diff options
| author | nfenwick <nfenwick@pglaf.org> | 2025-02-05 07:53:49 -0800 |
|---|---|---|
| committer | nfenwick <nfenwick@pglaf.org> | 2025-02-05 07:53:49 -0800 |
| commit | 9c007d6a77c417c06168e89c4ffba63599934db7 (patch) | |
| tree | 5108ce5a1d12720750dfde60094d9e4704c6061f | |
| parent | cd0008486a430487abea3c1001911437c2b579a7 (diff) | |
| -rw-r--r-- | .gitattributes | 4 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | LICENSE.txt | 11 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | README.md | 2 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/51141-0.txt | 8358 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/51141-0.zip | bin | 146239 -> 0 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/51141-h.zip | bin | 659466 -> 0 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/51141-h/51141-h.htm | 8877 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/51141-h/images/ad1.jpg | bin | 25158 -> 0 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/51141-h/images/ad1.png | bin | 83717 -> 0 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/51141-h/images/cover.jpg | bin | 95573 -> 0 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/51141-h/images/frontis.jpg | bin | 99032 -> 0 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/51141-h/images/p054.jpg | bin | 98181 -> 0 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/51141-h/images/p248.jpg | bin | 101183 -> 0 bytes |
13 files changed, 17 insertions, 17235 deletions
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..7d1ac45 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #51141 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/51141) diff --git a/old/51141-0.txt b/old/51141-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 0a69f37..0000000 --- a/old/51141-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,8358 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Charle Bell, The Waif of Elm Island, by -Rev. 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: Charle Bell, The Waif of Elm Island - -Author: Rev. Elijah Kellogg - -Release Date: February 7, 2016 [EBook #51141] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CHARLIE BELL, WAIF 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) - - - - - - - - - -[Illustration: CHARLIE SURPRISED.--Page 158.] - - - - -ELM ISLAND STORIES. - - - - - CHARLIE BELL, - THE WAIF OF ELM ISLAND. - - BY - REV. ELIJAH KELLOGG, - - AUTHOR OF “SPARTACUS TO THE GLADIATORS,” “LION BEN,” “THE BOY - FARMERS,” “THE YOUNG SHIP-BUILDERS,” “THE HARD-SCRABBLE,” - THE “PLEASANT COVE STORIES,” THE “WHISPERING - PINE SERIES,” ETC. - - _ILLUSTRATED._ - - BOSTON - LEE AND SHEPARD PUBLISHERS - - - - - 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. - - COPYRIGHT, 1896, BY ELIJAH KELLOGG. - - All rights reserved. - - CHARLIE BELL. - - - - -INTRODUCTION. - - -There is a period in the life of all boys, when, in the homely phrase -of Uncle Isaac, “they stand up edgeways.” At this critical period, as -streams are tinged by the soils through which they filter, so their -character for life is in a great measure shaped by their playmates, the -examples set before them, and the associations amid which they grow up. - -Lion Ben, the principal character in the first volume of the series, -with nothing but his hands, narrow axe, and a true-hearted, loving -woman,--his equal in enterprise,--goes on to an island, an unbroken -forest in the midst of breakers, that, by reason of the peril of living -on it, can be bought cheap, thus coming within their scanty means, -there to struggle for a homestead and acres of their own. - -Though bred a seaman, yet cherishing a love for the soil, with -qualities of mind and heart commensurate with his great physical power, -he appreciates the beauty of the spot. - -His reluctance to devote it to axe and firebrand excites him to efforts -equally daring and original, in order that he may so husband his -resources as to pay for the land without stripping it of its majestic -coronal of timber and forests, any farther than is necessary to render -it available for cultivation. - -In this he is aided by the counsels of an old friend of himself -and his family,--a most original and sagacious man,--Isaac Murch. -In their sayings and doings is represented the subsoil of American -character--the home life and modes of thought of those who made the -culture and progress; thus endeavoring, in a pleasing manner, to teach -those great truths which lie at the foundation of thrift, progress, and -morality. - -Charlie Bell, the hero of the second volume of the series, is an -English orphan, flung at a tender age upon the stormy sea of life, to -sink or swim, as it should please Heaven. Friendless, starving on a -wharf at Halifax, he ships in a vessel with men, who, under the guise -of fishermen, are little better than pirates. Landing at Elm Island, -they insult the wife of Lion Ben, who inflicts upon them a merited -chastisement, and adopts the orphan. - -In his boy life, and that of his young associates, their daily -employments, and those exciting adventures which a new country, rude -state of society, and a ragged reach of sea-coast afford to boys full -of blue veins and vitriol, are seen the germs of qualities that ripen -into characters of the greatest usefulness. - -As the volumes are closely connected, it is hoped this sketch may -render the second volume readable to those who take it up without -having read the first. - - - - -CONTENTS. - - -CHAPTER PAGE - - I. ROUSING THE LION 9 - - II. CHARLIE BELL 17 - - III. JOHN GOES TO SEE THE NEW BOY 33 - - IV. GRIT AND GRATITUDE 45 - - V. CHARLES RETURNS JOHN’S VISIT 58 - - VI. CHARLIE IN A SNOW SQUALL 70 - - VII. CHARLIE PLANS A SURPRISE FOR SALLY 85 - - VIII. CHARLIE’S HOME LIFE AND EMPLOYMENTS 97 - - IX. BEN FINDS A PRIZE 111 - - X. HOW THEY PASSED THE WINTER EVENINGS 123 - - XI. BEN REVEALS HIS LONG-CHERISHED PLAN TO - HIS FATHER 139 - - XII. THE MYSTERIOUS PIG 151 - - XIII. A NOVEL CRAFT 171 - - XIV. THE BURN 183 - - XV. FITTING AWAY 203 - - XVI. A WELL-DESERVED HOLIDAY 215 - - XVII. UNCLE ISAAC’S PLEDGE 250 - - XVIII. GENEROSITY AND PLUCK 264 - - XIX. FRED’S SAND-BIRD PIE 285 - - XX. A HAIR-BREADTH ESCAPE 296 - - XXI. THE BOYS AND THE WIDOW 315 - - - - -CHARLIE BELL OF ELM ISLAND. - - - - -CHAPTER I. - -ROUSING THE LION. - - -When the English army, during the war of the Revolution, were driven -out of Boston by the batteries of Washington, erected upon Dorchester -Heights, those traitors to the liberties of their country (called in -those days Tories), who had taken part with the British, accompanied -them to Halifax, being more than a thousand in number, as they were -fearful of the vengeance of their countrymen if they remained behind. -During the war that followed, they, with their British friends, were -accustomed to come along the coast and islands of Maine in vessels and -armed boats, and maltreat and plunder the unarmed inhabitants. These -vessels were called “shaving mills,” and they were wont to shave very -close. - -In Eaton’s History of Thomaston and Rockland, it is said that a Tory -by the name of Pomeroy, who was captain of one of these mills, took -Robert Jameson from his mowing field, carried him on board his vessel, -and put him in irons, while his men killed a yoke of oxen and three fat -hogs, and put them on board the vessel, together with three firkins of -butter and two guns. Jameson vowed revenge. - -As is usual in such cases, Pomeroy’s ill-gotten gains did not thrive -with him. After the war he became poor, and finally shipped before the -mast in a coaster, commanded by Paul Jameson, Robert’s brother, who -told him that if they met his brother he would protect him, as he was -the stouter of the two. But Robert got on board the vessel in Paul’s -absence, and gave Pomeroy his choice to fight or take a whipping. -But he refused, endeavoring to excuse his conduct by the usages of -war, saying that, now the war was over, all ought to be forgotten and -forgiven. - -Jameson replied, “Strip and defend yourself! fight! only fight! I shall -be satisfied.” - -But the other refusing, he began beating, kicking, and bruising the -passive Pomeroy, still trying to induce him to defend himself, but in -vain. At last he took a bayonet, and pricking him a little, to see -if life remained, left him with the assurance that this was only the -payment for his butter; and that wherever and whenever he found him, he -should, in the same manner, take pay,--first for his hogs, and then for -his oxen. - -After peace was concluded, both the ports of Maine and Nova Scotia were -full of old privateersmen, returned soldiers of low character, and -vagabonds of all sorts, who, having become accustomed to plunder, and -unwilling to labor, would get hold of some vessel or large boat, go -along shore, fish a little to keep up appearances, and when they came -to an island or lonely point, where the men were timid, would take fish -off the flakes, a lamb out of the flock, dig potatoes, or gather corn; -sometimes enforcing submissiveness with knives or pistols. When the men -were away fishing, they would compel the women to get them food and -liquor (which every family in those days kept in the house), and abuse -and frighten them most outrageously. - -A crew of such fellows, running the shore along to see what they could -find, and being rather short both of liquor and provisions, made Elm -Island at daylight, and seeing there was but a single house on it, and -a good harbor, while the occupant was too far from neighbors to obtain -help in case of need, thought it a most excellent opportunity to -obtain all they wanted. - -Sally knew something, and had heard more, of her husband’s vast -strength; she knew that when he took her up, to carry her from the boat -to the shore, she was a feather in his hands; she knew, also, that John -Strout and Uncle Isaac, who were both strong men,--especially Uncle -Isaac, who was celebrated for his strength,--had as much as they could -do to haul up the great log canoe, but Ben would haul it up, with her -in it, apparently without an effort. Sally had also heard the young -folks say that he had an awful temper when he did get started, and that -when he rose he was the devil all over; but she didn’t believe it, for -she had known him ever since they were children, and had never seen -anything of it. - -Ben had gone into the woods to hew a stick of timber. Sally had just -washed up her breakfast dishes, and was singing at her wheel, when -suddenly six savage-looking fellows appeared at the door, and ordered -her, with curses, to get them some victuals, and be quick about it, -too. Sally’s heart was in her throat. She told the leader, who, like -his companions, was armed with pistols, and a sailor’s knife in his -belt, that she was willing to give them breakfast, but they must -give her better language, or she should call her husband; upon which, -drawing a sheath-knife from his belt, he flourished it in her face, and -told her she might call him as soon as she pleased, and he would cut -his throat for him. - -Her first impulse was to run for Ben; but she was afraid they might -kill her before she could accomplish her purpose; or, as they were so -many, and fully armed, kill him. She instantly put the best she had in -the house before them. They soon called for liquor, when she took a -gallon jug of rum, which they kept in the house for special occasions, -and placed it on the table. - -Beginning to feel at home, they took their pistols from their belts -and laid them on the table, as they were drinking and singing vulgar -songs. Sally contrived, while waiting upon them, to shake the priming -from their pistols. They were now become so abusive, that, watching her -opportunity, she ran for the woods, and urged Ben to take the canoe -and flee, and leave the house to them. At her news, Ben’s face assumed -an expression like that of a wild beast; all the grosser elements of -his tremendous animal power came uppermost. Hissing out the words -between his teeth, he asked her to describe the leader, and where he -sat. So absolute was his self-confidence, that he never even took the -broad-axe with him, but, striking it into the timber with a force that -split through the eight inch stick, left it quivering. Sally, afraid to -stay behind, followed, running to keep up with the long strides of her -husband, who, kicking off his shoes, crept in at the eastern door, like -a lion upon his prey. His face was livid with passion; his lips covered -with foam and drawn apart, showing his great white teeth and square -jaws; his bare arms and breast covered with hair; and his immense -frame, increased by the swelling of the muscles, gave him a terrible -appearance. - -As he entered the door, he came face to face with the leader of the -gang, who, sobered by fright, grasped a pistol; but, before he could -cock it, Ben caught him by the nape of his neck, lifted him over the -table, and catching the slack of his breeches with the other hand, -raised him to the ceiling, and smashed him down upon the stone hearth -with such violence that the blood gushed from his mouth and nostrils, -and he lay quivering and moaning in helpless agony. Seizing the one on -his right hand, he flung him against the walls of the house, from which -he dropped senseless upon the bed that stood in that part of the room. -The one on his left hand succeeded in getting his head and shoulders -out at the door, which Ben noticing, he clapped his foot against it and -held him as in a vise, while he reached after another, who was running -for the front door, and, catching him by the leg, dragged him back, -and slapping him first upon one side of his head and then the other, -completely disabled him. Catching up the one imprisoned in the door, -who had been screaming murder with all his might, he shook him as a cat -would a mouse, till his rum and his breakfast ran out of his mouth, -then flung him into the fireplace among the ashes, telling him if he or -one of them moved till he came back, he would finish him. - -The other two, escaping at the front of the house, ran for the vessel, -cut the cable, and were hoisting the foresail. Before they could -accomplish their object, Ben was alongside in his canoe. The cook, whom -they had left to take care of the vessel, catching sight of Ben first, -instantly leaped overboard, and swam for the shore. He caught the other -two as they were mounting the rail to follow, and taking them to the -windlass, flung them across it, on their bellies, and bringing their -necks and heels together, fastened them with a rope, then flogged them -till the blood ran. One of them, hoping to find mercy, cried out, “I am -an American.” - -“Then you shall have double,” said Ben. - -He then ordered them to run the vessel on to the beach, where, as it -was ebb tide, she stuck fast; and thus they were completely in his -power, and needed no watching, at least for six hours, till the tide -made. - - - - -CHAPTER II. - -CHARLIE BELL. - - -Ben now jumped into his canoe, and gave chase to the one who had jumped -overboard, and was swimming with all his might for the shore. On coming -out of the water he ran for the woods, but meeting Sally (who, afraid -to stay among the groaning, bleeding sufferers, had set out for the -beach), he flung himself at her feet, and, clinging to her dress, -begged for mercy. - -“Don’t touch him, Ben,” cried Sally, flinging her arms round him; -“don’t you see he’s but a child, and hasn’t been in the thing at all?” - -Ben, who had been blinded by rage, now saw that he was, as she said, a -pale, slender-looking boy, and stayed his hand. - -The poor boy, on his knees, pale as death, the tears running down his -cheeks, exclaimed, “O, don’t kill me, sir! I’m only a poor, friendless -little boy, and haven’t done any wrong. I ain’t to blame for what the -others did; truly, sir, I’m not a bad boy.” - -“If you are an honest boy, how came you in the company of such -villains?” - -“Indeed, sir, I didn’t know what kind of men they were till I got on -board; I’ve been ever since trying to get away, and can’t.” - -“Why didn’t you run away?” - -“They watch me too closely; and when they can’t watch me, they tie or -lock me up, and tell me if they catch me trying to run away they will -shoot me.” - -“Let me talk to him, Ben,” said Sally; “you frighten him; don’t you see -how he quivers every time you speak?” - -“What is your name, my boy?” - -“Charles Bell, marm.” - -“Where do you belong?” - -“In England.” - -“Are your parents there?” - -“No, marm; they are dead. I have no kindred in this country, nor any -friends.” - -“Well,” replied Ben, whose passion was rapidly cooling, “I shall let -you off; but I advise you next time to look out how you get into bad -company. Come, Sally, let’s go to the house and clear these ruffians -out.” - -When they returned to the house, they found it presenting the -appearance of a butcher’s shambles, although none of the occupants were -dead, as Sally had supposed. - -The leader still lay insensible on the hearth; and the blood had run -from him the whole length of the room. The one Ben had flung against -the wall lay on the bed, the sheets and pillows of which were soaked in -blood that issued from his nose and mouth. The one he threw into the -fireplace still lay on his back across the andirons, with his head in -the ashes, for Ben told them, if one of them moved, when he came back -he’d make an end of them. - -“Here, boy,” said Ben, giving him the key of the cuddy, “go and let -those fellows loose, and tell them to come up here and take away their -comrades, and bear a hand about it, too, or I shall be after them.” - -The men came, pale and trembling, bringing with them a hand-barrow, -such as is used by fishermen to carry fish. On this they laid the -captain, and carried him on board. The others were able, with -assistance, to stagger along. Sally wanted to wash the captain’s face, -and pour some spirit down his throat, to bring him to; but Ben would -not allow her, saying, “He is not fit for a decent woman to touch; and -if he dies there’ll be one villain less in the world.” - -“But he’s not fit to die, Ben.” - -“That’s his lookout,” was the stern reply; “away with him.” The boy -still lingered, though he eyed Ben with evident distrust, and shrunk -himself together every time he spoke. But as soon as the men were all -out of the house, Ben assumed an entirely different appearance; his -voice lost its stern tone, the flush faded from his face, his muscles -relaxed, and he asked the trembling boy to sit down, as it would be -some time before the vessel would float that he came in. - -Sally now gave him some water to wash his hands, that were bloody from -handling his comrades, combed his hair, and gave him a piece of bread -and butter. - -“Here comes John Strout,” said Ben, looking out at the door. - -“O, dear!” said Sally, “what a looking place for anybody to come into!” - -“What’s all this?” said John, looking at the blood on the floor and -bed-clothes; “have you been butchering?” - -“Almost,” replied Sally. - -“What schooner was that in the cove, Ben?” - -“I don’t know.” - -“Where does she hail from?” - -“I don’t know.” - -“Are they fishermen?” - -“No; thieves.” - -“What did they come here for?” - -“To see what they could get of me.” - -“How many of them have you killed?” - -“Well, I haven’t killed any of them outright; but there’s one of them -never’ll do much more work, I reckon.” - -He then told John the whole story. “I’m sorry I hurt that fellow so -much; there was no need of it, for I could have handled them without -hurting them so much; but they frightened Sally so, and used such -language to her, that I got my temper up, and then they had to take it.” - -“These same chaps (at least I think they are the ones) went to a house -on Monhegan, and frightened a woman who was in a delicate condition, so -that she afterwards died. Boy, what is that vessel’s name?” - -“The Albatross, sir.” - -“That’s the name; I remember now. Pity you hadn’t killed him.” - -“Come, Ben,” said Sally, “you and John go out doors and talk; I want -to clean up here; and when it’s dinner-time I’ll call you.” - -“I can’t stop,” replied John; “I came to borrow your menhaden net, Ben, -to catch some bait to-night, for I must go out in the morning.” - -“Well, then, just stay where you are to-night; when the flood tide -makes, there will be any quantity of menhaden round the Little Bull, -and I’ll help you sweep round the school, and then you can go off as -early as you like in the morning.” - -When they left the house, the boy offered to assist Sally in cleaning -the floor, brought her wood and water, and put the dishes on the table. - -When he saw how different Ben appeared, now that his anger had cooled, -he shrank from the idea of leaving them and going back to his prison. -The tide was fast making, and the vessel would soon be afloat; and as -he looked out of the door and saw that the vessel, which had lain on -her broadside on the beach, had now righted up, he approached Sally, -and, with tears in his eyes, said, “Mrs. Rhines, I don’t want to go -with those men. I’m afraid some time when they are drunk they’ll kill -me; I don’t want to be with such bad men. Can’t you let me stay with -you? I’ll do all the chores; and I can catch fish, cut wood and bring -it in, and do anything that I am able, or that you will show me how to -do.” - -Sally, who had taken to the boy the moment she had a good look at him, -and heard him speak, was deeply moved by his distress. She reflected a -moment, and replied, “I should be willing, with all my heart; I will -see what Mr. Rhines says. Ben,” said she, going out to where he was -talking with John, “that boy wants to stay with us; he is, I believe, -a real good boy; he is afraid those fellows will kill him, or will be -hauled up for their wickedness, and he shall have to suffer with them.” - -“There’s a great risk in taking up with a boy like that; we can’t know -anything about him; they all tell a good story.” - -“I know that’s a good boy, Ben; I feel it in my bones.” - -“It will make you a great deal of work, Sally; you will have to spin -and weave, make clothes, knit stockings, and wash for him.” - -“And he’ll bring in wood and water, churn, feed the hogs, and help me. -I know what it is to take care of a boy; I’ve taken care of all ours. -I made every stitch of clothes that our Sam wore till I was married; -besides, when you begin to plant and sow, such a boy will be a great -help.” - -“That is all true, Sally; and I would not hesitate a moment if I knew -he was a good boy; but suppose he should turn out like that Pete, Uncle -Smullen and his wife did so much for, and got no thanks for; and even -if he is good, boys that have got a notion of running about can’t stay -long in a place, and settle themselves down to steady work; they want -to be among folks, and with other boys. Now, we might take him, and you -go to work, as I know you would, and clothe him all up, and then he get -lonesome on this island, get on board some vessel, and run off.” - -“It seems to me, Ben, that this poor little boy, without ‘kith or kin,’ -has been thrown into our hands by the providence of God, and, if we -let him go back to these wretches, when we can keep him just as well -as not, and drive the poor little harmless, trembling thing from our -threshold, with the tears on his cheeks, that we shall not prosper, and -ought not to expect to.” - -“Enough said; I’ll take him.” - -“You’ll be kind to him--won’t you? because he trembles so every time -you speak to him.” - -“I’ve not altered my nature, Sally, because I treated those villains as -they deserved.” - -When Sally came back, she wanted to press the wanderer to her heart; -but she recalled Ben’s caution, and merely said, “My husband is willing -you should stay with us, and I hope you will try and be a good boy.” - -A flush of inexpressible joy lit up the pale features of the forlorn -boy at these words, and, too full to speak much, he said, “O, how much -I thank you!” and sitting down, covered his face with his hands, while -tears of joy ran through his fingers from an overcharged heart, that -had shed so many tears of bitter agony that day. - -The vessel was now afloat, and, spreading her sails, was soon out of -sight, to the great relief of the boy, who could hardly believe himself -safe as long as she remained in the harbor. - -Ben and John took him with them when they went to sweep for menhaden, -and found that he could pull an oar, was handy in a boat, and knew how -to dress the fish for bait. The nights were now cool, and the boy had -brought in a good pile of wood. They made a cheerful fire after supper, -and Ben asked him some questions in respect to his history. He told -them his father was a basket-maker; that all their people had followed -that business, which was good in England, where wood was scarce; and -baskets and sacks were used to transport everything, instead of -barrels and boxes, as in this country. They made a comfortable living, -his father employing several hands; and he was sent to school till he -was eleven years of age; then his father put him to work in the shop to -learn the trade. - -“I should not think it was much of a trade,” said Ben; “I can make a -good basket.” - -“But not such baskets as they make there,” replied the boy. “The -basket-makers there make a great many other things besides. My father -was pressed into the navy, and, before the vessel had got out of the -channel, was killed in an action with a French frigate. My mother had a -brother in St. John’s. She sold her effects, put the younger children -out, and spent nearly all the money she had to pay our passage; but -when we got over, my uncle had gone to Melbourne. Soon after that my -mother took sick and died.” - -“Was she a Christian woman?” asked Sally. - -“Yes; she belonged to the Wesleyan Methodists; so did my father. If my -poor mother had died at home, she would have had friends to take care -of her, and to follow her to the grave, for everybody loved her; but -there was nobody but me to do anything for her; and only myself and -the Irish woman we hired a room of went to the grave. It took all but -one pound to pay the rent, and expenses of my mother’s funeral. The -landlady permitted me to sleep on the foot of her bed, with my head on -a chair, because I carried her washing home, and her husband’s dinner -to him, for he worked in a foundery.” - -“Couldn’t you find any work?” said Ben. - -“No, sir; no steady work: I wandered about the streets and wharves, -getting a day’s work now and then, till my money was all gone, and then -I was glad to ship in the Albatross as cook.” - -“Who owned the vessel?” asked Ben. - -“They said the captain bought her; he seemed to have money enough. She -was an old condemned fisherman; if we pumped her out dry at night, the -water would be up to the cuddy floor in the morning.” - -“Where did they belong?” - -“I don’t know, sir; the captain was Portuguese; his name was Antonio. -They had all been together in a slaver, and the captain was mate of -her; and from things they used to say, I think they must have been -pirates.” - -“How did they treat you?” - -“They treated me very well when they were sober, but when they were -drunk I used to be afraid they would kill me. They would hold me, and -spit tobacco juice in my eyes, and pour liquor down my throat, and make -me drunk, which was the worst of all, for I had promised my mother I -would never drink.” - -“If they poured it down your throat against your will, that wasn’t -breaking your promise,” said Sally. - -“One night I was so afraid of them that I jumped overboard and swam -under the stern, holding on to the rudder; and I heard them talking, -and the captain began to cry and take on at a great rate. After they -had gone to sleep, I swam to the cable and got on board.” - -“Why didn’t you swim ashore?” - -“It was too far; we were way off on the fishing ground; the water was -cold, and I should have been chilled to death. My mother, before she -died, told me to read the Bible, and pray to God when trouble came, and -He would take care of me; but I think He must have forgotten me, for -though I have prayed to Him every day, I have found nothing but misery -ever since she died; and now I’m friendless and alone in a strange -land.” - -“No, you ain’t!” cried Sally, drawing him towards her, and kissing his -forehead, “for I will be a mother to you.” - -At this, the first word of kindly sympathy the poor boy had heard since -his mother died, he hid his face in her lap, and sobbed aloud. Sally -flung her apron over his head, and patted him, and in a few moments, -worn out with all he had passed through that day, he fell asleep. As -they had but two bedsteads in the house, one in the corner of the -kitchen, where Ben and his wife slept, and the other a spare bed in -the front room, which was partly filled with shingles and staves, and -was parlor, bedroom, and workshop, Sally had made a bed for him in the -garret, and Ben, taking him carefully in his arms, carried him up and -placed him on it. - -“It’s my opinion, Ben,” said John, “that is a good boy, and that it -will be a good thing for you and him both that he has fallen in here; -that boy never was brought up on a dunghill, I know; he’s smart, too. -Did you see how handy he takes hold of an oar? Why, he can dress a fish -as quick as I can.” - -“I took him at first,” replied Ben, “for one of these Liverpool -wharf-rats, that are rotten before they are ripe; but his story holds -together well, and he tells it right; he don’t make out that he -belongs to some great family, or call upon God Almighty, as such ones -generally do when they are going to tell some great lie.” - -“He looks you right in the face, too,” said John; “I like that; yes, -and then he didn’t begin to pour out blessings on your head; perhaps -he’ll show his gratitude in some other way.” - -Sally had made a piece of nice fulled cloth that summer, and from it -she soon made Charlie breeches and a long jacket. She also made him a -shirt from some cloth, part linen and part woollen; and as the weather -was coming cool, and she had no time to knit a pair of stockings, she -made him a pair from some of Ben’s old ones. She then cut his hair, and -knit him a pair of mittens, and Ben made him a pair of shoes. - -He almost worshipped Sally, calling her mother, and being every moment -on the watch to oblige her, and anticipate her wishes. But in respect -to Ben, he seemed timid, always calling him Mr. Rhines, or captain, and -starting nervously oftentimes when he spoke to him. He evidently could -not forget the terrible impression made upon his mind when he supposed -Ben would kill him. - -Sally felt grieved at this, and she saw that it worried her husband. - -One evening, when he patted him on the head, and praised him for -something that he had done that day, Sally made a sign to Ben that he -should take the boy on his knee, which he did, when Charlie put his -arms around his neck (that is, as far as they would reach), and ever -after that called him father. - -When John came to bring the net home, Charles met him at the shore. - -“Good morning, Captain Strout!” - -“Good morning, my lad; how do you like Elm Island?” - -“It is such a nice place! O, I’m as happy as the days are long! I hope -I’ve had all my sorrows!” - -“If you have, you’ve had good luck; better than most people; for you’ve -got through before the most of people’s trials begin. Now, my lad, you -have a chance to make something of yourself. If you stay here, and fall -into the ways of our people, it will make a man of you, and you will -find friends, for everybody is respected here that works. I have known -Mr. Rhines ever since he was a boy; have been shipmate with him, and -owe my life to him. Though he’s a hard master to such reprobates as -those you came with, he is kind to everybody that does right.” - -“I think, captain, that he is like some of those good giants I’ve heard -my grandmother tell about in England, that went about killing dragons, -wicked giants, and robbers, and protecting innocent people.” - - - - -CHAPTER III. - -JOHN GOES TO SEE THE NEW BOY. - - -One of old Mr. Yelf’s grandsons was going as cook with John Strout; and -in the morning, when John came alongside his vessel, after his return -from Elm Island with the net and fish, he found the old gentleman on -board, who had come to bring his grandson. He told the old man the -story as it really was, but he was quite hard of hearing, and John -was in a hurry, and could not stop to repeat and explain, and thus he -obtained a very confused and incorrect account of it. John made sail -and went out fishing, and the old gentleman hastened ashore to give a -most exaggerated account,--to which, every one adding a little as it -went from mouth to mouth, it at length assumed monstrous proportions. - -Captain Rhines was as anxious to get accurate information as anybody, -but felt no alarm, because all the reports agreed in this, that the -pirates had the worst of it, and that neither Ben nor Sally was -injured. He could not leave to go on, as he had stripped the shingles -from the roof of his house, and was trying to get it re-shingled before -a storm should come. John had heard about the new boy, and that John -Strout was very much pleased with him, and he was very anxious to get -on there and see him, for he had a presentiment that they were made for -each other, and was prepared to like him, even before seeing him. - -Captain Rhines, at length worn out with the solicitations of John, -which were aided by his own desire to know the truth of the matter, -went over to Uncle Isaac’s, and said to him, “I wish you would take -John and my canoe, and go over to the island (for I can’t go), and see -how many Ben’s killed, or if he’s killed anybody; and about that boy, -or if there is any boy. John is teasing me to death about it, and he -won’t be able to do any work till that is settled; for he’s thinking so -much about it, he can’t drive a nail into a shingle without pounding -his fingers.” - -“Well, I should like to know myself as much as anybody; I’ll be along -right after dinner.” - -“I’m going to put some squashes and potatoes in the canoe, for he -hasn’t planted a hill of anything this year; I don’t see how people can -live so. I should think, when he has such a nice place for a garden -under the ledge, he would have a few peas and potatoes.” - -“Ben believes in doing one thing at a time; and a mast that he can cut -in an hour will buy as much garden stuff as he would raise in a whole -summer. He won’t dabble with farming till the island is his, and then -you’ll see some of the tallest kind of farming, or I’ll miss my guess.” - -All the way to the island John was remarkably silent, apparently -engaged in deep thought. At length he said, “Uncle Isaac, is it right -to like an Englishmun?” - -“Bless me! yes; what is the boy thinking about?” - -“We’ve just done fighting and killing the Englishmun, and they’ve been -killing our people, and wanted to hang General Washington, and I didn’t -know as it would be right to like ’em; and they say this boy is an -Englishmun.” - -“It isn’t the nation, John, it’s the character, that makes a person -good or bad; your grandfather and mine were both Englishmun; so you -need not be afraid to like him on that account.” - -When they landed Ben was eating supper. “You’ve come in good time,” he -said; “sit down with us.” - -The moment supper was over, Uncle Isaac said, “Now, I want to hear all -about the pirates, for there are all sorts of stories going; it’s all -come through Uncle Yelf, and he has drunk so much rum that he’s lost -what little wit he ever had; and he never had brains enough to cover a -beech leaf, and is deaf to boot.” - -They told him the story from beginning to end. - -“It was a good thing for me, at any rate,” said Ben, in conclusion; -“for they left a new cable and anchor on the beach, and a first-rate -little boy behind them.” - -“It’s amazing how things will gain by going,” said Uncle Isaac. “We -heard that there was a dozen pirates landed, and that one of them got -Sally by the hair, pulled her down on her knees, and was going to cut -her head off with his cutlass, when you come running in from the woods, -and broke his neck short off over your knee, smashed another one’s -brains out against the jambs, and threw the grindstone at another and -killed him; the rest run to the vessel, but before they could get the -anchor you was on board; then they run below, and you fastened them -in; that there was a woman and a little boy in the vessel, that they -had prisoners; and that they fired at you and missed, and the bullet -went into her side; and that then you took the boy, and fastened them -all into the cuddy, and brought the ones you had killed ashore, and set -fire to the vessel, and burnt them all up together; and a great many -believed it, because they saw a fire on here; but your father said he -didn’t believe a word of it, for you wasn’t such a fool as to burn up a -vessel; and if the men were armed they could have shot you.” - -“I was burning some brush that was in my way,” said Ben; “that was the -fire they saw.” - -“So this is the boy,” said Uncle Isaac, turning to Charlie; “well, I -wish you well; I hear that you are a good boy, and industrious, and -those are great things. I was a poor boy at your age, and had nothing -but my hands, as you have; but, by God’s blessing, I have got along, -and so will you, and be happy and respected, for you’ve come to a -good country, a better one for laboring people than the one you have -left. Poor men get rich here, but poor people grow poorer there, and -sometimes starve to death, which is awful in a place that pretends -to be a Christian country; but you see there’s too many sheep in the -pasture--they are too thick; it ain’t so here--there’s room enough.” - -In the mean time the two boys stood--the one beside Sally’s chair, and -the other by Ben’s--eying one another, and each longing to hear the -other speak. John thought he had never seen a finer looking boy than -Charlie, and Charlie was internally paying the same compliment to John. - -“Uncle Isaac,” whispered Sally, “how shall we get these boys together? -shall I introduce them?” - -“Nonsense; I’ll soon fix that. Ben, have you got a bushel basket?” - -“Yes.” - -“Well, let this youngster--What’s your first name, my lad?” - -“Charles, sir.” - -“Well, let Charles go down with John to the canoe, and fetch up some -things your father sent over. That’s the way,” said Uncle Isaac; “they -don’t want any of our help; they will take care of themselves.” - -The two boys took the basket, and proceeded to the canoe. John, feeling -that as he was a native, and Charles a stranger, it was his duty to -speak first, by way of breaking the silence, which was getting to be -oppressive, said, “How old be you?” - -“Fifteen,” was the reply. - -“I’m fourteen,” said John; “shall be fifteen in July.” - -“I shall be sixteen next Michaelmas.” - -“What do you mean by Michaelmas, Charles?” - -“Why, St. Michael’s Day, the 29th of September.” - -“Well, what does it mean?” - -“I don’t know. All I know is, that in England everybody that can get it -eats a goose that day, and if you do you’ll have enough all the year -round. Do you know how to row?” - -“Yes; I can row cross-handed, and scull. Can you scull a gunning float?” - -“I never saw one; what are they for?” - -“They are made like a canoe, only smaller and lighter; and there’s a -scull-hole in the stern, just above the water, to put the oar through; -and then we lie down on our backs in the bottom, and take the oar over -our shoulder, and scull up to the sea-fowl, and shoot them. Don’t they -go gunning in your country?” - -“The great folks do; but the poor folks and common people are not -allowed to.” - -“That’s a queer country; I wouldn’t like to live in such a country as -that. Do you know how to shoot?” - -“No; I never fired a gun in my life; you couldn’t shoot a sparrow--I -was going to say a ‘bumble-bee’--in England, without being taken up.” - -“What did you do?” - -“I made baskets. Can you wrestle?” - -“Yes. Wouldn’t you like to learn to shoot?” - -“Yes.” - -“Well, I’ll show you some time what I know. Do you know how to mow or -reap?” - -“No.” - -“Nor chop?” - -“No. I’ve got a plenty to learn--haven’t I?” - -“I should think you had.” - -They were a long time getting up the things; but when they were all up, -Charles said to his mother, “Can John and I go over to the White Bull?” - -“Yes; and when it is time to come back I’ll blow the horn for you.” - -They had taken supper early; and as Uncle Isaac said he had as “lieves” -go over in the evening as at any time, it being bright starlight, she -did not blow the horn till dark. - -“Look there,” said Sally, pointing to the shore, soon after she had -blown the horn. The boys were returning with their arms over each -other’s neck. - -“I’m so glad they take to one another,” said she. “John thinks it’s the -greatest happiness of life to come over here; we are as glad to see him -as he is to come; and, if he likes Charlie, he’ll want to come more -than ever; won’t they have good times!” - -“Uncle Isaac,” said John, as they were rowing home, “don’t you love to -be out on the water in the night among the stars?” - -“Yes, I do, John; and I like to go along the edge of thick woods, when -there’s a bright moon, and watch the shadow on the water. But I think -the best of all is, to go in a birch,--they don’t make any noise, and -there’s no splashing of oars; but they go along just like a bird, and -they float in so little water that you can go along the very edge of -the beach, and listen to the noise of the water on the rocks, and -the little breath of wind among the trees. I think I have the best -thoughts then I ever have; I feel solemn, but I feel happy, too. I -think sometimes, if ministers could be in some of the places, and have -some of the feelings we ignorant people have, and we could have some of -their learning to go with our feelings, it would be better for both. I -am not a good man; but I have often kneeled down in the woods, in the -moonlight, hundreds of miles from any house, in the trackless forest, -and prayed to God, and it has done me good.” - -“Uncle Isaac, I love to hear you talk about such things.” - -“It is talk that won’t do either of us any harm, John; and I trust you -are not a prayerless, as I know you are not a thoughtless, boy.” - -“I say the Lord’s prayer, as my mother taught me. Uncle Isaac, are you -in any hurry to get home?” - -“No; I don’t care if we don’t get home till midnight.” - -“Then let us talk; it’s calm; let her drift; I want to tell you what I -think. I think Charles and I were made for each other; it seems so to -me, and I can’t make it seem any other way. Don’t you like him?” - -“Why, I haven’t seen enough of him to know yet; I never set eyes on him -till about three hours ago. They say a person is known by the company -he keeps, and he certainly came in very bad company.” - -“You say that just to plague me; you don’t believe in your heart that -he went with those men because he liked them, or that he is a bad boy.” - -“I like his appearance, and I think he’ll turn out to be a good boy. He -has, no doubt, been obliged to take up with company that was not his -own choice, for misery makes strange bedfellows.” - -“_Turn out to be a good boy!_ He’s a good boy _now_! I know he is; he’s -good clear through!” - -“Well, time will show.” - -John, finding it impossible to inspire Uncle Isaac with his own -enthusiastic confidence, let the matter drop, and for a while they -rowed on in silence. At length John said, “I tell you what makes me -think that boy is a good friend for me; he knows a great many things -that I don’t know, and I know a great many things that he don’t. I know -he’s tender-hearted.” - -“How do you know that?” - -“I asked him if he had any mother, and he almost cried when he told me -she was dead. Now, when a boy loves his mother, isn’t it a good sign?” - -“The best sign in the world, John.” - -“And then the way he talked about her, and about good things. I don’t -know as he’s a religious boy,--what mother calls pious,--but I know -he’s a good boy; you know anybody can tell.” - -“Well, John, I guess you’re right; you have found out more about him in -one hour than I could in six months.” - -“Well, we’re bound to be thick together, I know that.” - - - - -CHAPTER IV. - -GRIT AND GRATITUDE. - - -It was now the month of October. The early frosts had rendered the -air sharp and bracing. The nights were long, affording abundance of -sleep, and the forests were clothed in all the tints of autumn. Ben, -encouraged by the unexpected success he had met with in the sale of his -timber, assured that his wife was contented and happy, and his mind -buoyant with hope, drove the axe through the timber in very wantonness -of strength. It was no trifling addition to his happiness to find that -Charlie was not only industrious, but had a natural aptitude for the -use of tools. - -He bought him a light, keen-tempered axe, that he might cut up the -small wood at the door, and split up oven-wood for Sally. When he -brought the axe from the smith’s, he said to Charles, “I will put a -handle in it, and then we will grind it.” - -“I think,” he replied, “that I can put a handle in it, if you will tell -me what kind of wood to make it of.” Charles was not acquainted with -the different sorts of trees in this country. - -“There is no white oak on the island,” said Ben; “but here is a -straight-grained hornbeam: I will take that.” - -He cut down the tree, and splitting from it a suitable piece, left the -boy to make it himself. When he came in to dinner, the boy had made the -handle, and put it in the axe. Ben examined it with surprise. - -“I couldn’t have made it any better myself,” he said. They now ground -the axe, and Charlie went into the woods every day with Ben. He would -chop into one side of the tree what little he was able, while Ben -chopped into the other; but when it was down, he was quite useful in -trimming off the limbs with his little axe: thus he learned to strike -true, and to chop with either hand forward. - -Ben, every once in a while, came across a maple or oak, that stood -in the way: as he knew that by and by he should want a cart, plough, -harrow, and other tools, he cut them, and taking them to the mill with -his logs, had them sawed into joist and plank of different dimensions, -and then put them in the front room to season under cover, that they -might not warp or crack. - -Charlie could not accomplish much in the woods, because he had not yet -become accustomed to chopping, and was not strong enough; yet it was -very pleasant for Ben to have company. But there were other ways in -which, boy as he was, he was exceedingly useful, and a source of direct -profit, which may serve to show to any little boy who reads this, how -much a boy, who has the will and pluck, may do. In the first place he -took care of the hens. Now, there never were any hens that enjoyed -themselves better, or laid more eggs, than Charlie’s. The stumps of -the trees Ben had cut were alive with bugs and wood-worms, also sow -bugs, that harbored in the decayed roots; here the hens scratched, and -scratched, and feasted. “Cock-a-doodle-do!” cries the rooster; “I’ve -found some worms!” and all the hens would run and gobble them up. You -will remember that the ledge, in which the middle ridge terminated, -was perpendicular; not a breath of north or east wind could get there, -because all back of it was forest, and there in the hot sun the hens -dug holes, and rolled in the mellow earth, where, even in winter, it -was warm when the sun shone, and Charlie scraped the snow away for them -down to the ground; they could also go to the beach and get gravel, -as the island was so far at sea that there was seldom any ice on the -beach. - -Charlie also milked, and took care of the calf which they were raising, -and fed him with meal and potatoes. Hens like fish as well as cats, and -he caught flounders, tom-cod, and dug clams for them, so that they laid -most all winter. This was a great help to Sally, as Charlie’s coming -into the family made her a great deal more work, for she had stockings -and mittens to knit, and cloth to spin and weave, to make clothes for -him. She had to do it, too, at a great disadvantage; for, as they had -no sheep, and raised no flax, and had no loom, she was obliged to buy -the wool and flax, and send the yarn to her mother to weave. This took -a great deal of time, because her mother was only able to do Sally’s -work after she had done her own. - -Charlie cut all the wood, except the large logs: these Ben cut, and -Charlie hauled them in on a hand-sled. Now, all this saved Ben’s time; -but he did more: he dug clams for chowder, and caught lobsters. The -rocks on the White Bull were a great resort of lobsters; many were -found under the eel-grass and the projections of the rocks. Whenever -he saw a bunch in the eel-grass, he would pull it away and find a -great lobster, which he would put in his basket. He would also peep -under the rocks, and say, “I see you, old fellow,” and with his -flounder-spear pick out another. He also caught smelts, which are -a first-rate pan fish. Round the points of the ledges were cunners -(sea-perch) and cod: these he caught also. This all went directly to -the support of the family. - -Children reared in hardship, and thrown upon their own resources, -develop fast; and never was Charlie more happy than when, bringing home -a mess of fish, he felt he was of direct benefit to his benefactors. -In the enjoyment of abundance of food, warm clothes, plenty of sleep, -and breathing the bracing sea air, with the consciousness that he was -useful and beloved, he began to grow with great rapidity, and increase -in vigor and enterprise every day. When he first came he hardly dared -speak above his breath, and the most he attempted was a sickly smile. -But now he sang at his work or play (for he had good ear and voice), -could laugh as merry as Sally herself, and often put the squawks in an -uproar with his merriment. His pale cheeks had regained their color, -and his eyes all the fire of youth, for he loved, and felt that he -was beloved, and his finely-cut and delicate features were full of -expression. - -Charlie, during his wandering life, had acquired considerable -experience in fishing. Within less than a mile of the island was an -excellent fishing-ground, where schools of large codfish would soon -come to feed. Charlie knew, if he could catch these, it would not only -be a valuable supply of food for winter, but they would sell for cash -at the westward, or at the store for half cash and half groceries. - -But the great difficulty in the way was, he could not venture to go -there in the canoe. Ben was a giant, and everything he worked with was -made upon a corresponding scale. Charlie could hardly lift his axe. -His canoe was twenty-five feet in length, and the blades of the oars -were twice as wide as common, so that they might take stronger hold of -the water. Ben made them before he went to Boston, that, if the wind -came to the north-west, he might be able to exert all his strength; -otherwise, in a severe blow, he would have only pulled the oars through -the water without forcing the boat ahead. - -Charlie could hardly move this great thing in the harbor, much less in -a sea, and against the wind. - -Joe Griffin now came to chop, which increased Charlie’s anxiety to -catch the fish, as there were more mouths to fill, and Joe’s held a -great deal. He at length broached the matter to Ben, saying, if he only -had a light canoe, that he could pull, he could catch fish, for he had -been used to fishing. - -“I would make you one,” said Ben, “if I had time; but Joe is here, and -the oxen are coming from the main, and I must chop.” - -“But,” persisted Charlie, “I could dig it out; if you told me how, I -think I could make the outside.” - -“Well,” said Ben, pleased with the boy’s evident anxiety to be useful, -“I will cut the tree, and you can be working it out, and we will help -you in rainy days, and at odd times.” - -“O, no, don’t,” said Charlie; “I want to cut the tree, and make it all -clear from the stump.” - -“Why, Charlie, it takes the largest kind of trees to make a canoe; it’s -no use to cut a valuable tree to make a plaything; it ought to be as -large as you can cleverly pull, or you’ll outgrow it. It will take you -a week to cut down such a tree with your little axe.” - -“No matter; do let me try.” - -Ben picked out the tree, marked out the direction of the kerf on the -bark with his axe, and left him. When Charlie came in to dinner, -the perspiration stood in drops on his face, and he was as red as a -turkey-cock. - -“Well,” said Joe, “have you got through the bark?” - -“Almost,” replied Charlie. - -At night the boy showed evident signs of fatigue. - -“Let me look at your hands,” said Ben. There were large blisters on -each; he pricked them with a needle, and Sally rubbed some butter on -them. - -“I’ll give you a dozen or two of my round cuts in the morning,” said -Joe. - -“O, no; I don’t want you to. I can cut it down.” - -“Perhaps I shall go out after you are abed, and cut it down.” - -“O, don’t,” cried the boy, his eyes filling with tears at the very -possibility of such a catastrophe. - -“He don’t mean to do any such thing,” said Sally; “he’s only in fun; -nobody shall touch the tree.” - -Relying on her assurance, the wearied boy went to bed. - -“He’ll be sore enough in the morning,” said Joe; “but I like his grit, -any how.” - -“Don’t tease him too much, Joe,” said Sally; “he’s a tender-hearted -thing, and takes everything in earnest.” - -“Well, I won’t, if I can help it.” - -The next day, at dinner, Charlie said to Ben, “I have cut the whole -length of the axe-handle on both sides; can’t I cut on the edges?” - -“No; for then you cannot tell which way it will fall; and it might fall -on you and kill you. If you’re going to be such a chopper, you must -have an axe-handle as long as ours; take this afternoon and make one, -and that will rest you.” - -Charlie did so, and in the morning, as soon as he could see, was in -the woods. About nine o’clock the enormous tree began to totter. He -had received a promise from Ben that nobody should come near him till -the tree was down. He stood at the end of the kerf, just where he had -been told to, and watched the top of the tree as it wavered in the air, -trembling all over, half with fear, and half with excitement, while -the perspiration, unheeded, dropped from his chin. Still the enormous -tree did not fall. Charlie put his shoulder against it, and when he -felt it waver, pushed till the sparks came in his eyes; but he soon -found this was useless. He didn’t like to stand right in front and cut; -at length, summoning all his resolution, he stepped to the larger -kerf, on the side towards which he expected it would fall, and, with -set teeth, plied the axe: snap went the wood; he jumped aside; the top -now began evidently to incline; crack! crack! and then with a great -crash, that made the boy’s heart leap into his throat, the enormous -cone fell, crushing the smaller growth, and sending broken limbs thirty -feet in the air, and shaking the ground all around. The boy leaped upon -the prostrate tree, and burst into loud cheers. It was the battle of -Waterloo to him. - -“Let us go and see,” said Ben; “it will do him so much good.” - -“You’ve done well, Charlie,” said Joe; “you never will cut many bigger -trees than that, if you work in the woods all your lifetime.” - -“Now, father, where shall I cut it off?” - -Ben marked the place. “You had better go in now, Charlie, and rest till -dinner-time, and cool off.” - -[Illustration: CHARLIE’S BIG JOB.--Page 56.] - -“I ain’t a bit tired,” said the proud, resolute boy; but Ben made him -go in, when he found, after the excitement was over, that an hour or -two of rest did not come amiss, for he laid down before the fire, and, -falling asleep, did not wake till dinner-time. After dinner he began -to dig it out, and, under Ben’s direction, hewed off a good deal of -the outside. Ben then took it on his shoulder, and carried it into the -front room, so that he could work on it rainy days and evenings till it -was done. He made the oars himself, and seats and thole-pins, and dug -it out, so that it was very light for a canoe; and, for fear it might -split, Ben made some oak knees and put in it. When put into the water -she was found to be stiff, and row easy. - -No captain was ever prouder of his new ship than was Charlie of his -canoe. It was his own (the first thing he had ever owned), and by the -best possible right, for he had made it from the stump. - -“There’s a mechanical principle in that boy, Ben,” said Joe; “do you -see how naturally he takes to tools, and what good proportions there is -to them oars, and how true the bevel is on the blades, and how neat he -cut the head and stern boards into that canoe?” - -There was nothing Charlie now longed for so much as a calm day. In the -mean time he made himself a fisherman’s anchor. He took an oak limb, -which was a little sweeping, made it flat, and broader than it was -thick, and sharpened the ends; then he procured a crotch, and boring -two holes in the flat piece, put a flat stone, larger a little than -the piece of flat wood, edgeway upon it, and run the two forks of the -crotch down each side of the stone, and through the holes, and wedged -them, and put a wooden pin through to hold them. When this was thrown -overboard, the sharp points of the wood would stick into the bottom, -and the weight of the stone would hold them there. The stone, being so -much larger than the cross-piece of wood, always brought the wood into -the ground. These anchors, when the bottom is rocky, are much better -than iron ones, as you can pull them out of the rocks, or pull them to -pieces; and they will hold a boat as long as it is safe to stay, or -smooth enough to fish; whereas an iron one will often stick fast in the -rocks, and you must cut your cable. Hence these sort of anchors are -much used by fishermen who are often round the rocks; besides, they -cost nothing but the making. - -The pleasant day came at last; by light Charlie was on the -fishing-ground, all in sight of the house. By two o’clock in the -afternoon he was rowing home with three hundred weight of fish. -A prouder boy there never was, as he came home before a pleasant -southerly wind, not having to pull any, only just to steady the boat -with the oars. Every few moments he kept looking over his shoulder to -see if anybody saw him; but Ben and Joe were where they could not see -him. By and by he saw Sally come to the door and look; he put his cap -on an oar, and held it up; she waved her hand to him, caught up some -dry brush, and ran in. Presently he saw a black smoke. “She’s putting -on the tea-kettle to get me a good hot supper. Won’t it go good? for -haven’t I earned it?” said he, as he glanced at the codfish, some of -which he had hard work to master, and get into the boat, they were so -large. By the time he had eaten his supper and dressed his fish, the -men came in from their work, when he received many and well-deserved -praises for his day’s work. - - - - -CHAPTER V. - -CHARLES RETURNS JOHN’S VISIT. - - -The orphan boy, whom his mother in her dying moments committed in faith -to God, had fallen into good hands. He, who through storm and tempest -directs the sea-bird to her nest amid the breakers, and hears her young -ones when they cry in their lonely nest on the ocean rock, had numbered -his steps. Ben knew how to treat a boy, because he liked them, and -understood their feelings. - -The reason John was so much attached to his brother Ben, who was so -much older, arose, not merely from his being his brother, but because -Ben not only loved him, but always made due allowance for a boy’s -nature and feelings. The amusements and employments of men, and boys -also, in those old times, were not so far apart as they are now; they -could fish and hunt in company, and the boy could be very useful to the -man, and this brought them together, and kept their mutual sympathies -alive and fresh. He did not, therefore, because Charles had caught -three hundred weight of fish, tell him he must be up by daylight the -next morning and catch four hundred; he knew boys better than that; -knew that while Charles needed no other stimulus than his own noble, -grateful heart to urge him on to exertions, yet he was aching to let -John know what he had done. He said to him, “Well, Charles, we’ll -have a chowder out of the heads of some of these biggest cod (there’s -nothing equal to a cod’s head for a chowder), and save a couple to fry, -and take the rest over to the main land in the morning; you can go to -the house and get John to go to the store with you, and sell them, and -get half money and the rest in groceries. You can stay all night with -John, and come off the next morning.” - -Charles’s eyes flashed with delight at this, and he could hardly -contain himself till Ben was out of sight; and then he got behind a -bush and jumped right up and down with delight. He lost no time in -going to tell the good news to Sally, between whom and himself there -were no secrets, but the most perfect sympathy. - -“O, mother!” he cried, “don’t you think father’s going to let me take -the fish to the store, and stay all night! _only think!_ stay all -night with John, mother!” - -Sally added (if possible) to his happiness by saying, “I’m glad of it, -Charlie, for I want some errands done; and I want you to take over some -eggs and butter, and get some coffee, sugar, and flax, and carry some -yarn to Hannah Murch, for her to weave for me. Now you see how much -help you can be.” - -“Yes, mother; and what a good thing it is to have my canoe to go in, -and catch fish to sell, and get things; it pays--don’t it?” - -“I guess it does pay; for, if you didn’t go, Ben would have to leave -his work and go.” - -“And I shall see Mr. Murch?” - -“Yes; John will go over there with you; and I’ll get breakfast by -daylight, so that you can make a long day of it.” - -“Mother, I like Mr. Murch; he’s such a pleasant way, and he says such -cute things, somehow you can’t help liking him; when I hear him, it -seems just as if something was drawing me right to him. Don’t you like -him, mother?” - -“Like him! I love him, Charlie! After my father died, I don’t know what -my mother would have done, if it had not been for Uncle Isaac. He used -to come over and tell her to trust in God, and encourage her; tell Sam -what to do, and plough for us, sow our grain, shear the sheep, and help -us every way.” - -“Perhaps he’ll like me, and let me call him Uncle Isaac, same as John -does, when he’s acquainted with me.” - -“I dare say he will.” - -“Mother, does John ever come over here alone?” - -“He never has; his folks don’t like to have him.” - -“Then I shall do to-morrow more than he’s ever done; leastways, I’ll -try.” - -“I don’t know as it is hardly the thing for you to go; ’tis a good -ways.” - -“It is not much farther than I go a fishing. I wish you could see how -I can make my canoe _hum_, if I have a mind to; come down to the shore -just a minute, and see how quick I can pull over to the White Bull and -back.” - -Sally went down. Charlie got into the canoe, took his oars, spit on -his hands, and stretched himself for a mighty effort. The canoe went -through the water in fine style; but, when about half way to the Bull, -one of the thole-pins broke short off, Charlie went over backwards into -the bottom of the canoe, and had to paddle back with one oar. - -“Never mind, Charlie,” said she; “I can see that you make her go like -anything.” - -“I’m glad it broke now, and not when I was off in the bay,” said he, to -hide his mortification, and resolved next time he undertook to show off -to look well to his thole-pins. He didn’t sleep much that night. I’ll -let John know, thought he, as he lay in bed anticipating the morrow, -that I can do something besides make baskets; he didn’t seem to think -much of that. He thought I had a great deal to learn, but I’ll let him -know I’ve learned something already. The next morning was fair, and he -was off by sunrise. When he came to the other side, John received him -with great pleasure; and as they were just at breakfast, Captain Rhines -insisted on having Charlie sit up with them, saying that a boy who was -growing could eat any time, especially when he had pulled six miles. - -“Did you come in Ben’s big canoe?” - -“No, sir; the oars are so large I can hardly lift them.” - -“So I thought; but what did you come in?” - -“My own canoe, sir.” - -“Has Ben made you a canoe so quick?” - -“No, sir; I made it myself; but he showed me.” - -“Whew! Who cut the tree down?” - -“I did, sir.” - -“What do you think of that, John?” - -John and Charles went to the store, and sold the fish and other things; -then John showed Charles his gun, and yoke of steers he was raising; -then they yoked them up, and put them on to a light sled, that they -could haul on the bare ground, and gave Charles a ride. He also showed -him his powder-horn, and all his playthings, and a tame gray squirrel, -and hens. Then they went to the shore and saw John’s gunning float; and -John made Charles lie down in the bottom of her, and showed him how -to scull. Putting the sail up, they sailed round the bay; and going -round a little point, they saw some birds; they then lay down in the -float, and John sculled up to them, and shot two. This excited Charlie -very much. As he took the dead birds in his fingers, the passion for -shooting, for which he had never felt the least inclination, seemed to -be inspired by the very contact. - -“We will have them for dinner,” said John; “let us go home, so that -mother will have time to cook them.” - -This was all new to Charlie, for Ben had been too busy to gun since he -came. - -“Are they good to eat?” asked Charlie. - -“First rate; and you can sell them at the store. The feathers fetch a -first-rate price at the westward, and you can sell them at Witchcassett -(Wiscasset) to the English vessels.” - -“I never knew that before. If I could shoot, I might kill some on the -island.” - -“I guess you could; there ain’t such a place for gunning along shore.” - -“I might earn something to help along.” - -“Yes, indeed! Come, let us hurry home; I’ll show you how to load and -fire; and there are guns enough on the island; you can practise there; -Ben will show you.” - -When they got home, Charlie fired John’s gun five or six times, and -learned to load it. “John,” said his father at the dinner-table, “where -is that little gun of yours?” - -“Up chamber.” - -“Why don’t you give that to Charles?” - -“I will, father.” - -This was a gun that Ben had cut off, in order to make it lighter, and -got Uncle Isaac to make a light stock for it, and given it to John; but -his father having given him a larger and better one since he had become -accustomed to gunning, he didn’t use it. - -“I’ll give you a real nice horn, Charles,” said the captain, “and you -can scrape it and put the bottom in yourself.” - -After dinner they set out for Uncle Isaac’s. They both rode on one -horse; John got into the saddle, and Charles sat behind him on the -pillion that Mrs. Rhines rode on when she went with her husband; he -put his arms round John’s waist just as the women did when they rode. -They had fun enough going over, and when they arrived found Uncle Isaac -making cider. - -“Well, boys,” said he, “you’ve come in the nick of time; I’m just going -to lay up a cheese, and want some help to squat it.” - -“We’ll help you,” said John; “we’re just the boys for that, and we can -drink the cider, too.” - -A very few of our readers may know how they made cider in those days -in the new settlements, and a good many may not even know how it is -made now. We will describe his cider mill and press. At the end of his -orchard was a large white oak tree, more than four feet through; under -this he had placed a large trough, dug out of a log; in this he put -the apples. He then took an oak log about six feet in length, and six -inches through, in the middle of which a hole was bored, and a round -stick put through for a handle. A rope was attached to the top end, -which reached, and was fastened, to a large branch of the tree. When -he took hold of the handle, and struck the pounder down on the apples -in the trough, the spring of the limb helped to lift it up, which was -the hardest part of the work. Uncle Isaac had been pounding apples all -the forenoon, and was now about to press them. Fred Williams now came -along, whom John introduced to Charles as one of his playmates, and a -real good boy. Fred blushed at this, for he felt that it had been but a -very short time that he had deserved such a character. - -Between the tree and the trough was an elevated platform of plank, -jointed together, and watertight; on this was a square frame of boards, -about four feet across, and six inches high; he laid some long straw on -the edge of this frame, and then put in the apples; when the frame was -full he turned the straw over the edge, and tucked it into the mass of -bruised apples; he then lifted the hoop up the width of it, put on more -straw, and piled it up again, till he had a square pile four feet high. -The straw was to bind the edge, and keep the pomace from squatting out -sidewise when he came to press it. This was called the cheese. - -The boys helped him lift up the hoop, tuck in the straw, and shovel -in the apples, with right good will. Planks were now placed upon the -cheese, and some short blocks of timber on them, when the cider began -to run from the edges through the straw, and was led by a gutter, which -ran round the platform, into a half-hogshead tub. - -Uncle Isaac now sat down to rest, and eat an apple, while the boys, -providing themselves with straws, began to suck the cider from the -gutter as though their lives depended on their diligence. Every once -in a while you would hear a long-drawn sigh as they stopped to take -breath. As the cheese had now settled together, and become a little -firm, Uncle Isaac prepared to press it. - -This is done nowadays with a screw, but it was not the fashion then. He -had a white oak beam forty feet in length and ten inches square; one -end of this enormous stick was placed in a mortise cut in the tree, the -other on a horse. The stick extending over the middle of the cheese, -a pair of shears and a tackle were placed at the end, and Uncle Isaac -and the boys hoisted up the end of the great beam, took the horse away, -and let the beam come down on the cheese, not very hard at first, but -gradually; this set the cider running at a great rate. As the cheese -settled, he lifted the beam and put under more blocks, and at length -he and the boys piled great rocks on the end of the beam, and got on -themselves, till they squat it dry. - -Nothing would do but they must stop to supper; Uncle Isaac would not -hear to their going home. - -“Only think,” whispered Fred to John, “if we had succeeded in killing -Uncle Isaac’s orchard last spring, I shouldn’t have been sucking cider -and eating apples to-day.” - -“I’ve heard mother say,” was the reply, “that a person couldn’t injure -another without injuring himself, and I believe it.” - -John told Uncle Isaac that Charles had cut down one of the biggest -pines on the island, and made a float, oars and all, made an -axe-handle, and caught three hundred weight of codfish. - -When they went home, Uncle Isaac told the boys to fill their pockets -with apples, and gave Charles a bag full and a jug of cider to carry to -the island. - -John and Charles slept together, and lay awake and talked half the -night, laying plans for the future. - -“I’ll tell you what you can do, Charles; you can make a paddle, and -cut a scull-hole in your canoe, and she’ll make a first-rate gunning -float.” - -“So she will; I never thought of that.” - -It seemed to the boys the shortest day they had ever spent; it -certainly had been a very happy one. In the morning they separated, -John going half way home with Charles in his float. - - - - -CHAPTER VI. - -CHARLIE IN A SNOW SQUALL. - - -Charles would have been more than human if he could have rested easy -without a sail for his canoe, after seeing John’s, and sailing with him -in his float. He tried a hemlock bush, but he came near filling his -boat by means of it. He didn’t like to ask Sally to weave him cloth to -make one, as she had to buy her flax and cotton, nor to ask Ben to let -him sell fish for it. He therefore set his wits to work to compass his -end. He noticed the bottom of the chairs, and asked Ben what they were -made of: he told him, of basket-stuff, and how it was made. - -He cut down an ash, pounded it, and stripping it very thin, wove it -into a mat, and made a sail of it. A great deal of wind went through -it, to be sure; but then it answered a very good purpose, and saved him -a deal of rowing. - -At length he espied a birch-bark dish, that Uncle Isaac had made for -Sally to wash dishes in. He examined it very attentively, and thought -he had at last found the right stuff; but, to his great disappointment, -the bark wouldn’t run at that time of the year. Joe told him to make a -fire and heat the tree, when he found it would run. He obtained some -large sheets, and made it very thin; he found some difficulty in making -the stitches hold, as the bark was so straight-grained it would split, -and let the thread out; but he found a way to remedy this, by sewing -some narrow strips of cloth with the bark at the seams and edges. -He now found that he had a sail that was a great deal handsomer and -lighter than the other, and that not a bit of wind could get through. -Having by this time got a birch-bark fever, he made himself a hat of -it, and a box to carry his dinner in. - -He continued to fish every pleasant day, and, as fast as the fish were -cured, he put them in the chamber; and the larger the pile grew, the -more anxious he became to add to it. - -There had been a week of moderate weather for the time of year, with -light south and south-west winds, and Charles had caught a great many -fish, sailing home every afternoon as grand as you please. At length -there was an appearance of a change in the weather. Ben thought he -had better not go; but seeing he was eager to do so, did not prevent -him. It was a dead calm when Charlie rowed on to his ground, and -continued thus till nearly noon; but the clouds hung low, and the sun -was partially hid. The fish bit well, and Charlie was too busy in -hauling them in to take note of a black mass of clouds, which, having -first gathered in the north-east, were gradually coming down the bay, -accompanied with a black mist reaching from the water to the sky, till -in an instant the wind struck with a savage shriek; the waters rolled -up green and angry, and he was wrapped in a whirlwind of snow, so thick -that he not only lost sight of the island, but could not even see three -times the length of the canoe. His first impulse was to haul up his -anchor and row for the island; but the moment he put his hand to the -cable he was convinced that he could make no progress, nor even hold -his own against such a sea and wind. - -There was nothing for him but to remain where he was, in the hope that -Ben would come to seek him. But perils now multiplied around him; the -wind, and with it the sea, increased continually. The cold became -intense; the spray flew into the canoe, which was deeply laden with -fish, freezing as it came. It seemed very doubtful to him whether Ben -could find him in the darkness, which, as the day drew to a close, -became every moment more intense. - -“Must I perish, after all,” thought the poor boy, “just as I have found -a good home and kind friends?” The tears gushing from his eyes froze -upon his cold cheeks. He now recollected his mother’s last words. - -“When trouble comes upon you, my child, call upon God, and he will help -you.” - -Kneeling in the bottom of the boat, he put up a fervent prayer to God -for mercy. The flood tide now began to make, which, running against the -wind, made a sharp, short sea; the canoe stood, as it were, on end, and -it seemed as if every sea must break into her. He was fast giving way -to despair, when a large quantity of water came in over the bow. Roused -by the instinct that engages us to struggle for life, he threw it out. - -“These fish must go overboard to lighten her,” said he, and laid his -hand on one of the largest, when a faint “Halloo!” came down the wind. -His stupor vanished; the blood rushed to his face; uttering a wild cry -of joy, he seized the club which he used to kill the fish with, and -pounded with all his might upon the head-board of the boat, at the -same time shouting loudly. He soon heard distinctly, “Boat, ahoy!” -shouted, in the tones of Joe; and in a few moments the great canoe came -alongside. - -“God bless you, my boy! I was afraid we had lost you,” cried Ben, -catching him by the shoulder, and lifting him into his lap as though he -had been thistle-down. He then wrapped him in a dry coat, and gave him -a dry pair of mittens. As they had a compass, they could have hit the -land by steering in a northerly direction; but they might have been a -great while doing so, without any permanent point of departure to start -from. Ben had provided for this. In the first place, they put a good -part of the fish into the large canoe; then, taking a large cedar buoy, -which he had brought with him for the purpose, he fastened it to the -cable of the canoe, and flung it overboard; then he fastened the small -canoe to the stern of the large one; thus he had the buoy left for a -mark to start from. - -“Now, Joe,” said Ben, “do you bring that buoy to bear south-south-west, -astern, and steer north-north-east, and I’ll see if little Ben Rhines -can drive these boats through this surf.” - -Joe sat in the stern, with a steering paddle, and the compass before -him on the seat. Charlie stood in the bow of the big canoe, holding -the end of the mooring-rope, which confined them both to the buoy. Ben -now sat down to his oars, putting his feet against Joe’s for a brace. - -“Let go, Charlie,” cried he, as he dipped the blades in the water, and -the boats began to move ahead. The canoe quivered beneath the strokes -of the giant, as, warming up, he stretched himself to the work; and as -by main strength he forced her through the sharp sea, the water came -over the bows in large quantities, but Charlie threw it out as fast as -it came. - -For a long time no sound was heard but the dash of waves, and the deep -breathing of Ben, like the panting of an ox. It was now fast growing -dark. At length Joe said, “I believe I see something like the shade of -woods.” - -All was still again for a while, and Ben increased the force of his -strokes. - -“I see the eagle’s nest on the tall pine,” said Charlie, “and the point -of the Bull.” - -“That’s what I call a good ‘land-fall,’ when you can’t see a thing,” -said Joe. - -They were now soon at the island, where a roaring fire, smoking supper, -and joyous welcome awaited the chilled and hungry boy. - -“O, mother!” said Charlie (as with a cloth dipped in warm water she -washed the frozen tears, and the white crust of salt left by the spray, -from his cheek, and kissed him), “I didn’t think I should ever see you -again.” - -How great a matter sometimes hinges upon a very little thing! Ben and -Joe were in the thickest part of the woods, so busily at work getting -down a tree that had lodged as not to notice the sudden change in the -weather. As soon as they heard the roar of the wind they ran for the -beach. On the White Bull was a breastwork of stones that Ben had made, -to stand behind and shoot ducks. - -“Joe,” he cried, “get the range of that canoe over the breastwork, and -keep it, while I go and get the compass.” When he returned with the -compass, Charlie’s canoe was entirely hidden by the snow; but as Joe -had not moved from the spot, they took the range over the rock, and ran -directly upon him. Had it not been for this he would have perished, -while they were endeavoring to find him by guess in the snow, for it -was pitch dark in an hour after they reached the island. - -About eight o’clock the gale came on with tremendous fury; and as -Charlie lay in his warm bed that night, and listened to the roar of -the surf and the sough of the tempest, he drew the blankets over him, -and nestling in their warm folds, lifted up his heart in gratitude to -the Being his mother had taught him to call upon in the hour of peril, -and not forget in that of deliverance. - -When the gale was over, the wind coming to the north, the sea fell, and -it was soon smooth, and Charlie wanted to go a-fishing. - -“No, Charlie,” said Ben, “the weather is too catching; you have fished -enough for this fall.” - -“But I must have my anchor.” - -“Well, go and get that, and come right back; don’t take any bait, nor -stop to fish.” - -Charlie rowed down to the fishing-ground, where he found the buoy -floating on the glassy surface of the water, with a great mass of kelp, -as large as the floor of the house, fast to it; he took out his knife, -and cut them off from the ropes, and watched them as they floated away -with the tide. - -Charlie thought the southerly wind would come in at twelve o’clock, and -save him the labor of rowing home; so he made his canoe fast to the -buoy, determined to wait for it. Whether it was due to the reaction -consequent upon the terrible excitement he had of late passed through, -the beauty of the day, or a mingling of both, he felt deliciously -lazy; so, taking his birch-bark dinner-box from the little locker in -the stern of the canoe, he stretched himself upon the oars and seats, -and with a piece of bread and butter in his fist, began to meditate. -“What a strange thing the sea is!” thought he; “three days ago I lay -in this very spot, fastened to this very rope, in such an awful sea, -expecting to sink every moment, and now it is just as smooth as glass; -and where it was breaking feather white against the Bull you might now -lie right up to the rocks.” - -Charlie was very different from John; he was more thoughtful; liked -to be studying out and contriving something. John was more for mere -excitement and adventure. - -The southerly wind now came, and Charlie began to haul in his cable; -but he found that the two canoes, riding to it in the gale, had bedded -it so well in the sand that he could not start it. - -“I’m no notion of working to-day,” said he; “contrivance is better than -hard work.” - -It was now flood tide; he pulled the canoe right over her anchor, -hauled in the slack of the cable as tight as he could, and made it -fast, then stretched out in the sun, and returned to his bread and -butter. As the tide made, the cable grew tighter and tighter, till at -last it began to draw the bows of the canoe down into the water; at -length it drew her down till the water was about to run in, and Charlie -began to think the anchor was under a rock, when all at once it gave -way with a jump. - -“I thought you’d have to come,” said he; and, putting up his sail, he -went home before the light south-westerly wind. - -Ben had said to Charles, when he went away in the morning, “I shall be -in the woods when you come back, and I want you to bail out the big -canoe, as I shall want to use her to-morrow.” - -When Charles came to the beach he made his boat fast, and went to look -at the big canoe. The sea had broken into her as she lay on the beach, -and there was a great deal of water in her. - -“This is one of my lazy days, and I’m going to carry it out. I’ll be -blest if I’ll throw all that water out.” - -He went to where the sea had flung up a vast quantity of kelp in the -recent gale, and drew out from the heap the largest one he could find. -Perhaps some boy, who has never been on the seashore, might say, “I -wonder what kelp is.” It is an ocean plant that grows on the deep -water rocks. The roots cling to the rock, and send up stalks from ten -to fifteen feet in length, with a leaf or apron nearly as long as the -stem, a foot wide in the middle, tapering towards each end, and of -the color of amber. This stem, which is hollow, and filled with air, -causes it to float on the surface of the water, where it is exposed to -the sun, without which it could not grow. The hollow in a large stem -is about half an inch in diameter. They come to the surface about half -tide, and thus are exposed a few hours while the tide is ebbing and -flowing. - -Charlie cut the large leaf and the root from the kelp, when he had a -limber hollow stem five or six feet long. Putting one end into the -canoe, and the other into his mouth, he sucked the water through it; -then putting the end down on the beach the water continued to run in a -steady stream over the side of the canoe. He was contemplating his work -with great satisfaction, when, hearing the sound of oars, he looked up, -and saw John doubling the eastern point. - -It was impossible for Mrs. Rhines to keep John from going to the island -alone any longer, since Charles had been off alone, and he was much -larger and stronger. - -“What are you about, Charlie?” - -“Making water run up hill.” - -“But that is running down hill; the beach is lower than the canoe.” - -“But it runs off over the side of the canoe; come and see.” - -“So it does, sure enough. What makes it go up over that turn?” - -“That’s just what I want to know,” said Charlie, “and I mean to know, -too; but I suppose it’s the same thing that makes water come up hill in -a squirt.” - -“Why, the plunger in a squirt sucks it up.” - -“How can it suck it up? it has not any fingers or lips to suck it or -lift it; that’s only a saying; I don’t believe that.” - -“Well, if you don’t believe that, how does it come up? What makes it -follow the stick in the squirt?” - -“That’s what I want to know; there must be some reason. Do you suppose -Uncle Isaac knows? he knows most everything.” - -“No; he don’t know such things; but Ben does; he can navigate a vessel, -and has been to Massachusetts to school. Father asks Ben when he wants -to know things of that kind.” - -“Well, I must ask him.” - -“I’m sure I don’t care what makes it come; I know it does come; that’s -enough for me. That’s a great sail in your boat, Charlie; it’s the -first time I ever heard of a birch-bark sail: what in the world made -you think of making a sail of that?” - -“Because I had nothing else; I made one out of basket stuff. I tell you -what, these folks that live on islands have to set their wits at work; -they haven’t a store to run to for everything they want.” - -“I don’t think much of your contrivance to make water run out of a -boat; only look at it; you and I could take two pails and bail it out -in half the time it will be running out through that, and then we could -go and play.” - -“But we can go and play now, and let it run.” - -“I never thought of that; let’s go then.” - -“I must ask father first; perhaps he wants me to help him; you go ask -him.” - -John ran to the woods where Ben was at work, and soon came back with -liberty for them to play. - -“Let’s have some fun here with this water; it’s real warm and pleasant -here in the sun, and we can do lots of things.” - -“What shall we do?” - -“Let’s make water-works, as they do in England. They carry the water -miles and miles.” - -“What do they carry it in?” - -“Lead and iron pipes, and hollow logs; and they have fountains that -send the water up in the air, ever so high.” - -“Let us see how far we can carry water, Charlie.” - -They had not the least trouble in procuring pipe, as there were -cart-loads of kelps on the beach. They went to the heap and drew out -the longest and largest stalks they could find, and putting the small -end of one into the large end of the other; then made the joints tight -with clay, and put them under ground, and covered them up. They did not -give up till they carried the water the whole length of the beach into -the bay, and then invited Sally to come out and see it. - -“Water,” said Charles, “will rise as high as the place it came from. I -am going to have a fountain.” - -So he stopped up the end of the pipe with clay, and near the end where -the water ran quite fast, he made a little hole, and put into it two -or three quills of an eagle, joined together, to make a pipe, and -the water spouted through it into the air. As the day was now fast -spending, they tore up their pipes, and