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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Work and Win, by Oliver Optic
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Work and Win
+       or, Noddy Newman on a Cruise
+
+Author: Oliver Optic
+
+Release Date: December 7, 2007 [EBook #23758]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WORK AND WIN ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by David Garcia, Emmy and the Online Distributed
+Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was
+produced from images generously made available by The
+Kentuckiana Digital Library)
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: WORK AND WIN
+
+OLIVER OPTIC]
+
+[Illustration]
+
+[Illustration]
+
+[Illustration: Signature: William T. Adams]
+
+
+
+
+
+WORK AND WIN
+
+OR
+
+NODDY NEWMAN ON A CRUISE
+
+A Story for Young People
+
+BY
+
+OLIVER OPTIC
+
+        AUTHOR OF "BOAT CLUB," "ALL ABOARD," "NOW
+        OR NEVER," ETC., ETC.
+
+        NEW YORK
+        HURST & COMPANY
+        PUBLISHERS
+
+
+
+
+        To
+
+        MY YOUNG FRIEND,
+
+        Edward C. Bellows,
+
+        THIS BOOK
+
+        IS AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED.
+
+
+
+
+PREFACE.
+
+
+In the preparation of this volume, the author has had in his mind the
+intention to delineate the progress of a boy whose education had been
+neglected, and whose moral attributes were of the lowest order, from
+vice and indifference to the development of a high moral and religious
+principle in the heart, which is the rule and guide of a pure and true
+life.
+
+The incidents which make up the story are introduced to illustrate the
+moral status of the youth, at the beginning, and to develop the
+influences from which proceeded a gentle and Christian character.
+Mollie, the captain's daughter, whose simple purity of life, whose
+filial devotion to an erring parent, and whose trusting faith in the
+hour of adversity, won the love and respect of Noddy, was not the least
+of these influences. If the writer has not "moralized," it was because
+the true life, seen with the living eye, is better than any precept,
+however skilfully it may be dressed by the rhetorical genius of the
+moralist.
+
+Once more the author takes pleasure in acknowledging the kindness of his
+young friends, who have so favorably received his former works; and he
+hopes that "WORK AND WIN," the fourth of the Woodville Stories, will
+have as pleasant a welcome as its predecessors.
+
+                                              WILLIAM T. ADAMS.
+        HARRISON SQUARE. MASS.,
+           November 10, 1865.
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS.
+
+
+        CHAPTER                                PAGE
+
+            I. The Mischief-Makers               9
+
+           II. The Circus at Whitestone         21
+
+          III. A Moral Question                 33
+
+           IV. Noddy's Confession               45
+
+            V. Squire Wriggs at Woodville       57
+
+           VI. Noddy's Engagement               70
+
+          VII. The Ring-Master                  81
+
+         VIII. Good-by to Woodville             93
+
+           IX. An Attempt to Work and Win      105
+
+            X. Poor Mollie                     117
+
+           XI. The Schooner Roebuck            129
+
+          XII. The Drunken Captain             141
+
+         XIII. The Shark                       154
+
+          XIV. The Yellow Fever                167
+
+           XV. The Demon of the Cup            180
+
+          XVI. Night and Storm                 193
+
+         XVII. After the Storm                 206
+
+        XVIII. The Beautiful Island            217
+
+          XIX. The Visitors                    228
+
+           XX. Homeward Bound                  239
+
+          XXI. The Clergyman and his Wife      247
+
+
+
+
+WORK AND WIN;
+
+OR,
+
+NODDY NEWMAN ON A CRUISE.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+THE MISCHIEF-MAKERS.
+
+
+"Here, Noddy Newman! you haven't washed out the boat-house yet," said
+Ben, the boatman, as the young gentleman thus addressed was ambling down
+towards the river.
+
+"Hang the boat-house!" exclaimed Noddy, impatiently, as he stopped short
+in his walk, and seemed to be in doubt whether he should return or
+continue on his way.
+
+"You know what Miss Bertha says--don't you?"
+
+"Yes, I know what she says," added Noddy, rubbing his head, as though he
+were trying to reconcile his present purpose, whatever it was, with the
+loyalty he owed to Bertha. "I suppose it don't make much difference to
+her whether I wash out the boat-house now or by and by."
+
+"I don't know anything about that, my boy," said the old man. "Miss
+Bertha told me to find some regular work for you to do every day. I
+found it, and she say you must wash out the boat-house every morning
+before nine o'clock. If you don't do it, I shall report you to her.
+That's all I've got to say about it."
+
+"I calculate to wash out the boat-house."
+
+"You've only half an hour to do it in, then. You've not only got to wash
+it out every morning, but you have got to do it before nine o'clock.
+Them's the orders. I always obey orders. If Miss Bertha should tell me
+to tie you up, and give you as big a licking as you deserve, I should do
+it."
+
+"No, you wouldn't."
+
+"I haven't got any such orders, mind ye, Noddy; so we won't dispute
+about that. Now, go and wash out the boat-house like a good boy, and
+don't make any fuss about it."
+
+Noddy deliberated a few moments more. He evidently disliked the job, or
+did not wish to do it at that particular time; but Miss Bertha's
+influence was all-powerful; and though he would have fought, tooth and
+nail, against anything like compulsion on the part of Ben, he could not
+resist the potent spell which the name of his young mistress cast upon
+him.
+
+"Hang the old boat-house!" exclaimed he, as he stamped his foot upon the
+ground, and then slowly retraced his steps towards the boatman.
+
+"Hang it, if you like, Noddy, but wash it out first," said Ben, with a
+smile, as he observed the effect of the charm he had used to induce the
+wayward youth to do his duty.
+
+"I wish the boat-house was burned up!" added Noddy, petulantly.
+
+"No, you don't."
+
+"Yes, I do. I wish it was a pile of ashes at this moment."
+
+"Don't say so, Noddy. What would Miss Bertha think to hear you talk like
+that?"
+
+"You can tell her, if you like," replied Noddy, as he rushed desperately
+into the boat-house to do the disagreeable job.
+
+Noddy Newman was an orphan; and no one in the vicinity of Woodville even
+knew what his real name was. Two years before, Bertha Grant had taken
+the most tender care of him, after an accident by which he had been
+severely injured. Previous to that time he had been a vagabond, roaming
+about the woods and the villages, sleeping in barns and out-buildings,
+and stealing his food when he could obtain it by no other means. Efforts
+had been made to commit him to the poorhouse; but he had cunningly
+avoided being captured, and retained his freedom until the accident
+placed him under the influence of Bertha Grant, who had before vainly
+attempted to induce him to join her mission-school in the Glen.
+
+Noddy had been two years at Woodville. He was neither a servant nor a
+member of the family, but occupied a half-way position, eating and
+sleeping with the men employed on the estate, but being the constant
+companion of Bertha, who was laboring to civilize and educate him. She
+had been partially successful in her philanthropic labors; for Noddy
+knew how to behave himself with propriety, and could read and write with
+tolerable facility. But books and literature were not Noddy's _forte_,
+and he still retained an unhealthy relish for his early vagabond habits.
+
+Like a great many other boys,--even like some of those who have been
+brought up judiciously and carefully,--Noddy was not very fond of work.
+He was bold and impulsive, and had not yet acquired any fixed ideas in
+regard to the objects of life. Bertha Grant had obtained a powerful
+influence over him, to which he was solely indebted for all the progress
+he had made in learning and the arts of civilized life. Wayward as he
+always had been, and as he still was, there was a spirit in him upon
+which to build a hope that something might yet be made of him, though
+this faith was in a great measure confined to Bertha and the old
+boatman.
+
+He had a great many good qualities--enough, in the opinion of his gentle
+instructress, to redeem him from his besetting sins, which were neither
+few nor small. He was generous, which made him popular among those who
+were under no moral responsibility for his future welfare. He was bold
+and daring, and never hesitated to do anything which the nerve or muscle
+of a boy of fourteen could achieve. His feats of strength and daring,
+often performed from mere bravado, won the admiration of the
+thoughtless, and Noddy was regarded as a "character" by people who only
+wanted to be amused.
+
+Noddy had reached an age when the future became an interesting problem
+to those who had labored to improve his manners and his morals. Mr.
+Grant had suggested to Bertha the propriety of having him bound as an
+apprentice to some steady mechanic; and, at the time of our story, she
+and her father were in search of such a person. The subject of this kind
+solicitude did not relish the idea of learning a trade, though he had
+not positively rebelled at the disposition which it was proposed to make
+of him.
+
+He had always lived near the river; and during his residence at
+Woodville he had been employed, so far as he could be employed at all,
+about the boats. He was a kind of assistant to the boatman, though there
+was no need of such an official on the premises. For his own good,
+rather than for the labor he performed, he was required to do certain
+work about the boat-house, and in the boats when they were in use.
+
+We could recite a great many scrapes, of which Noddy had been the hero,
+during the two years of his stay at Woodville; but such a recital would
+hardly be profitable to our readers, especially as the young man's
+subsequent career was not devoid of stirring incidents.
+
+Noddy drew a bucket of water at the pier, and carried it into the
+boat-house. Ben, satisfied now that the work was actually in progress,
+left the pier, and walked up to the house to receive his morning
+instructions. He was hardly out of sight before Miss Fanny Grant
+presented herself at the door.
+
+Miss Fanny was now a nice young lady of twelve. She was as different
+from her sister Bertha as she could be. She was proud, and rather
+wayward. Like some other young ladies we have somewhere read about, she
+was very fond of having her own way, even when her own way had been
+proved to be uncomfortable and dangerous. But when we mention Miss
+Fanny's faults, we do not wish to be understood that she had no virtues.
+If she did wrong very often, she did right in the main, and had made a
+great deal of progress in learning to do wisely and well, and, what was
+just as good, in doing it after she had learned it.
+
+Fanny Grant walked up to the boat-house with a very decided step, and it
+soon appeared that she was not there by chance or accident; which leads
+us sorrowfully to remark, that in her wrongdoing she often found a ready
+companion and supporter in Noddy Newman. She was rather inclined to be a
+romp; and though she was not given to "playing with the boys," the
+absence of any suitable playmate sometimes led her to invite the
+half-reformed vagabond of Woodville to assist in her sport.
+
+"You are a pretty fellow, Noddy Newman!" said she, her pouting lips
+giving an added emphasis to her reproachful remark. "Why didn't you come
+down to the Point, as you said you would?"
+
+"Because I couldn't, Miss Fanny," growled Noddy. "I had to wash out this
+confounded boat-house, or be reported to Miss Bertha."
+
+"Couldn't you do that after you got back?"
+
+"Ben said I must do it before nine o'clock. I wanted to go down to the
+Point, as I agreed, but you see I couldn't."
+
+"I waited for you till I got tired out," pouted Fanny; but she neglected
+to add that five minutes on ordinary occasions were the full limit of
+her patience.
+
+"Hang the old boat-house! I told Ben I wished it was burned up."
+
+"So do I; but come along, Noddy. We will go now."
+
+"I can't go till I've washed out the boat-house."
+
+"Yes, you can."
+
+"But if Ben comes down and finds the place hasn't been washed out, he
+will tell Miss Bertha."
+
+"Let him tell her--who cares?"
+
+"She will talk to me for an hour."
+
+"Let her talk--talking won't kill you."
+
+"I don't like to be talked to in that way by Miss Bertha."
+
+"Fiddle-de-dee! You can tell her I wanted you," said Fanny, her eyes
+snapping with earnestness.
+
+"Shall I tell her what you wanted me for?" asked Noddy, with a cunning
+look.
+
+"Of course you needn't tell her that. But come along, or I shall go
+without you."
+
+"No--you wouldn't do that, Miss Fanny. You couldn't."
+
+"Well, won't you come?"
+
+"Not now."
+
+"I can't wait."
+
+"I will go just as soon as I have done washing the boat-house."
+
+"Plague on the boat-house!" snapped Fanny. "I wish it was burned up.
+What a nice fire it would make!--wouldn't it, Noddy?"
+
+The bright eyes of the wayward miss sparkled with delight as she thought
+of the blazing building; and while her more wayward companion described
+the miseries which he daily endured in his regular work, she hardly
+listened to him. She seemed to be plotting mischief; but if she was, she
+did not make Noddy her confidant this time.
+
+"Come, Noddy," said she, after a few moments' reflection, "I will
+promise to make it all right with Bertha."
+
+Noddy dropped the broom with which he had begun to sweep up some chips
+and shavings Ben had made in repairing a boat-hook.
+
+"If you will get me out of the scrape, I will go now," said he.
+
+"I will; you may depend upon me."
+
+"Then I will go."
+
+"Where is Ben, now?"
+
+"He has gone up to the house."
+
+"Then you run down to the Point, and bring the boat up to the pier. I am
+tired, and don't want to walk down there again."
+
+Noddy was entirely willing, and bounded off like a deer, for he had
+fully made up his mind to disobey orders, and his impulsive nature did
+not permit him to consider the consequences. He was absent but a few
+moments, and presently appeared rowing a small boat up the river. At the
+pier he turned the boat, and backed her up to the landing steps.
+
+"All ready, Miss Fanny!" shouted the young boatman, for his companion in
+mischief was not in sight.
+
+Still she did not appear; and Noddy was about to go in search of her,
+when she came out of the boat-house, and ran down to the steps. Her face
+was flushed, and she seemed to be very much agitated. Noddy was afraid,
+from her looks, that something had happened to spoil the anticipated
+sport of the morning; but she stepped into the boat, and told him, in
+hurried tones, to push off.
+
+"What's the matter, Miss Fanny?" he asked, not a little startled by her
+appearance.
+
+"Nothing, Noddy; pull away just as fast as ever you can."
+
+"Are we caught?" said he, as he followed Fanny's direction.
+
+"No; caught! no. Why don't you row faster, Noddy? You don't pull worth a
+cent."
+
+"I am pulling as hard as I can," replied he, unable to keep pace with
+her impatience.
+
+"I wouldn't be seen here now for anything!" exclaimed Fanny, earnestly,
+as she glanced back at the boat-house, with a look so uneasy that it
+almost unmanned her resolute companion.
+
+Noddy pulled with all his might, and the light boat darted over the
+waves with a speed which ought to have satisfied his nervous passenger.
+As they reached the point of Van Alstine's Island, a dense smoke was
+seen to rise from the boat-house on the pier; and a few moments later,
+the whole building was wrapped in flames.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+THE CIRCUS AT WHITESTONE.
+
+
+"Do you see that?" exclaimed Noddy, as he stopped rowing, and gazed at
+the flames which leaped madly up from the devoted building.
+
+"I see it," replied Fanny, with even more agitation than was manifested
+by her companion.
+
+"I don't understand it," added Noddy.
+
+"The boat-house is on fire, and will burn up in a few minutes more. I
+think it is plain enough;" and Fanny struggled to be calm and
+indifferent.
+
+"We must go back and see to it."
+
+"We shall do nothing of the kind. Pull away as hard as ever you can, or
+we shall not get to Whitestone in season."
+
+"I don't care about going to Whitestone now; I want to know what all
+that means."
+
+"Can't you see what it means? The boat-house is on fire."
+
+"Well, how did it catch afire? That's what bothers me."
+
+"You needn't bother yourself about it. My father owns the boat-house,
+and it isn't worth much."
+
+"All that may be; but I want to know how it got afire."
+
+"We shall find out soon enough when we return."
+
+"But I want to know now."
+
+"You can't know now; so pull away."
+
+"I shall have the credit of setting that fire," added Noddy, not a
+little disturbed by the anticipation.
+
+"No, you won't."
+
+"Yes, I shall. I told Ben I wished the boat-house would catch afire and
+burn up. Of course he will lay it to me."
+
+"No matter if he does; Ben isn't everybody."
+
+"Well, he is 'most everybody, so far as Miss Bertha is concerned; and
+I'd rather tumbled overboard in December than have that fire happen just
+now."
+
+"You were not there when the fire broke out," said Fanny, with a strong
+effort to satisfy her boatman.
+
+"That's the very reason why they will lay it to me. They will say I set
+the boat-house afire, and then ran away on purpose."
+
+"I can say you were with me when the fire broke out, and that I know you
+didn't do it," replied Fanny.
+
+"That will do; but I would give all my old shoes to know how the fire
+took, myself."
+
+"No matter how it took."
+
+"Yes, it is matter, Miss Fanny. I want to know. There wasn't any fire in
+the building when I left it."
+
+"Perhaps somebody stopped there in a boat, and set it on fire."
+
+"Perhaps they did; but I know very well they didn't," answered Noddy,
+positively. "There hasn't been any boat near the pier since we left it."
+
+"Perhaps Ben left his pipe among those shavings."
+
+"Ben never did that. He would cut his head off sooner than do such a
+thing. He is as scared of fire as he is of the Flying Dutchman."
+
+"Don't say anything more about it. Now row over to Whitestone as quick
+as you can," added Fanny, petulantly.
+
+"I'm not going over to Whitestone, after what has happened. I shouldn't
+have a bit of fun if I went."
+
+"Very well, Noddy; then you may get out of the scrape as you can," said
+the young lady, angrily.
+
+"What scrape?"
+
+"Why, they will accuse you of setting the boat-house afire; and you told
+Ben you wished it was burned down."
+
+"But I didn't set it afire."
+
+"Who did, then?"
+
+"That's just what I want to find out. That's what worries me; for I
+can't see how it happened, unless it took fire from that bucket of water
+I left on the floor."
+
+Fanny was too much disturbed by the conduct of her boatman, or by some
+other circumstance, to laugh at Noddy's joke; and the brilliant sally
+was permitted to waste itself without an appreciative smile. She sat
+looking at the angry flames as they devoured the building, while her
+companion vainly attempted to hit upon a satisfactory explanation of the
+cause of the fire. Noddy was perplexed; he was absolutely worried, not
+so much by the probable consequences to himself of the unfortunate
+event, as by the cravings of his own curiosity. He did not see how it
+happened; and if a potent juggler had performed a wonderful feat in his
+presence, he could not have been more exercised in mind to know how it
+was done.
+
+Noddy was neither a logician nor a philosopher; and therefore he was
+utterly unable to account for the origin of the fire. In vain he wasted
+his intellectual powers in speculations; in vain he tried to remember
+some exciting cause to which the calamity could be traced. Meanwhile,
+Miss Fanny was deliberating quite as diligently over another question;
+for she apparently regarded the destruction of the boat-house as a small
+affair, and did not concern herself to know how it had been caused. But
+she was very anxious to reach Whitestone before ten o'clock, and her
+rebellious boatman had intimated his intention not to carry out his part
+of the agreement.
+
+"What are you thinking about, Noddy?" asked she, when both had
+maintained silence for the full space of three minutes, which was a
+longer period than either of them had ever before kept still while
+awake.
+
+"I was thinking of that fire," replied Noddy, removing his gaze from the
+burning building, and fixing it upon her.
+
+"Are you going to Whitestone, or not?" continued she, impatiently.
+
+"No; I don't want to go to Whitestone, while all of them down there are
+talking about me, and saying I set the boat-house afire."
+
+"They will believe you did it, too."
+
+"But I didn't, Miss Fanny. You know I didn't."
+
+"How should I know it?"
+
+"Because I was with you; besides, you came out of the boat-house after I
+did."
+
+"If you will row me over to Whitestone, I will say so; and I will tell
+them I know you didn't do it."
+
+Noddy considered the matter for a moment, and, perhaps concluding that
+it was safer for him to keep on the right side of Miss Fanny, he
+signified his acceptance of the terms by taking up his oars, and pulling
+towards Whitestone. But he was not satisfied; he was as uneasy as a fish
+out of water; and nothing but the tyranny of the wayward young lady in
+the boat would have induced him to flee from the trouble which was
+brewing at Woodville. He had quite lost sight of the purpose which had
+induced him to disobey Bertha's orders.
+
+Our young adventurers had not left Woodville without an object. There
+was a circus at Whitestone--a travelling company which had advertised to
+give three grand performances on that day. Miss Fanny wanted to go; but,
+either because her father was otherwise occupied, or because he did not
+approve of circuses, he had declined to go with her. Bertha did not
+want to go, and also had an engagement.
+
+Fanny had set her heart upon going; and she happened to be too wilful,
+just at that period, to submit to the disappointment to which her
+father's convenience or his principles doomed her. Bertha had gone to
+the city at an early hour in the morning to spend the day with a friend,
+and Fanny decided that she would go to the circus, in spite of all
+obstacles, and in the face of her father's implied prohibition. When she
+had proceeded far enough to rebel, in her own heart, against the will of
+her father, the rest of the deed was easily accomplished.
+
+Noddy had never been to a circus; and when Fanny told him what it
+was,--how men rode standing up on their horses; how they turned
+somersets, and played all sorts of antics on the tight rope and the
+slack rope; and, above all, what funny things the clowns said and
+did,--he was quite ready to do almost anything to procure so rare a
+pleasure as witnessing such a performance must afford him. It did not
+require any persuasion to induce him to assist Fanny in her
+disobedience. The only obstacle which had presented itself was his
+morning work in the boat-house, which Bertha's departure for the city
+had prevented him from doing at an earlier hour.
+
+To prevent Ben from suspecting that they were on the water, in case they
+should happen to be missed, he had borrowed a boat and placed it at the
+Point, where they could embark without being seen, if Ben or any of the
+servants happened to be near the pier. The boatman, who made it his
+business to see that Noddy did his work on time in the morning, did not
+neglect his duty on this occasion; and when Noddy started to meet Fanny
+at the appointed place, he had been called back, as described in the
+first chapter.
+
+As he pulled towards Whitestone, he watched the flames that rose from
+the boat-house; and he had, for the time, lost all his enthusiasm about
+the circus. He could think only of the doubtful position in which his
+impulsive words to the boatman placed him. Above all things,--and all
+his doubts and fears culminated in this point,--what would Miss Bertha
+say? He did not care what others said, except so far as their words went
+to convince his mistress of his guilt. What would she do to him?
+
+But, after all had been said and done, he was not guilty. He had not set
+the boat-house on fire, and he did not even know who had done the
+malicious act. Noddy regarded this as a very happy thought; and while
+the reflection had a place in his mind, he pulled the oars with
+redoubled vigor. Yet it was in vain for him to rely upon the voice of an
+approving conscience for peace in that hour of trouble. If he had not,
+at that moment, been engaged in an act of disobedience, he might have
+been easy. He had been strictly forbidden by Mr. Grant, and by Bertha,
+ever to take Fanny out in a boat without permission; and Miss Fanny had
+been as strictly forbidden to go with him, or with any of the servants,
+without the express consent, each time, of her father or of Bertha.
+
+It is very hard, while doing wrong in one thing, to enjoy an approving
+conscience in another thing; and Noddy found it so in the present
+instance. We do not mean to say that Noddy's conscience was of any great
+account to him, or that the inward monitor caused his present
+uneasiness. He had a conscience, but his vagabond life had demoralized
+it in the first place, and it had not been sufficiently developed,
+during his stay at Woodville, to abate very sensibly his anticipated
+pleasure at the circus. His uneasiness was entirely selfish. He had got
+into a scrape, whose probable consequences worried him more than his
+conscience.
+
+By the time the runaways reached Whitestone, the boat-house was all
+burned up, and nothing but the curling smoke from the ruins visibly
+reminded the transgressors of the event which had disturbed them.
+Securing the boat in a proper place, Noddy conducted the young lady to
+the large tent in which the circus company performed, and which was more
+than a mile from the river. Fanny gave him the money, and Noddy
+purchased two tickets, which admitted them to the interior of the tent.
+
+If Noddy had been entirely at ease about the affair on the other side of
+the river, no doubt he would have enjoyed the performance very much; but
+in the midst of the "grand entree of all the horses and riders of the
+troupe," the sorrowing face of Bertha Grant thrust itself between him
+and the horsemen, to obscure his vision and diminish the cheap glories
+of the gorgeous scene. When "the most daring rider in the world" danced
+about, like a top, on the bare back of his "fiery, untamed steed," Noddy
+was enthusiastic, and would have given a York shilling for the
+privilege of trying to do it himself.
+
+The "ground and lofty tumbling," with the exception of the spangled
+tunics of the performers, hardly came up to his expectations; and he was
+entirely satisfied that he could beat the best man among them at such
+games. As the performance proceeded, he warmed up enough to forget the
+fire, and ceased to dread the rebuke of Bertha; but when all was
+over,--when the clown had made his last wry face, and the great American
+acrobat had achieved his last gyration, Bertha and the fire came back to
+him with increased power. Moody and sullen, he walked down to the river
+with Fanny, who, under ordinary circumstances, would have been too proud
+to walk through the streets of Whitestone with him. If he had been
+alone, it is quite probable that he would have taken to the woods, so
+much did he dread to return to Woodville.
+
+He pushed off the boat, and for some time he pulled in silence, for Miss
+Fanny now appeared to have her own peculiar trials. Her conscience
+seemed to have found a voice, and she did not speak till the boat had
+reached the lower end of Van Alstine's Island.
+
+"The fire is all out now," said she.
+
+"Yes; but I would give a thousand dollars to know how it caught," added
+Noddy.
+
+"I know," continued Fanny, looking down into the bottom of the boat.
+
+"Who did it?" demanded Noddy, eagerly.
+
+"I did it myself," answered Fanny, looking up into his face to note the
+effect of the astonishing confession.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+A MORAL QUESTION.
+
+
+Noddy dropped his oars, and, with open mouth and staring eyes, gazed
+fixedly in silence at his gentle companion, who had so far outstripped
+him in making mischief as to set fire to a building. It was too much for
+him, and he found it impossible to comprehend the depravity of Miss
+Fanny. He would not have dared to do such a thing himself, and it was
+impossible to believe that she had done so tremendous a deed.
+
+"I don't believe it," said he; and the words burst from him with
+explosive force, as soon as he could find a tongue to express himself.
+
+"I did," replied Fanny, gazing at him with a kind of blank look, which
+would have assured a more expert reader of the human face than Noddy
+Newman that she had come to a realizing sense of the magnitude of the
+mischief she had done.
+
+"No, you didn't, Miss Fanny!" exclaimed her incredulous friend. "I know
+you didn't do that; you couldn't do it."
+
+"But I did; I wouldn't say I did if I didn't."
+
+"Well, that beats me all to pieces!" added Noddy, bending forward in his
+seat, and looking sharply into her face, in search of any indications
+that she was making fun of him, or was engaged in perpetrating a joke.
+
+Certainly there was no indication of a want of seriousness on the part
+of the wayward young lady; on the contrary, she looked exceedingly
+troubled. Noddy could not say a word, and he was busily occupied in
+trying to get through his head the stupendous fact that Miss Fanny had
+become an incendiary; that she was wicked enough to set fire to her
+father's building. It required a good deal of labor and study on the
+part of so poor a scholar as Noddy to comprehend the idea. He had always
+looked upon Fanny as Bertha's sister. His devoted benefactress was an
+angel in his estimation, and it was as impossible for her to do anything
+wrong as it was for water to run up hill.
+
+If Bertha was absolutely perfect,--as he measured human virtue,--it was
+impossible that her sister should be very far below her standard. He
+knew that she was a little wild and wayward, but it was beyond his
+comprehension that she should do anything that was really "naughty."
+Fanny's confession, when he realized that it was true, gave him a shock
+from which he did not soon recover. One of his oars had slipped
+overboard without his notice, and the other might have gone after it, if
+his companion had not reminded him where he was, and what he ought to
+do. Paddling the boat around with one oar, he recovered the other; but
+he had no clear idea of the purpose for which such implements were
+intended, and he permitted the boat to drift with the tide, while he
+gave himself up to the consideration of the difficult and trying
+question which the conduct of Fanny imposed upon him.
+
+Noddy was not selfish; and if the generous vein of his nature had been
+well balanced and fortified by the corresponding virtues, his character
+would have soared to the region of the noble and grand in human nature.
+But the generous in character is hardly worthy of respect, though it may
+challenge the admiration of the thoughtless, unless it rests upon the
+sure foundation of moral principle. Noddy forgot his own trials in
+sympathizing with the unpleasant situation of his associate in
+wrongdoing, and his present thought was how he should get her out of the
+scrape. He was honestly willing to sacrifice himself for her sake. While
+he was faithfully considering the question, in the dim light of his own
+moral sense, Miss Fanny suddenly burst into tears, and cried with a
+violence and an unction which were a severe trial to his nerves.
+
+"Don't cry, Fanny," said he; "I'll get you out of the scrape."
+
+"I don't want to get out of it," sobbed she.
+
+Now, this was the most paradoxical reply which the little maiden could
+possibly have made, and Noddy was perplexed almost beyond the hope of
+redemption. What in the world was she crying about, if she did not wish
+to get out of the scrape? What could make her cry if it was not the fear
+of consequences--of punishment, and of the mean opinion which her
+friends would have of her, when they found out that she was wicked
+enough to set a building on fire? Noddy asked no questions, for he could
+not frame one which would cover so intricate a matter.
+
+"I am perfectly willing to be punished for what I have done," added
+Fanny, to whose troubled heart speech was the only vent.
+
+"What are you crying for?" asked the bewildered Noddy.
+
+"Because--because I did it," replied she; and her choked utterance
+hardly permitted her to speak the words.
+
+"Well, Miss Fanny, you are altogether ahead of my time; and I don't know
+what you mean. If you cry about it now, what did you do it for?"
+
+"Because I was wicked and naughty. If I had thought only a moment, I
+shouldn't have done it. I am so sorry I did it! I would give the world
+if I hadn't."
+
+"What will they do to you?" asked Noddy, whose fear of consequences had
+not yet given place to a higher view of the matter.
+
+"I don't care what they do; I deserve the worst they can do. How shall I
+look Bertha and my father in the face when I see them?"
+
+"O, hold your head right up, and look as bold as a lion--as bold as two
+lions, if the worst comes."
+
+"Don't talk so, Noddy. You make me feel worse than I did."
+
+"What in the world ails you, Miss Fanny?" demanded Noddy, grown
+desperate by the perplexities of the situation.
+
+"I am so sorry I did such a wicked thing! I shall go to Bertha and my
+father, and tell them all about it, as soon as they come home," added
+Fanny, as she wiped away her tears, and appeared to be much comforted by
+the good resolution which was certainly the best one the circumstances
+admitted.
