CHAPTER III.
A GATHERING STORM.
"Mr. Lowington, I should like to go to sea for a day or two," said Captain Shuffles, when he had obtained the ear of the principal.
"Go to sea!" exclaimed Mr. Lowington. "Why, I thought you were all in a hurry to go down the Rhine."
"I am not at all satisfied with the discipline of the ship," answered the new captain. "It requires about as many officers as seamen to execute any manœuvre, and I think we need more practice in ship's duty before we make any more tours on shore."
"How did you succeed in your second drill?"
"We went through with it after a while; but it was only with two officers in each top, and the adult forward officers on the stays, that we could set a single sail."
"Have you ascertained who is at the root of the mischief?"
"Howe, for one."
"The runaways, probably," added Mr. Lowington, thoughtfully.
"I have no doubt all of them were concerned in it; but at least half the crew took part in the mischief. We finally went through all the forms with tolerable precision. Two or three days' service at sea will enable us to put everything in good working order. The officers also ought to have a little practice in their new stations."
"When do you wish to go to sea?"
"Immediately, sir," replied Shuffles.
"To-night?"
"Yes, sir. I think any delay would be injurious to discipline. The crew have been hazing the officers now for two hours, and have had the best of it most of the time. If we went to sea without any delay, I think it would be understood."
"You are right, Captain Shuffles. Where is Commodore Kendall?"
"In the after cabin, sir."
"Send for him, if you please."
The commander sent one of the waiters to call Paul, who presently appeared.
"Captain Shuffles wishes to go to sea to-night," said Mr. Lowington, with a smile, as the young commodore entered the cabin; "and I think he takes a correct view of the situation."
"To-night!" exclaimed Paul, whose thought immediately flashed from the ship to the Hôtel de l'Europe, in Havre, where Mr. and Mrs. Arbuckle and Grace were domiciled, having come down from Paris by the morning train, to be in readiness to start with the ship's company for the Rhine.
"I know what you are thinking about, Paul," laughed the principal. "You may go on shore, and invite the Arbuckles to join us; or, as we can work the ship very well without a commodore, you may stay on shore with them until our return."
"Invite them to go with us," suggested Shuffles. "I think the presence of our friends will have a good effect upon the crew."
"I should be very glad to have them go with us," replied Paul.
"It is a little doubtful whether we return to Havre again, for Brest would be a better place for the vessels to lie during our absence in Germany," said Mr. Lowington.
"We cannot sail at once—can we?" asked Paul.
"We can get off this evening," replied Mr. Lowington. "Let the stewards of the ship and the consort go on shore, and get a supply of fresh provisions. The commodore, in the mean time, can wait on the Arbuckles. I see no difficulty in getting off by sunset."
"It will be rather short notice for the Arbuckles," suggested Paul.
"They are ready to go to Germany at an hour's notice, and it will require no more preparation for this voyage. You can go on shore at once, Commodore Kendall. Captain Shuffles, you will hoist the signal for sailing; send a boat to the Josephine, and I will give you a letter for Mr. Fluxion."
The arrangement agreed upon, Captain Shuffles went on deck, and directed the first lieutenant to pipe away the commodore's barge. The third lieutenant was detailed to serve in this boat. As its crew went over the side, Captain Shuffles saw that Howe, Spencer, and four others of the runaways were of its number, under the new station bill. This fact induced him to send Peaks with the lieutenant in charge, so as to guard against any mischief. The third cutter was sent to the Josephine, with the principal's letter. In this boat, Little was the only runaway. The first cutter soon after left the ship with the steward, to bring off a load of fresh provisions.
As the third cutter was obliged to wait for Mr. Fluxion to write an answer to Mr. Lowington's letter, the crew were allowed to go on board of the Josephine. The sight of the signal for sailing, which had been hoisted on board of the Young America, caused no little excitement in the consort, as, in fact, it did on board of the ship. It looked like a very sudden movement, for all were anticipating their departure for Germany by the next or the following day. The principal had told them they would leave in a few days, and not a word had been said about going to sea in the interim.
"What's up?" asked Greenway, one of the runaways, who had been transferred to the Josephine, as Little came on deck.
"I don't know—only that we are going to sea," replied Little. "We have had high times on board of the ship."
"What have you been doing?"
"Hazing Shuffles," said Little, in a whisper.
"And I'll bet that is the reason why we are going to sea, instead of going to Germany," answered Greenway, with something like disgust in his looks and in the tones of his voice.
