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diff --git a/44037-8.txt b/44037-0.txt index 73ace2f..703fb5e 100644 --- a/44037-8.txt +++ b/44037-0.txt @@ -1,38 +1,4 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook, The Adventures of Billy Topsail, by Norman -Duncan - - -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: The Adventures of Billy Topsail - - -Author: Norman Duncan - - - -Release Date: October 25, 2013 [eBook #44037] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - - -***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE ADVENTURES OF BILLY TOPSAIL*** - - -E-text prepared by David Edwards, Emmy, and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team (http://www.pgdp.net) from page images generously made -available by Internet Archive (https://archive.org) - - +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 44037 *** Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this file which includes the original illustrations. @@ -4361,7 +4327,7 @@ from the upper shores and with great bergs from the glaciers of the far north. But Skipper Libe Tussel, of the thirty-ton _Fish Killer_, hailing from Ruddy Cove, was a firm believer in the fortunes of the early bird; moreover, he was determined that the skipper of the _Cod -Trap_, hailing from Fortune, should not this season preëmpt his +Trap_, hailing from Fortune, should not this season preëmpt his trap-berth on the Thigh Bone fishing grounds. So the _Fish Killer_ was underway for the north, early as it was; and she was cheerily game to face the chances of wind and ice, if only she might beat the _Cod Trap_ @@ -7935,362 +7901,4 @@ the text. Page 328, "handkerckief" changed to "handkerchief" (pockets for a handkerchief) - - -***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE ADVENTURES OF BILLY TOPSAIL*** - - -******* This file should be named 44037-8.txt or 44037-8.zip ******* - - -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: -http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/4/4/0/3/44037 - - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, -set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to -copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to -protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. 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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 <a -href="http://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a></p> -<p>Title: The Adventures of Billy Topsail</p> -<p>Author: Norman Duncan</p> -<p>Release Date: October 25, 2013 [eBook #44037]</p> -<p>Language: English</p> -<p>Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1</p> -<p>***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE ADVENTURES OF BILLY TOPSAIL***</p> <p> </p> -<h4>E-text prepared by David Edwards, Emmy,<br /> - and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team<br /> - (<a href="http://www.pgdp.net">http://www.pgdp.net</a>)<br /> - from page images generously made available by<br /> - Internet Archive<br /> - (<a href="https://archive.org">https://archive.org</a>)</h4> <p> </p> <table border="0" style="background-color: #ccccff;margin: 0 auto;" cellpadding="10"> <tr> @@ -5947,7 +5931,7 @@ of the thirty-ton <i>Fish Killer</i>, hailing from Ruddy Cove, was a firm believer in the fortunes of the early bird; moreover, he was determined that the skipper of the <i>Cod Trap</i>, hailing from -Fortune, should not this season preëmpt his +Fortune, should not this season preëmpt his trap-berth on the Thigh Bone fishing grounds. So the <i>Fish Killer</i> was underway for the north, early as it was; and she was cheerily game to @@ -10751,360 +10735,6 @@ handkerchief)</p></div> <p> </p> <p> </p> -<hr class="full" /> -<p>***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE ADVENTURES OF BILLY TOPSAIL***</p> -<p>******* This file should be named 44037-h.txt or 44037-h.zip *******</p> -<p>This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:<br /> -<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/4/4/0/3/44037">http://www.gutenberg.org/4/4/0/3/44037</a></p> -<p> -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed.</p> - -<p> -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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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: The Adventures of Billy Topsail - - -Author: Norman Duncan - - - -Release Date: October 25, 2013 [eBook #44037] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII) - - -***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE ADVENTURES OF BILLY TOPSAIL*** - - -E-text prepared by David Edwards, Emmy, and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team (http://www.pgdp.net) from page images generously made -available by Internet Archive (https://archive.org) - - - -Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this - file which includes the original illustrations. - See 44037-h.htm or 44037-h.zip: - (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/44037/44037-h/44037-h.htm) - or - (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/44037/44037-h.zip) - - - Images of the original pages are available through - Internet Archive. See - https://archive.org/details/adventuresofbill00duncuoft - - - - - -THE ADVENTURES OF BILLY TOPSAIL - - - * * * * * - -_THE WORKS OF_ - -NORMAN DUNCAN - -_Second Edition_ - -The Mother - - A Novelette of New York Life. 12mo, cloth, $1.25, de - Luxe, $2.00 net. - - "Another book quite unlike 'Dr. Luke' in environment, - but very like it in its intuitive understandings of the - natures of the lowly and obscure . . . holds the reader - spellbound."--_Nashville American._ - - -_Twenty-fifth Thousand_ - -Doctor Luke of the Labrador - - 12mo, cloth, $1.50. - - "Norman Duncan has fulfilled all that was expected - of him in this story; it established him beyond - question as one of the strong masters of the present - day."--_Brooklyn Eagle._ - - -_Fourth Edition_ - -Dr. Grenfell's Parish - - Illustrated. Cloth, $1.00 net. - - "He tells vividly and picturesquely many of the things - done by Dr. Grenfell and his associates. They have - a distinct literary tone. It is splendid, heroic - work that Dr. Grenfell and his fellows are doing as - missionaries of humanity and civilization in a field - that is painfully near home."--_N. Y. Sun._ - - - FLEMING H. REVELL COMPANY - _Publishers_ - - - * * * * * - - -[Illustration: HIS CLOTHES WERE FROZEN STIFF, AND HE HAD TO BEAT THEM -ON THE ICE TO SOFTEN THEM.] - - -THE ADVENTURES OF BILLY TOPSAIL - -by - -NORMAN DUNCAN - -Author of "Doctor Luke of The Labrador," -"The Mother," "Dr. Grenfell's Parish" - -Illustrated - - - - - - - -[Illustration] - -New York Chicago Toronto -Fleming H. Revell Company -London and Edinburgh - -Copyright, 1906, by -Fleming H. Revell Company - -New York: 158 Fifth Avenue -Chicago: 80 Wabash Avenue -Toronto: 27 Richmond Street, W. -London: 21 Paternoster Square -Edinburgh: 100 Princes Street - - - - - _J. K._ - - - - - _To the editors of the "Youth's Companion" the author's - thanks are due for the permission to reprint much of - the contents of this book._ - - - - -_To the Boy who Reads the Book_ - - -YOU must not be surprised because the adventures of Billy Topsail and -a few of his friends fill this book. If _all_ the adventures of these -real boys were written the record would fill many books. This is not -hard to explain. The British Colony of Newfoundland lies to the north -of the Gulf of St. Lawrence and to the east of the Canadian Labrador. -It is so situated that the inhabitants may not escape adventures. -On the map, it looks bleak and far away and inhospitable--a lonely -island, outlying in the stormy water of the Atlantic. Indeed, it is -all that. The interior is a vast wilderness--a waste place. The folk -are fishermen all. They live on the coast, in little harbours, remote, -widely scattered, not connected by roads; communication is only by way -of the sea. They are hospitable, fearless, tender, simple, willing for -toil; and, surely, little else can be said of a people. Long, long ago, -their forbears first strayed up that forbidding shore in chase of the -fish; and the succeeding generations, though such men as we are, have -there lived their lives, apart from the world's comforts and delights -as we know them. The land is barren; sustenance is from the sea, which -is moody and cold and gray: thus life in that far place has many perils -and deprivations and toilsome duties. The boys of the outports are like -English-speaking boys the world over. They are merry or not, brave or -not, kind or not, as boys go; but it may be that they are somewhat -merrier and braver and kinder than boys to whom self-reliance and -physical courage are less needful. At any rate, they have adventures, -every one of them; and that is not surprising--for the conditions of -life are such that every Newfoundland lad intimately knows hardship and -peril at an age when the boys of the cities still grasp a hand when -they cross the street. - - N. D. - -New York, _September, 1906_. - - - - -CONTENTS - - - CHAPTER I 11 - - In which young Billy Topsail of Ruddy Cove puts out to his first - adventure with his dog in the bow of the punt. - - - CHAPTER II 19 - - Concerning the behaviour of Billy Topsail and his dog in the - water when the _Never Give Up_ went to the bottom, and - closing with an apology and a wag of the tail. - - - CHAPTER III 26 - - Describing the haunts and habits of devil-fish and informing - the reader of Billy Topsail's determination to make a - capture at all hazards. - - - CHAPTER IV 34 - - Recounting the adventure of the giant squid of Chain Tickle, - in which the punt gets in the grip of a gigantic tentacle - and Billy Topsail strikes with an axe. - - - CHAPTER V 44 - - On the face of the cliff: Wherein Billy Topsail gets lost - in a perilous place and sits down to recover his - composure. - - - CHAPTER VI 52 - - In which Billy Topsail loses his nerve. Wherein, also, the - wings of gulls seem to brush past. - - - CHAPTER VII 59 - - In which Billy Topsail hears the fur trader's story of a - jigger and a cake of ice in the wind. - - - CHAPTER VIII 69 - - In the offshore gale: In which Billy Topsail goes seal - hunting and is swept to sea with the floe. - - - CHAPTER IX 78 - - In which old Tom Topsail burns his punt and Billy wanders in - the night and three lives hang on a change of wind. - - - CHAPTER X 86 - - How Billy Topsail's friend Bobby Lot joined fortunes with - Eli Zitt and whether or not he proved worthy of the - partnership. - - - CHAPTER XI 93 - - Bobby Lot learns to swim and Eli Zitt shows amazing courage - and self-possession and strength. - - - CHAPTER XII 104 - - Containing the surprising adventure of Eli Zitt's little - partner on the way back from Fortune Harbour, in which - a Newfoundland dog displays a saving intelligence. - - - CHAPTER XIII 116 - - In which Billy Topsail sets sail for the Labrador, the - _Rescue_ strikes an iceberg, and Billy is commanded to - pump for his life. - - - CHAPTER XIV 123 - - Faithfully narrating the amazing experiences of a - Newfoundland schooner and describing Billy Topsail's - conduct in a sinking boat. - - - CHAPTER XV 131 - - In which the Ruddy Cove doctor tells Billy Topsail and - a stranger how he came to learn that the longest way - 'round is sometimes the shortest way home. - - - CHAPTER XVI 142 - - Describing how Billy Topsail set out for Ruddy Cove with - Her Majesty's Mail and met with catastrophe. - - - CHAPTER XVII 151 - - Billy Topsail wrings out his clothes and finds himself - cut off from shore by thirty yards of heaving ice. - - - CHAPTER XVIII 159 - - In which Billy Topsail joins the whaler _Viking_ and a - school is sighted. - - - CHAPTER XIX 164 - - In which the chase is kept up and the captain promises - himself a kill. - - - CHAPTER XX 172 - - The mate of the fin-back whale rises for the last time, - with a blood-red sunset beyond, and Billy Topsail - says, "Too bad!" - - - CHAPTER XXI 176 - - In which Billy Topsail goes fishing in earnest. Concerning, - also, Feather's Folly of the Devil's Teeth, Mary - Robinson, and the wreck of the _Fish Killer_. - - - CHAPTER XXII 184 - - The crew of the _Fish Killer_ finds refuge on an iceberg - and discovers greater safety elsewhere, after which - the cook is mistaken for a fool, but puts the crew - to shame. - - - CHAPTER XXIII 196 - - In which the clerk of the trader _Tax_ yarns of a madman - in the cabin. - - - CHAPTER XXIV 208 - - In which a pirate's cave grows interesting, and two young - members of the Ethnological and Antiquarian Club of - St. John's, undertake an adventure under the guidance - of Billy Topsail. - - - CHAPTER XXV 216 - - In which there is a landslide at Little Tickle Basin and - something of great interest and peculiar value is - discovered in the cave. - - - CHAPTER XXVI 223 - - In which Billy Topsail determines to go to the ice in the - spring of the year, and young Archibald Armstrong of - St. John's is permitted to set out upon an adventure - which promises to be perilous and profitable. - - - CHAPTER XXVII 231 - - While Billy Topsail is about his own business Archie - Armstrong stands on the bridge of the _Dictator_ and - Captain Hand orders "Full speed ahead!" on the stroke - of twelve. - - - CHAPTER XXVIII 238 - - In which Archie Armstrong falls in with Bill o' Burnt Bay - and Billy Topsail of Ruddy Cove, and makes a speech. - - - CHAPTER XXIX 246 - - Billy Topsail is shipped upon conditions, and the - _Dictator_, in a rising gale, is caught in a field of - drift ice, with a growler to leeward. - - - CHAPTER XXX 255 - - In which Archie Armstrong and Billy Topsail have an exciting - encounter with a big dog hood, and, at the sound of - alarm, leave the issue in doubt, while the ice goes - abroad and the enemy goes swimming. - - - CHAPTER XXXI 264 - - The _Dictator_ charges an ice pan and loses a main topmast. - - - CHAPTER XXXII 272 - - In which seals are sighted and Archie Armstrong has a - narrow chance in the crow's-nest. - - - CHAPTER XXXIII 279 - - The ice runs red, and, in storm and dusk, Tim Tuttle - brews a pot o' trouble for Captain Hand, while Billy - Topsail observes the operation. - - - CHAPTER XXXIV 287 - - In which Tim Tuttle's shaft flies straight for the mark. - The crews of the _Dictator_ and _Lucky Star_ declare - war, and Captain Hand is threatened with the shame of - dishonour, while young Billy Topsail, who has the - solution of the difficulty, is in the hold of the ship. - - - CHAPTER XXXV 296 - - In which the issue is determined. - - - CHAPTER XXXVI 302 - - It appears that the courage and strength of the son of a - colonial knight are to be tried. The hunters are caught - in a great storm. - - - CHAPTER XXXVII 308 - - In which the men are lost, the _Dictator_ is nipped and - Captain Hand sobs, "Poor Sir Archibald!" - - - CHAPTER XXXVIII 317 - - And last: In which wind and snow and cold have their way - and death lands on the floe. Billy Topsail gives - himself to a gust of wind, and Archie Armstrong finds - peril and hardship stern teachers. Concerning, also, - a new sloop, a fore-an'-after and a tailor's lay figure. - - - - -LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS - - - FACING - PAGE - - HIS CLOTHES WERE FROZEN STIFF, AND HE HAD TO BEAT THEM ON - THE ICE TO SOFTEN THEM _Title_ - - BILLY RAISED HIS HAND AS IF TO STRIKE HIM 20 - - THEN LIKE A FLASH IT SHOT TOWARDS THE BOAT 38 - - "JUMPED LIKE A STAG FOR THE SECOND PAN" 62 - - BILLY STAGGERED INTO THE CIRCLE OF LIGHT 82 - - "SHE'S LOST," HE THOUGHT. "LOST WITH ALL HANDS" 126 - - "MY LITTLE LAD'S WONDERFUL SICK. COME QUICK!" 132 - - "IT IS A DEAD W'ALE!" 174 - - HE WAS NEAR THE END OF THE SIXTEENTH VERSE 245 - - THEN HE ADVANCED UPON THE BOY 261 - - "LASH YOUR TOWS, B'YS," SAID BILL. "LEAVE THE REST GO" 305 - - "WE'RE SAVED!" SAID BILL 326 - - - The publishers acknowledge the courtesy of _The - Youth's Companion_ and _Outing_ for the use of various - illustrations appearing originally in these periodicals. - - - - -THE ADVENTURES OF BILLY TOPSAIL - - - - -CHAPTER I - - _In Which Young Billy Topsail of Ruddy Cove Puts Out to - His First Adventure with His Dog in the Bow of the - Punt_ - - -FROM the very beginning it was inevitable that Billy Topsail should -have adventures. He was a fisherman's son, born at Ruddy Cove, which -is a fishing harbour on the bleak northeast coast of Newfoundland; and -there was nothing else for it. All Newfoundland boys have adventures; -but not all Newfoundland boys survive them. And there came, in the -course of the day's work and play, to Billy Topsail, many adventures. -The first--the first real adventure in which Billy Topsail was -abandoned to his own wit and strength--came by reason of a gust of wind -and his own dog. It was not strange that a gust of wind should overturn -Billy Topsail's punt; but that old Skipper should turn troublesome in -the thick of the mess was an event the most unexpected. . . . - - * * * * * - -Skipper was a Newfoundland dog, born of reputable parents at Back Arm -and decently bred in Ruddy Cove. He had black hair, short, straight and -wiry--the curly-haired breed has failed on the Island--and broad, ample -shoulders, which his forbears had transmitted to him from generations -of hauling wood. - -He was heavy, awkward and ugly, resembling somewhat a great -draft-horse. But he pulled with a will, fended for himself, and within -the knowledge of men had never stolen a fish; so he had a high place -in the hearts of all the people of the Cove, and a safe one in their -estimation. - -"Skipper! Skipper! Here, b'y!" - -The ringing call, in the voice of Billy Topsail, never failed to bring -the dog from the kitchen with an eager rush, when the snow lay deep on -the rocks, and all the paths of the wilderness were ready for the sled. -He stood stock-still for the harness, and at the first "Hi, b'y! Gee up -there!" he bounded away with a wagging tail and a glad bark. It was as -if nothing pleased him so much on a frosty morning as the prospect of a -hard day's work. - -If the call came in summer-time when Skipper was dozing in the cool -shadow of a flake--a platform of boughs for drying fish--he scrambled -to his feet, took his clog[1] in his mouth and ran, all a-quiver for -what might come, to where young Billy waited. If the clog were taken -off, as it was almost sure to be, it meant sport in the water. Then -Skipper would paw the ground and whine until the stick was flung out -for him. But best of all he loved to dive for stones. - -At the peep of many a day, too, he went out in the punt to the -fishing-grounds with Billy Topsail, and there kept the lad good company -all the day long. It was because he sat on the little cuddy in the bow, -as if keeping a lookout ahead, that he was called Skipper. - -"Sure, 'tis a clever dog, that!" was Billy's boast. "He would save -life--that dog would!" - -This was proved beyond doubt when little Isaiah Tommy Goodman toddled -over the wharf-head, where he had been playing with a squid. Isaiah -Tommy was four years old, and would surely have been drowned had not -Skipper strolled down the wharf just at that moment. - -Skipper was obedient to the instinct of all Newfoundland dogs to -drag the sons of men from the water. He plunged in and caught Isaiah -Tommy by the collar of his pinafore. Still following his instinct, he -kept the child's head above water with powerful strokes of his fore -paws while he towed him to shore. Then the outcry which Isaiah Tommy -immediately set up brought his mother to complete the rescue. - -For this deed Skipper was petted for a day and a half, and fed with -fried caplin and salt pork, to his evident gratification. No doubt he -was persuaded that he had acted worthily. However that be, he continued -in merry moods, in affectionate behaviour, in honesty--although the -fish were even then drying on the flakes, all exposed--and he carried -his clog like a hero. - -"Skipper," Billy Topsail would ejaculate, "you _do_ be a clever dog!" - - * * * * * - -One day in the spring of the year, when high winds spring suddenly -from the land, Billy Topsail was fishing from the punt, the _Never -Give Up_, over the shallows off Molly's Head. It was "fish weather," -as the Ruddy Cove men say--gray, cold and misty. The harbour entrance -lay two miles to the southwest. The bluffs which marked it were hardly -discernible, for the mist hung thick off the shore. Four punts and a -skiff were bobbing half a mile farther out to sea, their crews fishing -with hook and line over the side. Thicker weather threatened and the -day was near spent. - -"'Tis time to be off home, b'y," said Billy to the dog. "'Tis getting -thick in the sou'west." - -Skipper stretched himself and wagged his tail. He had no word to say, -but Billy, who, like all fishermen in remote places, had formed the -habit of talking to himself, supplied the answer. - -"'Tis that, Billy, b'y," said he. "The punt's as much as one hand can -manage in a fair wind. An' 'tis a dead beat to the harbour now." - -Then Billy said a word for himself. "We'll put in for ballast. The -punt's too light for a gale." - -He sculled the punt to the little cove by the Head, and there loaded -her with rocks. Her sails, mainsail and tiny jib, were spread, and she -was pointed for Grassy Island, on the first leg of her beat into the -wind. By this time two other punts were under way, and the sails of -the skiff were fluttering as her crew prepared to beat home for the -night. The _Never Give Up_ was ahead of the fleet, and held her lead in -such fine fashion as made Billy Topsail's heart swell with pride. - -The wind had gained in force. It was sweeping down from the hills in -gusts. Now it fell to a breeze, and again it came swiftly with angry -strength. Nor could its advance be perceived, for the sea was choppy -and the bluffs shielded the inshore waters. - -"We'll fetch the harbour on the next tack," Billy muttered to Skipper, -who was whining in the bow. - -He put the steering oar hard alee to bring the punt about. A gust -caught the sails. The boat heeled before it, and her gunwale was under -water before Billy could make a move to save her. The wind forced her -down, pressing heavily upon the canvas. - -"Easy!" screamed Billy. - -But the ballast of the _Never Give Up_ shifted, and she toppled over. -Boy and dog were thrown into the sea--the one aft, the other forward. -Billy dived deep to escape entanglement with the rigging of the boat. -He had long ago learned the lesson that presence of mind wins half the -fight in perilous emergencies. The coward miserably perishes where the -brave man survives. With his courage leaping to meet his predicament, -he struck out for windward and rose to the surface. - -He looked about for the punt. She had been heavily weighted with -ballast, and he feared for her. What was he to do if she had been too -heavily weighted? Even as he looked she sank. She had righted under -water; the tip of the mast was the last he saw of her. - -The sea--cold, fretful, vast--lay all about him. The coast was half -a mile to windward; the punts, out to sea, were laboriously beating -towards him, and could make no greater speed. He had to choose between -the punts and the rocks. - -A whine--with a strange note in it--attracted his attention. The big -dog had caught sight of him, and was beating the water in a frantic -effort to approach quickly. But the dog had never whined like that -before. - -"Hi, Skipper!" Billy called. "Steady, b'y! Steady!" - -Billy took off his boots as fast as he could. The dog was coming -nearer, still whining strangely, and madly pawing the water. Billy was -mystified. What possessed the dog? It was as if he had been seized -with a fit of terror. Was he afraid of drowning? His eyes were fairly -flaring. Such a light had never been in them before. - -In the instant he had for speculation the boy lifted himself high in -the water and looked intently into the dog's eyes. It was terror he -saw in them; there could be no doubt about that, he thought. The dog -was afraid for his life. At once Billy was filled with dread. He could -not crush the feeling down. Afraid of Skipper--the old, affectionate -Skipper--his own dog, which he had reared from a puppy! It was absurd. - -But he _was_ afraid, nevertheless--and he was desperately afraid. - -"Back, b'y!" he cried. "Get back, sir!" - -FOOTNOTE: - -[1] In Newfoundland the law requires that all dogs shall be clogged as -a precaution against their killing sheep and goats which run wild. The -clog is in the form of a billet of wood, weighing at least seven and a -half pounds, and tied to the dog's neck. - - - - -CHAPTER II - - _Concerning the Behaviour of Billy Topsail and His Dog in - the Water When the Never Give Up Went to the Bottom, - and Closing With an Apology and a Wag of the Tail_ - - -IT chanced that Billy Topsail was a strong swimmer. He had learned to -swim where the water is cold--cold, often, as the icebergs stranded in -the harbour can make it. The water was bitter cold now; but he did not -fear it; nor did he doubt that he could accomplish the long swim which -lay before him. It was the unaccountable behaviour of the dog which -disturbed him--his failure in obedience, which could not be explained. -The dog was now within three yards, and excited past all reason. - -"Back, sir!" Billy screamed. "Get back with you!" - -Skipper was not deterred by the command. He did not so much as -hesitate. Billy raised his hand as if to strike him--a threatening -gesture which had sent Skipper home with his tail between his legs many -a time. But it had no effect now. - -"Get back!" Billy screamed again. - -It was plain that the dog was not to be bidden. Billy threw himself on -his back, supported himself with his hands and kicked at the dog with -his feet. - -[Illustration: BILLY RAISED HIS HAND AS IF TO STRIKE HIM.] - -Skipper was blinded by the splashing. He whined and held back. Then -blindly he came again. Billy moved slowly from him, head foremost, -still churning the water with his feet. But, swimming thus, he was -no match for the dog. With his head thrown back to escape the blows, -Skipper forged after him. He was struck in the jaws, in the throat, -and again in the jaws. But he pawed on, taking every blow without -complaint, and gaining inch by inch. Soon he was so close that the lad -could no longer move his feet freely. Then the dog chanced to catch one -foot with his paw, and forced it under. Billy could not beat him off. - -No longer opposed, the dog crept up--paw over paw, forcing the boy's -body lower and lower. His object was clear to Billy. Skipper, frenzied -by terror, the boy thought, would try to save himself by climbing on -his shoulders. - -"Skipper!" he cried. "You'll drown me! Get back!" - -The futility of attempting to command obedience from a crazy dog -struck Billy Topsail with force. He must act otherwise, and that -quickly, if he were to escape. There seemed to be but one thing to do. -He took a long breath and let himself sink--down--down--as deep as he -dared. Down--down--until he retained breath sufficient but to strike to -the right and rise again. - -The dog--as it was made known later--rose as high as he could force -himself, and looked about in every direction, with his mouth open and -his ears rigidly cocked. He gave two sharp barks, like sobs, and a -long, mournful whine. Then, as if acting upon sudden thought, he dived. - -For a moment nothing was to be seen of either boy or dog. There was -nothing but a choppy sea in that place. Men who were watching thought -that both had followed the _Never Give Up_ to the bottom. - -In the momentary respite under water Billy perceived that his situation -was desperate. He would rise, he was sure, but only to renew the -struggle. How long he could keep the dog off he could not tell. Until -the punts came down to his aid? He thought not. - -He came to the surface prepared to dive again. But Skipper had -disappeared. An ejaculation of thanksgiving was yet on the boy's lips -when the dog's black head rose and moved swiftly towards him. Billy had -a start of ten yards--or something more. - -He turned on his side and set off at top speed. There was no better -swimmer among the lads of the harbour. Was he a match for a powerful -Newfoundland dog? It was soon evident that he was not. - -Skipper gained rapidly. Billy felt a paw strike his foot. He put more -strength into his strokes. Next the paw struck the calf of his leg. -The dog was upon him now--pawing his back. Billy could not sustain the -weight. To escape, that he might take up the fight in another way, he -dived again. - -The dog was waiting when Billy came up--waiting eagerly, on the alert -to continue the chase. - -"Skipper, old fellow--good old dog!" Billy called in a soothing voice. -"Steady, sir! Down, sir--back!" - -The dog was not to be deceived. He came, by turns whining and gasping. -He was more excited, more determined, than ever. Billy waited for him. -The fight was to be face to face. The boy had determined to keep him -off with his hands until strength failed--to drown him if he could. -All love for the dog had gone out of his heart. The weeks of close and -merry companionship, of romps and rambles and sport, were forgotten. -Billy was fighting for life. So he waited without pity, hoping only -that his strength might last until he had conquered. - -When the dog was within reach Billy struck him in the face. A snarl and -an angry snap were the result. - -Rage seemed suddenly to possess the dog. He held back for a moment, -growling fiercely, and then attacked with a rush. Billy fought as best -he could, trying to clutch his enemy by the neck and to force his head -beneath the waves. The effort was vain; the dog eluded his grasp and -renewed the attack. In another moment he had laid his heavy paws on the -boy's shoulders. - -The weight was too much for Billy. Down he went; freed himself, and -struggled to the surface, gasping for breath. It appeared to him now -that he had but a moment to live. He felt his self-possession going -from him--and at that moment his ears caught the sound of a voice. - -"Put your arm----" - -The voice seemed to come from far away. Before the sentence was -completed, the dog's paws were again on Billy's shoulders and the water -stopped the boy's hearing. What were they calling to him? The thought -that some helping hand was near inspired him. With this new courage to -aid, he dived for the third time. The voice was nearer--clearer--when -he came up, and he heard every word. - -"Put your arm around his neck!" one man cried. - -"Catch him by the scruff of the neck!" cried another. - -Billy's self-possession returned. He would follow this direction. -Skipper swam anxiously to him. It may be that he wondered what this -new attitude meant. It may be that he hoped reason had returned to the -boy--that at last he would allow himself to be saved. Billy caught the -dog by the scruff of the neck when he was within arm's length. Skipper -wagged his tail and turned about. - -There was a brief pause, during which the faithful old dog determined -upon the direction he would take. He espied the punts, which had borne -down with all speed. Towards them he swam, and there was something -of pride in his mighty strokes, something of exultation in his whine. -Billy struck out with his free hand, and soon boy and dog were pulled -over the side of the nearest punt. - -Through it all, as Billy now knew, the dog had only wanted to save him. - - * * * * * - -That night Billy Topsail took Skipper aside for a long and confidential -talk. "Skipper," said he, "I beg your pardon. You see, I didn't know -what 'twas you wanted. I'm sorry I ever had a hard thought against you, -and I'm sorry I tried to drown you. When I thought you only wanted to -save yourself, 'twas Billy Topsail you were thinking of. When I thought -you wanted to climb atop of me, 'twas my collar you wanted to catch. -When I thought you wanted to bite me, 'twas a scolding you were giving -me for my foolishness. Skipper, b'y, honest, I beg your pardon. Next -time I'll know that all a Newfoundland dog wants is half a chance to -tow me ashore. And I'll give him a whole chance. But, Skipper, don't -you think you might have given me a chance to do something for myself?" - -At which Skipper wagged his tail. - - - - -CHAPTER III - - _Describing the Haunts and Habits of Devil-Fish and - Informing the Reader of Billy Topsail's Determination - to Make a Capture at all Hazards_ - - -WHEN the Minister of Justice for the colony of Newfoundland went away -from Ruddy Cove by the bay steamer, he chanced to leave an American -magazine at the home of Billy Topsail's father, where he had passed the -night. The magazine contained an illustrated article on the gigantic -species of cephalopods[2] popularly known as devil-fish. - -Billy Topsail did not know what a cephalopod was; but he did know a -squid when he saw its picture, for Ruddy Cove is a fishing harbour, and -he had caught many a thousand for bait. So when he found that to the -lay mind a squid and a cephalopod were one and the same, save in size, -he read the long article from beginning to end, doing the best he could -with the strange, long words. - -So interested was he that he read it again; and by that time he had -learned enough to surprise him, even to terrify him, notwithstanding -the writer's assurance that the power and ferocity of the creatures had -generally been exaggerated. - -He was a lad of sound common sense. He had never wholly doubted the -tales of desperate encounters with devil-fish, told in the harbour -these many years; for the various descriptions of how the long, -slimy arms had curled about the punts had rung too true to be quite -disbelieved; but he had considered them somewhat less credible than -certain wild yarns of shipwreck, and somewhat more credible than the -bedtime stories of mermaids which the grandmothers told the children of -the place. - -Here, however, in plain print, was described the capture of a giant -squid in a bay which lay beyond a point of land that Billy could see -from the window. - -That afternoon Billy put out in his leaky old punt to "jig" squid for -bait. He was so disgusted with the punt--so ashamed of the squat, -weather-worn, rotten cast-off--that he wished heartily for a new one -all the way to the grounds. The loss of the _Never Give Up_ had brought -him to humiliating depths. - -But when he had once joined the little fleet of boats, he cheerfully -threw his grapnel into Bobby Lot's punt and beckoned Bobby aboard. -Then, as together they drew the writhing-armed, squirting little squids -from the water, he told of the "big squids" which lurked in the deep -water beyond the harbour; and all the time Bobby opened his eyes wider -and wider. - -"Is they just like squids?" Bobby asked. - -"But bigger," answered Billy. "Their bodies is so big as hogsheads. -Their arms is thirty-five feet long." - -Bobby picked a squid from the heap in the bottom of the boat. It had -instinctively turned from a reddish-brown to a livid green, the colour -of sea-water; indeed, had it been in the water, its enemy would have -had hard work to see it. - -He handled it gingerly; but the ugly little creature managed somehow to -twine its slender arms about his hand, and swiftly to take hold with a -dozen cup-like suckers. The boy uttered an exclamation of disgust, and -shook it off. Then he shuddered, laughed at himself, shuddered again. A -moment later he chose a dead squid for examination. - -"Leave us look at it close," said he. "Then we'll know what a real -devil-fish is like. Sure, I've been wantin' to know that for a long, -long time." - -They observed the long, cylindrical body, flabby and cold, with the -broad, flap-like tail attached. The head was repulsively ugly--perhaps -because of the eyes, which were disproportionately large, brilliant, -and, in the live squid, ferocious. - -A group of arms--two long, slender, tentacular arms, and eight -shorter, thicker ones--projected from the region of the mouth, which, -indeed, was set in the centre of the ring they formed at the roots. -They were equipped with innumerable little suckers, were flexible and -active, and as long as the head, body and tail put together. - -Closer examination revealed that there was a horny beak, like a -parrot's, in the mouth, and that on the under side of the head was a -curious tube-like structure. - -"Oh, that's his squirter!" Billy explained. "When he wants to back up -he points that forward, and squirts out water so hard as he can; and -when he wants to go ahead he points it backward, and does the same -thing. That's where his ink comes from, too, when he wants to make the -water so dirty nobody can see him." - -"What does he do with his beak?" - -"When he gets his food in his arms he bites out pieces with his beak. -He hasn't any teeth; but he's got something just as good--a tongue like -a rasp." - -"I wouldn't like to be cotched by a squid as big as a hogshead," Bobby -remarked, timidly. - -"Hut!" said Billy, grimly. "He'd make short work o' _you_! Why, b'y, -they weighs half a ton apiece! I isn't much afraid, though," he added. -"They're only squid. Afore I read about them in the book I used to -think they was worse than they is--terrible ghostlike things. But -they're no worse than squids, only bigger, and----" - -"They're bad enough for _me_," Bobby interrupted. - -"And," Billy concluded, "they only comes up in the night or when -they're sore wounded and dyin'." - -"I'm not goin' out at night, if I can help it," said Bobby, with a -canny shake of the head. - -"If they was a big squid come up the harbour to your house," said -Billy, after a pause, "and got close to the rock, he could put one o' -they two long arms in your bedroom window, and----" - -"'Tis in the attic!" - -"Never mind that. He could put it in the window and feel around for -your bed, and twist that arm around you, and----" - -"I'd cut it off!" - -"Anyhow, that's how long they is. And if he knowed you was there, and -wanted you, he could get you. But I'm not so sure that he _would_ want -you. He couldn't see you, anyhow; and if he could, he'd rather have a -good fat salmon." - -Bobby shuddered as he looked at the tiny squid in his hand, and thought -of the dreadful possibilities in one a thousand times as big. - -"You leave them alone, and they'll leave you alone," Billy went on. -"But if you once make them mad, they can dart their arms out like -lightning. 'Tis time to get, then!" - -"I'm goin' to keep an axe in my punt after this," said Bobby, "and if I -sees an arm slippin' out of the water----" - -"'Tis as big as your thigh!" cried Billy. - -"Never mind. If I sees it I'll be able to cut it off." - -"If I sees one," said Billy, "I'm goin' to cotch it. It said in the -book that they was worth a lot to some people. And if I can sell mine -I'm goin' to have a new punt." - -But although Bobby Lot and Billy Topsail kept a sharp lookout for giant -squids wherever they went, they were not rewarded. There was not so -much as a sign of one. By and by, so bold did they become, they hunted -for one in the twilight of summer days, even daring to pry into the -deepest coves and holes in the Ruddy Cove rocks. - -Notwithstanding the ridicule he had to meet, Bobby never ventured out -in the punt without a sharp axe. He could not tell what time he would -need it, he said; and thus he formed the habit of making sure that it -was in its place before casting off from the wharf. - -As autumn drew near they found other things to think of; the big squids -passed out of mind altogether. - -"Wonderful queer," Billy said, long afterwards, "how things happen when -you isn't expectin' them!" - -FOOTNOTE: - -[2] "The early literature of natural history has, from very remote -times, contained allusions to huge species of cephalopods, often -accompanied by more or less fabulous and usually exaggerated -descriptions of the creatures. . . . The description of the 'poulpe,' -or devil-fish, by Victor Hugo, in 'Toilers of the Sea,' with which so -many readers are familiar, is quite as fabulous and unreal as any of -the earlier accounts, and even more bizarre. . . . Special attention -has only recently been called to the frequent occurrence of these 'big -squids,' as our fishermen call them, in the waters of Newfoundland and -the adjacent coasts. . . . I have been informed by many other fishermen -that the 'big squids' are occasionally taken on the Grand Banks and -used for bait. Nearly all the specimens hitherto taken appear to have -been more or less disabled when first observed, otherwise they probably -would not appear at the surface in the daytime. From the fact that -they have mostly come ashore in the night, I infer that they inhabit -chiefly the very deep and cold fiords of Newfoundland, and come to -the surface only in the night."--From the "Report on the Cephalopods -of the Northeastern Coast of America," by A. E. Verrill. Extracted -from a report of the Commissioner of Fish and Fisheries, issued by the -Government Printing Office at Washington. In this report twenty-five -specimens of the large species taken in Newfoundland are described in -detail. - - - - -CHAPTER IV - - _Recounting the Adventure of the Giant Squid of Chain - Tickle, in Which the Punt Gets in the Grip of a - Gigantic Tentacle and Billy Topsail Strikes With an - Axe_ - - -ONE day late in September--it was near evening of a gray day--Billy -Topsail and Bobby Lot were returning in Bobby's punt from Birds' Nest -Islands, whither they had gone to hunt a group of seals, reported -to have taken up a temporary residence there. They had a mighty, -muzzle-loading, flintlock gun; and they were so delighted with the -noise it made that they had exhausted their scanty provision of powder -and lead long before the seals were in sight. - -They had taken the shortest way home. It lay past Chain Hole, a small, -landlocked basin, very deep, with a narrow entrance, which was shallow -at low tide. The entrance opened into a broad bay, and was called Chain -Tickle. - -"What's that in the tickle?" Billy exclaimed, as they were rowing past. - -It was a black object, apparently floating quietly on the surface of -the water. The boys gazed at it for a long time, but could make nothing -of it. They were completely puzzled. - -"'Tis a small bit o' wreck, I'm thinkin'," said Bobby. "Leave us row -close and see." - -"Maybe 'tis a capsized punt." - -When they were within about thirty yards of the object they lay on -their oars. For some unaccountable reason they did not care to venture -nearer. Twilight was then fast approaching. The light was already -beginning to fail. - -"'Tis a wonderful queer thing!" Billy muttered, his curiosity getting -the better of him. "Row ahead, Bobby. We'll go alongside." - -"They's something movin' on it!" Bobby whispered, as he let his oars -fall in the water. "Look! They's two queer, big, round spots on it--big -as plates." - -Billy thought he saw the whole object move. He watched it closely. It -_did_ stir! It was some living thing, then. But what? A whale? - -A long, snakelike arm was lifted out of the water. It swayed this way -and that, darted here and there, and fell back with a splash. The -moving spots, now plainly gigantic eyes, glittered. - -"'Tis the devil-fish!" screamed Bobby. - -Another arm was lifted up, then a third and a fourth and a fifth. The -monster began to lash the water--faster and yet more furiously--until -the tickle was heaving and frothy, and the whole neighbourhood was in -an uproar. - -"Pull! Pull!" cried Bobby. - -Billy, too, was in a panic. They turned the head of the punt and pulled -with all their might. The water swirled in the wake of the boat. -Perceiving, however, that the squid made no effort to follow, they got -the better of their fright Then they lay on their oars to watch the -monster. - -They wondered why it still lay in the tickle, why it so furiously -lashed the water with its arms and great tail. It was Bobby who solved -the mystery. - -"'Tis aground," said he. - -That was evidently the situation. The squid had been caught in the -shallow tickle when the tide, which ran swiftly at that point, was -on the ebb. The boys took courage. Their curiosity still further -emboldened them. So once more they turned the punt about and pulled -cautiously towards the tickle. - -There was less light than before, but still sufficient to disclose the -baleful eyes and writhing arms of the squid when the boat was yet a -safe distance away. One by one the arms fell back into the water, as if -from exhaustion; slowly the beating of the tail subsided. After a time -all sound and motion ceased. The boys waited for some further sign of -life, but none came. The squid was still, as if dead. - -"Sure, he's dead now," said Billy. "Leave us pull close up." - -"Oh, no, b'y! He's but makin' believe." - -But Billy thought otherwise. "I wants that squid," he said, in a dogged -way, "and I'm goin' to have him. I'll sell him and get a new punt." - -Bobby protested in vain. Nothing would content Billy Topsail but the -possession of the big squid's body. Bobby pointed out that if the long, -powerful arms were once laid on the boat there would be no escape. He -recalled to Billy the harbour story of the horrible death of Zachariah -North, who, as report said, had been pursued, captured and pulled under -water by a devil-fish in Gander Bay.