+
+"Are you going to do that?" exclaimed Noddy, astonished at the
+declaration.
+
+"I am."
+
+"And get me into a scrape too! They won't let me off as easy as they do
+you. I shall be sent off to learn to be a tinker, or a blacksmith."
+
+"You didn't set the boat-house on fire, Noddy. It wasn't any of your
+doings," said Fanny, somewhat disturbed by this new complication.
+
+"You wouldn't have done it, if it hadn't been for me. I told you what I
+said to Ben--that I wished the boat-house was burned up; and that's what
+put it into your head."
+
+"Well, you didn't do it."
+
+"I know that; but I shall have to bear all the blame of it."
+
+Noddy's moral perceptions were strong enough to enable him to see that
+he was not without fault in the matter; and he was opposed to Fanny's
+making the intended confession of her guilt.
+
+"I will keep you out of trouble, Noddy," said she, kindly.
+
+"You can't do it; when you own up, you will sink me to the bottom of the
+river. Besides, you are a fool to do any such thing, Miss Fanny. What do
+you want to say a word about it for? Ben will think some fellow landed
+from the river, and set the boat-house on fire."
+
+"I must do it, Noddy," protested she. "I shall not have a moment's peace
+till I confess. I shall not dare to look father and Bertha in the face
+if I don't."
+
+"You won't if you do. How are they going to know anything about it, if
+you don't tell them?"
+
+"Well, they will lay it to you if I don't."
+
+"No matter if they do; I didn't do it, and I can say so truly, and they
+will believe me."
+
+"But how shall I feel all the time? I shall know who did it, if nobody
+else does. I shall feel mean and guilty."
+
+"You won't feel half so bad as you will when they look at you, and know
+all the time that you are guilty. If you are going to own up, I shall
+keep out of the way. You won't see me at Woodville again in a hurry."
+
+"What do you mean, Noddy?" asked Fanny, startled by the strong words of
+her companion.
+
+"That's just what I mean. If you own up, they will say that I made you
+do it; and I had enough sight rather bear the blame of setting the
+boat-house afire, than be told that I made you do it. I can dirty my own
+hands, but I don't like the idea of dirtying yours."
+
+"You don't mean to leave Woodville, Noddy?" asked Fanny, in a
+reproachful tone.
+
+"If you own up, I shall not go back. I've been thinking of going ever
+since they talked of making a tinker of me; so it will only be going a
+few days sooner. I want to go to sea, and I don't want to be a tinker."
+
+Fanny gazed into the water by the side of the boat, thinking of what her
+companion had said. She really did not think she ought to "own up," on
+the terms which Noddy mentioned.
+
+"If you are sorry, and want to repent, you can do all that; and I will
+give you my solemn promise to be as good as you are, Miss Fanny," said
+Noddy, satisfied that he had made an impression upon the mind of his
+wavering companion.
+
+His advice seemed to be sensible. She was sorry she had done wrong; she
+could repent in sorrow and silence, and never do wrong again. Her father
+and her sister would despise her if they knew she had done such a wicked
+and unladylike thing as to set the boat-house on fire. She could save
+all this pain and mortification, and repent just the same. Besides, she
+could not take upon herself the responsibility of driving Noddy away
+from Woodville, for that would cause Bertha a great deal of pain and
+uneasiness.
+
+Fanny had not yet learned to do right though the heavens fall.
+
+"Well, I won't say anything about it, Noddy," said she, yielding to what
+seemed to her the force of circumstances.
+
+"That's right, Fanny. Now, you leave the whole thing to me, and I will
+manage it so as to keep you out of trouble; and you can repent and be
+sorry just as much as you please," replied Noddy, as he began to row
+again. "There is nothing to be afraid of. Ben will never know that we
+have been on the river."
+
+"But I know it myself," said the conscience-stricken maiden.
+
+"Of course you do; what of that?"
+
+"If I didn't know it myself, I should feel well enough."
+
+"You are a funny girl."
+
+"Don't you ever feel that you have done wrong, Noddy?"
+
+"I suppose I do; but I don't make any such fuss about it as you do."
+
+"You were not brought up by a kind father and a loving sister, who would
+give anything rather than have you do wrong," said Fanny, beginning to
+cry again.
+
+"There! don't cry any more; if you do, you will 'let the cat out of the
+bag.' I am going to land you here at the Glen. You can take a walk
+there, and go home about one o'clock. Then you can tell the folks you
+have been walking in the Glen; and it will be the truth."
+
+"It will be just as much a lie as though I hadn't been there. It will be
+one half the truth told to hide the other half."
+
+This was rather beyond Noddy's moral philosophy, and he did not worry
+himself to argue the point. He pulled up to the landing place at the
+Glen, where he had so often conveyed Bertha, and near the spot where he
+had met with the accident which had placed him under her kindly care.
+Fanny, with a heavy heart and a doubting mind, stepped on shore, and
+walked up into the grove. She was burdened with grief for the wrong she
+had done, and for half an hour she wandered about the beautiful spot,
+trying to compose herself enough to appear before the people at the
+house. When it was too late, she wished she had not consented to Noddy's
+plan; but the fear of working a great wrong in driving him from the good
+influences to which he was subjected at Woodville, by doing right, and
+confessing her error, was rather comforting, though it did not meet the
+wants of her case.
+
+In season for dinner, she entered the house with her hand full of wild
+flowers, which grew only in the Glen. In the hall she met Mrs. Green,
+the housekeeper, who looked at her flushed face, and then at the flowers
+in her hand.
+
+"We have been wondering where you were, all the forenoon," said Mrs.
+Green. "I see you have been to the Glen by the flowers you have in your
+hand. Did you know the boat-house was burned up?"
+
+"I saw the smoke of it," replied Fanny.
+
+"It is the strangest thing that ever happened. No one can tell how it
+took fire."
+
+Fanny made no reply, and the housekeeper hastened away to attend to her
+duties. The poor girl was suffering all the tortures of remorse which a
+wrong act can awaken, and she went up to her room with the feeling that
+she did not wish to see another soul for a month.
+
+Half an hour later, Noddy Newman presented himself at the great house,
+laden with swamp pinks, whose fragrance filled the air, and seemed to
+explain where he had been all the forenoon. With no little flourish, he
+requested Mrs. Green to put them in the vases for Bertha's room; for his
+young mistress was very fond of the sweet blossoms. He appeared to be
+entirely satisfied with himself; and, with a branch of the pink in his
+hand, he left the house, and walked towards the servants' quarters,
+where, at his dinner, he met Ben, the boatman.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+NODDY'S CONFESSION.
+
+
+The old boatman never did any thing as other people did it; and though
+Noddy had put on the best face he could assume to meet the shock of the
+accusation which he was confident would be brought against him, Ben said
+not a word about the boat-house. He did not seem to be aware that it had
+been burned. He ate his dinner in his usual cheerful frame of mind, and
+talked of swamp pinks, suggested by the branch which the young reprobate
+had brought into the servants' hall.
+
+Noddy was more perplexed than he had been before that day. Why didn't
+the old man "pitch into him," and accuse him of kindling the fire? Why
+didn't he get angry, as he did sometimes, and call him a young vagabond,
+and threaten to horsewhip him? Ben talked of the pinks, of the weather,
+the crops, and the latest news; but he did not say a word about the
+destruction of the boat-house, or Noddy's absence during the forenoon.
+
+After dinner, Noddy followed the old man down to the pier by the river
+in a state of anxiety which hardly permitted him to keep up the cheerful
+expression he had assumed, and which he usually wore. They reached the
+smouldering ruins of the building, but Ben took no notice of it, and did
+not allude to the great event which had occurred. Noddy was inclined to
+doubt whether the boat-house had been burned at all; and he would have
+rejected the fact, if the charred remains of the house had not been
+there to attest it.
+
+Ben hobbled down to the pier, and stepped on board the Greyhound, which
+he had hauled up to the shore to enable him to make some repairs on the
+mainsail. Noddy followed him; but he grew more desperate at every step
+he advanced, for the old man still most provokingly refused to say a
+single word about the fire.
+
+"Gracious!" exclaimed Noddy, suddenly starting back in the utmost
+astonishment; for he had come to the conclusion, that if Ben would not
+speak about the fire, he must.
+
+The old boatman was still vicious, and refused even to notice his
+well-managed exclamation. Noddy thought it was very obstinate of Ben not
+to say something, and offer him a chance, in the natural way, to prove
+his innocence.
+
+"Why, Ben, the boat-house is burned up!" shouted Noddy, determined that
+the old man should have no excuse for not speaking about the fire.
+
+Ben did not even raise his eyes from the work on which he was engaged.
+He was adjusting the palm on his hand, and in a moment began to sew as
+though nothing had happened, and no one was present but himself. Noddy
+was fully satisfied now that the boatman was carrying out the details of
+some plot of his own.
+
+"Ben!" roared Noddy, at the top of his lungs, and still standing near
+the ruins.
+
+"What do you want, Noddy?" demanded Ben, as good-naturedly as though
+everything had worked well during the day.
+
+"The boat-house is burned up!" screamed Noddy, apparently as much
+excited as though he had just discovered the fact.
+
+Ben made no reply, which was another evidence that he was engaged in
+working out some deep-laid plot, perhaps to convict him of the crime,
+by some trick. Noddy was determined not to be convicted if he could
+possibly help it.
+
+"Ben!" shouted he again.
+
+"Well, Noddy, what is it?"
+
+"Did you _know_ the boat-house was burned up?"
+
+There was no answer; and Noddy ran down to the place where the sail-boat
+was hauled up. He tried to look excited and indignant, and perhaps he
+succeeded; though, as the old man preserved his equanimity, he had no
+means of knowing what impression he had produced.
+
+"Did you know the boat-house was burned up?" repeated Noddy, opening his
+eyes as though he had made a discovery of the utmost importance.
+
+"I did," replied Ben, as indifferently as though it had been a matter of
+no consequence whatever.
+
+"Why didn't you tell me about it?" demanded Noddy, with becoming
+indignation.
+
+"Because I decided that I wouldn't say a word about it to any person,"
+answered Ben.
+
+"How did it happen?"
+
+"I haven't anything to say about it; so you mustn't ask me any
+questions."
+
+"Don't you know how it caught afire?" persisted Noddy.
+
+"I've nothing to say on that subject."
+
+Noddy was vexed and disheartened; but he felt that it would not be
+prudent to deny the charge of setting it on fire before he was accused,
+for that would certainly convict him. The old man was playing a deep
+game, and that annoyed him still more.
+
+"So you won't say anything about it, Ben?" added he, seating himself on
+the pier.
+
+"Not a word, Noddy."
+
+"Well, I wouldn't if I were you," continued Noddy, lightly.
+
+Ben took no notice of this sinister remark, thus exhibiting a presence
+of mind which completely balked his assailant.
+
+"I understand it all, Ben; and I don't blame you for not wanting to say
+anything about it. I suppose you will own up when Mr. Grant comes home
+to-night."
+
+"Don't be saucy, Noddy," said the old man, mildly.
+
+"So you smoked your pipe among the shavings, and set the boat-house
+afire--did you, Ben? Well, I am sorry for you, you are generally so
+careful; but I don't believe they will discharge you for it."
+
+Ben was as calm and unruffled as a summer sea. Noddy knew that, under
+ordinary circumstances, the boatman would have come down upon him like a
+northeast gale, if he had dared to use such insulting language to him.
+He tried him on every tack, but not a word could he obtain which
+betrayed the opinion of the veteran, in regard to the origin of the
+fire. It was useless to resort to any more arts, and he gave up the
+point in despair. All the afternoon he wandered about the estate, and
+could think of nothing but the unhappy event of the morning. Fanny did
+not show herself, and he had no opportunity for further consultation.
+
+About six o'clock Bertha returned with her father; and after tea they
+walked down to the river. Fanny complained of a headache, and did not go
+with them. It is more than probable that she was really afflicted, as
+she said; for she had certainly suffered enough to make her head ache.
+Of course the first thing that attracted the attention of Mr. Grant and
+his daughter was the pile of charred timbers that indicated the place
+where the boat-house had once stood.
+
+"How did that happen?" asked Mr. Grant of Ben, who was on the pier.
+
+"I don't know how it happened," replied the boatman, who had found his
+tongue now, and proceeded to give his employer all the particulars of
+the destruction of the building, concluding with Noddy's energetic
+exclamation that he wished the boat-house was burned up.
+
+"But did Noddy set the building on fire?" asked Bertha, greatly pained
+to hear this charge against her pupil.
+
+"I don't know, Miss Bertha. I went up to the house to get my morning
+instructions, as I always do, and left Noddy at work washing up the
+boat-house. I found you had gone to the city, and I went right out of
+the house, and was coming down here. I got in sight of the pier, and saw
+Miss Fanny come out of the boat-house."
+
+"Fanny?"
+
+"Yes; I am sure it was her. I didn't mind where she went, for I happened
+to think the mainsail of the Greyhound wanted a little mending, and I
+went over to my room after some needles. While I was in my chamber, one
+of the gardeners rushed up to tell me the boat-house was afire. I came
+down, but 'twasn't no use; the building was most gone when I got here."
+
+"Did you leave anything in the building in the shape of matches, or
+anything else?" asked Mr. Grant.
+
+"No, sir; I never do that," replied the old man, with a blush.
+
+"I know you are very careful, Ben. Then I suppose it was set on fire."
+
+"I suppose it was, sir."
+
+"Who do you suppose set it afire, Ben?" said Bertha, anxiously.
+
+"Bless you, miss, I don't know."
+
+"Do you think it was Noddy?"
+
+"No, Miss Bertha, I don't think it was."
+
+"Who could it have been?"
+
+"That's more than I know. Here comes Noddy, and he can speak for
+himself."
+
+Noddy had come forward for this purpose when he saw Mr. Grant and Bertha
+on the pier, and he had heard the last part of the conversation. He was
+not a little astonished to hear Ben declare his belief that he was not
+guilty, for he had been fully satisfied that he should have all the
+credit of the naughty transaction.
+
+"Do you know how the fire caught, Noddy?" said Mr. Grant.
+
+"I reckon it caught from a bucket of water I left there," replied Noddy,
+who did not know what to say till he had felt his way a little.
+
+"No trifling, Noddy!" added Mr. Grant, though he could hardly keep from
+laughing at the ridiculous answer.
+
+"How should I know, sir, when Ben don't know? I tried to make him tell
+me how it caught, and he wouldn't say a word about it."
+
+"I thought it was best for me to keep still," said Ben.
+
+"This is very strange," continued Mr. Grant. "Who was the last person
+you saw in the boat-house, Ben?"
+
+"Miss Fanny, sir. I saw her come out of it only a few moments before the
+fire broke out."
+
+Noddy was appalled at this answer, for it indicated that Fanny was
+already suspected of the deed.
+
+"Of course Fanny would not do such a thing as set the boat-house on
+fire," said Bertha.
+
+"Of course she wouldn't," added Noddy.
+
+"What made you say you did not think Noddy set the fire, Ben?" asked Mr.
+Grant.
+
+"Because I think he had gone off somewhere before the fire, and that
+Miss Fanny was in the building after he was. Noddy was sculling off
+before he had done his work, and I called him back. That's when he
+wished the boat-house was burned down."
+
+"It is pretty evident that the fire was set by Noddy or Fanny," said Mr.
+Grant; and he appeared to have no doubt as to which was the guilty one,
+for he looked very sternly at the wayward boy before him.
+
+"I think so, sir," added Ben.
+
+"And you say that it was not Noddy?" continued Mr. Grant, looking
+exceedingly troubled as he considered the alternative.
+
+The boatman bowed his head in reply, as though his conclusion was so
+serious and solemn that he could not express it in words. Noddy looked
+from Ben to Mr. Grant, and from Mr. Grant to Ben again. It was plain
+enough what they meant, and he had not even been suspected of the crime.
+The boatman had seen Fanny come out of the building just before the
+flames appeared, and all hope of charging the deed upon some vagabond
+from the river was gone.
+
+"Do you mean to say, Ben, that you think Fanny set the boat-house on
+fire?" demanded Mr. Grant, sternly.
+
+"I don't see who else could have set it," added Ben, stoutly.
+
+"I do," interposed Noddy. "I say she didn't do it."
+
+"Why do you say so?"
+
+"Because I did it myself."
+
+"I thought so!" exclaimed Mr. Grant, greatly relieved by the confession.
+
+Ben was confused and annoyed, and Noddy was rather pleased at the
+position in which he had placed the old man, who, in his opinion, had
+not treated him as well as usual.
+
+"Why didn't you own it before?" said Mr. Grant, "and not allow an
+innocent person to be suspected."
+
+"I didn't like to," answered the culprit, with a smile, as though he was
+entirely satisfied with his own position.
+
+"You must be taken care of."
+
+"I am going to take care of myself, sir," said Noddy, with easy
+indifference.
+
+This remark was capable of so many interpretations that no one knew what
+it meant--whether Noddy intended to run away, or reform his vicious
+habits. Bertha had never seen him look so self-possessed and impudent
+when he had done wrong, and she feared that all her labors for his moral
+improvement had been wasted.
+
+Some further explanations followed, and Noddy was questioned till a
+satisfactory theory in regard to the fire was agreed upon. The boy
+declared that he had visited the boat-house after Fanny left it, and
+that she was walking towards the Glen when he kindled the fire. He made
+out a consistent story, and completely upset Ben's conclusions, and left
+the veteran in a very confused and uncomfortable state of mind.
+
+Mr. Grant declared that something must be done with the boy at once;
+that if he was permitted to continue on the place, he might take a
+notion to burn the house down. Poor Bertha could not gainsay her
+father's conclusion, and, sad as it was, she was compelled to leave the
+culprit to whatever decision Mr. Grant might reach. For the present he
+was ordered to his room, to which he submissively went, attended by
+Bertha, though he was fully resolved not to be "taken care of;" for he
+understood this to mean a place in the workhouse or the penitentiary.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V.
+
+SQUIRE WRIGGS AT WOODVILLE.
+
+
+Bertha was deeply pained at the reckless wrong which her _protege_ had
+done, and more deeply by the cool indifference with which he carried
+himself after his voluntary confession. There was little to hope for
+while he manifested not a single sign of contrition for the crime
+committed. He was truly sorry for the grief he had caused her; but for
+his own sin he did not speak a word of regret.
+
+"I suppose I am to be a tinker now," said Noddy to her, with a smile,
+which looked absolutely awful to Bertha, for it was a token of depravity
+she could not bear to look upon.
+
+"I must leave you now, Noddy, for you are not good," replied Bertha,
+sadly.
+
+"I am sorry you feel so bad about me, Miss Bertha," added Noddy.
+
+"I wish you would be sorry for yourself, instead of me."
+
+"I am--sorry that you want to make a tinker of me;" and Noddy used this
+word to express his contempt of any mechanical occupation.
+
+He did not like to work. Patient, plodding labor, devoid of excitement,
+was his aversion; though handling a boat, cleaning out a gutter on some
+dizzy height of the mansion, or cutting off a limb at the highest point
+of the tallest shade tree on the estate, was entirely to his taste, and
+he did not regard anything as work which had a spice of danger or a
+thrill of excitement about it. He was not lazy, in the broad sense of
+the word; there was not a more active and restless person on the estate
+than himself. A shop, therefore, was a horror which he had no words to
+describe, and which he could never endure.
+
+"I want to see you in some useful occupation, where you can earn your
+living, and become a respectable man," said Bertha. "Don't you want to
+be a respectable man, Noddy?"
+
+"Well, I suppose I do; but I had rather be a vagabond than a respectable
+tinker."
+
+"You must work, Noddy, if you would win a good name, and enough of this
+world's goods to make you comfortable. Work and win; I give you this
+motto for your guidance. My father told me to lock you up in your room."
+
+"You may do that, Miss Bertha," laughed Noddy. "I don't care how much
+you lock me in. When I want to go out, I shall go. I shall work, and win
+my freedom."
+
+Noddy thought this application of Bertha's motto was funny, and he had
+the hardihood to laugh at it, till Bertha, hopeless of making any
+impression on him at the present time, left the room, and locked the
+door behind her.
+
+"Work and win!" said Noddy. "That's very pretty, and for Miss Bertha's
+sake I shall remember it; but I shan't work in any tinker's shop. I may
+as well take myself off, and go to work in my own way."
+
+Noddy was tired, after the exertions of the day; and so deeply and truly
+repentant was he for the wrong he had done, that he immediately went to
+sleep, though it was not yet dark. Neither the present nor the future
+seemed to give him any trouble; and if he could avoid the miseries of
+the tinker's shop, as he was perfectly confident he could, he did not
+concern himself about any of the prizes of life which are gained by
+honest industry or patient well doing.
+
+When it was quite dark, and Noddy had slept about two hours, the
+springing of the bolt in the lock of his door awoke him. He leaped to
+his feet, and his first thought was, that something was to be done with
+him for burning the boat-house. But the door opened, and, by the dim
+light which came through the window, he recognized the slight form of
+Fanny Grant.
+
+"Noddy," said she, timidly.
+
+"Well, Miss Fanny, have you come to let me out of jail?"
+
+"No; I came to see you, and nobody knows I am here. You won't expose
+me--will you?"
+
+"Of course I won't; that isn't much like me."
+
+"I know it isn't, Noddy. What did you say that you set the fire for?"
+
+"Because I thought that was the best way to settle the whole thing. Ben
+saw you come out of the boat-house, and told your father he believed you
+set the building on fire. That was the meanest thing the old man ever
+did. Why didn't he lay it to me, as he ought to have done?"
+
+"I suppose he knew you didn't do it."
+
+"That don't make any difference. He ought to have known better than tell
+your father it was you."
+
+"I am so sorry for what you have done!"
+
+"What are you sorry for? It won't hurt me, any how; and it would be an
+awful thing for you. They were going to make a tinker of me before, and
+I suppose they will do it now--if they can. I wouldn't care a fig for it
+if Miss Bertha didn't feel so bad about it."
+
+"I will tell her the truth."
+
+"Don't you do it, Miss Fanny. That wouldn't help me a bit, and will
+spoil you."
+
+"But I must tell the truth. They don't suspect me even of going on the
+water."
+
+"So much the better. They won't ask you any hard questions. Now, Miss
+Fanny, don't you say a word; for if you do, it will make it all the
+worse for me."
+
+"Why so, Noddy?"
+
+"Because, according to my notion, I did set the building afire. If I
+hadn't said what I did, you never would have thought of doing it. So I
+was the fellow that did it, after all. That's the whole truth, and
+nothing but the truth."
+
+"But you didn't set it afire, and you didn't mean to do any such thing."
+
+"That may be; but you wouldn't have done it if it hadn't been for me. It
+was more my fault than it was yours; and I want you to leave the thing
+just where it is now."
+
+"But it would be mean for me to stand still, and see you bear all the
+blame."
+
+"It would be enough sight meaner for you to say anything about it."
+
+"I don't think so."
+
+"I do; for don't you see it is a good deal worse for me to put you up to
+such a thing than it was for me to do it myself? Your father would
+forgive me for setting the fire sooner than they would for making you do
+it. I'm bad enough already, and they know it; but if they think I make
+you as bad as I am myself, they would put me in a worse place than a
+tinker's shop."
+
+Noddy's argument was too much for the feminine mind of Miss Fanny, and
+again she abandoned the purpose she had fully resolved upon, and decided
+not to confess her guilt. We must do her the justice to say, that she
+came to this conclusion, not from any fear of personal consequences, but
+in order to save Noddy from the terrible reproach which would be cast
+upon him if she did confess. Already, in her heart and before God, she
+had acknowledged her error, and was sorrowfully repenting her
+misconduct. But she could not expose Noddy to any penalty which he did
+not deserve. She knew that he did not mean to set the fire; that his
+words were idle, petulant ones, which had no real meaning; and it would
+be wrong to let her father and Bertha suppose that Noddy had instigated
+her to the criminal act.
+
+Fanny had not yet learned that it is best to cleave unto the truth, and
+let the consequences take care of themselves.
+
+She yielded her own convictions to those of another, which no person
+should ever do in questions of right and wrong.
+
+She sacrificed her own faith in the simple truth, to another's faith in
+policy, expediency.
+
+The question was settled for the present, and Fanny crept back to her
+chamber, no easier in mind, no better satisfied with herself, than
+before. Noddy went to sleep again; but the only cloud he saw was the
+displeasure of Bertha. He was simply conscious that he had got into a
+scrape. He had not burned the boat-house, and he did not feel guilty.
+He had not intended to induce Fanny to do the deed, and he did not feel
+guilty of that. He was so generous that he wished to save her from the
+consequences of her error, and the deception he used did not weigh very
+heavily on his conscience.
+
+He regarded his situation as merely a "scrape" into which he had
+accidentally fallen, and his only business was to get out of it. These
+thoughts filled his mind when he awoke in the morning. He was too
+restless to remain a quiet prisoner for any great length of time; and
+when he had dressed himself, he began to look about him for the means of
+mitigating his imprisonment, or bringing it to a conclusion, as the case
+might require. The window would be available at night, but it was in
+full view of the gardeners in the daytime, who would be likely to report
+any movement on his part. The door looked more hopeful.
+
+One of the men brought his breakfast, and retired, locking the door
+behind him. While he was eating it,--and his appetite did not seem to be
+at all impaired by the situation to which he had been reduced,--he saw
+Mr. Grant on the lawn, talking with a stranger. His interest was at once
+excited, and a closer examination assured him that the visitor was
+Squire Wriggs, of Whitestone. The discovery almost spoiled Noddy's
+appetite, for he knew that the squire was a lawyer, and had often been
+mixed up with cases of house-breaking, horse-stealing, robbery, and
+murder; and he at once concluded that the legal gentleman's business
+related to him.
+
+His ideas of lawyers were rather confused and indistinct. He knew they
+had a great deal to do in the court-house, when men were sent to the
+penitentiary and the house of correction for various crimes. He watched
+the squire and Mr. Grant, and he was fully satisfied in his own mind
+what they were talking about when the latter pointed to the window of
+his chamber. He had eaten only half his breakfast, but he found it
+impossible to take another mouthful, after he realized that he was the
+subject of the conversation between Mr. Grant and the lawyer.
+
+It seemed just as though all his friends, even Miss Bertha, had suddenly
+deserted him. That conference on the lawn was simply a plot to take him
+to the court-house, and then send him to the penitentiary, the house of
+correction, or some other abominable place, even if it were no worse
+than a tinker's shop. He was absolutely terrified at the prospect.
+After all his high hopes, and all his confidence in his supple limbs,
+the judges, the lawyers, and the constables might fetter his muscles so
+that he could not get away--so that he could not even run away to sea,
+which was his ultimate intention, whenever he could make up his mind to
+leave Miss Bertha.
+
+Noddy watched the two gentlemen on the lawn, and his breast was filled
+with a storm of emotions. He pictured the horrors of the prison to which
+they were about to send him, and his fancy made the prospect far worse
+than the reality could possibly have been. Mr. Grant led the way towards
+the building occupied by the servants. Noddy was desperate. Squire
+Wriggs was the visible manifestation of jails, courts, constables, and
+other abominations, which were the sum of all that was terrible. He
+decided at once not to wait for a visit from the awful personage, who
+was evidently coming into the house to see him.
+
+He raised the window a little, intending to throw it wide open, and leap
+down upon the lawn, when his persecutor entered the door. There was not
+a man or boy at Woodville who could catch him when he had the use of
+his legs, and the world would then be open to him. But the gentlemen
+paused at the door, and Noddy listened as a criminal would wait to hear
+his sentence from the stern judge.
+
+"Thirty thousand dollars is a great deal of money for a boy like him,"
+said Mr. Grant. "Of course he must have a guardian."
+
+"And you are the best person in the world for that position," added
+Squire Wriggs.
+
+"But he is a young reprobate, and something must be done with him."
+
+"Certainly; he must be taken care of at once."
+
+"I'm afraid he will burn my house down, as he did the boat-house. My
+daughter is interested in him; if it wasn't for her, I would send him to
+the house of correction before I slept again."
+
+"When you are his guardian, you can do what you think best for him."
+
+"That will be no easy matter."
+
+"We will take the boy over to the court now, and then--"
+
+Noddy did not hear any more, for the two gentlemen entered the house,
+and he heard their step on the stairs. But he did not want to know
+anything more. Squire Wriggs had distinctly said they would take him
+over to the court, and that was enough to satisfy him that his worst
+fears were to be realized. The talk about thirty thousand dollars, and
+the guardian, was as unintelligible to him as though it had been in
+ancient Greek, and he did not bestow a second thought upon it. The "boy
+like him," to whom thirty thousand dollars would be a great deal of
+money, meant some other person than himself. The court was Noddy's
+peculiar abomination; and when he heard the words, he clutched the sash
+of the window with convulsive energy.
+
+Mr. Grant and Squire Wriggs passed into the house, and Noddy Newman
+passed out. To a gymnast of his wiry experience, the feat was not
+impossible, or even very difficult. Swinging out of the window, he
+placed his feet on the window-cap below, and then, stooping down, he got
+hold with his hands, and slipped down from his perch with about the same
+ease with which a well-trained monkey would have accomplished the
+descent.
+
+He was on the solid earth now, and with the feeling that the court-house
+and a whole regiment of constables were behind him, he took to his
+heels. A stiff-kneed gardener, who had observed his exit from the
+house, attempted to follow him; but he might as well have chased a
+northwest gale. Noddy reached the Glen, and no sound of pursuers could
+be heard. The phantom court-house had been beaten in the race.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI.
+
+NODDY'S ENGAGEMENT.
+
+
+When Noddy reached the Glen, he had time to stop and think; and the
+consequences of the sudden step he had taken came to his mind with
+tremendous force. He had fled from Miss Bertha, and all the comforts and
+luxuries which had surrounded him at Woodville. He was a vagabond again.
