Chapter Nine.Saved and Wrecked.Well might the unhappy fugitives have despaired. The larger portion of their provisions had been washed overboard; the remainder were almost exhausted; their boat was battered and leaky, the seamen were apparently dying, and unable to determine in what direction to seek for land. For weeks they might sail on and not find it. Still the missionary and his companions placed their trust in Him who is able to save them.A light breeze once more sent the boat through the water. They were gliding on when Harry observed that old Tom’s eye was intently gazing towards the south-west, yet he did not speak. Harry looked in the same direction.“What do you see, lad?” asked old Tom.Harry rubbed his eyes.“Yes, it is. A sail! a sail!” he exclaimed.“I thought so, but feared that my hopes might have deceived me,” said old Tom. “She is standing this way, and is close-hauled.”The boat was steered so as to intercept the stranger. Harry kept his gaze fixed on her. She was evidently a whaler.“Can she be theSteadfast?” exclaimed Dickey, who was also earnestly looking at her.“I was in hopes that she might be,” exclaimed Harry.“TheSteadfastwould be deeper in the water, and has a new cloth on her foretopsail, and that ship has not,” observed old Tom.“We should be thankful, whatever she is,” said Mr Hart. “Let us return thanks to God for sending her to rescue us.”The men roused up on hearing that a ship was approaching, and managed even to get their oars out to pull alongside her.As they drew near they saw clearly that she was not theSteadfast.The stranger hove to. A person, whom they supposed to be the captain, asked whence they had come and what they wanted.“We are escaping from savages, and entreat you to receive us on board, for we are almost starved,” answered Mr Hart.“You may come on deck, then,” said the captain; but that was more than any one in the boat unassisted could do. Even old Tom, the strongest of the party, could not manage to clamber up the side. A ladder was therefore let down, and two seamen descending carried up Mrs Hart and then her husband. The boys followed, old Tom being the last to leave the boat, which was then hoisted up, but almost fell to pieces in the operation.“You people have had a narrow escape,” observed the captain, as he examined the boat. “You and your wife can have a cabin, though I am not fond of missionaries, I tell you,” he observed, turning to Mr Hart. “The rest can manage to shift for’ard among the men.”“I shall be grateful for any accommodation you will afford my wife and me,” said Mr Hart. “You see how much she requires attention;” and he pointed to his wife, who was seated on a hencoop almost fainting. “I would ask you, too, to allow those two young gentlemen to live in the cabin; one is a captain’s son, the other an apprentice.”“Oh, they can shift for themselves well enough forward,” answered the captain, gruffly. “We are bound for the Sandwich Islands, which I hope to make in the course of a couple of weeks, and we shall then part company, as you will then be able to find a vessel to carry you wherever you may wish to go. I cannot undertake charge of you for a longer time.”“All I can say is that we shall be grateful to you for preserving our lives; for I believe, humanly speaking, we should have perished before many days had elapsed,” said Mr Hart. “I do not at present see how we can repay you, but if I have the power be assured I will gladly do so.”The crew, though rough in appearance and rough spoken, paid every attention in their power to old Tom and his companions, and put them into their berths, where they all in a few minutes fell fast asleep.Next day Harry and Bass, having somewhat recovered, crawled on deck. They learned that the ship was theSwordfish; that Captain Boucher, the master, was an odd-tempered man, and that, as she had been out more than a year and caught but few whales, and had of late had nothing but ill-luck, he was in an especial bad humour. The captain was walking up and down, abusing the officers, who behaved in the same way towards the men, while the latter growled in return and performed their work in a sulky way.Harry was afraid that poor Mr and Mrs Hart would be neglected, and, waiting till the captain was quiet, humbly asked leave to be allowed to go down and pay them a visit.“What do you want with them?” asked the captain.“They are my friends,” said Harry, “and I wish to see if they require anything.”“If you go below you shall wait upon them and on me too, youngster. My cabin-boy fell overboard the other day, and I want another.”“While I remain on board I will do as you wish,” answered Harry, glad to have the means of being of service to his friends.He found them in a small cabin—poor Mrs Hart still very weak and ill, and Mr Hart seated by her side, though much requiring rest himself.One of the men who had taken in the captain’s breakfast had brought them some, but they had received no other attention, while they had heard the captain abusing missionaries as a useless, idle set who never did any good.Harry set about the duty he had undertaken with alacrity, though for some days he had great difficulty in moving about. He said nothing when the captain abused him as an idle young dog, but did his best to do as he was required. He spread the table as he had seen it arranged on board theSteadfast, and tried to keep the cabin in good order. He was constant in his attendance on Mr and Mrs Hart, though he had often a difficulty in obtaining proper food for them from the cook.Dickey was anxious to assist him, and proposed to ask the captain’s leave.“I am sure he would not grant it,” said Harry; “he would only say that one boy is more than enough, and that we should be playing tricks together.”Harry could not help acknowledging that he had an uncomfortable life of it; but he willingly bore all the captain’s abuse for the sake of his friends, and his chief consolation was to remain in their cabin and to listen to Mr Hart’s conversation. The captain, however, who at length one day found he was there, ordered him on deck.“What are you and that man plotting about?” he asked, abusing him as an idle young dog. “I’ll give you work to do;” and Harry was sent to assist Bass in blacking down the rigging.After that the captain kept him constantly employed in the dirtiest work about the ship.Harry bore this treatment without murmuring.“I only wish that the voyage was over,” he remarked to Bass. “Still, whatever he does, we should be thankful to him for saving our lives.”“I am not so certain that he will let us go free, even when we reach the Sandwich Islands,” answered Bass. “The men say he will swear we are apprentices, and keep us on board.”“Don’t let him suppose that you think so. If we have our wits about us we may make our escape,” said Harry.Day after day the wind continued light, and the voyage was prolonged. The captain treated the boys in the same tyrannical way as at first. Harry could only exchange a few words with his friends when he took them their meals; he was thankful that the captain had not deprived him of the opportunity of doing so.“It is our duty, my dear Harry, to bear with ill-treatment,” observed Mr Hart. “It is hard to do so, but let us pray for grace, and we shall not seek it in vain.”At length the Island of Oahu, in which the capital Honolulu is situated, was sighted. As the ship approached the harbour, and Harry and Bass were congratulating themselves that their emancipation drew near, the captain ordered them to go down into the cabin. When there they found themselves suddenly seized by two of the mates, who thrust them into a small side cabin.“You will remain there; and take care that you make no noise,” said one of the mates. “When we are at sea again you will be let out.” The poor boys expostulated in vain. The door was locked upon them, and they were left in almost total darkness.“I told you so,” said Bass. “I was sure he meant us mischief.”“I am very sure that Mr Hart will make every effort to obtain our release,” observed Harry. “So will old Tom; and I should think the captain would scarcely venture to detain him.”In a short time they heard the anchor let go, and they knew that the ship had entered the harbour. They waited in the hope that Mr Hart would discover where they were and come at least to speak to them, but night came on and they were left alone. They had to coil themselves up and go to sleep.Next morning the first mate opened the door and put in some breakfast, saying that it would be worse for them if they made any noise.Several days passed by and they were thus kept in durance. They heard at different times voices in the cabin; but not knowing who the speakers were, they were afraid of crying out. At last they knew by the movements of the ship that she was once more under way; and shortly afterwards the mate came to the door and told them that they might go on deck to attend to their duty. Greatly to their satisfaction, they saw old Tom. He made a sign to them not to speak to him and turned away.They waited till it was dark. He then came up to them as they were standing together.“I discovered that the captain had shut you up,” he said; “and I did all I could to get him to allow you to go on shore, but he said that he had a right to detain you, and I of course would not leave the ship without you. We must therefore watch for an opportunity of getting on shore at some place where English authority is established, and we can make complaints of the way you have been treated.”“I would rather land among savages than remain on board,” said Harry.“And so would I,” exclaimed Bass. “And if you will come with us we will try to escape at the first place we touch at.”“We must learn what sort of a place it is first,” said old Tom, “or we may be worse off than we are on board.”“We will talk about that by-and-by,” said Harry. “I am very anxious to know what has become of Mr and Mrs Hart.”“I am thankful to say they are among friends,” answered old Tom. “Missionaries have been for some time settled in these islands, and the king and a considerable number of his people have become Christians. Mr Hart did not forget you either, and he came on board to try and learn what had become of you. The captain must have deceived him, and persuaded him that you were no longer in the ship. He was coming off again just as we were getting under way, and the captain would not then allow him to come up the side.”“I am thankful, at all events, to hear that our friends are safe,” said Harry; “and we must try to make the best of it.”“That’s a wise resolution, Harry,” said Tom. “Even though the captain should continue to ill-treat you, behave as you have hitherto done, and even his hard heart may be softened. However, we must not be found talking together, so now go and turn into your berths, and try and get a better night’s rest than you could have had in that close cabin.”Harry and Bass followed old Tom’s advice; and next morning when they came on deck they found that the ship was off the magnificent coast of the large island of Hawaii, with the two lofty mountains, Mouna Kea and Mouna Roa, rising far off.The weather looked threatening, and in a short time a heavy gale began to blow. The wind increased in fury till it became a perfect hurricane. The sails were closely reefed. The captain endeavoured to beat out to sea, as there was no port under his lee into which he could run. Notwithstanding all the efforts made to keep off the land, the ship drove closer and closer to it. A terrific line of breakers could be seen dashing on the shore. Should the ship be driven among them, her destruction would be certain; and there was little hope of an anchor a holding to save her from her impending fate. To avoid this, sail was kept on the ship, though, under any other circumstances, with an open sea before her, she would have been running under bare poles.Harry and Bass were standing together.“What do you think of it, Tom?” asked Harry, as the old man came up to them.