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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..23529a1 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #50993 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/50993) diff --git a/old/50993-0.txt b/old/50993-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index ef3fa94..0000000 --- a/old/50993-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,6601 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Lion Ben of Elm Island, by Elijah Kellogg - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world 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. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: Lion Ben of Elm Island - Elm Island Stories - -Author: Elijah Kellogg - -Release Date: January 22, 2016 [EBook #50993] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LION BEN OF ELM ISLAND *** - - - - -Produced by David Edwards and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was -produced from images generously made available by The -Internet Archive) - - - - - - - - - -ELM ISLAND STORIES. - - LION BEN - OF - ELM ISLAND. - - BY - REV. ELIJAH KELLOGG, - - AUTHOR OF “SPARTACUS TO THE GLADIATORS,” - “GOOD OLD TIMES,” ETC. - - BOSTON: - LEE AND SHEPARD. - 1869. - - - - - Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1868, by - LEE AND SHEPARD, - In the Clerk’s Office of the District Court of the District - of Massachusetts. - - - ELECTROTYPED AT THE - BOSTON STEREOTYPE FOUNDRY, - 19 Spring Lane. - - - - -_ELM ISLAND STORIES._ - - 1. LION BEN OF ELM ISLAND. - 2. CHARLIE BELL, THE WAIF OF ELM ISLAND. - - Others in preparation. - - - - -PREFACE. - - -If the writer ever tasted unalloyed happiness, it has been when -exciting to manly effort a noble boy, whose nature responded to the -impulse as a generous horse leaps under the pressure of the knee. - -Hours and years thus spent have brought their own reward. The desire -to meet a want not as yet fully satisfied, to impart pleasure, and, at -the same time, inspire respect for labor, integrity, and every noble -sentiment, has originated the stories contained in the “Elm Island -Series,” in which we shall endeavor to place before American youth the -home life of those from whom they sprung; the boy life of those who -grew up amid the exciting scenes and peculiar perils and enjoyments -incident to frontier life, by sea and land; in fine, that type of -character which has transformed a wilderness into a land of liberty and -wealth, and replaced the log canoe of the pioneer by a commerce, the -marvel of the age;--to the intent that, as insects take the color of -the bark on which they feed, they also may learn to despise effeminacy -and vice, and sympathize with, and emulate, the virtues they here find -portrayed. - - - - -CONTENTS. - - - CHAPTER PAGE - - I. ELM ISLAND. 9 - - II. THE RHINES FAMILY. 25 - - III. TIGE RHINES. 39 - - IV. BEN’S COURTSHIP. 50 - - V. SALLY TELLS HER MOTHER ALL ABOUT IT. 64 - - VI. BEN BUYS ELM ISLAND. 70 - - VII. CAPTAIN RHINES RIDING OUT A GALE BEFORE THE FIRE. 77 - - VIII. BREAKING GROUND ON ELM ISLAND. 88 - - IX. TOO GOOD A CHANCE TO LOSE. 107 - - X. THE SURPRISE PARTY. 115 - - XI. THE CHRISTENING. 122 - - XII. THE PULL-UP. 127 - - XIII. INJURED PEOPLE HAVE LONG MEMORIES. 135 - - XIV. BEN CONFIDES IN UNCLE ISAAC, AND IS COMFORTED. 145 - - XV. ENCOURAGING NATIVE TALENT. 153 - - XVI. BEN OUTWITTED, AND UNCLE ISAAC ASTONISHED. 164 - - XVII. THEY MARRY, AND GO ON TO THE ISLAND. 172 - - XVIII. THE BRIDAL CALL. 184 - - XIX. AN UNGRATEFUL BOY. 193 - - XX. PETER CLASH AND THE WOLF-TRAP. 201 - - XXI. WHY THE BOYS LIKED UNCLE ISAAC. 210 - - XXII. BEN’S NOVEL SHIP. 224 - - XXIII. PETE, IN QUEST OF REVENGE, COMES TO GRIEF. 245 - - - - -LION BEN OF ELM ISLAND. - - - - -CHAPTER I. - -ELM ISLAND. - - -In one of the most beautiful of the many romantic spots on the rugged -coast of Eastern Maine lived Captain Ben Rhines. The country was just -emerging from the terrible struggle of the revolution, and the eastern -part of the state had settled very slowly. The older portion of the -inhabitants, now living in frame houses, had been born and passed their -childhood in log camps. - -Captain Rhines’s house stood at the head of a little cove, on the -western side of a large bay, formed by a sweep in the main shore on the -one side, and a point on the other, called (from the name of its owner, -Isaac Murch) “Uncle Isaac’s Point.” - -A small stream, that carried a saw and grist mill, found an outlet at -the head of it, while the milldam served the inhabitants for a bridge. -A number of islands were scattered over the surface of the bay, some -of them containing hundreds of acres; others, a mere patch of rock and -turf, fringed with the white foam of the breakers. - -At a distance of six miles, broad off at sea, in a north-westerly -direction, lay an island, called Elm Island, deriving its name from the -great numbers of that tree which grew on its southern end. - -As we shall have a great deal to do with this island, it is necessary -to be particular in the description of it. It was about three miles -in length, rocks and all, by two in width, running north-east and -south-west, and parallel to the main land. From the eastern side, -Captain Rhines’s house and the whole extent of the bay, and Uncle -Isaac’s Point, were visible. Nature seemed to have lavished her skill -upon this secluded spot. - -The island was formed by two ridges of rock forming the line of the -shore, the intervening valley dividing the island nearly in the middle. -These ridges sloped gradually, on their inner sides, into fertile -swales of deep, strong soil. The shores were perpendicular, dropping -plump down into the ocean, being in some places forty feet above the -level of the water. They were rent and seamed by the frost and waves; -and, in the crevices of the rocks, the spruce and birch trees thrust -their roots, and, clinging to the face of the cliff, struggled for life -with waves and tempests. - -The island would have been well nigh inaccessible, had not nature -provided on the south-western end a most remarkable harbor. The line -of perpendicular cliffs on the north-west ran the whole length of -the island, against which, even in calm weather, the ground-swell -of the ocean eternally beat. The westerly ridge, which was covered -with soil of a moderate depth, gradually sloped as it approached the -south-western end, till it terminated in a broad space occupying the -whole width between the outer cliffs, and gradually sloping to the -water’s edge. This portion of the island was bare of wood, and covered -with green grass. The eastern ridge terminated in a long, broad point, -covered with a growth of spruce trees, so dense that not a breath of -wind could get through them, and, curving around, formed a beautiful -cove, whose precipitous sides broke off the easterly sea and gales. - -Into the head of this cove poured a brook, which, like a little boy, -had a very small beginning. It came out from beneath the roots of two -yellow birch trees that grew side by side in a little stream not more -than two inches deep. As it ran on, it was joined by two other springs, -that came out from the westerly ridge. The waters of these springs, -together with the rains which slowly filtered through the forest, made -quite a brook, which was never dry in the hottest weather. - -At certain periods of the year the frost-fish and the smelts came up -from the sea into the mouth of this brook. The cove, also, was full of -flounders and minnows, eels and lobsters, and abounded in clams. The -fish attracted the fish-hawks and herons, who filled the woods with -their notes. Sometimes there would be ten blue herons’ nests on one -great beech. The fish-hawks attracted the eagles, who obtained their -principal living by robbing the fish-hawks. The wild geese, coots, -whistlers, brants, and sea-ducks also came there to drink. This was -not the natural habitat of the large blue heron, their food not being -found there to any great extent, as the shores were too bold, and the -waters too deep; their favorite feeding grounds are the broad shallow -coves, where they can wade into the water with their long legs, and -catch little fish as they come up on the flood tide; but they prefer -to go after their food, rather than abandon this secluded spot, where -they are secure from all enemies, and where the tall trees afforded -these shy birds such advantages for building their nests. As for the -fish-hawks, who dive and take their food from the water, it was just -the place for them. - -There was also on the eastern side of the western ridge a swamp, a -most solitary place, so thickly timbered with enormous hemlocks and -firs, mixed with white cedar, that it was almost as dark as twilight -at noonday. Here dwelt an innumerable multitude of herons, where they -had bred undisturbed for ages. Much smaller than the great blue heron, -they built their nests in the low firs and cedars; and as they fed upon -frogs, grasshoppers, mice, tadpoles, and minnows, they were not obliged -to leave the island for their food: they were perfectly at home and -happy. - -They belonged to that species called, by naturalists, _ardea -nycticorax_. The inhabitants called them squawks and flying foxes, -from the noise they made. Like all the heron tribe, they are extremely -quick of hearing, and feed mostly in the morning and evening twilight, -half asleep through the day among the branches of the firs, standing -on one leg. They make shallow nests of sticks, and lay three or four -green eggs. You may walk through their haunts: all is still as death, -apparently not a heron on the island, while thousands of them are -right over your head, and all around you, listening to every step you -take, the slightest noise of which they will hear, when you do not -notice it yourself. Crack goes a dry stick under your foot; you catch -your toe under a spruce root, and tumble down; instantly the intense -stillness of the woods is broken by a flapping of wings and rustling of -branches, succeeded by quaw, quaw, squawk, squawk, producing a chorus -almost deafening. The sound they emit, which is a union of growl, bark, -and scream, comes from their throat with such suddenness, breaking upon -the deep silence of the woods, like the whirr of the partridge, that -it will make you jump, though you are prepared for it and accustomed -to it. Then you will see them, after flying to a safe distance, light -on the tips of the fir limbs, holding themselves up with their wings -on the bending branch, like a bobolink on a spear of herds-grass, from -which they will in an instant crawl down into the middle of the tree, -sitting close to the trunk, where it is impossible to see them. You -must therefore shoot them when they are on the wing, or at the moment -they light. - -They will bear a great deal of killing, and even make believe dead. I -knew a boy once who shot four squawks, and after beating them with an -iron ramrod, left them tied up in his pocket-handkerchief at the foot -of a tree while he was clambering up after eggs: when he came down, two -of them had crawled out of the handkerchief and run away. They will -show fight, too, when they are wounded, bite and thrust with their -bill, and scratch terribly with their claws. As if to compensate for -the horrible noise they make, the full-grown male is a very handsome -bird. The top of the head and back are green, the eyes a bright, -flashing red, and just above them a little patch of pure white. The -bill is black, the wings are light blue, the back part and sides of -the neck lilac, shading on the front and breast to a cream color, and -the legs yellow. From the back part of the head depend three feathers, -white as snow and extremely delicate, rolled together, and as long as -the neck. - -The mouth of the little brook of which we have spoken was a very busy -place when the fish-hawks were fishing, or carrying sticks to build -their nests, and screaming with all their might, the herons fishing for -minnows, squawks catching frogs, the wild geese making their peculiar -noise, the sea-fowl diving, the ducks quacking, and the fish jumping -from the water in schools. It shows how God provides for all his -creatures, for though there are thousands of these islands scattered -along the coast of Maine, on the smallest of them, and some that are -mere rocks, you will find springs of living water. - -On this island was a spring, that whenever the tide was in was six feet -under water; but when the tide ebbed, there was the spring bubbling up -in the white sand, as good fresh water as was ever drank. - -Old Skipper Brown said he knew the time when it was a rod up the bank; -that when he used to go fishing with his father, he had filled many a -jug with water out of it; but the frost and the sea had undermined the -bank and washed it away, till the tide came to flow over it. - -There is another thing in relation to this little harbor, of great -importance; for though the high rocks and the thick wood sheltered the -little cove from all but the south and south-west winds, yet it would -have been (at any rate the mouth of it) very much exposed to the whole -sweep of the Atlantic waves in southerly gales; and though the cove was -so winding that a vessel in the head of it could not be hurt by the -sea, yet it would have been very hard going in, and impossible to get -out in bad weather, had it not been for a provision of nature, of which -I shall now speak, consisting of some ragged and outlying rocks. - -One of these was called the White Bull, deriving its name from the -peculiar hoarse roar which the sea made as it broke upon it, and also -the white cliffs of which it was composed. It was a long granite -ledge, perpendicular on the inside, and far above the reach of the -highest waves. On the seaward side it ran off into irregular broken -reefs, covered with kelp, the home of the rock cod and lobster, and -the favorite resort of all the diving sea-fowl, who fed on the weeds -growing on the bottom. - -In the centre of these reefs was a large cove. Between this rock and -the eastern point of the island was another, of similar shape, but -smaller dimensions, called the Little Bull: they were connected by a -reef running beneath the water, against which the sea broke, in storms, -with great fury; and even in calm weather, from the ground swell of the -ocean, it was white with the foaming breakers. - -On the western side was a long, high, narrow island, called, from its -shape, the “Junk of Pork,” with deep water all around it, and covered -with grass. The two ends of this island lapped by the western point -of the White Bull and the western point of the main island, thus -presenting a complete barrier against the sea. The whole space between -the main land and these outlying rocks and islands was a beautiful -harbor, the bottom of which was clay, and sand on top, thus affording -an excellent hold to anchors. - -There were two passages to go in and out, according as the wind might -happen to be, with deep water close to the rocks. This harbor was a -favorite resort of the fishermen, who came here to dig clams in the -cove, and catch menhaden and herring for bait; they also stopped here -in the afternoons to get water, and make a fire on the rocks, and -take a cup of tea, before they went out to fish all night for hake; -they also resorted to it in the morning to dress their fish and make -a chowder, and lie under the shadow of the trees and sleep all the -afternoon, that they might be ready to go out the next night. - -The bottom of the cove on the White Bull was of granite, sloping -gradually into deep water, and smooth as ice. Beneath this formation -of granite was a blue rock of much softer texture than granite. The -sea, in great storms, rolled the fragments of blue stone back and forth -on this granite floor, and wore away and rounded the corners, making -them of the shape of those you see in the pavements of the cities. The -action of these stones for hundreds of years, on this granite floor, -had worn holes in it as big as the mouth of a well, and two or three -feet in depth. Sometimes a great square rock would get in one of them, -too big for the summer winds to fling out, and the sea would roll -it round in the hole all summer, wear the corners off, and then the -December gales would wash it out. Among the quartz sand in the bottom -of this cove you could pick up crystals that had been ground out of the -rocks, from an eighth of an inch to an inch in diameter. - -It was a glorious sight to behold, and one never to be forgotten, -either in this world or the next, when the waves, which had been -growing beneath the winter’s gale the whole breadth of the Atlantic, -came thundering in on these ragged rocks, breaking thirty feet high, -pouring through the gaps between them, white foam on their summits -and deep green beneath, and when a gleam of sunshine, breaking from a -ragged cloud, flashed along their edges, displaying for a moment all -the colors of the rainbow. But when in the outer cove of the White Bull -the great wave came up, a quarter of a mile in length, bearing before -it the pebbles, some weighing three hundred pounds, others not larger -than a sparrow’s egg, all alive and moving in the surf, and rolling -over each other on the smooth granite bottom, how solemn to listen to -that awful roar, like the voice of Almighty God! - -Amid all this commotion, the little harbor, protected by its granite -ramparts, was tranquil as a summer’s lake. The surface of it was indeed -flecked with the froth of the breakers that drifted in little bunches -through the gaps of the rocks, and there was a slight movement caused -by the last pulsation of some dying wave; but that was all, and way up -in the cove there was no motion whatever. - -It may be interesting as well as instructive, having the old traditions -of the island to guide us, to consider the manner in which this -picturesque and most useful harbor was formed. - -Captain Rhines said his father told him, that when he was a boy (nearly -seventy years before the date of our tale) these outer rocks were all -connected with the main island. Between the eastern end of the island -and the Little Bull, and between the Little Bull and the White Bull, -was a strip of clay loam, covered with a growth of fir, hemlock, -and spruce; and between the White Bull and the Junk of Pork, and the -western point of the main island, were sand-spits mixed with stones, -and salt grass growing on them. What is now the harbor was then a -swamp, into which the brook and all the rain-water from the higher -portions of the island drained. In the middle of this swamp was a pond, -margined with alder bushes, cat-tail flags, and rotten logs. In high -courses of tides the salt water came into it, and this brackish water -bred myriads of mosquitos. - -When people went on there, they had to pick a smooth time, and go right -on the top of the tide, and haul their boat over a sand-spit into the -swamp. It was impossible to land, or get away from there, when it was -rough. Captain Rhines went on there once a gunning, in December, and -had to stay a week. Having no axe to build a camp, he turned his boat -bottom up to sleep under, and getting fire with his gun, cooked and ate -sea-fowl; but he got awful tired of them. - -He said, moreover, that the land on the outside kept caving off every -spring when the frost came out, and falling into the sea, till there -was only a little strip of land, with three old hemlocks upon it, left; -and he used to pity them as they stood there shivering in the gale, -their great roots sticking out drying in the wind, and dripping with -salt spray, for he knew they were doomed, and must go. - -At length there came a dreadful high tide and south-east gale; the sea -broke in and swept the whole soil off, and in the course of ten years -turned it into a clam bed. It was the greatest place to get clams, -for a clam chowder, that ever was in the world. He said that it kept -gradually scouring out and deepening, till it became a first-rate -harbor. - -This island was owned by a merchant of Boston, in whose employ Captain -Rhines had sailed for many years, who gave him liberty to pasture it -with sheep, as a recompense for taking care of and preventing squatters -from plundering it of spars and timber. As sheep are very fond of -sea-weed and kelp, they would make a very good living on a place like -this island, where most of our domestic animals would find pretty hard -fare. - -An island like this of which I have spoken is a very pretty spot to -describe or visit; but I should like to ask my young readers if they -think they could be happy in such a place, especially after they have -enumerated with me the things, those we suppose to be living there -would be deprived of, and which they often imagine they could not live -without. - -There was not a road on the island, nor a side-walk, only foot-paths; -not a horse, a store, church, school-house, post-office, museum, or -toy-shop; not a piano, nor any kind of musical instrument, except the -grand diapason of the breakers; no circus, caravan, soldiers, nor -fireworks; no confectionery nor ice-creams. - -The island stood alone in the ocean; and though you could land at any -time when you could get there, yet there were weeks together in winter, -when, in case of sickness or death, not a boat could live to cross from -the main land; they were completely shut out from all the rest of the -world. But you say, perhaps, these people must have been very poor. - -O, not at all. If you mean, by being poor, that they had not much -money, or horses, or carriages, or rich dresses, and servants to -wait on them, why, then they were poor; but if you mean by the term -poor, such poverty as you see in the cities or in the large country -towns, where you may see aged women in rags begging from door to door; -children with their little bare feet as red as the pigeons’ with the -cold, picking the little bits of coal out of the ashes that are thrown -out of the stores and houses; gathering pieces of hoops and chips -around the wharves and warehouses to carry home to burn; with the tears -running down their little cheeks, crying, “Please give me a cent to buy -some bread,”--O, there was no such poverty as that there: they never -knew what it was to want good wholesome food, and good coarse warm -clothing to keep out the frost and snow. - -“But how did they get it, if they had not much money to buy it?” - -“Get it? Why, they worked for it; and if any one had called these -island people beggars, they would have broken his head, or flung him -overboard.” - -You may think as you like, my young friends; but people did live on -this island, and were happy as the days are long, though they had their -trials and “head flaws,” as we all must. - - - - -CHAPTER II. - -THE RHINES FAMILY. - - -In order that you may know all about them, we will resume the thread of -our story, and trace the history of Captain Rhines and his family. - -The captain was a strong-built, finely proportioned, “hard-a-weather” -sailor, not a great deal the worse for wear, and seasoned by the suns -and frosts of many climates. In early life he had experienced the -bitter struggle with poverty. - -His father came into the country when it was a wilderness, with nothing -but a narrow axe, and strength to use it. His first crops being cut -off by the frosts, they were compelled to live for months upon clams, -and the leaves of beech trees boiled. There were no schools; and the -parents, engaged in a desperate struggle for existence with famine -and the Indians, were unable to instruct their children. Fishing -vessels from Marblehead often anchored in the cove near the log camp, -and little Ben, anxious to earn somewhat to aid his parents in their -poverty, went as cook in one of these vessels when so small that some -one had to hang on the pot for him. He was thus engaged for several -summers, till big enough to go as boy in a coaster. During the winters, -arrayed in buckskin breeches, Indian moccasons, and a coon-skin cap, -he helped his father make staves, and hauled them to the landing on a -hand-sled. - -At nineteen years of age he went to Salem, and shipped in a brig bound -to Havana, to load with sugar for Europe. He was then a tall, handsome, -resolute boy as ever the sun shone upon, without a single vicious -habit; for his parents, though poor, were religious, and had brought -him up to hard work and the fear of God. - -He was passionately fond of a gun and dogs, and what little leisure he -ever had was spent in hunting and fowling. As respected his fitness for -his position, he could “steer a good trick,” had learned what little -seamanship was to be obtained on board a fisherman and coaster, but he -could not read, or even write his name. - -The mate of the vessel conceived a liking for him the moment he -came over the ship’s side, and this good opinion increased upon -acquaintance. They had been but a fortnight at sea, when he said to the -captain, “That long-legged boy, who shipped for a green hand, will -be as good a man as we have on board before we get into the English -Channel; he will reeve studding-sail gear, already, quicker than any -ordinary seaman. I liked the cut of his jib the moment I clapped eyes -on him. If that boy lives he’ll be master of a ship before many years.” - -“I hardly see how that can be,” replied the captain, “for he can’t -write his own name.” - -“Can’t write his own name! Why, that is impossible.” - -“At any rate he made his mark on the ship’s articles, and he is the -only one of the crew who did.” - -“Well,” replied the mate, “I can’t see through it; but he’s in my -watch, and I’ll know more about it before twenty-four hours.” - -That night the mate went forward where Ben was keeping the lookout. - -“Ben!” - -“Ay, ay, sir.” - -“Where do you hail from?” - -“Way down in the woods in Maine, Mr. Brown.” - -“What was you about there?” - -“Fishing and coasting summers, and working in the woods in the winter.” - -“Why didn’t you ship, then, for an ordinary seaman, and get more -wages?” - -“Because, sir, I was never in a square-rigged vessel before, and I -didn’t want to ship to do what I might not be able to perform.” - -“I see you made your ‘mark’ on the brig’s articles. Were you never at -school?” - -“No, sir.” - -“Why not?” - -“There’s no such thing where I came from.” - -“Couldn’t your parents read and write?” - -“Yes, sir.” - -“Then why didn’t they learn you themselves?” - -“There were a good many of us, sir, and they were so put to it to raise -enough to live on, and fight the Indians, they had no time for it.” - -The mate was a noble-hearted man; all his sympathies were touched at -seeing so fine a young man prevented from rising by an ignorance that -was no fault of his own. He took two or three turns across the deck, -and at length said,-- - -“I tell you what it is, youngster: I’ll say this much before your face -or behind your back: you’re just the best behaved boy, the quickest to -learn your duty, and the most willing to do it, that I ever saw, and -I’ve been following the sea for nearly thirty years; and before I’ll -see an American boy like you kept down by ignorance, I’ll do as I’d be -done by--turn schoolmaster, and teach you myself.” - -Mr. Brown was as good as his word. While the rest of the crew in their -forenoon watch below were mending their clothes, telling long yarns, -or playing cards, and when in port drinking and frolicking, Ben was -learning to read and write, and putting his whole soul into it. He -stuck to the vessel, and Mr. Brown stuck to him. When he shipped the -next voyage as able seaman, he wrote his name in good fair hand. - -They went to Charleston, South Carolina, to load with pitch, rice, and -deer-skins, for Liverpool. The vessel was a long time completing her -cargo, as it had to be picked up from the plantations. Ben improved the -time to learn navigation. From Liverpool they went to Barbadoes. While -lying there, the captain of the ship James Welch, of Boston, named -after the principal owner, died. The mate taking charge of the ship, -Ben, by Mr. Brown’s recommendation, obtained the first mate’s berth. He -was now no longer Ben, but Mr. Rhines, and finally becoming master of -the ship, continued in the employ of Mr. Welch as long as he followed -the sea. He then married, built a house on the site of the old log -camp, and surrounded it with fruit and shade trees, for, by travel and -observation, he had acquired ideas of taste, beauty, and comfort, quite -in advance of the times, or his neighbors. He then took his parents -home to live with him, and made their last days happy. - -Although he was compelled by necessity thus early to go to sea, he had -a strong attachment to the soil, and would have devoted himself to its -cultivation in middle life, had he not met with losses, which so much -embarrassed him, that he was compelled to continue at sea to extricate -himself. - -Captain Rhines’s fine house, nice furniture, and curiosities which he -brought home from time to time, excited no heart-burnings among his -neighbors, because they knew he had earned them by hard work, and did -not think himself better than others on account of that. - -Thus, when he became embarrassed, instead of saying, “Good enough for -him,” “He will have to leave off some of his quarter-deck airs now,” -everybody felt sorry for him, and told him so. - -Indeed, everything about the Rhines family was pleasant, and excited -cheerful emotions. The old house itself had a most comfortable, cosy -look, as it lay in the very eye of the sun, with an orchard before it, -green fields stretching along the water, sheltered on the north-west by -high land and forest. The shores were fringed with thickets of beech -and birch, branches of which, at high tide, almost touched the surface -of the water. - -Some houses are high and thin, resembling a sheet of gingerbread set -on edge; they impress you with a painful feeling of insecurity, as -though they might blow over. Such houses generally have all the windows -abreast, so that when the curtains are up, and the blinds open, you -can look right through them. They seem cold, cheerless, repellent; you -shrug your shoulders and shiver as you look at them. But _this_ house -was large on the ground, and looked as if it grew there, with an ell -and long shed running to the barn, a sunny door-yard, a spreading beech -before the end door, with a great wood-pile under it, suggestive of -rousing fires. - -There was a row of Lombardy poplars in front of the house, and a -large rock maple at the corner of the barn-yard, which the children -always tapped in the spring to get sap to drink and make sap coffee. -There was a real hospitable look about the old homestead; it seemed -to say, “There’s pork in the cellar, there’s corn in the crib, hay in -the barn, and a good fire on the hearth: walk in, neighbor, and make -yourself at home.” - -But the popularity of Captain Rhines among his neighbors had a deeper -root than this. A great many of the young men in the neighborhood had -been their first voyage to sea with him; he had treated them in such a -manner, had taken so much pains to advance them in their profession, -that they respected and loved him ever after. - -When it was known in the neighborhood that Captain Rhines was going to -sea, the question was not, how he should _get_ men, but how he should -get _rid_ of them, there were so many eager for the berth. - -It would have done your heart good to have seen the happy faces of the -men grouped together on that ship’s forecastle, waiting, like hounds -straining in the leash, for the order to man the windlass; not an old -broken-down shellback among them, but all the neighbors’ boys, in their -red shirts, and duck trousers white as the driven snow, which their -mothers had washed. - -As each one of them had a character to sustain, was anxious to outdo -his shipmate, and the greater portion of them were in love with some -neighbor’s daughter, and expected to be married as soon as they were -master of a ship, it is evident there was very little to do in the way -of discipline. It was a jolly sight, when there came a gale of wind, -to see them scamper up the rigging, racing with each other for the -“weather-earing.” - -Captain Rhines, though a large and powerfully built man, was a pygmy -to his son Ben. Ben measured, crooks and all, six feet two inches in -height, weighing two hundred and thirty pounds. He was possessed of -strength in proportion to his size, and, what was more remarkable, was -as spry as an eel, and could jump out of a hogshead without touching -his hands to it. His neighbors called him “Lion Ben.” He obtained the -appellation from this circumstance. - -One day when the inhabitants of the district were at work on the roads, -they dug out a large rock. Ben, then nineteen years of age, took it up, -carried it out of the road, dropped it, and said it might stay there -till they raised another man in town strong enough to take it back. - -He was now twenty-six years of age, of excellent capacity, and good -education for the times, his father having sent him to Massachusetts -to school. It was very difficult to provoke him; but when, after long -provocation, he became enraged, his temper broke out in an instant, -and he knew no measure in his wrath. His townsmen loved him, because -he used his strength to protect the weak, and were at the same time -excessively proud of him, as in all the neighboring towns there was not -a man that could throw him, or that even dared to take hold of him. - -He had a large chair made on purpose for him to sit in, and tools for -him to work with; and if anybody lent a crowbar to Captain Rhines, -they always said, “Don’t let Ben use it,” as in that case it was sure -to come home bent double, and had to be sent to the blacksmith’s to be -straightened. - -He was passionately fond of gunning, and would risk life and limb to -shoot a goose or sea-duck. Though he had followed the sea since he was -seventeen years of age, yet he was greatly attached to the soil, and -when at home loved to work on it. It was a curious sight to see this -great giant weeding the garden, or at work upon his sister’s flower-bed. - -He was a generous-hearted creature; when anybody was sick or poor he -would get all the young folks together, make a bee, get in their corn, -do their planting, or cut their winter’s wood for them. He had often -done this for the widow Hadlock, who was their nearest neighbor. -The widow Hadlock’s husband, a very enterprising sea captain, had -died at sea, in the prime of life, leaving his widow with a young -family, a farm, a fine house well furnished, but nothing more. The -broken-hearted woman had struggled very hard to keep the homestead for -her children, and the whole family together. Being a woman of great -prudence, industry, and judgment, with the help of good neighbors, she -had succeeded. Her oldest son was now able to manage the farm, and the -bitterness of the struggle was past. - -The tax-gatherer came to the widow for the taxes. - -“Why, Mr. Jones,” said the widow, “you tax me altogether too much; I -have not so much property.” - -“O, Mrs. Hadlock,” said he, “we tax you for your faculty.” - -Notwithstanding all the sterling qualities we have enumerated, the -personal appearance of Ben Rhines was anything but an exponent of his -character. There was such an enormous enlargement of the muscles of -the shoulders, and his neck was so short, that his head seemed to come -out of the middle of his breast. The great length of his arms was -exaggerated by the stoop in his shoulders: though his legs and hips -were large, yet the tremendous development of the upper part of the -body gave him the appearance of being top-heavy. - -From such a square-jawed fellow you would naturally expect to proceed a -deep bass voice; but from this monstrous bulk came a soft, child-like -voice, such as we sometimes hear from very fat people; and unless -he was greatly excited, the words were slowly drawled: the entire -impression made by him upon a stranger was that of a great, listless, -inoffensive man, without penetration to perceive, or courage to resist, -imposition. - -But never was the proverb, “Appearances are deceitful,” more strikingly -verified than in this instance. That listless exterior, and almost -infantile voice, concealed a mind clear and well informed, and a -temper, that when goaded beyond the limits of forbearance, broke out -like the eruption of a volcano. - -In his position as mate of a vessel it became his duty to control men -of all nations. Being well aware that his appearance was calculated to -invite aggression, he took singular methods to escape it. He knew that -his temper, when it reached a certain point, was beyond his control. -He also knew his strength; and as the good-natured giant didn’t want -to hurt anybody when milder methods would answer the purpose, he -would come along just as the ship was getting under way, the men at -the topsail halyards, and reaching up above all the rest, bring them -down in a heap on deck, causing those that were singing to bite their -tongues. Sometimes when two or three sailors were heaving with the -handspikes to roll up a spar to the ringbolts, singing out and making -a great fuss, he would seize hold of the end of it, and heave it into -its bed apparently without any effort, while the men would wink to each -other and reflect upon the consequences of having a brush with such a -mate as that. - -By proceeding in this way, though he had taken up one or two that had -insulted him beyond endurance, and smashed them down upon the ground, -kicked a truckman into the dock who was beating his horse with a -cordwood stick, he never struck but one man in his life, which happened -in this wise. - -Ben was on board a ship in port, with only a cook and two boys, the -captain having gone home, and the rest of the crew being discharged. -He hired an English sailor to help the boys trim some ballast in the -hold; they complained that he kicked and abused them. - -Ben told them to go to work again, and he would see about it. After -dinner he lay down in his berth for a nap, when he was disturbed by a -terrible outcry in the hold, and, going down, found the sailor beating -the boys with a rope’s end. He asked him what he was doing that for; -the man said they wouldn’t work, and were saucy to him. Ben replied -that the boys were good boys, that he had always known them, and that -he mustn’t strike the boys. The bully asked him if he meant to take -it up. Ben replied that he didn’t wish to take it up, but he mustn’t -strike the boys. - -The sailor then threatened to strike him; upon which Ben stood up -before him, and folding his arms on his breast, in his drawling, -childish way, told him to strike. The man struck, when Ben inflicted -upon him such a terrible blow, that, falling upon the ballast, he lay -and quivered like an ox when he is struck down by the butcher. - -“O, Mr. Rhines,” exclaimed the terrified boys, “you’ve killed him, -you’ve killed him!” - -“Well,” he replied in his quiet way, “if I’ve killed him, I’ve laid him -out.” - - - - -CHAPTER III. - -TIGE RHINES. - - -There was another member of the family whose qualities deserve especial -mention--the great Newfoundland dog. - -We have already alluded to the captain’s fondness for the race: there -was always a dog in his father’s family. Often had old Lion furnished -them with a meal, or detected the ambush of the lurking Indian. As -though to round and complete the sum of kindly associations clustering -around this pleasant household, even Tiger partook of the good -qualities of the family. Captain Rhines said that he wouldn’t have a -dog that would make the neighbors dislike to come to the house; but as -for Tiger, he was both a gentleman and a Christian. - -The breed of dogs to which he belonged are both by nature and -inclination fitted for the water, and as insensible to the cold as a -white bear. Their skin is greasy; there is a fine wool under their long -hair which turns water; when they come ashore they give themselves a -shake or two and are nearly dry. They are also partially web-footed; -they do not swim like common dogs, thrusting their paws out before them -like a hog, but spread out their great feet and strike out sidewise -like a boy. - -The way in which the captain made the acquaintance of Tige was on this -wise: One of his last voyages was to Trieste; he met in the street a -fine-looking dog carrying a basket full of eggs; greatly pleased with -the appearance of the animal, he turned to look after him, when, as he -passed a stable door, a dog as large as himself attacked him in the -rear. He bore it patiently till he came to a house, when, putting down -his eggs, he turned upon his persecutor, and gave him such a mauling -that he was glad to escape on three legs, and covered with blood. The -captain followed the dog to a menagerie, where he ascertained that it -was the dog’s daily duty to bring eggs to feed the monkeys; that he had -flogged the other a day or two before, who thought to avenge himself by -attacking him at a disadvantage. - -The captain succeeded in buying the animal, though he never dared to -tell what he gave for him. - -“Were I not pushed for money,” said the showman, after the bargain was -concluded, “I never would have parted with him; he will protect your -person and your property; you never will be sorry that you bought him, -though I shall often regret that I was obliged to sell him.” - -Captain Rhines soon found that the showman had spoken the truth. He -could leave the most valuable articles on the wharf, and trust them to -his keeping. - -So well was his disposition known, that not a child in the neighborhood -feared to come to the house by night or day. He would permit any person -to inspect the premises, but not to touch the least thing. - -They might, in the night time, knock at the door as long as they -pleased; but if they put their hand on the latch, he would knock it -off with his paw, and show his teeth in a way that discouraged further -attempts. When the little children came who could not knock loud enough -to be heard, he would bark for them till he brought somebody to the -door. - -There was nothing so attractive to Tige as a baby on the floor, nor -anything in which he so much delighted as to follow them around, and -with his great tongue lick meat and gingerbread out of their fists. No -wonder his master said he was a gentleman and a Christian; for though -he would tear a thief in a moment, these little tots would get on him -as he lay in the grass, stuff his mouth and nose full of clover heads -to hear him sneeze, and, when tired of that, lie down on him and go to -sleep. - -Next to playing with babies, his favorite employment was fishing. In a -calm day, when the water was clear, he would swim off to a dry ledge, -called Seal Rock, in the cove before the house, dive down, and bring up -a fish every time. - -The fish always worked off on the ebb tide, and came up on the flood. -Tige knew as well when it was flood tide, and time to go floundering, -as did John Rhines, his bosom friend and constant companion. Tige -always went to meeting, and slept _on_ the horse-block in fair weather, -and _under_ it in foul. - -The good women said, they did wish Tige Rhines would stay at home, for -when they had fixed the children all up nice to go to meeting, they -were sure to be hugging him, and he would slobber them all over, lick -their hair down about their eyes, and chew their bonnet “ribbins” into -strings. - -Captain Rhines hired Sam Hadlock to help him hoe. When he went home -Saturday night, he hung up his hoe in the shed, as he expected to work -there the next week, but, finding his mother’s corn was suffering to -be hoed, went back to get it. The family had gone to bed, and Tige -wouldn’t let him touch it, though they were great friends, and he was -the next neighbor. He was going into the house without knocking, for -they didn’t fasten doors in those days; but the instant he put his hand -on the latch, the dog knocked it off with his paw, and he was obliged -to knock till Ben came and got the hoe for him. - -A more singular proof of his sagacity occurred soon after. They had a -fuss in the district with the schoolmaster, and a lawsuit grew out of -it. Captain Rhines’s daughter was summoned as a witness by the master. -He came one evening to see her about it, when the rest of the family -were from home. Tiger thought, as she was alone, all was not right; so -he waits upon the master to the door, and when she opened it, stood -up on his hind legs, and put his fore paws on the master’s shoulders, -and without offering to harm him, kept him there. They had to do their -talking over Tiger’s shoulder; but when it was finished, he made no -objection to his departure. - -In the cove before the house was a beach of fine white sand, without -a stone in it, which when wet was as hard as a floor. The children -were never tired of playing on this spot. The upper portion, which was -only occasionally wet by the tide, was dry and the sand loose, while -the lower part, which the water had recently left, was hard and smooth -to run on, thus affording them a variety of amusements. Some would run -races on the beach, chase the retreating waves, and then scamper back, -screaming with delight, as the wave broke around their heels. - -Others sailed boats, waded in the water after shells, and if they -could get Tige, they would spit on a stick and fling it as far as they -could into the water, and send him in to fetch it out, while those -who were learning to swim would catch hold of his tail and be towed -ashore. While all this was going on at the water’s edge, another party -on the upper portion would be rolling over on the hot, clean sand, and -building forts, and digging wells with clam shells; others still, under -the clay bank, were making mud puddings and pies, and roasting clams at -a great fire made of drift-wood. - -Parents did not like very well to have the children, especially the -little ones, play there so much, for fear of their getting drowned; and -the larger ones could not well be spared from work to go with them; -but they could not find it in their hearts to forbid them, they had -such a good time of it. So, once or twice every week during the summer, -a group of little folks would come to the captain’s, and one of them, -making her best “courtesy,” would say,-- - -“Captain Rhines, me, and Eliza Ann Hadlock, and Caroline Griffin, and -the Warren girls, are going down to the cove to play, and my marm wants -to know if Tige can go and take care of us.” - -Tige, who knew what the children wanted as well as they did themselves, -would stand looking his master in the face, wagging his tail, and -saying, as plain as a dog could say, “Do let me go, sir.” - -Captain Rhines, one afternoon, set a herring net in the mouth of the -cove. These nets are very long, and are set by fastening the upper -edge to a rope, called the _cork-rope_. On this rope are strung corks, -or wooden buoys made of cedar, which keep it on top of the water. It -is then stretched out, and the two ends fastened to the bottom by -“grapplings.” To each end larger buoys are fastened; weights are then -attached to the lower edge, so that it hangs perpendicular in the -water. The fish run against it in the dark, and are caught by their -gills. - -It is the nature of Newfoundland dogs to bring ashore whatever they -see floating. Tige went down to the Seal Rock floundering, and saw the -buoys bobbing up and down in the water; away he swims to bring them -ashore. Finding them fast to the bottom, what does he do, but with his -sharp teeth gnaws off the cork-rope and set them adrift? till there -were not enough left to float the net, and it sank to the bottom. He -then carried all the floats to the Seal Rock and piled them up, and -thinking he had done a meritorious act, lay down to rest himself after -his labors. - -The next morning Captain Rhines and Ben went to take up their net. They -thought some vessel must either have run over it and carried it off on -her keel or rudder, or else that so many fish were meshed as to sink -it. They grappled and brought it up, when, to their astonishment, there -was not a fish in it, the cork-rope cut to pieces, the two large buoys -and about two thirds of the net-buoys gone. - -But as they pulled home by the Seal Rock there was every one of the -missing floats, with the marks of Tiger’s teeth in the soft wood. -Captain Rhines was in a towering passion, because it was not only a -great deal of work to grapple for the net, but the cork-rope, which -was valuable in those days, was all cut to pieces. - -He sent John up to the house after Tige, and got a big stick to beat -him. The beach was covered with children of all ages. They left their -sports and ran to the spot. John Rhines begged his father not to -lick the dog, while the children began to cry; but the captain was -determined. “Father,” said Ben, “I wouldn’t beat him; if you beat him -for bringing these floats ashore, he won’t go after birds when you -shoot them.” Upon this, the captain, who was an inveterate gunner, -flung away the stick; and the children, drying up their tears, took -Tige off to frolic with them. - -The miller’s daughter, three years and a half old, had a speckled -kitten; a brutal boy drowned it in the mill-pond. The little creature -went down to look for her kitten, and fell in. Just then Captain Rhines -and Tige came to the mill with a grist. The child had gone down for the -third time. He jumped from the horse, and threw in a stone where he saw -the bubbles come up. Tige instantly followed the stone, and brought up -the child with just the breath of life in it. - -The overjoyed mother hugged the child, and then hugged Tige. The miller -gave him a brass collar, with an account of this brave act engraved -upon it. - -Ever after this he had a warm place in the affections of the whole -community, and was almost as much beloved and respected as his master. - -The sentiments of the young folks, in respect to Tige, were put to -the test the next summer. A boy came there in a fishing vessel, who -was full of pranks, had never received any culture, knew nothing of -the history of Tige, and perhaps, if he had, would not have cared; to -gratify a malicious disposition, he put some spirits of turpentine on -him, causing him great agony. The enraged children enticed the boy to -the beach, and while he was in swimming, carried off his clothes, and, -having prepared themselves with sticks, fell upon him as he came out of -the water, and beat him to a jelly. - -A few days after the event just narrated, Captain Rhines was sitting in -the door after dinner, when he saw little Fannie Williams, the miller’s -daughter, coming into the yard. She was evidently bent on business of -importance, for, though passionately fond of flowers, she never looked -at the lilies, hollyhocks, and morning glories, on each side of her, -but walking directly up to him, and putting both hands on his knees, -said, with the tears glistening in her little eyes, “You won’t whip -Tige, will you, if he does do naughty things?” - -“God bless the child!” said the captain, taking her in his lap and -kissing her, “have you come way down here to ask me that?” - -“Nobody knowed it, and nobody telled me to come; I comed my own self, -’cause he shan’t be whipped. Fannie loves Tige.” - -“You’ve good reason to love him, for if it had not been for him you’d -been a dead baby now. I never will whip him, nor let anybody else.” - -The captain then took her by the hand, and led her into the orchard, -where he picked up some pears, and put in a basket; he then culled a -bunch of flowers as large as she could carry, and putting the handle of -the basket in Tige’s mouth, sent him home with her. The little girl, -with her fears quieted, trudged along, putting her flowers to Tige’s -nose for him to smell of, telling him he shouldn’t be licked, ’cause -Captain Rhines said so. - - - - -CHAPTER IV. - -BEN’S COURTSHIP. - - -Ben had never been to sea with his father. Captain Rhines didn’t -believe it was a good plan for relations to be shipmates; he didn’t -want his son to be “ship’s cousin,” but to rise on his own merits, as -his father had done before him; and if he couldn’t do that, then he -might stay down. But Ben had proved himself to be a man of capacity. -The owners were all willing, and his father wanted him to take the ship -and let him stay at home. - -Ben gladly accepted the offer, and was making preparations to go; but -there was a matter of great importance for him to settle, before he -left home. Ben loved Sally Hadlock, though he had never dared to tell -her of it. - -She had a great many admirers among the young men, and he felt that it -was risking altogether too much to go on a long voyage, and run the -venture of Sally’s being snapped up by some of them before his return. -The greatest source of apprehension in his mind was the fact, that -he heard she had said, she never could, nor would, marry a man that -followed the sea. - -Her father and oldest brother were lost at sea. Sally could never -forget the agony of her mother when her father’s sea chest came home, -nor the trial of those bitter years, during which she and her mother -had struggled along, and kept the family together until the younger -children grew up. - -Sally Hadlock was a poor girl, but she was as pretty as a May morning. -Though she knew scarcely a note of music, she could warble like a bird, -and, as the neighbors said, “she was faculized.” Everybody loved and -respected Sally for her kindness to her mother, and because she was -as modest as she was beautiful, and as lively as a humming-bird. Her -mother idolized her, as well she might. - -Never was the widow so happy as when, over a good cup of souchong, she -descanted upon the fine qualities of her daughter, utterly regardless -of Sally’s blushes, and whispered, “O, don’t, mother.” “Yes,” the old -lady would say, shoving her spectacles up on her cap, and stirring -slowly her tea, “I’ll put my Sally, though I say it that shouldn’t say -it, for taking a fleece of wool as it comes from the sheep’s back, and -making it into cloth, against any girl in the town; and then she always -has such good luck making soap, and such luck with her bread! she beats -me out and out in hot biscuit. You see this table-cloth; well, she spun -the flax, and bleached the thread, drew it into the loom, and wove it, -all sole alone.” - -Sally was not without some dim perception of Ben’s attachment to her. -She knew that he was very fond of her brother Sam; and that if he -wanted to borrow anything they had, he would always come himself, both -to get it and to bring it home. - -When he came home from sea, he always brought presents for the widow -Hadlock. Many of them, though very beautiful, didn’t seem altogether -adapted to an old widow; and then her mother would say, “Sally, these -things are very beautiful, but I shall never put off my mourning for -your dear father; they would be very becoming to you.” - -Ben went to singing-school, in the school-house. A young man had -recently come into the village from Salem, as a singing-master. He -had a way that took mightily with the girls. This excited a general -antipathy to him among all the young men in the place, who, since his -advent, found themselves at a discount with the ladies. Latterly, his -attentions had been directed particularly to Sally Hadlock, as the -prettiest girl in the village. - -The house being crowded one evening, Ben had gone into the seat usually -reserved for the singers. The singing-master, who was an empty coxcomb, -with nothing but good looks to recommend him, ordered him out. Ben, -with his usual good nature, would have obeyed; but the tone was so -contemptuous, and the place so public (probably Sally’s presence might -have had something to do with it), that it stung; Ben replied that he -sat very well, and remained as he was. - -This drew the eyes of all upon him, as expecting something interesting. -In a few moments his tormentor returned, and assured him, if he did -not move, and that quick, he would be put out. Upon this, Ben rose up -to his full height, and looking down upon the frightened man of music, -said, “I don’t think there are men enough in this school-house to put -me out.” - -This sally was received with a universal shout by the audience, who -not only had not the least doubt of the fact, but also rejoiced in the -discomfiture of the puppy. - -Sally was very much grieved at the master’s insulting treatment of Ben, -who had done so much for her mother. It is said that all women are -hero-worshippers. - -When she saw him so completely frightened out of his impertinence, and -made ridiculous, noticed the forbearance of Ben, who might have squat -him up like a fly between his fingers and thumb, she became conscious -of a tenderer feeling for her old schoolmate, who that night went home -with her and her mother for the first time. - -Ben now determined to make a bold push, and go and see Sally Sunday -night, though he knew she, and everybody else, would know what it -meant. It seems very singular that Ben Rhines, who had been half over -the world, and in a privateer, should be afraid to go over to the -widow Hadlock’s before dark; but he was: so he broke the matter to his -most intimate friend, Sam Johnson, who offered to go with him the next -Sunday night. - -It was a pleasant Sabbath afternoon, in August, about four o’clock. -Captain Rhines had been sitting in his arm-chair reading the Apocrypha, -and fell asleep. - -Ben was sitting at the window, all dressed up, quite nervous, waiting -for Sam. - -Sam came at length, and asked Ben if he wanted to go into the pastures -and get a few blueberries. Ben assented, when, to their astonishment, -old Captain Rhines roused up and inquired, “Where are you going, boys?” - -“We’re just going out to get a few blueberries.” - -“Well, I don’t care if I go, too.” - -Here was a dilemma; but love helps wit. They found a thick bush for the -old gentleman to pick, crawled away on their hands and knees to a safe -distance, then got on their feet, and ran for the widow Hadlock’s. - -The old captain having hallooed for them long after they were in the -widow’s parlor, finally went home. Just as they expected, they were -asked to stop to supper. - -After supper, Sally and her mother went out to milking, while Ben and -Sam leaned on the fence to look at them. The old speckled cow, which -Sally had milked ever since she was a girl, acted as if bewitched: she -switched Sally’s comb out of her head with her tail, and finally put -her foot in the milk-pail. - -While all this was going on, Sam Johnson unaccountably disappeared. Ben -could do no less than offer to carry in the milk for them; was invited -to spend the evening; and the old lady, excusing herself on account of -ill health, slipped off to bed, and Ben and Sally were left together. - -In due time Ben asked Sally if she liked him well enough to marry him. - -Now Sally was a good, sensible New England girl: she didn’t faint nor -scream, but she blushed a little, and finally consented to marry him, -on condition that he should give up going to sea, and stay at home with -her. - -The reader must bear in mind that this is not a love scene of a -sensation novel, but conversation of people, who, loving each other -sincerely, looked upon married life as a sacred obligation, in which -they put their whole heart, and expected to find their sole happiness. - -Ben did not therefore reply that he loved Sally to distraction, that -he could not exist a moment without her, and that he would never dream -of going to sea again; but, after some considerable hesitation, he at -length moved his chair nearer to Sally, and looking up full in her -face, said, “Sally, you and I have known each other from the time we -made bulrush caps together in your mother’s pasture, when we were -children, till now; and I think you know me well enough to know that I -am a man of few words, and would never ask a woman to marry me unless I -really loved her, and intended to support her, for you know that must -be thought of. - -“As for going to sea, though I have been fortunate, and risen in my -profession faster than any young man in town, faster, perhaps, than I -ought,--for I was mate of a ship before I was twenty,--though I have no -reason to be afraid of men, and can handle the roughest of them like -children, and care nothing for hardship, yet I never liked the sea. O, -how I have longed, on some East India voyage, to see an acre of green -grass, or hear a robin sing! I don’t like to feel that people obey me -just because they are afraid of me, and to go stalking round the decks -like some of those giants we read of in the old story books. I do love -the land better than the sea. I love the flowers; I love to plough and -hoe; I love to see things grow. I’m as loath to go to sea as you can be -to have me;” and he put his arm around her neck and kissed her; “but -the seaman’s life is my profession. I have spent many of the best years -of my life, employed the time that might have been devoted to learning -a trade, or some other business on shore, in fitting myself for it. I -now have a ship offered me: this affords me at once the opportunity of -reaping the fruits of my past labor, and supporting a wife; besides, -Sally, we are both poor. You may think it strange, that, as I have been -officer of a vessel for some time, I should not have laid up something; -but my father became involved some years ago, and I felt it my duty to -help him out; and I am neither sorry for it nor ashamed of it. This -was the reason I did not dress better, because I felt that I ought to -economize, for the sake of the best parents ever a boy had. I suppose -many people, who knew I was earning a good deal of money, thought I was -mean, or spent it in some bad way; and perhaps you did.” - -“No, Ben,” replied Sally; “I knew better than that. I knew that, if -you didn’t, like a snail, put everything on your back, you were always -ready to help any one who needed it; and no person can go on long in a -bad course without those who love them finding it out.” - -“You see how it is, Sally, if I take this ship, I am at once in -circumstances to be married, with the prospect of a comfortable living. -To be sure, I could work on the land, for I was a farmer till I was -seventeen; but then I should have to run in debt to buy it. There is -not much money to be got off a farm; it always took about what father -earned to pay the hired help, the taxes, and family expenses, and he -soon had to go to sea again for more.” - -Poor Sally listened, as Ben thus placed before her the “inevitable -logic of facts.” - -She looked first this way, and then that, and finally laid her head on -Ben’s shoulder, and cried like a child. - -Ben was greatly distressed: he knew not what to say, and remained -for a long time silent; at length he said, “There is a way that I -have thought of, but I didn’t like to mention it, for fear--” Here he -hesitated. - -“For fear of what?” cried Sally, lifting her head from his shoulder, -and looking at him through her tears. - -“Why, for fear, if I should do it, and you should marry me on the -strength of it, and we should be poor, see hard times, and people -should look down on us, that then you might perhaps feel--” And here he -stopped again. - -“Feel what?” - -“Why,” stammered Ben, finding he must out with it, “feel that if you -had only married some of these young men that I know have offered -themselves to you, and that had rich fathers, instead of poor Ben -Rhines, you wouldn’t have needed to have brought the water to wash your -hands.” - -“When I marry,” replied Sally, bluntly, “I shall not marry anybody’s -father, but the boy I love. Now, let’s hear your plan, Ben.” - -“You know,” he replied, more slowly than he had ever spoken before in -his whole life, “the island off in the bay that father has had the care -of so many years?” - -“What, Elm Island?” - -“That’s it.” - -“Yes, indeed! I’ve been there a hundred times with our Sam and Seth -Warren, after berries.” - -“It’s the best land that ever lay out doors, covered with a heavy -growth of spruce and pine, fit for spars; many of them would run -seventy feet without a limb. I think old Mr. Welch would sell it on -credit to any one he knew, and that anybody might cut off the timber, -and have the land, and wood enough to burn, left clear. It would make -a splendid farm, and a man might pick up considerable money by gunning -and fishing; but,” said Ben, his countenance falling, “what a place -for a woman! No society, no neighbors, right among the breakers; and -sometimes, in the winter, there’ll be a month nobody can get on nor -off. It would be a good place to get a living, and lay up money; but -no woman would go on there, and a man would be a brute to ask her. I’m -sorry I said anything about it.” - -“There’s one woman will go on there,” replied Sally, “and not repent -of it after she gets there either; and that woman’s Sally Hadlock. I -hold that if a girl loves a man well enough to marry him, she’ll be -contented where he is, and she won’t be contented where he isn’t. As to -the society, I had rather be alone with my husband than have all the -society in the world without him. I had rather be on an island with my -husband, working hard, and carrying my share of the load, than to be -in the best society, and have every comfort, and at the same time know -that my husband is beating about at sea, in sickly climates, perhaps -dying, with nobody to do for him, in order to support me in luxury and -laziness, or in circumstances of comfort which he cannot enjoy with -me; and I say that any woman, that _is_ a woman, will say amen to it. -We may have a hard scratch of it at first, and have to live rough; but -I have always been poor; it’s nothing new to me. What reason on earth -is there, bating sickness or death, why we should not get along? I’ve -always maintained myself, and helped maintain my mother and family. You -have maintained yourself, paid your father’s debts, and more too, for -you have helped my mother lots.” - -“Yes, but I was going to sea then,” put in Ben. - -“It is strange, then,” continued Sally, without heeding the -interruption, “that we two, who have supported ourselves and other -folks, can’t support our own selves. I see how it is, Ben; this island -can be bought very cheap, on account of the disadvantages of living on -it; that you can pay for it by your own labor, and see no other way of -getting your living on the land. Is that it, Ben?” - -“That is it.” - -“Well, then,” replied this noble New England girl, reddening to the -very roots of her hair, and her eyes flashing through her tears, “I -will marry you, and go to that island with you; we will take the bitter -with the sweet; we will suffer and enjoy together. If you love me well -enough to give up a ship, and go on to that island to live with me, -I love you well enough to go on it and be happy with you. I thank God, -that if he has given me a handsome face, as they say, he has not given -me an empty head nor an idle hand to go with it. I have worked, and -saved, and denied myself for my mother and brothers, and have been -right happy and well thought of in doing it. I can do the same for -my husband; and if any think _less_ of me on that account, I shan’t -have them for next door neighbors to twit me of it. My home is in my -husband’s heart, and where his interest and duty lie.” - -Ben thought she never looked half so beautiful before, and imprinted a -fervent kiss upon the lips that had uttered such noble sentiments. The -day was breaking as they separated. - - - - -CHAPTER V. - -SALLY TELLS HER MOTHER ALL ABOUT IT. - - -Sally slept in the same room with her mother. The old lady waked, and -finding Sally’s bed not tumbled, called loudly for her daughter. When -she came, her mother said, “Why, Sally, your bed has not been tumbled -this live-long night; how flushed you look! your hair is all of a -frizzle, and you’ve been crying: what is the matter with you?” - -Poor Sally, nervous and excited after the night’s conflict, made a -clean breast of it. - -“Mother, I’ve said I’d have Ben, that is, if you are willing,” and, -burying her face in the pillow, she burst into a flood of tears. The -good old lady was not so much troubled by tears as Ben had been, but, -putting her arms round her daughter, said, “That’s right, dear; cry -as much as you please; it’ll ease your mind, and do you good;” and, -wrapped up in her own reflections about an event she had long foreseen, -patiently waited till Sally should think best to speak. Finding Sally -not inclined to break the silence, she said, “I think you could not -have done better than to be engaged to Ben; and I’m sure you could not -have done anything so pleasing to me; that is, if you love him, for -that is the main thing. - -“I’ve always told you it is very wrong for a girl to marry a man whom -she doesn’t love; it isn’t right in the sight of God, and always leads -to misery. Ben isn’t so good-looking as some young men, nor rich in -this world’s goods; but he has good learning and good manners: he is of -a good family; can do more work than any three young men in town; and -for all he is such a giant, never gives a misbeholden word to any one. -You’ve known him from childhood. It’s a great deal better to marry him -with only the clothes to his back, and the good principles that are in -him, than to marry some one who is rich and handsome now, may die a -drunkard, and perhaps, some time, throw up to your poverty.” - -“O, I know all that, mother; but there’s something else, which, -perhaps, I ought not to have done without asking you. I’ve promised to -go and live on Elm Island, right in the woods, and among the breakers;” -and then she told her mother every word that she and Ben had said, -from beginning to end, throwing in, as a sweetener, a circumstance -which she knew would have great influence with her parent; “but then, -you know, he has promised never to go to sea any more.” - -She was most agreeably disappointed when the widow, after a little -pause, replied in her mild way, “I not only approve of what you’ve -done, but should have been very sorry if you had done otherwise. Your -grandmother, girl, was born in old Rowley, Massachusetts, was brought -up to have everything she wanted, and knew nothing of hardships; but -she married your grandfather because she loved him, though he was -a poor man. They came down here, and took up this farm when it was -all woods. I’ve stood in the door of our old house, and seen eleven -wolves come off Birch Point and go on the ice to Oak Island: one of -them had lost his leg in a trap, and could not keep up with the rest, -and they would squat down on the ice and wait for him. They burnt up -their first house in clearing the land, and had to live in a brush -camp till they built another. I’ve heard mother say, a hundred times, -that the happiest years of her life were those hard years; that the -anticipation of living easier by and by, and having a good farm, was -better than the good farm when they got it; that there was nothing in -her well-to-do life afterwards to compare with the satisfaction of -looking back to those hard times when she had the strength to endure -those hardships. Then her face would light up, her eyes kindle, and the -color come into her old cheeks; and as I looked at her, I used to hope -that I should live to see such pleasant hardships, to be glad of and -tell about when I was old. - -“Well, Sally, I’ve had _troubles_, and _bitter_ ones; the sea has been -a devourer to me; but not _hardships_, because I married and lived at -home; but you have the chance, girl, to know something about it. Don’t -be afraid of being poor; people here don’t know what poverty is. Go to -Liverpool, if you want to see what real poverty is, as I have been many -a time with your poor father, who is dead and gone. A man with a farm -is sure of a living, and a good one, too; the farmers feed the world, -and they are great fools if they don’t lick their own fingers. Two -thirds of the merchants fail; a great many seamen die at sea, and it’s -a dog’s life at best. The sailor is only anxious when the wind blows; -but the wind blows all the time for the poor wife at home, and her -pillow is often wet with tears. - -“The last time I was in Rowley, I saw rich men’s sons; whose fathers -scorned your grandfather because he was a farmer, going about killing -hogs and cutting wood for folks. For a farmer to kill his own hogs, -or to change work with his neighbors to kill theirs, then they help -him kill his, or to cut his own wood, is a very different thing from -what it is for people, who felt as large as they did once, and, in -their pride and prosperity, looked down on every one that labored, to -have to do it for a living. Your grandmother said, it used to make her -blood run cold to see them come into the house of God with such an air, -getting up and sitting down two or three times, flaunting with their -‘ribbins,’ and chattering like a striped squirrel on the side of a -tree. I was up there the year before Sam was born; and now to see how -they live! just the least little scriffin of bread and butter, or a -little pie; the least little piece of meat, about as big as your hand, -which they run to the butcher’s to get, for they never have anything -in the cellar; then, instead of doing as we do, cutting it thick, and -telling everybody to help themselves, they cut it into little slices -and help them, for fear, I suppose, they should take too much; and then -so many compliments to so little victuals! But they put it on their -backs, Sally; that’s what they do with it; they put it on their backs. -As they have no hearty victuals and hard work to give them color, they -paint their faces, and look out of the windows, as Jezebel did: they -spend most all their time looking out of the windows.” - -Sally rejoiced to find that, when following the inclinations of her own -heart, she had done just right; and with a face from which every trace -of tears had vanished, replied, “I thought I knew your mind, mother; -but I must go and get breakfast, for I thought I heard Sam getting up.” - - - - -CHAPTER VI. - -BEN BUYS ELM ISLAND. - - -Ben went to Boston to see the old merchant, whom he knew very well, -having often seen him at his father’s when he was on his summer visits. -The good merchant, who had been a poor boy, and earned his property by -his own industry, and was both too wise and too good to value himself -by his wealth, received Ben so kindly, that he told him all his heart; -what he wanted the island for, of the promise he had made to Sally, and -all about it. He commended Ben; told him he knew Sally’s father (that -he had sailed for him), and her mother, too; she was of good blood; -there was a great deal in the blood. He told him he would have a happy -life; that he had always regretted he had not been a farmer himself. -He had worked night and day, amassed a large property, educated his -family, and looked forward to the time when they would be a source of -happiness to him; but his children were indolent, knew he had wealth, -and had no desire to do anything for themselves; he feared they would -spend his money faster than he had earned it. “Indeed, Ben,” replied -the merchant, with a sigh, “I would much rather take your chance for -happiness, and a comfortable living in this world, than that of either -of my sons.” - -Ben was utterly amazed. He had thought, when looking upon that splendid -furniture, and wealth and taste there displayed, that people in such -circumstances must be extremely happy; but, as he was not deficient in -shrewdness, he learned a lesson that effectually repressed any desire -to murmur at his own lot. - -The merchant then said to him, “Mr. Rhines, if you were buying this -island on speculation, I should charge you a round price for it, as -the timber is valuable, easy of access by water, the taxes are merely -nominal, and your father prevents it from being plundered; but as you -are buying it to make a home of, and I know what you have done for your -father,--for he told me himself,--I shall let you have it at a low -rate, and any length of time you wish to pay for it in.” - -As they parted, he encouraged Ben by telling him that a Down-easter -would get rich where anybody else would starve. - -It was now the month of October. Ben proposed that they should be -married; Sally should live with her mother during the winter, while he -went on to the island, cut a freight of spars, dug a cellar before the -ground froze, and made preparations for building in the spring. But -Sally declared she would as lief have Ben at sea as have him on this -island, running back and forth in the cold winter; that after a man had -been at work a whole week, he didn’t want to pull a boat six miles, and -be wet all through with spray; that there would be a great many days, -when, if he was off, he could not get on, and if he was on, he could -not get off, and there would be a great deal of time lost. Man and wife -ought not to be separated; ’twas no way to live; she would go to the -island and live with him. - -“Live where, Sally?” inquired Ben. - -“Why, with you. I suppose you will live somewhere--won’t you?” - -“Well,” replied Ben, with a comical look at his great limbs, “I can -live anywhere a Newfoundland dog can; but I shouldn’t want you to, nor -should I consent to it. I expect to take some hands with me, build a -half-faced cabin, good enough for us to live in, cut spars and timber, -build a house next summer, and move in the fall.” - -“It’ll cost you a good deal to build this house.” - -“Why, yes. I can get the frame on the island, and the stuff for the -boards and shingles. I shall have to buy bricks, and lime, and nails, -and hire a joiner.” - -“What does’t cost to build a log house?” - -“Next to nothing, because we can build them of logs that are fit for -nothing else.” - -“Are they warm?” - -“Warmest things that ever you saw. The boards on a house are only an -inch thick, but you can have the logs three feet thick, if you like.” - -“Are they tight?” - -“They can be made as tight as a cup.” - -“I don’t think, then, a Newfoundland dog would be likely to suffer much -in your shanty.” - -“I was telling how a log house _could_ be made. I don’t expect to take -much pains with mine.” - -“Would not all this timber that you are going to make frame, boards, -and shingles of, fetch a good price in the market?” - -“Why, yes, it would nearly all make spars.” - -“Then you should build, instead of a half-faced cabin, a real log -house, ‘three feet thick,’ if you like, and ‘as tight as a cup.’ I’ll -go on with you; it’ll be a great deal better than to take turns in -cooking, and live like pigs, as men always do when they live together. -I’ve heard you say you had rather eat off a chip, and then throw it -away, than eat off a china plate, and have to wash it when you were -done; then there would be no time lost. When you came in from your work -you would have your meals warm, and we would have a real sociable time -in the evening.” - -“O, that will never do.” - -“But it will do, Ben; you’ve just said that a log house was warm and -comfortable.” - -“Indeed it is,” chimed in the old lady, who, with her spectacles above -her cap, and her hands upon her knees, sat leaning forward, her whole -soul in her face, while the favorite cat, who for twenty years had -spent the evening in her patron’s lap, stood with one paw upon her -mistress’s knee, and the other uplifted with an air of astonishment at -being prevented from securing her accustomed place,--“indeed it is. -Mother used to say this house never began to be so warm or so tight as -the old log house.” - -“O, dear, Sally!” exclaimed Ben, greatly troubled; “I thought ’twas bad -enough to take you on to the island to live at all, and now you insist -on living in a log house. What will folks say? They will say, there’s -Sally Hadlock, that might have had her pick of the likeliest fellows -in town, and never have had to bring the water to wash her hands, has -taken up with Ben Rhines, and gone to live in a log shanty on Elm -Island.” - -“Look here, Ben,” replied Sally; “suppose my father had been a -fisherman, and lived on Elm Island; wouldn’t you have come on there and -lived with me, though all the young fellows in town had said, There’s -Ben Rhines, that might have been master of as fine a ship as ever swum, -has taken up with old Hadlock’s daughter, and gone to live on Elm -Island?” - -“To be sure I would.” - -“Well, then,” said Sally, coloring, “I hope you don’t want me to say, -right here before mother, that I’d rather live on Elm Island, in a log -house, with the boy I love, than with the best of them in a palace. I -want to bring the water to wash my hands. I don’t believe that God made -us to be idle, or that we are any happier for being so.” - -“That’s right,” shouted the old lady, in ecstasies, rising up and -kissing her daughter’s cheek; “that’s the old-fashioned sort of love, -that will wear and make happiness, and it’s all the thing on this earth -that will; it will bear trial; it is a fast color, and won’t fade -out in washing. Most young people nowadays want to begin where their -fathers left off, and they end with running out all that their fathers -left them. You’re willing to begin and cut your garment according to -your cloth, and you will prosper accordingly.” - - - - -CHAPTER VII. - -CAPTAIN RHINES RIDING OUT A GALE BEFORE THE FIRE. - - -The morning succeeding Ben’s return from Boston gave tokens of a coming -storm. - -“Ben,” said Captain Rhines, “we’re going to have a gale of wind; here’s -an old roll coming from the east’ard, and the surf is roaring on the -White Bull. Let us take the canoe, slip over to Elm Island, and get a -couple of lambs, before it comes on. I’m hankering after some fresh -‘grub.’” - -When, having caught the lamb, they were pulling out of the harbor, the -old gentleman, resting on his oar, looked back upon the mass of forest, -and said, “What a tremenjus growth here is! here are masts and yards, -bowsprits and topmasts, for a ship of the line; and there’s no end of -the small spars and ranging timber; a great deal of it, too, ought to -be cut, for it has got its growth, and will soon be falling down. It is -first-rate land, and would make a capital farm after it’s cleared. I -wish old father Welch had to give it to me; he never would miss it. I -believe my soul all he keeps it for is for the sake of coming down here -once in three or four years, and going over there gunning ’long with -me.” - -At noon the gale came on with great violence. The captain took -advantage of the stormy afternoon to kill a lamb, and have a regular -“tuck out” on a sea-pie. Under his directions, Mrs. Rhines lined the -large pot with a thick crust, put in the lamb and slices of pork, -with flour, water, and plenty of seasoning, and covered the whole -with a crust, which Captain Rhines pricked full of holes with his -marline-spike. - -In addition to this were pudding, pies, and fried apples; coffee, -which was seldom indulged in at that day; and last, but not least, a -decanter of Holland gin beside his plate. When they had despatched this -substantial repast, the family, eight in number, all drew up around -the fire. The old house shook with the violence of the gale; the rain -came down in torrents; the roar of the surf was distinctly heard in the -intervals of the gusts, while the blaze went up the great chimney in -sheets of flame. - -The old seaman flung off his coat, kicked off his boots, and sitting -down in the midst of this happy circle, while the cheerful light -flickered around his weather-beaten form, animated by as noble a heart -as ever throbbed in human breast, cried, as he listened to the clatter -without, “Blow away, my hearty; while she cracks she holds; let them -that’s got the watch on deck keep it; it’s my watch below; eight hours -in to-night.” - -He then sat some time in silence, with his hands clasped over his -knees, and looking into a great bed of rock-maple coals. Rousing up -at length, he laid his hard hand on his wife’s shoulder, and, with an -expression of heartfelt happiness on his rugged features, that was -perfectly contagious, said, “Mary, I do believe I’ve never had one -hardship too many. When I think how poor I began life; what my parents -suffered before they got the land cleared; why, I’ve seen my poor -father hoe corn when he was so weak from hunger that he could scarcely -stand. There were times when we should have starved to death, if it had -not been for the old dog (stooping down and patting Tige’s head, who -lay stretched out before the fire, with his nose on his master’s foot). -How glad I felt as I carried them the first dollar I ever earned! and -how glad they were to get it! Well, as I was saying, when I hear the -wind whistle, and the sea roar, as it does now, I can’t help thinking -how many such nights on ship’s deck, wet, worn out, listening to the -roar of the surf, and expecting the anchors to come home every minute; -next ‘vige’ perhaps in the West Indies; men dying all around me, like -sheep, with the yellow fever and black vomit. When I look back, and -feel it’s all over, that I’ve got enough to carry me through, can do -what little duty I’m fit for, among my comforts, and surrounded by -my family, I don’t believe I ever could have had the feelings I’ve -got in my bosom to-night, before this comfortable fire, if I hadn’t -been through the cold, the hunger, the dangers, and all the other -miseries first;” and he rolled up his sleeves in the very wantonness of -enjoyment, to feel the grateful warmth of fire on his bare flesh. - -“I don’t wonder you do feel so, husband,” replied his wife; “as you -say, you’ve enough to carry you through, as far as this life is -concerned; but there is another life after this, and, perhaps, if -we get to the better world, that also will seem sweeter for all the -crosses we take up, and the self-denial we go through in getting there. -I’ve often told you, Benjamin, that you lack but one thing; for surely -never woman had a kinder husband, or children a better father, than -you have always been.” - -“God bless you, Mary!” exclaimed the old seaman in the fulness of his -heart; “I’ve never been half so good a husband as I ought, and must -often have hurt your feelings; for I’m a rough old sea-dog; never had -any bringing up, but grew up just like the cattle. - -“I never see John Strout but it puts me in mind of his oldest brother, -George. We both of us shipped for the first time, as able seamen, in -the same vessel; we were about of an age--‘townies;’ both in the same -watch, full of blue veins and vitriol, and were forever trying titles -to see which was the best man. It was hard work to tell, when the watch -was called, whose feet struck the floor first, his’n or mine. If he -got into the rigging before I did, I’d go up hand over fist on the -back-stay. I’ve known him to go on the topsail yard in his shirt-flaps -to get ahead of me. We allers made it a p’int to take the weather -earing, or the bunt of a sail, away from the second mate, who was the -owner’s nephew, and put over the head of his betters.” - -“Was that the reason, father,” said Ben, “you wouldn’t let me go to sea -with you?” - -“Yes,” he replied. “I’ve seen enough of these half-and-half fellers put -in to command before they are fit for it, just to lose better men’s -lives, and destroy other people’s property.” - -“I think you have the right of it, father. I don’t believe I shall ever -be sorry that I came in at the hawsehole, instead of the cabin windows.” - -“One terrible dark night, in the Gulf,” continued the old man, “all -hands were on the yard trying to furl the fore-topsail; my sheath-knife -was jammed between my body and the yard, so that I couldn’t get at it; -I reached and took his’n out of the sheath, which he wore behind, and -used it; but when I went to put it back again, he was gone; when or how -he went, nobody ever knew. I was young then, and new at such things. We -had allers been together. I couldn’t keep it out of my mind, and didn’t -want to stay in the vessel after that, for everything I took hold of -made me think of him.” - -“Don’t you think, husband,” said his wife, “that we ought to think -where our blessings come from, and not to think it’s all our own work?” - -Though Captain Rhines had a rugged temper of his own when roused, with -only the education he had picked up at sea, and the culture acquired -by friction as he was knocked about in the world, yet he was perfectly -moral, and temperate for that day; that is, he was never intoxicated. -He had a great respect for religion, especially his wife’s, she being -a woman of admirable judgment and ardent piety. She was not in the -practice of reproving every unguarded expression, and annoying him with -exhortations; telling the ministers her anxieties and fears about him, -and urging them to talk to him on the spot, whether they were in a -frame to converse, or he to listen. She was satisfied he knew where her -heart was, that she prayed earnestly for him, and let it rest at that, -save when, as on the present occasion, he put the words in her mouth. - -“Well, wife,” he replied, willing to change the subject, “you’ve got -religion enough for both of us.” - -“No, husband, that must be every one’s own work.” - -“That ain’t all, neither. How many years was I going to sea, just -coming home to look in to the door, and say, ‘How are you all?’ then -off again, leaving you to manage farm, family, and hired help! Why, -I had scarcely any more care of my family than an ostrich has of her -eggs. It seems so much more happy to be with them now, on that very -account! I’m half a mind to believe what I then thought to be the worst -trial of all, was a blessing, too. I only wish that great critter over -there in the corner,” pointing to Ben, “could get half so good or -good-looking a wife as his mother is; but he’s so homely, and there’s -so much of it, I’m afraid there’s not a ghost of a chance for him.” - -At this there was a general titter amongst the young folks. Ben could -hold in no longer, but astonished his parents by telling them what he -_had_ done, and what he _meant_ to do. - -“By heavens, Ben!” exclaimed his father, springing to his feet, “you’ve -been fishing to some purpose; I’d moor head and stern to that girl, and -lie by her as long as cables and anchor would hold.” - -“I don’t know how to build a log house,” said Ben; “and they’ve been -out of use so long round here, I don’t know anybody that does.” - -“I do. Isaac Murch; he helped tear down our old log house, when I was -a boy. I suppose you know he is the most ing’nious critter that ever -lived. I believe he could make a man, if he should set out for it; and -I don’t know but he could put a soul in him after he was done. Your -grandfather was old and childish, and hated to have the house torn -down; so I got Isaac to make a model of it, to please him. I know that -he could make one exactly like it, if he had a mind to. I really think -I should come to see you a good deal oftener if you were living in the -old house, or one that looked just like it.” - -“But, father, he wouldn’t work out.” - -“He’d do most anything to accommodate you or Sally Hadlock; for, when -her father was living, he and Isaac were like two fingers on one hand. -I believe he thinks as much of the Hadlock children as he does of his -own. There’s no knowing how much he’s done for those children first and -last.” - -The next day Ben rode over to Isaac’s, who, with his wife, gave him a -warm welcome. - -“By the way,” said she, “are you engaged to be married to Sally -Hadlock? At any rate, I heard so, and it come pretty straight; own up -like a man; murder will out.” - -“If it is so, I hope it’s nothing to be ashamed of.” - -“Ben Rhines, if you’ve got Sally Hadlock, it’s the best day’s work you -ever did in your life.” - -“I don’t know what you’ll say when I tell you the rest of it.” He then -informed them that he had bought Elm Island, and was going to live on -it. - -“But, Ben, is Sally willing to go on that island to live? I’m sure I -should be frightened to death to live there.” - -“’Twas her own plan. She wouldn’t hear to my going to sea; and when -I said I didn’t know of any way to live ashore, unless I bought that -island, she said ’twas just the thing. I was intending to build a frame -house next summer; but she says, ‘Build a log house, go right into it, -and build a frame house when you’re better able;’ and declares she’ll -live in a log house, and nothing else. I had money enough, that I got -privateering, to have bought the island, and built the house on’t; but -I felt it my duty to help my father out of his difficulties.” - -“Goodness! gracious! goodness me!” exclaimed Hannah Murch, holding up -both hands. “Ben Rhines, are you a wizard, to bewitch the girls after -this fashion? Such offers as that girl has had, to my sartin knowledge! -She loves you, Ben, and you may be sure of that to begin with. Well! -well! well! this beats all the story books.” - -“She’s just right,” said Isaac. “She knows that Ben gives up the -cap’in’s berth to please her; that he’ll have a hard scratch of it, and -she means to scratch, too. You’re just right, both of you.” - -“Now, Uncle Isaac,” said Ben, “this house must go right up. Will you -go on with me and another man, and ‘boss’ the job?” - -“I will, Ben; and I won’t turn my back to any body for building a log -house.” - -“To-day is Thursday. I should like to begin Monday, if you can come.” - -“Well, I don’t know anything to hender; if you haven’t got anybody -looked out to help you, I think you’d better get Joe Griffin; he’s a -strapping stout feller, handy with an axe, or any kind of tools. I know -he’ll go; and if you say so, I’ll bring him along with me, and we’ll be -at the landing at sunrise, or thereabouts.” - -During Ben’s absence, the widow Hadlock put on her changeable silk, -which her husband bought in foreign parts, and her best cap, and taking -her knitting-work, went over to Captain Rhines’s. When she came back, -she reported that it was all right, and the Rhineses were as much -pleased with the match as she was. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII. - -BREAKING GROUND ON ELM ISLAND. - - -Monday morning came, and in the little cove, abreast of Captain -Rhines’s door, lay moored a “gundelow,” containing some hay, an ox -cart, plough, scraper, pot and tea-kettle, and provisions, raw and -cooked. Just as the sun rose, Ben came down the hill with a yoke of -oxen, and an axe on his shoulder weighing fourteen pounds. Joe Griffin -made his appearance on foot, and Isaac Murch on horseback, with his -wife (who had come to take the beast back) riding behind him on a -pillion. It was a bright October morning; the fields were white with -frost, which was just beginning to melt as the sun rose. - -“Halloa!” cried Joe, as he caught sight of Ben’s head over the rising -ground; “this is the weather for the woods; the frost puts the grit in.” - -Hannah Murch, saying that she was going to see Sally Rhines, that is to -be, and would meet them at four o’clock Saturday afternoon, rode off. - -They put up a boat’s sail in the forward part of the “gundelow,” and, -as the wind was fair, made good progress. Ben steered, while the others -stretched themselves at full length upon the hay. - -Joe was half asleep, when he felt his leg grasped by Ben, who motioned -him to crawl to him as easily as possible. - -“There’s a flock of coots to leeward; steer her right down on them, and -when they rise I’ll give it to them.” - -He carefully lifted a board, under which lay a gun, with an old flint -lock, with a stocking leg over it to keep off the damp of the sea and -the mist of the morning. Ben crawled forward behind the hay, where he -lay with his finger on the trigger. The unsuspicious fowl kept diving -and chasing each other over the water: at length they seemed to take -alarm, and began to huddle together. - -“They’re going to rise, Ben,” whispered Joe. - -“Well, let them rise.” - -Coots, when they are fat, cannot well rise from the water, except -against the wind. As they rose and flew towards the “gundelow,” -exposing their most vital parts to a shot, five fell dead, and four -wounded. - -“There’s our supper to-night, at any rate,” said Ben; “and were we in -anything else than this scow, I’d have those wounded ones.” - -They reached the island, and luffing round its eastern point, ran -the “gundelow” on the beach at the mouth of the cove. Joe, making -a leaping-pole of an oar, sprang ashore. “Throw us a rope, and you -go astern, and I’ll haul her in.” While Joe pulled on the rope, Ben -stepping overboard, put his little shoulders to the stern of the -“gundelow,” and shoved her so high up on the beach that Isaac Murch -stepped out without wetting his feet. - -“I say, Ben,” exclaimed Joe, “suppose you take an ox under each arm, -and bring them out. I never was here before, but if this ain’t just -the handsomest place I ever set eyes on. Such a nice little harbor to -keep a craft; and a brook, and this little green spot in the lee of the -woods; then such a master growth of timber; there’s a pine that’ll run -seventy feet without a limb. I say it’s great, I do.” - -Let us glance a moment at the character and capacities of these three -men, as they stand together on the beach of this little gem of the wild -Atlantic coast. - -They represent the yeomanry of the nation. They are of the old stock; -not technically religious men, and yet no word of profanity, or -disrespect to religion, finds utterance or countenance from them. That -which, in their estimation, is of the greatest importance, is to have -something which they have earned with their own hands. Look at them, -as they stand there at the water’s edge, and know them. Physically -considered, they are noble specimens of manly vigor and power. - -What would some of the effeminate dandies that throng our streets, -or the scions of nobility in the old world, be good for on that wild -sea-beach? But these men can live there, and cause others to live, and -turn the wilderness into a garden. - -Isaac Murch is five feet eleven inches in height, fifty-three years of -age, without a gray hair on his head, of powerful, compact frame, with -a world of intelligence and kindness in his face, and something about -him that, without the least assumption, caused his neighbors to respect -his opinion, and look up to him as a leader. His early advantages for -learning were very slight; but since he has been in easy circumstances, -he has improved strong natural capacities by reading and observation. - -Joe Griffin was twenty-two--a boy, as Isaac Murch called him; and -a great red-cheeked, corn-fed boy he was, too; six feet in his -stockings, and weighing a hundred and eighty pounds; loose-jointed, -big-boned, thin in the flanks, not long-legged, but getting his length -between his shoulders and his hips. He is of less capacity, and more -interested in physical matters. He can read and write, cipher as far as -the “rule of three,” and cast interest; but he has a knack of handling -tools that comes by nature. As the neighbors say, he has an eye,--that -is, he can judge of proportions, and, with his great clumsy fingers, -do anything with wood that he likes; but his great ambition is, to go -ahead and do the work. He’s smart, and knows it, and likes to have -other people know it. He don’t calculate to let anybody go ahead of -him with a scythe, or chop into the side of a tree, or put hay on to a -cart, quicker than himself. Indeed there were very few that could; for -he was not only strong, but tough, and possessed infinite tact, laying -out his strength to the best advantage. - -Let us consider the type of labor presented to us. Here are three live -Yankees, in whom all the shrewd, inventive genius of the race has been -stimulated by necessity,--all of them, from early life, having been -flung upon their own resources. - -They are helping one of their number to build a house for himself and -his young wife to live in. One of them has already passed through that -experience of life which their employer is about to enter. The other -expects to, for he also intends to be married, and have a home and -land of his own. They therefore go about their work with interest and -sympathy. - -How different are these men from what is generally termed _help_! They -are hired, to be sure; but the sentiment which inspires their labor is -entirely different from that feeling of drudgery, under the influence -of which the tenantry of Europe, or even the Irish servants in this -country, perform their work. - -Isaac Murch is an independent, wealthy farmer,--a mechanic by -nature,--who has acquired the property he holds with his own hands, -and would scorn to be a hired servant, like an Irish navvy; but for -_accommodation_, he will hire some one to get in his own harvest, and -in the cold, frosty nights, when he might be comfortable at home in the -blankets, he will go on to Elm Island, sweat and work, live rough, and -sleep on the ground, to build a house for his neighbor; for _neighbor_ -meant something in those days. - -As for Joe Griffin, he’s counting every dollar, and looking forward to -the day when he shall have a home of his own, and plough his own acres, -and is ambitious to earn his wages. - -How superior are the results of such labor, to that of the man who -has no ambition of ever being anything more than a servant, and only -exercises his ingenuity in getting through the day, and shirking all -the work he can! They knew that Ben had nothing but his hands to -help himself with, and couldn’t afford to pay them for watching the -shadows; besides, they had a reputation to sustain, of which they -were sufficiently proud. They knew very well that everybody within a -circle of ten miles would know what they were about before night, and -what remarks would be made about them at the blacksmith’s shop, the -grist-mill, and around the firesides. - -“Well, now, if there ain’t a team--Isaac Murch, Ben Rhines, and Joe -Griffin! Pine trees’ll have to take it now, if they’ve got Isaac Murch -to lay out the work, and Ben and Joe to back him up. Won’t they have a -good time, though, seeing which is the smartest?” - -“Wal, sartainly,” exclaimed old Aunt Molly Bradish, “Joe Griffin has -met his match for once; he can’t do anything with Ben Rhines; he’d -pull up a pine tree by the roots, if he took a notion.” - -“Joe can’t, of course, take hold of a log to lift with Ben, nor anybody -else in this world,” said Seth Warren; “but I’ll bet he’ll chop into -the side of a tree as quick; he strikes so true, he wouldn’t miss a -clip once in a fortnight. I saw him cut a pig of lead in two, down at -the mill; and though he struck ten times, he hit so true that you could -see but one mark of the axe.” - -“Wal,” replied Aunt Molly, “there’s this to be said of Ben Rhines, -that is not to be said of everybody: I took him in my arms when he -was born, and have lived a near neighbor to him from that day to -this, and I never knew or heard of his using his strength to harm a -fellow-critter, except they desarved it most outrageously. I’ve seen -little snipper-snappers impose upon him, and all the same as spit in -his face, and he never let on that he heard them. Sally’s my own niece, -and I set my eyes by her; but I couldn’t wish her better luck than to -marry Ben. He’s helped everybody; I should think somebody might have -sprawl enough to get up a ‘bee’ and help him.” - -They also knew that, when they went to meeting, Sunday, everybody -would want to know how much they’d done. Added to this was the pride -of emulation, which leads men of any pluck to exert themselves in the -presence of each other. This is a kind of labor that can exist nowhere -but in a free country, is the result of its institutions, from which -proceed the motives, and a thousand subtle influences which beget it. - -The island well merited Joe’s encomium. On the eastern side, adjoining -the brook, was a large space, having a slight elevation, covered -with green grass, extending back to the middle ridge, which, at -its extremity, terminated in a perpendicular ledge, which, sloping -gradually on the eastern side, and disappearing, crossed the brook, -where it again came to the surface, forming a natural dam, about two -feet in height, with a little fissure in the middle, worn by the -passage of the water. Over this the stream fell with a pleasant murmur, -mingling very sweetly with the deeper tone of the breakers. On either -side of the brook were two enormous elm trees, united by a great root, -flat on the surface, which bridged the brook a very little above the -fall. Under this root, which was as large as a man’s body, the water -had a free passage, except in the spring and autumn, when the brook -was swollen by melting snows and rains. Then the old root was half -buried in water. The high tides came over this natural dam; and in the -brackish water were great quantities of smelts and frost fish; and eels -also ran up through the fissure in the ledge. The summit of the high -ledge was covered with white birches, the great forked roots, rough -and black with whorls and blisters, running along the very edge of the -rocks, while their limbs, stretching themselves towards the sun, fell -in great masses over its edge. - -They are very much mistaken who suppose that no one can appreciate -natural beauty, or hold communion with the beautiful forms of nature, -and grow by it, who has not graduated at a university and read Homer. - -Joe Griffin appreciated the beauty of this spot, and felt it to his -heart’s core; and so did big Ben, though they could not express it in -artistic language. - -Ben, in consultation with uncle Isaac, had determined to hew his logs -for their whole length only on two sides, which, as it was late in the -year, and they were pressed for time, would save much labor; but at -the ends, and where the doors and windows were to be, to hew them to a -“proud edge.” This would give good joints at the ends, and make the -house as tight as though it was all square timber. - -“Where are you going to set your house?” inquired Uncle Isaac. - -“Here,” said Ben, walking up to the slope above some elms that grew -close together, and sticking down a crowbar; “I want my house under the -lee of the woods and the hill, and my garden under that warm ledge.” - -“How large will you have it on the ground?” - -“Thirty-six by thirty-nine.” - -“Jerusalem!” exclaimed Joe; “that’s a big house for two people, and a -little yellow dog with white on the end of his tail, to live in; hope -you won’t be crowded.” - -“Log houses,” said Uncle Isaac, “last some time; perhaps he thinks -there’ll be more of them before it rots down.” - -“At first,” said Ben, “and perhaps for some years, it’ll have to be -house, barn, corn-house, workshop, and everything.” - -“You’ll have your cellar under half of it; how high will you have it?” - -“I never have thought anything about that.” - -“Well, I’d drop the beams down, and have it a story and a half; that -great chamber’ll be the best part of the house; ’twill make you a -splendid corn-house; that’s the way your grandfather’s was, and many a -bushel of corn I’ve shelled in it. If I’m boss, as you, Ben, are strong -enough to hold the scraper alone, you and Joe can take the plough, and -go to ploughing and scraping out the cellar, and I’ll go to the woods -and pick out and cut the trees.” - -“The sun is getting low,” said Ben; “it is time we were making -calculations for sleeping to-night, whether in the ‘gundelow,’ with a -sail over us, or in a bush camp.” - -“I go in for the bush camp,” said Uncle Isaac. - -“And I’m the boy to build it,” said Joe; “takes me to do that.” - -“Go ahead, Joe, and build it, and we’ll get the wood for the fire.” - -Without a moment’s hesitation, Joe went into the edge of a little -clump of bushes, and in a few minutes cut out a space about twelve -feet square, leaving an opening between two trees, where he went in, -of about three feet. As fast as he cut the trees, he thrust them back, -and jammed them in among the others, making a thick wall; he then wove -two or three small trees in on the side to keep them from falling -in. He then cut three or four small beech limbs, twisted them into -withes, bent down the tops of three or four trees on the sides, tied -them together with the withes, thus forming the roof; then getting the -boat’s sail, threw it over the top, and a little brush over that, to -break the force of the rain. He then strewed some hemlock brush on the -floor to sleep on. - -“I’ll risk any rain-storm driving us out of that,” said Joe, -contemplating his edifice with great satisfaction. - -“I must have a door,” said Joe, “or these plaguy oxen and sheep’ll be -in there when we ain’t, and bother us.” - -You may think this a difficult matter, but Joe never wasted a thought -on’t. He took three spruce poles, as long as the height of the opening, -drove them into the ground, and wattled them with birch limbs; he then -fastened a pole across each end, and one in the middle, leaving the -middle one protruding about four inches on the right side; that was a -latch. He now took a little hemlock, peeled the bark off, and drove -it into the ground on the left side; this was the door-post. He made -hinges of withes, which slipped easily round the smooth pole. On the -right hand tree grew a limb, slanting upwards; this he cut off about -three inches from the tree; then lifting the door, he threw it into -the angle, and it was shut and latched. - -He drove two crotch-poles into the ground, just before the door, and -put another across; he then cut a limb with a side branch growing out -of it, and hooked it over the pole; cut a deep notch in the lower end -of it, to receive the bail of the pot, and hung it on. - -Uncle Isaac and Ben now came with a whole cart full of dry wood, which -they had picked up, and a fire was kindled. It was not long before the -flavor of the coot stew saluted their nostrils. - -“O, that smells good,” said Joe; “I’m savage hungry.” Seizing his axe, -he cut some great chips out of the side of a tree, which he hollowed -out, and giving one to each, said, “There’s the plates; they don’t need -any washing; you can shie them into the fire when you’re done; there’s -enough more where they come from.” - -The stew was now taken from the fire, and these hardy men, who had -shown so much capacity for labor during the day, manifested no less -for eating. When the solid contents of the stew had disappeared, Joe -exclaimed, “I think it’s too bad to lose all this good gravy in the -pot.” He went to the beach and got three clam-shells; these they stuck -in the end of split sticks, and soon despatched the contents of the pot. - -“Well,” said Uncle Isaac, as they stretched themselves around the -blazing fire, “we’ve got on here, made a beginning, and got to -housekeeping; and that will do pretty well for one day. We couldn’t -expect to make much show to-day; but to-morrow we shall get to work -betimes, and bring more to pass.” - -“I’m sorry I forgot to bring a drag,” said Ben; “we’ve nothing to haul -the rocks on.” - -“That’s a thing we must have,” said Uncle Isaac; “I’ll make one right -off.” - -“You can’t make it to-night,” said Ben. - -“The dogs I can’t. Joe, cut that little red oak; you can do it in -three minutes. Make a blaze, Ben, to see to work by; then run to the -‘gundelow,’ and bring up that plank I saw there.” - -By the time Ben returned with the plank the tree was down. - -“Now, Joe,” said Uncle Isaac, “you can take one side of the tree, and I -will the other, and see if you can keep up with your grandfather. You, -Ben, may saw up that plank into pieces three feet long, and make some -wooden pins.” - -By nine o’clock the drag was made. - -“There,” said Uncle Isaac, “that hasn’t killed anybody; ’twould have -been an awful waste to have taken good daylight for that. I’m not sure -but ’twould have been a sin; and we’ve plenty of time left to sleep.” - -Thursday was occupied in framing together the sills, and laying the -lower floor, in order that they might have it to stand on while rolling -up the logs. It was left rough, because Uncle Isaac said it would wear -smoother than if ’twas planed. - -“I hope,” said Joe, “it won’t be like old Uncle Yelf’s floor. He had -a floor of hemlock boards, rough from the saw; they had a heap of -grandchildren, every one of them barefoot. Go in there when you would, -for a fortnight, there’d be old granny with her darning-needle, and -a great young one’s foot up in her lap, a-picking out the splinters, -while the young one, with both hands on the floor, was screaming bloody -murder. By the time she’d picked the splinters out of his feet, there’d -be as many more in his hands.” - -Saturday forenoon was spent in hauling logs, and rolling them up on -skids, preparatory to hewing. - -Just as they had finished dinner, Joe suddenly cried, “What’s that in -that bushy spruce on the edge of the bank?” - -“I don’t see anything,” said Ben. - -“Nor I, now; but I know there was something there, and I believe it’s -there now.” - -“Perhaps it’s a coon,” said Uncle Isaac. - -“A coon? How could a coon get on to this island?” - -“How could he get here? How could the squirrels and woodchucks get -here? God Almighty put ’em here.” - -Going to the tree, Joe peered a long time among the branches; at length -he exclaimed, “Here he is: get your gun, Ben!” - -“I shot away the last powder I had to kindle fire this morning; but -we’ll stone him down.” - -They pelted him with stones in vain, the thick limbs causing them all -to glance. - -“Climb up and get him, Joe.” - -“Climb up yourself, Ben; they say their bite’s rank ‘pizen.’” - -“I’ll have that coon,” said Ben, “if it takes all day. Cut the tree -down, Joe.” - -As it fell, the coon leaped from it; and though the stones fell thick -and fast around him, he ran up the bank and under the logs. Then began -a most exciting race, the men rolling the logs here and there, and -striking at him between them, till finally he broke cover, and ran for -the woods, with the whole scout at his heels. Ben overtook him just as -he was running up a tree, and, catching him by the tail, flung him over -his head: he landed on Joe’s back, who, having a mortal terror of the -bite of a coon, roared with agony; but the creature, too frightened to -bite, rolled off his back to the ground, and passing Uncle Isaac, who -was so full of tickle that he could not lift a finger to stop him, ran -under the timber again. As he was now too far gone to try another race -for the woods, he hid under a log, one end of which lay upon a block, -and the other on the ground. - -Ben saw his eyes shine, and kicked the log off the block; as the coon -attempted to run out, it fell on his tail and held him fast. There he -sat, captive but undismayed, showing his white teeth, and frothing at -his mouth with pain and rage. - -“How are you, coonie?” said Joe, taking off his hat and making a low -bow; “by the chances of war you are now our prisoner; we are cannibals, -of the cannibal tribe, and eat all our captives; you must die for the -good of the tribe;” and thus saying he knocked him on the head. - -“I’ll get mother to bake him to-night,” said Ben; “come over to-morrow, -Joe, and help eat him.” - -“Boys,” said Uncle Isaac, “don’t you think we look well skylarking at -this rate? and to-day is Saturday, too; now we must put in hard enough -to make up for it.” - -They labored till dark, as if their lives depended on it. - -“I thought you were going to leave off earlier Saturday night,” said -Hannah Murch, as she met them at the landing. “I’ve been waiting here -more’n two hours in the cold. I was afraid some accident had befallen -you.” - -Ben held up the raccoon. - -“I see how it is; you’ve been cooning, and had to work later to make it -up. Isaac, I do wish you would ever leave off being a boy.” - -“Well, you’re the first woman I ever heard of that wanted her husband -to grow old.” - - - - -CHAPTER IX. - -TOO GOOD A CHANCE TO LOSE. - - -Ben persuaded Joe Griffin to go home with him, stay all night, and -help eat the coon. Though one of the most kind-hearted creatures that -ever lived, Joe’s proclivity for practical jokes was both instinctive -and inveterate. If the choice lay between making a mortal enemy for -life and a good joke, he could not prevail upon himself to forego the -joke. He was very shrewd withal, and would extricate himself from -difficulties, and accomplish his ends by pleasantry, where others would -be compelled to fight their way out, or miss of their object. - -One autumn, the blacksmith, having great quantities of axes to make for -the loggers, hired Joe a couple of months, as there was a great deal -of striking with the sledge, and his apprentice was young and light. -The smith was a very driving man, but kept his men well, and was very -hospitable. He was obliged to be absent occasionally to deliver his -axes. At such times his wife, who was penurious in the extreme, kept -the boys very short. Joe, knowing that his master did not approve of -this, resolved to put a stop to it. They worked evenings. One night the -smith came home full of grit, as he had been riding and resting, and -prepared to forge an axe. Placing a hot iron on the anvil, he cried, -“Strike, Joe, strike.” Joe struck a few feeble blows, when exclaiming, -“It’s going! it’s going! it’s all gone!” dropped his sledge on the -floor, and seemed ready to faint away. - -“What’s gone?” cried the smith, in a rage at having lost his heat. - -“That water porridge we had for supper.” - -The master then took them to the house, and gave them a hearty meal. - -Once more the iron was laid upon the anvil; Joe struck tremendous -blows, making the sparks fly all over the shop, crying, “It’s coming! -it’s coming! it gives me strength! I feel it! I feel it!” - -“What’s coming, and what do you feel?” - -“That good beefsteak I had for supper.” - -Joe could talk like anybody under heaven, and look like them too. He -could talk more like Uncle Sam Yelf than Uncle Sam could himself. This -gift, however, he used very sparingly, for he could take a joke as well -as give one; felt that ’twas mean to turn the peculiarities of others -into ridicule, and in a way in which they could not retaliate. - -Yelf had a sort of hitch in his voice, which was very ludicrous, but, -like many people who have an impediment, could sing distinctly and -shout tremendously; he was also very hot in his temper. Sometimes, when -they met at the store, Joe would begin to talk with him, and just like -him. - -The old man would fly in a passion in a moment, begin to sputter, and -Joe would “take him off,” while no human being could help laughing. It -was fine sport for the young folks, and the more so on account of its -rarity, as it was but seldom that Joe could be persuaded to do it, and -was sure to give the old man some tobacco soon after. He could also -imitate the cry of any beast, wild or tame, to perfection, from a moose -to a muskrat; and of birds, except the squawk; Joe said the squawks -were too many for him. - -This power was of great value to him in hunting. He could call a moose -or muskrat within range, by imitating the notes of either. - -In the evening Ben went over to the widow Hadlock’s. He was in the -habit of making a bootjack of the crane; standing on one leg, and -steadying himself by the mantel-piece, he put the other foot into the -crotch of the crane, and pulled off his boot. Joe had often seen him do -this, and laid his plans accordingly. After the family were all asleep, -Joe got up, and with a crowbar pulled out the dogs that held the crane, -and then put them back again in such a manner that the least touch -would loosen them, and bring crane and all on to the floor. He then -took a cow-bell from a cow’s neck in the barnyard, and putting some -stones in an old tin pail, hung them and a bottle of sour milk on the -crane, and went back to bed. - -About twelve o’clock Ben came. He felt round for a candle, expecting -to find it where his mother usually left it--on the mantel-piece; but -Joe had taken very good care to remove both candle and matches; so, -feeling for the crane, he clapped in his foot and pulled; down came -the crane on to the floor. Ben went over backwards, full length on the -floor, with a force that shook the whole house from garret to cellar; -the cow-bell and tin pail rattled; the sour milk ran all over Ben; his -mother awaked from a sound sleep, and screamed murder; and old Captain -Rhines came rushing out in his night-shirt, with a pistol in each hand, -blazed away at the sound, putting one bullet through the window, and -the other into a milk-pan of eggs, which stood upon the dressers, while -the children, roused by the frantic screams of the mother and the -pistol shots, came shrieking from their beds. - -“Don’t shoot any more, father,” cried Ben; “it’s me.” - -“My God!” exclaimed Captain Rhines, feeling the milk, which, by hanging -over the fire, had become warm, as it touched his bare feet, and -mistaking it for blood; “have I shot my own son?” - -“No, father,” said Ben; “it’s some of that confounded Joe Griffin’s -work. I’ll fix him.” He ran up stairs to take summary vengeance. In -this he was disappointed, for the moment Joe heard the crash, he slid -down on a pole, which he had previously placed at the window, and ran -home. - -We must remember that Ben had been courting; had on his best -broadcloth, purchased on the last voyage, and in which he was to be -married. - -Broadcloth suits in those days were limited to a very few. The minister -had a coat and breeches for Sabbath; so of a few of the seafaring -people and their families; but the clothing of the people in general -was both manufactured and made up at home, there being no such thing as -a tailor. - -Here, then, was Ben’s best suit, made in Liverpool by a professional -tailor, soaked with sour milk, and covered with ashes; his light buff -waistcoat all over smut, from the pot, crane, hooks, and trammels, that -fell over him. Thus, though Ben’s temper was not easily roused, and -soon subsided, he was now thoroughly mad, and, had he caught Joe, would -probably have crippled him for life. Perhaps some such thought crossed -his mind, as he said to his father on coming down, “He’s gone, and I’m -glad of it; but I’ll be even with him before snow flies.” - -Aunt Molly Bradish’s declaration that Ben Rhines had helped everybody -that needed help, and that she should think somebody might give him -a lift, was not lost. Seth Warren happened to be in there, and heard -the old lady’s remarks. Seth was a kind-hearted, jovial fellow, who -had been many a time with Ben on his errands of mercy, and loved any -kind doings. He went directly to the store, where, as he expected, he -found, as it was Saturday night, a good portion of the young men of -the place assembled. He took them aside, and said, “You know what a -good fellow Ben Rhines is; how he has always been getting up ‘bees’ to -help everybody that was behindhand: now, what say for going on to the -island next week, the whole crew of us, and giving him a lift with his -house?” - -Seth’s proposition was received with acclamations. “Now, boys,” he -continued, “you know how such things always leak out, and that spoils -the whole. Now, don’t say a word about it to neither sister, mother, -or sweetheart, till they have gone back to the island Monday morning, -and then we can talk as much as we please, and they cannot possibly get -wind of it.” - -This was solemnly assented to. - -“I,” said Seth, “will go over and sleep with Joe Griffin Sunday night, -and, without letting him suspect anything, find out how far they’ve -got along with their work, that we may know when our help will be most -needed.” This he did, when Joe told him what he did the night before at -Captain Rhines’s. - -“What do you suppose Ben’ll do to you? He’ll murder you after he gets -you on to the island. I shouldn’t want to be in your shoes.” - -“Poh! he won’t, neither; he’s like a bottle of beer, soon up and soon -over. I think it is like enough he’ll throw me overboard; if he does, I -don’t care; I’d be willing to be ducked twenty times for the sake of -the fun I had that night, and for the better fun I shall have thinking -about it and telling of it.” - -The next morning Seth accompanied Joe to the shore; but no sooner was -the gundelow fairly off, than getting on the horse with Hannah Murch, -who had come to bring her husband, he let out the whole matter to her. -Hannah, by no means backward in the good work, told everybody she met -on the road, and went to the school-house and told the mistress. - -The result of this was, that thirty-five young men agreed to go,--among -whom were ten ship-carpenters from Massachusetts, who were there -cutting ship timber, with their master workman, Ephraim Hunt; also, Sam -Atkins, from Newburyport, who was at home on a visit. - -The girls, under the direction of Hannah Murch, were to cook and -furnish the provisions, while John Strout engaged to set them on in his -fishing schooner, the Perseverance, an Essex pink-stern, of sixty tons. - - - - -CHAPTER X. - -THE SURPRISE PARTY. - - -Wednesday morning the axes were flying merrily, as Ben and his crew -were busy at their timber, when they were startled by a tremendous -cheer, and, to their utter amazement, beheld thirty-five men, in -military order, emerging from the woods, led on by Seth Warren, with -a three-cornered cap, in which were the tail feathers of a turkey, -with a skein of yarn for a sash, and shouldering an adze. Each man was -armed,--some with broad-axes, others narrow-axes, saws, augers, and -other tools. - -When Seth had marched his men up in front of the cellar, he commanded -them to stand at ease. - -It is impossible adequately to describe the amazement of the party on -the island. Joe stood leaning on his axe, with his mouth wide open; -Uncle Isaac held his hat before him with both hands, as if for a -shield; while Ben, who had, under the first impulse, started forward -to meet Seth, unable to get any farther, stood with both hands in his -pockets, the picture of astonishment and doubt. - -“Now, Ben,” exclaimed Seth, with a magnificent flourish of his hand, -and very much at his ease, while his eyes were dancing in his head with -suppressed glee, as he noticed the completeness of the surprise, “did -you suppose there were never to be any more ‘bees,’ and that folks -wan’t going to help each other any more, because you are going to be -married, and have got through with it? I tell you, you’ve learnt us the -trade, and we’ve come to practise, and help the fellow that has set us -so good an example--ain’t we, boys?” - -Seth’s speech was received with a cheer. Poor Ben, feeling that he must -say something, and not knowing what to say, presented a most ludicrous -picture. His great body swayed to and fro; he stood first on one foot -and then on the other, to the great delight of his friends, who were in -high glee at this evidence of the thoroughness of the surprise. - -At length the great creature, who would have faced a battery without -winking, blurted out, “Neighbors, I--’m--sure, I don’t know what I’ve -done to deserve all this kindness,” and burst into tears. - -“Don’t know what you’ve done?” replied Seth, anxious to cover Ben’s -confusion; “_I_ should like to know what you _haven’t_ done. Who raised -a scout, and built Uncle Joe Elwell a barn, after his’n was struck by -lightning?” - -“Who,” said John Lapham, “got in the widow Perry’s harvest, and cut all -her winter’s wood, after her husband was killed stoning a well?” - -“Ah!” exclaimed John Strout, the skipper of the Perseverance, “who was -it took care of me when I had the smallpox in Jacmel, and everybody -else, even my own relation, run away from me?” - -“Well,” replied Ben, whose modesty revolted at such a display of his -virtues, “I didn’t do any more than my duty.” - -“That’s just what we’re going to do,” replied Seth. - -“And that’s where you’re right,” said Uncle Isaac, putting on his hat. -“Come on, boys; if you’re so anxious to work, I’ll give you enough of -it to start the grease out of you.” - -“Let you alone for that, uncle,” said a voice from the crowd. - -“Who’s that? As I’m alive it’s my nephew, Sam Atkins. Where did you -drop from, Sam?” - -“Why, you see, uncle, we were waiting for timber at Newburyport, that -is to come in a vessel; and as Jacob Colcord was coming down in his -schooner, I thought it would be a good time to make a visit home.” - -“You couldn’t have done a better thing; you’re just the boy I want. -Now, Master Hunt, if you’ll be good enough to line these timbers for -these boys to hew, I’ll be doing something else.” - -Sam Atkins, who was well assured his uncle would not overlook his -capabilities, sat on a log whittling. After he had set all the rest to -work, Uncle Isaac came to him, and laying his hand upon his shoulder, -said, “Sam, I’ve got a nice job for you; I want you to frame the roof; -you’ll find tools in my tool-chest. There are the rafters, and they -will have the ridge-pole and purlins hewed by the time you will want -them.” - -As soon as a good number of sticks were hewed, they began to roll them -up, while Uncle Isaac, Joe Griffin, and two of the ship carpenters, -cut the dovetails. By twelve o’clock they had the timber for the walls -hewed, and the walls raised to the chamber, and the beams and sleepers -for the chamber floor hewed, and Sam and his crew had the roof framed. - -In order to make the surprise to Ben complete, they had anchored the -schooner behind the woods, on the north-east end of the island; but -they now brought her round, and anchored her in the cove, and brought -ashore their provisions--jugs of coffee all made, with the sweetening -boiled in; cheese and doughnuts, bread and butter, beef, pork, and -lamb, all cooked, which the girls had provided; and a good deal more -raw, which they meant to have the fun of cooking themselves. - -They laid some boards on logs, and thus made their tables. - -After dinner, they lay on the grass and talked and laughed, while the -older ones smoked, and had a jolly good time. - -At length Uncle Isaac said, putting his pipe in his waistcoat pocket, -“Boys, do you calculate on having a frolic in the house to-night?” - -“Yes, we do,” replied a score of voices. - -“Then it’s high time you were laying the chamber floor.” - -“You old drive,” said Joe, speaking thick, with the ribs of a sheep -between his teeth, “didn’t you know old Captain Hurry is dead? cast -away, going down to Make Haste? Can’t you give a feller time to eat? -That’s been the way ever since I’ve been here, boys. I’m getting quite -thin.” - -“He don’t show it much,” said Uncle Isaac, pointing to Joe’s fat -cheeks; “he has had an hour and a half, and eaten almost a whole sheep.” - -As nothing was planed except the edges of the floor boards, and what -was absolutely necessary to make the joints, the work went on “smoking.” - -“Ah,” said Uncle Isaac, stopping to draw a long breath, while the sweat -dropped from the end of his nose on to the axe handle, “that’s the time -of day, my bullies; all strings are drawing now.” - -In a short time Joe sung out that the floor beams were all laid, cross -sleepers in, and they wanted something to do to keep them from freezing. - -“Well, lay the rough floor, and be quick about it; the boards are all -jointed, and we shall be at your heels with the upper one.” - -By the time Joe and his crew had laid half of the loose floor, the ship -carpenters began to lay the other one over it, and they finished nearly -at the same time. - -There were two courses of logs above the floor beams, so that the house -was a story and a half in height. The logs being hewn on two sides, -then smoothed with an adze, the window frames fitted close, the walls -two feet or more in thickness, and very few windows, the house was -almost as tight as though it grew there. - -“Hand that timber right up here,” shouted Uncle Isaac, from the chamber -floor, “and clap the roof on. That’ll be enough for one day; there’s -reason in all things.” - -As there were half a dozen men to a rafter, the timber went up in a few -moments. - - - - -CHAPTER XI. - -THE CHRISTENING. - - -“Halloa, Uncle Isaac!” shouted Joe from the house-top, “this ridge-pole -won’t fit; you didn’t make it right.” - -“Yes, I did. I never made a bad joint in my life.” - -“Well, it won’t fit, anyhow. Master Hunt says ’twont.” - -“O, if I could only get a little spirit to rub on it,” said Uncle -Isaac, in great perplexity, “I’ll bet ’twould fit; but I’m sure I don’t -know how I can get it on this island.” - -“There’s some aboard the schooner,” said John Strout; and, as it was -passed up the frame, Joe announced that the ridge-pole fitted first -rate. - -“Now, boys, the frame is up, and must be named. Who shall name it?” - -“Seth Warren,” was the cry; “he got up the scrape.” Seth, all at -once, became extremely diffident, and required as much urging as a -distinguished man at Commencement dinner, but finally was prevailed -upon, at a great sacrifice of his own feelings, to gratify his friends. -With a bottle of rum in his right hand, and astride the ridge-pole, he -gave vent to the following effusion:-- - - Here, in the woods, yet out at sea, - Where robins sing amid the surf, - Where ivy clasps the moss-grown tree, - And flowers are breaking from the turf,-- - - We’ve reared, where house ne’er stood before, - Nor reaper bound the swelling grain, - A dwelling-place, amid the roar - Of waves, that break to break again. - - Good luck to those who here shall live, - Prosperity their path attend, - With every blessing Heaven can give-- - Health, competence, till life shall end. - - To them its wealth may ocean yield, - The herds their milky tribute pour; - Rich harvests crown the fertile field, - A bouncing baby grace the floor. - - So strong a man ne’er held a plough, - A seaman tried, a shipmate true; - So sweet a girl ne’er milked a cow, - Or bleached her linen in the dew. - - This goodly house yet lacks a name; - Good people all, I pray you tell, - How I most worthily the same, - This afternoon, may christen well. - - We’ll not forget, where’er we roam, - When thirty-five young stalwart men, - And Uncle Isaac, reared the home - Of old Elm Island’s Lion Ben. - - I name it, then, the “Lion’s Den;” - When we are dead these walls shall last, - To tell of times when men were men, - And keep the record of the past;-- - - When worth, not wealth, won woman’s heart, - While she her lighter burden bore; - At wheel and loom performed her part, - And added to the common store. - -As he concluded, he dashed the bottle on the ridge-pole, and flung the -neck high in the air. Seth was frequently interrupted with applause; -but, when he finished, there was a complete storm of cheers. - -“I call that the cap-sheaf,” said Uncle Isaac; “there’s some chaw to -that; it’s raal sentimental; none of your low blackguard stuff, such as -they generally have to raisin’s. I think we ought all join together, -and get Squire Linscott, the town clark, to copy them are varses, and -buy a gilded frame, and have ’em hung over Ben’s fireplace; then our -grandchildren will know about it, for we haven’t done anything on this -island we’re ashamed of, and don’t mean to.” - -It was universally agreed that after such an effort a man must be -thirsty; and a large pail of milk punch appeared from the schooner. -Seth, as the poet of the day, received the first draught; then Uncle -Isaac and Master Hunt, and so it went round. - -“It is not near night yet,” said Seth, who was greatly pleased with his -successful effort; “what do you say for boarding the roof and ends? -there is such a swarm of us that we can do it in less than an hour.” - -“I think we have done enough,” said Uncle Isaac; “but I’m in for it if -you are.” - -They accordingly boarded the roof and the ends. - -“Now,” said Seth, “for some fun.” - -The chips were all cleared out of the house, and the floor swept with -spruce boughs; it made a noble hall; not a thing in it, and almost -square. Uncle Isaac, rolling a log in front of the house, sat down to -smoke, contemplating his workmanship with the greatest complacency. -His thoughts were also occupied in preparing for the morrow. He was -desirous of making the most of this godsend, but did not want the -boys to feel that he and Ben were trying to get all they could out of -them. They had come to work, but for a good time as well. This was the -secret of his influence over the boys. He had not outlived his youthful -feelings; knew theirs, and liked to frolic as well as they did. Knowing -that Seth and Joe were leaders of the rest, and would do anything -in reason for Ben, the wise old man determined to create a public -sentiment, and then follow the leadings of it; so he took them aside, -and told them this plan, of which they highly approved, and which Seth -was to propose at the proper time, and Joe to advocate. Seats were now -made along the walls; a great quantity of pitch knots were piled up on -the foundation of the chimney, and set on fire. This made such a light, -that the very heads of the nails in the floor were visible, while the -smoke went out of the hole left in the roof for the chimney. - - - - -CHAPTER XII. - -THE “PULL UP.” - - -“As we can’t have any kissing without the girls,” said Joe, “let’s play -‘Pull up.’” - -The handle of one of the axes was knocked out, and the game began. It -was a most severe test of strength. Two of the company, sitting upon -the floor, and putting the soles of their feet together, took hold of -the axe-handle, and endeavored to pull each other up. If either broke -his hold he was adjudged beaten. Victory in this game depends not -merely upon weight, as it might seem at first, but upon strength in the -hands, and power of endurance. A man may be very heavy, and have great -strength in his arms, and not be strong in his fingers to retain his -hold upon the axe-handle. - -The young men would sit there and pull, with their teeth set, and the -perspiration streaming down their faces, and their eyes almost starting -from their sockets. When they were pretty equally matched, one would -raise the other from the floor an inch or two, and then lose it again, -as his opponent made desperate efforts, and recovered the ground, their -friends meanwhile encouraging either party; and as the weakest men -were brought on first, and afterwards the strongest and most equally -matched, the game became, towards the close, most intensely interesting. - -Joe Bradish had pulled up four of his opponents, and being a very -conceited fellow, strutted about the floor, and challenged the crowd -to pull him up. The challenge would not have remained long unaccepted, -but the contest had now become limited to a few of the strongest men, -who, knowing they were to be pitted against each other, were saving -themselves for the final struggle. - -Uncle Isaac saw how it was; and, as he wished to see how the sport -would go on, and to teach the braggart a little modesty, he rose up, -threw off his outer garment, and accepted the challenge. His proposal -was received with shouts of laughter. - -“I’m sorry he’s done it,” said Seth to Joe Griffin, “though I can’t -help laughing. I should be sorry to see him pulled up before this -crowd, for I know it would mortify him; he is just as much of a boy as -any of us.” - -“He won’t be pulled. Uncle Isaac, I can tell you, is an all fired -strong man; it don’t lay in Joe Bradish’s breeches to pull him up.” - -“I know that; but he’s getting in years.” - -“He can’t wrestle and jump quite as well as he could once; but he can -lift as much, and pull up as well, as ever he could. Joe Bradish will -get a good lesson; he’ll never hear the last of it as long as he lives.” - -“Well, boys,” said Uncle Isaac, “fling on some pitch knots; if I am -going to be beat, I want everybody to see it.” - -“What did I tell you?” said Joe, giving Seth a poke in the ribs; “the -old man knows what he’s about.” - -The two champions sat down. - -“Say when you’re ready, Joe,” said Uncle Isaac. - -“Ready,” says Joe. - -Uncle Isaac was not only strong, but of very quick strength; and before -the words were well out of the other’s mouth, he pulled him over his -head, into Joe Griffin’s arms, who was eagerly looking over Uncle Isaac. - -“It ain’t fair,” said Joe, his face as red as fire; “I wasn’t ready.” - -“You said you was.” - -“Well, I thought I was; but I wasn’t.” - -“Try it again,” was the cry. They sat down. Uncle Isaac waited -patiently till Joe had spit on his hands, and said he was completely -ready, when he pulled him up just as easily as before. - -“I thought you was some, Joe,” said Uncle Isaac; “but you ain’t -nothing.” - -John Strout, a large, muscular man, whose occupation as a sailor had -the effect to concentrate strength in the fingers and chest, had pulled -up all who opposed him. The call was now for Joe Griffin, as no one -thought of pulling with Rhines. Joe came forward at the summons. Severe -was the struggle; and, as these were the last antagonists, the interest -was proportionally great. Joe finally pulled John from the floor, but -the blood spun from his nose in consequence of his efforts; and John -was so exhausted that he could scarcely stand. - -“I could not have done it, John, if you had taken hold of me when you -were fresh, for an ounce more would have broken my hold.” - -Uncle Isaac now gave the wink to Seth, who said, loud enough for -everybody to hear, “I think it’s a pity, now we’re here, that we -couldn’t shingle the house, and build Ben a hovel to put his cow in, -and hang the doors; then all he would have to do would be to get -married.” - -“Well, we would do it, if we had the shingles to do it with--wouldn’t -we, boys?” said Joe Griffin. - -“Yes,” was the reply from twenty voices; “and we’ll build the hovel and -hang the doors, at any rate; we’ve got all the materials for that.” - -“Well, boys,” said Uncle Isaac, “since you are so free-hearted, I’ll -tell you what I’ve been thinking of, for I feel about nineteen, since I -pulled up Joe Bradish. I’ve been thinking I should like first rate to -have a clam bake.” - -“A clam bake! a clam bake!” was the cry. - -“But then, you see, we have no hoes to dig clams with; and we want some -eggs, potatoes, and apples to bake with them. Now, I’ve got a whole lot -of hemlock bark on the edge of the bank on my point, where you can go -to it with the gundelow--enough to cover three such houses. I’ll lend -it to Ben, and when he peels bark next June he can pay me; and I’ve -got nails likewise. If we can get an early start in the morning, we -can do the whole, clam bake and all. The bark is all piled up, so that -it is flat, and will lay first rate; it will make as tight a roof as -shingles, and last seven or eight years, and by that time Ben can make -his own shingles. Some of you can load the gundelow, and some can get -the hoes and nails; and tell Hannah to give you some corn that grows -in the western field,--it’s a late piece--the frost hasn’t touched it -yet,--it’s just right to roast; and also get all the apples, eggs, and -potatoes you want.” - -Uncle Isaac’s plan met with a hearty approval; and they brought in some -brush, and lay down to sleep. - -The next morning, at daybreak, John Strout, with a strong party, -started after the bark, taking a jug of coffee and a cold bite with -them. - -The others went to work making preparations to cover the roof of the -house, and build the hovel. Uncle Isaac gave Joe Griffin a gang, and -set him to build the hovel. Sam Atkins, with the ship carpenters, went -to work upon the doors, while the rest put up the staging upon which to -work while covering the roof. - -The hovel was built of round logs, notched together, with a roof on one -side,--what is called a half-faced cabin,--just high enough to clear -the cattle’s backs, and large enough to hold a cow and yoke of oxen. -Nothing was hewed except the poles that made the floor, which were -flatted on the upper side; and the openings between the logs filled -with clay and mortar. - -The crew now arrived with the bark, when, who should come with them, -but Uncle Sam Yelf and Jonathan Smullen! Yelf was seventy, Smullen -seventy-five. The old men wanted to share in the clam bake, have a -little milk punch, and, above all, to witness the wrestling: they had -both been champions of the ring in their day. - -All hands, except the carpenters, now joined in putting on the sheets -of bark; they were lapped like shingles, and, being four feet in -length, were laid with great rapidity. - -“There are more of you here than can work to advantage,” said Uncle -Isaac; “some of you, dig clams.” - -In the mean time the carpenters hung the doors. The hinges and latches -were all made of wood. The latch was lifted by a leather string, which -was put through a hole in the door above it, and hung down on the -outside. Thence came the phrase, “the latch-string out,” to denote -open doors and hospitality; since, when it was pulled in there was no -entrance. - -“What on airth,” said Uncle Isaac, “has become of Sam Atkins? I haven’t -set eyes on him this whole forenoon.” - -While the rest were preparing for the clam bake, he went everywhere -looking for Sam. A great fire was now built in the hollow of a ledge, -till the rocks were red hot. Into this were put the clams, together -with eggs, potatoes, and corn with the husk on; the whole was then -covered with sea-weed, to keep in the steam while they were cooking. - -There was a short log left in the building of the house, and, in order -to pass the time away, while waiting for the dinner, they dug it out, -and made a hog’s trough: thus Ben’s _first_ article of furniture was a -hog’s trough. - -The clams formed the first course; eggs, corn, apples, and cheese, the -second; concluding with milk punch, which passed from hand to hand in a -tin quart. - -If ever there was real enjoyment, it was to be found among that -frolicsome throng of young men, conscious that they had done a noble -act, and, in aiding a neighbor, had found the purest happiness for -themselves. - - - - -CHAPTER XIII. - -INJURED PEOPLE HAVE LONG MEMORIES. - - -As Ben had shown no disposition to retaliate for the joke played upon -him, had never mentioned it to any one, or ever alluded to it, Joe -supposed that, with his usual good nature, he had forgotten it. - -Ben, on the contrary, had resolved to pay Joe in his own coin, with -usury, whenever a fitting opportunity presented itself. - -Some weeks before he had mown some tall grass, which grew on the beach, -made it into hay, and enclosed it with a brush fence, to protect it -from the sheep. Adjoining the stack was a honey-pot. Honey-pots are -mires, sometimes twenty feet or more in depth, composed of a blue, -adhesive mud, which, by the constant soaking of some hidden spring, and -the daily flow of the tide, is kept in a half fluid state, except upon -the surface, where the clay, being somewhat hardened by the sun at low -water, is stiff, and will bear a man to walk over it quickly; but, if -he stands a moment, down he goes. - -Joe, who had never been on the island before, was ignorant of the -existence of this mire. Ben, while the rest were asleep the night -before, had removed all the sand and drift stuff, and scraped the hard -clay from the surface of the honey-pot, till it would hardly bear a dog. - -While the boys were stretched upon the grass, laughing and talking -after dinner, Ben asked Joe to help him bring some hay on the poles for -the oxen. When two persons carry hay on poles, the one behind cannot -see where he steps, but must follow his leader, who picks the road for -him. Ben went as near to the edge of the honey-pot as he dared. The -moment he got a little by, he turned short off, bringing Joe right into -the middle of it. In he went, carried down both by his own weight and -that of the load, clean to his breast, when Ben, twitching the poles -away, sat down on the bank to laugh at him. - -“O, Ben,” cried Joe, “we’re square now; help me out.” - -Ben took out his knife, and began to whittle. - -Getting frightened, as he found himself gradually sinking, Joe roared -for help, drawing the whole party to the spot. This was just what Ben -wanted. He knew that Joe had told everybody in the neighborhood of the -trick he put on him, and it was his turn now. - -The moment Joe saw Uncle Isaac, he cried out, “Do help me; I’m going -down.” As there was now real danger of his smothering in the mud, Ben -ran the poles under his arms. Joe made desperate efforts to extricate -himself by means of the poles, but the mire so sucked him down, that he -only succeeded in getting out his shoulders. - -At this juncture Tige came rushing along, and, seizing him by the -collar, endeavored to lift him out; but sinking down into the slime, -which Joe’s struggles had wrought into a complete porridge, his mouth -and nose were filled with mud and water: giving a vigorous snort, he -completely plastered Joe’s face and eyes with it, who, not being in the -most amiable of moods, hit him a cuff on the side of the head. Tige, -enraged at being thus rewarded for his good intentions, was going to -bite him, when Ben pulled him away by the tail. - -“Pity I wan’t a dog,” whined Joe; “then there’d be some feeling for me.” - -He now appealed again to Uncle Isaac; but the old man had thought the -matter all over, and come to the deliberate conclusion that it was -time Joe’s wings were clipped; that, if not checked, he would become -unbearable; that there could be no better time to administer reproof, -and one stringent enough to be remembered. - -“You know, Joseph,” said he, in a severe tone, “that the trick you -played last week on Ben was not by any means the first you’ve played -on him and others. Who was it put on a bear-skin, got down on all -fours, followed the widow Hadlock when she was going home from my house -through the woods, and growled, and frightened the poor woman so that -she was sick for three months, and the whole town turned out the next -day to kill the bear?” - -“I cut all her winter’s wood, to pay for it.” - -“Who,” said Joe Riggs, “stopped up the chimney, when the young folks -had a New Year’s party in the chamber over the store, and put peas on -the stairs, so that Seth Warren fell from top to bottom, and broke his -leg?” - -“Joe Griffin,” cried Seth. - -“He’d done the same to me, if he’d had the chance, and wit enough.” - -[Illustration: JOE GRIFFIN IN THE HONEY POT. Page 139.] - -“It makes my heart ache, Joseph,” said Uncle Isaac, “to see a young -man in your situation in such an unreconciled frame of mind; we never -should do wrong to others because they have done, or would do, wrong -to us. So far from manifesting any contrition, you justify yourself in -your evil courses. Instead of resignation under trial, you appear to me -to be ‘gritting your teeth,’ and thrashing about like unto a seal in a -herring net.” - -“Who was it,” asked John Strout, “when Mose Atherton was all dressed -up, going to walk round the head of the bay, to see Sally Bannister, -offered to show him a shorter cut over the marsh, and led him into a -honey-pot, then went to John Godsoe’s, told them there was a man’s -hat on Moll Graffam’s honey-pot, and he guessed somebody must be in -trouble? When Godsoe’s people got there, the tide was flowing around -him, and the water up to his chin.” - -Joe made no reply to this. - -“Don’t be sullen, Joe, for you must perceive we’re measuring you by -your own bushel. I begin to fear it may become our duty to leave you -here till you’re in a more submissive frame of mind.” - -“O, Uncle Isaac, you won’t leave me in this mire, six miles from any -human being, to perish?” - -“Not to perish, young man, but to repent. Let me see: to-day’s -Thursday; we can give you a little light food, and leave you over the -Sabbath; it’s a good day, and should bring serious reflections. The -water don’t come up here, except when it’s a storm. I don’t see any -signs of a storm--do you, boys?” - -The others didn’t see much signs of one; some thought that ’twas a -little “smurry.” - -“Reflection is profitable, Joseph. Monday we might find you more -reconciled.” - -“I’ll do anything you want me to, if you will only take me out.” - -“That is better. Will you promise not to play any more tricks upon any -of this company, or anybody else?” - -“Don’t make him lie,” said Ben; “he can’t help it.” - -“Well, then, will you promise not to play any more upon any one here, -and say that you are sorry for what you did to Ben?” - -“I will.” - -“Then we will take you out; and I trust it will be a warning to you in -future. Boys, build up a fire; he must be half perished with cold.” - -Ben got some boards, and laying them two-thick upon the surface of the -honey-pot, walked to the place, and pulled him out; and a miserable -plight he was in. - -“Jump into the water, Joe,” said John Strout, “and wash yourself; and I -will go to my chest in the schooner and get you a shift of clothes.” - -Joe washed the mud off in the water, and then stood by the fire till -John came with the clothes; then, putting them on, he washed his own, -and hung them on a tree to dry. - -“Joe,” said Uncle Isaac, “did you see anything of Sam Atkins in that -honey-pot? for I’m blest if I know what has become of him.” - -“Here he comes,” said Joe; and, sure enough, he was now seen coming up -from the shore, with something on his shoulder. - -“What is that, Sam?” asked Uncle Isaac. - -“A cradle for that bouncing baby Seth told about.” He had got out -the stuff unnoticed by the rest of them, and then went on board the -schooner and put it together. This was examined by all, and caused -abundant jests at Ben’s expense. - -It was now proposed that they should end the day with a ring wrestle, -both at close hugs and arms’ length. While the wrestling was going on, -the two old gentlemen, for whom a comfortable seat had been provided -near the fire, sat looking on, criticising the proceedings, and -entering into every detail with intense interest. - -The presence of these distinguished veterans, with their great bony -frames,--for they had been men of vast pith and power, and famed -through all the region,--acted as a mighty incentive to the young men. - -“I think, Uncle Jonathan,” said Yelf, “you and I have seen the day -we could show these boys some things they haven’t learned yet. Do -you remember that wrastle we had when Captain Rhines’s house was -raised--there was stout, withy men around these bays in them days;--how -you threw Sam Hart, that came forty miles to wrastle with you, and said -God Almighty never made the man that could heave him? But he found the -man--didn’t he?” giving his friend a nudge in the ribs with his elbow. - -“They said,” replied Smullen, “he was so mortified because he’d bragged -so much, that he went home and hung himself. Ah, my toe was so sartin -in those days, when I put it in! You know I had a particular trip with -my left foot.” - -“Hoora!” said Uncle Sam, as John Strout crotch-locked Sam Pettigrew, -and threw him; “a fair fall that, and no mistake. Both shoulders and -both hips on the ground.” - -The plaudits of the veterans were like fuel to the fire. The young -men exerted themselves to the utmost in the presence of such competent -judges. - -At length their aged blood began to circulate more briskly, under the -combined influence of the warm fire, milk punch, and old associations. - -“Uncle Sam,” said Smullen, “what do you say to me and you trying a -fall; we’ve had hold of one another afore to day?” - -“Agreed,” was the reply; “but it must be at arm’s length. I’ve had the -rheumatics so much that my back’s got kinder shackly.” - -The young people laughed till the tears ran down their cheeks as they -stepped into the ring, their upper garments removed, heads bare, and -the white locks flowing round their shoulders. Uncle Yelf, producing -his snuff-box,--a sheep’s bladder,--after taking a pinch, offered it to -Smullen, and the contest began. - -They exhausted every feint known to the art, and it was soon evident to -the young people that these veterans possessed a skill unknown to them, -and that it was only in the strength of youth they were lacking. - -Beside them was an elm, that separated at the root into two parts. -Between the forks Smullen threw Yelf with such force, that he was -firmly-wedged, and had to be pulled out. - -“Well,” said Uncle Sam, “he ought to throw me; he’s the oldest.” - -Just before sunset they took leave of Ben, and, with hearty cheers, -made sail. - -It was a current saying, in respect to Uncle Isaac, that he could -keep more men at work, bring more to pass, with less fuss, and have -everybody good-natured, than any man in the district; and nobly had he -justified the general verdict. - - - - -CHAPTER XIV. - -BEN CONFIDES IN UNCLE ISAAC AND IS COMFORTED. - - -The party on the island sat by the camp fire, listening to the voices -of their departing friends, till they died away in the distance. - -“Who are you going to get to build your chimney, Ben?” asked Uncle -Isaac. - -“Joe Dorset.” - -“I never’d get him; a poor man can’t afford to hire him; he came from -Newburyport, and he’d be always heaving out, and telling how much -better they have things in Massachusetts; growling about the stuff he -has to work with, and can’t do anything without merchantable brick.” - -“I don’t know anything about him,” said Ben, “only I’ve heard he is an -excellent workman.” - -“Well, so he is; but when you’ve said that you’ve said everything. -He’ll have a great many long stories to tell, that’ll eat up his own -time, and hinder other people. I like to hear a good story myself, and -tell one too; but I always do it after work, and not to hinder work, -in my own time, and not my employer’s; besides, he’s so lazy! He went -fishing one year with John Strout, and he was so long hauling up a -codfish that a dogfish eat him all up, and left nothing but the bare -hooks to come to the top of the water.” - -“Who shall I get?” - -“Get Sam Elwell.” - -“He ain’t a mason.” - -“No, but he’s a plaguy sight better for your purpose; he’s a natural -stone layer--took it up of his own head; he’d build you a chimney out -of the stones, right here on the island, that’ll carry the smoke first -rate, and that’s all you want of a chimney; and he’ll do it in quarter -of the time. Then the chimney’ll compare with the house, and they’ll be -all of a muchness.” - -At this period of the conversation Joe flung himself upon the brush, -and was soon sleeping soundly. - -“Uncle Isaac, now that we are alone, I want to tell you how I feel. It -does seem to me that it’s bad enough to bring Sally into a log house -at all, and that I ought, in reason, to have had panel doors in it; -more than two windows in the whole in a broadside, with a good brick -chimney and oven laid in lime mortar.” - -“Plank doors, tongued and cleated, are the warmest. Panel doors in a -log house would look like a man with a beaver hat on and barefoot. You -can cut out a window whenever you like, and the less holes the warmer.” - -“But the chimney,” persisted Ben; “what will she say to that? and how -can she get along without an oven?” - -“Sally is one that looks into the realities of things; and if she -has made up her mind to live on this island, depend upon it she has -considered the matter all round, is looking forward to something -better, and that will keep her from being discouraged, however severe -things may appear at first. I don’t suppose as how an _oven_ can be -made of stone; but I’ll tell you what I will do--take up the bricks in -my butt’y floor, and lend ’em to you; it’s altogether too late for you -to get bricks this fall.” - -“Well, I hope ’twill all turn out well; but I know in my soul that -she’s no more idea of what living in a log house is, than she has of -London.” - -“I know a great deal more about Sally Hadlock than you do, though you -are engaged to be married to her, because I know her people, and -there’s a great deal in the blood. She is the living picture of her -grandmother Hannah, my wife was named for, who came down here when -it was a howling wilderness, fought hunger and the Injuns, and beat -’em both. Handsome as she is, and gentle and good as she seems and -is, she’s got the old iron natur of that breed of folks, who had much -rather earn a thing than have it gin to ’em. She’s had nothing to call -out that grit yet; but you’ll find out what she’s made of when she -comes to be put to’t.” - -“There’s one thing that troubles me, that perhaps you haven’t thought -of. If I was going to take her into a new settlement, where everybody -lived in log houses, and all fared alike, it would be another thing; -but I am going to bring her where she can look right across the bay, -and see the smoke of her mother’s chimney, and all her friends and -folks living in nice frame houses. Now, if she’s unhappy, and keeps it -to herself on my account, and grief is gnawing at her heartstrings, I -can’t bear that.” - -“Benjamin,” said Uncle Isaac, solemnly, who saw his friend was really -distressed, “what I’m going to say to you now I say candidly, and what -I know to be a fact. I’m a married man, Ben, and know what a woman is. -When a woman really sets her heart on a man, he is almost like God -Almighty to her; and the more she can put herself out for him, the more -contented she is; that is, if she’s morally sartin he loves her. Now, -Sally loves you with her whole soul, for she might have had her pick of -half the young men in town, and she knows it. She is also sure that you -love her, or you would never have given up the business prospects that -you had, and undergo all that you must undergo on this island just on -her account; therefore the more hardships she’s called to suffer ’long -with you, the lighter hearted she’ll be; yes, she’ll take pride in’t. -O, Benjamin, these rich folks, who never know what it is to strive and -contrive to get along, don’t taste the real honey of married life; they -don’t know what’s in one another, and don’t love one another as those -do who have to fight for a living. Why, they can’t; they haven’t had to -lean on each other, and be so necessary to each other.” - -“Well, I never thought of that before.” - -“Of course, you haven’t; I expect you’ll have the happiness of finding -that out. I tell you, Hannah and I take lots of comfort Sabbath -nights, when we ain’t tired, talking over all we’ve been through -together. And then sometimes I get the Bible, and read them are varses, -where it says, ‘She seeketh wool and flax, and worketh willingly with -her hands; she will do him good, and not evil, all the days of her -life.’ I can’t help giving her a kiss, and saying, ‘Well, wife, I never -should’ve got through it if’t hadn’t been for you.’” - -This last sally of the noble old philosopher of the woods completely -silenced Ben, who promised he’d never harbor another doubt in respect -to the matter. - -“There’s another thing, Benjamin; don’t try to slick it over any, but -make it full as bad as ’tis. If she expects the worst, and then finds -it a great deal better’n she expected, ’twill make her more contented. -There’s a great deal in the first feeling and the first look of a -thing, especially to a woman.” - -The next day Ben and Joe were employed in hauling stone for the -chimney, and making clay mortar. Uncle Isaac cut a red oak, and hewed -out a mantel-bar, to form the top of the fireplace; it was twelve feet -in length, and no less than nine inches square, as it was to support a -great weight of stone. Though of wood, it was so far from the fire, on -account of the great height and depth of the fireplace, that it could -not well burn; besides, it was always the custom, whenever they had a -great fire, to wet the mantel-bar the last thing before going to bed. - -He then cut a hole through the floor, in what was to be the front -entry, to pour potatoes through into the cellar (because the cellar was -under the south part of the house), and made a door to cover it. - -The house would seem to my readers but a poor place to live in. There -were but four windows below, and these being put on the corners, to -admit of making others between them when they should be able, gave to -the house a funny look. The house consisted of but two rooms below, -separated by a rough board partition, in which were two doors of rough -boards, hung by wooden hinges. The chamber was reached by a ladder; -the boards of the floors were rough, and full of splinters, just as -they came from the saw. Against the wall in the north-west corner, with -shelves and closets nicely planed, were some dressers to hold dishes. -In the cellar was a square arch of stone, into which Uncle Isaac put -shelves, and to which he made doors. He then made a cross-legged table, -all in one leaf, and a settle to place before the fire, with a back -higher than the top of a person’s head, to keep off the draughts of air -that went up the great chimney. - -They went off Saturday, well satisfied with what they had accomplished. - - - - -CHAPTER XV. - -ENCOURAGING NATIVE TALENT. - - -The moment Uncle Isaac landed, he set out for Sam Elwell’s. Going -along, he saw Yelf’s horse feeding beside the road, with the bridle -under his feet, and, a little farther on, his master lying in a slough -hole, to all appearance dead, but, as it turned out, only dead drunk. -He pulled him out, and, as he was unable to stand, set him against the -fence to drip, while he caught the horse; his gray hairs and face were -plastered with mud; his nose had bled; the blood was clotted upon his -beard, and soaked the bosom of his shirt. - -“How came you in this mud hole?” - -“Why, you see, Isaac, the mare went in to drink; the bridle slipped out -of my hand; I reached down to get it, kind o’ lost my balance, and fell -right over her head, and hit my nose on a rock. I think, Isaac, I must -have taken a leetle drop too much.” - -His friend scraped the mud from him as well as he could with a chip, -put him on the mare (for Yelf could ride when altogether too drunk to -walk), and left him at his own house, which lay in the direction he was -going. - -“That’s a bad sight,” said Uncle Isaac to himself, as he went on, “and -it’s one that’s getting altogether too common. I remember the time when -he was content with his three glasses a day, and perhaps a nightcap; -but now he can’t stop till he stops in a ditch. There ain’t a man in -this town but what drinks spirit, myself among the rest, and most of -them more than’s good for ’em. I don’t see why people can’t use liquor -with moderation, and without making a beast of themselves. If it was -only these old, worn-out ones, like Yelf, ’twouldn’t be so much matter; -but it’s amongst the young folks; and even boys get the worse for -liquor. It’s natural they should; for if men sail vessels, boys’ll sail -boats. It’s time something’s done, though what can be done I’m sure I -don’t know. What an awful thing it would be, if, one of these days, -Ben or Joe Griffin should pick me out of a ditch, and carry me home to -my family looking like that! I’ll think about it, and talk with Hannah -this blessed night.” He was aroused from his meditations by hearing the -voice of Sam at his own door. - -He was about the age of Isaac, but a much heavier man, being very -thick set, with a stoop in his shoulders. His hands were of great size, -full of cracks; his fingers crooked, from constant working with stone -hammers and drills; many of the nails jammed off, and his face as hard -as the stones he worked on. He was also a man of very few words, while -Isaac liked to talk; yet they had been close friends from boyhood, took -great delight in each other’s society (if it could be called society -where one talked and the other listened), and always got together, and -worked together, whenever they could. They were both passionately fond -of gunning. Isaac was the quicker shot; but Sam could scull a float -steadier and faster than any man along the shore. He could also lay -brick well, but was possessed of a remarkable gift for working upon -rocks. He knew just how to take hold of a great rock to move it, and -could do a better quality of work than they ever had occasion for in -that rude state of society, where nobody had hammered doorsteps but -Captain Rhines, widow Hadlock, and a few others. He knew all about -the nature and grain of rocks, could dress underpinning, or make a -millstone out of a boulder in the pasture. - -He had just come home from a long job, and was taking his tools out of -the cart. - -“Let them be,” said Isaac; “I’ve got another job for you:” as he spoke -he pulled the clevis-pin out of the tongue. - -Sam, without a word, unyoked the oxen, and went into the barn to feed -them, while the other tied them up. - -Isaac, without any invitation, followed Sam into the house. The table -was in the floor, and Sam’s wife had just put on the victuals. “Set -along,” said Sam, motioning Isaac to a chair. That’s the way they -lived. If they chanced to be in each other’s houses about meal time, -they always stopped. If they met on the road, or were at work together -in the woods, or had been off gunning, they always went to the house -that was nearest. Their wives never worried about them, for they knew -where they were, and were as good friends as their husbands. - -“Sam,” said Isaac, “did you ever see a fireplace and chimney built of -stone?” - -“No.” - -“You didn’t?” - -“I’ve seen stones set up in a log camp to build a fire against, with -a ‘cat and clay’ chimney built over them; but ’twas a make-shift till -they could get bricks.” - -“Could it be done?” - -“They say Necessity’s the mother of Invention. I suppose it might, by -putting in the proper stone.” - -“Well, Ben Rhines has got his house up, can’t get bricks this fall, -and don’t know what to do. He was going to get Joe Dorset to build his -chimney; but I told him I knew you could build a good fireplace and -chimney out of the rocks on the island, if you had a mind to.” - -“Dorset don’t know anything about rocks,” growled Sam. - -“Now, let me tell you about the stone. There’s a granite ledge on the -western p’int that lays in thin sheets, that you can break up with your -stone hammer.” - -“Granite’s first rate for a chimney, but ’twont do for a fireplace.” - -“Then there’s a kind of gray stone, with white streaks in it, but -softer than granite.” - -“That’s a bastard soapstone; that’ll do for a fireplace.” - -“Well, can you do it?” - -“Yes.” - -“Will you?” - -“Yes.” - -“Enough said. Now, I’m bound Sally shall have an oven; and I’m going -to take up my butt’ry floor to make it of.” - -“You needn’t do that. I can make as good an oven of that stone as -ever a woman baked bread in. It’ll crack some, but not half as bad as -granite. It’ll hold heat wonderfully.” - -“You beat all, Sam. I told Ben I knew you could build a chimney without -a brick in it; but I never dreamt of your building an oven.” - -“Who am I to have to tend me, and help handle these big stones?” - -“That pretty little Ben Rhines and Joe Griffin, to say nothing of -myself.” - -When Sam went on to the island and saw the stone, he rubbed his hands, -and chuckled, and talked to himself, and appeared overjoyed. - -“What a queer old coon he is!” said Joe; “anybody’d think he’d found a -gold mine, instead of a pile of rocks.” - -There was but one fireplace, and that was in the kitchen; but the -hearths were laid in the two front rooms for two more, whenever they -should be parted off and finished. - -This fireplace was made of three large stones, which Uncle Sam cut -and fitted together without any mortar. It was five feet to the -mantel-bar, eight between the jambs, and of proportionate depth. This -monstrous cavern was the fireplace. Such a master was Uncle Sam of his -business, that when he saw a rock in the pile that he wanted, he would -throw a little stone at it, and Ben or Joe would bring it to him. - -But it was upon the oven that Uncle Sam displayed his genius. He found -a place where a large portion of this bastard soapstone ledge had -cracked and fallen out into the sea, leaving a smooth perpendicular -face. He told Ben this rock was rent when Christ was crucified. From -this ledge he split off just such large, flat slabs as he wanted, made -them perfectly smooth, squared the edges, and of them built his oven -in the form of a stone box, having top, bottom, and sides of perfectly -smooth stones; for he threw sand and water on them, and putting on -another great stone, as big as he and Uncle Isaac could lift, he got -Ben to scour them, while he stood by and threw on sand and water, till -they were perfectly smooth. He now put them together, leaving a space -of a foot or more at the sides and ends. The covering stone was made to -project on every side, so as to enter into the body of the chimney, in -order that, if it should crack, it could not fall down. He now built -a roaring fire in it. By and by the great stone on top, and one on the -side, cracked with a loud noise. - -“Crack away,” said Uncle Sam; “crack all you want to.” - -He then took some clay mortar, filled all the space round the sides, -worked it into all the cracks and joints, and, after it was thoroughly -dry, made another great fire, and baked it all into brick. It would -never crack any more, because the fire had already opened all the bad -places in the soapstone, and these were filled with clay mortar, which -was now burned into brick. - -When the chimney was up to the chamber floor, he made what was called -an _eddy_; that is, he brought the chimney right out into the chamber. -Across it he put three beech poles, called lug-poles: these were to -hang anything on which it was desired to have smoked. He also made a -stone shelf in one corner to put an ink-bottle on, or anything that was -to be kept from freezing. There was so much fire left on the hearth at -night that these great chimneys never got cold. Uncle Isaac then made a -tight door, to keep the smoke from coming into the chamber. - -“Ben,” said Uncle Sam, “are you going to have a crane?” - -“No; I can’t afford it.” - -“Then I’ll put in another lug-pole.” - -It was the custom to fasten a chain to this to hang the pot on. - -“That’s right,” said Uncle Isaac, delighted with the effect of his -teachings; “a withe is just as good; I’ll give you a piece of chain -to put on the end of it. When you go up in the spring with a load of -spars, you can buy iron, and have a crane made.” - -“I,” said Joe, “will make it for you; I’m blacksmith enough for that.” - -“Now,” said Sam, “I want just one thing--some lime to lay the stone in -after I get above the roof, and collar the chimney.” - -There was a large lot of clam shells on the shore, where the fishermen -had shelled clams for bait. These he burned into as handsome white lime -as ever you saw. Uncle Sam, though a man of but few words, possessed -a very kind heart, and was much attached to Sally; hence the great -pains he bestowed upon the chimney and oven. He now, therefore, as -the chimney stood right out in the room, and was not concealed by any -woodwork, took some of the lime and white-washed it, and also the arch -in the cellar. Uncle Isaac now made a fire to try it. It was found to -carry smoke splendidly,--upon which he praised it in no measured terms. -Sam was evidently much pleased with the encomiums of his friend; and, -that both might have cause for satisfaction, Joe then told Sam about -Uncle Isaac’s pulling up Bradish. - -The last thing Uncle Sam did was to split out two large stones for -doorsteps. After they were placed, he said to Ben, “These stones are -the best of granite; and when you build a frame house, if I ain’t dead, -or past labor, I’ll dress them for you, and they’ll make as handsome -steps as are in the town of Boston.” - -“Well, Ben,” said Uncle Isaac, as they left the island, “that’s a log -house; but it’s a very different one from those in which your father -and I were born and brought up: they were no better than your hovel. We -had no cellar, but kept our sass in a hole in the ground out doors. My -poor mother never had an oven while she lived, but baked everything on -a stone, or in the ashes. She raised a rugged lot of children, for all -that, who live in good frame houses, and have land of their own now; -but then it’s harder for you than ’twas for us, because _we_ were all -alike, and had never seen anything better; while you are going to live -in a log house, right in sight of those who live in better ones. But -you will be supported, Ben, and will be prospered.” - - - - -CHAPTER XVI. - -BEN OUTWITTED, AND UNCLE ISAAC ASTONISHED. - - -Sally and Ben now began to make preparations for housekeeping. She had -a little money, earned by her labor, and she persuaded Ben to go in a -schooner that was bound to Salem, and make some purchases for her. No -sooner was Ben out of sight, than Sally started for Uncle Isaac’s. She -found him alone in the barn. - -“Uncle Isaac,” said she, “will you do something for me?” - -“Anything in reason, Sally.” - -“Could you get me over to Elm Island, and not any soul know it?” - -“I suppose I might.” - -“Well, will you?” - -“But what do you want to go there for?” - -“I’ll tell you. I’m determined to live there, and be contented and -happy, and make my husband happy; but I know it will be very different -from anything that I have ever seen, or can imagine.” - -“You’ll find it a rough place, Sally.” - -“I’m afraid that when I go on with Ben I might be kind of surprised, -and by looks, if nothing else, show it, and hurt Ben’s feelings.” - -“That you might burst out crying?” - -“Yes.” - -“Well, you go down to the point, and hide in the bushes till I come.” - -In a short time Uncle Isaac came. Sally got in, and lay down in the -bottom of the boat; he covered her over with spruce boughs, and pulled -for the island. It was a bright, sunshiny morning. He rowed right into -the mouth of the brook, and on to the beach. As Sally felt the boat -touch the bottom, she flung off the covering, and, rising up, looked -around her. - -“What a beautiful spot!” was her involuntary exclamation, as she gazed, -enraptured, upon the dense foliage of the maple and birch, rich with -all the tints of autumn, and listened to the ripple of the brook that -fell over the rocks before her. Then, clapping her hands, she burst -into a clear, ringing laugh, as her eye rested upon the house--her -future home. Uncle Isaac was confounded. At first he thought it was -an hysterical affection, and concealed grief and disappointment; but, -as he looked into her eyes, he saw that it was heartfelt. He was -in the position of a sailor, who, having braced his yards to meet a -squall, is caught aback by the wind coming in an opposite direction. -All the way to the island he had been preparing himself for the task of -consolation, and arranging his arguments for that purpose,--never for a -moment doubting but Sally, with all her resolution, would at first be -somewhat disheartened. - -“Uncle Isaac,” cried Sally, “did that house grow there? See, the bark -is on it. What on earth is the chimney made of?” - -Then she burst out again into peals of laughter, so joyous that Uncle -Isaac joined with her, and laughed till his sides ached. - -“Why, Uncle Isaac, Ben told me it was a most desolate-looking place, -all woods and rocks; that the house was right on the shore, and that -in great storms the sea roared awfully, and the spray would fly on to -the windows. He never said a word about the brook. I do love brooks so -much! I mean to have my wash-tub, in summer, right under that yellow -birch; you see if I don’t. Such a nice place to spread out linen thread -and cloth to bleach; and things look so much whiter when they are -spread on the grass! Why, here is a piece of grass almost large enough -for a field; such a sunny, sheltered spot, too! the woods and the hill -break off every bit of wind. What a nice place, under that ledge, to -plant early potatoes, peas, and beans, and have currant bushes! But I’m -dying to see the house; do let us go in; what a nice doorstep this is!” - -As they opened the door and went in, Uncle Isaac watched Sally’s face -in vain to detect any trace of disappointment or sorrow. - -She is fire-proof, just like her grandmother, thought he. - -“I supposed log houses were stuffed between the logs with clay and -moss; mother said so; but I couldn’t put the point of my scissors -between these logs.” - -“So they were,” said he; “but this is an improved one. Ben means, when -he is able, to make this room into two, and have a fireplace in each; -and a couple of nice rooms they will make.” - -“I am glad he didn’t do any more. Now, I want to see the kitchen; I -care the most about that. This is a splendid one; what nice dressers -and drawers! but where is the oven? Why, it’s stone; ain’t it a beauty; -how smooth it is!” said she, putting in her head and shoulders, and -feeling all around it with her hands. “I don’t see how folks can make -such nice things of stone. I wish we had a candle.” - -She was, if possible, more delighted with the chamber than anything -else. - -“How high it is!” she said; “what a capital place this would be to spin -and weave in! Well, now I’ve seen the whole.” - -“No, you haven’t;” and here he opened the door in the side of the -chimney, and let her look in. - -“Why, what in the world is this for?” - -“This is a smoke-house; you see it’s on one side of the chimney, so -that there won’t be heat enough go in there to melt the hams or fish. -All you have to do, when you want to smoke anything, is to hang it up -on these lug-poles, and the common fire you have every day will smoke -it. It’ll be a nice place for Ben, when he has an ox-yoke, wooden bowl, -or shovel to season or toughen. Now I want you to see the cellar.” - -He pulled from his pocket a horn filled with tinder, and striking a -spark into it with a flint and steel, kindled a piece of pitch-wood, -and they went down. - -“O, my! if here isn’t an arch; what a nice place that will be to keep -my milk, when I get it.” - -“Now we’ve got a light, let’s look into the oven.” - -“I know that oven will bake well,” said Sally; “it looks as though it -would. Now, I think this is a real nice place, and that Ben has made a -good trade; and, if we have our health, we can pay for it well enough. -Only think how much we’ve saved by living in this house, which is good -enough for young folks just beginning, and better than many have. Why, -it ain’t a month since the trees were growing, and now it’s all done. -Didn’t he make a good trade, Uncle Isaac?” - -“He made a better one when he got you, you little humming-bird,” said -Uncle Isaac, who was brim full, and could no longer restrain himself; -patting her on the head, “you would suck honey out of a rock.” - -“I’m much obliged to you, you good old man. I’ll tell you what we’ll do -(that is, when we are able); you shall come over here with Aunt Hannah, -and bring all your tools, and we’ll part off the front rooms, and have -a front entry, ceil up the kitchen, have Uncle Sam to build fireplaces -in the front rooms, and Joe Griffin to make fun for us. I’ll make you -some of those three-cornered biscuit and custard puddings you like so -well. In the evenings we’ll have a roaring fire; you can tell stories, -and we will sit and listen, and knit. Ben says this is the greatest -place for gunning that ever was; and you can bring on your float and -gun, and you and Uncle Sam can gun to your heart’s content. Ain’t I -building castles in the air?” cried Sally, with another laugh, that -made the house ring; “but we must go off, or we shall be caught.” - -A little breeze had sprung up, and Uncle Isaac putting up a bush for a -sail, they landed on the other side without detection. - -He said he never wanted to tell anything so much in his life, as he -did to tell Ben how much Sally was delighted with the island; but he -resolutely kept it to himself. - -As it would be difficult getting off in the winter, Ben carried on -provisions, hay for a cow, and for oxen that he might get occasionally. -He put the hay in a stack out of doors. He bought the hay of Joe -Griffin’s father, and Joe was to deliver it on the island. Being -disappointed in respect to the man who was engaged to help him, he took -old Uncle Sam Yelf, as better than nobody. There was a long easterly -swell; the scow rolled a good deal, and, the hay hanging over the side -and getting wet, she began to fill. At some distance from them Sydney -Chase and Sam Hadlock were fishing. “Shall I holler, Mr. Griffin?” -said Yelf, who was terribly frightened, and had a tremendous voice. - -“Yes.” - -“What shall I holler?” - -“Holler fire.” - -“Fire! fire! fire!” screamed Yelf. - -As their neighbors rowed up, they could not help laughing to see two -men up to their waists in water, and one of them crying fire. - -“I thought,” said the old man, “I’d holler what I could holler the -loudest.” - - - - -CHAPTER XVII. - -THEY MARRY, AND GO ON TO THE ISLAND. - - -The wedding was at the widow Hadlock’s; but Captain Rhines made the -infare, as ’twas called,--which was an entertainment given the day -after the wedding at the house of the bridegroom. To this were invited -all who had aided in building the house, including the girls who -prepared the victuals; and a merry time they had of it. - -It was very hard for Sally and her mother to part. Since the death of -her father, and while the other children were small, Sally had been her -mother’s great dependence; and, as they came to the edge of the water, -the widow lifted up her voice and wept. - -Sally, with her eyes full, strove to comfort her mother. - -“Well, I ought not to feel so, I know; but it sort o’ brings up -everything, and tears open all the old wounds. May God bless you! -you’ve been a good child to me in all my trials, and, I doubt not, -you’ll make a good wife. There’s a blessing promised in the Scriptures -to those who are dutiful to their parents. Keep the Lord’s day, Sally, -as you’ve been taught to do, and seek the one thing needful.” - -Ben had chosen a sunny, calm morning, that the impressions made upon -Sally’s mind might be as pleasant as possible, not dreaming that -she had already visited the island, and been all over the house. -Nevertheless, as he sat down to the oars, his old fears began somewhat -to revive; but Providence ordered matters in a much better manner than -he could have done, to render Sally’s first impressions of the island -both pleasant and permanent. - -When he left it the last time, knowing that Sally would return with -him, he had crammed the great fireplace with dry wood, and pushed under -the forestick the top of a dry fir, with the leaves all on, and covered -with cones full of balsam. They were well on their way when a black -cloud rose suddenly from the north-west, denoting that the wind, which -had been south for some days, was about to shift, with a squall. - -“We are two thirds over now,” said Ben; “we shall be head to the sea, -and soon get under the lee of the island; ’tis better to go ahead than -to go back.” - -“I wish we were there now,” said Sally to herself, as she thought of -that sheltered spot behind the thick woods, that no wind could get -through. - -“Sit down in the bottom of the canoe, Sally; if the water flies over -you, don’t move.” - -When the squall struck, the wind seemed to shriek right out, and in an -instant raised a furious sea, drenching them with water from head to -foot. Sally uttered not a word, but sat perfectly still, though the -cold spray flew over and ran under her, wetting her through and through. - -The little boat, managed with consummate skill and strength, rode the -sea like an egg-shell. It began to grow smoother as they approached the -high woods on the island, when Ben, exerting his strength, drove her -through the water, and they were soon at the mouth of the brook, where -it was as smooth as a mill-pond. Jumping out, he dragged the canoe from -the water, and, taking Sally out, stood her, all dripping, on the beach. - -“What a calm place,” she exclaimed, “after that dreadful sea! O, you -wicked Ben, how could you tell me ’twas such an awful place?” - -“You’re shaking with the cold; let’s go where there’s a fire;” and -catching her up, he ran into the house with her; then striking fire, he -lighted the fir top under the forestick; in an instant the bright flame -flashed through the pile of wood, and roared up the chimney, diffusing -a cheerful warmth through the room. Ben pulled up the great settle; -Sally stretched herself upon it, her wet garments smoking in the heat. - -“Isn’t this nice?” she said, as, safe from danger, she basked in the -warm blaze. “I shall always love this great fireplace after this, as -long as I live.” - -Ben was delighted. He knew by experience the power of strong -contrasts,--for the whole life of a seaman is made up of them,--and -that nothing could have made the island seem so much like home to -Sally, as there finding safety when in danger, and warmth when -shivering with cold. - -They now went over the house together; and Sally made Ben completely -happy by telling him she would have been thankful for a house not half -so good. We see in this well-matched and hardy pair the representatives -of those who laid broad and deep the foundations of our free -institutions, and whose strength was in their homes. - -They flung themselves with alacrity upon these hardships, which were -to procure for them a heritage of their own,--the product of their -own energies,--confident in their own resources, and the protection of -that Being whom they had been educated to believe helps those who help -themselves. - -They were now on an island, in the stormy Atlantic, six miles from the -nearest land, which, with the exception of a little strip of grass -along the beach, was an unbroken forest. - -Here they had commenced married life, in the face of a long, hard -winter. - -It may seem to many of our readers idle to talk about happiness in -relation to people in such circumstances. They, perhaps judging from -their own feelings, wonder how they could pass their time. - -In the first place, they had health and strength, were not troubled -with dyspepsia, and hence did not look at life through green -spectacles. They took pride in overcoming obstacles, and feeling that -they were equal to the emergency. They had plenty to do from the time -they rose in the morning till they went to bed at night; not a moment -to brood over and dread difficulties; and a June day was too short for -all they found to do in it. Finally, they loved each other, had an -object to look forward to, had never known any of those things which -are considered by many as necessary to happiness, and thus neither -pined after nor missed them. - -Sally had plenty of bed-clothes, which she had made herself; also -beautiful table-cloths and towels of linen, figured, that she had spun, -woven, and bleached; and tow towels, coarse sheets, and table-cloths -for every day. One little looking-glass, about six inches by eight in -size, graced the wall, with a comb-case, made of pasteboard, hanging -below it. They had one really beautiful piece of furniture, which her -father had brought from England--a mahogany secretary, with book-cases -and drawers, and inlaid with different kinds of wood, contrasting -strangely with the rough logs against which it rested. They had chairs -with round posts, and bottoms made of ash-splints; mugs, bowls, a -tea-pot, and pitchers of earthen ware; and pewter plates, from the -largest platter to the smallest dishes and porringers; also an iron -skillet. Ben had a shoe-maker’s bench, awls and lasts, and quite a good -set of carpenter’s tools. - -Sally now put all the earthen and new pewter ware upon the dressers, -which made quite a show. - -“I declare, Ben, I’ve forgotten my candle-moulds, and we’ve got no -light. Here’s a lamp, but not a drop of oil or wick in it.” - -“I’ll shoot a seal,--I saw three or four on the White Bull when we came -over,--then to-morrow you can try out the blubber.” - -Ben was better than his word, for before night he shot two. - -There was one piece of property that Sally valued more than anything -else, because ’twas alive, and there was such a look of home about it. - -The widow Hadlock had a line-backed cow, that gave a great mess of -milk. Sally had milked her ever since she was large enough to milk; -indeed, she milked her that memorable night when Ben and Sam Johnson -went blueberrying in the widow’s parlor. - -They raised a calf from her, which was marked just like the old cow, -and Mrs. Hadlock had given it to Sally. The creature, having been -brought up with a large stock of cattle, missing her mates, had been -very lonesome on the island, and roared and moaned a great deal. As -Sally opened the door to throw out some water, the heifer came on -the gallop, and, putting her feet on the door-stone, rubbed her nose -against Sally’s shoulder, and licked her face. The tears came into -Sally’s eyes in a moment. “You good old soul,” said she, putting her -arms round her neck,--half a mind to kiss her,--“do you know me, and -were you glad to see me? I wish I had an ear of corn to give you.” - -After this the cow made no more ado, but went to feeding, perfectly -contented with the knowledge that her old mistress was present. As -night came on, Sally made the discovery that they had no milk-pail; but -Ben was equal to the emergency: he cut down a maple, cut a trough in -it, drove the cow astride of it, while Sally milked her into this novel -pail. That evening Ben dug out a pine log, put a bottom in it, and a -bail, then drove two hoops on it, and made a milk-pail. - -The next day Sally tried out the seals, while Ben went into the swamp -and got some cooper’s flags, which he cut into short pieces, for -lamp-wicks. - -Fowling, for a person in Ben’s situation, was not merely a source of -pleasure, but of profit, as the feathers sold readily for cash, the -bodies were good for food, and could be exchanged at the store for -groceries, or with the farmers for wool and flax, which Sally made into -cloth. - -Ben had a little yellow dog, with white on the end of his tail, that -would _play_. Sea-fowl possess a great share of curiosity, which leads -them to swim up to anything strange, in order to see what it is. They -would often swim in to a squirrel, playing in the bushes at the water’s -edge, to see what he’s about. The gunners take advantage of this trait -in their character; they teach a little dog to play with a stone on the -beach: he’ll roll it along the ground, stand up on his hind legs with -it in his fore paws, and when he gets tired of it, his master’ll throw -him another from his ambush. The birds swim in to see what he is doing, -and are killed, and the little dog swims off and brings them ashore. -All dogs cannot be taught this, only those who have a genius for it. - -Tige Rhines would pick up birds right in the surf, or in the dead of -winter, but could never be taught to play; he was too dignified. - -It is impossible for one destitute of a taste for fowling to conceive -of the intensity which the passion will acquire by indulgence. Ben was -so eager for birds, that he would lie on a ledge till Sailor froze his -ears and tail. There were a great many minks on the island, whose furs -were valuable: these Sailor would track to their holes, when Ben would -smoke them out. - -The widow Hadlock had brought up her family to cherish a great -reverence for the Lord’s day. Ben had been trained by his mother in the -same way; but, after leaving home, he, like most seafaring men, carried -a traveller’s conscience, and did many things on that day which would -not have met her approval. - -One Sabbath morning a whole flock of coots swam into the mouth of -the brook to drink; ’twas a superb chance for a shot. Ben, without a -moment’s hesitation, took down his gun from the hook, and was just -going out the door when Sally laid her hand on his arm. - -“Ben, where are you going?” - -“To shoot those coots; I never saw such a chance for a shot in my life. -I shouldn’t wonder if I could knock over twenty with this big gun.” - -“Why, Ben, you must be out of your head; do you know what day ’tis? -would you go gunning on the Lord’s day?” - -“No, I wouldn’t _go_ a-gunning; but when they come right in under my -nose, asking to be shot, I’d shoot them.” - -“Well, I never would begin by breaking the Lord’s day; ’tis not right, -and we shall not prosper; if we’ve not much else, let us, at least, -have a clear conscience. What do you think your father and mother -would say, if they heard you had fired a gun on the Lord’s day?” - -“It wouldn’t trouble father much; he would do the same himself; but -’twould mother, and I see it does you.” - -He took his ramrod, and thumped on the side of the house; the coots -took to flight in an instant. - -“There goes the temptation,” said he. “I didn’t know before that you -was a professor of religion.” - -“No more I ain’t, nor a possessor either; wish I was; but I mean to -keep the Lord’s day; I’ll do that much, any way.” - -“I know you’re right, Sally; but you must make some allowance for a -feller who has been so long at sea, and couldn’t keep it, if he would, -as people can ashore. Suppose a hawk was carrying off a chicken on the -Sabbath--wouldn’t you let me shoot it?” - -“No, I’m sure I wouldn’t; but if an eagle was carrying off a baby, I -would.” - -This was the first and only time Ben ever took the gun down on the -Sabbath. They made it a day of rest. - -They had some good books, and one Sally’s mother had given her, which -she was very fond of reading, called “Hooks and Eyes for Christian’s -Breeches.” It was a queer title, but a very good book. In those days -people did not wear suspenders, but kept their breeches up by buttoning -the waistband, or by a belt. Where people were well-formed, and had -good hips, they would keep up very well; but when they were all the -way of a bigness, or were careless and didn’t button their waistbands -tight, they would slip down; so some had hooks and eyes to keep them -up, and prevent this by hooking them to the waistcoat. Thus this book -was designed for those slouching, careless Christians who needed hooks -and eyes to their breeches, and were slack in their religious duties. - - - - -CHAPTER XVIII. - -THE BRIDAL CALL. - - -Parents and friends of the new-married pair had watched with no small -anxiety their progress through the squall. During the height of it, -they could see the canoe when it rose upon the top of a wave; as -it disappeared in a trough of the sea, the widow clasped her hands -convulsively, and gave them up for lost. - -“They are safe,” cried Captain Rhines, drawing a long breath; “they’ve -got under the lee of the island. John, run to the house and get my -spy-glass.” - -With the aid of the glass he saw them land, and Ben carry Sally to the -house in his arms. - -“She’s fainted with fright, poor thing; it’s a rough beginning for -her,” said the widow. - -“He only wants to get her to the fire; there’s nothing the matter with -her but a good soaking.” - -’Twas now the Indian summer, with calm moonlight nights. - -“Wife,” said Captain Rhines, “I expect Sally’s mother is dying to know -how she got on the island that morning. If we don’t go now, we shan’t -be able to go this winter; it’ll be too rough by and by. John, run over -there, and ask her if she would like to go and see Sally.” - -“Can I go, too, father?” - -“Yes, I want you to help row; so do your chores, tie up the cattle, and -bear a hand about it.” - -Sally had washed her supper dishes, and Ben was pulling off his boots, -when the door was opened, and in walked the party. It was a most joyful -surprise to the new-married couple. - -“Why, mother!” exclaimed Sally, kissing her again and again; “I was -thinking the other day whether you would ever venture to come on to -this island; and now you’re here so soon, and in the fall of the year, -too!” - -“Indeed, Sally, you know I never lacked for courage, only for strength. -You must needs think I had a strong motive.” - -But, of all the group, none seemed more delighted than John. He stared -at the log walls, looked up the chimney, capered round the room with -Sailor, and finally getting up in Ben’s lap, put both arms round his -neck, and fairly cried for joy. - -“How should you like to live on here, Johnnie?” said Ben. - -“O, shouldn’t I like it! you’d better believe.” - -“I shot two seals the other day, on the White Bull; and within a week -I’ve killed fifty birds, of all kinds.” - -“Won’t you ask father to let me come on and stay a little while, and go -gunning? O, I do miss you so!” - -“I shouldn’t wonder if there were ducks now feeding on the flats; take -my gun; she’s all loaded.” - -The moment Sailor saw the gun taken down, he was all ready: so -perfectly was he trained, that when it was not desirable he should -play, he would lie still till the gun was fired, and then bring in the -game. - -“How I should like to be on here in the daytime!” said John. “Do you -know, Ben, I was never here in all my life before?” - -“Why, Sally,” said her mother, “how did you get over in that dreadful -squall? We were all watching you, and felt so worried! Wasn’t you -frightened almost to death?” - -“No, mother, I wasn’t much frightened; but I was terrible cold, and -wet all through. I never saw anything look so good, in all my life, as -this great fireplace did, for Ben made a roaring fire in it; and I’m -just as happy and contented as I can be.” - -In the midst of this conversation the door opened, and in walked Uncle -Isaac. - -“It was such a pleasant night,” said he, addressing the captain, “I -told Hannah we’d take a run down to your house; and when I found you’d -come over here, I thought I’d take your gunning float and follow suit.” - -“Why didn’t you bring Hannah with you?” inquired Sally. - -“Well, I wanted to; but she ain’t much of a water-fowl, and was afraid -to come in a tittlish gunning float, and said she’d stay and visit -Captain Rhines’s girls; but she sends her love to you, and says if -she’d known I was coming, she’d sent you over a bag of apples.” - -“How this does carry a body back!” said the widow; “it don’t seem but -t’other day since I was living in a log house; and how much I’ve been -through since then!” - -They then went all over the house, and down cellar. - -“Well, Isaac,” said Captain Rhines, “you’ve done yourself credit in -building this house; I knew you would. ’Tisn’t much like the house -I was born in; that wasn’t tighter than a wharf, except while it was -stuffed with moss and clay; and some of that was always falling out. -I’ve gone to bed many a night, and waked up in a snow drift, because -the wind had blown the clay out, and the snow in; but I thought, -when I was coming up from the shore, and saw it standing here in the -moonlight, that it was as much like the one father built, after his -boys got big enough to be of some help to him, as two peas in a pod: -just as many windows, just as high, and with a bark roof; but it ain’t -much like it other-ways; for the timber wan’t hewed--only the bark -and knots taken off where it came together; but this is as tight as a -churn. And then that fireplace; I wouldn’t believed it possible.” - -“Well,” said Uncle Isaac, “I did the best I could; but I think Sam beat -the whole of us. I should be glad to swap my fireplace and chimney for -that, and give a yoke of oxen to boot.” - -“Do you know, Isaac, there’s nothing carries me back to my boy days -like that old chamber? It’s the very image of ours; it seems to me -as if I was setting there now, on a rainy day, astraddle of a tub, -shelling corn on the handle of mother’s frying-pan, with my thoughts -running all over the world, longing to go to sea, and contriving how I -should get father’s consent.” - -A loud mewing was now heard in the corner of the room. - -“I declare to man,” said the widow, “I’ve been so taken up with old -times, I forgot. See here, Sally,”--opening her basket and taking out -a kitten,--“I thought she’d be company for you. You know them speckled -chickens, Sally, that the old top-knot hen hatched out.” - -“Yes, mother.” - -“Well, the hawks carried off three of ’em; and I meant to brought the -rest over to you, but Sam said they wouldn’t lay much this winter; -you’d have to buy corn, and you’d better have ’em in the spring. But -I’ve brought you over a pillow-case full of flax.” - -“I,” said Mrs. Rhines, “brought you over some wool.” - -“And I,” said Captain Rhines, “a barrel of cider and some vegetables, -to go with your coots and salt beef.” - -“While I,” said Uncle Isaac, “am all the one that’s come empty-handed; -but I know what I’ll do; I’ll give you a pig, and Ben can get him next -time he comes off.” - -John now came in, bringing five ducks, that he had shot. - -“He’s just like the rest of us, Ben,” said his father: “I believe it -runs in the breed of us to shoot.” - -“Let him come over here, and stay a day or two, and gun with me.” - -“He’s too good a boy,”--patting him fondly on the head;--“I couldn’t -get along without him.” - -“That is just the reason,” said his mother, “that he ought to be -gratified once in a while. It’s a great deal better he should be here -with Ben, than with some of the boys he goes with; I should feel much -easier about him than I do when he’s with them in boats, and gunning. -I’m always afraid they’ll shoot one another, or be drowned.” - -“Well, it’s just as his mother says; I’m at home so little, I don’t -interfere with her concerns; she’s cap’n; I’m only passenger.” - -“But you’re going to be at home all the time now; and I should like to -give up my authority.” - -“By the way, Ben, I’ve had a letter from Mr. Welch; he says large, -handsome masts, bowsprits, and spars are in great demand; that he can -find a market in Boston and Salem, in the spring, for all you can send -him.” - -“I’m going to cut small spars directly, father; but I want snow to fall -the large ones on, else I shall have to bed them with brush, for fear -of breaking them.” - -“He says that the war in Europe is throwing all the carrying trade into -the hands of neutrals; that now we’ve got our government going, it’ll -be snapping times; and that while they’re all fighting like dogs over a -bone, we can run off with the bone; and if I want to try a voyage, he -has a vessel for me.” - -“Well, you’re not going,” said his wife; “you’ve been enough, and -you’ve done enough. If Ben could afford to give up going to sea, in the -prime of life, for the sake of Sally, I’m sure you can, in your old -age, for the sake of Betsey; and you belong to me for the rest of your -life.” - -“Old!” said the captain, dancing over the room; “I don’t feel a bit -old. I should like a little cash, just to fix up the buildings a -little, buy that timber lot that joins the rye field; and then”--with -a comical look at his wife--“I should like to do a little more for the -minister. I should be so thankful, sometimes, if somebody would come -in that could talk about anything else than some old horse, or cow, or -sheep that’s got the mulligrubs!” - -“Father,” said John, as they were preparing to go, “why can’t I stay -now?” - -“Because, child, I want you to help me row.” - -“Let him stay,” said Uncle Isaac, who, from instinct, always took the -part of the boys; “I’ll go over with you.” - -“But there’s my float over here, and I want to go gunning to-morrow.” - -“We’ll take her in tow,” said Uncle Isaac. - -With mutual good wishes they now separated, leaving John in high glee -at the result, with Ben, for a visit. - - - - -CHAPTER XIX. - -AN UNGRATEFUL BOY. - - -It may seem very singular to some of our readers, that Captain Rhines, -whom we have spoken of as having a strong attachment to the soil, -should express a willingness so soon to leave it. But this will not -seem at all remarkable to any seafaring man whose eye may chance to -glance over our pages. - -He had in early years been prevented from gratifying this inclination. -On the other hand, his life from boyhood had been spent at sea, -in company with seafaring men, and amid excitement and peril. The -habits of years are not easily to be overcome; and as age had made -no impression upon his iron constitution, after being at home a few -months, an almost irresistible longing came over him, at times, to be -once more among the very perils he had so congratulated himself upon -having escaped, and to hear some talk except about barley and butter. - -He also, the moment he came home, began to make improvements--as he -said, made things look “ship-shape.” But this required money, and he -missed the cash he was accustomed to receive at the end of a voyage; -besides, a trip to the West Indies seemed to the old sailor as mere -recreation, which would enable him to carry out some of his farm -produce as a venture, and get his sugar, molasses, coffee, and rum. Had -he abandoned the sea at Ben’s age, before its habits had ripened into a -second nature, it would have been another matter. - -John remained on the island a week. On his return he received a warm -welcome from Tige, who met him at the shore, and almost wagged his tail -off, he was so glad to see him. He had been perfectly miserable without -John, for they were inseparable companions. Not knowing how otherwise -to express his joy, he began to take up sticks in his mouth, and run -about with them. - -“Here, old fellow,” said John; “if you want something to do, take these -birds and carry them to the house, for our dinner.” - -“John,” said his father, “have you had as good a time as you expected?” - -“O, father, I never had such a good time in all my life! You know the -brook?” - -“Yes.” - -“Well, it’s the greatest place for frost-fish you ever did see. The -sea-fowl come in there to drink, and there is the best chance to creep -to them behind the wood. You never saw such a good dog to play as -Sailor is; you throw him a stone, and he’ll play half an hour with it. -What’s Tige been about, father, since I’ve been gone?” - -“Well, when he wan’t down on the beach watching for you, barking and -whining, he was smelling all round the barn and orchard, and going up -in your bedroom: he has rooted the clothes of your bed a dozen times, -to see if you was in it; and every night he has slept on your old -jacket.” - -The opinion expressed by John’s mother, that ’twas much better he -should be on the island than in the company of some of the boys he went -with, grew out of the following circumstances:-- - -During the past summer, a boy by the name of Peter Clash ran away from -a Nova Scotia vessel, that came in for a harbor. Old Mr. Smullen had -taken him in, out of charity. This boy was eighteen years of age, and -belonged in Halifax, where, having the run of the streets and wharves, -he learned all kinds of vice. He was of a malicious disposition, and -intolerably lazy. - -He soon made the acquaintance of all the boys in the neighborhood, but -consorted chiefly with Fred Williams, the miller’s son, John Pettigrew, -Isaac Godsoe, Henry Griffin, and some others. - -None of these boys would have been disposed to engage in any mischief -beyond mere fun, or that was injurious to any one’s person or property, -if left to themselves; they also had but little leisure, as, when -not at school, they were at work; but Peter, who did very much as he -pleased at old Uncle Smullen’s, had a great deal of spare time, when -he both planned mischief and persuaded the others to aid him in the -execution. He had been in the place but a month, when he manifested -his mean, cowardly disposition by a trick that he played upon his -benefactors. - -The old people had fed, clothed, and sheltered him when he had no place -to put his head, for which the little labor he performed was by no -means an equivalent, as he generally contrived to be out of the way -just when his help was needed. - -In those days nobody thought of hauling up a year’s stock of wood, and -having it cut and dried; but they picked it up as they wanted it, and -hauled it home on a sled, as wheels were by no means common in those -days. The old folks were in the habit of getting on the sled, and -riding out in the woods with Peter, helping him load, and then riding -back. - -Peter had found a large hornet’s nest in a heap of beech limbs; so he -drives the sled right over it, and stops the cattle; when the enraged -insects, who were of the yellow-bellied kind, and the most cruel of -stingers, attacked the old people, and stung them terribly, as they -were too feeble to get quickly away. - -It was thought the old gentleman would never see again. They then -turned upon the oxen, who, frantic with fear and agony, ran into the -woods, tore the sled in pieces against the trees, and ran into the -water, where they would have been drowned but for Joe Bradish and -Captain Rhines. - -Peter pretended that he didn’t know the hornets were there, and the -kind old people believed him; but it came out afterwards that he had -done it on purpose. - -He used also to torment small boys, whenever he could get a good -opportunity. - -It was the influence of these boys which Mrs. Rhines feared; but she -apprehended danger where none existed. Peter, John despised: as to the -others, they were too much below him in point of intelligence and force -of character to exert any influence over him. - -He was now in his fifteenth year, very large of his age, beautifully -proportioned, with his father’s gray eyes and dark hair; excelled in -wrestling, swimming, and all kinds of boys’ sports, and bade fair -almost to rival Ben in strength. He had an eye that you could look -right into, as you can look down into the depths of a clear spring. -The whole expression of his face was so manly and frank, it was felt -at once to be an index of his character. According to Fred Williams, -John Rhines was just as full of principle as he could stick; and the -boys never thought of proposing to him any plan which their consciences -told them was of doubtful morality. John was less accessible to -temptation, for the reason that he loved out of doors, and the -stimulus his nature craved was of a healthy character. He delighted in -everything that required great physical force and endurance; and we -cannot but think that the wrestling, jumping, pulling up, and rough -out-door sports of that period, though a man’s leg was broken now and -then, or somebody killed outright, were infinitely preferable to the -effeminate amusements of the present day, which turn boys into coxcombs -and men-milliners, and destroy both soul and body. Nothing was more -agreeable to him than the pleasure derived from contrasts between great -extremes. Those pursuits which promised neither peril nor hardship -possessed for him very little attraction. - -He loved to fly through the water in a boat, with all the sail she -would suffer, while the spray came by bucketfuls on to the side of his -neck, and then, rounding a densely-wooded point, run her into a calm, -sunny nook, among the green leaves, exchanging the dash of the cold -spray and the shrill whistle of the wind for the warm sunshine and the -song of birds. - -His father used to say he believed that John would pound his finger -for the sake of having it feel better when it was done aching; not -considering that the boy inherited his own temperament, and that he -had manifested the same disposition, when, basking in the warmth of a -blazing fire, filled to repletion with sea pie and pudding, he told his -wife how much the recollection of his past perils added to his present -happiness. - -To complete the sum of John’s attractions, his voice was naturally -modulated to express every shade of feeling; as Uncle Isaac said, “it -came from the right place, and went to the right place.” - - - - -CHAPTER XX. - -PETER CLASH AND THE WOLF-TRAP. - - -Captain Rhines was called to Boston on account of some business with -Mr. Welch, and John was kept from school to take care of matters at -home. - -One pleasant morning, his mother having given him the day, he had made -up his mind to go gunning and fishing, taking his dinner with him, Sam -Hadlock having agreed to do what was necessary in his absence. - -As he was about to set out, Fred Williams came along, with his -dinner-pail in his hand, on his way to school. - -“Where are you going, John?” - -“Frost-fishing and gunning.” - -“I’ll go with you; ’tis too pleasant to go to school.” - -“I wouldn’t play truant, Fred.” - -“Father won’t know it; our girls ain’t going to-day; so there’s nobody -to tell.” - -“But you’ll know it yourself, Fred.” - -“I don’t care.” - -“If you won’t play truant, I’ll go some Saturday with you.” - -“Saturdays father makes me work in the mill; he thinks I don’t want to -play, as other boys do.” - -John could not persuade him to go to school; so they started off -together. They spent the forenoon in gunning. At noon they made a fire -on the rocks, made some clay porridge, then took a sea-fowl and dipped -into it, feathers and all, coating it completely with clay; they then -dug a hole in the ground, filling it partly with stones, which they -made red hot; on these they put the bird, then threw back the loose -earth. After a proper time they took it out, and peeled off the clay, -which brought the feathers and skin with it, leaving the carcass clean -and well cooked. - -John had brought pepper, salt, and butter, and they had plenty of bread -and meat in their dinner-pails. Tige wouldn’t touch the bird; so they -gave him the meat. - -“How good this is!” said Fred, with the wing of a sheldrake in his -mouth; “how glad I am I didn’t go to school!” - -John made no reply, for his mouth was full; neither did he approve -of playing truant. They now went to Uncle Isaac’s brook, fishing. The -frost-fish swim up into the mouth of little brooks, where the water -is only about two or three inches deep, and are very slow in their -movements in cool weather. The boys caught them by fastening a cod-hook -to a stick, three or four feet long, and hauling them out. They set out -on their return in good season, that Fred might get home at the proper -time, and escape detection. - -As they came to the landing, John jumped out to haul the boat ashore, -while Fred pushed with an oar; the boat, striking a rock, stopped so -suddenly, that he fell down into the bottom of her, and stuck one of -the hooks into his thigh. The remorseless steel buried itself in the -flesh beyond the barb. There was the miserable boy, with both hands -behind him, holding himself up, afraid either to get up or sit down, as -he could not move an inch without taking with him the great stick to -which the hook was fastened. John, reaching carefully under him, cut -the string which fastened it to the hook, letting it fall off. - -Fred now prostrated himself on the beach, while John proceeded to -examine; he pulled a little. - -“O-w-w! you hurt me!” - -“It’s over the barb; I can’t pull it out without almost killing you.” - -“My father’ll kill me quite, if he finds out I’ve played truant; -father’s awful when he rises. O, I wish I’d gone to school.” - -“I should think you would.” - -“It must come out somehow; can’t you _cut_ it out?” - -“I’ll try; but it’ll hurt.” - -“I can’t help it; but be as easy as you can.” - -John had been shelling clams with his knife the day before, and that -forenoon he’d used it as a screw-driver, to tighten the flint in his -gun; but he whet it on the sole of his boot, and began to cut. - -“O, dear! what shall I do? Boo-oo! cut away, John! I shall die! I shall -die! I wish I’d gone to school! Murder! murder!! murder!!!” - -“Fred,” cried John, flinging away the knife, his eyes filling with -tears, “I can’t bear to hurt you so.” - -“Father’ll hurt me worse; he’ll rip it right out, and lick me into the -bargain.” - -“There’s a file in the canoe, they have to sharpen hooks; perhaps I can -file it off.” - -“Do, John; do.” - -Just as the voices of the children were heard going home from school, -John succeeded in filing it off. Fred jumped up, his mouth full of -gravel, where he had bitten the beach in his agony, and ran home. He -didn’t sleep much that night. The sawing of the flesh with a dull knife -produced irritation, and by morning it began to fester. It hurt him to -walk, it hurt him to move, and it hurt him to sit still. All day long -he sat on the edge of his seat, and didn’t go out at recess to play. -When he got home, he found his cousin John Ryan had come to spend the -night. As he was a general favorite, the children all wanted him to sit -next them at the table. They were all standing up around the table, -wrangling about it, when the miller, who had a grist to grind before -dark, and was in a hurry for his supper, lost all patience. - -“Down with you--will you, somewhere?” cried he to Fred; “you’re big -enough to behave,” and pushed him slap down into a chair. - -“O!” screamed Fred, jumping upright, bursting into tears, and clapping -both hands to the aggrieved part. - -It all came out now; but in consideration of what he had suffered, and -had yet to undergo, he escaped a whipping. His mother bound some of the -marrow of a hog’s jaw on the wound, and, after a while, the hook came -out. - -Fred promised John Rhines solemnly that he not only would never play -truant again, but in all respects try to become a better boy; yet the -wound was scarcely healed before he was again engaged in mischief. - -Captain Rhines had a fish-flake on the beach, just above high-water -mark. Uncle Isaac had been making fish on it, and they were nearly -cured. - -He cherished a bitter antipathy to the Tories, and, like all the people -on the sea-coast of Maine, was inclined to dislike the inhabitants of -Nova Scotia, among whom they sought refuge after they were driven from -the colonies. This prejudice extended itself to Peter Clash, and was -greatly strengthened by his treatment of his benefactors; he therefore -never treated him with the cordiality he did the other boys. This Pete -highly resented. He persuaded Fred, Jack Pettigrew, Ike Godsoe, and -some others, to go with him in the evening, take the fish from the -flakes, and throw them on the beach. It was a very difficult matter to -persuade the boys to do this, for they all loved and respected Uncle -Isaac; besides, he was not a person to be trifled with. After going -once, all, except Fred, Jack, and Ike, refused to go again; and after -Pete and his satellites had gone, Henry Griffin and the others went -back and replaced the fish. Pete, with his crew, continued the sport, -and enjoyed a malicious pleasure, as, hid in the bushes, they saw him -picking up the fish, many of which, getting in the tide’s way, were -spoiled. - -[Illustration: PETER CLASH AND THE WOLF TRAP. Page 207.] - -Uncle Isaac set a wolf-trap beside the flake, covering it in the sand, -and hid himself among the bushes. The boys manifested a great deal of -caution, pretending they had merely come down to fling stones into the -water. The conduct of Uncle Isaac, who continued quietly to pick up the -fish, without saying a word, made them suspicious; they thought there -must be something “under that heap of meal.” By and by they began to -edge up towards the flake, often stopping to listen. At last Pete went -up to the fish; walking along the edge of the flake, he threw off the -fish as he went, crying, “There’s nobody here; why don’t you come on, -you cowards.” The words were scarcely out of his mouth, when snap went -the great iron jaws of the trap, and up jumped Uncle Isaac from the -bushes. Pete roared with agony. Well he might; the trap would have cut -off his leg, or crushed it to pomace, if Uncle Isaac had not tied down -one of the springs, thus diminishing its force. His captor uttered -never a word; but catching him up, trap and all, walked right into the -water. - -“O! Mr. Murch, I’ll never do so again! What be you going to do to me?” - -“Drown you, you spawn of a Tory; your hide isn’t worth taking off.” - -Pete poured forth agonizing entreaties for mercy, and made the most -solemn promises of amendment, if his life could be spared. - -“You’re a rotten egg; you’re spilin’ all our boys, you varmint,” said -Uncle Isaac, chucking him right into the water, head and ears. - -“Murder! murder!” screamed Pete, the moment he got his head out. - -“Will you clear out in the spring, in the first fisherman that comes -along, and go where you come from?” - -Pete called God to witness that he would. - -“You can do as you like; but if you don’t, I’ll be the death of you. I -calculate,” said Uncle Isaac, as he picked up his fish, “he’ll keep his -word this time; he’ll have about as much as he can do to take care of -that leg this winter.” - -John Rhines, being lonesome, after Ben went on to the island, had kept -company to some extent with these boys; but it was very much like -trying to mix oil and water; they played together occasionally, but -there was no fusion. When he heard of the last-mentioned occurrence, he -said to his mother,-- - -“I won’t be seen with those boys any more. O, mother, I do wish I had -somebody to love besides Tige.” - -“Why, John Rhines, where are your parents, your sisters, and all your -friends?” - -“You know what I mean; some boy of my age, that I could love clear -through; that you, and father, and Ben could love, and love to have me -with; and, when he come to our house, you’d give him a piece of cake, -and wouldn’t look so, as you do when Fred comes. I mean somebody that -wasn’t like these boys, either stupid or wicked.” - -The boy’s heart, overflowing with the impulses of youth, longed for a -kindred spirit of his own age. - - - - -CHAPTER XXI. - -WHY THE BOYS LIKED UNCLE ISAAC. - - -It has been very evident, during the progress of this story, that the -young men were very much attached to Uncle Isaac; yet the boys were not -a whit the less so; the reasons of which will appear as we proceed. - -In the first place, he retained in his feelings all the freshness -and exuberance of his youth; they knew that he liked them; and it is -strange how this unwritten, unspoken language of the heart is generally -felt and understood. - -In the next place, he was never known to divulge a secret, and was -the depositary of half the love affairs of the young people in the -neighborhood; indeed, the boys often confided to him their intended -pranks. If mere fun was the object of them, he permitted them to take -their course, but, if they were of a malicious nature, would induce -them to give them up, by proposing something else,--generally a tramp -with him in the woods, or on the water, the seductions of which no boy -was able to resist. It was well it was thus, for he knew infinitely -better how to manage them than half their parents. It has been well -said, that man must look up in order to worship; ’tis just so with -boys. A timid, effeminate man can have no influence over a mess of -boys; and if you have any doubt on this point, just read the names on -the boys’ sleds and boats. - -When, in the winter, he happened to ride by the school-house, just as -school was out, a curious scene presented itself. Children, in those -days, were taught to make their manners; but when Uncle Isaac came -along, they first made a bow, or dropped a courtesy, just to manifest -respect; and then boys and girls would pile into the sleigh, and hang -around his neck, till he was well nigh smothered. The old horse would -lay back his ears, and look around, as though distrusting his ability -to draw the unwonted load; while the schoolmaster, looking out of the -window, attracted by the noise, and amused to see the little ones -searching his pockets for apples, would forget to notice when the -minute-glass had run out. - -There was another thing which imparted to his society a wonderful -fascination for the boys, which we can in no other way explain so -well as by relating a conversation between little Bobby Smullen and -his grandfather. The boy was at play before the door, as Uncle Isaac -returned from Sam Elwell’s, after picking Yelf out of the ditch. He -endeavored, with all his might, to entice him to go in, as he wanted to -listen, while he talked over old times with his grandparent; but Uncle -Isaac was in a hurry, and, patting his head, went on. - -Bobby, who was a bright, observing little chap, looked after him till -he was out of sight. Going into the house, he said, “Grandsir, what -makes Uncle Isaac walk so?” - -“Walk how?” - -“Why, you know how; he don’t walk like other folks.” - -“The child means,” said his grandmother, “because he toes in.” - -“That’s because he’s an Indian, Bobby.” - -“Why, Jonathan, ain’t you ashamed of yourself? he’s no more of an -Indian than you are. I knew his father and mother well; old Mr. Murch -and his wife were the best of people.” - -“Well, the Indians brought him up, anyhow. I don’t jestly know the -rights of it; but they carried him off, with some others of his people, -when he was a boy; part of them they tomahawked, and part they roasted -alive; but one of the chiefs took him, and brought him up. He lived -with them years and years, learnt their language and their ways, and -was as good an Indian as the best of them. I’ve heard him say, he -thought their kind of life was happier than ours; he never will get -that wild nature out of him. When the Penobscots come here in the -summer, and camp on his point, he’ll carry them beef, pork, potatoes, -and milk, and says they have as good right here as he has, and better, -too. He’ll give them anything except rum; he says that wasn’t made for -an Indian, because it makes him crazy.” - -“Don’t it make white people crazy, too, grandsir?” - -“Hush, child; you put me out, and you don’t know what you’re talking -about. For all he’s such a desperate working cretur, he’ll go down -right in haying time, and set on a log, and talk with them, and seems -just as uneasy all the time they’re about as John Godsoe’s geese.” - -“What about John Godsoe’s geese?” - -“Nothing, child.” - -“Yes, there is; I know there is; do tell your little boy, grandsir.” - -“Why, John’s got some wild geese that can’t fly, because one joint of -their wings is cut off. They go in the pasture with the other geese as -peaceable as can be; but in the spring, when the wild ones are flying -over and konking, they’ll flap their old stubs of wings, and holler, -and be as uneasy; that’s jest the way Isaac’s took when the Indians are -round. I sometimes think he’d go off with them, if he could get his -family to go.” - -The horrors of Indian massacre were still fresh in the recollections of -older people. Smullen’s first wife and old Mr. Yelf’s father were both -killed by the Indians; and there was nothing more attractive to the -youth of that day. No marvel, then, that a romantic interest mingled -in the minds of the boys with the affection they entertained for Uncle -Isaac. - -It is frequently said, one boy is better than two boys, and that three -is just no boy at all; but half a dozen of them would work all day for -dear life, with Uncle Isaac, encouraged by the promise, always kept, -of going on a tramp with him when the job was over. Boys don’t like -to go gunning, and come home empty-handed. When they went with him, -they always brought home game with them; for if they couldn’t shoot -anything, he could. These attractions enabled him to exert a great -influence over them, which he improved to the noblest ends, and made -impressions that were never eradicated. He was neither in his own -opinion, nor by profession, a religious man; but the teachings of a -pious mother had laid deep in his young heart the foundation of faith -and love. When torn from her by the savages, in the solitude of mighty -forests, he had pored and prayed over them, till they ripened into a -heartfelt love for Him “who causeth the grass to grow for cattle, and -herb for the service of man.” - -His teachings were therefore of such a nature, that while divested -of the stiffness generally connected with all attempts at advice or -instruction, they deepened every good impression, and stirred the young -heart to the quick. - -A most silly and hurtful notion, often entertained by young people -in respect to religion, is, that it has a tendency to make people -narrow-minded, or, as they phrase it, meeching. Such a feeling was -effectually repressed, as they listened to ideas of that nature from -one who hesitated not to grapple with the fiercest beasts of the -forest, and bore on his person the scars of many wounds. His influence -over them was very much increased, for the reason that he seemed -anxious to make them happy in this world, as well as the other; -inculcated with great earnestness those principles which lie at the -bottom of thrift, competence, and the well-being of society. - -Religious discourse from their parents, the catechising of the -minister, advice in respect to their conduct in life, might be quite -dry and uninteresting; but with what power to attract and move were -the same ideas invested, as they fell from the lips of the hunter -and warrior, on a wild sea-beach, amid the roar of breakers; in some -sunny nook of the hills, with the rifle across his knees, made juicy -and attractive by his graphic language; not thrust upon them against -the stomach of their sense, but, like the teachings of the great -Parent of nature, in harmony with bursting buds, the springing grass, -shading into a deeper green, or mingling in their ear with the brook’s -low murmur, and the music of summer winds among the foliage,--thus -imperceptibly, as the increase of their strengthening sinews, growing -up with, and moulding the very habit of their thoughts! - -There had been no adverse element to disturb these pleasant and -profitable relations, till Peter Clash came into the neighborhood. -Nothing but the entire conviction of the uselessness of all efforts to -reclaim him, and a knowledge of the injury his influence and example -was doing to the other boys, caused Uncle Isaac to treat him with such -severity, and made him resolve to drive him out of the place. - -“I wouldn’t be so mean,” said he, “as to throw my weeds into other -people’s gardens; but when they throw their weeds into mine, I’ll fling -them back again: he shan’t take root and go to seed here; we’ve weeds -enough of our own.” - -The first leisure day John had, after his father’s return, he took his -hoe, and going directly to the field where he knew Uncle Isaac was -digging potatoes, went to work with him. - -“I don’t mean to play any more with Pete, and that set; I mean to play -with you, Uncle Isaac.” - -“I should like to have a playmate first rate; I’ve been pretty much -alone of late.” - -“Will you go gunning with me in your float, after we get these potatoes -dug?” - -“Yes.” - -“Won’t you tell me an Indian story now?” - -“I can’t talk and work too; but I’ll tell you one to-night, after we’ve -done work, and when we go gunning, and are waiting for birds. Work when -you work, and play when you play; that’s my fashion.” - -When the time arrived, John reminded Uncle Isaac of his promise. - -“Well, John, where do you want to go? into the woods, or after -sea-fowl?” - -“I’ll tell you what I want to do, above all things; but perhaps you -wouldn’t; I want you to learn me to shoot flying. I can shoot very well -now at a dead mark; but I never, in all my life, shot anything flying.” - -“You’ll never be much of a gunner till you can, because there’s ten -chances to shoot flying or running game where there is one to shoot -that which is still. Take a fox, for instance; ’tain’t one time to a -hundred you can shoot one, except on the clean jump, going twelve or -fifteen foot at a leap, and looking just like a little streak. All -these sea-fowl fly out of the bays every night. Now, there’s a place -between Smutty Nose and the Sow and Pigs, not more than half a gun-shot -in width, which they fly through about sunrise, when they come into the -bay. I’ve gone there before sunrise, with three guns, and killed over -a hundred; been back by the middle of the forenoon, got my breakfast, -and, by working a little later, done a good day’s work. What d’ye think -of that, Johnny?” - -“O!” cried John, his eyes flashing, “I shouldn’t want to live any -longer, if I could do that.” - -“There’s a good many other places where they fly through; for it’s the -nature of them to follow the land. They used to fly through between -Elm Island and the outer ledges, but I expect Ben has pretty much put -an end to that; besides, if you have two guns, or a double barrel, it -gives you two chances--you can fire at them in the water, and when they -rise give it to them again.” - -“I know it; I’ve seen you and Ben shoot wild geese when they were -flying over. Ben burnt mother awfully with a wild goose.” - -“How could that be?” - -“Well, mother was frying fish in the Dutch oven; Ben fired into a flock -that was flying over the house, and down came an old gander, right down -chimney, and flung the fat all over her face.” - -“Well, John, as to the learning, you must forelay for them; when -they’re coming towards you, swing your gun as they fly, and aim jest -before their bill, and then they’ll fly right into the shot. The best -bird for a boy to practise on is a fish-hawk, because they are a large -mark, and fly steady, but they are all gone south now; but a coot will -do very well. You must shoot, and shoot, and practise till you get it; -and jest as you begin to think you never can get it, ’twill come. You -better take my gun; it goes quicker than yours. I’ll manage the boat; -you can fire, and I’ll watch you and tell you.” - -On their way home they fell into conversation about the other boys. - -“I don’t think,” said John, “that Fred is a bad-hearted boy; we’ve -always played together, and he was a good boy till Pete came here. I -believe all of them would do well enough, if ’twasn’t for him, and -would never do any real mean mischief of their own heads; they like -fun, and so do I, and should be as full of mischief as any