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Maps, plates, charts, etc., may be filmed at different reduction ratios. Those too large to be entirely included in one exposure are filmed beginning in the upper left hand corner, left to right and top to bottom, as many frames as required The following diagrams illustrate the method: Les cartes, planches, tableaux, «)tc., peuvent dtre film6s d des taux de reduction diffdrents. Lorsque le document est trop grand pour dtre reproduit en un seul clich6, il est filmd d partir de Tangle supdrieur gauche, de gauche d droite, et de haut en bas, en prenant le nombre d'images n^cessaire. Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la m6thode. 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 ■■..f-^.JlllJ' I /- i:: 141 154 I ■ ■ i i IV CONTKNTS. CHAP. XVir. -HAS HEFKUENCK TO FOOD AND A GREAT KIGHT, XVllI, — TELLS OP DEATH AND DISASTER, . XIX.— A NEW FRIEND WITH STARTLING NEWS XX.- THE RESCUE PARTT-A RENCONTRE AND BAD NEWS, XXL— OLD FRIENDS IN A SAD PLIGHT, XXIL -TELLS OF TERRIBLE SUSPENSE-VIOLENT INTENTIONS AND RELIGIOUS DISCUSSION, .... 214 XXIIL— DELIYBBANCE. . ««. 224 XXIV.— THE LAST, . ' »„ • 234 PAGE 164 174 184 194 204 ILL'USTKATIONS. if- I THE FIRST B^ER-Iruntufiiece (seep 80). HE PLUNGED OVER THE SIDE, . . . to/ace pa,eU OLLY STRUGGLED, BUT GARNET HELD HIM PAST, „ 44 THE HUNTER'S HOME, ... PAOK 164 IONS 174 184 194 204 214 224 234 ^e pafje 14 44 102 THE CREW OF THE "WATER WAGTAIL." CHAPTER I. A ROUOH BBOTNNINO. IT is well that mankind cannot pry into the secrefo of . futurity. At all events, it is certain that if the crew of the Water Wagtail had known what was in store for them when they set sail from Bristol, one fine spring morning at the beginning of the sixteenth century, most of them would have remained at home — though it is not im- probable that, even with full knowledge of coming events, some of the romantic among them, and a few of the reckless, might have decided to go on. Undoubtedly Paul Burns would liave scorned to draw back, for he was a " hero of romance ; " an en- thusiast of the deepest dye, with an inquiring mind, a sanguine disposition, and a fervent belief in all things great and good and grand. He was also a six-footer in his socks, a horse in constitution, a Hercules in frame, with a hook nose and a hawk eye and a strong A ■^T? ^■t'^ If 2 THE CUEW OF THE " WATER WAGTAIL." jaw — and all the rest of it. Paul had a good brain, too, and was well educated — as education went in those days. Yes, there can be little doubt that even though Paul Burns had been able to see into the future, he would have deliberately chosen to go on that voyage. So would Oliver Trench, for Oliver worshipped Paul ! He loved him as if he had been an elder brother. He admired him, afar off, as a rare specimen of human per- fection. He looked up to him, physically as well as mentally, for Oliver was at that time little more than a boy of medium size, but bold as a bull-dog and active as a weasel. Yes, we are safe to say that a revelation oF the disasters, dangers, sufferings, etc., in store, would not have deterred Oliver Trench. He would have gone on that voyage simply because Paul Burns went. That was reason enough for him. The devotion of Ruth to Naomi was mild compared with that of Oliver to Paul — if words are a test of feelings — for Ruth's beautiful language could not compare with the forcible expres- sions with which Oliver assured his friend that he would stick to him, neck or nothing, through thick and thin, to the latest hour of life ! As for the rest of the crew — Big Swinton, Little Stubbs, George Blazer, Squill, and the like — it was well., as we have said, that they could not see into the future. There were forty of them, all told, including the cook and the cabin-boy. We do not include Paul Burns or Oliver Trench, because the former was naturalist to the expedition — a sort of semi-scientific free-lance ; and the latter, besides being the master's, or skipper's, son, was ^tv| A ROUGH BEGINNING. a free-and-easy lance, so to speak, whose duties were too numerous to mention, and too indefinite to under- stand. Most of the men were what is expressed by the phrase "no better than they should be." Some of them, indeed, were even worse than that. The wars of the period had rendered it difficult to obtain good sea- men at that particular time, so that merchant skippers had to content themsel . es with whatever they could get. The crew of the Water Wagtail was unusually bad, including, as it did, several burglars and a few pickpockets, besides loafers and idlers ; so that, before leaving Bristol, a friend of the skipper whose imagina- tion was lively styled it a crew of forty thieves. 'StiB "oast of Norway was the destination of the Water Wagtail. She never reached the coast of — but we must not anticipate. What her object was in reference to Norway we cannot tell. Ancient records are silent on the point. The object of Paul Burns was to gather general in- formation. At that period the world was not rich in general information. To discover, to dare, to do — if need were, to die — was the intention of our big hero. To be similarly circumstanced in a small way was our little hero's ambition. " Goin' to blow," remarked Skipper Trench, on the evening of the day on which he sailed, as he paced the deck with his hands in his pockets, aud, as his son Oliver said, his " weather-eye " open. It seemed as though the weather, having overheard the prophecy, was eager to fulfil it, for a squall if ill 4 Tlllii CHEW OF THE " WATER WAGTAIL." could be seen bearing down on the ship even while the words were being uttered. " Close reef to-o-o-p-s'ls 1 " roared Master Trench, with the energy of a man who means what he says. We are not sure of the precise nautical terms used, but tlie result was a sudden und ext tsive reduction of canvas ; and not a moment too soon, for the operation had scarcely been completed when the squall rtiUck the ship, almost capsized her, and sent her careering over the billows " like a thing of life." This was the first of a succession of squalls, or gales, which blew the Water Wagtail far out upon the Atlantic Ocean, stove in her bulwarks, carried away her bowsprit and foretopmast, damaged her sky- lights, strained her rudder, and cleared her decks of loose hamper. After many days the weather moderated a little and cleared up, enabling Master Trench to repair damages and shape his course for Norway. But the easterly gales returned with increased violence, undid all the repairs, carried away the compass, and compelled these ancient mariners to run westward under bare poles — little better than a wreck for winds and waves to play with. In these adverse circumstances the skipper did what too many men are apt to do in their day of sorrow — he sought comfort in the bottle. Love of strong drink was Master Trench's weakest point. It was one of the few points on which he and his friend Burns disagreed. V \ \i' A UOUGH BKOINNINO. 5 " Now, my dear man," said Paul, seatin re- >ugh, on Jripts, I /^know- •r Lucy bo died t never id you, id with s, poor ;h, and b time. ■m William will make his mark pretty deeply on the gene- ration, I think, if God spares him." Little did Paul Burns think, when he made this prophetic speech by the camp-fire on that distant isle of the sea, that even while he spoke William Tyndale was laying the foundation of that minute knowledge of the Greek and Hebrew languages, which afterwards en- abled him to give the Bible to England in her own tongue, and that so ably translated, that, after numerous revisions by the most capable of scholars, large portions of his work remain unaltered at the present day. The night was far spent, and the other members of the camp had been long buried in slumber before Paul and Trench and Oliver could tear themselves away from the manuscript Gospel of John. The latter two, who knew comparatively little of its contents, were at first inpressed chiefly with the fact that they were examin- ing that rare and costly article a book, and a forbidden book, too, for the reading of which many a man and woman had been burned to death in times past, but they became still more deeply impressed as Paul went on reading and commenting and pointing out the value of the Book as God's own " Word " to fallen man. " Here is a promise to rest upon," said Paul, as he finally closed the book and repeated the verse from memory, " Jesus said. If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." "Ay, that's it, Vaul— free ! We're all slaves, more or less, to something or other What wa all want is to so THE CREW OF THE " WATER WAGTAIL." be free" said Master Trench, as he drew his blanket round him, pillowed his head on his cloak, and went to sleep. Silently Paul and Oliver followed his example, the fires died out, and in a few minutes the slumbering camp was shrouded in the mantle of night. Energetic action was the order of the next day, for those shipwrecked mariners knew well enough that nothing but hard and steady labour could enable them to live on an apparently desolate island. By daybreak most of the crew had scattered them- selves along the sh ji js, or over the interior, to spy out the land. About two hours later they began to drop into camp as hungry as hawks, each carrying the result of his researches in his arms or on his shoulders. " Well done, Squill ! " said Paul, who chanced to be first back in camp, with a huge sail bundled up on his shoulder, and who, just then, was busy blowing up his fire ; " got another barrel of pork, eh ? " "It's myself as doesn't know, sur," answered Squill, " and it wasn't me as found it, but Jim Heron there. I only helped to sling it on the pole, and shoulder an end. It 's aither pork or gunpowther, so if it ain't good for a blow out it '11 be good for a blow up, anyhow." " Did you see little Oliver anywhere ? " asked Paul. " Ay, sur, I saw him on the shore, bringing up what seemed to me the ship's bowsprit — anyhow, a spar o* some sort, about as big as he could haul along." " Just so," returned Paul, with a laugh, " a ridge pole for our tent. He 's a smart boy, little Oily." FIRST EXPERIENCES ON THE ISLAND. 31 " Sure he 's all that, sur, and more. Here he comes, blowin' like a porpoise." Sure enough, Oliver appeared at the moment, dragging a heavy spar behind him. Several of the men appeared at the same time, staggering through the bushes, with various loads of wreckage, which they flung down, and noisily began discussing their experiences as they lighted the fires and prepared breakfast. "Here comes Little Stubbs," cried Jim Heron. "What fortune, comrade ? " " Good fortune, though my load is the lightest yet brought in." He flung down a small piece of wood with an air of satisfaction. " Why, it 's only a boat's rudder ! " said Olivar. " Ay, so it is, and the boat lies where I picJced it up, but it was too heavy to bring into camp without your assistance, boy. And the best of it is that it's not much damaged. Very little repair will make her fit for sea again." This was indeed a find of immense importance, and the assembled party discussed the event in all its bear- ings till their mouths were partially stopped by pork and pancakes. In the midst of this they were interrupted by the arrival of Big Swinton, George Blazer, and Grummidge with another find, which afterwards cost them much trouble and regret — namely, a couple of young lads, natives, whom they led into camp with their wrists tightly bound behind their backs. 32 THE CREW OF THE " WATER WAGTAIL.* - I CHAPTER IV. BTRANQB VISITORS— DARK PLOTS— AND BVIL PDRrOSEi. THE youths who had been captured were simple savages, with very little clothing, and with an expression of considerable alarm on their faces. As was afterwards learned, they had been coasting along the shore of the large neighbouring island in a canoe ; had observed the strange fires in the night-time, and had crossed over the channel to see what could be the cause thereof. On reaching the highest part of the island they discovered some of the sailors, and turned to fly to their canoe, but Blazer had observed them, their retreat»was cut off, and they were captured — not without a severe struggle, however, in which they were very roughly handled. Big Swinton, still smarting under the bruises and bites he had received in the scuffle, dragged them for- ward, and demanded angrily what was to be done to them. " What have they done ? " asked Trench. " Done ! — why, they have kicked and bitten like wild- cats, and I doubt not have come over here to see what they can steal. In my opinion a thief deserves keel- hauling at the very least." STRANOE VISITORS, DARK PLOTS, EVIL PUBP08E8. 33 Master Trench's mouth expanded into a very broad smile as he looked round the group of men. " D' ye hear that, lads, what Master Swinton thinks ought to be done to thieves ? " The men broke into a loud laugh, for even the most obtuse amcng them could not fail to perceive the humour of the skipper's look and question. " You have nothing more to do wi' the matter, Trench, than any one else has," returned Swinton. " I claim these lads as my prisoners, and I *11 do with them what I please. No man is master now. Might is right on this island ! " The words had scarcely been uttered when Big Swinton felt his right shoulder grasped as if in a vice, and next moment he was flung violently to the ground, while Paul Burns stood over him with a huge piece of wood in his hand, and a half-stern, half-smiling look on his countenance. The men were taken completely by surprise, for Paul had, up to this time, shown such a gentle unwar- like spirit that the crew had come to regard him as " a soft lump of a fellow." " Big Swinton," he said, in the mildest of voices, " as you have laid down the law that ' might is right,' you cannot, of course, object to my acting on it. In virtue of that law, I claim these prisoners as mine, so you may get up and go about your business. You see, lads," he added, turning to the men, while Swinton rose and retired, " though I have no wish to domineer over you or to usurp authority, I have a right to claim 34 THE CKEW OF THE " WATER WAGTAIL. that my voice shall be heard and my reasons weighed. As Swinton truly remarked, no man is master now, but as he followed this remark by making himself master, and laying down a law for us, I thought it might be complimentary to him just to act, for once, under his law, and show him how well it works! Now, let me have a word with you. "It is evident that the land over there is peopled with savages who, probably, never saw white men before. If we treat these young fellows kindly, and send them away with gifts in their hands, we shall, no doubt, make friends of the savages. If we treat them ill, or kill them, their relations will come over, mayhap in swarms, and drive us into the sea. I drop the Swinton law of might being right, and ask you — who are now the law-makers — which is it to . be — kindness or cruelty ? " " Kindness ! " shouted by far the greater number of the audience, for even bad men are ready enough to see and admit the beauty of truth and justice when they are not themselves unpleasantly affected b} these principles. The decision being thus made, Paul took the c.rm of one of the young Indians and led him gently towards his fire, while the men scattered to their several camps. Master Trench led the other youth in the same kindly way, and little Oliver, motioning to them to sit down, set before them two platters of pork and pancakes. This he did with such a benignant smile that the poor youths were obviously relieved from the dread of nm STUANGE VISITOKS, DARK PLOTS, EVIL PUKPOSES. 35 immediate and personal violence. After some glances of timid uncertainty they began to eat. " That's right," said Oliver, patting the bigger of the two on the shoulder, " you '11 find the victuals pretty good, though you're not much used to 'em, mayhap." Of course the youths did not understand the words, but they understood and fully appreciated the feeling with which they were expressed. They also appreciated most powerfully the viands. At first they were greatly perplexed by the offer of knives and forks ; but, after looking at these implements gravely for a few moments, they laid them gently down, and went to work in the natural way with fingers and teeth. After they had finished the food, and licked the platters clean, they were presented with several bright brass buttons, an old clasp-knife, a comb, and a ker- chief or two, with which inestimable gifts they em- barked in their canoe, and returned to the opposite shore. That day a most important discovery was made among the wreckage, namely, a case containing fish- hooks of various sizes and a number of lines. With these, and the boat repaired, Master Trench saw his way to prolonged existence on the island. " To tell ye the plain truth," he remarked to Little Stubbs, with whom he fell in while searching on the shore, " before this case of tackle was found, I had no liope at all of surviving here, for a few barrels of pork and flour could not last long among so many, and our end would have bin something awful ; but now, with ■rfi ww w*wi i m m t »ii!*i ^ 'ii\ ' r^t^t i T ii^t^ n 36 THE CREW OF THE " WATEli WAGTAIL." God's blessing, we may do well enough until we have time to think and plan for our escape." "But d'ye think, master," said Stubbs. "that we shall find fish in them waters ? " "Find 'em ! Ay, I make no doubt o* that, but we shall soon put it to the test, for the boat will be ready by to-morrov/ or next day at furthest, and then we shall see what the fish hereabouts think o' salt pork. If they take to it as kindly as the Indians did, we shall soon have grub enough and to spare." The natural tendency of man to bow to the best leader was shown immediately after the incident of the capture of the Indians, for Paul Burns was thence- forward quietly appealed to by most of the crew in all circumstances which required much consideration. Paul, being a law-respecting man, naturally turned to the skipper, whose decision was usually final, and thus Master Trench dropped, by general consent, into his old position of commander. But it must not be supposed that all the party ac- quiesced in this arrangement. There were men among that crew — such as Swinton, Blazer, Garnet, and others — who, either from false training, bad example, or warped spirits, had come to the condition of believing that the world was made for their special behoof ; that they possessed that "divine ."ight" to rule which is sometimes claimed by kings, and that whoever chanced to differ from them was guilty of arrogance, and required to be put down ! These men were not only bad, like most of the others, but revengeful and resolute. They STBA.NGE VISITORS, DARK PLOTS, EVIL PURPOSES. 3^ submitted, in the meantime, to the "might" of Paul Burns, backed as he was by numbers, but they nursed their wrath to keep it warm, and, under the leadership of Big Swinton, plotted the downfall of their rivals. Meanwhile, being unquestionably " in power," Master Trench, Paul, Oliver, Grummidge, Stubbs, and several of the well -affected, took possession of the boat when ready, and, inviting Swinton to join them — as a stroke of policy — pushed off, M'ith hooks and lines, to make the first essay in the way of fishing on the now famous Banks of Newfoundland. Anchoring the boat in what they deemed a suitable spot they went to work. " I wonder if they '11 take to pork," remarked Stubbs, as he baited a large hook. " If they take to it as you do, we shall soon run short o' that article," said Swinton, dropping his hook into the water. "I have brought off some shellfish," remarked Master ^Vench. " They may prefer that." " bo have I, father," said Oliver, whose bait was already at the Dttom, " and if —hallo ! hold on ! hi ! Oh ! I say ! " While the boy was thus ejaculating, in a state of blazing excitement, his arms, and indeed his body, to say nothing of his spirit, were being jerked violently by his line in a way that suggested something awful at the other end ! "Have a care, Oily!" "Gently, lad!" "Hold on, boy 1 " " Let 'im run ! " were among the contradictory pieces of advice given in various tones of warning, 38 THE CKEW OF THE " WATER WAGTAIL." remonstrance, or simple recommendation ; but Oliver heeded them not. Acting on his own judgment he drew his fish, or whatever it might be, gradually and carefully from the deep. " A mermaid it must be, to tug so hard," muttered Stubbs, as he and the others looked on with eager interest. "A meTinan if it's anything," said Squill; "sure there was never a maid in the say, or out of it, as would tug like that." " That depends," said Grummidge. " I 've had 'em tug- gin' at my heart-strings worse than that many a time." " Look out ! Here it comes," cried Oliver, as some- thing huge and white was seen to flash wildly in the green depths. " Have the cleek ready." " All ready, my boy," said his father, in a low voice, leaning over the side with a stick, at the end of which was a large iron hook. "Now then, father! Quick! Missed it? No! Hurrah!" For a moment it seemed as if Master Trench had got Neptune himself on his cleek, so severely did his stout frame quiver. Then he gave a tremendous heave — " ya — hoy ! " and up came a magnificent cod— the first of a grand hecatouib of cod fish which have since that day enriched the world, nauseated the sick with " liver oil," and placed Newfoundland among the most important islands of the British Empire. " Well done, Oily ! " exclaimed the delighted father ; but he had barely time to open his mouth for the next STRANGE VISITORS, DARK PLOTS, EVIL PURPOSES. 39 remark, wheu Squill uttered an Irish yell, and was seen holding on to his line with desperate resolve stamped on every feature. " That 's the merman this time," cried Stubbs. "His gran'mother, no less," muttered Squill, in a strongly suppressed voice, while he anxiously hauled in the line. A shout from the other side of the boat here diverted attention. " Attacked front and rear 1 " cried Paul, with a hilari- ous laugh, " I shouldn't wonder if — hallo ! N — no, it was only a nib — ha ! there he is ! " And, truly, there he was in a few minutes, another splendid cod in the bottom of the boat. To make a long story short, the boat was nearly filled with cod before the sun set, and that night was spent in general rejoicing and feasting on fish — with a second course of pork and pancakes for those who were insatiable. But t>.e state of contentment did not last long. The very next day there was quarrelling as to who should go in the boat. To allay the contention. Trench and Paul volunteered to stay in camp and help the party that should be left to split and clean the fish, and erect tents and booths. Again the fishing was successful, but dissensions about the use of the boat soon became more violent than ever. Of course, in all this Master Trench and his friend Paul took a prominent part in trying to smooth matters, to the intense jealousy of Big Swinton and his sym- 40 THE CREW OF a'HE " WATER WAGTAIL. pathisers. In short, the camp ere long was divided into two hostile bands — the moderately bad ^nd the immoderately wicked, if we may so put it. The first, who were few in number, sided with Trench and his friends; the second declared for Swinton. But the resolute bearing of Paul and the skipper, and the fact that the whole party was destitute of weapons (except clubs cut out of the bush, and a few clasp-knives), kept the larger and more vicious party in check. Swinton and his friends, therefore, had recourse to secret plotting ; but, plot as they would, they had not sufficient brain-power among them to devise a method by which to free themselves of the men they envied. At last circumstances favoured them. It was found necessary to send men to the other side of the island to cut and fetch over some small trees that grew there, in order to make stages on which to dry their fish. As the operation would require part of two days, it was proposed to spend the night there. Swinton was to command the party, and Master Trench said, jestingly, that he and Master Burns, with Oily, would stay to guard the camp ! The wood-cutting party was to start early the next day. Then a plan of revenge flashed into Big Swinton's mind. That night he revealed it to those of his friends whom he could trust, and who were necessary to his purpose. The night following — while the men around them should be sleeping at the other side of the island, and their enemies were alone in the camp — was fixed on for the execution of their purpose. TUliNED AD15IFT IN A FOKEIGN LAND. 41 divided f^.nd the The first, and his But the the fact IS (except ves), kept course to y had not a method envied, ras found J island to V there, in fish. As ys, it was )n was to jestingly, d stay to .8 to start Swinton's lis friends ry to his n around he island, was fixed CHAPTER V. TURNED ADRIFT IN A FOREIGN LAND. • v^fl IT was a calm Lut very dark night when Swinton, Blazer, Garnet, Heron, Taylor, and several other men of kindred spirit, rose from their couches at the further end of the island, and, stealthily quitting the place, hastened back to their original camp. They reached it about midnight, and, as they had expected, found all quiet, for the so-called " guard " of the camp had been hard at work all day and were at that moment fast asleep. Paul and the captain, with Oliver, lay side by side under a tent which they had constructed out of broken spars and a piece of sail-cloth. Their foes drew together not far from the spot "Now, men," said Swinton, "this is a tough job we have in hand, for they are strong men, and the boy, albeit not big, is a very tiger-cat to fight. You see, if our plan was murder we could easily settle their busi- ness while they slept, but that 's not our plan. We are 710^ murderers — by no means ! " "Certainly not," growled Blazer, with virtuous solemnity. "Well, that bei ' so, we must take them alive. I will creep into the tent with you, Jim Heron, for you 're •tK[ L 43 THE CREW OF THE " WATER