[3] - -It was all to no purpose, however, for Billy obstinately declared that -he would make sure of the squid before the tide turned. He admitted -a slight risk, but he wanted a new punt, and he was willing to risk -something to obtain it. - -[Illustration: THEN LIKE A FLASH IT SHOT TOWARD THE BOAT.] - -He proposed to put Bobby ashore, and approach the squid alone; but -Bobby would not listen. Two hands might be needed in the boat, he said. -What if the squid were alive, after all? What if it laid hold of the -punt? In that event, two hands would surely be needed. - -"I'll go," he said. "But leave us pull slow. And if we sees so much as -a wink of his eye we'll pull away." - -They rowed nearer, with great caution. Billy was in the bow of the -boat. It was he who had the axe. Bobby, seated amidships, faced the -bow. It was he who did the rowing. - -The squid was quiet. There was not a sign of life about it. Billy -estimated the length of its body, from the beak to the point of the -tail, as twenty feet, the circumference as "the size of a hogshead." -Its tentacular arms, he determined, must be at least thirty-five feet -long; and when the boat came within that distance he shuddered. - -"Is you sure he's dead?" Bobby whispered, weakly. - -"I don't know!" Billy answered, in a gasp. "I thinks so." - -Bobby dropped the oars and stepped to the bow of the punt. The boat -lost way and came to a stop within twenty feet of the squid. Still -there was no sign of life. - -The boys stared at the great, still body, lying quiet in the gathering -dusk and haze. Neither seemed to feel the slight trembling of the boat -that might have warned them. Not a word was spoken until Billy, in a -whisper, directed Bobby to pull the boat a few feet nearer. - -"But we're movin' already," he added, in a puzzled way. - -The boat was very slowly approaching the squid. The motion was hardly -perceptible, but it was real. - -"'Tis queer!" said Bobby. - -He turned to take up the oars. What he saw lying over the port gunwale -of the boat made him gasp, grip Billy's wrist and utter a scream of -terror! - -"We're cotched!" - -The squid had fastened one of its tentacles to the punt. The other was -poised above the stern, ready to fall and fix its suckers. The onward -movement of the punt was explained. - -Billy knew the danger, but he was not so terrified as to be incapable -of action. He was about to spring to the stem to strike off the -tentacle that already lay over the gunwale; but as he looked down to -choose his step he saw that one of the eight powerful arms was slowly -creeping over the starboard bow. - -He struck at that arm with all his might, missed, wrenched the axe from -the gunwale, and struck true. The mutilated arm was withdrawn. Billy -leaped to the stern, vaguely conscious in passing that another arm was -creeping from the water. He severed the first tentacle with one blow. -When he turned to strike the second it had disappeared; so, too, had -the second arm. The boat seemed to be free, but it was still within -grasp. - -In the meantime the squid had awakened to furious activity. It was -lashing the water with arms and tail, angrily snapping its great beak -and ejecting streams of black water from its siphon-tube. The water was -violently agitated and covered with a black froth. - -In this the creature manifested fear and distress. Had it not been -aground it would have backed swiftly into the deep water of the basin. -But, as if finding itself at bay, it lifted its uninjured tentacle high -above the boat. Billy made ready to strike. - -By this time Bobby had mastered his terror. While Billy stood with -uplifted axe, his eyes fixed on the waving tentacle overhead, Billy -heaved mightily on the oars. The boat slowly drew away from that highly -dangerous neighbourhood. In a moment it was beyond reach of the arms, -but still, apparently, within reach of the tentacle. The tentacle was -withdrawn a short distance; then like a flash it shot towards the boat, -writhing as it came. - -Billy struck blindly--and struck nothing. The tentacle had fallen -short. The boat was out of danger! - - * * * * * - -But still Billy Topsail was determined to have the body of the squid. -Notwithstanding Bobby's pleading and protestation, he would not abandon -his purpose. He was only the more grimly bent on achieving it. Bobby -would not hear of again approaching nearer than the boat then floated, -nor did Billy think it advisable. But it occurred to Bobby that they -might land, and approach the squid from behind. If they could draw near -enough, he said, they could cast the grapnel on the squid's back, and -moor it to a tree ashore. - -"Sure," he said, excitedly, "you can pick up a squid from behind, and -it can't touch you with its arms! It won't be able to see us, and it -won't be able to reach us." - -So they landed. Billy carried the grapnel, which was attached to twelve -fathoms of line. It had six prongs, and each prong was barbed. - -A low cliff at the edge of the tickle favoured the plan. The squid lay -below, and some twenty feet out from the rock. It was merely a question -of whether or not Billy was strong enough to throw the grapnel so far. -They tied the end of the line to a stout shrub. Billy cast the grapnel, -and it was a strong, true cast. The iron fell fair on the squid's back. -It was a capture. - -"That means a new punt for me," said Billy, quietly. "The tide'll not -carry _that_ devil-fish away." - -"And now," Bobby pleaded, "leave us make haste home, for 'tis growin' -wonderful dark--and--and there might be another somewhere." - -So that is how one of the largest specimens of _Architeuthis -princeps_--enumerated in Prof. John Adam Wright's latest monograph on -the cephalopods of North America as the "Chain Tickle specimen"--was -captured. And that is how Billy Topsail fairly won a new punt; for when -Doctor Marvey, the curator of the Public Museum at St. John's--who is -deeply interested in the study of the giant squids--came to Ruddy Cove -to make photographs and take measurements, in response to a message -from Billy's father, he rewarded the lad. - -FOOTNOTE: - -[3] Stories of this kind, of which there are many, are doubted by the -authorities, who have found it impossible to authenticate a single -instance of unprovoked attack. - - - - -CHAPTER V - - _On the Face of the Cliff: Wherein Billy Topsail Gets - Lost in a Perilous Place and Sits Down to Recover His - Composure_ - - -IN summer, when there chanced to be no fish, or when no bait was to -be had, and the fish were not to be jigged, Billy Topsail had idle -time, which he was not slow to improve for his own amusement. Often -he wandered on the cliffs and heads near the harbour--not always for -gulls' eggs: sometimes for sheer love of the sky and space and sunlit -air. Once, being bound for Breakheart Head, to watch the waves beat on -the rocks below, he came across old Arch Butt. - -"Wonderful sea outside," said the old fisherman. "Wonderful sea, Billy. -'Tis as big a tumble as ever I seed stirred up in a night." - -"An' you'll not be takin' the punt t' the grounds?" Billy asked, in -surprise. - -"I'm not able, lad. 'Tis too much for any paddle-punt. Sure, the sea's -breakin' right across the tickle. 'Tis so much as a man's life is worth -t' try t' run out." - -"Isn't you got a salmon net off Shag Rock?" - -"I is that," Arch answered; "an' I'm wantin' bad t' get to it. 'Tis set -off the point of Shag Rock, an' I'm thinkin' the sea will wreck it, for -'tis a wonderful tumble, indeed. 'Tis like I'll not be able t' get out -afore to-morrow mornin', but I'm hopin' I will." - -"An' I hopes you may, Skipper Arch," said Billy. - -It was a fine wish, born of the fresh breeze and brightness of the -day--a word let drop from a heart full of good feeling for all the -world: nothing more. Yet within a few hours Billy Topsail's life hung -upon the possibility of its fulfillment. - -"Ay," he repeated, "I hopes you may." - -Billy Topsail followed the rocky road to the Bath Tub, climbed the -Lookout, and descended the rough declivity beyond to the edge of the -sea, meanwhile lifted to a joyous mood by the sunlight and wind and -cloudless sky. Indeed, he was not sorry he had come; the grim cliffs -and the jagged masses of rock lying at their feet--the thunder and -froth where sea met rock--the breaking, flashing water to seaward; -all this delighted him then, and were not soon forgotten. Best of -all, the third submerged rock off Shag Cliff--the rock they call the -Tombstone--was breaking; the greater waves there leaped into the air -in fountains of froth. - -"I 'low I'll get closer t' the Tombstone," thought he. - -Thus he was led along the coast to the foot of Shag Cliff. It was a -hard climb, in which hands and feet were both concerned. There were -chasms to leap, sharp points to round, great rocks to scale, narrow -ledges to pass over on the toes of his boots; and all the while the -breakers were crashing and foaming below him, and now and again -splashing him with spray. - -Had the day been drear, it may be he would not have ventured so far; -but the sun was out, the day long, the gulls quietly soaring over the -sea, and on he went, giving no thought whatever to his return. - -Once under the cliff, he ventured farther. Detached from it, there lies -Nanny's Rock, which must long ago have fallen from above; the breakers -surrounded but did not sweep it when they rose and broke. - -His wish to lie there in the sunshine, with the blue sky above him and -the noise of the water in his ears, led him to dash across the dripping -space between when the wave fell back, even though he must scramble -out of the way of the returning water. - -In a few minutes he was deep in an enchanting day-dream, which, to his -subsequent peril, soon changed to sleep. - -The tide was rising. A few drops of spray, falling upon his face from a -great breaker, awoke him. On the instant he was wide awake and looking -desperately about. Then he laughed to think that the breakers were -reaching for him--that they would have had him fast in the trap had he -slept much longer; for, in a glance, he thought he had made sure that -his escape from the rock was not yet cut off. But his laugh was touched -with some embarrassment when he found, upon trial, that the sea had -blocked the path by which he had reached the foot of Shag Cliff. - -"I must go 'tother way," he thought. - -There was no other way; to right and to left the sea was breaking -against overhanging juts of rock. He could pass from jut to jut, but he -could round neither. - -"Sure, I'll be late for dinner," he thought; "an' dad won't like it." - -It was all very well to exclaim vexatiously, but he was forced to -abandon the hope of returning by way of the foot of the cliffs. The -tide had cut him off. - -"I'll scale Shag Cliff," he determined. - -He was not alarmed; the situation was awkward, but it promised the -excitement of an adventure, and for a time he was rather glad that he -had fallen asleep. To scale the two hundred feet of Shag Cliff--that -was something to achieve! His father would say that he was "narvy," and -forget that he had kept him from his dinner. Scale Shag Cliff, by all -means! - -He knew well enough that he had but to seek higher ground and wait for -the tide to fall, if he wanted an unexciting return; but it pleased him -to make believe that his situation was desperate--that the rising water -would overwhelm him if he did not escape over the brow of the cliff: an -indulgence which his imagination did not need half an hour later. When -he looked up, however, to choose a path of ascent, he found that, from -where he stood, close against the cliff at the base, there seemed to be -no path at all. - -"I 'low I'll have t' go back t' Nanny's Rock for a better squint," he -told himself. - -Back to Nanny's Rock he went, at no small risk, for the occasional -flow of foam, which had cut it off from the mainland when first he -crossed, had swollen to a strait of some depth and strength. He must -make the leap, but he dreaded it. There was a moment of terror when his -foot slipped, and he came near falling back into the very claws of the -breaker which followed him; on that account, perhaps, his survey of -the face of the cliff was a hurried one, and his return to safe ground -precipitate and somewhat flurried. - -He had seen enough, however, to persuade him that the ascent would be -comparatively easy for at least a hundred feet, and that, for the rest -of the way, it would not, probably, be much more difficult. - -In point of fact, he knew nothing whatever of what lay beyond the first -hundred feet. But the element of probability, or rather improbability, -did not disconcert him. He could at least make a start. - -If you have ever climbed about a rocky sea-coast, you will know -that an ascent may be comparatively simple where a descent is quite -impracticable; you will know that the unwary may of a sudden reach -a point where to continue the climb is a nauseating necessity. -There are times when one regrets the courage that led him into his -difficulty--the courage or the carelessness, as the case may be. - -Experience had long ago taught Billy Topsail that; but the lesson had -not been severe--there had been no gulf behind him; the whip of life or -death had not urged him on. Indeed, he had never attempted a climb of -such height and ugly possibilities in the way of blind leads as Shag -Cliff, else possibly he should not have made the start with a sense of -adventure so inspiring. - -Up he went--up and still up, his cheeks glowing, his nerves pleasurably -tingling! Up--up and still up, until he could hear the whiz of gulls' -wings near him, and the feeling of space below began to try his nerves. -At last he stopped to rest and look about. Down deep lay the breakers, -so far off, it seemed, that he marvelled he could hear the roar and -crash so distinctly. - -"An' they says 'tis a hundred feet!" thought he. "Hut! 'Tis two hundred -if 'tis an inch. An' I isn't but half way up!" - -Beyond that point his difficulties began. The cliff was bolder; it was -almost bare of those little ledges and crevices and projections upon -which the cliff-climber depends for handhold and foothold. Moreover, -the path was interrupted from time to time by sheer or overhanging -rock. When he came to these impassable places, of course, he turned to -right or left, content with his progress if only he mounted higher and -higher. Thus he strayed far off the path he had picked out from Nanny's -Rock; indeed, he was climbing blindly, a thoughtless course, for--had -he but stopped to think--there was no knowing that the cliff did not -overhang at the end of the way he had taken. - -Meanwhile, time was passing. He had climbed with such caution, retraced -his steps, changed his course so often that noon was long past. So when -next he came to a roomy ledge he sat down to rest before proceeding -farther. - -"Wonderful queer!" he thought, after a look about. "But where is I?" - -It was a puzzling question. The cliff, projecting below him, cut off -his view of the breakers; and the rock above, which came to an end in -blue sky, was of course unfamiliar. At what part of Shag Rock he then -was he could not tell. - - - - -CHAPTER VI - - _In Which Billy Topsail Loses His Nerve. Wherein, also, - the Wings of Gulls Seem to Brush Past_ - - -"WONDERFUL queer!" thought Billy Topsail. "Lost on a cliff! 'Tis the -queerest thing I ever knowed." - -But that was Billy's case. - -"I 'low," he concluded, at last, "that I'd better be goin' up instead -o' down." - -It did not appear that he would be unable to go down; the way up was -the shorter way, that was all. Nevertheless, his feeling of security -was pretty well shaken when he again began to climb. His grip was -tighter, his shrinking from the depths stronger and more frequent; in -fact, he hugged the rock more than was good for him. - -He knew the symptom for an alarming one--it turned him faint when first -he recognized it--and he tried to fix his attention upon the effort to -climb higher. But now and again the fear of the space behind and below -would creep in. Reason told him that the better part was to return; -but he was in no condition to listen to reason. His whole desire--it -was fast becoming frantic--was to crawl over the brow of the cliff and -be safe. - -But where was the brow of the cliff? It seemed to him that he had -climbed a thousand feet. - -A few minutes later he caught sight of a shrub; then he knew that he -was within a few feet of the end of the climb. The shrub--a stunted -spruce, which he had good reason to remember--was to his right, peeping -round a projection of rock. - -He was then on a ledge, with good foothold and good handhold; and a way -of return to the shore lay open to him. By craning his neck he made out -that if he could pass that projection he would reach shelving, broken -rock, and be safe. Then he studied the face of the rocks between--a -space of some six feet. - -There was foothold there, midway, but he shrank from attempting to -reach it. He had never thought in his life to try so perilous a -passage. A survey of the course of a body falling from that point was -almost more than he could support. Nevertheless, strange as it may -seem, the waving shrub tempted him to risk something more to end his -suspense. He summoned courage enough to stretch out his right foot and -search with his right hand for a hold. - -Unfortunately, he found both--a ledge for his foot and a crevice for -his fingers. - -He drew himself over. It took courage and strength, for it was a long -stretch. Had he been cramped for room, had he not been free to move -at the starting-point, he could not have managed it. But there he -was--both feet on a ledge as wide as his feet were long, both hands -with a comfortable grip on solid rock. He shuffled along until he came -to the end of the ledge. - -His last obstacle now lay before him. He must round the projection -which divided him from the broken, shelving rock beyond. Had he -foreseen the slightest difficulty he would not have gone so far. So, -with confidence, he sought a foothold for his right foot--a crevice for -the fingers of his right hand. - -And he tried again, with confidence unshaken; again, with patience; -again, with rising fear. There was no hold; the passage was -impracticable. There was nothing for it but to return. - -So he shuffled back to the other end of the ledge. Then, keenly -regretting the necessity of return, he sought a foothold for his left -foot--a crevice for the fingers of his left hand. He tried again, in -some wonder; again, with a rush of fear; again, in abject terror. - -To his horror, he found that he could not return. From the narrow ledge -it was impossible to pass to the wider, although it had been possible -to pass from the wider to the narrow. For an instant he was on the -point of toppling back; but he let his body fall forward against the -face of the cliff, and there he rested, gripping the rock with both -hands until the faintness passed. - -The situation was quite plain to him. He was standing on a ledge, as -wide as his feet were long, some two or three hundred feet above the -sea; his face was to the cliff, and he could neither sit down nor turn -round. There he must stand until--who could tell? In what way could -relief come to him? Who was to see? Who could hear his cries for help? -No fishermen were on the grounds--no punts were out of the harbour; the -sea was too high for that, as he had been told. - -There was only one answer to his question. He must stand until--he -fell. - -"Yes," he was courageous enough to admit calmly, "I 'low I got t' go." - -That once admitted, his terror of that space behind and below in some -measure departed. The sun was still shining; the sky--as he knew, for -he could catch a glimpse of it on each side--was still blue. But soon -he began to think of the night; then his terror returned--not of the -present moment, but of the hours of darkness approaching. - -Could he endure until night? He thought not. His position was awkward. -Surely his strength would wear out--his hands weaken, although the -strain upon them was slight; his legs give way. - -Of course he followed the natural impulse to cling to his life as long -as he could. Thus, while the afternoon dragged along and the dusk -approached, he stood on the face of the cliff, waiting for the moment -when his weakening strength would fail and he would fall to his death. - -"In an hour," he thought; soon it was, "In half an hour." - -Before that last half-hour had passed he felt something brush past -his back. It frightened him. What was it? Again he felt it. Again it -startled and frightened him. Then he felt it no more for a time, and he -was glad of that. He was too dull, perhaps, to dwell upon the mystery -of that touch. It passed from his mind. Soon he felt it for the third -time. Was it a wing? He wondered, too, if he had not heard a voice; for -it seemed to him that some one had hailed him. - -When next he heard the sound, he knew that his name had been called. -He looked up. A rope was hanging over the brow of the cliff, sweeping -slowly towards him. He could see it, although the light was failing. -When it came near he extended his right hand behind him and caught it, -then gave it a tug, in signal to those above that the search was ended. -Painfully, slowly, for his situation was none too secure, he encircled -his waist with that stout rope, lashed it fast, shouted, "Haul away!" -and fainted. - - * * * * * - -When Billy Topsail came to his senses, it was to find himself lying -on the moss, with old Arch, the skipper, leaning over him, and half a -dozen fishermen gathered round. - -"So you did get out to the salmon net?" he muttered. - -"Aye," said Arch; "'twas I that seed you hangin' there. Sure, if I -hadn't had my net set off Shag Rock, and if I hadn't got through the -tickle to see if 'twas all right, and if----" - -Billy shuddered. - - - - -CHAPTER VII - - _In Which Billy Topsail Hears the Fur Trader's Story of a - Jigger and a Cake of Ice in the Wind_ - - -"WOULDN'T think I'd been born on Cherry Hill, would you, now?" said the -man with the fur cap. - -The stranger had been landed at Ruddy Cove from Fortune Harbour. He -had been in the far north, he said; and he was now waiting for the -mail-boat to take him south. Billy Topsail and the lads of Ruddy Cove -cocked their ears for a yarn. - -"Fact!" said he, with a nod. "That's where I was born and bred. And do -you know how I come to be away up here? No? Well, I'm a fur trader. I'm -the man that bought the skin of that silver fox last winter for thirty -dollars and sold it for two hundred and fifty. I'd rather be the man -that bought it from me and sold it in London for six hundred. But I'm -not." - -"And you're bound for home, now?" the old skipper asked. - -"Yes," he drawled. "I'm bound home for New York to see the folks. I've -been away six years, and came nearer to leaving my bones up here in the -north last spring than ever I did before. I've done some travelling in -my time. You can take me at my word; I have." - -The trader laughed uproariously. He was in a voluble mood. The old -skipper knew that he needed but little encouragement to tell the story -of his escape. - -"It makes me think about that old riddle of the corked bottle," he -said. "Ever hear it? This is it: If you had a bottle of ginger ale, how -would you get the stuff out without breaking the bottle or drawing the -cork? Can you answer that?" - -"The answer doesn't strike me," said the skipper. - -"That's just it," the trader burst out. "The way to do it doesn't -'strike you.' But if you had the bottle in your hands now and wanted -the ginger ale, it would 'strike' you fast enough to push the cork -in. Well, that was my case. You think of yourself on a little pan of -ice, drifting straight out to sea with a strong offshore wind, water -all round you and no paddle--just think of yourself in that case, -and a way of getting ashore might not 'strike' you. But once you're -there--once you're right on that pan of ice, with the hand of death on -your collar--you'll think like lightning of all the things you can do. -Yes, that was my case." - -The listeners said nothing to interrupt the stocky, hard-featured, -ill-clad little man while he mused. - -"'Don't you be fool enough to try to cross the bay this evening,' says -I to myself," he went on. - -"But I'm a hundred-mile man, and I'd gone my hundred miles. I can -carry grub on my back to last me just that far; and my grub was out. -From what I knew of winds and ice, I judged that the ice would be -four or five miles out to sea by dawn of the next day. So I didn't -start out with the idea that the trip would be as easy as a promenade -over Brooklyn Bridge of a moonlight night. Oh, no! I knew what I was -doing. But it was a question of taking the risk or dragging myself into -the settlement at Racquet Harbour in three days' time as lean as a -car-horse from starvation. You see, it was forty miles round that bay -and four across; and--my grub was out. Many a man loses his life in -these parts by looking at the question in just that way. - -[Illustration: "JUMPED LIKE A STAG FOR THE SECOND PAN."] - -"'Oh, no!' says I to myself. 'You'd much better take your chance of -starving, and walk round.' - -"It wasn't in human nature, though, to do it. Not when I knew that -there was grub and a warm fire waiting for me at Racquet Harbour. Says -I, 'I'll take the long chance and stand to win.' Don't you run away -with the idea that the ice was a level field stretching from shore to -shore, fitting the rocks, and kept as neat as a baseball diamond. It -wasn't. Some day in the winter the wind had jammed the bay full of big -rough chunks--they call them pans in this country--and the frost had -stuck them all together. When the spring came, of course the sun began -to melt that glue, and the whole floe was just ready to fall apart when -I had the bad luck to make the coast. I was a day too late. I knew it. -And I knew that the offshore wind would sweep the ice to sea the minute -it broke up. - -"I made the first hundred yards in ten minutes; the second in fifteen -more. In half an hour I'd made half a mile. The ice was rough enough -and flimsy enough to take the nerve out of any man. But that wasn't the -worst; the worst was that there were hundreds of holes covered with -a thin crust of snow--all right to look at, but treacherous. I knew -that if I made the mistake of stepping on a crust instead of solid ice, -I'd go through and down. - -"I had four otter skins, some martens and ten fine fox skins in the -pack on my back. To do anything in the water with that handicap was -too much for me. So I wasn't at all particular about making time until -I found that the night would catch me if I didn't wag along a little -faster. - -"No, sir!" the trader said. "I didn't want to be caught out there in -the dark. - -"By good luck, I struck some big pans about half-way over. Then I took -to a dog-trot, and left the yards behind me in a way that cheered me -up. Just before dusk I got near enough to the other side to feel proud -of myself, and I began to think of what a fool I'd have been if I'd -taken the shore route. A minute later I changed my mind. I felt the -pack moving! Well, in a flash I said good-bye to Cherry Hill and the -boys. Not many men are caught twice in a place like that. They never -have the second chance. - -"There I was, aboard a rotten floe and bound out to the big, lonely -ocean at the rate of four miles an hour. - -"'Oh, you might as well get ready to go, Jim,' thinks I. But I didn't -give up. I loped along shoreward in a way that didn't take snow crust -or air-holes into account. And I made the edge of the floe before the -black hours of the night had come. - -"There was a couple of hundred yards of cold water between me and the -shore. - -"'This is the time you think more of your life than your fur,' thinks I. - -"There was a stray pan or two--little rafts of things--lying off the -edge of the floe; and beyond them, scattered between the shore and me, -half a dozen other pans were floating. How to get from one to the other -was the puzzle. They were fifty or sixty yards apart, most of them, -and I had no paddle. It was foolish to think of making a shift with my -jacket for a sail; the wind was out, not in, and I had no rudder. - -"What had I? Nothing that I could think of. It didn't _strike_ me, as -you say. I wish it had. - -"'Anyhow,' says I to myself, 'I'll get as far as I can.' - -"It was a short leap from the floe to the first pan. I made it easily. -The second pan was farther off, but I thought I could jump the water -between. So I took off my pack and threw it on the ice beside me. It -almost broke my heart to do it, for I'd walked five hundred miles in -the dead of winter for that fur; I'd been nearly starved and frozen, -and I'd paid out hard-earned money. I put down my pack, took a short -run, and jumped like a stag for the second pan. - -"I landed on the spot I'd picked out. I can't complain of missing the -mark, but instead of stopping there, I shot clear through and down into -the water. - -"Surprised? I was worse than that. I was dead scared. For a minute I -thought I was going to rise under the ice and drown right there. - -"How it happened I don't know; but I came up between the pans, and -struck out for the one I'd left. I got to the pan, all right, and -climbed aboard. There I was, on a little pan of ice, beyond reach of -the floe and leaving the shore behind me, and cold and pretty well -discouraged. - -"There's the riddle of the corked bottle," said the trader, -interrupting his narrative. "Now how do I happen to be sitting here?" - -"I'm sure I can't tell," said the skipper. - -"No more you should," said he, "for you don't know what I carried in my -pack. But you see I had the bottle in my hands, and I wanted the ginger -ale bad; so I thought fast and hard. - -"It struck me that I might do something with my line and jigger.[4] -Don't you see the chance the barbed steel hooks and the forty fathom of -line gave me? When I thought of that jigger I felt just like the man -who is told to push the cork in when he can't draw it out. I'd got back -to the pan where I'd thrown down my pack, you know; so there was the -jigger, right at hand. - -"It was getting dark by this time--getting dark fast, and the pans were -drifting farther and farther apart. - -"It was easy to hook the jigger in the nearest pan and draw my pan over -to it; for that pan was five times the weight of the one I was on. The -one beyond was about the same size; they came together at the half-way -point. Of course this took time. I could hardly see the shore then, and -it struck me that I might not be able to find it at all, when I came -near enough to cast my jigger for it. - -"About fifty yards off was a big pan. I swung the jigger round and -round and suddenly let the line shoot through my fingers. When I hauled -it in the jigger came too, for it hadn't taken hold. That made me feel -bad. I felt worse when it came back the second time. But I'm not one of -the kind that gives up. I kept right on casting that jigger until it -landed in the right spot. - -"My pan crossed over as I hauled in the line. That was all right; but -there was no pan between me and the shore. - -"'All up!' thinks I. - -"It was dark. I could see neither pan nor shore. Before long I couldn't -see a thing in the pitchy blackness. - -"All the time I could feel the pan humping along towards the open sea. -I didn't know how far off the shore was. I was in doubt about just -where it was. - -"'Is this pan turning round?' thinks I. Well, I couldn't tell; but I -thought I'd take a flier at hooking a rock or a tree with the jigger. - -"The jigger didn't take hold. I tried a dozen times, and every time I -heard it splash the water. But I kept on trying--and would have kept -on till morning if I'd needed to. You can take me at my word, I'm not -the kind of fool that gives up--I've been in too many tight places for -that. So, at last, I gave the jigger a fling that landed it somewhere -where it held fast; but whether ice or shore I couldn't tell. If shore, -all right; if ice, all wrong; and that's all I could do about it. - -"'Now,' thinks I, as I began to haul in, 'it all depends on the fishing -line. Will it break, or won't it?' - -"It didn't. So the next morning, with my pack on my back, I tramped -round the point to Racquet Harbour." - -"What was it?" was Billy Topsail's foolish question. "Shore or ice?" - -"If it hadn't been shore," said the trader, "I wouldn't be here." - -FOOTNOTE: - -[4] A jigger is a lead fish, about three inches long, which spreads -into two large barbed hooks at one end; the other end is attached to -about forty fathoms of stout line. Jiggers are used to jerk fish from -the water where there is no bait. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII - - _In the Offshore Gale: In Which Billy Topsail Goes Seal - Hunting and is Swept to Sea With the Floe_ - - -WHAT befell old Tom Topsail and his crew came in the course of the -day's work. Fishermen and seal-hunters, such as the folk of Ruddy Cove, -may not wait for favourable weather; when the fish are running, they -must fish; when the seals are on the drift-ice offshore in the spring, -they must hunt. - -So on that lowering day, when the seals were sighted by the watch on -Lookout Head, it was a mere matter of course that the men of the place -should set out to the hunt. - -"I s'pose," Tom Topsail drawled, "that we'd best get under way." - -Bill Watt, his mate, scanned the sky in the northeast. It was heavy, -cold and leaden; fluffy gray towards the zenith, and black where the -clouds met the barren hills. - -"I s'pose," said he, catching Topsail's drawl, "that 'twill snow afore -long." - -"Oh, aye," was the slow reply, "I s'pose 'twill." - -Again Bill Watt faced the sullen sky. He felt that the supreme danger -threatened--snow with wind. - -"I s'pose," he said, "that 'twill blow, too." - -"Oh, aye," Topsail replied, indifferently, "snow 'n' blow. We'll know -what 'twill do when it begins," he added. "Billy, b'y!" he shouted. - -In response Billy Topsail came bounding down the rocky path from the -cottage. He was stout for his age, with broad shoulders, long thick -arms and large hands. There was a boy's flush of expectation on his -face, and the flash of a boy's delight in his eyes. He was willing for -adventure. - -"Bill an' me'll take the rodney," Topsail drawled. "I s'pose you -might's well fetch the punt, an' we'll send you back with the first -haul." - -"Hooray!" cried Billy; and with that he waved his cap and sped back up -the hill. - -"Fetch your gaff, lad!" Topsail called after him. "Make haste! There's -Joshua Rideout with his sail up. 'Tis time we was off." - -"Looks more'n ever like snow," Bill Watt observed, while they waited. -"I'm thinkin' _'twill_ snow." - -"Oh, maybe 'twon't," said Topsail, optimistic in a lazy way. - -The ice-floe was two miles or more off the coast; thence it stretched -to the horizon--a vast, rough, blinding white field, formed of detached -fragments. Some of the "pans" were acres in size; others were not big -enough to bear the weight of a man; all were floating free, rising and -falling with the ground swell. - -The wind was light, the sea quiet, the sky thinly overcast. Had it not -been for the threat of heavy weather in the northeast, it would have -been an ideal day for the hunt. The punt and the rodney, the latter -far in the lead, ran quietly out from the harbour, with their little -sails all spread. From the punt Billy Topsail could soon see the small, -scattered pack of seals--black dots against the white of the ice. - -When the rodney made the field, the punts of the harbour fleet had -disappeared in the winding lanes of open water that led through -the floe. Tom Topsail was late. The nearer seals were all marked -by the hunters who had already landed. The rodney would have to be -taken farther in than the most venturesome hunter had yet dared to -go--perilously far into the midst of the shifting pans. - -The risk of sudden wind--the risk that the heavy fragments would "pack" -and "nip" the boat--had to be taken if seals were to be killed. - -"We got to go right in, Bill," said Topsail, as he furled the rodney's -sails. - -"I s'pose," was Watt's reply, with a backward glance to the northeast. -"An' Billy?" - -"'Tis not wise to take un in," Topsail answered, hastily. "We'll have -un bide here." - -Billy was hailed, and, to his great disappointment, warned to keep -beyond the edge of the floe. Then the rodney shot into the lane, with -Topsail and Bill Watt rowing like mad. She was soon lost to sight. -Billy shipped his sail and paddled to the edge of the ice, to wait, as -patiently as might be, for the reappearance of the rodney. - -Patience soon gave way to impatience, impatience to anxiety, anxiety to -great fear for the lives of his father and the mate, for the offshore -gale was driving up; the blue-black clouds were already high and rising -swiftly. - -At last there came an ominous puff of wind. It swept over the sea from -the coast, whipping up little waves in its course--frothy little waves, -that hissed. Heavy flakes of snow began to fall. As the wind rose they -fell faster, and came driving, swirling with it. - -With the fall of the first flakes the harbour fleet came pell-mell from -the floe. Not a man among them but wished himself in a sheltered place. -Sails were raised in haste, warnings were shouted; then off went the -boats, beating up to harbour with all sail set. - -"Make sail, lad!" old Elisha Bull shouted to Billy, as his punt swung -past. - -Billy shook his head. "I'll beat back with father!" he cried. - -"You'll lose yourself!" Elisha screamed, as a last warning, before his -punt carried him out of hail. - -But Billy still hung at the edge of the ice. His father had said, "Bide -here till we come out," and "bide" there he would. - -He kept watch for the rodney, but no rodney came. Minute after minute -flew by. He hesitated. Was it not his duty to beat home? There was -still the fair chance that he might be able to make the harbour. Did -he not owe a duty to his mother--to himself? - -But a crashing noise from the floe brought him instantly to a decision. -He knew what that noise meant. The ice was feeling the force of the -wind. It would pack and move out to sea. The lane by which the rodney -had entered then slowly closed. - -In horror Billy watched the great pans swing together. There was now -no escape for the boat. The strong probability was that she would be -crushed to splinters by the crowding of the ice; that indeed she had -already been crushed; that the men were either drowned or cast away on -the floe. - -At once the lad's duty was plain to him. He must stay where he was. If -his father and Bill Watt managed to get to the edge of the ice afoot, -who else was to take them off? - -The ice was moving out to sea, Billy knew. The pans were crunching, -grinding, ever more noisily. But he let the punt drift as near as he -dared, and so followed the pack towards the open, keeping watch, ever -more hopelessly, for the black forms of the two men. - -Soon, so fast did the sea rise, so wild was the wind, his own danger -was very great. The ice was like a rocky shore to leeward. He began to -fear that he would be wrecked. - -Time and again the punt was nearly swamped, but Billy dared not drop -the oars to bail. There was something more. His arms, stout and -seasoned though they were, were giving out. It would not long be -possible to keep the boat off the ice. He determined to land on the -floe. - -But the sea was breaking on the ice dead to leeward. It was impossible -to make a landing there, so with great caution he paddled to the right, -seeking a projecting point, behind which he might find shelter. At last -he came to a cove. It narrowed to a long, winding arm, which apparently -extended some distance into the floe. - -There he found quiet water. He landed without difficulty at a point -where the arm was no more than a few yards wide. Dusk was then -approaching. The wind was bitterly cold, and the snow was thick and -blinding. - -It would not be safe, he knew, to leave the boat in the water, for at -any moment the shifting pans might close and crush it. He tried to lift -it out of the water, but his strength was not sufficient. He managed -to get the bow on the ice; that was all. - -"I'll just have to leave it," he thought. "I'll just have to trust that -'twill not be nipped." - -Near by there was a hummock of ice. He sought the lee of it, and there, -protected from the wind, he sat down to wait. - -Often, when the men were spinning yarns in the cottages of Ruddy Cove -of a winter night, he had listened, open-mouthed, to the tales of -seal-hunters who had been cast away. Now he was himself drifting out to -sea. He had no fire, no food, no shelter but a hummock of ice. He had -the bitterness of the night to pass through--the hunger of to-morrow to -face. - -"But sure," he muttered, with characteristic hopefulness, "I've a boat, -an' many a man has been cast away without one." - -He thought he had better make another effort to haul the boat on the -ice. Some movement of the pack might close the arm where it floated. So -he stumbled towards the place. - -He stared round in amazement and alarm; then he uttered a cry of -terror. The open water had disappeared. - -"She's been nipped!" he sobbed. "She's been nipped--nipped to -splinters! I've lost meself!" - -Night came fast. An hour before, so dense was the storm, nothing had -been visible sixty paces away; now nothing was to be seen anywhere. -Where was the rodney? Had his father and Bill Watt escaped from the -floe by some new opening? Were they safe at home? Were they still on -the floe? He called their names. The swish of the storm, the cracking -and crunching of the ice as the wind swept it on--that was all that he -heard. - -For a long time he sat in dull despair. He hoped no longer. - -By and by, when it was deep night, something occurred to distract him. -He caught sight of a crimson glow, flaring and fading. It seemed to be -in the sky, now far off, now near at hand. He started up. - -"What's that?" he muttered. - - - - -CHAPTER IX - - _In Which Old Tom Topsail Burns His Punt and Billy - Wanders in the Night and Three Lives Hang on a Change - of the Wind_ - - -MEANWHILE, under the powerful strokes of old Tom Topsail and Bill Watt, -the rodney had followed the open leads into the heart of the floe. From -time to time Watt muttered a warning; but the spirit of the hunt fully -possessed Tom, and his only cry was, "Push on! Push on!" - -Seal after seal escaped, while the sky darkened. He was only the more -determined not to go back empty-handed. - -"I tells you," Watt objected, "we'll not get out. There's the wind now. -And snow, man--snow!" - -The warning was not to be disregarded. Topsail thought no more about -seals. The storm was fairly upon them. His only concern was to escape -from the floe. He was glad, indeed, that Billy had not followed them. -He had that, at least, to be thankful for. - -They turned the boat. Bending to the oars, they followed the lane by -which they had entered. Confusion came with the wind and the snow. The -lay of the pans seemed to have changed. It was changing every moment, -as they perceived. - -"Tom," gasped Watt, at last, "we're caught! 