“Badly enough, as far as this world is concerned,” answered old Tom. “Happy are those who are prepared to enter another world, as I know you are, and I hope Mr Bass is too. He who died for us is ready to welcome us there, if we are trusting to Him alone down here, and not to our own strength and doings, however good our fellow-men may think us. That’s my comfort, whatever happens, though for your sakes, and that of the poor fellows aboard, I pray we may escape. I cannot say, however, that I see much prospect of it. If the worst comes, do you boys stick by me, and I will do my best to save your lives.”The ship drifted nearer and nearer the shore. The captain and mates, hardy and bold as they were, looked pale and anxious, now gazing up at the bending masts, now at the shore under their lee.“If we get a slant of wind we may do it yet,” said the captain.“But if not?” observed the first mate.“We must let go our anchors, and cut away the masts. There is nothing else to be done,” was the answer.The hoped-for change of wind did not come.“Let go the best bower,” shouted the captain. “Stand by with the axes.”The order was obeyed. The ship for a moment rode head to wind. At the same instant the men, with gleaming axes in their hands, were seen cutting away at the masts.Tom led his young friends under shelter of the poop deck.Down came the masts with a crash. Not a hundred fathoms astern the sea in wild masses was breaking furiously. The next instant the anchor parted; another was let go, but it scarcely held for a moment; and then the ship drove broadside into the midst of the wild, raging tumult of waters. Now she rose for a moment on the summit of a huge wave, now borne onwards she sank into a hollow between the waves. The next sea swept her decks, carrying many of the hapless crew overboard, and washing away the caboose and a large portion of the bulwarks.By Tom’s advice Harry and Bass clung to a stanchion near which they had taken their post. Tom held on to another near them.Another sea struck the devoted ship, and threw her with tremendous force on the coral rocks, crushing in her bottom and sides. Others of the crew were carried off as the seas continued to strike her. Now portions of her bows, now the remainder of her bulwarks, were swept away, while on each occasion the fearful crashing and rending of timbers showed that she was rapidly breaking up.“What had we best do?” asked Bass.“Hold on to the last,” answered Harry; “perhaps the gale may abate, and we may yet reach the shore.”There seemed, however, but little hope of their doing this. Every instant larger portions of the wreck were carried away. It was evident that in a short time she would break up completely. Tom handed to each of the boys a length of rope.“Make yourselves fast to any piece of timber you can get hold of,” he said; “it will give you the best chance of safety.”Few of the people had by this time escaped, and every sea which broke over the wreck carried one or more away.At length another tremendous sea came rolling towards them. A fearful crash followed. Harry and Bass found themselves floating together amid the boiling waters, with pieces of wreck tossed to and fro near them, a blow from which would have proved fatal, but not one struck them. Not far off they caught sight of Tom clinging to a portion of the poop deck. A sea carried them towards him. He hauled them up, and they made themselves fast to some ring-bolts. Though the seas washed over them, and they felt as if the breath would be knocked out of their bodies, they were not carried off; and they found that their raft was being driven rapidly towards the shore, now scarcely a quarter of a mile from them. Every instant they expected the raft to be turned over and over, but it floated as before, and, now lifted high on the summit of a breaker, and now sunk down into the hollow of the sea, went on and on till they felt it ground on the beach.Tom told them to cast themselves adrift, when, seizing each by the arm, he dragged them forward, and in another instant they were on dry ground.“Praise God for His mercy! We are safe!” cried Tom. “But now, boys, let us see if we can help any of our shipmates.”They looked along the beach on either hand, but for some minutes they could discover no one.“There is a man!” at length cried Tom. “I caught sight of his head and hand among the foam.”They ran in the direction Tom pointed, waiting anxiously, in the hope of dragging the man out of the surf as it broke on the shore. Tom rushed in and seized him, as for an instant he was thrown on the beach, or the receding waves would have carried him back. The boys assisted Tom. They recognised the features of the captain, but the hue of death was on his face. His arms fell down as they placed him on the ground.“He has gone!” cried Tom.They did what they could to revive him, but life was extinct.Two other bodies were washed up, but not a human being besides themselves reached the shore alive. They looked around them. The whole bay into which they had been thrown presented a scene of barren wildness and grandeur. A valley opened up from it, and in the distance rose the summit of a lofty volcano, the stream of lava from which had caused the desolation they saw around.“I am glad we have got ashore alive; but I am afraid we shall die of hunger if we cannot manage to get out of this soon,” said Bass.“He who brought us on shore will take care of us,” observed Tom. “But we must do our best. The sooner we set off to look for some natives the better.”“If there are any Christians about here, we are sure, if we can find them, to be treated kindly.”Having examined the coast as far as they could see on either hand, they agreed to move to the east, in which direction some green shrubs and trees were distinguishable. As they all felt weak and exhausted, there was no time to be lost.“Won’t it be well to get hold of something to defend ourselves if we are attacked?” said Bass. “I should like to have a club to fight with.”“It would be no use, Mr Bass,” answered Tom. “We must try to make friends with the natives; I have no fear about the matter.”“Nor have I,” said Harry.Tom and the two boys made their way along the shore. Sometimes they had to climb over rocks, sometimes to wade through black sand. At length they reached a firmer beach, and got on better than at first.The day was wearing on. They had had nothing to eat or drink since the previous evening. They all felt faint and hungry.At length they caught sight of a stream of sparkling water trickling down the rocks. How eagerly they drank of it! It revived them, and they pushed on. They were anxious to fall in with natives before dark who might give them food and shelter.The appearance of the country rapidly improved. At last, after climbing some rocks, they found themselves looking down into a beautiful bay, on the shore of which a number of women and girls were collected, who, from the way they were employed in combing their dark hair or dressing their heads with flowers, had apparently just come out of the water.On seeing the three strangers several of the girls shrieked out. Among them was a tall, dignified-looking person, who, on observing Tom and the boys approaching, rose from the ground on which she had been seated and advanced towards them. To their surprise, she addressed them in broken English.“Who you? where you come from?” she asked.Tom replied that they were English, and had escaped from their ship, which had been wrecked some way along the coast.“And, please, marm,” he added, “we are very hungry, especially these two boys, and shall be thankful if you will give us some food as soon as possible.”“We are not more hungry than he is,” said Harry; “but he always thinks more of us than of himself.”The lady smiled and made signs to them to accompany her, evidently understanding what they said, though she herself had soon apparently exhausted her stock of English words. She led the way, followed by her maidens.Climbing the rocks, which were easily surmounted, they found themselves in a level country with trees growing luxuriantly, while plantations of various descriptions were seen in every direction. At a little distance was a cottage, which, though built after the native fashion, was of considerable size.“There is my house,” said the lady, pointing to it. “You welcome food, plenty sleep till to-morrow, and praise Jehovah.”“What! marm, if I may make so bold to ask, are you a Christian?” exclaimed Tom.The lady nodded and smiled.“You Christian too, I hope?” she said.“That I am, marm, and so are these boys,” answered Tom.“I told you all would be right, Harry,” he added. “You see we could not have fallen into better hands.”On reaching the house, the girls, by the directions of their mistress, hurried to prepare food, and several dishes of fish and fruits were soon placed on mats on the floor. Before bidding her guests to eat, the lady, who had been sitting, rose and said a grace in her own language, adding a few words of English. Tom and the boys uttered “Amen,” at which she seemed pleased, and she then served each of them with her own hands.As soon as she saw that her guests had eaten enough, she assembled her family and attendants, who seated themselves before her; she read to them the Bible in her own language, and then offered up a prayer. After this, she leading, the rest joined in singing a hymn, the tune of which Tom recognised, though the words were strange to him. The evening’s devotions being thus concluded, she led them to a part of the house screened off by mats, and bidding them enter, pointed to three beds, also covered with matting, which her maidens had in the meantime prepared for them.Their clothes had been thoroughly dried during their journey. She showed that she had thought of their comfort by presenting each of them with some cotton garments, and making them understand that their own clothes, saturated with the salt water, should be washed and ready for them the next day.“We have indeed fallen into good hands, as you say, Mr Hayes,” observed Harry, after they had all three knelt down and said their prayers.“No doubt about that,” answered old Tom. “We shall find that a missionary has been here; and I hope by his means to gain tidings of our friends and be able to rejoin them.”With this pleasant thought they lay down to rest. Harry hoped not only to meet Mr and Mrs Hart again, but to be able to find a ship returning to England. He longed once more to be with his dear mother and sister, and to comfort them in their affliction.
Well might the unhappy fugitives have despaired. The larger portion of their provisions had been washed overboard; the remainder were almost exhausted; their boat was battered and leaky, the seamen were apparently dying, and unable to determine in what direction to seek for land. For weeks they might sail on and not find it. Still the missionary and his companions placed their trust in Him who is able to save them.
A light breeze once more sent the boat through the water. They were gliding on when Harry observed that old Tom’s eye was intently gazing towards the south-west, yet he did not speak. Harry looked in the same direction.
“What do you see, lad?” asked old Tom.
Harry rubbed his eyes.
“Yes, it is. A sail! a sail!” he exclaimed.
“I thought so, but feared that my hopes might have deceived me,” said old Tom. “She is standing this way, and is close-hauled.”
The boat was steered so as to intercept the stranger. Harry kept his gaze fixed on her. She was evidently a whaler.
“Can she be theSteadfast?” exclaimed Dickey, who was also earnestly looking at her.
“I was in hopes that she might be,” exclaimed Harry.
“TheSteadfastwould be deeper in the water, and has a new cloth on her foretopsail, and that ship has not,” observed old Tom.
“We should be thankful, whatever she is,” said Mr Hart. “Let us return thanks to God for sending her to rescue us.”
The men roused up on hearing that a ship was approaching, and managed even to get their oars out to pull alongside her.
As they drew near they saw clearly that she was not theSteadfast.
The stranger hove to. A person, whom they supposed to be the captain, asked whence they had come and what they wanted.
“We are escaping from savages, and entreat you to receive us on board, for we are almost starved,” answered Mr Hart.
“You may come on deck, then,” said the captain; but that was more than any one in the boat unassisted could do. Even old Tom, the strongest of the party, could not manage to clamber up the side. A ladder was therefore let down, and two seamen descending carried up Mrs Hart and then her husband. The boys followed, old Tom being the last to leave the boat, which was then hoisted up, but almost fell to pieces in the operation.
