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Tlie ^"ouiin* T-jlovitoiia-nt, Or 'I'lii.' y\tivi:iiUireb ol an Army Oltites. FI|t:ll1.ill£i: (Toe, or llie Fortunes ol a .Slatt Officer. " The writiii(;H of Olivor Optic are the most p<>- I'liliurly tittol ty vafmlar authora. As ORIGINAL DIALOGUE A DECLAMATION. PUZZLES. REBUSES, &c All Uand0tn0lp /lIvMtralMl. Tuuu: la.50 per year ; as cu. per n— hut. Sold EvmrwHBKM. (^^ Remember, this llfaKazine coittaiiiH more r»ailiii|j; matter than any other Juvenile maf^a- xine puhllMlied. Specimen copies sent free by mail on appli- cation. ilj^^fia LEE £ SHEPARD, Publishers, Boston. OLIVER OPTIC'S RIVERDALE STORIES. Twelve vohmiet. Profusely illustrated from new desif^ns liy Uillin[;s. In neat box. Cloth. I'er vol..45c. T..ittle< Mei'tihant. Yonnju: Voyajjer.s. Christma.s GJ-ilt. liolly a.ntl I. TTiicle Ben. Hirthday Party. Proud Mncl T^ayiy. 0;ireles-i« Ivate. lioljiiaHOM Cru.Moe, Jr. The Piciiitf Party. I'he Oohl Thiirxble. '^I'he T><)-?S<>i>iet hinjiH. •' AnxiouR mothers who wish to keep their hoys out of Miischief, \v ill do well to keep their hands tilled with one of the numerous volumes of Oliver Optie. 'I'hey ull have a K"oiilurity to 11 ploasinit Htvic, anil til a rrail; hyiiipathy with thiMlri'iiiiis, lioprij, a!t|iirittiiiiiM, anil taiicics ul'thf yuiin^; (icoplc tiir whiiiii ho \vrilc>. lie wrilcs liki- a wise, (imt- t;r(jwii liuy, and his hunks Innc tlicri'lctri' a tr»'sh- iifHs uii(i raiincvs rarely attaiiit'tl hy his I'clhiw Hcrihei). — i'hri.itiiin Adrocate. LEE & SHEPARD, Publishers, l{..st<.n. OLIVKR OPTIC'S BOAT CLUB SERIES. Six Vols., Ili.ust. Per vol., j5 1.25. >o« The Boat Club ; ( )r, I'he I'liinkurs of Rippleton. All Aboard ; < ir, l>ile on the Lake. Now or Never ; Or, tlio Adventures of Hobby Bright. Try Again ; < )r, rhe Trials and Triumphs of Harry Wl'sI. Poor and Proud ; Or, I'he Fnrtiines of Katy Redburn. Little by Little; Or The Cruise of the Flyaway. Boys and ^irlH Imvo no tnsto for dry and taint' tliiiigH; they want somi'tliinn tiint will Htir tht- hliHul antt warm thi' heart. Optic ulwavH ilm's this, while at till' same time he improves the taste mill eleviitoH the moral nature 'I'he eondiiK }?«'"■ erutioii of men will never know how nnieh the^y are inilehted for w hat is pun- and enobliug to his writii K". — A'. I. Scfuiolinate. LEE & SHEPARD, Publishers, Boston. VJ0Oa ^ «/0i -> OLIVER OPTIC'S STARRY FLAG SERIES. Six Vols., Illust. Per vol., ^1.25. >o» The Starry Tla;;; Or, I lie Vou! g ; isherman of Cape Ann. lireakin;; Away; ( )i, I'lie rortni cs (if a Student. Seek and Find ; ( )r, I'lic Adventiiics of a .Smart Boy. Freaks of Fortune; Or, Half koiiiid the World. Make or Itreak ; Or, J'lio Riih M.ui's Daughter. Down the lliver; ( )r, IliK k I'lr-Klloid and his Tyrants. These hookN are excitiiifi; narratives, and AdI of stiirinn uilventnres, lint Ihi' yiiutht'ul heroes ol' the .stories art' nolile, .selt-NuiM'itli'in^;, and coin-ageouH, and the Ntories cuntaiii nothing which will do injury In the ininil or liearl of the youthful reader - H'eUiter 'I'inii s. LEE & SHEPARD, Publishers, Boston. OLIVKR OPTIC'S WOODVILLE STORIES. Six Vols., Ili.u.st. PeR vol., $1.25. •<>• Rieh and Humble; ( )i, llie Mission (if Bertha Grant. Ill School and Out; < )i, ihc t (iiupie.st of Richard Grant Watch and Wait; < )r, Iho \ (iinig Fugitives. Work and Win ; < )i, Niidiiy Newman on a Cruise. If ope and Have; ( )r, I'.niny (irant anmng the Indians. Haste and Waste ; Or, The Young Pilot of Lake Cham- phtiu. OliM'r ()pti(? is th(! upo8tolio Buccessor, at the "Hull, nt Peler Parley. He has just completed the " W Ivilli ^t^l^ie's," hv the pnhlication of "Haste anil Waste." The hist notice to give of thiiii is til iiientioii that a couple of yoinigsters piilli'il them lint .il the pile two hours since, and are yet (li'Miiiring llieiii out in the suninier- house (alheil autumn leaves cover it) obliviuUH to luutiin tune. — .V. )'. Li'itilfr. LEE & SHEPARD, Publishers, Boston. ■t^Oi t. ■■<•?. 0E at Qmn's Unix^etsitu OKmt ^- '1>A»^- o rKKlu i.P ADRIFT. JIY . '^' XltOF. JAME.S PE MILLE, ■' ■ '#* ». O W. C.,** "'irt,r BOV<- OK «»AKf> J'RK SCHOOL, ILL CS TJt AT ICI^. aoSTON: ' ^'^ I'll. !,{%'":! ^ >* SHJERf..., !*■• .IflK J' i' «^> ,,, "• m ^>^ I'M ^1 rii I. !• I-'C 'J "'W- .-'■?^-. > mK^^vi: 1 PICKED UP ADEIFT. BY PROF. JAMES DE MILLE, »** AUTHOR OF " THE B. O. W. C," " THK BOYS OF GRAND PRE SCHOOL, " LOST IN THE FOG," " FIRE IN THE WOODS," " THE TREASURE OF THE SEAS," "AMONG THE BRIGANDS," •' THE SEVEN HILLS," ETC. ILL USTRATED, BOSTON : LEE AND SHEPARD, PUBLISHERS. NEW YORK: LEE, SHEPARD AND DILLINGHAM. 1872. '-'- i^s ^ ^ ■,- r- fsf ?■'■ vt-' V 'ii i'\ \.C ;»J 'A\\*^ Entered, according to Act of Congresa, in the year 18?^, By LEE AND SIIEPAKD, In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington, * ■ ■ • ■ • Electrotyped at the Boston Stereotype Foundry, 19 Spring Lane. p.- TUB "^. a W. Cr SBRIES. '"^l 1;r(ii^/' 1. THE "B. O. W. C." v^ • 2. THE BOYS OF GRAND PRE SCHOOL. 3. LOST IN THE FOG. 4. FIRE IN THE WOODS. 5. PICKED UP ADRIFT. (Others in preparation.) m 314733 Offl i^aiHOO % "■^^'- .ftC^ 5.5^^ t- 71 r :■ ...ji*" Ifi,- ;,„.i. J... -.i'^ )/t ,, CONTENTS. I. PAGE The enterprising Voyageurs. — A Parliament. — Where shall we go next f — The Islands of the Sea. — Captain Corhefs Confession. — Once more upon the Waters. — The lonely Isle. — The strange Schooner. — Ashore. — A new Acquaintance. — A Disciple of Progress. — Rail- roads and Telegraphs for the Magdalen Islands. , . 11 11. [A new Acquaintance. — The Islands of the Sea. — Making Friends. — The Natives. — A Festival. — EffoHs at Con- versation in an unknown Tongue. — Corhefs Baby Talk. — Experiments of Bart and Tim. — Pat comes to Grief. — Overthrow of the French. — Arrival of the Skipper on the Scene. — He means Business 26 III. \Friendly Advice and dismal Forebodings. — Once more npon the Waters, yet once more. — Due North. — A Calm. — The Calm continues. — A terrible Disclosure. — Despair of Corbet. — Solomon finds his Occupation gone. — Taking Stock. — Short Allowance. . . . .88 IV. ^The third Day. — A strange Sail. — Below the Horizon. — Making Signals. — No Answer. — Weary Waiting. — Starvation stares them in the Face. — A long Day. — Hope dying 'out. — A long Discussion upon the Situa- tion. — The last Meal. — Bruce and Bart come to a des- perate Determination. — The secret Resolve. . . .52 5 CONTENTS. Daybreak. — Startling Discovery. — The Boat gone. — \ Where are Bruce and Bart? — Dismay. — The long Row. — The distant Ship. — Below the Horizon. — Deep in the Water. — 2'Ae shattered Sails. — Watei'- logged ! — Boarding the Stranger. — Discoveries of a Kind which are at once exciting and pleasing, . . G5 Bruce and Bart on hoard the deserted Ship, — Hew Dis',^ coveries. — The Cook's Galley. — A sumptuous Repast. — tf , Observations. — A Return baffled. — Back again. — The Antelope. — The Ripple in the Water. — Speculations. — The Sail to the Ship. — Puzzle about the lost Ones. -- Nearer and nearer. — Unexpected and astounding V el' come! . . . 79 ■ - '"U All aboard. — A Welcome of the best Kind. — The Inv\ta'-il\ ' Hon. — The Banquet. — Amazement of the Visitors. — ,'\ The Repast. — Solomon in his Glory. — The Manu-v.t script found in a Bottle. — The Fate of the Petrel. — Captain Corbet has an Idea. — lie begins to brood over it. — A Question of Salvage. .— Ilow to make one's Fortune. 92 VITI. '^^ .,\k- .< J Solomon in his Glory. — The Breakfast a splendid Suc- cess. -^ Out of Starvation and into the Land of Plenty. — Removal of Lodgings. — The Question of Salvage. — An important Debate. — To go or not to go. — Drop- ping Anchor, — The final Departure. — Corbet bids a fond Farewell. — Alone in the water-logged Ship. , .. 105 IX. Corbet at the Helm. — Visions by Night. — The Vision of sudden .Wealth, — Over the Waters. — The Ocean Isles, CONTENTS. f — A startling and unwelcome Sight. — Landing of Corbet. — Corbet among the Mounseers. — Unpleasant ^ Intelligence. — An unwelcome Visitor. — A sharp In- quisition. — Corbet in a Corner. — The Answers of Guile and Simplicity. — Perplexity of Cross-examiner. 118 j:> -tvv. — ."V" ■V" ' C3 5^i VJ-. J»j ^«\J^JL The baffled Inquisitor. — Corbefs Flight by Night. — Dead Reckoning. — His Purpose accomplished. — Once more an unwelcome Visitor. — The warning Words. — Coi'- bet confident. — ^^ Might straight back." — The stormy Water. — The gloomy Night and the gloomier Day. — Where is the Petrel ? — Despair of Corbet. ;^" . -, 182 . ^ |« ^^j li* V* ^,1 • • ' • :if»\ «>5\Hy XI, -^154':- . • - ' ..---,^. t-.„.. The water-logged Ship. — Alone upon the Waters. — Jolly under creditable Circumstances. — Old Solomon's queer Fancies. — lie dreads his Persecutor. — He prefers the Life of Crusoe. — Follow my Leader. — Swimming in deep Waters. — An impoi-tant Meeting. — Debates. — Parties formed. — Molassesites and Sugarites. — DeS' perate Struggle of Phil, and melancholy Result. . . 146 XII. Ingenuity of Tom and Phil. — Checkers and Chess. — Speculations as to the Future. — A elancholy Forebod- ings. — Where is the Antelope ? — A Change of Weather. — Solemn Preparations by Solomon. — Making ready for the Worst. — The Place of Retreat. — L ^ying in a Stock of Provisions. — Pitching a Tent. — Reconnaissance in Force. — A midnight Alarm. — Horror of Solomon. — A haunted Ship. — Sleepers awakened. — They go to lay the Ghost. — Forth into the Night 160 XIII. *ushing fo7'th at the Alarm of Solomon. — The rolling Wu' ters. — The flooded Decks. — Strange, unearthly Noises. CONTENTS. — Dread Fears. — Is the Ship breaking iip t — Conso- lations. — Refuge in the Cabin. — A Barricade against the Waters.. — A damp Abode. — A Debate, — Where shall we pass the Night f — Solomon on Guard. — The fourth Day, — No Antelope. — A long Watch. — The Cabin de- serted. — Sleeping on Deck 174 A strange Sleeping-place. — The Tent. — The View astern. — Rolling Waters in Pursuit. — Morning. — Astonish- ing Discovery. — The solid Land moving towards the anchored Ship. — How to account for it. — What Land is this f — Various Theories. — Every one has a different Opinion. — Solomon driven from the Cabin. — Draw- ing nearer. — Aji iron-bound Coast. ,« -j^.. j;»,;.^r .y-v , 188 ^^TvJiv HWWv^J i-" ,'?^n !i'tVVHV;c>j- XIX. m. ^^s\ The Cove. — The grassy Knoll. — The Brook. — A Recon- noitre. — The Bed of the BrooTc. — Far up into the Country. — A rough Road. — Return. — The Aroma of the strange Dinner. — Solomon again in his Glory. — A great Surprise. — A Resolution. — Drawing of Lots. — The fated Two. — Last Visit to the Petrel. — Final Preparations. — A sound Sleep. — The Embarkation. — The white Sail lost to View ,%w - XX. vrt^o?^ i'- 256 Trouble and Consolation. — Afresh Proposal. — flie Build- ing of the Camp. — Hard Work. — The triumphant Re- sult. — Blisters and Balsam. — A new Surprise by Solo- mon. — Illumination. — The rising Wind. — They go forth to explore. — The impending Fate of the Petrel. — Wind and Wave. — A rough Resting-place. — What will be the Fate of the Ship f — The Headland. — The View. — Where are our departed Friends t , » . XXI. The Expedition and the Voyagers. — Speculations. — Din" ner followed hy a Change of Wind, — A Squall. — Ship- 2G9 10 CONTENTS. ping a Sea. — Nearer the Shore. — An iron-bound Coast. — Rounding the Headland. — Startling Sight. — The Column of Smoke. — A Man on the Beach. — The ship- wrecked Stranger. — Astonishing Disclosures. — Where are we f — The mournful IVuth. — Anticosti ! — Ar- thur contains his Soul. — The Boys and the Boat loth hauled up. — The Expedition ends. i.'^lL.JtX' ..* 'i,. .283 * " XXII. ' Bailey's Den. — The Fire — The blazing Beacon. — Shell Fish. — Bailey begins his Narrative. — Astonishing Dis- closure. — Mutual Explanations. — The Story ^f Bailey. — The crank Ship. — Springing aleak. — Tne mutinoHS Crew. — A Storm. — Taking to the Boats. — The Cap- tain sticks to his Ship. — Driving before the Wind. — Cast ashore. — How to kindle a Fire. — Plans for the • ^ ^ Future. — The Evening Repast. — The insatia'tle Appttite of a half -starved Man. — Asleep in Bailey' "> Den. . . 297 ■ .ftM. vaxxill. ■— -^'^^^^-^^ ■^' ' ^'^^ 'V^*^3^^- The Denizens of Bailey's "2)e«." — Morning. — A Sail upon the Surface of the Sea. — The Spy-glass. — Excit- ing Discovery to the lost Ones. — The strange Schooner. — Exchange of Signals. — The Excitement increases. — The Schooner draws nearer. — New Signals. — They take to the Boat. — Out to Sea. — Rough Water. — Another Sail. — A strange Suspicion. — Old Friends. — Pleasant Greetings. — Mrs. Corbet. — Obloquy heaped upon the Antelope and its venerable Commander. — Away to the Rescue 310 xxiv. Out on the Headland. — Tke doomed Ship. — The Struggle with the Waters. — The ravening Waves. — All over. — The last of the Petrel. — An Interruption at Dinner. — StaHling Sight. — The strange, yet familiar Sail. — A grand and joyous Reunion. — Away from the Isle of Desolation. — The Antelope once more. — Over the Sea to Miramichi. — Farewell. — Captain Corbet moralizes, and sermonizes 323 ■V { -\\\!,Xi. ii^ V PICIOID UP ADRIFT. 27ie enterprising Voyageurs, — A Parliament — Where shall tve go 7c^xt? — The Islands of the Sea. — Captain Corbet's Confession, — - Once more upon the Waters. — The lonely Isle. — The strange Schooner. — Ashore. — A new Acquaintance. — A Disciple of Progrc ss. — Railroads and Ttle- graphs/or the Magdalen Islands. 'HE Antelope had traversed all the waters of the Baie de Clialeur, and the enterprising voyageurs on board had met with many adventures by sea and land; and at length all these were exhausted, and, as the time drew near for their departure, the question arose where next to go, which question was discussed in full council assembled upon the deck; present Bruce, Arthur, Bart, Tom, Piiil, Pat, Captain Corbet, Wade, and Solomon, Bruce being in the chair — that is to say, on the taffrail. 11 12 PICKED UP ADRIFT. " All you that are in favor of going home, say * Ay/ " said Bruce. There was a dead silence. Not one spoke. ^\ " That's not the way to go about it," said Bart. "It isn't parliamentary. Let's do business regu- larly. Come. I rise, Mr. President, to make a mo- tion. I move that the B. 0. W. C. continue their wanderings as long as the holidays last." .* ^ " "I second that motion," cried Phil. " Gentlemen," said Bince, " it has been moved and seconded thpt the B. O. W. C. continue their wanderings as long as the holidays last. All that are in favor of this motion will please manifest it by saying, ^ Ay.' " '^^^ ''^'^^ ^^ ■•• •••''•^•- At this there was a universal chorus of " Ay."il ** Contrary minds, ' No.' " . , ^^ Silence followed. ■ jS >..M,T.,>5 "It's a vote," said Bruce; "and now all that remains to do is to decide upon the direction to be taken. '^ w^ii^.i Upon this Captain Corbet smiled benignly, and a glance of approval beamed from his venerable eye. Old Solomon grinned violently, but checked himself in a moment ; his grin was drowned in a low chuckle, and he exclaimed, " De sakes now, chil'en alive, how you do go on ! Mos' make dis ole nigga bust hisself to see dese yer mynouvrinsi^ " Look here, boys," cried Bart, suddenly dropping altogether the " parliamentary " style in which he had last spoken; "what do you say to a cruise HAUNTED ISLAND. 13 around the gulf? Let's visit the islands; there are ever so many ; some of them are uninhabited, too. It'll be glorious I " " Glorious — will it ? " cried Tom. " Wait, my boy, till you know as much about uninhabited islands as 1 do. You don't catch me putting my foot ashore on anything of that sort." coa. V " 0, well, we needn't be particular about the la- babitauts," said Arthur. " I go in for islands, hei>d over heels." " So do I," said Phil. " Be the powers," said Pat, " but it's meself that howlds up both hands to that same." " Suppose we go to the Magdalen Islands," said Bruce. " They're right in the middle of the gulf, and it's a very queer place, they say." " No, no," said Bart ; " if we go anywhere, let's go to Anticosti. For my part, I've always been wild to go to Anticosti. I don't believe there's another island in all the world that's equal to it. It's cold, bleak, gloomy, uninhabited, and full of ghosts." " Full of fiddlesticks ! " exclaimed Arthur. " What do you want of ghosts ? " "Well," said Bart, placidly, "for my part, I think there is something uncommonly interesting jm^ haunted island." " A haunted island I " repeated Arthur. " Well, my boy, all I've got to say is, that if you want anything of that sort, you'll find the best specimen 14 PICKED UP ADRIFT. on Sable Island ; so I propose that we go there at once." " Sable Island ? Why, man alive, that's ever so far away ! " said Tom. " We'd better wait till we're on our way home, and leave that for the last ; though, for my part, I think we'd better give it a wide berth. I go in for some of the gulf islands — St. Paul, for instance, or St. Peter." '^ "'^- '^ "'^ ^'^ " Well, boys," said Phil, " since you're all so crazy about islands, why can't we go to the Bay of Islands at onCe ? We can have our fill of them there, I should think. For ray part I'm indifferent. I'm like Tom ; I've had my turn at a desert island, and have found out the vanity of Robinson Cru- soe. )j bfrx'>ii]r^'i^ 111; V'jrir ''fiOi^'W f.A ,.a'.':Uve3- " Sure, thin," said Pat, " and whin we're about it, we'd betther take the biggist island we can find about here, and that same is Newfoundland. Wouldn't it be betther to begin with that, thin ? " " The fact is, boys," said Bruce, with the air of a judge or an umpire, " we'll have to make "up our minds to visit all these islands. Each one has his preference, and each one shall be gratified. You, Bart, may see Anticosti ; you, Arthur, may see Sable Island ; you, Tom, may visit St. Paul and St. Peter ; you, Phil, may visit the Bay of Islands ; and at the same time you, Pat, may see Newfoiri|t land. Of course, then, I hope to go to the Magda- len Islands. Now, as we are going to visit all these places, and the Magdalen Islands happen to Corbet's confession. 15 be nearest, we will take them first, while we may visit in turn Anticosti and the others, winding up with Sable Island, which may bo postponed to the last, since it is the farthest off. We may make up our minds, boys, to no end of adventures. We're all in first-rate training; we are hardened by adventures on sea and on shore ; we can live on next to nothing ; and I'm only sorry that we're not a little nearer to the North Pole, so that we might set out now as we are to settle the question forever about the open Polar Sea." The extravagant notion with which Bruce closed jhis address was received with shouts of laughter I and applause. Then followed a confused conver- Isation. At length they all gathered around Cap- tain Corbet, who had thus far been a listener, and began to question him about the various places which they proposed to visit. The answer of the venerable navigator wa^ not very satisfactory. " Wal, boys," said he, " you put me down in any [part of old Fundy, an I'm to hum ; anywhar's [between the head of old Fundy an Bosting, I mow it all be heart ; an I engage to feel my way [in fog or in darkness, or in snow-storms, backard m forard, year on an year on ; but jest about here I'm all agog. In these here parts I'm a pil- [g^rmn an a stranger, an ain't particularly to be trfwfed. But I can navigate the Antelope all the jame, an fool round in these waters as long as you like. I ain't got any chart, terrew ; but I've got 16 PICKED UP ADRIFT. an old map of Canady, an kin scrapo along with that, especially this Beason of* the year. I kin git a ginral loadin idco of the position of places, an work along the old Antelope wharever you want to go. I'm an old man myself, an don't mind this kerrewsing a bit ; in fact, it's rayther agree'ble. The best of it is, we're alius sure to fetch up some- Whar." .Mr,!.,,! loWi .ahi.l il-MMi Mltf hllMl.M'J niiCiUyra ... This frank announcement of Captain Corbet's ignorance, of these seas might have excited dis- quietude in the bosoms of less enterprising lads ; but the cruisers of the Antelope had seen and known, and felt and suffered, too much to be easily disturbed. Of Captain Corbet's confession they thought nothing whatever, nor indeed did it really matter very much to them whether he was ac- quainted with these waters or not. After all, they were not particular about any destination ; any mistakes which he might make would not create any inconvenience to them ; and even if, in seek- ing to reach Newfoundland, he should land them at Cape Cod, they would not much care. Under these circumstances they listened to his words with indifference, and if they felt any disappoint- ment, it was because they were unable to gain from him any information whatever about the places which they proposed to visit. j-^ Since they could gain no information, theyldid not waste much more time in conversation, but concluded to set out without delay. And so in a ^1 ON THE WATERS AGAIN. 17 ittio wliilo tho Antelope spread her white wings, md began to walk tho waters in her usual style, ike a thing of life, and all that. In process of iine she reached the entrance of the bay, and then passed out into the gulf. It was a glorious day. Tho wind was fair. The ntclopc did her .\)est. The sun went down that [vening behind the high hills, and before them lay wide expanse of water. On the following lorning they saw land ahead. The land was an jland, or a cluster of islands, and all the boys felt srtain that it was the Magdalen Islands. In spite of Captain Corbet's ignorance of the [ulf of St. Lawrence, he had chosen his course sry accurately, for this was indeed their destinar )n. As the schooner drew nearer and nearer, le boys looked with curious eyes upon this remote id ''isolated spot, situated in the midst of the Gulf St. Lawrence, and shut out during all the winter |onths from the rest of the world of man by ice, id storms, and solitude. The wind died away after sunrise, and hours issed before they came near enough to think of iding. At length the anchor was dropped, and |e boat was made ready to go ashore. From this )int they could see this new land to the best ad- ir)t«^o. They saw before them an island rising [gnps^ut of the water, with its green slopes cov- l-ed with grass, and crowned with trees, and dotted (ith white bouses. Before them there were a cove 18 •^f"^' PICKED UP ADRIFT. '"^ and a sandy beach, upon wliich boats were drawn up. The other islands of the group were shut out from view by this one. Not far awaj^ — in fact, not farther than a stone's throw — there lay another schooner at anchor. Very different was this other schooner from the Antelope. The Antelope, in spite of its many admirable and amiable qualities, was not par- ticularly distinguished either for size, or strength, or speed, or beauty. In every one of these par- ticulars the other schooner was the exact opposite. It was large ; it was evidently new ; its lines were sharp and delicate, indicating great speed ; its spread of canvas was immense j it was a model of naval architecture ; while the freshness of its paint, and the extreme neatness which appeared in every part, indicated a far greater care on the part of its master than any which the good and gracious Corbet was ever disposed to exhibit towards his beloved Antelope. On high floated the Stars and Stripes, exhibiting the nationality of the stranger. On her stern the boys could read her name and na- tion. Thev saw there, in white letters underneath a gold eagle, the words, — FAWN-GLOUCESTER. "On land," said Bruce, gravely, as he lool j^Ht at the strange craft, " the Antelope and the Fa\^Rtre somewhat alike ; but on the sea it strikes me that there is a slight difference." #^ THE STRANGE SCHOONER. 19 The other boys said nothing, but there arose in- voluntarily in the mind of each a feeling not ex- actly of envy, but at least a fervent wish that the reseir.blance which Bruce spoke of should exist on tlie water as well as on the land. ^ */ 'icmonmi^^ " I suppose it's a yacht," said Bart. ;> o/ft m? « " Nothin of the kind," paid Captain Corbet. " That thar craft ain't anythin more than a Glouce^r ter fishing schewner." .j,^,, ^^^_^ ,.,^ Bii;inot* " A fishing schooner ? " ps // it- " Course ; an why not ? Why, them Gloucester skippers make themselves comfortable ; they know how to do it, tew, an this chap is jest like the rest. He makes himself comfortable, keeps his schewner like a palace or a parlor, an don't let even so much as the scale of a red herrin be seen about." The boys went ashore in the boat. Bruce then [returned for Captain Corbet, who was touched by this small attention. As Bart and the rest waited [on the beach, they noticed a small, neat, freshly- )ainted boat drawn up not far away, which needed lot the name of Fawn on the stern to assure them that it could belong to nothing else than the smart jchooner. While they were looking at it and ad- liring it, a man advanced towards them, who re§|tfded them w^ith a puzzled and curious ex- jression. He was a man of middle age and medium stat- ure, with clean-shaven face, close-cut hair, and 20 PICKED UP ADRIFT. . keen gray eye. He wore a dark-blue frock coat and wide-awake hat, and did not seem at all like a seaman ; yet somehow the boys could not help feel- ing that this very neatly-dressed man must have something to do with the Fawn. He came up to them, and looked at them with a smile. *"^^*^ * ch .tu ^^ " Who in thunder are you, anyWow ? " he ex- claimed, at length. " I can't make you out at all. You belong to that queer-looking tub out there, I see ; but who you are and what you are after is beyond me." t * j- This style of address struck the boys as being rather uncivil ; but the good-natured expression of the stranger's face showed that no incivility was meant, and won their hearts at once. ^'-^ ^*^*^^ ^^^'^ "O, well," said Bart, with a laugh, "you must never judge by appearances, you know. We're not a fishing vessel. In fact, we're a sort of char- tered yacht, though we're a very unpretending sort of yacht, and we don't go in for show. We're a schooner, cruising about in a plain, off-hand, homely manner for pleasure, and all that sort of thing." * "^^ *^^'- ' At this the stranger burst into a shout of laugh- ter, which was so cheery, and so hearty, and so good-natured, that the boys found it impossible to resist its contagion, and at length they all joiiL^ in also, thoagh why they were laughing, or whatmey were laughing at, they had not the smallest idea in the world. A NEW ACQUAINTANCE. 21 " Look here, boys," exclaimed the stranger, at length, as soon as he had recovered from his laugh- ter; "excuse me, but I can't help it. I'll knock under. I cave in. I don't understand it at all. Have you a looking-glass aboard your tub out there ? Has any one of you any idea what he looks like ? Or have you ever examined one anotner ; r».-ivr y-,-.rr.,,c ♦•«r<. t ■ .'. .i-ivv.,Y,>i 4<» fv/\mJof«. At this the boys could not help looking at one another, and at themselves, and at this survey they i began to perceive what they had not at all sus- Ipected — that they were one and all a most disrepu- jtable-looking crowd. Their clothes were torn and jtained with mud, and gave signs in every seam md fibre of long scrambles through wood and wa- ter, and long struggles with the elements. But, in [act, no one of them had thought of this until this loment, when they found themselves confronted md laughed at by thi^ well-dressed stranger. " It ain^t the shabbiness," cried the stranger, that upsets me, but it's the contrast — such faces looking at me out of such clothes ! Do your lothers know you are out? or, in other words, >oy3, do your parents know the particular way in ^hich you are moving about the world?" |. " 0, well," said Bart, " we're not a vain vessel, rou know. We're only a plain, simple, matter-ot Lcrpotato schooner, out for a holiday, and on the )okout for a little fun. We're not proud, and so, )erhaps, being a potato schooner, it's just as well 22 .^ PICKED UP ADRIFT. not to be too particular about clothes. We've al- ways been told not to think too much about dress ; and besides, this sort of thing is ever so much more convenient for roughing it, you know.'' " Well, boys," said the stranger, " I dare say you looked very well when you started ; and after all, clothes are not the most important thing. At any rate, I'm glad to meet you I How d'ye do, all? I'm glad to see you I How d'ye do ? I'd like to know you. My name's Ferguson, Tobias Fergu- son, and I'm skipper of that there craft, the Fawn." ... _,. , .,, Saying this, he shook hands with every one of the boys in succession, asked their names, their ages, their place of abode, the names, occupations, and ages of their parents, and then proceeded to inquire about their adventures thus far, and their intentions in the future. By this time Bruce had re*'.:rned from the vessel with Captain Corbet, to whom Ferguson at once made himself known ; and thus in a short time he had come to be on intimate terms with all the party. " I just dropped in here to Magdalen," said ^e, frankly, "to fix up the Fawn a bit. 'Tain't much of a place, any ways. The people air a lot of beg- garly, frog-eating Frenchmen, that follow fashions as old as Adam. When Adam delved and Eve span, as the old verse says, they had a plough and a spindle, and that thar identical plough and spindle air still in use here among these here French. A DISCIPLE OP PROGRESS. 23 You can't make em use auythin else. Why, I've been here dozens of times, and I've tried to get em to give up their old-fashioned ways, and be up to the age. I've showed em our way of doin things. No go. Not a mite of use. Might as , well talk to a stone AvalL They'll never get out of the old rut. And see what they're doin here I Why, only look around you ! Magdalen Islands ! Why, this locality is one of the most favored on this green earth. In the middle of this gulf, right in the track of ships, it is in a position to enter upon a career of progress that might make this place one of the most flourishing in the world. They might control the whole fish trade ; they might originate new modes of fishing. Why, look at me 1 I've tried to get em to start factories, build railroads, steamboats, common schools, hotels, newspapers, electric telegraphs, and other con- comitants of our nineteenth century civilization. And what's the result? Why, nothing. I might as well talk to the wind. Railroads I electric tele- graphs ! Why, you might as well ask them to build a bridge to the moon ! Well, all I can say is, that these here Magdalen Islands won't ever be any thin till they fall in with the sperrit of the age. Them's my sentiments." " Railroads 1 " cried. Bart. " Why, what could they do with a railroad ? " " Do ? " exclaimed Ferguson. " Why, develop their resources, promote trade, facilitate inter- 24 PICKED UP ADRIFT. course, and keep themselves abreast with the >> age " But there are not more than a couple of thou- sand people on the islands," said Bart. " Well, what's the odds ? So much the more reason for them to be up and doin," retorted Fer- guson, with some warmth. " They're all as poor as rats ; and a railroad is the only thing that can save them from eventooly dyin out." ^'\ ivvurAj>\li. The boys looked at the stranger in some per- plexity, for they did not know whether he could really be in earnest or not. But from Ferguson's face and manner they could gather nothing what- ever. He seemed perfectly serious, and altogether in earnest. ^ . --i. i " Yes, sir," he repeated, emphatically, " these here Magdalen Islands'll never be wuth anythin till they get a railroad. Them's my sentiments." v^iii jfariiw fehei^^i anvit^ir eif^ mmjf Oil J-adt fysu^heb iimm-f^M. mm oDttatv^iiJ J8 lo 3lUf0 ^ •t[tyiq ST. PAUL'S ISLAND. '25 the hou- nore Fer- poor can per- jould son's what- ether ^hese ^thin ts." - M ■J 1 1 - 'iiCKh 'to elqwoo b mdi oiom .ion oie (noiiijM " ©loia oiii iloura obo*od;^ s'imiv/ ,lbW >^ W^ b^):1i(>ioT ^fuoh fril. oJo. modi'ioi«06^*>r 10OU ^^5 iU in'vodT^' aVKniJS7r9inoa^diiwvae'^tfS ^ W6w; Acquaintance. — The Islands of the Sea. — *' Makiiig Friends. — The Natives. — A Festival. ^" Efforts at Conversation in an unknown Tongue, — Corbefs Baby Talk. — Experiments of Bart and Tim. — Pat comes to Grief. — Overthrow of the Ff-ench. — Arrival of the Skipper on the Scene. — He means Business. ^.n-i^<^_ »--u Kjr t^^v,' %.^ ^frilNDING that their new acquaintance was so IB very friendly, and communicative, and all iC" that, the boys thought that it would be a good thing to find out from him something about jthe various islands which they proposed visiting. Ferguson declared that he knew as much about [the Gulf of St. Lawrence as any man living, and [could tell them all they wanted to know. " What sort of a place is St. Paul's Island," isked Arthur. The skipper shook his head in silence. " Is St. Pierre worth visiting ? " " Well — scarcely," said the other. " What sort of a place is Anticosti ? " asked ►ruce. M PICKED UP ADRIFT. " Well, you'd best not go within fifty miles of that thar island." • rnti /ynn viu; nj , fvymfi "No; we mean Sable Island." hio t^:i.„ ..„...r , . i, .._■.; ... And he again paused and smiled, r r " Plait-il ? " said the Frenchman, politely. " Plate ? O, no, no plate for me, an thank you kindly all the same." The F.'-enchman looked at him in a bewildered way, but still smiled. CONVERSATION IN AN UNKNOWN TONGUE. S3 em the rds But sof the and ['the by a 10 wn ling. Qicey npon ould for- only iptain nicey k you dered i.; «■ " Vouley vous du pain? " he asked, at length. ® " Pan ? " said Captain Corbet ; " pan ? Course not. What'd I do with a pan ? — but thankin you all tlie same, course." ^'"' '^■"'' '^[ The Frenchman relapsed into silence. ''''^ -J^'TO/t - " It was a pooty 'ittle tottage," said Captain CoiS bet, resuming his baby talk, " an a pooty tompany, an it was all dood — pooty — nicey." ^^^'^ ' " ■^' '^"*^. •* But the Frenchman didn't understand a word, and so at length Captain Corbet, with a sigh, gave up the attempt. '"''' *"^"* Meanwhile the others were making similar en- deavors. Tom had got hold of a French boy about his own age. - — " _ \ " Parley vous Francais," said Tom, solemnly. " Qui," said tlie French boy. ^' Oui, moosoo," said Tom. The French boy smiled. " Merci, madame," continued Tom, boldly. The boy stared. - - " Nong — tong — paw," proceeded Tom, in a business-like manner. - ' Of this the boy could evidently make nothing. But here Tom seemed to have reached the limit of his knowledge of French, and the conversation came to a sudden and lamentable end. Bart liad carried on for some time an interesting conversation with smiles and gestures, when he too ventured into audible words. ^' Bon ! " said he, in an impressive manner j and 3 yj^]"iy> ) itfHtqii'> ' ; u 1 1 1 34 PICKED UP ADRIFT. then touching the breast of tlie boy to whom he was speaking, he continued, "You — tu — you know — you're bon ; " then, laying his hand on his heart, he said, " me bon ; " tlien, pointing to the cup, " coffee bon ; " then sweeping his hand around, he added, "and all bon — house bon, company bon, people bon/' . . - " Ah, oui," cried the boy. " Oui, je vous com- prends. Alia, oui, la bonne compagnie, le bon peuple — " " Bon company, bon people, bon company, bon people," cried Bart, delighted at his success in get- ting up a conversation ; " bon coffee, too ; I tell you what, it's the bonnest coffee that I've tasted for many a long day." ■ . - At this the boy looked blank. "Parley vous Francais?" asked Bart, in an anxious tone. " Oui," said the boy. "^ ?, " Well, then, I don't," said Bart ; " but the mo- ment I get home I intend to study it." ... And at this stage Bart's conversation broke down. Pat chose another mode of accomplishing the same end. Captain Corbet had been acting on the theory that foreigners were like babies, and could understand baby talk, Pat, in addition to this, acted on the theory that they were deaf, and had to be addressed accordingly. So, as he was re- freshing himself with coffee and cakes, he drew a PAT C0ME3 TO GRIEF. 35 little nearer to the old woman who had poured it out for him, and bent down his head. The old woman was at that moment intent upon her coffee- pot, and did not notice Pat. Suddenly Pat, with his mouth close to her ear, shouted out with a per- fect yell, — • * ' ' " ;.. h>vr? " Bully for you I and thank you khs^dly, marm ! " With a shriek of terror the startled old woman sprang up and fell backward. The chair on which she had been sitting, a rather rickety affair, gave way and went down. The old lady fell with the chair upon the ground, and lay for a moment mo- tionless. Pat, horror-struck, stood confounded, and stared in silence at the ruin he had wrought. The bystanders, alarmed at the shout and shriek, crowded around, and for a moment there was uni- versal confusion. Among the bystanders was the priest. To him Pat turned in his despair, and tried to explain. The priest listened, and then went to see about the old woman. Fortunately she had fallen on the soft turf, and was not at all hurt. She was soon on her feet, and another chair was procured, in which she seated herself. The priest then explained the whole affair. Pat was fully forgiven, and the harmony of the festival was perfectly restored. But Pat's laudable efforts at maintaining a conversation had received so se- vere a check that he did not open his mouth for the rest of the day. 36 PICKED UP ADRIFT. The festival went on. Fun and hilarity pre- vailed all around. The dancing grew more and more vigorous. At length the contagion spread to the elder ones of the party, and the boys were as- tonished to see old men stepping forth to skip and dance about the green ; then old women came for- ward to take a part, until, at length, all were dan- cing. The boys stood as spectators, until at length Bart determined to throw himself into the spirit of the scene. He therefore found a partner, and plunged into the dance. The others followed. Captain Corbet alone remained, seated near a table, viewing the scene with his usual benevolent glance. In the midst of this festive sc^ne the skipper approached. He walked with rapid steps, and, Avitliout hesitating an instant, seized a partner and filing himself, with all the energy of his race, into the mazy dance. " I don't often dance, boys," he remarked, after- wards, " but when I do, I mean business." -- t,*vt. It was evident that on this occasion the skipper did mean business. He danced more vigorously than any. He jumped higher ; he whirled his part- ner round faster ; he danced with more partners than any other, for he went through the whole as- semblage, and led out every female there, from the oldest woman down to the smallest girl. Most of the time he chatted volubly, and flung out remarks which excited roars of laughter. He won all hearts. He was, in fact, an immense sue- THE SKIPPER. 37 ■T* le as- the |flung He cess. The boys wondered, for they had not ima- gined that he could speak French. ,. ,. ., i .,;,y:v He alluded to this afterwards. " We have a natral affinity with the French down in New England," said he. " When America was first colonized, our forefathers had to fight the French all the time. The two races were thus brought into connection. Our forefathers thus caught from the French that nasal twang with which the uneducated still speak English. You find that twang among the uneducated classes all over the British proviiices and New England. It's Francli — that's what it is. Corbet and I are both uneducated men, and we both speak English with the French twang. I speak French first rate ; and Corbet there could speak it first rate also, if he only knew the language perfectly." These remarks the boys did not quite know how to take. The skipper seemed to have a bantering way with him, and spoke so oddly that it was im- possible for them to make out half of the time whether he was in earnest or only in jest. Mlf ;:' f.y:>h\:r- v^'f^^v^V rsin }f''',)i I, 7-; /■ ■•; ' f ;; III. Friendly Advice and dismal Forebodings. — Once more uj^on the Waters, yet once more. — Due North. — A Calm. — The Calm continues. — A terrible Disclosure. — Despair of Corbet. — Solo- • mon finds his Occupation gone. — Taking Stock. * — Short Allowance, V* 'NOTHER day was passed very pleasantly at the Magdalen Islands, and then the boys concluded that they had seen about all that there was to be seen in this place. As the question where next to go arose, they concluded to ask the skipper. " Well, boys," said he, " in the first place, let me ask you if you've ever heard of Anticosti ? " - '«> "Of course we have," said Bart. ' ' -"^ • " Well, don't go there ; don't go near it ; don't go within fifty mile of it ; don't speak of it ; don't think of it; and don't dream of it. It's a place of horror, a howling wilderness, the abomination of desolation, a haunted island, a graveyard of unfor- tunate sailors. Its shores are lined with their FRIENDLY ADVICE. 39 .■U: me bones. Don't you go and add your young bones to the lot. You can do far better with them." "Well, where do you advise us to go?" asked Arthur. • The skipper thought for a few moments without answering. " Well," said he, "you know Sable Island." "Yes," said Bart, in some surprise. "Well," said the skipper, impressively, "don't go there ; doa't go within a hundred miles of it ; don't speak of it ; don't think of it ; don't dream of it." " But you've said all that to us before," said Bruce. ^' We want to know where wo are to go, not where we are not to go." " Well," said the skipper, " I am aware that I've said all this before, and I say it a second time, de- liberately, for the simple purpose of impressing it upon your minds. There's nothin like repetition to impress a thing on the memory ; and so, if you ever come to grief on Anticosti, or on Sable Island, you'll remember my warnin, and you'll never feel like blamin me." "But where ought we to go?" asked Bruce. " Well, that's the next point. Now, I've been thiukin' all about it, and to my mind there ain't any place in all this here region t\\^^t comes up to the Bay of Islands, Newfoundland." " The Bay of Islands ? " "Yes, the Bay of Islands, on the west coast s 40 PICKED UP ADRIFT. ■i,j» of Newfonndland. It's a groat place. IVe been there over and over, and I know it like a book. Thousands of vessels go there every season. It's one of the best harbors in the gulf. It's one of the most beautiful places in the world. The air is bracing, the climate salubrious, the scenery invit- ing; and it only needs a first-class hotel with all the modern improvements in order to become a number one waterin-place. Yes, by ginger !" he con- tinued, " you plant a first-class hotel there, and let that there place become known, and there's nothin to prevent it from goin ahead of Long Branch or Newport, or any other place you can mention. , "Then," continued the skipper, " if you wanted to go any further, you might go up the Straits of Belle Isle, and round Newfoundland. If you had time, you might take a run over to Greenland ; it's gettin to be quite 21 place, a fashionable resort in the hot summer ; but perhaps you won't have time, and won't care about doin more than cruisin round Newfoundland, and then home." . , ....,,... , Once more the skipper's tone seemed somewhat extravagant to the boys, and they did not know ' how to take it. ^r\i,.'>^:i ,>\ ti;>vi!.t:;-; ^rvKd, -^n'r' " 0, well," said Bart, " we don't want to go to Greenland this season. When we do go there,? we shall probably go for good ; but just now, we want to confine ourselves to the gulf. If you can really recommend the Bay of Islands, perhaps we had better go there ; that is," added Bart, " unless you think we had better go to Iceland." DISMAL FOREBODINGS. 41 >Jv to ere, we can we les3 1 The skipper looked at Bart for a few moments in silence, and a smile gradually passed over his face Af;j» li'jr' ■■/ 'I •■>■.;•■- 1 ^v'i.MMi ■ i !■ • '.■■} j'-.'/'i'/ hi >: •• " Well," said he, after a pause, " that's the iden- tical place that I wis just going to recommend, when you took the words out of my mouth. The fact is, boys, with that old tub of yours you might as well go to Iceland as anywhere else. Every time I look at it I am thunderstruck. What were your fathers and mothers thinkin of when they let you come away up here in such an old rattle-trap ? — an old tub that isn't worth being con- demned ! Do you think you'll ever get home again in her? Not you. Do you know where that old tub's bound to go before the end of this sea- son? Down to the bottom of the sea; and if you don't go in her, you may bless your lucky stars. I only wish 1 wasn't otherwise engaged. I'd make you all clear out at once, and come aboard the Fawn." Captain Corbet was not present, and did not hear these insulting reflections upon his beloved Antelope, and therefore was spared the pain which they would have caused to his aged bosom ; but the boys were not the ones to listen to such insin- uations in silence. The Antelope was dear to them from past associations, and they all began at once to vindicate her character. They talked long and eloquently about her. They spoke of her speed, soundness, and beauty. They told of her perform- ances thus far. 42 PICKED UP ADRIFT. At all of which the skipper only grinned. , 4> r^ijrj " Mark my words, bo3's,'' said he ; '* that there tiib is goin to the bottom." < i .» " Well, if she does, she'll get up again," said - Bart. The opinions of the two parties were so different that any further debate was useless. The skipper believed that they were bound for the bottom of the sea ; the boys on the contrary had faith in the Antelope. The end of it all was, that they con- cluded to take the skipper's advice in part, and - sail for the Bay of Islands. This place was one which they all were desirous of visiting, and they thought that when they had gone that fir, they could then decide best where next to go. They were to leave the next morning. That evening they took leave of the friendly skipper. '' Boys," said he, " I'm afraid we'll never meet again ; but if you do get back safe from this per- ^ ilous adventure of yours, and if any of you ever happen to be at Gloucester, Massachusetts, I do wish you'd look me up, ar.i let me know. I'd give anything to see any one of you again." With these words the skipper shook hands with each one of them heartily, and so took his leave. Early on the following morning the Antelope spread her sails and began once more to traverse the seas, heading towards the north. The wind was fair, and all that day they moved farther and farther away from the Magdalen Islands, until at ONCE MORE UPON THE WATERS. 43 length towards evening they were lost to view in distance and darkness. ■■■-*, On the next day they were all up early. They saw all around a boundless expanse of water. No land was anywhere visible, and not a sail was in sight. This was a novelty to the boys, for never yet had any of them had this experience in the Antelope. Some of them had been out of sight of land, it is true ; but then they were in large ships, or ocean steamers. Being in such a situa- tion in a craft like the Antelope, was a far different thing. Yet none of them felt anything like anxiety, nor had tiie slurs of the skipper produced any effect upon their affectionate trust in their gallant bark, and in their beloved Captain Corbet. ^ ),;; Certainly on the present occasion there was i ttle enough cause for anxiety about the sea-worthiness of the Antelope. The sea was as smooth as a mirror, and its glassy surface extended far and wide around them. There was not a breath of air stirring. They learned from Wade that the wind had gradually died away between sundown and midnight, until it had ceased altogether. They were now in a dead calm. •' m // .. .