WAGTAIL." big and strong enough. You will fall on Trench and hold *im down. I'll do the same to Burns. Garnet will manage the boy. The moment the rest of you hear the row begin, you will jump in and lend a hand wi' the ropes. After we 've got 'em all safe into the boat, we will pull to the big island — land them there, an' bid them a tender farewell ! " " But surely you won't land them without a morsel to eat ? " said Taylor. " Why not ? They 're sure to fall in wi' their dear friends the savages, who will, doubtless, be very grateful to 'em, an' supply grub gratis ! Now, lads, you under- stand what you *ve got to do ? " * Ay, ay," was the response, in a low tone, as they moved cautiously away, like evil spirits, to carry out their wicked plans. " Fortune," it is said, " favours the brave," but in this case she did not thus bestow her favours, for the cowardly plan was successfully carried out. Before the sleepers were well awake, they were overwhelmed by numbers, secured and bound. They were not gagged, however, as no one was near to hear even if they shouted their loudest, which they knew it was useless to do. In a few minutes the three prisoners were hurried into the boat and rowed across the wide channel that separated the islet from the opposite shore. At that time it was not supposed, either by the original discoverers or those who immediately followed them, that Newfoundland was one large island — con- siderably larger than Ireland. Not till many a year TURNED ADlllFT IN A FOREIGN LAND. 43 afterwards did explorers ascertain that it was an island of about three hundred and seventeen miles in length, by about the same in breadth ; but so cut up by deep bays, inlets, and fiords as to have much the appearance of a group of islands. During their passage across the channel both Trench and Paul attempted to reason with Swinton, but that hardened villain refused to utter a word till their pri- soners were marched up the shingly beach, and told to sit down on a ledge of rock under the steep cliffs, where innumerable sea-birds were screaming a clamorous welcome, or, perchance, a noisy remonstrance. " Now, my friends," said their foe, " as you are fond of commanding, you may take command o* them there sea-birds — they won't object! — and if ye fall in wi* your friends the savages, you may give them my love an' good wishes." " But surely you don't mean to leave us here without food and with our hands tied behind us ? " fiercely ex- claimed Master Trench, whose wrath at anything like injustice was always prone to get the better of his wisdom. " As to grub," answered Swinton, " there 's plenty of tliat around, if you only exert yourself to find it. I won't cut your lashin's, however, till we are fairly in the boat, for we can't trust you. Come along, lads ; and, Garnet, you bring the boy with ye." Under the impression that he was to be separated from his father and friend, and taken back again to the islet, poor Oliver, whom they had not thought it worth t 44 TIIK CREW OF THE " WATER WAGTAIL." while to bind, struggled with a ferocity that would have done credit to the wild-cats with which he had been compared ; but Garnet was a strong man, and held him fast. "Take it easy, my boy," said Paul, who, being help- less, could only look on with intense pity. " Submit to God's will — we will pray for you." But OUy's spirit could by no means reach the sub- mitting point until he was fairly exhausted. While they dragged him towards the boat, Taylor turned back and flung a small canvas bag at the captain's feet. *' There, Master Trench," he said, "you'll find a lump o' pork in that bag to keep you goin' till ye get hold o' somethin' else. An' don't take on about the boy. We don't want 'im, bless you. Why, we only want to pre- vent him settin' you free before we gets fairly away." This was true. When the boat was reached and the men were on board, ready to shove off. Garnet, still holding Oily fast by the arm, said, "Keep still, will you, and hear what Master Swinton has got to say ? '* " Now, you fiery polecat," said Swinton, " you may go and cut their lashin's, and take that as a parting gift." The gift was a sounding box on the ear; but Oily minded it not, for while Garnet was speaking, as he stood knee-deep in the water close to the boat, he had observed an axe lying on one of the thwarts near to him. The instant he was se free, therefore, he seized the axe, and, flourishing it close past Garnet's nose, with a cheer of defiance he sprang towards the beach. Garnet "TAKE IT EASY, MY BOY," SAID PAUL. Page 46. i TUUNED ADRIFT IN A FOREIGN LAND. 47 leaped after hiin, but he was no match for the agile boy, who ill another minute had severed Paul's bonds and phiced the weapon in his hands. " Hallo ! lii, you 've forgot me. Cut my — ho 1 " But there was no occasion for Master Trench to cry out and struggle with the cords that bound him. A iurious rush of Paul with the axe caused Garnet to double with the neatness of a hunted hare. He bounded into the boat, which was immediately shoved off, and the sailors rowed away, leaving Paul to return and liberate the captain at leisure. Silently the trio stood and watched the receding boat, until it was lost in the darkness of the night. Then they looked at each other solemnly. Their case was certainly a grave one. "Cast away on an unknown shore," murmured the captain, in a 1 w tone, as if he communed with his own spirit rather th i with Ins companions, " without food, without a ship or boat — without hope ! " " Nay, Master Trench," said Paul, " not without hope ; for * God is our refuge and our strength, a very present help in trouble,' so says His own Word, as my mother has often read to me." " It is well for you, Paul, returned the captain, " that you can find comfort in such words — I can find none. Stern realities and facts are too strong for me. How can I take comfort in unfulfilled promises? Here we are in trouble enough, surely. In what sense is God a * refuge ' to us — or * strength,' or a * present help'? Why, we are left absolutely destitute here, 48 THE CREW OF THE " WATER WAGTAIL." P f without so much as a bite of food to keep our bodies and souls together." He spoke with some bitterness, for he was still chafing under the sense of the wrong which he had sufifexcd at the hands of men to whom he had been invariably kind and forbearing. As he turned from Paul with a gesture of impatience his foot struck against the canvas bag of pork which the man Taylor had flung to him on leaving, and which had been forgotten. He stopped suddenly and gazed at it* so did Paul. " Looks like as if God had already helped us — at least to food — does it not?" said the latter. " It was Taylor helped us to that," objected Trench. "And who put it into Taylor's heart to help us?" asked Paul. " He is one of tlie worst men of our crew, so we can hardly say it was his own tenderness, and certainly it was not the devil who moved him to it. Am I wrong in holding that it was * Our Father ' ? " "I believe you are right, Paul. Anyhow, I have neither the capacity nor the inclination to dispute the point now. Pick up the bag, Oily, and come along. We must try to find some sort of shelter in which to spend the rest o' the night and consider our future plans." With a lighter heart and firmer faith, Paul Burns followed his leader, silently thanking God as he went along for thus far, and so opportunely, demonstrating His own faithfulness. They had to wander some time before a suitable TURNED ADRIFT IN A FOREIGN LAND. 49 camping spot was found, for that part of the New- foundland coast on which they had been landed was almost inaccessible. The cliffs in many places rose sheer out of the water to a height of full three hundred feet. Only in a few places little strips of shingly beach lay between the base of the cliffs and the sea, so that the finding of an opening in those stupendous ram- parts of rock was no easy matter in a dark night. At last they came to a place where the cliffs appeared to rise less precipitously. After careful clambering for some minutes they discovered a sort of gap in the ram- part, up which they climbed, amid rugged and broken masses, until they reached a somewhat level plateau, or shelf, covered with small bushes. Here they resolved to encamp. " Whether it *s the top o* the cliffs or not, there 's no findin' out," remarked Trench, as he tried to survey the ground ; " but whether or not don't matter, foi it looks level enough to lie on, an' we 're as like as not to break our necks if we try to go further." " Agreed," said Paul ; "but now it occurs to me that our pork may be raw, and that we shall want fire to cook it. Have you got flint and steel in your pocket, Master Trench?" " Ay — never travel without it ; but by ill-luck I 've got no tinder. Flint and steel are useless, you know, without that." " If ill-luck troubles you" returned Paul, " good luck favours me, for I have got a bit of tinder, and " "The pork's raw," exclaimed Oliver, who had been •'iMjrt 50 THF CREW OF THE " WATER WAGTAIL." hastily investigating the contents of the canvas bag; •* but, I say, there 's more than pork here. There 's a lot o' the little flour-cakes our cook was so fond of niakin'." " Good. Now then let us have a search for wood," said Paul. " If we find that, we shall get along well enough till morning. But have a care, Oily, keep from the edge of the cliff. The ledge is not broad. Have an eye too, or rather an ear, for water as you go along." Success attended their search, for in a few minutes Paul and the captain returned with loads of dry branches, and Oily came back reporting water close at hand, trickling from a crevice in the cliffs. " Your shirt-front tells the tale, Oily. You 've been drinking," said Paul, who was busy striking a light at the. time. "Indeed I have; and we shall all be obliged to drink under difficulties, for we have neither cup nor mug with as." "Neither is wanted, boy, as I'll soon show you," said Paul. " Why, a bit of birch-bark, even a piece of paper, forms a good drinking vessel if you only know how to use it. Ha ! caught at last," he added, referring to some dry grasses and twigs which burst into flame as he spoke. Another moment and a ruddy glare lit up the spot, giving to things near at hand a cosy, red-hot appear- ance, and to more distant objects a spectral aspect, while, strangely enough, it seemed to deepen to pro- founder darkness all else around. Heaping on fresh TURNED ADRIFT IN A FOREIGN LAND. 61 fuel and pressing it down, for it consisted chiefly of small branches, they soon had a glowing furnace, in front of which the pork ere long sputtered pleasantly, sending up a smell that might have charmed a gour- mand. " Now, then, while this is getting ready let us examine our possessions," said the captain, " for we shall greatly need all that we have. It is quite clear that we could not return to our shipmates even if we would " . " No, and I would not even if I could," interrupted Oliver, while busy with the pork chops. "And," continued his father, regardless of the inter- ruption, " it is equally clear that we shall have to earn our own livelihood somehow." Upon careful examination it was found that their entire possessions consisted of two large clasp-knives; a sheath hunting-knife ; flint, steel, and tinder ; the captain's watch ; a small axe ; a large note-book, belong- ing to Paul ; three pencils ; bit of indiarubber ; several fish-hocks; a long piece of twine, and three brass buttons, the property of Oliver, besides the manuscript Gospel of John, and Olly's treasured letter from his mother. These articles, with the garments in which they stood, constituted the small fortune of our wan- derers, and it became a matter of profound specula- tion, during the progress of the supper, as to whether it was possible to exist in an unknown wilderness on such very slender means. Oily thought it was — as a matter of course. Master Trench doubted, and shook his head with 52 THE CREW OP THE " WATER WAGTAIL. ft an air of much sagacity, a method of expressing an opinion which is eminently unassailable. Paul Burns condescended on reasons for his belief — which, like Olly's, was favourable. " You see," he said, wiping his uncommonly greasy fingers on the grass, "we have enough of pork and cakes here for several days — on short allowance. Then it is likely that we shall find some wild fruits, and manage to kill something or other with stones, and it cannot be long till we fall in with natives, who will be sure to be friendly — if not, we will make them so — and where thei^ can live, we can live. So I am going to turn in and dream about it. Luckily the weather is warm. Good-night." Thus did our three adventurers, turning in on that giddy ledge, spend their first night iu Newfoundland. -llV DIFFICULTIES MET AND OVERCOME. 53 CHAPTEE VL DIFFICULTIES MET AND OVERCOME, THE position in which the trio found themselves next morning, when daylight revealed it, was, we might almost say, tremendously romantic. The ledge on which they had passed the night was much narrower than they had supposed it to be, and their beds, if we may so call them, had been dangerous- ly near to the edge of a frightful precipice which descended sheer down to a strip of sand that looked like a yellow thread two hundred feet below. The cliff behind them rose almost perpendicularly another hun- dred feet or more, and the narrow path or gully by which they had gained their eyrie was so steep and rugged that their reaching the spot at all in safety seemed little short of a miracle. The sun was brighten- ing with its first beams an absolutely tranquil sea when the sleepers opened their eyes, and beheld what seemed to them a great universe of liquid light. Their ears at the same time drank in the soft sound of murmuring ripples far below, and the occasional cry of sportive sea- birds. "Grand ! glorious ! " exclaimed Trench, as he sat up and gazed with enthusiasm on the scene. I 54 THE CREW OF THE " WATER WAGTAIL." Paul did not speak. His thoughts were too deep for utterance, but his mind reverted irresistibly to some of the verses in that manuscript Gospel which he carried so carefully in his bosom. As for Oliver, his flushed young face and glittering eyes told their own tale. At first he felt inclined to shout for joy, but his feelings choked him ; so he, too, remained speechless. The silence was broken at last by a commonplace remark from Paul, as he pointed to the horizon — "The home of our shipmates is further off than I thought it was." " The rascals ! " exclaimed the captain, thinking of the shipmates, not of the home ; " the place is too good for 'em." " But all of them are not equally bad," suggested Paul gently. " Humph ! '' replied Trench, for kind and good- natured though he was he always found it difficult to restrain his indignation at anything that savoured of injustice. In occasionally giving way to this temper, he failed to perceive at first that he was himself some- times guilty of injustice. It is only fair to add, how- ever, that in his cooler moments our captain freely condemned himself. " ' Humph ! ' is a very expressive word," observed Paul, "and in some sense satisfactory to those who utter it, but it is ambiguous. Do you mean to deny. Master Trench, that some of your late crew were very good fellows ? and don't you admit that Little Stubbs DIFFICULTIES MET AND OVERCOME. 55 and Squill and Grummidge were first-rate specimens of " " I don't admit or deny anything ! " said the captain, rising, with a light laugh, '* and I have no intention of engaging in a controversy with you before breakfast. Come, Oily, blow up the fire, and go to work with your pork and cakes. I '11 fetch some more wood, and Paul will help me, no doubt." With a good grace Paul dropped the discussion and went to work. In a few minutes breakfast was not only ready, but consumed ; for a certain measure of anxiety as to the probability of there being an avail- able path to the top of the cliffs tended to hasten their proceedings. The question was soon settled, foi aitor ascending a few yards above their encampment, they found an in- dentation or crevice in the cliff which led into an open spot — a sort of broader shelf — which sloped upwards, and finally conducted them to the summit. Here, to their surprise, they discovered that their new home, instead of being, as they had supposed it, one of a series of large islands, was in truth a territory of vast, apparently boundless, extent, covered with dense forests. Far as the eye could reach, interminable woods pre- sented tliemselves, merging, in the far distance, into what appeared to be a range of low hills. "Newfoundland is bigger than we have been led to believe," said Paul Burns, surveying the prospect \\ Jth great satisfaction. "Ay is it," responded Trench. "The fact is that 56 THE CREW OF THE " WATER WAGTAIL. >> Kf' it discoverers of new lands, bein' naturally in ships, have not much chance to go far inland. In a country like this, with such a wild sea-board, it 's no wonder they have made mistakes. We will find out the truth about it now, however, for we '11 undertake a land voyage of discovery." " What ! without arms or provisions, father ? " asked Oliver. "What d'ye call the two things dangling from your shoulders, boy?" returned the captain, with some severity ; " are these not * arms * ? and have not woods generally got lakes in 'em and rivers which usually swarm with provisions ? " "That's so, father," returned the lad, somewhat abashed ; " but I did not raise the question as a diffi- culty, only I 've heard you sometimes say that a ship is not fit for sea till she is well armed and provisioned, so I thought that it might be the same with land expeditions." Before the skipper could reply, Paul drew attention to an opening in the woods not far from them, where an animal of some kind was seen to emerge into an open space, gaze for a moment around it, and then trot quietly away. "Some of our provisions— uncooked as yet," re- marked Oliver. "More of them" returned his father, pointing to a covey of birds resembling grouse, which flashed past them at the moment on whirring wings. " How we are to get hold of 'em, however, remains, of course, to be seen. i* DIFFICULTIES MET AND OVERCOME. 57 ** There are many ways of getting hold of them, and with some of these I am familiar/' said Paul. "For instance, I can use the long-bow with some skill — at least I could do so when at school. And I have no doubt, captain, that you know how to use the cross- bow ? " "That I do," returned Trench, with a broad grin. " I was noted at school as bein* out o' sight the worst shot in the neighbourhood where I lived. Indeed, I 've bin known to miss a barn-door at twenty yards ! " " Well, well, you must learn to shoot, that 's all," said Paul, " and you may, perchance, turn out better with the sling. That weapon did great execution, as no doubt you know, in the hands of King David." " But where are we to get long-bows and cross-bows and slings ? " asked Oliver eagerly. " Why, Oily, my boy, excitement seems to have con- fused your brain, or the air of Newfoundland disagrees with you," said Paul. " We shall make them, of course. But come," he added, in a more serious tone, " we have reached a point — I may say a crisis — in our lives, for we must now decide definitely what we shall do, and I pray God to direct us so that we may do only that which is right and wise. Are you prepared, cap- tain, to give up all hope of returning to our shipmates ? " " Of course I am," returned Trench firmly, while a slight frown gathered on his brow. " The few who are on our side could not make the rest friendly. They may now fight it out amongst themselves as best they can, for all that I care. We did not forsake them 58 THE CREW OF THE " WATER WAGTAIL." They sent us away. Besides, we could not return, if we wished it ever so much. No ; a grand new country lias been opened up to us, and I mean to have a cruise of exploration. Wliat say you, Oily ? " " I *m with 'ee, father ! " answered the boy, with a nod of the head that was even more emphatic than the tone of his voice. With a laugh at Oliver's enthusiasm, Paul declared himself to be of much the same mind, and added that, as they had no boxes to pack or friends to bid farewell to, they should commence the journey there and then. " I don't agree with that," said the captain. *' Why not. Master Trench ? " " Because we have not yet made our weapons, and it may be that we shall have some good chances of getting supplies at the very beginning of our travels. My opinion is that we should arm ourselves before starting, for the pork and cakes cannot last long." This being at once recognised as sound advice, they entered the forest, which was not so thick at that place as it at first appeared to be. They went just far enough to enable them to obtain a species of hardwood, which the experienced eye of Paul Burns told them was suit- able for bow-making. Here they pitched their camp. Paul took the axe and cut down several small trees ; the captain gathered firewood, and Oliver set about the fabrication of a hut or booth, with poles, bark, turf, and leaves, which was to shelter them from rain if it should fall, though there was little chance of that, the weather being fine and settled at the time. hey ace igh ich it- P- es; the nd luld her The work which they had undertaken was by no means as easy as they had anticipated. Paul had indeed made bows and arrows in former years, bub then all the materials had been furnished " in the rough " to his hands, whereas he had non- not only to select the tree best adapted to his purpose, but had to choose the best part of it, and to reduce that portion from a massive trunk to suitably slender proportions. It was much the same with the arrows and cross-bow bolts. However, there was resolution and perseverance in each member of the party far more than sufficient to overcome such little difficulties ; only, as we have said, they were slower about it than had been expected, and the work was far from completed when the descent of night obliged them to seek repose. " Not a bad little bower," remarked Paul, as they sat down to supper in the primitive edifice which Oliver had erected. The said bower was about four feet high, eight wide, and five deep, of irregular form, with three sides and a roof; walls and roof being of the same material — branchy, leafy, and turfy. The fourth side was an open space in which the inhabitants sat, facing the fire. The latter, being large enough to roast a sheep whole, was built outside. " Why, Oily, you 're a selfish fellow," said the captain, during a pause in the meal ; " you 've thought only of yourself in building this bower. Just look at Paul's feet. They are sticking out ten or twelve inches beyond our shelter!" 60 THE CREW OF THE " WATER WAGTAIL. • " That comes of his being so tall, daddy. But it does not matter much. If it should come on to rain he can draw his feet inside; there's room enough to double up. Don't you think so, Paul ? " But Paul replied not save by a gentle snore, for he was a healthy man, and child-like in many respects, especially in the matter of going off to the land of Nod the moment his head touched his pillow. Possibly the fresh air, the excitement, the energy with which he had wrought, and the relish with which he had supped, intensified this tendency on the present occasion. Oliver very soon followed his friend's example, and so Captain Trench was left ':^ meditate beside the fire. He gazed into its glowing embers, or sometimes glanced beyond it towards an open space where a tiny rivulet glittered in the moonlight, and a little cascade sent its purling music into the still air. Ere long he passed from the meditative to the blink- ing stage. Then he turned his eyes on the sleepers, smiled meekly once or twice and nodded to them — quite inadvertently ! After that he stretched his bulky frame betude them, and resigned himself to repose. Now, it is probable that we should have had nothing more to record in reference to that first night in 'N'ew- foundland if Captain Trench had been in t' labit of taking his rest like ordinary mortah ;' .ot his habit. He bounced in his sle ' i so no one could ever find out. T aiseii .aiea the " soft impeachment," and, in his wu.dng ^ .oments, was wont to express disbelief as well as profound ignorance DIFFICULTIES MET AND OVERCOME. 