“You people have had a narrow escape,” observed the captain, as he examined the boat. “You and your wife can have a cabin, though I am not fond of missionaries, I tell you,” he observed, turning to Mr Hart. “The rest can manage to shift for’ard among the men.”
“I shall be grateful for any accommodation you will afford my wife and me,” said Mr Hart. “You see how much she requires attention;” and he pointed to his wife, who was seated on a hencoop almost fainting. “I would ask you, too, to allow those two young gentlemen to live in the cabin; one is a captain’s son, the other an apprentice.”
“Oh, they can shift for themselves well enough forward,” answered the captain, gruffly. “We are bound for the Sandwich Islands, which I hope to make in the course of a couple of weeks, and we shall then part company, as you will then be able to find a vessel to carry you wherever you may wish to go. I cannot undertake charge of you for a longer time.”
“All I can say is that we shall be grateful to you for preserving our lives; for I believe, humanly speaking, we should have perished before many days had elapsed,” said Mr Hart. “I do not at present see how we can repay you, but if I have the power be assured I will gladly do so.”
The crew, though rough in appearance and rough spoken, paid every attention in their power to old Tom and his companions, and put them into their berths, where they all in a few minutes fell fast asleep.
Next day Harry and Bass, having somewhat recovered, crawled on deck. They learned that the ship was theSwordfish; that Captain Boucher, the master, was an odd-tempered man, and that, as she had been out more than a year and caught but few whales, and had of late had nothing but ill-luck, he was in an especial bad humour. The captain was walking up and down, abusing the officers, who behaved in the same way towards the men, while the latter growled in return and performed their work in a sulky way.
Harry was afraid that poor Mr and Mrs Hart would be neglected, and, waiting till the captain was quiet, humbly asked leave to be allowed to go down and pay them a visit.
“What do you want with them?” asked the captain.
“They are my friends,” said Harry, “and I wish to see if they require anything.”
“If you go below you shall wait upon them and on me too, youngster. My cabin-boy fell overboard the other day, and I want another.”
“While I remain on board I will do as you wish,” answered Harry, glad to have the means of being of service to his friends.
He found them in a small cabin—poor Mrs Hart still very weak and ill, and Mr Hart seated by her side, though much requiring rest himself.
One of the men who had taken in the captain’s breakfast had brought them some, but they had received no other attention, while they had heard the captain abusing missionaries as a useless, idle set who never did any good.
Harry set about the duty he had undertaken with alacrity, though for some days he had great difficulty in moving about. He said nothing when the captain abused him as an idle young dog, but did his best to do as he was required. He spread the table as he had seen it arranged on board theSteadfast, and tried to keep the cabin in good order. He was constant in his attendance on Mr and Mrs Hart, though he had often a difficulty in obtaining proper food for them from the cook.
Dickey was anxious to assist him, and proposed to ask the captain’s leave.
“I am sure he would not grant it,” said Harry; “he would only say that one boy is more than enough, and that we should be playing tricks together.”
Harry could not help acknowledging that he had an uncomfortable life of it; but he willingly bore all the captain’s abuse for the sake of his friends, and his chief consolation was to remain in their cabin and to listen to Mr Hart’s conversation. The captain, however, who at length one day found he was there, ordered him on deck.
“What are you and that man plotting about?” he asked, abusing him as an idle young dog. “I’ll give you work to do;” and Harry was sent to assist Bass in blacking down the rigging.
After that the captain kept him constantly employed in the dirtiest work about the ship.
Harry bore this treatment without murmuring.
“I only wish that the voyage was over,” he remarked to Bass. “Still, whatever he does, we should be thankful to him for saving our lives.”
“I am not so certain that he will let us go free, even when we reach the Sandwich Islands,” answered Bass. “The men say he will swear we are apprentices, and keep us on board.”
“Don’t let him suppose that you think so. If we have our wits about us we may make our escape,” said Harry.
Day after day the wind continued light, and the voyage was prolonged. The captain treated the boys in the same tyrannical way as at first. Harry could only exchange a few words with his friends when he took them their meals; he was thankful that the captain had not deprived him of the opportunity of doing so.
“It is our duty, my dear Harry, to bear with ill-treatment,” observed Mr Hart. “It is hard to do so, but let us pray for grace, and we shall not seek it in vain.”
At length the Island of Oahu, in which the capital Honolulu is situated, was sighted. As the ship approached the harbour, and Harry and Bass were congratulating themselves that their emancipation drew near, the captain ordered them to go down into the cabin. When there they found themselves suddenly seized by two of the mates, who thrust them into a small side cabin.
“You will remain there; and take care that you make no noise,” said one of the mates. “When we are at sea again you will be let out.” The poor boys expostulated in vain. The door was locked upon them, and they were left in almost total darkness.
“I told you so,” said Bass. “I was sure he meant us mischief.”
“I am very sure that Mr Hart will make every effort to obtain our release,” observed Harry. “So will old Tom; and I should think the captain would scarcely venture to detain him.”
In a short time they heard the anchor let go, and they knew that the ship had entered the harbour. They waited in the hope that Mr Hart would discover where they were and come at least to speak to them, but night came on and they were left alone. They had to coil themselves up and go to sleep.
Next morning the first mate opened the door and put in some breakfast, saying that it would be worse for them if they made any noise.
Several days passed by and they were thus kept in durance. They heard at different times voices in the cabin; but not knowing who the speakers were, they were afraid of crying out. At last they knew by the movements of the ship that she was once more under way; and shortly afterwards the mate came to the door and told them that they might go on deck to attend to their duty. Greatly to their satisfaction, they saw old Tom. He made a sign to them not to speak to him and turned away.
They waited till it was dark. He then came up to them as they were standing together.
“I discovered that the captain had shut you up,” he said; “and I did all I could to get him to allow you to go on shore, but he said that he had a right to detain you, and I of course would not leave the ship without you. We must therefore watch for an opportunity of getting on shore at some place where English authority is established, and we can make complaints of the way you have been treated.”
“I would rather land among savages than remain on board,” said Harry.
“And so would I,” exclaimed Bass. “And if you will come with us we will try to escape at the first place we touch at.”
“We must learn what sort of a place it is first,” said old Tom, “or we may be worse off than we are on board.”
“We will talk about that by-and-by,” said Harry. “I am very anxious to know what has become of Mr and Mrs Hart.”
“I am thankful to say they are among friends,” answered old Tom. “Missionaries have been for some time settled in these islands, and the king and a considerable number of his people have become Christians. Mr Hart did not forget you either, and he came on board to try and learn what had become of you. The captain must have deceived him, and persuaded him that you were no longer in the ship. He was coming off again just as we were getting under way, and the captain would not then allow him to come up the side.”
“I am thankful, at all events, to hear that our friends are safe,” said Harry; “and we must try to make the best of it.”
“That’s a wise resolution, Harry,” said Tom. “Even though the captain should continue to ill-treat you, behave as you have hitherto done, and even his hard heart may be softened. However, we must not be found talking together, so now go and turn into your berths, and try and get a better night’s rest than you could have had in that close cabin.”
Harry and Bass followed old Tom’s advice; and next morning when they came on deck they found that the ship was off the magnificent coast of the large island of Hawaii, with the two lofty mountains, Mouna Kea and Mouna Roa, rising far off.
The weather looked threatening, and in a short time a heavy gale began to blow. The wind increased in fury till it became a perfect hurricane. The sails were closely reefed. The captain endeavoured to beat out to sea, as there was no port under his lee into which he could run. Notwithstanding all the efforts made to keep off the land, the ship drove closer and closer to it. A terrific line of breakers could be seen dashing on the shore. Should the ship be driven among them, her destruction would be certain; and there was little hope of an anchor a holding to save her from her impending fate. To avoid this, sail was kept on the ship, though, under any other circumstances, with an open sea before her, she would have been running under bare poles.
Harry and Bass were standing together.
“What do you think of it, Tom?” asked Harry, as the old man came up to them.
“Badly enough, as far as this world is concerned,” answered old Tom. “Happy are those who are prepared to enter another world, as I know you are, and I hope Mr Bass is too. He who died for us is ready to welcome us there, if we are trusting to Him alone down here, and not to our own strength and doings, however good our fellow-men may think us. That’s my comfort, whatever happens, though for your sakes, and that of the poor fellows aboard, I pray we may escape. I cannot say, however, that I see much prospect of it. If the worst comes, do you boys stick by me, and I will do my best to save your lives.”
The ship drifted nearer and nearer the shore. The captain and mates, hardy and bold as they were, looked pale and anxious, now gazing up at the bending masts, now at the shore under their lee.
“If we get a slant of wind we may do it yet,” said the captain.
“But if not?” observed the first mate.
“We must let go our anchors, and cut away the masts. There is nothing else to be done,” was the answer.
The hoped-for change of wind did not come.
“Let go the best bower,” shouted the captain. “Stand by with the axes.”
The order was obeyed. The ship for a moment rode head to wind. At the same instant the men, with gleaming axes in their hands, were seen cutting away at the masts.
Tom led his young friends under shelter of the poop deck.
Down came the masts with a crash. Not a hundred fathoms astern the sea in wild masses was breaking furiously. The next instant the anchor parted; another was let go, but it scarcely held for a moment; and then the ship drove broadside into the midst of the wild, raging tumult of waters. Now she rose for a moment on the summit of a huge wave, now borne onwards she sank into a hollow between the waves. The next sea swept her decks, carrying many of the hapless crew overboard, and washing away the caboose and a large portion of the bulwarks.
By Tom’s advice Harry and Bass clung to a stanchion near which they had taken their post. Tom held on to another near them.
Another sea struck the devoted ship, and threw her with tremendous force on the coral rocks, crushing in her bottom and sides. Others of the crew were carried off as the seas continued to strike her. Now portions of her bows, now the remainder of her bulwarks, were swept away, while on each occasion the fearful crashing and rending of timbers showed that she was rapidly breaking up.
“What had we best do?” asked Bass.