"No matter; we have proved that Shuffles can't handle the ship. He had to call on old Peaks to help him before he could get the main-topsail set."
"But if you play these games we shall be left on board while the rest of the fellows go down the Rhine."
"Not much! Fluxion is going to Marseilles to see his grandmother, or somebody else, and if we only make mischief enough, Lowington won't dare to leave us on board."
Little explained the views of Howe, which he had adopted as his own, to the effect that the more mischief they made, the better would be their chances of joining the excursion to Germany. Greenway was foolish enough to take the same view of the question. If the vice-principal was obliged to go away, Mr. Lowington would not dare to leave the runaways with any other person.
"But we don't want to go to Germany," added Little.
"Why not?"
"Simply because we have not been to Paris and Switzerland," replied the little villain, as he led his companion to the forecastle, where no one could overhear them. "We are going to have the time we bargained for when we sailed in the Josephine. If we go with the rest of the fellows, we intend to take French leave of them as soon as we find an opportunity to do so. On the whole, I had just as lief stay if Fluxion is not to have the care of us, for we can slip through the hands of any other man in the squadron."
"There is some money in Paris waiting for me," said Greenway.
"There is some waiting for a lot of our fellows," replied Little. "I intend to claim mine as soon as the party begin to go down the Rhine."
"What's the plan? How are the fellows to get off?" asked Greenway.
"Every one must manage that to suit himself. We had better go in little parties of three or four."
"O, no; it's better to keep together," protested Greenway.
"I don't think so. If we attempt to do anything together again, we shall be watched. We must look out for our chances."
"But our fellows are separated now, and we can't do anything alone."
"Yes, you can. When you see a good opportunity to start for Paris, start. That's all you have to do."
"I don't like this way."
"It's the best way. Don't you see that when we are missed we can all be caught in a bunch again. If we go in a dozen different squads, they will to chase us in as many different directions. If we start with the fellows for Germany, we shall step out as we have the chance to do so. I don't believe in more than two or three going together."
"But some of us may not have any money," suggested Greenway.
"Then they must borrow some of those who have it."
"Lowington got hold of two or three drafts, or bills, sent to the fellows."
"Only two or three," replied Little, lightly. "Those fellows can either borrow, or go with the lambs."
The Knights of the Red Cross, afterwards of the Golden Fleece, had written to their fathers, asking them for remittances to be sent to Paris, where, after sailing around to Marseilles in the Josephine, and going the rest of the way by railroad, they were to get their letters. Most of their parents had complied with the request, but two or three of them had taken the precaution to inform the principal of the fact, and the bills had been cashed, the proceeds being placed to the credit of the students in whose favor they had been drawn. As long as the boys wrote home, the fathers and mothers seldom communicated with the principal. Most of the rogues had been informed in their letters from home that the money wanted had been remitted, and awaited their order in Paris. The runaways, therefore, would be in funds sufficient for their stolen excursion as soon as they could reach their destination. The only thing that disturbed them was the difficulty of obtaining enough in the beginning to pay their railroad fare to Paris.
While Little was instructing Greenway in the programme for the future, the crew of the third cutter were called away, and the conference was abruptly closed. The purport of the letter which the officer in charge of the boat bore to the principal, was, that Mr. Fluxion did not desire to leave the consort for his visit to Marseilles until the close of the week. Howe was perhaps nearer the truth than he really believed when he declared that Mr. Lowington would not dare to leave the runaways on board of either vessel in charge of any other person than the vice-principal. He had been strongly inclined to grant the petition of Shuffles in their favor; but when it was almost proved that the party were the cause of all the confusion which had occurred on board of the ship during the afternoon, that they were in a mutinous frame of mind, he was not willing to encourage their insubordination. He was much disturbed by the difficult problem thus thrust upon him. Dr. Carboy, the professor of natural philosophy and chemistry, who had spent several years in Germany, had volunteered to take charge of the runaways, and he seemed to be the only person who was available for this duty. He was no sailor, and only a fair disciplinarian, and Mr. Lowington had not entire confidence in his ability to manage thirty of the wildest boys in the squadron—discontented under the punishment to which they were subjected.
Though everything was orderly on board of the ship, there was a great deal of suppressed excitement, not to say indignation, for the crew did not like the idea of keeping watch and reefing topsails, instead of voyaging down the beautiful Rhine. The movement looked like a punishment, and many of the crew felt themselves to be entirely innocent of the blunders and failures made in handling the ship. They had done their best, and thought it was not fair to punish the innocent with the guilty. Doubtless it was not fair; but it was a question which related to the discipline of the crew, as a whole, and not a dozen of those who had made the mischief could be identified, even by the seamen who had worked in the rigging with them, much less by the officers.