-u None of the party was very well pleased at this. They all wished to be moving. They disliked calms, and would have much preferred a moderate gale of wind. The Antelope, how- ever, was here, and there was no help for it. She was far away from land. She lay gently rising 44 PICKED UP ADRIFT. and falling, as the long ocean rollers raised her up and let her down ; and her sails flapped idly in the still air, at the motion of the vessel. The boys did the best they could under the circumstances, and tried to pass away the time in various ways. Some of them tried to sleep ; others extemporized a checker-board, and played till they were tired ; others walked up and down, or lounged about. All of them, however, found their chief emi)loy- ment in one occupation, and that was eating. Ever since they had been on the water their appetites had been sharpened ; and now that they had noth- ing else to do, the occupation of eating became more important and engrossing. To prolong the repast while it was before them as far as possible, and then to anticipate the next, were important aids towards killing the time. All that day the calm continued : on going to bed that night, the boys confidently looked forward to a change of weather on the following day. The night was calm. The following day came. They were all up betimes. To their deep disappoint- ment they found no change whatever. There was the same calm, the same unruffled sea, the same cloudless sky. Not a sail was visible anywhere, and of course there was no sign of land on any quarter. The second day the time hung more heavily on their hands. Some of them proposed fishing; but they had no hooks, and moreover no bait. Pat A CALM. 45 |ily on but Pat proposed fiishioning a spiko into a hook, fasteninp^ it on a line, and fisliing for HJiarks, and worked all day at a rusty spike for this purpose. Unfortu- nately, he could not get it sharp enough, and so he had at length to give it up. Captain Corhet was perhaps the mc t impatient of all ; and this seemed singular to the boys, who thus far had known him only as the most patient and the most enduring of men. . ■ .' \Vi. On this occasion, however, his patience seemed to have departed. He fidgeted about incessantly. He ke[)t watching the' sea, the sky, and the hori- zon, and occupied himself for hours in all the vari- ous wa^'S common among seamen, who indulge in the superstitious practice of trying to " raise the wind." One mode consisted in standing in one position motionless for half an hour or more, watch- ing the horizon, and whistling: another was a pe- culiar snapping of the fingers ; another was the burning of some hairs pulled from his own vener- able head. These and other similar acts excited intense interest among the boys, and helped to make the time pass less slowly. Unfortunately, not one of these laudable efforts was successful, and the obstinate wind refused to be " raised." That day the boys detected something in their meals which seemed like a decline of skill on the part of Solomon. There was a frilling off both in the quantity and in the quality of the eatables. Only four potatoes graced the festive board, and a 46 PICKED UP ADRIFT. piece of corned beef that was quite inadequate to their wants. The tea was weak^ and there was very little sugar. There was only a small supply of butter, and this butter seemed rather unpleas- antly dirty. M * --^ : ' ,, ':-;- : /.-^ ,'t' On the following day all this was explained. Plurrying up on deck at early dawn, th(^v saw tlie scene unchanged. Above was the cloudless sky, all around the glassy sea, and before them stood Captain Corbet, the picture of despair. By his side stood Solomon, with his hands clasped to- gether, and his liead hanging down, m , .--'. a-uI " It's all my fault, boys," said Captain Corbet, witli something like a groan. "I was to blame. But I declare, I clean forgot. And yet what busi- ness had I to forget? my fustest and highest duty bein to remember. And here we air ! " . ^ " Why, what's the matter ? " asked Tom, who, like all the rest was struck by Captain Corbet's de- spairing attitude and words. ^^ . t*.^^ .. .5 '■,%. " I won't hide it any longer, boys," said he ; " it's this calm. I didn't calculate on bein becalmed. I thought only of head winds, and then w^e could hev pub back easy; but a calm! Why, what can you do ? " *' Hide it?" Cried Bruce. ^' Hide what? What do you mean by this ? What would you want to put back for?" f- Captain Corbet groaned. ^ " For — for pro — provisions, dear boys," he said mournfally, and with an effort. A TERRIBLE DISCLOSURE. ", 47 Baid " Provisions ! " repeated Bruce, and looked very blank indeed. All the boys exchanged glances, which were full of unutterable things. There was silence for some time. -> ; >: - , th^v.^ -- Tom was the first to break it. i -f^ii;^ " Well, what have we?" he asked, in his usual cheery voice. " Come captain, tell us what there is in the larder." ** Ask Solomon," said Captain Corbet, mourn- fully. ^' Well, Solomon, tell us the worst," said Tom. But Solomon would not or could not speak. He raised his head, looked wildly around, and then hurried away. ' ' . . . Captain Corbet looked after him, and heaved a heavy sigh. " Wal, boys," said he, "the fact is, Solomon and me, we've been talkin it all over. You see, he con- siders himself cook, and cook only, and looks to me for the material. It's all my fault. I forgot. I thought there was lots till yesterday niornin. Then Solomon told me how it was. I'd ort to have laid in a supply before leavin Bay do Chaleur ; but as I said, I forgot. And as for Solomon, why, he's been calmly a continooin of his cookery, same as if he was chief cook of a fust-class hotel, and all the time he was in a becalmed schewner. He told me all about it yesterday mornin ; but I says, ^ Don't tell the boys ; mebbe the wind'll change, and I'll sail for the nighest port.^ So he didn't, except so 48 PICKED UP ADRIFT. " far as you might have guessed, from the meals which he served np; pooty slim they were too; but he did his best.'' *' Well," said Tom, with unaltered self-posses- sion, " it would have been better for us to have known this yesterday morning ; but that can't be helped. So we have no more provisions?" " Precious little/' said Captain Corbet, mourn- fullv. '' Have we any ? " asked Tom. " Wal," said Captain Corbet, " the tea's all gone ; and the coffee, and all the potted meats, and the apples, and the taters, and the turnips and car- rots, and all the vegetables; , and the smoked pro- visions, and you had the last mite of corned beef yesterday." " But what is there left ? " asked Tom. '' Only two or three papers of corn starch," said Captain Corbet, with an effort, " and, I believe, a half box of raisins, and a little rice." ] s "- niwjafc " And nothing else ? " ' ' ' ' - '■ " Not a hooter," said Captain Corbet, despair- ingly. Tom was silent. The boys all looked at one another with anxious faces, and then began to talk over the situation. The result was, that first of all they made Solo- mon produce everytling in the shape of eatables that remained on board. Solomon ransacked the vessel, and laid everything out on the cabin taljle. TAKING STOCK. 49 It was not a very large supply, and the display created additional uneasiness in the minds of the boys. ' • ; ' There were,— '^''^^ '^^'^'''' \^-^>;^ *^H^^- ' ^j ^ 3 papers of corn starch, 1 lb. each. 1 ham bone. •'If. '"iV J box raisins. 1 lb. rice. . 6 biscuits. 1 bowl soup. 4 carrots. 1 potato. 1 turnip. 2 apples. 1 oz. tea. ..v^.rt ',;'V' '}f4 • 1 ;.•. ■ ». -^'i • ,' ^. .4 u 1 «•,■ f ■'fi.-i huh This was all — absolutely all on board the Ante- lope for the sustenance of no less than nine human beings, all of whom were blessed with excellent appetites. ' Fortunately, there was a sufficient sup- ply of fresh water, so that there was no trouble on that score. * But this supply of food, even when husbanded with the greatest care, could scarcely last more tlian one day, — and here they were in the middle of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and becalmed ! The circumstances in wiiich thev were, excited the deepest anxiety in the minds of all. A grave and earnest discussion followed as to the best course to be pursued. First of all, they all re- 60 PICKED UP ADRIFT. solved to deny themselves as far as possible, and make their supply of provisions last three days. This could be done by making a very thin soup out of the ham bone with the potato and turnip. The raisins were to be cooked with the corn starch and rice, in one general mess, which was to be carefuliy divided day by day. The biscuits, carrots, and apples were to be reserved. After this they decided to try and construct sometliing like oars, and propel the Antelope in that manner. ''•j'm j ''•'<:' c^ ■n'yjf The provisions were divided and cooked in ac- cordance with this decision. They all went with- out breakfast, for they had decided to eat but one meal per day. At midday they partook of this im- portant meal, which consumed one third of their whole stock. But little was aflforded out of that one meal for each individual, and each one felt able to consume the whole repast, instead of the beg- garly ninth part which fell to him. Poor Captain Corbet refused at first to eat, and so did Solomon, for each reproached himself as the cause of the present famine ; but the boys put a stop to this by refusing also to eat, and thus compelled Solo- mon and the captain to take the allotted nourish- ment. As to the oars or sweeps, the plan proved a total failure. There w^as nothing on board which could be used for that purpose. There was but one small oar for the boat, and they could find SHOBT ALLOWANCE. 51 m nothing else that could serve for an oar except the spars of the schooner, and they were not quite prepared to resort to these. Even if they had done so, there was not an axe or a hatchet on board with which to fashion them into the requi- site shape. There was, in fact, no tool larger than a pocket knife, except perhaps the table knives, and they were too dull. The calm continued. . " v >it ^uf^ Thus the first day of their famine paSised. They went to bed hungry. ^ They awaked famished, and found the calm still continuing. There was no breakfast for them. The long hours passed slowly. In vain Captain Corbet whistled for a wind. The wind came not. Dinner was served at midday. Each one ate his meagre share." Each one felt that this repast only tantalized his appetite, rather than satisfied it. Solomon was in despair. Captain Corbet heaped upon himself never-ending reproaches. Wade sat stoHd and starving on the deck. The boys stared, with hungry eyes, around the horizon, 'f 'There was not a sign of land; there was not a sail to be seen. So the second day passed away. 52 PICKED UP ADRIFT. ^*>^'/ if ,|...,:C jj.ijj ;;i^;..Ifiiri:'» I.:;-;; Vi'f ■)(> 27ie ^/uVc? Z)ay. — A strange Sail. — Below the Horizon. — Making Signals. — No Answer. — Weary Waiting. — Starvation stares them in the Face. — A long Day. — Hope dying out. — A long Discussion upon the Situation. — The last Meal. — '■ Bruce and Bart come to a desperate Determination. — The secret liesolve. < o • •:! u>vj ►HE third day came. ^ '^ * " " " '''"^' The boys slept soundly during the night, and were up early. As they took their first look all around, their feelings were those of deep despondency ; for far and wide, as before, there was nothing visible but the smooth sea and the cloudless sky. The calm continued, and all the east was glowing with the fiery rays of the rising sun. Suddenly there was a cry from Phil. " A ship ! A ship I " " Where ? Where ? " asked all the others. t ► " There ! There ! " cried Phil, in intense ex- citement, pointing towards the east, where the fiery sky rose over the glowing water Looking \) A STRANGE SAIL. 53 A ■■^ov. ex- tlie :iiig in tlie direction where he pointed, they all saw it plainly. It was indeed as he said. It was a ship, and it was now plainly visible, though at first, on account of the glare, none of them had noticed it but Phil. As they stood and looked at it, every one of them was filled with such deep emotions of joy and gratitude that not a word was said. Captain Corbet was the first to break the solemn silence. " Wal, I declar," said he, " it's ben so dim all along that I didn't notice her ; and then it kine o' got so bright that the glare dazzled my eyes ; but there she is, sure enough ; and now all we've got to do is to manage to get into communication with her." The boys made no answer, but stood looking in silence. Every minute the glare lessened ; then the sun rose, and as it ascended above the horizon, the form of the strange ship became fully revealed. It was a ship apparently of considerable size ; but her hull was low down in the water, and only her masts were visible. She seemed to lie below the horizon, yet was as plain to the eye as though she had been only five miles away. " Well, boys," said Bruce, at length, " I don't know how you feel, but for my part I feel like taking the boat and going off to her at once. I'm sick of this fare, and should like to get a good breakfast. What do you think, captain ? '^ Captain Corbet shook his Lead. 64 PICKED UP ADRIFT. " Wal," said he, " I don't exactly seem to see my way clear to approvin of you takin a row for such a matter as twenty mile or so. We'd never see you aeain." , . . " Twenty miles ! " exclaimed Bruce. " Why, it doesn't look like more than two." , . The captam smiled. - . ^^ " Why, yon can't see more of her than her masts," replied Captain Corbet ; " and a ship that's down below the horizon far enough to hide her hull is a pooty good distance off — twenty mile, at least." At this. Bruce was silent. Captain Corbet's re- marks were unanswerable, and he did not yet feel prepared to row so great a distance as twenty miles. At length Bart went to the cabin, and returned with a spy-glass. This instrument did not belong to Captain Corbet, for the venerable navigator was strongly prejudiced agains?t any such instruments, and the dimmer his eyes j,'rew, the stronger grew those prejudices. It belonged, in fact, to Bruce, who had provided himself with it before leaving home. Armed with this, Bart took a long look at the stranger. Then he passed the glass to Bruce, and then all the boys, in turn, took a look. The strange ship already appeared surprisingly distinct for a vessel that lay below the horizon ; and 1^ on looking at her through the glass, this distinct- ness became more startling. Most of her sails were furled, or rather, there appeared to be no MAKING SIGNALS. 55 sails at all, except the jib. The fore and main-top gallant masts wore gone. She appeared, indeed, to have encountered a storm, in which she had lost her spars, and the present calm seemed very little in accordance with her appearance. The comments which the boys made upon the appearance of the stranger excited Captain Cor- bet's curiosity to such a degree that he surmounted his prejudices, and condescended to look through the glass. His astonishment at the result was due rather to his own ignorance of glasses than to any- thing in the strange ship; but after he had become somewhat more familiar with the instrument, he began to pay attention to the object of his scrutiny. " The fact is," said he, after a long and careful search, " it does railly look jest for all the world as if that thar craft has been in a storm, and lost her spars and sails. Perhaps he's in distress. Perhaps they're watching us more anxiously than Ave're watching them." " I wonder if they can see us ? " said Bruce. " Pm afraid not," said Bart, we're so small." j^^ " But they've got a glass." " Yes, and they'd be sweeping the horizon for help." " I wish we could get nearer." " If they're hard up, they might row" to us." " Is it any use to signalize, captain ? " asked Tom. " Not a mite," said Captain Corbet. " You can't signalize to a vessel so far away ; at least I never heard of such a thing.'^ 56 PICKED UP ADRIFT. *' 0, well, captain," objected Brnce, "you see they have glasses. We could see any signals if they were to hoist them, and they can see us as well as we can i^ee thera, of course." V " Wal," said Captain Corbet, thoughtfully, "per- * haps they can; and if so, I'm sure I don't see why ^ we mayn't try. So you may as well hist that thar flag o' yourn, boys. It can't do any harm, at " any rate. i, ;,!', jj^. i>;» -Hj/niji* •• i-m" *>• i»*»^| This proposal was at once acted upon. Several of the boys sprang aft, and seizing the lines, began t to lower and elevate, incessantly, the proud, yet - somewiiat battered banner of the B. 0. W. C. — the banner whose pictured face had so often grinned at tliem through man}^ an adventure, in storm and ' in calm. It gave them an occupation ; it also served to excite hope ; and so, for several hours, * the flag never ceased to rise and fall, — the boys -i taking turns at it, and one relieving the other, so o as to keep a fresh hand always at the work. This o continued till midday ; but at length they gave it '^■ up in disgust. They gave it up because it had not produced the slightest result, nor excited the smallest atten- tion ; nor had the circumstances of their situation changed in any respect whatever. Far away lay the ship, and no more of her was visible. Nothing but her masts appeared to their eyes ; not a parti- cle of her hull could be seen. She seemed some- what longer now, and some of them accounted rr» WEARY WAITING. 57 for this on the ground that she had changed her position somewhat, and presented her broadside more than she had done in tlie morning. The weather had not changed, nor were there any signs whatever of a change. The sky was still as cloudless as ever, and not the Hiintest fleck disturbed the expanse of 1 !ue th;it hung above them. The sea was unruffled, nor was there any puff of wind to agitate its surface. Early in the morning, when that strange ship first appeared, they had hoped that a wind might arise before long to bring them together ; or, if a wind did not come, that at least the currents of the sea might drift them into closer proximity ; but now there began to arise a dark fear that, instead of drifting nearer together, they might be carried farther asunder, and that this strange ship, which had thus been borne so mysteriously to their siglit during the darkness, might, on the advent of an- other day, be borne as mysteriously out of their sight. With anxious eyes they watched her form, testing it in every possible way, to discover whether the intervening space had increased or les- sened. Some of the more desponding ones were Iconvinced that they were drifting asunder ; others, imore hopeful, maintained tliat they wc^*^ nearer ; while others, again, asserted that their respective [positions had not changed. And, in fact, it w^as [evident from the very dispute itself, that the )osition of the two vessels had not very greatly iltered. 56 PICKED UP APnTFT. Half of the day had passed. Another half re- mained ; and after that, what? Night and dark- ness', and then how easily could they drift away from this stranger, on which they had been placing Buch hopes 1 How could they expect that the rest of the day would bo any different from the be- gmnuig f -f '(vtMii 'Mji -HIM] •f'MitrT tifft'i •( Midday had come, and this was the time for their single daily meal. Moreover, this meal was the last, — the last of the three portions which they had set aside for the consumption of three days. . Here arose a solemn question. f Should they eat up all of this last portion? or should they divide it into two parts, reserving something for the possible emergency of the next day? The moment that this was proposed, they all decided at once to reserve something, and not to devour at onc^e all that was left. They dete»'mined to deny themselves for this day for the security of the morrow ; and, hungry though tliey were, they preferred to have a meagre repast with hope, rather than a fuller repast with despair. And so their dinner was divided, and one portion set aside for the next day. Meagre indeed and inadequate was this repast for these long-fasting and ravenous boys ; but there was no help for it ; and as yet they had not quite reached the w^orst. They, therefore, all tried most strenuously to look on the bright side, make the best of their situation, and A LONG DAY. 59 cheer one another with remarks of a hopeful and encouraging character. Dinner was prolonged as far as possible. Then came the long hours of the afternoon. Gradually the efforts of the boys to keep up their own spirits and encourage one another grew feebler and feebler. From time to time they made faint efforts to find occupation for themselves, by resorting to the flag, and actively lowering and hoisting it. But .the greater part of the time was spent in silently anr' sadly staring at the strange ship, sometimes |. through the glass, whenever they could get the chance, but gonerall}^ without it. The remarks grew more and more infrequent. The hoplessness of their situation began to weigh down more and more the spirits of each, and at length they, one and all, relapsed into silence. Solomon kept out of sight. Wade sat, as usual, stolid and passive. Captain Corbet stood at the helm, looking in all directions, at sea and sky, with an unchanged ex- pression of heart-broken melancholy. So the time passed. invDi!- > 'S^^v^'Mif fi '^ The afternoon was far worse than the morning [in every respect. The moral tone of the whole party had declined, and the whole scene around [presented no encouraging feature. In the morning they had been inspired by the hope of making com- lunicatiohs with the ship, but now this hoi)e died mt more and more with every passing moment. At length the sun went down, and then the 60 "^KED UP ADRIFT. shadows of the gloomy night followed slowly and steadily. One by one the shades passed over the distant ship, until at last they stood staring at the place where they had seen her, but where now they could see nothing but darkness. This com- pleted their despondency, and the gloom around was commensurate with th^' which now fell darkly and desparingly over the soul of each. ;i, r r^ ^^^ .,efore any one is up, and then watch for the ap- )earance of the ship by daylight. The moment ^e see her we can pull for her." " That seems pretty good," said Bart, thought- [fully ; " but it is a puzzle to me how that ship can [be below the horizon, and yet not be farther off [than five miles. She certainly did not look farther away than that. For my part, I don't see how she Icould be less than ten miles at the least, so as to (be so completely hidden. I forget the rule for the [disappearance of a ship below the horizon ; but there is something in this one that I can't under- jtand. Yet, as you say, judging by the appearance )f her masts, one might imagine her to be not nore than three or four miles off. After all, it lust be mirage." "0, no; mirage doesn't last all day long, witb- )ut the slightest change." " You don't know. It may in this case." " Well, of course I don't pretend to understand ill the freaks of the atmosphere ; but all that I've >ver read about the mirage shows that it is inces- jantly shifting and changing, and never lasts over m hour or so, at the furthest. Besides, in our latitudes, these peculiar appearances only take )lace in the morning." " Well, I don't know," said Bart. " At any rate, shall be prepared lor a row of at least ten miles." " All right. Make up your mind to that, and then ^ou won't be disappointed." 64 PICKED UP ADRIFT. " Shall you go to bed to-night, Bruce ? " " Of course." '' But how can you wake?" " 0, 1 can wake whenever I like. I'll wake you." « All right. About what time ? " '^ 0, about an hour before daybreak ; but '^ome, let's get things ready now." The boys then went about completing their prep- arations for their adventurous journey. These were but slight. They consisted in simply putting on board the boat, which was floating astern, two bottles of fresh water and a little of the provision which had been put aside for the next day. After this they both retired. On the following morning, at about three o'clock^ Bruce laid his hand on Bart's forehead. Bart "iwoke instantly. The two then went as softly as possible on deck. No one was there. All were below, sound asleep. Silently, yet quickly, the two boys got into the boat, and then pushed off. There were two oars in the boat. Each took one, and then began to row. But, after a few strokes, Bruce took the oar from Bart, for the boat was too small for two oars- men. So Bruce pulled very silently out into the darkness over the water, in the direction which they supposed would lead towards the strange ship. After rowing about a hundred yards Bruce stopped. Both boys now waited patiently till it should become light enough for tliem to see the ship. DAYBREAK. 65 ■•• w \ ■0'',T^!'J [^-^^ i,.tyjir// f)ov ^»s;'' ^^iV; ^ /s/ 1.' ; 1. ■'■»'' '■ ■ - • • • >ayhreah — Startling Discovery. — The Boat gone, — Where are Bruce and Bart? — Dismay. — The long Row. — Tlie distant Ship. — Below the Horizon. — Deep in the Water. — The shattered Sails.— Waterlogged ! — Boarding the Stranger, — Discoveries of a Kind which are at once excit- ing and pleasing. LI . • I '.. :fl!V/l.'!i'>^ '>; >TTH the break of day the boya were all on deck. Their first impulse was to take a look around. They saw the reddening istern sky and the smooth water all around them, id their hearts sank within them as they per- sived that the wearisome calm still continued, ley noticed, however, that the ship was still fsible, and this was some consolation. It seemed )w a little nearer than the day before. *' Captain,'' said Tom, " we've got nearer to her : m't you think so ? " The cap'ain made no reply. Tom looked up, id repeated his remark. As he looked up, he ^w Captain Corbet standing astern with a puzzled 5 66 PICKED UP ADRIFT. expression, and looking down into the water and all around. , « What's the matter ? " asked Tom. " The boat," said Captain Corbet. " What of her ? " " Some one's been and stole her, or else she's gone to the bottom, only the rope's gone, too." « What ! the boat ! " cried Tom. " You don't mean to say the boat's gone ! " The other boys were startled at this, and hurried aft to look for themselves. - ^ " I'm glad I wasn't in her this time, at any rate," said Tom, and then added in a melancholy voice, " but I suppose it wouldn't make much difference }f now. The boys stood in silence for some time, not quite knowing how to take this new incident. At length Phil looked all around. • > " Where's Bart ? " he asked, " and Bruce ? " " They're not up," said Tom. " Don't wake them. Let them sleep as long as they can." *' Up ? They're not down, either," said Phil. " Their berths are empty." The boys all stared at each other. A suspicion flashed across their minds. " Sure and if they're not up nor down, they must be in the boat, and there you have it," said Pat, dryly. "And it's meself," he added, "that 'ud be proud to be with thim this day." " The boat ? But what for ? " asked Phil. THE DISCOVERY. 61 " They must have started off for the ship," said 'om, who now understood all. At this they all looked with eager eyes over the rater in the direction of the ship. All thought lat they could see a shadowy spot, but it was )o indistinct as yet to be* resolved into anything. yi'ter a few minutes Phil went below, and returned fith the glass, through which he looked long and ttentively. " It's them," said he at last, passing the glass to rthur. Arthur looked, and then Tom, and then Pat, id then Captain Corbet. It grew brighter and righter every moment, and at length, as Corbet )ked, he saw the boat plainly for an instant ; but ^e next moment the glare of the rising sun drove !& eyes away. The sun rose and ascended higher, >d still they could see the boys rowing with quick rokes very far away, while beyond lay the strange lip. It was still as low down as ever, "below the jrizon," as Captain Corbet said, but was very ich larger and plainer. Every one of them )ndered how she could be in reality so far away twenty miles. None of them spoke, however, it stood with varying feelings, staring in silence tor their companions. |0f them all the most affected was Captain )rbet. At the first mention of the fact he had irted, and after having assured himself of its i' r I t 68 PICKED UP ADRIFT. truth with his own eyes, he exhibited every mark of the deepest agitation. "Wal," said he, as he stood with his head bowel upon his breast. " I never 1 Who'd a thought it I Why, its ravin madness. And them, too, thinkin of rowin to a ship that's below the horizon. Twenty mile in that thar boat, if it's an inch, and two mile an hour's the most they can do. Why, it's temptin fate. It's flyin in the face of Providence. That's what it is. That thar ship's twenty mile away. The wind'U come up before they get half way. They'll never get there — never. And stealin off in this way, too ! Why didn't they get me to go with them? Why didn't they ask my advice ? And them, too, a trustin of their two perecious lives in that thar ferrail bark, that hadn't ought ever to go more'n a mile at the furthest. And here am 1, chained to this post, and can't move, and them a rushin on to utter ruination. 0, boys, dear boys," he concluded, in a kind of wail, " for your sakes I want the wind to rise, but for their sakes I want it to contennew a calm." " 0, captain, never fear,'^ said Arthur, cheerfully. "They'll take care of themselves easy enough; and, in fact, the more I think of it, the better it seems." "I only wish I was in the boat," said Tom, heartily. " So do I," said Phil. SOLOMON'S HOPEFULNESS. 69 ry mark i bowel lught it I , thinkin horizon, an inch, can do. 1 face of ar ship's p before there — )! Why hy didn't rustin of rail bark, le at the ;his post, to utter luded, in e wind to itennew a heerfully. enough ; better it laid Tom, t ring us luck, fust rate, too, fust chop, tip-top, )rime. Hooray ! Dey'U quaint dem yar seamen )b our difficulties, an dey'U come back a flyin 'id a big boat-load of pro-visium. 0, you can't h-bwn dem blessed chilen. Dey're boun to tak ;ar ob demselves, and dey'U work dar way ober le oceum foam, to sabe de libes ob all aboard, and'll )e back to-night to tea. Hooray I Mind, I tell rou 1 " 70 PICKED UP ADRIFT. * The gayety and hopefulness of Solomon did not fail to be communicated to all the rest, until at length even Captain Corbet was willing to admit that it was just as well, after all, that they had gone, though he still professed to feel hurt that his advice had not been asked. To the boys their situation seemed now in every way more endurable. They had at least something to hope for, and the adventure of their companions formed a perpetual subject for thought or conversa- tion. Even the calm was now welcome, for as long as this continued it would be favorable to the boat. On the other hand, should the wind arise, they could up sail and after them. They all thought that Captain Corbet's estimate of a distance of twenty miles was extravagant; and even if the ship was " below the horizon," they concluded that at the farthest it could not be more than eight or ten miles away. Allowing two miles an hour for the boat, they thought that Bruce and Bart might reach their destination by nine or ten o'clock in the morning, and thus have the greater part of the day still before them. As the hours passed away, the boys thus be- guiled the time by various speculations ahout the progress of their companions. The calm continued ; and they were not sorry, for they saw in this the best chance for a successful issue to the enterprise. Phil irade a sort of chart, with the schooner and the ship in proper position, and marked off ten THE EXPEDITION. 71 intervals wliich he estimated at a mile each. For hour alter hour they watched this, and amused themselves by indicating on it the progress of their friends. At length it was ten o'clock, and all the boys felt quite sure that the boat had reached ;he ship. Meanwhile the two adventurous boys had been joing on their expedition. At a hundred yards 'om the schooner they had stopped, as we have jeen, and looked anxiously around in the direction 'here they supposed the stranger to lie. For some time they could see nothing ; but at length, IS it grew lighter, they detected her masts through the gloom, and were overjoyed at finding that she ^as nearer than on the previous day. They had lade a mistake, however, as to the right direction, for the ship lay very much more to one side. " We've drifted nearer together during the n'ght," said Bruce, "and I don't believe she's )ver three miles away." Saying this, he changed the boat's course, and leading for the ship, pulled with all his might. "I say, Bruce," said Bart, "you'd better not [pull so hard at first; you'll tire yourself." '•' 0, it's only till we get further from the schooner, want to get well out of the reach of hearing Ibefore the fellows see us. I'll take it easy after la time." Saying this, he pulled on, watching the schooner, [and succeeded in getting so far away, that by the 72 PICKED UP ADRIFT. time they came on deck he could only distinguish the moving figures. Then he slackened his efforts somewhat. . " There isn't a bit of prospect of any wind," said he. " J tell you what it is, my boy : I'd far rather be here this minute than aboard the Antelope." " So would I," said Bart ; " but can you imagine the state of mind that the fellows must be in ? " " 0, they'll be glad after the first excitement's over." " I wonder if they saw us.'* " Of course." " They didn't shout, or anything." " We were too far off to hear them." " No, we weren't ; but I suppose we were so far off that they thought it would do no good." For about half an hour Bruce pulled quite leisurely, for he wished to husband his strength as much as possible, and then Bart took his turn at the oars. Not much was said, partly because the exertion of rowing did not allow of any pro- longed conversation, and partly because they were too much filled with their own thoughts, arising out of the suspense of the occasion. At length, after rowing for another half hour, Bart handed the oars to Bruce, and took his seat in the stern. The moment he did so be uttered a cry of surprise. GETTING NEARER. 73 tinguish is efforts '' wind," : rd far ard tlio imagine in ? " tement's re so far jf id quite strength his turn because any pro- ley were , arising alf hour, : his seat I cry of " What's the matter ? " asked Bruce. " Why, how near we're getting I " "^said Bart. " Of course we are." " I haven't looked since I took the oars, on pur- ioso to see what our progress is. And now — why, sally, Bruce, it seems as if we must be half way Iready." "Of course we are," said Bruce, "and more lo o jf " Why, she's as low in the water as ever." " I know; there's something queer about her." '^ She looks as though she'd been in a heavy gBle." "She must have been." " I don't see a soul on board." " I haven't seen any one, either." " Perhaps no one is up yet. It's early, you ow. V '' I hope it's that," said Bruce. Bart was silent for a few momenta. At length said, — " I should like to see some signs of life there, |must say." "Well, we'll know all about her by the time Ki're through your next pull." Bruce now rowed, and Bart sat with his eyes :ed on the ship. She still lay as low in the iter as ever, but they could see her bulwarks linly, and her cabins. Her rigging seemed as Isordered as ever, and it was a puzzle to Bart, 74 PICKED UP ADRIFT. why, in this calm weather, she should be so neg- lected. Vanous unpleasant thoughts arose in his mind, but he kept them to himself. Thus the time passed, and Bruce rowed, and the boat drew steadily nearer. At length he gave the oars over to Bart, and took his seat in the stern. By this time they were not more than a mile from the ship. She was certainly very low in the water. At a distance they had supposed that her sails were furled. They could now see that she had no sails at all. There was her jib, and that was all. There was no sign of life aboard, and the disorder in her rigging was more perceptible faan ever. "Bart," said Bruce in a solemn tone, after he had gazed silently at the ship for full ten minutes. " Well ? " " Do you know what I think about her ? " ''What?" " It's my opinion that there's not a soul on board of her." . • - Bart was silent. • - " She's evidently been in a storm ; her sails are gone ; her rigging is every way. The crew have probably deserted her ; and, yes, she is — there's no doubt about it. I suspected it — I knew it." *' She's what ? " asked Bart; " Waterlogged I " said Bruce. Bart turned his head and looked at her for a THE BOYS ENTHUSIASTIC. 75 Q a mile )w in the that her that she and that I, and the ible tlian ne, after full ten 9» on board sail? are rew have there's ?new it." ler for a g time. He said not a word. At last he turned Bruce. " Well," said he, " at any rate, we must board r. After coming so far, we can't go back, [esides, we may find something." " Find something ? Of course we shall," said uce, confidently. "We'll find lots of things, e'll find barrels of pork, and beef, and bread, d other things besides, no doubt. When they lift her, they would only take enough to last them they got ashore. They must have left the |reater part of their supplies and sea stores Ifchind." "Of course," said Bart; "so here goes." And with these words he pulled as vigorously i^ though he had not yet rowed a stroke. ; And now every minute they drew nearer and ilftarer. Bart rowed without turning his head, jpit Bruce sat with his eyes fixed upca her, pcasionally telling Bart when he got out of his urse. ,. . |As they drew nearer in this way, every doubt s removed, if there had be'*n any doubts in the nd of cither. The ship was evidently deserted, e was also as evidently waterlogged. Now they re able to account for what had puzzled them ore ; her lying so low in the water, and yef at same time seeming so near. Her nearness s not apparent, but real ; her lowness in the ter actual, and not seeming. That she had been 76 PICKED UP ADRIFT. deserted by her ciew was more and more evident every moment, for as they drew nearer, they could see not a sign of life. Had there been any Qne on board, he would certainly have made himself visible. At length Bruce bawled out, " Ship, ahoy I " Bart stopped rowing and looked around. Both boys listened. They did not expect any answer, nor did any answer come. They waited for about a minute, and then Bart rowed on. In about two minutes they were alongside. The oars were thrown in, the boat secured, and the two boys stepped aboard. There was a mixture of attraction and repulsion in the first sight of the ship, which afiected the boys very peculiarly. She lay waterlogged. Her decks were on a level with the sea. But hex bulwarks rose six feet high above the water, and the deck itself afforded a spacious area on which to walk. The deck was white with the washing of many waters, and dry in the warm sun, which had shone upon it for some days past. All the boats were gone except one, which hung at the starboard davits, and looked like the captain's gig. The cook's galley stood amidships, and astern there was a quarter-deck. The cabin doors were open wide. The forecastle was also open. The main hatchway was open, and the boys, looking in, could see the cargo. It consisted of enormous pine logs. .. re evident they could my Qne on d himself hoy I " ind. Both ly answer, for about about two oars were two boys '. repulsion d the boys Her decks bulwarks the deck h to walk. ^ of many had shone )oats were starb jard gig. The ern there vere open The main w )oking ill, '^S ' enormous ■1, w WATERLOGGED. 77 The sight of this cargo explained all. This was timber ship, no doubt, from Quebec, which had countered a storm in the gulf, and sprung aleak, n becoming waterlogged, she had been deserted d left to her fate ; yet her cargo, which was of ood, prevented her from sinking, and the huge icks of timber served to give her stiffness as ell as buoyancy, and preserve her from breaking To Bart a timber ship was the most familiar ing in the world, for he had been brought up in i| timber port ; his fatlier sailed timber ships, and j|ie whole situation wa.s one which he perfectly Itoderstood at the very first glance. J The boys walked about the decks. To their ielight, they saw several water casks lashed behind ^e mainmast, and a row of barrels that looked as ^ they contained provisions, for they all bore the ©loquent inscription : — MESS PORK. foing into the cook's galley, they saw the cook- ig-stove in good working order, and the inmost liought and spontaneous expression of each was, — " Won't Solomon rejoice when he sees this I " They then went aft. They entered the cabin. ^ . There was a passage-way about three feet wide. )n each side there was a door which was open. )oking in, they saw on one side a room full of 78 PICKED UP ADRIFT. ropes, and sails, and oakum, while on the other was another room full of ship^s stores. Passing on, they reached the cabin itself. It was a room about twelve feet wide and sixteen feet long. A door at one end opened into another cabin aft. On the sides of both cabins were doors opening into state-rooms. Two of these were very well furnished, and in the after cabin there was a large and comfortable state-room, which both the boys decided to have been the captain's. The furniture was all confused. The carpet was damp. It seemed as though the sea had been careering through these cabins and state-rooms. But the upper parts had been spared ; and in the pantry where the boys at length found themselves, they saw, with a pleasure that cannot be described, the contents of the upper shelves as dry as when they were first put there. At this they rejoiced more than at anything else. ■iiiliiia ON BOARD THE DESERTED SHIP. 79 VI. Bruce and Bart on hoard the deserted Ship. — New Discoveries, — Tlie Cook's Galley, — A sumptuous Bepast. — Observations. — A Beturn baffled. — Back again. — The Antelope. — The Bipple in the Water, — Speculations. — Tlie Sail to the Ship. — Puzzle about the lost Ones. — Nearer and nearer. — Unexpected and astounding Welcome! ^HE state of mind and body in which Bruce and Bart found themselves was of such a kind that the discovery of a well-stocked pantry and store-room gave them more delight than they had known for a very long time. They themselves were ravenously hungry ; for the appe- tite which had been quickened by their long fast had been sharpened by exercise, and they also could not forget that their friends on board the Antelope were depending uj)on this expedition as much as themselves. Uncfor such circumstances they looked around upon the well stocked shelves, and as, one after another, they recognized well- known and favorite articles of food, tears of joy started to their eyes. 80 PICKED UP ADRIFT. Tea, and coffee, and sugar, and butter, and potted meats, and hams, and pickles, and many other delicacies of a similar kind, showed that their predecessors had not been indifferent to the pleas- ures of the table. In taking leave they seemed to have been very modest in their requirements, since they had taken away but little. As they continued their researches, they found other arti- cles which increased their delight. There were a barrel of apples, boxes of raisins, drums of figs, bags of nuts, bottles of raspberry vinegar and of lemon sirup, a demijohn full of lime juice, and a delicious Cheshire cheese. Leaving the pantry and going into another store-room, they saw numerous barrels, some of which contained beef, and others pork. Opening another door, they looked in, and saw a chamber lined with tin and filled with pilot bread. " I say, Bruce," said Bart, " let's postpone any further searches now, and get breakfast." " All right. What shall we have ? " " Well, I feel strongly inclined for some tea, broiled bacon, toasted biscuit, and Welsh rarebit." " Why don't you add a few other things ? " said Bruce, with a laugh. " How can we cook any- thing?" " Why, in the cook's galley." *' But there isn't any fuel." " Why, there's a lot of coal in that front store- room, and fagots of wood. Didn't you see them ? " A SUMPTUOUS REPAST. 81 " I didnH notice." . ^ . " Well, I did, and Vm going to make a fire.'' " Have you any matches ? '^ "Yes." " Well, you make the fire, and I'll set the table." " 0, no ; don't set the table here. Let's eat oa the quarter-deck. It's rather close in here." " Very well ; I'll gather the dishes and eatables." Bart now went about his task. Going into the store-room, he found the fuel, and carrying a supply to the cook's galley, he succeeded in a few min- utes in producing a roaring fire. Then he filled the kettle, and before long the water began to boil. By that time Bruce was ready with his part of the business. The teapot was brought forward, and the tea set to draw. Then a few slices of very superior ham were placed over the coals and broiled. While Bruce attended to this, Bart soaked some pilot biscuit in water till they were quite soft, after which he fried them in butter on the sfove. He then proceeded to try his hand at a Welsh rarebit. He cut up some thin slices of cheese, added butter, and then allowed it all to liquefy over the fire. Having accomplished this, the two adventurers conveyed their things to the quarter-deck, and sat down to breakfast. ^ Even had they been less hungry they would have enjoyed that breakfast. True, they had no milk in their tea, but they had long since grown accustomed, on board the. Antelope, to dispense 82 PICKED UP ADRIFT. with that. The tea was of a very superior quality, the fried biscuit was moat savory, the broiled ham was a great success, and the Welsh rarebit was pronounced delicious. Already they had turned occasional glances over the water, and had seen the Antelope, lying appar- ently three or four miles away, in the same place where they had left her. Now, after they had sat- isfied their appetites, they began to look at her more closel}", and to discuss the time of their return. They felt anxious to go back as soon as possible, but decided that they might as well post- pone it until they were thoroughly rested. It was evident to the boys that the ship which they had boarded had been deserted very hastily, and they thought that her company must have boarded some other ship. In this way only could they account for the numerous things which had been left behind. Among these was a very good spy-glass. Bruce had seen this while preparing breakfast, and had brought it on deck with the other things. As they now sat on the deck after breakfast, they amused themselves for some time with looking at the Antelope. They could see sev- eral figures on the deck, but could not distinguish one from another. They tried to tell by watching their movements who each one might be. A solitary figure, that stood motionless at the stern, they were certain was Captain Corbet, while another figure, which indulged in rathier eccentric OBSERVATIONS. 83 movements, seemed to be Solomon. The rest could not be guessed at. They had already found out the name of the ship. They saw it in many places, on a row of buckets that hung in front of the cabin, on the captain's gig, on the cook's galley ; they saw it engraved on a brass plate on the cabin door, on the capstan, and on the spy-glass ; and this name, which they thus saw in so many places, was, — PETREL, LIVERPOOL. In dis^cussing her fate, they concluded that she had loaded with timber at Quebec, had encoun- tered a severe gale in the gulf and sprung a leak, and that another ship had hove in sight, to which the captain and crew of the Petrel had fled in their boats, without taking anything off their ship. They must have deserted her under the impression that she was going down. Thus they accounted for the present situation. Thev decided to leave at eleven o'clock for the Antelope, and return with the schooner as soon as possible. Nearly an hour still remained, and they thought it would be a good idea to prepare the Petrel for the reception of visitors, so as to afford as cheerful ah impression as possible. This could be effected by making the cabin more "ship- shape." It seemed to have been entered by roll- ing seas; for the furniture was lying confusedly A^ ^-^ V\* "; ^^ .0., \*^ IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 I.I 1.25 15 iiiiZ IIIIM II 1.8 1-4 ill 1.6 Va ^ n m -> > 7 r5 ^^ ////I 84 PICKED UP ADRIFT. about, and there was some dampness in the air. The bedding also was all wet. They devoted themselves now to this. They opened the sky- light, so as to secure ventilation, and the stern- ports. Then they brought all the bedding out, and spread it over the quarter-deck, where the hot sun and dry wind might do their work. Then they swept out the cabin, and arranged the fur- niture as neatly as possible. At the end of this a great change was produced, and the cabin of the Petrel assumed an appearance not only of comfort, but almost of comparative luxury. At length eleven o'clock came, and they began to prepare for their return to the Antelope. These preparations consisted simply in filling a bag with pilot bread, and putting this on board the boat ; to which they added a ham, with some tea, sugar, and butter. They then embarked, and, pushing off, began to row. But scarcely had they rowed a dozen strokes when they became sensible of a breeze. It was a gentle breeze, and it was blowing against them. Bart, who was rowing, at once stopped, and Bruce at the same moment uttered a cry which mado him look round. It was a joyous sight that they saw — a siglit which assured them that they would be spared the long effort of pulling back again, for there, away over the water, they saw the Ante- lope spreading her white wings to catch the gentle breeze. If that breeze continued, it would A RETURN DISCUSSED. 