“Hold on to the last,” answered Harry; “perhaps the gale may abate, and we may yet reach the shore.”
There seemed, however, but little hope of their doing this. Every instant larger portions of the wreck were carried away. It was evident that in a short time she would break up completely. Tom handed to each of the boys a length of rope.
“Make yourselves fast to any piece of timber you can get hold of,” he said; “it will give you the best chance of safety.”
Few of the people had by this time escaped, and every sea which broke over the wreck carried one or more away.
At length another tremendous sea came rolling towards them. A fearful crash followed. Harry and Bass found themselves floating together amid the boiling waters, with pieces of wreck tossed to and fro near them, a blow from which would have proved fatal, but not one struck them. Not far off they caught sight of Tom clinging to a portion of the poop deck. A sea carried them towards him. He hauled them up, and they made themselves fast to some ring-bolts. Though the seas washed over them, and they felt as if the breath would be knocked out of their bodies, they were not carried off; and they found that their raft was being driven rapidly towards the shore, now scarcely a quarter of a mile from them. Every instant they expected the raft to be turned over and over, but it floated as before, and, now lifted high on the summit of a breaker, and now sunk down into the hollow of the sea, went on and on till they felt it ground on the beach.
Tom told them to cast themselves adrift, when, seizing each by the arm, he dragged them forward, and in another instant they were on dry ground.
“Praise God for His mercy! We are safe!” cried Tom. “But now, boys, let us see if we can help any of our shipmates.”
They looked along the beach on either hand, but for some minutes they could discover no one.
“There is a man!” at length cried Tom. “I caught sight of his head and hand among the foam.”
They ran in the direction Tom pointed, waiting anxiously, in the hope of dragging the man out of the surf as it broke on the shore. Tom rushed in and seized him, as for an instant he was thrown on the beach, or the receding waves would have carried him back. The boys assisted Tom. They recognised the features of the captain, but the hue of death was on his face. His arms fell down as they placed him on the ground.
“He has gone!” cried Tom.
They did what they could to revive him, but life was extinct.
Two other bodies were washed up, but not a human being besides themselves reached the shore alive. They looked around them. The whole bay into which they had been thrown presented a scene of barren wildness and grandeur. A valley opened up from it, and in the distance rose the summit of a lofty volcano, the stream of lava from which had caused the desolation they saw around.
“I am glad we have got ashore alive; but I am afraid we shall die of hunger if we cannot manage to get out of this soon,” said Bass.
“He who brought us on shore will take care of us,” observed Tom. “But we must do our best. The sooner we set off to look for some natives the better.”
“If there are any Christians about here, we are sure, if we can find them, to be treated kindly.”
Having examined the coast as far as they could see on either hand, they agreed to move to the east, in which direction some green shrubs and trees were distinguishable. As they all felt weak and exhausted, there was no time to be lost.
“Won’t it be well to get hold of something to defend ourselves if we are attacked?” said Bass. “I should like to have a club to fight with.”
“It would be no use, Mr Bass,” answered Tom. “We must try to make friends with the natives; I have no fear about the matter.”
“Nor have I,” said Harry.
Tom and the two boys made their way along the shore. Sometimes they had to climb over rocks, sometimes to wade through black sand. At length they reached a firmer beach, and got on better than at first.
The day was wearing on. They had had nothing to eat or drink since the previous evening. They all felt faint and hungry.
At length they caught sight of a stream of sparkling water trickling down the rocks. How eagerly they drank of it! It revived them, and they pushed on. They were anxious to fall in with natives before dark who might give them food and shelter.
The appearance of the country rapidly improved. At last, after climbing some rocks, they found themselves looking down into a beautiful bay, on the shore of which a number of women and girls were collected, who, from the way they were employed in combing their dark hair or dressing their heads with flowers, had apparently just come out of the water.
On seeing the three strangers several of the girls shrieked out. Among them was a tall, dignified-looking person, who, on observing Tom and the boys approaching, rose from the ground on which she had been seated and advanced towards them. To their surprise, she addressed them in broken English.
“Who you? where you come from?” she asked.
Tom replied that they were English, and had escaped from their ship, which had been wrecked some way along the coast.
“And, please, marm,” he added, “we are very hungry, especially these two boys, and shall be thankful if you will give us some food as soon as possible.”
“We are not more hungry than he is,” said Harry; “but he always thinks more of us than of himself.”
The lady smiled and made signs to them to accompany her, evidently understanding what they said, though she herself had soon apparently exhausted her stock of English words. She led the way, followed by her maidens.
Climbing the rocks, which were easily surmounted, they found themselves in a level country with trees growing luxuriantly, while plantations of various descriptions were seen in every direction. At a little distance was a cottage, which, though built after the native fashion, was of considerable size.
“There is my house,” said the lady, pointing to it. “You welcome food, plenty sleep till to-morrow, and praise Jehovah.”
“What! marm, if I may make so bold to ask, are you a Christian?” exclaimed Tom.
The lady nodded and smiled.
“You Christian too, I hope?” she said.
“That I am, marm, and so are these boys,” answered Tom.
“I told you all would be right, Harry,” he added. “You see we could not have fallen into better hands.”
On reaching the house, the girls, by the directions of their mistress, hurried to prepare food, and several dishes of fish and fruits were soon placed on mats on the floor. Before bidding her guests to eat, the lady, who had been sitting, rose and said a grace in her own language, adding a few words of English. Tom and the boys uttered “Amen,” at which she seemed pleased, and she then served each of them with her own hands.
As soon as she saw that her guests had eaten enough, she assembled her family and attendants, who seated themselves before her; she read to them the Bible in her own language, and then offered up a prayer. After this, she leading, the rest joined in singing a hymn, the tune of which Tom recognised, though the words were strange to him. The evening’s devotions being thus concluded, she led them to a part of the house screened off by mats, and bidding them enter, pointed to three beds, also covered with matting, which her maidens had in the meantime prepared for them.
Their clothes had been thoroughly dried during their journey. She showed that she had thought of their comfort by presenting each of them with some cotton garments, and making them understand that their own clothes, saturated with the salt water, should be washed and ready for them the next day.
“We have indeed fallen into good hands, as you say, Mr Hayes,” observed Harry, after they had all three knelt down and said their prayers.
“No doubt about that,” answered old Tom. “We shall find that a missionary has been here; and I hope by his means to gain tidings of our friends and be able to rejoin them.”
With this pleasant thought they lay down to rest. Harry hoped not only to meet Mr and Mrs Hart again, but to be able to find a ship returning to England. He longed once more to be with his dear mother and sister, and to comfort them in their affliction.
Chapter Ten.Kapoiolani.After a long sleep, produced by weariness, Tom and the two boys dressed, and made their appearance before their hostess. They found an ample meal provided for them. She told them that her name was Kapoiolani, that she was the wife of one of the chief men of the island, who had gone away on a preaching tour with the missionary by whose means she and her husband had been taught the truth, and begged Tom and the boys to remain till their return. This they were very glad to do, as they still felt weary, and Bass complained of aches in all his limbs.At every hour of the day people were coming in to receive instructions from Kapoiolani, who was evidently better acquainted with the truths of Christianity than her neighbours. She had for some time accepted the gospel, and showed the deepest earnestness and zeal in making it known to others.“If people at home, who profess to be true Christians, were as anxious as this lady is to teach others, there would not be so many poor men and women who sink into their graves without ever having heard of the love of Christ for sinners,” observed old Tom. “She puts many civilised people to shame.”“But in England there are regular ministers to do that sort of work,” observed Harry.“Every one who loves Christ is a regular minister, to my mind,” answered Tom; “and is bound, when he can find the opportunity, to tell others that Christ died for them, and that His blood cleanseth from all sin.”“I hope that I may be able to find opportunities when I get home; though I don’t think I shall be able to preach,” said Harry.“You must make opportunities,” answered Tom. “You can preach in your life and daily conversation, in gently speaking a word to those among whom you mix. Souls are won to Christ as much by that as by preachers in their pulpits; and the only object of preaching is to win souls.”Two days passed by, when the chief, Kapoiolani’s husband, returned, saying that the missionary had gone on with some other friend to a distant part of the island.Naihi, the chief, seemed as zealous and earnest as his wife; and as he spoke more English than she could, he was able to give his guests a considerable amount of information about the island. He told them that the larger portion of the inhabitants were still heathens, and worshippers of their great goddess, Pêle, whose abode, he said, they supposed was in the lofty volcano.“There is need without delay to preach the gospel to them, for our people are rapidly passing away; and unless we hasten they may sink into their graves still ignorant heathens as they now are,” he observed, in a solemn and sad tone.Naihi, after remaining at home two days, again set off to join his friend the missionary.Tom and the boys wished to accompany him, but he advised them to remain with his wife, telling them that the journey was fatiguing; and as they could not speak the language of the people, they could be of no use, whereas if they remained with Kapoiolani, they might assist her in acquiring a knowledge of English, which she was anxious to do, so that she might read books in that language. Harry was her chief instructor; and never was there a more attentive pupil. He was surprised at the rapidity with which she learned to read.Some time had thus been spent, when there was a commotion in the village, and it was announced that a person of importance was approaching, no less than the high-priestess of Pêle, if not Pêle herself, as the heathen inhabitants asserted.“She is an impostor, and I will prove her to be so!” exclaimed Kapoiolani, when she heard of it; and, attended by a band of Christians, she went out to meet the priestess.A woman appeared descending from the hills, dressed in a fantastic way, with her robes scorched and partially consumed by fire. She was followed by a band of women and girls, dressed in the same manner. As she drew near, she shouted with a loud voice that she was come to warn the followers of the new faith to be prepared for the fearful punishment she was about to inflict on them for deserting their ancient gods.“You are but a miserable woman, and a wretched impostor!” answered Kapoiolani, in an authoritative tone. “The worshippers of Jehovah are not to be frightened by your foolish threats.”On hearing this the pretended Pêle became very indignant, and, drawing a document written on native cloth from her bosom, declared that it would prove her authority.