of them, if -I didn’t like gunning so much better, which takes up all my spare time.” - -“That Pete is too rotten to nail to. As for Fred, there’s more -foundation to him; he’s had a better bringing up; he’s like the fish -that take the color of the bottom they feed on; he falls in with the -company he keeps, and can’t stand on his own legs.” - -“I don’t believe I should have been one whit better than Fred, if I -had been brought up as he has. I’ve known Fred to do a real good day’s -work, and his father and mother never take the least notice of it; -now, big boy as I am, there’s nothing pleases me so much as to have -father come and see what I’ve done, and praise me for it; then his -father always sets his bounds, and tells him he may go to such a tree -or rock; of course he wants to go over; he’d be a fool if he didn’t. -I’ve gone over there sometimes, all dressed up, to play with him, and -his father would keep him to work, when Fred knew, and I knew, that the -work might be just as well done the next day. I tell you, that makes a -boy feel ugly. Now, just look at my father; I’ve known him, when boys -came over here to play with me, to let me off, and work till after dark -himself. Think I didn’t put in the next day, and watch for chances to -make it up? and do you think I’ll ever forget it, as long as I live? -’Tisn’t every boy, Uncle Isaac, that’s got as good father and mother as -I have.” - -“You never spoke a truer word than that, John.” - -“I don’t believe a boy can love a man, just because he’s his father, if -he treats him just like a dog.” - -“Don’t you think, then, instead of leaving Fred altogether, it would be -better to ask him to go with you and me sometimes?” - -“I think we should have a great deal better time without him.” - -“Perhaps so; but we ought to be willing sometimes to displease -ourselves, for the sake of benefiting others. A boy or man, who never -thinks of anybody’s comfort or happiness but his own, is a pretty mean -sort of an affair, and ought not to be allowed round. There’s Pete; -he’s no credit to his Maker, and only a plague to the neighborhood, and -swears awful; yet God feeds and clothes him.” - -“No, he don’t, Uncle Isaac; because Mrs. Smullen makes the cloth, and -makes the clothes, too.” - -“If she does, the Lord gives her the stock, and wit, and strength to -manufacture it. You allow yourself there’s some good in Fred; and I say -it’s no part of a man, when a poor fellow’s on his hands and knees, -trying to get up, to jump on him.” - -“But you don’t understand. It isn’t just for the sake of going gunning, -and hearing the Indian stories, that I like so well to go with you; but -I like to hear you talk about good things, and tell me how I can make a -man of myself. Fred wouldn’t care a straw for such things.” - -“How can that ever be known, till it’s tried? According to your tell, -he’s never had much of such treatment.” - -“That is very true.” - -“You’re very sorry he’s a bad boy; wish he was better; but are not -willing to forego your own pleasure for the sake of getting him into -better company, and giving him an opportunity to rally. We’ve spent all -this day, and have patiently managed the boat, that you might learn to -shoot flying, and you’ve made out to kill two birds; whereas, if I’d -taken the gun, made you manage the boat, or gone without you, I might -have killed twenty, and been home at dinner-time.” - -“I’m ashamed of myself, Uncle Isaac; I won’t be so mean and selfish any -more.” - -“Well, Pete’ll have enough to do to take care of his legs this winter, -and I think he’ll go off in the spring. Speak kindly to Fred, and keep -hold of him; and when the warm weather comes, we’ll take him with us, -and try to save him.” - - - - -CHAPTER XXII. - -BEN’S NOVEL SHIP. - - -It was now early winter, and the proper time to work in the woods. - -“Do you think,” said Ben to Uncle Isaac, “I’d better hire Joe?” - -“He asks great wages, but he’s the cheapest man you can hire, for all -that. I’ve seen a man fall spars, so that they all had to be hauled -out top foremost; it was like twitching a cat by the tail. Most men -will break more or less masts, falling them, and soon throw away all -their wages; but though Joe seems to be such a great heedless creature, -there’s nothing pertains to falling, hauling, or rafting timber, that -he don’t know; he can also shave shingles and rive staves, and will be -just as profitable in stormy weather as at any other time.” - -The next morning, as Ben and Joe were grinding their axes to attack the -forest, they were very much surprised by a visit from Uncle Isaac. - -“I felt,” said he, “as though I must look upon Elm Island once more, -before the axe and firebrand went into it, and while it was as God made -it. Perhaps it’s owing to my Indian bringing up, but I hate to see the -forest fall; and when I have to go fifty miles to shoot a deer or a -bear, the relish will be all taken out of life for me.” - -“I feel very much as you do,” said Ben; “I know I shall spoil its -beauty, but I see no other way to pay for it.” - -“I’m not so sure of that; there’s no doubt but Congress, by and by, -will give a bounty to fishermen; fishing is going to come up. Mr. Welch -don’t want his money any more than a cat wants two tails; he told you -to take your own time, and I’d take my time. I believe you can pay for -this island by clearing only what you need for pasture and tillage. -That will make quite a hole in your debt, and the rest you can pull out -of the water.” - -“But I don’t want to be a fisherman; I detest it; work all summer, and -eat it all up in the winter; so much broken time, when it’s so windy -you can’t fish, and can’t do anything else, for fear it will come good -weather, and you will have to leave it.” - -“That’s the right kind of talk; I like to hear you talk so; but you -can fish till the land is yours--can’t you? All the time you are -fishing, the timber will be growing, and then you can farm it to your -heart’s content; farming is going to be a first-rate business, too. -People round here are all stark mad about lumbering and fishing; they -will touch anything but a hoe, and think barley ain’t worth thanking -God for. Since the peace, the country is full of foreign goods, and -they are ready to strip the land to get money to buy them. Nothing but -French calico, silks, and satins, and all such boughten stuffs, will -do for ‘my ladyship’ now. If people are going to work in the woods all -winter, and drive the river and work in the mills all summer, I should -like to know where the corn, hay, pork, and beef, to feed all these -people that grow nothing, is to come from. I wonder if the people that -stay at home and raise it won’t get a round price for it.” - -“I’ve thought of that,” said Ben. “I know that a great many fishermen -come here for supplies, must have them, and no time to run after them, -and will give whatever the men ask that bring them alongside.” - -“There’s another thing; this timber will be worth more every year it -stands, because it will be growing scarce.” - -“O, Uncle Isaac, this is a great country; it won’t be till you and I, -and our grandchildren, if we have any, are dead and gone.” - -“That’s true; and it ain’t true there’s no end to the timber in the -country; but the timber that is directly on the shore, where a vessel -can go right to it, is growing scarce, more especially these big masts. -The king’s commissioners scoured the sea-coast pretty well before the -war; and masts and spars on an island like this, with a good harbor, -where they can be got to the ship’s tackles with little expense, will, -in a few years, bear a great price; for if timber is plenty, labor is -not. Thank God, every one has enough to do; and it costs, I can tell -you, to bring timber down a river thirty miles, to what it does to roll -it off the bank, as you can here.” - -“I see you are right; for I’m sure I don’t know of another island that -is timbered like this. Others have all been cut, and burnt over by the -fishermen setting fires in the summer; about half the timber on the -islands is burnt up by mere carelessness.” - -“You wouldn’t like to lose this brook--would you?” - -“Lose the brook! I’d as soon lose the island; it would not be worth -much without the brook.” - -“Well, just as sure as you clear the middle ridge, and the north-east -end of the island where the springs are that feed it, and let the sun -and wind in on the land, you’ll dry the brook.” - -“Do you think so?” - -“I don’t _think_ so--I _know_ so. There’s a brook runs through my -field. Long since I can remember it used to carry a saw-mill; but my -father and I cleared the land, and the people at the source of it -cleared theirs, and now it’s dry all summer, and but a little water in -it early in the spring and late in the fall.” - -“I’m glad you told me this; you know I’m a sailor, and don’t know much -about such matters. I hope you’ll never be mealy-mouthed, but speak -just as you think.” - -“I’m an ignorant man, and have never been to school, and over the -world, as you have; but I know about these sort of things, because -I’ve either tried ’em, or seen other people try them; it’s jest my -experience.” - -When he had thus spoken he prepared to depart. - -“Do stay to dinner, Uncle Isaac,” said Sally. - -“It’s impossible; I ought to be at home this very minute; but I -couldn’t help coming over here and freeing my mind;” and, dropping his -oars into the water, he was in a moment round the eastern point. - -This conversation made a deep impression upon Ben; he looked upon the -island not merely as offering advantages for a living, but he loved it. -All his ideas of beauty and sublimity were ingrafted upon these woods -and shores; from boyhood he had been accustomed to go there with his -father. Often, in the lonely hours of the middle watch on the ocean, -had memory painted the green foliage of the birches drooping over the -high ledge. - -In many a black night of tempest, as he stood amid the pouring rain -and flashing lightning, did his thoughts revert to that tranquil cove, -reflecting from its bosom the overhanging rocks and trees, while the -sunlight of a summer’s morning was glancing on the glossy breasts of -the sea-ducks sporting in its calm waters. - -Standing upon the beach where he had parted with his friend, he looked -over the scene, and pictured to himself the middle ridge, shorn of its -green coronal of majestic forest, covered with blackened stumps and the -charred ruins of mighty trees. The interlacing network of tree-roots, -ferns, and mosses of a thousand hues, that now adorned the rocks, burnt -off, leaving them white and barren, and the bare bones of the soil -sticking out. No shelter for fruit trees or crops, man or beast, and -the supply of water greatly diminished; the sweet music of the brook -hushed, and the multitudes of hawks and herons, who, notwithstanding -their harsh notes, could ill be spared, banished forever, and the -island left a shelterless rock in the ocean for the cold sea winds to -whistle over. - -He found that Sally shared his feelings in the fullest extent, and -together they resolved to submit to any privations, and make every -possible effort in order to save, at least, a good part of the forest. - -The axes now went merrily from daylight till dark. They made a workshop -of the front part of the house, and in stormy days made staves and -shingles, as there were many trees, which, after they were cut, proved -to have a hollow in the butt, or were “konkus,” and, though not -suitable for spars, made good shingles. Sometimes an oak was in the way -of a road, which, cut, made staves. - -Ben, while privateering, had taken from a prize some fine rifles; two -of these he sold, and bought a large yoke of oxen, and hiring four -more, he began to haul his spars to the beach. As the distance was -short, and the ground in general descending, he did not wait for snow, -but hauled the smallest spars on the bare ground, leaving the large -masts and bowsprits till the snow came. This was not so difficult as -it might appear; for it is very different hauling in the woods from -doing the same thing on a road. The ground was in most places covered -with a network of roots, strewn with leaves and frozen, and the sled -slipped over these quite easily; besides, wherever there was a hard -spot, or a hollow, they cut small trees, peeled the bark off, and put -them along the road for the sled to slip over, and thus, though they -could not move the largest sticks in this way, they got along as fast -with the others as though there was snow; for if they hauled smaller -loads, having no snow to wade through, and no road to break, they went -the oftener. Even when the snow came, his team was light to haul some -of the biggest masts; but they made calculations take the place of -strength, put rollers under the sticks, and helped the cattle with a -tackle. - -Thus they spent the winter. As the spring came on, how he longed to -plough up the clear spot along the beach, to plant a few peas and -potatoes, or set out a currant bush or two in the warm sunny ground, -under the high ledge, that every time he passed it seemed to say, “Do -plant me, Ben.” - -How much more difficult it was to let the wild geese alone, that were -flying in vast flocks over his head! It made him half crazy to hear the -guns of Uncle Isaac, John, and his father, who were letting into them -right and left, as they went, bang, bang. - -It was not like the gunning nowadays, when a great lazy fellow goes all -day to shoot a sandpiper or a sparrow; but there was profit as well as -sport in it. Nevertheless, he manfully resisted temptation, and plied -the axe. - -“I’ll not live another spring without a gunning float,” said he to Joe, -and dismissed the matter from his thoughts. - -“What fools we are!” said Joe; “we’ve not had a drink of sap yet.” As -he spoke, he struck his axe with an upward blow into the body of a rock -maple, and stuck a chip in the gash; he then cut down a small hemlock, -took off a length, and from it made a trough. The sap ran down the chip -into the trough, and in a few hours they had enough to drink. - -“How good that looks!” said Joe, as he got down on his hands and knees, -and looked into the luscious liquid, as clear as crystal; “and it don’t -taste bad, neither.” - -The first thing Joe did the next morning was to visit the trough, -expecting to find it full; but it was entirely empty. - -“It was half full when I left it, and it must have run fast; what a -fool I was I didn’t drink it all up! I know who’s got it,” cried he, -as he noticed on a little patch of snow some tracks, that looked not -unlike those made by the bare feet of little children, for they had -been enlarged by the thawing of the snow; “they are that coon’s wife -and children, that we killed when we were hewing timber. They will be -nice neighbors, Ben, when you come to plant corn here.” - -“I don’t care if they do eat a little corn; I want all the neighbors -I can get. It will be first rate to know just where to go and get a -coon when you want one. I shall be as well to do as the grand folks -in England, and have my own game preserve; besides, if they get -troublesome, I can kill them all with Sailor in a week, on a place no -larger than this.” - -There was no vessel in that vicinity larger than a fisherman’s, or a -wood coaster. It required a vessel of larger size to carry such spars, -and to have hired one from a distance would have eaten up a great part -of their value. Determined at any risk to save a great part of the -forest, he devised and executed a most audacious plan, that he might -realize every dollar from the sale of his spars, by avoiding the great -expense of transportation. - -With a cool daring and skill, perfectly characteristic, he rolled his -masts and spars on to the beach, where, by the help of the tide, he -could handle them as he pleased, and built them somewhat into the shape -of a vessel, securing the whole firmly together with cross-ties and -treenails. He then made a large oar to steer with, which no one but -himself could lift, that worked in a port, so that it could not slip -out and float up. He then put a large timber across the stern, with -deep notches cut in it, to hold the oar in whatever direction he placed -it, in order that he might be able to leave it, and go to other parts -of the raft to attend to other matters. A mast had been already built -in when the raft was made; he bought an old mainsail that belonged to -John Strout, made for the Perseverance, and put a cable, anchor, and -boat-compass on board. - -“I must have a chance to make a cup of tea,” said Ben; “for I shall be -up nights, as there’s only one in a watch.” - -They placed a large flat stone in the midst of the raft to build -the fire on, and then made a fireplace with stones laid in clay, -to prevent the wind from blowing the fire away from the kettle. Two -crotches were then placed each side of the fireplace, and a pole put -across to hang the tea-kettle on. Wood and water were now put on board; -some dry eel-grass to lie down on; staves, shingles; and feathers, the -results of gunning at odd times; and the preparations for the voyage -were complete. - -“Ben,” said his wife, “Joe says you are going to Boston on that thing -alone?” - -“I’m going to set out, Sally. I can tell you better when I come back, -whether I get there or not.” - -“Suppose you should get blown off to sea, and never be heard from -again.” - -“Suppose, what is more likely, I shouldn’t.” - -“Suppose the raft should come to pieces.” - -“Suppose it should stay together. We never shall save the woods, and -the beach, and all the pretty things, if it costs half the spars are -worth to get them to market.” - -“Better lose the island than your life; what if there should come a big -sea, and wash you overboard?” - -“What, if when the angels were taking Elijah to heaven, they had let -him drop?” - -Perceiving he had fully made up his mind, she said no more, but quietly -set about preparing his food for the voyage. This was put under the -canoe, which was turned bottom up on the raft, and lashed. - -There were but four pieces of rope on the whole raft, for rope was high -in those days: these were the cable, the canoe’s painter, and the sheet -and halyards of the sail. - -The logs were lashed with withes, as also the canoe, water, and other -things. These withes were of enormous strength, though stiff and hard -to handle; for many of them were as thick as a man’s wrist, which Ben -twisted as though they had been willow switches. - -Ben had not mentioned his plan to any one out of his own house, but, -when the wind came in strong from the north-east, set sail just as the -sun came up. - -The first proceeding of John Rhines at this time of year, when he got -out of bed, was to look out of his window, to see if there were any -wild geese round that were anxious to be shot, that he might give the -alarm to his father. No sooner did he espy the novel craft come out -from the harbor, and proceed to sea, than going down stairs three -steps at a time, he shouted, “Father! father! see what this is!” - -“It is a raft, that has come down from the head of the bay, and is -going over to Indian Creek Mill.” - -“But it came from Elm Island; I saw it.” - -“You thought it did; but it came down by it, and appeared to you to -come from it.” - -“No, father; it came right out of the harbor, for I saw it with my own -eyes.” - -“Get the glass, John; that will tell the story.” Resting the glass on -the fence, he looked long and carefully. At length he said, “John, -that’s your brother Ben on that raft. He’s got half an acre of spars, -I verily believe--all they have cut this winter; well, he’s one of the -kind to make a spoon or spoil a horn--always was.” - -“But where’s he going to?” - -“Boston, I expect; he’s steering that way, and is making first-rate -headway, too.” - -Forgetting all about his breakfast, John ran to Uncle Isaac’s, while -Captain Rhines went in to tell the news to his wife. - -“Ben’s going to Boston on a raft!” he shouted; “O, come quick, or he’ll -be out of sight!” - -They watched him from the hill, and then from the garret window, till -he disappeared from view. - -“If the wind should come in fresh at north-west,” said Uncle Isaac, “no -power on earth could prevent his going to sea, and that would be the -end of him;” but, noticing the look of anxiety upon John’s face, he -said, “Come in and take breakfast with us, and then we’ll see what your -father thinks about it.” - -“Don’t you think Ben’s running a great risk?” asked Uncle Isaac of -Captain Rhines. - -Now, Captain Rhines had never done much else, except to run risks, and -therefore was not particularly sensitive on that score. - -“It’s a risk, that’s certain; but then it’s a risk that’s well worth -the running, to get such a tremendous raft of spars as that to market, -as you may say, for nothing. The wind often holds easterly, this time -of year, a fortnight; it’s our trade-wind; he is going every bit of -four knots. I’ll risk Ben; he’s one of the kind that always come on -their feet. There’s not another man in the world that looks as bad as -he does, that would have got Sally Hadlock. Nobody else could have -got Elm Island from Father Welch. I have been trying to buy it of him -these twenty years; but he said it was his father’s before him, and he -wouldn’t sell it, for he didn’t want to see it stripped; and he knew I -would cut the timber off the first thing. No, I’ll risk Ben. Did I ever -tell you what a Yankee trick he served a British man-of-war, when he -was captain of a privateer?” - -“No; what was it? I didn’t know he ever was captain.” - -“Well, he never was, only in this way. Their captain was killed in -action with an armed merchantman; Ben, being lieutenant, took charge, -and acted as captain the rest of the cruise. You see, they were -cruising off the coast, to try and cut off some of the English supply -vessels, that were bringing provisions and ammunition to their armies, -for our folks were mighty short of powder, and everything else, for -the matter of that. They were lying by in a thick fog--not a breath -of wind--couldn’t see your hand before you; and when the fog lifted -at sunrise, they were right under the guns of a fifty-gun ship, that -was off there looking out for the expected transports. No squeak for -them. What does Ben do but strip off his clothes, get into his berth, -and make the doctor bind his right leg and arm all up with splinters -and bandages, as though they were broken, then bleed him, and put the -blood over the wound, as though it had been done by a shot! John Strout -was second mate; so he became first mate, or first lieutenant, when -Ben took charge; you know he and Ben are like knife and fork--always -together. The man-of-war put a prize captain and crew on board, and put -Ben’s crew in irons, and ordered her into New York. They took him out -of his berth, and put him between decks with his men, which was just -what he wanted, though he groaned and took on terribly when they were -moving him, it hurt him so; and the doctor said ’twas real barbarity to -move a patient in his condition. - -“The English in time of war were always short of seamen,--more so now -than ever,--as they were fighting with us and France both; they had but -few men to spare for a prize crew; they took out part of Ben’s crew, -and put the rest in irons; made a captain of an old quartermaster, with -two midshipmen for lieutenants; gave them about a dozen seamen, and -three or four petty officers, thinking, as ’twas so short a run into -port, there was no great risk of their meeting any Yankee cruiser. Ben -knew very well there was no time to lose, and laid his plans with the -doctor for re-taking the vessel that very night. They apprehended but -little trouble from the seamen, who were most of them pressed men; but -there were three marines to be got rid of,--one on the forecastle, and -one at each gangway, and armed to the teeth. The doctor secured the key -of the arm-chest as soon after twelve o’clock as the watch, who came -below, were well asleep. Ben took off the splints and bandages, and -crawling out of his hammock, wrenched the handcuffs from the wrists of -eight of his men.” - -“Who did he let loose?” said Uncle Isaac; “anybody I know?” - -“Yes; John Strout, and black Cæsar, who was the strongest man in the -vessel, except Ben.” - -“I knew him; he was a slave to Seth Valentine, and he gave him his -liberty when the war broke out.” - -“And Calvin Merrithew, who was almost as stout; and Ed Griffin, brother -to Joe, who was killed afterwards, with Jack Manley, in the Lee -privateer. The rest of ’em didn’t belong round here.” - -“I heard something about it at the time, but never heard the -particulars. But were not these sailors armed?” - -“No; they don’t allow sailors arms when about their duty; the marines -do all the guard duty; the sailors are only armed in time of action. -The doctor had a dog, who got the end of his tail jammed off a -day or two before, under the truck of a gun carriage. The men, for -deviltry, would touch it, to make him sing out; he got so at last, -that if anybody pointed at it he would howl. They resolved to make -the howl of the dog, which was too common to attract attention, a -signal for action. They dressed themselves in the hats and coats of -the watch who had turned in, that they might be taken in the dark for -men-o’-war’s-men. Cæsar went up the main hatch, passed the sentry on -the forecastle, and went into the head. As ’twas nothing uncommon -for men to come up in the night, the marine took no notice of ’em. -Merrithew, Ed Griffin, and another, lay at the steps of the main -hatch, watching the marine there; Ben, John Strout, and the others -at the after hatch. The doctor, who went and came without question, -pinched the dog’s tail, who instantly began to howl. Cæsar felled the -marine with a blow of his fist, and flung him overboard; Merrithew, -rushing upon the marine at the hatchway, whose attention was occupied -with the noise on the forecastle, flung him head foremost into the -hold, while the others put on the hatches and barred them down. In -the mean time Ben, rushing upon the sentry in the gangway, flung -him against the lieutenant, who was pacing the deck, with such force -as to fell him senseless on the planks, while the doctor locked the -cabin doors, and the rest barred down the after hatches, then, seizing -the boarding-pikes that were lashed to the main boom, joined their -comrades. The seamen made little or no resistance. A terrible noise and -swearing were now heard aft; the prize captain, having got up on the -cabin table, with his head out of the skylight, was screaming to know -why the doors were fastened, and what was the matter. - -“‘Come out here and see, my little man,’ said Ben, reaching down, and -taking him by both ears, he pulled him through the skylight, and set -him astride a gun. - -“‘Who are you?’ exclaimed the astonished commander. - -“‘This,’ said the doctor, ‘is the man with the broken leg; he’s got -well; I never had a patient mend so rapidly.’” - -“I don’t think that was very civil treatment for a prisoner of war,” -said Uncle Isaac. - -“It was tit for tat,” said Captain Rhines. “In the first of the war -the British frigates used to run our privateers down, and destroy all -hands, and starve and maltreat our prisoners in their hulks; but they -got more civil in the last of it. I tell you, Ben would stick a mast -into Elm Island, and sail it to Boston, if he undertook it.” - - - - -CHAPTER XXIII. - -PETE, IN QUEST OF REVENGE, COMES TO GRIEF. - - -“Sam Hadlock,” said his mother, “they say Ben’s gone to Boston on a -raft, all alone. I don’t believe it; but go right over and see what it -all means, and take Sally’s hens on.” - -Sam arrived at Elm Island about dusk, with the hens and a crower. The -first thing a rooster does, upon finding himself in a strange place, -is to flap his wings and crow, in order that it may be known he is -round. The next morning, as the daylight shone in between the logs of -the hovel, he raised his cry of defiance to all things in general, and -everybody in particular. - -Now, although the squawks had been in possession of the island from -time immemorial, they had never heard a rooster crow, or even seen -one. The instant that shrill, defiant voice rose on the morning air, -saying, “I’m somebody; who are you?” every squawk on the island uttered -his loudest yell. This startled the herons and fish-hawks; the crows -joined the chorus, and Sailor exerted his lungs to the utmost. Sally -woke up in alarm, and was for some time unable to account for the -terrible uproar. It was a week before the Elmites would permit the -rooster to crow, or a hen to cackle, in peace. The moment he attempted -it, the whole community combined to drown his voice, and rebuke his -presumption; but, after a while, they began to recognize him as an -adopted citizen of that of which they had so long been the sole -occupants. It was laughable to see with what gravity they would cluster -on the trees, at the edge of the woods near the house, and, with their -keen eyes, stare at him and his dames. Now and then a great blue heron -would sail lazily overhead, when, the cock raising the cry of alarm, -all would scud for the barn; but they learned, after a while, that none -of the original inhabitants were to be feared, except the eagles. - -The next morning, after the arrival of the hens, a calf, bright red, -with a white star in his forehead, and white on his fore legs and the -end of his tail, made his appearance. - -Sally was delighted; the birth of the calf opened a prospect not -only of milk, of which they had been deprived for two months, but of -butter. It was also the first domestic animal that had been born on -the island; besides, there are so many pleasant memories of childhood -connected with a “bossy,” that it seemed a great affair to Sally in -her lonely situation. She scarcely ever came in from the barn but her -sleeves were all chewed up, in consequence of stopping to pet the calf. - -“How much it seems like home,” said she to Joe, “to have a calf to -pet, and hear it crying for the cow! to hear a rooster crow, and hens -cackle, and have eggs to hunt after! I used to think, when I first came -on here, it would be music to hear a pig squeal.” - -“I can give you music,” said Joe, and set up a cry so much like that -of a pig in his last agonies, that Sally was glad to stop her ears. He -then began to make a noise like a calf in trouble, which soon brought -the mother running from the woods, where she had been browsing upon -maples that Joe had cut down for her. - -Peter Clash embraced the first opportunity in the spring to ship in a -fishing vessel, being in mortal fear of Uncle Isaac, who, Joe Griffin -had told him, had Indian blood in him, and would carry him into the -woods and roast him alive, as he had been taught to do among the -Indians. But he was determined, before he departed, to revenge himself -upon Uncle Isaac, and inflict some injury upon John Rhines. He hated -John, although he had never injured him, because he was a good boy, -and Uncle Isaac and everybody liked him. Although two years older, he -feared to attack him. He talked with the boys who were most under his -influence, and by ingenious falsehoods contrived to prejudice them -against him, by possessing them with the idea that John helped Uncle -Isaac set the trap, and was in the bushes with him watching them when -it sprung. - -“I hate him, too,” said Jack Godsoe, whose mind Pete had completely -warped to his own interest, and who was also older than John, and a -smart, resolute boy. - -“He thinks he’s too good to play with us, because his father is -captain, and lives in a big house, and because he goes with Uncle -Isaac; I hate him; let’s lick him, and take some of that grand feeling -out of him.” - -They seated themselves on the beach, under a great willow that hung -over the bank, in earnest consultations as to the best means of -revenging themselves upon Uncle Isaac. Jack proposed they should pull -up his corn. - -“That,” said Fred Williams, “is too much work, and he could plant it -over again.” - -“Let us put his sheep in the well,” said Sam Smikes. - -“It’s too near the house,” said Pete; “we shall be caught; besides, it -wouldn’t be bad enough for the ‘old cuss;’ he could get them out, and -would save the wool and the pelts, for they are not sheared. O! I’ll -tell you what we’ll do; we’ll kill his apple trees.” - -Uncle Isaac had an orchard in full bearing, that he valued very highly, -having, at a great deal of labor and expense, obtained the trees of the -Rev. Samuel Deane, of Portland. They were most of them grafted,--a rare -thing in those parts at that day,--as Dr. Deane understood the art and -mystery of grafting. They determined to girdle all these trees, which -would be a most severe blow to Uncle Isaac, as he had watched over -them for twenty years; and they were now in full bearing, having been -planted on a burn among the ashes, and had thriven apace in the new, -strong soil. It could also be accomplished without risk of detection, -as the orchard was at a distance from the house. The meanness of the -act seemed greater, because of the generous nature of the owner, who -was not a niggard of his fruit, but gave the boys all the apples -and cider they wanted. The fact that this villanous plan was eagerly -assented to by the rest, shows to what an extent the example and -influence of Pete had corrupted these boys. They thought themselves -secure from interruptions, as they commanded from the place where they -sat a view of the whole beach, and, becoming excited, talked in a -louder tone than they were aware of. - -“I’ll set a trap for him that will make him ache as much as his trap -did me,” said Pete, chuckling. But doubtful things are uncertain. - -John’s mother had sent him on that morning after some willow bark, -to color with. He directed his steps to the great willow, and coming -upon the party before they were aware of it, heard the latter part of -their conversation. Pete espied him, and jumping up, in a pleasant tone -invited him to come down among them, when John, who had not heard that -portion of the consultation which related to himself, complied: they -all, at a wink from Pete, surrounded him, who now thought proper to -change his tone. - -“You heard what we were saying about?” he inquired, pointing in the -direction of Uncle Isaac’s. - -“Yes.” - -“And you’ll tell him of it?” - -“Yes.” - -“Ain’t that just what I told you?” said he, turning to the other boys; -“just such a mean, low-lived fellow as he is; go and peach on his -playmates!” - -“I should think if anything was mean, it was barking a man’s apple -trees in the night.” - -Now, Pete was more anxious to bark the apple trees than he was to lick -John; so he replied,-- - -“Well, if we will promise to give it up, will you promise to say -nothing about it?” - -Pete’s design in this was to prevent Uncle Isaac being put on his -guard, to bark the trees that night, and go off the next morning, -leaving the other boys to take the consequences. He knew if John gave -his word he’d keep it. But John fathomed their design; and although -_they_ could trust _him_, _he_ would not trust _them_, and refused. - -At this Pete said, “You’re a mean fellow; I’ve owed you a hiding this -long time, and now you’ll get it.” - -“You can’t begin to do it.” - -“We all can,” cried Jack. - -John, seeing there was no help for it, determined to have the first -blow, and before the words were fairly out of Jack’s mouth, knocked -him down; but as the ground was descending, and the sand afforded -poor footing, he fell forward with the force of his own blow, and -came upon one knee. They all piled on top, but John threw them off. -By a well-directed blow he sent Fred yelling from the conflict, and -would have gained his feet and handled the whole of them, had not Jack -recovered, and, catching him by the hair, pulled him down again. - -“Now,” cried Pete, as cruel as he was cowardly, “let’s lick him within -an inch of his life.” - -Finding he was to receive no quarter, John began to shout for aid. Tige -was sleeping in the sun before the door, as dogs always sleep, with one -ear open. The instant he heard the cry, he got up, stretched himself, -gaped, and listened. It was repeated. He leaped the front yard fence -at a bound, and in a moment was running full speed in the direction of -the noise. Captain Rhines, who recognized John’s voice, followed him. A -narrow path led down the bank to the beach, where the scuffle was going -on, and which was hard trodden and polished by the frequent tramping of -the boys, who resorted there to swing on the great willow, whose limbs -hung over the beach, and to make whistles. So headlong was the speed -of the dog, that, his feet slipping upon the smooth path, he turned a -complete somerset from the top to the bottom of the bank, and came down -upon his back among these little fiends, while employed in their work -of torture, thus affording them a moment’s respite while he was picking -himself up. With all the speed the fear of instant death could inspire, -they fled along the beach, with the exception of Smike, who, with great -presence of mind, catching a limb of the willow, was in a few moments -among its topmost branches, screaming with all his might. Pete was the -hindmost. With a horrible growl, Tige sprung upon him and crushed him -to the earth. He bit through both his hands, with which he strove to -defend his throat, tore away half of his chin, and, taking him by the -back, shook him as he would a woodchuck. - -The dog now pursued Fred, whom he bit through both thighs and arms, -and, as the others were out of sight, would have killed him, had not -John compelled him to desist by cramming his cap into his mouth, and -coaxing and scolding him. - -The Newfoundland dog is very slow to wrath, but ferocious enough when -once aroused. Tige’s rugged temper, excited by the strongest possible -provocation,--injury to the person of his friend,--was now thoroughly -up; his eyes were green with rage, his lips covered with foam; his -great tearing teeth stood out, and every hair on his body was erect. - -As Captain Rhines came up, the blood was spirting in jets from Fred’s -right leg. “God o’ mercy!” cried he, “the arter is cut;” and, clapping -his thumb on the place, stopped the flow of blood in a moment. - -“John,” cried he, “take off my garter and put it twice round his leg, -above the bite, and tie the ends together.” - -John did as he was directed. - -“Now get a stick and twist it.” - -John twisted. - -“Twist harder; twist with all your might. Now run to Dr. Ricker’s, and -tell him to come to our house with tools to tie an arter, as quick as -he can.” - -“Will he die, father?” - -“No; I hope not; but he would have been dead in two minutes more, if I -had not stopped that blood.” - -He now took the boy in his arms, and carried him to his own house, -while Tige lay down at the foot of the willow to keep watch of Smike. - -The doctor said that the boy must not be moved; and his mother came to -take care of him. John now went down, called off Tige, and liberated -Smike from the tree. - -“John,” said the captain, after the excitement was over, “did you set -the dog on those boys?” - -“No, father; they had me down on the ground, beating me; I screamed for -help, and Tige came and went right at ’em. I got him off of Fred as -soon as I could, but he wouldn’t mind me; and he was so savage I was -afraid of him myself.” - -“What did they beat you for?” - -“They were all sitting on the beach, planning out to pull Uncle Isaac’s -corn up, throw his sheep in the well, and girdle his apple trees; -because I overheard ’em, and wouldn’t promise not to tell him, they -pitched into me. I believe I could have whipped the whole of them, if I -hadn’t fell down.” - -“I wouldn’t have believed that of boys raised round here; it’s a pity -Tige hadn’t finished that Pete; he was at the bottom of it.” - -When Pete recovered from his wounds he left the place. The parents of -the others gave them a severe whipping, in consequence of which Jack -Godsoe ran away from home, but the others left off their tricks, and -became steady, industrious boys. - -“On deck there!” cried Captain Rhines, from the roof of the house, -where he was stopping a leak. - -“What is it, father?” said John. - -“Tell your mother Ben has just come round Birch Point in his canoe, and -is going across to the island; I guess he wants to kiss Sally, for he’s -making the canoe go through the water like blazes.” - -The next morning they saw him coming off in the canoe. - -“Well, Ben,” said his father, after the greeting had passed, “when I -was young, folks didn’t go to sea without bidding their folks good by. -Now, give an account of yourself.” - -Ben, who knew his father, old sailor like, would want to know the -details of the passage, said, “By twelve o’clock the first night I was -up with Purpooduck, right off the pitch of the cape; the wind was very -strong and steady from sunrise till midnight.” - -“I know it was; for I was up watching it.” - -“It then died away to a flat calm; and as the flood tide was drifting -me into Portland Sound, I anchored and made a fire.” - -“What on?” - -“A flat stone I carried; made a cup of tea, and slept till daylight, -when the wind, blowing the smoke in my face, woke me. The wind held, -and plenty of it. I run her all day and all night, and by eight o’clock -the next morning I was up with Cape Ann, when it fell calm. It was -flood tide; I went to sleep and let her drift. When I woke up, the tide -had carried me, with a little air of wind there was, up to East Point; -and, in the course of the day and night, I tied her to Long Wharf, -Boston--not much sorry.” - -“What did Mr. Welch say?” - -“He was somewhat astonished. There were hundreds of people on the -wharf to look at me or the raft, I don’t know which. I got there in a -good time. There were a great many vessels there, from Europe, after -spars--especially big masts. I sold enough to pay for half the island, -and I haven’t cleared a quarter of it; but that is not the best of it.” - -“I should think that was good enough; what can be any better?” - -“I sold all the timber that I used to confine the raft (and that was -full of holes) for wharf stuff--the cable, sail, everything but the -compass, canoe, and tea-kettle. I got a chance to pilot a French ship, -that was bound to Portland for lumber and horses, and got a round price -for it. They took the canoe on the ship’s deck. In Portland I found a -schooner bound to Nova Scotia; they took me to Gull Rock, and I rowed -home. Thus I got mighty good pay for doing my own work.” - -“Well, Ben, at that rate I would cut every stick off the island, and -sell the island for whatever anybody, who is fool enough to live there, -will give, and come on to the main land, and buy a place among folks.” - -“Not yet, father; that is, if Sally likes to live there. I wouldn’t -swap it for the best place and house in town.” - -Ben was now reduced to a single yoke of oxen, as those he had hired -were needed at home, and without them he could not handle spars, which -must be hauled some distance; but on the eastern side of the island was -a place where the rocks, undermined by the frosts and sea, had fallen -into the water. He cut the trees around it into mill-logs that were not -fit for spars, rolled them down the chasm into the water, towed them to -the mill, bringing back the boards, and sticking them up on the shore -to season. Thus they worked all through the summer, despite of black -flies and mosquitos. - -They then cut a lot of cedar, and piled it up to dry with the boards. - -“What are you going to do with all this cedar?” said Joe; “and why -don’t you sell your boards at the mill, instead of bringing them back -here?” - -“I won’t tell you,” said Ben; “so you needn’t ask me.” - -In September, Joe, who had agreed to go on a fishing trip with John -Strout, left, and Ben was once more alone. - -Let us now see how matters are going with Fred, who, by fright, wounds, -loss of blood, and remorse of conscience, was brought well nigh to -death’s door. For a long time he was so reduced, and in such a state of -stupor, as not to know where he was; but as he regained strength and -perception, it mortified and stung him to the quick to find himself in -the house, and the object of care and solicitude to those whom he had -so recently injured; for, notwithstanding the mean, cowardly treatment -John had received from Fred, he was unremitting in his attentions to -him,--sleeping in the same room, and ministering to all his wants. It -is wonderful to what lengths a boy of a naturally kind and generous -nature may be induced to go in wickedness,--and mean wickedness, -too,--through the influence of evil examples and companionship. - -Such a boy was Fred; and this kind treatment was perfect torture. At -length he could bear it no longer; but upon a night when he had been -feverish and very restless, and John had been up great part of the -night, bathing his head, and giving him drink and medicines, he said, -while his voice was choked with sobs, “O, John, I don’t deserve all -this kindness at your hands; I don’t see how I could ever have gone in -with that miserable Pete, and those boys, to hurt you. If I ever get -well, I’ll be a better boy, and try to show you and your folks that I -am not ungrateful.” - -He had made promises of amendment to John before, especially when -suffering under the smart of the fish-hook. They came from the lips -then--a repentance in view of consequences; but Tige’s teeth went -deeper than the fish-hook, and this time they came from the heart. - -Little Fannie now came down to see her brother. The first thing she -did, upon entering the house, was to put both arms round Tige’s neck, -and tell him he shouldn’t be whipped if he did do naughty things, for -Captain Rhines said so. - -Fred’s father was a stern, passionate man, who did not secure the -affections of his children. His mother was a fretful, teasing woman; -thought she had to work harder, and had more to try her than anybody -else in the world; didn’t see what she had so many children for; when -the window was down she wanted it up, and when it was up she wanted it -down; was never suited. She was a great deal more inclined to scold -her children for doing wrong, than to praise them for doing well. The -doctor said Fred would never get well, if his mother took care of him, -she kept such a fuss, and made him uneasy; so Mrs. Rhines told her -there were a good many of them, and they could take care of him as well -as not, and had plenty of room; that she had a great family, with much -to do, and young children; their dog did the harm, and they would take -care of him. - -As Fred began to mend, Mrs. Rhines would take her work and sit down -by him in the afternoon, and talk with him as she did with her own -children; in her kind, motherly way, tell him of the results of vice, -and the inducements to a virtuous course; and, as the tears ran down -his cheeks, wiped them away, soothing and encouraging him, till the -boy’s inmost soul responded to her teachings. His eyes would light up -with satisfaction when he saw her take her knitting work to sit by his -bedside. - -Not long after Fred had given vent to his feelings, John, meeting Uncle -Isaac on the beach, said to him, “I believe Fred would be right glad to -see you, but don’t like to say so.” - -“Well, I’ll happen in.” - -So he happened in. What passed between them was never known; but the -next day Fred said to John, “Uncle Isaac’s a good man--ain’t he?” - -“Good! He’s the goodest man that ever was.” - -Not many days after he happened in again, when Fred said to him, “I -have an uncle in Salem that’s a tanner and shoemaker. He and I were -always great friends; he wants me to come and live with him, and learn -the trade. Father has said a great many times that I am such a bad boy, -and plague him so much, that he should be glad if I was there. I’ve -been thinking while on this bed, that since I have got such a bad name -round here, it would be a good thing to go where nobody knows me, or -what I have done, and begin brand fire new.” - -“The tanner’s trade is a first-rate one, and I should like to have you -learn it; but the place where you have lost your character, Fred, is -the very place to get it again. There was a man lived in Rowley, who -was accused of stealing a sheep. He said he wouldn’t stay in a place -where he was so slandered, and moved to Newbury. He had not been there -a fortnight when the report came that he had stolen three sheep when he -lived in Rowley, and he moved back again.” - -“But everybody will scorn me; and when I go to school the boys will -twit me of it, and holler after me when I go along the road.” - -“No boy or man, whose opinion is worth minding, will do it when they -see you mean to mend; besides, you ought to be willing to suffer some -mortification on account of the sorrow you have caused your parents and -friends, and for all the mischief you have done, and meant to do.” - -“That is true; and I _am_ willing they may say or do what they like; -I’ll _face_ it.” - -“That’s right; that’s bravely spoken,” said Captain Rhines, laying -his great hand upon the pale forehead of the sick boy; “you’ll live -it down, and be thought more of for it. You see, my son, building -character is just like building a vessel. We build a vessel model, -fasten, spar, and rig her the best we know how, and _think_ she’ll -prove serviceable; still we don’t know that. But when she’s made a -winter passage across the western ocean, and the captain writes home -that she is tight, and sails and works well in all weathers, then you -see that vessel’s got a character; sailors like to go in her, and -merchants like to put freight in her. That will be the way with you; -people will say there’s good stuff at bottom in that boy; he’s been -through the mill.” - -“But,” said the poor boy, “who will believe that I’m going to be a good -boy? and who will go with me at the first of it, while I’m proving -myself?” - -“John will go with you, and our girls.” - -“I,” said Uncle Isaac, “will get Henry Griffin to go with you. Pete -tried to get hold of him, but he didn’t make out. I’ll get him to come -down and see you to-morrow.” - -When the cool weather came on, Fred gained strength, went to school, -and began to help his father in the mill. - -It was remarkable how soon people began to notice the change in him, -and to say, “What a smart boy Fred Williams is getting to be! and -how much help he is to his father!” He could not have been placed -in a better position to have his light shine, than in a mill, where -everybody in the whole town came, and were convinced of the shrewd -wisdom of Uncle Isaac’s declaration, that the place to look for a -thing was where you lost it; the place to regain confidence, where you -had forfeited it. - -Our readers will recollect the longing for some kindred spirit near his -own age, which John expressed to his mother. That desire was now to -be gratified in a most wonderful manner, as will be seen in the next -volume of “Elm Island Stories,” entitled CHARLIE BELL, THE WAIF OF -ELM ISLAND; and we cannot help thinking it must have been as a -reward for his remarkable conduct towards Fred. - - - - -OLIVER OPTIC’S MAGAZINE, OUR BOYS AND GIRLS - - The only Original American Juvenile Magazine published once a Week. - - EDITED BY OLIVER OPTIC, - - Who writes for no other juvenile publication--who contributes - each year - - Four Serial Stories, - - The cost of which in book form would be $5.00--_double the - subscription price of the Magazine!_ - - Each number (published every Saturday) handsomely illustrated by - THOMAS NAST, and other talented artists. - - * * * * * - - Among the regular contributors, besides OLIVER OPTIC, are - - =SOPHIE MAY=, author of “Little Prudy and Dotty Dimple Stories.” - =ROSA ABBOTT=, author of “Jack of all Trades,” &c. - =MAY MANNERING=, author of “The Helping-Hand Series,” &c. - =WIRT SIKES=, author of “On the Prairies,” &c. - =OLIVE LOGAN=, author of “Near Views of Royalty,” &c. - =REV. ELIJAH KELLOGG=, author of “Good Old Times,” &c. - - Each number contains 16 pages of Original Stories, Poetry, Articles - of History, Biography, Natural History, Dialogues, Recitations, - Facts and Figures, Puzzles, Rebuses, &c. - - OLIVER OPTIC’S MAGAZINE contains more reading matter than any other - juvenile publication, and is the _Cheapest and the Best_ Periodical - of the kind in the United States. - - TERMS, IN ADVANCE. - Single Subscriptions, one year, $2.50 - One Volume, Six Months, 1.25 - Single Copies, 6 cts. - Three copies, 6.50 - Five copies, 10.00 - Ten copies (an extra copy _free_), 20.00 - - Canvassers and local agents wanted in every State and town, and - liberal arrangements will be made with those who apply to the - Publishers. - - A handsome cloth cover, with a beautiful gilt design, will be - furnished for binding the numbers for the year for 50 cts. All - the numbers for 1867 will be supplied for $2.25. Bound volumes, - $3.50. - - Any boy or girl who will write to the Publishers shall receive a - specimen copy by mail free. - - LEE & SHEPARD, Publishers, - 149 Washington Street, Boston. - - - - -THE ARMY AND NAVY STORIES. - - In Six Volumes. - A Library for Young and Old. - BY OLIVER OPTIC. - - I. - =THE SOLDIER BOY=; - Or, Tom Somers in the Army. - - II. - =THE SAILOR BOY=; - Or, Jack Somers in the Navy. - - III. - =THE YOUNG LIEUTENANT=; - Or, The Adventures of an Army Officer. - A SEQUEL TO “THE SOLDIER BOY.” - - IV. - =THE YANKEE MIDDY=; - Or, The Adventures of a Naval Officer. - A SEQUEL TO “THE SAILOR BOY.” - - V. - =FIGHTING JOE=; - Or, The Fortunes of a Staff Officer. - A SEQUEL TO “THE YOUNG LIEUTENANT.” - - VI. - =BRAVE OLD SALT=; - Or, Life on the Quarter Deck. - A SEQUEL TO “THE YANKEE MIDDY.” - - - - -RIVERDALE STORY BOOKS. - - BY OLIVER OPTIC. - 12 vols., in neat box. - - I. - THE LITTLE MERCHANT. - - II. - THE YOUNG VOYAGERS. - - III. - THE CHRISTMAS GIFT. - - IV. - DOLLY AND I. - - V. - UNCLE BEN. - - VI. - BIRTH-DAY PARTY. - - VII. - PROUD AND LAZY. - - VIII. - CARELESS KATE. - - IX. - ROBINSON CRUSOE, JR. - - X. - THE PICNIC PARTY. - - XI. - THE GOLD THIMBLE. - - XII. - THE DO-SOMETHINGS. - -LEE & SHEPARD, ... Publishers. - - - - -LIBRARY FOR YOUNG PEOPLE. - - BY OLIVER OPTIC. - - I. - THE BOAT CLUB; - OR, THE BUNKERS OF RIPPLETON. - - II. - ALL ABOARD; - OR, LIFE ON THE LAKE. - - III. - LITTLE BY LITTLE; - OR, THE CRUISE OF THE FLYAWAY. - - IV. - TRY AGAIN; - OR, THE TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF HARRY WEST. - - V. - NOW OR NEVER; - OR, THE ADVENTURES OF BOBBY BRIGHT. - - VI. - POOR AND PROUD; - OR, THE FORTUNES OF KATY REDBURN. - - Six volumes, put up in a neat box. - -LEE & SHEPARD, Publishers. - - - - -WOODVILLE STORIES. - - BY OLIVER OPTIC. - - I. - =RICH AND HUMBLE=; - Or, The Mission of Bertha Grant. - - II. - =IN SCHOOL AND OUT=; - Or, The Conquest of Richard Grant. - - III. - =WATCH AND WAIT=; - Or, The Young Fugitives. - - IV. - =WORK AND WIN=; - Or, Noddy Newman on a Cruise. - - V. - =HOPE AND HAVE=; - Or, Fanny Grant among the Indians. - - VI. - =HASTE AND WASTE=; - Or, The Young Pilot of Lake Champlain. - -LEE & SHEPARD, Publishers. - - - - -Sophie May’s Popular Series. - - LITTLE PRUDY STORIES. - Six Volumes. - ILLUSTRATED. - - COMPRISING: - Little Prudy. - Little Prudy’s Sister Susie. - Little Prudy’s Capt. Horace. - Little Prudy’s Cousin Grace. - Little Prudy’s Story Book. - Little Prudy’s Dotty Dimple. - - Price per Volume, 75 cents. - - * * * * * - - Read the high commendation of the _North American Review_, which - places this series at the Head of Juvenile Literature. - - “Genius comes in with ‘Little Prudy.’ Compared with her, all - other book-children are cold creations of Literature only; she - alone is the real thing. All the quaintness of childhood, its - originality, its tenderness and its teasing,--its infinite, - unconscious drollery, the serious earnestness of its fun, the - fun of its seriousness, the natural religion of its plays, - and the delicious oddity of its prayers,--all these waited - for dear Little Prudy to embody them. Sam Weller is not more - piquant; Hans Andersen’s nutcrackers and knitting-needles are - not more thoroughly charged with life. Who is our benefactress - in the authorship of these books the world knows not. Sophie - May must doubtless be a fancy name, by reason of the spelling, - and we have only to be grateful that the author did not inflict - on us the customary alliteration in her pseudonyme. The rare - gift of delineating childhood is hers, and may the line of - ‘Little Prudy’ go out to the end of the earth.... To those - oversaturated with transatlantic traditions, we recommend a - course of ‘Little Prudy.’” - - Copies of any of the above books sent by mail on receipt of price. - - LEE AND SHEPARD, - PUBLISHERS, - 149 Washington Street, Boston. - - - - -Transcriber’s Note: - -Punctuation has been standardised. Spelling and hyphenation have been -retained as they appear in the original publication. Changes have been -made as follows: - - Page 62 - I I love you well enough _changed to_ - I love you well enough - - Page 75 - and its all the thing on this earth _changed to_ - and it’s all the thing on this earth - - Page 198 - and all kinds of boy’s sports _changed to_ - and all kinds of boys’ sports - - Page 244 - maltreat our prisoners in their hunks _changed to_ - maltreat our prisoners in their hulks - - - - - -End of Project Gutenberg's Lion Ben of Elm Island, by Elijah Kellogg - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LION BEN OF ELM ISLAND *** - -***** This file should be named 50993-0.txt or 50993-0.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/0/9/9/50993/ - -Produced by David Edwards and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was -produced from images generously made available by The -Internet Archive) - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law 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. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: Lion Ben of Elm Island - Elm Island Stories - -Author: Elijah Kellogg - -Release Date: January 22, 2016 [EBook #50993] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LION BEN OF ELM ISLAND *** - - - - -Produced by David Edwards and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was -produced from images generously made available by The -Internet Archive) - - - - - - -</pre> - - -<hr class="divider" /> -<h1>LION BEN<br /> -OF<br /> -ELM ISLAND.</h1> - -<div class="hidehand"> -<hr class="divider2" /> -<div class="figcenter width500"> -<img src="images/cover.jpg" width="500" height="763" alt="Cover" /> -<div class="center">The cover was created by the transcriber using -elements from the original publication and placed in the public domain.</div> -</div></div> - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="divider" /> -</div> -<p class="center spaced p120">ELM ISLAND STORIES.</p> -<hr class="short" /> -<p class="title">LION BEN<br /> -<span class="p60">OF</span><br /> -<span class="spaced"><small>ELM ISLAND</small></span>.</p> - -<p class="author"><span class="p60">BY</span><br /><br /> -REV. ELIJAH KELLOGG,<br /> -<span class="p60">AUTHOR OF “SPARTACUS TO THE GLADIATORS,”<br /> -“GOOD OLD TIMES,” ETC.</span></p> - - -<p class="pub mt3">BOSTON:<br /> -LEE AND SHEPARD.<br /> -1869.</p> - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="divider2" /> -</div> -<p class="center">Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1868, by<br /> - -LEE AND SHEPARD,<br /> - -In the Clerk’s Office of the District Court of the District of Massachusetts.</p> - - -<p class="center">ELECTROTYPED AT THE<br /> -BOSTON STEREOTYPE FOUNDRY,<br /> -19 Spring Lane.</p> - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="divider" /> -</div> -<p class="center sanserif"><em>ELM ISLAND STORIES.</em></p> -<hr class="short" /> - -<div class="list-container"> -<ul class="nobullet sanserif p120"> -<li>1. LION BEN OF ELM ISLAND.</li> -<li>2. CHARLIE BELL, THE WAIF OF ELM ISLAND.</li> -</ul> -</div> - -<p class="center sanserif">Others in preparation.</p> - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="divider" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_5" id="Page_5">5</a></span> -</div> - -<h2><a name="preface" id="preface"></a>PREFACE.</h2> - - -<p><span class="smcap">If</span> the writer ever tasted unalloyed happiness, it has been when -exciting to manly effort a noble boy, whose nature responded to the -impulse as a generous horse leaps under the pressure of the knee.</p> - -<p>Hours and years thus spent have brought their own reward. The desire -to meet a want not as yet fully satisfied, to impart pleasure, and, at -the same time, inspire respect for labor, integrity, and every noble -sentiment, has originated the stories contained in the “Elm Island -Series,” in which we shall endeavor to place before American youth the -home life of those from whom they sprung; the boy life of those who -grew up amid the exciting scenes and peculiar perils and enjoyments -incident to frontier life, by sea and land; in fine, that type<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_6" id="Page_6">6</a></span> of -character which has transformed a wilderness into a land of liberty and -wealth, and replaced the log canoe of the pioneer by a commerce, the -marvel of the age;—to the intent that, as insects take the color of -the bark on which they feed, they also may learn to despise effeminacy -and vice, and sympathize with, and emulate, the virtues they here find -portrayed.</p> - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="divider" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">7</a></span> -</div> -<h2><a name="contents" id="contents"></a>CONTENTS.</h2> - -<table summary="Contents"> -<tr> -<th>CHAPTER</th> -<th> </th> -<th>PAGE</th> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdr">I.</td> -<td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Elm Island.</span></td> -<td class="tdr2"><a href="#i">9</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdr">II.</td> -<td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">The Rhines Family.</span></td> -<td class="tdr2"><a href="#ii">25</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdr">III.</td> -<td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Tige Rhines.</span></td> -<td class="tdr2"><a href="#iii">39</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdr">IV.</td> -<td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Ben’s Courtship.</span></td> -<td class="tdr2"><a href="#iv">50</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdr">V.</td> -<td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Sally tells her Mother all about it.</span></td> -<td class="tdr2"><a href="#v">64</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdr">VI.</td> -<td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Ben buys Elm Island.</span></td> -<td class="tdr2"><a href="#vi">70</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdr">VII.</td> -<td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Captain Rhines riding out a Gale before -the Fire.</span></td> -<td class="tdr2"><a href="#vii">77</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdr">VIII.</td> -<td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Breaking Ground on Elm Island.</span></td> -<td class="tdr2"><a href="#viii">88</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdr">IX.</td> -<td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Too good a Chance to lose.</span></td> -<td class="tdr2"><a href="#ix">107</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdr">X.</td> -<td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">The Surprise Party.</span></td> -<td class="tdr2"><a href="#x">115</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdr">XI.</td> -<td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">The Christening.</span></td> -<td class="tdr2"><a href="#xi">122</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdr">XII.</td> -<td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">The Pull-up.</span></td> -<td class="tdr2"><a href="#xii">127</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdr">XIII.</td> -<td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Injured People have long Memories.</span></td> -<td class="tdr2"><a href="#xiii">135</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdr">XIV.</td> -<td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Ben confides in Uncle Isaac, and is comforted.</span></td> -<td class="tdr2"><a href="#xiv">145</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdr">XV.</td> -<td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Encouraging Native Talent.</span></td> -<td class="tdr2"><a href="#xv">153</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdr">XVI.</td> -<td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Ben outwitted, and Uncle Isaac astonished.</span></td> -<td class="tdr2"><a href="#xvi">164</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdr"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">8</a></span>XVII.</td> -<td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">They marry, and go on to the Island.</span></td> -<td class="tdr2"><a href="#xvii">172</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdr">XVIII.</td> -<td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">The Bridal Call.</span></td> -<td class="tdr2"><a href="#xviii">184</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdr">XIX.</td> -<td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">An Ungrateful Boy.</span></td> -<td class="tdr2"><a href="#xix">193</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdr">XX.</td> -<td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Peter Clash and the Wolf-trap.</span></td> -<td class="tdr2"><a href="#xx">201</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdr">XXI.</td> -<td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Why the Boys liked Uncle Isaac.</span></td> -<td class="tdr2"><a href="#xxi">210</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdr">XXII.</td> -<td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Ben’s Novel Ship.</span></td> -<td class="tdr2"><a href="#xxii">224</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdr">XXIII.</td> -<td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Pete, in Quest of Revenge, comes to -Grief.</span></td> -<td class="tdr2"><a href="#xxiii">245</a></td> -</tr> -</table> - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="divider" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">9</a></span> -</div> -<p class="title">LION BEN OF ELM ISLAND.</p> -<hr class="short" /> -<h2 style="page-break-before: avoid"><a name="i" id="i"></a>CHAPTER I.<br /> -<small>ELM ISLAND.</small></h2> - - -<p><span class="smcap">In</span> one of the most beautiful of the many romantic spots on the rugged -coast of Eastern Maine lived Captain Ben Rhines. The country was just -emerging from the terrible struggle of the revolution, and the eastern -part of the state had settled very slowly. The older portion of the -inhabitants, now living in frame houses, had been born and passed their -childhood in log camps.</p> - -<p>Captain Rhines’s house stood at the head of a little cove, on the -western side of a large bay, formed by a sweep in the main shore on the -one side, and a point on the other, called (from the name of its owner, -Isaac Murch) “Uncle Isaac’s Point.”</p> - -<p>A small stream, that carried a saw and grist mill, found an outlet at -the head of it, while the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">10</a></span> milldam served the inhabitants for a bridge. -A number of islands were scattered over the surface of the bay, some -of them containing hundreds of acres; others, a mere patch of rock and -turf, fringed with the white foam of the breakers.</p> - -<p>At a distance of six miles, broad off at sea, in a north-westerly -direction, lay an island, called Elm Island, deriving its name from the -great numbers of that tree which grew on its southern end.</p> - -<p>As we shall have a great deal to do with this island, it is necessary -to be particular in the description of it. It was about three miles -in length, rocks and all, by two in width, running north-east and -south-west, and parallel to the main land. From the eastern side, -Captain Rhines’s house and the whole extent of the bay, and Uncle -Isaac’s Point, were visible. Nature seemed to have lavished her skill -upon this secluded spot.</p> - -<p>The island was formed by two ridges of rock forming the line of the -shore, the intervening valley dividing the island nearly in the middle. -These ridges sloped gradually, on their inner sides, into fertile -swales of deep, strong soil. The shores were perpendicular, dropping -plump down into the ocean, being in some places forty feet above the -level of the water. They were rent and seamed<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">11</a></span> by the frost and waves; -and, in the crevices of the rocks, the spruce and birch trees thrust -their roots, and, clinging to the face of the cliff, struggled for life -with waves and tempests.</p> - -<p>The island would have been well nigh inaccessible, had not nature -provided on the south-western end a most remarkable harbor. The line -of perpendicular cliffs on the north-west ran the whole length of -the island, against which, even in calm weather, the ground-swell -of the ocean eternally beat. The westerly ridge, which was covered -with soil of a moderate depth, gradually sloped as it approached the -south-western end, till it terminated in a broad space occupying the -whole width between the outer cliffs, and gradually sloping to the -water’s edge. This portion of the island was bare of wood, and covered -with green grass. The eastern ridge terminated in a long, broad point, -covered with a growth of spruce trees, so dense that not a breath of -wind could get through them, and, curving around, formed a beautiful -cove, whose precipitous sides broke off the easterly sea and gales.</p> - -<p>Into the head of this cove poured a brook, which, like a little boy, -had a very small beginning. It came out from beneath the roots of two -yellow birch trees that grew side by side in a little stream<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">12</a></span> not more -than two inches deep. As it ran on, it was joined by two other springs, -that came out from the westerly ridge. The waters of these springs, -together with the rains which slowly filtered through the forest, made -quite a brook, which was never dry in the hottest weather.</p> - -<p>At certain periods of the year the frost-fish and the smelts came up -from the sea into the mouth of this brook. The cove, also, was full of -flounders and minnows, eels and lobsters, and abounded in clams. The -fish attracted the fish-hawks and herons, who filled the woods with -their notes. Sometimes there would be ten blue herons’ nests on one -great beech. The fish-hawks attracted the eagles, who obtained their -principal living by robbing the fish-hawks. The wild geese, coots, -whistlers, brants, and sea-ducks also came there to drink. This was -not the natural habitat of the large blue heron, their food not being -found there to any great extent, as the shores were too bold, and the -waters too deep; their favorite feeding grounds are the broad shallow -coves, where they can wade into the water with their long legs, and -catch little fish as they come up on the flood tide; but they prefer -to go after their food, rather than abandon this secluded spot, where -they are secure from all<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">13</a></span> enemies, and where the tall trees afforded -these shy birds such advantages for building their nests. As for the -fish-hawks, who dive and take their food from the water, it was just -the place for them.</p> - -<p>There was also on the eastern side of the western ridge a swamp, a -most solitary place, so thickly timbered with enormous hemlocks and -firs, mixed with white cedar, that it was almost as dark as twilight -at noonday. Here dwelt an innumerable multitude of herons, where they -had bred undisturbed for ages. Much smaller than the great blue heron, -they built their nests in the low firs and cedars; and as they fed upon -frogs, grasshoppers, mice, tadpoles, and minnows, they were not obliged -to leave the island for their food: they were perfectly at home and -happy.</p> - -<p>They belonged to that species called, by naturalists, <em>ardea -nycticorax</em>. The inhabitants called them squawks and flying foxes, -from the noise they made. Like all the heron tribe, they are extremely -quick of hearing, and feed mostly in the morning and evening twilight, -half asleep through the day among the branches of the firs, standing -on one leg. They make shallow nests of sticks, and lay three or four -green eggs. You may walk through their haunts: all is still as death, -apparently<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">14</a></span> not a heron on the island, while thousands of them are -right over your head, and all around you, listening to every step you -take, the slightest noise of which they will hear, when you do not -notice it yourself. Crack goes a dry stick under your foot; you catch -your toe under a spruce root, and tumble down; instantly the intense -stillness of the woods is broken by a flapping of wings and rustling of -branches, succeeded by quaw, quaw, squawk, squawk, producing a chorus -almost deafening. The sound they emit, which is a union of growl, bark, -and scream, comes from their throat with such suddenness, breaking upon -the deep silence of the woods, like the whirr of the partridge, that -it will make you jump, though you are prepared for it and accustomed -to it. Then you will see them, after flying to a safe distance, light -on the tips of the fir limbs, holding themselves up with their wings -on the bending branch, like a bobolink on a spear of herds-grass, from -which they will in an instant crawl down into the middle of the tree, -sitting close to the trunk, where it is impossible to see them. You -must therefore shoot them when they are on the wing, or at the moment -they light.</p> - -<p>They will bear a great deal of killing, and even<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">15</a></span> make believe dead. I -knew a boy once who shot four squawks, and after beating them with an -iron ramrod, left them tied up in his pocket-handkerchief at the foot -of a tree while he was clambering up after eggs: when he came down, two -of them had crawled out of the handkerchief and run away. They will -show fight, too, when they are wounded, bite and thrust with their -bill, and scratch terribly with their claws. As if to compensate for -the horrible noise they make, the full-grown male is a very handsome -bird. The top of the head and back are green, the eyes a bright, -flashing red, and just above them a little patch of pure white. The -bill is black, the wings are light blue, the back part and sides of -the neck lilac, shading on the front and breast to a cream color, and -the legs yellow. From the back part of the head depend three feathers, -white as snow and extremely delicate, rolled together, and as long as -the neck.</p> - -<p>The mouth of the little brook of which we have spoken was a very busy -place when the fish-hawks were fishing, or carrying sticks to build -their nests, and screaming with all their might, the herons fishing for -minnows, squawks catching frogs, the wild geese making their peculiar -noise, the sea-fowl diving, the ducks quacking, and the fish jumping -from<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">16</a></span> the water in schools. It shows how God provides for all his -creatures, for though there are thousands of these islands scattered -along the coast of Maine, on the smallest of them, and some that are -mere rocks, you will find springs of living water.</p> - -<p>On this island was a spring, that whenever the tide was in was six feet -under water; but when the tide ebbed, there was the spring bubbling up -in the white sand, as good fresh water as was ever drank.</p> - -<p>Old Skipper Brown said he knew the time when it was a rod up the bank; -that when he used to go fishing with his father, he had filled many a -jug with water out of it; but the frost and the sea had undermined the -bank and washed it away, till the tide came to flow over it.</p> - -<p>There is another thing in relation to this little harbor, of great -importance; for though the high rocks and the thick wood sheltered the -little cove from all but the south and south-west winds, yet it would -have been (at any rate the mouth of it) very much exposed to the whole -sweep of the Atlantic waves in southerly gales; and though the cove was -so winding that a vessel in the head of it could not be hurt by the -sea, yet it would have been very<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">17</a></span> hard going in, and impossible to get -out in bad weather, had it not been for a provision of nature, of which -I shall now speak, consisting of some ragged and outlying rocks.</p> - -<p>One of these was called the White Bull, deriving its name from the -peculiar hoarse roar which the sea made as it broke upon it, and also -the white cliffs of which it was composed. It was a long granite -ledge, perpendicular on the inside, and far above the reach of the -highest waves. On the seaward side it ran off into irregular broken -reefs, covered with kelp, the home of the rock cod and lobster, and -the favorite resort of all the diving sea-fowl, who fed on the weeds -growing on the bottom.</p> - -<p>In the centre of these reefs was a large cove. Between this rock and -the eastern point of the island was another, of similar shape, but -smaller dimensions, called the Little Bull: they were connected by a -reef running beneath the water, against which the sea broke, in storms, -with great fury; and even in calm weather, from the ground swell of the -ocean, it was white with the foaming breakers.</p> - -<p>On the western side was a long, high, narrow island, called, from its -shape, the “Junk of Pork,” with deep water all around it, and covered -with<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">18</a></span> grass. The two ends of this island lapped by the western point -of the White Bull and the western point of the main island, thus -presenting a complete barrier against the sea. The whole space between -the main land and these outlying rocks and islands was a beautiful -harbor, the bottom of which was clay, and sand on top, thus affording -an excellent hold to anchors.</p> - -<p>There were two passages to go in and out, according as the wind might -happen to be, with deep water close to the rocks. This harbor was a -favorite resort of the fishermen, who came here to dig clams in the -cove, and catch menhaden and herring for bait; they also stopped here -in the afternoons to get water, and make a fire on the rocks, and -take a cup of tea, before they went out to fish all night for hake; -they also resorted to it in the morning to dress their fish and make -a chowder, and lie under the shadow of the trees and sleep all the -afternoon, that they might be ready to go out the next night.