85 bring her np to them in an houi^ and though light, it promised to be steady enough. " I wonder if it's going to last," asked Bart thoughtfully. . ,' . *' O, I think so." " Perhaps it may be as well not to pull any far- ther just yet." " Certainly not. This breeze'll bring the Ante- lope here faster than we can row towards her, and we will not be gaining enough time to pay for our trouble." " But the wind might stop, and in that case it would be a pity to lose the time." "0, it can't be of much consequence. If the wind does die away, we can start off. We can watch the Antelope all the time." " Well," said Bart, " if you're agreed, I am, I'm sure ; and besides," he added, " 1 should like to do a little more to make the Petrel more presentable, and in better order for receiving our visitors." " Capital," said Bruce. " 1 didn't think of that. •Yes, that will be far better than wasting time in unnecessary rowing." " My idea," said Bart, " is to set the table in the cabin, and cook a sumptuous breakfast to receive the starving Antelopers." " Hurrah I " cried Bruce, with enthusiasm ; "that's just the thing." " The cabin's a little damp, but not so bad as it was, and by the time they get here, it'll be dry 86 PICKED UP ADRIFT. enough. They won^t be particular. We'll set the table regularly, bring out the be'=^t china, and cook some ham, trot out some of those potted meats, and have both tea and coffee." " And Welsh rarebit." " Well, yes, if we have time ; but the fact is, I wasn't altogether satisfied with my last effort, and we can try it again some other time." This new project was a most fascinating one to both the boys, who returned to the Petrel, and . hauled up their boat on the other side, so that it could not be seen from the Antelope. This was merely to heighten the surprise 'which they in- tended to give. They then went to work to pre- pare the repast with which they wished to welcome their friends ; and their only fear now was that the Antelope would reach them before they were ready. Fortunately, this was not the case. The breeze lasted, but it was Hght, and the progress of the Antelope, though steady, was slow, so that the t boys were able to complete their preparations, v Meanwhile, the time on board the Antelope had passed very slowly. The boys had felt full of hope about the result of the expedition of Bart and Bruce, but they were all ravenously hungry, and hope could not take the place of bread and butter. As the time passed they all felt more and more impatient, and after they had settled for themselves that the boat had reached the ship, they began to look for its return. CAPTAIN CORBET'S EXCITEMENT. 87 But from these thoughts they were all roused by a sudden cry of joy. It burst forth from Cap- tain Corbet. Every one started and turned to see what had happened. Tliey saw an exhilarating eight, vvrhich at once roused them from thefr gloom. There at the stern stood their venerable friend, a smile of exultation on his aged face, tears of joy in his mild eyes, one hand waving his hat in the air, and the other pointing over the water. " It's come ! It's come 1 Hooray ! " This was what he said, and as he said it the boys looked, and saw all over the water a gen- tle ripple. Then they knew it all. The long- wished-for wind had at last come, and they were freed from their long and irksome imprisonment. In an instant they all rushed to hoist the sails. As they hoisted them they felt the gentle air on their faces, and they saw the sails swelling at its touch. Soon all sail was hoisted, and Captain Corbet, with an exultant smile, stood once more at the helm, and the Antelope began to move through the waters. " I knowed it," said he, " I knowed it all along, and I said it, I did. That thar wind was bound to come, I felt it in my bones ; yea, down to my butes. I saw how down in the mouth you all felt, and didn't like to make you too san-goo-wine, but I knowed it, I did, I knowed it, all the same ; and here, it has come at last, sure enough." The progress of the Antelope was slow, but it 88 PICKED UP ADRIFT. ;l">ner; but though beforf h , "''^•"^°* °^' had all been so hnr,l Z '""'^ '^"'"^ ^^ey 'o«t their appetites^TL ^ ''""'''' "*'"' '° have ;ntil they ha/reachoT; ^ !" ^f *. ^'^'^ '« eat friends again. AnH =. t '^' "'"^ •'°'°ed their the water. '° ^'^'^^ -''^'^d slowly over -'5^ra;:;\r;re;r^ ''^ -'^^ — ^ hair discovered^ not lo„";:?Jrf ' 1"' ^" ^'^^^ «at.on. They could so^fh- u\ "^'^ "'^ ^er sit B'-uce had been able to do f "", """ ^^^' '^"d -•tti^g low down in a oat, Slile "th!"^ ""'' '^-" Wff on the deck, or the t^ff. V^'^ '^^'"^ ^te"* ">- could Ue out'thXf ^°'>--'-' -d stranger more easily character of the ^C tn:i:Xt^^- learned this: could not see. What Ld 1 '^°''"' '"• °°* «'ey Where were Bruoranl Bart "t? °' "" "^"^^ «'gns of any boat whatever fi,!"^ '°"''^ ''' "° length did appear in thrlf ^'^°' "^ ^'fe at cook's galley!^ 7r"hu; wl^ °' '""''^ fr""" *he «h.> through the gla sTClT t? r'"^ ^''^ 6 ""' was the first to detect this, PUZZLE ABOUT THE LOST ONES. 89 of and it was not long before all the boys could see it with the naked eve. Smoke of itself would have indicated human life ; but smoke from the cook's galley indicated something more, and was eloquently suggestive of those joys of the table to Avhich they had too long been strangers. It served to assure them that their difficulties were ap- proaching an end, and that smoke from the cook's galley was of itself enough to drive away the last vestige of despondency. But, in the mean while, what had become of Bruce and Bart? That was the question which every one asked himself, without being able to answer. Where was the boat? They could not see it any- where. Could the boys have gone on board the- ship? They must have done so. The water had been too calm to admit of the probability of any evil happening to them. They must have boarded the ship. But where were Bruce and Bart now? No one could tell. ' The Antelope drew steadily nearer, and all on board watched with indescribable eagerness the strange ship. Now they could see her disordered rigging, her yards bare of sails, her open hatch- way. They could see bedding lying on the quar- ter-deck, and the open skylight. All these things indicated life on board ; yet of that life there was no other sign. Where was the captain ? Where were the crew ? Where was the cook, who kept 90 PICKED UP ADRIFT. up such a roaring^ fire ? It was all a puzzle. Above all. where were Bruce and Bart? Who could tell? Nearer and nearer. Every moment brought them closer, but dis- closed no living being. Solomon crept up slowly to Arthur, and gently touched his arm. Arthur started, and turned. " Hallo, Solomon ! what's the matter with you ? " " Mas'r Atta, I donno bout dis yer craft,'' said Solomon, in a tremulous voice, with his eyes roll- ing wildly. " Why, what's the matter?" asked Arthur, in sur- prise. •' Donno ; dar's somethin drefful curous bout dis yer craft, — beats all eber I see, — floatin under water ; full ub water, an not sinkin ; fire a burnin like de old boy in de cook's galley, an not a livin man aboard. I don't like it. Tell you what, now, I don't like it." " Pooh ! nonsense ; " said Arthur. " Don't be absurd, Solomon. You'll take your turn in that cook's galley, perhaps, before sundown, and make acquaintance with the cook of tho ship." * Solomon shuddered and shook his head. They were now within a stone's throw of the ship. Suddenly Captain Corbet put both hands to his mouth, holding the tiller between his legs, and shouted, in a loud voice, — ALONGSIDE. 91 "Ship, ahoy I" Then came an answer. At last I And what an answer I Out of the cabin bounded two well-known forms. They rushed out dancing, and capering, and fling- ing their hats in the air. They shoited, and yelled, and hurrahed. They ran up to the quartor-deck, and repeated these actions there. Those on board the Antelope were so astounded that they looked on in dumb bewilderment. "Haul up alongside!" cried Bruce. "Fetch her round I I'm captain of this craft, and Bart is mate ; I'm steward, and he's cook ; I'm boatswain, and he's the crew. Hurrah ! Haul up alongside, and heave us a line, my hearties." It was some time before Captain Corbet could recover sufficiently from his bewilderment to be capable of doing anything. Half mechanically he managed to bring the Antelope around, and man- aged it just in time to cause her to move gently up alongside. Wade, who had all along been per- fectly stolid, then proceeded to secure the schooner to the ship in the most matter-of-fact way in the world, just as if he had been securing her to the wharf in Grand Pr^. But long before he had taken the first turn in the rope, the boys had. bounded on board the Petrel, and proceeded to overwhelm Bruce and Bart with countless ques- tions. 92 PICKED UP ADRIFT. VII. All aboard. — A Welcome of the best Kind. — Tlie Invitation. — The Banquet. — Amazement of the Visitors. — The Repast. — Solomon in his Glory. — The Manuscript found in a Bottle. — The Fate of the Petrel. — Captain Corbet has an Idea. — He begins to brood over it. — A Question of Sal- vage. — How to make one's Fortune. MnL RADUALLY they became acquainted with V^Mi the whole truth of the situation. They had ^* thought thus far that the ship, though water- logged, was still in the possession of her captain and crew. Boundless was their astonishment at learning that it was in the possession of Bruce and Bart alone, and the astonishment which they ex- perienced at this amazing discovery for a time drove away all other thoughts. But Nature at length asserted her supremacy, and the pangs of hunger, for some time past kept in abeyance, now awaked in full force. " Haven^t you found anything to eat ? " asked Arthur, in a low voice; tremulous with emotion. ABUNDANT REPAST. 93 Bruce did not reply, but looked at Bart. The other boys turned pale. For a moment the awful thought occurred that there was nothing ; but the next instant there was wafted to their nostrils tho savory odor of broiled ham, which overpowered that mournful thought, and drove it away effec tually. « Well, T don't know," said Bart, " but that we may manage to scare up something. I suppose you're not very particular. Come in here, and I'll see what I can do for you." With these words he entered the cabin, and all the others followed. One by one they entered the cabin, and one by one each, as he entered, stood rooted to the spot, and stared around in dumb amazement. Captain Corbet came last. He took one look, and then exclaimed, in a low, prolonged, and tremulous voice, — " Good gerracious ! " And indeed there was every reason for surprise. They had come in expecting to enter the ruinous cabin of a half-wrecked ship, with perhaps a few mouldy ship's biscuit to be divided among the hun- gry company. Instead of this they saw a table set out to its fullest extent, with a white cloth spread, and on that table a repast which was noth- ing less than sumptuous. Tea, coffee, biscuit hard and toasted, Welsh rarebit, broiled ham, potted shrimps, game pie, pickled oysters, lobster, 94 PICKED UP ADRIFT. potted salmon, tomatoes, potatoes hot, steaming, and mealy, apples, raisins, nuts, figs, raspberry vinegar, lemon sirup, and numerous other dain- ties which Bart and Bruce had discovered and drawn forth from the rich store that lay accumu- lated in the pantry of the Petrel. The lavish abun- danco .of everything, as well as the astonishing variety, overwhelmed the hungry new comers, and, except the exclamation of Captain Corbet, not one word was spoken. It was a moment when words were useless. For an instant or so Bruce and Bart enjoyed the astonishment of their friends, and watched the effect with a triumphant smile. Th(3y had been pur- posely lavish in this first entertainment of theirs, and had succeeded in placing upon the table a specimen of every individual article for food or drink which the ship contained. They had worked hard in anticipation of this moment, and now that it' had come, they found it a complete success. " Come,'^ said Bruce, at last, " you can't eat with your eyes, you know. Come, noble captain, do you preside at this festive board. Tom, sit on the captain's right, Bart on his left. I'll take the foot of the table, with Phil on my right. Ward, mf bold mate, sit next to Bart ; Pat and Phil, fall in. Solomon, you go and install yourself in the cook's galley, where you'll find as much as you can eat for the rest of the dav." Upon this they all took their places, and began tl AN AMPLE REPAST. 95 to eat with appetites such as those only can pos- sess who have fasted for twenty-four hours on the sea. Bart and Bruce had already satisfied their owk wants ; so while their friends were eating they gave a full, complete, and exhaustive account of their own adventures, and their doings aboard of the Petrel. The dinner passed off most delightfully, and a far longer time was spent at the table than the boys generally gave to their repast. Ample jus- tice was done to the bountiful and varied supply that graced the board. After the first pangs of hunger were appeased, there were a thousand new questions to be asked and answered, in addition to those which they had already made. Captain Corbet alone said nothing. He sat and ate, and listened, and from time to time leaned back in his chair w^ith a sigh of happiness, and surveyed the company with a smile that spoke of inward peace. " My dear young ferriends," said the venerable captain, at length, taking advantage of an opening in the conversation to express his feelings, " it is with feelings of no ordinary deskeription that I now address you. We have sailed over the briny and billowy main far and wide, and have encoun- tered parls and dangers more'n any ordinary peo- ple, but never have we been in such a position, or reduced to such extremities, as in these last few days. And now look at us. Here we air. What 9G PICKED UP ADRIFT. kind of an abode is this ? Is it a ship ? Scacely. Is it a island ? Not quite. It's enchanted gerround ! Here we air, an we've been led by the kind hand of Providence to this secluded spot in the midst of the wide waste of waters. We come here in a state of starvation, witi: our minds in a kine of de- spair ; we come here, and we found, as it were, a table spread for us in the wilderness. So far, so good ; and I know, my dear young Christian ferriends, you all rejice with me, and feel as I do, full of gladness and gerratitood. But secondly, my dear ferriends," continued the captain, insen- sibly increasing his tone and manner to a sermon- izing intensity, " there air things about this here craft, that begin to occur to my mind, that go be- yond the present fleetin moment, and interweave themselves with our footoor destiny. I ain't a goin to say jest now what these things air, but I want, fust and foremost, to browse round, and inspect, and cogitate, and meditate, till I kin hit on some kind of a plan for workin out what I want. I'll tell you when I get it all thought out, but for the present I am dumb." After this very mysterious conclusion. Captain Corbet rose and left the cabin. For the remainder of the day he kept by himself. He wandered all over Liie ship, and inspected every part most care- fully. Then he retreated to the quarter-deck, and, seating himself there, lost himself in his own ab- sorbing thoughts. What he was thinking about SOLOMON IN HIS GLORY. 97 the boys did not know, nor did * any of them in- quire ; for they were all far too much taken up with the novelty of the situation to pay any attention to him. Meanwhile Solomon had followed the commands of Bruce, and had taken himself off to the cook's galley. There, two hours afterwards, on leaving the cabin, the boys found him. He had that ex- pression on his face, and had installed himself in that particular attitude, which might have belonged to one who had lived and labored here for years. He had eaten a huge repast, and was meditating over a roaring fire. " Hurrah, Solomon," said Bart, who was the first to visit him. " How goes it, my prince of darkies ? This is a little ahead of the Antelope — isn't it? Now you can begin to live again ; and I tell you what, you'll find enough stuff aft there to give us a first-rate bill of fare every day, and diflferent every time." Solomon jumped up with a grin. " Is de dinna oba, Mas'r Bart?" he asked. "0, yes." . ^ , , ^^ " Well, den, I raus go aft an clar away de tings, and spect for myself, to see what we got roun us in dis yer craft. I been a tryin to cogitate an contrive for suppa, but I can't manage it nohow till I know zacly what I got to put my ole hands on. I s'pose you'll take all de tings aboard de An- telope right away ? " 98 PICKED UP ADRIFT. " Aboard the Antelope ? Indeed, we don't in- tend to do anytliin*;- of the kind." " Why, what are you a goin to do?'^ "Do? Why, we'll stay here for ever so long. It's a kind of desert island, you know — only it's ten times better." = . The rest of the boys now came streaming for- ward, wandering all over the ship. Solomon went to the cabin, while Bart and Bruce proceeded to examine the mattresses. These were vury much dryer than thoy had been, but still were so damp that several of them would require two or three days to become fit to sleep on. Others, however, were already nearly fit for use. Bart noticed that the wet ones came from the port side of the ship, and he remembered that the state-rooms on that side were much damper than those on the other. Water seemed to have penetrated there. He ac- counted for this on the supposition that this had been the leeward side in a gale, and, when the ship was filling, it had lain low down, and had received the washings of the waves. Fortunately, the store- room and the pantry were on the other side, and thus their contents had escaped without injury. But the wet mattresses themselves were after- wards taken in hand by Solomon, who opened them, and dried their contents partly in front of the galley stove and partly in the open air. To assist in this process he kindled a roaring fire in the cabin, which served a double purpose, for it THE MANUSCRIPT IN THE BOTTLE. 99 not only dried the mattresses but it also dried tLe cabin itself, and drove away the last vestige of dampness from the state-rooms on the port side. " '•" '- ••- ''- ■ ■ ' ' ' "'' - ■ While busy in one of these, l^a-rt saw a bottle lying on the floor. It was c rked, On taking it up, he held it to tl]e light to see what liquid might be inside. To his surprise he saw no liquid, but some folded paper. With a loud cry he rushed forth upon deck, displaying his bottle, and calling upon all the boys to come. -' '■- In a few moments the eager boys had all col- lected around Bart, and even Captain Corbet was roused from his abstraction, and came to the centre of interest. " Has anv one a corkscrew ^ " asked Bart. '^ *' There's one in the pantry, ' said Bruce. '' I'll go and get it," said Phil. ^ ^ • « Pooh ! " said Tom ; " break the bottle. You^l never get at the paper if you don't." " Sure enough," said Bart; and the next instant he struck the bottle against an iron belaying-pin, and shivered it to atoms. The paper fell on the deck. Bart snatched it up, and opened it. It was a piece of coarse paper, that looked as though it had been hastily torn from some book. On it some writing was hurriedly scrawled with a pencil. It was as follows : — 100 ; PICKED UP ADRIFT. . " . Ship Petrel, of Liverpool, from Quebec, with Urn' her. Fog for two weeks, and violent gales. Lost reckoning. Took an observation last in lat. 46° 5' 22'', long. 59° 8' 2". Ship waterlogged, on beam- ends J and going to pieces. Taking to boats. "'^ Henry Ilally blaster. There was another scrawl that seemed intended for a date, but the boys could not make it out. It looked Hke " Tuesday, March," but it miglit have been anything else. i, Such, then, was the writing. The captain had believed that the ship was actually going to pieces, and had hurried off evidently in the greatest pos- sible haste, and had probably thrown into the boats a few of the barest necessaries of life. But Bart suggested another theory. It was that the captain had put this writing in the bottle, and had got it all ready to throw over, when perhaps a Pail had hove in sight, and thus the bottle had been left in the cabin. Another theory was, that, in his hurry or panic, he had forgotten all about the bottle, which had floated about in the cabin, and been left in one of the state-rooms by the retreating waves. It was evident to all that the captain, " Henry Hall," had lost his head. In his terror he had be- lieved that the ship was " going to pieces ; " whereas nothing of the sort was going on. She might pos- sibly have been on her beam-ends, since he said ■':* SALVAGE. 101 80, but even here his fears might have exaggerated the danger. Captain Corbet thouglit th'it she had been struck over on her beam-ends, and held down by her sails, and, when these were torn away, she had eventually righted herself. " That thar skipper," said he, sententiously, " was frikened out of his seven senses, and fancied the craft was brakin up. So he rushed to the boats, chucked in a bag of biscuit and a few bot- tles of water, and rowed away for his life." . / * Captain Corbet paused for a moment, and looked at the boys with a very singular expression on his face. " And now," said he, " my dear young friends, do you know what you air, and what you've ben an gone an done ? " " What ? " asked Bruce, in some surprise at the captain's tone and manner. . " Wal, only this — you're salvors." * " Salvors ! " repeated Bruce, to whom this word conveyed no meaning in particular. " Salvors ! " repeated Captain Corbet, impres- sively. " Yes, you've found this here ship on the broad bosom of the deep, deserted ; you've took possession — she's yours." .. ^ ^ , '' Well, what of that? " said Bruce. " For that matter, she belongs to all of us." " She belongs to all them that bear a hand to bring her into port." " Into port I " cried Bart, in great surprise. 102 PICKED UP ADRIFT. " Yes, into jjort," said Captain Corbet. " That tbar was the very fust idee that entered into my head as I sot foot on this liere deck. Tliis noble ship, this valable cargo, — is this to be given up, or surrendered to the tender mussies of the piti- less and ragin ocean? Not if I knows it. Jf we can manage to navigate this here craft in'o port, she's ours I We can sell her. We can sell her cargo. It's a val'able cargo. It'll give each of us enough, if the proceeds air divided, to set us up for life. For my part, I'm an old man, with one foot in the grave; but I never forget that I am a feyther, and never did the parential heart beat more wildly than it did at the identical moment when this thought came like fire into my brain. That's so." " But how in the world can we get her into port?" cried Bart, in astonishment and excite- ment. ' ' "■ • ■ " - "• " Wal," said Captain Corbet, " that thar's the very identical pint that I've been a cogitatin over the hull arternoon. I've gone about this here craft on all sides, an I've sot an surveyed her from a distance. I've shot my eyes an meditated her all over. But thar's one grand and overpeowerin obstacle in the way to a fair navigation, and that is, she hasn't got a rag of a sail except that jib." " So what can we do?" said Bruce. "We can't get her to move an inch without sails." IM HOW TO MAKE ONE'S FORTUNE. 103 " Couldn't we rig up the sails of the Antelope ? " asked Tom. Captain Corbet shook his head mildly. ^' 'Tain't possible," said lie, " no how. Fust an foremost, the spread of canvas on the schewner ain't over an above sufhcient to letch her along, and on this here ship it wouldn't be a succum- staijce. Why, this liore ship is a thousand ten- ner, an more too. Besider," added the venerable captain, with mild suggestiveness, " the canvas of the Antelope might be stronger.'' This was a statement the truth of which was at once felt and acknowledged by all the boys. " Wal," said Captain Corbet, " there ain't no use doin things up in a hurry — not a mite. We've got to deliberate, cogitate, turn it all over in our minds, and be precious keerful how we decide. There's a good deal at stake, and this here hour may be a goin to make or mar our fortius. I intend to brood over it this night, an p'aps by mornin I'll see my way. The only trouble is," he added, in a pensive tone, " that I don't quite know how I can ever see my way to navigatin this here vessel without sails.^ " Perhaps we can drift to some place,'* sug- gested Phil. . Captain Corbet looked at Phil for a few moments with mild astonishment. " Have you ever tried driftin, young sir ? " he asked, at length. 104 PICKED UP ADRIFT. " No," said Phil, " except with you, in the Ante- lope." " Yea, and in the Bay of Fundy. Now, if thia was only the Bay of Fundy, Fd feel at heme. In that thar bay Fd ventoor to cal'late the exact point to which this here ship would drift But this ain't the Bay of Fundy, and, what's more, 1 don't understand the currents of these here wa- ters, — more's the pity, bein as Fm a pilgerrim an a stranger. As to driftin, why, we'll drift, course, as long as we're aboard ; but where we may drift to it would take a man with a head as long as a horse to tell. Why, we might drift to Portygal, and that, I think, wouldn't quite meet the voos of any of us. Fve knowed, or leastways I've heerd tell of ships that's gone all the way over to Porty- gal, partly driftin, partly by the wind a blowin of 'em. But this here ship I want to indooce to go to some home port, — and how to do that is the puzzle that now occoopies this bewildered brain." • With these words the captain gently passed away from the group of boys, leaving them to think over and to talk over this new and exciting pro- ject. It was in conversation about this and about the message in the bottle, that they occupied them- . selves till bedtime. That night they concluded to sleep in their old quarters on board the Antelope, as the beds and bedding in the cabin of the Petrel were not dry enough to satisfy the mind of Captain Corbet. A GRAND BREAKFAST. 105 « ■ *■ ' 1 VIII.. Solomon in Ms Glory. — The Breakfast a splendid Success. — Out of Starvation and into the Land of Plenty. — llemoval of Lodgings. — Tlie Ques- tio7i of Salvage. — An important Debate. — To go or not to go. — Dropping Anchor. — The final Departure. — Corbet bids a fond Farewell. — Alone in the Water-logged Ship, , , ^IffT was late on the following morning when they fix awoke. The effect of fatigue and excite- ment, together with perfect peace of mind, all conspired to make their sleep sound and refresh- ing. Solomon alone was up early ; but it was nine o'clock before they sat down to the sumptuous breakfast which he had prepared in the cabin of the Petrel. , ; : , ^, ,, , v , Solomon had found himself in command of a very well appointed larder, and he showed no inclination to spare it. He seemed to be endeavoring to make amends for his enforced idleness of the past few days by extraordinary activity and fruitfulness of invention in the culinary department. There was no lack of anything which the ship could supply ; 106 PICKED UP ADRIFT. nay, there was even more than any of tlie boys had expected, for, to the amazement of all, they saw on the table before them several dishes of hot rolls; for Solomon had discovered among the ship's stores some barrels of flour, and had at once made a raid upon these. He laid before them coflee, tea, hot rolls, delicious fish-balls, broiled ham, stewed tomatoes, baked potatoes, with a variety of potted meats, prepared in manifold ways by his skilful hand. The breakfast was a splendid success. It made all of them more delighted than ever with their situation. In fact, about that situation there was now an air of luxury ; and the first determination of all of them was to move, bag and baggage, on board the Petrel, and live there. Solomon assured them that before the next evening all the bedding would be so dry that the most delicate invalid might sleep upon any one of the mattresses with- out fear. The boys, therefore, made their decision at once. They determined to take up their lodg- ings on board the Petrel, and proceeded to select state-rooms. As there was some difference in these apartments, they decided that the fairest way would I'd to draw lots. Captain Corbet positively refused to leave the Antelope, and so did Wade ; so the boys had it all to themselves. Pat and Phil drew the best room (the captain's) ; Bart and Tom drew the next best, which was apparently the mate's ; while Bruce and Arthur had the choice of any one f t ( 1 " NEW QUARTERS. 107 out of the four remaining ones. All, however, were sufficiently comfortable to satisfy the most exacting, and none of the party had any cause to find fault with the result. Then followed the re- moval of their simple baggage, after which the boys began to *' fix up " their respective state-rooms with as much care and labor as though they pro- posed spending the rest of the summer on board. These preparations did not take up much time ; and before long they were all out on deck inspect- ing the bedding, and examining how far the vari- ous mattresses were prepared for being restored to their places. But it was decided to leave all these for the day, until Solomon should be ready to make the beds. ' ■ It was a beautiful day. The sky was without a cloud, blue and glorious. The sun shone down warmly and brilliantly. There was a gentle breeze, which tossed up the water into wavelets without making much motion, a breeze which was sufficient for the tranquil movement of some pleasure yacht, and not strong enough to excite any fear. There was a freshness in the atmosphere which was most exhilarating. The air was clear- and transparent. Wide around lay the waste of waters, upon which not a single sail was visible. . . ..r.^- Solomon cleared away the table, and then re- lapsed into the galley. The boys gathered into a little group upon the quarter-deck. To them thus assembled appeared the form of the venerable Cor- 108 PICKED UP ADRIFT. bet, a smilo on his lips, a glance of benignity in his eyes. " It's all about this here salvage," ho began, somewhat abruptly. "You see, boys, I've ben a thinkin an a dreamin, asleep an awake, all night long, an my pinion is more an more that we hadn't ort, none of us, to lose this present blessed chance, if we can possibly make anythin out of it. I've ben a cal'latin the valoo of this here ship an cargo. Now, this here ship must have cost at least fifteen thousand pounds. Of course she ain't wuth that much now, an I can't tell what she is wuth till I know what damage she's received. At any rate, she's wuth a good deal. As for her cargo, why, that's jest as good as the day it was put inside of her. Timber ain't like grain or cotton ; it don't spile. Here, then, we have a couple of thousand tons or so of fust-rate white pine timber, wuth lots of money, and we have this ship, wuth thousands of pounds. Why, boys, at the smallest cal'lation, the proceeds of the sale of this here ship and cargo would amount to over a thousand pounds apiece for every one of us, includin Solomon. ' " 'Tain't myself I'm a thinkin on," resumed the captain, after a pause, in a tone of mild melancholy, and with a pensive sigh ; " 'tain't myself at all. I'm old, sere, an yaller. I don't want money ; I got ei.ough for all my needs and pupposes. But it's the babby, dear boys, the babby. That thar infant is the true cause of my present wanderin [ SALVAGE AGAIN. 109 * life. IIo drives mo to tlio ocean w'ave when I might bo toastin my shins in front of my own stove. I want to airn somethin to leave to him when I'm dead an gone. I got tlie house an the farm ; but I want somethin more for the infant. All my cares are for him. I don't want to leave him to the cold world, to sturruggle an to sturrive. I want to give him a eddication, to make a man of him an a scholyer, a joy to his parient, and an honor to his country. " Wal, now's the chance. Here we have it thrown into our very hands. We've got it, an all we've got to do is to make use of it. Here's this here ship an cargo. If we can only get her into some port, it'll be vvutli over a thousand pounds apiece to every one of us, Solomon included. Each one of you boys'U have enough, dear knows, to keep you in pocket-money all your born days, or to buy you a fine schewner all to yourself Solo- mon'U have enough to raise him far above the humble attitood of a ship's cook ; an I will have enough to raise the babby above want, an rair him to be a gentleman an a scholyer." Partly from the idea of getting plenty of pocket- money, partly to help old Solomon, partly to assist the respected Corbet in acquiring the means of giving an " eddication " to the " babby,'^ but more than all because they were moved' by his earnest- ness, the boys universally chimed in with his wishes, and urged him most enthusiastically to do no PICKED UP ADRIFT. all that he could to save the ship. Captain Corbet listened with his usual mildness, and then suggest- ed that perhaps there might be some sails stowed away on board ; upon which he at once went off to search lor himselfl -^^ - v \ , Cii^mr-, His search, however, was not successful. One sail was found, but it was quite inadequate to tlie needs of the ship. It really seemed to be, as the captain asserted, that the Petrel had encountered violent gales, in which her sails had been lost, and all her spare ones made use of only to be lost in turn. Certain it was that, though of other things there was no lack, of sails there was a total want ; and the discovery of this reduced Captain Corb'^t once m.ore to his former meditative mood. •' -- ^ While Captain Corbet thus meditated, the boys talked over the situation. If sails were wanted, it seemed to them that the best thing that could be done would be for some one to go and get them. There was wind enough. The Magdalen Islands were not far away, and no doubt a sufficient supply could be obtained there. Some one might remain' on board the Petrel. The question then arose. Who sliould go and who should stay ? As to that there was no doubt. Every one of the boys deter- mined to stick to the Petrel at all hazards, and thus Captain Corbet himself could go in the Antelope. It was with words to this effect that Bart broke in upon the musings of Captain Corbet. The captain listened to his remarks, and, though I AN IMPORTANT DEBATE. Ill he wag evidently struck by them, still there arose in his mind certain scruples, which under the cir- cumstances were very natural. . ., ' " 0, no ! no, no I " said he ; " railly, now, you mustn't try to persuade me.'' ■ v^ .A "Why not?" ■■ -* • -- --v"-^ -M;.,.: " 0, it would never do ! " ^ m« v^ - . "Do? Yes, it would.'' " 0, I couldn't bring myself to leave youns I Who could tell what might happen I " "Nonsense! Are we babies? Can't we take care of ourselves ? Of course we can I We've been in far worse situations than tliis. Think of what we've all gone through at different times I Think in particular of Tom and Phil, what they've gone through ! Are we the fellows that could meet with any harm if you were to leave us ? " "Yes, you air; it's jest that," said Captain Cor- bet. " You've all got a natral-born, innate talent for gettin into difficulties. You don't catch me lettin you go out of my sight." " • ^' " Nonsense ! " said Bart. " See here, now, cap- tain. There isn't and there can't be the slightest danger. It's all safe. We'll be as safe here as if we were on an island. This ship can never sink. Why, I know all about these timber ships. My father owned one that got waterlogged just like this, in the middle of winter, in the Atlantic, and in the course of several tremendous gales she was blown over to Europe. Mind you, she couldn't I 112 PICKED UP ADRIFT. sink. She got into Liverpool, and was broken up there, and her cargo was sold for the benefit of the underwriters. Captain Beyea, who commanded her, told me all about it. Of course at this season of the year we're all right, for there's no likelihood of any storms ; and besides, you'll only be gone a few days." Captain Corbet did not answer for some time. " 0, boys," he said, at length, in a hesitating way, <^ if you only could ! If I only dar'd ! " *' If we only could ? " said Bruce. *' Why, cap- tain, you don't seem to know us ! You think that we're a parcel of helpless children." " I only wish," said Tom, " that 1 may never have anything worse to do than to stay in a place like this — a floating palace, where we feed on the fat of the land. When I think of lie Haute, I con- sider this a sort of Paradise." " I think I have known worse places," said Phil. " I could tell you of a burning forest, in compari- son with which every other situation isn't worth being mentioned. Why, boys, this is going to be a sort of picnic — a pleasure party." " Captain," said Arthur, " we are all settled here now. Each of us has his state-room. We've got plenty of provisions. We've made up our minds to spend a couple of weeks here at least. So you may as well knock under. While we're aboard, it will be much better for you to go off, and try to get some sails, than to wander up and down, mop- DEBATE CONTINUED. 113 ing, day after day, with the Antelope alongside do- ing nothing.'* * ; " Sure, an it's meself," said Pat, " that would be willing to sail off in the Antelope single-handed, if Captain Corbet is afraid, only I'll want one man to give a hand in navigatin, so I will." " 0, two could easily sail the Antelope,'* said Bruce. " And what shall Solomon do ? " asked Arthur. "Do?" said Bart. "Why, he'll stay with us. What could we do without Solomon? We need him here more than anj^where else. Without him our life here would become flat and insipid. I could do the cooking once ; but as a general thing, I should beg to be excused. Without Solomon we should not be able to eat." " Yes, yes," said Captain Corbet, meditatively. " Thar's no trouble about me an Wade navigatin the Antelope. We don't want Solomon. He'll be best here with youus. If I could only leave you — " " But that's already settled," said Bart, decisive- ly. " You are going to leave us." , " Wal," said Captain Corbet, " here we air, some- whar nigh onto fifty mile north of the Magdalen Islands. I steered doo north ; an I don't think we've made much of a muve since the calm began. Now, my idee is, that if we were to drop anchor here, this here craft would stay till I come back, an I know I could find her easy." 8 114 PICKED UP ADBIFT. "Drop anchor? Of course," said Bart. "I didn't think of that. In fact, this was my only trouble — the possibility of drifting from this place. But if we were to drop anchor, why, of course it stands to reason that we shouldn't move from this place f and so, of course, you could find us again, as you say, without any diflSculty." " Her anchors air all right," said Captain Corbet. " I've seen em. There's sixty fathom of chain if there's an inch.'^ " Well, come now. We'd better drop anchor at once," said Bart. " You tempt me, boys," said Captain Corbet, with evident emotion. " You tempt me awful. I feel as though I hadn't ought to go ; but you've got a kind of a sort of a way of puttin things that makes it seem all so safe, an pleasant, an easy like that I've half a mind to resk it, an go off at all haz- ards. For there's so much at stake ! My babby ! He pulls even now at my paternal heart-strings ! His voice, even now, is a soundin in my aged e " All right," cried Bart, cheerily. v i u r The Antelope moved farther off; • Captain Corbet stood looking at the ship, and his face had an expression of despair. At times he called out to them ; but the Antelope moved far- ther and farther off every minute, and at length his voice could no longer be heard. It was evening when the Antelope left. In about an hour she was lost to view. The boys were alone on the ship. 118 PICKED UP ADRIFT. ' >■"■},. ! .1 ';.v;.^ .■.'.•...,. ,1.. .) ']■'■ : 'Will' ..,: . .;,( ^y.^ I ' IX. '■..■ .•'■- . .. r ^.. Corbet at the Helm. — Visions by Night. — The Vis- ion of sudden WeHth. — Over the Water's. — The Ocean Isles. — A startling and uniuelcome Sight. — Landing of Corbet. — Corbet among the Moun- seers. — Unpleasant Intelligence. — An unwel- come Visitor. — A sharp Inquisition. — Corbet in a Corner. — The Answers of Guile and Simplicity, — Perplexity of Cross examiner. HUS the Antelope passed away from the eyes of the boys, and vanished into the shades of night. The breeze was h'ght, and Corbet stood at the helm, shaping his course for the Magdalen Islands. The first feeling of uneasi- ness which he had experienced on leaving the boys in so very peculiar, perhaps dangerous, a sit- uation, had passed away with the boys themselves, and his thoughts now turned on other things. He was virtually alone. Wade, indeed, was on board, but the captain had sent liira below to sleep, 80 that he might be able to relieve him and take his turn at midnight. Thus alone at the helm, Captain Corbet looked VISIONS BY NIGHT. 119 out over the silent sea, and np into the starry sky, and lost himself in peaceful meditations. But his thoughts were not concerned with sea or sky. Other and dearer subjects gave them occupation. It was his " babby " that occupied his mind ; that babby for whose sake he had deserted the boys, and left them alone in mid ocean. He was going to make a fortune for his son. He was going to take measures for securing the wrecked ship, so as to bring her into some port, sell her, and divide the proceeds. . ,^ ^. Night, and solitude, and silence are ever the best promoters of meditation, and Captain Corbet's fancy was stimulated and quickened by his present surroundings. In thought he went all over the Petrel. He examined her hull ; he considered her cargo; he made light of her injuries. He con- cluded that a very small sum might make her once more seaworthy, and he thought that fifteen thou- sand pounds might be easily obtained for her. Then as to her cargo ; that he knew must be per- fectly free from injurj^. He tried to estimate the number of tons ; then he multiplied these by the price per ton, so as to get at the value of the en- tire cargo. Then he added this to the value of the ship, and allowed his mind to play freely around the aggregate. It was a sura of ^dazzling proportions — a sum far greater than he had been able to make after the hard toil and persevering eiforts of many laborious years I And all this he 120 PICKED UP ADRIFT. was now about to achieve by one stroke. It was to be the work of a few days. It was to be for the good of the " babby." Here another theme attracted the thoughts of the good captain, — the fondest of all themes, — his infant son. That son would now have some- thing that would approximate to wealth. All his future would take tone and flavor from this adven- ture. The father's best feelings were roused, and in fancy he traced the futrre of his beloved infant. He saw him pass from long clothes into short clothes, from frocks into jackets, and from jackets into coats. He followed him in thought from his mother's arms to his own legs ; from his home to the school ; from the school to the college. He watched him consume the midnight oil for years, until he at length reached the brilliant end of his educational goal. Then he portrayed before his mind the form of his son in the future, — now at the bar pleading, or on the bench judging ; now at the bedside of the sick ; now in the pulpit preach- ing. He listened to the sermon of the imaginary preacher, and found himself moved to tears. "Dear, dear!" he murmured to himself; "I'd no idee the little feller'd be so eliquint. It does beat all^ railly." Captain Corbet was really like one who had taken intoxicating liquor, or opium ; and, in fact, he was intoxicated, but the stimulus was no drink or drug ; it was merely his fancy, which had be- . \ VISIONS OF WEALTH. 121 come heated by the extravagant dream of sudden wealth. Gold produces its own fevers and deh'r- iums ; and the good captain had been seized by one of these. Yet, after all, let it be remembered that his avarice was not for himself, but for his child. And as the lone navigator stood at his post under the midnight sky, in solitude and daiVness, heaping up those bright fancies, out of whicn he was rearing so stupendous a ca^le in the air, he was building, all the while, not for himself, but for another. - Had he left the boys under any other circum- stances, — that is, supposing that he had been capa- ble of so leaving them, — there is no doubt that he would have been a prey to the most harassing anxiety on their account, and would hav« passed a wakeful night, full of mental distress. But now these new thoughts so occupied him that there was no place for anxiety, and he went on towards the accomplishment of his purpose as resolutely as though he had left them all in the safest and pleas- antest place in the world. ? . . t Yet the situation in which they were left was one which might have created anxiety in the breast of even a more unfeeling man than Captain Corbet — on board a wrecked ship, that lay there in mid sea, w^ith no means of saving themselves in the event of disaster. It was calm now, but how long would the calm continue ? This breeze, that was wafting him along so gently and pleasantly, might 122 PICKED UP ADRIFT. \ stifTen, and strongtlien, and intensify itself into a gale; and how would the gale act upon a ship that was virtually under water? Where could the boys betake themselves for refuge? How could they avoid the sweep of the surges that a rising storm would pour over her decks? Where could they find security from the downfall of the masts, which, in the writhing and twisting ship, must inevitably fall. A storm might change their foothold into a waste of boiling foam, and make the masts above as dangerous as the sea below. Even a moderate wind and a very ordinary rising of the sea might make their situation one of peril. Of this the boys, in their inexperience, had taken no thought ; but this was the very thing that Captain Corbet ought to have tlM)ught of, and this was the thing that he was destined to think of afterwards with anguish of soul. But, for the present, not a thought of this sort came to him. His mind was altogether given up to th-e sway of those exciting and alluring fan- cies which beckoned him away to imaginary wealth. . /;: r^. i .; ,1^1 ,:,:-,< >l. Captain Corbet had arranged to call Wade at midnight ; but so excited was he by his dreams and speculations that he took no note of time, and was at length startled by the coming of the dawn. Then he hurried away, sent Wade to the helm, and flung himself into his berth. After a long and profound sleep, which was the natural consequence of the excitement of the pre- THE FAWN. 123 vious night, he awaked. To liis surprise he found that it was about eleven o'clock. He cast a hasty look around. His first feeling was one of satisfaction. There, immediately in front of him, were the Magdalen Islands. His course had been sufficiently accurate to bring him to his destination. Ho was near enough now to cast anchor, and Wade was already moving forward with tliat intent. ■ ^ But in that first look that he had given he no- ticed another tiling, for which he was not prepared, and which detracted somewhat from the satisfaction that had been caused by the sight of the islands. He saw a schooner at anchor. - > i-' '■; The beautiful outline, the slender, tapering masts, the white spars, and the immaculate neat- ness that characterized this schooner^j. all told hira plainly what she was, and he needed no closer in- spection to feel sure that it was the Fawn. Now, the sight of the Fawn disturbed the mind of the venerable captain. ^^ v-^^v >?'; He dreaded a meeting with her skipper, Captain Tobias Ferguson. '" • -' ' The Petrel was a prize for those who might be her salvors. " To that fortunate situation he did not wish to admit any others. He wished merely to procure sails, and then navigate her somehow with the help that he already had. He knew well, and he dreaded, the keen inquisitiveness and the ac- tive, restless energy of Captain Tobias Ferguson. 124 PICKED UP AFRIFT. He did not want to meet v ith him at all. In fact, the very last person in all the world that he would have chosen to meet with at this particular time was this very man. So great was his dread of a meeting, which might ruin all his plans, that his first impulse was to fly. He cast a hasty look all around. Upon the beach he saw the boat of the Fawn. Evidently the skipper was ashore. Upon this discovery he at once acted, and determined to move farther away. Hastily checking Wade, who was in the act of dropping the anchor, Captain Corbet wore round, and continued on his former course for a mile or so. Then, rounding the extremity of the island, he kept on his way along the shore, anxiously con- sidering what was best to be done. There were other islands in the group, but this was the one which he wished to v isit, for here only could he hope to find anything like sails. He had come here for this purpose, and to go away with- out accomplishing it was not to be thought of. It now seemed to him that the best thing for him to do, under the circumstances, v;ould be to land here, and pursue his investigations in a c uiet way about the island, managing so as to avoid all contact with Captain Ferguson. He therefore dropped anchor here, and, taking Wade with him, he went ashore. Once on shore, he went about his search with the utmost diligence, going from house to house, and making inquiries about sails. But from the CORBET ASHORE. 