“It will prove that you yourself cannot write, but some one else has assisted you in your imposture, and that is all it will prove, foolish woman!” exclaimed Kapoiolani. “I have a book which announces that there are many false gods, among whom is the one you serve, but that there is only one true God, Jehovah, whom I serve. Let me advise you to throw away your idols, and to turn to Him, I know Pêle can do me no harm, because Pêle does not really exist, and to prove it I intend to ascend the mountain where you say she resides, and to eat the berries which you hold sacred to her, that when I come back, as I know I shall do, uninjured, my people may see their folly and turn to the true God. I advise you in the meantime to give up your follies, and to labour industriously for your support.”The pretended priestess and her followers appeared very indignant at this; but when Kapoiolani offered them food they gladly partook of it, the priestess of Pêle herself joining in the feast. Kapoiolani pointed her out to her people, remarking, “If she were a goddess she would not require food; but see, she eats as greedily as any one.”The next morning Kapoiolani, who had long resolved to visit the volcano Kilauea, the supposed abode of Pêle, was ready to set out. She sent word to her husband and the missionary of her intention, saying that it was necessary to do so at once, in order to convince the people of the imposture of the pretended priestess, and that they might understand that Jehovah was the only true God.With this laudable object in view, she was ready to undergo the fatigue of the journey. She did not object to old Tom and the two boys attending her.“My people,” she said, “believe that any strangers approaching the crater will meet with certain destruction; your going will more easily convince them of their folly.”Kapoiolani performed her journey on foot, as there were at that time no horses in the island, and she objected to be carried by her people. She was attended by a number of persons, with baskets of provisions, who were to proceed to the foot of the mountain, while she, with a select band, proposed mounting to the summit.The country through which they passed was wild and savage in the extreme. In some places they had to penetrate through thick woods, in others over wide fields of lava.After many days’ journey the base of the mountain was reached. Resting for the night, the next morning at daybreak Kapoiolani and her attendants, aided by long poles, commenced the ascent. Some carried provisions and others materials for building a hut for the accommodation of the chieftainess.It was past noon before the edge of the crater was reached, near which grew the bushes bearing the supposed sacred berries. It seemed surprising that any vegetation could be produced on such a spot.They now stood on the edge of a vast basin upwards of seven miles in circuit and nearly a thousand feet deep. At the bottom was a level floor two miles in length, in the centre of which was a vast lake of liquid lava, out of which rose numerous cones sending forth jets of smoke.Harry had not imagined the existence of so wild and terrible a scene, and he was not surprised that the ignorant inhabitants should have believed it the abode of a goddess delighting in fire and heat.Kapoiolani told him that at times the lake which they saw below them rose up high above the cones, filling the whole space within a hundred feet of the edge with a sea of liquid lava, and that it occasionally burst its way through the edges, carrying destruction in its course, towards the ocean, while at other times new cones arose in the side of the mountain, through which the lava burst its way, flowing down in all directions.Having plucked some of the berries, Kapoiolani ate them, and desired her attendants to do the same.“Now watch the lake!” she exclaimed, extending her hand towards it. “Does it rise because we few poor mortals have eaten the fruit which God allows to grow here? No!” she said, lifting her hand, and pointing towards heaven. “He who lives there, the great Jehovah, has ordained that these things should be, for a wise purpose. There is no such person as Pêle, whom, in their ignorance, our fathers have worshipped. You now understand, my friends, that we have nothing therefore to fear.”While some of her attendants were building the hut, Kapoiolani, with old Tom and the boys, and a few other persons, descended the side of the crater, where it sloped sufficiently to enable them to make their way.The scene around was wild and sombre in the extreme. Mighty cliffs of jet black rockwere on every side, with the lake of shining lava below them, though relieved by the blue sky overhead, to which Kapoiolani looked up and pointed.“There!” she said, “above us is the glorious heaven, which is to be the future home of believers; below, the dark pit, the dwelling-place of those who reject the Lord of light and love.”On regaining the edge of the crater, they saw several persons approaching, among whom, to Kapoiolani’s great satisfaction, was the missionary, accompanied by her husband.The people who followed her, as soon as they saw them, set up a loud shout of joy; for many of them till then had fully believed that their chieftainess would have been destroyed by the vengeance of Pêle.The missionary now offered up a prayer, and having addressed the people, a hymn was sung.The party remained on the summit of the mountain during the night. The early portion of it was passed by Tom and the boys seated round the fire with the missionary, who told them that they would find little difficulty in returning to Honolulu, where they would soon, probably, find a ship sailing for England.While they were speaking they were aroused by a brighter light than usual, and on going to the edge of the crater they perceived that the numerous cones, in the centre were now in violent action, some emitting flame, which darted upwards to a height of fifty and a hundred feet, while boiling lava flowed down the sides of others into the lake, out of which they arose like so many islands.Kapoiolani came out of the hut to witness the scene. She remained calm as before, and quieted the fears of her attendants by observing—“I know in whom I trust. Even should the lava continue flowing, many days must elapse before the crater is full, and long before it is so we shall be in safety. Pêle has nothing to do with it.”Having watched the eruption for some time, Kapoiolani and her female attendants returned to their hut, while the rest of the party gathered round their camp fires to spend the remainder of the night.After breakfast, having plucked more of the berries and again descended the crater, they proceeded down the mountain.On reaching the camp where the chief body of her attendants had remained, she addressed them, and urged them from henceforth to dismiss all thoughts of the pretended Pêle, and other false deities, from their minds, and to trust alone to Jehovah, the only true God, and His Son Jesus Christ, whom He had sent into the world to die instead of them, and to reconcile them, His outcast children, to Himself. With one voice the people shouted out, “There is no such being as Pêle; Jehovah is the only true God; we will serve Him!”The news of the pious and heroic Kapoiolani’s visit to the mountain of Pêle was carried through the island; and the people from henceforth acknowledged that they had been foolishly frightened by believing in a being who had no existence, and were everywhere ready to listen to the addresses either of the missionaries or of their own chiefs who had turned from idols.It is a remarkable circumstance that in the Sandwich Islands the chiefs set the example of overturning their idols, and were generally the first to accept the truth.After visiting several places on the coast, Kapoiolani and her attendants, accompanied by Tom and the boys, returned to her village.
After a long sleep, produced by weariness, Tom and the two boys dressed, and made their appearance before their hostess. They found an ample meal provided for them. She told them that her name was Kapoiolani, that she was the wife of one of the chief men of the island, who had gone away on a preaching tour with the missionary by whose means she and her husband had been taught the truth, and begged Tom and the boys to remain till their return. This they were very glad to do, as they still felt weary, and Bass complained of aches in all his limbs.
At every hour of the day people were coming in to receive instructions from Kapoiolani, who was evidently better acquainted with the truths of Christianity than her neighbours. She had for some time accepted the gospel, and showed the deepest earnestness and zeal in making it known to others.
“If people at home, who profess to be true Christians, were as anxious as this lady is to teach others, there would not be so many poor men and women who sink into their graves without ever having heard of the love of Christ for sinners,” observed old Tom. “She puts many civilised people to shame.”
“But in England there are regular ministers to do that sort of work,” observed Harry.
“Every one who loves Christ is a regular minister, to my mind,” answered Tom; “and is bound, when he can find the opportunity, to tell others that Christ died for them, and that His blood cleanseth from all sin.”
“I hope that I may be able to find opportunities when I get home; though I don’t think I shall be able to preach,” said Harry.
“You must make opportunities,” answered Tom. “You can preach in your life and daily conversation, in gently speaking a word to those among whom you mix. Souls are won to Christ as much by that as by preachers in their pulpits; and the only object of preaching is to win souls.”
Two days passed by, when the chief, Kapoiolani’s husband, returned, saying that the missionary had gone on with some other friend to a distant part of the island.
Naihi, the chief, seemed as zealous and earnest as his wife; and as he spoke more English than she could, he was able to give his guests a considerable amount of information about the island. He told them that the larger portion of the inhabitants were still heathens, and worshippers of their great goddess, Pêle, whose abode, he said, they supposed was in the lofty volcano.
“There is need without delay to preach the gospel to them, for our people are rapidly passing away; and unless we hasten they may sink into their graves still ignorant heathens as they now are,” he observed, in a solemn and sad tone.
Naihi, after remaining at home two days, again set off to join his friend the missionary.
Tom and the boys wished to accompany him, but he advised them to remain with his wife, telling them that the journey was fatiguing; and as they could not speak the language of the people, they could be of no use, whereas if they remained with Kapoiolani, they might assist her in acquiring a knowledge of English, which she was anxious to do, so that she might read books in that language. Harry was her chief instructor; and never was there a more attentive pupil. He was surprised at the rapidity with which she learned to read.
Some time had thus been spent, when there was a commotion in the village, and it was announced that a person of importance was approaching, no less than the high-priestess of Pêle, if not Pêle herself, as the heathen inhabitants asserted.
“She is an impostor, and I will prove her to be so!” exclaimed Kapoiolani, when she heard of it; and, attended by a band of Christians, she went out to meet the priestess.
A woman appeared descending from the hills, dressed in a fantastic way, with her robes scorched and partially consumed by fire. She was followed by a band of women and girls, dressed in the same manner. As she drew near, she shouted with a loud voice that she was come to warn the followers of the new faith to be prepared for the fearful punishment she was about to inflict on them for deserting their ancient gods.
“You are but a miserable woman, and a wretched impostor!” answered Kapoiolani, in an authoritative tone. “The worshippers of Jehovah are not to be frightened by your foolish threats.”
On hearing this the pretended Pêle became very indignant, and, drawing a document written on native cloth from her bosom, declared that it would prove her authority.
“It will prove that you yourself cannot write, but some one else has assisted you in your imposture, and that is all it will prove, foolish woman!” exclaimed Kapoiolani. “I have a book which announces that there are many false gods, among whom is the one you serve, but that there is only one true God, Jehovah, whom I serve. Let me advise you to throw away your idols, and to turn to Him, I know Pêle can do me no harm, because Pêle does not really exist, and to prove it I intend to ascend the mountain where you say she resides, and to eat the berries which you hold sacred to her, that when I come back, as I know I shall do, uninjured, my people may see their folly and turn to the true God. I advise you in the meantime to give up your follies, and to labour industriously for your support.”