</p> - -<p>The bottom of the cove on the White Bull was of granite, sloping -gradually into deep water, and smooth as ice. Beneath this formation -of granite was a blue rock of much softer texture than granite. The -sea, in great storms, rolled the fragments of blue stone back and forth -on this granite floor,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">19</a></span> and wore away and rounded the corners, making -them of the shape of those you see in the pavements of the cities. The -action of these stones for hundreds of years, on this granite floor, -had worn holes in it as big as the mouth of a well, and two or three -feet in depth. Sometimes a great square rock would get in one of them, -too big for the summer winds to fling out, and the sea would roll -it round in the hole all summer, wear the corners off, and then the -December gales would wash it out. Among the quartz sand in the bottom -of this cove you could pick up crystals that had been ground out of the -rocks, from an eighth of an inch to an inch in diameter.</p> - -<p>It was a glorious sight to behold, and one never to be forgotten, -either in this world or the next, when the waves, which had been -growing beneath the winter’s gale the whole breadth of the Atlantic, -came thundering in on these ragged rocks, breaking thirty feet high, -pouring through the gaps between them, white foam on their summits -and deep green beneath, and when a gleam of sunshine, breaking from a -ragged cloud, flashed along their edges, displaying for a moment all -the colors of the rainbow. But when in the outer cove of the White Bull -the great wave came up, a quarter of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">20</a></span> a mile in length, bearing before -it the pebbles, some weighing three hundred pounds, others not larger -than a sparrow’s egg, all alive and moving in the surf, and rolling -over each other on the smooth granite bottom, how solemn to listen to -that awful roar, like the voice of Almighty God!</p> - -<p>Amid all this commotion, the little harbor, protected by its granite -ramparts, was tranquil as a summer’s lake. The surface of it was indeed -flecked with the froth of the breakers that drifted in little bunches -through the gaps of the rocks, and there was a slight movement caused -by the last pulsation of some dying wave; but that was all, and way up -in the cove there was no motion whatever.</p> - -<p>It may be interesting as well as instructive, having the old traditions -of the island to guide us, to consider the manner in which this -picturesque and most useful harbor was formed.</p> - -<p>Captain Rhines said his father told him, that when he was a boy (nearly -seventy years before the date of our tale) these outer rocks were all -connected with the main island. Between the eastern end of the island -and the Little Bull, and between the Little Bull and the White Bull, -was a strip of clay loam, covered with a growth of fir,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">21</a></span> hemlock, -and spruce; and between the White Bull and the Junk of Pork, and the -western point of the main island, were sand-spits mixed with stones, -and salt grass growing on them. What is now the harbor was then a -swamp, into which the brook and all the rain-water from the higher -portions of the island drained. In the middle of this swamp was a pond, -margined with alder bushes, cat-tail flags, and rotten logs. In high -courses of tides the salt water came into it, and this brackish water -bred myriads of mosquitos.</p> - -<p>When people went on there, they had to pick a smooth time, and go right -on the top of the tide, and haul their boat over a sand-spit into the -swamp. It was impossible to land, or get away from there, when it was -rough. Captain Rhines went on there once a gunning, in December, and -had to stay a week. Having no axe to build a camp, he turned his boat -bottom up to sleep under, and getting fire with his gun, cooked and ate -sea-fowl; but he got awful tired of them.</p> - -<p>He said, moreover, that the land on the outside kept caving off every -spring when the frost came out, and falling into the sea, till there -was only a little strip of land, with three old hemlocks upon it, left; -and he used to pity them as they stood<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">22</a></span> there shivering in the gale, -their great roots sticking out drying in the wind, and dripping with -salt spray, for he knew they were doomed, and must go.</p> - -<p>At length there came a dreadful high tide and south-east gale; the sea -broke in and swept the whole soil off, and in the course of ten years -turned it into a clam bed. It was the greatest place to get clams, -for a clam chowder, that ever was in the world. He said that it kept -gradually scouring out and deepening, till it became a first-rate -harbor.</p> - -<p>This island was owned by a merchant of Boston, in whose employ Captain -Rhines had sailed for many years, who gave him liberty to pasture it -with sheep, as a recompense for taking care of and preventing squatters -from plundering it of spars and timber. As sheep are very fond of -sea-weed and kelp, they would make a very good living on a place like -this island, where most of our domestic animals would find pretty hard -fare.</p> - -<p>An island like this of which I have spoken is a very pretty spot to -describe or visit; but I should like to ask my young readers if they -think they could be happy in such a place, especially after they have -enumerated with me the things, those we suppose to be living there -would be deprived<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">23</a></span> of, and which they often imagine they could not live -without.</p> - -<p>There was not a road on the island, nor a side-walk, only foot-paths; -not a horse, a store, church, school-house, post-office, museum, or -toy-shop; not a piano, nor any kind of musical instrument, except the -grand diapason of the breakers; no circus, caravan, soldiers, nor -fireworks; no confectionery nor ice-creams.</p> - -<p>The island stood alone in the ocean; and though you could land at any -time when you could get there, yet there were weeks together in winter, -when, in case of sickness or death, not a boat could live to cross from -the main land; they were completely shut out from all the rest of the -world. But you say, perhaps, these people must have been very poor.</p> - -<p>O, not at all. If you mean, by being poor, that they had not much -money, or horses, or carriages, or rich dresses, and servants to -wait on them, why, then they were poor; but if you mean by the term -poor, such poverty as you see in the cities or in the large country -towns, where you may see aged women in rags begging from door to door; -children with their little bare feet as red as the pigeons’ with the -cold, picking the little bits of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">24</a></span> coal out of the ashes that are thrown -out of the stores and houses; gathering pieces of hoops and chips -around the wharves and warehouses to carry home to burn; with the tears -running down their little cheeks, crying, “Please give me a cent to buy -some bread,”—O, there was no such poverty as that there: they never -knew what it was to want good wholesome food, and good coarse warm -clothing to keep out the frost and snow.</p> - -<p>“But how did they get it, if they had not much money to buy it?”</p> - -<p>“Get it? Why, they worked for it; and if any one had called these -island people beggars, they would have broken his head, or flung him -overboard.”</p> - -<p>You may think as you like, my young friends; but people did live on -this island, and were happy as the days are long, though they had their -trials and “head flaws,” as we all must.</p> - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="divider" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">25</a></span> -</div> - -<h2><a name="ii" id="ii"></a>CHAPTER II.<br /> -<small>THE RHINES FAMILY.</small></h2> - - -<p><span class="smcap">In</span> order that you may know all about them, we will resume the thread of -our story, and trace the history of Captain Rhines and his family.</p> - -<p>The captain was a strong-built, finely proportioned, “hard-a-weather” -sailor, not a great deal the worse for wear, and seasoned by the suns -and frosts of many climates. In early life he had experienced the -bitter struggle with poverty.</p> - -<p>His father came into the country when it was a wilderness, with nothing -but a narrow axe, and strength to use it. His first crops being cut -off by the frosts, they were compelled to live for months upon clams, -and the leaves of beech trees boiled. There were no schools; and the -parents, engaged in a desperate struggle for existence with famine -and the Indians, were unable to instruct their children. Fishing -vessels from Marblehead often anchored in the cove near the log camp, -and little Ben, anxious to earn somewhat to aid his parents in their -poverty, went as cook in one of these vessels when so<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">26</a></span> small that some -one had to hang on the pot for him. He was thus engaged for several -summers, till big enough to go as boy in a coaster. During the winters, -arrayed in buckskin breeches, Indian moccasons, and a coon-skin cap, -he helped his father make staves, and hauled them to the landing on a -hand-sled.</p> - -<p>At nineteen years of age he went to Salem, and shipped in a brig bound -to Havana, to load with sugar for Europe. He was then a tall, handsome, -resolute boy as ever the sun shone upon, without a single vicious -habit; for his parents, though poor, were religious, and had brought -him up to hard work and the fear of God.</p> - -<p>He was passionately fond of a gun and dogs, and what little leisure he -ever had was spent in hunting and fowling. As respected his fitness for -his position, he could “steer a good trick,” had learned what little -seamanship was to be obtained on board a fisherman and coaster, but he -could not read, or even write his name.</p> - -<p>The mate of the vessel conceived a liking for him the moment he -came over the ship’s side, and this good opinion increased upon -acquaintance. They had been but a fortnight at sea, when he said to the -captain, “That long-legged boy, who shipped<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">27</a></span> for a green hand, will -be as good a man as we have on board before we get into the English -Channel; he will reeve studding-sail gear, already, quicker than any -ordinary seaman. I liked the cut of his jib the moment I clapped eyes -on him. If that boy lives he’ll be master of a ship before many years.”</p> - -<p>“I hardly see how that can be,” replied the captain, “for he can’t -write his own name.”</p> - -<p>“Can’t write his own name! Why, that is impossible.”</p> - -<p>“At any rate he made his mark on the ship’s articles, and he is the -only one of the crew who did.”</p> - -<p>“Well,” replied the mate, “I can’t see through it; but he’s in my -watch, and I’ll know more about it before twenty-four hours.”</p> - -<p>That night the mate went forward where Ben was keeping the lookout.</p> - -<p>“Ben!”</p> - -<p>“Ay, ay, sir.”</p> - -<p>“Where do you hail from?”</p> - -<p>“Way down in the woods in Maine, Mr. Brown.”</p> - -<p>“What was you about there?”</p> - -<p>“Fishing and coasting summers, and working in the woods in the winter.”</p> - -<p>“Why didn’t you ship, then, for an ordinary seaman, and get more -wages?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">28</a></span> -“Because, sir, I was never in a square-rigged vessel before, and I -didn’t want to ship to do what I might not be able to perform.”</p> - -<p>“I see you made your ‘mark’ on the brig’s articles. Were you never at -school?”</p> - -<p>“No, sir.”</p> - -<p>“Why not?”</p> - -<p>“There’s no such thing where I came from.”</p> - -<p>“Couldn’t your parents read and write?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, sir.”</p> - -<p>“Then why didn’t they learn you themselves?”</p> - -<p>“There were a good many of us, sir, and they were so put to it to raise -enough to live on, and fight the Indians, they had no time for it.”</p> - -<p>The mate was a noble-hearted man; all his sympathies were touched at -seeing so fine a young man prevented from rising by an ignorance that -was no fault of his own. He took two or three turns across the deck, -and at length said,—</p> - -<p>“I tell you what it is, youngster: I’ll say this much before your face -or behind your back: you’re just the best behaved boy, the quickest to -learn your duty, and the most willing to do it, that I ever saw, and -I’ve been following the sea for nearly thirty years; and before I’ll -see an American boy like you kept down by ignorance, I’ll do as I’d<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">29</a></span> be -done by—turn schoolmaster, and teach you myself.”</p> - -<p>Mr. Brown was as good as his word. While the rest of the crew in their -forenoon watch below were mending their clothes, telling long yarns, -or playing cards, and when in port drinking and frolicking, Ben was -learning to read and write, and putting his whole soul into it. He -stuck to the vessel, and Mr. Brown stuck to him. When he shipped the -next voyage as able seaman, he wrote his name in good fair hand.</p> - -<p>They went to Charleston, South Carolina, to load with pitch, rice, and -deer-skins, for Liverpool. The vessel was a long time completing her -cargo, as it had to be picked up from the plantations. Ben improved the -time to learn navigation. From Liverpool they went to Barbadoes. While -lying there, the captain of the ship James Welch, of Boston, named -after the principal owner, died. The mate taking charge of the ship, -Ben, by Mr. Brown’s recommendation, obtained the first mate’s berth. He -was now no longer Ben, but Mr. Rhines, and finally becoming master of -the ship, continued in the employ of Mr. Welch as long as he followed -the sea. He then married, built a house on the site of the old log -camp, and surrounded it with<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">30</a></span> fruit and shade trees, for, by travel and -observation, he had acquired ideas of taste, beauty, and comfort, quite -in advance of the times, or his neighbors. He then took his parents -home to live with him, and made their last days happy.</p> - -<p>Although he was compelled by necessity thus early to go to sea, he had -a strong attachment to the soil, and would have devoted himself to its -cultivation in middle life, had he not met with losses, which so much -embarrassed him, that he was compelled to continue at sea to extricate -himself.</p> - -<p>Captain Rhines’s fine house, nice furniture, and curiosities which he -brought home from time to time, excited no heart-burnings among his -neighbors, because they knew he had earned them by hard work, and did -not think himself better than others on account of that.</p> - -<p>Thus, when he became embarrassed, instead of saying, “Good enough for -him,” “He will have to leave off some of his quarter-deck airs now,” -everybody felt sorry for him, and told him so.</p> - -<p>Indeed, everything about the Rhines family was pleasant, and excited -cheerful emotions. The old house itself had a most comfortable, cosy -look, as it lay in the very eye of the sun, with an orchard<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">31</a></span> before it, -green fields stretching along the water, sheltered on the north-west by -high land and forest. The shores were fringed with thickets of beech -and birch, branches of which, at high tide, almost touched the surface -of the water.</p> - -<p>Some houses are high and thin, resembling a sheet of gingerbread set -on edge; they impress you with a painful feeling of insecurity, as -though they might blow over. Such houses generally have all the windows -abreast, so that when the curtains are up, and the blinds open, you -can look right through them. They seem cold, cheerless, repellent; you -shrug your shoulders and shiver as you look at them. But <em>this</em> house -was large on the ground, and looked as if it grew there, with an ell -and long shed running to the barn, a sunny door-yard, a spreading beech -before the end door, with a great wood-pile under it, suggestive of -rousing fires.</p> - -<p>There was a row of Lombardy poplars in front of the house, and a -large rock maple at the corner of the barn-yard, which the children -always tapped in the spring to get sap to drink and make sap coffee. -There was a real hospitable look about the old homestead; it seemed -to say, “There’s pork in the cellar, there’s corn in the crib, hay in -the barn,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">32</a></span> and a good fire on the hearth: walk in, neighbor, and make -yourself at home.”</p> - -<p>But the popularity of Captain Rhines among his neighbors had a deeper -root than this. A great many of the young men in the neighborhood had -been their first voyage to sea with him; he had treated them in such a -manner, had taken so much pains to advance them in their profession, -that they respected and loved him ever after.</p> - -<p>When it was known in the neighborhood that Captain Rhines was going to -sea, the question was not, how he should <em>get</em> men, but how he should -get <em>rid</em> of them, there were so many eager for the berth.</p> - -<p>It would have done your heart good to have seen the happy faces of the -men grouped together on that ship’s forecastle, waiting, like hounds -straining in the leash, for the order to man the windlass; not an old -broken-down shellback among them, but all the neighbors’ boys, in their -red shirts, and duck trousers white as the driven snow, which their -mothers had washed.</p> - -<p>As each one of them had a character to sustain, was anxious to outdo -his shipmate, and the greater portion of them were in love with some -neighbor’s daughter, and expected to be married as soon as<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">33</a></span> they were -master of a ship, it is evident there was very little to do in the way -of discipline. It was a jolly sight, when there came a gale of wind, -to see them scamper up the rigging, racing with each other for the -“weather-earing.”</p> - -<p>Captain Rhines, though a large and powerfully built man, was a pygmy -to his son Ben. Ben measured, crooks and all, six feet two inches in -height, weighing two hundred and thirty pounds. He was possessed of -strength in proportion to his size, and, what was more remarkable, was -as spry as an eel, and could jump out of a hogshead without touching -his hands to it. His neighbors called him “Lion Ben.” He obtained the -appellation from this circumstance.</p> - -<p>One day when the inhabitants of the district were at work on the roads, -they dug out a large rock. Ben, then nineteen years of age, took it up, -carried it out of the road, dropped it, and said it might stay there -till they raised another man in town strong enough to take it back.</p> - -<p>He was now twenty-six years of age, of excellent capacity, and good -education for the times, his father having sent him to Massachusetts -to school. It was very difficult to provoke him; but when, after long -provocation, he became enraged,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">34</a></span> his temper broke out in an instant, -and he knew no measure in his wrath. His townsmen loved him, because -he used his strength to protect the weak, and were at the same time -excessively proud of him, as in all the neighboring towns there was not -a man that could throw him, or that even dared to take hold of him.</p> - -<p>He had a large chair made on purpose for him to sit in, and tools for -him to work with; and if anybody lent a crowbar to Captain Rhines, -they always said, “Don’t let Ben use it,” as in that case it was sure -to come home bent double, and had to be sent to the blacksmith’s to be -straightened.</p> - -<p>He was passionately fond of gunning, and would risk life and limb to -shoot a goose or sea-duck. Though he had followed the sea since he was -seventeen years of age, yet he was greatly attached to the soil, and -when at home loved to work on it. It was a curious sight to see this -great giant weeding the garden, or at work upon his sister’s flower-bed.</p> - -<p>He was a generous-hearted creature; when anybody was sick or poor he -would get all the young folks together, make a bee, get in their corn, -do their planting, or cut their winter’s wood for them. He had often -done this for the widow Hadlock,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">35</a></span> who was their nearest neighbor. -The widow Hadlock’s husband, a very enterprising sea captain, had -died at sea, in the prime of life, leaving his widow with a young -family, a farm, a fine house well furnished, but nothing more. The -broken-hearted woman had struggled very hard to keep the homestead for -her children, and the whole family together. Being a woman of great -prudence, industry, and judgment, with the help of good neighbors, she -had succeeded. Her oldest son was now able to manage the farm, and the -bitterness of the struggle was past.</p> - -<p>The tax-gatherer came to the widow for the taxes.</p> - -<p>“Why, Mr. Jones,” said the widow, “you tax me altogether too much; I -have not so much property.”</p> - -<p>“O, Mrs. Hadlock,” said he, “we tax you for your faculty.”</p> - -<p>Notwithstanding all the sterling qualities we have enumerated, the -personal appearance of Ben Rhines was anything but an exponent of his -character. There was such an enormous enlargement of the muscles of -the shoulders, and his neck was so short, that his head seemed to come -out of the middle of his breast. The great length of his arms was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">36</a></span> -exaggerated by the stoop in his shoulders: though his legs and hips -were large, yet the tremendous development of the upper part of the -body gave him the appearance of being top-heavy.</p> - -<p>From such a square-jawed fellow you would naturally expect to proceed a -deep bass voice; but from this monstrous bulk came a soft, child-like -voice, such as we sometimes hear from very fat people; and unless -he was greatly excited, the words were slowly drawled: the entire -impression made by him upon a stranger was that of a great, listless, -inoffensive man, without penetration to perceive, or courage to resist, -imposition.</p> - -<p>But never was the proverb, “Appearances are deceitful,” more strikingly -verified than in this instance. That listless exterior, and almost -infantile voice, concealed a mind clear and well informed, and a -temper, that when goaded beyond the limits of forbearance, broke out -like the eruption of a volcano.</p> - -<p>In his position as mate of a vessel it became his duty to control men -of all nations. Being well aware that his appearance was calculated to -invite aggression, he took singular methods to escape it. He knew that -his temper, when it reached a certain point, was beyond his control. -He also<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">37</a></span> knew his strength; and as the good-natured giant didn’t want -to hurt anybody when milder methods would answer the purpose, he -would come along just as the ship was getting under way, the men at -the topsail halyards, and reaching up above all the rest, bring them -down in a heap on deck, causing those that were singing to bite their -tongues. Sometimes when two or three sailors were heaving with the -handspikes to roll up a spar to the ringbolts, singing out and making -a great fuss, he would seize hold of the end of it, and heave it into -its bed apparently without any effort, while the men would wink to each -other and reflect upon the consequences of having a brush with such a -mate as that.</p> - -<p>By proceeding in this way, though he had taken up one or two that had -insulted him beyond endurance, and smashed them down upon the ground, -kicked a truckman into the dock who was beating his horse with a -cordwood stick, he never struck but one man in his life, which happened -in this wise.</p> - -<p>Ben was on board a ship in port, with only a cook and two boys, the -captain having gone home, and the rest of the crew being discharged. -He hired an English sailor to help the boys trim some<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">38</a></span> ballast in the -hold; they complained that he kicked and abused them.</p> - -<p>Ben told them to go to work again, and he would see about it. After -dinner he lay down in his berth for a nap, when he was disturbed by a -terrible outcry in the hold, and, going down, found the sailor beating -the boys with a rope’s end. He asked him what he was doing that for; -the man said they wouldn’t work, and were saucy to him. Ben replied -that the boys were good boys, that he had always known them, and that -he mustn’t strike the boys. The bully asked him if he meant to take -it up. Ben replied that he didn’t wish to take it up, but he mustn’t -strike the boys.</p> - -<p>The sailor then threatened to strike him; upon which Ben stood up -before him, and folding his arms on his breast, in his drawling, -childish way, told him to strike. The man struck, when Ben inflicted -upon him such a terrible blow, that, falling upon the ballast, he lay -and quivered like an ox when he is struck down by the butcher.</p> - -<p>“O, Mr. Rhines,” exclaimed the terrified boys, “you’ve killed him, -you’ve killed him!”</p> - -<p>“Well,” he replied in his quiet way, “if I’ve killed him, I’ve laid him -out.”</p> - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="divider" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">39</a></span> -</div> - -<h2><a name="iii" id="iii"></a>CHAPTER III.<br /> -<small>TIGE RHINES.</small></h2> - - -<p><span class="smcap">There</span> was another member of the family whose qualities deserve especial -mention—the great Newfoundland dog.</p> - -<p>We have already alluded to the captain’s fondness for the race: there -was always a dog in his father’s family. Often had old Lion furnished -them with a meal, or detected the ambush of the lurking Indian. As -though to round and complete the sum of kindly associations clustering -around this pleasant household, even Tiger partook of the good -qualities of the family. Captain Rhines said that he wouldn’t have a -dog that would make the neighbors dislike to come to the house; but as -for Tiger, he was both a gentleman and a Christian.</p> - -<p>The breed of dogs to which he belonged are both by nature and -inclination fitted for the water, and as insensible to the cold as a -white bear. Their skin is greasy; there is a fine wool under their long -hair which turns water; when they come ashore<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">40</a></span> they give themselves a -shake or two and are nearly dry. They are also partially web-footed; -they do not swim like common dogs, thrusting their paws out before them -like a hog, but spread out their great feet and strike out sidewise -like a boy.</p> - -<p>The way in which the captain made the acquaintance of Tige was on this -wise: One of his last voyages was to Trieste; he met in the street a -fine-looking dog carrying a basket full of eggs; greatly pleased with -the appearance of the animal, he turned to look after him, when, as he -passed a stable door, a dog as large as himself attacked him in the -rear. He bore it patiently till he came to a house, when, putting down -his eggs, he turned upon his persecutor, and gave him such a mauling -that he was glad to escape on three legs, and covered with blood. The -captain followed the dog to a menagerie, where he ascertained that it -was the dog’s daily duty to bring eggs to feed the monkeys; that he had -flogged the other a day or two before, who thought to avenge himself by -attacking him at a disadvantage.</p> - -<p>The captain succeeded in buying the animal, though he never dared to -tell what he gave for him.</p> - -<p>“Were I not pushed for money,” said the showman, after the bargain was -concluded, “I never<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">41</a></span> would have parted with him; he will protect your -person and your property; you never will be sorry that you bought him, -though I shall often regret that I was obliged to sell him.”</p> - -<p>Captain Rhines soon found that the showman had spoken the truth. He -could leave the most valuable articles on the wharf, and trust them to -his keeping.</p> - -<p>So well was his disposition known, that not a child in the neighborhood -feared to come to the house by night or day. He would permit any person -to inspect the premises, but not to touch the least thing.</p> - -<p>They might, in the night time, knock at the door as long as they -pleased; but if they put their hand on the latch, he would knock it -off with his paw, and show his teeth in a way that discouraged further -attempts. When the little children came who could not knock loud enough -to be heard, he would bark for them till he brought somebody to the -door.</p> - -<p>There was nothing so attractive to Tige as a baby on the floor, nor -anything in which he so much delighted as to follow them around, and -with his great tongue lick meat and gingerbread out of their fists. No -wonder his master said he was a gentleman and a Christian; for though -he<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">42</a></span> would tear a thief in a moment, these little tots would get on him -as he lay in the grass, stuff his mouth and nose full of clover heads -to hear him sneeze, and, when tired of that, lie down on him and go to -sleep.</p> - -<p>Next to playing with babies, his favorite employment was fishing. In a -calm day, when the water was clear, he would swim off to a dry ledge, -called Seal Rock, in the cove before the house, dive down, and bring up -a fish every time.</p> - -<p>The fish always worked off on the ebb tide, and came up on the flood. -Tige knew as well when it was flood tide, and time to go floundering, -as did John Rhines, his bosom friend and constant companion. Tige -always went to meeting, and slept <em>on</em> the horse-block in fair weather, -and <em>under</em> it in foul.</p> - -<p>The good women said, they did wish Tige Rhines would stay at home, for -when they had fixed the children all up nice to go to meeting, they -were sure to be hugging him, and he would slobber them all over, lick -their hair down about their eyes, and chew their bonnet “ribbins” into -strings.</p> - -<p>Captain Rhines hired Sam Hadlock to help him hoe. When he went home -Saturday night, he hung up his hoe in the shed, as he expected to work<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">43</a></span> -there the next week, but, finding his mother’s corn was suffering to -be hoed, went back to get it. The family had gone to bed, and Tige -wouldn’t let him touch it, though they were great friends, and he was -the next neighbor. He was going into the house without knocking, for -they didn’t fasten doors in those days; but the instant he put his hand -on the latch, the dog knocked it off with his paw, and he was obliged -to knock till Ben came and got the hoe for him.</p> - -<p>A more singular proof of his sagacity occurred soon after. They had a -fuss in the district with the schoolmaster, and a lawsuit grew out of -it. Captain Rhines’s daughter was summoned as a witness by the master. -He came one evening to see her about it, when the rest of the family -were from home. Tiger thought, as she was alone, all was not right; so -he waits upon the master to the door, and when she opened it, stood -up on his hind legs, and put his fore paws on the master’s shoulders, -and without offering to harm him, kept him there. They had to do their -talking over Tiger’s shoulder; but when it was finished, he made no -objection to his departure.</p> - -<p>In the cove before the house was a beach of fine white sand, without -a stone in it, which when wet<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">44</a></span> was as hard as a floor. The children -were never tired of playing on this spot. The upper portion, which was -only occasionally wet by the tide, was dry and the sand loose, while -the lower part, which the water had recently left, was hard and smooth -to run on, thus affording them a variety of amusements. Some would run -races on the beach, chase the retreating waves, and then scamper back, -screaming with delight, as the wave broke around their heels.</p> - -<p>Others sailed boats, waded in the water after shells, and if they -could get Tige, they would spit on a stick and fling it as far as they -could into the water, and send him in to fetch it out, while those -who were learning to swim would catch hold of his tail and be towed -ashore. While all this was going on at the water’s edge, another party -on the upper portion would be rolling over on the hot, clean sand, and -building forts, and digging wells with clam shells; others still, under -the clay bank, were making mud puddings and pies, and roasting clams at -a great fire made of drift-wood.</p> - -<p>Parents did not like very well to have the children, especially the -little ones, play there so much, for fear of their getting drowned; and -the larger ones could not well be spared from work to go<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">45</a></span> with them; -but they could not find it in their hearts to forbid them, they had -such a good time of it. So, once or twice every week during the summer, -a group of little folks would come to the captain’s, and one of them, -making her best “courtesy,” would say,—</p> - -<p>“Captain Rhines, me, and Eliza Ann Hadlock, and Caroline Griffin, and -the Warren girls, are going down to the cove to play, and my marm wants -to know if Tige can go and take care of us.”</p> - -<p>Tige, who knew what the children wanted as well as they did themselves, -would stand looking his master in the face, wagging his tail, and -saying, as plain as a dog could say, “Do let me go, sir.”</p> - -<p>Captain Rhines, one afternoon, set a herring net in the mouth of the -cove. These nets are very long, and are set by fastening the upper -edge to a rope, called the <em>cork-rope</em>. On this rope are strung corks, -or wooden buoys made of cedar, which keep it on top of the water. It -is then stretched out, and the two ends fastened to the bottom by -“grapplings.” To each end larger buoys are fastened; weights are then -attached to the lower edge, so that it hangs perpendicular in the -water. The fish run against it in the dark, and are caught by their -gills.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">46</a></span> -It is the nature of Newfoundland dogs to bring ashore whatever they -see floating. Tige went down to the Seal Rock floundering, and saw the -buoys bobbing up and down in the water; away he swims to bring them -ashore. Finding them fast to the bottom, what does he do, but with his -sharp teeth gnaws off the cork-rope and set them adrift? till there -were not enough left to float the net, and it sank to the bottom. He -then carried all the floats to the Seal Rock and piled them up, and -thinking he had done a meritorious act, lay down to rest himself after -his labors.</p> - -<p>The next morning Captain Rhines and Ben went to take up their net. They -thought some vessel must either have run over it and carried it off on -her keel or rudder, or else that so many fish were meshed as to sink -it. They grappled and brought it up, when, to their astonishment, there -was not a fish in it, the cork-rope cut to pieces, the two large buoys -and about two thirds of the net-buoys gone.</p> - -<p>But as they pulled home by the Seal Rock there was every one of the -missing floats, with the marks of Tiger’s teeth in the soft wood. -Captain Rhines was in a towering passion, because it was not only a -great deal of work to grapple for the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">47</a></span> net, but the cork-rope, which -was valuable in those days, was all cut to pieces.</p> - -<p>He sent John up to the house after Tige, and got a big stick to beat -him. The beach was covered with children of all ages. They left their -sports and ran to the spot. John Rhines begged his father not to -lick the dog, while the children began to cry; but the captain was -determined. “Father,” said Ben, “I wouldn’t beat him; if you beat him -for bringing these floats ashore, he won’t go after birds when you -shoot them.” Upon this, the captain, who was an inveterate gunner, -flung away the stick; and the children, drying up their tears, took -Tige off to frolic with them.</p> - -<p>The miller’s daughter, three years and a half old, had a speckled -kitten; a brutal boy drowned it in the mill-pond. The little creature -went down to look for her kitten, and fell in. Just then Captain Rhines -and Tige came to the mill with a grist. The child had gone down for the -third time. He jumped from the horse, and threw in a stone where he saw -the bubbles come up. Tige instantly followed the stone, and brought up -the child with just the breath of life in it.</p> - -<p>The overjoyed mother hugged the child, and then hugged Tige. The miller -gave him a brass<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">48</a></span> collar, with an account of this brave act engraved -upon it.</p> - -<p>Ever after this he had a warm place in the affections of the whole -community, and was almost as much beloved and respected as his master.</p> - -<p>The sentiments of the young folks, in respect to Tige, were put to -the test the next summer. A boy came there in a fishing vessel, who -was full of pranks, had never received any culture, knew nothing of -the history of Tige, and perhaps, if he had, would not have cared; to -gratify a malicious disposition, he put some spirits of turpentine on -him, causing him great agony. The enraged children enticed the boy to -the beach, and while he was in swimming, carried off his clothes, and, -having prepared themselves with sticks, fell upon him as he came out of -the water, and beat him to a jelly.</p> - -<p>A few days after the event just narrated, Captain Rhines was sitting in -the door after dinner, when he saw little Fannie Williams, the miller’s -daughter, coming into the yard. She was evidently bent on business of -importance, for, though passionately fond of flowers, she never looked -at the lilies, hollyhocks, and morning glories, on each side of her, -but walking directly up to him, and putting both hands on his knees, -said, with the tears glistening<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">49</a></span> in her little eyes, “You won’t whip -Tige, will you, if he does do naughty things?”</p> - -<p>“God bless the child!” said the captain, taking her in his lap and -kissing her, “have you come way down here to ask me that?”</p> - -<p>“Nobody knowed it, and nobody telled me to come; I comed my own self, -’cause he shan’t be whipped. Fannie loves Tige.”</p> - -<p>“You’ve good reason to love him, for if it had not been for him you’d -been a dead baby now. I never will whip him, nor let anybody else.”</p> - -<p>The captain then took her by the hand, and led her into the orchard, -where he picked up some pears, and put in a basket; he then culled a -bunch of flowers as large as she could carry, and putting the handle of -the basket in Tige’s mouth, sent him home with her. The little girl, -with her fears quieted, trudged along, putting her flowers to Tige’s -nose for him to smell of, telling him he shouldn’t be licked, ’cause -Captain Rhines said so.</p> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="divider" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">50</a></span> -</div> - -<h2><a name="iv" id="iv"></a>CHAPTER IV.<br /> -<small>BEN’S COURTSHIP.</small></h2> - - -<p><span class="smcap">Ben</span> had never been to sea with his father. Captain Rhines didn’t -believe it was a good plan for relations to be shipmates; he didn’t -want his son to be “ship’s cousin,” but to rise on his own merits, as -his father had done before him; and if he couldn’t do that, then he -might stay down. But Ben had proved himself to be a man of capacity. -The owners were all willing, and his father wanted him to take the ship -and let him stay at home.</p> - -<p>Ben gladly accepted the offer, and was making preparations to go; but -there was a matter of great importance for him to settle, before he -left home. Ben loved Sally Hadlock, though he had never dared to tell -her of it.</p> - -<p>She had a great many admirers among the young men, and he felt that it -was risking altogether too much to go on a long voyage, and run the -venture of Sally’s being snapped up by some of them before his return. -The greatest source of apprehension<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">51</a></span> in his mind was the fact, that -he heard she had said, she never could, nor would, marry a man that -followed the sea.</p> - -<p>Her father and oldest brother were lost at sea. Sally could never -forget the agony of her mother when her father’s sea chest came home, -nor the trial of those bitter years, during which she and her mother -had struggled along, and kept the family together until the younger -children grew up.</p> - -<p>Sally Hadlock was a poor girl, but she was as pretty as a May morning. -Though she knew scarcely a note of music, she could warble like a bird, -and, as the neighbors said, “she was faculized.” Everybody loved and -respected Sally for her kindness to her mother, and because she was -as modest as she was beautiful, and as lively as a humming-bird. Her -mother idolized her, as well she might.</p> - -<p>Never was the widow so happy as when, over a good cup of souchong, she -descanted upon the fine qualities of her daughter, utterly regardless -of Sally’s blushes, and whispered, “O, don’t, mother.” “Yes,” the old -lady would say, shoving her spectacles up on her cap, and stirring -slowly her tea, “I’ll put my Sally, though I say it that shouldn’t say -it, for taking a fleece of wool as it comes from<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">52</a></span> the sheep’s back, and -making it into cloth, against any girl in the town; and then she always -has such good luck making soap, and such luck with her bread! she beats -me out and out in hot biscuit. You see this table-cloth; well, she spun -the flax, and bleached the thread, drew it into the loom, and wove it, -all sole alone.”</p> - -<p>Sally was not without some dim perception of Ben’s attachment to her. -She knew that he was very fond of her brother Sam; and that if he -wanted to borrow anything they had, he would always come himself, both -to get it and to bring it home.</p> - -<p>When he came home from sea, he always brought presents for the widow -Hadlock. Many of them, though very beautiful, didn’t seem altogether -adapted to an old widow; and then her mother would say, “Sally, these -things are very beautiful, but I shall never put off my mourning for -your dear father; they would be very becoming to you.”</p> - -<p>Ben went to singing-school, in the school-house. A young man had -recently come into the village from Salem, as a singing-master. He -had a way that took mightily with the girls. This excited a general -antipathy to him among all the young men<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">53</a></span> in the place, who, since his -advent, found themselves at a discount with the ladies. Latterly, his -attentions had been directed particularly to Sally Hadlock, as the -prettiest girl in the village.</p> - -<p>The house being crowded one evening, Ben had gone into the seat usually -reserved for the singers. The singing-master, who was an empty coxcomb, -with nothing but good looks to recommend him, ordered him out. Ben, -with his usual good nature, would have obeyed; but the tone was so -contemptuous, and the place so public (probably Sally’s presence might -have had something to do with it), that it stung; Ben replied that he -sat very well, and remained as he was.</p> - -<p>This drew the eyes of all upon him, as expecting something interesting. -In a few moments his tormentor returned, and assured him, if he did -not move, and that quick, he would be put out. Upon this, Ben rose up -to his full height, and looking down upon the frightened man of music, -said, “I don’t think there are men enough in this school-house to put -me out.”</p> - -<p>This sally was received with a universal shout by the audience, who -not only had not the least doubt of the fact, but also rejoiced in the -discomfiture of the puppy.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">54</a></span> -Sally was very much grieved at the master’s insulting treatment of Ben, -who had done so much for her mother. It is said that all women are -hero-worshippers.</p> - -<p>When she saw him so completely frightened out of his impertinence, and -made ridiculous, noticed the forbearance of Ben, who might have squat -him up like a fly between his fingers and thumb, she became conscious -of a tenderer feeling for her old schoolmate, who that night went home -with her and her mother for the first time.</p> - -<p>Ben now determined to make a bold push, and go and see Sally Sunday -night, though he knew she, and everybody else, would know what it -meant. It seems very singular that Ben Rhines, who had been half over -the world, and in a privateer, should be afraid to go over to the -widow Hadlock’s before dark; but he was: so he broke the matter to his -most intimate friend, Sam Johnson, who offered to go with him the next -Sunday night.</p> - -<p>It was a pleasant Sabbath afternoon, in August, about four o’clock. -Captain Rhines had been sitting in his arm-chair reading the Apocrypha, -and fell asleep.</p> - -<p>Ben was sitting at the window, all dressed up, quite nervous, waiting -for Sam.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">55</a></span> -Sam came at length, and asked Ben if he wanted to go into the pastures -and get a few blueberries. Ben assented, when, to their astonishment, -old Captain Rhines roused up and inquired, “Where are you going, boys?”</p> - -<p>“We’re just going out to get a few blueberries.”</p> - -<p>“Well, I don’t care if I go, too.”</p> - -<p>Here was a dilemma; but love helps wit. They found a thick bush for the -old gentleman to pick, crawled away on their hands and knees to a safe -distance, then got on their feet, and ran for the widow Hadlock’s.</p> - -<p>The old captain having hallooed for them long after they were in the -widow’s parlor, finally went home. Just as they expected, they were -asked to stop to supper.</p> - -<p>After supper, Sally and her mother went out to milking, while Ben and -Sam leaned on the fence to look at them. The old speckled cow, which -Sally had milked ever since she was a girl, acted as if bewitched: she -switched Sally’s comb out of her head with her tail, and finally put -her foot in the milk-pail.</p> - -<p>While all this was going on, Sam Johnson unaccountably disappeared. Ben -could do no less than offer to carry in the milk for them; was invited -to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">56</a></span> spend the evening; and the old lady, excusing herself on account of -ill health, slipped off to bed, and Ben and Sally were left together.</p> - -<p>In due time Ben asked Sally if she liked him well enough to marry him.</p> - -<p>Now Sally was a good, sensible New England girl: she didn’t faint nor -scream, but she blushed a little, and finally consented to marry him, -on condition that he should give up going to sea, and stay at home with -her.</p> - -<p>The reader must bear in mind that this is not a love scene of a -sensation novel, but conversation of people, who, loving each other -sincerely, looked upon married life as a sacred obligation, in which -they put their whole heart, and expected to find their sole happiness.</p> - -<p>Ben did not therefore reply that he loved Sally to distraction, that -he could not exist a moment without her, and that he would never dream -of going to sea again; but, after some considerable hesitation, he at -length moved his chair nearer to Sally, and looking up full in her -face, said, “Sally, you and I have known each other from the time we -made bulrush caps together in your mother’s pasture, when we were -children, till now; and I think you know me well enough to know that I<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">57</a></span> -am a man of few words, and would never ask a woman to marry me unless I -really loved her, and intended to support her, for you know that must -be thought of.</p> - -<p>“As for going to sea, though I have been fortunate, and risen in my -profession faster than any young man in town, faster, perhaps, than I -ought,—for I was mate of a ship before I was twenty,—though I have no -reason to be afraid of men, and can handle the roughest of them like -children, and care nothing for hardship, yet I never liked the sea. O, -how I have longed, on some East India voyage, to see an acre of green -grass, or hear a robin sing! I don’t like to feel that people obey me -just because they are afraid of me, and to go stalking round the decks -like some of those giants we read of in the old story books. I do love -the land better than the sea. I love the flowers; I love to plough and -hoe; I love to see things grow. I’m as loath to go to sea as you can be -to have me;” and he put his arm around her neck and kissed her; “but -the seaman’s life is my profession. I have spent many of the best years -of my life, employed the time that might have been devoted to learning -a trade, or some other business on shore, in fitting myself for it. I -now have a ship offered<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">58</a></span> me: this affords me at once the opportunity of -reaping the fruits of my past labor, and supporting a wife; besides, -Sally, we are both poor. You may think it strange, that, as I have been -officer of a vessel for some time, I should not have laid up something; -but my father became involved some years ago, and I felt it my duty to -help him out; and I am neither sorry for it nor ashamed of it. This -was the reason I did not dress better, because I felt that I ought to -economize, for the sake of the best parents ever a boy had. I suppose -many people, who knew I was earning a good deal of money, thought I was -mean, or spent it in some bad way; and perhaps you did.”</p> - -<p>“No, Ben,” replied Sally; “I knew better than that. I knew that, if -you didn’t, like a snail, put everything on your back, you were always -ready to help any one who needed it; and no person can go on long in a -bad course without those who love them finding it out.”</p> - -<p>“You see how it is, Sally, if I take this ship, I am at once in -circumstances to be married, with the prospect of a comfortable living. -To be sure, I could work on the land, for I was a farmer till I was -seventeen; but then I should have to run in debt to buy it. There is -not much money to be<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">59</a></span> got off a farm; it always took about what father -earned to pay the hired help, the taxes, and family expenses, and he -soon had to go to sea again for more.”</p> - -<p>Poor Sally listened, as Ben thus placed before her the “inevitable -logic of facts.”</p> - -<p>She looked first this way, and then that, and finally laid her head on -Ben’s shoulder, and cried like a child.</p> - -<p>Ben was greatly distressed: he knew not what to say, and remained -for a long time silent; at length he said, “There is a way that I -have thought of, but I didn’t like to mention it, for fear—” Here he -hesitated.</p> - -<p>“For fear of what?” cried Sally, lifting her head from his shoulder, -and looking at him through her tears.</p> - -<p>“Why, for fear, if I should do it, and you should marry me on the -strength of it, and we should be poor, see hard times, and people -should look down on us, that then you might perhaps feel—” And here he -stopped again.</p> - -<p>“Feel what?”</p> - -<p>“Why,” stammered Ben, finding he must out with it, “feel that if you -had only married some of these young men that I know have offered<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">60</a></span> -themselves to you, and that had rich fathers, instead of poor Ben -Rhines, you wouldn’t have needed to have brought the water to wash your -hands.”</p> - -<p>“When I marry,” replied Sally, bluntly, “I shall not marry anybody’s -father, but the boy I love. Now, let’s hear your plan, Ben.”</p> - -<p>“You know,” he replied, more slowly than he had ever spoken before in -his whole life, “the island off in the bay that father has had the care -of so many years?”</p> - -<p>“What, Elm Island?”</p> - -<p>“That’s it.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, indeed! I’ve been there a hundred times with our Sam and Seth -Warren, after berries.”</p> - -<p>“It’s the best land that ever lay out doors, covered with a heavy -growth of spruce and pine, fit for spars; many of them would run -seventy feet without a limb. I think old Mr. Welch would sell it on -credit to any one he knew, and that anybody might cut off the timber, -and have the land, and wood enough to burn, left clear. It would make -a splendid farm, and a man might pick up considerable money by gunning -and fishing; but,” said Ben, his countenance falling, “what a place -for a woman! No society, no neighbors, right among the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">61</a></span> breakers; and -sometimes, in the winter, there’ll be a month nobody can get on nor -off. It would be a good place to get a living, and lay up money; but -no woman would go on there, and a man would be a brute to ask her. I’m -sorry I said anything about it.”</p> - -<p>“There’s one woman will go on there,” replied Sally, “and not repent -of it after she gets there either; and that woman’s Sally Hadlock. I -hold that if a girl loves a man well enough to marry him, she’ll be -contented where he is, and she won’t be contented where he isn’t. As to -the society, I had rather be alone with my husband than have all the -society in the world without him. I had rather be on an island with my -husband, working hard, and carrying my share of the load, than to be -in the best society, and have every comfort, and at the same time know -that my husband is beating about at sea, in sickly climates, perhaps -dying, with nobody to do for him, in order to support me in luxury and -laziness, or in circumstances of comfort which he cannot enjoy with -me; and I say that any woman, that <em>is</em> a woman, will say amen to it. -We may have a hard scratch of it at first, and have to live rough; but -I have always been poor; it’s nothing new to me. What reason on earth -is<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">62</a></span> there, bating sickness or death, why we should not get along? I’ve -always maintained myself, and helped maintain my mother and family. You -have maintained yourself, paid your father’s debts, and more too, for -you have helped my mother lots.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, but I was going to sea then,” put in Ben.</p> - -<p>“It is strange, then,” continued Sally, without heeding the -interruption, “that we two, who have supported ourselves and other -folks, can’t support our own selves. I see how it is, Ben; this island -can be bought very cheap, on account of the disadvantages of living on -it; that you can pay for it by your own labor, and see no other way of -getting your living on the land. Is that it, Ben?”</p> - -<p>“That is it.”</p> - -<p>“Well, then,” replied this noble New England girl, reddening to the -very roots of her hair, and her eyes flashing through her tears, “I -will marry you, and go to that island with you; we will take the bitter -with the sweet; we will suffer and enjoy together. If you love me well -enough to give up a ship, and go on to that island to live with me, -<a name="duplicate" id="duplicate"></a><ins title="Original has I I">I</ins> love you well enough to go on it and be happy with -you. I thank God, that if he has given me a handsome face, as they say, -he has not given me an empty head nor an idle hand to go with it. I -have<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">63</a></span> worked, and saved, and denied myself for my mother and brothers, -and have been right happy and well thought of in doing it. I can do the -same for my husband; and if any think <em>less</em> of me on that account, I -shan’t have them for next door neighbors to twit me of it. My home is -in my husband’s heart, and where his interest and duty lie.”</p> - -<p>Ben thought she never looked half so beautiful before, and imprinted a -fervent kiss upon the lips that had uttered such noble sentiments. The -day was breaking as they separated.</p> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="divider" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">64</a></span> -</div> - -<h2><a name="v" id="v"></a>CHAPTER V.<br /> -<small>SALLY TELLS HER MOTHER ALL ABOUT IT.</small></h2> - - -<p><span class="smcap">Sally</span> slept in the same room with her mother. The old lady waked, and -finding Sally’s bed not tumbled, called loudly for her daughter. When -she came, her mother said, “Why, Sally, your bed has not been tumbled -this live-long night; how flushed you look! your hair is all of a -frizzle, and you’ve been crying: what is the matter with you?”</p> - -<p>Poor Sally, nervous and excited after the night’s conflict, made a -clean breast of it.</p> - -<p>“Mother, I’ve said I’d have Ben, that is, if you are willing,” and, -burying her face in the pillow, she burst into a flood of tears. The -good old lady was not so much troubled by tears as Ben had been, but, -putting her arms round her daughter, said, “That’s right, dear; cry -as much as you please; it’ll ease your mind, and do you good;” and, -wrapped up in her own reflections about an event she had long foreseen, -patiently waited till Sally should<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">65</a></span> think best to speak. Finding Sally -not inclined to break the silence, she said, “I think you could not -have done better than to be engaged to Ben; and I’m sure you could not -have done anything so pleasing to me; that is, if you love him, for -that is the main thing.</p> - -<p>“I’ve always told you it is very wrong for a girl to marry a man whom -she doesn’t love; it isn’t right in the sight of God, and always leads -to misery. Ben isn’t so good-looking as some young men, nor rich in -this world’s goods; but he has good learning and good manners: he is of -a good family; can do more work than any three young men in town; and -for all he is such a giant, never gives a misbeholden word to any one. -You’ve known him from childhood. It’s a great deal better to marry him -with only the clothes to his back, and the good principles that are in -him, than to marry some one who is rich and handsome now, may die a -drunkard, and perhaps, some time, throw up to your poverty.”</p> - -<p>“O, I know all that, mother; but there’s something else, which, -perhaps, I ought not to have done without asking you. I’ve promised to -go and live on Elm Island, right in the woods, and among the breakers;” -and then she told her mother every<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">66</a></span> word that she and Ben had said, -from beginning to end, throwing in, as a sweetener, a circumstance -which she knew would have great influence with her parent; “but then, -you know, he has promised never to go to sea any more.”</p> - -<p>She was most agreeably disappointed when the widow, after a little -pause, replied in her mild way, “I not only approve of what you’ve -done, but should have been very sorry if you had done otherwise. Your -grandmother, girl, was born in old Rowley, Massachusetts, was brought -up to have everything she wanted, and knew nothing of hardships; but -she married your grandfather because she loved him, though he was -a poor man. They came down here, and took up this farm when it was -all woods. I’ve stood in the door of our old house, and seen eleven -wolves come off Birch Point and go on the ice to Oak Island: one of -them had lost his leg in a trap, and could not keep up with the rest, -and they would squat down on the ice and wait for him. They burnt up -their first house in clearing the land, and had to live in a brush -camp till they built another. I’ve heard mother say, a hundred times, -that the happiest years of her life were those hard years; that the -anticipation of living easier by and by, and having a good farm,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">67</a></span> was -better than the good farm when they got it; that there was nothing in -her well-to-do life afterwards to compare with the satisfaction of -looking back to those hard times when she had the strength to endure -those hardships. Then her face would light up, her eyes kindle, and the -color come into her old cheeks; and as I looked at her, I used to hope -that I should live to see such pleasant hardships, to be glad of and -tell about when I was old.</p> - -<p>“Well, Sally, I’ve had <em>troubles</em>, and <em>bitter</em> ones; the sea has been -a devourer to me; but not <em>hardships</em>, because I married and lived at -home; but you have the chance, girl, to know something about it. Don’t -be afraid of being poor; people here don’t know what poverty is. Go to -Liverpool, if you want to see what real poverty is, as I have been many -a time with your poor father, who is dead and gone. A man with a farm -is sure of a living, and a good one, too; the farmers feed the world, -and they are great fools if they don’t lick their own fingers. Two -thirds of the merchants fail; a great many seamen die at sea, and it’s -a dog’s life at best. The sailor is only anxious when the wind blows; -but the wind blows all the time for the poor wife at home, and her -pillow is often wet with tears.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">68</a></span> -“The last time I was in Rowley, I saw rich men’s sons; whose fathers -scorned your grandfather because he was a farmer, going about killing -hogs and cutting wood for folks. For a farmer to kill his own hogs, -or to change work with his neighbors to kill theirs, then they help -him kill his, or to cut his own wood, is a very different thing from -what it is for people, who felt as large as they did once, and, in -their pride and prosperity, looked down on every one that labored, to -have to do it for a living. Your grandmother said, it used to make her -blood run cold to see them come into the house of God with such an air, -getting up and sitting down two or three times, flaunting with their -‘ribbins,’ and chattering like a striped squirrel on the side of a -tree. I was up there the year before Sam was born; and now to see how -they live! just the least little scriffin of bread and butter, or a -little pie; the least little piece of meat, about as big as your hand, -which they run to the butcher’s to get, for they never have anything -in the cellar; then, instead of doing as we do, cutting it thick, and -telling everybody to help themselves, they cut it into little slices -and help them, for fear, I suppose, they should take too much; and then -so many compliments to so little victuals! But they put it<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">69</a></span> on their -backs, Sally; that’s what they do with it; they put it on their backs. -As they have no hearty victuals and hard work to give them color, they -paint their faces, and look out of the windows, as Jezebel did: they -spend most all their time looking out of the windows.”</p> - -<p>Sally rejoiced to find that, when following the inclinations of her own -heart, she had done just right; and with a face from which every trace -of tears had vanished, replied, “I thought I knew your mind, mother; -but I must go and get breakfast, for I thought I heard Sam getting up.”</p> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="divider" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">70</a></span> -</div> - -<h2><a name="vi" id="vi"></a>CHAPTER VI.<br /> -<small>BEN BUYS ELM ISLAND.</small></h2> - - -<p><span class="smcap">Ben</span> went to Boston to see the old merchant, whom he knew very well, -having often seen him at his father’s when he was on his summer visits. -The good merchant, who had been a poor boy, and earned his property by -his own industry, and was both too wise and too good to value himself -by his wealth, received Ben so kindly, that he told him all his heart; -what he wanted the island for, of the promise he had made to Sally, and -all about it. He commended Ben; told him he knew Sally’s father (that -he had sailed for him), and her mother, too; she was of good blood; -there was a great deal in the blood. He told him he would have a happy -life; that he had always regretted he had not been a farmer himself. -He had worked night and day, amassed a large property, educated his -family, and looked forward to the time when they would be a source of -happiness to him; but his children were indolent, knew he had wealth, -and had no<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">71</a></span> desire to do anything for themselves; he feared they would -spend his money faster than he had earned it. “Indeed, Ben,” replied -the merchant, with a sigh, “I would much rather take your chance for -happiness, and a comfortable living in this world, than that of either -of my sons.”</p> - -<p>Ben was utterly amazed. He had thought, when looking upon that splendid -furniture, and wealth and taste there displayed, that people in such -circumstances must be extremely happy; but, as he was not deficient in -shrewdness, he learned a lesson that effectually repressed any desire -to murmur at his own lot.</p> - -<p>The merchant then said to him, “Mr. Rhines, if you were buying this -island on speculation, I should charge you a round price for it, as -the timber is valuable, easy of access by water, the taxes are merely -nominal, and your father prevents it from being plundered; but as you -are buying it to make a home of, and I know what you have done for your -father,—for he told me himself,—I shall let you have it at a low -rate, and any length of time you wish to pay for it in.”</p> - -<p>As they parted, he encouraged Ben by telling him that a Down-easter -would get rich where anybody else would starve.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">72</a></span> -It was now the month of October. Ben proposed that they should be -married; Sally should live with her mother during the winter, while he -went on to the island, cut a freight of spars, dug a cellar before the -ground froze, and made preparations for building in the spring. But -Sally declared she would as lief have Ben at sea as have him on this -island, running back and forth in the cold winter; that after a man had -been at work a whole week, he didn’t want to pull a boat six miles, and -be wet all through with spray; that there would be a great many days, -when, if he was off, he could not get on, and if he was on, he could -not get off, and there would be a great deal of time lost. Man and wife -ought not to be separated; ’twas no way to live; she would go to the -island and live with him.</p> - -<p>“Live where, Sally?” inquired Ben.</p> - -<p>“Why, with you. I suppose you will live somewhere—won’t you?”</p> - -<p>“Well,” replied Ben, with a comical look at his great limbs, “I can -live anywhere a Newfoundland dog can; but I shouldn’t want you to, nor -should I consent to it. I expect to take some hands with me, build a -half-faced cabin, good enough for us to live in, cut spars and timber, -build a house next summer, and move in the fall.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">73</a></span> -“It’ll cost you a good deal to build this house.”</p> - -<p>“Why, yes. I can get the frame on the island, and the stuff for the -boards and shingles. I shall have to buy bricks, and lime, and nails, -and hire a joiner.”</p> - -<p>“What does’t cost to build a log house?”</p> - -<p>“Next to nothing, because we can build them of logs that are fit for -nothing else.”</p> - -<p>“Are they warm?”</p> - -<p>“Warmest things that ever you saw. The boards on a house are only an -inch thick, but you can have the logs three feet thick, if you like.”</p> - -<p>“Are they tight?”</p> - -<p>“They can be made as tight as a cup.”</p> - -<p>“I don’t think, then, a Newfoundland dog would be likely to suffer much -in your shanty.”</p> - -<p>“I was telling how a log house <em>could</em> be made. I don’t expect to take -much pains with mine.”</p> - -<p>“Would not all this timber that you are going to make frame, boards, -and shingles of, fetch a good price in the market?”</p> - -<p>“Why, yes, it would nearly all make spars.”</p> - -<p>“Then you should build, instead of a half-faced cabin, a real log -house, ‘three feet thick,’ if you like, and ‘as tight as a cup.’ I’ll -go on with you; it’ll be a great deal better than to take turns in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">74</a></span> -cooking, and live like pigs, as men always do when they live together. -I’ve heard you say you had rather eat off a chip, and then throw it -away, than eat off a china plate, and have to wash it when you were -done; then there would be no time lost. When you came in from your work -you would have your meals warm, and we would have a real sociable time -in the evening.”</p> - -<p>“O, that will never do.”</p> - -<p>“But it will do, Ben; you’ve just said that a log house was warm and -comfortable.”</p> - -<p>“Indeed it is,” chimed in the old lady, who, with her spectacles above -her cap, and her hands upon her knees, sat leaning forward, her whole -soul in her face, while the favorite cat, who for twenty years had -spent the evening in her patron’s lap, stood with one paw upon her -mistress’s knee, and the other uplifted with an air of astonishment at -being prevented from securing her accustomed place,—“indeed it is. -Mother used to say this house never began to be so warm or so tight as -the old log house.”</p> - -<p>“O, dear, Sally!” exclaimed Ben, greatly troubled; “I thought ’twas bad -enough to take you on to the island to live at all, and now you insist -on living in a log house. What will folks say? They<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">75</a></span> will say, there’s -Sally Hadlock, that might have had her pick of the likeliest fellows -in town, and never have had to bring the water to wash her hands, has -taken up with Ben Rhines, and gone to live in a log shanty on Elm -Island.”</p> - -<p>“Look here, Ben,” replied Sally; “suppose my father had been a -fisherman, and lived on Elm Island; wouldn’t you have come on there and -lived with me, though all the young fellows in town had said, There’s -Ben Rhines, that might have been master of as fine a ship as ever swum, -has taken up with old Hadlock’s daughter, and gone to live on Elm -Island?”</p> - -<p>“To be sure I would.”</p> - -<p>“Well, then,” said Sally, coloring, “I hope you don’t want me to say, -right here before mother, that I’d rather live on Elm Island, in a log -house, with the boy I love, than with the best of them in a palace. I -want to bring the water to wash my hands. I don’t believe that God made -us to be idle, or that we are any happier for being so.”</p> - -<p>“That’s right,” shouted the old lady, in ecstasies, rising up and -kissing her daughter’s cheek; “that’s the old-fashioned sort of love, -that will wear and make happiness, and -<a name="its" id="its"></a><ins title="Original has its">it’s</ins> all the thing on this earth -that will; it will bear trial; it is a fast color, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">76</a></span> won’t fade -out in washing. Most young people nowadays want to begin where their -fathers left off, and they end with running out all that their fathers -left them. You’re willing to begin and cut your garment according to -your cloth, and you will prosper accordingly.”</p> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="divider" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">77</a></span> -</div> - -<h2><a name="vii" id="vii"></a>CHAPTER VII.<br /> -<small>CAPTAIN RHINES RIDING OUT A GALE BEFORE THE FIRE.</small></h2> - - -<p><span class="smcap">The</span> morning succeeding Ben’s return from Boston gave tokens of a coming -storm.</p> - -<p>“Ben,” said Captain Rhines, “we’re going to have a gale of wind; here’s -an old roll coming from the east’ard, and the surf is roaring on the -White Bull. Let us take the canoe, slip over to Elm Island, and get a -couple of lambs, before it comes on. I’m hankering after some fresh -‘grub.’”</p> - -<p>When, having caught the lamb, they were pulling out of the harbor, the -old gentleman, resting on his oar, looked back upon the mass of forest, -and said, “What a tremenjus growth here is! here are masts and yards, -bowsprits and topmasts, for a ship of the line; and there’s no end of -the small spars and ranging timber; a great deal of it, too, ought to -be cut, for it has got its growth, and will soon be falling down. It is -first-rate land, and would make a capital farm after it’s cleared. I -wish old<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">78</a></span> father Welch had to give it to me; he never would miss it. I -believe my soul all he keeps it for is for the sake of coming down here -once in three or four years, and going over there gunning ’long with -me.”</p> - -<p>At noon the gale came on with great violence. The captain took -advantage of the stormy afternoon to kill a lamb, and have a regular -“tuck out” on a sea-pie. Under his directions, Mrs. Rhines lined the -large pot with a thick crust, put in the lamb and slices of pork, -with flour, water, and plenty of seasoning, and covered the whole -with a crust, which Captain Rhines pricked full of holes with his -marline-spike.</p> - -<p>In addition to this were pudding, pies, and fried apples; coffee, -which was seldom indulged in at that day; and last, but not least, a -decanter of Holland gin beside his plate. When they had despatched this -substantial repast, the family, eight in number, all drew up around -the fire. The old house shook with the violence of the gale; the rain -came down in torrents; the roar of the surf was distinctly heard in the -intervals of the gusts, while the blaze went up the great chimney in -sheets of flame.</p> - -<p>The old seaman flung off his coat, kicked off his<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">79</a></span> boots, and sitting -down in the midst of this happy circle, while the cheerful light -flickered around his weather-beaten form, animated by as noble a heart -as ever throbbed in human breast, cried, as he listened to the clatter -without, “Blow away, my hearty; while she cracks she holds; let them -that’s got the watch on deck keep it; it’s my watch below; eight hours -in to-night.”</p> - -<p>He then sat some time in silence, with his hands clasped over his -knees, and looking into a great bed of rock-maple coals. Rousing up -at length, he laid his hard hand on his wife’s shoulder, and, with an -expression of heartfelt happiness on his rugged features, that was -perfectly contagious, said, “Mary, I do believe I’ve never had one -hardship too many. When I think how poor I began life; what my parents -suffered before they got the land cleared; why, I’ve seen my poor -father hoe corn when he was so weak from hunger that he could scarcely -stand. There were times when we should have starved to death, if it had -not been for the old dog (stooping down and patting Tige’s head, who -lay stretched out before the fire, with his nose on his master’s foot). -How glad I felt as I carried them the first dollar I ever earned! and -how glad they were to get it! Well, as I was saying, when I hear<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">80</a></span> the -wind whistle, and the sea roar, as it does now, I can’t help thinking -how many such nights on ship’s deck, wet, worn out, listening to the -roar of the surf, and expecting the anchors to come home every minute; -next ‘vige’ perhaps in the West Indies; men dying all around me, like -sheep, with the yellow fever and black vomit. When I look back, and -feel it’s all over, that I’ve got enough to carry me through, can do -what little duty I’m fit for, among my comforts, and surrounded by -my family, I don’t believe I ever could have had the feelings I’ve -got in my bosom to-night, before this comfortable fire, if I hadn’t -been through the cold, the hunger, the dangers, and all the other -miseries first;” and he rolled up his sleeves in the very wantonness of -enjoyment, to feel the grateful warmth of fire on his bare flesh.</p> - -<p>“I don’t wonder you do feel so, husband,” replied his wife; “as you -say, you’ve enough to carry you through, as far as this life is -concerned; but there is another life after this, and, perhaps, if -we get to the better world, that also will seem sweeter for all the -crosses we take up, and the self-denial we go through in getting there. -I’ve often told you, Benjamin, that you lack but one thing; for surely -never woman had a kinder husband, or<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">81</a></span> children a better father, than -you have always been.”</p> - -<p>“God bless you, Mary!” exclaimed the old seaman in the fulness of his -heart; “I’ve never been half so good a husband as I ought, and must -often have hurt your feelings; for I’m a rough old sea-dog; never had -any bringing up, but grew up just like the cattle.</p> - -<p>“I never see John Strout but it puts me in mind of his oldest brother, -George. We both of us shipped for the first time, as able seamen, in -the same vessel; we were about of an age—‘townies;’ both in the same -watch, full of blue veins and vitriol, and were forever trying titles -to see which was the best man. It was hard work to tell, when the watch -was called, whose feet struck the floor first, his’n or mine. If he -got into the rigging before I did, I’d go up hand over fist on the -back-stay. I’ve known him to go on the topsail yard in his shirt-flaps -to get ahead of me. We allers made it a p’int to take the weather -earing, or the bunt of a sail, away from the second mate, who was the -owner’s nephew, and put over the head of his betters.”</p> - -<p>“Was that the reason, father,” said Ben, “you wouldn’t let me go to sea -with you?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">82</a></span> -“Yes,” he replied. “I’ve seen enough of these half-and-half fellers put -in to command before they are fit for it, just to lose better men’s -lives, and destroy other people’s property.”</p> - -<p>“I think you have the right of it, father. I don’t believe I shall ever -be sorry that I came in at the hawsehole, instead of the cabin windows.”