+
+It was a great deal better to be a vagabond than it was to be an inmate
+of a prison, or even of a tinker's shop. He had committed no crime; the
+worst that could be said of him was, that he was a victim of
+circumstances. It was unfortunate for him that he had used those
+petulant words, that he wished the boat-house was burned down, for they
+had put the idea into Fanny's head. He did not mean to kindle the fire,
+but he believed that he had been the cause of it, and that it was hardly
+fair to let the young lady suffer for what he had virtually done.
+
+He was sorry to leave Woodville, and above all, sorry to be banished
+from the presence of Miss Bertha. But that had already been agreed upon,
+and he was only anticipating the event by taking himself off as he did.
+He would rather have gone in a more honorable manner than running away
+like a hunted dog; but he could not help that, and the very thought of
+the horrible court-house was enough to drive him from the best home in
+the world.
+
+He walked up to a retired part of the Glen, where he could continue his
+retreat without being intercepted, if it became necessary, and sat down
+on a rock to think of the future. He had no more idea what he should do
+with himself, than he had when he was a wanderer before in these
+regions. Undoubtedly his ultimate purpose was to go to sea; but he was
+not quite ready to depart. He cherished a hope that he might contrive to
+meet Bertha in some of her walks, and say good-bye to her before he
+committed himself to his fortunes on the stormy ocean.
+
+While he was deliberating upon his prospects, a happy thought, as he
+regarded it, came to his mind. He could turn somersets, and cut more
+capers than any man in the circus company which he had seen on the
+preceding day. With a little practice, he was satisfied that he could
+learn to stand up on the back of a horse. A field of glory suddenly
+opened to his vision, and he could win the applause of admiring
+thousands by his daring feats. He had performed all sorts of gyrations
+for the amusement of the idlers about Woodville, and he might now turn
+his accomplishments to a useful purpose--indeed, make them pay for his
+food and clothing.
+
+Noddy had no idea that circus performances were not entirely
+respectable; and it seemed to him that his early training had exactly
+fitted him to shine in this peculiar sphere. It might not be decent
+business for Mr. Grant and Bertha, but it was just the thing for him.
+Whitestone was a very large town, and the circus was still there. He had
+not a moment to lose; and, under the impulse of his new resolution, he
+left the Glen, intending to walk up the river to the ferry, a couple of
+miles distant.
+
+Noddy went over the river, and reached the great tent of the circus
+company about one o'clock. He was rather disturbed by the fear that he
+might meet Squire Wriggs, or some of the constables; but all his hopes
+were now centred on the circus, and he could not avoid the risk of
+exposing himself. He boldly inquired for the "head man" of the
+establishment; but this distinguished functionary was not on the
+premises at that time; he would be there in the course of half an hour.
+
+He walked down to a shop, and having a small sum of money in his pocket,
+he obtained something to eat. On his return to the tent, the head man
+was pointed out to him. Noddy, as a general rule, was not troubled with
+bashfulness; and he walked resolutely up to the manager, and intimated
+to him that he should like to be engaged as a performer.
+
+"What do you want, my boy?" demanded the head man, who was quite
+confident that he had mistaken the applicant's meaning, for it was
+hardly possible that a youth like him could be a circus performer.
+
+"I want a place to perform, sir," repeated Noddy, who was entirely
+ignorant of the technical terms belonging to the profession.
+
+"To perform!" laughed the manager, measuring him from head to foot with
+his eye.
+
+"Yes, sir."
+
+"What kind of business can you do, my boy?"
+
+"Almost anything, sir."
+
+"Do you ride?"
+
+"No, sir; I'm not much used to standing up on a horse, but I think I
+could go it, after doing it a little while."
+
+"Do you, indeed!" sneered the man. "Well, we don't want anybody that can
+do almost any kind of business."
+
+"I'm used to this thing, sir," pleaded Noddy.
+
+"Used to it! I suppose you want a place as a bill-sticker, or to take
+care of the horses."
+
+"No, sir; I want to perform. If you will give me a chance to show what I
+can do, I think you'll have me," persisted Noddy, not at all pleased
+with the decided refusal he had received.
+
+"Well, come in here," laughed the head man, who had no doubt that the
+applicant would soon be brought to grief.
+
+It was almost time for the doors to be opened for the afternoon
+performance, and the man conducted Noddy to the ring, where he saw a
+number of the riders and gymnasts, all dressed in their silks and
+spangles to appear before the public.
+
+"Here, Whippleby, is a young man that wants an engagement," said the
+manager to the man who had acted as ring-master when Noddy was present.
+
+"What can he do?"
+
+"Almost everything; but he isn't much used to riding."
+
+Whippleby laughed, and the manager laughed; and it was quite evident,
+even to the aspirant for circus honors, that all present intended to
+amuse themselves at his expense. But Noddy felt able to outdo most of
+the circus people at their own profession, and he confidently expected
+to turn the laugh upon them before the game was ended.
+
+"A versatile genius," said Whippleby.
+
+"Just try him, and see what he can do," added the manager,
+significantly.
+
+"Well, my little man, what do you say to a little ground and lofty
+tumbling," said Whippleby, winking at the performers, who stood in a
+circle around them.
+
+"I'm at home in that," replied Noddy, throwing off his jacket.
+
+"Good! You have got pluck enough, at any rate. Here, Nesmond, do
+something," said the ring-master to a wiry young man of the group.
+
+Nesmond did what Noddy had seen him do the day before; he whirled over
+and over across the ring, like a hoop, striking his hands and feet
+alternately on the ground.
+
+"There, youngster, do you see that?" said Whippleby.
+
+"Yes, sir, I see it," replied Noddy, unabashed by the work which was
+expected of him.
+
+"Now, let us see you do it."
+
+Noddy did it, and if anything, more rapidly and gracefully than the
+professional man. The men applauded, and Nesmond--"the great American
+vaulter and tumbler"--looked exceedingly disconcerted when he saw his
+wonderful act so easily imitated.
+
+"Try it again, Nesmond," said Whippleby.
+
+The distinguished athlete went on for half an hour, performing his
+antics; and Noddy repeated them, though he had never before attempted
+some of them. Nesmond gave it up.
+
+"Well, young man, you can do almost everything, but you are as clumsy
+and ungraceful as a bear about it. You need a little training on your
+positions, and you will make a first-class tumbler," said the manager.
+
+The men had ceased to laugh, and even looked admiringly on the prodigy
+who had so suddenly developed himself. Noddy felt that his fortune was
+already made, and he was almost ready to snap his fingers at the
+court-house. Here was a chance for him to "work and win," and it was
+entirely to his taste.
+
+The manager then questioned him in regard to his family connections; but
+as Noddy had none, his answers were very brief. He had no father nor
+mother, and he had no home; he was no runaway, for there was no one
+living who had any claim upon him. These answers were entirely
+satisfactory to the head man.
+
+"What salary do you expect?" asked the manager, when he had assured
+himself there was no one to interfere with any arrangement he might
+make.
+
+"What do you give?" asked Noddy.
+
+"Well, we give different salaries, depending on the men."
+
+"You have seen what I can do--what will you give me? Talk right up, or I
+shall have nothing to do with it," added Noddy, borrowing an expression
+from a highly respectable horse jockey, who had a language of his own.
+
+"I'll give you your board and clothes, and your dresses for the first
+season."
+
+"Nothing of that sort for me," replied Noddy, promptly. "I want to know
+how much I am to have in hard cash."
+
+"Very well; I'll give you five dollars a week, and you find yourself."
+
+Five dollars a week looked like a large salary to Noddy, though it was
+not one-fourth of what the distinguished Mr. Nesmond received, and he
+immediately closed the bargain.
+
+"I'll put you on the bills for the next town we visit. What's your
+name?"
+
+"Noddy Newman."
+
+"What?"
+
+The embryo performer repeated his name.
+
+"That won't do; you must have a better name than that. Arthur De
+Forrest--how will that suit you?"
+
+"First rate," replied Noddy, who was very accommodating in minor
+matters.
+
+"We show in Disbury to-morrow night, and you must be ready to do your
+business then, Mr. De Forrest," added the manager. "After the
+performance this afternoon Mr. Whippleby will give you a few lessons."
+
+"But where shall I get a dress?"
+
+"I will furnish you one, and take it out of your salary. You had better
+put it on when you practice, so as to get used to it."
+
+Noddy was highly pleased with all these arrangements, and could not help
+congratulating himself on the happy thought which had induced him to
+join the circus. It was true, and he could not help noticing it, that
+the men around him were not such people as Mr. Grant, and others whom he
+had been in the habit of seeing at Woodville. All of them swore
+terribly; their breath smelt of liquor, and they talked the language of
+a depravity to which Noddy, with all his waywardness, was a stranger.
+There were boys no older than himself in the company, but they did not
+seem a whit less depraved than the older ones.
+
+Though the novice was not a young man of high aims and purposes, he was
+not much pleased with his companions. He was what they termed "green,"
+and it was quite plain to him that there would be a fight before many
+days had passed by, for he was too high-spirited to submit tamely to the
+insults which were heaped upon him.
+
+During the afternoon performance, he stood at the gates of the ring,
+where the horses enter; and Mr. Whippleby sent him before the public for
+the first time, to bring out a whip which had been left there.
+
+"Noddy Newman!" shouted a boy among the spectators.
+
+The young athlete heard his name, and too late he remembered that he had
+exposed himself to the gaze of the constables, who might by this time be
+in search of him. During the rest of the afternoon he kept himself out
+of sight; but the mischief had already been done.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII.
+
+THE RING-MASTER.
+
+
+When the performance was over, Noddy, with the assistance of one of his
+companions, dressed himself in "trunk and tights," and appeared in the
+ring to take his first lesson in graceful movements. He could turn the
+somersets, and go through with the other evolutions; but there was a
+certain polish needed--so the ring-master said--to make them pass off
+well. He was to assume a graceful position at the beginning and end of
+each act; he must recover himself without clumsiness; he must bow, and
+make a flourish with his hands, when he had done a brilliant thing.
+
+Noddy had not much taste for this branch of the profession. He did not
+like the bowing and the flourishing. If the feat itself did not please
+the people, he could not win them by smirking. He was much pleased with
+his costume, and this kept him good-natured, under the severe training
+of the ring-master, for a time. Mr. Whippleby was coarse and rough in
+his manners. During the show he had been all grace and elegance, and did
+not use any big words, but now he was as rough as a bear, and swore like
+a pirate. He was just like a cat's paw,--he kept the sharp claws down
+while the dear people were present; but now he thrust them out.
+
+Noddy found the "business" was no joke. Mr. Whippleby did not so regard
+it, now that the training had commenced; and the novice found that he
+had placed himself under a very tyrannical master. He made his bows and
+flourished his arms, with all the grace he could command for a time; but
+he did not come up to his severe teacher's standard.
+
+"Do that again," said Mr. Whippleby, with savage emphasis. "Don't hurry
+it."
+
+Noddy did it again, as slowly as he could; but he was apparently just as
+far from perfection as before.
+
+"If you don't do better than that, I'll put the whip around your legs!"
+shouted the impatient ring-master. "One of the mules could do it
+better."
+
+"I did it as well as I could," replied Noddy, rather tartly.
+
+"You will do it better than that, or your legs will smart. Now do it
+again."
+
+Noddy obeyed. He did not think the ring-master really intended to strike
+him with the long whip he held in his hand, but supposed he was so much
+in the habit of threatening the clown with the lash, that he did it now
+from the force of habit. His last attempt did not satisfy Mr. Whippleby,
+who stormed at him more furiously than before.
+
+"Do you think I have nothing better to do than waste my time over a
+blockhead like you? I haven't had my bitters yet. Now do it again; and
+if you fail this time you will catch it."
+
+Noddy turned his somerset; but he had hardly recovered himself before he
+received a smart cut from the whip in the tenderest part of his leg.
+There was a young lion in the novice, and a blow from any man was more
+than he could endure. He expressed his mind in regard to the outrage
+with such freedom, that Mr. Whippleby lost his temper, if he ever had
+any to lose, and he began to lash the unfortunate youth in the most
+brutal manner.
+
+Noddy, finding there was no satisfaction to be obtained by facing the
+ring-master, fled from the spot, leaping up on the seats where the
+spectators sat. He was maddened to fury by the harsh treatment he had
+received; and thirsting for vengeance, he seized whatever missiles he
+could find, and hurled them at his persecutor. His legs seemed to be on
+fire from the effects of the blows he had received. He rubbed them for a
+moment, while he hurled the most bitter denunciations at the
+ring-master.
+
+"Now, come down, and try again," called Mr. Whippleby, who did not seem
+to be much disconcerted by what had taken place, when he had in some
+measure recovered his equanimity.
+
+"No, I won't!" replied Noddy.
+
+"Have you got enough, Mr. Arthur De Forrest?"
+
+"I will give _you_ enough before you get through."
+
+While this colloquy was going on, the manager appeared in the ring.
+Whippleby laughingly told him what had happened, and he seemed to be
+much amused by it; but the ring-master had certainly changed his tone at
+the appearance of the "head man."
+
+"Come, my boy, come down, and let me see how well you do your business,"
+said the manager.
+
+"I've had enough of it," replied Noddy, as he returned to the ring.
+"I'm not a horse, and I'm not going to be treated like one."
+
+"That's your initiation, my boy," said Whippleby. "We always try new
+beginners in that way, to find out what they are made of."
+
+"You will find out what I'm made of, if you hit me again with that
+whip."
+
+"I know now. You won't need any more, if you try to do what you are
+told."
+
+"I'm not going to be whipped, whether I try or not," added Noddy,
+doggedly.
+
+"You shall not be whipped, my boy," said the manager. "Now show me your
+ground act."
+
+The novice was about to comply,--for he had already come to the
+conclusion that the "head man" would protect him,--when he saw two men
+enter the tent. They did not belong to the company, and Noddy was quite
+sure he had often seen them in Whitestone.
+
+"We don't allow visitors in here now," said the manager.
+
+"We come on business. There is a boy here that we want to find," replied
+one of the men.
+
+"You must leave the tent," said the manager, rather sharply.
+
+"I am a constable, and there is a boy about here that I want."
+
+"What's his name?"
+
+"They call him Noddy Newman."
+
+"What do you want of him?"
+
+"That's my business," answered the constable, rudely. "The boy came into
+the ring this afternoon during the show, and I suppose he belongs to the
+company."
+
+"That's the fellow!" exclaimed the other constable, pointing to Noddy,
+who was trying to take himself off without being noticed.
+
+"That's Arthur De Forrest," interposed the manager.
+
+"No, it isn't; I've known him this five years," said the man who had
+recognized the culprit.
+
+Both of them walked towards Noddy, with the intention, apparently, of
+laying violent hands on him; but the young gentleman in "trunk and
+tights" was not prepared to yield up his personal liberty, and he
+retreated.
+
+The officers were in a position where they could stop him from leaving
+the tent by either of the two entrances; and Noddy, finding his exit
+prevented, seized a rope which was hanging down by the centre-pole, and
+climbed up out of the reach of his pursuers.
+
+"What do you want of me?" demanded the young athlete, as he perched
+himself in a comfortable position on the "slack-rope," which was
+suspended to the pole.
+
+"We shall not do you any harm, my boy," said one of the officers.
+
+"What do you want of me?"
+
+"There is good news for you; and you are wanted over at Squire Wriggs's
+office."
+
+"I know ye! You want to take me to the court-house. You can't humbug
+me," said Noddy, fully confirmed in his suspicions by the conduct of the
+men.
+
+"We won't hurt you."
+
+"You want to take me up."
+
+"No, we don't; we only want to take you up to Squire Wriggs's office.
+It's all for your good."
+
+"No, you don't," replied Noddy. "You can't cheat me."
+
+"We don't want to cheat you. We are only sent to find you. We will not
+arrest you."
+
+"I know better. You can't fool me. I heard Squire Wriggs say he wanted
+to take me up to the court-house; and you don't catch me near no
+court-house. I know what you mean."
+
+"You are mistaken, my boy. Come down, and I will tell you all about it."
+
+"When I do, you let me know," replied Noddy, who felt so secure from
+arrest in his present quarters that he expressed his mind with perfect
+freedom.
+
+"We promise not to arrest you," persisted the constable who did the
+talking. "We have been looking for you all day."
+
+"You may look another day, if you like," added the defiant refugee. "You
+want me for setting fire to the boat-house; but I am not to blame, if I
+did do it."
+
+"We don't know anything about the boat-house; Squire Wriggs has a lot of
+money for you."
+
+"You can't catch an old bird in any such trap as that," answered Noddy,
+shaking his head significantly.
+
+The officers used all their powers of persuasion to induce him to come
+down; but Noddy, satisfied that they had been sent by Squire Wriggs, was
+fully persuaded that they were trying to deceive him. The story about a
+"lot of money" for a poor boy like him, who had not a friend in the
+world, was too absurd, in his estimation, to be entertained for a
+moment. He had heard the squire speak to Mr. Grant about thirty thousand
+dollars; but such a sum was beyond his comprehension. He did not believe
+any man, not even the owner of Woodville, had so much money; and of
+course it was nothing to him.
+
+The constables got out of patience at last; and though they showed no
+signs of anger or malice, they exhibited an intention to catch him,
+which was much worse. One of them commenced the ascent of the pole in
+the centre of the tent. The circus people, who seemed to be in full
+sympathy with Noddy, remained neutral, for the intruders were officers
+of the law, and it was not prudent to oppose them.
+
+Noddy perceived the object of his pursuers, and grasping one of the
+tent-ropes, he scrambled up to the very apex of the canvas structure,
+and crawled through the aperture around the pole. From this point he
+slid down to the short poles, and then dropped upon the ground, before
+the man in the ring could pass round to the outside of the tent. Dodging
+under the curtains, he reached the place which served as a
+dressing-room. Removing his "trunks," he hurried on his clothes, and
+rushed out into the open air again.
+
+His persecutors were not in sight, and he did not lose a moment in
+putting a safe distance between himself and them. Precisely as a
+well-educated duck or other water-fowl would have done, he hastened to
+the river, as his most natural element. He had made a complete circuit
+of the town in his flight. He did not dare to show himself to a living
+being; for it seemed to him just as though the whole country was after
+him. When he reached the river, he sat down on the bank, exhausted by
+his efforts and by the excitement of the afternoon.
+
+"I reckon I've got about circus enough," said he to himself,--for there
+was no one else to whom he could say it. "That Whippleby is worse than a
+heathen. I don't like any of them."
+
+He rubbed his legs, which were not yet done smarting; and the pain
+seemed to be an emphatic protest against circuses in general, and the
+"Great Olympian Circus" in particular. But whether he liked the circus
+or not, it was no longer safe for him to remain with the company. He had
+taken "French leave" of the manager, and had cheated him out of the
+tights which enveloped his body from neck to heels. This thought
+reminded him that they did not feel at all comfortable, and he wished
+the manager had his own again.
+
+Having abandoned the circus profession in disgust, he wondered what he
+should do next. It was useless for him to stay in the vicinity of
+Woodville; and the only safe plan for him to adopt was, to go away to
+some other part of the country, or go to sea at once. He could not
+tolerate the idea of leaving without letting Bertha know where he was.
+The officers were on his track, and he could not hope always to escape
+them. The court-house was terrible, and prompt action was necessary.
+
+He must have a sight of Bertha, even if he did not speak to her; and at
+the risk of being captured, he determined to stay in the neighborhood of
+Woodville till the next morning. Near the place where he sat there was a
+skiff moored to the bank. He hauled it in, and took up the oars. He did
+not mean to steal it, only to borrow it till the next morning. With this
+comfortable reflection he cast off the painter, and pulled over to the
+other side of the river.
+
+It was now quite late in the evening. He had not eaten any supper, and,
+like other boys, he was always hungry at meal times. He wanted something
+to eat; and it occurred to him that there were generally some crackers
+and cheese in the locker of the Greyhound, and he rowed down to her
+moorings. He found what he wanted there, and made a hearty supper. He
+was satisfied then, and soon went to sleep in the stern-sheets of the
+sail-boat.
+
+Fortunately for him he waked up about daylight, and was not seen by any
+of the early risers at Woodville. Appropriating the rest of the crackers
+and cheese for his breakfast, he got into the skiff and rowed up to the
+Glen, where he hoped, in the course of the forenoon, to see Bertha.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII.
+
+GOOD-BYE TO WOODVILLE.
+
+
+Bertha often walked to the Glen before breakfast, and Noddy expected to
+find her there on the present occasion. As she did not appear, he
+followed the path toward Woodville, and actually reached the lawn which
+surrounded the mansion before he thought of the danger he incurred. But
+it was breakfast time in the servants' quarters, and he was not seen.
+
+Keeping on the outskirts of the lawn, where he could make good his
+retreat in case of necessity, he walked nearly around to the pier, and
+was so fortunate as to discover Bertha at the turn of a winding path,
+near his route. The sight of her filled him with emotion, and brought to
+his mind the remembrance of the many happy days he had spent in her
+presence. He could hardly restrain the tears which the thought of
+leaving the place brought to his eyes, though Noddy was not given to
+the feminine custom of weeping.
+
+"Miss Bertha," said he, as she approached the spot where he stood.
+
+She started back with alarm; but he stepped forward from the concealment
+of the bushes, and with a smile of pleasure she recognized him.
+
+"Why, Noddy, is that you?" said she, walking towards the spot where he
+stood.
+
+"It's me, Miss Bertha; but I suppose you don't want to see me now."
+
+"I am very glad to see you. What did you go away for?"
+
+"Because they were going to put me in the court-house."
+
+"In the court-house!" exclaimed Bertha, who was better acquainted with
+legal affairs than her pupil.
+
+"Yes, for setting the boat-house afire."
+
+"I don't think they intended to take you to the court-house."
+
+"O, I know they did. I have had two constables after me; but I got away
+from them. Besides, I heard Squire Wriggs say they were going to take me
+to the court-house. I heard him say so myself."
+
+"Perhaps it is so," said Bertha, musing. "Squire Wriggs came to see
+father yesterday morning. They went out together, and were speaking of
+you as they left the house."
+
+"I'm glad you didn't have anything to do with it," said Noddy, delighted
+to find that Bertha was not one of his persecutors.
+
+Then, with the utmost simplicity, and apparently with the feeling that
+he was a persecuted youth, he told her everything that had occurred from
+the time he first saw Mr. Grant and Squire Wriggs on the lawn.
+
+"I don't know what my father's plans are," said Bertha, sadly; "but he
+thinks it is no longer safe to permit you to roam about the place. He is
+afraid you will set the house on fire, or do some other terrible thing."
+
+"But I wouldn't, Miss Bertha," protested Noddy.
+
+"Why did you do such a wicked thing?"
+
+"I couldn't help it."
+
+"Yes, you could, Noddy. That's only making a bad matter worse. Of course
+you could help setting a building on fire."
+
+"It wasn't my fault, Miss Bertha," stammered he; "I can't explain it
+now--perhaps some time I may; and when you understand it, you won't
+think so bad of me."
+
+"If there is anything about it I don't know, why don't you tell me?"
+added Bertha, mystified by his strange remark.
+
+"I can't say anything now. Please don't ask me anything about it, Miss
+Bertha. I'm not half so much to blame as you think I am; but I set the
+fire, and they are after me for it. They have used all sorts of tricks
+to catch me; but I'm not going into any court-house, or any tinker's
+shop."
+
+"What tricks do you mean?"
+
+"They said they had a lot of money for me, and that Squire Wriggs
+wouldn't do me any harm."
+
+"Well, I don't know anything about that. Father went over to Whitestone
+with Squire Wriggs, after you ran away. He went over again last night,
+after he came from the city, and I haven't seen him for more than a
+moment since."
+
+"He is going to send me to the court-house," said Noddy, fully satisfied
+that Bertha knew nothing about the proceedings of her father. "I am
+going to sea, now."
+
+"To sea, Noddy?"
+
+"Yes, I'm going to work and win, as you told me, and when I come back I
+shall be respectable."
+
+Bertha had her doubts on this point. She had almost lost all hope of her
+_protege_, and she did not think that a voyage in the forecastle of a
+ship would be likely to improve his manners or his morals.
+
+"I can't let you go, Noddy," said she.
+
+"I must go; if I stay here they will put me in prison. You don't want to
+see me put in prison, Bertha."
+
+"I don't."
+
+"Then what can I do? The officers are after me this moment."
+
+"But I shall have to tell my father that I have seen you."
+
+"You may do that; and you may tell him, too, that it won't be any use
+for him to try to find me, for I shall keep out of the way. If they
+catch me they will be smarter than I am," added Noddy, confidently.
+
+"I want to see you again, Noddy, after I have talked with father about
+you. I don't believe he intends to send you to prison."
+
+"I know he does. I come over here to see you before I went away. I
+couldn't go without seeing you, or I shouldn't have come. I may never
+see you again, for I shan't run any more risks after this."
+
+Bertha said all she could to induce him to meet her again; but the
+cunning youth was afraid that some trap might be set to catch him, and
+he assured her that this was positively his last appearance at Woodville
+for the present. He was satisfied that Mr. Grant had taken the case into
+his own hands, and that she could not save him if she would.
+
+"Now, good-bye, Miss Bertha," said he, wiping a tear from his face.
+
+"Don't go, Noddy," pleaded she.
+
+"I must."
+
+"You haven't any clothes but those you have on, and you have no money."
+
+"I don't want any. I can get along very well. Won't you shake hands with
+me before I go?"
+
+"Certainly, I will," replied she, giving him her hand. "You will not let
+me do anything for you now?"
+
+"You have done more than I deserve. Good-bye, Miss Bertha," said he,
+pressing the hand he held.
+
+"Good-bye, Noddy," replied she. "Good-bye, if you must go."
+
+"There comes your father," exclaimed he, as he bounded off into the
+grove with the speed of an antelope.
+
+"Was that Noddy?" asked Mr. Grant, as he joined Bertha a few minutes
+later.
+
+"Yes, father."
+
+"Why didn't you tell me he was here, Bertha?"
+
+"He came but a few moments ago. He came to bid me good-bye."
+
+"Where is he going?"
+
+"He is going to sea. He says you intend to take him to the court-house."
+
+"This is very unfortunate. A most remarkable event in regard to the boy
+has occurred, which I haven't time to tell you about now. It is very
+important that I should find him at once."
+
+"I don't think you can catch him. He is very much afraid of being sent
+to prison."
+
+"I had no intention of sending him to prison," laughed Mr. Grant.
+
+"But he heard Squire Wriggs say he must take him over to the court."
+
+"That was for another matter--in a word, to have a guardian appointed,
+for Noddy will be a rich man when he is of age."
+
+"Noddy?" exclaimed Bertha.
+
+"Yes; but I haven't a moment to spare. I have been at work on his
+affairs since yesterday morning. They are all right now; and all we want
+to enable us to complete the business is the presence of the boy."
+
+"Poor fellow! He is terribly worked up at the idea of going to the
+court-house, or even to a tinker's shop, as he calls it."
+
+"Well, he is running away from his own fortune and happiness; and I must
+find him."
+
+"I hope you will, father," said Bertha, earnestly, as Mr. Grant hastened
+away to organize a pursuit of the refugee.
+
+All the male servants on the place were summoned, and several started
+off in the direction in which Noddy had retreated. The boatman and
+others were sent off in the boats; and the prospect was, that the
+fugitive would be captured within a few hours. As our story relates more
+especially to the runaway himself, we shall follow him, and leave the
+well-meaning people of Woodville to pursue their investigations alone.
+
+When Noddy discovered Mr. Grant, he was satisfied that the gentleman saw
+him, for he quickened his pace, and walked towards the place where he
+stood holding Bertha's hand. He ran with all his might by the familiar
+paths till he reached the Glen. There were, at present, no signs of a
+pursuit; but he was confident that it would not be delayed, and he did
+not even stop to take breath. Rushing down to the water, he embarked in
+the skiff, and rowed up the river, taking care to keep in shore, where
+he could not be seen from below.
+
+Above Van Alstine's Island, he crossed the river, and began to work his
+way down; but the white sails of the Greyhound were seen, with all the
+boats belonging to the estate, headed up stream. They were chasing him
+in earnest, and he saw that it was not safe to remain on the river.
+
+"Do you know where Mr. Grover lives?" he asked of a ragged boy who was
+fishing on the bank of the river.
+
+"Below Whitestone?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"Will you take this boat down there?"
+
+"I will," replied the boy, glad of the job, and willing to do it without
+any compensation.
+
+Noddy had taken off the tights belonging to the circus company, and
+rolled them up in a bundle. In order to be as honest as Bertha had
+taught him to be,--though he was not always so particular,--he engaged
+the boy to leave them at the circus tent.
+
+The boy got into the boat, and began his trip down the river. Noddy felt
+that he had been honest, and he was rather proud of the record he was to
+leave behind him; for it did not once occur to him that borrowing the
+boat without leave was only a little better than stealing it, even if he
+did return it.
+
+The servants at Woodville and the constables at Whitestone were on his
+track, and he had no time to spare. Taking a road leading from the
+river, he walked away from it as fast as he could. About three miles
+distant, he found a road leading to the northward; and thinking it
+better to suffer by excess of prudence than by the want of it, he took
+this direction, and pursued his journey till he was so tired he could go
+no farther.
+
+A farmer on the road gave him some dinner; and when he had rested
+himself, he resumed his walk. At sunset he reached a large town on the
+river, where he felt safe from pursuit until he saw the flaming
+hand-bills of the Great Olympian Circus, which was almost as bad as
+meeting one of the constables, for these worthies would expect to find
+him at the tent, and probably were on the watch for him.
+
+Noddy was too tired to walk any farther that day. He wanted to reach
+some large seaport, like New York or Boston, where he could find a
+vessel bound on a foreign voyage. He was almost afraid to go to the
+former city, for he had heard about the smart detectives they have
+there, who catch any person guilty of crime, though they never saw him
+before. He had told Bertha that he intended to go to sea; and he was
+afraid that Mr. Grant would be on the watch for him, or set some of
+these detectives to catch him, if he went there.
+
+It was almost time for the steamers for Albany, which went up in the
+night, to reach the town, and he determined to go on board of one, and
+proceed as far up the river as he could with the small sum of money in
+his possession. He soon found the landing-place, and presently a steamer
+came along.
