Down the Rhine; Or, Young America in Germany by Oliver Optic (life books to read .TXT) 📖

new captain ordered all hands to take their stations for getting under way, and Commodore Kendall went aft, though he still carefully observed the conduct of the seamen. The clumsiness, and the intentional blunders of certain of the crew seemed to indicate that there was a conspiracy to defeat the purposes of the commander. First, Howe tumbled down while the hands were walking round the capstan; Spencer stumbled over him, and a dozen boys were thrown in a pile upon them. Then Richmond and Merrick dropped their handspikes overboard, through an open port, when the order was given to restore these articles to their proper places.

Little snarled himself up in the gasket on the fore-topsail yard, and dropped off, as though he had fallen, though he clung to the rope, and was brought up with a jerk ten or twelve feet below the spar. Some of his gang, believing he had really fallen, screamed, and the attention of the whole crew was drawn off from their duty. When the fore-topmast staysail and jib were to be set, somebody had fouled the down-hauls, so that they could not be hoisted. There was a kink in the halyards of the main-top gallant-sail, so that it would not run through the block. Clewlines, clew-garnets, leachlines, and buntlines were in a snarl. The zeal of those who were striving to do their duty faithfully seemed to make the matter worse, and the officers found it difficult to determine who really made the mischief; for the malcontents pretended to be as enthusiastic as their shipmates. Strong expressions and hard words were freely used by the vexed seamen, and certainly such a scene of confusion had never before been observed on board of the ship, even when a large proportion of the crew were green hands.

Captain Shuffles was deeply grieved by the misconduct of the crew; for, standing on the quarter-deck, he could not distinguish between the intentional and the unintentional blunders of the crew, and therefore believed that the disaffection was much more extensive than was really the case. The zealous efforts of one portion of the crew to rectify the mistakes of another portion only increased the confusion, and some of those who were actually doing their best appeared to be the real authors of the difficulty. The captain was drilling his crew in simultaneous movements, and it was difficult, if not impossible, to ascertain exactly the source of the unwonted confusion.

While the routine of evolutions was thus bunglingly performed, the principal and the professors, who had been discussing an interesting question of discipline in the main cabin, came on deck. Perhaps the fact that Mr. Lowington was not on deck had encouraged the conspirators in creating the confusion which pervaded the decks and rigging. As he was the last to ascend the companion-way, he paused on the steps, with his head on a level with the deck, to note the precision of the drill. He was not noticed by the conspirators, and, unfortunately for them, they continued in their career of insubordination. The quick eye of the principal readily detected the nature of the mischief, though it was as impossible for him as for the officers immediately to indicate the authors of the confusion which prevailed throughout the ship.

"This does not look much like going down the Rhine this week," said Mr. Lowington to Commodore Kendall, as he stepped upon the quarter-deck.

"I don't think it does, sir," replied Paul, grieved and indignant at the miserable exhibition of seamanship which the crew then presented.

"This is a strange sight on board of this ship," added the principal, biting his lips with vexation, for, as usual, when the young tars displayed their seamanship, there were plenty of spectators on shore, and on board of other vessels in the roadstead.

"I certainly never saw anything like it since we first began to learn ship's duty in Brockway harbor."

"The crew appear to be hazing the new officers," continued Mr. Lowington, who could not fail to perceive that a large portion of the apparent blundering was intentional.

"Of course there isn't a seaman on board who does not know his duty."

"They are not familiar yet with their new stations, and a little confusion is unavoidable," said Mr. Lowington, willing to make all reasonable allowances.

"But they have already been through the routine two or three times," suggested Paul.

"Are the crew dissatisfied with the election?" asked the principal.

"I have not heard any dissatisfaction expressed; but I suppose some of them don't like Shuffles, especially those who went off in the Josephine."

"There are not twenty of them left in the ship; and it seems as though the whole crew were engaged in this frolic."

At this moment a gang of the waist men, who were walking away with the main-topsail sheets, were suddenly piled up in a pyramid on deck. The second fellow in the line had fallen down; the next had tripped over him, and those that followed tumbled into the heap. It is more than probable that some, whose estimate of the value of good order was not very high, though they were tolerably good boys in the main, were tempted by their love of fun to take part in what appeared to them only a frolic. A scene of violent confusion ensued in this particular part of the deck. Some, who were near the bottom of the pile, were hurt by those who fell upon them, and the tempers of others were not improved by the mishap. Hard words followed, those at the bottom blaming those at the top, and those at the top growling at those at the bottom. Some were rubbing their elbows, others their shins, and all appeared to be anxious to ascertain who had produced the mischief.

"Pipe to muster, Captain Shuffles," said the principal, stepping up to the bewildered commander. "We have had about enough of this."

Shuffles gave the order to the first lieutenant, and it was duly transmitted to the boatswain, whose shrill pipe soon assembled the whole ship's company in the waist.