</p> - -<p>“One terrible dark night, in the Gulf,” continued the old man, “all -hands were on the yard trying to furl the fore-topsail; my sheath-knife -was jammed between my body and the yard, so that I couldn’t get at it; -I reached and took his’n out of the sheath, which he wore behind, and -used it; but when I went to put it back again, he was gone; when or how -he went, nobody ever knew. I was young then, and new at such things. We -had allers been together. I couldn’t keep it out of my mind, and didn’t -want to stay in the vessel after that, for everything I took hold of -made me think of him.”</p> - -<p>“Don’t you think, husband,” said his wife, “that we ought to think -where our blessings come from, and not to think it’s all our own work?”</p> - -<p>Though Captain Rhines had a rugged temper of his own when roused, with -only the education he had picked up at sea, and the culture acquired -by<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">83</a></span> friction as he was knocked about in the world, yet he was perfectly -moral, and temperate for that day; that is, he was never intoxicated. -He had a great respect for religion, especially his wife’s, she being -a woman of admirable judgment and ardent piety. She was not in the -practice of reproving every unguarded expression, and annoying him with -exhortations; telling the ministers her anxieties and fears about him, -and urging them to talk to him on the spot, whether they were in a -frame to converse, or he to listen. She was satisfied he knew where her -heart was, that she prayed earnestly for him, and let it rest at that, -save when, as on the present occasion, he put the words in her mouth.</p> - -<p>“Well, wife,” he replied, willing to change the subject, “you’ve got -religion enough for both of us.”</p> - -<p>“No, husband, that must be every one’s own work.”</p> - -<p>“That ain’t all, neither. How many years was I going to sea, just -coming home to look in to the door, and say, ‘How are you all?’ then -off again, leaving you to manage farm, family, and hired help! Why, -I had scarcely any more care of my family than an ostrich has of her -eggs. It seems so much more happy to be with them now, on that very<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">84</a></span> -account! I’m half a mind to believe what I then thought to be the worst -trial of all, was a blessing, too. I only wish that great critter over -there in the corner,” pointing to Ben, “could get half so good or -good-looking a wife as his mother is; but he’s so homely, and there’s -so much of it, I’m afraid there’s not a ghost of a chance for him.”</p> - -<p>At this there was a general titter amongst the young folks. Ben could -hold in no longer, but astonished his parents by telling them what he -<em>had</em> done, and what he <em>meant</em> to do.</p> - -<p>“By heavens, Ben!” exclaimed his father, springing to his feet, “you’ve -been fishing to some purpose; I’d moor head and stern to that girl, and -lie by her as long as cables and anchor would hold.”</p> - -<p>“I don’t know how to build a log house,” said Ben; “and they’ve been -out of use so long round here, I don’t know anybody that does.”</p> - -<p>“I do. Isaac Murch; he helped tear down our old log house, when I was -a boy. I suppose you know he is the most ing’nious critter that ever -lived. I believe he could make a man, if he should set out for it; and -I don’t know but he could put a soul in him after he was done. Your -grandfather was old and childish, and hated to have the house torn -down; so I got Isaac to make a model<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">85</a></span> of it, to please him. I know that -he could make one exactly like it, if he had a mind to. I really think -I should come to see you a good deal oftener if you were living in the -old house, or one that looked just like it.”</p> - -<p>“But, father, he wouldn’t work out.”</p> - -<p>“He’d do most anything to accommodate you or Sally Hadlock; for, when -her father was living, he and Isaac were like two fingers on one hand. -I believe he thinks as much of the Hadlock children as he does of his -own. There’s no knowing how much he’s done for those children first and -last.”</p> - -<p>The next day Ben rode over to Isaac’s, who, with his wife, gave him a -warm welcome.</p> - -<p>“By the way,” said she, “are you engaged to be married to Sally -Hadlock? At any rate, I heard so, and it come pretty straight; own up -like a man; murder will out.”</p> - -<p>“If it is so, I hope it’s nothing to be ashamed of.”</p> - -<p>“Ben Rhines, if you’ve got Sally Hadlock, it’s the best day’s work you -ever did in your life.”</p> - -<p>“I don’t know what you’ll say when I tell you the rest of it.” He then -informed them that he had bought Elm Island, and was going to live on -it.</p> - -<p>“But, Ben, is Sally willing to go on that island<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">86</a></span> to live? I’m sure I -should be frightened to death to live there.”</p> - -<p>“’Twas her own plan. She wouldn’t hear to my going to sea; and when -I said I didn’t know of any way to live ashore, unless I bought that -island, she said ’twas just the thing. I was intending to build a frame -house next summer; but she says, ‘Build a log house, go right into it, -and build a frame house when you’re better able;’ and declares she’ll -live in a log house, and nothing else. I had money enough, that I got -privateering, to have bought the island, and built the house on’t; but -I felt it my duty to help my father out of his difficulties.”</p> - -<p>“Goodness! gracious! goodness me!” exclaimed Hannah Murch, holding up -both hands. “Ben Rhines, are you a wizard, to bewitch the girls after -this fashion? Such offers as that girl has had, to my sartin knowledge! -She loves you, Ben, and you may be sure of that to begin with. Well! -well! well! this beats all the story books.”</p> - -<p>“She’s just right,” said Isaac. “She knows that Ben gives up the -cap’in’s berth to please her; that he’ll have a hard scratch of it, and -she means to scratch, too. You’re just right, both of you.”</p> - -<p>“Now, Uncle Isaac,” said Ben, “this house must<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">87</a></span> go right up. Will you -go on with me and another man, and ‘boss’ the job?”</p> - -<p>“I will, Ben; and I won’t turn my back to any body for building a log -house.”</p> - -<p>“To-day is Thursday. I should like to begin Monday, if you can come.”</p> - -<p>“Well, I don’t know anything to hender; if you haven’t got anybody -looked out to help you, I think you’d better get Joe Griffin; he’s a -strapping stout feller, handy with an axe, or any kind of tools. I know -he’ll go; and if you say so, I’ll bring him along with me, and we’ll be -at the landing at sunrise, or thereabouts.”</p> - -<p>During Ben’s absence, the widow Hadlock put on her changeable silk, -which her husband bought in foreign parts, and her best cap, and taking -her knitting-work, went over to Captain Rhines’s. When she came back, -she reported that it was all right, and the Rhineses were as much -pleased with the match as she was.</p> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="divider" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">88</a></span> -</div> - -<h2><a name="viii" id="viii"></a>CHAPTER VIII.<br /> -<small>BREAKING GROUND ON ELM ISLAND.</small></h2> - - -<p><span class="smcap">Monday</span> morning came, and in the little cove, abreast of Captain -Rhines’s door, lay moored a “gundelow,” containing some hay, an ox -cart, plough, scraper, pot and tea-kettle, and provisions, raw and -cooked. Just as the sun rose, Ben came down the hill with a yoke of -oxen, and an axe on his shoulder weighing fourteen pounds. Joe Griffin -made his appearance on foot, and Isaac Murch on horseback, with his -wife (who had come to take the beast back) riding behind him on a -pillion. It was a bright October morning; the fields were white with -frost, which was just beginning to melt as the sun rose.</p> - -<p>“Halloa!” cried Joe, as he caught sight of Ben’s head over the rising -ground; “this is the weather for the woods; the frost puts the grit in.”</p> - -<p>Hannah Murch, saying that she was going to see Sally Rhines, that is to -be, and would meet them at four o’clock Saturday afternoon, rode off.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">89</a></span> -They put up a boat’s sail in the forward part of the “gundelow,” and, -as the wind was fair, made good progress. Ben steered, while the others -stretched themselves at full length upon the hay.</p> - -<p>Joe was half asleep, when he felt his leg grasped by Ben, who motioned -him to crawl to him as easily as possible.</p> - -<p>“There’s a flock of coots to leeward; steer her right down on them, and -when they rise I’ll give it to them.”</p> - -<p>He carefully lifted a board, under which lay a gun, with an old flint -lock, with a stocking leg over it to keep off the damp of the sea and -the mist of the morning. Ben crawled forward behind the hay, where he -lay with his finger on the trigger. The unsuspicious fowl kept diving -and chasing each other over the water: at length they seemed to take -alarm, and began to huddle together.</p> - -<p>“They’re going to rise, Ben,” whispered Joe.</p> - -<p>“Well, let them rise.”</p> - -<p>Coots, when they are fat, cannot well rise from the water, except -against the wind. As they rose and flew towards the “gundelow,” -exposing their most vital parts to a shot, five fell dead, and four -wounded.</p> - -<p>“There’s our supper to-night, at any rate,” said<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">90</a></span> Ben; “and were we in -anything else than this scow, I’d have those wounded ones.”</p> - -<p>They reached the island, and luffing round its eastern point, ran -the “gundelow” on the beach at the mouth of the cove. Joe, making -a leaping-pole of an oar, sprang ashore. “Throw us a rope, and you -go astern, and I’ll haul her in.” While Joe pulled on the rope, Ben -stepping overboard, put his little shoulders to the stern of the -“gundelow,” and shoved her so high up on the beach that Isaac Murch -stepped out without wetting his feet.</p> - -<p>“I say, Ben,” exclaimed Joe, “suppose you take an ox under each arm, -and bring them out. I never was here before, but if this ain’t just -the handsomest place I ever set eyes on. Such a nice little harbor to -keep a craft; and a brook, and this little green spot in the lee of the -woods; then such a master growth of timber; there’s a pine that’ll run -seventy feet without a limb. I say it’s great, I do.”</p> - -<p>Let us glance a moment at the character and capacities of these three -men, as they stand together on the beach of this little gem of the wild -Atlantic coast.</p> - -<p>They represent the yeomanry of the nation. They are of the old stock; -not technically religious<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">91</a></span> men, and yet no word of profanity, or -disrespect to religion, finds utterance or countenance from them. That -which, in their estimation, is of the greatest importance, is to have -something which they have earned with their own hands. Look at them, -as they stand there at the water’s edge, and know them. Physically -considered, they are noble specimens of manly vigor and power.</p> - -<p>What would some of the effeminate dandies that throng our streets, -or the scions of nobility in the old world, be good for on that wild -sea-beach? But these men can live there, and cause others to live, and -turn the wilderness into a garden.</p> - -<p>Isaac Murch is five feet eleven inches in height, fifty-three years of -age, without a gray hair on his head, of powerful, compact frame, with -a world of intelligence and kindness in his face, and something about -him that, without the least assumption, caused his neighbors to respect -his opinion, and look up to him as a leader. His early advantages for -learning were very slight; but since he has been in easy circumstances, -he has improved strong natural capacities by reading and observation.</p> - -<p>Joe Griffin was twenty-two—a boy, as Isaac Murch called him; and -a great red-cheeked, corn-fed<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">92</a></span> boy he was, too; six feet in his -stockings, and weighing a hundred and eighty pounds; loose-jointed, -big-boned, thin in the flanks, not long-legged, but getting his length -between his shoulders and his hips. He is of less capacity, and more -interested in physical matters. He can read and write, cipher as far as -the “rule of three,” and cast interest; but he has a knack of handling -tools that comes by nature. As the neighbors say, he has an eye,—that -is, he can judge of proportions, and, with his great clumsy fingers, -do anything with wood that he likes; but his great ambition is, to go -ahead and do the work. He’s smart, and knows it, and likes to have -other people know it. He don’t calculate to let anybody go ahead of -him with a scythe, or chop into the side of a tree, or put hay on to a -cart, quicker than himself. Indeed there were very few that could; for -he was not only strong, but tough, and possessed infinite tact, laying -out his strength to the best advantage.</p> - -<p>Let us consider the type of labor presented to us. Here are three live -Yankees, in whom all the shrewd, inventive genius of the race has been -stimulated by necessity,—all of them, from early life, having been -flung upon their own resources.</p> - -<p>They are helping one of their number to build a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">93</a></span> house for himself and -his young wife to live in. One of them has already passed through that -experience of life which their employer is about to enter. The other -expects to, for he also intends to be married, and have a home and -land of his own. They therefore go about their work with interest and -sympathy.</p> - -<p>How different are these men from what is generally termed <em>help</em>! They -are hired, to be sure; but the sentiment which inspires their labor is -entirely different from that feeling of drudgery, under the influence -of which the tenantry of Europe, or even the Irish servants in this -country, perform their work.</p> - -<p>Isaac Murch is an independent, wealthy farmer,—a mechanic by -nature,—who has acquired the property he holds with his own hands, -and would scorn to be a hired servant, like an Irish navvy; but for -<em>accommodation</em>, he will hire some one to get in his own harvest, and -in the cold, frosty nights, when he might be comfortable at home in the -blankets, he will go on to Elm Island, sweat and work, live rough, and -sleep on the ground, to build a house for his neighbor; for <em>neighbor</em> -meant something in those days.</p> - -<p>As for Joe Griffin, he’s counting every dollar,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">94</a></span> and looking forward to -the day when he shall have a home of his own, and plough his own acres, -and is ambitious to earn his wages.</p> - -<p>How superior are the results of such labor, to that of the man who -has no ambition of ever being anything more than a servant, and only -exercises his ingenuity in getting through the day, and shirking all -the work he can! They knew that Ben had nothing but his hands to -help himself with, and couldn’t afford to pay them for watching the -shadows; besides, they had a reputation to sustain, of which they -were sufficiently proud. They knew very well that everybody within a -circle of ten miles would know what they were about before night, and -what remarks would be made about them at the blacksmith’s shop, the -grist-mill, and around the firesides.</p> - -<p>“Well, now, if there ain’t a team—Isaac Murch, Ben Rhines, and Joe -Griffin! Pine trees’ll have to take it now, if they’ve got Isaac Murch -to lay out the work, and Ben and Joe to back him up. Won’t they have a -good time, though, seeing which is the smartest?”</p> - -<p>“Wal, sartainly,” exclaimed old Aunt Molly Bradish, “Joe Griffin has -met his match for once; he can’t do anything with Ben Rhines;<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">95</a></span> he’d -pull up a pine tree by the roots, if he took a notion.”</p> - -<p>“Joe can’t, of course, take hold of a log to lift with Ben, nor anybody -else in this world,” said Seth Warren; “but I’ll bet he’ll chop into -the side of a tree as quick; he strikes so true, he wouldn’t miss a -clip once in a fortnight. I saw him cut a pig of lead in two, down at -the mill; and though he struck ten times, he hit so true that you could -see but one mark of the axe.”</p> - -<p>“Wal,” replied Aunt Molly, “there’s this to be said of Ben Rhines, -that is not to be said of everybody: I took him in my arms when he -was born, and have lived a near neighbor to him from that day to -this, and I never knew or heard of his using his strength to harm a -fellow-critter, except they desarved it most outrageously. I’ve seen -little snipper-snappers impose upon him, and all the same as spit in -his face, and he never let on that he heard them. Sally’s my own niece, -and I set my eyes by her; but I couldn’t wish her better luck than to -marry Ben. He’s helped everybody; I should think somebody might have -sprawl enough to get up a ‘bee’ and help him.”</p> - -<p>They also knew that, when they went to meeting, Sunday, everybody -would want to know how<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">96</a></span> much they’d done. Added to this was the pride -of emulation, which leads men of any pluck to exert themselves in the -presence of each other. This is a kind of labor that can exist nowhere -but in a free country, is the result of its institutions, from which -proceed the motives, and a thousand subtle influences which beget it.</p> - -<p>The island well merited Joe’s encomium. On the eastern side, adjoining -the brook, was a large space, having a slight elevation, covered -with green grass, extending back to the middle ridge, which, at -its extremity, terminated in a perpendicular ledge, which, sloping -gradually on the eastern side, and disappearing, crossed the brook, -where it again came to the surface, forming a natural dam, about two -feet in height, with a little fissure in the middle, worn by the -passage of the water. Over this the stream fell with a pleasant murmur, -mingling very sweetly with the deeper tone of the breakers. On either -side of the brook were two enormous elm trees, united by a great root, -flat on the surface, which bridged the brook a very little above the -fall. Under this root, which was as large as a man’s body, the water -had a free passage, except in the spring and autumn, when the brook -was swollen by melting snows and rains. Then<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">97</a></span> the old root was half -buried in water. The high tides came over this natural dam; and in the -brackish water were great quantities of smelts and frost fish; and eels -also ran up through the fissure in the ledge. The summit of the high -ledge was covered with white birches, the great forked roots, rough -and black with whorls and blisters, running along the very edge of the -rocks, while their limbs, stretching themselves towards the sun, fell -in great masses over its edge.</p> - -<p>They are very much mistaken who suppose that no one can appreciate -natural beauty, or hold communion with the beautiful forms of nature, -and grow by it, who has not graduated at a university and read Homer.</p> - -<p>Joe Griffin appreciated the beauty of this spot, and felt it to his -heart’s core; and so did big Ben, though they could not express it in -artistic language.</p> - -<p>Ben, in consultation with uncle Isaac, had determined to hew his logs -for their whole length only on two sides, which, as it was late in the -year, and they were pressed for time, would save much labor; but at -the ends, and where the doors and windows were to be, to hew them to a -“proud edge.” This would give good joints at the ends,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">98</a></span> and make the -house as tight as though it was all square timber.</p> - -<p>“Where are you going to set your house?” inquired Uncle Isaac.</p> - -<p>“Here,” said Ben, walking up to the slope above some elms that grew -close together, and sticking down a crowbar; “I want my house under the -lee of the woods and the hill, and my garden under that warm ledge.”</p> - -<p>“How large will you have it on the ground?”</p> - -<p>“Thirty-six by thirty-nine.”</p> - -<p>“Jerusalem!” exclaimed Joe; “that’s a big house for two people, and a -little yellow dog with white on the end of his tail, to live in; hope -you won’t be crowded.”</p> - -<p>“Log houses,” said Uncle Isaac, “last some time; perhaps he thinks -there’ll be more of them before it rots down.”</p> - -<p>“At first,” said Ben, “and perhaps for some years, it’ll have to be -house, barn, corn-house, workshop, and everything.”</p> - -<p>“You’ll have your cellar under half of it; how high will you have it?”</p> - -<p>“I never have thought anything about that.”</p> - -<p>“Well, I’d drop the beams down, and have it a story and a half; that -great chamber’ll be the best<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">99</a></span> part of the house; ’twill make you a -splendid corn-house; that’s the way your grandfather’s was, and many a -bushel of corn I’ve shelled in it. If I’m boss, as you, Ben, are strong -enough to hold the scraper alone, you and Joe can take the plough, and -go to ploughing and scraping out the cellar, and I’ll go to the woods -and pick out and cut the trees.”</p> - -<p>“The sun is getting low,” said Ben; “it is time we were making -calculations for sleeping to-night, whether in the ‘gundelow,’ with a -sail over us, or in a bush camp.”</p> - -<p>“I go in for the bush camp,” said Uncle Isaac.</p> - -<p>“And I’m the boy to build it,” said Joe; “takes me to do that.”</p> - -<p>“Go ahead, Joe, and build it, and we’ll get the wood for the fire.”</p> - -<p>Without a moment’s hesitation, Joe went into the edge of a little -clump of bushes, and in a few minutes cut out a space about twelve -feet square, leaving an opening between two trees, where he went in, -of about three feet. As fast as he cut the trees, he thrust them back, -and jammed them in among the others, making a thick wall; he then wove -two or three small trees in on the side to keep them from falling -in. He then cut three or<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">100</a></span> four small beech limbs, twisted them into -withes, bent down the tops of three or four trees on the sides, tied -them together with the withes, thus forming the roof; then getting the -boat’s sail, threw it over the top, and a little brush over that, to -break the force of the rain. He then strewed some hemlock brush on the -floor to sleep on.</p> - -<p>“I’ll risk any rain-storm driving us out of that,” said Joe, -contemplating his edifice with great satisfaction.</p> - -<p>“I must have a door,” said Joe, “or these plaguy oxen and sheep’ll be -in there when we ain’t, and bother us.”</p> - -<p>You may think this a difficult matter, but Joe never wasted a thought -on’t. He took three spruce poles, as long as the height of the opening, -drove them into the ground, and wattled them with birch limbs; he then -fastened a pole across each end, and one in the middle, leaving the -middle one protruding about four inches on the right side; that was a -latch. He now took a little hemlock, peeled the bark off, and drove -it into the ground on the left side; this was the door-post. He made -hinges of withes, which slipped easily round the smooth pole. On the -right hand tree grew a limb, slanting upwards; this he cut off about -three inches from the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">101</a></span> tree; then lifting the door, he threw it into -the angle, and it was shut and latched.</p> - -<p>He drove two crotch-poles into the ground, just before the door, and -put another across; he then cut a limb with a side branch growing out -of it, and hooked it over the pole; cut a deep notch in the lower end -of it, to receive the bail of the pot, and hung it on.</p> - -<p>Uncle Isaac and Ben now came with a whole cart full of dry wood, which -they had picked up, and a fire was kindled. It was not long before the -flavor of the coot stew saluted their nostrils.</p> - -<p>“O, that smells good,” said Joe; “I’m savage hungry.” Seizing his axe, -he cut some great chips out of the side of a tree, which he hollowed -out, and giving one to each, said, “There’s the plates; they don’t need -any washing; you can shie them into the fire when you’re done; there’s -enough more where they come from.”</p> - -<p>The stew was now taken from the fire, and these hardy men, who had -shown so much capacity for labor during the day, manifested no less -for eating. When the solid contents of the stew had disappeared, Joe -exclaimed, “I think it’s too bad to lose all this good gravy in the -pot.” He went to the beach and got three clam-shells; these they stuck<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">102</a></span> -in the end of split sticks, and soon despatched the contents of the pot.</p> - -<p>“Well,” said Uncle Isaac, as they stretched themselves around the -blazing fire, “we’ve got on here, made a beginning, and got to -housekeeping; and that will do pretty well for one day. We couldn’t -expect to make much show to-day; but to-morrow we shall get to work -betimes, and bring more to pass.”</p> - -<p>“I’m sorry I forgot to bring a drag,” said Ben; “we’ve nothing to haul -the rocks on.”</p> - -<p>“That’s a thing we must have,” said Uncle Isaac; “I’ll make one right -off.”</p> - -<p>“You can’t make it to-night,” said Ben.</p> - -<p>“The dogs I can’t. Joe, cut that little red oak; you can do it in -three minutes. Make a blaze, Ben, to see to work by; then run to the -‘gundelow,’ and bring up that plank I saw there.”</p> - -<p>By the time Ben returned with the plank the tree was down.</p> - -<p>“Now, Joe,” said Uncle Isaac, “you can take one side of the tree, and I -will the other, and see if you can keep up with your grandfather. You, -Ben, may saw up that plank into pieces three feet long, and make some -wooden pins.”</p> - -<p>By nine o’clock the drag was made.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">103</a></span> -“There,” said Uncle Isaac, “that hasn’t killed anybody; ’twould have -been an awful waste to have taken good daylight for that. I’m not sure -but ’twould have been a sin; and we’ve plenty of time left to sleep.”</p> - -<p>Thursday was occupied in framing together the sills, and laying the -lower floor, in order that they might have it to stand on while rolling -up the logs. It was left rough, because Uncle Isaac said it would wear -smoother than if ’twas planed.</p> - -<p>“I hope,” said Joe, “it won’t be like old Uncle Yelf’s floor. He had -a floor of hemlock boards, rough from the saw; they had a heap of -grandchildren, every one of them barefoot. Go in there when you would, -for a fortnight, there’d be old granny with her darning-needle, and -a great young one’s foot up in her lap, a-picking out the splinters, -while the young one, with both hands on the floor, was screaming bloody -murder. By the time she’d picked the splinters out of his feet, there’d -be as many more in his hands.”</p> - -<p>Saturday forenoon was spent in hauling logs, and rolling them up on -skids, preparatory to hewing.</p> - -<p>Just as they had finished dinner, Joe suddenly cried, “What’s that in -that bushy spruce on the edge of the bank?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">104</a></span> -“I don’t see anything,” said Ben.</p> - -<p>“Nor I, now; but I know there was something there, and I believe it’s -there now.”</p> - -<p>“Perhaps it’s a coon,” said Uncle Isaac.</p> - -<p>“A coon? How could a coon get on to this island?”</p> - -<p>“How could he get here? How could the squirrels and woodchucks get -here? God Almighty put ’em here.”</p> - -<p>Going to the tree, Joe peered a long time among the branches; at length -he exclaimed, “Here he is: get your gun, Ben!”</p> - -<p>“I shot away the last powder I had to kindle fire this morning; but -we’ll stone him down.”</p> - -<p>They pelted him with stones in vain, the thick limbs causing them all -to glance.</p> - -<p>“Climb up and get him, Joe.”</p> - -<p>“Climb up yourself, Ben; they say their bite’s rank ‘pizen.’”</p> - -<p>“I’ll have that coon,” said Ben, “if it takes all day. Cut the tree -down, Joe.”</p> - -<p>As it fell, the coon leaped from it; and though the stones fell thick -and fast around him, he ran up the bank and under the logs. Then began -a most exciting race, the men rolling the logs here and there, and -striking at him between them, till finally<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">105</a></span> he broke cover, and ran for -the woods, with the whole scout at his heels. Ben overtook him just as -he was running up a tree, and, catching him by the tail, flung him over -his head: he landed on Joe’s back, who, having a mortal terror of the -bite of a coon, roared with agony; but the creature, too frightened to -bite, rolled off his back to the ground, and passing Uncle Isaac, who -was so full of tickle that he could not lift a finger to stop him, ran -under the timber again. As he was now too far gone to try another race -for the woods, he hid under a log, one end of which lay upon a block, -and the other on the ground.</p> - -<p>Ben saw his eyes shine, and kicked the log off the block; as the coon -attempted to run out, it fell on his tail and held him fast. There he -sat, captive but undismayed, showing his white teeth, and frothing at -his mouth with pain and rage.</p> - -<p>“How are you, coonie?” said Joe, taking off his hat and making a low -bow; “by the chances of war you are now our prisoner; we are cannibals, -of the cannibal tribe, and eat all our captives; you must die for the -good of the tribe;” and thus saying he knocked him on the head.</p> - -<p>“I’ll get mother to bake him to-night,” said Ben; “come over to-morrow, -Joe, and help eat him.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">106</a></span> -“Boys,” said Uncle Isaac, “don’t you think we look well skylarking at -this rate? and to-day is Saturday, too; now we must put in hard enough -to make up for it.”</p> - -<p>They labored till dark, as if their lives depended on it.</p> - -<p>“I thought you were going to leave off earlier Saturday night,” said -Hannah Murch, as she met them at the landing. “I’ve been waiting here -more’n two hours in the cold. I was afraid some accident had befallen -you.”</p> - -<p>Ben held up the raccoon.</p> - -<p>“I see how it is; you’ve been cooning, and had to work later to make it -up. Isaac, I do wish you would ever leave off being a boy.”</p> - -<p>“Well, you’re the first woman I ever heard of that wanted her husband -to grow old.”</p> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="divider" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">107</a></span> -</div> - -<h2><a name="ix" id="ix"></a>CHAPTER IX.<br /> -<small>TOO GOOD A CHANCE TO LOSE.</small></h2> - - -<p><span class="smcap">Ben</span> persuaded Joe Griffin to go home with him, stay all night, and -help eat the coon. Though one of the most kind-hearted creatures that -ever lived, Joe’s proclivity for practical jokes was both instinctive -and inveterate. If the choice lay between making a mortal enemy for -life and a good joke, he could not prevail upon himself to forego the -joke. He was very shrewd withal, and would extricate himself from -difficulties, and accomplish his ends by pleasantry, where others would -be compelled to fight their way out, or miss of their object.</p> - -<p>One autumn, the blacksmith, having great quantities of axes to make for -the loggers, hired Joe a couple of months, as there was a great deal -of striking with the sledge, and his apprentice was young and light. -The smith was a very driving man, but kept his men well, and was very -hospitable. He was obliged to be absent occasionally to deliver his -axes. At such times his wife, who was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">108</a></span> penurious in the extreme, kept -the boys very short. Joe, knowing that his master did not approve of -this, resolved to put a stop to it. They worked evenings. One night the -smith came home full of grit, as he had been riding and resting, and -prepared to forge an axe. Placing a hot iron on the anvil, he cried, -“Strike, Joe, strike.” Joe struck a few feeble blows, when exclaiming, -“It’s going! it’s going! it’s all gone!” dropped his sledge on the -floor, and seemed ready to faint away.</p> - -<p>“What’s gone?” cried the smith, in a rage at having lost his heat.</p> - -<p>“That water porridge we had for supper.”</p> - -<p>The master then took them to the house, and gave them a hearty meal.</p> - -<p>Once more the iron was laid upon the anvil; Joe struck tremendous -blows, making the sparks fly all over the shop, crying, “It’s coming! -it’s coming! it gives me strength! I feel it! I feel it!”</p> - -<p>“What’s coming, and what do you feel?”</p> - -<p>“That good beefsteak I had for supper.”</p> - -<p>Joe could talk like anybody under heaven, and look like them too. He -could talk more like Uncle Sam Yelf than Uncle Sam could himself. This -gift, however, he used very sparingly, for he could take a joke as well -as give one; felt that ’twas<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">109</a></span> mean to turn the peculiarities of others -into ridicule, and in a way in which they could not retaliate.</p> - -<p>Yelf had a sort of hitch in his voice, which was very ludicrous, but, -like many people who have an impediment, could sing distinctly and -shout tremendously; he was also very hot in his temper. Sometimes, when -they met at the store, Joe would begin to talk with him, and just like -him.</p> - -<p>The old man would fly in a passion in a moment, begin to sputter, and -Joe would “take him off,” while no human being could help laughing. It -was fine sport for the young folks, and the more so on account of its -rarity, as it was but seldom that Joe could be persuaded to do it, and -was sure to give the old man some tobacco soon after. He could also -imitate the cry of any beast, wild or tame, to perfection, from a moose -to a muskrat; and of birds, except the squawk; Joe said the squawks -were too many for him.</p> - -<p>This power was of great value to him in hunting. He could call a moose -or muskrat within range, by imitating the notes of either.</p> - -<p>In the evening Ben went over to the widow Hadlock’s. He was in the -habit of making a bootjack of the crane; standing on one leg, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">110</a></span> -steadying himself by the mantel-piece, he put the other foot into the -crotch of the crane, and pulled off his boot. Joe had often seen him do -this, and laid his plans accordingly. After the family were all asleep, -Joe got up, and with a crowbar pulled out the dogs that held the crane, -and then put them back again in such a manner that the least touch -would loosen them, and bring crane and all on to the floor. He then -took a cow-bell from a cow’s neck in the barnyard, and putting some -stones in an old tin pail, hung them and a bottle of sour milk on the -crane, and went back to bed.</p> - -<p>About twelve o’clock Ben came. He felt round for a candle, expecting -to find it where his mother usually left it—on the mantel-piece; but -Joe had taken very good care to remove both candle and matches; so, -feeling for the crane, he clapped in his foot and pulled; down came -the crane on to the floor. Ben went over backwards, full length on the -floor, with a force that shook the whole house from garret to cellar; -the cow-bell and tin pail rattled; the sour milk ran all over Ben; his -mother awaked from a sound sleep, and screamed murder; and old Captain -Rhines came rushing out in his night-shirt, with a pistol in each hand, -blazed away<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">111</a></span> at the sound, putting one bullet through the window, and -the other into a milk-pan of eggs, which stood upon the dressers, while -the children, roused by the frantic screams of the mother and the -pistol shots, came shrieking from their beds.</p> - -<p>“Don’t shoot any more, father,” cried Ben; “it’s me.”</p> - -<p>“My God!” exclaimed Captain Rhines, feeling the milk, which, by hanging -over the fire, had become warm, as it touched his bare feet, and -mistaking it for blood; “have I shot my own son?”</p> - -<p>“No, father,” said Ben; “it’s some of that confounded Joe Griffin’s -work. I’ll fix him.” He ran up stairs to take summary vengeance. In -this he was disappointed, for the moment Joe heard the crash, he slid -down on a pole, which he had previously placed at the window, and ran -home.</p> - -<p>We must remember that Ben had been courting; had on his best -broadcloth, purchased on the last voyage, and in which he was to be -married.</p> - -<p>Broadcloth suits in those days were limited to a very few. The minister -had a coat and breeches for Sabbath; so of a few of the seafaring -people and their families; but the clothing of the people in general -was both manufactured and made up at home, there being no such thing as -a tailor.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">112</a></span> -Here, then, was Ben’s best suit, made in Liverpool by a professional -tailor, soaked with sour milk, and covered with ashes; his light buff -waistcoat all over smut, from the pot, crane, hooks, and trammels, that -fell over him. Thus, though Ben’s temper was not easily roused, and -soon subsided, he was now thoroughly mad, and, had he caught Joe, would -probably have crippled him for life. Perhaps some such thought crossed -his mind, as he said to his father on coming down, “He’s gone, and I’m -glad of it; but I’ll be even with him before snow flies.”</p> - -<p>Aunt Molly Bradish’s declaration that Ben Rhines had helped everybody -that needed help, and that she should think somebody might give him -a lift, was not lost. Seth Warren happened to be in there, and heard -the old lady’s remarks. Seth was a kind-hearted, jovial fellow, who -had been many a time with Ben on his errands of mercy, and loved any -kind doings. He went directly to the store, where, as he expected, he -found, as it was Saturday night, a good portion of the young men of -the place assembled. He took them aside, and said, “You know what a -good fellow Ben Rhines is; how he has always been getting up ‘bees’ to -help everybody that was behindhand:<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">113</a></span> now, what say for going on to the -island next week, the whole crew of us, and giving him a lift with his -house?”</p> - -<p>Seth’s proposition was received with acclamations. “Now, boys,” he -continued, “you know how such things always leak out, and that spoils -the whole. Now, don’t say a word about it to neither sister, mother, -or sweetheart, till they have gone back to the island Monday morning, -and then we can talk as much as we please, and they cannot possibly get -wind of it.”</p> - -<p>This was solemnly assented to.</p> - -<p>“I,” said Seth, “will go over and sleep with Joe Griffin Sunday night, -and, without letting him suspect anything, find out how far they’ve -got along with their work, that we may know when our help will be most -needed.” This he did, when Joe told him what he did the night before at -Captain Rhines’s.</p> - -<p>“What do you suppose Ben’ll do to you? He’ll murder you after he gets -you on to the island. I shouldn’t want to be in your shoes.”</p> - -<p>“Poh! he won’t, neither; he’s like a bottle of beer, soon up and soon -over. I think it is like enough he’ll throw me overboard; if he does, I -don’t care; I’d be willing to be ducked twenty<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">114</a></span> times for the sake of -the fun I had that night, and for the better fun I shall have thinking -about it and telling of it.”</p> - -<p>The next morning Seth accompanied Joe to the shore; but no sooner was -the gundelow fairly off, than getting on the horse with Hannah Murch, -who had come to bring her husband, he let out the whole matter to her. -Hannah, by no means backward in the good work, told everybody she met -on the road, and went to the school-house and told the mistress.</p> - -<p>The result of this was, that thirty-five young men agreed to go,—among -whom were ten ship-carpenters from Massachusetts, who were there -cutting ship timber, with their master workman, Ephraim Hunt; also, Sam -Atkins, from Newburyport, who was at home on a visit.</p> - -<p>The girls, under the direction of Hannah Murch, were to cook and -furnish the provisions, while John Strout engaged to set them on in his -fishing schooner, the Perseverance, an Essex pink-stern, of sixty tons.</p> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="divider" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">115</a></span> -</div> - -<h2><a name="x" id="x"></a>CHAPTER X.<br /> -<small>THE SURPRISE PARTY.</small></h2> - - -<p><span class="smcap">Wednesday</span> morning the axes were flying merrily, as Ben and his crew -were busy at their timber, when they were startled by a tremendous -cheer, and, to their utter amazement, beheld thirty-five men, in -military order, emerging from the woods, led on by Seth Warren, with -a three-cornered cap, in which were the tail feathers of a turkey, -with a skein of yarn for a sash, and shouldering an adze. Each man was -armed,—some with broad-axes, others narrow-axes, saws, augers, and -other tools.</p> - -<p>When Seth had marched his men up in front of the cellar, he commanded -them to stand at ease.</p> - -<p>It is impossible adequately to describe the amazement of the party on -the island. Joe stood leaning on his axe, with his mouth wide open; -Uncle Isaac held his hat before him with both hands, as if for a -shield; while Ben, who had, under the first impulse, started forward -to meet Seth, unable to get<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">116</a></span> any farther, stood with both hands in his -pockets, the picture of astonishment and doubt.</p> - -<p>“Now, Ben,” exclaimed Seth, with a magnificent flourish of his hand, -and very much at his ease, while his eyes were dancing in his head with -suppressed glee, as he noticed the completeness of the surprise, “did -you suppose there were never to be any more ‘bees,’ and that folks -wan’t going to help each other any more, because you are going to be -married, and have got through with it? I tell you, you’ve learnt us the -trade, and we’ve come to practise, and help the fellow that has set us -so good an example—ain’t we, boys?”</p> - -<p>Seth’s speech was received with a cheer. Poor Ben, feeling that he must -say something, and not knowing what to say, presented a most ludicrous -picture. His great body swayed to and fro; he stood first on one foot -and then on the other, to the great delight of his friends, who were in -high glee at this evidence of the thoroughness of the surprise.</p> - -<p>At length the great creature, who would have faced a battery without -winking, blurted out, “Neighbors, I—’m—sure, I don’t know what I’ve -done to deserve all this kindness,” and burst into tears.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">117</a></span> -“Don’t know what you’ve done?” replied Seth, anxious to cover Ben’s -confusion; “<em>I</em> should like to know what you <em>haven’t</em> done. Who raised -a scout, and built Uncle Joe Elwell a barn, after his’n was struck by -lightning?”</p> - -<p>“Who,” said John Lapham, “got in the widow Perry’s harvest, and cut all -her winter’s wood, after her husband was killed stoning a well?”</p> - -<p>“Ah!” exclaimed John Strout, the skipper of the Perseverance, “who was -it took care of me when I had the smallpox in Jacmel, and everybody -else, even my own relation, run away from me?”</p> - -<p>“Well,” replied Ben, whose modesty revolted at such a display of his -virtues, “I didn’t do any more than my duty.”</p> - -<p>“That’s just what we’re going to do,” replied Seth.</p> - -<p>“And that’s where you’re right,” said Uncle Isaac, putting on his hat. -“Come on, boys; if you’re so anxious to work, I’ll give you enough of -it to start the grease out of you.”</p> - -<p>“Let you alone for that, uncle,” said a voice from the crowd.</p> - -<p>“Who’s that? As I’m alive it’s my nephew, Sam Atkins. Where did you -drop from, Sam?”</p> - -<p>“Why, you see, uncle, we were waiting for<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">118</a></span> timber at Newburyport, that -is to come in a vessel; and as Jacob Colcord was coming down in his -schooner, I thought it would be a good time to make a visit home.”</p> - -<p>“You couldn’t have done a better thing; you’re just the boy I want. -Now, Master Hunt, if you’ll be good enough to line these timbers for -these boys to hew, I’ll be doing something else.”</p> - -<p>Sam Atkins, who was well assured his uncle would not overlook his -capabilities, sat on a log whittling. After he had set all the rest to -work, Uncle Isaac came to him, and laying his hand upon his shoulder, -said, “Sam, I’ve got a nice job for you; I want you to frame the roof; -you’ll find tools in my tool-chest. There are the rafters, and they -will have the ridge-pole and purlins hewed by the time you will want -them.”</p> - -<p>As soon as a good number of sticks were hewed, they began to roll them -up, while Uncle Isaac, Joe Griffin, and two of the ship carpenters, -cut the dovetails. By twelve o’clock they had the timber for the walls -hewed, and the walls raised to the chamber, and the beams and sleepers -for the chamber floor hewed, and Sam and his crew had the roof framed.</p> - -<p>In order to make the surprise to Ben complete,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">119</a></span> they had anchored the -schooner behind the woods, on the north-east end of the island; but -they now brought her round, and anchored her in the cove, and brought -ashore their provisions—jugs of coffee all made, with the sweetening -boiled in; cheese and doughnuts, bread and butter, beef, pork, and -lamb, all cooked, which the girls had provided; and a good deal more -raw, which they meant to have the fun of cooking themselves.</p> - -<p>They laid some boards on logs, and thus made their tables.</p> - -<p>After dinner, they lay on the grass and talked and laughed, while the -older ones smoked, and had a jolly good time.</p> - -<p>At length Uncle Isaac said, putting his pipe in his waistcoat pocket, -“Boys, do you calculate on having a frolic in the house to-night?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, we do,” replied a score of voices.</p> - -<p>“Then it’s high time you were laying the chamber floor.”</p> - -<p>“You old drive,” said Joe, speaking thick, with the ribs of a sheep -between his teeth, “didn’t you know old Captain Hurry is dead? cast -away, going down to Make Haste? Can’t you give a feller time to eat? -That’s been the way ever since I’ve been here, boys. I’m getting quite -thin.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">120</a></span> -“He don’t show it much,” said Uncle Isaac, pointing to Joe’s fat -cheeks; “he has had an hour and a half, and eaten almost a whole sheep.”</p> - -<p>As nothing was planed except the edges of the floor boards, and what -was absolutely necessary to make the joints, the work went on “smoking.”</p> - -<p>“Ah,” said Uncle Isaac, stopping to draw a long breath, while the sweat -dropped from the end of his nose on to the axe handle, “that’s the time -of day, my bullies; all strings are drawing now.”</p> - -<p>In a short time Joe sung out that the floor beams were all laid, cross -sleepers in, and they wanted something to do to keep them from freezing.</p> - -<p>“Well, lay the rough floor, and be quick about it; the boards are all -jointed, and we shall be at your heels with the upper one.”</p> - -<p>By the time Joe and his crew had laid half of the loose floor, the ship -carpenters began to lay the other one over it, and they finished nearly -at the same time.</p> - -<p>There were two courses of logs above the floor beams, so that the house -was a story and a half in height. The logs being hewn on two sides, -then smoothed with an adze, the window frames fitted close, the walls -two feet or more in thickness, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">121</a></span> very few windows, the house was -almost as tight as though it grew there.</p> - -<p>“Hand that timber right up here,” shouted Uncle Isaac, from the chamber -floor, “and clap the roof on. That’ll be enough for one day; there’s -reason in all things.”</p> - -<p>As there were half a dozen men to a rafter, the timber went up in a few -moments.</p> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="divider" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">122</a></span> -</div> - -<h2><a name="xi" id="xi"></a>CHAPTER XI.<br /> -<small>THE CHRISTENING.</small></h2> - - -<p>“<span class="smcap">Halloa</span>, Uncle Isaac!” shouted Joe from the house-top, “this ridge-pole -won’t fit; you didn’t make it right.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, I did. I never made a bad joint in my life.”</p> - -<p>“Well, it won’t fit, anyhow. Master Hunt says ’twont.”</p> - -<p>“O, if I could only get a little spirit to rub on it,” said Uncle -Isaac, in great perplexity, “I’ll bet ’twould fit; but I’m sure I don’t -know how I can get it on this island.”</p> - -<p>“There’s some aboard the schooner,” said John Strout; and, as it was -passed up the frame, Joe announced that the ridge-pole fitted first -rate.</p> - -<p>“Now, boys, the frame is up, and must be named. Who shall name it?”</p> - -<p>“Seth Warren,” was the cry; “he got up the scrape.” Seth, all at -once, became extremely diffident, and required as much urging as a -distinguished<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">123</a></span> man at Commencement dinner, but finally was prevailed -upon, at a great sacrifice of his own feelings, to gratify his friends. -With a bottle of rum in his right hand, and astride the ridge-pole, he -gave vent to the following effusion:—</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poem"> -<div class="verse"> -<div class="line">Here, in the woods, yet out at sea,</div> -<div class="line indent1">Where robins sing amid the surf,</div> -<div class="line">Where ivy clasps the moss-grown tree,</div> -<div class="line indent1">And flowers are breaking from the turf,—</div> -</div> -<div class="verse"> -<div class="line">We’ve reared, where house ne’er stood before,</div> -<div class="line indent1">Nor reaper bound the swelling grain,</div> -<div class="line">A dwelling-place, amid the roar</div> -<div class="line indent1">Of waves, that break to break again.</div> -</div> -<div class="verse"> -<div class="line">Good luck to those who here shall live,</div> -<div class="line indent1">Prosperity their path attend,</div> -<div class="line">With every blessing Heaven can give—</div> -<div class="line indent1">Health, competence, till life shall end.</div> -</div> -<div class="verse"> -<div class="line">To them its wealth may ocean yield,</div> -<div class="line indent1">The herds their milky tribute pour;</div> -<div class="line">Rich harvests crown the fertile field,</div> -<div class="line indent1">A bouncing baby grace the floor.</div> -</div> -<div class="verse"> -<div class="line">So strong a man ne’er held a plough,</div> -<div class="line indent1">A seaman tried, a shipmate true;</div> -<div class="line">So sweet a girl ne’er milked a cow,</div> -<div class="line indent1">Or bleached her linen in the dew.</div> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">124</a></span> -</div> -<div class="verse"> -<div class="line">This goodly house yet lacks a name;</div> -<div class="line indent1">Good people all, I pray you tell,</div> -<div class="line">How I most worthily the same,</div> -<div class="line indent1">This afternoon, may christen well.</div> -</div> -<div class="verse"> -<div class="line">We’ll not forget, where’er we roam,</div> -<div class="line indent1">When thirty-five young stalwart men,</div> -<div class="line">And Uncle Isaac, reared the home</div> -<div class="line indent1">Of old Elm Island’s Lion Ben.</div> -</div> -<div class="verse"> -<div class="line">I name it, then, the “Lion’s Den;”</div> -<div class="line indent1">When we are dead these walls shall last,</div> -<div class="line">To tell of times when men were men,</div> -<div class="line indent1">And keep the record of the past;—</div> -</div> -<div class="verse"> -<div class="line">When worth, not wealth, won woman’s heart,</div> -<div class="line indent1">While she her lighter burden bore;</div> -<div class="line">At wheel and loom performed her part,</div> -<div class="line indent1">And added to the common store.</div> -</div></div></div> - -<p>As he concluded, he dashed the bottle on the ridge-pole, and flung the -neck high in the air. Seth was frequently interrupted with applause; -but, when he finished, there was a complete storm of cheers.</p> - -<p>“I call that the cap-sheaf,” said Uncle Isaac; “there’s some chaw to -that; it’s raal sentimental; none of your low blackguard stuff, such as -they generally have to raisin’s. I think we ought all<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">125</a></span> join together, -and get Squire Linscott, the town clark, to copy them are varses, and -buy a gilded frame, and have ’em hung over Ben’s fireplace; then our -grandchildren will know about it, for we haven’t done anything on this -island we’re ashamed of, and don’t mean to.”</p> - -<p>It was universally agreed that after such an effort a man must be -thirsty; and a large pail of milk punch appeared from the schooner. -Seth, as the poet of the day, received the first draught; then Uncle -Isaac and Master Hunt, and so it went round.</p> - -<p>“It is not near night yet,” said Seth, who was greatly pleased with his -successful effort; “what do you say for boarding the roof and ends? -there is such a swarm of us that we can do it in less than an hour.”</p> - -<p>“I think we have done enough,” said Uncle Isaac; “but I’m in for it if -you are.”</p> - -<p>They accordingly boarded the roof and the ends.</p> - -<p>“Now,” said Seth, “for some fun.”</p> - -<p>The chips were all cleared out of the house, and the floor swept with -spruce boughs; it made a noble hall; not a thing in it, and almost -square. Uncle Isaac, rolling a log in front of the house, sat down to -smoke, contemplating his workmanship<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">126</a></span> with the greatest complacency. -His thoughts were also occupied in preparing for the morrow. He was -desirous of making the most of this godsend, but did not want the -boys to feel that he and Ben were trying to get all they could out of -them. They had come to work, but for a good time as well. This was the -secret of his influence over the boys. He had not outlived his youthful -feelings; knew theirs, and liked to frolic as well as they did. Knowing -that Seth and Joe were leaders of the rest, and would do anything -in reason for Ben, the wise old man determined to create a public -sentiment, and then follow the leadings of it; so he took them aside, -and told them this plan, of which they highly approved, and which Seth -was to propose at the proper time, and Joe to advocate. Seats were now -made along the walls; a great quantity of pitch knots were piled up on -the foundation of the chimney, and set on fire. This made such a light, -that the very heads of the nails in the floor were visible, while the -smoke went out of the hole left in the roof for the chimney.</p> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="divider" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">127</a></span> -</div> - -<h2><a name="xii" id="xii"></a>CHAPTER XII.<br /> -<small>THE “PULL UP.”</small></h2> - - -<p>“<span class="smcap">As</span> we can’t have any kissing without the girls,” said Joe, “let’s play -‘Pull up.’”</p> - -<p>The handle of one of the axes was knocked out, and the game began. It -was a most severe test of strength. Two of the company, sitting upon -the floor, and putting the soles of their feet together, took hold of -the axe-handle, and endeavored to pull each other up. If either broke -his hold he was adjudged beaten. Victory in this game depends not -merely upon weight, as it might seem at first, but upon strength in the -hands, and power of endurance. A man may be very heavy, and have great -strength in his arms, and not be strong in his fingers to retain his -hold upon the axe-handle.</p> - -<p>The young men would sit there and pull, with their teeth set, and the -perspiration streaming down their faces, and their eyes almost starting -from their sockets. When they were pretty equally matched, one would -raise the other from the floor an inch or<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">128</a></span> two, and then lose it again, -as his opponent made desperate efforts, and recovered the ground, their -friends meanwhile encouraging either party; and as the weakest men -were brought on first, and afterwards the strongest and most equally -matched, the game became, towards the close, most intensely interesting.</p> - -<p>Joe Bradish had pulled up four of his opponents, and being a very -conceited fellow, strutted about the floor, and challenged the crowd -to pull him up. The challenge would not have remained long unaccepted, -but the contest had now become limited to a few of the strongest men, -who, knowing they were to be pitted against each other, were saving -themselves for the final struggle.</p> - -<p>Uncle Isaac saw how it was; and, as he wished to see how the sport -would go on, and to teach the braggart a little modesty, he rose up, -threw off his outer garment, and accepted the challenge. His proposal -was received with shouts of laughter.</p> - -<p>“I’m sorry he’s done it,” said Seth to Joe Griffin, “though I can’t -help laughing. I should be sorry to see him pulled up before this -crowd, for I know it would mortify him; he is just as much of a boy as -any of us.”</p> - -<p>“He won’t be pulled. Uncle Isaac, I can tell<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">129</a></span> you, is an all fired -strong man; it don’t lay in Joe Bradish’s breeches to pull him up.”</p> - -<p>“I know that; but he’s getting in years.”</p> - -<p>“He can’t wrestle and jump quite as well as he could once; but he can -lift as much, and pull up as well, as ever he could. Joe Bradish will -get a good lesson; he’ll never hear the last of it as long as he lives.”</p> - -<p>“Well, boys,” said Uncle Isaac, “fling on some pitch knots; if I am -going to be beat, I want everybody to see it.”</p> - -<p>“What did I tell you?” said Joe, giving Seth a poke in the ribs; “the -old man knows what he’s about.”</p> - -<p>The two champions sat down.</p> - -<p>“Say when you’re ready, Joe,” said Uncle Isaac.</p> - -<p>“Ready,” says Joe.</p> - -<p>Uncle Isaac was not only strong, but of very quick strength; and before -the words were well out of the other’s mouth, he pulled him over his -head, into Joe Griffin’s arms, who was eagerly looking over Uncle Isaac.</p> - -<p>“It ain’t fair,” said Joe, his face as red as fire; “I wasn’t ready.”</p> - -<p>“You said you was.”</p> - -<p>“Well, I thought I was; but I wasn’t.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">130</a></span> -“Try it again,” was the cry. They sat down. Uncle Isaac waited -patiently till Joe had spit on his hands, and said he was completely -ready, when he pulled him up just as easily as before.</p> - -<p>“I thought you was some, Joe,” said Uncle Isaac; “but you ain’t -nothing.”</p> - -<p>John Strout, a large, muscular man, whose occupation as a sailor had -the effect to concentrate strength in the fingers and chest, had pulled -up all who opposed him. The call was now for Joe Griffin, as no one -thought of pulling with Rhines. Joe came forward at the summons. Severe -was the struggle; and, as these were the last antagonists, the interest -was proportionally great. Joe finally pulled John from the floor, but -the blood spun from his nose in consequence of his efforts; and John -was so exhausted that he could scarcely stand.</p> - -<p>“I could not have done it, John, if you had taken hold of me when you -were fresh, for an ounce more would have broken my hold.”</p> - -<p>Uncle Isaac now gave the wink to Seth, who said, loud enough for -everybody to hear, “I think it’s a pity, now we’re here, that we -couldn’t shingle the house, and build Ben a hovel to put his cow in, -and hang the doors; then all he would have to do would be to get -married.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">131</a></span> -“Well, we would do it, if we had the shingles to do it with—wouldn’t -we, boys?” said Joe Griffin.</p> - -<p>“Yes,” was the reply from twenty voices; “and we’ll build the hovel and -hang the doors, at any rate; we’ve got all the materials for that.”</p> - -<p>“Well, boys,” said Uncle Isaac, “since you are so free-hearted, I’ll -tell you what I’ve been thinking of, for I feel about nineteen, since I -pulled up Joe Bradish. I’ve been thinking I should like first rate to -have a clam bake.”</p> - -<p>“A clam bake! a clam bake!” was the cry.</p> - -<p>“But then, you see, we have no hoes to dig clams with; and we want some -eggs, potatoes, and apples to bake with them. Now, I’ve got a whole lot -of hemlock bark on the edge of the bank on my point, where you can go -to it with the gundelow—enough to cover three such houses. I’ll lend -it to Ben, and when he peels bark next June he can pay me; and I’ve -got nails likewise. If we can get an early start in the morning, we -can do the whole, clam bake and all. The bark is all piled up, so that -it is flat, and will lay first rate; it will make as tight a roof as -shingles, and last seven or eight years, and by that time Ben can make -his own shingles. Some of you can load the gundelow, and some can get -the hoes and nails; and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">132</a></span> tell Hannah to give you some corn that grows -in the western field,—it’s a late piece—the frost hasn’t touched it -yet,—it’s just right to roast; and also get all the apples, eggs, and -potatoes you want.”</p> - -<p>Uncle Isaac’s plan met with a hearty approval; and they brought in some -brush, and lay down to sleep.</p> - -<p>The next morning, at daybreak, John Strout, with a strong party, -started after the bark, taking a jug of coffee and a cold bite with -them.</p> - -<p>The others went to work making preparations to cover the roof of the -house, and build the hovel. Uncle Isaac gave Joe Griffin a gang, and -set him to build the hovel. Sam Atkins, with the ship carpenters, went -to work upon the doors, while the rest put up the staging upon which to -work while covering the roof.</p> - -<p>The hovel was built of round logs, notched together, with a roof on one -side,—what is called a half-faced cabin,—just high enough to clear -the cattle’s backs, and large enough to hold a cow and yoke of oxen. -Nothing was hewed except the poles that made the floor, which were -flatted on the upper side; and the openings between the logs filled -with clay and mortar.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">133</a></span> -The crew now arrived with the bark, when, who should come with them, -but Uncle Sam Yelf and Jonathan Smullen! Yelf was seventy, Smullen -seventy-five. The old men wanted to share in the clam bake, have a -little milk punch, and, above all, to witness the wrestling: they had -both been champions of the ring in their day.</p> - -<p>All hands, except the carpenters, now joined in putting on the sheets -of bark; they were lapped like shingles, and, being four feet in -length, were laid with great rapidity.</p> - -<p>“There are more of you here than can work to advantage,” said Uncle -Isaac; “some of you, dig clams.”</p> - -<p>In the mean time the carpenters hung the doors. The hinges and latches -were all made of wood. The latch was lifted by a leather string, which -was put through a hole in the door above it, and hung down on the -outside. Thence came the phrase, “the latch-string out,” to denote -open doors and hospitality; since, when it was pulled in there was no -entrance.</p> - -<p>“What on airth,” said Uncle Isaac, “has become of Sam Atkins? I haven’t -set eyes on him this whole forenoon.”</p> - -<p>While the rest were preparing for the clam bake,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">134</a></span> he went everywhere -looking for Sam. A great fire was now built in the hollow of a ledge, -till the rocks were red hot. Into this were put the clams, together -with eggs, potatoes, and corn with the husk on; the whole was then -covered with sea-weed, to keep in the steam while they were cooking.</p> - -<p>There was a short log left in the building of the house, and, in order -to pass the time away, while waiting for the dinner, they dug it out, -and made a hog’s trough: thus Ben’s <em>first</em> article of furniture was a -hog’s trough.</p> - -<p>The clams formed the first course; eggs, corn, apples, and cheese, the -second; concluding with milk punch, which passed from hand to hand in a -tin quart.</p> - -<p>If ever there was real enjoyment, it was to be found among that -frolicsome throng of young men, conscious that they had done a noble -act, and, in aiding a neighbor, had found the purest happiness for -themselves.</p> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="divider" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">135</a></span> -</div> - -<h2><a name="xiii" id="xiii"></a>CHAPTER XIII.<br /> -<small>INJURED PEOPLE HAVE LONG MEMORIES.</small></h2> - - -<p><span class="smcap">As</span> Ben had shown no disposition to retaliate for the joke played upon -him, had never mentioned it to any one, or ever alluded to it, Joe -supposed that, with his usual good nature, he had forgotten it.</p> - -<p>Ben, on the contrary, had resolved to pay Joe in his own coin, with -usury, whenever a fitting opportunity presented itself.</p> - -<p>Some weeks before he had mown some tall grass, which grew on the beach, -made it into hay, and enclosed it with a brush fence, to protect it -from the sheep. Adjoining the stack was a honey-pot. Honey-pots are -mires, sometimes twenty feet or more in depth, composed of a blue, -adhesive mud, which, by the constant soaking of some hidden spring, and -the daily flow of the tide, is kept in a half fluid state, except upon -the surface, where the clay, being somewhat hardened by the sun at low -water, is stiff, and will bear a man to walk<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">136</a></span> over it quickly; but, if -he stands a moment, down he goes.</p> - -<p>Joe, who had never been on the island before, was ignorant of the -existence of this mire. Ben, while the rest were asleep the night -before, had removed all the sand and drift stuff, and scraped the hard -clay from the surface of the honey-pot, till it would hardly bear a dog.</p> - -<p>While the boys were stretched upon the grass, laughing and talking -after dinner, Ben asked Joe to help him bring some hay on the poles for -the oxen. When two persons carry hay on poles, the one behind cannot -see where he steps, but must follow his leader, who picks the road for -him. Ben went as near to the edge of the honey-pot as he dared. The -moment he got a little by, he turned short off, bringing Joe right into -the middle of it. In he went, carried down both by his own weight and -that of the load, clean to his breast, when Ben, twitching the poles -away, sat down on the bank to laugh at him.</p> - -<p>“O, Ben,” cried Joe, “we’re square now; help me out.”</p> - -<p>Ben took out his knife, and began to whittle.</p> - -<p>Getting frightened, as he found himself gradually sinking, Joe roared -for help, drawing the whole<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">137</a></span> party to the spot. This was just what Ben -wanted. He knew that Joe had told everybody in the neighborhood of the -trick he put on him, and it was his turn now.</p> - -<p>The moment Joe saw Uncle Isaac, he cried out, “Do help me; I’m going -down.” As there was now real danger of his smothering in the mud, Ben -ran the poles under his arms. Joe made desperate efforts to extricate -himself by means of the poles, but the mire so sucked him down, that he -only succeeded in getting out his shoulders.</p> - -<p>At this juncture Tige came rushing along, and, seizing him by the -collar, endeavored to lift him out; but sinking down into the slime, -which Joe’s struggles had wrought into a complete porridge, his mouth -and nose were filled with mud and water: giving a vigorous snort, he -completely plastered Joe’s face and eyes with it, who, not being in the -most amiable of moods, hit him a cuff on the side of the head. Tige, -enraged at being thus rewarded for his good intentions, was going to -bite him, when Ben pulled him away by the tail.</p> - -<p>“Pity I wan’t a dog,” whined Joe; “then there’d be some feeling for me.”</p> - -<p>He now appealed again to Uncle Isaac; but the old man had thought the -matter all over, and come<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">138</a></span> to the deliberate conclusion that it was -time Joe’s wings were clipped; that, if not checked, he would become -unbearable; that there could be no better time to administer reproof, -and one stringent enough to be remembered.</p> - -<p>“You know, Joseph,” said he, in a severe tone, “that the trick you -played last week on Ben was not by any means the first you’ve played -on him and others. Who was it put on a bear-skin, got down on all -fours, followed the widow Hadlock when she was going home from my house -through the woods, and growled, and frightened the poor woman so that -she was sick for three months, and the whole town turned out the next -day to kill the bear?”</p> - -<p>“I cut all her winter’s wood, to pay for it.”</p> - -<p>“Who,” said Joe Riggs, “stopped up the chimney, when the young folks -had a New Year’s party in the chamber over the store, and put peas on -the stairs, so that Seth Warren fell from top to bottom, and broke his -leg?”</p> - -<p>“Joe Griffin,” cried Seth.</p> - -<p>“He’d done the same to me, if he’d had the chance, and wit enough.”</p> - -<div class="figcenter width600"> -<img src="images/i139.jpg" width="600" height="366" alt="" /> -<div class="caption"><span class="smcap">Joe Griffin in the Honey Pot.</span> Page 139.</div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">139</a></span> -“It makes my heart ache, Joseph,” said Uncle Isaac, “to see a young -man in your situation in such an unreconciled frame of mind; we never -should do wrong to others because they have done, or would do, wrong -to us. So far from manifesting any contrition, you justify yourself in -your evil courses. Instead of resignation under trial, you appear to me -to be ‘gritting your teeth,’ and thrashing about like unto a seal in a -herring net.”</p> - -<p>“Who was it,” asked John Strout, “when Mose Atherton was all dressed -up, going to walk round the head of the bay, to see Sally Bannister, -offered to show him a shorter cut over the marsh, and led him into a -honey-pot, then went to John Godsoe’s, told them there was a man’s -hat on Moll Graffam’s honey-pot, and he guessed somebody must be in -trouble? When Godsoe’s people got there, the tide was flowing around -him, and the water up to his chin.”</p> - -<p>Joe made no reply to this.</p> - -<p>“Don’t be sullen, Joe, for you must perceive we’re measuring you by -your own bushel. I begin to fear it may become our duty to leave you -here till you’re in a more submissive frame of mind.”</p> - -<p>“O, Uncle Isaac, you won’t leave me in this mire, six miles from any -human being, to perish?”</p> - -<p>“Not to perish, young man, but to repent. Let me see: to-day’s -Thursday; we can give you a little<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">140</a></span> light food, and leave you over the -Sabbath; it’s a good day, and should bring serious reflections. The -water don’t come up here, except when it’s a storm. I don’t see any -signs of a storm—do you, boys?”</p> - -<p>The others didn’t see much signs of one; some thought that ’twas a -little “smurry.”</p> - -<p>“Reflection is profitable, Joseph. Monday we might find you more -reconciled.”</p> - -<p>“I’ll do anything you want me to, if you will only take me out.”</p> - -<p>“That is better. Will you promise not to play any more tricks upon any -of this company, or anybody else?”</p> - -<p>“Don’t make him lie,” said Ben; “he can’t help it.”</p> - -<p>“Well, then, will you promise not to play any more upon any one here, -and say that you are sorry for what you did to Ben?”</p> - -<p>“I will.”</p> - -<p>“Then we will take you out; and I trust it will be a warning to you in -future. Boys, build up a fire; he must be half perished with cold.”</p> - -<p>Ben got some boards, and laying them two-thick upon the surface of the -honey-pot, walked to the place, and pulled him out; and a miserable -plight he was in.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">141</a></span> -“Jump into the water, Joe,” said John Strout, “and wash yourself; and I -will go to my chest in the schooner and get you a shift of clothes.”</p> - -<p>Joe washed the mud off in the water, and then stood by the fire till -John came with the clothes; then, putting them on, he washed his own, -and hung them on a tree to dry.</p> - -<p>“Joe,” said Uncle Isaac, “did you see anything of Sam Atkins in that -honey-pot? for I’m blest if I know what has become of him.”</p> - -<p>“Here he comes,” said Joe; and, sure enough, he was now seen coming up -from the shore, with something on his shoulder.</p> - -<p>“What is that, Sam?” asked Uncle Isaac.</p> - -<p>“A cradle for that bouncing baby Seth told about.” He had got out -the stuff unnoticed by the rest of them, and then went on board the -schooner and put it together. This was examined by all, and caused -abundant jests at Ben’s expense.</p> - -<p>It was now proposed that they should end the day with a ring wrestle, -both at close hugs and arms’ length. While the wrestling was going on, -the two old gentlemen, for whom a comfortable seat had been provided -near the fire, sat looking on, criticising the proceedings, and -entering into every detail with intense interest.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">142</a></span> -The presence of these distinguished veterans, with their great bony -frames,—for they had been men of vast pith and power, and famed -through all the region,—acted as a mighty incentive to the young men.</p> - -<p>“I think, Uncle Jonathan,” said Yelf, “you and I have seen the day -we could show these boys some things they haven’t learned yet. Do -you remember that wrastle we had when Captain Rhines’s house was -raised—there was stout, withy men around these bays in them days;—how -you threw Sam Hart, that came forty miles to wrastle with you, and said -God Almighty never made the man that could heave him? But he found the -man—didn’t he?” giving his friend a nudge in the ribs with his elbow.</p> - -<p>“They said,” replied Smullen, “he was so mortified because he’d bragged -so much, that he went home and hung himself. Ah, my toe was so sartin -in those days, when I put it in! You know I had a particular trip with -my left foot.”</p> - -<p>“Hoora!” said Uncle Sam, as John Strout crotch-locked Sam Pettigrew, -and threw him; “a fair fall that, and no mistake. Both shoulders and -both hips on the ground.”</p> - -<p>The plaudits of the veterans were like fuel to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">143</a></span> the fire. The young -men exerted themselves to the utmost in the presence of such competent -judges.</p> - -<p>At length their aged blood began to circulate more briskly, under the -combined influence of the warm fire, milk punch, and old associations.</p> - -<p>“Uncle Sam,” said Smullen, “what do you say to me and you trying a -fall; we’ve had hold of one another afore to day?”</p> - -<p>“Agreed,” was the reply; “but it must be at arm’s length. I’ve had the -rheumatics so much that my back’s got kinder shackly.”</p> - -<p>The young people laughed till the tears ran down their cheeks as they -stepped into the ring, their upper garments removed, heads bare, and -the white locks flowing round their shoulders. Uncle Yelf, producing -his snuff-box,—a sheep’s bladder,—after taking a pinch, offered it to -Smullen, and the contest began.</p> - -<p>They exhausted every feint known to the art, and it was soon evident to -the young people that these veterans possessed a skill unknown to them, -and that it was only in the strength of youth they were lacking.</p> - -<p>Beside them was an elm, that separated at the root into two parts. -Between the forks Smullen<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">144</a></span> threw Yelf with such force, that he was -firmly-wedged, and had to be pulled out.</p> - -<p>“Well,” said Uncle Sam, “he ought to throw me; he’s the oldest.”</p> - -<p>Just before sunset they took leave of Ben, and, with hearty cheers, -made sail.</p> - -<p>It was a current saying, in respect to Uncle Isaac, that he could -keep more men at work, bring more to pass, with less fuss, and have -everybody good-natured, than any man in the district; and nobly had he -justified the general verdict.</p> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="divider" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">145</a></span> -</div> - -<h2><a name="xiv" id="xiv"></a>CHAPTER XIV.<br /> -<small>BEN CONFIDES IN UNCLE ISAAC AND IS COMFORTED.</small></h2> - - -<p><span class="smcap">The</span> party on the island sat by the camp fire, listening to the voices -of their departing friends, till they died away in the distance.</p> - -<p>“Who are you going to get to build your chimney, Ben?” asked Uncle -Isaac.</p> - -<p>“Joe Dorset.”</p> - -<p>“I never’d get him; a poor man can’t afford to hire him; he came from -Newburyport, and he’d be always heaving out, and telling how much -better they have things in Massachusetts; growling about the stuff he -has to work with, and can’t do anything without merchantable brick.”</p> - -<p>“I don’t know anything about him,” said Ben, “only I’ve heard he is an -excellent workman.”</p> - -<p>“Well, so he is; but when you’ve said that you’ve said everything. -He’ll have a great many long stories to tell, that’ll eat up his own -time, and hinder other people. I like to hear a good story<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">146</a></span> myself, and -tell one too; but I always do it after work, and not to hinder work, -in my own time, and not my employer’s; besides, he’s so lazy! He went -fishing one year with John Strout, and he was so long hauling up a -codfish that a dogfish eat him all up, and left nothing but the bare -hooks to come to the top of the water.”</p> - -<p>“Who shall I get?”</p> - -<p>“Get Sam Elwell.”</p> - -<p>“He ain’t a mason.”