putting them all into the -canoe, and sucking the water through them, set them all running; and -when Sally called them to supper the water was nearly all out of the -canoe. - - - - -CHAPTER VII. - -CHARLIE PLANS A SURPRISE FOR SALLY. - - -There was a certain article of household use that Charles had for a -long time been desirous of making for his mother; but he wanted to -surprise her with it. This seemed to him almost an impossibility, as -she never went from home; but the opportunity now presented itself. - -When they were all seated at the supper-table, John said to Ben, -“Father sent me over to see if you and Sally would come home to -Thanksgiving,--it’s Thursday,--and stay over Sabbath, and have a good -visit.” - -“I should like above all things to go,” said Sally; “but I don’t see -how I could leave home so long.” - -“Yes, you can leave,” said Ben; “you haven’t stepped off this island -since we came on it. It will do you good, and do us all good.” - -“O, do go, mother,” said Charlie, who had his own reasons for wishing -to get her out of the house, and was rejoiced at the prospect of -accomplishing it; “it will soon be so rough that there will be no -getting over, at least for women folks, this winter.” - -“But who will take care of you?” - -“Take care of me! I’ll take care of myself, and everything else, too. I -can milk, and cook, and see to everything.” - -“But would you not be afraid to stay here all alone?” - -“Afraid! Poor vagabond children, like me, don’t have any fears; they -can’t afford to. It’s rich people’s children, that are brought up nice, -have fears. Such wanderers as I am, if they only have enough to eat, -and a place to put their head in, they are all right.” - -“What a speech that is!” said Joe. “I’ve always heard that a barrel -might have as large a bung-hole as a hogshead, and now I believe it.” - -“I’ll come over and stay with him,” said John; “I’m sure I would rather -be here than at home.” - -“Father and mother wouldn’t agree to that, John; but you may tell them -we’ll come and stay over Sabbath.” - -The next Wednesday morning, to Charles’s great delight, they started, -and Joe with them, as he was going home to Thanksgiving. The moment -they were out of sight, Charlie commenced operations. He went up -chamber, where was some clear stuff,--boards and plank,--which now -would be worth eighty dollars a thousand, if indeed such lumber could -be procured at all, and taking what he needed, brought it down to the -bench in the front room. He then went up on the middle ridge, cut down -a black cherry tree, and taking a piece from the butt, split it in -halves, and brought it into the house. As he now had all his material, -he made up a good fire and went to work. His saw and hammer went all -the time, except when he was asleep, or doing the necessary work. As -for cooking, he lived most of the time on bread and milk, because he -did not wish to take the time from his work to cook. He had, indeed, -abundance of time to do what he was intending, a regular mechanic would -have done in a third part of the time; but Charlie was a boy, and -though very ingenious, had to learn as he went along, and stop very -often and think a long time how to do a thing; and sometimes he made a -mistake and did it wrong, or made a bad joint, and then away it went -into the fire. - -“If I make a blunder,” said Charles, “nobody shall be the wiser for -it.” Charles was by no means the only apprentice who has spoiled -lumber in learning, as the stove in many a joiner’s shop would -testify, if it could speak. - -Ben and Sally had a most delightful time. They staid Wednesday night at -Captain Rhines’s; Thursday they went to meeting, and Sally saw all her -old friends, and the girls she knew before she married, and had to tell -over the story about the pirates I don’t know how many times. - -But there was a little incident that took place at meeting that -mortified Ben very much. He entertained a very great respect for -religion, and would not for the world have done anything in a light or -trifling manner in the house of God. It was the fashion in those days -to wear very large watches, and very large seals attached to a large -chain. Ben had a watch-seal that was made in Germany, in which was a -music-box, that, being wound up, would play several very lively tunes. -After being wound up, it was set in operation by pressing a spring. -In the morning, before they went to meeting, Ben, in order to gratify -John and Fred Williams, who were in to go to meeting with him, had -been playing with it, and Uncle Isaac coming in, he left it wound up, -and went to meeting. While the minister was at prayer, Ben, in leaning -against the pew, pressed the spring, and off started the music-box -into a dancing tune. There was no such thing as stopping it till it -ran down. It is useless to attempt to describe the effect of such -unwarranted and unhallowed sounds breaking upon the solemn stillness of -an old-time congregation. - -Ben’s face was redder than any fire-coal, while his body was in a cold -sweat. Sally felt as though she should sink through the floor. Mrs. -Rhines looked up to see if the roof was not about to fall and crush -them all; while the young people, totally unable to suppress their -merriment, tittered audibly. Ben stood it a few moments, and then left -the assembly, the seal playing him out. - -After stopping a night at the widow’s, they went over to Uncle Isaac’s, -as he declared, unless they spent a night with him, he would never step -foot on the island again. He invited John Strout and all the Rhineses -to tea. John had a great many inquiries to make of Ben, in respect to -Charles, who told him about his being caught in the snow squall. - -“He’s good grit--ain’t he?” said John. - -“Yes, John; he’s a good, brave, affectionate boy as ever lived; and I -love him more and more every day.” - -“There, Uncle Isaac!” cried John Rhines, “what have I always told you? -You’ll give up now--won’t you?” - -“Yes, John; I’ll give up. I suppose you feel better now--don’t you?” - -“Yes, Uncle Isaac, I do feel better; for I never could like anybody as -I want to like Charlie, that you had any doubt about. I don’t believe -in liking at the halves.” - -Upon their return Charles met them at the shore, delighted to see them, -and evidently bursting with some great secret. - -“Charles has been doing something special, I know,” said Sally; “just -look at him.” - -The boy was hopping and skipping along before them, scarcely able to -contain himself. - -They went to the end door, which Charles flung open with a great air. -Behold, there was a sink under one of the windows. It had a wooden -spout that went through the logs out doors, a shelf on top to set -the water-pails on, and another long shelf over it on which to keep -milk-pans or pails, or any other things, which, being in constant use, -it was important to have always at hand. Underneath the sink was a -closet, with a door hung on the neatest little wooden hinges that you -ever saw, of a reddish color, polished so that they shone, and wooden -buttons to close it. In addition to this, he had made a little wooden -trough of cherry tree, that would hold about a quart, with a handle on -one side, that was made out of the solid wood: this was to keep the -soap in that was used about the sink. - -Sally screamed outright with joy. “O, how glad I am!” she said, and -gave Charlie a kiss, that more than paid him for all his labor. “I -shall have such a nice place to keep all my kettles under the sink, and -my milk-pails and other things on this long shelf. I can wash my dishes -right in the sink, and shan’t have to run to the door with every drop -of water, and let so much cold in every time I open it. A sink in a -log house! O, my! I never thought I should arrive at that. There’s not -another one in town. If anybody wants to see a sink, they have got to -come on to Elm Island. How came you to think of that, you good boy?” - -“Why, the people in England have sinks, and I meant you should. There’s -not a woman in England so good as you are.” - -Ben stopped up the sink-spout, and turned in two pails of water. He -then examined the joints. It didn’t leak a drop. After this he turned -his attention to the hinges. - -“What did you make these hinges of, Charles? They are almost as -handsome as mahogany.” - -“Of cherry tree.” - -“How did you know that cherry tree was a handsome wood?” - -“Because I saw a gun-stock John had, that he said was made of it; and -he showed me the tree.” - -“How did you give them such a polish?” - -“I rubbed them with dogfish skin, and oiled them.” - -“Where did you get a dogfish this time of year?” - -“Uncle Isaac gave me the skin.” - -“Where did you get an auger small enough to bore these hinges?” - -“I borrowed it of Uncle Isaac.” - -“How long have you had this in your head?” - -“Ever since the time you let me go over to see John. I wanted to do -something, and I thought of this.” - -Ben was highly gratified, not merely with the excellence of the work, -but at the evidence it afforded that Charlie had a grateful heart. - -Charlie knew very well that Ben’s object in sending him over with the -fish was not so much for the sake of selling the fish, and obtaining -the groceries, as to afford him an opportunity to see John, and do him -a kindness; and he longed in some way to repay it. - -Sally, in the mean while, had been looking with great curiosity at the -table, which was set back close against the wall, evidently covered -with dishes that contained something, which, whatever it might be, was -concealed by two large table-cloths. - -“What is on that table, Charles?” said she. - -“My! that’s guessing, mother.” - -He removed the cloth, and there were a chicken-pie, and two apple-pies, -and a baked Indian pudding. - -“Didn’t I tell you I could cook, mother?” said Charlie, greatly -delighted at her astonishment. - -“Well, Charlie,” said Ben, “that is as good a piece of work as any -joiner could make. You could not have employed your time better than -you have in making that sink. It will be a great help to your mother in -doing her work, and a daily convenience and comfort to all of us. There -is but one thing it lacks; that is a moulding where the closet joins -the sink, to cover the joints, and make a finish.” - -“Yes, father; I had not time to make that, because I wanted to get -dinner, that mother might not come home, and have to go right to -cooking the moment she got in the house.” - -“To make it look just right, there should be a bead on the edge, or -something of the kind; but I have no tool that it can be done with.” - -“I have, father; I borrowed one of Uncle Isaac.” - -“You must have got well into the good graces of Uncle Isaac, for he -don’t like to lend his tools. But how did you bring these tools, that I -have never seen them?” - -“You know when I went over to see John, Uncle Isaac sent you a bag of -apples.” - -“Yes.” - -“Well, I put them in there; and when I came to the shore I hid them in -the woods, in a hollow tree, on the western point.” - -“I know how you feel. I suppose you would not like very much to have -anybody see it in an unfinished state, or till you get that moulding -on.” - -“I shouldn’t like to have Uncle Isaac or John see it; and I should like -to get it all done, if I could, before Joe gets back, because he’s a -real judge of things, and would be apt to make some queer speech, if it -was not finished.” - -“Well, then, you may finish it to-morrow; and take all the time you -want, and make it as nice as you please.” - -“O, thank you, father; I am ever so much obliged to you.” - -“Come,” said Sally, “let us see what this boy’s pies and cookery tastes -like. O, you rogue! I see now what you was so anxious to get me away -from the island for. But what have you lived on, Charlie; I don’t see -as you have cooked much.” - -“I couldn’t afford the time to cook; so I lived on bread and milk, and -bread and butter; but I am going to make it up now.” - -They had a real social meal, and pronounced Charles’s cookery -excellent. They also told him all the news,--where they had been, what -they had seen, and what John was doing. They said that there was a -great quantity of alders in a little swale near the house, almost as -large as a man’s leg; that they made a real hot fire, and would burn -well when they were green; that John was cutting these, and hauling -them with his steers, on a sled, for there was snow on the main land, -though there had been none to last any time on the island. It was -often the case, that, when it was snowing on the main land, it rained -upon the island. It also, when it fell, thawed off much sooner, as -the sea-water kept the temperature down. Thus, all the snow that came -during the storm Charles was caught in, had already disappeared from -the island, while on the main John Rhines could haul wood. - -As Charles was in a great measure cut off from all society of his own -age, he was never happier than when working with tools, seeming to -take the greatest delight in making those things that were useful. Ben -permitted him to have the stormy days to himself, when he was always at -work at the bench, and did not set him to making shingles or staves, -except occasionally, in order that he might learn the art; for it is -quite an art to shave shingles well and fast. Joe Griffin was the boy -for that. - -Saturday night brought Joe, and the work in the woods was resumed. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII. - -CHARLIE’S HOME LIFE AND EMPLOYMENTS. - - -Though every boy, almost, in America knows that baskets are made of -ash and oak, it was an entirely new thing to Charles. However, by -the instruction of Ben, and the practice of making his sail, he had -acquired a knowledge of its properties, and how to pound and prepare it -for making baskets. By pounding an ash or oak log the layers of wood -may be made to separate, and then the end being started with a knife, -they may be run into long, thin strips, suitable for the purpose. - -In stormy days he pounded and prepared his material, and in the long -winter evenings that were now approaching, he wove it into baskets, as -he sat and chatted with the rest before the blazing fire. He made them -beautifully, too; some of them open, and others with covers. - -“Well, Charlie,” said Joe, as he sat watching him, “you are a workman -at basket-making, any how.” - -“I ought to be,” said he, “for I have worked enough at it; but in our -country they don’t make them of such stuff as this.” - -“What do they make them of?” - -“Sallies,” replied Charles. - -“Sallys! they must be a barbarous people to cut women up to make -baskets of. What makes them take Sallys? why don’t they take Mollys and -Bettys, too; it ain’t fair to take all of one name.” - -“It is not women,” said Charlie, laughing, “but a kind of wood.” - -“Is it a tree?” - -“It will grow into a small tree; but they cut it every year, and take -the sprouts. It grows in rows, just as you raise corn, and just as -straight and smooth as a bulrush, without any limbs, only leaves. They -peel it, and the leaves all come off with the bark, and leave a smooth, -white rod--some of them eight feet long. If they become ever so dry, -and you throw them into water, they will become tough as before. If I -only had sallies, I could make a basket that would hold water, and the -handsomest work-baskets for mother that ever was, and color them if I -could get the dye-stuffs. When we make farm-baskets and hampers, we -leave the bark on; but when we make nice baskets, we peel it off. We -call this whitening them. - -“We also strip it into stuff as thin as a shaving, to wind round the -handles of nice baskets and fancy things, and call it skein work, -because this thin stuff is made up into skeins, for use like yarn.” - -“What does it look like?” said Ben. - -“It has a long, narrow leaf of bluish green; and in the spring, before -anything else starts, it has a white stuff on it like cotton-wool; we -call it palm; and on Palm Sunday the people carry it to church; and if -you put a piece of it on the ground, in a wet place, it will take root.” - -“I know what it is. It’s what we call pussy-willow and dog-willow, but -I never thought it was tough enough to make baskets; besides, it grows -crooked and scrubby.” - -“Perhaps it is not like ours; but ours would not grow straight except -they were cut off. A sprout is different from a branch. Does the -willow, as you call it, grow on the island?” - -“Yes; down by the brook and the swamp.” - -“Tell us something about the folks in the old country,” said Joe. “What -else did your father do besides make baskets? Did he own any land?” - -“Nobody owns any land in England but the quality and the -rich esquires. Poor people don’t own anything; not even their -souls,--leastways, that is what my grandfather used to say,--for they -had to ask some great man what they ought to think. My father was a -tenant of the Earl of Bedford. My grandfather once lived by the coal -mines at Dudley, in Staffordshire. It was named after Lord Dudley Ward, -who owned extensive iron mines. Occasionally he came to visit his -property, with carriages, and servants, and livery, and a great parade. -On holidays he sometimes gave them beef and ale. These poor, simple -miners thought he was more than a man. One day when he was riding by, -the horses prancing, the people cheering, and the footmen in their red -suits, a little boy was looking on with amazement. At length he said -to his father, ‘Fayther, if God Almighty dies, who’ll be God Almighty -then?’ ‘Why, Lord Dudley Ward, you foo’.’” - -“Jerusalem!” said Joe Griffin; “I did not think there were any people -in this world so ignorant as that. They don’t know so much as a yellow -dog. Were the people where you lived so ignorant?” - -“No; they were Wesleyan Methodists, and their children were taught to -read and write. It is in the mines where the greatest ignorance is. We -lived in the fens.” - -“What is the fens?” - -“What we call the fens is the greater part of it low, flat land, which -has some time been under water; but the water has been drained off by -canals and ditches, and pumped out with windmills, and now the most of -it bears the greatest crops of any land in England. But there are some -places so low that they could not be drained. - -“Such was the place where we lived, which was so wet that nothing could -grow but sallies and alders. No cattle could be kept; so the people -keep geese and ducks instead. The geese and ducks are their cattle.” - -“But geese and ducks won’t give milk,” said Joe. - -“Well, some of them make out to keep a cow, and others a goat or two; -and the others get their milk where they can, or go without.” - -“What do these people do for a living?” - -“They are basket-makers and coopers. Alders grow taller and straighter -there than they do here; and they make baskets of the sallies, and -hoops both of the sallies and alders. - -“The fens are full of frogs, and bugs, and worms, and the fowl get -their living. We had hundreds of geese and ducks, and picked them -three or four times a year. But the folks are poor there--them that are -poor. We hardly ever saw any meat from year’s end to year’s end.” - -“Couldn’t you eat your geese?” - -“Eat our geese! No, indeed; they had to be sold to pay the rent.” - -“Rent for living in a quagmire! I should think you ought to be paid for -living there.” - -“Rent! yes; and high rent, too. Why, there’s tallow enough in that -candle on the table to last a fen cottager three weeks.” - -“I don’t see why a candle shouldn’t burn out as fast in England as -here.” - -“They would make that candle into ever so many rush-lights.” - -“What’s a rush-light?” - -“They take a bulrush, and take the skin off from each side down to the -white pith, leaving a little strip of skin on the edge to stiffen it, -and make it stand up,--that is for a wick; then they dip it a few times -in melted tallow, and make a light of it; but it’s a little, miserable -light.” - -“I shouldn’t think they could see to read by it.” - -“There’s but very few of them can read. They don’t have schools, as -they do here: and the poor people can’t send their children, for so -soon as a child is big enough to open a gate, or turn a wheel, or mind -another child, run of errands, hold a horse, or scare the rooks and the -birds from the grain, they are obliged to put that child to work, in -order to live and pay rent. - -“Women in England spin twine and make lines with a large wheel, which a -little boy turns; and when the little boy gets tired, the woman sings -to him, to cheer him up,-- - - ‘Twelve o’clock by the weaver’s watch, - The setting of the sun; - Heave away, my little boy, - And you’ll leave off when you’re done.’ - -And the little boy will brighten up, and make the wheel fly, -because he’s going to leave off when he’s done.“ - -“You are a little boy, Charlie,” said Sally, who was listening with -great attention, “to know so much about the affairs of older people.” - -“Ah, mother, misery makes boys sharp to learn. If you was a little boy, -and your mother had but one cow, and she churned, and you asked her -for a little piece of butter, and she said, with the tear in her eye, -‘No, my child, it must go to pay the rent;’ if you brought in a whole -hat full of eggs, and had not eaten an egg for a year, and should long -for one, O, so much, and cry, and say, ‘O, mother, do give me just one -egg!’ and she said, ‘No, my child, they must all be sold, for we are -behindhand with the rent;’ you would know what paying rent means.” - -“Well, Charlie, you shall have all the butter you want every time I -churn; and I’ll spread your bread both sides, and on the edges.” - -“I shouldn’t think,” said Joe, “a man could get a living by -basket-making. It can’t be much of a trade. Anybody can make a basket -that has got any Indian suet. I can make as good a basket as anybody.” - -“You can make a corn-basket or a clam-basket; but the basket-makers -make chairs, and cradles, and carriages, and fishing-creels, and -work-stands. It is as much of a trade as a joiner’s or a shoemaker’s. -There is more call for basket-work in England than here. Timber is very -scarce there. They would no more think of cutting down such a young, -thrifty ash as that I am making this basket of, than they would of -cutting a man’s head off; and, when they cut down a tree, they dig up -every bit of the root and use it for something, and then plant another -one. They don’t have boxes, and barrels, and troughs to keep and carry -things in, as they do here; but it is all crates, and hampers, and -baskets, and sacks. If a man should cut a tree as big as a hoe-handle -on the Earl of Bedford’s estates, he would be transported or hung.” - -“It wouldn’t be a very safe place for me to go,” said Joe, “for I’ve -the blood of a great many trees on my conscience.” - -“They raise trees there from the seed, and plant and set out thousands -of acres. O, I wish you could only be in the fens in picking-time, I -guess you would laugh.” - -“Why so, Charlie?” - -“You see the women and children take care of the fowl. When they want -to pick them, they put on the awfulest-looking old gowns, and tie -cloths round their heads, and shut the geese and ducks up in a room, -and then take ’em in their arms and go to pulling the feathers out. -The old ganders will bite, and thrash with their wings; they will be -plastered from head to foot with feathers. - -“An old woman, with her black face all tanned up (for the women work in -the fields there), looks so funny peeping out of a great heap of white -feathers and down! and then such an awful squawking as so many fowl -make! Don’t you have any lords and dukes here, father?” - -“No; we are all lords and dukes. We have presidents, and governors, and -folks to do our thinking for us; and if they don’t think and govern to -suit us, we pay them off, turn them out, and hire better ones.” - -“Who is your landlord, father?” - -“Mr. Welch, in Boston, till I pay him for this island.” - -“Who is Uncle Isaac’s, and Captain Rhines’s, and the rest of the folks -round here?” - -“They are their own landlords.” He then explained to the wondering boy -how it was that people in America got along, and governed themselves -without any nobility or landlords, and owned their land; that he was -now paying for his, that he might own it, and that was the reason he -came on to the island. He also told him, that in some parts of the -country land was given to people for settling on it. - -“What! is it their ointy-dointy, forever and ever?” - -“Yes; as long as they live; and then they can sell it or leave it to -their children, or give it to whom they have a mind to.” - -“O,” cried Charlie, jumping up, and reddening with excitement, “how my -poor father and mother would have worked, if they could have thought -they could ever have come to own land for themselves! According to -that, all that the people here do on the land they do for themselves, -and they are their own landlords.” - -“To be sure they are.” - -“Only think, to own your land, and have no rent to pay! I should think -it was just the country for poor people to live in.” - -“We think it is.” - -“I’m glad you told me all these things, father. I mean to do all I can -to help you and mother pay for the land, and by and by, perhaps, when I -get to be a man, I can have a piece of land.” - -“I’ll tell you what you can do, Charles. Make baskets in the evenings -and rainy days, and sell them. I will let you have all you get for -them.” - -“I thank you, father. I could make the house full before spring.” - -“I,” said Joe, “when I am not too tired, will pound some of the -basket-stuff for you. It is hard work for a boy like you.” - -“So will I,” said Ben. “I can pound enough in one evening to last you a -month.” - -“Yes,” said Joe; “you and John might form a company, and go into the -basket business--Rhines & Bell. No; the Rhines Brothers; John and you -are brothers. John could pound the basket-stuff at home, and bring it -over here; you could make them, and he could sell them to the fishermen -in the summer. They use lots of baskets. If you sell them to the store -you won’t get any money, only goods; but the fishermen will pay the -cash.” - -“Won’t that be nice! I tell you the very first thing I mean to have; -I’ll swap some baskets at the store, and get some cloth to make a sail -for my boat.” - -“I’ll cut it for you,” said Joe. - -“I’ll sew it,” said Sally. - -“And I,” said Ben, “will rope it for you (sew a piece of rope around -the edge), and show you how to make the grummet-holes.” - -“Then the next thing I’ll do, will be to get some powder, and, when the -birds come in the spring, I will learn to shoot and kill them, and have -feathers to sell, to help pay for the island.” - -“If,” said Joe, “you don’t learn to shoot till the birds come, by the -time you get learned the thickest of them will all be gone. You ought -to fire at a mark this winter, and practise, and then when the birds -come you will not have so much to do.” - -“I can’t get any powder till I sell my baskets; powder and shot cost a -good deal.” - -“I’ll advance you the money, so that you can get a little powder and -shot. You can use peas and little stones part of the time: they will -go wild, but it will help you to get used to hearing a gun go off, and -learning to take sight, and hold her steady. Our folks will want some -baskets in the spring, and when I get through I will take them; but I -will let you have the money now.” - -“Thank you a thousand times! What a good country this is, and how good -everybody is!” said the happy boy. “Everybody seems to want to help me; -it ain’t so in England.” - -“That is because you are a good boy, and try to help yourself and -others.” - -“There’s one other thing I must have, because I want it to make -baskets--that is a knife.” - -“To be sure; a boy without a knife is no boy at all; he’s like a woman -without a tongue.” - -“Then I’ll have some bits, and a bit-stock, and a fine-toothed saw. O, -if I only had the tools, wouldn’t I make things for mother! I’d make -a front door, and ceil up the kitchen, and cover up the chimney, and -make a closet, and a mantelpiece, and finish off a bedroom for father -and mother, and shingle the roof.” - -At this they all burst into peals of laughter. - -“Well, Charlie,” said Ben, “you’ve laid out work enough for five or six -years. You had better go to bed now, and all the rest of us, for it is -past ten o’clock. I am sure I don’t know where this evening has gone -to.” - - - - -CHAPTER IX. - -BEN FINDS A PRIZE. - - -The next morning Charles went to look at the willows. He said they were -different from the sallies they made baskets of; that the same kind -grew in England, but they called them wild sallies there, and never -made baskets of them; but he thought if they could be made to grow -straight he could make a basket of them. So he got the axe, and cut off -a whole parcel of them, in order that they might sprout up the next -spring and grow straight. - -Intercourse with the main shore was so difficult and dangerous in the -winter, as there was nothing better to go in than a canoe, that Ben -went off to procure provisions and breadstuff to last him till spring. -When he returned he brought Charles powder and shot. - -“Father,” said Charles, “you never got all this powder and shot with -the money I gave you.” - -“No, Charles; I put a little to it, because I wanted to make my little -boy a present.” - -“Thank you, father.” - -“John told me that he would like very much to go into the basket -business with you, and would pound a lot of basket-stuff, and make it -all of a width, and trim the edges smooth and handsome, and get out -the rims and handles. He wants to know if you are willing to take Fred -Williams into partnership with you and him, because he wants to go in. -His father is a miller, and he can sell a good many baskets to folks -that come to the mill. Nova Scotia people often come there after corn, -and he could sell them to them, to sell again to the fishermen down -their way.” - -“Yes, father; I should like first rate to have him.” - -“John Strout is going to the West Indies this winter, and will bring -the Perseverance over here, and leave her, because she’ll be safe. John -will send basket-stuff over by him, and you can send back word whether -you will take Williams into partnership.” - -“I don’t know what would have become of me, if you and mother had not -taken me in. Now, John told me all about Fred. He said that he didn’t -want him to go with him and Uncle Isaac, because he knew that they -should have so much better time together; but he said one day, when -they were off together in a boat, Uncle Isaac told him that we ought -to deny ourselves to help others, and talked to him in such a way that -he felt ashamed of himself, and couldn’t look Uncle Isaac in the face, -but had to look right down in the bottom of the boat. Since that he had -gone with Fred, and was right glad of it, for he had become a real good -boy, and he’s as smart as lightning. I saw that the day I was over to -see John.” - -“He has become a first-rate boy. Everybody that goes to the mill says -there is not a better, more obliging boy in town; and they are always -glad when he is in the mill, his father is so cross.” - -“You know I would rather be with John alone; but if he made a sacrifice -to get him good, I ought to help keep him good.” - -“That’s right, Charlie; that is a good principle.” - -“Do you know, father, it seems to me just like this about Fred. When I -get out an ash rim for a basket, it is hard work to bend it; and if, -after I have bent it, I don’t fasten it, but throw it down on the floor -and leave it, in the morning it will be straightened out just where it -was before; but if I fasten it till it gets dry and set, it will stay -so; and I think we ought to do all we can to keep Fred good till he -gets fairly set in good ways, and then he’ll stay set.” - -Ben had scarcely removed the provisions from the canoe, and put it all -under cover, when the weather suddenly changed. As night came on, the -wind increased, with snow; and afterwards hauling to the south-east, -blew a hurricane, the rain falling in torrents through the night; but -at daylight hauled to the south-west, when it became fair. - -Ben and Joe were at work in the front room making shingles. At morning -high-water they heard a constant thumping in the direction of the White -Bull for more than an hour, when it gradually ceased. At night they -heard it again. - -“Joe,” said Ben, “let us take the canoe after supper, and go over and -see what that thumping is. It is not the surf, nor rocks grinding on -each other, I know.” - -When they reached the spot they found the bowsprit of a vessel, with -the bobstays hanging to it, having been broken off at the gammoning, -with the gripe attached to it. There was also the fore-mast and -fore-topmast, with the yards and head-stays, the mast being carried -away at the deck. The chain-plates also on the starboard side and -channels had been torn out, and hung to the shrouds by the lanyards. -On the port side there were only the shrouds and the upper dead-eyes. -The sails were on the yards, while braces, clew-garnets, clew-lines, -leach-lines, bunt-lines, and reef-tackles,--some nearly of their entire -length, others cut and parted,--were rolled around the spars, and -matted with kelps and eel-grass, in almost inextricable confusion. In -the fore-top was a chest lashed fast, and filled with studding-sail -gear, which having been fastened, the rigging remained in it. These -ropes were very long, and had been but little worn. - -“Well,” said Ben, looking upon the mass with that peculiar interest -that a wreck always inspires in the heart of a seaman, “I am sorry for -the poor fellows who have met with a misfortune; but this rigging, -these sails and iron-work, are a most precious God-send to me.” - -Iron and cordage were both very valuable articles in the country at -that time, as the British government had forbidden the erection of -rolling and slitting mills before the Revolution, and the manufactures -of the country were just struggling into life. Withes of wood were used -in lieu of ropes and chains. - -“The long bolts in that gripe,” said Joe, “will make you a crane. -A few more links put to the chain on that bobstay will make you a -first-rate draught chain. The straps of the dead-eyes welded together, -and a little steel put on the point, will make a good crowbar.” - -But Ben had ideas, which he did not make known to Joe, very different -from the construction of cranes or crowbars. These it were which -occasioned his joy at the sight of the wreck. - -“These are the spars of a big ship,” said Ben; “neither the sea nor the -wind took these sticks out of her.” - -“How do you know that?” - -“Because, if the ship had gone ashore, and gone to pieces, the spars -and this gripe would have gone where she did. She never lost that mast -by the wind. If she had, the chain-plates wouldn’t be hanging to the -shrouds, for no rigging would hold to tear the channels from a ship’s -side.” - -“No more it wouldn’t. I never thought of that; but how did she lose it?” - -“She has run full splinter on to an iceberg, and struck it with her -starboard bow. An iceberg would scrub her chain off as easy as you -would pull a mitten off your hand.” - -“Then she went down with all hands.” - -“Perhaps not. I’ve seen a vessel keep up, and get into port, that had -her stem cut off within four inches of the hood ends. Look there,” -pointing to the larboard shrouds of the fore-rigging; on the dead-eyes -and the shrouds were the marks of an axe. “Somebody did that in cutting -the lanyard to let the spars go clear of the ship. They would not have -done that if she had been going down.” - -They built a shed of boards to put the rigging and sails under, and -yards, while Charles burnt the mast, bowsprit, and caps to get the iron. - -Snow having now fallen, they began to haul their spars and logs to -the beach. John Strout now came over and brought the basket-stuff, -and Charles sent word by him to John that he would like to take Fred -Williams into partnership. - -John brought word that Fred’s father was going to repair the mill, and -that while that was going on, Fred would like to come over and see -Charles, and learn to make baskets. Charles sent word back that it -would be agreeable to him to have him come. He was now quite excited. -Here was company coming, and nowhere for them to sleep but on the -floor. There were but two bedsteads in the house,--one in the kitchen, -where Ben and his wife slept, and the other in the front room, where -Joe slept. This was the spare bed, and the best room, though it was -made a workshop of, and was half full of shingles and staves; but they -could do no better. - -Charlie, as usual, went to Sally for counsel. - -“I should not care for him,” said she; “I should as lief he would sleep -on the floor as not. If you give him as good as you have yourself, that -is good enough.” - -“But, mother, I shouldn’t want him to go home and say that he came to -see me, and had to sleep on the floor; besides, John might hear of it, -and then he wouldn’t like to come.” - -“John! he’d sleep on the door-steps, or a brush-heap, and think it was -beautiful. I’ll tell you; I’ll ask Joe to sleep in your bed, and let -you and Fred have the front room.” - -“O, no, mother! I’m afraid he won’t like it; and then he will play some -trick on us. I have thought of a plan, mother.” - -“Let us hear it.” - -“There are some yellow-birch joist up chamber, all curly, with real -handsome whorls in them. I think I could make a bedstead of them; -and then, you know, it would be my own, and we should have it if any -company came. I have got an auger that I borrowed of Uncle Isaac, to -bore the holes for the cord, and the earings on the sails that came -ashore would make a nice cord.” - -“I would, Charlie; that will be a first-rate plan.” - -“But I don’t like to ask father for the wood. He has saved it to make -something, and perhaps I might spoil it, and not make a bedstead after -all.” - -“Ask him yourself. I’ll risk your spoiling the stuff. If you do, -there’s plenty more where that came from.” - -Charlie asked for and obtained the joist. As he didn’t want Joe to look -at and criticise him, when he saw him coming from the woods to his -meals, he put it up chamber. At length he finished making it. Then he -scraped it with a scraper made of a piece of saw-plate, and then rubbed -it with dogfish skin, which made all the curls and veins in the wood -to show, and put it in the front room for Ben and Joe to see when they -came in to dinner. - -“If I only had,” said Charles, “some dye-stuff, how handsome I could -make this look!” - -Joe told him there was a little red ochre in the schooner, which he -would get for him. This Charles mixed with vinegar, and rubbed a little -on the wood, which brought out the beauty of the wood, and gave it a -nice color. - -“If I were you, Charlie,” said Ben, “I would have a sacking bottom to -your bed, instead of bare cords.” - -“What is that?” - -“Why, there is a piece of canvas that was torn from one of the sails, -take that, and make it almost large enough to fill up the bedstead; -then hem it, and make a row of eyelet-holes all around the edges, and -cord it tight into the bedstead. It will be first rate to sleep on.” - -“Ben, shew Charles how to sew with a sailor’s thimble, which is held in -the hollow of the hand;” and he made it and put it in. - -Fred now came over, and Charles taught him to set up and make a basket. -He made a good many, and burnt them up in the fire, till at length he -made one that would do. After this he got along very well. - -The two boys now began to fire at a mark, as Fred had brought some -powder and shot, and a gun with him. Charles, at first, shut up both -eyes when he fired, and almost dropped the gun when it went off, -and was afraid it would kick; and Fred could show him as much about -shooting as he could Fred about basket-making; but he soon got so that -he could fire without winking, and hold the gun firm to his shoulder, -and hit a mark quite well. Then they took a block of wood, and made it -in the shape of a Whistler, and anchored it in the water, and fired -at that, as it was bobbing up and down in the water; and at length -Charles got so he could hit that twice out of four times. When they -had expended their ammunition, they took, instead of shot, peas and -gravel-stones. - -One day, after dinner, Charles came running into the house all out of -breath, saying there was a little child in the woods. - -“How do you know?” said Ben. - -“I have seen its tracks and its bare foot-prints in the snow. O, -father! do come and help me find it; it will freeze to death.” - -“It is not a child’s track, Charles.” - -“What is it?” - -“It is a raccoon track thawed out; they look like a child’s track.” - -“What is a raccoon, father?” - -“They are about twice as large as Sailor, and live in the woods on -mice, fish, and berries. I will show you one some day.” - -“May I shoot him; me and Fred?” - -“No; I want them to breed.” - -They now began to take what Charles called real solid comfort. The days -were short; as Ben said, only two ends to them. They had abundance of -time to sleep, and were all in full health and vigor. - - - - -CHAPTER X. - -HOW THEY PASSED THE WINTER EVENINGS. - - -One evening they made a rousing fire. Ben got out his shoemaker’s -bench, and was tapping a pair of shoes. Boots were not worn by them; -they wore shoes and buskins. - -Fred and Charles were making baskets, and Joe an axe-handle, or rather -smoothing it. Sally was knitting Charles a pair of mittens. As for -Sailor, he had the cat on her back on the hearth, while he was astride -of her, trying to lick her face with his tongue, the cat keeping him -off with her paws, but when he became too familiar, would strike him -with her claws. - -“Charlie,” said Joe, looking up from his work, “tell us some more about -England, like as you did the other night.” - -“Yes, do, Charlie,” said Fred. “Was your father a cooper? You said they -made hoops of willow and alder.” - -“No; he was a basket-maker, and so were all my folks--my grandfather -and great-grandfather. We cannot remember when our folks were not -basket-makers. But then, as I have told you, we mean by basket-makers -those who work with sallies, and make all kinds of things with -it. My mother’s brother made a tea-set, and presented it to the -queen,--plates, and cups and saucers, and tea and coffee pots, and -tumblers. Of course they were only to look at; but they were just as -beautiful as they could be, and all colored different colors, like -china. He was four years about it, at spare times, when he could leave -his regular work that he got his living by. My father employed four or -five men, and we paid our rent, and got along quite comfortable, till -my father was pressed.” - -“Pressed!” said Fred; “what is that?” - -“Why, in England, they are in war-time always short of men in the navy; -and then they take them right in the street, or anywhere, and put them -by force into the men-of-war, to serve during his majesty’s pleasure. I -have heard people say that means during the war; and that as England is -always at war with somebody, it was the same as forever. That is what -pressing means.” - -“A cruel, barbarous thing it is, too,” said Ben, “and ought to bring a -curse on any government.” - -“They press sailors generally,” said Charles; “but when they are very -short of men they will take anybody they can get hold of. I have heard -say they couldn’t press a squire’s son, or a man that owned land, and -that they can’t go into a man’s house to take him; but, if they catch -him outside, or going into the door, they will take him.” - -“Can they take any of the quality?” - -“No, indeed! all the misery comes on the poor in England.” - -“I shouldn’t think,” said Fred, “that a poor man would dare to go out -of doors.” - -“Well, they don’t; leastways, in the night, when the press-gang is -about. There was one time (I have heard my mother tell of it) when they -were pressing blacksmiths.” - -“What did they want of blacksmiths?” - -“She said at that time they took blacksmiths and rope-makers, calkers, -and shipwrights, and set them at work in the dock-yards on foreign -stations, where they were building and repairing men-of-war. My uncle -was a blacksmith; he had been warned that the press-gang were about, -and was on his guard. But one night, just as he was getting into bed, -there was a cry of murder right at his door-step. He ran out to help, -and there was a man lying on the flags, and two others striking at -him. The moment my uncle came out, the man who was crying murder jumped -up, and all three of them rushed upon my uncle. It was the press-gang -making believe murder to get him out of doors. He caught hold of the -scraper on the step of the door, and cried for help. My aunt ran out -and beat the press-gang with her broom, and the people in the block -flung coals, and kettles, and anything they could lay their hands on, -upon their heads. One woman got a tea-kettle of hot water, and was -going to scald the press-gang; but she couldn’t without scalding my -uncle. The people now rose, and came rushing from all quarters; but the -police came, too, to help the press, and marines from the guard-house -with cutlasses and pistols. His wife clung to him, and his children, -and cried as though their hearts would break; but they put handcuffs on -him, and dragged him away, all bleeding, and his clothes torn off in -the scuffle.” - -“What a bloody shame!” cried Ben, his face assuming that terrible -expression which Charles had seen on it when the encounter between -him and the land-pirates took place. “I wish I had been there; I’d -have given some of them sore heads. But they are not so much to blame, -after all. It is those that make the laws, and that set the press-gang -at work. I should like to wring their necks for them.” - -“I shouldn’t think,” said Joe, “such men would fight very well for the -government that used them so.” - -“They don’t,” said Ben; “and they dare not trust them; but they scatter -them through the ship, a few in every mess, and put them where they can -watch them. I was taken once by an English man-of-war. They put a prize -crew on board of us; part of them were pressed men. We rose and retook -her; the pressed men all joined us, and went into our army.” - -“I should have thought they would have gone into the privateers or -men-of-war.” - -“They thought they were less likely to be taken again in the army, -for if the English had got hold of them, they would have hung them. -They told me that whenever they got into action with a French vessel, -they threw the shot overboard, if they could get a chance, instead of -putting it in the guns, in order that they might be taken; and that -they sometimes revenged themselves by shooting their officers in the -smoke and heat of the action.” - -“I should think the officers would keep a bright look out for them.” - -“So they do; and are very careful not to go under the tops, and keep -well clear of the masts, lest a marline-spike should come down on their -heads, or a block unhook, or a heaver fall, as accidents of that kind -were very apt to happen when pressed men were aloft. I don’t believe a -man could be so on his guard that I could not kill him in the course of -a three years’ cruise, if I wanted to, and appear to do it by accident, -too. - -“I have seen hundreds of these men, and they all tell the same story. -I’ve seen a poor fellow who was pressed when he was nineteen; his -mother was a widow, and he was her sole dependence. I’ve seen him, when -he was telling me the story, jump up and smite his hands together, -while the tears ran down his cheeks, and pray God to curse that -government, and hope that he might live to see its downfall; but I -never heard them curse the country; they seemed to love that; it was -the government they hated and cursed.” - -“Was your father pressed when your uncle was?” said Joe. - -“No; about four months after.” - -“Tell us about that, Charles,” said Sally. - -“I don’t like to tell or think about it; but I will tell you. At the -time my uncle was taken, it made a great noise. People were very much -frightened, and kept very close, never going out in the evening if they -could help it.” - -“I don’t see,” said Ben, “in a country where the law allowed them to -seize people in the street, and carry them off, why they could not go -into the house and take them.” - -“Perhaps they could; but that was what folks said, that an -‘Englishman’s house was his castle,’ and they couldn’t come into the -house to take them, and they never did. We didn’t think they would -press my father, because he was neither a rope-maker nor carpenter; -but they were short of men, and all was fish that came to their net. -Nevertheless, we kept such strict watch that my father would not have -been taken; but he was sold to them by a blood-seller.” - -“What is a blood-seller?” said Sally. - -“A man that will go to the captain of the press-gang, and tell him -where he can find a man, and how he can get hold of him; and they get -paid for it.” - -“O, that is the meanest, wickedest thing I ever did hear tell of.” - -“It is often done in England, though; but this man didn’t do it for -money.” - -“What did he do it for?” - -“He and my father courted mother when they were both young men; but she -liked my father best, and married him. He always hated my father after -that; told lies about him, killed his geese, and tried to injure him in -his business. But when he found the press-gang were about, he thought -if he could sell him to them, and get him out of the way, mother would -marry him.” - -“He must have been a fool, as well as a villain, to think a woman would -marry a man that did that.” - -“But he did not think that would ever be known; but it came out. He -knew that my father had engaged to make cases for the army to carry -instruments in.” - -“What are they?” - -“Why, little square baskets, with partings in them, and covered with -leather, to put the doctors’ things in. They are so light that a man -can carry them on his back just like a knapsack. - -“My father set out from home, to go to the government workshop, long -before daylight, that the press-gang might not see him; he had about -four miles to go. If he could only get there, and put his name on the -roll, he would be safe, as then he would have a passport given him to -go and come, and the press couldn’t touch him. He could make better -wages working at home, but my mother persuaded him to work for less -wages, for the sake of being safe. - -“The blood-seller knew all about this, and told the press-gang. He was -in sight of the workshop, and hurrying on with all his might, when four -men jumped out from a hedge and seized him,--one of whom put his hand -on his shoulder, and told him he must go and serve in the navy during -his majesty’s pleasure. Before daylight he was out of sight and hearing -of everybody that knew him.” - -“Poor man,” said Sally, “when he was almost in safety.” - -“But how did you know what had become of him?” said Joe. - -“He was going to board with his cousin, and come home Saturday nights. -They looked for him till the middle of the week, and, when he didn’t -come, his cousin came over to our house, and said to mother, ‘Where is -John? I thought he was going to work for the army.’ - -“‘He went from here at three o’clock last Monday morning.’ - -“‘He has not been at our house, nor at the workshop, for I have been to -see.’ - -“‘Not been at your house! Why, he told me he was going to enter his -name on the roll, and be mustered in, and get his protection, and then -go to your house to dinner.’ - -“‘My God! then the press-gang have got him!’ - -“As he uttered these awful words, my mother screamed out, ‘The thing -that I greatly feared has come upon me,’ and fell senseless on the -hearth. We children thought she was dead.” - -“Poor soul,” cried Sally, “how she must have suffered! Your cousin -ought to have broke it to her more gently. But what did you do then?” - -“He put her on the bed, and called some women that lived over the way, -and they brought her to. All her folks and friends came to see her, and -tried to comfort her, and told her that perhaps he had gone on some -unexpected business, and would return; and that even if he was pressed, -he might be discharged when the war was over.” - -“How long before you found out what become of him?” - -“In about ten days my mother had a letter from him. It was all blotted -over with tears. He said he was on board the hulk at Sheerness, and -that if we came quick we could see him, as he might be ordered away at -any time.” - -“What is a hulk?” said Fred. - -“It is an old man-of-war, not fit for service, and made a prison-ship -of, to keep the men in till they want them in the ships they are going -in. My grandfather went with us to the ship; there we found him with -two thousand more men.” - -“O, my!” said Sally; “were all these poor men pressed?” - -“No; my father said most of them were sailors who had shipped of their -own accord. He was so pale and heart-broken I should have hardly known -him. He wanted to be cheerful, and comfort us, but he couldn’t. The -tears ran down his cheeks in spite of him. - -“He took my mother in his arms, and said, ‘My poor Nancy, what will -become of you and these little ones, now they have no father to earn -them bread, and keep want from the door; and poor old father, too, that -when we had food always had part of it.’ Little William, who was just -beginning to go alone, clung around his neck, and sobbed as if his -heart would break. - -“‘We shall be at home, John, among friends; but you are going among -strangers into battle, to be exposed to the dangers of the seas.’ - -“They now told us we must part, for we had been together two hours, -though it seemed to us but a few moments. We had to see and talk with -him right amongst a crowd of men: some were swearing, some wrangling, -and some laughing and talking, for the sailors seemed to be as merry -as could be, and in their rough way tried to cheer us up. Father asked -my grandfather to pray with him before they parted; and when my father -told some of the sailors what he was going to do, they went among the -rest, and it was so still that you might have heard a pin drop. I saw -tears in the eyes of many of them when we went away, and they said, -‘God bless you, old father!’ in a real hearty way, to my grandfather, -and shook hands with him.” - -“Sailors are rough men,” said Ben, “for they live on a rough element, -and see rough usage; but there was not a sailor in all that ship’s -company would have betrayed his shipmate, as that blood-seller did your -father.” - -“While we were on board the guard-ship, one of the marines told my -father who it was that betrayed him to the press-gang, for he overheard -him talking with the captain about it. - -“It was bitter parting. We never expected to see him again, and we -never did; for it was but a few months after that when he was killed in -battle.” - -“What did your mother do,” said Ben, “when she heard that your father -was dead?” - -“At first she took to her bed, and seemed quite heart-broken. After a -while she kind of revived up, and said it was her duty to take care -of us, for father’s sake. Then she hired men, and went into the shop -herself; and the neighbors and our relations helped us cut and whiten -the sallies, and pick the fowl, and we made out to pay the rent, and -were getting along very well, when there came a new trouble.” - -“What was that?” - -“Why, this same man, Robert Rankins, that sold my father, began to -come into the shop, and make us presents, and help us, and finally -asked my mother to marry him; but she spit in his face, and called him -a blood-seller, and told him what he had done to my father; but still -he would come; when, to be rid of him, she put the children among my -father’s folks, and took me and came to the States; and the rest you -know,” said the boy, his voice shaking with the feelings which the -recital called up. - -Charlie’s stories were not all so sad as these. Many of them caused -them all to laugh till their sides ached. - -“How did you get your living, Charles,” said Ben, “before you shipped -with the pirates in the shaving mill?” - -“I ran of errands, and piled up wood on the wharves, picked up old -junk round the wharves and sold it, and went round to the doors of the -houses and sung songs; did everything and anything that I could get a -copper by, except to beg and steal. I never did beg in my life, but -sometimes I thought I must come to it or starve.” - -“Sing me a song, do, Charlie,” said Fred. - -“Some other time, Fred, I will; but not to-night. I have been talking -about things that make my heart ache, and I don’t feel like it.” - -If Charles could tell them many things that were new and interesting, -they could equal him in all these respects. Joe could tell him stories -of logging, camp-life in the woods, and hunting; Ben, of the seas and -privateering. - -Charlie was exceedingly curious and inquisitive in respect to -everything that related to the Indians. He had read and heard a great -many stories about them in his own country, from old soldiers that had -been in the British armies, and of whom every village and hamlet had -its share, and who had fought in all the Old French and Indian wars; -but he had never seen a savage, or any of their work. - -“They are the fellows for making baskets,” said Joe, “and they can -color them too.” Then he told him about their canoes of birch bark. - -Ben showed him a pair of snow-shoes, and put them on, and a pair of -moccasons worked with beads. - -Sally showed him a box made of birch wood, covered with bark, and -worked with porcupine quills of different colors--blue, white, and -green. - -“Where did they get the colors?” said Charles. - -“Out of roots and barks, that no one knows but themselves.” - -“What color are they?” said Charles. - -“Just the color of that,” said Joe, taking a copper coin from his -pocket. - -But he was the most of all delighted when he discovered that Uncle -Isaac had lived among them, and knew all their ways, and promised -himself that he would have many a good time talking with him. - -“You must get the right side of Uncle Isaac if you want Indian -stories,” said Joe. - -“I guess he has done that already,” replied Ben, “or he never would -have lent him his tools. Uncle Isaac don’t lend his tools to everybody. -If you only knew the secret of the Indian colors, Charles, you might -make your bedstead look gay.” - -“Yes, father, and not cost a penny either. I would color the sacking -bottom green; no, red; no, blue, I think, would look the handsomest.” - - - - -CHAPTER XI. - -BEN REVEALS HIS LONG-CHERISHED PLAN TO HIS FATHER. - - -The spring was now approaching. Ben had a large amount of lumber cut; -but, as the spars had been pretty well culled out before, much the -greater proportion of it was logs, fit only for boards. He might have -cut more spars, but he did not mean to clear any more of the island -than was needed for pasture and tillage, if he could possibly avoid it. - -He had already realized a good deal of money by running some risk, -when he took his spars to Boston, and saved nearly all the expense of -transportation. But he now had determined upon a still more adventurous -plan, which he had been revolving in his mind, and preparing for all -the previous summer, and during the winter. - -This was no less than to take his boards to the West Indies in a raft, -or rather to make them carry themselves. For this reason he had brought -his boards back from the mill, and stuck them up to dry, instead of -selling them there, as he might have done. It was for this reason that -he cut the cedar, and piled it up to dry, that it might be as light as -possible. - -But to encounter the tremendous seas of the Gulf Stream, and keep such -an enormous body of timber together in a sea way, was quite a different -matter from going to Boston on a raft. Still the gain was in proportion -to the risk. - -“If,” reasoned Ben, “men can go thirty miles up the rivers, cut logs, -raft them down, manufacture them into boards, take them to Portland, -Boston, or Wiscasset, sell them to another party, pay wharfage, pay for -handling them over two or three times, freight them to the West Indies, -and then make money, how much could a man make who cut them at his own -door, made them into boards at a tithe of the expense, transported them -at a trifling expense compared with the others, and sold them in the -same market!” - -Ben did not lack for mechanical ability and contrivance, and was equal -to any emergency. He believed he had devised a plan to hold the timber -together, and put it into a shape to be transported. - -But another and more embarrassing question was, who would go as -captain of the strange craft? He could think of no one who possessed -sufficient capacity as a seaman and navigator, and who would be willing -to take the risk, but John Strout; but John was liable to get the worse -for liquor, and therefore would not do. - -“What a fool a man is,” said Ben to himself, “to make a beast of -himself with rum! Now, there is John Strout, as capable, noble-hearted -a fellow, and as good a seaman and navigator, as ever stepped on a -vessel’s deck, and likes to go to sea, which I never did (only went to -get money), poking about these shores in a fisherman, when he might be -captain of as fine a ship as ever swum, kept down by rum, and nothing -else. I wish Sally would let me go. I am a good mind to ask her.” - -Ben at length became so possessed with the idea, that, unable any -longer to keep it to himself, he broached it to his father, fully -expecting to be ridiculed, when, to his utter astonishment, the old -seaman said, “I think it can be done, Ben. I see no difficulty but what -can be got over;” and, as usual with him, forgetting all the risk in -the profits of the adventure, exclaimed, “What a slap a fellow could -make, hey! Ben, if he only gets there. The Spaniards are hungry for -lumber, for they have been kept short through the war.” - -“But the greatest difficulty of all is, who will go as master? You know -I promised Sally not to go to sea. I won’t break it.” - -“No difficulty at all, Ben. I’ll go myself.” - -“You go, father!” - -“I go? Yes; why not? I guess I haven’t forgot the road; I’ve travelled -it often enough. I never promised my wife that I’d stay at home, only -that I’d try; and I have tried bloody hard, and I can’t. I thought I -was worn out, but I find I ain’t. I’m live oak and copper-fastened. -I’ve got rested and refitted, and am about as good as new. She can’t -sink, that’s a sure case; and I’m sure she can’t spring a leak. -She’ll be like the Mary Dun Dover the old salts tell about,--three -decks and nary bottom, with a grog-shop on every jewel-block, and -a fiddler’s-green on every yard-arm. She’ll be like the Irishman’s -boots,--a hole in the toe to let the water in, and another in the heel -to let it out; so there will be no pumping.” - -It is often the case in our plans that one prominent difficulty -prevents for the time all considerations of others, which being -removed, the lesser ones present themselves. It was thus with Ben. At -first the great difficulty was to find a master; now others presented -themselves. - -“Can you sell a cargo of lumber for money? Won’t you have to take sugar -or molasses? They all do; and then you will have no way to get it home, -without costing more than it is worth, for you will have to pay just -what freight they have a mind to ask.” - -“The Spaniards have got money enough; your lumber is of an extra -quality, and if you offer it a little less for cash, there will be no -trouble. They will jump at it like a dolphin at a flying-fish. You can -afford to sell it a good deal less, and then make your jack.” - -“Do you think you can get men to go in such a craft?” - -“Go? yes. These boys round here will go to sea on a shingle with me. -John Strout will go for mate, to begin with. I tell you, my boy,” -slapping him on the back, “you’ve hit the nail on the head this time. -Only think what the doubloons will be worth here, where it takes five -dollars of our Continental money to buy a mug of flip. If you offered -Mr. Welch the gold, he would discount the interest on your debt, and -part of the principal, and be glad of the chance. Suppose you should -take the gold, and go to the farmers, who haven’t seen any hard money -this ten years,--think you wouldn’t get your corn, wheat, and meat -cheap!” - -Our readers will bear in mind, that in the war of the Revolution the -Continental Congress issued bills that became depreciated, so that at -the close of the war they were not worth much more than the rebel money -in the Secession war; and Captain Rhines’s statement that it took five -dollars of it to buy a mug of flip, was literally true. - -Some of the soldiers, who were paid off in this currency, were so -enraged when they found how worthless it was, that they tore it up and -threw it away; but wealthy and far-seeing men bought it of the soldiers -for a song, kept it till it was redeemed, and thus became immensely -rich. - -This will explain to our young readers why it was that the people were -put to such shifts to get along; had to use withes for chains and -ropes, make their own cloth and dye-stuffs, and resort to all kinds of -contrivances to get along; because, although the country after the war -was filled with foreign goods of all kinds, none but the wealthiest had -any money to buy them with; and the wealthy people were very few indeed. - -Almost all the trade was by barter--swapping one thing for another. -Rum, coffee, and sugar were more plenty on the seaboard than anything -else, because they could exchange lumber for them in the West Indies. -Lumber, too, was sold to the English vessels for money, in the form of -spars, and ton-timber ten inches square, which led the people to work -in the woods to the neglect of the soil--a thing which, as we shall see -by and by, Ben took advantage of. - -“I can tell you, my boy,” continued the captain, “your going to Boston -with the spars wasn’t a priming to this; there’s money in it; I know -there is.” - -Ben then told his father about the wreck of the masts and spars that -came ashore. “Isn’t that a God-send, now?” - -“What sails were they?” - -“A fore-course, fore-topsail, fore-topmast staysail, and -fore-topgallant yard, with the sail on it, and almost the whole of the -topsail halyards, with both blocks.” - -“They will make glorious throat-halyards. Were the shear-poles wood or -iron?” - -“Iron.” - -“They will be first rate to cut up for bolts. Now, Ben, you get your -logs to the mill, and get them sawed, and the boards home; and when the -weather comes a little warmer, I’ll hire somebody to work on the farm -with John, and I’ll come over to the island, and we will put her right -through. I can hew and bore, but you must be master-carpenter. When it -comes to making sails and fitting rigging, I can do that, or we’ll do -it between us.” - -Ben now dismissed all misgivings. He knew that his father was at home -in all kinds of craft, from a canoe to a ship; had stowed all manner -of cargoes; and having from boyhood been flung upon his own resources, -was fertile in expedients. The quickness of decision manifested by the -captain was by no means an indication of superficial knowledge, but his -mind was quick in all its movements; and all seafaring matters had been -with him subjects of mature thought and practical experience from early -life, and his judgment was equal to his resolution. - -In short, he belonged to that class of men called lucky, which was one -reason why men liked to go with him. In all his going to sea, he had -never lost a man overboard. - -“The greatest difficulty I see,” said Ben, “is keeping the timber -together, and high enough out of water to keep the sea from breaking -over her; but I think I have found a way, for I have been studying upon -it more than six months.” - -He then told his father how he meant to build the raft, or craft, -whichever it might be called, which he highly approved. In maturing his -plan, Ben had fixed upon the summer as the best time in which to make -the voyage, as the winds were then moderate; but his father dissented -from this entirely. “In the first place,” said he, “if the winds in the -summer are light, they are more likely to be ahead; and such a thing -as that will not work to windward; and, if you heave her to, she will -make leeway at a great rate; all her play will be before the wind, or -with the wind on the quarter. October is a better month than July or -August; then we always have northerly or north-west winds. We might -take a norther that would shove us across the gulf. The summer is a bad -time on account of the yellow fever, and men will not be so willing to -go.” - -“I see, father, it’s just as you say; besides, there is another thing I -did not consider; we cannot get canvas to put sail enough on her to do -much without a fair, or nearly fair, wind.” - -“Just so, Ben.” - -“There is another reason, father. The boards that are sawed this -spring, having all summer to season, will be dry and light, and the -craft will not be half so deep in the water, which will be a great -thing.” - -“I guess it will; for the most danger will be of the sea overtaking and -breaking on her. In the fall of the year,” said the captain, “there -will be fowls, potatoes, and other things we can carry as a venture, -that will help pay expenses.” - -When their deliberations became known to Mrs. Rhines, she was by no -means pleased with the turn matters had taken. “I thought, Benjamin,” -she said, with a reproachful look, “that after you had been gone almost -all the time since we were married, you would stay at home with your -family, and make my last days happy, and not go beating about at sea -in your old age, when you’ve got a good home, and enough to carry you -down the hill of life. I declare, I think it is a clear tempting of -Providence, after you have been preserved so many years. I shouldn’t -wonder if something should happen to you, and I don’t thank Ben for -putting it into your head. He won’t go himself, and leave Sally, but -he’ll send his old father.” - -“Goodness, wife! don’t take it so serious. What’s a trip to the West -Indies? just to cheat the winter, and get home to plant potatoes in the -spring. I’ll bring you home a hogshead of sugar, and you can make all -the preserves you like. I’ll bring you home guava jelly, and tamarinds, -and pine-apple preserves; and you know you like to have such things -to give to sick folks. Most all the neighborhood is sick when you have -them.” - -“These things are all well enough in their way,” replied his wife, -while a tear stole down her cheek, “but they cannot make up for your -absence; but I suppose it must be.” - -“Don’t cry, wife. I don’t want to grieve you, and I’m sure I don’t want -to leave you; but you know what a good child Ben has been to us; how -nobly he stepped forward when I was in trouble, and helped me out, and -is now feeling the want of the money he then gave me. There’s nobody -can take charge of this craft, and help him now as I can, and I think I -ought to do it.” - -When Ben returned from his visit to his father, he told Sally and Joe -the whole matter. - -“Now I know,” said Sally, “what you have been thinking about so long, -and talking about in your sleep all this winter.” - -“And I,” said Joe, “know what all these boards stuck up to dry, and -that cedar, mean; and what made you so delighted when all that rigging -and iron-work came ashore. I should have thought you would. Good on -your head, Ben! I’ll stand blacksmith, for I have worked most a year -in a blacksmith’s shop; and when you get her ready for sea I’ll go in -her; and, if I go, Seth Warren will go, too, for he can’t live without -me, and there will be two good corn-fed boys at any rate.” - -They now improved the few remaining days of winter in hauling the -remainder of the logs from the woods, and then began with all despatch -to raft them to the mill, bringing the boards back as fast as they were -sawed, and sticking them up to season. They found the Perseverance, -that lay in the cove, very convenient for towing their rafts. - - - - -CHAPTER XII. - -THE MYSTERIOUS PIG. - - -It was now the last of March. The fish-hawks and herons began -to return, and the whistlers and sea-ducks to come in on to the -feeding-grounds. - -Charles had business enough. He began to put in practice the lessons he -had learned in the winter, and killed four whistlers out of the first -flock that came. He launched his canoe, and began to catch rock-fish on -the points of the Bull, and a reef that lay about half a mile from the -island; he also carried a lot of baskets over to John and Fred to sell. - -Often in the morning, just as the day was breaking, Ben and Sally would -be awakened from sleep by the report of Charlie’s gun, as at that time -the fowl began to come from outside, where they had passed the night -sleeping on the water, to their feeding-grounds round the ledges. - -Old Mr. Smullen’s black and white sow had twelve pigs. Ben heard of it, -and determined to have one of them. Charlie heard him talking about it -with Sally. A few days after he went to Sally, and said, “Mother, you -know that money that I got for baskets the other day?” - -“Yes.” - -“I was going to buy some cloth, and have you make me a sail for my -boat; but I mean to take the money and buy one of Mr. Smullen’s pigs -for father.” - -“O, Charlie, I never would do that. You know how you have been looking -forward all winter long to having a sail to your boat, and how that -birch-bark sail plagues you; it is always ripping out, and coming to -pieces, and you have to keep making it over. Ben can buy the pig well -enough.” - -“But, mother, you know how good father is to me; just as good as he -can be. He often lets me go over and see John, when I know he needs me -at home, and got all that powder and shot; and he needs every penny to -pay for the island, because he has to pay the interest to Mr. Welch, -and that, you know, is just the same as paying rent. O, that’s an awful -sound! The rent day is dreadful.” - -“But, Charlie, it isn’t so here, and Mr. Welch is not like your -old-country landlords.” - -“Do let me do it, mother. I have made you a sink, and a press-board, -and a rolling-pin, and a great wooden spoon, and a bread-trough; but I -have never made father anything.” - -“Well, Charlie, you are a good boy, and you may do as you wish.” - -“Mother, you mustn’t tell him. I want to get the pig and put him in the -sty before he knows anything about it.” - -“I don’t see how you are going to work to leave the island, and get a -pig, and he never know it.” - -“O, mother, when a boy gets anything in his head, he is bound to do it, -by hook or by crook.” - -That very day, when Ben came in to dinner, he said, “Sally, we ought -to have that pig to eat the milk. It is too bad to throw away all the -skim-milk and buttermilk. I guess I must take time and go over to-night -and get him.” - -“I wouldn’t go to-night, Ben; you will be going with a raft next week, -and I can save the milk till then.” - -That night, as soon as the rest were asleep, Charles crept down stairs -barefoot, and, sitting down on the door-step, put on his shoes and -stockings. He then got into his canoe, and pulled across the water -for Captain Rhines’s. When he reached the house Tige was lying on the -door-step; the old dog knew Charlie, and came towards him, stretching -himself, yawning, and wagging his tail. “Good dog,” said Charlie, -patting him on the head. Tige held out his paw to shake hands. Charlie -knocked at the door, while the dog stood by him. Captain Rhines put his -head out of the window to inquire who was there. - -“It’s Charlie.” - -“Is anybody sick?” - -“No, sir; but I want to see John.” - -“What do you want of John, this time of night?” - -Charlie told him. The captain called John, and in a few moments the -boys were hurrying off for Smullen’s, where they called the old man -out of bed, and got the pig, and Charlie was soon on his return to the -island. He put the pig in the pen, and creeping up stairs as still as a -mouse, got into bed just as the gray light was beginning to break. - -As they were eating breakfast they heard a strange sound. - -“Hark! what noise is that?” said Ben. - -“It sounds like a pig squealing,” said Joe. - -“But we haven’t got any pig.” - -“I guess it’s a fish-hawk,” said Charles, scarcely able to contain -himself at beholding the puzzled look of Ben and Joe. - -In a few moments a louder and shriller sound arose. “It’s a pig, as I’m -a sinner!” exclaimed Joe. Ben rushed out of doors, following the sound, -to the sty, where was a bright little black and white pig, about eight -weeks old. - -“O, what a beauty!” cried Charlie; “I am so glad. Where do you suppose -he came from, father?” - -“That is what I should like to know.” - -“It came from Uncle Jonathan Smullen’s sow, I know,” said Joe; “for -it’s just the color, and about the right age. I don’t believe but he -brought it on, and is round here somewhere now.” - -“He’s too old a man to come on here alone; besides, he never would -leave the island without first coming to the house to get something to -wet his whistle.” - -“Didn’t Uncle Isaac,” said Sally, “know that you were going to have a -pig of Smullen?” - -“Yes; for I sent word to Smullen by him to save me one.” - -“Perhaps he and Uncle Sam have gone over to Smutty Nose, or somewhere, -gunning, and brought the pig; they didn’t like to disturb us before -day, and so put him in the pen.” - -“That’s it, Sally, and they will be here to dinner.” - -Ben looked in vain for Uncle Isaac all that day; no Uncle Isaac came; -but he satisfied himself with the idea that he brought the pig. - -The next day, as Ben was sitting after dinner smoking, Charlie came -running in, crying that the pig had got out, and run into the woods. - -“Then we shall never find him,” said Ben. - -Charlie burst into tears. - -“Don’t cry, Charlie. Which way did he go?” - -“He took right up among the brush and tree-tops, where you cut the -timber. I didn’t see him, but I heard him, and followed the sound. -There it is again.” - -The pig was now heard squealing among a great mass of tops of trees; -and, as they followed the sound, it grew fainter in the distance, and -finally ceased altogether. - -“Is there no way to get him, father?” said Charlie, with downcast -looks, while the tears stood in his eyes. - -“Perhaps he will come out to-night, and come round the house when he -grows hungry, and all is still. I will set a box-trap, and put some -corn in it, and we can, I think, catch him.” - -While they were talking they heard a squealing in the direction of the -sty, and, looking around, saw the pig poking his nose out between the -logs, and squealing for his dinner. - -With a shout of joy, Charlie jumped over the fence, and caught the pig -up in his arms, and hugged him, and scratched him. “You pretty little -creature!” said he, “you shall have some dinner. I thought I had lost -you. But, father, mother, how did he get back into the pen and we never -see him?” - -“He never did get back; he has never been out of it.” - -“Then, what pig was that in the woods?” - -“That’s more than I know, Charles.” - -It was Charlie’s turn to be puzzled now, as well as the rest. They -examined the pen all round; there was not a crack large enough to let a -pig through. - -“I declare,” said Sally, “I’m almost frightened.” - -“I can’t tell what it means,” said Ben; “there’s certainly another pig -in the woods.” - -When Ben went to work he told Joe. Joe agreed that it was very strange. -About dark they heard it again. That night they set the trap close by -the pig-pen, and put some corn in it. “He will hear the other pig,” -said Ben, “and come out after we are all abed, and we shall catch him.” - -Charlie was up by daylight in the morning; the trap was sprung. He -made sure he had caught the pig. They took the trap over into the -pen to let him out. Sally and Joe came out to look. “Father,” cried -Charlie, “only see that little rogue of a piggee, he’s lonesome. Only -look at him, father, smelling round the trap; he thinks he’s going to -have a play-fellow and bedfellow.” - -While Charlie was chattering away, Ben opened the trap. Charlie was -stooping down, with both hands on his knees, looking at the place where -the trap was to open. Out jumped a raccoon, right in his face, and went -over the side of the pen in an instant. Charlie was so frightened, -that, in trying to jump back, he fell on his back, and the pig snorted -and ran to his nest. The rest burst into roars of laughter. Joe was so -tickled that he lay down on the ground and rolled. - -Charlie got up, looking wild and frightened. - -“What was it, father, a wolf?” - -“No, Charlie, a coon. That was the creature whose tracks you saw in the -snow, and thought they were a little child’s.” - -“I wish I could see it. I was so startled I had no time to look. -Couldn’t I set the trap again, and catch him, and keep him, and have -him tame for a pet?” - -“I wouldn’t. You have got a pig, and the little calf that came the -other day. He would be apt to kill the chickens, and suck the eggs, and -be a great plague.” - -The next morning was one of those delightful spring mornings, which one -who has witnessed them on the shore can never forget. The trees partly -leaved, were reflected in the glassy water and fish and fowl seemed -actuated by an unusual spirit of activity. Ben told Charles it was so -calm he wanted him to go over to his father’s, and tell him that he -was going to begin to work on the timber the next day, and to ask his -mother if she would let one of the girls come over and keep house a -little while, as Sally wanted to go home and make a visit. - -“Well, Charlie,” said Captain Rhines, “have you come after another pig?” - -“No, sir; we’ve got two pigs now.” - -“Two pigs!” - -“Yes, sir; leastways when we catch one of them.” - -He then told him about the pig in the woods--how they tried to find -him, and set a trap for him, and caught a raccoon. - -“I know who the pig in the woods is,” said John; “it’s Joe Griffin; he -can talk like anybody, or imitate any kind of critter. It’s him, I’ll -wager my life, and he’s been making fools of the whole of you.” - -“I never knew he could do such things.” - -“But,” said the captain, “Ben and Sally do; and I should have thought -they would have taken the hint before this time. Have they found out -where the other pig came from?” - -“No, sir; they think Uncle Isaac brought him on when he was going -a-gunning.” - -“I tell you what you do, Charlie; the next time you hear the pig -squeal, you set the brush on fire (the fire won’t do any harm this time -of year), and see what comes of it.” - -“That I will, sir; I’ll warm his back for him.” - -“Did Ben say you must come right back?” - -“No, sir; he said it was a good ways for a boy like me to pull, but -that I might stay till afternoon; and, if the wind blew hard, stay till -it was calm.” - -The boys went down to the cave, because Charlie wanted to see Tige -catch sculpins and flounders. Then they sat down under the great willow -to talk, and John showed Charles the place where Tige tumbled down the -bank when Pete Clash and his crew were beating him. - -“What kind of a time did Fred have on the island?” - -“O, he had a bunkum time. He said he never had so good a time in his -life.” - -“Did he like me?” - -“Yes; he liked you first rate. He said he was so glad you didn’t know -how to shoot.” - -“What for?” - -“Because, he said, you knew so much more than he did, and could do -so many things, that he should have felt as if he was a fool, if he -couldn’t have shown you something.” - -“I can shoot now. I shot a blue-bill, and three old squaws, and -horse-headed coot last week. When I first got up I saw them in the -mouth of the brook; they were playing and diving. When they would dive, -I would run up while they were under water, till I got behind some -bushes, and then I crawled up and cut away.” - -“Fred told me about your bedstead,--how handsome it was,--and about the -sink; I must come over and see that. I want you to tell me what you -told Fred about the time your father was pressed; won’t you, Charlie?” - -“I will, John, some time when we sleep together. I don’t like to tell -you in the daytime, because it makes me cry, and I don’t like to cry -before folks; but in the night, when we are in bed, I’ll tell you. I -liked Fred very much, and so we all did; you tell him I said so--won’t -you?” - -“Yes; we’ll go over and see him after dinner; by that time the wind -will be at the eastward, and you can sail home. Fred has got some tame -rabbits.” - -“Where did he get them?” - -“Some of them are young ones the cat caught, and he got them away from -her before she hurt them; and the rest are old ones that he caught in a -trap. Are there any rabbits on the island?” - -“No, not one; but there’s raccoons and squirrels. Don’t you think, -there ain’t any birds there,--only the sea-fowl. Sometimes wild -pigeons, woodpeckers, robins, and blue-jays come on there, but they -fly right off again; I wish they would stay and build nests. We have -such a sight of birds in Lincolnshire! O, I wish you could hear a lark -sing! they will start from the ground, and go right up straight in the -air, singing all the way; and when you can’t see them you can hear them -sing. Why, the swallows build right in the thatch.” - -“Thatch! what is that?” - -“Why, they cover the houses with straw, instead of shingles.” - -“I should think the water would run right through.” - -“It won’t; they’re just as tight as can be.” - -“Can you do it?” - -“Yes; I’ve helped my father mend the thatch a hundred times.” - -“Some time let’s make a little house, just as they do there, and you -make a straw roof.” - -“Well, so we will. They make houses there mostly of stone, and we can -get plenty of stones, on the island. They make bee-hives there of -straw.” - -At dinner-time Captain Rhines said, “Wife, you must tell Ben whether -you will let him have one of the girls.” - -“Indeed, if you are going on there to work, I’ve a good mind to go, -too; I ought to know how to keep house by this time.” - -“You never said a better thing, wife; you know how much Ben thinks of -his mother; he would be in ‘kingdom come.’” - -“Well, you are going away this winter, and if I thought the girls could -get along--” - -“Get along, mother! we’ll get along first rate,” was the unanimous -response. - -“But then there’s the soap; I was thinking of making soap this week.” - -This was only adding fuel to the fire. Filled with the idea of making -soap, the girls were now determined she should go. - -“Why, mother,” said Mary, the eldest, “we can make the soap. I have -helped you make it a great many times, and if there is anything I don’t -know, I can get Mrs. Hadlock to show us. What shall we be good for, if -we are always tied to your apron-strings, and never try to do anything -for ourselves?” - -“Sure enough,” said the father; “’twill be a good thing for you and -John both; you can take care in the house, and he out of doors.” - -“I’ll set up the leach for you,” said John; “and after the soap is -made, if we have good luck, we’ll have a celebration, and make candy.” - -“Come, wife, make up your mind; don’t worry about the children; if -I ain’t afraid to leave the farm to John, I’m sure you needn’t be -afraid to leave the house to the girls. I’ve no idea of doing with our -John as old Peter ---- did with his boy Jim. He never learnt Jim to -do anything, or contrive anything, for himself, from the time he was -hatched. ‘James,’ the old man would say in the morning, ‘do you go into -the barn-yard, and look in the north-east corner, and you will find a -hoe; take that hoe, and go down to the western field, and begin to hoe -on the acre piece, and stick two punkin seeds in every other hill.’ -After the old man died, Jim was good for nothing, because he never knew -where to find the hoe; lost his land, and is now working out at day’s -work, and is as poor as Lazarus.” - -Mrs. Rhines was not at all convinced that she was of such little -consequence in the household, and that affairs could proceed so easily -without her. - -“There is that quilt,” she said, “that I meant to have had put into the -frames next week.” - -This ill-judged speech only made her absence more desirable. - -“O, mother!” was the unanimous cry, “we can quilt the quilt.” - -“There, girls, hold your tongues; you know you can do no such thing.” - -“Yes, mother, we can; because we can get Hannah Murch, Aunt Molly -Bradish, and Sukey Griffin, and do it first-rate.” - -“I want the fun of quilting it myself. Well, I will go; the quilt can -stand till I get back. Charlie, you tell Ben I’m coming to keep house -for him, but he must come after me himself, in his great canoe; I’m -a scareful creature by water; I ain’t a bit like Mrs. Hadlock or -Sally--willing to go any where in a clam-shell.” - -The next morning Ben took Sally to the main land, and brought his -mother on to the island. It was a great gratification to Ben to have -his father and mother on the island, in his own home; and the hours of -relaxation from labor were seasons of heartfelt enjoyment. - -Charlie lost no time putting into execution Captain Rhines’s directions -in respect to the pig, having first enjoined upon them the greatest -secrecy, not even permitting them to tell Ben and Sally of his plots -and suspicions, lest Joe, who was very quick of perception, should -divine what was in store for him. - -In the first place, he made a fire of some old oak and maple stumps -and chips, in a hollow of the ledge, that he might have some brands at -hand whenever he might want them. A day or two passed away, and nothing -was heard of the pig. The fire smouldered away in the old roots, and -Charlie once in the while flung on fresh fuel. - -At length, one day, just after Joe had eaten his dinner, and gone to -work, while Ben and the captain sat down to talk a little while with -Mrs. Rhines, he heard him squealing in the midst of a great mass of -brush, composed of the tops of several large pines, and branches from -other trees which had been flung upon them, in clearing a road to -haul the logs. The whole mass lay up very high from the ground, and -underneath the pig was running about and squealing for dear life. The -brush, which had been cut the year before, was full of pitch, and as -apt to catch as tinder. The moment Charlie heard the noise, he ran -to the place, and began to call, “Pig, pig;” and piggy replied by -squealing with all his might. - -“Poor piggy, are you hungry? Wait a minute, and I will get you some -corn.” - -He ran to the house and got some corn in a dish, and to the fire for a -brand; he called the pig, rattled the corn in the dish with one hand, -and with the other lighted the brush in different places, as he walked -around the heap. - -“Chook, chook,” cried Charlie; squeal, squeal, went the pig. - -The cunning boy had now fired the heap in a dozen places, completely -encircling the pig. A slight breeze now sprang up as the flood tide -made, and in an instant the fire, which had been gradually making -progress, began to roar and crackle, and soon swept through the brush -in a sheet of flame. - -“Jerusalem, what is this!” bellowed a voice, and Joe Griffin leaped -out from the midst of the burning pile; the brands rolled off the back -of his woollen shirt, which was thoroughly singed, while a fox-skin -cap he wore was scorched to a crisp, as was his hair; he ran round and -round, as though he was mad, blowing his fingers (which where slightly -burned), and slapping them on his thighs, while on his face was a -mingled expression of pain, arising from the burn, and anger at being -outwitted. - -“Pig, pig, pig-e-e!” screamed Charlie, rattling the corn, and laughing -as though he would split between every word. - -“Shut up, you little brat!” cried Joe, flinging a pitch knot at him -with a good will, that, if he had not dodged, would have broken his -head. - -Roused by the uproar, and smelling the smoke, the whole family ran to -see what was the matter. They could not help laughing to see the figure -Joe made dancing about, and blowing his fingers. - -“What is the matter, Joe?” asked Ben. - -“The pig has bit him,” cried Charlie. “O, I wish John was here.” - -Joe ran off to the beach to cool his fingers. - -“What in the world,” said Ben, “is the reason, that when all of us have -always known what a mimic Joe is, that we couldn’t have thought it was -him squealing, and making such fools of us. How did you know it was -him, Charlie?” - -“John told me; and I don’t believe he’ll try to be pig in the brush -again.” - -“Father,” said Ben, “do you know whether Uncle Isaac has been on any of -the islands gunning?” - -“No; but I don’t believe he has fired a gun these three weeks; he’s -been too busy. Why?” - -“Because there’s a pig in the pen that came there we don’t know how; -all we know is, that we found him there.” - -“Why,” said Mrs. Rhines, looking up from her work, “Charlie got a pig.” - -Captain Rhines gave his wife a nudge to keep dark, but it was too late. -Ben had heard the remark, and insisted upon knowing. - -“Well,” said his mother, “I suppose I am telling tales out of school; -but Charlie came to our house in the middle of the night, and called -John out of bed, and they took off, as though they were possessed, to -Jonathan Smullen’s, after a pig.” - -“That was well planned, Charlie,” said Joe; “and I’ll forgive you for -singeing me so.” - -“I should never have thought of setting the brush on fire, Mr. -Griffin, if Captain Rhines had not told me to.” - -“We are square now, Joe,” said the captain; “your scorching will do to -offset the fright you gave me, when I thought I had shot Ben, having -put one bullet through the window, and the other into a milk-pan of -eggs, on the dresser.” - - - - -CHAPTER XIII. - -A NOVEL CRAFT. - - -John Strout now came from the West Indies, and went to work with them. -He brought home tamarinds, guava jelly, and other good things for -Sally; a hat made of palm-leaf for Ben, and some shells for Charlie. -He also brought Ben a cocoanut to keep liquor in; the end of it, where -the eyes are, was made in the shape of a negro’s face; the two little -round places, where we bore to let the milk out, serving the purpose of -eyes, with eyebrows cut over them, and filled with some red matter; in -the mouth was a lead pipe to drink from; large ears were also made, and -a nose; the figure looked somewhere between a monkey and a negro, funny -enough, and was full of rum. He also brought them home twenty-five -pounds of coffee, and a hundred weight of sugar. - -Charlie was very much puzzled to know how the meat was got out of the -shell without breaking it. John told him that he bored the hole for the -mouth, and then turned the milk out, filled it with salt water, and -set it in the sun, when, the meat decaying, he washed it all out; then -scraping the outside with a knife and piece of glass, oiled it, and -made the face with an old file, which he ground to a sharp point. - -Ben and Joe now commenced their craft, laying the keel on the beach, -making the rough skeleton of a vessel. As their object was neither -beauty nor durability, only to serve the present occasion, they used -all the cedar possible, that she might be the more buoyant. - -They took the iron from the spars, and Joe, who had worked in a -blacksmith shop, took it over to the main land to a shop, and made -their fastening. They, however, used but very little iron, making -wooden treenails answer the purpose. They made a bow and stern frame, -and set up two ribs on a side where the masts were to come, laid a -rough deck at the mast-holes, and forward for the windlass and the heel -of the bowsprit to rest on; the remainder was all open. They then put -on two streaks of plank next the keel, to hold the ends of the timbers, -and hung the wales. - -As Uncle Isaac had finished his planting, he now came to work with -them; they made the windlass, rudder, and spars; they also sheathed -the bow and stern with boards, where she entered and left the water, so -as to diminish the friction somewhat. The spars looked queer enough: -they were beautiful sticks, as straight as a rush; but there was no -labor expended upon them, except what was absolutely necessary. She was -to be rigged into a schooner,--and an awful great one she was, carrying -more than three hundred thousand of timber. The masts, where the hoops -were to run, were as smooth as glass, but as to the part below the deck -it was just as it grew; so with the other spars,--where there was no -necessity of their being smooth, the bark was left on the stick. - -Ben now ascertained that there was a large trade carried on from -Wiscasset in spars and ton-timber, that was shipped to Europe. He -accordingly took what he had, and making them into a raft, sold them -there, and bought his rudder-irons, a second-hand jib and flying-jib, -and provisions for his workmen. - -She now sat on the beach ready for her sails and cargo, and the tide -ebbed and flowed, and the winds blew through her frame. It must be -confessed she was a craft of magnificent distances, and probably -could not have been insured at Lloyd’s. It was not desirable to load -her till near the time of starting, in order that the cargo might -not water-soak, as the great object was to render her as buoyant as -possible. Ben therefore discharged his men, while he and his father -went to work on the rigging. Uncle Isaac went home, while Joe went on a -fishing cruise with John Strout. - -During all this period Charlie had been by no means idle; there were a -great many things he could do to help along. When the men were hewing, -he, with his narrow axe, could score in and beat off for them (that -is, cut notches in the timber, close together, and then split out the -wood between), which very much facilitated the labor of hewing. He -could also drive treenails; and when the men were not using the broad -axe, would hew out small sticks with a skill that called forth many -compliments from Uncle Isaac, who took great pains to show him, and -found a most apt scholar. - -Charlie now became very anxious to see his mother. Every day or two he -would say to Ben, “What does make mother stay so long? she never did -before; she used to think she could not go to be gone a day, and now -she has been gone almost a month.” - -At length, one pleasant morning, Ben, to his great joy, took the -canoe, and went to bring her home. If Charlie went down to the eastern -point once that day with the spy-glass, he went fifty times. - -“I can’t do anything,” he said to Captain Rhines, “nor set myself about -anything, till I know whether mother is coming.” - -It was about the middle of the afternoon when Charlie saw the white -sail of the canoe in Captain Rhines’s cove, and she soon came into view -before a light southerly wind. Charlie saw through the glass his mother -sitting in the stern, and, jumping into his canoe, went to meet them. - -“Why, mother!” said he, “what makes you look so pale? are you sick?” - -“No, Charlie; I never was better in my life.” - -When they neared the shore Charlie pulled ahead, and landing, stood -ready to hug his mother as soon as she should get out of the canoe. - -“Don’t hug me hard,” said she, kissing him, “for you might do some -damage.” - -“O, mother! what is that under your shawl? do let me see. Is it the -cloth for my breeches?” - -“Look,” said she, opening the folds of her shawl. - -“O, a little baby! Whose is it? Where did you get it? What a wee bit of -a thing! what little mites of hands! I wish it would wake up and open -its eyes. I do love babies so! and how I shall love your baby,--our -baby. It will be my brother--won’t it, mother?” - -“Yes, Charlie; but let us go up to the house, and let Captain Rhines -and his wife see the grandchild.” - -“Now, mother,” said Charlie (after the grandparents had seen and -admired the baby, and they had drunk a cup of tea in honor of his -arrival), “I want you to go and see my pig, and the rabbits. You don’t -know how piggy has grown. Mrs. Rhines told me it would make him grow to -wash him; so every Monday, when she had done washing, I put him in the -tub, and washed him, and the black on him is just as black as ink, and -the white as white as snow. I have made him a nest in the woods, and he -goes there every night and sleeps.” - -It was not the custom in those days to put pigs in pens and keep them -there; they let them run about the door, and feed in the pasture with -the cattle, only putting them up in the fall to fatten; or when they -bought a strange one in the spring, they shut him up till he got tame. - -“Mother, would you believe that a pig knew anything? I’ve taught him -to follow me all round, just like a dog, and come running out of the -woods when I call him. I’ve named him Rover; and don’t you think he -knows when the tide is down just as well as I do; then he goes to the -beach, and digs clams with his nose; he never goes a clamming at high -water. When I am fishing for flounders he will sit by me till I pull -up a fish, and then he will swallow it in no time; sometimes I say, -‘Rover, you can’t have that; it is for the house;’ and he will look so -wishful I have to give it to him.” - -“I never heard of such a pig before, Charlie; I expect you will learn -him to play with sea ducks.” - -“I never thought of that, mother; I don’t believe but I will. Mother, -you know Fred Williams gave me some rabbits?” - -“Yes.” - -“Well, they have got young ones. O, they are the prettiest little -things that ever were; come and see them;” and, getting her by the -hand, he drew her out of doors. - -“Mother,” he said, “it was not altogether to see the pig that I got you -out here.” - -“I thought as much, Charlie.” - -“Well, sit down on this nice log; I want to tell you what good people -Captain Rhines and his wife are; you don’t know how good they are.” - -“Yes, I do, Charlie; they’re real estate--both of them. I never -shall forget when my father died, and mother was left poor and -broken-hearted, with a family of little children, and knew not which -way to turn. Captain Rhines was at home that year; they were building a -vessel for him; he came over every night to see her, and every time he -seemed to lift some of the load from mother’s heart. Somehow, it seemed -to me that he did more good than the minister, for when he came she -would sit and cry all the while he was talking to her, and after he was -gone; but when Captain Rhines came, he gave her life and courage, and -she would go about the house quite cheerful; sometimes he would slip -money into her hand.” - -“I suppose,” said Charlie, “she needed that more than praying, because -she could pray for herself.” - -“I tell you what it is, Charlie; if Captain Rhines should live to be -old, and needed some of his children to take care of him, wouldn’t I -pay that debt up, principal and interest, as far as was in my power?” - -“I’ll bet you would, mother; and I’d help you.” - -“I’ve waked up at sunrise many times, and seen Captain Rhines and Ben -ploughing for mother; they would plough till nine o’clock, then go -home, eat their breakfast, and then do their own work, while mother and -I, with Sam to drop the seed, would plant it, and the next day they -would get more ready.” - -“Now, mother, I want you to see the pig.” Charlie began to slap his -hands on his sides, and cry, ‘Rover, Rover,’ when a great rustling was -heard in the woods, and the pig came on the gallop, his black and white -sides glistening in the sun as he ran. Living on grass, and in the -woods, with the milk from the house, he had not that protuberance of -belly which swine reared in sties possess, and really merited Charlie’s -encomium of being handsome; he jumped up on his master and rubbed -against his legs, with low grunts, expressive of satisfaction. - -Ben and his father now built a shed just sufficient to shelter them -from the sun and rain, and let in the cool summer breeze. Here they -fitted the rigging, and altered the ship’s sails into those of a -schooner; and so well versed were Captain Rhines and his son in all -nautical matters, that, by dint of splicing and piecing, they managed -to get all the standing rigging, and nearly all the running gear, out -of the materials of the wreck. They now put the rigging over the -mast-heads, and set it up, and all was ready, except bending the sails. - -In the spring, soon after Ben had told his father of his plan, the -captain said to Charlie, “Now you set all the hens you can, and raise -chickens, and when I go to the West Indies you can send them out as a -venture, and get coffee, sugar, and cocoa-nuts.” - -Charlie told his mother, and they put their heads together, and set -every hen that was broody, insomuch that Ben complained that he could -not get an egg to eat. In addition to this, Charlie went and borrowed -sitting hens of Uncle Isaac, Sam Yelf, and Joe Bradish. - -“I tell you another thing you do,” said the captain: “negroes there use -lots of baskets, that they carry on their heads, filled with oranges -and other things; they also use them in loading and unloading vessels, -and sometimes they carry them by straps of green hide that go over -their shoulders. Now, you make some handsome square baskets, with flat -bottoms, and they will be so much better than theirs that they, or -their masters, will buy them.” - -“How can the slaves buy them? Do they have money?” - -“Money! yes.” - -“How do they get it?” - -“Why, they have Sundays and holidays to themselves, and what they earn -they have. Many of them have earned enough to buy their freedom, and -are well off. Do you go over to our house, and ask John to give you -some turnip-seed, and sow it on that ground you burned over when you -was roasting Joe Griffin, and see what turnips will grow there; you can -hack the seed in with the hoe; turnips will sell first rate in the West -Indies; I’ll tell them they are Yankee yams.” - -“But how will you get your things home? you will have no vessel to come -in.” - -“Let me alone for that, Charlie; I’m an old traveller.” - -It may be well to inform our readers that in those days but -comparatively few vegetables were carried there, and they brought a -high price in the way of barter. - -Charlie was by no means slack in acting upon these suggestions, and -made baskets with all his might. - -It was a most comical sight to see Ben holding his baby; his thumb -was bigger than the infant’s leg, and his great hairy arms contrasted -strangely enough with the white, delicate flesh of the new-born child. -He held it, too, in such a funny way, with the tips of his fingers, -as if afraid he should squat it to death, and with an expression of -anxiety upon his face amounting almost to anguish. - -“I mean to make a cradle for him,” said Charlie. - -“You are too late,” said Ben; “for the cradle was made before he was -born, long enough.” - -He then told Charlie to go up chamber, and look under some boards in -the north-east corner; and there he found the cradle that Sam Atkins -made for the boy, whose birth Seth Warren, in a spirit of prophecy, -foretold upon the day the house was raised. - - - - -CHAPTER XIV. - -THE BURN. - - -It was now the latter part of summer. The vessel being completed as -far as was possible at present, Captain Rhines went home, leaving Ben -and Charlie alone. There was now a large piece of land running along -the eastern side of the island, beside the middle ridge, which was -ready for a burn. From this land Ben had hauled his spars, and logs for -boards, leaving the tops of the trees and all the brush; in addition to -this there was left quite a growth of other trees, that were not fit -for timber; these he and Joe had cut early in the spring, so that the -soil was completely covered with a dense mass of combustible matter, -as dry as tinder. Ben was very anxious to burn this. He had now two -cows, a bull, and a yoke of oxen, and was obliged to buy hay and bring -on to the island for them, which, was a great deal of work. He had to -hire his oxen pastured away in the summer, as the island was so densely -covered with wood that it afforded but little pasturage, which was -eked out by falling maple trees for them to browse. It was therefore -of the greatest importance to burn this land, and get it into grass as -soon as possible; but Ben hesitated a long time, fearing that he might -burn himself up, it was so dry, and hoping that a shower would come -to wet the grass, so the fire would not run. At length it was evident -he must burn it, or it would be too late to sow, as he would soon be -engaged in loading his timber, and have no opportunity. - -One morning, when the dew was very heavy, almost equal to rain, and the -slight wind from the south-west blew directly away from the buildings, -he determined to make the attempt. In the first place they removed -everything from the house to the beach; then they hauled Charlie’s -canoe up to the house, and filled it with water; they also filled all -the barrels, troughs, and tubs about the premises, and drove the cattle -to the beach, lest the fire should run into the woods. - -Ben would have ploughed two or three furrows around his buildings, -which would have been the most effectual preventive; but, after the -vessel was built, he had put his oxen away to pasture. - -The settlers run great risks in clearing their lands, either of -burning up their houses, or of destroying the timber they wish to spare. - -A few years since there were fires in Maine that burned for weeks, and -destroyed thousands of acres of timber, and cattle, houses, barns, and -many human beings, and even crossed streams. - -But there is no other way. Here was a quantity of ground covered with -brush, logs, and bushes: to have hauled all this away would have been -an endless job, and after that the ground could neither be ploughed nor -planted, being entirely matted with green roots, and cold and sour; -besides, the moment the sun was let into it, sprouts would begin to -spring up from the stumps, and weeds, blackberry, and raspberry bushes -from the ground, and cover it all over. But a fire in a few hours will -lick up every stick and leaf, except the large logs and stumps, burn -up all the bushes, and the whole network of small roots that cover the -ground, so that nothing will start for months, as it destroys all the -seeds of the weeds and trees, of which the ground is full; and if it -is dry, and a thorough burn, will so roast the large stumps that very -few of them will ever sprout again,--while, as in Ben’s case, most of -them are spruce, pine, or fir, that never throw up any sprouts from the -roots. There is then left a thick bed of ashes, which receives and -fosters whatever is put into it. - -Our readers will perhaps recollect, that along the shore of the island -was a cleared spot covered with green grass. This cleared land extended -back on both sides of the brook for quite a distance, and was dotted -over with elms; and on a little knoll, about half way between the brook -and the middle ridge, was an enormous rock maple, with that perfect -symmetry of proportions which this noble tree often presents. The large -lower limbs, bending downwards, came so near to the ground that Charlie -could reach the tips of them, by standing on a stone. - -How the boy loved this tree! It was beautiful in the spring, with its -red buds; beautiful in summer, with its masses of dark-green foliage, -and its refreshing shade; but most beautiful of all in the autumn, with -its crimson tints, relieved by the lighter colors of the surrounding -trees. Here he made his whistles; here he was quite sure in a hot day -to find the pig stretched out in the shade, with his nose stuck in -the moist, cool earth under a great root, and the cattle lying round -chewing their cuds. - -He also had a swing under the limbs, made of two long beech withes, -that Joe Griffin had twisted for him; and often, after supper, Sally -would take her sewing, come up and swing with him; and sometimes he -would swing the pig, for he had made a basket that he could put into -the swing. - -Under ordinary circumstances this large piece of cleared ground would -have proved a perfect protection; but it was a sharp drought, and the -grass was dead, dry, and inflammable. Nevertheless, as the dew was -so heavy, and the grass damp with a fog which had set in the night -before, Ben thought there could be no danger, and put in the fire. As -it ran along the ground, and gradually crept away from the house, he -congratulated himself that all danger was over; but the wind suddenly -shifted to the north-east, and drove the fire directly towards the -house. Had Ben set the fire at first along the whole line of the brush, -there would have been burnt ground between him and the mass of fire, -which would have cut off the communication, and he would have been -safe; but he set it on one corner, and when the wind shifted, the flame -driven by it dried the moisture from the grass, and made rapid progress -towards the house, while a large strip of dry grass made a bridge for -the fire to travel on. - -As the wind was not yet strong enough to prevent the fire from running, -it made good progress in the right direction, burning all the more -thoroughly that it burned slowly; but, on the other hand, it was -constantly coming in the direction of the house, increasing its pace as -the wind and heat dried up the moisture from the grass. - -Soaking blankets in salt water, they spread them on the roof of the -house, wet the ground around it, and urged to desperation by the fear -of losing their home, beat out the flame from the grass with hemlock -boughs, which is the best way to stop fire that is running in grass. - -But the wind now began to rise, and as fast as they beat it out in -one place it caught in another, as the wind blew the tufts of blazing -grass in all directions. Ben’s hair and clothes were singed. Sally -was frequently on fire, and had it not been that she was clothed in -woollen, and that Ben threw water on her, she would have been burned -up. The baby, during all this time, had been quietly sleeping in the -cradle, but now, waked by the smoke, it began to sneeze and cry. - -“Charlie,” said Sally, “I can do more at fighting fire than you can; -take the baby to the shore, and take care of it.” - -They were now almost worn out with exertion; their eyes and lungs were -full of smoke, the perspiration ran in streams from their flesh, and -the heat was intolerable; still they fought on, for all they had was at -stake. - -If the fire reached the house it would not only burn that, but would -run to the beach, where was lumber worth hundreds of dollars, which Ben -had been nearly two years in preparing for market,--the greater part of -which was dry, and would take fire in a moment; there, too, were the -sails and rigging. - -Ben’s large canoe lay upon the beach, in which was some straw that Ben -had brought over from his father’s to fill beds. Charlie, unable longer -to look on, when so much was at risk, put the child into the canoe -among the straw, gave it some shells to attract its attention, and ran -back to help. - -The great wood-pile, within a few yards of the house, now took fire. - -“It’s no use, Sally,” said Ben; “the fire is all around us, and all we -have must go.” - -Sally, uttering a loud scream, ran wildly to the shore. A piece of -blazing moss, borne by the wind, had fallen into the canoe, and set -fire to the straw, which was blazing up all around the baby. In a -moment more it would have been burned to death; as it was, its clothes -were scorched, and the little creature terribly frightened. - -At this moment a rushing sound was heard, and a vessel with all sail -set, and bearing the white foam before her bows with the rapidity of -her motion, shot into the harbor, and was run high upon the soft sand -of the beach, the tide being at half ebb. - -In an instant eight men, leaving the sails to slat in the wind, leaped -into the water, and with buckets which they filled as they ran, came to -the rescue. One alone lingered to cut some limbs from a hemlock bush, -a whole armful of which he brought with him, and while the rest were -passing the water from the beach, and pouring on the blazing wood-pile, -he was switching out the flames, as they ran towards the beach, with a -dexterity that showed he was no novice in fire-fighting. - -The wood-pile was composed mostly of logs eight feet in length: while -the others poured water on the ends of the sticks, Ben, catching hold -of them, dragged them from the pile to a safe distance from the house, -and, after a long and desperate struggle, they arrested the progress of -the flames. - -Scarcely was this accomplished, when the roof was discovered to be on -fire; the violence of the wind had blown off a blanket, and the cinders -catching had kindled in the dry bark. Ben, taking Charlie, threw him up -on the roof, when, the others passing him water, he soon extinguished -the flames. - -Ben had now opportunity to see who his deliverers were, and to thank -them, which he did in no measured terms. - -They were John Strout, Henry and Joe Griffin, Seth Warren, Robert Yelf, -Sam Edwards, Sydney Chase, and Uncle Isaac. He it was, that, with a -coolness that never forsook him, stopped to cut an armful of switches -for himself and the rest. - -“God bless you, my old friend!” said Ben, grasping him by both hands, -“and God bless the whole of you! ‘friends in need are friends indeed;’ -I can’t find words to thank you.” - -Poor Sally, now that the excitement was over, fainted away. Ben carried -her into the house, while the others brought in a bed, and by the aid -of burnt vinegar applied to her nostrils revived her. Her face was -uninjured, but her hair was scorched, and her arms and hands burned, -causing her much suffering. - -“What shall we do for her?” said Ben; “I have not a bit of salve, nor -anything in the house.” - -“I can tell you what to do,” said Uncle Isaac; “go and get some of that -blue clay by the brook, and mix it up with water that has the chill -taken off, and plaster it right on three inches thick, and you’ll see -what it will do; all you want is to keep the air out.” - -They procured the clay, and Uncle Isaac fixed it and put it on. It gave -instant relief. In a few moments the clay began to dry and crack open, -by reason of the heat and inflammation. - -“Ben,” said Uncle Isaac, “do you sit by her and keep that clay moist -with cold water; no matter how cold it is now, it will have the chill -taken off before it gets through the clay.” - -“But how shall we ever get the clay off?” - -“You don’t want to get it off; the flesh will heal under it, and then -it will come off itself.” - -“How did you know that, Uncle Isaac?” - -“The Indians learned me; there’s a good deal in an Indian, you’d better -believe.” - -“But won’t there want to be some healing-salve on it?” - -“Healing-salve? fiddlestick! I’ve seen Indians cut half to pieces, -scalded, and burnt, and get well, and I never saw any salve among them. -Now,” continued Uncle Isaac (who, though one of the kindest-hearted -men alive, was but little given to sentiment, and entirely practical -in all his views), “we can do no more good here; let us bring the -furniture into the house for Ben, and then I want to finish that burn; -we’ll set it on fire at the other end; it will be fun to see it come -down before the wind. It can do no harm, for there are enough of us to -take care of it. I reckon I know something about this business.” - -His proposal was received with cheers. While some brought the things -into the house, others furled the vessel’s sails, and carried out an -anchor astern, to hold the vessel when she should float, as it was half -ebb when they ran her on. Henry Griffin was cook, and they left him -aboard to get supper. - -At any other time Charlie would have been very anxious to have gone -with them, but the suffering of his mother, and the care of the baby, -put everything else out of his head. He kissed her again and again, -with tears in his eyes, made gruel for her, and did everything in his -power to relieve her. - -The party found that the fire had made but slow progress against the -wind, which now blew half a gale. Arming themselves with blazing -brands, they proceeded to the upper part of the piece, and fired the -mass of dry material in fifteen or twenty different places. An enormous -volume of smoke and flame instantly arose, and swept down before the -wind, presenting a truly magnificent spectacle. In clearing land they -are not particular to cut every tree. Sometimes there will be an old -dead pine full of pitch, that, as it makes no shade to hurt a crop, -and draws nothing from the soil, they let it alone. At other times -they make what they call a _drive_; they cut a number of trees partly -off, and then, picking out a very large one, fall it on the rest, and -thus drive them all down together,--as boys set up a row of bricks, -and starting one throw down the whole,--which saves them a great deal -of cutting. A good many trees are broken off in these drives twenty -or thirty feet from the ground, and, if they stand any time in hot -weather, the pitch will fry out of them, and run in little yellow -threads to the ground. There were a great many trees in this lot that -had been standing a good while, and were full of pitch. It was now -twilight, and as the flame struck one of these trees the little threads -of pitch flashed like powder, and the flame, following them up the body -of the tree with a rush and roar, spouted from the top in grand style, -amid the loud shouts of the performers. At times there would be a -great dry stub as big as a hogshead, and the fire, getting in at the -roots, would run up the inside, and roar and blaze from the top like a -dozen chimneys. - -The flames would also, once in the while, catch a large tree in the -forest on the middle ridge, and run from limb to limb clear to the top, -shining far into the depths of the forest. - -Although it was rare sport, there was a great deal of effort connected -with it, as they were obliged to exert themselves to the utmost to -prevent the fire from getting into the standing growth on the western -side, as on the other side the clearing extended to the shore; but -this, with these hardy natures, only gave zest to the proceedings. - -“Quit that, Joe Griffin; what are you thrashing me with that hemlock -limb for?” cried Robert Yelf. - -“Jerusalem! if my eyes ain’t so full of smoke that I took your red face -for a fire-coal.” - -Many a rough joke was played, and many a sly blow given and taken, in -the smoke. The fire had now nearly spent itself for lack of fuel. - -Charlie came to say, Henry wanted to know if they were going to live on -firebrands, for he had been waiting with his supper two hours, and was -almost starved. They now went on board to eat. - -“Come, Ben,” said Joe, “go and eat supper with us; and when you get -back Charlie can come.” - -As they were eating, Ben ascertained how it happened that his friends -were present so opportunely. - -“You see,” said Uncle Isaac, “we heard the mackerel were master thick -outside; that started us all up. I’d got in my hay, so thought I’d go -with the rest. We were beating down, when Joe says to me, ‘There’s a -great smoke over to Ben’s.’ ‘Yes,’ I says, ‘I guess he’s setting his -burn.’ Then I saw the smoke roll up above the trees, and I was sartain. -‘He’ll have a capital time, for the wind is just right, and there’s a -heavy dew.’ The words were hardly out of Joe’s mouth before the wind -shifted right about. Then I was sure there would be trouble. In a few -moments we opened out by the head of the island, and saw the blaze. I -screamed out, ‘The fire is coming right down on Ben’s house, and he’ll -be burnt out in a jiffy!’ We were almost abreast of the harbor, and, -hauling the sheets aft, shot her right on to the beach.” - -About ten o’clock that night a shower came up. Ben sat by Sally, who -had now fallen asleep, listened to the rain upon the roof, moistening -the parched earth, and relieving him of all anxiety in respect to the -fire kindling again during the night. His heart went up in gratitude to -God that his little property had been preserved, and his wife and child -had not fallen victims to the fire. - -Notwithstanding the mackerel were thick, neither John nor Uncle Isaac -would start in the morning till they saw how it fared with Sally, who, -to the great delight of all, was much better. - -Uncle Isaac inspected Charlie’s sink, canoe, and baskets, and praised -them very much. - -“There’s the making of a mechanic in that boy,” said he, “and no mean -one either.” - -They then walked over the burn. - -“I call that a first-rate burn,” said Joe; “a miss is as good as a -mile, Ben. Sally is doing well, and this burn will give you your -bread-stuffs for a year, and hay for your cattle after that.” - -The next morning Ben sent Charlie after the widow Hadlock, who came on -to take care of her daughter and grandchild. - -There were other incidents connected with the burn of a less pleasing -nature. Charlie had a very large hen, that the widow Hadlock had given -him, which, having stolen her nest, was sitting among the bushes on -eighteen eggs, and, too faithful to leave her trust, was burned to a -crisp on her nest. Charlie grieved much as he looked upon the remains -of his hen, and counted over the eggs, the chickens from which he was -hoping to have raised as late ones to winter, that he might send the -earlier ones to the West Indies; but he consoled himself with the -thought that his turnip-patch was spared, and growing finely. - -All along the shore of the island the line of cliff was fringed with a -mixed growth of white birch, maple, spruce, and red oak, contrasting -beautifully with the ragged and perpendicular cliffs which had been -spared by Ben as a shelter to the land from the easterly winds, and -more than all for the beauty of their appearance. He took great delight -in the spring, when pulling along the shore, in looking upon the masses -of light-green foliage that covered the birches, and fell over the -rocks. - -These were now all consumed; and the rocks, shorn of moss, stood out -white and naked in the sun. The willows and alders that fringed the -brook were gone; the trunks of the elms and that of the great maple -scorched, and the grass all around the house black as a coal. All over -the land were blackened stumps and stubs, from which the smoke rose, -and among whose roots the fires were smouldering. The beauty of the -landscape had vanished, and desolation came in its stead. - -“Father,” cried Charlie, moved almost to tears as he gazed upon the -scene, “will my maple die, and the elms, and the great yellow birch at -the brook, mother thinks so much of?” - -“No, Charlie, they are only singed on the outside; there was not power -enough in burning grass to heat the roots, as though they had stood in -the woods among the brush; and the trees on the bank will be replaced -by others, and perhaps handsomer ones.” - -They now went to rolling and piling; in anticipation of this Sally -had made them two suits apiece of tow-cloth, which they wore without -shirts. The fire had not consumed the bodies of many of the large -trees: some of these they used to make the fence of; the rest they -cut up and hauled together with the oxen, and piled them up in great -piles, and set them on fire, till they consumed the whole. As they were -compelled to put their shoulders and breasts against these logs to -roll them up, they were covered with smut from head to foot. They could -not sit down in a chair without smutting it all over; and their faces -were in streaks of white and black, where the perspiration ran down and -washed away the smut. So, when they came to their meals, they just took -off their tow suits, and got into the brook and washed themselves, and -then washed their clothes, and spread them in the sun to dry, and put -on another suit; part of the time they took their dinner in the field. -Rover followed them round, rooting under the stumps for worms, and once -in a while would shove his nose on a hot coal, which would make him run -away squealing. - -This smutty and laborious job being over, land fenced, and logs burned -up, Ben sowed half of it with winter rye, reserving the other to plant -with corn in the spring. - -The grain must now in some way be covered; but Ben had no harrow to -cover it with; besides, the ground was dotted with stumps, whose great -roots stuck out in every direction, and no common harrow would have -worked. He cut down a scrubby spruce, and trimming off the limbs within -six or eight inches of the trunk, sharpened the points of them; he -then hitched the oxen to this hedge-hog, as he called it, and hauled it -over the ground, thus scratching the earth over the grain. When Charlie -saw this, he laughed till the tears ran down his cheeks. - -“I should think it was a hedge-hog,” said he; “I wonder what the -steward of his highness the Duke of Bedford would say to that.” - -“It will do better work here than any harrow in England, for all that,” -said Ben. - -There were many places where the hedge-hog could not go close to the -stumps, because the large spur roots rolled it off: around these -Charlie hacked the grain in with a hoe. - -Ben now went over to his father’s, and got all the chaff he could find -in the barn, which was full of grass-seed, and sowed it on the rye. - -It was now getting to be autumn. Ben and Charlie went off in the large -canoe, and caught and cured fish to last them through the winter, and, -getting a scow, brought on hay enough to winter their stock. - -Sally, rapidly recovering under the careful nursing of her mother, -was in a few days able to be about the house, and by the time the -rye, which was sown on the burn, was well up, had recovered. The -first thing she did was to go and see the grain, with which she was so -delighted, that she declared she would be willing to be burned again -for such a field of grain as that. - - - - -CHAPTER XV. - -FITTING AWAY. - - -It was now the month of September, and time to think of getting ready -for sea. Captain Rhines came on to the island, and with him John -Strout, who had closed up his fishing, and was to be first mate; Seth -Warren, who was second mate; and Joe Griffin and Robert Yelf, who were -to go before the mast. The first thing they did was to take the anchor -the pirates left on the beach, carry it out and drop it astern, to hold -her when she should float, though it must be confessed she did not have -much more the appearance of floating than a basket. They then built a -breastwork of logs on the beach, and above the tide, reaching to the -bow of their craft, to run the boards on. They next hewed out some -sticks long enough to go across the vessel, and bolt to the frames, -both to hold her together and bind the cargo. As they were cutting -these they came across a very large pine. - -“Halloo, Ben!” cried Joe; “thought you had taken an oath that you -would never live another spring without a gunning float.” - -“So I have.” - -“Well, here’s the tree to make a bunkum one, I tell you; shall I cut it -for you?” - -“Yes.” - -At first, they could only work at low water, as the tide ebbed and -flowed in their craft. Captain Rhines and Ben stowed the boards, while -the others ran them in. They arranged them with great care, that -the joints might not all come in one place; and frequently put in a -stick of cedar to increase the buoyancy, as cedar, in addition to its -lightness, soaks water very slowly. - -The tide now began to make. As they did not wish their timber to float -in the vessel, and get out of place, they put shores under the deck -beams to keep it from rising, and piled rocks on it: in a short time it -was all out of sight, under water. They employed the rest of the day in -piling boards on the breastwork, that they might be near at hand. - -The next day they were able to go to work much sooner, and, the timber -being near, made much more rapid progress; the next day more still; -and, as they rose above the tide, put in more cedar to increase the -buoyancy. They now put in their cross-ties, and bolted them to the -timbers, and when the tide made she floated, so that the boards were -several feet above water and the top all dry. - -The next morning Joe Griffin, after scratching his head a while, -suddenly exclaimed, “Look here, neighbors: I don’t pretend to be any -great of a sailor man, but I reckon I know how to handle timber, and -put it where I want it--I do. I can plank this stage over, run it a -little farther aft, and take the oxen and twitch more lumber into this -vessel in an hour than you can put in in this way in half a day. They -might split a board or two, but I don’t ’spose that would kill anybody.” - -“Good on your head, Joe,” said Captain Rhines; “let’s see you do it.” - -The bow of the craft, a few feet aft of the fore-mast, was close -timbered, as in ordinary boats; but from that to the mainmast was -a hole large enough to drive in three yoke of oxen abreast. They -lengthened their breastwork a little, hauled the craft alongside of -it, and made a stage of plank. The others laid the boards in twitches, -and were all ready to hook the chain when Joe came for his boards; and -he hauled them into the vessel at a great rate, and dropped them just -where Captain Rhines and Ben wanted them. - -“Every man to his business,” said Ben; “I never heard of that way of -loading boards before.” - -She was now half full. Captain Rhines then put into her a number of -tight and strong empty hogs heads and barrels, and stowed the boards on -top of them. The effect of this was very quickly visible; she began to -act like a vessel,--to rise and fall with the swell of the sea, and to -be quite lively. - -“That tells the story,” said the captain; “we’ll give her a few more; -there’s nothing like an empty cask; I’ll find a use for them when we -get out there.” - -“I wouldn’t have believed it,” said Joe; “why didn’t you put them way -down in the bottom of her, and fill her floor? she would have floated -as light as a feather.” - -“If I had,” replied the captain, “she would have done like the boy who -went in swimming with the bladders.” - -“How was that?” - -“A boy had heard tell that bladders would float a person, and thought -he would walk on the water with them; so he went down to the pond, tied -the bladders on to his feet, and waded into the water: they found him, -a few hours afterwards, feet up and head down, as dead as a herring; -and that would have been the way with our craft.” - -“What an ass I am!” said Joe; “ain’t I?” - -“No; but you didn’t happen to think of that.” - -“Joe,” said Ben, one night after work, “can you make a float?” - -“No.” - -“Then I’m all ashore. I’ve been thinking that, after you came back, you -and I could make one before the kitchen fire this winter.” - -“I tell you, though it seems to be a very simple thing, there’s a great -knack in making a float. I can make a hog’s trough, and christen it a -float, but to make one that will be stiff and light, and scull steady -and true, there’s only one man round here can do it.” - -“Who’s that?” - -“Uncle Sam Elwell.” - -“Uncle Sam!” replied Ben, in amazement; “I didn’t know he could work in -anything but rocks.” - -“It’s my opinion that he can work in anything he has a mind to; but he -won’t touch anything but rocks, except it is a float or a gun-stock. -He will make as neat a gun-stock as ever a man put to his face, or a -snow-shoe; but if he wanted a door made to a pig-sty or a hen house, he -would go and build wall for Uncle Isaac, while he made them for him; -or if his wife wanted a chopping-tray or a bread-trough, she might want -it till she could get Uncle Isaac to make it for her. Whatever he wants -for hunting or fishing, he’ll find a way to make, fast enough; it’s my -solid belief he’d make a gun-barrel if he couldn’t get one in any other -way.” - -“Do you think he would come over here in the winter, and make a float?” - -“To be sure he would; he is doing nothing in the winter but taking -care of his cattle; and there’s not a calm day but he and Uncle Isaac -are out in their float after game. Why, I’ve known them old critters, -when they wanted to be in a certain place at half tide to shoot harvest -ducks, to lie down on the beach in the night and go to sleep, till the -water flowed up around their knees and woke them up.” - -“We’ll hew it out, at any rate; that’ll save him some work.” - -“I wouldn’t; he’s a particular old toad, and would rather have it just -as it grew; but if you touch it, he’ll think you’ve taken off some -where you ought not to, and spilte it; he’ll no more thank you for -saving him labor on a float-piece, than a feller would thank you for -courting a girl for him; he’d rather do it himself.” - -Ben sent word to Uncle Sam, who replied that same day, that when he and -Isaac were out gunning they would come and look at it. - -“Didn’t I tell you so?” said Joe. “I wager my head that they’ll both -of them come over here and make it: what a good time they will have -puttering over it, and passing their compliments upon each other! It’s -my opinion, that when them old men die they won’t be buried with their -wives, but alongside of each other. Uncle Isaac thinks so highly of the -Indians, I expect he believes as they do, and thinks that he and Sam -will go hunting in the other world.” - -They now made sail, and ran her over into Captain Rhines’s cove, and -came to anchor. They found upon trial, that although she was clumsy in -working, she minded her helm, and sailed beyond their most sanguine -expectations. - -“I declare, Ben!” said Captain Rhines; “who would have thought she -would go through the water so; we’ve got her sparred just right, if we -did do it by guess. She’s like old Aunt Molly Bradish--better than she -looks.” - -They now took on board some spare spars, and Captain Rhines took a -large barrel of oil. - -“Heavens!” said Joe Griffin; “the old man calculates on a long voyage, -if he expects to burn all that.” - -The Ark, as they called her, was most appropriately named, both in -respect to her proportions and her cargo. Captain Rhines had resorted -to a custom common in those days. He gave his crew merely nominal -wages,--four dollars a month,--and the mates in proportion; but, in -addition to this, he gave them a “privilege,” as it was called; that -is, a certain space to carry whatever they liked, to sell in the West -Indies. Produce was not carried there from all parts of the world in -those days, as at present; and a barrel or two of onions or beets would -bring twenty-five or thirty dollars. Live stock also brought a great -price, although they were very apt to be lost on the passage. Captain -Rhines carried candles for his “venture,” as it was called; John -Strout, horses; Charlie sent hens, baskets, and turnips as freight. - -In the morning, when they were all fed, there was such a cackling of -hens, bleating of sheep, and all kinds of noises, as was really quite -wonderful. - -A great many people came from all parts to look at her, and many and -various were the criticisms. Some thought she would never get there; -more thought she would; but all agreed in this--that if anybody in the -world could get her there, it was Captain Ben Rhines. Uncle Isaac’s -judgment was greatly respected by all. - -“Mr. Murch,” said Isaac Pettigrew, “you don’t seem to be at all -consarned, though your nephew is going in her. What makes you so easy?” - -“Because,” replied he, “a lucky man is master.” - -One night, as the captain and his family were at the supper-table, -there came in a negro, very black, and of truly vast proportions, whom -Captain Rhines addressed by the singular appellation of Flour. This -nickname he obtained in this manner. He was a man of great strength, -and a thorough seaman, but he often shipped as cook, because he had -higher wages; and a most excellent cook he was: he was also perfectly -honest, and, like most very powerful men, of an excellent disposition; -but he would get drunk whenever the opportunity offered, insomuch that -they often put him in jail, and locked him up till the vessel was ready -for sea. Sometimes he would stay ashore for a year or two, and then -get tired and start off. He was always in demand, notwithstanding this -failing,--the economical captains never hesitating to go one hand short -when they had Flour (alias James Peterson) for cook, as he was always -ready to lend a hand, and was worth three common men in bad weather. - -Some roguish boys, one day when he had been drinking, got him into a -store, and putting molasses on his wool, covered it with flour, putting -a layer of flour and molasses till his head was as big as a half -bushel. After this he went by the name of Flour, and answered to it as -readily as to his own name, that dropping out of use entirely. - -He was a slave, while slaves were held in New England, and had been -many voyages with Captain Rhines, who used to hire him of Peterson, his -master, to whom he was so much attached that he would never leave him, -although he had every opportunity to run away when at sea; and not even -the love of liquor could prevent him from bringing home a present for -his master. - -“Massa cap’n,” said the black, “dey tells me you’s gwine to sail the -salt seas again. Massa, if you is goin’, this nigger would like to go -wid you.” - -“Well, we’ve been a good many cruises together. Wife, give Flour some -supper, and then we’ll talk it over. I suppose,” said the captain, -after supper, “you’ve got dry, and want some of that augerdent[A] the -Spanish make. It’s fiery stuff, and will burn your coppers all up; you -had better drink old West India. Wife, give him a glass of that Santa -Cruz.” - - [A] Aguardiente. - -“Thank you, massa cap’n.” - -“But I ain’t going to give much of any wages; they are going to have a -‘privilege’--mates and all. I tell you, we are like old Noah; we’ve got -cattle, and feathered fowl, beasts clean and unclean.” - -“Massa, me have privilege, too.” - -“What have you got to carry?” - -“Me got an onion patch, massa,--my ole woman raise him; got some -bayberry taller,--Spaniards buy him quick to put in de candle; make him -hard so he no melt. Me talk Spanish all same as one Spaniard; me tell -’em all about it.” - -“But how will you get back? I am going to sell the craft.” - -“O, massa, you know I good sailor man; you give me what you call -recommend, I get a chance in some ship to go somewhere--don’t care -where; my ole woman so debilish ugly me no want to come back. Last -Monday mornin’ she break de skillet; she kill my dog; she put thistle -under my horse’s tail when I goes to de store, so he fling me over his -head--most break my neck.” - -“Perhaps she thought you went to the store too often. And what did you -do to her?” - -“I beat her with the well-pole. When we were slaves to ole massa she -well enough; but since freedom came I no live with her--she no mind me -at all.” - -“Well, Flour, I give the men four dollars a month, and their privilege. -I’ll give you six, and your grog, and all the privilege you want; but I -shall expect you to lend us a hand in bad weather, and perhaps take the -helm, for there’s not a man in the vessel can steer in bad weather as -you.” - -“O, massa, you know this darky; he no be de last man when de watch is -called.” - -They were now all ready for sea, only waiting for a fair wind, and -enough of it. - - - - -CHAPTER XVI. - -A WELL-DESERVED HOLIDAY. - - -Sabbath morning, after a rainy day and night, Charlie waking up, and -looking, as he usually did the first thing, in the direction of Captain -Rhines’s, missed the great bulk of the Ark, which before seemed to fill -up the whole cove. The wind was north-west, and blowing a gale. - -“Father,” he shouted, “the Ark is gone! I can’t see her at all.” - -“Well,” replied Ben, “she has got a wind that will shove her over the -gulf.” - -On the summit of the middle ridge stood the tallest tree on the island, -with an eagle’s nest on it. Beside it grew a large spruce, whose top -reached to its lower limbs, and next to the spruce a scrub hemlock, -whose lower limbs came almost to the ground. Charlie had made a bridge -of poles from the spruce to the pine, and used to sit there, when the -wind blew, till the tree shook so much that it frightened him, or -the eagles came to their nest; but, after a while, they became so -accustomed to him as to take fish from the limbs where he placed it. -You could step from the ground to the hemlock, from that to the spruce, -and from the spruce walk on the bridge to the pine. To this they went -with the glass, saw the masts of the Ark just going out of sight, and -watched them till they were lost in the distance. - -It was impossible, now that the bustle and excitement of fitting away -was over, for Ben to be otherwise than anxious respecting the result of -this venture, and the safety of his father and friends in so strange -a craft. But he kept his thoughts and misgivings (if he had any) to -himself, though he afterwards said that it was the longest Sabbath he -ever spent. - -At night, after Charlie had gone to bed, Sally asked Ben what he was -going about. He replied, to hew a barn frame; that, as he was going to -raise crops, he must have some place to put them. - -“I suppose you can do that kind of work alone, well enough?” - -“Yes.” - -“While it is pleasant weather, I would give Charlie a holiday, and let -him ask John and Fred Williams to come over here; it would please him -very much, and I really think he deserves it.” - -“So do I. I’ll tell him in the morning that he may go over and get -them. They say there isn’t a better behaved, smarter boy in town than -Fred Williams, for all he was such a scape-grace a few months ago.” - -“I’ll tell him to-night, and then he can go as soon as he likes.” - -She woke up Charlie, and told him the good news, which kept him awake -a long time, laying plans for the amusement of his company. The next -morning he set off betimes, arriving at Captain Rhines’s just as they -were sitting down to breakfast, where he received a hearty welcome. - -When John heard that he had come to invite him and Fred to spend a -week on the island, he could no longer contain himself. He clapped his -hands, and unable to find language to express his delight, hugged every -one at the table, and finished by hugging Tige. - -“O, mother! only see Tige,” who, participating in the unusual joy, was -frisking round the room, and wagging his tail; “I declare if I had a -tail I’d wag it, too. Don’t you wish you was going?” - -“I’ll invite him,” said Charlie; and, taking him by the paw, he said, -“Tige Rhines, Mr. Benjamin Rhines, wife, and baby invite you to make -them a visit, with John and Fred Williams.” - -“Mother, he knows what it means, and is as glad as I am; see, he is -going to roll.” - -After rolling over, he remained a few moments on his back, his paws -stuck up in the air, apparently in joyous meditation. As this was -Tige’s method of manifesting the very acme of happiness, we are bound -to suppose, with John, that he knew what was in store for him. - -“John, I can’t spare Tige; he is my protector when your father is gone; -and we need him, too, now that the fruit is ripe, to watch the orchard, -and also to get the cows for us.” - -The boys now set off for Fred, whom they found in the mill, taking -charge, as his father was gone; but at noon he would return, and might -let him go, though it was doubtful, as they were very busy indeed in -the mill; and the tears almost stood in his eyes as he said so. - -The boys looked at the mill, and helped Fred a while, and then caught -fish in the mill-pond; for it was a tide-mill, though there was a brook -ran into it. When the gates were open, and the tide from the sea flowed -in, the fish--smelts, tom-cod, and sometimes small mackerel, called -“tinkers,” came with it. When tired of fishing they went to look at the -ducks. Fred had nearly a hundred ducks, that spent the greater part of -their time in the mill-pond. Never did ducks have a better time than -Fred’s; they had plenty of corn from the mill, and when the pond was -full they fed upon the insects and little fish that live in the salt -water; but when the pond became low they resorted to the brook. - -About a quarter of a mile up this little stream was a place where some -windfalls had partially dammed the water, forming a little pond, in -which were myriads of frogs, tadpoles, polliwogs, and turtles of all -sizes. It was a great amusement to the boys to see them, as the pond -diminished, preparing to go up the brook, each old duck followed by -her own family. Being of many different colors, their glossy heads and -backs shining in the sun as they sailed up in regular order to give -battle to the frogs, they looked gay indeed. Charlie caught two of the -small turtles to take home with him. - -At noon, when Mr. Williams came home, he received the boys very kindly, -and told them he was glad to have Fred go with them, as he had been a -good boy, and worked nobly all summer, and that he might stay as long -as they wanted him to. He then invited them to stop and dine with -Fred. As for Tige, little Fannie took him under her special care, and -shared her dinner with him. - -As they were going along Fred said to John, “This is the very line -I carried the day I played truant, and stuck the hook in me. How -much better I feel now than I did then. In those days I used to come -sneaking home at night with a guilty conscience, and the fear of being -found out spoilt all the comfort; but I tell you I felt about right -to-day, and couldn’t help thinking of it when father praised me up so -much before you, and was so willing to spare me, though he will have to -work very hard while I’m gone.” - -“I never disobeyed my father,” replied John, “because I never wanted -to; but I’ve often done wrong, and if every boy feels as bad as I do -about it, there can’t be much comfort in it.” - -“I don’t believe,” said Charlie, “that boys who have nothing to do but -play are as happy as we that work, for, when we get a holiday, we enjoy -more in one hour than they do in a week.” - -“I am glad,” continued Fred, “that I took up with Uncle Isaac’s advice, -and staid at home, for, had I gone to Salem, I should probably have -found other companions as bad as Pete Clash, and being away from all -restraint, been worse than ever, and perhaps have come to the gallows.” - -“It’s too late to do much to-night,” said Charlie, as they landed; -“let’s go up to the great maple, and talk and lay plans. You’ve never -seen the great maple--have you, Fred?” - -“No; you know I never was on here, only in the winter, when everything -was frozen up, and covered with snow.” - -Going along, they came to the two great trees which were connected by -a common root, making a natural bridge across the brook, which, above -them, widened out into a little basin. - -“What a nice place this would be to keep ducks!” said Fred; “they could -swim in the cove, and, when the tide was out, come into this little -basin, and go clear to the head of the brook.” - -“I have often thought of it; but it takes a good deal to winter ducks, -and we have to buy all our corn, both for ourselves and the hens. But -we are going to plant a piece of corn in the spring, and then, perhaps, -father will let me keep them.” - -“I’ll give you a duck in the spring that wants to set, and eggs to put -under her.” - -“Thank you, Fred.” - -“I think it’s real nice to see them play in the water; and, when one -gets a bug, the others swim after, and try to get it away from him, and -all going one right after the other to the pond in the morning.” - -Although Fred had grown up in a new country, he yet gazed with wonder -upon the great maple. It was indeed a kingly tree, thirteen feet and -a half in circumference at the roots, bearing its enormous coronal of -leaves in that symmetry of proportions which this tree (seen nowhere in -its perfection but in the North American forests) sometimes exhibits. - -“What is that, Charlie, on that lower limb?” asked John. - -“That’s the baby-house.” - -In the spring, at the time boys make whistles, Charlie had peeled the -bark from some willow rods (which he called whitening the sallies), and -made a long, narrow basket. He then worked an ornamental rim round it, -and put strong handles in each end, and hung it to one of the lower -limbs of the great tree. Sally made a little bed-tick and pillow, which -Charlie stuffed with the down of the cat-tail (cooper’s) flag. Here -the baby would sit and swing, and play with things that Charlie gave -him, while he sat beneath and made whistles, or played with Rover; or -if he wanted the little one to go to sleep, would pull a string that -was fastened to the branch, and rock him to rest. In the absence of -companions of his own age, the tree was like a brother to Charlie; and -sometimes, as he sat listening to the wind among the leaves, he almost -fancied it could talk. Here was his workshop, where he made everything -that could be made with a knife or hatchet, and at every leisure moment -he slipped off and ran to the tree. - -Going round to the north-west side of it, they found a building -about seven feet high, and shingled on the roof and walls, with a -tight-fitting door, having a wooden latch and hinges. Opening the door, -they saw that it had a regular frame, and was ceiled up with planed -boards. There were two drawers in it, and above them were shelves. The -drawers not being as deep as the closet, left a space of six inches in -front. On one side was Charlie’s gun, and on the other his powder-horn -and shot-pouch. On the edge of the top shelf was a squirrel stuffed, -sitting up with his tail over his back, just as natural as life. - -“How did you make that look so natural? and how did you fix the tail -so?” asked Fred. - -“I put a wire in it, and bent it to suit me.” - -“But the head; it is exactly the right shape.” - -“Well, I took the head out of the skin, and got the meat all off of it, -and put the skull back again, and stuffed in wool enough to fill up -between the skull and skin, where I had taken off the flesh.” - -On a little shelf by itself, made of apple-tree wood, oiled and -polished, and upon which Charlie had evidently bestowed a great deal of -labor, was the Bible his mother had given him. - -They now opened the drawers. The first one opened was filled with all -kinds of boys’ playthings, which Charlie had made himself,--whistles, -fifes, and squirt-guns made of elder, and a ball. - -“What a neat ball that is,” said Fred, “and how well it is covered! Did -you cover it, Charlie?” - -“Yes.” - -“Will it bounce well?” - -“Try it.” - -Fred threw it down on the flat stone, when it went way up over his head -into the tree. - -“My jingoes! I never saw a ball bounce like that. What is it made of?” - -“Yarn.” - -“But what is there in it? What’s it wound on?” - -“That’s telling; guess.” - -“On a piece of cork?” - -“No.” - -“On horse hair?” - -“No; guess again.” - -“I can’t guess.” - -“Will you give it up?” - -“Yes.” - -“It’s wound on a sturgeon’s nose.” - -“That’s a likely story!” exclaimed both boys in a breath. “Is it -now--honest?” - -“Yes.” - -“Where did you get a sturgeon’s nose?” - -“They caught one at the mill; father and I were there with logs, and I -got his nose.” - -“How did you know it would make a ball bounce?” - -“I learned it of the boys in Nova Scotia.” - -“What a feller you are to make things! I wish I could; I’d have lots of -things. I couldn’t cover a ball as neat as that to save my life. I wish -I had lived on an island, and had to make things; perhaps I might have -learned something.” - -“I’ll give you that ball, Fred.” - -“’Twould be too bad to take it from you, after you have taken so much -pains to make it.” - -“I can make another. I take lots of comfort sitting under this tree -making things; besides, I’ve nobody to play with me, and there’s not -much fun playing ball alone.” - -They opened another drawer (which had two small ones--one beneath the -other--at one end), but there was nothing in it, except a bow and -arrows, some of which had iron points. - -“What a splendid bow!” said John; “how stiff it is! and what handsome -arrows! What is it made of?” - -“Hornbeam.” - -“I never saw a bow made of that; we boys make them of ash, walnut, or -hemlock.” - -“Uncle Isaac told me to make it of that; perhaps that’s what the -Indians make them of. In our country they make them of yew.” - -They opened the little drawers, but they were empty. - -“Why don’t you keep something in these drawers?” - -“I’m saving them for my tools; that is, when I get any money to buy -them.” - -“That reminds me,” said Fred, “that I have brought with me all the -money that the baskets sold for; and now we will settle up the affairs -of our company.” - -He pulled a paper from his pocket, which contained an account of the -number of baskets he and John had made, and the result of the sale. - -Charlie then took from his drawer a book, the leaves of which were -made of birch bark, in which was the account of all he had made, and -delivered to them. Part of them had been sold at the store for half -money and half in goods. Charlie wished to share equally, but to that -the others would not consent, because they said that he had made the -greater part of the baskets, and also taught them the trade. Charlie’s -part of the proceeds accounted to ten dollars in money, besides his -credit at the store. He had never before, in all his life, been in -possession of so much money, and, overjoyed, ran to tell his mother. - -“Now, Charlie,” said she, “do you use that money to buy things that you -want and need, and don’t go to buying pigs, and spending it for us or -the baby.” - -“I’ll have a knife,” said Charlie, “at any rate, and then I shan’t have -to be all the time borrowing father’s, or using a butcher’s knife. I’ll -have some tools, too, to put in my drawers; but I think I ought to help -father pay for the island; I think it’s dreadful to pay rent.” - -“Never mind that, Charlie; Ben can pay for the island fast enough.” - -“Mother, you don’t know how many things I’ve thought about, while -I’ve been sitting under the old maple this summer, that I would make -for you to have in the house, when I got my money for the baskets, -and could get some tools of my own. Mother, you don’t know how glad -I am we have got just such a house as we have, where there’s no end -of things to make, and things to do; also, a barn to build, the land -to clear, and the house to finish. Now, if all this was done, there -would be no fun--nothing new to look forward to; one day would be just -like another. You couldn’t look at things after you’d made them, and -say, That is my work; I took it out of the rough; that’s mine, for I -made it; but, however nice it might look, you’d have to think it was -somebody’s else wit and grit did it. That would take all the good out -of it for me. I’m sure I think more of my canoe than I should of ever -so nice a one that anybody made and gave me.” - -“That is true, Charlie,” said Sally, delighted with sentiments so much -in accordance with her own feelings. “I’m sure, if we had sheep, and -flax, and pasturage, and I had a loom, and the house full of blankets, -and sheets, and nice things, all given to us, I shouldn’t be half so -happy as I am in trying to get them. I tell you, Charlie, the more you -have to do, the more you can do. There’s nothing like having something -ahead to make you work, and stick to it.” - -“Yes, mother; it makes a fellow spit on his hands and hold on. I know -that’s so; because, sometimes I want Rover to go to the woods, and he -won’t; I switch him, and he won’t; I push him, and he won’t; then I put -some acorns in my pocket and run ahead, and he’ll get there as soon as -I do.” - -When he returned to the boys he said, “I’ll bet that if you do shoot -with a gun better than I, that I can beat you both with a bow. I can -hit a mark at twenty yards with this bow, oftener than you can at -thirty with your guns. I’ll bet you the bow and arrows against two -gun-flints and two charges of powder, that I do it.” - -“I’ll stand you,” cried John; “I can beat you with my eyes shut. What’s -the use of talking about a bow in the same day with a gun?” - -They measured the distance, and set up a mark, when, to their -astonishment, Charlie beat them both. - -“You thought, John, the first time we ever saw each other,” said -Charlie, “that I had a great many things to learn; you’ll find you have -some things to learn, too.” - -“I was a fool, Charlie; I believe you have forgot more than ever I -knew; but how did you learn to shoot so with a bow?” - -“Why, in England, boys and men practise a great deal with a bow; and -they have shooting matches on the holidays, and give prizes to the best -marksmen. My grandfather was a bowman in the king’s service; when he -was young they used to fight with bows and arrows. I wish you could -see his bow and arrows, that he had in the wars; the bow was six feet -long, and the arrows would go through a man. Since I’ve been here I’ve -practised a great deal, because I didn’t have money to buy powder and -shot. I can shoot a coot or a squirrel with an arrow, or any kind of -sea-bird.” - -“We’ll have bows, and practise,” said John. - -“I’ll give you this one, and make Fred one, too. I like to make bows.” - -“Thank you, Charlie; and when we get learned we’ll come on here and -give it to the squawks, and go on to Oak Island, and shoot squirrels -and woodchucks, and save our powder and shot for sea-fowl. Have we seen -all your things, Charlie?” - -“Not by a long chalk; look up there” (pointing up into the tree). -Following the direction of his fingers, they saw in the top of the tree -a platform. Charlie took down a little ladder which hung on the tree, -by which they ascended to its lower limbs. When they came down John -proposed that they should camp out that night in the woods. - -“I should think,” said Charlie, “it would be a great deal more -comfortable to sleep in a bed.” - -“_Comfortable!_ who wants to be comfortable; we can be comfortable any -time.” - -At supper John broached the matter, and asked Sally to let them have -some blankets. - -“I wouldn’t do that,” said she; “you’ll get your death’s cold, and your -folks won’t like it.” - -“Let them have the clothes,” said Ben; “we’ve invited them here to have -a holiday; let them spend it in their own fashion; it will taste the -sweeter.” - -As they passed the maple on their way to the woods, John suddenly -exclaimed, “What say, boys, for camping in the top of the tree? it will -be grand to lie there, hear the wind blow, feel the tree rock, and -listen to the surf in the night.” - -“What if it should storm?” said Charlie. - -“It can’t storm; see how clear it is; and the wind is north-west--yes, -and west of that.” - -“What if we should fall out?” - -“We will lash ourselves in.” - -Tying the blankets to a line, they hoisted them up. They went to the -beach, and picking up some dry eel-grass, spread it over the platform -for a bed, and covered it with the sail of Ben’s canoe. - -John fastened them all in with ropes, and then fastened himself. -Charlie slept in the middle; they cuddled up together, and were as -warm as toast. The trees on the island had already parted with most of -their leaves, but the maple, standing in a sheltered spot, retained its -foliage. - -The limbs of the great tree swayed gently in the westerly breeze, and -the moonbeams came slanting through them most delightfully, as the boys -lay listening to the moan of the night wind, the sound of the surf -along the shore, and watched the clouds as they coursed by the moon, -all heightened by the novelty of their situation. - -“I’m glad we did it,” said Charlie; “I had no idea it would be so nice.” - -Fred wished he could be a bird, and always live in the tree-tops. -The swaying of the branches communicated to their couch a motion -exceedingly pleasant, which, rousing a long-slumbering association in -Charlie’s mind, he struck up the old ditty,-- - - “Hushaby, baby, on the tree-top, - When the wind blows the cradle will rock,” &c. - -But after twelve o’clock the wind changed to south-east; clouds -obscured the moon; and, while the boys were quietly sleeping, a gust -of wind struck the tree, covering them with showers of leaves, while -the rain dashed in sheets upon their faces. Waking in alarm, they found -themselves enveloped in midnight darkness, pelted with rain, and their -couch quivering in the gale. Covering their heads with the bed-clothes, -they took counsel in the emergency. Fred and Charlie were alarmed and -anxious, but John, whose spirits always rose with danger, seemed very -much at his ease. - -“What shall we do?” said Fred. - -“Stay where we are,” replied John; “at any rate till the blankets wet -through.” - -But the rain came down in torrents, and it soon began to run in under -and over them. - -“We can’t stay here,” said Charlie; “let’s go to the house.” - -“I won’t,” replied John; “Ben will laugh at us, and Sally will say, -‘Didn’t I tell you so.’” - -“Charlie, have you got the flint, steel, and matches?” - -“Yes.” - -“Do you know of any hollow tree?” - -“Yes; a great big one, all dead.” - -“Could you find it in the dark?” - -“Yes; I can go right to it.” - -They found the tree, dark as it was, for Charlie knew it stood in the -corner of the log fence, and followed the fence till he came to it. -It was an enormous pine, completely dead, and with a hollow in it -large enough to hold the whole of them. It stood among a growth of old -hemlocks, whose foliage was so dense,--the lower limbs drooping almost -to the earth,--that they shed the rain, and the ground under them was -but slightly wet. - -“This is the place,” said John, in high glee; “we’ll have the hemlock -to make a fire under, and the old pine for our bedroom.” - -He got into the tree, and scraping some dry splinters from the inside -of it, struck fire with his flint and steel, and kindled them. It was -not John’s design to build his fire in the old pine, only to kindle -it there, because it was a dry place. He now took the blazing wood -up, and put it on the ground under the hemlocks, and the rest fed the -flame with dry pieces torn from the inside of the pine, till they had a -bright blaze. By this light they stripped bark from the birches, picked -up pitch knots, and dragged dead branches, which, though wet on the -outside, the fire was now hot enough to burn. They now threw themselves -upon the ground, which was thoroughly dried by the tremendous heat. - -“A maple is a beautiful tree to look at,” said John; “but give me an -old hemlock for a rain-storm, and to build a fire under.” - -Charlie, to whom such scenes were altogether new, was in raptures. - -“I didn’t know before,” he said, “that you could make a fire in the -woods in a rain-storm. I never saw any woods till I came to this -country, and don’t know anything about such things as you and Fred, -that have been brought up in them.” - -“There are always places,” replied John, “in thick forests,--hollow -trees, the north-west side of logs, and in hollow logs, where the wet -never gets: in those places you can always find dry stuff, and, when -you get a hot fire, wet or green wood will burn.” - -“It seems so wild and independent; no dukes, and earls, and gamekeepers -to watch you, but just go where you please, kill and eat. We will go -some time, and do what we were telling about,--live wild,--won’t we, -John?” - -“Yes; after father gets home. You get Uncle Isaac to tell you about how -the Indians do, and I will, too.” - -“Yes; and I shall learn to shoot better with a gun by that time, and -you will learn to shoot with a bow. I tell you what, I like to contrive -and make shifts, and get along so, better than I do to have everything -to do with, or have everything done for me. I’m such a fool, I expect I -shall hate to give up my birch-bark sail when I get a good one.” - -“So do I. Ben is the greatest for that, and so is father; you can’t get -either of them in so tight a place that they can’t get out of it. It -seems to come natural to them to contrive; they don’t have to stop and -think about it, like other folks do.” - -“That’s so. The other day father was going over to the main land, and -mother wanted him to look well, and she had no flat-iron to iron a fine -shirt; so she wanted him to take it to your mother and get her to iron -it; but he got a square glass bottle, and filled it full of hot water, -and she ironed it first rate with that.” - -“There’s another thing I like,” said John; “I like to go to new places; -I should like to go to a strange place every day; I should like to go -all over the world.” - -“I don’t; when I find a place I like, I want to stay there; and the -longer I stay the better I like it; it seems as if I liked the very -ground.” - -“I think we’ve had a splendid time,” said Fred. - -“We had a good time in the tree while it lasted, and now I don’t see -how we could have any better time than we are having here.” - -“Yes,” replied John; “the ducking coming in between is just what puts -the touch on. Now let’s go to sleep in the old stub.” - -They cleaned out the rotten wood, put in some brush to lie on, built -the fire so near to it that the heat from it would keep them warm, and -were soon fast asleep. When they awoke the fire was still burning, and -the tempest had abated, though it was still raining heavily. Making -their way to the house, they met Ben coming in quest of them. - -“I should think,” said he, “that you had crept into a hollow log, by -the looks of your jackets.” - -While eating their breakfasts they detailed the night’s adventures. - -“I’m glad,” said Sally, “I didn’t know you were in the top of that -tree; I shouldn’t have slept a wink if I had; it must be curious fun to -leave a good warm bed and sleep in the top of a tree this time of year. -I don’t see what put that in your heads; that’s some of John’s work, -I know. I don’t believe but, if you would own the truth, you wished -yourselves snug in bed when the squall struck.” - -“You’ve been out in the rain enough for once,” said Ben; “I shan’t let -you go out again till it’s done raining. I think you had better go to -bed and finish your nap.” - -“We are all here together,” said Charlie, “and can’t do anything else; -let’s make some baskets; ’twill be money in our pockets, for we have -none on hand; I’ve got stuff in the house all pounded.” - -They made a fire in the great fireplace, and sitting around it, made -baskets, and laid new plans. At noon the weather cleared; but after -eating a hearty dinner, and the fatigue and excitement of the night’s -adventure, the boys felt but little inclined to engage in anything -that required active exertion. They lolled on the grass a while, and -at length Charlie proposed that they should go a fishing. The tides -being very high, the water had flowed up to the fissure in the ledge -where the brook ran over. A whole school of smelts and tom-cods, taking -advantage of this, had come up with the tide, and the mouth of the -brook was full of them. After fishing a while, Fred Williams tied his -handkerchief to four sticks, and putting some bait in it, and a stone -to sink it, fastened a line to each corner, and let it down into the -water. The smelts going in to eat the bait, he gradually drew it up, -and, when almost at the surface, gave a quick jerk; but the water was -so long filtering through the handkerchief that they all swam out. - -“I can fix them, I know,” said Charlie. - -He got a bushel basket, and took out small pieces of the filling to -make it a little more open, put in bait, and sunk it. After the fish -were in he drew it slowly up. The basket being deep, and the fish well -to the bottom, they did not take alarm until the rim was almost at -the top of the water. Charles then jerked it out, when the water ran -through the open basket so quickly, that, unable to escape, they were -caught. When satisfied with this sport, they selected the largest for -their supper, and Charles gave the rest to his hens. - -When they awoke the next morning the sun was shining in their faces, -and coming down stairs they were astonished to find it was nine -o’clock, and that Ben had eaten his breakfast, and gone to work in the -woods. - -“Well, boys,” said Sally, “which do you like the best, the tree top, -the pine stub, or the bed up stairs?” - -“The bed up stairs is first rate,” replied John, “as you may judge by -the length of our nap; but the pine stub for me.” - -As they were eating and chatting, Ben came running in for his gun, -saying there was a seal in the cove. - -“O, do let me shoot him!” cried John, leaping from the table. - -“I’m afraid you won’t hit him; I want his skin and oil, for he’s a -bouncer.” - -“Yes, I will; do let me fire, Ben?” - -Charlie had cut a scull-hole in his canoe, so that she could be used -for gunning. - -Getting into this, John sculled towards the creature, who kept swimming -and diving. At length he fired. The water was instantly red with blood. -John paddled with all his might, but the seal began to sink; catching -up a flounder-spear, he endeavored to pierce him with it, but he had -sunk out of reach. He instantly flung over the anchor, fastened an oar -to it to mark the spot, and then paddled slowly back, with downcast -looks. - -“You have done well, John,” said Ben, who saw he was mortified; “they -will sink when you kill them outright. If we only had Tige here he -would bring him up.” - -“I will dive and get him at low water.” - -At low water, John, diving down, brought up the seal. Neither of the -other boys had ever seen one, except in the water. They regarded it -with great interest, and volunteered, under John’s direction, to skin -it and obtain the fat, called blubber, from which a good oil is made. - -“Only see, John,” cried the two boys, “if he has not got whiskers just -like a cat; and what funny legs; why, they are not legs; what are they?” - -“We call them flippers,” said Ben. He then showed them that there -was a membrane between the toes of his feet, like a duck’s. His hind -legs were about as long as the thighs of a hog would be, if the legs -were cut off at the gambrel joint. They cannot with these short legs -walk much on the land, but are very active in the water. In the warm -nights in summer they crawl out on the rocks, and lie and play, and -you may hear them growling and whining like so many dogs; they also, -in the winter time, lie on the ice cakes and float about, and when -alarmed they slide into the water in an instant. When they are wounded -severely, and are in the agonies of death, they will float till the -gunners can get hold of them; but if they are killed outright they -sink at once. Those who shoot them generally have a spear, or hook, -with which they sometimes catch them as they are going down, as John -attempted to do. Ben also told them that the seals were so strong, that -if you took hold of one of their paws when they were half dead, they -would twist it out of your grip with such force and quickness as to -benumb the fingers. The fat or blubber of a seal lies in one sheet over -the meat, about two inches in thickness, and not at all mixed with it, -as is the case with other animals. - -The boys removed the skin from this mass of fat, like lard, which was -quite a difficult operation for novices, and required a great deal of -care, that they might not cut the skin, or leave the fat upon it. When -the skin was removed, there lay the fat in one mass, that trembled when -they touched it. They next removed this in strips, leaving the carcass -lean, and of a dark red. They now stretched the skin tight with nails -on the door of the hovel to dry, and Sally, cutting the blubber into -small pieces, put it on the fire to render. It made excellent oil to -burn in lamps, and to sell; and the skin was used in those days to make -caps, gloves, and boots for winter, also to cover trunks, and for many -other uses. - -Skinning the seal, and especially talking about it, had consumed so -much time, that they determined to devote what little of the day was -left to playing ball, especially as Charlie was very fond of the sport, -and seldom had any one to play with him. They persuaded Ben to make one -of their number. The island being mostly forest, they had not a very -large place in which to play, as part of that cleared was sown with -winter rye, which had grown so much on the new, strong land, as to make -it difficult to find the ball. Thus they were limited to a piece of -ground, not of great extent, near the shore. The boys had bat-sticks, -but Ben preferred to use his fist, with which he sent the ball whizzing -through the air with great velocity. At length becoming excited with -the game, he struck it with such force as to send it over the White -Bull into the water. He then went to his work in the woods, leaving the -boys to get their ball as they could. Not many moments elapsed before -they were on board the canoe in hot pursuit. Pulling in the direction -they had seen it go, they soon discovered it bobbing up and down on a -breaker in the cave on the White Bull. The cave was formed by two rocky -points, and the bottom of it was, near the shore, a smooth granite -ledge; but across its mouth were ragged and broken reefs, two fathoms -beneath the surface at the lowest tides. Over these the great wave -came in, filling the whole cave with a sheet of foam. In this breaker -lay the ball; when the wave curled over and broke, it would come -towards the shore and excite hope; then the recoil would carry it back -again: thus it tantalized them. - -“I’ll have that ball,” said Fred, who was a splendid swimmer, and as -much at home in the water as a fish. - -“It’s impossible,” said Charlie, “till there comes a northerly wind to -blow the sea down, and a calm after it; then I’ve seen it so smooth you -might go over it in a canoe, and I have been over it.” - -“But I’ll swim in and get it.” - -“Swim in! The moment you get into that undertow, it will hold you, and -carry you back and forth just as it is doing that ball. Why, I’ve seen -a mill-log get in there and stay three or four days; and so it will -carry you back and forth till you are worn out, or perish. I had rather -make you a dozen balls than you should go in there.” - -“I tell you I _will_ go in there and get that ball; I’ll have a try for -it, at any rate.” - -“No, you won’t,” said John; “for we are the strongest party, and we -won’t _let_ you, if we have to tie you, or lay you down and pile rocks -on you.” - -“I tell you I have a _plan_, if you would only _help_ a fellow a -little. Charlie gave me that ball, and it’s all the present I ever had -in my life; for nobody ever cared enough about me to give me anything -before.” - -“Let’s hear your plan.” - -“Can’t you row up to the surf in the canoe? I will put a line round me -and go _in_; then, if it _sucks_ me _in_, you can pull me out.” - -“Well, Fred, we will do that, if we can find a line strong enough.” - -“I can get a new line,” said Charlie, “that was left when they rigged -the Ark.” - -There was no getting into the cave by its mouth, as it was entirely -filled by the surf; so they hauled the canoe over the rock into the -cave, rowed up, and anchored as near as they dared, to look at it. -Every time the surf came in, which was about once in five minutes, it -swept the ball towards them, where it remained a minute or two, and -then the recoil of the wave drew it back. Fred, putting the line round -him, flung himself into the water, which was spotted with patches -of gray froth that the wind blew from the crest of the breaker. The -resolute boy breasted the waves; but so far from being sucked in, he -found it impossible to reach the spot where the ball lay, and the -suction began, by reason of the wind, which blew directly in his face, -and the sea, that, beyond the influence of the breaker, drove directly -to the shore; and, worn out with effort, he returned exhausted to the -boat. - -“_I_ have got a plan,” said Charlie, who, by this time, had become as -much interested as Fred himself. “Let us make the line fast ashore, -Fred sit in the stern and hold on to it, keeping his eye on the ball, -and tell us where and how to row, and one or the other of us will catch -it.” - -“Suppose,” said John, “while he was watching the ball and us, he should -happen to let the line slip, or couldn’t hold it; then we should follow -the ball right into the breaker.” - -“We will make the end fast to the head-board of the canoe; then it -_can’t_ get away, and we can have it as well as he.” - -The boys now pulled up the grappling, holding the canoe stationary with -their oars till the surf should come in to drive the ball towards them. - -“Ready!” shouted Fred; “here it comes!” - -“Ay, ay.” - -“Ready! Give way together!” - -Away shot the canoe directly to the surf. - -“Ease, Charlie; pull, John; steady together; grab, Charlie! it’s right -under the bow, on your side.” - -Looking over his shoulder, Charlie caught sight of it; dropping -his oar, he strove to grasp it; but the canoe, ceasing to feel the -influence of his oar, sheered and went over it. The next time it was on -John’s side, but the result was the same; the canoe could not be kept -stationary a moment without both oars. - -“Pay out the line, Fred,” said John; “let’s go beyond it; I’ll risk the -surf.” - -Fred, who needed no prompting, did as he was ordered. Familiarity -with danger had made them reckless. With set teeth and white lips -they strained at the oars; the canoe stood almost on end, and the din -was awful. At that moment the blade of John’s oar struck the ball; -feathering[B] his oar with a jerk, he sent it skipping over the water -out of the eddy, where the wind drove it directly to the shore. - - [B] Turning it edgewise. - -“Haul, Fred! haul for your life!” shouted he, for the canoe was now -within the undertow, that set directly towards the breaker. Shipping -their oars, they sat down in the bottom of the canoe, which now stood -almost perpendicular, and bracing their feet against the knees that ran -across the bottom, grasped the line, and united their efforts to those -of Fred. - -“Haul and hold!” cried John; “take a turn, Charlie!” - -Charlie ran the end of the line through a hole in the head-board, and -took in the slack. Slowly the canoe yielded to their efforts, as with -desperate energy, they strained at the line, and began to recede from -the surf. All at once the line slackened in their grasp. - -“It’s coming,” cried John; “haul hand over hand; the breaker is after -us.” - -There came a rush and a roar; they were covered with spray, and the -canoe was half filled with water; but the surf had fallen short of -them, and they were safe. - -Trembling with excitement, and breathless with exertion, they gazed -upon each other in silence as the canoe drifted back before the wind to -the beach. - -“I never will play with this ball again,” said Fred, taking it from the -water; “but I will keep it just as long as I live.” - -“You ought to, Fred,” said John, “for we have risked our lives to get -it.” - -[Illustration: GETTING THE BALL IN THE BREAKER.