61 in regard to the subject. Several broken beds, however, liad, in the course of his career, testified against him ; but, like the man who blamed " the salmon," not " the whisky," for his headaches. Trench blamed " the beds," not " the bouncing," for his misfortunes. One might have counted him safe with the solid earth of Newfoundland for his bed, but danger often lurks where least expected. Oliver Trench was not an architect either by nature or training. His bower had been erected on several false principles. The bouncing of a big man inside was too much for its infirm con- Btitution. Its weak points were discovered by the captain. A bounce into one of its salient supports proved fatal, and the structure finally collapsed, bury- ing its family in a compost of earth and herbage. With a roar that would have done credit to a native walrus, the captain struggled to free himself, under the impression that a band of savages had attacked them. All three quickly threw off the comparatively light material that covered them, and stood in warlike attitudes for a few seconds, glancing around for foes who did not exist ! Then the roar of alarm was trans- formed into shouts of laughter, but these were quickly checked by a real foe who crept up insidiously and leaped on them unexpectedly. The half-extinguished fire, having been replenished by the falling structure — much of which was dry and inflammable — caught on the roof and flashed down into the interior. "Save the pork, lad!" shouted the captain, as he sprang out of the kindling mass. 62 THE CREW OF THE " WATER WAGTAIL." " Ay, ay, father," replied the son. Paul meanwhile grasped the half-finished bows and arrows in his arms, and thus their little all was rescued from the flames. Of course, the bower was utterly consumed, but that caused them little grief. Having extinguished the flames, they all lay down to finish off the night under a neighbouring tree, and even its architect became so oblivious of what had occurred that he employed the remainder of his slumbering hours in dreaming of the home in old England, and of that dear mother whose last letter was still carefully guarded in thj pocket of the coat that covered his ardent little bosom. ^ THEY BEGIN THEIR TRAVELS IN EAUNEST. C3 CHAPTEK VII. THET BEGIN THEIR TRAVELS IN EARNEST. WHEN their weapons were complete our three travellers started on their journey of exploration in the new-found land. Captain Trench armed himself with a strong, heavily- made cross-bow, and a birch-bark quiver full of bolts. Paul Burns carried a bow as long as himself, with a quiver full of tho orthodox " cloth-yard shafts." Oliver provided himself with a bow and arrows more suited to his size, and, being naturally sanguine, he had also made for himself a sling with the cord he chanced to possess and the leathern tongue of one of his shoes. He likewise carried a heavy bludgeon, somewhat like a policeman's baton, which was slung at his side. Not content with this, he sought and obtained permission to carry the axe in his belt Of course, none of the bolts or arrows had metp^ points ; but that mattered little, as one wood of whic ley were made was very hard, and could be sharpened to a fine point ; and, being feathered, the missiles flew straight to the mark when pointed in the right direction. " Now, captain," said Paul, on the morning they set out, " let's see what you can do with your cross-bow at ! 64 THE CREW OF THE "WATER WAGTAIL." the first bird you meet. I mean the first eatable bird ; for I have no heart to kill the little twitterers around us for the mere sake of practice." " That will I right gladly," said Trench, fixing his bow and string, and inserting a bolt with a confident air. "And there's a chance, daddy! See! a bird that seems to wish to be shot, it sits so quietly on the tree." The seaman ic;,lsed his weapon slowly to his shoulder, shut the wrong eye, glared at the bird with the other, took a long unsteady aim, and sent his bolt high over the creature's head, as well as very much to one side. " Might have been worse ! " said the captain. " Might have been better," returned Paul, with equal truth. " Now it 's my turn." The bird, all ignorant of the fate intended for it, sat still, apparently in surprise. Paul drew his cloth-yard shaft to his ear and let fly. It went apparently in search of the captain's bolt. " Now me ! " cried the impatient Oily, in a hoarse whisper, as he placed a stone in the sling and whirled it round his head. His companions drew off! There was a " burring " noise as the stone sped on its mission and struck the tree-stem with a sounding crack, three yards from the bird, which, learning wisdom from ex- perience, at last took wing. In anticipation of their chance coming round again, both Paul and the captain had got ready their artillery, and Oliver ^testily put another stone in his sling. A look and exclamation of disappointment were given by THEY BEGIN THEIR TRAVELS IN EARNEST. 65 each as the bird vanished, but just at that moment a large rabbit darted across their path. Whiz ! twang ! burr ! went bolt and bow and stone, and that rabbit, pierced in head and heart, and smitten on flank, fell to rise no more. " Strange ! " said Trench, in open-mouthed surprise, " I 've often heard of coincidences, but I never did see or hear of the like of that." " All three to hit it at once ! " exclaimed Paul. " Ay, and all three of us doiu' our best to hit it, too," exclaimed Oliver. " Just so — that 's the puzzle, lad," rejoined the captain. " If we had been try in' to hit something else now, there would have been nothing strange about it ! But to hit what we all aimed at " Apparently the captain failed to find words ade- quately to express his ideas, for he did not finish the sentence ; meanwhile Paul picked up the rabbit and attached it to his belt. After this, advancing through the woods in a north-westerly direction, they made for a somewhat elevated ridge, hoping to obtain from that point a more extended view of the land. Towards noon, feeling hungry, they began to look out for a suitable spot whereon to lunch, or rather to dine ; for while travelling on foot in wild countries men usually find it convenient to take a very substantial meal about, or soon after, noon. "To have water handy," remarked Paul, as they stopped to look round, " is essential to comfort as well as cookery." 66 THE CREW OF THE " WATER WAGTAIT-." " Look there, away to the nor' west o' that bunch o' trees," said the captain, pointing to a distant spot, " there 's a depression in the ground there ; and from the lie o' the land all round I should say we shall find a stream o' some sort near it." "I hope so," said Oliver; "for I shall want water to wash the rabbit with, and I have a strong hope that we may find fish in the rivers of this land, and although my hooks are big, I think the fish may not be parti- cular, seein' that they have never before been tempted in that way." " That 's true. Oily ; I hope you won't be disappointed. But what makes you want to wash the rabbit, my boy ? " asked the captain ; " it is not dirty ? " "Perhaps not; but I don't quite relish the dirty work of cleaning out a rabbit before cooking it, so I want to try the plan of cutting it open, holding it under water, and scraping out the inside while in that position." " My son, you won't be so particular when you 've been a few weeks huntin' in the wild woods. But what about the hair ? " " Oh, we can singe that off, daddy." " What ! singe off wet hair ? And the skin — I doubt we might find that tough ? " The young cook — for such he became to the exploring expedition — loc^'ed puzzled. " I never skinned a rabbit," he said, " but no doubt it is easy enough. I'll just cut it open at the head • — or tail — and pull it off like a glove." THEY BEGIN THEIR TRAVELS IN EARNEST. 67 " Not quite so easily done as that," remarked Paul, with a laugh ; " but I happen to know something about skinning birds and beasts, Oily, so make your mind easy. I will show you how to do it." "You happen to know something about almost everything, I think," said the captain. " Tell me now, d' ye happen to know what sort o' beast it is that I see starin' at us over the bushes yonder ? " " No, Master Trench, I do not ; but it looks marvel- lously like a deer of some sort," said Paul, as he hastily fitted an arrow to his bow. But before he could dis- charge it the animal wisely retired into the shelter of its native wilds. By this time, having walked smartly, they had gained the crest of one of the lower ridges, or plateaus, that rose in gentle slopes from the rocky shore, and there, as had been anticipated, they found a small rivulet, such as Americans would call a creek and Scotsmen a burn. It flowed in a north-easterly direction, and was broken by several small rapids and cascades. With a little shout of satisfaction, Oliver ran down to its banks, getting his hooks out as he went. Arriv- ing at the margin of a deep pool, he bent over it and gazed earnestly down. The water was as clear as crystal, showing every .^tone at the bottom as if it had been covered merely with a sheet of glass, and there, apparently undisturbed by the intruder, lay several large fish. What they were he knew not — cared not. Sufficient for him that they seemed large and fat. His first ,-**y I i 68 THE CREW OF THE " WATER WAGTAIL." ii impulse was to turn and shout the discovery to his companions ; but seeing that they had ah-eady set to work to cut firewood a little higher up the stream, he checked himself. " I '11 catch a fish first, maybe," he muttered, as he quickly adjusted to his piece of cord one of the smallest cod-hooks he possessed. A few minutes sufficed for this ; but when he was ready, it occurred to him that he had no bait. He looked around him, but nothing suitable was to be seen, and he was about to attempt the all but hopeless task of tearing up the soil with his fingers in search of a worm, when his eyes fell on a small bright feather that had been dropped by some passing bird. "Happy thoughts" occurred to people in the days of which we write, even as now, though they were not recognised or classified as such. Fly-fishing was instantly suggested to the eager boy. He had often tried it in Old England ; why not try it in Newfoundland ? A very brief period sufficed to unwind a thread from the cord, and therewith to attach the feather to the hook. He had no rod, and neither time nor patience to make one. Gathering the cord into a coil, such as wharfmen form when casting ropes to steamers, he swung it round his head, and hove his hook half-way across the glassy pool. The fish looked up at him, apparently in calm sur- prise—certainly without alarm. Then Oily began to haul in the hook. It was a fearful fly to look at, such as had never desecrated those waters since the days of Adam, yet those covetous fish rushed at it in a body. THEY BEGIN THEIR TllAVELS IN EARNEST. G9 The biggest caught it, and found himself caught! The boy held on tenderly, while the fish in wild amazement darted from side to side, or sprang high into the air. Oliver was far too experienced a fisher not to know that the captive might be but slightly hooked, so he played it skilfully, casting a sidelong glance now and then at his busy comrades in the hope that they had not ob- served him. At last the fish became tired, and the fisher drew it slowly to the bank — a four- or five-pound trout at the very least! Unfortunately the bank was steep, and the boy found, to his distress, that the hook had only caught hold slightly of the fish's lip. To lift out the heavy creature with the line was therefore impossible, to catch hold of it with the hand was almosc equally so ; for when he lay down and stretched out his arm as far as possible, he could scarcely touch it with the end of his finger. " If it makes another dash it '11 escape," muttered the anxious boy, as he slid further and further down the bank — a hairbreadth at a time. Just then the fish showed symptoms of revival. Oily could stand this no longer. He made a desperate grasp and caught it by the gills just as the hook came away. The act destroyed what little balance he had retained, and he went with a sharp short yell into the pool. Paul looked up in time to see his friend's legs dis- appear. He ran. to the spot in considerable alarm, supposing that the boy might have taken a fit, and not knowing whether he could swim. He was relieved, E j , I 11 1 . j, ;| « i y 1 '^ ■1 ^' r ii 1 i^ 70 THE CREW OF THE " WATER WAGTAIL." however, to find that Oily on reappearing struck out manfully with one hand for a shallow place at the lower end of the pool, while with the other he pressed some object tightly to his bosom. "You don't mean to say," exclaimed Paul, as he assisted his friend out of the water, " that you went in for that splendid trout and caught it with your hands !" " You saw me dive," replied the boy, throwing the fish down with affected indifference, and stooping to wring .the water from his garments as well as to hide his face ; "and you don't suppose, surely, that I caught it with my feet. Come, look at the depth I had to go down to catch him ! " Seizing his prize, Oily led his friend to the spot where he had fallen in, and pointed with a look of triumph to the clear, deep pool. At the moment a smile of intelligence lit up Paul's features, and he pointed to the extemporised iiy-liook which still dangled from the bank. Bursting into a hearty fit of laughter, the successful fisher ran up to the encampment, swinging the trout round his head, to the surprise and great satisfaction of his father, who had already got the fire alight and the rabbit skinned. Need it be said that the meal which followed was a hearty one, though there was no variety save roast rabbit, roast trout, and roast pork, with the last of the cakes as pudding ? "A first-rate dinner!" exclaimed Paul, after swallow- ing a draft of sparkling water from the stream. THEY BEGIN THEIR TRAVELS IN EARNEST. 71 ras ist the Iw- " Not bad," admitted Captain Trench, " if we only had something stronger than water to wash it down." Paul made no reply to this remark, but he secretly rejoiced in the necessity which delivered his friend from the only foe that had power to overcome him. "Now," remarked Paul, when he had finished dinner, "I will strengthen my bow before starting, for it does not send the arrows with sufficient force, and the only way to do that, that I can think of, is to shorten it." "And I will feather the last arrow I made," said Olivf r, drawing the shaft in question out of his quiver. ' " Well, as my bow and bolts are all ship-shape ard in perfect order, I will ramble to the top of the ridge before us and take a look out ahead." So saying the captain departed, and the other two were soon so deeply absorbed in tlieir work and in conversation about future plans that they had almost forgotten him when a loud shout caused them to start up. On looking towards t'.e ridge they beheld Captain Trench tossing his arms wildly in the air and shouting and gesticulating violently. " Sees savages, I think," said Paul. " Or gone mad !" cried Oily. Catching up their arms, the two ran hastily to the tup of the ridge, where they arrived perspiring and panting, to find that their excitable comrade had only gone into ecstacies about the magnificent scenery tiiat had burst upon his sight. 72 THE CREW OF THE " WATER WAGTAIL." CHAPTER VIII. BFADTIPUL SOKNES AND STRANGE EXPERIENCES. AND, truly^ the scene which met their gaze was of a nature calculated to arouse enthusiasm in a much less ardent bosoju than that of Captain Trencli. A wide undulating country, studded with lakelets and rich with verdure, stretched away from their feet to the horizon, where a range of purple hills seemed to melt and mingle with cloudland, so that the eye was carried, as it were, by imperceptible gradations from the rugged earth up into the soft blue sky ; indeed, it was difficult to distinguish where the former ended and the latter began. The lakes and ponds were gay with yellow water-lilies, and the air was musical with the sweet cries of wild-fowl ; while the noon-tide sun bathed the whole in a golden glory. The effect of such a sight on our wanderers was at first too powerful for words, and when words did burst forth they served to show how wonderfully diverse are the spirits of men. Capiain Trench, as we have seen, was moved by this vision of beauty to shout, almost to dance, with delight, while in thought he bounded over the length and breadth of the new land, taking bear- ings, and making notes and charts with the view of BEAUTIFUL SCENES AND STRANGE EXPERIENCES. 73 DO |r- of extending the geographical knowledge of mankind! His son Oliver, on the other hand, allowed his ima- gination to revel freely through the forests and over the hills and across lakes and savannahs in powerful sympathy with the aspirations which must have ani- mated Nimrod ; while to Paul Burns, whose tempera- ment was sedate and earnest, as well as cheerful and hearty, the glorious vision at once suggested thoughts of that tranquil home in which man's lot was originally cast by the loving heart of Gud. " Now it is quite plain," said Trench, as they slowly descended into this beautiful scene, "tliat this land is no collection of small islands, as we have been led to suppose, but a great land full of all that is needful to make it the happy abode of man." "Just so, daddy !" exclaimed the enthusiastic Oliver, " and we have been sent to explore it and carry home the news — perhaps to bring out the first settlers and show them the way !" " Why, Oily, you carry too much sail for so small a craft; you look out rather too far ahead. And what mean ye by saying we are sent ? Nobody sent us on this journey that I know of, unless you mean that Swinton — the big scoundrel ! — sent us." "Whatever Oily meant by the expression," inter- posed Paul, " I think he is right ; for all men are sent by the Almighty, no matter where they go." " What ! d' ye mean that men are sent by the Almighty whether they go to do good or evil ?" " Ay, Master Trench, that is what I mean ; they are 74 fHE CKEW OF THE " WATEU WAGTAIL." ■'■ sent by Him, tlioiigh not sent to do evil. Look here, don't you admit that God created all men and seiU them into this world ?" "Ofcourseldo." "And that he made you an Englishman, and so sent you to England; and that He made you a sea- captain, and among other places sent you to New- foundland." " Well — I — I suppose He did," returned the captain, with that puzzled expression of countenance which was wont to indicate that his mind was grappling difficulties. '• Well, then," continued Paul, " heing good, of course the Almighty sent us to do good ; but He also gave us free wills, which just means permission to do as we please ; so it remains to be seen whether we will use our free wills in working with Him, or in trying to work against Him, for, strange to say, we cannot really work against God, we can only try to do it, and in so trying we establish the fact of our own wickedness; but His grand and good purposes shall be carried out in spite of us notwithstanding, for he can bring good out of evil." " Now, Paul, I 've lost soundings altogether, and it 's my opinion that you are foolishly talking about things that you don't understand." " I never heard. Master Trench, that it was foolish to talk about what one does not understand ! On the contrary, it is by talking of things that we don't understand that we manage at last to understand BEAUTIFUL SCENES AND STRANGE EXPERIENCES. 75 them. You had a deal of talking about navigation, had you not, before you understood it ?" " Look 'ee here, lad," said Trench, stopping suddenly, with his legs planted firmly apart as though on the quarter-deck of his ship in a cross sea, while he drove his right fist into the palm of his left hand argumenta- tively. " Look *ee here. How can it be possible that — that — pooh ! Come along, we '11 never get on with our survey of the land if we dispute at this rate." The stout mariner turned away with an air of ex- asperation, and resumed his walk at a rapid pace, closely followed by his amused friend and son. This irreverent mode of dismissing a grave and diffi- cult subject was not peculiar to Captain Trench. It has probably been adopted by those who shrink from mental effort ever since the days of Adam and Eve. Minds great and small have exercised themselves since the beginning of time on this perplexing subject — God's sovereignty and man's free w'll — with benefit, probably, to themselves. We recommend it in passing, good reader, to your attention, and we will claim to be guiltless of presumption in thus advising, so long as the writing stands, " Prove all things, and hold fast tluit which is good." Before the sun went down that night our explorers had plunged into the very heart of the beautiful country which we have described — now pushing through tangled underwood, or following the innumer- able deer-tracks with which the country was seamed, or breasting the hill-sides, or making detours to get .% I 76 rHE CREW OF THE " WATER WAGTAIL. tt ■■ round small lakes, being guided, in a westerly direc- tion, by a small pocket-compass which Captain Trench ^ as fortunately in the habit of carrying with hira Wi. jiever he went. No largf^ Jakes or broad rivers had yet been met with, so that up to this point the diver- gencies from the direct line had not been great. Thus they advanced for several days, subsisting on game and fish, chiefly the last, however ; for their shooting powers were very defective, and Oliver was an ardent — too ardent — fisher. Their inability to shoot became at last a serious matter, for many arrows and bolts wore lost, as well as muv.h game. " Look, now, there 's another chance," whispered Paul, pointing to a plump willow-grouse that sat in a bush in front of them. 'You try first, Master Trench." "An* don't miss, daddy," s?.id Oliver entreatingly ; "there's only the bones of a rabbit left from this morning's breakfast." The captain took a fervently careful aim, but went far wide of the mark, to his intense chagrin. Paul then bent his bow, but without success, though his arrows stuck in a branch close under the bird, wliich, being v-^r" tame, only glanced down inquiringly. Oliver's arrow went over it, and the stone which he afterwards slang made such a rattling in the bush tliat the puzzled creature finally retired. " This is becoming serious," remarked the captain, with a face so solemn that Paul burst into a fit of laughter. BKAUTIFUL SCENES AND STRANGE EXPERIENCES. 77 " Ha ! you may laugh, lad," continued Trench, " but if you were as hungry as I am you 'd be more inclined to cry. D'ye think a stout man like me can sup heartily on rabbit bones?" " You 've forgot, daddy, the four big trout I caught to-day." " So I have. Oily ; well, come and let 's have 'em cooked at once." The fish, which were really more than sufficient without the rabbit bones, were soon grilling over a huge fire under the canopy of a spreading birch-tree. V/hen the skipper had disposed of enough to allay the pangs of hunger, he turned and said to his com- rades, in a tone of marked decision — "Now, mess-mates, I've been rummagin' my brains a bit, and the outcome of it is as follows : — ' Whatever is worth doin' is worth doin' well,' as the old proverb puts it. If we are to explore this country, we Tuust set about learning to shoot, for if we don't, we are likely to starve in th midst of plenty, and leave our bones to bleach in this beautiful wilderness." " True, Master Trench," remarked Paul, for the sea- man had paused at this point; ''thus far you and I think alike. What more have you to say ?" " This I have to say, that 1 am resolved not to ex- plore another fathom o' this land until I can make sure of hittin' the crown o' my cap with a cross-bow bolt at a reasonable distance; and I would advise you both to make the same resolution, for if you don't you will have to do your exploring without me." i » t-r 78 THE CREW OF THE " WATER WAGTAIL it " Just so, captain," said Paul, putting the last morsel of fish into his mouth, with a sigh of contentment ; " you are commander of this expedition. I will obey orders." " But what do you call a * reasonable ' distance, daddy ?" asked Oliver, with tliat pert cock of the head peculiar to insolent youths ; " a yard, or a fathom ?" "Well, now," continued Trench, ignoring the ques- tion, " we will set about it to-morrow morning, first thing after breakfast; stick up a target, retire to a reasonable distance, and work away from morning till night, and every day till we become perfect." "Agreed, captain," said Paul; " but what about food?" " We will give Oily leave of absence for an hour or two daily to go and fish," said the captain ; " that will keep us alive, coupled with what birds or beasts may come accidentally in front of our arrows." This plan, although proposed at first half in jest, was carried into operation next day, during the whole of which they practised shooting at a mark most dili- gently. At supper-time, over a couple of fine trout, it was admitted sadly by each that the progress made was very slight — indeed, scarcely perceptible. Next night, however, the report was more favourable, and the third nigh it was felt that the prospect ahead was becoming hopefpl ; for, besides the improvement in shooting, two rabbits graced their supper, one having been arrested by an almost miraculous bolt when bolting ; the other having been caught, unintentionally, BEAUTIFUL SCENES AND STRANGE EXPERIENCES. 79 by a stone similar to that which brought down the giant of Gath. Th3 fact that skill had nothing to do with the procuring of either did not in the least detract from the enjoyment with which they consumed both. "Nothing is denied," they say, "to well-directed labour, and nothing can be done withouc it." Like most of the world's maxims, this is a partially erroneous statement ; for many things are denied to well-directed labour, and sometimes amazing success is accorded to ill-directed and blundering efforts. Still, what truth does exist in the saying was verified by our three friends ; for, after two weeks of unremitting, unwearied, persistent labour, each labourer succeeded in raising enormous blisters on two fingers of his right liand, and in hitting objects the size of a swan six times out of ten at a " reasonable distance I '' Having arrived at this state of proficiency with their weapons, they resumed their journey, fortified with a hearty breakfast, the foundation of which was fish, the superstructure willow-grouse interspersed with rabbit, and the apex plover. Not long after that the first deer was shot. It occurred thus : — They were v/alking one beautiful morn- ing slowly along one of the numerous deer-tracks of which we have already made mention, and were ap- proaching the summit of a ridge at the veiy time that a herd of deer, headed by a noble stag, were ascending the same ridge from the opposite side. The little air that moved was blowing in the right direction — from 80 THE CREW OF THE " WATER WAGTAIL." the deer towards the travellers. As they to))ped the ridge about the same instant, the two parties stood suddenly face to face, and it would hi difficult to deter- mine which party looked mos^ amazel Facility in fitting arrows, etc., had been acquired by that time. The hunters were reaay in a couple of seconds. The deer, recovering, wheeled about; but before they could take the first bound, " burr, twang, and whizz," sounded in their ears. The stone stn^.ok an antler of the stag, the arrow pierced his riank, the bolt quivered in his heart, and the monarch of the woods, leaping wildly into the air, fell dead upon the ground. " Well done, Master Trench ! " shouted Paul, with a hearty cheer. As for Oliver, he uttereu a squeal of delight, threw an r.ncontrollable somersault, and landed, sittingwise, on a bed of soft moss. This was a tremendous triumph and source of jubila- tion, and it soon became obvious to each that the other two had a hard struggle to keep their expressions of satisfaction within thw limits of moderation; for not only had they now obtained the crowning evidence of their skill, but they were provided with a supply of meat which, if properly dried, would furnish them with food for many days to come. It was a striking and picturesque, though perhaps not an agreeable, sight to witness the party tlia^ night, in the ruddy light of the camp-fire, with sleeves rolled to the shoulders, and bloody knives in hands, operating on the carcase of the deer, and it was several houra BEAUTIFUL SCENES AND STRANGE EXPERIENCES. 