</p> - -<p>“No, but he’s a plaguy sight better for your purpose; he’s a natural -stone layer—took it up of his own head; he’d build you a chimney out -of the stones, right here on the island, that’ll carry the smoke first -rate, and that’s all you want of a chimney; and he’ll do it in quarter -of the time. Then the chimney’ll compare with the house, and they’ll be -all of a muchness.”</p> - -<p>At this period of the conversation Joe flung himself upon the brush, -and was soon sleeping soundly.</p> - -<p>“Uncle Isaac, now that we are alone, I want to tell you how I feel. It -does seem to me that it’s bad enough to bring Sally into a log house -at all, and that I ought, in reason, to have had panel doors in it; -more than two windows in the whole<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">147</a></span> in a broadside, with a good brick -chimney and oven laid in lime mortar.”</p> - -<p>“Plank doors, tongued and cleated, are the warmest. Panel doors in a -log house would look like a man with a beaver hat on and barefoot. You -can cut out a window whenever you like, and the less holes the warmer.”</p> - -<p>“But the chimney,” persisted Ben; “what will she say to that? and how -can she get along without an oven?”</p> - -<p>“Sally is one that looks into the realities of things; and if she -has made up her mind to live on this island, depend upon it she has -considered the matter all round, is looking forward to something -better, and that will keep her from being discouraged, however severe -things may appear at first. I don’t suppose as how an <em>oven</em> can be -made of stone; but I’ll tell you what I will do—take up the bricks in -my butt’y floor, and lend ’em to you; it’s altogether too late for you -to get bricks this fall.”</p> - -<p>“Well, I hope ’twill all turn out well; but I know in my soul that -she’s no more idea of what living in a log house is, than she has of -London.”</p> - -<p>“I know a great deal more about Sally Hadlock than you do, though you -are engaged to be married<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">148</a></span> to her, because I know her people, and -there’s a great deal in the blood. She is the living picture of her -grandmother Hannah, my wife was named for, who came down here when -it was a howling wilderness, fought hunger and the Injuns, and beat -’em both. Handsome as she is, and gentle and good as she seems and -is, she’s got the old iron natur of that breed of folks, who had much -rather earn a thing than have it gin to ’em. She’s had nothing to call -out that grit yet; but you’ll find out what she’s made of when she -comes to be put to’t.”</p> - -<p>“There’s one thing that troubles me, that perhaps you haven’t thought -of. If I was going to take her into a new settlement, where everybody -lived in log houses, and all fared alike, it would be another thing; -but I am going to bring her where she can look right across the bay, -and see the smoke of her mother’s chimney, and all her friends and -folks living in nice frame houses. Now, if she’s unhappy, and keeps it -to herself on my account, and grief is gnawing at her heartstrings, I -can’t bear that.”</p> - -<p>“Benjamin,” said Uncle Isaac, solemnly, who saw his friend was really -distressed, “what I’m going to say to you now I say candidly, and what<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">149</a></span> -I know to be a fact. I’m a married man, Ben, and know what a woman is. -When a woman really sets her heart on a man, he is almost like God -Almighty to her; and the more she can put herself out for him, the more -contented she is; that is, if she’s morally sartin he loves her. Now, -Sally loves you with her whole soul, for she might have had her pick of -half the young men in town, and she knows it. She is also sure that you -love her, or you would never have given up the business prospects that -you had, and undergo all that you must undergo on this island just on -her account; therefore the more hardships she’s called to suffer ’long -with you, the lighter hearted she’ll be; yes, she’ll take pride in’t. -O, Benjamin, these rich folks, who never know what it is to strive and -contrive to get along, don’t taste the real honey of married life; they -don’t know what’s in one another, and don’t love one another as those -do who have to fight for a living. Why, they can’t; they haven’t had to -lean on each other, and be so necessary to each other.”</p> - -<p>“Well, I never thought of that before.”</p> - -<p>“Of course, you haven’t; I expect you’ll have the happiness of finding -that out. I tell you, Hannah and I take lots of comfort Sabbath -nights,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">150</a></span> when we ain’t tired, talking over all we’ve been through -together. And then sometimes I get the Bible, and read them are varses, -where it says, ‘She seeketh wool and flax, and worketh willingly with -her hands; she will do him good, and not evil, all the days of her -life.’ I can’t help giving her a kiss, and saying, ‘Well, wife, I never -should’ve got through it if’t hadn’t been for you.’”</p> - -<p>This last sally of the noble old philosopher of the woods completely -silenced Ben, who promised he’d never harbor another doubt in respect -to the matter.</p> - -<p>“There’s another thing, Benjamin; don’t try to slick it over any, but -make it full as bad as ’tis. If she expects the worst, and then finds -it a great deal better’n she expected, ’twill make her more contented. -There’s a great deal in the first feeling and the first look of a -thing, especially to a woman.”</p> - -<p>The next day Ben and Joe were employed in hauling stone for the -chimney, and making clay mortar. Uncle Isaac cut a red oak, and hewed -out a mantel-bar, to form the top of the fireplace; it was twelve feet -in length, and no less than nine inches square, as it was to support a -great weight of stone. Though of wood, it was so far from the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151">151</a></span> fire, on -account of the great height and depth of the fireplace, that it could -not well burn; besides, it was always the custom, whenever they had a -great fire, to wet the mantel-bar the last thing before going to bed.</p> - -<p>He then cut a hole through the floor, in what was to be the front -entry, to pour potatoes through into the cellar (because the cellar was -under the south part of the house), and made a door to cover it.</p> - -<p>The house would seem to my readers but a poor place to live in. There -were but four windows below, and these being put on the corners, to -admit of making others between them when they should be able, gave to -the house a funny look. The house consisted of but two rooms below, -separated by a rough board partition, in which were two doors of rough -boards, hung by wooden hinges. The chamber was reached by a ladder; -the boards of the floors were rough, and full of splinters, just as -they came from the saw. Against the wall in the north-west corner, with -shelves and closets nicely planed, were some dressers to hold dishes. -In the cellar was a square arch of stone, into which Uncle Isaac put -shelves, and to which he made doors. He then made a cross-legged table, -all in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152">152</a></span> one leaf, and a settle to place before the fire, with a back -higher than the top of a person’s head, to keep off the draughts of air -that went up the great chimney.</p> - -<p>They went off Saturday, well satisfied with what they had accomplished.</p> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="divider" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153">153</a></span> -</div> - -<h2><a name="xv" id="xv"></a>CHAPTER XV.<br /> -<small>ENCOURAGING NATIVE TALENT.</small></h2> - - -<p><span class="smcap">The</span> moment Uncle Isaac landed, he set out for Sam Elwell’s. Going -along, he saw Yelf’s horse feeding beside the road, with the bridle -under his feet, and, a little farther on, his master lying in a slough -hole, to all appearance dead, but, as it turned out, only dead drunk. -He pulled him out, and, as he was unable to stand, set him against the -fence to drip, while he caught the horse; his gray hairs and face were -plastered with mud; his nose had bled; the blood was clotted upon his -beard, and soaked the bosom of his shirt.</p> - -<p>“How came you in this mud hole?”</p> - -<p>“Why, you see, Isaac, the mare went in to drink; the bridle slipped out -of my hand; I reached down to get it, kind o’ lost my balance, and fell -right over her head, and hit my nose on a rock. I think, Isaac, I must -have taken a leetle drop too much.”</p> - -<p>His friend scraped the mud from him as well as he could with a chip, -put him on the mare (for<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">154</a></span> Yelf could ride when altogether too drunk to -walk), and left him at his own house, which lay in the direction he was -going.</p> - -<p>“That’s a bad sight,” said Uncle Isaac to himself, as he went on, “and -it’s one that’s getting altogether too common. I remember the time when -he was content with his three glasses a day, and perhaps a nightcap; -but now he can’t stop till he stops in a ditch. There ain’t a man in -this town but what drinks spirit, myself among the rest, and most of -them more than’s good for ’em. I don’t see why people can’t use liquor -with moderation, and without making a beast of themselves. If it was -only these old, worn-out ones, like Yelf, ’twouldn’t be so much matter; -but it’s amongst the young folks; and even boys get the worse for -liquor. It’s natural they should; for if men sail vessels, boys’ll sail -boats. It’s time something’s done, though what can be done I’m sure I -don’t know. What an awful thing it would be, if, one of these days, -Ben or Joe Griffin should pick me out of a ditch, and carry me home to -my family looking like that! I’ll think about it, and talk with Hannah -this blessed night.” He was aroused from his meditations by hearing the -voice of Sam at his own door.</p> - -<p>He was about the age of Isaac, but a much<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_155" id="Page_155">155</a></span> heavier man, being very -thick set, with a stoop in his shoulders. His hands were of great size, -full of cracks; his fingers crooked, from constant working with stone -hammers and drills; many of the nails jammed off, and his face as hard -as the stones he worked on. He was also a man of very few words, while -Isaac liked to talk; yet they had been close friends from boyhood, took -great delight in each other’s society (if it could be called society -where one talked and the other listened), and always got together, and -worked together, whenever they could. They were both passionately fond -of gunning. Isaac was the quicker shot; but Sam could scull a float -steadier and faster than any man along the shore. He could also lay -brick well, but was possessed of a remarkable gift for working upon -rocks. He knew just how to take hold of a great rock to move it, and -could do a better quality of work than they ever had occasion for in -that rude state of society, where nobody had hammered doorsteps but -Captain Rhines, widow Hadlock, and a few others. He knew all about -the nature and grain of rocks, could dress underpinning, or make a -millstone out of a boulder in the pasture.</p> - -<p>He had just come home from a long job, and was taking his tools out of -the cart.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156">156</a></span> -“Let them be,” said Isaac; “I’ve got another job for you:” as he spoke -he pulled the clevis-pin out of the tongue.</p> - -<p>Sam, without a word, unyoked the oxen, and went into the barn to feed -them, while the other tied them up.</p> - -<p>Isaac, without any invitation, followed Sam into the house. The table -was in the floor, and Sam’s wife had just put on the victuals. “Set -along,” said Sam, motioning Isaac to a chair. That’s the way they -lived. If they chanced to be in each other’s houses about meal time, -they always stopped. If they met on the road, or were at work together -in the woods, or had been off gunning, they always went to the house -that was nearest. Their wives never worried about them, for they knew -where they were, and were as good friends as their husbands.</p> - -<p>“Sam,” said Isaac, “did you ever see a fireplace and chimney built of -stone?”</p> - -<p>“No.”</p> - -<p>“You didn’t?”</p> - -<p>“I’ve seen stones set up in a log camp to build a fire against, with -a ‘cat and clay’ chimney built over them; but ’twas a make-shift till -they could get bricks.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157">157</a></span> -“Could it be done?”</p> - -<p>“They say Necessity’s the mother of Invention. I suppose it might, by -putting in the proper stone.”</p> - -<p>“Well, Ben Rhines has got his house up, can’t get bricks this fall, -and don’t know what to do. He was going to get Joe Dorset to build his -chimney; but I told him I knew you could build a good fireplace and -chimney out of the rocks on the island, if you had a mind to.”</p> - -<p>“Dorset don’t know anything about rocks,” growled Sam.</p> - -<p>“Now, let me tell you about the stone. There’s a granite ledge on the -western p’int that lays in thin sheets, that you can break up with your -stone hammer.”</p> - -<p>“Granite’s first rate for a chimney, but ’twont do for a fireplace.”</p> - -<p>“Then there’s a kind of gray stone, with white streaks in it, but -softer than granite.”</p> - -<p>“That’s a bastard soapstone; that’ll do for a fireplace.”</p> - -<p>“Well, can you do it?”</p> - -<p>“Yes.”</p> - -<p>“Will you?”</p> - -<p>“Yes.”</p> - -<p>“Enough said. Now, I’m bound Sally shall have<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158">158</a></span> an oven; and I’m going -to take up my butt’ry floor to make it of.”</p> - -<p>“You needn’t do that. I can make as good an oven of that stone as -ever a woman baked bread in. It’ll crack some, but not half as bad as -granite. It’ll hold heat wonderfully.”</p> - -<p>“You beat all, Sam. I told Ben I knew you could build a chimney without -a brick in it; but I never dreamt of your building an oven.”</p> - -<p>“Who am I to have to tend me, and help handle these big stones?”</p> - -<p>“That pretty little Ben Rhines and Joe Griffin, to say nothing of -myself.”</p> - -<p>When Sam went on to the island and saw the stone, he rubbed his hands, -and chuckled, and talked to himself, and appeared overjoyed.</p> - -<p>“What a queer old coon he is!” said Joe; “anybody’d think he’d found a -gold mine, instead of a pile of rocks.”</p> - -<p>There was but one fireplace, and that was in the kitchen; but the -hearths were laid in the two front rooms for two more, whenever they -should be parted off and finished.</p> - -<p>This fireplace was made of three large stones, which Uncle Sam cut -and fitted together without any mortar. It was five feet to the -mantel-bar,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">159</a></span> eight between the jambs, and of proportionate depth. This -monstrous cavern was the fireplace. Such a master was Uncle Sam of his -business, that when he saw a rock in the pile that he wanted, he would -throw a little stone at it, and Ben or Joe would bring it to him.</p> - -<p>But it was upon the oven that Uncle Sam displayed his genius. He found -a place where a large portion of this bastard soapstone ledge had -cracked and fallen out into the sea, leaving a smooth perpendicular -face. He told Ben this rock was rent when Christ was crucified. From -this ledge he split off just such large, flat slabs as he wanted, made -them perfectly smooth, squared the edges, and of them built his oven -in the form of a stone box, having top, bottom, and sides of perfectly -smooth stones; for he threw sand and water on them, and putting on -another great stone, as big as he and Uncle Isaac could lift, he got -Ben to scour them, while he stood by and threw on sand and water, till -they were perfectly smooth. He now put them together, leaving a space -of a foot or more at the sides and ends. The covering stone was made to -project on every side, so as to enter into the body of the chimney, in -order that, if it should crack, it could not fall down. He now built<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160">160</a></span> -a roaring fire in it. By and by the great stone on top, and one on the -side, cracked with a loud noise.</p> - -<p>“Crack away,” said Uncle Sam; “crack all you want to.”</p> - -<p>He then took some clay mortar, filled all the space round the sides, -worked it into all the cracks and joints, and, after it was thoroughly -dry, made another great fire, and baked it all into brick. It would -never crack any more, because the fire had already opened all the bad -places in the soapstone, and these were filled with clay mortar, which -was now burned into brick.</p> - -<p>When the chimney was up to the chamber floor, he made what was called -an <em>eddy</em>; that is, he brought the chimney right out into the chamber. -Across it he put three beech poles, called lug-poles: these were to -hang anything on which it was desired to have smoked. He also made a -stone shelf in one corner to put an ink-bottle on, or anything that was -to be kept from freezing. There was so much fire left on the hearth at -night that these great chimneys never got cold. Uncle Isaac then made a -tight door, to keep the smoke from coming into the chamber.</p> - -<p>“Ben,” said Uncle Sam, “are you going to have a crane?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161">161</a></span> -“No; I can’t afford it.”</p> - -<p>“Then I’ll put in another lug-pole.”</p> - -<p>It was the custom to fasten a chain to this to hang the pot on.</p> - -<p>“That’s right,” said Uncle Isaac, delighted with the effect of his -teachings; “a withe is just as good; I’ll give you a piece of chain -to put on the end of it. When you go up in the spring with a load of -spars, you can buy iron, and have a crane made.”</p> - -<p>“I,” said Joe, “will make it for you; I’m blacksmith enough for that.”</p> - -<p>“Now,” said Sam, “I want just one thing—some lime to lay the stone in -after I get above the roof, and collar the chimney.”</p> - -<p>There was a large lot of clam shells on the shore, where the fishermen -had shelled clams for bait. These he burned into as handsome white lime -as ever you saw. Uncle Sam, though a man of but few words, possessed -a very kind heart, and was much attached to Sally; hence the great -pains he bestowed upon the chimney and oven. He now, therefore, as -the chimney stood right out in the room, and was not concealed by any -woodwork, took some of the lime and white-washed it, and also the arch -in the cellar. Uncle<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_162" id="Page_162">162</a></span> Isaac now made a fire to try it. It was found to -carry smoke splendidly,—upon which he praised it in no measured terms. -Sam was evidently much pleased with the encomiums of his friend; and, -that both might have cause for satisfaction, Joe then told Sam about -Uncle Isaac’s pulling up Bradish.</p> - -<p>The last thing Uncle Sam did was to split out two large stones for -doorsteps. After they were placed, he said to Ben, “These stones are -the best of granite; and when you build a frame house, if I ain’t dead, -or past labor, I’ll dress them for you, and they’ll make as handsome -steps as are in the town of Boston.”</p> - -<p>“Well, Ben,” said Uncle Isaac, as they left the island, “that’s a log -house; but it’s a very different one from those in which your father -and I were born and brought up: they were no better than your hovel. We -had no cellar, but kept our sass in a hole in the ground out doors. My -poor mother never had an oven while she lived, but baked everything on -a stone, or in the ashes. She raised a rugged lot of children, for all -that, who live in good frame houses, and have land of their own now; -but then it’s harder for you than ’twas<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_163" id="Page_163">163</a></span> for us, because <em>we</em> were all -alike, and had never seen anything better; while you are going to live -in a log house, right in sight of those who live in better ones. But -you will be supported, Ben, and will be prospered.”</p> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="divider" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_164" id="Page_164">164</a></span> -</div> - -<h2><a name="xvi" id="xvi"></a>CHAPTER XVI.<br /> -<small>BEN OUTWITTED, AND UNCLE ISAAC ASTONISHED.</small></h2> - - -<p><span class="smcap">Sally</span> and Ben now began to make preparations for housekeeping. She had -a little money, earned by her labor, and she persuaded Ben to go in a -schooner that was bound to Salem, and make some purchases for her. No -sooner was Ben out of sight, than Sally started for Uncle Isaac’s. She -found him alone in the barn.</p> - -<p>“Uncle Isaac,” said she, “will you do something for me?”</p> - -<p>“Anything in reason, Sally.”</p> - -<p>“Could you get me over to Elm Island, and not any soul know it?”</p> - -<p>“I suppose I might.”</p> - -<p>“Well, will you?”</p> - -<p>“But what do you want to go there for?”</p> - -<p>“I’ll tell you. I’m determined to live there, and be contented and -happy, and make my husband happy; but I know it will be very different -from anything that I have ever seen, or can imagine.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_165" id="Page_165">165</a></span> -“You’ll find it a rough place, Sally.”</p> - -<p>“I’m afraid that when I go on with Ben I might be kind of surprised, -and by looks, if nothing else, show it, and hurt Ben’s feelings.”</p> - -<p>“That you might burst out crying?”</p> - -<p>“Yes.”</p> - -<p>“Well, you go down to the point, and hide in the bushes till I come.”</p> - -<p>In a short time Uncle Isaac came. Sally got in, and lay down in the -bottom of the boat; he covered her over with spruce boughs, and pulled -for the island. It was a bright, sunshiny morning. He rowed right into -the mouth of the brook, and on to the beach. As Sally felt the boat -touch the bottom, she flung off the covering, and, rising up, looked -around her.</p> - -<p>“What a beautiful spot!” was her involuntary exclamation, as she gazed, -enraptured, upon the dense foliage of the maple and birch, rich with -all the tints of autumn, and listened to the ripple of the brook that -fell over the rocks before her. Then, clapping her hands, she burst -into a clear, ringing laugh, as her eye rested upon the house—her -future home. Uncle Isaac was confounded. At first he thought it was -an hysterical affection, and concealed grief and disappointment; but, -as<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_166" id="Page_166">166</a></span> he looked into her eyes, he saw that it was heartfelt. He was -in the position of a sailor, who, having braced his yards to meet a -squall, is caught aback by the wind coming in an opposite direction. -All the way to the island he had been preparing himself for the task of -consolation, and arranging his arguments for that purpose,—never for a -moment doubting but Sally, with all her resolution, would at first be -somewhat disheartened.</p> - -<p>“Uncle Isaac,” cried Sally, “did that house grow there? See, the bark -is on it. What on earth is the chimney made of?”</p> - -<p>Then she burst out again into peals of laughter, so joyous that Uncle -Isaac joined with her, and laughed till his sides ached.</p> - -<p>“Why, Uncle Isaac, Ben told me it was a most desolate-looking place, -all woods and rocks; that the house was right on the shore, and that -in great storms the sea roared awfully, and the spray would fly on to -the windows. He never said a word about the brook. I do love brooks so -much! I mean to have my wash-tub, in summer, right under that yellow -birch; you see if I don’t. Such a nice place to spread out linen thread -and cloth to bleach; and things look so much whiter when they are -spread on the grass! Why, here is a piece of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_167" id="Page_167">167</a></span> grass almost large enough -for a field; such a sunny, sheltered spot, too! the woods and the hill -break off every bit of wind. What a nice place, under that ledge, to -plant early potatoes, peas, and beans, and have currant bushes! But I’m -dying to see the house; do let us go in; what a nice doorstep this is!”</p> - -<p>As they opened the door and went in, Uncle Isaac watched Sally’s face -in vain to detect any trace of disappointment or sorrow.</p> - -<p>She is fire-proof, just like her grandmother, thought he.</p> - -<p>“I supposed log houses were stuffed between the logs with clay and -moss; mother said so; but I couldn’t put the point of my scissors -between these logs.”</p> - -<p>“So they were,” said he; “but this is an improved one. Ben means, when -he is able, to make this room into two, and have a fireplace in each; -and a couple of nice rooms they will make.”</p> - -<p>“I am glad he didn’t do any more. Now, I want to see the kitchen; I -care the most about that. This is a splendid one; what nice dressers -and drawers! but where is the oven? Why, it’s stone; ain’t it a beauty; -how smooth it is!” said she, putting in her head and shoulders, and -feeling all<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_168" id="Page_168">168</a></span> around it with her hands. “I don’t see how folks can make -such nice things of stone. I wish we had a candle.”</p> - -<p>She was, if possible, more delighted with the chamber than anything -else.</p> - -<p>“How high it is!” she said; “what a capital place this would be to spin -and weave in! Well, now I’ve seen the whole.”</p> - -<p>“No, you haven’t;” and here he opened the door in the side of the -chimney, and let her look in.</p> - -<p>“Why, what in the world is this for?”</p> - -<p>“This is a smoke-house; you see it’s on one side of the chimney, so -that there won’t be heat enough go in there to melt the hams or fish. -All you have to do, when you want to smoke anything, is to hang it up -on these lug-poles, and the common fire you have every day will smoke -it. It’ll be a nice place for Ben, when he has an ox-yoke, wooden bowl, -or shovel to season or toughen. Now I want you to see the cellar.”</p> - -<p>He pulled from his pocket a horn filled with tinder, and striking a -spark into it with a flint and steel, kindled a piece of pitch-wood, -and they went down.</p> - -<p>“O, my! if here isn’t an arch; what a nice place that will be to keep -my milk, when I get it.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_169" id="Page_169">169</a></span> -“Now we’ve got a light, let’s look into the oven.”</p> - -<p>“I know that oven will bake well,” said Sally; “it looks as though it -would. Now, I think this is a real nice place, and that Ben has made a -good trade; and, if we have our health, we can pay for it well enough. -Only think how much we’ve saved by living in this house, which is good -enough for young folks just beginning, and better than many have. Why, -it ain’t a month since the trees were growing, and now it’s all done. -Didn’t he make a good trade, Uncle Isaac?”</p> - -<p>“He made a better one when he got you, you little humming-bird,” said -Uncle Isaac, who was brim full, and could no longer restrain himself; -patting her on the head, “you would suck honey out of a rock.”</p> - -<p>“I’m much obliged to you, you good old man. I’ll tell you what we’ll do -(that is, when we are able); you shall come over here with Aunt Hannah, -and bring all your tools, and we’ll part off the front rooms, and have -a front entry, ceil up the kitchen, have Uncle Sam to build fireplaces -in the front rooms, and Joe Griffin to make fun for us. I’ll make you -some of those three-cornered biscuit and custard puddings you like so -well. In the evenings we’ll have a roaring fire; you can tell<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_170" id="Page_170">170</a></span> stories, -and we will sit and listen, and knit. Ben says this is the greatest -place for gunning that ever was; and you can bring on your float and -gun, and you and Uncle Sam can gun to your heart’s content. Ain’t I -building castles in the air?” cried Sally, with another laugh, that -made the house ring; “but we must go off, or we shall be caught.”</p> - -<p>A little breeze had sprung up, and Uncle Isaac putting up a bush for a -sail, they landed on the other side without detection.</p> - -<p>He said he never wanted to tell anything so much in his life, as he -did to tell Ben how much Sally was delighted with the island; but he -resolutely kept it to himself.</p> - -<p>As it would be difficult getting off in the winter, Ben carried on -provisions, hay for a cow, and for oxen that he might get occasionally. -He put the hay in a stack out of doors. He bought the hay of Joe -Griffin’s father, and Joe was to deliver it on the island. Being -disappointed in respect to the man who was engaged to help him, he took -old Uncle Sam Yelf, as better than nobody. There was a long easterly -swell; the scow rolled a good deal, and, the hay hanging over the side -and getting wet, she began to fill. At some distance from them Sydney -Chase and Sam Hadlock were fishing.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_171" id="Page_171">171</a></span> “Shall I holler, Mr. Griffin?” -said Yelf, who was terribly frightened, and had a tremendous voice.</p> - -<p>“Yes.”</p> - -<p>“What shall I holler?”</p> - -<p>“Holler fire.”</p> - -<p>“Fire! fire! fire!” screamed Yelf.</p> - -<p>As their neighbors rowed up, they could not help laughing to see two -men up to their waists in water, and one of them crying fire.</p> - -<p>“I thought,” said the old man, “I’d holler what I could holler the -loudest.”</p> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="divider" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_172" id="Page_172">172</a></span> -</div> - -<h2><a name="xvii" id="xvii"></a>CHAPTER XVII.<br /> -<small>THEY MARRY, AND GO ON TO THE ISLAND.</small></h2> - - -<p><span class="smcap">The</span> wedding was at the widow Hadlock’s; but Captain Rhines made the -infare, as ’twas called,—which was an entertainment given the day -after the wedding at the house of the bridegroom. To this were invited -all who had aided in building the house, including the girls who -prepared the victuals; and a merry time they had of it.</p> - -<p>It was very hard for Sally and her mother to part. Since the death of -her father, and while the other children were small, Sally had been her -mother’s great dependence; and, as they came to the edge of the water, -the widow lifted up her voice and wept.</p> - -<p>Sally, with her eyes full, strove to comfort her mother.</p> - -<p>“Well, I ought not to feel so, I know; but it sort o’ brings up -everything, and tears open all the old wounds. May God bless you! -you’ve been a good child to me in all my trials, and, I doubt not,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_173" id="Page_173">173</a></span> -you’ll make a good wife. There’s a blessing promised in the Scriptures -to those who are dutiful to their parents. Keep the Lord’s day, Sally, -as you’ve been taught to do, and seek the one thing needful.”</p> - -<p>Ben had chosen a sunny, calm morning, that the impressions made upon -Sally’s mind might be as pleasant as possible, not dreaming that -she had already visited the island, and been all over the house. -Nevertheless, as he sat down to the oars, his old fears began somewhat -to revive; but Providence ordered matters in a much better manner than -he could have done, to render Sally’s first impressions of the island -both pleasant and permanent.</p> - -<p>When he left it the last time, knowing that Sally would return with -him, he had crammed the great fireplace with dry wood, and pushed under -the forestick the top of a dry fir, with the leaves all on, and covered -with cones full of balsam. They were well on their way when a black -cloud rose suddenly from the north-west, denoting that the wind, which -had been south for some days, was about to shift, with a squall.</p> - -<p>“We are two thirds over now,” said Ben; “we shall be head to the sea, -and soon get under<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_174" id="Page_174">174</a></span> the lee of the island; ’tis better to go ahead than -to go back.”</p> - -<p>“I wish we were there now,” said Sally to herself, as she thought of -that sheltered spot behind the thick woods, that no wind could get -through.</p> - -<p>“Sit down in the bottom of the canoe, Sally; if the water flies over -you, don’t move.”</p> - -<p>When the squall struck, the wind seemed to shriek right out, and in an -instant raised a furious sea, drenching them with water from head to -foot. Sally uttered not a word, but sat perfectly still, though the -cold spray flew over and ran under her, wetting her through and through.</p> - -<p>The little boat, managed with consummate skill and strength, rode the -sea like an egg-shell. It began to grow smoother as they approached the -high woods on the island, when Ben, exerting his strength, drove her -through the water, and they were soon at the mouth of the brook, where -it was as smooth as a mill-pond. Jumping out, he dragged the canoe from -the water, and, taking Sally out, stood her, all dripping, on the beach.</p> - -<p>“What a calm place,” she exclaimed, “after that dreadful sea! O, you -wicked Ben, how could you tell me ’twas such an awful place?”</p> - -<p>“You’re shaking with the cold; let’s go where<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_175" id="Page_175">175</a></span> there’s a fire;” and -catching her up, he ran into the house with her; then striking fire, he -lighted the fir top under the forestick; in an instant the bright flame -flashed through the pile of wood, and roared up the chimney, diffusing -a cheerful warmth through the room. Ben pulled up the great settle; -Sally stretched herself upon it, her wet garments smoking in the heat.</p> - -<p>“Isn’t this nice?” she said, as, safe from danger, she basked in the -warm blaze. “I shall always love this great fireplace after this, as -long as I live.”</p> - -<p>Ben was delighted. He knew by experience the power of strong -contrasts,—for the whole life of a seaman is made up of them,—and -that nothing could have made the island seem so much like home to -Sally, as there finding safety when in danger, and warmth when -shivering with cold.</p> - -<p>They now went over the house together; and Sally made Ben completely -happy by telling him she would have been thankful for a house not half -so good. We see in this well-matched and hardy pair the representatives -of those who laid broad and deep the foundations of our free -institutions, and whose strength was in their homes.</p> - -<p>They flung themselves with alacrity upon these hardships, which were -to procure for them a heritage<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_176" id="Page_176">176</a></span> of their own,—the product of their -own energies,—confident in their own resources, and the protection of -that Being whom they had been educated to believe helps those who help -themselves.</p> - -<p>They were now on an island, in the stormy Atlantic, six miles from the -nearest land, which, with the exception of a little strip of grass -along the beach, was an unbroken forest.</p> - -<p>Here they had commenced married life, in the face of a long, hard -winter.</p> - -<p>It may seem to many of our readers idle to talk about happiness in -relation to people in such circumstances. They, perhaps judging from -their own feelings, wonder how they could pass their time.</p> - -<p>In the first place, they had health and strength, were not troubled -with dyspepsia, and hence did not look at life through green -spectacles. They took pride in overcoming obstacles, and feeling that -they were equal to the emergency. They had plenty to do from the time -they rose in the morning till they went to bed at night; not a moment -to brood over and dread difficulties; and a June day was too short for -all they found to do in it. Finally, they loved each other, had an -object to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_177" id="Page_177">177</a></span> look forward to, had never known any of those things which -are considered by many as necessary to happiness, and thus neither -pined after nor missed them.</p> - -<p>Sally had plenty of bed-clothes, which she had made herself; also -beautiful table-cloths and towels of linen, figured, that she had spun, -woven, and bleached; and tow towels, coarse sheets, and table-cloths -for every day. One little looking-glass, about six inches by eight in -size, graced the wall, with a comb-case, made of pasteboard, hanging -below it. They had one really beautiful piece of furniture, which her -father had brought from England—a mahogany secretary, with book-cases -and drawers, and inlaid with different kinds of wood, contrasting -strangely with the rough logs against which it rested. They had chairs -with round posts, and bottoms made of ash-splints; mugs, bowls, a -tea-pot, and pitchers of earthen ware; and pewter plates, from the -largest platter to the smallest dishes and porringers; also an iron -skillet. Ben had a shoe-maker’s bench, awls and lasts, and quite a good -set of carpenter’s tools.</p> - -<p>Sally now put all the earthen and new pewter ware upon the dressers, -which made quite a show.</p> - -<p>“I declare, Ben, I’ve forgotten my candle-moulds,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_178" id="Page_178">178</a></span> and we’ve got no -light. Here’s a lamp, but not a drop of oil or wick in it.”</p> - -<p>“I’ll shoot a seal,—I saw three or four on the White Bull when we came -over,—then to-morrow you can try out the blubber.”</p> - -<p>Ben was better than his word, for before night he shot two.</p> - -<p>There was one piece of property that Sally valued more than anything -else, because ’twas alive, and there was such a look of home about it.</p> - -<p>The widow Hadlock had a line-backed cow, that gave a great mess of -milk. Sally had milked her ever since she was large enough to milk; -indeed, she milked her that memorable night when Ben and Sam Johnson -went blueberrying in the widow’s parlor.</p> - -<p>They raised a calf from her, which was marked just like the old cow, -and Mrs. Hadlock had given it to Sally. The creature, having been -brought up with a large stock of cattle, missing her mates, had been -very lonesome on the island, and roared and moaned a great deal. As -Sally opened the door to throw out some water, the heifer came on -the gallop, and, putting her feet on the door-stone, rubbed her nose -against Sally’s shoulder, and licked her face. The tears came into -Sally’s eyes in a moment.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_179" id="Page_179">179</a></span> “You good old soul,” said she, putting her -arms round her neck,—half a mind to kiss her,—“do you know me, and -were you glad to see me? I wish I had an ear of corn to give you.”</p> - -<p>After this the cow made no more ado, but went to feeding, perfectly -contented with the knowledge that her old mistress was present. As -night came on, Sally made the discovery that they had no milk-pail; but -Ben was equal to the emergency: he cut down a maple, cut a trough in -it, drove the cow astride of it, while Sally milked her into this novel -pail. That evening Ben dug out a pine log, put a bottom in it, and a -bail, then drove two hoops on it, and made a milk-pail.</p> - -<p>The next day Sally tried out the seals, while Ben went into the swamp -and got some cooper’s flags, which he cut into short pieces, for -lamp-wicks.</p> - -<p>Fowling, for a person in Ben’s situation, was not merely a source of -pleasure, but of profit, as the feathers sold readily for cash, the -bodies were good for food, and could be exchanged at the store for -groceries, or with the farmers for wool and flax, which Sally made into -cloth.</p> - -<p>Ben had a little yellow dog, with white on the end of his tail, that -would <em>play</em>. Sea-fowl possess<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_180" id="Page_180">180</a></span> a great share of curiosity, which leads -them to swim up to anything strange, in order to see what it is. They -would often swim in to a squirrel, playing in the bushes at the water’s -edge, to see what he’s about. The gunners take advantage of this trait -in their character; they teach a little dog to play with a stone on the -beach: he’ll roll it along the ground, stand up on his hind legs with -it in his fore paws, and when he gets tired of it, his master’ll throw -him another from his ambush. The birds swim in to see what he is doing, -and are killed, and the little dog swims off and brings them ashore. -All dogs cannot be taught this, only those who have a genius for it.</p> - -<p>Tige Rhines would pick up birds right in the surf, or in the dead of -winter, but could never be taught to play; he was too dignified.</p> - -<p>It is impossible for one destitute of a taste for fowling to conceive -of the intensity which the passion will acquire by indulgence. Ben was -so eager for birds, that he would lie on a ledge till Sailor froze his -ears and tail. There were a great many minks on the island, whose furs -were valuable: these Sailor would track to their holes, when Ben would -smoke them out.</p> - -<p>The widow Hadlock had brought up her family<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_181" id="Page_181">181</a></span> to cherish a great -reverence for the Lord’s day. Ben had been trained by his mother in the -same way; but, after leaving home, he, like most seafaring men, carried -a traveller’s conscience, and did many things on that day which would -not have met her approval.</p> - -<p>One Sabbath morning a whole flock of coots swam into the mouth of -the brook to drink; ’twas a superb chance for a shot. Ben, without a -moment’s hesitation, took down his gun from the hook, and was just -going out the door when Sally laid her hand on his arm.</p> - -<p>“Ben, where are you going?”</p> - -<p>“To shoot those coots; I never saw such a chance for a shot in my life. -I shouldn’t wonder if I could knock over twenty with this big gun.”</p> - -<p>“Why, Ben, you must be out of your head; do you know what day ’tis? -would you go gunning on the Lord’s day?”</p> - -<p>“No, I wouldn’t <em>go</em> a-gunning; but when they come right in under my -nose, asking to be shot, I’d shoot them.”</p> - -<p>“Well, I never would begin by breaking the Lord’s day; ’tis not right, -and we shall not prosper; if we’ve not much else, let us, at least, -have a clear conscience. What do you think your father<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_182" id="Page_182">182</a></span> and mother -would say, if they heard you had fired a gun on the Lord’s day?”</p> - -<p>“It wouldn’t trouble father much; he would do the same himself; but -’twould mother, and I see it does you.”</p> - -<p>He took his ramrod, and thumped on the side of the house; the coots -took to flight in an instant.</p> - -<p>“There goes the temptation,” said he. “I didn’t know before that you -was a professor of religion.”</p> - -<p>“No more I ain’t, nor a possessor either; wish I was; but I mean to -keep the Lord’s day; I’ll do that much, any way.”</p> - -<p>“I know you’re right, Sally; but you must make some allowance for a -feller who has been so long at sea, and couldn’t keep it, if he would, -as people can ashore. Suppose a hawk was carrying off a chicken on the -Sabbath—wouldn’t you let me shoot it?”</p> - -<p>“No, I’m sure I wouldn’t; but if an eagle was carrying off a baby, I -would.”</p> - -<p>This was the first and only time Ben ever took the gun down on the -Sabbath. They made it a day of rest.</p> - -<p>They had some good books, and one Sally’s mother had given her, which -she was very fond of reading, called “Hooks and Eyes for Christian’s -Breeches.” It was a queer title, but a very good<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_183" id="Page_183">183</a></span> book. In those days -people did not wear suspenders, but kept their breeches up by buttoning -the waistband, or by a belt. Where people were well-formed, and had -good hips, they would keep up very well; but when they were all the -way of a bigness, or were careless and didn’t button their waistbands -tight, they would slip down; so some had hooks and eyes to keep them -up, and prevent this by hooking them to the waistcoat. Thus this book -was designed for those slouching, careless Christians who needed hooks -and eyes to their breeches, and were slack in their religious duties.</p> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="divider" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_184" id="Page_184">184</a></span> -</div> - -<h2><a name="xviii" id="xviii"></a>CHAPTER XVIII.<br /> -<small>THE BRIDAL CALL.</small></h2> - - -<p><span class="smcap">Parents</span> and friends of the new-married pair had watched with no small -anxiety their progress through the squall. During the height of it, -they could see the canoe when it rose upon the top of a wave; as -it disappeared in a trough of the sea, the widow clasped her hands -convulsively, and gave them up for lost.</p> - -<p>“They are safe,” cried Captain Rhines, drawing a long breath; “they’ve -got under the lee of the island. John, run to the house and get my -spy-glass.”</p> - -<p>With the aid of the glass he saw them land, and Ben carry Sally to the -house in his arms.</p> - -<p>“She’s fainted with fright, poor thing; it’s a rough beginning for -her,” said the widow.</p> - -<p>“He only wants to get her to the fire; there’s nothing the matter with -her but a good soaking.”</p> - -<p>’Twas now the Indian summer, with calm moonlight nights.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_185" id="Page_185">185</a></span> -“Wife,” said Captain Rhines, “I expect Sally’s mother is dying to know -how she got on the island that morning. If we don’t go now, we shan’t -be able to go this winter; it’ll be too rough by and by. John, run over -there, and ask her if she would like to go and see Sally.”</p> - -<p>“Can I go, too, father?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, I want you to help row; so do your chores, tie up the cattle, and -bear a hand about it.”</p> - -<p>Sally had washed her supper dishes, and Ben was pulling off his boots, -when the door was opened, and in walked the party. It was a most joyful -surprise to the new-married couple.</p> - -<p>“Why, mother!” exclaimed Sally, kissing her again and again; “I was -thinking the other day whether you would ever venture to come on to -this island; and now you’re here so soon, and in the fall of the year, -too!”</p> - -<p>“Indeed, Sally, you know I never lacked for courage, only for strength. -You must needs think I had a strong motive.”</p> - -<p>But, of all the group, none seemed more delighted than John. He stared -at the log walls, looked up the chimney, capered round the room with -Sailor, and finally getting up in Ben’s lap, put both arms round his -neck, and fairly cried for joy.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_186" id="Page_186">186</a></span> -“How should you like to live on here, Johnnie?” said Ben.</p> - -<p>“O, shouldn’t I like it! you’d better believe.”</p> - -<p>“I shot two seals the other day, on the White Bull; and within a week -I’ve killed fifty birds, of all kinds.”</p> - -<p>“Won’t you ask father to let me come on and stay a little while, and go -gunning? O, I do miss you so!”</p> - -<p>“I shouldn’t wonder if there were ducks now feeding on the flats; take -my gun; she’s all loaded.”</p> - -<p>The moment Sailor saw the gun taken down, he was all ready: so -perfectly was he trained, that when it was not desirable he should -play, he would lie still till the gun was fired, and then bring in the -game.</p> - -<p>“How I should like to be on here in the daytime!” said John. “Do you -know, Ben, I was never here in all my life before?”</p> - -<p>“Why, Sally,” said her mother, “how did you get over in that dreadful -squall? We were all watching you, and felt so worried! Wasn’t you -frightened almost to death?”</p> - -<p>“No, mother, I wasn’t much frightened; but I was terrible cold, and -wet all through. I never saw anything look so good, in all my life, as -this<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_187" id="Page_187">187</a></span> great fireplace did, for Ben made a roaring fire in it; and I’m -just as happy and contented as I can be.”</p> - -<p>In the midst of this conversation the door opened, and in walked Uncle -Isaac.</p> - -<p>“It was such a pleasant night,” said he, addressing the captain, “I -told Hannah we’d take a run down to your house; and when I found you’d -come over here, I thought I’d take your gunning float and follow suit.”</p> - -<p>“Why didn’t you bring Hannah with you?” inquired Sally.</p> - -<p>“Well, I wanted to; but she ain’t much of a water-fowl, and was afraid -to come in a tittlish gunning float, and said she’d stay and visit -Captain Rhines’s girls; but she sends her love to you, and says if -she’d known I was coming, she’d sent you over a bag of apples.”</p> - -<p>“How this does carry a body back!” said the widow; “it don’t seem but -t’other day since I was living in a log house; and how much I’ve been -through since then!”</p> - -<p>They then went all over the house, and down cellar.</p> - -<p>“Well, Isaac,” said Captain Rhines, “you’ve done yourself credit in -building this house; I knew you<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_188" id="Page_188">188</a></span> would. ’Tisn’t much like the house -I was born in; that wasn’t tighter than a wharf, except while it was -stuffed with moss and clay; and some of that was always falling out. -I’ve gone to bed many a night, and waked up in a snow drift, because -the wind had blown the clay out, and the snow in; but I thought, -when I was coming up from the shore, and saw it standing here in the -moonlight, that it was as much like the one father built, after his -boys got big enough to be of some help to him, as two peas in a pod: -just as many windows, just as high, and with a bark roof; but it ain’t -much like it other-ways; for the timber wan’t hewed—only the bark -and knots taken off where it came together; but this is as tight as a -churn. And then that fireplace; I wouldn’t believed it possible.”</p> - -<p>“Well,” said Uncle Isaac, “I did the best I could; but I think Sam beat -the whole of us. I should be glad to swap my fireplace and chimney for -that, and give a yoke of oxen to boot.”</p> - -<p>“Do you know, Isaac, there’s nothing carries me back to my boy days -like that old chamber? It’s the very image of ours; it seems to me -as if I was setting there now, on a rainy day, astraddle of a tub, -shelling corn on the handle of mother’s frying-pan, with my thoughts -running all over the world,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_189" id="Page_189">189</a></span> longing to go to sea, and contriving how I -should get father’s consent.”</p> - -<p>A loud mewing was now heard in the corner of the room.</p> - -<p>“I declare to man,” said the widow, “I’ve been so taken up with old -times, I forgot. See here, Sally,”—opening her basket and taking out -a kitten,—“I thought she’d be company for you. You know them speckled -chickens, Sally, that the old top-knot hen hatched out.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, mother.”</p> - -<p>“Well, the hawks carried off three of ’em; and I meant to brought the -rest over to you, but Sam said they wouldn’t lay much this winter; -you’d have to buy corn, and you’d better have ’em in the spring. But -I’ve brought you over a pillow-case full of flax.”</p> - -<p>“I,” said Mrs. Rhines, “brought you over some wool.”</p> - -<p>“And I,” said Captain Rhines, “a barrel of cider and some vegetables, -to go with your coots and salt beef.”</p> - -<p>“While I,” said Uncle Isaac, “am all the one that’s come empty-handed; -but I know what I’ll do; I’ll give you a pig, and Ben can get him next -time he comes off.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_190" id="Page_190">190</a></span> -John now came in, bringing five ducks, that he had shot.</p> - -<p>“He’s just like the rest of us, Ben,” said his father: “I believe it -runs in the breed of us to shoot.”</p> - -<p>“Let him come over here, and stay a day or two, and gun with me.”</p> - -<p>“He’s too good a boy,”—patting him fondly on the head;—“I couldn’t -get along without him.”</p> - -<p>“That is just the reason,” said his mother, “that he ought to be -gratified once in a while. It’s a great deal better he should be here -with Ben, than with some of the boys he goes with; I should feel much -easier about him than I do when he’s with them in boats, and gunning. -I’m always afraid they’ll shoot one another, or be drowned.”</p> - -<p>“Well, it’s just as his mother says; I’m at home so little, I don’t -interfere with her concerns; she’s cap’n; I’m only passenger.”</p> - -<p>“But you’re going to be at home all the time now; and I should like to -give up my authority.”</p> - -<p>“By the way, Ben, I’ve had a letter from Mr. Welch; he says large, -handsome masts, bowsprits, and spars are in great demand; that he can -find a market in Boston and Salem, in the spring, for all you can send -him.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_191" id="Page_191">191</a></span> -“I’m going to cut small spars directly, father; but I want snow to fall -the large ones on, else I shall have to bed them with brush, for fear -of breaking them.”</p> - -<p>“He says that the war in Europe is throwing all the carrying trade into -the hands of neutrals; that now we’ve got our government going, it’ll -be snapping times; and that while they’re all fighting like dogs over a -bone, we can run off with the bone; and if I want to try a voyage, he -has a vessel for me.”</p> - -<p>“Well, you’re not going,” said his wife; “you’ve been enough, and -you’ve done enough. If Ben could afford to give up going to sea, in the -prime of life, for the sake of Sally, I’m sure you can, in your old -age, for the sake of Betsey; and you belong to me for the rest of your -life.”</p> - -<p>“Old!” said the captain, dancing over the room; “I don’t feel a bit -old. I should like a little cash, just to fix up the buildings a -little, buy that timber lot that joins the rye field; and then”—with -a comical look at his wife—“I should like to do a little more for the -minister. I should be so thankful, sometimes, if somebody would come -in that could talk about anything else than some old horse, or cow, or -sheep that’s got the mulligrubs!”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_192" id="Page_192">192</a></span> -“Father,” said John, as they were preparing to go, “why can’t I stay -now?”</p> - -<p>“Because, child, I want you to help me row.”</p> - -<p>“Let him stay,” said Uncle Isaac, who, from instinct, always took the -part of the boys; “I’ll go over with you.”</p> - -<p>“But there’s my float over here, and I want to go gunning to-morrow.”</p> - -<p>“We’ll take her in tow,” said Uncle Isaac.</p> - -<p>With mutual good wishes they now separated, leaving John in high glee -at the result, with Ben, for a visit.</p> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="divider" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_193" id="Page_193">193</a></span> -</div> - -<h2><a name="xix" id="xix"></a>CHAPTER XIX.<br /> -<small>AN UNGRATEFUL BOY.</small></h2> - - -<p><span class="smcap">It</span> may seem very singular to some of our readers, that Captain Rhines, -whom we have spoken of as having a strong attachment to the soil, -should express a willingness so soon to leave it. But this will not -seem at all remarkable to any seafaring man whose eye may chance to -glance over our pages.</p> - -<p>He had in early years been prevented from gratifying this inclination. -On the other hand, his life from boyhood had been spent at sea, -in company with seafaring men, and amid excitement and peril. The -habits of years are not easily to be overcome; and as age had made -no impression upon his iron constitution, after being at home a few -months, an almost irresistible longing came over him, at times, to be -once more among the very perils he had so congratulated himself upon -having escaped, and to hear some talk except about barley and butter.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_194" id="Page_194">194</a></span> -He also, the moment he came home, began to make improvements—as he -said, made things look “ship-shape.” But this required money, and he -missed the cash he was accustomed to receive at the end of a voyage; -besides, a trip to the West Indies seemed to the old sailor as mere -recreation, which would enable him to carry out some of his farm -produce as a venture, and get his sugar, molasses, coffee, and rum. Had -he abandoned the sea at Ben’s age, before its habits had ripened into a -second nature, it would have been another matter.</p> - -<p>John remained on the island a week. On his return he received a warm -welcome from Tige, who met him at the shore, and almost wagged his tail -off, he was so glad to see him. He had been perfectly miserable without -John, for they were inseparable companions. Not knowing how otherwise -to express his joy, he began to take up sticks in his mouth, and run -about with them.</p> - -<p>“Here, old fellow,” said John; “if you want something to do, take these -birds and carry them to the house, for our dinner.”</p> - -<p>“John,” said his father, “have you had as good a time as you expected?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_195" id="Page_195">195</a></span> -“O, father, I never had such a good time in all my life! You know the -brook?”</p> - -<p>“Yes.”</p> - -<p>“Well, it’s the greatest place for frost-fish you ever did see. The -sea-fowl come in there to drink, and there is the best chance to creep -to them behind the wood. You never saw such a good dog to play as -Sailor is; you throw him a stone, and he’ll play half an hour with it. -What’s Tige been about, father, since I’ve been gone?”</p> - -<p>“Well, when he wan’t down on the beach watching for you, barking and -whining, he was smelling all round the barn and orchard, and going up -in your bedroom: he has rooted the clothes of your bed a dozen times, -to see if you was in it; and every night he has slept on your old -jacket.”</p> - -<p>The opinion expressed by John’s mother, that ’twas much better he -should be on the island than in the company of some of the boys he went -with, grew out of the following circumstances:—</p> - -<p>During the past summer, a boy by the name of Peter Clash ran away from -a Nova Scotia vessel, that came in for a harbor. Old Mr. Smullen had -taken him in, out of charity. This boy was eighteen years of age, and -belonged in Halifax, where, having the run of the streets and wharves, -he<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_196" id="Page_196">196</a></span> learned all kinds of vice. He was of a malicious disposition, and -intolerably lazy.</p> - -<p>He soon made the acquaintance of all the boys in the neighborhood, but -consorted chiefly with Fred Williams, the miller’s son, John Pettigrew, -Isaac Godsoe, Henry Griffin, and some others.</p> - -<p>None of these boys would have been disposed to engage in any mischief -beyond mere fun, or that was injurious to any one’s person or property, -if left to themselves; they also had but little leisure, as, when -not at school, they were at work; but Peter, who did very much as he -pleased at old Uncle Smullen’s, had a great deal of spare time, when -he both planned mischief and persuaded the others to aid him in the -execution. He had been in the place but a month, when he manifested -his mean, cowardly disposition by a trick that he played upon his -benefactors.</p> - -<p>The old people had fed, clothed, and sheltered him when he had no place -to put his head, for which the little labor he performed was by no -means an equivalent, as he generally contrived to be out of the way -just when his help was needed.</p> - -<p>In those days nobody thought of hauling up a year’s stock of wood, and -having it cut and dried;<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_197" id="Page_197">197</a></span> but they picked it up as they wanted it, and -hauled it home on a sled, as wheels were by no means common in those -days. The old folks were in the habit of getting on the sled, and -riding out in the woods with Peter, helping him load, and then riding -back.</p> - -<p>Peter had found a large hornet’s nest in a heap of beech limbs; so he -drives the sled right over it, and stops the cattle; when the enraged -insects, who were of the yellow-bellied kind, and the most cruel of -stingers, attacked the old people, and stung them terribly, as they -were too feeble to get quickly away.</p> - -<p>It was thought the old gentleman would never see again. They then -turned upon the oxen, who, frantic with fear and agony, ran into the -woods, tore the sled in pieces against the trees, and ran into the -water, where they would have been drowned but for Joe Bradish and -Captain Rhines.</p> - -<p>Peter pretended that he didn’t know the hornets were there, and the -kind old people believed him; but it came out afterwards that he had -done it on purpose.</p> - -<p>He used also to torment small boys, whenever he could get a good -opportunity.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_198" id="Page_198">198</a></span> -It was the influence of these boys which Mrs. Rhines feared; but she -apprehended danger where none existed. Peter, John despised: as to the -others, they were too much below him in point of intelligence and force -of character to exert any influence over him.</p> - -<p>He was now in his fifteenth year, very large of his age, beautifully -proportioned, with his father’s gray eyes and dark hair; excelled in -wrestling, swimming, and all kinds of -<a name="boys" id="boys"></a><ins title="Original has boy’s">boys’</ins> sports, and bade fair -almost to rival Ben in strength. He had an eye that you could look -right into, as you can look down into the depths of a clear spring. -The whole expression of his face was so manly and frank, it was felt -at once to be an index of his character. According to Fred Williams, -John Rhines was just as full of principle as he could stick; and the -boys never thought of proposing to him any plan which their consciences -told them was of doubtful morality. John was less accessible to -temptation, for the reason that he loved out of doors, and the -stimulus his nature craved was of a healthy character. He delighted in -everything that required great physical force and endurance; and we -cannot but think that the wrestling, jumping, pulling up, and rough -out-door sports of that period,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_199" id="Page_199">199</a></span> though a man’s leg was broken now and -then, or somebody killed outright, were infinitely preferable to the -effeminate amusements of the present day, which turn boys into coxcombs -and men-milliners, and destroy both soul and body. Nothing was more -agreeable to him than the pleasure derived from contrasts between great -extremes. Those pursuits which promised neither peril nor hardship -possessed for him very little attraction.</p> - -<p>He loved to fly through the water in a boat, with all the sail she -would suffer, while the spray came by bucketfuls on to the side of his -neck, and then, rounding a densely-wooded point, run her into a calm, -sunny nook, among the green leaves, exchanging the dash of the cold -spray and the shrill whistle of the wind for the warm sunshine and the -song of birds.</p> - -<p>His father used to say he believed that John would pound his finger -for the sake of having it feel better when it was done aching; not -considering that the boy inherited his own temperament, and that he -had manifested the same disposition, when, basking in the warmth of a -blazing fire, filled to repletion with sea pie and pudding, he told his -wife how much the recollection of his past perils added to his present -happiness.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_200" id="Page_200">200</a></span> -To complete the sum of John’s attractions, his voice was naturally -modulated to express every shade of feeling; as Uncle Isaac said, “it -came from the right place, and went to the right place.”</p> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="divider" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_201" id="Page_201">201</a></span> -</div> - -<h2><a name="xx" id="xx"></a>CHAPTER XX.<br /> -<small>PETER CLASH AND THE WOLF-TRAP.</small></h2> - - -<p><span class="smcap">Captain Rhines</span> was called to Boston on account of some business with -Mr. Welch, and John was kept from school to take care of matters at -home.</p> - -<p>One pleasant morning, his mother having given him the day, he had made -up his mind to go gunning and fishing, taking his dinner with him, Sam -Hadlock having agreed to do what was necessary in his absence.</p> - -<p>As he was about to set out, Fred Williams came along, with his -dinner-pail in his hand, on his way to school.</p> - -<p>“Where are you going, John?”</p> - -<p>“Frost-fishing and gunning.”</p> - -<p>“I’ll go with you; ’tis too pleasant to go to school.”</p> - -<p>“I wouldn’t play truant, Fred.”</p> - -<p>“Father won’t know it; our girls ain’t going to-day; so there’s nobody -to tell.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_202" id="Page_202">202</a></span> -“But you’ll know it yourself, Fred.”</p> - -<p>“I don’t care.”</p> - -<p>“If you won’t play truant, I’ll go some Saturday with you.”</p> - -<p>“Saturdays father makes me work in the mill; he thinks I don’t want to -play, as other boys do.”</p> - -<p>John could not persuade him to go to school; so they started off -together. They spent the forenoon in gunning. At noon they made a fire -on the rocks, made some clay porridge, then took a sea-fowl and dipped -into it, feathers and all, coating it completely with clay; they then -dug a hole in the ground, filling it partly with stones, which they -made red hot; on these they put the bird, then threw back the loose -earth. After a proper time they took it out, and peeled off the clay, -which brought the feathers and skin with it, leaving the carcass clean -and well cooked.</p> - -<p>John had brought pepper, salt, and butter, and they had plenty of bread -and meat in their dinner-pails. Tige wouldn’t touch the bird; so they -gave him the meat.</p> - -<p>“How good this is!” said Fred, with the wing of a sheldrake in his -mouth; “how glad I am I didn’t go to school!”</p> - -<p>John made no reply, for his mouth was full;<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_203" id="Page_203">203</a></span> neither did he approve -of playing truant. They now went to Uncle Isaac’s brook, fishing. The -frost-fish swim up into the mouth of little brooks, where the water -is only about two or three inches deep, and are very slow in their -movements in cool weather. The boys caught them by fastening a cod-hook -to a stick, three or four feet long, and hauling them out. They set out -on their return in good season, that Fred might get home at the proper -time, and escape detection.</p> - -<p>As they came to the landing, John jumped out to haul the boat ashore, -while Fred pushed with an oar; the boat, striking a rock, stopped so -suddenly, that he fell down into the bottom of her, and stuck one of -the hooks into his thigh. The remorseless steel buried itself in the -flesh beyond the barb. There was the miserable boy, with both hands -behind him, holding himself up, afraid either to get up or sit down, as -he could not move an inch without taking with him the great stick to -which the hook was fastened. John, reaching carefully under him, cut -the string which fastened it to the hook, letting it fall off.</p> - -<p>Fred now prostrated himself on the beach, while John proceeded to -examine; he pulled a little.</p> - -<p>“O-w-w! you hurt me!”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_204" id="Page_204">204</a></span> -“It’s over the barb; I can’t pull it out without almost killing you.”</p> - -<p>“My father’ll kill me quite, if he finds out I’ve played truant; -father’s awful when he rises. O, I wish I’d gone to school.”</p> - -<p>“I should think you would.”</p> - -<p>“It must come out somehow; can’t you <em>cut</em> it out?”</p> - -<p>“I’ll try; but it’ll hurt.”</p> - -<p>“I can’t help it; but be as easy as you can.”</p> - -<p>John had been shelling clams with his knife the day before, and that -forenoon he’d used it as a screw-driver, to tighten the flint in his -gun; but he whet it on the sole of his boot, and began to cut.</p> - -<p>“O, dear! what shall I do? Boo-oo! cut away, John! I shall die! I shall -die! I wish I’d gone to school! Murder! murder!! murder!!!”</p> - -<p>“Fred,” cried John, flinging away the knife, his eyes filling with -tears, “I can’t bear to hurt you so.”</p> - -<p>“Father’ll hurt me worse; he’ll rip it right out, and lick me into the -bargain.”</p> - -<p>“There’s a file in the canoe, they have to sharpen hooks; perhaps I can -file it off.”</p> - -<p>“Do, John; do.”</p> - -<p>Just as the voices of the children were heard going home from school, -John succeeded in filing<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_205" id="Page_205">205</a></span> it off. Fred jumped up, his mouth full of -gravel, where he had bitten the beach in his agony, and ran home. He -didn’t sleep much that night. The sawing of the flesh with a dull knife -produced irritation, and by morning it began to fester. It hurt him to -walk, it hurt him to move, and it hurt him to sit still. All day long -he sat on the edge of his seat, and didn’t go out at recess to play. -When he got home, he found his cousin John Ryan had come to spend the -night. As he was a general favorite, the children all wanted him to sit -next them at the table. They were all standing up around the table, -wrangling about it, when the miller, who had a grist to grind before -dark, and was in a hurry for his supper, lost all patience.</p> - -<p>“Down with you—will you, somewhere?” cried he to Fred; “you’re big -enough to behave,” and pushed him slap down into a chair.</p> - -<p>“O!” screamed Fred, jumping upright, bursting into tears, and clapping -both hands to the aggrieved part.</p> - -<p>It all came out now; but in consideration of what he had suffered, and -had yet to undergo, he escaped a whipping. His mother bound some of the -marrow of a hog’s jaw on the wound, and, after a while, the hook came -out.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_206" id="Page_206">206</a></span> -Fred promised John Rhines solemnly that he not only would never play -truant again, but in all respects try to become a better boy; yet the -wound was scarcely healed before he was again engaged in mischief.</p> - -<p>Captain Rhines had a fish-flake on the beach, just above high-water -mark. Uncle Isaac had been making fish on it, and they were nearly -cured.</p> - -<p>He cherished a bitter antipathy to the Tories, and, like all the people -on the sea-coast of Maine, was inclined to dislike the inhabitants of -Nova Scotia, among whom they sought refuge after they were driven from -the colonies. This prejudice extended itself to Peter Clash, and was -greatly strengthened by his treatment of his benefactors; he therefore -never treated him with the cordiality he did the other boys. This Pete -highly resented. He persuaded Fred, Jack Pettigrew, Ike Godsoe, and -some others, to go with him in the evening, take the fish from the -flakes, and throw them on the beach. It was a very difficult matter to -persuade the boys to do this, for they all loved and respected Uncle -Isaac; besides, he was not a person to be trifled with. After going -once, all, except Fred, Jack, and Ike, refused to go again; and after -Pete and his satellites had gone, Henry Griffin and the others went -back and replaced the fish. Pete, with his crew, continued the sport, -and enjoyed a malicious pleasure, as, hid in the bushes, they saw him -picking up the fish, many of which, getting in the tide’s way, were -spoiled.</p> - -<div class="figcenter width600"> -<img src="images/i207.jpg" width="600" height="368" alt="" /> -<div class="caption"><span class="smcap">Peter Clash and the Wolf Trap.</span> Page 207.</div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_207" id="Page_207">207</a></span> -Uncle Isaac set a wolf-trap beside the flake, covering it in the sand, -and hid himself among the bushes. The boys manifested a great deal of -caution, pretending they had merely come down to fling stones into the -water. The conduct of Uncle Isaac, who continued quietly to pick up the -fish, without saying a word, made them suspicious; they thought there -must be something “under that heap of meal.” By and by they began to -edge up towards the flake, often stopping to listen. At last Pete went -up to the fish; walking along the edge of the flake, he threw off the -fish as he went, crying, “There’s nobody here; why don’t you come on, -you cowards.” The words were scarcely out of his mouth, when snap went -the great iron jaws of the trap, and up jumped Uncle Isaac from the -bushes. Pete roared with agony. Well he might; the trap would have cut -off his leg, or crushed it to pomace, if Uncle Isaac had not tied down -one of the springs, thus diminishing its force. His captor uttered<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_208" id="Page_208">208</a></span> -never a word; but catching him up, trap and all, walked right into the -water.</p> - -<p>“O! Mr. Murch, I’ll never do so again! What be you going to do to me?”</p> - -<p>“Drown you, you spawn of a Tory; your hide isn’t worth taking off.”</p> - -<p>Pete poured forth agonizing entreaties for mercy, and made the most -solemn promises of amendment, if his life could be spared.</p> - -<p>“You’re a rotten egg; you’re spilin’ all our boys, you varmint,” said -Uncle Isaac, chucking him right into the water, head and ears.</p> - -<p>“Murder! murder!” screamed Pete, the moment he got his head out.</p> - -<p>“Will you clear out in the spring, in the first fisherman that comes -along, and go where you come from?”</p> - -<p>Pete called God to witness that he would.</p> - -<p>“You can do as you like; but if you don’t, I’ll be the death of you. I -calculate,” said Uncle Isaac, as he picked up his fish, “he’ll keep his -word this time; he’ll have about as much as he can do to take care of -that leg this winter.”</p> - -<p>John Rhines, being lonesome, after Ben went on to the island, had kept -company to some extent with these boys; but it was very much like -trying<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_209" id="Page_209">209</a></span> to mix oil and water; they played together occasionally, but -there was no fusion. When he heard of the last-mentioned occurrence, he -said to his mother,—</p> - -<p>“I won’t be seen with those boys any more. O, mother, I do wish I had -somebody to love besides Tige.”</p> - -<p>“Why, John Rhines, where are your parents, your sisters, and all your -friends?”</p> - -<p>“You know what I mean; some boy of my age, that I could love clear -through; that you, and father, and Ben could love, and love to have me -with; and, when he come to our house, you’d give him a piece of cake, -and wouldn’t look so, as you do when Fred comes. I mean somebody that -wasn’t like these boys, either stupid or wicked.”</p> - -<p>The boy’s heart, overflowing with the impulses of youth, longed for a -kindred spirit of his own age.</p> - - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="divider" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_210" id="Page_210">210</a></span> -</div> - -<h2><a name="xxi" id="xxi"></a>CHAPTER XXI.<br /> -<small>WHY THE BOYS LIKED UNCLE ISAAC.</small></h2> - - -<p><span class="smcap">It</span> has been very evident, during the progress of this story, that the -young men were very much attached to Uncle Isaac; yet the boys were not -a whit the less so; the reasons of which will appear as we proceed.</p> - -<p>In the first place, he retained in his feelings all the freshness -and exuberance of his youth; they knew that he liked them; and it is -strange how this unwritten, unspoken language of the heart is generally -felt and understood.</p> - -<p>In the next place, he was never known to divulge a secret, and was -the depositary of half the love affairs of the young people in the -neighborhood; indeed, the boys often confided to him their intended -pranks. If mere fun was the object of them, he permitted them to take -their course, but, if they were of a malicious nature, would induce -them to give them up, by proposing something else,—generally a tramp -with him in the woods,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_211" id="Page_211">211</a></span> or on the water, the seductions of which no boy -was able to resist. It was well it was thus, for he knew infinitely -better how to manage them than half their parents. It has been well -said, that man must look up in order to worship; ’tis just so with -boys. A timid, effeminate man can have no influence over a mess of -boys; and if you have any doubt on this point, just read the names on -the boys’ sleds and boats.</p> - -<p>When, in the winter, he happened to ride by the school-house, just as -school was out, a curious scene presented itself. Children, in those -days, were taught to make their manners; but when Uncle Isaac came -along, they first made a bow, or dropped a courtesy, just to manifest -respect; and then boys and girls would pile into the sleigh, and hang -around his neck, till he was well nigh smothered. The old horse would -lay back his ears, and look around, as though distrusting his ability -to draw the unwonted load; while the schoolmaster, looking out of the -window, attracted by the noise, and amused to see the little ones -searching his pockets for apples, would forget to notice when the -minute-glass had run out.</p> - -<p>There was another thing which imparted to his society a wonderful -fascination for the boys, which<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_212" id="Page_212">212</a></span> we can in no other way explain so -well as by relating a conversation between little Bobby Smullen and -his grandfather. The boy was at play before the door, as Uncle Isaac -returned from Sam Elwell’s, after picking Yelf out of the ditch. He -endeavored, with all his might, to entice him to go in, as he wanted to -listen, while he talked over old times with his grandparent; but Uncle -Isaac was in a hurry, and, patting his head, went on.</p> - -<p>Bobby, who was a bright, observing little chap, looked after him till -he was out of sight. Going into the house, he said, “Grandsir, what -makes Uncle Isaac walk so?”</p> - -<p>“Walk how?”</p> - -<p>“Why, you know how; he don’t walk like other folks.”</p> - -<p>“The child means,” said his grandmother, “because he toes in.”</p> - -<p>“That’s because he’s an Indian, Bobby.”</p> - -<p>“Why, Jonathan, ain’t you ashamed of yourself? he’s no more of an -Indian than you are. I knew his father and mother well; old Mr. Murch -and his wife were the best of people.”