125 first his task was a most discouraging one. Every one assured him that there were no spare sails on the island ; all the schooners were away, and what- ever stock any one had he generally kept in his schooner, and took it with him. This was the in- ' formation that he got from every one to whom he applied. - . . . : : ^ For hour after hour Captain Corbet kept up his fruitless search, dodging about cautiously, so as to avoid being seen by Captain Ferguson, in case he might be ashore, and keeping a wary lookout. At length he had visited every house on the island of any consequence. The only thing that they could suggest was for him to go to Miramichi, where ho would be likely to obtain what he wanted. * Captain Corbet, in deep dejection, now retraced his steps to the boat. He thought for a time of applying to Ferguson. But a moment's reflections made him give up that idea. He knew that Fer- guson would be full of curiosity ; that he would ask him all about the boys ; and he feared that if he got the slightest hint of the facts of the case, he might start off instantly for the wreck, and thereby forestall him. It does not follow that Ferguson would really have done this ; but this was Captain Corbet's belief, and it influenced him, of course, precisely as if the belief had been well founded. Having thus dismissed the idea of appealing to Ferguson, it remained for him to decide what next to do. He did not think of going back. Better to BH 126 PICKED UP ADRIFT. take Ferguson into his confidence at once. He still clung to his first hope and his first plan, and, since Miramichi was the nearest place where he could rely upon finding sails, he began to think about going there. True, this would take up two or three days more, and the boys would be left to themselves all that time ; but, aj he had already accustomed himself to think of them in their pres- ent position as quite safe, he was able to entertain the thought of leaving them this way still longer. He had committed himself too deeply to his plan, he had gone too far towards its execution, and he had built too largely upon its successful accom- plishment, to be willing to give it up just yet. And so by the time he reached the boat he had about made up his mind to start off for Miramichi at once. With this resolve he went back to the schooner. , The moment that he stepped on deck he was as- tonished at detecting in the atmosphere the smell of cigar smoke ; and while he was yet standing, with open mouth and expanded nostrils, inhaling the unwelcome odor, he was still more unpleasantly surprised at seeing a figure emerge from the cabin, in whom at one glance he recognized the well- known and particularly dreaded lineaments of Cap- tain Tobias Ferguson. His unwelcome visitor held out his hand, and wrung that of Captain Corbet with affectionate cor- diality. A SHARP INQUISITION. 127 " Didn't expect to see you back again in these parts so soon. You must have made a fine run of it, too. How far did you go? Not to the Bay of Islands — hey ? Why, there's been a reg'Iar old- fashioned calm about here, and this here wind ain't much to speak of. And how are my young friends, the ragamuffins ? " ' ^ • " Wal — pooty tollable,'* said Captain Corbet, in a faint voice. *' Hra — glad to hear it. And where was it, did you say, that you went to ? " . .« . > . ,< "0 — a — kine o' — genral sort o' kerrewsj like." ■ ■■^- ^ -^- ,.• .'-:■.: V ,. .:■ .^u:-. " Hm — and so you left them in the Bay of Islands?" ■' " Wal — n — ^ n — no — 'twan't exactly there- abouts." << O — not Anticosti ? " "Wal — n — no," said Captain Corbet, with an increasing sense of discomfort. i '/ "Ah, St. Pierre?" ^ - ^ - ; ■ i- i^-::y « "N — n — n — not exactly." * _ , ; • " St. Paul's, then ? " « Wal — 'twan't St. Paul's, nuther." " O, a kind o' general cruise, I see ; young ad- venturers, and all that. But I'm glad you took my advice, and didn't go to Anticosti. A bad place. And how do they like Newfoundland ? " " Wal — they — didn't — quite git to Newfound- land, nuther," said Captain Corbet, in a low, faint, hesitating, confused way. 128 PICKED UP ADRIFT. " No, of course not," said Ferguson, briskly. " Too I'ar away ; I said so. You concluded to go to Gaspe, of course." " Wal — n — n — n — no, we didn't quite get — off — in that thar — de — rection," replied Captain Corbet, who was utterly at a loss how to fight off this eager and inquisitive questioner. Had the good captain been capable of tc^Uing a lie, his task would have been easier; but he was a truthful man, and in this case he hardly knew what to do. " Well, come now," said Ferguson, " where did you go?" ,. Captain Corbet started at this point blank ques- tion, and was perfectly dumb. , . Ferguson looked at him with keen scrutiny, and then said, — " You don't answer. What's the matter ? Has anything happened ? Where are the boys ? " Again the unfortunate Corbet was unable to answer. " It's a plain question enough," said Ferguson, " and you've gro^ to answer it somehow — for I'm going down Nova Scotia way, and may see some of their parents. So, own up, old man. What have you done with the boys ? " At this moment a happy thought occurred to the bewildered Corbet. It came like a ray of light in deep darkness. " Wal," said he, "you see, capting — you know — them thar youngsters, you know — they — r: '^ u CORBET^S CONFUSION. 129 they've — got up a kine o' secret society — you know — they told you — themselveg — you know — and they're all together — you know — and it's a matter — of importance — to them — and to me — to — to — to — to keep the secret, you know. O, I do assure you it's all right — they're all safe an sound — an enjyin life ; good quarters, plenty to eat an drink, an ole Solomon a doin of the cookin — but it's a great secret, you know — and so — you see — capting — the fact is — I'd a leetle rayther not let on where they air jest ?j now. Captain Corbet spoke this in a confused way, and in a mild, deprecatory manner. Ferguson lis- tened attentively to his words, and then stood look- ing at him for some time with an air of dissatis- faction. "Well — old man," said he, "I do remember some nonsense of theirs about a secret society ; but you haven't answered my question ; you evade it; and what their secret society has to do with their present situation I don't quite begin to make out. The fact is, I don't consider you a fit guar- dian for such boys as they are, and my opinion all along has been that they'll all get into mischief. I'm afraid that they're in some fix at this particu- lar moment, and that you have left them at the very time that you ought to be standin by them. If you don't choose to tell me, I can't make you — only I warn you, if the boys air in a fix it's^best 9 130 PICKED UP ADRIFT. to let me know, for I can go and help them sooner and better than yon can." "O, but railly, now — now — railly, capting," said Corbet, with great earnestness, " I do assure yon, honest and honor bright, there ain't no diffi- culty about tlie boys. They're all rail happy — tip-top, an no mistake ; as lively as crickets ; lots to eat an drink, comfortable beds, good cookery — all in good spirits and a enjyin of themselves in a way that would do your heart good to see." ^•' Well — but where are they ? " persisted Fer- guson. " Wal — now — railly — you know," said Cap- tain Corbet, " it's a kine o' secret — an I'd very- much rather not tell — that is — not jest now ; now railly — don't ask me." Ferguson looked at him for a few moments with the same scrutinizing look that he had already turned upon him. " Where are you going now ? " he asked at length; "back to the boys?" , ^ /; : " Wal — not Jest yet," answered Corbet, after a pause. " The fact is, I was thinkin a little of takin a turn over Miramichi way — on business. I won't belong, and they'll be all right till I get back from Miramichi.'^ " O, the boj's'U have to wait for you, in the place where they now are, till you get back from Miramichi — so that's it." Ferguson spoke'these words slowly and deliber- CORBET SUCCUMBS. 131 ately, with his eyes fixed on Captain Corbet. The latter looked somewhat uncomfortable, and for a while said nothing; but at length he mur- mured, — '' Wal — I s'pose — that^s — about — it.'' ,^'';-«-^y^*r« :4t ;,-■'*"■ 132 PICKED UP ADRIFT. k X. The Baffled Inquisitor. — CorheVs Fliglit hy Niglit — Dead RecJconing. — His Purpose accomplished. — Once more an t.nwelcome Visitor. — The loarn- ing Words. — Co 'bet confident. — " Right straight hack.''^ — Tlie stormy Water. — The gloomy Night and the gloorrler Day. — Where is the Petrel ? — Despair of Corbet. yINDING- that Captain Corbet was obstinate in his refusal to tell him about the boys, Ferguson at length desisted from his in- quiries, and departed from the Antelope, much to the relief of the commander of that vessel. But, though he had left the Antelope, he had by no means given up his investigations into the cause of her present voyage. He at once rowed to the shore, with the intention of finding out from the people there what had been Corbet's business among them. ; ,. . . This he had no difficulty whatever in finding out. Corbet had come there with only one pur- pose, and this he had made known to every one with whom he came in contact, as best he could. THE BAFFLED INQUISITOR. 133 He had picked up a man who spoke English, and this man had accompanied him in his rounds as interpreter. This very man fell into Ferguson's way, and from liim Ferguson was able to learn that Captain Corbet's sole aim in visiting the Magdalen Islands was to obtain some sails. He learned that the sails could not be obtained, and also that they had recommended him to go to Miramichi , for them. By this he understood the reason why Captain Corbet was going to that place. Now, Ferguson had taken a great fancy to the boys; but the opinion which he had formed of Captain Corbet and the Antelope was of a very different kind. That opinion he had been at no pains to conceal. He liad, in fact, expressed it freely and frequently. He had called Captain Cor- bet an " old woman," and the Antelope " a tub." This opinion he still cherished. Moreover, he had prophesied solemnly that the boys were more likely than not to land at the bottom of the sea before their voyage was over, and this prophec}- he still believed in. In fact, the strong regard that he had conceived for these boys made him feel uneasy about them, and he did not like to think of them sailing about these seas with such a vessel and such a commander. The sudden appearance of the Ante- lope had excited his apprehensions. He had seen her come in while he was ashore. He had noticed her manoeuvres. He had watched her as she rounded to and then stood off again. He had then 134 PICKED UP ADRIFT. ■ I* gone in his boat to watch licr, and had seen her anclior. He had -seen Captain Corbet go ashore with Wade. lie had then rowed to lier, boarded her, and examined her. The result of this exami- nation was anything but satisfactory. He couhi not see any signs of the boys. All their luggage was gone. What had become of them was his first thought, and he liad waited for the return of Captain Corbet in deep uneasiness. That uneasi- ness had only been increased when the captain returned ai'd answered his questions in so evasive a manner. He had not been prepared for this ; the eva- sive answers of Captain Corbet irritated him, and awakened his suspicions. The secrecy which he threw around the movements of the boys was in the highest degree annoying. He had come hoping to find them on board. Their absence had filled him with uneasiness. In this state of uneasi- ness he had waited on board for hours, fidgeting and fuming ; and the end of it all was, that when Captain Corbet did appear, he refused to answer the simplest questions. - " ' " There were several things that troubled and perplexed him to an unusual and a most unpleasant degree. First. What had become of the boys ? Captain Corbet would not say. Ha had asked about every place in which it was possible that they could be, and had been told, most positively, that they were PERPLEXITY OF FERCJUSON. 135 not there. Anticosti, Bay uf Islands, Newfound- land, St. Pierre, St. Paul's, Gaspe, all the coasts surrounding the gulf lie had asked after, and he had heen told that they were in none of them. Where, then, could they he ? Such secrecy puzzled and irritated him. Captain Corbet's story about tiie secret society did not deceive him for one instant. He saw through it all. He saw that Captain Corbet, though incapable of telling a false- hood, was yet willing to mislead, or tc put him on a false track ; but, for his part, he was not the man who could be easily misled or baflled. Then came the discovery which he had made of the purpose which Captain Corbet had in visiting the Magdalen Islands. He had come for sails. Sails I What did he want of sails ? What absurd project had he formed ? And what had his search for sails to do with the absence of the boys ? Yet, so great w^as Captain Corbet's desire to obtain sails, that he was going to Miramichi for that very purpose. Then, again, Ferguson could not forget the way in which Captain Corbet had come to the Magdalen Islands. He had come — he had appeared for a moment, as if about to anchor, but then had turned away, and sailed elsewhere. The whole manoeuvre had looked exactly like a wish to avoid the Fawn, and it might have been successful, had he not pur- sued so closely. Captain Corbet's appearance also, when he first came on the deck of the Antelope, 136 PICKED UP ADRIFT. and found himself confronted by liis visitor, his start, his look of surprise, his confusion, his hesita- tion, — all these things made him seem the more open to suspicion. Suspicion I And of what ? Now, Ferguson did not for a moment believe Captain Corbet capable of wrong. In fact, he looked upon him as an imbecile. Yet, even from that point of view, his uneasiness about the boys was none the less. These boys, under the care of an imbecile, seemed to liim to be in as great peril as though their guardian had been a criminal. Where were they now? Had the folly or the imbecility of their captain drawn them into some position of danger ? They were innocent and in- experienced ; he was an imbecile ; all were alike unprepared to encounter the dangers that might befall them ; and from all these causes combined, the boys might now be in a position of very serious danger, while this incapable guardian was idly roaming the seas. '" ' The more he thought of all these things, the more uneasy he felt ; until, at length, his fears about the safety of the boys, who had sc suddenly aw^akened his interest, grew so strong, that he determined to keep Captain Corbet in sight. Be-' lieving that they w^ere in some situation of possible danger, into which they had been drawn by their own ignorance and Captain Corbet's imbecility, corbet'3 flight by night. 137 and in wliicli tlioy wero nov left, Ferguson felt an intolerable anxiety, and so at length came to the conclusion to follow the Antelope, until some light should be thrown upon this mystery. Meanwhile, Captain Corbet, having got rid of his troublesome visitor, waited patiently until the boat had rounded the projecting promontory of the island, and then proceeded to continue his voyage. He had already made up his mind to go to Mirami- chi, and this visit of Ferguson, together with his sharp inquiries, f\ir from changing his purpose, had only served to intensify it. He only waited until the boat which contained his dreaded visitor was out of sight, in order to hurry his departure. Ac- cordingly the anchor was weighed in the utmost haste, the sails hoisted, and soon the Antelope set forth on a fresh cruise. The wind was still light, yet sufficient for liis purpose ; and he directed his course around the island, so as to avoid, as far as possible, being seen by Ferguson. His knowledge of these waters was not very minute, yet it was sufficient to give him a general idea of his destimi- tion, and he steered the Antelope accordingly. Evening came, and' the Antelope continued on her course. All night long she traversed the waters, and on the following day approached the New Brunswick coast. Here Captain Corbet rec- ognized the entrance to the Bay de Chaleur, and, turning southward, he sailed along the coast to- wards the Miramichi River. As he went on, he 138 PICKED UP ADRIFT. noticed a sail some miles away ; but to this he paid no attention. It was a common enough thing in these waters, and there was no reason why he should notice it particularly. The sail remained in sight all thai day; and at length, as he entered the Miramichi River and sailed up it, the fact that this stranger was following did not excite any at- tention on his part. Three large towns lie on the Miramichi River, — Chathu:n, Douglastown, and Newcastle. Of these, two are a few miles from the mouth, on opposite sides of the stream — Chatham and Douglastown; and the three towns form together the centre of a great trade in ship-building, and in the exportation of deals and timber. Here may be found all that appertains to the outfit of a ship, and here Captain Corbet expected to procure what he wanted. It was evening when the Antelope dropped anchor in the river opposite Chatham. It was then too late to do anything; so Captain Corbet had to postpone his business until the following day. Pleased with his prosperous voyage, and pleased still more with the easyVay in which he had got rid of Ferguson, full of hope also in the successful completion of his business, he retired to bed that night, and slept placidly and profoundly. The wind that night arose, and blew hard; but the venerable captain, sunk in slumber, and surrounded by the river shores, heard nothing of the noise of the storm. Had he been out at sea, he would CORBET'S PURPOSE ACCOMPLISHED. 139 doubtless have thought of the boys in the distant sliip ; but here in tlie placid river there was nothing to mar his repose. ^ On the following morning Captain Corbet went ashore at Chatham, and began a search after the sails. The search took up some time, but at length he succeeded in finding what he wanted. He found some sails and rigging that had been taken from a condemned ship, and were held for sale. They had not been considered good enough for a ship's outfit, and had not only been torn and rent by storms, but also, from having been kept in a damp warehouse, they were somewdiat mildewed. Still they served Captain Corbet's purpose as well as brand new ones could have done, and, in fact, even better, for their damaged condition enabled him to obtain them at a price which was com- mensurate with his means. It took some time to get these all stowed away properly in the Antelope ; but at length the work was satisfactorily accom- plished, and Captain Corbet emerged from the hold, and ascended upon deck, with a smile of serene satisfaction, and the peaceful consciousness that this had been a well-spent day. Thus, with this smile of serenity and this tranquil breast did our good Captain Corbet emerge from the hold and ascend to the deck of the Antelope. Scarcely, however, had he set foot thereon, scarcely had he taken one look around, than the smile on his face faded away utterly, and the tranquillity of his soul was abruptly ended. ^ 140 PICKED UP ADRIFT. For there, full before him, seated calmly on the rail, with a piece of soft pine stick in one hand, and a keen jackknife in the other, with a cigar in his mouth, and a pleasant glance in his eye, — there sat the dreaded Ferguson, the very man whom Captain Corbet most feared to see, and whom he believed to be far away at the Magdalen Islands. Captain Corbet stood rooted to the spot. His jaw dropped. He was paralyzed. '' You made a nice run," said Ferguson. " A snug place this." Captain Corbet did not answer. He was too confused. *' I see you got your sails. I s'pose you didn't hLcVe any trouble." These words increased the dismay of Captain Corbet. He thought that this would be a profound secret. Ferguson now showed that he knew it. He must have found out about this at the Magdalen Islands. Whether he knew any more or not, was a troublesome problem. Captain Corbet did not see how he could possibly know any more, and yet Ferguson had such a knowing look, that he would not have been surprised at learning that he knew all. " I see you've got your sails," said Ferguson, as Captain Corbet did not answer. " Yes," said the other, in a melancholy tone, and with a resigned look. " It's pretty difficult to get hold of things of AN UNWELCOME VISITOR. 141 that sort in these parts, and you were lucky enougli to get them so easy. They'll do for your purpose, I s'pose." " 0, yes," said Captain Corbet, " they'll do — well enough — considerin ; just as well as if they was new. V '' I s'pose you're going right back from this ? '^ " Right back ? " repeated Captain Corbet. " Yes ; you don't intend to go dawdling about any longer — do you ? " "0, no." " And you're going right straight back ? " - <'0, yes." " And when I say right straight back," continued Ferguson, " I mean, of course, right straight back to the boys. It's only the boys I consider. I feel anxious about them. I consider myself in some sort, just now, as responsible for their rescue, or, at any rate, for their safety ; and, old man, let me warn you solemnly to be careful what you're about. Don't you go flitting about any longer in this style. Go you right straight back to where those boys are ; if you don't, there'll be trouble." The tone of Ferguson was earnest and anxious. Captain Corbet looked distressed. " 0, railly, now," he said : " see here now ; railly I do assure you, sir, the boys are all right, and all happy — plenty to eat, good quarters, and old Solo- mon to cook for them and make their beds. Why, you don't suppose I'm made of iron, or that I'd 142 PICKED UP ADRIFT. have the heart to leave them in any place except where they would be safe ? " " I don't believe you'd leave them in any place that you might think dangerous, of course ; but the trouble is, you might leave them somewhere, not knowing it to be dangerous, while all the time it would be very dangerous indeed. Have you sailed much about these waters ? '^ " Wal — n — no, not to say much." " Well, I have ; and let me tell you, it won't do to trust to your judgment where such precious things are concerned as the lives of those boys. I felt afraid, when I first saw the Antelope without the boys, that they had fallen into some difficulty through your ignorance or carelessness, and the moment I spoke to you about it, I felt convinced of it. It has worried me ever since. I took for granted that you were going back from the Mag- dalen Islands, and had no idea that you would venture so far away from them as this. When I learned your object, and saw where you were heading, 1 followed you on purpose to say what I now say ; and that is, Go back, go back, old man, go back to the boys. I feel sure that they are in danger." " But ain't I going to go back ? " cried Captain Corbet, with as much vexation in iiis tone as Could be showed by one of so amiable a nature. " I don't know." " Wal, I am, then, — thar." CORBET'S ASSUMED CONFIDENCE. 143 "Now?" ■ ' ■ /' -.- ■'•.^■v-u: ;::■., -,..,,,., "Yes; right away." "That's right," said Ferguson, standing np and getting over the side of the Antelope into his own boat ; " and one word more : don't you deh\y. Pile on all the sail this old tub'll carry, and get back to those boys as soon as you can." " 0, you needn't be a mite afeard," said Captain Corbet, in a confident tone. " Them thar boys are jest as safe as you and me. They're not only safe, but comfortable ; yes, comfortable, and jolly, and lively, and happy, and safe, and sound. All right." ■ *^ " Well, well ; I only hope it may turn out so," said Ferguson ; and with these words he rowed away. Captain Corbet had spoken these last words in a very confident tone ; but, in spite of this, he was by no means so confident as he seemed. In spite of himself, the warning words of Ferguson had sunk deep into his soul, and roused very deep anxiety. Now, too, that the great purpose of his voyage had been achieved, and the sails were actually lying stowed away in the hold, he had leisure to think of those boys, and of the situation in which he had left them. He had left them far longer than he had intended. He had been gone now three days. It might take two days to get back, and in case of a calm, it might take far longer. The thought of this filled him with uneasiness. 144 PICKED UP ADRIFT. Ferguson liimself, had he been on board, would have commended the activity with which captain and mate now proceeded to hoist anchor and sail. In a very short time the Antelope was under way. , •' . Captain Corbet's uneasiness grew greater. The warnings of Ferguson started up in his mind, and joined themselves to his recollections of tlie ship. He remembered how unwilling he had been to leave them, and how they had overpersuaded him. He began to lament that he had ever gone away. The vision of sudden wealth had lost all its charm, and no longer dazzleu his mind. -"'^ . At length he passed out of the river into the gulf. Ever since he had started, the wind had been blowing more and more, and at length, on reaching the open sea, it was quite a gale. All around the waves tossed up their white caps, and the clouds scudded across the sky. This only increased the anxiety of the captain, and as he looked out upon the waste of waters, he trembled for the safety of those who were so helpless in that half-sunken ship. How would they endure this? For this he had not been prepared. He could not forgive himself. All that night he sailed on, full of grief and terror. The wind increased ; the sea rose higher. The next day came, and wind and sea were yet high. The progress of the Antelope was very good, and towards evening Captain Corbet reckoned NO SIGN OP THE PETREL. 145 that he must bo approaching the place where the Petrel lay. j But the shades of night came down, and nothing was visible. For a few hours Captain Corbet sailed on, and at length lay to. This must be the place, according to his calculations ; and on the following morning he hoped to see the tall masts of the wrecked ship. The next morning came. All that night Captain Corbet had paced the deck in sleepless misery. With the first beam of dawn his eyes sought the horizon, and as the day grew brighter, he still sought eagerly in all directions. In vain. The sun rose. It was broad day. But upon the face of the waters there was not a sign of the Petrel. Only one sail was visible, and that was a schooner far away to the west. Captain Corbet stood terror-struck, and looked all around with a face of despair. 10 :....^. 146 PICKED UP ADRIFT. 'M. r--' XI. i'fO , •.. *■ ' [•'■'-..iVil 1 r ' ■ 1 . ■ (' The water-logged Ship. — Alone upon the Waters. — Jolly under creditable Circumstances. — Old Sol- omon's queer Fancies. — He dreads his Persecutor, — He prefers the Life of Crusoe. — Follow my Leader. — Swimming in deep Waters. — An im- portant Meeting. — Debates. — Parties formed. — Molassesites and Sugarites. — Desperate Struggle of Phily and melancholy Besult. HE night after Captain Corbet left was spent by the boys without any incident of an unu- sual character. At first, when they felt them- sleves thus cut off from all chance of leaving the vessel, there came over every one a singular sense of loneliness, together with an exhilarating feeling of independence. Their situation seemed to them like that of shipwrecked mariners on a desert island, and they all found the part of Robinson Crusoe a very pleasant one, under the circum- stances. Their lodgings were excellent, their pro- visions varied and abundant; they had a cook who was master of his art; and they looked for the return of the Antelope within twenty-four hours. ALONE UPON THE WATERS, 147 Captain Corbet had laid stress upon this ; and the only conditions upon which ho consented to tear himself away from them had been, that he would not go farther than the Magdalen Islands. For he had fully counted on obtaining there what he needed, and had not made any calculations with reference to a failure. That first evening, then, the boys were in high spirits, and interchanged many jocular remarks about their situation. Solomon expressed more than usual gratification, and seemed to have a serene self-satisfaction, which was extraordinary in him. As the shades of night descended he began to illuminate the cabin. He had found some oil, and had filled the lamp which hung immediately under the skylight. It was a large one, with four argand burners, and threw a brilliant lustre over the scene. Beneath this bright glow the boys sat at the evening repast, spread by the hands of Solomon, where they found the usual variety of dishes, and also not a few of quite a novel and original character. To play the part of Robinson Crusoe under such circumstances as these was not at all unpleasant. Among all the boys, then, there prevailed a spirit of joyousness, and old Solomon's mood was cer- tainly not out of accord with that of his young com- panions. For Bart found him alone in his solitary galley, rubbing his thighs in fron' ^f a roasting fire, and chuckling audibly to himself. 148 PICKED UP ADRIFT. " Tell yo what, Massa Bart," was his exclamation as he looked up at his smiling visitor, " dis yer am high ole times, an no mistake ; dis yer ole nig- ger habn't felt so happy an habn't had sich a strornary feelin of skewrity, ebber since he was your age. Let dat dar Ant'lope keep way's long ebber she kin. I don want to see her again. I want to take up my bode in dis yer galley, and bid farewell to ebery feah, an wipe my weepin eyes." " Well, that's a curious fancy too," said Bart, in some surprise. " You don't mean to say that you'd like to live here." ■ ' .;t " Would so ; dat dar's jest wat I mean, an it's wat'd zactly suit dis yer ole man, an no mistake now — would so." "Well," said Bart, sympathetically, "it's not a bad place just now, as long as the weather's fine, though how it might be in case of a blow, I con- fess 1 have my suspicions." ' *' - " 0, you nebber mind de blow. Dar's blows dat are a heap wuss dan de wind. How would you like blows on yer head, an backbone, an ribs, from a broomstick, or a shobbel, or a stick ob cord- wood, or a red-hot iron poker ? Dem's blows as is blows, mind I tell you I Tell you what, when you come to git blows, like dat ar, you'll begin to hab a realizin sense ob what blows is possible for to be." " Why, Solomon, how very feelingly you speak I " " Feelinly I Ony wait till you've felt ober your head an shoulders what she's giben me." OLD SOLOMON. 149 nation is yer le nig- jich a e was J long ,in. I r, and reepin art, in f tliat :\ ■■■ * an it's listake not a s fine, I con- blows would 1 ribs, cord- as is n you hab a o be." eak I " • your "She? Who?" •''-'' f.^pr.tt, Solomon gave a groan. " You know her. You — saw her at Loch Lomond." '•;. ■. ;j'J"ii • "1:'J "What, your wife I 0, I understand;" and a light began to dawn upon Bart. ■'^' ''>»i Solomon shuddered. The remembrance waa too much for him. " Dis yer's do fust time I've felt real safe for ebber so long ; and here I am real safe. She can't git at me here no how. She can't imagine where I am no how." . - ' c ' ;' " Pooh ! nonsense, Solomon I Haven't you been safe enough ever since you left St. John ? " " No, sah ! Safe I Why, dar's not a moment ob de day dat I don't fancy dat ar woman's arter me — on my back. I knows it. Tell you what, she's a comin to fetch me. I knows it. I feel it in my bones, and dat ar's a feelin dat's wuss dan de rheumatics. 'Tis so ! " -^ !• ::>i'>^ * " But what a rdiculous fancy ! " said Bart. " Do you really mean to say that you believe she will come after you ? " " Do so. No doubt bout dat ar, Mas^r Bart. She's a comin jest as shuah's you're born. An I habn't felt real safe till now. Here I'm all right." " But suppose she does come?" " Wal, s'pposin." " What can she do to you ? " "Do! Lots ob tings. She can come and lib 150 PICKED UP ADRIFT. whar I lib, an hamma away all day an all night on my olo head wid broomsticks an pokers.'' " But what makes you let her ? " * ' " ' " Let her ? Wat can 1 do bout it ? " ':'^' '' '^''^' " Why, the law'll protect you." " ' '■'' '^'-^ "'^« " De law sakes, chile I Don't you know de law can't 'tect husbands agin wives ? It'll only 'tect wives agin husbands. My pinion is, dat de law's clean in fabor ob de women, an de men hain't got no chance — not a mite." At this new view of the law Bart was somewhat nonplussed. ' ' • ''^ ^An?^'m» " 0, well," said he, " I don't believe she'll ever trouble you again. You'll go back to the academy, and Dr. Porter'll take care of you." Solomon shook his head. ' '' ' -.^i-'^t*'' " Tell you what," said he ; " fifty millium Docta Porta's couldn't do anythin agin dat ar woman if she come to fetch me. De 'cadmy ain't no place for me. Don't think you'll eber catch me back dar. Ise boun to be a rober ; an I'll sail de sea, so as to prebent her from eber a gittin on my track.*" " O, nonsense ! " said Bart. " You'll come with us, and it'll be all right." Solomon shook his head, and relapsed into silence. And now it became time to prepare for bed. Solomon had already ai ranged the state-rooms and made the beds. Thanks to their assiduous care, the rooms and the bedding were all quite dry and very inviting. SOLOMON'S MEDITATIONS. 151 It was a beautiful night. There was a gentle breeze, which made a slight ripple on the water, but there was not enough to raise a sea. There was a slight motion on the ship, as she slowly rose and fell to the long and gentle undulations ; but the motion was scarcely perceptible, and certainly did not interfere in the slightest degree with the comfort of those on board. It was about ten o'clock when they retired for the night. They went to the different rooms which had fallen to their lot. The excitement of the day and of the evening, the long fatigues, together with the ex- haustion arising from former privations, all con- spired to make their sleep this night very pro- found as well as very refreshing. Solomon sat till midnight toasting his shins in front of the galley fire, and meditating about the strange vicissitudes of life wliich had brought across his path that being whom he so justly feared. But Solomon's thoughts gradually became intermingled with the confused fancies of the land of Nod ; and at length awaking with a start, he rubbed his sleepy eyes, and carried his aged frame somewhere 'Mbr'ard." None of the party awoke until late on the fol- lowing day. Then, on opening their eyes, their nostrils were greeted with savory odors that were wafted from the cabin, which served to show them that Solomon, at least, had not overslept himself, but tliat he was up and doing, and that he had pre- pared everything that might be needed to fortify 152 PICKED UP ADRIFT. them for the cares and trials of a new day. For the. savory odors that were wafted to their nostrils were multifarious, and among them each boy, be- fore he had made up his mind to rise, and while he was still enjoying that luxurious doze that follows the awakening from sleep, could have enumerated, had he felt inclined, the strong, rich aroma of cof- fee, the pungent odor of broiled ham, the gentler steam of distilling tea, the appetizing atmosphere shed forth from hot rolls, together with a confused medley of others equally attractive, though less definable. '! . •• " '■ ■' '*''^- A rush upon deck to breathe the glorious air, and to look upon the scene round, followed. The view was most enlivening. Far and wide around them extended the deep blue water, whereon not a sail was visible. Overhead hung the azure vault of heaven, with not a cloud in all its wide expanse. The wind was light, and blew at intervals, nor had it increased since the night before. They took their morning bath on deck in the cool, refreshing salt water, dipped out fresh from the sea. Pat im- proved on this, for he undressed himself again, and plunged into the sea, where he swam about, and called on the others to follow. His example was infectious, and soon the whole party were floundering and gamboling in the water, like a shoal of porpoises, beside the ship. The bath was a most refreshing one, and added to the zest with which they attacked their break- *L-,...„. L FOLLOW MY LEADER. 153 Linple were dded reak- fast. When, at length, this repast was finished, they once more came forth to the deck like giants refreshed, and began to make plans for passing the time. For their active young natures, filled to overflowing with animal spirits, some lively exer- cise was needed. This they found in an exploring tour among the rigging. Bart went first, and then the others. Each one tried to venture farther than the others. Thus it soon became a game — the well-known one often played at sea in fine weather called " follow my leader." • •: .;; - v Bart's training in a seaport town gave him an advantage over the others, even though some of them were stronger, and others more active than he. But he had all through his boyhood been familiar with ships, and had ventured time and again to every part. There was no height so dizzy but that he had sought it out and familiarized him- self with it. Bart, therefore, on the present occa- sion easily surpassed the others in feats of daring, and ventured where none of the others could fol- low. Singularly enough, it was Phil who came nearest to him. His light, lithe, slender, yet sinewy frame made him as nimble as a kitten in the rigging, and if he had only had Bart's practice and familiarity, he would have decidedly surpassed liim. Phil came near enough to Bart to elicit the admiration and the applause of all. Next to Phil came Pat, who was very sinewy and 'active. Bruce and Arthur were about equal, while Tom, 154 PICKED UP ADRIFT. who, though very strong, was somewhat slow and a little awkward, lingered in the rear. This excit- ing sport served to occupy several of the hours of that summer morning. • .» ; But at length they had exhausted the utmost resources of even so fascinating a game as " follow my leader," and they once more came down to the common level of every-day life, when they pro- ceeded to debate the great question what next to do. A swim about the ship served to settle this question until dinner time, after Avhich the impor- tant subject of dinner, remained under discussion long enough to consume a few more hours. After dinner none of them felt very much in- clined to take any active exertion, and they di^- tri4>uted themselves about in various ways. At length Bart suggested a regatta, which was at once adopted. Not having books to read, or any- thing else in particular to attend to, it was not surprising that they should take with much excite- ment to a sport which, though perhaps decidedly childish, is yet not without its attractions to the unoccupied mind. The plan was for each boy to make a boat, put it over the side, and see which one of the little fleet would beat. These boats w ire at first made of paper. But paper was soon Ibund inadequate, and wood was resorted to. These wooden boats were long and sharp, and sailed with a speed which excited the warmest interest. At length Bart proposed a new kind. PARTIES FORMED. 155 Finding a piece of iron hoop, he broke it into sliort fragments, and sticking this underneath a wooden boat, so that it might act as balhist, keel, and rud- der all in one, he produced a little vessel that would sail with the wind abeam, and carry an as- tonishing, amount of canvas. Soon a fleet of these little vessels was formed, and the regatta went on with fresh excitement. At length a bright thought struck Phil, which, on being suggested to the other boys, at once caused all interest in the regatta to be eclipsed by the stronger attraction of this new idea. It was nothing less than to make candy, ' - About this there was a double attraccion, for, first, the candy was of value in itself, and second- ly, the process of cooking it would afford an occu- pation at once charming and exciting, ^^'i There was sugar on board, both brown and white, and also- molasses. The choice among these was the subject of a prolonged debate ; but at length, on being put to the vote, it was found that the Molassesites were in a triumphant majority. Upon this the White Sugarites and the Brgwn Sugarites waved their objections, and the vote became a unanimous one. Another debate took place upon the appointment of a cook, which was terminated by a resolve to ballot for one. The result of the balloting was the unanimous election of Phil to that important and responsible post. This was nothing more than 156 PICKED UP ADRIFT. was right, and it was a handsome tribute to Phil for being the originator of the whole scheme. Pliil, on being informed of his election, responded in a neat speech, which was greeted with loud applause. J .n;'^ /: .;.Hii .' ;. •' . J> .,i f)' V .IIUU i^J A motion was then made that a deputation be sent to Solomon, requesting him to vacate the cook's galley for a few hours, so that the new pur- pose of the assembly might be carried into suc- cessful accomplishment. This motion was carried, and the deputation was chosen by ballot. The deputies were Bart, chairman, Bruce, Arthur, Tom, and Pat. ' " - ^ -^^ >'^ Upon the departure of these on their mission, the whole assemblage consisted of Phil. Though alone, he contrived to represent the assemblage with as much dignity as possible, for he laid him- self down flat on the deck, and distributed his arms and legs in all directions, so that he might occupy as much space as possible. •'* The deputation at length returned, and an- nounced to the assembly that their mission had been successful, and that Solomon had kindly con- sented to give up to them the cook's galley for the required time and purpose. Upon this the assembly moved, seconded, and carried unanimously a resolution that the report of the deputation be adopted. Upon this an adjournment took place sine diCj and the meeting retired to the scene of labor. STRUGGLE OP PHIL. 157 About a gallon of molasses was procured. This was poured into an iron pot, and Phil stationed himself at his post in the galley. The lire was supplied with fresh fuel, and soon the liquid began to boil. Phil stirred away like a good fellow, and the liquid began to froth up. Phil tried to keep it down, so that it might not boil over. For some time there was a desperate struggle between Phil and the molasses. The boys stood crowding around, watching that struggle with intense in- terest and keen excitement. None of them offered to make a suggestion, for it was felt that any offer of advice would be derogatory to the dignity of Phil's office. ' '■ ' ' . -r .5 i. So the struggle went on. It grew fiercer and fiercer every moment. Now the molasses rose up in wrath and fury, and seemed about to rush forth from its iron prison. ^>i •>.-'» .v.- ..•■!■:! '■-■^;^, 'jk ,'- .. k-a Now Phil, summoning all his energy, dealt a series of destructive blows at his furious enemy, and laid him low for a time. So went the struggle. Now the molasses gained, now Phil. But all the time the molasses was increasing in fury. The boys stood about. They formed ^he'^selves into two parties, one embracing the • auso of the molasses, the other that of Phil. Cheer a^cer cheer arose as one or the other saw its cause in the ascendant. i 158 PICKED UP ADRIFT. Phil grew weaker and fainter. At length he tried to make a flank attack, and tore open the stove doors so as to lessen the draught. The movement failed. ■ 7.' -:,). Scarce had he torn open the doors than the mo- lasses, rising in its wrath, rushed forth, streamed over, and poured out in resistless strength, driving Phil himself back from the clouds of hot steam that arose. Phil fled vanquished from the galley. < 'ot • .".' The molasses had conquered I . • { It-* , "Wild cheers arose from the Molassesites. At length, when the smoke and steam had sub- sided, Phil ventured back. There was a boiling, foaming mass still in the pot ; but on lifting it off the stove, and allowing it to subside for a moment, it was found that not more than a quart was left. " Sure, an here's some lovely flavorin I found," said Pat, " in the pantry. It'll make a good flavor- in to the candy, so it will." He held forth a small vial to Phil, which was labelled, — / Extract of Lemon, Phil thought it would be an improvement, and 80 poured the whole contents of the vial into the boiling molasses. His task was soon over, and the candy was taken off, and poured into dishes to cool. There was MELANCHOLY RESULT. 159 only a little, but it was hoped that this might suf- fice for the present. At length they ventured to taste it. But the first taste excited one universal cry of execration. Tlie taste was of rancid oil, and not by any means the smooth, sweet, delicious lemon-flavored molas- ses candy for which they had waited so long. In bitter disappointment and vexation, Phil seized the vial which Pat had handed him. He smelt it; he poured some of the last drops out on his hand, and touched it. " Boys," said he, with a rueful look, " the ste^yard of the Petrel must have taken a lemon bottle to keep his hair-oil in." • '< And all the boys retired from the cook's galley with a mournful smile. , I If i. ^v«'t>)*v >.i ■ V 160 PICKED UP ADRIFT. ■.«!* ^ XII. Ingenuity of Tom and Phil. — Checkers and Chess, — Speculations as to the Future. — Melancholy Forebodings. — Where is the Antelope ? — A Change of Weather. — Solemn Preparations by Solomon. — Making ready for the Worst. — The Place of Retreat. — Laying in a Stock of Provisions. — Pitching a Tent. — Reconnaissance in Force. — A midnight Alarm. — Horror of Solomon, — A haunted Ship. — Sleepers aioakened. — They go to lay the Ghost. — Forth into the Night ^^ ►HE boys thus succeeded in filling the day with sufficient incidents to occupy their thoughts. It was not an unpleasant day ; indeed, it was afterwards looked back upon by all of them as one of the marked days in their lives. True, most of the molasses had been lost, and the remainder, which had been turned into candy, had not been recommended to their palates by the addition of the hair-oil of the steward of the Petrel ; but to active-minded boys these little disappointments caused no trouble whatever; on the contrary, they only furnished material for endless jests and^laugh- INGENUITY OP TOM AND PHIL. 161 ter. The conclusion of the whole ufTair was reached when the party once more formed themselves into a meeting, at which it was moved, seconded, and unanimously voted, " that the thanks of this meet- ing be conveyed to Solomon for his generous loan of the cook's galley." After this, Tom, who always was remarkably fruitful in devices, conceived the idea of making a checker-board. He was able to do this without any very great difficulty. He obtained the head of a flour barrel, and with some soot and water he was able to mark out the squares very well indeed. He then obtained the covers of some red herring boxes, which he cut up into the checker pieces, blackening them with soot. He th6n challenged Bruce to a game. Bruce played, and won ; but, as at the end of that time Bruce, who had chosen the black men, found his fingers and face all covered with soot, and his fingers, moreover, smelling most abominably of stale red herring, his victory did not seem to give him that satisfaction which it might be supposed to have caused. Fired by Tom's example, Phil undertook a more ambitious task, which was nothing less than to make a set of chess-men. He went about the pantry, and succeeded in finding a number of corks, which he attempted to cut into the required shapes. His knife, however, was rather dull, and he himself was not particularly skilful at carving; so that when the pieces were completed, it required a 11 162 PICKED UP ADRIFT. great effort of the imagination to see the connec- tion between tlie corks and the pieces which they were supposed to represent, and a still greater effort of memory to retain the recollection of such resemblance. Ho challenged Bart to a game, and the two attempted to play ; but, after a dozen moves, attended by a dozen disputes, the game re- solved itself into an insoluble problem as to whether a certain piece, btjlonging to Phil, was a pawn or h queen. All present took part in the discussion, but, after a long debate, it was left undecided ; and so the game broke down. ~ v " ■^■ After tea they adjourned to the quarter-deck. Here all was pleasant, and soothing, and agreeable. A gentle breeze still blew as before, and the pros- pect of this tranquil weather continued. The boys sang, and told stories, and chatted for hours. They speculated much as to the time when the Antelope might be expected back again. Some thought that she might be back by the evening of the next day, but others were inclined to allow her a longer time. " For my part," said Bart, " I think we'll have to allow about three days — one day to go to the Magdalen Islands, one day to hunt up the sails, and one day to come back." " 0, he needn't be so long as that," said Phil. " I should think he could get to the Magdalen Islands in far less time. They can't be over fifty miles away, and this breeze would take him there FOREBODINGS. 