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+    <title>
+      The Project Gutenberg eBook of Little Bobtail, by Oliver Optic.
+    </title>
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+<pre>
+
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Little Bobtail, 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: Little Bobtail
+       or The Wreck of the Penobscot.
+
+Author: Oliver Optic
+
+Release Date: May 14, 2008 [EBook #25466]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LITTLE BOBTAIL ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by David Edwards, Josephine Paolucci and the
+Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net.
+(This file was produced from images generously made
+available by The Internet Archive.)
+
+
+
+
+
+
+</pre>
+
+
+
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 309px;">
+<img src="images/i002.jpg" width="309" height="500" alt="" title="" />
+</div>
+
+<p><br /><br /></p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;">
+<img src="images/i001.jpg" width="500" height="361" alt="" title="" />
+</div>
+
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2>THE YACHT CLUB SERIES.</h2>
+
+<h1>LITTLE BOBTAIL;</h1>
+
+<h4>or,</h4>
+
+<h2>THE WRECK OF THE PENOBSCOT.</h2>
+
+<h3>BY</h3>
+
+<h2>OLIVER OPTIC,</h2>
+
+<p class="center">AUTHOR OF "YOUNG AMERICA ABROAD," "THE ARMY AND NAVY STORIES," "THE
+WOODVILLE STORIES," "THE BOAT CLUB STORIES," "THE STARRY FLAG SERIES,"
+"THE LAKE SHORE SERIES," ETC.</p>
+
+<h4><i>WITH THIRTEEN ILLUSTRATIONS.</i></h4>
+
+<p class="center">
+BOSTON:<br />
+LEE AND SHEPARD, PUBLISHERS.<br />
+<br />
+NEW YORK:<br />
+LEE, SHEPARD AND DILLINGHAM.<br />
+1875.<br />
+</p>
+
+
+<p class="center">
+Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1872,<br />
+<br />
+By WILLIAM T. ADAMS,<br />
+<br />
+In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington.<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+ELECTROTYPED AT THE<br />
+<br />
+BOSTON STEREOTYPE FOUNDRY,<br />
+<br />
+19 Spring Lane.<br />
+</p>
+
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i4">TO<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i4">MY YOUNG FRIEND<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i4"><i>FRANK RICHARDSON</i>,<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i4">OF BROOKLYN, N. Y.,<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i4">This Book is Affectionately Dedicated.<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+
+<h4>The Yacht Club Series.</h4>
+
+<p>1. LITTLE BOBTAIL; <span class="smcap">or, The Wreck of the Penobscot.</span></p>
+
+<p>2. THE YACHT CLUB; <span class="smcap">or, The Young Boat-builder.</span></p>
+
+<p>(Others in preparation.)</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_5" id="Page_5">[Pg 5]</a></span></p>
+<h2>PREFACE.</h2>
+
+
+<p>"<span class="smcap">Little Bobtail</span>" is the first volume of the <span class="smcap">Yacht Club Series</span>, each book
+of which will contain an entirely independent story, with a hero of its
+own, and having no necessary connection with any other story. The author
+hopes that this plan will commend itself to those who do not care to
+follow a young gentleman through half a dozen volumes in order to know
+the issue of his adventures, or to learn whether or not he is faithful
+to himself, to God, and his fellow-beings to the end. God's truth is
+always the same, and good characters must be very much alike. Little
+Bobtail is not very different from any other hero, devoted to Truth and
+Duty, though the incidents of his life are various enough to satisfy any
+young person's craving for novelty.</p>
+
+<p>The story was suggested by some actual incidents, which occurred during
+the brief summer residence of the writer at the locality of the
+principal events described. Though there<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_6" id="Page_6">[Pg 6]</a></span> was a "Little Bobtail" there,
+he was hardly the character who is the hero of this work. Penobscot Bay,
+its multitude of picturesque islands, and its beautiful shores, are the
+same in fact as in this fiction, and as for two seasons the author has
+lived upon the land and sailed upon the water, amid its beautiful
+scenery, he feels quite at home in the localities mentioned.</p>
+
+<p>If Little Bobtail was loose in his ideas of "smuggling" at first, he was
+clear in all his other views of duty; and having corrected his wrong
+impressions, his example is worthy to be followed. The writer hopes
+that, while his stirring experience will be enjoyed by the reader, his
+excellent character will be appreciated and valued even more than the
+worldly fortune he obtains.</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0"><span class="smcap">Harrison Square, Boston</span>,<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i4">October 10, 1872.<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">[Pg 7]</a></span></p>
+<h2>CONTENTS.</h2>
+
+
+<p>
+<span class="tocnum">PAGE</span><br />
+<br />
+CHAPTER I.<br />
+<span class="smcap">Sixteen Years before</span>      <span class="tocnum"><a href="#Page_11">11</a></span><br />
+<br />
+CHAPTER II.<br />
+<span class="smcap">The End of a Sad Story</span>      <span class="tocnum"><a href="#Page_29">29</a></span><br />
+<br />
+CHAPTER III.<br />
+<span class="smcap">Little Bobtail</span>      <span class="tocnum"><a href="#Page_47">47</a></span><br />
+<br />
+CHAPTER IV.<br />
+<span class="smcap">The Janty Yacht</span>      <span class="tocnum"><a href="#Page_65">65</a></span><br />
+<br />
+CHAPTER V.<br />
+<span class="smcap">Monkey</span>      <span class="tocnum"><a href="#Page_81">81</a></span><br />
+<br /><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">[Pg 8]</a></span>
+CHAPTER VI.<br />
+<span class="smcap">Captain Chinks</span>      <span class="tocnum"><a href="#Page_99">99</a></span><br />
+<br />
+CHAPTER VII.<br />
+<span class="smcap">In the Cabin of the Skylark</span>      <span class="tocnum"><a href="#Page_117">117</a></span><br />
+<br />
+CHAPTER VIII.<br />
+<span class="smcap">A Chance for Business</span>      <span class="tocnum"><a href="#Page_135">135</a></span><br />
+<br />
+CHAPTER IX.<br />
+<span class="smcap">The Penobscot</span>      <span class="tocnum"><a href="#Page_153">153</a></span><br />
+<br />
+CHAPTER X.<br />
+<span class="smcap">Grace Montague</span>      <span class="tocnum"><a href="#Page_171">171</a></span><br />
+<br />
+CHAPTER XI.<br />
+<span class="smcap">The Five Hundred Dollar Bill</span>      <span class="tocnum"><a href="#Page_189">189</a></span><br />
+<br />
+CHAPTER XII.<br />
+<span class="smcap">Captain Chives is indifferent</span>      <span class="tocnum"><a href="#Page_207">207</a></span><br />
+<br />
+CHAPTER XIII.<br />
+<span class="smcap">The Examination</span>      <span class="tocnum"><a href="#Page_225">225</a></span><br />
+<br />
+CHAPTER XIV.<br />
+<span class="smcap">The Discharge</span>      <span class="tocnum"><a href="#Page_243">243</a></span><br />
+<br /><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[Pg 9]</a></span>
+CHAPTER XV.<br />
+<span class="smcap">A Trip to Bar Harbor</span>      <span class="tocnum"><a href="#Page_260">260</a></span><br />
+<br />
+CHAPTER XVI.<br />
+<span class="smcap">The Chase</span>      <span class="tocnum"><a href="#Page_278">278</a></span><br />
+<br />
+CHAPTER XVII.<br />
+<span class="smcap">The Wreck of the Penobscot</span>      <span class="tocnum"><a href="#Page_296">296</a></span><br />
+<br />
+CHAPTER XVIII.<br />
+<span class="smcap">Robert Barkesdale Montague</span>      <span class="tocnum"><a href="#Page_313">313</a></span><br />
+</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[Pg 11]</a></span></p>
+<h2>LITTLE BOBTAIL;</h2>
+
+<h4>OR,</h4>
+
+<h3>THE WRECK OF THE PENOBSCOT.</h3>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2>CHAPTER I.</h2>
+
+<h3>SIXTEEN YEARS BEFORE.</h3>
+
+
+<p>"If you do, Edward, you are no son of mine," said the Honorable Peter
+Montague, wrathfully, to the young gentleman who stood before him with
+bowed head. "If you connect yourself in any manner with the family of
+Richard Medway, I will disown you; I will never speak to you; I will
+never permit you to come into my presence again!"</p>
+
+<p>"But, father&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"I won't argue the matter," interposed the irate old gentleman. "You
+know that Medway and I are sworn foes; that he has injured me in my
+prospects, in my name, and reputation. I<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[Pg 12]</a></span> wouldn't forgive him if he
+went down on his knees and sued for my pardon. He has injured me in that
+manner and to that degree that there is no possibility of
+reconciliation."</p>
+
+<p>"But Mr. Medway has no such feelings towards you. He respects you, in
+spite of your differences," added Edward Montague, in the gentlest of
+tones.</p>
+
+<p>"I don't care what his feelings are towards me. After injuring me as he
+has, he can afford to be magnanimous. After robbing me of my hopes and
+my reputation, he can talk very flippantly about burying the hatchet. I
+tell you again there must be no relations of any kind between his family
+and mine. I am astonished and indignant, Edward, to think that you
+should allow yourself to be caught in any such trap."</p>
+
+<p>"Trap, father!" exclaimed the young man, a slight flush of indignation
+spreading over his handsome face.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, a trap, Edward," stormed Mr. Montague. "I am a rich man,&mdash;all the
+world knows it,&mdash;and you are my only son. I am worth a million of
+dollars, at the least,&mdash;not in book accounts and bad debts, but in real
+estate, stocks, bonds, and mortgages. You are a prize in the lottery,
+Edward."</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;">
+<img src="images/i003.jpg" width="500" height="377" alt="" title="" />
+</div><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[Pg 13]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>The old man looked at his son with a sneer on his face, which was called
+forth by the thought that any one, least of all his bitter personal
+enemy, should aspire to hold any relations with this paragon of wealth.</p>
+
+<p>"I do not think that Sara Medway or her father covets your wealth,"
+added Edward, in a very mildly deprecatory tone.</p>
+
+<p>"You are nothing but a boy! you don't know the world. You have been at
+your books till you are twenty-one years old, and now you are as
+innocent of all knowledge of the ways of men as a child in its cradle."</p>
+
+<p>"But, father, I know that Sara Medway is not an adventurer," added
+Edward, who was more anxious to defend the lady implicated than himself.</p>
+
+<p>"You don't know anything about it," raved the old gentleman, angered
+anew by the protest of the son.</p>
+
+<p>"She is as gentle as she is beautiful; and I am sure she is not capable
+of thinking a mercenary thought."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[Pg 14]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Stuff! You talk like a baby, that knows nothing of the world&mdash;that's
+all."</p>
+
+<p>"But you don't know her," suggested Edward, who was actually so simple
+as to believe that this consideration ought to have some influence upon
+the sentence of his father.</p>
+
+<p>"I know her father, and that's enough. The chances are, that she is like
+him. But, whether she is like him or not, there can be no relations
+between his family and mine. Do you understand me, Edward?" demanded the
+Honorable Mr. Montague, sternly.</p>
+
+<p>"I think I do, sir."</p>
+
+<p>"You think you do, you puppy!" thundered the old gentleman.</p>
+
+<p>"I was not aware that you were prejudiced against Miss Medway," added
+Edward, musing, as though he did not desire to understand his father.</p>
+
+<p>"I hate the whole race of them, and I will have nothing to do or say to
+any of them; and you shall not, either."</p>
+
+<p>The young man made no reply; and silence is sometimes more impudent, and
+sometimes expresses more firmness, than speech. At any rate,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[Pg 15]</a></span> at this
+time and under these circumstances, it indicated that Edward Montague
+had a mind, a will of his own, and that, though he did not wish to
+provoke his father to wrath, he intended to follow his own inclination,
+rather than consult the unreasonable prejudices of his father. Whether
+this was a correct interpretation of the son's purposes or not, the
+father so regarded it, and his wrath increased accordingly.</p>
+
+<p>"If I haven't spoken plainly enough, I will leave you no chance of
+misunderstanding me. If you marry the girl, I will disown you. Can you
+understand that? If you marry her, I will never see you or speak to you
+again. Do you think you can understand that? If you marry her, not a
+dollar of my property shall ever be yours. Do you fully comprehend me? I
+mean all I say, literally and exactly. I won't leave you even the hope
+of breaking my will when I am dead. I will give away every penny before
+I die. I will found a hospital, or an insane asylum for just such
+lunatics as you are, and every dollar I possess shall be in its coffers
+before I am put in the ground. I hope you understand me, Edward."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[Pg 16]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"I think I do, sir," replied the young man, sadly.</p>
+
+<p>"You <i>think</i> you do!"</p>
+
+<p>"It is not possible to misunderstand you, father; I fully understand
+your views."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, what have you to say?" stormed the father.</p>
+
+<p>"I do not see that anything can be said."</p>
+
+<p>"Your intentions?"</p>
+
+<p>"Of course I can only submit."</p>
+
+<p>"You begin to be sensible. You are my son, my only son, Edward," said
+the old gentleman, in a milder tone. "All my hopes are in you. I have
+never been hard with you."</p>
+
+<p>"You have not, father."</p>
+
+<p>"But I would rather lose every dollar I have in the world to-day, and
+begin life anew at the age of sixty, than see you the husband of
+Medway's daughter. I mean just what I say, and nothing less. It would
+break my heart."</p>
+
+<p>The young man wanted to say that it would break his heart not to be the
+husband of Sara Medway; but he had learned to temporize and be insincere
+before the unreasonable wrath of his father, and he was silent.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[Pg 17]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"You are twenty-one now. You have gone through college, and have only to
+study your profession. You needn't make hard work of it, for you will
+not be obliged to drudge for a living; but you may wish to go into
+politics, and as a lawyer you will succeed better. You shall have all
+the money you want. I have already decided to give you an allowance of
+five thousand a year, and you can check it from the bank as you want it.
+Go to Europe for the next year or two, if you wish; travel in your own
+country first, if you like. Your health is somewhat shaken by your
+confinement in college, and a couple of years' recreation will do you
+good. You needn't hurry about your profession. Please yourself, Edward,
+in everything except this Medway matter; and don't let me hear another
+word about this girl; don't go near her; don't write to her."</p>
+
+<p>The Honorable Mr. Montague, having delivered himself of his harsh
+threat, and having smoothed it over in the most gingerly manner he
+could, walked out of the library, where the conversation had taken
+place. He evidently felt relieved, and, perhaps, thought that he had
+bravely<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[Pg 18]</a></span> met a great responsibility, and had done his whole duty
+faithfully to his son. He honestly believed that the Honorable Mr.
+Medway was a villain of the blackest dye, not only politically, but
+morally and socially; and, this postulate admitted, it followed, by his
+narrow reasoning, that Mrs. Medway, Miss Medway, and all that related to
+the fountain Medway were, utterly vile and villanous. He hated the
+father, and he could not help hating the daughter.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Montague was a Whig, and Mr. Medway was a Democrat; or, Mr. Montague
+was a Democrat, and Mr. Medway was a Whig; we cannot tell just how this
+was; it is enough to say that they were on opposite sides in politics.
+Mr. Montague was a wealthy man, and Mr. Medway was not; and both of them
+were nominated for Congress in the same district, in the State of Maine.
+It was a close contest, and party rancor was very bitter. Not only the
+public acts, but the private lives of the candidates were criticised in
+the severest manner by the opposition; and an unbiassed spectator,
+believing all that was said, would have promptly concluded that both of
+them were unmitigated scoundrels. Mr. Montague had a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[Pg 19]</a></span> skeleton in an
+almost forgotten closet, and, somehow, this skeleton stalked out into
+the political arena, and perhaps frightened away some of its owner's
+adherents. Perhaps it was a forgotten and repented sin; but Mr.
+Montague's opponents made the most of it. Now, this gentleman, from
+certain circumstances which need not be explained, was satisfied that
+Mr. Medway had trotted out this skeleton and held it up as a bugbear to
+the people, and he hated his rival with all his mind, heart, and soul.</p>
+
+<p>The election came, and Mr. Montague was defeated by a very small
+majority. He had been sure that he should be chosen, and the result
+intensified his hatred of his successful opponent to a degree which made
+it little short of insanity. Years hardly moderated its fervor, though
+it ceased to find frequent expression. The hope of long years was
+frustrated; the crown of glory and success was denied him, he firmly
+believed, by the villany of his rival in exposing the skeleton in the
+closet. He was a defeated candidate. The prestige was against him; and,
+in the state of parties, he could not hope to be nominated<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[Pg 20]</a></span> again. His
+enemy had overwhelmed him once and for all.</p>
+
+<p>It is fair to say that Mr. Medway knew nothing about the skeleton, had
+not brought it forward, and did not even believe in its existence.</p>
+
+<p>The Honorable Mr. Medway went to Congress, and was once re-elected,
+though he did not particularly distinguish himself as an orator or a
+blackguard. He was a quiet, sensible man, who always voted on party
+lines. He had a wife and one daughter, who endured Washington life for
+one term, but after this preferred to spend the winters with Mrs.
+Medway's sister in Brunswick. This lady's husband was a professor in the
+college, and some of the students occasionally visited in his family.
+Edward Montague was one of this number.</p>
+
+<p>Sara Medway was a beautiful girl of his own age; and the young man,
+having been absent during the political contest, and neither knowing nor
+caring anything about its merits or demerits, was stupid enough to fall
+in love with the professor's fair guest. He was very attentive to her,
+and the affair became town talk, as such affairs usually do. His father
+heard of it; but he had<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[Pg 21]</a></span> no opportunity to remonstrate with him in a
+very decided manner until after Edward was graduated. When he went home,
+the interview we have narrated occurred. The young man was confounded at
+the violence of his father, and astonished to find that the old
+gentleman, who had always been indulgent to the last degree, even to his
+follies and vices, could be so harsh and implacable. There could be no
+mistaking his father's meaning; and Edward was obliged to accept the
+issue.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Medway had finished his second congressional term, and come home
+with his family. Edward tried hard to obey his father, and travelled
+till October. When he returned he heard with dismay that Sara Medway was
+ill, and had some of the symptoms of incipient consumption. He had not
+seen her for three months. Though not engaged, he was confident that she
+reciprocated his affection; and his conscience smote him as he thought
+his abrupt termination of their acquaintance might have affected her
+health. But Edward dreaded his father's anger, while he could not wholly
+resist his impulses.</p>
+
+<p>One evening he stealthily called at the house<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[Pg 22]</a></span> of Mr. Medway, and was
+cordially welcomed by all, and especially by Sara. More than ever before
+he realized the depth of her affection, and traced in her looks, her
+tones, and the blushes upon her pale cheek, the triumphal joy with which
+she again welcomed him to her presence. He could not tell her that he
+should come no more; but, while her mother left the room for a few
+moments, he spoke a whole volume in a few words, and she frankly
+declared her sentiments towards him. In a word, they were engaged.</p>
+
+<p>Before he bade her adieu for the night, her father came home. Ho knew
+his daughter's preference,&mdash;not that she had in words betrayed the
+secret of her soul,&mdash;and was rejoiced to see the young man. He expressed
+his satisfaction without reserve. Edward was troubled, not alone at the
+prospect of losing his father's fortune, but with the fear of his
+father's wrath. He dreaded the rupture that would separate the only son
+from his father. Mr. Medway invited him to smoke a cigar in the library.
+Edward disclosed what had passed between himself and Sara, and detailed
+his interview with his father. Mr. Medway was astonished and shocked at
+the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[Pg 23]</a></span> unreasonableness of his late rival. He knew that Mr. Montague
+disliked him, avoided him, and refused to take part in any enterprise
+with him; but he had no suspicion of the depth of his hatred. He was
+sorely troubled because his own presumed errors were visited upon his
+innocent daughter.</p>
+
+<p>Sara was sad and moody after Edward ceased so suddenly to visit her, and
+her parents believed that her health had been impaired by her sorrow.
+Her father hoped and believed that the return of Edward would prove to
+be the panacea to restore her; and the young man's confession appalled
+him. He could not counsel him to forsake fortune and family for his
+daughter's sake, even while he feared that his refusal to do so would be
+fatal to her. He could give no advice, though the young man asked for
+it. He volunteered to conceal the fact of Edward's visit, which was
+several times repeated with the same privacy.</p>
+
+<p>Sara's health improved as her cheerfulness returned; but her physician
+dreaded the long, cold winter. About this time appeared a volume
+entitled Gan-Eden, or Pictures of Cuba, which fell into Mr. Medway's
+hands. He read it, and was fully impressed with the desirableness of
+Cuba<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[Pg 24]</a></span> as a winter residence for consumptives. He suggested the thought
+to the doctor, and the result was, that Mr. Medway went to the island
+with his wife and daughter. Edward saw her before her departure, and
+their plighting was renewed, with the hope of meeting in the spring.</p>
+
+<p>When she had gone, he was moody and discontented. A few weeks later Tom
+Barkesdale, his chum in college, who resided in New Orleans, came to his
+home to spend a few days. Edward and his father were courteous and
+munificent hosts, and did all that was possible to make the guest happy.
+He was happy, but he could not help seeing that his old college friend
+was not.</p>
+
+<p>"What's the matter with you, Ned?" said Tom, as they sailed in a small
+yacht on the bright waters of Penobscot Bay, on one of the soft days of
+the Indian summer. "You are as blue as a Yankee whetstone."</p>
+
+<p>"Am I? I was not aware of it," replied Edward, shaking off his moodiness
+for the moment.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, you are. If I stop talking for a moment, you sink away into a
+gloomy dream. You seem to me to be half muddled. What ails you?"</p>
+
+<p>"O, nothing."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[Pg 25]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"I don't believe you. You haven't seemed at all natural since I came. I
+hope I'm not in the way of anything."</p>
+
+<p>"Certainly not, Tom. You are never in the way."</p>
+
+<p>"But, candidly and seriously, now, what ails you?"</p>
+
+<p>"Nothing at all ails me, my dear fellow. If anything did, I would tell
+you sooner than I would my own father."</p>
+
+<p>"Not in love&mdash;are you, Ned?" added Tom, straightening up, and looking
+full into the face of his friend. "By the way, where is the daughter of
+that member of Congress whom you used to be sweet upon?"</p>
+
+<p>"She has gone to Cuba to spend the winter," replied Edward.</p>
+
+<p>"I see just how the land lies now. She has gone to Cuba for her health,
+and you are pining away in solitude in the frozen north. But, Ned,
+didn't you write me that the affair had slipped up, fallen through, or
+something of that sort?"</p>
+
+<p>"I thought it had; but I didn't know myself," replied the lover, with a
+sigh.</p>
+
+<p>"O, ho! I see. She's a beautiful girl. Upon<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[Pg 26]</a></span> my word, I envy you, Ned.
+If you hadn't stepped in before me, my dear fellow, I should have fallen
+into that trap myself."</p>
+
+<p>"Don't say anything about a trap, Tom. You make me shudder."</p>
+
+<p>"What ails you, Ned? Isn't it all smooth&mdash;the course of true love, and
+all that sort of thing? Has she given you the mitten?"</p>
+
+<p>"No, no. Everything is lovely so far as she is concerned."</p>
+
+<p>"Is her father inimical? Does her mother dislike you, or her grandmother
+frown upon your hopes?"</p>
+
+<p>"No. Her father and mother are entirely satisfied to let the affair take
+its course."</p>
+
+<p>"Then what are you moping about?" demanded Tom.</p>
+
+<p>"The opposition comes from my father," answered Edward, as he tacked the
+boat, and stood off on a long stretch, evidently with the intention of
+telling his friend all about it.</p>
+
+<p>"What has your father to do with it?" asked Tom.</p>
+
+<p>"He dislikes her father."</p>
+
+<p>"But, if I understand you correctly, you don't purpose to marry her
+father."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[Pg 27]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"There is an old feud, a political affair, between them. The row
+occurred while I was away from home, fitting for college," added Edward,
+as he proceeded to disclose his present relations with Sara Medway, and
+to explain the nature and intensity of his father's opposition to the
+match.</p>
+
+<p>"That's awkward, Ned," said Tom. "Your governor is a hard case on a
+feud."</p>
+
+<p>"But in everything else he is as indulgent as he can be. I tried to be
+dutiful, even in a matter of this kind; and I did not see Miss Medway
+for three months. Then I heard she was ill, and my conscience reproached
+me. I called to see her. I shall never forget the expression of joy she
+bestowed upon me. She is as much attached to me as I am to her, and I
+know that if I desert her she will die of grief."</p>
+
+<p>"You have a good opinion of yourself, Ned."</p>
+
+<p>"I am in earnest. I think so. I made the first advances, not she."</p>
+
+<p>"I should hope not," laughed Tom.</p>
+
+<p>"And for that reason I feel a sense of responsibility, in addition to my
+devotion to Sara. Now you know all. What can I do?"</p>
+
+<p>"Upon my word, Ned, that's a hard question; and a man must be a Solon to
+advise you."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[Pg 28]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"You are the sole un who can advise me, Tom," replied Edward, with a
+sickly smile.</p>
+
+<p>"That's a lovesick pun. You are in a tight place. If you hold on, you
+will be frozen to death; if you let go, you will be burned to death. But
+I am inclined to think, my dear fellow, from what I have seen of you
+since I came here, that there is still a third consideration. If you
+obey your governor, the girl will die of grief; if you marry her, you
+lose fortune and father; but if you retain fortune and father, you may
+die of grief yourself. You are moping now; you look pale, and the
+situation is wearing upon you."</p>
+
+<p>"But what can I do?"</p>
+
+<p>"I'll tell you. I'm going to read law this winter with Colonel Bushnel,
+in New Orleans. Come with me, and we will read law together. Before
+spring we shall be able to solve the problem."</p>
+
+<p>The boat returned to the town. Edward liked the plan, for Louisiana was
+nearer Cuba than Maine was. His father did not seriously object; and in
+another fortnight both the young men were in the Crescent City.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[Pg 29]</a></span></p>
+<h2>CHAPTER II.</h2>
+
+<h3>THE END OF A SAD STORY.</h3>
+
+
+<p>In New York Edward Montague mailed a letter to Sara Medway. Before he
+had been in New Orleans a week her answer came to him. She was better;
+her cough had entirely left her, and she slept well. Nothing was needed
+to make her happy but his presence.</p>
+
+<p>"Go, Ned; go, by all means," said Tom Barkesdale.</p>
+
+<p>"But my father&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Never mind your father," interposed Tom, whose impetuous southern
+temperament could hardly brook the cold caution of his friend.</p>
+
+<p>"I promised to write to him at least once a month."</p>
+
+<p>"Do so, then."</p>
+
+<p>"But my letters will betray me."</p>
+
+<p>"Date them at New Orleans, a day or two<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[Pg 30]</a></span> ahead, and send them to me
+under cover. I will mail them here, and your father will believe you are
+in this city all the time."</p>
+
+<p>"That's a mean deception," said Edward, whose impulses were rather above
+such conduct.</p>
+
+<p>"All is fair in love and war," laughed Tom. "Your letters from home will
+come here, and I will forward them to you."</p>
+
+<p>Under the temptation that beset him Edward did not long consider this
+scheme before he adopted it; and he went to Havana in the steamer which
+had brought the letter from Sara. The Medways were still in the city,
+for the cottage at Limonar, which was to be their residence, was not yet
+ready for their reception. On his arrival Edward found father and
+daughter plunged in the deepest grief. However the climate agreed with
+Sara, it did not agree with her mother. She was taken sick in a sudden
+and violent manner, and in less than three days she breathed her last,
+though she was attended by the most skilful resident and foreign
+physicians.</p>
+
+<p>Edward's office was now that of comforter, and his presence alone seemed
+to save the stricken ones from utter despair. Both father and daughter<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[Pg 31]</a></span>
+leaned upon him, and he faithfully discharged the duties which devolved
+upon him. After the funeral of Mrs. Medway, Edward conducted Mr. Medway
+and Sara to their new home at Limonar. In a few weeks the poignancy of
+their grief was abated; but Edward's presence seemed to be even more
+necessary than ever. Tom Barkesdale forwarded his letters and cashed his
+drafts in New Orleans; and the Honorable Mr. Montague in Maine had no
+suspicion that his son was not reading law in the Crescent City.</p>
+
+<p>Two months after the death of Mrs. Medway, Edward Montague was privately
+married, by an English clergyman, to Sara Medway. The circumstances
+seemed to justify the breaking through of the ordinary proprieties which
+regulate the interval between a funeral and a wedding. This event seemed
+to sweep away all the clouds which lowered over the happiness of the
+young people.</p>
+
+<p>Edward had made up his mind to face the wrath of his father, but he
+desired to postpone the tempest as long as possible. He wrote to Tom a
+full account of the step he had taken, and that worthy assured him he
+could conceal his marriage for an indefinite period. The young husband
+did not<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[Pg 32]</a></span> flatter himself that even a year could elapse before the
+momentous secret would be exposed. There were scores of invalids at
+Limonar, but, fortunately, none who recognized him or the Medways. He
+was very happy in his new relation, and the health of his wife appeared
+to be completely restored.</p>
+
+<p>Letters came regularly from his father&mdash;brief, business-like epistles,
+in which the old gentleman, in his clumsy way, expressed his affection
+for his son. Edward used his spare time in reading law and studying the
+Spanish language.</p>
+
+<p>In the spring Edward's letters, in accordance with a suggestion from
+Tom, began to hint at a trip to the Rocky Mountains, for it was hardly
+possible for the young couple to spend the summer in Cuba. In May Edward
+went to New Orleans with his wife, but was very careful to avoid public
+places. Two months later, attended by Tom, the party went up the
+Mississippi and Missouri Rivers, and spent the summer in a quiet
+village. From this point Edward went home to pass a month with his
+father, in order to remove any suspicion in the old gentleman's mind, if
+any had been created; but the old gentleman had never received even a
+hint of the new relation of his son.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[Pg 33]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>The news of Mrs. Medway's death had reached the town, and it was known
+that Sara and her father were spending the winter in the west. This
+intelligence had been communicated by Mr. Medway, who, of course, did
+not allude to the marriage of his daughter.</p>
+
+<p>After spending a month at home, Edward departed for the west, saying
+that he was to meet Tom Barkesdale at St. Louis, and, after a trip to
+the Rocky Mountains, they would return to New Orleans, and resume their
+law studies. The young man wrote to his father from the place where he
+joined his wife and father-in-law. In the autumn the party went to the
+south, and, as soon as it was prudent to do so, Edward, his wife, and
+Mr. Medway returned to Cuba. The cottage at Limonar was just as they had
+left it, and they resumed their quiet domestic life as before. Edward
+had observed, with fear and trembling, that some of the consumptive
+symptoms of his wife appeared while she was at the north. Indeed, she
+had brought back with her a hacking cough, which, however, soon yielded
+to the softening influence of the climate.</p>
+
+<p>Limonar is but a short distance from Matanzas,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[Pg 34]</a></span> by railroad, and either
+Mr. Medway or Edward was obliged to visit the city occasionally, to
+procure the comforts and luxuries not to be had in a country village.</p>
+
+<p>Sara's knowledge of Spanish was very limited, though by this time Edward
+spoke it quite fluently. Her Spanish servants were a constant perplexity
+to her, and she very much desired to obtain an English or American woman
+to perform the ordinary offices of the household. On one of his visits
+to the city Edward met an American woman in great distress. Her husband
+was a cooper, with whom she had come from a seaport town in Maine, to
+better their fortunes. High wages tempted him to remain through the
+summer; but as late as October he fell a victim to yellow fever. He had
+sent most of his surplus funds home, and his widow soon exhausted her
+scanty supply of money. Instead of applying to the American consul, she
+went to live with an English family as a nurse. But there she was taken
+sick herself, and was sent away from her comfortable home to a
+boarding-house, lest she should communicate some contagious disease to
+her employer's family. Here she had contracted<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[Pg 35]</a></span> a debt which she could
+not pay, and was seeking a friend to assist her, when she met Edward in
+a shop. Hearing him speak English, she addressed him.</p>
+
+<p>Though Mrs. Wayland desired only to return to her home in Maine, Edward
+prevailed upon her to go with him to Limonar. He paid her debts,
+provided her with everything she needed, and offered her large wages.
+All were so kind and indulgent to her that she soon became much attached
+to her new friends. When she had been a month at the cottage, Edward
+Montague became the happy father of a fine boy.</p>
+
+<p>But with this joy came the heaviest of sorrows. Sara's health began to
+fail, and the incipient malady which had been working upon her physical
+frame so silently for years rapidly developed itself. The delicious
+climate had lost its influence; and when the boy was only three months
+old, his mother breathed her last. Edward and Mr. Medway were stunned by
+the blow, and wept as those without hope. The young wife was buried by
+the side of the mother in the cemetery in the vicinity of Havana.</p>
+
+<p>There was no longer any motive for the survivors<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[Pg 36]</a></span> to remain in Cuba.
+Limonar had lost all its glory now, and Edward could not endure the
+sight of the familiar localities which had been hallowed by the presence
+of his lost wife. Mr. Medway was alone in the world. His own health was
+feeble, and he desired only to return to his native land. His spirit was
+broken, and all this world seemed to have passed away. It was decided
+that Mr. Medway, with Mrs. Wayland and the child, should take the
+steamer for New York, and return to Maine, while Edward went home by the
+way of New Orleans.</p>
+
+<p>Much as the young father had loved his boy before, he appeared to be in
+a measure indifferent to him now. His wife and child were a real joy;
+but the boy alone only reminded him of her whom he had lost.</p>
+
+<p>When the steamer arrived at New York, Mr. Medway was too feeble to
+travel. Mrs. Wayland was a faithful nurse to him; but her charge died in
+a week after he landed. The last of the family was gone. His remains
+were sent home, and Mrs. Wayland and the child went with them. She knew
+the whole of the story we have related; and, in his last illness, Mr.
+Medway had impressed<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[Pg 37]</a></span> upon her mind, in the strongest manner, the
+necessity of entire secrecy in regard to his daughter's marriage and the
+paternity of the child. If Edward chose to acknowledge it, he would do
+so in due time.</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Wayland had no relations to trouble themselves about her affairs;
+and when she appeared in Camden, which had been the residence of her
+husband, no one thought of asking whether or not the child was her own.
+She volunteered no information on this subject; and, recovering the
+money which her husband had sent home, she was comfortably situated for
+the present. She found a good boarding-place, and devoted herself wholly
+to the little one, who already occupied a large place in her affections.</p>
+
+<p>Edward Montague went to New Orleans, and when he presented himself
+before his college friend, he looked like another man, so severe had
+been the workings of his grief upon him. Tom Barkesdale pressed his hand
+in silence, for he had already been informed by letter of the sad event
+of the last month.</p>
+
+<p>"It is all over with me now, Tom," said he, gloomily, as the tears
+gathered in his hollow eyes.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[Pg 38]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Don't take it so hardly, Ned. Time softens the severest trials."</p>
+
+<p>"Not mine. I am ready to die myself now."</p>
+
+<p>"No you are not. Don't give up the battle so. Be a man."</p>
+
+<p>"I can be nothing now. I shall go home, and let my life ebb out with my
+sorrows."</p>
+
+<p>"Don't go home as you are now. You will only make your father miserable.
+You have no right to do that."</p>
+
+<p>"I must tell him all."</p>
+
+<p>"Don't do it, Ned."</p>
+
+<p>"Why not?"</p>
+
+<p>"It will only vex and torment your governor to no purpose. He is an old
+man, and cannot live many years more. Don't disturb him with the
+reflection that you have disobeyed him."</p>
+
+<p>"But my child!"</p>
+
+<p>"Keep the child in the shade for a few years," said Tom; and Edward
+fully understood him. "One of these days you can acknowledge it, and all
+will be well. Out of regard to your father's happiness you ought to keep
+still."</p>
+
+<p>"As my wife is dead now, I hope he will forgive me."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[Pg 39]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Perhaps he would, perhaps not. What is the use of stirring up the
+waters and making a storm, when everything is quiet now?"</p>
+
+<p>"But my father cannot help seeing that something has happened to me. I
+can never be as I was before."</p>
+
+<p>"Wait and see," replied the more philosophic young man.</p>
+
+<p>A letter came from Mr. Montague a few days later. It was in the usual
+quiet tone, with the gossip and news of the town. Edward dreaded the
+thought of disturbing the serenity of his father's life. He felt now
+that he ought not to have deceived the old gentleman; that it would have
+been better to face his wrath. He was sure that his own and Sara's
+happiness required that he should marry her; and he could not reproach
+himself for this step. But by this miserable deception&mdash;successful as it
+had been&mdash;he had stepped from the high plane of honor and truth. He was
+utterly dissatisfied with himself; and all the more so because he
+realized that his wife was worthy of all the sacrifice he could have
+made for her sake. Tom Barkesdale reasoned from a different point of
+view, and insisted that the matter<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[Pg 40]</a></span> was best as it was. Edward had done
+right in marrying Sara, and it was quite proper to save Mr. Montague
+from the pain and misery of a useless opposition.</p>
+
+<p>Then came another letter from Mrs. Wayland, announcing her safe arrival
+in New York and the illness of Mr. Medway.</p>
+
+<p>"I must go to New York at once," said Edward.</p>
+
+<p>"Don't you do it. You will undo everything that has been done, if you
+do. Probably Mr. Medway has been seasick overmuch. He will be all right
+in a few days. Wait till you hear again, at least."</p>
+
+<p>He did wait, and the next letter informed him of the death of his
+father-in-law, and that his remains had been sent to his friends in
+Maine. Mrs. Wayland added that she should go to Camden at once, where a
+letter from him would reach her.</p>
+
+<p>"It is no use for you to go now, Ned," said Tom. "You can do no good."</p>
+
+<p>"I ought to have gone before."</p>
+
+<p>"As you didn't go before, it cannot be helped. Your father thinks you
+are diligently reading law in the office of Colonel Bushnell, in New
+Orleans.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[Pg 41]</a></span> We can't help the past; but I advise you to deceive him no
+longer."</p>
+
+<p>"What do you mean?"</p>
+
+<p>"Go into the office and read law with all your might. Then you will be
+deceiving him no longer. You will be doing just what he thinks you are
+doing," replied Tom, lightly.</p>
+
+<p>"And not tell him of the past?"</p>
+
+<p>"Certainly not."</p>
+
+<p>Edward felt the need of some occupation, and he accepted the counsel of
+his friend. He studied day and night, for he could not join in any of
+the pleasures of the city, or go into the gay society which Tom
+frequented. He wrote to Mrs. Wayland, enclosing a considerable sum of
+money; but he forbade her writing to him, lest the fact of a letter to
+him from Camden should connect him with the child. It was a groundless
+fear; but he had now fully resolved not to disturb his father's peace by
+acknowledging his own disobedience.</p>
+
+<p>For four months he studied so diligently that his friend began to fear
+he would impair his health. Every day found him more cheerful than the
+last; and it was plain enough that youth and time were rapidly
+conquering his grief. He began<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[Pg 42]</a></span> to go into society again, and the
+presence of the ladies was not altogether repulsive to him. In June,
+with Tom as his companion, he went home to spend the summer.</p>
+
+<p>His father commented upon his altered appearance, but Tom insisted that
+it was because he had studied so hard. He had not only read law, but had
+learned the Spanish language, so that he could converse fluently in it.
+The vacation wonderfully recruited his health, and in the autumn the
+students returned to their southern home. Edward studied as diligently
+as ever. Youth had wholly conquered his grief, and he was as before. He
+sent money regularly to Mrs. Wayland; but he expressed no desire to see
+his child, though he declared to Tom that the little one still had a
+place in his heart, and that he intended at some future time to
+acknowledge it.</p>
+
+<p>Edward boarded with his friend's father, who had a daughter. She was but
+sixteen when Edward first became a member of the family. She was
+nineteen now, and the young northerner began to be tenderly impressed
+towards her, though his attentions did not begin till his wife had been
+dead over a year. The attraction was<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[Pg 43]</a></span> mutual, and Edward wrote to his
+father about it. The old gentleman was pleased, and facetiously remarked
+that he had all along supposed there was something or somebody in New
+Orleans, besides Tom or the law, that had drawn him there for three
+winters. He hadn't the slightest objection. Edward could <i>now</i> please
+himself in that respect, as in every other. The "now" was heavily
+underscored, and the son had no difficulty in understanding his meaning.
+It was known that all the Medways were dead, and the Honorable Mr.
+Montague could no longer object to any match his heir might choose to
+make.</p>
+
+<p>The marriage was deferred till the next year, when Edward's father and
+mother made a winter tour to New Orleans. The great event was duly
+chronicled in the newspapers, and the young couple made a bridal tour to
+Europe, where they spent a year. On their return an elegant residence,
+next to the Honorable Mr. Montague's, in one of the finest towns on
+Penobscot Bay, awaited them.</p>
+
+<p>Edward practised law in a mild way, but never made any great figure in
+his profession. He was an officer in the war, has been to the state
+legislature<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[Pg 44]</a></span> as a representative, and the honors of a senatorship are
+still before him. Like the other distinguished men we have introduced,
+he is the father of only one child by his second marriage, a pretty
+daughter, who is the idol of both parents, and particularly of the
+Honorable Mr. Montague.</p>
+
+<p>Edward Montague has all of this world's goods which are required to make
+a man happy, he has a beautiful and loving wife, a beautiful and
+affectionate daughter, a kind and indulgent father still. All the world
+regards him as a happy man; but he is not entirely so, for he cannot be
+satisfied with his past life. He cannot help thinking of the deception
+he practised upon his father, and still fears that some unexpected event
+will disclose his misconduct. His wife shares his great secret, for,
+before he married her, a sense of honor compelled him to make her his
+confidante, which he did in the presence of her brother, who vouched for
+the truth of all he said. He can never be entirely at peace while his
+father lives.</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Wayland married again, but Edward continued to send her at the rate
+of ten dollars a week for the care of his son, who still passes as her
+own child. After this marriage of the nurse,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[Pg 45]</a></span> the father of the boy was
+vexed by a new fear. He saw that it was possible for her husband to
+probe the secret through his letters and remittances; so he ceased to
+write letters, or to send money by mail as before. Once a year, when Tom
+Barkesdale came north to spend his summer vacation, he sent him with the
+money to deliver into her own hands.</p>
+
+<p>Strange as it may seem, Edward has not seen his boy since he parted with
+him on board of the steamer at Havana. When he thinks of the little one
+he cannot but reproach himself for the past. He feels that he has
+wronged the boy, and fears that his own emotions might betray him in the
+presence of the child. He is vexed by a score of fears which he cannot
+define. The guide and standard of his life is honor rather than
+religious principle, which is the only safe guide and standard. His
+conscience reproaches him for what he has done and for what he has left
+undone. He feels that he has dishonored the memory of his lost wife, and
+that his conduct is a continued wrong to his child. Like thousands of
+others, he shuns that which might lead him into the path of truth and
+right. He pays liberally for the support<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[Pg 46]</a></span> of his boy, and tries to
+persuade himself that he is doing all that honor requires of him.</p>
+
+<p>All this is but the introduction to our story; and with the next chapter
+we step over a period of more than a dozen years.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[Pg 47]</a></span></p>
+<h2>CHAPTER III.</h2>
+
+<h3>LITTLE BOBTAIL.</h3>
+
+
+<p>"What have you done with it, Robert?" demanded Ezekiel Taylor, a coarse,
+rough man of forty, who was partially intoxicated and very angry. "You
+and your mother've hid that jug of rum."</p>
+
+<p>Robert looked at Mrs. Taylor, who was making bread at the table, but he
+did not deem it prudent to make any reply. That jug was the evil genius
+of the little household. It had transformed Ezekiel Taylor from an
+honest, industrious, and thriving man, into a mean, lazy, and thriftless
+drunkard. It had brought misery and contention into the little house
+which he had bought and paid for before his marriage. He was a cooper by
+trade, and had set up in business for himself; but his dissolute habit
+had robbed him of his shop, and reduced him first to a journeyman and
+then to a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[Pg 48]</a></span> vagabond. He earned hardly enough to pay for the liquor he
+consumed; but, somehow,&mdash;and how was the mystery which perplexed
+everybody who knew the Taylors,&mdash;the family always had enough to eat and
+good clothes to wear. Years before, he had, under the pretence of buying
+a shop in which to set up in business again, mortgaged his house for
+five hundred dollars, and his wife had signed away her right of dower in
+the premises, without a suspicion of anything wrong. But the money was
+quickly squandered, and Squire Gilfilian, who had the mortgage,
+threatened to take the place, though the interest was paid with
+tolerable regularity by the wife.</p>
+
+<p>Ezekiel worked a little when he was sober; but a day of industry was
+sure to be followed by a spree. He could procure a few drinks at the
+saloons; but as soon as he began to be tipsy, even the saloon keepers
+refused to furnish him more, for the public sentiment of the place
+fiercely condemned them. The cooper had worked a day and obtained a jug
+of rum. After breakfast he had gone into the village and drank two or
+three times, and when he could procure no more liquor there, he came
+home to continue his spree on the stock<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[Pg 49]</a></span> he had before laid in. The jug
+had been concealed in the wood-shed, where Robert had discovered it. It
+suggested evil to himself and his mother, abuse and even personal
+violence. As he afterwards explained it, he saw a storm brewing, and,
+like a prudent sailor, he had prepared for it, or prepared to avert it,
+by taking the jug down to the steamboat wharf and dropping it upon the
+rocks below, where the rising tide soon covered the pieces, and for a
+time concealed the evidences of the deed.</p>
+
+<p>"What have you done with it, you villain?" repeated the angry head of
+the family, looking first at the boy and then at his wife.</p>
+
+<p>"I haven't seen it, and didn't know you had any jug," replied Mrs.
+Taylor.</p>
+
+<p>"Don't lie to me about it," stormed Ezekiel. "You can't fool me. I left
+that jug in the wood-shed, and 'tain't there now. It couldn't have gone
+off without any help."</p>
+
+<p>"I haven't touched it," repeated Mrs. Taylor.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, you have; you know you have," added the tippler, demonstrating
+with a clinched fist towards her.</p>
+
+<p>"I tell you I haven't seen it."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[Pg 50]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"I say you have," said Ezekiel, shaking his fist in her face; "you know
+you have; and if you don't tell me what you've done with it, it'll go
+hard with you."</p>
+
+<p>"She hasn't seen it, and don't know anything at all about it,"
+interposed Robert, in order to turn the wrath of the inebriate from his
+mother.</p>
+
+<p>"Then <i>you</i> do, you villain," said Ezekiel, turning sharply upon the
+youth.</p>
+
+<p>The boy did not make any reply.</p>
+
+<p>"What have you done with it?" cried the angry cooper.</p>
+
+<p>"Mother knows nothing at all about it; she hasn't touched it, and didn't
+know there was any jug there."</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Taylor suspended work and looked earnestly at the boy. She
+understood by his manner that he had removed the jug, and she dreaded
+the consequences of her husband's wrath. Ezekiel continued to repeat his
+question in his drunken frenzy, and to demonstrate violently with his
+fist at the youth. He turned again upon his wife, and accused her of
+being a party to the removal of the jug; but Robert's only object seemed
+to be to shield her from his wrath.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[Pg 51]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"I tell you again she don't know anything at all about it," said he, at
+last. "I did the business myself; and that jug has gone up. It won't
+hold any more rum."</p>
+
+<p>"What did you do with it, you villain?" gasped Ezekiel.</p>
+
+<p>"I dropped it off the railroad wharf upon the rocks; and there isn't a
+piece left of it big enough to stop a mouse hole."</p>
+
+<p>"You did&mdash;did you?"</p>
+
+<p>"I did," added Robert, desperately, as he braced himself to brave the
+consequences of his bold deed.</p>
+
+<p>"What business had you to meddle with my property?" demanded Ezekiel,
+furiously.</p>
+
+<p>"It was a kind of property that don't make any man the richer," replied
+the youth.</p>
+
+<p>"Who told you to do it?" asked the inebriate, glancing at his wife.</p>
+
+<p>"No one told me, and no one knew anything about it."</p>
+
+<p>"Then I'll teach you to steal my property! I'll take it out of your
+hide, you rascal."</p>
+
+<p>"There isn't any of it in my hide, and I don't mean there ever shall
+be."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[Pg 52]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Ezekiel took down a clothes-stick which was hanging against the wall,
+and with it he made a dive and a plunge at Robert. The boy was too
+active to be caught by a man whose footing was none too steady. He
+easily dodged the blows which were aimed at him, till the tippler, out
+of breath from his exertions, placed himself before the door to prevent
+the escape of the culprit, and there rested himself from the fatigue of
+the onslaught.</p>
+
+<p>"Don't you strike that boy," said Mrs. Taylor, warmly; and she had
+before essayed to suspend the strife.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes I will! I'll flog him within an inch of his life. I'll teach him to
+meddle with my property," gasped Ezekiel.</p>
+
+<p>"If you do, I'll leave this house, and never come into it again. I won't
+have no such goings on where I am," said the woman, warmly and
+energetically.</p>
+
+<p>"That's right, mother; you leave," added Robert, who had remained in the
+room only to turn the wrath of the husband from her to himself.</p>
+
+<p>"He shan't hurt you, Robert. I'll stand up for you to the end," added
+Mrs. Taylor, as she<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[Pg 53]</a></span> passed into her chamber, which was next to the
+"living-room."</p>
+
+<p>"I don't care who goes, nor who stays. I ain't a going to have any such
+works as this," continued Ezekiel, as he gathered himself up for another
+attack. "I ain't a going to have my property, that cost money,
+destroyed, and you won't want to do such a thing again, I can tell you."</p>
+
+<p>The angry man rushed towards Robert, who stood near the door which
+opened into the front entry; but he knew that it was locked, and so he
+did not attempt to escape in that direction. Being in the corner, his
+furious assailant attempted to pin him there; but Robert, by a flank
+movement, reached the door which led to the wood-shed, and passed out.
+He was closely pursued by Ezekiel; but the tipsy man might as well have
+attempted to catch a wild antelope. The boy dodged around the wood-shed
+and other buildings till he had thrown his pursuer off the track; then
+he went to the back window of his mother's chamber to assure himself
+that she was still safe. She was putting on her bonnet and shawl, with
+the evident intention of leaving the house.</p>
+
+<p>"Did he strike you, Robert?" she asked,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[Pg 54]</a></span> through the open window, with
+more of indignation than terror in her manner.</p>
+
+<p>"Not he," replied Robert. "I can keep out of his way easy enough."</p>
+
+<p>"Don't go near him again&mdash;that's a good boy. There's no knowing what he
+may do. He's as ugly as sin when he has had two or three glasses and
+wants more."</p>
+
+<p>"But where are you going, mother?" asked the boy.</p>
+
+<p>"I don't know where to go yet; but I'm not going to stay here to-day. I
+can't bear it any longer. You will keep out of his way&mdash;won't you,
+Robert?"</p>
+
+<p>"I'm not afraid of him; but I'm going out a fishing as soon as the tide
+makes enough to get the boat off."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, I'll go up and spend the day with Mrs. Paine," added Mrs. Taylor.
+"I hope your father will get over it before night."</p>
+
+<p>"I've got about enough of this, mother; and if it wasn't for you, I'd
+clear out this very day."</p>
+
+<p>"Don't leave me yet, Robert," pleaded the poor woman. "I mean to leave
+him myself if he don't behave better. He shan't abuse you."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[Pg 55]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"I don't mean he shall. But I think I can take care of myself better
+than you can of yourself."</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Taylor did not think so; but she did not dispute the point. The
+approach of Ezekiel caused the youth to beat another retreat; but, from
+the other side of the street, he saw his mother leave the house and walk
+towards the village. Satisfied that she was safe from the wrath of her
+brutal husband, he soon followed her, though he did not overtake her,
+for his course, after a short distance, led him in another direction.</p>
+
+<p>"I'm glad that man is not my father," muttered Robert to himself, as he
+walked towards the village.</p>
+
+<p>A knowledge of this fact had come to him only a few days before, and it
+was a great relief to him, for certainly there was no meaner man in
+Camden than Ezekiel Taylor. He was sorry that he had ever been permitted
+even to bear his name. He was sixteen years old, though, for his age, he
+was rather short. But he was a stout, wiry, athletic little fellow. He
+was just as much puzzled as the rest of the town's people to know how
+his mother contrived to feed and clothe herself and him, when it was
+patent to everybody that her husband<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[Pg 56]</a></span> spent all that he earned for rum.
+She always had money enough to buy a beefsteak and to pay her store
+bill. When everything seemed to have "gone to the dogs," and his last
+suit of clothes was out at the elbows, she astonished him by getting a
+new suit. The coat had very brief skirts, after the fashion then
+prevailing. On his short, stubbed form, it gave him a peculiar
+appearance, which promptly attracted the attention of his companions,
+when he went to church and Sunday school, after a long absence caused by
+the want of suitable clothing. The boys called him "Bob Taylor;" but
+when this coat appeared, they cut off one syllable, and made his
+cognomen "Bobtail," which soon became "Little Bobtail," for he was often
+called little Bob Taylor before, by the larger boys.</p>
+
+<p>Robert was disposed to resent all these liberties with his name; but as
+Squire Gilfilian, the hotel keeper, and the deputy collector of the
+port, good-naturedly adopted the fashion of the youngsters, he was
+compelled to acquiesce. After all, there was not much difference between
+Little Bobtail and little Bob Taylor, certainly not enough to quarrel
+about.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[Pg 57]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Robert went to the post-office, not because he expected any
+letters,&mdash;for he had no correspondence,&mdash;but because a great many people
+went there when the mail arrived. He was always ready to make a quarter
+when an opportunity presented. He spent half his time on the water in
+the summer, and knew all about a boat. Sometimes the strangers at the
+hotel wanted him to go out with them, and indicate the best places to
+catch cod, haddock, and mackerel, and sometimes there was an errand to
+be done.</p>
+
+<p>"Little Bobtail!" shouted the post-master through his window, as Robert
+entered the office.</p>
+
+<p>He went up to the window, and asked what was wanted.</p>
+
+<p>"Here is a letter for Squire Gilfilian, who was in a desperate hurry to
+get it, if one came," added the post-master. "Will you carry it up to
+his office?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, sir," replied Little Bobtail, promptly.</p>
+
+<p>"Here is another for Captain Chinks. I think he is at the squire's
+office, for they just went up the street together. You may as well take
+it along."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[Pg 58]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Robert took the two letters, and hastened to the squire's office. As he
+entered, Captain Chinks came out of the rear apartment, where the lawyer
+held his private conferences with his clients.</p>
+
+<p>"Here's a letter for you, sir," said Robert, as he handed one of them to
+the captain, who immediately tore it open.</p>
+
+<p>"Thank you, Little Bobtail," said Captain Chinks, taking a quarter in
+scrip from his vest pocket, and giving it to him.</p>
+
+<p>"I am very much obliged to you, Captain Chinks," replied Robert, glad to
+earn a quarter so easily. "Is Squire Gilfilian in that room?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes; but he's busy."</p>
+
+<p>"I have a letter for him."</p>
+
+<p>"Put it on the table, and he will find it when he comes out; on his
+writing desk there."</p>
+
+<p>Little Bobtail tossed the letter on the desk, and left the office,
+thinking only of the quarter he had just made, and how he should invest
+it to the best advantage in provisioning the old boat with which he
+intended to go a fishing that day. A sheet of gingerbread and a "hunk of
+cheese," as he expressed it, seemed to suit the emergencies of the
+occasion; and after purchasing these articles, he<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[Pg 59]</a></span> walked down the road
+leading to the Portland steamboat wharf. He had gone but a short
+distance before he overtook Captain Chinks, who was reading the letter
+he just received as he walked along the plank sidewalk.</p>
+
+<p>Captain Chinks, who was, possibly, a distant relative of him of the
+horse-marines, though his name had become corrupted, was a man of
+doubtful reputation. The officials of the custom-house kept a sharp eye
+upon him, and endeavored to connect him with certain irregular
+transactions, whereby sundry cases of brandy and sundry boxes of cigars
+had come into Camden without paying tribute to the majesty of the
+custom-house. The goods were seized, and duly confiscated; but there was
+a link wanting in the chain of testimony which connected Captain Chinks
+with the affair. Robert supposed he had been consulting Squire Gilfilian
+about the matter; and the youth judged from the angry look of the
+captain that the lawyer had not been able to afford him any
+satisfaction.</p>
+
+<p>Captain Chinks read his letter, and made his way down to the steamboat
+wharf. As Bobtail ran his old boat by the end of the pier, he saw the
+man of doubtful reputation go on board of the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[Pg 60]</a></span> steamer, and noticed him
+on her deck when she started.</p>
+
+<p>That afternoon Robert sold a good mess of fish at the market, and went
+home to the cottage, which was on the road leading to the steamboat
+wharf. Ezekiel was not there, but his mother was. As the tippler could
+not obtain the liquor for a spree, he had become sober. He went to work
+the next day, and a temporary peace was patched up. He offered no
+violence to the boy while he was sober, but this was only for a brief
+period. In a few days he obtained another jug of rum, and Robert and his
+mother were obliged to abandon the house to him.</p>
+
+<p>On this afternoon Robert went to the post-office as usual. He had not
+been on the water since the day he had carried the letters to Squire
+Gilfilian's office, for the reason that he could not obtain a boat, for
+he was not the owner of the old craft in which he generally sailed. She
+belonged to a boatman by the name of Prince, who managed a larger
+Newport boat, in which he conveyed passengers from the hotel, and
+others, upon excursions on the bay. Anybody who wanted the old boat took
+her, without the formality of asking the owner's leave,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[Pg 61]</a></span> though Robert,
+being a boy, was not quite so independent as others; but Prince was a
+good fellow, and allowed him to use her whenever she was not taken by
+somebody else. But Robert had borrowed her for the day, and secured her
+near the cottage the night before, so that she could not be used till
+the tide served.</p>
+
+<p>"Little Bobtail!" shouted the post-master.</p>
+
+<p>"What, sir?"</p>
+
+<p>"Didn't I give you a letter for Squire Gilfilian, about a week ago?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, sir, you did."</p>
+
+<p>"What did you do with it?"</p>
+
+<p>"Laid it on the desk in his office," replied Robert, wondering what all
+these questions could mean.</p>
+
+<p>"He never got it."</p>
+
+<p>"Didn't he? Well, I put it on his desk," added the boy, startled and
+annoyed at the situation.</p>
+
+<p>Just then the squire himself entered the office, and confirmed the
+statement of the post-master. The lawyer questioned Little Bobtail
+sharply, perhaps rather from his professional habit than because he
+suspected the youth of anything wrong.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[Pg 62]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"I put it on your desk, sir; and that is all I know about it. Captain
+Chinks was in your office at the time, and he told me to put it on the
+desk," said Robert, stoutly.</p>
+
+<p>"Now I remember, I gave Bobtail a letter for Captain Chinks at the same
+time," added the post-master.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, sir; and I gave it to him in the squire's office."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, we will look the matter up when Captain Chinks comes back. He has
+been away a week now," added the lawyer.</p>
+
+<p>Robert was vexed. He was not directly accused of stealing the letter,
+but he did not like the sharp questions which the squire asked him. He
+left the office, and, after buying a sheet of gingerbread and some
+cheese, he hastened down to the old boat, which was now afloat. He had
+put a bucket of clams into her the night before, for bait, and otherwise
+prepared the boat for a cruise. The wind was pretty fresh from the
+westward, and he went off wing-and-wing before it. He tried the usual
+places, but the fish did not bite, and he kept sailing farther and
+farther out from the shore; but he caught hardly any fish. He was in no<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[Pg 63]</a></span>
+hurry to go home, for Ezekiel was in his tantrums, and his mother had
+gone to Rockport to spend two or three days. The wind, instead of
+subsiding as the day advanced, increased in force. The sea was heavy out
+in the bay, and it was utterly impossible to beat the old boat up to
+windward, for she made more leeway than headway.</p>
+
+<p>"No matter; I'll make a night of it," said he to himself, when he
+realized that it was impossible for him to beat back to Camden.</p>
+
+<p>The bay is full of islands, and Little Bobtail concluded to get under
+the lee of one of them, and wait for better weather. He took in his jib
+and mainsail, and the old boat went along very well, taking in very
+little water. The sun went down, and it was dark before he had made a
+harbor. He was approaching Blank Island, where he knew a good place to
+anchor for the night, when he discovered a large sail-boat, drifting
+down the bay. Her sails were all lowered, but had not been secured, and
+were flapping about in the wind.</p>
+
+<p>"Boat, ahoy!" shouted Little Bobtail.</p>
+
+<p>No answer came to his repeated hails; and, throwing the old craft up
+into the wind, he awaited the approach of the abandoned boat. Placing
+him<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[Pg 64]</a></span>self In the bow, with the painter in his hand, he leaped on board of
+the stranger, as she drifted upon his old craft. The abandoned boat was
+worthy to be called a yacht. She was about thirty-two feet in length,
+with eleven feet beam. Two thirds of her length was decked over, with a
+trunk cabin, in which were transoms large enough for four berths, with a
+cook-room forward. She was handsomely fitted up, and Little Bobtail
+wondered how she happened to be adrift. He hoisted the mainsail, and in
+a few moments ran her into a little bay under the lee of Blank Island,
+where he anchored her. As she had an anchor it was evident that she had
+not broken away from her anchorage. Having secured the old boat at a
+safe distance from the yacht, the young boatman had an opportunity to
+examine his prize, for such it proved to be.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[Pg 65]</a></span></p>
+<h2>CHAPTER IV.</h2>
+
+<h3>THE JANTY YACHT.</h3>
+
+
+<p>It was very dark, and Little Bobtail was unable to obtain a very clear
+idea of the craft he had picked up; but he had brought her to a secure
+anchorage under the lee of Blank Island, and, quite exhausted with his
+energetic efforts, both in boarding the yacht and in mooring the boats,
+he was content to rest himself for a while on the cushioned seats of the
+standing-room. The fresh wind which had blown all day had not permitted
+him to pay much attention to the dietary department, which is always an
+important one in a boat; and, not being over sentimental, he was
+positively hungry. Even the half of his sheet of gingerbread and his
+"hunk of cheese" remained untouched.</p>
+
+<p>Little Bobtail was an ingenious youth, and when he anchored the old boat
+he had taken a line from her stern to the yacht, so that he could<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[Pg 66]</a></span> haul
+the former alongside the latter at his pleasure. By this means he was
+enabled to recover his provision box and jug of cold water without any
+difficulty. He devoured the balance of what had been intended only for
+his dinner, which, expanded into both dinner and supper, did not half
+cover the needs of the occasion. He was still hungry, but he had
+recovered his breath, and was in condition to make another effort, if
+another were required of him.</p>
+
+<p>We confess that we have written very coolly and composedly of the event
+in Little Bobtail's experience which had just transpired, hardly
+attempting to describe his wonder and exhilaration; but it is not to be
+supposed that he was unmoved by the discovery and recovery of the
+abandoned yacht. He was so tremendously excited, that he had worked all
+the breath out of his body, and had hardly an opportunity to consider
+the nature and extent of his achievement till he had regained his wind,
+and partially filled the vacuum in his stomach, which prudent Nature
+abhors.</p>
+
+<p>We said he was ready for another effort; but before he put forth his
+strength again, he indulged in a series of speculations in regard to the
+immediate<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[Pg 67]</a></span> history of the yacht he had picked up under such singular
+circumstances. He had not been into the cabin yet to obtain whatever
+evidence might be available in solving the problem; he had not yet had
+time to do so. But people speculate and construct theories even before
+there are any premises on which to base them.</p>
+
+<p>The yacht was fine enough to be a pleasure craft, and he leaped at once
+to the conclusion that some gay party had landed on an island to have a
+good time, and, having run the yacht aground, the fresh breeze had blown
+her off as the tide rose. Entirely satisfied with this solution, the
+history of the fair craft seemed to be no longer a mystery to him. In
+the morning he would run her over to Camden and anchor there. The owner
+would soon appear; and, as he was fairly entitled to salvage, he thought
+he could reasonably hope to receive as much as ten dollars for his
+services, for the yacht might have been thrown upon the rocks and
+utterly smashed, if he had not picked her up. Indeed, she was not three
+miles from Deer Island when he discovered her, and in an hour or two
+more nothing could have saved her from destruction.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[Pg 68]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>To Little Bobtail ten dollars was a vast sum of money, and the very
+first thought of obtaining it suggested, as the next one, the use to
+which it should be applied. That old tub of a boat in which he had been
+sailing all day could be bought for thirty dollars. It is true she was
+not much of a boat; but it would afford Little Bobtail almost as much
+pleasure to repair her and put a proper keel upon her, so that he could
+beat to windward in her, as it would to sail her. Prince, who owned her,
+would take ten dollars as the first payment, and in time he could earn
+enough with her to pay the other twenty. Altogether the dream was a
+brilliant one to him, and as he gazed through the gloom of the night at
+the old tub, his fancy kindled with the glowing future. He wished the
+old thing was bigger, so that he could have a cabin and a place to sleep
+in her, when the drunken fury of Ezekiel drove him from the cottage.</p>
+
+<p>Now, really, our hero did not think half so much of the janty yacht he
+had captured as he did of the old tub, and we do not know that he would
+have taken the trouble to enter her cabin before he wanted a place to
+sleep, if he had not<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[Pg 69]</a></span> been hungry. Half a sheet of gingerbread and "half
+a hunk of cheese" for supper were altogether insufficient for a growing
+boy. If the party which had lost the yacht had been on a pleasure
+excursion, of course they had brought provisions with them; for, to the
+imagination of a boy of sixteen, eating is one of the chief pleasures of
+existence, especially on the salt water. If the excursionists had gone
+on shore,&mdash;as they must have done, since they were not on
+board,&mdash;probably they had taken their provisions with them. It was a
+startling thought; but then perhaps the yacht had broken adrift before
+they were removed from the lockers. The alternative was very pleasant to
+Little Bobtail, though it suggested the miserable condition of the
+excursionists left on the island, perhaps to pass the night there,
+without food. Our hero thought they could stand it better without any
+supper than he could, for he had had only half a dinner, and besides,
+everybody thinks his own misfortunes are infinitely more trying than
+those of other people. But we must do our young skipper the justice to
+add that he sympathized with the excursionists in case they had no
+supper.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[Pg 70]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>The doors of the cabin were closed, but they were not locked. Little
+Bobtail threw them open, and gazed down into the darkness. He could not
+see anything but the faint light through the round ports in the trunk.
+He descended the steps, and then stumbled against some boxes. Feeling
+his way overhead, he placed his hand upon a lantern suspended from
+above.</p>
+
+<p>"All right!" exclaimed he. "That lantern is the right thing in the right
+place. We will have some light on the subject."</p>
+
+<p>He was an early riser, and made the fire in the cook-stove every morning
+at home, which may account for the fact that he had a quantity of
+matches in his pocket. He always carried them with him, for he had been
+blown off once before, when he had a boat full of fish, and had to go
+hungry all night because he could not make a fire to cook one or two of
+them. Besides, when he sailed with strangers or with town's people, most
+of them smoked, and he often found that a match was the one thing needed
+in a boat. On account of this wise forecast and this prudent habit,
+Little Bobtail had plenty of matches in his pocket; and having them, he
+lighted one, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[Pg 71]</a></span> communicated the flame to the lamp in the lantern.</p>
+
+<p>Excitedly he waited the revelations which the lamp was to make to him.
+It was a beautiful cabin. The transoms were all cushioned, and there was
+a table between them. Forward was the door which opened into the
+cook-room. Over the table was a rack for bottles and glasses, and there
+was a score of lockers filled with dishes and other table ware, with
+charts, books, compasses, and other nautical necessaries. A handsome
+spy-glass hung on a pair of brackets. At the end of the transoms were
+several cushions, used as pillows, and some robes to cover the sleepers.</p>
+
+<p>After this general survey of the interior of the cabin, Little Bobtail
+turned his attention to the boxes upon which he had stumbled. All the
+cabin floor, except a small portion aft, was covered with these boxes,
+of which he counted twenty. The theory he had adopted that the yacht had
+been used for a pleasure excursion, crumbled away as he saw these boxes,
+for no party would go out sailing with the cabin lumbered up in this
+manner. He overhauled one of the boxes, without being any the wiser, and
+Little Bobtail was<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[Pg 72]</a></span> sorely puzzled. Taking the lantern in his hand, he
+crawled over the boxes to the cook-room. It was very small, but it was
+admirably fitted up, with a tiny stove and plenty of lockers. In one
+corner hung a log of bacon, from which a few slices had been out at some
+recent period.</p>
+
+<p>"That suits my case exactly," said the explorer, as he took down the
+bacon. "I shall treat myself to a slice of fried ham before I bother my
+head any more about this craft or any other."</p>
+
+<p>In a locker on which the cook sat while engaged in his duties was a
+supply of wood; and in five minutes Little Bobtail had a good fire in
+the stove. A frying-pan lay by the side of the locker. Indeed, our hero
+could want nothing which he did not immediately find ready for use, just
+as though a multitude of fairies stood at his elbows to meet his every
+wish. In another locker he found a kid of cold potatoes, and there was
+an abundance of hard-tack in a keg on the transom. The slice of bacon
+hissed and sizzled in the pan on the stove, and the odor was delightful
+to the hungry boy. It was soon "done to a turn," and the fried potatoes
+were as brown and nice as those prepared by his mother. He might have
+had tea or coffee, but<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[Pg 73]</a></span> he did not care for them. At his age they are
+not reckoned among the substantials for a good meal. Procuring a plate,
+knife, and fork from the cabin, he helped himself from the pan on the
+stove.</p>
+
+<p>"That's what I call first rate!" exclaimed he, when he had duly tested
+the bacon and the potatoes. "I shall be ready to hire out as a cook
+after this. That's tip-top bacon, and I respect the pig that left this
+leg I see to me."</p>
+
+<p>Little Bobtail glanced up at the leg of bacon in the corner, and thought
+he had made a good pun; but it was fearfully old and stale to be printed
+in a book, and we do so only out of deference to his feelings. No
+right-minded and highly moral person will make puns; and our hero is
+only excusable on the ground that he was alone, and did not force it
+upon other people. He ate all he wanted; nay, more&mdash;all he could. He
+devoured the entire slice he had cooked, leaving none for a lunch, in
+case he wanted one, when he had not time to cook. He was entirely
+satisfied, and that is saying a great deal of a boy of sixteen, growing,
+and sailing on the salt water, too. He could not eat any more, or he
+would; and, being too full for utterance, he made no more speeches to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[Pg 74]</a></span>
+himself. Doubtless he had endangered the peace of his dreams by
+overloading his stomach at that hour in the evening, for by this time it
+was ten o'clock; but it so happened that he had time to digest his
+supper before he put himself in the way of dreaming.</p>
+
+<p>Having satisfied his hunger, he felt entirely satisfied with himself,
+and especially with the person or persons who had fitted out the yacht
+in the commissary department. Taking his lantern, he crawled over the
+boxes to the after part of the cabin, where there was space enough for
+him to sit comfortably. He looked at the boxes, and wondered what was in
+them. We do not know that he had more curiosity than boys in general;
+but he felt that a knowledge of their contents might enable him to
+establish another theory in regard to the previous history of the yacht.
+He had seen a shingling hatchet in the cook-room, used for splitting up
+the kindling wood. He went for it, and, with no great difficulty, opened
+one of the boxes. It was filled with bottles, packed in straw, and each
+one enclosed in a curious case made of the same material. He slipped one
+of the bottles out of its casing. It was labeled "<span class="smcap">James Hennessy &amp;
+Co.&mdash;Cognac.</span>" The name of the firm, so well known to old topers and
+moderate drinkers, afforded him no light; but he knew that "Cognac"
+meant brandy.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;">
+<img src="images/i004.jpg" width="500" height="379" alt="" title="" />
+</div>
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[Pg 75]</a></span></p>
+<p>"Oho! aha!" said Little Bobtail, knowingly; "I smell a mice now. This
+boat wasn't used for a pleasure party."</p>
+
+<p>He had heard about those mysterious custom-house inspectors and
+detectives, who poke their noses into grocery stores, cellars, and all
+the sly places where contraband goods were supposed to be concealed.
+Promptly he arrived at the conclusion that the brandy in the yacht had
+come "thus far into the bowels of the land" without paying its respects
+to the custom-house, or any of the heavy duties which go to support the
+army and navy, and a host of beneficent institutions which make our
+country "the land of the free and the home of the brave," and the
+collection of which affords a multitude of officials an opportunity to
+steal. But Little Bobtail did not trouble himself to discuss any of the
+vexed questions about free trade and tariff, or even to weigh carefully
+the immorality of smuggling.</p>
+
+<p>Our hero did not believe in brandy, abstractly<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[Pg 76]</a></span> or concretely. It was
+liquor, and liquor had been a curse to his home, a curse to his mother,
+and a curse to himself; and he was tempted to take the boxes on deck,
+open them, and spill the contents of the bottles into the sea.
+Possibly&mdash;not probably&mdash;he would have done so, if he had not been afraid
+the liquor would destroy the fish, or drive them away to prohibition
+waters. The problem of the yacht had become intricate, and he was
+puzzled to determine what to do with her. If he had been properly
+instructed in regard to the duty of the citizens to his government, and
+properly inspired to discharge this duty, he would have sailed the yacht
+and her cargo over to Camden, and delivered her to the deputy collector
+in charge of the port. He knew what smuggling meant; but his views were
+very indefinite. According to the fishermen, and most of the traders, to
+whose conversation on this subject he had listened, smuggling was hardly
+to be regarded as a sin, or, if a sin, it was one of the most trivial
+character.</p>
+
+<p>It is a melancholy truth, becoming more and more familiar to us every
+year, that cheating the government is hardly considered a crime; that
+respectable<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[Pg 77]</a></span> men, as the world measures them, and even members of the
+church, defraud the revenues of the government without compunction.</p>
+
+<p>We are sorry to acknowledge that Little Bobtail did not think of such a
+thing as handing over the yacht and her contraband cargo&mdash;as he was
+fully satisfied it was&mdash;to the custom-house officials. He had not been
+educated up to a point which compelled him to do so. His conscience was
+not sensitive on this point above the average of the town's people. He
+was afraid, if he did so, that the government would coolly ignore him
+because he was a boy, and he should lose his ten dollars. Perhaps he
+thought he could make better terms with the smugglers than he could with
+the honorable and high-minded deputy-collector. While he was thinking of
+the matter, the moon rose in the clear sky, and shed a welcome light
+over the bay. It occurred to him that those who had lost the yacht might
+be in search of her. They might blunder upon him in the morning, and,
+being reckless smugglers, might even kill him to prevent his bearing
+testimony against them. He did not like the idea of meeting any such men
+alone. He preferred that the interview should take place in Camden<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[Pg 78]</a></span>
+harbor. The wind was still fresh, and in the yacht he could beat over to
+Camden in three or four hours; but he thought the breeze was hauling to
+the southward, which would give him a slant so that he could run over
+without tacking.</p>
+
+<p>Moved by these considerations, he hoisted the mainsail of the yacht,
+which required all his strength and skill. He then weighed the anchor of
+the old tub, and carried her painter to the larger craft. He had a hard
+pull at the anchor of the yacht, but he got it up after a while, and
+stowed it securely forward. Rushing to the helm, he hauled in the sheet,
+and taking the wind on the quarter, he stood to the northward, in order
+to pass around the island. The yacht worked beautifully, even without
+her jib. Hauling in the sheet when she was clear of the island, he laid
+her up to the wind as close as she would go. In a short time he got the
+bearings of the lights, and found that he could let out his sheet a
+little. The yacht seemed to fly under the fresh breeze, and Little
+Bobtail watched her motions with perfect delight. After a while he
+discovered the light on Negro Island, and it was all plain sailing to
+him.</p>
+
+<p>If the yacht went so fast with only her main-sail,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[Pg 79]</a></span> what would she not
+do with her jib also? The young skipper was determined to test the
+question, and, lashing the helm, he hoisted her headsail. Trimming the
+sail by the sheets which led aft, the yacht increased her speed, and
+tossed the water over her boughs at a fearful rate; but Little Bobtail
+had closed the fore scuttle, and he let it toss. It was wild excitement
+to him, and he enjoyed it to the utmost. In two hours he was approaching
+the Spindles off the Point, where he deemed it prudent to take in the
+jib; but the wind was not so fresh in shore, and he went up the harbor
+quite leisurely. He had time to think again; and a disagreeable
+consideration was forced upon him, as he heard the clock of the Baptist
+Church strike one.</p>
+
+<p>He was in Camden harbor; he must come to anchor; and the next morning
+everybody would wonder what boat the stranger was. The boatmen and
+bummers about town would board her, and want to know what those boxes
+contained. Little Bobtail was worried; but it was high tide, and he
+anchored close up to the rocks in front of the cottage. He was not
+willing to "face the music" the next day, and he was determined to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[Pg 80]</a></span> get
+rid of the boxes, even if he threw them overboard. Landing in the old
+boat, he went up to the cottage. Ezekiel was in a drunken sleep in his
+chamber. Nothing could wake him, as he knew from former experience, when
+he was in this condition. He went up stairs to his own chamber. The
+cottage was a one-story building, with two rooms finished in the middle
+of the roof. On each side of these chambers there was a space for old
+rubbish, which no one ever explored. The young skipper decided, after a
+careful examination of the premises, to store the boxes in these spaces.
+To will was to do with him, and he went to work at once.</p>
+
+<p>In a couple of hours he had conveyed the twenty boxes from the boat, and
+packed them away in these lumber-holes, and covered them with old traps,
+so that even his mother would not suspect their presence in the house.
+Having done all this, he sailed the yacht out into the deep water near
+the Portland Pier, where he anchored her. Tired out after the long day
+and the long night, he stretched himself on one of the transoms, and
+went to sleep.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[Pg 81]</a></span></p>
+<h2>CHAPTER V.</h2>
+
+<h3>MONKEY.</h3>
+
+
+<p>Little Bobtail slept as soundly on the transom of the yacht as Ezekiel
+Taylor did in the cottage; and, as he did not retire till after three in
+the morning, he did not turn out till nine. He had worked all day and
+nearly all night, and he was very tired. While he was slumbering soundly
+in the cabin, many an eye was directed from the shore, and from the
+boats and vessels in the harbor, at the trim and janty yacht which had
+come in during the night. She was not there the evening before, and she
+was there now. Scores of boatmen asked what she was and where she came
+from; but no one could answer. No one had seen her before, and all were
+confident that she did not belong anywhere in the bay. The gossips
+concluded that she was a yacht from Boston or Portland, with a party on
+board; and, as she had<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[Pg 82]</a></span> come in during the night, they supposed her crew
+were making up for lost time in the matter of sleep. Those who were out
+in boats, though they sailed around the stranger and examined her
+carefully, were considerate enough not to go on board of her, and thus
+waken the tired sleepers.</p>
+
+<p>So Little Bobtail was permitted to finish his nap in peace. The clock on
+the Baptist Church was striking nine when he woke. He leaped upon the
+cabin floor with a start when he saw the sunlight streaming in through
+the round port-holes in the trunk. He had no toilet to make, for he had
+turned in without removing even his shoes; and, putting on his cap, he
+was ready for business at once, though he did wash his face and hands,
+and comb his hair, when a wash-basin at the forward part of the cabin
+suggested these operations to him. He had an opportunity to see the
+yacht now by daylight, and his previous impressions of her were more
+than confirmed. She was even trimmer and more janty than he had
+supposed.</p>
+
+<p>The experience of the preceding night seemed to him very like a dream.
+He went on deck, and examined with a critical eye the standing and
+running rigging, than which nothing could be<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[Pg 83]</a></span> neater or better. The old
+tub in which he had been blown off the day before was anchored near her,
+with a slack line from her stern to the yacht, as he had left her. The
+dingy old craft looked so mean and insignificant compared with the
+yacht, that the contrast put him almost out of conceit with the
+brilliant plan he had considered to purchase the former. He was rather
+doubtful whether he should be willing to invest the ten dollars&mdash;if he
+should obtain it&mdash;in such an enterprise.</p>
+
+<p>Just then it occurred to him that he did not even know the name of the
+yacht. He walked out on the foot-rope at the end of the main boom, in
+order to see if it was painted on the stern. There it was&mdash;<span class="smcap">Skylark</span>; only
+this, and nothing more. The port from which she hailed was not there.