</p> - -<p>“Well, the Indians brought him up, anyhow. I don’t jestly know the -rights of it; but they carried him off, with some others of his people, -when he<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_213" id="Page_213">213</a></span> was a boy; part of them they tomahawked, and part they roasted -alive; but one of the chiefs took him, and brought him up. He lived -with them years and years, learnt their language and their ways, and -was as good an Indian as the best of them. I’ve heard him say, he -thought their kind of life was happier than ours; he never will get -that wild nature out of him. When the Penobscots come here in the -summer, and camp on his point, he’ll carry them beef, pork, potatoes, -and milk, and says they have as good right here as he has, and better, -too. He’ll give them anything except rum; he says that wasn’t made for -an Indian, because it makes him crazy.”</p> - -<p>“Don’t it make white people crazy, too, grandsir?”</p> - -<p>“Hush, child; you put me out, and you don’t know what you’re talking -about. For all he’s such a desperate working cretur, he’ll go down -right in haying time, and set on a log, and talk with them, and seems -just as uneasy all the time they’re about as John Godsoe’s geese.”</p> - -<p>“What about John Godsoe’s geese?”</p> - -<p>“Nothing, child.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, there is; I know there is; do tell your little boy, grandsir.”</p> - -<p>“Why, John’s got some wild geese that can’t<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_214" id="Page_214">214</a></span> fly, because one joint of -their wings is cut off. They go in the pasture with the other geese as -peaceable as can be; but in the spring, when the wild ones are flying -over and konking, they’ll flap their old stubs of wings, and holler, -and be as uneasy; that’s jest the way Isaac’s took when the Indians are -round. I sometimes think he’d go off with them, if he could get his -family to go.”</p> - -<p>The horrors of Indian massacre were still fresh in the recollections of -older people. Smullen’s first wife and old Mr. Yelf’s father were both -killed by the Indians; and there was nothing more attractive to the -youth of that day. No marvel, then, that a romantic interest mingled -in the minds of the boys with the affection they entertained for Uncle -Isaac.</p> - -<p>It is frequently said, one boy is better than two boys, and that three -is just no boy at all; but half a dozen of them would work all day for -dear life, with Uncle Isaac, encouraged by the promise, always kept, -of going on a tramp with him when the job was over. Boys don’t like -to go gunning, and come home empty-handed. When they went with him, -they always brought home game with them; for if they couldn’t shoot -anything, he could. These attractions enabled him to exert a great<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_215" id="Page_215">215</a></span> -influence over them, which he improved to the noblest ends, and made -impressions that were never eradicated. He was neither in his own -opinion, nor by profession, a religious man; but the teachings of a -pious mother had laid deep in his young heart the foundation of faith -and love. When torn from her by the savages, in the solitude of mighty -forests, he had pored and prayed over them, till they ripened into a -heartfelt love for Him “who causeth the grass to grow for cattle, and -herb for the service of man.”</p> - -<p>His teachings were therefore of such a nature, that while divested -of the stiffness generally connected with all attempts at advice or -instruction, they deepened every good impression, and stirred the young -heart to the quick.</p> - -<p>A most silly and hurtful notion, often entertained by young people -in respect to religion, is, that it has a tendency to make people -narrow-minded, or, as they phrase it, meeching. Such a feeling was -effectually repressed, as they listened to ideas of that nature from -one who hesitated not to grapple with the fiercest beasts of the -forest, and bore on his person the scars of many wounds. His influence -over them was very much increased, for the reason that he seemed -anxious to make them happy in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_216" id="Page_216">216</a></span> this world, as well as the other; -inculcated with great earnestness those principles which lie at the -bottom of thrift, competence, and the well-being of society.</p> - -<p>Religious discourse from their parents, the catechising of the -minister, advice in respect to their conduct in life, might be quite -dry and uninteresting; but with what power to attract and move were -the same ideas invested, as they fell from the lips of the hunter -and warrior, on a wild sea-beach, amid the roar of breakers; in some -sunny nook of the hills, with the rifle across his knees, made juicy -and attractive by his graphic language; not thrust upon them against -the stomach of their sense, but, like the teachings of the great -Parent of nature, in harmony with bursting buds, the springing grass, -shading into a deeper green, or mingling in their ear with the brook’s -low murmur, and the music of summer winds among the foliage,—thus -imperceptibly, as the increase of their strengthening sinews, growing -up with, and moulding the very habit of their thoughts!</p> - -<p>There had been no adverse element to disturb these pleasant and -profitable relations, till Peter Clash came into the neighborhood. -Nothing but the entire conviction of the uselessness of all efforts<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_217" id="Page_217">217</a></span> to -reclaim him, and a knowledge of the injury his influence and example -was doing to the other boys, caused Uncle Isaac to treat him with such -severity, and made him resolve to drive him out of the place.</p> - -<p>“I wouldn’t be so mean,” said he, “as to throw my weeds into other -people’s gardens; but when they throw their weeds into mine, I’ll fling -them back again: he shan’t take root and go to seed here; we’ve weeds -enough of our own.”</p> - -<p>The first leisure day John had, after his father’s return, he took his -hoe, and going directly to the field where he knew Uncle Isaac was -digging potatoes, went to work with him.</p> - -<p>“I don’t mean to play any more with Pete, and that set; I mean to play -with you, Uncle Isaac.”</p> - -<p>“I should like to have a playmate first rate; I’ve been pretty much -alone of late.”</p> - -<p>“Will you go gunning with me in your float, after we get these potatoes -dug?”</p> - -<p>“Yes.”</p> - -<p>“Won’t you tell me an Indian story now?”</p> - -<p>“I can’t talk and work too; but I’ll tell you one to-night, after we’ve -done work, and when we go gunning, and are waiting for birds. Work when -you work, and play when you play; that’s my fashion.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_218" id="Page_218">218</a></span> -When the time arrived, John reminded Uncle Isaac of his promise.</p> - -<p>“Well, John, where do you want to go? into the woods, or after -sea-fowl?”</p> - -<p>“I’ll tell you what I want to do, above all things; but perhaps you -wouldn’t; I want you to learn me to shoot flying. I can shoot very well -now at a dead mark; but I never, in all my life, shot anything flying.”</p> - -<p>“You’ll never be much of a gunner till you can, because there’s ten -chances to shoot flying or running game where there is one to shoot -that which is still. Take a fox, for instance; ’tain’t one time to a -hundred you can shoot one, except on the clean jump, going twelve or -fifteen foot at a leap, and looking just like a little streak. All -these sea-fowl fly out of the bays every night. Now, there’s a place -between Smutty Nose and the Sow and Pigs, not more than half a gun-shot -in width, which they fly through about sunrise, when they come into the -bay. I’ve gone there before sunrise, with three guns, and killed over -a hundred; been back by the middle of the forenoon, got my breakfast, -and, by working a little later, done a good day’s work. What d’ye think -of that, Johnny?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_219" id="Page_219">219</a></span> -“O!” cried John, his eyes flashing, “I shouldn’t want to live any -longer, if I could do that.”</p> - -<p>“There’s a good many other places where they fly through; for it’s the -nature of them to follow the land. They used to fly through between -Elm Island and the outer ledges, but I expect Ben has pretty much put -an end to that; besides, if you have two guns, or a double barrel, it -gives you two chances—you can fire at them in the water, and when they -rise give it to them again.”</p> - -<p>“I know it; I’ve seen you and Ben shoot wild geese when they were -flying over. Ben burnt mother awfully with a wild goose.”</p> - -<p>“How could that be?”</p> - -<p>“Well, mother was frying fish in the Dutch oven; Ben fired into a flock -that was flying over the house, and down came an old gander, right down -chimney, and flung the fat all over her face.”</p> - -<p>“Well, John, as to the learning, you must forelay for them; when -they’re coming towards you, swing your gun as they fly, and aim jest -before their bill, and then they’ll fly right into the shot. The best -bird for a boy to practise on is a fish-hawk, because they are a large -mark, and fly steady, but they are all gone south now; but a coot will -do very well. You must shoot, and shoot,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_220" id="Page_220">220</a></span> and practise till you get it; -and jest as you begin to think you never can get it, ’twill come. You -better take my gun; it goes quicker than yours. I’ll manage the boat; -you can fire, and I’ll watch you and tell you.”</p> - -<p>On their way home they fell into conversation about the other boys.</p> - -<p>“I don’t think,” said John, “that Fred is a bad-hearted boy; we’ve -always played together, and he was a good boy till Pete came here. I -believe all of them would do well enough, if ’twasn’t for him, and -would never do any real mean mischief of their own heads; they like -fun, and so do I, and should be as full of mischief as any of them, if -I didn’t like gunning so much better, which takes up all my spare time.”</p> - -<p>“That Pete is too rotten to nail to. As for Fred, there’s more -foundation to him; he’s had a better bringing up; he’s like the fish -that take the color of the bottom they feed on; he falls in with the -company he keeps, and can’t stand on his own legs.”</p> - -<p>“I don’t believe I should have been one whit better than Fred, if I -had been brought up as he has. I’ve known Fred to do a real good day’s -work, and his father and mother never take the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_221" id="Page_221">221</a></span> least notice of it; -now, big boy as I am, there’s nothing pleases me so much as to have -father come and see what I’ve done, and praise me for it; then his -father always sets his bounds, and tells him he may go to such a tree -or rock; of course he wants to go over; he’d be a fool if he didn’t. -I’ve gone over there sometimes, all dressed up, to play with him, and -his father would keep him to work, when Fred knew, and I knew, that the -work might be just as well done the next day. I tell you, that makes a -boy feel ugly. Now, just look at my father; I’ve known him, when boys -came over here to play with me, to let me off, and work till after dark -himself. Think I didn’t put in the next day, and watch for chances to -make it up? and do you think I’ll ever forget it, as long as I live? -’Tisn’t every boy, Uncle Isaac, that’s got as good father and mother as -I have.”</p> - -<p>“You never spoke a truer word than that, John.”</p> - -<p>“I don’t believe a boy can love a man, just because he’s his father, if -he treats him just like a dog.”</p> - -<p>“Don’t you think, then, instead of leaving Fred altogether, it would be -better to ask him to go with you and me sometimes?”</p> - -<p>“I think we should have a great deal better time without him.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_222" id="Page_222">222</a></span> -“Perhaps so; but we ought to be willing sometimes to displease -ourselves, for the sake of benefiting others. A boy or man, who never -thinks of anybody’s comfort or happiness but his own, is a pretty mean -sort of an affair, and ought not to be allowed round. There’s Pete; -he’s no credit to his Maker, and only a plague to the neighborhood, and -swears awful; yet God feeds and clothes him.”</p> - -<p>“No, he don’t, Uncle Isaac; because Mrs. Smullen makes the cloth, and -makes the clothes, too.”</p> - -<p>“If she does, the Lord gives her the stock, and wit, and strength to -manufacture it. You allow yourself there’s some good in Fred; and I say -it’s no part of a man, when a poor fellow’s on his hands and knees, -trying to get up, to jump on him.”</p> - -<p>“But you don’t understand. It isn’t just for the sake of going gunning, -and hearing the Indian stories, that I like so well to go with you; but -I like to hear you talk about good things, and tell me how I can make a -man of myself. Fred wouldn’t care a straw for such things.”</p> - -<p>“How can that ever be known, till it’s tried? According to your tell, -he’s never had much of such treatment.”</p> - -<p>“That is very true.”</p> - -<p>“You’re very sorry he’s a bad boy; wish he was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_223" id="Page_223">223</a></span> better; but are not -willing to forego your own pleasure for the sake of getting him into -better company, and giving him an opportunity to rally. We’ve spent all -this day, and have patiently managed the boat, that you might learn to -shoot flying, and you’ve made out to kill two birds; whereas, if I’d -taken the gun, made you manage the boat, or gone without you, I might -have killed twenty, and been home at dinner-time.”</p> - -<p>“I’m ashamed of myself, Uncle Isaac; I won’t be so mean and selfish any -more.”</p> - -<p>“Well, Pete’ll have enough to do to take care of his legs this winter, -and I think he’ll go off in the spring. Speak kindly to Fred, and keep -hold of him; and when the warm weather comes, we’ll take him with us, -and try to save him.”</p> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="divider" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_224" id="Page_224">224</a></span> -</div> - -<h2><a name="xxii" id="xxii"></a>CHAPTER XXII.<br /> -<small>BEN’S NOVEL SHIP.</small></h2> - - -<p><span class="smcap">It</span> was now early winter, and the proper time to work in the woods.</p> - -<p>“Do you think,” said Ben to Uncle Isaac, “I’d better hire Joe?”</p> - -<p>“He asks great wages, but he’s the cheapest man you can hire, for all -that. I’ve seen a man fall spars, so that they all had to be hauled -out top foremost; it was like twitching a cat by the tail. Most men -will break more or less masts, falling them, and soon throw away all -their wages; but though Joe seems to be such a great heedless creature, -there’s nothing pertains to falling, hauling, or rafting timber, that -he don’t know; he can also shave shingles and rive staves, and will be -just as profitable in stormy weather as at any other time.”</p> - -<p>The next morning, as Ben and Joe were grinding their axes to attack the -forest, they were very much surprised by a visit from Uncle Isaac.</p> - -<p>“I felt,” said he, “as though I must look upon<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_225" id="Page_225">225</a></span> Elm Island once more, -before the axe and firebrand went into it, and while it was as God made -it. Perhaps it’s owing to my Indian bringing up, but I hate to see the -forest fall; and when I have to go fifty miles to shoot a deer or a -bear, the relish will be all taken out of life for me.”</p> - -<p>“I feel very much as you do,” said Ben; “I know I shall spoil its -beauty, but I see no other way to pay for it.”</p> - -<p>“I’m not so sure of that; there’s no doubt but Congress, by and by, -will give a bounty to fishermen; fishing is going to come up. Mr. Welch -don’t want his money any more than a cat wants two tails; he told you -to take your own time, and I’d take my time. I believe you can pay for -this island by clearing only what you need for pasture and tillage. -That will make quite a hole in your debt, and the rest you can pull out -of the water.”</p> - -<p>“But I don’t want to be a fisherman; I detest it; work all summer, and -eat it all up in the winter; so much broken time, when it’s so windy -you can’t fish, and can’t do anything else, for fear it will come good -weather, and you will have to leave it.”</p> - -<p>“That’s the right kind of talk; I like to hear you talk so; but you -can fish till the land is yours—can’t<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_226" id="Page_226">226</a></span> you? All the time you are -fishing, the timber will be growing, and then you can farm it to your -heart’s content; farming is going to be a first-rate business, too. -People round here are all stark mad about lumbering and fishing; they -will touch anything but a hoe, and think barley ain’t worth thanking -God for. Since the peace, the country is full of foreign goods, and -they are ready to strip the land to get money to buy them. Nothing but -French calico, silks, and satins, and all such boughten stuffs, will -do for ‘my ladyship’ now. If people are going to work in the woods all -winter, and drive the river and work in the mills all summer, I should -like to know where the corn, hay, pork, and beef, to feed all these -people that grow nothing, is to come from. I wonder if the people that -stay at home and raise it won’t get a round price for it.”</p> - -<p>“I’ve thought of that,” said Ben. “I know that a great many fishermen -come here for supplies, must have them, and no time to run after them, -and will give whatever the men ask that bring them alongside.”</p> - -<p>“There’s another thing; this timber will be worth more every year it -stands, because it will be growing scarce.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_227" id="Page_227">227</a></span> -“O, Uncle Isaac, this is a great country; it won’t be till you and I, -and our grandchildren, if we have any, are dead and gone.”</p> - -<p>“That’s true; and it ain’t true there’s no end to the timber in the -country; but the timber that is directly on the shore, where a vessel -can go right to it, is growing scarce, more especially these big masts. -The king’s commissioners scoured the sea-coast pretty well before the -war; and masts and spars on an island like this, with a good harbor, -where they can be got to the ship’s tackles with little expense, will, -in a few years, bear a great price; for if timber is plenty, labor is -not. Thank God, every one has enough to do; and it costs, I can tell -you, to bring timber down a river thirty miles, to what it does to roll -it off the bank, as you can here.”</p> - -<p>“I see you are right; for I’m sure I don’t know of another island that -is timbered like this. Others have all been cut, and burnt over by the -fishermen setting fires in the summer; about half the timber on the -islands is burnt up by mere carelessness.”</p> - -<p>“You wouldn’t like to lose this brook—would you?”</p> - -<p>“Lose the brook! I’d as soon lose the island; it would not be worth -much without the brook.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_228" id="Page_228">228</a></span> -“Well, just as sure as you clear the middle ridge, and the north-east -end of the island where the springs are that feed it, and let the sun -and wind in on the land, you’ll dry the brook.”</p> - -<p>“Do you think so?”</p> - -<p>“I don’t <em>think</em> so—I <em>know</em> so. There’s a brook runs through my -field. Long since I can remember it used to carry a saw-mill; but my -father and I cleared the land, and the people at the source of it -cleared theirs, and now it’s dry all summer, and but a little water in -it early in the spring and late in the fall.”</p> - -<p>“I’m glad you told me this; you know I’m a sailor, and don’t know much -about such matters. I hope you’ll never be mealy-mouthed, but speak -just as you think.”</p> - -<p>“I’m an ignorant man, and have never been to school, and over the -world, as you have; but I know about these sort of things, because -I’ve either tried ’em, or seen other people try them; it’s jest my -experience.”</p> - -<p>When he had thus spoken he prepared to depart.</p> - -<p>“Do stay to dinner, Uncle Isaac,” said Sally.</p> - -<p>“It’s impossible; I ought to be at home this very minute; but I -couldn’t help coming over here and freeing my mind;” and, dropping his<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_229" id="Page_229">229</a></span> -oars into the water, he was in a moment round the eastern point.</p> - -<p>This conversation made a deep impression upon Ben; he looked upon the -island not merely as offering advantages for a living, but he loved it. -All his ideas of beauty and sublimity were ingrafted upon these woods -and shores; from boyhood he had been accustomed to go there with his -father. Often, in the lonely hours of the middle watch on the ocean, -had memory painted the green foliage of the birches drooping over the -high ledge.</p> - -<p>In many a black night of tempest, as he stood amid the pouring rain -and flashing lightning, did his thoughts revert to that tranquil cove, -reflecting from its bosom the overhanging rocks and trees, while the -sunlight of a summer’s morning was glancing on the glossy breasts of -the sea-ducks sporting in its calm waters.</p> - -<p>Standing upon the beach where he had parted with his friend, he looked -over the scene, and pictured to himself the middle ridge, shorn of its -green coronal of majestic forest, covered with blackened stumps and the -charred ruins of mighty trees. The interlacing network of tree-roots, -ferns, and mosses of a thousand hues, that now adorned the rocks, burnt -off, leaving them white and barren,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_230" id="Page_230">230</a></span> and the bare bones of the soil -sticking out. No shelter for fruit trees or crops, man or beast, and -the supply of water greatly diminished; the sweet music of the brook -hushed, and the multitudes of hawks and herons, who, notwithstanding -their harsh notes, could ill be spared, banished forever, and the -island left a shelterless rock in the ocean for the cold sea winds to -whistle over.</p> - -<p>He found that Sally shared his feelings in the fullest extent, and -together they resolved to submit to any privations, and make every -possible effort in order to save, at least, a good part of the forest.</p> - -<p>The axes now went merrily from daylight till dark. They made a workshop -of the front part of the house, and in stormy days made staves and -shingles, as there were many trees, which, after they were cut, proved -to have a hollow in the butt, or were “konkus,” and, though not -suitable for spars, made good shingles. Sometimes an oak was in the way -of a road, which, cut, made staves.</p> - -<p>Ben, while privateering, had taken from a prize some fine rifles; two -of these he sold, and bought a large yoke of oxen, and hiring four -more, he began to haul his spars to the beach. As the distance was -short, and the ground in general descending,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_231" id="Page_231">231</a></span> he did not wait for snow, -but hauled the smallest spars on the bare ground, leaving the large -masts and bowsprits till the snow came. This was not so difficult as -it might appear; for it is very different hauling in the woods from -doing the same thing on a road. The ground was in most places covered -with a network of roots, strewn with leaves and frozen, and the sled -slipped over these quite easily; besides, wherever there was a hard -spot, or a hollow, they cut small trees, peeled the bark off, and put -them along the road for the sled to slip over, and thus, though they -could not move the largest sticks in this way, they got along as fast -with the others as though there was snow; for if they hauled smaller -loads, having no snow to wade through, and no road to break, they went -the oftener. Even when the snow came, his team was light to haul some -of the biggest masts; but they made calculations take the place of -strength, put rollers under the sticks, and helped the cattle with a -tackle.</p> - -<p>Thus they spent the winter. As the spring came on, how he longed to -plough up the clear spot along the beach, to plant a few peas and -potatoes, or set out a currant bush or two in the warm sunny ground, -under the high ledge, that every time he passed it seemed to say, “Do -plant me, Ben.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_232" id="Page_232">232</a></span> -How much more difficult it was to let the wild geese alone, that were -flying in vast flocks over his head! It made him half crazy to hear the -guns of Uncle Isaac, John, and his father, who were letting into them -right and left, as they went, bang, bang.</p> - -<p>It was not like the gunning nowadays, when a great lazy fellow goes all -day to shoot a sandpiper or a sparrow; but there was profit as well as -sport in it. Nevertheless, he manfully resisted temptation, and plied -the axe.</p> - -<p>“I’ll not live another spring without a gunning float,” said he to Joe, -and dismissed the matter from his thoughts.</p> - -<p>“What fools we are!” said Joe; “we’ve not had a drink of sap yet.” As -he spoke, he struck his axe with an upward blow into the body of a rock -maple, and stuck a chip in the gash; he then cut down a small hemlock, -took off a length, and from it made a trough. The sap ran down the chip -into the trough, and in a few hours they had enough to drink.</p> - -<p>“How good that looks!” said Joe, as he got down on his hands and knees, -and looked into the luscious liquid, as clear as crystal; “and it don’t -taste bad, neither.”</p> - -<p>The first thing Joe did the next morning was to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_233" id="Page_233">233</a></span> visit the trough, -expecting to find it full; but it was entirely empty.</p> - -<p>“It was half full when I left it, and it must have run fast; what a -fool I was I didn’t drink it all up! I know who’s got it,” cried he, -as he noticed on a little patch of snow some tracks, that looked not -unlike those made by the bare feet of little children, for they had -been enlarged by the thawing of the snow; “they are that coon’s wife -and children, that we killed when we were hewing timber. They will be -nice neighbors, Ben, when you come to plant corn here.”</p> - -<p>“I don’t care if they do eat a little corn; I want all the neighbors -I can get. It will be first rate to know just where to go and get a -coon when you want one. I shall be as well to do as the grand folks -in England, and have my own game preserve; besides, if they get -troublesome, I can kill them all with Sailor in a week, on a place no -larger than this.”</p> - -<p>There was no vessel in that vicinity larger than a fisherman’s, or a -wood coaster. It required a vessel of larger size to carry such spars, -and to have hired one from a distance would have eaten up a great part -of their value. Determined at any risk to save a great part of the -forest, he devised and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_234" id="Page_234">234</a></span> executed a most audacious plan, that he might -realize every dollar from the sale of his spars, by avoiding the great -expense of transportation.</p> - -<p>With a cool daring and skill, perfectly characteristic, he rolled his -masts and spars on to the beach, where, by the help of the tide, he -could handle them as he pleased, and built them somewhat into the shape -of a vessel, securing the whole firmly together with cross-ties and -treenails. He then made a large oar to steer with, which no one but -himself could lift, that worked in a port, so that it could not slip -out and float up. He then put a large timber across the stern, with -deep notches cut in it, to hold the oar in whatever direction he placed -it, in order that he might be able to leave it, and go to other parts -of the raft to attend to other matters. A mast had been already built -in when the raft was made; he bought an old mainsail that belonged to -John Strout, made for the Perseverance, and put a cable, anchor, and -boat-compass on board.</p> - -<p>“I must have a chance to make a cup of tea,” said Ben; “for I shall be -up nights, as there’s only one in a watch.”</p> - -<p>They placed a large flat stone in the midst of the raft to build -the fire on, and then made a fireplace<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_235" id="Page_235">235</a></span> with stones laid in clay, -to prevent the wind from blowing the fire away from the kettle. Two -crotches were then placed each side of the fireplace, and a pole put -across to hang the tea-kettle on. Wood and water were now put on board; -some dry eel-grass to lie down on; staves, shingles; and feathers, the -results of gunning at odd times; and the preparations for the voyage -were complete.</p> - -<p>“Ben,” said his wife, “Joe says you are going to Boston on that thing -alone?”</p> - -<p>“I’m going to set out, Sally. I can tell you better when I come back, -whether I get there or not.”</p> - -<p>“Suppose you should get blown off to sea, and never be heard from -again.”</p> - -<p>“Suppose, what is more likely, I shouldn’t.”</p> - -<p>“Suppose the raft should come to pieces.”</p> - -<p>“Suppose it should stay together. We never shall save the woods, and -the beach, and all the pretty things, if it costs half the spars are -worth to get them to market.”</p> - -<p>“Better lose the island than your life; what if there should come a big -sea, and wash you overboard?”</p> - -<p>“What, if when the angels were taking Elijah to heaven, they had let -him drop?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_236" id="Page_236">236</a></span> -Perceiving he had fully made up his mind, she said no more, but quietly -set about preparing his food for the voyage. This was put under the -canoe, which was turned bottom up on the raft, and lashed.</p> - -<p>There were but four pieces of rope on the whole raft, for rope was high -in those days: these were the cable, the canoe’s painter, and the sheet -and halyards of the sail.</p> - -<p>The logs were lashed with withes, as also the canoe, water, and other -things. These withes were of enormous strength, though stiff and hard -to handle; for many of them were as thick as a man’s wrist, which Ben -twisted as though they had been willow switches.</p> - -<p>Ben had not mentioned his plan to any one out of his own house, but, -when the wind came in strong from the north-east, set sail just as the -sun came up.</p> - -<p>The first proceeding of John Rhines at this time of year, when he got -out of bed, was to look out of his window, to see if there were any -wild geese round that were anxious to be shot, that he might give the -alarm to his father. No sooner did he espy the novel craft come out -from the harbor, and proceed to sea, than going down stairs three -steps<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_237" id="Page_237">237</a></span> at a time, he shouted, “Father! father! see what this is!”</p> - -<p>“It is a raft, that has come down from the head of the bay, and is -going over to Indian Creek Mill.”</p> - -<p>“But it came from Elm Island; I saw it.”</p> - -<p>“You thought it did; but it came down by it, and appeared to you to -come from it.”</p> - -<p>“No, father; it came right out of the harbor, for I saw it with my own -eyes.”</p> - -<p>“Get the glass, John; that will tell the story.” Resting the glass on -the fence, he looked long and carefully. At length he said, “John, -that’s your brother Ben on that raft. He’s got half an acre of spars, -I verily believe—all they have cut this winter; well, he’s one of the -kind to make a spoon or spoil a horn—always was.”</p> - -<p>“But where’s he going to?”</p> - -<p>“Boston, I expect; he’s steering that way, and is making first-rate -headway, too.”</p> - -<p>Forgetting all about his breakfast, John ran to Uncle Isaac’s, while -Captain Rhines went in to tell the news to his wife.</p> - -<p>“Ben’s going to Boston on a raft!” he shouted; “O, come quick, or he’ll -be out of sight!”</p> - -<p>They watched him from the hill, and then from the garret window, till -he disappeared from view.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_238" id="Page_238">238</a></span> -“If the wind should come in fresh at north-west,” said Uncle Isaac, “no -power on earth could prevent his going to sea, and that would be the -end of him;” but, noticing the look of anxiety upon John’s face, he -said, “Come in and take breakfast with us, and then we’ll see what your -father thinks about it.”</p> - -<p>“Don’t you think Ben’s running a great risk?” asked Uncle Isaac of -Captain Rhines.</p> - -<p>Now, Captain Rhines had never done much else, except to run risks, and -therefore was not particularly sensitive on that score.</p> - -<p>“It’s a risk, that’s certain; but then it’s a risk that’s well worth -the running, to get such a tremendous raft of spars as that to market, -as you may say, for nothing. The wind often holds easterly, this time -of year, a fortnight; it’s our trade-wind; he is going every bit of -four knots. I’ll risk Ben; he’s one of the kind that always come on -their feet. There’s not another man in the world that looks as bad as -he does, that would have got Sally Hadlock. Nobody else could have -got Elm Island from Father Welch. I have been trying to buy it of him -these twenty years; but he said it was his father’s before him, and he -wouldn’t sell it, for he didn’t want to see it stripped; and he knew<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_239" id="Page_239">239</a></span> I -would cut the timber off the first thing. No, I’ll risk Ben. Did I ever -tell you what a Yankee trick he served a British man-of-war, when he -was captain of a privateer?”</p> - -<p>“No; what was it? I didn’t know he ever was captain.”</p> - -<p>“Well, he never was, only in this way. Their captain was killed in -action with an armed merchantman; Ben, being lieutenant, took charge, -and acted as captain the rest of the cruise. You see, they were -cruising off the coast, to try and cut off some of the English supply -vessels, that were bringing provisions and ammunition to their armies, -for our folks were mighty short of powder, and everything else, for -the matter of that. They were lying by in a thick fog—not a breath -of wind—couldn’t see your hand before you; and when the fog lifted -at sunrise, they were right under the guns of a fifty-gun ship, that -was off there looking out for the expected transports. No squeak for -them. What does Ben do but strip off his clothes, get into his berth, -and make the doctor bind his right leg and arm all up with splinters -and bandages, as though they were broken, then bleed him, and put the -blood over the wound, as though it had been done by a shot! John Strout -was second mate; so he<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_240" id="Page_240">240</a></span> became first mate, or first lieutenant, when -Ben took charge; you know he and Ben are like knife and fork—always -together. The man-of-war put a prize captain and crew on board, and put -Ben’s crew in irons, and ordered her into New York. They took him out -of his berth, and put him between decks with his men, which was just -what he wanted, though he groaned and took on terribly when they were -moving him, it hurt him so; and the doctor said ’twas real barbarity to -move a patient in his condition.</p> - -<p>“The English in time of war were always short of seamen,—more so now -than ever,—as they were fighting with us and France both; they had but -few men to spare for a prize crew; they took out part of Ben’s crew, -and put the rest in irons; made a captain of an old quartermaster, with -two midshipmen for lieutenants; gave them about a dozen seamen, and -three or four petty officers, thinking, as ’twas so short a run into -port, there was no great risk of their meeting any Yankee cruiser. Ben -knew very well there was no time to lose, and laid his plans with the -doctor for re-taking the vessel that very night. They apprehended but -little trouble from the seamen, who were most of them pressed men; but -there were three marines<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_241" id="Page_241">241</a></span> to be got rid of,—one on the forecastle, and -one at each gangway, and armed to the teeth. The doctor secured the key -of the arm-chest as soon after twelve o’clock as the watch, who came -below, were well asleep. Ben took off the splints and bandages, and -crawling out of his hammock, wrenched the handcuffs from the wrists of -eight of his men.”</p> - -<p>“Who did he let loose?” said Uncle Isaac; “anybody I know?”</p> - -<p>“Yes; John Strout, and black Cæsar, who was the strongest man in the -vessel, except Ben.”</p> - -<p>“I knew him; he was a slave to Seth Valentine, and he gave him his -liberty when the war broke out.”</p> - -<p>“And Calvin Merrithew, who was almost as stout; and Ed Griffin, brother -to Joe, who was killed afterwards, with Jack Manley, in the Lee -privateer. The rest of ’em didn’t belong round here.”</p> - -<p>“I heard something about it at the time, but never heard the -particulars. But were not these sailors armed?”</p> - -<p>“No; they don’t allow sailors arms when about their duty; the marines -do all the guard duty; the sailors are only armed in time of action. -The<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_242" id="Page_242">242</a></span> doctor had a dog, who got the end of his tail jammed off a -day or two before, under the truck of a gun carriage. The men, for -deviltry, would touch it, to make him sing out; he got so at last, -that if anybody pointed at it he would howl. They resolved to make -the howl of the dog, which was too common to attract attention, a -signal for action. They dressed themselves in the hats and coats of -the watch who had turned in, that they might be taken in the dark for -men-o’-war’s-men. Cæsar went up the main hatch, passed the sentry on -the forecastle, and went into the head. As ’twas nothing uncommon -for men to come up in the night, the marine took no notice of ’em. -Merrithew, Ed Griffin, and another, lay at the steps of the main -hatch, watching the marine there; Ben, John Strout, and the others -at the after hatch. The doctor, who went and came without question, -pinched the dog’s tail, who instantly began to howl. Cæsar felled the -marine with a blow of his fist, and flung him overboard; Merrithew, -rushing upon the marine at the hatchway, whose attention was occupied -with the noise on the forecastle, flung him head foremost into the -hold, while the others put on the hatches and barred them down. In -the mean time Ben, rushing upon the sentry in the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_243" id="Page_243">243</a></span> gangway, flung -him against the lieutenant, who was pacing the deck, with such force -as to fell him senseless on the planks, while the doctor locked the -cabin doors, and the rest barred down the after hatches, then, seizing -the boarding-pikes that were lashed to the main boom, joined their -comrades. The seamen made little or no resistance. A terrible noise and -swearing were now heard aft; the prize captain, having got up on the -cabin table, with his head out of the skylight, was screaming to know -why the doors were fastened, and what was the matter.</p> - -<p>“‘Come out here and see, my little man,’ said Ben, reaching down, and -taking him by both ears, he pulled him through the skylight, and set -him astride a gun.</p> - -<p>“‘Who are you?’ exclaimed the astonished commander.</p> - -<p>“‘This,’ said the doctor, ‘is the man with the broken leg; he’s got -well; I never had a patient mend so rapidly.’”</p> - -<p>“I don’t think that was very civil treatment for a prisoner of war,” -said Uncle Isaac.</p> - -<p>“It was tit for tat,” said Captain Rhines. “In the first of the war -the British frigates used to run our privateers down, and destroy all -hands, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_244" id="Page_244">244</a></span> -starve and maltreat our prisoners in their <a name="hulks" id="hulks"></a><ins title="Original has hunks">hulks</ins>; but they -got more civil in the last of it. I tell you, Ben would stick a mast -into Elm Island, and sail it to Boston, if he undertook it.”</p> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="divider" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_245" id="Page_245">245</a></span> -</div> - -<h2><a name="xxiii" id="xxiii"></a>CHAPTER XXIII.<br /> -<small>PETE, IN QUEST OF REVENGE, COMES TO GRIEF.</small></h2> - - -<p>“<span class="smcap">Sam Hadlock</span>,” said his mother, “they say Ben’s gone to Boston on a -raft, all alone. I don’t believe it; but go right over and see what it -all means, and take Sally’s hens on.”</p> - -<p>Sam arrived at Elm Island about dusk, with the hens and a crower. The -first thing a rooster does, upon finding himself in a strange place, -is to flap his wings and crow, in order that it may be known he is -round. The next morning, as the daylight shone in between the logs of -the hovel, he raised his cry of defiance to all things in general, and -everybody in particular.</p> - -<p>Now, although the squawks had been in possession of the island from -time immemorial, they had never heard a rooster crow, or even seen -one. The instant that shrill, defiant voice rose on the morning air, -saying, “I’m somebody; who are you?” every squawk on the island uttered -his loudest yell. This startled the herons and fish-hawks; the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_246" id="Page_246">246</a></span> crows -joined the chorus, and Sailor exerted his lungs to the utmost. Sally -woke up in alarm, and was for some time unable to account for the -terrible uproar. It was a week before the Elmites would permit the -rooster to crow, or a hen to cackle, in peace. The moment he attempted -it, the whole community combined to drown his voice, and rebuke his -presumption; but, after a while, they began to recognize him as an -adopted citizen of that of which they had so long been the sole -occupants. It was laughable to see with what gravity they would cluster -on the trees, at the edge of the woods near the house, and, with their -keen eyes, stare at him and his dames. Now and then a great blue heron -would sail lazily overhead, when, the cock raising the cry of alarm, -all would scud for the barn; but they learned, after a while, that none -of the original inhabitants were to be feared, except the eagles.</p> - -<p>The next morning, after the arrival of the hens, a calf, bright red, -with a white star in his forehead, and white on his fore legs and the -end of his tail, made his appearance.</p> - -<p>Sally was delighted; the birth of the calf opened a prospect not -only of milk, of which they had been deprived for two months, but of -butter. It was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_247" id="Page_247">247</a></span> also the first domestic animal that had been born on -the island; besides, there are so many pleasant memories of childhood -connected with a “bossy,” that it seemed a great affair to Sally in -her lonely situation. She scarcely ever came in from the barn but her -sleeves were all chewed up, in consequence of stopping to pet the calf.</p> - -<p>“How much it seems like home,” said she to Joe, “to have a calf to -pet, and hear it crying for the cow! to hear a rooster crow, and hens -cackle, and have eggs to hunt after! I used to think, when I first came -on here, it would be music to hear a pig squeal.”</p> - -<p>“I can give you music,” said Joe, and set up a cry so much like that -of a pig in his last agonies, that Sally was glad to stop her ears. He -then began to make a noise like a calf in trouble, which soon brought -the mother running from the woods, where she had been browsing upon -maples that Joe had cut down for her.</p> - -<p>Peter Clash embraced the first opportunity in the spring to ship in a -fishing vessel, being in mortal fear of Uncle Isaac, who, Joe Griffin -had told him, had Indian blood in him, and would carry him into the -woods and roast him alive, as he had been taught to do among the -Indians. But he was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_248" id="Page_248">248</a></span> determined, before he departed, to revenge himself -upon Uncle Isaac, and inflict some injury upon John Rhines. He hated -John, although he had never injured him, because he was a good boy, -and Uncle Isaac and everybody liked him. Although two years older, he -feared to attack him. He talked with the boys who were most under his -influence, and by ingenious falsehoods contrived to prejudice them -against him, by possessing them with the idea that John helped Uncle -Isaac set the trap, and was in the bushes with him watching them when -it sprung.</p> - -<p>“I hate him, too,” said Jack Godsoe, whose mind Pete had completely -warped to his own interest, and who was also older than John, and a -smart, resolute boy.</p> - -<p>“He thinks he’s too good to play with us, because his father is -captain, and lives in a big house, and because he goes with Uncle -Isaac; I hate him; let’s lick him, and take some of that grand feeling -out of him.”</p> - -<p>They seated themselves on the beach, under a great willow that hung -over the bank, in earnest consultations as to the best means of -revenging themselves upon Uncle Isaac. Jack proposed they should pull -up his corn.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_249" id="Page_249">249</a></span> -“That,” said Fred Williams, “is too much work, and he could plant it -over again.”</p> - -<p>“Let us put his sheep in the well,” said Sam Smikes.</p> - -<p>“It’s too near the house,” said Pete; “we shall be caught; besides, it -wouldn’t be bad enough for the ‘old cuss;’ he could get them out, and -would save the wool and the pelts, for they are not sheared. O! I’ll -tell you what we’ll do; we’ll kill his apple trees.”</p> - -<p>Uncle Isaac had an orchard in full bearing, that he valued very highly, -having, at a great deal of labor and expense, obtained the trees of the -Rev. Samuel Deane, of Portland. They were most of them grafted,—a rare -thing in those parts at that day,—as Dr. Deane understood the art and -mystery of grafting. They determined to girdle all these trees, which -would be a most severe blow to Uncle Isaac, as he had watched over -them for twenty years; and they were now in full bearing, having been -planted on a burn among the ashes, and had thriven apace in the new, -strong soil. It could also be accomplished without risk of detection, -as the orchard was at a distance from the house. The meanness of the -act seemed greater, because of the generous nature of the owner, who -was not a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_250" id="Page_250">250</a></span> niggard of his fruit, but gave the boys all the apples -and cider they wanted. The fact that this villanous plan was eagerly -assented to by the rest, shows to what an extent the example and -influence of Pete had corrupted these boys. They thought themselves -secure from interruptions, as they commanded from the place where they -sat a view of the whole beach, and, becoming excited, talked in a -louder tone than they were aware of.</p> - -<p>“I’ll set a trap for him that will make him ache as much as his trap -did me,” said Pete, chuckling. But doubtful things are uncertain.</p> - -<p>John’s mother had sent him on that morning after some willow bark, -to color with. He directed his steps to the great willow, and coming -upon the party before they were aware of it, heard the latter part of -their conversation. Pete espied him, and jumping up, in a pleasant tone -invited him to come down among them, when John, who had not heard that -portion of the consultation which related to himself, complied: they -all, at a wink from Pete, surrounded him, who now thought proper to -change his tone.</p> - -<p>“You heard what we were saying about?” he inquired, pointing in the -direction of Uncle Isaac’s.</p> - -<p>“Yes.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_251" id="Page_251">251</a></span> -“And you’ll tell him of it?”</p> - -<p>“Yes.”</p> - -<p>“Ain’t that just what I told you?” said he, turning to the other boys; -“just such a mean, low-lived fellow as he is; go and peach on his -playmates!”</p> - -<p>“I should think if anything was mean, it was barking a man’s apple -trees in the night.”</p> - -<p>Now, Pete was more anxious to bark the apple trees than he was to lick -John; so he replied,—</p> - -<p>“Well, if we will promise to give it up, will you promise to say -nothing about it?”</p> - -<p>Pete’s design in this was to prevent Uncle Isaac being put on his -guard, to bark the trees that night, and go off the next morning, -leaving the other boys to take the consequences. He knew if John gave -his word he’d keep it. But John fathomed their design; and although -<em>they</em> could trust <em>him</em>, <em>he</em> would not trust <em>them</em>, and refused.</p> - -<p>At this Pete said, “You’re a mean fellow; I’ve owed you a hiding this -long time, and now you’ll get it.”</p> - -<p>“You can’t begin to do it.”</p> - -<p>“We all can,” cried Jack.</p> - -<p>John, seeing there was no help for it, determined to have the first -blow, and before the words were<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_252" id="Page_252">252</a></span> fairly out of Jack’s mouth, knocked -him down; but as the ground was descending, and the sand afforded -poor footing, he fell forward with the force of his own blow, and -came upon one knee. They all piled on top, but John threw them off. -By a well-directed blow he sent Fred yelling from the conflict, and -would have gained his feet and handled the whole of them, had not Jack -recovered, and, catching him by the hair, pulled him down again.</p> - -<p>“Now,” cried Pete, as cruel as he was cowardly, “let’s lick him within -an inch of his life.”</p> - -<p>Finding he was to receive no quarter, John began to shout for aid. Tige -was sleeping in the sun before the door, as dogs always sleep, with one -ear open. The instant he heard the cry, he got up, stretched himself, -gaped, and listened. It was repeated. He leaped the front yard fence -at a bound, and in a moment was running full speed in the direction of -the noise. Captain Rhines, who recognized John’s voice, followed him. A -narrow path led down the bank to the beach, where the scuffle was going -on, and which was hard trodden and polished by the frequent tramping of -the boys, who resorted there to swing on the great willow, whose limbs -hung over the beach, and to make whistles. So headlong was the speed -of the dog, that, his<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_253" id="Page_253">253</a></span> feet slipping upon the smooth path, he turned a -complete somerset from the top to the bottom of the bank, and came down -upon his back among these little fiends, while employed in their work -of torture, thus affording them a moment’s respite while he was picking -himself up. With all the speed the fear of instant death could inspire, -they fled along the beach, with the exception of Smike, who, with great -presence of mind, catching a limb of the willow, was in a few moments -among its topmost branches, screaming with all his might. Pete was the -hindmost. With a horrible growl, Tige sprung upon him and crushed him -to the earth. He bit through both his hands, with which he strove to -defend his throat, tore away half of his chin, and, taking him by the -back, shook him as he would a woodchuck.</p> - -<p>The dog now pursued Fred, whom he bit through both thighs and arms, -and, as the others were out of sight, would have killed him, had not -John compelled him to desist by cramming his cap into his mouth, and -coaxing and scolding him.</p> - -<p>The Newfoundland dog is very slow to wrath, but ferocious enough when -once aroused. Tige’s rugged temper, excited by the strongest possible -provocation,—injury to the person of his friend,—was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_254" id="Page_254">254</a></span> now thoroughly -up; his eyes were green with rage, his lips covered with foam; his -great tearing teeth stood out, and every hair on his body was erect.</p> - -<p>As Captain Rhines came up, the blood was spirting in jets from Fred’s -right leg. “God o’ mercy!” cried he, “the arter is cut;” and, clapping -his thumb on the place, stopped the flow of blood in a moment.</p> - -<p>“John,” cried he, “take off my garter and put it twice round his leg, -above the bite, and tie the ends together.”</p> - -<p>John did as he was directed.</p> - -<p>“Now get a stick and twist it.”</p> - -<p>John twisted.</p> - -<p>“Twist harder; twist with all your might. Now run to Dr. Ricker’s, and -tell him to come to our house with tools to tie an arter, as quick as -he can.”</p> - -<p>“Will he die, father?”</p> - -<p>“No; I hope not; but he would have been dead in two minutes more, if I -had not stopped that blood.”</p> - -<p>He now took the boy in his arms, and carried him to his own house, -while Tige lay down at the foot of the willow to keep watch of Smike.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_255" id="Page_255">255</a></span> -The doctor said that the boy must not be moved; and his mother came to -take care of him. John now went down, called off Tige, and liberated -Smike from the tree.</p> - -<p>“John,” said the captain, after the excitement was over, “did you set -the dog on those boys?”</p> - -<p>“No, father; they had me down on the ground, beating me; I screamed for -help, and Tige came and went right at ’em. I got him off of Fred as -soon as I could, but he wouldn’t mind me; and he was so savage I was -afraid of him myself.”</p> - -<p>“What did they beat you for?”</p> - -<p>“They were all sitting on the beach, planning out to pull Uncle Isaac’s -corn up, throw his sheep in the well, and girdle his apple trees; -because I overheard ’em, and wouldn’t promise not to tell him, they -pitched into me. I believe I could have whipped the whole of them, if I -hadn’t fell down.”</p> - -<p>“I wouldn’t have believed that of boys raised round here; it’s a pity -Tige hadn’t finished that Pete; he was at the bottom of it.”</p> - -<p>When Pete recovered from his wounds he left the place. The parents of -the others gave them a severe whipping, in consequence of which Jack -Godsoe ran away from home, but the others left off their tricks, and -became steady, industrious boys.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_256" id="Page_256">256</a></span> -“On deck there!” cried Captain Rhines, from the roof of the house, -where he was stopping a leak.</p> - -<p>“What is it, father?” said John.</p> - -<p>“Tell your mother Ben has just come round Birch Point in his canoe, and -is going across to the island; I guess he wants to kiss Sally, for he’s -making the canoe go through the water like blazes.”</p> - -<p>The next morning they saw him coming off in the canoe.</p> - -<p>“Well, Ben,” said his father, after the greeting had passed, “when I -was young, folks didn’t go to sea without bidding their folks good by. -Now, give an account of yourself.”</p> - -<p>Ben, who knew his father, old sailor like, would want to know the -details of the passage, said, “By twelve o’clock the first night I was -up with Purpooduck, right off the pitch of the cape; the wind was very -strong and steady from sunrise till midnight.”</p> - -<p>“I know it was; for I was up watching it.”</p> - -<p>“It then died away to a flat calm; and as the flood tide was drifting -me into Portland Sound, I anchored and made a fire.”</p> - -<p>“What on?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_257" id="Page_257">257</a></span> -“A flat stone I carried; made a cup of tea, and slept till daylight, -when the wind, blowing the smoke in my face, woke me. The wind held, -and plenty of it. I run her all day and all night, and by eight o’clock -the next morning I was up with Cape Ann, when it fell calm. It was -flood tide; I went to sleep and let her drift. When I woke up, the tide -had carried me, with a little air of wind there was, up to East Point; -and, in the course of the day and night, I tied her to Long Wharf, -Boston—not much sorry.”</p> - -<p>“What did Mr. Welch say?”</p> - -<p>“He was somewhat astonished. There were hundreds of people on the -wharf to look at me or the raft, I don’t know which. I got there in a -good time. There were a great many vessels there, from Europe, after -spars—especially big masts. I sold enough to pay for half the island, -and I haven’t cleared a quarter of it; but that is not the best of it.”</p> - -<p>“I should think that was good enough; what can be any better?”</p> - -<p>“I sold all the timber that I used to confine the raft (and that was -full of holes) for wharf stuff—the cable, sail, everything but the -compass, canoe, and tea-kettle. I got a chance to pilot a French<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_258" id="Page_258">258</a></span> ship, -that was bound to Portland for lumber and horses, and got a round price -for it. They took the canoe on the ship’s deck. In Portland I found a -schooner bound to Nova Scotia; they took me to Gull Rock, and I rowed -home. Thus I got mighty good pay for doing my own work.”</p> - -<p>“Well, Ben, at that rate I would cut every stick off the island, and -sell the island for whatever anybody, who is fool enough to live there, -will give, and come on to the main land, and buy a place among folks.”</p> - -<p>“Not yet, father; that is, if Sally likes to live there. I wouldn’t -swap it for the best place and house in town.”</p> - -<p>Ben was now reduced to a single yoke of oxen, as those he had hired -were needed at home, and without them he could not handle spars, which -must be hauled some distance; but on the eastern side of the island was -a place where the rocks, undermined by the frosts and sea, had fallen -into the water. He cut the trees around it into mill-logs that were not -fit for spars, rolled them down the chasm into the water, towed them to -the mill, bringing back the boards, and sticking them up on the shore -to season. Thus they worked all through the summer, despite of black -flies and mosquitos.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_259" id="Page_259">259</a></span> -They then cut a lot of cedar, and piled it up to dry with the boards.</p> - -<p>“What are you going to do with all this cedar?” said Joe; “and why -don’t you sell your boards at the mill, instead of bringing them back -here?”</p> - -<p>“I won’t tell you,” said Ben; “so you needn’t ask me.”</p> - -<p>In September, Joe, who had agreed to go on a fishing trip with John -Strout, left, and Ben was once more alone.</p> - -<p>Let us now see how matters are going with Fred, who, by fright, wounds, -loss of blood, and remorse of conscience, was brought well nigh to -death’s door. For a long time he was so reduced, and in such a state of -stupor, as not to know where he was; but as he regained strength and -perception, it mortified and stung him to the quick to find himself in -the house, and the object of care and solicitude to those whom he had -so recently injured; for, notwithstanding the mean, cowardly treatment -John had received from Fred, he was unremitting in his attentions to -him,—sleeping in the same room, and ministering to all his wants. It -is wonderful to what lengths a boy of a naturally kind and generous -nature may be induced to go in wickedness,—and mean wickedness, -too,—through<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_260" id="Page_260">260</a></span> the influence of evil examples and companionship.</p> - -<p>Such a boy was Fred; and this kind treatment was perfect torture. At -length he could bear it no longer; but upon a night when he had been -feverish and very restless, and John had been up great part of the -night, bathing his head, and giving him drink and medicines, he said, -while his voice was choked with sobs, “O, John, I don’t deserve all -this kindness at your hands; I don’t see how I could ever have gone in -with that miserable Pete, and those boys, to hurt you. If I ever get -well, I’ll be a better boy, and try to show you and your folks that I -am not ungrateful.”</p> - -<p>He had made promises of amendment to John before, especially when -suffering under the smart of the fish-hook. They came from the lips -then—a repentance in view of consequences; but Tige’s teeth went -deeper than the fish-hook, and this time they came from the heart.</p> - -<p>Little Fannie now came down to see her brother. The first thing she -did, upon entering the house, was to put both arms round Tige’s neck, -and tell him he shouldn’t be whipped if he did do naughty things, for -Captain Rhines said so.</p> - -<p>Fred’s father was a stern, passionate man, who<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_261" id="Page_261">261</a></span> did not secure the -affections of his children. His mother was a fretful, teasing woman; -thought she had to work harder, and had more to try her than anybody -else in the world; didn’t see what she had so many children for; when -the window was down she wanted it up, and when it was up she wanted it -down; was never suited. She was a great deal more inclined to scold -her children for doing wrong, than to praise them for doing well. The -doctor said Fred would never get well, if his mother took care of him, -she kept such a fuss, and made him uneasy; so Mrs. Rhines told her -there were a good many of them, and they could take care of him as well -as not, and had plenty of room; that she had a great family, with much -to do, and young children; their dog did the harm, and they would take -care of him.</p> - -<p>As Fred began to mend, Mrs. Rhines would take her work and sit down -by him in the afternoon, and talk with him as she did with her own -children; in her kind, motherly way, tell him of the results of vice, -and the inducements to a virtuous course; and, as the tears ran down -his cheeks, wiped them away, soothing and encouraging him, till the -boy’s inmost soul responded to her teachings. His eyes would light up -with satisfaction<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_262" id="Page_262">262</a></span> when he saw her take her knitting work to sit by his -bedside.</p> - -<p>Not long after Fred had given vent to his feelings, John, meeting Uncle -Isaac on the beach, said to him, “I believe Fred would be right glad to -see you, but don’t like to say so.”</p> - -<p>“Well, I’ll happen in.”</p> - -<p>So he happened in. What passed between them was never known; but the -next day Fred said to John, “Uncle Isaac’s a good man—ain’t he?”</p> - -<p>“Good! He’s the goodest man that ever was.”</p> - -<p>Not many days after he happened in again, when Fred said to him, “I -have an uncle in Salem that’s a tanner and shoemaker. He and I were -always great friends; he wants me to come and live with him, and learn -the trade. Father has said a great many times that I am such a bad boy, -and plague him so much, that he should be glad if I was there. I’ve -been thinking while on this bed, that since I have got such a bad name -round here, it would be a good thing to go where nobody knows me, or -what I have done, and begin brand fire new.”</p> - -<p>“The tanner’s trade is a first-rate one, and I should like to have you -learn it; but the place where you have lost your character, Fred, is -the very place to get it again. There was a man lived in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_263" id="Page_263">263</a></span> Rowley, who -was accused of stealing a sheep. He said he wouldn’t stay in a place -where he was so slandered, and moved to Newbury. He had not been there -a fortnight when the report came that he had stolen three sheep when he -lived in Rowley, and he moved back again.”</p> - -<p>“But everybody will scorn me; and when I go to school the boys will -twit me of it, and holler after me when I go along the road.”</p> - -<p>“No boy or man, whose opinion is worth minding, will do it when they -see you mean to mend; besides, you ought to be willing to suffer some -mortification on account of the sorrow you have caused your parents and -friends, and for all the mischief you have done, and meant to do.”</p> - -<p>“That is true; and I <em>am</em> willing they may say or do what they like; -I’ll <em>face</em> it.”</p> - -<p>“That’s right; that’s bravely spoken,” said Captain Rhines, laying -his great hand upon the pale forehead of the sick boy; “you’ll live -it down, and be thought more of for it. You see, my son, building -character is just like building a vessel. We build a vessel model, -fasten, spar, and rig her the best we know how, and <em>think</em> she’ll -prove serviceable; still we don’t know that. But when she’s made a -winter passage across the western ocean,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_264" id="Page_264">264</a></span> and the captain writes home -that she is tight, and sails and works well in all weathers, then you -see that vessel’s got a character; sailors like to go in her, and -merchants like to put freight in her. That will be the way with you; -people will say there’s good stuff at bottom in that boy; he’s been -through the mill.”</p> - -<p>“But,” said the poor boy, “who will believe that I’m going to be a good -boy? and who will go with me at the first of it, while I’m proving -myself?”</p> - -<p>“John will go with you, and our girls.”</p> - -<p>“I,” said Uncle Isaac, “will get Henry Griffin to go with you. Pete -tried to get hold of him, but he didn’t make out. I’ll get him to come -down and see you to-morrow.”</p> - -<p>When the cool weather came on, Fred gained strength, went to school, -and began to help his father in the mill.</p> - -<p>It was remarkable how soon people began to notice the change in him, -and to say, “What a smart boy Fred Williams is getting to be! and -how much help he is to his father!” He could not have been placed -in a better position to have his light shine, than in a mill, where -everybody in the whole town came, and were convinced of the shrewd -wisdom of Uncle Isaac’s declaration, that the place to look<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_265" id="Page_265">265</a></span> for a -thing was where you lost it; the place to regain confidence, where you -had forfeited it.</p> - -<p>Our readers will recollect the longing for some kindred spirit near his -own age, which John expressed to his mother. That desire was now to -be gratified in a most wonderful manner, as will be seen in the next -volume of “Elm Island Stories,” entitled <span class="smcap">Charlie Bell, the Waif of -Elm Island</span>; and we cannot help thinking it must have been as a -reward for his remarkable conduct towards Fred.</p> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="divider" /> -</div> -<div class="books"> -<p class="title">OLIVER OPTIC’S MAGAZINE,</p> - -<div class="figcenter width400"> -<img src="images/books.jpg" width="400" height="118" alt="Our Boys and Girls" /> -</div> - -<p class="center">The only Original American Juvenile Magazine published once a Week.</p> - -<p class="center">EDITED BY OLIVER OPTIC,</p> - -<p class="center">Who writes for no other juvenile publication—who contributes each year</p> - -<p class="center p120"><strong>Four Serial Stories,</strong></p> - -<p class="center">The cost of which in book form would be $5.00—<em>double the subscription -price of the Magazine!</em></p> - -<p class="center">Each number (published every Saturday) handsomely illustrated by -<span class="smcap">Thomas Nast</span>, and other talented artists.</p> - -<hr class="short" /> - -<p>Among the regular contributors, besides <span class="smcap">Oliver Optic</span>, are</p> - -<p class="hang"><strong>SOPHIE MAY</strong>, author of “Little Prudy and Dotty Dimple Stories.”</p> -<p class="hang"><strong>ROSA ABBOTT</strong>, author of “Jack of all Trades,” &c.</p> -<p class="hang"><strong>MAY MANNERING</strong>, author of “The Helping-Hand Series,” &c.</p> -<p class="hang"><strong>WIRT SIKES</strong>, author of “On the Prairies,” &c.</p> -<p class="hang"><strong>OLIVE LOGAN</strong>, author of “Near Views of Royalty,” &c.</p> -<p class="hang"><strong>REV. ELIJAH KELLOGG</strong>, author of “Good Old Times,” &c.</p> - -<p>Each number contains 16 pages of Original Stories, Poetry, Articles of -History, Biography, Natural History, Dialogues, Recitations, Facts and -Figures, Puzzles, Rebuses, &c.</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Oliver Optic’s Magazine</span> contains more reading matter than -any other juvenile publication, and is the <em>Cheapest and the Best</em> -Periodical of the kind in the United States.</p> - - -<p class="center p120"><strong>TERMS, IN ADVANCE.</strong></p> - -<table summary="Subscription costs"> -<tr> -<td class="tdl">Single Subscriptions, one year,</td> -<td class="tdr">$2.50</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl">One Volume, Six Months,</td> -<td class="tdr">1.25</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl">Single Copies,</td> -<td class="tdr">6 cts.</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl">Three copies,</td> -<td class="tdr">6.50</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl">Five copies,</td> -<td class="tdr">10.00</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl">Ten copies (an extra copy <em>free</em>),</td> -<td class="tdr">20.00</td> -</tr> -</table> - -<p>Canvassers and local agents wanted in every State and town, and liberal -arrangements will be made with those who apply to the Publishers.</p> - -<p>A handsome cloth cover, with a beautiful gilt design, will be furnished -for binding the numbers for the year for 50 cts. All the numbers for -1867 will be supplied for $2.25. Bound volumes, $3.50.</p> - -<p>Any boy or girl who will write to the Publishers shall receive a -specimen copy by mail free.</p> - -<p class="pub"><strong>LEE & SHEPARD, Publishers,<br /> -149 Washington Street, Boston.</strong></p> -</div> - - - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="divider" /> -</div> -<div class="books"> -<p class="center title">THE ARMY AND NAVY STORIES.</p> - -<p class="center">In Six Volumes.</p> - -<p class="center title">A Library for Young and Old.</p> - -<p class="center">BY OLIVER OPTIC.</p> - -<hr class="short" /> - -<p class="center nmb">I.</p> -<p class="center p120 nmt nmb"><strong>THE SOLDIER BOY</strong>;</p> -<p class="center nmt">Or, Tom Somers in the Army.</p> - -<p class="center nmb">II.</p> -<p class="center p120 nmt nmb"><strong>THE SAILOR BOY</strong>;</p> -<p class="center nmt">Or, Jack Somers in the Navy.</p> - -<p class="center nmb">III.</p> -<p class="center p120 nmt nmb"><strong>THE YOUNG LIEUTENANT</strong>;</p> -<p class="center nmt nmb">Or, The Adventures of an Army Officer.</p> -<p class="center nmt">A SEQUEL TO “THE SOLDIER BOY.”</p> - -<p class="center nmb">IV.</p> -<p class="center p120 nmt nmb"><strong>THE YANKEE MIDDY</strong>;</p> -<p class="center nmt nmb">Or, The Adventures of a Naval Officer.</p> -<p class="center nmt">A SEQUEL TO “THE SAILOR BOY.”</p> - -<p class="center nmb">V.</p> -<p class="center p120 nmt nmb"><strong>FIGHTING JOE</strong>;</p> -<p class="center nmt nmb">Or, The Fortunes of a Staff Officer.</p> -<p class="center nmt">A SEQUEL TO “THE YOUNG LIEUTENANT.”</p> - -<p class="center nmb">VI.</p> -<p class="center p120 nmt nmb"><strong>BRAVE OLD SALT</strong>;</p> -<p class="center nmt">Or, Life on the Quarter Deck.</p> -<p class="center nmt">A SEQUEL TO “THE YANKEE MIDDY.”</p> -</div> - - - - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="divider" /> -</div> -<div class="books"> -<p class="title center">RIVERDALE STORY BOOKS.</p> - -<p class="center">BY OLIVER OPTIC.</p> - -<p class="center">12 vols., in neat box.</p> - - -<p class="center nmb">I.</p> -<p class="center p120 nmt">THE LITTLE MERCHANT.</p> - -<p class="center nmb">II.</p> -<p class="center p120 nmt">THE YOUNG VOYAGERS.</p> - -<p class="center nmb">III.</p> -<p class="center p120 nmt">THE CHRISTMAS GIFT.</p> - -<p class="center nmb">IV.</p> -<p class="center p120 nmt">DOLLY AND I.</p> - -<p class="center nmb">V.</p> -<p class="center p120 nmt">UNCLE BEN.</p> - -<p class="center nmb">VI.</p> -<p class="center p120 nmt">BIRTH-DAY PARTY.</p> - -<p class="center nmb">VII.</p> -<p class="center p120 nmt">PROUD AND LAZY.</p> - -<p class="center nmb">VIII.</p> -<p class="center p120 nmt">CARELESS KATE.</p> - -<p class="center nmb">IX.</p> -<p class="center p120 nmt">ROBINSON CRUSOE, JR.</p> - -<p class="center nmb">X.</p> -<p class="center p120 nmt">THE PICNIC PARTY.</p> - -<p class="center nmb">XI.</p> -<p class="center p120 nmt">THE GOLD THIMBLE.</p> - -<p class="center nmb">XII.</p> -<p class="center p120 nmt">THE DO-SOMETHINGS.</p> - -<hr class="short" /> - -<p class="center p120">LEE & SHEPARD, ... Publishers.</p> -</div> - - - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="divider" /> -</div> -<div class="books"> -<p class="title">LIBRARY FOR YOUNG PEOPLE.</p> - -<p class="center">BY OLIVER OPTIC.</p> - - -<p class="center nmb">I.</p> -<p class="center p120 nmt nmb">THE BOAT CLUB;</p> -<p class="center nmt">OR, THE BUNKERS OF RIPPLETON.</p> - -<p class="center nmb">II.</p> -<p class="center p120 nmt nmb">ALL ABOARD;</p> -<p class="center nmt">OR, LIFE ON THE LAKE.</p> - -<p class="center nmb">III.</p> -<p class="center p120 nmt nmb">LITTLE BY LITTLE;</p> -<p class="center nmt">OR, THE CRUISE OF THE FLYAWAY.</p> - -<p class="center nmb">IV.</p> -<p class="center p120 nmt nmb">TRY AGAIN;</p> -<p class="center nmt">OR, THE TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF HARRY WEST.</p> - -<p class="center nmb">V.</p> -<p class="center p120 nmt nmb">NOW OR NEVER;</p> -<p class="center nmt">OR, THE ADVENTURES OF BOBBY BRIGHT.</p> - -<p class="center nmb">VI.</p> -<p class="center p120 nmt nmb">POOR AND PROUD;</p> -<p class="center nmt">OR, THE FORTUNES OF KATY REDBURN.</p> - -<hr class="short" /> - -<p class="center">Six volumes, put up in a neat box.</p> - - -<p class="center">LEE & SHEPARD, Publishers.</p> -</div> - - - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="divider" /> -</div> -<div class="books"> -<p class="center title">WOODVILLE STORIES.</p> - -<p class="center">BY OLIVER OPTIC.</p> - - -<p class="center nmb">I.</p> -<p class="center p120 nmt nmb"><strong>RICH AND HUMBLE</strong>;</p> -<p class="center nmt">Or, The Mission of Bertha Grant.</p> - -<p class="center nmb">II.</p> -<p class="center p120 nmt nmb"><strong>IN SCHOOL AND OUT</strong>;</p> -<p class="center nmt">Or, The Conquest of Richard Grant.</p> - -<p class="center nmb">III.</p> -<p class="center p120 nmt nmb"><strong>WATCH AND WAIT</strong>;</p> -<p class="center nmt">Or, The Young Fugitives.</p> - -<p class="center nmb">IV.</p> -<p class="center p120 nmt nmb"><strong>WORK AND WIN</strong>;</p> -<p class="center nmt">Or, Noddy Newman on a Cruise.</p> - -<p class="center nmb">V.</p> -<p class="center p120 nmt nmb"><strong>HOPE AND HAVE</strong>;</p> -<p class="center nmt">Or, Fanny Grant among the Indians.</p> - -<p class="center nmb">VI.</p> -<p class="center p120 nmt nmb"><strong>HASTE AND WASTE</strong>;</p> -<p class="center nmt">Or, The Young Pilot of Lake Champlain.</p> - -<hr class="short" /> - -<p class="center">LEE & SHEPARD, Publishers.</p> -</div> - - - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="divider" /> -</div> -<div class="books"> -<p class="p120 center">Sophie May’s Popular Series.</p> - -<p class="title center">LITTLE PRUDY STORIES.</p> - -<p class="center">Six Volumes.</p> - -<p class="center">ILLUSTRATED.</p> - - -<p class="center">COMPRISING:</p> - -<div class="list-container2"> -<ul class="nobullet"> -<li>Little Prudy.</li> -<li>Little Prudy’s Sister Susie.</li> -<li>Little Prudy’s Capt. Horace.</li> -<li>Little Prudy’s Cousin Grace.</li> -<li>Little Prudy’s Story Book.</li> -<li>Little Prudy’s Dotty Dimple.</li> -</ul> -</div> - -<p class="center">Price per Volume, 75 cents.</p> - -<hr class="short" /> - -<p>Read the high commendation of the <em>North American Review</em>, which places -this series at the</p> - -<p class="center p120"><strong>Head of Juvenile Literature.</strong></p> - -<p>“Genius comes in with ‘Little Prudy.’ Compared with her, all other -book-children are cold creations of Literature only; she alone is the real -thing. All the quaintness of childhood, its originality, its tenderness and -its teasing,—its infinite, unconscious drollery, the serious earnestness of -its fun, the fun of its seriousness, the natural religion of its plays, and the -delicious oddity of its prayers,—all these waited for dear Little Prudy to -embody them. Sam Weller is not more piquant; Hans Andersen’s nutcrackers -and knitting-needles are not more thoroughly charged with life. -Who is our benefactress in the authorship of these books the world knows -not. Sophie May must doubtless be a fancy name, by reason of the spelling, -and we have only to be grateful that the author did not inflict on us -the customary alliteration in her pseudonyme. The rare gift of delineating -childhood is hers, and may the line of ‘Little Prudy’ go out to the end of -the earth.... To those oversaturated with transatlantic traditions, we -recommend a course of ‘Little Prudy.’”</p> - -<p>Copies of any of the above books sent by mail on receipt of price.</p> - -<p class="p120 center">LEE AND SHEPARD,<br /> -PUBLISHERS,<br /> -149 Washington Street, Boston.</p> -</div> - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="divider" /> -</div> -<div class="tn"> -<p class="center">Transcriber’s Note:</p> - -<p class="noi">Punctuation has been standardised. Spelling and hyphenation have been -retained as they appear in the original publication. Changes have been -made as follows:</p> - -<ul class="nobullet"> -<li>Page 62</li> -<li><ul class="nobullet"><li>I I love you well enough <i>changed to</i><br /> - <a href="#duplicate">I</a> love you well enough</li></ul></li> - -<li>Page 75</li> -<li><ul class="nobullet"><li>and its all the thing on this earth <i>changed to</i><br /> - and <a href="#its">it’s</a> all the thing on this earth</li></ul></li> - -<li>Page 198</li> -<li><ul class="nobullet"><li>and all kinds of boy’s sports <i>changed to</i><br /> - and all kinds of <a href="#boys">boys’</a> sports</li></ul></li> - -<li>Page 244</li> -<li><ul class="nobullet"><li>maltreat our prisoners in their hunks <i>changed to</i><br /> - maltreat our prisoners in their <a href="#hulks">hulks</a></li></ul></li> -</ul> -</div> - - - - - - - -<pre> - - - - - -End of Project Gutenberg's Lion Ben of Elm Island, by Elijah Kellogg - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LION BEN OF ELM ISLAND *** - -***** This file should be named 50993-h.htm or 50993-h.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/0/9/9/50993/ - -Produced by David Edwards and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was -produced from images generously made available by The -Internet Archive) - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law 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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