163 in fifteen hours or so. He left here at about six yesterday ; he probably got there at about twelve to-day. Ho could hunt all over the islands before dark at farthest ; and, of course, he'll come straight back after he gets the sails. He probably left there tbis evening at sundown, and he may be here to-morrow." " 0, 1 don't know," said Bruce. " I dare say he did leave this evening to come back; but, mind you, my boy, this wind's against him. He'll have to tack coming back, and the Antelope isn't much at that. I don't believe he'll do it by to-morrow." " Three days, I think, will have to be allowed," said Arthur. " Well, three days ought to do it at the farthest," said Tom. " He certainly won't wait at the Mag- dalen Islands. The only thing that'll keep him'll be the head winds." • . ' i " Sure, an' for my part," said Pat, "he may stay three weeks, if he likes. This place is over an over again betther than the Antelope." " 0, I don't know," said Bart. " It's all very well while the wind is this way, but if an easterly or southerly wnnd should come up, it wouldn't be BO comfortable. A heavy sea would roll '♦•hrough and through the cabin, and we'd have to live, and eat, and sleep up here." " Sure, an ayvin that wouldn't be so bad." " Well, if it were to rain at the same time," said Bruce, "it might be a little damp up herej i .u it 164 PICKED UP ADRIFT. and Pin afraid we wouldn't have quite so good a table." " I only hope that the Antelope'il get back before it begins to blow," said Tom. " Yes," said Bart, " it's all very well in fine weather ; for I'd rather be on board here tiian in the Antelope ; but if the weather is going to change, I'd a precious sight rather have the Ante- lope within hail." " O, well," said Phil, cheerily, " there's no sign of a blow just yet, at any rate ; so I suppose we needn't talk about that. Pve no doubt this weather'll hold on for a day or so lontrer, and by that time, at the farthest, the Antelope will be here." " If the Antelope were really in sight," said Bart, " I don't believe I should give one thought to the weather; but the fact that she is away makes the subject a very important one. This bead wind may detain her, and if it were to blow hard, it would be bad for us." " Well," said Bruce, '' I believe that if it did blow hard, the wind would change ; and in \t case, it would be all the more favorable for the Antelope, and, of course, bring her here all the faster. So, at the worst, our hardships couJdn't last more than a few hours." v tt "There's a good deal in that," said iiart; "I didn't think of it before." Such were their speculations as to the Antelope ; but all these, together w'th all apprehensions of A CHANGE OF WEATHER. 165 10 good a get back 11 in fine re tuan in going to the Ante- 's no sign ippose we weather '11 at time, at Q-ht," said e thought is away ne. This e to blow if it did id in ^t It. for the re all the is couMn't iiart; "I Antelope ; ensions of danger, and all fears about the change of weather, were soon forgotten in a sound and refreshing sleep. , ^ ^ The next morning came, and their conversation of the previous night made every one think of the Antelope. On going upon deck, their first thought was of her. But of the Antelope there was not a sign, nor was any sail visible whatever. Little did they imagine that at that moment, instead of steer- ing his bark back to them. Captain Corbet was sailing away from them, and directing his course to Miramichi. But the weather was fine, and the breeze was still mild ; and so, aftci one glance around, they all dismissed the subject. Breakfast, and morning occupations, and games, and swimming, and various other pastimes, took up the interval until midday, when dinner came to engage their attention. On going upon deck after dinner, they noticed a change in the appearance of sea and sky. Clouds were visible on the horizon, and the wind had shifted. It was blowing from another quarter. It had been north-east. It was now south-east. It was also a little stronger than it had been, and created more than a ripple on the water. The sur- face of the sea was now agitated, and the halcyon times of calm had passed. The boys noted all these things at one glance. " It's going to be rough," said Bart. " The wind has changed, and it's going to blow." 166 PICKED UP ADRIFT. ; ; i " Well," said Bruce, " let it blow. It'll be fair for the Antelope, and fetch her up all the faster." " It's an ill wind that blows no good," said Tom, quietly. " Let her rip," said Phil. . ' • ^ ^ ^^ The boys were not by any means inclined to borrow. trouble, arid so they soon drove away these thoughts, and began to get up amusements of the old. sort. They ransacked the cabin, they peered into places heretofore neglected. Nothing, how- ever, of any particular interest rewarded their searches. So the afternoon passed away. The tea table was set. Solomon did his best. All praised the repast, as something of a superior order. This time Solomon did not kindle, and glow, and chuckle at the praises of his young friends, but preserved a demeanor of unchangeable gravit^^ As they sat at table, they all noticed a slight motion in the vessel, which would not have been regarded under ordinary circumstances, but which now, in their very peculiar situation, excited comment. ' • " The wind is increasing," said Arthur. "I dare say we'll have a blow to-night," said Bart. " If there's much mofe motion, we must expect to get a ducking," said Tom. " Any way," said Phil, " my berth's out of the reach of the water ; it's the upper one.'^ " Sure, thin, an I'll have to change my berth to ^«t"> ,,it. SOLOMON'S PREPARATIONS. 167 an upper one/' said Pat, " if that's what ye're thinkin of." " Well," said Bruce, " it'll be all the better for tlio Antelope. The wind won't be much, after all. We'll only feel it because we're so low in the water." . . " 0, of course," said Bart ; " and if the worst comes to the worst, we can go to the quarter- deck." The change in their prospects, however, did not in the slightest degree affect the appetite of the boys ; but, on the contrary, they exhibited a greater devotion than ordinary to this repast, as though they were all under the impression that this might be the last one which they were to eat under such luxurious circumstances. This impression, if it did exist, was confirmed after tea, when they went out upon deck. Solomon was there, grave and preoccupied. " Chilen," said he, in a mild voice, " we mus get some 'visium up dis yar ebenin on to dat ar quarter-deck. I ben a riggin some tackle to hist up some barls ob biscuit. Dar's water up dar already, two barls, an dat'U be nuff for de present. You'll all hab to len a han, an hist up biscuit barls ; an you can fotch up as many oder tings as you can lay yer bans on." . , , , •. " 0, let's wait till to-morrow," said Tom. " No, no ; bes be in time," said Solomon. " It's a gwine to blow dis yer night, an we've got to work so as to hab all tingp*. ready." in 168 PICKED UP ADRIFT. None of tlie boys were surprised at this ; so they all prepared to lend a hand at the work. This was, as Solomon said, to hoist up some barrels of biscuit. These they rolled out from the store-room, and hoisted up to the quarter-deck. They then lashed them round the mizzenmast securely. . Two stout seamen's chests were then brought up, bein;]; first emptied of their contents, and into these the boys packed an assortment of such articles of food as might be desirable in the event of a prolonged stay on the quarter-deck, such as two hams, which Solo- mon, with wise forethought, had boiled, cheese, pot- ted meats, knives, forks, mustard, butter, salt, &c. They now felt prepared to some extent for the worst ; but the question still remained, how they were to procure shelter in the event of rain. A diligent search resulted in the discovery of several tarpaulins. These they hung over the boom, se- curing the ends on each side to the deck in such a way that a tent was formed, which was spacious enough to shelter them all in case of need, and quite impervious to water. In the middle of this tent rose the skylight, which might serve for a table, or even a sleeping-place, in case of need. Upon the top of this they spread some mattresses and blankets. ' . a- " Dar," said Solomon, " dat ar's de best dat we can do ; an if dis yer wind's boun to rise, an dis yer vessel's decks get a swimmin wid water, we'll be able to hab a dry place to lib in." I THE PLACE OP RETREAT. 169 " Well, I don't believe we'll have to use it," said [Tom; "but there's nothing like having things |ready." * " 0, we'll sleep all the sounder for this," said Bart. ["There's nothing like knowing that we've got a place tc run to, if the worst comes to the worst." " And then, even if the sea does wash over the decks," said Phil, " all we've got to do is, to take off our shoes and stockings, roll up our trousers, and meander about barefoot." " Sure, an there's a good deal to be said in favor of goin barefoot," remarked Pat. " 0, well," said Bruce, " it'll only be for a little while ; for Pve no doubt that the Antelope'U be along some time to-morrow." " At any rate, we can get our sleep this night in our beds," saiid Arthur. " Pm going to my old crib, and I mean to sleep there, too, till I'm washed out of it." "And so will I," said Bart. - v " And I," said Tom. " And I," said Phil. "And sure an meself will do that same too," said Pat. " Of course," said Bruce ; " we'd be great fools not to sleep there as long as we can." The wind had increased a little, but not much, and the motion of the ship was, after all, but slight. It was rather the prospect before them than the present reality that had led to these preparations. Jjt -- 170 PICKED UP ADRIFT. Two or three hours passed, and ten o^clock came. By that time the wind had increased to a fresh, strong breeze, and the sea had risen into moderate waves. The motion of the ship had grown to be a slow, regular rise and fall of about two feet. On walking to the bows, they saw that at every rise and fall the water came in through the scupper-holes and flowed over the deck. " Well, there it comes," said Tom ; " but for my part, I persist in refusing to believe that it'll be anything of consequence. I don't believe it'll get into the cabin. As to the deck here, a thorough washing'll do it good. I was thinking to-day that it needed one." v , " 0, it'll not be much,'-^ said Phil. .^ '.: " Sure an where's the harrum," said Eat, " if it does come into the cabin, so long as we're high up in our b'erths, out of reach?" " Solomon'll have trouble in cooking to-morrow," said Bart. • ,. " Then we'll feed on biscuit," said Arthur, " A few days ago we'd have been glad enough to be where we are now." * * v " That's true," said Bruce ; " and, besides, to- morrow the Antelope'll be almost sure to be here. This wind's fair, and as I've always said, what's bad for us in one way is best for us in another, for it'll bring the Antelope along all the faster." In this way they all made light "of the change that had taken place ; and, turning away, they all #k A MIDNIGHT ALARM. 171 o*clock 3d to a en into lip had if about law that through b for my it'll be it'll get iiorough iay that t, " if it high up lorrow » ir, "A 1 to be des, to- )G here. what's her, for change they all went to the cabin and retired to their respective berths. The lamp under the skylight was burning brightly, the cabin had its usual cheerful appear- ance, and the comforts here served still more to make them overlook the troubles outside. So they all went to bed. For a few hours they slept. Then they were awakened by a cry — a wild, wailing cry, a cry of terror and of despair. Every one started up at once. The cry came again from the cabin. " 0, chilen, we're lost ! we're done for ! we're ru-i-na-ted for ebbemo ! " " Hallo, Solomon 1 " cried Bart. " What are you making all that row about ? " And as he said this he jumped out of his berth. As he entered the cabin one glance reassured him partially. The lamps ^Vere burning; they had allowed them to burn for this night ; the floor w^as dry. Everything had the same air of comfort which had prevailed when they retired. The motion of the ship was certainly greater, perhaps even much greater ; but under any other circum- stances it would not have been noticed. This much Bart saw first; and then he noticed a figure bowed over the table, sighing and groaning. It was Solomon. His head was buried in his hands. " Come," said Bart, laying his hand on Solomon's shoulder. " What's the matter ? What's upset you ao?" tmr-r 172 PICKED UP ADRIFT. Solomon raised his head and grasped Earths arin| convulsively in both of his hands. " Dar's ghosts about I" u. I "Ghosts?" - ' " Yes, Mas'r Bart ; d-d-d-dars g-g-ghosts a-b-b-b- bout," said Solomon, with a shudder and with] chattering teeth. • • " Pooh I nonsense I What do you mean ? " asked | Bart. By this time all the other boys were out in the I cabin. They had all gone to bed with their clothes on, and stood now wide awake and prepared for| any emergency. They all stared fixedly at Solo- mon, expecting to hear some dreadful disclosure.! They had never before seen him so completely! upset. " Dar's g-g-ghosts a-b-b-b-b-b-b-oard," said Solo- 1 mon. "I went to bed. I waked at de row dey| made down below, in de hole." " What, in the hold ? " " Y-y-yes, MasV Bart, in d-d-d-d-e hole ob de ship. It's a haunted ship — an — full ob hobgobblums." " Pooh I " said Bart, with a sigh of relief; " is that all ? Some nightmare or other. Never mind, old Solomon ; it's all right ; we'll go and lay the ghosts. You come and show me the place." " Darsn't," gasped Solomon. " 0, you'll come with us, yon know ; we'll all go." " D-d-d-arsn't," said Solomon again. SEARCH FOR THE GHOST. 173 " Well, we'll go, and I think it'll be better for ^ou to come with us than to stay here alone," said Jart. " Come along, boys ; let's find out what it is. Perhaps something's the matter." With these words he went out. The other boys followed. Solomon gave one wild glance around, and then, [finding himself forsaken, and dreading the lone- liness, he hurried after the others. ■^f "..■>■,- ^.: 174 PICKED UP ADRIFT. tP XIII. Hushing forth at the Alarm of Solomon. — The roll ing Waters. — The flooded DecJcs. — Strange, un- earthly Noises. — Dread Fears. — Is the Ship breaking up? — Consolations. — Refuge in the Cabin. — A Barricade against the Waters, — A damp Abode. — A Debate. — WJiere shall we pass the Night ? — Solomon on Guard. — Trie fourth Day. — No Antelope. — A long Watch. — TJie Cabin deserted. — Sleeping on Deck. fT the alarm of Solomon, the boys thus all hurried out upon deck. The night was dark. The sky was overcast. The motion of the ship was greater than it had been. As they stepped out, they felt their feet plash in a stream of water that rolled towards them, and perceived by this that the waves had risen high enough to break over the low-lying deck. But it was only enough to wet the deck, and not enough to cause either alarm or even discomfort, since it had not penetrated to the cabin. As they advanced for- ward, however, they encountered deeper streams of water, which swept down from the bows towards Itil lltiil THE ROLLING WATERS. 175 .'«. - The roll range, un- the Ship ge in the iters. — A II we pass lie fourth oh. — Tlie 3 thus all light was he motion As they i a stream perceived nough to was only to cause b had not meed for- r streams s towards them, rising as high as their ankles. Yet even this excited but little attention. Solomon's alarm had prepared them all for something serious, and so slight a thing i*s this was not deemed worthy of notice. They hurried on, therefore, and at length having reached the forecastle, they stood and looked all around. The motion of the vessel would have been con- sidered very ordinary in any one differently situ- ated. Tiie waves had risen somewhat, and at their motion the ship rose and fell about four feet. This was sufficient to bring her deck under the surface of the sea, and at each fall the water streamed in and rolled about. The wind was rather fresh, but not by any means violent, and it sighed through the rigging overhead. " Why, Solomon," said Bart, at length, " what do you mean ? I don't see that any thing's hap- pened." Solomon had been clinging to the outskirts of the party, and at this he cried out, — - . '' Dey ain't out dar ! Dey's inside." "Inside? Where?" - " In dar ! " said Solomon, pointing to the door of the forecastle. At this Bart went in, followed by all the boys. A dim lamp was burning, suspended from a beam. The boys looked around, and saw the seamen's berths, but nothing more. " There isn't anything here," said Brucet IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) / I -ii #3 ^ ///I, <" MP. A //Mr ri^ ^ 1.0 I.I 1.25 ■ so "^ M 1.8 U ill 1.6 v^f^ Ay- y ^ ^y ^ r^- ^^ i^ L,ke to that, so we can. We've got lots of provisions." STRANGE NOISES. 177 " But weVe no oars," said Bart. " Well, we can rig up a bit of a sail, so we can, out of thim ould tarpowlines." " After all, though," said Bruce, " she may not be breaking up. I've heard somewhere that in a water-logged ship the water makes the most ex- traordinary noises ever heard whenever there is the slightest motion ; so these may, after all, be nothing more than the usual noises." " And besides, what is this sea ! " said Bart; " it can't do anything ; it's nothing. In fact, the more I think of it, the more sure I feel that this ship can't break up, unless she strikes a rock. I remember what sea captains have told me — that a timber ship may float and drift about for fifty years, and hold together without any trouble, unless it should strike a rock or be driven ashore. So now that I think of it, I don't believe there's the slightest danger." " But, if that is so, why did the captain of the Petrel desert her ? He must have known this, if it is so." This was Tom's objection, who was not quite in- clined to receive Bart's assertion. ** Well, I dare say he hadn't been in the timber trade," said Bart. " This was something new for him, and he thought she would go to pieces. That's what he wrote in the message that be put in the bottle." This conversation had not been lost on Solomon, 12 178 PICKED UP ADRIFT. whose fears, prompted by superstition, gradually faded away, and finally died out. The true cause of the terrific noises being thus assserted and ac- cepted by the boys, there was no difficulty on Sol- omon's part about adopting it. Accordingly he soon regained his ordinary equanimity, and began to potter about the forecastle, arranging some dishes and pans. The descent of Solomon from the supernatural to the commonplace had a good effect upon the boys, who, seeing that he had suddenly lost all his fears, thought it time to throw aside their own anxieties. " Well," said Phil, " I don't see the use of stay- ing in this dismal forecastle any longer, when there is a comfortable cabin aft ; so I'm going back to my berth." • ' " Sure an it's meself," cried Pat^ " that was jist goin to say that same." " I think it's about the best thing we can do, boys," said Bruce. " There's no danger just yet, evidently, and so there's no reason why we should lose our night's rest. Let's sleep while we can, say I, and I dare say the Antelope'll be along some time to-morrow." ^ v Upon this proposal the boys acted forthAvith, and soon they were all not only back again in their berths, but slumbering profoundly. Solomon also turned in " forard," and finished his night's sleep, which, however, was frequently interrupted by im THE FLOODED DECK. 179 excursions and reconnoitringB which he made for the purpose of seeing how the weather was. On the following morning they all awaked early, and hurried upon deck. This was the third day since the Antelope had left, and by evening the three days would be completed which they allowed for her probable absence. There was not one of them who did not go up on deck that morning with the expectation of seeing her somewhere in the distance. But on looking around, they saw no sail of any kind. It was with a feeling of disappoint- ment that they recognized this fact, for, though thus far they had not encountered any danger, they had, at least, become aware of the fact that an increase of wind might make their situation very dangerous indeed. The wind also had grown stronger, and sang through the rigging in a way that was anything but music to their ears. The sky was overcast with rolling clouds. In another vessel they would have called it a fine day, and a fresh breeze, but to them it became equivalent to a storm. The waves had risen to a height commensurate with the iti- crease of the wind. The rise and fall of the ship amounted to about six feet, and at every other plunge her bows went entirely under water. The deck was now completely flooded, and Solo- mon in traversing it was sometimes up to his knees in the rushing torrent. The fire in the cook's gal- ley had been put out, and he had been compelled 180 PICKED UP ADRIFT. to transfer his apparatus to the stove in the • cabin. The quarter-deck astern prevented the sea from coming aboard in that direction ; and by the time the water that rolled over the bows had reached the cabin doors, it had greatly subsided ; yet still enough had poured into the cabin to saturate it in every nook and corner. A pool of water filled all thf* cabin and all the state-rooms to a depth of six inches, and rolled about with the motion of the ship. " Well, this isn't certainly quite as comfortable as it might be," said Phil, with a blank look. " At this rate," said Tom, " if this sort of thing keeps on, we'll have to launch the boat, and row to the cook's galley." *' It's strange that the Antelope isn't in sight I " said Arthur, shading his eyes, and trying to force them to see. " No use," said Bart, who had been peering through the glass, and now handed it to Arthur. " No use. There's not only no Antelope, but no other vessel ; in fact, there's not a sign of any sail of anv kind whatever." At this Arthur, who had already exhausted all the capabilities of the spy -glass, took it, and began sweeping the entire circuit of the horizon. " 0, don't trouble yourselves, boys," said Bruce. " It isn't quite time yet for the Antelope to get here. We allowed her three days. They won't THE BREAKFAST. 181 be np till evening. Besides, she's just as likely to bo four days ; she's not over fast. For my part, I don't intend to look for her to-day at all. It's quite possible that a vessel may heave in sight ; but I don't believe it'll be the Antelope. And if any vessel does turn up, we can easily si-gnalize, for I found all the signal-flags of the Petrel in the closet next my state-room." ' ■ That morning Solomon had to cook the breakfast in the cabin. The boys all concluded to go about barefoot. The breakfast was cooked, and, consid- ering all the circumstances, was a great success ; but the glory of the cabin had departed, and it was hardly to be expected that a breakfast could be thoroughly enjoyable at which one had to sit with the water playing all about his feet and ankles. Still the boys made the best of it, and did ample justice to the fare. Solomon still struggled man- fully against the diflSculties of his position, and on this occasion actually furnished them with hot rolls. These, with broiled ham, coffee, tea, and other things, made a breakfast that was not to be despised. After breakfast the boys were glad to leave the cabin, and seek the quarter-deck, which arose like an island out of the water. They began to look upon this quarter-deck as a place that was likely to be- come their home. The sashes of the skylight were kept open and made use of, as affording a readier means of passing in and out of the cabin. They began to feel very seriously the restriction of space 182 PICKED UP ADRIFT. which had been caused by the flowing waters, and the cliarms of the comfortable cabin had never seemed so great as when they were deprived of them. Formerly they had been able to lounge in and out, and, above all, to prolong the various re- pasts, and thus pass away the time ; but now breakfast, dinner, and tea had to be hurried over as rapidly as possible, and there came the prospect of final banishment from the cabin altogether. The sea at midday was somewhat rougher; but Solomon heroically cooked the dinner in the cabin, although the water was sometimes half way up to his knees. Measures were now taken to keep the water out. The door was shut and locked, and in the interstices they fastened oakum. Had this been done at the first, the cabin might have been saved ; but unfortunately it had been neglected, and now that the water was in, there was no way of getting it out. Still this was a decided improve- ment, and there was comfort in the thought that it could not grow any worse now, unless it became very bad indeed. ^ Dinner was served in the cabin, and the boys did justice to it, though they showed no inclination to linger at the table any longer than was absolutely necessary. After dinner they sought the quarter-deck, where they spent the afternoon. They had now begun to' look for the coming of the Antelope with great impatience, and their anxiety in this respect WHERE TO SLEEP. 183 kept them in a state of suspense which did not al- low them to feel interest in any other thing. To all of them the time seemed interminable. The spy- glass was passed around a hundred times, and each one on using it see^^ed reluctant to give it up. But at every fresh survey of the horizon there was the same result ; and as hour after hour passed, they began to fear that something might have hap- pened to Captain Corbet. So the time passed. All the afternoon the wind grew higher, and the rolling of the vessel in- creased ; still they took tea in the cabin ; and there arose the important question as to where they should sleep. The opinions varied. Some of them, in view of the fact that the wind was rather increasing than diminishing, were inclined to desert their state- rooms, and sleep on the quarter-deck, upon the skylight, under the friendly shelter of the tar- paulin. Tom advocated this most strongly. " ItTi be just as comfortable," said he, " and much less liable to interruption. Here are our mattresses, all spread out, and roomy enough for all of us. Here is the tarpaulin hanging over the boom, and making a first-rate tent. Down in the cabin the water seems to be slowly increasing, and we'll be liable to be washed out of our berths be- fore morning." " Yes," said Phil, who chimed in with Tom, 184 PICKED UP ADRIFT. " and what's worse, if the sea gets rougher, we'll be certain to ship some seas astern belbre morn- ing, and in that case it'll come pouring into the cabin through the skylight." " Well, if it does," said Bruce, " we should get as wet on the skylight as in the cabin." " Yes," said Arthur, " and we might be washed off into the sea." " Sure an we can lash ourselves to the mast, an sleep there," said Pat. " That's what shipwrecked sailors always do." " 0, there's all the difference in the world," said Tom. " If we are above, we'll be able to avoid any danger, but down below there we'll only be drowned like rats in a hole. For my part, if the sea is coming in, I should like to be where I can have a chance to swim, at least." " 0, come now, Tom," said Bart, " you are put- ting it too strong altogether. The wind hasn't in- creased very much, and the change has been very gradual. There's no likelihood of any sudden change, you know. If it gets much rougher, we'll find it out soon enough, and we'll be able to get out of the cabin, I should think, before it gets filled with water. If the ship begins to pitch like that, so as to ship heavy seas astern, the first one that comes aboard will be enough to wake every mother's son of us. I believe in sticking to the cabin as long as we can. Our berths are as com- fortable as ever. The puddle of water about the A DEBATE. 185 floor don't really amount to much, after all. The door is so tight now that very little more water can get in ; and as to shipping aeas over the stern, I, for my part, don't believe that there is any danger of that just yet ; not to-night, at any rate." " No," said Bruce. " Just see. After all, there's been no very great change since morning. If we were aboard the Antelope, we'd think nothing of this." ^ " But unfortunately," said Tom, " we're not aboard the Antelope." " 0, well," said Bruce, cheerfully, " we needn't bother ourselves. We're pretty certain to be aboard of her to-morrow, if we choose to go, for by that time slie's sure to show herself We al- lowed her three days, and the time is up ; but we ought to allow one day more in case of unlooked- for delays. Perhaps Captain Corbet had to wait for the sails, getting them mended, and all that sort of thing. I don't think he'd wait more than one day, at the farthest ; so we may look for him to- morrow pretty confidently. And in the mean time, I'm of Bart's opinion, and think that we'd better make ourselves comfortable as long as we can, and sleep below until we are driven out. I don't be- Heve we'll be driven out to-night, at- any rate; and if we are, we'll have plenty of warning." The end of it was, that they all decided to sleep below. Solomon, however, who had been present at the discussion, informed them that he would 186 PICKED UP ADRIFT. sleep on deck, and keep one eye open. Some re- monstrance was offered, but in vain, and at length this arrangement was entered into. Fortunately the niglit passed without any acci- dent. Their sleep was undisturbed. On waking in the morning, they found not much increase in the water inside the cabin, but felt that the vessel was pitching about more than ever, and creaking and groaning in every timber. Hurrying out on deck, they looked eagerly around. Bruce was up first, and seizing the spy- glass, scanned the whole horizon in the most searching manner. But not to the eyes of any one, nor to the searching gaze of Bruce, appeared any sail whatever. Not one word was said. The disappointment of all amounted almost to dismay for a moment, and their feelings were too strong for utterance. All around them the sea arose in foaming billows; Overhead the sky was covered with clouds that drove onward impetuously. The wind howled through the rigging ; the ship labored and plunged, shipping heavy seas, and .thrusting her bows far under the rolling waves. But the quarter-deck, as yet, was spared, and rose above the seas like an island, whereon thev could rest. This day passed like the previous one. They spent the whole time looking for the Antelope. It was now the fourth day since her departure, and her delay made all feel uneasy. The cabin was I NO ANTELOPE YET. 187 now too uncomfortable for thorn, so that they de- cided to eat their meals on the quarter-deck ; but Solomon cooked their meals in the cabin stove, and struggled heroically against fate in the effort to a (lord his young friends the best fare that could be furnished. The day passed slowly. No Antelope I ' • Night came. This time there was no debate about a sleeping- place. No one thought of going below, and they all stretched their weary frames on the mattresses, which were laid on the skylight. :■ ( t ' i ■r ' }*•!■• lows.* 1 that H • twled I '[ / iged, 1 \ ' ' ■ ' ■ s far ■ ck, as 1 '■-■ V' :■' ' :e an 1 ^' ■J'-:^y i-,.: They 1 ». It 1 \ 1. and I was 188 PICKED UP ADRIFT. ■'-v/,;. XIV. A strange Sleeping-place. — The Tent. — Tlie View astern. — Boiling Waters in Pursuit. — Morning. — Astonishing Discovery . — The solid Land mov- ing towards the anchored Ship. — How to account for it. — What Land is this ? — Various Theories. — Every one has a different Opinion. — Solomon driven from the Cabin. — Drawing nearer. — An iron-bound Coast. HEIR sleep that night was somewhat dis- turbed, for the novelty of their position prevented them from having that placidity of mind which is the best promoter of slumber. At times through the night they awaked, and were sensible of the rush of waters about the ship's quarter, and also of a greater motion of the vessel, accompanied by all manner of creakings and groan- iiigs. The tarpaulins hung over them, having been secured in such a fashion as to form an ex- cellent tent, opening towards the stern, and closed at the other end by the mizzen-mast and the barrels of biscuit and other things around it. Through the opening astern they could see at times, as the THE TENT. 189 ship sunk, the phosphorescent gleam of foaming billows rolling around them as if about to break over them. Most of these did dash themselves against the ship, but none fell upon the quarter- deck; all that the boys felt was the fine spray which floated under their resting-place, and satu- rated everything. None of them, however, attempted to rise and go forth until daybreak. There was no cause for doing so ; their sleeping-place was the most com- fortable now left in the ship, and the scene without had no attraction strong enough to draw them away. Day dawned, and still there was some hesitation about getting up. This day was the fifth since the departure of the Antelope. Their situation was now quite serious ; but they had not yet seen any signs of Captain Corbet. They looked forward towards seeing him on this day, but the disappointment of the two pre- vious days made them despondent, and each one dreaded to look out, for fear that his forebodings might be confirmed. This was the waking thought of each, and each one also perceived that this day was worse than any they had known yet. If the Antelope still kept away, they scarcely knew what to hope for. ■ At length they went forth, and looked around. All over the sea the waves were larger, and rougher, and fiercer. The motion of the ship was greater than ever. It seemed as though the bil- 190 PICKED UP ADRIFT. lows, that raced and chased about in all directions, were hurrying to overwhelm her. The deck below was all covered with white foam, and at times the bows plunged so far under water, and remained there so long, and were overwhelmed by such floods of rolling billows, that it seemed as thougli the ship would never again emerge. The quarter- deck was now more than ever like an island ; but every moment lessenea its security, and brought it more and more within reach of the ravenous waves that surged around on all sides. Such was the sight that met their view, as they took their first look around. ' But for all this they had been prepared during the long night, by all that they had felt, and heard, and seen;, and therefore this did not affect them so much. It was the long, eager look which they turned towards the distant sea, the sharp, scrutiniz- ing gaze with which they swept the horizon, that brought the deepest trouble; for there, over the wide surface of the waters, not a single sail was visible ; and the fifth day, while it brought fresh calamities, brought no Antelope, and no hope of relief. . , Suddenly Pat gave a loud shout. , • f' "What's that?" he cried; "what in the wide wurruld is it that I see over there? Sure it's draimin I must be." All the boys looked in the direction where Pat was pointing. CONJECTURES OF THE BOYS. 191 " It's land ! " cried Bruce, in tones of amaze- ment. " Land ! " " Land ! " " Land ! " burst from the oth- er boys, who, with inexpressible wonder, looked at the unaccountable sight, and scarcely wore able to believe what they saw. ,, ^ • ' Yet it was land — most unmistakably. There it rose, a long, blue line, apparently about fifteen miles away. It was a rugged shore, and extended along the horizon for some distance. For such a sight as this they had not been in the slightest de- gree prepared ; in fact, they would have expected anything sooner ; fjr how could the land move itself up to their fast-anchored ship? Yet there was the fact, and before that fact they were simply con- founded. " I don't understand it at all," said Bruce. " If it had been foggy during the last few days, or even lu.zy, I could then understand it; but it's been parvicularly bright and clear all the time." " I wonder if it can be something like mirage," said Arthur. " No," said Bart. " The mirage never appears, except when the sea is perfectly still." " My opinion is," said Arthur, " that the ship's been dragging her anchor, and has been drifting all these five days ; or, at any rate, ever since the wind rose." " Perhaps she has broken loose," said Tom. " The chain may have had a weak link. I re- 192 PICKED UP ADRIFT. member the anchor went down with a tremendous jerk." " For my part," said Phil, " I'm half inclined to believe that the anchor never got to the bottom. I don't know how deep the water is in the middle of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, but I remember think- ing at the time that it was a very short chain to reach to the bottom of the sea. I remember wondering that *the gulf was so shallow, but I thought tl at Captain Corbet knew what he was about; but now, the more I think of it, the more sure I feel that Captain Corbet did not know what he was about, but dropped anchor, and let things slide, after his usual careless fashion. He con- fessed, over and over, that he knew nothing at all about these waters ; and he never once took the trouble to sound, or to try and hunt up a chart. No ; ha has dropped anchor, and the anchor has never begun to get near the bottom. The conse- quence is, we've been drifting along ever since he left us, and are now ever so many miles away from the place where the anchor was dropped. And, what's worse, I dare say the Antelope was back there two days ago ; but we were gone, and so, of course. Captain Corbet's lost us, and has no more idea wliere to look for us than a child." Phil's theory was so plausible, that it was at once accepted by all the boys. It seemed the most natural way of accounting for everything, — for the absence of the Antelope, and the appearance A STRANGE SHORE. 193 : the :liart. has onse- isince |away ped. was , and las no las at the :ance of this strange shore. For a time a deep gloom fell over all, and they stood in silence, staring at the land. Out of this gloom Tom was the first to rouse himself. " I tell you what it is, boys," said he, at length, " I don't know that it's so bad a thing after all. The more I think of it, the better it seems. I'd ten times sooner be near some land, as we are now, than be far away out in the midst of the sea, with nothing to be seen, day after day, but sky and water. It seems to me that we must be drawing nearer to the land, and before evening we may be close enough to see what sort of a country it is. If the worst comes to the worst, we can launch the boat, and go ashore. It's a little rough, but, after all, not too rough for the boat. 1 ve been out in an open boat when the water was quite as rough as this. It seems rough to us, because the ship is water-logged, and is drifting every way — end on, side on, and so forth." " I wonder what land it is," said Phil. " If we only knew how the wind has been, we might guess how we have been drifting," said Bruce ; " but the wind has changed once or twice, and I've never kept any account of it." " Sometimes,'^ said Bart, ^' it has been blowing from the bows, and sometimes from the quarter.'^ " 0, of course, and every other way," said Ar- thur; "for the simple reason that the ship must 13 194 PICKED UP ADRIFT. have been turning about, first one way and then the otlior, as she drifted." " I've got a strong idea," said Phil, " that this land is Newfoundhmd." " 0, no," said Tom ; " my impression is, that it's Prince Edward's Island. For this to be Newfound- land, the wind should have been from the south or the south-west ; but it seems to me that it has been generally from a northerly direction." " I don't think anything of the kind," said Bart ; " I think it's been from a westerly direction, and that this is some part of Nova Scotia or Cape Breton." * j " Sure, an I agree with Tom," said Pat, " about the wind, only I don't think that this is Prince Edward's Island ; it's too high — so it is — and it's meself that wouldn't be a bit surprised if it should turrun out to be the Magdalen Islands after all." " 0, no," said Bruce, " it's too long in extent for the Magdalen Islands. I think it may be some part of the New Brunswick coast, perhaps Miramichi, — for it seems to me that the wind has generally come from the east." " So it seems to me," said Arthur ; " but, Bruce, an east wind couldn't take us to Miramichi; it would bring us a good distance to the north of that, fronl the place where we were. It seems to me that this must be Gaspe, — and if so, we won't be very far away from the Bay de Chaleur." " Well, well," cried Pat, with a laugh, " sure it's DISCUSSION ABOUT SALVAGE. 1195 the whole surroundin coasts that we've gone over, so it is, an every one of us has put her in a differ- ent place from every one else. One comfort is, that some of us'll have to be right, an so I'll stick, so I will, to the Magdalen Islands, an if' it is, why sure we're certain of good intertainmont, so we are, ivery one of us." •• '" • - J " Well, boys," said Bruce, cheerily, " perhaps, iifter all, this is about tlie best thing that could have happcTied to us." " I don't see why," said Tom. : ; ■ " Why, you know the very reason that Captain Corbet went away was to get sails to bring this ship to some land. The very thing we all wanted was to get her to some land. Well, here we've been drifting along, and now, lo and behold I here is the land that we wanted to reach." " Yes ; but how can we get her to any port ? We've got no sails, and we can't steer her." " 0, when we get nearer, some pilots or fisher- men will come ofi^" • ^ ' * •' '■ " Yes ; but will they be salvors too ? " asked Phil, anxiously. " Certainly not," said Bruce, in a lofty tone ; " they shall be nothing of the kind. We'll hire them to help us bring her into port. We'll pay them liberally, of course." ■•' vut ^^^i :m-'r< M f " Yes," said Bart, " and we won't let Captain Corbet's absence make any difference. He shall have his share all the same — for bis not being here isn't his fault." • 196 PICKED UP ADRIFT. " My idea is," said Arthur, " that we'd better make a contribution, call it the Corbet Baby Fund, and add it to his share for the sake of old times, and all that sort of thing.'' *' Our profits," Bruca went on to Bay, in the same lofty tone, " will depend ve^y largely upon the sort of place we can bring the ship to. If this is Mira- michi, they ought to be very large, — in fact, the ship'll bring as large a price there as anywhere ; but if it's the Magdalen Islands, why, of course we can't expect to do quite so well. Still we ought to do well in almost any case." ■ "I should like to know how we can get word to Captain Corbet again," .said Arthur. " I'm afraid he'll feel anxious about us." " 0, that's easy enough," said Bruce. " On Linling, we can telegraph to the Magdalen Islands, and they'll get word to him somehow." " But there isn't any cable to the Magdalen Islands." " Doesn't the Newfoundland cable pass by there?" * '*0, no." " 0, well, we'll telegraph to various places, and he'll be sure to hear sooner or later." " I wonder what's become of him ? " said Phil. " I dare say he's cruising about the gulf every- where, asking every vessel he meets about us." " I only hope, then, he'll meet with more vessels than we have." THE BOYS STILL PUZZLED. 197 " It's a very curious thing that we haven't seen any vessels," " 0, I suppose we've drifted out of the way of the fishing vessels and the timber ships. I dare say the fishing vessels keep generally to the same places, for fishes must be more abundant in some spots than in others, and, us to the timber ship;^, they try to keep as much as possible in one given course." " I w^onder whether we're drifting towards that land, or past it." ^' 0, well, we didn't see it yesterday, and we do see it to-day, which proves that we have drifted towards it during the night ; and from this it fol- lows that we will be likely to continue drifting towards it. When wo get pretty close we must contrive to get some of the fishermen on the coast to help us ; but I don't suppose there'll be any trouble about that. They'll all come piling on board as soon as they catch sight of us, and see our situation." " I wonder what sort of people they are," said Phil. " Along some of these shores they don't bear the best of characters. Some of the fishing popu- lation are given to- wrecking." " I don't believe a word of that," said Bruce, " and I never did. I dare say if a ship breaks up they appropriate what they can in a quiet way, and when the owners appear, they may be rather loath to surrender their spoil ; but wrecking, in its bad 198 PICKED UP ADRIFT. sense, is not known here on these shores. Wreck- ^ ing, as I understand it^ means decoying vessels ashore, and sometimes murdering the shipwrecked ■ crews. And I never heard of a case of that kind • about these waters." - "• - •* . " Perhaps," suggested Bart, " they won't feel in- ' clined to recognize our ownersliip. I confess I don't feel myself a very strong confidence in our ' claim." ,.;iiU!.r " Why not?" said Bruce. " 0, I don't know. The claim don't seem to be a just one ; for instance, now, if the owners were to appear in a steam-tug and hitch on, would you order them off? " i ,'?n- vn; " Yes, I would," said Bruce, firmly ; " of course I would. I would hire them to tow our ship and cargo into port, and pay them liberally, of course ; but as to recognizing them as being owners, so long as we, the salvors, were on board, I would do nothing of the kind. The moment the captain and crew deserted the Petrel, that moment they lost all claims to her, on their own account and on account of their employers. The owners after that must look to the insurance companies, while we gain the benefits of good fortune and our own bold- ness. ji Bruce spoke all this in the most cool and confi- dent manner in the world, and in the same tone as though the Petrel was lying in some safe harbor, and he and the boys were contemplating her, and SOLOMON SPEAKS. 199 I ifi- as lor, nd considering her from a cosy nook on the wharf. Yet all the time the ship was pitching, and tossing, and straining, and the waves boiled around, and the seas rolled in foam over her deck. The conversation was at length interrupted by Solomon. His head and shoulders were projecting from the skylight. Ho was standing on the cabin table. " Ise ben a tryin, chilen," said he, " an a deav- orin to git up some kine ob a fire down heah, but I ben an made it six or seben times, an cbery time, de water hab stinguished it. Don know dat dar's any sort o' use in tryin to kin'l it agin, specially as all de kinlin wood's used up, an de res ob it is soaked through* an through. Pears to me we'll hab to do widout de tea an coilee, an drink colo water dis time, unless we can manage to hist dis yer stove on deck. Only, if we do, it might turn out to be a leetle mite tottlisli." . " Well, boys," said Bart, '' what do you say ? Shall we try and get the stove on deck, or drink cold water ? '^ ^' The stove on deck? 0, nonsense ! " said Ar- thur. '' What's the odds if we don't have tea and coffee ? We've got enough to eat ; we've got a precious sight better supply than we ever had on board the Antelope — cold boiled ham, mustard, biscuit, butter, cheese, potted meats, and no end of things. Bother the stove, I say. Let it slide. 