+Skylark was a very good name, though it was not particularly appropriate
+for a thing that was to sail on the water, and not in the air. But
+"skylarking" was a term applied to frolicking, to rude play; and in this
+sense "Skylark" was entirely proper. On the whole, he did not object to
+the name, and would not if the owner had appeared at that moment and
+made him a present of her. He was entirely satisfied both with the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[Pg 84]</a></span>
+yacht and her name; and, having completed his survey by daylight, he
+again pondered the subject of smuggling in a general way, and then in
+its relations to the incidents of the previous night. No higher views,
+no better resolutions, came to him. The contraband cargo was safe under
+the eaves of the cottage, where no one would be likely to find it;
+though he could not help thinking what a disaster it would be if Ezekiel
+should happen to discover those boxes, which doubtless contained liquor
+enough to keep him drunk for a whole year.</p>
+
+<p>Turning away from the great moral question which confronted him, Little
+Bobtail began to feel&mdash;distinctly to feel, rather than to think&mdash;that it
+was about breakfast time. He went forward and removed the scuttle from
+over the cook-room. Jumping down into the little apartment, he made a
+fire in the stove, and put on the tea-kettle. While it was warming up,
+he went on deck again, for he heard the dip of a pair of oars near the
+yacht.</p>
+
+<p>"Hullo, Monkey!" he shouted, as he recognized the occupant of a
+dilapidated old dory, who was taking a leisurely survey of the trim
+yacht.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[Pg 85]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Hullo, Bob! Is that you?" replied the person in the boat, who was a boy
+of about the age of Little Bobtail, though not half so handsome.</p>
+
+<p>Robert had called him "Monkey," and it was not difficult to determine
+where he had obtained his sobriquet, for, looking at the youth,
+Darwinism seemed to be made easy, without distorting either facts or
+logic. In his case, no long ages appeared to have elapsed between the
+monkey and the man, and the transition seemed to have been easy and
+natural. In a word, he looked like a monkey in the face, while no one
+could possibly have suspected that he was one. Above his mouth his face
+abruptly receded, so that the end of his nose was not far from plumb
+with his lips. In the middle of his forehead the hair seemed to grow
+down to the bridge of his nose. A stranger, who was not of a melancholy
+turn of mind, could hardly have refrained from laughing when looking at
+him for the first time. But Bobtail did not laugh, for Monkey was a
+friend, and a brother, in the generic sense.</p>
+
+<p>"Come on board, Monkey," added Little Bobtail.</p>
+
+<p>"What boat's this?" asked the representative<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[Pg 86]</a></span> of Darwinism, as he leaped
+upon the deck with the painter of the dory in his hand.</p>
+
+<p>"The Skylark," replied Bobtail.</p>
+
+<p>As the new arrival stepped upon the deck of the yacht, he was not unlike
+the traditional monkey of the circus, for his dress was almost as
+fantastic as his face. His father, who was a fisherman, had been lost at
+sea, and his mother was a poor woman, with neither energy nor gumption,
+who occupied a miserable shanty about a mile from the village, in which
+hardly a mean dwelling could be found. The woman was believed to be a
+little "daft," for she always hid herself when any of the town's people
+appeared near her shanty. She had a garden, in which she raised potatoes
+and corn, and kept a pig and a cow; and these furnished her subsistence,
+with the trifle which her son earned by odd jobs. The woman's name was
+Nancy Monk, and her boy's was Peter Monk, though certainly the surname
+was not needed to suggest the nickname by which he was universally
+called.</p>
+
+<p>Of course Peter Monk's unfortunate affinity to the ape subjected him to
+no little annoyance from the sneers and insults of other boys,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[Pg 87]</a></span> whose
+sense of decency was below their sense of the ludicrous.</p>
+
+<p>Though Peter was, in the main, a good-natured fellow, there was a point
+of endurance beyond which he was not proof against the coarse jeers of
+his companions; and more than once Little Bobtail had been his protector
+when borne under by the force of numbers; for our hero had a hard fist
+as well as a kind heart. So Monkey was his friend for life, not so much
+because Bobtail had fought his battles, as because he treated him well,
+and made more of him than any one else did.</p>
+
+<p>"Never heard of the Skylark before," said the visitor. "Where does she
+come from?"</p>
+
+<p>"I don't know."</p>
+
+<p>"Who owns her?"</p>
+
+<p>"I don't know."</p>
+
+<p>"Where does she belong?"</p>
+
+<p>"I don't know."</p>
+
+<p>"O, you don't?" grinned Monkey, exhibiting another affinity to the
+origin of the race.</p>
+
+<p>"No, I don't."</p>
+
+<p>"Where are the folks that belong to her?"</p>
+
+<p>"I don't know."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[Pg 88]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"What you doing on board of her, Bob?"</p>
+
+<p>"I'm looking out for her till somebody comes who has a better right to
+do so."</p>
+
+<p>"How come she here?"</p>
+
+<p>"I brought her here."</p>
+
+<p>"Where from?"</p>
+
+<p>"Blank Island."</p>
+
+<p>"Nobody lives there."</p>
+
+<p>"I know it."</p>
+
+<p>And Little Bobtail smiled at the perplexity of the visitor.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, then, how come she over there, where nobody don't live?"</p>
+
+<p>"I picked her up adrift."</p>
+
+<p>"O, you did&mdash;did you?"</p>
+
+<p>"I did. But come below; I want to get my breakfast," added Bobtail, as
+he led the way down into the cabin.</p>
+
+<p>Monkey stared, and exclaimed as he viewed the comfortable, and even
+luxurious, furnishings of the yacht. He asked a thousand questions which
+Bobtail could not answer, and a thousand more which he did answer.</p>
+
+<p>"Have you been to breakfast, Monkey?" asked Bobtail, as he seated
+himself before the stove in<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[Pg 89]</a></span> the cook-room, while the guest remained at
+the door in the cabin.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, I had something," replied Monkey, glancing at the leg of bacon.</p>
+
+<p>The host knew very well that Monkey did not live much better at home
+than the pigs in the sty of the first-class farmer; that he was always a
+hungry waif, who could make a meal at any time. He resolved to give his
+visitor a treat on the present occasion; and he anticipated his own
+breakfast with double pleasure when he thought of the satisfaction which
+the meal would give his companion.</p>
+
+<p>"Monkey, will you take Prince's boat over to her moorings for me?
+Somebody may want her," said he, as he put the coffee-pot on the stove,
+and took down the leg of bacon.</p>
+
+<p>"To be sure I will, Bob. I'll do anything for you."</p>
+
+<p>"I wish you would; and then come back and have some breakfast with me."</p>
+
+<p>Monkey grinned, and even chattered, as he hastened to execute his
+errand. By the time he returned, Bobtail had set the table in the cabin;
+for, as he had company, he decided to take the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[Pg 90]</a></span> meal in state. He had
+fried all the rest of the kid of potatoes, and two large slices of ham.
+He made the coffee, and mixed up a pitcher of condensed milk.</p>
+
+<p>"Sit down, Monkey," said Little Bobtail, as he wiped the perspiration
+from his brow, for the cook-room was a hot place, even with the scuttle
+open.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes," replied Monkey, showing all the teeth in his head, for when the
+mouths were given out he had been supplied with a very liberal share.</p>
+
+<p>The host helped him to a big piece of ham and a great heap of fried
+potatoes. The guest was not very elegant in his manners; but what he
+lacked in refinement he made up in zeal. Fingers seemed to come handier
+to him than a fork, or, rather, a "slit spoon," as he called it. He did
+not often make two parts of a slice of potato, and his mouthfuls of ham
+were big enough to bait a large cod. Fortunately there was enough to
+fill him up.</p>
+
+<p>"Somebody's looking for you, Bob, up in the village," said Monkey, when
+he began to be gorged, which, however, was not till both the slices of
+ham were nearly consumed.</p>
+
+<p>"For me?" asked Little Bobtail.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[Pg 91]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Squire Gilfilian asked me if I'd seen you; and I told him I hadn't. He
+was askin' everybody for you. Some on 'em said you wan't to home; and
+the old man said he hadn't seen you sence yesterday mornin'."</p>
+
+<p>"Who wants me?"</p>
+
+<p>"I don't know; but the squire wanted to see you powerful bad," grinned
+Monkey.</p>
+
+<p>"All right. I'll go up and see him by and by," said Bobtail, as he left
+the table.</p>
+
+<p>With the assistance of his new ally he washed the dishes, cleaned up the
+stove and cooking utensils, and swept out the cabin. Everything was put
+into the neatest condition. When this was done, the decks were washed
+down, the sails stowed more trimly than the skipper could do it in the
+dark, all the running rigging hauled taut, and the ends coiled away, so
+that the yacht was in man-of-war style. He found a padlock, with a key
+in it, to fasten the cabin door; and having put the tiller below, so
+that no one could sail the Skylark in his absence, he secured the door,
+and went on shore with Monkey. He stopped at the cottage to see if his
+mother had returned from Rockport, but neither she nor Ezekiel was
+there.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[Pg 92]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Walking towards the village, he wondered what Squire Gilfilian could
+want of him. He began to be a little troubled about the letter again,
+for, in the excitement of his cruise over to Blank Island, he hardly
+thought of the disagreeable circumstances connected with it. He found
+the squire in his office, with a stranger, a flashy-looking and
+ill-visaged fellow.</p>
+
+<p>"I hear you want to see me," said Little Bobtail.</p>
+
+<p>"I do," replied the lawyer, sternly and decidedly. "Come in here;" and
+he led the way to his private office in the rear. "Now, boy, I want to
+know what you did with that letter."</p>
+
+<p>"I told you before what I did with it. I put it on your desk," answered
+Bobtail, promptly; and it is not strange that his brown cheek flushed a
+little, but it was with indignation, not guilt.</p>
+
+<p>"So you told me before; but I don't believe it," added the squire, with
+a terrible frown, and in a very loud tone, doubtless involuntarily
+resorting to one of the tricks of his trade to intimidate the youth.</p>
+
+<p>"Do you think I would lie about a letter?" demanded Bobtail, warmly.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[Pg 93]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Do you know what was in that letter?"</p>
+
+<p>"How should I know?"</p>
+
+<p>"Because you opened it," sharply retorted the lawyer, as though he
+intended to overwhelm a contumacious and guilty witness.</p>
+
+<p>"I didn't open it," protested the boy, stoutly. "I put it on your desk;
+and that's all I know about it."</p>
+
+<p>"It is easier for you to say that than it is for me to believe it."</p>
+
+<p>"I can't help it, if you don't believe me. I have told the truth. I had
+a letter for you, and another for Captain Chinks. I gave him his here in
+your office, and chucked yours on your desk. That's the whole truth, and
+all I know about the letters. If Captain Chinks was here he would tell
+you the same thing, for he said you was busy in here, and told me to put
+the letter on the desk; and that's just what I did, and just all I did."</p>
+
+<p>"Captain Chinks isn't here, and has been gone a week."</p>
+
+<p>"He'll come back some time, I suppose."</p>
+
+<p>"I don't know whether he will or not. He's mixed up with a smuggling
+case, and he may not deem it prudent to come back."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[Pg 94]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Whether he does or not, I never saw the letter after I put it on your
+desk."</p>
+
+<p>The lawyer bit his lips. There was nothing in the tones or the manner of
+the youth to excite suspicion, and Little Bobtail's reputation for
+honesty was first class. A year before, he had found the wallet of a
+stranger, which he might have kept, but had taken great pains to find
+the owner. In fact, everybody that knew him knew that he was honest.</p>
+
+<p>"Now, Little Bobtail, you stand very well in the village," continued
+Squire Gilfilian, with a smile, as he suddenly changed his tactics.</p>
+
+<p>"I always mean to keep myself straight, sir," added Bobtail.</p>
+
+<p>"Of course you do. But the best of us are sometimes tempted to do wrong.
+If you have been led away, and&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"I haven't been led away, sir."</p>
+
+<p>"You may have made a mistake. If you opened that letter by accident or
+otherwise&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"I didn't open it by accident or otherwise. I didn't open it at all,"
+interposed the boy, with energy.</p>
+
+<p>"Hear what I have to say, Little Bobtail. The<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[Pg 95]</a></span> best of folks are
+sometimes led away. Even ministers of the gospel once in a great while
+do a wicked deed."</p>
+
+<p>"I don't care if they do; I haven't opened your letter."</p>
+
+<p>"But I'm only supposing a case."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, sir, you needn't suppose I opened that letter, for I didn't."</p>
+
+<p>"Suppose you had opened it&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"I didn't."</p>
+
+<p>"It is only an hypothesis."</p>
+
+<p>"I don't care if it is; I didn't open the letter," persisted Bobtail,
+who had not the least idea what an hypothesis was.</p>
+
+<p>"If somebody else, then, had opened that letter, and taken out the
+money. He might have been sorely tempted; he might have opened it by
+accident," said the squire, in soft, oily tones.</p>
+
+<p>"Somebody else <i>might</i>, but I <i>didn't</i>."</p>
+
+<p>"If he don't feel bad about it now, he will, as sure as he lives, for
+the truth will come out. Don't you think so?"</p>
+
+<p>"I do think so."</p>
+
+<p>"It will ruin his reputation, send him to the state prison, and spoil
+his prospects forever. Now,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[Pg 96]</a></span> don't you think it would be better for him
+to give up the money, if I should say to him that I wouldn't mention the
+matter?"</p>
+
+<p>"I think he had better give it up, whether you mention it or not,"
+answered Bobtail, more calmly.</p>
+
+<p>"Then don't you think <i>you</i> had better give it up?"</p>
+
+<p>"I tell you again, I didn't open the letter, and haven't seen the
+money," protested Bobtail, violently.</p>
+
+<p>"You had better think it over."</p>
+
+<p>"I don't want to think it over."</p>
+
+<p>"You will have to go to jail if you don't."</p>
+
+<p>"I can go to jail, but I can't give up what I haven't got, nor own up to
+what I didn't do."</p>
+
+<p>"The letter which you brought to my office that morning contained five
+hundred dollars in one bill. It was my advance fee for defending the
+Buckingham Bank robbers. Their friends raised the money; but only a
+rogue would have sent it in cash. The letter is gone. It was last in
+your hands. Now you had better think it all over, and you may stay here
+and do so, while I talk with the gentleman in the other room." And the
+squire opened the door.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[Pg 97]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>There was another person in the front room now, who had entered during
+this interview. In spite of the suspicion of the attorney, this person
+was Captain Chinks, who was promptly summoned to the private office, and
+the conference renewed.</p>
+
+<p>The ill-visaged person in the front room was probably a bank robber
+himself, though he was not yet implicated in the Buckingham affair. He
+was a friend of the robbers who had been arrested, and had employed
+Squire Gilfilian&mdash;who was as eloquent in speech as he was skilful in the
+intricacies of the law&mdash;to defend his unfortunate friends. The lawyer
+would not do so without a fee in advance; and the five hundred dollars
+had been sent in the letter which had so strangely disappeared. Either
+the sender knew no better than to trust so large a sum in the mail, or
+his criminal associations made him diffident about applying for a check
+or draft.</p>
+
+<p>Hearing nothing from the lawyer, he had written again, stating that he
+had sent the money at the time agreed upon. The squire had expected the
+letter, and intended immediately to start for the county town in the
+jail of which the robbers were<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">[Pg 98]</a></span> confined, in order to examine his case.
+In reply to the second letter, he telegraphed to his correspondent in
+Portland that he had not received the first; and then the robbers' agent
+had come himself. There he was in the front room.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[Pg 99]</a></span></p>
+<h2>CHAPTER VI.</h2>
+
+<h3>CAPTAIN CHINKS.</h3>
+
+
+<p>"I'm very glad to see you, Captain Chinks," said Squire Gilfilian, as he
+conducted the gentleman of doubtful reputation into his private office.</p>
+
+<p>"Is my case likely to come up soon?" asked the captain.</p>
+
+<p>"No, I don't think it will ever come up," answered the lawyer.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, you have changed your tune since I was here before," added
+Captain Chinks, with a satisfied smile. "Then everything was going to be
+proved against me; now, nothing."</p>
+
+<p>"I have sifted down all the evidence the government has; and you needn't
+trouble yourself any more about that matter."</p>
+
+<p>"I suppose an innocent man never need fear," said the captain.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[Pg 100]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Squire Gilfilian looked at the gentleman of doubtful reputation, opened
+his eyes with a jerk, and a faint smile played about the corners of his
+mouth. But professionally he dealt with evidence and questions of law,
+rather than with truth itself. He did not ask what was true, only what
+could be proved.</p>
+
+<p>Little Bobtail listened attentively to this conversation, though he had
+very little interest in it. But he could not help indorsing, in his own
+mind, the remark of Captain Chinks, that the innocent never need fear.
+He was under suspicion himself; but he was not afraid.</p>
+
+<p>"Ah, Bobtail! are you a witness for the prosecution?" said the captain,
+appearing now to see the youth for the first time.</p>
+
+<p>"No, sir. I'm the defendant myself," replied Bobtail, pleasantly; for
+the arrival of the captain seemed to settle all his trouble. "I am in
+stays just now, caught in going about, and there I hang. If you will
+just give me a pull on the lee side, I shall go about handsomely."</p>
+
+<p>"Certainly, my lad. If you miss stay in this law business, there's
+always a lee shore to drift on to, and no room to wear round."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[Pg 101]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Captain Chinks," interposed the lawyer, who did not so clearly
+comprehend the nautical view of the case, "I lost a letter the day you
+went away."</p>
+
+<p>"And Bobtail found it," suggested the captain.</p>
+
+<p>"Not exactly. I never received it."</p>
+
+<p>"Then I don't see how you lost it."</p>
+
+<p>"Little Bobtail and the post-master agree perfectly on one point&mdash;that
+two letters were given him, one to carry to you and the other to me, on
+the day you went away."</p>
+
+<p>"And I perfectly agree with Little Bobtail and the post-master. He gave
+me my letter in your front office, only two minutes after you told me
+that I was certain to be arrested in less than twenty-four hours for
+being concerned in that smuggling case, when it was as plain as the nose
+on a man's face that I had nothing whatever to do with it. He gave me
+that letter, and that letter called me on business down to Mount Desert.
+You see, squire, when a man is innocent&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Exactly so," interposed Squire Gilfilian. "We will grant that you are
+entirely innocent. But the smuggling case is not before the court just
+now. We were speaking of the letters. We will grant<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[Pg 102]</a></span> that Bobtail
+delivered your letter to you all right. Do you happen to know anything
+about the other letter?"</p>
+
+<p>The squire glanced at Little Bobtail, to discover any evidences of guilt
+or confusion in his face. Certainly he was deeply interested, and even
+anxious; but, being young and inexperienced, he had an undoubting
+confidence in the ultimate triumph of truth and innocence.</p>
+
+<p>"I do happen to know all about it," replied Captain Chinks, after he
+also had glanced at the boy.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, what do you know about it?" demanded the lawyer, rather
+impatiently, as the captain paused, and looked again at the alleged
+culprit.</p>
+
+<p>"Bobtail gave me my letter, and I opened it at once, for I was expecting
+that letter, and had asked for it at the post-office, for it was getting
+rather late for the steamer, and I had some business in Rockland. I was
+expecting to meet a man down to Bar Harbor."</p>
+
+<p>"We will grant that your letter was all right, captain. We were speaking
+of the other letter."</p>
+
+<p>"I thought we were speaking of both of them," laughed the captain.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;">
+<img src="images/i005.jpg" width="500" height="374" alt="" title="" />
+</div><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">[Pg 103]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"It is all settled in regard to your letter; and you have been to
+Rockland, Bar Harbor, and down into the provinces, for aught I know."</p>
+
+<p>"No, I haven't. I was in St. John&mdash;let me see&mdash;two years ago; and I
+haven't been there since. You seem to think I have business down in the
+provinces, squire."</p>
+
+<p>"I don't know anything at all about your business, captain. But they say
+that a great deal of brandy finds its way into the States without paying
+any duties," chuckled the squire.</p>
+
+<p>"You don't mean to say that I have anything to do with bringing it
+in&mdash;do you, Squire Gilfilian?" demanded the captain, who seemed to be
+damaged in his feelings by the lawyer's thrust.</p>
+
+<p>"Certainly not."</p>
+
+<p>"Because you have just proved that I have not."</p>
+
+<p>"Hardly; only failed to prove that you have. But the letter, captain.
+Bobtail says you were here when he brought it into the office."</p>
+
+<p>"I was here, squire," answered the captain, dropping into an arm-chair.</p>
+
+<p>"I asked you, Captain Chinks&mdash;" Little Bobtail began.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">[Pg 104]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Never mind what you asked him," interposed the squire, sharply. "I have
+heard your story, and now I want to hear the captain's, without any
+leading questions."</p>
+
+<p>"Don't be so snappy with the boy, squire. I'll tell you all about the
+letter without any questions at all," added Captain Chinks.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, I really wish you would. I have been trying for some time to get
+at the facts, and you have talked about everything except the one thing
+I wish to know," said the lawyer, impatiently.</p>
+
+<p>"Steady as she is, squire, and I'll tell you all about it. When I came
+out of this office, the day I went away, I met Little Bobtail coming
+into the front one with two letters in his hand, he gave me mine, and
+then asked where you were, squire. I told him you were in this office,
+and that you were busy. Then Bobtail said he had a letter for you, and I
+told him to put it on your desk. He tossed it on your desk, and then
+left. I can tell you just where it lay on the cover."</p>
+
+<p>"So can I," said the boy, as cheerful as a lark now, for the captain had
+precisely confirmed all his story.</p>
+
+<p>"Can you? Come and show me, then.&mdash;Stay<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[Pg 105]</a></span> here a moment, captain," said
+the squire, as he conducted the boy to the front office, closing the
+door behind him.</p>
+
+<p>Little Bobtail indicated the precise spot where the letter lay when he
+had thrown it upon the desk. Captain Chinks was called in, and pointed
+to exactly the same place. There was not a variation of two inches
+between them.</p>
+
+<p>"I can swear that the letter lay on the desk after Bobtail went out of
+the office," said Captain Chinks, decidedly.</p>
+
+<p>"I am willing to grant that Little Bobtail has told the truth, and that
+he is entirely exculpated from the charge; for if either or both of you
+have been lying, your testimony would have conflicted in some point, as
+it does not now."</p>
+
+<p>"That's handsome, squire," added the captain.</p>
+
+<p>"By the way, when did you see Bobtail last, captain?" asked the lawyer.</p>
+
+<p>"I haven't seen him since the day I went away."</p>
+
+<p>"You may go, Bobtail," added the squire.</p>
+
+<p>"I'm in no hurry, sir. Perhaps you will want to ask me some more
+questions," replied the boy.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[Pg 106]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"If the letter was left on my desk, I ought to have found it there,"
+continued the lawyer.</p>
+
+<p>"That's so. But you don't always find things where you put them," said
+Captain Chinks, sagely.</p>
+
+<p>A long conversation about the missing letter followed; but no clew to it
+was obtained. The ill-visaged man, who wished to save the Buckingham
+Bank robbers from a long term in the state prison, thought it was very
+hard that his friends should suffer because somebody had stolen the
+letter, or the squire had lost it by his carelessness. But the lawyer
+thought his correspondent was to blame for not sending a check or draft;
+to which the ill-visaged replied that a check or draft would have been
+lost in the same manner the money had been.</p>
+
+<p>Finally Squire Gilfilian agreed to defend the bank robbers, and their
+friend agreed to raise the money to pay him before the trial came on. He
+did defend them; but even he was not smart enough to save them from a
+long term in the state prison.</p>
+
+<p>Little Bobtail was entirely satisfied with the result of the
+examination, so far as he was personally<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">[Pg 107]</a></span> concerned, though, as the
+squire seemed to be very fair about it, he was sorry that he should lose
+so large a sum of money. More than this, he had more respect than ever
+before for Captain Chinks, who, he was quite sure, had told the truth in
+this instance. He might have given him a world of trouble if he had
+simply declined to tell the truth, or had distorted it even a little.
+Bobtail was, therefore, very grateful to him for doing what it was
+plainly his duty to do. Still our hero could not help wondering, as
+hundreds of others wondered, whether or not the captain really smuggled
+goods into the state. Perhaps he would not have thought much the worse
+of him if he had known that such was the fact; for, as we have before
+stated, Bobtail's views of smuggling were not very definite. He had
+never considered the subject enough to have any fixed opinions.</p>
+
+<p>Captain Chinks was a thriving, driving, enterprising man, who did any
+kind of business which promised an adequate remuneration. He went a
+fishing, he traded horses, traded boats, traded vehicles. He had been in
+the salmon business, importing it from the provinces, and sending it to
+Boston; he had been in the pogy oil business; he<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">[Pg 108]</a></span> had been in the
+staging business; he had been in the hotel business in a small way. He
+owned a farm, and was a mechanic besides. He sometimes built a boat
+during the winter season, and ran it during the summer, or sold it, if
+an opportunity presented. If there was a camp-meeting, he carried
+passengers in his craft to and from the grounds. He was, or had been, in
+all these occupations. They were visible and tangible; and some people
+insisted that he was engaged in other occupations which were not so
+visible and tangible.</p>
+
+<p>Little Bobtail left Captain Chinks in the lawyer's office, and walked
+down the shore road to the cottage. He went in and found Ezekiel drunk
+on the bed. He did not disturb him, but went up stairs to see if the
+boxes he had removed from the Skylark were still securely hidden from
+the observation of any one who might visit the upper part of the house.
+He adjusted the rubbish which covered them, and then left the cottage.
+Monkey was paddling about the harbor in the old dory, which he had
+borrowed at the head of the bay. The moment his grateful friend saw him,
+he pulled to the rocks where he stood, and they went<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">[Pg 109]</a></span> on board of the
+yacht together. Little Bobtail looked her over again, and began to
+wonder that no one appeared to claim her. He could not help asking if
+any one would ever appear to claim her. Whoever did so would have to
+account for the presence of those cases of brandy in her cabin. If the
+owner had any regard for his reputation, he might choose rather to
+sacrifice the boat and her cargo, than to subject himself to the penalty
+of his transgression. If he claimed the boat, he was reasonably sure
+that both would be confiscated, and he would make nothing by doing so,
+pecuniarily, and was liable to punishment besides. Bobtail thought it
+would be a fine thing to own the Skylark, or even to have the use of her
+for a season or two; and hoped the legal owner of her would have a
+proper regard for his reputation, and not risk it by putting forward his
+claim to her.</p>
+
+<p>Certainly for the present Bobtail was in charge of her, and there was no
+one to dictate what he should or should not do with her. He was willing
+that everybody should see the boat; and, to enable any one who might
+possibly throw light upon her ownership to do so, he thought it best to
+sail her about the harbor. The tide was up now, and,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">[Pg 110]</a></span> with the
+assistance of Monkey, he hoisted the mainsail and got up the anchor.</p>
+
+<p>"Now, stand by the jib-halyards, Monkey," shouted the skipper, as he
+took the helm.</p>
+
+<p>"All clear, Bob," replied the hand before the mast.</p>
+
+<p>"Hoist the jib."</p>
+
+<p>Monkey knew all about a boat, and did his work well. The Skylark went
+off with the fresh breeze on her quarter, and Bobtail felt like a lord
+at the helm.</p>
+
+<p>"Don't she spin!" said Monkey, as he seated himself in the
+standing-room, and fixed his gaze on the swelling sails.</p>
+
+<p>"She goes it like a locomotive," replied the skipper. "Now haul in on
+the main sheet, and we will run up the harbor."</p>
+
+<p>The Skylark, close-hauled, ran up to the head of the little bay, and
+coming about, stood over close to the wharf, at the head of which the
+fish market and several stores were located.</p>
+
+<p>"Hollo, Bobtail!" shouted the skipper of the Islesboro' packet, which
+had come in that morning, and lay alongside the wharf. "What boat's
+that?"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[Pg 111]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"The Skylark," replied the skipper.</p>
+
+<p>"Where did she come from?"</p>
+
+<p>"I don't know. I picked her up yesterday, and want to find the owner,"
+replied Bobtail, who, while he was looking for an owner, did not really
+wish to find one, though he was prepared to do all that was fair and
+right in the premises.</p>
+
+<p>"Where did you pick her up?" asked the skipper of the packet.</p>
+
+<p>As the Skylark was now almost out of hailing distance, Bobtail came
+about, and ran up alongside the packet, skilfully spilling the sail at
+the right moment, so that she hardly bumped against the other vessel,
+though Monkey stood ready with the fenders.</p>
+
+<p>"I picked her up near Blank Island," replied Bobtail.</p>
+
+<p>"I seen a boat like her just about sundown last night. I couldn't make
+her out, but I cal'late that's the craft I see," added the skipper. "But
+how on airth came she adrift?"</p>
+
+<p>"That's more than I know."</p>
+
+<p>"Don't Captain Chinks know nothin' about her? He come over with me from
+Isleboro' this mornin'."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">[Pg 112]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"I saw him up in town this morning, but he didn't say anything about
+her," answered Bobtail.</p>
+
+<p>"I don't know's he knows anything about her; but he's pooty well
+acquainted with all the boats in these parts. Was there anything on
+board of her?"</p>
+
+<p>"She's a pleasure craft. Come on board and look at her," replied
+Bobtail, evasively.</p>
+
+<p>The skipper of the packet accepted the invitation, and looked over the
+Skylark. He was critical in his observations, and did not believe that
+any of these fancy craft amounted to much in heavy weather. She was
+"fixed up smart," and was "handsome's a picture;" but "he'd rather have
+his homely boat when it blowed than a thousand sech highflyers." They
+could "chalk a line up in to the wind in light weather, but they wan't
+nothin' in a sea."</p>
+
+<p>Bobtail did not indorse these critical remarks, for he had tried the
+Skylark in a sea, and knew that she was equal to anything.</p>
+
+<p>"I hope you'll find the owner, and I ca'late you'll make somethin' out
+of the job," said the skipper, as he returned to his vessel.</p>
+
+<p>Bobtail did not particularly hope so, for even<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[Pg 113]</a></span> if he made something out
+of the job, he was afraid he should never be satisfied with the old tub
+in which he had sailed the day before, if he bought her, now that he had
+realized the glories of the Skylark.</p>
+
+<p>"Shove her off, Monkey," said he, as he resumed his place at the helm.</p>
+
+<p>Running along close to the wharves, he answered several hails of persons
+who wished to know about the boat. It would soon be all over town that
+he had picked up the yacht; and having in this manner sufficiently
+advertised her, he stood off towards the open bay, passing between the
+Spindles off the point.</p>
+
+<p>"Where are you going to now, Bob?" asked Monkey.</p>
+
+<p>"We will take a little sail, just to see how the boat works."</p>
+
+<p>"She works fust rate, and no mistake," added Monkey, with admiration.</p>
+
+<p>"I'd give more to own this boat than I would to be one of the
+selectmen," continued Bobtail. "She's a tip-top sea boat. Take the helm,
+Monkey, and see how nice she steers."</p>
+
+<p>The Darwinian opened his mouth from ear to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">[Pg 114]</a></span> ear with pleasure as he
+complied with the request. Of course he fully agreed with all the
+skipper said. Bobtail walked forward, and then went below. It was about
+time to be thinking of dinner, though he was not very hungry yet. He
+looked over the stores of the yacht, to see if there was anything
+besides bacon for the meal. In a small tub he found some salt pork. One
+of the lockers under the transom was half full of potatoes; but he
+discovered no other meat. After this survey he concluded to dine on
+fish, for he had his lines and salt clams on deck. Returning to the
+helm, he put the yacht about, and stood up to one of the best of the
+fishing-grounds.</p>
+
+<p>"Lower the jib," he called to his crew; and when this was done, he
+directed him to throw over the anchor. "Now, Monkey, catch some fish
+while I go below and make a fire."</p>
+
+<p>In a few moments Bobtail had a fire in the stove. Washing some potatoes,
+he pared and sliced them. Three big slices of salt pork in the pan soon
+produced fat enough to fry them. By this time there was a movement on
+deck. The Darwinian was pulling in a fish.</p>
+
+<p>"A cod!" shouted Monkey. "He's a nice one, too."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">[Pg 115]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"How big is he?" asked Bobtail.</p>
+
+<p>"Five or six pounds."</p>
+
+<p>"That's enough. Dress him, and cut him up to fry."</p>
+
+<p>By the time the potatoes were cooked the fish was ready for the pan. The
+cook covered the pieces with Indian meal, and the dinner was soon ready.
+Bobtail had already set the table. He had put on plates, knives and
+forks, and glasses for two, a pitcher of water, a plate of pickles, and
+a dish of hard bread. The fish was placed on the casing of the
+centre-board, in the middle of the table, consisting of two leaves,
+which could be dropped down when not in use. Monkey was called, and the
+dinner proceeded in due form. The Darwinian did not seem to be quite so
+enthusiastic as at breakfast, perhaps because his table at home was
+oftener garnished with fish and salt pork than with any other food.
+However, he did ample justice to the bill of fare, and liberally praised
+the cook for his skill in the art.</p>
+
+<p>While they were thus pleasantly engaged, they heard a slight bump
+against the side of the yacht, followed by the sound of voices. With the
+instinct of a genuine boatman, Bobtail rushed upon<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">[Pg 116]</a></span> deck to assure
+himself that no harm befell the Skylark, when the other boat came
+alongside. He found that Prince, in the white sloop, had just put
+Captain Chinks on board, and had already shoved off. Bobtail looked at
+the captain, and thought he had taken a great deal of trouble to pay him
+this visit, for Prince had come about, and was standing up to the
+village. He felt as though he should now be called upon to give up the
+Skylark to her rightful owner.</p>
+
+<p>"I'm glad to see you, Captain Chinks," exclaimed he; but what he said
+was rather complimentary than strictly true&mdash;a society fib.</p>
+
+<p>"Won't you come below, and take some dinner with us?"</p>
+
+<p>The captain had been to dinner, for it was now two o'clock in the
+afternoon, and he began to ask about the Skylark.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[Pg 117]</a></span></p>
+<h2>CHAPTER VII.</h2>
+
+<h3>IN THE CABIN OF THE SKYLARK.</h3>
+
+
+<p>Little Bobtail was not particularly glad to see Captain Chinks when he
+boarded the Skylark, at her anchorage on the fishing-grounds. It seemed
+as though the captain had taken a great deal of trouble to come down
+several miles from the village, probably hiring Prince to put him
+alongside the yacht. Yet he could not help thinking that the slight
+uneasiness which disturbed him was very absurd. He had permitted himself
+to hope that the owner of the Skylark would not claim her, or, at least,
+would not claim her till he had the use of her for a season, the longer
+the better; but he felt that he had no right to hope any such thing. The
+yacht was a beautiful craft, and it was in the very height of the
+boating season. All his hopes, however, had been very vague, and were
+not founded on any reasonable<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">[Pg 118]</a></span> basis. He had been considering the
+remotest of possibilities, rather than the slightest probabilities.</p>
+
+<p>When Captain Chinks came on board, Bobtail felt that he had come to
+claim the yacht. According to the general "speech of people," this man
+of a doubtful reputation was, more likely than any other person in
+Camden, the owner of the twenty cases of brandy. If he claimed the
+yacht, he must claim the smuggled goods at the same time. Of course
+Bobtail would be expected to keep the secret, and thereby become a party
+to the fraud. He was not prepared for this issue. He did not want the
+confidence of any smuggler. Whatever his own views of the contraband
+trade, he would not break any law of the land himself, however leniently
+he was disposed to regard others who neglected to pay duties to the
+custom-house. He had always tried to be honest and upright, and he had a
+perfect horror of being anything else.</p>
+
+<p>"How's this, Bobtail?" said Captain Chinks, casting his eyes about him,
+as if to examine the parts of the yacht. "This is a fine boat!"</p>
+
+<p>"Tip-top, sir," replied the skipper, with proper enthusiasm.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">[Pg 119]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Some one up in the village said you picked her up adrift. Is that so?"</p>
+
+<p>"That's so, Captain Chinks. I found her drifting out to sea, over near
+Blank Island. Does she belong to you, sir?"</p>
+
+<p>"To me?" exclaimed the visitor, with a slight start, which did not
+escape the observation of Little Bobtail. "What makes you think she
+belongs to me?"</p>
+
+<p>"I didn't say I thought so. I only asked you if she did. Captain
+Flipper, of the Islesboro' packet, said you might know something about
+her."</p>
+
+<p>"What made him think I knew anything about her?"</p>
+
+<p>"I don't know that he did think so; only he said you came over from
+Islesboro' with him this morning," Bobtail explained.</p>
+
+<p>"What has that to do with it?"</p>
+
+<p>"Nothing, that I know of. Captain Flipper said you knew about all the
+boats in these parts."</p>
+
+<p>"O, that's the reason he said I might know about her?" added Captain
+Chinks, apparently relieved by the explanation.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, sir, I suppose so. Now, do you know<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">[Pg 120]</a></span> anything about her?" asked
+the young skipper, forcing the question home.</p>
+
+<p>"Possibly I have seen her. I don't know."</p>
+
+<p>"Then she don't belong to you?"</p>
+
+<p>"Why do you keep asking me that question, Bobtail? Do you think I own
+her?" demanded the captain, rather sharply.</p>
+
+<p>"I don't think anything at all about it. I don't know. I can't tell by
+the looks of a man whether he owns this boat or not. I'm looking for her
+owner, and so I asked you the question."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, I don't own her," said Captain Chinks, with more earnestness than
+Bobtail thought the occasion required; but he could not help suspecting,
+from his manner, that Captain Chinks knew something about the Skylark.</p>
+
+<p>"Do you happen to know who does own her?" continued Bobtail.</p>
+
+<p>"No, I don't know anything at all about her."</p>
+
+<p>The Darwinian had left his dinner when Bobtail did, and had come as far
+as the companion-way, where he stood listening to the conversation which
+took place while the parties stood on deck. Captain Chinks had
+discovered Monkey's presence only a moment before, and it was possible
+that his<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">[Pg 121]</a></span> decided answers were called forth by the fact that a third
+person was near.</p>
+
+<p>"Won't you take a bite with us?" continued Bobtail, when he happened to
+remember that he had not finished his dinner.</p>
+
+<p>"No; I had my dinner just before I came from home; but I will go below
+with you," replied Captain Chinks, following Bobtail into the cabin.</p>
+
+<p>The skipper and Monkey resumed their places at the table, and finished
+the meal. While he was eating, Bobtail related all the particulars of
+the finding of the Skylark, so far as the boat was concerned, but
+prudently repressed all allusion to the twenty cases of brandy. Captain
+Chinks appeared to be nervous and uneasy, though, as he did not own the
+boat, and knew nothing at all about her, Bobtail could not see why he
+should be so. The dishes were cleared away, washed, and carefully
+deposited in the lockers. The cook-room was put in order, the cabin
+floor swept, and every article of furniture put in its place. Bobtail
+seated himself on the transom, opposite Captain Chinks, and wondered
+more than ever why he had taken so much trouble to visit the Skylark
+when she lay so far from the town.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">[Pg 122]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"What do you suppose this boat is worth, Bobtail?" asked Captain Chinks,
+as he glanced forward and then aft, as if to survey the quality and
+capacity of the yacht.</p>
+
+<p>"I'm sure I have no idea," replied the young skipper.</p>
+
+<p>"They asked me twelve hundred dollars for one about this size in Newport
+last year," added the captain.</p>
+
+<p>"That's a big price for a boat."</p>
+
+<p>"But it was three hundred dollars less than she cost her owner two years
+before. This don't look like an old boat."</p>
+
+<p>"No, she's nearly new. I looked into the run this morning, and the
+timbers and plank are as fresh as though she had just been built."</p>
+
+<p>"I reckon she is a year or two old," added the captain. "She isn't worth
+less than a thousand dollars, though you may buy such a boat sometimes
+for half that money."</p>
+
+<p>"Five hundred dollars is about all any boat of this size is worth down
+here."</p>
+
+<p>"By the way, Bobtail, did she have any sort of a cargo in her when you
+picked her up?" asked Captain Chinks, in a careless way, as he<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">[Pg 123]</a></span> raised
+and lowered the table-leaf in front of him, just as though he was more
+intent on ascertaining how the leaf worked than in obtaining an answer
+to his question.</p>
+
+<p>This was a very important interrogatory on the part of the visitor,
+notwithstanding the indifference with which it had apparently been
+propounded; and Bobtail had been expecting it. In spite of all the
+captain had said, and in spite of the fact that he had declared he knew
+nothing about the Skylark, our hero could not help connecting his
+visitor with the contraband cargo; perhaps because the captain was the
+only man in Camden who had the reputation of being concerned in this
+sort of business.</p>
+
+<p>"This is a pleasure craft, and wasn't built to carry cargo," replied
+Bobtail, who had already decided how to meet the question.</p>
+
+<p>"That may be; but such boats do sometimes carry a small cargo. For
+instance, you could put many thousand dollars' worth of some kinds of
+goods in this cabin," added the captain, still fumbling over the
+table-leaf, which seemed to be an inexplicable mystery to him, though it
+may be added in defence of a man of his intelligence, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">[Pg 124]</a></span> a
+boat-builder, too, that he always built keel-boats, while the Skylark
+was a centre-board.</p>
+
+<p>"I dare say she could carry a million dollars' worth of gold or
+diamonds," added Bobtail, cheerfully, for he felt that his wily visitor
+was not getting much ahead of him.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes; but she might carry heavier goods, such as cigars, liquors, silks,
+and things of that sort, for it don't take a great lot to be worth a
+thousand dollars. Did she have anything of this kind in her when you
+picked her up, Bobtail?"</p>
+
+<p>"Why should any one think of carrying cigars and liquors in such a craft
+as this?" asked the skipper, laughing.</p>
+
+<p>"That wan't exactly the question. I say, Monkey, won't you go on deck,
+and see which way the wind is," added the captain, turning suddenly upon
+the Darwinian, who was listening to the conversation with his mouth wide
+open, and trying with, all his might to discover what Chinks was driving
+at. "I reckon it's hauling more to the southward."</p>
+
+<p>"Sartin; I'll see," replied Monkey, hastening on deck through the
+cook-room.</p>
+
+<p>"You don't answer the question, Bobtail," said the captain.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">[Pg 125]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"What makes you think there was any cargo in her?" demanded the skipper.</p>
+
+<p>"I didn't say I thought there was any; I only asked you if there was."</p>
+
+<p>In spite of Little Bobtail's indefinite opinions in regard to the moral
+turpitude of smuggling, he had very decided views on the subject of
+lying. He believed in telling the truth, though, like most other boys, I
+am afraid he did not invariably do so; but he always felt mean and
+guilty when he told anything in the shape of a lie. In the present
+instance he had made up his mind either to tell the truth or to keep
+still, not only because it was wicked to tell a lie, but because, in a
+smuggling case in which the government officers might soon have a hand,
+it might prove extremely dangerous.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, captain, I didn't say there was any cargo in her," answered
+Bobtail, cautiously.</p>
+
+<p>"I know you didn't; but I want you to tell me squarely whether there was
+or not."</p>
+
+<p>"Why do you want me to tell you?"</p>
+
+<p>"No matter why. I want you to tell me: that's all."</p>
+
+<p>"The wind's about nor'-west, Captain Chinks,"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">[Pg 126]</a></span> said Monkey, crawling
+into the cabin from the cook-room.</p>
+
+<p>"It hasn't changed, then," added the visitor, vexed at the return of the
+Darwinian, who seated himself near Bobtail, intent upon hearing the rest
+of the conversation.</p>
+
+<p>"No, sir, not a bit; it's been nor'-west all day, and I don't believe
+its goin' to change afore night."</p>
+
+<p>"I say, Monkey, I want some fish for breakfast. If you will catch me two
+or three, and dress them, I'll make it all right with you."</p>
+
+<p>Monkey did not like to lose any of the conversation about the boat; but
+he reluctantly went on deck in the hope of making a trifle by the job.</p>
+
+<p>"I want you to answer my question squarely, Bobtail," continued Captain
+Chinks, returning vigorously to the charge, so vigorously that the
+skipper was almost confirmed in his suspicion connecting his visitor
+with the contraband cargo.</p>
+
+<p>"I don't say there was or was not any cargo in her," replied Bobtail.</p>
+
+<p>"But I want you to say," persisted the captain, sharply and sternly.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">[Pg 127]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Do you own this yacht, Captain Chinks?"</p>
+
+<p>"I don't say whether I own her or not."</p>
+
+<p>"And I don't say whether there was any cargo in her or not."</p>
+
+<p>"What do you mean, Bobtail?"</p>
+
+<p>"That depends upon what you mean, Captain Chinks."</p>
+
+<p>"I don't understand you, Bobtail," said the visitor, struggling to
+suppress his anger.</p>
+
+<p>"That's just my trouble; I don't understand you," laughed the skipper.
+"I reckon we don't understand each other at all."</p>
+
+<p>"I asked you a question, Bobtail, and I want an answer," added the
+captain, bringing his fist down upon the table-leaf, whose mysterious
+mechanism he had by this time fully mastered.</p>
+
+<p>"I asked you a question, Captain Chinks, and <i>I</i> want an answer,"
+replied Bobtail.</p>
+
+<p>"I don't want any of your impudence, and I won't take any of it."</p>
+
+<p>"I didn't mean to be impudent, sir."</p>
+
+<p>"But you talk to me just as though I was a boy like yourself. Now,
+answer my question."</p>
+
+<p>"I hope you will excuse me, sir, when I say I can't answer it. I mean to
+be respectful, sir."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">[Pg 128]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"You can answer it, Bobtail."</p>
+
+<p>"I mean that, for certain reasons, I must decline to answer it."</p>
+
+<p>"You must, eh?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, sir."</p>
+
+<p>"I didn't think this of you, Bobtail. This morning I got you out of a
+bad scrape. If I hadn't done so, you would have been taken up for
+stealing that letter, which contained five hundred dollars. Now, you go
+back on me the same day," added the captain, more gently.</p>
+
+<p>"I don't go back on you, sir. If you own this boat, I'll tell you all I
+know about her."</p>
+
+<p>"I don't say that I own her."</p>
+
+<p>"I know you don't say so; and for that reason I can't say anything more
+about her. You only told the truth about the letter."</p>
+
+<p>"But I might have held my tongue, and I'm sorry now I didn't."</p>
+
+<p>After this speech, Little Bobtail had no doubt that Captain Chinks was a
+bad man, and he felt the necessity of extreme caution in dealing with
+him.</p>
+
+<p>"I don't see how you could keep still when Squire Gilfilian asked you
+the question," added Bobtail, in his simplicity.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">[Pg 129]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"If I had done by you as you are doing by me when I ask you a question,
+I should have kept still, as you do."</p>
+
+<p>"But I don't want to get any one into a scrape," pleaded the skipper.</p>
+
+<p>"What do you mean by that? I only ask you to tell the truth, as I did
+for you this morning," said the captain, in a coaxing tone.</p>
+
+<p>"Squire Gilfilian owned that letter, and he had a right to ask about it.
+If you say you own this boat, I shall feel that I am perfectly safe in
+answering your questions."</p>
+
+<p>"Perfectly safe! Then of course there was a cargo in her," added the
+visitor.</p>
+
+<p>"I don't say there was. Have you lost a cargo, Captain Chinks?"</p>
+
+<p>The captain mused. To say that he had lost a cargo would be to
+acknowledge that he was a smuggler, and he could not trust the secret to
+a boy like Little Bobtail, who had the reputation of being an honest and
+truthful boy. If called upon to give evidence, the boy would tell the
+whole truth. He would rather lose both the cargo and the boat than be
+convicted of smuggling.</p>
+
+<p>"If there was no cargo in her, you would say<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">[Pg 130]</a></span> so, Bobtail; so I have no
+doubt there was a cargo in her," continued Captain Clunks, after a
+silence of a few moments. "I take it for granted there was some sort of
+goods in her."</p>
+
+<p>"What makes you think so, sir?"</p>
+
+<p>"I have a notion of my own on that subject. If I'm not greatly mistaken,
+I saw this boat down to Bar Harbor. My idea is, that she went out to sea
+somewhere, and took a lot of goods from some fishing vessel, and tried
+to run them up to Camden, or some other port. I don't say it is so, but
+it might be. Very likely some of those custom-house officers got wind of
+the affair, and were on the lookout for the boat. Very likely the men in
+charge of her abandoned her, and cleared out to save themselves."</p>
+
+<p>"I wonder if they went over to Camden in the Islesboro' packet this
+morning," suggested Bobtail, innocently.</p>
+
+<p>"What do you mean, you young villain!" cried Captain Chinks, springing
+forward over the table, and seizing the skipper by the throat. "Do you
+mean to say I'm one of them?"</p>
+
+<p>"Let me alone!" yelled Bobtail, struggling to shake off the hard gripe
+of the visitor.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;">
+<img src="images/i006.jpg" width="500" height="376" alt="" title="" />
+</div><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">[Pg 131]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Our hero had a hard fist, if it was a small one, and he used it
+vigorously upon the head and face of his assailant. He pounded so hard
+that the captain, holding him at a disadvantage across the table and
+centre-board, was compelled to release his hold.</p>
+
+<p>"I am not to be trifled with," gasped Captain Chinks, panting from his
+exertions, and smarting from the heavy blows which Bobtail had inflicted
+upon his face.</p>
+
+<p>"Nor I, either!" yelled the skipper, seizing a spare tiller which lay on
+the transom. "If you put your finger on me again, I'll break your head!"</p>
+
+<p>"What's the row?" shouted Monkey, rushing down into the cabin, his round
+eyes distended to their utmost.</p>
+
+<p>"I don't let anybody take me by the throat," replied Bobtail, shaking
+his head, and adjusting his shirt collar at the same time.</p>
+
+<p>"It's all right now, Monkey, go and catch your fish," added Captain
+Chinks, mildly, feeling that his wrath had got the better of him, and
+induced him to commit an imprudent act.</p>
+
+<p>"It won't be all right if you put your hand<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">[Pg 132]</a></span> on me again," said Bobtail,
+still holding the spare tiller in his hand.</p>
+
+<p>"You knew that I came over in the Islesboro' packet this morning."</p>
+
+<p>"I wasn't thinking of you when I spoke," muttered Bobtail, who for the
+first time saw the force of the suggestion he had made.</p>
+
+<p>"I was only supposing a case," said the captain.</p>
+
+<p>"What? when you caught me by the throat? I don't want you to suppose any
+more cases, then."</p>
+
+<p>"I won't, Bobtail. Perhaps the men had run the boat ashore, and were
+looking for a place to hide the goods, when the wind blew her off, and
+sent her adrift."</p>
+
+<p>"Perhaps it was so; I don't know," answered the skipper, coldly.</p>
+
+<p>"If she had a cargo in her, what have you done with it?"</p>
+
+<p>"I didn't say she had any cargo, and I'm not going to say anything more
+about it till the owner claims the boat. That's the end of it."</p>
+
+<p>Little Bobtail rose from the transom, and walked towards the
+companion-way. Captain Chinks looked very savage. He was evidently in a
+dilemma, from which he could not extricate himself.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">[Pg 133]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"One minute more, my lad," called the captain. "I may possibly come
+across the person who lost this boat."</p>
+
+<p>"If you do, send him to me, and he shall have his boat,
+and&mdash;and&mdash;everything that belongs to her," replied Bobtail, who was
+still full of wrath towards his late assailant.</p>
+
+<p>"But, you see, if she had any smuggled goods on board of her&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"I didn't say she had."</p>
+
+<p>"You won't understand me! I say <i>if</i> she had. Now, perhaps I can make a
+trade with the owner for you."</p>
+
+<p>"I don't want you to make any trade for me. Send him to me, and he shall
+have his boat. That's all."</p>
+
+<p>"But he will be afraid to expose himself. Now, suppose he should offer
+to let you keep the boat, if you would give up the goods, if you found
+any goods in her. If I should happen to find him, or to hear of him,
+shall I tell him you will make this sort of a trade with him?"</p>
+
+<p>"No! Tell him he can have his boat and everything that belongs to her.
+I've learned more about smugglers to-day than I ever knew before,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">[Pg 134]</a></span> and I
+wouldn't touch one with a ten-foot pole; and I wouldn't make a trade
+with him to cheat the government. I don't want to talk any more about
+it. I've got a sore throat now."</p>
+
+<p>Having thus delivered himself, Bobtail went on deck, and ordered the
+crew to help him get up the anchor. In a few minutes the Skylark was
+headed towards the town. Captain Chinks remained in the cabin, full of
+wrath and disappointment.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">[Pg 135]</a></span></p>
+<h2>CHAPTER VIII.</h2>
+
+<h3>A CHANCE FOR BUSINESS.</h3>
+
+
+<p>Possibly, if Captain Chinks had not resorted to violent argument in
+carrying his point, he might have succeeded better. As Little Bobtail
+sat at the helm of the Skylark, he thought of the proposition which the
+captain had made to him. It simply meant that, if he would give up the
+cases of brandy, he might keep the boat. It was a very tempting offer,
+and if he had not been smarting under the double injury to his throat
+and his feelings, inflicted by his visitor, he might have considered it.
+As it was, his only impulse was to have nothing further to do with such
+a bad man, a man who could be sorry that he had spoken the simple truth,
+and thus saved him from arrest for purloining the valuable letter.</p>
+
+<p>Though Captain Chinks had resolutely denied the ownership of the
+Skylark, and all knowledge<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">[Pg 136]</a></span> of her cargo, Little Bobtail could not help
+believing that the captain was the owner of both. He began to think that
+he had not acted wisely in removing the cargo to the garret of the
+cottage. His interview with the "gentleman of doubtful reputation"
+convinced him that it was dangerous for him to have anything to do with
+such men. He wished that he had handed both boat and cargo over to the
+deputy collector of the port. Perhaps it was not too late to do so now.</p>
+
+<p>The wind was north-west, and the skipper had to beat up the harbor. As
+the yacht approached the wharf near the fish market, Captain Chinks came
+on deck. He seated himself on the trunk of the cabin, and seemed to be
+very much disturbed. Occasionally he cast a glance at Bobtail, as though
+he wanted to say something more to him. The bow of the boat was run up
+to the wharf, and Monkey was directed to "catch a turn" with the warp
+line on a post, which he did, and the skipper waited for his dangerous
+passenger to disembark.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, Bobtail, have you thought over what I said to you?" said Captain
+Chinks, as he rose from his seat.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">[Pg 137]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"I have thought it over, but&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"This is a fine boat, and if you will only give up the cargo, you will
+own her, for nobody will ever claim her," interrupted the passenger.</p>
+
+<p>"I haven't said there was any cargo in her," added Bobtail. "You seem to
+know all about it. If you claim&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"I don't claim anything," protested the captain, zealously.</p>
+
+<p>"Then it's no use to say anything more about her. I'm not going to get
+myself into any scrape, and I won't make any trade of any kind."</p>
+
+<p>"You are making a mistake, Bobtail. In my opinion, there's something
+about this business that don't appear on the face of it."</p>
+
+<p>"That's just my idea."</p>
+
+<p>"I don't know but you can make folks believe that you picked up this
+boat, but I don't think you can," added the captain, with his teeth set,
+and with difficulty keeping down his anger.</p>
+
+<p>"It don't make any difference to me whether they believe it or not,"
+replied Bobtail. "That's the truth."</p>
+
+<p>"You'll find it will make a difference to you," said the captain, as he
+stepped upon the wharf.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">[Pg 138]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Didn't you go back to Squire Gilfilian's office, after you left the
+letter there?"</p>
+
+<p>"No, I didn't."</p>
+
+<p>"I'm not sure of that," replied Captain Chinks, shaking his head in a
+threatening manner. "You overtook me down by the lime-kiln; so you got
+behind me somehow or other."</p>
+
+<p>Captain Chinks went off muttering and shaking his head, and Bobtail
+could not imagine what he meant. So far as the lost letter was
+concerned, he felt that he had done his whole duty, and he was not
+disposed to worry about it; he wished his record in regard to the boxes
+was as clean.</p>
+
+<p>"Cast off, Monkey," said he; and putting the Skylark about, he ran down
+to the deep water off the Portland Pier, where he anchored her.</p>
+
+<p>Monkey's old dory had been towing astern during the trip, and after
+putting everything in order on board of the yacht, the two boys went on
+shore. Bobtail hastened to the cottage, hoping to find his mother there,
+for he wanted to tell her all about the situation, and obtain her
+advice. She had not yet returned. Ezekiel was just coming out of his
+spree, for he had drank all his liquor. He was ugly as sin itself, and
+began to abuse the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">[Pg 139]</a></span> boy again for "destroying his property." It was not
+comfortable to stay in the house under such circumstances, and Little
+Bobtail walked up to the village. The Bay View House was at this time
+full of guests&mdash;people from other parts of Maine and elsewhere, spending
+a few days or a few weeks at the sea-shore. Camden has lakes, and
+mountains, and delightful drives, in addition to the attractions of the
+sea, and people who went there once were very likely to go there again.
+Bobtail walked up to the hotel, for the stage from Rockland, by which
+his mother would return, stopped there.</p>
+
+<p>"What boat's that you have, Bobtail?" asked Mr. Philbrook, the landlord
+of the hotel.</p>
+
+<p>"The Skylark."</p>
+
+<p>"They say you picked her up."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes; I got blown off yesterday, and I found her adrift near Blank
+Island."</p>
+
+<p>"I see you are using her. There is a party here from Augusta that want a
+nice boat for to-morrow," added the landlord. "Can't you take them out?"</p>
+
+<p>"I don't know; the owner of the boat may claim her."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">[Pg 140]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"But you ought to have the use of her for taking care of her, and you
+can make six or eight dollars a day with her, just as well as not."</p>
+
+<p>"She isn't my boat, and I don't know's I ought to let her; but I will
+see, and let you know in the morning," replied Bobtail, as the Rockland
+stage drove up to the door.</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Taylor was one of the passengers, and her son assisted her to
+alight. She wanted to know how her husband was, and Bobtail gave her the
+information. As they walked towards the cottage he told her all about
+the Skylark, and her suspicious cargo. Of course his mother was
+astonished; but fortunately her views in regard to smuggling were more
+clearly defined than Bobtail's, and she gave him excellent advice. She
+declared that she could not sleep a wink with all those boxes in the
+house.</p>
+
+<p>"You must go to Squire Simonton right off, tell him all about it, and
+let him take them away," said she, warmly. "Why, we are liable to be
+sent to prison!"</p>
+
+<p>"All right, mother; I will do just as you say," replied Bobtail.</p>
+
+<p>"Besides, Robert, if your father should find the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">[Pg 141]</a></span> boxes, you know what
+he would do," added Mrs. Taylor.</p>
+
+<p>"I will attend to the matter right off, mother."</p>
+
+<p>They reached the cottage, and after Bobtail had carried his mother's
+carpet-bag into the house, he hastened to find Squire Simonton, who was
+the deputy collector of the port. On his way up the street, he met this
+gentleman, with another, whom he had often seen at the hotel.</p>
+
+<p>"We want to see that boat you picked up, Little Bobtail," said Squire
+Simonton, with the pleasant smile which his face always wore.</p>
+
+<p>"I was just going up to see you about her," replied Bobtail. "I want to
+ask you what I shall do with her."</p>
+
+<p>"I don't know that you can do anything with her. Perhaps you had better
+advertise her in the Camden and Rockland papers," replied the squire.</p>
+
+<p>Bobtail did not like to say anything about the boxes before the other
+gentleman; so he did not allude to them. At the steamboat wharf he
+borrowed a small boat, and conveyed them on board of the Skylark.</p>
+
+<p>"She is a fine boat&mdash;isn't she, Hines?" said the deputy collector, as
+they stepped into the standing-room.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">[Pg 142]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Mr. Hines agreed that she was a fine boat; and then he commented upon
+her build, rig, and accommodations, as one who was perfectly familiar
+with boats and boating. He looked her over with a critical eye, and then
+expressed a desire to have a little sail in her, which the squire
+seconded; and Bobtail was always ready for a sail. In a few moments they
+were under way, with Mr. Hines at the helm. As they sailed down the bay
+towards Rockland, Bobtail related the whole story of the finding of the
+Skylark, and both the gentlemen suggested various theories in regard to
+her being adrift; but the hero of the adventure said nothing about the
+contraband boxes. He did not know that it was proper to do so before Mr.
+Hines, though he was a jolly, good-natured gentleman.</p>
+
+<p>"You didn't look into the cook-room&mdash;did you, Squire Simonton?" asked
+Bobtail, who was very anxious to tell the rest of the story.</p>
+
+<p>"I did not," replied the deputy collector. "I will do so now."</p>
+
+<p>Bobtail conducted him through the cabin, which was rather low for a
+gentleman of his eminent dignity, to the cook-room, where they seated
+themselves on the lockers.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">[Pg 143]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"I should want a little more room in my yacht," laughed the squire, as
+he tried to put on his hat, which the height of the apartment would not
+permit.</p>
+
+<p>"I didn't tell you but half the story on deck, sir," said Bobtail. "I
+didn't like to speak out before Mr. Hines; but you are the deputy
+collector."</p>
+
+<p>"And Mr. Hines is a custom-house officer," added Mr. Simonton.</p>
+
+<p>"O, is he? I didn't know it. Well, sir, I think there's something wrong
+about this boat, and I want to tell you the rest of the story."</p>
+
+<p>"What do you mean by something wrong, Bobtail?"</p>
+
+<p>"In the smuggling line."</p>
+
+<p>"Then I think we had better let Mr. Hines hear the story, for it is part
+of his duty to look up cases of this kind," replied Squire Simonton, as
+he rose from his seat, and bumped his head against a deck-beam.</p>
+
+<p>When they were seated on the cork cushions of the standing-room, the
+deputy collector intimated that Little Bobtail had something to say, and
+the boy rose to explain.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">[Pg 144]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"When I picked this boat up, her cabin was half full of boxes," said he.</p>
+
+<p>"Cigars?" said Mr. Hines.</p>
+
+<p>"No, sir, I don't know's I had any business to open one of the boxes,
+but I did. It was full of bottles," added Bobtail.</p>
+
+<p>"Brandy?" said the inspector.</p>
+
+<p>"The bottles were labelled '<span class="smcap">James Hennessy &amp; Co.&mdash;Cognac</span>.'"</p>
+
+<p>"Just so; that's brandy. How many were there?" asked Mr. Hines.</p>
+
+<p>"Twenty boxes, and each box contained two dozen. The bottles were in
+kind of straw casing."</p>
+
+<p>"I know," nodded the inspector. "What have you done with them?"</p>
+
+<p>"I didn't know what to do with them. I meant to be on the safe side; so
+I hid them in my father's garret."</p>
+
+<p>"That's a bad place for them," said Squire Simonton, who was an earnest
+and consistent temperance man, and had labored diligently to reform
+Ezekiel Taylor.</p>
+
+<p>"My father don't know anything at all about the matter."</p>
+
+<p>"We must get them out of his way at once. I<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">[Pg 145]</a></span> don't know but it would
+have been just as well if you had emptied all the bottles into the bay,"
+laughed the deputy collector.</p>
+
+<p>"I thought of that, but I didn't think the fishes would like it."</p>
+
+<p>"Of course this brandy is smuggled," added Mr. Hines. "Don't Captain
+Chinks know anything about it?"</p>
+
+<p>Bobtail related the particulars of his interview with the "gentleman of
+doubtful reputation."</p>
+
+<p>"But the captain don't claim the boat?" said Squire Simonton.</p>
+
+<p>"He says she don't belong to him, and he knows nothing about the cargo."</p>
+
+<p>The two custom-house officials discussed the case at considerable
+length. As no one but Bobtail and his mother knew anything about the
+boxes, it was thought best to keep all knowledge of them from the
+public. The officers, in tracing out the guilty parties, could work
+better in the dark than in the light. The following out of this case
+might expose a dozen others. Captain Chinks was very sly, and what was
+now suspected might be ultimately proved. The brandy must be seized, and
+removed to a safe place.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">[Pg 146]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"But what shall be done with the yacht," asked Little Bobtail.</p>
+
+<p>"Nothing at present," replied Mr. Hines. "If we seize her, the game will
+be up at once. You may keep her and use her, Bobtail. I will appoint you
+her keeper, but you must not let any one steal her. The rascals may go
+on board of her at night, and sail her out of the harbor."</p>
+
+<p>"O, I will sleep on board of her every night," replied Bobtail,
+delighted with the decision of the inspector.</p>
+
+<p>"If any one claims her, let me know at once, and don't give her up
+without an order from me or Mr. Simonton."</p>
+
+<p>"I will not."</p>
+
+<p>The Skylark returned to her anchorage, and the gentlemen were landed on
+the wharf. Bobtail went home. An arrangement had been made for the
+removal of the boxes, but the presence of Ezekiel Taylor seemed to
+interfere with its execution. He was at home, sullen and ugly, and
+nothing could be done while he was in the house. But after supper he
+went out, shaking in every fibre of his frame, and hankering for a dram
+to quiet his nerves.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">[Pg 147]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>After dark, Bobtail and his mother brought the boxes from their
+hiding-place, and put them behind a row of currant bushes, in the
+garden. Having informed the deputy collector where he could find them,
+he went on board of the yacht to sleep. After midnight the boxes were
+removed to the storehouse. No one was the wiser, and Bobtail was glad to
+get them off his hands.</p>
+
+<p>No one attempted to steal the yacht that night, and the next morning
+Little Bobtail informed the landlord of the Bay View House that the
+Skylark was at the service of the party who desired to sail. With Monkey
+"before the mast," he gave entire satisfaction to the ladies and
+gentlemen who went with them. He placed them where they caught an
+abundance of fish, and then landed them upon Blank Island, while he made
+a chowder, and fried fish and potatoes for their dinner. The party took
+their meal in the cabin, and generously commended the cook. Before dark
+he landed them at the wharf. He charged seven dollars for boat and crew,
+by the advice of Mr. Hines, which was cheap enough for a yacht of her
+size.</p>
+
+<p>"Now, Monkey, you have worked first rate to-day," said Bobtail, when the
+party had gone. "Of course I mean to pay you."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">[Pg 148]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"I don't ask any pay for helpin' you, Bob," grinned the Darwinian.</p>
+
+<p>"I want you every day when I have a job, and I shall pay you a dollar a
+day," added the skipper; and he handed him the money.</p>
+
+<p>"A dollar a day!" exclaimed Monkey, who had never possessed a dollar in
+cash of his own in his life.</p>
+
+<p>"Isn't it enough?"</p>
+
+<p>"By gracious! I should think it was!" exclaimed Monkey, gazing with
+wonder at the bill.</p>
+
+<p>"Put it in your pocket then, and call it square for this day's work."</p>
+
+<p>Before the Skylark left the wharf Mr. Philbrook appeared, and engaged
+the yacht for the next day for another party. Bobtail went up to the
+store at the head of the wharf, and expended a portion of his receipts
+for coffee, sugar, and other supplies for the yacht. It seemed to him,
+just then, that a great business was opening to him, and he was very
+anxious to give satisfaction to those who employed him. The bow-line was
+cast off, and the Skylark dropped down to her anchorage. The deck was
+washed down, and everything put in the nicest order for the next day.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">[Pg 149]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Don't you think I ought to sleep on board with you, Bob?" asked the
+Darwinian, as they pulled to the landing-steps at the railroad pier.</p>
+
+<p>"What for?" asked Bobtail.</p>
+
+<p>"To help you if anything should happen. You might break adrift, or some
+vessel might run into you, and then there would be work to do."</p>
+
+<p>"I should like your company very well; but don't your mother want you in
+the house at night?"</p>
+
+<p>"The old woman don't care where I am."</p>
+
+<p>"Don't call your mother the old woman, Monkey. If you do I can't respect
+you."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, I won't, then," replied the crew, opening his mouth from ear to
+ear in one of his cheerful smiles. "She calls me Monkey, jest as other
+folks do. When I give her this dollar she'll be satisfied. Won't she
+open her eyes some!"</p>
+
+<p>"You shall take her another to-morrow."</p>
+
+<p>"I'll come right back when I give it to her. I s'pose you'll have some
+of that bacon for breakfast in the morning&mdash;won't you?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, if you like," laughed Bobtail, who now understood that his crew
+wanted to sleep on board in order to get a better breakfast than he
+would have at home.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">[Pg 150]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>They parted at the cottage, and Bobtail went in to see his mother and
+take his supper with her. For some reason which the son could not
+understand, Mrs. Taylor was unusually sad and moody. Ezekiel was sober,
+for a wonder, and did not appear to be so cross and ugly as he generally
+was when recovering from his debauches. Neither of them said much, and
+Bobtail wondered what had happened. After supper he went out and split
+up the wood for the fire, and did other chores.</p>
+
+<p>"What can be done about it?" he heard Ezekiel say, as he paused at the
+door, after he had done his work.</p>
+
+<p>"I don't know's anything can be done," replied Mrs. Taylor, gloomily.</p>
+
+<p>Then there was a silence, and Bobtail went in.</p>
+
+<p>"What's the matter, mother?" asked he, now satisfied that some calamity
+impended.</p>
+
+<p>"I'm afraid we shall lose the house, Robert," replied Mrs. Taylor.</p>
+
+<p>"Lose the house? How can you lose it?"</p>
+
+<p>"You know there's a mortgage upon it for five hundred dollars. Squire
+Gilfilian wants the money, and says he must sell the place if it isn't
+paid. He has been threatening to do it for a good while, and to-day he
+has foreclosed the mortgage."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151">[Pg 151]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"I've been all over town to get somebody else to take the mortgage,"
+added Ezekiel, "but I can't find nobody. The place is wuth a thousand
+dollars of any man's money; but business is dull, and money's hard, and
+I don't believe 'twill bring more'n the mortgage under the hammer. I
+don't know what I'm goin' to do about it. I don't see's I can help
+myself."</p>
+
+<p>Probably just then Ezekiel Taylor reproached himself for his idle and
+dissolute life, and realized that, if he had been industrious, and had
+saved his money, he might have owned the place with no encumbrance at
+the present time. It was about sunset, and Mrs. Taylor and her son
+seated themselves on the front doorstep to talk over the impending
+calamity.</p>
+
+<p>"What vessel is that?" asked Mrs. Taylor, as a cloud of white canvas
+emerged from behind Negro Island.</p>
+
+<p>"It's a yacht!" exclaimed Bobtail. "There's a <i>P</i> in her burgee. It's
+the Penobscot, of Belfast. She belongs to Colonel Montague. I saw her go
+down the other day. She's the finest yacht in these waters. I must go
+and see her."</p>
+
+<p>Little Bobtail suddenly forgot all about the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152">[Pg 152]</a></span> mortgage and the
+prospective loss of the cottage as he gazed upon the white sails and the
+beautiful hull of the Penobscot. She was a magnificent yacht, of about a
+hundred tons. She had created a decided sensation in the bay, and our
+young skipper had heard glowing accounts of her, which made him anxious
+to see her with his own eyes. Her crew were hauling down her
+gaff-topsails and her jib-topsail, and it was evident that she intended
+to anchor in the harbor. Her foresail was lowered, and then her jib. As
+she lost her headway, the anchor went overboard near where the Skylark
+lay. Bobtail began to move off.</p>
+
+<p>"I should like to see her, too, Robert. Can't you take me out to her?"
+said Mrs. Taylor.</p>
+
+<p>"Certainly, mother; come along," replied Little Bobtail; "but perhaps
+they won't let us go on board of her, for I see some ladies on her
+deck."</p>
+
+<p>At the landing-steps they took a boat, and Bobtail pulled off to the
+yacht.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153">[Pg 153]</a></span></p>
+<h2>CHAPTER IX.</h2>
+
+<h3>THE PENOBSCOT.</h3>
+
+
+<p>Little Bobtail could not help looking behind him occasionally, as he
+pulled the boat, to observe the beautiful proportions, and the comely,
+tapering spars of the yacht. Beside the Penobscot, even the Skylark was
+nowhere.</p>
+
+<p>"Well that's the finest yacht I ever saw!" said he, lying upon his oars,
+when he was near enough to take in the whole idea of the vessel. "She's
+big enough to go around the world in, too."</p>
+
+<p>"She's as nice as anything need be," replied Mrs. Taylor, with an
+indifference which was very provoking to the young skipper.</p>
+
+<p>She was looking at the people on the quarter-deck of the Penobscot,
+rather than at the symmetrical hull and the graceful spars. There were
+two ladies and two gentlemen. The old gentleman,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">[Pg 154]</a></span> seated near the wheel,
+with long silver locks, and of grave and dignified mien, was the Hon.
+Mr. Montague. His son, Colonel Montague, who had commanded a Maine
+regiment during a portion of the war of the rebellion, was planking the
+deck, dressed in the uniform of the New York Yacht Club. He was quite as
+dignified as his father, though he was not forty yet. His wife was the
+elegant lady who sat on a camp-stool gazing at the outline of the ragged
+mountain which rises near the village. The young lady of twelve or
+thirteen was Miss Grace Montague, the daughter of the colonel. She was
+quite tall for her age, and looked very much like her mother. Mrs.
+Taylor was gazing earnestly at these people.</p>
+
+<p>Little Bobtail swung his boat about, and backed her up to the
+accommodation-steps. The sailing-master, who also wore the Yacht Club
+uniform, walked quietly to the ladder, shaking his head to intimate that
+no visitors would be allowed on board. As Bobtail, who was not good at
+taking a hint, especially when it did not agree with his inclination,
+did not suspend his movements, the sailing-master walked down the steps
+to the little platform.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_155" id="Page_155">[Pg 155]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"We don't allow any one to come on board to-night," said he, shoving off
+the boat with his foot.</p>
+
+<p>"Is this Colonel Montague's yacht?" asked Mrs. Taylor.</p>
+
+<p>"It is."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, I want to see him."</p>
+
+<p>"O, if you wish to see the owner, you can come on board."</p>
+
+<p>Just at that moment a steward in a white jacket called the party on deck
+to supper. The old gentleman, Mrs. Montague, and her daughter descended
+the companion-way first. As the colonel was about to follow them, the
+sailing-master told him that the woman in the boat wished to see him. He
+stepped over to the rail as Bobtail helped his mother upon the platform.</p>
+
+<p>"Do you wish to see me, madam?" demanded the colonel, rather haughtily.</p>
+
+<p>"My son wants to see this yacht very much. He's very fond of boats; and
+I thought I'd make bold to ask you if he might," replied Mrs. Taylor;
+and Bobtail thought then that his mother had more "cheek" than he had.</p>
+
+<p>"You may come on board," replied the colonel,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156">[Pg 156]</a></span> very much to the
+astonishment of the young skipper, and apparently to the equal
+astonishment of the sailing-master.</p>
+
+<p>Bobtail went forward on the instant the permission was granted, leaving
+his mother to follow at her leisure; but she stood for a moment talking
+with the colonel. The young boatman examined the Penobscot in every part
+except the cabin, which he was not permitted to enter while the family
+were at supper. It would take all the exclamation marks in a fount of
+type adequately to express his views of the Penobscot and her
+appurtenances. The sailing-master followed him in his perambulations
+above and below, and when the family had finished their meal, he
+conducted him to the cabin, and permitted him to look into the
+state-rooms. Bobtail had never seen anything half so magnificent, and he
+expressed his delight and astonishment in the strongest language his
+vocabulary afforded.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, Robert, have you seen enough?" said his mother, when he returned
+to the deck.</p>
+
+<p>"I believe I've seen her through. I thought the Skylark was a big thing
+before, but she's nothing but skim-milk compared with this yacht,"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157">[Pg 157]</a></span>
+replied he. "If I had such a yacht as this, I wouldn't go ashore at
+all."</p>
+
+<p>"Our people don't go on shore much," said the sailing-master, pleased
+with the enthusiasm of the boy.</p>
+
+<p>"I suppose she'll sail some&mdash;won't she?" added Bobtail.</p>
+
+<p>"She has logged fifteen knots in a fresh breeze."</p>
+
+<p>"How far have you been in her?"</p>
+
+<p>"We have been down to Eastport and Mount Desert. We left Bar Harbor this
+morning, and shall run up to Belfast to-morrow evening. Next week we go
+to Newport, and up Long Island Sound."</p>
+
+<p>"That's the life that suits me!" exclaimed Bobtail, with enthusiasm, as
+he walked aft to the accommodation-steps.</p>
+
+<p>Colonel Montague was smoking his cigar, and Little Bobtail thought he
+was gazing very earnestly at him; but when he returned the gaze, the
+dignified gentleman was looking some other way. He helped his mother
+into the boat, and pulled her to the landing-steps.</p>
+
+<p>"Do you know Colonel Montague, mother?" asked Bobtail.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158">[Pg 158]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"I used to work for him before you was born," replied Mrs. Taylor,
+looking over the water at the Penobscot.</p>
+
+<p>"He didn't seem to know you," added Bobtail.</p>
+
+<p>"I haven't seen him before for years."</p>
+
+<p>"I didn't think he'd let us go on board."</p>
+
+<p>"I knew he would, if he recognized me."</p>
+
+<p>"If he did recognize you, he was awful stiff about it. He hardly spoke
+to you, if you did work for him before I was born."</p>
+
+<p>"That's his way, Robert. He is a great man now, and I s'pose he don't
+make much of folks beneath him. But he's a fine man, and I always liked
+him."</p>
+
+<p>"He may be a fine man, but he has a very awkward way of showing it. Why
+didn't he shake hands with you, and look as though he had seen you
+before?"</p>
+
+<p>"That isn't his way, Robert; and he is rich enough to do just as he
+pleases."</p>
+
+<p>"I don't believe he is rich enough to be hoggish," added Bobtail, whose
+impressions of Colonel Montague were not altogether favorable.</p>
+
+<p>"But he is a good man, and has a very kind heart. He will do almost
+anything for poor people."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">[Pg 159]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"I should like to sail in that yacht first rate; but I would rather go
+with somebody that isn't so stiff as Colonel Montague. That
+sailing-master seems to be afraid of him, and daresn't say his soul's
+his own."</p>
+
+<p>"Did you expect Colonel Montague to take off his hat to you, and treat
+you like a nabob?" asked Mrs. Taylor, indignantly.</p>
+
+<p>"I didn't expect him to say anything to me; but if you used to work for
+him, I should think he would have spoken a civil word or two to you."</p>
+
+<p>"And so he did. He spoke to me when you were looking at the vessel; and
+he spoke very kindly to me, too."</p>
+
+<p>"He went below in two minutes after you reached the deck."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, his supper was waiting for him. I was only his servant, and I
+don't expect great folks to take much notice of me; and you won't after
+you have lived to be half as old as I am."</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Taylor seemed to be entirely satisfied with Colonel Montague, and
+she walked home, while her son, who was not so well satisfied with the
+owner of the Penobscot, went off to the Skylark,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160">[Pg 160]</a></span> where he was soon
+joined by the Darwinian. At an early hour the captain and the crew
+retired, and doubtless slept very well, for they were up at sunrise in
+the morning. Monkey gorged himself with bacon at their early breakfast;
+and long before the hour appointed for the party to come on board, the
+Skylark was ready for their reception, with mainsail set, flags flying,
+and the anchor hove up to a short stay.</p>
+
+<p>Monkey had a great deal to say about the Penobscot, and Bobtail
+described her cabin, state-rooms, kitchen, and forecastle while they
+were waiting. She lay only a cable's length from the Skylark, and they
+could see all that was going on upon her deck.</p>
+
+<p>"That's Colonel Montague getting into that boat," said Bobtail, as the
+owner of the Penobscot stepped into his barge.</p>
+
+<p>The boat was manned by two sailors, each of whom pulled two oars. The
+colonel seated himself in the stern-sheets, which were cushioned with
+crimson velvet, and took the tiller-lines in his hand.</p>
+
+<p>"She's coming this way," added Monkey, as the barge moved towards the
+Skylark.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161">[Pg 161]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>In a moment she was alongside, and Colonel Montague, to the surprise of
+the skipper, stepped on board. He wondered greatly what had procured him
+the honor of a visit from such a distinguished man.</p>
+
+<p>"Good morning, my lad," said the colonel, with a pleasant smile, which
+seemed to belie his conduct the evening before.</p>
+
+<p>"Good morning, sir," replied Bobtail.</p>
+
+<p>"Good morning, sir," added Monkey, exhibiting all the teeth in his head.</p>
+
+<p>Colonel Montague glanced at the Darwinian, and possibly debated in his
+own mind whether the crew of the Skylark was man or monkey.</p>
+
+<p>"You have a fine little boat here," added the visitor.</p>
+
+<p>"She's a first-rate boat; but she ain't much side of yours," replied
+Bobtail, whose impressions in regard to the owner of the Penobscot were
+undergoing a rapid change. "She'll sail some, and she's good when it
+blows."</p>
+
+<p>"And you take parties out in her?" added the visitor.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, sir; I have one to-day."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_162" id="Page_162">[Pg 162]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"I'm afraid not, Captain Bobtail," said the colonel, with a smile.</p>
+
+<p>"I'm engaged, at any rate," added Bobtail, who, if the colonel had not
+smiled, would have thought he was impudent to doubt his word.</p>
+
+<p>"You must thank me for taking your party away from you. I found that
+some friends of mine at the Bay View House were to go in your boat
+to-day; but I invited them to go with me."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, sir, I don't thank you for it," said Bobtail, rather pertly.</p>
+
+<p>"Wait a minute, my lad. They told me they had engaged your boat; and I
+promised to make it all right with you. They were to pay you seven
+dollars for the day. Here is seven dollars;" and the colonel handed him
+this sum. "I suppose that will make it all right."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, sir; that's handsome, and I'm very much obliged to you," answered
+Bobtail, warmly; and by this time he thought that the owner of the
+Penobscot was a prince.</p>
+
+<p>"Now, Captain Bobtail, if you would like to take a sail in the
+Penobscot, you may go with us, as you have lost your job for the day,"
+added Colonel Montague.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_163" id="Page_163">[Pg 163]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Thank you, sir; I should like to go first rate!" exclaimed Bobtail,
+delighted with the idea.</p>
+
+<p>"You may go on board with me," continued the colonel.</p>
+
+<p>"I will, sir.&mdash;Monkey, you will lower the sail, and take care of the
+Skylark. Don't let any one have her; and I will pay you just the same as
+yesterday."</p>
+
+<p>The Darwinian was very well satisfied with this arrangement, and
+immediately began to consider what he should have for dinner, since the
+choice was left with him. The barge returned to the Penobscot, and
+Bobtail followed her owner on deck. Though the young skipper of the
+Skylark was very democratic in his ideas, he did not presume to take a
+place upon the quarter-deck with the family, but went forward and
+fraternized with the sailors, all of whom, except the mates, were young
+men. Presently the order was given to set the mainsail, and Bobtail took
+hold of the peak-halyard to lend a hand. He worked well, and by his
+activity won the favor of his new companions. He did his full share of
+all the work, because he was not fond of idleness. The party came on
+board, and the order was given to get under way.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_164" id="Page_164">[Pg 164]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Clear away the jib and flying-jib," said the sailing-master.</p>
+
+<p>Bobtail ran out on the bowsprit, and, dropping down upon the foot-rope,
+was at the outer end of the flying-jib boom in an instant, clearing away
+the sail.</p>
+
+<p>"How smart you are!" said Miss Grace Montague, who was standing with
+another young lady of the party near the foremast, when he returned to
+the deck.</p>
+
+<p>Little Bobtail blushed like a girl, for he was not accustomed to talking
+with such nice young ladies.</p>
+
+<p>"Thank you, miss; but it don't take more than half a day to loose a
+flying-jib," he replied.</p>
+
+<p>"But aren't you afraid of falling into the water?" she asked.</p>
+
+<p>"O, no. I'm used to vessels. I sail the Skylark, which you see there,"
+replied Bobtail, pointing to the little yacht.</p>
+
+<p>"That's the boat we were going in," added the other young lady. "Then
+you are Captain Bobtail?"</p>
+
+<p>"Folks call me Little Bobtail; but I'm not captain," answered the young
+skipper, blushing again.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_165" id="Page_165">[Pg 165]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Run up the jib!" shouted the sailing-master.</p>
+
+<p>Bobtail sprang to the halyard, ungallantly turning his back to the young
+ladies. They looked at the short skirts of his coat, and he heard a
+silvery laugh, as he took in the slack of the rope. Miss Montague and
+Miss Walker were very much amused when they discovered the origin of his
+name.</p>
+
+<p>The wind was fresh; the Penobscot went off like "a thing of life," and
+Bobtail enjoyed the sail exceedingly. She ran down as far as Owl's Head,
+and then stood over towards the eastern shore of the bay. At one of the
+best places she lay to, and the party caught cod and haddock till they
+were tired of the sport, and then the yacht anchored under the lee of an
+island. The day was fine, and the excursionists desired to visit some of
+the islands in the vicinity. Both boats were manned, and went off in
+different directions, according to the fancy of those on board of them.
