An Heiress from Redhorse by Ambrose Bierce
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to himself . upon reviving he spoke incoherently for some_time . at_length we bled him and put him to bed . the next morning he_was quite recovered, so_far as regarded his mere bodily health . of_his mind I_say nothing, of_course .I avoided him during the rest of_the passage, by advice of_the captain, who seemed to coincide with me altogether in my views of_his insanity, but cautioned me to_say nothing on_this head to any person on board .

several circumstances occurred immediately after_this fit of Wyatt which contributed to heighten the curiosity with_which i_was already possessed . among other things, this: I had_been nervous-- drank too_much strong green tea, and slept ill at night-- in_fact, for two nights I could_not_be properly said to sleep at all . now, my state- room opened into_the main cabin, or dining- room, as did those of all the single men on board .Wyatt's three rooms were in_the after- cabin, which_was separated from_the main one by a slight sliding door, never locked even at night . as_we were almost constantly on a wind, and_the breeze was not a little stiff, the ship heeled to leeward very considerably; and whenever her starboard side was to leeward, the sliding door between_the cabins slid open, and so remained, nobody taking the trouble to_get up and shut it . but my berth was in_such a position, that when my own state- room door was open, as_well as_the sliding door in_question ( and my own door was always open on account of_the heat,) I could_see into_the after- cabin quite distinctly, and just at_that portion of it, too, where were situated the state-rooms of Mr Wyatt . well, during two nights ( not consecutive) while I lay awake, I clearly saw Mrs W ., about eleven o'clock upon each night, steal cautiously from_the state- room of Mr W ., and enter the extra room, where she remained until daybreak, when she was called by her husband and went back . that_they were virtually separated was clear . they had separate apartments-- no_doubt in contemplation of a more permanent divorce; and here, after all i_thought was_the mystery of_the extra stateroom .

there_was another circumstance, too, which interested me much . during the two wakeful nights in_question, and immediately after_the disappearance of Mrs Wyatt into_the extra stateroom, i_was attracted by certain singular cautious, subdued noises in_that of her husband . after listening to_them for some_time, with thoughtful attention, I at_length succeeded perfectly in translating their import . they were sounds occasioned by_the artist in prying open the oblong box, by_means of a chisel and mallet-- the latter being apparently muffled, or deadened, by some soft woollen or cotton substance in_which its head was enveloped .

in_this manner I fancied I_could distinguish the precise moment when he fairly disengaged the lid-- also, that I_could determine when he removed it altogether, and when he deposited it upon_the lower berth in_his room; this latter point I_knew, for example, by certain slight taps which the lid made in striking against the wooden edges of_the berth, as he endeavored to lay it down very gently-- there being no room for_it on_the floor . after_this there_was a dead stillness, and I heard nothing more, upon either occasion, until nearly daybreak; unless, perhaps, I_may mention a low sobbing, or murmuring sound, so very_much suppressed as to_be nearly inaudible-- if, indeed, the whole of_this latter noise were_not rather produced by my own imagination . I_say it seemed to resemble sobbing or sighing-- but, of_course, it could_not have_been either .I rather think it_was aringing in my own ears .Mr Wyatt, no_doubt, according to custom, was merely giving the rein to one of_his hobbies--indulging in one of_his fits of artistic enthusiasm . he had opened his oblong box, in_order to feast his eyes on_the pictorial treasure within . there_was nothing in_this, however, to_make him sob .I repeat, therefore, that_it must_have been simply a freak of_my own fancy, distempered by good captain hardy's green tea . just before dawn, on each of_the two nights of_which I speak, I distinctly heard Mr Wyatt replace the lid upon_the oblong box, and force the nails into their old places by_means of_the muffled mallet .Having done this, he issued from_his state- room, fully dressed, and proceeded to_call Mrs W . from hers .

we had_been at sea seven days, and were now off cape Hatteras, when there came a tremendously heavy blow from_the southwest . we were, in a measure, prepared for_it, however, as_the weather had_been holding out threats for some_time . every thing was_made snug, alow and aloft; and as_the wind steadily freshened, we lay to, at_length, under spanker and foretopsail, both double-reefed .

in_this trim we rode safely enough for forty-eight hours-- the ship proving herself an excellent sea- boat in many respects, and shipping no water of any consequence . at_the end of_this period, however, the gale had freshened into a hurricane, and_our after-- sail split into ribbons, bringing us so_much in_the trough of_the water that we shipped several prodigious seas, one immediately after_the other . by_this accident we lost three men overboard with_the caboose, and nearly the whole of_the larboard bulwarks . scarcely had we recovered our senses, before_the foretopsail went into shreds, when we got up a storm staysail and with_this did pretty well for some hours, the ship heading the sea much more steadily than before .

the gale still held on, however, and we saw no signs of_its abating . the rigging was found to_be ill- fitted, and greatly strained; and on_the third day of_the blow, about five in_the afternoon, our mizzen- mast, in a heavy lurch to windward, went by_the board . for an hour or more, we_tried in vain to_get rid of it, on account of_the prodigious rolling of_the ship; and, before we had succeeded, the carpenter came aft and announced four feet of water in_the hold . to add to our dilemma, we_found the pumps choked and nearly useless .

all was now confusion and despair-- but an effort was_made to lighten the ship by throwing overboard as_much of her cargo as could_be reached, and by cutting away the two masts that remained . this we at last accomplished-- but we were still unable to_do any thing at_the pumps; and, in_the meantime, the leak gained on us very fast .

at sundown, the gale had sensibly diminished in violence, and as_the sea went down with it, we still entertained faint hopes of saving ourselves in_the boats . at eight P .M ., the clouds broke away to windward, and we had the advantage of a full moon--a piece of good fortune which served wonderfully to cheer our drooping spirits .

after incredible labor we succeeded, at_length, in getting the longboat over the side without material accident, and into_this we crowded the whole of_the crew and most of_the passengers . this party made off immediately, and, after undergoing much suffering, finally arrived, in safety, at Ocracoke inlet, on_the third day after_the wreck .