--Page 249.] - -Indeed, Charles and John had done as boys often do; after giving Fred -good advice, and striving to prevent him from a perilous act, they had -involved him and themselves in greater danger. - -“I think, John, we had better not mention this matter at home; if we -do, I’m afraid father will send you and Fred both home, and never let -me have another holiday.” - -“We must go to the fire; we are wet with perspiration; and if I look -as the rest of you do, they will know something is the matter, and -question us.” - -“If they do, I shall tell the truth.” - -“Of course you will.” - -“We might do as we did before--make a fire in the woods.” - -“That’s first rate; I never thought of that.” - -Youth soon recovers from fatigue; and after lying an hour stretched at -full length before a warm fire, they felt entirely rested. Thoroughly -dried, and recruited by rest, they now began to feel the pressing calls -of appetite. - -“I’m so hungry,” said Fred; “I do wish it was supper time.” - -“It is almost,” said Charlie; “and if we go home mother will hurry it -up.” - - - - -CHAPTER XVII. - -UNCLE ISAAC’S PLEDGE. - - -As they came to the edge of the woods they espied Uncle Isaac standing -beneath the branches of the old maple, and, with his hand over his -eyes, looking all around him as though in quest of something. Equally -surprised and delighted, they ran to meet him. - -“I heard you was on here,” said he, “and was looking for you. How do -you do, Charlie?” - -“Very well, I thank you, Uncle Isaac. O, how glad I am to see you! It -is a great while since you were here.” - -John, who knew Charlie was too modest to do it himself, showed him the -lookout in the top of the tree, the house, and all that was in it, and -also told him how Charlie beat them firing at a mark, though they had -guns, and he a bow and arrows; and showed him the bullet-holes and -arrow-marks in the target. - -“What should you say if I could beat that?” - -The boys entreated him to fire. - -“This bow is rather small for me, and the arrow will go slower than I -have been accustomed to have them, which makes it difficult judging how -much it will fall. It’s many a long year since I drew an arrow to the -head; but I’ve seen the time it would have been as much as any of your -lives were worth to have run across the roughest ground you ever saw, -within thirty yards of my arrow; that is, if I was prepared to harm -you. Have any of you hit the dot?” - -“No,” replied Fred; “but Charlie came within an inch of it.” - -“Well, I am going to hit it. Where did you stand, Charlie?” - -“Here, Uncle Isaac; I put my toe right against that stone.” - -“I will put mine right against that stone; I want you all to see that -it’s fair, and I stand just in his tracks.” - -The boys all allowed it was fair. After firing up in the air once or -twice, to get the hang of the bow, he planted an arrow, as he had said, -directly in the dot. - -The boys were greatly delighted at this proof of skill. - -“I will show you another thing. Charlie, run to the house and get your -mother’s milk-pail. Now, what will you bet that I can’t shoot an arrow -up in the air so that it will come down in that pail?” - -“It’s impossible,” cried Charlie; “it can’t be done.” - -“If I do it, will you and John give me a day’s work this fall digging -potatoes?” - -“Yes, will we.” - -“And so will I,” said Fred. - -He drew the bow, and, sure enough, the arrow came down in the -milk-pail, and, as it was pointed, stuck up in it. - -“Well,” exclaimed Charlie, “if any man in this world had told me he had -seen that done, or that it could be done, I wouldn’t have believed him.” - -“I rather think,” said Uncle Isaac, with a smile, “this is the easiest -way in which I can dig my potatoes.” - -“Now, Uncle Isaac,” said Charlie, “I want you to tell me just one -thing; how did you learn to shoot so? My grandfather killed men in -battle, and used to shoot at the butts on holidays, and gained prizes -for shooting, but he couldn’t shoot like that; and I don’t believe he -ever heard of anything like it.” - -“I learnt among the Indians, when I was a lad. I was on a visit at my -uncle’s, and the Indians were in ambush in the woods. My uncle was a -very strong, fearless man, and an excellent marksman. It was not known -that there were any Indians round; and one morning he loaded his gun -(for they never went without arms in those days), and went down beside -the brook to cut some timber. Instead of taking his powder-horn, he, by -mistake, took a horn that was full of sand, which they kept to put on -the scythe rifles. (We would say to our readers, that the scythe rifles -in those days were not made as at present, by putting sand or emery -upon wood, with cement; but they scratched the wood and made it rough, -then smeared it with tallow, and put fine sand on it, which adhered to -the tallow and the scratches.) While he was at work the Indians fired -at and wounded him. He returned the fire, and killed the chief’s son, -and, when they rushed upon him, he killed another with the butt of -his gun, when they mastered him. If he had only taken his powder-horn -instead of the sand, he would probably have driven them off. They then -killed my aunt and cousins, and put my poor uncle to the torture; but -the chief, whose son my uncle had killed, took me for his own, and I -grew up with the Indians, and they learnt me all their ways. When I was -with them I used to shoot partridges, coons, and porcupines, for my -Indian mother.” - -“Do Indians know much? I thought they were ignorant as beasts.” - -“They don’t know how to read in books; but they are a wise and -understanding people, after their fashion. I learned to love my Indian -father and mother, for they were very kind to me, and, when we were -scant of food, would go without themselves to feed me.” - -“Why can’t you stay, and go hunting with us to-morrow, and tell us more -about the Indians?” - -“I can’t, child; because I only came over to bring some bad news, and -must go right back.” - -“What is the news?” said John. “Is anything the matter at our house, or -has there any bad tidings come from father?” - -“Poor old Uncle Yelf is dead; and I hope none of us will ever die in -such an awful way.” - -“How did he die?” - -“Why, night before last his horse came home with the bridle under his -feet. They raised the neighborhood, and followed the horse’s tracks -to William Griffin’s door, and then it got dark, and they lost them; -however, they hunted in the slough holes, and all about, a good part of -the night, for it was cold, and they knew if he laid out he’d perish. -But the next morning, when Mr. Griffin went out to feed his hogs, there -lay the poor old man in the hogs’ bed, stone dead. Boys, do either of -you drink spirit?” - -They all replied that they had drank it. - -“I drink it,” said John, “at huskings and raisings, and when father -gives it to me.” - -“So do I,” said Fred; “but I don’t buy any to drink myself.” - -“I,” said Charlie, “used to drink at home, when father gave it to me; -but, after he was pressed, I promised my mother not to drink any, and I -never have, of my own will; but when I was in the Albatross they used -to make me drink, and poured it down my throat if I refused, in order -that I might sing songs, and make sport for them when I was drunk.” - -“Well, I want you, and John, and Frederick to agree, before I leave -this spot that I am sitting on, that you will never taste another drop -of liquor, without you are sick.” - -“Why do you want us to promise that?” - -“Because I remember the time when Yelf was as smart, iron-sided, and -industrious a man as ever trod the Lord’s earth. It took a withy man -to lay him on his back, or lift his load, I tell you. He had a farm -of two hundred acres of the best of new land; his wife milked seven -cows, made butter and cheese, and spun and wove all their cloth; they -had enough of everything, and everybody was as welcome to it as they -were themselves. He was as well thought of as any man in town, and bid -fair to be a rich man. But he carried all that stock and land to the -store (except one acre and a half) in a two-quart jug, and died drunk -among the hogs. Now, that poor woman, who has counted her cheese by -scores, and her butter by tubs, has not a drop of milk except what the -neighbors give her, nor a stick of wood but what she picks up.” - -Uncle Isaac’s voice was broken, and the tears ran down his cheeks. The -boys were greatly affected; they had never seen the calm, resolute man -moved before, and the tears stood in their eyes. - -“There’s no telling,” continued he, “what a man, who drinks ever so -little, may come to, and how it may grow upon him; but if he don’t -drink at all he is safe.” - -The proposition of their friend was, notwithstanding, so strange in -that day, that the boys hesitated. - -“Uncle Isaac,” asked John, “don’t you drink?” - -“Yes, I do, John; but if I was beginning life, and forming habits as -you are, a drop should never cross my lips. Though I never drank a -daily dram, and sometimes not for six months, and was never intoxicated -in my life, I’ve strong thoughts--yes, I’ve very strong thoughts--of -leaving it off altogether.” - -“But father drinks, and my brother Ben, and the minister, and everybody -I know. When the minister comes to our house, mother gets some gin, -sweetens it with loaf sugar, and puts it down on the hearth to warm. I -know my mother wouldn’t do anything wrong; she couldn’t.” - -“Your father, the minister, and myself may be able to govern ourselves, -but a great many others may not, and you may not. Poor Mr. Yelf never -thought he should die in a hog-sty.” - -“But,” asked Fred, “if it is wrong now, wan’t it always wrong? You -never said anything about it before.” - -“I’ve been thinking about it this long time, and have been gradually -brought to see that it was gaining ground, and getting hold of the -young ones; that it was killing people, and making poverty and misery, -and have thought something ought to be done. As long ago as when this -house of Ben’s was building, I found old Mr. Yelf in a slough, bruised, -dirty, and bloody. Ever since that I’ve been thinking about it; it has -kept me awake nights. But when I saw the poor old man, whom I had known -so well to do, dead among the swine, I felt the time had come. I meant -to have begun with older people, and should not have thought of you; -but when I heard that you were all on here together, it seemed to me -that the road was pinted out; that you had no bad habits to break off, -and that it would be beginning at the root of the tree; for if there -were no young folks growing up to drink, there would be no old ones to -die drunkards.” - -“I’ll promise,” said Fred. “I should like to go ahead in something -good;” and so said the others. - -“I don’t want you to promise without consideration, because I expect -you to keep it. A promise made in a hurry is broken in a hurry. I want -you to be ‘fully persuaded in your own minds,’ and think what you would -do if your own folks should ask you to drink.” - -“It costs a great deal,” said John. “Father spends lots of money for -spirit to drink and give away; and I don’t think it does anybody any -good, for I am as well as I can be without it. I’ll do it, and stick -to it.” - -“Charles,” said Uncle Isaac, “go to the house and bring up Ben’s big -auger, that he bores yokes with.” - -When the auger was brought, he took it and bored a hole in the side -of the maple. “Now, I want you to put your hands on this auger, and -promise not to drink any spirit, without you are sick, till this hole -grows up.” - -“But,” said Charlie, “after it grows up there will be nothing to keep -us from drinking.” - -“It will be many a year before that hole grows up, for I’ve bored -through the sap. I expect by that time you will have seen so much of -the bad effects of drinking spirit, and the benefits of letting it -alone, that no power on earth would persuade you to do it.” - -Sally now blew the horn for supper. As they went with Uncle Isaac to -his boat, Fred said to him, “You know we’ve got a whole week for a -holiday; we have been so much more used to work than play, and have -so many things in our heads, that we don’t know what to do first. If -you was a boy, like us, what would you do to-morrow, to have the best -time?” - -“Yes; tell us,” said Charlie. - -“Well, I’ll tell you, and see what you think of it. Mr. Yelf is going -to be put into the ground to-morrow, and I’ve come on to let Ben and -Sally know, that they may go over to the funeral. He has left his -family miserably poor. His only son is in the Ark with Captain Rhines. -The neighbors are going to send in enough for the present. Suppose, -while we are gone to the funeral, you boys should go and catch a good -lot of fish,--enough to last Mrs. Yelf all winter. When she was well to -do, before he took to drinking, nobody went hungry in her neighborhood. -I’ll be on the beach, in Captain Rhines’s cave, when you come back, and -will split and salt the fish; there’s a flake to dry them on, and no -Pete Clash to throw them in the water. I will cure them; and when they -are done you can take them to her.” - -“We don’t want anything better than that,” said the boys. - -“I’d rather do that,” said Fred, “than play at the best play in the -world; you are real good to put it into our heads;” and he threw his -arms around his friend’s neck. - -“But,” asked Charlie, “how shall we know where to go? I know where to -go for hake and winter cod; but it’s too late for hake, and the winter -fish have not come in.” - -“There’s rock cod on the ledges; and I can tell John, who knows the -shores and islands, so that you can find them. You know, John, that -lone spruce on the end of Birch Pint?” - -“Yes, sir.” - -“Bring that to bear over the western pint of the Junk of Pork, at -high-water mark; then bring the north-west side of Smutty Nose, and -the south-east side of Oak Island, just touching on to each other, -and you’ll be on a kelp shoal, where there’s plenty of rock cod, and -where it is so shallow that at low water you can see them bite. Your -grandfather showed me those marks. It isn’t everybody that knows that -spot, and I don’t want you to tell them to anybody. Be sure, if it -breaks, to anchor to the leeward of the breaker, because, if your -anchor should drag, you might drift into it. It’s a good bit to sea, -but there’s three of you, good stout boys, to row, that ain’t afraid of -trifles. The wind is north-west; I think it will be smooth, and you can -take the big canoe.” - -“But father will want that to go to the funeral,” said Charlie; “and -mine is not large enough to go so far.” - -“Well, then, take mine; I’ll go home in yours, and we will swap at the -beach.” - -“I wish I could do more for the poor woman; it is not much to get her a -lot of fish.” - -“Not much for you, but it will be a great deal to her, though. They -have got potatoes in the ground, and that will give them hash all -winter; and beans growing, and a little piece of corn, that won’t come -to much, but it will fat their pig, that’s now running in the woods. -I’ll tell you what else you can do. When I come to make my cider, you -can all come to our house; we will take my oxen and haul her wood -enough to last all winter; and you can have just as many apples, and as -much new cider, as you want.” - -“What shall we have for bait? There are no menhaden in the bay.” - -“You don’t want any; rock fish will bite at clams; and it is most low -water; then you can get some; and if you could get a lobster it would -be first rate. I want you, while you are young, to get in the way of -feeling for your fellow-critters, and then it will grow on you just -as rum-drinking grows on a drunkard. When God wants us he calls for -us. I’m sure I hope when he calls for me, he will find me with my hand -stretched out, putting something into some poor critter’s mouth, and -not drunk in a hog-sty.” - -“Did God call Uncle Yelf?” asked John. - -“No; he went without being called; killed himself; and it’s dreadful to -think what has become of his soul.” - -It was nearly night when Uncle Isaac dropped his oars into the water. -The boys went directly to digging clams by the bright moonlight; and -as Ben and Sally helped them,--Sally picking them up and washing -them,--it was soon accomplished. While this was going on, Charlie, -with his spear, poked some lobsters from beneath the rocks. Ben was so -much occupied with thoughts about Uncle Yelf’s funeral, that he never -asked a question in respect to the ball, or where they found it, merely -saying, as he saw it in Fred’s hand, “So you got your ball.” - -As tired as dogs, but happy, they lay down. Fred exclaimed, “What is -the matter with this bed? it seems to be going up and down.” - -“It’s the motion of the boat that is in your head,” replied John. - -Charlie was already snoring. - - - - -CHAPTER XVIII. - -GENEROSITY AND PLUCK. - - -It was two o’clock in the morning, when Sally, who had the breakfast -all ready, called the boys. - -“The wind is north-west, and there will be no surf round the rocks,” -said Ben, who was up to help them away. - -“You are sure you remember the marks?” - -“Yes, father; I’ve written them all down in my birch-bark book.” - -There was a moderate breeze, the fag end of a north-wester, and the -canoe, which was large, and had excellent oars, sail, and a first-rate -steering paddle, went off before it rolling and going over the water -at a great rate. They soon lost sight of the island, and saw nothing -around them but the waves sparkling in the moonbeams, and the loom of -the land like a dim black shadow on the horizon. The boys began to -feel a kind of awe stealing over them, as the last glimpse of it faded -from their sight, and they found themselves rushing into the unknown -waste, for they were steering straight out to sea, without compass, or -any guide other than to keep before the wind till the daylight should -reveal to them the land astern. - -“Was you ever so far from land before, Charlie?” asked John, after they -had run about an hour and a half. - -“No; except in a vessel, with a crew of men, and a compass.” - -“It’s great--ain’t it? to be going through the water in this wild way, -and not see or hear anything but the waves. Only see how she runs when -she gets on the top of one of these long seas; and how they come up -under the stern, and roll over, and go boo.” - -“If we should get out so far by daylight,” said Fred, “that we couldn’t -see the land, should we ever get back?” - -“We can’t get so far; it was after three before we started; the land is -but little way astern, and we can see it fifteen or twenty miles. We -can take in sail and lie by, if we think we are getting too far.” - -“But the wind might blow so hard that we couldn’t get back.” - -“I don’t think there’s much fun without some risk; every old woman -would go to sea if there was no danger.” - -“I’m a great deal more afraid of the wind dying,” said Charlie; “it -don’t blow near so hard as it did; we may have to row.” - -They ran on about an hour longer, when Fred cried out, “It’s daybreak, -I know; there is a streak in the east.” - -Gradually the light increased. John soon declared that he saw the shade -of the land, and didn’t believe they were far enough. - -“I see Elm Island,” shouted Fred. - -“So do I,” said John; “give us your book, Charlie. Luff her up; I can’t -see Birch Point at all; the island hides it; there it comes out. Luff, -Charlie; I see the lone spruce; luff more yet; there, it’s on the Junk -of Pork; there’s one mark, anyhow. Fred, you keep your eye on the mark, -and tell Charlie how to steer, while I look for the other one. I see -Smutty Nose, but we are not far enough; I knew we wasn’t. I can’t see -Oak Island at all; Smutty covers it all up. O, good wind, don’t die! -don’t die! please don’t die! for the sake of the widow Yelf.” - -In about half an hour John exclaimed, “There it comes out; I see the -tall oaks on the north-eastern end. Hurrah! Keep away a little; here -it is; both marks on; let the sheet fly!” he cried, flinging the -anchor overboard. As it splashed in the water, the wind gave one puff, -and died away to a flat calm, just as the rising sun flung its beams -directly in the boys’ faces. - -“Now, brother mariners,” said John, who was in high feather at this -auspicious beginning of their enterprise, “we’ve got a fishing-ground -of our own, marks of our own, all written down in a birch-bark book, -and can come when we like. What do you say? shall we eat now, or wait -till noon?” - -“I think,” said Charlie, “we had better take a bite before we wet our -lines, for if we get the fish round we shan’t want to stop.” - -As he spoke, he pulled out a pail and jug from beneath the head-board -of the canoe,--one containing coffee, the other bread, meat, and two -apple pies, which Sally had made the evening before, of some apples -Uncle Isaac brought over to them. - -“Isn’t this good?” with half an apple pie in his hand. It was something -he didn’t have every day, and was a rich treat to him. - -“We’re exactly on the marks,” said he, as he threw his line overboard; -“and it’s just the depth of water Uncle Isaac said there would--” He -didn’t finish the sentence, but, instead, began to haul in his line -with all his might, and soon flung a large cod in the bottom of the -canoe. - -“What a handsome fellow!” said Fred; “his fins, eyes, and gills are -red, and also his back.” - -“What a beauty! Good luck for the widow,” said John, as he threw -another beside it. - -By this time Fred had got his line overboard, and soon added another -to those already caught. For hours nothing was heard but the whizzing -of lines and the flapping of fish, as they were drawn from the water. -Fred, who had not been so much accustomed to fishing as the others, -could not help stopping often to admire the great pile of rock cod. - -They are indeed a beautiful fish when first caught, before the red hue -they obtain from the kelp, among which they feed, has faded. - -In addition to their clams, the boys had an abundance of lobsters and -wrinkles; they had also brought some of the smelts caught in the mouth -of the brook the day before. They pounded these up, and threw them into -the water, which, as they sunk down and drifted astern, drew the fish -from all quarters. - -“I wonder what I’ve got,” cried Fred, who was tugging at his line, and -making awful faces, it hurt his fingers so. - -“Perhaps it’s a shark,” said John. - -“O, I hope it is! I’ll take out his backbone and make a cane of it.” - -“It may be a halibut,” said Charlie, taking hold of the line to help -him. But John, looking over the side, burst into laughter, as he -exclaimed, “You’ve got the anchor!” - -“I’ve got something; it ain’t an anchor, neither,” said Charlie, and -pulled up an enormous lobster. - -“How much bigger they grow off here in the deep water, than they do -round the shores! I mean to eat him.” - -It was now near noon, and about low tide; the sun shone bright, the -water was glassy, and they could plainly see the bottom, which was a -reef of rocks covered with long kelps; the largest of which now came to -the top of the water, spreading their great red leaves over its surface. - -They had now caught a great many fish, and began to feel somewhat -tired. Their hands, too, were sore and parboiled from the friction of -the line and constant soaking in the water, especially those of John -and Fred, who did not know how to take out the hook without putting -their fingers into the fish’s mouth, and scratching and cutting them -with his teeth and gills. But Charlie, who was better versed in the -business, took out the hook with his killer--a stick made to fit the -hook, and with which he knocked the fish on the head as he pulled -them in. So, while one of them fished, and threw bait to keep the -fish round, the others leaned over the side of the canoe, and amused -themselves by looking down into the clear water, and seeing the fish -swimming about among the kelp, like cattle in the pasture. There were -sculpins, lobsters, perch, cod, pollock, and once in a while a haddock, -all living as socially together as could be. Sometimes a cusk would -stray in among them, and a sea-nettle come drifting along just outside -the kelp, his long feelers streaming a yard behind him. - -“Look at the muscles down there,” said Fred; “I never knew muscles grew -on rocks way out in the sea; I thought they grew in the mud.” - -“These,” replied John, “are rock muscles, a much smaller kind; they are -what the sea-ducks live on; they dive down and tear them off the rocks -with their bills.” - -“What kind of a thing is that? I should like to know; there, he’s close -to that great rock.” - -“I don’t know; Charlie, come here and tell us what this is.” - -“That,” said Charlie, “is a lump-fish; he don’t belong here, on a rock -cod ledge, but I suppose he’s out making calls this pleasant day.” - -“I should think he was a lump,” said John; “he’s square, both ends.” - -“They are first rate to eat,” said Charlie; “let’s try and catch him, -and give him to Uncle Isaac, together with that great lobster.” - -“What is the best bait for him, Charlie?” - -“I don’t know. You and Fred bait him with lobster, and I will bait him -with clams.” - -They baited their hooks, and lowering them gently into the water, -watched the result. The lump, who was nearest to Charlie’s bait, swam -up to it, turned it round, smelt of it, and then moved off in the -direction of the other lines. - -“He don’t like my bait,” said Charlie; “he’s coming to taste of yours.” - -But before the clumsy creature arrived at the spot, two rock cod -darted at both baits, and were caught. They now all three baited with -lobster, and Fred caught him. An ugly-looking, misshapen thing he was, -with a black, dirty skin, like a sculpin, and called, from his lack of -proportions, a lump-fish. - -“How curious some of these fish do!” said John; “they come up to the -bait, and go right away from it, as though they didn’t like it, and -then turn right about and snap it up.” - -“They do just like some folks at the store, when anybody asks them to -take a dram; they say they don’t know as it’s worth while, or as they -have any occasion, but they always take it, for all that.” - -They had now loaded the canoe as deep as they dared; it was low water -and a flat calm; the prospect was, that they would have to row the -heavy-laden boat home; in that case they would need the whole of the -flood tide to do it with. - -“Let’s reel up our lines,” said Charlie; “the tide has turned.” - -“Let’s wait a little while, and eat up the rest of our grub; perhaps -there will be a southerly wind.” - -After reeling up their lines, they amused themselves a while by -dropping pieces of bait into the water, and seeing the fish run after -it, and try to take it away from each other. While they were eating, -they saw a dark streak upon the water, about a mile off. - -“There’s the fair wind coming,” said Charlie; “now we’ll just wait for -it.” - -They pulled up the anchor, and, setting the sail, continued their -repast, while the canoe drifted along with the flood tide. With a fair -wind and tide, they now made rapid progress, and Elm Island, with the -house, was soon in full view. They were so wet with hauling in their -lines, and the wind from the sea was so damp and chilly, that they were -obliged to take turns at the oars to keep themselves warm. - -While they were thus engaged, Fred, who was steering, exclaimed, “I see -a smoke in Captain Rhines’s cove.” - -“So do I,” said John, “and a blaze, too; what can that be for?” - -“I expect,” said Charlie, “Uncle Isaac is there, and has got a -fire--won’t that be good?--to dry our wet clothes; and won’t he laugh -when he comes to see all these fish? We couldn’t have carried fifty -weight more; she almost dips her side under every time she rolls. Keep -her off a little, Fred, so that I can see by the point.” - -Fred changed the direction of the canoe, thus enabling them to look -into the cove. - -“Why, he’s got two fires, a big and a little one; and there’s Tige -along with him.” - -“I tell you, boys,” said Fred, “I like to eat; I think half the fun of -these times is, that things taste so good out doors. It feels so good, -too, when you are wet, tired, and a little chilly, to stretch out -before a good, roaring fire!” - -“That’s so,” replied John; “and when you make the fire of old logs and -stumps, with great prongs on them, to sit and eat, and see the blaze go -krinkle krankle in and out among the roots, that go all criss-cross, -and every which way.” - -“When we start off so in the night,” said Charlie, “find a -fishing-ground, and get lots of fish, it makes a fellow feel as though -he was somebody.” - -“Kind of mannish,” said John. - -“Yes, that’s what I mean.” - -As they neared the shore, they were equally astonished and delighted -at what they saw. From a great pile of drift slabs, logs, and stumps -that lay in the cove, Uncle Isaac had made two fires,--one to sit by, -and the other to cook by; he had made at the small fire a crotch to -hang the pot on, and placed stones to keep the fire in place under -the kettle. With his broad-axe he had made a long table and seats, -of slabs. His cart stood on the beach, with the oxen chained to the -wheels. In it he had brought tubs to salt the fish in, knives to split, -and salt to salt them; a kettle, pork, potatoes, new cider, apples, -cheese, bowls, spoons and plates, knives and forks, and some eggs to -roast in the ashes. He had put the table by the big fire, and on a -bench beside it sat Hannah Murch, with her white apron on, knitting, -and Uncle Isaac smoking his pipe, and striving to keep from laughing. - -“I hope they’ve got the table big enough,” said John; “it’s big enough -for a dozen people. But only see Tige; just you look there, Charlie; -he’s got a chip in his mouth; when he’s awful glad he always gets a -chip, and gives little, short barks. O, I wish he could talk! Look, -Fred! here he comes; only see how fast he swims!” - -In a few moments Tige was alongside, licking John’s hands, which he -reached out to him, when he swam beside them till they came to the -beach. - -“Uncle Isaac,” screamed Charlie, “I guess you’ll say something when you -see what we’ve got. O, the master lot of fish!” - -“I guess I shall,” he replied, standing up on his toes, and looking -over the boys’ heads, right into the canoe. “I shall say you have been -raal smart boys, and done a fust-rate thing. ’Tisn’t every three boys -that have pluck enough to go fifteen miles outside, and load a big -canoe, as you have done. I make no doubt you have enjoyed yourselves.” - -“You’d better believe we have,” said Fred; “fair tide and fair wind -both ways; no rowing, and no slavery of any kind.” - -“I guess,” said Hannah Murch, “you’ll enjoy yourselves better when you -get that chowder, and that something else I am going to make.” - -“What else, Mrs. Murch?” - -“That’s telling.” - -“How I wish father and mother were here!” said Charlie. - -“Here they are,” was the reply; and Ben, Sally, and the widow Hadlock -came out from behind the cart. - -“This is too good,” said Charlie, hugging them both. Indeed, it was as -much of a surprise to Ben and his wife as to the boys. Uncle Isaac, -knowing that they must come to the beach, on their return from the -funeral, to take the boat, had said nothing to them of his intentions. - -Hannah Murch, who was a great friend of Sally, had entered into her -husband’s plans with all her soul, and she was not one of the kind that -did things with a slack hand. - -“I wish my mother was here, too,” said John. - -“Here she is,” was the reply; and Mrs. Rhines and her daughters came -out from some alder bushes at the head of the cove. - -“What’s in that pot over the fire now?” said Fred, who was a dear lover -of good cheer, and could eat as much as a heron. - -“Never you mind, Fred,” replied Mrs. Murch, “the pot is doing very -well; but get me those fish Isaac has just cleaned, and hand me that -thing full of potatoes. Sally, will you wash and pare the potatoes? -Mrs. Rhines, won’t you be good enough to draw the tea? Girls, put the -dishes on the table; you’ll find them in a tub in the cart; and the -pies are there, too, and the milk and sweetening.” - -While the chowder was preparing, the men, who were workmen at the -business, aided by the boys, split the fish and salted them. - -“Now, John,” said Uncle Isaac, “these fish can stay in the pickle till -you get back from the island; I’ve salted them slack, so they will not -be hard and dry; then you can take them out, put them on the flake, -and dry them. I’ll come and look at them once in the while, and, when -they are cured, you can take your steers and cart and take them to the -widow’s; she is in no hurry for them, as the neighbors have given her -all she needs for the present.” - -“I think, Uncle Isaac, we all caught them, and we all ought to carry -them. If I should go alone it would look as though I had done it all. -If she ain’t in any hurry for them, why can’t they stay at our house -till we go to haul her wood? and then we might dig her potatoes, and -put them in the cellar, and she will be all fixed up for winter.” - -“That will be the best way, John.” - -They now washed out the canoe, and the day’s work was done. As the boys -were still some wet, they piled whole slabs on the fire, and lay down -before it, waiting for supper, their wet clothes smoking in the heat. -The great pot was now put in the middle of the table, and Hannah Murch -filled the bowls as fast as they were emptied, which was not seldom. - -“Don’t give Fred any more, Aunt Hannah,” said John; “he’ll kill -himself, and his blood will be on your head.” - -“Shouldn’t think you need say anything,” growled Fred; “that’s the -third bowlful you’ve eaten.” - -“I don’t believe there ever was so good a chowder as this,” said -Charlie; “I never tasted anything so good in all my life.” - -After the chowder came the roasted eggs. Uncle Isaac now brought a -broad, thin flat rock from the beach, which, after Hannah had washed -in boiling water, he placed in the middle of the table. She then went -to the pot which had so excited Fred’s curiosity, and took from it an -apple pudding, which she had made at home, and brought with her, and -put it on the rock; she also brought a jug of sauce. - -“I knew,” she said to Sally, “how well you liked my apple puddings when -you was a girl, and I mean’t you should have one. I’ve done my best; if -it ain’t good I shall be sorry.” - -If the proof of a pudding is in the eating, Mrs. Murch certainly -succeeded, for every morsel was devoured. The cheese, apples, and cider -furnished the dessert, of which the boys freely partook, as cider was -not mentioned in Uncle Isaac’s pledge, or even thought of. Indeed, that -was but the germ in a thoughtful, benevolent mind, of principles that -were to be widely extended in after years. It was found, when all were -satisfied, that a large portion of the eggs, cheese, butter, bread, -pies, and milk, had not been tasted. - -“I’ll just leave these,” said Uncle Isaac, “as I go home, at the widow -Yelf’s; the boys, I reckon, can take care of the apples.” - -It was far into the evening before the party separated. The boys -lingered after the rest were gone, declaring they had eaten so much it -was impossible for them to row over at present. They lay by the fire -listening to the dip of Ben’s oars, and the rumble of Uncle Isaac’s -cart, till both died away in the distance. - -“What say for going in swimming?” asked John. - -“It’s too cold,” replied Fred; “who ever heard of anybody going in -swimming in the night, at this time of year?” - -“I’ll stump you both to go in.” - -“I won’t take a stump from anybody,” said Charlie; “go ahead; I’ll -follow.” - -John got his clothes off first, and, running in half leg deep, -hesitated. - -“Is it warm?” asked Fred. - -“Splendid!” was the reply, as he soused in. - -The others followed. - -“Murder!” screamed Fred, the instant he got his head above water; “I -should think it was splendid;” and, catching up his clothes, ran to -the fire, followed by the others, their teeth chattering in their -heads. Standing before the great fire, they put on their clothes, and -were soon as warm as ever. They now took the apples that were left, -put them in the canoe, and piling a great heap of slabs on the table, -set it on fire, and pulled away by the light of it, Charlie steering, -and singing to them an old English song about one Parker, who was hung -at the yard-arm for mutiny at the ----. It must be borne in mind that -slabs were not considered worth anything in those days, and were thrown -out of the mill to go adrift, and the shores were full of them, so that -boys had plenty of material for bonfires. John had prevailed upon his -mother to let Tige go with them, as the widow Hadlock said Sam might -come over and stop nights till John came back. - -“Haven’t we had a good time to-day, Fred?” asked John, after they were -once more in bed on Elm Island. - -“Never had such a good time in my life. I’m real glad Tige bit me, that -I got to going with you and Charlie, and you like me. I used to think -there couldn’t be any good time without I was in some deviltry. Then -to think how good Uncle Isaac and his wife were to come down there and -bring all those good things, just that we boys might have a good time! -Wasn’t that apple pudding and sauce good?” - -Fred slept in the middle, and, in the fulness of his heart, he hugged -first one and then the other of his companions. - -“It seems,” said John, “that Uncle Isaac knew what we wanted better -than we did ourselves.” - -“What shall we do to-morrow, Charlie?” - -He received no answer; Charlie was fast asleep; and all three of them -were soon buried in those refreshing slumbers that succeed to exercise -and exposure in the open air. It was impossible that Uncle Isaac’s -dealings with the boys should be kept secret, although he mentioned it -to no one; and the only witness was a crow that sat on the top of a -neighboring birch. - -Ben was in the house when Charles came for the auger. “What does he -want it for?” asked he. - -“I don’t know; he told me to get it.” - -Ben returned to the woods, wondering what Uncle Isaac could be going to -do with the auger. But at night, before Charlie went to bed, he told -Ben and his wife all that had been said and done on both sides. Ben -remained silent after he had told the story. - -At length Sally said, “I don’t think, myself, that boys ought to -drink spirit till they are old enough to have discretion, and to make -a proper use of it; but to promise _never to drink_, I never heard -of such a thing. For my part, I don’t see how anybody that works, -and is exposed, can get along without it; and I’m sure they can’t in -sickness.” - -“Yes,” replied Ben; “and by the time they come to have discretion (as -Uncle Isaac says), they have formed the habit, and half of them die -drunkards. Everybody can see what rum has done for poor Mr. Yelf. How -many times I’ve heard my father and mother tell what good times they -used to have going there visiting; how well they lived; and that the -house was full of everything! and now to think, that the week before he -died he sold his axe for rum. - -“I’ve heard Uncle Isaac, a number of times within a year, talk about -drinking, in what I thought a strange way, and as he never did before. -I don’t believe he has done this without thinking about it a good -while: the promise won’t do the boys any hurt.” - -“That’s very true,” replied Sally; “for last summer, when Mr. Hanson’s -barn was raised, the York and Pettigrew boys, mere children, got hold -of the spirit that was brought for the raising, and were as drunk as -fools; some laughed, but mother said she thought it was an awful sight.” - -“I must needs say,” continued Ben, “when I saw old Mrs. Yelf, who has -suffered so much from liquor, and is so destitute, bring it on to treat -the mourners, and old Jonathan Smullen (who is going as fast as he can -in the same way as Yelf) drink it, it kind of went against my feelings. -I couldn’t help thinking that money had better have gone for food and -clothing.” - -“I suppose she thought she must.” - -“That’s what makes me think the whole thing is wrong--that a poor -creature must spend her last penny to treat her friends.” - - - - -CHAPTER XIX. - -FRED’S SAND-BIRD PIE. - - -The next morning, having despatched their breakfast, they sat down -under a tree, which, being on high ground, afforded a good position -from which to judge of the weather. The question as to how they should -spend the day, came up. - -“It’s going to be a splendid day,” said Fred; “and I, for one, will -tell you what I should like to do. You know I like those scrapes where -there’s something good to eat.” - -“I should think so,” replied Charlie, “according to what I saw you eat -last evening.” - -“Did either of you ever eat any sand-birds?” - -“We never did.” - -“You never tasted anything half so good as a sand-bird pie; I always -calculate to have a real tuckout once a year on sand-birds. Mother -takes the biggest dish in the house and bakes a smashing great pie.” - -“Let’s go,” said John. “Where’s the place?” - -“You know where Sandy Point is?” - -“I hope so.” - -“Well, right close to it, there’s a lot of little ledges; some of them -ain’t bigger at high water than a table; some not so big; just a little -speck in the water.” - -“I know; I’ve been there many a time to shoot brants.” - -“These sand-birds feed on the shore till they are chock brimful, and -the tide comes and drives them off; then they fly on to these ledges; -but they are as afraid of getting wet as a cat; and when the tide comes -up around the rock, they huddle together to keep out of the water, till -they are all in a bunch, and the rock looks blue with them; it’s the -greatest chance for a shot; but,” continued he, after a pause, “perhaps -Mrs. Rhines wouldn’t want the trouble of making it.” - -“Yes, she would,” replied Charlie; “she and father would like it as -well as we. I’ll go and ask her.” He ran to the house, and came back, -saying she would make it, if they would dress the birds. - -“I,” said John, “should like to go to some strange place, where we -never have been. I heard Joe Griffin and Henry telling about a place; -they said it was eight or nine miles to the eastward of Birch Point, -where nobody lives. They said there were great hills of strange-looking -rocks, with a flat between them, and a brook running through it; that -the Indians used to live there; and you could see the stones where they -made their fires, and find arrow-heads, and Indian things that were -buried there; and Uncle Isaac knew where; that somewhere along the side -of the brook there was red paint, as good as ever was, and that Uncle -Isaac had a room painted with it; that there were partridges there, -and way back was a pond, that the brook ran out of, with pickerel in -it. Joe said the way to tell it was, right off the mouth of the cove -there was a great, high rock, that came up out of the water, with three -spruces on the top of it, and a little turf, but the sides were all -bare; and he said there were reefs and breakers all round it; but I’ll -bet, if we could find it, we could see the reefs break, and keep clear -of them.” - -“I say, go!” said Charlie; “I do want the red paint so much! I want to -paint my canoe. I can buy black paint, and there’ll be two colors; and -I want to see the Indian things.” - -“I want to shoot partridges,” said John, “catch pickerel, see the -place, and get some paint to paint my cart, and some things for -mother.” - -“I want to paint a box I’ve got, that I keep my things in,” said Fred. -“I’ll give up the sand-bird pie; let’s go!” - -“It’s flood tide,” said John; “we can do both. Let us go and get the -birds, have our pie, and then go and camp out at the other.” - -They took their guns and a luncheon, and were soon on their way. By -Fred’s direction they landed a little way from the point, from which -three of the rocks were distant but half a gun-shot, being, indeed, -connected with the point at low water, the extremity of which was -fringed with low bushes, through which they crawled in different -directions, when they found that the rocks were as Fred had said--blue -with birds. It was arranged that Fred should caw like a crow in -succession; at the first summons they were to get ready; at the second, -Charlie and John were to fire; but Fred was to fire as they rose. - -At the signal the guns were discharged, and the rock was covered with -dead and wounded; as they rose in a thick cloud, Fred fired, when many -more fell--some on the rock, but most of them in the water. These Tige -instantly began to bring ashore, and lay down at John’s feet. - -“We’ve killed half a bushel!” cried Fred; “didn’t I tell you this was -the place?” - -“We can never eat a quarter part of these,” said John. - -“Never mind; let us carry every one of them to the island; it is cool -weather; they will keep till you and I go home, and then we can get -our mothers to make us another pie, to remember this holiday by; and -Charlie and his folks can have another pie after we are gone.” - -“Now for home and the Indians’ place,” said Charlie. - -They took to their oars, and rowing with a good will, reached the -island some time before noon. The instant the canoe touched the beach -Charlie leaped from it, and, rushing into the house, bawled out, -“Mother, put on the pot! They’re coming with the birds! O, lashings of -them! I’ll make a fire!” and ran for the wood-pile. Charlie crammed the -brush under the pot to heat water to scald the birds, that they might -pick them the faster. - -John and Fred now came in with the lower button of their jackets -buttoned up, and their bosoms, pockets, arms, and hats full of dead -birds. They unloaded on the middle of the hearth, and went back for -more. - -“Boys,” asked Sally, “have you eaten your luncheon?” - -No; they couldn’t stop; forgot it. - -“Then eat it now, and have your dinner on the birds.” - -“Yes,” said Charlie; “and then start off to camp out.” - -The boys ate their luncheon while the water was heating, and then began -to pick and dress the birds; and, when Ben came in, he helped them. -When prepared, they looked like balls of butter, they were so covered -with yellow fat. - -While the pie was baking, John began to show the boys how Tige would -fetch and carry, and give any one his paw to shake, and dive to bring -up things from the bottom. - -“You didn’t know I had a dog--did you?” asked Charlie. - -“Yes,” replied John; “Sailor.” - -“No; one as big as three of him.” - -Charlie had been so much occupied with the boys, that he had forgotten -all about the pig, and had not seen him for almost a week. But the pig -was not at all concerned about the matter, as the woods were full of -acorns and beech-nuts, and he was enjoying himself very much to his own -satisfaction. - -Charlie now went to the edge of the woods, and called, “Rover! Rover!” -when down came the pig from the woods, and, jumping upon Charlie, put -his fore feet in his lap, and rubbing his nose against him, seemed full -as glad to see him as Tige ever was to see John. Charlie then put some -acorns in his pocket, and the pig took them out with his nose; then he -held up a stick, and told him to jump, and over it he jumped. - -“Now, Rover,” said he, pointing to the beach, “go get a clam.” - -In a moment he ran to the beach, rooted up a clam with his nose, and -brought it to his master. The boys were full of amazement to see a pig -do such things. - -“Will he bring birds ashore?” asked John. - -“No; he won’t go near the water, except a mud puddle; he’s afraid of -the water. A hog can’t swim much more than a hen; but I tell you what -he will do, he’ll haul the baby in a cart.” - -Charlie had made a cart, with arms to it, for the baby, and a harness -of canvas for Rover; so he harnessed up the pig, who drew the baby all -along the green between the house and the water. - -“Tige will do that,” said John. - -They took out the pig, and put in Tige, who walked off as careful as -could be. - -“Let’s have a strong team,” said Fred; “let’s put them both in, one -before the other.” - -As Tige didn’t seem very fond of the pig, and had shown some -disposition to bite him, it was not thought safe to trust him behind; -so they got some ropes, and traced him up forward. While they were -drawing the baby in great style along the edge of the beach, Ben was -hiding behind a rock on the White Bull, trying to get a shot at some -sea-ducks; at length he fired, killing four of them. Tige looked up -at the report, and seeing the dead birds floating on the water, ran -with all his might down hill into the cove, dragging pig, baby, and -all after him, at a break-neck pace, into the sea. Charlie, leaping -into the water, caught at the child, but, missing it, grasped one -wheel, which upset the cart in an instant, pitching the screaming child -into the water, from which it was instantly rescued by Charlie, who, -however, had to swim for it. Meanwhile Tige, utterly regardless of the -commotion he was causing, or to how great an extent he was injuring -his previous high reputation, swam steadily along, dragging the -half-drowned pig after him, till he got among the birds, when, taking -one in his mouth, he swam to the White Bull; where Ben, who had watched -the whole proceeding, relieved him from the harness, when he swam off -and brought in the remainder. By this time John and Fred had arrived in -the canoe. The pig lay on the beach apparently almost dead. - -“I guess he’ll die,” said Fred. “How bad Charlie will feel!” - -They put him, together with the cart, into the canoe, and took him to -the cove, where they laid him carefully on the grass. - -Charlie, meanwhile, had gone to the house with the baby. - -“Well,” said Sally, as she received the screaming, dripping child, “I’m -sure I don’t know what this child is born for; it’s not six months old, -and has been almost burned to death, and drowned.” - -When Charlie returned, and saw Rover in such a condition, he came very -near bursting into tears; he knelt down by him, wiped the froth away -from his mouth, and rubbed him, calling him good Rover; but piggy gave -no signs of life, except it could be perceived he breathed. - -Ben now came over from the White Bull in his canoe. - -“Father,” cried Charlie, “do come here; Rover is going to die; can’t -you help him?” - -“The first thing,” said Ben, after looking at him, “is to get the water -out of him.” - -“In England, when people are most drowned, they roll them on a barrel; -shall I get one?” - -“I guess I can get it out easier than that,” said Ben; and, taking the -pig by the hind legs, he held him up clear from the ground, when the -water he had taken in ran out of his nose in a stream. When he put him -down the pig gave a grunt. - -“He’s coming to!” cried Charlie; and in a few moments more the pig got -up on his fore legs, but fell back again. - -“He’ll do well enough now; he’s only weak.” - -Charlie took his head in his lap and patted him, when the pig gave -three or four loud grunts, and got up on his feet. Just then Sally -called from the door that dinner was ready. - -“I’m ready to eat it, or do anything else,” said Charlie, “now that -baby is not drowned, and Rover has come to.” - -In consequence of all this Tige was somewhat in disgrace. - -“You naughty dog,” said John to him, “do you know what you’ve done? -almost drowned Charlie’s pig and the baby; I shouldn’t have thought -that of you. What do you suppose folks would say, if it should go all -over town what you have done?” - -But so far from manifesting any contrition, Tige, all the time his -master was talking to him, kept wagging his tail, and looking him in -the face. - -“You must not throw a person away for one mistake,” said Ben. “Tige has -been trained from childhood to feel, that to get birds when they are -shot is the great duty of his life.” - -“Well, Fred,” said Sally (when the pie had come upon the table, and he -had despatched the first plateful), “what do you think of my pie?” - -“Tongue cannot tell,” he replied, holding out his plate for more. - -“I think,” said Ben, “it is about the best mess I ever tasted; I mean -to have one every year after this.” - -“Wouldn’t father like this?” asked John: “when he gets home we’ll have -some.” - - - - -CHAPTER XX. - -A HAIR-BREADTH ESCAPE. - - -Dinner at length being over (though later than usual, on account of -the time occupied in baking the pie, and later, still, by reason of -the goodness of it), they prepared to start, taking with them an axe -to build a camp, tinder in a horn, flint, steel, and matches, which -were made by dipping splinters of wood into melted brimstone, and which -would burn when touched to the spark in the tinder. As they were to be -gone but a short time, they carried no materials for cooking, but took -their provisions ready cooked. - -The wind was fair, but light, and they steered for the lone spruce -on Birch Point, and, passing it, kept on to the north-east, having -resolved to run the shore along, keeping a bright lookout for the high -rock with the spruce on its summit, till they judged by the tide it was -midnight, when, if they could not find the place, they would go ashore -and camp, continuing their search in the morning. As night fell the -wind began to rise, and dark clouds occasionally obstructed the moon. -They coasted swiftly along the wild and rugged shore, looking in vain -for the landmark. All at once the sea combed astern of them, with a -tremendous roar, and so near that they were wet with the spray. - -“We’ve run over a breaker,” said John; “if we had been ten feet farther -astern it would have filled and sunk us. How could it be that, when you -and Fred are both on the lookout, you didn’t see it?” - -“I’ll tell you why,” said Charlie; “because it didn’t break after we -were in sight. It is one of those breakers I have heard father tell of, -that break only once in a good while; he said, that while some break -every three minutes, and oftener, others break only once in fifteen -minutes, or half an hour; and you cannot see such breakers in the -night, and might be running right over one when it broke, as we came -near doing just now.” - -“Luff!” cried Fred; and, as they looked under the sail, they saw the -white foam of the surf to the leeward. - -“There’s breakers all around us,” said Charlie; “let’s take to the -oars, and then we can keep clear of them.” - -Our young readers must bear in mind that these canoes could only go -before the wind, or a little quartering, and therefore could not, like -a boat, be luffed sharp into the wind, and beat out clear of danger; -hence the boys preferred to take the sail in, and trust to their oars, -with which they could, if they saw a breaker, pull away from it. At -length they discovered a narrow passage, that seemed to lead in among -the breakers to a high bluff, and rowed into it, having reefs and -breakers on either side of them. They coasted along the bluff till they -discovered beyond it a low point, and between them a cove with a little -narrow beach. In the end of the high bluff was a large cave, into which -the moon shone, partly revealing its extent. Here they determined to -land, and build a brush camp. While they were looking about for a -place to get up the rocky, steep shore, they stumbled upon this cave, -and determined to explore it. It ran about twenty feet into the rock, -which, being formed to a great extent of iron pyrites, had crumbled -beneath the united forces of the frost and waves. John clambered up -the bank, and found some dry brush, with which they made a torch. As -they went in they found the bottom rose, and in the middle was a little -elevation, somewhat higher than the rest. The walls were ragged, and -just high enough to permit them to stand upright. - -“What a nice place to camp!” said John; “we couldn’t have a better one.” - -“But won’t the tide come in here? You know it is full of the moon, and -high tides, now,” asked Fred. - -“I don’t believe it does, else there would be chips, drift stuff, and -sea-weed in here; but this is as clean as a house floor.” - -There was plenty of dead wood on the top of the bluff; this they -cut, and tumbled down the bank; then cut some hemlock boughs from -small bushes, that were soft to sleep on, and put them on the little -elevation in the middle. Then they stuck birch-bark torches into the -crannies in the cave, moored the canoe in front of it, and took their -guns, fishing-lines, and powder-horns, and set them up in the back -part of the cave. They now piled up a great heap of wood in the mouth -of the cave, so that the smoke would not enter, kindled the fire, and -lighted the torches, till it was one glare of light, and the old rocks -steamed with the heat. The provisions they had brought were eagerly -devoured, with the exception of the remnants of the sand-bird pie, and -some bread, which were left for another occasion. The perils they had -passed through, and the strange position in which they were placed, -rendered them little inclined to sleep. - -Though boys are little given to sentiment, and the animal nature -predominates, yet the scene was so singularly wild and beautiful, -it was impossible they should not be impressed by it, which they -manifested in their own fashion. - -“Isn’t it great to camp in a cave?” asked Charlie. “How many things -I’ve heard about caves! I wonder if any robbers or pirates ever lived -in this.” - -A little on their left was the high, rocky bank of the cove, with -its narrow strip of white sand, sheltered from the wind by the high -bluff, on which the retiring wavelets gently rolled, silvered by the -moonbeams. In front was a group of reefs, which the boys had threaded, -and on which the surf was rolling feather white. - -“Look there, boys!” said John; “see the moon shining on that surf, when -it rolls up, and then on the black rock when it goes back; isn’t that -handsome? I’ve left my gun and powder-horn in the canoe, and now the -tide has floated her off; would you wade in?” - -“No; I wouldn’t wet my feet; let them be.” - -They now lay down to sleep; but Tige, instead of placing himself at -John’s feet, as usual, went up on the bank to lie down in the woods. - -“What do you suppose makes Tige do that?” asked John. - -“Perhaps he don’t like to sleep in a cave,” said Fred, “and wants to be -out doors, where he can bark at the moon. Our Watch always wants to be -out moonlight nights.” - -“I’ll tell you; he don’t like to lie on brush, nor on the rock; I’ll -make him a bed.” - -John called him back, and threw down his long jacket at his feet, and -made him lie down on it. He still seemed uneasy, and got up again; but -John scolding at him, he lay down and went to sleep. The whole party -were now sound asleep. How long they had slept they knew not, when John -was aroused by the barking of Tige, who, not satisfied with waking him, -took hold of his collar with his teeth, and pulled him half upright. -Stretching out his leg in a fright, he plunged it into the cold water. -At the cry John uttered both the boys awoke, when they found themselves -in utter darkness, and surrounded by water. The tide, unusually high, -had flowed into the cave, put out the fire, the brands of which were -floating around them, and filled the whole cave, except the elevation -upon which they had made their bed. - -“We shall all be drowned!” cried Fred, bursting into tears. - -“No, we shan’t!” said John; “I can see a little light at the mouth; -but what we do, we must do quickly. Follow me and Tige. Come, Tige.” -And plunging into the water, he followed Tige, who led the way to the -mouth of the cave, where John had seen the streak of light. There was -but just room between the water and the roof for the passage of their -heads; and had it not been for the sagacity of the dog, had they slept -till the water reached their couch and waked them, they must have been -blocked in and perished. Swimming to the beach, they clambered up the -bank, and were safe. But they were in a sorry pickle; the night was -cold, they were soaked with water, and in a strange and uninhabited -place. - -“What shall we do?” said Charlie; “the fireworks are all in the cave; -we shall have to run about till daylight, to keep from freezing.” - -“Your gun and powder-horn are in the canoe,” said John; “I can get fire -with the gun.” - -John swam off to the canoe, and soon brought her ashore. After several -trials they succeeded in getting fire with the gun. Their spirits rose -at once with the crackling of the flames and the grateful warmth. - -“Who cares!” said John; “we ain’t drowned, have got a fire, and can get -our things when the tide ebbs.” - -The first thing John did, after getting warm, was to caress Tige, as -did the others. - -“We owe our lives to him,” said Charlie. - -“Yes; and I was scolding at him this very afternoon, and was a good -mind to whip him. Good old dog! I’m sorry; and if we had anything to -eat ourselves, I would give you some. Now I know the reason he went off -in the woods, and didn’t want to sleep there; he knew the tide would -come in there.” - -“How could he know that? I saw him,” said Charlie, “when we first came, -smelling all around the walls; perhaps he smelt where the water had -come before.” - -“Perhaps so.” - -“I think,” said Charlie, “a higher power than Tige had something to do -with it; you know how loath your mother was to have you bring him, and -wouldn’t let you the first time. I think it was what my mother used to -call a ‘providence of God.’” - -“That’s just what my mother will say, the moment I tell her about it.” - -The sail of the canoe, spread over a pole supported by crotches, made -them a tent, and they were soon asleep. Tige showed no disposition this -time to leave the tent, but stretching himself at his master’s feet, -snored audibly. The morning sun, shining in their faces, woke up the -tired sleepers, and, going down to the bluff, they saw the high rock -with the three spruces not more than half a mile off. The tide had now -ebbed so much that they went into the cave with the canoe. The guns -were full of water, but the powder in the horns was not injured. A jug -of coffee, that was stopped tight, was as good as ever. The remains of -their pie and bread were soaked in salt water, but the hungry boys ate -a good part of it. They drew the charges from the guns, and heating -some water in the tin pan that had contained their pie, scalded out -the gun-barrels, and dried them at the fire, and they went as well as -before. - -They now set out for the high rock, and doubling it, entered the cove. -It was, indeed, a singular spot. Along the edge of the water were about -two acres of land, entirely bare of trees, and covered with grass. Upon -each side rose two rugged hills, that seemed to have been cleft in two, -so perpendicular--so much alike were their sides of smooth rock--as to -permit the passage of a brook between them. The hills were covered with -an enormous growth of yellow birch, rock maple, and oaks. The birches -thrust their roots into the crevices of the rocks, and hung from the -sides wherever there was the least soil. - -“What kind of rocks are these?” asked Charlie; “they are red, and look -like rusty iron; the ground is red, too. How hard some of these rocks -are! and some are soft, and crumble in your hand.” - -“Just taste of that,” said Fred, giving Charlie a piece of shelly, -yellowish rock, who, putting it to his mouth, instantly spit it out, -saying that it tasted like copperas. Fred and Charlie began now to -search among the long grass for some traces of the Indian village, but -found only charred wood, and stones which had formed rude fireplaces, -blackened by smoke. Their search naturally led them to the bank of the -brook. - -“I never saw such water as this before,” said Fred, stooping down to -drink; “it is red, but it tastes well enough.” - -Following along its banks they found some arrow-heads, where the soil -had caved away. They were made of a stone resembling flint, sharp at -the point, and on each edge, but the edges were irregular, showing -that they were made by chipping. Some of them were light-colored, -others dark. They had brought a hoe and shovel, and the soil, -being sandy, offered but little resistance. They soon dug out more -arrow-points, and something that looked like the bowl of a pipe, made -of a softer stone. - -“What is that, Fred?” - -“An Indian pipe. I saw my cousin have one, and he said that’s what it -was.” - -“How did they smoke with it; there’s no stem--only a little mite.” - -“He said they stuck a piece of elder in it for a stem.” - -Continuing their search, Fred dug out an iron instrument, entirely red -with rust. - -“I know what that is,” he said, rubbing it over the edge of the hoe, to -get off the rust. - -“What is it?” - -“A tomahawk.” - -“It looks like a hatchet. What is it for?--to cut wood?” - -“To cut wood! To cut folks’ heads off, and split them open. The Indians -killed my grandfather with just such a thing as that; they will throw -’em so that they will whirl over and over till the edge sticks right -into a man’s skull.” - -“How did they kill your grandfather?” - -“He was leading his horse to the brook to drink. The Indians were hid -in the bushes; the horse either saw or smelt them, and wouldn’t go to -the water. My grandfather tried to get him to go at first, but in a -minute he thought it was Indians, and jumped on his back and set him -into a run. The Indians gave chase, and one of them threw a tomahawk, -and struck it into the side of his neck; he kept on the horse just long -enough to reach home, and fell on the door-step; and for all the horse -run, the Indians were at the door almost as soon as he. My uncle fired -and shot one of them, and they went off; but my grandfather died about -sundown.” - -“Did your uncle shoot the one who threw the tomahawk?” - -“I don’t know; I hope so; but they didn’t get his scalp.” - -“What is that?” - -“Why, don’t you know what a scalp is?” - -“No; what is it?” - -“When the Indians killed any white folks, they cut a piece of skin off -the top of their heads, with the hair on, and carried it off.” - -“What made ’em do that?” - -“I don’t know; because they were Indians, I suppose.” - -“Does Uncle Isaac know?” - -“To be sure he does.” - -“Then I’ll ask him.” - -“Fred,” said Charlie, holding the rusty weapon in his hand, “do you -expect this ever killed anybody?” - -“Yes; I expect it has killed many a one; there’s something red on it; -perhaps it’s blood.” - -“May be so.” - -They walked along the bank of the brook, digging here and there, but -finding nothing to reward their search till they came to the edge of -the forest. All around among the scattered pines were the remains of -fireplaces, and large heaps of clam-shells. It was evident that here -(in times long gone by) had been a camping ground, and that the forest -had overgrown it. A large pine, torn up by the tempest, lay across the -brook. Looking into the cavity made by its removal, they saw something -white, and, examining more narrowly, found it was a bone. - -“It’s Indian bones,” cried Fred; and, plying the shovel, he soon -brought to view the skeleton of an Indian. The skull, teeth, hair, -and thigh-bones were but very little decayed. A dark ring, evidently -the remains of some vegetable substance, completely surrounding the -skeleton, was distinctly visible in the yellow sand. - -“That is what he was buried in,” said Fred. They set themselves to -discover what it was. - -“It’s birch bark,” said Charlie. - -“No, it ain’t,” said Fred, who had at length found a portion that was -less decayed than the rest; “it’s elm-rind.” - -“What is that?” - -“Why, the inside bark of an elm; it’s real strong. I get it every year -to string corn with, to keep the crows away.” - -“O, Fred, look! what are these?” and Charlie picked out from among the -bones a double handful of little round things, about the size of a -modern lozenge, with a hole in the centre. They had been strung on a -piece of deer sinew, which was still in some places quite strong, and -had evidently hung about the neck of the skeleton. There were also in -the grave arrow-heads, and under the neck a piece of the skin of some -animal, with the hair still on it. Searching farther, they found a -most singular-shaped stone, with an edge like an axe, and near the top -a groove nearly half an inch in depth all around it; also, a pipe, a -piece of bone pointed at one end, and in the other a hole, and a tooth -pointed, exceedingly hard and white. Charlie appealed in vain to his -companions to tell him what these things were for. Fred’s knowledge was -very limited; he _guessed_ they were what the Indian babies had to play -with. - -“This tooth,” said Charlie, “belonged to some wild animal--perhaps a -wolf; I mean to ask Uncle Isaac. Fred, you know these things belong to -both of us; what shall I give you for your share?” - -“Nothing, Charlie; you are welcome to my part; I don’t care for keeping -such things. I like the fun of finding them, and to look at them once; -after that I don’t care anything about them.” - -John, who was less interested in arrow-heads, had gone among the -birches in quest of partridges, and returned, having killed six. After -they had cooked and eaten two of them, they went in pursuit of the -yellow paint, the great object of the expedition. Following the course -of the brook for some distance, they came to where the soil changed -to a stiff clay, and the brook was obstructed by an old beaver-dam, -causing the water in many places to stand in little pools, in the -bottom of which, and in the shelves of the rock which formed the bed -of the brook, was a sediment of yellow mud, devoid of grit, and fine -as flour. It was an ochre formed by the decomposition of iron pyrites, -which had impregnated the clay, and stained the water of the brook. - -“Here it is!” cried John, who was the first to perceive it; “here is -the yellow stuff; only see how it stains my hands.” - -The others gathered round him, and, with curious eyes, examined the -treasure. - -“Won’t we paint things!” cried Charlie. “I’ll paint everything in the -house,--my sink, the baby’s cradle, my canoe, mother’s churn, the -closet under the dressers, and my bedstead.” - -“O, Charlie!” said John; “and your house under the maple.” - -“Yes,” said Fred; “and all the drawers and shelves, too.” - -“I,” said John, “mean to paint my steers’ yoke, my gunning float, sled, -and the boat father made me, if we can get enough; and I’ll paint my -bedroom, then put some into whitewash and paint the walls.” - -“I,” said Fred, “have got a sled, a chest, and a writing-desk to paint; -and I mean to paint the measures in the mill, and a little box for my -sister.” - -They worked with might and main, scooping it out of the hollows in the -bed of the rock, as that was the most free from grit. Putting it into -their dinner-pail, they turned it into the forward part of the canoe. - -“Only see where the sun is!” cried John, looking up; “I declare it’s -most night; we must start this minute, and we shan’t be able to go to -the pond where the pickerel are.” - -The wind had now moderated to a light breeze, and was sufficiently -favorable to have laid their course with a _boat_, but a _canoe_ will -do nothing on the wind. - -“What makes everybody have canoes?” asked Charlie. “In England -they have boats with keels, masts, and sails, just like sloops and -schooners; they will sail on the wind, and beat to windward as well as -the Perseverance.” - -“I never saw any such thing,” said John; “but I’ve heard father tell of -them.” - -“They have timbers, are planked up, and calked, just, for all the -world, like little vessels; and in some of them the planks are lapped -over each other and nailed.” - -“I shouldn’t think,” said Fred, “anything could be tight without -oakum.” - -“Why not? A barrel and a pail is tight, and there is no oakum in them.” - -“But the staves are jointed, and the hoops squat them together.” - -“So the planks of these boats are jointed, and the nails are clinched, -and draw them as tight as a hoop does a barrel. Some of the boats the -great folks have are painted the most beautiful colors, and gold leaf -on them, and the sails as white as the driven snow.” - -“Gold leaf!” said John; “what, the same that is on our great -looking-glass, that father brought home from sea?” - -“Yes.” - -Thus chatting, they rowed leisurely along, not caring to hurry, since -these were the last hours of their holiday. - -“How did the Indians get fire?” asked Charlie. - -“I don’t know,” said John; “but they did.” - -“Perhaps,” said Fred, “when the lightning struck a tree, and set it on -fire, they kept it, and never let it go out.” - -“I don’t believe but it would go out some time,” said Charlie. - -“I tell you what I should like to do, John; get Uncle Isaac to tell -us how the Indians used to do, and go off in the woods and be real -Indians a whole week; perhaps he’d go with us.” - -“I should rather he would tell us, and then go on our own hook; and -we’ll do it, Charlie.” - -They reached the island about eight o’clock in the evening, with all -their treasures, fatigued, but happy, having enjoyed themselves to the -top of their bent, and with enough to think and talk about to last them -half the winter. - - - - -CHAPTER XXI. - -THE BOYS AND THE WIDOW. - - -Monday morning Charlie went over with the boys to the main land. - -“I know the first thing I’ll have to do,” said John, as they neared the -shore; “wash these fish and put them on the flakes.” - -“We’ll help you,” said Charlie; “it’s a short job for all three of us; -and you know we’ve promised to help Uncle Isaac dig potatoes one day, -because he shot the arrow into the milk-pail; and to help him cut and -haul some wood to Mrs. Yelf. Then these fish are to be taken to her.” - -“I calculate to do my part of it,” replied John. - -“So do I,” said Fred. - -“I should like to know,” said Charlie, “when he wants us to come, -before I go back. I am going over to see.” - -Charlie had other reasons for wishing to see Uncle Isaac, which he kept -to himself. - -When they were building the ark, Uncle Isaac had taken much pains to -teach him to hew. Charlie knew there was a great deal of small timber -in the barn frame--braces, purlins, and sleepers--that he could hew as -well as anybody; and, now that he had a little money, was very anxious -to have a broad-axe of his own, that he might help hew the barn frame. -Uncle Isaac told him there was a vessel going to Salem with timber, and -he would send by the captain, who was a relative of his, and get one -for him, and then grind it for him, and put in a good white-oak handle, -and bend it just right. The handle of a broad-axe is bent, that the -person who uses it may strike close to the timber without hitting his -knuckles. He could not then tell the precise day when he should want -them, but he would get John to hang a white cloth out of the garret -window, as a signal, to come the next morning, or, if that was stormy, -the first fair day. - -Charlie and Ben had been so fully occupied during the summer, they -had not caught a single fish to dry for winter; so Charlie now busied -himself in fishing, while Ben continued to hew the timber for the barn, -which was to be very large. - -Every time Charlie went out fishing, he comforted himself with the -thought of what a good time he would have when he got his new sail, and -his canoe painted, which he did not intend to do till he hauled her -up for the winter. He met with no squalls this autumn, for when the -weather looked at all unsettled he could work with Ben in the woods, -and fall down the large pines for him to hew, which he dearly loved to -do; and, as it took a long time to hew out a large stick of timber, he -had ample time to cut them down and trim them out. He also, after the -timber was hewn, hauled it on to the spot, except the largest sticks, -which were left to be hauled on the snow. - -A cat never watched more narrowly for a mouse than our Charlie for -the white cloth in Captain Rhines’s garret window; but day after day -passed, and no signal rewarded his anxious watch. - -“Mother,” said he, after more than ten days had elapsed, “perhaps Uncle -Isaac has forgotten his promise, and he and the other boys have dug the -potatoes.” - -“Charlie, what time is it high water to-morrow?” - -“Nine o’clock, mother.” - -“But perhaps the tide will forget to come up.” - -“O, mother! that’s impossible.” - -“Well, when the tide forgets to flow, Uncle Isaac will forget his -promise.” - -The next day, as Charlie was coming home from fishing, about two -o’clock, he thought there was something white in Captain Rhines’s -window. The moment he landed, he scampered to the house to look through -the glass. Sure enough, there was the signal. - -“John meant you should see it,” said Sally, “for he has got his -mother’s great table-cloth that father Rhines bought in Europe.” - -“That means for me to come over in the morning, if it’s fair weather; -if not, the first pleasant day.” - -“You had better go to-night; perhaps it may blow hard to-morrow, and be -a fair day, too.” - -“I will, mother, as soon as I split and salt my fish.” - -“I’ll salt them; you split them, and start right off, and you’ll get -over there to supper. I’ll have a luncheon for you by the time you get -them split.” - -The boys found that Uncle Isaac had his potatoes so nearly dug, that, -with their help, he finished them in a day, thus completing his -harvest. He now had leisure to haul the widow’s wood. - -The next day the boys went over and dug her potatoes, and threshed some -beans and peas, which she had pulled and dried herself. In the mean -time Uncle Isaac, and two more of the neighbors, went and chopped some -wood, and the next day hauled it to her. The tears of gratitude and joy -streamed down the old lady’s cheeks at the kindness of her neighbors. -The only remaining work to be done, was to take the fish, which were -in Captain Rhines’s shed, nicely cured, to Mrs. Yelf. The boys felt -bashful about carrying them, and wanted Uncle Isaac to do it. - -“I should like to catch myself doing it! you caught and cured them, and -run some risk in doing it, and ought to, and shall have, the credit of -it.” - -“We will haul them over, and carry them into the house,” said John, -“and do all the work, but you go to the door and give them to her.” - -“And let her thank me for them? I shan’t do any such thing; you must go -yourselves, like men; it’s nothing to be ashamed of, but something to -be proud of; anybody would think you’d been stealing.” - -Unable to prevail with Uncle Isaac, they put the fish in the cart, and -set out. When in sight of the house they stopped for consultation. - -“You go to the door and knock, Fred,” said John. - -“I’m sure I can’t; I never spoke to her in my life. It’s your place to -go; it’s your cart and oxen.” - -“You go, Charlie, that’s a good fellow.” - -“O, I don’t think I’m the one to go at all, John. I’m a stranger in -these parts, and don’t know her, nor the ways of the people here.” - -John, ordinarily so resolute, and the leader in all enterprises, -blushed like a girl, and seemed quite frightened. - -“What shall I say?” he inquired of his companions, who were by no means -backward in telling him what to say, as long as they had not to say it -themselves. - -“You get out! you make it too long; I can’t say half of that.” - -John went to the door and knocked, while the others hid behind the -cart. The old lady knew John right well; he had been there on many an -errand of mercy, sent by his mother. - -“Fred Williams, Charlie Bell, and me, he stammered out, have brought -you some dry fish; we expect they are first rate, because Uncle Isaac -slack-salted them, and told us how to cure them.” - -Now, Mrs. Yelf was very deaf, and as John, being diffident, spoke low -and quick, she heard nothing distinctly but the name of Uncle Isaac, -and took it for granted that he had given her the fish. After showing -the boys where to put them, she expressed her most unbounded gratitude -to Uncle Isaac, begging the boys to thank him for her; thanked them for -bringing them, and would not let them go till they had eaten a custard -pie and some seed cakes. - -“I should know Mr. Williams’s son, for I can see his father’s looks in -him; but this other youngster quite beats me. Dear me, how young folks -do grow out of old people’s knowledge!” - -“This,” said John, “is Charlie Bell; he’s an English boy, and lives -with our Ben on Elm Island.” - -“I remember now hearing Hannah Murch tell about him; she said he was -a nice, steady boy, and that Ben and Sally set great store by him. He -looks like a good boy.” - -“He’s a real smart boy, too,” said John (giving Fred a punch under the -table); “he catches all the fish they eat, and a good many to sell, and -has made lots of baskets, and sent them to the West Indies by father.” - -“Yes,” broke in Fred (who was by no means slow to take a hint), “and -cut down an awful great pine, and made the canoe that we came over in, -out of it.” - -Under this cross-fire Charlie’s face grew red as a fire-coal, and he -was glad to escape from his tormentors by leaving the house. - -When Uncle Isaac found what turn matters had taken, he was thoroughly -vexed, and went directly to explain, and set the affair right. The good -lady was no less troubled to find what a blunder she had made, and -set off for Captain Rhines’s, to thank John in person, and ask him to -apologize for her to the others. - -John and Fred went home, but Uncle Isaac insisted upon Charlie’s -staying with him all night. After supper he produced Charlie’s -broad-axe, with a good white-oak handle, and nicely ground; he also -gave him an excellent whetstone, which he told him came from the Gut of -Canso. Charlie had now a favorable opportunity to consult him about a -matter that had occupied his thoughts from the moment he found himself -in possession of a little money. - -“Uncle Isaac,” said he, “mother hasn’t got any crane; all the way she -hangs her pot over the fire is by a birch withe, with a chain at the -end; and sometimes it burns off above the chain: the other day it -broke, and liked to have scalded the baby to death. I want to get her a -crane,--hooks and trammels all complete,--and put it in the fireplace -before she knows anything of it.” - -“The first thing to be considered is, whether you ought to spend your -money in this way; if you spend all you earn, you will never have -anything.” - -“Don’t think that I don’t know the value of money,--misery has taught -me that; but what would have become of me if mother had not taken me -in? for it was all her doings. When the island is paid for, I shall -begin to look out for myself. Will anybody have to send to Boston to -get one?” - -“Send to Boston! Peter Brock, the blacksmith, can make it.” - -“And what will it all cost--hooks and trammels?” - -Charlie was delighted to find that it came within his means. He said -nothing to Uncle Isaac of the Indian relics, meaning to show them to -him when he came on the island, but told him about the paint. - -“The Indians used to get it there,” said Uncle Isaac, “to paint their -faces red, when they went on the war-path.” - -“It isn’t red--it’s yellow.” - -“But if you heat it, it will become red.” - -“It will?” - -“Yes. Put a little in a skillet, and heat it gradually, so as not to -scorch it, and it will turn red.” - -“How glad I am! now I can have _two_ colors--red and yellow--to paint -my canoe. Don’t tell John--will you? I want to astonish him.” - -“He won’t ask me; he isn’t such an inquiring, thinking, contriving -critter as you are. You can have another color--black.” - -“Yes; if I could send to Salem and buy lampblack.” - -“You can make it right on the island.” - -“Make it?” - -“Yes; it’s nothing but ‘sut.’ Get a whole lot of pitch wood, and burn -it in some tight thing, so as to keep in the smoke; the black will -stick to the sides, and you can scrape it off, as good lampblack as you -can buy, and better than half of it.” - -“We have got plenty of oil,--hake, cod, and seal.” - -“I wouldn’t use _that_; it is almost impossible to make it dry; you can -get linseed oil at the store.” - -Wonderfully delighted with this discovery, Charlie borrowed a jug, -procured his oil, some cloth to make a sail for his canoe, and went -back determined to create a sensation both at home and abroad. He hid -the oil in his house, and kept all the knowledge he had obtained a -secret in his own breast. - -How he astonished John and Fred, when he appeared out in his -canoe,--how he was astonished himself by obtaining, in a most -unexpected manner, three more colors, with many more adventures, we -shall inform our readers in the next volume. They will also want to -know how it fared with Captain Rhines and the Ark; and whether Ben was -benefited or ruined by his great speculation; and how Charlie came out -with his baskets, turnips, and chickens. - - - - -AMERICAN BOYS’ SERIES - - -[Illustration] - -The books selected for this series are all thoroughly American, by -such favorite American authors of boys’ books as Oliver Optic, Elijah -Kellogg, Prof. James DeMille, and others, now made for the first time -at a largely reduced price, in order to bring them within the reach of -all. Each volume complete in itself. - - UNIFORM CLOTH BINDING ILLUSTRATED NEW AND ATTRACTIVE DIES - Price per volume $1.00 - - 1. ADRIFT IN THE ICE FIELDS By Capt. Chas. W. Hall - - 2. ALL ABOARD or Life on the Lake By Oliver Optic - - 3. ARK OF ELM ISLAND By Rev. Elijah Kellogg - - 4. ARTHUR BROWN THE YOUNG CAPTAIN By Rev. Elijah Kellogg - - 5. BOAT CLUB, THE, or the Bunkers of Rippleton By Oliver Optic - - 6. BOY FARMERS OF ELM ISLAND, THE By Rev. Elijah Kellogg - - 7. BOYS OF GRAND PRÉ SCHOOL By Prof. James DeMille - - 8. “B. O. W. C.”, THE By Prof. James DeMille - - 9. BROUGHT TO THE FRONT or the Young Defenders By Rev. Elijah - Kellogg - - 10. BURYING THE HATCHET or the Young Brave of the Delawares By - Rev. Elijah Kellogg - - 11. CAST AWAY IN THE COLD By Dr. Isaac I. Hayes - - 12. CHARLIE BELL THE WAIF OF ELM ISLAND By Rev. Elijah Kellogg - - 13. CHILD OF THE ISLAND GLEN By Rev. Elijah Kellogg - - 14. CROSSING THE QUICKSANDS By Samuel W. Cozzens - - 15. CRUISE OF THE CASCO By Rev. Elijah Kellogg - - 16. FIRE IN THE WOODS By Prof. James DeMille - - 17. FISHER BOYS OF PLEASANT COVE By Rev. Elijah Kellogg - - 18. FOREST GLEN or the Mohawk’s Friendship By Rev. Elijah Kellogg - - 19. GOOD OLD TIMES By Rev. Elijah Kellogg - - 20. HARD-SCRABBLE OF ELM ISLAND By Rev. Elijah Kellogg - - 21. HASTE OR WASTE or the Young Pilot of Lake Champlain By Oliver - Optic - - 22. HOPE AND HAVE By Oliver Optic - - 23. IN SCHOOL AND OUT or the Conquest of Richard Grant By Oliver - Optic - - 24. JOHN GODSOE’S LEGACY By Rev. Elijah Kellogg - - 25. JUST HIS LUCK By Oliver Optic - - 26. LION BEN OF ELM ISLAND By Rev. Elijah Kellogg - - 27. LITTLE BY LITTLE or the Cruise of the Flyaway By Oliver Optic - - 28. LIVE OAK BOYS or the Adventures of Richard Constable Afloat and - Ashore By Rev. Elijah Kellogg - - 29. LOST IN THE FOG By Prof. James DeMille - - 30. MISSION OF BLACK RIFLE or On the Trail By Rev. Elijah Kellogg - - 31. NOW OR NEVER or the Adventures of Bobby Bright By Oliver Optic - - 32. POOR AND PROUD or the Fortunes of Kate Redburn By Oliver Optic - - 33. RICH AND HUMBLE or the Mission of Bertha Grant By Oliver Optic - - 34. SOPHOMORES OF RADCLIFFE or James Trafton and His Boston Friends - By Rev. Elijah Kellogg - - 35. SOWED BY THE WIND or the Poor Boy’s Fortune By Rev. Elijah - Kellogg - - 36. SPARK OF GENIUS or the College Life of James Trafton By - Elijah Kellogg - - 37. STOUT HEART or the Student from Over the Sea By Rev. Elijah - Kellogg - - 38. STRONG ARM AND A MOTHER’S BLESSING By Rev. Elijah Kellogg - - 39. TREASURE OF THE SEA By Prof. James DeMille - - 40. TRY AGAIN or the Trials and Triumphs of Harry West By Oliver - Optic - - 41. TURNING OF THE TIDE or Radcliffe Rich and his Patients By - Rev. Elijah Kellogg - - 42. UNSEEN HAND or James Renfew and His Boy Helpers By Rev. - Elijah Kellogg - - 43. WATCH AND WAIT or the Young Fugitives By Oliver Optic - - 44. WHISPERING PINE or the Graduates of Radcliffe By Rev. Elijah - Kellogg - - 45. WINNING HIS SPURS or Henry Morton’s First Trial By Rev. - Elijah Kellogg - - 46. WOLF RUN or the Boys of the Wilderness By Rev. Elijah Kellogg - - 47. WORK AND WIN or Noddy Newman on a Cruise By Oliver Optic - - 48. YOUNG DELIVERERS OF PLEASANT COVE By Rev. Elijah Kellogg - - 49. YOUNG SHIPBUILDERS OF ELM ISLAND By Rev. Elijah Kellogg - - 50. YOUNG TRAIL HUNTERS By Samuel W. Cozzens - - -LEE and SHEPARD Publishers Boston - - - - -_AMERICAN BOYS’ SERIES_ - - -ADDED IN 1900 - -In 1899 we increased this immensely popular series of choice -copyrighted books by representative American writers for the young to -fifty titles. In 1900 we added the ten following well-known books, -making an important addition to an already strong list: - - 51. =Field and Forest= or The Fortunes of a Farmer By Oliver - Optic - - 52. =Outward Bound= or Young America Afloat By Oliver Optic - - 53. =The Soldier Boy= or Tom Somers in the Army By Oliver - Optic - - 54. =The Starry Flag= or The Young Fisherman of Cape Ann By - Oliver Optic - - 55. =Through by Daylight= or The Young Engineer of the Lake - Shore Railroad By Oliver Optic - - 56. =Cruises with Captain Bob around the Kitchen Fire= By B. - P. Shillaber (Mrs. Partington) - - 57. =The Double-Runner Club= or The Lively Boys of Rivertown - By B. P. Shillaber (Mrs. Partington) - - 58. =Ike Partington and His Friends= or The Humors of a - Human Boy By B. P. Shillaber (Mrs. Partington) - - 59. =Locke Amsden the Schoolmaster= By Judge D. P. Thompson - - 60. =The Rangers= By Judge D. P. Thompson - - -ADDED IN 1901 - -This year we still further increase this list, which has become -standard throughout the country, by adding the ever-popular “Green -Mountain Boys” and four volumes of “Oliver Optic,” “All Over the World -Library,” especially timely books in view of the present interest in -Asiatic matters. - - 61. =The Green Mountain Boys= By Judge D. P. Thompson - - 62. =A Missing Million= or The Adventures of Louis Belgrave - By Oliver Optic - - 63. =A Millionaire at Sixteen= or The Cruise of the - “Guardian Mother” By Oliver Optic - - 64. =A Young Knight Errant= or Cruising in the West Indies - By Oliver Optic - - 65. =Strange Sights Abroad= or Adventures in European Waters - By Oliver Optic - - -LEE AND SHEPARD Publishers Boston - - - - -Transcriber’s Note - -Punctuation has been standardised. - -Some words were obscured in the original publication on pages 277 and -278--these have been changed according to the earlier 1868 publication -by the same publisher as follows: - - Page 277 - If I should go alone (alone obscured) - - Page 278 - beach, which, after Hannah (beach obscured) - - Otherwise, spelling has been retained as published except as follows: - - Page 15 - held him as in a vice _changed to_ - held him as in a vise - - Page 104 - cutting a man’s head of _changed to_ - cutting a man’s head off - - Page 147 - if you heave her too _changed to_ - if you heave her to - - Page 242 - out of your gripe _changed to_ - out of your grip - Page 267 - Is’nt this good? _changed to_ - Isn’t this good? - - Page 326 - 20. HARDSCRABBLE OF ELM ISLAND _changed to_ - 20. HARD-SCRABBLE OF ELM ISLAND - - Number 32 in the list of books - or the Fortunes or _changed to_ - or the Fortunes of - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Charle Bell, The Waif of Elm Island, by -Rev. Elijah Kellogg - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CHARLIE BELL, WAIF OF ELM ISLAND *** - -***** This file should be named 51141-0.txt or 51141-0.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/1/1/4/51141/ - -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. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part -of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm -concept and trademark. Project Gutenberg is a registered trademark, -and may not be used if you charge for the eBooks, unless you receive -specific permission. If you do not charge anything for copies of this -eBook, complying with the rules is very easy. You may use this eBook -for nearly any purpose such as creation of derivative works, reports, -performances and research. They may be modified and printed and given -away--you may do practically ANYTHING in the United States with eBooks -not protected by U.S. copyright law. Redistribution is subject to the -trademark license, especially commercial redistribution. - -START: FULL LICENSE - -THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE -PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK - -To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free -distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work -(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project -Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full -Project Gutenberg-tm License available with this file or online at -www.gutenberg.org/license. - -Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works - -1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to -and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property -(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all -the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or -destroy all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your -possession. If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a -Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound -by the terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the -person or entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph -1.E.8. - -1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be -used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who -agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few -things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works -even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See -paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this -agreement and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic works. See paragraph 1.E below. - -1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the -Foundation" or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection -of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual -works in the collection are in the public domain in the United -States. If an individual work is unprotected by copyright law in the -United States and you are located in the United States, we do not -claim a right to prevent you from copying, distributing, performing, -displaying or creating derivative works based on the work as long as -all references to Project Gutenberg are removed. Of course, we hope -that you will support the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting -free access to electronic works by freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm -works in compliance with the terms of this agreement for keeping the -Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with the work. You can easily -comply with the terms of this agreement by keeping this work in the -same format with its attached full Project Gutenberg-tm License when -you share it without charge with others. - -1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern -what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are -in a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, -check the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this -agreement before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, -distributing or creating derivative works based on this work or any -other Project Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no -representations concerning the copyright status of any work in any -country outside the United States. - -1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: - -1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other -immediate access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear -prominently whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work -on which the phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the -phrase "Project Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, -performed, viewed, copied or distributed: - - 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. - -1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is -derived from texts not protected by U.S. copyright law (does not -contain a notice indicating that it is posted with permission of the -copyright holder), the work can be copied and distributed to anyone in -the United States without paying any fees or charges. If you are -redistributing or providing access to a work with the phrase "Project -Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the work, you must comply -either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 or -obtain permission for the use of the work and the Project Gutenberg-tm -trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. - -1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted -with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution -must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any -additional terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms -will be linked to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works -posted with the permission of the copyright holder found at the -beginning of this work. - -1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm -License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this -work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm. - -1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this -electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without -prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with -active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project -Gutenberg-tm License. - -1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, -compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including -any word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access -to or distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format -other than "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official -version posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site -(www.gutenberg.org), you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense -to the user, provide a copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means -of obtaining a copy upon request, of the work in its original "Plain -Vanilla ASCII" or other form. Any alternate format must include the -full Project Gutenberg-tm License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. - -1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, -performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works -unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. - -1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing -access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works -provided that - -* You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from - the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method - you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is owed - to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he has - agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the Project - Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments must be paid - within 60 days following each date on which you prepare (or are - legally required to prepare) your periodic tax returns. Royalty - payments should be clearly marked as such and sent to the Project - Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the address specified in - Section 4, "Information about donations to the Project Gutenberg - Literary Archive Foundation." - -* You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies - you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he - does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm - License. You must require such a user to return or destroy all - copies of the works possessed in a physical medium and discontinue - all use of and all access to other copies of Project Gutenberg-tm - works. - -* You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of - any money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the - electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days of - receipt of the work. - -* You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free - distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works. - -1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic work or group of works on different terms than -are set forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing -from both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and The -Project Gutenberg Trademark LLC, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm -trademark. Contact the Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below. - -1.F. - -1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable -effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread -works not protected by U.S. copyright law in creating the Project -Gutenberg-tm collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may -contain "Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate -or corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other -intellectual property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or -other medium, a computer virus, or computer codes that damage or -cannot be read by your equipment. - -1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right -of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project -Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project -Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all -liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal -fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT -LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE -PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE -TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE -LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR -INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH -DAMAGE. - -1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a -defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can -receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a -written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you -received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium -with your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you -with the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in -lieu of a refund. If you received the work electronically, the person -or entity providing it to you may choose to give you a second -opportunity to receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If -the second copy is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing -without further opportunities to fix the problem. - -1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth -in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS', WITH NO -OTHER WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT -LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. - -1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied -warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of -damages. If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement -violates the law of the state applicable to this agreement, the -agreement shall be interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or -limitation permitted by the applicable state law. The invalidity or -unenforceability of any provision of this agreement shall not void the -remaining provisions. - -1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the -trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone -providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in -accordance with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the -production, promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic works, harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, -including legal fees, that arise directly or indirectly from any of -the following which you do or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this -or any Project Gutenberg-tm work, (b) alteration, modification, or -additions or deletions to any Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any -Defect you cause. - -Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm - -Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of -electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of -computers including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It -exists because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations -from people in all walks of life. - -Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the -assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's -goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will -remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project -Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure -and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future -generations. To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation and how your efforts and donations can help, see -Sections 3 and 4 and the Foundation information page at -www.gutenberg.org - - - -Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation - -The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit -501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the -state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal -Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification -number is 64-6221541. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent permitted by -U.S. federal laws and your state's laws. - -The Foundation's principal office is in Fairbanks, Alaska, with the -mailing address: PO Box 750175, Fairbanks, AK 99775, but its -volunteers and employees are scattered throughout numerous -locations. Its business office is located at 809 North 1500 West, Salt -Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887. Email contact links and up to -date contact information can be found at the Foundation's web site and -official page at www.gutenberg.org/contact - -For additional contact information: - - Dr. Gregory B. Newby - Chief Executive and Director - gbnewby@pglaf.org - -Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg -Literary Archive Foundation - -Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide -spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of -increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be -freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest -array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations -($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt -status with the IRS. - -The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating -charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United -States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a -considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up -with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations -where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To SEND -DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any particular -state visit www.gutenberg.org/donate - -While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we -have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition -against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who -approach us with offers to donate. - -International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make -any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from -outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. - -Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation -methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other -ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. To -donate, please visit: www.gutenberg.org/donate - -Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works. - -Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project -Gutenberg-tm concept of a library of electronic works that could be -freely shared with anyone. For forty years, he produced and -distributed Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of -volunteer support. - -Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed -editions, all of which are confirmed as not protected by copyright in -the U.S. unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not -necessarily keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper -edition. - -Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search -facility: www.gutenberg.org - -This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, -including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to -subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. - diff --git a/old/51141-0.zip b/old/51141-0.zip Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 8fc89a1..0000000 --- a/old/51141-0.zip +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/51141-h.zip b/old/51141-h.zip Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index a1e682a..0000000 --- a/old/51141-h.zip +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/51141-h/51141-h.htm b/old/51141-h/51141-h.htm deleted file mode 100644 index 62d2b84..0000000 --- a/old/51141-h/51141-h.htm +++ /dev/null @@ -1,8877 +0,0 @@ -<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" - "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd"> -<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en"> - <head> - <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=utf-8" /> - <meta http-equiv="Content-Style-Type" content="text/css" /> - <title> - The Project Gutenberg eBook of Charlie Bell, The Waif of Elm Island, by Elijah Kellogg - </title> - <link rel="coverpage" href="images/cover.jpg" /> - <style type="text/css"> - body {margin: 0 10%;} - - h1,h2 {text-align: center; clear: both;} - h2 {line-height: 2em; font-size: 1.4em;} - h1 small, h2 small {font-size: .6em;} - p {margin-top: 1em; text-align: justify; margin-bottom: 1em; text-indent: 1em;} - p.title, p.author, p.pub {text-indent: 0em; text-align: center;} - p.title {font-size: 2em; line-height: 2em;} - p.author {font-size: 1.2em;} - p.author small {font-size: .7em;} - p.pub, .p120 {font-size: 1.2em;} - .p120 {font-size: 1.2em;} - .p140 {font-size: 1.4em;} - .p180 {font-size: 1.8em;} - .spaced {letter-spacing: .3em; word-spacing: .3em;} - strong {font-weight: bold;} - - blockquote p {text-indent: -3em; padding-left: 3em; margin-left: 0; clear: left;} - - /* General */ - .noi {text-indent: 0;} - .center {text-align: center; text-indent: 0;} - .smcap {font-variant: small-caps;} - .mt3 {margin-top: 3em;} - - /* Books */ - .books {max-width: 40em; width: 100%; margin: auto;} - - /* Table */ - table {margin: auto; border-collapse: collapse;} - th {font-size: .8em; text-align: right;} - td {padding: .2em;} - .tdl {text-align: left; padding-right: 6em;} - .tdr, .tdr2 {text-align: right;} - - /* Notes */ - ins {text-decoration: none; border-bottom: 1px dotted #dcdcdc;} - em {font-style: italic;} - .tn {width: 60%; margin: 2em 20%; background: #dcdcdc; padding: 1em;} - ul {list-style: square;} - ul.nobullet {list-style: none; text-align: left;} - li {margin-bottom: .5em;} - ins {text-decoration: none; border-bottom: 1px dotted #dcdcdc;} - - /* Footnotes */ - .footnote {font-size: .9em; margin-left: 10%;} - .footnote .label {text-align: right; vertical-align: super; font-size: .8em; text-decoration: none;} - .fnanchor {vertical-align: super; font-size: .8em; text-decoration: none;} - - /* Horizontal rules */ - hr {width: 60%; margin: 2em 20%; clear: both;} - hr.short {width: 10%; margin: 2em 45%;} - hr.divider {width: 65%; margin: 4em 17.5%;} - - /* Page numbers */ - .pagenum {position: absolute; right: 2%; text-indent: 0em; - text-align: right; font-size: x-small; - font-weight: normal; font-variant: normal; font-style: normal; - letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; - color: #999; border-top: 1px solid; border-bottom: 1px solid; - background-color: inherit; padding: .01em .4em;} - - /* Poetry */ - .poetry-container {text-align: center; margin: 0;} - .poem {display: inline-block; text-align: left;} - .poem .verse {margin: 1em 0em 1em 0em;} - .poem .line {text-indent: -3em; padding-left: 3em;} - .poem .indent {text-indent: -2em;} - .poem .outdent {text-indent: -3.2em;} - - /* Images */ - .figcenter {clear: both; margin: 2em auto; text-align: center; max-width: 100%;} - img {max-width: 100%; width: 100%; height: auto;} - .figleft {float: left; clear: left; padding-right: 2em;} - .width600 {width: 600px;} - .width500 {width: 500px;} - .width150 {width: 150px;} - - @media handheld { - body {margin: .5em; padding: 0; width: 98%;} - p {margin-top: .1em; text-align: justify; margin-bottom: .1em; text-indent: 1em;} - hr.divider {border-width: 0; margin: 0;} - hr.short {width: 10%; margin: 2em 45%;} - img {max-width: 100%; width: auto; height: auto;} - .figleft {float: left; clear: left; padding-right: 2em;} - table {width: 96%; margin: 0 2%;} - .tn {width: 80%; margin: 0 10%; background: #dcdcdc; padding: 1em;} - a {color: inherit; text-decoration: inherit;} - .hidehand {display: none; visibility: hidden;} - } - </style> - </head> -<body> - - -<pre> - -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Charle Bell, The Waif of Elm Island, by -Rev. 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: Charle Bell, The Waif of Elm Island - -Author: Rev. Elijah Kellogg - -Release Date: February 7, 2016 [EBook #51141] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CHARLIE BELL, WAIF 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> - - - - -<div class="figcenter width500"> -<div class="hidehand"> -<img src="images/cover.jpg" width="500" height="564" alt="Cover" /> -</div> -<div class="caption">The cover was produced by the transcriber -using elements from the original publication, and has been placed in -the public domain.</div> -</div> - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="divider" /> -<h1>CHARLIE BELL,<br /> -<small>THE WAIF OF ELM ISLAND.</small></h1> -</div> - -<div class="figcenter width600"> -<img src="images/frontis.jpg" width="600" height="375" alt="Frontispiece" /> -<div class="caption"> - <span class="smcap">Charlie Surprised.</span>—<a href="#Page_158">Page 158.</a> -</div> -</div> - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="divider" /> -</div> -<div class="figcenter width600"> -<p class="center">ELM ISLAND STORIES.</p> - -<hr class="short spaced" /> - -<p class="title">CHARLIE BELL,<br /> -THE WAIF OF ELM ISLAND.</p> - -<p class="author mt3">BY<br /> -REV. ELIJAH KELLOGG,<br /> -<br /> -<small>AUTHOR OF “SPARTACUS TO THE GLADIATORS,” “LION BEN,” “THE BOY -FARMERS,” “THE YOUNG SHIP-BUILDERS,” “THE HARD-SCRABBLE,” -THE “PLEASANT COVE STORIES,” THE “WHISPERING -PINE SERIES,” ETC.</small></p> - -<p class="center spaced mt3"><i>ILLUSTRATED.</i></p> - -<p class="pub mt3"><small>BOSTON</small><br /> -LEE AND SHEPARD PUBLISHERS</p> -</div> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="divider" /> -</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> - -<hr class="short" /> - -<p class="center"><span class="smcap">Copyright, 1896, by Elijah Kellogg.</span><br /> -All rights reserved.</p> - -<hr class="short" /> - -<p class="center">CHARLIE BELL.</p> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="divider" /> -</div> -<h2><a name="INTRODUCTION" id="INTRODUCTION">INTRODUCTION.</a></h2> - -<hr class="short" /> - -<p><span class="smcap">There</span> is a period in the life of all boys, when, in the homely phrase -of Uncle Isaac, “they stand up edgeways.” At this critical period, as -streams are tinged by the soils through which they filter, so their -character for life is in a great measure shaped by their playmates, the -examples set before them, and the associations amid which they grow up.</p> - -<p>Lion Ben, the principal character in the first volume of the series, -with nothing but his hands, narrow axe, and a true-hearted, loving -woman,—his equal in enterprise,—goes on to an island, an unbroken -forest in the midst of breakers, that, by reason of the peril of living -on it, can be bought cheap, thus coming within their scanty means, -there to struggle for a homestead and acres of their own.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_4" id="Page_4">4</a></span> -Though bred a seaman, yet cherishing a love for the soil, with -qualities of mind and heart commensurate with his great physical power, -he appreciates the beauty of the spot.</p> - -<p>His reluctance to devote it to axe and firebrand excites him to efforts -equally daring and original, in order that he may so husband his -resources as to pay for the land without stripping it of its majestic -coronal of timber and forests, any farther than is necessary to render -it available for cultivation.</p> - -<p>In this he is aided by the counsels of an old friend of himself -and his family,—a most original and sagacious man,—Isaac Murch. -In their sayings and doings is represented the subsoil of American -character—the home life and modes of thought of those who made the -culture and progress; thus endeavoring, in a pleasing manner, to teach -those great truths which lie at the foundation of thrift, progress, and -morality.</p> - -<p>Charlie Bell, the hero of the second volume of the series, is an -English orphan, flung at a tender age upon the stormy sea of life, to -sink or swim, as it should please Heaven. Friendless, starving on<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_5" id="Page_5">5</a></span> a -wharf at Halifax, he ships in a vessel with men, who, under the guise -of fishermen, are little better than pirates. Landing at Elm Island, -they insult the wife of Lion Ben, who inflicts upon them a merited -chastisement, and adopts the orphan.</p> - -<p>In his boy life, and that of his young associates, their daily -employments, and those exciting adventures which a new country, rude -state of society, and a ragged reach of sea-coast afford to boys full -of blue veins and vitriol, are seen the germs of qualities that ripen -into characters of the greatest usefulness.</p> - -<p>As the volumes are closely connected, it is hoped this sketch may -render the second volume readable to those who take it up without -having read the first. -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_6" id="Page_6">6</a></span></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 class="tdr2">PAGE</th> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdr">I.</td> -<td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Rousing the Lion</span></td> -<td class="tdr2"><a href="#i">9</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="tdr">II.</td> -<td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Charlie Bell</span></td> -<td class="tdr2"><a href="#ii">17</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="tdr">III.</td> -<td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">John goes to see the new Boy</span></td> -<td class="tdr2"><a href="#iii">33</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="tdr">IV.</td> -<td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Grit and Gratitude</span></td> -<td class="tdr2"><a href="#iv">45</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="tdr">V.</td> -<td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Charles returns John’s Visit</span></td> -<td class="tdr2"><a href="#v">58</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="tdr">VI.</td> -<td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Charlie in a Snow Squall</span></td> -<td class="tdr2"><a href="#vi">70</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="tdr">VII.</td> -<td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Charlie plans a Surprise for Sally</span></td> -<td class="tdr2"><a href="#vii">85</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="tdr">VIII.</td> -<td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Charlie’s Home Life and Employments</span></td> -<td class="tdr2"><a href="#viii">97</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="tdr">IX.</td> -<td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Ben finds a Prize</span></td> -<td class="tdr2"><a href="#ix">111</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="tdr">X.</td> -<td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">How they passed the Winter Evenings</span></td> -<td class="tdr2"><a href="#x">123</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="tdr">XI.</td> -<td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Ben reveals his long-cherished Plan to -his Father</span></td> -<td class="tdr2"><a href="#xi">139</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="tdr">XII.</td> -<td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">The Mysterious Pig</span></td> -<td class="tdr2"><a href="#xii">151</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="tdr">XIII.</td> -<td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">A Novel Craft</span></td> -<td class="tdr2"><a href="#xiii">171</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="tdr">XIV.</td> -<td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">The Burn</span></td> -<td class="tdr2"><a href="#xiv">183</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="tdr">XV.</td> -<td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Fitting away</span></td> -<td class="tdr2"><a href="#xv">203</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="tdr"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">8</a></span> -XVI.</td> -<td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">A Well-deserved Holiday</span></td> -<td class="tdr2"><a href="#xvi">215</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="tdr">XVII.</td> -<td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Uncle Isaac’s Pledge</span></td> -<td class="tdr2"><a href="#xvii">250</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="tdr">XVIII.</td> -<td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Generosity and Pluck</span></td> -<td class="tdr2"><a href="#xviii">264</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="tdr">XIX.</td> -<td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Fred’s Sand-bird Pie</span></td> -<td class="tdr2"><a href="#xix">285</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="tdr">XX.</td> -<td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">A Hair-breadth Escape</span></td> -<td class="tdr2"><a href="#xx">296</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="tdr">XXI.</td> -<td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">The Boys and the Widow</span></td> -<td class="tdr2"><a href="#xxi">315</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="center p180"><a name="i" id="i"></a> -<strong>CHARLIE BELL OF ELM ISLAND.</strong></p> - -<hr class="short" /> - -<h2 style="page-break-before: avoid;">CHAPTER I.<br /> -<small>ROUSING THE LION.</small></h2> - - -<p><span class="smcap">When</span> the English army, during the war of the Revolution, were driven -out of Boston by the batteries of Washington, erected upon Dorchester -Heights, those traitors to the liberties of their country (called in -those days Tories), who had taken part with the British, accompanied -them to Halifax, being more than a thousand in number, as they were -fearful of the vengeance of their countrymen if they remained behind. -During the war that followed, they, with their British friends, were -accustomed to come along the coast and islands of Maine in vessels and -armed boats, and maltreat and plunder the unarmed inhabitants. These -vessels were called “shaving mills,” and they were wont to shave very -close.</p> - -<p>In Eaton’s History of Thomaston and Rockland,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">10</a></span> it is said that a Tory -by the name of Pomeroy, who was captain of one of these mills, took -Robert Jameson from his mowing field, carried him on board his vessel, -and put him in irons, while his men killed a yoke of oxen and three fat -hogs, and put them on board the vessel, together with three firkins of -butter and two guns. Jameson vowed revenge.</p> - -<p>As is usual in such cases, Pomeroy’s ill-gotten gains did not thrive -with him. After the war he became poor, and finally shipped before the -mast in a coaster, commanded by Paul Jameson, Robert’s brother, who -told him that if they met his brother he would protect him, as he was -the stouter of the two. But Robert got on board the vessel in Paul’s -absence, and gave Pomeroy his choice to fight or take a whipping. -But he refused, endeavoring to excuse his conduct by the usages of -war, saying that, now the war was over, all ought to be forgotten and -forgiven.</p> - -<p>Jameson replied, “Strip and defend yourself! fight! only fight! I shall -be satisfied.”</p> - -<p>But the other refusing, he began beating, kicking, and bruising the -passive Pomeroy, still trying to induce him to defend himself, but in -vain. At last he took a bayonet, and pricking him a little, to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">11</a></span> see -if life remained, left him with the assurance that this was only the -payment for his butter; and that wherever and whenever he found him, he -should, in the same manner, take pay,—first for his hogs, and then for -his oxen.</p> - -<p>After peace was concluded, both the ports of Maine and Nova Scotia were -full of old privateersmen, returned soldiers of low character, and -vagabonds of all sorts, who, having become accustomed to plunder, and -unwilling to labor, would get hold of some vessel or large boat, go -along shore, fish a little to keep up appearances, and when they came -to an island or lonely point, where the men were timid, would take fish -off the flakes, a lamb out of the flock, dig potatoes, or gather corn; -sometimes enforcing submissiveness with knives or pistols. When the men -were away fishing, they would compel the women to get them food and -liquor (which every family in those days kept in the house), and abuse -and frighten them most outrageously.</p> - -<p>A crew of such fellows, running the shore along to see what they could -find, and being rather short both of liquor and provisions, made Elm -Island at daylight, and seeing there was but a single house on it, and -a good harbor, while the occupant was too far from neighbors to obtain -help in case of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">12</a></span> need, thought it a most excellent opportunity to -obtain all they wanted.</p> - -<p>Sally knew something, and had heard more, of her husband’s vast -strength; she knew that when he took her up, to carry her from the boat -to the shore, she was a feather in his hands; she knew, also, that John -Strout and Uncle Isaac, who were both strong men,—especially Uncle -Isaac, who was celebrated for his strength,—had as much as they could -do to haul up the great log canoe, but Ben would haul it up, with her -in it, apparently without an effort. Sally had also heard the young -folks say that he had an awful temper when he did get started, and that -when he rose he was the devil all over; but she didn’t believe it, for -she had known him ever since they were children, and had never seen -anything of it.</p> - -<p>Ben had gone into the woods to hew a stick of timber. Sally had just -washed up her breakfast dishes, and was singing at her wheel, when -suddenly six savage-looking fellows appeared at the door, and ordered -her, with curses, to get them some victuals, and be quick about it, -too. Sally’s heart was in her throat. She told the leader, who, like -his companions, was armed with pistols, and a sailor’s knife in his -belt, that she was willing to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">13</a></span> give them breakfast, but they must -give her better language, or she should call her husband; upon which, -drawing a sheath-knife from his belt, he flourished it in her face, and -told her she might call him as soon as she pleased, and he would cut -his throat for him.</p> - -<p>Her first impulse was to run for Ben; but she was afraid they might -kill her before she could accomplish her purpose; or, as they were so -many, and fully armed, kill him. She instantly put the best she had in -the house before them. They soon called for liquor, when she took a -gallon jug of rum, which they kept in the house for special occasions, -and placed it on the table.</p> - -<p>Beginning to feel at home, they took their pistols from their belts -and laid them on the table, as they were drinking and singing vulgar -songs. Sally contrived, while waiting upon them, to shake the priming -from their pistols. They were now become so abusive, that, watching her -opportunity, she ran for the woods, and urged Ben to take the canoe -and flee, and leave the house to them. At her news, Ben’s face assumed -an expression like that of a wild beast; all the grosser elements of -his tremendous animal power came uppermost. Hissing out the words -between his teeth, he asked<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">14</a></span> her to describe the leader, and where he -sat. So absolute was his self-confidence, that he never even took the -broad-axe with him, but, striking it into the timber with a force that -split through the eight inch stick, left it quivering. Sally, afraid to -stay behind, followed, running to keep up with the long strides of her -husband, who, kicking off his shoes, crept in at the eastern door, like -a lion upon his prey. His face was livid with passion; his lips covered -with foam and drawn apart, showing his great white teeth and square -jaws; his bare arms and breast covered with hair; and his immense -frame, increased by the swelling of the muscles, gave him a terrible -appearance.</p> - -<p>As he entered the door, he came face to face with the leader of the -gang, who, sobered by fright, grasped a pistol; but, before he could -cock it, Ben caught him by the nape of his neck, lifted him over the -table, and catching the slack of his breeches with the other hand, -raised him to the ceiling, and smashed him down upon the stone hearth -with such violence that the blood gushed from his mouth and nostrils, -and he lay quivering and moaning in helpless agony. Seizing the one on -his right hand, he flung him against the walls of the house, from which -he dropped senseless upon the bed that<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">15</a></span> stood in that part of the room. -The one on his left hand succeeded in getting his head and shoulders -out at the door, which Ben noticing, he clapped his foot against it and -held him as in a <a name="vise" id="vise"></a><ins title="Original has vice">vise</ins>, while he reached after another, who was running -for the front door, and, catching him by the leg, dragged him back, -and slapping him first upon one side of his head and then the other, -completely disabled him. Catching up the one imprisoned in the door, -who had been screaming murder with all his might, he shook him as a cat -would a mouse, till his rum and his breakfast ran out of his mouth, -then flung him into the fireplace among the ashes, telling him if he or -one of them moved till he came back, he would finish him.</p> - -<p>The other two, escaping at the front of the house, ran for the vessel, -cut the cable, and were hoisting the foresail. Before they could -accomplish their object, Ben was alongside in his canoe. The cook, whom -they had left to take care of the vessel, catching sight of Ben first, -instantly leaped overboard, and swam for the shore. He caught the other -two as they were mounting the rail to follow, and taking them to the -windlass, flung them across it, on their bellies, and bringing their -necks and heels together, fastened them with a rope, then<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">16</a></span> flogged them -till the blood ran. One of them, hoping to find mercy, cried out, “I am -an American.”</p> - -<p>“Then you shall have double,” said Ben.</p> - -<p>He then ordered them to run the vessel on to the beach, where, as it -was ebb tide, she stuck fast; and thus they were completely in his -power, and needed no watching, at least for six hours, till the tide -made.</p> - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="divider" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">17</a></span> -</div> - -<h2><a name="ii" id="ii"></a>CHAPTER II.<br /> -<small>CHARLIE BELL.</small></h2> - - -<p><span class="smcap">Ben</span> now jumped into his canoe, and gave chase to the one who had jumped -overboard, and was swimming with all his might for the shore. On coming -out of the water he ran for the woods, but meeting Sally (who, afraid -to stay among the groaning, bleeding sufferers, had set out for the -beach), he flung himself at her feet, and, clinging to her dress, -begged for mercy.</p> - -<p>“Don’t touch him, Ben,” cried Sally, flinging her arms round him; -“don’t you see he’s but a child, and hasn’t been in the thing at all?”</p> - -<p>Ben, who had been blinded by rage, now saw that he was, as she said, a -pale, slender-looking boy, and stayed his hand.</p> - -<p>The poor boy, on his knees, pale as death, the tears running down his -cheeks, exclaimed, “O, don’t kill me, sir! I’m only a poor, friendless -little boy, and haven’t done any wrong. I ain’t to blame for what the -others did; truly, sir, I’m not a bad boy.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">18</a></span> -“If you are an honest boy, how came you in the company of such -villains?”</p> - -<p>“Indeed, sir, I didn’t know what kind of men they were till I got on -board; I’ve been ever since trying to get away, and can’t.”</p> - -<p>“Why didn’t you run away?”</p> - -<p>“They watch me too closely; and when they can’t watch me, they tie or -lock me up, and tell me if they catch me trying to run away they will -shoot me.”</p> - -<p>“Let me talk to him, Ben,” said Sally; “you frighten him; don’t you see -how he quivers every time you speak?”</p> - -<p>“What is your name, my boy?”</p> - -<p>“Charles Bell, marm.”</p> - -<p>“Where do you belong?”</p> - -<p>“In England.”</p> - -<p>“Are your parents there?”</p> - -<p>“No, marm; they are dead. I have no kindred in this country, nor any -friends.”</p> - -<p>“Well,” replied Ben, whose passion was rapidly cooling, “I shall let -you off; but I advise you next time to look out how you get into bad -company. Come, Sally, let’s go to the house and clear these ruffians -out.”</p> - -<p>When they returned to the house, they found it<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">19</a></span> presenting the -appearance of a butcher’s shambles, although none of the occupants were -dead, as Sally had supposed.</p> - -<p>The leader still lay insensible on the hearth; and the blood had run -from him the whole length of the room. The one Ben had flung against -the wall lay on the bed, the sheets and pillows of which were soaked in -blood that issued from his nose and mouth. The one he threw into the -fireplace still lay on his back across the andirons, with his head in -the ashes, for Ben told them, if one of them moved, when he came back -he’d make an end of them.</p> - -<p>“Here, boy,” said Ben, giving him the key of the cuddy, “go and let -those fellows loose, and tell them to come up here and take away their -comrades, and bear a hand about it, too, or I shall be after them.”</p> - -<p>The men came, pale and trembling, bringing with them a hand-barrow, -such as is used by fishermen to carry fish. On this they laid the -captain, and carried him on board. The others were able, with -assistance, to stagger along. Sally wanted to wash the captain’s face, -and pour some spirit down his throat, to bring him to; but Ben would -not allow her, saying, “He is not fit for a decent<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">20</a></span> woman to touch; and -if he dies there’ll be one villain less in the world.”</p> - -<p>“But he’s not fit to die, Ben.”</p> - -<p>“That’s his lookout,” was the stern reply; “away with him.” The boy -still lingered, though he eyed Ben with evident distrust, and shrunk -himself together every time he spoke. But as soon as the men were all -out of the house, Ben assumed an entirely different appearance; his -voice lost its stern tone, the flush faded from his face, his muscles -relaxed, and he asked the trembling boy to sit down, as it would be -some time before the vessel would float that he came in.</p> - -<p>Sally now gave him some water to wash his hands, that were bloody from -handling his comrades, combed his hair, and gave him a piece of bread -and butter.</p> - -<p>“Here comes John Strout,” said Ben, looking out at the door.</p> - -<p>“O, dear!” said Sally, “what a looking place for anybody to come into!”</p> - -<p>“What’s all this?” said John, looking at the blood on the floor and -bed-clothes; “have you been butchering?”</p> - -<p>“Almost,” replied Sally.</p> - -<p>“What schooner was that in the cove, Ben?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">21</a></span> -“I don’t know.”</p> - -<p>“Where does she hail from?”</p> - -<p>“I don’t know.”</p> - -<p>“Are they fishermen?”</p> - -<p>“No; thieves.”</p> - -<p>“What did they come here for?”</p> - -<p>“To see what they could get of me.”</p> - -<p>“How many of them have you killed?”</p> - -<p>“Well, I haven’t killed any of them outright; but there’s one of them -never’ll do much more work, I reckon.”</p> - -<p>He then told John the whole story. “I’m sorry I hurt that fellow so -much; there was no need of it, for I could have handled them without -hurting them so much; but they frightened Sally so, and used such -language to her, that I got my temper up, and then they had to take it.”</p> - -<p>“These same chaps (at least I think they are the ones) went to a house -on Monhegan, and frightened a woman who was in a delicate condition, so -that she afterwards died. Boy, what is that vessel’s name?”</p> - -<p>“The Albatross, sir.”</p> - -<p>“That’s the name; I remember now. Pity you hadn’t killed him.”</p> - -<p>“Come, Ben,” said Sally, “you and John go out<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">22</a></span> doors and talk; I want -to clean up here; and when it’s dinner-time I’ll call you.”</p> - -<p>“I can’t stop,” replied John; “I came to borrow your menhaden net, Ben, -to catch some bait to-night, for I must go out in the morning.”</p> - -<p>“Well, then, just stay where you are to-night; when the flood tide -makes, there will be any quantity of menhaden round the Little Bull, -and I’ll help you sweep round the school, and then you can go off as -early as you like in the morning.”</p> - -<p>When they left the house, the boy offered to assist Sally in cleaning -the floor, brought her wood and water, and put the dishes on the table.</p> - -<p>When he saw how different Ben appeared, now that his anger had cooled, -he shrank from the idea of leaving them and going back to his prison. -The tide was fast making, and the vessel would soon be afloat; and as -he looked out of the door and saw that the vessel, which had lain on -her broadside on the beach, had now righted up, he approached Sally, -and, with tears in his eyes, said, “Mrs. Rhines, I don’t want to go -with those men. I’m afraid some time when they are drunk they’ll kill -me; I don’t want to be with such bad men. Can’t you let me stay with -you? I’ll do all the chores; and I can catch fish, cut wood and bring -it<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">23</a></span> in, and do anything that I am able, or that you will show me how to -do.”</p> - -<p>Sally, who had taken to the boy the moment she had a good look at him, -and heard him speak, was deeply moved by his distress. She reflected a -moment, and replied, “I should be willing, with all my heart; I will -see what Mr. Rhines says. Ben,” said she, going out to where he was -talking with John, “that boy wants to stay with us; he is, I believe, -a real good boy; he is afraid those fellows will kill him, or will be -hauled up for their wickedness, and he shall have to suffer with them.”</p> - -<p>“There’s a great risk in taking up with a boy like that; we can’t know -anything about him; they all tell a good story.”</p> - -<p>“I know that’s a good boy, Ben; I feel it in my bones.”</p> - -<p>“It will make you a great deal of work, Sally; you will have to spin -and weave, make clothes, knit stockings, and wash for him.”</p> - -<p>“And he’ll bring in wood and water, churn, feed the hogs, and help me. -I know what it is to take care of a boy; I’ve taken care of all ours. -I made every stitch of clothes that our Sam wore till I was married; -besides, when you begin to plant and sow, such a boy will be a great -help.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">24</a></span> -“That is all true, Sally; and I would not hesitate a moment if I knew -he was a good boy; but suppose he should turn out like that Pete, Uncle -Smullen and his wife did so much for, and got no thanks for; and even -if he is good, boys that have got a notion of running about can’t stay -long in a place, and settle themselves down to steady work; they want -to be among folks, and with other boys. Now, we might take him, and you -go to work, as I know you would, and clothe him all up, and then he get -lonesome on this island, get on board some vessel, and run off.”</p> - -<p>“It seems to me, Ben, that this poor little boy, without ‘kith or kin,’ -has been thrown into our hands by the providence of God, and, if we -let him go back to these wretches, when we can keep him just as well -as not, and drive the poor little harmless, trembling thing from our -threshold, with the tears on his cheeks, that we shall not prosper, and -ought not to expect to.”</p> - -<p>“Enough said; I’ll take him.”</p> - -<p>“You’ll be kind to him—won’t you? because he trembles so every time -you speak to him.”</p> - -<p>“I’ve not altered my nature, Sally, because I treated those villains as -they deserved.”</p> - -<p>When Sally came back, she wanted to press the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">25</a></span> wanderer to her heart; -but she recalled Ben’s caution, and merely said, “My husband is willing -you should stay with us, and I hope you will try and be a good boy.”</p> - -<p>A flush of inexpressible joy lit up the pale features of the forlorn -boy at these words, and, too full to speak much, he said, “O, how much -I thank you!” and sitting down, covered his face with his hands, while -tears of joy ran through his fingers from an overcharged heart, that -had shed so many tears of bitter agony that day.</p> - -<p>The vessel was now afloat, and, spreading her sails, was soon out of -sight, to the great relief of the boy, who could hardly believe himself -safe as long as she remained in the harbor.</p> - -<p>Ben and John took him with them when they went to sweep for menhaden, -and found that he could pull an oar, was handy in a boat, and knew how -to dress the fish for bait. The nights were now cool, and the boy had -brought in a good pile of wood. They made a cheerful fire after supper, -and Ben asked him some questions in respect to his history. He told -them his father was a basket-maker; that all their people had followed -that business, which was good in England, where wood was scarce; and -baskets and sacks were used to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">26</a></span> transport everything, instead of -barrels and boxes, as in this country. They made a comfortable living, -his father employing several hands; and he was sent to school till he -was eleven years of age; then his father put him to work in the shop to -learn the trade.</p> - -<p>“I should not think it was much of a trade,” said Ben; “I can make a -good basket.”</p> - -<p>“But not such baskets as they make there,” replied the boy. “The -basket-makers there make a great many other things besides. My father -was pressed into the navy, and, before the vessel had got out of the -channel, was killed in an action with a French frigate. My mother had a -brother in St. John’s. She sold her effects, put the younger children -out, and spent nearly all the money she had to pay our passage; but -when we got over, my uncle had gone to Melbourne. Soon after that my -mother took sick and died.”</p> - -<p>“Was she a Christian woman?” asked Sally.</p> - -<p>“Yes; she belonged to the Wesleyan Methodists; so did my father. If my -poor mother had died at home, she would have had friends to take care -of her, and to follow her to the grave, for everybody loved her; but -there was nobody but me to do anything for her; and only myself and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">27</a></span> -the Irish woman we hired a room of went to the grave. It took all but -one pound to pay the rent, and expenses of my mother’s funeral. The -landlady permitted me to sleep on the foot of her bed, with my head on -a chair, because I carried her washing home, and her husband’s dinner -to him, for he worked in a foundery.”</p> - -<p>“Couldn’t you find any work?” said Ben.</p> - -<p>“No, sir; no steady work: I wandered about the streets and wharves, -getting a day’s work now and then, till my money was all gone, and then -I was glad to ship in the Albatross as cook.”</p> - -<p>“Who owned the vessel?” asked Ben.</p> - -<p>“They said the captain bought her; he seemed to have money enough. She -was an old condemned fisherman; if we pumped her out dry at night, the -water would be up to the cuddy floor in the morning.”</p> - -<p>“Where did they belong?”</p> - -<p>“I don’t know, sir; the captain was Portuguese; his name was Antonio. -They had all been together in a slaver, and the captain was mate of -her; and from things they used to say, I think they must have been -pirates.”</p> - -<p>“How did they treat you?”</p> - -<p>“They treated me very well when they were<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">28</a></span> sober, but when they were -drunk I used to be afraid they would kill me. They would hold me, and -spit tobacco juice in my eyes, and pour liquor down my throat, and make -me drunk, which was the worst of all, for I had promised my mother I -would never drink.”</p> - -<p>“If they poured it down your throat against your will, that wasn’t -breaking your promise,” said Sally.</p> - -<p>“One night I was so afraid of them that I jumped overboard and swam -under the stern, holding on to the rudder; and I heard them talking, -and the captain began to cry and take on at a great rate. After they -had gone to sleep, I swam to the cable and got on board.”</p> - -<p>“Why didn’t you swim ashore?”</p> - -<p>“It was too far; we were way off on the fishing ground; the water was -cold, and I should have been chilled to death. My mother, before she -died, told me to read the Bible, and pray to God when trouble came, and -He would take care of me; but I think He must have forgotten me, for -though I have prayed to Him every day, I have found nothing but misery -ever since she died; and now I’m friendless and alone in a strange -land.”</p> - -<p>“No, you ain’t!” cried Sally, drawing him<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">29</a></span> towards her, and kissing his -forehead, “for I will be a mother to you.”</p> - -<p>At this, the first word of kindly sympathy the poor boy had heard since -his mother died, he hid his face in her lap, and sobbed aloud. Sally -flung her apron over his head, and patted him, and in a few moments, -worn out with all he had passed through that day, he fell asleep. As -they had but two bedsteads in the house, one in the corner of the -kitchen, where Ben and his wife slept, and the other a spare bed in -the front room, which was partly filled with shingles and staves, and -was parlor, bedroom, and workshop, Sally had made a bed for him in the -garret, and Ben, taking him carefully in his arms, carried him up and -placed him on it.</p> - -<p>“It’s my opinion, Ben,” said John, “that is a good boy, and that it -will be a good thing for you and him both that he has fallen in here; -that boy never was brought up on a dunghill, I know; he’s smart, too. -Did you see how handy he takes hold of an oar? Why, he can dress a fish -as quick as I can.”</p> - -<p>“I took him at first,” replied Ben, “for one of these Liverpool -wharf-rats, that are rotten before they are ripe; but his story holds -together well, and he tells it right; he don’t make out that he<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">30</a></span> -belongs to some great family, or call upon God Almighty, as such ones -generally do when they are going to tell some great lie.”</p> - -<p>“He looks you right in the face, too,” said John; “I like that; yes, -and then he didn’t begin to pour out blessings on your head; perhaps -he’ll show his gratitude in some other way.”</p> - -<p>Sally had made a piece of nice fulled cloth that summer, and from it -she soon made Charlie breeches and a long jacket. She also made him a -shirt from some cloth, part linen and part woollen; and as the weather -was coming cool, and she had no time to knit a pair of stockings, she -made him a pair from some of Ben’s old ones. She then cut his hair, and -knit him a pair of mittens, and Ben made him a pair of shoes.</p> - -<p>He almost worshipped Sally, calling her mother, and being every moment -on the watch to oblige her, and anticipate her wishes. But in respect -to Ben, he seemed timid, always calling him Mr. Rhines, or captain, and -starting nervously oftentimes when he spoke to him. He evidently could -not forget the terrible impression made upon his mind when he supposed -Ben would kill him.</p> - -<p>Sally felt grieved at this, and she saw that it worried her husband.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">31</a></span> -One evening, when he patted him on the head, and praised him for -something that he had done that day, Sally made a sign to Ben that he -should take the boy on his knee, which he did, when Charlie put his -arms around his neck (that is, as far as they would reach), and ever -after that called him father.</p> - -<p>When John came to bring the net home, Charles met him at the shore.</p> - -<p>“Good morning, Captain Strout!”</p> - -<p>“Good morning, my lad; how do you like Elm Island?”</p> - -<p>“It is such a nice place! O, I’m as happy as the days are long! I hope -I’ve had all my sorrows!”</p> - -<p>“If you have, you’ve had good luck; better than most people; for you’ve -got through before the most of people’s trials begin. Now, my lad, you -have a chance to make something of yourself. If you stay here, and fall -into the ways of our people, it will make a man of you, and you will -find friends, for everybody is respected here that works. I have known -Mr. Rhines ever since he was a boy; have been shipmate with him, and -owe my life to him. Though he’s a hard master to such reprobates as -those you came with, he is kind to everybody that does right.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">32</a></span> -“I think, captain, that he is like some of those good giants I’ve heard -my grandmother tell about in England, that went about killing dragons, -wicked giants, and robbers, and protecting innocent people.”</p> - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="divider" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">33</a></span> -</div> - - - - -<h2><a name="iii" id="iii"></a>CHAPTER III.<br /> -<small>JOHN GOES TO SEE THE NEW BOY.</small></h2> - - -<p><span class="smcap">One</span> of old Mr. Yelf’s grandsons was going as cook with John Strout; and -in the morning, when John came alongside his vessel, after his return -from Elm Island with the net and fish, he found the old gentleman on -board, who had come to bring his grandson. He told the old man the -story as it really was, but he was quite hard of hearing, and John -was in a hurry, and could not stop to repeat and explain, and thus he -obtained a very confused and incorrect account of it. John made sail -and went out fishing, and the old gentleman hastened ashore to give a -most exaggerated account,—to which, every one adding a little as it -went from mouth to mouth, it at length assumed monstrous proportions.</p> - -<p>Captain Rhines was as anxious to get accurate information as anybody, -but felt no alarm, because all the reports agreed in this, that the -pirates had the worst of it, and that neither Ben nor Sally was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">34</a></span> -injured. He could not leave to go on, as he had stripped the shingles -from the roof of his house, and was trying to get it re-shingled before -a storm should come. John had heard about the new boy, and that John -Strout was very much pleased with him, and he was very anxious to get -on there and see him, for he had a presentiment that they were made for -each other, and was prepared to like him, even before seeing him.</p> - -<p>Captain Rhines, at length worn out with the solicitations of John, -which were aided by his own desire to know the truth of the matter, -went over to Uncle Isaac’s, and said to him, “I wish you would take -John and my canoe, and go over to the island (for I can’t go), and see -how many Ben’s killed, or if he’s killed anybody; and about that boy, -or if there is any boy. John is teasing me to death about it, and he -won’t be able to do any work till that is settled; for he’s thinking so -much about it, he can’t drive a nail into a shingle without pounding -his fingers.”</p> - -<p>“Well, I should like to know myself as much as anybody; I’ll be along -right after dinner.”</p> - -<p>“I’m going to put some squashes and potatoes in the canoe, for he -hasn’t planted a hill of anything this year; I don’t see how people can -live so. I<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">35</a></span> should think, when he has such a nice place for a garden -under the ledge, he would have a few peas and potatoes.”</p> - -<p>“Ben believes in doing one thing at a time; and a mast that he can cut -in an hour will buy as much garden stuff as he would raise in a whole -summer. He won’t dabble with farming till the island is his, and then -you’ll see some of the tallest kind of farming, or I’ll miss my guess.”</p> - -<p>All the way to the island John was remarkably silent, apparently -engaged in deep thought. At length he said, “Uncle Isaac, is it right -to like an Englishmun?”</p> - -<p>“Bless me! yes; what is the boy thinking about?”</p> - -<p>“We’ve just done fighting and killing the Englishmun, and they’ve been -killing our people, and wanted to hang General Washington, and I didn’t -know as it would be right to like ’em; and they say this boy is an -Englishmun.”</p> - -<p>“It isn’t the nation, John, it’s the character, that makes a person -good or bad; your grandfather and mine were both Englishmun; so you -need not be afraid to like him on that account.”</p> - -<p>When they landed Ben was eating supper. “You’ve come in good time,” he -said; “sit down with us.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">36</a></span> -The moment supper was over, Uncle Isaac said, “Now, I want to hear all -about the pirates, for there are all sorts of stories going; it’s all -come through Uncle Yelf, and he has drunk so much rum that he’s lost -what little wit he ever had; and he never had brains enough to cover a -beech leaf, and is deaf to boot.”</p> - -<p>They told him the story from beginning to end.</p> - -<p>“It was a good thing for me, at any rate,” said Ben, in conclusion; -“for they left a new cable and anchor on the beach, and a first-rate -little boy behind them.”</p> - -<p>“It’s amazing how things will gain by going,” said Uncle Isaac. “We -heard that there was a dozen pirates landed, and that one of them got -Sally by the hair, pulled her down on her knees, and was going to cut -her head off with his cutlass, when you come running in from the woods, -and broke his neck short off over your knee, smashed another one’s -brains out against the jambs, and threw the grindstone at another and -killed him; the rest run to the vessel, but before they could get the -anchor you was on board; then they run below, and you fastened them -in; that there was a woman and a little boy in the vessel, that they -had prisoners; and that they fired at you and missed,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">37</a></span> and the bullet -went into her side; and that then you took the boy, and fastened them -all into the cuddy, and brought the ones you had killed ashore, and set -fire to the vessel, and burnt them all up together; and a great many -believed it, because they saw a fire on here; but your father said he -didn’t believe a word of it, for you wasn’t such a fool as to burn up a -vessel; and if the men were armed they could have shot you.”</p> - -<p>“I was burning some brush that was in my way,” said Ben; “that was the -fire they saw.”</p> - -<p>“So this is the boy,” said Uncle Isaac, turning to Charlie; “well, I -wish you well; I hear that you are a good boy, and industrious, and -those are great things. I was a poor boy at your age, and had nothing -but my hands, as you have; but, by God’s blessing, I have got along, -and so will you, and be happy and respected, for you’ve come to a -good country, a better one for laboring people than the one you have -left. Poor men get rich here, but poor people grow poorer there, and -sometimes starve to death, which is awful in a place that pretends -to be a Christian country; but you see there’s too many sheep in the -pasture—they are too thick; it ain’t so here—there’s room enough.”</p> - -<p>In the mean time the two boys stood—the one<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">38</a></span> beside Sally’s chair, and -the other by Ben’s—eying one another, and each longing to hear the -other speak. John thought he had never seen a finer looking boy than -Charlie, and Charlie was internally paying the same compliment to John.</p> - -<p>“Uncle Isaac,” whispered Sally, “how shall we get these boys together? -shall I introduce them?”</p> - -<p>“Nonsense; I’ll soon fix that. Ben, have you got a bushel basket?”</p> - -<p>“Yes.”</p> - -<p>“Well, let this youngster—What’s your first name, my lad?”</p> - -<p>“Charles, sir.”</p> - -<p>“Well, let Charles go down with John to the canoe, and fetch up some -things your father sent over. That’s the way,” said Uncle Isaac; “they -don’t want any of our help; they will take care of themselves.”</p> - -<p>The two boys took the basket, and proceeded to the canoe. John, feeling -that as he was a native, and Charles a stranger, it was his duty to -speak first, by way of breaking the silence, which was getting to be -oppressive, said, “How old be you?”</p> - -<p>“Fifteen,” was the reply.</p> - -<p>“I’m fourteen,” said John; “shall be fifteen in July.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">39</a></span> -“I shall be sixteen next Michaelmas.”</p> - -<p>“What do you mean by Michaelmas, Charles?”</p> - -<p>“Why, St. Michael’s Day, the 29th of September.”</p> - -<p>“Well, what does it mean?”</p> - -<p>“I don’t know. All I know is, that in England everybody that can get it -eats a goose that day, and if you do you’ll have enough all the year -round. Do you know how to row?”</p> - -<p>“Yes; I can row cross-handed, and scull. Can you scull a gunning float?”</p> - -<p>“I never saw one; what are they for?”</p> - -<p>“They are made like a canoe, only smaller and lighter; and there’s a -scull-hole in the stern, just above the water, to put the oar through; -and then we lie down on our backs in the bottom, and take the oar over -our shoulder, and scull up to the sea-fowl, and shoot them. Don’t they -go gunning in your country?”</p> - -<p>“The great folks do; but the poor folks and common people are not -allowed to.”</p> - -<p>“That’s a queer country; I wouldn’t like to live in such a country as -that. Do you know how to shoot?”</p> - -<p>“No; I never fired a gun in my life; you couldn’t shoot a sparrow—I -was going to say a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">40</a></span> ‘bumble-bee’—in England, without being taken up.”</p> - -<p>“What did you do?”</p> - -<p>“I made baskets. Can you wrestle?”</p> - -<p>“Yes. Wouldn’t you like to learn to shoot?”</p> - -<p>“Yes.”</p> - -<p>“Well, I’ll show you some time what I know. Do you know how to mow or -reap?”</p> - -<p>“No.”</p> - -<p>“Nor chop?”</p> - -<p>“No. I’ve got a plenty to learn—haven’t I?”</p> - -<p>“I should think you had.”</p> - -<p>They were a long time getting up the things; but when they were all up, -Charles said to his mother, “Can John and I go over to the White Bull?”</p> - -<p>“Yes; and when it is time to come back I’ll blow the horn for you.”</p> - -<p>They had taken supper early; and as Uncle Isaac said he had as “lieves” -go over in the evening as at any time, it being bright starlight, she -did not blow the horn till dark.</p> - -<p>“Look there,” said Sally, pointing to the shore, soon after she had -blown the horn. The boys were returning with their arms over each -other’s neck.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">41</a></span> -“I’m so glad they take to one another,” said she. “John thinks it’s the -greatest happiness of life to come over here; we are as glad to see him -as he is to come; and, if he likes Charlie, he’ll want to come more -than ever; won’t they have good times!”</p> - -<p>“Uncle Isaac,” said John, as they were rowing home, “don’t you love to -be out on the water in the night among the stars?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, I do, John; and I like to go along the edge of thick woods, when -there’s a bright moon, and watch the shadow on the water. But I think -the best of all is, to go in a birch,—they don’t make any noise, and -there’s no splashing of oars; but they go along just like a bird, and -they float in so little water that you can go along the very edge of -the beach, and listen to the noise of the water on the rocks, and -the little breath of wind among the trees. I think I have the best -thoughts then I ever have; I feel solemn, but I feel happy, too. I -think sometimes, if ministers could be in some of the places, and have -some of the feelings we ignorant people have, and we could have some of -their learning to go with our feelings, it would be better for both. I -am not a good man; but I have often kneeled down in the woods, in the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">42</a></span> -moonlight, hundreds of miles from any house, in the trackless forest, -and prayed to God, and it has done me good.”</p> - -<p>“Uncle Isaac, I love to hear you talk about such things.”</p> - -<p>“It is talk that won’t do either of us any harm, John; and I trust you -are not a prayerless, as I know you are not a thoughtless, boy.”</p> - -<p>“I say the Lord’s prayer, as my mother taught me. Uncle Isaac, are you -in any hurry to get home?”</p> - -<p>“No; I don’t care if we don’t get home till midnight.”</p> - -<p>“Then let us talk; it’s calm; let her drift; I want to tell you what I -think. I think Charles and I were made for each other; it seems so to -me, and I can’t make it seem any other way. Don’t you like him?”</p> - -<p>“Why, I haven’t seen enough of him to know yet; I never set eyes on him -till about three hours ago. They say a person is known by the company -he keeps, and he certainly came in very bad company.”</p> - -<p>“You say that just to plague me; you don’t believe in your heart that -he went with those men because he liked them, or that he is a bad boy.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">43</a></span> -“I like his appearance, and I think he’ll turn out to be a good boy. He -has, no doubt, been obliged to take up with company that was not his -own choice, for misery makes strange bedfellows.”</p> - -<p>“<i>Turn out to be a good boy!</i> He’s a good boy <i>now</i>! I know he is; he’s -good clear through!”</p> - -<p>“Well, time will show.”</p> - -<p>John, finding it impossible to inspire Uncle Isaac with his own -enthusiastic confidence, let the matter drop, and for a while they -rowed on in silence. At length John said, “I tell you what makes me -think that boy is a good friend for me; he knows a great many things -that I don’t know, and I know a great many things that he don’t. I know -he’s tender-hearted.”</p> - -<p>“How do you know that?”</p> - -<p>“I asked him if he had any mother, and he almost cried when he told me -she was dead. Now, when a boy loves his mother, isn’t it a good sign?”</p> - -<p>“The best sign in the world, John.”</p> - -<p>“And then the way he talked about her, and about good things. I don’t -know as he’s a religious boy,—what mother calls pious,—but I know -he’s a good boy; you know anybody can tell.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">44</a></span> -“Well, John, I guess you’re right; you have found out more about him in -one hour than I could in six months.”</p> - -<p>“Well, we’re bound to be thick together, I know that.”</p> - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="divider" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">45</a></span> -</div> - - -<h2><a name="iv" id="iv"></a>CHAPTER IV.<br /> -<small>GRIT AND GRATITUDE.</small></h2> - - -<p><span class="smcap">It</span> was now the month of October. The early frosts had rendered the -air sharp and bracing. The nights were long, affording abundance of -sleep, and the forests were clothed in all the tints of autumn. Ben, -encouraged by the unexpected success he had met with in the sale of his -timber, assured that his wife was contented and happy, and his mind -buoyant with hope, drove the axe through the timber in very wantonness -of strength. It was no trifling addition to his happiness to find that -Charlie was not only industrious, but had a natural aptitude for the -use of tools.</p> - -<p>He bought him a light, keen-tempered axe, that he might cut up the -small wood at the door, and split up oven-wood for Sally. When he -brought the axe from the smith’s, he said to Charles, “I will put a -handle in it, and then we will grind it.”</p> - -<p>“I think,” he replied, “that I can put a handle in it, if you will tell -me what kind of wood to make<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">46</a></span> it of.” Charles was not acquainted with -the different sorts of trees in this country.</p> - -<p>“There is no white oak on the island,” said Ben; “but here is a -straight-grained hornbeam: I will take that.”</p> - -<p>He cut down the tree, and splitting from it a suitable piece, left the -boy to make it himself. When he came in to dinner, the boy had made the -handle, and put it in the axe. Ben examined it with surprise.</p> - -<p>“I couldn’t have made it any better myself,” he said. They now ground -the axe, and Charlie went into the woods every day with Ben. He would -chop into one side of the tree what little he was able, while Ben -chopped into the other; but when it was down, he was quite useful in -trimming off the limbs with his little axe: thus he learned to strike -true, and to chop with either hand forward.</p> - -<p>Ben, every once in a while, came across a maple or oak, that stood -in the way: as he knew that by and by he should want a cart, plough, -harrow, and other tools, he cut them, and taking them to the mill with -his logs, had them sawed into joist and plank of different dimensions, -and then put them in the front room to season under cover, that they -might not warp or crack.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">47</a></span> -Charlie could not accomplish much in the woods, because he had not yet -become accustomed to chopping, and was not strong enough; yet it was -very pleasant for Ben to have company. But there were other ways in -which, boy as he was, he was exceedingly useful, and a source of direct -profit, which may serve to show to any little boy who reads this, how -much a boy, who has the will and pluck, may do. In the first place he -took care of the hens. Now, there never were any hens that enjoyed -themselves better, or laid more eggs, than Charlie’s. The stumps of -the trees Ben had cut were alive with bugs and wood-worms, also sow -bugs, that harbored in the decayed roots; here the hens scratched, and -scratched, and feasted. “Cock-a-doodle-do!” cries the rooster; “I’ve -found some worms!” and all the hens would run and gobble them up. You -will remember that the ledge, in which the middle ridge terminated, -was perpendicular; not a breath of north or east wind could get there, -because all back of it was forest, and there in the hot sun the hens -dug holes, and rolled in the mellow earth, where, even in winter, it -was warm when the sun shone, and Charlie scraped the snow away for them -down to the ground; they could also go to the beach and get gravel, -as the island<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">48</a></span> was so far at sea that there was seldom any ice on the -beach.</p> - -<p>Charlie also milked, and took care of the calf which they were raising, -and fed him with meal and potatoes. Hens like fish as well as cats, and -he caught flounders, tom-cod, and dug clams for them, so that they laid -most all winter. This was a great help to Sally, as Charlie’s coming -into the family made her a great deal more work, for she had stockings -and mittens to knit, and cloth to spin and weave, to make clothes for -him. She had to do it, too, at a great disadvantage; for, as they had -no sheep, and raised no flax, and had no loom, she was obliged to buy -the wool and flax, and send the yarn to her mother to weave. This took -a great deal of time, because her mother was only able to do Sally’s -work after she had done her own.</p> - -<p>Charlie cut all the wood, except the large logs: these Ben cut, and -Charlie hauled them in on a hand-sled. Now, all this saved Ben’s time; -but he did more: he dug clams for chowder, and caught lobsters. The -rocks on the White Bull were a great resort of lobsters; many were -found under the eel-grass and the projections of the rocks. Whenever -he saw a bunch in the eel-grass, he would pull it away and find a -great lobster, which he would put<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">49</a></span> in his basket. He would also peep -under the rocks, and say, “I see you, old fellow,” and with his -flounder-spear pick out another. He also caught smelts, which are -a first-rate pan fish. Round the points of the ledges were cunners -(sea-perch) and cod: these he caught also. This all went directly to -the support of the family.