+Bobtail was permitted to occupy the fore-sheets of the one which carried
+Mrs. Montague and the two young ladies, for somehow he took great
+pleasure in looking at the latter, and wished they would be a little
+more sociable. This boat went<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_166" id="Page_166">[Pg 166]</a></span> to Blank Island, which has a high bluff
+on the east side of it, and all the party landed. The ladies and
+gentlemen ascended the steep side of the island, and reached the cliff
+which overhangs the sea.</p>
+
+<p>Bobtail followed them at a respectful distance, while the sailors
+remained near the boat. From the bluff he looked down into the little
+bay, where he had anchored the Skylark the night he picked her up. The
+cliff was about thirty feet high, and rose abruptly from the water,
+which was very deep at the foot of it, so that a large ship might have
+floated alongside the rocks. The party seated themselves near the cliff,
+and were observing the rolling sea beneath them, for a south-easterly
+wind was driving the huge waves into the little bay. It was a grand
+sight, and the two young ladies sat on the very edge of the precipice,
+watching the surges which beat and broke against the wall of rocks.</p>
+
+<p>"Don't go too near, Grace," said Mrs. Montague.</p>
+
+<p>"I'm not afraid, mother," replied the young lady.</p>
+
+<p>"These rocks crumble off sometimes, Miss Montague," added Bobtail,
+timidly approaching the spot.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_167" id="Page_167">[Pg 167]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"There isn't any danger," answered the wilful miss.</p>
+
+<p>"Do you know what they call this place?" asked Bobtail.</p>
+
+<p>"I'm sure I don't."</p>
+
+<p>"Lover's Leap," laughed the young skipper. "The story is, that an Indian
+girl came to this island, and jumped off this cliff, because her father
+wouldn't let her marry the man she wanted."</p>
+
+<p>"Where did she come from?" asked Miss Walker.</p>
+
+<p>"I'm sure I don't know."</p>
+
+<p>"Pooh! I don't believe any Indian girl leaped off these rocks. It
+wouldn't hurt her any if she did," sneered Miss Montague.</p>
+
+<p>"But she would drown in the water," suggested Bobtail.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, I don't believe the story, because I think there are a thousand
+just such cliffs, and some Indian girl leaped off every one of them,"
+persisted Grace Montague. "I have seen ever so many 'Lover's Leaps'
+myself, and the stories about them are nothing but stories."</p>
+
+<p>"Perhaps this story is true," said Miss Walker, who was perchance more
+sentimental than her companion.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_168" id="Page_168">[Pg 168]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"I don't believe a word of it. If the Indian girl wanted to drown
+herself, why should she come way out here, when she could find deep
+water enough near the shore?"</p>
+
+<p>"Perhaps it was to get away from her friends," suggested Miss Walker.</p>
+
+<p>"Perhaps it was, but I don't believe it. If I wanted to drown myself, I
+could find a better place than this," said Grace, rising, and standing
+on a loose stone close to the edge of the precipice. "If it were not for
+getting wet, I should just as lief jump off here as not;" and she swung
+her arms just as though she intended to take the leap.</p>
+
+<p>"Grace! Grace!" shrieked her mother, in frantic tones, as she saw her
+daughter demonstrating in this dangerous manner.</p>
+
+<p>The young lady was evidently startled by the shrill tones of her mother.
+She swung her arms back, as if she had lost her balance, and then went
+head first over the cliff. The loose stone on which she stood rolled
+back, and it was plain now that her foothold had been very insecure.</p>
+
+<p>"O, mercy, mercy!" screamed Mrs. Montague, as Grace disappeared over the
+precipice.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;">
+<img src="images/i007.jpg" width="500" height="366" alt="" title="" />
+</div><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_169" id="Page_169">[Pg 169]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>The poor mother rushed towards the cliff, and in her agony would have
+thrown herself off, if the ladies with her had not held her. Little
+Bobtail was appalled as he saw Grace go over; but he believed in action
+rather than words. Kicking off his shoes, and divesting himself of his
+bobtail coat, he made a graceful and scientific dive into the depths
+below. He was celebrated as a diver and swimmer, and really felt almost
+as much at home in the water as on the land. And this was not the first
+time he had dived over this very cliff. He had done so several times
+before for sport and bravado, and therefore we are not disposed to
+magnify his conduct on the present occasion.</p>
+
+<p>Miss Grace Montague had not added to her other accomplishments that of
+swimming, which would have been a very useful attainment to one of such
+strong aquatic tastes and tendencies. She could not swim, and she did
+not attempt to do so. She only floundered and flounced about in the
+water, struggling madly and purposelessly in the waves. Our hero went
+deep down into the depths of the little bay, and when he rose he saw
+Miss Grace borne by the waves towards the wall of rocks. If she was not
+drowned, she<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_170" id="Page_170">[Pg 170]</a></span> would be mangled to death against the rocks. He struck out
+for her, and in a moment she was in his arms, or, rather, in one of his
+arms, for he threw only his left around her, in such a manner as to
+confine her hands in his grasp. With his head above the water, he swam
+towards the open bay, fearing the rocks more than the waves.</p>
+
+<p>With his heavy burden he found it impossible to make any headway against
+the waves, which drove him fiercely towards the rocks. Grace struggled
+violently, and this added to the difficulty of saving her. He buffeted
+the waves till his strength seemed to be all gone, and he feared that he
+should be obliged to abandon the poor girl to her fate. But the screams
+of Mrs. Montague on the rock above induced him to renew the struggle
+with new vigor; but his feet touched the wall of rocks behind him. He
+rose and fell with the waves, but still he held his charge firmly under
+his arm.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_171" id="Page_171">[Pg 171]</a></span></p>
+<h2>CHAPTER X.</h2>
+
+<h3>GRACE MONTAGUE.</h3>
+
+
+<p>Little Bobtail was not making any headway with his burden. The waves
+threw him back until his feet touched the wall of rocks. He had
+struggled and labored, and Miss Grace had struggled and labored, as if
+intent upon defeating his beneficent efforts, until his strength was
+nearly exhausted. But he treated himself as he did a boat in heavy
+weather; he kept his head to the sea, well knowing that if he got into
+the trough, the waves would roll him over, and render him helpless. When
+his feet touched the rock, he "shoved off" vigorously. Fortunately for
+him, the young lady in his grasp was even more exhausted than he was,
+and by this time she was content to keep reasonably quiet. Bobtail only
+endeavored to keep her head out of the water, which he was not always
+able to do when the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_172" id="Page_172">[Pg 172]</a></span> great waves surged in upon him. He no longer
+attempted to make any headway, but by occasionally pushing his feet
+against the rocks he saved himself from being disabled against them.</p>
+
+<p>One of the gentlemen on the island had shouted to the boatmen to pull
+around to the little bay. The sailors, thrilled by the screams of Mrs.
+Montague, were straining every muscle, and their oars bent like reeds
+before their vigorous strokes. The other boat, with Colonel Montague in
+the stern-sheets, was also hastening to the spot, the half frantic
+father urging the men forward with wild gestures. On the rock above, the
+party watched the struggling swimmer as he bravely supported his
+helpless burden.</p>
+
+<p>Two of the ladies held the agonized mother, to prevent her from leaping
+over the cliff. The gentlemen were shouting to the men in the boat to
+hasten their speed, for there was nothing else they could do. Bobtail
+saw the boat, and heard the rapid thumps of the oars in the rowlocks.
+The sight and the sound inspired him with new courage. He had ceased to
+struggle any more than was necessary to keep his distance from the rock.</p>
+
+<p>"Hold on a few seconds more," shouted one of the gentlemen on the rock
+above.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;">
+<img src="images/i008.jpg" width="500" height="367" alt="" title="" />
+</div><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_173" id="Page_173">[Pg 173]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Bobtail tried to speak, but he could not, though he felt that for a
+short time longer he was master of the situation.</p>
+
+<p>"Way enough!" said one of the men in the boat. "Toss him an oar, Bill."</p>
+
+<p>The stroke oarsman threw one of his oars to Bobtail, who grasped it, and
+supported himself with it.</p>
+
+<p>"Back her," said the man in the bow, as he reached forward, and seized
+one of Miss Grace's arms, while the other man kept the boat in position
+with his oars.</p>
+
+<p>The stout sailor lifted the young lady into the boat, and Bobtail laid
+hold of the bow with his released hand. A shout of joy rose from the
+rock when Grace was safely drawn into the boat.</p>
+
+<p>"Back her!" gasped Little Bobtail, still clinging to the bow with one
+hand, while he held the oar with the other.</p>
+
+<p>Grace was exhausted and panting violently, but she was not insensible.
+She was even able to sit up; and when the boat had backed clear of the
+rocks, she was placed on the velvet cushions at the stern. In another
+moment the second boat dashed alongside, and Colonel Montague leaped
+into the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_174" id="Page_174">[Pg 174]</a></span> stern-sheets, and folded his daughter in his arms. He wiped
+the salt water from her face, and did all he could to improve her
+situation.</p>
+
+<p>"Pull for the yacht!" said he, nervously.</p>
+
+<p>All this time Bobtail had been clinging to the bow of the barge,
+recovering his breath. The sailor assisted him into the boat, and he
+dropped down into the fore-sheets, breathing heavily from exhaustion.
+The stroke-oarsman picked up his oar, and the two men pulled with all
+their might for the yacht, while the other boat went around to the
+landing-place on Blank Island to bring off the party there.</p>
+
+<p>"How do you feel, Grace?" asked Colonel Montague, as he laid his
+daughter's head upon his breast.</p>
+
+<p>"Better, father," she replied, faintly. "I'm cold."</p>
+
+<p>"Give way, lively, my lads," added the colonel, to whom minutes seemed
+like hours.</p>
+
+<p>When the barge came alongside the accommodation-steps, Colonel Montague
+bore Grace in his arms to the deck of the Penobscot.</p>
+
+<p>"Let me sit down here in the sun, father," said she.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_175" id="Page_175">[Pg 175]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"But you must remove your wet clothes."</p>
+
+<p>"Not yet. Let me rest a few moments. I shall be all well in a little
+while."</p>
+
+<p>"What's the matter, Edward?" asked the Hon. Mr. Montague, who had
+remained on board of the Penobscot, being too old to scramble about the
+rocks.</p>
+
+<p>"I have been overboard, grandfather," replied Grace, with a faint smile;
+and it was evident that her condition was rapidly improving.</p>
+
+<p>"Overboard, child!" exclaimed the old gentleman. "How did it happen?"</p>
+
+<p>"I don't know. I was not with her," replied the colonel. "But where is
+that boy?"</p>
+
+<p>"That boy" has just come on deck, and had seated himself in the waist.
+He had recovered his wind, and was now nearly as good as new. He felt
+that he had done a big thing, and he wondered that no one said anything
+to him. The boat that brought him to the yacht had gone for the party
+which had been left on the island; and no one but the colonel knew
+anything about the part he had borne in the affair. But he was not long
+neglected, for the instant Colonel Montague thought of him he hastened
+to the waist, and with tears in his<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_176" id="Page_176">[Pg 176]</a></span> eyes, grasped him by the hand.
+Doubtless he betrayed more emotion than the occasion seemed to
+warrant&mdash;emotion which was not all gratitude.</p>
+
+<p>"My lad, you have done me a service which I can never forget," said he,
+wiping the tears from his eyes.</p>
+
+<p>"It's all right, sir. I feel better than if I hadn't done it," replied
+Bobtail.</p>
+
+<p>"But come aft, and see Grace," added the colonel.</p>
+
+<p>"No, sir, I think I won't bother her now. She must feel pretty bad after
+the ducking she got."</p>
+
+<p>Just at this moment the barge from Blank Island dashed up to the steps.
+Mrs. Montague was a demonstrative woman, and she had not even yet ceased
+to scream.</p>
+
+<p>"O, where is she? where is she, Edward?" cried the poor mother, as she
+rose in the stern of the boat.</p>
+
+<p>"Here I am, mother," exclaimed Grace, hastening to the rail on the
+quarter-deck. "I am not drowned or hurt."</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Montague was assisted up the steps, and in another moment she was
+sobbing over her child in<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_177" id="Page_177">[Pg 177]</a></span> her arms. While this scene was transpiring on
+the quarter-deck, the rest of the party went to Little Bobtail, and took
+him by the hand, as they expressed their admiration of his heroic
+conduct.</p>
+
+<p>"That wan't anything," replied Bobtail. "I have dived off that rock
+twenty times before."</p>
+
+<p>"But Grace would have drowned if you hadn't done it."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, I don't know. I suppose, if I hadn't gone for her, some of the
+rest of you would."</p>
+
+<p>"I don't know about that," said one of them, shaking his head. "I might
+have gone into the water, but I couldn't have done much."</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Montague hurried Grace into the cabin as soon as the violence of
+her emotions had in a measure subsided.</p>
+
+<p>"But I haven't seen Captain Bobtail yet," said the daughter.</p>
+
+<p>"You shall see him; but you must take off your wet clothes first,"
+replied her mother.</p>
+
+<p>"Not yet, mother. I must see him this instant. Tell him to come down
+here."</p>
+
+<p>"I'll go for him," said Emily Walker, as she rushed up the
+companion-way.</p>
+
+<p>Perhaps Miss Walker was more sentimental than<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_178" id="Page_178">[Pg 178]</a></span> Miss Montague; at any
+rate, she flew to the spot where Bobtail was seated, threw her arms
+around his neck, and actually kissed him before he had a chance to repel
+the assault, if he desired to do so.</p>
+
+<p>"What a dear, good fellow you are!" exclaimed she. "But you must come
+right down into the cabin this instant. Grace wants to see you."</p>
+
+<p>"I'm all wet, and I guess I won't go down now," replied Bobtail,
+blushing like a red cabbage in the dews of the morning.</p>
+
+<p>"But you must come. Grace is dying to see you;" and Miss Walker took him
+by the arm, and tugged at it till she dragged him to his feet.</p>
+
+<p>"I don't like to go down into the cabin. I haven't got my coat and shoes
+yet."</p>
+
+<p>"Never mind your coat, Mr. Bobtail. Grace won't change her wet clothes
+till she sees you."</p>
+
+<p>Of course Miss Walker carried the day, and Little Bobtail was dragged
+into the cabin. Grace seized him by both hands, and warmly expressed her
+gratitude. Emily wondered that she did not kiss him. If he had saved
+her, she would have kissed him twenty times. Mrs. Montague pressed his
+hand, and thanked him over and over again. Then Colonel Montague took
+his hand again, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_179" id="Page_179">[Pg 179]</a></span> expressed himself even more fully than before. The
+Hon. Mr. Montague followed him, and every lady and gentleman of the
+party took him by the hand, and said something exceedingly handsome; and
+Bobtail began to think they were overdoing it.</p>
+
+<p>"But come, my lad; you are in your wet clothes, while we are talking to
+you," interposed the colonel. "You must have a dry suit."</p>
+
+<p>"Never mind me, sir. I'm used to it," laughed Bobtail.</p>
+
+<p>"You will catch cold."</p>
+
+<p>"Catch a weasel asleep! I don't catch cold."</p>
+
+<p>Colonel Montague insisted, and the sailing-master lent him a shirt and a
+pair of trousers twice too big for him, and Bobtail put himself inside
+of them. His bobtail coat and shoes, which had been brought from the
+island, were dry, and he was in presentable condition. Grace soon
+appeared, her hair nicely dried and dressed anew, wearing a white dress
+and a blue sacque. She looked very pretty; but Bobtail thought that
+Emily Walker was the prettier of the two. By this time dinner was ready,
+and the skipper of the Skylark was invited to dine in the cabin. He did
+not exactly like the idea, for he felt that he was not sufficiently<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_180" id="Page_180">[Pg 180]</a></span>
+posted in the ways of genteel society to sit at the table with such
+grand people.</p>
+
+<p>"I'll take my grub with the hands forward, sir," said he, laughing. "I
+shall feel more at home with them."</p>
+
+<p>"But we shall not feel at home without you, my lad," replied Colonel
+Montague. "Besides, when everybody gets cooled off, we want to talk over
+the affair on the island, for I haven't even heard how Grace happened to
+be in the water."</p>
+
+<p>The owner of the Penobscot would not "let him up," as Bobtail expressed
+it when he told his mother the story, and he was placed at the table
+between Grace and Emily Walker. Chowder was served first. Bobtail kept
+his "weather eye" open to see how the rest of the party did, and
+adjusted his conduct by theirs. He wondered what "those towels were
+stuck into the tumblers for;" but when little Miss Walker unrolled her
+napkin, and placed it in her lap, and the gentlemen of the party did the
+same, he followed their example.</p>
+
+<p>"Now, Grace, tell me how you got overboard," said Colonel Montague, when
+the soup plates were removed.</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Montague shuddered, for the scene was<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_181" id="Page_181">[Pg 181]</a></span> too terrible to be recalled
+with anything but anguish.</p>
+
+<p>"Captain Bobtail had just told Emily and me a story about an Indian girl
+who jumped off that same cliff; but I didn't believe a word of it,"
+Grace began. "I stood up on a stone near the edge, and swung my arms,
+for I was thinking just how the Indian girl looked, if she really did
+jump off that cliff. Just then mother screamed, and frightened me. I
+started back; but the stone I was standing on rolled over, and threw me
+forward, so that I went down into the water head first."</p>
+
+<p>"I thought the child was going to jump overboard," added Mrs. Montague,
+with a strong tremor passing through her frame.</p>
+
+<p>The details of the affair were repeated, and then all eyes were directed
+at Little Bobtail, who was more concerned about the propriety of his
+conduct at the table than about his deeds at Blank Island; but probably,
+if he had fed himself with his knife, his admiring friends would
+cheerfully have forgiven him. He found it more difficult to transfer
+mashed potato from his plate to his mouth with the silver fork than it
+was to dive off that cliff into the sea.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_182" id="Page_182">[Pg 182]</a></span> When the pastry came on, it
+was absolutely appalling to think of eating custard pie with a fork, and
+he would rather have undertaken the feat of swimming around Blank
+Island.</p>
+
+<p>"You know I always shovel in custard pie with my knife," said he,
+afterwards, in telling his mother about it; "but everybody else used a
+fork, and so I had to."</p>
+
+<p>But Bobtail magnified the trials and tribulations of that grand dinner
+in the cabin of the Penobscot, for, by keeping his "weather eye" open,
+he hardly sinned against any of the proprieties of polite society, and
+some of the ladies even remarked how well he behaved for a poor boy. The
+dinner was finished at last, and "it was a tip-top dinner, too," for
+besides chowder and fried fish, there were roast beef and roast chicken,
+boiled salmon, puddings, pies, and ice-cream. Perhaps Bobtail ate too
+much for strict gentility, but he excused himself by declaring that not
+only the stewards, but all the party, "kept making him eat more of the
+fixins."</p>
+
+<p>"When I got through that dinner, mother," said he, "I was just like a
+foot-ball blown up for a game; and if the captain's trousers that I
+wore<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_183" id="Page_183">[Pg 183]</a></span> hadn't been a mile too big for me, I couldn't have put myself
+outside of half that feed."</p>
+
+<p>After the dinner, which Bobtail will remember as long as he lives, the
+party went on deck. Grace was as bright and fresh as ever. She and Emily
+walked up and down the deck. The young skipper went forward to talk with
+the crew, for he did not wish them to think that he was putting on airs
+because he "took his grub in the cabin." The men congratulated him on
+his good fortune, and assured him he had made a rich and powerful
+friend, and that he would get a pile of money by the operation. Bobtail
+thought that a hundred dollars was "a pile of money," and, if any one
+claimed the Skylark, this sum would enable him to purchase a better boat
+than Prince's old tub. But he did not think much about this matter; in
+fact, he was gazing at Miss Grace and Miss Emily, as they walked so
+gracefully on the deck. He was not sentimental, romantic, or very
+visionary; but these two young ladies were so pretty, and so elegant,
+and so finely dressed, that he could not help looking at them; besides,
+they were as sociable now as he could wish. Bobtail joined them in<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_184" id="Page_184">[Pg 184]</a></span>
+their promenade on the deck, and was admitted to the privilege with
+distinguished consideration.</p>
+
+<p>"I should like to have you take a sail with me in the Skylark," said he.</p>
+
+<p>"O, I should like to go ever so much," replied Miss Walker.</p>
+
+<p>"And if you get overboard, I will pull you out."</p>
+
+<p>"I don't mean to get overboard, if I can help it," laughed the little
+miss, though, from her conversation with Grace, one would have thought
+she considered it rather a nice thing, if she could only be rescued by a
+young gentleman.</p>
+
+<p>"You must sail up to Belfast, Captain Bobtail, and come to our house,"
+added Grace. "I have lots of things to show you. We have ever so many
+boats; and you may ride my pony."</p>
+
+<p>"Thank you, Miss Montague. You are very kind; but you know I'm not one
+of the grand folks, and I shouldn't know how to behave myself in your
+fine parlors."</p>
+
+<p>"Pooh! You behave just as well as any of the young men that come to our
+house," said Grace, pouting her lips. "You are just as good as any of
+them, and a great deal better than most of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_185" id="Page_185">[Pg 185]</a></span> them. I hope you will come,
+Captain Bobtail; I shall be so glad to see you!"</p>
+
+<p>The order was given to get up the anchor, and Bobtail sprang to take a
+hand in the operation. In a few moments the Penobscot was standing over
+towards Camden; and the hero of the day began to regret that he must so
+soon lose his pleasant companions. About five o'clock she landed her
+passengers at the Portland Wharf, and Monkey came off from the Skylark
+for Bobtail.</p>
+
+<p>"Little Bobtail, you have rendered me a service to-day which you can
+neither understand nor appreciate, and I shall never forget it," said
+Colonel Montague, as he took the boy's hand. "I shall see you again
+before long. I am going away in the yacht next week for a long cruise;
+but we shall meet again, and I hope in the end that you will not be
+sorry for your noble conduct to-day."</p>
+
+<p>"I'm not sorry for it, sir. I've had a tip-top time to-day, and I'm much
+obliged to you for taking me with you," replied Bobtail, unable to
+comprehend the whole of the grateful father's speech.</p>
+
+<p>"It is fortunate you were with us. We might<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_186" id="Page_186">[Pg 186]</a></span> have been weeping over our
+lost child, instead of rejoicing, as we do now."</p>
+
+<p>"O, some other fellow would have gone in for her if I hadn't."</p>
+
+<p>"Perhaps not; for not many have the nerve to dive off a high cliff into
+the sea, as you did. Be that as it may, my gratitude to you is none the
+less. If you want a friend, if you have any trouble about that boat, or
+anything else, send for me, for I would cross the continent to serve
+you."</p>
+
+<p>"Thank you, sir. I don't know that I am likely to have any trouble about
+the Skylark, for if the owner comes, he can have her."</p>
+
+<p>"And then you will have no boat?"</p>
+
+<p>"No, sir. I shall be out of a boat, sure; and I should like to live in
+one all the time."</p>
+
+<p>"If you lose her before I return, write a letter to me at Belfast, and
+it will be forwarded if I have gone. Now, good by, my lad."</p>
+
+<p>The rest of the family shook hands with him again, and spoke many kind
+words to him. Bobtail leaped lightly into Monkey's boat, and they
+returned to the Skylark. The skipper spoke in glowing terms of the
+experience of the day; but somehow the Darwinian did not seem to relish
+the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_187" id="Page_187">[Pg 187]</a></span> narrative. He was nervous, and did not laugh as usual; but it was
+some time before Bobtail's enthusiasm permitted him to notice the change
+which had come over his companion's spirits. They went on board the
+Skylark.</p>
+
+<p>"Has any one been after the boat, Monkey?" asked the skipper.</p>
+
+<p>"No one after the boat," replied the Darwinian, gloomily; "but somebody
+has been after you."</p>
+
+<p>"After me? Who?"</p>
+
+<p>Monkey was silent, and studied the seams in the deck.</p>
+
+<p>"Who has been after me?"</p>
+
+<p>"Mr. Brooks."</p>
+
+<p>This gentleman was a deputy sheriff; but his name had no terror to
+Robert Taylor.</p>
+
+<p>"Say, Bob, don't you think we had better get under way, and run for it?"
+added Monkey, his face brightening for a moment.</p>
+
+<p>"What for?"</p>
+
+<p>"Mr. Brooks said he had a warrant to take you up, and I s'pose he's on
+the lookout for you now."</p>
+
+<p>"Take me up!" exclaimed Bobtail. "What for?"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_188" id="Page_188">[Pg 188]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Something about a letter&mdash;I don't know what."</p>
+
+<p>"I know," replied Bobtail, musing, for he could not think how, after he
+had been fully exonerated from the charge of taking that letter, he
+should again be accused.</p>
+
+<p>The jib of the Penobscot was hoisted while he was musing, and she stood
+away towards the Spindles off North-east Point.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_189" id="Page_189">[Pg 189]</a></span></p>
+<h2>CHAPTER XI.</h2>
+
+<h3>THE FIVE HUNDRED DOLLAR BILL.</h3>
+
+
+<p>Little Bobtail watched the beautiful yacht as she piled on her "kites"
+and gradually increased her speed in the light breeze. He felt that he
+had a powerful friend on board of her, and he was tempted to call in his
+aid in meeting the difficulties that seemed to be gathering before him.</p>
+
+<p>"Don't you think we'd better run for it, Bob?" asked Monkey. "We can
+keep out of the way of any boat in Camden. We can run over among them
+islands, and spend the summer there without being caught."</p>
+
+<p>"I don't run away from anything of this sort," replied Bobtail, proudly.
+"I'm going to face the music, whatever comes of it."</p>
+
+<p>"But they'll put you in jail," suggested Monkey, opening his eyes as
+wide as they would go.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_190" id="Page_190">[Pg 190]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"I don't care if they do. I haven't done anything wrong, and I'm not
+going to run away. If Mr. Brooks wants me, here I am."</p>
+
+<p>"There he comes; and Captain Chinks is with him. We can hoist the
+mainsail, and be out of the way before they get here, if you say the
+word," added the crew of the Skylark, nervously.</p>
+
+<p>"I don't say the word. I'm all right, and I'm ready to look any of them
+square in the face."</p>
+
+<p>"But what's it all about, Bob?"</p>
+
+<p>"Squire Gilfilian says I stole a letter with money in it, which was sent
+to him."</p>
+
+<p>"You!" exclaimed the Darwinian. "Well, I know better'n that myself."</p>
+
+<p>"So do I," laughed Bobtail, pleased with the enthusiasm of his friend.</p>
+
+<p>"Here they come. Captain Chinks looks as ugly as sin itself. He is at
+the bottom of this business. You stay by, and take care of the boat,
+Monkey, whatever happens to me. If any one attempts to get her away from
+you, send for Squire Simonton."</p>
+
+<p>"I'll stick to her as long as there's a chip left of her, Bob; but I
+don't like to have them take<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_191" id="Page_191">[Pg 191]</a></span> you out of her in this kind of style, and
+send you off to jail."</p>
+
+<p>"You needn't be concerned about me. I have some strong friends, and I'm
+rather sorry I didn't stop the Penobscot, and tell Colonel Montague
+what's up. I would, if I had known exactly what was going to happen."</p>
+
+<p>A boat with Captain Chinks at the oars, and Mr. Brooks in the
+stern-sheets, came alongside the Skylark.</p>
+
+<p>"You are here&mdash;are you?" said Captain Chinks, with an ugly look.</p>
+
+<p>"Of course I'm here," replied Bobtail, quietly. "I ain't nowhere else."</p>
+
+<p>"I want you to go on shore with me," added the deputy sheriff.</p>
+
+<p>"Monkey says you want to take me up."</p>
+
+<p>"I don't want to do so, but I must discharge my duty. I have a warrant
+for your arrest," replied Mr. Brooks.</p>
+
+<p>"What for?"</p>
+
+<p>"For stealing a letter with money in it."</p>
+
+<p>"Captain Chinks here knows that I didn't do it."</p>
+
+<p>"No, I don't."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_192" id="Page_192">[Pg 192]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"You saw the letter in Squire Gilfilian's office after I left."</p>
+
+<p>"That's so; but I can't say that you didn't go back after I went off. I
+didn't believe you took the letter till the squire proved it; and then I
+couldn't help believing it. I don't see how you can help believing it
+yourself."</p>
+
+<p>"I didn't take the letter."</p>
+
+<p>"We will talk this matter over at the squire's office," interposed the
+deputy sheriff. "You had better not say much about it here."</p>
+
+<p>"I'm going to speak the truth right straight through, and I don't care
+who hears me."</p>
+
+<p>"You are not obliged to say anything to commit yourself, Bobtail. I want
+you to understand that," said Mr. Brooks, kindly.</p>
+
+<p>"I shall not say anything to commit myself, you had better believe, for
+I didn't take the letter."</p>
+
+<p>"The less you say about it, the better," added the officer.</p>
+
+<p>"Does my mother know anything about this business?" asked Bobtail.</p>
+
+<p>"I reckon she knows more about it than anybody else except yourself,"
+answered Captain Chinks.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_193" id="Page_193">[Pg 193]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"I have talked with your mother about it," said Mr. Brooks. "She feels
+very bad, of course; and she says she can't explain the matter at all."</p>
+
+<p>"She don't know anything about it," replied Bobtail.</p>
+
+<p>"I will send for her when we get on shore," added the deputy sheriff.</p>
+
+<p>Captain Chinks pulled to one of the wharves up the harbor, where the
+party landed, and then proceeded to the office of Squire Gilfilian. The
+lawyer was there, and so was the ill-visaged man who took care of the
+case of the bank robbers. Mr. Brooks had sent a boy for Mrs. Taylor as
+soon as they landed, and she and her husband arrived at the office
+almost as soon as Bobtail.</p>
+
+<p>"O, Robert," exclaimed the poor woman, her eyes filling with tears, as
+she hugged her boy.</p>
+
+<p>"Don't be scared, mother. I didn't do this thing, and I shall come out
+all right," replied Bobtail. "Don't fret about it."</p>
+
+<p>"I can't help it, Robert. I wish&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Taylor suddenly checked herself. "What do you wish, mother?" asked
+Bobtail, who thought there was something very strange in her conduct.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_194" id="Page_194">[Pg 194]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"I wish they hadn't arrested you," added she; but this was evidently not
+what she had intended to say.</p>
+
+<p>"So do I; but you needn't be frightened. I didn't take the letter, nor
+the money."</p>
+
+<p>"I know you didn't, Robert, but the case looks very bad against us."</p>
+
+<p>"I think so, Mrs. Taylor," said Squire Gilfilian, who had been occupied
+in looking over some papers when the party entered, and was now ready to
+give his attention to the case. "I should like to hear what you have to
+say."</p>
+
+<p>"This is not an examination," said the deputy sheriff to Mrs. Taylor and
+her son. "If you don't wish to answer any questions here, you needn't do
+so. The case will come on to-morrow, before Squire Norwood."</p>
+
+<p>"I am ready to answer any questions that can be asked," said Bobtail,
+stoutly, "whether it is an examination or not."</p>
+
+<p>"Do as you please about it. If you want any help&mdash;any lawyer&mdash;I will
+send for one," added Mr. Brooks.</p>
+
+<p>"I don't want any lawyers. I can tell the truth without any help,"
+answered Bobtail.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_195" id="Page_195">[Pg 195]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Did you come back to the office after you put that letter on my desk?"
+asked the squire.</p>
+
+<p>"No, sir; I did not," replied Bobtail, squarely.</p>
+
+<p>The lawyer took from his pocket-book a five hundred dollar bill, and
+spread it out on the desk at his side.</p>
+
+<p>"Did you ever see that bill before, Robert Taylor?" demanded he,
+sternly.</p>
+
+<p>"No, sir."</p>
+
+<p>"Think before you answer."</p>
+
+<p>"Think! I don't want to think. I never saw a five hundred dollar bill
+before in my life," answered Bobtail, with no little indignation in his
+tones.</p>
+
+<p>"I am sorry to see you persist so stoutly in a lie," said the squire,
+shaking his head, as he glanced at Mrs. Taylor.</p>
+
+<p>"It isn't a lie; it's the truth, and I'll stick to it as long as I have
+breath in my body," replied Bobtail, warmly.</p>
+
+<p>"You are not under oath now, Robert Taylor."</p>
+
+<p>"I'll say just the same under oath, and before all the lawyers and
+judges in the State of Maine."</p>
+
+<p>"Mr. Slipwing, do you know this bill?" added the squire, addressing the
+ill-visaged man.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_196" id="Page_196">[Pg 196]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"I do. I will swear in any court that this is the bill I sent you in the
+letter from Portland," replied the man.</p>
+
+<p>"You are very sure?"</p>
+
+<p>"Positively so. I remember the bank, and there are three things on the
+bill which enable me to identify it. The cashier's pen snapped when he
+wrote his name on the left, and blotted the bill. The corner was torn
+off, and it was mended in another place with a piece of paper from the
+edge of a sheet of six-cent postage stamps."</p>
+
+<p>The ill-visaged man spoke confidently, and whatever his character, his
+testimony was very clear.</p>
+
+<p>"What has all this to do with me?" asked Bobtail, who did not yet
+understand the situation.</p>
+
+<p>The lawyer smiled, and perhaps he thought that the boy was playing his
+part extremely well for a novice.</p>
+
+<p>"My testimony will come in next," added Squire Gilfilian. "This
+afternoon, Mrs. Taylor, who is the mother of this boy, paid me five
+hundred dollars, for I had foreclosed the mortgage on her husband's
+house. Now, Mrs. Taylor, where did you get the bill?"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_197" id="Page_197">[Pg 197]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Robert didn't give it to me," she replied; and she seemed to be very
+much troubled and very much embarrassed; so much so, that her looks and
+actions were the worst possible evidence against her.</p>
+
+<p>"So you say, Mrs. Taylor; but you don't answer my question."</p>
+
+<p>"I can't tell you now where I got it," stammered the poor woman.</p>
+
+<p>Ezekiel Taylor and Little Bobtail were more astonished at this answer
+than any other person in the room. Both of them wondered where she had
+obtained so much money, while the others in the office believed that her
+answer was merely a subterfuge to conceal the guilt of her son. Ezekiel
+could not help thinking, just then, that his wife always had money;
+that, while she had no visible means of obtaining it, she always had
+enough to feed and clothe the family. He had considered this subject,
+and wondered over it before; and the only solution of the mystery he
+could suggest was, that her first husband had left her more money than
+she ever acknowledged he did, and she had concealed it to prevent him
+from spending it. As to her son, he had never thought of the matter at
+all. All that<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_198" id="Page_198">[Pg 198]</a></span> confused and confounded him was, his mother's refusal to
+answer what seemed to him a very simple question.</p>
+
+<p>"Mrs. Taylor, you will be a witness, and the most important one in the
+case, when it comes up before Squire Norwood to-morrow," added the
+lawyer.</p>
+
+<p>"I suppose I shall," replied Mrs. Taylor, with a gasp.</p>
+
+<p>"You will be put under oath, and compelled to testify."</p>
+
+<p>"But you are not under oath now, and you need not say anything, if you
+don't wish to," said Mr. Brooks.</p>
+
+<p>"As the matter looks now, you are a party to the theft, and I can cause
+your arrest," added the squire, vexed at the officiousness of the deputy
+sheriff.</p>
+
+<p>"O, dear me!" groaned Mrs. Taylor.</p>
+
+<p>"Don't be frightened, mother," interposed Bobtail. "You know, and I
+know, that you did not obtain the money from me."</p>
+
+<p>"And the Lord knows I did not, and that I came honestly by it, too,"
+sobbed the poor woman, who had a mortal terror of courts and the law.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_199" id="Page_199">[Pg 199]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"If you came honestly by the money, why don't you tell where you
+obtained it?" added Squire Gilfilian.</p>
+
+<p>"I have my reasons."</p>
+
+<p>"If your son did not give you this bill&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"He did not! I'm sure he never saw it before," protested Mrs. Taylor.</p>
+
+<p>"Whoever gave you this bill must have stolen it," said the squire,
+sternly.</p>
+
+<p>"That don't follow," replied Mr. Brooks. "It may have passed through the
+hands of half a dozen persons after it was taken from the letter."</p>
+
+<p>"Are you the counsel for these parties, Mr. Brooks?" demanded the
+squire, smartly.</p>
+
+<p>"I am not; but the prisoner is in my keeping, and shall have fair play.
+I'll take him away if you are not satisfied, for I brought him here to
+oblige you," answered the deputy sheriff, who was certainly very
+considerate towards his charge.</p>
+
+<p>"All I want is, to get at the truth," added the squire, in a milder
+tone. "If Mrs. Taylor did not receive this bill from her son, and will
+tell us where she got it, we can trace out the thief."</p>
+
+<p>"That's the point," said Captain Chinks. "We want to find the guilty
+party."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_200" id="Page_200">[Pg 200]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Captain Chinks winked rapidly for an instant, as though his brain was
+fearfully exercised to discover the thief. He had one black eye, which
+winked faster than the other&mdash;it was the result of his interview with
+Little Bobtail the day before, for the boy struck hard when he was
+assailed.</p>
+
+<p>"I can't tell you where I got the bill," said Mrs. Taylor; "but I came
+honestly by it."</p>
+
+<p>"It's no use of saying anything more, then," added the lawyer. "Under
+these circumstances, I am compelled to regard you as a party to your
+son's guilt, Mrs. Taylor; and I must cause your arrest."</p>
+
+<p>"Don't do that, Squire Gilfilian," pleaded Bobtail.</p>
+
+<p>"I must do it. It becomes my duty to do it."</p>
+
+<p>"Let him do it," whispered Mr. Brooks.</p>
+
+<p>"I can't help it if you do," sobbed the poor woman. "If I have to go to
+jail, I can't tell."</p>
+
+<p>"Nothing more can be done, and I shall procure a warrant for the arrest
+of Mrs. Taylor," said the lawyer, gathering up the papers on his desk,
+and restoring the five hundred dollar bill to his pocket-book.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_201" id="Page_201">[Pg 201]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Mr. Brooks and Bobtail left the office, followed by Mrs. Taylor and her
+husband.</p>
+
+<p>"I am responsible for you, Bobtail," said the officer.</p>
+
+<p>"I won't run away, sir. You have been very kind to me, Mr. Brooks, and I
+won't go back on you," replied Bobtail.</p>
+
+<p>"But I must not lose sight of you; and I don't want to send you to jail.
+I'll take you to my house."</p>
+
+<p>"Just as you say, sir; but I should like to go home and have a talk with
+mother. I want to see Squire Simonton, too."</p>
+
+<p>"Very well; I will go home with you. I saw Squire Simonton walking
+towards his house just now. There he is, in front of the hotel, talking
+with Mr. Hines."</p>
+
+<p>They walked towards the Bay View House. It was nearly tea time, and the
+guests of the house were seated on the platform, under the shade of the
+trees which surround the hotel. There was an excited group there, for
+the particulars of the cruise of the Penobscot that day had just been
+related by the Walkers and others.</p>
+
+<p>"I want to see you, Squire Simonton," said Bobtail.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_202" id="Page_202">[Pg 202]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"There he is. Three cheers for Little Bobtail!" shouted Mr. Walker, as
+he pointed to the hero of the day.</p>
+
+<p>There were gentlemen enough who had heard the story to give the cheers,
+and the ladies clapped their hands.</p>
+
+<p>"That's for you, Bobtail," said Mr. Hines. "We have heard of your brave
+deeds, and all the people in the hotel are talking about you."</p>
+
+<p>Little Bobtail blushed like a beet, and while Mr. Hines was telling the
+deputy sheriff how the boy had saved Grace Montague from the waves and
+the rocks, the hero related his own troubles to Mr. Simonton. Mr. Walker
+and Emily came out, and insisted that Bobtail should go into the hotel,
+and see the ladies. Ever so many of them shook his brown hand, and he
+blushed and stammered, and thought the scene was ten times as trying as
+that off Blank Island. Then he must take tea with the Walkers. He could
+not be excused.</p>
+
+<p>"I can't, sir," protested Bobtail. "I have been taken up for stealing
+since I came a shore. But I didn't do it."</p>
+
+<p>"For stealing!" exclaimed Emily Walker, with horror.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_203" id="Page_203">[Pg 203]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"I didn't do it."</p>
+
+<p>"I know you didn't, Captain Bobtail," replied Emily.</p>
+
+<p>"This is Mr. Brooks, the deputy sheriff, and he is responsible for me,"
+added Bobtail. "So you see I can't leave him."</p>
+
+<p>"Then Mr. Brooks must come too," said Mr. Walker.</p>
+
+<p>The officer was very obliging, and went too. Bobtail was a first-class
+lion, though under arrest for stealing. The gentlemen patted him on the
+head, and the ladies petted him. A party wanted the Skylark for the next
+day, another for Monday, and a third for Tuesday. The hero could not go
+the next day, for he had to be examined before Squire Norwood for
+stealing the letter. It was dark when he escaped from the hotel, and
+went home attended by Mr. Brooks. Squire Simonton was there waiting to
+see him.</p>
+
+<p>After the scene at the office, Ezekiel and his wife had walked to the
+cottage together. Neither of them was in a pleasant frame of mind. The
+tippler was sober, because he had neither rum nor money. He wanted both,
+for he was thirsting and hankering for a dram.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_204" id="Page_204">[Pg 204]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"So it seems you've got money somewhere," said Ezekiel to his troubled
+wife.</p>
+
+<p>"No, I haven't," replied Mrs. Taylor, who was only thinking how she
+could extricate herself from the difficulties of her situation, and not
+at all troubled about the thoughts or suspicions of her worthless
+husband.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, you have! When I don't have a dollar, you always have somethin',"
+persisted Ezekiel. "You've kept money hid away from me ever since we was
+married. Your first husband left more'n you told on."</p>
+
+<p>"All that my first husband left me was gone years ago," added Mrs.
+Taylor, indifferently.</p>
+
+<p>"You've got money somewhere."</p>
+
+<p>"If I have, I shall keep it."</p>
+
+<p>"You hain't no right to do so."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, I have. If I had any money, I would not let you have it to spend
+for rum. Every dollar you get goes for that, and you would have starved
+to death if I hadn't taken care of you."</p>
+
+<p>"If you've got any money, I wan't some on't; and I'm go'n to have it,
+too."</p>
+
+<p>"I haven't any money; at least not much of any; and what I have I mean
+to keep."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_205" id="Page_205">[Pg 205]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Ezekiel was mad. He was fully convinced that his wife had money
+concealed somewhere, or in the hands of some friend, who gave it to her
+as she wanted it. She always paid the bills of the house very promptly,
+and had enough to buy a dress for herself, or a suit of clothes for
+Robert, and even for him. He felt that he had a right to his wife's
+property, even if he spent it for rum. But Mrs. Taylor was too much for
+him; for whatever secret she had, she kept it. This was not the first
+time that Ezekiel had been vexed by these suspicions, and he had
+searched the house several times, when she was absent, for the hidden
+treasure, but without finding it. The debate on this question was
+continued long after they returned to the cottage, but the husband was
+no wiser at the end of it than at the beginning.</p>
+
+<p>All the points of the case were stated to Squire Simonton, who
+volunteered to act as counsel for Bobtail.</p>
+
+<p>"But where did this bill come from, Mrs. Taylor?" asked the legal
+gentleman.</p>
+
+<p>"I can't tell," replied the troubled woman.</p>
+
+<p>"You can't tell!"</p>
+
+<p>"No, sir; I cannot."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_206" id="Page_206">[Pg 206]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"But your refusal will certainly insure the conviction of your son."</p>
+
+<p>"Robert did not give me that bill," protested she.</p>
+
+<p>"I don't believe he did, nuther," said Ezekiel. "She's got money hid
+away somewhere."</p>
+
+<p>"If it had been hid away long, it could not have been the bill which was
+sent in the letter."</p>
+
+<p>"It wasn't hid away," added Mrs. Taylor. "I might injure somebody by
+telling where I got the bill; and for that reason I can't say a single
+word, even if I go to prison for it."</p>
+
+<p>"But your son will be sent to prison, certainly, if you don't tell,"
+said the lawyer.</p>
+
+<p>"O, dear! What shall I do?"</p>
+
+<p>She positively refused to tell even Squire Simonton, who explained that,
+as counsel, he could not be obliged to reveal the secrets of his
+clients. It was finally arranged that a postponement of the examination
+should be obtained, if possible; and Mr. Walker and half a dozen others
+had promised to give bail for Bobtail.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_207" id="Page_207">[Pg 207]</a></span></p>
+<h2>CHAPTER XII.</h2>
+
+<h3>CAPTAIN CHINKS IS INDIFFERENT.</h3>
+
+
+<p>"I don't know that we can do any better under the circumstances," said
+Squire Simonton, after the arrangement of the legal business had been
+agreed upon. "But we are making a strange case of it."</p>
+
+<p>The squire bestowed one of his pleasant smiles upon the case, for he was
+one of those sweet-tempered men who never frown, even when they are
+vexed. He was perplexed, and very properly claimed the right, as
+counsel, to know all the facts. But it was evident that Mrs. Taylor had,
+or supposed she had, a good reason for concealing the source from which
+came the five hundred dollar bill.</p>
+
+<p>"Squire Gilfilian purposes to make Mrs. Taylor a party to the theft,"
+said Mr. Brooks. "Probably he will get out a warrant for her arrest in
+the morning."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_208" id="Page_208">[Pg 208]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"I never thought it would come to this, that I should be taken up for
+stealing," added the poor woman, bursting into tears.</p>
+
+<p>"You can hardly wonder at being arrested," suggested the squire. "The
+stolen property was in your possession, and you refuse even to explain
+where you got it."</p>
+
+<p>"I could tell a lie about it, but I won't do that," sobbed Mrs. Taylor.
+"If you can only get the case put off for a few days, or a week, I
+hope&mdash;I may be able&mdash;that is, I may be able to explain how I came by
+that bill."</p>
+
+<p>"We must give some reason for desiring a postponement," replied the
+lawyer. "Can you really say, Mrs. Taylor, that you expect to obtain more
+testimony?"</p>
+
+<p>"I hope to obtain it."</p>
+
+<p>"Very well. Then I think we can have the case put off till, say, next
+Tuesday."</p>
+
+<p>"I will try to have matters explained by that time; but I am to be taken
+up and sent to jail."</p>
+
+<p>"O, no," laughed the squire. "You may be arrested; but that will amount
+to nothing. Your husband can give bail for you, for it appears that this
+house belongs to him now, since the mortgage is cancelled."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_209" id="Page_209">[Pg 209]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"I won't go bail for her," said Ezekiel, sourly; and this was the first
+time he appeared to be of the slightest consequence.</p>
+
+<p>"Won't you?"</p>
+
+<p>"No, I won't. She has kept money hid away from me."</p>
+
+<p>"Never mind, mother. We shall get bail enough to keep a coaster afloat,"
+interposed Bobtail. "If we can't do any better, I'll send for Colonel
+Montague. He told me, if I ever wanted a friend, to send for him."</p>
+
+<p>"Certainly he will help you, after what you have done to-day," smiled
+the lawyer.</p>
+
+<p>"But I don't want to have you to go away up to Belfast for him," said
+Mrs. Taylor, who appeared now to be more troubled than ever.</p>
+
+<p>"I don't think we need to do so, mother. Mr. Walker and two or three
+other gentlemen said they would bail me out; and so I don't believe we
+shall sink," laughed Little Bobtail.</p>
+
+<p>"Now, Mr. Brooks, I don't think you need take the boy away from his
+friends. I am sure he won't run away," added the squire.</p>
+
+<p>"I am satisfied. Though this is the oddest case I have had anything to
+do with for a long time. I<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_210" id="Page_210">[Pg 210]</a></span> am inclined to think Bobtail will come out
+right, though for the life of me I can't see how," added the deputy
+sheriff.</p>
+
+<p>"I'll trust Bobtail anywhere. He goes to our Sunday school, and I know
+he is an honest boy, however bad his case may look just now," continued
+Mr. Simonton.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Brooks was entirely willing to trust the lion of the day out of his
+custody; and he left the cottage with the lawyer.</p>
+
+<p>"I s'pose I ain't o' no account here," said Ezekiel, as the door closed
+behind the departing gentlemen.</p>
+
+<p>"What do you mean by that?" asked Mrs. Taylor.</p>
+
+<p>"I wan't to know sunthin' about this business. I s'pose I ain't the head
+of this family."</p>
+
+<p>"I don't think you are," replied the wife. "You haven't done much for it
+the last seven years."</p>
+
+<p>"You bring that boy of yourn up to steal. If he'll take my property,
+he'll take other folks' property."</p>
+
+<p>"It's no use to talk any more about that matter," said Mrs. Taylor,
+impatiently.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_211" id="Page_211">[Pg 211]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"I believe the boy stole the letter and took the money out on't,"
+muttered Ezekiel.</p>
+
+<p>"A little while ago you believed I had money hid away, and took the five
+hundred dollars from that."</p>
+
+<p>"It was one way or t'other, and one ain't no wus 'n t'other. I hain't
+been consulted in this business at all."</p>
+
+<p>"You refused to be bail for me, and that's enough for one day," answered
+Mrs. Taylor.</p>
+
+<p>"I ain't a goin' to resk my property for a woman that keeps money hid
+away from me, and won't tell no thin' about this business."</p>
+
+<p>"Your property would have been all taken away from you long ago if I
+hadn't paid the interest, and paid the mortgage, too."</p>
+
+<p>"But where did you get the money to pay the mortgage with?"</p>
+
+<p>"That will all be explained in due time."</p>
+
+<p>Ezekiel went over the same ground again and again. He was angry, and
+finally left the house. He felt that he was an abused man, because he
+was ignored. He objected to giving bail for his wife simply to increase
+his own importance, and a little importunity would have won his
+consent.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_212" id="Page_212">[Pg 212]</a></span> He was vexed because he had not even been asked a second time
+to yield the point.</p>
+
+<p>"Now, mother, we are alone," said Bobtail. "Can't you tell me where you
+got that bill?"</p>
+
+<p>"I can't tell anybody, Robert," replied his mother. "I am sure that all
+will be explained in time."</p>
+
+<p>"The case looks bad against me, mother."</p>
+
+<p>"I know it does;" and the tears began to flow from her eyes again.</p>
+
+<p>"I don't like to be accused of stealing, and have it proved, as it seems
+to be in this case. I don't blame anybody for thinking I'm guilty, when
+the very bill that was in the letter was handed to the squire by you,
+and you won't tell where you got it. I shall be sent to the state prison
+for two or three years."</p>
+
+<p>"O, Robert, I shall be crazy! Do you think I stole the bill?"</p>
+
+<p>"No, mother; nothing of that kind. I know you wouldn't steal. You know I
+didn't give you that bill, and you are the only one that does know it
+positively. I wonder that Squire Simonton don't give me the cold
+shoulder, though he is my Sunday school teacher. I can't see what
+difference it<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_213" id="Page_213">[Pg 213]</a></span> would make if you should tell where you got the bill."</p>
+
+<p>"I can't say a word about it. I will try to have the whole matter
+explained before Tuesday," said the poor woman, troubled as she had
+never been troubled before.</p>
+
+<p>"I think I shall call on Colonel Montague, if I get a chance. He told me
+I should hear from him again," said Bobtail, as he put on his cap, for
+he intended to sleep on board of the Skylark.</p>
+
+<p>"I wouldn't bother him with the matter, Robert."</p>
+
+<p>"Why not? He told me to send for him if I ever wanted a friend; and I
+want one now, if ever I did."</p>
+
+<p>"It will look as though you wanted to make too much of what you did for
+him to-day."</p>
+
+<p>"I don't think so, mother. He is a great man, and has influence. If I
+can get a chance to run up to Belfast in the Skylark, I will do so."</p>
+
+<p>"Don't tell him that I sent you, Robert," said Mrs. Taylor, actually
+trembling with emotion.</p>
+
+<p>"Of course I won't; but I don't see why you are so particular about not
+calling on him. I know he would be glad to help me."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_214" id="Page_214">[Pg 214]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Taylor made no reply, and her son, bidding her good night, left the
+house. He went on board of the Skylark, and after he had told the
+Darwinian the whole story of his misfortune, he turned in. He did not
+sleep as well as usual. He could not help thinking half the night of his
+troubles. They worried him, and he wondered if people were ever really
+punished for crimes they did not commit.</p>
+
+<p>Ezekiel Taylor left the cottage hardly less disturbed than his wife was.
+He had a strong suspicion that he was not the head of the family; that
+Mrs. Taylor had actually usurped his powers and prerogatives; that she
+dared to think and act for herself and her son without much, if any,
+regard to him. He felt belittled and degraded; not because he was a
+drunkard, and neglected to provide for his family, but because he was
+not in fact, as he was in name, the head of the house. He was thirsty
+and hankering for rum, and this condition made him ugly. He had not a
+cent in his pocket, and his credit at the saloon was not good even for a
+single dram. But he went to the saloon, for it was possible that some
+one might treat him. The first person he saw when he entered was Captain
+Chinks.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_215" id="Page_215">[Pg 215]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Almost everybody seemed to be troubled that night, and Captain Chinks
+was among the number. Things did not work to suit him; and every time he
+viewed himself in the glass he saw that black eye which Bobtail had
+given him, and every time he touched that eye there was a soreness there
+to remind him of that affair in the cabin of the Skylark. He did not
+love Little Bobtail, and the event of the day that had set everybody to
+talking about and praising the boy made him feel ten times worse. It
+would be hard to convict him of stealing the letter while almost
+everybody was making a lion of him.</p>
+
+<p>"Ah, Zeke!" exclaimed Captain Chinks, as the tippler entered the saloon.</p>
+
+<p>"How d'y do, cap'n?" replied the nominal head of the family.</p>
+
+<p>"I'm glad to see you, Zeke. I've been wanting to see you. Won't you take
+something?"</p>
+
+<p>"Thank ye; I don't care if I do take a little o' sunthin'. I don't feel
+jest right to-night," answered Ezekiel, placing his hand upon his
+diaphragm, to intimate that this was the seat of his ailing.</p>
+
+<p>"We will go into this little room, if you like,"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_216" id="Page_216">[Pg 216]</a></span> added Captain Chinks,
+as he led the way into a small apartment, where a party could dine or
+sup in privacy. "Give us a bottle of <i>that</i> brandy," he continued,
+addressing the keeper of the saloon.</p>
+
+<p>Ezekiel smiled, for a private room indicated a free-and-easy time. A
+bottle of brandy promised a succession of drams, enough to warm up that
+disagreeable coldness at the diaphragm, and to lift his brain up to the
+pitch of a tippler's highest enjoyment. Then "<i>that</i> brandy" suggested a
+liquor of choice quality, something which his companion had tested, and
+knew to be good. Ezekiel was happy, and for the moment he forgot that he
+was not the actual head of the family; that his wife had kept money "hid
+away from him;" and that her son had destroyed his property. But he
+wondered what Captain Chinks could want of him, for that worthy did not
+generally treat him with much consideration, whereas now he was polite,
+generous, and ready to invest to the extent of a whole bottle of <i>that</i>
+brandy, which must be very choice, and therefore expensive.</p>
+
+<p>The bottle came, and the door of the little room was closed. Captain
+Chinks seated himself<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_217" id="Page_217">[Pg 217]</a></span> on one side of the table, on which the bottle and
+glasses were placed, and invited Ezekiel to occupy a chair on the other
+side. The captain pushed the brandy and a glass towards his guest, who
+needed no persuasion to induce him to partake of the choice liquor. He
+poured out about half a tumbler of the stuff, but he kept his hand over
+the glass,&mdash;he was a wily toper,&mdash;so that his host should not see how
+much he took. He added a very little water to the fiery fluid, and then
+held the glass in his trembling hand till the captain was ready to join
+him. The man with a doubtful reputation did not cover his glass with his
+hand; if he had thought it necessary, he would have done it in order to
+conceal how small, rather than how large, a dram he took. He only
+covered the bottom of the tumbler, and then deluged the liquor with
+water. Captain Chinks was a cunning man, and he knew that brandy unfits
+a man for business, impairs his judgment, and blunts his perception. He
+took a small dram.</p>
+
+<p>"Here's to you," said Ezekiel.</p>
+
+<p>"Thank you; my respects," added Captain Chinks.</p>
+
+<p>The toper drained his glass. The liquor was<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_218" id="Page_218">[Pg 218]</a></span> strong, and the tears
+drowned his eyes as he swallowed the fiery fluid.</p>
+
+<p>"That's good brandy!" exclaimed he, as soon as he could speak.</p>
+
+<p>"First chop," replied Captain Chinks. "You couldn't buy that brandy in
+Portland for three dollars a bottle. In my opinion that article never
+paid tribute to Uncle Sam."</p>
+
+<p>"'Tain't no wus for that," said Ezekiel, with a cheerful grin.</p>
+
+<p>"That's so."</p>
+
+<p>"'Tain't right to charge no duties on liquors. That's the reason we git
+so much pizen stuff. You can hardly git a drop of good brandy for
+sickness now, without you pay four or five dollars a bottle for it; and
+I can't afford to pay no such prices," added Ezekiel, deeply moved at
+this terrible grievance.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, I reckon there's more of it comes in from the provinces without
+paying any duties than most people think, though I don't <i>know</i> anything
+about it myself."</p>
+
+<p>Even Ezekiel Taylor had his doubts on this point, though he was not
+disposed, under the present agreeable circumstances, to indulge in any
+controversy on the point.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;">
+<img src="images/i009.jpg" width="500" height="368" alt="" title="" />
+</div><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_219" id="Page_219">[Pg 219]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"The more they bring in, the better," said he, encouragingly.</p>
+
+<p>"By the way, Zeke, that boy of yours is in luck to-day," continued
+Captain Chinks, toying with his glass.</p>
+
+<p>"He ain't no boy o' mine," said the toper, with no little indignation in
+his tones. "He's my wife's boy."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, it's all the same. He's a smart boy."</p>
+
+<p>"He's smart enough; but he ain't the right sort of a boy. He's rather
+too smart."</p>
+
+<p>"That was a bad scrape he got into about that letter; but I can't
+believe he opened it, and took the money out," added Captain Chinks,
+still toying with the glass, and apparently without the least interest
+in the conversation in which he was engaged.</p>
+
+<p>"He ain't none too good to do sech a thing," muttered Ezekiel, as he
+recalled the wickedness of the boy in destroying "his property."</p>
+
+<p>"I thought he was a nice boy, went to Sunday school, and belonged to the
+Band of Hope," continued the captain, who, however, judging from his
+manner, did not care whether the boy was a saint or a demon.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_220" id="Page_220">[Pg 220]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"I don't care what he b'longs to, nor how many Sunday schools he goes
+to: he stole sunthin' from me, and I cal'late he'd steal from other
+folks, if he would from me."</p>
+
+<p>"That's good logic, Zeke; but you mustn't be hard on the boy."</p>
+
+<p>"I ain't hard on him."</p>
+
+<p>"I reckon that folks generally think more of him than you seem to. By
+the way, did he say anything to you about that boat he picked up over on
+the other shore?"</p>
+
+<p>"No; he never said nothin' to me about it."</p>
+
+<p>"Didn't he?"</p>
+
+<p>"No; he never says nothin' to me about anything."</p>
+
+<p>"That's a fine boat," added Captain Chinks, who had taken a lead pencil
+from his pocket, and was tapping the glass with it, as if to ascertain
+the quality of the material of which it was composed.</p>
+
+<p>"So I've hearn tell; but I hain't seen her only from the shore."</p>
+
+<p>"It's strange no one comes after her," suggested the captain. "Zeke,
+there's a mystery about that boat."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_221" id="Page_221">[Pg 221]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Sho!"</p>
+
+<p>"Of course I don't know anything about it; but I reckon the owner would
+have been after her, if there hadn't been some reason for keeping in the
+dark."</p>
+
+<p>"You don't say so!"</p>
+
+<p>"Well, you see I only guess at it. I don't know no more about it than
+you do; perhaps not so much."</p>
+
+<p>"I don't know nothin' at all about it," protested Ezekiel.</p>
+
+<p>Captain Chinks tapped the glass, and did not seem to care about anything
+in particular, least of all about that boat, which was the subject of
+the conversation.</p>
+
+<p>"What do you mean by a mystery, cap'n? I hain't hearn nothin' of no
+mystery afore."</p>
+
+<p>"I had some talk with your boy about the boat and her cargo."</p>
+
+<p>"What cargo? I hain't hearn nothin' o' no cargo."</p>
+
+<p>"Won't you take another nip of this brandy, Zeke?" added Captain Chinks,
+pushing the bottle towards him.</p>
+
+<p>"Don't care if I do. That's good brandy."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_222" id="Page_222">[Pg 222]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"But it isn't any better than a lot which was aboard that boat when your
+boy picked her up."</p>
+
+<p>"Sho! You don't say she had brandy in her?"</p>
+
+<p>"No, I don't say so. I say again that I don't know anything at all about
+the matter. I only had my suspicions, you know."</p>
+
+<p>"I understand," replied Ezekiel, as he drank off his dram.</p>
+
+<p>"I don't know, but in my judgment that boat was loaded with brandy, or
+something that don't pay tribute to Uncle Sam."</p>
+
+<p>"You don't say so!"</p>
+
+<p>"No, I don't say so," replied Captain Chinks, sharply, for he was very
+particular not to be regarded as affirming what he only suspected. "I
+only guess so."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, you don't say that you guess so! That's what I meant to say,"
+explained the toper.</p>
+
+<p>"The talk I had with your boy satisfied me I wasn't far from right. Now,
+the brandy's worth more than the boat. I'm always up to a trade, you
+know; and I didn't know but I might make something. I asked your boy if
+he would give up the cargo and keep the boat, in case I could find the
+owner."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_223" id="Page_223">[Pg 223]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Sho! Did you know the owner, cap'n?"</p>
+
+<p>"Of course I didn't. I haven't the least idea who he is. Your boy
+wouldn't give up the cargo and keep the boat."</p>
+
+<p>"That boy's a fool, and allus was."</p>
+
+<p>"I thought, if I could get hold of the cargo, I could make something out
+of it. Perhaps you and I can now;" and the captain looked sharply into
+the toper's face.</p>
+
+<p>"I'm ready," replied Ezekiel, who was now considerably "boozed."</p>
+
+<p>"Bobtail must have landed that cargo somewhere, and concealed it;
+perhaps on some island; may be in your house. I say, Zeke, can you keep
+a quiet tongue in your head?"</p>
+
+<p>"I cal'late I can."</p>
+
+<p>Captain Chinks enlarged on this point, and the toper promised to be as
+silent as the grave.</p>
+
+<p>"Now, I reckon you can find this brandy. I suppose it was brandy, but I
+don't know. If it was, it comes in cases."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, I know," added Ezekiel, eagerly; and he wished he might get hold
+of that brandy; if he did, Captain Chinks would not get the whole of
+it.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_224" id="Page_224">[Pg 224]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"If you keep an eye on the boy, you can easily find it. The boat was
+seen at anchor early in the morning after he picked her up, and I'm
+pretty sure he has hid the goods somewhere about your house. If you find
+them, just let me know, and I'll give you a case of the brandy, and a
+hundred dollars besides. Will you do it, Zeke?"</p>
+
+<p>"If it don't b'long to you, I don't see why I should give it up to you."</p>
+
+<p>This was a brilliant idea on the part of the toper, and Captain Chinks
+could not help acknowledging the force of it.</p>
+
+<p>"You can't do anything with it. The government will take it away from
+you. You see, I mean to make a trade with the owner of the goods. It is
+no more than fair that he should have his own property, if he will pay
+you and me for our trouble. Take something, Zeke."</p>
+
+<p>The toper drank again, and then Captain Chinks made him a present of
+what was left in the bottle. Ezekiel agreed to do all that was required
+of him, and his companion cautioned him not to say a word to Bobtail
+about it, but only to watch him. They separated, and the inebriate
+staggered to his home.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_225" id="Page_225">[Pg 225]</a></span></p>
+<h2>CHAPTER XIII.</h2>
+
+<h3>THE EXAMINATION.</h3>
+
+
+<p>Mrs. Taylor did not sleep any better than her son. Her troubles kept her
+awake, and not her worthless husband, who was so tipsy when he returned
+from the saloon, that he dropped asleep as soon as he lay down. The poor
+woman had done nothing to improve the situation, for she could not leave
+the town until after the examination. At nine o'clock Mr. Brooks came to
+the cottage with a warrant for her arrest, but he considerately begged
+her not to disturb herself about the matter. All he required of her was
+to appear at the office of Squire Norwood at ten o'clock, and no one
+need ever know she was in custody before that hour.</p>
+
+<p>Little Bobtail came on shore before the officer left the house, and
+reported himself ready, in his own words, to "face the music." At the
+appointed<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_226" id="Page_226">[Pg 226]</a></span> hour there was a considerable collection of people in the
+office of Squire Norwood. Mr. Walker, who was quite a distinguished man,
+the mayor of Bangor, Judge Hamblin, and several other notable gentlemen
+of the state were present, all of them interested in the fate of the
+brave youth who had behaved so well off Blank Island. They were members
+of the Penobscot's party, and each of them was willing to do all that
+Colonel Montague would do if present.</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Taylor and her son appeared, and they were warmly greeted by the
+interested spectators. The business proceeded in due form, and Mr.
+Simonton astonished Squire Gilfilian by asking for a postponement until
+the next Tuesday. The reasons for this request were considered, and they
+were deemed sufficient; but Squire Gilfilian stoutly objected, because a
+certain witness would be obliged to remain in Camden three days. Judge
+Hamblin consulted with Squire Simonton, and it was agreed to proceed
+with the examination. Mrs. Taylor trembled and wept when this decision
+was reached, and a smile of triumph played upon the lips of Squire
+Gilfilian. Captain Chinks tried to be indifferent, but he was evidently<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_227" id="Page_227">[Pg 227]</a></span>
+pleased with the result. The case was commenced, and Squire Gilfilian,
+Captain Chinks, and the ill-visaged man gave their evidence as they had
+stated it in the office of the lawyer. It appeared that Robert Taylor
+had left the letter on the squire's desk. The five hundred dollar bill
+was produced and identified by Mr. Slipwing, and it was shown that this
+bill had been paid to the squire by Mrs. Taylor. No evidence was
+introduced to show that the boy had returned to the office after Captain
+Chinks left, but it seemed impossible to escape the conclusion that he
+had done so. Mrs. Taylor now appeared as a defendant, and could not be
+compelled to testify. At this point in the proceedings, Squire Simonton
+renewed his request that the further examination of the defendants be
+postponed till the next Tuesday, when he hoped to bring forward an
+important witness in the case. Captain Chinks, in spite of his assumed
+indifference, was uneasy at this statement. The request was granted; Mr.
+Walker and the mayor of Bangor offered themselves as bail for the
+defendants, and they were released from custody.</p>
+
+<p>The case certainly looked very black for Mrs.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_228" id="Page_228">[Pg 228]</a></span> Taylor and her son. The
+kind friends who appeared to assist them were staggered at the evidence,
+and feared it would be impossible to save him from conviction. They
+could only hope for the best, and hope against what appeared to be an
+absolute certainty. Judge Hamblin was confounded, but he was so averse
+to believing the brave boy was guilty, that he suspected there was a
+conspiracy. After the postponement of the examination, he asked Squire
+Gilfilian to let him see the five hundred dollar bill.</p>
+
+<p>"Mrs. Taylor, have you looked at this bill?" he asked, as he showed it
+to the troubled woman.</p>
+
+<p>"No, sir; I have not," she replied.</p>
+
+<p>"Won't you look at it? Do you remember the bill you paid Mr. Gilfilian?"</p>
+
+<p>"I didn't look at it much."</p>
+
+<p>"How long did you have the bill in your possession?"</p>
+
+<p>"Not long, sir."</p>
+
+<p>"Did you examine it?"</p>
+
+<p>"Not much; I looked it over a little."</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Taylor turned over the note in her hands, and examined it very
+carefully.</p>
+
+<p>"Does that one look like it?" asked the judge, anxiously.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;">
+<img src="images/i010.jpg" width="500" height="369" alt="" title="" />
+</div><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_229" id="Page_229">[Pg 229]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"You don't suppose we have changed the bill&mdash;do you?" demanded Squire
+Gilfilian, rather indignantly.</p>
+
+<p>"Certainly not, Mr. Gilfilian," replied the judge. "At least I don't
+suppose you have any knowledge of such a trick. But there may be some
+mistake. The witness who identifies this bill is taking charge of the
+defence of the Buckingham Bank robbers. Perhaps he is one of them
+himself, and it is even possible that he sent you no money in the
+letter."</p>
+
+<p>"I have no desire to convict the boy, if he is not guilty," added Mr.
+Gilfilian.</p>
+
+<p>"Certainly not; I do not suppose the contrary, but I would like to hear
+what the boy's mother says about this bill. Now, Mrs. Taylor," continued
+the judge, turning to the troubled woman, "does that bill look like the
+one you paid Mr. Gilfilian?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, sir; very much like it," answered she, sadly.</p>
+
+<p>"Do you think it is the one?"</p>
+
+<p>"I think it is, sir."</p>
+
+<p>"Look at it very carefully, if you please."</p>
+
+<p>"I have looked at it; and I'm sure this is the one," said Mrs. Taylor.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_230" id="Page_230">[Pg 230]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Squire Gilfilian looked triumphantly at the judge, who was more amazed
+than ever. He knew the workings of crime well enough to see the bearing
+of poor Mrs. Taylor's present conduct. If guilty she would not have
+acknowledged the identity of the bill. She would have encouraged the
+lawyers to save herself and her son, by following out the suggestion
+that the letter had contained no bill.</p>
+
+<p>"Then where did you get this bill, Mrs. Taylor?" asked the judge.</p>
+
+<p>"I can't tell at present, sir," replied the poor mother, as she glanced
+at her son.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Simonton explained that, for some reason inexplicable to him, the
+woman positively refused to explain where the bill came from. The judge
+was still more confounded; though, after the straightforward and
+damaging answers she had given in regard to the identity of the bill, he
+could not believe she was guilty, even while it was impossible to see
+how she could be innocent. The parties left the office, and everybody
+talked about the examination for the rest of the day.</p>
+
+<p>Ezekiel Taylor did not attend the examination, for he was engaged in an
+examination on his<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_231" id="Page_231">[Pg 231]</a></span> own account. He improved the opportunity while
+Bobtail and his mother were absent in searching for the contraband
+merchandise. He had already consumed the bottle of brandy given him by
+Captain Chinks, and was anxious to find the goods, in order to obtain
+another. He ransacked the house from cellar to garret, without finding
+anything which looked like a case of brandy. He was bitterly
+disappointed, but he continued his search in the vicinity of the house,
+and along the shore. He spent the whole day in this fruitless
+occupation.</p>
+
+<p>Judge Hamblin walked to the Bay View House, after the close of the
+proceedings, and Little Bobtail went with him. The bewildered legal
+gentleman questioned the boy closely, but his replies were always square
+and prompt. He knew nothing whatever about the letter after he left it
+on the desk in the office.</p>
+
+<p>"Are you going to see Colonel Montague?" whispered Mrs. Taylor, who had
+followed her son to the hotel.</p>
+
+<p>"I should like to tell him about the case, but I don't see that he can
+do anything for us. These folks have done everything," replied Bobtail,
+gloomily.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_232" id="Page_232">[Pg 232]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"You said you were going, but I don't ask you to go."</p>
+
+<p>"Two gentlemen here want the boat. They said they wished for a sail, and
+didn't care about fishing. If they had just as lief go to Belfast as
+anywhere else, I'll run up there. It's a tip-top breeze to go and come."</p>
+
+<p>"Do as you think best, but don't tell him I sent you," added Mrs.
+Taylor, as she walked towards home.</p>
+
+<p>Bobtail thought she was over sensitive about calling upon her old
+employer, but was willing to humor her, and promised to tell Colonel
+Montague, if he saw him, that his mother had not sent him.</p>
+
+<p>"Now, where's Captain Bobtail?" shouted a gentleman, coming out of the
+hotel.</p>
+
+<p>"Here I am, sir."</p>
+
+<p>"You were to take us out to sail if you got out of that scrape, my boy."</p>
+
+<p>"I'm not out of it, sir; but I can take you out to sail," replied the
+skipper of the Skylark.</p>
+
+<p>"We are all ready, and Mr. Philbrook has put up a basket of stores for
+us; for we were going to take another boat if you couldn't go."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_233" id="Page_233">[Pg 233]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"The boat is all ready, sir. Where do you wish to go?"</p>
+
+<p>"Don't care a fig where we go. All we want is a good sail."</p>
+
+<p>"How long do you want to be out, sir?"</p>
+
+<p>"O, till night."</p>
+
+<p>"What do you say to a run up to Belfast?"</p>
+
+<p>"Capital! But can you go as far as that in one day, or what is left of
+the day?"</p>
+
+<p>"I can run up there with this wind, and the tide in our favor, in about
+three hours. It is blowing pretty fresh."</p>
+
+<p>"I see it is."</p>
+
+<p>"And the wind is west. The tide will turn about the time we get there,
+and the wind is fair both ways, or nearly all the way. If the wind
+holds, I can get you back before nine o'clock, and give you an hour or
+two in Belfast."</p>
+
+<p>"All right, my lad. We don't care whether we get back by nine o'clock or
+not,&mdash;just as lief make a night of it as not," added the gentleman, who
+spoke for both.</p>
+
+<p>"You can sleep tip-top in the cabin; but I will get you back by nine, if
+the wind don't die out. I can't warrant you against that."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_234" id="Page_234">[Pg 234]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Belfast it is, my lad. Now, how much do you ask a day for your boat?"</p>
+
+<p>"Seven dollars, sir, for the boat and crew; eight if we cook for you,"
+replied Bobtail, who had decided to advance the price, as he stated, in
+order to pay for the few groceries and other stores.</p>
+
+<p>"Cook?" queried the gentleman.</p>
+
+<p>"If you take a fish dinner and supper on board, I charge a dollar more.
+I can give you tea and coffee, fried fish, and fried potatoes. If you
+want meats, I must charge for them, too."</p>
+
+<p>"Good, Captain Bobtail. We will have fish for dinner and supper, and pay
+you eight dollars," laughed the gentleman, amused at the business-like
+talk of the boy.</p>
+
+<p>"But can we stop to catch fish?" asked his companion.</p>
+
+<p>"We have time enough," answered the skipper.</p>
+
+<p>"Then catch the fish by all means, for they are twice as good just out
+of the water."</p>
+
+<p>Little Bobtail procured a small can of milk, and a bucket of fresh clams
+for bait. The yacht was amply supplied with water and stores, and the
+party hastened to the steps at the Portland<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_235" id="Page_235">[Pg 235]</a></span> steamer wharf. A boy in a
+boat pulled them off to the Skylark.</p>
+
+<p>"Loose the mainsail, Monkey," shouted Bobtail, as the boat approached
+the yacht.</p>
+
+<p>"Ay, ay," replied the Darwinian, with enthusiasm; for he was glad to
+vary the monotony of his situation as boat-keeper.</p>
+
+<p>"Your crew is well named, Captain Bobtail," laughed one of the
+gentlemen.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, sir. Monkey is a queer-looking fellow, but he is just as good as
+they make them," replied Bobtail, as he leaped upon the deck of the
+Skylark.</p>
+
+<p>The gentlemen were delighted with the yacht, and explored her above and
+below, while the skipper and his crew were hoisting the mainsail and
+weighing the anchor. In a few moments Bobtail took his place at the
+helm; the fresh breeze struck the mainsail as the skipper hauled in the
+sheet, and the Skylark heeled over, gathered headway, and went off like
+an arrow shot from a bow.</p>
+
+<p>"See here, Captain Bobtail; you won't upset us&mdash;will you?" said one of
+his passengers as the yacht heeled down, when she caught the breeze.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_236" id="Page_236">[Pg 236]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"O, no, sir. I mean to keep her right side up," replied the skipper.</p>
+
+<p>"I have no doubt you mean to do so; but can you do it?"</p>
+
+<p>"To be sure I can."</p>
+
+<p>"She tipped pretty badly then."</p>
+
+<p>"That was nothing. She will go over ever so much farther than that
+without putting her scuppers under. She had not got her bearings then.
+Now hoist the jib, Monkey," shouted Bobtail.</p>
+
+<p>"Hold on, Captain Bobtail!" said one of the gentlemen. "Don't you think
+you have sail enough on? It blows fresher than I thought it did."</p>
+
+<p>"It's just a whole sail breeze. She will carry her jib without winking,
+and go along as steady as a lady on the sidewalk," laughed Bobtail, who
+concluded that his passengers were not accustomed to boats, especially
+when the wind blew.</p>
+
+<p>"We are going ten miles an hour now," suggested the second gentleman.</p>
+
+<p>"Not seven, sir. We will try the jib; and if you don't like it, we can
+take it in again."</p>
+
+<p>Monkey had hoisted the jib, and it was flap<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_237" id="Page_237">[Pg 237]</a></span>ping and pounding
+furiously,&mdash;making a noise which was rather trying to the nerves of the
+gentlemen. The skipper seized the lee sheet, and luffing up the boat,
+flattened down the sail to its proper place, for he was obliged to run a
+short distance to the northward in order to clear some vessels at
+anchor. Having passed these, the sheets were started, and the Skylark
+went off before the wind. The sea was not heavy so far in shore, but it
+was exciting sailing, and the passengers kept silence, watching the
+swift motion of the yacht. In a short time they were accustomed to the
+situation, and began to talk, though in rather subdued tones at first.
+They seemed to regard the skipper with a feeling of awe, and realized
+that their lives were in his keeping. They knew little or nothing about
+a boat, and did not feel quite at home with such lively sailing. The
+confident manner of the young skipper, his perfect command of the
+situation, his pleasant speech and laugh, reassured them. When the yacht
+had passed North-east Point the course was changed to the north-east,
+and the sheets hauled in, so that the Skylark had the wind a little
+abaft the beam. This was her best point<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_238" id="Page_238">[Pg 238]</a></span> in sailing, and she soon
+exhibited her best speed. She heeled over so that her scuppers often
+went under. Bobtail kept her just far enough from the land to get the
+full force of the wind, but not far enough to be shaken up by the waves,
+which beat heavily on La Salle Island, east of them.</p>
+
+<p>"This is lively&mdash;isn't it, Howe?" said one of the gentlemen.</p>
+
+<p>"It is the smartest sailing I ever saw," replied Mr. Howe. "You seem to
+know what you are about, Captain Bobtail."</p>
+
+<p>"I think I do, sir," answered the skipper. "I have been in a boat ever
+since I was born, and I can't remember the time when I couldn't sail
+one."</p>
+
+<p>"I would give a hundred dollar bill if I could sail a boat as well as
+you can," said Mr. Jones.</p>
+
+<p>"So would I," added Mr. Howe.</p>
+
+<p>"I will tell you all I know about it for nothing," laughed the skipper.
+"I don't pretend to know much, but somehow I always get along. Won't you
+take the helm, sir, and try your hand at it?"</p>
+
+<p>"No, not now; I should rather begin when it is not quite so lively,"
+replied Mr. Jones.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_239" id="Page_239">[Pg 239]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"It is easy enough. She will almost steer herself. All you have to do is
+to run for that point of land, about eight miles ahead."</p>
+
+<p>"Eight miles&mdash;is it?" asked Mr. Howe, consulting his watch.</p>
+
+<p>"About eight from here. It is just ten from the point astern of us."</p>
+
+<p>"It is exactly twelve o'clock now. Let us see how long it takes us to go
+eight miles."</p>
+
+<p>"I can tell you now, sir," laughed Bobtail. "It will take us just
+forty-eight minutes."</p>
+
+<p>"Good, my lad! I will time you. If it takes forty-nine, you are no
+prophet."</p>
+
+<p>"I don't expect to tell within a minute; but I guess I'll steer myself,
+if you are going to whittle me down as close as that."</p>
+
+<p>Bobtail began to be very exact in his steering and sailing. He started
+the sheets a couple of inches, and watched the point ahead very closely.