81 past their usual supper-time before they felt them- selves at liberty to sit down on a bed of spruce-fir branches and enjoy the luxury of rest and food. Next day, while proceeding slowly through the woods, chatting merrily over the incidents of the pre- vious day, a sudden silence fell upon them ; for out of the thick shrubbery there stalked a tall, noble-looking man of middle age. He was dressed in the garb of a hunter. Long yellow curls hung on his shoulders, and a heavy beard and moustache of the same colour con- cealed the lower part of a bronzed and handsome countenance. His bright blue eyes seemed to sparkle with good humour as he gazed inquiringly, yet sadly, at t^e astonished faces of the three travellers. 1 1, • , ■>• w- 82 THE CHEW OF THE " WATER WAGTAIL." CHAPTER IX. THEIR NEW AOQUAINTANOB BECOMES INTERESTED AND PRACTICAL. THE tall stranger who had thus suddenly presented himself bore so strong a resemblance to the vikings of old that Paul Burns, who was familiar with tales and legends about the ancient sea-rovers, felt stealing over him at the first glance a sensation somewhat akin to awe, for it seemed as if cne of the sea-kings had actually risen from his grave to visit them. This feeling was succeeded, however, by one of in- tense surprise when the stranger addressed them in the English tongue. " I thought, years ago," he said, " that I had seen the last of white faces ! " It immediately occurred to Oliver Trench that, as their faces were by that time deeply embrowned by the sun, the stranger must be in a bantering mood, but neither he nor his companions replied. They were too much astonished to speak or even move, and waited for more. "This is not a land where the men whose ruling ideas seem to be war and gold are likely to find what they want," continued the stranger, somewhat sternly. NEW ACQUAINTANCE BECOMES INTERESTED. 83 "Whence come ye? Are you alone, or only the advance-guard of the bloodthirsty race ? " There was something so commanding as well as courtly in the tone and bearing of this extraordinary man, that Paul half involuntarily removed his cap as he replied : "Forgive me, sir, if astonishment at your sudden appearance has made me appear rude. Will you sit down beside 'u3 and share our ineal, while I answer your questions ? " With a quiet air and slight smile the stranger accepted the invitation, and listened with profound interest to Paul as he gave a brief outline of the wreck of the Water Wagtail, the landing of the crew, the mutinous conduct of Big Swinton and his comrades, and the subsequent adventures and wanderings of him- self, Master Trench, and Oliver. " Your voices are like the echoes of an old, old song," said the stranger, in a low sad voice, when the narra- tive was concluded. "It is many years since I heard my native tongue from English lips. I had forgotten it ere now if I had not taken special means to keep it in mind." " And pray, good sir," said Paul, " may I ask how it happens that we should find an Englishman in this almost unheard-of wilderness ? To tell you the truth, my first impression on seeing you was that you were the ghost of an ancient sea-king." "I am the ghost of my former self," returned the stranger, "and you are not far wrong about the sea- kings, for 1 am in very truth a descendant of those m 84 THE CREW OF THE " WATER WAGTAIL." 1 rovers who carried death and destruction round the world in ancient times. War and gold — or what gold represents — were their gods in those days." ** It seems to me," said Captain Trench, at last joining in the conversation, " that if you were in Old England just now, or any other part of Europe, you 'd say that war and gold are as much worshipped now-a-days as they ever were in the days of old." " If you add love and wina to the catalogue," said Paul, " you have pretty much the motive powers ihat have swayed the world since the fall of man. But tell us, friend, how you came to be here all alone." " Not now — not now," replied the stranger hurriedly, and with a sudden gleam in his blue eyes that told of latent power and passion under his calm exterior. "When we are better acquainted, perhaps you shall know. At present, it is enough to say that I have been a wanderer on the face of the earth for many years. For the last ten years my home has been in this wilderness. My native land is one of those rugged isles which form the advance-guard of Scotland in the Northern Ocean." " But are you quite alone here ? " asked Captain Trench, with increasing interest. " Not quite alone. One woman has had pity on me, and shares my solitude. We dwell, with our children, on an island in a great lake, to which I will conduct you if you will accept my hospitality. Red men have often visited me there, but I had thought that the face of a white man would never more grieve my sight." NEW ACQUAINTANCE BECOMES INTERESTED. 85 " Is, then, the face of the white man so distasteful to you ? " asked Paul. " It ivas ; but some change must have come over me, for while I hold converse with you the old hatred seems melting away. If I had met you eight or ten years ago, I verily believe that I would have killed you all in cold blood, but now " He stopped abruptly, and gazed into the flames of the camp fire, witli a grave, almost tender air that seemed greatly at variance with his last murderous remark. " However, the feeling is past and gone — it is dead," he presently resumed, with a toss of his head which sent the yellow curls back, and appeared at the same time to cast unpleasant memories behind him, " and I am now glad to see and welcome you, though I cannot help grieving that the white race has discovered my lonely island. They might have discovered it long ago if they had only kept their ears open." " Is it a big island, then — not a cluster of islands ? " asked Trench eagerly. " Yes, it is a large island, and there is a great con- tinent of unknown extent to the westward of it." " But what do ycu mean, stranger, by saying that it might have been discovered long ago if people had kept their ears open ? " asked Paul. " It is well known that only a few years ago a sea-captain named Columbus discovered the great continent of which you speak, and that so recently as the year 1497 the bold mariner, John Cabot, with his son Sebastian, discovered these islands, which they have named Newfoundland." U 86 THE CREW OF THE " WATEU WAGTAIL." ,•■. The stranger listened with evident interest, not un- miugled with surprise, to this. " Of Columbus and Cabot I have never heard," he replied, " having had no intercourse with the civilised world for twenty years. I knew of tliis island and dwelt on it long before the time you say that Cabot came. But that reminds me that once, on returning from a hunting expedition into the interior, it was reported to me by Indians that a giant canoe had been seen off the coaiit. That may have been Cabot's ship. As to Columbus, my forefathers discovered the great continent lying to the west of this about five hundred years before he could have been born. When I was a boy, my father, whose memory was stored with in- numerable scraps of the old viking sagas, or stories, used to tell me about the discovery of Vinland by the Norsemen, which is just the land that seems to have been re-discovered by Columbus and Cabot. My father used to say that many of the written sagas were believed to exist among the colonists of Iceland. I know not. It is long since my tliouglits ceased to be troubled by such matters, but what you tell me has opened up the flood-gates of old memories that I had thought were dead and buried for ever." All that day the strange hunter accompanied them, and encamped with them at night. Next morning he resumed with ever-increasing interest the conversation which had been interrupted by the necessity of taking rest. It was evident that his heart was powerfully stirred ; not so much by the news which he received, I 1 a f» NEW ACQUAINTANCE BECOMES INTERESTED. 87 as by the old thoughts and feelings that had been revived. ]Ie was very sociable, and, among other things, showed his new friends how to slice and dry their venison, so as to keep it fresh and make it convenient for carriage. "But you won't require to carry much with you," he explained, " for the country swarms with living creatures at all times — especially just now." On this head he gave them so much information, particularly as to the habits and characteristics of birds, beasts, and fishes, that Paul's natural-historic enthusiasm was aroused; and Oliver, who had hitherto concerned himself exclusively with the uses to which wild animals might be applied — in the way of bone-points for arrows, twisted sinews for bowstrings, flesh for the pot, and furs for garments — began to feel considerable curiosity as to what the creatures did when at home, and why they did it. "If wo could only find out what they think about," he remarked to the hunter, "we might become quite sociable together." What it was in this not very remarkable speech that interested their new friend we cannot tell, but certain it is that from the time it was uttered he took greater interest in the boy, and addressed many of his remarks and explanations to him. There was a species of dignity about this strange being which prevented undue familiarity either with or by ^im; hence, he always addressed tbe boy by his full name, and never condescended to "Oily I" The ? * ^ # IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 7 // {/ y_ f/j fA 1.0 I.I 1.25 |4S 1^ IM IIIIIZ5 ?^? i?l illM '""^ 12.0 1.4 1.6 V] r» A> ///,. 'e. 'c3

/ / /^ Photographic Sciences Corporation 33 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 (716) 872-4503 m. ■^ ^v ^> Mk A \ \ S, V «• <^^> c.\ w >% 88 THE CREW OF THE " WATER WAGTAIL." name by which he himself chose to be called was Hendrick, but whether that was a real or assumed name of course they had no means of knowing. Continuing to advance through a most beautiful country, the party came at last to a river of consider- able size and depth, up the banks of which they travelled for several days. Hendrick had by tacit agreement assumed the leadership of the party, because, being intimately acquainted with the land, both as to its character, form, and resources, he was naturally fitted to be their guide. " It seems to me," said Captain Trench, as they sat down to rest one afternoon on a sunny bank by the river side — out of which Oily had just pulled a magni- ficent trout — " that the climate of this island has been grossly misrepresented. The report was brought to us th?t it was a wild barren land, always enveloped in thick fogs; whereas, although I am bound to say we found fogs enough on the coast, we have found nothing but beauty, sunshine, and fertility in the interior." " Does not this arise from the tendency of mankind to found and form opinions on insufficient knowledge?" said Hendrick. "Even the Indians among whom I dwell are prone to this error. If your discoverer Cabot had dwelt as many years as I have in this great island, he would have told you that it has a splendid climate, and is admirably adapted for the abode of man. Just look around you — the region which extends from your feet to the horizon in all directions is watered as you see by lakes and rivers, which swarm with fish and are ll NEW ACQUAINTANCE BECOMES INTRRESTED. 89 ^' i alive with wildfowl ; the ^ oods, which are largely com- posed of magnificent and useful trees, give shelter to myriads of animals suitable for food to man; the soil is excellent, and the grazing lands would maintain thousands of cattle — what more could man desire?" "Nothing more," answered Paul, "save the oppor- tunity to utilise it all, and the blessing of God upon his efforts." "The opportunity to utilise it won't be long of coming, now that the facts about it are known, or soon to be made known, by us," remarked Trench. "I'm not so sure about that," said Paul. "It is wonderful how slow men are to believe, and still more wonderful how slow they are to act." That the captain's hopes were not well founded, and that Paul's doubts were justified, is amply proved by the history of Newfoundland. At first its character was misunderstood ; then, when its unparalleled cod- fishing banks were discovered, attention was entirely confined to its rugged shores. After that the trade fell into the hands of selfish and unprincipled monopolists, who wilfully misrepresented the nature of this island, and prevailed on the British Government to enact repressive laws, which effectually prevented colonisation. Then prejudice, privileges, and error perpetuated the evil state of things, so that the true character of the land was not known until the present century; its giand interior was not systematically explored till only a few years ago, and thus it comes to pass that even at the present day one of the finest islands belonging to the 90 THE CREW OF THE " WATER WAGTAIL." British Crown — as regards vast portions of its interior — atill remains a beautiful wilderness unused by man. But with this we have nothing at present to do. Our business is, in spirit, to follow Hendrick and his friends through that wilderness, as it was at the beginning of the sixteenth century. Deer-tracks, as we ha\o said, were innumerable, and along one of those tracks a herd of deer were seen trotting one day about two bow-shots from the party. With characteristic eagerness Oliver Trench hastily let fly an arrow at them. He might as well have let it fly at the pole-star. The only effect it had was to startle the deer and send them galloping into the shelter of the woods. " What a pity ! " exclaimed Oliver. " Not so, my boy," remarked his father. "Experience, they say, teaches fools; and if experience has now taught you that it is foolish to shoot at game out of lange, you are no fool, which is not a pity, but matter for congratulation." " But what about practice, daddy ? Did you not say only last n'qjht that there is nothing like practice to make perfect ? " "True, lad, but I did not recommend practising at deer beyond range. Besides, you can practise at stumps and stones." " But stumps and stones don't afford running shots," objected Oily. "Yes they do, boy. You can run past the stumps while you shoot, and as to stones, you can roll them NEW ACQUAINTANCE BECOMES INTERESTED. 91 4 down hill and let fly at them as they roll. Now clap the hatches on your mouth ; you 're too fond of argu- ment." " I 'm only a chip of the ancient tree, father," retorted the boy, with a quiet laugh. How much further this little skirmish might have proceeded we cannot tell, for it was brought to an abrupt close by the sudden appearance of a black bear. It was on turning a clifif which bordered the edge of a stream that they came upon the monster — so close to it that they had barely time to get ready their weapons when it rose on its hind legs to attack them. "Look out!" yelled Oliver, who, being in advance, was the first to see the bear. A stone from hi? sling was well though hastily aimed, for it hit the animal fairly on the nose, thereby rendering it particularly angry. Almost at the same moment a bolt and an arrow flew from the weapons of Paul and Trench ; but they flew wide of the mail, and there is no saying what the result might have been had not Hendrick bent his short but powerful bow, and sent an arrow to the feather into the creature's breast. The modern bullet is no doubt more deadly than the ancient arrow, nevertheless the latter had some advan- tages over the iormer. One of these was that, as it transfixed several muscles, it tended to hamper the movements of the victim shot. It also drew attention in some degree from the assailant. Thus, on the present occasion the bear, with a savage growl, seized the head of the arrow which projected from the wound and 92 THE CREW OF THE " WATER WAGTAIL." wrenched it off. This, although little more than a momentary act, gave the hunter time to fit and dis- charge a second arrow, which entered the animal's throat, causing it to fall writhing on the ground, while Oliver, who had gone almost mad with excitement, grasped his axe, bounded forward, and brought it down on bruin's skull. Well was it for the reckless boy that Hendrick's arrows had done their work, for, although his young arm was stout and the axe sharp, little impression was made on the hard-headed creature by the blow. Hendrick's knife, however, completed the work and despatched the bear. Then they all sat down to rest while the hunter set to work to skin the animal wmmmmrm olly's first salmon and hendkick's home. 93 CHAPTEE X. ollt's first salmon and hendbiok's home. 1 FROM this time forward the opportunities for hunting and fishing became so numerous that poor Oliver was kept in a constantly bubbling over con- dition of excitement, and his father had to restrain him a good deal in order to prevent the larder from being greatly overstocked. One afternoon they came to a river which their guide told them was one of the largest in the country. " It flows out of the lake, on one of the islands of which I have built my home." " May I ask," said Paul, with some hesitation, " if your wife came with you from the Shetland Isles ? " A profoundly sad expression flitted across the hunter's countenance. "No," he replied. "Trueheart, as she is named in the Micmac tongue, is a native of this island — at least her mother was ; but her father, I have been told, was a white man — a wanderer like myself — who came in an open boat from no one knows where, and cast his lot among the Indians, one of whom he married. Both parents are dead. I never saw them; but my wife, I think, must resemble her white father in many 94 THIT ORBW OF THE " WATER WAGTAIL." respects. My children are like her. Look now, Oliver/' he said, as if desirous of changing the subject, "yonder is a pool in which it will be worth while to cast your hook. You will find something larger there than you have vet caught in the smaller streams. Get ready. I will tind bait for you." Oily needed no urging. His cod-hook and line, being always handy, were arranged in a few minutes, and his friend, turning up the sod with a piece of wood, soon procured several large worms, which were duly impaled, until they formed a bunch on the hook. Witli this the lad hurried eagerly to the edge of a magnificent pool, where the oily ripples and curling eddies, as well as the great depth, effectually concealed the bottom i'rom view. He was about to whirl the bunch of worms round his head, preparatory to a grand heave, when he was svrested by the guide. "Stay, Oliver; you will need a rod for this river. Without one you will be apt to lose your fish. I will cut one." So saying, he went into the woods that bordered the pool, and soon returned with what seemed to the boy to be a small tree about fourteen feet long. *' Why, Hendrick, do you take me for Goliath, who as Paul Burns tells us, was brought down by a stone from the sling of David? I'll never be able to fish with that." "Oliver," returned the hunter gravely, as he con- tinued the peeling of the bark from the rod, "a lad with stroiift limbs and a stout heart should never OLLY*S nRST SALMON AND II^-NDRICK'S HOME. 95 use the words * not able ' till he has tried. I have seen many promising and goodly young men come to wreck because ' I can't * was too often on their lips. You never know wliat you can do till you try." The boy listened to this reproof with a slight feeling of displeasure, lor he felt in his heart that he was not one of those lazy fellows to whom his friend referred, However, he wisely said nothing, but Heudrick ob- served, with some amusement, that his brow flushed and his lips were firmly compressed. " There now," he said in a cheery tone, being anxious to remove the impression he had made, "you will find the rod is lighter than it looks, and supple, as you see. "We will tie your line half way down and run it through a loop at the end — so ! — to prevent its being lost if the point should break. Now, try to cast your hook into the spot yonder where a curl in the water meets and battles with an eddy. Do you see it 1 " " Yes, I see it," replied Oily, advancing to the pool, with the rod grasped in both hands. "It would be better," continued Hendrick, "if you could cast out into the stream beyond, but the line is too short for that, unless you could jump on to that big rock in the rapid, which is impossible with the river so high." Oliver looked at the rock referred to. It stood up in the midst of foaming water, full twenty feet from the bank. He knew that he might as well try to jump over the moon as attempt to leap upon that rock; nevertheless, without a moment's hesitation, he rushed 96 THE CREW OP THE "WATER WAGTAIL.' down the bank, sprang furiously off, cleared consider- ably more than half the distance, and disappeared in the foaming flood ! Hendrick was suddenly changed from a slow and sedate elephant into an agile panther. He sprang along the bank to a point lower down the stream, and was up to the waist in the water before Oily reached the point — struggling to keep his head above the surface, and at the same time to hold on to his rod. Hendrick caught him by the collar, and dragged him, panting, to land. Paul and his father had each, with a shout of surprise or alarm, rushed for the same point, but they would have been too late. "Oily, my son,'* said Trench, in a remonstrative tone, " have you gone mad ? " " No, father ; I knew that I could not jump it, but I 've been advised never to say so till I have tried ! " "Nay, Oliver, be just," said the guide, with a laugh. "I did truly advise you never to say *I can't' till you had tried, but I never told you to try the im- possible. However, I am not sorry you did this, for I'd rather see a boy try and fail, than see him fail because of unwillingness to try. Come, now, I will show you something else to try ! " He took Oliver up the stream a few yards, and pointed to a ledge of rock, more than knee-deep under water, which communicated with the rock he had failed to reach. "The ledge is narrow/' he isftid, "and the current I OLLY'S FIRST SALMON AND UBNDBIGK'S UOME. 97 crossing it is strong, but from what I 've seon of you I think you will manage to wade out if you go cautiously, and don't lose heart I will go down stream again, so that if you should slip I '11 be ready to rescue." Boldly did Oliver step out upon the ledge; cau- tiously did he advance each foot, until he was more than leg-deep, and wildly, like an insane semaphore, did he wave his arms, as well as the heavy rod, in his frantic efforts not to lose his balance! At last he planted his feet, with a cheer of triumph, on the rock. " Hush, Oily, you '11 frighten the fish," cried Paul, with feigned anxiety. " You '11 tumble in again, if you don't mind," said his cautious father. But Oily heard not. The v/hole of his little soul was centred on the oily pool into which be had just cast the bunch of worms. Another moment, and the stout rod was almost wrenched from his grasp. " Have a care ! Hold on ! Stand fast ! " saluted him in various keys, from the bank. " A cod ! or a whale 1 " was the response from the rock. " More likely a salmon," remarked Hendrick, in an undertone, while a sober smile lit up his features. At the moment a magnificent salmon, not less than twenty pounds weight, leapt like a bar of silver from the flood, and fell back, with a mighty splash. The leap caused a momentary and sudden removal 98 THE CHEW OP THE " WATER WAGTAII, of the strain on the rod. Oliver stajzgered, hli[.pcfl, and fell with a yell that told of anxiety more than alarm ; but he got up smartly, still holding on by both hands. In fishing with the tapering rods and rattling reels of modern davs, fishers never become fully aware of the strength ' salmon, unless, indeed, a hitch in their line occurs, and everything snaps! It was otherwise about the beginning of the sixteenth century. It is otherwise still with primitive fishers everywhere. Oliver's line could not run; his rod was rigid, save at the point. The r'^sult was that it was all he could do to stand and hold on to his captive. The rod, bent down into the water, sprang up to the perpendicular, flew hither and thither, jeiked and quivered, causing the poor boy to jerk and quiver in irresistible sym- pathy. At last a mighty rush of the fish drew the fisher headlong ii:!.o the flood. " He '11 be drowned or killed on the boulders below," gasped his father, running wildly down the bank of the river. " Don't fear," said Hendrick, as he ran beside him. " There is a shallow just above the boulders. We will stop him there." Paul Burns was already abreast of the shallow in question, and Oliver was stranded on it, but a deep rapid stream ran between it and the bank, so that Paul hesitated and looked eagerly about for the best spot to cross. « " Follow me," cried Hendrick, *' I know the ford." He led his comrade swiftly to a point where the I iii V I I 1 1 1 II OLLY'S FIRST SALMON AND HENDRICK's HOME. 09 river widened and became shallow, enabling them to wade to the tail of the bank at the top of which Oliver stood engaged in a double struggle — with the water that hissed and leaped around him, and the fish that still surged wildly about in its vain efforts to escape. As