</p> - -<p>Children reared in hardship, and thrown upon their own resources, -develop fast; and never was Charlie more happy than when, bringing home -a mess of fish, he felt he was of direct benefit to his benefactors. -In the enjoyment of abundance of food, warm clothes, plenty of sleep, -and breathing the bracing sea air, with the consciousness that he was -useful and beloved, he began to grow with great rapidity, and increase -in vigor and enterprise every day. When he first came he hardly dared -speak above his breath, and the most he attempted was a sickly smile. -But now he sang at his work or play (for he had good ear and voice), -could laugh as merry as Sally herself, and often put the squawks in an -uproar with his merriment. His pale cheeks had regained their color, -and his eyes all the fire of youth, for he loved, and felt that he -was beloved, and his finely-cut and delicate features were full of -expression.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">50</a></span> -Charlie, during his wandering life, had acquired considerable -experience in fishing. Within less than a mile of the island was an -excellent fishing-ground, where schools of large codfish would soon -come to feed. Charlie knew, if he could catch these, it would not only -be a valuable supply of food for winter, but they would sell for cash -at the westward, or at the store for half cash and half groceries.</p> - -<p>But the great difficulty in the way was, he could not venture to go -there in the canoe. Ben was a giant, and everything he worked with was -made upon a corresponding scale. Charlie could hardly lift his axe. -His canoe was twenty-five feet in length, and the blades of the oars -were twice as wide as common, so that they might take stronger hold of -the water. Ben made them before he went to Boston, that, if the wind -came to the north-west, he might be able to exert all his strength; -otherwise, in a severe blow, he would have only pulled the oars through -the water without forcing the boat ahead.</p> - -<p>Charlie could hardly move this great thing in the harbor, much less in -a sea, and against the wind.</p> - -<p>Joe Griffin now came to chop, which increased<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">51</a></span> Charlie’s anxiety to -catch the fish, as there were more mouths to fill, and Joe’s held a -great deal. He at length broached the matter to Ben, saying, if he only -had a light canoe, that he could pull, he could catch fish, for he had -been used to fishing.</p> - -<p>“I would make you one,” said Ben, “if I had time; but Joe is here, and -the oxen are coming from the main, and I must chop.”</p> - -<p>“But,” persisted Charlie, “I could dig it out; if you told me how, I -think I could make the outside.”</p> - -<p>“Well,” said Ben, pleased with the boy’s evident anxiety to be useful, -“I will cut the tree, and you can be working it out, and we will help -you in rainy days, and at odd times.”</p> - -<p>“O, no, don’t,” said Charlie; “I want to cut the tree, and make it all -clear from the stump.”</p> - -<p>“Why, Charlie, it takes the largest kind of trees to make a canoe; it’s -no use to cut a valuable tree to make a plaything; it ought to be as -large as you can cleverly pull, or you’ll outgrow it. It will take you -a week to cut down such a tree with your little axe.”</p> - -<p>“No matter; do let me try.”</p> - -<p>Ben picked out the tree, marked out the direction of the kerf on the -bark with his axe, and left<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">52</a></span> him. When Charlie came in to dinner, -the perspiration stood in drops on his face, and he was as red as a -turkey-cock.</p> - -<p>“Well,” said Joe, “have you got through the bark?”</p> - -<p>“Almost,” replied Charlie.</p> - -<p>At night the boy showed evident signs of fatigue.</p> - -<p>“Let me look at your hands,” said Ben. There were large blisters on -each; he pricked them with a needle, and Sally rubbed some butter on -them.</p> - -<p>“I’ll give you a dozen or two of my round cuts in the morning,” said -Joe.</p> - -<p>“O, no; I don’t want you to. I can cut it down.”</p> - -<p>“Perhaps I shall go out after you are abed, and cut it down.”</p> - -<p>“O, don’t,” cried the boy, his eyes filling with tears at the very -possibility of such a catastrophe.</p> - -<p>“He don’t mean to do any such thing,” said Sally; “he’s only in fun; -nobody shall touch the tree.”</p> - -<p>Relying on her assurance, the wearied boy went to bed.</p> - -<p>“He’ll be sore enough in the morning,” said Joe; “but I like his grit, -any how.”</p> - -<p>“Don’t tease him too much, Joe,” said Sally;<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">53</a></span> “he’s a tender-hearted -thing, and takes everything in earnest.”</p> - -<p>“Well, I won’t, if I can help it.”</p> - -<p>The next day, at dinner, Charlie said to Ben, “I have cut the whole -length of the axe-handle on both sides; can’t I cut on the edges?”</p> - -<p>“No; for then you cannot tell which way it will fall; and it might fall -on you and kill you. If you’re going to be such a chopper, you must -have an axe-handle as long as ours; take this afternoon and make one, -and that will rest you.”</p> - -<p>Charlie did so, and in the morning, as soon as he could see, was in -the woods. About nine o’clock the enormous tree began to totter. He -had received a promise from Ben that nobody should come near him till -the tree was down. He stood at the end of the kerf, just where he had -been told to, and watched the top of the tree as it wavered in the air, -trembling all over, half with fear, and half with excitement, while -the perspiration, unheeded, dropped from his chin. Still the enormous -tree did not fall. Charlie put his shoulder against it, and when he -felt it waver, pushed till the sparks came in his eyes; but he soon -found this was useless. He didn’t like to stand right in front and cut; -at length, summoning all his resolution, he<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">54</a></span> stepped to the larger -kerf, on the side towards which he expected it would fall, and, with -set teeth, plied the axe: snap went the wood; he jumped aside; the top -now began evidently to incline; crack! crack! and then with a great -crash, that made the boy’s heart leap into his throat, the enormous -cone fell, crushing the smaller growth, and sending broken limbs thirty -feet in the air, and shaking the ground all around. The boy leaped upon -the prostrate tree, and burst into loud cheers. It was the battle of -Waterloo to him.</p> - -<p>“Let us go and see,” said Ben; “it will do him so much good.”</p> - -<p>“You’ve done well, Charlie,” said Joe; “you never will cut many bigger -trees than that, if you work in the woods all your lifetime.”</p> - -<p>“Now, father, where shall I cut it off?”</p> - -<p>Ben marked the place. “You had better go in now, Charlie, and rest till -dinner-time, and cool off.”</p> - -<div class="figcenter width600"> -<img src="images/p054.jpg" width="600" height="381" alt="" /> -<div class="caption"> - <span class="smcap">Charlie’s Big Job.</span>—<a href="#Page_56">Page 56.</a> -</div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">55</a></span> -“I ain’t a bit tired,” said the proud, resolute boy; but Ben made him -go in, when he found, after the excitement was over, that an hour or -two of rest did not come amiss, for he laid down before the fire, and, -falling asleep, did not wake till dinner-time. After dinner he began -to dig it out, and, under Ben’s direction, hewed off a good deal of -the outside. Ben then took it on his shoulder, and carried it into the -front room, so that he could work on it rainy days and evenings till it -was done. He made the oars himself, and seats and thole-pins, and dug -it out, so that it was very light for a canoe; and, for fear it might -split, Ben made some oak knees and put in it. When put into the water -she was found to be stiff, and row easy.</p> - -<p>No captain was ever prouder of his new ship than was Charlie of his -canoe. It was his own (the first thing he had ever owned), and by the -best possible right, for he had made it from the stump.</p> - -<p>“There’s a mechanical principle in that boy, Ben,” said Joe; “do you -see how naturally he takes to tools, and what good proportions there is -to them oars, and how true the bevel is on the blades, and how neat he -cut the head and stern boards into that canoe?”</p> - -<p>There was nothing Charlie now longed for so much as a calm day. In the -mean time he made himself a fisherman’s anchor. He took an oak limb, -which was a little sweeping, made it flat, and broader than it was -thick, and sharpened the ends; then he procured a crotch, and boring -two holes in the flat piece, put a flat stone, larger a little than<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">56</a></span> -the piece of flat wood, edgeway upon it, and run the two forks of the -crotch down each side of the stone, and through the holes, and wedged -them, and put a wooden pin through to hold them. When this was thrown -overboard, the sharp points of the wood would stick into the bottom, -and the weight of the stone would hold them there. The stone, being so -much larger than the cross-piece of wood, always brought the wood into -the ground. These anchors, when the bottom is rocky, are much better -than iron ones, as you can pull them out of the rocks, or pull them to -pieces; and they will hold a boat as long as it is safe to stay, or -smooth enough to fish; whereas an iron one will often stick fast in the -rocks, and you must cut your cable. Hence these sort of anchors are -much used by fishermen who are often round the rocks; besides, they -cost nothing but the making.</p> - -<p>The pleasant day came at last; by light Charlie was on the -fishing-ground, all in sight of the house. By two o’clock in the -afternoon he was rowing home with three hundred weight of fish. -A prouder boy there never was, as he came home before a pleasant -southerly wind, not having to pull any, only just to steady the boat -with the oars. Every few moments he kept looking over his<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">57</a></span> shoulder to -see if anybody saw him; but Ben and Joe were where they could not see -him. By and by he saw Sally come to the door and look; he put his cap -on an oar, and held it up; she waved her hand to him, caught up some -dry brush, and ran in. Presently he saw a black smoke. “She’s putting -on the tea-kettle to get me a good hot supper. Won’t it go good? for -haven’t I earned it?” said he, as he glanced at the codfish, some of -which he had hard work to master, and get into the boat, they were so -large. By the time he had eaten his supper and dressed his fish, the -men came in from their work, when he received many and well-deserved -praises for his day’s work.</p> - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="divider" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">58</a></span> -</div> - - - -<h2><a name="v" id="v"></a>CHAPTER V.<br /> -<small>CHARLES RETURNS JOHN’S VISIT.</small></h2> - - -<p><span class="smcap">The</span> orphan boy, whom his mother in her dying moments committed in faith -to God, had fallen into good hands. He, who through storm and tempest -directs the sea-bird to her nest amid the breakers, and hears her young -ones when they cry in their lonely nest on the ocean rock, had numbered -his steps. Ben knew how to treat a boy, because he liked them, and -understood their feelings.</p> - -<p>The reason John was so much attached to his brother Ben, who was so -much older, arose, not merely from his being his brother, but because -Ben not only loved him, but always made due allowance for a boy’s -nature and feelings. The amusements and employments of men, and boys -also, in those old times, were not so far apart as they are now; they -could fish and hunt in company, and the boy could be very useful to the -man, and this brought them together, and kept their mutual sympathies<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">59</a></span> -alive and fresh. He did not, therefore, because Charles had caught -three hundred weight of fish, tell him he must be up by daylight the -next morning and catch four hundred; he knew boys better than that; -knew that while Charles needed no other stimulus than his own noble, -grateful heart to urge him on to exertions, yet he was aching to let -John know what he had done. He said to him, “Well, Charles, we’ll -have a chowder out of the heads of some of these biggest cod (there’s -nothing equal to a cod’s head for a chowder), and save a couple to fry, -and take the rest over to the main land in the morning; you can go to -the house and get John to go to the store with you, and sell them, and -get half money and the rest in groceries. You can stay all night with -John, and come off the next morning.”</p> - -<p>Charles’s eyes flashed with delight at this, and he could hardly -contain himself till Ben was out of sight; and then he got behind a -bush and jumped right up and down with delight. He lost no time in -going to tell the good news to Sally, between whom and himself there -were no secrets, but the most perfect sympathy.</p> - -<p>“O, mother!” he cried, “don’t you think father’s going to let me take -the fish to the store, and stay<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">60</a></span> all night! <i>only think!</i> stay all -night with John, mother!”</p> - -<p>Sally added (if possible) to his happiness by saying, “I’m glad of it, -Charlie, for I want some errands done; and I want you to take over some -eggs and butter, and get some coffee, sugar, and flax, and carry some -yarn to Hannah Murch, for her to weave for me. Now you see how much -help you can be.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, mother; and what a good thing it is to have my canoe to go in, -and catch fish to sell, and get things; it pays—don’t it?”</p> - -<p>“I guess it does pay; for, if you didn’t go, Ben would have to leave -his work and go.”</p> - -<p>“And I shall see Mr. Murch?”</p> - -<p>“Yes; John will go over there with you; and I’ll get breakfast by -daylight, so that you can make a long day of it.”</p> - -<p>“Mother, I like Mr. Murch; he’s such a pleasant way, and he says such -cute things, somehow you can’t help liking him; when I hear him, it -seems just as if something was drawing me right to him. Don’t you like -him, mother?”</p> - -<p>“Like him! I love him, Charlie! After my father died, I don’t know what -my mother would have done, if it had not been for Uncle Isaac. He<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">61</a></span> used -to come over and tell her to trust in God, and encourage her; tell Sam -what to do, and plough for us, sow our grain, shear the sheep, and help -us every way.”</p> - -<p>“Perhaps he’ll like me, and let me call him Uncle Isaac, same as John -does, when he’s acquainted with me.”</p> - -<p>“I dare say he will.”</p> - -<p>“Mother, does John ever come over here alone?”</p> - -<p>“He never has; his folks don’t like to have him.”</p> - -<p>“Then I shall do to-morrow more than he’s ever done; leastways, I’ll -try.”</p> - -<p>“I don’t know as it is hardly the thing for you to go; ’tis a good -ways.”</p> - -<p>“It is not much farther than I go a fishing. I wish you could see how -I can make my canoe <i>hum</i>, if I have a mind to; come down to the shore -just a minute, and see how quick I can pull over to the White Bull and -back.”</p> - -<p>Sally went down. Charlie got into the canoe, took his oars, spit on -his hands, and stretched himself for a mighty effort. The canoe went -through the water in fine style; but, when about half way to the Bull, -one of the thole-pins broke short off, Charlie went over backwards into -the bottom of the canoe, and had to paddle back with one oar.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">62</a></span> -“Never mind, Charlie,” said she; “I can see that you make her go like -anything.”</p> - -<p>“I’m glad it broke now, and not when I was off in the bay,” said he, to -hide his mortification, and resolved next time he undertook to show off -to look well to his thole-pins. He didn’t sleep much that night. I’ll -let John know, thought he, as he lay in bed anticipating the morrow, -that I can do something besides make baskets; he didn’t seem to think -much of that. He thought I had a great deal to learn, but I’ll let him -know I’ve learned something already. The next morning was fair, and he -was off by sunrise. When he came to the other side, John received him -with great pleasure; and as they were just at breakfast, Captain Rhines -insisted on having Charlie sit up with them, saying that a boy who was -growing could eat any time, especially when he had pulled six miles.</p> - -<p>“Did you come in Ben’s big canoe?”</p> - -<p>“No, sir; the oars are so large I can hardly lift them.”</p> - -<p>“So I thought; but what did you come in?”</p> - -<p>“My own canoe, sir.”</p> - -<p>“Has Ben made you a canoe so quick?”</p> - -<p>“No, sir; I made it myself; but he showed me.”</p> - -<p>“Whew! Who cut the tree down?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">63</a></span> -“I did, sir.”</p> - -<p>“What do you think of that, John?”</p> - -<p>John and Charles went to the store, and sold the fish and other things; -then John showed Charles his gun, and yoke of steers he was raising; -then they yoked them up, and put them on to a light sled, that they -could haul on the bare ground, and gave Charles a ride. He also showed -him his powder-horn, and all his playthings, and a tame gray squirrel, -and hens. Then they went to the shore and saw John’s gunning float; and -John made Charles lie down in the bottom of her, and showed him how -to scull. Putting the sail up, they sailed round the bay; and going -round a little point, they saw some birds; they then lay down in the -float, and John sculled up to them, and shot two. This excited Charlie -very much. As he took the dead birds in his fingers, the passion for -shooting, for which he had never felt the least inclination, seemed to -be inspired by the very contact.</p> - -<p>“We will have them for dinner,” said John; “let us go home, so that -mother will have time to cook them.”</p> - -<p>This was all new to Charlie, for Ben had been too busy to gun since he -came.</p> - -<p>“Are they good to eat?” asked Charlie.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">64</a></span> -“First rate; and you can sell them at the store. The feathers fetch a -first-rate price at the westward, and you can sell them at Witchcassett -(Wiscasset) to the English vessels.”</p> - -<p>“I never knew that before. If I could shoot, I might kill some on the -island.”</p> - -<p>“I guess you could; there ain’t such a place for gunning along shore.”</p> - -<p>“I might earn something to help along.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, indeed! Come, let us hurry home; I’ll show you how to load and -fire; and there are guns enough on the island; you can practise there; -Ben will show you.”</p> - -<p>When they got home, Charlie fired John’s gun five or six times, and -learned to load it. “John,” said his father at the dinner-table, “where -is that little gun of yours?”</p> - -<p>“Up chamber.”</p> - -<p>“Why don’t you give that to Charles?”</p> - -<p>“I will, father.”</p> - -<p>This was a gun that Ben had cut off, in order to make it lighter, and -got Uncle Isaac to make a light stock for it, and given it to John; but -his father having given him a larger and better one since he had become -accustomed to gunning, he didn’t use it.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">65</a></span> -“I’ll give you a real nice horn, Charles,” said the captain, “and you -can scrape it and put the bottom in yourself.”</p> - -<p>After dinner they set out for Uncle Isaac’s. They both rode on one -horse; John got into the saddle, and Charles sat behind him on the -pillion that Mrs. Rhines rode on when she went with her husband; he -put his arms round John’s waist just as the women did when they rode. -They had fun enough going over, and when they arrived found Uncle Isaac -making cider.</p> - -<p>“Well, boys,” said he, “you’ve come in the nick of time; I’m just going -to lay up a cheese, and want some help to squat it.”</p> - -<p>“We’ll help you,” said John; “we’re just the boys for that, and we can -drink the cider, too.”</p> - -<p>A very few of our readers may know how they made cider in those days -in the new settlements, and a good many may not even know how it is -made now. We will describe his cider mill and press. At the end of his -orchard was a large white oak tree, more than four feet through; under -this he had placed a large trough, dug out of a log; in this he put -the apples. He then took an oak log about six feet in length, and six -inches through, in the middle of which a hole was bored, and a round<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">66</a></span> -stick put through for a handle. A rope was attached to the top end, -which reached, and was fastened, to a large branch of the tree. When -he took hold of the handle, and struck the pounder down on the apples -in the trough, the spring of the limb helped to lift it up, which was -the hardest part of the work. Uncle Isaac had been pounding apples all -the forenoon, and was now about to press them. Fred Williams now came -along, whom John introduced to Charles as one of his playmates, and a -real good boy. Fred blushed at this, for he felt that it had been but a -very short time that he had deserved such a character.</p> - -<p>Between the tree and the trough was an elevated platform of plank, -jointed together, and watertight; on this was a square frame of boards, -about four feet across, and six inches high; he laid some long straw on -the edge of this frame, and then put in the apples; when the frame was -full he turned the straw over the edge, and tucked it into the mass of -bruised apples; he then lifted the hoop up the width of it, put on more -straw, and piled it up again, till he had a square pile four feet high. -The straw was to bind the edge, and keep the pomace from squatting out -sidewise when he came to press it. This was called the cheese.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">67</a></span> -The boys helped him lift up the hoop, tuck in the straw, and shovel -in the apples, with right good will. Planks were now placed upon the -cheese, and some short blocks of timber on them, when the cider began -to run from the edges through the straw, and was led by a gutter, which -ran round the platform, into a half-hogshead tub.</p> - -<p>Uncle Isaac now sat down to rest, and eat an apple, while the boys, -providing themselves with straws, began to suck the cider from the -gutter as though their lives depended on their diligence. Every once -in a while you would hear a long-drawn sigh as they stopped to take -breath. As the cheese had now settled together, and become a little -firm, Uncle Isaac prepared to press it.</p> - -<p>This is done nowadays with a screw, but it was not the fashion then. He -had a white oak beam forty feet in length and ten inches square; one -end of this enormous stick was placed in a mortise cut in the tree, the -other on a horse. The stick extending over the middle of the cheese, -a pair of shears and a tackle were placed at the end, and Uncle Isaac -and the boys hoisted up the end of the great beam, took the horse away, -and let the beam come down on the cheese, not very hard at first, but -gradually; this set the cider running at a great<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">68</a></span> rate. As the cheese -settled, he lifted the beam and put under more blocks, and at length -he and the boys piled great rocks on the end of the beam, and got on -themselves, till they squat it dry.</p> - -<p>Nothing would do but they must stop to supper; Uncle Isaac would not -hear to their going home.</p> - -<p>“Only think,” whispered Fred to John, “if we had succeeded in killing -Uncle Isaac’s orchard last spring, I shouldn’t have been sucking cider -and eating apples to-day.”</p> - -<p>“I’ve heard mother say,” was the reply, “that a person couldn’t injure -another without injuring himself, and I believe it.”</p> - -<p>John told Uncle Isaac that Charles had cut down one of the biggest -pines on the island, and made a float, oars and all, made an -axe-handle, and caught three hundred weight of codfish.</p> - -<p>When they went home, Uncle Isaac told the boys to fill their pockets -with apples, and gave Charles a bag full and a jug of cider to carry to -the island.</p> - -<p>John and Charles slept together, and lay awake and talked half the -night, laying plans for the future.</p> - -<p>“I’ll tell you what you can do, Charles; you can make a paddle, and -cut a scull-hole in your canoe, and she’ll make a first-rate gunning -float.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">69</a></span> -“So she will; I never thought of that.”</p> - -<p>It seemed to the boys the shortest day they had ever spent; it -certainly had been a very happy one. In the morning they separated, -John going half way home with Charles in his float.</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>CHARLIE IN A SNOW SQUALL.</small></h2> - - -<p><span class="smcap">Charles</span> would have been more than human if he could have rested easy -without a sail for his canoe, after seeing John’s, and sailing with him -in his float. He tried a hemlock bush, but he came near filling his -boat by means of it. He didn’t like to ask Sally to weave him cloth to -make one, as she had to buy her flax and cotton, nor to ask Ben to let -him sell fish for it. He therefore set his wits to work to compass his -end. He noticed the bottom of the chairs, and asked Ben what they were -made of: he told him, of basket-stuff, and how it was made.</p> - -<p>He cut down an ash, pounded it, and stripping it very thin, wove it -into a mat, and made a sail of it. A great deal of wind went through -it, to be sure; but then it answered a very good purpose, and saved him -a deal of rowing.</p> - -<p>At length he espied a birch-bark dish, that Uncle Isaac had made for -Sally to wash dishes in. He<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">71</a></span> examined it very attentively, and thought -he had at last found the right stuff; but, to his great disappointment, -the bark wouldn’t run at that time of the year. Joe told him to make a -fire and heat the tree, when he found it would run. He obtained some -large sheets, and made it very thin; he found some difficulty in making -the stitches hold, as the bark was so straight-grained it would split, -and let the thread out; but he found a way to remedy this, by sewing -some narrow strips of cloth with the bark at the seams and edges. -He now found that he had a sail that was a great deal handsomer and -lighter than the other, and that not a bit of wind could get through. -Having by this time got a birch-bark fever, he made himself a hat of -it, and a box to carry his dinner in.</p> - -<p>He continued to fish every pleasant day, and, as fast as the fish were -cured, he put them in the chamber; and the larger the pile grew, the -more anxious he became to add to it.</p> - -<p>There had been a week of moderate weather for the time of year, with -light south and south-west winds, and Charles had caught a great many -fish, sailing home every afternoon as grand as you please. At length -there was an appearance of a change in the weather. Ben thought he -had better not go;<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">72</a></span> but seeing he was eager to do so, did not prevent -him. It was a dead calm when Charlie rowed on to his ground, and -continued thus till nearly noon; but the clouds hung low, and the sun -was partially hid. The fish bit well, and Charlie was too busy in -hauling them in to take note of a black mass of clouds, which, having -first gathered in the north-east, were gradually coming down the bay, -accompanied with a black mist reaching from the water to the sky, till -in an instant the wind struck with a savage shriek; the waters rolled -up green and angry, and he was wrapped in a whirlwind of snow, so thick -that he not only lost sight of the island, but could not even see three -times the length of the canoe. His first impulse was to haul up his -anchor and row for the island; but the moment he put his hand to the -cable he was convinced that he could make no progress, nor even hold -his own against such a sea and wind.</p> - -<p>There was nothing for him but to remain where he was, in the hope that -Ben would come to seek him. But perils now multiplied around him; the -wind, and with it the sea, increased continually. The cold became -intense; the spray flew into the canoe, which was deeply laden with -fish, freezing as it came. It seemed very doubtful to him whether<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">73</a></span> Ben -could find him in the darkness, which, as the day drew to a close, -became every moment more intense.</p> - -<p>“Must I perish, after all,” thought the poor boy, “just as I have found -a good home and kind friends?” The tears gushing from his eyes froze -upon his cold cheeks. He now recollected his mother’s last words.</p> - -<p>“When trouble comes upon you, my child, call upon God, and he will help -you.”</p> - -<p>Kneeling in the bottom of the boat, he put up a fervent prayer to God -for mercy. The flood tide now began to make, which, running against the -wind, made a sharp, short sea; the canoe stood, as it were, on end, and -it seemed as if every sea must break into her. He was fast giving way -to despair, when a large quantity of water came in over the bow. Roused -by the instinct that engages us to struggle for life, he threw it out.</p> - -<p>“These fish must go overboard to lighten her,” said he, and laid his -hand on one of the largest, when a faint “Halloo!” came down the wind. -His stupor vanished; the blood rushed to his face; uttering a wild cry -of joy, he seized the club which he used to kill the fish with, and -pounded with all his might upon the head-board of the boat, at the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">74</a></span> -same time shouting loudly. He soon heard distinctly, “Boat, ahoy!” -shouted, in the tones of Joe; and in a few moments the great canoe came -alongside.</p> - -<p>“God bless you, my boy! I was afraid we had lost you,” cried Ben, -catching him by the shoulder, and lifting him into his lap as though he -had been thistle-down. He then wrapped him in a dry coat, and gave him -a dry pair of mittens. As they had a compass, they could have hit the -land by steering in a northerly direction; but they might have been a -great while doing so, without any permanent point of departure to start -from. Ben had provided for this. In the first place, they put a good -part of the fish into the large canoe; then, taking a large cedar buoy, -which he had brought with him for the purpose, he fastened it to the -cable of the canoe, and flung it overboard; then he fastened the small -canoe to the stern of the large one; thus he had the buoy left for a -mark to start from.</p> - -<p>“Now, Joe,” said Ben, “do you bring that buoy to bear south-south-west, -astern, and steer north-north-east, and I’ll see if little Ben Rhines -can drive these boats through this surf.”</p> - -<p>Joe sat in the stern, with a steering paddle, and the compass before -him on the seat. Charlie stood<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">75</a></span> in the bow of the big canoe, holding -the end of the mooring-rope, which confined them both to the buoy. Ben -now sat down to his oars, putting his feet against Joe’s for a brace.</p> - -<p>“Let go, Charlie,” cried he, as he dipped the blades in the water, and -the boats began to move ahead. The canoe quivered beneath the strokes -of the giant, as, warming up, he stretched himself to the work; and as -by main strength he forced her through the sharp sea, the water came -over the bows in large quantities, but Charlie threw it out as fast as -it came.</p> - -<p>For a long time no sound was heard but the dash of waves, and the deep -breathing of Ben, like the panting of an ox. It was now fast growing -dark. At length Joe said, “I believe I see something like the shade of -woods.”</p> - -<p>All was still again for a while, and Ben increased the force of his -strokes.</p> - -<p>“I see the eagle’s nest on the tall pine,” said Charlie, “and the point -of the Bull.”</p> - -<p>“That’s what I call a good ‘land-fall,’ when you can’t see a thing,” -said Joe.</p> - -<p>They were now soon at the island, where a roaring fire, smoking supper, -and joyous welcome awaited the chilled and hungry boy.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">76</a></span> -“O, mother!” said Charlie (as with a cloth dipped in warm water she -washed the frozen tears, and the white crust of salt left by the spray, -from his cheek, and kissed him), “I didn’t think I should ever see you -again.”</p> - -<p>How great a matter sometimes hinges upon a very little thing! Ben and -Joe were in the thickest part of the woods, so busily at work getting -down a tree that had lodged as not to notice the sudden change in the -weather. As soon as they heard the roar of the wind they ran for the -beach. On the White Bull was a breastwork of stones that Ben had made, -to stand behind and shoot ducks.</p> - -<p>“Joe,” he cried, “get the range of that canoe over the breastwork, and -keep it, while I go and get the compass.” When he returned with the -compass, Charlie’s canoe was entirely hidden by the snow; but as Joe -had not moved from the spot, they took the range over the rock, and ran -directly upon him. Had it not been for this he would have perished, -while they were endeavoring to find him by guess in the snow, for it -was pitch dark in an hour after they reached the island.</p> - -<p>About eight o’clock the gale came on with tremendous fury; and as -Charlie lay in his warm bed<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">77</a></span> that night, and listened to the roar of -the surf and the sough of the tempest, he drew the blankets over him, -and nestling in their warm folds, lifted up his heart in gratitude to -the Being his mother had taught him to call upon in the hour of peril, -and not forget in that of deliverance.</p> - -<p>When the gale was over, the wind coming to the north, the sea fell, and -it was soon smooth, and Charlie wanted to go a-fishing.</p> - -<p>“No, Charlie,” said Ben, “the weather is too catching; you have fished -enough for this fall.”</p> - -<p>“But I must have my anchor.”</p> - -<p>“Well, go and get that, and come right back; don’t take any bait, nor -stop to fish.”</p> - -<p>Charlie rowed down to the fishing-ground, where he found the buoy -floating on the glassy surface of the water, with a great mass of kelp, -as large as the floor of the house, fast to it; he took out his knife, -and cut them off from the ropes, and watched them as they floated away -with the tide.</p> - -<p>Charlie thought the southerly wind would come in at twelve o’clock, and -save him the labor of rowing home; so he made his canoe fast to the -buoy, determined to wait for it. Whether it was due to the reaction -consequent upon the terrible excitement he had of late passed through, -the beauty of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">78</a></span> the day, or a mingling of both, he felt deliciously -lazy; so, taking his birch-bark dinner-box from the little locker in -the stern of the canoe, he stretched himself upon the oars and seats, -and with a piece of bread and butter in his fist, began to meditate. -“What a strange thing the sea is!” thought he; “three days ago I lay -in this very spot, fastened to this very rope, in such an awful sea, -expecting to sink every moment, and now it is just as smooth as glass; -and where it was breaking feather white against the Bull you might now -lie right up to the rocks.”</p> - -<p>Charlie was very different from John; he was more thoughtful; liked -to be studying out and contriving something. John was more for mere -excitement and adventure.</p> - -<p>The southerly wind now came, and Charlie began to haul in his cable; -but he found that the two canoes, riding to it in the gale, had bedded -it so well in the sand that he could not start it.</p> - -<p>“I’m no notion of working to-day,” said he; “contrivance is better than -hard work.”</p> - -<p>It was now flood tide; he pulled the canoe right over her anchor, -hauled in the slack of the cable as tight as he could, and made it -fast, then stretched out in the sun, and returned to his bread<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">79</a></span> and -butter. As the tide made, the cable grew tighter and tighter, till at -last it began to draw the bows of the canoe down into the water; at -length it drew her down till the water was about to run in, and Charlie -began to think the anchor was under a rock, when all at once it gave -way with a jump.</p> - -<p>“I thought you’d have to come,” said he; and, putting up his sail, he -went home before the light south-westerly wind.</p> - -<p>Ben had said to Charles, when he went away in the morning, “I shall be -in the woods when you come back, and I want you to bail out the big -canoe, as I shall want to use her to-morrow.”</p> - -<p>When Charles came to the beach he made his boat fast, and went to look -at the big canoe. The sea had broken into her as she lay on the beach, -and there was a great deal of water in her.</p> - -<p>“This is one of my lazy days, and I’m going to carry it out. I’ll be -blest if I’ll throw all that water out.”</p> - -<p>He went to where the sea had flung up a vast quantity of kelp in the -recent gale, and drew out from the heap the largest one he could find. -Perhaps some boy, who has never been on the seashore, might say, “I -wonder what kelp is.” It is<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">80</a></span> an ocean plant that grows on the deep -water rocks. The roots cling to the rock, and send up stalks from ten -to fifteen feet in length, with a leaf or apron nearly as long as the -stem, a foot wide in the middle, tapering towards each end, and of -the color of amber. This stem, which is hollow, and filled with air, -causes it to float on the surface of the water, where it is exposed to -the sun, without which it could not grow. The hollow in a large stem -is about half an inch in diameter. They come to the surface about half -tide, and thus are exposed a few hours while the tide is ebbing and -flowing.</p> - -<p>Charlie cut the large leaf and the root from the kelp, when he had a -limber hollow stem five or six feet long. Putting one end into the -canoe, and the other into his mouth, he sucked the water through it; -then putting the end down on the beach the water continued to run in a -steady stream over the side of the canoe. He was contemplating his work -with great satisfaction, when, hearing the sound of oars, he looked up, -and saw John doubling the eastern point.</p> - -<p>It was impossible for Mrs. Rhines to keep John from going to the island -alone any longer, since Charles had been off alone, and he was much -larger and stronger.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">81</a></span> -“What are you about, Charlie?”</p> - -<p>“Making water run up hill.”</p> - -<p>“But that is running down hill; the beach is lower than the canoe.”</p> - -<p>“But it runs off over the side of the canoe; come and see.”</p> - -<p>“So it does, sure enough. What makes it go up over that turn?”</p> - -<p>“That’s just what I want to know,” said Charlie, “and I mean to know, -too; but I suppose it’s the same thing that makes water come up hill in -a squirt.”</p> - -<p>“Why, the plunger in a squirt sucks it up.”</p> - -<p>“How can it suck it up? it has not any fingers or lips to suck it or -lift it; that’s only a saying; I don’t believe that.”</p> - -<p>“Well, if you don’t believe that, how does it come up? What makes it -follow the stick in the squirt?”</p> - -<p>“That’s what I want to know; there must be some reason. Do you suppose -Uncle Isaac knows? he knows most everything.”</p> - -<p>“No; he don’t know such things; but Ben does; he can navigate a vessel, -and has been to Massachusetts to school. Father asks Ben when he wants -to know things of that kind.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">82</a></span> -“Well, I must ask him.”</p> - -<p>“I’m sure I don’t care what makes it come; I know it does come; that’s -enough for me. That’s a great sail in your boat, Charlie; it’s the -first time I ever heard of a birch-bark sail: what in the world made -you think of making a sail of that?”</p> - -<p>“Because I had nothing else; I made one out of basket stuff. I tell you -what, these folks that live on islands have to set their wits at work; -they haven’t a store to run to for everything they want.”</p> - -<p>“I don’t think much of your contrivance to make water run out of a -boat; only look at it; you and I could take two pails and bail it out -in half the time it will be running out through that, and then we could -go and play.”</p> - -<p>“But we can go and play now, and let it run.”</p> - -<p>“I never thought of that; let’s go then.”</p> - -<p>“I must ask father first; perhaps he wants me to help him; you go ask -him.”</p> - -<p>John ran to the woods where Ben was at work, and soon came back with -liberty for them to play.</p> - -<p>“Let’s have some fun here with this water; it’s real warm and pleasant -here in the sun, and we can do lots of things.”</p> - -<p>“What shall we do?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">83</a></span> -“Let’s make water-works, as they do in England. They carry the water -miles and miles.”</p> - -<p>“What do they carry it in?”</p> - -<p>“Lead and iron pipes, and hollow logs; and they have fountains that -send the water up in the air, ever so high.”</p> - -<p>“Let us see how far we can carry water, Charlie.”</p> - -<p>They had not the least trouble in procuring pipe, as there were -cart-loads of kelps on the beach. They went to the heap and drew out -the longest and largest stalks they could find, and putting the small -end of one into the large end of the other; then made the joints tight -with clay, and put them under ground, and covered them up. They did not -give up till they carried the water the whole length of the beach into -the bay, and then invited Sally to come out and see it.</p> - -<p>“Water,” said Charles, “will rise as high as the place it came from. I -am going to have a fountain.”</p> - -<p>So he stopped up the end of the pipe with clay, and near the end where -the water ran quite fast, he made a little hole, and put into it two -or three quills of an eagle, joined together, to make a pipe, and -the water spouted through it into the air. As the day was now fast -spending, they tore up<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">84</a></span> their pipes, and putting them all into the -canoe, and sucking the water through them, set them all running; and -when Sally called them to supper the water was nearly all out of the -canoe.</p> - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="divider" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">85</a></span> -</div> - - - -<h2><a name="vii" id="vii"></a>CHAPTER VII.<br /> -<small>CHARLIE PLANS A SURPRISE FOR SALLY.</small></h2> - - -<p><span class="smcap">There</span> was a certain article of household use that Charles had for a -long time been desirous of making for his mother; but he wanted to -surprise her with it. This seemed to him almost an impossibility, as -she never went from home; but the opportunity now presented itself.</p> - -<p>When they were all seated at the supper-table, John said to Ben, -“Father sent me over to see if you and Sally would come home to -Thanksgiving,—it’s Thursday,—and stay over Sabbath, and have a good -visit.”</p> - -<p>“I should like above all things to go,” said Sally; “but I don’t see -how I could leave home so long.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, you can leave,” said Ben; “you haven’t stepped off this island -since we came on it. It will do you good, and do us all good.”</p> - -<p>“O, do go, mother,” said Charlie, who had his own reasons for wishing -to get her out of the house,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">86</a></span> and was rejoiced at the prospect of -accomplishing it; “it will soon be so rough that there will be no -getting over, at least for women folks, this winter.”</p> - -<p>“But who will take care of you?”</p> - -<p>“Take care of me! I’ll take care of myself, and everything else, too. I -can milk, and cook, and see to everything.”</p> - -<p>“But would you not be afraid to stay here all alone?”</p> - -<p>“Afraid! Poor vagabond children, like me, don’t have any fears; they -can’t afford to. It’s rich people’s children, that are brought up nice, -have fears. Such wanderers as I am, if they only have enough to eat, -and a place to put their head in, they are all right.”</p> - -<p>“What a speech that is!” said Joe. “I’ve always heard that a barrel -might have as large a bung-hole as a hogshead, and now I believe it.”</p> - -<p>“I’ll come over and stay with him,” said John; “I’m sure I would rather -be here than at home.”</p> - -<p>“Father and mother wouldn’t agree to that, John; but you may tell them -we’ll come and stay over Sabbath.”</p> - -<p>The next Wednesday morning, to Charles’s great delight, they started, -and Joe with them, as he was going home to Thanksgiving. The moment -they<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">87</a></span> were out of sight, Charlie commenced operations. He went up -chamber, where was some clear stuff,—boards and plank,—which now -would be worth eighty dollars a thousand, if indeed such lumber could -be procured at all, and taking what he needed, brought it down to the -bench in the front room. He then went up on the middle ridge, cut down -a black cherry tree, and taking a piece from the butt, split it in -halves, and brought it into the house. As he now had all his material, -he made up a good fire and went to work. His saw and hammer went all -the time, except when he was asleep, or doing the necessary work. As -for cooking, he lived most of the time on bread and milk, because he -did not wish to take the time from his work to cook. He had, indeed, -abundance of time to do what he was intending, a regular mechanic would -have done in a third part of the time; but Charlie was a boy, and -though very ingenious, had to learn as he went along, and stop very -often and think a long time how to do a thing; and sometimes he made a -mistake and did it wrong, or made a bad joint, and then away it went -into the fire.</p> - -<p>“If I make a blunder,” said Charles, “nobody shall be the wiser for -it.” Charles was by no means the only apprentice who has spoiled -lumber<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">88</a></span> in learning, as the stove in many a joiner’s shop would -testify, if it could speak.</p> - -<p>Ben and Sally had a most delightful time. They staid Wednesday night at -Captain Rhines’s; Thursday they went to meeting, and Sally saw all her -old friends, and the girls she knew before she married, and had to tell -over the story about the pirates I don’t know how many times.</p> - -<p>But there was a little incident that took place at meeting that -mortified Ben very much. He entertained a very great respect for -religion, and would not for the world have done anything in a light or -trifling manner in the house of God. It was the fashion in those days -to wear very large watches, and very large seals attached to a large -chain. Ben had a watch-seal that was made in Germany, in which was a -music-box, that, being wound up, would play several very lively tunes. -After being wound up, it was set in operation by pressing a spring. -In the morning, before they went to meeting, Ben, in order to gratify -John and Fred Williams, who were in to go to meeting with him, had -been playing with it, and Uncle Isaac coming in, he left it wound up, -and went to meeting. While the minister was at prayer, Ben, in leaning -against the pew, pressed the spring, and off started the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">89</a></span> music-box -into a dancing tune. There was no such thing as stopping it till it -ran down. It is useless to attempt to describe the effect of such -unwarranted and unhallowed sounds breaking upon the solemn stillness of -an old-time congregation.</p> - -<p>Ben’s face was redder than any fire-coal, while his body was in a cold -sweat. Sally felt as though she should sink through the floor. Mrs. -Rhines looked up to see if the roof was not about to fall and crush -them all; while the young people, totally unable to suppress their -merriment, tittered audibly. Ben stood it a few moments, and then left -the assembly, the seal playing him out.</p> - -<p>After stopping a night at the widow’s, they went over to Uncle Isaac’s, -as he declared, unless they spent a night with him, he would never step -foot on the island again. He invited John Strout and all the Rhineses -to tea. John had a great many inquiries to make of Ben, in respect to -Charles, who told him about his being caught in the snow squall.</p> - -<p>“He’s good grit—ain’t he?” said John.</p> - -<p>“Yes, John; he’s a good, brave, affectionate boy as ever lived; and I -love him more and more every day.”</p> - -<p>“There, Uncle Isaac!” cried John Rhines,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">90</a></span> “what have I always told you? -You’ll give up now—won’t you?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, John; I’ll give up. I suppose you feel better now—don’t you?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, Uncle Isaac, I do feel better; for I never could like anybody as -I want to like Charlie, that you had any doubt about. I don’t believe -in liking at the halves.”</p> - -<p>Upon their return Charles met them at the shore, delighted to see them, -and evidently bursting with some great secret.</p> - -<p>“Charles has been doing something special, I know,” said Sally; “just -look at him.”</p> - -<p>The boy was hopping and skipping along before them, scarcely able to -contain himself.</p> - -<p>They went to the end door, which Charles flung open with a great air. -Behold, there was a sink under one of the windows. It had a wooden -spout that went through the logs out doors, a shelf on top to set -the water-pails on, and another long shelf over it on which to keep -milk-pans or pails, or any other things, which, being in constant use, -it was important to have always at hand. Underneath the sink was a -closet, with a door hung on the neatest little wooden hinges that you -ever saw, of a reddish color, polished so that they shone, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">91</a></span> wooden -buttons to close it. In addition to this, he had made a little wooden -trough of cherry tree, that would hold about a quart, with a handle on -one side, that was made out of the solid wood: this was to keep the -soap in that was used about the sink.</p> - -<p>Sally screamed outright with joy. “O, how glad I am!” she said, and -gave Charlie a kiss, that more than paid him for all his labor. “I -shall have such a nice place to keep all my kettles under the sink, and -my milk-pails and other things on this long shelf. I can wash my dishes -right in the sink, and shan’t have to run to the door with every drop -of water, and let so much cold in every time I open it. A sink in a -log house! O, my! I never thought I should arrive at that. There’s not -another one in town. If anybody wants to see a sink, they have got to -come on to Elm Island. How came you to think of that, you good boy?”</p> - -<p>“Why, the people in England have sinks, and I meant you should. There’s -not a woman in England so good as you are.”</p> - -<p>Ben stopped up the sink-spout, and turned in two pails of water. He -then examined the joints. It didn’t leak a drop. After this he turned -his attention to the hinges.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">92</a></span> -“What did you make these hinges of, Charles? They are almost as -handsome as mahogany.”</p> - -<p>“Of cherry tree.”</p> - -<p>“How did you know that cherry tree was a handsome wood?”</p> - -<p>“Because I saw a gun-stock John had, that he said was made of it; and -he showed me the tree.”</p> - -<p>“How did you give them such a polish?”</p> - -<p>“I rubbed them with dogfish skin, and oiled them.”</p> - -<p>“Where did you get a dogfish this time of year?”</p> - -<p>“Uncle Isaac gave me the skin.”</p> - -<p>“Where did you get an auger small enough to bore these hinges?”</p> - -<p>“I borrowed it of Uncle Isaac.”</p> - -<p>“How long have you had this in your head?”</p> - -<p>“Ever since the time you let me go over to see John. I wanted to do -something, and I thought of this.”</p> - -<p>Ben was highly gratified, not merely with the excellence of the work, -but at the evidence it afforded that Charlie had a grateful heart.</p> - -<p>Charlie knew very well that Ben’s object in sending him over with the -fish was not so much for the sake of selling the fish, and obtaining -the groceries,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">93</a></span> as to afford him an opportunity to see John, and do him -a kindness; and he longed in some way to repay it.</p> - -<p>Sally, in the mean while, had been looking with great curiosity at the -table, which was set back close against the wall, evidently covered -with dishes that contained something, which, whatever it might be, was -concealed by two large table-cloths.</p> - -<p>“What is on that table, Charles?” said she.</p> - -<p>“My! that’s guessing, mother.”</p> - -<p>He removed the cloth, and there were a chicken-pie, and two apple-pies, -and a baked Indian pudding.</p> - -<p>“Didn’t I tell you I could cook, mother?” said Charlie, greatly -delighted at her astonishment.</p> - -<p>“Well, Charlie,” said Ben, “that is as good a piece of work as any -joiner could make. You could not have employed your time better than -you have in making that sink. It will be a great help to your mother in -doing her work, and a daily convenience and comfort to all of us. There -is but one thing it lacks; that is a moulding where the closet joins -the sink, to cover the joints, and make a finish.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, father; I had not time to make that, because I wanted to get -dinner, that mother might not come home, and have to go right to -cooking the moment she got in the house.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">94</a></span> -“To make it look just right, there should be a bead on the edge, or -something of the kind; but I have no tool that it can be done with.”</p> - -<p>“I have, father; I borrowed one of Uncle Isaac.”</p> - -<p>“You must have got well into the good graces of Uncle Isaac, for he -don’t like to lend his tools. But how did you bring these tools, that I -have never seen them?”</p> - -<p>“You know when I went over to see John, Uncle Isaac sent you a bag of -apples.”</p> - -<p>“Yes.”</p> - -<p>“Well, I put them in there; and when I came to the shore I hid them in -the woods, in a hollow tree, on the western point.”</p> - -<p>“I know how you feel. I suppose you would not like very much to have -anybody see it in an unfinished state, or till you get that moulding -on.”</p> - -<p>“I shouldn’t like to have Uncle Isaac or John see it; and I should like -to get it all done, if I could, before Joe gets back, because he’s a -real judge of things, and would be apt to make some queer speech, if it -was not finished.”</p> - -<p>“Well, then, you may finish it to-morrow; and take all the time you -want, and make it as nice as you please.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">95</a></span> -“O, thank you, father; I am ever so much obliged to you.”</p> - -<p>“Come,” said Sally, “let us see what this boy’s pies and cookery tastes -like. O, you rogue! I see now what you was so anxious to get me away -from the island for. But what have you lived on, Charlie; I don’t see -as you have cooked much.”</p> - -<p>“I couldn’t afford the time to cook; so I lived on bread and milk, and -bread and butter; but I am going to make it up now.”</p> - -<p>They had a real social meal, and pronounced Charles’s cookery -excellent. They also told him all the news,—where they had been, what -they had seen, and what John was doing. They said that there was a -great quantity of alders in a little swale near the house, almost as -large as a man’s leg; that they made a real hot fire, and would burn -well when they were green; that John was cutting these, and hauling -them with his steers, on a sled, for there was snow on the main land, -though there had been none to last any time on the island. It was -often the case, that, when it was snowing on the main land, it rained -upon the island. It also, when it fell, thawed off much sooner, as -the sea-water kept the temperature down. Thus, all the snow that came -during the storm Charles was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">96</a></span> caught in, had already disappeared from -the island, while on the main John Rhines could haul wood.</p> - -<p>As Charles was in a great measure cut off from all society of his own -age, he was never happier than when working with tools, seeming to -take the greatest delight in making those things that were useful. Ben -permitted him to have the stormy days to himself, when he was always at -work at the bench, and did not set him to making shingles or staves, -except occasionally, in order that he might learn the art; for it is -quite an art to shave shingles well and fast. Joe Griffin was the boy -for that.</p> - -<p>Saturday night brought Joe, and the work in the woods was resumed.</p> - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="divider" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">97</a></span> -</div> - - -<h2><a name="viii" id="viii"></a>CHAPTER VIII.<br /> -<small>CHARLIE’S HOME LIFE AND EMPLOYMENTS.</small></h2> - - -<p><span class="smcap">Though</span> every boy, almost, in America knows that baskets are made of -ash and oak, it was an entirely new thing to Charles. However, by -the instruction of Ben, and the practice of making his sail, he had -acquired a knowledge of its properties, and how to pound and prepare it -for making baskets. By pounding an ash or oak log the layers of wood -may be made to separate, and then the end being started with a knife, -they may be run into long, thin strips, suitable for the purpose.</p> - -<p>In stormy days he pounded and prepared his material, and in the long -winter evenings that were now approaching, he wove it into baskets, as -he sat and chatted with the rest before the blazing fire. He made them -beautifully, too; some of them open, and others with covers.</p> - -<p>“Well, Charlie,” said Joe, as he sat watching him, “you are a workman -at basket-making, any how.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">98</a></span> -“I ought to be,” said he, “for I have worked enough at it; but in our -country they don’t make them of such stuff as this.”</p> - -<p>“What do they make them of?”</p> - -<p>“Sallies,” replied Charles.</p> - -<p>“Sallys! they must be a barbarous people to cut women up to make -baskets of. What makes them take Sallys? why don’t they take Mollys and -Bettys, too; it ain’t fair to take all of one name.”</p> - -<p>“It is not women,” said Charlie, laughing, “but a kind of wood.”</p> - -<p>“Is it a tree?”</p> - -<p>“It will grow into a small tree; but they cut it every year, and take -the sprouts. It grows in rows, just as you raise corn, and just as -straight and smooth as a bulrush, without any limbs, only leaves. They -peel it, and the leaves all come off with the bark, and leave a smooth, -white rod—some of them eight feet long. If they become ever so dry, -and you throw them into water, they will become tough as before. If I -only had sallies, I could make a basket that would hold water, and the -handsomest work-baskets for mother that ever was, and color them if I -could get the dye-stuffs. When we make farm-baskets and hampers, we -leave the bark on; but when we make nice<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">99</a></span> baskets, we peel it off. We -call this whitening them.</p> - -<p>“We also strip it into stuff as thin as a shaving, to wind round the -handles of nice baskets and fancy things, and call it skein work, -because this thin stuff is made up into skeins, for use like yarn.”</p> - -<p>“What does it look like?” said Ben.</p> - -<p>“It has a long, narrow leaf of bluish green; and in the spring, before -anything else starts, it has a white stuff on it like cotton-wool; we -call it palm; and on Palm Sunday the people carry it to church; and if -you put a piece of it on the ground, in a wet place, it will take root.”</p> - -<p>“I know what it is. It’s what we call pussy-willow and dog-willow, but -I never thought it was tough enough to make baskets; besides, it grows -crooked and scrubby.”</p> - -<p>“Perhaps it is not like ours; but ours would not grow straight except -they were cut off. A sprout is different from a branch. Does the -willow, as you call it, grow on the island?”</p> - -<p>“Yes; down by the brook and the swamp.”</p> - -<p>“Tell us something about the folks in the old country,” said Joe. “What -else did your father do besides make baskets? Did he own any land?”</p> - -<p>“Nobody owns any land in England but the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">100</a></span> quality and the -rich esquires. Poor people don’t own anything; not even their -souls,—leastways, that is what my grandfather used to say,—for they -had to ask some great man what they ought to think. My father was a -tenant of the Earl of Bedford. My grandfather once lived by the coal -mines at Dudley, in Staffordshire. It was named after Lord Dudley Ward, -who owned extensive iron mines. Occasionally he came to visit his -property, with carriages, and servants, and livery, and a great parade. -On holidays he sometimes gave them beef and ale. These poor, simple -miners thought he was more than a man. One day when he was riding by, -the horses prancing, the people cheering, and the footmen in their red -suits, a little boy was looking on with amazement. At length he said -to his father, ‘Fayther, if God Almighty dies, who’ll be God Almighty -then?’ ‘Why, Lord Dudley Ward, you foo’.’”</p> - -<p>“Jerusalem!” said Joe Griffin; “I did not think there were any people -in this world so ignorant as that. They don’t know so much as a yellow -dog. Were the people where you lived so ignorant?”</p> - -<p>“No; they were Wesleyan Methodists, and their children were taught to -read and write. It is in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">101</a></span> the mines where the greatest ignorance is. We -lived in the fens.”</p> - -<p>“What is the fens?”</p> - -<p>“What we call the fens is the greater part of it low, flat land, which -has some time been under water; but the water has been drained off by -canals and ditches, and pumped out with windmills, and now the most of -it bears the greatest crops of any land in England. But there are some -places so low that they could not be drained.</p> - -<p>“Such was the place where we lived, which was so wet that nothing could -grow but sallies and alders. No cattle could be kept; so the people -keep geese and ducks instead. The geese and ducks are their cattle.”</p> - -<p>“But geese and ducks won’t give milk,” said Joe.</p> - -<p>“Well, some of them make out to keep a cow, and others a goat or two; -and the others get their milk where they can, or go without.”</p> - -<p>“What do these people do for a living?”</p> - -<p>“They are basket-makers and coopers. Alders grow taller and straighter -there than they do here; and they make baskets of the sallies, and -hoops both of the sallies and alders.</p> - -<p>“The fens are full of frogs, and bugs, and worms, and the fowl get -their living. We had hundreds<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">102</a></span> of geese and ducks, and picked them -three or four times a year. But the folks are poor there—them that are -poor. We hardly ever saw any meat from year’s end to year’s end.”</p> - -<p>“Couldn’t you eat your geese?”</p> - -<p>“Eat our geese! No, indeed; they had to be sold to pay the rent.”</p> - -<p>“Rent for living in a quagmire! I should think you ought to be paid for -living there.”</p> - -<p>“Rent! yes; and high rent, too. Why, there’s tallow enough in that -candle on the table to last a fen cottager three weeks.”</p> - -<p>“I don’t see why a candle shouldn’t burn out as fast in England as -here.”</p> - -<p>“They would make that candle into ever so many rush-lights.”</p> - -<p>“What’s a rush-light?”</p> - -<p>“They take a bulrush, and take the skin off from each side down to the -white pith, leaving a little strip of skin on the edge to stiffen it, -and make it stand up,—that is for a wick; then they dip it a few times -in melted tallow, and make a light of it; but it’s a little, miserable -light.”</p> - -<p>“I shouldn’t think they could see to read by it.”</p> - -<p>“There’s but very few of them can read. They don’t have schools, as -they do here: and the poor<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">103</a></span> people can’t send their children, for so -soon as a child is big enough to open a gate, or turn a wheel, or mind -another child, run of errands, hold a horse, or scare the rooks and the -birds from the grain, they are obliged to put that child to work, in -order to live and pay rent.</p> - -<p>“Women in England spin twine and make lines with a large wheel, which a -little boy turns; and when the little boy gets tired, the woman sings -to him, to cheer him up,—</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> - <div class="poem"> - <div class="verse"> - <div class="line outdent">‘Twelve o’clock by the weaver’s watch,</div> - <div class="line indent">The setting of the sun;</div> - <div class="line">Heave away, my little boy,</div> - <div class="line indent">And you’ll leave off when you’re done.’</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class="noi">And the little boy will brighten up, and make the wheel fly, -because he’s going to leave off when he’s done.“</p> - -<p>“You are a little boy, Charlie,” said Sally, who was listening with -great attention, “to know so much about the affairs of older people.”</p> - -<p>“Ah, mother, misery makes boys sharp to learn. If you was a little boy, -and your mother had but one cow, and she churned, and you asked her -for a little piece of butter, and she said, with the tear in her eye, -‘No, my child, it must go to pay the rent;’<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">104</a></span> if you brought in a whole -hat full of eggs, and had not eaten an egg for a year, and should long -for one, O, so much, and cry, and say, ‘O, mother, do give me just one -egg!’ and she said, ‘No, my child, they must all be sold, for we are -behindhand with the rent;’ you would know what paying rent means.”</p> - -<p>“Well, Charlie, you shall have all the butter you want every time I -churn; and I’ll spread your bread both sides, and on the edges.”</p> - -<p>“I shouldn’t think,” said Joe, “a man could get a living by -basket-making. It can’t be much of a trade. Anybody can make a basket -that has got any Indian suet. I can make as good a basket as anybody.”</p> - -<p>“You can make a corn-basket or a clam-basket; but the basket-makers -make chairs, and cradles, and carriages, and fishing-creels, and -work-stands. It is as much of a trade as a joiner’s or a shoemaker’s. -There is more call for basket-work in England than here. Timber is very -scarce there. They would no more think of cutting down such a young, -thrifty ash as that I am making this basket of, than they would of -cutting a man’s head <a name="off" id="off"></a><ins title="Original has of">off</ins>; and, when they cut down a tree, they dig up -every bit of the root and use it for something, and then plant<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">105</a></span> another -one. They don’t have boxes, and barrels, and troughs to keep and carry -things in, as they do here; but it is all crates, and hampers, and -baskets, and sacks. If a man should cut a tree as big as a hoe-handle -on the Earl of Bedford’s estates, he would be transported or hung.”</p> - -<p>“It wouldn’t be a very safe place for me to go,” said Joe, “for I’ve -the blood of a great many trees on my conscience.”</p> - -<p>“They raise trees there from the seed, and plant and set out thousands -of acres. O, I wish you could only be in the fens in picking-time, I -guess you would laugh.”</p> - -<p>“Why so, Charlie?”</p> - -<p>“You see the women and children take care of the fowl. When they want -to pick them, they put on the awfulest-looking old gowns, and tie -cloths round their heads, and shut the geese and ducks up in a room, -and then take ’em in their arms and go to pulling the feathers out. -The old ganders will bite, and thrash with their wings; they will be -plastered from head to foot with feathers.</p> - -<p>“An old woman, with her black face all tanned up (for the women work in -the fields there), looks so funny peeping out of a great heap of white -feathers and down! and then such an awful squawking<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">106</a></span> as so many fowl -make! Don’t you have any lords and dukes here, father?”</p> - -<p>“No; we are all lords and dukes. We have presidents, and governors, and -folks to do our thinking for us; and if they don’t think and govern to -suit us, we pay them off, turn them out, and hire better ones.”</p> - -<p>“Who is your landlord, father?”</p> - -<p>“Mr. Welch, in Boston, till I pay him for this island.”</p> - -<p>“Who is Uncle Isaac’s, and Captain Rhines’s, and the rest of the folks -round here?”</p> - -<p>“They are their own landlords.” He then explained to the wondering boy -how it was that people in America got along, and governed themselves -without any nobility or landlords, and owned their land; that he was -now paying for his, that he might own it, and that was the reason he -came on to the island. He also told him, that in some parts of the -country land was given to people for settling on it.</p> - -<p>“What! is it their ointy-dointy, forever and ever?”</p> - -<p>“Yes; as long as they live; and then they can sell it or leave it to -their children, or give it to whom they have a mind to.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">107</a></span> -“O,” cried Charlie, jumping up, and reddening with excitement, “how my -poor father and mother would have worked, if they could have thought -they could ever have come to own land for themselves! According to -that, all that the people here do on the land they do for themselves, -and they are their own landlords.”</p> - -<p>“To be sure they are.”</p> - -<p>“Only think, to own your land, and have no rent to pay! I should think -it was just the country for poor people to live in.”</p> - -<p>“We think it is.”</p> - -<p>“I’m glad you told me all these things, father. I mean to do all I can -to help you and mother pay for the land, and by and by, perhaps, when I -get to be a man, I can have a piece of land.”</p> - -<p>“I’ll tell you what you can do, Charles. Make baskets in the evenings -and rainy days, and sell them. I will let you have all you get for -them.”</p> - -<p>“I thank you, father. I could make the house full before spring.”</p> - -<p>“I,” said Joe, “when I am not too tired, will pound some of the -basket-stuff for you. It is hard work for a boy like you.”</p> - -<p>“So will I,” said Ben. “I can pound enough in one evening to last you a -month.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">108</a></span> -“Yes,” said Joe; “you and John might form a company, and go into the -basket business—Rhines & Bell. No; the Rhines Brothers; John and you -are brothers. John could pound the basket-stuff at home, and bring it -over here; you could make them, and he could sell them to the fishermen -in the summer. They use lots of baskets. If you sell them to the store -you won’t get any money, only goods; but the fishermen will pay the -cash.”</p> - -<p>“Won’t that be nice! I tell you the very first thing I mean to have; -I’ll swap some baskets at the store, and get some cloth to make a sail -for my boat.”</p> - -<p>“I’ll cut it for you,” said Joe.</p> - -<p>“I’ll sew it,” said Sally.</p> - -<p>“And I,” said Ben, “will rope it for you (sew a piece of rope around -the edge), and show you how to make the grummet-holes.”</p> - -<p>“Then the next thing I’ll do, will be to get some powder, and, when the -birds come in the spring, I will learn to shoot and kill them, and have -feathers to sell, to help pay for the island.”</p> - -<p>“If,” said Joe, “you don’t learn to shoot till the birds come, by the -time you get learned the thickest of them will all be gone. You ought -to fire at<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">109</a></span> a mark this winter, and practise, and then when the birds -come you will not have so much to do.”</p> - -<p>“I can’t get any powder till I sell my baskets; powder and shot cost a -good deal.”</p> - -<p>“I’ll advance you the money, so that you can get a little powder and -shot. You can use peas and little stones part of the time: they will -go wild, but it will help you to get used to hearing a gun go off, and -learning to take sight, and hold her steady. Our folks will want some -baskets in the spring, and when I get through I will take them; but I -will let you have the money now.”</p> - -<p>“Thank you a thousand times! What a good country this is, and how good -everybody is!” said the happy boy. “Everybody seems to want to help me; -it ain’t so in England.”</p> - -<p>“That is because you are a good boy, and try to help yourself and -others.”</p> - -<p>“There’s one other thing I must have, because I want it to make -baskets—that is a knife.”</p> - -<p>“To be sure; a boy without a knife is no boy at all; he’s like a woman -without a tongue.”</p> - -<p>“Then I’ll have some bits, and a bit-stock, and a fine-toothed saw. O, -if I only had the tools, wouldn’t I make things for mother! I’d make -a front door, and ceil up the kitchen, and cover up<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">110</a></span> the chimney, and -make a closet, and a mantelpiece, and finish off a bedroom for father -and mother, and shingle the roof.”</p> - -<p>At this they all burst into peals of laughter.</p> - -<p>“Well, Charlie,” said Ben, “you’ve laid out work enough for five or six -years. You had better go to bed now, and all the rest of us, for it is -past ten o’clock. I am sure I don’t know where this evening has gone -to.”</p> - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="divider" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">111</a></span> -</div> - - - -<h2><a name="ix" id="ix"></a>CHAPTER IX.<br /> -<small>BEN FINDS A PRIZE.</small></h2> - - -<p><span class="smcap">The</span> next morning Charles went to look at the willows. He said they were -different from the sallies they made baskets of; that the same kind -grew in England, but they called them wild sallies there, and never -made baskets of them; but he thought if they could be made to grow -straight he could make a basket of them. So he got the axe, and cut off -a whole parcel of them, in order that they might sprout up the next -spring and grow straight.</p> - -<p>Intercourse with the main shore was so difficult and dangerous in the -winter, as there was nothing better to go in than a canoe, that Ben -went off to procure provisions and breadstuff to last him till spring. -When he returned he brought Charles powder and shot.</p> - -<p>“Father,” said Charles, “you never got all this powder and shot with -the money I gave you.”</p> - -<p>“No, Charles; I put a little to it, because I wanted to make my little -boy a present.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">112</a></span> -“Thank you, father.”</p> - -<p>“John told me that he would like very much to go into the basket -business with you, and would pound a lot of basket-stuff, and make it -all of a width, and trim the edges smooth and handsome, and get out -the rims and handles. He wants to know if you are willing to take Fred -Williams into partnership with you and him, because he wants to go in. -His father is a miller, and he can sell a good many baskets to folks -that come to the mill. Nova Scotia people often come there after corn, -and he could sell them to them, to sell again to the fishermen down -their way.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, father; I should like first rate to have him.”</p> - -<p>“John Strout is going to the West Indies this winter, and will bring -the Perseverance over here, and leave her, because she’ll be safe. John -will send basket-stuff over by him, and you can send back word whether -you will take Williams into partnership.”</p> - -<p>“I don’t know what would have become of me, if you and mother had not -taken me in. Now, John told me all about Fred. He said that he didn’t -want him to go with him and Uncle Isaac, because he knew that they -should have so much better time together; but he said one day, when<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">113</a></span> -they were off together in a boat, Uncle Isaac told him that we ought -to deny ourselves to help others, and talked to him in such a way that -he felt ashamed of himself, and couldn’t look Uncle Isaac in the face, -but had to look right down in the bottom of the boat. Since that he had -gone with Fred, and was right glad of it, for he had become a real good -boy, and he’s as smart as lightning. I saw that the day I was over to -see John.”</p> - -<p>“He has become a first-rate boy. Everybody that goes to the mill says -there is not a better, more obliging boy in town; and they are always -glad when he is in the mill, his father is so cross.”</p> - -<p>“You know I would rather be with John alone; but if he made a sacrifice -to get him good, I ought to help keep him good.”</p> - -<p>“That’s right, Charlie; that is a good principle.”</p> - -<p>“Do you know, father, it seems to me just like this about Fred. When I -get out an ash rim for a basket, it is hard work to bend it; and if, -after I have bent it, I don’t fasten it, but throw it down on the floor -and leave it, in the morning it will be straightened out just where it -was before; but if I fasten it till it gets dry and set, it will stay -so; and I think we ought to do all we can to keep Fred<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">114</a></span> good till he -gets fairly set in good ways, and then he’ll stay set.”</p> - -<p>Ben had scarcely removed the provisions from the canoe, and put it all -under cover, when the weather suddenly changed. As night came on, the -wind increased, with snow; and afterwards hauling to the south-east, -blew a hurricane, the rain falling in torrents through the night; but -at daylight hauled to the south-west, when it became fair.</p> - -<p>Ben and Joe were at work in the front room making shingles. At morning -high-water they heard a constant thumping in the direction of the White -Bull for more than an hour, when it gradually ceased. At night they -heard it again.</p> - -<p>“Joe,” said Ben, “let us take the canoe after supper, and go over and -see what that thumping is. It is not the surf, nor rocks grinding on -each other, I know.”</p> - -<p>When they reached the spot they found the bowsprit of a vessel, with -the bobstays hanging to it, having been broken off at the gammoning, -with the gripe attached to it. There was also the fore-mast and -fore-topmast, with the yards and head-stays, the mast being carried -away at the deck. The chain-plates also on the starboard side and -channels had been torn out, and hung to the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">115</a></span> shrouds by the lanyards. -On the port side there were only the shrouds and the upper dead-eyes. -The sails were on the yards, while braces, clew-garnets, clew-lines, -leach-lines, bunt-lines, and reef-tackles,—some nearly of their entire -length, others cut and parted,—were rolled around the spars, and -matted with kelps and eel-grass, in almost inextricable confusion. In -the fore-top was a chest lashed fast, and filled with studding-sail -gear, which having been fastened, the rigging remained in it. These -ropes were very long, and had been but little worn.</p> - -<p>“Well,” said Ben, looking upon the mass with that peculiar interest -that a wreck always inspires in the heart of a seaman, “I am sorry for -the poor fellows who have met with a misfortune; but this rigging, -these sails and iron-work, are a most precious God-send to me.”</p> - -<p>Iron and cordage were both very valuable articles in the country at -that time, as the British government had forbidden the erection of -rolling and slitting mills before the Revolution, and the manufactures -of the country were just struggling into life. Withes of wood were used -in lieu of ropes and chains.</p> - -<p>“The long bolts in that gripe,” said Joe, “will<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">116</a></span> make you a crane. -A few more links put to the chain on that bobstay will make you a -first-rate draught chain. The straps of the dead-eyes welded together, -and a little steel put on the point, will make a good crowbar.”</p> - -<p>But Ben had ideas, which he did not make known to Joe, very different -from the construction of cranes or crowbars. These it were which -occasioned his joy at the sight of the wreck.</p> - -<p>“These are the spars of a big ship,” said Ben; “neither the sea nor the -wind took these sticks out of her.”</p> - -<p>“How do you know that?”</p> - -<p>“Because, if the ship had gone ashore, and gone to pieces, the spars -and this gripe would have gone where she did. She never lost that mast -by the wind. If she had, the chain-plates wouldn’t be hanging to the -shrouds, for no rigging would hold to tear the channels from a ship’s -side.”</p> - -<p>“No more it wouldn’t. I never thought of that; but how did she lose it?”</p> - -<p>“She has run full splinter on to an iceberg, and struck it with her -starboard bow. An iceberg would scrub her chain off as easy as you -would pull a mitten off your hand.”</p> - -<p>“Then she went down with all hands.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">117</a></span> -“Perhaps not. I’ve seen a vessel keep up, and get into port, that had -her stem cut off within four inches of the hood ends. Look there,” -pointing to the larboard shrouds of the fore-rigging; on the dead-eyes -and the shrouds were the marks of an axe. “Somebody did that in cutting -the lanyard to let the spars go clear of the ship. They would not have -done that if she had been going down.”</p> - -<p>They built a shed of boards to put the rigging and sails under, and -yards, while Charles burnt the mast, bowsprit, and caps to get the iron.</p> - -<p>Snow having now fallen, they began to haul their spars and logs to -the beach. John Strout now came over and brought the basket-stuff, -and Charles sent word by him to John that he would like to take Fred -Williams into partnership.</p> - -<p>John brought word that Fred’s father was going to repair the mill, and -that while that was going on, Fred would like to come over and see -Charles, and learn to make baskets. Charles sent word back that it -would be agreeable to him to have him come. He was now quite excited. -Here was company coming, and nowhere for them to sleep but on the -floor. There were but two bedsteads in the house,—one in the kitchen, -where Ben and his wife slept, and the other in the front room, where<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">118</a></span> -Joe slept. This was the spare bed, and the best room, though it was -made a workshop of, and was half full of shingles and staves; but they -could do no better.</p> - -<p>Charlie, as usual, went to Sally for counsel.</p> - -<p>“I should not care for him,” said she; “I should as lief he would sleep -on the floor as not. If you give him as good as you have yourself, that -is good enough.”</p> - -<p>“But, mother, I shouldn’t want him to go home and say that he came to -see me, and had to sleep on the floor; besides, John might hear of it, -and then he wouldn’t like to come.”</p> - -<p>“John! he’d sleep on the door-steps, or a brush-heap, and think it was -beautiful. I’ll tell you; I’ll ask Joe to sleep in your bed, and let -you and Fred have the front room.”</p> - -<p>“O, no, mother! I’m afraid he won’t like it; and then he will play some -trick on us. I have thought of a plan, mother.”</p> - -<p>“Let us hear it.”</p> - -<p>“There are some yellow-birch joist up chamber, all curly, with real -handsome whorls in them. I think I could make a bedstead of them; -and then, you know, it would be my own, and we should have it if any -company came. I have got an auger<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">119</a></span> that I borrowed of Uncle Isaac, to -bore the holes for the cord, and the earings on the sails that came -ashore would make a nice cord.”</p> - -<p>“I would, Charlie; that will be a first-rate plan.”</p> - -<p>“But I don’t like to ask father for the wood. He has saved it to make -something, and perhaps I might spoil it, and not make a bedstead after -all.”</p> - -<p>“Ask him yourself. I’ll risk your spoiling the stuff. If you do, -there’s plenty more where that came from.”</p> - -<p>Charlie asked for and obtained the joist. As he didn’t want Joe to look -at and criticise him, when he saw him coming from the woods to his -meals, he put it up chamber. At length he finished making it. Then he -scraped it with a scraper made of a piece of saw-plate, and then rubbed -it with dogfish skin, which made all the curls and veins in the wood -to show, and put it in the front room for Ben and Joe to see when they -came in to dinner.</p> - -<p>“If I only had,” said Charles, “some dye-stuff, how handsome I could -make this look!”</p> - -<p>Joe told him there was a little red ochre in the schooner, which he -would get for him. This Charles mixed with vinegar, and rubbed a little -on<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">120</a></span> the wood, which brought out the beauty of the wood, and gave it a -nice color.</p> - -<p>“If I were you, Charlie,” said Ben, “I would have a sacking bottom to -your bed, instead of bare cords.”</p> - -<p>“What is that?”</p> - -<p>“Why, there is a piece of canvas that was torn from one of the sails, -take that, and make it almost large enough to fill up the bedstead; -then hem it, and make a row of eyelet-holes all around the edges, and -cord it tight into the bedstead. It will be first rate to sleep on.”</p> - -<p>“Ben, shew Charles how to sew with a sailor’s thimble, which is held in -the hollow of the hand;” and he made it and put it in.</p> - -<p>Fred now came over, and Charles taught him to set up and make a basket. -He made a good many, and burnt them up in the fire, till at length he -made one that would do. After this he got along very well.</p> - -<p>The two boys now began to fire at a mark, as Fred had brought some -powder and shot, and a gun with him. Charles, at first, shut up both -eyes when he fired, and almost dropped the gun when it went off, -and was afraid it would kick; and Fred could show him as much about -shooting as he could<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">121</a></span> Fred about basket-making; but he soon got so that -he could fire without winking, and hold the gun firm to his shoulder, -and hit a mark quite well. Then they took a block of wood, and made it -in the shape of a Whistler, and anchored it in the water, and fired -at that, as it was bobbing up and down in the water; and at length -Charles got so he could hit that twice out of four times. When they -had expended their ammunition, they took, instead of shot, peas and -gravel-stones.</p> - -<p>One day, after dinner, Charles came running into the house all out of -breath, saying there was a little child in the woods.</p> - -<p>“How do you know?” said Ben.</p> - -<p>“I have seen its tracks and its bare foot-prints in the snow. O, -father! do come and help me find it; it will freeze to death.”</p> - -<p>“It is not a child’s track, Charles.”</p> - -<p>“What is it?”</p> - -<p>“It is a raccoon track thawed out; they look like a child’s track.”</p> - -<p>“What is a raccoon, father?”</p> - -<p>“They are about twice as large as Sailor, and live in the woods on -mice, fish, and berries. I will show you one some day.”