Chapter 35

by Jack London

　　Chapter XXXV

　　Next day, the mast-steps clear and everything in readiness, westarted to get the two topmasts aboard. The maintopmast was overthirty feet in length, the foretopmast nearly thirty, and it was ofthese that I intended making the shears. It was puzzling work.Fastening one end of a heavy tackle to the windlass, and with theother end fast to the butt of the foretopmast, I began to heave.Maud held the turn on the windlass and coiled down the slack.

　　We were astonished at the ease with which the spar was lifted. Itwas an improved crank windlass, and the purchase it gave wasenormous. Of course, what it gave us in power we paid for indistance; as many times as it doubled my strength, that many timeswas doubled the length of rope I heaved in. The tackle draggedheavily across the rail, increasing its drag as the spar arose moreand more out of the water, and the exertion on the windlass grewsevere.

　　But when the butt of the topmast was level with the rail,everything came to a standstill.

　　"I might have known it," I said impatiently. "Now we have to do itall over again."

　　"Why not fasten the tackle part way down the mast?" Maud suggested.

　　"It's what I should have done at first," I answered, hugelydisgusted with myself.

　　Slipping off a turn, I lowered the mast back into the water andfastened the tackle a third of the way down from the butt. In anhour, what of this and of rests between the heaving, I had hoistedit to the point where I could hoist no more. Eight feet of thebutt was above the rail, and I was as far away as ever from gettingthe spar on board. I sat down and pondered the problem. It didnot take long. I sprang jubilantly to my feet.

　　"Now I have it!" I cried. "I ought to make the tackle fast at thepoint of balance. And what we learn of this will serve us witheverything else we have to hoist aboard."

　　Once again I undid all my work by lowering the mast into the water.But I miscalculated the point of balance, so that when I heaved thetop of the mast came up instead of the butt. Maud looked despair,but I laughed and said it would do just as well.

　　Instructing her how to hold the turn and be ready to slack away atcommand, I laid hold of the mast with my hands and tried to balanceit inboard across the rail. When I thought I had it I cried to herto slack away; but the spar righted, despite my efforts, anddropped back toward the water. Again I heaved it up to its oldposition, for I had now another idea. I remembered the watch-tackle - a small double and single block affair - and fetched it.

　　While I was rigging it between the top of the spar and the oppositerail, Wolf Larsen came on the scene. We exchanged nothing morethan good-mornings, and, though he could not see, he sat on therail out of the way and followed by the sound all that I did.

　　Again instructing Maud to slack away at the windlass when I gavethe word, I proceeded to heave on the watch-tackle. Slowly themast swung in until it balanced at right angles across the rail;and then I discovered to my amazement that there was no need forMaud to slack away. In fact, the very opposite was necessary.Making the watch-tackle fast, I hove on the windlass and brought inthe mast, inch by inch, till its top tilted down to the deck andfinally its whole length lay on the deck.

　　I looked at my watch. It was twelve o'clock. My back was achingsorely, and I felt extremely tired and hungry. And there on thedeck was a single stick of timber to show for a whole morning'swork. For the first time I thoroughly realized the extent of thetask before us. But I was learning, I was learning. The afternoonwould show far more accomplished. And it did; for we returned atone o'clock, rested and strengthened by a hearty dinner.

　　In less than an hour I had the maintopmast on deck and wasconstructing the shears. Lashing the two topmasts together, andmaking allowance for their unequal length, at the point ofintersection I attached the double block of the main throat-halyards. This, with the single block and the throat-halyardsthemselves, gave me a hoisting tackle. To prevent the butts of themasts from slipping on the deck, I nailed down thick cleats.Everything in readiness, I made a line fast to the apex of theshears and carried it directly to the windlass. I was growing tohave faith in that windlass, for it gave me power beyond allexpectation. As usual, Maud held the turn while I heaved. Theshears rose in the air.

　　Then I discovered I had forgotten guy-ropes. This necessitated myclimbing the shears, which I did twice, before I finished guying itfore and aft and to either side. Twilight had set in by the timethis was accomplished. Wolf Larsen, who had sat about and listenedall afternoon and never opened his mouth, had taken himself off tothe galley and started his supper. I felt quite stiff across thesmall of the back, so much so that I straightened up with an effortand with pain. I looked proudly at my work. It was beginning toshow. I was wild with desire, like a child with a new toy, tohoist something with my shears.

　　"I wish it weren't so late," I said. "I'd like to see how itworks."

　　"Don't be a glutton, Humphrey," Maud chided me. "Remember, to-morrow is coming, and you're so tired now that you can hardlystand."

　　"And you?" I said, with sudden solicitude. "You must be verytired. You have worked hard and nobly. I am proud of you, Maud."

　　"Not half so proud as I am of you, nor with half the reason," sheanswered, looking me straight in the eyes for a moment with anexpression in her own and a dancing, tremulous light which I hadnot seen before and which gave me a pang of quick delight, I knownot why, for I did not understand it. Then she dropped her eyes,to lift them again, laughing.

　　"If our friends could see us now," she said. "Look at us. Haveyou ever paused for a moment to consider our appearance?"

　　"Yes, I have considered yours, frequently," I answered, puzzlingover what I had seen in her eyes and puzzled by her sudden changeof subject.

　　"Mercy!" she cried. "And what do I look like, pray?"

