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Chapter III. The Inlet—A Fearful Discovery—The Last of the Mercury.

After continuing for about a mile up the inlet, we found as we had supposed, that it turned to the left; but what was our surprise at not seeing any sign of the Captain's boat ahead of us! We could see right up to the head of the inlet, apparently a distance of about four miles, but there was not a speck on the surface of the water. Thinking, however, that they might have landed somewhere further [on, we] still pulled ahead. After about half-an-hour or more we reached the head of the inlet, without, however, finding any trace of them.

“Wherever can they have got to?” exclaimed Harry. “They must have turned off into some other passage, which we did not observe.”

“The best thing we can do is to pull back immediately,” I returned, “and examine the shores carefully all the way.” At the same time I could not help feeling considerable anxiety about them, and by Harry's countenance I saw he page 13 had the same misgivings as myself, though neither of us expressed them.

In our boat were myself and Harry, Peter Smith, Hunter, Spanish Joe, Moroney, and the lad Smart. In the Captain's, besides himself—Murray, Macpherson, Parsons, Hardcastle, and the cook.

On our way back we scanned both sides of the bay, which was in no part more than half a mile wide, inch by inch, but we reached the place where it turned towards the sea, without finding any signs of the missing boat.

We had, however, hardly entered the lower division of the inlet when one of the men sang out that he thought he heard some one shouting to the right.

The bay, immediately inside the narrow passage by which it was connected with the sea, expanded on both sides till it was about half a mile wide, forming two small bays at each corner, and it was from the direction of the one on our right that the sailor thought he had heard the voice come. We therefore pulled towards the place, which like all the rest of the hill-sides was covered down to the water's edge with thick bush.

“Hallo! this way!” shouted a voice from the shore, as we got close in.

After proceeding a few yards further, we saw the cook, “Swabs,” holding on to a rock which could just be seen on a level with the water.

“Where's the boat, and the rest of them?” I said to Swabs, as we hauled him into our midst.

“Lor' only knows, sir,” he answered. “The Captain was going to land here, when the boat ran against this rock, and capsized. I managed to get on to it, though it was two or three feet below the water, but the boat and everything else had disappeared when I got my head above water.”

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“Look out, sir!” suddenly sang out Moroney, who was pulling bow oar, “there's a current sucking us towards the trees!”

“Back-water!” I shouted, for I could see a regular eddy between the boat and the shore, and noticed we had just got into its current.

We had a hard struggle to get out of reach of the suction, which had not been noticed before, our attention having been occupied with Swabs.

“God help us!” said Harry, as soon as we were out of danger; “that's where the others have gone”—indicating the place we had just left.

“Pull to the left, lads,” I exclaimed, at the same time steering the boat towards a small point about fifty yards further up than the eddy. In a few seconds we glided alongside the steep bank which formed the shore, then springing ashore and calling on all the men, with the exception of Swabs and Smart, who were left to look after the boat, to follow me, I forced my way in the direction of the other boat's wreck.

It took us nearly a quarter of an hour to reach the place, on account of the dense underwood. When I arrived opposite the rock I stood petrified with horror. Just beneath me, and completely hid from the bay by overhanging bushes, was a fearful chasm, down which the water was rushing from the bay, by the eddy outside, in one boiling mass. It seemed to descend perpendicularly, and to narrow into a funnel some distance from the top.

For a long time none of us spoke. The same thoughts occupied the whole of us. Down that fearful whirlpool had our brave Captain and shipmates been sucked—their mangled remains to be cast up, perhaps, on the rocks outside the bay, or else drawn down into the very bowels of the earth.

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“Heaven have mercy on their souls,” at last I exclaimed, while a hushed but fervent “Amen” came from the lips of the rough weather-beaten tars around me.

With heavy hearts and sorrowful countenances we retraced our steps to the boat, where the sad news was related to Swabs and the lad Smart. The poor cook burst into tears when he heard the account of his companions' loss, at the same time thanking the Almighty for his miraculous escape from such a fearful death.

It was now late in the afternoon, but I determined on pulling down to the mouth of the bay and trying to find out what had become of the schooner. Accordingly once more we turned our boat's head in that direction, and in a short time reached the lofty cliffs between which the opening lay. Here I ran the boat alongside the rocks, where we could land, and Harry joining me, together we commenced climbing up the steep sides of the hill, from the top of which we hoped to get a view of the Mercury. After half an hour's struggling—one moment pulling ourselves upwards by the help of boughs, the next crawling on our hands and knees through the dense creepers and undergrowth; anon hanging on by our hands and feet against some steep place, bare of any vegetation—we at last reached the summit of the cliff.

The very first thing we beheld was the schooner, bottom upwards on the reefs before mentioned, while we could see a great rent just above the the keel where she had evidently struck the rocks. Although this was only what we had expected, it seemed to have the effect of making our spirits droop still lower.

Without uttering a word we simultaneously turned and began making the descent to the place where we had left our companions.

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When we reached the boat darkness had begun to set in, so, after a short consultation, we decided to return to the head of the inner part of the bay, where there was a small grassy flat, the only one we had observed, and camp for the night.

On landing at this spot, some of us at once proceeded to erect a tent with some spare canvass which we had brought with us in a boat, while the remainder lit a fire, and got supper ready. The meal was eaten in silence, and it was not till we were all seated round the blazing fire afterwards with our pipes lighted, that any attempt at conversation was made. Then I broke the silence by calling the men's attention to our present situation.

“My lads,” I said, “no one feels the loss of our shipmates more than I do; but we must rouse ourselves up, and consider the best means of reaching the inhabited part of this island, for we cannot live here always; and as the gale seems to have exhausted itself, I think we stand a good chance of having a spell of fine weather now. We have provisions to last us for at least two months, and besides, with our guns, we ought to be able to procure some of those ducks we saw on our way up the bay, so there's no chance of our starving at any rate for some time to come. The nearest settlement that I know of to the north of us is Nelson, at the upper end of this island, while at the same time I think there is a whaling station at the very south of the island. It will be for you to decide which of these places we shall attempt to reach.”

After the men had talked for some time amongst themselves, Hunter turned to me, saying—

“We leave it to you, sir; at the same time I may inform you that while in Dunedin frequently heard of several whaling stations along the south coast.”

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Harry and I having agreed that it would be most advisable to make for one of these latter stations, I told the men our decision.

No objection being raised by them, it was determined that after two or three days' rest at our present camp, we should start along the coast southwards in the boat.

Everything had been carried out of the boat, and placed under shelter inside the tent; and we now proceeded to unroll the blankets and make up our beds for the night—a good supply of fern and long grass having been previously gathered, and strewn thickly over the floor of the tent. Everything having been at last made tolerably comfortable, we all lay down on our respective couches, and soon nothing was heard but the deep breathing of tired and weary men.