The pretended priestess and her followers appeared very indignant at this; but when Kapoiolani offered them food they gladly partook of it, the priestess of Pêle herself joining in the feast. Kapoiolani pointed her out to her people, remarking, “If she were a goddess she would not require food; but see, she eats as greedily as any one.”
The next morning Kapoiolani, who had long resolved to visit the volcano Kilauea, the supposed abode of Pêle, was ready to set out. She sent word to her husband and the missionary of her intention, saying that it was necessary to do so at once, in order to convince the people of the imposture of the pretended priestess, and that they might understand that Jehovah was the only true God.
With this laudable object in view, she was ready to undergo the fatigue of the journey. She did not object to old Tom and the two boys attending her.
“My people,” she said, “believe that any strangers approaching the crater will meet with certain destruction; your going will more easily convince them of their folly.”
Kapoiolani performed her journey on foot, as there were at that time no horses in the island, and she objected to be carried by her people. She was attended by a number of persons, with baskets of provisions, who were to proceed to the foot of the mountain, while she, with a select band, proposed mounting to the summit.
The country through which they passed was wild and savage in the extreme. In some places they had to penetrate through thick woods, in others over wide fields of lava.
After many days’ journey the base of the mountain was reached. Resting for the night, the next morning at daybreak Kapoiolani and her attendants, aided by long poles, commenced the ascent. Some carried provisions and others materials for building a hut for the accommodation of the chieftainess.
It was past noon before the edge of the crater was reached, near which grew the bushes bearing the supposed sacred berries. It seemed surprising that any vegetation could be produced on such a spot.
They now stood on the edge of a vast basin upwards of seven miles in circuit and nearly a thousand feet deep. At the bottom was a level floor two miles in length, in the centre of which was a vast lake of liquid lava, out of which rose numerous cones sending forth jets of smoke.
Harry had not imagined the existence of so wild and terrible a scene, and he was not surprised that the ignorant inhabitants should have believed it the abode of a goddess delighting in fire and heat.
Kapoiolani told him that at times the lake which they saw below them rose up high above the cones, filling the whole space within a hundred feet of the edge with a sea of liquid lava, and that it occasionally burst its way through the edges, carrying destruction in its course, towards the ocean, while at other times new cones arose in the side of the mountain, through which the lava burst its way, flowing down in all directions.
Having plucked some of the berries, Kapoiolani ate them, and desired her attendants to do the same.
“Now watch the lake!” she exclaimed, extending her hand towards it. “Does it rise because we few poor mortals have eaten the fruit which God allows to grow here? No!” she said, lifting her hand, and pointing towards heaven. “He who lives there, the great Jehovah, has ordained that these things should be, for a wise purpose. There is no such person as Pêle, whom, in their ignorance, our fathers have worshipped. You now understand, my friends, that we have nothing therefore to fear.”
While some of her attendants were building the hut, Kapoiolani, with old Tom and the boys, and a few other persons, descended the side of the crater, where it sloped sufficiently to enable them to make their way.
The scene around was wild and sombre in the extreme. Mighty cliffs of jet black rockwere on every side, with the lake of shining lava below them, though relieved by the blue sky overhead, to which Kapoiolani looked up and pointed.
“There!” she said, “above us is the glorious heaven, which is to be the future home of believers; below, the dark pit, the dwelling-place of those who reject the Lord of light and love.”
On regaining the edge of the crater, they saw several persons approaching, among whom, to Kapoiolani’s great satisfaction, was the missionary, accompanied by her husband.
The people who followed her, as soon as they saw them, set up a loud shout of joy; for many of them till then had fully believed that their chieftainess would have been destroyed by the vengeance of Pêle.
The missionary now offered up a prayer, and having addressed the people, a hymn was sung.
The party remained on the summit of the mountain during the night. The early portion of it was passed by Tom and the boys seated round the fire with the missionary, who told them that they would find little difficulty in returning to Honolulu, where they would soon, probably, find a ship sailing for England.
While they were speaking they were aroused by a brighter light than usual, and on going to the edge of the crater they perceived that the numerous cones, in the centre were now in violent action, some emitting flame, which darted upwards to a height of fifty and a hundred feet, while boiling lava flowed down the sides of others into the lake, out of which they arose like so many islands.
Kapoiolani came out of the hut to witness the scene. She remained calm as before, and quieted the fears of her attendants by observing—
“I know in whom I trust. Even should the lava continue flowing, many days must elapse before the crater is full, and long before it is so we shall be in safety. Pêle has nothing to do with it.”
Having watched the eruption for some time, Kapoiolani and her female attendants returned to their hut, while the rest of the party gathered round their camp fires to spend the remainder of the night.
After breakfast, having plucked more of the berries and again descended the crater, they proceeded down the mountain.
On reaching the camp where the chief body of her attendants had remained, she addressed them, and urged them from henceforth to dismiss all thoughts of the pretended Pêle, and other false deities, from their minds, and to trust alone to Jehovah, the only true God, and His Son Jesus Christ, whom He had sent into the world to die instead of them, and to reconcile them, His outcast children, to Himself. With one voice the people shouted out, “There is no such being as Pêle; Jehovah is the only true God; we will serve Him!”
The news of the pious and heroic Kapoiolani’s visit to the mountain of Pêle was carried through the island; and the people from henceforth acknowledged that they had been foolishly frightened by believing in a being who had no existence, and were everywhere ready to listen to the addresses either of the missionaries or of their own chiefs who had turned from idols.
It is a remarkable circumstance that in the Sandwich Islands the chiefs set the example of overturning their idols, and were generally the first to accept the truth.
After visiting several places on the coast, Kapoiolani and her attendants, accompanied by Tom and the boys, returned to her village.
Chapter Eleven.Happy Re-Unions.Several weeks passed away, and no vessel appeared in which the voyagers could obtain a passage to Honolulu. They were rapidly acquiring a knowledge of the language of the island, and Harry and Tom employed much of their time in instructing the natives. Bass did not make so much progress as the rest, and began to grow very weary of the life he led.“The truth is, Dickey,” observed Harry to him one day, “your heart is not in the matter. I wish to reach home, I confess; but if it were not for the dear ones there, I should be content to labour on as I am now doing. I never find the day too long.”“I wish I were like you,” said Bass; “but I cannot bring myself to care about the people.”“My dear Dickey,” said Harry, “you must pray for grace, then, to do what you know to be right. Think of the great value of human souls, and of the inestimable price which was paid that they might enjoy the happiness of heaven, and then you will become more anxious to win them.”Bass tried to do as his friend advised, and in a short time he was almost as eager as Harry to instruct the natives, and found himself rapidly acquiring their language to enable him to do so.One day Tom and the two boys set off to visit a village at some distance along the coast. After going some way they saw, by the appearance of the sky, that a storm was threatening, but they hoped to reach their destination before it broke. It came on, however, more rapidly than they had expected.As they doubled a headland they caught sight of a ship close in with the land, in nearly the same dangerous position that theSwordfishhad been. Tom stopped and looked at her.“She appears to be a whaler, and pretty full,” observed Harry.“A whaler she is; there is no doubt about that,” answered Tom. “Just do you scan her narrowly, and tell me if you have ever seen a ship like her.”“What!” exclaimed Harry, shading his eyes, and gazing at her earnestly. “Do you really think she is theSteadfast? She is wonderfully like her, as far as I can judge at this distance.”“I know every yard in her canvas, and theSteadfastshe is, I am nearly as certain as that we three stand here!” said old Tom, his voice showing the unusual agitation he felt.“If she is not, she is very like her,” observed Bass.“Oh, she is—I am certain that she is theSteadfast!” cried Harry. “But I wish she were farther off the coast, or she may be driven on the rocks and lost after all.”“There is a deep bay two miles on,” said Tom, “with a good entrance. It must be down on the chart, and it’s my belief the ship is standing for it. If the wind holds as it is now she will be safe.”“I pray that the wind will hold, then!” cried Harry. “Oh, my dear father! I little thought to see him again, and Mr Champion, and the rest. I cannot believe that they will be lost, now that we are about to meet them.”“God knows what is best—you must always remember that, Harry,” observed Tom. “It is our business, however, to pray for them. If He thinks fit He will grant our prayers; and even though He does not as we may wish, we must not doubt His justice and mercy.”Right earnestly Tom and his young companions, as they knelt on the ground, offered up their prayers for the safety of the ship, and then hurried on towards the harbour of which Tom had spoken.The wind continued increasing. They saw first one sail and then another furled till the ship stood on under close-reefed topsails. They hurried forward, every now and then getting a glimpse of her as they reached some elevation overlooking the sea.They met several natives, who seemed to sympathise in their anxiety, and accompanied them towards the harbour.The ship heeled over to the blast. Still her canvas stood. Every moment, however, they expected to see it blown from the bolt-ropes.At last they were obliged to leave the coast to reach the shore of the harbour, and now came the most anxious time of all, when they could not watch the progress of the ship. Hurrying on, they arrived at length at a point of land which projected out into the harbour, and made their way over the rough rocks towards the end.“There she is! there she is!” shouted Harry, as at that moment he caught sight of the ship, with her yards squared away, running into the harbour.The natives, who had accompanied them, got a canoe ready, and Tom and the boys jumping into her, their friends paddled away to show the stranger the best spot for anchoring. Their signals were understood by those on board, and the sails being quickly furled and the anchor let go, she rode in safety.“Harry,” exclaimed old Tom, “there is no doubt about her being theSteadfast. I caught sight of Mr Champion on the forecastle, with many another well-known face, though I don’t think any one recognised us. Let me go up the side first, and learn if it is all well with your father, and if so tell him that you are safe. You know we must always be ready to say ‘God’s will be done,’ and you must be prepared for whatever He has ordered.”