For the next three days work went on from morning until night. Jack was stationed at one of the hatchways with the second mate checking off every box, bale, and package as it went down. The boatswain and crew came on board on the Tuesday, as there was the work of bending the sails and getting all in readiness for the start to be got through. Jack had not returned home on Monday or Tuesday night, but on Wednesday he went home to say good-bye, for the vessel was to go out of dock at noon on Thursday.
Before leaving home he donned for the first time his neat uniform, which had only come a few days before. Lily was delighted with his appearance, and his mother felt no little pride as she looked at him, and, sad as she was at the prospect of his long absence, was thoroughly convinced that the choice he had made was a wise one. Mrs. Godstone and her daughter had been down twice to call upon Mrs. Robson since her arrival at Dulwich, and on the previous Saturday Jack and his mother had gone there to dine, Captain and Mrs. Murchison being the only other guests.
After a tearful good-bye Jack started from home. On his arrival on board he found two other lads, one a year older than himself and one as much younger. Jim Tucker, the elder, had already made two or three voyages in Mr. Godstone's ships. Arthur Hill was going to sea for the first time. Jack knew that two other midshipmen were sailing in the Wild Wave, and found them arranging their things in the little cabin, with three bunks, allotted to them.
"Hallo! You are Robson, I suppose?" Jim Tucker began as he entered. "You have got a lot of gear here in the cabin, and you must stow it away in a smaller space than it takes up at present or we shall never fit in."
"I have not begun to stow it away yet," Jack said. "I was waiting to see how much you had both got, and which berth you were going to choose, before I began to settle at all."
"Yes, that is all right enough," Tucker answered. "Well, as I am the senior, I will take this berth under the port."
"I suppose I am next," Jack said. "I will take the top one opposite."
This being settled the lads proceeded to put things straight and stow away their portmanteaus.
As soon as they had done this they went on deck. The vessel was already warping out of the dock, and as soon as she was through the gates a steam-tug seized her and took her down the river. It was eight o'clock, and the sun was just setting, when the hawser attached to the tug was thrown off. Some of the sails had already been hoisted, for the wind was northerly. The rest were now shaken out and sheeted home, and under a cloud of white canvas—for the Wild Wave had been fitted with an entirely new suit of sails—the vessel proceeded on her way. The officers were divided into two watches. The first and third mates and Arthur Hill were in one watch, the second mate and the other two lads in the other.
After the constant work on board the smack Jack found it strange as he came down the river to be walking up and down the deck with nothing to do. The Wild Wave passed through a fleet of bawleys trawling off Hole Haven; he knew every one of them by sight, but the Bessy was not among them.
Meals had been irregular that day with the officers, for there was much to be seen after in coiling down ropes, washing the decks, and in getting everything neatly in ship-shape. As they passed the Middle Sunk the second mate touched Jack on the shoulder.
"That's her," he said; "at least all that remains of her," and he pointed to some black timbers just appearing above the surface of the water.
"Yes; that's her," Jack said. "I heard from my uncle that they blew her up three weeks ago."
"Rather a different scene from what it was that day," the mate, whose name was Hoare, said. "I thought it was all up with us, and even when we saw you coming we hardly believed that you could get near enough to take us off; and now it is as smooth as glass."
"It was a lucky day for me, sir, that was," Jack said. "I had then nothing to look forward to, beyond sailing a bawley; now I have got the life I always wanted to follow, and every prospect of getting on."
"That you have, my lad," Hoare agreed. "It was a rare bit of luck for you that you made us out, no doubt, and a rare bit of luck for us too."
The voyage began well. The wind continued light and in the right quarter all the first week. Jack and his companions were not idle, and always went aloft with the watch when there was occasion to make any change with the sails. This was at first a trial for Arthur Hill; but Jim Tucker was an old hand at it, and Jack, who had often had to make his way up the Bessy's mast when she was rolling heavily, was soon quite at home on the yards of the Wild Wave. For two hours every morning the three boys worked at navigation, Mr. Hoare acting as instructor.
So smooth was the sea and so slight the motion that Jack could hardly believe that he was sailing down through the Bay of Biscay, of which he had heard so much; and he was quite surprised when, on the fifth day after sailing, Mr. Hoare pointed to land on the port bow, and told him that was Portugal.
"We have had capital luck, so far," the officer said. "If the wind does but hold till we once get fairly round Cape St. Vincent, it may change as soon as it likes into any quarter except the east, and we are not very likely to get that at this time of the year."
"I should not mind a change of wind a bit, sir," Jack said; "it would bring us something to do."
"Ah, yes; after being accustomed to go about every five minutes or so on the Thames, I understand you finding this monotonous, Jack. When you have had a little more of the sea, you won't mind how much you get of fine weather and favouring winds. As for storms, I don't care if I never see another. They are very grand to read of in books, and when you have got a stout ship and plenty of sea room there is no need to be afraid; but when you are wet through for a week at a spell, and the galley-fires can't be kept going, there is very little comfort in it."
The wind changed next day to the west, and by evening was blowing hard. A good deal of the canvas was taken off, and the ship edged further away from land; but after blowing strongly the wind abated again, and the next day the Wild Wave passed Cape St. Vincent and headed for the Straits of Gibraltar. As the wind still held from the west they made a rapid run, and in ten days after passing St. Vincent dropped anchor in the harbour of Alexandria.
The next day the captain said to Jim Tucker, "You three lads can go ashore after dinner to-day. There is nothing particular for you to do on board, and it is well to get a view of these foreign towns while you can. When you once get to be mates you will not have much chance to do so, for then you will have to be looking after the loading and unloading of the cargo. Come off before gun-fire. There are about as cut-throat a lot of thieves in Alexandria as in any port on the Mediterranean, and that is saying a good deal."
"It is quite possible that there will be trouble here before long," Mr. Hoare remarked at dinner.
"I saw something in the paper about it," Mr. Alston, the third mate, said; "but I did not trouble to read through the accounts. What is it all about?"
"There has been a sort of peaceable revolution," Mr. Hoare said. "The colonels of the regiments in Cairo, headed by a general named Arabi Pasha, mutinied, and the viceroy had to give way to them."
"What did they mutiny about?" the third mate asked.
"Well, in the first place they wanted privileges for the army, and in the second place they wanted a lot of Europeans who hold berths to be dismissed, and the government to be entirely in the hands of natives. It is a sort of national movement, with the army at the head of it; and the viceroy, although still nominally the ruler of Egypt, is in fact little more than a cipher in the hands of Arabi and the colonels. They say the French are at the bottom of it, and it is likely enough. They have always been jealous of our influence in Egypt. However, I do not suppose