'Tis a blind lead we're in." - -That was true; the lane had closed. They must seek another exit. So -they turned the boat and followed the next lane that opened. It, too, -was blocked. - -They tried another, selected at random. In that blinding storm no -choice was possible. Again disappointment; the lane narrowed to a -point. They were nearly exhausted now, but they turned instantly to -seek another way. That way was not to be found. The lane had closed -behind them. - -"Trapped!" muttered Watt. - -"Aye, lad," Topsail said, solemnly, "trapped!" - -They rested on their oars. Ice was on every hand. They stared into each -other's eyes. - -Then, for the second time, Watt ran his glance over the shores of the -lake in which they floated. He started, then pointed in the direction -from which they had come. Topsail needed no word of explanation. -The ice was closing in. The pressure of the pack beyond would soon -obliterate the lake. They rowed desperately for the nearest shore. - -The ice was rapidly closing in. In such cases, as they knew, it often -closed with a sudden rush at the end, crushing some pan which for a -moment had held it in check. - -When the boat struck the ice Watt jumped ashore with the painter. -Topsail, leaping from seat to seat, followed instantly. At that moment -there was a loud crack, like a clap of thunder. It was followed by a -crunching noise. - -"It's comin'!" screamed Topsail. - -"Heave away!" - -They caught the bow, lifted it out of the water, and with a united -effort slowly hauled it out of harm's way. A moment later there was no -sign of open water. - -"Thank God!" gasped Topsail. - -By this time the storm was a blizzard. The men had no shelter, and they -were afraid to venture far from the boat in search of it. Neither -would permit the other to stumble over the rough ice, chancing its -pitfalls, for neither cared to be lost from the other. - -Now they sat silent in the lee of the upturned boat, with the snow -swirling about them; again they ran madly back and forth; yet again -they swung their arms and stamped their feet. At last, do what they -would, they shivered all the time. Then they sat quietly down. - -"I'm wonderful glad Billy is safe home," Watt observed. - -"I wisht I was sure o' that," said Topsail. "It looks bad for us, Bill, -lad. The ice is drivin' out fast, an' I'm thinkin' 'twill blow steady -for a day. It looks wonderful bad for us, an' I'd feel--easier in me -mind--about the lad's mother--if I knowed he was safe home." - -Late in the night Topsail turned to Watt. He had to nudge him to get -his attention. "It's awful cold, Bill," he said. "We got the boat, lad. -Eh? We got the boat." - -"No, no, Tom! Not yet! We'd be sure doomed without the boat." - -Half an hour passed. Again Topsail roused Watt. - -"We're doomed if we don't," he said. "We can't stand it till mornin', -lad. We can't wait no longer." - -[Illustration: BILLY STAGGERED INTO THE CIRCLE OF LIGHT.] - -Watt blundered to his feet. Without a word he fumbled in the snow until -he found what he sought. It was the axe. He handed it to Topsail. - -"Do it, Tom!" he said, thickly. "I'm near gone." - -Topsail attacked the boat. It was like murder, he thought. He struck -blow after blow, blindly, viciously; gathered the splinters, made a -little heap of them and set them afire. The fire blazed brightly. Soon -it was roaring. The ice all around was lighted up. Above, the snow -reflected the lurid glow. - -Warmth and a cheerful light put life in the men. They crept as close to -the fire as they could. Reason would shut out hope altogether, but hope -came to them. Might not the storm abate? Might not the wind change? -Might not they be picked up? In this strain they talked for a long -time; and meanwhile they added the fuel, splinter by splinter. - -"Father! 'Tis _you_!" - -Topsail leaped to his feet and stared. - -"'Tis Billy!" cried Watt. - -Billy staggered into the circle of light. He stared stupidly at the -fire. Then he tottered a step or two nearer, and stood swaying; and -again he stared at the fire in a stupid way. - -"I seed the fire!" he mumbled. "The punt's nipped, sir--an' I seed the -fire--an' crawled over the ice. 'Twas hard to find you." - -Tom Topsail and Bill Watt understood. They, too, had travelled rough -ice in a blizzard, and they understood. - -Billy was wet to the waist. That meant that, blinded by the snow or -deceived by the night, he had slipped through some opening in the ice, -some crack or hole. The bare thought of that lonely peril was enough to -make the older men shudder. But they asked him no questions. They led -him to the fire, prodigally replenished it, and sat him down between -them. By and by he was so far recovered that he was able to support his -father's argument that the wind had not changed. - -"Oh, well," replied Watt, doggedly, "you can say what you likes; but I -tells you that the wind's veered to the south. 'Twould not surprise me -if the pack was drivin' Cape Wonder way." - -"No, no, Bill," said Topsail sadly; "there's been no change. We're -drivin' straight out. When the wind drops the pack'll go to pieces, an' -then----" - -Thus the argument was continued, intermittently, until near dawn. Of a -sudden, then, they heard a low, far-off rumble. It was a significant, -terrifying noise. It ran towards them, increasing in volume. It was -like the bumping that runs through a freight-train when the engine -comes to a sudden stop. - -The pack trembled. There was then a fearful confusion of grinding, -crashing sounds. Everywhere the ice was heaving and turning. The -smaller pans were crushed; many of the greater ones were forced on end; -some were lifted bodily out of the water, and fell back in fragments, -broken by their own weight. On all sides were noise and awful upheaval. -The great pan upon which the seal-hunters had landed was tipped -up--up--up--until it was like the side of a steep hill. There it -rested. Then came silence. - -Bill Watt was right: the wind had changed; the pack had grounded on -Cape Wonder. The three men from Ruddy Cove walked ashore in the morning. - -Billy was the first to run up to the house. He went through the door -like a gale of wind. - -"We're safe, mother!" he shouted. - -"I'm glad, dear," said his mother, quietly. "Breakfast is ready." - -When Billy was older he learned the trick his mother had long ago -mastered--to betray no excitement, whatever the situation. - - - - -CHAPTER X - - _How Billy Topsail's Friend Bobby Lot Joined Fortunes - With Eli Zitt and Whether or Not he Proved Worthy of - the Partnership_ - - -RUDDY COVE called Eli Zitt a "hard" man. In Newfoundland, that means -"hardy"--not "bad." Eli was gruff-voiced, lowering-eyed, unkempt, -big; he could swim with the dogs, outdare all the reckless spirits of -the Cove with the punt in a gale, bare his broad breast to the winter -winds, travel the ice wet or dry, shoulder a barrel of flour; he was a -sturdy, fearless giant, was Eli Zitt, of Ruddy Cove. And for this the -Cove very properly called him a "hard" man. - -When Josiah Lot, his partner, put out to sea and never came back--an -offshore gale had the guilt of that deed--Eli scowled more than ever -and said a deal less. - -"He'll be feelin' bad about Josiah," said the Cove. - -Which may have been true. However, Eli took care of Josiah's widow and -son. The son was Bobby Lot, with whom, subsequently, Billy Topsail -shared the adventure of the giant squid of Chain Tickle. The Cove -laughed with delight to observe Eli Zitt's attachment to the lad. The -big fellow seemed to be quite unable to pass the child without patting -him on the back; and sometimes, so exuberant was his affection, the -pats were of such a character that Bobby lost his breath. Whereupon, -Eli would chuckle the harder, mutter odd endearments, and stride off on -his way. - -"He'll be likin' that lad pretty well," said the Cove. "Nar a doubt, -they'll be partners." - -And it came to pass as the Cove surmised; but much sooner than the -Cove expected. Josiah Lot's widow died when Bobby was eleven years -old. When the little gathering at the graveyard in the shelter of -Great Hill dispersed, Eli took the lad out in the punt--far out to the -quiet fishing grounds, where they could be alone. It was a glowing -evening--red and gold in the western sky. The sea was heaving gently, -and the face of the waters was unruffled. - -"Bobby, b'y!" Eli whispered. "Bobby, lad! Does you hear me? Don't cry -no more!" - -"Ay, Eli," sobbed Bobby. "I'll cry no more." - -But he kept on crying, just the same, for he could not stop; and Eli -looked away--very quickly--to the glowing sunset clouds. Can't _you_ -tell why? - -"Bobby," he said, turning, at last, to the lad, "us'll be partners--you -an' me." - -Bobby sobbed harder than ever. - -"Won't us, lad?" - -Eli laid his great hand on Bobby's shoulder. Then Bobby took his fists -out of his eyes and looked up into Eli's compassionate face. - -"Ay, Eli," he said, "us'll be partners--jus' you an' me." - -From that out, they _were_ partners; and Bobby Lot was known in the -Cove as the foster son of Eli Zitt. They lived together in Eli's -cottage by the tickle cove, where Eli had lived alone, since, many -years before, _his_ mother had left _him_ to face the world for -himself. The salmon net, the herring seine, the punt, the flake, -the stage--these they held in common; and they went to the grounds -together, where they fished the long days through, good friends, good -partners. The Cove said that they were very happy; and, as always, the -Cove was right. - -One night Eli came ashore from a trading schooner that had put in in -the morning, smiling broadly as he entered the kitchen. He laid his -hand on the table, palm down. - -"They's a gift for you under that paw, lad," he said. - -"For me, Eli!" cried Bobby. - -"Ay, lad--for my partner!" - -Bobby stared curiously at the big hand. He wondered what it covered. -"What is it, Eli?" he asked. "Come, show me!" - -Eli lifted the hand, and gazed at Bobby, grinning, the while, -with delight. It was a jack-knife--a stout knife, three-bladed, -horn-handled, big, serviceable; just the knife for a fisher lad. Bobby -picked it up, but said never a word, for his delight overcame him. - -"You're wonderful good t' me, Eli," he said, at last looking up with -glistening eyes. "You're _wonderful_ good t' me!" - -Eli put his arm around the boy. "You're a good partner, lad," he said. -"You're a wonderful good partner!" - -Bobby was proud of that. - - * * * * * - -They put the salmon net out in the spring. The ice was still lingering -offshore. The west wind carried it out; the east wind swept it in: -variable winds kept pans and bergs drifting hither and thither, and no -man could tell where next the ice would go. Now, the sea was clear, -from the shore to the jagged, glistening white line, off near the -horizon; next day--the day after--and the pack was grinding against the -coast rocks. Men had to keep watch to save the nets from destruction. - -The partners' net was moored off Break-heart Point. It was a good -berth, but a rough one; when the wind was in the northeast, the waters -off the point were choppy and covered with sheets of foam from the -breakers. - -"'Tis too rough t' haul the salmon net," said Eli, one day. "I'll be -goin' over the hills for a sack o' flour. An' you'll be a good b'y 'til -I gets back?" - -"Oh, ay, sir!" said Bobby Lot. - -It was a rough day: the wind was blowing from the north, a freshening, -gusty breeze, cold and misty; off to sea, the sky was leaden, -threatening, and overhead dark clouds were driving low and swift with -the wind; the water was choppy--rippling black under the squalls. The -ice was drifting alongshore, well out from the coast; there was a berg -and the wreck of a berg of Arctic ice and many a pan from the bays and -harbours of the coast. - -With the wind continuing in the north, the ice would drift harmlessly -past. But the wind changed. In the afternoon it freshened and veered to -the east. At four o'clock it was half a gale, blowing inshore. - -"I'll just be goin' out the tickle t' have a look at that ice," thought -Bobby. "'Tis like it'll come ashore." - -He looked the punt over very carefully before setting out. It was wise, -he thought, to prepare to take her out into the gale, whether or not -he must go. He saw to it that the thole-pins were tight and strong, -that the bail-bucket was in its place, that the running gear was fit -for heavy strain. The wind was then fluttering the harbour water and -screaming on the hilltops; and he could hear the sea breaking on the -tickle rocks. He rowed down the harbour to the mouth of the tickle, -whence he commanded a view of the coast, north and south. - -The ice was drifting towards Break-heart Point. It would destroy the -salmon net within the hour, he perceived--sweep over it, tear it -from its moorings, bruise it against the rocks. Bobby knew, in a -moment, that his duty was to put out from the sheltered harbour to the -wind-swept, breaking open, where the spume was flying and the heave and -fret of the sea threatened destruction to the little punt. Were he true -man and good partner he would save the net! - -"He've been good t' me," he thought. "Ay, Eli 've been wonderful good -t' me. I'll be true partner t' him!" - - - - -CHAPTER XI - - _Bobby Lot Learns to Swim and Eli Zitt Shows Amazing - Courage and Self-possession and Strength_ - - -WHEN, returning over the hills, Eli Zitt came to the Knob o' -Break-heart, he saw his own punt staggering through the gray waves -towards the net off the point--tossing with the sea and reeling under -the gusty wind--with his little partner in the stern. The boat was -between the ice and the breakers. The space of open water was fast -narrowing; only a few minutes more and the ice would strike the rocks. -Eli dropped on his knees, then and there, and prayed God to save the -lad. - -"O Lard, save my lad!" he cried. "O Lard, save my wee lad!" - -He saw the punt draw near the first mooring; saw Bobby loose the sheet, -and let the brown sail flutter like a flag in the wind; saw him leap to -the bow, and lean over, with a knife in his hand, while the boat tossed -in the lop, shipping water every moment; saw him stagger amidships, -bail like mad, snatch up the oars, pull to the second mooring and cut -the last net-rope; saw him leap from seat to seat to the stem, grasp -the tiller, haul taut the sheet, and stand off to the open sea. - -"Clever Bobby!" he screamed, wildly excited. "Clever lad! My partner, -my little partner!" - -But the wind carried the cry away. Bobby did not hear--did not know, -even, that his partner had been a spectator of his brave faithfulness. -He was beating out, to make sea-room for the run with the wind to -harbour; and the boat was dipping her gunwale in a way that kept every -faculty alert to keep her afloat. Eli watched him until he rounded and -stood in for the tickle. Then the man sighed happily and went home. - -"Us'll grapple for that net the morrow," he said, when Bobby came in. - -Bobby opened his eyes. "Aye?" he said. "'Tis safe on the bottom. I -thought I'd best cut it adrift t' save it." - -"I seed you," said Eli, "from the Knob. 'Twas well done, lad! You're a -true partner." - -"The knife come in handy," said Bobby, smiling. "'Tis a good knife." - -"Aye," said Eli, with a shake of the head. "I bought un for a good one." - -And that was all. - - * * * * * - -Eli set about rearing young Bobby in a fashion as wise as he knew. He -exposed the lad to wet and weather, as judiciously as he could, to -make him hardy; he took him to sea in high winds, to fix his courage -and teach him to sail; he taught him the weather signs, the fish-lore -of the coast, the "marks" for the fishing grounds, the whereabouts of -shallows and reefs and currents; he took him to church and sent him to -Sunday-school. And he taught him to swim. - -On the fine days of that summer, when there were no fish to be caught, -the man and the lad went together to the Wash-tub--a deep, little cove -of the sea, clear, quiet, bottomed with smooth rock and sheltered from -the wind by high cliffs; but cold--almost as cold as ice-water. Here -Bobby delighted to watch Eli dive, leap from the cliff, float on his -back, swim far out to sea; here he gazed with admiration on the man's -rugged body--broad shoulders, bulging muscles, great arms and legs. And -here, too, he learned to swim. - -When the warmest summer days were gone, Bobby could paddle about -the Wash-tub in promising fashion. He was confident when Eli was at -hand--sure, then, that he could keep afloat. But he was not yet sure -enough of his power when Eli had gone on the long swim to sea. Eli said -that he had done well; and Bobby, himself, often said that he could -swim a deal better than a stone. In an emergency, both agreed, Bobby's -new accomplishment would be sure to serve him well. - -"Sure, if the punt turned over," Bobby innocently boasted, "I'd be able -t' swim 'til you righted her." - -That was to be proved. - - * * * * * - -"Eli, b'y," said old James Blunt, one day in the fall of the year, "do -you take my new dory t' the grounds t'-day. Sure, I'd like t' know how -you likes it." - -Old James had built his boat after a south-coast model. She was a dory, -a flat-bottomed craft, as distinguished from a punt, which has a round -bottom and keel. He was proud of her, but somewhat timid; and he wanted -Eli's opinion of her quality. - -"'Tis a queer lookin' thing!" said Eli. "But me an' my partner'll try -she, James, just for luck." - -That afternoon a fall gale caught the dory on the Farthest Grounds--far -out beyond the Wolf's Teeth Reef. It came from the shore so suddenly -that Eli could not escape it. So it was a beat to harbour, with the -wind and sea rising fast. Off the Valley, which is half a mile from the -narrows, a gust came out between the hills--came strong and swift. It -heeled the dory over--still over--down--down until the water poured in -over the gunwale. Eli let go the main-sheet, expecting the sail to fall -away from the wind and thus ease the boat. But the line caught in the -block. Down went the dory--still down. And of a sudden it capsized. - -When Bobby came to the surface, he began frantically to splash the -water, momentarily losing strength, breath and self-possession. Eli -was waiting for him, with head and shoulders out of the water, like an -eager dog as he waits for the stick his master is about to throw. He -swam close; but hung off for a moment--until, indeed, he perceived that -Bobby would never of himself regain his self-possession--for he did not -want the boy to be too soon beholden to him for aid. Then he slipped -his hand under Bobby's breast and buoyed him up. - -"Partner!" he said, quietly. "Partner!" - -Bobby's panic-stricken struggles at once ceased; for he had been used -to giving instant obedience to Eli's commands. He looked in Eli's -dripping face. - -"Easy, partner," said Eli, still quietly. "Strike out, now." - -Bobby smiled, and struck out, as directed. In a moment he was swimming -at Eli's side. - -"Take it easy, lad," Eli continued. "Just take it easy while I rights -the boat. It's all right. I'll have you aboard in a jiffy. Is you--is -you--all right, Bobby?" - -"Aye," Bobby gasped. - -Eli waited for a moment longer. He was loath to leave the boy to take -care of himself. Until then he had not known how large a place in his -heart his little partner filled, how much he had come to depend upon -him for all those things which make life worth while. He had not known, -indeed, how far away from the old, lonely life the lad had led him. So -he waited for a moment longer, watching Bobby. Then he swam to the -overturned dory, where, after an anxious glance towards the lad, he -dived to cut away the gear--and dived again, and yet again; watching -Bobby all the time he was at the surface for breath. - -The gear cut away, the mast pulled from its socket, Eli righted the -boat. It takes a strong man and clever swimmer to do that; but Eli was -clever in the water, and strong anywhere. Moreover, it was a trick he -had learned. - -"Come, Bobby, b'y!" he called. - -Bobby swam towards the boat. Eli swam to meet him, and helped him over -the last few yards of choppy sea, for the lad was almost exhausted. -Bobby laid a hand on the bow of the dory. Then Eli pulled off one of -his long boots, and swam to the stern, where he began cautiously to -bail the boat. When she was light enough in the water, he helped Bobby -aboard, and Bobby bailed her dry. - -"Ha, lad!" Eli ejaculated, with a grin that made his face shine. "You -is safe aboard. How is you, b'y?" - -"Tired, Eli," Bobby answered. - -"You bide quiet where you is," said Eli. "I'll find the paddles; an' -I'll soon have you home." - -Eli's great concern had been to get the boy out of the water. He had -cared for little else than that--to get him out of the reach of the -sea. And now he was confronted by the problem of making harbour. The -boat was slowly drifting out with the wind; the dusk was approaching; -and every moment it was growing more difficult to swim in the choppy -sea. It took him a long time to find the paddles. - -"Steady the boat, Bobby," he said, when the boy had taken the paddles -into the dory. "I'm comin' aboard." - -Eli attempted to board the dory over the bow. She was tossing about in -a choppy sea; and he was not used to her ways. Had she been a punt--his -punt--he would have been aboard in a trice. But she was not his -punt--not a punt, at all; she was a new boat, a dory, a flat-bottomed -craft; he was not used to her ways. Bobby tried desperately to steady -her while Eli lifted himself out of the water. - -"Take care, Eli!" he screamed. "She'll be over!" - -Eli got his knee on the gunwale--no more than that. A wave tipped the -boat; she lurched; she capsized. And again Eli waited for Bobby to -come to the surface of the water; again buoyed him up; again gave him -courage; again helped him to the boat; again bailed the boat--this time -with one of Bobby's boots--and again helped Bobby aboard. - -"I'm wonderful tired, Eli," said Bobby, when the paddles were handed -over the side for the second time. "I'm fair' done out." - -"'Twill be over soon, lad. I'll have you home by the kitchen fire in -half an hour. Come, now, partner! Steady the boat. I'll try again." - -Even more cautiously Eli attempted to clamber aboard. Inch by inch he -raised himself out of the water. When the greater waves ran under the -boat, he paused; when she rode on an even keel, he came faster. Inch by -inch, humouring the cranky boat all the time, he lifted his right leg. -But he could not get aboard. Again, when his knee was on the gunwale, -the dory capsized. - -For the third time the little partner was helped aboard and given a -boot with which to bail. His strength was then near gone. He threw -water over the side until he could no longer lift his arms. - -"Eli," he gasped, "I can do no more!" - -Eli put his hand on the bow, as though about to attempt to clamber -aboard again. But he withdrew it. - -"Bobby, b'y," he said, "could you not manage t' pull a bit with the -paddles. I'll swim alongside." - -Bobby stared stupidly at him. - -Again Eli put his hand on the bow. He was in terror of losing Bobby's -life. Never before had he known such dread and fear. He did not dare -risk overturning the boat again; for he knew that Bobby would not -survive for the fourth time. What could he do? He could not get aboard, -and Bobby could not row. How was he to get the boy ashore? His hand -touched the painter--the long rope by which the boat was moored to the -stage. That gave him an idea: he would tow the boat ashore! - -So he took the rope in his teeth, and struck out for the tickle to the -harbour! - - * * * * * - -"'Twas a close call, b'y," said Eli, when he and Bobby sat by the -kitchen fire. - -"Ay, Eli; 'twas a close call." - -"A _wonderful_ close call!" Eli repeated, grinning. "The closest I ever -knowed." - -"An' 'twas too bad," said Bobby, "t' lose the gear." - -Eli laughed. - -"What you laughin' at?" Bobby asked. - -"I brought ashore something better than the gear." - -"The dory?" - -"No, b'y!" Eli roared. "My little partner!" - - - - -CHAPTER XII - - _Containing the Surprising Adventure of Eli Zitt's - Little Partner on the Way Back from Fortune Harbour, - in Which a Newfoundland Dog Displays a Saving - Intelligence_ - - -BOBBY LOT, Eli Zitt's little partner, left his dog at home when he set -out for Fortune Harbour in Eli's punt. He thought it better for the -dog. He liked company, well enough, did Bobby; but he loved his dog. -Why expose the lazy, fat, old fellow, with his shaky legs and broken -teeth, to an attack in force by the pack of a strange harbour? - -The old dog's fighting days were over. He had been a mighty, masterful -beast in his prime; and he had scarred too many generations of the -Ruddy Cove pack to be molested now as he waddled about the roads and -coves where his strength and courage had been proved. But the dogs of -Fortune Harbour knew nothing of the deeds he had done; and an air of -dignity, a snarl and a show of yellow teeth would not be sufficient to -discourage the yelping onset. - -"They'd kill him," thought the master. - -So the lad determined to leave his dog at home, and it was well for him -that he did. - -"Go back, Bruce!" he cried, as he pushed out from Eli Zitt's wharf-head. - -But Bruce slipped into the water from the rocks, and swam after the -boat, a beseeching look in the eyes which age had glazed and shot with -blood. He was not used to being left at home when Bobby pushed out in -the punt. - -"Go home, b'y!" cried Bobby, lifting an oar. - -The threatening gesture was too much for Bruce. He raised himself in -the water and whined, then wheeled about and paddled for shore. - -"Good dog!" Bobby called after him. - -In response, the water in the wake of the dog was violently agitated. -He was wagging his tail. Thus he signified a cheerful acquiescence. - -"He'll be wonderin' why he've been sent back," thought Bobby. "'Tis too -bad we can't tell dogs things like that." - - * * * * * - -Bobby had a message for Sammy Tompkins. It was about the great run of -cod at Good Luck Tickles, the news of which had reached Ruddy Cove that -morning. But old Sammy was on the Black Fly fishing grounds when the -lad got to Fortune Harbour. It was growing dark when he got in for the -night. So Bobby chanced to be late starting home. - -The wind had fallen away to a breathless calm; the sky was thickly -overcast, and a thin mist lay between the gloomy clouds and the sea's -long, black ground-swell. Bobby had not pulled through four of the six -miles before sea and sky and rocky coast were melted into one vast, -deep shadow, except where, near at hand, the bolder headlands were to -be distinguished by one who knew them well. - -"I wonder," Bobby thought, "if I'll get home before mornin'. 'Tis hard -t' say. I might have t' lie out here all night. Sure, I hope it gets no -thicker." - -He rowed on towards Ruddy Cove, taking new bearings from time to time -as the deeper shadows of the headlands loomed out of the dark of the -night. Thus, he followed the coast, making with great caution for the -narrow entrance to the inner harbour, which invariably was hard to find -at night or in the fog. - -The sea was breaking against the rocks. The noise was loud in Bobby's -ears, and served to guide him at such times as the headlands were -indistinguishable from the clouds. His progress was slow and cautious; -for he knew the dangers of the way he must take. - -There was a line of submerged rocks--The Wrecker, Old Moll and -Deep Down--lying out from Iron Head, directly in his path. That -neighbourhood was a neighbourhood of danger. When the lad caught sight -of the strange outline of Iron Head, he swerved the bow of the boat to -sea and paddled out. He wanted to make sure of rounding Deep Down, the -outermost rock--of giving it a wide berth. - -But the night and the noise of the breakers confused him. He could not -tell whether or not he had gone far enough. At length he decided that -he must be safely beyond the rock. But where was Deep Down? Often he -paused to turn and look ahead. Every glance he cast was more anxious -than the one before. He was getting nervous. - -"'Tis hard t' tell if the sea is breakin' on Deep Down," he said to -himself. "Sure, it must be, though." - -It was important to know that. Sometimes only the larger swells curl -and break as they roll over Deep Down. Bobby knew that just such a sea -was running then. Had it been daylight, the green colour and the slight -lifting of the water would have warned him of the whereabouts of that -dangerous reef. But it was night; the spray, as the wave was broken and -flung into the air, and the swish and the patter, as the water fell -back, were the signs he was on the lookout for. - -If, then, the waves broke only at long intervals, the punt might at any -moment be lifted and overturned. It might even then be floating over -the rock. Bobby's heart beat faster when the greater swells slipped -under the boat. Would they break beneath him? Would they break near -at hand? He paddled slowly. It was better to be cautious, he thought, -until he had Deep Down located. So he listened and looked as he paddled -on. - -At last he heard the significant swish and patter. He flashed about to -look ahead. But he was too late. The spray had fallen and disappeared. - -"'Tis somewheres near," he thought, "and 'tis breakin'. But whether t' -port or starboard, I don't know." - -Again--and apparently from another quarter--he heard the noise of -a breaking wave. He turned in time to catch sight of a gleam of -phosphorescence off the port bow. - -"If that's Deep Down," he thought, "I'm safe. But if 'tis Old Moll or -The Wrecker, I'm somewheres over Deep Down. I wisht I knowed which it -was." - -What was it? The Wrecker, Old Moll or Deep Down? Which one of the three -rocks that lay in a line off Iron Head? - -"I wisht I knowed," Bobby muttered, as he bent anew to the oars. - - * * * * * - -In the meantime, old Sol Sludge, of Becky Sharpe's cove, which lies -beyond Iron Head, had started for Ruddy Cove by the goat paths to -tell Skipper John Matthews that he would take a berth in the schooner -_Rescue_ when she got back from the Labrador. - -He had a candle-lantern to light the way. When he had crossed the Head -and was bound down the valley to meet the Ruddy Cove road, he heard a -cry for help. It came from the sea, with a soft southwest wind which -had sprung up--a sharp "Help! Help!" ringing out of the darkness again -and again. Old Sol listened stupidly, until, as from exhaustion, the -cries turned hoarse and weak. - -"Now, I wonder who's out there," the dull old fellow thought. "It -sounded like a woman's voice. Sure, it may be the spirit o' Mary Rutt. -She was drowned off Iron Head." - -Nevertheless, he made haste to Ruddy Cove--all the haste his old legs -and dim sight would permit--and told the folk that he had heard the cry -of a spirit drift in from the sea off Iron Head. But nobody believed -that. - -Who was in the water off Iron Head? was the question that passed from -cottage to cottage. Was it Billy Topsail? No; for Billy told the folk -in person that he had come in from the grounds at twilight. Was it -Josiah Seaworthy? No; for Josiah's wife said that he had gone by way of -Crooked Tickle to Burnt Harbour. - -Who was it? Had Eli Zitt's little partner got back from Fortune -Harbour? When Eli Zitt heard of that cry for help he knew that Bobby's -punt had been overturned on one of the Iron Head rocks. Like a woman's -voice? That surely was Bobby's--that clear, full voice. So he called -for a crew to man the skiff, and in five minutes he was ready to push -off. - -Old Bruce jumped aboard. - -"Get out with you!" said Bill Watt, aiming a kick at him by the light -of the lantern. - -"Sc-ctt!" cried old Tom Topsail. - -But Bruce was a practiced stowaway. He slunk forward, and found a -refuge under the bow seat. - -"Push off, lads!" Eli shouted. "Give way!" - -In ten minutes the skiff had passed from the harbour to the sea. Eli -Zitt, who worked the scull oar, turned her bow towards the Iron Head -rocks. It was dark; but he had fished those waters from boyhood, and he -knew the way, daylight or dark. - -Dark it was, indeed! How was Bobby to be found in that great shadow? He -was a water-dog, was Bobby; but there was a limit to his endurance, and -half an hour at least had passed since old Sol Sludge had heard his cry -for help. - -A long search meant failure. He must be found soon or he would not be -found at all. On went the boat, the water curling from her bows and -swirling in her wake. The phosphorescence flashed and glowed as the -oars were struck deep and lifted. - -"He'll be swimmin' in," Bill Watt panted, when the skiff had covered -half the distance to Deep Down. "They's no place for him t' land with -this sea on. We ought t' meet him hereabouts." - -"If he's afloat," Topsail added. - -"Oh, he's afloat yet," Eli said, confidently. "He's a strong swimmer, -that lad is." - -"I'm thinkin' he'll be nearer shore," said Bill Watt. - -"No, no! He's further out an' on." - -"Bobby!" Topsail shouted. "Oh, Bobby!" - -There was no reply. For a moment the rowers lifted their oars from the -water. Silence was all about--from the boat to the shore rocks, where -the waves were breaking. The cries for help had ceased. - -"Gone down," Bill Watt muttered. - -The men gave way again. Again they paused to call Bobby's name, and to -listen, with anxious hearts, for some far-off, answering cry. Again -they gave way. Again they called and called, but heard no answer. - -"Gone down," Bill Watt repeated. - -"Give way, lads!" cried Eli. "He's further out." - -Old Bruce came out from hiding. He crawled to the stern seat and -sniffed to windward. Then, with his nose pointed astern, he began to -howl. - -"Shut up, you!" Topsail exclaimed. - -But Bruce could not be quieted--not even after Topsail's boot had -caught him in the side and brought a sharp howl of pain. Still he -sniffed to windward and barked. - -"Throw him over," said Bill Watt. "We'll not be able t' hear Bobby." - -"Oh, if 'twas only light!" Eli groaned, not heeding Watt. - -But it was dark. The water was covered with deepest shadow. Only the -breakers and the black outline of Iron Head could be seen. Bobby might -be swimming near at hand but too far off to send an audible shout for -help. - -"Bobby--oh--Bobby!" - -If a cry in answer had gone up, the barking of the dog drowned it. The -dog must be quieted. - -"Push the brute over!" said Watt. - -Watt himself dropped his oar and stepped to the stern. He took Bruce -unaware and tumbled him into the water. The old dog made no protest. He -whined eagerly and swam out from the boat--a straight course astern. - -"Now, what did he do that for?" mused Watt. - -"That's queer," said Topsail. - -Eli looked deep into the night. The dog left a luminous wake. Beyond, -in the direction the dog had taken, the man caught sight of a -phosphorescent glow. Watt saw it at the same moment. - -"What's that?" said he. "They's fiery water, back there!" - -"Man," cried Eli, "the dog knowed! Sure, it must be Bobby, swimmin' -up, an' too beat out t' cry. Fetch her about, lads. We're on the wrong -course. Haste! He'll not be able t' last much longer." - -Eli was right. The dog _had_ known. It was Bobby. When they picked him -up he was too much exhausted to speak. It was afterwards learned that -he had mistaken the spray of the Old Moll breaker for Deep Down and had -been turned over by the outer rock when he thought himself safe. He had -heard the call of his name, and had seen the lantern of the rescuing -skiff, as it drew near; but, long before, he had worn his voice out -with screaming for help, and could make no answer. He had heard the -barking of Bruce, too; had known its significance, and had wondered -whether or not the dog would be understood. But all that he could say, -when they lifted him aboard--and that in a hoarse, weak whisper--was: - -"Bruce!" - -At that moment the crew heard a piteous whine near at hand. It was Bill -Watt who pulled the exhausted old dog over the gunwale. - -"Good dog!" said he. - -And so said they all. - - - - -CHAPTER XIII - - _In Which Billy Topsail Sets Sail for the Labrador, the - Rescue Strikes an Iceberg, and Billy is Commanded to - Pump for His Life_ - - -IT was early in the spring--a time of changeable weather when, in -the northern seas, the peril of drift-ice, bergs, snow, wind and the -dark must sometimes be met with short warning. The schooner _Rescue_, -seventy tons, Job Small, master, had supplied the half-starved Labrador -fishermen with flour and pork, and was bound back to Ruddy Cove, in -ballast, to load provisions and shop goods for the straits trade. - -Billy Topsail was aboard. "I 'low, dad," he had said to his father, -when the skipper of the _Rescue_ received the Government commission to -proceed North with supplies, "that I'd like t' _see_ the Labrador." - -"You'll see it many a time, lad," his father had replied, "afore you're -done with it." - -"An' Skipper Job," Billy had persisted, "says he'll take me." - -The end of it was that Billy was shipped. - -The _Rescue_ had rounded the cape at dawn, with all sails set, even -to her topmast-staysail, which the Newfoundlanders call the "Tommy -Dancer"; but now, with the night coming down, she was laboriously -beating into a head wind under jib and reefed mainsail. - -"I'm fair ashamed t' have the canvas off her," said Skipper Job, after -a long look to windward. "'Tis no more than a switch, an' we're clewed -up for a snorter." - -"They's no one t' see, sir," said the cook. "That's good; an' sure I -hopes that nothin' heaves in sight t' shame us." - -"Leave us shake the reef out o' the mains'l, sir, an' give her the -fores'l," said the first hand. - -"We're not in haste, b'y," the skipper replied. "She's doin' well as -she is. We'll not make harbour this night, an' I've no mind t' be in -the neighbourhood o' the Break-heart Rocks afore mornin'. Let her bide." - -The weather thickened. With the night came a storm of snow in heavy -flakes, which the wind swept over the deck in clouds. There was nothing -to relieve the inky darkness. The schooner reeled forth and back on the -port and starboard tacks, beating her way south as blind as a bat. -There was no rest for the crew. The skipper was at the wheel, the first -hand on the lookout forward, the cook and the two other hands standing -by on deck for emergencies. - -So far as the wind, the sea and the drift-ice were concerned, the -danger was slight, for the _Rescue_ was stoutly built; but the sea -was strewn with vast fields and mountains of Arctic ice,--the glacier -icebergs which drift out of the north in the spring--and in their -proximity, in their great mass and changing position, lay a dreadful -danger. - -"Sure, I wisht you could chart icebergs," said the skipper to the cook. -"But," he added, anxiously, "you can't. They moves so fast an' so -peculiar that--that--well, I wisht they didn't." - -"I wisht they wasn't none," said the cook. - -"Ay, lad," said the skipper. "But they might be a wonderful big one -sixty fathom dead ahead at this minute. We couldn't see it if they was." - -"I hopes they isn't, sir," said the cook, with a shiver. - -The snow ceased before morning; but at the peep of dawn a thick fog -came up with the wind, and when the light came it added nothing to the -range of vision from the bow. The night had been black; the dawn was -gray. It was so thick that the man at the wheel could not see beyond -the foremast. The lookout was lost in the fog ahead. Eyes were now of -no more use than in the depths of a cloudy night. - -But the schooner had weathered the night; and when the first light of -day broke in the east, Skipper Job gave the wheel to the second hand, -and went below with the cook to have a cup of tea. - -"I've no mind t' lose her," said he, "so I'll leave her bowl along -under short sail. If we strike, 'twill be so much the easier." - -"'Twould be a sad pity t' lose her," said the cook, "when you've got -her so near paid for." - -"Ay, that's it," said the skipper. - -The _Rescue_ had been built for young Skipper Job, after Skipper Job's -own model, by the Ruddy Cove trader. The trader was to share in the -voyages--whether for Labrador fish or in the Shore trade--until she was -paid for. Then she would belong to Skipper Job--to the young skipper, -who had married the parson's daughter, and now had a boy of his own for -whom to plan and dream. - -That was the spring of his energy and caution--that little boy, who -could no more than toddle over the kitchen floor and gurgle a greeting -to the lithe young fellow who bounded up the path to catch him in his -arms. The schooner was the fortune of the lad and the mother; and she -was now all so nearly Job's own that another voyage or two--a mere four -months--might see the last dollar of the obligation paid over. - -"No," Skipper Job repeated, absently, when he had thought of the -toddler and the tender, smiling mother, "I've no mind t' lose this here -schooner." - -Job dreamed of the lad while he sipped his tea. They must make a parson -of him, if he had the call, the skipper thought; or a doctor, perhaps. -Whatever, that baby must never follow the