The mischief-makers themselves did all they could to foment this spirit of discontent among those who were ordinarily well disposed. They assumed the responsibility of declaring that the trip into Germany had been indefinitely postponed. Probably, with the self-conceit incident to human nature, they really believed they were no worse than the best of the crew, and they desired to involve all their shipmates in the odium of the insubordination which had taken place.
"No Rhine, except pork rind," said Little, as he met Raymond in the waist, after the latter had expressed his dissatisfaction at the new order of things.
"Do you think so?" asked Raymond, who had read enough of the splendid scenery of the Rhine to make him very anxious to see it.
"A fellow that isn't blind can see—can't he?—if he opens his eyes," demanded Little. "What did the new captain do this afternoon, the very minute the crew were dismissed from their stations?"
"I don't know. What did he do?" inquired Raymond, curiously.
"Didn't he rush down into the main cabin? Didn't he have a long talk with Lowington? Then, wasn't the signal for sailing hoisted at once? I tell you this is all Shuffles's doings."
"Why should Shuffles want to go to sea any more than the rest of us?" asked Raymond.
"Why should he? Isn't he the captain of the ship now? Doesn't he want to try on his new authority, and see how it fits? Don't he want to punish the crew because they didn't drill well this afternoon?I believe you are a little deaf in one eye, Raymond, or else you can't hear in the other.It's all as plain as the figure-head on a French frigate," continued Little, with enthusiasm enough to convince any dissatisfied seaman.
"Perhaps it is as you say."
"I know it is."
"The drill was very bad. Every fellow knows that."
"What if it was? Whose fault was it?"
"I don't know whose fault it was; but everything went wrong, and I suppose the new captain is not satisfied with the state of discipline on board. I should not be, if I were he."
"Two of your little lambs are cooped up in their state-rooms now for disobedience of orders."
"Who are they?"
"Hunter and Hyde."
"Two of the best fellows in the ship—never got a black mark in their lives," said Raymond.
"O, well! The new captain will put you pious fellows through a course of sprouts that will open your eyes. Shuffles is a liar and a hypocrite. He has his reward, while an honest fellow, like me, will stick to his bunk in the steerage till the end of the cruise."
"I don't believe Shuffles is a liar, or a hypocrite. You don't like him because he broke up your cruise in the Josephine."
"That's not the reason. I am willing to obey the orders of all the officers, but I don't like to see the crowd punished for nothing," replied Little, leading the auditor back to the original topic.
Raymond was not yet a good subject for the mischief-maker to work upon, though, like a majority of the crew, he was dissatisfied with the change in the programme. Going to sea meant strict discipline; and after making up their minds to have a good time on shore, it was not pleasant to think of hard work and hard study for the next week or two.
The Arrival of the ArbucklesThe Arrival of the Arbuckles.—Page 52.
"There comes the commodore's barge," continued Little, as he pointed to the boat, which was rapidly approaching the ship. "The Arbuckles are on board, with all their trunks. What do you think of that, Raymond?"
The mischief-maker looked triumphant. The pile of baggage in the boat seemed to furnish sufficient testimony to clinch the argument he had used.
"That looks like a long cruise, certainly. I suppose they are going with us," replied Raymond, with a sorrowful and disappointed look.
"To be sure they are. In my opinion we are going to sail for Belfast, to convey the Arbuckles home. You won't see any Rhine, except a pork rind, on this cruise. If the fellows have any spunk at all, they won't stand this thing."
"Stand it! What can they do?" asked Raymond, who really believed the crew to be unfairly treated.
"Don't you know what they can do? Who works the ship?"
"We do, of course."
"Who would work her if we did not?"
"Well, I suppose she would not be worked at all," replied Raymond, smiling.
"Then, if all the fellows respectfully refuse to man the capstan, or to unloose a sail, till they have their rights, who will get the ship under way?"
"We are not going to do anything of that sort," answered Raymond, rather indignantly. "It would be mutiny."
"You needn't call it by that name, if you don't wish to. Lowington promised the fellows a trip down the Rhine. Now, because the new captain could not handle the ship, we are to be sent off to sea. If the fellows had any grit at all in their bones, they would show Lowington that they are not slaves to him, or any other man."
"I think we won't talk any more about that," said Raymond, as he moved off, for the bold speech of the mischief-maker alarmed him, and caused him to realize that he was listening to one of the ringleaders of the runaways.