</p> - -<p>“May I shoot him; me and Fred?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">122</a></span> -“No; I want them to breed.”</p> - -<p>They now began to take what Charles called real solid comfort. The days -were short; as Ben said, only two ends to them. They had abundance of -time to sleep, and were all in full health and vigor.</p> - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="divider" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">123</a></span> -</div> - - - -<h2><a name="x" id="x"></a>CHAPTER X.<br /> -<small>HOW THEY PASSED THE WINTER EVENINGS.</small></h2> - - -<p><span class="smcap">One</span> evening they made a rousing fire. Ben got out his shoemaker’s -bench, and was tapping a pair of shoes. Boots were not worn by them; -they wore shoes and buskins.</p> - -<p>Fred and Charles were making baskets, and Joe an axe-handle, or rather -smoothing it. Sally was knitting Charles a pair of mittens. As for -Sailor, he had the cat on her back on the hearth, while he was astride -of her, trying to lick her face with his tongue, the cat keeping him -off with her paws, but when he became too familiar, would strike him -with her claws.</p> - -<p>“Charlie,” said Joe, looking up from his work, “tell us some more about -England, like as you did the other night.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, do, Charlie,” said Fred. “Was your father a cooper? You said they -made hoops of willow and alder.”</p> - -<p>“No; he was a basket-maker, and so were all<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">124</a></span> my folks—my grandfather -and great-grandfather. We cannot remember when our folks were not -basket-makers. But then, as I have told you, we mean by basket-makers -those who work with sallies, and make all kinds of things with -it. My mother’s brother made a tea-set, and presented it to the -queen,—plates, and cups and saucers, and tea and coffee pots, and -tumblers. Of course they were only to look at; but they were just as -beautiful as they could be, and all colored different colors, like -china. He was four years about it, at spare times, when he could leave -his regular work that he got his living by. My father employed four or -five men, and we paid our rent, and got along quite comfortable, till -my father was pressed.”</p> - -<p>“Pressed!” said Fred; “what is that?”</p> - -<p>“Why, in England, they are in war-time always short of men in the navy; -and then they take them right in the street, or anywhere, and put them -by force into the men-of-war, to serve during his majesty’s pleasure. I -have heard people say that means during the war; and that as England is -always at war with somebody, it was the same as forever. That is what -pressing means.”</p> - -<p>“A cruel, barbarous thing it is, too,” said Ben, “and ought to bring a -curse on any government.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">125</a></span> -“They press sailors generally,” said Charles; “but when they are very -short of men they will take anybody they can get hold of. I have heard -say they couldn’t press a squire’s son, or a man that owned land, and -that they can’t go into a man’s house to take him; but, if they catch -him outside, or going into the door, they will take him.”</p> - -<p>“Can they take any of the quality?”</p> - -<p>“No, indeed! all the misery comes on the poor in England.”</p> - -<p>“I shouldn’t think,” said Fred, “that a poor man would dare to go out -of doors.”</p> - -<p>“Well, they don’t; leastways, in the night, when the press-gang is -about. There was one time (I have heard my mother tell of it) when they -were pressing blacksmiths.”</p> - -<p>“What did they want of blacksmiths?”</p> - -<p>“She said at that time they took blacksmiths and rope-makers, calkers, -and shipwrights, and set them at work in the dock-yards on foreign -stations, where they were building and repairing men-of-war. My uncle -was a blacksmith; he had been warned that the press-gang were about, -and was on his guard. But one night, just as he was getting into bed, -there was a cry of murder right at his door-step. He ran out to help, -and there was a man<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">126</a></span> lying on the flags, and two others striking at -him. The moment my uncle came out, the man who was crying murder jumped -up, and all three of them rushed upon my uncle. It was the press-gang -making believe murder to get him out of doors. He caught hold of the -scraper on the step of the door, and cried for help. My aunt ran out -and beat the press-gang with her broom, and the people in the block -flung coals, and kettles, and anything they could lay their hands on, -upon their heads. One woman got a tea-kettle of hot water, and was -going to scald the press-gang; but she couldn’t without scalding my -uncle. The people now rose, and came rushing from all quarters; but the -police came, too, to help the press, and marines from the guard-house -with cutlasses and pistols. His wife clung to him, and his children, -and cried as though their hearts would break; but they put handcuffs on -him, and dragged him away, all bleeding, and his clothes torn off in -the scuffle.”</p> - -<p>“What a bloody shame!” cried Ben, his face assuming that terrible -expression which Charles had seen on it when the encounter between -him and the land-pirates took place. “I wish I had been there; I’d -have given some of them sore heads. But they are not so much to blame, -after<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">127</a></span> all. It is those that make the laws, and that set the press-gang -at work. I should like to wring their necks for them.”</p> - -<p>“I shouldn’t think,” said Joe, “such men would fight very well for the -government that used them so.”</p> - -<p>“They don’t,” said Ben; “and they dare not trust them; but they scatter -them through the ship, a few in every mess, and put them where they can -watch them. I was taken once by an English man-of-war. They put a prize -crew on board of us; part of them were pressed men. We rose and retook -her; the pressed men all joined us, and went into our army.”</p> - -<p>“I should have thought they would have gone into the privateers or -men-of-war.”</p> - -<p>“They thought they were less likely to be taken again in the army, -for if the English had got hold of them, they would have hung them. -They told me that whenever they got into action with a French vessel, -they threw the shot overboard, if they could get a chance, instead of -putting it in the guns, in order that they might be taken; and that -they sometimes revenged themselves by shooting their officers in the -smoke and heat of the action.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">128</a></span> -“I should think the officers would keep a bright look out for them.”</p> - -<p>“So they do; and are very careful not to go under the tops, and keep -well clear of the masts, lest a marline-spike should come down on their -heads, or a block unhook, or a heaver fall, as accidents of that kind -were very apt to happen when pressed men were aloft. I don’t believe a -man could be so on his guard that I could not kill him in the course of -a three years’ cruise, if I wanted to, and appear to do it by accident, -too.</p> - -<p>“I have seen hundreds of these men, and they all tell the same story. -I’ve seen a poor fellow who was pressed when he was nineteen; his -mother was a widow, and he was her sole dependence. I’ve seen him, when -he was telling me the story, jump up and smite his hands together, -while the tears ran down his cheeks, and pray God to curse that -government, and hope that he might live to see its downfall; but I -never heard them curse the country; they seemed to love that; it was -the government they hated and cursed.”</p> - -<p>“Was your father pressed when your uncle was?” said Joe.</p> - -<p>“No; about four months after.”</p> - -<p>“Tell us about that, Charles,” said Sally.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">129</a></span> -“I don’t like to tell or think about it; but I will tell you. At the -time my uncle was taken, it made a great noise. People were very much -frightened, and kept very close, never going out in the evening if they -could help it.”</p> - -<p>“I don’t see,” said Ben, “in a country where the law allowed them to -seize people in the street, and carry them off, why they could not go -into the house and take them.”</p> - -<p>“Perhaps they could; but that was what folks said, that an -‘Englishman’s house was his castle,’ and they couldn’t come into the -house to take them, and they never did. We didn’t think they would -press my father, because he was neither a rope-maker nor carpenter; -but they were short of men, and all was fish that came to their net. -Nevertheless, we kept such strict watch that my father would not have -been taken; but he was sold to them by a blood-seller.”</p> - -<p>“What is a blood-seller?” said Sally.</p> - -<p>“A man that will go to the captain of the press-gang, and tell him -where he can find a man, and how he can get hold of him; and they get -paid for it.”</p> - -<p>“O, that is the meanest, wickedest thing I ever did hear tell of.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">130</a></span> -“It is often done in England, though; but this man didn’t do it for -money.”</p> - -<p>“What did he do it for?”</p> - -<p>“He and my father courted mother when they were both young men; but she -liked my father best, and married him. He always hated my father after -that; told lies about him, killed his geese, and tried to injure him in -his business. But when he found the press-gang were about, he thought -if he could sell him to them, and get him out of the way, mother would -marry him.”</p> - -<p>“He must have been a fool, as well as a villain, to think a woman would -marry a man that did that.”</p> - -<p>“But he did not think that would ever be known; but it came out. He -knew that my father had engaged to make cases for the army to carry -instruments in.”</p> - -<p>“What are they?”</p> - -<p>“Why, little square baskets, with partings in them, and covered with -leather, to put the doctors’ things in. They are so light that a man -can carry them on his back just like a knapsack.</p> - -<p>“My father set out from home, to go to the government workshop, long -before daylight, that the press-gang might not see him; he had about -four miles to go. If he could only get there, and put<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">131</a></span> his name on the -roll, he would be safe, as then he would have a passport given him to -go and come, and the press couldn’t touch him. He could make better -wages working at home, but my mother persuaded him to work for less -wages, for the sake of being safe.</p> - -<p>“The blood-seller knew all about this, and told the press-gang. He was -in sight of the workshop, and hurrying on with all his might, when four -men jumped out from a hedge and seized him,—one of whom put his hand -on his shoulder, and told him he must go and serve in the navy during -his majesty’s pleasure. Before daylight he was out of sight and hearing -of everybody that knew him.”</p> - -<p>“Poor man,” said Sally, “when he was almost in safety.”</p> - -<p>“But how did you know what had become of him?” said Joe.</p> - -<p>“He was going to board with his cousin, and come home Saturday nights. -They looked for him till the middle of the week, and, when he didn’t -come, his cousin came over to our house, and said to mother, ‘Where is -John? I thought he was going to work for the army.’</p> - -<p>“‘He went from here at three o’clock last Monday morning.’</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">132</a></span> -“‘He has not been at our house, nor at the workshop, for I have been to -see.’</p> - -<p>“‘Not been at your house! Why, he told me he was going to enter his -name on the roll, and be mustered in, and get his protection, and then -go to your house to dinner.’</p> - -<p>“‘My God! then the press-gang have got him!’</p> - -<p>“As he uttered these awful words, my mother screamed out, ‘The thing -that I greatly feared has come upon me,’ and fell senseless on the -hearth. We children thought she was dead.”</p> - -<p>“Poor soul,” cried Sally, “how she must have suffered! Your cousin -ought to have broke it to her more gently. But what did you do then?”</p> - -<p>“He put her on the bed, and called some women that lived over the way, -and they brought her to. All her folks and friends came to see her, and -tried to comfort her, and told her that perhaps he had gone on some -unexpected business, and would return; and that even if he was pressed, -he might be discharged when the war was over.”</p> - -<p>“How long before you found out what become of him?”</p> - -<p>“In about ten days my mother had a letter from him. It was all blotted -over with tears. He said he was on board the hulk at Sheerness, and -that if<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">133</a></span> we came quick we could see him, as he might be ordered away at -any time.”</p> - -<p>“What is a hulk?” said Fred.</p> - -<p>“It is an old man-of-war, not fit for service, and made a prison-ship -of, to keep the men in till they want them in the ships they are going -in. My grandfather went with us to the ship; there we found him with -two thousand more men.”</p> - -<p>“O, my!” said Sally; “were all these poor men pressed?”</p> - -<p>“No; my father said most of them were sailors who had shipped of their -own accord. He was so pale and heart-broken I should have hardly known -him. He wanted to be cheerful, and comfort us, but he couldn’t. The -tears ran down his cheeks in spite of him.</p> - -<p>“He took my mother in his arms, and said, ‘My poor Nancy, what will -become of you and these little ones, now they have no father to earn -them bread, and keep want from the door; and poor old father, too, that -when we had food always had part of it.’ Little William, who was just -beginning to go alone, clung around his neck, and sobbed as if his -heart would break.</p> - -<p>“‘We shall be at home, John, among friends; but you are going among -strangers into battle, to be exposed to the dangers of the seas.’</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">134</a></span> -“They now told us we must part, for we had been together two hours, -though it seemed to us but a few moments. We had to see and talk with -him right amongst a crowd of men: some were swearing, some wrangling, -and some laughing and talking, for the sailors seemed to be as merry -as could be, and in their rough way tried to cheer us up. Father asked -my grandfather to pray with him before they parted; and when my father -told some of the sailors what he was going to do, they went among the -rest, and it was so still that you might have heard a pin drop. I saw -tears in the eyes of many of them when we went away, and they said, -‘God bless you, old father!’ in a real hearty way, to my grandfather, -and shook hands with him.”</p> - -<p>“Sailors are rough men,” said Ben, “for they live on a rough element, -and see rough usage; but there was not a sailor in all that ship’s -company would have betrayed his shipmate, as that blood-seller did your -father.”</p> - -<p>“While we were on board the guard-ship, one of the marines told my -father who it was that betrayed him to the press-gang, for he overheard -him talking with the captain about it.</p> - -<p>“It was bitter parting. We never expected to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">135</a></span> see him again, and we -never did; for it was but a few months after that when he was killed in -battle.”</p> - -<p>“What did your mother do,” said Ben, “when she heard that your father -was dead?”</p> - -<p>“At first she took to her bed, and seemed quite heart-broken. After a -while she kind of revived up, and said it was her duty to take care -of us, for father’s sake. Then she hired men, and went into the shop -herself; and the neighbors and our relations helped us cut and whiten -the sallies, and pick the fowl, and we made out to pay the rent, and -were getting along very well, when there came a new trouble.”</p> - -<p>“What was that?”</p> - -<p>“Why, this same man, Robert Rankins, that sold my father, began to -come into the shop, and make us presents, and help us, and finally -asked my mother to marry him; but she spit in his face, and called him -a blood-seller, and told him what he had done to my father; but still -he would come; when, to be rid of him, she put the children among my -father’s folks, and took me and came to the States; and the rest you -know,” said the boy, his voice shaking with the feelings which the -recital called up.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">136</a></span> -Charlie’s stories were not all so sad as these. Many of them caused -them all to laugh till their sides ached.</p> - -<p>“How did you get your living, Charles,” said Ben, “before you shipped -with the pirates in the shaving mill?”</p> - -<p>“I ran of errands, and piled up wood on the wharves, picked up old -junk round the wharves and sold it, and went round to the doors of the -houses and sung songs; did everything and anything that I could get a -copper by, except to beg and steal. I never did beg in my life, but -sometimes I thought I must come to it or starve.”</p> - -<p>“Sing me a song, do, Charlie,” said Fred.</p> - -<p>“Some other time, Fred, I will; but not to-night. I have been talking -about things that make my heart ache, and I don’t feel like it.”</p> - -<p>If Charles could tell them many things that were new and interesting, -they could equal him in all these respects. Joe could tell him stories -of logging, camp-life in the woods, and hunting; Ben, of the seas and -privateering.</p> - -<p>Charlie was exceedingly curious and inquisitive in respect to -everything that related to the Indians. He had read and heard a great -many stories about them in his own country, from old<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">137</a></span> soldiers that had -been in the British armies, and of whom every village and hamlet had -its share, and who had fought in all the Old French and Indian wars; -but he had never seen a savage, or any of their work.</p> - -<p>“They are the fellows for making baskets,” said Joe, “and they can -color them too.” Then he told him about their canoes of birch bark.</p> - -<p>Ben showed him a pair of snow-shoes, and put them on, and a pair of -moccasons worked with beads.</p> - -<p>Sally showed him a box made of birch wood, covered with bark, and -worked with porcupine quills of different colors—blue, white, and -green.</p> - -<p>“Where did they get the colors?” said Charles.</p> - -<p>“Out of roots and barks, that no one knows but themselves.”</p> - -<p>“What color are they?” said Charles.</p> - -<p>“Just the color of that,” said Joe, taking a copper coin from his -pocket.</p> - -<p>But he was the most of all delighted when he discovered that Uncle -Isaac had lived among them, and knew all their ways, and promised -himself that he would have many a good time talking with him.</p> - -<p>“You must get the right side of Uncle Isaac if you want Indian -stories,” said Joe.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">138</a></span> -“I guess he has done that already,” replied Ben, “or he never would -have lent him his tools. Uncle Isaac don’t lend his tools to everybody. -If you only knew the secret of the Indian colors, Charles, you might -make your bedstead look gay.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, father, and not cost a penny either. I would color the sacking -bottom green; no, red; no, blue, I think, would look the handsomest.”</p> - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="divider" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">139</a></span> -</div> - - - -<h2><a name="xi" id="xi"></a>CHAPTER XI.<br /> -<small>BEN REVEALS HIS LONG-CHERISHED PLAN TO HIS FATHER.</small></h2> - - -<p><span class="smcap">The</span> spring was now approaching. Ben had a large amount of lumber cut; -but, as the spars had been pretty well culled out before, much the -greater proportion of it was logs, fit only for boards. He might have -cut more spars, but he did not mean to clear any more of the island -than was needed for pasture and tillage, if he could possibly avoid it.</p> - -<p>He had already realized a good deal of money by running some risk, -when he took his spars to Boston, and saved nearly all the expense of -transportation. But he now had determined upon a still more adventurous -plan, which he had been revolving in his mind, and preparing for all -the previous summer, and during the winter.</p> - -<p>This was no less than to take his boards to the West Indies in a raft, -or rather to make them carry themselves. For this reason he had brought -his boards back from the mill, and stuck them up to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">140</a></span> dry, instead of -selling them there, as he might have done. It was for this reason that -he cut the cedar, and piled it up to dry, that it might be as light as -possible.</p> - -<p>But to encounter the tremendous seas of the Gulf Stream, and keep such -an enormous body of timber together in a sea way, was quite a different -matter from going to Boston on a raft. Still the gain was in proportion -to the risk.</p> - -<p>“If,” reasoned Ben, “men can go thirty miles up the rivers, cut logs, -raft them down, manufacture them into boards, take them to Portland, -Boston, or Wiscasset, sell them to another party, pay wharfage, pay for -handling them over two or three times, freight them to the West Indies, -and then make money, how much could a man make who cut them at his own -door, made them into boards at a tithe of the expense, transported them -at a trifling expense compared with the others, and sold them in the -same market!”</p> - -<p>Ben did not lack for mechanical ability and contrivance, and was equal -to any emergency. He believed he had devised a plan to hold the timber -together, and put it into a shape to be transported.</p> - -<p>But another and more embarrassing question was, who would go as -captain of the strange craft? He<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">141</a></span> could think of no one who possessed -sufficient capacity as a seaman and navigator, and who would be willing -to take the risk, but John Strout; but John was liable to get the worse -for liquor, and therefore would not do.</p> - -<p>“What a fool a man is,” said Ben to himself, “to make a beast of -himself with rum! Now, there is John Strout, as capable, noble-hearted -a fellow, and as good a seaman and navigator, as ever stepped on a -vessel’s deck, and likes to go to sea, which I never did (only went to -get money), poking about these shores in a fisherman, when he might be -captain of as fine a ship as ever swum, kept down by rum, and nothing -else. I wish Sally would let me go. I am a good mind to ask her.”</p> - -<p>Ben at length became so possessed with the idea, that, unable any -longer to keep it to himself, he broached it to his father, fully -expecting to be ridiculed, when, to his utter astonishment, the old -seaman said, “I think it can be done, Ben. I see no difficulty but what -can be got over;” and, as usual with him, forgetting all the risk in -the profits of the adventure, exclaimed, “What a slap a fellow could -make, hey! Ben, if he only gets there. The Spaniards are hungry for -lumber, for they have been kept short through the war.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">142</a></span> -“But the greatest difficulty of all is, who will go as master? You know -I promised Sally not to go to sea. I won’t break it.”</p> - -<p>“No difficulty at all, Ben. I’ll go myself.”</p> - -<p>“You go, father!”</p> - -<p>“I go? Yes; why not? I guess I haven’t forgot the road; I’ve travelled -it often enough. I never promised my wife that I’d stay at home, only -that I’d try; and I have tried bloody hard, and I can’t. I thought I -was worn out, but I find I ain’t. I’m live oak and copper-fastened. -I’ve got rested and refitted, and am about as good as new. She can’t -sink, that’s a sure case; and I’m sure she can’t spring a leak. -She’ll be like the Mary Dun Dover the old salts tell about,—three -decks and nary bottom, with a grog-shop on every jewel-block, and -a fiddler’s-green on every yard-arm. She’ll be like the Irishman’s -boots,—a hole in the toe to let the water in, and another in the heel -to let it out; so there will be no pumping.”</p> - -<p>It is often the case in our plans that one prominent difficulty -prevents for the time all considerations of others, which being -removed, the lesser ones present themselves. It was thus with Ben. At -first the great difficulty was to find a master; now others presented -themselves.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">143</a></span> -“Can you sell a cargo of lumber for money? Won’t you have to take sugar -or molasses? They all do; and then you will have no way to get it home, -without costing more than it is worth, for you will have to pay just -what freight they have a mind to ask.”</p> - -<p>“The Spaniards have got money enough; your lumber is of an extra -quality, and if you offer it a little less for cash, there will be no -trouble. They will jump at it like a dolphin at a flying-fish. You can -afford to sell it a good deal less, and then make your jack.”</p> - -<p>“Do you think you can get men to go in such a craft?”</p> - -<p>“Go? yes. These boys round here will go to sea on a shingle with me. -John Strout will go for mate, to begin with. I tell you, my boy,” -slapping him on the back, “you’ve hit the nail on the head this time. -Only think what the doubloons will be worth here, where it takes five -dollars of our Continental money to buy a mug of flip. If you offered -Mr. Welch the gold, he would discount the interest on your debt, and -part of the principal, and be glad of the chance. Suppose you should -take the gold, and go to the farmers, who haven’t seen any hard money -this ten years,—think you wouldn’t get your corn, wheat, and meat -cheap!”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">144</a></span> -Our readers will bear in mind, that in the war of the Revolution the -Continental Congress issued bills that became depreciated, so that at -the close of the war they were not worth much more than the rebel money -in the Secession war; and Captain Rhines’s statement that it took five -dollars of it to buy a mug of flip, was literally true.</p> - -<p>Some of the soldiers, who were paid off in this currency, were so -enraged when they found how worthless it was, that they tore it up and -threw it away; but wealthy and far-seeing men bought it of the soldiers -for a song, kept it till it was redeemed, and thus became immensely -rich.</p> - -<p>This will explain to our young readers why it was that the people were -put to such shifts to get along; had to use withes for chains and -ropes, make their own cloth and dye-stuffs, and resort to all kinds of -contrivances to get along; because, although the country after the war -was filled with foreign goods of all kinds, none but the wealthiest had -any money to buy them with; and the wealthy people were very few indeed.</p> - -<p>Almost all the trade was by barter—swapping one thing for another. -Rum, coffee, and sugar were more plenty on the seaboard than anything -else, because they could exchange lumber for them<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">145</a></span> in the West Indies. -Lumber, too, was sold to the English vessels for money, in the form of -spars, and ton-timber ten inches square, which led the people to work -in the woods to the neglect of the soil—a thing which, as we shall see -by and by, Ben took advantage of.</p> - -<p>“I can tell you, my boy,” continued the captain, “your going to Boston -with the spars wasn’t a priming to this; there’s money in it; I know -there is.”</p> - -<p>Ben then told his father about the wreck of the masts and spars that -came ashore. “Isn’t that a God-send, now?”</p> - -<p>“What sails were they?”</p> - -<p>“A fore-course, fore-topsail, fore-topmast staysail, and -fore-topgallant yard, with the sail on it, and almost the whole of the -topsail halyards, with both blocks.”</p> - -<p>“They will make glorious throat-halyards. Were the shear-poles wood or -iron?”</p> - -<p>“Iron.”</p> - -<p>“They will be first rate to cut up for bolts. Now, Ben, you get your -logs to the mill, and get them sawed, and the boards home; and when the -weather comes a little warmer, I’ll hire somebody to work on the farm -with John, and I’ll come over<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">146</a></span> to the island, and we will put her right -through. I can hew and bore, but you must be master-carpenter. When it -comes to making sails and fitting rigging, I can do that, or we’ll do -it between us.”</p> - -<p>Ben now dismissed all misgivings. He knew that his father was at home -in all kinds of craft, from a canoe to a ship; had stowed all manner -of cargoes; and having from boyhood been flung upon his own resources, -was fertile in expedients. The quickness of decision manifested by the -captain was by no means an indication of superficial knowledge, but his -mind was quick in all its movements; and all seafaring matters had been -with him subjects of mature thought and practical experience from early -life, and his judgment was equal to his resolution.</p> - -<p>In short, he belonged to that class of men called lucky, which was one -reason why men liked to go with him. In all his going to sea, he had -never lost a man overboard.</p> - -<p>“The greatest difficulty I see,” said Ben, “is keeping the timber -together, and high enough out of water to keep the sea from breaking -over her; but I think I have found a way, for I have been studying upon -it more than six months.”</p> - -<p>He then told his father how he meant to build<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">147</a></span> the raft, or craft, -whichever it might be called, which he highly approved. In maturing his -plan, Ben had fixed upon the summer as the best time in which to make -the voyage, as the winds were then moderate; but his father dissented -from this entirely. “In the first place,” said he, “if the winds in the -summer are light, they are more likely to be ahead; and such a thing -as that will not work to windward; and, if you heave her -<a name="to" id="to"></a><ins title="Original has too">to</ins>, she will -make leeway at a great rate; all her play will be before the wind, or -with the wind on the quarter. October is a better month than July or -August; then we always have northerly or north-west winds. We might -take a norther that would shove us across the gulf. The summer is a bad -time on account of the yellow fever, and men will not be so willing to -go.”</p> - -<p>“I see, father, it’s just as you say; besides, there is another thing I -did not consider; we cannot get canvas to put sail enough on her to do -much without a fair, or nearly fair, wind.”</p> - -<p>“Just so, Ben.”</p> - -<p>“There is another reason, father. The boards that are sawed this -spring, having all summer to season, will be dry and light, and the -craft will not be half so deep in the water, which will be a great -thing.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">148</a></span> -“I guess it will; for the most danger will be of the sea overtaking and -breaking on her. In the fall of the year,” said the captain, “there -will be fowls, potatoes, and other things we can carry as a venture, -that will help pay expenses.”</p> - -<p>When their deliberations became known to Mrs. Rhines, she was by no -means pleased with the turn matters had taken. “I thought, Benjamin,” -she said, with a reproachful look, “that after you had been gone almost -all the time since we were married, you would stay at home with your -family, and make my last days happy, and not go beating about at sea -in your old age, when you’ve got a good home, and enough to carry you -down the hill of life. I declare, I think it is a clear tempting of -Providence, after you have been preserved so many years. I shouldn’t -wonder if something should happen to you, and I don’t thank Ben for -putting it into your head. He won’t go himself, and leave Sally, but -he’ll send his old father.”</p> - -<p>“Goodness, wife! don’t take it so serious. What’s a trip to the West -Indies? just to cheat the winter, and get home to plant potatoes in the -spring. I’ll bring you home a hogshead of sugar, and you can make all -the preserves you like. I’ll bring you home guava jelly, and tamarinds, -and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">149</a></span> pine-apple preserves; and you know you like to have such things -to give to sick folks. Most all the neighborhood is sick when you have -them.”</p> - -<p>“These things are all well enough in their way,” replied his wife, -while a tear stole down her cheek, “but they cannot make up for your -absence; but I suppose it must be.”</p> - -<p>“Don’t cry, wife. I don’t want to grieve you, and I’m sure I don’t want -to leave you; but you know what a good child Ben has been to us; how -nobly he stepped forward when I was in trouble, and helped me out, and -is now feeling the want of the money he then gave me. There’s nobody -can take charge of this craft, and help him now as I can, and I think I -ought to do it.”</p> - -<p>When Ben returned from his visit to his father, he told Sally and Joe -the whole matter.</p> - -<p>“Now I know,” said Sally, “what you have been thinking about so long, -and talking about in your sleep all this winter.”</p> - -<p>“And I,” said Joe, “know what all these boards stuck up to dry, and -that cedar, mean; and what made you so delighted when all that rigging -and iron-work came ashore. I should have thought you would. Good on -your head, Ben! I’ll stand blacksmith, for I have worked most a year -in a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">150</a></span> blacksmith’s shop; and when you get her ready for sea I’ll go in -her; and, if I go, Seth Warren will go, too, for he can’t live without -me, and there will be two good corn-fed boys at any rate.”</p> - -<p>They now improved the few remaining days of winter in hauling the -remainder of the logs from the woods, and then began with all despatch -to raft them to the mill, bringing the boards back as fast as they were -sawed, and sticking them up to season. They found the Perseverance, -that lay in the cove, very convenient for towing their rafts.</p> - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="divider" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151">151</a></span> -</div> - - - -<h2><a name="xii" id="xii"></a>CHAPTER XII.<br /> -<small>THE MYSTERIOUS PIG.</small></h2> - - -<p><span class="smcap">It</span> was now the last of March. The fish-hawks and herons began -to return, and the whistlers and sea-ducks to come in on to the -feeding-grounds.</p> - -<p>Charles had business enough. He began to put in practice the lessons he -had learned in the winter, and killed four whistlers out of the first -flock that came. He launched his canoe, and began to catch rock-fish on -the points of the Bull, and a reef that lay about half a mile from the -island; he also carried a lot of baskets over to John and Fred to sell.</p> - -<p>Often in the morning, just as the day was breaking, Ben and Sally would -be awakened from sleep by the report of Charlie’s gun, as at that time -the fowl began to come from outside, where they had passed the night -sleeping on the water, to their feeding-grounds round the ledges.</p> - -<p>Old Mr. Smullen’s black and white sow had twelve pigs. Ben heard of it, -and determined to have one of them. Charlie heard him talking about<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152">152</a></span> it -with Sally. A few days after he went to Sally, and said, “Mother, you -know that money that I got for baskets the other day?”</p> - -<p>“Yes.”</p> - -<p>“I was going to buy some cloth, and have you make me a sail for my -boat; but I mean to take the money and buy one of Mr. Smullen’s pigs -for father.”</p> - -<p>“O, Charlie, I never would do that. You know how you have been looking -forward all winter long to having a sail to your boat, and how that -birch-bark sail plagues you; it is always ripping out, and coming to -pieces, and you have to keep making it over. Ben can buy the pig well -enough.”</p> - -<p>“But, mother, you know how good father is to me; just as good as he -can be. He often lets me go over and see John, when I know he needs me -at home, and got all that powder and shot; and he needs every penny to -pay for the island, because he has to pay the interest to Mr. Welch, -and that, you know, is just the same as paying rent. O, that’s an awful -sound! The rent day is dreadful.”</p> - -<p>“But, Charlie, it isn’t so here, and Mr. Welch is not like your -old-country landlords.”</p> - -<p>“Do let me do it, mother. I have made you a sink, and a press-board, -and a rolling-pin, and a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153">153</a></span> great wooden spoon, and a bread-trough; but I -have never made father anything.”</p> - -<p>“Well, Charlie, you are a good boy, and you may do as you wish.”</p> - -<p>“Mother, you mustn’t tell him. I want to get the pig and put him in the -sty before he knows anything about it.”</p> - -<p>“I don’t see how you are going to work to leave the island, and get a -pig, and he never know it.”</p> - -<p>“O, mother, when a boy gets anything in his head, he is bound to do it, -by hook or by crook.”</p> - -<p>That very day, when Ben came in to dinner, he said, “Sally, we ought -to have that pig to eat the milk. It is too bad to throw away all the -skim-milk and buttermilk. I guess I must take time and go over to-night -and get him.”</p> - -<p>“I wouldn’t go to-night, Ben; you will be going with a raft next week, -and I can save the milk till then.”</p> - -<p>That night, as soon as the rest were asleep, Charles crept down stairs -barefoot, and, sitting down on the door-step, put on his shoes and -stockings. He then got into his canoe, and pulled across the water -for Captain Rhines’s. When he reached the house Tige was lying on the -door-step; the old dog knew Charlie, and came towards him, stretching<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">154</a></span> -himself, yawning, and wagging his tail. “Good dog,” said Charlie, -patting him on the head. Tige held out his paw to shake hands. Charlie -knocked at the door, while the dog stood by him. Captain Rhines put his -head out of the window to inquire who was there.</p> - -<p>“It’s Charlie.”</p> - -<p>“Is anybody sick?”</p> - -<p>“No, sir; but I want to see John.”</p> - -<p>“What do you want of John, this time of night?”</p> - -<p>Charlie told him. The captain called John, and in a few moments the -boys were hurrying off for Smullen’s, where they called the old man -out of bed, and got the pig, and Charlie was soon on his return to the -island. He put the pig in the pen, and creeping up stairs as still as a -mouse, got into bed just as the gray light was beginning to break.</p> - -<p>As they were eating breakfast they heard a strange sound.</p> - -<p>“Hark! what noise is that?” said Ben.</p> - -<p>“It sounds like a pig squealing,” said Joe.</p> - -<p>“But we haven’t got any pig.”</p> - -<p>“I guess it’s a fish-hawk,” said Charles, scarcely able to contain -himself at beholding the puzzled look of Ben and Joe.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_155" id="Page_155">155</a></span> -In a few moments a louder and shriller sound arose. “It’s a pig, as I’m -a sinner!” exclaimed Joe. Ben rushed out of doors, following the sound, -to the sty, where was a bright little black and white pig, about eight -weeks old.</p> - -<p>“O, what a beauty!” cried Charlie; “I am so glad. Where do you suppose -he came from, father?”</p> - -<p>“That is what I should like to know.”</p> - -<p>“It came from Uncle Jonathan Smullen’s sow, I know,” said Joe; “for -it’s just the color, and about the right age. I don’t believe but he -brought it on, and is round here somewhere now.”</p> - -<p>“He’s too old a man to come on here alone; besides, he never would -leave the island without first coming to the house to get something to -wet his whistle.”</p> - -<p>“Didn’t Uncle Isaac,” said Sally, “know that you were going to have a -pig of Smullen?”</p> - -<p>“Yes; for I sent word to Smullen by him to save me one.”</p> - -<p>“Perhaps he and Uncle Sam have gone over to Smutty Nose, or somewhere, -gunning, and brought the pig; they didn’t like to disturb us before -day, and so put him in the pen.”</p> - -<p>“That’s it, Sally, and they will be here to dinner.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156">156</a></span> -Ben looked in vain for Uncle Isaac all that day; no Uncle Isaac came; -but he satisfied himself with the idea that he brought the pig.</p> - -<p>The next day, as Ben was sitting after dinner smoking, Charlie came -running in, crying that the pig had got out, and run into the woods.</p> - -<p>“Then we shall never find him,” said Ben.</p> - -<p>Charlie burst into tears.</p> - -<p>“Don’t cry, Charlie. Which way did he go?”</p> - -<p>“He took right up among the brush and tree-tops, where you cut the -timber. I didn’t see him, but I heard him, and followed the sound. -There it is again.”</p> - -<p>The pig was now heard squealing among a great mass of tops of trees; -and, as they followed the sound, it grew fainter in the distance, and -finally ceased altogether.</p> - -<p>“Is there no way to get him, father?” said Charlie, with downcast -looks, while the tears stood in his eyes.</p> - -<p>“Perhaps he will come out to-night, and come round the house when he -grows hungry, and all is still. I will set a box-trap, and put some -corn in it, and we can, I think, catch him.”</p> - -<p>While they were talking they heard a squealing in the direction of the -sty, and, looking around,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157">157</a></span> saw the pig poking his nose out between the -logs, and squealing for his dinner.</p> - -<p>With a shout of joy, Charlie jumped over the fence, and caught the pig -up in his arms, and hugged him, and scratched him. “You pretty little -creature!” said he, “you shall have some dinner. I thought I had lost -you. But, father, mother, how did he get back into the pen and we never -see him?”</p> - -<p>“He never did get back; he has never been out of it.”</p> - -<p>“Then, what pig was that in the woods?”</p> - -<p>“That’s more than I know, Charles.”</p> - -<p>It was Charlie’s turn to be puzzled now, as well as the rest. They -examined the pen all round; there was not a crack large enough to let a -pig through.</p> - -<p>“I declare,” said Sally, “I’m almost frightened.”</p> - -<p>“I can’t tell what it means,” said Ben; “there’s certainly another pig -in the woods.”</p> - -<p>When Ben went to work he told Joe. Joe agreed that it was very strange. -About dark they heard it again. That night they set the trap close by -the pig-pen, and put some corn in it. “He will hear the other pig,” -said Ben, “and come out after we are all abed, and we shall catch him.”</p> - -<p>Charlie was up by daylight in the morning; the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158">158</a></span> trap was sprung. He -made sure he had caught the pig. They took the trap over into the -pen to let him out. Sally and Joe came out to look. “Father,” cried -Charlie, “only see that little rogue of a piggee, he’s lonesome. Only -look at him, father, smelling round the trap; he thinks he’s going to -have a play-fellow and bedfellow.”</p> - -<p>While Charlie was chattering away, Ben opened the trap. Charlie was -stooping down, with both hands on his knees, looking at the place where -the trap was to open. Out jumped a raccoon, right in his face, and went -over the side of the pen in an instant. Charlie was so frightened, -that, in trying to jump back, he fell on his back, and the pig snorted -and ran to his nest. The rest burst into roars of laughter. Joe was so -tickled that he lay down on the ground and rolled.</p> - -<p>Charlie got up, looking wild and frightened.</p> - -<p>“What was it, father, a wolf?”</p> - -<p>“No, Charlie, a coon. That was the creature whose tracks you saw in the -snow, and thought they were a little child’s.”</p> - -<p>“I wish I could see it. I was so startled I had no time to look. -Couldn’t I set the trap again, and catch him, and keep him, and have -him tame for a pet?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">159</a></span> -“I wouldn’t. You have got a pig, and the little calf that came the -other day. He would be apt to kill the chickens, and suck the eggs, and -be a great plague.”</p> - -<p>The next morning was one of those delightful spring mornings, which one -who has witnessed them on the shore can never forget. The trees partly -leaved, were reflected in the glassy water and fish and fowl seemed -actuated by an unusual spirit of activity. Ben told Charles it was so -calm he wanted him to go over to his father’s, and tell him that he -was going to begin to work on the timber the next day, and to ask his -mother if she would let one of the girls come over and keep house a -little while, as Sally wanted to go home and make a visit.</p> - -<p>“Well, Charlie,” said Captain Rhines, “have you come after another pig?”</p> - -<p>“No, sir; we’ve got two pigs now.”</p> - -<p>“Two pigs!”</p> - -<p>“Yes, sir; leastways when we catch one of them.”</p> - -<p>He then told him about the pig in the woods—how they tried to find -him, and set a trap for him, and caught a raccoon.</p> - -<p>“I know who the pig in the woods is,” said John; “it’s Joe Griffin; he -can talk like anybody, or<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160">160</a></span> imitate any kind of critter. It’s him, I’ll -wager my life, and he’s been making fools of the whole of you.”</p> - -<p>“I never knew he could do such things.”</p> - -<p>“But,” said the captain, “Ben and Sally do; and I should have thought -they would have taken the hint before this time. Have they found out -where the other pig came from?”</p> - -<p>“No, sir; they think Uncle Isaac brought him on when he was going -a-gunning.”</p> - -<p>“I tell you what you do, Charlie; the next time you hear the pig -squeal, you set the brush on fire (the fire won’t do any harm this time -of year), and see what comes of it.”</p> - -<p>“That I will, sir; I’ll warm his back for him.”</p> - -<p>“Did Ben say you must come right back?”</p> - -<p>“No, sir; he said it was a good ways for a boy like me to pull, but -that I might stay till afternoon; and, if the wind blew hard, stay till -it was calm.”</p> - -<p>The boys went down to the cave, because Charlie wanted to see Tige -catch sculpins and flounders. Then they sat down under the great willow -to talk, and John showed Charles the place where Tige tumbled down the -bank when Pete Clash and his crew were beating him.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161">161</a></span> -“What kind of a time did Fred have on the island?”</p> - -<p>“O, he had a bunkum time. He said he never had so good a time in his -life.”</p> - -<p>“Did he like me?”</p> - -<p>“Yes; he liked you first rate. He said he was so glad you didn’t know -how to shoot.”</p> - -<p>“What for?”</p> - -<p>“Because, he said, you knew so much more than he did, and could do -so many things, that he should have felt as if he was a fool, if he -couldn’t have shown you something.”</p> - -<p>“I can shoot now. I shot a blue-bill, and three old squaws, and -horse-headed coot last week. When I first got up I saw them in the -mouth of the brook; they were playing and diving. When they would dive, -I would run up while they were under water, till I got behind some -bushes, and then I crawled up and cut away.”</p> - -<p>“Fred told me about your bedstead,—how handsome it was,—and about the -sink; I must come over and see that. I want you to tell me what you -told Fred about the time your father was pressed; won’t you, Charlie?”</p> - -<p>“I will, John, some time when we sleep together. I don’t like to tell -you in the daytime, because it<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_162" id="Page_162">162</a></span> makes me cry, and I don’t like to cry -before folks; but in the night, when we are in bed, I’ll tell you. I -liked Fred very much, and so we all did; you tell him I said so—won’t -you?”</p> - -<p>“Yes; we’ll go over and see him after dinner; by that time the wind -will be at the eastward, and you can sail home. Fred has got some tame -rabbits.”</p> - -<p>“Where did he get them?”</p> - -<p>“Some of them are young ones the cat caught, and he got them away from -her before she hurt them; and the rest are old ones that he caught in a -trap. Are there any rabbits on the island?”</p> - -<p>“No, not one; but there’s raccoons and squirrels. Don’t you think, -there ain’t any birds there,—only the sea-fowl. Sometimes wild -pigeons, woodpeckers, robins, and blue-jays come on there, but they -fly right off again; I wish they would stay and build nests. We have -such a sight of birds in Lincolnshire! O, I wish you could hear a lark -sing! they will start from the ground, and go right up straight in the -air, singing all the way; and when you can’t see them you can hear them -sing. Why, the swallows build right in the thatch.”</p> - -<p>“Thatch! what is that?”</p> - -<p>“Why, they cover the houses with straw, instead of shingles.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_163" id="Page_163">163</a></span> -“I should think the water would run right through.”</p> - -<p>“It won’t; they’re just as tight as can be.”</p> - -<p>“Can you do it?”</p> - -<p>“Yes; I’ve helped my father mend the thatch a hundred times.”</p> - -<p>“Some time let’s make a little house, just as they do there, and you -make a straw roof.”</p> - -<p>“Well, so we will. They make houses there mostly of stone, and we can -get plenty of stones, on the island. They make bee-hives there of -straw.”</p> - -<p>At dinner-time Captain Rhines said, “Wife, you must tell Ben whether -you will let him have one of the girls.”</p> - -<p>“Indeed, if you are going on there to work, I’ve a good mind to go, -too; I ought to know how to keep house by this time.”</p> - -<p>“You never said a better thing, wife; you know how much Ben thinks of -his mother; he would be in ‘kingdom come.’”</p> - -<p>“Well, you are going away this winter, and if I thought the girls could -get along—”</p> - -<p>“Get along, mother! we’ll get along first rate,” was the unanimous -response.</p> - -<p>“But then there’s the soap; I was thinking of making soap this week.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_164" id="Page_164">164</a></span> -This was only adding fuel to the fire. Filled with the idea of making -soap, the girls were now determined she should go.</p> - -<p>“Why, mother,” said Mary, the eldest, “we can make the soap. I have -helped you make it a great many times, and if there is anything I don’t -know, I can get Mrs. Hadlock to show us. What shall we be good for, if -we are always tied to your apron-strings, and never try to do anything -for ourselves?”</p> - -<p>“Sure enough,” said the father; “’twill be a good thing for you and -John both; you can take care in the house, and he out of doors.”</p> - -<p>“I’ll set up the leach for you,” said John; “and after the soap is -made, if we have good luck, we’ll have a celebration, and make candy.”</p> - -<p>“Come, wife, make up your mind; don’t worry about the children; if -I ain’t afraid to leave the farm to John, I’m sure you needn’t be -afraid to leave the house to the girls. I’ve no idea of doing with our -John as old Peter —— did with his boy Jim. He never learnt Jim to -do anything, or contrive anything, for himself, from the time he was -hatched. ‘James,’ the old man would say in the morning, ‘do you go into -the barn-yard, and look in the north-east corner, and you will find a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_165" id="Page_165">165</a></span> -hoe; take that hoe, and go down to the western field, and begin to hoe -on the acre piece, and stick two punkin seeds in every other hill.’ -After the old man died, Jim was good for nothing, because he never knew -where to find the hoe; lost his land, and is now working out at day’s -work, and is as poor as Lazarus.”</p> - -<p>Mrs. Rhines was not at all convinced that she was of such little -consequence in the household, and that affairs could proceed so easily -without her.</p> - -<p>“There is that quilt,” she said, “that I meant to have had put into the -frames next week.”</p> - -<p>This ill-judged speech only made her absence more desirable.</p> - -<p>“O, mother!” was the unanimous cry, “we can quilt the quilt.”</p> - -<p>“There, girls, hold your tongues; you know you can do no such thing.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, mother, we can; because we can get Hannah Murch, Aunt Molly -Bradish, and Sukey Griffin, and do it first-rate.”</p> - -<p>“I want the fun of quilting it myself. Well, I will go; the quilt can -stand till I get back. Charlie, you tell Ben I’m coming to keep house -for him, but he must come after me himself, in his great canoe; I’m -a scareful creature by water; I ain’t a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_166" id="Page_166">166</a></span> bit like Mrs. Hadlock or -Sally—willing to go any where in a clam-shell.”</p> - -<p>The next morning Ben took Sally to the main land, and brought his -mother on to the island. It was a great gratification to Ben to have -his father and mother on the island, in his own home; and the hours of -relaxation from labor were seasons of heartfelt enjoyment.</p> - -<p>Charlie lost no time putting into execution Captain Rhines’s directions -in respect to the pig, having first enjoined upon them the greatest -secrecy, not even permitting them to tell Ben and Sally of his plots -and suspicions, lest Joe, who was very quick of perception, should -divine what was in store for him.</p> - -<p>In the first place, he made a fire of some old oak and maple stumps -and chips, in a hollow of the ledge, that he might have some brands at -hand whenever he might want them. A day or two passed away, and nothing -was heard of the pig. The fire smouldered away in the old roots, and -Charlie once in the while flung on fresh fuel.</p> - -<p>At length, one day, just after Joe had eaten his dinner, and gone to -work, while Ben and the captain sat down to talk a little while with -Mrs. Rhines, he heard him squealing in the midst of a great mass<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_167" id="Page_167">167</a></span> of -brush, composed of the tops of several large pines, and branches from -other trees which had been flung upon them, in clearing a road to -haul the logs. The whole mass lay up very high from the ground, and -underneath the pig was running about and squealing for dear life. The -brush, which had been cut the year before, was full of pitch, and as -apt to catch as tinder. The moment Charlie heard the noise, he ran -to the place, and began to call, “Pig, pig;” and piggy replied by -squealing with all his might.</p> - -<p>“Poor piggy, are you hungry? Wait a minute, and I will get you some -corn.”</p> - -<p>He ran to the house and got some corn in a dish, and to the fire for a -brand; he called the pig, rattled the corn in the dish with one hand, -and with the other lighted the brush in different places, as he walked -around the heap.</p> - -<p>“Chook, chook,” cried Charlie; squeal, squeal, went the pig.</p> - -<p>The cunning boy had now fired the heap in a dozen places, completely -encircling the pig. A slight breeze now sprang up as the flood tide -made, and in an instant the fire, which had been gradually making -progress, began to roar and crackle, and soon swept through the brush -in a sheet of flame.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_168" id="Page_168">168</a></span> -“Jerusalem, what is this!” bellowed a voice, and Joe Griffin leaped -out from the midst of the burning pile; the brands rolled off the back -of his woollen shirt, which was thoroughly singed, while a fox-skin -cap he wore was scorched to a crisp, as was his hair; he ran round and -round, as though he was mad, blowing his fingers (which where slightly -burned), and slapping them on his thighs, while on his face was a -mingled expression of pain, arising from the burn, and anger at being -outwitted.</p> - -<p>“Pig, pig, pig-e-e!” screamed Charlie, rattling the corn, and laughing -as though he would split between every word.</p> - -<p>“Shut up, you little brat!” cried Joe, flinging a pitch knot at him -with a good will, that, if he had not dodged, would have broken his -head.</p> - -<p>Roused by the uproar, and smelling the smoke, the whole family ran to -see what was the matter. They could not help laughing to see the figure -Joe made dancing about, and blowing his fingers.</p> - -<p>“What is the matter, Joe?” asked Ben.</p> - -<p>“The pig has bit him,” cried Charlie. “O, I wish John was here.”</p> - -<p>Joe ran off to the beach to cool his fingers.</p> - -<p>“What in the world,” said Ben, “is the reason, that when all of us have -always known what<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_169" id="Page_169">169</a></span> a mimic Joe is, that we couldn’t have thought it was -him squealing, and making such fools of us. How did you know it was -him, Charlie?”</p> - -<p>“John told me; and I don’t believe he’ll try to be pig in the brush -again.”</p> - -<p>“Father,” said Ben, “do you know whether Uncle Isaac has been on any of -the islands gunning?”</p> - -<p>“No; but I don’t believe he has fired a gun these three weeks; he’s -been too busy. Why?”</p> - -<p>“Because there’s a pig in the pen that came there we don’t know how; -all we know is, that we found him there.”</p> - -<p>“Why,” said Mrs. Rhines, looking up from her work, “Charlie got a pig.”</p> - -<p>Captain Rhines gave his wife a nudge to keep dark, but it was too late. -Ben had heard the remark, and insisted upon knowing.</p> - -<p>“Well,” said his mother, “I suppose I am telling tales out of school; -but Charlie came to our house in the middle of the night, and called -John out of bed, and they took off, as though they were possessed, to -Jonathan Smullen’s, after a pig.”</p> - -<p>“That was well planned, Charlie,” said Joe; “and I’ll forgive you for -singeing me so.”</p> - -<p>“I should never have thought of setting the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_170" id="Page_170">170</a></span> brush on fire, Mr. -Griffin, if Captain Rhines had not told me to.”</p> - -<p>“We are square now, Joe,” said the captain; “your scorching will do to -offset the fright you gave me, when I thought I had shot Ben, having -put one bullet through the window, and the other into a milk-pan of -eggs, on the dresser.”</p> - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="divider" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_171" id="Page_171">171</a></span> -</div> - - - -<h2><a name="xiii" id="xiii"></a>CHAPTER XIII.<br /> -<small>A NOVEL CRAFT.</small></h2> - - -<p><span class="smcap">John</span> Strout now came from the West Indies, and went to work with them. -He brought home tamarinds, guava jelly, and other good things for -Sally; a hat made of palm-leaf for Ben, and some shells for Charlie. -He also brought Ben a cocoanut to keep liquor in; the end of it, where -the eyes are, was made in the shape of a negro’s face; the two little -round places, where we bore to let the milk out, serving the purpose of -eyes, with eyebrows cut over them, and filled with some red matter; in -the mouth was a lead pipe to drink from; large ears were also made, and -a nose; the figure looked somewhere between a monkey and a negro, funny -enough, and was full of rum. He also brought them home twenty-five -pounds of coffee, and a hundred weight of sugar.</p> - -<p>Charlie was very much puzzled to know how the meat was got out of the -shell without breaking it. John told him that he bored the hole for the -mouth,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_172" id="Page_172">172</a></span> and then turned the milk out, filled it with salt water, and -set it in the sun, when, the meat decaying, he washed it all out; then -scraping the outside with a knife and piece of glass, oiled it, and -made the face with an old file, which he ground to a sharp point.</p> - -<p>Ben and Joe now commenced their craft, laying the keel on the beach, -making the rough skeleton of a vessel. As their object was neither -beauty nor durability, only to serve the present occasion, they used -all the cedar possible, that she might be the more buoyant.</p> - -<p>They took the iron from the spars, and Joe, who had worked in a -blacksmith shop, took it over to the main land to a shop, and made -their fastening. They, however, used but very little iron, making -wooden treenails answer the purpose. They made a bow and stern frame, -and set up two ribs on a side where the masts were to come, laid a -rough deck at the mast-holes, and forward for the windlass and the heel -of the bowsprit to rest on; the remainder was all open. They then put -on two streaks of plank next the keel, to hold the ends of the timbers, -and hung the wales.</p> - -<p>As Uncle Isaac had finished his planting, he now came to work with -them; they made the windlass,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_173" id="Page_173">173</a></span> rudder, and spars; they also sheathed -the bow and stern with boards, where she entered and left the water, so -as to diminish the friction somewhat. The spars looked queer enough: -they were beautiful sticks, as straight as a rush; but there was no -labor expended upon them, except what was absolutely necessary. She was -to be rigged into a schooner,—and an awful great one she was, carrying -more than three hundred thousand of timber. The masts, where the hoops -were to run, were as smooth as glass, but as to the part below the deck -it was just as it grew; so with the other spars,—where there was no -necessity of their being smooth, the bark was left on the stick.</p> - -<p>Ben now ascertained that there was a large trade carried on from -Wiscasset in spars and ton-timber, that was shipped to Europe. He -accordingly took what he had, and making them into a raft, sold them -there, and bought his rudder-irons, a second-hand jib and flying-jib, -and provisions for his workmen.</p> - -<p>She now sat on the beach ready for her sails and cargo, and the tide -ebbed and flowed, and the winds blew through her frame. It must be -confessed she was a craft of magnificent distances, and probably -could not have been insured at Lloyd’s. It was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_174" id="Page_174">174</a></span> not desirable to load -her till near the time of starting, in order that the cargo might -not water-soak, as the great object was to render her as buoyant as -possible. Ben therefore discharged his men, while he and his father -went to work on the rigging. Uncle Isaac went home, while Joe went on a -fishing cruise with John Strout.</p> - -<p>During all this period Charlie had been by no means idle; there were a -great many things he could do to help along. When the men were hewing, -he, with his narrow axe, could score in and beat off for them (that -is, cut notches in the timber, close together, and then split out the -wood between), which very much facilitated the labor of hewing. He -could also drive treenails; and when the men were not using the broad -axe, would hew out small sticks with a skill that called forth many -compliments from Uncle Isaac, who took great pains to show him, and -found a most apt scholar.</p> - -<p>Charlie now became very anxious to see his mother. Every day or two he -would say to Ben, “What does make mother stay so long? she never did -before; she used to think she could not go to be gone a day, and now -she has been gone almost a month.”</p> - -<p>At length, one pleasant morning, Ben, to his<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_175" id="Page_175">175</a></span> great joy, took the -canoe, and went to bring her home. If Charlie went down to the eastern -point once that day with the spy-glass, he went fifty times.</p> - -<p>“I can’t do anything,” he said to Captain Rhines, “nor set myself about -anything, till I know whether mother is coming.”</p> - -<p>It was about the middle of the afternoon when Charlie saw the white -sail of the canoe in Captain Rhines’s cove, and she soon came into view -before a light southerly wind. Charlie saw through the glass his mother -sitting in the stern, and, jumping into his canoe, went to meet them.</p> - -<p>“Why, mother!” said he, “what makes you look so pale? are you sick?”</p> - -<p>“No, Charlie; I never was better in my life.”</p> - -<p>When they neared the shore Charlie pulled ahead, and landing, stood -ready to hug his mother as soon as she should get out of the canoe.</p> - -<p>“Don’t hug me hard,” said she, kissing him, “for you might do some -damage.”</p> - -<p>“O, mother! what is that under your shawl? do let me see. Is it the -cloth for my breeches?”</p> - -<p>“Look,” said she, opening the folds of her shawl.</p> - -<p>“O, a little baby! Whose is it? Where did you get it? What a wee bit of -a thing! what<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_176" id="Page_176">176</a></span> little mites of hands! I wish it would wake up and open -its eyes. I do love babies so! and how I shall love your baby,—our -baby. It will be my brother—won’t it, mother?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, Charlie; but let us go up to the house, and let Captain Rhines -and his wife see the grandchild.”</p> - -<p>“Now, mother,” said Charlie (after the grandparents had seen and -admired the baby, and they had drunk a cup of tea in honor of his -arrival), “I want you to go and see my pig, and the rabbits. You don’t -know how piggy has grown. Mrs. Rhines told me it would make him grow to -wash him; so every Monday, when she had done washing, I put him in the -tub, and washed him, and the black on him is just as black as ink, and -the white as white as snow. I have made him a nest in the woods, and he -goes there every night and sleeps.”</p> - -<p>It was not the custom in those days to put pigs in pens and keep them -there; they let them run about the door, and feed in the pasture with -the cattle, only putting them up in the fall to fatten; or when they -bought a strange one in the spring, they shut him up till he got tame.</p> - -<p>“Mother, would you believe that a pig knew<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_177" id="Page_177">177</a></span> anything? I’ve taught him -to follow me all round, just like a dog, and come running out of the -woods when I call him. I’ve named him Rover; and don’t you think he -knows when the tide is down just as well as I do; then he goes to the -beach, and digs clams with his nose; he never goes a clamming at high -water. When I am fishing for flounders he will sit by me till I pull -up a fish, and then he will swallow it in no time; sometimes I say, -‘Rover, you can’t have that; it is for the house;’ and he will look so -wishful I have to give it to him.”</p> - -<p>“I never heard of such a pig before, Charlie; I expect you will learn -him to play with sea ducks.”</p> - -<p>“I never thought of that, mother; I don’t believe but I will. Mother, -you know Fred Williams gave me some rabbits?”</p> - -<p>“Yes.”</p> - -<p>“Well, they have got young ones. O, they are the prettiest little -things that ever were; come and see them;” and, getting her by the -hand, he drew her out of doors.</p> - -<p>“Mother,” he said, “it was not altogether to see the pig that I got you -out here.”</p> - -<p>“I thought as much, Charlie.”</p> - -<p>“Well, sit down on this nice log; I want to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_178" id="Page_178">178</a></span> tell you what good people -Captain Rhines and his wife are; you don’t know how good they are.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, I do, Charlie; they’re real estate—both of them. I never -shall forget when my father died, and mother was left poor and -broken-hearted, with a family of little children, and knew not which -way to turn. Captain Rhines was at home that year; they were building a -vessel for him; he came over every night to see her, and every time he -seemed to lift some of the load from mother’s heart. Somehow, it seemed -to me that he did more good than the minister, for when he came she -would sit and cry all the while he was talking to her, and after he was -gone; but when Captain Rhines came, he gave her life and courage, and -she would go about the house quite cheerful; sometimes he would slip -money into her hand.”</p> - -<p>“I suppose,” said Charlie, “she needed that more than praying, because -she could pray for herself.”</p> - -<p>“I tell you what it is, Charlie; if Captain Rhines should live to be -old, and needed some of his children to take care of him, wouldn’t I -pay that debt up, principal and interest, as far as was in my power?”</p> - -<p>“I’ll bet you would, mother; and I’d help you.”</p> - -<p>“I’ve waked up at sunrise many times, and seen Captain Rhines and Ben -ploughing for mother;<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_179" id="Page_179">179</a></span> they would plough till nine o’clock, then go -home, eat their breakfast, and then do their own work, while mother and -I, with Sam to drop the seed, would plant it, and the next day they -would get more ready.”</p> - -<p>“Now, mother, I want you to see the pig.” Charlie began to slap his -hands on his sides, and cry, ‘Rover, Rover,’ when a great rustling was -heard in the woods, and the pig came on the gallop, his black and white -sides glistening in the sun as he ran. Living on grass, and in the -woods, with the milk from the house, he had not that protuberance of -belly which swine reared in sties possess, and really merited Charlie’s -encomium of being handsome; he jumped up on his master and rubbed -against his legs, with low grunts, expressive of satisfaction.</p> - -<p>Ben and his father now built a shed just sufficient to shelter them -from the sun and rain, and let in the cool summer breeze. Here they -fitted the rigging, and altered the ship’s sails into those of a -schooner; and so well versed were Captain Rhines and his son in all -nautical matters, that, by dint of splicing and piecing, they managed -to get all the standing rigging, and nearly all the running gear, out -of the materials of the wreck. They now put<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_180" id="Page_180">180</a></span> the rigging over the -mast-heads, and set it up, and all was ready, except bending the sails.</p> - -<p>In the spring, soon after Ben had told his father of his plan, the -captain said to Charlie, “Now you set all the hens you can, and raise -chickens, and when I go to the West Indies you can send them out as a -venture, and get coffee, sugar, and cocoa-nuts.”</p> - -<p>Charlie told his mother, and they put their heads together, and set -every hen that was broody, insomuch that Ben complained that he could -not get an egg to eat. In addition to this, Charlie went and borrowed -sitting hens of Uncle Isaac, Sam Yelf, and Joe Bradish.</p> - -<p>“I tell you another thing you do,” said the captain: “negroes there use -lots of baskets, that they carry on their heads, filled with oranges -and other things; they also use them in loading and unloading vessels, -and sometimes they carry them by straps of green hide that go over -their shoulders. Now, you make some handsome square baskets, with flat -bottoms, and they will be so much better than theirs that they, or -their masters, will buy them.”</p> - -<p>“How can the slaves buy them? Do they have money?”</p> - -<p>“Money! yes.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_181" id="Page_181">181</a></span> -“How do they get it?”</p> - -<p>“Why, they have Sundays and holidays to themselves, and what they earn -they have. Many of them have earned enough to buy their freedom, and -are well off. Do you go over to our house, and ask John to give you -some turnip-seed, and sow it on that ground you burned over when you -was roasting Joe Griffin, and see what turnips will grow there; you can -hack the seed in with the hoe; turnips will sell first rate in the West -Indies; I’ll tell them they are Yankee yams.”</p> - -<p>“But how will you get your things home? you will have no vessel to come -in.”</p> - -<p>“Let me alone for that, Charlie; I’m an old traveller.”</p> - -<p>It may be well to inform our readers that in those days but -comparatively few vegetables were carried there, and they brought a -high price in the way of barter.</p> - -<p>Charlie was by no means slack in acting upon these suggestions, and -made baskets with all his might.</p> - -<p>It was a most comical sight to see Ben holding his baby; his thumb -was bigger than the infant’s leg, and his great hairy arms contrasted -strangely enough with the white, delicate flesh of the new-born<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_182" id="Page_182">182</a></span> child. -He held it, too, in such a funny way, with the tips of his fingers, -as if afraid he should squat it to death, and with an expression of -anxiety upon his face amounting almost to anguish.</p> - -<p>“I mean to make a cradle for him,” said Charlie.</p> - -<p>“You are too late,” said Ben; “for the cradle was made before he was -born, long enough.”</p> - -<p>He then told Charlie to go up chamber, and look under some boards in -the north-east corner; and there he found the cradle that Sam Atkins -made for the boy, whose birth Seth Warren, in a spirit of prophecy, -foretold upon the day the house was raised.</p> - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="divider" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_183" id="Page_183">183</a></span> -</div> - - - -<h2><a name="xiv" id="xiv"></a>CHAPTER XIV.<br /> -<small>THE BURN.</small></h2> - - -<p><span class="smcap">It</span> was now the latter part of summer. The vessel being completed as -far as was possible at present, Captain Rhines went home, leaving Ben -and Charlie alone. There was now a large piece of land running along -the eastern side of the island, beside the middle ridge, which was -ready for a burn. From this land Ben had hauled his spars, and logs for -boards, leaving the tops of the trees and all the brush; in addition to -this there was left quite a growth of other trees, that were not fit -for timber; these he and Joe had cut early in the spring, so that the -soil was completely covered with a dense mass of combustible matter, -as dry as tinder. Ben was very anxious to burn this. He had now two -cows, a bull, and a yoke of oxen, and was obliged to buy hay and bring -on to the island for them, which, was a great deal of work. He had to -hire his oxen pastured away in the summer, as the island was so densely -covered with wood that it afforded<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_184" id="Page_184">184</a></span> but little pasturage, which was -eked out by falling maple trees for them to browse. It was therefore -of the greatest importance to burn this land, and get it into grass as -soon as possible; but Ben hesitated a long time, fearing that he might -burn himself up, it was so dry, and hoping that a shower would come -to wet the grass, so the fire would not run. At length it was evident -he must burn it, or it would be too late to sow, as he would soon be -engaged in loading his timber, and have no opportunity.</p> - -<p>One morning, when the dew was very heavy, almost equal to rain, and the -slight wind from the south-west blew directly away from the buildings, -he determined to make the attempt. In the first place they removed -everything from the house to the beach; then they hauled Charlie’s -canoe up to the house, and filled it with water; they also filled all -the barrels, troughs, and tubs about the premises, and drove the cattle -to the beach, lest the fire should run into the woods.</p> - -<p>Ben would have ploughed two or three furrows around his buildings, -which would have been the most effectual preventive; but, after the -vessel was built, he had put his oxen away to pasture.</p> - -<p>The settlers run great risks in clearing their<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_185" id="Page_185">185</a></span> lands, either of -burning up their houses, or of destroying the timber they wish to spare.</p> - -<p>A few years since there were fires in Maine that burned for weeks, and -destroyed thousands of acres of timber, and cattle, houses, barns, and -many human beings, and even crossed streams.</p> - -<p>But there is no other way. Here was a quantity of ground covered with -brush, logs, and bushes: to have hauled all this away would have been -an endless job, and after that the ground could neither be ploughed nor -planted, being entirely matted with green roots, and cold and sour; -besides, the moment the sun was let into it, sprouts would begin to -spring up from the stumps, and weeds, blackberry, and raspberry bushes -from the ground, and cover it all over. But a fire in a few hours will -lick up every stick and leaf, except the large logs and stumps, burn -up all the bushes, and the whole network of small roots that cover the -ground, so that nothing will start for months, as it destroys all the -seeds of the weeds and trees, of which the ground is full; and if it -is dry, and a thorough burn, will so roast the large stumps that very -few of them will ever sprout again,—while, as in Ben’s case, most of -them are spruce, pine, or fir, that never throw up any sprouts from the -roots. There<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_186" id="Page_186">186</a></span> is then left a thick bed of ashes, which receives and -fosters whatever is put into it.</p> - -<p>Our readers will perhaps recollect, that along the shore of the island -was a cleared spot covered with green grass. This cleared land extended -back on both sides of the brook for quite a distance, and was dotted -over with elms; and on a little knoll, about half way between the brook -and the middle ridge, was an enormous rock maple, with that perfect -symmetry of proportions which this noble tree often presents. The large -lower limbs, bending downwards, came so near to the ground that Charlie -could reach the tips of them, by standing on a stone.</p> - -<p>How the boy loved this tree! It was beautiful in the spring, with its -red buds; beautiful in summer, with its masses of dark-green foliage, -and its refreshing shade; but most beautiful of all in the autumn, with -its crimson tints, relieved by the lighter colors of the surrounding -trees. Here he made his whistles; here he was quite sure in a hot day -to find the pig stretched out in the shade, with his nose stuck in -the moist, cool earth under a great root, and the cattle lying round -chewing their cuds.</p> - -<p>He also had a swing under the limbs, made of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_187" id="Page_187">187</a></span> two long beech withes, -that Joe Griffin had twisted for him; and often, after supper, Sally -would take her sewing, come up and swing with him; and sometimes he -would swing the pig, for he had made a basket that he could put into -the swing.</p> - -<p>Under ordinary circumstances this large piece of cleared ground would -have proved a perfect protection; but it was a sharp drought, and the -grass was dead, dry, and inflammable. Nevertheless, as the dew was -so heavy, and the grass damp with a fog which had set in the night -before, Ben thought there could be no danger, and put in the fire. As -it ran along the ground, and gradually crept away from the house, he -congratulated himself that all danger was over; but the wind suddenly -shifted to the north-east, and drove the fire directly towards the -house. Had Ben set the fire at first along the whole line of the brush, -there would have been burnt ground between him and the mass of fire, -which would have cut off the communication, and he would have been -safe; but he set it on one corner, and when the wind shifted, the flame -driven by it dried the moisture from the grass, and made rapid progress -towards the house, while a large strip of dry grass made a bridge for -the fire to travel on.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_188" id="Page_188">188</a></span> -As the wind was not yet strong enough to prevent the fire from running, -it made good progress in the right direction, burning all the more -thoroughly that it burned slowly; but, on the other hand, it was -constantly coming in the direction of the house, increasing its pace as -the wind and heat dried up the moisture from the grass.</p> - -<p>Soaking blankets in salt water, they spread them on the roof of the -house, wet the ground around it, and urged to desperation by the fear -of losing their home, beat out the flame from the grass with hemlock -boughs, which is the best way to stop fire that is running in grass.</p> - -<p>But the wind now began to rise, and as fast as they beat it out in -one place it caught in another, as the wind blew the tufts of blazing -grass in all directions. Ben’s hair and clothes were singed. Sally -was frequently on fire, and had it not been that she was clothed in -woollen, and that Ben threw water on her, she would have been burned -up. The baby, during all this time, had been quietly sleeping in the -cradle, but now, waked by the smoke, it began to sneeze and cry.</p> - -<p>“Charlie,” said Sally, “I can do more at fighting fire than you can; -take the baby to the shore, and take care of it.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_189" id="Page_189">189</a></span> -They were now almost worn out with exertion; their eyes and lungs were -full of smoke, the perspiration ran in streams from their flesh, and -the heat was intolerable; still they fought on, for all they had was at -stake.</p> - -<p>If the fire reached the house it would not only burn that, but would -run to the beach, where was lumber worth hundreds of dollars, which Ben -had been nearly two years in preparing for market,—the greater part of -which was dry, and would take fire in a moment; there, too, were the -sails and rigging.</p> - -<p>Ben’s large canoe lay upon the beach, in which was some straw that Ben -had brought over from his father’s to fill beds. Charlie, unable longer -to look on, when so much was at risk, put the child into the canoe -among the straw, gave it some shells to attract its attention, and ran -back to help.</p> - -<p>The great wood-pile, within a few yards of the house, now took fire.</p> - -<p>“It’s no use, Sally,” said Ben; “the fire is all around us, and all we -have must go.”</p> - -<p>Sally, uttering a loud scream, ran wildly to the shore. A piece of -blazing moss, borne by the wind, had fallen into the canoe, and set -fire to the straw, which was blazing up all around the baby. In a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_190" id="Page_190">190</a></span> -moment more it would have been burned to death; as it was, its clothes -were scorched, and the little creature terribly frightened.</p> - -<p>At this moment a rushing sound was heard, and a vessel with all sail -set, and bearing the white foam before her bows with the rapidity of -her motion, shot into the harbor, and was run high upon the soft sand -of the beach, the tide being at half ebb.</p> - -<p>In an instant eight men, leaving the sails to slat in the wind, leaped -into the water, and with buckets which they filled as they ran, came to -the rescue. One alone lingered to cut some limbs from a hemlock bush, -a whole armful of which he brought with him, and while the rest were -passing the water from the beach, and pouring on the blazing wood-pile, -he was switching out the flames, as they ran towards the beach, with a -dexterity that showed he was no novice in fire-fighting.</p> - -<p>The wood-pile was composed mostly of logs eight feet in length: while -the others poured water on the ends of the sticks, Ben, catching hold -of them, dragged them from the pile to a safe distance from the house, -and, after a long and desperate struggle, they arrested the progress of -the flames.</p> - -<p>Scarcely was this accomplished, when the roof<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_191" id="Page_191">191</a></span> was discovered to be on -fire; the violence of the wind had blown off a blanket, and the cinders -catching had kindled in the dry bark. Ben, taking Charlie, threw him up -on the roof, when, the others passing him water, he soon extinguished -the flames.</p> - -<p>Ben had now opportunity to see who his deliverers were, and to thank -them, which he did in no measured terms.</p> - -<p>They were John Strout, Henry and Joe Griffin, Seth Warren, Robert Yelf, -Sam Edwards, Sydney Chase, and Uncle Isaac. He it was, that, with a -coolness that never forsook him, stopped to cut an armful of switches -for himself and the rest.</p> - -<p>“God bless you, my old friend!” said Ben, grasping him by both hands, -“and God bless the whole of you! ‘friends in need are friends indeed;’ -I can’t find words to thank you.”</p> - -<p>Poor Sally, now that the excitement was over, fainted away. Ben carried -her into the house, while the others brought in a bed, and by the aid -of burnt vinegar applied to her nostrils revived her. Her face was -uninjured, but her hair was scorched, and her arms and hands burned, -causing her much suffering.</p> - -<p>“What shall we do for her?” said Ben; “I have not a bit of salve, nor -anything in the house.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_192" id="Page_192">192</a></span> -“I can tell you what to do,” said Uncle Isaac; “go and get some of that -blue clay by the brook, and mix it up with water that has the chill -taken off, and plaster it right on three inches thick, and you’ll see -what it will do; all you want is to keep the air out.”</p> - -<p>They procured the clay, and Uncle Isaac fixed it and put it on. It gave -instant relief. In a few moments the clay began to dry and crack open, -by reason of the heat and inflammation.</p> - -<p>“Ben,” said Uncle Isaac, “do you sit by her and keep that clay moist -with cold water; no matter how cold it is now, it will have the chill -taken off before it gets through the clay.”</p> - -<p>“But how shall we ever get the clay off?”</p> - -<p>“You don’t want to get it off; the flesh will heal under it, and then -it will come off itself.”</p> - -<p>“How did you know that, Uncle Isaac?”</p> - -<p>“The Indians learned me; there’s a good deal in an Indian, you’d better -believe.”</p> - -<p>“But won’t there want to be some healing-salve on it?”</p> - -<p>“Healing-salve? fiddlestick! I’ve seen Indians cut half to pieces, -scalded, and burnt, and get well, and I never saw any salve among them. -Now,” continued Uncle Isaac (who, though one of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_193" id="Page_193">193</a></span> kindest-hearted -men alive, was but little given to sentiment, and entirely practical -in all his views), “we can do no more good here; let us bring the -furniture into the house for Ben, and then I want to finish that burn; -we’ll set it on fire at the other end; it will be fun to see it come -down before the wind. It can do no harm, for there are enough of us to -take care of it. I reckon I know something about this business.”</p> - -<p>His proposal was received with cheers. While some brought the things -into the house, others furled the vessel’s sails, and carried out an -anchor astern, to hold the vessel when she should float, as it was half -ebb when they ran her on. Henry Griffin was cook, and they left him -aboard to get supper.</p> - -<p>At any other time Charlie would have been very anxious to have gone -with them, but the suffering of his mother, and the care of the baby, -put everything else out of his head. He kissed her again and again, -with tears in his eyes, made gruel for her, and did everything in his -power to relieve her.