In Search of the Castaways Book One Chapter V - The Departure of the "Duncan"

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Book I, Chapter V of In Search of the Castaways. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit librivox.org. Recorded by Laurie Ann Walden. In Search of the Castaways, or The Children of Captain Grant by Jules Verne. Book I, Chapter V, The Departure of the Duncan.
We have said already that Lady Helena was a brave, generous woman, and what she had just done proved it indisputably. Her husband had good reason to be proud of such a wife, one who could understand and enter into all his views. The idea of going to Captain Grant's rescue had occurred to him in London when his request was refused, and he would have anticipated Lady Helena, only he could not bear the thought of parting from her. But now that she herself proposed to go, all hesitation was at an end. The servants of the castle had hailed the project with loud acclamations, for it was to save their brothers, Scotchmen like themselves, and Lord Glenarvan cordially joined his cheers with theirs for the Lady of Luss.
The departure once resolved upon, there was not an hour to be lost. A telegram was dispatched to John Mangles the very same day, conveying Lord Glenarvan's orders to take the Duncan immediately to Glasgow, and to make preparations for a voyage to the southern seas, and possibly round the world, for Lady Helena was right, in her opinion, that the yacht might safely attempt the circumnavigation of the globe if necessary.
The Duncan was a steam yacht of the finest description. She was 210 tons burden, much larger than any of the first vessels that touched the shores of the New World, for the largest of the four ships that sailed with Columbus was only 70 tons. She had two masts, and all the sails and rigging of an ordinary clipper, which would enable her to take advantage of every favorable wind, though her chief reliance was on her mechanical power. The engine, which was constructed on a new system, was a high pressure one of 160 horsepower, and put in motion a double screw. This gave the yacht such swiftness that during her trial trip in the Firth of Clyde, she made 17 miles an hour, a higher speed than any vessel had yet attained. No alterations were consequently needed in the Duncan herself. John Mangels had only to attend to her interior arrangements. His first care was to enlarge the bunkers to carry as much coal as possible, for it is difficult to get fresh supplies en route. He had to do the same with the store rooms, and managed so well that he succeeded in laying in provisions enough for two years. There was an abundance of money at his command, and enough remained to buy a cannon on a pivot carriage, which he mounted on the foxel. There was no knowing what might happen, and it is always well to be able to send a good round bullet flying four miles off.
John Mangels understood his business. Though he was only the captain of a pleasure yacht, he was one of the best skippers in Glasgow. He was thirty years of age, and his countenance expressed both courage and goodness, if the features were somewhat coarse. He had been brought up at the castle by the Glenarvan family, and had turned out a capital sailor, having already given proof, in some of his long voyages, of his skill and energy in Songfroyd. When Lord Glenarvan offered him the command of the Duncan, he accepted it with right goodwill, for he loved the master of Malcolm Castle, like a brother, and had hitherto vainly sought some opportunity of showing his devotion.
Tom Alston, the mate, was an old sailor, worthy of all confidence. The crew, consisting of twenty-five men, including the captain and chief officer, were all from Dunbartonshire, experienced sailors, and all belonging to the Glenarvan estate. In fact, it was a regular clan, and they did not forget to carry with them the traditional bagpipes. Lord Glenarvan had in them a band of trusty fellows, skilled in their calling, devoted to himself, full of courage, and as practiced in handling firearms as in the maneuvering of a ship. A valiant little troop, ready to follow him anywhere, even in the most dangerous expeditions. When the crew heard whither they were bound, they could not restrain their enthusiasm, and the rocks of Dumbarton rang again with their joyous outbursts of cheers. But while John Mangels made the stowage and provisioning of the yacht his chief business, he did not forget to fit up the rooms of Lord and Lady Glenarvan for a long voyage. He had also to get cabins ready for the children of Captain Grant, as Lady Helena could not refuse Mary's request to accompany her. As for young Robert, he would have smuggled himself in somewhere in the hold of the Duncan, rather than be left behind. He would willingly have gone as a cabin boy, like Nelson. It was impossible to resist a little fellow like that, and indeed no one tried. He would not even go as a passenger, but must serve in some capacity as cabin boy, apprentice, or sailor. He did not care which. So he was put in charge of John Mangles to be properly trained for his vocation. And I hope he won't spare me the cat-o-nine tales if I don't do properly, said Robert.