The commodore's barge came up to the gangway. The ladies were assisted up the steps, and the trunks hoisted on board and stowed away in the after cabin. The two state-rooms, which had been built for the use of the commodore and the past officers, were appropriated to their use.
If Raymond, and such as he, were not willing to listen to the mutinous counsels of the runaways, he was not the less dissatisfied and discontented. The arrival of the Arbuckles, with their baggage, indicated that the trip to the Rhine had been abandoned. Perhaps the well-disposed students could have submitted to this disappointment, if it had not been inflicted upon them as a punishment. It seemed to them that they were to suffer for a whim of Shuffles. The runaways had taken pains to disseminate this idea among the crew, as they had also succeeded in involving the whole of them in the mischief which induced the principal to go to sea that night.
All over the deck and throughout the steerage, the boys were grumbling and growling like regular old salts, whose prerogative it is to find fault. When Howe and Spencer returned in the barge, they readily perceived the state of feeling on board. Little told them what he had said and done, and convinced them that the whole crew were ripe for a strike. The entire ship's company were discussing their grievances, and even a large portion of the officers were dissatisfied. Very likely the sudden elevation of Shuffles had created a feeling of jealousy in the minds of a portion of them.
The mischief-makers were prompt in taking advantage of this state of feeling in the crew. They fanned the flame of discontent, and it was not difficult to convince their shipmates that they were very hardly used; that the new captain was imposing a heavy burden upon them. Some of the best disposed of them were in favor of waiting upon the principal, and representing their view of the case to him; but the more impetuous ones laughed at this plan. Shuffles was the principal's pet, and he would support hisprotégéagainst everybody else on board. The students talked as boys talk, and acted as boys act. At that moment Shuffles was the most unpopular fellow on board, for it was understood that he had proposed and advocated the obnoxious measure. The ship's company were willing to believe that Mr. Lowington had yielded his assent to please the new captain, rather than because he deemed it necessary to go to sea himself.
By the time the first cutter returned, a large majority of the students had decided that something should be done. They could not agree upon the precise step to be taken. Some advocated a protest, others a respectful refusal to do duty; and a few went in for a square mutiny. The provisions were transferred from the cutter to the ship, and the boat was hoisted up before the perplexing question could be settled.
"After supper, let every fellow go to his mess-room. Don't answer the boatswain's call to weigh anchor," said Raymond, who had made considerable progress in rebellion since his conversation with Little.
"Ay, ay! That's the talk!" responded half a dozen of the group, who had been anxiously discussing the question.
"No, no!" added half a dozen others.
"Why not?" demanded Raymond of the opponents of the plan.
"Because the Arbuckles are on board, for one reason, and because it will be mutiny, for the second," said Tremere, who volunteered to be spokesman for the opposition. "Mr. Arbuckle has taken us through Switzerland, and paid all the bills, and has invited us to another excursion on the same terms. Now, when he comes on board with his family, to take a little sail with us, we refuse to do duty. It looks like contempt and ingratitude to him."
"It has nothing to do with him," replied Raymond, warmly. "Here is the whole matter in a nutshell. Mr. Arbuckle invited us to take a trip into Germany, and Mr. Lowington promised that we should go. Then, because we don't drill quite as well as the new captain wishes, he insists upon going to sea. The cruise down the Rhine is given up, and we are to carry the Arbuckles to Belfast."
"Who says we are going to Belfast?" demanded Tremere.
"All the fellows say so."
"That doesn't prove that we are going there. I go for obeying orders, wherever we go."
"No, no!" replied a dozen of the group.
"We don't intend to do anything wicked," said Raymond. "When the boatswain calls, we don't answer—that's all. Then the officers will want to know what the matter is, and we shall have a chance to explain our position. When we get fair play, we shall be all right, and return to duty."
The group separated, and while the ship's company were waiting for the supper call, those in favor of the strike used all their influence to carry their measure, while those who were opposed to it remained passive.
CHAPTER IV.
THE YOUNG AMERICA MUTINY.
It was impossible for the advocates of the mutiny to determine what success had attended their efforts, when the crew were piped to supper. Howe and Little were delighted to find the work in which they were interested progressing so finely. Nearly the whole crew were arrayed against the new captain, and in half an hour the grand explosion would take place. Not more than twenty of the students were expected to respond to the boatswain's call to get under way, and it would be impossible to go to sea. The seamen went below at the supper call, but most of them were too much excited to eat their usual allowance.