+Ten miles an hour was fast sailing for a boat of the size of the
+Skylark; but he knew she would do it if she was well handled. The two
+gentlemen kept looking at their watches, and as the distance diminished
+they declared she would make the point in half an hour; but distances<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_240" id="Page_240">[Pg 240]</a></span>
+are very delusive on the water, and when half an hour had elapsed, they
+thought that five minutes more would bring the boat up with the
+headland. Bobtail watched his sails, and "steered small." In forty
+minutes he found that he should make the point a little too soon, and he
+let out the jib-sheet a little, so that the sail did not draw full.</p>
+
+<p>"Forty-five minutes!" exclaimed Mr. Jones, "and we are off the point."</p>
+
+<p>"But we are not up with it, sir," replied Bobtail, hauling in the
+jib-sheet again.</p>
+
+<p>"You are cutting it fine, Captain Bobtail," added Mr. Howe.</p>
+
+<p>"Of course I meant abreast of the point, and when it lies just abeam, we
+shall be up with it. Here we are, sir!"</p>
+
+<p>"Forty-eight minutes to a second!" ejaculated Mr. Jones, as he showed
+his watch to the skipper.</p>
+
+<p>"Lower the jib, Monkey!" shouted Bobtail.</p>
+
+<p>"I did not think you could hit it so closely as that," said Mr. Howe.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, sir, I couldn't if you hadn't told me the time every few
+minutes," laughed Bobtail. "I bamboozled you."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_241" id="Page_241">[Pg 241]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"How?"</p>
+
+<p>"I should have made the point in three quarters of an hour if I hadn't
+let out the jib-sheet. I lost the three minutes on purpose."</p>
+
+<p>"But why do you lower the jib here?" asked Mr. Jones.</p>
+
+<p>"We will try the fish here. Ready with the anchor, Monkey!"</p>
+
+<p>"All ready," replied the Darwinian.</p>
+
+<p>Bobtail threw the yacht up into the wind, and as soon as she had lost
+her headway, he gave the order to let go the anchor. Monkey had got out
+the fishing gear and opened the clams on the passage up, so that the
+passengers threw over their lines immediately. They did not have a bite
+for some time, and Monkey threw over a line. It had hardly run out
+before he had a fish, and pulled in a good-sized cod.</p>
+
+<p>"How's that?" said Mr. Howe. "I haven't had a nibble yet."</p>
+
+<p>"Perhaps you don't fish right, sir," suggested Monkey, with one of his
+apish grins, as he took the gentleman's line, and found that the sinker
+was not within twenty feet of the bottom. "That's what's the matter,
+sir. Drop the line<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_242" id="Page_242">[Pg 242]</a></span> down till the sinker touches bottom; then pull up
+about a fathom."</p>
+
+<p>The two passengers, following these instructions, began to pull in cod
+and haddock very rapidly, and Monkey had all he could do to bait their
+hooks, and take off their fish.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_243" id="Page_243">[Pg 243]</a></span></p>
+<h2>CHAPTER XIV.</h2>
+
+<h3>THE DISCHARGE.</h3>
+
+
+<p>"Look here, Howe!" exclaimed Mr. Jones, tugging with all his might at
+his line; "I'm pulling up the bottom of Penobscot Bay, as true as you
+live!"</p>
+
+<p>"Don't do that, sir," shouted Bobtail, merrily. "We shall get aground if
+you do."</p>
+
+<p>"What is it?" asked Mr. Howe.</p>
+
+<p>"I don't know," replied Mr. Jones, still hauling away at his line, to
+which some immense dead weight seemed to be attached. "It must be a
+whale."</p>
+
+<p>"No, sir; pull away," said Monkey, laughing; "you have got hold of your
+grandmother."</p>
+
+<p>"My grandmother!"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, sir; pull away, and you will see her in a minute."</p>
+
+<p>After much tugging, for the fish was not at all<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_244" id="Page_244">[Pg 244]</a></span> "gamey," he hauled up
+the strangest looking fish he had ever seen, though Bobtail and Monkey
+were entirely familiar with the specimen. The hook, drawing upon his
+mouth, so distended it, that its appearance was not unlike the face of
+an old woman with a cap on. The fish was a large scate, not less than
+three feet across the back. The gentlemen had never seen one before, and
+he was hauled upon the deck to enable them to examine him.</p>
+
+<p>Half an hour's fishing satisfied the passengers, as there was a tub full
+of cod and haddock to show for their success. After the gentlemen had
+fully satisfied their curiosity, the scate was thrown overboard. The
+anchor was weighed, the jib hoisted, and the Skylark continued on her
+voyage to Belfast. Monkey dressed a couple of the nicest cod, and then
+washed down the deck. The Darwinian was then required to take the helm,
+and Bobtail, sacrificing his dignity as the skipper of the craft, went
+below and assumed the duties of cook and steward. He pared and sliced a
+large quantity of potatoes, for Mr. Jones had declared that he was
+already as hungry as a bear. These he fried, and put them in the oven to
+keep them hot. The<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_245" id="Page_245">[Pg 245]</a></span> fish was cooked, and coffee made. The table had been
+set at odd moments, and in less than an hour dinner was ready. Bobtail
+was invited to dine with the passengers, and he was warmly commended for
+his culinary skill.</p>
+
+<p>"That's the best dinner I've eaten in the State of Maine," said Mr.
+Jones, with enthusiasm.</p>
+
+<p>"We can get up a pretty good dinner on board of the Skylark," added the
+proud skipper. "The cook isn't much on puddings and pies, but on the
+heavy grub he can do as well as the next man."</p>
+
+<p>"I've drank worse coffee than yours at a first-class hotel in New York,"
+said Mr. Howe.</p>
+
+<p>"I can give you a chowder for supper, if you like," added the cook.</p>
+
+<p>"I like the fried fish best."</p>
+
+<p>"Perhaps we can give you something different."</p>
+
+<p>The skipper and the passengers went on deck. Bobtail relieved the crew
+at the helm, and sent him below to eat his dinner, and clear away the
+dishes. The gentlemen lighted their cigars, and declared that they felt
+perfectly happy. The Skylark was now going up Belfast Bay, close-hauled,
+but still laying her course.</p>
+
+<p>"Now, how long have we been?" asked Mr. Jones, taking out his watch.
+"Just three hours."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_246" id="Page_246">[Pg 246]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"But we spent half an hour of it in fishing," suggested the skipper.</p>
+
+<p>"Exactly so, and we have made the run in two hours and a half."</p>
+
+<p>Monkey was called on deck, the jib taken in, and the Skylark ran
+alongside a wharf, where she was secured. It was agreed to sail for
+Camden on the return at six o'clock, and the passengers left the yacht
+to explore the town. The skipper washed and "slicked up" as well as he
+could. Putting on his bobtail coat, he went ashore, to call upon Colonel
+Montague. After some inquiry he found the house; and it was easily
+identified, for it was the finest one in the city. The visitor found the
+owner of the Penobscot smoking his cigar under the shade of a tree,
+where rustic chairs had been placed. He was alone, and gave the young
+skipper a hearty greeting.</p>
+
+<p>"I'm glad to see you, Captain Bobtail," said he, warmly, shaking the
+hand of the boy. "I did not expect a visit from you quite so soon, but
+I'm none the less glad to see you."</p>
+
+<p>"I brought a couple of gentlemen up in the Skylark, and thought I would
+call upon you while they were looking over the place."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_247" id="Page_247">[Pg 247]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"I'm glad you did. Grace and Mrs. Montague will be very glad to see you.
+I will call them."</p>
+
+<p>"Not yet, if you please, sir. I want to tell you what a scrape I got
+into first; and then I don't know that you will want them to see me,"
+replied Bobtail, blushing.</p>
+
+<p>"A scrape?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, sir."</p>
+
+<p>"I hope you haven't been doing anything wrong."</p>
+
+<p>"They say I have, but I have not. I am as innocent as you are, sir. I
+thought I would come up and tell you about it, as I was here. Mother did
+not send me."</p>
+
+<p>"She did not?"</p>
+
+<p>"No, sir; she was rather opposed to my saying anything to you about the
+scrape."</p>
+
+<p>"Sit down, Captain Bobtail, and tell me all about it," said the colonel,
+in kindly tones, though there was an anxious expression on his face.</p>
+
+<p>Little Bobtail told the whole story about the letter and the five
+hundred dollar bill.</p>
+
+<p>"And your mother paid this same bill to Mr. Gilfilian?" asked Colonel
+Montague, very much troubled.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_248" id="Page_248">[Pg 248]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Yes, sir. The squire wanted to know where she got the bill, and she
+won't tell," added Bobtail.</p>
+
+<p>"She won't tell!" echoed the colonel; and there was an expression of
+relief in his face.</p>
+
+<p>"She won't give even the slightest hint; and because she wouldn't
+explain it, Squire Gilfilian caused her to be arrested. They said that
+both of us will be sent to the state prison for stealing this money."</p>
+
+<p>"That's bad."</p>
+
+<p>"I know it is, sir; but I didn't take the letter; and I know mother came
+honestly by the money."</p>
+
+<p>"I know she did, too," added the colonel. "When does this examination
+take place?"</p>
+
+<p>"It was postponed till next Tuesday, at ten o'clock."</p>
+
+<p>"Very well, Captain Bobtail. I know where your mother obtained the
+money."</p>
+
+<p>"You, sir!" exclaimed Bobtail.</p>
+
+<p>"I do; and I will be in Camden next Tuesday to tell all I know about
+it."</p>
+
+<p>"Thank you, sir; you are very kind."</p>
+
+<p>"Of course I shall not let your mother be convicted of stealing. I know
+nothing about the letter; and therefore I can do nothing for you,
+Captain Bobtail."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_249" id="Page_249">[Pg 249]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"If you clear my mother you will clear me. If we can only tell where the
+money came from, we shall be all right."</p>
+
+<p>"Don't give yourself any uneasiness at all about it. I will certainly be
+present at the examination."</p>
+
+<p>"But are you sure you know where my mother got the bill, sir?" asked
+Bobtail.</p>
+
+<p>"Certainly, I do; and she came honestly by it. But as this is her
+affair, I don't feel at liberty to say anything about it yet."</p>
+
+<p>Little Bobtail was confounded by this sudden solution of the mystery. If
+Colonel Montague knew where his mother had obtained the bill, it was
+plain enough to him that he had given it to her himself. He could not,
+for the life of him, see why this gentleman, wealthy and liberal though
+he was, should give her such an immense sum of money. It was a very
+perplexing problem, and he could not solve it. His kind friend conducted
+him to the house. Grace was so glad to see him, that she actually kissed
+him this time; and Bobtail felt as though he had tumbled into a
+cream-pot. Mrs. Montague was very demonstrative, and the Hon. Mr.
+Montague was more dignified, but hardly less cordial.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_250" id="Page_250">[Pg 250]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Now you must stay with us all night, and all to-morrow, and all next
+week," said Grace.</p>
+
+<p>"I can't," laughed Bobtail. "I brought two gentlemen up in the Skylark,
+and I must sail them back to-night."</p>
+
+<p>"Plague take the two gentlemen!" said Grace, pettishly. "Let them go
+back in the stage or the steamer."</p>
+
+<p>"I promised to take them back to-night; and I must keep my promise, you
+know, if the sky falls," pleaded the young skipper.</p>
+
+<p>"Of course he must, Grace," added her father. "But he will come up some
+other time, and stay a month."</p>
+
+<p>Little Bobtail spent an hour in the elegant mansion, whose luxuriously
+furnished apartments filled him with wonder and astonishment, for he had
+never seen anything half so fine. He promised faithfully to come some
+other time, and stay longer. Grace walked with him down to the wharf.
+The Skylark's passengers were on board, and ready to start, and in a few
+moments the yacht was under way. Grace waved her handkerchief to the
+gallant skipper, as the Skylark pulled away.</p>
+
+<p>"Who is that young lady?" asked Mr. Jones, as Bobtail returned the
+salute.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_251" id="Page_251">[Pg 251]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"That's the one that fell off the rocks at Blank Island," replied the
+skipper.</p>
+
+<p>"And the one you saved! Why didn't you say so before, so that we could
+have a good look at her?"</p>
+
+<p>"I didn't think of it."</p>
+
+<p>"She is a rich man's daughter."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, sir; her father is as rich as mud."</p>
+
+<p>"And one of these days, Captain Bobtail, you will marry her, just as it
+is laid down in the novels," laughed Mr. Howe.</p>
+
+<p>"I guess not;" and Bobtail blushed at the presumptuous idea. "She will
+not marry any poor fellow like me, you'd better believe. She will fish
+for bigger game than I am."</p>
+
+<p>"She seems to like you very well."</p>
+
+<p>"O, well, that's nothing; she's only a girl, and I'm only a boy," added
+the skipper.</p>
+
+<p>Much to his relief, the topic was changed. The return trip was quite as
+pleasant as the other had been, and at nine o'clock the Skylark landed
+her passengers at the steamboat wharf, in good order and condition, and
+very much delighted with the excursion. The skipper received the eight
+dollars for the trip, and paid off his crew. It was<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_252" id="Page_252">[Pg 252]</a></span> Saturday night, and
+Monkey wanted to buy some provisions and groceries for his mother with
+the money he had earned; but he proposed to return before ten, and sleep
+on board, as usual. Bobtail told him he had better spend Sunday at home,
+for he could not pay him when the yacht did not go out. The Darwinian
+was willing to sleep on board without pay.</p>
+
+<p>"Did you see Colonel Montague, Robert?" asked Mrs. Taylor, as he went
+into the house.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, I saw him; and he promised to be at the examination next Tuesday."</p>
+
+<p>"What did he say?"</p>
+
+<p>"He said he knew where you got the money, and that it would be all
+right; but I told him you didn't send me to him."</p>
+
+<p>"What else did he say?" inquired Mrs. Taylor, anxiously.</p>
+
+<p>"That's about all. He took me into the house, and treated me like a
+lord. That's the handsomest house I ever went into;" and Bobtail
+described the glories and the beauties of the mansion.</p>
+
+<p>"Of course, after what you have done, they feel very grateful to you."</p>
+
+<p>"I suppose so; but, mother, I can't keep that<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_253" id="Page_253">[Pg 253]</a></span> confounded bill out of my
+head," continued Bobtail. "I conclude, if Colonel Montague knows where
+you got it, he gave it to you himself."</p>
+
+<p>"He must explain that himself."</p>
+
+<p>"Of course he gave it to you. You saw him on board of the Penobscot, the
+day before I was taken up."</p>
+
+<p>"You had better not say anything more about it, Robert."</p>
+
+<p>"But why should he give you such a pile of money?" persisted the boy.</p>
+
+<p>"I didn't say he gave it to me."</p>
+
+<p>"I know he did."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, the less you say about it, the better."</p>
+
+<p>"If that is the bill which that Slipwing sent in the letter, I should
+like to know where Colonel Montague got it."</p>
+
+<p>"I don't know anything at all about that," replied Mrs. Taylor.</p>
+
+<p>The conversation was interrupted by the entrance of Ezekiel. He was
+sober, because he could obtain no liquor. He had spent the day in
+searching for the contraband cargo. He had been upon Negro Island, and
+explored North-east Point, and all the surrounding country, but he could
+find no<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_254" id="Page_254">[Pg 254]</a></span> vestige of the cases. He wanted to talk with Bobtail, and he
+was very gentle and conciliating in his tones and manner. After beating
+about the bush for a long time, he so far disregarded the instructions
+of Captain Chinks, as to ask him what he had done with the cargo of the
+Skylark.</p>
+
+<p>"I see you have been talking with Captain Chinks," said Bobtail. "When
+any one claims the boat, I am willing to talk with him, but I can't say
+a word before that time;" and the young skipper abruptly left the house,
+and went on board of the yacht.</p>
+
+<p>He had scarcely seated himself in the standing-room before a gentleman
+from the hotel came alongside in a boat, and wanted to engage the yacht
+for the next day.</p>
+
+<p>"To-morrow will be Sunday," replied the skipper.</p>
+
+<p>"I know it; but I must leave on Monday," said the applicant.</p>
+
+<p>"I don't engage her for Sundays, sir."</p>
+
+<p>"It is the only time we have."</p>
+
+<p>"I can't help it, sir."</p>
+
+<p>"But we want to go down to Rockland to church."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_255" id="Page_255">[Pg 255]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"I can't let her go out on Sunday. I want to go to meeting myself, and
+to Sunday school."</p>
+
+<p>The gentleman begged hard, but Bobtail was as resolute as the case
+required; he would as soon have thought of setting the Bay View House on
+fire, or robbing the bank, as of going out in a boat for pleasure on
+Sunday. The applicant offered him ten dollars, then twelve, and at last
+fifteen, if he would take the party out; but he refused to go for any
+sum that could be named, and the gentleman departed, with some hard
+words about fanatics, and declared that he would not hire the boat on a
+week day if he could not have her on Sunday.</p>
+
+<p>At an early hour Bobtail turned in, with the feeling that he had done
+his duty, though fifteen dollars was a large sum to sacrifice. He might
+lose some of his engagements on other days by his observance of the
+Sabbath, but he would as soon have thought of robbing the bank, or
+setting the Bay View House on fire, for fifteen dollars, as of running
+the Skylark on Sunday for that sum. He was satisfied with himself, after
+he had faithfully considered the subject, and confident that there were
+good people enough to make the yacht pay without wounding his own
+conscience.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_256" id="Page_256">[Pg 256]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>He went to church and to Sunday school the next day; and the services
+never seemed to do him so much good as after the sacrifice he had made.</p>
+
+<p>A party was ready for him on Monday, and though the weather was rainy
+and foggy,&mdash;as it sometimes is at Camden,&mdash;he made his eight dollars,
+and his passengers were entirely satisfied. A party wanted the boat on
+Tuesday; but of course he could not go out until after the examination.
+At nine o'clock in the morning the Penobscot dropped her anchor in
+Camden harbor, and Colonel Montague immediately went on shore in the
+barge. An hour later the defendants and the witnesses had assembled at
+the office of Squire Norwood.</p>
+
+<p>"We have our witness here," said Mr. Simonton, with one of his
+pleasantest and blandest smiles&mdash;"Colonel Montague."</p>
+
+<p>The justice bowed to the distinguished witness, and requested Squire
+Gilfilian to produce the five hundred dollar bill, which was promptly
+done. Squire Norwood then rehearsed the evidence which had been given at
+the former hearing. The letter had been left on Mr. Gilfilian's desk; it
+had disappeared,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_257" id="Page_257">[Pg 257]</a></span> and the bank bill it had contained was paid to Mr.
+Gilfilian by Mrs. Taylor, to cancel a mortgage on her husband's house.
+One of the defendants had denied all knowledge of the letter after he
+put it on the desk, and the other, refusing to explain where she had
+obtained the bill, had been arrested as a party to the crime, or as
+accessory to it.</p>
+
+<p>"This is the bill," continued Squire Norwood, handing it to Colonel
+Montague, who examined it for a moment. "Have you any knowledge of that
+bill?"</p>
+
+<p>"I have."</p>
+
+<p>"Do you identify it?"</p>
+
+<p>"Fully. I gave this bill to Mrs. Taylor last Thursday afternoon, about
+sunset, on board of my yacht."</p>
+
+<p>This evidence produced a decided sensation among the spectators. Squire
+Gilfilian sprang to his feet, and Captain Chinks, who was toying with
+his pocket-knife, turned as red as a red cabbage.</p>
+
+<p>"On what account did you pay Mrs. Taylor five hundred dollars, Colonel
+Montague?" demanded Mr. Gilfilian.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_258" id="Page_258">[Pg 258]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"She was in my employ many years ago. She came on board of my yacht last
+Thursday, and told me her husband would lose his house if a mortgage
+upon it of five hundred dollars was not paid; that the mortgage was
+already foreclosed, and the house was to be advertised for sale. Under
+these circumstances, I loaned her the money to save her from being
+turned out of house and home," replied Colonel Montague, deliberately,
+but with more agitation than the case seemed to warrant.</p>
+
+<p>"You are confident that this is the same bill?" added Squire Norwood.</p>
+
+<p>"Perfectly confident; I declare upon oath that it is the same bill."</p>
+
+<p>"Now, Colonel Montague, where did you obtain this bill?"</p>
+
+<p>"At Bar Harbor, Mount Desert."</p>
+
+<p>"Of whom?"</p>
+
+<p>"I have really forgotten the name of the gentleman, but he came to Mount
+Desert in a small yacht, and had a very rough passage. He was quite
+sick, and told me he was disgusted with yachting in a small craft. He
+had just sold his boat for half her cost, and had received this five
+hundred dollar bill<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_259" id="Page_259">[Pg 259]</a></span> in payment for her, which he wished me to change
+for him, and I gave him smaller bills for it."</p>
+
+<p>"Do you know the boat he sold?" asked Mr. Simonton.</p>
+
+<p>"I never saw her, that I am aware of."</p>
+
+<p>Squire Norwood ordered Mrs. Taylor to be discharged; Squire Gilfilian
+suggested that Bobtail was the purchaser of the yacht, but it was proved
+that he had not been absent from Camden even an hour before the time
+when Colonel Montague obtained the bill, and he was also discharged.
+When the examination was finished, Captain Chinks quietly stole out of
+the office, evidently dissatisfied with the result. Little Bobtail was
+warmly congratulated by all his friends, old and new, on the issue, and
+he was hastening away, in order to take out his party in the Skylark,
+when Mr. Hines stopped him.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_260" id="Page_260">[Pg 260]</a></span></p>
+<h2>CHAPTER XV.</h2>
+
+<h3>A TRIP TO BAR HARBOR.</h3>
+
+
+<p>"Are you engaged to-day, Bobtail?" asked Mr. Hines, who was accompanied
+by Mr. Brooks, the deputy sheriff.</p>
+
+<p>"Not exactly, sir. Two gentlemen at the Bay View wished me to take them
+out in the Skylark, but I told them I didn't think I could."</p>
+
+<p>"If you are not engaged, I want you and your boat for two days," added
+the custom-house official.</p>
+
+<p>"Another party wanted me to-morrow; but of course I couldn't say
+anything when I expected to be sent to the state prison by this time."</p>
+
+<p>"I must have the boat for a couple of days, Bobtail. I won't say where
+we are bound, and you need not mention that I am going with you,"
+continued Mr. Hines, as he discovered Squire Gilfilian and Captain
+Chinks talking together on<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_261" id="Page_261">[Pg 261]</a></span> the sidewalk. "You shall be paid for the use
+of the boat at your usual rate, and I shall be ready in about an hour.
+Mr. Brooks will go with us."</p>
+
+<p>Little Bobtail wondered what was going to be done now, as Mr. Hines
+sheered off and hastened to the hotel; but he had no time to consider
+before Squire Gilfilian called him. He was not quite willing to believe
+that the distinguished lawyer wished to convict him of a crime, but he
+thought he was very zealous in his work.</p>
+
+<p>"Bobtail, I am not quite satisfied about this business," said the
+squire.</p>
+
+<p>"I am, sir," replied the young skipper.</p>
+
+<p>"I suppose so," added the lawyer, with a smile. "You ought to be. There
+seems to be some connection between the boat you say you picked up and
+the bill which was stolen from my letter."</p>
+
+<p>"I don't know anything about that," said Bobtail.</p>
+
+<p>"Do you mean to say that you picked that boat up?" asked Captain Chinks,
+sharply.</p>
+
+<p>"I do mean to say so."</p>
+
+<p>"I'll bet a hundred dollars she is the boat that was bought with that
+money."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_262" id="Page_262">[Pg 262]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"I think it's very likely; but I didn't buy her with it," replied
+Bobtail.</p>
+
+<p>"But you got some man to do it for you. The boat didn't turn up in
+Camden harbor till a week after the money was lost."</p>
+
+<p>"I don't know anything about that; but if you want to take me up again,
+I'm ready," answered Bobtail, smartly.</p>
+
+<p>"We don't want to take you up. We only want to know who stole that
+letter. Your bringing that boat here, and no one claiming her, look a
+little suspicious&mdash;that's all," added Squire Gilfilian.</p>
+
+<p>"But I never was in Bar Harbor, where the boat was bought, in my life,"
+pleaded Bobtail.</p>
+
+<p>"You might have got some man to buy her for you."</p>
+
+<p>"I might, but I didn't."</p>
+
+<p>"You seem to be using the boat just as if she were your own."</p>
+
+<p>"I told Captain Chinks I was ready to give her up whenever the owner
+came for her; and she is advertised in the Camden Herald and the
+Rockland Gazette."</p>
+
+<p>"That's a blind," said Captain Chinks. "But<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_263" id="Page_263">[Pg 263]</a></span> I'm going to look the thing
+up. I was in the squire's office when that letter came, and by and by
+somebody will say I took it."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, I don't know but you did," added Bobtail, though the suspicion
+had never before entered his mind.</p>
+
+<p>"What!" exclaimed the man with a doubtful reputation, his face flushing.</p>
+
+<p>"I don't say you did; and I don't know anything at all about it."</p>
+
+<p>"Don't be saucy, Bobtail," interposed Squire Gilfilian.</p>
+
+<p>"I have just as much right to say he took the letter, as he has to say I
+took it. He had just as much to do with it as I had; and he was in the
+office when I left it."</p>
+
+<p>"But you went back again, you rascal!" said Captain Chinks, angrily.</p>
+
+<p>"No, I didn't go back again."</p>
+
+<p>"You left the office before I did, but you overtook me on the road to
+the Portland steamer wharf. You went back again; I know you did!"
+stormed the captain.</p>
+
+<p>"I didn't go back."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, where were you all that time?"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_264" id="Page_264">[Pg 264]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"I went into a shop and bought some gingerbread and cheese, and I can
+prove it, too."</p>
+
+<p>"Didn't you hear me tell the post-master that I expected a letter with
+some money in it, the day that letter came?" asked the squire.</p>
+
+<p>"No, sir; I did not."</p>
+
+<p>"I told the post-master what I expected when I asked him to send me the
+letter. You were in the office then, Bobtail."</p>
+
+<p>"No, sir; I didn't see you at all that day. I wasn't in the post-office
+half a minute before the letter was given to me," answered Bobtail,
+decidedly.</p>
+
+<p>Squire Gilfilian wished to make it out that the boy knew there was money
+in the letter, to account for his stealing it; but he made no progress
+in his effort.</p>
+
+<p>"I'm going to look this business up, anyhow," said Captain Chinks,
+savagely. "I want your boat for two days, Bobtail."</p>
+
+<p>"You can't have her," replied the young skipper, decidedly.</p>
+
+<p>"I suppose not," sneered the captain. "You don't want this business
+looked up."</p>
+
+<p>"Whether I do or not, you can't have the boat."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_265" id="Page_265">[Pg 265]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"What's the reason I can't?"</p>
+
+<p>"She is engaged; but if she was not engaged, I wouldn't let you have
+her."</p>
+
+<p>"Steady, Bobtail," interposed the squire. "You are a little too crank
+for a boy."</p>
+
+<p>"I can't help it. The last time Captain Chinks was in the boat, he
+pitched into me; and that's where he got that black eye. I don't want
+anything more to do with him."</p>
+
+<p>"I'll pay for the boat," said the captain, who seemed desirous at this
+point to change the subject of the conversation.</p>
+
+<p>"You can't have her. She is engaged."</p>
+
+<p>"Who is to have her?"</p>
+
+<p>"Two or three parties want her. I'm going off for two days."</p>
+
+<p>"Where are you going?"</p>
+
+<p>"I don't know. The folks didn't tell me where."</p>
+
+<p>"Who are the folks?" demanded Captain Chinks.</p>
+
+<p>"It don't make any difference who they are. But I haven't time to stand
+here talking all day. If you want anything of me, I'm ready to face the
+music."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_266" id="Page_266">[Pg 266]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Captain Chinks wants your boat to investigate the matter of the
+letter," said Squire Gilfilian. "He is going to Bar Harbor, and wants
+the boat so as to find the person who bought her, for of course she will
+be known there. You had better let him have her."</p>
+
+<p>"I can't let him have her. She is engaged."</p>
+
+<p>"But this is a case that will warrant you in breaking your engagement."</p>
+
+<p>"I don't think so."</p>
+
+<p>"Your character is involved in this matter; and it is for your interest
+to have the case cleared up."</p>
+
+<p>"I don't believe Captain Chinks will clear it up. I know more about him
+than some other fellows do, and I don't want him to whitewash my
+character. I can't stop any longer, sir," said Bobtail, as he saw Mr.
+Hines and the deputy-sheriff watching his movements.</p>
+
+<p>Captain Chinks was very angry at the boy's last remarks, and began to
+storm at him. Squire Gilfilian tried to calm him, and Bobtail walked off
+while he was doing so.</p>
+
+<p>"What's the matter, Bobtail?" asked Mr. Hines, when the boy joined him
+in the office of the hotel.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_267" id="Page_267">[Pg 267]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"They are trying to make it out now that I bought the Skylark with the
+money taken from the letter," answered the skipper, as he proceeded to
+give the substance of the conversation with the squire and Captain
+Chinks.</p>
+
+<p>"Then the captain is going to Bar Harbor&mdash;is he?" laughed Mr. Hines. "I
+hope he will go. I may want to use him there."</p>
+
+<p>"Are you going to Bar Harbor, sir?" asked Bobtail.</p>
+
+<p>"That's where we are bound."</p>
+
+<p>"But I am not a pilot beyond Sedgwick. I have been there, but never to
+Mount Desert," said the skipper.</p>
+
+<p>"No matter, my lad; I'm a pilot to Bar Harbor, and it's quite time you
+learned the way there," replied Mr. Hines. "Now get ready as fast as you
+can, Bobtail, and don't say where you are going or who is going with
+you; for I don't believe Captain Chinks would go to Bar Harbor if he
+expected to meet me there."</p>
+
+<p>The skipper purchased some provisions and stores for the yacht, which
+Monkey had sailed up to the wharf at the head of the harbor, as he had
+been instructed to do. Bobtail sent word to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_268" id="Page_268">[Pg 268]</a></span> his mother that he should
+be gone two or three days, and went on board. But his passengers did not
+appear, and he waited impatiently for them. Captain Chinks was loafing
+about the wharf, and Bobtail concluded that this was the reason they did
+not come. The captain was evidently curious to know who were to go in
+the Skylark. After waiting half an hour, a boy brought a note to the
+skipper. It was from Mr. Hines, desiring him to sail at once, and to
+stand up towards North-East Point. He obeyed his written order, and
+beyond the point, a boat with his passengers came off from the shore.
+Mr. Hines and the deputy sheriff went below, so as not to be recognized
+by any persons in the boats which were sailing about in the vicinity.
+The skipper laid his course for the northern point of Deer Island, and
+the Skylark went off flying on her cruise.</p>
+
+<p>"I began to think you were not coming," said Bobtail to Mr. Hines, who
+sat near the cabin door.</p>
+
+<p>"We couldn't get on board at that wharf without being seen by everybody;
+and Captain Chinks was watching us," replied the custom-house official.
+"Mr. Philbrook drove us round to the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_269" id="Page_269">[Pg 269]</a></span> point, where we got a boy to bring
+us off. Are there any boats near you, Bobtail?"</p>
+
+<p>"Not a single one, sir. There is a lot of mackerel catchers half a mile
+to the southward of us, and the Portland steamer is coming round the
+point."</p>
+
+<p>"All right," said Mr. Hines, taking a seat in the standing-room opposite
+the skipper. "Has Captain Chinks any boat fit to go to Mount Desert in?"</p>
+
+<p>"He had one a while ago, but I haven't seen her lately. I don't know
+where she is now."</p>
+
+<p>"Do you know the boat?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes; I should know her a mile off."</p>
+
+<p>"I think we shall find her at Bar Harbor," laughed Mr. Hines.</p>
+
+<p>"I shouldn't be surprised, for I begin to see the daylight sinning
+through this business," added Bobtail, his eyes flashing.</p>
+
+<p>"What do you see?"</p>
+
+<p>"I think I know who stole that letter, and how the five hundred dollar
+bill happened to go down to Bar Harbor."</p>
+
+<p>"We shall know before we get back."</p>
+
+<p>"What do you suppose Captain Chinks wanted<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_270" id="Page_270">[Pg 270]</a></span> to go to Bar Harbor in the
+Skylark for?" asked Bobtail.</p>
+
+<p>"I don't know, but I am afraid if you had gone with him you would never
+have come back again; for you have spoiled all his plans. He will take
+the steamer to-morrow morning at Rockland for Bar Harbor. But we shall
+have time to look the matter up before he arrives, if the breeze holds."</p>
+
+<p>Fortunately the wind did hold, and at eight o'clock in the evening the
+Skylark reached her destination. The breeze was steady, but light, and
+the passage was a delightful one through the narrow channels among the
+islands. The skipper got up a nice dinner of beefsteak, green corn, and
+tomatoes, which Mr. Hines declared was equal to the table at the Bay
+View; and this was no equivocal compliment.</p>
+
+<p>"That is Captain Chinks's boat," said Bobtail, as he pointed to a craft
+at anchor near the steamboat wharf.</p>
+
+<p>"I thought we should find her here," replied Mr. Hines. "He doesn't sail
+that boat alone&mdash;does he?"</p>
+
+<p>"No, sir; he has a nephew that lives with him; but he has gone to
+Boston."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_271" id="Page_271">[Pg 271]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Are you sure of that?"</p>
+
+<p>"Captain Chinks says he has; that's all I know about it."</p>
+
+<p>"How old is the nephew?"</p>
+
+<p>"Almost twenty-one."</p>
+
+<p>"In my opinion that nephew is here," added the custom-house official.</p>
+
+<p>"That's so!" exclaimed Bobtail, as the Skylark passed the captain's
+boat. "There he is now.&mdash;Hallo, Ben!"</p>
+
+<p>"Is that you, Bobtail? Where did you pick up that boat?"</p>
+
+<p>"Don't let on," interposed Mr. Hines; and the skipper did not answer the
+question.</p>
+
+<p>"Say! Where d'ye get her?" shouted Ben.</p>
+
+<p>"She isn't mine."</p>
+
+<p>"He knows all about her. Keep out of sight, Mr. Brooks. He knows you,
+but not me," continued Mr. Hines.</p>
+
+<p>The Skylark passed out of hearing of Ben's voice, but he immediately
+jumped into his dory and pulled for the wharf. Bobtail ran the yacht up
+to the landing-steps, and Mr. Brooks hastened on shore, so that Ben
+Chinks should not recognize him.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_272" id="Page_272">[Pg 272]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Say, Bob, where'd ye get this boat?" asked Ben, stepping upon the deck
+of the Skylark.</p>
+
+<p>"She don't belong to me," replied Bobtail.</p>
+
+<p>"Don't you know the boat?" inquired Mr. Hines.</p>
+
+<p>"Don't I know her?" repeated Ben.</p>
+
+<p>"That's the question I asked."</p>
+
+<p>"I cal'late I've seen her before; because she came into Bar Harbor about
+ten days ago," replied Ben, cautiously.</p>
+
+<p>"Exactly so," added the custom-house detective; "she was sold, and your
+uncle or father bought her."</p>
+
+<p>"Who told you all that?" asked Ben; and he did not seem to know whether
+or not to admit the truth of the statement.</p>
+
+<p>The detective whistled and looked about him as though he did not care
+whether Captain Chinks bought her or not.</p>
+
+<p>"Your uncle bought her dog cheap, too. I think Captain Chinks is a smart
+man," added Mr. Hines.</p>
+
+<p>"He's some," grinned Ben.</p>
+
+<p>"But you and he drank a little too much of that liquor."</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;">
+<img src="images/i011.jpg" width="500" height="365" alt="" title="" />
+</div><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_273" id="Page_273">[Pg 273]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"What liquor? I don't drink liquor."</p>
+
+<p>"You might as well own up. Captain Chinks and you were a little boozy
+that day."</p>
+
+<p>"What day?"</p>
+
+<p>"Why, that day you sailed this boat up the bay."</p>
+
+<p>"I didn't drink a drop," protested Ben, warmly.</p>
+
+<p>"Then your uncle drank enough for both of you."</p>
+
+<p>"No, he didn't, nuther. I didn't see him drink anything."</p>
+
+<p>"Ah, it's no use to deny it," laughed Mr. Hines, as though he was only
+indulging in a pleasantry.</p>
+
+<p>"I wouldn't deny it if it was true; but it ain't."</p>
+
+<p>"How did the boat get adrift, then?" queried Mr. Hines. "Both of you
+must have been a little set up."</p>
+
+<p>"Not a bit."</p>
+
+<p>"The boat wouldn't have got adrift if you had either of you been all
+right."</p>
+
+<p>"Both of us were as straight as a gun."</p>
+
+<p>"How did it happen, then?"</p>
+
+<p>"It was blowing like Sam Hill, that day,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_274" id="Page_274">[Pg 274]</a></span> you see&mdash;didn't Captain Chinks
+tell you about it?"</p>
+
+<p>"He didn't say you were both sober."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, I was; and if he drank anything that day, I didn't see him do
+it,' persisted Ben.</p>
+
+<p>"But what in the world did you want to land your stuff in that place
+for?"</p>
+
+<p>"What place? What stuff?" demanded Ben.</p>
+
+<p>"Those cases of brandy, of course. It's all right, my man. Captain
+Chinks will be down here to-morrow. Little Bobtail here picked up the
+yacht, and took her into Camden. The stuff was all landed in the night,
+so that only two or three persons know anything about it&mdash;Little
+Bobtail, myself, and a friend of mine."</p>
+
+<p>"Who is he?"</p>
+
+<p>"He's a friend of mine. We were on the lookout for this lot of brandy,
+and we took it off Captain Chinks's hands, so that he won't have any
+trouble in getting rid of it."</p>
+
+<p>"Is that so? Who's the other man?"</p>
+
+<p>"We don't call names in this business, you know," answered the
+detective, mysteriously. "But I can't see what you wanted to land the
+stuff in that place for. You would have been<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_275" id="Page_275">[Pg 275]</a></span> trapped if you had; for
+there is a sharp detective over at Camden, looking out for cases of this
+sort."</p>
+
+<p>"Sho! Who is he?"</p>
+
+<p>"His name's Hines."</p>
+
+<p>"Hines? I never heard on him before."</p>
+
+<p>"He's sharp."</p>
+
+<p>Bobtail had to look overboard to keep from laughing.</p>
+
+<p>"Ketch a weasel asleep!" grinned Ben. "Me'n my uncle's sharp enough to
+whittle skewers with him. When he ketches Cap'n Chinks, he'll ketch a
+weasel asleep, you bet! It was the cap'n's notion to land the stuff on
+that island, and take it over, a little at a time, when we went out
+fishing. We run the boat aground on a beach. You see, I found a hole in
+the rocks&mdash;a kind of cave&mdash;that would hold the hull lot on't. We could
+kiver up the mouth of the hole with rocks, so't no one'd ever think
+anything was in it. The boat was on so hard we couldn't stir her, and we
+went up to take a look at the hole. While we were gone, the tide riz,
+and the wind blowed the boat off. The cap'n did some tall swearin' about
+that time, you'd better believe;<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_276" id="Page_276">[Pg 276]</a></span> but it didn't do no good. The boat was
+gone, and we couldn't git her. It was just dark, and I cal'lated the
+wind would drive her on the rocks, and smash her all to pieces. It was
+lucky Bob picked her up, for she might 'a been found by some feller
+who'd made mischief out of that stuff in the cabin."</p>
+
+<p>Bobtail had to tell the story of the picking up of the Skylark.</p>
+
+<p>"She must have drifted up the bay, and then down, for the tide turned
+not long after we lost her," said Ben. "We walked up to Islesboro', but
+we didn't dare to say a word. The cap'n went over to Camden in the
+packet, and I came down here. I took our boat here, and with a man to
+help me, cruised all round Deer Island and Vinal Haven, to see if I
+could find the Skylark; but I couldn't hear nothin' on her."</p>
+
+<p>"What did the captain give for this boat?" asked Mr. Hines.</p>
+
+<p>"Five hundred dollars."</p>
+
+<p>"Didn't pay for her&mdash;did he?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, he did; cash down. The man he bought her of 's up at one of the
+hotels now."</p>
+
+<p>"Is he?"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_277" id="Page_277">[Pg 277]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Yes, he is;" and Ben described the house.</p>
+
+<p>"If he has any more such boats to sell, I should like to buy one like
+this at the same price. But when are you going out again?"</p>
+
+<p>"Out where?"</p>
+
+<p>"O, I understand all about this business; you needn't roll your eyes at
+me," laughed the detective. "I know all about it; and when Captain
+Chinks runs in another lot of brandy, I intend to take it off his hands,
+if he isn't too sharp; and I want to know when to be on the lookout for
+it."</p>
+
+<p>"O, you do?" grinned Ben.</p>
+
+<p>"When do you go?"</p>
+
+<p>"I donno; you must ask the cap'n. When he gets a letter he will be off."</p>
+
+<p>The conversation was continued till it was quite dark, and then Ben went
+back to his boat. Little Bobtail laughed till his sides ached at the
+tactics of Mr. Hines, as they walked up to the hotel, or boarding-house,
+where the late owner of the Skylark lodged.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_278" id="Page_278">[Pg 278]</a></span></p>
+<h2>CHAPTER XVI.</h2>
+
+<h3>THE CHASE.</h3>
+
+
+<p>Mr. Hines and Little Bobtail walked up to the hotel. The former had
+possessed himself of sufficient evidence to convict Captain Chinks of
+smuggling, and also of intense stupidity in employing a simpleton like
+Ben Chinks in such a dangerous business, though rogues and villains
+almost always leave a screw loose somewhere.</p>
+
+<p>"We shall make a good case of it, Bobtail," said Mr. Hines.</p>
+
+<p>"I could hardly keep from laughing while you were pumping Ben Chinks,"
+replied the skipper. "The idea of your taking the stuff off Captain
+Chinks's hands!"</p>
+
+<p>"I did take it off his hands, and he will have no trouble now in getting
+rid of it."</p>
+
+<p>"I wouldn't have said anything if I had been Ben."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_279" id="Page_279">[Pg 279]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Very likely you would, Bobtail; for with all the information I have
+obtained from you, and from other sources, I spoke by the book, and he
+had every reason to suppose I was in the captain's confidence."</p>
+
+<p>"But do you really think Captain Chinks will come down here?" asked
+Bobtail.</p>
+
+<p>"I am almost sure of it."</p>
+
+<p>"I should stay away, if I were him."</p>
+
+<p>"He must come to unsnarl the tangle he has made here," replied the
+detective. "He must have been more astonished and disconcerted when
+Squire Gilfilian showed him the bill he had paid for the boat, than any
+one else was. Very likely he will have another explanation to make to
+show how he came by it, and he may trace it back to you in some way. But
+we will keep an eye on him."</p>
+
+<p>At the hotel they met Mr. Brooks, but the gentleman who had sold the
+Skylark, being in feeble health, had retired early. Nothing could be
+done, and Bobtail returned to the yacht, while his passengers took rooms
+at the hotel, and slept like a rock till morning, for he had worked hard
+all day. At sunrise the next morning he was on his<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_280" id="Page_280">[Pg 280]</a></span> feet again. The
+Darwinian had more talent for sleeping than the skipper of the Skylark,
+and did not turn out till half an hour later. Bobtail had scarcely shown
+himself on deck before Ben Chinks pulled to the yacht.</p>
+
+<p>"Say, Bob, who is that man with you?" asked he.</p>
+
+<p>"You must ask him who he is?"</p>
+
+<p>"Don't you know?"</p>
+
+<p>"I never saw him till a few days ago. In his kind of business, he don't
+always tell who he is. No doubt he will tell you before night who he is.
+What have you been doing down here so long?" asked the skipper, wishing
+to divert the conversation into some other channel.</p>
+
+<p>"I have made a pile of money taking out parties to sail, while I'm
+waiting."</p>
+
+<p>"What are you waiting for?"</p>
+
+<p>"Waiting for the old man. Didn't he tell you?"</p>
+
+<p>"No; he didn't say much to me."</p>
+
+<p>"What did he give you for picking up the boat?"</p>
+
+<p>"He hasn't given me anything yet," replied Bobtail. "How much do you
+charge a day for your boat and two hands?"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_281" id="Page_281">[Pg 281]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Five dollars."</p>
+
+<p>"I've taken some parties out in the boat, and I have been charging seven
+and eight dollars a day."</p>
+
+<p>"That's a better boat than the Eagle. If I had her I should charge eight
+dollars a day. But how did you get that stuff out of the Skylark?"</p>
+
+<p>"I ran over in the night, and landed it between one and two o'clock in
+the morning, when no one was stirring in our part of the town. I hid it
+away in the attic, and this man took it away in the night," replied
+Bobtail, confining himself strictly to the facts, though of course he
+was no less guilty of deception than if he had told a number of square
+lies, except that the deception was in the interest of justice.</p>
+
+<p>"It was lucky for the old man that you picked that boat up; but he's
+mean if he don't give you something handsome," added Ben.</p>
+
+<p>"I have had the use of the boat ever since I picked her up."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, that's somethin'. There comes Monkey. Does he know anything about
+this business?" whispered Ben.</p>
+
+<p>"Not a thing."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_282" id="Page_282">[Pg 282]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>This was a sufficient reason for saying nothing more about it, and Ben
+soon returned to the Eagle. After breakfast, Bobtail went up to the
+hotel, where his passengers lodged. In the course of the forenoon, the
+deputy sheriff "interviewed" Mr. Gordon, the gentleman who had sold the
+Skylark. He was sure he could identify the man who had paid him the five
+hundred dollar bill. When the steamer from Portland, which touches at
+Rockland, arrived, almost everybody went down to the wharf, Mr. Gordon
+among the number.</p>
+
+<p>"If you see the man who paid you the bill, point him out, if you please,
+but don't say anything about it," said Mr. Brooks, as the gang plank of
+the steamer was run out.</p>
+
+<p>"There he is!" exclaimed Mr. Gordon, as Captain Chinks walked from the
+boat to the wharf.</p>
+
+<p>The deputy sheriff and Mr. Hines kept out of sight. Bobtail had been
+sent away in the Skylark, that she might not attract the attention of
+the smuggler, and was standing off and on a mile or more from the shore.</p>
+
+<p>As soon as Captain Chinks landed, he was greeted by Ben, his nephew, who
+was doubtless glad to see him.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_283" id="Page_283">[Pg 283]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"I s'pose you are tired of waiting&mdash;ain't you, Ben?" asked the captain,
+who wore a troubled expression.</p>
+
+<p>"Not a bit on't. I've been makin' five dollars a day, right along,
+takin' parties out to sail," replied Ben, with a cheerful grin; "but I
+had to pay a boy half a dollar a day to help me."</p>
+
+<p>"That's pretty well."</p>
+
+<p>"Why didn't you come down afore?"</p>
+
+<p>"Because I didn't hear anything from St. John; and things are a little
+mixed up to Camden."</p>
+
+<p>"Mixed! Why, I thought everything had come out fust rate. You got the
+Skylark and the stuff back as slick as a whistle."</p>
+
+<p>"Who told you so?" demanded the captain, with a startled look.</p>
+
+<p>"Why, Little Bobtail. He's here in the Skylark, and said you sent him."</p>
+
+<p>Bobtail certainly had not said any such thing. Ben had inferred it from
+what Mr. Hines had stated. It was not prudent to talk of these matters
+in the midst of so many people, and the captain and his nephew hastened
+on board of the Eagle.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_284" id="Page_284">[Pg 284]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"I didn't send him," said Captain Chinks, very much perplexed.</p>
+
+<p>"You didn't?"</p>
+
+<p>"No; the young villain picked up the boat, but I couldn't do anything
+with him."</p>
+
+<p>"Sho!" exclaimed Ben, who began to be worried himself. "Bobtail's here,
+and that other man with him."</p>
+
+<p>"What other man!" demanded the captain, savagely.</p>
+
+<p>"That man that took the stuff off your hands."</p>
+
+<p>"What stuff!"</p>
+
+<p>"Why, the liquor that was in the Skylark."</p>
+
+<p>"What do you mean, Ben?"</p>
+
+<p>"Didn't Bob pick up the Skylark and land the stuff in the night; and
+didn't you sell it to that other man? and didn't he move it out of Bob's
+house in the night?"</p>
+
+<p>"No!" roared Captain Chinks.</p>
+
+<p>"That's what they said, anyhow," added Ben, stoutly.</p>
+
+<p>"Who said so?"</p>
+
+<p>"Why, the man that took the stuff off your hands."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_285" id="Page_285">[Pg 285]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Who is he?"</p>
+
+<p>"Well, don't you know?"</p>
+
+<p>"No, I don't," gasped Captain Chinks.</p>
+
+<p>"I'm sure I don't, then. He wouldn't tell me his name. He came down in
+the Skylark with Bobtail yesterday."</p>
+
+<p>The gentleman with a doubtful reputation uttered an exceedingly hard and
+naughty expletive, and he did so with much emphasis. His face was very
+red, and his lips quivered with wrath.</p>
+
+<p>"Have you been talking with any one about this business, Ben Chinks?"
+demanded the smuggler, shaking his clinched fist in the face of his
+nephew.</p>
+
+<p>"I didn't tell him nothin'; he told me, and he said he took that stuff
+off your hands, and was goin' to have the next lot; he said you oughtn't
+to land the stuff on that island, and wanted to know how we happened to
+let the boat go adrift."</p>
+
+<p>"And you told him?" gasped the captain.</p>
+
+<p>"What was the use of my tellin' on him, when he knowed all about it? O,
+he said you and I had both been takin' too much. He was kind o' jokin',
+but I stuck to it that we was as sober as he<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_286" id="Page_286">[Pg 286]</a></span> was. I did tell him how
+the boat got adrift; but he told me all the rest."</p>
+
+<p>"Ben, you are a fool!"</p>
+
+<p>"I tell you he knowed all about it," whined the nephew.</p>
+
+<p>"You've made a pretty mess of it."</p>
+
+<p>"I didn't do it. He knowed all about it afore, and I s'posed you told
+him."</p>
+
+<p>"I told him nothing. I never said a word to him. Don't you know the
+man's name?"</p>
+
+<p>"No, I don't. He wouldn't tell me, nor Bob nuther."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, I know who he is," groaned Captain Chinks, pounding the trunk of
+the cabin with his fist, and grating his teeth with rage.</p>
+
+<p>"Who is he?"</p>
+
+<p>"He's a custom-house officer."</p>
+
+<p>"Sho! you don't say so!" cried Ben, with horror, for he regarded a
+custom-house officer in about the same light that he did a hangman.</p>
+
+<p>"You've told him all about it," added the Captain.</p>
+
+<p>"I didn't tell him nothin'; he knowed it all before.'</p>
+
+<p>"All we can do now is to get out of the way. Where is this man?"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_287" id="Page_287">[Pg 287]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"I don'no; I hain't seen him to-day. There's the Skylark," replied Ben,
+pointing to the yacht.</p>
+
+<p>"Is he on board of her?"</p>
+
+<p>"No."</p>
+
+<p>"Are you sure of it?"</p>
+
+<p>"Sartain, I am. I see Bobtail start off in her alone."</p>
+
+<p>"We must get out of the way, but I don't know where to go to," groaned
+the captain. "I cal'late you've ruined me, Ben."</p>
+
+<p>"I didn't do it," protested the nephew. "I keep a tellin' on you, he
+knowed all about it in the fust on't."</p>
+
+<p>"Get up your fore'n mainsail. We must get out of this as quick as we
+can."</p>
+
+<p>"You can't kerry the foresail. It blows like Sam Hill, and squally,
+too."</p>
+
+<p>"Hist the mainsail then."</p>
+
+<p>This sail was set, but the moment they began to hoist it, Mr. Hines made
+the signal agreed upon, by waving his handkerchief on the wharf, for the
+return of the Skylark. The steamer had gone, and most of the people had
+left the wharf by this time. Bobtail, who was on the lookout for the
+signal, saw it immediately, and headed the yacht<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_288" id="Page_288">[Pg 288]</a></span> for the pier. As Ben
+Chinks had remarked, it blew hard, and the wind came in heavy flaws. The
+Skylark had a single reef in her mainsail, and the jib was furled, but
+even with this short canvas she flew like a bird.</p>
+
+<p>"There goes the Eagle," shouted Monkey from the forecastle.</p>
+
+<p>"Who's on board of her?" asked Bobtail.</p>
+
+<p>"I reckon it's Captain Chinks; it looks like him."</p>
+
+<p>The skipper looked at the boat through the spy-glass, and identified the
+captain.</p>
+
+<p>"He's trying to get away," said he.</p>
+
+<p>"What for?" asked Monkey, who was in blissful ignorance of the smuggling
+operation of the captain.</p>
+
+<p>"You will soon know," replied Bobtail.</p>
+
+<p>The Eagle, under jib and mainsail, was standing out of the harbor, and
+the Skylark had to pass her on her way to the wharf. Captain Chinks was
+at the helm himself, and at that moment, as he gazed at Little Bobtail,
+he was the maddest man on the waters of Maine. Both boats were going
+free, and when they were nearly abreast of each other, and not a hundred
+feet apart, the captain suddenly put up his helm, and the Eagle darted
+towards the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_289" id="Page_289">[Pg 289]</a></span> Skylark, as if she shared the spite of her skipper, and as
+an eagle would pounce upon a skylark.</p>
+
+<p>"Down with your helm!" shouted Bobtail, full of excitement, for the
+danger of a collision was imminent.</p>
+
+<p>If the Skylark had held on her course, she would have been struck
+amidships by the bow of the Eagle; but Bobtail jammed his helm hard
+down, the result of which was to throw the yacht up into the wind, and
+bring her alongside the other craft. As it was, the Eagle's bow grated
+along the quarter of the Skylark. Bobtail supposed that Captain Chinks
+intended to board the yacht, and he instantly seized the spare tiller,
+which he always carried in the standing-room when it blew hard, and
+stood ready to "repel boarders." But the captain did not intend to
+capture the Skylark. Probably he intended to sink her; but his purposes
+were only known to himself. The sails of the Eagle were still full, and
+she continued on her course.</p>
+
+<p>"Keep out of the way next time!" shouted Captain Chinks.</p>
+
+<p>Bobtail made no reply, but filled away again, and in a few minutes was
+at the wharf. Mr. Hines and Mr. Brooks leaped on board.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_290" id="Page_290">[Pg 290]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"After him, Bobtail," cried the detective, earnestly, as he shoved off
+the bow of the boat.</p>
+
+<p>"He has heard all about it from Ben, and is going to run away. Hurry
+up."</p>
+
+<p>The Skylark was clear of the wharf, and coming about, was headed towards
+the Eagle.</p>
+
+<p>"Is Captain Chinks's boat fast?" asked Mr. Hines.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, sir; but it blows too hard for her to-day. She don't carry sail
+worth a cent," replied Bobtail.</p>
+
+<p>"How is it with the Skylark?"</p>
+
+<p>"She is the ablest boat I know."</p>
+
+<p>"Good! Then we have the advantage."</p>
+
+<p>"Hoist the jib, Monkey," shouted the skipper.</p>
+
+<p>"Are you sure she will carry it? It blows heavy outside, and the wind
+comes in flaws," added Mr. Hines.</p>
+
+<p>"I know her like a book. She will carry her jib and mainsail to-day, but
+we have one reef in. The Eagle has two miles or more the start of us;
+but we will give her a sweat," said Bobtail.</p>
+
+<p>"She is hoisting her foresail now."</p>
+
+<p>"She will have to take it in again when she gets clear of the land."</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 492px;">
+<img src="images/i012.jpg" width="492" height="365" alt="" title="" />
+</div>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_291" id="Page_291">[Pg 291]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>With her jib set, the Skylark occasionally put her scuppers under, but
+she was as stiff as Mount Desert itself, and only heeled over just so
+far, under any flaw that came.</p>
+
+<p>"I didn't think the captain would run for it so soon," said Mr. Hines.
+"He didn't even go to the hotel, where a letter is waiting for him. It
+has the St. John postmark upon it, and I know what that means without
+opening it."</p>
+
+<p>"He tried to run me down," added Bobtail.</p>
+
+<p>"I saw him do it. His game is nearly up. I intended to arrest him when
+he came down from the hotel, but he took the alarm from what Ben told
+him."</p>
+
+<p>As the Eagle ran out from the land, it was evident that she could not
+long carry her foresail. It was taken in very soon, but she sailed
+faster without it than with it. The Skylark gained rapidly upon her. The
+water&mdash;Frenchman's Bay&mdash;was studded with islands, but Mr. Hines, who had
+taken the helm, was perfectly familiar with the navigation. As the race
+began to be a desperate one for Captain Chinks, he dodged in among the
+islands, tempting his pursuer to make short cuts over sunken ledges; but
+in all these expedients he failed. The Eagle was a keel boat, and drew
+more<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_292" id="Page_292">[Pg 292]</a></span> water than the Skylark, so that wherever the former went the
+latter need not fear to follow. At last Captain Chinks appeared to have
+given up the race, and Mr. Hines surmised that he was running for a
+landing-place on one of the islands. But the Skylark was still gaining,
+and was now almost abreast of the Eagle.</p>
+
+<p>"All ready, Mr. Brooks," said the detective, as the bowsprit of the
+sloop came up with the quarter of the schooner.</p>
+
+<p>"I'm ready," replied the deputy sheriff, as he went forward to the bow
+of the yacht.</p>
+
+<p>"Stand by the sheets, Bobtail, for I don't know what he will do next."</p>
+
+<p>"Ay, ay, sir!" responded the skipper. "Have a fender ready, Monkey."</p>
+
+<p>"All right."</p>
+
+<p>In a moment more, the forecastle of the Skylark was abreast, on the
+weather side, of the Eagle, taking the wind out of her mainsail in part.</p>
+
+<p>"Hard down," shouted Mr. Brooks, as he saw Captain Clunks jam down the
+helm of the schooner.</p>
+
+<p>Both boats came up into the wind alongside each other, and Monkey was
+busy with his fender. The deputy sheriff leaped upon the deck of the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_293" id="Page_293">[Pg 293]</a></span>
+Eagle, and Mr. Hines, giving the helm to Bobtail, followed him. The
+skipper permitted the yacht to come about, and she went clear of the
+other boat.</p>
+
+<p>"You are my prisoner, Captain Chinks," said Mr. Brooks.</p>
+
+<p>"What for?" gasped the captain.</p>
+
+<p>"For stealing that letter."</p>
+
+<p>"I didn't steal it."</p>
+
+<p>"That remains to be proved."</p>
+
+<p>"We ain't in Knox County now."</p>
+
+<p>"Never mind; I will take you for violating the revenue laws," added Mr.
+Hines, as he took the helm of the schooner.</p>
+
+<p>"I hain't done nothing," protested Captain Chinks.</p>
+
+<p>"We will go over to Camden, and settle that point some other time."</p>
+
+<p>The captain was obliged to give it up, and he groaned in bitterness of
+spirit. To be charged with stealing the letter, and with violating the
+revenue laws at the same time, was more than he had anticipated. On the
+first, if convicted, he would be sentenced to imprisonment, and on the
+other, to pay a heavy fine. His crimes brought loss of liberty and loss
+of property.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_294" id="Page_294">[Pg 294]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Bobtail eased off his mainsheet, and waited for the Eagle to come up.
+Mr. Hines had already decided to return to Camden in Captain Chinks's
+boat, and when he had announced his purpose, the Skylark filled away
+again. It was now about noon, and as the wind was contrary for at least
+half the way back to Camden, the skipper hardly expected to reach his
+destination that night. The yacht very soon ran away from the schooner,
+and at six o'clock had made half the distance. She had come up with the
+point which forms the south-eastern point of the town of Brooklyn, where
+she started her sheets, and ran through the channel between Deer Island
+and Sedgwick.</p>
+
+<p>The wind was still unsteady, coming in heavy flaws; but now it was
+beginning to haul more to the southward. This change was favorable, for
+it enabled the Skylark to lay her course for Camden. But an awful sea
+was rolling in from the ocean, and the yacht jumped like a galloping
+horse. The wind freshened into a gale with the change, and the gusts
+were more fitful and violent. The jib was taken in, and Monkey was
+thoroughly ducked in the operation, for the Skylark occasionally slapped
+the waves with her bowsprit. Great black<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_295" id="Page_295">[Pg 295]</a></span> clouds were rolling up off to
+seaward, but Bobtail was confident that the yacht was equal to anything.
+Under the lee of an island, the mainsail was close-reefed; but she flew
+over the waves, and the skipper hoped to reach his destination by nine
+in the evening. At eight o'clock, while it was still light, he
+discovered a schooner working down the bay under jib and reefed mainsail
+which he recognized as the Penobscot.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_296" id="Page_296">[Pg 296]</a></span></p>
+<h2>CHAPTER XVII.</h2>
+
+<h3>THE WRECK OF THE PENOBSCOT.</h3>
+
+
+<p>"That's the Penobscot!" exclaimed Bobtail, as soon as he identified her.</p>
+
+<p>"She is taking a nasty night to go to sea," added Monkey.</p>
+
+<p>"She will put into Rockland or Camden. I suppose the colonel is in a
+hurry to get to Newport for some race. He told me yesterday he should
+sail to-day."</p>
+
+<p>"She ain't going into Camden. If she was, she wouldn't be out there.
+She's right off the ledges, and if she don't tack soon, she'll be on
+'em," said the Darwinian.</p>
+
+<p>"I think she's going into Rockland. She can make it in one more
+stretch."</p>
+
+<p>"She can get in behind Owl's Head, and lay as easy as if she was in a
+mill pond."</p>
+
+<p>"That's an awful sea out there, Monkey,"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_297" id="Page_297">[Pg 297]</a></span> said Bobtail. "See the
+breakers on that lower ledge. If I was the captain of the Penobscot, I
+should go in stays. There she goes!"</p>
+
+<p>At this moment the sails of the large yacht shook, as her head came up
+to the wind. But the next instant she fell off, heeled over, and drove
+ahead again. Bobtail distinctly heard a shout from her, though she was a
+mile distant. He watched her with his heart in his mouth, and his worst
+fears were realized when he saw her lift her bow high up in the water.
+She had run upon the ledge.</p>
+
+<p>"By gracious! she is on the rocks!" cried Bobtail, wild with excitement
+and anxiety.</p>
+
+<p>"So she is!" gasped Monkey.</p>
+
+<p>Then came a shriek in the tones of a woman's voice, whose piercing note
+was heard above the roaring of the billows.</p>
+
+<p>"That's Mrs. Montague," said Bobtail. "Get your warp-line out, Monkey.
+We have got something to do to-night."</p>
+
+<p>The Skylark flew on her mission of rescue, and her skipper watched the
+Penobscot with intense interest. Her bow rose and fell at every sea, and
+it was evident that she was crashing<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_298" id="Page_298">[Pg 298]</a></span> her timbers at every motion. In
+five minutes from the time she struck, the smaller yacht came up with
+her. She had gone upon the last ledge of the series that extends to the
+southward from Islesboro'. Bobtail ran to the west of the ledges, and,
+going entirely round to avoid gybing, he came up into the wind close
+under the stern of the Penobscot. He heard her planks and timbers
+grinding on the rocks. Monkey heaved the warp-line, which was caught by
+the sailors on board of the wreck. The mainsail of the Skylark was
+lowered.</p>
+
+<p>By this time, though the waves still beat over the bow of the Penobscot,
+she ceased to grind upon the rocks. The tide was going out, and less of
+the weight of the vessel was supported by the water, and as the volume
+of the waves diminished, their power lessened. In two or three hours the
+yacht would be high and dry. She had gone upon the ledge in a direction
+diagonal with the wind, so that under one of her quarters the water was
+comparatively smooth. Bobtail and Monkey heaved on the warp-line till
+they brought the Skylark alongside this lee quarter.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_299" id="Page_299">[Pg 299]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"No time to lose, sir!" shouted Bobtail to Colonel Montague, who was
+supporting his wife and daughter on deck, for the cabin was flooded with
+water. "I shall be aground in half an hour."</p>
+
+<p>"Can your boat weather this blow?" asked the colonel, anxiously.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, sir; she can stand anything that any boat can."</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Montague and Grace were assisted on board of the Skylark, which,
+even in this sheltered place, rolled, pitched, and tugged furiously at
+the warp-line. The colonel and another gentleman, whom Bobtail had not
+seen before, helped old Mr. Montague down to the rail of the Penobscot.</p>
+
+<p>"You go first, Tom, and help him down," said Colonel Montague.</p>
+
+<p>The sailing master of the Penobscot also took the old gentleman's arm.
+The Hon. Mr. Montague seemed to be very feeble, and he was certainly
+very much terrified.</p>
+
+<p>"Put your arm around that shroud, Mr. Barkesdale," said the captain to
+the person whom the colonel called Tom.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_300" id="Page_300">[Pg 300]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Tom Barkesdale stood upon the rail then, with his left arm around one of
+the shrouds of the Skylark. The stern of the Penobscot was down so low
+in the water, that it was not a long step down from the rail to that of
+the smaller yacht. Tom took the hand of the old gentleman as he stepped
+down; but at that instant the warp-line, which held the bow of the
+Skylark, snapped in twain, and her head swung off. His son and the
+skipper had just let go of the old gentleman, and Tom's hold was
+wrenched away by a jerk of the boat. Mr. Montague went down between the
+two craft.</p>
+
+<p>"Merciful Heaven!" cried the colonel. "Father is overboard!"</p>
+
+<p>"Throw me a rope," yelled the sailing-master, as he dropped into the
+water and caught the old gentleman as he rose after sinking once.</p>
+
+<p>Several lines were thrown to him, and with so many ready hands
+available, they were both drawn on board of the yacht in a moment.
+Though the venerable gentleman had received a terrible shock, he was not
+rendered insensible. The bow of the Skylark was again hauled up to the
+quarter of the Penobscot, and Mr. Montague was safety transferred to the
+cabin of the small yacht<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_301" id="Page_301">[Pg 301]</a></span> "What will you do, captain?" asked the colonel
+of the sailing-master.</p>
+
+<p>"I will stick by her with the crew. At low tide we will take the ballast
+out of her, and float her off the next tide."</p>
+
+<p>"Are your men willing to stay?"</p>
+
+<p>"They must stay; they are as safe here as on shore; at least till the
+next tide, and I shall be ready to float her off by that time."</p>
+
+<p>Colonel Montague went on board of the Skylark. A couple of men from the
+Penobscot were sent to assist in working her, though Bobtail protested
+that he had not the least need of them. The close-reefed mainsail was
+hoisted, and the Skylark went off on her course. By this time it was
+quite dark, but the light-house on Negro Island was a sufficient guide
+to the skipper. The yacht rolled fearfully, and to keep out of the
+trough of the sea Bobtail headed her to a point south of his
+destination. In an hour he was as near the main land as it was prudent
+to venture in the night, and then he put the Skylark before the wind.
+Before eleven o'clock he was at the wharf. He had not seen his
+passengers since they came on board.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_302" id="Page_302">[Pg 302]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"My father has suffered severely from his mishap," said Colonel
+Montague, after the boat was made fast.</p>
+
+<p>"I'm sorry for it, sir. I didn't think of such a thing as that warp-line
+breaking," replied Bobtail.</p>
+
+<p>"Of course it was not your fault. You have done well for us, and I have
+no fault to find with you. I want some one to go to the hotel, and tell
+the landlord to send a coach, for my father cannot walk up."</p>
+
+<p>"Monkey will go;" and the Darwinian was on his way in a moment.</p>
+
+<p>The Hon. Mr. Montague was apparently very ill. The cold bath and the
+shock had severely shaken his frame. He was trembling with cold when
+Bobtail went below, and Mrs. Montague was holding his head. He was
+wrapped up in shawls, coats, and all the clothing available. The lady
+and her daughter spoke very kindly to the young skipper; but they were
+too much disturbed by the condition of the old gentleman to say much.</p>
+
+<p>"I think you ought to have a doctor, Ned," said Tom Barkesdale.</p>
+
+<p>"Send for one at once, then," said the colonel.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_303" id="Page_303">[Pg 303]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"What are you going to do, Edward?" asked the old gentleman, in feeble
+tones.</p>
+
+<p>"I have sent for a coach, to take you to the hotel."</p>
+
+<p>"I want to go home. Can't I go in this boat?"</p>
+
+<p>"It blows too hard to-night, father."</p>
+
+<p>"A boat is easier than a carriage. Let me go home in this boat, when the
+wind goes down."</p>
+
+<p>"Then we had better not take him on shore," said Tom. "We can make up a
+good bed in this cabin for him."</p>
+
+<p>"Do, Edward," groaned the old gentleman.</p>
+
+<p>"I will go to the hotel, and get everything we need," added Tom, "and
+Bobtail shall go for the doctor."</p>
+
+<p>In half an hour the skipper returned with Dr. Estabrook, and the coach
+came with an abundant supply of beds and bedding. Mrs. Montague and her
+daughter went up to the Bay View, while the gentleman took off the wet
+clothes of the sufferer, and put him to bed. A fire was made in the
+cook-room, which heated the cabin when the door was open. The doctor
+prescribed for his patient, and he was soon made more comfortable. About
+midnight the rain began to fall in torrents,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_304" id="Page_304">[Pg 304]</a></span> and the wind howled
+fearfully. But the storm lasted only a couple of hours, and at three
+o'clock in the morning the wind came fresh from the westward, and the
+sky was clear. The change knocked down the sea, and made a fair wind for
+Belfast. Tom Barkesdale went to the hotel for Mrs. Montague and Grace,
+and at four o'clock the Skylark sailed. She made a comfortable passage
+of it, and reached the town in three hours.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Montague's clothes had been dried, and he was dressed. His carriage
+was sent for, and he was conveyed to his elegant mansion. His family
+physician superintended his removal. He had hardly entered the house,
+when he was taken with the most alarming symptoms. In less than half an
+hour he breathed his last, and there were weeping and wailing in the
+elegant mansion. Death comes alike to the rich and the poor, and invades
+the palace as well as the hovel.</p>
+
+<p>Colonel Montague wept like a child; the strong man was shaken by the
+throes of grief. He felt that he would have given all he had for the
+consciousness that he had never deceived that kind and indulgent father
+who lay silent in death before him. An hour after the sad event, Tom
+Barkesdale tried to comfort his friend.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_305" id="Page_305">[Pg 305]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"I would give the world if I had never deceived him," moaned the
+grief-stricken son.</p>
+
+<p>"It was all for the best. Your father has passed away full of years and
+honors. It is well as it is."</p>
+
+<p>"No, no, Tom! It was all wrong."</p>
+
+<p>"You have only saved him from misery, which might have killed him years
+ago, for the doctor says he had a disease of the heart. Don't reproach
+yourself, Ned."</p>
+
+<p>"Where is the boy&mdash;Robert?" he asked suddenly. "I have wronged him still
+more. Where is he?"</p>
+
+<p>"I don't know. I haven't seen him since we left the boat."</p>
+
+<p>"Go for him, Tom. Bring him back. He shall not suffer this wrong another
+hour. He is a noble little fellow, and I am proud of him. Bring him
+back."</p>
+
+<p>Tom went to the wharf in the carriage, but the Skylark was three miles
+down the bay, on her way to Camden. It was of no use to chase that boat,
+and the messenger returned to his weeping friend.</p>
+
+<p>"Go to him, Tom; tell him all, and bring him back," said Colonel
+Montague; and his friend took the next steamer for Camden.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_306" id="Page_306">[Pg 306]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Little Bobtail had sailed as soon as the invalid was landed, for he was
+anxious to be at home when the Eagle arrived. He had been up all night,
+while Monkey had slept in the cook-room; and as soon as the Skylark was
+clear of the harbor, the skipper gave the helm to the Darwinian, and
+turned in. He was sleeping heavily in the cabin of the yacht, while the
+telegraph wires were flashing all over the state the intelligence of the
+death of the Hon. Mr. Montague. The wind was light, so that the Skylark
+made a long passage: and Monkey did not wake the skipper till the yacht
+was off North-east Point. He had slept five hours, and felt like a new
+man. He went on shore as soon as the boat came up to the wharf, and
+ascertained that the Eagle had not yet arrived. Walking up to the
+cottage, he found his mother sitting on the front doorstep, in the
+shade, sewing.</p>
+
+<p>"Why, Robert, where did you come from?"</p>
+
+<p>"From Belfast last."</p>
+
+<p>"Did he die before you got there?"</p>
+
+<p>"Die? Who?"</p>
+
+<p>"Why, old Mr. Montague."</p>
+
+<p>"He isn't dead."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, he is. The telegram came this forenoon."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_307" id="Page_307">[Pg 307]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"But I helped him on shore myself at seven o'clock this morning."</p>
+
+<p>"He died at half past seven, the despatch says. And you didn't know it?"</p>
+
+<p>"No, I didn't. That's strange. But I started for home as soon as I saw
+him in the carriage, and slept all the way down."</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Taylor had not seen her son since the examination at the office of
+Squire Norwood, but she had heard that he returned from Mount Desert
+late at night, and had gone to Belfast early in the morning. Bobtail had
+begun to relate his adventures at Mount Desert, when Squire Gilfilian
+presented himself at the door. It was known now that the Skylark had
+been to Bar Harbor, with Mr. Hines and the deputy sheriff as passengers.
+The young skipper had told this the night before, but nothing more&mdash;not
+even that his passengers had not returned with him. The squire had heard
+this report, and he was anxious to know the result of the visit.</p>
+
+<p>"Good afternoon, Mrs. Taylor," said the lawyer. "I am glad to find your
+son here, for I want to talk with him. But I wish to say to you, in the
+first place, that I don't consider that mortgage fairly cancelled."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_308" id="Page_308">[Pg 308]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Why not? Didn't I pay you the money?" asked Mrs. Taylor, very much
+alarmed.</p>
+
+<p>"You did, but that bill was already mine. Mr. Slipwing sent me five
+hundred dollars, and I have received it&mdash;the very bill he sent. From you
+and from him I ought to have a thousand dollars, but I have only half
+that amount."</p>
+
+<p>"Am I to lose that money?" demanded the poor woman.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, am I?" echoed the squire, with a bland smile. "If my horse is
+stolen, I take him wherever I find him, and whoever has bought or sold
+him."</p>
+
+<p>The lawyer was talking to a woman knowing but little of law and
+business, and he was doubtful himself whether he could claim that bill
+after it had passed, in good faith, through the hands of several
+persons.</p>
+
+<p>"I don't think it's right," protested Mrs. Taylor.</p>
+
+<p>"Nor I, either," added Bobtail. "My mother didn't steal it, and I didn't
+steal it."</p>
+
+<p>"No one knows who did steal it," said the squire. "Captain Chinks still
+contends that you took the letter, my boy; and he has gone down to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_309" id="Page_309">[Pg 309]</a></span> Bar
+Harbor to ascertain how the bill got there. He thinks you heard of that
+boat, and sent some one down to buy her. He means to look up the case."</p>
+
+<p>"He'll look it up with a vengeance," replied Bobtail. "It is already
+looked up."</p>
+
+<p>"What do you mean? I hear that you have been to Bar Harbor."</p>
+
+<p>"I have."</p>
+
+<p>"Did you see Captain Chinks?"</p>
+
+<p>"I haven't anything to say about it," answered Bobtail.</p>
+
+<p>"Can't you tell me whether you saw him or not?" asked the squire, in his
+cross-examination style.</p>
+
+<p>"I can, but I would rather not. Mr. Brooks told me to keep still about
+it, and I'm going to do so."</p>
+
+<p>The squire coaxed and threatened, but without effect.</p>
+
+<p>"You will know all about it to-day or to-morrow. There comes the
+Eagle,&mdash;Captain Chinks's boat, Squire Gilfilian. He's in her, and he
+will tell you all you want to know, and more too, perhaps."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_310" id="Page_310">[Pg 310]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>The lawyer was not in good humor, though he was, in the main, a very
+good sort of man. He did not like to have a boy like Little Bobtail say
+no to him.</p>
+
+<p>"I must say, Mrs. Taylor, it looks rather black for your son. Colonel
+Montague testifies that the bill which was stolen with the letter was
+paid for a boat to a gentleman at Bar Harbor. Your son comes home one
+night with a boat, and no one knows where he got it," said Squire
+Gilfilian, sharply.</p>
+
+<p>"He told where he got it, and he was discharged at the examination
+yesterday," replied Mrs. Taylor, smartly.</p>
+
+<p>"We shall see when Captain Chinks gets back."</p>
+
+<p>"I think you will see," added Bobtail.</p>
+
+<p>"In the mean time, Mrs. Taylor, I shall expect you to pay the mortgage
+note," said the squire, as he walked towards the railroad wharf, where
+the Eagle appeared to be headed.</p>
+
+<p>Bobtail soon followed him, and was at the wharf when the Eagle came up
+at the steps.</p>
+
+<p>"So you have arrived, Bobtail," said Mr. Hines.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_311" id="Page_311">[Pg 311]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"I got in at eleven o'clock last night, and should have been here sooner
+if I hadn't stopped to pick up the Penobscot's people," replied the
+skipper of the Skylark, as he proceeded to describe his cruise, and tell
+the news of the wreck, and of the death of the Hon. Mr. Montague.</p>
+
+<p>"And so you have been to Belfast since?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes; and been back some time. Where's Captain Chinks? Squire Gilfilian
+wants to see him," added Bobtail, as the lawyer came down the steps.</p>
+
+<p>"The captain is below. He is all used up, and willing to confess
+everything. But we must take him down to Rockland at once, and we will
+go in the Skylark. For we want her there."</p>
+
+<p>"She's all ready, sir."</p>
+
+<p>"Where's Captain Chinks?" demanded the squire.</p>
+
+<p>The captain came on deck when he heard the lawyer's voice. He was pale
+and dejected. The Eagle had anchored under the lee of an island during
+the storm, and Mr. Hines had explained to him both the law and the
+nature of the testimony. The detective told him he would probably get
+off easier if he pleaded guilty, and made<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_312" id="Page_312">[Pg 312]</a></span> all the restitution in his
+power. The captain had about concluded to do so, but he desired to
+consult his counsel.</p>
+
+<p>"It's a light wind, and we must be off at once," said Mr. Hines,
+impatiently. "You can go with us, if you like, Squire Gilfilian, but I
+can't wait for you to discuss the case."</p>
+
+<p>The squire was willing to go to Rockland, and in half an hour the
+Skylark was standing down the bay.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_313" id="Page_313">[Pg 313]</a></span></p>
+<h2>CHAPTER XVIII.</h2>
+
+<h3>ROBERT BARKESDALE MONTAGUE.</h3>
+
+
+<p>"Well, Captain Chinks, did you find the man who paid that five hundred
+dollar bill to Colonel Montague?" asked Squire Gilfilian, as he seated
+himself in the standing-room, opposite his client.</p>
+
+<p>"I didn't look for him," replied the captain, studying the seams in the
+deck.</p>
+
+<p>"I thought that was what you went down there for. You told me that, in
+your opinion, Bobtail here had sent some one down to Bar Harbor to buy
+this boat with the money taken from the letter," added the squire, whose
+"fine judicial mind" had not yet grasped the truth. "I don't see any
+other way that this bill could have got to Bar Harbor."</p>
+
+<p>"Mr. Hines and I saw the man that received the bill for the boat," added
+the deputy sheriff.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_314" id="Page_314">[Pg 314]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Captain Chinks looked up at the speaker, as if to entreat him to deal
+gently.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, who gave him the bill?" demanded the squire, impatiently.</p>
+
+<p>"The captain can tell you."</p>
+
+<p>"How can he tell me? He didn't see the man. Why didn't you see him,
+captain?"</p>
+
+<p>"I had something else to think of," replied the culprit, with the most
+woe-begone expression that ever darkened the face of man. "It's no use
+for me to try to beat to windward any more. I gave him the bill myself,
+Squire Gilfilian. That's the truth."</p>
+
+<p>"You!" gasped the lawyer.</p>
+
+<p>"I gave it to him."</p>
+
+<p>"That can be proved, for Mr. Gordon identified him as he came off the
+steamer at Bar Harbor," added Mr. Brooks.</p>
+
+<p>"I don't deny it," said the captain, meekly.</p>
+
+<p>"But where did you get the bill?" asked the squire.</p>
+
+<p>Captain Chinks did not answer immediately. It was too humiliating to
+tell the whole truth, and the lawyer seemed to be very slow to
+comprehend it.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_315" id="Page_315">[Pg 315]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"I had no more notion of opening that letter than I had of flying," he
+said, at last, after the squire had repeated his question.</p>
+
+<p>"Did you open it?"</p>
+
+<p>"I'll tell you just how it was; but, upon my word, I didn't mean to open
+it. Bobtail came into your office that day with the two letters in his
+hand, one for you and one for me. He gave me one of them, and I tore it
+open without looking at the address."</p>
+
+<p>"Did I give you the wrong one?" asked the skipper.</p>
+
+<p>"You did; and that was what made all the mischief," answered the
+captain, wishing to lessen his guilt if possible.</p>
+
+<p>"I didn't know I gave you the wrong one. I had no reason for doing so. I
+put the other on the desk, as you told me to do," explained Bobtail.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes; you tossed it on the desk, and it fell with the address down. You
+went out then, and I found the letter I had opened was for Squire
+Gilfilian, and had a five hundred dollar bill in it."</p>
+
+<p>"There was no harm done even then," said the lawyer. "If you had given
+it to me and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_316" id="Page_316">[Pg 316]</a></span> explained the mistake, it would have been all right."</p>
+
+<p>"That's where I made my mistake, squire. I was afraid you would think I
+meant to steal your money, or pry into your business, and I put the
+letter into my pocket. It came from the bank robbers, and I didn't
+suppose you would believe any such letter had been sent to you."</p>
+
+<p>"I didn't till the man identified the bill," replied the squire. "Mrs.
+Taylor gave me the bill in the morning, and while I was writing her
+release, Mr. Slipwing came into the office. When the woman paid me the
+money, I couldn't help wondering where she got so large a bill.
+Happening to think of her son's connection with the letter, it occurred
+to me that he had opened that letter. Slipwing described the bill before
+he saw it, so as fully to identify it. Of course I was entirely
+satisfied then that Bobtail had stolen the letter."</p>
+
+<p>"I don't blame you for thinking so," said the skipper.</p>
+
+<p>"It looked like a plain case; but it is singular how that bill came back
+to me. You went off to Mount Desert that day, Captain Chinks."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_317" id="Page_317">[Pg 317]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Yes; I expected a lot of stuff from the provinces. I went to Bar
+Harbor, and bought the boat."</p>
+
+<p>"And you paid the bill from the letter for the boat? Now, that brings up
+another question. The bill belonged to me, and I claim it. What Mrs.
+Taylor paid me amounts to nothing."</p>
+
+<p>"I don't believe you can make that go, Squire Gilfilian," said Mr.