“Do as you think best, Tom,” answered Harry. “I am sure that is right.”Tom climbed up the side. Directly after reaching the deck he stepped back and beckoned to the boys. They quickly climbed up after him. Harry caught sight of his father talking to Tom. In another instant he was in Captain Graybrook’s arms. Bass, also, was warmly welcomed. Mr Champion shortly afterwards came aft, and the three castaways were soon surrounded by the remainder of the officers and crew.They had much to recount to each other. Harry, as clearly as he could, told his father all that had happened to them.“We have indeed mourned for you and your companions, Harry, as lost,” said Captain Graybrook. “The ship was almost knocked to pieces, and after striking on a reef and having our sails blown to ribbons, we drove, with a fearful leak, hardly able to keep the ship afloat, many hundred leagues to the southward. At last, mercifully preserved, we were able to get safely into a harbour in one of the Samoan islands. As soon as the ship was repaired we made sail to the northward to look for you. On reaching the island off which your boat had last been seen, we searched every part of the coast, and went up the only harbour in it, where we hoped that you might have taken shelter, but finding no traces of you, we at length gave you up for lost.“I believe I should have died of grief, but my friend Champion afforded me comfort from a source of which, till then, I was ignorant. He told me of the love of Jesus, and that he felt sure that you had accepted the offers of salvation, and if it had been God’s will to take you to Himself, that you were safe with Him in heaven, where you were free from all the troubles and trials of life, and that I might look forward to the certainty of meeting you there, with your dear mother and sister, if I, too, would yield my stubborn heart to Him. My friend spoke faithfully and firmly, and at length, by grace, through faith in the blood of Jesus Christ, I became reconciled to that loving God, and assured that He orders all things for the best.“We have lately been very successful in fishing, and, having got a full ship, were about to return home, but, requiring fresh provisions, I determined to touch at the Sandwich Islands for the sake of obtaining them, little dreaming of the surprise in store for me.“When writing to your poor mother I had not the heart to tell her that I had given up all hope of finding you, though it was necessary to prepare her for the worst, and I have told her of your boat being driven away from the ship. I have dreaded the time when I must tell her the sad news that you were, as I supposed, lost to us. What joy it will be to take you back with me, and to set the minds of your dear mother and sister at rest about your safety!”What Harry said in return need not be repeated. He told his father, however, that he was anxious, before returning home, to let Mr and Mrs Hart know of his and Tom’s and Bass’s safety, and to thank Kapoiolani and her husband for their kindness.As the gale threatened to keep the ship in harbour for some days, Tom offered to go back with a message to their native friends, and set off immediately.As a sufficient supply of provisions, and especially certain stores, could best be obtained at Honolulu, Captain Graybrook, greatly to Harry’s satisfaction, had determined to touch there before commencing the homeward voyage.Two days afterwards several canoes were seen coming off to the ship. In one of them were Kapoiolani and Naihi.They came, they said, to beg that the captain would bear a message to the missionary, Mr Hart, and his wife, requesting that they would come and reside with them, that they might instruct their people in the gospel. A house should be built for them, and a church and schools, and they should be amply provided with food and all things they might require.“We have wealth in abundance,” observed Kapoiolani, “and we cannot employ that wealth so well as in supporting those who are working to make known the truth to our perishing fellow-countrymen.”Captain Graybrook gladly undertook to carry the message, promising, if possible, to bring Mr and Mrs Hart to the island.On reaching Honolulu, which theSteadfastdid in a few days afterwards, Harry was delighted to find that his friends were willing to accept the invitation; and the stores and provisions being soon obtained, the ship returned with them on board to Hawaii.On landing at Kapoiolani’s village, Mr and Mrs Hart found that a house was already prepared for their reception, and that a church was commenced.Old Tom said that he felt very much inclined to remain with them; but the ship was short-handed.“It’s my duty to stay on board; there is no doubt about that,” he observed; “and I am sure that a man does no good when he deserts his first duty for the sake of doing anything else, however right that may be.”Although several natives had been engaged, the addition of the two lads and Tom to the strength of the crew was very welcome.Harry and his companion, having bidden farewell to the Christian chief and his wife, and their many other friends, prepared to embark. Mr Hart accompanied them to the beach.“My dear Harry,” he said, “I trust that, when far away from this place, you will not forget the long-benighted savages inhabiting the numberless islands of the vast Pacific. You will have many opportunities of telling people at home of their condition, and perhaps may be the means of inducing some fitted for the task to come out and labour in the glorious work of making known the gospel.”“Indeed I will, Mr Hart,” answered Harry; “and, if my father will permit me, I will return here as soon as possible myself. I love a sea life, but would thankfully employ myself, when I possess more knowledge, in spreading the gospel among the islanders.”“You may possibly combine both objects,” answered Mr Hart. “Missionary ships to convey missionaries from place to place, and to visit them as often as practicable, are much required, and it is most important that they should be officered by Christian men; and you may be doing good service if you obtain a berth on board one, and ultimately be able to take the command.”“That is exactly what I feel I ought to do,” said Harry, as he pressed his friend’s hand; “I will pray that I may be directed aright in the matter.”Away theSteadfastsailed on her homeward voyage. Harry, to his great satisfaction, soon found that Mr Champion had resolved to try to induce his friends at home, or one of the missionary societies, to send out a mission ship, of which he purposed offering to take the command.“And I will go with you as mate,” exclaimed Harry. “That will indeed be delightful, and I am sure my father will agree to it; and, from what he has said to me lately, I do not think he intends to come to sea again.”On speaking to his father, Harry found that he was right in his conjecture.“I had, however, intended giving the command of theSteadfastto Champion, as I have long known he wishes to make your sister Hannah his wife; and allowing her to accompany him, with you as his second mate, as I feel sure she and the ship will be well taken care of. However, though there is no doubt that Champion would make a much better income in command of theSteadfastthan as captain of a mission ship, yet I will not thwart his views, if he resolves to do as you tell me he wishes.”Frequently during the voyage the subject was discussed; and though formerly Captain Graybrook would have thought his young mate mad to entertain such a notion, he now cordially entered into his views, and it was settled that Hannah should decide what was to be done.At length theSteadfast, freighted with the richest cargo Captain Graybrook had ever brought into port, was safely at anchor. As soon as he could leave the ship, accompanied by Harry, he hastened home.The deep anxiety Mrs Graybrook and Hannah long had felt was set at rest.Mr Champion, directly his duties allowed him, joined them. Hannah discovered the all-important change which had taken place in his mind. She no longer hesitated to promise him her hand.He told her of the heathen state of the people inhabiting the countless isles of the Pacific, of the earnest wish he entertained of being instrumental in carrying the gospel among them, of the offer her father had made to him of the command of theSteadfast, and of his own wish to command a missionary ship, or to engage still more directly in the glorious work by going out as a minister of the gospel.“I believe that you may be as usefully employed in following your profession as in the latter work, but on whichever you decide I am ready to accompany you,” was Hannah’s answer.As no missionary vessel was ready, Leonard Champion, soon after his marriage, took command of theSteadfast, and, accompanied by his wife, with Harry and Dickey Bass as his mates, and Tom Hayes as boatswain, made two voyages to the Pacific; and while acting as the father of his crew, and bringing many to a knowledge of the truth, he was the means, by touching whenever he could at missionary stations, of rendering much assistance to those engaged in the most glorious of enterprises; while, by the example he and his crew set, and by the efforts he made at every heathen place at which he touched, he gained the goodwill of the inhabitants, and disposed them to think favourably of Christianity.At length, having given up theSteadfast, he obtained the command of a mission ship, though he had in the meantime succeeded to a good property; and conveyed many missionaries to the stations to which they were appointed.On the death of Captain and Mrs Graybrook, he and his wife settled in one of the larger islands of the Pacific, where, with Harry and Bass, who shortly afterwards joined them, they have laboured faithfully on till they have seen most of the inhabitants converted to the truth.Old Tom resided with them, labouring devotedly to the last, till he was called away to hear the words, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.”
Several weeks passed away, and no vessel appeared in which the voyagers could obtain a passage to Honolulu. They were rapidly acquiring a knowledge of the language of the island, and Harry and Tom employed much of their time in instructing the natives. Bass did not make so much progress as the rest, and began to grow very weary of the life he led.
“The truth is, Dickey,” observed Harry to him one day, “your heart is not in the matter. I wish to reach home, I confess; but if it were not for the dear ones there, I should be content to labour on as I am now doing. I never find the day too long.”
“I wish I were like you,” said Bass; “but I cannot bring myself to care about the people.”
“My dear Dickey,” said Harry, “you must pray for grace, then, to do what you know to be right. Think of the great value of human souls, and of the inestimable price which was paid that they might enjoy the happiness of heaven, and then you will become more anxious to win them.”
Bass tried to do as his friend advised, and in a short time he was almost as eager as Harry to instruct the natives, and found himself rapidly acquiring their language to enable him to do so.
One day Tom and the two boys set off to visit a village at some distance along the coast. After going some way they saw, by the appearance of the sky, that a storm was threatening, but they hoped to reach their destination before it broke. It came on, however, more rapidly than they had expected.
As they doubled a headland they caught sight of a ship close in with the land, in nearly the same dangerous position that theSwordfishhad been. Tom stopped and looked at her.
“She appears to be a whaler, and pretty full,” observed Harry.
“A whaler she is; there is no doubt about that,” answered Tom. “Just do you scan her narrowly, and tell me if you have ever seen a ship like her.”
“What!” exclaimed Harry, shading his eyes, and gazing at her earnestly. “Do you really think she is theSteadfast? She is wonderfully like her, as far as I can judge at this distance.”
“I know every yard in her canvas, and theSteadfastshe is, I am nearly as certain as that we three stand here!” said old Tom, his voice showing the unusual agitation he felt.
“If she is not, she is very like her,” observed Bass.
“Oh, she is—I am certain that she is theSteadfast!” cried Harry. “But I wish she were farther off the coast, or she may be driven on the rocks and lost after all.”
“There is a deep bay two miles on,” said Tom, “with a good entrance. It must be down on the chart, and it’s my belief the ship is standing for it. If the wind holds as it is now she will be safe.”