sea. No, no! He must never -know the hardship and anxiety of such a night as that just past. He -must be---- - -A scream of warning broke into the dream: - -"Har-rd-a-lee!" - -Skipper Job heard the fall of the feet of a man leaping back from the -bow. There was meaning in the step, in the haste and length of the -leaps--the imminence of a collision with the ice. - -"All hands!" - -The skipper had no more than leaped to his feet when there was a -stunning crash overhead, followed on the instant by a shock that -stopped the schooner dead and made her quiver from stem to stern. The -bowsprit was rammed into the forecastle, the deck planks were ripped -up, the upper works of the bows were crushed in, the cook's pots and -pans were tumbled about, the lamp was broken and extinguished. Job was -thrown from his feet. - -When he recovered, it was to the horror of this darkness and -confusion--to a second crash and shock, to screams and trampling -overhead, and to a rain of blows upon the deck. He cried to the cook to -follow him on deck, and felt his way in mad haste to the ladder; but -there he stopped, of a sudden, with his foot on the lowest step, for -the cook had made no reply. - -"Cook, b'y!" he shouted. - -There was no answer. It was apparent that the man had been killed or -desperately injured. The skipper knew the danger of delay. They had -struck ice; the berg might overturn, some massive peak might topple -over, the ship might fill and sink. But, as a matter of course, and -with no thought of himself as a hero, he turned and made a groping -search for the cook, until he found the poor fellow lying unconscious -among his own pots and pans. Thence he carried him to the deck, and -stretched him out on the fore hatch, with the foreboom and sail to -protect him from the fragments of ice, which fell as in a shower each -time the schooner struck the berg. - -Billy Topsail caught the skipper by the arm in a strong grip. - -"We're lost!" he cried. - -The roaring wind, the hiss of the seas, the shock and wreck, the -sudden, dreadful peril, had thrown the lad into a panic. The skipper -perceived his distress, and acted promptly to restore him to his -manhood. - -"Leave me free!" he shouted, with a scowl. - -But Billy tightened his grip on the skipper's arm, and sobbed and -whined. The skipper knocked him down with a blow on the breast; then -jerked him to his feet and pointed to the pump. - -"Pump for your life!" he commanded, knowing well that what poor Billy -needed was work, of whatever kind, to give him back his courage. - - - - -CHAPTER XIV - - _Faithfully Narrating the Amazing Experiences of a - Newfoundland Schooner and Describing Billy Topsail's - Conduct in a Sinking Boat_ - - -THE deck of the _Rescue_ was now littered with wreckage and casks. -Splinters of the jib-boom, all tangled with the standing rigging, lay -upon the forward deck. The maintopmast had snapped off, and hung from -the mainmast in a tangle of wire and rope. They had already cut the -mainsail halyards, and the big sail lay upon the boom, on the port -side, in disarrayed folds. - -The bows were high out of the water, as if the ship had run up a steep, -submerged shelf of ice; and the seas, which the wind of the night had -raised, from time to time broke over the stern. It was impossible, -however, to determine the general situation of the schooner. The fog -was too thick for that, and the day had not yet fully broken. All that -was revealed, in a glance about, was that upon one hand lay a waste of -breaking water, and upon the other a dull white mass, lifting itself -into the mist. - -"'Tis bad, lads," said the skipper, when the first and second hands had -joined him under the mainmast shrouds. - -"She's lost," said the first. - -"We'll be takin' t' the boat," said the second. - -"I'm not so sure that she's lost," said the skipper. "Whatever, we'll -not take t' the boat till we have to." - -The first and second hands exchanged a glance, and together looked at -the boat. The swift glance and look were a danger-signal to the skipper. - -"Does you hear me?" he shouted, his voice ringing out above the wash of -the waves and the noise of the wind. "We'll not leave her. Take a spell -at the pump, both o' you!" - -For a moment the skipper's authority was in doubt. The men wavered. -A repetition of the command, however, with clenched fists ready to -enforce it, decided them. They relieved young Billy. - -"Is the water gainin', b'y?" said the skipper to the lad. - -Billy looked up steadily. The fright had left his eyes. He had -recovered his self-possession. - -"No, sir," he said, quietly. "'Tis gettin' less all the while." - -At that moment the ship lurched slightly and slid off the shelf. The -skipper shouted an order to raise the foresail, and ran aft to take -the wheel. But the fall of the topmast had so tangled the rigging -and jammed the gaff and boom that before the crew could remove the -unconscious cook and lift the sail, the wind had turned the schooner -and was driving her stern foremost, as it appeared, on the ice. - -The skipper, from his station at the wheel, calmly observed the nearing -berg, and gave the schooner up for lost. There was no time to raise -the sail--no room for beating out of danger. He saw, too, that if she -struck with force, the quarter-boat, which was swinging from davits -astern, would be crushed to splinters. - -"She's lost!" he thought. "Lost with all hands!" - -Nearer approach, however, disclosed the strange fact that there was a -break in the ice. When the schooner was still a few fathoms nearer, it -was observed that the great berg was in reality composed of two masses -of ice, with a narrow strait leading between them. - -The light was now stronger, and the fog had somewhat thinned; it was -possible to distinguish shadowy outlines--to see that great cliffs of -ice descended on each side of the passage to the water's edge. Still -deeper in the mist it was lighter, as if the strait indeed led directly -through the berg to the open sea beyond. The crew was gathered aft, -breathlessly awaiting the schooner's fate, helpless to fend or aid; and -the cook was lying on the roof of the cabin, where they had laid him -down, revived in part, and desperately struggling to recover his senses. - -[Illustration: "SHE'S LOST!" HE THOUGHT. "LOST WITH ALL HANDS."] - -"Lads," said the skipper, at last, "the Lord has the schooner in His -hands. They's a way through the ice. He's guidin' her into it, but -whether He'll save us or not, He only knows." - -The _Rescue_ drifted fairly into the passage, which was irregular, but -in no part less than twice the width of the vessel. She was swept on, -swinging from side to side, striking her bow here and her stern there; -and with every shock fragments of rotten ice fell in a shower from -above. - -How soon one might strike one of their number down, no man knew. How -soon some great mass, now poised in the mist, might be dislodged -and crush the schooner in its fall, no man knew. How soon the towering -cliffs might swing together and grind the ship to splinters, no man -could tell. Were these masses of ice connected deep down under water? -Or were they floating free? - -There were no answers to these questions. On went the schooner, stern -foremost, slipping ever nearer to the open.[5] - -"Skipper, sir," the first hand pleaded, "leave us launch the -quarter-boat an' pull out. 'Tis--'tis--too horrible here." - -"Ay, lads, if you will," was the reply. - -It was then discovered that a block of ice had fallen in the boat at -the bows, and sprung the planking. She was too leaky to launch; there -was nothing for it but to wait. - -"We'll calk those leaks as best we can," said the skipper. "They's no -tellin' what might----" - -The stern struck a projection, and the bow swung round and lodged -on the other side. The schooner was jammed in the passage, almost -broadside to the wind. They made a shift at calking the leaks with rags -and a square of oiled canvas. At all hazards the schooner must be -freed. - -"We must get her off quick, lads!" the skipper cried. "Come, now, who's -going with me in the boat t' tow?" - -"I, sir," said young Billy, stepping forward eagerly. - -"I, sir," said the first hand. - -"So it is," said the skipper. "Andy, Tom, when we hauls her bow off, do -you stand here with a gaff an' push. Lower away that boat, now! Billy, -do you fetch a bucket for bailin'." - -The boat was launched with great difficulty from her place in the -stern davits. She began at once to fill, for the calking had been ill -done, and she was sadly damaged. It took courage to leap into her from -the taffrail, leaky as she was, and tossing about; but there was a -desperate sort of courage in the hearts of the men who had volunteered, -and they leaped, one by one. - -Billy fell to bailing, and the skipper and the first hand rowed forward -to catch the line. The line once caught and made fast, they pulled out -with might and main. - -"She's fillin' fast, sir!" Billy gasped. - -"Bail, b'y, bail!" - -The tow-rope was now taut. The skipper and the first hand pulled -with such strength that each stroke of an oar made a hissing little -whirlpool. - -"'Tis gainin' on me fast, sir," said Billy. - -"Give way! Give way!" cried the skipper. - -The bow of the schooner swung round inch by inch--so slowly that the -sinking of the boat seemed inevitable. - -"She'll sink, sir!" said Billy, in alarm, but still bailing steadily. - -"Pull! Pull!" - -When the schooner was once more in her old position--stern foremost, -and driving slowly through the passage--the water was within an inch -of the seats of the boat, which was now heavy and almost unmanageable. -Twenty fathoms of water lay between the boat and the bow of the -schooner. - -"She's goin' down, sir!" said Billy. - -"Cast lines!" the skipper shouted to those aboard. - -Water curled over the gunwales. The boat stopped dead, and wavered, on -the point of sinking. Two lines came whizzing towards her, uncoiling in -their flight. The one was caught by the first hand, who threw himself -into the water and was hauled aboard. Billy and the skipper caught the -other. With its help and a few strong strokes they made the bow chains -and clambered to the deck. - -"She's drivin' finely," said the skipper, when he had looked around. -"Stand by, there, an' be ready with the fores'l! We'll soon be through." - -It was true enough; in a few minutes the schooner had safely drifted -through the passage, and was making off from the berg under a reefed -foresail, while the mist cleared and the sun shone out, and the peaks -and cliffs of the island of ice, far astern, shone and glistened. And -three days later the young skipper bounded up the path at Ruddy Cove, -and the little toddler whom he loved was at the kitchen door to greet -him. - -FOOTNOTE: - -[5] At this point it may be of interest to the reader to know that the -incident is true. - - - - -CHAPTER XV - - _In Which the Ruddy Cove Doctor Tells Billy Topsail and - a Stranger How He Came to Learn that the Longest Way - 'Round is Sometimes the Shortest Way Home_ - - -IT was a quiet evening--twilight: with the harbour water unruffled, and -the colours of the afterglow fast fading from the sky. Billy Topsail -and the doctor and a stranger sat by the surgery door, watching the -boats come in from the sea, and their talk had been of the common -dangers of that life. - -"It was a very narrow escape," said the doctor. - -"Crossing the harbour!" the stranger exclaimed. "Why, 'tis not two -hundred yards!" - -"'Twas my narrowest escape--and 'twas all because of Billy Topsail." - -"Along o' _me_!" cried Billy. - -"Ay," said the doctor; "'twas all along o' you. Some years ago," he -continued, "when you were a toddler in pinafores, you were taken -suddenly ill. It was a warm day in the spring of the year. The ice was -still in the harbour, locked in by the rocks at the narrows, though -the snow had all melted from the hills, and green things were shooting -from the earth in the gardens. The weather had been fine for a week," -the doctor continued, addressing the stranger, "Day by day the harbour -ice had grown more unsafe, until, when Billy was taken ill, only the -daring ventured to cross upon it. - -[Illustration: "MY LITTLE LAD'S WONDERFUL SICK. COME QUICK!"] - -"Billy's father came rushing into the surgery in a pitiable state of -grief and fright. I knew when I first caught sight of his face that -Billy was ill. - -"'Doctor,' said he, 'my little lad's wonderful sick. Come quick!' - -"'Can we cross by the ice?' I asked. - -"'I've come by that way,' said he. ''Tis safe enough t' risk. Make -haste, doctor, sir! Make haste!' - -"'Lead the way!' said I. - -"He led so cleverly that we crossed without once sounding the ice. It -was a zigzag way--a long, winding course--and I knew the day after, -though I was too intent upon the matter in hand to perceive it at the -moment, that only his experience and acquaintance with the condition of -the ice made the passage possible. After midnight, when my situation -was one of extreme peril, I realized that the way had been neither safe -for me, who followed, nor easy for the man who led. - -"'My boy is dying, doctor!' said the mother, when we entered the house. -'Oh, save him!' - -"My sympathy for the child and his parents,--they loved that lad--no -less than a certain professional interest which takes hold of a young -physician in such cases, kept me at Billy's bedside until long, -long after dark. I need not have stayed so long--ought not to have -stayed--for the lad was safe and out of pain; but in this far-away -place a man must be both nurse and doctor, and there I found myself, at -eleven o'clock of a dark night, worn out, and anxious only to reach my -bed by the shortest way. - -"'I thinks, sir,' said Billy's father, when I made ready to go, 'that I -wouldn't go back by the ice.' - -"'Oh, nonsense!' said I. 'We came over without any trouble, and I'll -find my way back, never fear.' - -"'I wisht you'd stay here the night,' said the mother. 'If you'll bide, -sir, we'll make you comfortable.' - -"'No, no,' said I. 'I must get to my own bed.' - -"'If you'll not go round by the shore, sir,' said the man, 'leave me -pilot you across.' - -"'Stay with your lad,' said I, somewhat testily. 'I'll cross by the -ice.' - -"''Twill be the longest way home the night,' said he. - -"When a man is sleepy and worn out he can be strangely perverse. I -would have my own way; and, to my cost, I was permitted to take it. -Billy's father led me down to the landing-stage, put a gaff in my hand, -and warned me to be careful--warned me particularly not to take a step -without sounding the ice ahead with my gaff; and he brought the little -lesson to an end with a wistful, 'I wisht you wouldn't risk it.' - -"The tone of his voice, the earnestness and warm feeling with which he -spoke, gave me pause. I hesitated; but the light in my surgery window, -shining so near at hand, gave me a vision of comfortable rest, and I -put the momentary indecision away from me. - -"'It is two hundred yards to my surgery by the ice,' I said, 'and it -is two miles round the harbour by the road. I'm going by the shortest -way.' - -"'You'll find it the longest, sir,' said he. - -"I repeated my directions as to the treatment of little Billy, then -gave the man good-night, and stepped out on the ice, gaff in hand. The -three hours following were charged with more terror and despair than, -doubtless, any year of my life to come shall know. I am not morbidly -afraid of death. It was not that--not the simple, natural fear of -death that made me suffer. It was the manner of its coming--in the -night, with the harbour folk, all ignorant of my extremity, peacefully -sleeping around me--the slow, cruel approach of it, closing in upon -every hand, lying all about me, and hidden from me by the night." - -The doctor paused. He looked over the quiet water of the harbour. - -"Yes," he said, repeating the short, nervous laugh, "it was a narrow -escape. The sun of the afternoon--it had shone hot and bright--had -weakened the ice, and a strong, gusty wind, such a wind as breaks up -the ice every spring, was blowing down the harbour to the sea. It had -overcast the sky with thick clouds. The night was dark. Nothing more of -the opposite shore than the vaguest outline of the hills--a blacker -shadow in a black sky--was to be seen. - -"But I had the lamp in the surgery window to guide me, and I pushed out -from the shore, resolute and hopeful. I made constant use of my gaff -to sound the ice. Without it I should have been lost before I had gone -twenty yards. From time to time, in rotten places, it broke through the -ice with but slight pressure; then I had to turn to right or left, as -seemed best, keeping to the general direction as well as I could all -the while. - -"As I proceeded, treading lightly and cautiously, I was dismayed to -find that the condition of the ice was worse than the worst I had -feared. - -"'Ah,' thought I, with a wistful glance towards the light in the -window, 'I'll be glad enough to get there.' - -"There were lakes of open water in my path; there were flooded patches, -sheets of thin, rubbery ice, stretches of rotten 'slob.' I was not even -sure that a solid path to my surgery wound through these dangers; and -if path there were, it was a puzzling maze, strewn with pitfalls, with -death waiting upon a misstep. - -"Had it been broad day, my situation would have been serious enough. -In the night, with the treacherous places all covered up and hidden, it -was desperate. I determined to return; but I was quite as unfamiliar -with the lay of the ice behind as with the path ahead. A moment of -thought persuaded me that the best plan was the boldest--to push on for -the light in the window. I should have, at least, a star to guide me. - -"'I have not far to go,' I thought. 'I must proceed with confidence and -a common-sense sort of caution. Above all, I must _not_ lose my nerve.' - -"It was easy to make the resolve; it was hard to carry it out. When I -was searching for solid ice and my gaff splashed water, when the ice -offered no more resistance to my gaff than a similar mass of sea-foam, -when my foothold bent and cracked beneath me, when, upon either side, -lay open water, and a narrowing, uncertain path lay ahead, my nerve was -sorely tried. - -"At times, overcome by the peril I could not see, I stopped dead and -trembled. I feared to strike my gaff, feared to set my foot down, -feared to quit the square foot of solid ice upon which I stood. Had it -not been for the high wind--high and fast rising to a gale--I should -have sat down and waited for the morning. But there were ominous -sounds abroad, and, although I knew little about the ways of ice, I -felt that the break-up would come before the dawn. There was nothing -for it but to go on. - -"And on I went; but at last--the mischance was inevitable--my step was -badly chosen. My foot broke through, and I found myself, of a sudden, -sinking. I threw myself forward, and fell with my arms spread out; thus -I distributed my weight over a wider area of ice and was borne up. - -"For a time I was incapable of moving a muscle; the surprise, the -rush of terror, the shock of the fall, the sudden relief of finding -myself safe for the moment had stunned me. So I lay still, hugging the -ice; for how long I cannot tell, but I know that when I recovered my -self-possession my first thought was that the light was still burning -in the surgery window--an immeasurable distance away. I must reach that -light, I knew; but it was a long time before I had the courage to move -forward. - -"Then I managed to get the gaff under my chest, so that I could throw -some part of my weight upon it, and began to crawl. The progress was -inch by inch--slow and toilsome, with no moment of security to lighten -it. I was keenly aware of my danger; at any moment, as I knew, the ice -might open and let me in. - -"I had gained fifty yards or more, and had come to a broad lake, which -I must round, when the light in the window went out. - -"'Elizabeth has given me up for the night,' I thought in despair. 'She -has blown out the light and gone to bed.' - -"There was now no point of light to mark my goal. It was very dark; -and in a few minutes I was lost. I had the wind to guide me, it is -true; but I soon mistrusted the wind. It was veering, it had veered, I -thought; it was not possible for me to trust it implicitly. In whatever -direction I set my face I fancied that the open sea lay that way. - -"Again and again I started, but upon each occasion I had no sooner -begun to crawl than I fancied that I had mischosen the way. Of course -I cried for help, but the wind swept my frantic screams away, and no -man heard them. The moaning and swish of the gale, as it ran past the -cottages, drowned my cries. The sleepers were not alarmed. - -"Meanwhile that same wind was breaking up the ice. I could hear the -cracking and grinding long before I felt the motion of the pan upon -which I lay. But at last I did feel that mass of ice turn and gently -heave, and then I gave myself up for lost. - -"'Doctor! Doctor!' - -"The voice came from far to windward. The wind caught my answering -shout and carried it out to sea. - -"'They will not hear me,' I thought. 'They will not come to help me.' - -"The light shone out from the surgery window again. Then lights -appeared in the neighbouring houses, and passed from room to room. -There had been an alarm. But my pan was breaking up! Would they find me -in time? Would they find me at all? - -"Lanterns were now gleaming on the rocks back of my wharf. Half a dozen -men were coming down on the run, bounding from rock to rock of the -path. By the light of the lanterns I saw them launch a boat on the ice -and drag it out towards me. From the edge of the shore ice they let it -slip into the water, pushed off and came slowly through the opening -lanes of water, calling my name at intervals. - -"The ice was fast breaking and moving out. When they caught my hail -they were not long about pushing the boat to where I lay. Nor, you may -be sure, was I long about getting aboard." - -The doctor laughed nervously. - -"Doctor," said the stranger, "how did they know that you were in -distress?" - -"Oh," said the doctor, "it was Billy's father. He was worried, and -walked around by the shore. When he found that I was not home, he -roused the neighbours." - -"As the proverb runs," said the stranger, "the longest way round is -sometimes the shortest way home." - -"Yes," said the doctor, "I chose the longest way." - - - - -CHAPTER XVI - - _Describing How Billy Topsail Set out for Ruddy Cove with - Her Majesty's Mail and Met with Catastrophe_ - - -THROUGH the long, evil-tempered winter, when ice and high winds keep -the coasting boats from the outports, the Newfoundland mails are -carried by hand from settlement to settlement, even to the farthermost -parts of the bleak peninsula to the north. - -Arch Butt's link in the long chain was from Burnt Bay to Ruddy Cove. -Once a week, come wind, blizzard or blinding sunlight, with four -dollars and a half to reward him at the end of it, he made the eighty -miles of wilderness and sea, back and forth, with the mail-bag on his -broad back. - -No man of the coast, save he, dared face that stretch in all weathers. -It may be that he tramped a league, skated a league, sailed a league, -sculled a league, groped his way through a league of night, breasted -his way through a league of wind, picked his way over a league of -shifting ice. - -To be sure, he chose the way which best favoured his progress and -least frayed the thread upon which his life hung. - -"Seems t' me, b'y," he said to his mate from New Bay, when the great -gale of '98 first appeared in the northeast sky--"seems t' me we _may_ -make Duck Foot Cove the night, safe enough." - -"Maybe, lad," was the reply, after a long, dubious survey of the rising -clouds. "Maybe we'll get clear o' the gale, but 'twill be a close call, -whatever (at any rate)." - -"Maybe," said Arch. "'Twould be well t' get Her Majesty's mail so far -as Duck Foot Cove, whatever." - -When Arch Butt made Duck Foot Cove that night, he was on the back of -his mate, who had held to him, through all peril, with such courage -as makes men glorious. Ten miles up the bay, his right foot had been -crushed in the ice, which the sea and wind had broken into unstable -fragments. Luff of New Bay had left him in the cottage of Billy -Topsail's uncle, Saul Ride, by the Head, the only habitation in the -cove, and made the best of his own way to the harbours of the west -coast of the bay. Three days' delay stared the Ruddy Cove mailman in -the face. - -"Will you not carry the mail t' Ruddy Cove, Saul Ride?" he demanded, -when he had dressed his foot, and failed, stout as he was, to bear the -pain of resting his weight upon it. - -"'Tis too far in a gale for my old legs," said Ride, "an'----" - -"But 'tis Her Majesty's mail!" cried Arch. "Won't you try, b'y?" - -"An I had a chance t' make it, I'd try, quick enough," said Ride -sharply; "but 'twould be not only me life, but the mail I'd lose. The -ice do be broken up 'tween here an' Creepy Bluff; an' not even Arch -Butt, hisself, could walk the hills." - -"Three days lost!" Arch groaned. "All the letters three days late! An' -all----" - -"Letters!" Ride broke in scornfully. "Letters, is it? Don't you fret -about they. A love letter for the parson's daughter; the price o' fish -from St. John's for the old skipper; an' a merchant's account for every -fisherman t' the harbour: they be small things t' risk life for." - -The mailman laid his hand on the leather bag at his side. He fingered -the government seal tenderly and his eyes flashed splendidly when he -looked up. - -"'Tis Her Majesty's mail!" he said. "Her Majesty's mail! Who knows what -they be in this bag. Maybe, b'y--maybe--maybe they's a letter for old -Aunt Esther Bludgel. She've waited this three year for a letter from -that boy," he continued. "Maybe _'tis_ in there now. Sure, b'y, an' I -believe 'tis in there. Saul Ride, the mail must go!" - -A touch of the bruised foot on the floor brought the mailman groaning -to his chair again. If the mail were to go to Ruddy Cove that night, -it was not to be carried on his back: that much was evident. Saul Ride -gazed at him steadily for a moment. Something of the younger man's fine -regard for duty communicated itself to him. There had been a time--the -days of his strength--when he, too, would have thought of duty before -danger. He went abstractly to the foot of the loft stair. - -"Billy!" he called. "Billy!" - -"Ay, Uncle Saul," was the quick response. - -"I wants you, b'y." - -Billy Topsail came swiftly down the stair. He was spending a week with -his lonely Uncle Saul at Duck Foot Cove. A summons at that hour meant -pressing service--need of haste. What was the call? Were they all well -at home? He glanced from one man to the other. - -"B'y," said Ride, with a gesture towards the mail-bag, "will you carry -that bag to Ruddy Cove? Will----" - -"Will you carry Her Majesty's mail t' Ruddy Cove?" Arch Butt burst out. -His voice thrilled Billy, as he continued: "Her Majesty's mail!" - -"'Tis but that black bag, b'y," Ride said quietly. "Will you take it t' -Ruddy Cove t'-night? Please yourself about it." - -"Ay," said Billy quickly. "When?" - -"'Twill be light enough in four hours," said the mailman. - -"Go back t' bed, b'y," Ride said. "I'll wake you when 'tis time t' be -off." - -Five minutes later the boy was sound asleep. - - * * * * * - -No Newfoundlander ventures out upon the ice without his gaff--a -nine-foot pole, made of light, tough dog-wood, and iron-shod. It was -with his own true gaff that Billy felt his way out of Duck Foot Cove as -the night cleared away. - -The sea had abated somewhat with the wind. In the bay beyond the cove, -the broken ice was freezing into one vast, rough sheet, solid as the -coast rocks on the pans, but unsafe, and deceptive over the channels -between. The course was down the bay, skirting the shore, to Creepy -Bluff, then overland to Ruddy Cove, which is a port of the open sea: in -all, twenty-one miles, with the tail of the gale to beat against. - -"Feel every step o' the way till the light comes strong," had been old -Saul Ride's last word to the boy. "Strike hard with your gaff before -you put your foot down." - -Billy kept his gaff before him--feeling his way much as a blind man -taps the pavement as he goes along a city street. The search for solid -ice led him this way and that, but his progress towards Creepy Bluff, -the shadowy outline of which he soon could see, steadily continued. He -surmised that it was still blowing hard in the open, beyond the shelter -of the islands; and he wondered if the wind would sweep him off his -feet when he essayed to cross Sloop Run, down which it ran, unbroken, -from the sea to the bluff. - -"Her Majesty's mail!" he muttered, echoing the thrill in the mailman's -voice. "Her Majesty's mail!" - -When the light was stronger--but it was not yet break of day--he -thought to make greater haste by risking more. Now and again he chanced -himself on a suspicious-looking black sheet. Now and again he ran -nimbly over many yards of rubber ice, which yielded and groaned, but -did not break. Often he ventured where Arch Butt would not have dared -take his massive body. All this he did, believing always that he should -not delay the Gull Arm mailman, who might even then be waiting for him -in Ruddy Cove. - -But when he had covered six miles of the route, he came to a wide -channel which was not yet frozen over. It lay between two large pans. -How far he might have to diverge from his course to cross without risk, -he could not tell. He was impressed with the fact that, once across, -the way lay clear before him--a long stretch of solid ice. - -"Sure, I must cross here," he thought. - -He sought for a large cake of floating ice, that he might ferry himself -across with his gaff. None great enough to bear his weight was to be -seen--none, at least, within reach of his gaff. There were small cakes -a-plenty; these were fragments heavy enough to bear him for but an -instant. Could he cross on them? He thought he might leap from one to -the other so swiftly that none would be called upon to sustain his full -weight, and thus pass safely over. - -With care he chose the path he would follow. Then, without hesitation, -he leaped for the first cake--passed to the second--to the third--to -the fourth--stepping so lightly from one to the other that the water -did not touch the soles of his boots. In a moment, he was whistling on -his way on the other side, leaving the channel ice bobbing excitedly -behind him. - -Soon he broke off whistling and began to sing. On he trudged, piping -merrily: - - 'Way down on Pigeon Pond Island, - When daddy comes home from swilin',[6] - Cakes and tea for breakfast, - Pork and duff for dinner, - Cakes and tea for supper, - 'Way down on Pigeon Pond Island. - -At noon he came to an expanse of bad ice. He halted at the edge of it -to eat a bit of the hard bread and dried venison in his nunny-bag. -Then, forward again! He advanced with great caution, sounding every -step, on the alert for thin places. A mile of this and he had grown -weary. He was not so quick, not so sure, in his estimate of the -strength of the ice. The wind, now blowing in stronger gusts, brought -the water to his eyes and impaired his sight. He did not regret his -undertaking, but he began ardently to wish that Creepy Bluff were -nearer. Thus moved, his pace increased--with ever-increasing peril to -himself. He must make haste! - -What befell the boy came suddenly. He trusted his feet to a drift of -snow. Quick as a flash, and all unready, he was submerged in the water -beneath. - -FOOTNOTE: - -[6] Sealing. - - - - -CHAPTER XVII - - _Billy Topsail Wrings Out His Clothes and Finds Himself - Cut off From Shore by Thirty Yards of Heaving Ice_ - - -BILLY could swim--could swim like any Newfoundland dog bred in Green -Bay. Moreover, the life he led--the rugged, venturesome calling of the -shore fishermen--had inured him to sudden danger. First of all he freed -himself from the cumbersome mail-bag. He would not have abandoned it -had he not been in such case as when, as the Newfoundlanders say, it -was "every hand for his life." - -Then he made for the surface with swift, strong strokes. A few more -strokes brought him to the edge of the ice. He clambered out, still -gasping for breath, and turned about to account to himself for his -predicament. - -The drift of snow had collapsed; he observed that it had covered some -part of a wide hole, and that the exposed water was almost of a colour -with the ice beyond--a polished black. Hence, he did not bitterly blame -himself for the false step, as he might have done had he plunged -himself into obvious danger through carelessness. He did not wonder -that he had been deceived. - -Her Majesty's mail, so far as the boy could determine, was slowly -sinking to the bottom of the bay. - -There was no help in regret. To escape from the bitter wind and the -dusk, now fast falling, was the present duty. He could think of all the -rest when he had leisure to sit before the fire and dream. He took off -his jacket and wrung it out--a matter of some difficulty, for it was -already stiff with frost. His shirt followed--then his boots and his -trousers. Soon he was stripped to his rosy skin. The wind, sweeping in -from the open sea, stung him as it whipped past. - -When the last garment was wrung out he was shivering, and his teeth -were chattering so fast that he could not keep them still. Dusk soon -turns to night on this coast, and the night comes early. There was -left but time enough to reach the first of the goat-paths at Creepy -Bluff, two miles away--not time to finish the overland tramp to Ruddy -Cove--before darkness fell. - -When he was about to dress, his glance chanced to pass over the water. -The mail-bag--it could be nothing else--was floating twenty-yards off -the ice. It had been prepared with cork for such accidents, which not -infrequently befall it. - -"'Tis Her Majesty's mail, b'y," Billy could hear the mailman say. - -"But 'tis more than I can carry t' Ruddy Cove now," he thought. - -Nevertheless, he made no move to put on his shirt. He continued to look -at the mail-bag. "'Tis the mail--gov'ment mail," he thought again. -Then, after a rueful look at the water: "Sure, nobody'll know that it -floated. 'Tis as much as I can do t' get myself safe t' Gull Cove. I'd -freeze on the way t' Ruddy Cove." - -There was no comfort in these excuses. There, before him, was the bag. -It was in plain sight. It had not sunk. He would fail in his duty to -the country if he left it floating there. It was an intolerable thought! - -"'Tis t' Ruddy Cove I'll take that bag this day," he muttered. - -He let himself gingerly into the water, and struck out. It was bitter -cold, but he persevered, with fine courage, until he had his arm -safely linked through the strap of the bag. It was the country he -served! In some vague form this thought sounded in his mind, repeating -itself again and again, while he swam for the ice with the bag in tow. - -He drew himself out with much difficulty, hauled the mail-bag after -him, and proceeded to dress with all speed. His clothes were frozen -stiff, and he had to beat them on the ice to soften them; but the -struggle to don them sent the rich blood rushing through his body, and -he was warmed to a glow. - -On went the bag, and off went the boy. When he came to the firmer ice, -and Creepy Bluff was within half a mile, the wind carried this cheery -song up the bay: - - Lukie's boat is painted green, - The finest boat that ever was seen; - Lukie's boat has cotton sails, - A juniper rudder and galvanized nails. - -At Creepy Bluff, which the wind strikes with full force, the ice was -breaking up inshore. The gale had risen with the coming of the night. -Great seas spent their force beneath the ice--cracking it, breaking it, -slowly grinding it to pieces against the rocks. - -The Bluff marks the end of the bay. No ice forms beyond. Thus the waves -swept in with unbroken power, and were fast reducing the shore cakes to -a mass of fragments. Paul was cut off from the shore by thirty yards of -heaving ice. No bit of it would bear his weight; nor, so fine had it -been ground, could he leap from place to place as he had done before. - -"'Tis sprawl I must," he thought. - -The passage was no new problem. He had been in such case more than -once upon his return from the offshore seal-hunt. Many fragments would -together bear him up, where few would sink beneath him. He lay flat on -his stomach, and, with the gaff to help support him, crawled out from -the solid place, dragging the bag. His body went up and down with the -ice. Now an arm was thrust through, again a leg went under water. - -Progress was fearfully slow. Inch by inch he gained on the -shore--crawling--crawling steadily. All the while he feared that the -great pans would drift out and leave the fragments room to disperse. -Once he had to spread wide his arms and legs and pause until the ice -was packed closer. - -"Two yards more--only two yards more!" he could say at last. - -Once on the road to Ruddy Cove, which he well knew, his spirits rose; -and with a cheery mood came new strength. It was a rough road, up hill -and down again, through deep snowdrifts and over slippery rocks. Night -fell; but there was light enough to show the way, save in the deeper -valleys, and there he had to struggle along as best he might. - -Step after step, hill after hill, thicket after thicket: cheerfully he -trudged on; for the mail-bag was safe on his back, and Ruddy Cove was -but three miles distant. Three was reduced to two, two to one, one to -the last hill. - -From the crest of Ruddy Rock he could look down on the lights of the -harbour--yellow lights, lying in the shadows of the valley. There was -a light in the post-office. They were waiting for him there--waiting -for their letters--waiting to send the mail on to the north. In a few -minutes he could say that Her Majesty's mail had been brought safe to -Ruddy Cove. - - * * * * * - -"Be the mail come?" - -Billy looked up from his seat by the roaring fire in the post-office. -An old woman had come in. There was a strange light in her eyes--the -light of a hope which survives, spite of repeated disappointment. - -"Sure, Aunt Esther; 'tis here at last." - -"Be there a letter for me?" - -Billy hoped that there was. He longed to see those gentle eyes -shine--to see the famished look disappear. - -"No, Aunt Esther; 'tis not come yet. Maybe 'twill come next----" - -"Sure, I've waited these three year," she said, with a trembling lip. -"'Tis from me son----" - -"Ha!" cried the postmaster. "What's this? 'Tis all blurred by the -water. 'Missus E--s--B--l--g--e--l.' Sure, 'tis you, woman. 'Tis a -letter for you at last!" - -"'Tis from me son!" the old woman muttered eagerly. "'Tis t' tell me -where he is, an'--an'--when he's comin' home. Thank God, the mail came -safe the night." - -What if Billy had left the mail-bag to soak and sink in the waters of -the bay? What if he had failed in his duty to the people? How many -other such letters might there not be in that bag for the mothers and -fathers of the northern ports? - -"Thank God," he thought, "that Her Majesty's mail came safe the night!" - -Then he went off home, and met Bobby Lot on the way. - -"Hello!" said Bobby. "Got back?" - -"Hello yourself!" said Billy. "I did." - -They eyed each other delightedly; they were too boyish to shake hands. - -"How's the ice?" asked Bobby Lot. - -"Not bad," said Billy. - - - - -CHAPTER XVIII - - _In Which Billy Topsail Joins the Whaler Viking and a - School is Sighted_ - -OF a sunny afternoon the Newfoundland coastal steamer _Clyde_ dropped -Billy Topsail at Snook's Arm, the lair of the whaler _Viking_: a -deep, black inlet of the sea, fouled by the blood and waste flesh of -forgotten victims, from the slimy edge of which, where a score of -whitewashed cottages were squatted, the rugged hills lifted their heads -to the clean blue of the sky and fairly held their noses. It was all -the manager's doing. Billy had but given him direction through the fog -from Mad Mull to the landing place of the mail-boat. This was at Ruddy -Cove, in the spring, when the manager was making an annual visit to the -old skipper. - -"If you want a berth for the summer, Billy," he had said, "you can be -ship's boy on the _Viking_." - -On the _Viking_--the whaler! Billy was not in doubt. And so it came to -pass, in due course of time, that the _Clyde_ dropped him at Snook's -Arm. - -At half-past three of the next morning, when the dark o' night was but -lightened by a rosy promise out to sea, the _Viking's_ lines were cast -off. At half speed the little steamer moved out upon the quiet waters -of the Arm, where the night still lay thick and cold--slipped with -a soft chug! chug! past the high, black hills; factory and cottages -melting with the mist and shadows astern, and the new day glowing in -the eastern sky. She was an up-to-date, wide-awake little monster, with -seventy-five kills to her credit in three months, again composedly -creeping from the lair to the hunt, equipped with deadly weapons of -offense. - -"'Low we'll get one the day, sir?" Billy asked the cook. - -"Wonderful quiet day," replied the cook, dubiously. "'Twill be hard -fishin'." - -The fin-back whale is not a stupid, passive monster, to be slaughtered -off-hand; nor is the sea a well-ordered shambles. Within the experience -of the _Viking's_ captain, one fin-back wrecked a schooner with a quick -slap of the tail, and another looked into the forecastle of an iron -whaler from below. The fin-back is the biggest, fleetest, shyest whale -of them all; until an ingenious Norwegian invented the harpoon gun, -they wallowed and multiplied in the Newfoundland waters undisturbed. -They were quite safe from pursuit; no whaler of the old school dreamed -of taking after them in his cockle shell--they were too wary and fleet -for that. - -"Ay," the cook repeated; "on a day like this a whale can _play_ with -the _Viking_." - -The _Viking_ was an iron screw-steamer, designed for chasing whales, -and for nothing else. She was mostly engines, winches and gun. She -could slip along, without much noise, at sixteen knots an hour; and -she could lift sixty tons from the bottom of the sea with her little -finger. Her gun--the swivel gun, with a three-inch bore, pitched at the -bow, clear of everything--could drive a four-foot, 123-pound harpoon -up to the hilt in the back of a whale if within range; and the harpoon -itself--it protruded from the muzzle of the gun, with the rope attached -to the shaft and coiled below--was a deadly missile. It was tipped with -an iron bomb, which was designed to explode in the quarry's vitals when -the rope snapped taut, and with half a dozen long barbs, which were to -spread and take hold at the same instant. - -"Well," Billy Topsail sighed, his glance on the gun and the harpoon, -"if they hits a whale, that there arrow ought t' do the work!" - -"It does," said the cook, quietly. - -All morning long, they were all alive on deck--every man of that -Norwegian crew, from the grinning man in the crow's nest, which was -lashed to a stubby yellow mast, to the captain on the gun platform, -with the glass to his eyes, and the stokers who stuck their heads out -of the engine room for a breath of fresh air. The squat, grim little -_Viking_ was speeding across Notre Dame Bay, with a wide, frothy wake -behind her, and the water curling from her bows. She was for all -the world like a man making haste to business in the morning, the -appointment being, in this case, off a low, gray coast, which the -lifting haze was but then disclosing. - -It was broad day: the sea was quiet, the sun shining brightly, the sky -a cloudless blue; a fading breeze ruffled the water, and the ripples -flashed in the sunlight. Dead ahead and far away, where the gray of -the coast rocks shaded to the blue of the sea, little puffs of spray -were drifting off with the light wind, like the puff of smoke from a -distant rifle: they broke and drifted and vanished. - -From time to time mirror-flashes of light--swift little flashes--struck -Billy's eyes and darted away. Puff after puff of spray, flash after -flash of light: the far-off sea seemed to be alive with the quarry. But -where was the thrilling old cry of "There she blows!" or its Norwegian -equivalent? The lookout had but spoken a quiet word to the captain, -who, in turn, had spoken a quiet word to the steersman. - -"W'ales," said the captain, whose English had its limitations. "Ho--far -off!" - - - - -CHAPTER XIX - - _In which the Chase is Kept up and the Captain Promises - Himself a Kill_ - -THE number of whales was less than the captain of the _Viking_ had -thought. When the vessel came up with the school, however, there were -twenty or more fin-backs to pick and choose from. They lay on every -hand, wallowing at the surface of the sea and spouting thick, low -streams of water with evident delight: whales far and near, big and -small, in pairs and threes, rising and gently sinking, blowing and -_hon-g-king_, and, at last, arching their broad, finned backs for the -long dive. - -The breathing spell was of two or three minutes' duration, the dive -of five or ten, and might last much longer. Billy was told that as -the whales went thus, rising and diving, they travelled in a circle, -feeding on young caplin and herring, squid and crustaceans. He had -never thought to admire the grace of a whale; but his admiration was -compelled: the ponderous, ill-proportioned monsters were so perfectly -adapted to the element they were in that the languor and grace with -which they moved was a delight--particularly when they arched their -glistening black backs and softly, languidly vanished. - -But meantime the _Viking_ was lying silent and still; and-- - -"_Hon-g-k!