+Hines. "If I mistake not, there's a decision the other way."</p>
+
+<p>"I shall try it, at any rate," added the squire.</p>
+
+<p>"No, you needn't," interposed Captain Chinks. "I will make it good
+myself."</p>
+
+<p>"That will settle the case," replied the squire, who knew that his
+client had the means to do so.</p>
+
+<p>"If Mrs. Taylor must make good the loss to you, then Colonel Montague
+must make it good to her, and Mr. Gordon to the colonel. If the payment
+in stolen money was not legal, there was no sale of the boat, and she
+still belongs to Mr. Gordon," continued Mr. Hines. "In the mean time the
+government has seized her for violation of the revenue laws, and the
+case is decidedly mixed."</p>
+
+<p>"I will pay the squire the five hundred dollars," added the smuggler.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_318" id="Page_318">[Pg 318]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"And lose your boat besides?" queried the squire.</p>
+
+<p>"What's the use? You can't fight against the government. The
+custom-house officers have the boat and the stuff."</p>
+
+<p>"What stuff?" asked the squire.</p>
+
+<p>"A lot of brandy that I could have sold for over a thousand dollars,
+which didn't cost me four hundred. It would bring fifteen hundred at
+retail."</p>
+
+<p>"O ho!" said the squire, opening his eyes.</p>
+
+<p>"I'm caught, and I may as well make the best of it. I used to think this
+sort of business paid, but I don't think so now. I shall lose my boat,
+the money I paid for the stuff, and have to pay a fine of a thousand
+dollars besides. That makes me about two thousand out&mdash;half of all I'm
+worth, besides my farm; and all because Little Bobtail wouldn't make a
+trade with me. I as good as offered to give him the boat, if he would
+return the stuff; and I reckon he'll wish he had when you take the boat
+away from him, for he has been making money with her."</p>
+
+<p>"No, he won't," said Mr. Hines, decidedly. "He gave the information that
+led to the seizure<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_319" id="Page_319">[Pg 319]</a></span> of the goods, and his share of the fine and
+forfeiture will be at least five hundred dollars, and he can buy the
+boat."</p>
+
+<p>"Is that so?" exclaimed the skipper, opening his eyes. "I had no idea I
+was to make anything out of this business. But I am in love with this
+boat; and if I get her, I shall be the happiest fellow on Penobscot
+Bay."</p>
+
+<p>"You will have her; and we'll manage it so that you shall have the use
+of her till she is sold," added Mr. Hines.</p>
+
+<p>Captain Chinks was no longer a man of doubtful reputation. His
+contraband operations were capable of proof without his confession, and
+his reputation as a dishonest man was now fully established. The Skylark
+arrived at Rockland in a couple of hours. The United States deputy
+marshal arrested Captain Chinks; but he was liberated on bail furnished
+by Squire Gilfilian. The Skylark was seized, and Mr. Hines appointed
+keeper; and, on his own responsibility, he permitted Bobtail to have the
+use of her.</p>
+
+<p>The detective had fully sifted the captain's method of operating. He was
+in company with a "Blue Nose" fisherman, who used to run the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_320" id="Page_320">[Pg 320]</a></span> goods down
+to the coast of Maine, where his partner took them into his boat,
+usually in the night, or under the lee of some uninhabited island.
+Another lot was on its way, but the captain concluded to have them
+properly entered, and paid the duties.</p>
+
+<p>When Bobtail returned from the custom-house in Rockland to the Skylark,
+he found Mr. Tom Barkesdale on board of her, waiting for him. This
+gentleman had come down to Camden in the steamer, and finding that the
+boy had gone to Rockland, he obtained a team, and drove to that place,
+where he found the Skylark at the wharf. Monkey did not know where the
+skipper had gone; but he soon appeared with all his passengers, for the
+business had not detained them more than an hour. But Mr. Barkesdale was
+not inclined to "tell him all" in the presence of so many persons. He
+finally, after much persuasion, induced Bobtail to return with him in
+his buggy, while Mr. Hines sailed the Skylark back to Camden. Nothing
+but the assurance that the business was of the utmost importance could
+prevail upon the skipper to leave the yacht; and much he wondered what
+that business could be. They walked up<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_321" id="Page_321">[Pg 321]</a></span> to the hotel together, but, as
+yet, Mr. Barkesdale said nothing.</p>
+
+<p>"I think you have worn that bobtail coat about long enough," said the
+gentleman, when they came to Main Street.</p>
+
+<p>"I have a better suit at home."</p>
+
+<p>"What color is it?"</p>
+
+<p>"Blue, sir."</p>
+
+<p>"That will hardly answer. You must go up to Belfast with me, and attend
+the funeral of Mr. Montague."</p>
+
+<p>"I?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes; the family are all very much interested in you. You need a black
+suit, and we will get one here," added Mr. Barkesdale, as they entered
+the best clothing store on the street.</p>
+
+<p>The finest suit that could be obtained was purchased; and it was
+supplemented, at other stores, with a cap, nice shoes, black kid gloves,
+and other furnishing goods. Bobtail protested against the gloves; he did
+not want any gloves in summer; never wore them, except in winter. But
+Mr. Barkesdale said he must wear them at the funeral, if he never did
+again.</p>
+
+<p>"I don't see why I should be rigged up in all<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_322" id="Page_322">[Pg 322]</a></span> these togs, to go to the
+funeral of a man I never saw but twice in my life," said Bobtail, as
+they seated themselves in the buggy.</p>
+
+<p>"You don't know much," laughed Mr. Barkesdale.</p>
+
+<p>"I know I don't."</p>
+
+<p>"You don't even know your own name."</p>
+
+<p>"Everybody calls me Little Bobtail, and it wouldn't be strange if I
+forgot my own name," replied the boy.</p>
+
+<p>"I'm told your father's habits are not very good."</p>
+
+<p>"Zeke Taylor's? He isn't my father; he is my mother's second husband;
+and my father died when I was small."</p>
+
+<p>"Your mother must have a hard time of it with a drunken husband."</p>
+
+<p>"That's so; I wish she would leave him; and I think she will, for he
+don't do much, and spends all he gets for rum. He's ugly, too, and tries
+to get her money away from her."</p>
+
+<p>"Then your mother has money of her own?"</p>
+
+<p>"I don't know; there's something strange about it," replied Bobtail,
+looking into the face of his companion, and wondering what he was
+"driving<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_323" id="Page_323">[Pg 323]</a></span> at." "Zeke says she has money hid away from him."</p>
+
+<p>"Then you have thought of the matter?"</p>
+
+<p>"Well, I can't see, for the life of me, how she supports the family."</p>
+
+<p>"Well you don't know much&mdash;not even your own name," laughed Mr.
+Barkesdale again.</p>
+
+<p>"I know that my father's name was Wayland, and by rights mine ought to
+be Wayland."</p>
+
+<p>"Are you quite sure of that?"</p>
+
+<p>"Of course I am. I know what my mother told me. I was born in the Island
+of Cuba."</p>
+
+<p>"That's true, but not the rest of it."</p>
+
+<p>"What do you mean?"</p>
+
+<p>"Your name is not Wayland."</p>
+
+<p>"What is it, then?" asked Bobtail, amazed beyond expression.</p>
+
+<p>"Your name is Robert Barkesdale Montague&mdash;the middle name after me."</p>
+
+<p>"You don't mean so!"</p>
+
+<p>"I do; and when you see your mother, as you call her, she will tell you
+the same thing."</p>
+
+<p>"Isn't she my mother?" asked Bobtail,&mdash;or rather Robert, as we shall
+insist upon calling him now,&mdash;with a gasp of astonishment.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_324" id="Page_324">[Pg 324]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"She is not; she is a very worthy woman, but she is not your mother."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, who is my mother?"</p>
+
+<p>"The first Mrs. Montague, of course; she died in Cuba when you were only
+a few months old. Mrs. Wayland&mdash;as she was then&mdash;was your nurse. She has
+brought you up, and brought you up very well too, for it appears that
+you are an honest, good boy, noble, brave, and intelligent."</p>
+
+<p>"But what's the reason I never knew anything about this before?" asked
+the puzzled youth.</p>
+
+<p>"I'll tell you;" and Mr. Barkesdale told the story which is related in
+the first two chapters.</p>
+
+<p>"I supposed I had a mother, but no father. It turns out just the other
+way," said Robert, rubbing his throbbing head.</p>
+
+<p>"And your father is one of the best men in the world."</p>
+
+<p>"Mrs. Taylor is one of the best women in the world; and I shall be sorry
+to leave her. I don't like to believe she is not my mother, after all
+she has done for me. I don't believe she ever spoke a cross word to me
+in her life;" and the tears started in the boy's eyes.</p>
+
+<p>"I don't think you will have to leave her. Your father will take her up
+to Belfast."</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;">
+<img src="images/i013.jpg" width="500" height="374" alt="" title="" />
+</div><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_325" id="Page_325">[Pg 325]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"And all the money came from my father?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes; I have carried a great deal to her myself."</p>
+
+<p>Robert Montague continued to ask questions till the buggy stopped before
+the door of the cottage in Camden. Mrs. Taylor wept, and the boy wept,
+as they met. He wished that the truth had not been revealed to him. Mr.
+Barkesdale went to the hotel, and Robert spent the evening with Mrs.
+Taylor. Ezekiel was at home, and sober. He was permitted to know where
+the money which had perplexed him so much came from; and, as the son of
+Colonel Montague, he regarded Robert with respect and deference.</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Taylor and Robert took the steamer for Belfast the next morning,
+with Mr. Barkesdale. The boy was dressed in his black suit, and looked
+like another person. Colonel Montague's carriage was waiting for them
+when the steamer arrived. As Robert entered the elegant mansion, now
+"the house of mourning," he could hardly control his violent emotion.
+Mr. Barkesdale conducted him and Mrs. Taylor to the library, where the
+colonel was alone. As they entered, he walked towards his son, grasped
+him by the hand, and turning<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_326" id="Page_326">[Pg 326]</a></span> away his face, wept bitterly. Robert could
+not help weeping in sympathy.</p>
+
+<p>"You know now that you are my son," said he, when he was able to speak.</p>
+
+<p>"Mr. Barkesdale told me all about it."</p>
+
+<p>"You are my son, and I am proud of you; but I have been a coward,
+Robert," added the colonel, with anguish. "I have wronged my father, who
+lies dead in the house; and I have wronged you, my son."</p>
+
+<p>"No, sir; you haven't wronged me," protested Robert.</p>
+
+<p>"I have kept you out of your birthright for sixteen years."</p>
+
+<p>"I couldn't have been any better off than I was with Mrs. Taylor,"
+replied the boy, turning to the woman.</p>
+
+<p>The colonel took her hand, and expressed his gratitude to her for all
+she had done.</p>
+
+<p>"He is a good boy, and I wish he was my son," said Mrs. Taylor. "I can't
+bear to think of losing him."</p>
+
+<p>"You shall not be separated, and he and I both will see that you never
+want for anything while you live."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_327" id="Page_327">[Pg 327]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Montague and Grace were sent for, and presently appeared.</p>
+
+<p>"I am glad to see you, my boy," said the lady, as she took both his
+hands. "You are my son now."</p>
+
+<p>"And did you know I was Colonel Montague's son before?" asked Robert.</p>
+
+<p>"I knew it before I was married to him," she replied. "My husband always
+reproached himself&mdash;and now more than ever&mdash;because he concealed his
+first marriage from his father; but my brother and I always thought it
+right for him to do so."</p>
+
+<p>"I know it was wrong," added the colonel, bitterly.</p>
+
+<p>"Undoubtedly it was wrong in the abstract, but it was the least of two
+evils," said Mr. Barkesdale.</p>
+
+<p>"Now you are my brother, I shall kiss you again," was the greeting of
+Grace, as she suited the action to the word.</p>
+
+<p>The rest of the day was spent in talking over the events of the past,
+and Robert Montague was duly installed as a member of the household. The
+funeral took place the next day, and hundreds of people stared at the
+boy who rode with the other<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_328" id="Page_328">[Pg 328]</a></span> members of the family in the first
+carriage, and wondered why he was there. In a few days the strange story
+was fully circulated both in Belfast and in Camden.</p>
+
+<p>On the day after the funeral Robert returned to his former home with
+Mrs. Taylor. He was greeted by his friends with a deference which made
+him feel very awkward; and when he went on board of the Skylark, Monkey
+hardly dared to speak to him. But he soon convinced all that his altered
+fortunes had not changed his heart. He was more amazed himself than
+other people were to find himself the son of one of the richest and most
+distinguished men in the state. He returned to his new home in the
+Skylark on the same day, and arrived soon enough to give Grace a sail in
+the yacht before dark.</p>
+
+<p>In due time Robert attended the trial of Captain Chinks, who pleaded
+guilty, and was sentenced to a year's imprisonment for opening the
+letter and stealing the money. The yacht and the liquor were condemned
+and sold. The captain was fined a thousand dollars; and it was said that
+he got off easy because he pleaded guilty. Colonel Montague bought the
+Skylark when she was<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_329" id="Page_329">[Pg 329]</a></span> sold, with his son's share of "the moiety of the
+penalty and forfeiture." With his father as a passenger, Robert sailed
+the yacht home.</p>
+
+<p>The Penobscot was got off by the sailing-master and crew at the next
+tide after she went on the ledge. Buoyed up with casks she was towed to
+Belfast, where she was put on the ways, and made as good as new.</p>
+
+<p>"I thought your sailing-master was rather reckless that night," said
+Robert, one day, as they passed the Penobscot on the ways, and were
+discussing the mishap.</p>
+
+<p>"It was not his fault. The wheel broke down," replied the colonel.</p>
+
+<p>"I didn't know the wheel broke."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes; that was the trouble; but if it had been the sailing-master's
+fault, I wouldn't have said a word, after he saved my father. He's a
+brave fellow; he is like you, my son. If you had been less brave,
+Robert, Grace would certainly have been drowned, or killed on the
+rocks."</p>
+
+<p>Colonel Montague shuddered as he thought of such a calamity, and then
+gazed with admiration upon his son.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_330" id="Page_330">[Pg 330]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"I would have done that any time for the fun of it," laughed Robert.</p>
+
+<p>"It was hard for me, when we met on the deck of the Penobscot, to keep
+from telling you the truth&mdash;that you were my son."</p>
+
+<p>"It's all right now."</p>
+
+<p>The conversation turned to Mrs. Taylor. Colonel Montague wanted to take
+her into his family, but her drunken husband was in the way of such a
+step. On one of her trips down the bay the Skylark put into Camden, and
+Robert and his father called upon her.</p>
+
+<p>"I'm all alone now," said Mrs. Taylor, after she had exchanged greetings
+with her visitors.</p>
+
+<p>"Why, where is Ezekiel?" asked Robert.</p>
+
+<p>"He went off a-fishing yesterday in Prince's boat, and caught a great
+fare of mackerel. He sold them for nine dollars, and of course he has
+been intoxicated ever since. This afternoon he got into a quarrel with
+Moses Pitkins, and struck him with a club. Both of them were drunk, and
+they say Moses is so badly hurt that he may die. Ezekiel was taken up,
+and sent over to Rockland."</p>
+
+<p>"Then you had better go with us to Belfast, Mrs. Taylor," added Colonel
+Montague.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_331" id="Page_331">[Pg 331]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Robert begged her to do so, and she consented. Squire Simonton was
+engaged to defend Ezekiel when his trial came off. Mrs. Taylor went to
+Belfast in the Skylark, and was kindly welcomed at the elegant mansion.</p>
+
+<p>Moses Pitkins did not die, but Ezekiel was sentenced to two months'
+imprisonment. Squire Simonton labored diligently with him to abandon his
+cups; but the two months' abstinence did him more good than the
+arguments, able and kind as they were. When he was discharged he
+returned to Camden to find his home deserted. Squire Simonton renewed
+his efforts to secure the reform of the toper. He assured Ezekiel that
+his wife would not live with him if he continued to be intemperate. He
+promised faithfully never to drink a drop, and the squire kept an eye on
+him. He let the house to Prince, and boarded with him. He went to work
+at his trade, and people said Ezekiel Taylor was a new man since he came
+out of prison. Mrs. Taylor heard of his good behavior, and came down to
+see him. He promised her faithfully that he would never drink another
+drop. Colonel Montague had given her a beautiful little cottage near his
+own house, handsomely furnished,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_332" id="Page_332">[Pg 332]</a></span> when the reports indicated that
+Ezekiel had actually reformed. Having satisfied herself of the truth of
+the report, she invited him to his new home. Thus far he has kept his
+promise, and both are happy in their new residence, which Robert visits
+every day, and sometimes oftener.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Walker and his family spent a week with the Montagues, in September,
+after Mr. Barkesdale had gone. Though picnics and pleasure parties were
+not in order so soon after the death of the Hon. Mr. Montague, Robert
+took Grace and Emily out to sail every day in the Skylark; and up to
+this date, he thinks Miss Walker is the prettiest girl in the State of
+Maine. He may change his mind within ten years; but if he does not, she
+will probably have an opportunity to accept or refuse his hand.</p>
+
+<p>Monkey was retained for service in the Skylark during the rest of the
+season. He still thinks his friend, the skipper, is the greatest man in
+the world. He sends a portion of his wages to his mother, and in the
+fall moved her up to Belfast. Robert goes to Camden occasionally, and
+always calls upon Mr. Simonton, who invariably gives him a cheerful
+welcome. His views in regard to smuggling<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_333" id="Page_333">[Pg 333]</a></span> are very definite now, and,
+as Robert Barkesdale Montague, he believes that fidelity to principle is
+the only safe rule of life, whether it brings worldly prosperity or
+adversity, as did <span class="smcap">Little Bobtail</span>.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2>NEW AND ATTRACTIVE PUBLICATIONS</h2>
+
+<h4>OF</h4>
+
+<h3>LEE AND SHEPARD, Publishers,</h3>
+
+<h4>BOSTON,</h4>
+
+<h3>LEE, SHEPARD, AND DILLINGHAM, New York.</h3>
+
+
+<h4>OLIVER OPTIC'S NEW BOOKS.</h4>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>MONEY-MAKER; <span class="smcap">or, The Victory of the Basilisk.</span> 16mo.
+Illustrated. $1.50.</p>
+
+<p>THE YACHT CLUB; <span class="smcap">or, The Young Boat-Builder.</span> 16mo. Illustrated.
+$1.50.</p>
+
+<p>LITTLE BOBTAIL; <span class="smcap">or, The Wreck of the Penobscot.</span> 16mo.
+Illustrated. $1.50.</p>
+
+<p>THE COMING WAVE; <span class="smcap">or, The Hidden Treasure of High Rock.</span> 16mo.
+Illustrated. $1.50.</p>
+
+<p>THE YACHT CLUB SERIES. 4 vols. In neat box. Per vol., $1.50.</p></div>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i4">1. LITTLE BOBTAIL.<br /></span>
+<span class="i4">2. THE YACHT CLUB.<br /></span>
+<span class="i4">3. MONEY-MAKER.<br /></span>
+<span class="i4">4. THE COMING WAVE.<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>In this series each book contains an entirely independent
+story, with a hero or heroine of its own, and having no
+necessary connection with any other volume. Each volume
+contains thirteen full-page engravings, expressly designed for
+it by the well-known American artist, C. G. Bush.</p></div>
+
+
+<p>NEW PUBLICATIONS OF LEE AND SHEPARD.</p>
+
+<p>RUNNING TO WASTE. The Story of a Tomboy. By <span class="smcap">Geo. M. Baker</span>. 16mo.
+Illustrated. $1.50. This is the second volume of the Maidenhood Series.</p>
+
+<p>"A Perfect Little Gem."</p>
+
+
+<p>NEW SONGS FOR LITTLE PEOPLE. <span class="smcap">By Mrs. Mary E. Anderson.</span> Small 4to. Cloth.
+Illustrated. $1.25.</p>
+
+<p>"An Instructive and Interesting Book."</p>
+
+
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+Illustrated. $1.25.</p>
+
+<p>"An Example of Honor and Fidelity."</p>
+
+
+<p>THE YOUNG ENGINEER. A Memoir of Frank Russell Firth. With an
+Introduction by Rev. <span class="smcap">E. E. Hale</span>, and a Sketch of the Life of <span class="smcap">Otis
+Everett Allen.</span> 16mo. With Portrait. $1.50.</p>
+
+<p>A Prize Volume.</p>
+
+
+<p>HOW MARJORY HELPED. By <span class="smcap">M. Carroll.</span> 16mo. Illustrated. $1.50.</p>
+
+<p>A New Compilation.</p>
+
+
+<p>THE COLUMBIAN SPEAKER. Collating of Choice and Animated Pieces for
+Declamation and Reading. Selected and adapted by <span class="smcap">Loomis J. Campbell</span>, and
+<span class="smcap">Oren Root, Jr.</span> 16mo. Cloth. 75 cents.</p>
+
+<p>To be followed by other books, each complete in itself, graduated to the
+capacities of the various classes of pupils and students.</p>
+
+
+<p>By the Author of "Amateur Dramas."</p>
+
+<p>THE READING-CLUB AND HANDY SPEAKER. Being Selections in Prose and
+Poetry, Serious, Humorous, Pathetic, Patriotic, and Dramatic, for
+Headings and Recitations. Edited by <span class="smcap">George M. Baker.</span> No. 1. 16mo. 50
+cents.</p>
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+<pre>
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Little Bobtail, by Oliver Optic
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+</body>
+</html>
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@@ -0,0 +1,8255 @@
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Little Bobtail, 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: Little Bobtail
+       or The Wreck of the Penobscot.
+
+Author: Oliver Optic
+
+Release Date: May 14, 2008 [EBook #25466]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LITTLE BOBTAIL ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by David Edwards, Josephine Paolucci and the
+Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net.
+(This file was produced from images generously made
+available by The Internet Archive.)
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration]
+
+[Illustration: OLIVER OPTIC'S YACHT CLUB SERIES.
+
+LITTLE BOBTAIL.
+
+LEE & SHEPARD, BOSTON]
+
+
+
+
+THE YACHT CLUB SERIES.
+
+LITTLE BOBTAIL;
+
+or,
+
+THE WRECK OF THE PENOBSCOT.
+
+BY
+
+OLIVER OPTIC,
+
+AUTHOR OF "YOUNG AMERICA ABROAD," "THE ARMY AND NAVY STORIES," "THE
+WOODVILLE STORIES," "THE BOAT CLUB STORIES," "THE STARRY FLAG SERIES,"
+"THE LAKE SHORE SERIES," ETC.
+
+_WITH THIRTEEN ILLUSTRATIONS._
+
+BOSTON:
+LEE AND SHEPARD, PUBLISHERS.
+
+NEW YORK:
+LEE, SHEPARD AND DILLINGHAM.
+1875.
+
+
+Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1872,
+
+By WILLIAM T. ADAMS,
+
+In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington.
+
+
+ELECTROTYPED AT THE
+
+BOSTON STEREOTYPE FOUNDRY,
+
+19 Spring Lane.
+
+
+    TO
+
+    MY YOUNG FRIEND
+
+    _FRANK RICHARDSON_,
+
+    OF BROOKLYN, N. Y.,
+
+    This Book is Affectionately Dedicated.
+
+
+The Yacht Club Series.
+
+1. LITTLE BOBTAIL; OR, THE WRECK OF THE PENOBSCOT.
+
+2. THE YACHT CLUB; OR, THE YOUNG BOAT-BUILDER.
+
+(Others in preparation.)
+
+
+
+
+PREFACE.
+
+
+"LITTLE BOBTAIL" is the first volume of the YACHT CLUB SERIES, each book
+of which will contain an entirely independent story, with a hero of its
+own, and having no necessary connection with any other story. The author
+hopes that this plan will commend itself to those who do not care to
+follow a young gentleman through half a dozen volumes in order to know
+the issue of his adventures, or to learn whether or not he is faithful
+to himself, to God, and his fellow-beings to the end. God's truth is
+always the same, and good characters must be very much alike. Little
+Bobtail is not very different from any other hero, devoted to Truth and
+Duty, though the incidents of his life are various enough to satisfy any
+young person's craving for novelty.
+
+The story was suggested by some actual incidents, which occurred during
+the brief summer residence of the writer at the locality of the
+principal events described. Though there was a "Little Bobtail" there,
+he was hardly the character who is the hero of this work. Penobscot Bay,
+its multitude of picturesque islands, and its beautiful shores, are the
+same in fact as in this fiction, and as for two seasons the author has
+lived upon the land and sailed upon the water, amid its beautiful
+scenery, he feels quite at home in the localities mentioned.
+
+If Little Bobtail was loose in his ideas of "smuggling" at first, he was
+clear in all his other views of duty; and having corrected his wrong
+impressions, his example is worthy to be followed. The writer hopes
+that, while his stirring experience will be enjoyed by the reader, his
+excellent character will be appreciated and valued even more than the
+worldly fortune he obtains.
+
+    HARRISON SQUARE, BOSTON,
+
+    October 10, 1872.
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS.
+
+
+                                         PAGE
+
+CHAPTER I.
+SIXTEEN YEARS BEFORE                       11
+
+CHAPTER II.
+THE END OF A SAD STORY                     29
+
+CHAPTER III.
+LITTLE BOBTAIL                             47
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+THE JANTY YACHT                            65
+
+CHAPTER V.
+MONKEY                                     81
+
+CHAPTER VI.
+CAPTAIN CHINKS                             99
+
+CHAPTER VII.
+IN THE CABIN OF THE SKYLARK               117
+
+CHAPTER VIII.
+A CHANCE FOR BUSINESS                     135
+
+CHAPTER IX.
+THE PENOBSCOT                             153
+
+CHAPTER X.
+GRACE MONTAGUE                            171
+
+CHAPTER XI.
+THE FIVE HUNDRED DOLLAR BILL              189
+
+CHAPTER XII.
+CAPTAIN CHIVES IS INDIFFERENT             207
+
+CHAPTER XIII.
+THE EXAMINATION                           225
+
+CHAPTER XIV.
+THE DISCHARGE                             243
+
+CHAPTER XV.
+A TRIP TO BAR HARBOR                      260
+
+CHAPTER XVI.
+THE CHASE                                 278
+
+CHAPTER XVII.
+THE WRECK OF THE PENOBSCOT                296
+
+CHAPTER XVIII.
+ROBERT BARKESDALE MONTAGUE                313
+
+
+
+
+LITTLE BOBTAIL;
+
+OR,
+
+THE WRECK OF THE PENOBSCOT.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+SIXTEEN YEARS BEFORE.
+
+
+"If you do, Edward, you are no son of mine," said the Honorable Peter
+Montague, wrathfully, to the young gentleman who stood before him with
+bowed head. "If you connect yourself in any manner with the family of
+Richard Medway, I will disown you; I will never speak to you; I will
+never permit you to come into my presence again!"
+
+"But, father--"
+
+"I won't argue the matter," interposed the irate old gentleman. "You
+know that Medway and I are sworn foes; that he has injured me in my
+prospects, in my name, and reputation. I wouldn't forgive him if he
+went down on his knees and sued for my pardon. He has injured me in that
+manner and to that degree that there is no possibility of
+reconciliation."
+
+"But Mr. Medway has no such feelings towards you. He respects you, in
+spite of your differences," added Edward Montague, in the gentlest of
+tones.
+
+"I don't care what his feelings are towards me. After injuring me as he
+has, he can afford to be magnanimous. After robbing me of my hopes and
+my reputation, he can talk very flippantly about burying the hatchet. I
+tell you again there must be no relations of any kind between his family
+and mine. I am astonished and indignant, Edward, to think that you
+should allow yourself to be caught in any such trap."
+
+"Trap, father!" exclaimed the young man, a slight flush of indignation
+spreading over his handsome face.
+
+"Yes, a trap, Edward," stormed Mr. Montague. "I am a rich man,--all the
+world knows it,--and you are my only son. I am worth a million of
+dollars, at the least,--not in book accounts and bad debts, but in real
+estate, stocks, bonds, and mortgages. You are a prize in the lottery,
+Edward."
+
+[Illustration]
+
+The old man looked at his son with a sneer on his face, which was called
+forth by the thought that any one, least of all his bitter personal
+enemy, should aspire to hold any relations with this paragon of wealth.
+
+"I do not think that Sara Medway or her father covets your wealth,"
+added Edward, in a very mildly deprecatory tone.
+
+"You are nothing but a boy! you don't know the world. You have been at
+your books till you are twenty-one years old, and now you are as
+innocent of all knowledge of the ways of men as a child in its cradle."
+
+"But, father, I know that Sara Medway is not an adventurer," added
+Edward, who was more anxious to defend the lady implicated than himself.
+
+"You don't know anything about it," raved the old gentleman, angered
+anew by the protest of the son.
+
+"She is as gentle as she is beautiful; and I am sure she is not capable
+of thinking a mercenary thought."
+
+"Stuff! You talk like a baby, that knows nothing of the world--that's
+all."
+
+"But you don't know her," suggested Edward, who was actually so simple
+as to believe that this consideration ought to have some influence upon
+the sentence of his father.
+
+"I know her father, and that's enough. The chances are, that she is like
+him. But, whether she is like him or not, there can be no relations
+between his family and mine. Do you understand me, Edward?" demanded the
+Honorable Mr. Montague, sternly.
+
+"I think I do, sir."
+
+"You think you do, you puppy!" thundered the old gentleman.
+
+"I was not aware that you were prejudiced against Miss Medway," added
+Edward, musing, as though he did not desire to understand his father.
+
+"I hate the whole race of them, and I will have nothing to do or say to
+any of them; and you shall not, either."
+
+The young man made no reply; and silence is sometimes more impudent, and
+sometimes expresses more firmness, than speech. At any rate, at this
+time and under these circumstances, it indicated that Edward Montague
+had a mind, a will of his own, and that, though he did not wish to
+provoke his father to wrath, he intended to follow his own inclination,
+rather than consult the unreasonable prejudices of his father. Whether
+this was a correct interpretation of the son's purposes or not, the
+father so regarded it, and his wrath increased accordingly.
+
+"If I haven't spoken plainly enough, I will leave you no chance of
+misunderstanding me. If you marry the girl, I will disown you. Can you
+understand that? If you marry her, I will never see you or speak to you
+again. Do you think you can understand that? If you marry her, not a
+dollar of my property shall ever be yours. Do you fully comprehend me? I
+mean all I say, literally and exactly. I won't leave you even the hope
+of breaking my will when I am dead. I will give away every penny before
+I die. I will found a hospital, or an insane asylum for just such
+lunatics as you are, and every dollar I possess shall be in its coffers
+before I am put in the ground. I hope you understand me, Edward."
+
+"I think I do, sir," replied the young man, sadly.
+
+"You _think_ you do!"
+
+"It is not possible to misunderstand you, father; I fully understand
+your views."
+
+"Well, what have you to say?" stormed the father.
+
+"I do not see that anything can be said."
+
+"Your intentions?"
+
+"Of course I can only submit."
+
+"You begin to be sensible. You are my son, my only son, Edward," said
+the old gentleman, in a milder tone. "All my hopes are in you. I have
+never been hard with you."
+
+"You have not, father."
+
+"But I would rather lose every dollar I have in the world to-day, and
+begin life anew at the age of sixty, than see you the husband of
+Medway's daughter. I mean just what I say, and nothing less. It would
+break my heart."
+
+The young man wanted to say that it would break his heart not to be the
+husband of Sara Medway; but he had learned to temporize and be insincere
+before the unreasonable wrath of his father, and he was silent.
+
+"You are twenty-one now. You have gone through college, and have only to
+study your profession. You needn't make hard work of it, for you will
+not be obliged to drudge for a living; but you may wish to go into
+politics, and as a lawyer you will succeed better. You shall have all
+the money you want. I have already decided to give you an allowance of
+five thousand a year, and you can check it from the bank as you want it.
+Go to Europe for the next year or two, if you wish; travel in your own
+country first, if you like. Your health is somewhat shaken by your
+confinement in college, and a couple of years' recreation will do you
+good. You needn't hurry about your profession. Please yourself, Edward,
+in everything except this Medway matter; and don't let me hear another
+word about this girl; don't go near her; don't write to her."
+
+The Honorable Mr. Montague, having delivered himself of his harsh
+threat, and having smoothed it over in the most gingerly manner he
+could, walked out of the library, where the conversation had taken
+place. He evidently felt relieved, and, perhaps, thought that he had
+bravely met a great responsibility, and had done his whole duty
+faithfully to his son. He honestly believed that the Honorable Mr.
+Medway was a villain of the blackest dye, not only politically, but
+morally and socially; and, this postulate admitted, it followed, by his
+narrow reasoning, that Mrs. Medway, Miss Medway, and all that related to
+the fountain Medway were, utterly vile and villanous. He hated the
+father, and he could not help hating the daughter.
+
+Mr. Montague was a Whig, and Mr. Medway was a Democrat; or, Mr. Montague
+was a Democrat, and Mr. Medway was a Whig; we cannot tell just how this
+was; it is enough to say that they were on opposite sides in politics.
+Mr. Montague was a wealthy man, and Mr. Medway was not; and both of them
+were nominated for Congress in the same district, in the State of Maine.
+It was a close contest, and party rancor was very bitter. Not only the
+public acts, but the private lives of the candidates were criticised in
+the severest manner by the opposition; and an unbiassed spectator,
+believing all that was said, would have promptly concluded that both of
+them were unmitigated scoundrels. Mr. Montague had a skeleton in an
+almost forgotten closet, and, somehow, this skeleton stalked out into
+the political arena, and perhaps frightened away some of its owner's
+adherents. Perhaps it was a forgotten and repented sin; but Mr.
+Montague's opponents made the most of it. Now, this gentleman, from
+certain circumstances which need not be explained, was satisfied that
+Mr. Medway had trotted out this skeleton and held it up as a bugbear to
+the people, and he hated his rival with all his mind, heart, and soul.
+
+The election came, and Mr. Montague was defeated by a very small
+majority. He had been sure that he should be chosen, and the result
+intensified his hatred of his successful opponent to a degree which made
+it little short of insanity. Years hardly moderated its fervor, though
+it ceased to find frequent expression. The hope of long years was
+frustrated; the crown of glory and success was denied him, he firmly
+believed, by the villany of his rival in exposing the skeleton in the
+closet. He was a defeated candidate. The prestige was against him; and,
+in the state of parties, he could not hope to be nominated again. His
+enemy had overwhelmed him once and for all.
+
+It is fair to say that Mr. Medway knew nothing about the skeleton, had
+not brought it forward, and did not even believe in its existence.
+
+The Honorable Mr. Medway went to Congress, and was once re-elected,
+though he did not particularly distinguish himself as an orator or a
+blackguard. He was a quiet, sensible man, who always voted on party
+lines. He had a wife and one daughter, who endured Washington life for
+one term, but after this preferred to spend the winters with Mrs.
+Medway's sister in Brunswick. This lady's husband was a professor in the
+college, and some of the students occasionally visited in his family.
+Edward Montague was one of this number.
+
+Sara Medway was a beautiful girl of his own age; and the young man,
+having been absent during the political contest, and neither knowing nor
+caring anything about its merits or demerits, was stupid enough to fall
+in love with the professor's fair guest. He was very attentive to her,
+and the affair became town talk, as such affairs usually do. His father
+heard of it; but he had no opportunity to remonstrate with him in a
+very decided manner until after Edward was graduated. When he went home,
+the interview we have narrated occurred. The young man was confounded at
+the violence of his father, and astonished to find that the old
+gentleman, who had always been indulgent to the last degree, even to his
+follies and vices, could be so harsh and implacable. There could be no
+mistaking his father's meaning; and Edward was obliged to accept the
+issue.
+
+Mr. Medway had finished his second congressional term, and come home
+with his family. Edward tried hard to obey his father, and travelled
+till October. When he returned he heard with dismay that Sara Medway was
+ill, and had some of the symptoms of incipient consumption. He had not
+seen her for three months. Though not engaged, he was confident that she
+reciprocated his affection; and his conscience smote him as he thought
+his abrupt termination of their acquaintance might have affected her
+health. But Edward dreaded his father's anger, while he could not wholly
+resist his impulses.
+
+One evening he stealthily called at the house of Mr. Medway, and was
+cordially welcomed by all, and especially by Sara. More than ever before
+he realized the depth of her affection, and traced in her looks, her
+tones, and the blushes upon her pale cheek, the triumphal joy with which
+she again welcomed him to her presence. He could not tell her that he
+should come no more; but, while her mother left the room for a few
+moments, he spoke a whole volume in a few words, and she frankly
+declared her sentiments towards him. In a word, they were engaged.
+
+Before he bade her adieu for the night, her father came home. Ho knew
+his daughter's preference,--not that she had in words betrayed the
+secret of her soul,--and was rejoiced to see the young man. He expressed
+his satisfaction without reserve. Edward was troubled, not alone at the
+prospect of losing his father's fortune, but with the fear of his
+father's wrath. He dreaded the rupture that would separate the only son
+from his father. Mr. Medway invited him to smoke a cigar in the library.
+Edward disclosed what had passed between himself and Sara, and detailed
+his interview with his father. Mr. Medway was astonished and shocked at
+the unreasonableness of his late rival. He knew that Mr. Montague
+disliked him, avoided him, and refused to take part in any enterprise
+with him; but he had no suspicion of the depth of his hatred. He was
+sorely troubled because his own presumed errors were visited upon his
+innocent daughter.
+
+Sara was sad and moody after Edward ceased so suddenly to visit her, and
+her parents believed that her health had been impaired by her sorrow.
+Her father hoped and believed that the return of Edward would prove to
+be the panacea to restore her; and the young man's confession appalled
+him. He could not counsel him to forsake fortune and family for his
+daughter's sake, even while he feared that his refusal to do so would be
+fatal to her. He could give no advice, though the young man asked for
+it. He volunteered to conceal the fact of Edward's visit, which was
+several times repeated with the same privacy.
+
+Sara's health improved as her cheerfulness returned; but her physician
+dreaded the long, cold winter. About this time appeared a volume
+entitled Gan-Eden, or Pictures of Cuba, which fell into Mr. Medway's
+hands. He read it, and was fully impressed with the desirableness of
+Cuba as a winter residence for consumptives. He suggested the thought
+to the doctor, and the result was, that Mr. Medway went to the island
+with his wife and daughter. Edward saw her before her departure, and
+their plighting was renewed, with the hope of meeting in the spring.
+
+When she had gone, he was moody and discontented. A few weeks later Tom
+Barkesdale, his chum in college, who resided in New Orleans, came to his
+home to spend a few days. Edward and his father were courteous and
+munificent hosts, and did all that was possible to make the guest happy.
+He was happy, but he could not help seeing that his old college friend
+was not.
+
+"What's the matter with you, Ned?" said Tom, as they sailed in a small
+yacht on the bright waters of Penobscot Bay, on one of the soft days of
+the Indian summer. "You are as blue as a Yankee whetstone."
+
+"Am I? I was not aware of it," replied Edward, shaking off his moodiness
+for the moment.
+
+"Yes, you are. If I stop talking for a moment, you sink away into a
+gloomy dream. You seem to me to be half muddled. What ails you?"
+
+"O, nothing."
+
+"I don't believe you. You haven't seemed at all natural since I came. I
+hope I'm not in the way of anything."
+
+"Certainly not, Tom. You are never in the way."
+
+"But, candidly and seriously, now, what ails you?"
+
+"Nothing at all ails me, my dear fellow. If anything did, I would tell
+you sooner than I would my own father."
+
+"Not in love--are you, Ned?" added Tom, straightening up, and looking
+full into the face of his friend. "By the way, where is the daughter of
+that member of Congress whom you used to be sweet upon?"
+
+"She has gone to Cuba to spend the winter," replied Edward.
+
+"I see just how the land lies now. She has gone to Cuba for her health,
+and you are pining away in solitude in the frozen north. But, Ned,
+didn't you write me that the affair had slipped up, fallen through, or
+something of that sort?"
+
+"I thought it had; but I didn't know myself," replied the lover, with a
+sigh.
+
+"O, ho! I see. She's a beautiful girl. Upon my word, I envy you, Ned.
+If you hadn't stepped in before me, my dear fellow, I should have fallen
+into that trap myself."
+
+"Don't say anything about a trap, Tom. You make me shudder."
+
+"What ails you, Ned? Isn't it all smooth--the course of true love, and
+all that sort of thing? Has she given you the mitten?"
+
+"No, no. Everything is lovely so far as she is concerned."
+
+"Is her father inimical? Does her mother dislike you, or her grandmother
+frown upon your hopes?"
+
+"No. Her father and mother are entirely satisfied to let the affair take
+its course."
+
+"Then what are you moping about?" demanded Tom.
+
+"The opposition comes from my father," answered Edward, as he tacked the
+boat, and stood off on a long stretch, evidently with the intention of
+telling his friend all about it.
+
+"What has your father to do with it?" asked Tom.
+
+"He dislikes her father."
+
+"But, if I understand you correctly, you don't purpose to marry her
+father."
+
+"There is an old feud, a political affair, between them. The row
+occurred while I was away from home, fitting for college," added Edward,
+as he proceeded to disclose his present relations with Sara Medway, and
+to explain the nature and intensity of his father's opposition to the
+match.
+
+"That's awkward, Ned," said Tom. "Your governor is a hard case on a
+feud."
+
+"But in everything else he is as indulgent as he can be. I tried to be
+dutiful, even in a matter of this kind; and I did not see Miss Medway
+for three months. Then I heard she was ill, and my conscience reproached
+me. I called to see her. I shall never forget the expression of joy she
+bestowed upon me. She is as much attached to me as I am to her, and I
+know that if I desert her she will die of grief."
+
+"You have a good opinion of yourself, Ned."
+
+"I am in earnest. I think so. I made the first advances, not she."
+
+"I should hope not," laughed Tom.
+
+"And for that reason I feel a sense of responsibility, in addition to my
+devotion to Sara. Now you know all. What can I do?"
+
+"Upon my word, Ned, that's a hard question; and a man must be a Solon to
+advise you."
+
+"You are the sole un who can advise me, Tom," replied Edward, with a
+sickly smile.
+
+"That's a lovesick pun. You are in a tight place. If you hold on, you
+will be frozen to death; if you let go, you will be burned to death. But
+I am inclined to think, my dear fellow, from what I have seen of you
+since I came here, that there is still a third consideration. If you
+obey your governor, the girl will die of grief; if you marry her, you
+lose fortune and father; but if you retain fortune and father, you may
+die of grief yourself. You are moping now; you look pale, and the
+situation is wearing upon you."
+
+"But what can I do?"
+
+"I'll tell you. I'm going to read law this winter with Colonel Bushnel,
+in New Orleans. Come with me, and we will read law together. Before
+spring we shall be able to solve the problem."
+
+The boat returned to the town. Edward liked the plan, for Louisiana was
+nearer Cuba than Maine was. His father did not seriously object; and in
+another fortnight both the young men were in the Crescent City.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+THE END OF A SAD STORY.
+
+
+In New York Edward Montague mailed a letter to Sara Medway. Before he
+had been in New Orleans a week her answer came to him. She was better;
+her cough had entirely left her, and she slept well. Nothing was needed
+to make her happy but his presence.
+
+"Go, Ned; go, by all means," said Tom Barkesdale.
+
+"But my father--"
+
+"Never mind your father," interposed Tom, whose impetuous southern
+temperament could hardly brook the cold caution of his friend.
+
+"I promised to write to him at least once a month."
+
+"Do so, then."
+
+"But my letters will betray me."
+
+"Date them at New Orleans, a day or two ahead, and send them to me
+under cover. I will mail them here, and your father will believe you are
+in this city all the time."
+
+"That's a mean deception," said Edward, whose impulses were rather above
+such conduct.
+
+"All is fair in love and war," laughed Tom. "Your letters from home will
+come here, and I will forward them to you."
+
+Under the temptation that beset him Edward did not long consider this
+scheme before he adopted it; and he went to Havana in the steamer which
+had brought the letter from Sara. The Medways were still in the city,
+for the cottage at Limonar, which was to be their residence, was not yet
+ready for their reception. On his arrival Edward found father and
+daughter plunged in the deepest grief. However the climate agreed with
+Sara, it did not agree with her mother. She was taken sick in a sudden
+and violent manner, and in less than three days she breathed her last,
+though she was attended by the most skilful resident and foreign
+physicians.
+
+Edward's office was now that of comforter, and his presence alone seemed
+to save the stricken ones from utter despair. Both father and daughter
+leaned upon him, and he faithfully discharged the duties which devolved
+upon him. After the funeral of Mrs. Medway, Edward conducted Mr. Medway
+and Sara to their new home at Limonar. In a few weeks the poignancy of
+their grief was abated; but Edward's presence seemed to be even more
+necessary than ever. Tom Barkesdale forwarded his letters and cashed his
+drafts in New Orleans; and the Honorable Mr. Montague in Maine had no
+suspicion that his son was not reading law in the Crescent City.
+
+Two months after the death of Mrs. Medway, Edward Montague was privately
+married, by an English clergyman, to Sara Medway. The circumstances
+seemed to justify the breaking through of the ordinary proprieties which
+regulate the interval between a funeral and a wedding. This event seemed
+to sweep away all the clouds which lowered over the happiness of the
+young people.
+
+Edward had made up his mind to face the wrath of his father, but he
+desired to postpone the tempest as long as possible. He wrote to Tom a
+full account of the step he had taken, and that worthy assured him he
+could conceal his marriage for an indefinite period. The young husband
+did not flatter himself that even a year could elapse before the
+momentous secret would be exposed. There were scores of invalids at
+Limonar, but, fortunately, none who recognized him or the Medways. He
+was very happy in his new relation, and the health of his wife appeared
+to be completely restored.
+
+Letters came regularly from his father--brief, business-like epistles,
+in which the old gentleman, in his clumsy way, expressed his affection
+for his son. Edward used his spare time in reading law and studying the
+Spanish language.
+
+In the spring Edward's letters, in accordance with a suggestion from
+Tom, began to hint at a trip to the Rocky Mountains, for it was hardly
+possible for the young couple to spend the summer in Cuba. In May Edward
+went to New Orleans with his wife, but was very careful to avoid public
+places. Two months later, attended by Tom, the party went up the
+Mississippi and Missouri Rivers, and spent the summer in a quiet
+village. From this point Edward went home to pass a month with his
+father, in order to remove any suspicion in the old gentleman's mind, if
+any had been created; but the old gentleman had never received even a
+hint of the new relation of his son.
+
+The news of Mrs. Medway's death had reached the town, and it was known
+that Sara and her father were spending the winter in the west. This
+intelligence had been communicated by Mr. Medway, who, of course, did
+not allude to the marriage of his daughter.
+
+After spending a month at home, Edward departed for the west, saying
+that he was to meet Tom Barkesdale at St. Louis, and, after a trip to
+the Rocky Mountains, they would return to New Orleans, and resume their
+law studies. The young man wrote to his father from the place where he
+joined his wife and father-in-law. In the autumn the party went to the
+south, and, as soon as it was prudent to do so, Edward, his wife, and
+Mr. Medway returned to Cuba. The cottage at Limonar was just as they had
+left it, and they resumed their quiet domestic life as before. Edward
+had observed, with fear and trembling, that some of the consumptive
+symptoms of his wife appeared while she was at the north. Indeed, she
+had brought back with her a hacking cough, which, however, soon yielded
+to the softening influence of the climate.
+
+Limonar is but a short distance from Matanzas, by railroad, and either
+Mr. Medway or Edward was obliged to visit the city occasionally, to
+procure the comforts and luxuries not to be had in a country village.
+
+Sara's knowledge of Spanish was very limited, though by this time Edward
+spoke it quite fluently. Her Spanish servants were a constant perplexity
+to her, and she very much desired to obtain an English or American woman
+to perform the ordinary offices of the household. On one of his visits
+to the city Edward met an American woman in great distress. Her husband
+was a cooper, with whom she had come from a seaport town in Maine, to
+better their fortunes. High wages tempted him to remain through the
+summer; but as late as October he fell a victim to yellow fever. He had
+sent most of his surplus funds home, and his widow soon exhausted her
+scanty supply of money. Instead of applying to the American consul, she
+went to live with an English family as a nurse. But there she was taken
+sick herself, and was sent away from her comfortable home to a
+boarding-house, lest she should communicate some contagious disease to
+her employer's family. Here she had contracted a debt which she could
+not pay, and was seeking a friend to assist her, when she met Edward in
+a shop. Hearing him speak English, she addressed him.
+
+Though Mrs. Wayland desired only to return to her home in Maine, Edward
+prevailed upon her to go with him to Limonar. He paid her debts,
+provided her with everything she needed, and offered her large wages.
+All were so kind and indulgent to her that she soon became much attached
+to her new friends. When she had been a month at the cottage, Edward
+Montague became the happy father of a fine boy.
+
+But with this joy came the heaviest of sorrows. Sara's health began to
+fail, and the incipient malady which had been working upon her physical
+frame so silently for years rapidly developed itself. The delicious
+climate had lost its influence; and when the boy was only three months
+old, his mother breathed her last. Edward and Mr. Medway were stunned by
+the blow, and wept as those without hope. The young wife was buried by
+the side of the mother in the cemetery in the vicinity of Havana.
+
+There was no longer any motive for the survivors to remain in Cuba.
+Limonar had lost all its glory now, and Edward could not endure the
+sight of the familiar localities which had been hallowed by the presence
+of his lost wife. Mr. Medway was alone in the world. His own health was
+feeble, and he desired only to return to his native land. His spirit was
+broken, and all this world seemed to have passed away. It was decided
+that Mr. Medway, with Mrs. Wayland and the child, should take the
+steamer for New York, and return to Maine, while Edward went home by the
+way of New Orleans.
+
+Much as the young father had loved his boy before, he appeared to be in
+a measure indifferent to him now. His wife and child were a real joy;
+but the boy alone only reminded him of her whom he had lost.
+
+When the steamer arrived at New York, Mr. Medway was too feeble to
+travel. Mrs. Wayland was a faithful nurse to him; but her charge died in
+a week after he landed. The last of the family was gone. His remains
+were sent home, and Mrs. Wayland and the child went with them. She knew
+the whole of the story we have related; and, in his last illness, Mr.
+Medway had impressed upon her mind, in the strongest manner, the
+necessity of entire secrecy in regard to his daughter's marriage and the
+paternity of the child. If Edward chose to acknowledge it, he would do
+so in due time.
+
+Mrs. Wayland had no relations to trouble themselves about her affairs;
+and when she appeared in Camden, which had been the residence of her
+husband, no one thought of asking whether or not the child was her own.
+She volunteered no information on this subject; and, recovering the
+money which her husband had sent home, she was comfortably situated for
+the present. She found a good boarding-place, and devoted herself wholly
+to the little one, who already occupied a large place in her affections.
+
+Edward Montague went to New Orleans, and when he presented himself
+before his college friend, he looked like another man, so severe had
+been the workings of his grief upon him. Tom Barkesdale pressed his hand
+in silence, for he had already been informed by letter of the sad event
+of the last month.
+
+"It is all over with me now, Tom," said he, gloomily, as the tears
+gathered in his hollow eyes.
+
+"Don't take it so hardly, Ned. Time softens the severest trials."
+
+"Not mine. I am ready to die myself now."
+
+"No you are not. Don't give up the battle so. Be a man."
+
+"I can be nothing now. I shall go home, and let my life ebb out with my
+sorrows."
+
+"Don't go home as you are now. You will only make your father miserable.
+You have no right to do that."
+
+"I must tell him all."
+
+"Don't do it, Ned."
+
+"Why not?"
+
+"It will only vex and torment your governor to no purpose. He is an old
+man, and cannot live many years more. Don't disturb him with the
+reflection that you have disobeyed him."
+
+"But my child!"
+
+"Keep the child in the shade for a few years," said Tom; and Edward
+fully understood him. "One of these days you can acknowledge it, and all
+will be well. Out of regard to your father's happiness you ought to keep
+still."
+
+"As my wife is dead now, I hope he will forgive me."
+
+"Perhaps he would, perhaps not. What is the use of stirring up the
+waters and making a storm, when everything is quiet now?"
+
+"But my father cannot help seeing that something has happened to me. I
+can never be as I was before."
+
+"Wait and see," replied the more philosophic young man.
+
+A letter came from Mr. Montague a few days later. It was in the usual
+quiet tone, with the gossip and news of the town. Edward dreaded the
+thought of disturbing the serenity of his father's life. He felt now
+that he ought not to have deceived the old gentleman; that it would have
+been better to face his wrath. He was sure that his own and Sara's
+happiness required that he should marry her; and he could not reproach
+himself for this step. But by this miserable deception--successful as it
+had been--he had stepped from the high plane of honor and truth. He was
+utterly dissatisfied with himself; and all the more so because he
+realized that his wife was worthy of all the sacrifice he could have
+made for her sake. Tom Barkesdale reasoned from a different point of
+view, and insisted that the matter was best as it was. Edward had done
+right in marrying Sara, and it was quite proper to save Mr. Montague
+from the pain and misery of a useless opposition.
+
+Then came another letter from Mrs. Wayland, announcing her safe arrival
+in New York and the illness of Mr. Medway.
+
+"I must go to New York at once," said Edward.
+
+"Don't you do it. You will undo everything that has been done, if you
+do. Probably Mr. Medway has been seasick overmuch. He will be all right
+in a few days. Wait till you hear again, at least."
+
+He did wait, and the next letter informed him of the death of his
+father-in-law, and that his remains had been sent to his friends in
+Maine. Mrs. Wayland added that she should go to Camden at once, where a
+letter from him would reach her.
+
+"It is no use for you to go now, Ned," said Tom. "You can do no good."
+
+"I ought to have gone before."
+
+"As you didn't go before, it cannot be helped. Your father thinks you
+are diligently reading law in the office of Colonel Bushnell, in New
+Orleans. We can't help the past; but I advise you to deceive him no
+longer."
+
+"What do you mean?"
+
+"Go into the office and read law with all your might. Then you will be
+deceiving him no longer. You will be doing just what he thinks you are
+doing," replied Tom, lightly.
+
+"And not tell him of the past?"
+
+"Certainly not."
+
+Edward felt the need of some occupation, and he accepted the counsel of
+his friend. He studied day and night, for he could not join in any of
+the pleasures of the city, or go into the gay society which Tom
+frequented. He wrote to Mrs. Wayland, enclosing a considerable sum of
+money; but he forbade her writing to him, lest the fact of a letter to
+him from Camden should connect him with the child. It was a groundless
+fear; but he had now fully resolved not to disturb his father's peace by
+acknowledging his own disobedience.
+
+For four months he studied so diligently that his friend began to fear
+he would impair his health. Every day found him more cheerful than the
+last; and it was plain enough that youth and time were rapidly
+conquering his grief. He began to go into society again, and the
+presence of the ladies was not altogether repulsive to him. In June,
+with Tom as his companion, he went home to spend the summer.
+
+His father commented upon his altered appearance, but Tom insisted that
+it was because he had studied so hard. He had not only read law, but had
+learned the Spanish language, so that he could converse fluently in it.
+The vacation wonderfully recruited his health, and in the autumn the
+students returned to their southern home. Edward studied as diligently
+as ever. Youth had wholly conquered his grief, and he was as before. He
+sent money regularly to Mrs. Wayland; but he expressed no desire to see
+his child, though he declared to Tom that the little one still had a
+place in his heart, and that he intended at some future time to
+acknowledge it.
+
+Edward boarded with his friend's father, who had a daughter. She was but
+sixteen when Edward first became a member of the family. She was
+nineteen now, and the young northerner began to be tenderly impressed
+towards her, though his attentions did not begin till his wife had been
+dead over a year. The attraction was mutual, and Edward wrote to his
+father about it. The old gentleman was pleased, and facetiously remarked
+that he had all along supposed there was something or somebody in New
+Orleans, besides Tom or the law, that had drawn him there for three
+winters. He hadn't the slightest objection. Edward could _now_ please
+himself in that respect, as in every other. The "now" was heavily
+underscored, and the son had no difficulty in understanding his meaning.
+It was known that all the Medways were dead, and the Honorable Mr.
+Montague could no longer object to any match his heir might choose to
+make.
+
+The marriage was deferred till the next year, when Edward's father and
+mother made a winter tour to New Orleans. The great event was duly
+chronicled in the newspapers, and the young couple made a bridal tour to
+Europe, where they spent a year. On their return an elegant residence,
+next to the Honorable Mr. Montague's, in one of the finest towns on
+Penobscot Bay, awaited them.
+
+Edward practised law in a mild way, but never made any great figure in
+his profession. He was an officer in the war, has been to the state
+legislature as a representative, and the honors of a senatorship are
+still before him. Like the other distinguished men we have introduced,
+he is the father of only one child by his second marriage, a pretty
+daughter, who is the idol of both parents, and particularly of the
+Honorable Mr. Montague.
+
+Edward Montague has all of this world's goods which are required to make
+a man happy, he has a beautiful and loving wife, a beautiful and
+affectionate daughter, a kind and indulgent father still. All the world
+regards him as a happy man; but he is not entirely so, for he cannot be
+satisfied with his past life. He cannot help thinking of the deception
+he practised upon his father, and still fears that some unexpected event
+will disclose his misconduct. His wife shares his great secret, for,
+before he married her, a sense of honor compelled him to make her his
+confidante, which he did in the presence of her brother, who vouched for
+the truth of all he said. He can never be entirely at peace while his
+father lives.
+
+Mrs. Wayland married again, but Edward continued to send her at the rate
+of ten dollars a week for the care of his son, who still passes as her
+own child. After this marriage of the nurse, the father of the boy was
+vexed by a new fear. He saw that it was possible for her husband to
+probe the secret through his letters and remittances; so he ceased to
+write letters, or to send money by mail as before. Once a year, when Tom
+Barkesdale came north to spend his summer vacation, he sent him with the
+money to deliver into her own hands.
+
+Strange as it may seem, Edward has not seen his boy since he parted with
+him on board of the steamer at Havana. When he thinks of the little one
+he cannot but reproach himself for the past. He feels that he has
+wronged the boy, and fears that his own emotions might betray him in the
+presence of the child. He is vexed by a score of fears which he cannot
+define. The guide and standard of his life is honor rather than
+religious principle, which is the only safe guide and standard. His
+conscience reproaches him for what he has done and for what he has left
+undone. He feels that he has dishonored the memory of his lost wife, and
+that his conduct is a continued wrong to his child. Like thousands of
+others, he shuns that which might lead him into the path of truth and
+right. He pays liberally for the support of his boy, and tries to
+persuade himself that he is doing all that honor requires of him.
+
+All this is but the introduction to our story; and with the next chapter
+we step over a period of more than a dozen years.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+LITTLE BOBTAIL.
+
+
+"What have you done with it, Robert?" demanded Ezekiel Taylor, a coarse,
+rough man of forty, who was partially intoxicated and very angry. "You
+and your mother've hid that jug of rum."
+
+Robert looked at Mrs. Taylor, who was making bread at the table, but he
+did not deem it prudent to make any reply. That jug was the evil genius
+of the little household. It had transformed Ezekiel Taylor from an
+honest, industrious, and thriving man, into a mean, lazy, and thriftless
+drunkard. It had brought misery and contention into the little house
+which he had bought and paid for before his marriage. He was a cooper by
+trade, and had set up in business for himself; but his dissolute habit
+had robbed him of his shop, and reduced him first to a journeyman and
+then to a vagabond. He earned hardly enough to pay for the liquor he
+consumed; but, somehow,--and how was the mystery which perplexed
+everybody who knew the Taylors,--the family always had enough to eat and
+good clothes to wear. Years before, he had, under the pretence of buying
+a shop in which to set up in business again, mortgaged his house for
+five hundred dollars, and his wife had signed away her right of dower in
+the premises, without a suspicion of anything wrong. But the money was
+quickly squandered, and Squire Gilfilian, who had the mortgage,
+threatened to take the place, though the interest was paid with
+tolerable regularity by the wife.
+
+Ezekiel worked a little when he was sober; but a day of industry was
+sure to be followed by a spree. He could procure a few drinks at the
+saloons; but as soon as he began to be tipsy, even the saloon keepers
+refused to furnish him more, for the public sentiment of the place
+fiercely condemned them. The cooper had worked a day and obtained a jug
+of rum. After breakfast he had gone into the village and drank two or
+three times, and when he could procure no more liquor there, he came
+home to continue his spree on the stock he had before laid in. The jug
+had been concealed in the wood-shed, where Robert had discovered it. It
+suggested evil to himself and his mother, abuse and even personal
+violence. As he afterwards explained it, he saw a storm brewing, and,
+like a prudent sailor, he had prepared for it, or prepared to avert it,
+by taking the jug down to the steamboat wharf and dropping it upon the
+rocks below, where the rising tide soon covered the pieces, and for a
+time concealed the evidences of the deed.
+
+"What have you done with it, you villain?" repeated the angry head of
+the family, looking first at the boy and then at his wife.
+
+"I haven't seen it, and didn't know you had any jug," replied Mrs.
+Taylor.
+
+"Don't lie to me about it," stormed Ezekiel. "You can't fool me. I left
+that jug in the wood-shed, and 'tain't there now. It couldn't have gone
+off without any help."
+
+"I haven't touched it," repeated Mrs. Taylor.
+
+"Yes, you have; you know you have," added the tippler, demonstrating
+with a clinched fist towards her.
+
+"I tell you I haven't seen it."
+
+"I say you have," said Ezekiel, shaking his fist in her face; "you know
+you have; and if you don't tell me what you've done with it, it'll go
+hard with you."
+
+"She hasn't seen it, and don't know anything at all about it,"
+interposed Robert, in order to turn the wrath of the inebriate from his
+mother.
+
+"Then _you_ do, you villain," said Ezekiel, turning sharply upon the
+youth.
+
+The boy did not make any reply.
+
+"What have you done with it?" cried the angry cooper.
+
+"Mother knows nothing at all about it; she hasn't touched it, and didn't
+know there was any jug there."
+
+Mrs. Taylor suspended work and looked earnestly at the boy. She
+understood by his manner that he had removed the jug, and she dreaded
+the consequences of her husband's wrath. Ezekiel continued to repeat his
+question in his drunken frenzy, and to demonstrate violently with his
+fist at the youth. He turned again upon his wife, and accused her of
+being a party to the removal of the jug; but Robert's only object seemed
+to be to shield her from his wrath.
+
+"I tell you again she don't know anything at all about it," said he, at
+last. "I did the business myself; and that jug has gone up. It won't
+hold any more rum."
+
+"What did you do with it, you villain?" gasped Ezekiel.
+
+"I dropped it off the railroad wharf upon the rocks; and there isn't a
+piece left of it big enough to stop a mouse hole."
+
+"You did--did you?"
+
+"I did," added Robert, desperately, as he braced himself to brave the
+consequences of his bold deed.
+
+"What business had you to meddle with my property?" demanded Ezekiel,
+furiously.
+
+"It was a kind of property that don't make any man the richer," replied
+the youth.
+
+"Who told you to do it?" asked the inebriate, glancing at his wife.
+
+"No one told me, and no one knew anything about it."
+
+"Then I'll teach you to steal my property! I'll take it out of your
+hide, you rascal."
+
+"There isn't any of it in my hide, and I don't mean there ever shall
+be."
+
+Ezekiel took down a clothes-stick which was hanging against the wall,
+and with it he made a dive and a plunge at Robert. The boy was too
+active to be caught by a man whose footing was none too steady. He
+easily dodged the blows which were aimed at him, till the tippler, out
+of breath from his exertions, placed himself before the door to prevent
+the escape of the culprit, and there rested himself from the fatigue of
+the onslaught.
+
+"Don't you strike that boy," said Mrs. Taylor, warmly; and she had
+before essayed to suspend the strife.
+
+"Yes I will! I'll flog him within an inch of his life. I'll teach him to
+meddle with my property," gasped Ezekiel.
+
+"If you do, I'll leave this house, and never come into it again. I won't
+have no such goings on where I am," said the woman, warmly and
+energetically.
+
+"That's right, mother; you leave," added Robert, who had remained in the
+room only to turn the wrath of the husband from her to himself.
+
+"He shan't hurt you, Robert. I'll stand up for you to the end," added
+Mrs. Taylor, as she passed into her chamber, which was next to the
+"living-room."
+
+"I don't care who goes, nor who stays. I ain't a going to have any such
+works as this," continued Ezekiel, as he gathered himself up for another
+attack. "I ain't a going to have my property, that cost money,
+destroyed, and you won't want to do such a thing again, I can tell you."
+
+The angry man rushed towards Robert, who stood near the door which
+opened into the front entry; but he knew that it was locked, and so he
+did not attempt to escape in that direction. Being in the corner, his
+furious assailant attempted to pin him there; but Robert, by a flank
+movement, reached the door which led to the wood-shed, and passed out.
+He was closely pursued by Ezekiel; but the tipsy man might as well have
+attempted to catch a wild antelope. The boy dodged around the wood-shed
+and other buildings till he had thrown his pursuer off the track; then
+he went to the back window of his mother's chamber to assure himself
+that she was still safe. She was putting on her bonnet and shawl, with
+the evident intention of leaving the house.
+
+"Did he strike you, Robert?" she asked, through the open window, with
+more of indignation than terror in her manner.
+
+"Not he," replied Robert. "I can keep out of his way easy enough."
+
+"Don't go near him again--that's a good boy. There's no knowing what he
+may do. He's as ugly as sin when he has had two or three glasses and
+wants more."
+
+"But where are you going, mother?" asked the boy.
+
+"I don't know where to go yet; but I'm not going to stay here to-day. I
+can't bear it any longer. You will keep out of his way--won't you,
+Robert?"
+
+"I'm not afraid of him; but I'm going out a fishing as soon as the tide
+makes enough to get the boat off."
+
+"Well, I'll go up and spend the day with Mrs. Paine," added Mrs. Taylor.
+"I hope your father will get over it before night."
+
+"I've got about enough of this, mother; and if it wasn't for you, I'd
+clear out this very day."
+
+"Don't leave me yet, Robert," pleaded the poor woman. "I mean to leave
+him myself if he don't behave better. He shan't abuse you."
+
+"I don't mean he shall. But I think I can take care of myself better
+than you can of yourself."
+
+Mrs. Taylor did not think so; but she did not dispute the point. The
+approach of Ezekiel caused the youth to beat another retreat; but, from
+the other side of the street, he saw his mother leave the house and walk
+towards the village. Satisfied that she was safe from the wrath of her
+brutal husband, he soon followed her, though he did not overtake her,
+for his course, after a short distance, led him in another direction.
+
+"I'm glad that man is not my father," muttered Robert to himself, as he
+walked towards the village.
+
+A knowledge of this fact had come to him only a few days before, and it
+was a great relief to him, for certainly there was no meaner man in
+Camden than Ezekiel Taylor. He was sorry that he had ever been permitted
+even to bear his name. He was sixteen years old, though, for his age, he
+was rather short. But he was a stout, wiry, athletic little fellow. He
+was just as much puzzled as the rest of the town's people to know how
+his mother contrived to feed and clothe herself and him, when it was
+patent to everybody that her husband spent all that he earned for rum.
+She always had money enough to buy a beefsteak and to pay her store
+bill. When everything seemed to have "gone to the dogs," and his last
+suit of clothes was out at the elbows, she astonished him by getting a
+new suit. The coat had very brief skirts, after the fashion then
+prevailing. On his short, stubbed form, it gave him a peculiar
+appearance, which promptly attracted the attention of his companions,
+when he went to church and Sunday school, after a long absence caused by
+the want of suitable clothing. The boys called him "Bob Taylor;" but
+when this coat appeared, they cut off one syllable, and made his
+cognomen "Bobtail," which soon became "Little Bobtail," for he was often
+called little Bob Taylor before, by the larger boys.
+
+Robert was disposed to resent all these liberties with his name; but as
+Squire Gilfilian, the hotel keeper, and the deputy collector of the
+port, good-naturedly adopted the fashion of the youngsters, he was
+compelled to acquiesce. After all, there was not much difference between
+Little Bobtail and little Bob Taylor, certainly not enough to quarrel
+about.
+
+Robert went to the post-office, not because he expected any
+letters,--for he had no correspondence,--but because a great many people
+went there when the mail arrived. He was always ready to make a quarter
+when an opportunity presented. He spent half his time on the water in
+the summer, and knew all about a boat. Sometimes the strangers at the
+hotel wanted him to go out with them, and indicate the best places to
+catch cod, haddock, and mackerel, and sometimes there was an errand to
+be done.
+
+"Little Bobtail!" shouted the post-master through his window, as Robert
+entered the office.
+
+He went up to the window, and asked what was wanted.
+
+"Here is a letter for Squire Gilfilian, who was in a desperate hurry to
+get it, if one came," added the post-master. "Will you carry it up to
+his office?"
+
+"Yes, sir," replied Little Bobtail, promptly.
+
+"Here is another for Captain Chinks. I think he is at the squire's
+office, for they just went up the street together. You may as well take
+it along."
+
+Robert took the two letters, and hastened to the squire's office. As he
+entered, Captain Chinks came out of the rear apartment, where the lawyer
+held his private conferences with his clients.
+
+"Here's a letter for you, sir," said Robert, as he handed one of them to
+the captain, who immediately tore it open.
+
+"Thank you, Little Bobtail," said Captain Chinks, taking a quarter in
+scrip from his vest pocket, and giving it to him.
+
+"I am very much obliged to you, Captain Chinks," replied Robert, glad to
+earn a quarter so easily. "Is Squire Gilfilian in that room?"
+
+"Yes; but he's busy."
+
+"I have a letter for him."
+
+"Put it on the table, and he will find it when he comes out; on his
+writing desk there."
+
+Little Bobtail tossed the letter on the desk, and left the office,
+thinking only of the quarter he had just made, and how he should invest
+it to the best advantage in provisioning the old boat with which he
+intended to go a fishing that day. A sheet of gingerbread and a "hunk of
+cheese," as he expressed it, seemed to suit the emergencies of the
+occasion; and after purchasing these articles, he walked down the road
+leading to the Portland steamboat wharf. He had gone but a short
+distance before he overtook Captain Chinks, who was reading the letter
+he just received as he walked along the plank sidewalk.
+
+Captain Chinks, who was, possibly, a distant relative of him of the
+horse-marines, though his name had become corrupted, was a man of
+doubtful reputation. The officials of the custom-house kept a sharp eye
+upon him, and endeavored to connect him with certain irregular
+transactions, whereby sundry cases of brandy and sundry boxes of cigars
+had come into Camden without paying tribute to the majesty of the
+custom-house. The goods were seized, and duly confiscated; but there was
+a link wanting in the chain of testimony which connected Captain Chinks
+with the affair. Robert supposed he had been consulting Squire Gilfilian
+about the matter; and the youth judged from the angry look of the
+captain that the lawyer had not been able to afford him any
+satisfaction.
+
+Captain Chinks read his letter, and made his way down to the steamboat
+wharf. As Bobtail ran his old boat by the end of the pier, he saw the
+man of doubtful reputation go on board of the steamer, and noticed him
+on her deck when she started.
+
+That afternoon Robert sold a good mess of fish at the market, and went
+home to the cottage, which was on the road leading to the steamboat
+wharf. Ezekiel was not there, but his mother was. As the tippler could
+not obtain the liquor for a spree, he had become sober. He went to work
+the next day, and a temporary peace was patched up. He offered no
+violence to the boy while he was sober, but this was only for a brief
+period. In a few days he obtained another jug of rum, and Robert and his
+mother were obliged to abandon the house to him.
+
+On this afternoon Robert went to the post-office as usual. He had not
+been on the water since the day he had carried the letters to Squire
+Gilfilian's office, for the reason that he could not obtain a boat, for
+he was not the owner of the old craft in which he generally sailed. She
+belonged to a boatman by the name of Prince, who managed a larger
+Newport boat, in which he conveyed passengers from the hotel, and
+others, upon excursions on the bay. Anybody who wanted the old boat took
+her, without the formality of asking the owner's leave, though Robert,
+being a boy, was not quite so independent as others; but Prince was a
+good fellow, and allowed him to use her whenever she was not taken by
+somebody else. But Robert had borrowed her for the day, and secured her
+near the cottage the night before, so that she could not be used till
+the tide served.
+
+"Little Bobtail!" shouted the post-master.
+
+"What, sir?"
+
+"Didn't I give you a letter for Squire Gilfilian, about a week ago?"
+
+"Yes, sir, you did."
+
+"What did you do with it?"
+
+"Laid it on the desk in his office," replied Robert, wondering what all
+these questions could mean.
+
+"He never got it."
+
+"Didn't he? Well, I put it on his desk," added the boy, startled and
+annoyed at the situation.
+
+Just then the squire himself entered the office, and confirmed the
+statement of the post-master. The lawyer questioned Little Bobtail
+sharply, perhaps rather from his professional habit than because he
+suspected the youth of anything wrong.
+
+"I put it on your desk, sir; and that is all I know about it. Captain
+Chinks was in your office at the time, and he told me to put it on the
+desk," said Robert, stoutly.
+
+"Now I remember, I gave Bobtail a letter for Captain Chinks at the same
+time," added the post-master.
+
+"Yes, sir; and I gave it to him in the squire's office."
+
+"Well, we will look the matter up when Captain Chinks comes back. He has
+been away a week now," added the lawyer.
+
+Robert was vexed. He was not directly accused of stealing the letter,
+but he did not like the sharp questions which the squire asked him. He
+left the office, and, after buying a sheet of gingerbread and some
+cheese, he hastened down to the old boat, which was now afloat. He had
+put a bucket of clams into her the night before, for bait, and otherwise
+prepared the boat for a cruise. The wind was pretty fresh from the
+westward, and he went off wing-and-wing before it. He tried the usual
+places, but the fish did not bite, and he kept sailing farther and
+farther out from the shore; but he caught hardly any fish. He was in no
+hurry to go home, for Ezekiel was in his tantrums, and his mother had
+gone to Rockport to spend two or three days. The wind, instead of
+subsiding as the day advanced, increased in force. The sea was heavy out
+in the bay, and it was utterly impossible to beat the old boat up to
+windward, for she made more leeway than headway.
+
+"No matter; I'll make a night of it," said he to himself, when he
+realized that it was impossible for him to beat back to Camden.
+
+The bay is full of islands, and Little Bobtail concluded to get under
+the lee of one of them, and wait for better weather. He took in his jib
+and mainsail, and the old boat went along very well, taking in very
+little water. The sun went down, and it was dark before he had made a
+harbor. He was approaching Blank Island, where he knew a good place to
+anchor for the night, when he discovered a large sail-boat, drifting
+down the bay. Her sails were all lowered, but had not been secured, and
+were flapping about in the wind.
+
+"Boat, ahoy!" shouted Little Bobtail.
+
+No answer came to his repeated hails; and, throwing the old craft up
+into the wind, he awaited the approach of the abandoned boat. Placing
+himself In the bow, with the painter in his hand, he leaped on board of
+the stranger, as she drifted upon his old craft. The abandoned boat was
+worthy to be called a yacht. She was about thirty-two feet in length,
+with eleven feet beam. Two thirds of her length was decked over, with a
+trunk cabin, in which were transoms large enough for four berths, with a
+cook-room forward. She was handsomely fitted up, and Little Bobtail
+wondered how she happened to be adrift. He hoisted the mainsail, and in
+a few moments ran her into a little bay under the lee of Blank Island,
+where he anchored her. As she had an anchor it was evident that she had
+not broken away from her anchorage. Having secured the old boat at a
+safe distance from the yacht, the young boatman had an opportunity to
+examine his prize, for such it proved to be.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+THE JANTY YACHT.
+
+
+It was very dark, and Little Bobtail was unable to obtain a very clear
+idea of the craft he had picked up; but he had brought her to a secure
+anchorage under the lee of Blank Island, and, quite exhausted with his
+energetic efforts, both in boarding the yacht and in mooring the boats,
+he was content to rest himself for a while on the cushioned seats of the
+standing-room. The fresh wind which had blown all day had not permitted
+him to pay much attention to the dietary department, which is always an
+important one in a boat; and, not being over sentimental, he was
+positively hungry. Even the half of his sheet of gingerbread and his
+"hunk of cheese" remained untouched.
+
+Little Bobtail was an ingenious youth, and when he anchored the old boat
+he had taken a line from her stern to the yacht, so that he could haul
+the former alongside the latter at his pleasure. By this means he was
+enabled to recover his provision box and jug of cold water without any
+difficulty. He devoured the balance of what had been intended only for
+his dinner, which, expanded into both dinner and supper, did not half
+cover the needs of the occasion. He was still hungry, but he had
+recovered his breath, and was in condition to make another effort, if
+another were required of him.
+
+We confess that we have written very coolly and composedly of the event
+in Little Bobtail's experience which had just transpired, hardly
+attempting to describe his wonder and exhilaration; but it is not to be
+supposed that he was unmoved by the discovery and recovery of the
+abandoned yacht. He was so tremendously excited, that he had worked all
+the breath out of his body, and had hardly an opportunity to consider
+the nature and extent of his achievement till he had regained his wind,
+and partially filled the vacuum in his stomach, which prudent Nature
+abhors.
+
+We said he was ready for another effort; but before he put forth his
+strength again, he indulged in a series of speculations in regard to the
+immediate history of the yacht he had picked up under such singular
+circumstances. He had not been into the cabin yet to obtain whatever
+evidence might be available in solving the problem; he had not yet had
+time to do so. But people speculate and construct theories even before
+there are any premises on which to base them.
+
+The yacht was fine enough to be a pleasure craft, and he leaped at once
+to the conclusion that some gay party had landed on an island to have a
+good time, and, having run the yacht aground, the fresh breeze had blown
+her off as the tide rose. Entirely satisfied with this solution, the
+history of the fair craft seemed to be no longer a mystery to him. In
+the morning he would run her over to Camden and anchor there. The owner
+would soon appear; and, as he was fairly entitled to salvage, he thought
+he could reasonably hope to receive as much as ten dollars for his
+services, for the yacht might have been thrown upon the rocks and
+utterly smashed, if he had not picked her up. Indeed, she was not three
+miles from Deer Island when he discovered her, and in an hour or two
+more nothing could have saved her from destruction.
+
+To Little Bobtail ten dollars was a vast sum of money, and the very
+first thought of obtaining it suggested, as the next one, the use to
+which it should be applied. That old tub of a boat in which he had been
+sailing all day could be bought for thirty dollars. It is true she was
+not much of a boat; but it would afford Little Bobtail almost as much
+pleasure to repair her and put a proper keel upon her, so that he could
+beat to windward in her, as it would to sail her. Prince, who owned her,
+would take ten dollars as the first payment, and in time he could earn
+enough with her to pay the other twenty. Altogether the dream was a
+brilliant one to him, and as he gazed through the gloom of the night at
+the old tub, his fancy kindled with the glowing future. He wished the
+old thing was bigger, so that he could have a cabin and a place to sleep
+in her, when the drunken fury of Ezekiel drove him from the cottage.
+
+Now, really, our hero did not think half so much of the janty yacht he
+had captured as he did of the old tub, and we do not know that he would
+have taken the trouble to enter her cabin before he wanted a place to
+sleep, if he had not been hungry. Half a sheet of gingerbread and "half
+a hunk of cheese" for supper were altogether insufficient for a growing
+boy. If the party which had lost the yacht had been on a pleasure
+excursion, of course they had brought provisions with them; for, to the
+imagination of a boy of sixteen, eating is one of the chief pleasures of
+existence, especially on the salt water. If the excursionists had gone
+on shore,--as they must have done, since they were not on
+board,--probably they had taken their provisions with them. It was a
+startling thought; but then perhaps the yacht had broken adrift before
+they were removed from the lockers. The alternative was very pleasant to
+Little Bobtail, though it suggested the miserable condition of the
+excursionists left on the island, perhaps to pass the night there,
+without food. Our hero thought they could stand it better without any
+supper than he could, for he had had only half a dinner, and besides,
+everybody thinks his own misfortunes are infinitely more trying than
+those of other people. But we must do our young skipper the justice to
+add that he sympathized with the excursionists in case they had no
+supper.
+
+The doors of the cabin were closed, but they were not locked. Little
+Bobtail threw them open, and gazed down into the darkness. He could not
+see anything but the faint light through the round ports in the trunk.
+He descended the steps, and then stumbled against some boxes. Feeling
+his way overhead, he placed his hand upon a lantern suspended from
+above.
+
+"All right!" exclaimed he. "That lantern is the right thing in the right
+place. We will have some light on the subject."
+
+He was an early riser, and made the fire in the cook-stove every morning
+at home, which may account for the fact that he had a quantity of
+matches in his pocket. He always carried them with him, for he had been
+blown off once before, when he had a boat full of fish, and had to go
+hungry all night because he could not make a fire to cook one or two of
+them. Besides, when he sailed with strangers or with town's people, most
+of them smoked, and he often found that a match was the one thing needed
+in a boat. On account of this wise forecast and this prudent habit,
+Little Bobtail had plenty of matches in his pocket; and having them, he
+lighted one, and communicated the flame to the lamp in the lantern.
+
+Excitedly he waited the revelations which the lamp was to make to him.
+It was a beautiful cabin. The transoms were all cushioned, and there was
+a table between them. Forward was the door which opened into the
+cook-room. Over the table was a rack for bottles and glasses, and there
+was a score of lockers filled with dishes and other table ware, with
+charts, books, compasses, and other nautical necessaries. A handsome
+spy-glass hung on a pair of brackets. At the end of the transoms were
+several cushions, used as pillows, and some robes to cover the sleepers.
+
+After this general survey of the interior of the cabin, Little Bobtail
+turned his attention to the boxes upon which he had stumbled. All the
+cabin floor, except a small portion aft, was covered with these boxes,
+of which he counted twenty. The theory he had adopted that the yacht had
+been used for a pleasure excursion, crumbled away as he saw these boxes,
+for no party would go out sailing with the cabin lumbered up in this
+manner. He overhauled one of the boxes, without being any the wiser, and
+Little Bobtail was sorely puzzled. Taking the lantern in his hand, he
+crawled over the boxes to the cook-room. It was very small, but it was
+admirably fitted up, with a tiny stove and plenty of lockers. In one
+corner hung a log of bacon, from which a few slices had been out at some
+recent period.
+
+"That suits my case exactly," said the explorer, as he took down the
+bacon. "I shall treat myself to a slice of fried ham before I bother my
+head any more about this craft or any other."
+
+In a locker on which the cook sat while engaged in his duties was a
+supply of wood; and in five minutes Little Bobtail had a good fire in
+the stove. A frying-pan lay by the side of the locker. Indeed, our hero
+could want nothing which he did not immediately find ready for use, just
+as though a multitude of fairies stood at his elbows to meet his every
+wish. In another locker he found a kid of cold potatoes, and there was
+an abundance of hard-tack in a keg on the transom. The slice of bacon
+hissed and sizzled in the pan on the stove, and the odor was delightful
+to the hungry boy. It was soon "done to a turn," and the fried potatoes
+were as brown and nice as those prepared by his mother. He might have
+had tea or coffee, but he did not care for them. At his age they are
+not reckoned among the substantials for a good meal. Procuring a plate,
+knife, and fork from the cabin, he helped himself from the pan on the
+stove.