200 riCKICD UP ADRIFT. WliJit do we want with it up hore? We never could fix it in a tiglit place." This was the decision of all. In fact all saw that any attempt to hoist up the stove would have been absurd. The ship was pitching and tossing too much to make such a task practicable. So Solomon came forth, having been driven from the cabin, as he had formerly been driven from the cook's galley ; but not for this did he lose any of his equanimity. He proceeded to lay out the breakfast as well as he could upon the skylight, piling up the mattresses in a dry place, and laying the table with a regard rather to use than to show. He tacitly assumed that under the circumstances the breakfast would be somewhat informal, and did not think it necessary to risk plates and cups by putting them where they would be certain to be flung off by the motion of the ship. The table was therefore rudely spread, but the eat- ables were all that could be desired. After breakfast the day went on, and the boys watched hour after hour the distant shore. By midday it had grown much more distinct, and they knew that they were drawing nearer. A few hours after they had drawn still nearer. But the nearer they came the less satisfaction did they feel in the aspect of the land. The most careful examination through the glass failed to show the slightest sign of life. No houses ap- peared, no tilled fields, no j)astures even, no clear- BRUCE HOPEFUL. 201 ings of any kind ; but a rocky shore, with a wooded country behind, was all that they could see. " 0, well, boys,'* said Bruce, " this is the way it is almost every where around these coasts ; but I dare say Miramichi settlement is only a few miles away, and we may find a fisherman's hut in some cove close by." )ur8 tion lost to ap- jar- /■■c ■ : -^ \ ., /. ,>?-;*■;. \.\' r 202 PICKED UP ADRIFT. i'^/ if » ' '•.-*,' , XV. , A miserable Day. — Keeping their Courage up. — Solomon unmoved. — The Cook triumphs over the Man. — A big Wave. — A Shower-bath. — Heller- skelter. — All in a Heap, — Flight. — Tlie Big- ging. — Solomon ventures his Life for a Ham Bone. — Bemarks. — Flight farther- up. — The Mizzen- top. — The Fugitives. — Pat ties himself to the Mast. — Bemonstrances. — Fat is obdurate, — Night, and Storm, and Darkness. fLL through that day the sea continued as rough as at first, and the wind blew a^ strongly. In the afternoon the wind came up more fiercely, and far surpassed anything they had experienced since they had boarded the Petrel. It sang and roared through the rigging, and so great was its powei', that there was a per- ceptible list in the ship in spite of the tremen- dous weight of her cargo and water-logged hull. Soon the increasing wind stirred up the sea to greater fury,, and the ship began to labor most fear- fully. Every hour made it worse ; and at length ^-■w^. A MISERABLE DAY. 2Q3 ed as w a'^ came they the per- :^men- liull. ea to ;. fear- mgth the whole ship forward seemed to be perpetually submerged, for nothing could be seen of its deck, and the foaming waves rolled backward and for- ward, and boiled, and seethed, and swept resist- lessly to and fro. Sometimes a dozen huge waves in succession broke in thunder on the helpless ship which lay beneath them, and received these mountain torrents, quivering and groaning in every plank and beam. By this time the boys had certainly become accustomed to the creaking and groaning of the straining ship, but this surpassed all that they had yet seen, and filled them with awe. They stood tliere looking at the scene ; the land was now forgotten. It had lost its interest. The feeling began to arise that perhaps they might never reach those shores, and if they did turn a glance any longer in that direction, it was solely in order to measure the intervening distance, and try whether it might be possible for the ship to reach the shore before going to pieces. '^ r ■ -r Solomon alone stood unmoved. Faithful to the last, with his one idea, the performance of his duty, Solomon prepared the evening meal. The cook triaraphed over the man, and professional feeling rose superior to the frailties of humanity. It was ham that they would have, and biscuit, and butter. They should have cheese, too, and sardines. Pickles and mustard should not be wanting. And Solomon laid these on the skylight, one by one, 204 PICKED UP ADRIFT. solemnly and in silence, as though the conscious- ness was present in his breast that this meal might be the last on board. Never before had he arranged a repast more deliberately and more thoughtfully. The table was set under circum- stances which, indeed, required deliberation and thought. The pitching of the ship w^as so violent, that it required the most careful management to induce the things to lie in their places ; and it was only by covering the biscuit with bits of board, that he succeeded in keeping them to their places. With the ham he had a long struggle, but finally tied it with rope-yarn to the skylight. As to the smaller articles, he had to leave them in the chest. Solomon was just returning for the last time, carrying a piece of cheese and a box of sardines ; the boys were seated on the edge of the skylight, waiting for the preparations to be completed, when suddenly the stern of the ship went down, down, down, very much farther than they had ever known it to descend before. An awful thought seized upon all : the ship was sinking ! Every one started wildly up, clutching at anything that happened to be nearest, without knowing what they were doing, and looking fearfully through the opening at the end of their shelter. It was a terrific sight that appeared in that direction. There rose a wall of water, black, towering high in wrathful menace, with its crest boiling in white A BIG WAVE. 205 5C10US- I meal re had , more lircum- •n and violent, lent to it was board, places, finally to the ) chest. ,t time, rdines ; y light, pleted, down, d ever ought Every g that what rough that high white foam. For a few moments that great mass hung poised above them ; and then, with terrific fury, and with resistless might, it descended in thunder upon them. For a few moments all was the black- ness of darkness, and the boys struggled despair- ingly with the rolling, overwhelming, foaming waters, which swept them helplessly about. The thought, and the only thought in every mind, wiis, that the ship was going down, and with this con- viction that the last hour of life had come, there rose from each a short prayer, gasped out in that moment of agony. It seemed ages ; but at- length the ship slowly struggled up, and the waters rolled away. For a few moments they all lay where they had been thrown, heaped up together ; and then they strug- gled to their feet, and each began to call after the others. To their great joy they found that they all were there, and that, except a few bruises more or less severe, no evil had been incurred. But the tarpaulins had been torn from the fasten- ings, and blown away by the fury of the wind, and the boys had been saved from a similar fate only by the quarter-deck rail, against which they had been flung. To this rail they clung as they rose to their feet, and for a short time stood clinging there, not knowing what to do. But from this stupor they were roused by the voice of Solomon. " Chilen," said he, " de suppa am 'sposed of, an 206 PICKED UP ADRIFT. you got to go wicloiit it dis bressed night. No use settin do table figin. Don't pay in dis yer weather. Anybody dat wants anytin to eat, had bes go to de barl or de trunk an fish for hisself. Dpre all full ob salt water, and dem dat's fond ob salt junk can get deir fill." - >,v. None of the boys, however, showed any disposi- tion to eat. This last wave had destroyed all appetite. It had showed them how the wind had increased. They had hoped all along that the quarter-deck would be spared, and that they would be safe there ; but now this hope was lost ; where one wave had come, others were sure to fol- low, and the prospects for the night were dark and dismal indeed. For the night was before them. The sun was already going down ; the sky looked lowering, and dark, and menacing ; the wind had grown to a gale, and all around the waters seemed waiting to ingulf them. Once they had wondered why the captain and crew had fled from the ship ; now they understood but too well the reason of that flight. The idea of salvage seemed now to all of them a tniserable mockery. What would they not have given to have escaped from this ship to any place of safet}^ ? Even the days of famine on board the Antelope seemed less terrible than the fate that now frowned wrathfully upon them out of the lowering night. " It won't do to stay here," said Bruce. " Another wave'll follow. Let's get higher up, out of the way." :. No is yer it, had lisself. nd ob lisposi- 'ed all id had at the 5 they s lost; 3 to fol- e dark before lie sky ; the d the Once w had ut too alvage ckery. caped en the d less hfully lother way." FLIGHT TO THE RIGGING. 207 " Where can we go ? " asked Tom. i ■ ;' "Up in the rigging," said Bruce. " Come." Saying this, he climbed up the mizzen shrouds for a little distance on the windward side. The others followed. Last of all came Solomon, who took up his station below them all as though to guard them. J There they all clung, and watched with awful eyes the scene below. It seemed for some time as though they had been premature in deserting the quarter-deck, for no wave followed that moun- tair billow which had precipitated itself upon them. But the recollection of that one wave was enough ; and though its successor came not for some time, still they all confidently expected it. They knew that it would come before long, fol- lowed by many others, for the sea grew higher every minute, and the wrath of its waters grew more wild. Forward all was a sea of foam, and the quarter-deck appeared beneath them like a raft over which they hung as they clung to the shrouds. •. . ' ;.,.:. . • r.: , They *did not climb far up. They were not more than ten feet above the deck, having rested at this point, so that they might be out of the reach of the waves and no more. Abgut their lost repast they did not think for one moment. That wave which had swept away their supper, had carried with it all thoughts and all desires concerning it. The only one who gave it a thought was Solomon, 208 PICKED UP ADRIFT. who, even now, was still true to his professional duties ; and seeing the boiled ham lying against the quarter-deck railing, in the very place where it had been flung, ho leaped down, at the peril of his life, hastily seized it, pitched it into the trunk, and then clambered back again. ^^ Bonn to skewer dat ar ham dis yer time," said he, in a soliloquizing tone. " No use lettin de win an de sea hab it all deir own way, nohow. Dat ar ham's too precious to be lost, an I'se boun to serve it up yet for breakfus to-morrow, when de storm goes down. Lucky we didn't try to hist up dat ar cabin stove. Jerusalem ! wouldn't it hab spun overboard ? Would so. But it's down deep 'nough now in de water, for de cabin's chock full. Don't ebber 'member bein so 'stuvbed before in all my cookin 'sperience ; an watobbers goin to be de suit ob it all's more'n I can tell. Beats all ; an dese yer chilen's all boun to catch deir defF ob cold.'^ At this Solomon raised his head, and looked at each one of the boys in succession. He saw them all wet to the skin, with the water dripping from their clothes, and their hands clutching' fast the rigging. It was a painful sight, too painful: he turned away his face, and drops of brine ran down his face which did npt come from the sea. Suddenly a thunderous sound arose, which made every one look in terror towards the place from which it came. It was forward. In an instant they saw it all. Several great waves had fallen A RAGING STORM. 209 there in swift succession, striking amidships full upon a round-house which stood tliere, and was used for the reception of deck cargoes. The force of these blows was resistless; the structure yielded with a crash, and gave way utterly. For a moment it was brought up against the ship's bul- warks, but the waters poured in underneath, floated it far upward, and tumbled it over into the sea. There it floated at the mercv of the waves, farther and farther away, while the raging billows, like hungry wolves, encompassed it on every side. The boys had already felt sufficiently awed by the scene around to be hushed into silence, but about this last event there was something so appalling that they all uttered an involuntary cry, and clung more closely to the rigging, each one looking at his neighbor with a face of despair. For the only thought now present to each one was, that the ship was breaking up, and that utter ruin and destruction was imminent. The crash of the wave, as it struck the massive structure and tore it away, was so tremendous that the boys might well have dreaded the worst ; and the sight of it now, as it tossed and tumbled in the boiling floods, had in it something so terribly suggestive of their own fate, that they shuddered and turned their eyes away. : . , . ; But suddenly Solomon^s voice broke the silence. " Dar," said he ; " dar's how I knowed it was goin for to be. I bet high on de cook's galley. 14 210 PICKED UP ADRIFT. Dem dar round-houses only built for show; dey got no rail strenf*. Now de cook's galley down dar ain't goin to gib way dat fashium ; she's boun to Stan, jes like de rock ob Gibberalter, an de stove too, — dat's so.'^ . : There was something in Solomon's tone which was so cool and matte r-ol-fact that the others felt a little reassured, and recovered a little of their former coolness. They saw that the ship was still holding together, and as the waves rolled back, they saw the smooth firm deck where the round- house had stood, and learned from this that the round-house did not constitute a portion of the ship, but was merely an erection on that deck, and there- fore to some extent a movable. But Solomon's confidence in the cook's galley was by no means warranted by facts. Thus far it had been protected to some extent from the sweep of the waves by the round-house, and the loss of this barrier left it all exposed to the full fury of the waters. For some time it bore up gallantly, and as each wave rolled over it, Solomon cheered exultantly, to see it come forth erect from the rolling torrents. At length, however, Solomon's exultant cries grew fainter, and finally ceased altogether. For the galley was shaking, and quivering, and yielding. At length one side started, and was beaten out; the rest soon fol- lowed, until all was crushed to fragments, and its separate portion hurled out upon the angry sea. THE EFF^T OF SOLOMON'S WORDS. 211 jalley far it jweep )SS of ry of antly, eered the mon's eased and side n fol- d its ea. " Anyhow," said Solomon, " dat ar galley held out pooty tough, mind I tell you ; an dar's de stove yet, as large as life, an it's goin to take a good many waves afore they'll be able to start her. Yes, dat ar stove's goin to hold on, mind I tell you ; an Ise a goin to bile a kittlp ob water on her yet, you see. Will so." ' Whether Solomon really meant what he said, is an open question. He may have really believed it all, or, as is most probable, he may have ex- pressed himself in this way merely for the pur- pose of giving courage and confidence to the boys, and preventing them from sinking into despair. Certain it is that his words had this effect ; and seeing that the loss of the round-house and galley had made no material difference in the ship her- self, they clung to hope, and tried to believe that the stout hull, with its firm cargo, would ride out the storm. ' ' ^ ^ • ' ■ • ■-/•■r But by this time the sun had set ; and now, in addition to their other troubles, there was added the dismal prospect of the coming niglit. Dark, indeed, would that night be to all of them. Fear- ful enough was their position already ; but when, in addition to this, they would find the light of day cut off, and the horror of great darkness all around, what support could they find for their sinking souls, or what hope of escape ? Already the land was fading out of sight, lost in the gathering shadows of evening. By the dim twilight they 212 PICKED UP ADRIFJ. could see that they had drawn much nearer, and their distance seemed now but a few miles. Thus ^ir they had regarded the laud only with pleasure ; now, however, as the night came down, and the darkness deepened, and the storm increased, they began to experience other feelings with regard to this dreary shore. That it was rocky and forbid- ding they had already seen, nor had they hitherto been able to detect any part of the coast here which was at all inviting or favorable to a landing. If in such a storm the ship should be driven upon such a shore, what could save her from being shattered to pieces ? If in such a darkness they were driven upon those rocks, what could save them from destruction? Yet towards that un- known shore they were every moment drawing nearer, and wind and tide seemed alike to urge them onward towards it. It was not yet dark, when suddenly a giant wave rose high from underneath the stern, and hung suspended over the quarter-deck. It was the counterpart of that wave which had struck them an hour before. For a few moments it hung, poised and quivering, and then it fell, in thunder, down. It poured all over the barrels of biscuit that were lashed to the mizzen-mast, it swept down through the skylight into the cabin, it rolled in a flood over the deck, and rushed forward, pouring down, and blending its waters with those that « boiled and foamed amidships. UP IN THE MIZZEN-TOP. 213 nder, scuit down in a uring that The ship now Beemed unable to rise. She seemed to have sunk into some vortex, and being without anything like buoyancy, the waters held her fast. Wave after wave rolled in, and poured over the quarter-deck. The whole ship, from stem to stern, seemed to be one mass of foam. The hull was lost to sight. They seemed supported by masts that rose out of the sea. Destruction appeared close at hand. Clinging to the rigging with death-like tenacity they could only murmur their prayers of despair to that mighty unseen Being who holds the waters in the hollow of his hand. At length, shuddering, and groaning, and trem- bling in every fibre, like some living thing, the ship struggled up out of the mass of waters, and freed herself for a time. The boys could see the quarter-deck. They could see the barrels lashed to the mizzen-mast still secure. They breathed more freely. It seemed as though they had received a reprieve, — as though their despair- ing cries had been heard and answered. " Boys," said Bruce, " we can't hang here all night. .We'll fall off. Let's go up higher. There's room for all of us, I think, in the mizzen-top. Come." . . . With these words he started upward. The rest followed. Solomon went up last. They all reached the mizzen-top in safety, and, on reaching it, found that it was spacious enough to afford room for them all. 2U PICKED UP ADRIFT. ITere Pat proceeded to possess himself of a line wliich ran tliroiigh a block close by, after wliicli he began to tie himself to the mast. " What are you up to, Fat ? " asked Bart, in some wonder. " Sure it's tying meself to the mast, I am, so it is." " Tying yourself to the mast ? " repeated Bart, in amazement. '• What in the world is that for? " "What is it for?" said Pat. "Sure and what else is it that people always do in shipwrecks ? It's the reg'lar thing, so it is."_ " Well, for my part," said Bart, " I'd rather have my hands free. If this mast should go over, I'd rather not be fastened to it as tight as that. You'd better not." " Sure an won't I float ashore on it without any trouble ? " * " Yes ; only the trouble may be to keep your head above water. Don't do it, Pat." But Pat was deaf to argument. Slowly, but pertinaciously and securely, he wound the rope round and round the mast, binding himself to it tighter at every turn. " Ye'd best follow my lade," said Pat. " There's enough left in this bit of a line to tie ye's all fast and firrum, so there is." But the others refused. They preferred liberty of action, and did not like the idea of swathing themselves up like mummies. They wished to be in so ALOPT IN A NIGHT STORM. 215 able occasionally, if possible, to lie down, or sit down, and not remain all night on their feet. Thus there they stood in the mizzen-top. And the niglit came d6wn, and the darkness gathered deeper and deeper around them. And the storm rose to its height, and night, and storm, and dark- ness, in all their terrific power, environed them as they stood in their giddy perch. * ; ■ ^'iu' uy.i •'.;3..'.i- .0''>.ill ''J if] l,/v-^'.ii?,i-sw. '/. 216 PICKED UP ADRIFT. ■•>; I h'- ■'f XYI. Nir/ht, and Storm, and Darkness. — The giddy Perch. — The trembling Ship. — The quivering Masts. — A Time of Terror. — Silence and De- spair. — A Ray of Hope. — Subsidence of Wind and Wave. — Descent of the Boys. — Sufferings of Pat. — In the Mizzen-top. — Vigil of Bart. — The Sound of the Surf — The Rift in the Cloud. — Land near. — The white Line of Breakers. — The black Face of Solomon. — All explained. — The Boat and the Oars. — The friendly Cove. — Land at last. ^i^IGIIT, and storm, and darkness I In There, in their gij3dy perch in the mizzen- C^ top, stood that despairing little band. Grad- ually all the scene was lost to view in thick dark- ness. But beneath, the ship tossed and pitched wild!/, groaning and creaking as before, and the big waves beat in fury on her bows, or fell in thun- der on her quarter-deck. Looking down, they saw the phosphorescent gleam of the boiling waters, which made all the extent of the ship luminous THE TREMBLING SHIP. 217 with a baleful lustre, and wide over the seaa ex- tended the same glow. Well it was for them that they had sought this place of retreat, or rather that this place of retreat had been left open to them, for clinging to the rigging would have ex- hausted their strength, and through those long hours more than one might have fallen into the sea. But as it was they could have something like rest, and, by changing their positions, find relief for their wearied frames. Yet this place had its own terrors, which were fully equal to any others. The wind howled fear- fully through the rigging, and as the ship pitched and tossed, the mast strained and quivered in uni- son. Often and often it seemed to them that the strained mast would suddenly snap and go over the side, or, if not, that in its violent jerks it might hurl them all over to destruction. More than once they thought of guarding against this last danger by following Pat's example, and binding themselves to the rigging ; but they were deterred from this by the fear of the mast falling, in which case they, too, would be helpless. Fortunate it was for them that there were no sails. These had long since been rent away ; but had they been here now, or had the wind taken any stronger hold of the masts, they must have gone by the board. ' Often and often, as some larger wave than usual struck the ship, the feeling came that all was over, and that now, at last, her break-up was beginning ; 218 PICKED UP ADRIFT. often and often, as she sank far down, and the waters rolled over her quarter, and held her there, the fear came to them that at last her hour had come — that she was sinking; and with this fear they looked down, expecting to see the waters rise to where they were standing. And then, in every one of these moments of deadly fear, they raised, as before, their cries to Him who is able to save. So passed away hour after hour, until the dura- tion of time seemed endless, and it was to all of them as though they had spent days in their place of peril, instead of hours only. At length they became sensible of a diminution in the power of the wind. At first they hardly dared to believe it, but after a time it became fully evident that such was the case. The cessation of the wind at once relieved the ship very materially, though the sea was still high, and the waters below relaxed but little from their rage. But the cessa- tion of the wind filled them all with hope, and they now awaited, with something hke firmness, the sub- sidence of the waves. -: . ' . ■ i < That subsidence did come, and was gradually evident. It was slow, yet it was perceptible. They first became aware that those giant waves no longer fell in thunder upon the quarter-deck, and that the ship no longer seemed to be dragged down into those deep, watery abysses into which they had formerly seemed to be descending. A RAY OF HOPE. 219 ally hey jger :hat »wn ley " There's no mistake about it, boys/' said Bruce at length, in tones that were tremulous with fer- vent joy; " the storm is going down." • '■ = This was the first word that had been spoken for hours* and the sound of these spoken words itself brought joy to all hearts. .The spell was broken. The horror vanished utterly from their souls. • • . K • " Yes," cried Bart, in tones as tremulous as those of Bruce, and from the same cause, — "yes, the worst is over ! " *'■ ' " I don't mind this pitching," said Tom ; " it seems familiar. I think to-night has been equal to my night in the Bay of Fundy — only it hasn't been so long, and it's seemed better to have you fellows with me than being alone." " I had a hard time in the woods," said Phil, " but this has been quite equal to it." "Pat," said Arthur, "you've been doing the mummy long enough. You'd better untie now, and lie down." " Sure an it's meself that'll be the proud lad to do that same," said Pat, " for it's fairly achin I am all over, so it is." ,>! - : :'- .. ^■,f^.,^ '.^ ■< •■■AT With these words Pat tried to unbind himself. But this was not so easy. He had been leaning his whole weight against the ropes, and his hands were quite numb. The other boys had to help him. This was a work of some difficulty, but it was accomplished at last, and poor Pat sank down 220 ■J PICKED UP ADRIFT. groaning, and he never ceased to sigh and groan till morning. Several hours now passed. The sea subsided steadily, until at length its motion was compara- tively trifling, not more than enough tcT cause a perpendicular pitch to the ship of a few feet, and to send a few waves occasionally over the deck. Wearied and worn out, the boys determined to de- scend to the quarter-deck, so as to lie down. Pat was unable to make the descent ; so Bart remained with him, and curled himSelf up alongside of him on the mizzen-top. The other boys went down, and Solomon also. Everything there was wet, but as the boys also were saturated, it made but little difference. They flung themselves down anywhere, and soon were fast asleep. But in the main-top Pat was groaning in his pain. The blood was rushing back into his be- numbed limbs, and causing exquisite sufi'ering. Bart tried to soothe him, and rubbed and chafed his arms and hands and feet and legs for hours. At last Pat grew easier, though still sufi'ering somewhat from pricking sensations in his arms and legs, and Bart was allowed to rest from his labors. And now, as Bart leaned back, he became aware of a very peculiar sound, which excited all his at- tention. , ,,. IV :; It was a droning sound, with a deep, swelling cadence, and not long in duration ; but it rose, and THE SOUND OF THE SURF. 221 lai'ed lling L and pealed forth, and died away, to be followed by other sounds precisely similar — regular, recur- rent, and sounding all abroad. It was nothing like the roar of the waves, nor the singing of the wind through the rigging ; it was something different from these, yet in this darkness, and to this lis- tener, not less terrible. . ' Bart knew it. The sound was familiar to his ears. There was only one sound in Nature of that character, nor could it be imitated by any other. It was the long sound of the surf falling upon the shore. The surf! What did that mean ? - It meant that land was near. And what land ? There was only one land that this could tell of — it was that land which they had been approach- ing for days ; the land which they had watched so closely all the previous day, and to which at even- ing they had been drawn so near. The name of the land he could not know, but he had seen it, and he remembered its drear and desolate aspect, its iron-bound shores, its desert forests. It was upon this shore that the surf was beating which now he heard, and the loudness of that sound told him how near it must be. It seemed to him that it could not be more than half a mile away at the farthest. And the ship was drifting on ! ^; This first discovery was a renewal of his de- 222 PICKED UP ADRIFT. Bpair. He could only find comfort in the thought that the sea had subsided so greatly. What ought he now to do ? Ought he to awake the boys and tell them? He hesitated. i Pat had by this time fallen asleep, worn out with weariness and pain. Bart had not the heart to wake him just yet. ' ' Suddenly there was an opening in the sky over- head, and through a rift in the clouds the moon beamed forth. Bart started up and looked all around. The morn disclosed the scene. The sea had grown much calmer, and the waves that now tossed about their spray ov^er its surface were as nothing compared to those which had beat upon the ship during the night. This was proba- bly due, as Bart thought, to the shelter of some headland which acted as a breakwater. For as he looked he saw the land now full before him. He had conjectured rightly from the sound of the surf, and he now saw that this land could not be much more than a half mile away. This confirmation of his worst fears overcame him. He started to his feet, and stood clinging to the rigging, and looking at the land. How near I how fearfull}^ near ! And every mo- ment was drawing the ship nearer. And what sort of a shore was that ? Was it all rocky, or was it smooth sand? The waves were high enough there to create a tremendous surf. Did that surf THE WHITE LINE OF BREAKERS. 223 fall on breakers, or did it fall on some gentle beach ? This he could not telL In vain he strained his eyes. He could see the white h'ne of foaming surf, and beyond this the dark hills, or cliffs, but more than this he could make out nothing definite. But the shore was so near that their fate could not be very long delayed, and he determined to wake the boys at once, leaving Pat to sleep a little longer. With this intention he prepared to descend. But scarce had he put one foot over, when he saw a shadowy figure close by. " Mas'r Bart," said a voice. It was Solomon. " I see you a movin about, an I jes thought I'd come up to see how you was a gittin along," said Solomon. " Did you see the land ? " asked Bart, in agitated tones. ' • " De Ian ! Sartin sure — seen it dese four hours. Ben a watchin it ebber so long.'^ ' ' " What I Why didn't you wake us before ? '^ " Wake you ? Not me. What de use ob dat ar ? I ben kine o' watchin, an kine o' canterin round all de time, seein dat de tings are all straight ; an I got de galley stove in prime order, an if youns don't get de bes breakfas you ebber eat, den I'm a useless ole nigga. Sho, now ; go away. Leab tings to me, I tell you." " Breakfast ! " cried Bart, in amazement. " Why, 224 PICKED UP ADRIFT. we'll drift ashore in a few minutes. Don't you see how near we are ? What shall we do ? Is the boat gone ? '* Solomon put his head back for a few minutes, and chuckled to himself in a kind of ecstasy. "Deboat? 0, yes, de boat's all right. Held on tight as a drum — de boat an de galley stove." ^' 0, then," said Bart, " come, let's wake the boys, and get her out at once. It isn't too rough for her here. We must get some pieces of wood for paddles." *^ 0, dere's lashins ob time ; neber you mind," said Solomon. ^' You jes lie down an finish your nap, an leab de res to me." " But we're drifting ashore. In a quarter of an hour we'll be among the breakers." ^' 0, no, Mas'r Bart j not in a good many quarter ob an hours." " But the shore's only half a mile away." " I know it," said Solomon ; " an it's ben jes dat ar distums off for de las four hour an more." " What I " " Dat's so. I ben a watchin. Hadn't I tole you dat ar ? " " But the ship's afloat. She isn't aground. She must be drifting in." " Dat ar conclusium don^t foller as a nessary suc- cumstance," said Solomon, with dignity. " Why, what prevents her from drifting ? " asked Bart, in a puzzle. THE BOAT AND THE OARS. 225 " De simplest tiug in de world," said Solomon — 'Mier anchor." " Her anchor ! 0," cried Bart, as a flood of light burst in upon his mind, and dispelled all the dark- ness of his despair ; " her anchor ! 0, I begin to understand." " Tell you what," said Solomon ; " when I fust heard dat ar surf I was in a quandary, mind I tell you. Gib all up. Was jes about to rouse youns. But fust an foremost I went to see about de boat. Found dat all right an tight. Den I got a belay um pin an tored off some strips ob wood for paddles. Den T waited to see how we was a goin. Well, arter waitin for ebber so long, de surf didn't get any nearer. Tell you what ; dat ar succumstance puzzled dis old nigga's head considdable. Sudden a idee popped into me. I ran forad, an sure enough I found de ship's head off from de sho, an felt de anchor chain standin out stiff. Den I knew de anchor had caught, and had fotched her up all right in dis yer identicull place an po — sitium; an so, Mas'r Bart, here we air, anchored hard an fast, de boat all right an tight, de paddles ready, de galley stove ready too, an de prospek afore all ob us ob a fus'-rate breakfas to ward us for all de per'ls an clamties ob de night." Some further inquiries followed from Bart, which served to assure him still more of Solomon's vigi- lance ; and the result was, that after a time he re- sumed his place beside Pat in the mizzen-top, and, 15 22G PICKED UP ADRIFT. curling himself np, was soon sound asleep. It was not a very luxurious sleeping-place, but it was at least as soft as the deck below, where the boys had flung themselves^ and it was also a trifle dryer. • When Bart awoke it was broad day. Pat was gone. He had awaked, and, finding himself all right again, and seeing the land close by, he had descended to the deck to talk to Solomon. For his .first thought had been a very natural one, namely, that the ship was going ashore ; and seeing Solo- mon placidly moving about below, he had gone down to find out what it all meant. Of course his fears were soon dispelled. » The rest of the boys waked at about the same time that Bart did, and he soon rejoined them below. The smell of broiled ham was wafted over the ship. Great was the wonder of Bruce, Arthur, Tom, and Phil at their present situation, and even greater was their wonder at seeing the repast which Solomon had * already spread out upon the quarter-deck. For Solomon had been working like a beaver. He had forced open the cabin door, and let out all the water. He had then obtained some coal, which, though wet, burned merrily in the galley stove, and had found the cooking utensils, which he had fortunately conveyed to the cabin when he had first been driven from the galley. The biscuit were, of course, soaked and saturated THE FRIENDLY COVE. 227 with salt water ; but Solomon declared that they were made to be soaked before cooking, and that the salt water was " jes as good as fresh — ebry mite." So ho fried these in butter, and sprinkled over them some pepper, which was in the sea- chest, and which, with all the other contents of the chest, had not been injured. Ham, and toasted cheese, and potted moats, and tea and coffee, to- gether with other articles too numerous to men- tion, formed the breakfast; and it is scarce ne- cessary to say that the boys did full justice to it. After breakfast they began to consider what next they should do. The land was close by, about half a mile away. The line of coast extended far away towards the left, but on the right it ended in a headland. The sea was very quiet, but on the shore before them there was a heavy surf, the re- sult of the past storm. They saw farther away to the left a smooth beach, where a landing might be easily effected, and another place towards the right where there was very little surf. This last seemed the best place for attempting a landing. The shore was not very attractive. In some places rocky cliffs arose, crowned at the summit with spruce and birch ; in other places there were slopes covered with the same sort of trees. There was no sign whatever of any house, or of any cul- tivation, or of any pasture land, or of any clearing. The forest seemed unbroken. 228 PICKED UP ADRIFT. The boys were now as ignorant of the country as they had been when they first saw it. Each still held the same opinion which he had announced before. Piiil thought that it was Newfoundland. Tom, that it was Prince Edward's Island. Bart, that it was some part of Nova Scotia, or Cape Breton. Pat, that it was the Magdalen Islands. ► Bruce, that it was the coast of New Brunswick, somewhere near the Miramichi. And Arthur, that it was Gasp^, not far from the Bay de Chaleur. "^ Thus, although this particular spot seemed des- olate enough, no one gave any thought to that, for they all supposed that inhabitants could be found within no very great distance. After some deliberation, it was at length con- cluded to go ashore. The strips of wood which Solomon had already, with wise forethought, pro- cured, were easily shaped into very respectable paddles by means of a hatchet and a knife. They then determined to secure themselves from want while ashore, and this they did by putting into the boat one of the barrels of biscuit and the chest of provisions. , Then they all embarked and pulled, away. They paddled along without difficulty towards the beach on the right, where the surf seemed less. On ap- L>ND AT LAST. 220 preaching this, they found a cove fbrrnod by a gully -^r^ong the hills, and at one end there were grassy banks near which a stream of iresh water flowed into the sea. Here they landed. 230 PICKED UP ADRIFT. M I XVII. Tlie Lookout over the Sea. — TTie missing Ship. — Where are the Boys ? — Where are the Boys ? — Wliere are the Boys ? — Where are the Boys ? — WJiere are the Boys? — Where are the Boys? — An elaborate Calculation. — Dragging the An- chor, — A Chart on the Cabin Table. — Writ in Water. — Hope. — Tlie Antelope sails North by East. — Corbet watches the Horizon. — Midday. — Despair, — Corbet crushed / HflMHEN Captain Corbet had arrived at the place where he supposed he had left the Petrel, and on looking about saw no signs of her, he was filled with despair. The wind had been blowing all night long, and the sea had been rising to an extent that might have justified the deepest anxiety ; he had been upheld only by the thought that he was bringing relief to the boys ; and this solitary consolation was taken from him by the first glance that he cast around. This was the fifth day since he had left them. He had gone, p^-oposing and expecting to be back THE LOOKOUT OVER THE SEA. 231 the the ;ns lad len [he Ihe Im. ck in two days, or in three at farthest. But he had gone much farther than he had at first intended, and hence had left them longer than he had said. And where were they now ? In vain he strained his eyes. The only sail on the water was that schooner : possibly some fisher- man cruising about in this direction. Where were the boys ? Where were the boys that had been committed to his care, — the boys who had been intrusted to him, — the boys who had confided in him, — the boys who had placed their young lives in his keep- ing ? Where were the boys? Where were the boys w^hom he had left ; whom he had promised to return for so promptly ? He had led them into difiiculty, and left them there ! He had led them into starvation — that was his first fault. How they had suffered during those davs of calm ! He had led them to that water- logged vessel ! He had gone on board with them ; he had caused them to put a confidence in that wrecked ship which was not justifiable. 1 - Worst of all, he had left them I And now that he thought of it, what was that ship ? She might have been not water-logged — but sinking I The thought filled him with hor- ror. A sinking ship ! and he had left them there 1 No J she was not a sinking ship — he knew that. 232 PICKED UP ADRIFT. He remembered the length of time that he had seen her from a distance. He recalled the time he had heen on board, and all the observations which he had made. Water-logged she certainly was, but not sinking — no, not sinking. Timber ships never sink. They cannot 'sink. A timber ship is like a solid wooden ship low down in the water, but absolutely unsinkable. This thought brought some consolation to him in hi:^) despair. But as he looked out over the sea, as he saw the swelling waves, as he felt the Antelope toss, and leap, and plunge about, and as he recalled the long night that had passed, with its storms and billows, he trembled for the boys in the water-logged ship. And again the old question came back, — Where were the boys ? Where were the bovs whom he had laft in the water-logged ship ? He himself had anchored that ship in these waters, hard and fast ; but now, as he looked about far over the seas, he saw no sign of any ship, or of any floating thing save that distant fishing schooner. What did this mean? ■ Again and again he asked this question, and again and again he shrank back from the answer that suggested itself He tried to console himself by thinking of the buoyancy of wood in general, and of timber ships in particular. Alas ! these efforts were all in vain. For he remembered how rough the sea had been j \ THE MISSING SHIP. 233 and he saw all around him even now the swelling waves. That ship had already been torn and shat- tered by storms. That ship had been forsaken by captain and crew. They had believed that she was about to founder. Was this belief, then, so far wrong as he had supposed ? She was like a raft, torn and dislocated, which any fresh move- ment of the water might shatter to pieces. Per- ^ haps in the storm that had fallen upon her in his absence the waves had wrought their will upon her. Perhaps they had torn her to pieces in their wrath, and Rcattered all her timbers afar over the surface of the deep. Perhaps the only vestige of the Petrel which his eyes might ever see, might be some floating timbers drifting past, and bearing to him the only message which could ever com© to the land of the living from the lost boys. Where were the boys ? Where, 0, where were the boys whom he had led into danger, and then madly deserted ? — doubly deserted, in fact ; first, when he sailed away, leav- ing them on board the wrecked ship, and secondly, in that worse desertion, when he had gone away so thoughtlessly, so wickedly, and so madly, from the Magdalen Islands to the Miramichi River? How could he have ever thought of it? What could have so infatuated him as to lead him so fiir away from those helpless boys in their desperate position ? Where were the boys ? 234 PICKED UP ADRIFT. / 0, where were the boys ? And what had they - thought of him? What misery had they not suf- fered I What despair I How often must they have watched for his return I And day had succeeded to day, and night to night, but he had never come I While they were watching for his appearance, he was calmly sailing away, or was loitering in dis- tant ports, leaving them to their terrific fate 1 Where were the boys ? What was their fate ? What had become of that ship ? She had been anchored fast. She was gone now. Gone ! Gone were those boys, for whom he would have laid down his life ; but whom, nevertheless, he had deserted and betrayed. And he — what could he do? Where could he go? Where could he search for them? Over what seas could he sail? With what hope? Was thei'e any hope? Hope ! Alas ! what hope could he form when he looked out over these foaming waves, and felt the Antelope quiver beneath the force of their as- sault ? . ' ' - ' These, or something very much like these, w^ere the thoughts that filled the soul of the unhappy, the despairing Corbet, as he rolled his venerable eyes over the wide waste of waters, and saw that the .Petrel was gone. It was a moment full of deeper misery and keener anguish than any which the good captain had ever known in the whole course of his life, though that life had by no means been WHERE ARE THE BOYS? 235 without its sufferings. Yet among all the suffer- ings and sorrows of a life full of vicissitudes, it had never fallen to his lot to experience such a misfortune as this, — to reproach himself so keen- ly, so severely, and yet so justly. Whatever the fate of the boys might have been, he knew per- fectly well that he, and he alone, was the cause ; nor could he plead, even to his own conscience, the excuse that his motives were right. For his mo- tives were not right, and he knew it. His motives had been nothing better than wild desires for sud- den wealth. True, he had only wished that wealth for his '* babby ; " but that did not in the least mitigate his offence. At the very least, he had been guilty of carelessness so gross that it was hardly inferior to downright, deliberate crime. So the poor captain's anguish of soul was ex- treme, and utter, as well it might be. So keen, indeed, was his suffering, that his hair might have turned white from its severity, — a circumstance not unusual, — but in the captain's case it was not possible, since, as is well known, his hair was al- ready as gray as it well could be, and therefore the good Captain Corbet could only suffer in secret, and occasionally wipe away the tears that dropped from his eyes with the sleeve of his venerable coat. At length the thought occurred to him that per- haps he had not come to the right place. To his mind, the thought was well nigh incon- 236 PICKED UP ADRIFT. ceivable ; yet, after all, it was barely possible, and in his despair he caught at this straw. After all, navigation by dead reckoning is not the most ac- curate way in the world of working one's way along ; and Captain Corbet felt this in an obscure and shadowy sort of way ; so it need not be won- dered at if he sought relief in the thought that he had possibly gone astray. So he called upon Wade l > take the helm, while he went below to make some elaborate calculations. He did it in this way. He first got a l ug of water. ^ Then he seated himself by the cabin table. Then he dipped the fore finger of his right hand in the water. Then, with this finger, he traced certain myste- rious marks upon the table. Now, these mysterious marks were designed by this ancient mariner to represent nothing less than the coasts surrounding the Gulf of St. Lawrence. To an unprejudiced observer, this idea would never have suggested itself; but to the mind of the venerable Corbet, these marks were as plain and as intelligible as the finest outlines of the Admiralty charts engraved in steel, and bristling with names of places. In his mind's eye he could see everything. He could see Prince Edward's Island, Cape Breton, Newfoundland, Gaspe, the Bay de Chaleur, Miramichi, and the Magdalen Islands. There, too, full and fair, in the centre of A CHART ON THE CABIN TABLE. 