+
+"Where do you want to go, boy?" asked one of the officers of the boat.
+
+"I want to go to Albany; but I haven't money enough to pay my fare."
+
+"How much money have you got?"
+
+"Thirty-five cents. I will go as far as that will pay my fare."
+
+"That will only be to the next landing-place."
+
+"Couldn't you give me some work to do, to pay my fare up to Albany?"
+
+The officer happened to be rather pleased with Noddy, and told him he
+might stand by and help land the baggage at the stopping-places. He gave
+the little wanderer some supper in the mess-room, after the boat got
+off, and Noddy was as grateful as though the man had given him a gold
+mine. When the steamer made another landing, he worked with all his
+might, and was highly commended for his skill and activity.
+
+And so he passed the night, sleeping between the stoppages, and working
+like a mule at every landing. In the morning the boat reached Albany,
+and the officer gave him his breakfast with the engineers. Noddy felt
+safe from pursuit now; he went on shore, and walked about the city,
+thinking what he should do next.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX.
+
+AN ATTEMPT TO WORK AND WIN.
+
+
+Boston was two hundred miles distant, and Noddy was principally excited
+to know how he should get there, for he had decided to ship in that
+city. It would take him a week to go on foot, and his funds were now
+completely exhausted, so that he could not pay his fare by railroad. If
+he could neither ride nor walk, the question was narrowed down to a
+point where it needed no further consideration.
+
+"Here, boy, do you want a job?" said a gentleman, coming out of a
+dwelling with a valise and a large bundle in his hands.
+
+"Yes, sir; thank you, sir," replied Noddy, springing forward, and taking
+the heavier articles, without giving the gentleman the trouble to state
+what he wanted of him.
+
+This incident seemed to solve the problem for him. He could remain in
+Albany long enough to earn a sufficient sum of money to pay his fare to
+Boston. He followed the gentleman to the railroad station, and handed
+the valise to the baggage-master. The gentleman gave him a quarter of a
+dollar for his services. It was a liberal return for the short time he
+had been employed, and a few more such jobs as that would soon put him
+in funds.
+
+Noddy was sanguine now that he could earn money with entire ease, and
+all the difficulties which had beset him began to disappear. There was
+something exceedingly pleasant in the idea of being independent; of
+putting his hand into his pocket and always finding some money there
+which had been earned by his own labor. It was a novel sensation to him.
+
+"Work and win!" exclaimed he, as he walked out of the railroad station.
+"I understand it all now, and I may thank Miss Bertha for the idea."
+
+In the enthusiasm of the moment, he began to consider whether it would
+not be better to remain on shore and amass a fortune, which he believed
+could be done in a short time. He could carry bundles and valises till
+he got money enough to buy a horse and wagon, when he could go into the
+business on a more extensive scale. The road to fortune was open to him;
+all his trials and difficulties had suddenly vanished, and he had only
+to reach out his hand to pluck the golden harvest.
+
+The rattling of a train which had just arrived disturbed this pleasant
+dream, and Noddy hastened back to secure the fruit of his brilliant
+resolution. There were plenty of gentlemen with bags and valises in
+their hands, but not a single one of them wanted any assistance; and
+some of them answered his civil salutation with insult and harshness.
+The experiment did not work so well as he had anticipated, for Noddy's
+great expectations led him to believe that he should make about half a
+dollar out of the arrival of this train, instead of which he did not
+make a single cent.
+
+"Work and win; but where are you going to get your work?" said Noddy to
+himself.
+
+No more trains were to arrive for some hours, and he posted himself in
+the street, asking for a job whenever there was the least prospect of
+obtaining one. At noon, Noddy was hungry, and was obliged to spend half
+his morning's earnings for a coarse dinner, for his circumstances did
+not permit him to indulge in the luxury of roast beef and plum pudding.
+During the afternoon he lay in wait for a job at the railroad stations,
+and in the most public places of the city. But the sum of his earnings
+was only five cents.
+
+"Work and win!" said he. "Sum total of day's work, thirty cents; not
+enough to buy what I want to eat. It don't pay."
+
+If work did not pay, stealing certainly would not; and we are happy to
+say, Bertha Grant had done her duty by him so faithfully, that he did
+not feel tempted to resort to any irregular means of obtaining a
+subsistence. If work did not pay, it was only because he could not
+obtain it. He had not yet struck a productive vein. He had been a
+fishing a great many times; but when he had no success, he neither
+concluded that fish were not good, nor that there were no fish in the
+river.
+
+There was a train to arrive, after dark, from New York city, and he
+determined to make one more effort to improve his fortunes. As the
+passengers came out of the station with small parcels of baggage in
+their hands, he offered his services to them. His heart almost leaped
+with rapture when a gentleman handed him a small carpet-bag, and told
+him to follow to the Delavan House. He took the bag, and then, to his
+horror, he discovered that the gentleman was Mr. Grant!
+
+What had brought him to Albany? As Noddy's sphere of observation was
+confined to the little world of his own affairs, he concluded that the
+owner of Woodville must be there for the purpose of arresting him.
+Probably some of those smart constables had traced him to the town where
+he had embarked for Albany. Again the horrors of the court-house, the
+jail, and the tinker's shop were present to his mind. He had taken the
+valise, and was now following Mr. Grant to the hotel. It was dark at the
+place where he had received the carpet-bag, otherwise he would have been
+recognized.
+
+Noddy had no doubt in regard to the correctness of his conclusions; and
+he could not help thinking that a great man, like Mr. Grant, was taking
+a good deal of pains to capture a poor boy, like him. His arrest was a
+matter of a great deal more consequence than he had supposed, which made
+it all the more necessary to his future peace and happiness that he
+should escape. The bag tied him to his persecutor, or he would have run
+away as fast as he could. He could not carry off the baggage, for that
+would subject him to another penalty, even if he had been dishonest
+enough to do such a thing. He decided to follow Mr. Grant to the hotel,
+drop the bag, and run.
+
+"Boy, do you know where the police office is?" said Mr. Grant, suddenly
+turning round upon him.
+
+"No, sir," replied Noddy, whose natural boldness prompted him, when
+fairly cornered, to face the danger.
+
+"What! Noddy?" exclaimed Mr. Grant. "I came to look for you."
+
+"Thank you, sir," replied Noddy.
+
+"You were a foolish fellow to run away. I'm not going to hurt you;
+neither is anybody else."
+
+Noddy was not a little astonished to find Mr. Grant, in his own homely
+terms, "trying it on" in this manner. It was not strange that the
+constable, or even Squire Wriggs, should resort to deception to entrap
+him; but he was not quite prepared for it from the upright proprietor of
+Woodville. If he was wanted "bad enough" to induce a gentleman of wealth
+and position to make a journey to Albany after him, it was the very best
+reason in the world why he should get out of the way as soon as
+possible.
+
+"How is Miss Bertha, sir?" asked Noddy, who did not know what else to
+say.
+
+"She is quite well, and feels very badly now at your absence. You have
+made a great mistake, Noddy," replied Mr. Grant.
+
+"Is Miss Fanny pretty well, sir?"
+
+"Very well. We don't wish to injure you, or even to punish you, for
+setting the boat-house on fire. The worst that I shall do will be to
+send you----"
+
+"Is Ben any better than he was?" continued Noddy, fully satisfied in his
+own mind in regard to the last remark.
+
+"Ben is very well," said Mr. Grant, impatiently. "Now, you will come
+with me, Noddy, and not try to run away again."
+
+"How is Mrs. Green and the rest of the folks?" asked Noddy, fully
+resolved that even Mr. Grant should not "pull wool over his eyes," as he
+quaintly expressed his view of this attempt to deceive him.
+
+"She is well. Now come with me, Noddy. I will give you a good supper,
+and you shall have everything you need. Your circumstances have changed
+now, and you will be a rich man when you are of age."
+
+"Have you heard from Mr. Richard lately, sir?"
+
+"Never mind Richard, now. Come with me, Noddy. If you attempt to run
+away again, I shall be obliged to hand you over to a policeman."
+
+That looked much more like it, in Noddy's opinion, and he had no doubt
+of Mr. Grant's entire sincerity in the last remark.
+
+"I will follow you, sir," replied Noddy, though he did not intend to
+continue on this route much farther.
+
+"You understand that I am your friend, Noddy, and that no harm shall
+come to you."
+
+"Yes, sir; I understand that."
+
+"Come here now, and walk by my side. I don't want to call a policeman to
+take charge of you."
+
+Noddy did not want him to do so either, and did not intend that he
+should. He placed himself by the side of his powerful persecutor, as he
+still regarded him, and they walked together towards the hotel. The
+young refugee was nervous and uneasy, and watched with the utmost
+diligence for an opportunity to slip away. As they were crossing a
+street, a hack, approaching rapidly, caused Mr. Grant to quicken his
+pace in order to avoid being run over. Noddy, burdened with the weight
+of the carpet-bag, did not keep up with him, and he was obliged to fall
+back to escape the carriage.
+
+"Here, boy, you take this bag, and follow the owner to the hotel, and he
+will give you something," said Noddy to a ragged boy at the corner of
+the street.
+
+Without waiting for an answer, he darted down the cross street, and made
+his best time in the rush for liberty.
+
+The boy, to whom Noddy had given the bag, ran over the street, and
+placed himself behind Mr. Grant, whom he judged to be the owner of the
+baggage.
+
+"Where is the other boy?" demanded Mr. Grant.
+
+"Gone down State Street to find ten cents he lost there," replied the
+wicked boy. "I'll carry your bag, sir."
+
+"But I want the boy! Which way did he go?" said Mr. Grant, in hurried
+tones.
+
+"Down there, sir. His mother'll lick him if he don't find the ten cents
+he lost. I'll carry the bag."
+
+But Mr. Grant was unwilling to trust his property to the hands of such a
+boy, and he immediately reclaimed it.
+
+"I want that boy!" exclaimed Mr. Grant, in great agitation. "Which way
+did he go?"
+
+"Down there," replied the ragged boy, pointing down a street in exactly
+the opposite direction from that taken by the fugitive.
+
+But Mr. Grant was too wise a man to follow. He was in search of a
+policeman just then. As these worthy functionaries are never at hand
+when they are wanted, of course he did not find one. He called a
+carriage, and ordered the driver to convey him with all speed, and at
+double fare, to the police office. On his arrival, he immediately stated
+his business, and in a few hours the whole police force of the city were
+on the lookout for poor Noddy Newman.
+
+The object of all this friendly solicitude was unconscious of the
+decided steps taken by Mr. Grant; but he ran till he had placed a safe
+distance between himself and his potent oppressor. He saw plenty of
+policemen in his flight, but he paid no attention to them, nor even
+thought what a powerful combination they formed against a weak boy like
+himself. He was satisfied, however, that he must leave the city; and
+when he was out of breath with running, he walked as nearly on a
+straight course as the streets would permit, till he reached the
+outskirts of the city.
+
+"Stop that heifer!" shouted a man, who was chasing the animal.
+
+Noddy headed her off, and she darted away in another direction. Our
+refugee was interested in the case at once; for he could not permit any
+horned beast to circumvent him. He ran as though he had not run before
+that evening, and brought the wayward animal up in a corner when the man
+came to his assistance.
+
+"You are a smart boy," said the drover.
+
+"That's so," puffed Noddy, modestly.
+
+"If you haven't got nothin' better to do, I'll make it wuth your while
+to help drive these cattle down to the keers," added the man.
+
+As Noddy had nothing better to do, he at once accepted the offer,
+without even stipulating the price. They started the heifer again, and
+she concluded to join the drove which was in the adjoining street. It
+was no easy matter to drive the animals, which were not accustomed to
+the ways of the city, through the streets, and Noddy won a great deal of
+credit for the vigor and agility with which he discharged his duty. They
+reached the ferry boat, and crossing, came to the "keers," into which
+the young drover assisted in loading the cattle.
+
+His employer gave him a quarter of a dollar, which hardly came up to
+Noddy's expectations; for it seemed to him like working very hard, and
+winning very little for it. The man asked him some questions about his
+home. Noddy told as much of the truth as suited his purpose, and
+concluded by saying he wanted to get to Boston, where he could find
+something to do.
+
+"O, you want sunthin to do--do ye?" replied the drover. "Well, I'll give
+you your victuals, and what clothes you want, to help me drive."
+
+This was not exactly Noddy's idea of "work and win," and he told the
+drover he wanted to go to sea.
+
+"I'll tell you what I'll do. You may go down to Brighton, and help take
+keer of the cattle in the keers, and I'll take keer of you on the way."
+
+Noddy was more than satisfied with all these "keers," and he promptly
+accepted the offer. In half an hour the train started, and he was on the
+way to Brighton, which is only a few miles from Boston.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X.
+
+POOR MOLLIE.
+
+
+Noddy's duty on the journey to Brighton was to assist in keeping the
+cattle on their feet. When the poor animals become weary, they are
+disposed to lie down; but they are so closely packed that this is not
+possible for more than one or two in a car; and if one lies down he is
+liable to be trampled to death by the others. The persons in charge of
+the cattle, therefore, are obliged to watch them, and keep them on their
+feet.
+
+The train occasionally stopped during the night, and was several times
+delayed, so that it did not reach its destination till the middle of the
+following forenoon. The drover provided him a hearty breakfast in the
+morning, and Noddy was in no haste. The future was still nothing but a
+blank to him, and he was in no hurry to commence the battle of life.
+
+When he arrived at Brighton he assisted in driving the cattle to the
+pens; and then, with half a dollar, which the drover gave him for his
+extra services, he started for Boston, whose spires he could even then
+see in the distance. He reached the city, and from the Mill Dam--the
+long bridge he had just crossed--he walked to the Common. Being quite
+worn out by two nights of hard work, and the long walk he had just
+taken, he seated himself on one of the stone benches near the Frog Pond.
+It was a warm and pleasant day, and he watched the sports of the happy
+children who were at play, until his eyelids grew heavy, and he hardly
+knew the State House from the Big Tree.
+
+For a boy of his age he had undergone a severe experience. The exciting
+circumstances which surrounded him had kept him wide awake until his
+physical nature could endure no more. Leaving the seat he had occupied,
+he sought out the quietest place he could find, and stretching himself
+on the grass, went to sleep.
+
+It was nearly sunset when he awoke; but he felt like a new being, ready
+now to work and win at any business which might offer. He wandered about
+the streets of the city for two hours, and then ate a hearty supper at a
+restaurant. It was too late to do anything that night, and he asked a
+policeman to tell him where he could sleep. The officer, finding he was
+a friendless stranger, gave him a bed at the station-house.
+
+In the morning he made his way to the wharves, and during the long day
+he went from vessel to vessel in search of a berth as cabin-boy. He
+asked for this situation, because he had frequently heard the term; but
+he was willing to accept any position he could obtain. No one wanted a
+cabin-boy, or so small a sailor as he was. Night came on again, with a
+hopeless prospect for the future; and poor Noddy began to question the
+wisdom of the course he had taken. A tinker's shop, with plenty to eat,
+and a place to sleep, was certainly much better than wandering about the
+streets.
+
+He could not help thinking of Woodville, and the pleasant room he had
+occupied in the servants' quarters; of the bountiful table at which he
+had sat; and, above all, of the kindness and care which Miss Bertha had
+always bestowed upon him. With all his heart he wished he was there; but
+when he thought of the court-house and the prison, he was more
+reconciled to his fate, and was determined to persevere in his efforts
+to obtain work.
+
+It was the close of a long summer day. He had been wandering about the
+wharves at the north part of the city; and as the darkness came on, he
+walked up Hanover Street in search of a policeman, who would give him
+permission to sleep another night in the station-house. As he did not
+readily find one, he turned into another street. It made but little
+difference to him where he went, for he had no destination, and he was
+as likely to find a policeman in one place as another.
+
+He had gone but a short distance before he saw a crowd of ragged boys
+pursuing and hooting at a drunken man who was leading a little girl ten
+or eleven years of age,--or rather, she was trying to lead him. Under
+ordinary circumstances, we are afraid that Noddy would have joined the
+ragamuffins and enjoyed the senseless sport as well as any of them; but
+his own sorrows raised him above this meanness in the present instance,
+and he passed the boys without a particle of interest in the fun.
+
+He was going by the drunken man and the little girl, when one of the
+boldest of the pursuers rushed up and gave the man a push, which caused
+him to fall on the pavement. The young vagabonds raised a chorus of
+laughter, and shouted with all their might. The little girl, who was
+evidently the drunkard's daughter, did not desert him. She bent over
+him, and used all her feeble powers to assist him to his feet again.
+
+"My poor father!" sobbed she; and her heart seemed to be broken by the
+grief and peril which surrounded her.
+
+The tones with which these words were spoken touched the heart of Noddy;
+and without stopping to consider any troublesome questions, he sprang to
+the assistance of the girl. The man was not utterly helpless; and with
+the aid of Noddy and his daughter he got upon his feet again. At that
+moment another of the unruly boys, emboldened by the feat of the first,
+rushed up and grasped the arm of the little girl, as if to pull her away
+from her father's support.
+
+"Don't touch me! Don't touch me!" pleaded the grief-stricken girl, in
+tones so full of sorrow that our wanderer could not resist them, if her
+vagabond persecutor could.
+
+He sprang to her assistance, and with one vigorous and well-directed
+blow, he knocked the rude assailant halfway across the street, and left
+him sprawling on the pavement. Noddy did not wait to see what the boy
+would do next, but turned his attention to the poor girl, whose
+situation, rather than that of her father, had awakened his sympathy.
+
+"What is your father's name?" asked Noddy, who proceeded as though he
+had a sovereign remedy for the miseries of the situation.
+
+"Captain McClintock," sobbed the little girl, still clinging to her
+father, with no sting of reproach in her words or her manner.
+
+"Don't cry, little girl; I will do what I can for you," said Noddy,
+warmly. "I can lick those boys, if I can't do anything more."
+
+"Thank you!" replied the afflicted daughter. "If I can only get him down
+to the vessel, I shall be so glad!"
+
+"Want to fight?" shouted the young ruffian, whom Noddy had upset, coming
+as near the party as he dared.
+
+"I'll give you fight, if you come near me again," replied the champion
+of the poor girl.
+
+"Come on, if you want to fight," cried the little bully, who had not the
+pluck to approach within twenty feet of his late assailant.
+
+The crowd of boys still shouted, and some of them carried their
+hostility so far as to throw sticks and stones at the little party; but
+as long as they kept at a respectful distance, Noddy did not deem it
+wise to meddle with them, though he kept one eye on them, and stood
+ready to punish those who ventured too near.
+
+"Come, Captain McClintock," said he, as he attempted to lead the drunken
+father, "let's go on board."
+
+"Heave ahead, my hearty!" replied the captain, as he pressed forward,
+though his steps were so uncertain that his two feeble supporters could
+hardly keep him on his feet.
+
+The remarkable trio passed down Fleet Street, and, after many
+difficulties and much "rough weather," reached the head of the wharf,
+where the little girl said her father's vessel lay. They were still
+closely followed by the merciless ragamuffins, who had pelted them with
+stones and sticks, until the patience of Noddy was severely tried.
+
+"Come, my boy, now we'll--hic--now we'll go and--hic--go and take
+something 'fore we go on board," said the drunken captain, suddenly
+coming to a dead halt in the middle of the street.
+
+"O, no, father!" cried the daughter; "let us go on board."
+
+"Something to take, Mollie, and you shall--hic--you shall have
+some--hic--some soda water."
+
+"I don't want any, father. Do come on board."
+
+"You are a good girl, Mollie, and you shall--hic--you shall have some
+cake."
+
+"Not to-night, father. We will get it in the morning," pleaded poor
+Mollie, trembling with apprehension for the consequences which must
+follow another glass of liquor.
+
+"Come, Captain McClintock, let's go on board," said Noddy.
+
+"Who are you?" demanded the inebriated man.
+
+"I'm the best fellow out; and I want to see your vessel."
+
+"You shall see her, my boy. If you are--hic--the best fellow out, come
+and take something with me," stammered the captain.
+
+"Let's see the vessel first," replied Noddy, tugging away at the arm of
+the drunken man.
+
+"She's a very fine--hic--fine vessel."
+
+"Let me see her, then."
+
+"Heave ahead, my jolly roebuck. I've got some of the best--hic--on board
+zever you tasted. Come along."
+
+Noddy and Mollie kept him going till they reached the part of the wharf
+where the captain's vessel was moored; and the end of their troubles
+seemed to be at hand, when the boys, aware that their sport was nearly
+over, became very bold and daring. They pressed forward, and began to
+push the drunken man, until they roused his anger to such a degree that
+he positively refused to go on board till he chastised them as they
+deserved. He had broken away from his feeble protectors, and in
+attempting to pursue them, had fallen flat upon the planks which covered
+the wharf.
+
+Mollie ran to his assistance; and as she did so, one of the boys pushed
+her over upon him. Noddy's blood was up in earnest, for the little
+girl's suffering made her sacred in his eyes. He leaped upon the rude
+boy, bore him down, and pounded him till he yelled in mortal terror.
+Some of the boldest of the ragamuffins came to his relief when they
+realized how hard it was going with him, and that he was in the hands of
+only one small boy.
+
+Noddy was as quick as a flash in his movements, and he turned upon the
+crowd, reckless of consequences. One or two of the boys showed fight;
+but the young lion tipped them over before they could make up their
+minds how to attack him. The rest ran away. Noddy gave chase, and in
+his furious wrath felt able to whip the whole of them. He pursued them
+only a short distance; his sympathy for poor Mollie got the better even
+of his anger, and he hastened back to her side. As he turned, the
+cowardly boys turned also, and a storm of such missiles as the wharf
+afforded was hurled after him.
+
+By this time two men from the vessel had come to the assistance of the
+captain, and raised him to his feet. He was still full of vengeance, and
+wanted to chastise the boys. The young ruffians followed Noddy down the
+wharf, and he was compelled, in self-defence, to turn upon them again,
+and in presence of the drunken man he punished a couple of them pretty
+severely. One of the sailors came to his aid, and the foe was again
+vanquished. The appearance of a policeman at the head of the wharf now
+paralyzed their efforts, and they disbanded and scattered.
+
+"You are a good fellow!" exclaimed Captain McClintock, extending his
+hand to Noddy as he returned to the spot.
+
+"The best fellow out," replied the little hero, facetiously, as he took
+the offered hand.
+
+"So you be! Now come on board, and--hic--and take something."
+
+"Thank you, captain. I should like to go on board of your vessel."
+
+"Come along, then, my jolly fellow," added the captain, as he reeled
+towards the vessel. "You are a smart little--hic--you are a smart little
+fellow. If you hadn't--hic--licked them boys, I should--hic."
+
+Noddy thought he did "hic;" but with the assistance of the sailors, the
+captain got on board, and went down into his cabin. His first movement
+was to bring out a bottle of gin and a couple of glasses, into which he
+poured a quantity of the fiery liquor. He insisted that Noddy should
+drink; but the boy had never tasted anything of the kind in his life;
+and from the lessons of Bertha and Ben he had acquired a certain horror
+of the cup, which had not been diminished by the incidents of the
+evening. He could not drink, and he could not refuse without making
+trouble with his intoxicated host.
+
+But Mollie saw his difficulty, and slyly substituted a glass of water
+for the gin, which he drank. Captain McClintock was satisfied, and
+overcome by his last potion, he soon sank back on the locker, and
+dropped asleep. With the assistance of the mate he was put into the
+berth in his state-room, to sleep off the effects of his debauch.
+
+"I'm so grateful to you!" exclaimed Mollie, when all her trials seemed
+to have ended.
+
+"O, never mind me."
+
+"Where do you live?"
+
+"Nowhere."
+
+"Have you no home?"
+
+"No."
+
+"Where do you stay?"
+
+"Anywhere."
+
+"Where were you going to sleep to-night?"
+
+"Anywhere I could."
+
+"Then you can sleep here."
+
+Noddy was entirely willing, and one of the eight berths in the cabin was
+appropriated by the mate to his use.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI.
+
+THE SCHOONER ROEBUCK.
+
+
+"What is your name?" asked Mollie, when the arrangements for the night
+were completed.
+
+"Noddy Newman."
+
+"Noddy? What a queer name! That isn't your real name--is it?"
+
+"Yes, I never knew any other."
+
+Mollie was certainly a very pleasing young lady, and Noddy had become
+quite interested in her, as we always are in those to whom we are so
+fortunate as to render needed assistance. She had a pretty face, and her
+curly hair might have challenged the envy of many a fair damsel who was
+wicked enough to cherish such a feeling. There was nothing rough or
+coarse about her, and one would hardly have expected to find so
+lady-like a person in such a situation in life.
+
+We make this statement in apology for the interest which Noddy took in
+the little maiden. The service he had rendered her was quite sufficient
+to create a kindly feeling towards her; and then she was so pretty, so
+modest, and so gentle, that his sympathy grew into admiration before she
+went to her little state-room. Mollie asked him a great many questions
+about his past life, and Noddy told her all he knew about himself--about
+Bertha, Fanny, and others at Woodville. He did not tell her about the
+affair of the boat-house, though he determined to do so at some future
+time, if he had the opportunity.
+
+In return for all this information, Mollie told him that the schooner in
+which they then were was called the Roebuck; that she belonged to her
+father, and that they were bound to the Sandwich Islands, where the
+vessel was to run as a packet between certain islands, whose names she
+had forgotten. Captain McClintock belonged in the State of Maine, where
+Mollie's mother had died two years before. Her father had some property,
+and learning that there was a good chance to improve his fortunes at the
+Sandwich Islands, he had built the Roebuck for this purpose.
+
+As these distant islands were to be his future home, he was to take his
+only child with him, and he had fitted up a state-room in the cabin,
+next to his own for her special use. Mollie told Noddy how much pleased
+she was with all the arrangements, and how happy she had been on the
+passage to Boston, where the Roebuck was to pick up an assorted cargo
+for the port of her destination. Then she wept when she thought of the
+terrible scenes through which she had just passed in the streets. She
+said her father did not often drink too much; that he was the very best
+father in the whole world; and she hoped he never would get intoxicated
+again as long as he lived.
+
+Noddy hoped so too; and when the little maiden had finished her story,
+he thought she was almost equal to Miss Bertha; and he could not think
+of such a thing as parting with her in the morning, again to buffet the
+waves of disappointment on shore.
+
+"Does your father want a boy on board of the vessel?" asked he.
+
+"I don't know. Do you want to go with us?" said Mollie, with a smile
+which spoke the pleasure the thought afforded her.
+
+"I should like to go with you first-rate," replied Noddy. "I want to do
+something, and earn some money for myself. I want to work."
+
+"Then you shall go with us!" exclaimed Mollie. "Out where we are going
+is a nice place to get rich. My father is going to get rich out there,
+and then we are coming home again."
+
+Poor child! She knew not what the future had in store for them.
+
+The bells of the city rang for nine o'clock, and Mollie said she went to
+bed at this time.
+
+"Can you read, Noddy?" asked she.
+
+"Yes, some."
+
+"I always read my Testament before I go to bed; I promised my mother,
+years ago, that I would; and I like to do it, too. I suppose you read
+your Testament every night--don't you?"
+
+"Sometimes; that is, I did once," replied Noddy, in some confusion, for
+he could not help recalling the teachings of Bertha on this subject.
+
+"Well, we will read it together. You would like to--wouldn't you?"
+
+"Yes; I don't care if I do."
+
+There was a want of enthusiasm on his part which was rather painful to
+the little maiden; but she got the Testament, and when she had read a
+few verses aloud, she passed the book to Noddy, who stumbled through his
+portion, and she then finished the chapter. She bade him good night, and
+retired to her state-room, leaving her new-made friend to meditate upon
+the singular events of the evening.
+
+He did not meditate a great while--he never did. His thoughts were
+disposed to stray from one subject to another; and from the little
+maiden, he found himself wondering whether Mr. Grant had finished
+searching for him in Albany, and whether Miss Fanny had "let the cat out
+of the bag" yet. Noddy was too tired and sleepy to think a great while
+about anything; and he turned into his berth, and went to sleep.
+
+Early in the morning Noddy was on his feet. He went on deck, and found
+that the Roebuck was a beautiful vessel, almost handsome enough to be a
+gentleman's yacht. He went upon the wharf, where he could obtain a fair
+view of her bow, and he was sure she would make good time with a fair
+breeze. When he had satisfied himself with the examination, he was more
+than ever inclined to go out in her.
+
+When he went down into the cabin again, Mollie was there, setting the
+table for breakfast. She looked as fair and as fresh as a country
+maiden. She gave him a very friendly greeting.
+
+"Do you do these things, Mollie?" asked he.
+
+"O, yes; I always work, and do what I can. I like to do something."
+
+"How old are you, Mollie?"
+
+"Eleven last May."
+
+"But you can't do this work when you are out at sea."
+
+"O, yes, I can."
+
+"You will be seasick."
+
+"I never was sick, and I have been to sea a great deal with my father."
+
+"How is the captain this morning?"
+
+"I don't know; I haven't seen him yet," replied she, looking very sad,
+as she thought of her kind father's infirmity.
+
+Captain McClintock soon came out of his state-room. He looked pale and
+haggard, and seemed to be thoroughly ashamed of himself for what he had
+done the evening before, as he ought to have been. Mollie sprang to him,
+as he stepped out of his room, and kissed him as lovingly as though he
+had never done a wrong thing in his life. He glanced at Noddy, as he
+entered the main cabin, and with a look of astonishment, as though his
+connection with the events of the previous evening were a blank to him.
+
+The captain did not say a word to Noddy, which made the boy feel as
+though he was an intruder in the cabin; and when he had the opportunity,
+he went on deck, leaving Mollie to say whatever the circumstances
+required in explanation of his presence.
+
+"I will never do it again, Mollie," said the fond father, as he kissed
+his daughter. "I am very sorry, and you must forgive me, my child."
+
+He was a penitent man, and felt how great was the wrong he had done the
+poor child. He had taken her out to walk, and to see the sights of the
+city, and had become intoxicated. He remembered the whole scene, when
+the boys had chased him; and to Mollie, whom he loved with all his
+heart, he was willing to own his fault, and to make her happy by
+promising never to do the wrong again.