+
+"That's what I call first rate!" exclaimed he, when he had duly tested
+the bacon and the potatoes. "I shall be ready to hire out as a cook
+after this. That's tip-top bacon, and I respect the pig that left this
+leg I see to me."
+
+Little Bobtail glanced up at the leg of bacon in the corner, and thought
+he had made a good pun; but it was fearfully old and stale to be printed
+in a book, and we do so only out of deference to his feelings. No
+right-minded and highly moral person will make puns; and our hero is
+only excusable on the ground that he was alone, and did not force it
+upon other people. He ate all he wanted; nay, more--all he could. He
+devoured the entire slice he had cooked, leaving none for a lunch, in
+case he wanted one, when he had not time to cook. He was entirely
+satisfied, and that is saying a great deal of a boy of sixteen, growing,
+and sailing on the salt water, too. He could not eat any more, or he
+would; and, being too full for utterance, he made no more speeches to
+himself. Doubtless he had endangered the peace of his dreams by
+overloading his stomach at that hour in the evening, for by this time it
+was ten o'clock; but it so happened that he had time to digest his
+supper before he put himself in the way of dreaming.
+
+Having satisfied his hunger, he felt entirely satisfied with himself,
+and especially with the person or persons who had fitted out the yacht
+in the commissary department. Taking his lantern, he crawled over the
+boxes to the after part of the cabin, where there was space enough for
+him to sit comfortably. He looked at the boxes, and wondered what was in
+them. We do not know that he had more curiosity than boys in general;
+but he felt that a knowledge of their contents might enable him to
+establish another theory in regard to the previous history of the yacht.
+He had seen a shingling hatchet in the cook-room, used for splitting up
+the kindling wood. He went for it, and, with no great difficulty, opened
+one of the boxes. It was filled with bottles, packed in straw, and each
+one enclosed in a curious case made of the same material. He slipped one
+of the bottles out of its casing. It was labeled "JAMES HENNESSY &
+CO.--COGNAC." The name of the firm, so well known to old topers and
+moderate drinkers, afforded him no light; but he knew that "Cognac"
+meant brandy.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+"Oho! aha!" said Little Bobtail, knowingly; "I smell a mice now. This
+boat wasn't used for a pleasure party."
+
+He had heard about those mysterious custom-house inspectors and
+detectives, who poke their noses into grocery stores, cellars, and all
+the sly places where contraband goods were supposed to be concealed.
+Promptly he arrived at the conclusion that the brandy in the yacht had
+come "thus far into the bowels of the land" without paying its respects
+to the custom-house, or any of the heavy duties which go to support the
+army and navy, and a host of beneficent institutions which make our
+country "the land of the free and the home of the brave," and the
+collection of which affords a multitude of officials an opportunity to
+steal. But Little Bobtail did not trouble himself to discuss any of the
+vexed questions about free trade and tariff, or even to weigh carefully
+the immorality of smuggling.
+
+Our hero did not believe in brandy, abstractly or concretely. It was
+liquor, and liquor had been a curse to his home, a curse to his mother,
+and a curse to himself; and he was tempted to take the boxes on deck,
+open them, and spill the contents of the bottles into the sea.
+Possibly--not probably--he would have done so, if he had not been afraid
+the liquor would destroy the fish, or drive them away to prohibition
+waters. The problem of the yacht had become intricate, and he was
+puzzled to determine what to do with her. If he had been properly
+instructed in regard to the duty of the citizens to his government, and
+properly inspired to discharge this duty, he would have sailed the yacht
+and her cargo over to Camden, and delivered her to the deputy collector
+in charge of the port. He knew what smuggling meant; but his views were
+very indefinite. According to the fishermen, and most of the traders, to
+whose conversation on this subject he had listened, smuggling was hardly
+to be regarded as a sin, or, if a sin, it was one of the most trivial
+character.
+
+It is a melancholy truth, becoming more and more familiar to us every
+year, that cheating the government is hardly considered a crime; that
+respectable men, as the world measures them, and even members of the
+church, defraud the revenues of the government without compunction.
+
+We are sorry to acknowledge that Little Bobtail did not think of such a
+thing as handing over the yacht and her contraband cargo--as he was
+fully satisfied it was--to the custom-house officials. He had not been
+educated up to a point which compelled him to do so. His conscience was
+not sensitive on this point above the average of the town's people. He
+was afraid, if he did so, that the government would coolly ignore him
+because he was a boy, and he should lose his ten dollars. Perhaps he
+thought he could make better terms with the smugglers than he could with
+the honorable and high-minded deputy-collector. While he was thinking of
+the matter, the moon rose in the clear sky, and shed a welcome light
+over the bay. It occurred to him that those who had lost the yacht might
+be in search of her. They might blunder upon him in the morning, and,
+being reckless smugglers, might even kill him to prevent his bearing
+testimony against them. He did not like the idea of meeting any such men
+alone. He preferred that the interview should take place in Camden
+harbor. The wind was still fresh, and in the yacht he could beat over to
+Camden in three or four hours; but he thought the breeze was hauling to
+the southward, which would give him a slant so that he could run over
+without tacking.
+
+Moved by these considerations, he hoisted the mainsail of the yacht,
+which required all his strength and skill. He then weighed the anchor of
+the old tub, and carried her painter to the larger craft. He had a hard
+pull at the anchor of the yacht, but he got it up after a while, and
+stowed it securely forward. Rushing to the helm, he hauled in the sheet,
+and taking the wind on the quarter, he stood to the northward, in order
+to pass around the island. The yacht worked beautifully, even without
+her jib. Hauling in the sheet when she was clear of the island, he laid
+her up to the wind as close as she would go. In a short time he got the
+bearings of the lights, and found that he could let out his sheet a
+little. The yacht seemed to fly under the fresh breeze, and Little
+Bobtail watched her motions with perfect delight. After a while he
+discovered the light on Negro Island, and it was all plain sailing to
+him.
+
+If the yacht went so fast with only her main-sail, what would she not
+do with her jib also? The young skipper was determined to test the
+question, and, lashing the helm, he hoisted her headsail. Trimming the
+sail by the sheets which led aft, the yacht increased her speed, and
+tossed the water over her boughs at a fearful rate; but Little Bobtail
+had closed the fore scuttle, and he let it toss. It was wild excitement
+to him, and he enjoyed it to the utmost. In two hours he was approaching
+the Spindles off the Point, where he deemed it prudent to take in the
+jib; but the wind was not so fresh in shore, and he went up the harbor
+quite leisurely. He had time to think again; and a disagreeable
+consideration was forced upon him, as he heard the clock of the Baptist
+Church strike one.
+
+He was in Camden harbor; he must come to anchor; and the next morning
+everybody would wonder what boat the stranger was. The boatmen and
+bummers about town would board her, and want to know what those boxes
+contained. Little Bobtail was worried; but it was high tide, and he
+anchored close up to the rocks in front of the cottage. He was not
+willing to "face the music" the next day, and he was determined to get
+rid of the boxes, even if he threw them overboard. Landing in the old
+boat, he went up to the cottage. Ezekiel was in a drunken sleep in his
+chamber. Nothing could wake him, as he knew from former experience, when
+he was in this condition. He went up stairs to his own chamber. The
+cottage was a one-story building, with two rooms finished in the middle
+of the roof. On each side of these chambers there was a space for old
+rubbish, which no one ever explored. The young skipper decided, after a
+careful examination of the premises, to store the boxes in these spaces.
+To will was to do with him, and he went to work at once.
+
+In a couple of hours he had conveyed the twenty boxes from the boat, and
+packed them away in these lumber-holes, and covered them with old traps,
+so that even his mother would not suspect their presence in the house.
+Having done all this, he sailed the yacht out into the deep water near
+the Portland Pier, where he anchored her. Tired out after the long day
+and the long night, he stretched himself on one of the transoms, and
+went to sleep.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V.
+
+MONKEY.
+
+
+Little Bobtail slept as soundly on the transom of the yacht as Ezekiel
+Taylor did in the cottage; and, as he did not retire till after three in
+the morning, he did not turn out till nine. He had worked all day and
+nearly all night, and he was very tired. While he was slumbering soundly
+in the cabin, many an eye was directed from the shore, and from the
+boats and vessels in the harbor, at the trim and janty yacht which had
+come in during the night. She was not there the evening before, and she
+was there now. Scores of boatmen asked what she was and where she came
+from; but no one could answer. No one had seen her before, and all were
+confident that she did not belong anywhere in the bay. The gossips
+concluded that she was a yacht from Boston or Portland, with a party on
+board; and, as she had come in during the night, they supposed her crew
+were making up for lost time in the matter of sleep. Those who were out
+in boats, though they sailed around the stranger and examined her
+carefully, were considerate enough not to go on board of her, and thus
+waken the tired sleepers.
+
+So Little Bobtail was permitted to finish his nap in peace. The clock on
+the Baptist Church was striking nine when he woke. He leaped upon the
+cabin floor with a start when he saw the sunlight streaming in through
+the round port-holes in the trunk. He had no toilet to make, for he had
+turned in without removing even his shoes; and, putting on his cap, he
+was ready for business at once, though he did wash his face and hands,
+and comb his hair, when a wash-basin at the forward part of the cabin
+suggested these operations to him. He had an opportunity to see the
+yacht now by daylight, and his previous impressions of her were more
+than confirmed. She was even trimmer and more janty than he had
+supposed.
+
+The experience of the preceding night seemed to him very like a dream.
+He went on deck, and examined with a critical eye the standing and
+running rigging, than which nothing could be neater or better. The old
+tub in which he had been blown off the day before was anchored near her,
+with a slack line from her stern to the yacht, as he had left her. The
+dingy old craft looked so mean and insignificant compared with the
+yacht, that the contrast put him almost out of conceit with the
+brilliant plan he had considered to purchase the former. He was rather
+doubtful whether he should be willing to invest the ten dollars--if he
+should obtain it--in such an enterprise.
+
+Just then it occurred to him that he did not even know the name of the
+yacht. He walked out on the foot-rope at the end of the main boom, in
+order to see if it was painted on the stern. There it was--SKYLARK; only
+this, and nothing more. The port from which she hailed was not there.
+Skylark was a very good name, though it was not particularly appropriate
+for a thing that was to sail on the water, and not in the air. But
+"skylarking" was a term applied to frolicking, to rude play; and in this
+sense "Skylark" was entirely proper. On the whole, he did not object to
+the name, and would not if the owner had appeared at that moment and
+made him a present of her. He was entirely satisfied both with the
+yacht and her name; and, having completed his survey by daylight, he
+again pondered the subject of smuggling in a general way, and then in
+its relations to the incidents of the previous night. No higher views,
+no better resolutions, came to him. The contraband cargo was safe under
+the eaves of the cottage, where no one would be likely to find it;
+though he could not help thinking what a disaster it would be if Ezekiel
+should happen to discover those boxes, which doubtless contained liquor
+enough to keep him drunk for a whole year.
+
+Turning away from the great moral question which confronted him, Little
+Bobtail began to feel--distinctly to feel, rather than to think--that it
+was about breakfast time. He went forward and removed the scuttle from
+over the cook-room. Jumping down into the little apartment, he made a
+fire in the stove, and put on the tea-kettle. While it was warming up,
+he went on deck again, for he heard the dip of a pair of oars near the
+yacht.
+
+"Hullo, Monkey!" he shouted, as he recognized the occupant of a
+dilapidated old dory, who was taking a leisurely survey of the trim
+yacht.
+
+"Hullo, Bob! Is that you?" replied the person in the boat, who was a boy
+of about the age of Little Bobtail, though not half so handsome.
+
+Robert had called him "Monkey," and it was not difficult to determine
+where he had obtained his sobriquet, for, looking at the youth,
+Darwinism seemed to be made easy, without distorting either facts or
+logic. In his case, no long ages appeared to have elapsed between the
+monkey and the man, and the transition seemed to have been easy and
+natural. In a word, he looked like a monkey in the face, while no one
+could possibly have suspected that he was one. Above his mouth his face
+abruptly receded, so that the end of his nose was not far from plumb
+with his lips. In the middle of his forehead the hair seemed to grow
+down to the bridge of his nose. A stranger, who was not of a melancholy
+turn of mind, could hardly have refrained from laughing when looking at
+him for the first time. But Bobtail did not laugh, for Monkey was a
+friend, and a brother, in the generic sense.
+
+"Come on board, Monkey," added Little Bobtail.
+
+"What boat's this?" asked the representative of Darwinism, as he leaped
+upon the deck with the painter of the dory in his hand.
+
+"The Skylark," replied Bobtail.
+
+As the new arrival stepped upon the deck of the yacht, he was not unlike
+the traditional monkey of the circus, for his dress was almost as
+fantastic as his face. His father, who was a fisherman, had been lost at
+sea, and his mother was a poor woman, with neither energy nor gumption,
+who occupied a miserable shanty about a mile from the village, in which
+hardly a mean dwelling could be found. The woman was believed to be a
+little "daft," for she always hid herself when any of the town's people
+appeared near her shanty. She had a garden, in which she raised potatoes
+and corn, and kept a pig and a cow; and these furnished her subsistence,
+with the trifle which her son earned by odd jobs. The woman's name was
+Nancy Monk, and her boy's was Peter Monk, though certainly the surname
+was not needed to suggest the nickname by which he was universally
+called.
+
+Of course Peter Monk's unfortunate affinity to the ape subjected him to
+no little annoyance from the sneers and insults of other boys, whose
+sense of decency was below their sense of the ludicrous.
+
+Though Peter was, in the main, a good-natured fellow, there was a point
+of endurance beyond which he was not proof against the coarse jeers of
+his companions; and more than once Little Bobtail had been his protector
+when borne under by the force of numbers; for our hero had a hard fist
+as well as a kind heart. So Monkey was his friend for life, not so much
+because Bobtail had fought his battles, as because he treated him well,
+and made more of him than any one else did.
+
+"Never heard of the Skylark before," said the visitor. "Where does she
+come from?"
+
+"I don't know."
+
+"Who owns her?"
+
+"I don't know."
+
+"Where does she belong?"
+
+"I don't know."
+
+"O, you don't?" grinned Monkey, exhibiting another affinity to the
+origin of the race.
+
+"No, I don't."
+
+"Where are the folks that belong to her?"
+
+"I don't know."
+
+"What you doing on board of her, Bob?"
+
+"I'm looking out for her till somebody comes who has a better right to
+do so."
+
+"How come she here?"
+
+"I brought her here."
+
+"Where from?"
+
+"Blank Island."
+
+"Nobody lives there."
+
+"I know it."
+
+And Little Bobtail smiled at the perplexity of the visitor.
+
+"Well, then, how come she over there, where nobody don't live?"
+
+"I picked her up adrift."
+
+"O, you did--did you?"
+
+"I did. But come below; I want to get my breakfast," added Bobtail, as
+he led the way down into the cabin.
+
+Monkey stared, and exclaimed as he viewed the comfortable, and even
+luxurious, furnishings of the yacht. He asked a thousand questions which
+Bobtail could not answer, and a thousand more which he did answer.
+
+"Have you been to breakfast, Monkey?" asked Bobtail, as he seated
+himself before the stove in the cook-room, while the guest remained at
+the door in the cabin.
+
+"Yes, I had something," replied Monkey, glancing at the leg of bacon.
+
+The host knew very well that Monkey did not live much better at home
+than the pigs in the sty of the first-class farmer; that he was always a
+hungry waif, who could make a meal at any time. He resolved to give his
+visitor a treat on the present occasion; and he anticipated his own
+breakfast with double pleasure when he thought of the satisfaction which
+the meal would give his companion.
+
+"Monkey, will you take Prince's boat over to her moorings for me?
+Somebody may want her," said he, as he put the coffee-pot on the stove,
+and took down the leg of bacon.
+
+"To be sure I will, Bob. I'll do anything for you."
+
+"I wish you would; and then come back and have some breakfast with me."
+
+Monkey grinned, and even chattered, as he hastened to execute his
+errand. By the time he returned, Bobtail had set the table in the cabin;
+for, as he had company, he decided to take the meal in state. He had
+fried all the rest of the kid of potatoes, and two large slices of ham.
+He made the coffee, and mixed up a pitcher of condensed milk.
+
+"Sit down, Monkey," said Little Bobtail, as he wiped the perspiration
+from his brow, for the cook-room was a hot place, even with the scuttle
+open.
+
+"Yes," replied Monkey, showing all the teeth in his head, for when the
+mouths were given out he had been supplied with a very liberal share.
+
+The host helped him to a big piece of ham and a great heap of fried
+potatoes. The guest was not very elegant in his manners; but what he
+lacked in refinement he made up in zeal. Fingers seemed to come handier
+to him than a fork, or, rather, a "slit spoon," as he called it. He did
+not often make two parts of a slice of potato, and his mouthfuls of ham
+were big enough to bait a large cod. Fortunately there was enough to
+fill him up.
+
+"Somebody's looking for you, Bob, up in the village," said Monkey, when
+he began to be gorged, which, however, was not till both the slices of
+ham were nearly consumed.
+
+"For me?" asked Little Bobtail.
+
+"Squire Gilfilian asked me if I'd seen you; and I told him I hadn't. He
+was askin' everybody for you. Some on 'em said you wan't to home; and
+the old man said he hadn't seen you sence yesterday mornin'."
+
+"Who wants me?"
+
+"I don't know; but the squire wanted to see you powerful bad," grinned
+Monkey.
+
+"All right. I'll go up and see him by and by," said Bobtail, as he left
+the table.
+
+With the assistance of his new ally he washed the dishes, cleaned up the
+stove and cooking utensils, and swept out the cabin. Everything was put
+into the neatest condition. When this was done, the decks were washed
+down, the sails stowed more trimly than the skipper could do it in the
+dark, all the running rigging hauled taut, and the ends coiled away, so
+that the yacht was in man-of-war style. He found a padlock, with a key
+in it, to fasten the cabin door; and having put the tiller below, so
+that no one could sail the Skylark in his absence, he secured the door,
+and went on shore with Monkey. He stopped at the cottage to see if his
+mother had returned from Rockport, but neither she nor Ezekiel was
+there.
+
+Walking towards the village, he wondered what Squire Gilfilian could
+want of him. He began to be a little troubled about the letter again,
+for, in the excitement of his cruise over to Blank Island, he hardly
+thought of the disagreeable circumstances connected with it. He found
+the squire in his office, with a stranger, a flashy-looking and
+ill-visaged fellow.
+
+"I hear you want to see me," said Little Bobtail.
+
+"I do," replied the lawyer, sternly and decidedly. "Come in here;" and
+he led the way to his private office in the rear. "Now, boy, I want to
+know what you did with that letter."
+
+"I told you before what I did with it. I put it on your desk," answered
+Bobtail, promptly; and it is not strange that his brown cheek flushed a
+little, but it was with indignation, not guilt.
+
+"So you told me before; but I don't believe it," added the squire, with
+a terrible frown, and in a very loud tone, doubtless involuntarily
+resorting to one of the tricks of his trade to intimidate the youth.
+
+"Do you think I would lie about a letter?" demanded Bobtail, warmly.
+
+"Do you know what was in that letter?"
+
+"How should I know?"
+
+"Because you opened it," sharply retorted the lawyer, as though he
+intended to overwhelm a contumacious and guilty witness.
+
+"I didn't open it," protested the boy, stoutly. "I put it on your desk;
+and that's all I know about it."
+
+"It is easier for you to say that than it is for me to believe it."
+
+"I can't help it, if you don't believe me. I have told the truth. I had
+a letter for you, and another for Captain Chinks. I gave him his here in
+your office, and chucked yours on your desk. That's the whole truth, and
+all I know about the letters. If Captain Chinks was here he would tell
+you the same thing, for he said you was busy in here, and told me to put
+the letter on the desk; and that's just what I did, and just all I did."
+
+"Captain Chinks isn't here, and has been gone a week."
+
+"He'll come back some time, I suppose."
+
+"I don't know whether he will or not. He's mixed up with a smuggling
+case, and he may not deem it prudent to come back."
+
+"Whether he does or not, I never saw the letter after I put it on your
+desk."
+
+The lawyer bit his lips. There was nothing in the tones or the manner of
+the youth to excite suspicion, and Little Bobtail's reputation for
+honesty was first class. A year before, he had found the wallet of a
+stranger, which he might have kept, but had taken great pains to find
+the owner. In fact, everybody that knew him knew that he was honest.
+
+"Now, Little Bobtail, you stand very well in the village," continued
+Squire Gilfilian, with a smile, as he suddenly changed his tactics.
+
+"I always mean to keep myself straight, sir," added Bobtail.
+
+"Of course you do. But the best of us are sometimes tempted to do wrong.
+If you have been led away, and--"
+
+"I haven't been led away, sir."
+
+"You may have made a mistake. If you opened that letter by accident or
+otherwise--"
+
+"I didn't open it by accident or otherwise. I didn't open it at all,"
+interposed the boy, with energy.
+
+"Hear what I have to say, Little Bobtail. The best of folks are
+sometimes led away. Even ministers of the gospel once in a great while
+do a wicked deed."
+
+"I don't care if they do; I haven't opened your letter."
+
+"But I'm only supposing a case."
+
+"Well, sir, you needn't suppose I opened that letter, for I didn't."
+
+"Suppose you had opened it--"
+
+"I didn't."
+
+"It is only an hypothesis."
+
+"I don't care if it is; I didn't open the letter," persisted Bobtail,
+who had not the least idea what an hypothesis was.
+
+"If somebody else, then, had opened that letter, and taken out the
+money. He might have been sorely tempted; he might have opened it by
+accident," said the squire, in soft, oily tones.
+
+"Somebody else _might_, but I _didn't_."
+
+"If he don't feel bad about it now, he will, as sure as he lives, for
+the truth will come out. Don't you think so?"
+
+"I do think so."
+
+"It will ruin his reputation, send him to the state prison, and spoil
+his prospects forever. Now, don't you think it would be better for him
+to give up the money, if I should say to him that I wouldn't mention the
+matter?"
+
+"I think he had better give it up, whether you mention it or not,"
+answered Bobtail, more calmly.
+
+"Then don't you think _you_ had better give it up?"
+
+"I tell you again, I didn't open the letter, and haven't seen the
+money," protested Bobtail, violently.
+
+"You had better think it over."
+
+"I don't want to think it over."
+
+"You will have to go to jail if you don't."
+
+"I can go to jail, but I can't give up what I haven't got, nor own up to
+what I didn't do."
+
+"The letter which you brought to my office that morning contained five
+hundred dollars in one bill. It was my advance fee for defending the
+Buckingham Bank robbers. Their friends raised the money; but only a
+rogue would have sent it in cash. The letter is gone. It was last in
+your hands. Now you had better think it all over, and you may stay here
+and do so, while I talk with the gentleman in the other room." And the
+squire opened the door.
+
+There was another person in the front room now, who had entered during
+this interview. In spite of the suspicion of the attorney, this person
+was Captain Chinks, who was promptly summoned to the private office, and
+the conference renewed.
+
+The ill-visaged person in the front room was probably a bank robber
+himself, though he was not yet implicated in the Buckingham affair. He
+was a friend of the robbers who had been arrested, and had employed
+Squire Gilfilian--who was as eloquent in speech as he was skilful in the
+intricacies of the law--to defend his unfortunate friends. The lawyer
+would not do so without a fee in advance; and the five hundred dollars
+had been sent in the letter which had so strangely disappeared. Either
+the sender knew no better than to trust so large a sum in the mail, or
+his criminal associations made him diffident about applying for a check
+or draft.
+
+Hearing nothing from the lawyer, he had written again, stating that he
+had sent the money at the time agreed upon. The squire had expected the
+letter, and intended immediately to start for the county town in the
+jail of which the robbers were confined, in order to examine his case.
+In reply to the second letter, he telegraphed to his correspondent in
+Portland that he had not received the first; and then the robbers' agent
+had come himself. There he was in the front room.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI.
+
+CAPTAIN CHINKS.
+
+
+"I'm very glad to see you, Captain Chinks," said Squire Gilfilian, as he
+conducted the gentleman of doubtful reputation into his private office.
+
+"Is my case likely to come up soon?" asked the captain.
+
+"No, I don't think it will ever come up," answered the lawyer.
+
+"Well, you have changed your tune since I was here before," added
+Captain Chinks, with a satisfied smile. "Then everything was going to be
+proved against me; now, nothing."
+
+"I have sifted down all the evidence the government has; and you needn't
+trouble yourself any more about that matter."
+
+"I suppose an innocent man never need fear," said the captain.
+
+Squire Gilfilian looked at the gentleman of doubtful reputation, opened
+his eyes with a jerk, and a faint smile played about the corners of his
+mouth. But professionally he dealt with evidence and questions of law,
+rather than with truth itself. He did not ask what was true, only what
+could be proved.
+
+Little Bobtail listened attentively to this conversation, though he had
+very little interest in it. But he could not help indorsing, in his own
+mind, the remark of Captain Chinks, that the innocent never need fear.
+He was under suspicion himself; but he was not afraid.
+
+"Ah, Bobtail! are you a witness for the prosecution?" said the captain,
+appearing now to see the youth for the first time.
+
+"No, sir. I'm the defendant myself," replied Bobtail, pleasantly; for
+the arrival of the captain seemed to settle all his trouble. "I am in
+stays just now, caught in going about, and there I hang. If you will
+just give me a pull on the lee side, I shall go about handsomely."
+
+"Certainly, my lad. If you miss stay in this law business, there's
+always a lee shore to drift on to, and no room to wear round."
+
+"Captain Chinks," interposed the lawyer, who did not so clearly
+comprehend the nautical view of the case, "I lost a letter the day you
+went away."
+
+"And Bobtail found it," suggested the captain.
+
+"Not exactly. I never received it."
+
+"Then I don't see how you lost it."
+
+"Little Bobtail and the post-master agree perfectly on one point--that
+two letters were given him, one to carry to you and the other to me, on
+the day you went away."
+
+"And I perfectly agree with Little Bobtail and the post-master. He gave
+me my letter in your front office, only two minutes after you told me
+that I was certain to be arrested in less than twenty-four hours for
+being concerned in that smuggling case, when it was as plain as the nose
+on a man's face that I had nothing whatever to do with it. He gave me
+that letter, and that letter called me on business down to Mount Desert.
+You see, squire, when a man is innocent--"
+
+"Exactly so," interposed Squire Gilfilian. "We will grant that you are
+entirely innocent. But the smuggling case is not before the court just
+now. We were speaking of the letters. We will grant that Bobtail
+delivered your letter to you all right. Do you happen to know anything
+about the other letter?"
+
+The squire glanced at Little Bobtail, to discover any evidences of guilt
+or confusion in his face. Certainly he was deeply interested, and even
+anxious; but, being young and inexperienced, he had an undoubting
+confidence in the ultimate triumph of truth and innocence.
+
+"I do happen to know all about it," replied Captain Chinks, after he
+also had glanced at the boy.
+
+"Well, what do you know about it?" demanded the lawyer, rather
+impatiently, as the captain paused, and looked again at the alleged
+culprit.
+
+"Bobtail gave me my letter, and I opened it at once, for I was expecting
+that letter, and had asked for it at the post-office, for it was getting
+rather late for the steamer, and I had some business in Rockland. I was
+expecting to meet a man down to Bar Harbor."
+
+"We will grant that your letter was all right, captain. We were speaking
+of the other letter."
+
+"I thought we were speaking of both of them," laughed the captain.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+"It is all settled in regard to your letter; and you have been to
+Rockland, Bar Harbor, and down into the provinces, for aught I know."
+
+"No, I haven't. I was in St. John--let me see--two years ago; and I
+haven't been there since. You seem to think I have business down in the
+provinces, squire."
+
+"I don't know anything at all about your business, captain. But they say
+that a great deal of brandy finds its way into the States without paying
+any duties," chuckled the squire.
+
+"You don't mean to say that I have anything to do with bringing it
+in--do you, Squire Gilfilian?" demanded the captain, who seemed to be
+damaged in his feelings by the lawyer's thrust.
+
+"Certainly not."
+
+"Because you have just proved that I have not."
+
+"Hardly; only failed to prove that you have. But the letter, captain.
+Bobtail says you were here when he brought it into the office."
+
+"I was here, squire," answered the captain, dropping into an arm-chair.
+
+"I asked you, Captain Chinks--" Little Bobtail began.
+
+"Never mind what you asked him," interposed the squire, sharply. "I have
+heard your story, and now I want to hear the captain's, without any
+leading questions."
+
+"Don't be so snappy with the boy, squire. I'll tell you all about the
+letter without any questions at all," added Captain Chinks.
+
+"Well, I really wish you would. I have been trying for some time to get
+at the facts, and you have talked about everything except the one thing
+I wish to know," said the lawyer, impatiently.
+
+"Steady as she is, squire, and I'll tell you all about it. When I came
+out of this office, the day I went away, I met Little Bobtail coming
+into the front one with two letters in his hand, he gave me mine, and
+then asked where you were, squire. I told him you were in this office,
+and that you were busy. Then Bobtail said he had a letter for you, and I
+told him to put it on your desk. He tossed it on your desk, and then
+left. I can tell you just where it lay on the cover."
+
+"So can I," said the boy, as cheerful as a lark now, for the captain had
+precisely confirmed all his story.
+
+"Can you? Come and show me, then.--Stay here a moment, captain," said
+the squire, as he conducted the boy to the front office, closing the
+door behind him.
+
+Little Bobtail indicated the precise spot where the letter lay when he
+had thrown it upon the desk. Captain Chinks was called in, and pointed
+to exactly the same place. There was not a variation of two inches
+between them.
+
+"I can swear that the letter lay on the desk after Bobtail went out of
+the office," said Captain Chinks, decidedly.
+
+"I am willing to grant that Little Bobtail has told the truth, and that
+he is entirely exculpated from the charge; for if either or both of you
+have been lying, your testimony would have conflicted in some point, as
+it does not now."
+
+"That's handsome, squire," added the captain.
+
+"By the way, when did you see Bobtail last, captain?" asked the lawyer.
+
+"I haven't seen him since the day I went away."
+
+"You may go, Bobtail," added the squire.
+
+"I'm in no hurry, sir. Perhaps you will want to ask me some more
+questions," replied the boy.
+
+"If the letter was left on my desk, I ought to have found it there,"
+continued the lawyer.
+
+"That's so. But you don't always find things where you put them," said
+Captain Chinks, sagely.
+
+A long conversation about the missing letter followed; but no clew to it
+was obtained. The ill-visaged man, who wished to save the Buckingham
+Bank robbers from a long term in the state prison, thought it was very
+hard that his friends should suffer because somebody had stolen the
+letter, or the squire had lost it by his carelessness. But the lawyer
+thought his correspondent was to blame for not sending a check or draft;
+to which the ill-visaged replied that a check or draft would have been
+lost in the same manner the money had been.
+
+Finally Squire Gilfilian agreed to defend the bank robbers, and their
+friend agreed to raise the money to pay him before the trial came on. He
+did defend them; but even he was not smart enough to save them from a
+long term in the state prison.
+
+Little Bobtail was entirely satisfied with the result of the
+examination, so far as he was personally concerned, though, as the
+squire seemed to be very fair about it, he was sorry that he should lose
+so large a sum of money. More than this, he had more respect than ever
+before for Captain Chinks, who, he was quite sure, had told the truth in
+this instance. He might have given him a world of trouble if he had
+simply declined to tell the truth, or had distorted it even a little.
+Bobtail was, therefore, very grateful to him for doing what it was
+plainly his duty to do. Still our hero could not help wondering, as
+hundreds of others wondered, whether or not the captain really smuggled
+goods into the state. Perhaps he would not have thought much the worse
+of him if he had known that such was the fact; for, as we have before
+stated, Bobtail's views of smuggling were not very definite. He had
+never considered the subject enough to have any fixed opinions.
+
+Captain Chinks was a thriving, driving, enterprising man, who did any
+kind of business which promised an adequate remuneration. He went a
+fishing, he traded horses, traded boats, traded vehicles. He had been in
+the salmon business, importing it from the provinces, and sending it to
+Boston; he had been in the pogy oil business; he had been in the
+staging business; he had been in the hotel business in a small way. He
+owned a farm, and was a mechanic besides. He sometimes built a boat
+during the winter season, and ran it during the summer, or sold it, if
+an opportunity presented. If there was a camp-meeting, he carried
+passengers in his craft to and from the grounds. He was, or had been, in
+all these occupations. They were visible and tangible; and some people
+insisted that he was engaged in other occupations which were not so
+visible and tangible.
+
+Little Bobtail left Captain Chinks in the lawyer's office, and walked
+down the shore road to the cottage. He went in and found Ezekiel drunk
+on the bed. He did not disturb him, but went up stairs to see if the
+boxes he had removed from the Skylark were still securely hidden from
+the observation of any one who might visit the upper part of the house.
+He adjusted the rubbish which covered them, and then left the cottage.
+Monkey was paddling about the harbor in the old dory, which he had
+borrowed at the head of the bay. The moment his grateful friend saw him,
+he pulled to the rocks where he stood, and they went on board of the
+yacht together. Little Bobtail looked her over again, and began to
+wonder that no one appeared to claim her. He could not help asking if
+any one would ever appear to claim her. Whoever did so would have to
+account for the presence of those cases of brandy in her cabin. If the
+owner had any regard for his reputation, he might choose rather to
+sacrifice the boat and her cargo, than to subject himself to the penalty
+of his transgression. If he claimed the boat, he was reasonably sure
+that both would be confiscated, and he would make nothing by doing so,
+pecuniarily, and was liable to punishment besides. Bobtail thought it
+would be a fine thing to own the Skylark, or even to have the use of her
+for a season or two; and hoped the legal owner of her would have a
+proper regard for his reputation, and not risk it by putting forward his
+claim to her.
+
+Certainly for the present Bobtail was in charge of her, and there was no
+one to dictate what he should or should not do with her. He was willing
+that everybody should see the boat; and, to enable any one who might
+possibly throw light upon her ownership to do so, he thought it best to
+sail her about the harbor. The tide was up now, and, with the
+assistance of Monkey, he hoisted the mainsail and got up the anchor.
+
+"Now, stand by the jib-halyards, Monkey," shouted the skipper, as he
+took the helm.
+
+"All clear, Bob," replied the hand before the mast.
+
+"Hoist the jib."
+
+Monkey knew all about a boat, and did his work well. The Skylark went
+off with the fresh breeze on her quarter, and Bobtail felt like a lord
+at the helm.
+
+"Don't she spin!" said Monkey, as he seated himself in the
+standing-room, and fixed his gaze on the swelling sails.
+
+"She goes it like a locomotive," replied the skipper. "Now haul in on
+the main sheet, and we will run up the harbor."
+
+The Skylark, close-hauled, ran up to the head of the little bay, and
+coming about, stood over close to the wharf, at the head of which the
+fish market and several stores were located.
+
+"Hollo, Bobtail!" shouted the skipper of the Islesboro' packet, which
+had come in that morning, and lay alongside the wharf. "What boat's
+that?"
+
+"The Skylark," replied the skipper.
+
+"Where did she come from?"
+
+"I don't know. I picked her up yesterday, and want to find the owner,"
+replied Bobtail, who, while he was looking for an owner, did not really
+wish to find one, though he was prepared to do all that was fair and
+right in the premises.
+
+"Where did you pick her up?" asked the skipper of the packet.
+
+As the Skylark was now almost out of hailing distance, Bobtail came
+about, and ran up alongside the packet, skilfully spilling the sail at
+the right moment, so that she hardly bumped against the other vessel,
+though Monkey stood ready with the fenders.
+
+"I picked her up near Blank Island," replied Bobtail.
+
+"I seen a boat like her just about sundown last night. I couldn't make
+her out, but I cal'late that's the craft I see," added the skipper. "But
+how on airth came she adrift?"
+
+"That's more than I know."
+
+"Don't Captain Chinks know nothin' about her? He come over with me from
+Isleboro' this mornin'."
+
+"I saw him up in town this morning, but he didn't say anything about
+her," answered Bobtail.
+
+"I don't know's he knows anything about her; but he's pooty well
+acquainted with all the boats in these parts. Was there anything on
+board of her?"
+
+"She's a pleasure craft. Come on board and look at her," replied
+Bobtail, evasively.
+
+The skipper of the packet accepted the invitation, and looked over the
+Skylark. He was critical in his observations, and did not believe that
+any of these fancy craft amounted to much in heavy weather. She was
+"fixed up smart," and was "handsome's a picture;" but "he'd rather have
+his homely boat when it blowed than a thousand sech highflyers." They
+could "chalk a line up in to the wind in light weather, but they wan't
+nothin' in a sea."
+
+Bobtail did not indorse these critical remarks, for he had tried the
+Skylark in a sea, and knew that she was equal to anything.
+
+"I hope you'll find the owner, and I ca'late you'll make somethin' out
+of the job," said the skipper, as he returned to his vessel.
+
+Bobtail did not particularly hope so, for even if he made something out
+of the job, he was afraid he should never be satisfied with the old tub
+in which he had sailed the day before, if he bought her, now that he had
+realized the glories of the Skylark.
+
+"Shove her off, Monkey," said he, as he resumed his place at the helm.
+
+Running along close to the wharves, he answered several hails of persons
+who wished to know about the boat. It would soon be all over town that
+he had picked up the yacht; and having in this manner sufficiently
+advertised her, he stood off towards the open bay, passing between the
+Spindles off the point.
+
+"Where are you going to now, Bob?" asked Monkey.
+
+"We will take a little sail, just to see how the boat works."
+
+"She works fust rate, and no mistake," added Monkey, with admiration.
+
+"I'd give more to own this boat than I would to be one of the
+selectmen," continued Bobtail. "She's a tip-top sea boat. Take the helm,
+Monkey, and see how nice she steers."
+
+The Darwinian opened his mouth from ear to ear with pleasure as he
+complied with the request. Of course he fully agreed with all the
+skipper said. Bobtail walked forward, and then went below. It was about
+time to be thinking of dinner, though he was not very hungry yet. He
+looked over the stores of the yacht, to see if there was anything
+besides bacon for the meal. In a small tub he found some salt pork. One
+of the lockers under the transom was half full of potatoes; but he
+discovered no other meat. After this survey he concluded to dine on
+fish, for he had his lines and salt clams on deck. Returning to the
+helm, he put the yacht about, and stood up to one of the best of the
+fishing-grounds.
+
+"Lower the jib," he called to his crew; and when this was done, he
+directed him to throw over the anchor. "Now, Monkey, catch some fish
+while I go below and make a fire."
+
+In a few moments Bobtail had a fire in the stove. Washing some potatoes,
+he pared and sliced them. Three big slices of salt pork in the pan soon
+produced fat enough to fry them. By this time there was a movement on
+deck. The Darwinian was pulling in a fish.
+
+"A cod!" shouted Monkey. "He's a nice one, too."
+
+"How big is he?" asked Bobtail.
+
+"Five or six pounds."
+
+"That's enough. Dress him, and cut him up to fry."
+
+By the time the potatoes were cooked the fish was ready for the pan. The
+cook covered the pieces with Indian meal, and the dinner was soon ready.
+Bobtail had already set the table. He had put on plates, knives and
+forks, and glasses for two, a pitcher of water, a plate of pickles, and
+a dish of hard bread. The fish was placed on the casing of the
+centre-board, in the middle of the table, consisting of two leaves,
+which could be dropped down when not in use. Monkey was called, and the
+dinner proceeded in due form. The Darwinian did not seem to be quite so
+enthusiastic as at breakfast, perhaps because his table at home was
+oftener garnished with fish and salt pork than with any other food.
+However, he did ample justice to the bill of fare, and liberally praised
+the cook for his skill in the art.
+
+While they were thus pleasantly engaged, they heard a slight bump
+against the side of the yacht, followed by the sound of voices. With the
+instinct of a genuine boatman, Bobtail rushed upon deck to assure
+himself that no harm befell the Skylark, when the other boat came
+alongside. He found that Prince, in the white sloop, had just put
+Captain Chinks on board, and had already shoved off. Bobtail looked at
+the captain, and thought he had taken a great deal of trouble to pay him
+this visit, for Prince had come about, and was standing up to the
+village. He felt as though he should now be called upon to give up the
+Skylark to her rightful owner.
+
+"I'm glad to see you, Captain Chinks," exclaimed he; but what he said
+was rather complimentary than strictly true--a society fib.
+
+"Won't you come below, and take some dinner with us?"
+
+The captain had been to dinner, for it was now two o'clock in the
+afternoon, and he began to ask about the Skylark.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII.
+
+IN THE CABIN OF THE SKYLARK.
+
+
+Little Bobtail was not particularly glad to see Captain Chinks when he
+boarded the Skylark, at her anchorage on the fishing-grounds. It seemed
+as though the captain had taken a great deal of trouble to come down
+several miles from the village, probably hiring Prince to put him
+alongside the yacht. Yet he could not help thinking that the slight
+uneasiness which disturbed him was very absurd. He had permitted himself
+to hope that the owner of the Skylark would not claim her, or, at least,
+would not claim her till he had the use of her for a season, the longer
+the better; but he felt that he had no right to hope any such thing. The
+yacht was a beautiful craft, and it was in the very height of the
+boating season. All his hopes, however, had been very vague, and were
+not founded on any reasonable basis. He had been considering the
+remotest of possibilities, rather than the slightest probabilities.
+
+When Captain Chinks came on board, Bobtail felt that he had come to
+claim the yacht. According to the general "speech of people," this man
+of a doubtful reputation was, more likely than any other person in
+Camden, the owner of the twenty cases of brandy. If he claimed the
+yacht, he must claim the smuggled goods at the same time. Of course
+Bobtail would be expected to keep the secret, and thereby become a party
+to the fraud. He was not prepared for this issue. He did not want the
+confidence of any smuggler. Whatever his own views of the contraband
+trade, he would not break any law of the land himself, however leniently
+he was disposed to regard others who neglected to pay duties to the
+custom-house. He had always tried to be honest and upright, and he had a
+perfect horror of being anything else.
+
+"How's this, Bobtail?" said Captain Chinks, casting his eyes about him,
+as if to examine the parts of the yacht. "This is a fine boat!"
+
+"Tip-top, sir," replied the skipper, with proper enthusiasm.
+
+"Some one up in the village said you picked her up adrift. Is that so?"
+
+"That's so, Captain Chinks. I found her drifting out to sea, over near
+Blank Island. Does she belong to you, sir?"
+
+"To me?" exclaimed the visitor, with a slight start, which did not
+escape the observation of Little Bobtail. "What makes you think she
+belongs to me?"
+
+"I didn't say I thought so. I only asked you if she did. Captain
+Flipper, of the Islesboro' packet, said you might know something about
+her."
+
+"What made him think I knew anything about her?"
+
+"I don't know that he did think so; only he said you came over from
+Islesboro' with him this morning," Bobtail explained.
+
+"What has that to do with it?"
+
+"Nothing, that I know of. Captain Flipper said you knew about all the
+boats in these parts."
+
+"O, that's the reason he said I might know about her?" added Captain
+Chinks, apparently relieved by the explanation.
+
+"Yes, sir, I suppose so. Now, do you know anything about her?" asked
+the young skipper, forcing the question home.
+
+"Possibly I have seen her. I don't know."
+
+"Then she don't belong to you?"
+
+"Why do you keep asking me that question, Bobtail? Do you think I own
+her?" demanded the captain, rather sharply.
+
+"I don't think anything at all about it. I don't know. I can't tell by
+the looks of a man whether he owns this boat or not. I'm looking for her
+owner, and so I asked you the question."
+
+"Well, I don't own her," said Captain Chinks, with more earnestness than
+Bobtail thought the occasion required; but he could not help suspecting,
+from his manner, that Captain Chinks knew something about the Skylark.
+
+"Do you happen to know who does own her?" continued Bobtail.
+
+"No, I don't know anything at all about her."
+
+The Darwinian had left his dinner when Bobtail did, and had come as far
+as the companion-way, where he stood listening to the conversation which
+took place while the parties stood on deck. Captain Chinks had
+discovered Monkey's presence only a moment before, and it was possible
+that his decided answers were called forth by the fact that a third
+person was near.
+
+"Won't you take a bite with us?" continued Bobtail, when he happened to
+remember that he had not finished his dinner.
+
+"No; I had my dinner just before I came from home; but I will go below
+with you," replied Captain Chinks, following Bobtail into the cabin.
+
+The skipper and Monkey resumed their places at the table, and finished
+the meal. While he was eating, Bobtail related all the particulars of
+the finding of the Skylark, so far as the boat was concerned, but
+prudently repressed all allusion to the twenty cases of brandy. Captain
+Chinks appeared to be nervous and uneasy, though, as he did not own the
+boat, and knew nothing at all about her, Bobtail could not see why he
+should be so. The dishes were cleared away, washed, and carefully
+deposited in the lockers. The cook-room was put in order, the cabin
+floor swept, and every article of furniture put in its place. Bobtail
+seated himself on the transom, opposite Captain Chinks, and wondered
+more than ever why he had taken so much trouble to visit the Skylark
+when she lay so far from the town.
+
+"What do you suppose this boat is worth, Bobtail?" asked Captain Chinks,
+as he glanced forward and then aft, as if to survey the quality and
+capacity of the yacht.
+
+"I'm sure I have no idea," replied the young skipper.
+
+"They asked me twelve hundred dollars for one about this size in Newport
+last year," added the captain.
+
+"That's a big price for a boat."
+
+"But it was three hundred dollars less than she cost her owner two years
+before. This don't look like an old boat."
+
+"No, she's nearly new. I looked into the run this morning, and the
+timbers and plank are as fresh as though she had just been built."
+
+"I reckon she is a year or two old," added the captain. "She isn't worth
+less than a thousand dollars, though you may buy such a boat sometimes
+for half that money."
+
+"Five hundred dollars is about all any boat of this size is worth down
+here."
+
+"By the way, Bobtail, did she have any sort of a cargo in her when you
+picked her up?" asked Captain Chinks, in a careless way, as he raised
+and lowered the table-leaf in front of him, just as though he was more
+intent on ascertaining how the leaf worked than in obtaining an answer
+to his question.
+
+This was a very important interrogatory on the part of the visitor,
+notwithstanding the indifference with which it had apparently been
+propounded; and Bobtail had been expecting it. In spite of all the
+captain had said, and in spite of the fact that he had declared he knew
+nothing about the Skylark, our hero could not help connecting his
+visitor with the contraband cargo; perhaps because the captain was the
+only man in Camden who had the reputation of being concerned in this
+sort of business.
+
+"This is a pleasure craft, and wasn't built to carry cargo," replied
+Bobtail, who had already decided how to meet the question.
+
+"That may be; but such boats do sometimes carry a small cargo. For
+instance, you could put many thousand dollars' worth of some kinds of
+goods in this cabin," added the captain, still fumbling over the
+table-leaf, which seemed to be an inexplicable mystery to him, though it
+may be added in defence of a man of his intelligence, and a
+boat-builder, too, that he always built keel-boats, while the Skylark
+was a centre-board.
+
+"I dare say she could carry a million dollars' worth of gold or
+diamonds," added Bobtail, cheerfully, for he felt that his wily visitor
+was not getting much ahead of him.
+
+"Yes; but she might carry heavier goods, such as cigars, liquors, silks,
+and things of that sort, for it don't take a great lot to be worth a
+thousand dollars. Did she have anything of this kind in her when you
+picked her up, Bobtail?"
+
+"Why should any one think of carrying cigars and liquors in such a craft
+as this?" asked the skipper, laughing.
+
+"That wan't exactly the question. I say, Monkey, won't you go on deck,
+and see which way the wind is," added the captain, turning suddenly upon
+the Darwinian, who was listening to the conversation with his mouth wide
+open, and trying with, all his might to discover what Chinks was driving
+at. "I reckon it's hauling more to the southward."
+
+"Sartin; I'll see," replied Monkey, hastening on deck through the
+cook-room.
+
+"You don't answer the question, Bobtail," said the captain.
+
+"What makes you think there was any cargo in her?" demanded the skipper.
+
+"I didn't say I thought there was any; I only asked you if there was."
+
+In spite of Little Bobtail's indefinite opinions in regard to the moral
+turpitude of smuggling, he had very decided views on the subject of
+lying. He believed in telling the truth, though, like most other boys, I
+am afraid he did not invariably do so; but he always felt mean and
+guilty when he told anything in the shape of a lie. In the present
+instance he had made up his mind either to tell the truth or to keep
+still, not only because it was wicked to tell a lie, but because, in a
+smuggling case in which the government officers might soon have a hand,
+it might prove extremely dangerous.
+
+"Well, captain, I didn't say there was any cargo in her," answered
+Bobtail, cautiously.
+
+"I know you didn't; but I want you to tell me squarely whether there was
+or not."
+
+"Why do you want me to tell you?"
+
+"No matter why. I want you to tell me: that's all."
+
+"The wind's about nor'-west, Captain Chinks," said Monkey, crawling
+into the cabin from the cook-room.
+
+"It hasn't changed, then," added the visitor, vexed at the return of the
+Darwinian, who seated himself near Bobtail, intent upon hearing the rest
+of the conversation.
+
+"No, sir, not a bit; it's been nor'-west all day, and I don't believe
+its goin' to change afore night."
+
+"I say, Monkey, I want some fish for breakfast. If you will catch me two
+or three, and dress them, I'll make it all right with you."
+
+Monkey did not like to lose any of the conversation about the boat; but
+he reluctantly went on deck in the hope of making a trifle by the job.
+
+"I want you to answer my question squarely, Bobtail," continued Captain
+Chinks, returning vigorously to the charge, so vigorously that the
+skipper was almost confirmed in his suspicion connecting his visitor
+with the contraband cargo.
+
+"I don't say there was or was not any cargo in her," replied Bobtail.
+
+"But I want you to say," persisted the captain, sharply and sternly.
+
+"Do you own this yacht, Captain Chinks?"
+
+"I don't say whether I own her or not."
+
+"And I don't say whether there was any cargo in her or not."
+
+"What do you mean, Bobtail?"
+
+"That depends upon what you mean, Captain Chinks."
+
+"I don't understand you, Bobtail," said the visitor, struggling to
+suppress his anger.
+
+"That's just my trouble; I don't understand you," laughed the skipper.
+"I reckon we don't understand each other at all."
+
+"I asked you a question, Bobtail, and I want an answer," added the
+captain, bringing his fist down upon the table-leaf, whose mysterious
+mechanism he had by this time fully mastered.
+
+"I asked you a question, Captain Chinks, and _I_ want an answer,"
+replied Bobtail.
+
+"I don't want any of your impudence, and I won't take any of it."
+
+"I didn't mean to be impudent, sir."
+
+"But you talk to me just as though I was a boy like yourself. Now,
+answer my question."
+
+"I hope you will excuse me, sir, when I say I can't answer it. I mean to
+be respectful, sir."
+
+"You can answer it, Bobtail."
+
+"I mean that, for certain reasons, I must decline to answer it."
+
+"You must, eh?"
+
+"Yes, sir."
+
+"I didn't think this of you, Bobtail. This morning I got you out of a
+bad scrape. If I hadn't done so, you would have been taken up for
+stealing that letter, which contained five hundred dollars. Now, you go
+back on me the same day," added the captain, more gently.
+
+"I don't go back on you, sir. If you own this boat, I'll tell you all I
+know about her."
+
+"I don't say that I own her."
+
+"I know you don't say so; and for that reason I can't say anything more
+about her. You only told the truth about the letter."
+
+"But I might have held my tongue, and I'm sorry now I didn't."
+
+After this speech, Little Bobtail had no doubt that Captain Chinks was a
+bad man, and he felt the necessity of extreme caution in dealing with
+him.
+
+"I don't see how you could keep still when Squire Gilfilian asked you
+the question," added Bobtail, in his simplicity.
+
+"If I had done by you as you are doing by me when I ask you a question,
+I should have kept still, as you do."
+
+"But I don't want to get any one into a scrape," pleaded the skipper.
+
+"What do you mean by that? I only ask you to tell the truth, as I did
+for you this morning," said the captain, in a coaxing tone.
+
+"Squire Gilfilian owned that letter, and he had a right to ask about it.
+If you say you own this boat, I shall feel that I am perfectly safe in
+answering your questions."
+
+"Perfectly safe! Then of course there was a cargo in her," added the
+visitor.
+
+"I don't say there was. Have you lost a cargo, Captain Chinks?"
+
+The captain mused. To say that he had lost a cargo would be to
+acknowledge that he was a smuggler, and he could not trust the secret to
+a boy like Little Bobtail, who had the reputation of being an honest and
+truthful boy. If called upon to give evidence, the boy would tell the
+whole truth. He would rather lose both the cargo and the boat than be
+convicted of smuggling.
+
+"If there was no cargo in her, you would say so, Bobtail; so I have no
+doubt there was a cargo in her," continued Captain Clunks, after a
+silence of a few moments. "I take it for granted there was some sort of
+goods in her."
+
+"What makes you think so, sir?"
+
+"I have a notion of my own on that subject. If I'm not greatly mistaken,
+I saw this boat down to Bar Harbor. My idea is, that she went out to sea
+somewhere, and took a lot of goods from some fishing vessel, and tried
+to run them up to Camden, or some other port. I don't say it is so, but
+it might be. Very likely some of those custom-house officers got wind of
+the affair, and were on the lookout for the boat. Very likely the men in
+charge of her abandoned her, and cleared out to save themselves."
+
+"I wonder if they went over to Camden in the Islesboro' packet this
+morning," suggested Bobtail, innocently.
+
+"What do you mean, you young villain!" cried Captain Chinks, springing
+forward over the table, and seizing the skipper by the throat. "Do you
+mean to say I'm one of them?"
+
+"Let me alone!" yelled Bobtail, struggling to shake off the hard gripe
+of the visitor.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+Our hero had a hard fist, if it was a small one, and he used it
+vigorously upon the head and face of his assailant. He pounded so hard
+that the captain, holding him at a disadvantage across the table and
+centre-board, was compelled to release his hold.
+
+"I am not to be trifled with," gasped Captain Chinks, panting from his
+exertions, and smarting from the heavy blows which Bobtail had inflicted
+upon his face.
+
+"Nor I, either!" yelled the skipper, seizing a spare tiller which lay on
+the transom. "If you put your finger on me again, I'll break your head!"
+
+"What's the row?" shouted Monkey, rushing down into the cabin, his round
+eyes distended to their utmost.
+
+"I don't let anybody take me by the throat," replied Bobtail, shaking
+his head, and adjusting his shirt collar at the same time.
+
+"It's all right now, Monkey, go and catch your fish," added Captain
+Chinks, mildly, feeling that his wrath had got the better of him, and
+induced him to commit an imprudent act.
+
+"It won't be all right if you put your hand on me again," said Bobtail,
+still holding the spare tiller in his hand.
+
+"You knew that I came over in the Islesboro' packet this morning."
+
+"I wasn't thinking of you when I spoke," muttered Bobtail, who for the
+first time saw the force of the suggestion he had made.
+
+"I was only supposing a case," said the captain.
+
+"What? when you caught me by the throat? I don't want you to suppose any
+more cases, then."
+
+"I won't, Bobtail. Perhaps the men had run the boat ashore, and were
+looking for a place to hide the goods, when the wind blew her off, and
+sent her adrift."
+
+"Perhaps it was so; I don't know," answered the skipper, coldly.
+
+"If she had a cargo in her, what have you done with it?"
+
+"I didn't say she had any cargo, and I'm not going to say anything more
+about it till the owner claims the boat. That's the end of it."
+
+Little Bobtail rose from the transom, and walked towards the
+companion-way. Captain Chinks looked very savage. He was evidently in a
+dilemma, from which he could not extricate himself.
+
+"One minute more, my lad," called the captain. "I may possibly come
+across the person who lost this boat."
+
+"If you do, send him to me, and he shall have his boat,
+and--and--everything that belongs to her," replied Bobtail, who was
+still full of wrath towards his late assailant.
+
+"But, you see, if she had any smuggled goods on board of her--"
+
+"I didn't say she had."
+
+"You won't understand me! I say _if_ she had. Now, perhaps I can make a
+trade with the owner for you."
+
+"I don't want you to make any trade for me. Send him to me, and he shall
+have his boat. That's all."
+
+"But he will be afraid to expose himself. Now, suppose he should offer
+to let you keep the boat, if you would give up the goods, if you found
+any goods in her. If I should happen to find him, or to hear of him,
+shall I tell him you will make this sort of a trade with him?"
+
+"No! Tell him he can have his boat and everything that belongs to her.
+I've learned more about smugglers to-day than I ever knew before, and I
+wouldn't touch one with a ten-foot pole; and I wouldn't make a trade
+with him to cheat the government. I don't want to talk any more about
+it. I've got a sore throat now."
+
+Having thus delivered himself, Bobtail went on deck, and ordered the
+crew to help him get up the anchor. In a few minutes the Skylark was
+headed towards the town. Captain Chinks remained in the cabin, full of
+wrath and disappointment.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII.
+
+A CHANCE FOR BUSINESS.
+
+
+Possibly, if Captain Chinks had not resorted to violent argument in
+carrying his point, he might have succeeded better. As Little Bobtail
+sat at the helm of the Skylark, he thought of the proposition which the
+captain had made to him. It simply meant that, if he would give up the
+cases of brandy, he might keep the boat. It was a very tempting offer,
+and if he had not been smarting under the double injury to his throat
+and his feelings, inflicted by his visitor, he might have considered it.
+As it was, his only impulse was to have nothing further to do with such
+a bad man, a man who could be sorry that he had spoken the simple truth,
+and thus saved him from arrest for purloining the valuable letter.
+
+Though Captain Chinks had resolutely denied the ownership of the
+Skylark, and all knowledge of her cargo, Little Bobtail could not help
+believing that the captain was the owner of both. He began to think that
+he had not acted wisely in removing the cargo to the garret of the
+cottage. His interview with the "gentleman of doubtful reputation"
+convinced him that it was dangerous for him to have anything to do with
+such men. He wished that he had handed both boat and cargo over to the
+deputy collector of the port. Perhaps it was not too late to do so now.
+
+The wind was north-west, and the skipper had to beat up the harbor. As
+the yacht approached the wharf near the fish market, Captain Chinks came
+on deck. He seated himself on the trunk of the cabin, and seemed to be
+very much disturbed. Occasionally he cast a glance at Bobtail, as though
+he wanted to say something more to him. The bow of the boat was run up
+to the wharf, and Monkey was directed to "catch a turn" with the warp
+line on a post, which he did, and the skipper waited for his dangerous
+passenger to disembark.
+
+"Well, Bobtail, have you thought over what I said to you?" said Captain
+Chinks, as he rose from his seat.
+
+"I have thought it over, but--"
+
+"This is a fine boat, and if you will only give up the cargo, you will
+own her, for nobody will ever claim her," interrupted the passenger.
+
+"I haven't said there was any cargo in her," added Bobtail. "You seem to
+know all about it. If you claim--"
+
+"I don't claim anything," protested the captain, zealously.
+
+"Then it's no use to say anything more about her. I'm not going to get
+myself into any scrape, and I won't make any trade of any kind."
+
+"You are making a mistake, Bobtail. In my opinion, there's something
+about this business that don't appear on the face of it."
+
+"That's just my idea."
+
+"I don't know but you can make folks believe that you picked up this
+boat, but I don't think you can," added the captain, with his teeth set,
+and with difficulty keeping down his anger.
+
+"It don't make any difference to me whether they believe it or not,"
+replied Bobtail. "That's the truth."
+
+"You'll find it will make a difference to you," said the captain, as he
+stepped upon the wharf.
+
+"Didn't you go back to Squire Gilfilian's office, after you left the
+letter there?"
+
+"No, I didn't."
+
+"I'm not sure of that," replied Captain Chinks, shaking his head in a
+threatening manner. "You overtook me down by the lime-kiln; so you got
+behind me somehow or other."
+
+Captain Chinks went off muttering and shaking his head, and Bobtail
+could not imagine what he meant. So far as the lost letter was
+concerned, he felt that he had done his whole duty, and he was not
+disposed to worry about it; he wished his record in regard to the boxes
+was as clean.
+
+"Cast off, Monkey," said he; and putting the Skylark about, he ran down
+to the deep water off the Portland Pier, where he anchored her.
+
+Monkey's old dory had been towing astern during the trip, and after
+putting everything in order on board of the yacht, the two boys went on
+shore. Bobtail hastened to the cottage, hoping to find his mother there,
+for he wanted to tell her all about the situation, and obtain her
+advice. She had not yet returned. Ezekiel was just coming out of his
+spree, for he had drank all his liquor. He was ugly as sin itself, and
+began to abuse the boy again for "destroying his property." It was not
+comfortable to stay in the house under such circumstances, and Little
+Bobtail walked up to the village. The Bay View House was at this time
+full of guests--people from other parts of Maine and elsewhere, spending
+a few days or a few weeks at the sea-shore. Camden has lakes, and
+mountains, and delightful drives, in addition to the attractions of the
+sea, and people who went there once were very likely to go there again.
+Bobtail walked up to the hotel, for the stage from Rockland, by which
+his mother would return, stopped there.
+
+"What boat's that you have, Bobtail?" asked Mr. Philbrook, the landlord
+of the hotel.
+
+"The Skylark."
+
+"They say you picked her up."
+
+"Yes; I got blown off yesterday, and I found her adrift near Blank
+Island."
+
+"I see you are using her. There is a party here from Augusta that want a
+nice boat for to-morrow," added the landlord. "Can't you take them out?"
+
+"I don't know; the owner of the boat may claim her."
+
+"But you ought to have the use of her for taking care of her, and you
+can make six or eight dollars a day with her, just as well as not."
+
+"She isn't my boat, and I don't know's I ought to let her; but I will
+see, and let you know in the morning," replied Bobtail, as the Rockland
+stage drove up to the door.
+
+Mrs. Taylor was one of the passengers, and her son assisted her to
+alight. She wanted to know how her husband was, and Bobtail gave her the
+information. As they walked towards the cottage he told her all about
+the Skylark, and her suspicious cargo. Of course his mother was
+astonished; but fortunately her views in regard to smuggling were more
+clearly defined than Bobtail's, and she gave him excellent advice. She
+declared that she could not sleep a wink with all those boxes in the
+house.
+
+"You must go to Squire Simonton right off, tell him all about it, and
+let him take them away," said she, warmly. "Why, we are liable to be
+sent to prison!"
+
+"All right, mother; I will do just as you say," replied Bobtail.
+
+"Besides, Robert, if your father should find the boxes, you know what
+he would do," added Mrs. Taylor.
+
+"I will attend to the matter right off, mother."
+
+They reached the cottage, and after Bobtail had carried his mother's
+carpet-bag into the house, he hastened to find Squire Simonton, who was
+the deputy collector of the port. On his way up the street, he met this
+gentleman, with another, whom he had often seen at the hotel.
+
+"We want to see that boat you picked up, Little Bobtail," said Squire
+Simonton, with the pleasant smile which his face always wore.
+
+"I was just going up to see you about her," replied Bobtail. "I want to
+ask you what I shall do with her."
+
+"I don't know that you can do anything with her. Perhaps you had better
+advertise her in the Camden and Rockland papers," replied the squire.
+
+Bobtail did not like to say anything about the boxes before the other
+gentleman; so he did not allude to them. At the steamboat wharf he
+borrowed a small boat, and conveyed them on board of the Skylark.
+
+"She is a fine boat--isn't she, Hines?" said the deputy collector, as
+they stepped into the standing-room.
+
+Mr. Hines agreed that she was a fine boat; and then he commented upon
+her build, rig, and accommodations, as one who was perfectly familiar
+with boats and boating. He looked her over with a critical eye, and then
+expressed a desire to have a little sail in her, which the squire
+seconded; and Bobtail was always ready for a sail. In a few moments they
+were under way, with Mr. Hines at the helm. As they sailed down the bay
+towards Rockland, Bobtail related the whole story of the finding of the
+Skylark, and both the gentlemen suggested various theories in regard to
+her being adrift; but the hero of the adventure said nothing about the
+contraband boxes. He did not know that it was proper to do so before Mr.
+Hines, though he was a jolly, good-natured gentleman.
+
+"You didn't look into the cook-room--did you, Squire Simonton?" asked
+Bobtail, who was very anxious to tell the rest of the story.
+
+"I did not," replied the deputy collector. "I will do so now."
+
+Bobtail conducted him through the cabin, which was rather low for a
+gentleman of his eminent dignity, to the cook-room, where they seated
+themselves on the lockers.
+
+"I should want a little more room in my yacht," laughed the squire, as
+he tried to put on his hat, which the height of the apartment would not
+permit.
+
+"I didn't tell you but half the story on deck, sir," said Bobtail. "I
+didn't like to speak out before Mr. Hines; but you are the deputy
+collector."
+
+"And Mr. Hines is a custom-house officer," added Mr. Simonton.
+
+"O, is he? I didn't know it. Well, sir, I think there's something wrong
+about this boat, and I want to tell you the rest of the story."
+
+"What do you mean by something wrong, Bobtail?"
+
+"In the smuggling line."
+
+"Then I think we had better let Mr. Hines hear the story, for it is part
+of his duty to look up cases of this kind," replied Squire Simonton, as
+he rose from his seat, and bumped his head against a deck-beam.
+
+When they were seated on the cork cushions of the standing-room, the
+deputy collector intimated that Little Bobtail had something to say, and
+the boy rose to explain.
+
+"When I picked this boat up, her cabin was half full of boxes," said he.
+
+"Cigars?" said Mr. Hines.
+
+"No, sir, I don't know's I had any business to open one of the boxes,
+but I did. It was full of bottles," added Bobtail.
+
+"Brandy?" said the inspector.
+
+"The bottles were labelled 'JAMES HENNESSY & CO.--COGNAC.'"
+
+"Just so; that's brandy. How many were there?" asked Mr. Hines.
+
+"Twenty boxes, and each box contained two dozen. The bottles were in
+kind of straw casing."
+
+"I know," nodded the inspector. "What have you done with them?"
+
+"I didn't know what to do with them. I meant to be on the safe side; so
+I hid them in my father's garret."
+
+"That's a bad place for them," said Squire Simonton, who was an earnest
+and consistent temperance man, and had labored diligently to reform
+Ezekiel Taylor.
+
+"My father don't know anything at all about the matter."
+
+"We must get them out of his way at once. I don't know but it would
+have been just as well if you had emptied all the bottles into the bay,"
+laughed the deputy collector.
+
+"I thought of that, but I didn't think the fishes would like it."
+
+"Of course this brandy is smuggled," added Mr. Hines. "Don't Captain
+Chinks know anything about it?"
+
+Bobtail related the particulars of his interview with the "gentleman of
+doubtful reputation."
+
+"But the captain don't claim the boat?" said Squire Simonton.
+
+"He says she don't belong to him, and he knows nothing about the cargo."
+
+The two custom-house officials discussed the case at considerable
+length. As no one but Bobtail and his mother knew anything about the
+boxes, it was thought best to keep all knowledge of them from the
+public. The officers, in tracing out the guilty parties, could work
+better in the dark than in the light. The following out of this case
+might expose a dozen others. Captain Chinks was very sly, and what was
+now suspected might be ultimately proved. The brandy must be seized, and
+removed to a safe place.
+
+"But what shall be done with the yacht," asked Little Bobtail.
+
+"Nothing at present," replied Mr. Hines. "If we seize her, the game will
+be up at once. You may keep her and use her, Bobtail. I will appoint you
+her keeper, but you must not let any one steal her. The rascals may go
+on board of her at night, and sail her out of the harbor."
+
+"O, I will sleep on board of her every night," replied Bobtail,
+delighted with the decision of the inspector.
+
+"If any one claims her, let me know at once, and don't give her up
+without an order from me or Mr. Simonton."
+
+"I will not."
+
+The Skylark returned to her anchorage, and the gentlemen were landed on
+the wharf. Bobtail went home. An arrangement had been made for the
+removal of the boxes, but the presence of Ezekiel Taylor seemed to
+interfere with its execution. He was at home, sullen and ugly, and
+nothing could be done while he was in the house. But after supper he
+went out, shaking in every fibre of his frame, and hankering for a dram
+to quiet his nerves.
+
+After dark, Bobtail and his mother brought the boxes from their
+hiding-place, and put them behind a row of currant bushes, in the
+garden. Having informed the deputy collector where he could find them,
+he went on board of the yacht to sleep. After midnight the boxes were
+removed to the storehouse. No one was the wiser, and Bobtail was glad to
+get them off his hands.
+
+No one attempted to steal the yacht that night, and the next morning
+Little Bobtail informed the landlord of the Bay View House that the
+Skylark was at the service of the party who desired to sail. With Monkey
+"before the mast," he gave entire satisfaction to the ladies and
+gentlemen who went with them. He placed them where they caught an
+abundance of fish, and then landed them upon Blank Island, while he made
+a chowder, and fried fish and potatoes for their dinner. The party took
+their meal in the cabin, and generously commended the cook. Before dark
+he landed them at the wharf. He charged seven dollars for boat and crew,
+by the advice of Mr. Hines, which was cheap enough for a yacht of her
+size.
+
+"Now, Monkey, you have worked first rate to-day," said Bobtail, when the
+party had gone. "Of course I mean to pay you."
+
+"I don't ask any pay for helpin' you, Bob," grinned the Darwinian.
+
+"I want you every day when I have a job, and I shall pay you a dollar a
+day," added the skipper; and he handed him the money.
+
+"A dollar a day!" exclaimed Monkey, who had never possessed a dollar in
+cash of his own in his life.
+
+"Isn't it enough?"
+
+"By gracious! I should think it was!" exclaimed Monkey, gazing with
+wonder at the bill.
+
+"Put it in your pocket then, and call it square for this day's work."
+
+Before the Skylark left the wharf Mr. Philbrook appeared, and engaged
+the yacht for the next day for another party. Bobtail went up to the
+store at the head of the wharf, and expended a portion of his receipts
+for coffee, sugar, and other supplies for the yacht. It seemed to him,
+just then, that a great business was opening to him, and he was very
+anxious to give satisfaction to those who employed him. The bow-line was
+cast off, and the Skylark dropped down to her anchorage. The deck was
+washed down, and everything put in the nicest order for the next day.
+
+"Don't you think I ought to sleep on board with you, Bob?" asked the
+Darwinian, as they pulled to the landing-steps at the railroad pier.
+
+"What for?" asked Bobtail.
+
+"To help you if anything should happen. You might break adrift, or some
+vessel might run into you, and then there would be work to do."
+
+"I should like your company very well; but don't your mother want you in
+the house at night?"
+
+"The old woman don't care where I am."
+
+"Don't call your mother the old woman, Monkey. If you do I can't respect
+you."
+
+"Well, I won't, then," replied the crew, opening his mouth from ear to
+ear in one of his cheerful smiles. "She calls me Monkey, jest as other
+folks do. When I give her this dollar she'll be satisfied. Won't she
+open her eyes some!"
+
+"You shall take her another to-morrow."
+
+"I'll come right back when I give it to her. I s'pose you'll have some
+of that bacon for breakfast in the morning--won't you?"
+
+"Yes, if you like," laughed Bobtail, who now understood that his crew
+wanted to sleep on board in order to get a better breakfast than he
+would have at home.
+
+They parted at the cottage, and Bobtail went in to see his mother and
+take his supper with her. For some reason which the son could not
+understand, Mrs. Taylor was unusually sad and moody. Ezekiel was sober,
+for a wonder, and did not appear to be so cross and ugly as he generally
+was when recovering from his debauches. Neither of them said much, and
+Bobtail wondered what had happened. After supper he went out and split
+up the wood for the fire, and did other chores.
+
+"What can be done about it?" he heard Ezekiel say, as he paused at the
+door, after he had done his work.
+
+"I don't know's anything can be done," replied Mrs. Taylor, gloomily.
+
+Then there was a silence, and Bobtail went in.
+
+"What's the matter, mother?" asked he, now satisfied that some calamity
+impended.
+
+"I'm afraid we shall lose the house, Robert," replied Mrs. Taylor.
+
+"Lose the house? How can you lose it?"
+
+"You know there's a mortgage upon it for five hundred dollars. Squire
+Gilfilian wants the money, and says he must sell the place if it isn't
+paid. He has been threatening to do it for a good while, and to-day he
+has foreclosed the mortgage."
+
+"I've been all over town to get somebody else to take the mortgage,"
+added Ezekiel, "but I can't find nobody. The place is wuth a thousand
+dollars of any man's money; but business is dull, and money's hard, and
+I don't believe 'twill bring more'n the mortgage under the hammer. I
+don't know what I'm goin' to do about it. I don't see's I can help
+myself."
+
+Probably just then Ezekiel Taylor reproached himself for his idle and
+dissolute life, and realized that, if he had been industrious, and had
+saved his money, he might have owned the place with no encumbrance at
+the present time. It was about sunset, and Mrs. Taylor and her son
+seated themselves on the front doorstep to talk over the impending
+calamity.
+
+"What vessel is that?" asked Mrs. Taylor, as a cloud of white canvas
+emerged from behind Negro Island.
+
+"It's a yacht!" exclaimed Bobtail. "There's a _P_ in her burgee. It's
+the Penobscot, of Belfast. She belongs to Colonel Montague. I saw her go
+down the other day. She's the finest yacht in these waters. I must go
+and see her."
+
+Little Bobtail suddenly forgot all about the mortgage and the
+prospective loss of the cottage as he gazed upon the white sails and the
+beautiful hull of the Penobscot. She was a magnificent yacht, of about a
+hundred tons. She had created a decided sensation in the bay, and our
+young skipper had heard glowing accounts of her, which made him anxious
+to see her with his own eyes. Her crew were hauling down her
+gaff-topsails and her jib-topsail, and it was evident that she intended
+to anchor in the harbor. Her foresail was lowered, and then her jib. As
+she lost her headway, the anchor went overboard near where the Skylark
+lay. Bobtail began to move off.
+
+"I should like to see her, too, Robert. Can't you take me out to her?"
+said Mrs. Taylor.
+
+"Certainly, mother; come along," replied Little Bobtail; "but perhaps
+they won't let us go on board of her, for I see some ladies on her
+deck."
+
+At the landing-steps they took a boat, and Bobtail pulled off to the
+yacht.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX.
+
+THE PENOBSCOT.
+
+
+Little Bobtail could not help looking behind him occasionally, as he
+pulled the boat, to observe the beautiful proportions, and the comely,
+tapering spars of the yacht. Beside the Penobscot, even the Skylark was
+nowhere.
+
+"Well that's the finest yacht I ever saw!" said he, lying upon his oars,
+when he was near enough to take in the whole idea of the vessel. "She's
+big enough to go around the world in, too."
+
+"She's as nice as anything need be," replied Mrs. Taylor, with an
+indifference which was very provoking to the young skipper.
+
+She was looking at the people on the quarter-deck of the Penobscot,
+rather than at the symmetrical hull and the graceful spars. There were
+two ladies and two gentlemen. The old gentleman, seated near the wheel,
+with long silver locks, and of grave and dignified mien, was the Hon.
+Mr. Montague. His son, Colonel Montague, who had commanded a Maine
+regiment during a portion of the war of the rebellion, was planking the
+deck, dressed in the uniform of the New York Yacht Club. He was quite as
+dignified as his father, though he was not forty yet. His wife was the
+elegant lady who sat on a camp-stool gazing at the outline of the ragged
+mountain which rises near the village. The young lady of twelve or
+thirteen was Miss Grace Montague, the daughter of the colonel. She was
+quite tall for her age, and looked very much like her mother. Mrs.
+Taylor was gazing earnestly at these people.
+
+Little Bobtail swung his boat about, and backed her up to the
+accommodation-steps. The sailing-master, who also wore the Yacht Club
+uniform, walked quietly to the ladder, shaking his head to intimate that
+no visitors would be allowed on board. As Bobtail, who was not good at
+taking a hint, especially when it did not agree with his inclination,
+did not suspend his movements, the sailing-master walked down the steps
+to the little platform.
+
+"We don't allow any one to come on board to-night," said he, shoving off
+the boat with his foot.
+
+"Is this Colonel Montague's yacht?" asked Mrs. Taylor.
+
+"It is."
+
+"Well, I want to see him."
+
+"O, if you wish to see the owner, you can come on board."
+
+Just at that moment a steward in a white jacket called the party on deck
+to supper. The old gentleman, Mrs. Montague, and her daughter descended
+the companion-way first. As the colonel was about to follow them, the
+sailing-master told him that the woman in the boat wished to see him. He
+stepped over to the rail as Bobtail helped his mother upon the platform.
+
+"Do you wish to see me, madam?" demanded the colonel, rather haughtily.
+
+"My son wants to see this yacht very much. He's very fond of boats; and
+I thought I'd make bold to ask you if he might," replied Mrs. Taylor;
+and Bobtail thought then that his mother had more "cheek" than he had.
+
+"You may come on board," replied the colonel, very much to the
+astonishment of the young skipper, and apparently to the equal
+astonishment of the sailing-master.
+
+Bobtail went forward on the instant the permission was granted, leaving
+his mother to follow at her leisure; but she stood for a moment talking
+with the colonel. The young boatman examined the Penobscot in every part
+except the cabin, which he was not permitted to enter while the family
+were at supper. It would take all the exclamation marks in a fount of
+type adequately to express his views of the Penobscot and her
+appurtenances. The sailing-master followed him in his perambulations
+above and below, and when the family had finished their meal, he
+conducted him to the cabin, and permitted him to look into the
+state-rooms. Bobtail had never seen anything half so magnificent, and he
+expressed his delight and astonishment in the strongest language his
+vocabulary afforded.
+
+"Well, Robert, have you seen enough?" said his mother, when he returned
+to the deck.
+
+"I believe I've seen her through. I thought the Skylark was a big thing
+before, but she's nothing but skim-milk compared with this yacht,"
+replied he. "If I had such a yacht as this, I wouldn't go ashore at
+all."
+
+"Our people don't go on shore much," said the sailing-master, pleased
+with the enthusiasm of the boy.
+
+"I suppose she'll sail some--won't she?" added Bobtail.
+
+"She has logged fifteen knots in a fresh breeze."
+
+"How far have you been in her?"
+
+"We have been down to Eastport and Mount Desert. We left Bar Harbor this
+morning, and shall run up to Belfast to-morrow evening. Next week we go
+to Newport, and up Long Island Sound."
+
+"That's the life that suits me!" exclaimed Bobtail, with enthusiasm, as
+he walked aft to the accommodation-steps.
+
+Colonel Montague was smoking his cigar, and Little Bobtail thought he
+was gazing very earnestly at him; but when he returned the gaze, the
+dignified gentleman was looking some other way. He helped his mother
+into the boat, and pulled her to the landing-steps.
+
+"Do you know Colonel Montague, mother?" asked Bobtail.
+
+"I used to work for him before you was born," replied Mrs. Taylor,
+looking over the water at the Penobscot.
+
+"He didn't seem to know you," added Bobtail.
+
+"I haven't seen him before for years."
+
+"I didn't think he'd let us go on board."
+
+"I knew he would, if he recognized me."
+
+"If he did recognize you, he was awful stiff about it. He hardly spoke
+to you, if you did work for him before I was born."
+
+"That's his way, Robert. He is a great man now, and I s'pose he don't
+make much of folks beneath him. But he's a fine man, and I always liked
+him."
+
+"He may be a fine man, but he has a very awkward way of showing it. Why
+didn't he shake hands with you, and look as though he had seen you
+before?"
+
+"That isn't his way, Robert; and he is rich enough to do just as he
+pleases."
+
+"I don't believe he is rich enough to be hoggish," added Bobtail, whose
+impressions of Colonel Montague were not altogether favorable.
+
+"But he is a good man, and has a very kind heart. He will do almost
+anything for poor people."
+
+"I should like to sail in that yacht first rate; but I would rather go
+with somebody that isn't so stiff as Colonel Montague. That
+sailing-master seems to be afraid of him, and daresn't say his soul's
+his own."
+
+"Did you expect Colonel Montague to take off his hat to you, and treat
+you like a nabob?" asked Mrs. Taylor, indignantly.
+
+"I didn't expect him to say anything to me; but if you used to work for
+him, I should think he would have spoken a civil word or two to you."
+
+"And so he did. He spoke to me when you were looking at the vessel; and
+he spoke very kindly to me, too."
+
+"He went below in two minutes after you reached the deck."
+
+"Well, his supper was waiting for him. I was only his servant, and I
+don't expect great folks to take much notice of me; and you won't after
+you have lived to be half as old as I am."
+
+Mrs. Taylor seemed to be entirely satisfied with Colonel Montague, and
+she walked home, while her son, who was not so well satisfied with the
+owner of the Penobscot, went off to the Skylark, where he was soon
+joined by the Darwinian. At an early hour the captain and the crew
+retired, and doubtless slept very well, for they were up at sunrise in
+the morning. Monkey gorged himself with bacon at their early breakfast;
+and long before the hour appointed for the party to come on board, the
+Skylark was ready for their reception, with mainsail set, flags flying,
+and the anchor hove up to a short stay.
+
+Monkey had a great deal to say about the Penobscot, and Bobtail
+described her cabin, state-rooms, kitchen, and forecastle while they
+were waiting. She lay only a cable's length from the Skylark, and they
+could see all that was going on upon her deck.
+
+"That's Colonel Montague getting into that boat," said Bobtail, as the
+owner of the Penobscot stepped into his barge.
+
+The boat was manned by two sailors, each of whom pulled two oars. The
+colonel seated himself in the stern-sheets, which were cushioned with
+crimson velvet, and took the tiller-lines in his hand.
+
+"She's coming this way," added Monkey, as the barge moved towards the
+Skylark.
+
+In a moment she was alongside, and Colonel Montague, to the surprise of
+the skipper, stepped on board. He wondered greatly what had procured him
+the honor of a visit from such a distinguished man.