237 the scene, a big wet spot, made most emphatically with his thumb, showed him the spot where he had left the Petrel. Aud this was Captain Corbet's chart, and this was his mode of navigating, and this was the scientific method which he adopted in order to work his way out of a difficulty. Quadrant, sex- tant, and other instruments of that character he did not need ; he trusted to his own head, and to his finger. It must be confessed that, on this occasion, these resources rather failed him. The puzzle seemed insolubte. In vain he obliterated the w^t spot where he first stationed the Petrel. In vain he made another dab with his thumb in a second place. He could not arrive at any conclusion which was entirely satisfactory. He placed the mug of water on the table, leaned his aged head in both hands, and sat watching his chart in profound thought. A sudden sea struck the Antelope. The good vessel leaped, as was natural, at such rough treatment. As was natural, also, the mug of water leaped. Moreover, it upset. The contents poured forth, and inundated the table. The chart was all obliterated. ' At this casualty Captain Corbet rose. He be- trayed no excitement, no passion. He did not swear, as some wrecked sea captains have done. He did not even utter an exclamation. He simply took his aged coat tail and wiped the water off the 238 PICKED UP ADRIFT. table very carefully, and tlie^ with his other aged coat tail he dried it, and even polished it most elabo- rately. The table had not been so clean for ever so long. It seemed to be astonished at itself. Captain Corbet, meanwhile, remained mild and patient. Sir Isaac Newton himself, after the burning of his Principia by his immortal little dog Diamond, was not more placid. Without a word, our captain went to the bucket, replenished the mug, returned to the table, resumed his seat, and, holding the mug in his left hand, under the table, to prevent a recurrence of this mishap, he dipped the fore finger of his right hand into the water, %nd pro- ceeded to retrace upon the table the outline of his chart. In a little while there appeared before his eyes, as plain as before, the Gulf of St. Lawrence, with all the surrounding coasts — Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Gaspe, Newfound- land, the Magdalen Islands, and plain in the mid- dle the dab of his venerable thumb representing the spot where he had left the Petrel. But the problem remained insoluble. He was certain that he had come back to the right spot. Again and again he traced, in a thin line, made by his wet finger-nail, the course which he had taken; first, from the Petrel to the Magdalen Islands, and, secondly, from the Magdalen Islands to Miramichi, and, thirdly, from Miramichi to the place where he now was. In each case his course had, fortu- nately, been quite straight. Had there been head HOPE. 239 winds, it might have been different ; but, as it was, the straight course which he had kept made the outlines on the table all the more simple, but at the same time they made the problem all the more complex. The ship was missing. He had left her at anchor. She could not sink. What, then, had become of her? The first answer was the terrible one that she had gone to pieces in the storm. But this was the very one from which he was seeking to escape, and against which he sought refuge in such facts as her strength and the stiffness of a timber cargo. . . , • ^ But what other conclusion was there ? That he had mistaken his way ? Impossible ! On the table before him the marks that he had made confirmed him in the opinion that he was, if not on the identical spot where he had left the Petrel, at least sufficiently near to be able to see her if she still was here. • Yet here she evidently was not. What, then, had become of her? To this only one answer remained, and in this he sought to find comfort. She might have Oiagged her anchor, and might have thereby drifted, under the pressure of the storm, far enough away to be out of sight. But in what direction had she drifted? The wind had been south by east. He knew 240 PICKED UP ADRIFT. that well enough. This one fact, then, showed him what course she would have taken when adrift. He wet his finger now for the last time. BTe planted it down upon the place which he had marked as the position of the Petrel, and then drew a line in the direction which he supposed miglit indicate the course of her drift. Then he stopped to calculate the possible distance which she might have traversed while dragging her anchor, and made a mark to represent what, under this theory, might be her present position. Then he drew a long breath. He then rose to his feet, and surveyed his chart for a few moments with a thoughtful face. ' * '' And now the time had come for action. He had at last a theory. His mind was made up. He hurried upon deck, and, seizing the tiller, headed the Antelope north by west, in the direction which he conjectured the drifting ship to have taken. He had allowed between twenty and thirty miles for her drift. He had calculated that a mile an hour would be a fair allowance for a vessel that was dragging her anchor, and he did not think thet the wind had been strong enough to make her drag her anchor for more than twenty hours, and certainly, as he thought, not more than thirty, at the farthest. Upon this principle he acted, and when he headed the Antelope north by west, he hoped to catch sight of the lost ship before noon. CORBET WATCHES THE HORIZON. 241 lirty I mile that Ihink her and at and It, he Ion. For the Antelope, with a fair wind, could make as much as four or five miles an hour; and, after making every allowance for currents, or for leeway, she ought to do twenty miles between six o'clock in the morning and midday. And so, full of con- fidence in the ability of the Antelope to do her duty. Captain Corbet took his station at the helm. Now that a gleam of hope had appeared, he was a different man. The gleam became brighter and brighter, until at last it grew to be positive sun- shine. He forgot his recent despair. The more he thought of his theory of the Petrel dragging her anchor, the more convinced he was that it was correct, and the more certain he was that he would ultimately catch sight of her. And so he kept on his course, with his eyea fixed on the horizon before him, anxiously awaiting the time when he would descry the masts of the lost vessel becoming gradually defined against the sky. , Hour af^fir hour passed. The Antelope sailed on. Midday came. .. The Antelope had traversed the distance which her commander had allotted for the utmost possible drift of the Petrel. Yet not the slightest sign of the Petrel had appeared. The hopes upon which Captain Corbet had been relying gradually sank under him. When midday 6 ^? .' '*tf,J.'|W ^'^stK l * 242 PICKED UP ADRIFT. came, and the masts of the Petrel did not appear, ., { hope sank away, and despondency came, and de- spondency deepened into despair. All that he had felt at early dawn, when he first looked abroad upon the seas an-^ found her not, now came back to him, — all the sell-reproach, all the remorse, all the anguish of soul. He stood at the helm, and let the Antelope pass onward, but there was no longer any hope in his mind. He was overwhelmed, and now even the possibility of finding her seemed to be taken away. , * All this time the wind had gone on increasing in violence, and the sea had risen more and more. For himself and for the Antelope Captain Corbet did not care ; but the lowery sky and the stormy sea seemed terrible to him, for they spoke to him of the lost boys, and told a tale of horror. ... I .UNPOETUNATE CORBET. 243 .1 i ; , Mi/' M JtM ■: r ;/i(( )■..!. \^•••t !•■ '1' .i;-".;h t'-:TJ* ^-^i" ■■/'•'.'^ ,^*V/l,', '/j ■» '» *>, ii •! ;•;.(! ■>:. '. '••-'(! • Sk XVIII. The venerable, hut very unfortunate, Corbet. — TJie Antelope lies to. — Emotions of her despair- ing Commander. — Night and Morning. — Tlie Fishing Schooner. — An old Acquaintance ap- pears, and puts the old, old Question. — Corbet overwhelmed. — He confesses all. — Tremendous Effect on Captain Tobias Ferguson. — His Self- command. — Considering the Situation, — Wind and Tide. — Theories as to the Fosition* of the lost Ones. — Up Sail and after. — The last Charge to Captain Corbet. , j ■ ^HE unfortunate Corbet thus found himself in a state of despair. The situation, indeed, could not possibly be worse. The ship was gone ; and where ? Who could tell ? Certainly not he. He had exhausted all his resources. From the cabin table he was unable to elicit any further information, nor could his aged brain fur- nish forth intellectual power which was at all ade- quate to the problem before it. He was alone. He had none to help him. With Wade he did not offer to take counsel, feeling, perhaps, that Wade 244 PICKED UP ADRIFT. • would be about as useful in this emergency as the An* lope's pump. • - ■> • - Meanwhile the storm increased, and Captain Corbet felt himself unable to contend with it. The tattered old sails of the Antelope were double- reefed, but seemed every moment about to fly into ribbons. There was no object in keeping his pres- ent course any longer ; and so he decided, in view of the storm and his own indecision, to lie to. And now the Antelope tossed, and pitched, and kicked, and bounded beneath Captain Corbet, *' like a steed That knows its rider," - ' '" and Wade went below, and took refuge in sleep ; and the good, the brave, yet the unhappy Corbet took up his position upon the windlass, and be- striding it, he sat for hours peering into space. There were no thoughts whatever in his mind. He tried not to speculate, he attempted not to solve the problem ; but there was, deep down in his soul, a dark, drear sense of desolation, a wo- ful feeling of remorse and of despair. Nothing attracted his attention on that wide sea or troubled^ sky ; not the waste of foaming waters, not the giant masses of storm clouds, nor yet that fishing schooner, which, only a few miles off, was also, like the Antelope, lying to. Captain Corbet did not notice this stranger ; he did not speculate upon the cause of her presence j he did not see that she i i cosbet's sadness. 245 was the identical vessel that he had noticed before, and therefore did not wonder why it was that he had been followed so long and so persistently. So he sat on the windlass, and gazed forth into illimitable space. - ' ' . • And the long, long hours passed away. Evening came. Deepening into night. Night, and storm, and darkness came down, and the Antelope tossed, and plunged, and kicked, and jumped; yet the sleepless Corbet remained on deck, occasionally shifting his position, but still overwhelmed by his misery. Towards midnight the storm abated. Corbet waited a few hours longer, and then stole below, hoping to forget his misery and relieve his fatigues by a little sleep. • . In vain. • " The air of the cabin seemed to suffocate him. Sleep was impossible. His distressing thoughts seemed to drive him into a fever ; he tried hard and for a long time to overcome them, and finally succeeded in getting a short nap. By this time it was dawn, and the good captain rose, and went upon deck, feeling dejected and miserable. He looked out over the waters, and noticed that the strange schooner was bearing down straight towards him. She was coming bows on, so that at first he did not know her from any other vessel ; 246 "' PICKED UP ADRIFT. rt but at length she came up, and hove to close by,' disclosing the symmetrical hull, the beautiful lines, the slender, tapering masts, and the swelling, snow- white canvas of the Fawn. At the same moment he saw a. boat drop alongside, and into this leaped Captain Tobias Ferguson, who at once pulled to the Antelope, and in a few minutes stood on board. The last time that he had seen Captain Ferguson he had looked upon him in the light of a busybody, a vexatious and too inquisitive spy, a persecutor and a tormentor. But now circumstances had changed so utterly, and Captain Corbet's suffer- ings both of mind and body had been so acute, that the once dreaded Ferguson appeared to him almost equal to some Heaven-sent deliverer. His wan lace flushed with joy; he could not speak; tears burst from his eyes ; and seizing Ferguson's hand in both of his, he clasped it tight. Ferguson darted over him one swift, keen glance that took in everything, but made no comment upon the emotion that was so visible.'' * ' "'" '■"'' " Well," said he,. " we're bound to meet again. The fact is, I was bound not to lose sight of you. I tell you I got those boys on my brain, and couldn't get them out no how. 1 knew you were going to find them, or to try to find them. I be- lieved they were all in danger, and so I up sail and followed. And a preciou? hard job that fol- lowing was. Why, it was like making a race-horse follow a snail. I had to turn back every other AN OLD ACQUAINTANCE. 247 ..a.A ,' ,\ .2 mile or so, and go away. I saw you lie to yester- day, so I lay to ; and here I am this morning, right side up, and ready to repeat my question, Where are the boys ? So come, now, old man ; no humbug, no shuffling. You're in a fix. I know it well enough. You've lost the boys. Very well. I'll help you find 'em. So, now, make a clean breast of it, and tell me all about it from the very begin- ning." Saying this, Ferguson seated himself on the taffrail, and drawing forth a cigar, lighted it, and waited for Captain Corbet to begin. , But for Captain Corbet there was the difficulty. How could he begin ? How could he tell the mis- erable story of his madness and his folly ? of the ignorant confidence of the poor boys ? of his cul- pable and guilty negligence, doubly guilty, since he had deserted them not only once in leaving the ship, but a second time in sailing away from the Magdalen Islands ? And for what purpose ? Even had he reached the ship with the sails, could he really have saved her ? Yet here stood his inquisi- tor, and this time his questions must be answered. " Wal," began Captain Corbet, in a tremulous voice, " I left em " Yes." ;; r t left em » «I — I — left "Well?" "I — I — left em, j'-ou know." " So you said three times; but I knew that be- fore. The question is, Where ? " 248 PICKED UP ADRIFT. • " Aboard a ship." ''.^^<' ^^^^ va;. r . v i - • " Aboard a ship ? " ' « • : •. "Yes." ' ' : '■' ■' ■• • -^ "What ship? Where? ^ ' • " Somevvhar's about here." " About here ? But what ship ? " - ' - ' " She — she — she — was — she — she was — wa-wa-water-logged." "' ' ' i, i At this Ferguson started to his feet, almost leap- ing in the air as he did so. For a moment he re- garded the unhappy Corbet with an expression of mingled horror and incredulity. " You don't mean it ! " he said, at length. ^ ■ Captain Corbet sighed. " What ? " cried Ferguson. " Were you mad ? Were they mad ? Were you all raving, stark, star- ing distracted ? What were you all thinking of? A water-logged ship I Why, do you mean to stand there in your boots, look me in the face, and tell me that about the boys ? " Captain Corbet trembled from head to foot. '^ * " A water-logged ship ! Why, you mighi as well tell me you pitched them all overboard and drowned them." '' •■' " Captain Corbet shuddered, and turned away. Ferguson laid his hand upon his shoulder. " Come," said he, more quietly, " you couldn't have been such a fool I You must have considered that the boys had some chance. What sort of a ship was she ? Whac was her ca-'go ? " coebet's confession. 240 a " Timber," said the mournful Corbet, in a melan- choly wail. , Ferguson's face brightened. " You're sure of that ? " ' " Gospel sure." j " Not deals, now, or laths, or palings, or pickets, or battens, or anything of that sort ? " - ' " I saw the timber — white pine." ^ " Well, that's better ; that gives them a chance. I've heard say that a timber ship'll float for years, if she's any kind of a ship at all ; and so, perhaps, this one is drifting." , , Captain Corbet shook his head. ^' Why not ? " asked Ferguson, noticing the movement. '• * ji " I anchored her." " Anchored her ? " "Yes." --vr. " Anchored what ? The timber ship ? " "Yes." . . .. =.. " Anchored her ? That's queer ! And where ? " " Why, somewhars about twenty mile or so back." ■ . . • " Somewhere about twenty mile or so back I " re- peated Ferguson. " Why, the man's mad I See here, old man ; what do you mean by anchoring hereabouts ? Did you try soundings ? " " Wal, n-n-no." " Are you aware that the bottom is several miles down below, and that all the chains and ropes of 250 PICKED UP ADRIFT. that ship, if they were all tied together in one line, wouldn't begin to reach half way? " — ' ■• ^- . " Wal, now, railly, I hadn't any idee. I jest kine o' dropped anchor to hold the ship till I got back." " Well, old man," said Ferguson, " I've got a very good general idea of your proceedings ; but I want a few more particulars, so that I can judge for myself about the poor lads. So I'll trouble you to make a clean breast of it, and in particular to let me know why you kept so close when I asked you about it before. Close ? Why, if you'd been decoying those boys out there on purpose to get rid of them, you couldn't have fought shyer of my questions than you did." :m - r - lH. Upon this Captain Corbet proceeded, as Fergu- son called it, to " make a clean breast of it." He began at the first, told about their failure in pro- visions, their discovery of the ship, and his project of saving her. He explained all about his reti- cence on the subject at the Magdalen Islands, and the cause of his voyage to Miramichi. All this was accompanied with frequent interruptions, ex- pressive of self-reproach, exculpation, remorse, misery, and pitiable attempts at excusing his conduct. Ferguson listened to all without expressing any opinion, merely asking a question for information here and there ; and at the close of Captain Cor- bet's confession, he remained for some considerable time buried in profound reflection. 8t EFFECT ON CAPTAIN FERGUSON. 251 •se, his " Well/' said lie, " the whole story is one that won't bear criticism. I won't begin. Jf I did, you'd hear a little of the tallest swearing that ever came to your ears. No, old man ; I've got a wick- ed temper, and I won't get on that subject. The thing that you and me have got to do ia, to see what can be done about those boys, and then to do it right straight off. That's what we've got to do ; and when I say we, I mean myself, for you appear to have done about as much mischief as is needful for one lifetime." - Ferguson now began to pace the deck, and kept this up for about half an hour, at the end of which time he resumed his seat on the taffrail. Captain Corbet watched him with wistful eyes, and in deep suspense ; yet there was already upon his vener- able face somewhat less of grief, for he felt a strange confidence in this eager, energetic, active, strong man, whose pertinacity had been so ex- traordinary, and whose singular affection for the boys had been so true and so tender. - ?■< '• " M " I'm beginning," said Ferguson, at length, " I'm beginning to see my way towards action, and that's something ; though whether it'll result in anything is more than I can begin to say. ^ " In the first place, I go on the theory that this timber ship didn't sink ; that she stood this blow as solid as though . o was carve^d out of a single stick. " In the s'^coL^ place, I scout your idea of an- 252 PICKED UP ADRIFT. choring her. That is rank, raving insanity. To anchor a ship in three miles of water I Old man, go homo ; you have no business on the sea. " So she's been drifting ; yes, drifting. She was drifting when you found her, and drifting when you left her. Where she was you can't tell, see- ing that you can't take an observation, and didn't take one. So we're all astray there, and I can only calculate her probable position from the course you took to the Magdalen Islands, and the time occu- pied in making the trip by that astonishing old tub of yours, that disgraces and ridicules the respecta- ble name of Antelope. " Very well. Now say she's afloat, and has been drifting. The question is. Where has she drifted to ? She probably was found by you somewhere about here. That was about a week ago. Well, after the calm was over, then came a wind. That wind was a south-easter. It got up at last into a storm, like the blow last night. " Now, there are two things to be considered. " First, the wind. <■' \?.-Hii r: " Second, the current. ; ' • '^ " First, as to the wind. It was a steady south- easter for nearly a week, ending in a hard blow. That wind has had a tendency to blow her over in that direction — over there, nor'-west. In that di- rection she must have been steadily pushed, unless there was something to prevent, some ocean cur- rents or other. CAPTAIN FERGUSON'S CONJECTURES. 253 DO a "And this brings us to the next point — the currents. " Now, over there, about thirty miles south of this, there is a current setting out into the Atlantic from the River St. Lawrence ; and up there, thirty miles to the north, there is considerable of a cur- rent, that runs up into the Straits of Belle Isle. Just round about here there is a sort of eddy, or a back current, that flows towards the Island of An- ticosti. Now, that happens to be the identical place towards which the wind would carry her. So, you see, granting that the Petrel has remained afloat, the wind and the currents must both have acted on her in such a way as to carry her to that desert island, that horrible, howling wilderness, that abomination of desolation, that graveyard of ships and seamen — Anticosti." At this intelligence. Captain Corbet's heart once more sank within him. " Anti — Anticosti 1 " he murmured, in a trem- bling voice. - • ' ^ / • " Yes, Anticosti. And I ain't surprised, not a bit surprised," said Ferguson. "I said so. I prophesied it. I was sure of it. I read it in their faces at Magdalen. When I saw that rotten old tub, and those youngsters, something told me they were going to wind up by getting on Anti- costi. When I saw you come back to Magdalen, I was sure of it. I followed you to Miramichi to find out J and ever since I've been following you, I^ve 254 PICKED UP ADRIFT. had Anticosti in my mind, as the' only place I was bound to." '• i ' ' ' • :,n-Mi. ,11 » ff ->*- Captain Corbet drew a long breath. i'Sow " Wal," said he, " at any rate, it's better for them than bein — bein — at — at the bottom of the sea." " 'Tain't any better, if theyVe been smashed against the rocks of Anticosti in last night's gale," retorted Ferguson, who was not willing that Cap- tain Corbet should recover from his anxiety too soon, "'i . ' ■ ' ■ ' '■ '■'. ■'i^'iiM . 11^^ . " But mayn't she — mayn't she — catch ? " ^''"^ <♦ Catch ? " ' ^^-jxFiocr "Yes." ,.■'!;:. ..y.iohr A. AilT "How?" ' '' '^ ' " Why — her — her anchor. It's been down all the time. That thar anchor had ought to catch hold of somethin." ' - * ^' ■ • ' »• :"'K',^mu mfci Ferguson slapped his thighs with both hands with tremendous force. ^ ''"^ "^ -'"^ ^*^ " You're right ! right are you, old man, for once I For the moment, I had forgotten about the anchor. That saves them. That anchor's bound to catch ; for, after all, I don't think last night's storm was bad enough to make her drag. At any rate, it gives them a chance. And now — off we go." With these words, Ferguson jumped into his boat. He turned his head once more. " Old man, mark me — all you've got to do is to follow straight after me." NOTHE-WEST AND BY NOTHE. 255 " But you'll get away in the night." " So I will. Well, then, you head straight nothe- weat and by nothe. I'll pick you up some time to- morrow. We'll cruise aloug the shore of Anticosti till we find the ship." ., ... ,, With these words, Ferguson seized the oars. A dozen strokes brought him alongside of his own schooner. He leaped on board, and the boat was hauled up astern. • - . . t.,..'> ,, . > In a few moments the Fawn spread her snow- white wings, and headed away " nothe-west and by nothe." .. .. The Antelope followed. 7 ' * Before evening the Fawn was out of sight. But Captain Corbet stood calmly and confidently at the helm, and steered " nothe-west and by nothe.'* His despair had subsided, leaving only a mild mel- ancholy that was not unbecoming; but his soul was full of hope, for he had confidence in Fergu- son. ., ,,,, !;■'';,• II ,' J ' ; \ . ■ '■ i ■ rr 256 PICKED UP ADRIFT, • «' n XIX. The Cove, — The grassy Knoll. — Tlie Brook. — A Eeconnoitre. — The Bed of the Brook. — Far up into the Country. — A rough Road. — Return. — The Aroma of the strange Dinner, — Solomon again in his Glory. — A great Surprise. — A Resolution. — Drawing of Lots. — The fated Two. — Last Visit to the Petrel. — Final Prep- arations. — A sound Sleep. — The Embarkation. — The lohite Sail lost to View. >HE cove into which they pulled seemed to the boys to be the most beautiful place that they had ever seen. Such a thought was natural, after such a passage from the wrecked ship, and from the terrors of the sea to this peace- ful and sheltered nook ; and, indeed, more unpreju- diced observers might have been charmed with such a place. The hills encircled it, covered with trees ; the brook babbled over pebbles into the sea ; the grassy knoll rose invitingly in front of them ; while behind them was the sea, upon which the ship floated low in the water. The boys looked upon this with enthusiastic delight; but THE COVE, 257 the lich ^oyB Ibut Solomon's face was turned away ; he waa bowed down low, and staring intently into the water. That water was astonishingly clear and trans- parent; and Solomon found an attractiveness in the sea bottom which made all other things seem dull and commonplace. He said nothing, however, and the boys were too much taken up with the beauties of the place to notice his attitude. In a few minutes the biscuit and the chest of provisions were put ashore ; and Solomon's first act was to take the former out of the barrel and spread them out over the grass, so that they might dry in the sun. But the boys had other aims. Their first desire was to explore the country ; and as they knew well from past experience how easy it was to get lost in the woods, they sought about, first of all, for some sort of a path or trail. Noth- ing of the kind could be seen. Phil then sug- gested going up the bed of the brook. His forest experiences had made him far more fruitful in re- sources than any of them ; and the stream occurred to him at once as the readiest way of passing through the impenetrable forest. Accordingly they all set forth by this path. The brook was not very wide, and the trees almost met overhead ; the wucer was only a few inches in depth, chiefly composed of gravel, and occasion- ally interspersed with larger masses, which offered a succession of stepping-stones. As they went along, they never ceased to look most carefully in 17 258 PICKED UP ADRIFT. !!1 all directions for any traces of a path, however faint. The utter absence of anything of the sort excited their surprise, but only led them to con- tinue their journey still farther. The way at length grew more difficult. They came to a rising ground, where the brook had worn a bed for itself. Here the path becaLie rough, and full of mud and clay. Every few steps they came to trees which had fallen across. But they worked their way along bravely, and at h^ngtli reached the top of the rising ground. Here iiey found themselves in the forest, with nothing visible on every side but spruce trees of moderate size. They walked on for two or three hours, traversing fallen trees, and rocks, and mud ; but at length they came to a place where the brook lost itself in a swampy soil. Here there was a dense and impenetrable under- brush, and no longer even such a pathway as the bed of the brook had afforded. They all saw that it was impossible to proceed any farther, and there- fore they concluded to return. Their calculations led them to suppose that they had gone many miles ; } in all that distance they had found no trace whatever of any human feeings. They had not come upon even the rudest trail. This fact impressed them all very forcibly. Hither- to, each one had had a different theory as to the country; and no .ass than five provinces were claimed, in order to support the theory of each. But they all knew that it would be difficult ' THE RETURN. 259 fbey thev (ngs. [rail, iher- the ere lach. cult indeed to find a place in any one of those five provinces, where a march could be made for so great a distance, without encountering some signs of humanity, past, if not present. I*i tJl of thera tiie woods had been scoured by lumbering parties, or, at least, by hunting parties ; and if there were no paths made by lumbermen, there might be found, at least, some trail. Pat, of course, gave up the Magdalen Islands ; Bruce gave up Miramichi ; Tom, Prince Edward's Island ; and Bart, Cape Breton. There remained, then, the belief of Phil in New- foundland, and that of Arthur in Gaspe. Upon these two localities the party divided ; and though in the laborious journey back they were too much fatigued to expend their breath in argument, yet, when they did reach their journey's end, they were all prepared for it. But all argument was postponed for the present by the advent of dinner. It was late when they got back. They had eaten nothing since breakfast. They fjund Sol- omon waiting for them most impatiently. He had kindled a fire under a rock, and had taken the trouble to go back to the ship for some pots, ket- tles, and pans. A pot was even now hanging over the fire, and when they reached the place, there issued from this pot a stream so savory, so aro- matic, so odoriferous, and so enticing, that in an instant every other thou^^^ht vanished from their minds. 260 PICKED UP ADRIFT. " 0, Solomon/' was the cry, " what is it that you've got there ? " And they rushed up to the place. But Solomon, brandishing a huge ladle, waved them back witli solemn dignity. " You look heah, chilen ; don't you go bodder yer heads bout dis yer ; it's a kine o' soup dat I ben a concoctin' ; an you'll know when de time comes. Jes now, you'd all bes lie down ober dar, an res yourselves. I ben worritin' bout you for ten hour an more. You didn't ought to go for to 'crease de 'ziety ob dis ole man; cos he ain't able to hole up. But nebber mind ; you're all safe an soun ; so now you all jes lay by a few minutes, an I'll walk dis yer dish off de hook in no time." The boys respected Solomon's whim, and fell back. A few dishes, with spoons, were lying on the grass, and towan j these they allowed them- selves to drift, and then flung their weary frames upon the ground near by. Solomon was true to his word. He did not keep them long waiting. In a short time he took the pot off the fire, and brought it towards tliem. He then filled each of the dishes in silence. ^^ The savory steam rose up; its odor was now unmistakable. Scarce able to believe the evidence of the sense of smell, the> hurried to appeal to that of taste. One mouthful was enough. A cry of joy burst from them all, followed by, — " Oysters I Oyster stew ! O, glorious I Sol- omon, where in the world did you find these ? " to vy ol- , SOLOMON AGAIN IN HIS GLORY. o, ^. -' .^. S>^1%^>^^^ IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 I.I 1.25 ■ 50 '""^ 3.2 IM 2.2 2.0 1.8 1.4 IIIIII.6 V] W / M V '/ s. A straight course towards the place where tno smoke arose would have drawn them into rough water ; so they hugged the shore, and followed its curve, in order to avoid the danger. For a time the smoke was concealed from view; but at length, as they went on, it came into sight again, and ap- peared twice as near as when they had first seen it. Here they saw a beach, which ran away for a long distance ; and they noticed now that the smoke itself seemed to rise from a point on the beach about a mile away. " That's queer," said Tom. " The smoke can't be from a house at all." " No, some one has been making a fire on the beach. But it's all the same. It shows that peo- ple are living hereabouts, and that's all we want." ^* Well, we'll soon know.'' ^^Tom!" ''What?" " I should laugh if this place were to turn out to be Gasp6, after all." " 0, there's no doubt about the place. It must be Newfoundland." "Hallo!" This exclamation came from Arthur. He said no more, but pointed in silence, while Tom looked eagerly in that direction. • * On the beach, about a quarter of a mile away, 19 I 290 • PICKED UP ADRIFT. they saw a moving figure. It was a man. He was running along with irregular steps, waving his arms in the air in a wild way, and evidently trying to attract their attention. They at once headed the boat in nearer to the shore, so as to meet him as soon as possible. As they neared the shore the man neared them. The beach was smooth, and his staggering, irregular steps could not have been caused by the rough ground, while his wild gesticulations seemed unac- countable. " He must be drunk," said Tom. Arthur said nothing. The boat grounded, and the next moment the man reached the spot. No sooner had he come up to them than he fell on his knees, and, grasping the bows of the boat, bowed his head, and sobbed convulsively. They saw, as he came up, that he was pale and emaciated. He was panting heavily i'rom his ex- ertions. He wore a flannel shirt and canvas trou- sers. He looked like a common sailor from some ship, and not at all like a fisherman or farmer. The boys stared at him without saying one single word. ■::;.•■ • ■ •, ' ^ ^.. ' . "■':::'■■■-/' At length the man rose and looked at them with a searching and curious gaze. " A couple o' youngsters," said he at last, as though speaking to himself. " Queer, too — young- sters ! Say, boys, is your ship near by ? " THE SHIPWRECKED STRANGER. 291 He was ing his y trying • to tho )le. As n. The [•regular } rough 3d unac- ent the !ome up ;rasping sobbed ale and I his ex- as trou- m some farmer. B single im with last, as -young- " Not very." " Where do you come from ? " " 0, from over there/' said Arthur. " The fact is, we got ashore." " Got ashore I " " Yes ; and we've come here to look up some settlement." " Got ashore ! settlement ! " said the man. " Yes," said Arthur. " And we'd like to go, as soon as possible, to the nearest settlement. We want to engage a schooner to go back with us and get our friends." At this the man stared at them for a few mo- ments in a wild way, and then burst forth into laughter so strange and so wild that both the boys 'felt uncomfortable. Tom began to think that he was not drunk, but insane, and felt sgrry that they had allowed the boat to touch the shore. Suddenly the man stopped, and looked at them with a totally different expression. He looked at them fixedly, and there was on his face a certain pity and commiseration which struck them for- cibly. - " Boys," said he at length, in a gentle voice, " you're on the lookout for a settlement, are you ? " "Yes." " Well, look at me. Now look at all this country. Well, I'm the only settler here. I'm the only set- tler you'll ever find here, if you sail a hundred years. Do you know where you've got to?" 292 ' PICKED UP ADRIFT. " Why, \ve thought it was Newfoundland," said Tom. " Or Gaspe," aaid Arthur. Tlie man looked at them with a solemn face for some time, and said not a word. " Poor boys ! poor boys 1 " he murmured at last ; " p'raps they was worse off'n I was. An air you all alone, boys ? " " No ; we've loft our friends some miles back." '^ 0, an you thought you was on Newfoundland coast, or Gasp(3, an you goes off to hunt for help, an you leaves your friends. Well, now, have they got lots to eat ? " " 0, yes." " Lots ? " repeated the man, with some energy. " Lots, now, railly ? " . * " Plenty — enough to last them for a year." The man sighed. " An so you comes off for help. Why did they let you youngsters go ? Why didn't the men go?" " O, we're all boys," said Tom. " Well, that's queer, too." " A kind of pleasure party," said Arthur. ' • The man shook his head mournfully. '• " An so you thinks you've got onto Newfound- land or Gaspe," he said. " Yes. Why ? Where are we ? Can you tell lis ? And who are you ? and what are you doing here?" ANTICOSTI. 293 ," said ce for t last ; ir you ack.'^ idlaiid r help, e they norgy. V 3 they ) men found- u tell doing Tom said this. *' Me ? '* said the man. " Look at me. Can't you see what I be ? Do I look like a gontlemim farmer? Is this the country for a emigrant? Me ! " he repeated, with a bitter laugh. " Poor boys ! poor boys ! Why, I'm jest like you. I'm ship- wracked — on'y I knows where I be, an that's more'n you do, it seems." . " Shipwrecked I " exclaimed Tom. " Yes, wracked — the worst sort ; an tliis here country — - so you think it's Newfoundland or Gas}){)? Well — it ain't either." " What is it ? " " The worst place in the world — that's what it is ; a place where there ain't no hope, and there ain't no life. It's only death that a man can find here." " What do you mean ? " asked Tom. " Tell us what place it is." The man looked at them both, one after the other, with a solemn face. ^' I been shipwrackod," said he, " an I been here more'n a fortnight ; an this here place is — Anti- costi ! " " Anticosti 1 " exclaimed both the boys, exchan- ging glances of horror, while a feeling of despair cama over them. "Yes," said the man, "this here country's Anti- costi — an woe to the poor wretch that's cast ashore here. For there ain't no life here, an there j; 294 PICKED UP ADRIFT. ' ain't no hope, an tliere ain't no food ; an tlio only thing a man can do is to lie down an die as fast as ho can." A long silence followed. The boys felt utterly overwhelmed. They had all heard enough about Anticosti to make the name one of dread, and to surround it with the darkest gloom and tlie most formidable terrors. " We thought," said Arthur, at length, to the man, who seemed to be lost in his own thoughts, " we supposed that we were on the coast of New- foundland, somewiiere between Cape Ray and For- tune's Bay ; so we started oft' to sail along the coast in search of a settlement, and if we couldn't find any we intended to go to St. Pierre.'^ " This is Anticosti," said the man. " Very well," said Arthur, gravely, " we'll sup- pose it is. So much the more need for us to help our friends. You appear to have had a hard time of it; but you're a sailor, and we are not. You can help us. It seems to me that you can do a great deal for us. 1 think we had better keep to our plan, and try to reach the nearest settlement. If it is St. Pierre, or the Bay of Islands, or any other place, perhaps you can tell us. At any rate, you can sail the boat, and we can't. We've got lots of provisions here ; so you'd better come with us, and help us to reach some place where we can get assistance for our friends." While Arthur was saying this, the man stared at him most intently. THE BOAT HAULED UP. 195 J " Well," said ho at last, as Artliur ceased, "you're about the pluckiest lot in the way of boys that I've come across for some time. All I can say is, you needn't beat round the bush with me. You've saved my life, and so you'll find that Dick Bailey is yours till death. All you've got to do, boys, is to tell what you want done, and Til do it — if it can be done. But fust and foremost, let me tell you 'tain't no use tryin to get any further in that there boat this day, for the wind's risin, and you'd best come ashore till it blows over. We'll take the boat up high and dry out of harm's way, and then we can talk over what we'd best do." " Can't we go any farther to-day ? " asked Ar- thur, in a disappointed tone. " No," said Bailey, — " no, you can't go either for'ard or back'ard, for it's a head wind one way, aixd the other way is barred by that there pint. So, as I said afore, you'd better land. We'll draw the boat up high an dry out of harm's way, and we'll wait till to-morrer. By that time there'll be a change for the better." Upon this Arthur and Tom got out, and the three drew the boat up as far as they could upon the beach. " There," said Bailey, " she's out of harm's way, unless a sou'-wester comes ; an if it does, we can move her up further. But there ain't no chance of that. And now, boys, hain't you got something to give a poor feller to eat that's been starvin for a fortnight ? yy 296 PICKED UP ADRIFT. Upon this appeal Arthur and Tom at once laid open all their stores, producing biscuit, ham, potted meats, and all the other articles of food which com- prised their sea stores. And the shipwrecked Bailey ate ravenously ; ate, in fact, as though he would never be satisfied. " I ain't had," said he, as soon as he found time to speak in the intervals of eating, — "I ain't had not to say a reg'lar meal for three weeks, which accounts for my present ravenosity, an hopin you'll excuse it, young gents." .■;.«,vj, J.! .,.,7 5" , bailey's den. 297 ce laid , potted 'h com- y ; ate, 3d. d time I't had which hopin XXII. Baileifs Den. — The Fire. — The blazing Beacon, — Shell Fish. — Bailey begins his Narrative. — Astonishing Disclosure. — Mutual Explanations, — Tlie Story of Bailey. — Th 3 Crank Ship. — Springing aleak. — The mut ous Crew. — A Storm. — Taking to the Boau. — The Captain sticks to his Ship. — Driving be/ore the Wind. — Cast ashore. — Hoio to kindle a Fire. — Plans for the Future. — Tlie Evening Bepast. — The in- satiable Appetite of a half-starved Man. — Asleep in Bailey^ s Den, fT length Bailey's hunger seemed somewhat appeased. ^ " I'm a thinkin," said he, " as how we'd better take these here victuals to some place where it'll be more under cover, and handy for us about tea time. If you like, I'll take them to my den." " But can't we roll it farther up ? This barrel's too heavy to take any distance." " Well, I don' know but what you're more'n half right. I didn't think of the bar'l. Least- 298 PICKED UP ADRIFT. ways, we can put it further up, out of the reach of any surf, and cover it with the sail." " We can take with us as much as we may be likely to want," said Arthur. " Wal," said the man, " there ain't no fear of anybody stealin the things here ; and as the wind ain't likely to turn yet a while, I don't s'pose there'll be any danger of surf." After a few further precautions, so as to secure the boat and the contents from any possible harm, Bailey set off to show the boys his " den." They walked along the beach for about half a mile, and then stopped at a place where a high rock jutted out. Behind this there was a recess about twenty feet above the beach, formed by a fissure in the rock. A huge mass overhead shut it in, and formed a sort of roof; while the lower portion had been filled up by crumbled fragments. Over this rough floor Bailey had spread spruce brush, ferns, and mosses, so that it was soft enough to lie down on. The whoie recess was about eight feet deep, six feet wide, and six feet high. Immedi- ately outside a fire was burning, and from this came the smoke which had first attracted their attention. . ** I keep that there burnin," said Bailey, " night and day, an I've kept it a burnin for the last fort- night. There's drift-wood enough along the beach here, though ever}^ day I have to go further away to get it. Wal, there's wood enough on the island, if it bailey's narrative. 299 e reach may be fear of le wind there'll secure } harm, ^ They ile, and jutted twenty in the n, and portion Over brush, b to lie ht feet mmedi- m this i their ■' niglit 3t fort- beach way to id, if it comes to that, only 'tain't easy gittin it up in the woods." ^ The boys looked around with deep interest, and with varied feehngs. They saw outside, by the fire, heaps of shells, which seemea to have been burned. .; r *' Thar," said Bailey, " them's all I've had to eat, every bite, since I landed here. They do to keep body and soul together, but they ain't much ac- count. I'd give a bushel any day for one good bis- cuit. What I've jest eat seems to have made a man of me." ' ; ^ . The boys were silent for some time, and at length Arthur asked, — " How did you happen to get here ? " «Wal, I'll tell you all about it," said Bailey. " I'll begin at the beginnin. Wal, you see, about five weeks ago I shipped aboard the Petrel, at Quebec — " ■'■ " The what ? " cried Arthur and Tom, in the greatest wonder and excitement. " The ship Petrel," said Bailey. " Wliy, what of her ? " " The Petrel ! " cried Arthur. " What, the ship Petrel, of Liverpool ? " " That there's the identical craft." " And — and — and," stammered Tom. in his ex- citement, " was — was her captain's name Henry Hall ? and — and was she loaded with timber? " "And didn't .she get water-logged?" said Ar- thur. 300 PICKED UP ADRIFT. " Yes, and didn't the captain and crew all leave her?" Bailey stared at the boys with astonishment fully equal to their own. " You seem to know all about her," said he, slowly ; " and how you larned all that beats me." " Why, that's the very ship that we got wrecked on, too," said Arthur. " Yes," said Tom ; " we were sailing about, and found her adrift, and all as comfortable as pos- sible." " We tried to be salvors," said Arthur ; " and we were left on board to take care of her while our captain went off in the schooner for help.'* " And he anchored her, and the anchor didn't hold," said Tom. " And we drifted all about the gulf," continued Arthur, " and were out in the most horrible gales that ever were, till finally we got ashore here." The boys poured out this information in the most rapid manner possible upon the astounded Bailey, who now seemed fairly struck dumb. " You — in the Petrel ! " he exclaimed, at length, in slow and perplexed tones. '^ You — you adrift in that water-logged craft ! and thrown by that there ship here on Anticosti ! " " Yes," said Arthur, briskly, " that's just it." \ Bailey raised his hand slowly to his head, and scratched it solemnly, raising his eyes at the same time, and fixing them upon empty space. BAILEY^S NARRATIVE. 301 all leave isliment said he, i me. )} wrecked )ut, and as pos- and we lile our ' didn't itinned e gales re." in tlie ounded length, . adrift >y "that :t." ' - id, and B same " These here two young coves in the Petrel ! and hev ashore on Anticosti ! " he murmured. " Yes, yes," said Arthur ; '' and now tell us all ahout how you got here." - ' Bailey started, and looked at each of them silent- ly and solemnly ; then he looked away, as before. "Wal," said he, at last, "this here — does — beat — my — grandmother ! Wal, I'll tell my story, an then I'll listen to yourn, an we'll compare notes, an in that way we'll grad'ly get the hang of it ; for jest now, as things is, I'm dumfounded. " Wal," continued Bailey, after a pause, " I'll start afresh. I shipped then, as I was a sayin, as able seaman, aboard the Petrel. She was loaded down deep with timber, an badly loaded, too, for as she lay in the stream at Quebec, she had a list ever so far over. * ^r "I don't think I w\as overly sober when I was took on board, an I don't think any of the other men was overly sober, neither ; at any rate, the first thing I knows, I finds myself thirty mile below Quebec, aboard the Petrel, that had a list to one side that would almost let a man foot it up her masts. ;. -:-;, . ■ ..,.,,■., . =,.,,,>. " The first thing we all does, we all begins to kick up a dust. The mate he swears we ain't goin to sail the ship. - Crank? Why, crank ain't the word ! Wal, the .aptain he tells us we're gettin up mutiny, and warns us. And we tells him to look at the ship. 302 PICKED UP ADRIFT. " Wal, things goes on somehow, and we gets down the river further, we grnmbhn all the way and the mate a swearin. One night she drifts nigh to the shore and touches. We gets her off somehow ; but she got a bad sprain, and begins to leak. *' Wal, we all growls and grumbles, and won't touch the pumps ; and the captain he threatens, and the mate he rows and swears, and the captain he vows, leak or no leak, he'll put that there ship across the Atlantic. At last things grows worse, and the mate one day puts a couple of us in the bilboes. " Wal, that only makes things worse ; and by that time we was in the gulf, and rough weather comes on, and none of us would touch a line. So the captain he knocks under, and lets the men go, and promises us a glass of grog all round if we'll bear a hand at the pumps. But we insists on put- ting the deck-load overboard first. The captain wouldn't do it, though, for ever so long; till at last the wind blew a gale, and the cranky vessel plunged under so, and strained and twisted so, that at last he was glad enough to do it of his own accord. So we all goes to work in the midtt of that there gale, and puts every stick over. They wasn't much — only deals, and easy handled. It was timber below, and if it had been timber on deck, we couldn't have done it nohow. " Wal, that gale went on, and another followed, and we all pumped away for dear life, but didn't bailey's narrative. 303 ets down ' and the ^li to the )raehow j ak. id won't tens, and ptain he ere ship s worse, s in the and by- weather ine. So men go, if we'll ! on put- captain II at last vessel sted so, his own aidtt of They led. It dber on )llowed, fc didn't do much. It had got to be a little too late ; and what with the first touch on the rocks, and tho straining and twisting afterwards, the leak got to be a little the biggest I ever did see. " So it vent from bad to worse. We all worked at last like the old boy. No need then for the cap- tain to encourage us. Wo worked for dear life without bein told. But the leak gained steadily, and the storm increased. At last every rag ;f sail was blown off, and the vship was water-logged, and we all had to take refuge in the riggin. We saw what was comin in time to get the boats up out of harm's way, for the Water was roUin over the deck so that you couldn't tell which was the ship and which was tho sea. We were for puttin off and abandonin of her ; but the captain he swore she never could sink, bein timber-laden, and said tho storm would soon blow over, and we'd put into Miramichi. So we hung on as long as we could. " At last the vessel strained so that we all was sure and certain that she was goin to pieces ; so we determined to save ourselves ; so we got dov/n tho long-boat, and managed, one by one, to get into her as she floated to leeward, and then begged the cap- tain and mate to follow. The mate seemed half in- clined, but the captain was obstinate. He swore he would stick to the ship, and save her yet. He begged us to come back, and told us she would float till doomsday. But we swore she was break- in up, and told liim she couldn't hang together one day more. 304 PICKED UP ADRIFT. ' " The worst of it was, all tliis time wo didn't know whore wo was. Tliere was fog and lieavy gales, and the captain hadn't taken no reckonin for weeks/ We wanted to git off the wreck before she got onto the rocks. As for the captain and mate, they had the cutter, atid a couple of the men staid beliind to take off the cutter, and the cap- tain and mate, too, if they should come to their senses, leastways the mate. And what became of them four I hain't no idee. '' Wal, then we dropped off, and went away in the long-boat. We hadn't no idee where we was, and couldn't tell the pints of the compass. We thought the best thing would be to run before the wind, since we didn't know any better way, and we knew we was somewhere in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and would fetch up at last somewheres. So we let her run, and kept a sharp lookout, or tried to, though 'twan't no use at night, for what with the darkness and the fog, the nights was that dark you couldn't see the nose before your face. Well, that's all. The only thing more that I know is this — that one night I was sound asleep, and was waked up by a tremenjous yell, and found myself in the water. The boat had been thrown on rocks or surf, and had capsized. I struggled, and at last found bottom, and rushed blindly along, I couldn't see where, till I got to dry ground. And it was this here beach ; and afterwards, as I found out how the wind was blowin, and put this an that MUST BE ANTICOSTI. 