The officers, who were to take their supper at a later hour, were all on deck. Paul Kendall was seated by the side of Grace Arbuckle, enjoying a pleasant chat, while her father and mother were in conversation with the principal. Captain Shuffles was planking the deck, apparently engaged in deep thought. Possibly the events of the afternoon disturbed him, for he had already received a hint that the ship's company were much dissatisfied at the idea of going to sea. He could not see why they should be. If the crew did their duty, and everything worked well, the squadron would proceed immediately to Brest, and the cruise need not last more than two days. He knew the programme himself, but he forgot that it was the policy of the principal to keep the destination of the ship a secret, as a general rule, until she was out of sight of land. The Arbuckles had brought their baggage with them, because the party was to proceed to Brest, and would not return to Havre.
Popularity is certainly a very insecure possession; for, three weeks before, Shuffles had been the favorite of the whole ship's company. Now, he was the most unpopular person on board; partly, it is true, because he was misunderstood. Both officers and seamen regarded him as the cause of the present movement. Most of them believed, or at least feared, that the trip to the Rhine had been abandoned, and that the new captain was responsible for this change in the programme. They concluded that he preferred to exercise his new authority, to roaming on shore, where he was, practically, no more than any other student. It was true that Shuffles had suggested to the principal the idea of going to sea, as a measure for perfecting the discipline of the crew. Mr. Lowington had permitted the captain to fight his own battle with the crew, and he fully believed that a little sea service was necessary, after the disorder and insubordination which had prevailed in the ship during the drill. Some of those who complained the loudest had permitted their love of fun to get the better of their discretion, and had joined in the disorder which prevailed during the drill. Many well-disposed boys had assisted the conspirators against the peace of the ship by joining in what appeared to them to be but a mere frolic, while it was, in fact, an organized attempt to make mischief. They had encouraged the spirit of insubordination, without supposing they were engaged in anything more than a mere lark, involuntary on their part, and suggested only by the circumstances of the moment.
From the captain's stand-point, the confusion had a very grave aspect; while from that of the seamen, it was a matter of trivial consequence. The commander was mortified to find the discipline so weak; and he could have no confidence in himself or his crew until his orders were promptly obeyed. He was thinking only of the welfare of the ship and her crew. He had no intention of punishing the students, when he suggested the plan of going to sea,—only of perfecting the discipline. It seemed to him just as though three weeks on shore had demoralized the ship's company. Though he was now aware that the runaways had done what they could to make trouble, the confusion seemed to be too extensive to be accounted for by their agency. Two of the best boys on board had been sent to the mainmast for disobedience; and it was clear that the runaways had not produced all the trouble.
The commodore fully sustained him, and believed that it was best for the ship to go to sea. If the students had forgotten the ropes, or were so much embarrassed in their new stations, that they could not set a sail or get up the anchor without making a mess of it, the ship ought to go to sea. On the return of the excursionists from Germany, it might be necessary to put to sea without an hour's delay, as the principal had suggested. Shipwreck and disaster might follow if the crew were not in working order. It was a plain case to the captain.
Paul Kendall had explained the situation to the Arbuckles as mildly as he could. He had told them that the seamen were a little disorderly, and that it was necessary to have them in perfect discipline before they went to Germany. Without intending to do so, he had produced the impression on their minds, that the trip would be given up unless the boys performed their duty to the entire satisfaction of the principal. In talking with the officers, they had expressed their fear that the proposed excursion would not take place. Perhaps the guests were not far from right; for certainly the students would not be allowed to step on shore if the discipline of the ship was not satisfactory. Miss Grace was sadly disturbed at the thought of depriving the students of the pleasure of seeing the Rhine, its wonders and its beauties.
"Why, I thought your crew were in perfect discipline, Captain—no, I mean Commodore—Kendall," said she, as they sat upon the quarter-deck, discussing the great question of the hour.
"They are, generally," replied Paul. "But you know we are a little world by ourselves, and we have our troubles just like other people. It will be all right, I hope, in a day or two. The students get a little wild sometimes."
"Captain Shuffles is such a noble fellow, I should think they would all wish to do their best. I'm sure I should, if I were a sailor in your ship."
"Shuffles is a capital fellow," added Paul, who was certainly more pleased to praise the commander himself, than to have his fair companion do so.
"I shall never forget his noble conduct on that terrible night when the steamer was burned," said Grace, warmly.