"We shall catch it now," said Spencer, one of the runaways, to Howe, as they met near the rail, a little outside of the crowd.

"No matter; he is only going to preach to us," replied Howe through the corner of his mouth, while he tried to look as innocent as one of the chaplain's lambs.

"We shall not have a chance to go down the Rhine if we do things in this way."

"I don't want to go down the Rhine; at least, not till I have been through Paris and Switzerland."

"But we want to go ashore with the other fellows, or we shall have no chance to go anywhere."

"Shut up! Don't talk about that here. If we don't go, no one will go. This is bully! We shall get things mixed so that the officers won't know a lamb from a goat."

"Bob Shuffles hasn't made much yet as captain," laughed Spencer.

"We'll get even with him yet," added Howe, still talking through the corner of his mouth, and looking all the time at the principal, who had taken his place on the hatch.

Mr. Lowington, as the rogue had suggested, only intended to "preach." He had observed the insubordination of the crew, and he regretted it exceedingly, for he was as careful of the reputation of the ship as of his own. There was an evident intention on the part of a large portion of the ship's company to haze the new officers. Such a purpose was unworthy of the character of young gentlemen, and he hoped that such conduct as he had just witnessed would be discontinued. In a day or two he purposed to start for Germany, but he could not leave the ship unless he was satisfied that every one on board knew his duty; for on their return they might be compelled, by some unforeseen event, to go to sea at once, and the crew did not appear to know how to set and furl a sail. The officers, from the captain to the lowest rank, appeared to have performed their duty faithfully; and all the trouble was in the execution of their orders. In conclusion, he announced that the drill would be resumed in half an hour, and directed the commander to pipe down.

"That didn't hurt anybody," said Howe, as he walked forward with Spencer. "Let us keep it up."

"We may get caught at it."

"No need of that. Accidents will happen."

"Yes; but they don't happen all over the ship at the same time."

"Well, they may, you know," laughed Howe. "In fact, I don't see how accidents are to be avoided while we have such a fellow as Shuffles for captain. If there is any one in the ship that I despise, it is Shuffles."

"So say we all of us!"

"The snivelling, canting, whining puppy! Have you any idea that his merit-marks made him captain of the ship?" continued Howe.

"I suppose they did."

"Tell that to the marines! Wasn't he acknowledged to be the worst fellow in the ship when we crossed the Atlantic? Wasn't he the ringleader in all mischief and scrapes?"

"But he has reformed."

"Reformed!" sneered Howe. "He has turned hypocrite, if that is what you mean by reformed. I don't believe in that sort of bosh."

"He's the pet of the principal and the instructors."

"Yes; and they have given him marks enough to make him captain, just to show good fellows, like you and me, what a saint can do. It is all humbug! Why, he got more marks than Kendall, Gordon, Haven, and the rest of those cabin nobs, who are fit to enter the senior class in a college. I am satisfied that his merit-roll was doctored so as to make it come out as it did."

"I don't believe Lowington would do any such thing as that," suggested Spencer, shaking his head.

"Don't you? Well, I do. What's the use of talking! Didn't Shuffles jump from the steerage into the captain's state-room?"

"Any other fellow may do the same thing. Look at Tom Perth, who lost a heap of marks for running off in the Josephine, as the rest of us did. He is second master. If it hadn't been for our scrape, very likely he would have been captain."

"Don't you believe it."

"If Lowington had not been fair, and let every fellow go just where his marks carried him, Perth would not have had a place in the cabin."

"O, the principal only wanted to break us up by taking our best fellow away from us. He couldn't drive Tom Perth, and now he's going to lead him—bait him with sugar and offices."

"Some of the fellows say Shuffles can't handle the ship without the help of the principal," said Spencer.

"Of course he can't!" exclaimed Howe. "Hasn't he proved that already? If Paul Kendall had been captain, he would have spotted every fellow that made any trouble. Let us keep it up, Spencer, and we shall soon prove that Shuffles can't handle the ship. That will be enough to satisfy me."

The approach of an officer interrupted the conversation; but Howe passed from one to another of the malcontents, and instructed them what to do in the next drill. They were to create all the confusion they could in the discharge of their duty. They were to misunderstand the orders, and to blunder in the execution of them, in such a manner as to conceal their own agency in the mischief, and divide the responsibility of it among their companions. The runaway crew of the Josephine, mortified at their failure, were still fretting because they had not visited Paris and Switzerland. They were ready to listen to evil counsels, and regarding Howe as their leader since the promotion of Perth, they promised to follow his instructions to the letter.

"What are we going to make by it?" demanded Sheffield, who doubted the policy of the proceeding.

"We are going to prove, in the first place, that Shuffles can't handle the ship," replied Howe.

"Perhaps you may prove it, even if you