_" from off the port bow. - -"Ha!" exclaimed the captain. - -A big whale had risen. The long "_Hon-g-k!_" as he had inhaled a small -cyclone of breath was sufficient to tell that. He was big and he was -near. - -"Full speed!" quietly from the captain in Norwegian. - -The steersman had already spun the wheel without orders. The _Viking_ -swung in a half circle and made for the whale at top speed. There -was just a quiver of excitement abroad--a deepening glitter in the -eyes of the crew, and silence. The rush was upon the whale from -behind--instant, swift, straight: the engines chug-chugged and the -water swished noisily at the bows. There was no lying in ambush, no -stalking: it was sight your game and make for him. - -The captain leaned lazily on the gun, which he had not yet swung into -position for firing; his legs were crossed, though the whale was not a -hundred yards away, and he was placidly smoking his pipe. The fin-back -lay dead ahead now, apparently unconscious of the _Viking's_ approach, -and she was soon so near that his escape seemed to Billy to be beyond -the barest chance. The captain waved his hand, calmly looked over the -sea, and fell again into his careless position, with one eye on the -whale. - -At once the engines stopped and the _Viking_ slipped softly on with -diminishing speed. When she was within thirty yards of the whale, -each separate muscle of Billy's body was tight with excitement--but -the whale arched his back and slipped down deep into the water with a -contemptuous swing of his broad, strong tail. - -"Psh-h!" exclaimed the captain, giving one slippered foot a kick with -the other. "Psh!" - -They were running over a stretch of frothy, swirling water, where the -whale had lain a moment before. - -"_Hon-g-k_!" from off the starboard quarter. - -The captain signaled the steersman, who shouted "Full speed!" down the -wheel-house tube. In a flash they were chug-chugging in haste after -another whale--which eluded them at once, with no more fuss than the -first had made: no blowing and frantic splashing; just a lifting of the -back and a languid swing of the tail. Thus the third, the fourth, the -fifth: again and again, through the hours of that quiet morning, they -gave chase; but all to no purpose--on the contrary, indeed, with the -bad effect of alarming the whole school. The whales made sport of them; -the flash of their fins, as they slipped away beyond pursuit, was most -aggravating. - -Soon the captain's "Psh!" became guttural, and communicated itself -to the man in the crow's-nest and the engineer who was off duty; the -elusive fin-backs were too much for the patience of them all. But for -hours the "old man" leaned on the gun and smoked his pipe, intent on -the chase through every moment of that time. He kicked his right foot -with his left; his broad back shook with rage; strange ejaculations -drifted back with the clouds of tobacco smoke: that was all. Repeated -disappointment but heightened the alertness and eagerness of the crew. -Every lost whale was dismissed with a "Psh-h!" and quite forgotten in -the pursuit of the next one. - -Nine hours out from Snook's Arm and six with the school without -pointing a gun! - -"Agh!" the captain exclaimed, jumping from the gun platform, at last, -"the whale captain have the worst business of all men. Agh! but I wish -for rough seas. But I wish I had my harpoon in the back of some whale." - -All days are not blue. Before the summer was over, Billy Topsail -learned there were times when the _Viking_ put out from the shelter of -Snook's Arm to a sea that _is_ rough. A gale from the northeast, gray -and gusty, whips up the white horses, and frost gives new weight to the -water. Wind and fog and high seas and sleet make the chase perilous -as well as bitter. She stumbles through the waves and wallows in the -trough with a clear-cut duty before her--to catch and kill a whale: the -little niceties of dodging breaking waves cannot be indulged in when -all manoevering must be directed towards coming up with the quarry -from the proper firing-quarter. - -But Billy's first day was clear and quiet; and the whales were having a -glorious innings with the enemy. - - * * * * * - -By noon the prospects for a kill had faded to a bare possibility; the -school had been well scattered. Down the coast and up the coast, out to -sea and far away across the bay, puffs of spray made known the various -directions the whales had taken. About two o'clock--ten hours out from -Snook's Arm, with no let up in duty--the crew were attracted by the -deep, long _hon-g-k_ of a big fellow out to sea and by the spouting of -his two companions: a group of three, male and female, doubtless, with -a well-grown young one. They gave chase. Captain and crew had come to -that pass when fury gets the better of patience. - -It was determined to hunt that little school to the death or until deep -night put an end to the chase. - -"I get 'im," said the captain between his teeth. "He is big. I get -him--or none." - -It was not easy to get him. They were led twenty miles to sea in short -rushes, each of which ended in disappointment and elicited a storm of -guttural ejaculations; they were lured inshore, where submerged rocks -were a menace; they were taken up the coast and back again towards the -islands of the lower shore and once more to sea. Mile after mile--hour -after hour! They came near--they could have hit the beast with a -stone. Occasionally the captain swung the gun into position and put a -hand on the trigger; but the arching back always gave notice, in good -time, that he had been balked again. They tried to guess the point -where the quarry would rise; they steamed near that point, and lay -there waiting. - -"_Hon-g-k_!" from half a mile astern. - -"Agh!" cried the captain, chagrin twisting his face. "The whale captain -have pos--ee--tiv--lee the worst----! Full speed!" - -Off again in persistent chase. Meantime the sun had declined; evening -was drawing on, with gray clouds mounting in the west, and a breeze -rising inshore. The sea was spread with shadow, and all the ripples -grew to little waves, which, hissing as they broke, obscured the swish -of water at our bows. The opportunity was better, and the whales, it -may be, had acquired the inevitable contempt that familiarity breeds. -The _Viking_ crept nearer. Each time, a little nearer; and, by and by, -when she had come within range--within range for the first time that -day--and was running at half speed, with the grayish-black backs most -temptingly exposed, the captain dropped the muzzle of the gun, took -swift sight, and--swung the gun around with impatient force! The whale -was gone on the long dive before a vital spot had been exposed. - -There was no impatience of action aboard the _Viking_: the harpoon -might even then have been fast in the whale's back, but the captain had -coolly withheld his stroke until the opportunity should be precisely -what he sought. And this display of patience after a fruitless chase of -fifteen hours! Billy Topsail gasped his disappointment. But the captain -laughed. - -"I get him yet," he said. "Soon, now," after a look at sea and -darkening sky. - - - - -CHAPTER XX - - _The Mate of the Fin-Back Whale Rises for the Last Time, - With a Blood-Red Sunset Beyond, and Billy Topsail - Says, "Too bad!"_ - - -HALF a mile ahead the whales rose. The _Viking_ crept near without -giving alarm, and waited for them to dive and rise again. The warning -swish and _hon-g-k_ sounded next from off the port bow. There was a -shout from the crew. The school lay close in, headed away; they were -splashing and blissfully _hon-g-king_--and the _Viking_ not fifty yards -distant. She was upon them from behind before they had well drawn -breath. Steam was shut off. The captain's eye was at the butt of the -gun, and his hand was on the trigger. The boat crept nearer--so near -that Billy Topsail could have leaped from the bow to the back of the -young whale; and she was fast losing way. - -But it was not the young whale that the captain wanted. He held his -fire. Down went the young one. Down went the bull whale. But had he -arched his back? The old female wallowed a moment longer and dived -with arched back. She barely escaped the _Viking's_ bows and might -have been mortally harpooned with ease. But it was not the female that -the captain wanted. It was the big male. There was not a whale in -sight. Still the captain kept his eye at the butt of the gun and his -hand on the trigger. - -A moment later--the steamer was slipping along very slowly--the water -ahead was disturbed. The back of the bull whale appeared. A stream of -water shot into the air and broke like a fountain. The _Viking_ kept -pace--gained; momentarily creeping nearer, until the range was but ten -yards. Then the whale, as though taking alarm, arched his back; and---- - -Bang! - -The puff of smoke drifted away. Billy Topsail caught sight of the -harpoon, sunk to the hilt in the whale's side. Then the waters closed -over the wounded beast. - -"Ha!" cried the captain, jumping from the platform, and strutting about -with his thumbs in the armholes of his waistcoat. "Did you see me? Ha! -It is over!" - -A cheer broke from the crew. The men ran forward to their stations at -the winch. - -"Ha!" the captain repeated with intense satisfaction, his ruddy face -wreathed in smiles. "Did you see me? Ha-a-a-a! It is a dead w'ale." - -[Illustration: "IT IS A DEAD W'ALE!"] - -The harpoon line was paying out slowly, controlled by a big steam -winch--a gigantic fishing reel. The engines were stopped; but the -_Viking_ was going forward at a lively rate as the catch plunged down -and on. Minute after minute slipped away--five minutes; then the rope -slackened somewhat, and, a moment later, the big whale came to the -surface and spouted streams of blood--streams as red as the streak of -sunset light in the gray sky beyond him. He floundered there in agony, -blowing and _hon-g-king_ and beating the sea with his tail: turning the -water crimson with his blood. - -It took him a long, long time to die, frightfully torn by the bomb -though he was. He dived and rose and coughed; and at last he sank -slowly down, down, and still down; drawing out a hundred and forty -fathom of line: straight down to the bottom of the sea in that place. -From time to time the captain touched the rope with his fingers; -and when the tremour of life had passed from it he gave the signal -to haul away. Half an hour later the carcass of the monster was -inflated with gas, lying belly up at the surface of the water, and -lashed by the tail to the port bow of the steamer. - -Off the starboard quarter--far away where the dusk had gathered--the -mate of the dead whale rose, _hon-g-ked_, dived and was seen no more. - -"Too bad!" muttered Billy Topsail. - - - - -CHAPTER XXI - - _In Which Billy Topsail Goes Fishing in Earnest. - Concerning, also, Feather's Folly of the Devil's - Teeth, Mary Robinson, and the Wreck of the Fish - Killer_ - - -FEATHER'S FOLLY was one of a group of troublesome islands lying off -Cape Grief on the way to the Labrador. Surveyed by a generously -inaccurate apprentice it might have measured an acre. It was as barren -as an old bone; but a painstaking man, with unimpaired eyesight, if he -lingered long and lovingly enough over the task, could doubtless have -discovered more than one blade of grass. There is no adjective in the -English language adequate to describe its forbidding appearance as -viewed from the sea in a gale of wind. - -On the chart it was a mere dot--a nameless rock, the outermost of a -group most happily called the Devil's Teeth. To the Labrador fishermen, -bound north from Newfoundland in the spring, bound south, with their -loads of green cod, in the fall, it was the Cocked Hat. This name, -too, is aptly descriptive; many a schooner, caught in the breakers, -had, as the old proverb hath it, been knocked into that condition, or -worse. But to the folk of the immediate coast, and especially of Hulk's -Harbour, which lies within sight on the mainland, it was for long known -as Feather's Folly. - -Old Bill Feather had once been wrecked on the Cocked Hat. The little -_Lucky Lass_, bound to Hulk's Harbour from the Hen-and-Chickens, -and sunk to the scupper-holes with green fish, had struck in a fog. -Four minutes later she had gone down with all hands save Bill. An -absentminded breaker had deposited him high and dry on a ledge of the -northeast cliff; needless to say, it was much to Bill's surprise. For -five days the castaway had shivered and starved on the barren rock. -This was within sight of the chimney-smoke of home--of the harbour -tickle, of the cottage roofs; even, in clear weather, of the flakes and -stage of his own place. - -"It won't happen again," vowed Bill, when they took his lean, sore hulk -home. - -What Bill did--what he planned and accomplished in the face of ridicule -and adverse fortune--earned the rock the name of Feather's Folly in -that neighbourhood. - -"Anyhow," old Bill was in the habit of repeating, to defend himself, "I -'low it won't happen again. An' I'll _see_ that it don't!" - -But season followed season, without event; and the Cocked Hat was still -known as Feather's Folly. - -Billy Topsail was to learn this. - - * * * * * - -It was early in the spring of the year--too early by half, the old -salts said, for Labrador craft to put out from the Newfoundland ports. -Thick, vagrant fogs, drifting with the variable winds, were abroad -on all the coast; and the Arctic current was spread with drift ice -from the upper shores and with great bergs from the glaciers of the -far north. But Skipper Libe Tussel, of the thirty-ton _Fish Killer_, -hailing from Ruddy Cove, was a firm believer in the fortunes of the -early bird; moreover, he was determined that the skipper of the _Cod -Trap_, hailing from Fortune, should not this season preempt his -trap-berth on the Thigh Bone fishing grounds. So the _Fish Killer_ was -underway for the north, early as it was; and she was cheerily game to -face the chances of wind and ice, if only she might beat the _Cod Trap_ -to the favourable opportunities of the Thigh Bone grounds off Indian -Harbour. - -"It's thick," Robinson remarked to the skipper. - -"_'Tis_ thick." - -Billy Topsail, now grown old enough for the adventurous voyage to the -Labrador coast, was aboard; and he listened to this exchange with a -deal of interest. It was his first fishing voyage; he had been north -in the _Rescue_, to be sure, but that was no more than a cruise, -undertaken to relieve the starving fishermen of the upper harbours. At -last, he was fishing in earnest--really aboard the _Fish Killer_, bound -north, there to fish the summer through, in all sorts of weather, with -a share in the catch at the end of it! He was vastly delighted by this: -for 'twas a man's work he was about, and 'twas a man's work he was -wanting to do. - -"Thick as mud," said Robinson, with a little shiver. - -"'S mud," the skipper responded, in laconic agreement. - -And it _was_ thick! The fog had settled at mid-day. A fearsome array -of icebergs had then been in sight, and the low coast, with the snow -still upon it, had to leeward shone in the brilliant sunlight. But -now, with the afternoon not yet on the wane, the day had turned murky -and damp. A bank of black fog had drifted in from the open sea. Ice -and shore had disappeared. The limit of vision approached, possibly, -but did not attain, twenty-five yards. The weather was thick, indeed; -the schooner seemed to be winging along through a boundless cloud; and -there was a smart breeze blowing, and the circle of sea, in the exact -centre of which the schooner floated, was choppy and black. - -"Thick enough," Skipper Libe echoed, thoughtfully. "But," he added, -"you wouldn't advise heavin' to, would you?" - -"No, no!" Robinson exclaimed. "I'm too anxious to get to Indian -Harbour." - -"And I," muttered the skipper, with an anxious look ahead, "to make the -Thigh Bone grounds. But----" - -"Give her all the wind she'll carry," said Robinson. "It won't bother -me." - -"I thinks," the skipper continued, ignoring the interruption, "that -I'll shorten sail. For," said he, "I'm thinkin' the old girl might -bleed at the nose if she happened t' bump a berg." - -While the crew reduced the canvas, Robinson went below. He was the -Hudson's Bay Company's agent at Dog Arm of the Labrador, which is close -to Indian Harbour. In January, with his invalid daughter in a dog-sled, -he had journeyed from that far place to Desolate Bay of Newfoundland, -and thence by train to St. John's. It had been a toilsome, dangerous, -incredibly bitter experience. But he had forgotten that, nor had he -ever complained of it; his happiness was that his child had survived -the surgeons' operation, had profited in ease and hope, had already -been restored near to her old sunny health. Early in the spring, word -of the proposed sailing of the _Fish Killer_ from Ruddy Cove had come -to him at St. John's; and he had taken passage with Skipper Libe, no -more, it must be said, because he wished Mary's mother to know the good -news (she had had no word since his departure) than because he was -breathlessly impatient once more to be serving the company's interests -at Dog Arm. - -To Mary and her father Skipper Libe had with seamanlike courtesy -abandoned the tiny cabin. The child was lying in the skipper's own -berth--warmly covered, comfortably tucked in, provided with a book to -read by the light of the swinging lamp. - -"Are you happy, dear?" her father asked. - -"Oh, yes!" - -The man took the child's hand. "I'm sometimes sorry," he said, "that -we didn't wait for the mail-boat. The _Fish Killer_ is a pretty tough -craft for a little girl to be aboard." - -"Sorry?" was the instant response, made with a little smile. "I'm not. -I'm glad. Isn't Cape Grief close to leeward? Well, then, father, we're -half way home. Think of it! _We're--half--way--home!_" - -The father laughed. - -"And we might have been waiting at St. John's," the child continued, -her blue eyes shining. "Oh, father, I'd rather be aboard the _Fish -Killer_ off Grief Head than in the very best room of the Crosbie Hotel. -Half way home!" she repeated. "Half way home!" - -"Half way is a long way." - -"But it's half way!" - -"On this coast," the father sighed, "no man is home until he gets -there." - -"It's a fair wind." - -"And the fog as thick as mud." - -"But they've reefed the mains'l; they've stowed the stays'l; they've -got the tops'l down. Haven't you heard them? I've been listening----" - -"_What's that!_" Robinson cried. - -It was a mere ejaculation of terror. He had no need to ask the -question. Even Mary knew well enough what had happened. The _Fish -Killer_ had struck an iceberg bow on. The shock; the crash forward; -the clatter of a falling topmast; the cries on deck: these things were -alive with the fearful information. - - - - -CHAPTER XXII - - _The Crew of the Fish Killer Finds Refuge on an Iceberg, - and Discovers Greater Safety Elsewhere, after Which - the Cook is Mistaken for a Fool, but puts the Crew to - Shame_ - - -ROBINSON caught the child from the berth. He paused--it was an instinct -born of Labrador experience--to wrap a blanket about her, though she -was clothed for the day. She reminded him quietly that she would catch -cold without her cap; and this he snatched in passing. Then he was on -deck--in the midst of a litter from aloft and of a vast confusion of -terrified cries. - -Before she struck, the _Fish Killer_ had ascended a gently shelving -beach of ice, washed smooth by the sea. There she hung precariously. -Her stem was low, so low that the choppy sea came aboard and swamped -the cabin; and the bow was high on the ice. Her bowsprit was in -splinters, her topmast on deck, her spliced mainmast tottering; she was -the bedraggled wreck of a craft. - -Beyond, the berg towered into the fog, stretched into the fog; only a -broken wall of blue-white ice was visible. The butt of the bowsprit -overhung a wide ledge. To scramble to the shattered extremity, to hang -by the hands, to drop to safe foothold: this would all have been easy -for children. The impulse was to seek the solid berg in haste before -the schooner had time to fall away and sink. - -Robinson ran forward. - -"Got that kid?" Skipper Libe demanded. "Ah, you has! Billy Topsail!" he -roared. - -Billy answered. - -"Get ashore on that ice!" the skipper ordered. - -Billy ran out on the broken bowsprit and dropped to the berg. He looked -back expectantly. - -"Take the kid!" - -A push sent Robinson on the same road. He dropped Mary into Billy's -waiting arms. Then he, too, looked back for orders. - -"Ashore with you!" - -Robinson swung by the hands and dropped. Before he let go his hands he -had felt the vessel quiver and begin to recede from her position. - -"Now, men," said the skipper, "grub! She'll be off in a minute." - -Every man of them leaped willingly to the imperative duty. The food -was in the forecastle and hold; they disappeared. Skipper Libe kept -watch on deck. With the waves restless beneath her stern, the schooner -was perilously insecure. She was gradually working her way back to the -sea. The briefest glance below had already assured Skipper Libe that -her timbers were hopelessly sprung. - -She was old--rotten with age and hard service. The water was pouring in -forward and amidships; it ran aft in a flood, contributing its weight -to the vessel's inclination to slip away from the berg. It was slow -in the beginning, this retreat; but through every moment the movement -was accelerated. Five minutes--four--three: in a space too brief to be -counted upon she would be wallowing in the sea. - -"Haste!" the skipper screamed. - -Waiting was out of the question. The _Fish Killer_ was about -to drop into the sea. Though the men had but tumbled into the -forecastle--though as yet they had had no time to seize the food of -which to-morrow would find them in desperate need--the skipper roared -the order to return. - -"Ashore! Ashore!" he shouted. - -They came back more willingly, more expeditiously, than they had gone; -and they came back empty-handed. Not a man among them had so much as a -single biscuit. - -"Jim!" said the skipper. - -With that, Jim Tall, the cook, clambered out on the bowsprit. The -others of the crew waited, each with an anxious eye upon the skipper. - -"Bill!" - -No sooner was Jim Tall at the end of the bowsprit than Bill was -underway. The skipper grimly watched his terrified progress. - -"Jack!" - -In turn, Jack Sop scrambled out and dropped to the berg. The schooner -was fast receding from the ledge. Alexander Budge, John Swan, Archibald -Mann, completing the fishing crew, with the exception of Tom Watt, the -first hand, and the skipper, won the ice. - -"Now, Tom!" said the skipper. - -"You, sir!" - -"Tom!" Skipper Libe roared; and you may be sure that Tom Watt waited no -longer. - -Only the skipper was left. The change from his passive attitude--from -his unbending, reposeful attitude, with a hand carelessly laid on the -windlass--was so sudden and unequivocal that Jim Tall, the cook, who -was ever the wag of the crew, startled even himself with laughter. It -was instant. Skipper Libe in a flash turned from a petrified man into a -terrified and marvellously agile monkey. He bounded for the bowsprit, -nimbly ran the broken length of it, and there stood swaying. The vessel -was now so far from the ledge, and so fast receding, that he paused. -Delay had but one issue. This was so apparent that horror tied the -tongues of the crew. Not a cry of warning was uttered. The situation -was too intense, too brief, for utterance. - -"Tom," said the skipper to the first hand, "catch!" - -He leaped. - -"Skipper," said Tom Watt, in the uttermost confusion, an instant later, -"glad t' see you! Come in! You isn't a minute too early." - -In this way, proceeding with admirable self-possession, the souls -aboard the _Fish Killer_ jumped from the frying-pan. Whether or not -it was into the fire was not for a moment in doubt. When the schooner -had once fairly reached the sea, which immediately happened, she sank. -They saw her waver, slowly settle, disappear; when her topmast went -tottering under water the end had come. - -Whatever may be said of a frying-pan, nobody can accuse the crew of the -_Fish Killer_ of having come within reach of a fire. Aboard the berg -it was cold--awfully cold. Icebergs carry an atmosphere of that sort -even into the Gulf Stream; they radiate cold so effectively that the -captains of steamers take warning and evade them. It was cold--very, -very cold. There was nothing to temper the numbing bitterness of the -situation. And what the night might bring could only be surmised. - - * * * * * - -Though they were born to lives of hardship and peril, though they had -long been used to the chances of the sea, not one of the castaways had -ever before fallen into a predicament so barren of hope. Flung on an -iceberg, adrift on the wild North Atlantic, derelict where no ships -passed, at the mercy of the capricious winds, without food or fire: -there seemed to be no possibility of escape. But for a time they did -not despair; and, moreover, for a time each felt it a high duty to make -light of the situation, to joke of cold-storage and polar bears, that -the spirits of the others might be encouraged. As dusk approached, -however, the ghastly humour failed. Ruin, agony, grief, imminent death; -in the moody silence, they dwelt, rather, upon these things. - -It was not yet dark when a faint shock, a hardly perceptible shiver, -a crash from aloft, a subsiding rumble, apprised the castaways of a -portentous change of condition. - -"What's that, now?" growled the cook. - -It was a cruelly anxious moment. Only the event itself would determine -whether or not the berg was to turn turtle. They waited. - -"She's grounded, I 'low!" exclaimed the skipper. - -There was no further disturbance. Whatever had happened, the -equilibrium of the berg had been maintained. - -"I'm thinkin'," said the skipper, "that I'll take a little look about." - -The skipper's "little look about" developed what appeared to be a -saving opportunity. The berg had grounded; it had also jammed a -wandering pack of drift-ice against the land. What that shore was, -whether mainland or island, the skipper did not wait to ascertain; it -was sufficient for him to know that the survivors of the _Fish Killer_ -might escape from a disintegrating berg to solid ground. - -He returned, breathless, with the enlivening news; and in lively -fashion, which almost approached a panic, the castaways abandoned the -berg. It was a hard, painful, dangerous scramble, made in the failing -light, and the cook had an unwelcome bath in the icy water between -two pans; but it had a successful issue. Before dark, they were all -ashore--more hopeful, now, than they had been, but still staring death -in the face. - -So curious was Skipper Libe that, taking advantage of the last of the -light, he set out to discover the character of the refuge. He returned -discouraged. - -"'Tis but a rock," said he. "'Tis no more than a speck o' land." - -Then night fell. Robinson's little daughter was by this time on the -point of succumbing to the exposure. Cold, hunger and despair had -reduced her to a pitiable silence. She was in the extremity of physical -exhaustion. They made a deep hollow in the snow in the shelter of a -declivity of rock; and there they bestowed her, gladly yielding their -jackets to provide her with such comfort as they could. But this was -small mitigation of the hardship. The child was still hopeless and -cold. It was sadly apparent that she could not survive the night. And -Robinson knew that to-morrow and to-morrow--a long stretch of days--lay -before them all. There was no hope for a frail body; weakness was -death. In his heart he frankly admitted that he was about to lose his -child. - -He lay down beside her. "Mary, dear," he pleaded, "don't give up!" - -She pressed his hand. - -"Don't give up!" he repeated. - -A wan smile came and went. "I can't help it," she whispered. - -Skipper Libe and his men withdrew. It was now near midnight. The fog -was lifting. Stars twinkled in patches of black sky. Low towards the -seaward horizon the moon was breaking through the clouds. - -Suddenly the cook sat bolt upright. "Skipper," he demanded, "where is -we?" - -"On the Devil's Teeth." - -"An' what rock's this?" - -"This?" - -"Ay--_this_!" - -"I'd not be s'prised," the skipper answered, "if 'tis what they calls -the Cocked Hat." - -"Feather's Folly!" roared the cook. - -"Which?" said the skipper, suspiciously. - -The cook was on his feet--dancing in glad excitement. "Feather's -Folly!" he shouted "Feather's Folly!" - -"Catch un!" said the skipper, quietly. "He've gone mad." - -They set upon the poor cook. Before he could escape they had him fast. -He was tripped, thrown, sat upon. - -"Don't let him up," the skipper warned. "He'll do hisself hurt. Poor -man!" he sighed. "He've lost his senses." - -"Mad!" screamed the cook. "_You're_ mad. Feather's Folly! We're saved!" - -"Hold un tight," said the skipper. - -But the cook was not to be held. He wriggled free and bolted. Billy -Topsail and all took after him, the skipper in the lead; and by the -dim, changing light of that night he led them a mad chase over rock and -through drifted snow. They pursued, they headed him off, they laid hold -of his flying coat-tail; but he eluded them, dodged, sped, doubled. -If he were mad, there was method in his madness. He was searching -every square yard of that acre of uneven rock. At last, panting and -perspiring, he came to a full stop and turned triumphantly upon his -pursuers. He had found what he sought. - -"Mad!" he laughed. "Who's mad, now? Eh? Who's crazy?" - -The crew stared. - -"Who's crazy?" the cook roared. "Look at that! What d'ye make o' that?" - -"It looks," the skipper admitted, "like salvation!" - - * * * * * - -Old man Feather had indeed "seen that it wouldn't happen again." He -had provided for castaways on the Cocked Hat. There was a tight little -hut in the lee of the Bishop's Nose; within, there were provisions -and blankets and fire-wood and candles. Moreover, in the sprawling, -misspelled welcome, tacked to the wall, there was even the heartening -information that "seegars is in the kityun tabl." The passengers and -crew of the _Fish Killer_ were soon warm and satisfied. They spent -a happy night--a night so changed, so cozy, so bountiful, that they -blessed old man Feather until their tongues were tired. And old man -Feather, himself, who kept watch on the Cocked Hat with a spy-glass, -took them off to Hulk's Harbour in the clear weather of the next day. - -"An' did you find the cigars, skipper?" he whispered, with a wide, -proud grin. - -"Us did." - -"An' was they good? Hist! now," the old fellow repeated, with a wink of -mystery, "_wasn't_ they good?" - -"Well," the skipper drawled, not ungraciously, you may be sure, "the -cook made bad weather of it. But he double-reefed hisself an' lived -through. 'Twas the finest an' the first cigar he ever seed." - -The old man chuckled delightedly. - - - - -CHAPTER XXIII - - _In Which the Clerk of the Trader Tax Yarns of a Madman - in the Cabin_ - - -THE trading-schooner _Tax_ of Ruddy Cove had come down from the -Labrador. She was riding at anchor in the home harbour, with her hold -full of salt fish and the goods in her cabin run sadly low. Billy -Topsail, safely back from Feather's Folly, and doomed by the wreck of -the _Fish Killer_ to spend the summer in the quieter pursuits of Ruddy -Cove, had gone aboard to greet the crew. There was hot tea on the -forecastle table, and the crew was yarning to a jolly, brown grinning -lot of Ruddy folk, who had come aboard. It was Cook, the clerk, a -merry, blue-eyed little man, who told the story of the madman in the -cabin. - -"We were lying in Shelter Harbour," said he, "waiting for a fair wind -to Point-o'-Bay. It was coming close to night when they saw him leaping -along shore and kicking a tin kettle as though 'twas a football. I was -in the cabin, putting the stock to rights after the day's trade. I -heard the hail and the skipper's answering, 'Ay ay! This is the trader -_Tax_ from Ruddy Cove.' Then the skipper sung out to know if I wanted a -customer. Customer? To be sure I wanted one! - -"'If he has a gallon of oil or a pound of fish,' said I, 'fetch him -aboard.' - -"'He looks queer,' said the skipper. - -"'Queer he may look,' said I, 'and queer he may be, but his fish will -be first cousins to the ones in the hold, and I'll barter for them.' - -"With that the skipper put off in the punt to fetch the customer; but -when he drew near shore he lay on his oars, something puzzled, I'm -thinking, for the customer was dancing a hornpipe on a flat rock at the -water's edge, by the first light of the moon. - -"'Have you got a fish t' trade?' said the skipper. - -"'Good-evenin', skipper, sir,' said the queer customer, after a last -kick and flourish. 'I've a quintal or two an' a cask o' oil that I'm -wantin' bad t' trade away.' - -"He was rational as you please; so the skipper was thrown off his -guard, took him aboard, and pulled out. - -"'You're quite a dancer,' said he. - -"'Hut!' said the man. 'That's nothin' at all. When the moon's full an' -high, sir, I dances over the waves; an' when they's a gale blowin' I -goes aloft t' the clouds an' shakes a foot up there.' - -"'Do you, now?' said the skipper, not knowing whether to take this in -joke or earnest. - -"'Believe _me_, sir,' said the man, with the gravest of faces, 'I'm a -wonderful dancer.' - -"I was on deck when they came aboard. It was then dusk. I noticed -nothing out of the ordinary in my customer's appearance. He was a -large, big-boned man, well supplied with fat and muscle, and capable, -as I thought at the moment, of enduring all the toil and hardship to -which the men of that coast are exposed. The skipper handed him over to -me without a word of warning, and went below to the forecastle, for the -wind was blowing cold and misty." - -"Oh, well," the skipper broke in from his place in a bunk, "how could I -tell that he was mad?" - -"Whatever, Skipper Job," the clerk resumed, with a twinkle in his eye, -"I took him into the cabin, and the crew and you were snug enough in -the forecastle, where no hail of mine could reach you. It was not -until then," he resumed, "when the light of the cabin lamp fell full -upon him, that I had a proper appreciation of my customer's size and -strength--not until then that I marked the deathly pallour of his face -and the strange light in his eyes. He was frowsy, dirty, dressed in -ragged moleskin cloth; and he had a habit of looking to right and left -and aloft--anywhere, it appeared, but straight in my face--so that I -caught no more than a red flash from his eyes from time to time. I felt -uneasy, without being able to account to myself for the feeling; so, -anxious to be well rid of him, I asked, abruptly, in what I could serve -him. - -"'I'm thinkin' you'll not be havin' the thing I wants,' said he. - -"That touched me on a tender spot. 'I'm thinking,' said I, 'that we've -a little of all that you ever thought of.' - -"'I don't think you has,' said he, 'but 'twould be best for you if you -had.' - -"There was a hidden meaning in that. Why should it be best for me? - -"'And what is it?' said I. - -"''Tis a spool o' silk thread,' said he, soberly, 't' bind the fairies -with--the wicked fairies that tells me t' do the things I don't want -t'. If you've any o' _that_, sir, I'll take all you got aboard, for I -wants it bad.' - -"'Come, now, my man,' said I sharply, 'stop your joking. I'm tired, and -in no humour for it. What is it you want?' - -"'I'm not jokin', sir,' said he. 'I wants a spool o' green silk thread -t' lash the wicked fairies t' the spruce trees.' - -"I could not doubt him longer; there was too much longing, too much -hopelessness, in his voice for that. He was demented; but there are -many men of that coast whom lonely toil has driven mad, but yet who -live their lives through to the natural end, peaceable folk and good -fishermen, and I thought that this poor fellow had as good a right to -trade with me as the sanest man in Shelter Harbour. - -"'We've no green silk thread, sir,' said I, 'that will securely lash -fairies to spruce trees. But if you want anything else, and have fish -to trade, I'll take them.' - -"'I wisht you had the thread,' said he. - -"'Why?' said I. - -"''Twould be best for you,' said he with a sigh. 'If I could tie the -wicked fairies up, I wouldn't have t'--have t'--do it. But,' he went -on, 'as you haven't any thread, I'll take some calico t' make a new -dress for my brother's little maid.' - -"A certain look of cunning, which overspread his face at that moment, -alarmed me. I thought I had better find out what the wicked fairies had -to do with me. - -"'Did you meet the fairies to-night?' said I. - -"'Ay,' said he. 'I met the crew o' wicked ones on my way through the -bush.' - -"'And what did they tell you?' said I. - -"He signed to me to be silent; then he closed the cabin door and came -close to the counter, behind which I stood, with no way of escape open. - -"'Has you got a loaded gun?' he whispered hoarsely. - -"His face was close to mine. In his eyes, which were now steady, two -live, red coals were glowing. I fell back from him, frightened; for -I now knew what work the wicked fairies had assigned to him for that -night. Poor fellow! Frightened though I was, I pitied him. I saw his -distress, and pitied him! He was fighting manfully against the impulse; -but it mastered him, at last, and I realized that my life was in grave -danger. I was penned in, you know, and--they call me 'little Cook'--I -was no match for him. - -"'No,' said I. 'I've no gun.' - -"'Has you got a knife?' said he. - -"'Sorry,' said I; 'but I'm sold out of knives.' - -"'Has you got a razor?' said he. - -"It was high time to mislead him. I saw an opportunity to escape. - -"'Is it razors you want?' I cried. 'Sure, I've some grand ones--big -ones, boy, sharp ones, bright ones. I keep them in the forecastle where -'tis dry. So I'll just run up to fetch the lot to show you.' - -"His eyes glistened when I spoke of the brightness and sharpness of -those razors. With a show of confidence, I jumped on the counter and -swung my legs over. But he pushed me back--so angrily, indeed, that I -feared to precipitate the encounter if I persisted. - -"'Don't trouble, sir,' said he. 'I'll find something that'll answer. -Ha!' said he, taking an axe from the rack and 'hefting' it. 'This will -do.' - -"'But I'm wanting to wash my hands, anyway,' said I. - -"''Twill make no difference in the end,' said he quietly. - -"I speak of it calmly now; but when I found myself alone in the cabin -with that poor madman--found myself behind the counter, with no -defensive weapon at hand, with my life in the care of my wits, which -are neither sharp nor ready--I was in no condition for calm thought. To -hail the skipper was out of the question; he would not hear me, and the -first shout would doubtless excite the big man in the moleskin clothes -beyond restraint. My hope of escape lay in distracting his attention -from the matter in hand until the skipper should come aft of his own -notion. But I made one effort in another direction. - -"'Did you say _green_ silk thread or _blue_?' said I. - -"'I said green, sir.' - -"'Did you, now?' I exclaimed. 'Sure, I thought you said blue. We've no -blue, but we've the green, and you'll be able to lash the fairies to -the spruce trees, after all.' - -"As a matter of fact, we had a few spools of silk thread, and one of -them was green--a bad stock, as I knew to my cost, for I had long been -trying to dispose of them. - -"''Tis too late,' said he. - -"'No, no!' said I. 'You'll surely not be letting the fairies drive you -like that. You can take the green thread and lash them all up on the -way home.' - -"'No,' he said doggedly; ''tis too late. What they told me to do I must -do before the clock strikes.' - -"'Strikes what?' said I. - -"'Twelve,' said he. - -"With what relief did I hear this! Twelve o'clock? It was now but -eight. The skipper would come aft long before that hour. - -"''Tis a long time to wait,' said I. 'I'll make up my bunk, and you may -lie down a bit and rest.' - -"'It lacks but twelve minutes of the hour,' said he. 'They's a clock -hangin' behind you, sir.' - -"He indicated a cheap American alarm clock. It was the last of a half -dozen I had kept hanging from the roof of the cabin. I had kept them -wound up, for the mere pleasure of hearing their busy ticking, but -had never set them--never troubled to keep them running to the right -time. When I looked up I was dismayed to find that the clock pointed to -twelve minutes to twelve o'clock! - -"''Tis not the right time,' I began. ''Tis far too----' - -"'Hist!' said he. 