"Probably none of us will ever forget it. But I am sorry to say that there is a great deal of dissatisfaction with the new captain, just now, even among the officers," added Paul.
"I'm very sorry."
"But it is not his fault; really it is not," continued Paul, fearing that he had said too much.
"I'm sure it is not," protested Grace. "I wonder if I have any influence with the officers."
"I think you have: indeed, I know you have with one of them," replied Paul; but he began to choke before he had uttered the last clause of the sentence.
"With one of them?"
"Yes, with all of them; but perhaps more with one than with others," stammered Paul, studying the seams in the quarter-decks.
"Who is he, pray?" asked Grace, rather timidly.
"With the commodore," answered he, desperately.
"Thank you, Commodore Kendall. Then we will both use our influence to have the captain set right with the officers and the crew."
"Well, it is not exactly the right thing for so dignified a personage as the commodore to persuade his inferiors that his views are correct. He issues orders, and others obey them," laughed Paul. "But really I cannot, in courtesy, meddle with the discipline of the ship."
"I'm going to meddle with it, if I can do anything to set Captain Shuffles right," said Grace, who was very confident that it was quite impossible for her noble preserver to do, or even think, anything wrong.
"The officers will do their duty, whatever they think," added Paul. "In due time they will be satisfied that the captain is right. I fully agree with him, and think that the ship ought to go to sea."
"Of course, I expect to find you on the right side, Commodore Kendall," said Grace.
"Certainly I'm always on your side," he replied, becoming astonishingly bold for him.
"Then we are both on Captain Shuffles's side. Who is the officer standing near us?"
It happened to be Master Perth; and Miss Arbuckle called him, intent upon finding some one who was not on the captain's side. Paul, however, did not think it was in accordance with the dignity of the commodore of the squadron to listen to any criticism of the captain's action, and he reluctantly left the pleasant seat he occupied by the side of the young lady. If there was any one on board who hated Shuffles, Perth was he.
"I wanted to get acquainted with you, Mr. Perth; for it seems to me I have not met you before," she began.
"Probably not, Miss Arbuckle, for I was not one of the party who went to Paris and Switzerland with you," replied the second master.
"Indeed!" exclaimed she, understanding, without further explanation, why he was not one of the party, and that he was one of the runaways, though she could not exactly comprehend how he happened to be an officer if he had been a rebel.
"I had the honor to command the Josephine during a portion of the time the ship's company were absent," laughed he, with anything but penitence for his past offences.
"I am very sorry you were not with the others."
"So am I, for one reason—it deprived me of the pleasure of seeing your pretty face for three or four weeks," said Perth, lightly.
"Perhaps I shall change my mind if I find your absence saved me from such annoyance as I feel at the present moment," replied Grace, blushing, and looking much displeased.
"I beg your pardon! I meant no offence," stammered Perth.
Grace smiled again; for she did not believe he would again venture to indulge in an impudent compliment.
"I am very sorry to learn from what you say that you were one of the runaways," she continued.
"I was one of them—I may say that I was the chief of them," replied Perth, without a blush.
"Of course you are very sorry for it, and very glad that Captain Shuffles brought you back."
"That's an open question," laughed Perth. "I don't think Shuffles made much by what he did. I don't believe any fellow makes anything by being a hypocrite, and selling out his friends."
"I don't think so, either. But you certainly cannot mean to say that Captain Shuffles is a hypocrite, or that he ever betrayed his friends?"
"I suppose I ought not to say anything to you about it, knowing that he is a strong friend of yours."
"Whatever you say, Mr. Perth, shall not be repeated. I have been told that some of the officers are opposed to the new captain; and I do not see how it can be true, when he is so noble and good."
"Noble and good!" ejaculated Perth.
"Certainly. You know what he did for me on the night the steamer was burned."
"There isn't a fellow on board that would not have given all he had for a chance to do the same thing for you," protested Perth.
"But all the students like him."
"I don't believe he has twenty friends in the ship."
"Then they do not know him as I do," replied Grace, indignantly.
"They know him better than you do. He's smart, and a good officer; but when you have said that, you have said all that can be said," continued Perth, bluntly.
"I am sorry to hear you say so," added Grace, really grieved, even while she was incredulous. "I am afraid you are prejudiced against him because he broke up your plan to run away with the Josephine."
"He didn't break it up. Our fellows disagreed among themselves; that's the reason why we had to come back," explained Perth, whose pride did not permit him to acknowledge that he had been beaten by the superior skill and energy of Shuffles. "Now, all the fellows are on the very verge of mutiny, because he insists upon taking the ship to sea, instead of going down the Rhine."
