Desclieux, impressed, like the others, with this idea, only thought
of his precious coffee-plant. However, they were not very far from
port, and, with a favourable wind, might get in in a few days; and in
effect the tempest being over, and the leak closed with great
difficulty, a fresh breeze sprang up, and for a day and a night they
sailed fast, and the stormy state of the atmosphere had produced on
the coffee-plant the usual effect. It might almost have been said to
have flourished the more for the tempest. Louisa and Desclieux
contemplated it with a sweet joy, as at once the emblem and the omen
of domestic happiness amid the storms of life. But, alas! the wind
suddenly lulled--not the least breath to fill the sails, not a wave
broke against the motionless vessel: an awful calm succeeded; and
what is more terrible upon this scene of continual agitation than a
calm unwonted and too often fatal? The dead heat of the tropics was
felt in all its power by the helpless voyagers; they languished and
fainted with a continual thirst; and, horrible to relate, the water
was failing, for they had thrown so much overboard, that they were
limited to a very small allowance--a cupful at most.
Pages:
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160