the three naen waded nearer to him they got into shallower water, and then perceived that the boy had not lost his self-possession, but was still tightly grasping the butt of his rod. Just as they came up the salmon, in its blind terror, ran straight against the boy's legs. Oily fell upon it, let go the rod, and embraced it I Happily, his friends reached him at the moment, else the water that rushed over his head would have com- pelled him to let go — or die ! Paul lifted him up. The great fish struggled in its captor's arms. It was slippery as an eel, and its strength tremendous. No digging of his ten nails into it was of any use. Slowly but surely it was wriggling out of his tight embrace when Hendrick inserted his great thumbs into its gills, and grasped it round the throat. " Let go, Oliver," he said, " I 've got him safe." But Oily would not let go. Indeed, in the state of his mind and body at the moment it is probable that he could not let go. His father, having made some ineffectual attempts to clear the line, with which, and the rod, they had got completely entangled, was obliged to "stand by" and see that the entanglement became no worse. Thus, holding on each to the other and all together, they ii~ !, snsi 100 THE CEEW OF THE " WATER WAGTAIL." Sitaggered slowly and safely to land with their beautiful prize. " Are there many fish like that in these rivers ? " asked Paul, as they all stood contemplating the salmon and recovering breath. *' Ay, thousands of them in all the rivers, and the rivers are numerous — some of them large," replied Hendrick. " This will be a great country some day, you take my word for it," said the captain, in a dogmatic manner, which was peculiar to hin^ when he attempted amateur prophecy. That prophecy, however, like many other prophecies, has been only partly fulfilled. It has come true, indeed, that Newfoundland now possesses the most valuable cod-fishery in the world, and that her exports of salmon are considerable, but as to her being a great country — well, that still remains unfulfilled prophecy ; for, owing to no fault of her people, but to the evils of monopoly and selfishness, as we have already said, her career has been severely checked. Not many days after the catching of the salmon — which remained a memorable point in the career of Oliver Trench — the explorers were led by Hendrick to the shores of a magnificent lake. It was so large that the captain at first doubted whether it was not the great ocean itself. " It is not the sea," said their guide, as he surveyed the watery expanse with evident enthusiasm. "It is a lake full fifty miles long, yet it is not the largest lake OLLr'S FIRST SALMON AND HENDRICK'S HOME. 101 in this island. Taste its waters and you will find them sweet. " Here/' he added, v/ith a look of gratification, "is my home." " God has given you a wide domain," said Paul, gaz- ing with pleasure on the verdant islets with which the bay before him was studded. " Yet I cannot help thinking that it is a waste of one's life to spend it in a solitude, however beautiful, when the soiTowing and the sufifering world around us calls for the active energies of all good men." The hunter seemed to ponder Paul's words. " It appears to me," he said at last, " that our Creator meant us to serve Him by making ourselves and those around us happy. I have to do so here, and in some degree have succeeded." As he spoke he raised both hands to his mouth and gave vent to a prolonged halloo that swept out over the calm waters of the bay. It was quickly replied to by a shrill cry, and in a few minutes a canoe, emerging from one of the islets, was seen paddling swiftly towards them. G 102 THE CREW OF THE " WATER WAGTAIL.' CHAPTEE XL THE hunter's home. i THE canoe, which approached the shores of the lake where our explorers stood, was a large one, built after the fashion of the coracle of the ancient Britons, namely, with a frame of wicker-work covered with deerskin. It was propelled with paddles by a woman seated in the stern and a little girl in the bow. "My wife is a woman of forethought," remarked Hendrick, with a pleased expression. " Seeing that we are a large party, she has not only brought our largest canoe, but has made Oscar get out the small one." He pointed to the island, from a creek in which a little canoe of a reddish colour was seen to issue. It was made of birch-bark, and was propelled by a small boy, who seemed from his exertions to be in urgent haste to overtake the other craft. " Your son, I suppose ? " said Paul. "Yes, my eldest. His younger brother is but a babe yet. These, with my daughter Goodred, and my wife Trueheart, who are now approaching, constitute the family which God has given to me." A feeling of satisfaction filled the heart of Paul Burns as he listened to the last words, for they proved that > \^ pa o n CO OS H >^ K W It l^«^«WSW|P" m THE hunter's home. 105 their new friend was not among those who deem it weakness or hypocrisy in men to openly acknowledge their Maker as the Giver of all that they possess. This feeling was merged in one of surprise when the canoe touched the shore, and an exceedingly pretty child, with fair complexion, blue eyes, and curling hair, stepped lightly out, and ran to her father, who stooped to kiss heron the cheek. Hendrick was not demon- strative, that was evident ; neither was his wife, nor his child. Whatever depth of feeling they possessed, the surface ran smooth. Yet there was an air of quiet gladness about the meeting which enabled Paul to understand what the hunter meant when, in a former conversation, he had said that he "made those around him happy." " Is baby well ? " he asked quickly. "Yes, father, quite well, and I very sure wishing much that you come home soon. You been long time away." "Longer than I expected, Goodred. And I have brought friends with me," he added, turning to his wife. " Friends whom I have found in the forest, Trueheart." "You friends be welcome," said Trueheart, with a modest yet self-possessed air." Tlie woman, who advanced and held out a small hand to be shaken in European fashion, was obviously of Indian extraction, yet her brown hair, refined cast of features, and easy manner, showed as obviously the characteristics of her white father. Though not nearly ^p mmm 1 106 THE CREW OF THE " WATER WAGTAIL." SO fair as her child, she was still far removed from the deep colour of her mother's race. Before more could be said on either side the enthusi- astic youngster in the bark canoe leaped ashore, burst into the midst of the group with a cheer, and began wildly to embrace one of his father's huge legs, which was about as much of his person as he could con- veniently grasp. He was a miniature Hendrick, clad in leather from top to toe. The whole party now entered the canoes, skimmed over the lake, and past the wooded islets, towards the particular island which the hunter called "home." ; It was as romantic a spot as one could desire for a residence. Though only a quarter of a mile or so in diameter, the island, which was composed of granite, was wonderfully diversified in form and character. There was a little cove which formed a harbour for the hunter's canoes.; bordering it was a patch of open ground backed by shrubs, above which rose a miniature precipica The ground in the centre of the isle was rugged — as the captain remarked, quite mountainous in a small way! Hendrick had taught his childreii to call it the mountain, and in the midst of its miniature fastnesses he had arranged a sort of citadel, to which he and his family could retire in case of attack from savages. One peak of this mountainette rose in naked grandeur to a height of about fifty feet above the lake. Elsewhere the islet was wooded to the water's edge with spruce and birch trees, in some places fringed with willows. On a few open patches were multitudes f THE hunter's home. 107 i of ripe berries, which here and there seemed literally to cover ths ground with a carpet of bright red. " On the open ground, or lawn, beside the cove, stood the hunter's hut, a small structure of rounded logs, with a door, on either side of which was a window. From those glassless windows there was a view of lake and isles and distant woods, with purple mountains be- yond, which formed a scene of indescribable beauty. Close to the door, forming, as it were, a porch to it, there stood a semi-circular erection of poles covered with birch-bark and deerskins, in front of which blazed the household fire, with a tripod over it, and a bubbling earthen pot hanging therefrom. Around the inner side of the fire, under the semi-circular tent, were spread a number of deerskins to serve as couches. On one of thes^ sat an Indian woman, with the family babe in her arms. It was a wonderful babe ! and obviously a wise one, for it knew its own father directly, stretched out its little arms, and shouted for instant recognition. Nor had it to shout long, for Hendrick, being fond of it and regardless of appearances, seized it in his arms and smothered it in his beard, out of which retreat crows and squalls of satisfaction thereafter issued. " Excuse me, friends," said Hendrick at last, deliver- ing the child to its mother. " I have been absent on a visit to my wife's relations, and have not seen little Ian for a long time. Sit down, ard we will see what cheer the pot contains. I don't ask you to enter the hut, because while the weather is mild it is pleasanter » 108 THE CREW OF THE *' WATER WAGTAIL." outside. When winter conies we make more use of the house. My wife, you see, does not like it, having been accustomed to tents all her life." " But me — I — likes it when the snow fall," said True- heart, looking up with a bright smile from the pot, into which she had previously been making investigations. " True— true. I think you like whatever I like ; at least you try to ! " returned the hunter, as he sat down and began to tie the feathers on the head of an arrow. " You even try to speak good grammar for my sake ! " Trueheart laughed and continued her culinary duties. "You told us when we first met," said Captain Trench, who had made himself comfortable on a deer- skin beside the baby, "that you had taken special means not to forget your naUve tongue. Do I guess rightly in supposing that the teaching of it to your wife and children was the means ? " " You are right, captain. Of course, the language of the Micmac Indians is more familiar and agreeable to Trueheart, but she is obstinate, though a good creature on the whole, and insists on speaking English, as you hear." Another little laugh in the vicinity of the earthen pot showed that his wife appreciated the remark. Meanwhile Goodred busied herself in preparing venison steaks over the same fire, and Oscar undertook to roast marrow bones for the whole party, as well as to instruct Oliver Trench in that delicate operation. While they were thus engaged the shades or evening gradually descended on the scene, but tliat did not in- THE HUNTER S HOME. 109 Hill terfere with their enjoyment, for by heaping fresh resinous logs on the fire they produced a ruddy light, which seemed scarcely inferior to that of day; a light which glowed on the pretty and pleasant features of the wife and daughter as they moved about placing plates of birch-bark before the guests, and ladling soup and viands into trenchers of the same. Savoury smells floated on the air and gradually expelled the scent of shrub and flower from the banqueting-hall. Truly, it was a right royal banquet ; fit for a king — if not too particular a king — to say nothing of its being spread before one who was monarch of all he surveyed, and served by his queen and princess ! There was, first of all, soup of excellent quality. Then followed boiled salmon and roast sea- trout. Next came a course of boiled venison, fat and juicy, with an alternative of steaks and grilled ribs. This was fol- lowed by what may be styled a haunch of beaver, ac- companied by the animal's tail — a prime delicacy — in regard to which Captain Ti jnch, with his mouth full of it, said — "This is excellent eatin'. Master Hendrick. What may it be — if I may presume to ask ? " " Beaver's tail," replied the hunter. " Dear me ! " exclaimed Oily, withdrawing a roast rib from his mouth for the purpose of speech; "beavers seem to have wonderfully broad and flat tails." ** They have, Oliver, and if you will try a bit you will find that their tails are wonderfully good." Oliver tried, and admitted that it was good; then, no THE CREW OF THE " WATER WAGTAIL. » observing that little Oscar had just finished his fourth venison steak, he politely handed him the trencher. The greasy-fingered boy gravely helped himself to num- ber five, and assailed it as if he had only just begun to terminate a long fast. There were no vegetables at that feast, and instead of bread they had cakes of hard deer's-fat, with scraps of suet toasted brown intermi:.:ed — a species of plum- cake, which was greatly relished by the visitors At the last, when repletion seemed imminent, they finished off with marrow bones. "With these they trifled far on into the night. Of course as the demands of appetite abated the flow of soul began. " I see neither nets, hooks, nor lines about the camp, Hendrick," said Paul Burns, after the queen and prin- cess had retired into the hut for the night. " How do you manage to catch salmon ? " The hunter replied by pointing to a spear somewhat resembling Neptune's trident, which stood against a neighbouring tree. " We spear them by torchlight," he said. " Oscar is a pretty good hand at it now." " You live well. Master Hendrick," remarked Trench,, raising a bark flagon to his lips and tossing off a pint of venison soup, with the memory of pots of ale strong upon him. " Do you ever have a scarcity of food V " " Never ; for the country, as you have seen, swarms with game. "We dry the flesh of deer, otter, martens, and musk-rats, and store it for winter, and during that season we have willow-grouse and rabbits for fresh r THE hunter's home. Ill meat. Besides, in autumn we freeze both flesh and fish, and thus keep it fresh till spring, at which time the wild-fowl return to us. The skins and furs of these creatures furnish us with plenty of clothing — in fact, more than we can use. The question sometimes comes into my mind, Why did the Great Father provide such abundance for the use of man without sending men to use it ? — for the few Micmacs who dwell in the land are but as a drop in the ocean, and they totally neglect some things while they waste others. I have seen them slaughter thousands of deer merely for the sake of their tongues and other tit-bits." "There is much of mystery connected with that. Master Hendrick, which we cannot clear up," remarked Trench. "Mystery there is, no doubt," said Paul quickly. "Yet there are some things about it that are plain enough to those who choose to look. The Word of God (which, by the way, is beginning to be circulated now among us in England in our mother tongue), that Word tells man plainly to go forth and replenish the earth. Common sense, from the beginning of time, has told us the same thing, but what does man do ? He sticks to several small patches of the earth, and there he trades, and works, and builds, and propagates, until these patches swarm like ant-hills, and then he wars, and fights, and kills off the surplus population; in other words, slays the young men of the world and sows misery, debt, and desolation broadcast. In fact, man seems to me to be mad. Rather than obey God and U2 THE CREW OF THE " VVATKR WAGTAIL. the dictates of common sense, he will leave the fairest portions of the world untenanted, and waste his life and energies in toiling for a crust of bread or fighting for a foot of land 1 " / " Some such thoughts have passed through my mind," said Hendrick thoughtfully, "when I liave remembered that my ancestors, as I have told you, discovered this land, as well as that which lies to the west and south of it, long before this Columbus you speak of was born. But surely we may now expect that with all our modern appliances and knowledge, the earth will soon be overrun and peopled." " I don't feel very sanguine about it," said Paul, with a prophetic shake of the head. That Paul was justified in his doubts must be obvious to every reader who is aware of the fact that in the present year of grace (1889) there are millions of the world's fair and fertile acres still left untenanted and almost untrodden by the foot of man. "It's my opinion," remarked Captain Trench, with a blink of the eyes, induced possibly by wisdom and partly by sleep, "that you two are talking nonsense on a subject which is quite beyond the reach of man's intellect." " It may be so," replied Paul, with a laugh whicn merged into a yawn, " and perhaps it would be wiser that we should go to rest Oily and Oscar have already set us a good example. What say you, Hendrick ? " "As you please," answered the polite hunter. "I am ready either to sleep or to converse." THE hunter's home. 113 i •*Then I will not tax your good-nature. We will seek repose. But what of our future movements? My sleep will be sounder if I could lie down with the assurance that you will continue to be our guide into the fertile interior of which you have said so much." " I will go with you," returned Hendrick, after a few moments' thought, " but I must ask you to spend a few days in my camp to rest yourselves, while I provide a supply of fresh meat and fish for my family ; for, will- ing and able though Oscar is to provide for them, he is yet too young to have the duty laid upon his little shoulders." This having been satisfactorily settled, the captain and Paul wrapped themselves in deerskin blankets, and lav down with their feet to the fire. ft/ Hendrick, having heaped a fresh supply of fuel on the embers, followed their example, and the camp was soon buried in profound sikuce. -! w 114 THE CREW OF THE " WATER WAGTAII./ • CHAPTEE XII. A SUBPRISB, A FIGHT, AND A WAR PARTY, AT this point in our tale we might profitably turn aside for a little to dilate upon the interesting — not to say exciting — proceedings of our explorers and the hunter's family during the few days spent in the island home and its neighbourhood, were it not that incidents of a more stirring and important nature claim our attention. We might, if time and space permitted, tell how they all went fishing in the lake with Oliver's cod-hooks, which were, of course, greatly superior to the bone- hooks which Hendrick had been accustomed to manu- facture ; how they went salmon-spearing by torchlight in a neighbouring stream, in which operation Oliver soon became as expert as his entertainers, and even more enthusiastic, insomuch that he several times met wliat seemed to be his ordinary fate — a ducking in the water ; I. ow, in consequence, he caught a bad cold, as well as fish, and was compelled to lie up and be nursed for several days, during which time of forced inaction he learned to appreciate the excellent nursing qualities of Trueheart and her daughter Goodred. He also learned to estimate at its true value the yelling power ) mimmm' mr^mm^imfliifmHifmifmytl^'mmm A SURPRISE, A FIGHT, AND A WAR PARTY. 115 of the family baby, whos3 will was iron and whose luugs were leather, besides being inflated by the fresh, wholesome air of the grand wilderness. "We might tell of the short but thrilling expeditions undertaken by the men and boys in pursuit of bears, otters, beaver, and deer, in which Hendrick displayed the certainty of his deadly aim, and Master Trench the uncertainty of his dreadful shooting, despite all hig former " practice." We might relate the interesting stories, anecdotes, and narratives with which the explorers and the hunter sought to beguile the pleasant periods that used to follow supper and precede repose, and describe the tre^ mendous energy of Paul Burns in springing to the rescue of the self-willed baby when it fell into the fire, and the cool courage of Oliver Trench in succouring the same baby when it tumbled into the water. All this we might dilate on, and a great deal more — such as the great friendship struck up between Oscar and Oliver, and the intense interest expressed by Hendrick on finding that his friend Paul possessed a manuscript copy of the Gospel of John, and the frequent perusals of that Gospel over the camp-fire, and the discussions that followed on the great subjects of man's duty, the soul's destiny, and the love of God, as shown in and by Jesus Christ — but over all this we must unwillingly draw a curtain and leave it to the courteous reader's imagination, while we pass on to subjects which bear more directly on the issues of our tale. One day, soma time after leaving Hendrick's camp on the great lake, Captain Trench and his son, with I 116 THE CREW OF THE *♦ WATEll WA.GTATL." Paul Burns and the hunter, halted to rest on the sum- mit of a cliff from which they could obtain a magni- ficent view of the country lying beyond. They had by that time passed over the rich grass- land with its park-like plains, its lakes and streams and belts of woodland, and had entered upon that mountainous region which lies towards the south- westerly portion of the island. " Hendrick," said Paul, as he gazed with admiration on the wild scene before him, " I have now seen enough to know that this land is most suitable for the abode of man. The soil is admirable; the woods contain magnificent timber ; fish, fiesh, and fowl are plentiful ; coal exists in, I should think, extensive fields, while there are indications in many places of great mineral wealth, especially copper. Besides this, the land, you tell me, is pierced by innumerable bays, inlets, fiords, and natural harbours ; and, to crown aU, the climate, except on some parts of the coast, is exceedingly good. Now it seems to me that these facts ought to be made known in England, and that our King should not only take possession, but should send out colonists to settle all over this island and develop its, resources. If per- mitted, it will be my part to finish this exploration and carry home the news." Hendrick did not reply for a few minutes, then a faint sigh escaped him as he replied — " No doubt what you say is just, and I doubt not that these plains and hills will one day resound with the activities of civilised life : the plough will obliter- iilMi mmmm A SURPRISE, A FIGHT, AND A WAR PARTY. 117 ate the deer-tracks, the axe will lay low the forests, and the lowing of cattle and the bark of dogs will replace the trumpeting of the wild-goose and the cry of plover; but when the change begins to come, I will strike my tent and go to the great unknown lands of the west, for I cannot bear the clatter and the strife of men." Paul was about to reply, when an arrow whizzed through the air, pierced the sleeve of his coat, scratched his left arm slightly as it passed, and quivered in a .tree behind them. Leaping up, each member of the party sprang for shelter behind a neighbouring tree. At the same moment there arose a terrible cry, as of men rushing to attack each other. The form of the ground prevented our travellers from seeing the com- batants, though the sound of their strife proved them to be close at hand. Suddenly Hendrick left the tree behind which he had taken shelter, and, running to- wards a precipitous bank or cliff, called to his com- panions to follow. They obeyed at once. " I fear," he said, as Paul ran up alongside of him, " that I know the meaning of this. Some of the voices sound familiar to me. That arrow was not, I think, discharged at us. We shall be wanted here. May I count on you ? " " You may," said Paul. " I cannot doubt that your cause must be a just one." " I 'm with you ! " exclaimed Master Trench, pluck- ing the hatchet from his son's belt — a weapon that the 118 THE CREW OF THE " WATER WAGTAIL." youngster could well spare, as the bludgeon and the bow were still left to him. * Hendrick had spoken in quick, sharp tones, for he was evidently much excited. On reaching the crest of a rising ground he looked cautiously over it. " As I thought ! " he said ; " my wife's relations are attacked by savages from Labrador. Come, follow me!" He ran swiftly round the base of the rising ground, not giving his comrades time even to see the combatants to whom he referred. Suddenly they came in full sight of perhaps the most terrible sight that our fallen world can present:— two bands of armed men, mad with rage, engaged in the fiendish work of butchering each other. In the immediate foreground two powerful Indiana were struggling each to plant a short spear in the other's heart. One, who was shorter than the other but equally powerful, was making a desperate effort to wrench his right hand from his foe's grasp, and another foe was on the point of stabbing the short man in the back, when the white men appeared on the scene. Paul, the captain, and Oliver, although ready with arrow and bolt, hesitated, for they knew not which to regard as foes, und which as friends. No such difficulty, however, interfered with Hendrick, who sent an arrow into the brain of the savage who meant to stiike from behind. At the same ' instant the short warrior succeeded in his effort ; his spear flashed upwards, and the next moment his tall enemy fell to rise no more. A SURPRISE, A FIGHT. AND A WAR PARTY. 