"I'm sure he is doing no more than his duty," persisted Grace, stoutly. "It appears that Mr. Lowington thinks he is right, or he would not send the ship to sea. I am really sorry to hear you speak so unkindly of your captain, for I must say that I cannot believe a word you say about him."
"Thank you," replied Perth, dryly.
"I think you are sincere in your belief," added she. "Paul Kendall says that the captain is right."
"Well, he is commodore, you know, and must believe everything the principal says," laughed Perth. "It is not quite proper for any of us to have opinions of our own, but you see some of us have them."
Perth was certainly good-natured, whatever else he was, and as Grace said no more, he touched his cap, and passed on. The devoted admirer of Shuffles's nobleness and goodness was greatly disconcerted by the blunt statements of the second master, who had declared that the ship's company were almost in a state of mutiny against the captain. She continued her inquiries among other officers; but, though some of them thought it was quite unnecessary to go to sea, they all spoke very handsomely of Shuffles. It was plain enough that Perth had injured himself more than the object of his calumny, by what he had said.
"Are you ready to go to sea, Miss Arbuckle?" asked the captain, as he came on deck, and touched his cap to her.
"I am quite ready; indeed, I am afraid I am more ready than many others on board of this ship," she replied. "I am sorry to hear that some of the officers and seamen are very much displeased at the idea of going to sea."
"So far as the seamen are concerned, it is their own fault, for they have not done their duty," added the captain.
"Not the fault of all of them, I hope."
"Not all, certainly; but if they don't know their stations, they must learn them. If you are all ready to go, I think we will be off," said Shuffles, as he glanced at his watch. "You will get the ship under way, if you please, Mr. Goodwin," he added, addressing the first lieutenant, who was standing near him.
"I really hope there will be no trouble, Captain Shuffles," continued Grace.
"There can be no trouble. All sailors grumble, you know, Miss Arbuckle, and our boys imitate their elders in this respect. They will growl for a while, but just as soon as they work the ship with skill and promptness, we shall put into Brest, and make our trip down the Rhine. I think we shall not be at sea beyond a couple of days."
"I hope not, for the sake of the crew."
"All hands, weigh anchor, ahoy!" shouted the boatswain, as his sharp pipe rang through the ship.
Less than thirty of the seamen answered to the call, and it was apparent that a very large majority of them had chosen to follow the evil counsels of the runaways, or the foolish counsels of other discontented spirits. It was the first time since the ship went into commission that any considerable number of the crew had failed to respond to the call. Shuffles was confounded, and the first lieutenant actually turned pale. It looked like such a mutiny as the Chain League had planned.
"Pipe again," said Shuffles, as quietly as he could.
Again the boatswain sounded the call, and repeated the order, but with no better success than before. Not another seaman appeared upon deck.
"What does this mean?" said the commodore to the captain.
"As near as I can interpret it, the greater part of the crew do not intend to obey orders," replied Shuffles.
"It certainly looks so."
"Mr. Goodwin, will you inquire of those who obeyed the order, whether their shipmates heard the call?" continued the captain, laboring very hard to appear cool and collected, as a commander ought to be in every emergency.
Paul Kendall's curiosity prompted him to follow the executive officer to the waist, where the seamen who had obeyed the call were waiting for orders. He was unwilling to believe the evidence of his senses, though he knew that there was considerable disaffection on board.
"Did the rest of the crew hear the boatswain's pipe?" asked Goodwin of the faithful few.
"Yes, sir," replied Tremere.
"Where are they now?"
"In the mess-rooms."
"Why don't they obey?"
"They say they don't want to go to sea: they say they haven't done anything to deserve punishment, and they object to being punished," replied the spokesman.
"What do they mean by being punished?" asked the commodore.
"Sent to sea. Mr. Lowington promised us a trip down the Rhine; and now that excursion is given up. The fellows say the ship is bound to Belfast, to convey the Arbuckles home. They say they are willing to do their duty, if they can have fair play."
"What do the seamen intend to do?" asked Paul.
"Nothing, sir. They say they will give their reasons when called upon."
"Probably they will, when called upon," said Paul, who had very high ideas of discipline.
The executive officer returned, and explained the situation to the captain. It was impossible to get the ship under way with less than thirty seamen, and he felt that his powers were exhausted. Fortunately, Mr. Lowington, who had heard the boatswain's pipe, came on deck at this critical moment.
"Didn't I hear the boatswain's pipe?" asked the principal, surprised to find only a few hands in the waist.