　　"A scarecrow, I'm afraid," I replied. "Just glance at yourdraggled skirts, for instance. Look at those three-cornered tears.And such a waist! It would not require a Sherlock Holmes to deducethat you have been cooking over a camp-fire, to say nothing oftrying out seal-blubber. And to cap it all, that cap! And allthat is the woman who wrote 'A Kiss Endured.'"

　　She made me an elaborate and stately courtesy, and said, "As foryou, sir - "

　　And yet, through the five minutes of banter which followed, therewas a serious something underneath the fun which I could not butrelate to the strange and fleeting expression I had caught in hereyes. What was it? Could it be that our eyes were speaking beyondthe will of our speech? My eyes had spoken, I knew, until I hadfound the culprits out and silenced them. This had occurredseveral times. But had she seen the clamour in them andunderstood? And had her eyes so spoken to me? What else couldthat expression have meant - that dancing, tremulous light, and asomething more which words could not describe. And yet it couldnot be. It was impossible. Besides, I was not skilled in thespeech of eyes. I was only Humphrey Van Weyden, a bookish fellowwho loved. And to love, and to wait and win love, that surely wasglorious enough for me. And thus I thought, even as we chaffedeach other's appearance, until we arrived ashore and there wereother things to think about.

　　"It's a shame, after working hard all day, that we cannot have anuninterrupted night's sleep," I complained, after supper.

　　"But there can be no danger now? from a blind man?" she queried.

　　"I shall never be able to trust him," I averred, "and far less nowthat he is blind. The liability is that his part helplessness willmake him more malignant than ever. I know what I shall do to-morrow, the first thing - run out a light anchor and kedge theschooner off the beach. And each night when we come ashore in theboat, Mr. Wolf Larsen will be left a prisoner on board. So thiswill be the last night we have to stand watch, and because of thatit will go the easier."

　　We were awake early and just finishing breakfast as daylight came.

　　"Oh, Humphrey!" I heard Maud cry in dismay and suddenly stop.

　　I looked at her. She was gazing at the Ghost. I followed hergaze, but could see nothing unusual. She looked at me, and Ilooked inquiry back.

　　"The shears," she said, and her voice trembled.

　　I had forgotten their existence. I looked again, but could not seethem.

　　"If he has - " I muttered savagely.

　　She put her hand sympathetically on mine, and said, "You will haveto begin over again."

　　"Oh, believe me, my anger means nothing; I could not hurt a fly," Ismiled back bitterly. "And the worst of it is, he knows it. Youare right. If he has destroyed the shears, I shall do nothingexcept begin over again."

　　"But I'll stand my watch on board hereafter," I blurted out amoment later. "And if he interferes - "

　　"But I dare not stay ashore all night alone," Maud was saying whenI came back to myself. "It would be so much nicer if he would befriendly with us and help us. We could all live comfortablyaboard."

　　"We will," I asserted, still savagely, for the destruction of mybeloved shears had hit me hard. "That is, you and I will liveaboard, friendly or not with Wolf Larsen."

　　"It's childish," I laughed later, "for him to do such things, andfor me to grow angry over them, for that matter."

　　But my heart smote me when we climbed aboard and looked at thehavoc he had done. The shears were gone altogether. The guys hadbeen slashed right and left. The throat-halyards which I hadrigged were cut across through every part. And he knew I could notsplice. A thought struck me. I ran to the windlass. It would notwork. He had broken it. We looked at each other in consternation.Then I ran to the side. The masts, booms, and gaffs I had clearedwere gone. He had found the lines which held them, and cast themadrift.

　　Tears were in Maud's eyes, and I do believe they were for me. Icould have wept myself. Where now was our project of remasting theGhost? He had done his work well. I sat down on the hatch-combingand rested my chin on my hands in black despair.

　　"He deserves to die," I cried out; "and God forgive me, I am notman enough to be his executioner."

　　But Maud was by my side, passing her hand soothingly through myhair as though I were a child, and saying, "There, there; it willall come right. We are in the right, and it must come right."

　　I remembered Michelet and leaned my head against her; and truly Ibecame strong again. The blessed woman was an unfailing fount ofpower to me. What did it matter? Only a set-back, a delay. Thetide could not have carried the masts far to seaward, and there hadbeen no wind. It meant merely more work to find them and tow themback. And besides, it was a lesson. I knew what to expect. Hemight have waited and destroyed our work more effectually when wehad more accomplished.

　　"Here he comes now," she whispered.

　　I glanced up. He was strolling leisurely along the poop on theport side.

　　"Take no notice of him," I whispered. "He's coming to see how wetake it. Don't let him know that we know. We can deny him thatsatisfaction. Take off your shoes - that's right - and carry themin your hand."

　　And then we played hide-and-seek with the blind man. As he came upthe port side we slipped past on the starboard; and from the poopwe watched him turn and start aft on our track.

　　He must have known, somehow, that we were on board, for he said"Good-morning" very confidently, and waited, for the greeting to bereturned. Then he strolled aft, and we slipped forward.

　　"Oh, I know you're aboard," he called out, and I could see himlisten intently after he had spoken.

　　It reminded me of the great hoot-owl, listening, after its boomingcry, for the stir of its frightened prey. But we did not fir, andwe moved only when he moved. And so we dodged about the deck, handin hand, like a couple of children chased by a wicked ogre, tillWolf Larsen, evidently in disgust, left the deck for the cabin.There was glee in our eyes, and suppressed titters in our mouths,as we put on our shoes and clambered over the side into the boat.And as I looked into Maud's clear brown eyes I forgot the evil hehad done, and I knew only that I loved her, and that because of herthe strength was mine to win our way back to the world.