'Don't speak. You've but eleven minutes left.' - -"Thus we stood, the fisherman with his back to the door and the axe -in his hand, and myself behind the counter, while the cheap American -alarm clock ticked off the minutes of my life. Eleven--ten--nine! They -were fast flying. I could think of no plan to dissuade him--no ruse -to outwit him. Indeed, my mind was occupied more with putting the -blame on that lying clock than with anything else. I had determined, -of course, to make the best fight I could--to blow out the light at -the moment of attack, dive under the counter, catch my man by the -legs, overturn him and escape by the door or there fight it out. Nine -minutes--eight--seven! At that moment I caught a long hail from the -shore. - -"'Schooner ahoy! Ahoy!' - -"I do not think the fisherman heard it. It was too faint--too far off; -and he was too intent upon the thing he was to do. - -"'Six minutes, sir,' said he. - -"I wondered if Job had heard. The hail was repeated. Then I heard -Skipper Job answer from the deck. At that the fisherman started; but -his alarm passed in a moment. - -"'Ahoy!' shouted Skipper Job. - -"'Has you got a strange man aboard?' came from the shore. - -"'Yes, sir,' Job called. - -"'Watch him,' from the shore. 'He's mad.' - -"'Oh, he's all right,' Job called. 'He's harmless.' - -"Then silence. My hope of relief vanished. I should have to make the -fight, after all, I thought. - -"'Five minutes, sir,' said the madman. - -"Had Skipper Job gone below again? Or would he come aft? For two -minutes not a word was said. My customer and I were waiting for the -first stroke of twelve. Soon I heard voices forward; then the tramp -of feet coming aft over the deck--treading softly. They paused by the -house, and the whispering ceased. Was it a rescue, or was it not? I -could not tell. The men above seemed to have no concern with me. But, -indeed, they had. - -"'John, b'y,' a strange voice called, 'is you below?' - -"''Tis me brother Timothy,' my customer whispered. 'I must be goin' -home.' - -"'John, b'y, is you below?' - -"'Ay, Timothy!' - -"'Come up, b'y. I'm goin' ashore now, an' 'tis time you was in bed.' - -"My customer put up the axe, and, with a sign to me to keep silence, -went on deck, with me following. He jumped in the punt, as docile as a -child, gave us all good-night, and was rowed ashore. We did not see him -again; for the wind blew fresh from the nor'west in the morning, and by -night we were anchored at Point-o'-Bay. Whether or not the fairies had -commanded the poor fellow to kill me at twelve o'clock, I do not know. -He did not say so; but I think they had." - - - - -CHAPTER XXIV - - _In Which a Pirate's Cave grows Interesting, and Two - Young Members of the Ethnological and Antiquarian - Club of St. John's, Undertake an Adventure under the - Guidance of Billy Topsail_ - - -THERE landed in Ruddy Cove, that summer, two youngsters from St. -John's on a vacation--city schoolboys both: not fisher lads. They were -pleasant fellows, and were soon fast friends with Billy Topsail and the -lads of the place, by whom they were regarded with some awe, but still -with great friendliness. - -"Hello!" the visitors exclaimed, when they clapped eyes on Billy. -"Where you going?" - -"Fishin'." - -"Take us, won't you, please?" - -Billy Topsail grinned. - -"Won't you?" - -"I don't know," said Billy. "I 'low so." - -They went to the grounds; and the day was blue, and the sea was quiet, -and Billy Topsail and the schoolboys had a marvellously splendid time; -so they were all friends together from that out. - -Tom Call and Jack Wither were members of what they called, with no -little pride, "The Ethnological and Antiquarian Club of St. John's." -The object of this club of lads was, in the beginning, to preserve -relics of the exterminated Beothuk tribe; but to the little collections -of stone implements and flint-lock guns were soon added collections -of mineral specimens, of fossils, of stamps, of fish and shells and -sea-weeds, of insects, of old prints and documents--in short, of -everything to which an inveterate collector might attach a value. - -Wherever they went in the long vacation, whether to the coast or to -the interior, not one of them but kept an eye open for additions to -the club collections; and, though much of what they brought back had -to be rejected, it was not long before they had the gratification -of observing an occasional reference to "the collections of the -Ethnological and Antiquarian Club" in the city newspapers. - -All this accounts for the presence of Tom Call and Jack Wither in the -Little Tickle Basin, in the thick of the islands off Ruddy Cove, one -vacation day, and for their interest in a rusted iron mooring-ring, -which was there sunk in the rock. - -"And nobody knows who put it there?" Tom asked, curiously fingering the -old ring. - -"No," replied Billy Topsail, who had taken them over; "but they says -'twas the pirates put it there, long ago." - -"Pirates!" cried Tom. "Do they say that?" - -"'Twas me grandfather told me so." - -It may be that pirates harboured in the Little Tickle Basin in the days -when they made the Caribbean Sea a fearsome place to sail upon. When -the Newfoundland coast was remote, uninhabited, uncharted, no safer -hiding place could have been found than that quiet little basin, hidden -away among the thousand barren islands of the bay. If, as they say, -every pirate had his place of refuge, the iron ring is some evidence, -at least, that a buccaneer was accustomed to fly to the basin when -pursuit got too persistent and too hot for him. - -"Of course!" said Tom, when they were sailing back to Ruddy Cove. "How -else can you account for that ring? I bet you," he concluded, "that -dozens of pirates had dens on this coast." - -"Now, Tom," said Jack, "you know as well as I do that that's just a -little too----" - -"Well," he interrupted, "everybody knows that pirates used to come -here. You'll find it in the histories. It wouldn't surprise me to learn -that there is a cave around here." - -"There is," said Billy Topsail. - -"There!" cried Tom, his eyes shining. "I told you so!" - -"'Tis a wonderful curious place, too," Billy went on. "You has t' -crawl through a hole t' get inside. Sure, the hole is no bigger than a -scuttle. You could close it with a fair sized rock. But once you gets -through, the cave is as big as a room. 'Twould hold a score o' men very -comfortable." - -Tom gave Jack a meaning glance. Then he turned to Billy Topsail. - -"Can you take us there?" he asked. - -"I don't know as I could. I've only _heered tell_ they was a cave like -that." - -"And you've never been there?" - -"Not me." - -Tom's face fell--fell so suddenly and to an expression so woeful that -Jack laughed outright, though he sympathized with Tom's disappointment. - -"But I knows a man that _has_ been there," Billy continued. "He's the -man that found it. 'Tis like, now, that he's the only man that's ever -been inside." - -"Then the place isn't well known?" - -"So far as I can tell, nobody knows it but ol' Joe West." - -When they ran Billy's punt to old Joe West's stage, at Ruddy Cove, that -night, Joe was inside, splitting the day's catch of cod. They broached -the object of their visit without delay. Would he guide them to the -cave at Little Tickle Basin? But Joe shook his head. The squid were in -the harbour, and the fish were taking the bait in lively fashion. The -loss of a day's catch was "beyond thinkin' of." - -"Do you know the bearings?" Tom asked. - -"T' be sure. 'Tis very simple t' get near the spot; but 'tis wonderful -hard t' find the hole. 'Tis all overgrown. You might hunt for a year, -I'm thinkin', an' never find it. When you does find it, it takes a deal -o' nerve t' crawl in. 'Tis that dark an' damp! You keeps thinkin' all -the time, too, that something will fall over the hole an' shut you in. -If you crawls through," Joe concluded, impressively, "be sure one o' -you stays outside." - -"But we've no chart of the place," Tom complained. - -"If you've paper an' a bit o' pencil," said Skipper Joe, "I'll draw you -one." - -Here is what he drew: - -[Illustration] - -Skipper Joe, of course, carefully explained his drawing. "Does you see -where the arrow points?" said he. "Well, 'tis there. You gets the head -o' that little rock in line with the point, at high water, an' there -you are. The cliff is rough, an' covered with a growth o' spruce. The -hole is about half way up, openin' off a mossy ledge. You'll have t' -pry around a wonderful lot t' find it." - -"What's it like inside?" Tom asked, eagerly. - -"Well, they is a deal o' birch bark scattered around, an' a lot o' -broken rock. I saw that by the light of a match; but I was too scared -t' stay long, an' I haven't never been there since." - -Billy Topsail agreed to sail the sloop to Little Tickle Basin on the -next day. Then the boys walked home by the road, much excited. Indeed, -Tom, who was of an imaginative and enthusiastic turn, was fairly -transported. No flight of fancy was too high for him--no hope too wild. -The chart passed from his hand to Jack's and back again a hundred -times. The crude, strange drawing, with its significant arrow, touched -all the pirate tales with reality. - -"If it had been only a cave, without a rusted mooring-ring, it wouldn't -have been so much," said Tom. "But with the ring--_with_ the ring, my -boy--a narrow, hidden passage to a cave means a great deal more." - -Jack asked Tom what he was "driving at." - -"I think," said he calmly, "that there is buried treasure there." - -Jack scoffed. - -"Very well," said Tom; "but you must remember that these discoveries -come unexpectedly. They're _stumbled_ on. You can't expect to find a -sign-post near buried treasure." - -That night they lay awake for a long time. Tom and Jack were -bed-fellows at Ruddy Cove. Struck by a simple idea, Jack awoke his -friend. - -"Tom," said he, "I think we'll find something there." - -"Spanish gold or English?" Tom asked, sleepily. - -"It will be _something_," Jack replied. "Something we want." - - - - -CHAPTER XXV - - _In Which There is a Landslide at Little Tickle Basin and - Something of Great Interest and Peculiar Value is - Discovered in the Cave_ - - -NOON of the next day found the three boys at Little Tickle Basin, with -the punt moored to the mysterious ring. Many a vessel had floated in -that snug berth before, no doubt. But whose? And what flag did they -fly? When the tide was at the full, the boys set off across the basin -in the punt; and they were soon ashore, with the head of the little -rock in line with the point of land, as the chart directed. - -"Now for it!" cried Tom. - -And up the cliff he started, Jack following, with Billy Topsail, who -was quite as deeply stirred as they, bringing up the rear, a pick in -one hand and a shovel in the other. It was not hard climbing. The -declivity could hardly be called a cliff. Rather, it was a hill, rising -sharply from the water's edge--steep, strewn with broken rock, loose -turf and decaying stumps, and overgrown with moss and ill-nourished -shrubs. Jack was impressed with the instability of the whole mass. - -"If it weren't for the juts of naked rock," he thought, with some -alarm, "this stuff would all slip into the water, like snow from the -roof of a house." - -But he was far too deeply interested in the search to dwell upon such -speculation, however threateningly the imagination might present -the possibilities. They all kept to the perpendicular line, from -their landing place to the crest of the hill; and they searched -painstakingly, tearing aside the shrubs, peering under overhanging -rocks, prying into dark holes. It was all without reward. At last, Jack -came to the top of the hill. Tom was below him, following a narrow -ledge; and Billy Topsail, now wearied of the search, was sitting on a -boulder, lower down. - -"Hello, Tom!" Jack shouted. "What luck?" - -Jack caught hold of a shrub, and leaned outward, in an attempt to catch -sight of Tom. - -"Nothing yet," Tom answered. - -Then Jack's feet, which had been resting on an insecure footing of -loose stones, shot from under him. He clung to his shrub and held his -position, but in the effort he dislodged a small boulder, which went -crashing down, dislodging earth and the accumulations of broken rock in -its course. He had started a little avalanche; and the most he could do -was to cry a horrified warning and watch it go rolling down, growing -greater as it went. - -"Tom!" he called. "Oh, Tom!" - -This time there was no answer. Dead silence followed the frantic call -and the plunge of the avalanche into the water. What had become of Tom? -Billy Topsail, who had found shelter in the "lee" of the boulder upon -which he had been sitting, suggested, when Jack joined him, that Tom -had been swept into the water by the flood of stones and earth. Jack -scouted the suggestion. Had he not watched the course of that selfsame -flood? Tom had been on the ledge. He must still be there--unconscious, -probably, and unable to answer to the call of his name. - -"We'll look there first, at any rate," he determined. - -A great part of the avalanche had lodged on the ledge. Stones and moss -and new earth lay in slanting heaps in many places; but of Tom's body -there was no sign. - -"He've been swep' into the water, I fears," Billy declared. - -"Or buried on the ledge," said Jack. - -Jack called to his friend again. While they listened, straining their -ears for the remotest response, he had his eye fixed on a remnant of -the avalanche near by. To his unbounded astonishment, he perceived -evidences of some disturbance within the heap. The disturbance suddenly -developed into an upheaval. A foot and an ankle shot out. A moment -later Billy Topsail had that foot and its mate in his hands and was -hauling with small regard for the body behind. - -It was Tom. - -"I've found the cave!" he gasped, when they had set him on his feet, -profusely perspiring, flushed and exceedingly dirty. "But what's up? -How did I get shut in there? Part of the hill slipped away! I _thought_ -it was a landslide. I found the hole, and started to crawl in, to make -sure that it was the place before I said anything. Then I heard a -racket; and then the light was shut out. I thought I might as well go -on, though, and find out afterwards what had happened. So on I went. -And it's the cave, boy!" he cried. "When I made sure of that," he -went on, "I wanted to get out in a hurry. I was afraid to crawl into -that hole head foremost--afraid of being jammed. Of course, I knew -that something had fallen over the mouth of it; and I thought I could -kick the thing out of the way just as easily as I could push it, and -meantime have all the air there was. So out I came, feet first. Have -you got that pick and shovel, Billy? Let's clear this stuff away from -the hole and go in." - -"What's in there, Tom?" Jack asked. - -"You'll soon find out." - -They left Billy Topsail outside, as a precaution against entombment. -Tom went first with the lantern. When, looking along the passage, Jack -saw a flare of light, he followed. The passage was about six feet -long, and so narrow that he could not quite go upon hands and knees. -He squirmed through, with his heart in his mouth, and found himself, -at last, in a roomy chamber, apparently rough-hewn, wherein Tom was -dancing about like a wild Indian. - -"Pirate gold!" he shouted. "Pirate gold!" - -"Where is it?" Jack cried, believing, for the moment, that he had -discovered it in sacks. - -"Dig, boy!" said Tom. "It's underground." - -At any rate, a glance about, by the light of the lantern, discovered no -treasure. It was underground, if it were anywhere. So they set about -unearthing it without delay. But there was no earth--nothing but broken -rock. The shovel was of small use; they took turns with the pick, -labouring hard and excitedly, expecting, momentarily, to catch the -glitter of gold. Occasionally, the strength of both was needed to lift -some great, obstinate stone out of the way; but, for the most part, -while one wielded the pick, the other removed the loosened rock. - -"What in the world is this thing?" Tom asked. - -He had taken a round, brown object from the excavation. Suddenly he let -it drop, with a little cry of horror, and started to his feet. Jack -picked it up and held it close to the lantern. - -"Pirates!" whispered Tom, now utterly horrified. - -"Last night," said Jack, "I told you that we'd find _something_. We've -found it." - -"We've found a pirates' den," said Tom. - -"No," Jack replied, handing him the skull; "we've found a Beothuk -Indian burial cave. We've struck it rich for the Ethnological and -Antiquarian Club!" - -"Well," Tom admitted, ruefully, "that's _something_!" - -Struck it rich? Indeed, they had! The most valuable part of the -collection of Indian relics, now in the club's museum, came from that -cave. The excavation occupied three days; and at the end of it, when -they laid their treasures out at Ruddy Cove, they were thrown into a -transport of delight. In addition to the skeleton remains, which have -since served a highly useful purpose, they had found stone hatchets, -knives, spearheads, clubs, and various other implements of warfare and -the hunt; three clay masks, a curious clay figure in human form, and -three complete specimens of Indian pottery, with a number of fragments. - -The rusted iron mooring-ring has never been explained. - - - - -CHAPTER XXVI - - _In Which Billy Topsail Determines to go to the Ice - in the Spring of the Year and Young Archibald - Armstrong of St. John's is Permitted to Set Out - Upon an Adventure Which Promises to be Perilous but - Profitable_ - - -IN the winter when he was fifteen years old, Billy Topsail determined -to go to the ice with the great sealing fleet in the spring, if it -could be managed by hook or crook. His father had no objection to make. -The boy was old enough to look out for himself, he knew; and he was -sure that the experience would complete the process of making a man of -him. - -"Go, b'y," said he, "if you can." - -There was the difficulty. What sealing captain would take a lad of -fifteen when there were grown men to be shipped? Billy was at a loss. -But he determined, nevertheless, that he would go to the ice, and -selected Long Tom Harbour as a promising port to sail from, for it was -near by and well known. From Long Tom Harbour then, he would go seal -hunting in the spring of the year if it could be managed by a boy with -courage and no little ingenuity. - -"Oh, I'll go _somehow_!" said he. - - * * * * * - -It was twilight of a blustering February day. Sir Archibald Armstrong, -the great St. John's merchant, sat alone in his office, with his chair -drawn close to the low, broad window, which overlooked the wharves -and the ice-strewn harbour beyond; and while the fire roared and the -wind drove the snow against the panes, he lost himself in profound -meditation. He stared absently at the swarm of busy men--now almost -hidden in the dusk and storm--and at the lights of the sealing fleet, -which lay there fitting out for the spring voyage to the drift-ice of -the north; but no sound of the activity on deck or dock could disturb -the quiet of the little office where the fire blazed and crackled and -the snow fell softly against the window panes. - -"Beg pardon, sir," a clerk interrupted, putting his head in at the -door. "Cap'n Hand, sir." - -Captain Hand, of the sealing ship _Dictator_, was admitted. He was a -thick, stubby, hammer-fisted, fiery-faced old man, marked with the -mark of the sea. His eyebrows made one broad black band of wiry hair, -stretching from temple to temple, where they grew in the fashion of -two sharp little horns; and he had a habit of dropping them over his -little red eyes, as if in a passion--but nobody was deceived by that; -for, save in moments of righteous anger, the light of good humour -still shone in the little red eyes, however fiercely they flashed. The -rest of his face was beard--a wilderness of gray beard; it sprang from -somewhere below his shirt collar, and straggled in a tangled growth -over his cheek-bones and neck. - -"Report t' you, sir," said he, in a surprisingly gruff voice; and -at the same time he pulled the lobe of his right ear, which was his -invariable manner of salute. - -Sir Archibald and Captain Hand were in close consultation for half an -hour; during all of which time the burly captain's eyes were thickly -screened by his eyebrows. - -"Oh, I sees, sir--I sees," said he, rising, at the end of it. "Oh, ay! -Of course, sir--of course!" - -"And you'll take good care?" Sir Archibald began, almost tenderly. - -"Oh, ay!" heartily. "I ain't no nurse, as I tells you fair; but you -needn't worry about _him_, sir." - -"His mother will be anxious. She'll hold you responsible, captain." - -Captain Hand violently pulled the lobe of his right ear, and turned to -go. At the door he halted. "Tim Tuttle o' Raggles Island has turned up -again, sir," he said, "an' wants t' be shipped." - -"Tuttle?" muttered Sir Archibald. "He's the man who led the mutiny on -the _Never Say Die_. Well, as you will, captain." - -"Oh, I'll ship him!" said the captain, grimly; and with a last pull at -his ear he disappeared. - -On the heels of the captain's departure came Archie. He was Sir -Archibald's son; there was no doubt about that: a fine, hardy -lad--robust, as every young Newfoundlander should be; straight, agile, -alert, with head carried high; merry, quick-minded, ready-tongued, -fearless in wind and high sea. His hair was tawny, his eyes blue and -wide and clear, his face broad and good humoured. All this appeared as -he pulled off his cap, threw back the flaps of his fur-lined overcoat, -picked a stray thread from his knickerbockers, and, at last, eagerly -approached his father. - -"You little dandy!" laughed his father. - -Archie laughed, too--and flushed. He knew that his father liked to poke -fun at him because the cut of his coat, the knot in his cravat, the -polish on his boots, were matters of such deep concern to the boy. - -"Oh, come now, father!" he protested. "Tell me whether I'm to go or -not." - -For reply, Sir Archibald gravely led his son to the window. It was his -purpose to impress the boy with the wealth and power (and, therefore, -with the responsibilities) of the firm of Armstrong and Son. - -"Come," said he; "let us watch them fitting out the fleet." - -The wealth of the firm was vast, the power great. Directly or -indirectly, Sir Archibald's business interests touched every port -in Newfoundland, every cove of the Labrador, the markets of Spain -and Portugal, of the West Indies and South American Republics. His -fishing-schooners went south to the Banks and north to the gray, cold -seas off Cape Chidley; the whalers gave chase in the waters of the -Gulf and of the Straits; the traders ran from port to port of all -that rugged coast; the barques carried cod and salmon and oil to all -the markets of the world. And when the ice came drifting down in the -spring, the sealers scattered themselves over the waters of the North -Atlantic. - -Archie looked into the dusk without, where lay the ships and wharves -and warehouses that told the story. - -"They are mine," said Sir Archibald, gravely, looking deep into his -son's wide-opened eyes. "Some day----" - -Archie was alarmed. What did it all mean? Why was his father so grave? -Why had he boasted of his wealth? - -"They will be yours," Sir Archibald concluded. After a pause, he -continued: "The firm has had an honourable career through three -generations of our family. My father gave it to me with a spotless -reputation. More than that, with the business he gave me the perfect -faith of every man, woman and child of the outports. The firm has -dealt with its fishermen and sealers as man with man; it has never -wronged, or oppressed, or despised them. You are now fifteen years -old. In September, you are going to an English public school, and -thence to an English university. You will meet with new ideals. The -warehouses and ships, the fish and fat, will not mean so much to you. -You will forget. It may be, even--for you are something of a dandy, you -know--that you will be ashamed to acknowledge that your father is a -dealer in fish and seal-oil; that----" - -Archie drew breath to speak. - -"But I want you _to remember_," Sir Archibald went on, lifting his -hand. "I want you to know a man when you meet one, whatever the clothes -he wears. The men upon whom the fortunes of this firm are founded are -true men. They are strong, and brave, and true. Their work is toilsome -and perilous, and their lives are not unused to deprivation; but they -are cheerful, and independent, and fearless, through it all--stout -hearts, every one of them! They deserve respectful and generous -treatment at the hands of their employers. For that reason I want -you to know them more intimately--to know them as shipmates know one -another--that you may be in sympathy with them. I am confident that you -will respect them, because I know that you love all manly qualities. -And so, for your good, and for their good, and for the good of the -firm, I have decided that you may----" - -"That I may go?" Archie cried, eagerly. - -"With Captain Hand, of the _Dictator_, which puts out from Long Tom -Harbour at midnight of March tenth." - - - - -CHAPTER XXVII - - _While Billy Topsail is About His Own Business Archie - Armstrong Stands on the Bridge of the Dictator and - Captain Hand Orders "Full Speed Ahead!" on the Stroke - of Twelve._ - - -AND so it came to pass that, at near midnight of the tenth of March, -Archie Armstrong, warmly clad in furs, and fairly on fire with -excitement, was aboard the staunch old sealer, at Long Tom, half way -up the east coast. It was blowing half a gale from the open sea, -which lay, hidden by the night, just beyond the harbour rocks. The -wind was stinging cold, as though it had swept over immense areas of -ice, dragging the sluggish fields after it. It howled aloft, rattled -over the decks, and flung the smoke from the funnel into the darkness -inland. Archie breasted it with the captain and the mate on the bridge; -and he was impatient as they to be off from the sheltered water, fairly -started in the race for the north, though a great gale was to be -weathered. - -"Good-bye, Skipper John," he had said to John Roth, with whom he had -spent the three days of waiting in this small outport. "I'll send you -two white-coats (young seals) for Aunt Mary's sitting room, when I get -back." - -"I be past me labour, b'y," replied John, who was, indeed, now beyond -all part in the great spring harvest, "but I'll give you the toast o' -the old days. 'Red decks, an' many o' them!'" - -"Red decks," cried Archie, quoting the old proverb, "make happy homes." - -"'Tis that," said old John, striking the ground with his staff. "An' I -wish I was goin' along with you, b'y. There's no sealin' skipper like -Cap'n Hand." - -The ship was now hanging off shore, with steam up and the anchor snugly -stowed. Not before the stroke of twelve of that night was it permitted -by the law to clear from Long Tom. Fair play was thus assured to all, -and the young seals were protected from an untimely attack. It was a -race from all the outports to the ice, with the promise of cargoes of -fat to stiffen courage and put a will for work in the hearts of men: -for a good catch, in its deeper meaning, is like a bounteous harvest; -and what it brings to the wives and little folk in all the cottages of -that cruel coast is worth the hardship and peril. - -"What's the time, Mr. Ackell?" said the captain to the mate, -impatiently. - -"Lacks forty-three minutes o' the hour, sir," was the reply. - -"Huh!" growled the captain. "'Tis wonderful long in passin'." - -"The whole harbour must be down to see the start," Archie observed -looking to the shore. - -"More nor that, b'y," said the captain. "I've got a Green Bay crew. -Most two hundred men o' them, an' every last one o' them a mighty man. -They's folk here from all the harbours o' the bay t' see us off. Hark -t' the guns they're firin'!" - -All the folk left in Long Tom--the women and children and old men--were -at the water-side; with additions from Morton's Harbour, Burnt Bay, -Exploits and Fortune Harbour. Sailing day for the sealers! It was the -great event of the year. Torches flared on the flakes and at the stages -all around the harbour. The cottages were all illuminated with tallow -candles. Guns were discharged in salute. "God speed!" was shouted from -shore to ship; and you may be sure that the crew was not slow to return -the good wishes. Archie marked one man in particular--a tall, lean -fellow, who was clinging to the main shrouds, and shouting boisterously. - -"Well, we can't lose Tuttle," said the mate, with a grin, indicating -the man in the shrouds. - -The captain frowned; and Archie wondered why. But he thought no more -of the matter at the moment--nor, indeed, until he met Tuttle face to -face--for the wind was now blowing high; and that was enough to think -of. - -"Let it blow," said bluff Captain Hand. "'Tis not the _wind_ I cares -about, b'y. 'Tis the ice. I reckon there's a field o' drift ice -offshore. This nor'east gale will jam the harbour in an hour, an' I -don't want t' be trapped here What's the time, now, Mr. Ackell?" - -"Twenty-seven minutes yet, sir." - -"Take her up off Skull Head. That's within the law." - -The drift ice was coming in fast. There was a small field forming about -the steamer, and growing continuously. Out to sea, the night-light now -revealed a floe advancing with the wind, threatening to seal tight the -narrow harbour entrance. - -"If we have t' cut our way out," muttered the captain, "we'll cut as -little as we can. Mr. Girth!" he roared to the second mate, "get the -bombs out. An' pick a crew that knows how t' use 'em." - -The _Dictator_ moved forward through the gathering ice towards Skull -Head; and the three other steamers, whose owners had chosen to make the -start from Long Tom, followed slyly on her heels, evidently hoping to -get to sea in her wake, for she was larger than they. When her engines -were stopped off the Head, it lacked twelve minutes of sailing time. -An unbroken field of ice lay beyond the harbour entrance, momentarily -jammed there. Would the ship be locked in? - -"Can't we run for it, sir?" asked the mate. "'Tis but seven minutes too -soon." - -"No," said the captain. "We'll lie here t' midnight t' the second. Then -we'll ram that floe, if we have t'. Hear me?" he burst out, such was -the tension upon patience. "We'll ram it! We'll ram it!" - -It appeared that they _would_ have to. Archie could hear the ice -crunching as the floe pressed in upon the jam. Pans were lifted out of -the water, and, under the mighty force of the mass behind, were heaped -up between the rocks on either side of the narrows. The barrier seemed -even now to be impassable; and it had yet seven minutes to gather -strength. If it should prove too great to be broken, the fleet might -be locked in for a week; and with every hour of delay the size of the -prospective catch would dwindle. The captains of the nearer vessels -were madly shouting to the old skipper of the _Dictator_ to strike -before it was too late; but he gave them no heed whatever. He stood -with his watch in his hand, waiting for the moment of midnight. - -"We're caught!" cried the mate. - -The captain said nothing. He was watching the jam--hoping that it would -break of its own weight. - -"Three minutes, sir," said the mate. - -The captain glanced at the watch in his hand. "Two an' a half," he -muttered, a moment later. - -A pause. - -"Midnight, sir!" cried the mate. - -"Go ahead!" - -Archie heard the tinkle of the bell in the engineer's room below: then -the answering signal on the bridge. The crew raised a cheer; the mate -pulled the whistle rope; there was a muffled hurrah from the shore. - -"Half speed! Port a little!" - -The steamer gathered headway. She was now making for the harbour -entrance on a straight course. - -"Full speed!" - -Then the _Dictator_ charged the barrier. - - - - -CHAPTER XXVIII - - _In Which Archie Armstrong falls in with Bill o' Burnt - Bay and Billy Topsail of Ruddy Cove and Makes a - Speech_ - - -THERE is no telling what would have happened had the _Dictator_ struck -the jam of ice in the narrows of Long Tom Harbour. Captain Hand was not -the man to lose half a voyage because there was a risk to be taken; had -he been used to counting the risk, he would not have been in command -of the finest ship in Armstrong and Son's fine fleet. Rather than be -locked in the harbour, he had launched his vessel at the barrier, -quietly confident that she would acquit herself well. But, as he had -foreseen, the jam broke of its own weight before the steamer struck. Of -a sudden, it cracked, and gave way; the key blocks had broken. It then -remained only to breast the pack, which was not at all an impossible -undertaking for the stout _Dictator_. - -With her rivals following close, she struck the floe, broke a way -through, and pushed on, with a great noise, but slowly, surely; and she -was soon in the open sea. The course was then shaped northeast, for it -appeared that open water lay in that direction. The floe retarded the -ship's progress, but could not stop it; the ice pans crashed against -her prow and scraped her sides, but she was staunch enough to withstand -every shock; and so, gaining on the rest of the fleet, she crept out to -sea, in the teeth of the rising gale. - -At two o'clock in the morning, Archie Armstrong was still on the bridge -with the captain and mate. The lights of the fleet were lost in the -night behind. The _Dictator_ had laboured through the first field of -ice into open water. The sea was dotted with great, white "pans," -widely scattered; and, as the captain had feared, there were signs of -bergs in the darkness roundabout. The waves were rising, spume crested, -on every hand; at intervals, they broke over the bows, port and -starboard, with frightful violence. Gusts of wind whirled the spray to -the bridge, where it soon sheathed men and superstructure in ice. - -"Send a lookout aloft, Mr. Ackell," said the captain, after he had long -and anxiously peered straight ahead. - -The thud of ice, as the seas hurled it against the ship's prows, the -hiss and crash of the waves, the screaming of the gale, drowned the -captain's order. - -"Pass the word for Bill o' Burnt Bay!" he roared. - -A short, brawny man, of middle age, who had not missed a voyage to the -ice in twenty years, soon appeared in response to the call, which had -gone from mouth to mouth through the ship. Archie was inclined to smile -when he observed Bill's unkempt, sandy moustache, which was curiously -given an upward twist at one side, and a downward twist at the other. -Nevertheless, he was strongly attracted to him; for he looked like a -man who could be trusted to the limit of his courage and strength. - -"Take a glass t' the nest, b'y, an' look sharp for bergs," the captain -ordered. "Don't stay up there. Come back an' report t' me here." - -The man went off with a brisk, "Ay, ay, sir!" It was his duty to -clamber to the crow's-nest--a cask lashed to the topmast just below the -masthead--and to sweep the sea for signs of bergs. - -"'Tis more than I bargained for, Mr. Ackell," the captain went on, to -the mate, in an anxious undertone, which, however, Archie managed to -catch; and it may be added that the lad's heart jumped into his throat, -and had a hard time getting back into place again. - -"Dirty weather, sir!" the mate agreed. "I'm thinkin' we're close to -some heavy ice." - -"Well," said the captain, after a pause, "keep her head as she points -now. I'll have a look 'tween decks." - -Archie was tempted to ask the captain "if there was any danger." The -foolish question was fairly on the tip of his tongue; but his better -sense came to his rescue in time. Danger? Of course, there was! There -was always danger. He had surely not come on a sealing voyage expecting -none! But catastrophe was not yet inevitable. At any rate, it was the -captain's duty to sail the ship. He was responsible to the owners, and -to the families of the crew; the part of the passenger was but bravely -to meet the fortune that came. So, completely regaining his courage, -Archie followed the captain below. - -'Tween decks the stout hearts were rollicking still. The working crew -had duty to do, every man of them; but the two hundred hunters, who had -been taken along to wield gaff and club, were sprawled in every place, -singing, laughing, yarning, scuffling, for all the world like a pack -of boys: making light of discomfort, and thinking not at all of danger, -for the elation of departure still possessed them. Had any misgiving -still remained with Archie, the sight of this jolly, careless crowd -of hunters would have quieted it. _They_ were not alarmed. Then, why -should he be? Doubtless, it was responsibility that made the captain -anxious. - -In the improvised cabin aft, Ebenezer Bowsprit, of Exploits, was -roaring the "Luck o' the Northern Light," a famous old sealing song, -which, no doubt, his grandfather had sung to shipmates upon similar -occasions long ago. Rough, frank faces, broadly smiling, were turned -to him; and when it came time for the chorus, willing voices and -mighty lungs swelled it to a volume that put the very gale to shame. -The ship was pitching violently--with a nauseating roll occasionally -thrown in--and the cabin was crowded and hot and filled with clouds of -tobacco smoke; but neither pitch, nor roll, nor heat, nor smoke, could -interfere with the jollity of the occasion. - -"All right here," the captain growled, grinning in his great beard. - -"Speech, Sir Archie!" shouted one of the men. - -Before Archie could escape--and amid great laughter and uproar and -louder calls for a speech--he was caught by the arm, jerked off his -feet, and hoisted on the table, where he bumped his head, and, by an -especially violent roll of the vessel, was almost thrown headlong into -the arms of the grinning crowd around him. - -"Speech, speech!" they roared. - -Archie would have declined with some heat had he not caught sight of -the face of Tim Tuttle--a tawny, lean, long man, apparently as strong -as a wire rope. There was a steely twinkle in his eye, and a sneering, -utterly contemptuous smile upon his thin lips. Archie did not know that -this was Tuttle's habitual expression. He felt that the man expected a -rather amusing failure on the part of Sir Archibald Armstrong's son; -and that stimulated him to take the situation seriously. Unconsciously -calling his good breeding to his aid, he pulled off his cap, smoothed -his hair, touched his cravat, and-- - -"Ahem!" he began; as he had heard the governor of the colony do a dozen -times, and as now, to his surprise, he found most inspiring. - -"Hear, hear!" burst rapturously from old Ebenezer Bowsprit. - -[Illustration: HE WAS NEAR THE END OF THE SIXTEENTH VERSE.] - -Ebenezer was in a condition of high delight and expectation. Admiration -shone in his eyes, surprise was depicted by his wide opened mouth, -bewonderment by his strained attention. The sight of his face was too -much for Archie. - -"Oh, what Tommy-rot!" he laughed. "Here, let me go! I can't (hold me -up, or I'll fall) make a speech. ("Hear, hear!" from the awe-stricken -Ebenezer.) All I got to say is that I'm (_please_ get a better hold on -my legs, or I'll be pitched off) mighty glad to be here. I'm having the -best time of my life, and I expect to have a better one when we strike -the seals. (Loud and prolonged cheering.) I hope----" - -But, in the excitement following his last remark, the speaker's support -was withdrawn, and a pitch of the ship threw him off the table. He was -caught, set on his feet, and clapped on the back. Then he managed to -escape with the captain, followed by loud cries of "More! More!" to -which he felt justified in paying no attention. - -"You're your father's son," laughed the captain, as they made their way -up the deck. "Sure, your father never in his life let slip a chance -t' make a speech." - -In the forecastle they had a lad on the table under the lantern--a -tow-headed, blue-eyed, muscular boy, of Archie's age, or less. He had -on goatskin boots, a jacket of homespun, and a flaring red scarf. The -men were quiet; for the boy was piping, in a clear, quavering treble, -the "Song o' the Anchor an' Chain," a Ruddy Cove saga, which goes to -the air of a plaintive West Country ballad of the seventeenth century, -with the refrain, - - "Sure, the chain 'e parted, - An' the schooner drove ashoare, - An' the wives o' the 'ands - Never saw un any moare. - No moare! - Never saw un any mo-o-o-are!" - -He was near the end of the sixteenth verse, and the men were drawing -breath for the chorus, when the captain appeared in the door, wrath in -his eyes. - -"What's this?" roared he. - -There was no answer. The lad turned to face the captain, in part -deferentially, in part humorously, altogether fearlessly. - - - - -CHAPTER XXIX - - _Billy Topsail is Shipped Upon Conditions, and the - Dictator, in a Rising Gale, is Caught in a Field of - Drift Ice, with a Growler to Leeward_ - - -"WHERE'D you come aboard, b'y?" Captain Hand demanded. - -"Long Tom, sir." - -"Who shipped you?" - -"I stowed away in a bunker, sir." - -"You're from Ruddy Cove?" said the captain. - -"Yes, sir. Me name's Billy, an' me father's a Labrador fisherman. Sure, -I've sailed t' the French Shore, sir, an' I'm a handy lad t' work, sir." - -"Billy what?" - -"Topsail, sir." - -The captain raised his eyebrows; then dropped them, and stared at -the boy. He had been before the mast with old Tom Topsail on a South -American barque in years long gone. - -"You'll work hard, b'y," said he, severely, for he had been bothered -with stowaways for thirty years, "an' I'll ship you regular, if you do -your duty. If you don't," and here the captain frowned tremendously, -"I'll have you thrashed at the post at Long Tom, an' you'll have no -share with the crew in the cargo." - -"Ay, sir," said Billy, gladly. "Sure, I'll stand by it, sir." - -When the captain turned his back, out came the belated chorus, with -young Billy Topsail leading: - - "Sure, the chain 'e parted, - An' the schooner drove ashoare, - An' the wives o' the 'ands - Never saw un any moare. - No moare! - Never saw un any mo-o-o-are!" - -"If he's like his dad," the captain chuckled to Archie, as they mounted -to the deck, "his name will be on the ship's books before the v'y'ge is -over, sure enough." - -It appeared from the bridge that the gale was venting the utmost of its -force. The wind had veered a point or two to the north, and was driving -out of the darkness a vast field of broken ice. This, close packed and -grinding, was bearing down swiftly. It threatened to block the ship's -course--if not to surround her, take hold of her, and sweep her away. -In the northeast, dead over the bows, there loomed a great white mass, -a berg, grandly towering, with its peaks hidden in black, scudding -clouds. Beyond, and on either side, patches of white, vanishing and -reappearing, disclosed the whereabouts of other bergs. - -"I was thinkin' about slowin' down," said the mate, when the captain -had scanned the prospect ahead. - -With that, some part of Archie's alarm returned. It continued with him, -while the captain moved the lever of the signal box until the indicator -marked half speed, while the ship lost way, and the engines throbbed, -as though alive and breathing hard. - -"Report, sir!" - -This was Bill o' Burnt Bay, down from the crow's-nest, with his beard -frozen to his jacket and icicles hanging from his shaggy eyebrows. - -"Well?" - -"They's a big field o' ice bearin' down with the wind. 