But Will did not confine his inquiries to the objects contained within his wooden home. The various phases and phenomena of the weather, the aspects of the sky, and the wonders of the deep, claimed his earnest attention. To know the reason of everything was with him a species of mania, and in pursuit of this knowledge he stuck at nothing. Never venture never win, became with him as favourite a motto as it had been with his father, and he acted on it more vigorously than his father had ever done.
One calm evening, as he was leaning over the side of the ship near the bow, gazing contemplatively down into the unfathomable sea, he overheard a conversation between the cook and one of the sailors named Muggins. They were smoking their pipes seated on the heel of the bowsprit.
Larry, said Muggins, I think we have got into the doldrums.
Yere out there, boy, said Larry, for I heerd the capting say we wos past em a long way.
The men relapsed into silence for a time.
Then Muggins removed his pipe and said
Wot ever caused the doldrums?
Thats more nor I can tell, said Larry; all I know about them is, that its aisy to git into them, but uncommon hard to git out again. If my ould grandmother was here, shed be able to tell us, I make no doubt, but shes in Erin, poor thing, mong the pigs and the taties.
Wot could she tell about the doldrums? said Muggins, with a look of contempt.
More nor ye think, boy; sure there isnt nothin in the univarse but she can spaik about, just like a book, an though she niver was in the doldrums as far as I knows, shes been in the dumps often enough; maybe its cousins they are. Anyhow shes not here, an so we must be contint with spekilation.
Whats that you say, Larry? inquired the captain, who walked towards the bow at the moment.
The cook explained his difficulty.
Why, theres no mystery about the doldrums, said Captain Dall. Ive read a book by an officer in the United States navy which explains it all, and the Gulf Stream, and the currents, an everything. Come, Ill spin you a yarn about it.
Saying this, the captain filled and lighted his pipe, and seating himself on the shank of the anchor, said
You know the cause of ocean currents, I dare say?
Niver a taste, said Larry. Its meself is as innocent about em as the babe unborn; an as for Muggins there, he dont know more about em than my ould shoes
Or your old grandmother, growled Muggins.
Dont be irriverent, ye spalpeen, said Larry.
I ax her reverences pardon, but I didnt know she wos a priest, said Muggins.Go on, Capn Dall.
Well, continued the captain, you know, at all events, that theres salt in the sea, and I may tell you that there is lime also, besides other things. At the equator, the heat bein great, water is evaporated faster than anywhere else, so that there the sea is salter and has more lime in it than elsewhere. Besides that it is hotter. Of course, that being the case, its weight is different from the waters of the cold polar seas, so it is bound to move away an get itself freshened and cooled. In like manner, the cold water round the poles feels obliged to flow to the equator to get itself salted and warmed. This state of things, as a natural consequence, causes commotion in the sea. The commotion is moreover increased by the millions of shell-fish that dwell there. These creatures, not satisfied with their natural skins, must needs have shells on their backs, and they extract lime from the sea-water for the purpose of makin these shells. This process is called secretin the lime; coral insects do the same, and, as many of the islands of the south seas are made by coral insects, you may guess that a considerable lot of lime is made away with. The commotion or disturbance thus created produces two great currentsfrom the equator to the poles and from the poles to the equator. But there are many little odds and ends about the world that affect and modify these currents, such as depth, and local heat and cold, and rivers and icebergs, but the chief modifiers are continents. The currents flowin north from the Indian Ocean and southern seas rush up between Africa and America. The space bein narrowcomparativelythey form one strong current, on doublin the Cape of Good Hope, which flies right across to the Gulf of Mexico. Here it is turned aside and flows in a nor-easterly direction, across the Atlantic towards England and Norway, under the name of the Gulf Stream, but the Gulf of Mexico has no more to do with it than the man in the moon, xcept in the way of turnin it out of its natral course. This Gulf Stream is a river of warm water flowing through the cold waters of the Atlantic; it keeps separate, and wherever it flows the climate is softened. It embraces Ireland, and makes the climate there so mild that there is, as you know, scarcely any frost all the year round
Blissins on it, broke in Larry, sure that accounts for the purty green face of Erin, which bates all other lands in the world. Good luck to the Gulf Stream, say I!
Youre right, Larry, and England, Scotland, and Norway have reason to bless it too, for the same latitudes with these places in America have a rigorous winter extendin over more than half the year. But what I was comin to was thisthere are, as you know, eddies and stagnant places in ornary rivers, where sticks, leaves, and other odds and ends collect and remain fixed. So, in this great ocean river, there are eddies where seaweed collects and stagnates, and where the air above also stagnates (for the air currents are very much like those of the sea). These eddies or stagnant parts are called sargasso seas. There are several of them, of various sizes, all over the ocean, but there is one big one in the Atlantic, which is known by the name of the Doldrums. It has bothered navigators in all ages. Columbus got into it on his way to America, and hundreds of ships have been becalmed for weeks in it since the days of that great discoverer. It is not very long since it was found out that, by keeping well out of their way, and sailing round em, navigators could escape the Doldrums altogether.
The captain paused at this point, and Larry OHale took the opportunity to break in.
Dye know, sir, said he, that same Gulf Strame has rose a lot o pecooliar spekilations in my mind, which, if I may make so bowld, Ill
Here the mates voice interrupted him gruffly with
Shake out a reef in that top-galln sl; look alive, lads!
Larry and his comrades sprang to obey. When they returned to their former place in the bow, the captain had left it, so that the cooks pecooliar spekilations were not at that time made known.
Chapter Four.
A Storm and its Consequences
In course of time the Foam, proceeding prosperously on her voyage, reached the region of Cape Hornthe cape of storms. Here, in days of old, Magellan and the early voyagers were fiercely buffeted by winds and waves. In later days Cook and others met with the same reception. In fact, the Cape is infamous for its inhospitality, nevertheless it shone with bright smiles when the Foam passed by, and a gentle fair-wind wafted her into the great Pacific Ocean. Never, since that eventful day when the adventurous Castilian, Vasco Nunez de Balboa, discovered this mighty sea, did the Pacific look more peaceful than it did during the first week in which the Foam floated on its calm breast. But the calm was deceitful. It resembled the quiet of the tiger while crouching to make a fatal spring.