119 . Hendrick, who seemed to have been transformed into a human tiger, rushed to the attack with a shout and a display of fury that for a moment arrested the fight. The short Indian, whose life he had just saved, bestowed on him and his companions one look of surprise, and joined him in the rush. Captain Trench, whose combative tendencies were easily aroused, joined them with a roar which was somewhat intensified by the fact that he was still a little uncertain as to which was " the enemy." Oliver relieved his overcharged bosom by an involuntary shriek or howl, that rose high and shrill above the tumult, as he followed suit whirling his bludgeon with some difficulty round his head. The combined effect of all this was to strike terror into the enemy who, turning short round, fled precipi- tately, and were followed for a considerable distance by some of the victorious Indians. On returning from the pursuit, Hendrick introduced the short Indian as his wife's cousin, who, with a party of hunters, had been out for a supply of fresh meat when attacked by the Labrador savages. " It is an old feud," remarked Hendrick, as he and Paul sat a little apart that evening, while their com- rades assisted the Indians to prepare supper ; " an old feud. Oh ! war — war ! There is no place of rest from it, I fear, in this world." The hunter's tone was so sad that Paul looked at him inquiringly. "You are surprised," said his companion, "that I should long thus for escape from the warring passions u 1. .SipPII' (>»J:'i"i;"!' mmm 120 THE CEEW OF THE "WA.TEB WAGTAIL." of men, but if you knew what reason I have for hating war, you would not wonder. Listen ! Many years ago I went with my wife and child to visit a kinsman in the Scottish Highlands. I need scarcely tell you that it was not my present wife and child. She was young, fair, faultless in person and disposition. Our little daughter resembled her in all respects. There chanced to be a miserable feud existing between my relative and a neighbouring chief. It originated in some dis- puted boundary, and always smouldered, like a subdued volcano, but occasionally broke forth in open warfare. At the time of my visit my kinsman, who was a bachelor, had gone to transact some business at a town not far distant, leaving a message for me to follow him as he required my assistance in some family arrange- ments, and meant to return home the same night. I. went, leaving my wife and child in the castle. That very night my kinsman's foe — knowing nothing of my arrival — came to the castle, took the small body of defenders by surprise, overcame them, and set the place on fire. Fiendish and revengeful though the marauders were, I believe they would not wantonly have murdered the helpless ones, had they known of their being in the place, but they knew it not until too late. " When we returned that night the castle was a black smoking ruin, and my wife and little one had perishedl Can you wonder that I fled from the horrible spot ; that I left my native land for ever, and that I shudder at the veiy thought of strife ? " " Nay, brother, I wonder not," said Paul, in a sym- mr A SURPRISE, A FIGHT, AND A WAR PABTT. 121 pathetic tone ; " but I fear there is no region on the face of this earth where the terrible war-spirit, or, rather, war-fiend, is not alive." " Why, the man whose life I took this very day," re- sumed Hendrick, clenching his right hand almost fiercely, '* has doubtless left a woman at home who is now a widow, and it may be children, whom I have rendered fatherless ! No rest — no rest anywhere from this constant slaying of our fellow-men ; yet I was forced to do it to save the life of my wife's kinsman 1 Oh ! is there no deliverance, no hope for this poor world ? " " Hendrick," said Paul, laying his hand impressively on his friend's arm, " there ia deliverance — there is hope. See here." He pulled out the manuscript Gospel as he spoke, and turning over the well-thumbed leaves, read the words — " • Jesus saith ... A new commandment I give unto you. That ye love one another . . . Let not your heart be troubled : y^^ believe in God, believe also in me. In My Father's nouse are many mansions.' Hendrick, this same Jesus, who is Immanuel, God with us, has said, * Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.' * Him that cometh unto me I will in no wise cast out.* These latter words are not here, but they are in other scriptures which I have often heard read." " But how shall I know," said the hunter earnestly, "that these words are true — that they are the words of God?" 122 THE CREW OF THE " WATER WAGTAIL." I'or some time Paul made no reply, then suddenly, to the surprise of his friend, he looked upwards, and, in a low voice, said — "0 Holy Spirit of God, convince my friend that these words are Thine, — in Jesus* name ! " Then, turning to the hunter, he continued : " Come, let us examine this writing together." " Something of this have I heard before," said Hen- drick, " and, as I thirst for light and truth, I will gladly examine it with you." Need we say that those two earnest men were soon engrossed in the study of the Word, and that the in- terruption of the evening meal did not prevent them from afterwards poring over the MS. far into the night by . the light of the camp-fire. Hendrick was well able to do so, for, like Paul, he had received a better education than fell to the lot of most men in those days. At first Captain Trench and his son had listened to the conversation and discussion of the students with much interest, and the sturdy matter-of-fact mariner even ventured to put one or two puzzling questions to thein ; but by degrees their interest flagged, and at last, taking example by the Indians, they rolled themselves in deerskin robes and sought repose. Continuing their journey next day, they were about to part from their Indian friends on the m.ountain ridge, from which a view of the Western ocean could be obtained, when they observed a band of Indians in the far distance travelling; eastward. / 1 1 A SURPRISE, A FIGHT, AND A WAR PARTY. 128 " On the war-path ! " suggested Hendrick. After a prolonged gaze the kinsman of Truehearb came to the same conclusion, and said he felt sure that they were not from Labrador, but were evidently men of the Island. " Can you guess what they are going to do ? " asked Hendrick. The Indian shook his head solemnly. " No, he did did not know — he could not guess, and as they were separated by some miles of valleys, precipices, and mountain gorges, there was no possibility of finding out." After some time spent in speculation and guessing as to the intention of the war party, our explorers, bidding farewell to their red friends, proceeded on their journey, while the latter diverged to the southward, and con- tinued their hunt after fresh meat. If Paul Burns and his friends had known the purpose of the warriors whom they had just seen, it is probable, that they might not have slept quite as soundly as they did that night under the greenwood trees. I

quite conscious of what was going on though utterly unable to move hand or foot. ■pa r!Crrrr3r-TTT3=- W--B«P 174 THE CREW OF THE " WATER WAGTAIL." ;Si If f 11 r I CHAPTER XVIII. TELLS OF TH AND DISASTER, TO bind up Svvintou's v/ouncls, some of which were ugly ones, was the first business of Giummidge, after he had hastily staunched the blood which was flowing copiously fiom his own cheek. The stout sea- man was well able to play the part of amj,teur surgeon, being a handy fellow, and he usually carried about with him two or three odd pieces of spun-yarn for emer- gencies — also a lump of cotton-waste as a handkerchiel, while the tail of his f;hirt served at all times as a con- venient rag. Having finished the job he looked earnestly at the pale face and closed eyes of his old enemy, livI said — "You've bin pretty much banged about, nld chap — eh?" As the wounded man made no reply, Grummidge rose quickly, intending to run to the settlement for help, knowing that no time should be lost. He was hasten- ing a^'^ay when Swinton stopped him. " Hallo ! hold on ! " he shouted. Grummidge turned back. '• You — you 're not goin' to leave me, are you ? " de- I I V S! I DEATH AND DISASTER. 176 manded his enemy, somewhat sternly, " I — I shall die if you leave me here on the cold ice." An involuntary shudder here bore testimony to the probability of his fear being well grounded. " Swinton," replied Grummidge, going down on one knee, the" more conveniently to grasp the unwounded hand of his foe, "you mistake my c'rackter entirely. Tliough I 'm not much to boast on as a man, I ain't quite a devil. I was only goin' to run to Wagtail Bay to start some o' the boys with a stretcher to fetch ye — an' it 's my belief that there 's no time to be lost." " Eight you are, Grummidge," replied the poor man in a faint voice, " so little time that if you leave me here the boys will only find some human beef to carry back, an' that won't be worth the trouble." " Don't say that, old chap," returned the other, in a low, gruff voice which was the result of tender feeling. " Keep up heart — bless you. I '11 be back in no time." "All right," said Swinton, with a resigned look, "go an' fetch the boys. But I say, Grummidge, shake hands before you go, I don't want to carry a grudge agin you into the next world if I can help it. Good- bye." " No, no, mate, if that 's to be the way of it, I *11 stick to 'ce. D' ye think you could manage to git on my back ? " " I '11 try." With much heaving, and many half-suppressed groans from the one, and "heave-ho's" from the other. Big Swinton was at last mounted on his comrade's broad f ^ 176 THE CREW OF THE " WATER WAGTAIL." shoulders, and the two started for home. It was a long and weary journey, for Grummidge found the road rough and the load heavy, but before night he deposited his old enemy in a bunk in the large room of the settle- ment, and then himself sank fainting on the floor — not, we need scarcely add, from the effect of sentimental feeling, but because of prolonged severe exertion, coupled with loss of blood. Two days later Grummidge sat by the side of Swinton's bunk. It was early forenoon, and they were alone — all the other men being out on various avoca- tions. Blackboy, the large dog, lay asleep on the floor beside them. Suddenly the dog jumped up, ran to the door, and began to whine restlessly. " Wolves about, I suppose," said Grummidge, rising and opening the door.' Blackboy bounded away in wild haste. "H'm! he seems in a hurry. Perhaps it's a bear this time. Well, mate, how d' ye feel now ? " he added, closing the door and returning to his seat. "Grummidge," said the sick man, in a low voice " I '11 never git over this. That seal have done for me There's injury somewheres inside o' me, I feel sure on it. But that 's not v/hat I was going to speak about. I want to make a clean breast of it, afore I goes. I 've been a bad man, Grummidge, there 's no question about that in my own mind, whatever may be in the mind of others. I had even gone the length of making up DEATH AND DISASTER. 177 my mind to murder you, the first safe chance I got, for which, and all else I've done and thought agin ye, I ax your pardon." " You have it," said his friend earnestly. " Thank 'ee. That's just what I expected, Grum- midge. Now what I want to know is, d' ye think God will forgive me ? " liie seaman was perplexed. Such a question had never been put to him before, and he knew not what to answer. After a few moments' consideration, he replied — "What you say is true, Swinton. You've bin a bad lot ever since I 've know'd ye. I won't go for to deny that. As to what the Almighty will do or won't do, how can I tell ? I wish I knew more about such things myself, for I 'd like to help you, but I can't." Suddenly an idea flashed into his mind and he con- tinued : — " But it do seem to me, Swinton, that if a poor sinner like me is willin' to forgive ye, ain't the Almighty likely to be much more willin' ? " " There 's somethin' in that, Grummidge — somethin' in that," said the sick man eagerly. Then the hopeful look disappeared as he added slowly, "but I fear, Grummidge, that what you say don't quite fit my case, for I 've got a notion that the Almighty must have been willin' all my life to save me from myself, and that all my life I 've bin refnsin' to listen to Him." '^ How d' ye make that out, boy ? " " This way. There 's bin somethin' or other inside o' H 178 THE CREW OF THE " WATER WAGTAIL." me, as far back as I can remember, that somehow didn't seem to be me, that has been always sayin' 'Don't' to me, whenever I was a-goin* to do a mean thing. Now, I can't help thinkin' that it must have bin God that spoke, for a man would never say 'Don't' to himself, an' then go right off an' do it, would he ?" " That 's more than I can tell," answered Griinimidge. '*I remember hearin' Master Burns a-talkin* on that point wi' the cappen, an' he thought it was conscience or the voice of God." " Well, conscience or no conscience, I 've resisted it all my life," returned the sick man, "an' it do seem a mean, sneakin' sort o' thing to come to the Almighty at the very last moment, when I can't help myself, an' say, ' I 'm sorry.' " " It would be meaner to say ' I 'm not sorry,' wouldn't it ? *' returned Grummidge. " But, now I think of it, Master Burns did read one or two things out o' that writin' that he's so fond of, which he says is the Word of God. If it 's true what he says, he may well be fond of it, but I wonder how he has found that out. Anyway, I remember that one o' the things he read out of it was that the Lamb of God takes away the sins of the world ; an' he explained that Jesus is the Lamb of God, an' that he stands in our place — takes our punishment instead of us, an' fulfils the law instead of us." The sick man listened attentively, even eagerly, but shook his head. " How can any man stand in my place, or take my punishments ? " he said, in a tone savouring almost of DEATH AND DISASTER. 179 contempt. " As far as I can see, every man will have enough to do to answer for himself." " That 's just what come into my mind too, when I heard Master Burns speak," returned the other ; " but he cleared that up by explainiu' that Jesus is God as well as man — ' God with us,' he said." " That do seem strange," rejoined the sick man, "and if true," he added thoughtfully, "there's somethin' in it, Grummidge, somethin' in it to give a man com- fort." " Well, mate, I *m of your mind about that, for if God himself be for us, surely nobody can be agin us," said the seaman, unconsciously paraphrasing the word of Scripture itself. " Blow high or blow low, that seems to me an anchor that you an' me's safe to hang on to." The conversation was interrupted at this point by the sudden entrance of Jim Heron with an arrow stick- ing in the fleshy part of his back. " Attacked by savages ! " he gasped. " Here, Grum- midge, lend a hand to haul out this — I can't well reach it. They came on us behind the big store, t'other side o' the settlement, and, after lettin' fly at us took to their heels. The lads are after them. J got separated from the boys, and was shot, as you see, so I came — hall ! pull gently, Grummidge — came back here that you might haul it out, for it 's hard to run an' fight with an arrow in your back." " Stay here, Jim," said Grummidge, after hastily extracting the shaft. " You couldn't do much with a 180 THE CREW OF THE " WATER WAGTAIL." i wound like that, I '11 take your place and follow up the men, and you '11 take mine here, as nurse to Swinton. We mustn't leave him alone, you know." Eager though Jim Heron was at first for the fray, the loss of blood had reduced his ardour and made him willing to fall in with this proposal. " Good-bye, Grummidge," cried Swinton, as the for- mer, having snatched up his knife and bow, was hast- ening to the door. " Good-bye — good-bye, mate," he responded, turning back and grasping the proffered hand. " You '11 be all right soon, old chap — and Jim 's a better nurse than I am." " I like what you said about that anchor, mate, I'll not forget it," said Swinton, sinking back on his pillow as Grummidge sallied forth to join in the pursuit of the savages. The stout seaman's movements were watched by some hundreds of glittering black eyes, the owners of which were concealed amid the brushwood of the ad- joining forest. Meanwhile, at the other end of the settlement, the greater number of the shipwrecked mariners were en- gaged in hot pursuit of the party of Indians who had attacked them. They were very indignant, several of their mates having been wounded, and a considerable quantity of their stores carried off. It quickly became apparent, however, that the sea- men were no match for savages at a race through the woods, therefore Grummidge, who soon overtook his I m\ DEATH AND DISASTER. 181 ;i comrades, called a halt, and gathered as many of his men as possible around him. " Now, lads," he said, " it 's plain that some of you can't run much further. You ain't used to this sort o' work. Besides, we have left our settlement undefended. Most of you must therefore return, an' a few of the smartest among you will follow me, for we must give these rascals a fright by followin' 'em till we catch 'em — if we can — or by drivin' 'em back to their own place, wherever that may be." Many of the men were more than willing to agree to this arrangement, while others were quite ready to follow their leader. The party, therefore, that finally continued in pursuit of the Indians was composed of Grummidge, George Blazer, Fred Taylor, Little Stubbs, Garnet, Squill, and several others. Armed with bows, arrows, short spears, and clubs, these set off without delay into the forest, trusting to the sun and stars for guidance. The remainder of the men returned to the settlement, where they discovered that they had been the victims of a ruse on the part of the savages. The assault at the further end of the settlement proved to be a mere feint, made by a comparatively small party, for the purpose of drawing the seamen away, and leav- ing the main part of the settlement undefended and open to pillage. While^ the small detachment of Indians, therefore, was doing its part, the main body descended swiftly but quietly on Wagtail Bay, and possessed themselves of all that was valuable there, and carried it off. Hl| ^> \^^ ^^. iMAG^ EVALUATION TE5T TARGET (MT-3) /. // ^^ ^^'-c?- t!? ffi^^ :/. V. I 1.0 I.I 1.25 US ll9M 12 2 1.8 i-4 111.6 <^ 'V. /. >^ 'a /^ *" ^ 0^ W Photographic Sciences Corporation ^^ 4^ vf^ :\ \ 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14S80 (716) 872-4503 ■^ <(S^, «- °<8^>. c> <» ^«> '<«k '»' f^^ Bal ist laws, interference with freedom of action, hatred of trutli, may check progress here as it has done elsewhere ; but who can tell how soon the kuth, as it is in Jesus, may begin to operate, or how mpidly it may culminate ? " " You may be right, Master Paul ; I kuow not. Any- how I withdraw my claim to be numbered with the prophets — all the more that I see Strongbow making signals which I don't rightly understand." The Indian guide, who had been walking somewhat in advance of the party, was seen standing on the sum- mit of a knoll making signals, not to his friends behind him, but apparently to some one in front. Hastening forward they soon found that he had discovered friends, — a body of Indians, who were hurrying to meet him ; while down in the valley beyond, which suddenly burst upon their view, stood an extensive Indian village. It was of that evanescent and movable kind, which con- sists of cone-like tents made of skins and bark spread upon poles. " They are friends," said Strongbow, when Hendrick and the others reached him ; " kinsmen of the murdered ' Little Beaver." " Friends of Hendrick also, I see," said the captain to Paul, as the hunter hastened forward to meet the Indians and salute them. He was right, and a few minutes' conversation with his friends sufficed to put the guide in possession of all ^IM OLD PKIEND3 IN A SAD PLIGHT. 207 he wished to know. Returning to his companions, he at once relieved their minds, to some extent at least, by telling them that it was indeed the tribe into whose hands their old shipmates had fallen, and that the sailors were still alive and well, though prisoners, and lying under sentence of death. " Come, that at all events is good news," said Paul. "I thank God we are not too late, and I make no doubt that we will persuade the Indians to delay execu- tion of the sentence till we find out whether or not they have been guilty of this murder. Some of our old shipmates I know are capable of it, but others are certainly innocent." Hendrick did not at once reply. It was evident from his looks that he had not much hope in the merciful disposition of the Indians. " I know some men of this tribe," he said, " but not all of them — though they all know me by report. You may at least depend on my influence being used to the utmost in behalf of your friends. Come, we will descend." A few minutes' walk brought them to the foot of the hill where the Indian tents were pitched. Here they found a multitude of men, women, and children watch- ing them as they descended the hill, and, from the looks of many of the former, it seemed not at all improbable that a rough reception awaited them. " You see," said Paul, in a low voice to the captain, ** they probably class us with the murderers, because of our white skins. Our only hope, under God, rests in Hendrick." r ;, hi ill ( I ^ 1— 208 THE CREW OF THE " WATER WAGTAIL." That Paul's hope was not ill-founded became apparent the moment the hunter made himself known. For the scowling brows cleared at once, and one or two men, who had formerly met with the white hunter, came forward and saluted him in the European manner which he had already taught to many of the red men, namely, with a shake of the ]\riiC. A great palaver followed in the wig^''i,m of the chief, Bearpaw, in the course of which many things were talked ^'.bout ; but we confine our record to that part of the talk which bears specially on our tale. " The men must die," said Bearpaw sternly. " What you tell me about their harsh treatment of their chief and his son and friend only proves them to be the more deserving of death. My two young braves who visited them on the island were treated like dogs by some of them, and Little Beaver they have slain. It is just that they should die." "But my three friends here," returned Hendrick, " treated your braves well, and they had no knowledge or part in the killing of Little Beaver. Perhaps the pale- faces did not kill him. Do they admit that they did ? " " How can we tell what they admit ? We know not their language, nor thoy ours. But there is i o need to palaver. Did not Strongbow and his braves find the dead body of Little Beaver bruised and broken ? Did they not see his black dog in the paleface camp, and has not Kising Sun disappeared like the early frost before the sun? Doubtless she is now in the camp with those % \ OLD FRIENDS IN A SAD PLIGHT. 209 palefaces who have escaped us, but whom we will yet hunt down and kill." "Bearpaw is right," said Hendrick, "murderers deserve to die. But Bearpaw is also just ; he will let the men of the sea speak in their own defence now that I am here to interpret ? " " Bearpaw is just," returned the chief. " He will hear what the palefaces have got to say. One of the young men will take you to tlieir prison." He signed as he spoke to a young Indian, who instantly left the tent, followed by Hendrick and his friends,. Passing right through the village the party reached a precipice, on the face of which was what appeared to be the entrance to a cavern. Two Indians stood in front of it on guard. A voice was heard within which struck familiarly yet strangely on Paul and the captain's ears. And little wonder, for it was the voice of Grummidge engaged in the unaccustomed act of prayer ! The young Indian paused, and, with a solemn look, pointed upwards, as if to intimate that he under- stood the situation, and would not interrupt. Those whom he led also paused and listened — as did the sentinels, though they understood no word of what was said. Poor clrummidge had evidently been brought very low, for his once manly voice was weak and his tones were desponding. Never before, perhaps, was prayer offered in a more familiar or less perfunctory manner. " Lord," he said, " du get us out o' this here scrape II ,1 i ' ii '.:.'. II l\ i i B^ ! ^m i ii(| I : ^B I 1 1 '1 '■', ■ H 'ii I 1 1 1 ! . ■ \ 1 ' ii 1 1 . '; ! ■ 1 i i ik: 210. THE CREW OF THE " WATER WAGTAIL. if jr somehow ! We don't deserve it, though we are awful sinners, for we 've done nothin* as I knows on to hurt them savages. We can't speak to them an' they can't speak to us, an' there 's nobody to help us. Won't you doit, Lord?" "Sure it's no manner o* use goin' on like that, Grummidge," said another voice. " You *ve done it more than wance a'ready, an' there 's no answer. Very likely we 've bin too wicked intirely to deserve an answer at all." " Sj;>eak for yourself, Squill," growled a voice that was evidently that of Little Stubbs. " I don't think I 've been as wicked as you would make out, nor half as wicked as yourself! Anyhow, I'm goin' to die game, if it comes to that. We can only die once, an* it '11 soon be over."- " Ochone ! " groaned Squill, " av it wasn't for the short allowance they 've putt us on, an' the bad walkin* every day, an' all day, I wouldn't mind so much, but I 've scarce got strength enough left to sneeze, an' as to my legs, och ! quills they are instid of Squill's." " For shame, man," remonstrated Grummidge, " to be makin' your bad jokes at a time like this." The tone of the conversation now led the young Indian to infer that interruption might not be inap- propriate, so he turned round the corner of rock that hid the interior from view, and led his party in front of the captives. They were seated on the ground with their backs against the wall, and their arms tied behind them. The aspect of the unfortunate prisoners was indeed ^.i^*ir^-- ■■'•■ ■-^i*--.ll^i" -■ . OLD FRIENDS IN A SAD PLIGHT. 