'Tis heavy, -an' comin' fast, an' 'tis stretchin' as far as I can see. They's five -good-sized bergs ahead, sir, with pan ice all about them. An'----" - -"Growlers?" sharply. - -"An' they's a big growler off the port bow. 'Twill soon be dead t' -leeward, if we keeps this course." - -Bill o' Burnt Bay lumbered down the ladder and made for the forecastle -to thaw out. Meantime, the captain devoted himself to giving the -growler a wide berth; for a growler is a berg which trembles on the -verge of toppling over, and he had no wish to be caught between it and -the advancing floe. He had once lost a schooner that way; the adventure -was one of his most vivid recollections. - -"We'll have t' get out o' this, Mr. Ackell," he said, "or we may get -badly nipped. We'll tie up t' the first steady berg we come to. Here, -b'y," sharply, to Archie, "you'll not go t' bed for a while. Keep near -me--but keep out o' the way." - -"Ay, ay, sir!" - -"Turn out all hands!" - -The cry of "All hands on deck!" was passed fore and aft. It ran through -the ship like an alarm. The men trooped from below, wondering what had -occasioned it. Once on deck, a swift glance into the driving night -apprised these old sealers of the situation. They placed the ice hooks -and tackle in handy places; for the work in hand was plain enough. - -The ship was swinging wide of the growler, against which the wind beat -with mighty force. A vast surface was exposed to the gale; and upon -every square foot a varying pressure was exerted. As the vessel drew -nearer, Archie could see the iceberg yield and sway. It was evident -that its submerged parts had been melted and worn until the equilibrium -of the whole was nearly overset. A sudden, furious gust might turn the -scale; and in that event a near-by vessel would surely be overwhelmed. - -Captain Hand kept a watchful eye on the ice pack, which had now come -within a hundred fathoms, and was hurrying upon the advancing ship. -The vessel was between the floe and the growler: a situation not to -be escaped, as the captain had foreseen. The danger was clear: if the -rush of the floe should be too great for the steamer to withstand, she -would be swept, broadside on, against the berg, which, being of greater -weight and depth, moved sluggishly. Stout as she was, she could not -survive the collision. - -The captain turned her bow to the pack; then he signalled full speed -ahead. There was a moment of waiting. - -"Grab the rail, b'y," said the captain. - -"Ay, ay, sir!" - -The floe divided before the ship; the shock was hardly perceptible. For -a moment, where, at the edge, the ice was loose, she maintained her -speed. But the floe thickened. The fragments were packed tight. It was -as though the face of the sea were covered with a solid sheet of ice, -lying ahead as far as sight carried into the night. The ship laboured. -Her speed diminished, gradually, but perceptibly--vividly so! Her -progress was soon at the rate of half speed. In a moment it was even -slower than that. Would it stop altogether? - -Archie was on the port side of the bridge. The captain walked over to -him and slapped him heartily on the back. - -"Well, b'y," he cried, "how do you like the sealin' v'y'ge?" - -That was a clever thought of the captain! Here was a man in desperate -case who could await the issue in light patience. The boy took heart at -the thought of it; and he needed that encouragement. - -"I knew what it was when I started," he replied, with a gulp. - -"Will she make it, think you?" - -Another clever ruse of this great heart! He wanted the boy to have a -part in the action. Archie felt the blood stirring in his veins once -again. - -"She's pretty near steady, sir, I think," he replied, after a pause. - -The two leaned over the rail and looked intently at the ice sweeping -past. - -"Are we losing, sir?" asked the boy. - -"I think we're holdin' our own," said the captain, elatedly. - -The boy turned to the great growler, now vague of outline in the dark. -The ice floe had swept over the limit of vision. He wondered if it -had struck the base of the berg. Then all at once the heap of cloudy -white swayed forth and back before his eyes. For a moment it was like -a gigantic curtain waving in the wind. It vanished of a sudden. A -mountain of broken water shot up in its place--as high as its topmost -pinnacle had been; and, following close upon its fall, another berg, -with a worn outline, reared itself, dripping streams of water. - -Thus far there had been no sound; but the sound beat its way against -the wind, at last, and it was a thunderous noise--"like the growlin' of -a million dogs," the captain said afterwards. The growler had capsized. - -"Look!" the boy cried, overcome. - -"Turned turtle, ain't she?" remarked the skipper, calmly. - -"The pack might have carried us near it!" - -"Oh," said the captain, lightly, "but it didn't. She's a good ship, the -_Dictator_. What's more," he added, "she's makin' her way right through -the pack." - -Another berg had taken form over the port quarter. The captain shaped -a course for it, eyeing it carefully as he drew near. It was low--not -higher than the ship's spars--and broad, with the impression of -stability strong upon it. - -"See that berg, b'y?" said the captain. "Well," decisively, "we'll lie -in the lee o' that in half an hour. You see, b'y," he went on, "the -wind makes small bother for a solid berg. It whips the pan ice along, -easy enough, but the bergs float their own way, quiet as you please. In -the lee of every big fellow like that, there's open water. We'll lie -there, tied up, till mornin'." - -In half an hour, the ship broke from the ice into the lee of the berg. -The floe raced past under the force of the gale, which left the lee air -and water untouched by its violence. Skillful seamanship brought the -vessel broadside to the ice. A wild commotion ensued: orders roared -from the bridge, signal bells, the shouts of the line men, the hiss of -steam, and the churning of the screw. Archie saw young Billy Topsail -scramble to the ice like a cat, with the first line in his hand: then -Bill o' Burnt Bay and half a dozen others, with axes and hooks. - -In twenty minutes the engines were at rest, the ship was lying like a -log in a mill pond, the watch paced the deck in solitude, and Archibald -Armstrong was asleep in his berth in the captain's cabin--dreaming that -the mate was wrong and the captain right: that the gale had abated in -the night, and the morning had broken sunny. - - - - -CHAPTER XXX - - _In Which Archie Armstrong and Billy Topsail Have an - Exciting Encounter with a Big Dog Hood, and, at the - Sound of Alarm, Leave the Issue in Doubt, While the - Ice Goes Abroad and the Enemy Goes Swimming_ - - -HAIR seals, which come out of the north with the ice in the early -spring, and drift in great herds past the rugged Newfoundland coast, -returning in April, have no close, soft fur next the skin, such as the -South Sea and Alaskan seals have. Hence, they are valued only for their -blubber, which is ground and steamed into oil, and for their skin, -which is turned into leather. They are of two kinds, the harp which is -doubtless indigenous to the great inland sea and the waters above, and -the hood, which inhabits the harsher regions of the farther north and -east. The harp is timid, gentle, gregarious, and takes in packs to the -flat, newly frozen, landward pans; the hood is fierce, quarrelsome and -solitary, grimly riding the rough glacier ice at the edge of the open -sea. - -Thus the _Dictator_ lay through the night with hood ice all about the -sheltering berg. - -"Hi, b'y! Get yarry (wide awake)!" cried the captain, in the morning. - -Archie Armstrong was "yarry" on the instant, and he rolled out of his -berth in hot haste, not at all sure that it was not time to leave a -sinking ship in the boats. The hairy face of the old sealer, a broad, -kindly grin upon it, peered at him from the door. - -"Morning, skipper!" - -"Mornin' t' you, sir. An' a fine mornin' 'tis," said the captain. "Sure -a finer I never saw." - -"What's become of the gale?" - -"The gale's miles t' the sou'east--an' out o' sight o' these latitudes. -We're packed in the lee o' the berg, an' fast till the wind changes. -There's a family o' hoods, quarter mile t' starboard. Up, now, b'y! an' -you'll go after them with a crew after breakfast." - -When Archie reached the deck, the air was limpid, frosty and still. -There was a blue sky overhead, stretching from horizon to horizon. A -waste of ice lay all about--rough, close-packed, glistening in the -sun. With the falling away of the wind the floe had lost its headway, -and had crept softly in upon the open water. The ship was held in the -grip of the pack, and must perforce remain for a time in the shadow of -the berg, where shelter from the gale of the night had been sought. -Save for the watch of that hour, the men were below, at breakfast. The -"great white silence" possessed the sea. For the boy, this silence, -vast and heavy, and the immeasurable area of broken ice, with its -pent-up, treacherous might, was as awe-impelling as the gale and the -night. - -"What d'ye think, Mr. Ackell?" said the captain to the mate, when the -two came up. - -Ackell looked to the northeast. "We'll have wind by noon," he replied. - -"'Tis what I think," the captain agreed. "Archie, b'y, you'll have a -couple of hours, afore the ice goes abroad. Bowsprit 'll take the crew, -an' you'll do what he tells you." - -Ebenezer Bowsprit, with half a dozen cronies of his own choosing, led -the way over the side, in high good humour. In the group on the deck -stood Billy Topsail. He eyed Archie with frank envy as the lad prepared -to descend to the ice; for to participate in the first hunt, generally -regarded as pure sport, was a thing greatly to be desired. He was -perceived by Archie, who was at once taken with a wish for company of -his own age. - -"Captain," the boy whispered, "let the other kid come along, won't you?" - -"Topsail," the captain ordered, "get a gaff, an' cut along with the -rest." - -In five minutes, the boys had broken the ice of diffidence, and were -chatting like sociable magpies, as they crawled, jumped, climbed, over -the uneven pack. They were Newfoundlanders both: the same in strength, -feeling, spirit, and, indeed, experience. The one was of the remote -outports, where children are reared to toil and peril, which, with -hunger, is their heritage, and must ever be; the other was of the city, -son of the well-to-do, who, following sport for sport's sake, had made -the same ventures and become used to the same toil and peril. - -"'Tis barb'rous hard walkin'," said Billy. - -"Sure," replied the other. "And they're getting away ahead of us." - -Ebenezer Bowsprit and his fellows, with the lust of the chase strong -upon them, were making great strides towards three black objects some -hundred yards away. It was a race; for it is a tradition that he -who strikes the first blow of the voyage will have "luck" the season -through. The boys were hopelessly behind, and they stopped to look -about them. It was then that Billy Topsail spied a patch of open water, -to the left, half hidden by the surrounding ice. It was a triangular -hole in the floe, formed by three heavy blocks, which had withstood the -pressure of the pack. - -"Look!" he cried. - -A head, small and alert, raised upon a thick, supple neck, appeared. A -moment later, a second head popped out of the water. They were hoods. -The young one, the pup, must lie near. The boys stood stock still until -the seals had clambered to the pack. Then they advanced swiftly. Billy -Topsail was armed with a gaff, which is a pole shod with iron at one -end and having a hook at the other; and Archie was provided with a -sealing club. They came upon the dog hood before he could escape to the -water. Perceiving this, and only on this account, he turned, snarling, -to give fight. - -"I'll take him!" cried Billy. - -The hood was as big as an ox--a massive, flabby, vicious beast. He -was furiously aroused, and he would now fight to the death, with no -thought of retreat. He raised himself on his flippers and reared his -head to the length of his long neck, as the boy, stepping cautiously, -gaff poised, drew near. - -[Illustration: THEN HE ADVANCED UPON THE BOY.] - -"Get behind him," Billy shouted to Archie. - -Billy advanced fearlessly, steadily, never for a moment taking his eyes -from the hood's head. Upon that head, from the nose to the back of the -neck, the tough, bladder-like "hood" was now inflated. It was a perfect -protection; the boy might strike blow after blow without effect. The -stroke must be thrust at the throat; and it must be a stroke swiftly, -cunningly, strongly delivered. A furious hood, excited past fear, is a -match for three men. The odds were against the lad. He had been carried -away by his own daring. - -But Billy made the thrust, and the seal received the point of the gaff -on his hood, as upon a shield: then advanced on his flippers, by jerky -jumps, snapping viciously. Archie cried out. But Billy had skipped -out of harm's way, and had faced about, laughing. He returned to the -attack, undismayed, though the seal reared to meet him, with bared -teeth. - -"Strike!" screamed Archie. - -Teeth and flippers were to be feared, and Billy had drawn nearly within -reach of both. He paused, waiting his opportunity. Archie could not -contain his excitement. - -"Strike!" he cried again. - -Billy struck; but the blow had no force, for he slipped, overreached, -lost his footing, and fell sprawling, almost within reach of his -adversary's teeth. The seal snarled and drew back, startled. Then he -advanced upon the boy, who had had no time to recover, much less to -scramble out of his desperate situation. - -It was for Archie to act. He leaped forward from his position behind -the seal, struck the animal with full force upon the tail, and darted -out of reach. The hood snorted, and turned in a rage to face his new -assailant. Billy leaped to his feet, gaff in hand, and faced about, -panting, but ready. He was preparing to attack again, when-- - -"What's that?" Archie cried in alarm. - -It was the boom of the ship's gun, followed by an ominous, hollow -crackling, which ran into the distance like a long peal of thunder. The -floe seemed to be turning. - -"'Tis goin' abroad!" Billy shouted. "Quick, b'y! T' the ship!" - -The boys had been out of sight of the ship, hidden by a shoulder of -the berg. They had not seen the flag of recall, which had been flying -for ten minutes. Again they heard the report of the gun; and they saw -Ebenezer Bowsprit and his men making shipwards with all speed. Billy -was fully aware of the danger. With another warning cry to Archie, he -started off on a run, turning from time to time to make sure that his -companion was following. - -The ice was nauseatingly unstable, grinding and shifting; but no open -water had as yet appeared, though, at any moment, a lane might open up -and cut off the retreat. The floe was feeling the force of a wind in -the north, and was stirring itself from edge to edge. It would soon be -shaken into its separate parts. But with Billy Topsail leading, the -boys ran steadily over the heaving foothold, and in good time came to -the ship, which the rest of the hunting party had already boarded. - -Billy Topsail was laughing. - -"I don't feel that way," said Archie, "we were in a good deal of -danger." - -Billy laughed louder. - -"Well, we _were_, weren't we?" Archie demanded. - -"Maybe," said Billy; "but you'll get used t' _that_!" - -They were not a moment too soon, however; for the pack very quickly -fell apart--thus opening a way for the escape of the _Dictator_. And -meantime, the gallant old dog hood had followed the retreating figures -with his eyes: after which, well satisfied with himself, he slipped -into the water and went fishing. - - - - -CHAPTER XXXI - - _The Dictator Charges an Ice Pan and Loses a Main Topmast_ - - -"CAST loose!" was the order from the bridge. - -The men scrambled to the berg and released the lines and ice-hooks. -The pack was still loosening under the rising breeze. To the east, -separating the sky from the ice, lay a long black streak--the water -of the open sea; a clear way to the broad, white fields. Once free of -the floe, the ship would speed northward to the Yellow Islands and -Cape William coasts. In a day and a night, the weather continuing -propitious, it would be, "Ho! for the ice. Ho! for the seals." - -A lane of water opened up. "Go ahead," was the signal from the master -on the bridge, and the ship moved forward, with her nose turned to the -sea. - -"Ha, Mr. Ackell!" exclaimed the captain, rubbing his horny hands. -"Looks t' be a fine time, man. We'll make the Yellow Islands at dawn -t'-morrow, if all goes well." - -When the _Dictator_ had followed the lane to within one hundred yards -of free water, the advance was blocked by a great pan of ice, tight -jammed in the pack on either side. So fast and vagrantly was the floe -shifting its formation that what had been a clear path was now crossed -by a mighty barrier. Here was no slob ice to be forged through at full -steam, but a solid mass, like a bar of iron, lying across the path. - -The ship was taken to the edge of the obstruction, and the captain and -mate went forward to the bow to gauge the strength of it. When they -came back to the bridge, the former had his teeth set. - -"It's stiff work for the old ship," said the mate. - -The captain growled as he pulled the signal lever for full speed astern. - -"Take half a day to cut a way through," he said. "We'll ram it. Here, -b'y," to Archie, "get off the bridge. You're in the way." - -Archie joined Billy Topsail on the forward deck. Neither had yet -experienced a charge on a pan of ice; but both had listened, open eyed, -to the sealing tales of daring that had brought disaster. - -"I feel queer," Archie remarked. - -"Cap'n Hand," said Billy, as though trying to revive his faith in the -old skipper, "he's a clever one. 'Tis all right." - -"Make fast below," the captain shouted over the bridge rail. - -The word was passed in a lively fashion. Tackle, boats, and all things -loose, were lashed in their places, as if for a great gale. - -"Stop!" was the next signal. Then: "Full speed ahead!" - -The blow had been launched! A moment later, the _Dictator_ was -ploughing forward, charging the pan, which she must strike like a -battering ram, and shiver to pieces. She was of solid oak, this good -ship, and builded for such attacks; steel plates would buckle and -spring under such shocks as she had many times triumphantly sustained. -The men were silent while they awaited the event. There was not a sound -save the hiss of the water at the ship's prows, and the _chug-chug_ of -the engines. - -Archie caught his breath. His eyes were fixed on the fast vanishing -space of water. The thrill of the adventure was manifest in Billy -Topsail's sharp, quick breathing, and in his blue eyes, which were as -though about to pop out of their sockets. - -"Stop!" - -The engines abruptly ceased their labour. Only a fathom or two of water -lay ahead. The ship was about to strike. There was a long drawn instant -of suspense. Then came the blow! - -It was a fearful shock. The vessel quivered, crushed her way on for a -space, and stopped dead, quivering still. A groan ran over her, from -stem to stern, as though she had been racked in every part. The main -topmast snapped and fell forward on the rigging with a crash. - -A volley of cracks sounded from the ice, like the discharge of a -thousand rifles, slowly subsiding. Dead silence fell and continued for -a moment. Then the screw churned the water, and the ship backed off, -sound, but beaten; for the pan of ice lay, unbroken and unchanged, in -its place, with but a jagged bruise, where the blow had been struck. - -"Aloft, there, some o' you, an' cut away that spar!" the captain -shouted. "Bill, get below, an' see if she's tight. Here, you, Dickson, -call the watch t' make sail. Mr. Girth," to the second mate, "take a -crew t' the ice. Blast that pan in three places. Lively, now, every man -o' you!" - -Roaring subordinates, answering "Ay, ay, sirs!" rattling blocks and -chains, the fall of hurried feet, cries of warning and encouragement, -the engine's gasps: these sounds confounded the confusion, and -continued it, while the ship, snorting like a frightened horse, was -backed to her first position. - -"He'll try it again," Archie gleefully observed to Billy. - -The captain was pacing the bridge. Try it again? He was in a fever of -impatience to be at it! It was as though the pan of ice were a foe -needing only another and a heavier blow to be beaten down. - -"Sure," said Billy, after a glance to the bridge, "he'll hit that pan -till he smashes it, if it takes till Tibb's Eve!" - -"Tibb's Eve?" - -"Sure, b'y. Does you not know what that is? 'Tis till the end o' the -world." - -The ship was again to be launched against the pan. The second mate took -the blasting crew to the ice in the quarter boat; and he lost no time -about it, as the captain made sure. Up aloft went other hands to cut -away the broken spar and loose the canvas. Work was carried on under -the spur of the captain's harshened voice; for the captain was in a -passion to prove the quality of his ship. - -The ice picks were plied as fast as arms could swing them. Soon the -mines were laid and fired. And when the dust of ice had fallen, and -the noise of the explosion had gone rumbling into the distance, three -gaping holes marked the pan at regular intervals from edge to edge. - -"She's all tight below, sir," was the carpenter's report. - -"Now, Mr. Ackell," said the captain, grimly, "in ten minutes we'll be -free o' the ice, or----" - -They made all sail. After a quiet word or two of command, forth the -ship shot, heeling to the breeze, wind now allied with steam. Her -course was laid straight for the jagged bruise in the pan. There was -no stopping her now. The ice was cracked and shivered into a thousand -pieces. The ship forged on, grinding the cakes to fragments, heaping -them up, riding them down. She quivered when she struck, and strained -and creaked as she crushed her way forward, but she crept on, -invincible, adding inch to inch, foot to foot, until she swept out into -the unclogged water. - -Then she shook the ice from her screw, and ran grandly into the -swelling sea. - -"Hurrah!" the stout hearts roared. - -"Hem--hem! Mr. Ackell," said the captain, with some emotion, "'tis a -great ship!" - - * * * * * - -It occurred to Archie that night, while he sat munching hard biscuit -with the captain before turning in, to ask a few questions about Tim -Tuttle. What was the matter with the man? Why did he go about with a -sneer or a frown forever on his face? Why was he not like all the rest -of the crew? Why did the crew seem to expect him to "do" something? Why -did the captain flush and bristle when Tuttle came near? - -"Oh," the captain replied, with a laugh, "Tuttle had a fallin' out with -me when we was young. I think," he added, gravely, "that he wronged me. -But that's neither here nor there. I forgave him. The point is--an' -I've often run across the same thing in my life--that he won't forgive -_me_ for forgivin' _him_. That's odd, isn't it? But it's true. An' he's -aboard here t' make trouble; an' the men know that that's just what he -came for." - -"But what did you ship him for, captain, if you knew that?" - -The captain paused. "Well," he said, "because I'm only a man, I s'pose. -I couldn't help knockin' the chip off his shoulder." - -"Do you think he _can_ make trouble?" - -"I'd like t' see him try!" the captain burst out, wrathfully. - -Tuttle's opportunity occurred the next day. - - - - -CHAPTER XXXII - - _In Which Seals are Sighted and Archie Armstrong has a - Narrow Chance in the Crow's-Nest._ - - -AT peep o' dawn the _Dictator_ made the Groais Island sealing grounds. -The day broke late and dull. The sky was a dead gray, hanging heavily -over a dark, fretful sea; and there was a threat of wind and snow in -the air. - -"Ice, sir!" said the mate, poking his head into the captain's cabin, -his ceremony lost in his elation. - -"Take her 'longside," cried the captain, jumping out of his berth. -"What's it like?" - -"Looks like a big field o' seal ice, sir." - -"Hear that, b'y?" the captain shouted to Archie, who was sitting up in -his berth, still rubbing his eyes. "A field o' ice! There'll be a hunt -t'-day. Mr. Ackell, tell the cook t' send the breakfast up here. What's -the weather?" - -"Promisin' thick, sir." - -When the captain and the boy went on deck, the ice was in plain -sight--many vast fields, rising over the horizon continually, so that -there seemed to be no end to it. From the crow's-nest it had been -reported to the mate, who reported to the captain, that the spars of -a three-masted ship were visible, and that the vessel was apparently -lying near the ice. That was considered bad news--and worse news yet, -when it was reported from the crow's-nest that she was flying the -house-flag of Alexander Bryan & Company, the only considerable rival of -the firm of Armstrong and Son. - -"Oh, well," said the captain, making the best of it in a generous way, -"there'll be 25,000 seals in that pack, an' out o' that we ought t' bag -enough t' pay both of us for the day's work." - -Archie caught sight of Billy Topsail, who was standing on the forward -deck, gazing wistfully at him; so he went forward, and the two found -much to say to each other, while the ship made for the ice under full -steam. They fought the fight with the dog hood over again; and when -Billy had acknowledged a debt to Archie's quick thought, and Archie had -repudiated it with some heat, they agreed that the old seal had been -a mighty fellow, and a game one, deserving his escape from continued -attack. Then they abandoned the subject. - -"Pretty hard work on the ice," Archie observed, sagely. - -"Sure!" Billy exclaimed; for that had been clear to him all his life. -"'Tis fearful dangerous, too. When my father was young, he was to the -ice in a schooner, an' they got caught with the fleet in raftin' ice[7] -offshore, up Englee way. He saw six schooners nipped; an' they were all -crushed like an egg, an' went down when the ice went abroad. His was -the only one o' all the fleet that stood the crush." - -"Think you'll share with the crew, Billy?" - -"I want to," Billy said with a laugh. Then, soberly: "I want to, for -I want t' get a skiff for lobster-fishin' in New Bay. They's lots o' -lobsters there, an' they's no one trappin' down that way. 'Tis a great -chance," with a sigh. - -The captain beckoned Archie to the upper deck. "Tell me, now," he said, -when the boy reached his side, "can you go aloft?" - -"Yes," Archie answered, laughing scornfully. "I'm no landsman!" - -"True word, if you're son of your father! Then get up with the bar'l -man, an' take a trick at swatchin'. 'Tis cold work, but great sport." - -"Swatching" is merely the convenient form for "seal watching." It -appeared to Archie that to swatch with the barrel man must be a highly -diverting occupation. He was not slow to mount the rope ladder to the -masthead, and slip into the cask with the swatcher, who chanced to be -Bill o' Burnt Bay and vociferously made him welcome. - -"See anything yet?" asked the boy. - -"I'll show you them swiles (seals) in a minute or two," Bill replied -confidently. - -Archie was closely muffled in wool and fur; but the wind, which was -bitter and blowing hard, searched out the unprotected places, and in -five minutes he was crouching in the cask for shelter, only too glad to -find an excuse in the swatcher's advice. - -"H-h-h-how l-l-long you been h-h-here?" he chattered. - -"Sure, b'y," said Bill, with no suspicion of a shiver in his voice, -"'tis goin' on two hours, now." - -"P-p-pretty cold, i-i-isn't it?" - -Bill o' Burnt Bay did not reply. His eye was glued to the telescope, -which fairly shook in his hands. Then he leaned over the rim of the -cask, altogether disregarding its instability. - -"Seals ho!" he roared. - -A cheer went up. Looking down, Archie saw the men swarming to the deck. - -"Take a look at them harps, b'y," said Bill, excitedly. "No! Starboard -the glass. There! See them?" - -Archie made out a myriad of moving specks--black dots, small and great, -shifting about over a broad white surface. They were like many insects. -He saw Alexander Bryan & Company's vessel, too; and it appeared to him -that the men were just landing on the ice to attack the pack. - -"That's the _Lucky Star_," Bill explained. "She's a smaller ship than -we, an' she've got about a hundred men, I s'pose. Never fear, lad, -we'll be up in time t' get our share o' the swiles." - -"I-I-I-I g-g-guess I'll g-g-go down, now," said Archie. - -Half an hour of exposure in the crow's-nest had chilled the lad to -numbness. His blood was running sluggishly; he was shivering; his legs -were stiff, and his hands were cold and uncertain in their grip. He -climbed out of the cask, and cleverly enough made good his footing on -the platform of the nest. It was when he essayed the descent that he -erred and faltered. - -He had a full, two-handed grip on the topmast backstays, and was secure -in searching with his foot for the rope ladder lashed thereto. But when -his foot struck, he released his left hand from the stays, without -pausing to make sure that his foot was firm-fixed on the rung. His foot -missed the rung altogether, and found no place to rest. In a flash, he -had rolled over, and hung suspended by one hand, which, numb though it -was, had unexpectedly to bear the weight of his whole body. - -"Be careful goin' down, b'y," he heard Bill o' Burnt Bay say. - -The voice seemed to come out of a great distance. Archie knew, in a -dim way, that the attention of the man was fixed elsewhere--doubtless -on the herd of harps. Then he fell into a stupefaction of terror. -It seemed to him, in his panic, that Bill would never discover his -situation; that he must hang there, with his grip loosening, instant by -instant--until he fell. - -He was speechless, incapable of action, when, by chance, Bill o' Burnt -Bay looked down. The sealer quietly reached over the cask and caught -him by the collar; then lifted him to the platform, and there held him -fast. Each looked silently, tensely, into the other's eyes. - -"'Tis a cold day," said Bill, dryly. - -Archie gasped. - -"Tough on tender hands, b'y," said Bill. - -"Yes," gasped the lad, in a hoarse whisper. - -There was a long silence, through which the swatcher looked Archie in -the eye, holding him tight all the while. - -"'Tis not wise t' be in a hurry, sometimes," he observed, at last. - -The boy waited until he could view the necessity of descent with -composure. Then, with extreme caution, he made his way to the deck, and -went to the cabin, where he warmed himself over the stove. Apparently, -the incident had passed unnoticed from the deck. He said nothing about -it to the captain, nor to any one else; nor did Bill o' Burnt Bay, who -had an adequate conception of the sensitiveness of lads in respect to -such narrow chances. - -FOOTNOTE: - -[7] A floe of pans so forcibly driven by the wind as to be crowded into -layers. - - - - -CHAPTER XXXIII - - _The Ice Runs Red, and, in Storm and Dusk, Tim Tuttle - Brews a Pot o' Trouble for Captain Hand, While Billy - Topsail Observes the Operation_ - - -MEANTIME the ship drew near the ice. When Archie came again on deck, -his nerves quite composed, she was being driven in and out through -the fields to a point as near to the first seal pack as she could be -taken--a mile distant, at the least. During this tedious search for -a landing place, the crew's eager excitement passed the bounds of -discipline. The men could see the crew from Alexander Bryan & Company's -_Lucky Star_ at work; and that excited them the more: they were mad to -reach the ice before their rivals could molest the pack for which they -were bound. - -When, at last, the engines were stopped, a party of sixty was formed -in a haphazard fashion; the boats were lowered in haste, and the men -leaped and tumbled into them, crowding them down to the gunwales. In -one of the boats were Archie and Billy, the former in the care of Bill -o' Burnt Bay, to whom the "nursing" was not altogether agreeable, -under the circumstances; the latter in charge of himself, a lenient -guardian, but a wise one. - -"Don't get into trouble with the crew o' the _Lucky Star_," had been -the captain's last command. - -The men landed, hurrahing, and at once organized into half a dozen -separate expeditions. The direction to be taken by each was determined -by the leaders, and they set off at a dog trot upon their diverging -paths over the ice to the widely distributed seal pack. Meantime, the -boats were taken back to the ship and hoisted in; and the ship steamed -off to land another party on another field, thence to land the last -party near a third pack. - -The boys trotted in Bill's wake. Two pennant bearers, carrying flags -to mark the heaps of "fat," as they should be formed, led the file. -One of these men--it happened by chance, to all appearances--was the -captain's enemy, Tim Tuttle. Their work was particularly important on -that day, with the crew of the _Lucky Star_ working so near at hand; -for the flags were to mark the ownership of the mounds of "fat," and -any tampering with these "brands" would be likely to precipitate a -violent encounter between the men of the rival ships. - -"I'm thinkin' 'twill snow afore night," Bill panted, as they ran along; -and, indeed, it appeared that it would. - -The advance soon had to be made with caution. The hunters were so near -the pack that the whines of the white coats could be heard. Archie -could make out not only the harps, but the blow-holes beside which they -lay in family groups. At this point the men formed in twos and threes, -and dispersed. In a few minutes more, they rushed upon the prey, -striking right and left. - -The ice was soon strewn with dead seals. It was harvest time for these -impoverished Newfoundlanders. Lives of seals for lives of men and -women! Bill o' Burnt Bay had ten "kids" at home, and he was merciless -and mighty in destruction. - -Archie and Billy came upon a family of four, lying at some distance -from their blow-hole--two grown harps, a "jar," which is a one year -old seal, and a ranger, which is three years old and spotted like a -leopard. Billy attacked the ranger without hesitation. Archie raised -his gaff above the fluffy little jar, which was fanning itself with its -flipper, and whining. - -"I can't do it!" he exclaimed, lowering his club, and turning away, -faint at heart; then "Look, Billy!" he cried, in half amused wonderment. - -The old seals had wriggled off to the blow-hole, moving upon their -flippers, in short jumps, as fast as a man could walk. Apparently they -had reached the hole at the same instant, which was not wide enough to -admit them both. Neither would give way to the other. They were stuck -fast, their heads below, their fat bodies above. - -Their selfish haste was their undoing. Billy was not loath to take -advantage of their predicament. - -Thus, everywhere, the men were at work. There was no friction with the -crew of the _Lucky Star_; the whole party worked amicably, and almost -side by side. When they had dispersed the pack, the "sculping" knives -were drawn, and the labour of skinning was vigorously prosecuted. The -skins, with the blubber adhering, were piled in heaps of six or more, -according to the strength of the men who were to "tow" them to the -edge of the field, where the ship was to return in the evening; and -every "tow" was marked with an Armstrong and Son flag. - -The _Lucky Star's_ recall gun surprised the men before the work was -finished. They looked up to find that the dusk was upon them, and that -the snow was falling--falling ever more thickly, and drifting with the -wind. The men of the _Lucky Star_ stopped work, hurriedly saw to it -that their heaps of pelt were all marked, and started on a run for the -ship; for, on the ice fields, the command of the recall gun is never -disregarded. - -"There goes the _Dictator's_ gun," shouted one of the men. - -A second boom added force to the warning. The captain was evidently -anxious to have his men safe out of the storm; the "fat" could be taken -aboard in the morning. So Bill o' Burnt Bay, who was in tacit command -of the party, called his men about him, and led the return. It was -a mile over the ice to the _Dictator_, which lay waiting, with the -second and third parties aboard. He was in haste; moreover, he had Sir -Archibald Armstrong's son in his care: perhaps, that is why he did not -stop to count the _Dictator's_ heaps of pelt before he started. - -"Come, now, Tuttle, don't lag!" he shouted, ambitious to have his party -return with no delay. - -But Tuttle still lagged--or, rather, ran from heap to heap of pelt, as -though to make sure that each was marked. He busied himself, indeed, -until the party was well in advance--until, as he thought, there was no -eye to see what he did under cover of the driving snow. Then he quickly -snatched _Lucky Star_ flags from half a dozen heaps of "fat," cast them -away, and planted _Dictator_ flags in their stead--a dishonourable duty -which the house-flag of Armstrong & Son had never before been made to -do. - -Quite sure, now, that he had shot an arrow that would sorely wound -Captain Hand and the firm of Armstrong & Son, Tuttle ran after his -party. When he was yet some distance behind, he turned about, and saw -a small figure following him. He stopped dead--and waited until that -small figure came up. - -"Topsail," he demanded, "what you been doin' back there?" - -Billy was very much frightened; but he was a truthful boy, and he now -told the truth. "Been sculpin' an' pilin' me swiles, sir," he stammered. - -"Has you been touchin' them flags?" - -"N-n-no, sir. I didn't have no time. I was afeared I'd get lost in the -snow." - -Tuttle caught the boy by the shoulders, and stared fiercely into his -eyes. "Did you see what I done?" he demanded. - -Billy was strongly tempted to choose the easier way; but, as I have -said, he was a truthful lad, and a brave lad, too. The temptation -passed in a moment, and he fearlessly returned Tuttle's stare. - -"Yes, sir," he said. - -"If you tells Cap'n Hand what you saw," said Tuttle, tightening his -grip, and bringing his face close to the lad's, "I'll----" - -He did not complete the threat. Billy Topsail's imagination, as he -knew, would conceive the most terrible revenge. - -"Yes, sir," Billy gasped, vacantly; for he was more frightened than he -had ever before been in his short life. - -That was all. They ran at full speed after their party, and soon joined -it. Tuttle kept at Billy's side while they were getting aboard the -ship, kept at his side while supper was served in the forecastle, kept -at his side through the short evening; kept at his side all the time, -in a haunting, threatening way that frightened Billy as nothing else -could, until the lad, tired out and utterly discouraged as to the -purpose he had formed, turned in, no less to escape Tuttle, who had now -grown hateful to him, than to rest. - -"Oh," he thought, "if Archie had on'y come t' the fo'c's'le this night, -I might 'a' told him; but now--I thinks--I'll be afeared, in the -mornin'." - - - - -CHAPTER XXXIV - - _In Which Tim Tuttle's Shaft Flies Straight for the Mark. - The Crews of the Dictator and Lucky Star Declare - War, and Captain Hand is Threatened with the Shame - of Dishonour, While Young Billy Topsail, Who Has the - Solution of the Difficulty, is in the Hold of the - Ship_ - - -TIM TUTTLE'S design against the honour of Captain Hand and of the firm -of Armstrong & Son promised well. The following day broke fine; and, -early in the morning, the crew of the _Dictator_ was turned out to load -the "fat" which had been left on the floe over night. About one hundred -men were sent to the ice; the rest were kept on the ship to stow away -the "tows" as they came aboard. Among the latter was young Billy -Topsail, who was ordered to the hold the moment he appeared on deck. - -The party under Bill o' Burnt Bay was first on the ground. Presently, -the men from the _Lucky Star_ arrived. For a time, pleasant words -passed between the crews. Soon, however, a group of _Lucky Star_ -hunters gathered out of hearing of the _Dictator's_ crew. Their voices, -which had been low at first, rose angrily, and to such a pitch that -the attention of Bill o' Burnt Bay was attracted. He observed their -suspicious glances, their wrathful faces, their threatening gestures; -and he promptly surmised that trouble of a familiar kind was brewing. - -It was evident that there was to be a dispute over the possession of -certain of the "tows." The rights of that dispute Bill was not in a -position to determine. So far as he knew--and he was bound to stand -squarely upon his own knowledge--there had been no wrong-doing on the -part of his men; and, being a man who never failed in his duty to the -firm, he resolved that not an ounce of "fat" which then lay under a -flag of Armstrong & Son should be yielded to the _Lucky Star_ until -a higher authority than he gave the word. Needless to say, that is -precisely what Tuttle expected of him. - -Moving quietly, lest he should provoke the dispute, Bill warned his men -to be on the alert. And it was not long before the crew of the _Lucky -Star_, with a stout fellow at their head, advanced threateningly. - -"Look here, you, Bill o' Burnt Bay," shouted the leader, "some o' your -men have been stealin' our tows." - -"Oh, come, now, Johnny Tott," Bill replied, good-humouredly, "that -ain't our way o' gettin' a cargo." - -The men of the _Dictator_ gathered behind Bill. Bill would have been -better pleased had they gathered with less haste, had there been less -of the battle-light in their eyes, had they held their gaffs less -tightly--but all that, of course, was beyond his control; he could only -make sure to have them there to defend the rights of the firm. - -"You can't scare _me_!" Johnny Tott flashed, angered by what he -understood to be a display of force, but still trying to keep his -temper. "We left twenty-two tows here last night, an' we find sixteen -this mornin'. Who took the odd six?" - -Bill was bent on having the question referred to the captains of the -ships. _They_ might settle it as they would. As for him--knowing from -experience how quickly such encounters might come, and how violent they -might be--all he desired was peaceably to protect the interests of his -employers, and of the men, who had a percentage interest in every seal -killed. - -"I don't want t' scare you, Johnny Tott," he replied, quietly. "I -thinks you've counted your flags wrong. Now, why can't we just----" - -Then came an unfortunate interruption. It was a long, derisive cat-call -from one of Bill's men--none other than Tim Tuttle. That was more than -could be borne by men who were confident of their rights. - -"Thieves!" half a dozen of the crew of the _Lucky Star_ retorted. "A -pack o' thieves!" - -It was a critical moment. The _Dictator's_ men, too, believed -themselves to be in the right; and there was a limit to what they, too, -could suffer. To be called thieves was perilously near that limit, -already provoked, as they were, by what they thought a bold attempt to -rob them of their seals. - -Bill turned quickly on his own men. "Stand back!" he cried, knowing -well that a rush impended. - -"Thieves! Thieves!" taunted the crew of the _Lucky Star_. - -"Keep your men quiet!" Bill roared to Johnny Tott. "There'll be trouble -if you don't." - -The _Lucky Star_ men were outnumbered; but not so far outnumbered that -their case would be hopeless in a hand-to-hand fight. Nevertheless, it -was the part of wisdom for Johnny Tott, who was himself animated by the -best motives, to keep them quiet. He faced them, berated them roundly, -and threatened to "knock the first man down" who should dare to -continue the disturbance. Thus encouraged, Bill o' Burnt Bay addressed -his crew briefly and to the point. - -"No nonsense, men!" he growled. "We wants no bloodshed here. The first -man that passes me," he added, in such a way that not a man of them -doubted he would make good his word, "may get hurt, an' badly hurt, -afore he knows it." - -It was no time for gentle dealing. Bill had strong, angry men to deal -with; and the responsibility of keeping them from wronging themselves -and their fellows sat heavily upon him. Confident, however, that he had -them in check, he advanced to parley with Tott. All would doubtless -have gone smoothly had there not been a designing man on Bill's side. -That man was Tuttle, to whom the course of events was not pleasing. -Perceiving, now, that an encounter was likely to be warded off, he -determined to precipitate it. - -"Who called me a thief?" he burst out. - -Then he broke away from his fellows, and ran towards the crew of the -_Lucky Star_, with his gaff upraised. But Bill o' Burnt Bay was quick -as a flash to intercept him. He tripped Tuttle up with his gaff, fairly -leaped upon the prostrate form, caught the man by the collar, dragged -him back and flung him at the feet of the crew. And, meantime, the -_Lucky Star_ men, who had instantly prepared to meet Tuttle, laughed -uproariously. That hearty laugh lightened the situation perceptibly. - -"An' here comes Cap'n Black!" shouted one of the men. - -Captain Hand of the _Dictator_, too, was on his way over the ice. Both -skippers had observed the cessation of the work and the separation -of the men into two hostile parties. Familiar as they were with such -disputes, they needed no message to tell them that their presence was -urgently needed on the floe. They came over the ice at full speed, at -the same time trying to get at the merits of the quarrel from the men -who ran to meet them; and, being fat sea-captains, both of them, and -altogether unused to hurried locomotion afoot, they were quite out of -breath when they met. - -The skipper of the _Lucky Star_ was a florid, peppery little man, much -given to standing upon his dignity. - -"Cap'n Hand," he puffed, "this is--an out--rage, sir! Is this the -way----" - -"'Scuse me--Cap'n B-Black--sir," the skipper of the _Dictator_ panted, -his little red eyes almost hidden by his bushy brows; "but--I'm -wonder--ful s'prised--that----" - -Captain Black drew a long breath, and proceeded more easily, but still -with magnificent dignity. "_I'm_ wonderful surprised t' know, sir," -he said, "that _this_ is the way Cap'n Hand makes a good v'y'ge of it -every year. I never knew how before, sir." - -"I'd have you t' know, sir," returned Captain Hand, bristling -ominously, "that I 'lows no man t' call me a thief." - -"I'd have you t' know, sir, that your men have stolen my fat." - -"An' I'll have you t' know, sir, that that's t' be proved." - -"Cap'n Hand, sir," declared Captain Black, swelling like a -pouter-pigeon the meanwhile, "you whole crew outnumbers mine nigh two -t' one, or I'd load every pound o' fat on the ice on my ship. But I -tells you now, sir, that I'll have the law o' you at St. John's. If you -touch them six tows I'll have you sent t' coolie for a thief, sir, if -there's an honest jury in the land! Mark my words, sir, I'll do it!" - -The upshot of it all was, when both captains had cut a ridiculous -figure for a considerable time (and had found it out), that the crews -were withdrawn to the ships, ostensibly for dinner, but really that -they might be kept apart while their blood was heated. A conference was -appointed for three o'clock in the afternoon; and in the interval the -captains were more fully and more accurately to inform themselves by -examining their respective crews. This was a very sensible agreement. -So far as it went, Captain Hand was content; but, being a wise and -experienced man, he foresaw that an amicable settlement of the -difficulty was extremely doubtful. - -"I hopes, anyhow, that 'twill not come t' blows," he told Archie, as -they trudged along, for his position made it impossible for him to -confide in anybody else. "'Twill be a dreadful disgrace if it comes t' -blows. An' maybe 'twill be something worse." - -When the men reached the _Dictator_, Billy Topsail was waiting on -deck, keen as the rest of them to know what had happened on the ice. -He had a wholesome conscience, and a reasonable courage; he had fully -determined to do his duty, and was about to attract Archie Armstrong's -attention--Archie was to be his first confidant--when Tuttle slipped -quietly to his side, and laid a hand on his shoulder. Billy had no need -to look up; he knew whose hand that was, and what the firm, increasing -pressure meant. - -"You better go t' the fo'c's'le, lad," Tuttle whispered in his ear. - - - - -CHAPTER XXXV - -_In Which the Issue is Determined_ - - -BILLY Topsail went to the forecastle as he was bid. With Tuttle so -near, he seemed not to have the will to carry out his purpose. He -passed Archie on the way forward, even responded to his nod and merry -greeting with a wistful smile; but said nothing, for he felt that -Tuttle's cold gray eyes were fixed upon him. Archie marked that strange -smile, and thought--it was just a fleeting thought--that Billy must -be in trouble; he was about to stop, but put the solicitous question -off--until another time. - -Aboard the _Lucky Star_, Captain Black called Johnny Tott to his cabin. -It was a serious moment for both, as both knew. The hunter realized -that the captain would act upon his statement, and that there would -be no return, once the course was taken. Moreover, he knew that he -would have to take oath, and support that oath with evidence, in the -court-room at St. John's. - -"Now, John, I wants just the plainest kind o' truth," the captain -began, for, shorn of his exaggerated dignity, he was a fair, -honest-hearted man. "I've been friends with Cap'n Hand ever since -we was young, an' I've liked him every hour o' that time, an' I've -believed in him every minute; so I'm in no humour t' have a fallin' -out with him. It'll go hard with the man who wrongfully leads me into -_that_. Come, now, what's the _truth_ o' all this?" - -"The truth, sir," Johnny replied, slowly, "is this: We left twenty-two -tows on the ice last night, every one with a Bryan & Company flag -flyin' over it, an' we found but sixteen this mornin'. That's all I -knows about it." - -"Did you make the count alone?" - -"No, sir. They was three others, which," most importantly, "I can -pro-dooce any minute." - -"All right, Johnny," said the captain, striking the table with his -fist. "I believe you. You won't find Cap'n Black go back on his crew. -I'll have that fat, if I have t' fight for it!" - -While this was passing, Captain Hand had summoned Bill o' Burnt Bay, -Ebenezer Bowsprit and two or three other trustworthy men to _his_ -cabin, and requested Archie Armstrong (the good captain seemed to -consider the lad in some measure a representative of the firm) to hear -the interview. One and all, for themselves and for the crew, they -earnestly denied knowledge of any trickery. They regretted, they said, -that the incident had occurred; but they believed that the seals were -the property of the ship, and they hoped that the captain would not -"see them robbed." - -"But, Bill," said the captain, hopelessly, "you didn't _count_ the -tows?" - -"No, sir," Bill answered, promptly, "I'm bound t' say I didn't. After -your two recall guns, sir, we was in a hurry t' get aboard. 'Twas a -fault, I knows, sir, but it can't be helped now. I don't _know_ that -anybody changed the flags. I hasn't any reason t' _think_ so. So I -_believe_ that the fat's ours." - -"Well, men," the captain concluded, "that's just my position. I _knows_ -nothin' t' the contrary; so I got t' believe that the fat's ours. -You'll tell the crew that I'll stand by them. We'll take that fat, -whatever they tries t' do, an' we'll let the courts decide afterwards. -That's all." - -There was fret and uncertainty for the captain after the men trooped -out. He was an honest man, seeking the right, but not sure that he was -right. It seemed to him that, whatever the outcome, his reputation -and that of the firm would be tarnished. In a trial at law, the crew -of the _Lucky Star_ and the firm of Alexander Bryan & Company would -appear as the aggrieved parties. Men would say--yes, men would even -publicly take oath to it--that Captain Hand was a thief, and that the -firm of Armstrong & Son abused its power and wealth in sustaining him. -Not everybody would believe _that_, of course; but many would--and the -odium of the charge would never disappear, let the verdict of the jury -be what it might. - -"B'y," he said to Archie, in great distress, "'tis a tryin' place t' -be in. I wants t' wrong nobody. 'Twould wound me sore t' wrong Cap'n -Black, who's always been my friend. But I got t' have that fat. A -sealin' skipper that goes back on his crew is not fit for command. I -_must_ stand by the men. If I had an enemy, b'y," he added, "an' that -enemy wanted t' ruin me, he couldn't choose a better----" - -Captain Hand stopped dead and stared at the table--stared, and gaped, -until his appearance was altogether out of the common. - -"What's the matter, cap'n?" asked Archie, alarmed. - -At that moment, however, there was a knock at the door. Billy Topsail -came in, pale and wide-eyed; but the sight of Archie seemed to compose -him. - -"I got t' tell you about Tim Tuttle," he began, hurriedly. "I hears -there's goin' t' be a fight, an'--an'--I got t' tell you that I seed -him change the flags on the tows." - -"What!" shouted the captain, jumping out of his chair. - -And so it all came out. At the end of the talk, Billy Topsail was -assured by the smiling captain that he need not fear Tim Tuttle after a -word or two had been spoken with him. Bill o' Burnt Bay was summoned, -and corroborated Billy's statement that Tuttle was the last man to -leave the tows. And Tuttle was the captain's enemy! Everybody knew it. -The difficulties were thus all brushed away. The crew would accept the -explanation and be content. Tuttle would be ridiculed until he was well -punished for the trick that had so nearly succeeded. It was a good -ending to the affair--a far better outcome than any man aboard had -dared hope for. - -"Bill," said the captain, with an odd little smile, "send Tim Tuttle t' -Cap'n Black, with my compliments; an' will Cap'n Black be so kind as t' -accept my apology, and have a friendly cup o' tea with me immediate?" - - * * * * * - -Later, when Tuttle left the captain's cabin, after the "word or two" -had been spoken, he was not grateful for the generous treatment he -had received. He meditated further mischief; but before the second -opportunity offered, there happened something which put animosity out -of the hearts of all the crew. - - - - -CHAPTER XXXVI - - _It Appears That the Courage and Strength of the Son of - a Colonial Knight are to be Tried. The Hunters are - Caught in a Great Storm_ - - -THE _Lucky Star_ and the _Dictator_ parted company the next day--the -former bound for the Labrador coast, the latter in a southerly -direction to White Bay. For several days, the _Dictator_ ran here -and there among the great floes, attacking small herds; and at the -end of a week she had ten thousand seals in her hold. But that cargo -did not by any means content Captain Hand. Indeed, he began to fear -the voyage would be little better than a failure. Nothing less than -twenty thousands pelts would be a profitable "haul" for a vessel of the -_Dictator's_ tonnage to carry back to St. John's. - -For that reason, perhaps, both the captain and the men were willing to -take some risk, when, late one morning, a large herd was sighted on a -floe near the coast in the southwest. The danger lay in the weather: it -was an unpromising day--cold and dull, and threatening snow and storm. -For a time the captain hesitated; but, at last, he determined to land -his men in three parties, caution them to be watchful and quick, and -himself try to keep the _Dictator_ within easy reach of them all. It -really did not appear to be necessary to waste the day merely because -the sky was dark over the coast. - -Bill o' Burnt Bay's party was landed first. Billy Topsail and Tim -Tuttle were members of it; and, as usual, Archie Armstrong attached -himself to it. As the _Dictator_ steamed away to land the second crew, -and, thence, still further away to land the third, Bill led his men on -a trot for the pack, which lay about a mile from the water's edge. - -"'Tis a queer day, this," Bill observed to the boys, who trotted in his -wake. - -"Sure, why?" asked Billy. - -"Is it t' snow, or is it not? Can you answer me that? Sure, I most -always can tell that little thing, but t'-day I can't." - -"'Tis like snow," Billy replied, puzzled, "an' again 'tisn't. 'Tis -queer, that!" - -"I hopes the captain keeps the ship at hand," said Bill. "'Tis not t' -my taste t' spend a night on the floe in a storm." - -To be lost in a blizzard is a dreaded danger, and not at all an -uncommon experience. Many crews, lost from the ship in a blinding -storm, have been carried out to sea with the floe, and never heard of -afterwards. Bill o' Burnt Bay lost his own father in that way, and -himself had had two narrow escapes from the same fate. So he scanned -the sky anxiously, not only as he ran along at the head of his sixty -men, but from time to time through the day, until the excitement of the -hunt put all else out of his head. - -[Illustration: "LASH YOUR TOWS, B'YS," SAID BILL. "LEAVE THE REST GO."] - -It was a profitable hunt. The men laboured diligently and rapidly. So -intent on the work in hand were they that none observed the darkening -sky and the gusts of wind that broke from behind the rocky coast. Thus, -towards evening, when the work was over save the sculping and lashing, -dusk caught them unaware. Bill o' Burnt Bay looked up to find that the -snow was flying, that it was black as ink in the northeast, and that -the wind was blowing in long, angry gusts. - -"Men," he cried, "did you ever see a sky like that?" - -The men watched the heavy clouds in the northeast rise and swiftly -spread. - -"Sure, it looks bad," muttered one. - -"Make haste with the sculpin'," Bill ordered. "They's wonderful heavy -weather comin' up. I mind me a time when a blizzard come out of a sky -like that." - -The dusk grew deeper, the snow fell thicker, the wind rose; and all -this Bill observed while he worked. Groups of men lashed their tows and -started off for the edge of the floe where the steamer was to return -for them. - -"Lash your tows, b'ys," shouted Bill, to the rest of the men. "Leave -the rest go. 'Tis too late t' sculp any more." - -There was some complaint; but Bill silenced the growlers with a sharp -word or two. The whole party set off in a straggling line, dragging -their tows; it was Bill who brought up the rear, for he wanted to make -sure that his company would come entire to the landing-place. Strong, -stinging blasts of wind were then sweeping out of the northeast, and -the snow was fast narrowing the view. - -"Faster, b'ys!" cried Bill. "The storm's comin' wonderful quick." - -The storm came faster than, with all his experience, Bill o' Burnt -Bay had before believed possible. When he had given the order to -abandon the unskinned seals, he thought that there was time and to -spare; but, now, with less than half the distance to the landing-place -covered, the men were already staggering, the wind was blowing a -gale, and the blinding snow almost hid the flags at the water's edge. -When he realized this, and that the ship was not yet in sight, "Drop -everything, an' run for it!" was the order he sent up the line. - -"Archie, b'y," he then shouted, catching the lad by the arm and drawing -him nearer, "we got t' run for the landing-place. Stick close t' me. -When you're done out, I'll carry you. Is you afraid, b'y?" - -Archie looked up, but did not deign to reply to the humiliating -question. - -"All right, lad," said Bill, understanding. "Is you ready?" - -Archie knew that his strength and courage were to be tried. He was -tired, and cold, and almost hopeless; but, then and there, he resolved -to prove his blood and breeding--to prove to these men, who had been -unfailingly kind to him, but yet had naturally looked with good-natured -contempt upon his fine clothes and white hands, that fortitude was -not incompatible with a neat cravat and nice manners. Beyond all that, -however, it was his aim to prove that Sir Archibald Armstrong's son was -the son of his own father. - -"Lead on, Bill," he said. - -"Good lad!" Bill muttered. - -Archie bent to the blast. - - - - -CHAPTER XXXVII - - _In Which the Men are Lost, the Dictator is Nipped and - Captain Hand Sobs, "Poor Sir Archibald!"_ - - -WHEN the last party of hunters had been landed from the _Dictator_, -the ship was taken off the ice field; and there she hung, in idleness, -awaiting the end of the hunt. It was then long past noon. The darkening -sky in the northeast promised storm and an early night more surely -than ever. It fretted the captain. He was accountable to the women and -children of Green Bay for the lives of the men; so he kept to the deck, -with an eye on the weather: and while the gloom deepened and spread, a -storm of anxiety gathered in his heart--and, at last, broke in action. - -"Call the watch, Mr. Ackell!" he cried, sharply. "We'll wait no longer." - -He ran to the bridge, signalled "Stand by!" to the engine-room, and -ordered the firing of the recall gun. The men of the last party were -within ear of the report. It brought all work on the ice to a close. -The men waited only to pile the dead seals in heaps and mark possession -with flags. - -"Again, mate!" shouted the captain. "They're long about comin', it -seems t' me." - -A second discharge brought the men on a run to the edge of the ice. -It was evident that some danger threatened. They ran at full speed, -crowded aboard the waiting boats, and were embarked as quickly as might -be. Then the ship steamed off to the second field, five miles distant, -to pick up the second party. When she came within hearing distance, -three signal guns were fired, with the result that, when she came to, -the men were waiting for the boats. - -It was a run of six miles to the field upon which the first party had -been landed--part of the way in and out among the pans. The storm -had now taken form and was advancing swiftly, and the fields in the -northeast were hidden in a spreading darkness. The wind had risen to -half a gale, and it was beginning to snow. A run of six miles! The -captain's heart sank. When he looked at the black clouds rising from -behind the coast, he doubted that the _Dictator_ could do it in time. -An appalling fortune seemed to be descending on the men on the ice. - -"But we may make it, mate," said the captain, "if----" - -"Ay, sir?" - -"If they's no ice comin' with the gale." - -The ship had been riding the open sea, skirting the floe. Now she came -to the mouth of a broad lane, which wound through the fields. It was -the course; along that lane, at all hazards, she must thread her way. -The danger was extreme. The wind, blowing a gale, might force the great -fields together. Or, if ice came with the wind, the lanes might be -choked up. In either event, what chance would there be for the men? In -the first event, which was almost inevitable, what chance would there -be for the _Dictator_ herself? - -"Cap'n Hand, sir," the mate began, nervously, "is you goin'----" - -The captain looked up in amazement when the mate stammered and stopped. -"Well, sir?" he said. - -"Is you goin' inside the ice, sir?" - -"Is I goin' WHAT?" roared the captain, turning upon him. "Is I goin' -WHAT, sir?" - -It was sufficient. The captain _was_ going among the fields. The mate -needed no plainer answer to his question. - -"Beg pardon, sir," he muttered meekly. "I thought you was." - -"Huh!" growled the captain. - -When the ship passed into the lane, the storm burst overhead. The -scunner in the foretop was near blinded by the driven snow. His voice -was swept hither and thither by the wind. Directions came to the bridge -in broken sentences. The captain dared not longer drive the vessel at -full speed. - -"Half speed!" he signalled. - -The ship crept along. For half an hour, while the night drew on, not a -word was spoken, save the captain's quiet "Port!" and "Starboard!" into -the wheelhouse tube. Then the mate heard the old man mutter: - -"Poor b'y! Poor Sir Archibald!" - -No other reference was made to the boy. In the captain's mind, -thereafter, for all the mate knew, young Archibald Armstrong, the -owner's son, was merely one of a crew of sixty men, lost on the floe. - -"Ice ahead!" screamed the lookout in the bow. - -The ship was brought to a stop. The lane she had been following had -closed before her. The mate went forward. - -"Heavy ice, sir," he reported. - -Broken ice, then, had come down with the wind. It had been carried into -the channels, choking them. - -"Does you see water beyond, b'y?" the captain shouted. - -"'Tis too thick t' tell, sir." - -The captain signalled "Go ahead!" The chance must be taken. To be -caught between two fields in a great storm was a fearful situation. -So the ship pushed into the ice, moving at a snail's pace, labouring -hard, and complaining of the pressure upon her ribs. Soon she made no -progress whatever. The screw was turning noisily; the vessel throbbed -with the labour of the engines; but she was at a standstill. - -"Stuck, sir!" exclaimed the mate. - -"Ay, mate," the captain said, blankly, "stuck." - -The ship struggled bravely to force her way on; but the ice, wedged all -about her, was too heavy. - -"God help the men!" said the captain, as he signalled for the stopping -of the engines. "We're stuck!" - -"An' God help us," the mate added, in the same spirit, "if the fields -come together!" - -Conceive the situation of the _Dictator_. She lay between two of many -vast, shifting fields, all of immeasurable mass. The captain had -deliberately subjected her to the chances in an effort to rescue the -men for whom he was accountable to the women and children of Green -Bay. She was caught; and if the wind should drive the fields together, -her case would be desperate, indeed. The slow, mighty pressure exerted -by such masses is irresistible. The ship would either be crushed to -splinters, or--a slender chance--she would be lifted out of danger for -the time. - -Had there been no broken ice about her, destruction would have been -inevitable. Her hope now lay in that ice; for, with the narrowing of -the space in which it floated, it would in part be forced deep into the -water, and in part be crowded out of it. If it should get under the -ship's bottom, it would exert an increasing upward pressure; and that -pressure might be strong enough to lift the vessel clear of the fields. -The captain had known of such cases; but now he smiled when he called -them to mind. - -"Take a week's rations an' four boats t' the ice, mate," he directed, -"an' be quick about it. We'll sure have t' leave the ship." - -While the mate went about this work, the captain paced the bridge, -regardless of the cold and storm. It was dark, the wind was bitter and -strong, the snow was driving past; but still he paced the bridge, now -and then turning towards the darkness of that place, far off on the -floe, where his men, and the young charge he had been given, were lost. -The women of Green Bay would not forgive him for lives lost thus; of -that he was sure. And the lad--that tender lad---- - -"Poor little b'y!" he thought. "Poor Sir Archibald!" - -For relief from this torturing thought, he went among the men. He found -most of them gathered in groups, gravely discussing the situation of -the ship. In the forecastle, some were holding a "prayer-meeting"; the -skipper paused to listen to the singing and to the solemn words that -followed it. Here and there, as he went along, he spoke an encouraging -word; here and there dropped a word of advice, as, "Timothy, b'y, you -got too much on your back; 'tis not wise t' load yourself down when -you takes t' the ice," and the like; here and there, in a smile or a -glance, he found the comforting assurance that the men knew he had -tried to do his duty. - -"Cap'n John Hand," he thought, when he returned to the bridge, "you -hasn't got a coward aboard!" - -The mate came up to report. "We've the boats on the ice, sir," he said, -"an' I've warned the crew t' make ready." - -"Very well, Mr. Ackell; they's nothin' more t' be done." - -"Hark, sir!" - -The ice about the ship seemed to be stirring. Beyond--from far off in -the distance to windward--the noise of grinding, breaking ice-pans -could be heard. There was no mistaking the warning. The moment of peril -was at hand. - -"The fields is comin' together, sir." - -"Call the crew, Mr. Ackell," said the captain, quietly. - -The men gathered on deck. They were silent while they waited. The -only sounds came from the ice--and from overhead, where the wind was -screaming through the rigging. - -"'Tis comin', sir," said the mate. - -"Ay." - -"God help us!" - -"'Twill soon be over, Mr. Ackell," observed the captain. - -He awaited the event with a calm spirit. - - - - -CHAPTER XXXVIII - - _And Last: In Which Wind and Snow and Cold Have Their - Way and Death Lands on the Floe. Billy Topsail Gives - Himself to a Gust of Wind, and Archie Armstrong - Finds Peril and Hardship Stern Teachers. Concerning, - also, a New Sloop, a Fore-an'-After and a Tailor's - Lay-Figure_ - - -BILL o' Burnt Bay did not lead a race for the landing place. When he -looked up, a thick curtain of snow hid the flags. It was then apparent -to him that he and his men must pass the night on the ice. In a -blizzard of such force and blinding density, no help could reach them -from the ship, even if she managed to reach the place where the men -were to be taken aboard. - -Nothing was visible but the space immediately roundabout; and the -wind had risen to such terrific strength that sound could make -small way against it. Thus, neither lights nor signal guns could be -perceived--not though the ship should beat her way to within one -hundred yards of where the group stood huddled. There was nothing for -it but to seek the shelter of an ice hummock, and there await the -passing of the storm. - -"B'ys," he said to the few men who had gathered about him, and he -shouted at the top of his voice, for the wind whisked low-spoken words -away, "they's a hummock somewheres handy. Leave us get t' the lee of -it." - -"No, no!" several men exclaimed. "Leave us get on t' the rest o' the -crew. 'Tis no use stayin' here." - -"The path is lost, men," Bill cried. "You'll lose your way--you'll lose -your lives!" - -But they would not listen. They hurried forward, and were soon -swallowed up by the night and snow. Bill o' Burnt Bay was left alone -with Billy and Archie and a man named Osmond, who was a dull, heavy -fellow. - -"They's a hummock within a hundred yards o' here," Bill shouted. "I -marked it afore the snow got thick. We must find it. 'Tis----" - -"'Tis t' the left; 'tis over there," said Billy, pointing to the left. -"I marked it well." - -"Ay 'tis somewheres t' the left. Our only chance is t' find it. Now, -listen well t' what I says. We must spread out. I'll start off. Archie, -you follow me; keep sight o' me--keep just sight o' me, an' no more; -but don't lose me, b'y, for your life. Osmond, you'll follow the b'y; -an' be sure you watch him well. Billy, b'y, you'll follow Osmond. When -we gets in line, we'll face t' the left an' go for'ard. The first t' -see the hummock will signal the next man, an' he'll pass the word." - -The three nodded their heads to signify their understanding of these -directions. - -"Osmond, don't lose sight o' this b'y," said Bill, impressively, -placing his hand on Archie's shoulder. "D'you mind? Men," he went on, -"if one loses sight o' the others, 'tis all up with us. Leave your pelt -go. I'll take mine." - -Shelter from that frosty wind was imperative in Archie's case. He made -no complaint, for it was not in his nature to complain; but, strong -to endure as he was, and stout as his spirit was, the cold, striking -through the fur and wool about him, was having its inevitable effect. - -When Bill moved off, dragging his burden of pelt, the boy calmly -waited until the stalwart figure had been reduced to an outline; then, -with heavy steps, but fixed purpose to acquit himself like a man, he -followed, keeping his distance. Osmond came next. Young Billy had the -exposed position--a station of honour in which he exulted--at the other -end of the line. - -Bill gave the signal, which was passed along by Archie to Osmond and by -him to Billy, and they faced about and moved forward in the direction -in which the hummock lay. - -Archie searched the gloom for the gray shape of the hummock. It was a -shelter--a mere relief. But how despairingly he searched for a sight of -that formless heap of ice! Soon he began to stumble painfully. Once he -lost sight of Bill o' Burnt Bay. Then he faltered, fell and could not -rise. It was the watchful Bill who picked him up. - -"What's this, b'y?" Bill asked, his voice shaking. - -"I fell down," Archie answered, sharply. "That's all." - -"I'll carry you, b'y," Bill began. "I'll carry you, if----" - -Archie roughly pushed the man away. Then he stumbled forward, keeping -his head up. - -At that moment, Osmond, who was like a shadow to the right, gave the -signal. So Bill knew that Billy, whom he could not see, had chanced -upon the hummock. He caught Archie up in his arms, against the boy's -protests and struggles, and ran with him to Osmond, and thence to -Billy, all the time dragging his "tow." - -When they reached the lee of the ice, Archie lay quietly in Bill's -arms. He was about to fall asleep, as Bill perceived. - -"Unlash the tow," Bill said, quickly, to Osmond, "an' start a fire." - -With the help of Billy, Osmond took a pelt from the pack, and spread it -on the ice. - -"They's no wood," he said, stupidly. - -"Take the cross-bar o' the tow line, dunderhead!" cried Billy. "Here! -Leave me do it." - -While Billy released the slender bar of wood from the end of the -line, stuck it in the blubber and prepared to set fire to it, Bill -was dealing with Archie's drowsiness. He shook the lad with all -his strength, slapped him, shook him again, ran him hither and -thither, and, at last, roused him to a sense of peril. The boy fought -desperately to restore his circulation. - -"'Tis ready t' light," Billy said to Bill. - -"Leave me do it," Bill answered. "Keep movin', b'y," he cautioned -Archie. "Don't you give up." - -Give up? Not he! And Archie said so--mumbled it scornfully to Bill, -and repeated it again and again to himself, until he was sick of the -monotony of the words, but could not stop repeating them. - -Neither Osmond nor Billy had matches, but Bill had a box in his -waistcoat pocket. He shielded the contents from the wind and snow while -he took one match out. Then he closed the box and handed it to Osmond -to hold. It was well that he did not return it to his own pocket. - -Archie was stumbling back and forth over the twenty yards of sheltered -space. He had a great, shadowy realization of two duties: he must keep -in motion, and he must keep out of the wind. All else had passed from -his consciousness. At every turn, however, he unwittingly ventured -further past the end of the hummock. - -Twice the wind, the full force of which he could not resist, almost -caught him. Then came a time when he had to summon his whole strength -to tear himself from its clutch. He told himself he must not again pass -beyond the lee of the ice. But, before he returned to that point, he -had forgotten the danger. - -A mighty gust laid hold on him, carried him off his feet, and swept him -far out into the darkness.[8] It chanced that Billy Topsail, who had -kept an eye on Archie, caught sight of him as he fell. - -"Archie!" the boy screamed. - -"Archie?" cried Bill, looking up. "What----" - -Archie had even then been carried out of sight. Billy leaped to his -feet and followed. He gave himself to the same gust of wind, and, with -difficulty keeping himself upright, was carried along with it. Bill -grasped the situation in a flash. He, too, leaped up, and ran into the -storm. - -"Archie, b'y!" he cried. "Where is you? Oh, where is you, lad?" It was -the first time in many years that heart's agony had wrung a cry from -old Bill o' Burnt Bay. - -Billy Topsail was carried swiftly along by the wind. It was clear to -him that, should he diverge from the path of the gust, not only would -he be unable to find the lost boy, but he himself would be in hopeless -case. The wind swept him close upon Archie's track, but, as its force -wasted, ever more slowly. He soon tripped over an obstruction, and -plunged forward on his face. He recovered, and crawled back. There he -came upon Archie, lying in a heap, half covered by a drift of snow. - -"B'y," Billy shouted, "is you dead?" - -Archie opened his eyes. Billy Topsail looked close, but could see no -light of intelligence in them. He shook the boy violently. - -"Wake up!" he cried. "Wake up!" - -"What?" Archie responded, faintly. - -Billy lifted him to his feet, but there was no strength in the lad's -legs; he was limp as a drunken man. But this exertion restored Billy -Topsail; he felt his own strength returning--a strength which the -arduous toil of the coast had mightily developed. - -"Stand up, b'y!" he shouted in Archie's ear. "Put your arm on my -shoulder. I'll help you along." - -"No," Archie muttered. But despite this protest he was lifted up; then -he said: "Give me your hand. I'm all right." - -Billy wasted no words. He locked his arms about Archie's middle, -lifted him, and staggered forward against the wind. - -The wind had fallen somewhat, and he made some progress. But the burden -was heavy, and twice he fell. Then he heard Bill o' Burnt Bay's voice, -and he shouted a response, but the wind carried the words away. He -could hear Bill, who was to windward, but Bill could not hear him. So -when the call came again, he marked the location and staggered in that -direction. - -"Oh, Billy! Oh, Archie!" - -The voice was nearer--and to the left. Billy Topsail changed his -course. The next cry came from the right again. Was the wind deceiving -him? Or was Bill changing his place? Then came a ringing cry near at -hand. - -"Bill!" screamed Billy Topsail. - -"Here! Where is you?" - -Bill's great body emerged from the darkness. He cried out joyfully as -he rushed forward, took Archie from Billy's arms, and slung him over -his shoulder. - -"Praise God!" he muttered tremulously, when he felt life stirring in -the small body. - -He put his face close to Billy Topsail's and looked steadily into the -boy's eyes for an instant; and no words were needed to say what he -meant. - -[Illustration: "WE'RE SAVED!" SAID BILL.] - -But where was the hummock? Bill looked about. - -"'Tis there," said Billy, pointing ahead. - -Bill shook his head. His homing instinct, to which he had trusted -his life in many a fog and night, told him otherwise. Reason entered -into his decision not at all; he merely waited until he was persuaded -that his face was turned in the right direction. Then he started off -unhesitatingly. He had found the harbour entrance thus in many a thick -summer night when his fishing punt rode a trackless sea. - -"Take hold o' me jacket, b'y," he said to Billy. "Mind you stick close -by me." - -For some time they wandered without seeing any sign of the hummock. -Bill's heart sank lower and lower; for he knew that if they did not -soon find shelter, Archie would die in his arms. At last Bill caught -sight of a light--a dull, glowing light. - -"Is that a fire?" he asked. - -"'Tis the hummock!" Billy cried. "'Tis Osmond with the fire goin'. 'Tis -he! 'Tis he!" - -"We're saved," said Bill. - -Once in the lee of the hummock, they roused Archie from his stupor, -and warmed him over the fire, which Osmond, after many failures, had -succeeded in lighting. They broke the cross-piece of the tow line in -two, took another pelt from the pack, and made two fires. The wood -was like the wick in a candle; it blazed in the blubber, and was not -consumed. Between the fires they huddled together, with Archie in the -middle. Their bodies warmed the lad, and he slumbered snugly, quietly, -through the night. Billy Topsail, more sturdy of body, if not of -spirit, kept awake, and had a part in the talk with which each tried to -cheer the others through the fearful, dragging hours. - -"'Tis the day," said Bill, at last, pointing to the east. - -The wind abated as the dawn advanced, and the snow ceased to fall. -Light crept over the field, and men appeared from behind clumpers of -ice. Group signalled to group. All made their way to the place where -the ship had landed them, a dozen men were already clustered--a gaunt, -haggard, frost-bitten crowd. The terrors of the night still oppressed -them, and, through weeks, would haunt their dreams. - -They counted their number. Fifty-nine living men were there; and -there was one dead body--that of Tim Tuttle of Raggles Island, who had -strayed away from his fellows and been lost. And thus they awaited the -full break of day, while eyes were strained into the departing night. -Where was the ship? Had she survived? These were the questions they -asked one another. - -"What's that patch o' black?" Bill o' Burnt Bay asked. "Due west, -lads--a mile or more off?" - -"Sure, it looks like the ship," some of the men agreed. - -As the light increased, the storm passed on. A burst of sunshine at -last revealed the _Dictator_, lying on the ice, listed far to port. The -broken ice in which she had been caught, they learned afterwards, had -been forced under her, and she had been lifted out of danger when the -fields that nipped her came together. - -When it is said that old Captain Hand welcomed his crew with open arms, -and embraced Archie--the meanwhile searching through all his pockets -for a handkerchief, which he could not find--there remains little to be -told. He was more haggard than the rescued men. What depths his brave -spirit sounded on that long night are not to be described. - -"Well, b'y," was what he said to Archie, "you're back, is you?" - -"Safe and sound, cap'n," the boy replied, wearily, "and hungry." - -"Send the cook for'ard with the scoff!" roared the captain. - -Before noon, all the men were safe aboard, and the ice was breaking up. -When the _Dictator_ settled softly into the water, at the parting of -the fields, the pelt was stowed away. She had no difficulty in making -the open sea; and thence she set forth in search of other floes and -other seal packs. - - * * * * * - -The _Dictator_ made Long Tom Harbour without mishap. There it was made -known that the name of Billy Topsail of Ruddy Cove was "on the books," -and not a man grumbled because the lad was to share with the rest. -There, too, old John Roth, to whom two "white coats" had been promised, -claimed the gift of Archie, and was not disappointed. And there Archie -said good-bye to Billy for the time. - -"I'll see you this summer," he said. "Don't forget, Billy. I'll spend -a week of vacation time with you at Ruddy Cove." - -"No," Billy replied. "You'll spend it at New Bay. Sure, me name is on -the books, an' I'm goin' after lobsters with me own skiff in July." - -"I'll go with you, if you'll take me," said Archie. "And I can never, -never forget that you----" - -"Sure," Billy Topsail interrupted, flushing, "you'll go with me t' New -Bay. An' times we'll have of it!" - -"Good-bye!" - -"Good-bye, b'y!" - -And so they parted on terms of perfect equality. - - * * * * * - -That summer, Billy Topsail went to New Bay. But it was not in a skiff; -it was in a swift little sloop, especially made to be sailed by a crew -of one. It came North, mysteriously, from St. John's, to the wonder -of all Green Bay; and its name was _Rescue_. And a letter came North -for Bill o' Burnt Bay: which, when he read it, stirred him to the -profoundest depth of his rugged old heart, for he roared in a most -unmannerly fashion that he'd "be busted if he'd take a thing for -standin' by such a lad!" In reply to a second letter, however, Bill -said he would "be willin' t' take it on credit, if he'd be 'lowed t' -pay for it as he could." So that is how Bill o' Burnt Bay came to sail -to the Labrador in his own fore-and-after, when the fish were running. - -And, once, Sir Archibald Armstrong turned to his son. "Well, my boy," -he said, slowly, "I've been wanting to ask you a question. What do you -think of your shipmates?" - -"I think they're heroes, every one!" Archie answered. - -"Do you think you now know the difference between a man and a tailor's -lay-figure?" - -"Oh, sir," Archie laughed, "I'll never forget _that_!" - -Billy Topsail had never needed to learn. - - - -FOOTNOTE: - -[8] It is related by the survivors of the steamship _Greenland_ -disaster, of some years ago, in which sixty lives were lost, that one -man was in this way carried half a mile over the ice. When he was -found, he had gone mad. - - - - - * * * * * - - - - -Transcriber's note: - -Obvious punctuation errors were corrected. - -Page 49, "cost" changed to "coast" (a rocky sea-coast) - -Page 142, "peninsular" changed to "peninsula" (bleak peninsula to the) - -Page 216, "Landside" changed to "Landslide" (Landslide at Little Tickle) - -Page 274, the anchor for the footnote after "raftin' ice" was added to -the text. - -Page 328, "handkerckief" changed to "handkerchief" (pockets for a -handkerchief) - - - -***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE ADVENTURES OF BILLY TOPSAIL*** - - -******* This file should be named 44037.txt or 44037.zip ******* - - -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: -http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/4/4/0/3/44037 - - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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