Fourteen passengers, with_the captain, remained on board, resolving to trust their fortunes to_the jolly- boat at_the stern . we lowered it without difficulty, although it_was only by a miracle that we prevented it from swamping as it touched the water . it contained, when afloat, the captain and_his wife, Mr Wyatt and party, a Mexican officer, wife, four children, and myself, with a Negro valet .

we had no room, of_course, for any thing except a few positively necessary instruments, some provisions, and_the clothes upon our backs . no one had thought of even attempting to save any thing more . what must_have been the astonishment of all, then, when having proceeded a few fathoms from_the ship, Mr Wyatt stood up in_the stern-sheets, and coolly demanded of captain hardy that_the boat should_be put back for_the_purpose of taking in_his oblong box !

" sit down, Mr Wyatt," replied the captain, somewhat sternly, " you_will capsize us if_you_do_not sit quite still . our gunwhale is almost in_the water now ."

" the box ! " vociferated Mr Wyatt, still standing--" the box, I_say ! captain hardy, you_cannot, you_will_not refuse me . its weight will_be but a trifle-- it_is nothing--mere nothing . by_the mother who bore you-- for_the love of heaven-- by your hope of salvation, I implore you to_put back for_the box ! "

the captain, for a moment, seemed touched by_the earnest appeal of_the artist, but he regained his stern composure, and merely said:

" Mr Wyatt, you_are mad . I_cannot listen to_you . sit down, I_say, or you_will swamp the boat . stay-- hold him-- seize him ! -- he_is about to spring overboard ! there-- I_knew it-- he_is over ! "

as_the captain said this, Mr Wyatt, in_fact, sprang from_the boat, and, as_we were yet in_the lee of_the wreck, succeeded, by almost superhuman exertion, in getting hold of a rope which hung from_the fore-chains . in another moment he_was on board, and rushing frantically down into_the cabin .

in_the meantime, we had_been swept astern of_the ship, and being quite out of her lee, were at_the mercy of_the tremendous sea which_was still running . we_made a determined effort to_put back, but our little boat was like a feather in_the breath of_the tempest . we saw at a glance that_the doom of_the unfortunate artist was sealed .

as our distance from_the wreck rapidly increased, the madman ( for as such only could we regard him) was seen to emerge from_the companion-- way, up which by dint of strength that appeared gigantic, he dragged, bodily, the oblong box . while we gazed in_the extremity of astonishment, he passed, rapidly, several turns of a three- inch rope, first around the box and then around his body . in another instant both body and box were in_the sea--disappearing suddenly, at once and forever .

we lingered awhile sadly upon our oars, with_our eyes riveted upon_the spot . at_length we pulled away . the silence remained unbroken for an hour . finally, I hazarded a remark .

" did you observe, captain, how suddenly they sank ? was not that an exceedingly singular thing ? I confess that I entertained some feeble hope of_his final deliverance, when I_saw him lash himself to_the box, and commit himself to_the sea ."

" they sank as a matter of_course," replied the captain, " and_that like a shot . they_will soon rise again, however-- but not till the salt MELTS ."

" the salt ! " I ejaculated .

" hush ! " said the captain, pointing to_the wife and sisters of_the deceased ." we_must talk of_these things at some more appropriate time ."

we suffered much, and made a narrow escape, but fortune befriended us, as_well as our mates in_the long- boat . we landed, in fine, more dead than alive, after four days of intense distress, upon_the beach opposite Roanoke island . we remained here a week, were_not ill- treated by_the wreckers, and at_length obtained a passage to New_York .

about a month after_the loss of_the " independence," I happened to meet captain hardy in broadway . our conversation turned, naturally, upon_the disaster, and especially upon_the sad fate of poor Wyatt .I thus learned the following particulars .

the artist had engaged passage for himself, wife, two sisters and a servant . his wife was, indeed, as she had_been represented, a most lovely, and most accomplished woman . on_the morning of_the fourteenth of June ( the day in_which I first visited the ship), the lady suddenly sickened and died . the young husband was frantic with grief-- but circumstances imperatively forbade the deferring his voyage to New_York . it_was necessary to_take to her mother the corpse of_his adored wife, and, on_the other hand, the universal prejudice which would prevent his doing_so openly was well known .Nine-tenths of_the passengers would_have abandoned the ship rather than take passage with a dead body .

in_this dilemma, captain hardy arranged that_the corpse, being first partially embalmed, and packed, with a large quantity of salt, in a box of suitable dimensions, should_be conveyed on board as merchandise . nothing was to_be said of_the lady's decease; and, as it_was well understood that Mr Wyatt had engaged passage for_his wife, it became necessary that some person should personate her during the voyage . this the deceased lady's- maid was easily prevailed on to_do . the extra state- room, originally engaged for_this girl during her mistress' life, was now merely retained . in_this state- room the pseudo- wife, slept, of_course, every night . in_the daytime she performed, to_the best of her ability, the part of her mistress-- whose person, it had_been carefully ascertained, was unknown to any of_the passengers on board .

my own mistake arose, naturally enough, through too careless, too inquisitive, and too impulsive a temperament . but of late, it_is a rare thing that I sleep soundly at night . there_is a countenance which haunts me, turn as i_will . there_is an hysterical laugh which will forever ring within my ears .

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