211 r forlorn. It would have been ludicrous had it not been intensely pitiful. So woe-begone and worn were their faces that their friends might have been excused had they failed to recognise them, but even in the depths of his misery and state of semi-starvation it was impossible to mistake the expressive visage of poor Squill, whose legs were indeed reduced to something not unsuggestive of " quills," to say nothing of the rest of his body. But all the other prisoners, Grummidge, Stubbs, Blazer, Taylor, and Garnet, were equally reduced and miserable, for the harsh treatment and prolonged journeying through forest and swamp, over hill and dale, on insufficient food, had not only brought them to the verge of the grave, but had killed outright one or two others of the crew who had started with them. The visitors, owing to their position with their backs to the light of the cave's mouth, could not be recognised by the prisoners, who regarded them with listless apathy until Captain Trench spoke, swallowing with diiiiculty a lump of some sort that nearly choked him. " Hallo ! shipmates ! how goes it ? Glad to have found ye, lads." *' Och ! " exclaimed Squill, starting up, as did all his companions ; but no other sound was uttered for a few seconds. Then a deep "thank God" escaped from Grummidge, and Little Stubbs tried to cheer, but with small success; while one or two, sitting down again, laid their thin faces in their hands and wept Eeader, it were vain to attempt a description of the scene that followed, for the prisoners were not only 1 213 THE CREW OP THE " WATER WAGTAIL.* 'it: ii !i ! i- "'H 11 ill overwhelmed with joy at a meeting so unexpected, but were raised suddenly from the depths of despair to the heights of confident hope, for they did not doubt that the appearance of their mates as friends of the Indians was equivalent to their deliverance. Even when told that their deliverance was by no means a certainty, their joy was only moderated, and their hope but slightly reduced. " But tell me," said Paul, as they all sat down together in the cave, while the Indians stood by and looked silently on, " what is the truth about this Indian who was murdered, and the dog and the woman ? " " The Indian was never murdered," said Grummidge stoutly. " He had evidently fallen over the precipice. We found him dead and we buried him. His dog came to us at last and made friends with us, though it ran away the day the settlement was attacked. As to the woman, we never saw or heard of any woman at all till this hour ! " When Bearpaw was told how the matter actually stood, he frowned and said sternly — " The palefaces lie. If they never saw Eising Sun, why did she not come back to us and tell what had happened ? She was not a little child. She was strong and active, like the young deer. She could spear fish and snare rabbits as well as our young men. Why did she not return? Where is she? Either she is dead and the palefaces have killed her, or they have her still among them. Not only shall the palefaces answer for her with their lives, but the Bethucks will go jdu the f w*t Ji. y « w» | wiw;*iqWilwWj^Wttiji^j»W))|afi OLD FRIENDS IN A SAD PLIGHT. 213 war-path to the coast and sweep the paleface settlement into the sea ! " It was of no avail that Hendrick pleaded the cause of the prisoners earnestly, and set forth eloquently all that could be said in their lavour, especially urging that some of them had been kind to the two Indians who first visited the white men. Eising Sun had been a favourite with the chief; she was dead, and so — the palefaces must die I 2U THE CREW OF THE " WATER WAGTAIL." CHAPTER XXII. iii't 'III' iiii jiii m li; ii . TELLS OP TEKRIBLB SUSPENSE— VIOLENT INTENTIONS AND RELIQIGUS DISCUSSION. " "VTOW I tell you what it is, Master Hendrick," said -^^ Captain Trench, the day after their arrival at the Indian camp. " I see this is goin' to be an ugly business, an* I give you fair warning that I 'm goin' to git surly. I won't stand by quietly and see Grummidge and my men slanghterc i before my eyes without movin* a finger. I '11 keep quiet as long as there 's any chance of all your palaverin' resulting m anything, but if the worst comes to the worst I'll show fight, even if I should have to stand alone with all the red devils in Newfoundland arrayed against me." "I honour your feelings. Captain Trench, but doubt your judgment. How do you propose to proceed ? " "Will you join me? Answer me that question first." " I will join you in any scheme that is reasonable,' returned Hendrick, after a pause, " but not in a useless attempt to fight against a whole colony of Indians." " Then I '11 keep my plans of procedure in my own noddle," said the captain, turning away with an in- dignant fling, and taking the path that led to the cave TERRIBLE SUSPENSE. 215 or prison-house of his shipmates, for as yet they were allowed free intercourse with their friends. " Grummidge," said he, in a stern voice, as he squatted down on the floor beside the unfortunate sea- man, " things look bad, there 's no doubt about that, an' it would be unkind deception to say otherwise, for that villain Bearpaw seems to git harder and harder the more they try to soften him. Now what I want to know is, are you an* the others prepared to join me, if I manage to cut your cords an* give you weapons, an* ** "Sh! clap a stopper on your mouth, cappen," said Grummidge in an undertone, " the redskins are listen- ing. » " An' what then ? They know no more about English than I know about Timbuctoosh," returned the captain irascibly. " Let 'em listen ! What I was agoin' to say is, are you an' the other lads ready to follow me into the woods an* bolt if we can, or fight to the death if we can't ? ** " Sure an' I*m ready to fight,'* interposed Squill, " or to follow ye to the end o* the world, an* further ; but if I do I '11 have to leave my legs behind me, for they 're fit for nothiu*. True it is, I feel a little stronger since your friend Hendrick got the bastes to increase our allowance o' grub, but I 'm not up to much yet. Hows- iver, 1 'm strong enough p'r'aps to die fightin*. Any- how, I '11 try." " So will I," said Little Stubbs. " I feel twice the man I was since you found us." "Putt me down on the list too, cap'n," said Fred 17 216 THE CUKW OF THE " WATER WAGTAIL. tt I' I iiif I' Taylor, who was perhaps the least reduced in strength of any of the prisoners. " I 'm game for anything short o' murder." Similar sentiments having been expressed by his other friends, the captain's spirit was somewhat calmed. Leaving them he went into the woods to ponder and work out his plans. There he met Paul and Hendrick. "We are going to visit the prisoners," said the former. " You *11 find 'em in a more liopeful frame of mind," observed the captain. "I wish they had better ground for their hopes,' returned his friend, " but Bearpaw is inexorable. "We are to have a final meeting with him to-morrow. I go now to have a talk with our poor friends. It may be that something in their favour shall be suggested." Nothing, however, was suggested during the interview that followed, which gave the remotest hope that any- thing they could say or do would influence the savage chief in favour of his prisoners. Indeed, even if he had been mercifully disposed, the anger of his people against the seamen — especially the relatives of Little Beaver and those who had been wounded during the attack on Wagtail settlement — would have constrainea him to follow out what he believed to be the course of justice. Wlien the final meeting between the visitors and the chief took place, the latter was surrounded by his principal warriors. " Hendrick," he said, in reply to a proposal that exe- TERRIBLE SUSPENSE. 217 Id the his exe- cution should be at least delayed, " the name of the white hunter who has mated with the Bethuck girl is respected everywhere, and his wishes alone would move Beavpaw to pardon his paleface foes, but blood has been shed, and the price of blood must be paid. Hendrick knows our laws — they cannot be changed. The rela- tions of Little Beaver cry aloud for it. Tell your pale- face friends that Bearpaw has spoken." When this was interpreted to Paul Burns a sudden thought flashed into his mind, and standing forth with flushed countenance and raised arm, he said — " Hendrick, tell the chief of the Bethucks that when the Great Spirit formed man He made him without sin and gave him a just and holy law to obey ; but man broke the law, and the Great Spirit had said that the price of the broken law is death. So there seemed no hope for man, because he could not undo the past, and the Great Spirit would not change His law. But he found a way of deliverance. The Great Spirit himself came down to earth, and, as the man Jesus Christ, paid the price of the broken law with His own blood, so that guilty, but forgiven, man might go free. Now, if the Great Spirit could pardon the guilty and set them free, would it be wrong in Bearpaw to follow His example ? " This was such a new idea to the Indian that he did not at first reply. He stood, with folded arms and knitted brow, pondering the question. At last he spoke slowly — " Bearpaw knows not the thing about which his pale- face brother speaks. It may be true. It seems very 218 THE CREW OF THE " WATER WAGTAIL." P. 1 it liii strange. He will inquire into the matter hereafter. But the laws that guide the Great Spirit are not the laws that guide men. What may be fit in Him, may not be fit in them." " My dark-skinned brother is wrong," said Hendrick. " The law that guides the Great Spirit, and that should guide all His creatures, is one and the same. It is the law of love." " Was it love that induced the palefaces to kill Little Beaver and steal Kising Sun?" demanded the chief fiercely. " It was not," replied Hendrick ; " it was sin ; and Bearpaw has now an opportunity to act like the Great Spirit by forgiving those who, he thinks, have sinned against him." "Never!" returned the chief vehemently. "The palefaces shall die ; but they shall live one day longer while this matter is considered in council, for it is only children who act in haste. Go! Bearpaw has spoken." To have secured even the delay of a single day was almost more than the prisoners' friends had hoped for, and they resolved to make the most of it. " Now, Hendrick," said Paul, when they were in the tent that had been set aside for their use, " we must be prepared, you and I, to give the chief a full account of our religion ; for, depend on it, his mind has been awakened, and he won't rest satisfied with merely dis- cussing the subject with his men of war." " True, Paul; what do you propose to do ?" l\ i; VIOLENT INTENTIONS AND RELIGIOUS DISCUSSION. 219 " The first thing I shall do is to pray for guidance. After that I will talk with you." " For my part," said Captain Trench, as Paul rose and left the tent, " I see no chance of moving that savage by religion or anything else, so I '11 go an' make arrange- ments for the carryin' out o* my plans. Come along to the woods with me, Oily, I shall want your help." "Father," said the boy, in a serious tone, as they entered the forest, " surely you don't mean to carry out in earnest the plan you spoke of to Grummidge and the others yesterday ? " " Why not, my son ? " " Because we are sure to be all killed if you do. As well might we try to stop the rising tide as to subdue a whole tribe of savages." " And would you. Oily," said the seaman, stopping and looking sternly at the boy, " would you advise me to be so mean as to look on at the slaughter of my ship- mates without making one effort to save them ? " " I would never advise you to do anything mean, father ; an' if I did so advise you, you wouldn't do it ; but the effort you think of makin* would not save the men. It would only end in all of us bein' killed." "Well, and what o' that? Would it be the first time that men have been killed in a good cause ?" " But a cause can't be a good one unless some good comes of it ! If there was a chance at all, I would say go at 'em, daddy, an' bowl 'em down like skittles, but you know there's no chance in your plan. Boltin' into the woods an' gittin' lost would be little use in the 220 THE CREW OF THE "WATER WAGTAIL." I • Till face o' savages that can track a deer by invisible foot- prints. An' fighting them would be like fighting mos- kitoes — one thousand down, another thousand come on! Besides, when you an' I are killed — which we *re sure to be — what would come o' mother, sittin' there all alone, day after day, wonderin' why we never come back, though we promised to do so ? Think how anxious it'll make her for years to come, an' how broken-hearted at last; an' think how careful she always was of you. Don't you remember in that blessed letter she sent me, just before we sailed, how she tells me to look well after you, an' sew the frogs on your sea-coat when they git loose, for she knows you '11 never do it yourself, but will be fixin' it up with a wooden skewer or a bit o* rope-yarn. An' how I was to see an' make you keep your feet dry by changin' your hose for you when you were asleep, for you'd never change them yourself till all your toes an' heels came through *em. Ah ! daddy, it will be a bad job for mother if they kill you and me I " "But what can I do. Oily?" said the mariner, in a somewhat husky voice, when this pathetic picture was presented to his view. "Your mother would be the last to advise me to stand by and look on without moving a finger to save 'em. What can I do, Oily ? What can I do ? " This question was more easily put than answered. Poor Oliver looked as perplexed as his sire. " Pr'aps," he said, " we might do as Paul said he 'd do, an' pray about it." VIOLENT INTENTIONS AND RELIGIOUS DISCUSSION. 221 " Well, we might do worse, my son. If I only could believe that the Almighty listens to us an' troubles Himself about our small affairs, I " " Don't you think it likely, father," interrupted the boy, " that if the Almighty took the trouble to make us. He will take the trouble to think about and look after us ?" " There 's somethin* in that, Oily. Common sense points out that there *s somethin' in that." Whether or not the captain acted on his son's suggestion, there is no record to tell. All we can say is that he spent the remainder of that day in a very disturbed, almost distracted, state of mind, now paying short visits to the prisoners, anon making sudden rushes towards the chief's tent with a view to plead their cause, and checking himself on remembering that he knew no word of the Indian tongue ; now and then arguing hotly with Paul and Hendrick, that all had not been done which might or ought to have been done, and sometimes hurrying into the woods alone. Meanwhile, as had been anticipated, the chief sent for Hendrick and Paul to demand an explanation of the strange words which they had used about forgive- ness and the broken law of the Great Spirit and Jesus Christ. It would be out of place here to enter into the details of all that was said on both sides, but it may not be uninteresting to state that, during the discussion, both the palefaces and the red men became so intensely absorbed in contemplation of the vast region of com- i 222 THE CREW OF THE " WATER WAGTAIL." w m^: \ Mx I pamtively new thought into which they were insensibly led, that they forgot for the time being the main object of the meeting, namely, the ultimate fate of the captives. That the chief and his warriors were deeply impressed with the Gospel message was evident, but it was equally evident that the former was not to be moved from his decision, and in this the warriors sympathised with him. His strong convictions in regard to retributive justice were not to be shaken. " No," he said, at the end of the palaver, " the blood of a Bethuck has been shed; the blood of the palefaces must flow." " But tell him that that is not just even according to his own views," said Paul. " The blood of one paleface ought to suffice for the blood of one Bethuck." This was received in silence. Evidently it had some weight with the chief. "The paleface is right," he said, after a minute's thought. "Only one shall die. Let the prisoners decide among themselves who shall be killed. Go, Bearpaw has spoken — waugh ! " A few minutes later, and the prisoners, with their friends, were assembled in the cave discussing this new phase of their case. " It 's horrible ! " said Grummidge. " D' ye think the chief is really in earnest ? " " There can be no doubt of it," said Hendrick. " Then, my lads, I '11 soon bid ye all farewell, for as I was your leader when the so-called murder was done, I 'm bound in honour to take the consequences." VIOLENT INTENTIONS AND RELIGIOUS DISCUSSION. 223 "Not at all," cried Squill, whose susceptible heart was touched with this readiness to self-sacrifice. " You can't be spared yet, Grummidge ; " if any man shud die it's the Irishman. Shure it's used we are to bein' kilt, anyhow ! " " There '11 be none o' you killed at all," cried Captain Trench, starting up with looks of indignation. " I '11 go and carry out my plans— ah ! you needn't look like that, Oily, wi' your poor mother's reproachful eyes, for I 'm determined to do it, right or wrong I " 224 THE CREW OF THE " WATER WAGTAIL. CHAPTER XXIII. DEUVllUNCB. i*t^ EORTUNATELY for Captain Trench, and indeed for the whole party, the execution of his plan was rendered unnecessary by an incident the full sig- nificance of which requires that we should transport the reader to another but not far distant part of the beautiful wilderness of N iwfoundland. Under the boughs of a spreading larch, on the summit of a mound which commanded a wide prospect of plain and morass, sat an Indian woman. She might have been taken for an old woman, so worn and thin was she, and so hollow were her cheeks; but the glossy blackness of her hair, the smoothness of her brow, and the glitter of b°-r dark eyes told that she was yet in her youthful years. She sat perfectly listless, with a vacant yet steadfast expression on her thin features, as if she were dreaming with her eyes open. The view before her was such as might indeed arouse the admiration o! the most stolid ; but it was evident that she took no notice of it, for her eyes were fixed on the clouds above the horizon. Long she sat, almost motionless, thus gazing into i-l DELIVERANCE. 225 space. Then she began to sing in a low sweet voice a plaintive air, which rose and fell for some time more like a tuneful wail than a song. Suddenly, and in the very midst of her song, she burst into a wild laugh, which increased in vehemence until it rang through the forest in a scream so terrible that it could be accounted for by nothing but insanity. That the poor creature's reason was indeed dethroned became evident from her subsequent movements, for after falling back- wards from the exhaustion produced by her effort, or, it might be, from the sheer weakness resulting from partial starvation, she got up and began quietly to cut up and devour raw a small bird which she had killed with a stone. Strengthened a little by this food, she rose and made a futile effort to draw more closely around her a little shawl, or rather kerchief of deerskin, which covered her shoulders, shuddering with cold as she did so. Her short leathern gown and leggings were so soiled and torn that the ornamental work with which they had been originally decorated was almost invisible, and the naoccasins she had worn hung in mere shreds upon hei ittle feet. Rising slowly, and with a weary sigh, the poor creature descended the side of the hill and entered the forest at the foot of it. Lying concealed in a neighbouring thicket an Indian youth had watched the motions of the girl. It was evident, from his gaze of surprise, that he had just dis- covered her. It was equally evident, from his expression l^WTI 226 THE CREW OF THE " WATER WAGTAIL. M IMF' of perplexity, that he hesitated to intrude upon one who, he could not help seeing, was mad; but when she moved forward he followed her with the soft wary tread of a panther. At first the girl's step was slow and listless. Then it became rapid. A fit of excitement seemed to come on, and she began to run. Presently the excitement seemed to have passed, for she fell again into the list- less walk. After a time she sat down, and recommenced her low wailing song. At this point, taking advantage of a neighbouring thicket, the young Indian drew as near to the girl as possible, and, in a low voice, uttered the Indian word for— "Rising Sun 1" Starting violently, the girl turned round, stretched out both arms, and, with intense hope expressed in every feature, took a step forward. In an instant the expression vanished. Another terrible scream resounded in the air, and, turning quickly away, she fled like a hunted deer. The young man pursued, but he evidently did not try to overtake her — only to keep her in sight. The maniac did not choose her course, but ran straight before her, leaping over fallen trees and obstructions with a degree of agility and power that seemed mar- vellous. Sometimes she shrieked as she ran, sometimes she laughed fiercely, but she never looked back. At last she came to a small lake — about a quarter of a mile wide. She did not attempt to skirt it, but went straight in with a wild rush, and, being well able to DELIVERANCE. 227 swim, struck out for the opposite shore. The young man followed without hesitation, but could not overtake her, and when he landed she had disappeared in the woods beyond. Skilled to follow a trail, however, the youth soon recovered sight of her, but still did not try to overtake her — only to keep her in view. At length the fire which had sustained the poor creature seemed to have burned itself out. In attempt- ing to leap over a low bush Eising Sun stumbled, fell, and lay as if dead. The Indian youth came up and, raising her in his arms, looked very sadly into her face. She still breathed, but gave no other sign of life. The youth, therefore, lifted her trom the ground. He was tall and strong. She was small in person, and reduced almost to skin and bone. He carried her in his arms as though she had been but a little child, and, an hour later, bore her into the Indian camp, for which for many days past she had been making — straight as the arrow flies from the bow. He carried her at once to the chief's tent and laid his burden softly down, at the same time explaining how and where he had found her. Bearpaw sprang up with an air of excitement which an Indian seldom displays. Evidently his feelings were deeply touched, as he knelt and raised the girl's head. Then he ordered his chief squaw to supply Eising Sun with some warm food. It was evening when this occurred. Most of the m 228 THE CREW OF THE " WATER WAGTAIL, li\ !l'i' ll!l ■ I I i,h people were supping in their tents. No one was with the chief save his own family and two of his braves. When the poor maniac revived under the influence of the warm food, she started up with wild looks and sought again to fly, but was forcibly detained by one of the braves. "Oh, let me go — let me go!— to his mother!" she wailed piteously, for she felt herself to be helpless in the youth's strong grasp. " Has Eising Sun forgotten Bearpaw ? " said the chief tenderly, as he stood before her. "Yes — yes — no. I have not forgotten," she said, passing her hand over her brow ; " but, oh ! let me go to her before I die ! " "Eising Sun shall not die. She is among friends now. The palefaced enemies who killed Little Beaver can do her no harm." " Killed him — enemies ! " murmured the poor girl, as if perplexed; then, quickly, "Yes — yes — he is dead. Does not Eising Sun know it ? Did she not see it with her own eyes ? He was killed — killed ! " The poor girl's voice rose as she spoke until it was almost a shriek. "Ei«^ng Sun," said the chief, in a tone which the girl could not choose but obey, "tell us who killed him ? " " Killed him ? No one killed him ! " she answered, with a return of the perplexed look. " He missed his footing and fell over the cliff, and the Great Sp^'rit took him." DELIVERANCE. 229 "Then the palefaces had nothing to do with it?" asked the chief eagerly. " Oh ! yes ; the palefaces had to do with it. They were there, and Rising Sun saw all that they did ; but they did not see her, for when she saw them coming she hid herself, being in great fear. And she knew that Little Beaver was dead. No man could fall from such a cliff and live. Dead — dead ! Yes, he is dead. Oh! let me go." " Not yet, Rising Sun. What did the palefaces do ? Did they take his scalp ? " " No ; oh ! no. The palefaces were kind. They lifted him tenderly. They dug his grave. They seemed as if they loved him like myself. Then they went away, and then— -Rising Sun forgets ! She remembers run- -she ning and bounding like the deer. She cannot— forgets ! " The poor girl stopped speaking, and put her hand to her brow as if to restrain the tumult of her thoughts. Then, suddenly, she looked up with a wild yet intelligent smile. " Yes, she remembers now. Her heart was broken, and she longed to lay it on the breast of Little Beaver's mother — who loved him so well. She knew where the wigwams of Bearpaw stood, and she ran for them as the bee flies when laden with honey to its home. She forgets much. Her mind is confused. She slept, she fell, she swam, she was cold — cold and hungry — but — but now she has come home. Oh, let me go ! " ii II rt 230 THE CREW OP THE " WATER WAGTATL." " liCt her go," said the chief, in a low voice. The young brave loosed his hold, and Kising Sun bounded from the tent. It was dark by that time, but several camp-fires threw a lurid glare over the village, so that she had no difficulty in finding the hut of her dead husband's mother, for, during the interchange of several visits between members of the two tribes, she had become very familiar with the camp. All ignorant of the poor maniac's arrival, for the news had not yet spread, the mother of Little Beaver sat embroidering a moccasin with dyed quill-work. The traces of profound grief were on her worn face, and her meek eyes were dim as she raised them to see who lifted the curtain of the tent so violently. Only one word was uttered by Eising Sun as she sprang in and fell on her knees before the old woman : — " Mother ! " No cry was uttered, not even an expression of sur- prise moved the old woman's face ; but her ready arms were extended, and the girl laid her head, with a long- drawn sigh, upon the old bosom. Long did she lie there that night, while a tender hand smoothed her coal-black hair, and pressed the thin cheek to a warm throbbing heart, which feared to move lest the girl's rest should be disturbed; but there was no need to fear that. Even the loving old heart could no longer warm the cheek that was slowly but surely growing cold. When the face was at last turned anxiously towards the firelight it was seen that a rest DELIVERANCE. 