+
+Mollie then told him about her conversation with Noddy, and of the boy's
+desire to go to sea with them. Captain McClintock remembered in part
+what the boy had done for them; and Mollie supplied what he had not
+seen, or had forgotten.
+
+"Why, yes; we want a cabin-boy. I should have shipped one at home, if I
+could have found the right one," replied the captain. "You say he is a
+good boy?"
+
+"I know he is. He wants to work."
+
+"Does he know anything about a vessel? I want one who can go aloft, and
+shake out the top-gallant sail."
+
+"He is used to boats and the water."
+
+"Well, we will see what he is good for, after breakfast."
+
+"I hope you will take him, for we have become fast friends."
+
+"If he is good for anything, I will, Mollie. Call him down. Here comes
+the doctor with the grub."
+
+The "doctor" was the black cook of the Roebuck, who was now descending
+the companion-way with the morning meal. Noddy was called, and Captain
+McClintock spoke very kindly to him. He inquired particularly into his
+knowledge of vessels, and wanted to know whether he would be afraid to
+go aloft. Noddy smiled, and thought he should not be afraid. He ate his
+breakfast with a boy's appetite, and then the captain took him on deck.
+
+"Do you see that fore-top-gallant yard?" asked the captain.
+
+"Yes, sir, I see it," replied Noddy, who had been thoroughly instructed
+in these matters by the old man-of-war's-man of Woodville, though he had
+no practical experience in seamanship, even on as large a scale as a
+topsail schooner, which was the rig of the Roebuck.
+
+"Well, my boy, that's a pretty high place. Should you dare to go up
+there?"
+
+"I think I should," answered Noddy.
+
+"Let me see you do it."
+
+"Now?"
+
+"Yes. I want to see what you are good for. If we can't make a sailor of
+you, it won't be worth while to take you out to the Pacific. Let me see
+how long it will take you to run up to that fore-top-gallant yard."
+
+Noddy started. Captain McClintock was evidently satisfied that it would
+make the boy dizzy; and that, perhaps, if he had to do this kind of
+work, he would not care to make a voyage. Mollie stood by her father's
+side, deeply interested in the experiment, and fearful that her heroic
+friend would fail to meet her father's expectations, thus depriving her
+of a pleasant companion on her long voyage.
+
+The candidate for a position on the Roebuck skipped lightly forward to
+the fore-shrouds of the vessel, ran up, as chipper as a monkey, to the
+mast head, then up the fore-topmast rigging to the yard. Planting his
+feet in the foot-ropes, he danced out to the port yard-arm. At this
+point he astonished the spectators below by performing certain feats
+which he had seen at the Great Olympian Circus. Descending from the
+yard, he grasped the main-topmast stay, and ran over upon it to the
+main-topmast, and then made his way to the deck by the main-topmast
+back-stay.
+
+"You'll do, my boy!" said the captain, emphatically. "You will make a
+smart sailor."
+
+"Am I to go with you, sir?" asked Noddy.
+
+"Yes, if you like."
+
+"What will you give me?"
+
+This was a more difficult question; but the captain finally agreed to
+give him eight dollars a month, and to advance money enough to buy him
+an outfit. Mollie actually danced about the deck with joy when the terms
+were arranged, and it was certain that Noddy was to go on the voyage.
+
+The boy's work had been carefully stated by the captain. He was to take
+care of the cabin, wait upon the captain and his daughter at table, and
+do duty forward when required. He was to have a berth in the cabin, and
+was not to be in either watch, unless the vessel became short-handed.
+
+"Now we shall be happy!" exclaimed Mollie, who had already formed many
+plans for the long and lonely cruise.
+
+"I think we shall. Do you know when we sail, Mollie?"
+
+"Perhaps to-day; perhaps not till to-morrow."
+
+"I want to write a letter to Miss Bertha before we go."
+
+"That's right, Noddy; never forget your friends. I will give you pen,
+ink, and paper, by and by."
+
+In the forenoon Captain McClintock took the young sailor ashore, and
+purchased for him a supply of clothing. Noddy always dressed like a
+sailor at Woodville. This was Ben's idea, and it was quite proper, as
+his work was in the boats. His new garments were not strange to him,
+therefore, though they were much coarser than those he wore.
+
+After dinner the captain went on shore alone to do his business, and
+Noddy wrote his letter. About five o'clock he returned, and poor Mollie
+was dreadfully grieved to find that he was partially intoxicated. He
+immediately gave the order to get under way, and went down into the
+cabin, leaving the mate to haul the vessel out of the dock.
+
+Noddy made himself as useful as possible, and in a short time the
+Roebuck was clear of the wharf. The captain came on deck again, when
+the jib was hoisted, and the sails began to draw. The voyage had
+actually commenced, and Noddy did not believe that Mr. Grant and the
+constables would be able to catch him.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII.
+
+THE DRUNKEN CAPTAIN.
+
+
+"Lay aloft, and help shake out the fore-topsail," said the captain to
+Noddy, who was standing by the wheel-man, watching the movements of the
+vessel. "Be lively! What are you staring at?"
+
+The captain's tones were stern and ugly. He had evidently taken another
+glass of gin since he came on board. He was sufficiently intoxicated to
+be unreasonable, though he could walk straight, and understood perfectly
+what he was about. Noddy did not like the harsh tones in which the order
+was given, and he did not move as lively as he would have done if the
+words had been spoken pleasantly. He had not yet learned the duty of
+prompt obedience, be the tones what they may.
+
+He went aloft, and helped the men who were at work on the topsail. As
+soon as the sheets were hauled home, the captain hailed him from the
+deck, and ordered him to shake out the fore-top-gallant sail. Noddy had
+moved so leisurely before, that the command came spiced with a volley of
+oaths; and the cabin-boy began to feel that he was getting something
+more than he had bargained for. He shook out the sail, and when the yard
+had been raised to its proper position, he went on deck again.
+
+The Roebuck was dashing briskly along with a fresh southerly breeze; and
+if Noddy had not been troubled with a suspicion that something was
+wrong, he would have enjoyed the scene exceedingly. He had begun to fear
+that Captain McClintock was a tyrant, and that he was doomed to undergo
+many hardships before he saw his native land again.
+
+"Don't be troubled, Noddy," said Mollie, in a low tone, as she placed
+herself by his side at the lee rail. "My father isn't cross very often."
+
+"I don't like to be spoken to in that way," replied he, trying to banish
+a certain ill feeling which was struggling for expression in his words
+and manner.
+
+"You mustn't mind that, Noddy. That's the way all sea captains speak."
+
+"Is it?"
+
+"It is indeed, Noddy. You must get used to it as quick as you can."
+
+"I'll try," answered the cabin-boy; but he did not feel much like
+trying; on the contrary, he was more disposed to manifest his
+opposition, even at the risk of a "row," or even with the certain
+prospect of being worsted in the end.
+
+Mollie, hoping that he would try, went aft again. She knew what her
+father was when partially intoxicated, and she feared that one who was
+high-spirited enough to face a dozen boys of his own size and weight, as
+Noddy had done in the street, would not endure the harsh usage of one
+made unreasonable by drinking. Some men are very cross and ugly when
+they are partially intoxicated, and very silly and good-natured when
+they are entirely steeped in the drunkard's cup. Such was Captain
+McClintock. If he continued his potations up to a certain point, he
+would pass from the crooked, cross-grained phase to that of the jolly,
+stupid, noisy debauchee. Entirely sober, he was entirely reasonable.
+
+"Here, youngster!" called the captain, as he stepped forward to the
+waist, where Noddy was looking over the rail.
+
+"Sir," replied Noddy rather stiffly, and without turning his head.
+
+"Do you hear?" yelled the captain, filled with passion at the contempt
+with which he was treated by the boy.
+
+"I hear," said Noddy, turning round as slowly as though he had a year in
+which to complete his revolution.
+
+"Swab up that deck there; and if you don't move a little livelier than
+you have yet, I'll try a rope's end to your legs."
+
+"No, you won't!" retorted Noddy, sharply, for he could endure a whipping
+as easily as he could a threat.
+
+"Won't I?" cried the captain, as he seized a piece of rope from one of
+the belaying pins. "We'll see."
+
+He sprang upon the high-spirited boy, and began to beat him in the most
+unmerciful manner. Noddy attempted to get away from him, but the captain
+had grasped him by the collar, and held on with an iron grip.
+
+"Let me alone!" roared Noddy. "I'll knock your brains out if you don't
+let me alone!"
+
+"We'll see!" gasped Captain McClintock, furious with passion and with
+gin.
+
+Unfortunately for him, he did see when it was too late; for Noddy had
+laid hold of a wooden belaying pin, and aimed a blow with it at the
+head of his merciless persecutor. He did not hit him on the head, but
+the blow fell heavily on his shoulder, causing him to release his hold
+of the boy. Noddy, puffing like a grampus from the violence of the
+struggle, rushed forward to the forecastle.
+
+The captain ordered the sailors to stop him; but either because they
+were not smart enough, or because they had no relish for the business,
+they failed to catch him, and the culprit ran out on the bowsprit. The
+angry man followed him as far as the bowsprit bitts, but prudence
+forbade his going any farther.
+
+"Come here, you young rascal!" shouted the captain.
+
+"I won't," replied Noddy, as he perched himself on the bight of the
+jib-stay.
+
+"Come here, I say!"
+
+"I'll go overboard before I go any nearer to you. I'm not going to be
+pounded for nothing."
+
+"You'll obey orders aboard this vessel," replied the captain, whose
+passion was somewhat moderated by the delay which kept him from his
+victim.
+
+"I'm ready to obey orders, and always have been," answered Noddy, who
+had by this time begun to think of the consequences of his resistance.
+
+"Will you swab up the deck, as I told you?"
+
+"I will, sir; but I won't be whipped by no drunken man.
+
+"Drunken man!" repeated the captain. "You shall be whipped for that, you
+impudent young villain!"
+
+The captain mounted the heel of the bowsprit, and was making his way up
+to the point occupied by the refractory cabin-boy, when Mollie reached
+the forecastle, and grasped her father in her little arms.
+
+"Don't, father, don't!" pleaded she.
+
+"Go away, Mollie," said he, sternly. "He is impudent and mutinous, and
+shall be brought to his senses."
+
+"Stop, father, do stop!" cried Mollie, piteously.
+
+He might as well stop, for by this time Noddy had mounted the jib-stay,
+and was halfway up to the mast head.
+
+"He called me a drunken man, Mollie, and he shall suffer for it!"
+replied Captain McClintock, in tones so savage that the poor girl's
+blood was almost frozen by them.
+
+"Stop, father!" said she, earnestly, as he turned to move aft again.
+
+"Go away, child."
+
+"He spoke the truth," replied she, in a low tone, as her eyes filled
+with tears, and she sobbed bitterly.
+
+"The truth, Mollie!" exclaimed her father, as though the words from that
+beloved child had paralyzed him.
+
+"Yes, father, you have been drinking again. You promised me last
+night--you know what you promised me," said she, her utterance broken by
+the violence of her emotions.
+
+He looked at her in silence for an instant; but his breast heaved under
+the strong feelings which agitated him. That glance seemed to overcome
+him; he dropped the rope's end, and, rushing aft, disappeared down the
+companion-way. Mollie followed him into the cabin, where she found him
+with his head bent down upon the table, weeping like an infant.
+
+Noddy leisurely descended from his perch at the mast head, from which he
+had witnessed this scene without hearing what was said; indeed, none of
+the crew had heard Mollie's bitter words, for she had spoken them in an
+impressive whisper.
+
+"Well, youngster, you have got yourself into hot water," said the mate,
+when the boy reached the deck.
+
+"I couldn't help it," replied Noddy, who had begun to look doubtfully at
+the future.
+
+"Couldn't help it, you young monkey!"
+
+Noddy was disposed at first to resent this highly improper language; but
+one scrap at a time was quite enough, and he wisely concluded not to
+notice the offensive remark.
+
+"I'm not used to having any man speak to me in that kind of a way,"
+added Noddy, rather tamely.
+
+"You are not in a drawing-room! Do you think the cap'n is going to take
+his hat off to the cabin-boy?" replied the mate, indignantly.
+
+"I don't ask him to take his hat off to me. He spoke to me as if I was a
+dog."
+
+"That's the way officers do speak to men, whether it is the right way or
+not; and if you can't stand it, you've no business here."
+
+"I didn't know they spoke in that way."
+
+"It's the fashion; and when man or boy insults an officer as you did
+the captain, he always knocks him down; and serves him right too."
+
+Noddy regarded the mate as a very reasonable man, though he swore
+abominably, and did not speak in the gentlest tones to the men. He
+concluded, therefore, that he had made a blunder, and he desired to get
+out of the scrape as fast as he could. The mate explained to him sundry
+things, in the discipline of a ship, which he had not before understood.
+He said that when sailors came on board of a vessel they expected more
+or less harsh words, and that it was highly impudent, to say the least,
+for a man to retort, or even to be sulky.
+
+"Captain McClintock is better than half of them," he added; "and if the
+men do their duty, they can get along very well with him."
+
+"But he was drunk," said Noddy.
+
+"That's none of your business. If he was, it was so much the more stupid
+in you to attempt to kick up a row with him."
+
+Noddy began to be of the same opinion himself; and an incipient
+resolution to be more careful in future was flitting through his mind,
+when he was summoned to the cabin by Mollie. He went below; the captain
+was not there--he had retired to his state-room; and his daughter sat
+upon the locker, weeping bitterly.
+
+"How happy I expected to be! How unhappy I am!" sobbed she. "Noddy you
+have made me feel very bad."
+
+"I couldn't help it; I didn't mean to make you feel bad," protested
+Noddy.
+
+"My poor father!" she exclaimed, as she thought again that the blame was
+not the boy's alone.
+
+"I am very sorry for what I did. I never went to sea before, and I
+didn't know the fashions. Where Is your father? Could I see him?"
+
+"Not now; he has gone to his state-room. He will be better by and by."
+
+"I want to see him when he comes out. I will try and make it right with
+him, for I know I was to blame," said Noddy, whose ideas were rapidly
+enlarging.
+
+"I am glad to hear you say so, Noddy," added Mollie, looking up into his
+face with such a sad expression that he would have done anything to
+comfort her. "Now go on deck; but promise me that you will not be
+impudent to my father, whatever happens."
+
+"I will not, Mollie."
+
+Noddy went on deck. The Roebuck had passed out of the harbor. She was
+close-hauled, and headed to the southeast. She was pitching
+considerably, which was a strange motion to the cabin-boy, whose
+nautical experience had been confined to the Hudson River. But there was
+something exhilarating in the scene, and if Noddy's mind had been easy,
+he would have been delighted with the situation. The mate asked him some
+questions about the captain, which led to a further discussion of the
+matter of discipline on board a vessel.
+
+"I want to do well, Mr. Watts," said Noddy. "My best friend gave me the
+motto, 'Work and Win;' and I want to do the very best I know how."
+
+"I don't think you have begun very well. If you are impudent to your
+officers, I can assure you that you will work a great deal and win very
+little. Neither boy nor man can have all his own way in the world; and
+on board ship you will have to submit to a great many little things that
+don't suit you. The sooner you learn to do so with a good grace, the
+sooner you will be comfortable and contented."
+
+"Thank you, Mr. Watts, for your good advice, and I will try to follow
+it."
+
+"That's right," replied the mate, satisfied that Noddy was not a very
+bad boy, after all.
+
+Noddy was fully determined to be a good boy, to obey the officers
+promptly, and not to be impudent, even if they abused him. Captain
+McClintock did not come on deck, or into the cabin, again that night. He
+had probably drank until he was completely overcome, and the vessel was
+left to the care of Mr. Watts, who was fortunately a good seaman and a
+skilful navigator. Noddy performed his duties, both on deck and in the
+cabin, with a zeal and fidelity which won the praise of the mate.
+
+"Captain McClintock," said Noddy, when the master of the vessel came on
+deck in the morning.
+
+"Well, what do you want, youngster?" replied the captain, in gruff and
+forbidding tones.
+
+"I was wrong yesterday; I am very sorry for it, and I hope you will
+forgive me this time."
+
+"It is no light thing to be saucy to the captain."
+
+"I will never do so again," added Noddy.
+
+"We'll see; if you behave well, I'll pass it by, and say nothing more
+about it."
+
+"Thank you, sir."
+
+The captain did not speak as though he meant what he said. It was
+evident from his conduct during the forenoon, that he had not
+forgotten, if he had forgiven, Noddy's impudent speech. He addressed him
+rather harshly, and appeared not to like his presence.
+
+In the forenoon the vessel passed Highland Light, and before night Noddy
+saw the last of the land. There was a heavy blow in the afternoon, and
+the Roebuck pitched terribly in the great seas. The cabin-boy began to
+experience some new and singular sensations, and at eight bells in the
+evening he was so seasick that he could not hold up his head.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII.
+
+THE SHARK.
+
+
+For two days Noddy suffered severely from seasickness, and Mollie was
+full of tenderness and sympathy. Captain McClintock still mocked the
+poor child's hopes, and still broke the promises which should have been
+sacred, for he was intoxicated each day. On the second, while Noddy was
+lying in his berth, the captain, rendered brutal by the last dram he had
+taken, came out of his state-room, and halted near the sick boy.
+
+"What are you in there for, you young sculpin?" said he. "Why are you
+not on deck, attending to your duty?"
+
+"I am sick, sir," replied Noddy, faintly.
+
+"Sick! We don't want any skulking of that sort on board this vessel. You
+want to shirk your duty. Turn out lively, and go on deck."
+
+"But he is sick, father," said Mollie.
+
+"Go away, Mollie. You will spoil the boy. Come, tumble out, youngster,
+or I shall bring down the rope's end," replied the captain.
+
+The daughter pleaded for her patient; but the father was ugly and
+unreasonable, and persisted in his purpose. Noddy did not feel able to
+move. He was completely prostrated by the violence of his disagreeable
+malady; and five minutes before, he would not have considered it
+possible for him to get out of his berth. He must do so now or be
+whipped; for there was no more reason in the captain than there was in
+the main-mast of the schooner. He was not able to make any resistance,
+if he had been so disposed.
+
+It was very hard to be obliged to go on deck when he was sick,
+especially as there was no need of his services there. He raised his
+head, and sat upright in the berth. The movement seemed completely to
+overturn his stomach again. But what a chance this was, thought he, to
+show poor Mollie that he was in earnest, and to convince her that he had
+really reformed his manners. With a desperate struggle he leaped out of
+his berth, and put on his jacket. The Roebuck was still pitching
+heavily, and it was almost impossible for him to keep on his feet. He
+had hardly tasted food for two days, and was very weak from the effects
+of his sickness.
+
+He crawled on deck as well as he was able, followed by Captain
+McClintock, who regarded him with a look of malignant triumph. Poor
+Noddy felt like a martyr; but for Mollie's sake, he was determined to
+bear his sufferings with patience and resignation, and to obey the
+captain, even if he told him to jump overboard. He did what was almost
+as bad as this, for he ordered the sick boy to swab up the deck--an
+entirely useless operation, for the spray was breaking over the bow of
+the Roebuck, and the water was rushing in torrents out of the lee
+scuppers. But Noddy, true to his resolution, obeyed the order, and
+dragged his weary body forward to perform his useless task. For half an
+hour he labored against nature and the elements, and of course
+accomplished nothing. It was all "work" and no "win."
+
+A boy who had the resolution and courage to face a dozen angry fellows
+as large as himself, certainly ought not to lack the power to overcome
+the single foe that beset him from within. Noddy was strong enough for
+the occasion, even in his present weakly condition. It was hard work,
+but the victory he won was a satisfactory reward.
+
+The captain's vision was rather imperfect in his present state, and he
+took it into his head that the foretop-gallant sail was straining the
+topmast. Mr. Watts respectfully assured him the topmast was strong
+enough to stand the strain; but the master was set in his own opinion.
+Apparently his view was adopted for the occasion, for he ordered Noddy
+to go aloft and furl the sail. Mollie protested when she heard this
+order, for she was afraid Noddy was so weak that he would fall from the
+yard. The cabin-boy, strong in the victory he had just won, did not even
+remonstrate against the order; but, with all the vigor he could command,
+he went up the fore-rigging. He was surprised to find how much strength
+an earnest spirit lent to his weak body.
+
+The pitching of the Roebuck rendered the execution of the order very
+difficult to one unaccustomed to the violent motion of a vessel in a
+heavy sea; but in spite of all the trials which lay in his path, he
+furled the sail. When he came down to the deck, the captain had gone
+below again, and the weary boy was permitted to rest from his severe
+labors. Instead of being overcome by them, he actually felt better than
+when he had left his berth. The fresh air, and the conquest of the will
+over the feeble body, had almost wrought a miracle in his physical
+frame. The mate told him that what he had done was the best thing in the
+world for seasickness; in fact, earnest exertion was the only remedy for
+the troublesome complaint.
+
+At supper-time Noddy took some tea and ate a couple of ship biscuits
+with a good relish. He began to feel like a new person, and even to be
+much obliged to the captain for subjecting him to the tribulations which
+had wrought his cure. The next morning he ate a hearty breakfast, and
+went to his work with the feeling that "oft from apparent ills our
+blessings rise."
+
+The captain kept sober during the next five days, owing, it was believed
+by Noddy, to the influence of his daughter, who had the courage to speak
+the truth to him. Shortly after the departure of the Roebuck, it had
+been ascertained that, from some impurity in the casks, the water on
+board was not fit for use; and the captain decided to put into Barbadoes
+and procure a fresh supply. When the schooner took a pilot, on the
+twelfth day out, it was found that the yellow fever was making terrible
+ravages in the island; but the water was so bad on board that the
+captain decided to go into port and remain long enough to procure new
+casks and a supply of water. If he had been entirely sober, he would
+undoubtedly have turned his bow at once from the infected island.
+
+The Roebuck came to anchor, and the captain, regardless of his own
+safety, went on shore to transact the business. The casks were
+purchased, but it was impossible to get them on board before the next
+morning, and the vessel was compelled to remain at anchor over night.
+The weather was excessively hot in the afternoon, but towards night a
+cool breeze came in from the sea, which was very refreshing; and Noddy
+and Mollie were on deck, enjoying its invigorating breath. The boat in
+which the captain had just returned lay at the accommodation ladder. The
+confinement of twelve days on board the vessel had been rather irksome,
+and both of the young people would have been delighted to take a run on
+shore; but the terrible sickness there rendered such a luxury
+impossible. They observed with interest everything that could be seen
+from the deck, especially the verdure-crowned hills, and the valleys
+green with the rich vegetation of the country.
+
+If they could not go on shore, they could at least move about a little
+in the boat, which would be some relief from the monotony of their
+confined home. They got into the boat with a warning from Mr. Watts not
+to go far from the schooner, and not to approach any other vessel, which
+might have the yellow fever on board. Noddy sculled about on the smooth
+water for a time, till it was nearly dark, and Mollie thought it was
+time to return on board. As she spoke, she went forward and stood up in
+the bow of the boat, ready to step upon the accommodation ladder.
+
+"Noddy, do you see these great fishes in the water?" asked she.
+
+"Yes, I see them."
+
+"Do you know what they are?" continued she, as she turned to receive the
+answer.
+
+She was accustomed to boats, and her familiarity with them made her as
+fearless as her companion.
+
+"I never saw any like them before," replied Noddy, still sculling the
+boat towards the Roebuck.
+
+"What do you think they are?" added she, with one of those smiles which
+children wear when they are conscious of being wiser than their
+companions.
+
+"I haven't any idea what they are; but they look ugly enough to be
+snakes."
+
+"I've seen lots of them before, and I know what they are. I like you
+very well, Noddy; and I ask you, as a particular favor, not to fall
+overboard," said she, with a smile, at what she regarded as a very
+pretty joke.
+
+"What are they, Mollie?"
+
+"They are sharks, Noddy."
+
+"Sharks!" exclaimed the boy, who had heard Ben tell awful stories about
+the voracity of these terrible creatures.
+
+"Yes, they are sharks, and big ones, too."
+
+"Sit down, Mollie. I don't like to see you stand up there. You might
+fall overboard," said Noddy, who actually shuddered as he recalled the
+fearful stories he had heard about these savage fish.
+
+"I'm not afraid. I'm just as safe here as I should be on board the
+Roebuck. I've seen sharks before, and got used to them. I like to watch
+them."
+
+At that moment the boat struck upon something in the water, which might
+have been a log, or one of the ravenous monsters, whose back fins could
+be seen above the water, as they lay in wait for their prey. It was some
+heavy body, and it instantly checked the progress of the boat, and the
+sudden stoppage precipitated the poor girl over the bow into the sea.
+Noddy's blood seemed to freeze in his veins as he realized the horrible
+situation of Mollie in the water, surrounded by sharks. He expected to
+see her fair form severed in twain by the fierce creatures. He could
+swim like a duck, and his first impulse was to leap overboard, and save
+the poor girl or perish with her in the attempt.
+
+A shout from the schooner laden with the agony of mortal anguish saluted
+his ears as Mollie struck the water. It was the voice of Captain
+McClintock, who had come on deck, and had witnessed the fearful
+catastrophe. The voice went to Noddy's soul. He saw the slight form of
+Mollie as she rose to the surface, and began to struggle towards the
+boat. The cabin-boy sculled with all his might for an instant, which
+brought the boat up to the spot; but he was horrified to see that she
+was followed by a monstrous shark. Noddy seized the boat-hook, and
+sprang forward just as the greedy fish was turning over upon his side,
+with open mouth, to snap up his prey.
+
+Noddy, aware that the decisive moment for action had come, and feeling,
+as by instinct, that a miscalculation on his part would be fatal to poor
+Mollie, poised his weapon, and made a vigorous lunge at the savage fish.
+By accident, rather than by design, the boat-hook struck the shark in
+the eye; and with a fearful struggle he disappeared beneath the
+surface. Grasping the extended arm of Mollie, he dragged her into the
+boat before another of the monsters could attack her.
+
+"O, Noddy!" gasped she, as she sank down upon the bottom of the boat,
+overcome by terror, rather than by her exertions,--for she had been
+scarcely a moment in the water.
+
+"You are safe now, Mollie. Don't be afraid," said Noddy, in soothing
+tones, though his own utterance was choked by the fearful emotions he
+had endured.
+
+"Our Father, who art in heaven, I thank thee that thou hast preserved my
+life, and saved me from the terrible shark," said Mollie, as she clasped
+her hands and looked up to the sky.
+
+It was a prayer from the heart, and the good Father seemed to be nearer
+to Noddy than ever before. He felt that some other hand than his own had
+directed the weapon which had vanquished the shark.
+
+"O, Noddy, you have saved me," cried Mollie, as she rose from her knees,
+upon which she had thrown herself before she uttered her simple but
+devout prayer.
+
+"I am so glad you are safe, Mollie! But was it me that saved you?" asked
+Noddy, as he pointed up to the sky, with a sincere feeling that he had
+had very little to do with her preservation, though he was so deeply
+impressed by the event that he could not utter the sacred name of the
+Power which in that awful moment seemed to surround him, and to be in
+his very heart.
+
+"It was God who preserved me," said she, looking reverently upward
+again; "but he did it through you; and I may thank you, too, for what
+you have done. O, Noddy, you have been my best earthly friend; for what
+would my poor father have done if the shark had killed me?"
+
+Noddy sculled towards the Roebuck, for he knew that Captain McClintock
+was anxiously awaiting their return. When the boat touched the
+accommodation ladder, the anxious father sprang on board, not knowing
+even then that his daughter was entirely safe. He had seen Noddy draw
+her into the boat, but he feared she had lost a leg or an arm, for he
+was aware that the harbor swarmed with the largest and fiercest of the
+merciless "sea-pirates."
+
+"My poor child!" exclaimed he, as he clasped her in his arms, dreading
+even then to know the worst.
+
+"Dear father!" replied she.
+
+"Are you hurt?"
+
+"Not at all."
+
+"Were there any sharks out there?"
+
+"I guess there were!" replied she, significantly.
+
+"One of them had just heeled over to snap at her," added Noddy. "I never
+was so frightened in my life."
+
+"Good Heaven!" gasped the captain.
+
+"I gave myself up for lost," said Mollie, shuddering, as she recalled
+that fearful moment.
+
+"Well, what prevented him from taking hold of you?" asked Captain
+McClintock, who had not been near enough to discern precisely what had
+taken place in the boat.
+
+"Noddy saved me, father. He jammed the boat-hook right into the shark's
+head. In another instant the creature would have had me in his mouth. O,
+father, it was such an awful death to think of--to be bitten by a
+shark!"
+
+"Horrible!" groaned the father. "Noddy, your hand! You and I shall be
+friends to the last day of my life."
+
+"Thank you, sir," replied the heroic boy, as he took the proffered hand.
+"I did the best I could; but I was so scared! I was afraid the shark
+would catch her in spite of me."
+
+"God bless you, Noddy! But come on board, and we will talk it over."
+
+Captain McClintock handed Mollie, still dripping with water, to Mr.
+Watts, who had been an interested spectator of the touching scene in the
+boat; and she was borne to the cabin amid the congratulations of the
+crew, with whom she was a great favorite.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV.
+
+THE YELLOW FEVER.
+
+
+Mollie went to her state-room, and changed her clothes; and she did not
+come out till she had kneeled down and poured forth another prayer of
+thanksgiving for her safety from the horrible monster that would have
+devoured her. Her father kissed her again, as she returned to the cabin.
+He was as grateful as she was, and he took no pains to conceal the
+emotions which agitated him.
+
+"Now tell me all about it, Mollie," said he. "How happened you to fall
+overboard?"
+
+"I was careless, father. Noddy was persuading me to sit down at the
+moment when I went overboard," replied she.
+
+"I was afraid of the sharks as soon as I knew what they were; and I was
+thinking what an awful thing it would be if she should fall overboard,"
+added Noddy.
+
+"If I had minded you, Noddy, I shouldn't have been in danger."
