You have my answer,
sir, and may go on board." The officer went to the gangway, but found that none of his crew,
except the bowman, were in the boat; they had gone up to gain from the
men of the _Dort_ the true history of what they had but imperfectly
heard: and, before they were summoned to return, had received full
intelligence. They coincided with the seamen of the _Dort_, that the
appearance of the Phantom Ship, which had occasioned their present
disaster, was a judgment upon the Admiral, for his conduct in having
so cruelly _deserted_ the poor Commodore. Upon the return of the officer with Philip's answer, the rage of the
Admiral was beyond all bounds. He ordered the guns aft, which would
bear upon the _Dort_, to be double-shotted, and fired into her; but
Krantz pointed out to him that they could not bring more guns to bear
upon the _Dort_, in their present situation, than the _Dort_
could bring to bear upon them; that their superior force was thus
neutralised, and that no advantage could result from taking such a
step. The Admiral immediately put Krantz under arrest, and proceeded
to put into execution his insane intentions. In this he was, however,
prevented by the seamen of the _Lion_, who neither wished to fire upon
their consort, nor to be fired at in return. The report of the boat's
crew had been circulated through the ship, and the men felt too much
ill-will against the Admiral, and perceived at the same time the
extreme difficulty of their situation, to wish to make it worse. They
did not proceed to open mutiny, but they went down below, and when
the officers ordered them up, they refused to go upon deck; and the
officers, who were equally disgusted with the Admiral's conduct,
merely informed him of the state of the ship's company, without
naming individuals, so as to excite his resentment against any one
in particular. Such was the state of affairs when the sun went down. Nothing had been done on board the Admiral's ship, for Krantz was
under arrest, and the Admiral had retired in a state of fury to his
cabin. In the meantime Philip and the ship's company had not been idle--they
had laid an anchor out astern, and hove taut: they had started all
the water, and were pumping it out, when a boat pulled alongside, and
Krantz made his appearance on deck. "Captain Vanderdecken, I have come to put myself under your orders, if
you will receive me--if not, render me your protection; for, as
sure as fate, I should have been hanged to-morrow morning, if I had
remained in my own ship. The men in the boat have come with the same
intention--that of joining you, if you will permit them." Although Philip would have wished it had been otherwise, he could not
well refuse to receive Krantz, under the circumstances of the case. He
was very partial to him, and to save his life, which certainly was in
danger, he would have done much more. He desired that the boat's crew
should return; but when Krantz had stated to him what had occurred on
board the _Lion_, and the crew earnestly begged him not to send them
back to almost certain death, which their having effected the escape
of Krantz would have assured, Philip reluctantly allowed them to
remain. The night was tempestuous, but the wind being now off shore, the water
was not rough. The crew of the _Dort_, under the directions of Philip
and Krantz, succeeded in lightening the vessel so much during the
night that the next morning they were able to haul her off, and found
that her bottom had received no serious injury. It was fortunate for
them that they had not discontinued their exertions, for the wind
shifted a few hours before sunrise, and by the time that they had
shipped their rudder, it came on to blow fresh down the Straits, the
wind being accompanied with a heavy swell. The Admiral's ship still lay aground, and apparently no exertions were
used to get her off. Philip was much puzzled how to act: leave the
crew of the _Lion_ he could not; nor indeed could he refuse, or did he
wish to refuse the Admiral, if he proposed coming on board; but he now
made up his mind that it should only be as a passenger, and that he
would himself retain the command. At present he contented himself with
dropping his anchor outside, clear of the reef, where he was sheltered
by a bluff cape, under which the water was smooth, about a mile
distant from where the Admiral's ship lay on shore; and he employed
his crew in replenishing his water-casks from a rivulet close to where
the ship was anchored. He waited to see if the other vessel got off,
being convinced that if she did not some communication must soon take
place. As soon as the water was complete, he sent one of the boats to
the place where the Commodore had been landed, having resolved to take
him on board, if they could find him; but the boat returned without
having seen anything of him, although the men had clambered over the
hills to a considerable distance. On the second morning after Philip had hauled his vessel off, they
observed that the boats of the Admiral's ship were passing and
repassing from the shore, landing her stores and provisions; and the
next day, from the tents pitched on shore, it was evident that she was
abandoned, although the boats were still employed in taking articles
out of her. That night it blew fresh, and the sea was heavy; the next
morning her masts were gone, and she turned on her broadside; she was
evidently a wreck, and Philip now consulted with Krantz how to act. To
leave the crew of the _Lion_ on shore was impossible: they must all
perish when the winter set in upon such a desolate coast. On the
whole, it was considered advisable that the first communication should
come from the other party, and Philip resolved to remain quietly at
anchor. It was very plain that there was no longer any subordination among the
crew of the _Lion_, who were to be seen, in the day-time, climbing
over the rocks in every direction, and at night, when their large
fires were lighted, carousing and drinking. This waste of provisions
was a subject of much vexation to Philip. He had not more than
sufficient for his own crew, and he took it for granted that, so soon
as what they had taken on shore should be expended, the crew of the
_Lion_ would ask to be received on board of the _Dort_. For more than a week did affairs continue in this state, when, one
morning, a boat was seen pulling towards the ship, and, in the
stern-sheets Philip recognised the officer who had been sent on board
to put him under arrest. When the officer came on deck, he took off
his hat to Philip. "You do, then, acknowledge me as in command," observed Philip. "Yes, sir, most certainly; you were second in command, but now you are
first--for the Admiral is dead." "Dead!" exclaimed Philip; "and how?" "He was found dead on the beach, under a high cliff, and the body
of the Commodore was in his arms; indeed, they were both grappled
together.