruit. He handed them up to Nat, and without getting on the raft, swam off to the other side, where he saw a small barrel, which proved to contain biscuits. This was but a small supply of food; but the fact that they had found it made them hope that more might be obtained. The water remained perfectly smooth, which was an advantage.

As the sun rose the heat became intense. Poor Ashurst suffered greatly, even though Owen gave him piece by piece the remainder of the lime, and then supplied him with small bits of the melon.

At Langton's suggestion they attempted to get up to the wreck, but as they had only pieces of plank to row with, and the raft was heavy, they made no progress against the current. They saw, however, that their s.h.i.+pmates were endeavouring to imitate their example, and were engaged in making another raft; but several, it was too evident from the way they clung to the wreck, were severely injured and unable to exert themselves. As far as Owen and his companions could make out, the people they saw had on only their s.h.i.+rts and trousers. It was impossible to ascertain, therefore, whether any were officers. Langton feared not.

The land appeared on either side of them, and another island stretched away to the southward, closing the channel, so that they might hope, in the course of a few hours at most, should a breeze spring up from the east or west, to reach the sh.o.r.e. Still hour after hour went by, the raft driving further and farther to the southward, and away from the wreck, until the people moving about on it could no longer be distinguished.

In the meantime they had been unsuccessful in obtaining any further provisions. Owen regretted that they had not secured another piece of canvas with which to form some sort of shelter above poor Ashurst. All they could do was to hoist up the sail, so as to throw a shadow over his head. Langton, who had had a long swim, felt much fatigued, and charging Owen to call him should any change take place, he lay down to obtain the rest he so much needed.

Owen, meanwhile, was seated by Ashurst's side. The latter was continually speaking, though Owen thought that he occasionally rambled.

"Hartley," he said at last, "do you think that I'm dying?"

"You are evidently very ill; but I hope, if we can get you on sh.o.r.e, that you may yet pull through it."

"Do you wish me to recover?" asked Ashurst.

"Of course I do," answered Owen; "and I have been praying to G.o.d that you may."

"You do not know what you have been praying for then," murmured Ashurst.

"I have ill-treated you, and have shown in every way I could the hatred I felt."

"Pray do not talk of that," said Owen. "I never hated you."

"You had infinitely more cause to do so than I had to hate you,"

answered Ashurst.

He was silent for a minute or more; then he exclaimed suddenly--

"Hartley, did it ever occur to you that we are relatives? My family name was Hartley until we changed it for Ashurst. Do you know why we changed it? Because it was a.s.serted that the elder branch of the family was extinct, although my father and my elder brother--who is now Lord Arlingford--knew that such is not the case. My brother has no children, and when I last heard from home he was very ill. In case of his death I should succeed to the t.i.tle, though as well aware as he is that I have no just right to it. There seems to me but little prospect that either you or I will escape, but I feel that I must unburden my mind. When I first saw you on board and heard your name, I immediately thought that you must belong to our family. Upon making further inquiries I was convinced of it. I hated you, not that you had done anything to offend me, but because my family had kept you out of your just rights. You have returned only good for evil. But can you now forgive me for the great wrong which I have done you?"

"Indeed I can do so most heartily," answered Owen; "but I confess that I do not understand all you have been telling me, nor how your family can have injured mine. I know that we had relations of n.o.ble birth, and I should think that my father, had he possessed any claim to the Arlingford t.i.tle and estates, would not have failed to a.s.sert it."

"He was not aware, perhaps, that several of the intermediate heirs had died in rapid succession, and that my father had been tempted successfully to make his claim."

Ashurst as he spoke was evidently becoming weaker and weaker, and although Owen would gladly have obtained more information from him, yet he had not the heart to do so. He had very little hope indeed that Ashurst would recover, but still was unwilling to tell him how ill he was, lest it should lower his spirits and do harm.

The raft all this time was floating on the calm sea, drifting slowly down the channel; but as there was not a breath of wind, with only the pieces of board, it could scarcely be urged through the water.

Mike and Nat sat watching for anything likely to be of use which might appear on the surface of the water. Owen devoted all his attention to Ashurst, who was constantly complaining of the pain the wound in his side caused him, and of the thirst he was enduring.

At last Owen asked him if he thought that he should recover?

"I dare not think about it," answered Ashurst. "I have lived a careless life. I have done much evil, and no good that I can bring to my remembrance. I can only now look forward to a few hours of suffering before I quit the world. I wish that I had perished with the other poor fellows. I do not know why I was saved, except as a punishment for my sins."

"No, no, that could not have been," answered Owen. "You were preserved because G.o.d loves you, and still to the last moment offers you salvation. Turn to Him through Christ. He has said that although your sins might be as scarlet, they may become as white as snow. G.o.d is faithful and just to forgive us our sins. Believe in His glorious promises."

"I find it a hard matter to do so," groaned Ashurst, "but I will try."

Owen offered to pray with him, and knelt down by his side. Ashurst's lips continued to move, but his voice grew weaker and weaker. At length Langton awoke. No sooner did he cast his eyes on Ashurst than he gave a look at Owen and whispered, "He is going."