305 I didn't lieavy )nin for before lin and he men he cap- o their ame of ' in the as, and bought e wind, e knew vrence \ we let •ied to, ith the irk you Well, now is nd was myself wn on 3d, and long, I And ; found in that together, I concluded that this was Anticosti, and now I know it." So ended Bailey's narrative. A long conversa- tion followed. The boys were anxious to know why ho felt so sure that it was Anticosti, and Bai- ley described his theory of the position of the Petrel at the time he left her, and the course which the boat must have taken in such a wind. He also felt sure, from the character of the coast and the coun- try, that it was this place, and no other. Then the boys gave a minute account of their own adven- tures. Bailey was most struck by the captain's paper found in the bottle. " Wal," said he, " he stood it as long as he could ; but I dar say, arter we cleared out, he begun to feel a little shaky. And that thar ship did shake herself up in a way that beat every thin I ever see in all my born days. I was as sure that she was breakin up as I was of my own name. So the captain he thought, no doubt, that it wan't wuth while to die for the sake of an old timber ship, or p'raps the mate and the sailors pressed him, and so off he goes ; or p'raps some passing vessel hove in sight, and took him off. But only think of 3^ou youngsters happenin on board, and goin through the same identical fortin that I went through, and then us meetin this way in Anticosti! It doos — beat — my — grandmother ! It — doos — railly ." The question now arose what was best to be 20 306 PICKED UP ADRIFT. J done. Of course the fact that this was Anticosti changed the whole state of things. " You see, if tliis was railly Newfoundland," said Bailey, "we might sail east, and event'ly git to some settlement ; but if we try that now, we'll have to go all along past the worst coast in the world, and then we'd get to East Pint ; and what then? Why, the gulf. So we've got to turn c^jout; and go back in the other direction." . . ... "What? West?" ' -. • •^' ^^u^rjl " Yes, away west, or sou^-west. I've heard tell of some settlement at West Pint, the other end of the island ; but I hain't no idee whether it's kep up yet or not. At any rate, there's Gaspe. 'Tain't far oflf. We can crawl along the shore, and then cut across to Gaspd, and get help." " But we'll go back first to where we left the # " Course, that's the first thing ; and then your vyge ends, and we've got to arrange a fresh one." ^. " Well, can we start to-day ? " asked Tom. ^"''^ " To-day ? No, sir I Look at me ! Why, Pd give anythin to git away from this here place ! Think of me here for two long weeks, livin on shell fish, pacin up and down the beach, and keepin my sig- nal-fire a burnin all the time, and feelin myself every day gradooly growin ravin mad ! Think what I've ben an suffered here ! Yet I wouldn't leave to-day, 'cos it's goin to blow harder, and that "^W HOW TO KINDLE A FIRE. 307 iticosti dland," r git to , we'll in the i what cJOUt, rd tell end of kepup 'Tain't 1 then ift the >'.;• iM 1.?,?. I your one." d give Think II fish, ly sig- nyself Think >uldn't d that •^". there cockle-shell don't do to beat against a wind like this." .-w • ;.- >.■.•..- .;<• . ," But can't we row?" ti - .t • "You hain't got no oars." i .t i "There are those in the boat." wit^ht -. ,(^'tu>w ^" " Them things I Them's poles, or paddles ; do to push the boat a little way through smooth water, but not with the wind this way. No ; we've got to wait." .. . Arthur and Tom both felt the force of this, and urged the point no longer. - / : m ;,;.v*i • ^ "I don't see," said Arthur, " how you managed to hght a fire." > .. t ^,!? * " 0, with my jackknife and a bit of flint," said Bailey. " No trouble to get flint hereabouts. I got some cottoA wool out of the paddin of my col- lar, and some dry moss, and coaxed some sparks into a blaze. 0, you give me a knife, and I'll draw fire out of any stone anywhars. The night I was drove ashore, I crept somewhar under the clifi^, and staid there till mornin, and in the mornin the first thing I does is to kindle a fire. I found the drift-wood, and this seemed to be the best place. Sea shells isn't the best fare in the world, and sick am I of all sorts and kinds of shell fish ; but glad was I when I lit on them that first day, when I walked about nearly starved. If it hadn't ben for them thar shells it would ha' ben all over with me. That's so. And this here den wasn't a bad place, considerin. In fact, I ben a lucky man in some >> 308 i PICKED UP ADRIFT, ^a things, seein that this is Anticosti, and fust and foremost, that I got off' with my life ; tor every one of the rest was drownded, and I've never seen even a splinter of the boat since." i iim novn^i' vmi i The recollection of this gloomy event reduced Bailey for a time to silence. " r./.i.v The alternoon passed away. The wind increased. The sea grew rougher, and every hour served to increase the impossibility of a return that day. But the boys had already resigned themselves to this, and therefore awaited the evening, and looked forward to the night with calmness and in patience. At sunset the evening repast was spread out, and Bailey showed his usual ravenous appetite. " 'Pears to me, boys," said he, apologetically, "jest as if I couldn't ever git enough to eat again. You'll have to make allowances for a man as has been starvin for three weeks." After tea they made their preparations for the night. First they went to see that the boat was safe, and to make doubly sure, they hauled her far- ther up the beach. Then they collected a quantity of drift-wood, with which they replenished their fire. " Thar,'^ said Bailey, " if so be as any vessel does pass by, they'll be sure to see this here light, and they'll know precious well as how some unfor- tunate coves is shipwrecked here, and is a signalin for help. But, misfortunately, I ben a lookin for- ard every night for help, and it never would come." ASLEEP IN bailey's DEN. 309 " It was your signal that drew us in," said Arthur. " It was a success by day, at any rate." j<'5,v.'-j •':.»»( ;■ ' j r;;., i >, ; ;. ■, • ■ , ;|f jij They talked and meditated for another hour or 80, and watched the blazing flames till they were tired. ' ' . r,^a Then they all spread themselves out in Bailey's " den," and fell asleep. .. . ; ) t; tt'.V^*f•^ »,v 1 ,,i i,.:'' '(7;iO >^'n A^ BB'>'a^ ^' '4f^ M'Y: ;V''i 310 PICKED UP ADRIFT. i ' I A '■:i' f t 1 I . ^rr>'tir■: lo/ ,,']-:>. ./i-juno ,. .-I J / /.' ;mI - i ' "v .1 .' t I / i ■ . ; )■. XXIII. 57*6 Denizens of Bailey^ s " i)e?i." — Morning. — A Sail upon the Surface of the Sea. — The Spy- , gla^s. — Exciting Discovery to the lost Ones. — . The strange Schooner. — Exchange of Signals. — : The Excitement increases. — TJie Schooner dratvs nearer. — New Signals. — They take to the Boat. — Out to Sea. — Bough Water. — Another Sail. — A strange Suspicion. — Old Friends. — Pleas- '.; ant Greeti7igs. — Mrs. Corbet. — Obloquy heaped ) upon the Antelope and its venerable GommanUer, — Away to the Bescue, j, ., ,, .';> 'It'- €|K AILEY'S den was a particularly well shel- w^ tered recess in the rock, open to no wind, *^^ except a sou'-wester. The wind that blew while Bailey and his guests slumbered inside, came from the north-west, and therefore ' the sleepers knew nothing of it.- Out in the sea, indeed, the waters felt its power, and the foaming waves on the following morning told them tho^tory of the night ; but during that night they knew nothing at all about it. Far down the side of the cliff, under the rocky precipice, out of the way of the wind, the «,^ MORNING. ^,.,. 311 ' ^ '^^ 'yjo ■>.rt ;-v.-> Hi • r\J occupants of Bailey's den slumbered on the soft spruce brush and softer moss. All night long the fire burned outside, for Bailey had piled up the fuel generously, yet carefully, and had so arranged it, by making alternate layers of green wood and dry, that it would burn all night long, and yet send forth sufficient flame to be visible at sea. Morning came, and the wind and sea had gone down. Upon rising, the denizens of Bailey's^ den looked forth upon the water, and saw that it was very much the same as it had been on the pre- ceding day. At this Arthur and Tom shook their heads, but Bailey was sanguine, and spoke en- couragingly. ' V; '^ - • >•; i'^' — " The wind has hauled round a pint or two^" said he, " and I shouldn't wonder if it was to come round a little more ; and if so, it'll be all right for us. A moderate north or north-east wind'U be jest the cheese." ' They now replenished the fire, after which they sat down to their breakfast. i^^^w,^ k=w.> 7 " 80 you got all this out of tho Petrel," said Bailey. " Well, only think I Why, what gorman- dizers them captains an mates in the cabin must be — feedin on potted meats I an only think what we eats before the mast ! Hard tack, suit junk, an dish-water, that's what we eats before the mast ; but aft, my gentlemen won't be satisfied with nothin less than Yorkshire game pie, and Oxford sassage — and, what's this ? — - Bolony sassage, an 312 PICKED UP ADRIFT. all tbem other condyments what you've got done up in them there tin pots. Wall, they're precious good eatin on a desert island, whatever they be in a ship's cabin, only they seem most too good for the hkes of me." . • v, . : ,^^vi.rv ^* You ? " said Arthur. " Why, you have a better right to them than we have ; for we haven't any right at all. And, as to the Petrel, if you can manage to save her, I hereby agree to deliver up and surrender to you all my right, title, and in- terest in and to any part or portion of the so-called salvage.'' •"" ' " And 1 too," said Tom, chiming in with the ut- most gravity ; " and hereby make known by these presents, to all whom it may concern, and any- thing to the contrary hereof in any wise notwith- standing." '\ h . .• ■'■ ^ U ; :' ; - ' ' Bailey was evidently much impressed by these legal formulas. He bowed very gravely. " Your servant, young gents, and my 'umble dooty to both of you ; but, at the same time, I don't want any more'n fair an honest wages, and, if so be as you ain't in the position to give it, why, well and good, says I ; but, if so be as you can, why, I'll take what's fair, and right, and lawful, and no more — " ^ — .i.. . .<.j^ T^a'us But at this point this interesting conversation was abruptly termii^dted by a loud cry from Tom. His eyes were fixed upon the sea, and were fasci- nated by something there. i t {it THE STRANGE SCHOONER. 313 t done ecious be in Dd for better t any a can er up tid in- called le ut- these any- with- these mblo '-^ Idon^t ^ if so well ' why, d no •• ition tfi ^om, isci- " A sail ! a sail ! " he cried. " A sail I 0, a sail! Look, look, look!" '"' ' '• ' ' ' " " ' " '^'' Arthur and Bailey sprang to their feet, and looked in the direction where Tom was pointing. Tom seized the spy-glass, which they had brought into the den, and examined more closely, while Arthur and Bailey watched the distant sea. And there, on the distant sea, several miles away, a sail appeared, unmistakably. It was a schooner, and she was not more than five miles away. " She's heading away from us," said Tom ; *' she's going away, out to sea." " Don't be too hasty," said Bailey ; " she may p'raps be only beatin up agin tliis here wind. It's a head wind for her." " I wish it may turn out so," said Tom. They now watched in silence for some time longer. The schooner held on her way steadily. At length she tacked, and, wearing round, headed towards the shore. ■ -^ ■>, ^ • - "I knowed it!" said Bailey, triumphantly. " She's a coastin along, and is beatin up agin the wind. Just hand us that there glass for a minute, if you please, and le. us git a squint at her." Tom handed the glass to Bailey, who took it, and looked at the schooner long and carefully. At length ho returned it to Tom. "It's a fisher," said he; "a Yankee fisher. I knows the cut of her jib ; there's no mistakin her. 314 PICKED UP ADBIFT. You don't find any of yer Province fishermen git up such a turnout as that there. Why, she's a cross between the best class of Liverpool pilot- boat and a nobleman's yacht ; and I don't believe there's a pilot-boat or a yacht afloat that can lick that there fisherman in a fair race." Arthur now took the glass, and looked at her long and earnestly. " I say, Tom," said he. ''What?" *' Do you know what I'm thinking? " " I dare say it's the very thought that I had." ''What? The Fawn?" " The very thing." " Of course it's all nonsense. I suppose all the Yankee fishermen, or, at any rate, a great many, are just like the Fawn ; but, at any rate, wouldn't it be fun if it should turn out to be her ? " " Well, it's too much to hope for," said Tom ; " it'll be fun enough for me if she only takes us off — if she only sees us. Hadn't we better pile on more fuel, Bailey ? " " No ; 'tain't no use. The fire's makin as much smoke as it can, an that's the best thing by day- time. If that there vessel's beatin up the coast, she's bound to see us on the next tack, if she don't see us now ; and it'll only take three more tacks to bring her right opposite — .Hallo ! " An abrupt exclamation terminated Bailey's re- marks. He seized the glass without a word of apology, and took a hasty glance. xima^ ^u v.s>^:.rfi Ht .i^*y^^[\s ,7(:77" ,irhih ^i>ili kf- iisotnui ^^ il:»u^ t|iv y-d i& Buiool Im« -saf;!:^:} Oiil j(oo:r wen Mi-iir'^/i/ -^Khud llmt j^i^i.)od' vi:u'1 ;iiw.hU tiill o>IH -rerT^ ?£LfOf '&^ ^^{r^l :>q--'i c>' •doiffir' ou* h'u ,1)^7/ *^ :,;' ^^ty^liivH .i''. "^ rf:'>'"t • I wMi ! iumwm «5 0) Ph 00 •J m 99 OO H M -^^^^•i^iliMi "l II UMP^UBjii ifi, - SIGNALS. 315 fl 12 " They^re a histin an a lowerin of the flag I They're a sigmilizing, as sure as I'm a born sinner I and to us ! Hooray I " This Bailey shouted, quite beside himself, and then dropping the spy-glass, at the imminent risk of its destruction, he seized a pole that lay near, and scattered the fire about in all directions. " I'm a tryin to answer their signals," said he. " They see us ! They know that were a signalizin to them, and they're a tellin us that they'll be along I Hooray I " The schooner now tacked, and stood out to sea. " All right," said Bailey ; " the next tack'll bring her nearer." This reassured the boys, who did not like even the appearance of desertion. They watched her now in silence, and at length had the gratification of seeing her taking her next tack, and standing in towards the shore. This time she was very much nearer. Bailey rushed off, and gathered a quantity of dry spruce twigs and moss. As the schooner neared the shore, her flag rose and fell rapidly, and the report of a rifle sounded over the waters. At this Bailey flung his moss and spruce twigs upon the fire, and a vast cloud of smoke shot up, intermingled with sparks and flame. " We're gradooly a comin to a understandin," said Bailey, as he rubbed his hands in immense glee, and watched the schooner. " And I do be- lieve that the next tack'll bring her here. Boya, let's get ready with the boat." 316 PICKED UP ADRIFT. Saying this, Bailey hurried down, followed by the boys. They hurried as fast as possible to the boat, and began to launch her. As she was un- commonly high and dry, this was a work of tin>e ; but it was at length accomplished, and the boat was afloat. ■'*''' ^^"'^ '' ' '"*"<'^' ^'^* • * The wind was still off the land, to a certain ex- tent, and the water had become far smoother. Be- sides, for a quarter of a mile or so from the land, it had never been much affected by the wind. They were too eager to wait, and so in a short time the sail was up, and Bailey, at the stern, headed the boat so as to meet the schooner on her return tack. As the wind caught the sail, the boat moved through the water, at first slowly, but gradually more swiftly. While the boat moved out, the schooner seemed to be sailing away, and leaving them behind ; but this gave them no trouble, for they knew that before long she would wear round, and come to meet them. And so, with eager eyes, they watched her, and waited impatier^tly for the moment when she would turn. Suddenly Arthur gave a cry, and pointed down the coast. There, as they looked, to their great amazement, tLcjy saw another sail, far away, emer- ging from the land, and standing out to sea. " Wall — this — doos — beat — my — grand- mother I " cried Bailey. " Or, in other words, boys, it never rains but it pours. We'll have the whole fishing fleet yet." ^ THE ANTELOPE. 317 wed by e to the was un- )f time ; he boat tain ex- 3r. Be- le land, 3 wind. )rt time ded the rn tack, moved 'adaallj ut, the leaving ible, for r round, er eyes, for the d down ir great r, emer- • grand- words, ave the Arthur and Tom said nothing. Tom seized tlio glass, and looked for a few minutes. Then he handed it to Arthur in silence. , v nr»/< jnm Arthur looked for some time most earnestly and most curiously.;,/.. fiih. .i,,.»»-,jj ii&\i0d f), ^*5w U s-ti^ " It's queer !" said he. ■.■u."\m^^^i^p . "What?" said Tom. • • : • - — " I don't believe there's another vessel in the world like that." " Do you think that? " said Tom. " It's the very idea that I had." ? n. ;?.k/ i %'»',:- .,-? - -, '• /viVi' p, " What! Not the Antelope ? " ,. ,. ..,,.^, i; . . .„ir " Yes ; the Antelope — her own very old self" ' "The Antelope!" cried Bailey. "You don't mean it. If it is her, then it's all explained. So he's come arter you — has he ? So that's it. Wal, it's the least he could do, arter gittiu you into such a precious scrape." ,^,.. ....^,. .^^,.,.^.y^,^^ i " 0,- it's only a fancy. It mayn't be her, after all." . " 0, but to my mind, it's more likely to be her than any one else. No one but a friend, in search of a friend, would ever think of beatin up this here way along the coast of Anticosti. That's my idee." This assurance of Bailey's tended to strengthen the idea which tlie boys had formed. After all, it was not impossible ; nay, they thought it was not even improbable ; for had they not been on the lookout for this very Antelope? and what vessel was more likely to come after them than this one ? and why should she not come even to Anticosti? 318 PICKED UP ADRIFT. tf " There she comes ! " cried Bailey, (nl sv.^'^ ' ^^ It was the fishing schooner. She was tacking. She wore round easily and gracefully, and headed straight towards them. They saw her draw nearer and nearer every moment, her bows rising, and tossing the water aside in showers of spray. They also stood boldly out now, for Bailey was at the helm, and was a far different sailor from Arthur or Tom. The little boat plunged soon into the rough water, and occasionally a torrent of foam dashed on board ; but this was nothing, for all their eyes and all their thoughts were centred upon the approaching schooner. t^Arr/^ i " At length they met — the schooner driving through the sea under a cloud of canvas. There was a man at the bow — a well-known form — the form of Captain Tobias Ferguson. The graceful Fawn wore round ; the boat came up ; a line was thrown, and Bailey seized it. The boys clan bered up her sides, and the instant they reached her deck, they found themselves seized by Ferguson, who said, in a voice broken by agitation, — "Hooray! We've got — weVe got you — at — at last ! Where are the others ? Why didn't they come off too ? " .nuiii; W X.Uf » -r-y " All right," said Arthur. " They are all safe in a cove about twenty miles west of this." Then followed a torrent of questions from Fer- guson, which the boys answered. Their answers brought peace to his soul, for it appeared that he MRS. CORBET, f 319 tackfng. headed V nearer ng, and , They :ie hehn, or Tom. 1 water, I board ; and all caching driving There a — the graceful ine was n bered ed her rguson, — at — I't they ■J iflSJJf safe in m Fer- nswers that he had been full of terror at the coming of these two, and two only, and had feared that they wore bringing some disastrous tidings about the others. I The boat was towed astern. Bailey was wel- comed right royally, as was befitting one whom the boys introduced as their friend. At length the mind of Captain Tobias Ferguson was at rest ; and the Fawn, rounding on another tack, stood out to sea, on her way towards the cove, wiiere the rest of the party were encamped. ^ (>,• • 'iii i'*}>;.%v:.i.? ruic ! " But you haven't told us how you heard about us," said Arthur, as soon as he had a chance to ask a question. '-■:• Ferguson seized his arm, and pointed over the water to the sail that Arthur and Tom had already nOtlCeQ. 1 \i i '1} J' - ', . J^.rfcv'f 1! "Do you see that?" r-vM)! T ?iLrU,,f>> 'K> mi6\ e "Yes; that schooner ? " nif .fr.rro-j fnr.v/ nvz/iT ^ "No; that tub, that wash-basin, that horse- trough, anything but a schooner. Well, do you know what that is ? " ' '■ ' ' " The Antelope ? " suggested Tom. ^fYes; that's what she is called by her com- mander — that old woman, Mrs. Corbet, Mrs. Cap- tain Corbet — old woman I Why, I can find fifty old women down our way that would take better care of a vessel than him — her^ I mean. Well, boys, I was at Magdalen Islands when Mrs. Cor- bet came there in her wash-tub. I felt uneasy about you ; knew something had happened ; asked 320 PICKED UP ADRIFT. liim — her, I mean — all about it; but Mrs. Corbet wouldn't answer. Well, I followed her. I was bound to see what had become of you. And where do you think that old woman went? Where? Why, to Miramichi ! Well, I followed her there and back, and come up to her, to find her in the middle of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, at her wit's . end ; for she had come there thinking that you would be anchored there, and waiting for her. Now, what do you think of that for an Old Woman ? " ' The boys were very much surprised at this, and questioned him more closely. At first they thought that he was too hard on the venerable captain ; but when they learned how the venerable captain had actually gone all the' way to Miramichi, leaving them in their perilous position, they thought that the V. C, aforesaid, had gone too far, and that he merited all the contumely which Ferguson heaped so lavishly upon him. -■ - ,' " Anybody else," he contiuued, — " anybody else but me, Tobias Ferguson, would simply have gone mad at trying to keep that old woman and her tub in sight. It's taken two days to do what mieht have been done in one. I've sailed back a dozen times to keep her in sight ; and look at her now 1 There she is, losing as much as she gains at every tack ; standing still, as I'm a living sin- ner. I sailed off", that very day I was telling you about, for Anticosti, and got to East Point. There THE FAWN. 321 Corbet I was d where Where ? 3r there r in the er wit's liat you for her. an Old •■■I :his, and thought ain ; but ^ain had leaving yht that )hat he heaped anybody )ly have lan and do what back a : at her e gains ng sin- ng you There I waited for Mrs. Corbet, inspecting tlie coast at odd times, and it was nearly the end of the next day before she came up ; and oven then I had to sail back ever so far to Gnd her. Then we began to beat up along the coast, against the wind, watch- ing all the time, not only the shore, but Mrs. Cor- bet. And there she is I At any rate, I won't bother about her any longer. I'll hurry up to the cove to get the rest of the boys, and let Mrs. Cor- bet come along as well as her venerable limbs'U carry her." " But how did you know so well that we had drifted to Anticosti ? " " Well, for various reasons. Partly because 1 found out from Mrs. Corbet all about her crazy ex- periment at anchoring the ship ; partly because 1 understood the general set of the tide ; partly be- cause I knew how the wind had been ; but chiefly, I may say, because I had a presentiment all along that you were bound to get ashore on the worst place in all the gulf; which was Anticosti, and no other place. 1 knowed it. I was sure of it." - Meanwhile the Fawn w^as careering through the waters. The boys had no regret at leaving Bailey's den, even though a number of cans of meat had been left behind. Bailev was on the broad grin, and felt no homesickness whatever. Arthur and Tom could not help contrasting the Fawn with the Antelope, greatly to the disadvan- tage of the latter, and began to think that in 21 322 PICKED UP adrift; choosing Captain Corbet for their guide, they had made a mistake. But all these thoughts were swallowed up in the one great thought of the de- liverance which they were bringing to their friends in the cove — a deliverance so much better than anything which they had hoped for, since it was in the form of old familiar friends, and not through the medium of strangers. Even the Antelope, and the much-maligned Corbet, as they followed far behind; seemed like additional elements in their joy. -v/^: I \ THE HEADLAND. 323 ley had 3 were the de- friends sr tlian was in h rough pe, and ed far a their * '■:''■;:■<'- v *\ *l.\ ! I XXIY. Out on the Headland. — The doomed Shij:). — Tlie Struggle tvith the Waters. — Theravening Waves. — All over. — The last of the Petrel. — An In- terruption at Dinner. — Startling Sight. — The strange^ yet familiar Sail. — A grand and joyous Beunion. — Away from the Isle of Desolation. — The Antelope once more. — Over the Sea to Miramichi. — Farewell. — Captain Corbet moral- izeSy and Sermonizes. #' UT on the headland the boys stood watch- ing. Bruce was sad and preoccupied. The others gazed uneasily upon the rough water. Could Arthur and Tom ever sail the boat through such a sea ? That was the question which occurred to every one, and every one felt in his own heart that it was impossible. The prospect was not pleasant. They could only hope that the boys had gained the shore, and were waiting there till the wind might blow over. With this hope they tried to encourage Bruce, who showed more depression than the rest, and blamed himself several times for not insisting on going in Arthur's t)Iace. 324 PICKED UP ADRIFT. At length they went back to the place where the Petrel lay. On reaching it they found that a marked change had taken place. Thus far, though low in the water, she had always preserved a cer- tain symmetry of outline ; and to those who might stand on her deck in fine weather and smooth water she seemed quite uninjured. But now her decks appeared to be burst open ; she seemed broken in two. Bow and stern were low under water, while amidships she was above it. The mainmast inclined forward, and the foremast sloped back so far that they almost touched. Where she had parted asunder the planks of the decks had also started, and as the waves rolled over her, every new assault increased the ruin. r " She's hogged," said Bart " She's worse than hogged," said Bruce ; " she's completely broken in two." " She's fallen upon some ridge of rock," said Phil, " and the weight of her cargo has done if " Deed thin, an the waves have had somethin to do with that same," said Pat ; " and glad am 1 that we're all out of her, so I am ; and lucky it was for us that she didn't go ashore on that same reef, the night of the starrum." The boys looked on in silence. The work of destruction went on slowly, but surely, before their very eyes. Each wave did something towards hastening the catastrophe. That the Petrel was doomed was now beyond the possibility of doubt. THE DOOMED SHIP. 325 said it/' fc of heir ards was ubt. Rocks were beneath her, and never-ending billows rolled over her, making her their prey. At length the fore part of the ship rolled over, with the deck towards them, severing itself com- pletely from the other half. The decks gaped wide, and opened ; the sides started ; the foremast came down with a crash, and the pitiless waves, rolling on incessantly, flung themselves one after the other upon the wreck. The two parts were soon completely severed, the fore part breaking up first, the other half resisting more obstinately; while the sea was covered with sticks of timber that were torn out from her and flung away upon the face of the waters. At length the ruin of the fore part was com- pleted, and that part of the ship, all torn asunder, with all that part of the cargo, was dissipated and scattered over the water and along the beach. The other half still clung together, and though sorely bruised and shaken, seemed to put forth an obsti- Tiate resistance. At every touch of the waves it rolled over only to struggle back ; it rose up, but was flung down again upon the rocks ; it seemed to be writhing in agony. At length the main- mast went down with a crash, followed not long after by the mizzenmast. Then the fragment of the ship suddenly split, and the entire quarter- deck was raised up. Here the waves flung them- selves, tearing it away from the hufl. But before the quarter-deck was altogether severed, the rest 32G PICKED UP ADRIFT. of the ship gave way, and parted in all directions. One by one the huge timber logs were detached from her cargo ; the separation of the parts of the ship, and the dissolution of her compact cargo, gave a greater surface to the action of the waves, which now roared, and foamed, and boiled, and seethed, and flung themselves in fury over every portion of the disordered, swaying, yielding mass. Fragment after fragment was wrenched away ; bit by bit the strong hull crumbled at the stroke of the mighty billows. The fragments were strewn afar over the sea, and along the beach ; and the boys saw the mizzen-top, where they had found refuge on that eventful night, drifting away towards the headland. At length all was over ; and in place of the Petrel there remained nothing but a vast mass of fragments, strewing the rocky shore, and floating over the sea for many a mile. Ail this, however, was the work of hours. The boys watched it all as though they were held to the spot by a species of fascination. There seemed to be a spell upon them. They could not tear themselves away. But at last there was nothing left ; nothing but floating fragments ; ">r timbers flung by the waves on the shore, with which the waves seemed to play, as they hurled them forward and drew them back ; while of the Petrel herself there was no sign — no coherent mass, however battered and beaten, which might serve to be pointed out as the representative of the ship that Solomon's succotash. 327 once bore them all. Of that ship there was noth- ing left ; she was dissolved ; she was scattered afar ; she was no more. Such was the end of the Petrel. Hours had passed while the boys were watching there. At length they started back to their camp. They walked on in silence. There was a certain sadness over all. This sadness arose in part from the scene which they had just witnessed, and in part out of their anxiety about Arthur and Tom, which now had grown to be serious, since they had seen with their own eyes the power of the waves. When the strong ship had yielded, what chance had that frail boat? And Arthur and Tom knew very little about navigation. Where were they now ? : ' With these sad and anxious thouglits, they made their way back, and found Solomon in a state of great excitement because they had kept dinner waiting. They found that it was past three o'clock, and were amazed that it was so late. Dinner was now served, accompanied by lamenta- tions long and loud from Solomon, who protested against such neglect and indifference as they had shown, whereby everything had become spoiled from waiting. '* Now dis yer dinna, chilen, am no common dinna," said he. "I ben makin rangements to hab a rail fust-chop, stylish dinna, and hab cocted a new dish ob succotash. I took some potted corn an biled it wid the beans, an if dat don't make succo- 328 PICKED UP ADRIFT. tash, I don' know what do — dat'8 all ; an dat ar succotash, wid do ham, and oysta chowda, an coffee, an game pie, an tomato, had ought to make a men- jous good dinna ; ought so." The boys said nothing. They were hungry, and they were also sad. For both reasons they felt disinclined to speak. They were anxious about Arthur and Tom ; they also felt mournful about the sad fate of the Petrel ; thev also had dismal forebodings about their own future ; but at the same time they were most undeniably hungry, rav- enously hungry, in fact; and Bruce, who was most sad and most anxious, was the hungriest of the crowd. " So they all sat down to dinner, and, first of all, they devoted themselves to Solomon's succotash. This was a compound of potted corn and dried beans; and though the real original succotash is a dish compounded from green corn and green beans, yet this was no bad substitute ; and they all felt, in spite of their sadness, that it was an idea whose originality did infinite credit to the culinary genius of Solomon. • ' > . ^ Now they had about come to the end of the succo- tash, and were looking about, like Alexander, for more worlds to conquer, or, in other words, for more dishes to devour, and were languidly await- ing the next course which Solomon might bring, when suddenly a wild cry from Pat roused them all from languor to the greatest excitement. A BEAUTIFUL SIGHT. 329 " Whoroo ! Thunder and turf ! " cried Pat ; and he sprang to his feet as he spoke. " Be the powers ! but it's fairly dead I am with joy this day. 0, look I 0, look I look, boys ! jools ! see, out there 1 They're a comin for us, so they are I We're saved ! We're saved ! Hooray ! Hooray I 0, look ! It's a schooner ; she's comin for us ; she's goin to take us out o' this ; and ! but it's the bright clever boys that Arthur and Tom are to come back so soon, and with a schooner like that same." Long before Pat had finished his Irish howl, and while he was yet howling, the others had sprung to their feet, and were looking out to sea. And there, rounding the headland, and bearing down towards them, they saw a beautiful schooner, graceful as a pleasure yacht, with all her snow- white sails spread wide in spite of the fresh breeze that was blowing, as though hurrying towards them to seek and to save. Never had they seen a more beautiful craft ; but its own proper beauty was now increased a hundred fold by the thought that their safety, their rescue, their deliverance, was the purpose that guided her here, and that she was coming to restore them to home, to friends, and to all the joys of hfe. . . Three cheers 1 Yes, and three more ! Yes, and three times three, and nine times nine, 330 # PICKED UP ADRIFT. and cheers without end I They cheered. They shouted. They danced. They hugged one another for very joy. -. ,. , .,,,-» Solomon joined in the general jubilation. He did this by standing apart and bursting into tears. *' Don't mind me," ho muttered. " 'Clar, I can't help it, nohow. De tears will come, but dey's all tears ob j'y. It's ben a dreflul tryin time to me all along, chilen, dis ytr time, for I alius ben a feelin an a thinkin as how dat I had some han in a bringin ob you to dese yer stremities ; but I held out, I bore up, all for your sakes ; but now all am ober ; an 0, de precious sakes I dar's a ole man hereabouts, chil'en, dat's like to bust wid j'y 1 Don't mind me. All right ! Hooray ! All safe at last! — an de chilen snatched from the jaws ob roonatium ! 0, do go way now, or else dis yer nigga'll bust 1 " , , ,*:.. And at this Solomon really did burst — into tears. The glorious schooner ! the beautiful schooner ! the schooner with the swan-like form and the snow- white sails I She plunged through the waters, the waves foamed about her bows, as she lurried on towards them. Arthur and Tom were there ; they knew it, or else how should that schooner come so straight towards them ? No more fears now, no more anxieties. Arthur and Tom were both safe, and the deep joy of that little company arose more from the assurance of this than even from the pros- pect of their own rescue. THE REUNION. 331 They another He did I can't 3y's all to me ben a an in a I held all am e man id j'y I safe at iws ob lis yer '.7, Y 'J:.it...' — into ooner ! ' snow- rs, the led on ; tlicy »me so >w, no li safe, more J pros- Tlie schooner came near. She rounded to ; she dropped her anchor. A boat was lowered. Three figures appeared in the boat — one rowing with vigorous strokes, two smaller ones in the stern. The boat came nearer. In the stern they saw the two, and recognized them as they came nearer. They had felt sure at the first, but now they saw with their own eyes Arthur and Tom ; and 0, with what joy, with what jubilation, with what shouts, what cries, what leaps of joy ! Ar- thur and Tom waved their hands, they stretched out their arms, they called out incoherent words, and it was with incoherent words that those on the shore responded. • The boat grounded. The boys ashore rushed into the water to seize Arthur and Tom in their arms. Then the man who had rowed the boat stood up and looked at them. They saw him. They knew him. Captain Ferguson I Tears were in his eyes, and he tried to hide them, but couldn't. Captain Tobias Ferguson, bold sailor, strong, brave man, broke down on this occasion, and cried like a child. ' ' ^ •• ■'"■ '* Then he went about shaking hands and talking wildly. He grabbed old Solomon's hand, and shook it most warmly. He asked anxiously about his health. Solomon was still sobbing and crying with utter joy. Neither of them knew what he was doing. Both felt the same emotions, yet the emotions of each arose from the same cause, and 332 PICKED UP ADRIFT. that was, anxiety about those boys, whom they loved, for whom they had feared so much, and suf- fered so much, and over whose safety they now re- joiced with such deep joy. Captain Ferguson did not say much, but made them all get into the boat and go aboard the Fawn. He did not look at their camp, nor did they feel any regret at leaving the work which had caused them so much toil. Solomon only stipulated that he should take away the provisions — the barrels of biscuit, the potted meats, the hams, and what- ever else had been accumulated there on that des- olate shore. Nor was there any reason for longer delay, for the associations of the place were by no means of a kind which they chose to dwell upon ; so the Fawn- turned her back upon Anticosti, and stood out to sea. As they passed the headland Bruce pointed out to Arthur and Tom the broken . -^gments of the Petrel, which still lined the rocky shore. But the eye of Captain Ferguson was turned elsewhere. He was on the lookout for the Antelope. II We've got to go back after her," said he. " If we wait for her, she won't be here till to-morrow morning, and we can run down to where she is in less than an hour." As he said these words the Fawn passed outside the headland, and there, far away to the east, head- ing out to sea, in one of her tacks, ..as the Ante- lope. There she was,- her very venerable self at a they Lnd suf- aow re- b made Fawn. ey foel caused id that barrels i what- lat des- longer ) by no upon ; ti, and ;ed out of the ut the where. "If Horrow e is in lutside f head- Ante- jelf at Corbet's meeting with the boys. 333 last, the schooner for which they had so often searched the water, for whose appearance they had so longed and hoped, and which never came through all those weary and despairing days. Now, when she was not needed, and, in fact, was not par- ticularly wanted, she made herself visible. The wind, which was against the Antelope, was fair for the Fawn, and in a short time the two schooners were within hail. Captain Corbet then made the best of his way on board the Fawn. He had already seen the boys, and guessed all. When he stood before them the boys were all shocked at his appearance. Venerable he had always been, but now he looked ten years older"^ than whcTi they last had seen him. He was also very much agitated, trembled /iolently, and, going around, he shook hands with every one in silence. Then he turned away his head and wept. The boys all felt deeply touched at seeing this exhibi- tion of feeling on his part, and even Captain Fer- guson looked at him with less severity. " Well," said he, " I do believe he's shed a good many tears about you, and if he did bring you into a scrape, he's suffered e^iough for it, I say." After this his treatment of the venerable navi- gator was far more generous than it had hitherto been. , " I ain't got much time to spare," said he, " cap- tain, but I'm bound to see these boys in a place of safety. So I propose to sail to Miraraichi, and you SS-A PICKED UP ADRIFT. hurry along as fast as your old tub can get through the water. I understand you're all going straight back to the Bay of Fundy, and I don't see why you shouldn't be able to do that much safe enough; so I'll deliver up the boys to your care in Mirami- chi. I think T can make them comfortable enough till then aboard the Fawn." * - Captain Corbet had nothing to say against this decision, but meekly returned to the Antelope, and prepared to follow the Fawn to the destination mentioned. As for the boys, they were deh'ghted, and felt only too glad at being able to have a short cruise on board such a vessel as the Fawn. On the following day the Fawn reached her des- tination, but the Antelope did not turn up until a day later. The boys now went back to their old quarters, and Captain Ferguson bade them all good by. Bailey accompanied him, having been en- gaged by him as one of his crew. " ^ " Wal, boys," said Captain Corbet, after Fergu- son had taken his departure, " we've lived, an we hev suffered, an hev mootooly ben called on to un- dergo triboolations that ftin't often met with in this mortual spere. This uthly life is one of strange vycissitoods, an the seafarin life has fre- kent ups an downs. I don't think I ever, in all my born days, was called upon to endoor more power mentual tortoor than in this week that^s past an gone. 'The wust of it all was the thought that it was my fault, and mine only. So now, boys, look FAREWELL. 335 1 rough traight liy you longh ; lirami- jnough ist this pe, and i nation iglited, a short er des- intil a ir old 1 good 2n en- 'ergii- an we ;o un- ith in le of IS fre- ill my 3ewer st an hat it , look at me, and take a warnin. Bowar, above all, of avarice. Think of me, with my plans for sudden wealth. Terrew, I might say that it was keer for the babby that animated this excited boosom ; I might plead the alfection of a absint feyther a yearnin over his ofl'sprin ; but I forbar. 1 pint to my unworthy self, and say, Bewar ! Don't ever allow yer young minds to grow delooded about the vain and glitterin toys of wealth and fortin ! See what it's cost us. We derreamed of a great ship, and cargo, and thousands upon thousands of pounds to divide among us ; and what did we railly git ? Salvage I farewell, good by to you forever. Out of all our derreams we hev gained nothin but the Petrel's boat, which ain't so dreadful bad a boat nuther, but contrariv/isc, and'll be useful enough yet, maybe ; an if we'd quietly taken that thar boat, and ben content, we'd a ben spard all this trouble, which shows that a small possibility's bet- ter'n a big impossibility. Them's my sentiments ; and among the lessons which I hope to live to inculcate in the mind of my babby, the most im- portant shall be the story of the ship that we PICKED UP ADRIFT." '-■*? 't^m" "imnv'-" my M, '■^^ -# ''IW. ■# *; ^5*::" t:i REV. ELIJAH KEI.LOGG S ELM ISLAND STORIES. Six vols. Kiiiio. Illiistruted. Per vol., $1.25. 1. Iiion Ben of Elm Island. 2. Charlie Bell. 3. The Ark of Elm Island. 4. The Boy Farmers of Elm Island. 5. The YounK Shipbuilders of Elm Island. 6. The Hardscrabble of Elm Island. "Tliere isno si-iitimentalism in this series. It is all clowi»ri.i;lii matter-of-fact boy life, and of course tliey are deeply interested in read- ing it. The history of pioneer life is .so attractive that one invohintarily wishes to renew those early strnj;jj;les with adverse circumstances, and join the Inisy actors in their successful efforts to build up pleasant homeK oil our sea-girt islands." — /Jon's Herald, LEE & SHEPARD, Publishers, P.oston. Wonderful Stories, JUTLAND SERIES. Fourvoln. IlliiBtratod. Set in a nont box, or sold separate. Fer vol., Jl.a). The Sane Hills of Jutland. Hy Hans Christian Andersen. i6mo. Illustrated. Yarns of an Old Mariner. By Mrs. Mary c:owden Clarke. Illus- trated by Cruikshank. i6mo. M>QVy^ Illustrated Natural History, ( YOUNG HUNTER'S LIBRARY.' By Mks. K. ].repared for the purjKJse of interesting the yMiuig in the study of natural Iiistory. The exciting ad- venlines of celebrated travellers, anecdotes of sag.u;ity in birds, beasts, ^'c , have been interwoven in a pleasant manner. This se- ries is not only very interesting but is deci- dedly prolitable reading. LEE & SHEPARD, Publishers, Boston. Schoolboy Days. By W. H. G. Kingston, teen illustrations. i6mo. Six- ^ Great Men and Gallant Deeds. By J. G. Edgar, i6mo. Illustrated. Four books by four noted authors comprise this scries, which contains Adventures by Sea and Land, Manly Sports of England, Boy Life in English Scliools, Fairy Tales and Legends, —all handsomely illustrated. LEE & SHEPARD, Publishers, Boston. The (ireat JVest. THE FRONTIER SERIES Five vols. Illustrated. Per vol., $1.26. Twelve Nights in the Hunters* Camp. A Thousand Miles' Walk Across South America. The Cabin on the Prairie. PlantinK the Wilderness. The YounK Pioneers. The romance surrounding the adventurous lives of Western jiioneers and iinmigrants lias suggested nearly as many stories as the chivalric deeds of knight errantry. These tales of frontier life are, however, as a rule, characterized by such wildness of fancy and such extravagancy of language that we have often wondered why another Cervantes did not ridicule our border romances by describ- ing a second Don Quixote's adventures on the iirairies. We arc pK-ased to notice, that in the new series of Frontier 'i'ales, by Lee & Shei»ard. there is an agreeable absence oi sensational writing, of that maudlin senti- mentality which m.ike the- generality of such tales nauseouB." — Stamiitrd. LEE & SHEPARD, Publishers, Boston. History. ^ LIBRARY. I es. Illustrated. : arers. in Sjiencer and Wilds of Aus- )s and Antonio icts, &c.,&c. ; Pishes, Bep- ; lid Instincts. es, prepared for le yMiii)^; in the 'he exciting ad- illers, anecdotes ^tc , have been nner. 'I'his se- iting but is deci- blishers, Boston. ; \'e»t. ^ SERIES ervol., tl.25. he Hunters* A/alk Across rairie. ness. }. jr the adventurous i and iiumiKrants lany stories as the iiraniry. These owever, as a rule, huss of fancy and „a^e that w-' have iier Cervantes diu niances by describ- e's adventures on scd to notice, that ti.r Tales, by Lee • leeable absence oi ':»t maudlin senti- generality of such I mi. le ,1 '^'^G^ MISS LOUISE M. .THURSTON S CHARLEY ROBERTS SERIES. * To be completed in six vols. Illustrated. Per volume, $i. Ho-w Ch:i»'lf»y I Robert H Bf»- oanio ix IVl.'tii.. How Ttlva Tiobert.H Grained I-ler iHjtliuratioii. Chai'ley antl Plva'.s Moirie in. the West. (OtIterH in I'n-paration.) In prciM'iitinp; tJio obove now Berics the piihlish- OPH tx'lifVf tlial they art- milling to tliat cIimk (if jiivi' the IDanha- way. TVie Tjittle Syianiard. Salt AVater Diolc. Tattlt? Maid of^ Oxbow. "•May Mannerinj;' it* the nom de filume of an a^reenttle writer for the younK folkn who poHHesHeH more than iirdinury altility, and haii a thorough ronipreheiiHion idtlie way to Intercut ehildren." — I'liikiileliiltia Item, " We like the spirit of these Ixiokfl excpediiiKly, and cordially connnend it to the notice of .Sabhath .School l.iiirarieH." — Lathes' tiejioxitory. LEE & SHEPARD, Publishers, Boston. •* Jfascinntiiifl n«U Hitstnirlibf." THE PROVERB SERIES. Pv Mr.s. M. E. Bkadi.kv and Miss Katk J. Nkki.y. Six vols. Illust. Per vol., $1. Birds of a Feather. Fine Feathers do Not make Fine Birds, Handsome is that Handsome does. A Wronjc Confessed la half Be- dressed. Actions speak louder than Words. One Good Turn deserves another. " Kach volunip in complete in itself, and illu»- trati'H, with a Htory of moMt niAcinatin^ and in- Htnictive intercut, the proverb taken for Itn title. 'I'licHe are jiiHt the kind of hiHikn that we like to Hce in a family r'r Snnday-Bchool library. 'J'bey will be rea