231 est no no 3ly Ked lest which could not be disturbed had been found at last — for Rising Sun was dead. While this solemn scene was enacting in the old mother's tent, a very different one was taking place in the cave prison, where the ca[)tives still sat, bound hand and foot, leaning against the wall. Captain Trench and his son sat in front of them. A small fire burned in the cave, the smoke of which found an exit among the crevices of the high roof. It cast a lurid light on the faces of the men and on projections of the wall, but left the roof in profound darkness. The captain was still much excited, for the moment for his desperate venture was rapidly approaching. "Now, Grummidge," he said, in a low but earnest voice, " it 's of no use your objectin' any more, for I 've made up my mind to do it." " Which means," returned the seaman, " that for the sake of savin' my life, you 're a-goin* to risk your own and the lives of all consarned. Now it 's my opinion that, as the sayin* goes, of two evils a man should choose the least. It *s better that I should die quietly than that the whole of us should die fightin', and, may- be, killin' savages as well, which would be of no manner of use, d' ye see. I can only die once, you know, so I advise ye to give it up, an' leave the whole matter in the hands of Providence." " Not at all," said Squill stoutly. " It 's my opinion that when they 've kilt you, Grummidge, they '11 be like tigers when they 've tast^ blood : they '11 want to kill the rest of us. No ; I 've made up me mind to bolt, p 232 THE CREW OF THE " WATER WAGTAIL." and, if need be, tight, an* so has all the rest on us — so heave ahead, cappen, an' tell us what we 've got to do." " W^ll, boys, here it is," said the captain. " You see this weapon." He took up the heavy bludgeon that Oliver had made for himself on commencing his travels in Newfoundland. " Well, I 've brought this here every time I 've come just to get the two sentries accustomed to see me with it. This is your last night on earth, Grummidge, so I'm goin' to pay you an extra visit about midnight, by way of sayin* farewell. As I pass the sentries — who are quite used to me now — I *11 fetch the first one I come to such a crack with this here that he will give no alarm. Before the other has time to wink I *11 treat him to the same. It 's a mean sort o* thing to do, but necessity has no law, so I've made up my mind to go through with it." " It '11 be a bad look-out if you do," said Grummidge. "It'll be a worse look-out if I don't," replied the captain. " Then, when that 's done," he continued, " I *11 cut your lashin's, an' we 'U crowd all sail for the woods, where I have already concealed some arms an' dried deer's-meat, an' if we can't get fair off and make for the east coast, we '11 get on the top o' some mound or rock an' show these Eedskins what English seamen can do when they 're hard pressed." " Not to mintion Irish wtins ! " said Squill " An' have Master Paul an' Hendrick agreed to fall in wi' this mad plan ? " asked G :um midge. " No, I can't say they have. To say truth, considerin' that Hendrick 's a relation o' the Kedskins an' that DELIVEBANCE. 233 \ — 30 do." u see . that •avels every Lomed earth, i visit I pass 1 fetch re that ime to sort 0* 5 made Master Paul is his friend, I thought it best to say nothing to them about it So I '11 " He was interrupted here by the sudden entrance of Hendrick and Paul themselves, accompanied by Bear- paw and the sentries. To one of the latter the chief gave an order, and the man, drawing his knife, advanced to Grummidge. The seaman instinctively shrank from him, but was agreeably surprised on having his bonds cut. The others having also been liberated, the chief said : — " My palefaced brothers are free." " Yes, lads," said Paul, heaitily grasping Grummidge by the hand. " God has sent deliverance at the eleventh hour — you are all free." midge, ied the d,"ni woods, ' dried for the or rock can do to fall isiderin' Ian* that 234 THE CREW OF THE " WATER WAGTAIL.' CHAPTER XXIV. THK LAST. I ! \1 THE joy with which the news was received by our seamen and their friends was somewhat marred by the death of the poor girl who liad unconsciously been the means of their deliverance. During several days there was profound grief in the Indian village, for Rising Sun had been a favourite with every one. About this time one or two scattered band:- of the party which had gone to attack the paleface s ment returned to the village, and when they found wuac had occurred in their absence, their enmity was turned into friendship, and general goodwill prevailed among all. From the men just arrived Paul and his friends heard of the fate of poor S win ton and Jim Heron, but at the same time were relieved to find that none of the other seamen had been slain. A grand council and palaver was held in front of Bearpaw's tent not long afterwards. It was a very grave and orderly council — one which would contrast favourably with many of our ninteenth century councils, for those savages had not at that time acquired the civilised capacity for open off-hand misrepresentation, calumny, and personal abuse which is so conspicuous in THE LAST. 235 of fery rast 5ils, I the |ioD, in these days, and which must be so gratifying to those who maintain that civilisation is the grand panacea for all the moral ills that flesh is heir to. Wliether the Bethucks ever improved in this matter is not known, for history is silent on the point ; but it is, perhaps, of little consequence, the Bethuck lace having become extinct. " It is now a matter for our consideration, my friends and warriors," said Bearpaw, in opening the palaver, "whether the palefaces are to spend the winter here and hunt with us, or to return to the Crooked Lake to stay with our kinsman, the white hunter, and his wife, the sweet singer. Of course, my warriors know well that we could keep the palefaces by force just as easily as we could take their scalps, if we were so disposed ; but Bearpaw h not a tyrant. He will not inflict kind- ness on his fr -^nds. His heart is great. It swells within him. So ething inside of him whispers, ' Let them do as they please.* That must be right, for if circumstances were reversed, it would be right to let Bearpaw do as he pleases." The chief paused and looked sternly round, as if to say, " Contradict that if you dare ! " Possibly he felt that the " something inside of him " might have stated the golden rule more simply. Returning to the point, he continued — *' Bearpaw is glad that Rising Sun came home before he killed the palefaces, for her words have saved their lives. He is also glad that the friends of the palefaces came, for they have taught him wisdom. They have 236 THE CREW OF THE " WATER WAGTAIL." ' I I I f shown him that he was going to act in haste ; they have told him that the Great Spirit orders all events here, and the Great Spirit himself has proved the truth of what they said ; for, when Bearpaw refused to believe the palefaces, He sent Eising Sun to confirm their words, and to convince Bearpaw that he was wrong." Again the chief paused and looked round upon his men, some of whom appeared to dissent from what he said in condemnation of himself by slightly shaking their heads. " Bethuck warriors," continued the chief, " have often told Bearpaw that he is wise. Bearpaw now tells his warriors that they are fools — fools for telling their chief that he is wise ! If he had been wise he would not have come so near to shedding the blood of innocent men ; but the Great Spirit prevented him. If the Great Spirit had not prevented him still that would have been right, ^ for the Great Spirit cannot do wr.ong, and He is not bound to give explanations to His creatures ; though, doubtless, He will do it in the end. The heart of Bearpaw is grateful to his paleface brothers, and he would be glad if they will stay to hunt over his lands and palaver in his wigwam during the winter ; but if they prefer to go, they may do as they please. Waugh ! Bearpaw has spoken." The chief sat down with emphasis,'as if he felt that he had done his duty, and his men uttered a decided " Ho 1 " of approval. Then Hendrick rose, and, looking round the circle with that grave dignity of countenance and manner iff THE LAST. 237 which was not less natural to himself than character- istic of his Indian friends, delivered himself as follows: — " I and my friends are glad that Bearpaw recognises the hand of the Great Spirit in all that has occurred, for we rejoice to believe that He is the great First Cause of all things, and that men are only second causes, gifted, however, with the mysterious power to do evil. " In thanking my Bethuck brother and his warriors for their kind invitation — I speak for all my party — we are all grateful, and we would greatly like to spend the winter here, and enjoy the hospitality of our red brothers. Especially would my friend Paul Burns re- joice to read more to you from his wonderful writing and explain it ; but we cannot stay. My paleface brothers wish to return with me to Crooked Lake, where the sweet singer and her little ones await the return of the hands that feed and protect them." Hendrick, pausing, looked round and received some nods of approval at this point. " The winter is long, however," he continued, " and when the snow is deep over all the land we can put on our snow-shoes and revisit Bearpaw ; or, better still, Bearpaw and his warriors may come to Crooked Lake, when the sweet singer and her daughter will give them hearty welcome, supply them with more food than they can consume, and cause their ears and hearts to thrill with music." Hendrick paused again, and decided marks of approval greeted his last words. " But. my friends and kinsmen," he rt.sunicd, " when 1J38 THE CKEW OP THE " WATEU WAGTAIL." 'hich glowed with the light inside, but through which they could not see, except by means of one or two very small holes, to which eager eyes were instantly applied. A most comfortable scene was presented, and jovial sounds smote the ears of those who listened. As far as they could make out every man of the crew was there, except, of course, "Big Swinton and Jim Heron. Some were playing draughts, some were mending nets or fashioning bows, and others were telling stories or discussing the events of the past day. But a great change for the better was perceptible both in words and manners, for some of the seed which Paul Burns had let fall by the wayside, had, all unex- pectedly, found good ground in several hearts, and was already bearing fruit. Dick Swan and Spitfire no longer quarrelled as they played together, and Bob Crow no longer swore. 242 THE CREW OF THE " WATER WAtTTAIL, » 4 l\\ "Heigho!" exclaimed the latter at the end of a game, as he stretched his arms above his head, "I wonder if we'll ever play draughts in Old England, or see our friends again ! " " You '11 see some of 'em to-night, anyhow, God bless ye. Bob Crow," cried Grummidge, as he flung open the door and sprang in, while his snow-besprinkled com- rades came tramp, tramp, in a line behind him ! Who can describe that meeting as they shook hands, gasped, exclaimed, laughed — almost cried ; while Black- boy leaped around wildly joyful at the sight of so many old friends? We will not attempt it; but, leaving them there, we will conduct the reader down to a small creek hard by, where a curious sight may be seen — a small ship on the stocks nearly finished, which will clearly be ready to launch on the first open water. From the wreck of the old ship, tools, and timber, and cordage had been recovered. The forests of New- foundland had supplied what was lacking. Ingenuity and perseverance did the rest. Need we add that the work went on merrily now that the wanderers had returned ? Hendrick stayed with them till the little ship was launched. With pleased yet sorrowful expression he watched as the eager men tested her stability and her sailing powers, and rejoiced with them on finding that she worked well and answered to her helm smartly. " Good-bye, friends, and God watch over you and me till that day after which there shall be no more part- THE LAST. 243 ings," he said, as they all shook hands for the lasj time. He was left standing beside his Indian friend on the rocks when the Morning Star finally set sail. The tall forms of the two men were still visible when the little vessel rounded the neighbouring headland and turned its prow towards England. They stood there sadly watching the lessening sails till the ship became a mere speck on the horizon and finally disappeared. Then Hendrick slowly re-entered the forest, and, followed by Strongbow, returned to his own home in the beautiful wilderness of Newfoundland, THE END. Printed by T. and A. Constable, Printers to Her Majesty, at the Edinburgh UniversHy Presi. i I t ' WORKS BY R. M. BALLANTYNE. " In his tales of the sea, of the forest and the flames, and in all that he writes, there is a fidelity to nature and a knowledge of many paths of life which are not SJirpassed by any author in his specia! field of literature. " — Morning Post. With Illustrations. Grown 8vo. 5a. each. THE BUFFALO RUNNERS. A Talk op the Red Riveb Plains. "Mr. Ballantyne tells an admirable story of * the struggle for life valiantly p,nd victoriously fought by the early colonists of the Red River region in North-Western America. As the scene of this thril- ling narrative he has chosen the very ground upon which the populous and prosperous city of Winnepeg stands at the present day." — Daily Telegraph. " Exactly the book in which boys will revel. The adventures never surpass the bounds of reality, and the tone of the book is excellent. " — Record. "In Mr. Ballantyne's work there is such a manly style about the heroes, and their courage, truth, and devotion is such that any boy might be proud of following their example." — Public Opinion. " No more entertaining gift-book tor boys could possibly be desired. " — Dundee Courier. CHARLIE TO THE RESCUE. A Tale op the Sea and the Rockies. " In ' Charlie to the Rescue ' Mr. Ballantyne supplies his con- stituency — which is now a large and well-satisfied one — with a sufficiency of battles, sieges, and escapes ; the troubles of ranchmen, whose lives are threatened both by white and by black scoundrels, are admirably reproduced. It is a capital story. " — Spectcvtor. BLOWN TO BITS; Or, the Lonely Man op Rakata. A Tale of the Malay Archipelago. " A capital story, written in the author's old style, and full of life and action from beginning to end. "—Standard. " The book abounds in matter of exceptional interest, and should find its way into the hands of all young people who would properly estimate the wide-spreading and far-reaching influences and the extraordinary character of the Krakatoa outburst." — Manofiesier Courier. Works by R. M. Ballantyne — continued. illi (i { , ..^ — -^ ll ■ With Illu8tratio7is. Crovm 8vo. 6«. each. BLUE LIGHTS; Or, Hot Work in the Soudan. A Tale of Soldier Life IN SEVERAL OF ITS PHASES. ' ' An exciting story, full of excellent moral lessons. " — School Board Chronicle. " We heartily recommend 'Blue Lights.'" — Guardian. "The soldier's career is graphically depicted, and the story is every way a good one."— Literary Churchman, TH E FUGITIVES; Or, The Tyrant Qjeen of Madagascar. " There is plenty of adventure in the shape of imprisonment and combats with men and animals, and a negro and a sailor between them supply a comic element of the best quality. Everything con- sidered, this is one of the best stories even Mr. Ballantyne has published. " — A cademy. RED RODNEY; Or, The Last of the Crew. THE ROVER OF THE ANDES. A Tale of Adventure in South America. ' ** We commend it to boys fond of adventure and of natural pheno- mena; a very fascinating book." — British Quarterly Review. " An admirable boy's story." — Scotsman. THE YOUNG TRAWLER. . A SroBV OF Life and Death and Rescue in the North Sea. "Few men have laboured so steadfastly in their generation to provide sound wholesome fare for * our boys ' as Mr. Ballantyne, and the ' Young Trawler ' is worthy of his reputation. It is not a whit less spirited than his former tales, and conveys a large amount of useful information on a highly important subject." — Academy. DUSTY DIAMONDS, CUT POLISHED. A Tale of City-Arab Life. AND fForks by B. M. Battantyne — continued. With lUuatrationa. Orown Svo. 58. each. THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER; Or, Ths Elxotrioal Adventures or a Telegraph Cable-Layer. ♦' There ia not a dull page in it." — Scotsman. '^The intereat never flags." — Academy. THE GIANT OF THE NORTH5 Or, PoKiNGs Round the Pols. "Of variety of perilous adventures and peril, ingeniously sur- mounted, there is no lack. " — Daily Neroa. THE LONELY ISLAND; Or, The Refuge or the Mutineers. " Mr. Ballantyne weaves the romantic episode of the mutiny of the • Bounty ' into a most effective narrative." — Qraphie, POST HASTE. A Tale or Heb Majesty's Mails. " The book should find a place in every boy's library ; it is full of interest." — Leeds Mercury. IN THE TRACK OF THE TROOPS. A Tale or Modern War. " Mr. Ballantyne has blended with the incidents of war on the Danube a story of personal adventure spiritedly told." — Daily News. THE SETTLER AND THE SAVAGE. A Tale or Peace and War in. South ArRiCA. '• A capital story of South African life. Mr. Ballantyne, through the medium of a thoroughly manly and healthy tale of sport and war, frolic and danger, full of stirring yet not eiaggerateil scenes, presents a sketch of a very important period of the early history of our colony at the Cape of Good Hope."— Times. Ml* Works by R. M. Ballantyne — continued. With Illustrations. Crown Svo. 5s. each. UNDER THE WAV ES{ Or, DiviNO IN Dkbp Wateks. " Mr. Ballantyne enlarges the already gigantic debt due to him by the young, by his • Under the Waves,' a story meant to illustrate the practice and peril of diving in deep water, wliich it does in not only an interesting, but often in amusing manner." — TiviM. RIVERS OF ICE. A Tale Illustkativb of Alpine Adventure and Glacier A.0TION. ' "A tale brimful of interest and stirring a.dvent\iTe."—Olaagoto Herald. THE PIRATE CITY. An Alo^: '^e Tale. "The story is told with Mr. Ba^'antyne's usual felicity, and, as it is plentifully sprinkled with horrors, no doubt it will be greatly enjoyed by some boys." — Athenctum. BLACK IVORY. A Tale dip Adventorb among the Slavers of fiAST Afrk a. " A captivating story. We heartily recommend it," — Record. "Boys will find the book about as delightful a story of adventure as any of them could possibly desire." — Scotsman. THE NORSEMEN IN THE WEST; Or, America before Columbus. " This thoroughly delightful book is an adaptation of the Saga of Iceland, and also of Mr. Laing's ' Heimskingla ; or Chronicles of the Kings of Norway,' supplemented by Mr. Ballantyne's o^-n experience and adventures in the wilderness of America. These ingredients are put together with the skill and spirit of »n - .com- Elished story-teller ; and the result is a book that p"'^ noesibly e laid down till the very last word of the la ■•'' ' ' —Athencxum. i"e THEIRONH Or, Life on the Line. A vay Ta 'A captivating book for boys." — Otiardtan. # fForks by R. M. Ballantyns — continued. With lUuBtratioTu. Orovm Svo. 6t. each. ERLING THE BOLD. A Talk ov thb Norsk Sea Kings. "A capital tale of the Norse Sea Kings."— Tt'mM. " The story is interesting and full of moving incidents by flood and field, and it will therefore scarcely fail to be popular among lads. " — Scolaman. ** The story is clearly designed, and abounds with elements of romantic interest ; and the Author's illustrations are scarcely less vigorous than his text." — AlhttujBum. FIGHTING THE FLAMES. A Talk of the London Fibk Brioadb. " Many a schoolboy will find keen enjoyment in the perusal of 'Fighting the Flames,' and assure his little sisters with suitable emphasis that Mr. Ballantyne is ' a stunning good story-teller.'" — Athencntm. DEEP DOWN. A Tale of the Cornish Mines. " Mr. Ballantyne's book will not fail to delight boys, for it is full of deeds of daring and of ' hairbreadth escapes. ' " — Scotsman. "By reading Mr. Ballantyne's admirable story a very large amount of knowledge concerning Cornish mines may be acquired ; whilst from the fact of the information being given in the form of a connected narrative, it is not likely very soon to be forgotten. ... A book well worthy of being extensively read." — Mining Journal. bly THE FLOATING LIGHT OF THE GOODWIN SANDS. " The tale will be especially interesting to adventure-loving boys. " — Record. SHIFTING WINDS. A Tough Yarn. " A hearty, vigorous, bracing story, fresh with the pure breezes, and sparkling with the bright waters of the everlasting seas." — Athenoium. M 6 Works by B. M. BcUlantyne — continued. With Illustrations. Grown 8vo. 58. each. THE LIGHTHOUSE. Bbino the Story of a Great Fight between Max AND THE Sea. Extract Letter from the Secretary of Northern Lighthoiises. " . . . . They (the Commissioners of Northern Lighthouses) have been so much pleased with the way in which you have combined the fiction of a tale with the popular but correct account of the building of the Bell Rock Lighthouse, that they think it would be an interesting work to transmit to their Lightkeepers, &nd I have therefore to request that you will direct your publishers to transn;it me — copies. (Signed) Alexr. Cunningham." " Thoroughly at home in subjects of adventure, the Author has made this, like al' his stories for boys, smart in style, thrilling in interest, and aboujding in incidents of every kind." — Quiver. THE LIFEBOAT. A Tale of our Coast Heroes. " Ro^AL National Lifeboat Institution. "Dear Sir, — I am directed by the Committee to request your acceptance of the accompanying Photograph of a Lifeboat proceed- ing off to a wreck, as a small permanent acknowledgment of the important service you have rendered to ohe Lifeboat cause by your very interesting work entitled * The Lifeboat : a Tale of our Coa.st Heroes.' I remain, yours faithfully, (Signed) "Richard Lewis, (Secretary." THE GOLDEN DREAM. A Tale of the Diggings. THE RED ERIC; Or, The Whaler's Last Cruise. GASOOYNE, THE SANDALWOOD TRADER. A Tale of the Pacific. "Full of cleverly and impressively drawn pictures of life and character in the Pacific." — Caledonian Mercury. /.'' JVorks by E. M. Ball antifne— continued. With Illustrations. Crown Bvo. 5s. each. FREAKS ON THE FELLS, AND WHY I DID NOT BECOME A SAILOR. THE WILD MAN OF THE WEST. WUh Illustrations. Crown 8vo, 2s. 6c?. BATTLES WITH THE SEA; Or, Heroes of the Lifeboat and the Rocket. With Illustrations. Grown 8vo. 2«. THE KITTEN PILGRIMS; Or, Great Baitles and Grand Victories. " We have copied the title-page of this amusing and instructive quarto for little folks. Nothing further is necessary. Mr. Ballautyne stands at the head of all our children's story-tellers facile princeps." — Churchman. With Illustrations. Crown Bvo. 2s. Qd. each. NEW VOLUME. A COXSWAIN'S BRIDE; Or, The Rising Tide: And other Tales. THE GARRET AND THE GARDEN ; Or, Low Life High Up: And JEFF BENSON; Or, The Young Coastguardsman. THE CREW OF THE WATER^WAGTAIL. A Story of Newfoundland. THE MIDDY AND THE MOORS. An Algeeine Tale. THE PRAIRIE CHIEF. ■■ ' {•n -ff tiM ml 8 fVm'ks by R. M. Ballantyne— continued. With IlluatrcUions. Grown Svo. 2«. 6d. mch. LIFE IN THE RED BRIGADE. A Fiery Tale. And Foet Desolation ; or, Solitude in the Wilderness. THE ISLAND QUEEN; Or, Dethroned by Fire and Water, A Tale of tub Southern Hemisphere. TWICE BOUGHT. A Tale of the Oregon Gold Fields. THE MADMAN AND THE PIRATE. PHILOSOPHER JACK. A Tale of the Southern Seas. THE ,RED MAN'S REVENGE. MY DOGGIE AND L SIX MONTHS AT THE CAPE. Letters to Periwinkle from South Africa. A Record of Personal Experience and Adventure. Crovoii 8vo. Price 3s. 6d. each. TALES OF ADVENTURE BY FLOOD, FIELD, AND MOUNTAIN. TALES OF ADVENTURE; Or, Wild Work in Strange Places. TALES OF ADVENTURE ON THE COAST. LONDON : J.^'^ES NISBET & Co., il BERNERS STREET, W. MR. R. M. BALLANTYNE'S MISCELLANY OF ENTERTAINING AND INSTRUCTIVE TALES. With Illustrations. Is. each. Also in a Uandsorne Cloth Case, Price 208. The Athenceum says: — "There is no more practical way of communicating elementary information than that which has been adopted in this series. When we see contained in 124 small pages (as in Fast in the Ice) such information as a man of fair education should possess about icebergs, northern lights, Esquimaux, musk-oxen, bears, walruses, etc., together with all the ordinary incidents of an Arctic voyage woven into a clear connected narra- tive, we must admit that a good work has been done, and that the author deserves the gratitude of those for whom the books aro especially designed, and also of young people of all classes.'' r 1. Fighting the Whales ; or, Doings and Dangers on a Fishing Cruise. II. Away in the Wilderness; or. Life among the Red Indians and Fur Traders of North America. III. Fast In the Ice ; or. Adventures in the Polar Regions. IV. Chasing the Sun ; or, Rambles in Norway. V. Sunk at Sea; or, The Adventures of Wandering Will in the Pacific. 10 Mr. R. M. Ballantyne's Miscellany — continued. VI. Lost in the Forest ; or, Wandering Will's Adventures in South America. VII. Over the Rocky Mountains; or, Wandering Will in the Land of the Red Skin. VIII. Saved by the Lifeboat ; or, A Tale of Wreck and Rescue on the Coast. IX. The Cannibal Islands i or, Captain Cook's Adventures in the South Seas. Hunting the Lions ; or, The Land of the Negro. XL Digging for Gold ; or, Adventures in California. XIL Up In the Clouds; or, Balloon Voyages. xin. The Battle and the Breeze; or. The Fights and Fancies of a British Tar. XIV. The Pioneers : A Tale of the Western Wilderness. XV. The Story of the Rock. XVL Wrecked but not Ruined. XVII. The Thorogood Family. XVllL The Lively Po' : A Tale of the North Sea. London: JAMES NISBET & CO., 21 Bernebs Street, W.