“I pray that the wind will hold, then!” cried Harry. “Oh, my dear father! I little thought to see him again, and Mr Champion, and the rest. I cannot believe that they will be lost, now that we are about to meet them.”
“God knows what is best—you must always remember that, Harry,” observed Tom. “It is our business, however, to pray for them. If He thinks fit He will grant our prayers; and even though He does not as we may wish, we must not doubt His justice and mercy.”
Right earnestly Tom and his young companions, as they knelt on the ground, offered up their prayers for the safety of the ship, and then hurried on towards the harbour of which Tom had spoken.
The wind continued increasing. They saw first one sail and then another furled till the ship stood on under close-reefed topsails. They hurried forward, every now and then getting a glimpse of her as they reached some elevation overlooking the sea.
They met several natives, who seemed to sympathise in their anxiety, and accompanied them towards the harbour.
The ship heeled over to the blast. Still her canvas stood. Every moment, however, they expected to see it blown from the bolt-ropes.
At last they were obliged to leave the coast to reach the shore of the harbour, and now came the most anxious time of all, when they could not watch the progress of the ship. Hurrying on, they arrived at length at a point of land which projected out into the harbour, and made their way over the rough rocks towards the end.
“There she is! there she is!” shouted Harry, as at that moment he caught sight of the ship, with her yards squared away, running into the harbour.
The natives, who had accompanied them, got a canoe ready, and Tom and the boys jumping into her, their friends paddled away to show the stranger the best spot for anchoring. Their signals were understood by those on board, and the sails being quickly furled and the anchor let go, she rode in safety.
“Harry,” exclaimed old Tom, “there is no doubt about her being theSteadfast. I caught sight of Mr Champion on the forecastle, with many another well-known face, though I don’t think any one recognised us. Let me go up the side first, and learn if it is all well with your father, and if so tell him that you are safe. You know we must always be ready to say ‘God’s will be done,’ and you must be prepared for whatever He has ordered.”
“Do as you think best, Tom,” answered Harry. “I am sure that is right.”
Tom climbed up the side. Directly after reaching the deck he stepped back and beckoned to the boys. They quickly climbed up after him. Harry caught sight of his father talking to Tom. In another instant he was in Captain Graybrook’s arms. Bass, also, was warmly welcomed. Mr Champion shortly afterwards came aft, and the three castaways were soon surrounded by the remainder of the officers and crew.
They had much to recount to each other. Harry, as clearly as he could, told his father all that had happened to them.
“We have indeed mourned for you and your companions, Harry, as lost,” said Captain Graybrook. “The ship was almost knocked to pieces, and after striking on a reef and having our sails blown to ribbons, we drove, with a fearful leak, hardly able to keep the ship afloat, many hundred leagues to the southward. At last, mercifully preserved, we were able to get safely into a harbour in one of the Samoan islands. As soon as the ship was repaired we made sail to the northward to look for you. On reaching the island off which your boat had last been seen, we searched every part of the coast, and went up the only harbour in it, where we hoped that you might have taken shelter, but finding no traces of you, we at length gave you up for lost.
“I believe I should have died of grief, but my friend Champion afforded me comfort from a source of which, till then, I was ignorant. He told me of the love of Jesus, and that he felt sure that you had accepted the offers of salvation, and if it had been God’s will to take you to Himself, that you were safe with Him in heaven, where you were free from all the troubles and trials of life, and that I might look forward to the certainty of meeting you there, with your dear mother and sister, if I, too, would yield my stubborn heart to Him. My friend spoke faithfully and firmly, and at length, by grace, through faith in the blood of Jesus Christ, I became reconciled to that loving God, and assured that He orders all things for the best.
“We have lately been very successful in fishing, and, having got a full ship, were about to return home, but, requiring fresh provisions, I determined to touch at the Sandwich Islands for the sake of obtaining them, little dreaming of the surprise in store for me.
“When writing to your poor mother I had not the heart to tell her that I had given up all hope of finding you, though it was necessary to prepare her for the worst, and I have told her of your boat being driven away from the ship. I have dreaded the time when I must tell her the sad news that you were, as I supposed, lost to us. What joy it will be to take you back with me, and to set the minds of your dear mother and sister at rest about your safety!”
What Harry said in return need not be repeated. He told his father, however, that he was anxious, before returning home, to let Mr and Mrs Hart know of his and Tom’s and Bass’s safety, and to thank Kapoiolani and her husband for their kindness.
As the gale threatened to keep the ship in harbour for some days, Tom offered to go back with a message to their native friends, and set off immediately.
As a sufficient supply of provisions, and especially certain stores, could best be obtained at Honolulu, Captain Graybrook, greatly to Harry’s satisfaction, had determined to touch there before commencing the homeward voyage.
Two days afterwards several canoes were seen coming off to the ship. In one of them were Kapoiolani and Naihi.
They came, they said, to beg that the captain would bear a message to the missionary, Mr Hart, and his wife, requesting that they would come and reside with them, that they might instruct their people in the gospel. A house should be built for them, and a church and schools, and they should be amply provided with food and all things they might require.
“We have wealth in abundance,” observed Kapoiolani, “and we cannot employ that wealth so well as in supporting those who are working to make known the truth to our perishing fellow-countrymen.”
Captain Graybrook gladly undertook to carry the message, promising, if possible, to bring Mr and Mrs Hart to the island.
On reaching Honolulu, which theSteadfastdid in a few days afterwards, Harry was delighted to find that his friends were willing to accept the invitation; and the stores and provisions being soon obtained, the ship returned with them on board to Hawaii.
On landing at Kapoiolani’s village, Mr and Mrs Hart found that a house was already prepared for their reception, and that a church was commenced.
Old Tom said that he felt very much inclined to remain with them; but the ship was short-handed.
“It’s my duty to stay on board; there is no doubt about that,” he observed; “and I am sure that a man does no good when he deserts his first duty for the sake of doing anything else, however right that may be.”
Although several natives had been engaged, the addition of the two lads and Tom to the strength of the crew was very welcome.
Harry and his companion, having bidden farewell to the Christian chief and his wife, and their many other friends, prepared to embark. Mr Hart accompanied them to the beach.
“My dear Harry,” he said, “I trust that, when far away from this place, you will not forget the long-benighted savages inhabiting the numberless islands of the vast Pacific. You will have many opportunities of telling people at home of their condition, and perhaps may be the means of inducing some fitted for the task to come out and labour in the glorious work of making known the gospel.”
“Indeed I will, Mr Hart,” answered Harry; “and, if my father will permit me, I will return here as soon as possible myself. I love a sea life, but would thankfully employ myself, when I possess more knowledge, in spreading the gospel among the islanders.”
“You may possibly combine both objects,” answered Mr Hart. “Missionary ships to convey missionaries from place to place, and to visit them as often as practicable, are much required, and it is most important that they should be officered by Christian men; and you may be doing good service if you obtain a berth on board one, and ultimately be able to take the command.”
“That is exactly what I feel I ought to do,” said Harry, as he pressed his friend’s hand; “I will pray that I may be directed aright in the matter.”
Away theSteadfastsailed on her homeward voyage. Harry, to his great satisfaction, soon found that Mr Champion had resolved to try to induce his friends at home, or one of the missionary societies, to send out a mission ship, of which he purposed offering to take the command.
“And I will go with you as mate,” exclaimed Harry. “That will indeed be delightful, and I am sure my father will agree to it; and, from what he has said to me lately, I do not think he intends to come to sea again.”
On speaking to his father, Harry found that he was right in his conjecture.
“I had, however, intended giving the command of theSteadfastto Champion, as I have long known he wishes to make your sister Hannah his wife; and allowing her to accompany him, with you as his second mate, as I feel sure she and the ship will be well taken care of. However, though there is no doubt that Champion would make a much better income in command of theSteadfastthan as captain of a mission ship, yet I will not thwart his views, if he resolves to do as you tell me he wishes.”
Frequently during the voyage the subject was discussed; and though formerly Captain Graybrook would have thought his young mate mad to entertain such a notion, he now cordially entered into his views, and it was settled that Hannah should decide what was to be done.
At length theSteadfast, freighted with the richest cargo Captain Graybrook had ever brought into port, was safely at anchor. As soon as he could leave the ship, accompanied by Harry, he hastened home.
The deep anxiety Mrs Graybrook and Hannah long had felt was set at rest.
Mr Champion, directly his duties allowed him, joined them. Hannah discovered the all-important change which had taken place in his mind. She no longer hesitated to promise him her hand.
He told her of the heathen state of the people inhabiting the countless isles of the Pacific, of the earnest wish he entertained of being instrumental in carrying the gospel among them, of the offer her father had made to him of the command of theSteadfast, and of his own wish to command a missionary ship, or to engage still more directly in the glorious work by going out as a minister of the gospel.
“I believe that you may be as usefully employed in following your profession as in the latter work, but on whichever you decide I am ready to accompany you,” was Hannah’s answer.
As no missionary vessel was ready, Leonard Champion, soon after his marriage, took command of theSteadfast, and, accompanied by his wife, with Harry and Dickey Bass as his mates, and Tom Hayes as boatswain, made two voyages to the Pacific; and while acting as the father of his crew, and bringing many to a knowledge of the truth, he was the means, by touching whenever he could at missionary stations, of rendering much assistance to those engaged in the most glorious of enterprises; while, by the example he and his crew set, and by the efforts he made at every heathen place at which he touched, he gained the goodwill of the inhabitants, and disposed them to think favourably of Christianity.
At length, having given up theSteadfast, he obtained the command of a mission ship, though he had in the meantime succeeded to a good property; and conveyed many missionaries to the stations to which they were appointed.
On the death of Captain and Mrs Graybrook, he and his wife settled in one of the larger islands of the Pacific, where, with Harry and Bass, who shortly afterwards joined them, they have laboured faithfully on till they have seen most of the inhabitants converted to the truth.
Old Tom resided with them, labouring devotedly to the last, till he was called away to hear the words, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.”