"Yes, sir; we have called all hands twice, and only about thirty answer the call."
"It was a mistake to call more than once," replied Mr. Lowington, who did not seem to be taken aback by the astounding intelligence. "What's the matter?"
The captain explained, reporting the statements made by the faithful ones in the waist.
"A mutiny, then—is it?" added the principal, with a smile. "Well, I am glad it is no worse."
"The mutineers are willing to explain, when called upon for an explanation," added Paul, who was indignant at the conduct of the malcontents.
"We don't usually call for explanations in such cases on board ship," said the principal. "It is plain enough that this is only a second edition of the confusion of this afternoon. The young gentlemen have been listening to evil advice."
"What shall be done, sir?" inquired the captain, rather nervously, in spite of his laborious efforts to keep cool.
"Mutiny is mutiny," replied the principal; "but in this case, I think we need not treat it with the severity which prevails in the navy. The students below say, and probably believe, that the excursion to the Rhine has been abandoned, and that the ship is bound to Belfast. Though they are mistaken, we can only tell them so when they return to their duty. We will go to sea, as we intended."
"How can we go to sea with a crew of less than thirty?" asked Shuffles.
"Keep perfectly calm, Captain Shuffles. I am willing to grant that, in a man-of-war, with men in a state of mutiny, the case would be a very serious one. I do not so regard it in the present instance, but we will profit by the lesson it may teach. For an officer to permit a sailor to see that he is disconcerted is yielding too much. Therefore, young gentlemen, I wish you all to be perfectly composed, whatever happens. This affair is rather ludicrous than otherwise, since the mutineers declare that they are ready to explain when called upon to do so, which is very kind and condescending on their part," the principal proceeded, addressing the officers who had gathered around him for the solution of what seemed to them a very difficult and trying problem.
But they were not permitted to hear the solution, for the principal invited the commodore and the captain into the main cabin, to discuss the matter, desiring, even in the present embarrassing situation, to have everything done in accordance with his ideas of discipline. He meant that the captain should be the apparent, if he could not be the real, manager of the difficult affair.
"How many hands responded to the boatswain's call?" asked the principal, when the party were seated.
"Less than thirty," answered Shuffles.
"Twenty-eight. I had the curiosity to count them," interposed Paul.
"Twenty-eight," repeated the principal. "Very well; we can—"
"I hope you will excuse me, sir," said Shuffles, interrupting him. "If this state of thing is caused by any dislike to me, sir, I am willing to resign."
"So far as I know, you have done your duty, Shuffles; and to permit you to resign would be to abandon the plan of the Academy Ship, and acknowledge that discipline is an impracticable thing. You cannot resign."
"Many of the fellows dislike me," added the captain.
"That is not your fault, as I understand the matter. That the runaways, who, I suspect, are at the root of this mischief, should be prejudiced against you, was to be expected. If others are also, it is because they are misinformed. You can afford to wait till time justifies your good intentions."
"I am willing to own that I have no desire to resign. I like the place, but I am willing to sacrifice my own wishes for the peace of the ship."
"Peace is not to be bought on any such terms. Say nothing more about resigning. Twenty-eight hands, you say, are ready to obey orders."
"Yes, sir."
"On an emergency, the captain and four lieutenants can officer the ship. Masters, midshipmen, and pursers must do duty as seamen. They will gladly consent to do so. Let it be voluntary on their part. How many will that make?"
"Thirty-eight."
"Peaks, Bitts, and Leach will make forty-one. The Josephine is fully manned, and can spare us nine more. That will make fifty. If we lay aside the school work, we can sail the ship round the world with that number."
Shuffles displayed a smile of satisfaction at this solution.
"But we will procure the services of a tug-boat to tow us to sea, so that there will be no hard work in getting clear of the harbor," added the principal. "Send Leavitt in the second cutter to the Josephine for the extra hands, and let Foster go in the third for one of the steam-tugs up by the jetties. Above all things, Captain Shuffles, do not mention your plans to any person."
"I will not, sir," replied Shuffles, as he hastened on deck to put in force the solution of the problem.
"What is to be the result of this, Mr. Lowington?" asked Paul.
"I don't know—nothing serious, however. The young gentlemen are waiting very impatiently in their mess-rooms to be called and asked for the explanation, which I doubt not is a very plausible one. Let them wait," continued the principal, leading the way to the deck, where he sat down with the Arbuckles, and was soon busy in conversation with them, as though nothing had happened.