+
+The story was told by the two little adventurers, each correcting or
+helping out the other, till the whole truth was obtained. It was evident
+to the captain and the mate, that Noddy had behaved with vigor and
+decision, and that, if he had been less prompt and energetic, poor
+Mollie must have become the victim of the ravenous shark.
+
+"You have saved her life, Noddy; that's plain enough," said Captain
+McClintock, as he rose and went to his state-room.
+
+"You were smart, my boy, and you deserve a great deal of credit," added
+Mr. Watts.
+
+"I don't mind that; I was too glad to get her out of the water to think
+of anything else."
+
+"Well, Noddy, you did good work that time, and you have won a great deal
+of honor by it."
+
+"You shall win something better than that, Noddy," said the captain, as
+he returned to the cabin with a little bag in his hand. "Here are ten
+gold pieces, my boy--one hundred dollars."
+
+He handed Noddy the bright coins; but the little hero's face flushed,
+and he looked as discontented as though he had been robbed of the honor
+of his exploit.
+
+"You shall win a hundred dollars by the operation," continued the
+captain.
+
+"Thank you, sir, but I don't want any money for that," replied Noddy,
+whose pride revolted at the idea, however tempting the money looked to
+him.
+
+"Take it, Noddy. You have done a good piece of work, and you ought to
+win something for it," added the captain.
+
+"I don't want to win any money for a job like that, Captain McClintock.
+I am already well paid for what I have done. I can't take any money for
+it. I feel too good already; and I am afraid if I take your gold I
+should spoil it all."
+
+"You are as proud as a lord, Noddy."
+
+"I'm sure, if we had lost Miss Mollie, I should have missed her as much
+as anybody, except her father. I shouldn't feel right to be paid for
+doing such a thing as knocking a shark in the head. I hated the monster
+bad enough to kill him, if he hadn't been going to do any mischief."
+
+"Then you won't take this money, Noddy?" continued the captain.
+
+"I'd rather not, sir. I shouldn't feel right if I did."
+
+"And I shouldn't feel right if you didn't. You don't quite understand
+the case, Noddy."
+
+"I think I do, sir."
+
+"No, you don't. Let me tell you about it. You have done something which
+fills me with gratitude to you. I want to do something to express that
+gratitude. I don't know that I can do it in any other way just now than
+by making you a little present. I don't mean to pay you."
+
+"It looks like that."
+
+"No it don't look a bit like it. Do you think I value my daughter's life
+at no more than a hundred dollars?"
+
+"I know you do, captain."
+
+"If I expected to pay you for what you have done, I should give you
+every dollar I have in the world, and every dollar which my property
+would bring if it were sold; and then I should feel that you had not
+half got your due."
+
+"I don't care about any money, sir," persisted Noddy.
+
+"Let me make you a present, then. It would make me feel better to do
+something for you."
+
+"I'm sure I would do anything to accommodate you."
+
+"Then take the money."
+
+Noddy took it very reluctantly, and felt just as though he was stealing
+it. Mr. Watts joined with the captain in arguing the matter, and he
+finally felt a little better satisfied about it. When he realized that
+he was the honest possessor of so large a sum, he felt like a rich man,
+and could not help thinking of the pleasure it would afford him to pour
+all these gold coins into Bertha's lap, and tell how he had won them.
+
+Mollie had something to say about the matter, and of course she took her
+father's side of the question; and the captain concluded the debate by
+assuring Noddy, if his daughter had to die, he would give more than a
+hundred dollars to save her from the maw of a shark, that she might die
+less horribly by drowning. On the whole, the cabin-boy was pretty well
+satisfied that he had won the money honestly, and he carefully bestowed
+it with his clothing in his berth.
+
+Early in the morning Mr. Watts went on shore with a boat's crew, to
+commence bringing off the water casks. It required the whole forenoon to
+remove the old casks, and stow the new ones in the hold. About eleven
+o'clock the mate complained of a chilly sensation, and a pain in his
+back, which was followed up by a severe headache. He was soon compelled
+to leave his work, and take to his berth in the cabin. The next boat
+from the shore brought off a surgeon, who promptly pronounced the
+disease the yellow fever.
+
+Before the Roebuck could get off, two of the sailors were attacked by
+the terrible malady. The only safety for the rest was in immediate
+flight; and the schooner got under way, and stood out to sea. The doctor
+had left ample directions for the treatment of the disease, but the
+medicines appeared to do no good. Mr. Watts was delirious before night.
+The two men in the forecastle were no better, and the prospect on board
+the vessel was as gloomy as it could be.
+
+Mollie stood by the sufferer in the cabin, in spite of the protest of
+her father. She knew what the fever was; but she seemed to be endued
+with a courage which was more than human. She nursed the sick man
+tenderly, and her simple prayer for his recovery ascended every hour
+during the long night. One of the men forward died before morning, and
+was committed to the deep by his terrified messmates, without even a
+form of prayer over his plague-stricken remains.
+
+Towards night, on the second day out of Barbadoes, Mr. Watts breathed
+his last. By the light of the lanterns, his cold form was placed on a
+plank extended over the rail. Mollie would not permit him to be buried
+in his watery grave without a prayer, and Captain McClintock read one.
+Many tears were shed over him, as his body slid off into the sea. Noddy
+and Mollie wept bitterly, for they felt that they had lost a good
+friend.
+
+There was only one more patient on board, and he seemed to be improving;
+but before the morning sun rose, red and glaring on the silent ocean,
+there were three more. Captain McClintock was one of them. There was
+none to take care of him but Mollie and Noddy; and both of them,
+regardless of the demands of their own bodies, kept vigil by his couch.
+More faithful nurses a sick man never had. They applied the remedies
+which had been used before.
+
+On the following day two more of the crew were committed to their ocean
+graves, and despair reigned throughout the vessel. The captain grew
+worse every hour, and poor Mollie was often compelled to leave the
+bedside that he might not see her weeping over him. He soon became
+delirious, and did not even know her.
+
+"O, Noddy," exclaimed she, when she fully realized the situation of her
+father, "I shall soon be alone."
+
+"Don't give up, Mollie," replied the cabin-boy sadly.
+
+"I have prayed till I fear my prayers are no longer heard," sobbed she.
+
+"Yes, they are, Mollie. Don't stop praying," said Noddy, who knew that
+the poor girl had derived a great deal of hope and comfort from her
+prayers.
+
+He had seen her kneel down when she was almost overcome by the horrors
+which surrounded them, and rise as calm and hopeful as though she had
+received a message direct from on high. Perhaps he had no real faith in
+her prayers, but he saw what strength she derived from them. Certainly
+they had not warded off the pestilence, which was still seeking new
+victims on board. But they were the life of Mollie's struggling
+existence; and it was with the utmost sincerity that he had counselled
+her to continue them.
+
+"My father will die!" groaned the poor girl. "Nothing can save him now."
+
+"No, he won't die. He isn't very bad yet, Mollie."
+
+"O, yes, he is. He does not speak to me; he does not know me."
+
+"He is doing very well, Mollie. Don't give it up yet."
+
+"I feel that he will soon leave me."
+
+"No, he won't, Mollie. I _know_ he will get well," said Noddy, with the
+most determined emphasis.
+
+"How do you know?"
+
+"I feel that he will. He isn't half so bad as Mr. Watts was. Cheer up,
+and he will be all right in a few days."
+
+"But think how terrible it would be for my poor father to die, away here
+in the middle of the ocean," continued Mollie, weeping most bitterly, as
+she thought of the future.
+
+"But he will not die; I am just as sure that he will get well, as I am
+that I am alive now."
+
+Noddy had no reason whatever for this strong assertion, and he made it
+only to comfort his friend. It was not made in vain, for the afflicted
+daughter was willing to cling to any hope, however slight, and the
+confident words of the boy made an impression upon her. The morrow came,
+and the captain was decidedly better; but from the forecastle came the
+gloomy report that two more of the men had been struck down by the
+disease.
+
+There were but three seamen left who were able to do duty, and Mr.
+Lincoln, the second mate, was nearly exhausted by watching and anxiety.
+Fortunately, the weather had been fine, and the Roebuck had been under
+all sail, with a fair wind. Noddy had obtained a little sleep during the
+second night of the captain's illness, and he went on deck to report to
+the mate for duty. He was competent to steer the vessel in a light
+breeze, and he was permitted to relieve the man at the wheel.
+
+He stood his trick of two hours, and then went below, to ascertain the
+condition of the captain. As he descended the ladder, he discovered the
+form of Mollie extended on one of the lockers. Her face was flushed, and
+she was breathing heavily. Noddy was appalled at this sight, for he knew
+too well what these indications meant.
+
+"What is the matter, Mollie?" asked he, hardly able to speak the words
+from the violence of his emotion.
+
+"It is my turn now, Noddy," replied she, in faint tones. "Who will pray
+for me?"
+
+"I will, Mollie; but what ails you?"
+
+"I am burning up with heat, and perishing with cold. My back feels as if
+it was broken, and the pain darts up through my neck into my head. I
+know very well what it means. You will take care of my poor
+father--won't you, Noddy?"
+
+"To be sure I will. You must turn in, Mollie, and let me take care of
+you, too," said he, trying to be as calm as the terrible situation
+required of him.
+
+He assisted the stricken maiden to her state-room, and placed her in her
+berth. Taking from the medicine chest the now familiar remedy, he gave
+her the potion, and tenderly ministered to all her wants. She was very
+sick, for she had struggled with the destroying malady for hours before
+she yielded to its insidious advances.
+
+"Thank you, Noddy. I feel better now, and I shall soon be happy. Go now
+and see to my father; don't let him want for anything."
+
+"I will not, Mollie; I will take first-rate care of him," answered
+Noddy, as he smoothed down the clothing around her neck.
+
+"My father is the captain of the ship, you know," added she, with a
+smile. "He is a great man; bigger than any shark you ever saw."
+
+Her mind had begun to wander already; and her patient nurse could hardly
+keep down his tears, as he gazed at her flushed cheeks, and smoothed
+down the curls upon her neck. She was beautiful to him--too beautiful to
+die there in mid ocean, with none but rude men to shed great tears over
+her silent form. How he wished that Bertha was there, to watch over that
+frail little form, and ward off the grim tyrant that was struggling to
+possess it! She would not fear the pangs of the pestilence; she would be
+an angel in the little state-room, and bring down peace and hope, if not
+life, to the lovely sufferer.
+
+Noddy felt as he had never felt before, not even when the dread monster
+of the deep had almost snapped up the slight form before him. All the
+good lessons he had ever learned in his life came to him with a force
+they had never possessed in the sunny hour of prosperity. He wanted to
+pray. He felt the need of a strength not his own. Mollie could not pray
+now. Her mind was darkened by the shadows of disease. He went out into
+the cabin. It looked as cheerless, and cold, and gloomy, as the inside
+of a tomb. But God was there; and though Noddy could not speak the
+words of his prayer, his heart breathed a spirit which the infinite
+Father could understand. He prayed, as he had promised the sick girl he
+would, and the strength which prayer had given to her was given to him.
+
+"Here is work for me," said he, as he approached the door of the
+captain's state-room. "But I am able to do it. I will never give up this
+work."
+
+He did not know what he was to win by this work of love, amid trials and
+tribulation. He had struggled with the disposition to despond; he had
+worked like a hero to keep his spirits up; and that which he was called
+upon to do with his hands was small and trivial compared with that which
+was done by his mind and heart. He had conquered fear and despair.
+
+Thus prepared to battle with the giant ills which surrounded him, he
+entered Captain McClintock's room.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV.
+
+THE DEMON OF THE CUP.
+
+
+"Is that you, Noddy?" asked the captain, faintly.
+
+"Yes, sir. How do you feel, captain?"
+
+"I think I'm a little better. I wish you would ask Mollie to come in; I
+want to see her."
+
+"Does your head ache now, sir?" asked Noddy, who did not like to tell
+him that his daughter had just been taken with the fever.
+
+"Not so bad as it did. Just speak to Mollie."
+
+"I think you are ever so much better, sir. You will be out in a day or
+two."
+
+"Do you think so, Noddy?"
+
+"Yes, sir; I'm certain you will," answered the boy, who knew that faith
+was life in the present instance.
+
+"I'm glad you think so. I certainly feel a great deal better," replied
+the captain, as though he was already cheered by the inspiration of
+hope.
+
+"You must be careful, and keep still; and you will be all right in a
+week, at the most."
+
+"I hope so; for I couldn't help thinking, when I was taken down, what a
+bitter thing it would be to poor Mollie if I should die so far from home
+and friends."
+
+"You have got over the worst of it now, captain."
+
+"Is Mollie out in the cabin?" asked the sufferer, persistently returning
+to the subject near his heart.
+
+"No, sir; she is not, just now."
+
+"Has she gone on deck?"
+
+"No, sir."
+
+"Where is she, Noddy?" demanded he, earnestly, as he attempted to raise
+himself up in his cot.
+
+"Don't stir, captain; it will make you worse, if you do."
+
+"Tell me where Mollie is at once, or I shall jump out of my berth. Is
+she--is she--"
+
+"She is in her room, captain. Don't be worried about her," replied
+Noddy, who was afraid that the truth would have a bad effect upon the
+devoted father. "She laid down a little while ago."
+
+"Is she dead?" gasped the captain, with a mighty effort to utter the
+appalling word.
+
+"O, no, sir! She was taken sick a little while ago."
+
+"O, mercy!" groaned the sick man. "I know it all now."
+
+"It's no use to deny it, sir. She has got the fever."
+
+"And I lay here helpless!"
+
+"She said she felt a little better when I came out. I gave her the
+medicine, and did everything for her."
+
+"I must go to her."
+
+"You will worry her to death, if you do, captain. She is more troubled
+about you than she is about herself. If you lay still, so I can report
+that you are doing well, it will be the best thing in the world for her.
+It will do her more good than the medicine."
+
+"Tell her I am well, Noddy!"
+
+"It won't do to tell her too much; she won't believe anything, if I do,"
+said Noddy, sorely troubled about the moral management of the cases.
+
+"Tell her I am well, Noddy; and I will go and sit by her," replied the
+sufferer, who was no more able to get out of his bed than he was to cure
+the fearful disease.
+
+"I can't do anything, captain, if you don't keep still in your bed. She
+is a little out just now; but I think she will do very well, if you only
+let her alone."
+
+Captain McClintock was in an agony of suspense; but Noddy succeeded in
+consoling him so that he promised to remain quietly in his bed. As
+physician and nurse, as well as friend and comforter, the cabin-boy
+found his hands full; but he had a heart big enough for the occasion;
+and all day and all night he went from one patient to another,
+ministering to their wants with as much skill and judgment as though he
+had been trained in a sick room.
+
+Mollie grow worse as the hours wore heavily away; but this was to be
+expected, and the patient nurse was not discouraged by the progressive
+indications of the disease. Towards morning the captain went to sleep;
+but it required all the faithful boy's energies to keep Mollie in her
+bed, as she raved with the heated brain of the malady.
+
+In the morning one of the seamen was reported out of danger, and the
+others in a hopeful condition. Noddy was completely exhausted by his
+labors and his solicitude. Mr. Lincoln saw that he could endure no more;
+and as he had obtained a few hours' sleep on deck during the night, he
+insisted that the weary boy should have some rest, while he took care of
+the sick. Noddy crawled into his berth, and not even his anxiety for
+poor Mollie could keep him awake any longer. He slept heavily, and the
+considerate mate did not wake him till dinner-time, when he sprang from
+his berth and hastened to the couch of the sick girl.
+
+Another day passed, and Mollie began to exhibit some hopeful symptoms.
+Her father was still improving. The patients in the forecastle were also
+getting better. Noddy felt that no more of the Roebuck's people were to
+be cast into the sea. Hope gave him new life. He was rested and
+refreshed by the bright prospect quite as much as by the sleep which the
+kindness of Mr. Lincoln enabled him to obtain.
+
+The schooner still sped on her course with favoring breezes; while
+Noddy, patient and hopeful, performed the various duties which the fell
+disease imposed upon him. He had not regarded the danger of taking the
+fever himself. He had no thought now for any one but poor Mollie, who
+was daily improving. One by one the crew, who had been stricken down
+with the malady, returned to the deck; but it was a long time before
+they were able to do their full measure of duty. In a week after Mollie
+was taken sick, her father was able to sit a portion of the day by her
+side; and a few days later, she was able to sit up for a few moments.
+
+The terrible scourge had wasted itself; but the chief mate and three of
+the crew had fallen victims to the sad visitation. Yellow fever patients
+convalesce very slowly; and it was a fortnight before Captain McClintock
+was able to go on deck; but at the same time, Mollie, weak and
+attenuated by her sufferings, was helped up the ladder by her devoted
+friend and nurse. The cloud had passed away from the vessel, and
+everybody on board was as happy as though disease and death had never
+invaded those wooden walls. But the happiness was toned to the
+circumstances. Hearts had been purified by suffering. Neither the
+officers nor the men swore; they spoke to each other in gentle tones, as
+though the tribulations through which they had passed had softened their
+hearts, and bound them together in a holier than earthly affection.
+
+As Mr. Watts and three sailors had died, the vessel was short-handed,
+but not crippled; and the captain decided to prosecute his voyage
+without putting into any port for assistance. Mr. Lincoln was appointed
+chief mate, and a second mate was selected from the forecastle.
+Everything went along as before the storm burst upon the devoted vessel.
+
+"How happy I am, Noddy!" exclaimed Mollie, as they sat on deck one
+afternoon, when she had nearly recovered her strength. "My father was
+saved, and I am saved. How grateful I am!"
+
+"So am I, Mollie," replied Noddy.
+
+"And how much we both owe to you! Wasn't it strange you didn't take the
+fever?"
+
+"I think it was."
+
+"Were you not afraid of it?"
+
+"I didn't think anything about it, any way; but I feel just as though I
+had gone through with the fever, or something else."
+
+"Why?"
+
+"I don't know; everything looks odd and strange to me. I don't feel like
+the same fellow."
+
+Mollie persisted in her desire to know how the cabin-boy felt, and Noddy
+found it exceedingly difficult to describe his feelings. Much of the
+religious impressions which he had derived from the days of tribulation
+still clung to him. His views of life and death had changed. Many of
+Bertha's teachings, which he could not understand before, were very
+plain to him now. He did not believe it would be possible for him to do
+anything wrong again. Hopes and fears had been his incentives to duty
+before; principle had grown up in his soul now. The experience of years
+seemed to be crowded into the few short days when gloom and death
+reigned in the vessel.
+
+The Roebuck sped on her way, generally favored with good weather and
+fair winds. She was a stanch vessel, and behaved well in the few storms
+she encountered. She doubled Cape Horn without subjecting her crew to
+any severe hardships, and sped on her way to more genial climes. For
+several weeks after his recovery, Captain McClintock kept very steady,
+and Mollie hoped that the "evil days" had passed by. It was a vain hope;
+for when the schooner entered the Pacific, his excesses were again
+apparent. He went on from bad to worse, till he was sober hardly a
+single hour of the day. In vain did Mollie plead with him; in vain she
+reminded him of the time when they had both lain at death's door; in
+vain she assured him that she feared the bottle more than the fever. He
+was infatuated by the demon of the cup, and seemed to have no moral
+power left.
+
+The Roebuck was approaching the thick clusters of islands that stud the
+Pacific; and it was important that the vessel should be skilfully
+navigated. Mr. Lincoln was a good seaman, but he was not a navigator;
+that is, he was not competent to find the latitude and longitude, and
+lay down the ship's position on the chart. The captain was seldom in
+condition to make an observation, and the schooner was in peril of being
+dashed to pieces on the rocks. The mate was fully alive to the
+difficulties of his position; and he told Mollie what must be the
+consequences of her father's continued neglect. The sea in which they
+were then sailing was full of islands and coral reefs. There were
+indications of a storm, and he could not save the vessel without knowing
+where she was.
+
+"Noddy," said the troubled maiden, after Mr. Lincoln had explained the
+situation to her, "I want you to help me."
+
+"I'm ready," replied he, with his usual promptness.
+
+"We are going to ruin. My poor father is in a terrible state, and I am
+going to do something."
+
+"What can you do?"
+
+"You shall help me, but I will bear all the blame."
+
+"You would not do anything wrong, and I am willing to bear the blame
+with you."
+
+"Never mind that; we are going to do what's right, and we will not say a
+word about the blame. Now come with me," she continued, leading the way
+to the cabin.
+
+"I am willing to do anything that is right, wherever the blame falls."
+
+"We must save the vessel, for the mate says she is in great danger.
+There is a storm coming, and Mr. Lincoln don't know where we are. Father
+hasn't taken an observation for four days."
+
+"Well, are you going to take one?" asked Noddy, who was rather
+bewildered by Mollie's statement of the perils of the vessel.
+
+"No; but I intend that father shall to-morrow."
+
+"What are you going to do?"
+
+She opened the pantry door, and took from the shelf a bottle of gin.
+
+"Take this, Noddy, and throw it overboard," said she, handing him the
+bottle.
+
+"I'll do that;" and he went to the bull's eye, in Molli's state-room,
+and dropped it into the sea.
+
+"That's only a part of the work," said she, as she opened one of the
+lockers in the cabin, which was stowed full of liquors.
+
+She passed them out, two at a time, and Noddy dropped them all into the
+ocean. Captain McClintock was lying in his state-room, in a helpless
+state of intoxication, so that there was no fear of interruption from
+him. Every bottle of wine, ale, and liquor which the cabin contained was
+thrown overboard. Noddy thought that the sharks, which swallow
+everything that falls overboard, would all get "tight;" but he hoped
+they would break the bottles before they swallowed them. The work was
+done, and everything which could intoxicate was gone; at least
+everything which Mollie and the cabin-boy could find. They did not tell
+Mr. Lincoln what they had done, for they did not wish to make him a
+party to the transaction.
+
+They were satisfied with their work. The vessel would be saved if the
+storm held off twelve hours longer. The captain rose early the next
+morning, and Noddy, from his berth, saw him go to the pantry for his
+morning dram. There was no bottle there. He went to the locker; there
+was none there. He searched, without success, in all the lockers and
+berths of the cabin. While he was engaged in the search, Mollie, who had
+heard him, came out of her room.
+
+The captain's hand shook, and his whole frame trembled from the effects
+of his long-inebriation. His nerves were shattered, and nothing but
+liquor could quiet them. Mollie could not help crying when she saw to
+what a state her father had been reduced. He was pale and haggard; and
+when he tried to raise a glass of water to his lips his trembling hand
+refused its office, and he spilled it on the floor.
+
+"Where is all the liquor, Mollie?" he asked, in shaken, hollow tones.
+
+"I have thrown it all overboard," she replied, firmly.
+
+He was too weak to be angry with her; and she proceeded to tell him what
+must be the fate of the vessel, and of all on board, if he did not
+attend to his duty. He listened, and promised not to drink another drop;
+for he knew then, even when his shattered reason held but partial sway,
+that he would be the murderer of his daughter and of his crew, if the
+vessel was wrecked by his neglect. He meant to keep his promise; but the
+gnawing appetite, which he had fostered and cherished until it became a
+demon, would not let him do so. In the forenoon, goaded by the insatiate
+thirst that beset him, he went into the hold, which could be entered
+from the cabin, and opened a case of liquors, forming part of the cargo.
+He drank long and deep, and lay down upon the merchandise, that he might
+be near this demon.
+
+Twelve o'clock came, and no observation could be taken. Mollie looked
+for her father, and with Noddy's help she found him in the hold,
+senseless in his inebriation. Mr. Lincoln was called down, and he was
+conveyed to his berth. The liquor was thrown overboard, but it was too
+late; before dark the gale broke upon the Roebuck, and fear and
+trembling were again in the vessel.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI.
+
+NIGHT AND STORM.
+
+
+Sudden and severe was the gale which came down upon the Roebuck, while
+her captain was besotted and helpless in his berth. Mr. Lincoln did all
+that a skilful seaman could do, and while the wind and the waves were
+the only perils against which the schooner had to contend, there was no
+serious alarm for her safety. The night had come, and the time had
+passed by when even Captain McClintock could do anything more than the
+mate.
+
+Mr. Lincoln had kept the "dead reckoning" as well as he could without
+any knowledge of the currents; and it was evident that the vessel was in
+a perilous situation, and not far distant from the region of islands and
+coral reefs. The first hours of the stormy night wore gloomily away, for
+none knew at what moment the schooner might be dashed to pieces upon
+some hidden rock.
+
+When the captain revived a little from the stupor of intoxication, he
+seemed not to heed the situation of the vessel. Taking the cabin
+lantern, he went into the hold again. His only thought seemed to be of
+the liquor on which he lived. All the cases that Mollie and Noddy could
+find had been thrown overboard; but the drunkard overhauled the cargo
+till he found what he wanted, and taking a bottle of gin to his
+state-room, he was soon as senseless as the fiery fluid could make him.
+
+Mollie did all that she could do under these trying circumstances; she
+prayed that the good Father who had saved them before, would be with
+them now; and she knew that the strong arm of Omnipotence could move far
+from them the perils with which they were surrounded. She felt better
+every time she prayed. But the storm increased in fury, and she knew not
+the purposes of the Infinite in regard to them.
+
+"I am afraid we shall never see the light of another day, Noddy," said
+she, as the great seas struck with stunning force against the side of
+the vessel.
+
+"Why not? We have been out in a worse gale than this," replied Noddy,
+who felt that it was his peculiar office to keep hope alive in the
+heart of his gentle companion.
+
+"But we may be in the midst of the rocks and shoals."
+
+"We shall do very well, Mollie. Don't give it up."
+
+"I don't give it up; but I am ready for anything. I want to be resigned
+to my fate whenever it comes."
+
+"Don't be so blue about it, Mollie. It will be all right with us in the
+morning."
+
+"You heard what Mr. Lincoln said, and you know we are in great danger."
+
+"Perhaps we are."
+
+"You know we are, Noddy."
+
+"Well, we are; but for all that, the vessel will ride out the gale, and
+to-morrow you will laugh to think how scared you were."
+
+"I am not scared; I am ready to die. Promise me one thing, Noddy."
+
+"Anything," answered he, promptly.
+
+"You will not blame my father if the vessel is lost. He is insane; he
+can't help what he does. He never did so before, and I know he don't
+mean to do wrong."
+
+"I suppose he don't, and I won't blame him, whatever happens," replied
+he, willing to comfort the poor girl in any way he could.
+
+"I should not care so much if it didn't look as though it was all
+father's fault."
+
+"It will be all right to-morrow. We will throw the rest of the liquor
+overboard. We will search through the hold, and not leave a single
+bottle of anything there. Then we shall be safe."
+
+"It will be too late then," sighed Mollie.
+
+"No, it won't; the vessel will be saved. I _know_ it will," added Noddy,
+resolutely.
+
+"You don't know."
+
+"Yes, I do; I am just as certain of it as I am of my own existence."
+
+Noddy had hardly uttered these confident words, before a tremendous
+shock threw them upon the cabin floor. It was followed by a terrible
+crashing sound, as though every timber in the vessel had been rent and
+broken; and they could hear the rush of waters, as the torrents poured
+in through the broken sides. Noddy, without stopping to think of the
+vain prophecy he had made, seized the light form of Mollie, and bore her
+to the deck. The sea was running riot there; the great waves swept over
+the deck with a force which no human strength could resist, and Noddy
+was compelled to retreat to the cabin again.
+
+The lantern still swung from a deck beam, but the water had risen in the
+cabin so that his descent was prevented. The Roebuck had run upon a reef
+or shoal in such a manner that her bow was projected far out of the
+water, while her stern was almost submerged in the waves. Noddy's quick
+perception enabled him to comprehend the position of the vessel, and he
+placed his charge on the companion ladder, which was protected in a
+measure from the force of the sea by the hatch, closed on the top, and
+open only on the front.
+
+"My father!" gasped Mollie. "Save him, Noddy!"
+
+"I will try," replied Noddy. "Hold on tight," added he, as a heavy
+volume of water rolled down the companion-way.
+
+"Save him, and don't mind me," groaned the poor girl, unselfish to the
+last.
+
+The brave boy stepped down to the cabin floor, where the water was up to
+his hips. Creeping on the top of the lockers, and holding on to the
+front of the berths, he reached the door of the captain's state-room. In
+this part of the vessel the water had risen nearly to the top of the
+door, and the berth in which the unfortunate inebriate lay was entirely
+beneath its surface. He crawled into the room, and put his hand into the
+berth. The captain was not there.
+
+The water was still rising, and Noddy had no doubt that the poor man had
+already perished. The shock of the collision when the schooner struck,
+or the rising waters, had forced him from his position on the bed. The
+water was over Noddy's head in the state-room; but the agony of Mollie
+induced him to make a desperate effort to save her father. He dropped
+down on the floor, and felt about with his feet, till he found the body.
+The question was settled. Captain McClintock was dead. He was one of the
+first victims of his criminal neglect.
+
+It was not safe to remain longer in the state-room, even if there had
+been any motive for doing so, and Noddy worked his way forward again as
+he had come. He found Mollie still clinging to the ladder, suffering
+everything on account of her father, and nothing for herself.
+
+"My poor father!" said she, when she discovered her friend coming back
+without him. "Where is he, Noddy?"
+
+"I couldn't do anything for him, Mollie," replied he.
+
+"Is he lost?"
+
+"He is gone, Mollie; and it was all over with him before I got there.
+Don't cry. He is out of trouble now."
+
+"Poor father," sobbed she. "Couldn't you save him? Let me go and help
+you."
+
+"No use, Mollie," added Noddy, as he climbed up the ladder, and looked
+out through the aperture at the hatch.
+
+"Are you sure we can't do anything for him?" she asked, in trembling
+tones.
+
+"Nothing, Mollie. He was dead when I opened the door of his room. I
+found him on the floor, and had to go down over my head to find him. He
+did not move or struggle, and I'm sure he is dead. I am sorry, but I
+can't help it."
+
+"O, dear, dear!" groaned she, in her anguish.
+
+She heeded not the cracking timbers and the roaring sea. Her heart was
+with the unfortunate man who lay cold and still beneath the invading
+waters. She was ready to go with him to the home in the silent land.