+
+"Good morning, my lad," said the colonel, with a pleasant smile, which
+seemed to belie his conduct the evening before.
+
+"Good morning, sir," replied Bobtail.
+
+"Good morning, sir," added Monkey, exhibiting all the teeth in his head.
+
+Colonel Montague glanced at the Darwinian, and possibly debated in his
+own mind whether the crew of the Skylark was man or monkey.
+
+"You have a fine little boat here," added the visitor.
+
+"She's a first-rate boat; but she ain't much side of yours," replied
+Bobtail, whose impressions in regard to the owner of the Penobscot were
+undergoing a rapid change. "She'll sail some, and she's good when it
+blows."
+
+"And you take parties out in her?" added the visitor.
+
+"Yes, sir; I have one to-day."
+
+"I'm afraid not, Captain Bobtail," said the colonel, with a smile.
+
+"I'm engaged, at any rate," added Bobtail, who, if the colonel had not
+smiled, would have thought he was impudent to doubt his word.
+
+"You must thank me for taking your party away from you. I found that
+some friends of mine at the Bay View House were to go in your boat
+to-day; but I invited them to go with me."
+
+"Well, sir, I don't thank you for it," said Bobtail, rather pertly.
+
+"Wait a minute, my lad. They told me they had engaged your boat; and I
+promised to make it all right with you. They were to pay you seven
+dollars for the day. Here is seven dollars;" and the colonel handed him
+this sum. "I suppose that will make it all right."
+
+"Yes, sir; that's handsome, and I'm very much obliged to you," answered
+Bobtail, warmly; and by this time he thought that the owner of the
+Penobscot was a prince.
+
+"Now, Captain Bobtail, if you would like to take a sail in the
+Penobscot, you may go with us, as you have lost your job for the day,"
+added Colonel Montague.
+
+"Thank you, sir; I should like to go first rate!" exclaimed Bobtail,
+delighted with the idea.
+
+"You may go on board with me," continued the colonel.
+
+"I will, sir.--Monkey, you will lower the sail, and take care of the
+Skylark. Don't let any one have her; and I will pay you just the same as
+yesterday."
+
+The Darwinian was very well satisfied with this arrangement, and
+immediately began to consider what he should have for dinner, since the
+choice was left with him. The barge returned to the Penobscot, and
+Bobtail followed her owner on deck. Though the young skipper of the
+Skylark was very democratic in his ideas, he did not presume to take a
+place upon the quarter-deck with the family, but went forward and
+fraternized with the sailors, all of whom, except the mates, were young
+men. Presently the order was given to set the mainsail, and Bobtail took
+hold of the peak-halyard to lend a hand. He worked well, and by his
+activity won the favor of his new companions. He did his full share of
+all the work, because he was not fond of idleness. The party came on
+board, and the order was given to get under way.
+
+"Clear away the jib and flying-jib," said the sailing-master.
+
+Bobtail ran out on the bowsprit, and, dropping down upon the foot-rope,
+was at the outer end of the flying-jib boom in an instant, clearing away
+the sail.
+
+"How smart you are!" said Miss Grace Montague, who was standing with
+another young lady of the party near the foremast, when he returned to
+the deck.
+
+Little Bobtail blushed like a girl, for he was not accustomed to talking
+with such nice young ladies.
+
+"Thank you, miss; but it don't take more than half a day to loose a
+flying-jib," he replied.
+
+"But aren't you afraid of falling into the water?" she asked.
+
+"O, no. I'm used to vessels. I sail the Skylark, which you see there,"
+replied Bobtail, pointing to the little yacht.
+
+"That's the boat we were going in," added the other young lady. "Then
+you are Captain Bobtail?"
+
+"Folks call me Little Bobtail; but I'm not captain," answered the young
+skipper, blushing again.
+
+"Run up the jib!" shouted the sailing-master.
+
+Bobtail sprang to the halyard, ungallantly turning his back to the young
+ladies. They looked at the short skirts of his coat, and he heard a
+silvery laugh, as he took in the slack of the rope. Miss Montague and
+Miss Walker were very much amused when they discovered the origin of his
+name.
+
+The wind was fresh; the Penobscot went off like "a thing of life," and
+Bobtail enjoyed the sail exceedingly. She ran down as far as Owl's Head,
+and then stood over towards the eastern shore of the bay. At one of the
+best places she lay to, and the party caught cod and haddock till they
+were tired of the sport, and then the yacht anchored under the lee of an
+island. The day was fine, and the excursionists desired to visit some of
+the islands in the vicinity. Both boats were manned, and went off in
+different directions, according to the fancy of those on board of them.
+Bobtail was permitted to occupy the fore-sheets of the one which carried
+Mrs. Montague and the two young ladies, for somehow he took great
+pleasure in looking at the latter, and wished they would be a little
+more sociable. This boat went to Blank Island, which has a high bluff
+on the east side of it, and all the party landed. The ladies and
+gentlemen ascended the steep side of the island, and reached the cliff
+which overhangs the sea.
+
+Bobtail followed them at a respectful distance, while the sailors
+remained near the boat. From the bluff he looked down into the little
+bay, where he had anchored the Skylark the night he picked her up. The
+cliff was about thirty feet high, and rose abruptly from the water,
+which was very deep at the foot of it, so that a large ship might have
+floated alongside the rocks. The party seated themselves near the cliff,
+and were observing the rolling sea beneath them, for a south-easterly
+wind was driving the huge waves into the little bay. It was a grand
+sight, and the two young ladies sat on the very edge of the precipice,
+watching the surges which beat and broke against the wall of rocks.
+
+"Don't go too near, Grace," said Mrs. Montague.
+
+"I'm not afraid, mother," replied the young lady.
+
+"These rocks crumble off sometimes, Miss Montague," added Bobtail,
+timidly approaching the spot.
+
+"There isn't any danger," answered the wilful miss.
+
+"Do you know what they call this place?" asked Bobtail.
+
+"I'm sure I don't."
+
+"Lover's Leap," laughed the young skipper. "The story is, that an Indian
+girl came to this island, and jumped off this cliff, because her father
+wouldn't let her marry the man she wanted."
+
+"Where did she come from?" asked Miss Walker.
+
+"I'm sure I don't know."
+
+"Pooh! I don't believe any Indian girl leaped off these rocks. It
+wouldn't hurt her any if she did," sneered Miss Montague.
+
+"But she would drown in the water," suggested Bobtail.
+
+"Well, I don't believe the story, because I think there are a thousand
+just such cliffs, and some Indian girl leaped off every one of them,"
+persisted Grace Montague. "I have seen ever so many 'Lover's Leaps'
+myself, and the stories about them are nothing but stories."
+
+"Perhaps this story is true," said Miss Walker, who was perchance more
+sentimental than her companion.
+
+"I don't believe a word of it. If the Indian girl wanted to drown
+herself, why should she come way out here, when she could find deep
+water enough near the shore?"
+
+"Perhaps it was to get away from her friends," suggested Miss Walker.
+
+"Perhaps it was, but I don't believe it. If I wanted to drown myself, I
+could find a better place than this," said Grace, rising, and standing
+on a loose stone close to the edge of the precipice. "If it were not for
+getting wet, I should just as lief jump off here as not;" and she swung
+her arms just as though she intended to take the leap.
+
+"Grace! Grace!" shrieked her mother, in frantic tones, as she saw her
+daughter demonstrating in this dangerous manner.
+
+The young lady was evidently startled by the shrill tones of her mother.
+She swung her arms back, as if she had lost her balance, and then went
+head first over the cliff. The loose stone on which she stood rolled
+back, and it was plain now that her foothold had been very insecure.
+
+"O, mercy, mercy!" screamed Mrs. Montague, as Grace disappeared over the
+precipice.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+The poor mother rushed towards the cliff, and in her agony would have
+thrown herself off, if the ladies with her had not held her. Little
+Bobtail was appalled as he saw Grace go over; but he believed in action
+rather than words. Kicking off his shoes, and divesting himself of his
+bobtail coat, he made a graceful and scientific dive into the depths
+below. He was celebrated as a diver and swimmer, and really felt almost
+as much at home in the water as on the land. And this was not the first
+time he had dived over this very cliff. He had done so several times
+before for sport and bravado, and therefore we are not disposed to
+magnify his conduct on the present occasion.
+
+Miss Grace Montague had not added to her other accomplishments that of
+swimming, which would have been a very useful attainment to one of such
+strong aquatic tastes and tendencies. She could not swim, and she did
+not attempt to do so. She only floundered and flounced about in the
+water, struggling madly and purposelessly in the waves. Our hero went
+deep down into the depths of the little bay, and when he rose he saw
+Miss Grace borne by the waves towards the wall of rocks. If she was not
+drowned, she would be mangled to death against the rocks. He struck out
+for her, and in a moment she was in his arms, or, rather, in one of his
+arms, for he threw only his left around her, in such a manner as to
+confine her hands in his grasp. With his head above the water, he swam
+towards the open bay, fearing the rocks more than the waves.
+
+With his heavy burden he found it impossible to make any headway against
+the waves, which drove him fiercely towards the rocks. Grace struggled
+violently, and this added to the difficulty of saving her. He buffeted
+the waves till his strength seemed to be all gone, and he feared that he
+should be obliged to abandon the poor girl to her fate. But the screams
+of Mrs. Montague on the rock above induced him to renew the struggle
+with new vigor; but his feet touched the wall of rocks behind him. He
+rose and fell with the waves, but still he held his charge firmly under
+his arm.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X.
+
+GRACE MONTAGUE.
+
+
+Little Bobtail was not making any headway with his burden. The waves
+threw him back until his feet touched the wall of rocks. He had
+struggled and labored, and Miss Grace had struggled and labored, as if
+intent upon defeating his beneficent efforts, until his strength was
+nearly exhausted. But he treated himself as he did a boat in heavy
+weather; he kept his head to the sea, well knowing that if he got into
+the trough, the waves would roll him over, and render him helpless. When
+his feet touched the rock, he "shoved off" vigorously. Fortunately for
+him, the young lady in his grasp was even more exhausted than he was,
+and by this time she was content to keep reasonably quiet. Bobtail only
+endeavored to keep her head out of the water, which he was not always
+able to do when the great waves surged in upon him. He no longer
+attempted to make any headway, but by occasionally pushing his feet
+against the rocks he saved himself from being disabled against them.
+
+One of the gentlemen on the island had shouted to the boatmen to pull
+around to the little bay. The sailors, thrilled by the screams of Mrs.
+Montague, were straining every muscle, and their oars bent like reeds
+before their vigorous strokes. The other boat, with Colonel Montague in
+the stern-sheets, was also hastening to the spot, the half frantic
+father urging the men forward with wild gestures. On the rock above, the
+party watched the struggling swimmer as he bravely supported his
+helpless burden.
+
+Two of the ladies held the agonized mother, to prevent her from leaping
+over the cliff. The gentlemen were shouting to the men in the boat to
+hasten their speed, for there was nothing else they could do. Bobtail
+saw the boat, and heard the rapid thumps of the oars in the rowlocks.
+The sight and the sound inspired him with new courage. He had ceased to
+struggle any more than was necessary to keep his distance from the rock.
+
+"Hold on a few seconds more," shouted one of the gentlemen on the rock
+above.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+Bobtail tried to speak, but he could not, though he felt that for a
+short time longer he was master of the situation.
+
+"Way enough!" said one of the men in the boat. "Toss him an oar, Bill."
+
+The stroke oarsman threw one of his oars to Bobtail, who grasped it, and
+supported himself with it.
+
+"Back her," said the man in the bow, as he reached forward, and seized
+one of Miss Grace's arms, while the other man kept the boat in position
+with his oars.
+
+The stout sailor lifted the young lady into the boat, and Bobtail laid
+hold of the bow with his released hand. A shout of joy rose from the
+rock when Grace was safely drawn into the boat.
+
+"Back her!" gasped Little Bobtail, still clinging to the bow with one
+hand, while he held the oar with the other.
+
+Grace was exhausted and panting violently, but she was not insensible.
+She was even able to sit up; and when the boat had backed clear of the
+rocks, she was placed on the velvet cushions at the stern. In another
+moment the second boat dashed alongside, and Colonel Montague leaped
+into the stern-sheets, and folded his daughter in his arms. He wiped
+the salt water from her face, and did all he could to improve her
+situation.
+
+"Pull for the yacht!" said he, nervously.
+
+All this time Bobtail had been clinging to the bow of the barge,
+recovering his breath. The sailor assisted him into the boat, and he
+dropped down into the fore-sheets, breathing heavily from exhaustion.
+The stroke-oarsman picked up his oar, and the two men pulled with all
+their might for the yacht, while the other boat went around to the
+landing-place on Blank Island to bring off the party there.
+
+"How do you feel, Grace?" asked Colonel Montague, as he laid his
+daughter's head upon his breast.
+
+"Better, father," she replied, faintly. "I'm cold."
+
+"Give way, lively, my lads," added the colonel, to whom minutes seemed
+like hours.
+
+When the barge came alongside the accommodation-steps, Colonel Montague
+bore Grace in his arms to the deck of the Penobscot.
+
+"Let me sit down here in the sun, father," said she.
+
+"But you must remove your wet clothes."
+
+"Not yet. Let me rest a few moments. I shall be all well in a little
+while."
+
+"What's the matter, Edward?" asked the Hon. Mr. Montague, who had
+remained on board of the Penobscot, being too old to scramble about the
+rocks.
+
+"I have been overboard, grandfather," replied Grace, with a faint smile;
+and it was evident that her condition was rapidly improving.
+
+"Overboard, child!" exclaimed the old gentleman. "How did it happen?"
+
+"I don't know. I was not with her," replied the colonel. "But where is
+that boy?"
+
+"That boy" has just come on deck, and had seated himself in the waist.
+He had recovered his wind, and was now nearly as good as new. He felt
+that he had done a big thing, and he wondered that no one said anything
+to him. The boat that brought him to the yacht had gone for the party
+which had been left on the island; and no one but the colonel knew
+anything about the part he had borne in the affair. But he was not long
+neglected, for the instant Colonel Montague thought of him he hastened
+to the waist, and with tears in his eyes, grasped him by the hand.
+Doubtless he betrayed more emotion than the occasion seemed to
+warrant--emotion which was not all gratitude.
+
+"My lad, you have done me a service which I can never forget," said he,
+wiping the tears from his eyes.
+
+"It's all right, sir. I feel better than if I hadn't done it," replied
+Bobtail.
+
+"But come aft, and see Grace," added the colonel.
+
+"No, sir, I think I won't bother her now. She must feel pretty bad after
+the ducking she got."
+
+Just at this moment the barge from Blank Island dashed up to the steps.
+Mrs. Montague was a demonstrative woman, and she had not even yet ceased
+to scream.
+
+"O, where is she? where is she, Edward?" cried the poor mother, as she
+rose in the stern of the boat.
+
+"Here I am, mother," exclaimed Grace, hastening to the rail on the
+quarter-deck. "I am not drowned or hurt."
+
+Mrs. Montague was assisted up the steps, and in another moment she was
+sobbing over her child in her arms. While this scene was transpiring on
+the quarter-deck, the rest of the party went to Little Bobtail, and took
+him by the hand, as they expressed their admiration of his heroic
+conduct.
+
+"That wan't anything," replied Bobtail. "I have dived off that rock
+twenty times before."
+
+"But Grace would have drowned if you hadn't done it."
+
+"Well, I don't know. I suppose, if I hadn't gone for her, some of the
+rest of you would."
+
+"I don't know about that," said one of them, shaking his head. "I might
+have gone into the water, but I couldn't have done much."
+
+Mrs. Montague hurried Grace into the cabin as soon as the violence of
+her emotions had in a measure subsided.
+
+"But I haven't seen Captain Bobtail yet," said the daughter.
+
+"You shall see him; but you must take off your wet clothes first,"
+replied her mother.
+
+"Not yet, mother. I must see him this instant. Tell him to come down
+here."
+
+"I'll go for him," said Emily Walker, as she rushed up the
+companion-way.
+
+Perhaps Miss Walker was more sentimental than Miss Montague; at any
+rate, she flew to the spot where Bobtail was seated, threw her arms
+around his neck, and actually kissed him before he had a chance to repel
+the assault, if he desired to do so.
+
+"What a dear, good fellow you are!" exclaimed she. "But you must come
+right down into the cabin this instant. Grace wants to see you."
+
+"I'm all wet, and I guess I won't go down now," replied Bobtail,
+blushing like a red cabbage in the dews of the morning.
+
+"But you must come. Grace is dying to see you;" and Miss Walker took him
+by the arm, and tugged at it till she dragged him to his feet.
+
+"I don't like to go down into the cabin. I haven't got my coat and shoes
+yet."
+
+"Never mind your coat, Mr. Bobtail. Grace won't change her wet clothes
+till she sees you."
+
+Of course Miss Walker carried the day, and Little Bobtail was dragged
+into the cabin. Grace seized him by both hands, and warmly expressed her
+gratitude. Emily wondered that she did not kiss him. If he had saved
+her, she would have kissed him twenty times. Mrs. Montague pressed his
+hand, and thanked him over and over again. Then Colonel Montague took
+his hand again, and expressed himself even more fully than before. The
+Hon. Mr. Montague followed him, and every lady and gentleman of the
+party took him by the hand, and said something exceedingly handsome; and
+Bobtail began to think they were overdoing it.
+
+"But come, my lad; you are in your wet clothes, while we are talking to
+you," interposed the colonel. "You must have a dry suit."
+
+"Never mind me, sir. I'm used to it," laughed Bobtail.
+
+"You will catch cold."
+
+"Catch a weasel asleep! I don't catch cold."
+
+Colonel Montague insisted, and the sailing-master lent him a shirt and a
+pair of trousers twice too big for him, and Bobtail put himself inside
+of them. His bobtail coat and shoes, which had been brought from the
+island, were dry, and he was in presentable condition. Grace soon
+appeared, her hair nicely dried and dressed anew, wearing a white dress
+and a blue sacque. She looked very pretty; but Bobtail thought that
+Emily Walker was the prettier of the two. By this time dinner was ready,
+and the skipper of the Skylark was invited to dine in the cabin. He did
+not exactly like the idea, for he felt that he was not sufficiently
+posted in the ways of genteel society to sit at the table with such
+grand people.
+
+"I'll take my grub with the hands forward, sir," said he, laughing. "I
+shall feel more at home with them."
+
+"But we shall not feel at home without you, my lad," replied Colonel
+Montague. "Besides, when everybody gets cooled off, we want to talk over
+the affair on the island, for I haven't even heard how Grace happened to
+be in the water."
+
+The owner of the Penobscot would not "let him up," as Bobtail expressed
+it when he told his mother the story, and he was placed at the table
+between Grace and Emily Walker. Chowder was served first. Bobtail kept
+his "weather eye" open to see how the rest of the party did, and
+adjusted his conduct by theirs. He wondered what "those towels were
+stuck into the tumblers for;" but when little Miss Walker unrolled her
+napkin, and placed it in her lap, and the gentlemen of the party did the
+same, he followed their example.
+
+"Now, Grace, tell me how you got overboard," said Colonel Montague, when
+the soup plates were removed.
+
+Mrs. Montague shuddered, for the scene was too terrible to be recalled
+with anything but anguish.
+
+"Captain Bobtail had just told Emily and me a story about an Indian girl
+who jumped off that same cliff; but I didn't believe a word of it,"
+Grace began. "I stood up on a stone near the edge, and swung my arms,
+for I was thinking just how the Indian girl looked, if she really did
+jump off that cliff. Just then mother screamed, and frightened me. I
+started back; but the stone I was standing on rolled over, and threw me
+forward, so that I went down into the water head first."
+
+"I thought the child was going to jump overboard," added Mrs. Montague,
+with a strong tremor passing through her frame.
+
+The details of the affair were repeated, and then all eyes were directed
+at Little Bobtail, who was more concerned about the propriety of his
+conduct at the table than about his deeds at Blank Island; but probably,
+if he had fed himself with his knife, his admiring friends would
+cheerfully have forgiven him. He found it more difficult to transfer
+mashed potato from his plate to his mouth with the silver fork than it
+was to dive off that cliff into the sea. When the pastry came on, it
+was absolutely appalling to think of eating custard pie with a fork, and
+he would rather have undertaken the feat of swimming around Blank
+Island.
+
+"You know I always shovel in custard pie with my knife," said he,
+afterwards, in telling his mother about it; "but everybody else used a
+fork, and so I had to."
+
+But Bobtail magnified the trials and tribulations of that grand dinner
+in the cabin of the Penobscot, for, by keeping his "weather eye" open,
+he hardly sinned against any of the proprieties of polite society, and
+some of the ladies even remarked how well he behaved for a poor boy. The
+dinner was finished at last, and "it was a tip-top dinner, too," for
+besides chowder and fried fish, there were roast beef and roast chicken,
+boiled salmon, puddings, pies, and ice-cream. Perhaps Bobtail ate too
+much for strict gentility, but he excused himself by declaring that not
+only the stewards, but all the party, "kept making him eat more of the
+fixins."
+
+"When I got through that dinner, mother," said he, "I was just like a
+foot-ball blown up for a game; and if the captain's trousers that I
+wore hadn't been a mile too big for me, I couldn't have put myself
+outside of half that feed."
+
+After the dinner, which Bobtail will remember as long as he lives, the
+party went on deck. Grace was as bright and fresh as ever. She and Emily
+walked up and down the deck. The young skipper went forward to talk with
+the crew, for he did not wish them to think that he was putting on airs
+because he "took his grub in the cabin." The men congratulated him on
+his good fortune, and assured him he had made a rich and powerful
+friend, and that he would get a pile of money by the operation. Bobtail
+thought that a hundred dollars was "a pile of money," and, if any one
+claimed the Skylark, this sum would enable him to purchase a better boat
+than Prince's old tub. But he did not think much about this matter; in
+fact, he was gazing at Miss Grace and Miss Emily, as they walked so
+gracefully on the deck. He was not sentimental, romantic, or very
+visionary; but these two young ladies were so pretty, and so elegant,
+and so finely dressed, that he could not help looking at them; besides,
+they were as sociable now as he could wish. Bobtail joined them in
+their promenade on the deck, and was admitted to the privilege with
+distinguished consideration.
+
+"I should like to have you take a sail with me in the Skylark," said he.
+
+"O, I should like to go ever so much," replied Miss Walker.
+
+"And if you get overboard, I will pull you out."
+
+"I don't mean to get overboard, if I can help it," laughed the little
+miss, though, from her conversation with Grace, one would have thought
+she considered it rather a nice thing, if she could only be rescued by a
+young gentleman.
+
+"You must sail up to Belfast, Captain Bobtail, and come to our house,"
+added Grace. "I have lots of things to show you. We have ever so many
+boats; and you may ride my pony."
+
+"Thank you, Miss Montague. You are very kind; but you know I'm not one
+of the grand folks, and I shouldn't know how to behave myself in your
+fine parlors."
+
+"Pooh! You behave just as well as any of the young men that come to our
+house," said Grace, pouting her lips. "You are just as good as any of
+them, and a great deal better than most of them. I hope you will come,
+Captain Bobtail; I shall be so glad to see you!"
+
+The order was given to get up the anchor, and Bobtail sprang to take a
+hand in the operation. In a few moments the Penobscot was standing over
+towards Camden; and the hero of the day began to regret that he must so
+soon lose his pleasant companions. About five o'clock she landed her
+passengers at the Portland Wharf, and Monkey came off from the Skylark
+for Bobtail.
+
+"Little Bobtail, you have rendered me a service to-day which you can
+neither understand nor appreciate, and I shall never forget it," said
+Colonel Montague, as he took the boy's hand. "I shall see you again
+before long. I am going away in the yacht next week for a long cruise;
+but we shall meet again, and I hope in the end that you will not be
+sorry for your noble conduct to-day."
+
+"I'm not sorry for it, sir. I've had a tip-top time to-day, and I'm much
+obliged to you for taking me with you," replied Bobtail, unable to
+comprehend the whole of the grateful father's speech.
+
+"It is fortunate you were with us. We might have been weeping over our
+lost child, instead of rejoicing, as we do now."
+
+"O, some other fellow would have gone in for her if I hadn't."
+
+"Perhaps not; for not many have the nerve to dive off a high cliff into
+the sea, as you did. Be that as it may, my gratitude to you is none the
+less. If you want a friend, if you have any trouble about that boat, or
+anything else, send for me, for I would cross the continent to serve
+you."
+
+"Thank you, sir. I don't know that I am likely to have any trouble about
+the Skylark, for if the owner comes, he can have her."
+
+"And then you will have no boat?"
+
+"No, sir. I shall be out of a boat, sure; and I should like to live in
+one all the time."
+
+"If you lose her before I return, write a letter to me at Belfast, and
+it will be forwarded if I have gone. Now, good by, my lad."
+
+The rest of the family shook hands with him again, and spoke many kind
+words to him. Bobtail leaped lightly into Monkey's boat, and they
+returned to the Skylark. The skipper spoke in glowing terms of the
+experience of the day; but somehow the Darwinian did not seem to relish
+the narrative. He was nervous, and did not laugh as usual; but it was
+some time before Bobtail's enthusiasm permitted him to notice the change
+which had come over his companion's spirits. They went on board the
+Skylark.
+
+"Has any one been after the boat, Monkey?" asked the skipper.
+
+"No one after the boat," replied the Darwinian, gloomily; "but somebody
+has been after you."
+
+"After me? Who?"
+
+Monkey was silent, and studied the seams in the deck.
+
+"Who has been after me?"
+
+"Mr. Brooks."
+
+This gentleman was a deputy sheriff; but his name had no terror to
+Robert Taylor.
+
+"Say, Bob, don't you think we had better get under way, and run for it?"
+added Monkey, his face brightening for a moment.
+
+"What for?"
+
+"Mr. Brooks said he had a warrant to take you up, and I s'pose he's on
+the lookout for you now."
+
+"Take me up!" exclaimed Bobtail. "What for?"
+
+"Something about a letter--I don't know what."
+
+"I know," replied Bobtail, musing, for he could not think how, after he
+had been fully exonerated from the charge of taking that letter, he
+should again be accused.
+
+The jib of the Penobscot was hoisted while he was musing, and she stood
+away towards the Spindles off North-east Point.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI.
+
+THE FIVE HUNDRED DOLLAR BILL.
+
+
+Little Bobtail watched the beautiful yacht as she piled on her "kites"
+and gradually increased her speed in the light breeze. He felt that he
+had a powerful friend on board of her, and he was tempted to call in his
+aid in meeting the difficulties that seemed to be gathering before him.
+
+"Don't you think we'd better run for it, Bob?" asked Monkey. "We can
+keep out of the way of any boat in Camden. We can run over among them
+islands, and spend the summer there without being caught."
+
+"I don't run away from anything of this sort," replied Bobtail, proudly.
+"I'm going to face the music, whatever comes of it."
+
+"But they'll put you in jail," suggested Monkey, opening his eyes as
+wide as they would go.
+
+"I don't care if they do. I haven't done anything wrong, and I'm not
+going to run away. If Mr. Brooks wants me, here I am."
+
+"There he comes; and Captain Chinks is with him. We can hoist the
+mainsail, and be out of the way before they get here, if you say the
+word," added the crew of the Skylark, nervously.
+
+"I don't say the word. I'm all right, and I'm ready to look any of them
+square in the face."
+
+"But what's it all about, Bob?"
+
+"Squire Gilfilian says I stole a letter with money in it, which was sent
+to him."
+
+"You!" exclaimed the Darwinian. "Well, I know better'n that myself."
+
+"So do I," laughed Bobtail, pleased with the enthusiasm of his friend.
+
+"Here they come. Captain Chinks looks as ugly as sin itself. He is at
+the bottom of this business. You stay by, and take care of the boat,
+Monkey, whatever happens to me. If any one attempts to get her away from
+you, send for Squire Simonton."
+
+"I'll stick to her as long as there's a chip left of her, Bob; but I
+don't like to have them take you out of her in this kind of style, and
+send you off to jail."
+
+"You needn't be concerned about me. I have some strong friends, and I'm
+rather sorry I didn't stop the Penobscot, and tell Colonel Montague
+what's up. I would, if I had known exactly what was going to happen."
+
+A boat with Captain Chinks at the oars, and Mr. Brooks in the
+stern-sheets, came alongside the Skylark.
+
+"You are here--are you?" said Captain Chinks, with an ugly look.
+
+"Of course I'm here," replied Bobtail, quietly. "I ain't nowhere else."
+
+"I want you to go on shore with me," added the deputy sheriff.
+
+"Monkey says you want to take me up."
+
+"I don't want to do so, but I must discharge my duty. I have a warrant
+for your arrest," replied Mr. Brooks.
+
+"What for?"
+
+"For stealing a letter with money in it."
+
+"Captain Chinks here knows that I didn't do it."
+
+"No, I don't."
+
+"You saw the letter in Squire Gilfilian's office after I left."
+
+"That's so; but I can't say that you didn't go back after I went off. I
+didn't believe you took the letter till the squire proved it; and then I
+couldn't help believing it. I don't see how you can help believing it
+yourself."
+
+"I didn't take the letter."
+
+"We will talk this matter over at the squire's office," interposed the
+deputy sheriff. "You had better not say much about it here."
+
+"I'm going to speak the truth right straight through, and I don't care
+who hears me."
+
+"You are not obliged to say anything to commit yourself, Bobtail. I want
+you to understand that," said Mr. Brooks, kindly.
+
+"I shall not say anything to commit myself, you had better believe, for
+I didn't take the letter."
+
+"The less you say about it, the better," added the officer.
+
+"Does my mother know anything about this business?" asked Bobtail.
+
+"I reckon she knows more about it than anybody else except yourself,"
+answered Captain Chinks.
+
+"I have talked with your mother about it," said Mr. Brooks. "She feels
+very bad, of course; and she says she can't explain the matter at all."
+
+"She don't know anything about it," replied Bobtail.
+
+"I will send for her when we get on shore," added the deputy sheriff.
+
+Captain Chinks pulled to one of the wharves up the harbor, where the
+party landed, and then proceeded to the office of Squire Gilfilian. The
+lawyer was there, and so was the ill-visaged man who took care of the
+case of the bank robbers. Mr. Brooks had sent a boy for Mrs. Taylor as
+soon as they landed, and she and her husband arrived at the office
+almost as soon as Bobtail.
+
+"O, Robert," exclaimed the poor woman, her eyes filling with tears, as
+she hugged her boy.
+
+"Don't be scared, mother. I didn't do this thing, and I shall come out
+all right," replied Bobtail. "Don't fret about it."
+
+"I can't help it, Robert. I wish--"
+
+Mrs. Taylor suddenly checked herself. "What do you wish, mother?" asked
+Bobtail, who thought there was something very strange in her conduct.
+
+"I wish they hadn't arrested you," added she; but this was evidently not
+what she had intended to say.
+
+"So do I; but you needn't be frightened. I didn't take the letter, nor
+the money."
+
+"I know you didn't, Robert, but the case looks very bad against us."
+
+"I think so, Mrs. Taylor," said Squire Gilfilian, who had been occupied
+in looking over some papers when the party entered, and was now ready to
+give his attention to the case. "I should like to hear what you have to
+say."
+
+"This is not an examination," said the deputy sheriff to Mrs. Taylor and
+her son. "If you don't wish to answer any questions here, you needn't do
+so. The case will come on to-morrow, before Squire Norwood."
+
+"I am ready to answer any questions that can be asked," said Bobtail,
+stoutly, "whether it is an examination or not."
+
+"Do as you please about it. If you want any help--any lawyer--I will
+send for one," added Mr. Brooks.
+
+"I don't want any lawyers. I can tell the truth without any help,"
+answered Bobtail.
+
+"Did you come back to the office after you put that letter on my desk?"
+asked the squire.
+
+"No, sir; I did not," replied Bobtail, squarely.
+
+The lawyer took from his pocket-book a five hundred dollar bill, and
+spread it out on the desk at his side.
+
+"Did you ever see that bill before, Robert Taylor?" demanded he,
+sternly.
+
+"No, sir."
+
+"Think before you answer."
+
+"Think! I don't want to think. I never saw a five hundred dollar bill
+before in my life," answered Bobtail, with no little indignation in his
+tones.
+
+"I am sorry to see you persist so stoutly in a lie," said the squire,
+shaking his head, as he glanced at Mrs. Taylor.
+
+"It isn't a lie; it's the truth, and I'll stick to it as long as I have
+breath in my body," replied Bobtail, warmly.
+
+"You are not under oath now, Robert Taylor."
+
+"I'll say just the same under oath, and before all the lawyers and
+judges in the State of Maine."
+
+"Mr. Slipwing, do you know this bill?" added the squire, addressing the
+ill-visaged man.
+
+"I do. I will swear in any court that this is the bill I sent you in the
+letter from Portland," replied the man.
+
+"You are very sure?"
+
+"Positively so. I remember the bank, and there are three things on the
+bill which enable me to identify it. The cashier's pen snapped when he
+wrote his name on the left, and blotted the bill. The corner was torn
+off, and it was mended in another place with a piece of paper from the
+edge of a sheet of six-cent postage stamps."
+
+The ill-visaged man spoke confidently, and whatever his character, his
+testimony was very clear.
+
+"What has all this to do with me?" asked Bobtail, who did not yet
+understand the situation.
+
+The lawyer smiled, and perhaps he thought that the boy was playing his
+part extremely well for a novice.
+
+"My testimony will come in next," added Squire Gilfilian. "This
+afternoon, Mrs. Taylor, who is the mother of this boy, paid me five
+hundred dollars, for I had foreclosed the mortgage on her husband's
+house. Now, Mrs. Taylor, where did you get the bill?"
+
+"Robert didn't give it to me," she replied; and she seemed to be very
+much troubled and very much embarrassed; so much so, that her looks and
+actions were the worst possible evidence against her.
+
+"So you say, Mrs. Taylor; but you don't answer my question."
+
+"I can't tell you now where I got it," stammered the poor woman.
+
+Ezekiel Taylor and Little Bobtail were more astonished at this answer
+than any other person in the room. Both of them wondered where she had
+obtained so much money, while the others in the office believed that her
+answer was merely a subterfuge to conceal the guilt of her son. Ezekiel
+could not help thinking, just then, that his wife always had money;
+that, while she had no visible means of obtaining it, she always had
+enough to feed and clothe the family. He had considered this subject,
+and wondered over it before; and the only solution of the mystery he
+could suggest was, that her first husband had left her more money than
+she ever acknowledged he did, and she had concealed it to prevent him
+from spending it. As to her son, he had never thought of the matter at
+all. All that confused and confounded him was, his mother's refusal to
+answer what seemed to him a very simple question.
+
+"Mrs. Taylor, you will be a witness, and the most important one in the
+case, when it comes up before Squire Norwood to-morrow," added the
+lawyer.
+
+"I suppose I shall," replied Mrs. Taylor, with a gasp.
+
+"You will be put under oath, and compelled to testify."
+
+"But you are not under oath now, and you need not say anything, if you
+don't wish to," said Mr. Brooks.
+
+"As the matter looks now, you are a party to the theft, and I can cause
+your arrest," added the squire, vexed at the officiousness of the deputy
+sheriff.
+
+"O, dear me!" groaned Mrs. Taylor.
+
+"Don't be frightened, mother," interposed Bobtail. "You know, and I
+know, that you did not obtain the money from me."
+
+"And the Lord knows I did not, and that I came honestly by it, too,"
+sobbed the poor woman, who had a mortal terror of courts and the law.
+
+"If you came honestly by the money, why don't you tell where you
+obtained it?" added Squire Gilfilian.
+
+"I have my reasons."
+
+"If your son did not give you this bill--"
+
+"He did not! I'm sure he never saw it before," protested Mrs. Taylor.
+
+"Whoever gave you this bill must have stolen it," said the squire,
+sternly.
+
+"That don't follow," replied Mr. Brooks. "It may have passed through the
+hands of half a dozen persons after it was taken from the letter."
+
+"Are you the counsel for these parties, Mr. Brooks?" demanded the
+squire, smartly.
+
+"I am not; but the prisoner is in my keeping, and shall have fair play.
+I'll take him away if you are not satisfied, for I brought him here to
+oblige you," answered the deputy sheriff, who was certainly very
+considerate towards his charge.
+
+"All I want is, to get at the truth," added the squire, in a milder
+tone. "If Mrs. Taylor did not receive this bill from her son, and will
+tell us where she got it, we can trace out the thief."
+
+"That's the point," said Captain Chinks. "We want to find the guilty
+party."
+
+Captain Chinks winked rapidly for an instant, as though his brain was
+fearfully exercised to discover the thief. He had one black eye, which
+winked faster than the other--it was the result of his interview with
+Little Bobtail the day before, for the boy struck hard when he was
+assailed.
+
+"I can't tell you where I got the bill," said Mrs. Taylor; "but I came
+honestly by it."
+
+"It's no use of saying anything more, then," added the lawyer. "Under
+these circumstances, I am compelled to regard you as a party to your
+son's guilt, Mrs. Taylor; and I must cause your arrest."
+
+"Don't do that, Squire Gilfilian," pleaded Bobtail.
+
+"I must do it. It becomes my duty to do it."
+
+"Let him do it," whispered Mr. Brooks.
+
+"I can't help it if you do," sobbed the poor woman. "If I have to go to
+jail, I can't tell."
+
+"Nothing more can be done, and I shall procure a warrant for the arrest
+of Mrs. Taylor," said the lawyer, gathering up the papers on his desk,
+and restoring the five hundred dollar bill to his pocket-book.
+
+Mr. Brooks and Bobtail left the office, followed by Mrs. Taylor and her
+husband.
+
+"I am responsible for you, Bobtail," said the officer.
+
+"I won't run away, sir. You have been very kind to me, Mr. Brooks, and I
+won't go back on you," replied Bobtail.
+
+"But I must not lose sight of you; and I don't want to send you to jail.
+I'll take you to my house."
+
+"Just as you say, sir; but I should like to go home and have a talk with
+mother. I want to see Squire Simonton, too."
+
+"Very well; I will go home with you. I saw Squire Simonton walking
+towards his house just now. There he is, in front of the hotel, talking
+with Mr. Hines."
+
+They walked towards the Bay View House. It was nearly tea time, and the
+guests of the house were seated on the platform, under the shade of the
+trees which surround the hotel. There was an excited group there, for
+the particulars of the cruise of the Penobscot that day had just been
+related by the Walkers and others.
+
+"I want to see you, Squire Simonton," said Bobtail.
+
+"There he is. Three cheers for Little Bobtail!" shouted Mr. Walker, as
+he pointed to the hero of the day.
+
+There were gentlemen enough who had heard the story to give the cheers,
+and the ladies clapped their hands.
+
+"That's for you, Bobtail," said Mr. Hines. "We have heard of your brave
+deeds, and all the people in the hotel are talking about you."
+
+Little Bobtail blushed like a beet, and while Mr. Hines was telling the
+deputy sheriff how the boy had saved Grace Montague from the waves and
+the rocks, the hero related his own troubles to Mr. Simonton. Mr. Walker
+and Emily came out, and insisted that Bobtail should go into the hotel,
+and see the ladies. Ever so many of them shook his brown hand, and he
+blushed and stammered, and thought the scene was ten times as trying as
+that off Blank Island. Then he must take tea with the Walkers. He could
+not be excused.
+
+"I can't, sir," protested Bobtail. "I have been taken up for stealing
+since I came a shore. But I didn't do it."
+
+"For stealing!" exclaimed Emily Walker, with horror.
+
+"I didn't do it."
+
+"I know you didn't, Captain Bobtail," replied Emily.
+
+"This is Mr. Brooks, the deputy sheriff, and he is responsible for me,"
+added Bobtail. "So you see I can't leave him."
+
+"Then Mr. Brooks must come too," said Mr. Walker.
+
+The officer was very obliging, and went too. Bobtail was a first-class
+lion, though under arrest for stealing. The gentlemen patted him on the
+head, and the ladies petted him. A party wanted the Skylark for the next
+day, another for Monday, and a third for Tuesday. The hero could not go
+the next day, for he had to be examined before Squire Norwood for
+stealing the letter. It was dark when he escaped from the hotel, and
+went home attended by Mr. Brooks. Squire Simonton was there waiting to
+see him.
+
+After the scene at the office, Ezekiel and his wife had walked to the
+cottage together. Neither of them was in a pleasant frame of mind. The
+tippler was sober, because he had neither rum nor money. He wanted both,
+for he was thirsting and hankering for a dram.
+
+"So it seems you've got money somewhere," said Ezekiel to his troubled
+wife.
+
+"No, I haven't," replied Mrs. Taylor, who was only thinking how she
+could extricate herself from the difficulties of her situation, and not
+at all troubled about the thoughts or suspicions of her worthless
+husband.
+
+"Yes, you have! When I don't have a dollar, you always have somethin',"
+persisted Ezekiel. "You've kept money hid away from me ever since we was
+married. Your first husband left more'n you told on."
+
+"All that my first husband left me was gone years ago," added Mrs.
+Taylor, indifferently.
+
+"You've got money somewhere."
+
+"If I have, I shall keep it."
+
+"You hain't no right to do so."
+
+"Yes, I have. If I had any money, I would not let you have it to spend
+for rum. Every dollar you get goes for that, and you would have starved
+to death if I hadn't taken care of you."
+
+"If you've got any money, I wan't some on't; and I'm go'n to have it,
+too."
+
+"I haven't any money; at least not much of any; and what I have I mean
+to keep."
+
+Ezekiel was mad. He was fully convinced that his wife had money
+concealed somewhere, or in the hands of some friend, who gave it to her
+as she wanted it. She always paid the bills of the house very promptly,
+and had enough to buy a dress for herself, or a suit of clothes for
+Robert, and even for him. He felt that he had a right to his wife's
+property, even if he spent it for rum. But Mrs. Taylor was too much for
+him; for whatever secret she had, she kept it. This was not the first
+time that Ezekiel had been vexed by these suspicions, and he had
+searched the house several times, when she was absent, for the hidden
+treasure, but without finding it. The debate on this question was
+continued long after they returned to the cottage, but the husband was
+no wiser at the end of it than at the beginning.
+
+All the points of the case were stated to Squire Simonton, who
+volunteered to act as counsel for Bobtail.
+
+"But where did this bill come from, Mrs. Taylor?" asked the legal
+gentleman.
+
+"I can't tell," replied the troubled woman.
+
+"You can't tell!"
+
+"No, sir; I cannot."
+
+"But your refusal will certainly insure the conviction of your son."
+
+"Robert did not give me that bill," protested she.
+
+"I don't believe he did, nuther," said Ezekiel. "She's got money hid
+away somewhere."
+
+"If it had been hid away long, it could not have been the bill which was
+sent in the letter."
+
+"It wasn't hid away," added Mrs. Taylor. "I might injure somebody by
+telling where I got the bill; and for that reason I can't say a single
+word, even if I go to prison for it."
+
+"But your son will be sent to prison, certainly, if you don't tell,"
+said the lawyer.
+
+"O, dear! What shall I do?"
+
+She positively refused to tell even Squire Simonton, who explained that,
+as counsel, he could not be obliged to reveal the secrets of his
+clients. It was finally arranged that a postponement of the examination
+should be obtained, if possible; and Mr. Walker and half a dozen others
+had promised to give bail for Bobtail.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII.
+
+CAPTAIN CHINKS IS INDIFFERENT.
+
+
+"I don't know that we can do any better under the circumstances," said
+Squire Simonton, after the arrangement of the legal business had been
+agreed upon. "But we are making a strange case of it."
+
+The squire bestowed one of his pleasant smiles upon the case, for he was
+one of those sweet-tempered men who never frown, even when they are
+vexed. He was perplexed, and very properly claimed the right, as
+counsel, to know all the facts. But it was evident that Mrs. Taylor had,
+or supposed she had, a good reason for concealing the source from which
+came the five hundred dollar bill.
+
+"Squire Gilfilian purposes to make Mrs. Taylor a party to the theft,"
+said Mr. Brooks. "Probably he will get out a warrant for her arrest in
+the morning."
+
+"I never thought it would come to this, that I should be taken up for
+stealing," added the poor woman, bursting into tears.
+
+"You can hardly wonder at being arrested," suggested the squire. "The
+stolen property was in your possession, and you refuse even to explain
+where you got it."
+
+"I could tell a lie about it, but I won't do that," sobbed Mrs. Taylor.
+"If you can only get the case put off for a few days, or a week, I
+hope--I may be able--that is, I may be able to explain how I came by
+that bill."
+
+"We must give some reason for desiring a postponement," replied the
+lawyer. "Can you really say, Mrs. Taylor, that you expect to obtain more
+testimony?"
+
+"I hope to obtain it."
+
+"Very well. Then I think we can have the case put off till, say, next
+Tuesday."
+
+"I will try to have matters explained by that time; but I am to be taken
+up and sent to jail."
+
+"O, no," laughed the squire. "You may be arrested; but that will amount
+to nothing. Your husband can give bail for you, for it appears that this
+house belongs to him now, since the mortgage is cancelled."
+
+"I won't go bail for her," said Ezekiel, sourly; and this was the first
+time he appeared to be of the slightest consequence.
+
+"Won't you?"
+
+"No, I won't. She has kept money hid away from me."
+
+"Never mind, mother. We shall get bail enough to keep a coaster afloat,"
+interposed Bobtail. "If we can't do any better, I'll send for Colonel
+Montague. He told me, if I ever wanted a friend, to send for him."
+
+"Certainly he will help you, after what you have done to-day," smiled
+the lawyer.
+
+"But I don't want to have you to go away up to Belfast for him," said
+Mrs. Taylor, who appeared now to be more troubled than ever.
+
+"I don't think we need to do so, mother. Mr. Walker and two or three
+other gentlemen said they would bail me out; and so I don't believe we
+shall sink," laughed Little Bobtail.
+
+"Now, Mr. Brooks, I don't think you need take the boy away from his
+friends. I am sure he won't run away," added the squire.
+
+"I am satisfied. Though this is the oddest case I have had anything to
+do with for a long time. I am inclined to think Bobtail will come out
+right, though for the life of me I can't see how," added the deputy
+sheriff.
+
+"I'll trust Bobtail anywhere. He goes to our Sunday school, and I know
+he is an honest boy, however bad his case may look just now," continued
+Mr. Simonton.
+
+Mr. Brooks was entirely willing to trust the lion of the day out of his
+custody; and he left the cottage with the lawyer.
+
+"I s'pose I ain't o' no account here," said Ezekiel, as the door closed
+behind the departing gentlemen.
+
+"What do you mean by that?" asked Mrs. Taylor.
+
+"I wan't to know sunthin' about this business. I s'pose I ain't the head
+of this family."
+
+"I don't think you are," replied the wife. "You haven't done much for it
+the last seven years."
+
+"You bring that boy of yourn up to steal. If he'll take my property,
+he'll take other folks' property."
+
+"It's no use to talk any more about that matter," said Mrs. Taylor,
+impatiently.
+
+"I believe the boy stole the letter and took the money out on't,"
+muttered Ezekiel.
+
+"A little while ago you believed I had money hid away, and took the five
+hundred dollars from that."
+
+"It was one way or t'other, and one ain't no wus 'n t'other. I hain't
+been consulted in this business at all."
+
+"You refused to be bail for me, and that's enough for one day," answered
+Mrs. Taylor.
+
+"I ain't a goin' to resk my property for a woman that keeps money hid
+away from me, and won't tell no thin' about this business."
+
+"Your property would have been all taken away from you long ago if I
+hadn't paid the interest, and paid the mortgage, too."
+
+"But where did you get the money to pay the mortgage with?"
+
+"That will all be explained in due time."
+
+Ezekiel went over the same ground again and again. He was angry, and
+finally left the house. He felt that he was an abused man, because he
+was ignored. He objected to giving bail for his wife simply to increase
+his own importance, and a little importunity would have won his
+consent. He was vexed because he had not even been asked a second time
+to yield the point.
+
+"Now, mother, we are alone," said Bobtail. "Can't you tell me where you
+got that bill?"
+
+"I can't tell anybody, Robert," replied his mother. "I am sure that all
+will be explained in time."
+
+"The case looks bad against me, mother."
+
+"I know it does;" and the tears began to flow from her eyes again.
+
+"I don't like to be accused of stealing, and have it proved, as it seems
+to be in this case. I don't blame anybody for thinking I'm guilty, when
+the very bill that was in the letter was handed to the squire by you,
+and you won't tell where you got it. I shall be sent to the state prison
+for two or three years."
+
+"O, Robert, I shall be crazy! Do you think I stole the bill?"
+
+"No, mother; nothing of that kind. I know you wouldn't steal. You know I
+didn't give you that bill, and you are the only one that does know it
+positively. I wonder that Squire Simonton don't give me the cold
+shoulder, though he is my Sunday school teacher. I can't see what
+difference it would make if you should tell where you got the bill."
+
+"I can't say a word about it. I will try to have the whole matter
+explained before Tuesday," said the poor woman, troubled as she had
+never been troubled before.
+
+"I think I shall call on Colonel Montague, if I get a chance. He told me
+I should hear from him again," said Bobtail, as he put on his cap, for
+he intended to sleep on board of the Skylark.
+
+"I wouldn't bother him with the matter, Robert."
+
+"Why not? He told me to send for him if I ever wanted a friend; and I
+want one now, if ever I did."
+
+"It will look as though you wanted to make too much of what you did for
+him to-day."
+
+"I don't think so, mother. He is a great man, and has influence. If I
+can get a chance to run up to Belfast in the Skylark, I will do so."
+
+"Don't tell him that I sent you, Robert," said Mrs. Taylor, actually
+trembling with emotion.
+
+"Of course I won't; but I don't see why you are so particular about not
+calling on him. I know he would be glad to help me."
+
+Mrs. Taylor made no reply, and her son, bidding her good night, left the
+house. He went on board of the Skylark, and after he had told the
+Darwinian the whole story of his misfortune, he turned in. He did not
+sleep as well as usual. He could not help thinking half the night of his
+troubles. They worried him, and he wondered if people were ever really
+punished for crimes they did not commit.
+
+Ezekiel Taylor left the cottage hardly less disturbed than his wife was.
+He had a strong suspicion that he was not the head of the family; that
+Mrs. Taylor had actually usurped his powers and prerogatives; that she
+dared to think and act for herself and her son without much, if any,
+regard to him. He felt belittled and degraded; not because he was a
+drunkard, and neglected to provide for his family, but because he was
+not in fact, as he was in name, the head of the house. He was thirsty
+and hankering for rum, and this condition made him ugly. He had not a
+cent in his pocket, and his credit at the saloon was not good even for a
+single dram. But he went to the saloon, for it was possible that some
+one might treat him. The first person he saw when he entered was Captain
+Chinks.
+
+Almost everybody seemed to be troubled that night, and Captain Chinks
+was among the number. Things did not work to suit him; and every time he
+viewed himself in the glass he saw that black eye which Bobtail had
+given him, and every time he touched that eye there was a soreness there
+to remind him of that affair in the cabin of the Skylark. He did not
+love Little Bobtail, and the event of the day that had set everybody to
+talking about and praising the boy made him feel ten times worse. It
+would be hard to convict him of stealing the letter while almost
+everybody was making a lion of him.
+
+"Ah, Zeke!" exclaimed Captain Chinks, as the tippler entered the saloon.
+
+"How d'y do, cap'n?" replied the nominal head of the family.
+
+"I'm glad to see you, Zeke. I've been wanting to see you. Won't you take
+something?"
+
+"Thank ye; I don't care if I do take a little o' sunthin'. I don't feel
+jest right to-night," answered Ezekiel, placing his hand upon his
+diaphragm, to intimate that this was the seat of his ailing.
+
+"We will go into this little room, if you like," added Captain Chinks,
+as he led the way into a small apartment, where a party could dine or
+sup in privacy. "Give us a bottle of _that_ brandy," he continued,
+addressing the keeper of the saloon.
+
+Ezekiel smiled, for a private room indicated a free-and-easy time. A
+bottle of brandy promised a succession of drams, enough to warm up that
+disagreeable coldness at the diaphragm, and to lift his brain up to the
+pitch of a tippler's highest enjoyment. Then "_that_ brandy" suggested a
+liquor of choice quality, something which his companion had tested, and
+knew to be good. Ezekiel was happy, and for the moment he forgot that he
+was not the actual head of the family; that his wife had kept money "hid
+away from him;" and that her son had destroyed his property. But he
+wondered what Captain Chinks could want of him, for that worthy did not
+generally treat him with much consideration, whereas now he was polite,
+generous, and ready to invest to the extent of a whole bottle of _that_
+brandy, which must be very choice, and therefore expensive.
+
+The bottle came, and the door of the little room was closed. Captain
+Chinks seated himself on one side of the table, on which the bottle and
+glasses were placed, and invited Ezekiel to occupy a chair on the other
+side. The captain pushed the brandy and a glass towards his guest, who
+needed no persuasion to induce him to partake of the choice liquor. He
+poured out about half a tumbler of the stuff, but he kept his hand over
+the glass,--he was a wily toper,--so that his host should not see how
+much he took. He added a very little water to the fiery fluid, and then
+held the glass in his trembling hand till the captain was ready to join
+him. The man with a doubtful reputation did not cover his glass with his
+hand; if he had thought it necessary, he would have done it in order to
+conceal how small, rather than how large, a dram he took. He only
+covered the bottom of the tumbler, and then deluged the liquor with
+water. Captain Chinks was a cunning man, and he knew that brandy unfits
+a man for business, impairs his judgment, and blunts his perception. He
+took a small dram.
+
+"Here's to you," said Ezekiel.
+
+"Thank you; my respects," added Captain Chinks.
+
+The toper drained his glass. The liquor was strong, and the tears
+drowned his eyes as he swallowed the fiery fluid.
+
+"That's good brandy!" exclaimed he, as soon as he could speak.
+
+"First chop," replied Captain Chinks. "You couldn't buy that brandy in
+Portland for three dollars a bottle. In my opinion that article never
+paid tribute to Uncle Sam."
+
+"'Tain't no wus for that," said Ezekiel, with a cheerful grin.
+
+"That's so."
+
+"'Tain't right to charge no duties on liquors. That's the reason we git
+so much pizen stuff. You can hardly git a drop of good brandy for
+sickness now, without you pay four or five dollars a bottle for it; and
+I can't afford to pay no such prices," added Ezekiel, deeply moved at
+this terrible grievance.
+
+"Well, I reckon there's more of it comes in from the provinces without
+paying any duties than most people think, though I don't _know_ anything
+about it myself."
+
+Even Ezekiel Taylor had his doubts on this point, though he was not
+disposed, under the present agreeable circumstances, to indulge in any
+controversy on the point.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+"The more they bring in, the better," said he, encouragingly.
+
+"By the way, Zeke, that boy of yours is in luck to-day," continued
+Captain Chinks, toying with his glass.
+
+"He ain't no boy o' mine," said the toper, with no little indignation in
+his tones. "He's my wife's boy."
+
+"Well, it's all the same. He's a smart boy."
+
+"He's smart enough; but he ain't the right sort of a boy. He's rather
+too smart."
+
+"That was a bad scrape he got into about that letter; but I can't
+believe he opened it, and took the money out," added Captain Chinks,
+still toying with the glass, and apparently without the least interest
+in the conversation in which he was engaged.
+
+"He ain't none too good to do sech a thing," muttered Ezekiel, as he
+recalled the wickedness of the boy in destroying "his property."
+
+"I thought he was a nice boy, went to Sunday school, and belonged to the
+Band of Hope," continued the captain, who, however, judging from his
+manner, did not care whether the boy was a saint or a demon.
+
+"I don't care what he b'longs to, nor how many Sunday schools he goes
+to: he stole sunthin' from me, and I cal'late he'd steal from other
+folks, if he would from me."
+
+"That's good logic, Zeke; but you mustn't be hard on the boy."
+
+"I ain't hard on him."
+
+"I reckon that folks generally think more of him than you seem to. By
+the way, did he say anything to you about that boat he picked up over on
+the other shore?"
+
+"No; he never said nothin' to me about it."
+
+"Didn't he?"
+
+"No; he never says nothin' to me about anything."
+
+"That's a fine boat," added Captain Chinks, who had taken a lead pencil
+from his pocket, and was tapping the glass with it, as if to ascertain
+the quality of the material of which it was composed.
+
+"So I've hearn tell; but I hain't seen her only from the shore."
+
+"It's strange no one comes after her," suggested the captain. "Zeke,
+there's a mystery about that boat."
+
+"Sho!"
+
+"Of course I don't know anything about it; but I reckon the owner would
+have been after her, if there hadn't been some reason for keeping in the
+dark."
+
+"You don't say so!"
+
+"Well, you see I only guess at it. I don't know no more about it than
+you do; perhaps not so much."
+
+"I don't know nothin' at all about it," protested Ezekiel.
+
+Captain Chinks tapped the glass, and did not seem to care about anything
+in particular, least of all about that boat, which was the subject of
+the conversation.
+
+"What do you mean by a mystery, cap'n? I hain't hearn nothin' of no
+mystery afore."
+
+"I had some talk with your boy about the boat and her cargo."
+
+"What cargo? I hain't hearn nothin' o' no cargo."
+
+"Won't you take another nip of this brandy, Zeke?" added Captain Chinks,
+pushing the bottle towards him.
+
+"Don't care if I do. That's good brandy."
+
+"But it isn't any better than a lot which was aboard that boat when your
+boy picked her up."
+
+"Sho! You don't say she had brandy in her?"
+
+"No, I don't say so. I say again that I don't know anything at all about
+the matter. I only had my suspicions, you know."
+
+"I understand," replied Ezekiel, as he drank off his dram.
+
+"I don't know, but in my judgment that boat was loaded with brandy, or
+something that don't pay tribute to Uncle Sam."
+
+"You don't say so!"
+
+"No, I don't say so," replied Captain Chinks, sharply, for he was very
+particular not to be regarded as affirming what he only suspected. "I
+only guess so."
+
+"Well, you don't say that you guess so! That's what I meant to say,"
+explained the toper.
+
+"The talk I had with your boy satisfied me I wasn't far from right. Now,
+the brandy's worth more than the boat. I'm always up to a trade, you
+know; and I didn't know but I might make something. I asked your boy if
+he would give up the cargo and keep the boat, in case I could find the
+owner."
+
+"Sho! Did you know the owner, cap'n?"
+
+"Of course I didn't. I haven't the least idea who he is. Your boy
+wouldn't give up the cargo and keep the boat."
+
+"That boy's a fool, and allus was."
+
+"I thought, if I could get hold of the cargo, I could make something out
+of it. Perhaps you and I can now;" and the captain looked sharply into
+the toper's face.
+
+"I'm ready," replied Ezekiel, who was now considerably "boozed."
+
+"Bobtail must have landed that cargo somewhere, and concealed it;
+perhaps on some island; may be in your house. I say, Zeke, can you keep
+a quiet tongue in your head?"
+
+"I cal'late I can."
+
+Captain Chinks enlarged on this point, and the toper promised to be as
+silent as the grave.
+
+"Now, I reckon you can find this brandy. I suppose it was brandy, but I
+don't know. If it was, it comes in cases."
+
+"Yes, I know," added Ezekiel, eagerly; and he wished he might get hold
+of that brandy; if he did, Captain Chinks would not get the whole of
+it.
+
+"If you keep an eye on the boy, you can easily find it. The boat was
+seen at anchor early in the morning after he picked her up, and I'm
+pretty sure he has hid the goods somewhere about your house. If you find
+them, just let me know, and I'll give you a case of the brandy, and a
+hundred dollars besides. Will you do it, Zeke?"
+
+"If it don't b'long to you, I don't see why I should give it up to you."
+
+This was a brilliant idea on the part of the toper, and Captain Chinks
+could not help acknowledging the force of it.
+
+"You can't do anything with it. The government will take it away from
+you. You see, I mean to make a trade with the owner of the goods. It is
+no more than fair that he should have his own property, if he will pay
+you and me for our trouble. Take something, Zeke."
+
+The toper drank again, and then Captain Chinks made him a present of
+what was left in the bottle. Ezekiel agreed to do all that was required
+of him, and his companion cautioned him not to say a word to Bobtail
+about it, but only to watch him. They separated, and the inebriate
+staggered to his home.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII.
+
+THE EXAMINATION.
+
+
+Mrs. Taylor did not sleep any better than her son. Her troubles kept her
+awake, and not her worthless husband, who was so tipsy when he returned
+from the saloon, that he dropped asleep as soon as he lay down. The poor
+woman had done nothing to improve the situation, for she could not leave
+the town until after the examination. At nine o'clock Mr. Brooks came to
+the cottage with a warrant for her arrest, but he considerately begged
+her not to disturb herself about the matter. All he required of her was
+to appear at the office of Squire Norwood at ten o'clock, and no one
+need ever know she was in custody before that hour.
+
+Little Bobtail came on shore before the officer left the house, and
+reported himself ready, in his own words, to "face the music." At the
+appointed hour there was a considerable collection of people in the
+office of Squire Norwood. Mr. Walker, who was quite a distinguished man,
+the mayor of Bangor, Judge Hamblin, and several other notable gentlemen
+of the state were present, all of them interested in the fate of the
+brave youth who had behaved so well off Blank Island. They were members
+of the Penobscot's party, and each of them was willing to do all that
+Colonel Montague would do if present.
+
+Mrs. Taylor and her son appeared, and they were warmly greeted by the
+interested spectators. The business proceeded in due form, and Mr.
+Simonton astonished Squire Gilfilian by asking for a postponement until
+the next Tuesday. The reasons for this request were considered, and they
+were deemed sufficient; but Squire Gilfilian stoutly objected, because a
+certain witness would be obliged to remain in Camden three days. Judge
+Hamblin consulted with Squire Simonton, and it was agreed to proceed
+with the examination. Mrs. Taylor trembled and wept when this decision
+was reached, and a smile of triumph played upon the lips of Squire
+Gilfilian. Captain Chinks tried to be indifferent, but he was evidently
+pleased with the result. The case was commenced, and Squire Gilfilian,
+Captain Chinks, and the ill-visaged man gave their evidence as they had
+stated it in the office of the lawyer. It appeared that Robert Taylor
+had left the letter on the squire's desk. The five hundred dollar bill
+was produced and identified by Mr. Slipwing, and it was shown that this
+bill had been paid to the squire by Mrs. Taylor. No evidence was
+introduced to show that the boy had returned to the office after Captain
+Chinks left, but it seemed impossible to escape the conclusion that he
+had done so. Mrs. Taylor now appeared as a defendant, and could not be
+compelled to testify. At this point in the proceedings, Squire Simonton
+renewed his request that the further examination of the defendants be
+postponed till the next Tuesday, when he hoped to bring forward an
+important witness in the case. Captain Chinks, in spite of his assumed
+indifference, was uneasy at this statement. The request was granted; Mr.
+Walker and the mayor of Bangor offered themselves as bail for the
+defendants, and they were released from custody.
+
+The case certainly looked very black for Mrs. Taylor and her son. The
+kind friends who appeared to assist them were staggered at the evidence,
+and feared it would be impossible to save him from conviction. They
+could only hope for the best, and hope against what appeared to be an
+absolute certainty. Judge Hamblin was confounded, but he was so averse
+to believing the brave boy was guilty, that he suspected there was a
+conspiracy. After the postponement of the examination, he asked Squire
+Gilfilian to let him see the five hundred dollar bill.
+
+"Mrs. Taylor, have you looked at this bill?" he asked, as he showed it
+to the troubled woman.
+
+"No, sir; I have not," she replied.
+
+"Won't you look at it? Do you remember the bill you paid Mr. Gilfilian?"
+
+"I didn't look at it much."
+
+"How long did you have the bill in your possession?"
+
+"Not long, sir."
+
+"Did you examine it?"
+
+"Not much; I looked it over a little."
+
+Mrs. Taylor turned over the note in her hands, and examined it very
+carefully.
+
+"Does that one look like it?" asked the judge, anxiously.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+"You don't suppose we have changed the bill--do you?" demanded Squire
+Gilfilian, rather indignantly.
+
+"Certainly not, Mr. Gilfilian," replied the judge. "At least I don't
+suppose you have any knowledge of such a trick. But there may be some
+mistake. The witness who identifies this bill is taking charge of the
+defence of the Buckingham Bank robbers. Perhaps he is one of them
+himself, and it is even possible that he sent you no money in the
+letter."
+
+"I have no desire to convict the boy, if he is not guilty," added Mr.
+Gilfilian.
+
+"Certainly not; I do not suppose the contrary, but I would like to hear
+what the boy's mother says about this bill. Now, Mrs. Taylor," continued
+the judge, turning to the troubled woman, "does that bill look like the
+one you paid Mr. Gilfilian?"
+
+"Yes, sir; very much like it," answered she, sadly.
+
+"Do you think it is the one?"
+
+"I think it is, sir."
+
+"Look at it very carefully, if you please."
+
+"I have looked at it; and I'm sure this is the one," said Mrs. Taylor.
+
+Squire Gilfilian looked triumphantly at the judge, who was more amazed
+than ever. He knew the workings of crime well enough to see the bearing
+of poor Mrs. Taylor's present conduct. If guilty she would not have
+acknowledged the identity of the bill. She would have encouraged the
+lawyers to save herself and her son, by following out the suggestion
+that the letter had contained no bill.
+
+"Then where did you get this bill, Mrs. Taylor?" asked the judge.
+
+"I can't tell at present, sir," replied the poor mother, as she glanced
+at her son.
+
+Mr. Simonton explained that, for some reason inexplicable to him, the
+woman positively refused to explain where the bill came from. The judge
+was still more confounded; though, after the straightforward and
+damaging answers she had given in regard to the identity of the bill, he
+could not believe she was guilty, even while it was impossible to see
+how she could be innocent. The parties left the office, and everybody
+talked about the examination for the rest of the day.
+
+Ezekiel Taylor did not attend the examination, for he was engaged in an
+examination on his own account. He improved the opportunity while
+Bobtail and his mother were absent in searching for the contraband
+merchandise. He had already consumed the bottle of brandy given him by
+Captain Chinks, and was anxious to find the goods, in order to obtain
+another. He ransacked the house from cellar to garret, without finding
+anything which looked like a case of brandy. He was bitterly
+disappointed, but he continued his search in the vicinity of the house,
+and along the shore. He spent the whole day in this fruitless
+occupation.
+
+Judge Hamblin walked to the Bay View House, after the close of the
+proceedings, and Little Bobtail went with him. The bewildered legal
+gentleman questioned the boy closely, but his replies were always square
+and prompt. He knew nothing whatever about the letter after he left it
+on the desk in the office.
+
+"Are you going to see Colonel Montague?" whispered Mrs. Taylor, who had
+followed her son to the hotel.
+
+"I should like to tell him about the case, but I don't see that he can
+do anything for us. These folks have done everything," replied Bobtail,
+gloomily.
+
+"You said you were going, but I don't ask you to go."
+
+"Two gentlemen here want the boat. They said they wished for a sail, and
+didn't care about fishing. If they had just as lief go to Belfast as
+anywhere else, I'll run up there. It's a tip-top breeze to go and come."
+
+"Do as you think best, but don't tell him I sent you," added Mrs.
+Taylor, as she walked towards home.
+
+Bobtail thought she was over sensitive about calling upon her old
+employer, but was willing to humor her, and promised to tell Colonel
+Montague, if he saw him, that his mother had not sent him.
+
+"Now, where's Captain Bobtail?" shouted a gentleman, coming out of the
+hotel.
+
+"Here I am, sir."
+
+"You were to take us out to sail if you got out of that scrape, my boy."
+
+"I'm not out of it, sir; but I can take you out to sail," replied the
+skipper of the Skylark.
+
+"We are all ready, and Mr. Philbrook has put up a basket of stores for
+us; for we were going to take another boat if you couldn't go."
+
+"The boat is all ready, sir. Where do you wish to go?"
+
+"Don't care a fig where we go. All we want is a good sail."
+
+"How long do you want to be out, sir?"
+
+"O, till night."
+
+"What do you say to a run up to Belfast?"
+
+"Capital! But can you go as far as that in one day, or what is left of
+the day?"
+
+"I can run up there with this wind, and the tide in our favor, in about
+three hours. It is blowing pretty fresh."
+
+"I see it is."
+
+"And the wind is west. The tide will turn about the time we get there,
+and the wind is fair both ways, or nearly all the way. If the wind
+holds, I can get you back before nine o'clock, and give you an hour or
+two in Belfast."
+
+"All right, my lad. We don't care whether we get back by nine o'clock or
+not,--just as lief make a night of it as not," added the gentleman, who
+spoke for both.
+
+"You can sleep tip-top in the cabin; but I will get you back by nine, if
+the wind don't die out. I can't warrant you against that."
+
+"Belfast it is, my lad. Now, how much do you ask a day for your boat?"
+
+"Seven dollars, sir, for the boat and crew; eight if we cook for you,"
+replied Bobtail, who had decided to advance the price, as he stated, in
+order to pay for the few groceries and other stores.
+
+"Cook?" queried the gentleman.
+
+"If you take a fish dinner and supper on board, I charge a dollar more.
+I can give you tea and coffee, fried fish, and fried potatoes. If you
+want meats, I must charge for them, too."
+
+"Good, Captain Bobtail. We will have fish for dinner and supper, and pay
+you eight dollars," laughed the gentleman, amused at the business-like
+talk of the boy.
+
+"But can we stop to catch fish?" asked his companion.
+
+"We have time enough," answered the skipper.
+
+"Then catch the fish by all means, for they are twice as good just out
+of the water."
+
+Little Bobtail procured a small can of milk, and a bucket of fresh clams
+for bait. The yacht was amply supplied with water and stores, and the
+party hastened to the steps at the Portland steamer wharf. A boy in a
+boat pulled them off to the Skylark.
+
+"Loose the mainsail, Monkey," shouted Bobtail, as the boat approached
+the yacht.
+
+"Ay, ay," replied the Darwinian, with enthusiasm; for he was glad to
+vary the monotony of his situation as boat-keeper.
+
+"Your crew is well named, Captain Bobtail," laughed one of the
+gentlemen.
+
+"Yes, sir. Monkey is a queer-looking fellow, but he is just as good as
+they make them," replied Bobtail, as he leaped upon the deck of the
+Skylark.
+
+The gentlemen were delighted with the yacht, and explored her above and
+below, while the skipper and his crew were hoisting the mainsail and
+weighing the anchor. In a few moments Bobtail took his place at the
+helm; the fresh breeze struck the mainsail as the skipper hauled in the
+sheet, and the Skylark heeled over, gathered headway, and went off like
+an arrow shot from a bow.
+
+"See here, Captain Bobtail; you won't upset us--will you?" said one of
+his passengers as the yacht heeled down, when she caught the breeze.
+
+"O, no, sir. I mean to keep her right side up," replied the skipper.
+
+"I have no doubt you mean to do so; but can you do it?"
+
+"To be sure I can."
+
+"She tipped pretty badly then."
+
+"That was nothing. She will go over ever so much farther than that
+without putting her scuppers under. She had not got her bearings then.
+Now hoist the jib, Monkey," shouted Bobtail.
+
+"Hold on, Captain Bobtail!" said one of the gentlemen. "Don't you think
+you have sail enough on? It blows fresher than I thought it did."
+
+"It's just a whole sail breeze. She will carry her jib without winking,
+and go along as steady as a lady on the sidewalk," laughed Bobtail, who
+concluded that his passengers were not accustomed to boats, especially
+when the wind blew.
+
+"We are going ten miles an hour now," suggested the second gentleman.
+
+"Not seven, sir. We will try the jib; and if you don't like it, we can
+take it in again."
+
+Monkey had hoisted the jib, and it was flapping and pounding
+furiously,--making a noise which was rather trying to the nerves of the
+gentlemen. The skipper seized the lee sheet, and luffing up the boat,
+flattened down the sail to its proper place, for he was obliged to run a
+short distance to the northward in order to clear some vessels at
+anchor. Having passed these, the sheets were started, and the Skylark
+went off before the wind. The sea was not heavy so far in shore, but it
+was exciting sailing, and the passengers kept silence, watching the
+swift motion of the yacht. In a short time they were accustomed to the
+situation, and began to talk, though in rather subdued tones at first.
+They seemed to regard the skipper with a feeling of awe, and realized
+that their lives were in his keeping. They knew little or nothing about
+a boat, and did not feel quite at home with such lively sailing. The
+confident manner of the young skipper, his perfect command of the
+situation, his pleasant speech and laugh, reassured them. When the yacht
+had passed North-east Point the course was changed to the north-east,
+and the sheets hauled in, so that the Skylark had the wind a little
+abaft the beam. This was her best point in sailing, and she soon
+exhibited her best speed. She heeled over so that her scuppers often
+went under. Bobtail kept her just far enough from the land to get the
+full force of the wind, but not far enough to be shaken up by the waves,
+which beat heavily on La Salle Island, east of them.
+
+"This is lively--isn't it, Howe?" said one of the gentlemen.
+
+"It is the smartest sailing I ever saw," replied Mr. Howe. "You seem to
+know what you are about, Captain Bobtail."
+
+"I think I do, sir," answered the skipper. "I have been in a boat ever
+since I was born, and I can't remember the time when I couldn't sail
+one."
+
+"I would give a hundred dollar bill if I could sail a boat as well as
+you can," said Mr. Jones.
+
+"So would I," added Mr. Howe.
+
+"I will tell you all I know about it for nothing," laughed the skipper.
+"I don't pretend to know much, but somehow I always get along. Won't you
+take the helm, sir, and try your hand at it?"
+
+"No, not now; I should rather begin when it is not quite so lively,"
+replied Mr. Jones.
+
+"It is easy enough. She will almost steer herself. All you have to do is
+to run for that point of land, about eight miles ahead."
+
+"Eight miles--is it?" asked Mr. Howe, consulting his watch.
+
+"About eight from here. It is just ten from the point astern of us."
+
+"It is exactly twelve o'clock now. Let us see how long it takes us to go
+eight miles."
+
+"I can tell you now, sir," laughed Bobtail. "It will take us just
+forty-eight minutes."
+
+"Good, my lad! I will time you. If it takes forty-nine, you are no
+prophet."
+
+"I don't expect to tell within a minute; but I guess I'll steer myself,
+if you are going to whittle me down as close as that."
+
+Bobtail began to be very exact in his steering and sailing. He started
+the sheets a couple of inches, and watched the point ahead very closely.
+Ten miles an hour was fast sailing for a boat of the size of the
+Skylark; but he knew she would do it if she was well handled. The two
+gentlemen kept looking at their watches, and as the distance diminished
+they declared she would make the point in half an hour; but distances
+are very delusive on the water, and when half an hour had elapsed, they
+thought that five minutes more would bring the boat up with the
+headland. Bobtail watched his sails, and "steered small." In forty
+minutes he found that he should make the point a little too soon, and he
+let out the jib-sheet a little, so that the sail did not draw full.
+
+"Forty-five minutes!" exclaimed Mr. Jones, "and we are off the point."
+
+"But we are not up with it, sir," replied Bobtail, hauling in the
+jib-sheet again.
+
+"You are cutting it fine, Captain Bobtail," added Mr. Howe.
+
+"Of course I meant abreast of the point, and when it lies just abeam, we
+shall be up with it. Here we are, sir!"
+
+"Forty-eight minutes to a second!" ejaculated Mr. Jones, as he showed
+his watch to the skipper.
+
+"Lower the jib, Monkey!" shouted Bobtail.
+
+"I did not think you could hit it so closely as that," said Mr. Howe.
+
+"Well, sir, I couldn't if you hadn't told me the time every few
+minutes," laughed Bobtail. "I bamboozled you."
+
+"How?"
+
+"I should have made the point in three quarters of an hour if I hadn't
+let out the jib-sheet. I lost the three minutes on purpose."
+
+"But why do you lower the jib here?" asked Mr. Jones.
+
+"We will try the fish here. Ready with the anchor, Monkey!"
+
+"All ready," replied the Darwinian.
+
+Bobtail threw the yacht up into the wind, and as soon as she had lost
+her headway, he gave the order to let go the anchor. Monkey had got out
+the fishing gear and opened the clams on the passage up, so that the
+passengers threw over their lines immediately. They did not have a bite
+for some time, and Monkey threw over a line. It had hardly run out
+before he had a fish, and pulled in a good-sized cod.
+
+"How's that?" said Mr. Howe. "I haven't had a nibble yet."
+
+"Perhaps you don't fish right, sir," suggested Monkey, with one of his
+apish grins, as he took the gentleman's line, and found that the sinker
+was not within twenty feet of the bottom. "That's what's the matter,
+sir. Drop the line down till the sinker touches bottom; then pull up
+about a fathom."
+
+The two passengers, following these instructions, began to pull in cod
+and haddock very rapidly, and Monkey had all he could do to bait their
+hooks, and take off their fish.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV.
+
+THE DISCHARGE.
+
+
+"Look here, Howe!" exclaimed Mr. Jones, tugging with all his might at
+his line; "I'm pulling up the bottom of Penobscot Bay, as true as you
+live!"
+
+"Don't do that, sir," shouted Bobtail, merrily. "We shall get aground if
+you do."
+
+"What is it?" asked Mr. Howe.
+
+"I don't know," replied Mr. Jones, still hauling away at his line, to
+which some immense dead weight seemed to be attached. "It must be a
+whale."
+
+"No, sir; pull away," said Monkey, laughing; "you have got hold of your
+grandmother."
+
+"My grandmother!"
+
+"Yes, sir; pull away, and you will see her in a minute."
+
+After much tugging, for the fish was not at all "gamey," he hauled up
+the strangest looking fish he had ever seen, though Bobtail and Monkey
+were entirely familiar with the specimen. The hook, drawing upon his
+mouth, so distended it, that its appearance was not unlike the face of
+an old woman with a cap on. The fish was a large scate, not less than
+three feet across the back. The gentlemen had never seen one before, and
+he was hauled upon the deck to enable them to examine him.
+
+Half an hour's fishing satisfied the passengers, as there was a tub full
+of cod and haddock to show for their success. After the gentlemen had
+fully satisfied their curiosity, the scate was thrown overboard. The
+anchor was weighed, the jib hoisted, and the Skylark continued on her
+voyage to Belfast. Monkey dressed a couple of the nicest cod, and then
+washed down the deck. The Darwinian was then required to take the helm,
+and Bobtail, sacrificing his dignity as the skipper of the craft, went
+below and assumed the duties of cook and steward. He pared and sliced a
+large quantity of potatoes, for Mr. Jones had declared that he was
+already as hungry as a bear. These he fried, and put them in the oven to
+keep them hot. The fish was cooked, and coffee made. The table had been
+set at odd moments, and in less than an hour dinner was ready. Bobtail
+was invited to dine with the passengers, and he was warmly commended for
+his culinary skill.
+
+"That's the best dinner I've eaten in the State of Maine," said Mr.
+Jones, with enthusiasm.
+
+"We can get up a pretty good dinner on board of the Skylark," added the
+proud skipper. "The cook isn't much on puddings and pies, but on the
+heavy grub he can do as well as the next man."
+
+"I've drank worse coffee than yours at a first-class hotel in New York,"
+said Mr. Howe.
+
+"I can give you a chowder for supper, if you like," added the cook.
+
+"I like the fried fish best."
+
+"Perhaps we can give you something different."
+
+The skipper and the passengers went on deck. Bobtail relieved the crew
+at the helm, and sent him below to eat his dinner, and clear away the
+dishes. The gentlemen lighted their cigars, and declared that they felt
+perfectly happy. The Skylark was now going up Belfast Bay, close-hauled,
+but still laying her course.
+
+"Now, how long have we been?" asked Mr. Jones, taking out his watch.
+"Just three hours."
+
+"But we spent half an hour of it in fishing," suggested the skipper.
+
+"Exactly so, and we have made the run in two hours and a half."
+
+Monkey was called on deck, the jib taken in, and the Skylark ran
+alongside a wharf, where she was secured. It was agreed to sail for
+Camden on the return at six o'clock, and the passengers left the yacht
+to explore the town. The skipper washed and "slicked up" as well as he
+could. Putting on his bobtail coat, he went ashore, to call upon Colonel
+Montague. After some inquiry he found the house; and it was easily
+identified, for it was the finest one in the city. The visitor found the
+owner of the Penobscot smoking his cigar under the shade of a tree,
+where rustic chairs had been placed. He was alone, and gave the young
+skipper a hearty greeting.
+
+"I'm glad to see you, Captain Bobtail," said he, warmly, shaking the
+hand of the boy. "I did not expect a visit from you quite so soon, but
+I'm none the less glad to see you."
+
+"I brought a couple of gentlemen up in the Skylark, and thought I would
+call upon you while they were looking over the place."
+
+"I'm glad you did. Grace and Mrs. Montague will be very glad to see you.
+I will call them."
+
+"Not yet, if you please, sir. I want to tell you what a scrape I got
+into first; and then I don't know that you will want them to see me,"
+replied Bobtail, blushing.
+
+"A scrape?"
+
+"Yes, sir."
+
+"I hope you haven't been doing anything wrong."
+
+"They say I have, but I have not. I am as innocent as you are, sir. I
+thought I would come up and tell you about it, as I was here. Mother did
+not send me."
+
+"She did not?"
+
+"No, sir; she was rather opposed to my saying anything to you about the
+scrape."
+
+"Sit down, Captain Bobtail, and tell me all about it," said the colonel,
+in kindly tones, though there was an anxious expression on his face.
+
+Little Bobtail told the whole story about the letter and the five
+hundred dollar bill.
+
+"And your mother paid this same bill to Mr. Gilfilian?" asked Colonel
+Montague, very much troubled.
+
+"Yes, sir. The squire wanted to know where she got the bill, and she
+won't tell," added Bobtail.
+
+"She won't tell!" echoed the colonel; and there was an expression of
+relief in his face.
+
+"She won't give even the slightest hint; and because she wouldn't
+explain it, Squire Gilfilian caused her to be arrested. They said that
+both of us will be sent to the state prison for stealing this money."
+
+"That's bad."
+
+"I know it is, sir; but I didn't take the letter; and I know mother came
+honestly by the money."
+
+"I know she did, too," added the colonel. "When does this examination
+take place?"
