Masterman Ready; Or, The Wreck of the Pacific Read online

  Produced by Nick Hodson of London, England

  Masterman Ready, by Captain Marryat.

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  Captain Frederick Marryat was born July 10 1792, and died August 8 1848.He retired from the British navy in 1828 in order to devote himself towriting. In the following 20 years he wrote 26 books, many of which areamong the very best of English literature, and some of which are stillin print.

  Marryat had an extraordinary gift for the invention of episodes in hisstories. He says somewhere that when he sat down for the day's work, henever knew what he was going to write. He certainly was a literarygenius.

  "Masterman Ready" was published in 1841, the nineteenth book to flowfrom Marryat's pen. It is simpler to read than most of Marryat's books,since it was intended for children.

  This e-text was transcribed in 1998 by Nick Hodson, and was reformattedin 2003, and again in 2005.

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  MASTERMAN READY, BY CAPTAIN FREDERICK MARRYAT.

  CHAPTER ONE.

  It was in the month of October, 18---, that the _Pacific_, a large ship,was running before a heavy gale of wind in the middle of the vastAtlantic Ocean. She had but little sail, for the wind was so strong,that the canvas would have been split into pieces by the furious blastsbefore which she was driven through the waves, which were very high, andfollowing her almost as fast as she darted through their boiling waters;sometimes heaving up her stern and sinking her bows down so deep intothe hollow of the sea, that it appeared as if she would have dived downunderneath the waves; but she was a fine vessel, and the captain was agood seaman, who did what he considered best for the safety of hisvessel, and then put his trust in that Providence who is ever watchfulover us.

  The captain stood before the wheel, watching the men who were steeringthe ship; for when you are running before a heavy gale, it requiresgreat attention to the helm: and as he looked around him and up at theheavens, he sang in a low voice the words of a sea song:

  "One wide water all around us, All above us one black sky."

  And so it was with them;--they were in the middle of the Atlantic, notanother vessel to be seen, and the heavens were covered with blackclouds, which were borne along furiously by the gale; the sea ranmountains high, and broke into large white foaming crests, while thefierce wind howled through the rigging of the vessel.

  Besides the captain of the ship and the two men at the wheel, there weretwo other personages on deck: one was a young lad about twelve yearsold, and the other a weather-beaten old seaman, whose grisly locks werestreaming in the wind, as he paced aft and looked over the taffrail ofthe vessel.

  The young lad, observing a heavy sea coming up to the stern of thevessel, caught hold of the old man's arm, crying out--"Won't that greatwave come into us, Ready?"

  "No, Master William, it will not: don't you see how the ship lifts herquarters to it?--and now it has passed underneath us. But it mighthappen, and then what would become of you, if I did not hold on, andhold you on also? You would be washed overboard."

  "I don't like the sea much, Ready; I wish we were safe on shore again,"replied the lad. "Don't the waves look as if they wished to beat theship all to pieces?"

  "Yes, they do; and they roar as if angry because they cannot bury thevessel beneath them: but I am used to them, and with a good ship likethis, and a good captain and crew, I don't care for them."

  "But sometimes ships do sink, and then everybody is drowned."

  "Yes; and very often the very ships sink which those on board think aremost safe. We can only do our best, and after that we must submit tothe will of Heaven."

  "What little birds are those flying about so close to the water?"

  "Those are Mother Carey's chickens. You seldom see them except in astorm, or when a storm is coming on."

  The birds which William referred to were the stormy petrels.

  "Were you ever shipwrecked on a desolate island like Robinson Crusoe?"

  "Yes, Master William, I have been shipwrecked; but I never heard ofRobinson Crusoe. So many have been wrecked and undergone greathardships, and so many more have never lived to tell what they havesuffered, that it's not very likely that I should have known that oneman you speak of, out of so many."

  "Oh! but it's all in a book which I have read. I could tell you allabout it--and so I will when the ship is quiet again; but now I wish youwould help me down below, for I promised mamma not to stay up long."

  "Then always keep your promise like a good lad," replied the old man;"now give me your hand, and I'll answer for it that we will fetch thehatchway without a tumble; and when the weather is fine again, I'll tellyou how I was wrecked, and you shall tell me all about Robinson Crusoe."

  Having seen William safe to the cabin door, the old seaman returned tothe deck, for it was his watch.

  Masterman Ready, for such was his name, had been more than fifty yearsat sea, having been bound apprentice to a collier which sailed fromSouth Shields, when he was only ten years old. His face was brownedfrom long exposure, and there were deep furrows on his cheeks, but hewas still a hale and active man. He had served many years on board of aman-of-war, and had been in every climate: he had many strange storiesto tell, and he might be believed even when his stories were strange,for he would not tell an untruth. He could navigate a vessel, and, ofcourse, he could read and write. The name of Ready was very well suitedto him, for he was seldom at a loss; and in cases of difficulty anddanger, the captain would not hesitate to ask his opinion, andfrequently take his advice. He was second mate of the vessel.

  The _Pacific_ was, as we have observed, a very fine ship, and well ableto contend with the most violent storm. She was of more than fourhundred tons burthen, and was then making a passage out to New SouthWales, with a valuable cargo of English hardware, cutlery, and othermanufactures. The captain was a good navigator and seaman, and moreovera good man, of a cheerful, happy disposition, always making the best ofeverything, and when accidents did happen, always more inclined to laughthan to look grave. His name was Osborn. The first mate, whose namewas Mackintosh, was a Scotsman, rough and ill-tempered, but payingstrict attention to his duty--a man that Captain Osborn could trust, butwhom he did not like.

  Ready we have already spoken of, and it will not be necessary to sayanything about the seamen on board, except that there were thirteen ofthem, hardly a sufficient number to man so large a vessel; but just asthey were about to sail, five of the seamen, who did not like thetreatment they had received from Mackintosh, the first mate, had leftthe ship, and Captain Osborn did not choose to wait until he couldobtain others in their stead. This proved unfortunate, as the eventswhich we shall hereafter relate will show.