+
+"You hold on tight a little while, and I will go on deck, and see if I
+can make out where we are," said Noddy.
+
+"It matters little to me where we are. I shall soon be with my father,"
+replied Mollie.
+
+"Don't say that. Your father is at rest now."
+
+"And I shall soon be at rest with him. Do you hear those terrible waves
+beat against the vessel? They will break her in pieces in a few moments
+more."
+
+"Perhaps they will, and perhaps they won't. You mustn't give up, Mollie.
+If I should lose you now, I shouldn't care what became of me."
+
+"You have been very good to me, Noddy; and I hope God will bless you."
+
+"I want to save you if I can."
+
+"You cannot, Noddy, in this terrible storm. We are poor weak children,
+and we can do nothing."
+
+"But I am bound to work and win. I shall not give it up yet, Mollie. We
+have struck upon a rock or a shoal, and the land can't be a great ways
+off."
+
+"Such an awful sea! We could never reach the land."
+
+"We can try--can't we?"
+
+"Where is Mr. Lincoln?"
+
+"I don't know. I have not heard a sound but the noise of the sea since
+the vessel struck. I suppose he and the rest of the men were washed
+overboard."
+
+"How horrible!"
+
+"I don't know. They may have left in one of the boats."
+
+"I haven't any courage, Noddy. My poor father is gone, and I don't feel
+as though it made any difference what became of me."
+
+"Don't talk so, Mollie. Save yourself for my sake, if you don't for your
+own."
+
+"What can we do?" asked she, blankly, for the situation seemed utterly
+hopeless.
+
+"I don't know; I will see," replied Noddy, as he crawled through the
+aperture, and reached the deck.
+
+A huge wave struck him as he rose upon his feet, and bore him down to
+the lee side of the vessel; but he grasped the shrouds, and saved
+himself from being hurled into the abyss of waters that boiled in the
+fury of the storm on both sides of the stranded schooner. He ran up the
+shrouds a short distance, and tried to penetrate the gloom of the night.
+He could see nothing but the white froth on the waves, which beat on all
+sides. There was no land to be seen ahead, as he had expected, and it
+was evident that the Roebuck had struck on a shoal, at some distance
+from any shore.
+
+It was impossible to walk forward on the deck, for the savage waves that
+broke over the vessel would have carried him overboard. The sight
+suggested the manner in which the men had so suddenly disappeared. They
+had probably been swept away the moment the vessel struck. The rigging
+of the schooner was all standing, and Noddy decided to go forward to
+ascertain if there was any comfortable position there for Mollie. He
+went to the main-mast head, and, by the spring-stay, reached the
+fore-mast. Descending by the fore-shrouds, he reached the forecastle of
+the schooner.
+
+The bow had been thrown up so high on the shoal that the sea did not
+break over this part of the vessel with anything like the force it did
+farther aft. The hatch was on the fore-scuttle, and it was possible that
+the men had taken refuge in the forecastle. Removing the hatch, he
+called the names of Mr. Lincoln and others; but there was no response.
+He then went down, and attempted to make his way aft through the hold.
+This was impossible, and he was obliged to return by the way he had
+come.
+
+"My poor father!" sighed Mollie, as Noddy reached the ladder to which
+she was clinging; "I shall never see you again."
+
+"Come, Mollie. I want you to go with me now," said he, taking her by the
+arm.
+
+"Did you find any of the crew?" she asked.
+
+"Not a single one."
+
+"Poor men!"
+
+"I am afraid they are all drowned; but we may be saved if we only work.
+If we stay here we shall certainly be lost. If the sea should carry off
+the companion-hatch, we should be drowned out in spite of all we could
+do."
+
+"What can we do?"
+
+"We must go forward."
+
+"That is impossible for me, Noddy."
+
+"No, it isn't."
+
+"Save yourself, Noddy, if you can. I do not feel like doing anything."
+
+"I shall stay by you, and if you are lost I shall be lost with you."
+
+"Then I will go with you, and do anything you say," said she, earnestly;
+for when the life of another was at stake, she was willing to put forth
+any exertion.
+
+"The vessel holds together first-rate, and if we stick by her till
+morning, we may find some way to save ourselves. Don't give it up,
+Mollie. Work and win; that's my motto, you know."
+
+"I am ready to work with you, Noddy, whether you win or not."
+
+The persevering boy got a rope, which he made fast around the little
+girl's body, and watching his time, at the intervals of the breaking
+waves, he bore her to the main shrouds. She went up to the mast head
+without much difficulty, though the force of the wind was so great that
+Noddy had to hold on to her, to keep her from being blown from the
+ropes.
+
+At this point he made a sling for her on the spring-stay, in which she
+sat as a child does in a swing. It was adjusted to the big rope so that
+it would slip along, and permit her to hold on to the stay with her
+hands. The vessel seemed to be so wedged in the rocks or sand, on which
+she had struck, that she did not roll, and the only obstacle to a safe
+passage from one mast to the other, was the violence of the gale. By
+Noddy's careful and skilful management, the transit was made in safety
+through the most imminent peril. The descent to the deck, forward, was
+more easily accomplished, and the heroic youth soon had the pleasure of
+seeing his gentle charge safe, for the present, in the forecastle.
+
+He had worked and won, so far. He was satisfied with the past, and
+hopeful of the future. Having conducted Mollie to a safe place, he
+turned his attention once more to the situation of the vessel. Looking
+over the bow, he discovered the dark, ragged rocks, rising a few feet
+above the water, on which she had struck, but he could not see any
+land.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII.
+
+AFTER THE STORM.
+
+
+The Roebuck had been built, under the direction of Captain McClintock,
+for the voyage around Cape Horn. She was a new vessel, and of extra
+strength, and she held together in spite of the hard thumping she
+received on the rocks. As she struck, a hole was knocked in her bottom;
+but her bow had been forced so far up on the rocks that the water which
+she made all settled aft.
+
+With tender care Noddy had wrapped up his frail companion in a pea
+jacket he found in the forecastle, and together they waited anxiously
+for the morning light. The waves beat fiercely against the side of the
+vessel, pounded on the decks as they rolled over the bulwarks; and the
+survivors were in continual fear that each moment would witness the
+destruction of their ark of safety. Noddy had made the best arrangements
+he could for a speedy exit, in case the worst should be realized.
+
+With the first signs of daylight Noddy was on deck endeavoring to obtain
+a better knowledge of the location of the wreck. It seemed to him then
+that the force of the gale had abated, though the sea was hardly less
+savage than it had been during the night. As the day dawned, he
+discovered the outline of some dark object, apparently half a mile
+distant. He watched this sombre pile till there was light enough to
+satisfy him that it was an island.
+
+"Hurrah!" shouted Noddy,--forgetting, in the joy of this discovery, that
+death and destruction had reigned on board the Roebuck.
+
+"What is it?" asked Mollie, hardly moved by the gladness of her
+companion.
+
+"Land ho!" replied he, as he descended the ladder to the forecastle.
+
+"Where is it?" said she, languidly, as though she did not feel much
+interested in the announcement.
+
+"Right over here, about half a mile off."
+
+"It might as well be a thousand miles off; for we can never get there."
+
+"O, yes, we can. We have the boat on deck. I'm afraid you are
+discouraged, Mollie."
+
+"I can't help thinking of poor father," said she, bursting into tears
+again.
+
+Noddy comforted her as well as he could. He told her she ought not to
+repine at the will of God, who had saved her, though he had permitted
+her father to be lost; that she ought to be grateful for her own
+preservation; and, what seemed to be the strongest argument to him, that
+weeping and "taking on" would do no good. He was but a poor comforter,
+and only repeated what he had often heard her say in the dark hours of
+their former tribulation. Her father was dead, and she could not help
+weeping. Whatever were his faults, and however great had been the error
+which had brought her to the present extremity, he was her father. In
+his sober days he had loved her tenderly and devotedly; and it seemed
+like sacrilege to her to dry the tears which so readily and so freely
+flowed. They were the natural tribute of affection from a child to a
+lost parent.
+
+Noddy did not dare to say all he believed, for he was convinced that the
+death of the captain was a blessing to himself and to his daughter. He
+was so besotted by the demon that life could henceforth be only a misery
+to him, and a stumbling-block to her. It required no great faith for him
+to believe, in the present instance, that the good Father doeth all
+things well.
+
+The daylight came, and with it the hope of brighter hours. The clouds
+were breaking away, and the winds subsided almost as suddenly as they
+had risen. Still the waves broke fiercely over the wreck, and it was
+impossible to take any steps towards reaching the land, whose green
+hills and bright valleys gladdened the heart of the storm-tossed
+sailor-boy. With an axe which he found in the forecastle, he knocked
+away a couple of the planks of the bulkhead which divided the seamen's
+quarters from the hold. He passed through, by moving a portion of the
+miscellaneous cargo, to the cabin, where he obtained some water, some
+ship bread, and boiled beef.
+
+Poor Mollie had no appetite; but to please her anxious friend, she ate
+half a biscuit. They passed the forenoon in the forecastle, talking of
+the past and the future; but the thoughts of the bereaved daughter
+continually reverted to her father. She talked of him; of what he had
+been to her, and of the bright hopes which she had cherished of the
+future. She was positive she should never be happy again. After much
+persuasion, Noddy induced her to lie down in one of the bunks, and being
+thoroughly exhausted by anxiety and the loss of rest, she went to
+sleep, which gave her patient friend a great deal of satisfaction.
+
+She slept, and Noddy went on deck again. The waves had now subsided, so
+that he could go aft. He found that the jolly-boat was gone from the
+stern davits. At first he supposed it had been washed away by the heavy
+sea; but a further examination convinced him that it had been lowered by
+the men. It was possible, if not probable, the crew had taken to the
+boat, and he might find them on the island, or a portion of them, for it
+was hardly to be expected that the whole crew had escaped.
+
+From the deck he went below. He had anticipated that the fall of the
+tide would enable him to enter the state-room of the captain; but there
+was no perceptible change in the height of the water. In this locality
+the whole range of the tide was not more than a foot. There were many
+things which might be of great value to Mollie, if they ever escaped
+from this region, and he was anxious to save them for her use. The
+captain had a considerable sum of money in gold and silver. The
+cabin-boy, knowing where it was, set himself at work to obtain it. He
+was obliged to dive several times before he succeeded; but at last he
+brought it up, and deposited it in the safest place he could find.
+
+Other articles of value were saved in the same manner, including the
+captain's chronometer and sextant, the sad neglect of which had caused
+the terrible disaster. Towards night a change in the wind "knocked down"
+the sea, and the waves no longer dashed against the shattered vessel.
+The galley had been washed away; but the boat on deck, though thrown
+from the blocks, was still uninjured; and Noddy was sorely perplexed to
+find a means of getting it overboard. It was too late, and he was too
+tired to accomplish anything that night.
+
+Mollie was awake when he went to the forecastle again; and rest and
+refreshment had made her more cheerful and more hopeful. She spoke with
+greater interest of the future, and dwelt less mournfully on the sad
+event which had made her an orphan. Noddy told her his plans for the
+morrow; that he intended to launch the long-boat, and visit the island
+the next day; that he would build a house for her; and that they would
+be happy there till some passing whaler picked them up. The tired boy,
+now secure of life, went to sleep. His fair companion wept again, as she
+thought of the pleasant days when her father had been a joy to every
+hour of her existence; but she, too, went to sleep, with none to watch
+over her but the good Father who had saved her in all the perils through
+which she had passed.
+
+The sun rose clear and bright the next morning, and Noddy went on deck
+to prepare their simple breakfast. He had constructed a fireplace of
+iron plates, and he boiled some water to make tea. Mollie soon joined
+him; and sad as she still was, she insisted that the cooking was her
+duty. She performed it, while Noddy employed himself in devising some
+plan by which, with his feeble powers, he could hoist the heavy boat
+into the water. The bulwarks had been partially stove on one side, and
+he cleared away the wreck till there was nothing to obstruct the passage
+of the boat over the side.
+
+They sat down on the deck to eat their breakfast; and during the meal
+Noddy was very quiet and thoughtful. Occasionally he cast his eyes up at
+the rigging over their heads. Mollie could not help looking at him. She
+had a great admiration for him; he had been so kind to her, and so brave
+and cheerful in the discharge of the duties which the awful catastrophe
+imposed upon him. Besides, he was her only friend--her only hope now.
+
+"What are you thinking about, Noddy?" asked she, perplexed by his
+unusually meditative mood.
+
+"I was thinking how I should get the boat into the water."
+
+"You can't get it into the water. What can a small boy like you do with
+a great boat like that?"
+
+"I think I can manage it somehow."
+
+"I am afraid not."
+
+"Don't give it up, Mollie; our salvation depends on that boat. I found
+out something more, when I went aloft this morning."
+
+"What?"
+
+"There is another island off here to the northward, just as far as you
+can see. We may wish to go there, and the boat would be wanted then."
+
+"Noddy, perhaps there are savages on those islands, who will kill us if
+we go on shore."
+
+"Two can play at that game," replied Noddy, in his confident tone.
+
+"What could a boy like you do against a mob of Indians?"
+
+"There are two or three pistols in the cabin, and I think I know how to
+use them; at any rate I shall not be butchered, nor let you be, without
+showing them what I am made of," answered Noddy, as he rose from the
+planks, and turned his attention once more to the moving of the boat.
+
+"You wouldn't shoot them--would you?"
+
+"Not if I could help it. I shouldn't want to shoot them; and I won't do
+it, if they behave themselves. But I must go to work on the boat now."
+
+"Let me help you, Noddy, I am real strong, and I can do a great deal."
+
+"I will tell you when you can help me, Mollie, for I may need a little
+assistance."
+
+"I don't see how you are going to do this job."
+
+"I will show you in a moment," replied Noddy, as he ran up the main
+shrouds.
+
+He carried a small hatchet in his belt, with which he detached the
+starboard fore-brace from the mast. This was a rope, the end of which
+was tied to the main-mast, and extended through a single sheaf-block at
+the starboard fore-yard-arm. After passing through this block, the brace
+returned to the main-mast, passed through another block, and led down
+upon the deck. There was another rope of the same kind on the port side
+of the vessel. They were used to swing round the yard, in order to place
+the sail so that it would draw in the wind.
+
+When Noddy cut it loose, the brace dropped to the deck. It was now
+simply a rope passing through a single block at the end of the yard. The
+little engineer made fast one end of the brace to the ring in the bow of
+the boat. He then unhooked the peak halliards of the fore-sail, and
+attached them to the ring in the stern of the boat. Now, if he had had
+the strength, he would have pulled on the yard-arm rope till he dragged
+the bow out over the water; the stern line being intended merely to
+steady the boat, if necessary, and keep it from jamming against the
+mast. When he had drawn the bow out as far as he could with the brace,
+he meant to attach the same rope to the stern, and complete the job.
+
+"That's all very pretty," said Mollie, who had carefully noticed all her
+companion's proceedings; "but you and I can't hoist the boat up with
+that rigging."
+
+"I know that, Mollie," replied Noddy, wiping the perspiration from his
+brow. "I haven't done yet."
+
+"I am afraid you won't make out, Noddy."
+
+"Yes, I shall. Work and win; that's the idea."
+
+"You are working very hard, and I hope you will win."
+
+"Did you know I made an improvement on Miss Bertha's maxim?"
+
+"Indeed! What?"
+
+"He that works shall win."
+
+"That's very encouraging; but it isn't always true."
+
+"It is when you work in the right way," answered Noddy, as he took the
+end of the yard-arm rope, and, after passing it through a snatch-block,
+began to wind it around the barrel of the small capstan on the
+forecastle.
+
+"Perhaps you haven't got the right way."
+
+"If I haven't I shall try again, and keep trying till I do get it,"
+replied Noddy, as he handed Mollie the end of the rope which he had
+wound four times round the capstan. "Do you think you can hold this
+rope and take in the slack?"
+
+"I am afraid there will not be any to take in; but I can hold it, if
+there is," said she, satirically, but without even a smile.
+
+Noddy inserted one of the capstan bars, and attempted to "walk round;"
+but his feeble powers were not sufficient to move the boat a single
+inch. He tightened up the rope, and that was all he could accomplish.
+
+"I was afraid you could not stir it," said Mollie; but her tones were
+full of sympathy for her companion in his disappointment.
+
+He struggled in vain for a time; but it required a little more
+engineering to make the machinery move. Taking a "gun-tackle purchase,"
+or "tackle and fall," as it is called on shore, he attached one hook to
+the extreme end of the capstan bar, and the other to the rail. This
+added power accomplished the work; and he made the capstan revolve with
+ease, though the business went on very slowly. He was obliged to shift
+back the bar four times for every revolution of the barrel. But the boat
+moved forward, and that was success. He persevered, and skill and labor
+finally accomplished the difficult task. The boat floated in the water
+alongside the wreck. He had worked; he had won.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII.
+
+THE BEAUTIFUL ISLAND.
+
+
+"There, Mollie, what do you think now!" exclaimed the youthful engineer,
+as he made fast the painter of the boat to a ring in the deck of the
+schooner.
+
+"You have worked very hard, Noddy, but you have succeeded. You must be
+very tired."
+
+"I am tired, for I have done a hard day's work."
+
+"You ought to rest now."
+
+"I think I will. We are in no hurry, for we are very comfortable here,
+and storms don't come very often."
+
+It was late in the afternoon when the work of getting out the boat was
+finished. Noddy had labored very hard, and he was perfectly willing to
+rest during the remainder of the day. Mollie made some tea, and they had
+supper at an early hour. It was a remarkably pleasant day, and the air
+was as soft and balmy as a poet's dream. Both the young workers were
+very much fatigued, and they sat upon the deck till dark.
+
+"Where is my father now?" asked Mollie, as she cast a nervous glance
+towards the beautiful island which they hoped to reach on the following
+day.
+
+"Where is he?" repeated Noddy, surprised at the question, and not
+knowing what she meant.
+
+"I mean his remains."
+
+"In his state-room," answered Noddy, very reluctant to have the subject
+considered.
+
+"Will you do one thing more for me, Noddy?" demanded she, earnestly and
+impressively.
+
+"Certainly, I will, Mollie."
+
+"It shall be the last thing I shall ask you to do for me."
+
+"Don't say that, for I've always been ready to do everything you wished
+me to do."
+
+"I know you have, Noddy; and you work so hard that I don't feel like
+asking you to do any extra labor."
+
+"I will do anything you wish, Mollie. You needn't be afraid to ask me,
+either. If you knew how much pleasure it gives me to work for you, I'm
+sure you would keep me busy all the time."
+
+"I don't wish to wear you out, and you may think this is useless work."
+
+"I'm sure I shall not, if you want it done."
+
+"If you knew how sad it makes me feel to think of my poor father lying
+in the water there, you would understand me," added she, bursting into
+tears.
+
+"I know what you mean, Mollie, and it shall be done the first thing
+to-morrow."
+
+"Thank you, Noddy. You are so good and so kind! I hope I shall see Miss
+Bertha, some time, and tell her what you have done for me," continued
+she, wiping away her tears.
+
+They retired to the forecastle soon after dark; and when Mollie had said
+her simple prayer for both of them, they lay down in the bunks, and were
+soon asleep.
+
+Noddy's first work the next morning was to rig a mast and sail for the
+long-boat. In this labor he was assisted by Mollie, who sewed diligently
+on the sail all the forenoon. While she was thus engaged, Noddy, without
+telling her what he was going to do, went into the cabin, carrying a
+boat-hook, and, with a feeling of awe amounting almost to superstitious
+terror, proceeded to fish up the body of Captain McClintock. He knew
+just where it lay, and had no difficulty in accomplishing the task. He
+dragged the remains out into the cabin, and floated the corpse in the
+water to the foot of the ladder. It was an awful duty for him to
+perform; and when he saw the ghastly, bloated face, he was disposed to
+flee in terror from the spot.
+
+Noddy was strong for his years, or he could not have placed the body on
+the locker, out of the reach of the water. He prepared the remains for
+burial precisely as those of Mr. Watts had been. The most difficult
+part of the task was yet to be performed--to get the corpse on deck, and
+lower it into the boat. He procured a long box in the hold, from which
+he removed the merchandise, and found that it would answer the purpose
+of a coffin. By much hard lifting, and by resorting to various
+expedients, he placed the remains in the box and nailed down the lid. He
+felt easier now, for the face of the corpse no longer glared at him.
+
+When he had bent on the sail, and shipped the rudder, he contrived to
+set Mollie at work in the forecastle, where she could not see what he
+was doing; for he thought his work must be revolting to her feelings,
+especially as it would be very clumsily performed. Having put a sling on
+the box, he rigged a purchase, and hoisted it out of the cabin. Then,
+with suitable rigging, he lowered it into the boat, placing it across
+the thwarts, amidships.
+
+"Come, Mollie," said he, in a gentle, subdued tone, at the fore-scuttle.
+
+"What, Noddy?" asked she, impressed by his voice, and by his manner, as
+she came up from below.
+
+"We will go on shore now."
+
+"To-day?"
+
+"Yes; but we will return. The boat is ready, and I have done what you
+asked me to do."
+
+"What?"
+
+"Your father."
+
+She was awed by his manner, and did not readily understand what he
+meant. He pointed to the long box in the boat, and she comprehended the
+loving labor he had performed. She did not inquire how he had
+accomplished the task, and did not think of the difficulties which
+attended it. Noddy did not allude to them.
+
+"I am ready, Noddy; but can you get me the prayer-book?" said she, her
+eyes filling with tears, as she prepared to perform the pious duty which
+the exigencies of the occasion required of her.
+
+The book was fortunately on a shelf to which the water had not risen,
+and he brought it up and gave it to her. He had before placed a pick and
+shovel, an axe, a couple of boards and some cords in the boat. He helped
+her to a seat in the stern-sheets, and shoved off. There was hardly a
+breath of wind, and Noddy sculled the boat towards an opening in the
+reef, which was of coral, and surrounded the island. The afflicted
+daughter gazed in silent grief at the box, and did not speak a word till
+the boat entered a little inlet, which Noddy had chosen as a
+landing-place.
+
+He stepped on shore, and secured the boat to a bush which grew on the
+bank. Mollie followed him in silence, and selected a place for the
+grave. It was at the foot of a cocoa palm. The spot was as beautiful as
+the heart could desire for such a holy purpose; and Noddy commenced his
+work. The soil was light and loose, and after much severe labor, he made
+a grave about three feet deep. It would be impossible for him to lower
+the box into the grave; and, from one end, he dug out an inclined plane,
+down which he could roll the corpse to its final resting-place.
+
+It required all his skill, strength, and ingenuity to disembark the box;
+but this was finally accomplished, with such assistance as the weeping
+daughter could render. The rude coffin was then moved on rollers to the
+foot of the tree, and deposited in the grave. Mollie opened the book to
+the funeral prayer, and handed it to her companion. Severe as the labor
+he had performed had been, he regarded this as far more trying. He could
+not refuse, when he saw the poor girl, weeping as though her heart would
+break, kneel down at the head of the grave. Fortunately he had read this
+prayer many times since it had been used at the obsequies of Mr. Watts,
+and it was familiar to him. Awed and impressed by the solemn task
+imposed upon him, he read the prayer in trembling, husky tones. But he
+was more earnest and sincere than many who read the same service in
+Christian lands. It touched his own heart, and again the good Father
+seemed to be very near to him.
+
+The reading was finished, and the loving girl, not content with what had
+been done, gathered wild flowers, rich and luxuriant in that sunny
+clime, and showered them, as a tribute of affection, on the rough
+coffin. Noddy filled up the trench first, and then, amid the sobs of the
+poor child, covered all that remained of her father. With what art he
+possessed he arranged the green sods, as he had seen them in the
+graveyard at Whitestone. Mollie covered the spot with flowers, and then
+seemed loath to leave the grave.
+
+From the beginning, Noddy had trembled lest she should ask to look once
+more on the face of the departed. He had been horrified at the sight
+himself, and he knew that the distorted visage would haunt her dreams if
+she was permitted to gaze upon it; but she did not ask to take that last
+look. Though she said nothing about it, she seemed to feel,
+instinctively, that the face was not that she had loved, which had
+smiled upon her, and which was still present in her remembrance.
+
+"Come, Mollie, it is almost dark, and we must go now," said he,
+tenderly, when he had waited some time for her.
+
+"I am ready, Noddy; and you cannot tell how much better I feel now that
+my poor father sleeps in a grave on the land--on the beautiful island!"
+replied she, as she followed him to the boat. "You have been very kind
+to do what you have. It has cost you a whole day's labor."
+
+"It is the best day's work I have done, Mollie, if it makes you feel
+better," replied Noddy, as he hoisted the sail.
+
+They did not reach the wreck till it was quite dark, for the wind was
+light. Mollie was more cheerful than she had been since the vessel
+struck. She had performed a religious duty, which was very consoling to
+her feelings in her affliction; and Noddy hoped that even her sadness
+would wear away amid the active employments which would be required of
+her.
+
+In the morning, Noddy loaded the boat with provisions, and such useful
+articles as they would need most on the island, and in the middle of the
+forenoon they again sailed for the land. They entered the little inlet,
+and moored the boat in a convenient place, for it was decided that they
+should explore the island before the goods were landed.
+
+"We are real Robinson Crusoes now, Noddy," said Mollie, as they stepped
+on shore.
+
+"Who's he?"
+
+She told him who Crusoe was, and some of the main features of his
+residence on the lonely island. She was surprised to learn that he had
+never read the story.
+
+"But we have everything we can possibly need, while Crusoe had scarcely
+anything. We have provisions enough in the vessel to last us a year,"
+added she.
+
+"We shall do very well. I don't think we shall have to stay here long.
+There are whale ships in all parts of the South Seas, and if they don't
+come to us, we can go to them, for we have a first-rate boat."
+
+They walked up the hill which rose from the little plain by the
+sea-side, where they found a small table-land. But it did not take them
+long to explore the island, for it was hardly a mile in diameter.
+Portions of it were covered with trees, whose shape and foliage were new
+and strange to the visitors. No inhabitants dwelt in this little
+paradise; but the reason was soon apparent to Noddy; for, when Mollie
+was thirsty, their search for water was unavailing. There was none on
+the island.
+
+This was an appalling discovery, and Noddy began to consider the
+situation of the water casks on board the wreck. They returned to the
+boat, and having selected a suitable spot, the goods were landed, and
+carefully secured under a sail-cloth brought off for the purpose. For
+two weeks Noddy labored diligently in bringing off the most serviceable
+goods from the wreck. He had constructed a tent on shore, and they made
+their home on the island. For the present there was nothing but hard
+work, for a storm might come and break up the schooner.
+
+Noddy rigged a series of pulleys, which enabled him to handle the water
+casks with ease. Other heavy articles were managed in the same way.
+Farther up the inlet than his first landing-place he found a tree near
+the shore, to which he attached his ropes and blocks, to hoist the
+barrels out of the boat. We are sorry that our space does not permit a
+minute description of these contrivances, for many of them were very
+ingenious. The labor was hard, and the progress often very slow; but
+Noddy enjoyed the fruit of his expedients, and was happy in each new
+triumph he achieved. He had found a joy in work which did not exist in
+play.
+
+"Now, Mollie, we must build a house," said he, when he had brought off
+sufficient supplies from the wreck.
+
+"Do you think you can make a house, Noddy?"
+
+"I know I can."
+
+"Well, I suppose you can. I think you can do anything you try to do."
+
+"I have brought off all the boards I could get out of the wreck, and I
+am sure I can build a very nice house."
+
+The work was immediately commenced. Near the spot selected for the
+mansion of the exiles there was a grove of small trees. The wood was
+light and soft, and Noddy found that he could fell the trees with his
+sharp hatchet quickly and easily. Four posts, with a crotch in the top
+of each, were set in the ground, forming the corners of the house. The
+frame was secured with nails and with ropes. The sides and the roof were
+then covered with the hibiscus from the grove. Noddy worked like a hero
+at his task, and Mollie watched him with the most intense interest; for
+he would not permit her to perform any of the hard labor.
+
+The frame was up, and covered, but the house was like a sieve. It was
+the intention of the master builder to cover the roof with tough sods,
+and plaster up the crevices in the sides with mud. But Mollie thought
+the fore-topsail of the schooner would be better than sods and mud,
+though it was not half so romantic. They had whole casks of nails, small
+and large, and the sail was finally chosen, and securely nailed upon the
+roof and sides. A floor was made of the boards, and the house banked up
+so as to turn the water away from it when it rained. Two rooms, one for
+each of the exiles, were partitioned off with sail-cloth. A bunk was
+made in each, which was supplied with a berth-sack and bed-clothes from
+the schooner. Besides these two rooms, there was one apartment for
+general purposes.
+
+This important work occupied three weeks; but it was perfectly luxurious
+when completed.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIX.
+
+THE VISITORS.
+
+
+The house was finished, and the satisfaction which it afforded to the
+young exiles cannot be expressed in words. Noddy had exercised his
+ingenuity in the construction of a fireplace, a chimney, and a table.
+The stern-lights of the Roebuck furnished the windows of the principal
+apartment; while single panes of glass, obtained from the assorted cargo
+of the vessel, admitted the light to the sleeping-rooms. They had
+knives, forks, spoons, dishes, and cooking utensils in abundance.
+Everything they wanted was at hand; and in this respect they differed
+from all the Crusoes of ancient and modern times.
+
+The miscellaneous cargo of the schooner supplied the house with all the
+comforts and many of the luxuries of civilization; and if Noddy had been
+familiar with the refinements of social life, he would probably have
+added the "modern improvements" to the mansion. If the house had been an
+elegant residence on Fifth Avenue or Blackstone Square, the occupants
+could not have enjoyed it more. Day after day Noddy added some new
+feature of comfort, until he was as proud of the dwelling as though he
+had been the architect of St. Peter's.
+
+The work was done, and they had nothing to do but sit down under their
+"own vine and fig-tree," and enjoy themselves. They had provisions and
+water enough to last them six months. But Noddy had discovered that
+idleness was the sum of all miseries; and after he had thoroughly
+explored the island, and amused himself for a few days among the
+novelties of the place, he realized that work was a positive luxury.