+
+"It was postponed till next Tuesday, at ten o'clock."
+
+"Very well, Captain Bobtail. I know where your mother obtained the
+money."
+
+"You, sir!" exclaimed Bobtail.
+
+"I do; and I will be in Camden next Tuesday to tell all I know about
+it."
+
+"Thank you, sir; you are very kind."
+
+"Of course I shall not let your mother be convicted of stealing. I know
+nothing about the letter; and therefore I can do nothing for you,
+Captain Bobtail."
+
+"If you clear my mother you will clear me. If we can only tell where the
+money came from, we shall be all right."
+
+"Don't give yourself any uneasiness at all about it. I will certainly be
+present at the examination."
+
+"But are you sure you know where my mother got the bill, sir?" asked
+Bobtail.
+
+"Certainly, I do; and she came honestly by it. But as this is her
+affair, I don't feel at liberty to say anything about it yet."
+
+Little Bobtail was confounded by this sudden solution of the mystery. If
+Colonel Montague knew where his mother had obtained the bill, it was
+plain enough to him that he had given it to her himself. He could not,
+for the life of him, see why this gentleman, wealthy and liberal though
+he was, should give her such an immense sum of money. It was a very
+perplexing problem, and he could not solve it. His kind friend conducted
+him to the house. Grace was so glad to see him, that she actually kissed
+him this time; and Bobtail felt as though he had tumbled into a
+cream-pot. Mrs. Montague was very demonstrative, and the Hon. Mr.
+Montague was more dignified, but hardly less cordial.
+
+"Now you must stay with us all night, and all to-morrow, and all next
+week," said Grace.
+
+"I can't," laughed Bobtail. "I brought two gentlemen up in the Skylark,
+and I must sail them back to-night."
+
+"Plague take the two gentlemen!" said Grace, pettishly. "Let them go
+back in the stage or the steamer."
+
+"I promised to take them back to-night; and I must keep my promise, you
+know, if the sky falls," pleaded the young skipper.
+
+"Of course he must, Grace," added her father. "But he will come up some
+other time, and stay a month."
+
+Little Bobtail spent an hour in the elegant mansion, whose luxuriously
+furnished apartments filled him with wonder and astonishment, for he had
+never seen anything half so fine. He promised faithfully to come some
+other time, and stay longer. Grace walked with him down to the wharf.
+The Skylark's passengers were on board, and ready to start, and in a few
+moments the yacht was under way. Grace waved her handkerchief to the
+gallant skipper, as the Skylark pulled away.
+
+"Who is that young lady?" asked Mr. Jones, as Bobtail returned the
+salute.
+
+"That's the one that fell off the rocks at Blank Island," replied the
+skipper.
+
+"And the one you saved! Why didn't you say so before, so that we could
+have a good look at her?"
+
+"I didn't think of it."
+
+"She is a rich man's daughter."
+
+"Yes, sir; her father is as rich as mud."
+
+"And one of these days, Captain Bobtail, you will marry her, just as it
+is laid down in the novels," laughed Mr. Howe.
+
+"I guess not;" and Bobtail blushed at the presumptuous idea. "She will
+not marry any poor fellow like me, you'd better believe. She will fish
+for bigger game than I am."
+
+"She seems to like you very well."
+
+"O, well, that's nothing; she's only a girl, and I'm only a boy," added
+the skipper.
+
+Much to his relief, the topic was changed. The return trip was quite as
+pleasant as the other had been, and at nine o'clock the Skylark landed
+her passengers at the steamboat wharf, in good order and condition, and
+very much delighted with the excursion. The skipper received the eight
+dollars for the trip, and paid off his crew. It was Saturday night, and
+Monkey wanted to buy some provisions and groceries for his mother with
+the money he had earned; but he proposed to return before ten, and sleep
+on board, as usual. Bobtail told him he had better spend Sunday at home,
+for he could not pay him when the yacht did not go out. The Darwinian
+was willing to sleep on board without pay.
+
+"Did you see Colonel Montague, Robert?" asked Mrs. Taylor, as he went
+into the house.
+
+"Yes, I saw him; and he promised to be at the examination next Tuesday."
+
+"What did he say?"
+
+"He said he knew where you got the money, and that it would be all
+right; but I told him you didn't send me to him."
+
+"What else did he say?" inquired Mrs. Taylor, anxiously.
+
+"That's about all. He took me into the house, and treated me like a
+lord. That's the handsomest house I ever went into;" and Bobtail
+described the glories and the beauties of the mansion.
+
+"Of course, after what you have done, they feel very grateful to you."
+
+"I suppose so; but, mother, I can't keep that confounded bill out of my
+head," continued Bobtail. "I conclude, if Colonel Montague knows where
+you got it, he gave it to you himself."
+
+"He must explain that himself."
+
+"Of course he gave it to you. You saw him on board of the Penobscot, the
+day before I was taken up."
+
+"You had better not say anything more about it, Robert."
+
+"But why should he give you such a pile of money?" persisted the boy.
+
+"I didn't say he gave it to me."
+
+"I know he did."
+
+"Well, the less you say about it, the better."
+
+"If that is the bill which that Slipwing sent in the letter, I should
+like to know where Colonel Montague got it."
+
+"I don't know anything at all about that," replied Mrs. Taylor.
+
+The conversation was interrupted by the entrance of Ezekiel. He was
+sober, because he could obtain no liquor. He had spent the day in
+searching for the contraband cargo. He had been upon Negro Island, and
+explored North-east Point, and all the surrounding country, but he could
+find no vestige of the cases. He wanted to talk with Bobtail, and he
+was very gentle and conciliating in his tones and manner. After beating
+about the bush for a long time, he so far disregarded the instructions
+of Captain Chinks, as to ask him what he had done with the cargo of the
+Skylark.
+
+"I see you have been talking with Captain Chinks," said Bobtail. "When
+any one claims the boat, I am willing to talk with him, but I can't say
+a word before that time;" and the young skipper abruptly left the house,
+and went on board of the yacht.
+
+He had scarcely seated himself in the standing-room before a gentleman
+from the hotel came alongside in a boat, and wanted to engage the yacht
+for the next day.
+
+"To-morrow will be Sunday," replied the skipper.
+
+"I know it; but I must leave on Monday," said the applicant.
+
+"I don't engage her for Sundays, sir."
+
+"It is the only time we have."
+
+"I can't help it, sir."
+
+"But we want to go down to Rockland to church."
+
+"I can't let her go out on Sunday. I want to go to meeting myself, and
+to Sunday school."
+
+The gentleman begged hard, but Bobtail was as resolute as the case
+required; he would as soon have thought of setting the Bay View House on
+fire, or robbing the bank, as of going out in a boat for pleasure on
+Sunday. The applicant offered him ten dollars, then twelve, and at last
+fifteen, if he would take the party out; but he refused to go for any
+sum that could be named, and the gentleman departed, with some hard
+words about fanatics, and declared that he would not hire the boat on a
+week day if he could not have her on Sunday.
+
+At an early hour Bobtail turned in, with the feeling that he had done
+his duty, though fifteen dollars was a large sum to sacrifice. He might
+lose some of his engagements on other days by his observance of the
+Sabbath, but he would as soon have thought of robbing the bank, or
+setting the Bay View House on fire, for fifteen dollars, as of running
+the Skylark on Sunday for that sum. He was satisfied with himself, after
+he had faithfully considered the subject, and confident that there were
+good people enough to make the yacht pay without wounding his own
+conscience.
+
+He went to church and to Sunday school the next day; and the services
+never seemed to do him so much good as after the sacrifice he had made.
+
+A party was ready for him on Monday, and though the weather was rainy
+and foggy,--as it sometimes is at Camden,--he made his eight dollars,
+and his passengers were entirely satisfied. A party wanted the boat on
+Tuesday; but of course he could not go out until after the examination.
+At nine o'clock in the morning the Penobscot dropped her anchor in
+Camden harbor, and Colonel Montague immediately went on shore in the
+barge. An hour later the defendants and the witnesses had assembled at
+the office of Squire Norwood.
+
+"We have our witness here," said Mr. Simonton, with one of his
+pleasantest and blandest smiles--"Colonel Montague."
+
+The justice bowed to the distinguished witness, and requested Squire
+Gilfilian to produce the five hundred dollar bill, which was promptly
+done. Squire Norwood then rehearsed the evidence which had been given at
+the former hearing. The letter had been left on Mr. Gilfilian's desk; it
+had disappeared, and the bank bill it had contained was paid to Mr.
+Gilfilian by Mrs. Taylor, to cancel a mortgage on her husband's house.
+One of the defendants had denied all knowledge of the letter after he
+put it on the desk, and the other, refusing to explain where she had
+obtained the bill, had been arrested as a party to the crime, or as
+accessory to it.
+
+"This is the bill," continued Squire Norwood, handing it to Colonel
+Montague, who examined it for a moment. "Have you any knowledge of that
+bill?"
+
+"I have."
+
+"Do you identify it?"
+
+"Fully. I gave this bill to Mrs. Taylor last Thursday afternoon, about
+sunset, on board of my yacht."
+
+This evidence produced a decided sensation among the spectators. Squire
+Gilfilian sprang to his feet, and Captain Chinks, who was toying with
+his pocket-knife, turned as red as a red cabbage.
+
+"On what account did you pay Mrs. Taylor five hundred dollars, Colonel
+Montague?" demanded Mr. Gilfilian.
+
+"She was in my employ many years ago. She came on board of my yacht last
+Thursday, and told me her husband would lose his house if a mortgage
+upon it of five hundred dollars was not paid; that the mortgage was
+already foreclosed, and the house was to be advertised for sale. Under
+these circumstances, I loaned her the money to save her from being
+turned out of house and home," replied Colonel Montague, deliberately,
+but with more agitation than the case seemed to warrant.
+
+"You are confident that this is the same bill?" added Squire Norwood.
+
+"Perfectly confident; I declare upon oath that it is the same bill."
+
+"Now, Colonel Montague, where did you obtain this bill?"
+
+"At Bar Harbor, Mount Desert."
+
+"Of whom?"
+
+"I have really forgotten the name of the gentleman, but he came to Mount
+Desert in a small yacht, and had a very rough passage. He was quite
+sick, and told me he was disgusted with yachting in a small craft. He
+had just sold his boat for half her cost, and had received this five
+hundred dollar bill in payment for her, which he wished me to change
+for him, and I gave him smaller bills for it."
+
+"Do you know the boat he sold?" asked Mr. Simonton.
+
+"I never saw her, that I am aware of."
+
+Squire Norwood ordered Mrs. Taylor to be discharged; Squire Gilfilian
+suggested that Bobtail was the purchaser of the yacht, but it was proved
+that he had not been absent from Camden even an hour before the time
+when Colonel Montague obtained the bill, and he was also discharged.
+When the examination was finished, Captain Chinks quietly stole out of
+the office, evidently dissatisfied with the result. Little Bobtail was
+warmly congratulated by all his friends, old and new, on the issue, and
+he was hastening away, in order to take out his party in the Skylark,
+when Mr. Hines stopped him.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV.
+
+A TRIP TO BAR HARBOR.
+
+
+"Are you engaged to-day, Bobtail?" asked Mr. Hines, who was accompanied
+by Mr. Brooks, the deputy sheriff.
+
+"Not exactly, sir. Two gentlemen at the Bay View wished me to take them
+out in the Skylark, but I told them I didn't think I could."
+
+"If you are not engaged, I want you and your boat for two days," added
+the custom-house official.
+
+"Another party wanted me to-morrow; but of course I couldn't say
+anything when I expected to be sent to the state prison by this time."
+
+"I must have the boat for a couple of days, Bobtail. I won't say where
+we are bound, and you need not mention that I am going with you,"
+continued Mr. Hines, as he discovered Squire Gilfilian and Captain
+Chinks talking together on the sidewalk. "You shall be paid for the use
+of the boat at your usual rate, and I shall be ready in about an hour.
+Mr. Brooks will go with us."
+
+Little Bobtail wondered what was going to be done now, as Mr. Hines
+sheered off and hastened to the hotel; but he had no time to consider
+before Squire Gilfilian called him. He was not quite willing to believe
+that the distinguished lawyer wished to convict him of a crime, but he
+thought he was very zealous in his work.
+
+"Bobtail, I am not quite satisfied about this business," said the
+squire.
+
+"I am, sir," replied the young skipper.
+
+"I suppose so," added the lawyer, with a smile. "You ought to be. There
+seems to be some connection between the boat you say you picked up and
+the bill which was stolen from my letter."
+
+"I don't know anything about that," said Bobtail.
+
+"Do you mean to say that you picked that boat up?" asked Captain Chinks,
+sharply.
+
+"I do mean to say so."
+
+"I'll bet a hundred dollars she is the boat that was bought with that
+money."
+
+"I think it's very likely; but I didn't buy her with it," replied
+Bobtail.
+
+"But you got some man to do it for you. The boat didn't turn up in
+Camden harbor till a week after the money was lost."
+
+"I don't know anything about that; but if you want to take me up again,
+I'm ready," answered Bobtail, smartly.
+
+"We don't want to take you up. We only want to know who stole that
+letter. Your bringing that boat here, and no one claiming her, look a
+little suspicious--that's all," added Squire Gilfilian.
+
+"But I never was in Bar Harbor, where the boat was bought, in my life,"
+pleaded Bobtail.
+
+"You might have got some man to buy her for you."
+
+"I might, but I didn't."
+
+"You seem to be using the boat just as if she were your own."
+
+"I told Captain Chinks I was ready to give her up whenever the owner
+came for her; and she is advertised in the Camden Herald and the
+Rockland Gazette."
+
+"That's a blind," said Captain Chinks. "But I'm going to look the thing
+up. I was in the squire's office when that letter came, and by and by
+somebody will say I took it."
+
+"Well, I don't know but you did," added Bobtail, though the suspicion
+had never before entered his mind.
+
+"What!" exclaimed the man with a doubtful reputation, his face flushing.
+
+"I don't say you did; and I don't know anything at all about it."
+
+"Don't be saucy, Bobtail," interposed Squire Gilfilian.
+
+"I have just as much right to say he took the letter, as he has to say I
+took it. He had just as much to do with it as I had; and he was in the
+office when I left it."
+
+"But you went back again, you rascal!" said Captain Chinks, angrily.
+
+"No, I didn't go back again."
+
+"You left the office before I did, but you overtook me on the road to
+the Portland steamer wharf. You went back again; I know you did!"
+stormed the captain.
+
+"I didn't go back."
+
+"Well, where were you all that time?"
+
+"I went into a shop and bought some gingerbread and cheese, and I can
+prove it, too."
+
+"Didn't you hear me tell the post-master that I expected a letter with
+some money in it, the day that letter came?" asked the squire.
+
+"No, sir; I did not."
+
+"I told the post-master what I expected when I asked him to send me the
+letter. You were in the office then, Bobtail."
+
+"No, sir; I didn't see you at all that day. I wasn't in the post-office
+half a minute before the letter was given to me," answered Bobtail,
+decidedly.
+
+Squire Gilfilian wished to make it out that the boy knew there was money
+in the letter, to account for his stealing it; but he made no progress
+in his effort.
+
+"I'm going to look this business up, anyhow," said Captain Chinks,
+savagely. "I want your boat for two days, Bobtail."
+
+"You can't have her," replied the young skipper, decidedly.
+
+"I suppose not," sneered the captain. "You don't want this business
+looked up."
+
+"Whether I do or not, you can't have the boat."
+
+"What's the reason I can't?"
+
+"She is engaged; but if she was not engaged, I wouldn't let you have
+her."
+
+"Steady, Bobtail," interposed the squire. "You are a little too crank
+for a boy."
+
+"I can't help it. The last time Captain Chinks was in the boat, he
+pitched into me; and that's where he got that black eye. I don't want
+anything more to do with him."
+
+"I'll pay for the boat," said the captain, who seemed desirous at this
+point to change the subject of the conversation.
+
+"You can't have her. She is engaged."
+
+"Who is to have her?"
+
+"Two or three parties want her. I'm going off for two days."
+
+"Where are you going?"
+
+"I don't know. The folks didn't tell me where."
+
+"Who are the folks?" demanded Captain Chinks.
+
+"It don't make any difference who they are. But I haven't time to stand
+here talking all day. If you want anything of me, I'm ready to face the
+music."
+
+"Captain Chinks wants your boat to investigate the matter of the
+letter," said Squire Gilfilian. "He is going to Bar Harbor, and wants
+the boat so as to find the person who bought her, for of course she will
+be known there. You had better let him have her."
+
+"I can't let him have her. She is engaged."
+
+"But this is a case that will warrant you in breaking your engagement."
+
+"I don't think so."
+
+"Your character is involved in this matter; and it is for your interest
+to have the case cleared up."
+
+"I don't believe Captain Chinks will clear it up. I know more about him
+than some other fellows do, and I don't want him to whitewash my
+character. I can't stop any longer, sir," said Bobtail, as he saw Mr.
+Hines and the deputy-sheriff watching his movements.
+
+Captain Chinks was very angry at the boy's last remarks, and began to
+storm at him. Squire Gilfilian tried to calm him, and Bobtail walked off
+while he was doing so.
+
+"What's the matter, Bobtail?" asked Mr. Hines, when the boy joined him
+in the office of the hotel.
+
+"They are trying to make it out now that I bought the Skylark with the
+money taken from the letter," answered the skipper, as he proceeded to
+give the substance of the conversation with the squire and Captain
+Chinks.
+
+"Then the captain is going to Bar Harbor--is he?" laughed Mr. Hines. "I
+hope he will go. I may want to use him there."
+
+"Are you going to Bar Harbor, sir?" asked Bobtail.
+
+"That's where we are bound."
+
+"But I am not a pilot beyond Sedgwick. I have been there, but never to
+Mount Desert," said the skipper.
+
+"No matter, my lad; I'm a pilot to Bar Harbor, and it's quite time you
+learned the way there," replied Mr. Hines. "Now get ready as fast as you
+can, Bobtail, and don't say where you are going or who is going with
+you; for I don't believe Captain Chinks would go to Bar Harbor if he
+expected to meet me there."
+
+The skipper purchased some provisions and stores for the yacht, which
+Monkey had sailed up to the wharf at the head of the harbor, as he had
+been instructed to do. Bobtail sent word to his mother that he should
+be gone two or three days, and went on board. But his passengers did not
+appear, and he waited impatiently for them. Captain Chinks was loafing
+about the wharf, and Bobtail concluded that this was the reason they did
+not come. The captain was evidently curious to know who were to go in
+the Skylark. After waiting half an hour, a boy brought a note to the
+skipper. It was from Mr. Hines, desiring him to sail at once, and to
+stand up towards North-East Point. He obeyed his written order, and
+beyond the point, a boat with his passengers came off from the shore.
+Mr. Hines and the deputy sheriff went below, so as not to be recognized
+by any persons in the boats which were sailing about in the vicinity.
+The skipper laid his course for the northern point of Deer Island, and
+the Skylark went off flying on her cruise.
+
+"I began to think you were not coming," said Bobtail to Mr. Hines, who
+sat near the cabin door.
+
+"We couldn't get on board at that wharf without being seen by everybody;
+and Captain Chinks was watching us," replied the custom-house official.
+"Mr. Philbrook drove us round to the point, where we got a boy to bring
+us off. Are there any boats near you, Bobtail?"
+
+"Not a single one, sir. There is a lot of mackerel catchers half a mile
+to the southward of us, and the Portland steamer is coming round the
+point."
+
+"All right," said Mr. Hines, taking a seat in the standing-room opposite
+the skipper. "Has Captain Chinks any boat fit to go to Mount Desert in?"
+
+"He had one a while ago, but I haven't seen her lately. I don't know
+where she is now."
+
+"Do you know the boat?"
+
+"Yes; I should know her a mile off."
+
+"I think we shall find her at Bar Harbor," laughed Mr. Hines.
+
+"I shouldn't be surprised, for I begin to see the daylight sinning
+through this business," added Bobtail, his eyes flashing.
+
+"What do you see?"
+
+"I think I know who stole that letter, and how the five hundred dollar
+bill happened to go down to Bar Harbor."
+
+"We shall know before we get back."
+
+"What do you suppose Captain Chinks wanted to go to Bar Harbor in the
+Skylark for?" asked Bobtail.
+
+"I don't know, but I am afraid if you had gone with him you would never
+have come back again; for you have spoiled all his plans. He will take
+the steamer to-morrow morning at Rockland for Bar Harbor. But we shall
+have time to look the matter up before he arrives, if the breeze holds."
+
+Fortunately the wind did hold, and at eight o'clock in the evening the
+Skylark reached her destination. The breeze was steady, but light, and
+the passage was a delightful one through the narrow channels among the
+islands. The skipper got up a nice dinner of beefsteak, green corn, and
+tomatoes, which Mr. Hines declared was equal to the table at the Bay
+View; and this was no equivocal compliment.
+
+"That is Captain Chinks's boat," said Bobtail, as he pointed to a craft
+at anchor near the steamboat wharf.
+
+"I thought we should find her here," replied Mr. Hines. "He doesn't sail
+that boat alone--does he?"
+
+"No, sir; he has a nephew that lives with him; but he has gone to
+Boston."
+
+"Are you sure of that?"
+
+"Captain Chinks says he has; that's all I know about it."
+
+"How old is the nephew?"
+
+"Almost twenty-one."
+
+"In my opinion that nephew is here," added the custom-house official.
+
+"That's so!" exclaimed Bobtail, as the Skylark passed the captain's
+boat. "There he is now.--Hallo, Ben!"
+
+"Is that you, Bobtail? Where did you pick up that boat?"
+
+"Don't let on," interposed Mr. Hines; and the skipper did not answer the
+question.
+
+"Say! Where d'ye get her?" shouted Ben.
+
+"She isn't mine."
+
+"He knows all about her. Keep out of sight, Mr. Brooks. He knows you,
+but not me," continued Mr. Hines.
+
+The Skylark passed out of hearing of Ben's voice, but he immediately
+jumped into his dory and pulled for the wharf. Bobtail ran the yacht up
+to the landing-steps, and Mr. Brooks hastened on shore, so that Ben
+Chinks should not recognize him.
+
+"Say, Bob, where'd ye get this boat?" asked Ben, stepping upon the deck
+of the Skylark.
+
+"She don't belong to me," replied Bobtail.
+
+"Don't you know the boat?" inquired Mr. Hines.
+
+"Don't I know her?" repeated Ben.
+
+"That's the question I asked."
+
+"I cal'late I've seen her before; because she came into Bar Harbor about
+ten days ago," replied Ben, cautiously.
+
+"Exactly so," added the custom-house detective; "she was sold, and your
+uncle or father bought her."
+
+"Who told you all that?" asked Ben; and he did not seem to know whether
+or not to admit the truth of the statement.
+
+The detective whistled and looked about him as though he did not care
+whether Captain Chinks bought her or not.
+
+"Your uncle bought her dog cheap, too. I think Captain Chinks is a smart
+man," added Mr. Hines.
+
+"He's some," grinned Ben.
+
+"But you and he drank a little too much of that liquor."
+
+[Illustration]
+
+"What liquor? I don't drink liquor."
+
+"You might as well own up. Captain Chinks and you were a little boozy
+that day."
+
+"What day?"
+
+"Why, that day you sailed this boat up the bay."
+
+"I didn't drink a drop," protested Ben, warmly.
+
+"Then your uncle drank enough for both of you."
+
+"No, he didn't, nuther. I didn't see him drink anything."
+
+"Ah, it's no use to deny it," laughed Mr. Hines, as though he was only
+indulging in a pleasantry.
+
+"I wouldn't deny it if it was true; but it ain't."
+
+"How did the boat get adrift, then?" queried Mr. Hines. "Both of you
+must have been a little set up."
+
+"Not a bit."
+
+"The boat wouldn't have got adrift if you had either of you been all
+right."
+
+"Both of us were as straight as a gun."
+
+"How did it happen, then?"
+
+"It was blowing like Sam Hill, that day, you see--didn't Captain Chinks
+tell you about it?"
+
+"He didn't say you were both sober."
+
+"Well, I was; and if he drank anything that day, I didn't see him do
+it,' persisted Ben.
+
+"But what in the world did you want to land your stuff in that place
+for?"
+
+"What place? What stuff?" demanded Ben.
+
+"Those cases of brandy, of course. It's all right, my man. Captain
+Chinks will be down here to-morrow. Little Bobtail here picked up the
+yacht, and took her into Camden. The stuff was all landed in the night,
+so that only two or three persons know anything about it--Little
+Bobtail, myself, and a friend of mine."
+
+"Who is he?"
+
+"He's a friend of mine. We were on the lookout for this lot of brandy,
+and we took it off Captain Chinks's hands, so that he won't have any
+trouble in getting rid of it."
+
+"Is that so? Who's the other man?"
+
+"We don't call names in this business, you know," answered the
+detective, mysteriously. "But I can't see what you wanted to land the
+stuff in that place for. You would have been trapped if you had; for
+there is a sharp detective over at Camden, looking out for cases of this
+sort."
+
+"Sho! Who is he?"
+
+"His name's Hines."
+
+"Hines? I never heard on him before."
+
+"He's sharp."
+
+Bobtail had to look overboard to keep from laughing.
+
+"Ketch a weasel asleep!" grinned Ben. "Me'n my uncle's sharp enough to
+whittle skewers with him. When he ketches Cap'n Chinks, he'll ketch a
+weasel asleep, you bet! It was the cap'n's notion to land the stuff on
+that island, and take it over, a little at a time, when we went out
+fishing. We run the boat aground on a beach. You see, I found a hole in
+the rocks--a kind of cave--that would hold the hull lot on't. We could
+kiver up the mouth of the hole with rocks, so't no one'd ever think
+anything was in it. The boat was on so hard we couldn't stir her, and we
+went up to take a look at the hole. While we were gone, the tide riz,
+and the wind blowed the boat off. The cap'n did some tall swearin' about
+that time, you'd better believe; but it didn't do no good. The boat was
+gone, and we couldn't git her. It was just dark, and I cal'lated the
+wind would drive her on the rocks, and smash her all to pieces. It was
+lucky Bob picked her up, for she might 'a been found by some feller
+who'd made mischief out of that stuff in the cabin."
+
+Bobtail had to tell the story of the picking up of the Skylark.
+
+"She must have drifted up the bay, and then down, for the tide turned
+not long after we lost her," said Ben. "We walked up to Islesboro', but
+we didn't dare to say a word. The cap'n went over to Camden in the
+packet, and I came down here. I took our boat here, and with a man to
+help me, cruised all round Deer Island and Vinal Haven, to see if I
+could find the Skylark; but I couldn't hear nothin' on her."
+
+"What did the captain give for this boat?" asked Mr. Hines.
+
+"Five hundred dollars."
+
+"Didn't pay for her--did he?"
+
+"Yes, he did; cash down. The man he bought her of 's up at one of the
+hotels now."
+
+"Is he?"
+
+"Yes, he is;" and Ben described the house.
+
+"If he has any more such boats to sell, I should like to buy one like
+this at the same price. But when are you going out again?"
+
+"Out where?"
+
+"O, I understand all about this business; you needn't roll your eyes at
+me," laughed the detective. "I know all about it; and when Captain
+Chinks runs in another lot of brandy, I intend to take it off his hands,
+if he isn't too sharp; and I want to know when to be on the lookout for
+it."
+
+"O, you do?" grinned Ben.
+
+"When do you go?"
+
+"I donno; you must ask the cap'n. When he gets a letter he will be off."
+
+The conversation was continued till it was quite dark, and then Ben went
+back to his boat. Little Bobtail laughed till his sides ached at the
+tactics of Mr. Hines, as they walked up to the hotel, or boarding-house,
+where the late owner of the Skylark lodged.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI.
+
+THE CHASE.
+
+
+Mr. Hines and Little Bobtail walked up to the hotel. The former had
+possessed himself of sufficient evidence to convict Captain Chinks of
+smuggling, and also of intense stupidity in employing a simpleton like
+Ben Chinks in such a dangerous business, though rogues and villains
+almost always leave a screw loose somewhere.
+
+"We shall make a good case of it, Bobtail," said Mr. Hines.
+
+"I could hardly keep from laughing while you were pumping Ben Chinks,"
+replied the skipper. "The idea of your taking the stuff off Captain
+Chinks's hands!"
+
+"I did take it off his hands, and he will have no trouble now in getting
+rid of it."
+
+"I wouldn't have said anything if I had been Ben."
+
+"Very likely you would, Bobtail; for with all the information I have
+obtained from you, and from other sources, I spoke by the book, and he
+had every reason to suppose I was in the captain's confidence."
+
+"But do you really think Captain Chinks will come down here?" asked
+Bobtail.
+
+"I am almost sure of it."
+
+"I should stay away, if I were him."
+
+"He must come to unsnarl the tangle he has made here," replied the
+detective. "He must have been more astonished and disconcerted when
+Squire Gilfilian showed him the bill he had paid for the boat, than any
+one else was. Very likely he will have another explanation to make to
+show how he came by it, and he may trace it back to you in some way. But
+we will keep an eye on him."
+
+At the hotel they met Mr. Brooks, but the gentleman who had sold the
+Skylark, being in feeble health, had retired early. Nothing could be
+done, and Bobtail returned to the yacht, while his passengers took rooms
+at the hotel, and slept like a rock till morning, for he had worked hard
+all day. At sunrise the next morning he was on his feet again. The
+Darwinian had more talent for sleeping than the skipper of the Skylark,
+and did not turn out till half an hour later. Bobtail had scarcely shown
+himself on deck before Ben Chinks pulled to the yacht.
+
+"Say, Bob, who is that man with you?" asked he.
+
+"You must ask him who he is?"
+
+"Don't you know?"
+
+"I never saw him till a few days ago. In his kind of business, he don't
+always tell who he is. No doubt he will tell you before night who he is.
+What have you been doing down here so long?" asked the skipper, wishing
+to divert the conversation into some other channel.
+
+"I have made a pile of money taking out parties to sail, while I'm
+waiting."
+
+"What are you waiting for?"
+
+"Waiting for the old man. Didn't he tell you?"
+
+"No; he didn't say much to me."
+
+"What did he give you for picking up the boat?"
+
+"He hasn't given me anything yet," replied Bobtail. "How much do you
+charge a day for your boat and two hands?"
+
+"Five dollars."
+
+"I've taken some parties out in the boat, and I have been charging seven
+and eight dollars a day."
+
+"That's a better boat than the Eagle. If I had her I should charge eight
+dollars a day. But how did you get that stuff out of the Skylark?"
+
+"I ran over in the night, and landed it between one and two o'clock in
+the morning, when no one was stirring in our part of the town. I hid it
+away in the attic, and this man took it away in the night," replied
+Bobtail, confining himself strictly to the facts, though of course he
+was no less guilty of deception than if he had told a number of square
+lies, except that the deception was in the interest of justice.
+
+"It was lucky for the old man that you picked that boat up; but he's
+mean if he don't give you something handsome," added Ben.
+
+"I have had the use of the boat ever since I picked her up."
+
+"Well, that's somethin'. There comes Monkey. Does he know anything about
+this business?" whispered Ben.
+
+"Not a thing."
+
+This was a sufficient reason for saying nothing more about it, and Ben
+soon returned to the Eagle. After breakfast, Bobtail went up to the
+hotel, where his passengers lodged. In the course of the forenoon, the
+deputy sheriff "interviewed" Mr. Gordon, the gentleman who had sold the
+Skylark. He was sure he could identify the man who had paid him the five
+hundred dollar bill. When the steamer from Portland, which touches at
+Rockland, arrived, almost everybody went down to the wharf, Mr. Gordon
+among the number.
+
+"If you see the man who paid you the bill, point him out, if you please,
+but don't say anything about it," said Mr. Brooks, as the gang plank of
+the steamer was run out.
+
+"There he is!" exclaimed Mr. Gordon, as Captain Chinks walked from the
+boat to the wharf.
+
+The deputy sheriff and Mr. Hines kept out of sight. Bobtail had been
+sent away in the Skylark, that she might not attract the attention of
+the smuggler, and was standing off and on a mile or more from the shore.
+
+As soon as Captain Chinks landed, he was greeted by Ben, his nephew, who
+was doubtless glad to see him.
+
+"I s'pose you are tired of waiting--ain't you, Ben?" asked the captain,
+who wore a troubled expression.
+
+"Not a bit on't. I've been makin' five dollars a day, right along,
+takin' parties out to sail," replied Ben, with a cheerful grin; "but I
+had to pay a boy half a dollar a day to help me."
+
+"That's pretty well."
+
+"Why didn't you come down afore?"
+
+"Because I didn't hear anything from St. John; and things are a little
+mixed up to Camden."
+
+"Mixed! Why, I thought everything had come out fust rate. You got the
+Skylark and the stuff back as slick as a whistle."
+
+"Who told you so?" demanded the captain, with a startled look.
+
+"Why, Little Bobtail. He's here in the Skylark, and said you sent him."
+
+Bobtail certainly had not said any such thing. Ben had inferred it from
+what Mr. Hines had stated. It was not prudent to talk of these matters
+in the midst of so many people, and the captain and his nephew hastened
+on board of the Eagle.
+
+"I didn't send him," said Captain Chinks, very much perplexed.
+
+"You didn't?"
+
+"No; the young villain picked up the boat, but I couldn't do anything
+with him."
+
+"Sho!" exclaimed Ben, who began to be worried himself. "Bobtail's here,
+and that other man with him."
+
+"What other man!" demanded the captain, savagely.
+
+"That man that took the stuff off your hands."
+
+"What stuff!"
+
+"Why, the liquor that was in the Skylark."
+
+"What do you mean, Ben?"
+
+"Didn't Bob pick up the Skylark and land the stuff in the night; and
+didn't you sell it to that other man? and didn't he move it out of Bob's
+house in the night?"
+
+"No!" roared Captain Chinks.
+
+"That's what they said, anyhow," added Ben, stoutly.
+
+"Who said so?"
+
+"Why, the man that took the stuff off your hands."
+
+"Who is he?"
+
+"Well, don't you know?"
+
+"No, I don't," gasped Captain Chinks.
+
+"I'm sure I don't, then. He wouldn't tell me his name. He came down in
+the Skylark with Bobtail yesterday."
+
+The gentleman with a doubtful reputation uttered an exceedingly hard and
+naughty expletive, and he did so with much emphasis. His face was very
+red, and his lips quivered with wrath.
+
+"Have you been talking with any one about this business, Ben Chinks?"
+demanded the smuggler, shaking his clinched fist in the face of his
+nephew.
+
+"I didn't tell him nothin'; he told me, and he said he took that stuff
+off your hands, and was goin' to have the next lot; he said you oughtn't
+to land the stuff on that island, and wanted to know how we happened to
+let the boat go adrift."
+
+"And you told him?" gasped the captain.
+
+"What was the use of my tellin' on him, when he knowed all about it? O,
+he said you and I had both been takin' too much. He was kind o' jokin',
+but I stuck to it that we was as sober as he was. I did tell him how
+the boat got adrift; but he told me all the rest."
+
+"Ben, you are a fool!"
+
+"I tell you he knowed all about it," whined the nephew.
+
+"You've made a pretty mess of it."
+
+"I didn't do it. He knowed all about it afore, and I s'posed you told
+him."
+
+"I told him nothing. I never said a word to him. Don't you know the
+man's name?"
+
+"No, I don't. He wouldn't tell me, nor Bob nuther."
+
+"Well, I know who he is," groaned Captain Chinks, pounding the trunk of
+the cabin with his fist, and grating his teeth with rage.
+
+"Who is he?"
+
+"He's a custom-house officer."
+
+"Sho! you don't say so!" cried Ben, with horror, for he regarded a
+custom-house officer in about the same light that he did a hangman.
+
+"You've told him all about it," added the Captain.
+
+"I didn't tell him nothin'; he knowed it all before.'
+
+"All we can do now is to get out of the way. Where is this man?"
+
+"I don'no; I hain't seen him to-day. There's the Skylark," replied Ben,
+pointing to the yacht.
+
+"Is he on board of her?"
+
+"No."
+
+"Are you sure of it?"
+
+"Sartain, I am. I see Bobtail start off in her alone."
+
+"We must get out of the way, but I don't know where to go to," groaned
+the captain. "I cal'late you've ruined me, Ben."
+
+"I didn't do it," protested the nephew. "I keep a tellin' on you, he
+knowed all about it in the fust on't."
+
+"Get up your fore'n mainsail. We must get out of this as quick as we
+can."
+
+"You can't kerry the foresail. It blows like Sam Hill, and squally,
+too."
+
+"Hist the mainsail then."
+
+This sail was set, but the moment they began to hoist it, Mr. Hines made
+the signal agreed upon, by waving his handkerchief on the wharf, for the
+return of the Skylark. The steamer had gone, and most of the people had
+left the wharf by this time. Bobtail, who was on the lookout for the
+signal, saw it immediately, and headed the yacht for the pier. As Ben
+Chinks had remarked, it blew hard, and the wind came in heavy flaws. The
+Skylark had a single reef in her mainsail, and the jib was furled, but
+even with this short canvas she flew like a bird.
+
+"There goes the Eagle," shouted Monkey from the forecastle.
+
+"Who's on board of her?" asked Bobtail.
+
+"I reckon it's Captain Chinks; it looks like him."
+
+The skipper looked at the boat through the spy-glass, and identified the
+captain.
+
+"He's trying to get away," said he.
+
+"What for?" asked Monkey, who was in blissful ignorance of the smuggling
+operation of the captain.
+
+"You will soon know," replied Bobtail.
+
+The Eagle, under jib and mainsail, was standing out of the harbor, and
+the Skylark had to pass her on her way to the wharf. Captain Chinks was
+at the helm himself, and at that moment, as he gazed at Little Bobtail,
+he was the maddest man on the waters of Maine. Both boats were going
+free, and when they were nearly abreast of each other, and not a hundred
+feet apart, the captain suddenly put up his helm, and the Eagle darted
+towards the Skylark, as if she shared the spite of her skipper, and as
+an eagle would pounce upon a skylark.
+
+"Down with your helm!" shouted Bobtail, full of excitement, for the
+danger of a collision was imminent.
+
+If the Skylark had held on her course, she would have been struck
+amidships by the bow of the Eagle; but Bobtail jammed his helm hard
+down, the result of which was to throw the yacht up into the wind, and
+bring her alongside the other craft. As it was, the Eagle's bow grated
+along the quarter of the Skylark. Bobtail supposed that Captain Chinks
+intended to board the yacht, and he instantly seized the spare tiller,
+which he always carried in the standing-room when it blew hard, and
+stood ready to "repel boarders." But the captain did not intend to
+capture the Skylark. Probably he intended to sink her; but his purposes
+were only known to himself. The sails of the Eagle were still full, and
+she continued on her course.
+
+"Keep out of the way next time!" shouted Captain Chinks.
+
+Bobtail made no reply, but filled away again, and in a few minutes was
+at the wharf. Mr. Hines and Mr. Brooks leaped on board.
+
+"After him, Bobtail," cried the detective, earnestly, as he shoved off
+the bow of the boat.
+
+"He has heard all about it from Ben, and is going to run away. Hurry
+up."
+
+The Skylark was clear of the wharf, and coming about, was headed towards
+the Eagle.
+
+"Is Captain Chinks's boat fast?" asked Mr. Hines.
+
+"Yes, sir; but it blows too hard for her to-day. She don't carry sail
+worth a cent," replied Bobtail.
+
+"How is it with the Skylark?"
+
+"She is the ablest boat I know."
+
+"Good! Then we have the advantage."
+
+"Hoist the jib, Monkey," shouted the skipper.
+
+"Are you sure she will carry it? It blows heavy outside, and the wind
+comes in flaws," added Mr. Hines.
+
+"I know her like a book. She will carry her jib and mainsail to-day, but
+we have one reef in. The Eagle has two miles or more the start of us;
+but we will give her a sweat," said Bobtail.
+
+"She is hoisting her foresail now."
+
+"She will have to take it in again when she gets clear of the land."
+
+[Illustration]
+
+With her jib set, the Skylark occasionally put her scuppers under, but
+she was as stiff as Mount Desert itself, and only heeled over just so
+far, under any flaw that came.
+
+"I didn't think the captain would run for it so soon," said Mr. Hines.
+"He didn't even go to the hotel, where a letter is waiting for him. It
+has the St. John postmark upon it, and I know what that means without
+opening it."
+
+"He tried to run me down," added Bobtail.
+
+"I saw him do it. His game is nearly up. I intended to arrest him when
+he came down from the hotel, but he took the alarm from what Ben told
+him."
+
+As the Eagle ran out from the land, it was evident that she could not
+long carry her foresail. It was taken in very soon, but she sailed
+faster without it than with it. The Skylark gained rapidly upon her. The
+water--Frenchman's Bay--was studded with islands, but Mr. Hines, who had
+taken the helm, was perfectly familiar with the navigation. As the race
+began to be a desperate one for Captain Chinks, he dodged in among the
+islands, tempting his pursuer to make short cuts over sunken ledges; but
+in all these expedients he failed. The Eagle was a keel boat, and drew
+more water than the Skylark, so that wherever the former went the
+latter need not fear to follow. At last Captain Chinks appeared to have
+given up the race, and Mr. Hines surmised that he was running for a
+landing-place on one of the islands. But the Skylark was still gaining,
+and was now almost abreast of the Eagle.
+
+"All ready, Mr. Brooks," said the detective, as the bowsprit of the
+sloop came up with the quarter of the schooner.
+
+"I'm ready," replied the deputy sheriff, as he went forward to the bow
+of the yacht.
+
+"Stand by the sheets, Bobtail, for I don't know what he will do next."
+
+"Ay, ay, sir!" responded the skipper. "Have a fender ready, Monkey."
+
+"All right."
+
+In a moment more, the forecastle of the Skylark was abreast, on the
+weather side, of the Eagle, taking the wind out of her mainsail in part.
+
+"Hard down," shouted Mr. Brooks, as he saw Captain Clunks jam down the
+helm of the schooner.
+
+Both boats came up into the wind alongside each other, and Monkey was
+busy with his fender. The deputy sheriff leaped upon the deck of the
+Eagle, and Mr. Hines, giving the helm to Bobtail, followed him. The
+skipper permitted the yacht to come about, and she went clear of the
+other boat.
+
+"You are my prisoner, Captain Chinks," said Mr. Brooks.
+
+"What for?" gasped the captain.
+
+"For stealing that letter."
+
+"I didn't steal it."
+
+"That remains to be proved."
+
+"We ain't in Knox County now."
+
+"Never mind; I will take you for violating the revenue laws," added Mr.
+Hines, as he took the helm of the schooner.
+
+"I hain't done nothing," protested Captain Chinks.
+
+"We will go over to Camden, and settle that point some other time."
+
+The captain was obliged to give it up, and he groaned in bitterness of
+spirit. To be charged with stealing the letter, and with violating the
+revenue laws at the same time, was more than he had anticipated. On the
+first, if convicted, he would be sentenced to imprisonment, and on the
+other, to pay a heavy fine. His crimes brought loss of liberty and loss
+of property.
+
+Bobtail eased off his mainsheet, and waited for the Eagle to come up.
+Mr. Hines had already decided to return to Camden in Captain Chinks's
+boat, and when he had announced his purpose, the Skylark filled away
+again. It was now about noon, and as the wind was contrary for at least
+half the way back to Camden, the skipper hardly expected to reach his
+destination that night. The yacht very soon ran away from the schooner,
+and at six o'clock had made half the distance. She had come up with the
+point which forms the south-eastern point of the town of Brooklyn, where
+she started her sheets, and ran through the channel between Deer Island
+and Sedgwick.
+
+The wind was still unsteady, coming in heavy flaws; but now it was
+beginning to haul more to the southward. This change was favorable, for
+it enabled the Skylark to lay her course for Camden. But an awful sea
+was rolling in from the ocean, and the yacht jumped like a galloping
+horse. The wind freshened into a gale with the change, and the gusts
+were more fitful and violent. The jib was taken in, and Monkey was
+thoroughly ducked in the operation, for the Skylark occasionally slapped
+the waves with her bowsprit. Great black clouds were rolling up off to
+seaward, but Bobtail was confident that the yacht was equal to anything.
+Under the lee of an island, the mainsail was close-reefed; but she flew
+over the waves, and the skipper hoped to reach his destination by nine
+in the evening. At eight o'clock, while it was still light, he
+discovered a schooner working down the bay under jib and reefed mainsail
+which he recognized as the Penobscot.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII.
+
+THE WRECK OF THE PENOBSCOT.
+
+
+"That's the Penobscot!" exclaimed Bobtail, as soon as he identified her.
+
+"She is taking a nasty night to go to sea," added Monkey.
+
+"She will put into Rockland or Camden. I suppose the colonel is in a
+hurry to get to Newport for some race. He told me yesterday he should
+sail to-day."
+
+"She ain't going into Camden. If she was, she wouldn't be out there.
+She's right off the ledges, and if she don't tack soon, she'll be on
+'em," said the Darwinian.
+
+"I think she's going into Rockland. She can make it in one more
+stretch."
+
+"She can get in behind Owl's Head, and lay as easy as if she was in a
+mill pond."
+
+"That's an awful sea out there, Monkey," said Bobtail. "See the
+breakers on that lower ledge. If I was the captain of the Penobscot, I
+should go in stays. There she goes!"
+
+At this moment the sails of the large yacht shook, as her head came up
+to the wind. But the next instant she fell off, heeled over, and drove
+ahead again. Bobtail distinctly heard a shout from her, though she was a
+mile distant. He watched her with his heart in his mouth, and his worst
+fears were realized when he saw her lift her bow high up in the water.
+She had run upon the ledge.
+
+"By gracious! she is on the rocks!" cried Bobtail, wild with excitement
+and anxiety.
+
+"So she is!" gasped Monkey.
+
+Then came a shriek in the tones of a woman's voice, whose piercing note
+was heard above the roaring of the billows.
+
+"That's Mrs. Montague," said Bobtail. "Get your warp-line out, Monkey.
+We have got something to do to-night."
+
+The Skylark flew on her mission of rescue, and her skipper watched the
+Penobscot with intense interest. Her bow rose and fell at every sea, and
+it was evident that she was crashing her timbers at every motion. In
+five minutes from the time she struck, the smaller yacht came up with
+her. She had gone upon the last ledge of the series that extends to the
+southward from Islesboro'. Bobtail ran to the west of the ledges, and,
+going entirely round to avoid gybing, he came up into the wind close
+under the stern of the Penobscot. He heard her planks and timbers
+grinding on the rocks. Monkey heaved the warp-line, which was caught by
+the sailors on board of the wreck. The mainsail of the Skylark was
+lowered.
+
+By this time, though the waves still beat over the bow of the Penobscot,
+she ceased to grind upon the rocks. The tide was going out, and less of
+the weight of the vessel was supported by the water, and as the volume
+of the waves diminished, their power lessened. In two or three hours the
+yacht would be high and dry. She had gone upon the ledge in a direction
+diagonal with the wind, so that under one of her quarters the water was
+comparatively smooth. Bobtail and Monkey heaved on the warp-line till
+they brought the Skylark alongside this lee quarter.
+
+"No time to lose, sir!" shouted Bobtail to Colonel Montague, who was
+supporting his wife and daughter on deck, for the cabin was flooded with
+water. "I shall be aground in half an hour."
+
+"Can your boat weather this blow?" asked the colonel, anxiously.
+
+"Yes, sir; she can stand anything that any boat can."
+
+Mrs. Montague and Grace were assisted on board of the Skylark, which,
+even in this sheltered place, rolled, pitched, and tugged furiously at
+the warp-line. The colonel and another gentleman, whom Bobtail had not
+seen before, helped old Mr. Montague down to the rail of the Penobscot.
+
+"You go first, Tom, and help him down," said Colonel Montague.
+
+The sailing master of the Penobscot also took the old gentleman's arm.
+The Hon. Mr. Montague seemed to be very feeble, and he was certainly
+very much terrified.
+
+"Put your arm around that shroud, Mr. Barkesdale," said the captain to
+the person whom the colonel called Tom.
+
+Tom Barkesdale stood upon the rail then, with his left arm around one of
+the shrouds of the Skylark. The stern of the Penobscot was down so low
+in the water, that it was not a long step down from the rail to that of
+the smaller yacht. Tom took the hand of the old gentleman as he stepped
+down; but at that instant the warp-line, which held the bow of the
+Skylark, snapped in twain, and her head swung off. His son and the
+skipper had just let go of the old gentleman, and Tom's hold was
+wrenched away by a jerk of the boat. Mr. Montague went down between the
+two craft.
+
+"Merciful Heaven!" cried the colonel. "Father is overboard!"
+
+"Throw me a rope," yelled the sailing-master, as he dropped into the
+water and caught the old gentleman as he rose after sinking once.
+
+Several lines were thrown to him, and with so many ready hands
+available, they were both drawn on board of the yacht in a moment.
+Though the venerable gentleman had received a terrible shock, he was not
+rendered insensible. The bow of the Skylark was again hauled up to the
+quarter of the Penobscot, and Mr. Montague was safety transferred to the
+cabin of the small yacht "What will you do, captain?" asked the colonel
+of the sailing-master.
+
+"I will stick by her with the crew. At low tide we will take the ballast
+out of her, and float her off the next tide."
+
+"Are your men willing to stay?"
+
+"They must stay; they are as safe here as on shore; at least till the
+next tide, and I shall be ready to float her off by that time."
+
+Colonel Montague went on board of the Skylark. A couple of men from the
+Penobscot were sent to assist in working her, though Bobtail protested
+that he had not the least need of them. The close-reefed mainsail was
+hoisted, and the Skylark went off on her course. By this time it was
+quite dark, but the light-house on Negro Island was a sufficient guide
+to the skipper. The yacht rolled fearfully, and to keep out of the
+trough of the sea Bobtail headed her to a point south of his
+destination. In an hour he was as near the main land as it was prudent
+to venture in the night, and then he put the Skylark before the wind.
+Before eleven o'clock he was at the wharf. He had not seen his
+passengers since they came on board.
+
+"My father has suffered severely from his mishap," said Colonel
+Montague, after the boat was made fast.
+
+"I'm sorry for it, sir. I didn't think of such a thing as that warp-line
+breaking," replied Bobtail.
+
+"Of course it was not your fault. You have done well for us, and I have
+no fault to find with you. I want some one to go to the hotel, and tell
+the landlord to send a coach, for my father cannot walk up."
+
+"Monkey will go;" and the Darwinian was on his way in a moment.
+
+The Hon. Mr. Montague was apparently very ill. The cold bath and the
+shock had severely shaken his frame. He was trembling with cold when
+Bobtail went below, and Mrs. Montague was holding his head. He was
+wrapped up in shawls, coats, and all the clothing available. The lady
+and her daughter spoke very kindly to the young skipper; but they were
+too much disturbed by the condition of the old gentleman to say much.
+
+"I think you ought to have a doctor, Ned," said Tom Barkesdale.
+
+"Send for one at once, then," said the colonel.
+
+"What are you going to do, Edward?" asked the old gentleman, in feeble
+tones.
+
+"I have sent for a coach, to take you to the hotel."
+
+"I want to go home. Can't I go in this boat?"
+
+"It blows too hard to-night, father."
+
+"A boat is easier than a carriage. Let me go home in this boat, when the
+wind goes down."
+
+"Then we had better not take him on shore," said Tom. "We can make up a
+good bed in this cabin for him."
+
+"Do, Edward," groaned the old gentleman.
+
+"I will go to the hotel, and get everything we need," added Tom, "and
+Bobtail shall go for the doctor."
+
+In half an hour the skipper returned with Dr. Estabrook, and the coach
+came with an abundant supply of beds and bedding. Mrs. Montague and her
+daughter went up to the Bay View, while the gentleman took off the wet
+clothes of the sufferer, and put him to bed. A fire was made in the
+cook-room, which heated the cabin when the door was open. The doctor
+prescribed for his patient, and he was soon made more comfortable. About
+midnight the rain began to fall in torrents, and the wind howled
+fearfully. But the storm lasted only a couple of hours, and at three
+o'clock in the morning the wind came fresh from the westward, and the
+sky was clear. The change knocked down the sea, and made a fair wind for
+Belfast. Tom Barkesdale went to the hotel for Mrs. Montague and Grace,
+and at four o'clock the Skylark sailed. She made a comfortable passage
+of it, and reached the town in three hours.
+
+Mr. Montague's clothes had been dried, and he was dressed. His carriage
+was sent for, and he was conveyed to his elegant mansion. His family
+physician superintended his removal. He had hardly entered the house,
+when he was taken with the most alarming symptoms. In less than half an
+hour he breathed his last, and there were weeping and wailing in the
+elegant mansion. Death comes alike to the rich and the poor, and invades
+the palace as well as the hovel.
+
+Colonel Montague wept like a child; the strong man was shaken by the
+throes of grief. He felt that he would have given all he had for the
+consciousness that he had never deceived that kind and indulgent father
+who lay silent in death before him. An hour after the sad event, Tom
+Barkesdale tried to comfort his friend.
+
+"I would give the world if I had never deceived him," moaned the
+grief-stricken son.
+
+"It was all for the best. Your father has passed away full of years and
+honors. It is well as it is."
+
+"No, no, Tom! It was all wrong."
+
+"You have only saved him from misery, which might have killed him years
+ago, for the doctor says he had a disease of the heart. Don't reproach
+yourself, Ned."
+
+"Where is the boy--Robert?" he asked suddenly. "I have wronged him still
+more. Where is he?"
+
+"I don't know. I haven't seen him since we left the boat."
+
+"Go for him, Tom. Bring him back. He shall not suffer this wrong another
+hour. He is a noble little fellow, and I am proud of him. Bring him
+back."
+
+Tom went to the wharf in the carriage, but the Skylark was three miles
+down the bay, on her way to Camden. It was of no use to chase that boat,
+and the messenger returned to his weeping friend.
+
+"Go to him, Tom; tell him all, and bring him back," said Colonel
+Montague; and his friend took the next steamer for Camden.
+
+Little Bobtail had sailed as soon as the invalid was landed, for he was
+anxious to be at home when the Eagle arrived. He had been up all night,
+while Monkey had slept in the cook-room; and as soon as the Skylark was
+clear of the harbor, the skipper gave the helm to the Darwinian, and
+turned in. He was sleeping heavily in the cabin of the yacht, while the
+telegraph wires were flashing all over the state the intelligence of the
+death of the Hon. Mr. Montague. The wind was light, so that the Skylark
+made a long passage: and Monkey did not wake the skipper till the yacht
+was off North-east Point. He had slept five hours, and felt like a new
+man. He went on shore as soon as the boat came up to the wharf, and
+ascertained that the Eagle had not yet arrived. Walking up to the
+cottage, he found his mother sitting on the front doorstep, in the
+shade, sewing.
+
+"Why, Robert, where did you come from?"
+
+"From Belfast last."
+
+"Did he die before you got there?"
+
+"Die? Who?"
+
+"Why, old Mr. Montague."
+
+"He isn't dead."
+
+"Yes, he is. The telegram came this forenoon."
+
+"But I helped him on shore myself at seven o'clock this morning."
+
+"He died at half past seven, the despatch says. And you didn't know it?"
+
+"No, I didn't. That's strange. But I started for home as soon as I saw
+him in the carriage, and slept all the way down."
+
+Mrs. Taylor had not seen her son since the examination at the office of
+Squire Norwood, but she had heard that he returned from Mount Desert
+late at night, and had gone to Belfast early in the morning. Bobtail had
+begun to relate his adventures at Mount Desert, when Squire Gilfilian
+presented himself at the door. It was known now that the Skylark had
+been to Bar Harbor, with Mr. Hines and the deputy sheriff as passengers.
+The young skipper had told this the night before, but nothing more--not
+even that his passengers had not returned with him. The squire had heard
+this report, and he was anxious to know the result of the visit.
+
+"Good afternoon, Mrs. Taylor," said the lawyer. "I am glad to find your
+son here, for I want to talk with him. But I wish to say to you, in the
+first place, that I don't consider that mortgage fairly cancelled."
+
+"Why not? Didn't I pay you the money?" asked Mrs. Taylor, very much
+alarmed.
+
+"You did, but that bill was already mine. Mr. Slipwing sent me five
+hundred dollars, and I have received it--the very bill he sent. From you
+and from him I ought to have a thousand dollars, but I have only half
+that amount."
+
+"Am I to lose that money?" demanded the poor woman.
+
+"Well, am I?" echoed the squire, with a bland smile. "If my horse is
+stolen, I take him wherever I find him, and whoever has bought or sold
+him."
+
+The lawyer was talking to a woman knowing but little of law and
+business, and he was doubtful himself whether he could claim that bill
+after it had passed, in good faith, through the hands of several
+persons.
+
+"I don't think it's right," protested Mrs. Taylor.
+
+"Nor I, either," added Bobtail. "My mother didn't steal it, and I didn't
+steal it."
+
+"No one knows who did steal it," said the squire. "Captain Chinks still
+contends that you took the letter, my boy; and he has gone down to Bar
+Harbor to ascertain how the bill got there. He thinks you heard of that
+boat, and sent some one down to buy her. He means to look up the case."
+
+"He'll look it up with a vengeance," replied Bobtail. "It is already
+looked up."
+
+"What do you mean? I hear that you have been to Bar Harbor."
+
+"I have."
+
+"Did you see Captain Chinks?"
+
+"I haven't anything to say about it," answered Bobtail.
+
+"Can't you tell me whether you saw him or not?" asked the squire, in his
+cross-examination style.
+
+"I can, but I would rather not. Mr. Brooks told me to keep still about
+it, and I'm going to do so."
+
+The squire coaxed and threatened, but without effect.
+
+"You will know all about it to-day or to-morrow. There comes the
+Eagle,--Captain Chinks's boat, Squire Gilfilian. He's in her, and he
+will tell you all you want to know, and more too, perhaps."
+
+The lawyer was not in good humor, though he was, in the main, a very
+good sort of man. He did not like to have a boy like Little Bobtail say
+no to him.
+
+"I must say, Mrs. Taylor, it looks rather black for your son. Colonel
+Montague testifies that the bill which was stolen with the letter was
+paid for a boat to a gentleman at Bar Harbor. Your son comes home one
+night with a boat, and no one knows where he got it," said Squire
+Gilfilian, sharply.
+
+"He told where he got it, and he was discharged at the examination
+yesterday," replied Mrs. Taylor, smartly.
+
+"We shall see when Captain Chinks gets back."
+
+"I think you will see," added Bobtail.
+
+"In the mean time, Mrs. Taylor, I shall expect you to pay the mortgage
+note," said the squire, as he walked towards the railroad wharf, where
+the Eagle appeared to be headed.
+
+Bobtail soon followed him, and was at the wharf when the Eagle came up
+at the steps.
+
+"So you have arrived, Bobtail," said Mr. Hines.
+
+"I got in at eleven o'clock last night, and should have been here sooner
+if I hadn't stopped to pick up the Penobscot's people," replied the
+skipper of the Skylark, as he proceeded to describe his cruise, and tell
+the news of the wreck, and of the death of the Hon. Mr. Montague.
+
+"And so you have been to Belfast since?"
+
+"Yes; and been back some time. Where's Captain Chinks? Squire Gilfilian
+wants to see him," added Bobtail, as the lawyer came down the steps.
+
+"The captain is below. He is all used up, and willing to confess
+everything. But we must take him down to Rockland at once, and we will
+go in the Skylark. For we want her there."
+
+"She's all ready, sir."
+
+"Where's Captain Chinks?" demanded the squire.
+
+The captain came on deck when he heard the lawyer's voice. He was pale
+and dejected. The Eagle had anchored under the lee of an island during
+the storm, and Mr. Hines had explained to him both the law and the
+nature of the testimony. The detective told him he would probably get
+off easier if he pleaded guilty, and made all the restitution in his
+power. The captain had about concluded to do so, but he desired to
+consult his counsel.
+
+"It's a light wind, and we must be off at once," said Mr. Hines,
+impatiently. "You can go with us, if you like, Squire Gilfilian, but I
+can't wait for you to discuss the case."
+
+The squire was willing to go to Rockland, and in half an hour the
+Skylark was standing down the bay.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII.
+
+ROBERT BARKESDALE MONTAGUE.
+
+
+"Well, Captain Chinks, did you find the man who paid that five hundred
+dollar bill to Colonel Montague?" asked Squire Gilfilian, as he seated
+himself in the standing-room, opposite his client.
+
+"I didn't look for him," replied the captain, studying the seams in the
+deck.
+
+"I thought that was what you went down there for. You told me that, in
+your opinion, Bobtail here had sent some one down to Bar Harbor to buy
+this boat with the money taken from the letter," added the squire, whose
+"fine judicial mind" had not yet grasped the truth. "I don't see any
+other way that this bill could have got to Bar Harbor."
+
+"Mr. Hines and I saw the man that received the bill for the boat," added
+the deputy sheriff.
+
+Captain Chinks looked up at the speaker, as if to entreat him to deal
+gently.
+
+"Well, who gave him the bill?" demanded the squire, impatiently.
+
+"The captain can tell you."
+
+"How can he tell me? He didn't see the man. Why didn't you see him,
+captain?"
+
+"I had something else to think of," replied the culprit, with the most
+woe-begone expression that ever darkened the face of man. "It's no use
+for me to try to beat to windward any more. I gave him the bill myself,
+Squire Gilfilian. That's the truth."
+
+"You!" gasped the lawyer.
+
+"I gave it to him."
+
+"That can be proved, for Mr. Gordon identified him as he came off the
+steamer at Bar Harbor," added Mr. Brooks.
+
+"I don't deny it," said the captain, meekly.
+
+"But where did you get the bill?" asked the squire.
+
+Captain Chinks did not answer immediately. It was too humiliating to
+tell the whole truth, and the lawyer seemed to be very slow to
+comprehend it.
+
+"I had no more notion of opening that letter than I had of flying," he
+said, at last, after the squire had repeated his question.
+
+"Did you open it?"
+
+"I'll tell you just how it was; but, upon my word, I didn't mean to open
+it. Bobtail came into your office that day with the two letters in his
+hand, one for you and one for me. He gave me one of them, and I tore it
+open without looking at the address."
+
+"Did I give you the wrong one?" asked the skipper.
+
+"You did; and that was what made all the mischief," answered the
+captain, wishing to lessen his guilt if possible.
+
+"I didn't know I gave you the wrong one. I had no reason for doing so. I
+put the other on the desk, as you told me to do," explained Bobtail.
+
+"Yes; you tossed it on the desk, and it fell with the address down. You
+went out then, and I found the letter I had opened was for Squire
+Gilfilian, and had a five hundred dollar bill in it."
+
+"There was no harm done even then," said the lawyer. "If you had given
+it to me and explained the mistake, it would have been all right."
+
+"That's where I made my mistake, squire. I was afraid you would think I
+meant to steal your money, or pry into your business, and I put the
+letter into my pocket. It came from the bank robbers, and I didn't
+suppose you would believe any such letter had been sent to you."
+
+"I didn't till the man identified the bill," replied the squire. "Mrs.
+Taylor gave me the bill in the morning, and while I was writing her
+release, Mr. Slipwing came into the office. When the woman paid me the
+money, I couldn't help wondering where she got so large a bill.
+Happening to think of her son's connection with the letter, it occurred
+to me that he had opened that letter. Slipwing described the bill before
+he saw it, so as fully to identify it. Of course I was entirely
+satisfied then that Bobtail had stolen the letter."
+
+"I don't blame you for thinking so," said the skipper.
+
+"It looked like a plain case; but it is singular how that bill came back
+to me. You went off to Mount Desert that day, Captain Chinks."
+
+"Yes; I expected a lot of stuff from the provinces. I went to Bar
+Harbor, and bought the boat."
+
+"And you paid the bill from the letter for the boat? Now, that brings up
+another question. The bill belonged to me, and I claim it. What Mrs.
+Taylor paid me amounts to nothing."
+
+"I don't believe you can make that go, Squire Gilfilian," said Mr.
+Hines. "If I mistake not, there's a decision the other way."
+
+"I shall try it, at any rate," added the squire.
+
+"No, you needn't," interposed Captain Chinks. "I will make it good
+myself."
+
+"That will settle the case," replied the squire, who knew that his
+client had the means to do so.
+
+"If Mrs. Taylor must make good the loss to you, then Colonel Montague
+must make it good to her, and Mr. Gordon to the colonel. If the payment
+in stolen money was not legal, there was no sale of the boat, and she
+still belongs to Mr. Gordon," continued Mr. Hines. "In the mean time the
+government has seized her for violation of the revenue laws, and the
+case is decidedly mixed."
+
+"I will pay the squire the five hundred dollars," added the smuggler.
+
+"And lose your boat besides?" queried the squire.
+
+"What's the use? You can't fight against the government. The
+custom-house officers have the boat and the stuff."
+
+"What stuff?" asked the squire.
+
+"A lot of brandy that I could have sold for over a thousand dollars,
+which didn't cost me four hundred. It would bring fifteen hundred at
+retail."
+
+"O ho!" said the squire, opening his eyes.
+
+"I'm caught, and I may as well make the best of it. I used to think this
+sort of business paid, but I don't think so now. I shall lose my boat,
+the money I paid for the stuff, and have to pay a fine of a thousand
+dollars besides. That makes me about two thousand out--half of all I'm
+worth, besides my farm; and all because Little Bobtail wouldn't make a
+trade with me. I as good as offered to give him the boat, if he would
+return the stuff; and I reckon he'll wish he had when you take the boat
+away from him, for he has been making money with her."
+
+"No, he won't," said Mr. Hines, decidedly. "He gave the information that
+led to the seizure of the goods, and his share of the fine and
+forfeiture will be at least five hundred dollars, and he can buy the
+boat."
+
+"Is that so?" exclaimed the skipper, opening his eyes. "I had no idea I
+was to make anything out of this business. But I am in love with this
+boat; and if I get her, I shall be the happiest fellow on Penobscot
+Bay."
+
+"You will have her; and we'll manage it so that you shall have the use
+of her till she is sold," added Mr. Hines.
+
+Captain Chinks was no longer a man of doubtful reputation. His
+contraband operations were capable of proof without his confession, and
+his reputation as a dishonest man was now fully established. The Skylark
+arrived at Rockland in a couple of hours. The United States deputy
+marshal arrested Captain Chinks; but he was liberated on bail furnished
+by Squire Gilfilian. The Skylark was seized, and Mr. Hines appointed
+keeper; and, on his own responsibility, he permitted Bobtail to have the
+use of her.
+
+The detective had fully sifted the captain's method of operating. He was
+in company with a "Blue Nose" fisherman, who used to run the goods down
+to the coast of Maine, where his partner took them into his boat,
+usually in the night, or under the lee of some uninhabited island.
+Another lot was on its way, but the captain concluded to have them
+properly entered, and paid the duties.
+
+When Bobtail returned from the custom-house in Rockland to the Skylark,
+he found Mr. Tom Barkesdale on board of her, waiting for him. This
+gentleman had come down to Camden in the steamer, and finding that the
+boy had gone to Rockland, he obtained a team, and drove to that place,
+where he found the Skylark at the wharf. Monkey did not know where the
+skipper had gone; but he soon appeared with all his passengers, for the
+business had not detained them more than an hour. But Mr. Barkesdale was
+not inclined to "tell him all" in the presence of so many persons. He
+finally, after much persuasion, induced Bobtail to return with him in
+his buggy, while Mr. Hines sailed the Skylark back to Camden. Nothing
+but the assurance that the business was of the utmost importance could
+prevail upon the skipper to leave the yacht; and much he wondered what
+that business could be. They walked up to the hotel together, but, as
+yet, Mr. Barkesdale said nothing.
+
+"I think you have worn that bobtail coat about long enough," said the
+gentleman, when they came to Main Street.
+
+"I have a better suit at home."
+
+"What color is it?"
+
+"Blue, sir."
+
+"That will hardly answer. You must go up to Belfast with me, and attend
+the funeral of Mr. Montague."
+
+"I?"
+
+"Yes; the family are all very much interested in you. You need a black
+suit, and we will get one here," added Mr. Barkesdale, as they entered
+the best clothing store on the street.
+
+The finest suit that could be obtained was purchased; and it was
+supplemented, at other stores, with a cap, nice shoes, black kid gloves,
+and other furnishing goods. Bobtail protested against the gloves; he did
+not want any gloves in summer; never wore them, except in winter. But
+Mr. Barkesdale said he must wear them at the funeral, if he never did
+again.
+
+"I don't see why I should be rigged up in all these togs, to go to the
+funeral of a man I never saw but twice in my life," said Bobtail, as
+they seated themselves in the buggy.
+
+"You don't know much," laughed Mr. Barkesdale.
+
+"I know I don't."
+
+"You don't even know your own name."
+
+"Everybody calls me Little Bobtail, and it wouldn't be strange if I
+forgot my own name," replied the boy.
+
+"I'm told your father's habits are not very good."
+
+"Zeke Taylor's? He isn't my father; he is my mother's second husband;
+and my father died when I was small."
+
+"Your mother must have a hard time of it with a drunken husband."
+
+"That's so; I wish she would leave him; and I think she will, for he
+don't do much, and spends all he gets for rum. He's ugly, too, and tries
+to get her money away from her."
+
+"Then your mother has money of her own?"
+
+"I don't know; there's something strange about it," replied Bobtail,
+looking into the face of his companion, and wondering what he was
+"driving at." "Zeke says she has money hid away from him."
+
+"Then you have thought of the matter?"
+
+"Well, I can't see, for the life of me, how she supports the family."
+
+"Well you don't know much--not even your own name," laughed Mr.
+Barkesdale again.
+
+"I know that my father's name was Wayland, and by rights mine ought to
+be Wayland."
+
+"Are you quite sure of that?"
+
+"Of course I am. I know what my mother told me. I was born in the Island
+of Cuba."
+
+"That's true, but not the rest of it."
+
+"What do you mean?"
+
+"Your name is not Wayland."
+
+"What is it, then?" asked Bobtail, amazed beyond expression.
+
+"Your name is Robert Barkesdale Montague--the middle name after me."
+
+"You don't mean so!"
+
+"I do; and when you see your mother, as you call her, she will tell you
+the same thing."
+
+"Isn't she my mother?" asked Bobtail,--or rather Robert, as we shall
+insist upon calling him now,--with a gasp of astonishment.
+
+"She is not; she is a very worthy woman, but she is not your mother."
+
+"Well, who is my mother?"
+
+"The first Mrs. Montague, of course; she died in Cuba when you were only
+a few months old. Mrs. Wayland--as she was then--was your nurse. She has
+brought you up, and brought you up very well too, for it appears that
+you are an honest, good boy, noble, brave, and intelligent."
+
+"But what's the reason I never knew anything about this before?" asked
+the puzzled youth.
+
+"I'll tell you;" and Mr. Barkesdale told the story which is related in
+the first two chapters.
+
+"I supposed I had a mother, but no father. It turns out just the other
+way," said Robert, rubbing his throbbing head.
+
+"And your father is one of the best men in the world."
+
+"Mrs. Taylor is one of the best women in the world; and I shall be sorry
+to leave her. I don't like to believe she is not my mother, after all
+she has done for me. I don't believe she ever spoke a cross word to me
+in her life;" and the tears started in the boy's eyes.
+
+"I don't think you will have to leave her. Your father will take her up
+to Belfast."
+
+[Illustration]
+
+"And all the money came from my father?"
+
+"Yes; I have carried a great deal to her myself."
+
+Robert Montague continued to ask questions till the buggy stopped before
+the door of the cottage in Camden. Mrs. Taylor wept, and the boy wept,
+as they met. He wished that the truth had not been revealed to him. Mr.
+Barkesdale went to the hotel, and Robert spent the evening with Mrs.
+Taylor. Ezekiel was at home, and sober. He was permitted to know where
+the money which had perplexed him so much came from; and, as the son of
+Colonel Montague, he regarded Robert with respect and deference.
+
+Mrs. Taylor and Robert took the steamer for Belfast the next morning,
+with Mr. Barkesdale. The boy was dressed in his black suit, and looked
+like another person. Colonel Montague's carriage was waiting for them
+when the steamer arrived. As Robert entered the elegant mansion, now
+"the house of mourning," he could hardly control his violent emotion.
+Mr. Barkesdale conducted him and Mrs. Taylor to the library, where the
+colonel was alone. As they entered, he walked towards his son, grasped
+him by the hand, and turning away his face, wept bitterly. Robert could
+not help weeping in sympathy.
+
+"You know now that you are my son," said he, when he was able to speak.
+
+"Mr. Barkesdale told me all about it."
+
+"You are my son, and I am proud of you; but I have been a coward,
+Robert," added the colonel, with anguish. "I have wronged my father, who
+lies dead in the house; and I have wronged you, my son."
+
+"No, sir; you haven't wronged me," protested Robert.
+
+"I have kept you out of your birthright for sixteen years."
+
+"I couldn't have been any better off than I was with Mrs. Taylor,"
+replied the boy, turning to the woman.
+
+The colonel took her hand, and expressed his gratitude to her for all
+she had done.
+
+"He is a good boy, and I wish he was my son," said Mrs. Taylor. "I can't
+bear to think of losing him."
+
+"You shall not be separated, and he and I both will see that you never
+want for anything while you live."
+
+Mrs. Montague and Grace were sent for, and presently appeared.
+
+"I am glad to see you, my boy," said the lady, as she took both his
+hands. "You are my son now."
+
+"And did you know I was Colonel Montague's son before?" asked Robert.
+
+"I knew it before I was married to him," she replied. "My husband always
+reproached himself--and now more than ever--because he concealed his
+first marriage from his father; but my brother and I always thought it
+right for him to do so."
+
+"I know it was wrong," added the colonel, bitterly.
+
+"Undoubtedly it was wrong in the abstract, but it was the least of two
+evils," said Mr. Barkesdale.
+
+"Now you are my brother, I shall kiss you again," was the greeting of
+Grace, as she suited the action to the word.
+
+The rest of the day was spent in talking over the events of the past,
+and Robert Montague was duly installed as a member of the household. The
+funeral took place the next day, and hundreds of people stared at the
+boy who rode with the other members of the family in the first
+carriage, and wondered why he was there. In a few days the strange story
+was fully circulated both in Belfast and in Camden.
+
+On the day after the funeral Robert returned to his former home with
+Mrs. Taylor. He was greeted by his friends with a deference which made
+him feel very awkward; and when he went on board of the Skylark, Monkey
+hardly dared to speak to him. But he soon convinced all that his altered
+fortunes had not changed his heart. He was more amazed himself than
+other people were to find himself the son of one of the richest and most
+distinguished men in the state. He returned to his new home in the
+Skylark on the same day, and arrived soon enough to give Grace a sail in
+the yacht before dark.
+
+In due time Robert attended the trial of Captain Chinks, who pleaded
+guilty, and was sentenced to a year's imprisonment for opening the
+letter and stealing the money. The yacht and the liquor were condemned
+and sold. The captain was fined a thousand dollars; and it was said that
+he got off easy because he pleaded guilty. Colonel Montague bought the
+Skylark when she was sold, with his son's share of "the moiety of the
+penalty and forfeiture." With his father as a passenger, Robert sailed
+the yacht home.
+
+The Penobscot was got off by the sailing-master and crew at the next
+tide after she went on the ledge. Buoyed up with casks she was towed to
+Belfast, where she was put on the ways, and made as good as new.
+
+"I thought your sailing-master was rather reckless that night," said
+Robert, one day, as they passed the Penobscot on the ways, and were
+discussing the mishap.
+
+"It was not his fault. The wheel broke down," replied the colonel.
+
+"I didn't know the wheel broke."
+
+"Yes; that was the trouble; but if it had been the sailing-master's
+fault, I wouldn't have said a word, after he saved my father. He's a
+brave fellow; he is like you, my son. If you had been less brave,
+Robert, Grace would certainly have been drowned, or killed on the
+rocks."
+
+Colonel Montague shuddered as he thought of such a calamity, and then
+gazed with admiration upon his son.
+
+"I would have done that any time for the fun of it," laughed Robert.
+
+"It was hard for me, when we met on the deck of the Penobscot, to keep
+from telling you the truth--that you were my son."
+
+"It's all right now."
+
+The conversation turned to Mrs. Taylor. Colonel Montague wanted to take
+her into his family, but her drunken husband was in the way of such a
+step. On one of her trips down the bay the Skylark put into Camden, and
+Robert and his father called upon her.
+
+"I'm all alone now," said Mrs. Taylor, after she had exchanged greetings
+with her visitors.
+
+"Why, where is Ezekiel?" asked Robert.
+
+"He went off a-fishing yesterday in Prince's boat, and caught a great
+fare of mackerel. He sold them for nine dollars, and of course he has
+been intoxicated ever since. This afternoon he got into a quarrel with
+Moses Pitkins, and struck him with a club. Both of them were drunk, and
+they say Moses is so badly hurt that he may die. Ezekiel was taken up,
+and sent over to Rockland."
+
+"Then you had better go with us to Belfast, Mrs. Taylor," added Colonel
+Montague.
+
+Robert begged her to do so, and she consented. Squire Simonton was
+engaged to defend Ezekiel when his trial came off. Mrs. Taylor went to
+Belfast in the Skylark, and was kindly welcomed at the elegant mansion.
+
+Moses Pitkins did not die, but Ezekiel was sentenced to two months'
+imprisonment. Squire Simonton labored diligently with him to abandon his
+cups; but the two months' abstinence did him more good than the
+arguments, able and kind as they were. When he was discharged he
+returned to Camden to find his home deserted. Squire Simonton renewed
+his efforts to secure the reform of the toper. He assured Ezekiel that
+his wife would not live with him if he continued to be intemperate. He
+promised faithfully never to drink a drop, and the squire kept an eye on
+him. He let the house to Prince, and boarded with him. He went to work
+at his trade, and people said Ezekiel Taylor was a new man since he came
+out of prison. Mrs. Taylor heard of his good behavior, and came down to
+see him. He promised her faithfully that he would never drink another
+drop. Colonel Montague had given her a beautiful little cottage near his
+own house, handsomely furnished, when the reports indicated that
+Ezekiel had actually reformed. Having satisfied herself of the truth of
+the report, she invited him to his new home. Thus far he has kept his
+promise, and both are happy in their new residence, which Robert visits
+every day, and sometimes oftener.
+
+Mr. Walker and his family spent a week with the Montagues, in September,
+after Mr. Barkesdale had gone. Though picnics and pleasure parties were
+not in order so soon after the death of the Hon. Mr. Montague, Robert
+took Grace and Emily out to sail every day in the Skylark; and up to
+this date, he thinks Miss Walker is the prettiest girl in the State of
+Maine. He may change his mind within ten years; but if he does not, she
+will probably have an opportunity to accept or refuse his hand.
+
+Monkey was retained for service in the Skylark during the rest of the
+season. He still thinks his friend, the skipper, is the greatest man in
+the world. He sends a portion of his wages to his mother, and in the
+fall moved her up to Belfast. Robert goes to Camden occasionally, and
+always calls upon Mr. Simonton, who invariably gives him a cheerful
+welcome. His views in regard to smuggling are very definite now, and,
+as Robert Barkesdale Montague, he believes that fidelity to principle is
+the only safe rule of life, whether it brings worldly prosperity or
+adversity, as did LITTLE BOBTAIL.
+
+
+
+
+NEW AND ATTRACTIVE PUBLICATIONS
+
+OF
+
+LEE AND SHEPARD, Publishers,
+
+BOSTON,
+
+LEE, SHEPARD, AND DILLINGHAM, New York.
+
+
+OLIVER OPTIC'S NEW BOOKS.
+
+     MONEY-MAKER; OR, THE VICTORY OF THE BASILISK. 16mo.
+     Illustrated. $1.50.
+
+     THE YACHT CLUB; OR, THE YOUNG BOAT-BUILDER. 16mo. Illustrated.
+     $1.50.
+
+     LITTLE BOBTAIL; OR, THE WRECK OF THE PENOBSCOT. 16mo.
+     Illustrated. $1.50.
+
+     THE COMING WAVE; OR, THE HIDDEN TREASURE OF HIGH ROCK. 16mo.
+     Illustrated. $1.50.
+
+     THE YACHT CLUB SERIES. 4 vols. In neat box. Per vol., $1.50.
+
+       1. LITTLE BOBTAIL.
+       2. THE YACHT CLUB.
+       3. MONEY-MAKER.
+       4. THE COMING WAVE.
+
+     In this series each book contains an entirely independent
+     story, with a hero or heroine of its own, and having no
+     necessary connection with any other volume. Each volume
+     contains thirteen full-page engravings, expressly designed for
+     it by the well-known American artist, C. G. Bush.
+
+
+NEW PUBLICATIONS OF LEE AND SHEPARD.
+
+RUNNING TO WASTE. The Story of a Tomboy. By GEO. M. BAKER. 16mo.
+Illustrated. $1.50. This is the second volume of the Maidenhood Series.
+
+"A Perfect Little Gem."
+
+
+NEW SONGS FOR LITTLE PEOPLE. BY MRS. MARY E. ANDERSON. Small 4to. Cloth.
+Illustrated. $1.25.
+
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+
+
+STORIES OF A GRANDFATHER ABOUT AMERICAN HISTORY. By N. S. DODGE. 16mo.
+Illustrated. $1.25.
+
+"An Example of Honor and Fidelity."
+
+
+THE YOUNG ENGINEER. A Memoir of Frank Russell Firth. With an
+Introduction by Rev. E. E. HALE, and a Sketch of the Life of OTIS
+EVERETT ALLEN. 16mo. With Portrait. $1.50.
+
+A Prize Volume.
+
+
+HOW MARJORY HELPED. By M. CARROLL. 16mo. Illustrated. $1.50.
+
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+
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+Declamation and Reading. Selected and adapted by LOOMIS J. CAMPBELL, and
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+
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+
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+THE READING-CLUB AND HANDY SPEAKER. Being Selections in Prose and
+Poetry, Serious, Humorous, Pathetic, Patriotic, and Dramatic, for
+Headings and Recitations. Edited by GEORGE M. BAKER. No. 1. 16mo. 50
+cents.
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+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Little Bobtail, by Oliver Optic
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