+Even patient, plodding labor, without any excitement, was better than
+doing nothing.
+
+Though there had been a storm, the Roebuck still held together; and the
+most profitable employment that presented itself was bringing off the
+rest of the cargo from the wreck; and everything which it was possible
+for him to move was transferred to the shore. He built a storehouse of
+sail-cloth, in which all the merchandise and provisions were carefully
+secured, though it was not probable that any considerable portion of it
+would ever be of any value to the islanders.
+
+Noddy had built a fence around the grave of Captain McClintock, and on a
+smooth board had cut the name and age of the deceased. Every day Mollie
+visited the spot, and placed fresh flowers on the green sod. The sharp
+pangs of her great affliction had passed away, and she was cheerful, and
+even hopeful of the future, while she fondly cherished the memory of
+her father.
+
+The islands which were just visible in the distance were a source of
+interest and anxiety to the sailor-boy and his gentle companion. Noddy
+had carefully examined them through the spy-glass a great many times;
+and once he had seen a large canoe, under sail, with a ponderous
+"out-rigger" to keep it from upsetting; but it did not come near the
+home of the exiles. This proved that the other islands were inhabited,
+and he was in constant dread of a visit from the savages. He put all the
+pistols he had found in the cabin in readiness for use, and practised
+firing at a mark, that he might be able to defend himself and his fair
+charge if occasion required. They did not come, and there were no signs
+on the island that they ever visited it, and he hoped to avoid the
+necessity of fighting them.
+
+There were plenty of fish in the waters which surrounded the island, and
+Noddy had no difficulty in catching as many of them as he wanted. There
+were no animals to be seen, except a few sea-fowl. He killed one of
+these, and roasted him for dinner one day; but the flesh was so strong
+and so fishy that salt pork and corned beef were considered better.
+
+A two months' residence on the island had accustomed both the boy and
+the girl to the novelties of the situation; and though, as might be
+reasonably expected, they were anxious to return to the great world
+from which they had been banished, they were tolerably contented with
+the life they led. Noddy was continually planning some new thing to add
+to the comfort of their daily life, and to provide supplies for the
+future. As in many large cities, a supply of pure water was a question,
+of momentous importance to him, and he early turned his attention to the
+subject. He made spouts of canvas for the "mansion" and the storehouse,
+by which the water, when it rained, was conducted to barrels set in the
+ground, so as to keep it cool. This expedient promised a plentiful
+supply, for the rains were heavy and frequent, and the quality was much
+better than that of the water casks.
+
+When all the necessary work had been accomplished, and when the time at
+last hung heavily on his hands, Noddy began to consider the
+practicability of a garden, to keep up the supply of peas, beans, and
+potatoes, of which a considerable quantity had been obtained from the
+wreck. Mollie was delighted with the idea of a "farm," as she called it,
+and the ground was at once marked off. Noddy went to work; but the labor
+of digging up the soil, and preparing it for the seed, was very hard.
+There was no excitement about this occupation, and the laborer
+"punished" himself very severely in performing it; but work had become a
+principle with him, and he persevered until an incident occurred which
+suspended further operations on the garden, and gave him all the
+excitement his nature craved.
+
+"What's that, Noddy?" said Mollie, one day, when he was industriously
+striving to overcome his dislike to plodding labor.
+
+"Where?" asked he, dropping his shovel, for the manner of his companion
+betrayed no little alarm.
+
+"On the water," replied she, pointing in the direction of the islands
+which had given them so much anxiety.
+
+"It is a native canoe loaded with savages," said Noddy, hastening to the
+house for his spy-glass and pistols.
+
+He examined the canoe long and attentively. It was only four or five
+miles distant, and looked like quite a large boat.
+
+"They are coming here," said Noddy.
+
+"O, what shall we do?" exclaimed the timid maiden, recalling all she
+knew about cannibals and fierce savages found on the South Sea Islands.
+
+"Perhaps they will not come here," added Noddy; but it was more to cheer
+up his friend, than from any hope he cherished of avoiding the issue.
+
+"I hope they will not. What do you think they will do to us, if they
+do?"
+
+"I think I can manage them, Mollie. Don't be alarmed."
+
+"How many are there in the canoe?"
+
+"A dozen or fifteen, I should think," replied he, after he had again
+examined the object with the glass.
+
+"What can you do with so many as that?" asked she, in despair.
+
+"They are savages, you know; and they are afraid of powder. If I should
+shoot one of them, the rest would run away."
+
+"Can't we hide?"
+
+"That will do no good. They would certainly find us. The best way is to
+face the music."
+
+"And they will steal all our things, Noddy."
+
+"I won't let them steal anything," said he, examining his pistol.
+
+"I hope you won't have to shoot any of them. It would be awful to kill
+the poor creatures."
+
+"I won't fire if I can help it. They are all looking this way, and I'm
+sure they can see the house and the tent."
+
+"What shall we do?" cried Mollie, who certainly felt that the end of all
+things had come.
+
+"We can do nothing; and we may as well take it easy. I can't tell what
+to do now; but I think I will go down and hide the boat, for they may
+carry that off."
+
+Mollie went with him to the inlet, and the boat was moved up among the
+bushes where the savages would not be likely to find it. The wind was
+light, and the great canoe advanced but slowly. The men on board of her
+appeared to be watching the island with as much interest as its
+occupants regarded the approach of the intruders.
+
+Off the reef the big canoe came up into the wind, and the savages
+appeared to be debating what they should do next. They could see the
+remains of the wrecked schooner now; and the question appeared to be,
+whether they should visit that or the shore. But she soon filled away
+again, and passed through the opening in the reef. Noddy had three
+pistols, all of which he put in his belt, and finished this hostile
+array by adding a huge butcher-knife to the collection. He looked
+formidable enough to fight a whole army; but he intended only to make a
+prudent display of force. Mollie thought it was rather ridiculous for a
+small boy like him to load himself down with so many weapons, which
+could not avail him, if a conflict became necessary, against sixteen
+savages, full grown, and accustomed to fighting. But Noddy was
+general-in-chief of the forces, and she did not remonstrate any further
+than to beg him to be prudent.
+
+The canoe slowly approached the shore. Those in her seemed to be
+familiar with the land, for they steered directly up the little inlet
+which Noddy had chosen as his landing-place. The "lord of the isle," as
+our sailor-boy felt himself to be, moved down to the shore, followed by
+Mollie. The savages could now be distinctly seen. They were horribly
+tattooed, and they did not look very friendly. As the canoe touched the
+shore, they sprang to their feet, and Noddy's calculations were set at
+nought by the discovery that several were armed with guns.
+
+One of them stepped on shore. There was a broad grin on his ugly face,
+which was intended for a conciliatory smile. The savage walked towards
+Noddy with his hand extended, and with his mouth stretched open from ear
+to ear, to denote the friendly nature of his mission. The boy took the
+hand, and tried to look as amiable as the visitor; but as his mouth was
+not half so large, he probably met with only a partial success.
+
+"Americals?" said the savage, in tones so loud that poor Mollie was
+actually frightened by the sound.
+
+He spoke in a nasal voice, as a man does who has a cold in the head; but
+the lord of the isle was surprised and pleased to hear even a single
+word of his mother tongue. He pointed impressively to the American flag,
+which had been hoisted on a pole, as he had seen Captain McClintock do
+when he had a slight difficulty with a custom-house officer at
+Barbadoes, and politely replied that he and Mollie were Americans.
+
+"Big heap thigs," added the savage, pointing to the tent filled with
+stores and merchandise.
+
+"They are mine," said Noddy.
+
+"Americals--yes."
+
+"What do you want?"
+
+"Big wreck," said the visitor, pointing over to the schooner. "Big lot
+mel ol the other islal."
+
+"Americans?" asked Noddy, clearly understanding the speaker, whose
+enunciation was principally defective in the substitution of l's for
+n's.
+
+"Four Americals; big storm; come in boat."
+
+"Do you hear that, Mollie?" exclaimed Noddy. "He says that four
+Americans came to the other island in a boat."
+
+"They must be some of the crew of the Roebuck."
+
+"Big wreck; log time; fild it low," said the savage, pointing to the
+schooner again.
+
+They had been looking for the wreck from which the four men had been
+saved, but had not been able to find it before.
+
+"Whale ship over there," added he. "Take four mel off."
+
+"Is she there now?" asked Noddy, breathless with interest.
+
+"Go sool--to-morrow--lext week."
+
+This was not very definite; but the way to his native land seemed to be
+open to him, and he listened with deep emotion to the welcome
+intelligence.
+
+"Can we go over there?" asked Noddy, pointing to his companion.
+
+"Go with we."
+
+"We will."
+
+"Big heap thigs," added the savage, pointing to the storehouse again.
+"Walt to trade?"
+
+"Yes; what will you give for the lot?" asked Noddy, facetiously.
+
+"Big heap thigs," replied the man, not comprehending the wholesale
+trade.
+
+It was of no use to attempt to bargain with these people; they had no
+money, and they could help themselves to what they pleased. Noddy gave
+them heavy articles enough to load their boat, for he felt that he had
+no further use for them, if there was a whale ship at the other island.
+He questioned the savage very closely in regard to the vessel, and was
+satisfied that he spoke the truth. The welcome intelligence that a
+portion of the Roebuck's crew had been saved, rendered the exiles the
+more anxious to visit the island.
+
+The savages all landed and gazed at Mollie with the utmost interest and
+curiosity. Probably they had never before seen an American girl. But
+they were respectful to her, and she soon ceased to be afraid of them.
+She laughed with them, and soon became quite intimate with the whole
+party. They treated her like a superior being; and certainly her pretty
+face and her gentle manners were quite enough to inspire them with such
+an idea.
+
+The savages had loaded their goods into the canoe, and were ready to
+return. The man who spoke English offered them a passage in his craft;
+but Noddy decided that it would be better and safer for them to go over
+in their own boat. He proceeded to secure all his valuables, including
+all his own money and that he had saved from the state-room of the
+captain, which he concealed about his clothes. The boat was well loaded
+with such articles as he thought would be useful to Mollie, or would
+sell best when a chance offered. He had quite a cargo, and the savages
+began to be impatient before his preparations were completed.
+
+While he was thus employed, Mollie gathered fresh flowers, and paid her
+last visit, as she supposed, to the grave of her father. She wept there,
+as she thought of leaving him in that far-off, lonely island; but she
+was consoled by the belief that her father's spirit dwelt in the happy
+land, where spring eternal ever reigns.
+
+The boat was ready; she wiped away her tears, and stepped on board. Both
+of them felt sad at the thought of leaving the island; but home had
+hopes which reconciled them to the change.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XX.
+
+HOMEWARD BOUND.
+
+
+Noddy shook out the sail of the boat, and pushing her off, followed the
+canoe. Though the exiles had been on the island but little over two
+months, they had become much attached to their new home, and it was with
+a feeling of sadness that they bade adieu to it. The house and other
+improvements had cost Noddy so much hard labor that he was sorry to
+leave them before he had received the full benefit of all the comfort
+and luxury which they were capable of affording.
+
+"Don't you think we ought to live on the island for a year or so, after
+all the work we have done there?" said Noddy, as the boat gathered
+headway, and moved away from the shore.
+
+"I'm sure I should be very happy there, if we had to stay," replied
+Mollie, "But I don't think I should care to remain just for the sake of
+living in the house you built."
+
+"Nor I; but it seems to me just as though I had done all the work for
+nothing."
+
+"You worked very hard."
+
+"But I enjoyed my work, for all that."
+
+"And you think you did not win anything by it," added she, with a smile.
+
+"I don't think that. I used to hate to work when I was at Woodville. I
+don't think I do hate it now."
+
+"Then you have won something."
+
+"I think I have won a great deal, when I look the matter over. I have
+learned a great many things."
+
+Noddy had only a partial appreciation of what he had "won," though he
+was satisfied that his labor had not been wasted. He had been happy in
+the occupation which the necessities of his situation demanded of him.
+Many a boy, wrecked as he had been, with no one but a weak and timid
+girl to support him, would have done nothing but repine at his hard lot;
+would have lived "from hand to mouth" during those two months, and made
+every day a day of misery. Noddy had worked hard; but what had he won?
+Was his labor, now that he was to abandon the house, the cisterns, the
+stores, and the garden,--was it wasted?
+
+Noddy had won two months of happiness.
+
+He had won a knowledge of his own powers, mental and physical.
+
+He had won a valuable experience in adapting means to ends, which others
+might be years in obtaining.
+
+He had won a vast amount of useful information from the stubborn toil he
+had performed.
+
+He had won the victory over idleness and indifference, which had beset
+him for years.
+
+He had won a cheerful spirit, from the trials and difficulties he had
+encountered.
+
+He had won a lively faith in things higher than earth, from the gentle
+and loving heart that shared his exile, for whom, rather than for
+himself, he had worked.
+
+His labor was not lost. He had won more than could be computed. He had
+won faith and hope, confidence in himself, an earnest purpose, which
+were to go through life with him, and bless him to the end of his days,
+and through the endless ages of eternity. He had worked earnestly; he
+had won untold riches.
+
+The wind was tolerably fresh after the boats passed the reef, and in two
+hours they were near enough to a large island to enable the young
+voyagers to see the objects on the shore. But they followed the canoe
+beyond a point of the land; and, after a run of several miles more, they
+rounded another point, and discovered the tall masts of a ship, at
+anchor in a small bay.
+
+"It may be many months before we can get home. This ship may have to
+cruise a year or two before she obtains her full cargo of oil."
+
+"I hope not."
+
+"But we may find some way to get home. I have all the money I saved from
+the vessel, and we can pay our passage home."
+
+The money reminded the orphan girl of her father, and she mused upon the
+past. The boat sped on its way, and in a short time reached the ship.
+
+"Hallo, Noddy!" shouted Mr. Lincoln, as the boat approached. "And Mollie
+too!"
+
+The mate was overjoyed to see them, and to find that they had been saved
+from the wreck. He leaped into the boat, took Mollie in his arms, and
+kissed her as though she had been his own child. He grasped the hand of
+Noddy, and wrung it till the owner thought it would be crushed in his
+grip.
+
+"I was sure you were lost," said Mr. Lincoln.
+
+"And we were sure you were lost," replied Noddy.
+
+"How did it happen? The cabin was full of water when we left the
+schooner."
+
+"You didn't wait long, Mr. Lincoln."
+
+"We couldn't wait long. The sea made a clean breach over the wreck. Only
+four of us were saved; the rest were washed away, and we never saw
+anything more of them!"
+
+Noddy and Mollie were conducted to the deck of the whale ship, where
+they were warmly welcomed by the captain and his officers. The three
+sailors who had been saved from the wreck of the Roebuck were rejoiced
+to see them alive and well. In the presence of the large group gathered
+around himself and Mollie, Noddy told his story.
+
+"Captain McClintock was lost, then?"
+
+"Yes," replied Noddy, breaking through the crowd, for he did not like to
+tell the particulars of his death in poor Mollie's presence.
+
+At a later hour he found an opportunity to inform his late shipmates of
+the manner in which the corpse of the captain had been found, and of its
+burial on the island. In return, Mr. Lincoln told him that he had cast
+off the boat a moment after the schooner struck the reef. The men who
+happened to be on the quarter-deck with him had been saved; the others
+were not seen after the shock. With the greatest difficulty they had
+kept the boat right side up, for she was often full of water. For hours
+they had drifted in the gale, and in the morning, when the storm
+subsided, they had reached the island.
+
+They had been kindly treated by natives, who were partially civilized by
+their intercourse with vessels visiting the island, and with which they
+carried on commerce, exchanging the products of the island for guns,
+ammunition, and other useful and ornamental articles. The savages knew
+that, if they killed or injured any white men, the terrible ships of war
+would visit them with the severest punishment.
+
+"What ship is this?" asked Noddy, when the past had been satisfactorily
+explained by both parties.
+
+"The Atlantic, of New Bedford," replied the mate. "She is full of oil,
+and is homeward bound."
+
+"Good!" exclaimed Noddy. "I suppose I have nothing further to do in this
+part of the world, and I may as well go in her."
+
+"This hasn't been a very profitable cruise to me," added Mr. Lincoln.
+
+"Well, I suppose there is no help for it; and I hope you will have
+better luck next time."
+
+"I don't grumble; these things can't always be helped. We were lucky to
+escape with our lives, and we won't say a word about the wages we have
+lost."
+
+"Perhaps you won't lose them," added Mollie; and there was a slight
+flush on her fair cheeks, for her pride and her filial affection were
+touched by the reflection that these men had suffered from her father's
+infirmity.
+
+The captain of the whale ship was entirely willing to take the exiles as
+passengers; and Noddy told him he had saved a great many articles, which
+might be of service to him. The next day, when the vessel had taken in
+her water, she sailed for the beautiful island. Outside the reef she lay
+to, and the boats were sent on shore to bring off such of the goods as
+would be useful on the voyage.
+
+Noddy and Mollie had an opportunity to visit their island home once
+more; and, while the former assisted the men in selecting and loading
+the goods, the latter gathered fresh flowers, and for the last time
+strewed them on the grave of her father.
+
+The "big heap thigs" was very much reduced by the visit of the boats;
+but there was still enough left to reward the natives who had befriended
+the young islanders for the service they had rendered. According to the
+captain's estimate,--which was rather low,--he took about four hundred
+dollars' worth of goods from the island. Mollie, as her father's heir,
+was the owner of the property, subject to Noddy's claim for salvage.
+With Mr. Lincoln's aid the accounts were settled. Mollie insisted upon
+paying the mate and the three seamen their wages up to the time they
+would reach their native land. This, with their own passage, consumed
+nearly the whole sum.
+
+Besides the property saved from the island, there were about sixteen
+hundred dollars in gold and silver, and the valuable nautical
+instruments of Captain McClintock, making a total of over two thousand
+dollars. Though the disposition of this property was properly a subject
+for the maritime courts to settle, Mr. Lincoln and the officers of the
+ship talked it over, and decided that one half belonged to Mollie, in
+right of her father, and the other half to Noddy, as salvage,--which is
+the part of property saved from a wrecked imperilled ship, awarded to
+those who save it.
+
+Noddy at first positively objected to this decree, and refused to take a
+dollar from the poor orphan girl; but when the captain told him that a
+court would probably award him a larger share, and when Mollie almost
+cried because he refused, he consented to take it; but it was with a
+determination to have it applied to her use when he got home. The whale
+ship filled away when the goods had been taken on board, and weeks and
+months she stood on her course, till the welcome shores of their native
+land gladdened the sight of the exiled children. Mollie had been a great
+favorite with the officers and crew during the voyage, and many of them
+were the wiser and the better for the gentle words she spoke to them.
+The captain sold the nautical instruments, and the money was divided
+according to the decision of the council and officers. Noddy was now the
+possessor of about twelve hundred dollars, which was almost a fortune to
+a boy of twelve. It had been "work and win" to some purpose, in spite of
+the disastrous conclusion of the voyage.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXI.
+
+THE CLERGYMAN AND HIS WIFE.
+
+
+The captain of the whale ship very kindly took the young voyagers to his
+own house until their affairs were settled up. He had dealt fairly and
+justly by them in all things, and both were grateful to him for the
+interest he had manifested in their welfare.
+
+"What are you going to do now, Noddy?" asked Mollie, after the
+instruments had been sold and the proceeds paid over to them.
+
+"I'm going to Woodville, now, to face the music," replied Noddy. "I
+suppose they will take me to the court-house; but I have made up my mind
+to submit to the penalty, whatever it may be, for setting the boat-house
+afire."
+
+"Fanny has told all about it before this time, you may be certain,"
+added Mollie, to whom he had related the story of the fire.
+
+"I hope she has not; for I think I am the guilty one. She wouldn't have
+set the fire if it hadn't been for me. I am going to stand right up to
+it, and take the consequences, even if they send me to prison; but I
+hope they won't do that."
+
+"I'm sure they won't. But, Noddy, suppose Miss Fanny has not told the
+truth yet. Will you still deceive your kind friends? You told me you had
+been made over new since you left Woodville, and I know you have. You
+said you meant to live a good life, and not lie, or steal, or get angry,
+or do anything that is bad."
+
+"Well, I mean so, Mollie. I intend to stick to it. They won't know
+anything about that. They won't believe anything I say."
+
+"They must believe you. I'll go with you, Noddy!" exclaimed she, smiling
+at the happy thought. "I will tell them all about you."
+
+"That will be jolly; and the sooner we go the better."
+
+Their good friend the captain found a gentleman who was going to New
+York, and they accompanied him, though Noddy felt abundantly able to
+take care of himself and his fair charge. They arrived the next morning,
+and took an early train for Woodville.
+
+Noddy conducted Mollie down the road to the lawn in front of the house.
+His heart bounded with emotion as he once more beheld the familiar
+scenes of the past. As he walked along he pointed out to his interested
+companion the various objects which were endeared to him by former
+associations. He talked because he could not help it; for he was so
+agitated he did not know whether he was on his head or his heels. He
+heard a step on one of the side paths. He turned to see who it was, and
+Bertha Grant rushed towards him.
+
+"Why, Noddy! It that you?" cried she, grasping him with both hands. "I
+am so glad to see you!"
+
+"You'd better believe I'm glad to see you again," said he, trying to
+keep from crying.
+
+The poor fellow actually broke down, he was so much affected by the
+meeting.
+
+"I didn't expect to see you again for years, after the letter you wrote
+me."
+
+"Been cast away, Miss Bertha, and lived two months on an island where
+nobody lived," blubbered Noddy.
+
+"Who is this little girl with you? Is this Mollie, of whom you spoke in
+your letter?"
+
+"Yes, Miss Bertha, that's Mollie; and she is the best girl in the world,
+except yourself."
+
+"I'm very glad to see you, Mollie," said Bertha, taking her hand, and
+giving her a kind reception. "Now, come into the house."
+
+Bertha, finding Noddy so completely overcome by his emotions, refrained
+from asking him any more questions, though she was anxious to hear the
+sad story of the shipwreck. Mr. Grant had not yet gone to the city, and
+he received the returned exiles as though they had been his own
+children.
+
+"I've come back, Mr. Grant, to settle up old affairs, and you can send
+me to the court-house or the prison now. I did wrong, and I am willing
+to suffer for it."
+
+"I have told them all about it, Noddy," interrupted Miss Fanny,
+blushing. "I couldn't stand it after you went away."
+
+"It was my fault," said Noddy. "I said so then, and I say so now."
+
+"We won't say anything about that until after breakfast. We are very
+glad you have come back; and we don't care about thinking of anything
+else, at present," said Mr. Grant.
+
+Breakfast was provided for the wanderer and his friend, and Mollie was
+soon made quite at home by the kind attentions of Bertha and Fanny. When
+the meal was ended, Noddy insisted upon "settling up old affairs," as he
+called it. He declared that the blame ought to rest on him, and he was
+willing to suffer. Mr. Grant said that he was satisfied. Fanny was to
+blame, and she had already been severely punished for her fault.
+
+"You will not send poor Noddy to prison--will you?" interposed Mollie.
+"He is a good boy now. He saved my life, and took care of me for months.
+You will find that he is not the same Noddy, he used to be. He is made
+over new."
+
+"I'm glad to hear that," replied Mr. Grant. "But Noddy, did you really
+think I intended to send you to jail?"
+
+"Yes, sir; what was the constable after me for, if not for that?"
+
+"It's a mistake, and I told you so in Albany. Didn't I say you would be
+a rich man?"
+
+"You did, sir; but I thought that was only to catch me. All of them said
+something of that sort. I knew I couldn't be a rich man, because my
+father never had a cent to leave me. That's what they told me."
+
+"But you had an uncle."
+
+"Never heard of him," replied Noddy, bewildered at the prospect before
+him.
+
+"Your father's only brother died in California more than a year ago. He
+had no family; but an honest man who went with him knew where he came
+from; and Squire Wriggs has hunted up all the evidence, which fully
+proves that all your uncle's property, in the absence of other heirs,
+belongs to you. He left over thirty thousand dollars, and it is all
+yours."
+
+"Dear me!" exclaimed Noddy, utterly confounded by this intelligence.
+
+"This sum, judiciously invested, will produce at least fifty thousand
+when you are of age. I have been appointed your guardian."
+
+"I don't think I'm Noddy Newman after this," added the heir, in
+breathless excitement.
+
+"I know you are not," added Bertha, laughing. "Your real name is Ogden
+Newman."
+
+"How are you, Ogden?" said Noddy, amused at his new name.
+
+"I suppose Noddy came from Ogden," said Mr. Grant.
+
+"If that's what's the matter, I don't see what you wanted to take me to
+court for."
+
+"As you have come to years of discretion, you might have had the
+privilege of naming your own guardian; and we were going to take you to
+the court for that purpose. As you were not here to speak for yourself,
+I was appointed. If you are not satisfied, the proceedings can be
+reviewed."
+
+"I'm satisfied first rate," laughed Noddy. "But you said something about
+sending me off."
+
+"My plan was to send you to the Tunbrook Military Institute, where
+Richard is, and make a man of you."
+
+"I should like that--perhaps."
+
+"You gave me a great deal of trouble to find you; and I did not succeed,
+after all," added Mr. Grant.
+
+"I didn't know what you was after. If I had, I shouldn't have been in
+such a hurry. But I guess it was all for the best. I've been at work,
+Miss Bertha, since I went away," said Noddy, turning to his teacher and
+friend.
+
+"Did you win?"
+
+"I rather think I did," replied he, depositing his twelve hundred
+dollars on the table. "That's rather better than being a tinker, I
+reckon, Miss Bertha."
+
+"O, if you had seen him work. He did things which a great man could not
+have done," said Mollie, with enthusiasm. "And he's real good, too.
+He'll never do anything wrong again."
+
+"We must hear all about it now, Ogden," continued Mr. Grant.
+
+"Who?"
+
+"Ogden; that's your name now."
+
+Between Noddy and Mollie the story was told; and there was hardly a dry
+eye in the room when the parts relating to the yellow fever and the
+funeral of Captain McClintock were narrated. Noddy told the burden of
+the story; but he was occasionally interrupted by Mollie, who wanted to
+tell how her friend watched over her and her father when they were sick
+with the fever, and what kindness and consideration he had used in
+procuring and burying the remains of her father. Noddy only told facts;
+she supplied what she regarded as very important omissions.
+
+When the narrative was finished, Mr. Grant, and Bertha were willing to
+believe that Noddy had been made over new; that he had worked, morally
+as well as physically, and won, besides the treasure on the table, good
+principles enough to save him from the errors which formerly beset him;
+had won a child's faith in God, and a man's confidence in himself. The
+whole family were deeply interested in Mollie; they pitied and loved
+her; and as she had no near relatives, they insisted upon her remaining
+at Woodville.
+
+"This is your money, Ogden, and I suppose I am to invest it with the
+rest of your property," said Mr. Grant.
+
+"No, sir;" replied Noddy, promptly. "You know how I got that money, and
+I don't think it belongs to me. Besides, I'm rich, and don't want it.
+Mollie must have every dollar of it."
+
+"Bravo, Noddy," exclaimed Mr. Grant. "I approve of that with all my
+heart."
+
+"Why, no, Noddy. You earned it all," said Mollie. "One hundred dollars
+of it was yours before the wreck."
+
+"I don't care for that. Mr. Grant shall take care of the whole of it for
+you, or you may take it, as you please."
+
+Mollie was in the minority, and she had to yield the point; and Mr.
+Grant was instructed to invest all she had, being the entire net
+proceeds of what was saved from the wreck.
+
+After the story had been told, all the young people took a walk on the
+estate, during which Noddy saw Ben and the rest of the servants. The old
+man was delighted to meet him again, and the others were hardly less
+rejoiced. The boat-house had been rebuilt. It was winter, and every
+craft belonging to the establishment was housed.
+
+In the spring, Noddy, or Ogden, as he was now called, was sent to the
+Tunbrook Institute; while Bertha found a faithful pupil, and Fanny a
+devoted friend, in Mollie.
+
+Three months at Woodville convinced Mr. Grant and Bertha that the change
+in Noddy was radical and permanent. Though not now required to work, he
+was constantly employed in some useful occupation. He was no longer an
+idler and a vagabond, but one of the most industrious, useful, and
+reliable persons on the estate.
+
+He did not work with his hands only. There was a work for the mind and
+the heart to do, and he labored as perseveringly and as successfully in
+this field as in the other. At Tunbrook he was a hard student, and
+graduated with the highest intellectual honors. From there he went to
+college.
+
+The influence of those scenes when the yellow fever was raging around
+him, when the stormy ocean threatened to devour him, and perhaps more
+than all others, when he stood at the open, grave of Captain McClintock,
+was never obliterated from his mind. They colored his subsequent
+existence; and when he came to choose a profession, he selected that of
+a minister of the gospel.
+
+The Rev. Ogden Newman is not, and never will be, a brilliant preacher;
+but he is a faithful and devoted "shepherd of the sheep." The humble
+parish over whose moral and spiritual welfare he presides is not more
+rejoiced and comforted by his own ministrations than by the loving words
+and the pure example of the gentle being who now walks hand in hand with
+him in the journey of life, cheered by his presence and upheld by his
+strong arm, as she was in the days of the storm and the pestilence.
+Mollie McClintock is Mrs. Ogden Newman; and as together they work,
+together they shall win.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+[Illustration]
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Transcriber's Notes:
+
+Obvious punctuation errors repaired.
+
+Page 15, "fond" changed to "found" (found a ready)
+
+Page 28, line of repeated text was deleted. The original text read:
+
+        except so far as their words went to convince his
+        mistress of his guilt. What would she do to him?
+        mistress of his guilt. What would she do to him?
+
+Page 119, "rooom" changed to "room" (pleasant room he)
+
+Page 126, "vanguished" changed to "vanquished" (was again vanquished)
+
+Page 220, line of repeated text was deleted. The original text read:
+
+        "Come, Mollie," said he, in a gentle, subdued
+        tone, at the fore-scuttle.
+        tone; at the fore-scuttle.
+
+Page 222, "tremling" changed to "trembling" (prayer in trembling)
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Work and Win, by Oliver Optic
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