</p> - -<p>The party found that the fire had made but slow progress against the -wind, which now blew half a gale. Arming themselves with blazing -brands, they proceeded to the upper part of the piece, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_194" id="Page_194">194</a></span> fired the -mass of dry material in fifteen or twenty different places. An enormous -volume of smoke and flame instantly arose, and swept down before the -wind, presenting a truly magnificent spectacle. In clearing land they -are not particular to cut every tree. Sometimes there will be an old -dead pine full of pitch, that, as it makes no shade to hurt a crop, -and draws nothing from the soil, they let it alone. At other times -they make what they call a <i>drive</i>; they cut a number of trees partly -off, and then, picking out a very large one, fall it on the rest, and -thus drive them all down together,—as boys set up a row of bricks, -and starting one throw down the whole,—which saves them a great deal -of cutting. A good many trees are broken off in these drives twenty -or thirty feet from the ground, and, if they stand any time in hot -weather, the pitch will fry out of them, and run in little yellow -threads to the ground. There were a great many trees in this lot that -had been standing a good while, and were full of pitch. It was now -twilight, and as the flame struck one of these trees the little threads -of pitch flashed like powder, and the flame, following them up the body -of the tree with a rush and roar, spouted from the top in grand style, -amid the loud shouts of the performers. At<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_195" id="Page_195">195</a></span> times there would be a -great dry stub as big as a hogshead, and the fire, getting in at the -roots, would run up the inside, and roar and blaze from the top like a -dozen chimneys.</p> - -<p>The flames would also, once in the while, catch a large tree in the -forest on the middle ridge, and run from limb to limb clear to the top, -shining far into the depths of the forest.</p> - -<p>Although it was rare sport, there was a great deal of effort connected -with it, as they were obliged to exert themselves to the utmost to -prevent the fire from getting into the standing growth on the western -side, as on the other side the clearing extended to the shore; but -this, with these hardy natures, only gave zest to the proceedings.</p> - -<p>“Quit that, Joe Griffin; what are you thrashing me with that hemlock -limb for?” cried Robert Yelf.</p> - -<p>“Jerusalem! if my eyes ain’t so full of smoke that I took your red face -for a fire-coal.”</p> - -<p>Many a rough joke was played, and many a sly blow given and taken, in -the smoke. The fire had now nearly spent itself for lack of fuel.</p> - -<p>Charlie came to say, Henry wanted to know if they were going to live on -firebrands, for he<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_196" id="Page_196">196</a></span> had been waiting with his supper two hours, and was -almost starved. They now went on board to eat.</p> - -<p>“Come, Ben,” said Joe, “go and eat supper with us; and when you get -back Charlie can come.”</p> - -<p>As they were eating, Ben ascertained how it happened that his friends -were present so opportunely.</p> - -<p>“You see,” said Uncle Isaac, “we heard the mackerel were master thick -outside; that started us all up. I’d got in my hay, so thought I’d go -with the rest. We were beating down, when Joe says to me, ‘There’s a -great smoke over to Ben’s.’ ‘Yes,’ I says, ‘I guess he’s setting his -burn.’ Then I saw the smoke roll up above the trees, and I was sartain. -‘He’ll have a capital time, for the wind is just right, and there’s a -heavy dew.’ The words were hardly out of Joe’s mouth before the wind -shifted right about. Then I was sure there would be trouble. In a few -moments we opened out by the head of the island, and saw the blaze. I -screamed out, ‘The fire is coming right down on Ben’s house, and he’ll -be burnt out in a jiffy!’ We were almost abreast of the harbor, and, -hauling the sheets aft, shot her right on to the beach.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_197" id="Page_197">197</a></span> -About ten o’clock that night a shower came up. Ben sat by Sally, who -had now fallen asleep, listened to the rain upon the roof, moistening -the parched earth, and relieving him of all anxiety in respect to the -fire kindling again during the night. His heart went up in gratitude to -God that his little property had been preserved, and his wife and child -had not fallen victims to the fire.</p> - -<p>Notwithstanding the mackerel were thick, neither John nor Uncle Isaac -would start in the morning till they saw how it fared with Sally, who, -to the great delight of all, was much better.</p> - -<p>Uncle Isaac inspected Charlie’s sink, canoe, and baskets, and praised -them very much.</p> - -<p>“There’s the making of a mechanic in that boy,” said he, “and no mean -one either.”</p> - -<p>They then walked over the burn.</p> - -<p>“I call that a first-rate burn,” said Joe; “a miss is as good as a -mile, Ben. Sally is doing well, and this burn will give you your -bread-stuffs for a year, and hay for your cattle after that.”</p> - -<p>The next morning Ben sent Charlie after the widow Hadlock, who came on -to take care of her daughter and grandchild.</p> - -<p>There were other incidents connected with the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_198" id="Page_198">198</a></span> burn of a less pleasing -nature. Charlie had a very large hen, that the widow Hadlock had given -him, which, having stolen her nest, was sitting among the bushes on -eighteen eggs, and, too faithful to leave her trust, was burned to a -crisp on her nest. Charlie grieved much as he looked upon the remains -of his hen, and counted over the eggs, the chickens from which he was -hoping to have raised as late ones to winter, that he might send the -earlier ones to the West Indies; but he consoled himself with the -thought that his turnip-patch was spared, and growing finely.</p> - -<p>All along the shore of the island the line of cliff was fringed with a -mixed growth of white birch, maple, spruce, and red oak, contrasting -beautifully with the ragged and perpendicular cliffs which had been -spared by Ben as a shelter to the land from the easterly winds, and -more than all for the beauty of their appearance. He took great delight -in the spring, when pulling along the shore, in looking upon the masses -of light-green foliage that covered the birches, and fell over the -rocks.</p> - -<p>These were now all consumed; and the rocks, shorn of moss, stood out -white and naked in the sun. The willows and alders that fringed the -brook<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_199" id="Page_199">199</a></span> were gone; the trunks of the elms and that of the great maple -scorched, and the grass all around the house black as a coal. All over -the land were blackened stumps and stubs, from which the smoke rose, -and among whose roots the fires were smouldering. The beauty of the -landscape had vanished, and desolation came in its stead.</p> - -<p>“Father,” cried Charlie, moved almost to tears as he gazed upon the -scene, “will my maple die, and the elms, and the great yellow birch at -the brook, mother thinks so much of?”</p> - -<p>“No, Charlie, they are only singed on the outside; there was not power -enough in burning grass to heat the roots, as though they had stood in -the woods among the brush; and the trees on the bank will be replaced -by others, and perhaps handsomer ones.”</p> - -<p>They now went to rolling and piling; in anticipation of this Sally -had made them two suits apiece of tow-cloth, which they wore without -shirts. The fire had not consumed the bodies of many of the large -trees: some of these they used to make the fence of; the rest they -cut up and hauled together with the oxen, and piled them up in great -piles, and set them on fire, till they consumed the whole. As they were -compelled to put<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_200" id="Page_200">200</a></span> their shoulders and breasts against these logs to -roll them up, they were covered with smut from head to foot. They could -not sit down in a chair without smutting it all over; and their faces -were in streaks of white and black, where the perspiration ran down and -washed away the smut. So, when they came to their meals, they just took -off their tow suits, and got into the brook and washed themselves, and -then washed their clothes, and spread them in the sun to dry, and put -on another suit; part of the time they took their dinner in the field. -Rover followed them round, rooting under the stumps for worms, and once -in a while would shove his nose on a hot coal, which would make him run -away squealing.</p> - -<p>This smutty and laborious job being over, land fenced, and logs burned -up, Ben sowed half of it with winter rye, reserving the other to plant -with corn in the spring.</p> - -<p>The grain must now in some way be covered; but Ben had no harrow to -cover it with; besides, the ground was dotted with stumps, whose great -roots stuck out in every direction, and no common harrow would have -worked. He cut down a scrubby spruce, and trimming off the limbs within -six or eight inches of the trunk, sharpened the points<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_201" id="Page_201">201</a></span> of them; he -then hitched the oxen to this hedge-hog, as he called it, and hauled it -over the ground, thus scratching the earth over the grain. When Charlie -saw this, he laughed till the tears ran down his cheeks.</p> - -<p>“I should think it was a hedge-hog,” said he; “I wonder what the -steward of his highness the Duke of Bedford would say to that.”</p> - -<p>“It will do better work here than any harrow in England, for all that,” -said Ben.</p> - -<p>There were many places where the hedge-hog could not go close to the -stumps, because the large spur roots rolled it off: around these -Charlie hacked the grain in with a hoe.</p> - -<p>Ben now went over to his father’s, and got all the chaff he could find -in the barn, which was full of grass-seed, and sowed it on the rye.</p> - -<p>It was now getting to be autumn. Ben and Charlie went off in the large -canoe, and caught and cured fish to last them through the winter, and, -getting a scow, brought on hay enough to winter their stock.</p> - -<p>Sally, rapidly recovering under the careful nursing of her mother, -was in a few days able to be about the house, and by the time the -rye, which was sown on the burn, was well up, had recovered.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_202" id="Page_202">202</a></span> The -first thing she did was to go and see the grain, with which she was so -delighted, that she declared she would be willing to be burned again -for such a field of grain as that.</p> - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="divider" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_203" id="Page_203">203</a></span> -</div> - - - -<h2><a name="xv" id="xv"></a>CHAPTER XV.<br /> -<small>FITTING AWAY.</small></h2> - - -<p><span class="smcap">It</span> was now the month of September, and time to think of getting ready -for sea. Captain Rhines came on to the island, and with him John -Strout, who had closed up his fishing, and was to be first mate; Seth -Warren, who was second mate; and Joe Griffin and Robert Yelf, who were -to go before the mast. The first thing they did was to take the anchor -the pirates left on the beach, carry it out and drop it astern, to hold -her when she should float, though it must be confessed she did not have -much more the appearance of floating than a basket. They then built a -breastwork of logs on the beach, and above the tide, reaching to the -bow of their craft, to run the boards on. They next hewed out some -sticks long enough to go across the vessel, and bolt to the frames, -both to hold her together and bind the cargo. As they were cutting -these they came across a very large pine.</p> - -<p>“Halloo, Ben!” cried Joe; “thought you had<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_204" id="Page_204">204</a></span> taken an oath that you -would never live another spring without a gunning float.”</p> - -<p>“So I have.”</p> - -<p>“Well, here’s the tree to make a bunkum one, I tell you; shall I cut it -for you?”</p> - -<p>“Yes.”</p> - -<p>At first, they could only work at low water, as the tide ebbed and -flowed in their craft. Captain Rhines and Ben stowed the boards, while -the others ran them in. They arranged them with great care, that -the joints might not all come in one place; and frequently put in a -stick of cedar to increase the buoyancy, as cedar, in addition to its -lightness, soaks water very slowly.</p> - -<p>The tide now began to make. As they did not wish their timber to float -in the vessel, and get out of place, they put shores under the deck -beams to keep it from rising, and piled rocks on it: in a short time it -was all out of sight, under water. They employed the rest of the day in -piling boards on the breastwork, that they might be near at hand.</p> - -<p>The next day they were able to go to work much sooner, and, the timber -being near, made much more rapid progress; the next day more still; -and, as they rose above the tide, put in more cedar to increase the -buoyancy. They now put in their cross-ties,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_205" id="Page_205">205</a></span> and bolted them to the -timbers, and when the tide made she floated, so that the boards were -several feet above water and the top all dry.</p> - -<p>The next morning Joe Griffin, after scratching his head a while, -suddenly exclaimed, “Look here, neighbors: I don’t pretend to be any -great of a sailor man, but I reckon I know how to handle timber, and -put it where I want it—I do. I can plank this stage over, run it a -little farther aft, and take the oxen and twitch more lumber into this -vessel in an hour than you can put in in this way in half a day. They -might split a board or two, but I don’t ’spose that would kill anybody.”</p> - -<p>“Good on your head, Joe,” said Captain Rhines; “let’s see you do it.”</p> - -<p>The bow of the craft, a few feet aft of the fore-mast, was close -timbered, as in ordinary boats; but from that to the mainmast was -a hole large enough to drive in three yoke of oxen abreast. They -lengthened their breastwork a little, hauled the craft alongside of -it, and made a stage of plank. The others laid the boards in twitches, -and were all ready to hook the chain when Joe came for his boards; and -he hauled them into the vessel at a great rate, and dropped them just -where Captain Rhines and Ben wanted them.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_206" id="Page_206">206</a></span> -“Every man to his business,” said Ben; “I never heard of that way of -loading boards before.”</p> - -<p>She was now half full. Captain Rhines then put into her a number of -tight and strong empty hogs heads and barrels, and stowed the boards on -top of them. The effect of this was very quickly visible; she began to -act like a vessel,—to rise and fall with the swell of the sea, and to -be quite lively.</p> - -<p>“That tells the story,” said the captain; “we’ll give her a few more; -there’s nothing like an empty cask; I’ll find a use for them when we -get out there.”</p> - -<p>“I wouldn’t have believed it,” said Joe; “why didn’t you put them way -down in the bottom of her, and fill her floor? she would have floated -as light as a feather.”</p> - -<p>“If I had,” replied the captain, “she would have done like the boy who -went in swimming with the bladders.”</p> - -<p>“How was that?”</p> - -<p>“A boy had heard tell that bladders would float a person, and thought -he would walk on the water with them; so he went down to the pond, tied -the bladders on to his feet, and waded into the water: they found him, -a few hours afterwards, feet up and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_207" id="Page_207">207</a></span> head down, as dead as a herring; -and that would have been the way with our craft.”</p> - -<p>“What an ass I am!” said Joe; “ain’t I?”</p> - -<p>“No; but you didn’t happen to think of that.”</p> - -<p>“Joe,” said Ben, one night after work, “can you make a float?”</p> - -<p>“No.”</p> - -<p>“Then I’m all ashore. I’ve been thinking that, after you came back, you -and I could make one before the kitchen fire this winter.”</p> - -<p>“I tell you, though it seems to be a very simple thing, there’s a great -knack in making a float. I can make a hog’s trough, and christen it a -float, but to make one that will be stiff and light, and scull steady -and true, there’s only one man round here can do it.”</p> - -<p>“Who’s that?”</p> - -<p>“Uncle Sam Elwell.”</p> - -<p>“Uncle Sam!” replied Ben, in amazement; “I didn’t know he could work in -anything but rocks.”</p> - -<p>“It’s my opinion that he can work in anything he has a mind to; but he -won’t touch anything but rocks, except it is a float or a gun-stock. -He will make as neat a gun-stock as ever a man put to his face, or a -snow-shoe; but if he wanted a door made to a pig-sty or a hen house, he -would go and build<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_208" id="Page_208">208</a></span> wall for Uncle Isaac, while he made them for him; -or if his wife wanted a chopping-tray or a bread-trough, she might want -it till she could get Uncle Isaac to make it for her. Whatever he wants -for hunting or fishing, he’ll find a way to make, fast enough; it’s my -solid belief he’d make a gun-barrel if he couldn’t get one in any other -way.”</p> - -<p>“Do you think he would come over here in the winter, and make a float?”</p> - -<p>“To be sure he would; he is doing nothing in the winter but taking -care of his cattle; and there’s not a calm day but he and Uncle Isaac -are out in their float after game. Why, I’ve known them old critters, -when they wanted to be in a certain place at half tide to shoot harvest -ducks, to lie down on the beach in the night and go to sleep, till the -water flowed up around their knees and woke them up.”</p> - -<p>“We’ll hew it out, at any rate; that’ll save him some work.”</p> - -<p>“I wouldn’t; he’s a particular old toad, and would rather have it just -as it grew; but if you touch it, he’ll think you’ve taken off some -where you ought not to, and spilte it; he’ll no more thank you for -saving him labor on a float-piece, than a feller would thank you for -courting a girl for him; he’d rather do it himself.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_209" id="Page_209">209</a></span> -Ben sent word to Uncle Sam, who replied that same day, that when he and -Isaac were out gunning they would come and look at it.</p> - -<p>“Didn’t I tell you so?” said Joe. “I wager my head that they’ll both -of them come over here and make it: what a good time they will have -puttering over it, and passing their compliments upon each other! It’s -my opinion, that when them old men die they won’t be buried with their -wives, but alongside of each other. Uncle Isaac thinks so highly of the -Indians, I expect he believes as they do, and thinks that he and Sam -will go hunting in the other world.”</p> - -<p>They now made sail, and ran her over into Captain Rhines’s cove, and -came to anchor. They found upon trial, that although she was clumsy in -working, she minded her helm, and sailed beyond their most sanguine -expectations.</p> - -<p>“I declare, Ben!” said Captain Rhines; “who would have thought she -would go through the water so; we’ve got her sparred just right, if we -did do it by guess. She’s like old Aunt Molly Bradish—better than she -looks.”</p> - -<p>They now took on board some spare spars, and Captain Rhines took a -large barrel of oil.</p> - -<p>“Heavens!” said Joe Griffin; “the old man<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_210" id="Page_210">210</a></span> calculates on a long voyage, -if he expects to burn all that.”</p> - -<p>The Ark, as they called her, was most appropriately named, both in -respect to her proportions and her cargo. Captain Rhines had resorted -to a custom common in those days. He gave his crew merely nominal -wages,—four dollars a month,—and the mates in proportion; but, in -addition to this, he gave them a “privilege,” as it was called; that -is, a certain space to carry whatever they liked, to sell in the West -Indies. Produce was not carried there from all parts of the world in -those days, as at present; and a barrel or two of onions or beets would -bring twenty-five or thirty dollars. Live stock also brought a great -price, although they were very apt to be lost on the passage. Captain -Rhines carried candles for his “venture,” as it was called; John -Strout, horses; Charlie sent hens, baskets, and turnips as freight.</p> - -<p>In the morning, when they were all fed, there was such a cackling of -hens, bleating of sheep, and all kinds of noises, as was really quite -wonderful.</p> - -<p>A great many people came from all parts to look at her, and many and -various were the criticisms. Some thought she would never get there; -more<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_211" id="Page_211">211</a></span> thought she would; but all agreed in this—that if anybody in the -world could get her there, it was Captain Ben Rhines. Uncle Isaac’s -judgment was greatly respected by all.</p> - -<p>“Mr. Murch,” said Isaac Pettigrew, “you don’t seem to be at all -consarned, though your nephew is going in her. What makes you so easy?”</p> - -<p>“Because,” replied he, “a lucky man is master.”</p> - -<p>One night, as the captain and his family were at the supper-table, -there came in a negro, very black, and of truly vast proportions, whom -Captain Rhines addressed by the singular appellation of Flour. This -nickname he obtained in this manner. He was a man of great strength, -and a thorough seaman, but he often shipped as cook, because he had -higher wages; and a most excellent cook he was: he was also perfectly -honest, and, like most very powerful men, of an excellent disposition; -but he would get drunk whenever the opportunity offered, insomuch that -they often put him in jail, and locked him up till the vessel was ready -for sea. Sometimes he would stay ashore for a year or two, and then -get tired and start off. He was always in demand, notwithstanding this -failing,—the economical captains never hesitating to go one hand short -when they had Flour (alias James Peterson) for<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_212" id="Page_212">212</a></span> cook, as he was always -ready to lend a hand, and was worth three common men in bad weather.</p> - -<p>Some roguish boys, one day when he had been drinking, got him into a -store, and putting molasses on his wool, covered it with flour, putting -a layer of flour and molasses till his head was as big as a half -bushel. After this he went by the name of Flour, and answered to it as -readily as to his own name, that dropping out of use entirely.</p> - -<p>He was a slave, while slaves were held in New England, and had been -many voyages with Captain Rhines, who used to hire him of Peterson, his -master, to whom he was so much attached that he would never leave him, -although he had every opportunity to run away when at sea; and not even -the love of liquor could prevent him from bringing home a present for -his master.</p> - -<p>“Massa cap’n,” said the black, “dey tells me you’s gwine to sail the -salt seas again. Massa, if you is goin’, this nigger would like to go -wid you.”</p> - -<p>“Well, we’ve been a good many cruises together. Wife, give Flour some -supper, and then we’ll talk it over. I suppose,” said the captain, -after supper, “you’ve got dry, and want some of that augerdent<a name="FNanchor_A_1" id="FNanchor_A_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_A_1" class="fnanchor">[A]</a> the -Spanish make. It’s fiery stuff, and will burn your coppers all up; you -had better drink old West India. Wife, give him a glass of that Santa -Cruz.”</p> - -<div class="footnote"> -<p><a name="Footnote_A_1" id="Footnote_A_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_A_1"><span class="label">[A]</span></a> Aguardiente.</p> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_213" id="Page_213">213</a></span> -“Thank you, massa cap’n.”</p> - -<p>“But I ain’t going to give much of any wages; they are going to have a -‘privilege’—mates and all. I tell you, we are like old Noah; we’ve got -cattle, and feathered fowl, beasts clean and unclean.”</p> - -<p>“Massa, me have privilege, too.”</p> - -<p>“What have you got to carry?”</p> - -<p>“Me got an onion patch, massa,—my ole woman raise him; got some -bayberry taller,—Spaniards buy him quick to put in de candle; make him -hard so he no melt. Me talk Spanish all same as one Spaniard; me tell -’em all about it.”</p> - -<p>“But how will you get back? I am going to sell the craft.”</p> - -<p>“O, massa, you know I good sailor man; you give me what you call -recommend, I get a chance in some ship to go somewhere—don’t care -where; my ole woman so debilish ugly me no want to come back. Last -Monday mornin’ she break de skillet; she kill my dog; she put thistle -under my horse’s tail when I goes to de store, so he fling me over his -head—most break my neck.”</p> - -<p>“Perhaps she thought you went to the store too often. And what did you -do to her?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_214" id="Page_214">214</a></span> -“I beat her with the well-pole. When we were slaves to ole massa she -well enough; but since freedom came I no live with her—she no mind me -at all.”</p> - -<p>“Well, Flour, I give the men four dollars a month, and their privilege. -I’ll give you six, and your grog, and all the privilege you want; but I -shall expect you to lend us a hand in bad weather, and perhaps take the -helm, for there’s not a man in the vessel can steer in bad weather as -you.”</p> - -<p>“O, massa, you know this darky; he no be de last man when de watch is -called.”</p> - -<p>They were now all ready for sea, only waiting for a fair wind, and -enough of it.</p> - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="divider" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_215" id="Page_215">215</a></span> -</div> - - - -<h2><a name="xvi" id="xvi"></a>CHAPTER XVI.<br /> -<small>A WELL-DESERVED HOLIDAY.</small></h2> - - -<p><span class="smcap">Sabbath</span> morning, after a rainy day and night, Charlie waking up, and -looking, as he usually did the first thing, in the direction of Captain -Rhines’s, missed the great bulk of the Ark, which before seemed to fill -up the whole cove. The wind was north-west, and blowing a gale.</p> - -<p>“Father,” he shouted, “the Ark is gone! I can’t see her at all.”</p> - -<p>“Well,” replied Ben, “she has got a wind that will shove her over the -gulf.”</p> - -<p>On the summit of the middle ridge stood the tallest tree on the island, -with an eagle’s nest on it. Beside it grew a large spruce, whose top -reached to its lower limbs, and next to the spruce a scrub hemlock, -whose lower limbs came almost to the ground. Charlie had made a bridge -of poles from the spruce to the pine, and used to sit there, when the -wind blew, till the tree shook so much that it frightened him, or -the eagles came to their nest;<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_216" id="Page_216">216</a></span> but, after a while, they became so -accustomed to him as to take fish from the limbs where he placed it. -You could step from the ground to the hemlock, from that to the spruce, -and from the spruce walk on the bridge to the pine. To this they went -with the glass, saw the masts of the Ark just going out of sight, and -watched them till they were lost in the distance.</p> - -<p>It was impossible, now that the bustle and excitement of fitting away -was over, for Ben to be otherwise than anxious respecting the result of -this venture, and the safety of his father and friends in so strange -a craft. But he kept his thoughts and misgivings (if he had any) to -himself, though he afterwards said that it was the longest Sabbath he -ever spent.</p> - -<p>At night, after Charlie had gone to bed, Sally asked Ben what he was -going about. He replied, to hew a barn frame; that, as he was going to -raise crops, he must have some place to put them.</p> - -<p>“I suppose you can do that kind of work alone, well enough?”</p> - -<p>“Yes.”</p> - -<p>“While it is pleasant weather, I would give Charlie a holiday, and let -him ask John and Fred<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_217" id="Page_217">217</a></span> Williams to come over here; it would please him -very much, and I really think he deserves it.”</p> - -<p>“So do I. I’ll tell him in the morning that he may go over and get -them. They say there isn’t a better behaved, smarter boy in town than -Fred Williams, for all he was such a scape-grace a few months ago.”</p> - -<p>“I’ll tell him to-night, and then he can go as soon as he likes.”</p> - -<p>She woke up Charlie, and told him the good news, which kept him awake -a long time, laying plans for the amusement of his company. The next -morning he set off betimes, arriving at Captain Rhines’s just as they -were sitting down to breakfast, where he received a hearty welcome.</p> - -<p>When John heard that he had come to invite him and Fred to spend a -week on the island, he could no longer contain himself. He clapped his -hands, and unable to find language to express his delight, hugged every -one at the table, and finished by hugging Tige.</p> - -<p>“O, mother! only see Tige,” who, participating in the unusual joy, was -frisking round the room, and wagging his tail; “I declare if I had a -tail I’d wag it, too. Don’t you wish you was going?”</p> - -<p>“I’ll invite him,” said Charlie; and, taking him<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_218" id="Page_218">218</a></span> by the paw, he said, -“Tige Rhines, Mr. Benjamin Rhines, wife, and baby invite you to make -them a visit, with John and Fred Williams.”</p> - -<p>“Mother, he knows what it means, and is as glad as I am; see, he is -going to roll.”</p> - -<p>After rolling over, he remained a few moments on his back, his paws -stuck up in the air, apparently in joyous meditation. As this was -Tige’s method of manifesting the very acme of happiness, we are bound -to suppose, with John, that he knew what was in store for him.</p> - -<p>“John, I can’t spare Tige; he is my protector when your father is gone; -and we need him, too, now that the fruit is ripe, to watch the orchard, -and also to get the cows for us.”</p> - -<p>The boys now set off for Fred, whom they found in the mill, taking -charge, as his father was gone; but at noon he would return, and might -let him go, though it was doubtful, as they were very busy indeed in -the mill; and the tears almost stood in his eyes as he said so.</p> - -<p>The boys looked at the mill, and helped Fred a while, and then caught -fish in the mill-pond; for it was a tide-mill, though there was a brook -ran into it. When the gates were open, and the tide from the sea flowed -in, the fish—smelts, tom-cod, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_219" id="Page_219">219</a></span> sometimes small mackerel, called -“tinkers,” came with it. When tired of fishing they went to look at the -ducks. Fred had nearly a hundred ducks, that spent the greater part of -their time in the mill-pond. Never did ducks have a better time than -Fred’s; they had plenty of corn from the mill, and when the pond was -full they fed upon the insects and little fish that live in the salt -water; but when the pond became low they resorted to the brook.</p> - -<p>About a quarter of a mile up this little stream was a place where some -windfalls had partially dammed the water, forming a little pond, in -which were myriads of frogs, tadpoles, polliwogs, and turtles of all -sizes. It was a great amusement to the boys to see them, as the pond -diminished, preparing to go up the brook, each old duck followed by -her own family. Being of many different colors, their glossy heads and -backs shining in the sun as they sailed up in regular order to give -battle to the frogs, they looked gay indeed. Charlie caught two of the -small turtles to take home with him.</p> - -<p>At noon, when Mr. Williams came home, he received the boys very kindly, -and told them he was glad to have Fred go with them, as he had been a -good boy, and worked nobly all summer, and that he might stay as long -as they wanted him to. He<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_220" id="Page_220">220</a></span> then invited them to stop and dine with -Fred. As for Tige, little Fannie took him under her special care, and -shared her dinner with him.</p> - -<p>As they were going along Fred said to John, “This is the very line -I carried the day I played truant, and stuck the hook in me. How -much better I feel now than I did then. In those days I used to come -sneaking home at night with a guilty conscience, and the fear of being -found out spoilt all the comfort; but I tell you I felt about right -to-day, and couldn’t help thinking of it when father praised me up so -much before you, and was so willing to spare me, though he will have to -work very hard while I’m gone.”</p> - -<p>“I never disobeyed my father,” replied John, “because I never wanted -to; but I’ve often done wrong, and if every boy feels as bad as I do -about it, there can’t be much comfort in it.”</p> - -<p>“I don’t believe,” said Charlie, “that boys who have nothing to do but -play are as happy as we that work, for, when we get a holiday, we enjoy -more in one hour than they do in a week.”</p> - -<p>“I am glad,” continued Fred, “that I took up with Uncle Isaac’s advice, -and staid at home, for, had I gone to Salem, I should probably have -found other companions as bad as Pete Clash, and being<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_221" id="Page_221">221</a></span> away from all -restraint, been worse than ever, and perhaps have come to the gallows.”</p> - -<p>“It’s too late to do much to-night,” said Charlie, as they landed; -“let’s go up to the great maple, and talk and lay plans. You’ve never -seen the great maple—have you, Fred?”</p> - -<p>“No; you know I never was on here, only in the winter, when everything -was frozen up, and covered with snow.”</p> - -<p>Going along, they came to the two great trees which were connected by -a common root, making a natural bridge across the brook, which, above -them, widened out into a little basin.</p> - -<p>“What a nice place this would be to keep ducks!” said Fred; “they could -swim in the cove, and, when the tide was out, come into this little -basin, and go clear to the head of the brook.”</p> - -<p>“I have often thought of it; but it takes a good deal to winter ducks, -and we have to buy all our corn, both for ourselves and the hens. But -we are going to plant a piece of corn in the spring, and then, perhaps, -father will let me keep them.”</p> - -<p>“I’ll give you a duck in the spring that wants to set, and eggs to put -under her.”</p> - -<p>“Thank you, Fred.”</p> - -<p>“I think it’s real nice to see them play in the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_222" id="Page_222">222</a></span> water; and, when one -gets a bug, the others swim after, and try to get it away from him, and -all going one right after the other to the pond in the morning.”</p> - -<p>Although Fred had grown up in a new country, he yet gazed with wonder -upon the great maple. It was indeed a kingly tree, thirteen feet and -a half in circumference at the roots, bearing its enormous coronal of -leaves in that symmetry of proportions which this tree (seen nowhere in -its perfection but in the North American forests) sometimes exhibits.</p> - -<p>“What is that, Charlie, on that lower limb?” asked John.</p> - -<p>“That’s the baby-house.”</p> - -<p>In the spring, at the time boys make whistles, Charlie had peeled the -bark from some willow rods (which he called whitening the sallies), and -made a long, narrow basket. He then worked an ornamental rim round it, -and put strong handles in each end, and hung it to one of the lower -limbs of the great tree. Sally made a little bed-tick and pillow, which -Charlie stuffed with the down of the cat-tail (cooper’s) flag. Here -the baby would sit and swing, and play with things that Charlie gave -him, while he sat beneath and made whistles, or played with Rover; or -if he wanted the little one to go to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_223" id="Page_223">223</a></span> sleep, would pull a string that -was fastened to the branch, and rock him to rest. In the absence of -companions of his own age, the tree was like a brother to Charlie; and -sometimes, as he sat listening to the wind among the leaves, he almost -fancied it could talk. Here was his workshop, where he made everything -that could be made with a knife or hatchet, and at every leisure moment -he slipped off and ran to the tree.</p> - -<p>Going round to the north-west side of it, they found a building -about seven feet high, and shingled on the roof and walls, with a -tight-fitting door, having a wooden latch and hinges. Opening the door, -they saw that it had a regular frame, and was ceiled up with planed -boards. There were two drawers in it, and above them were shelves. The -drawers not being as deep as the closet, left a space of six inches in -front. On one side was Charlie’s gun, and on the other his powder-horn -and shot-pouch. On the edge of the top shelf was a squirrel stuffed, -sitting up with his tail over his back, just as natural as life.</p> - -<p>“How did you make that look so natural? and how did you fix the tail -so?” asked Fred.</p> - -<p>“I put a wire in it, and bent it to suit me.”</p> - -<p>“But the head; it is exactly the right shape.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_224" id="Page_224">224</a></span> -“Well, I took the head out of the skin, and got the meat all off of it, -and put the skull back again, and stuffed in wool enough to fill up -between the skull and skin, where I had taken off the flesh.”</p> - -<p>On a little shelf by itself, made of apple-tree wood, oiled and -polished, and upon which Charlie had evidently bestowed a great deal of -labor, was the Bible his mother had given him.</p> - -<p>They now opened the drawers. The first one opened was filled with all -kinds of boys’ playthings, which Charlie had made himself,—whistles, -fifes, and squirt-guns made of elder, and a ball.</p> - -<p>“What a neat ball that is,” said Fred, “and how well it is covered! Did -you cover it, Charlie?”</p> - -<p>“Yes.”</p> - -<p>“Will it bounce well?”</p> - -<p>“Try it.”</p> - -<p>Fred threw it down on the flat stone, when it went way up over his head -into the tree.</p> - -<p>“My jingoes! I never saw a ball bounce like that. What is it made of?”</p> - -<p>“Yarn.”</p> - -<p>“But what is there in it? What’s it wound on?”</p> - -<p>“That’s telling; guess.”</p> - -<p>“On a piece of cork?”</p> - -<p>“No.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_225" id="Page_225">225</a></span> -“On horse hair?”</p> - -<p>“No; guess again.”</p> - -<p>“I can’t guess.”</p> - -<p>“Will you give it up?”</p> - -<p>“Yes.”</p> - -<p>“It’s wound on a sturgeon’s nose.”</p> - -<p>“That’s a likely story!” exclaimed both boys in a breath. “Is it -now—honest?”</p> - -<p>“Yes.”</p> - -<p>“Where did you get a sturgeon’s nose?”</p> - -<p>“They caught one at the mill; father and I were there with logs, and I -got his nose.”</p> - -<p>“How did you know it would make a ball bounce?”</p> - -<p>“I learned it of the boys in Nova Scotia.”</p> - -<p>“What a feller you are to make things! I wish I could; I’d have lots of -things. I couldn’t cover a ball as neat as that to save my life. I wish -I had lived on an island, and had to make things; perhaps I might have -learned something.”</p> - -<p>“I’ll give you that ball, Fred.”</p> - -<p>“’Twould be too bad to take it from you, after you have taken so much -pains to make it.”</p> - -<p>“I can make another. I take lots of comfort sitting under this tree -making things; besides, I’ve<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_226" id="Page_226">226</a></span> nobody to play with me, and there’s not -much fun playing ball alone.”</p> - -<p>They opened another drawer (which had two small ones—one beneath the -other—at one end), but there was nothing in it, except a bow and -arrows, some of which had iron points.</p> - -<p>“What a splendid bow!” said John; “how stiff it is! and what handsome -arrows! What is it made of?”</p> - -<p>“Hornbeam.”</p> - -<p>“I never saw a bow made of that; we boys make them of ash, walnut, or -hemlock.”</p> - -<p>“Uncle Isaac told me to make it of that; perhaps that’s what the -Indians make them of. In our country they make them of yew.”</p> - -<p>They opened the little drawers, but they were empty.</p> - -<p>“Why don’t you keep something in these drawers?”</p> - -<p>“I’m saving them for my tools; that is, when I get any money to buy -them.”</p> - -<p>“That reminds me,” said Fred, “that I have brought with me all the -money that the baskets sold for; and now we will settle up the affairs -of our company.”</p> - -<p>He pulled a paper from his pocket, which<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_227" id="Page_227">227</a></span> contained an account of the -number of baskets he and John had made, and the result of the sale.</p> - -<p>Charlie then took from his drawer a book, the leaves of which were -made of birch bark, in which was the account of all he had made, and -delivered to them. Part of them had been sold at the store for half -money and half in goods. Charlie wished to share equally, but to that -the others would not consent, because they said that he had made the -greater part of the baskets, and also taught them the trade. Charlie’s -part of the proceeds accounted to ten dollars in money, besides his -credit at the store. He had never before, in all his life, been in -possession of so much money, and, overjoyed, ran to tell his mother.</p> - -<p>“Now, Charlie,” said she, “do you use that money to buy things that you -want and need, and don’t go to buying pigs, and spending it for us or -the baby.”</p> - -<p>“I’ll have a knife,” said Charlie, “at any rate, and then I shan’t have -to be all the time borrowing father’s, or using a butcher’s knife. I’ll -have some tools, too, to put in my drawers; but I think I ought to help -father pay for the island; I think it’s dreadful to pay rent.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_228" id="Page_228">228</a></span> -“Never mind that, Charlie; Ben can pay for the island fast enough.”</p> - -<p>“Mother, you don’t know how many things I’ve thought about, while -I’ve been sitting under the old maple this summer, that I would make -for you to have in the house, when I got my money for the baskets, -and could get some tools of my own. Mother, you don’t know how glad -I am we have got just such a house as we have, where there’s no end -of things to make, and things to do; also, a barn to build, the land -to clear, and the house to finish. Now, if all this was done, there -would be no fun—nothing new to look forward to; one day would be just -like another. You couldn’t look at things after you’d made them, and -say, That is my work; I took it out of the rough; that’s mine, for I -made it; but, however nice it might look, you’d have to think it was -somebody’s else wit and grit did it. That would take all the good out -of it for me. I’m sure I think more of my canoe than I should of ever -so nice a one that anybody made and gave me.”</p> - -<p>“That is true, Charlie,” said Sally, delighted with sentiments so much -in accordance with her own feelings. “I’m sure, if we had sheep, and -flax, and pasturage, and I had a loom, and the house full of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_229" id="Page_229">229</a></span> blankets, -and sheets, and nice things, all given to us, I shouldn’t be half so -happy as I am in trying to get them. I tell you, Charlie, the more you -have to do, the more you can do. There’s nothing like having something -ahead to make you work, and stick to it.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, mother; it makes a fellow spit on his hands and hold on. I know -that’s so; because, sometimes I want Rover to go to the woods, and he -won’t; I switch him, and he won’t; I push him, and he won’t; then I put -some acorns in my pocket and run ahead, and he’ll get there as soon as -I do.”</p> - -<p>When he returned to the boys he said, “I’ll bet that if you do shoot -with a gun better than I, that I can beat you both with a bow. I can -hit a mark at twenty yards with this bow, oftener than you can at -thirty with your guns. I’ll bet you the bow and arrows against two -gun-flints and two charges of powder, that I do it.”</p> - -<p>“I’ll stand you,” cried John; “I can beat you with my eyes shut. What’s -the use of talking about a bow in the same day with a gun?”</p> - -<p>They measured the distance, and set up a mark, when, to their -astonishment, Charlie beat them both.</p> - -<p>“You thought, John, the first time we ever saw<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_230" id="Page_230">230</a></span> each other,” said -Charlie, “that I had a great many things to learn; you’ll find you have -some things to learn, too.”</p> - -<p>“I was a fool, Charlie; I believe you have forgot more than ever I -knew; but how did you learn to shoot so with a bow?”</p> - -<p>“Why, in England, boys and men practise a great deal with a bow; and -they have shooting matches on the holidays, and give prizes to the best -marksmen. My grandfather was a bowman in the king’s service; when he -was young they used to fight with bows and arrows. I wish you could -see his bow and arrows, that he had in the wars; the bow was six feet -long, and the arrows would go through a man. Since I’ve been here I’ve -practised a great deal, because I didn’t have money to buy powder and -shot. I can shoot a coot or a squirrel with an arrow, or any kind of -sea-bird.”</p> - -<p>“We’ll have bows, and practise,” said John.</p> - -<p>“I’ll give you this one, and make Fred one, too. I like to make bows.”</p> - -<p>“Thank you, Charlie; and when we get learned we’ll come on here and -give it to the squawks, and go on to Oak Island, and shoot squirrels -and woodchucks, and save our powder and shot for sea-fowl. Have we seen -all your things, Charlie?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_231" id="Page_231">231</a></span> -“Not by a long chalk; look up there” (pointing up into the tree). -Following the direction of his fingers, they saw in the top of the tree -a platform. Charlie took down a little ladder which hung on the tree, -by which they ascended to its lower limbs. When they came down John -proposed that they should camp out that night in the woods.</p> - -<p>“I should think,” said Charlie, “it would be a great deal more -comfortable to sleep in a bed.”</p> - -<p>“<i>Comfortable!</i> who wants to be comfortable; we can be comfortable any -time.”</p> - -<p>At supper John broached the matter, and asked Sally to let them have -some blankets.</p> - -<p>“I wouldn’t do that,” said she; “you’ll get your death’s cold, and your -folks won’t like it.”</p> - -<p>“Let them have the clothes,” said Ben; “we’ve invited them here to have -a holiday; let them spend it in their own fashion; it will taste the -sweeter.”</p> - -<p>As they passed the maple on their way to the woods, John suddenly -exclaimed, “What say, boys, for camping in the top of the tree? it will -be grand to lie there, hear the wind blow, feel the tree rock, and -listen to the surf in the night.”</p> - -<p>“What if it should storm?” said Charlie.</p> - -<p>“It can’t storm; see how clear it is; and the wind is north-west—yes, -and west of that.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_232" id="Page_232">232</a></span> -“What if we should fall out?”</p> - -<p>“We will lash ourselves in.”</p> - -<p>Tying the blankets to a line, they hoisted them up. They went to the -beach, and picking up some dry eel-grass, spread it over the platform -for a bed, and covered it with the sail of Ben’s canoe.</p> - -<p>John fastened them all in with ropes, and then fastened himself. -Charlie slept in the middle; they cuddled up together, and were as -warm as toast. The trees on the island had already parted with most of -their leaves, but the maple, standing in a sheltered spot, retained its -foliage.</p> - -<p>The limbs of the great tree swayed gently in the westerly breeze, and -the moonbeams came slanting through them most delightfully, as the boys -lay listening to the moan of the night wind, the sound of the surf -along the shore, and watched the clouds as they coursed by the moon, -all heightened by the novelty of their situation.</p> - -<p>“I’m glad we did it,” said Charlie; “I had no idea it would be so nice.”</p> - -<p>Fred wished he could be a bird, and always live in the tree-tops. -The swaying of the branches communicated to their couch a motion -exceedingly pleasant, which, rousing a long-slumbering association in -Charlie’s mind, he struck up the old ditty,—</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_233" id="Page_233">233</a></span></p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> - <div class="poem"> - <div class="verse"> - <div class="line outdent">“Hushaby, baby, on the tree-top,</div> - <div class="line">When the wind blows the cradle will rock,” &c.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p>But after twelve o’clock the wind changed to south-east; clouds -obscured the moon; and, while the boys were quietly sleeping, a gust -of wind struck the tree, covering them with showers of leaves, while -the rain dashed in sheets upon their faces. Waking in alarm, they found -themselves enveloped in midnight darkness, pelted with rain, and their -couch quivering in the gale. Covering their heads with the bed-clothes, -they took counsel in the emergency. Fred and Charlie were alarmed and -anxious, but John, whose spirits always rose with danger, seemed very -much at his ease.</p> - -<p>“What shall we do?” said Fred.</p> - -<p>“Stay where we are,” replied John; “at any rate till the blankets wet -through.”</p> - -<p>But the rain came down in torrents, and it soon began to run in under -and over them.</p> - -<p>“We can’t stay here,” said Charlie; “let’s go to the house.”</p> - -<p>“I won’t,” replied John; “Ben will laugh at us, and Sally will say, -‘Didn’t I tell you so.’”</p> - -<p>“Charlie, have you got the flint, steel, and matches?”</p> - -<p>“Yes.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_234" id="Page_234">234</a></span> -“Do you know of any hollow tree?”</p> - -<p>“Yes; a great big one, all dead.”</p> - -<p>“Could you find it in the dark?”</p> - -<p>“Yes; I can go right to it.”</p> - -<p>They found the tree, dark as it was, for Charlie knew it stood in the -corner of the log fence, and followed the fence till he came to it. -It was an enormous pine, completely dead, and with a hollow in it -large enough to hold the whole of them. It stood among a growth of old -hemlocks, whose foliage was so dense,—the lower limbs drooping almost -to the earth,—that they shed the rain, and the ground under them was -but slightly wet.</p> - -<p>“This is the place,” said John, in high glee; “we’ll have the hemlock -to make a fire under, and the old pine for our bedroom.”</p> - -<p>He got into the tree, and scraping some dry splinters from the inside -of it, struck fire with his flint and steel, and kindled them. It was -not John’s design to build his fire in the old pine, only to kindle -it there, because it was a dry place. He now took the blazing wood -up, and put it on the ground under the hemlocks, and the rest fed the -flame with dry pieces torn from the inside of the pine, till they had a -bright blaze. By this light they stripped bark from the birches, picked -up pitch<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_235" id="Page_235">235</a></span> knots, and dragged dead branches, which, though wet on the -outside, the fire was now hot enough to burn. They now threw themselves -upon the ground, which was thoroughly dried by the tremendous heat.</p> - -<p>“A maple is a beautiful tree to look at,” said John; “but give me an -old hemlock for a rain-storm, and to build a fire under.”</p> - -<p>Charlie, to whom such scenes were altogether new, was in raptures.</p> - -<p>“I didn’t know before,” he said, “that you could make a fire in the -woods in a rain-storm. I never saw any woods till I came to this -country, and don’t know anything about such things as you and Fred, -that have been brought up in them.”</p> - -<p>“There are always places,” replied John, “in thick forests,—hollow -trees, the north-west side of logs, and in hollow logs, where the wet -never gets: in those places you can always find dry stuff, and, when -you get a hot fire, wet or green wood will burn.”</p> - -<p>“It seems so wild and independent; no dukes, and earls, and gamekeepers -to watch you, but just go where you please, kill and eat. We will go -some time, and do what we were telling about,—live wild,—won’t we, -John?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_236" id="Page_236">236</a></span> -“Yes; after father gets home. You get Uncle Isaac to tell you about how -the Indians do, and I will, too.”</p> - -<p>“Yes; and I shall learn to shoot better with a gun by that time, and -you will learn to shoot with a bow. I tell you what, I like to contrive -and make shifts, and get along so, better than I do to have everything -to do with, or have everything done for me. I’m such a fool, I expect I -shall hate to give up my birch-bark sail when I get a good one.”</p> - -<p>“So do I. Ben is the greatest for that, and so is father; you can’t get -either of them in so tight a place that they can’t get out of it. It -seems to come natural to them to contrive; they don’t have to stop and -think about it, like other folks do.”</p> - -<p>“That’s so. The other day father was going over to the main land, and -mother wanted him to look well, and she had no flat-iron to iron a fine -shirt; so she wanted him to take it to your mother and get her to iron -it; but he got a square glass bottle, and filled it full of hot water, -and she ironed it first rate with that.”</p> - -<p>“There’s another thing I like,” said John; “I like to go to new places; -I should like to go to a strange place every day; I should like to go -all over the world.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_237" id="Page_237">237</a></span> -“I don’t; when I find a place I like, I want to stay there; and the -longer I stay the better I like it; it seems as if I liked the very -ground.”</p> - -<p>“I think we’ve had a splendid time,” said Fred.</p> - -<p>“We had a good time in the tree while it lasted, and now I don’t see -how we could have any better time than we are having here.”</p> - -<p>“Yes,” replied John; “the ducking coming in between is just what puts -the touch on. Now let’s go to sleep in the old stub.”</p> - -<p>They cleaned out the rotten wood, put in some brush to lie on, built -the fire so near to it that the heat from it would keep them warm, and -were soon fast asleep. When they awoke the fire was still burning, and -the tempest had abated, though it was still raining heavily. Making -their way to the house, they met Ben coming in quest of them.</p> - -<p>“I should think,” said he, “that you had crept into a hollow log, by -the looks of your jackets.”</p> - -<p>While eating their breakfasts they detailed the night’s adventures.</p> - -<p>“I’m glad,” said Sally, “I didn’t know you were in the top of that -tree; I shouldn’t have slept a wink if I had; it must be curious fun to -leave a good warm bed and sleep in the top of a tree this time of year. -I don’t see what put that in your<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_238" id="Page_238">238</a></span> heads; that’s some of John’s work, -I know. I don’t believe but, if you would own the truth, you wished -yourselves snug in bed when the squall struck.”</p> - -<p>“You’ve been out in the rain enough for once,” said Ben; “I shan’t let -you go out again till it’s done raining. I think you had better go to -bed and finish your nap.”</p> - -<p>“We are all here together,” said Charlie, “and can’t do anything else; -let’s make some baskets; ’twill be money in our pockets, for we have -none on hand; I’ve got stuff in the house all pounded.”</p> - -<p>They made a fire in the great fireplace, and sitting around it, made -baskets, and laid new plans. At noon the weather cleared; but after -eating a hearty dinner, and the fatigue and excitement of the night’s -adventure, the boys felt but little inclined to engage in anything -that required active exertion. They lolled on the grass a while, and -at length Charlie proposed that they should go a fishing. The tides -being very high, the water had flowed up to the fissure in the ledge -where the brook ran over. A whole school of smelts and tom-cods, taking -advantage of this, had come up with the tide, and the mouth of the -brook was full of them. After fishing a while, Fred Williams tied his -handkerchief<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_239" id="Page_239">239</a></span> to four sticks, and putting some bait in it, and a stone -to sink it, fastened a line to each corner, and let it down into the -water. The smelts going in to eat the bait, he gradually drew it up, -and, when almost at the surface, gave a quick jerk; but the water was -so long filtering through the handkerchief that they all swam out.</p> - -<p>“I can fix them, I know,” said Charlie.</p> - -<p>He got a bushel basket, and took out small pieces of the filling to -make it a little more open, put in bait, and sunk it. After the fish -were in he drew it slowly up. The basket being deep, and the fish well -to the bottom, they did not take alarm until the rim was almost at -the top of the water. Charles then jerked it out, when the water ran -through the open basket so quickly, that, unable to escape, they were -caught. When satisfied with this sport, they selected the largest for -their supper, and Charles gave the rest to his hens.</p> - -<p>When they awoke the next morning the sun was shining in their faces, -and coming down stairs they were astonished to find it was nine -o’clock, and that Ben had eaten his breakfast, and gone to work in the -woods.</p> - -<p>“Well, boys,” said Sally, “which do you like the best, the tree top, -the pine stub, or the bed up stairs?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_240" id="Page_240">240</a></span> -“The bed up stairs is first rate,” replied John, “as you may judge by -the length of our nap; but the pine stub for me.”</p> - -<p>As they were eating and chatting, Ben came running in for his gun, -saying there was a seal in the cove.</p> - -<p>“O, do let me shoot him!” cried John, leaping from the table.</p> - -<p>“I’m afraid you won’t hit him; I want his skin and oil, for he’s a -bouncer.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, I will; do let me fire, Ben?”</p> - -<p>Charlie had cut a scull-hole in his canoe, so that she could be used -for gunning.</p> - -<p>Getting into this, John sculled towards the creature, who kept swimming -and diving. At length he fired. The water was instantly red with blood. -John paddled with all his might, but the seal began to sink; catching -up a flounder-spear, he endeavored to pierce him with it, but he had -sunk out of reach. He instantly flung over the anchor, fastened an oar -to it to mark the spot, and then paddled slowly back, with downcast -looks.</p> - -<p>“You have done well, John,” said Ben, who saw he was mortified; “they -will sink when you kill them outright. If we only had Tige here he -would bring him up.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_241" id="Page_241">241</a></span> -“I will dive and get him at low water.”</p> - -<p>At low water, John, diving down, brought up the seal. Neither of the -other boys had ever seen one, except in the water. They regarded it -with great interest, and volunteered, under John’s direction, to skin -it and obtain the fat, called blubber, from which a good oil is made.</p> - -<p>“Only see, John,” cried the two boys, “if he has not got whiskers just -like a cat; and what funny legs; why, they are not legs; what are they?”</p> - -<p>“We call them flippers,” said Ben. He then showed them that there -was a membrane between the toes of his feet, like a duck’s. His hind -legs were about as long as the thighs of a hog would be, if the legs -were cut off at the gambrel joint. They cannot with these short legs -walk much on the land, but are very active in the water. In the warm -nights in summer they crawl out on the rocks, and lie and play, and -you may hear them growling and whining like so many dogs; they also, -in the winter time, lie on the ice cakes and float about, and when -alarmed they slide into the water in an instant. When they are wounded -severely, and are in the agonies of death, they will float till the -gunners can get hold of them; but if they are killed outright they -sink at once. Those who shoot them<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_242" id="Page_242">242</a></span> generally have a spear, or hook, -with which they sometimes catch them as they are going down, as John -attempted to do. Ben also told them that the seals were so strong, that -if you took hold of one of their paws when they were half dead, they -would twist it out of your <a name="grip" id="grip"></a><ins title="Original has gripe">grip</ins> with such force and quickness as to -benumb the fingers. The fat or blubber of a seal lies in one sheet over -the meat, about two inches in thickness, and not at all mixed with it, -as is the case with other animals.</p> - -<p>The boys removed the skin from this mass of fat, like lard, which was -quite a difficult operation for novices, and required a great deal of -care, that they might not cut the skin, or leave the fat upon it. When -the skin was removed, there lay the fat in one mass, that trembled when -they touched it. They next removed this in strips, leaving the carcass -lean, and of a dark red. They now stretched the skin tight with nails -on the door of the hovel to dry, and Sally, cutting the blubber into -small pieces, put it on the fire to render. It made excellent oil to -burn in lamps, and to sell; and the skin was used in those days to make -caps, gloves, and boots for winter, also to cover trunks, and for many -other uses.</p> - -<p>Skinning the seal, and especially talking about it,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_243" id="Page_243">243</a></span> had consumed so -much time, that they determined to devote what little of the day was -left to playing ball, especially as Charlie was very fond of the sport, -and seldom had any one to play with him. They persuaded Ben to make one -of their number. The island being mostly forest, they had not a very -large place in which to play, as part of that cleared was sown with -winter rye, which had grown so much on the new, strong land, as to make -it difficult to find the ball. Thus they were limited to a piece of -ground, not of great extent, near the shore. The boys had bat-sticks, -but Ben preferred to use his fist, with which he sent the ball whizzing -through the air with great velocity. At length becoming excited with -the game, he struck it with such force as to send it over the White -Bull into the water. He then went to his work in the woods, leaving the -boys to get their ball as they could. Not many moments elapsed before -they were on board the canoe in hot pursuit. Pulling in the direction -they had seen it go, they soon discovered it bobbing up and down on a -breaker in the cave on the White Bull. The cave was formed by two rocky -points, and the bottom of it was, near the shore, a smooth granite -ledge; but across its mouth were ragged and broken reefs, two fathoms -beneath the surface at the lowest<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_244" id="Page_244">244</a></span> tides. Over these the great wave -came in, filling the whole cave with a sheet of foam. In this breaker -lay the ball; when the wave curled over and broke, it would come -towards the shore and excite hope; then the recoil would carry it back -again: thus it tantalized them.</p> - -<p>“I’ll have that ball,” said Fred, who was a splendid swimmer, and as -much at home in the water as a fish.</p> - -<p>“It’s impossible,” said Charlie, “till there comes a northerly wind to -blow the sea down, and a calm after it; then I’ve seen it so smooth you -might go over it in a canoe, and I have been over it.”</p> - -<p>“But I’ll swim in and get it.”</p> - -<p>“Swim in! The moment you get into that undertow, it will hold you, and -carry you back and forth just as it is doing that ball. Why, I’ve seen -a mill-log get in there and stay three or four days; and so it will -carry you back and forth till you are worn out, or perish. I had rather -make you a dozen balls than you should go in there.”</p> - -<p>“I tell you I <i>will</i> go in there and get that ball; I’ll have a try for -it, at any rate.”</p> - -<p>“No, you won’t,” said John; “for we are the strongest party, and we -won’t <i>let</i> you, if we have to tie you, or lay you down and pile rocks -on you.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_245" id="Page_245">245</a></span> -“I tell you I have a <i>plan</i>, if you would only <i>help</i> a fellow a -little. Charlie gave me that ball, and it’s all the present I ever had -in my life; for nobody ever cared enough about me to give me anything -before.”</p> - -<p>“Let’s hear your plan.”</p> - -<p>“Can’t you row up to the surf in the canoe? I will put a line round me -and go <i>in</i>; then, if it <i>sucks</i> me <i>in</i>, you can pull me out.”</p> - -<p>“Well, Fred, we will do that, if we can find a line strong enough.”</p> - -<p>“I can get a new line,” said Charlie, “that was left when they rigged -the Ark.”</p> - -<p>There was no getting into the cave by its mouth, as it was entirely -filled by the surf; so they hauled the canoe over the rock into the -cave, rowed up, and anchored as near as they dared, to look at it. -Every time the surf came in, which was about once in five minutes, it -swept the ball towards them, where it remained a minute or two, and -then the recoil of the wave drew it back. Fred, putting the line round -him, flung himself into the water, which was spotted with patches -of gray froth that the wind blew from the crest of the breaker. The -resolute boy breasted the waves; but so far from being sucked in, he -found it impossible to reach the spot<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_246" id="Page_246">246</a></span> where the ball lay, and the -suction began, by reason of the wind, which blew directly in his face, -and the sea, that, beyond the influence of the breaker, drove directly -to the shore; and, worn out with effort, he returned exhausted to the -boat.</p> - -<p>“<i>I</i> have got a plan,” said Charlie, who, by this time, had become as -much interested as Fred himself. “Let us make the line fast ashore, -Fred sit in the stern and hold on to it, keeping his eye on the ball, -and tell us where and how to row, and one or the other of us will catch -it.”</p> - -<p>“Suppose,” said John, “while he was watching the ball and us, he should -happen to let the line slip, or couldn’t hold it; then we should follow -the ball right into the breaker.”</p> - -<p>“We will make the end fast to the head-board of the canoe; then it -<i>can’t</i> get away, and we can have it as well as he.”</p> - -<p>The boys now pulled up the grappling, holding the canoe stationary with -their oars till the surf should come in to drive the ball towards them.</p> - -<p>“Ready!” shouted Fred; “here it comes!”</p> - -<p>“Ay, ay.”</p> - -<p>“Ready! Give way together!”</p> - -<p>Away shot the canoe directly to the surf.</p> - -<p>“Ease, Charlie; pull, John; steady together;<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_247" id="Page_247">247</a></span> grab, Charlie! it’s right -under the bow, on your side.”</p> - -<p>Looking over his shoulder, Charlie caught sight of it; dropping -his oar, he strove to grasp it; but the canoe, ceasing to feel the -influence of his oar, sheered and went over it. The next time it was on -John’s side, but the result was the same; the canoe could not be kept -stationary a moment without both oars.</p> - -<p>“Pay out the line, Fred,” said John; “let’s go beyond it; I’ll risk the -surf.”</p> - -<p>Fred, who needed no prompting, did as he was ordered. Familiarity -with danger had made them reckless. With set teeth and white lips -they strained at the oars; the canoe stood almost on end, and the din -was awful. At that moment the blade of John’s oar struck the ball; -feathering<a name="FNanchor_B_1" id="FNanchor_B_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_B_1" class="fnanchor">[B]</a> his oar with a jerk, he sent it skipping over the water -out of the eddy, where the wind drove it directly to the shore.</p> - -<div class="footnote"> -<p><a name="Footnote_B_1" id="Footnote_B_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_B_1"><span class="label">[B]</span></a> Turning it edgewise.</p> -</div> - -<p>“Haul, Fred! haul for your life!” shouted he, for the canoe was now -within the undertow, that set directly towards the breaker. Shipping -their oars, they sat down in the bottom of the canoe, which now stood -almost perpendicular, and bracing their feet against the knees that ran -across the bottom, grasped the line, and united their efforts to those -of Fred.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_248" id="Page_248">248</a></span> -“Haul and hold!” cried John; “take a turn, Charlie!”</p> - -<p>Charlie ran the end of the line through a hole in the head-board, and -took in the slack. Slowly the canoe yielded to their efforts, as with -desperate energy, they strained at the line, and began to recede from -the surf. All at once the line slackened in their grasp.</p> - -<p>“It’s coming,” cried John; “haul hand over hand; the breaker is after -us.”</p> - -<p>There came a rush and a roar; they were covered with spray, and the -canoe was half filled with water; but the surf had fallen short of -them, and they were safe.</p> - -<p>Trembling with excitement, and breathless with exertion, they gazed -upon each other in silence as the canoe drifted back before the wind to -the beach.</p> - -<p>“I never will play with this ball again,” said Fred, taking it from the -water; “but I will keep it just as long as I live.”</p> - -<p>“You ought to, Fred,” said John, “for we have risked our lives to get -it.”</p> - -<div class="figcenter width600"> -<img src="images/p248.jpg" width="600" height="385" alt="" /> -<div class="caption"> - <span class="smcap">Getting the Ball in the Breaker.</span>—<a href="#Page_249">Page 249.</a> -</div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_249" id="Page_249">249</a></span> -Indeed, Charles and John had done as boys often do; after giving Fred -good advice, and striving to prevent him from a perilous act, they had -involved him and themselves in greater danger.</p> - -<p>“I think, John, we had better not mention this matter at home; if we -do, I’m afraid father will send you and Fred both home, and never let -me have another holiday.”</p> - -<p>“We must go to the fire; we are wet with perspiration; and if I look -as the rest of you do, they will know something is the matter, and -question us.”</p> - -<p>“If they do, I shall tell the truth.”</p> - -<p>“Of course you will.”</p> - -<p>“We might do as we did before—make a fire in the woods.”</p> - -<p>“That’s first rate; I never thought of that.”</p> - -<p>Youth soon recovers from fatigue; and after lying an hour stretched at -full length before a warm fire, they felt entirely rested. Thoroughly -dried, and recruited by rest, they now began to feel the pressing calls -of appetite.</p> - -<p>“I’m so hungry,” said Fred; “I do wish it was supper time.”</p> - -<p>“It is almost,” said Charlie; “and if we go home mother will hurry it -up.”</p> - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="divider" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_250" id="Page_250">250</a></span> -</div> - - - -<h2><a name="xvii" id="xvii"></a>CHAPTER XVII.<br /> -<small>UNCLE ISAAC’S PLEDGE.</small></h2> - - -<p><span class="smcap">As</span> they came to the edge of the woods they espied Uncle Isaac standing -beneath the branches of the old maple, and, with his hand over his -eyes, looking all around him as though in quest of something. Equally -surprised and delighted, they ran to meet him.</p> - -<p>“I heard you was on here,” said he, “and was looking for you. How do -you do, Charlie?”</p> - -<p>“Very well, I thank you, Uncle Isaac. O, how glad I am to see you! It -is a great while since you were here.”</p> - -<p>John, who knew Charlie was too modest to do it himself, showed him the -lookout in the top of the tree, the house, and all that was in it, and -also told him how Charlie beat them firing at a mark, though they had -guns, and he a bow and arrows; and showed him the bullet-holes and -arrow-marks in the target.</p> - -<p>“What should you say if I could beat that?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_251" id="Page_251">251</a></span> -The boys entreated him to fire.</p> - -<p>“This bow is rather small for me, and the arrow will go slower than I -have been accustomed to have them, which makes it difficult judging how -much it will fall. It’s many a long year since I drew an arrow to the -head; but I’ve seen the time it would have been as much as any of your -lives were worth to have run across the roughest ground you ever saw, -within thirty yards of my arrow; that is, if I was prepared to harm -you. Have any of you hit the dot?”</p> - -<p>“No,” replied Fred; “but Charlie came within an inch of it.”</p> - -<p>“Well, I am going to hit it. Where did you stand, Charlie?”</p> - -<p>“Here, Uncle Isaac; I put my toe right against that stone.”</p> - -<p>“I will put mine right against that stone; I want you all to see that -it’s fair, and I stand just in his tracks.”</p> - -<p>The boys all allowed it was fair. After firing up in the air once or -twice, to get the hang of the bow, he planted an arrow, as he had said, -directly in the dot.</p> - -<p>The boys were greatly delighted at this proof of skill.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_252" id="Page_252">252</a></span> -“I will show you another thing. Charlie, run to the house and get your -mother’s milk-pail. Now, what will you bet that I can’t shoot an arrow -up in the air so that it will come down in that pail?”</p> - -<p>“It’s impossible,” cried Charlie; “it can’t be done.”</p> - -<p>“If I do it, will you and John give me a day’s work this fall digging -potatoes?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, will we.”</p> - -<p>“And so will I,” said Fred.</p> - -<p>He drew the bow, and, sure enough, the arrow came down in the -milk-pail, and, as it was pointed, stuck up in it.</p> - -<p>“Well,” exclaimed Charlie, “if any man in this world had told me he had -seen that done, or that it could be done, I wouldn’t have believed him.”</p> - -<p>“I rather think,” said Uncle Isaac, with a smile, “this is the easiest -way in which I can dig my potatoes.”</p> - -<p>“Now, Uncle Isaac,” said Charlie, “I want you to tell me just one -thing; how did you learn to shoot so? My grandfather killed men in -battle, and used to shoot at the butts on holidays, and gained prizes -for shooting, but he couldn’t shoot like that; and I don’t believe he -ever heard of anything like it.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_253" id="Page_253">253</a></span> -“I learnt among the Indians, when I was a lad. I was on a visit at my -uncle’s, and the Indians were in ambush in the woods. My uncle was a -very strong, fearless man, and an excellent marksman. It was not known -that there were any Indians round; and one morning he loaded his gun -(for they never went without arms in those days), and went down beside -the brook to cut some timber. Instead of taking his powder-horn, he, by -mistake, took a horn that was full of sand, which they kept to put on -the scythe rifles. (We would say to our readers, that the scythe rifles -in those days were not made as at present, by putting sand or emery -upon wood, with cement; but they scratched the wood and made it rough, -then smeared it with tallow, and put fine sand on it, which adhered to -the tallow and the scratches.) While he was at work the Indians fired -at and wounded him. He returned the fire, and killed the chief’s son, -and, when they rushed upon him, he killed another with the butt of -his gun, when they mastered him. If he had only taken his powder-horn -instead of the sand, he would probably have driven them off. They then -killed my aunt and cousins, and put my poor uncle to the torture; but -the chief, whose son my uncle had killed, took me for his own, and I<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_254" id="Page_254">254</a></span> -grew up with the Indians, and they learnt me all their ways. When I was -with them I used to shoot partridges, coons, and porcupines, for my -Indian mother.”</p> - -<p>“Do Indians know much? I thought they were ignorant as beasts.”</p> - -<p>“They don’t know how to read in books; but they are a wise and -understanding people, after their fashion. I learned to love my Indian -father and mother, for they were very kind to me, and, when we were -scant of food, would go without themselves to feed me.”</p> - -<p>“Why can’t you stay, and go hunting with us to-morrow, and tell us more -about the Indians?”</p> - -<p>“I can’t, child; because I only came over to bring some bad news, and -must go right back.”</p> - -<p>“What is the news?” said John. “Is anything the matter at our house, or -has there any bad tidings come from father?”</p> - -<p>“Poor old Uncle Yelf is dead; and I hope none of us will ever die in -such an awful way.”</p> - -<p>“How did he die?”</p> - -<p>“Why, night before last his horse came home with the bridle under his -feet. They raised the neighborhood, and followed the horse’s tracks -to William Griffin’s door, and then it got dark, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_255" id="Page_255">255</a></span> they lost them; -however, they hunted in the slough holes, and all about, a good part of -the night, for it was cold, and they knew if he laid out he’d perish. -But the next morning, when Mr. Griffin went out to feed his hogs, there -lay the poor old man in the hogs’ bed, stone dead. Boys, do either of -you drink spirit?”</p> - -<p>They all replied that they had drank it.</p> - -<p>“I drink it,” said John, “at huskings and raisings, and when father -gives it to me.”</p> - -<p>“So do I,” said Fred; “but I don’t buy any to drink myself.”</p> - -<p>“I,” said Charlie, “used to drink at home, when father gave it to me; -but, after he was pressed, I promised my mother not to drink any, and I -never have, of my own will; but when I was in the Albatross they used -to make me drink, and poured it down my throat if I refused, in order -that I might sing songs, and make sport for them when I was drunk.”</p> - -<p>“Well, I want you, and John, and Frederick to agree, before I leave -this spot that I am sitting on, that you will never taste another drop -of liquor, without you are sick.”</p> - -<p>“Why do you want us to promise that?”</p> - -<p>“Because I remember the time when Yelf was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_256" id="Page_256">256</a></span> as smart, iron-sided, and -industrious a man as ever trod the Lord’s earth. It took a withy man -to lay him on his back, or lift his load, I tell you. He had a farm -of two hundred acres of the best of new land; his wife milked seven -cows, made butter and cheese, and spun and wove all their cloth; they -had enough of everything, and everybody was as welcome to it as they -were themselves. He was as well thought of as any man in town, and bid -fair to be a rich man. But he carried all that stock and land to the -store (except one acre and a half) in a two-quart jug, and died drunk -among the hogs. Now, that poor woman, who has counted her cheese by -scores, and her butter by tubs, has not a drop of milk except what the -neighbors give her, nor a stick of wood but what she picks up.”</p> - -<p>Uncle Isaac’s voice was broken, and the tears ran down his cheeks. The -boys were greatly affected; they had never seen the calm, resolute man -moved before, and the tears stood in their eyes.</p> - -<p>“There’s no telling,” continued he, “what a man, who drinks ever so -little, may come to, and how it may grow upon him; but if he don’t -drink at all he is safe.”</p> - -<p>The proposition of their friend was, notwithstanding, so strange in -that day, that the boys hesitated.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_257" id="Page_257">257</a></span> -“Uncle Isaac,” asked John, “don’t you drink?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, I do, John; but if I was beginning life, and forming habits as -you are, a drop should never cross my lips. Though I never drank a -daily dram, and sometimes not for six months, and was never intoxicated -in my life, I’ve strong thoughts—yes, I’ve very strong thoughts—of -leaving it off altogether.”</p> - -<p>“But father drinks, and my brother Ben, and the minister, and everybody -I know. When the minister comes to our house, mother gets some gin, -sweetens it with loaf sugar, and puts it down on the hearth to warm. I -know my mother wouldn’t do anything wrong; she couldn’t.”</p> - -<p>“Your father, the minister, and myself may be able to govern ourselves, -but a great many others may not, and you may not. Poor Mr. Yelf never -thought he should die in a hog-sty.”</p> - -<p>“But,” asked Fred, “if it is wrong now, wan’t it always wrong? You -never said anything about it before.”</p> - -<p>“I’ve been thinking about it this long time, and have been gradually -brought to see that it was gaining ground, and getting hold of the -young ones; that it was killing people, and making poverty and misery, -and have thought something ought<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_258" id="Page_258">258</a></span> to be done. As long ago as when this -house of Ben’s was building, I found old Mr. Yelf in a slough, bruised, -dirty, and bloody. Ever since that I’ve been thinking about it; it has -kept me awake nights. But when I saw the poor old man, whom I had known -so well to do, dead among the swine, I felt the time had come. I meant -to have begun with older people, and should not have thought of you; -but when I heard that you were all on here together, it seemed to me -that the road was pinted out; that you had no bad habits to break off, -and that it would be beginning at the root of the tree; for if there -were no young folks growing up to drink, there would be no old ones to -die drunkards.”</p> - -<p>“I’ll promise,” said Fred. “I should like to go ahead in something -good;” and so said the others.</p> - -<p>“I don’t want you to promise without consideration, because I expect -you to keep it. A promise made in a hurry is broken in a hurry. I want -you to be ‘fully persuaded in your own minds,’ and think what you would -do if your own folks should ask you to drink.”</p> - -<p>“It costs a great deal,” said John. “Father spends lots of money for -spirit to drink and give away; and I don’t think it does anybody any -good,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_259" id="Page_259">259</a></span> for I am as well as I can be without it. I’ll do it, and stick -to it.”</p> - -<p>“Charles,” said Uncle Isaac, “go to the house and bring up Ben’s big -auger, that he bores yokes with.”</p> - -<p>When the auger was brought, he took it and bored a hole in the side -of the maple. “Now, I want you to put your hands on this auger, and -promise not to drink any spirit, without you are sick, till this hole -grows up.”</p> - -<p>“But,” said Charlie, “after it grows up there will be nothing to keep -us from drinking.”</p> - -<p>“It will be many a year before that hole grows up, for I’ve bored -through the sap. I expect by that time you will have seen so much of -the bad effects of drinking spirit, and the benefits of letting it -alone, that no power on earth would persuade you to do it.”</p> - -<p>Sally now blew the horn for supper. As they went with Uncle Isaac to -his boat, Fred said to him, “You know we’ve got a whole week for a -holiday; we have been so much more used to work than play, and have -so many things in our heads, that we don’t know what to do first. If -you was a boy, like us, what would you do to-morrow, to have the best -time?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_260" id="Page_260">260</a></span> -“Yes; tell us,” said Charlie.</p> - -<p>“Well, I’ll tell you, and see what you think of it. Mr. Yelf is going -to be put into the ground to-morrow, and I’ve come on to let Ben and -Sally know, that they may go over to the funeral. He has left his -family miserably poor. His only son is in the Ark with Captain Rhines. -The neighbors are going to send in enough for the present. Suppose, -while we are gone to the funeral, you boys should go and catch a good -lot of fish,—enough to last Mrs. Yelf all winter. When she was well to -do, before he took to drinking, nobody went hungry in her neighborhood. -I’ll be on the beach, in Captain Rhines’s cave, when you come back, and -will split and salt the fish; there’s a flake to dry them on, and no -Pete Clash to throw them in the water. I will cure them; and when they -are done you can take them to her.”</p> - -<p>“We don’t want anything better than that,” said the boys.</p> - -<p>“I’d rather do that,” said Fred, “than play at the best play in the -world; you are real good to put it into our heads;” and he threw his -arms around his friend’s neck.</p> - -<p>“But,” asked Charlie, “how shall we know where to go? I know where to -go for hake and winter<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_261" id="Page_261">261</a></span> cod; but it’s too late for hake, and the winter -fish have not come in.”</p> - -<p>“There’s rock cod on the ledges; and I can tell John, who knows the -shores and islands, so that you can find them. You know, John, that -lone spruce on the end of Birch Pint?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, sir.”</p> - -<p>“Bring that to bear over the western pint of the Junk of Pork, at -high-water mark; then bring the north-west side of Smutty Nose, and -the south-east side of Oak Island, just touching on to each other, -and you’ll be on a kelp shoal, where there’s plenty of rock cod, and -where it is so shallow that at low water you can see them bite. Your -grandfather showed me those marks. It isn’t everybody that knows that -spot, and I don’t want you to tell them to anybody. Be sure, if it -breaks, to anchor to the leeward of the breaker, because, if your -anchor should drag, you might drift into it. It’s a good bit to sea, -but there’s three of you, good stout boys, to row, that ain’t afraid of -trifles. The wind is north-west; I think it will be smooth, and you can -take the big canoe.”</p> - -<p>“But father will want that to go to the funeral,” said Charlie; “and -mine is not large enough to go so far.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_262" id="Page_262">262</a></span> -“Well, then, take mine; I’ll go home in yours, and we will swap at the -beach.”</p> - -<p>“I wish I could do more for the poor woman; it is not much to get her a -lot of fish.”</p> - -<p>“Not much for you, but it will be a great deal to her, though. They -have got potatoes in the ground, and that will give them hash all -winter; and beans growing, and a little piece of corn, that won’t come -to much, but it will fat their pig, that’s now running in the woods. -I’ll tell you what else you can do. When I come to make my cider, you -can all come to our house; we will take my oxen and haul her wood -enough to last all winter; and you can have just as many apples, and as -much new cider, as you want.”</p> - -<p>“What shall we have for bait? There are no menhaden in the bay.”</p> - -<p>“You don’t want any; rock fish will bite at clams; and it is most low -water; then you can get some; and if you could get a lobster it would -be first rate. I want you, while you are young, to get in the way of -feeling for your fellow-critters, and then it will grow on you just -as rum-drinking grows on a drunkard. When God wants us he calls for -us. I’m sure I hope when he calls for me, he will find me with my hand -stretched out, putting<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_263" id="Page_263">263</a></span> something into some poor critter’s mouth, and -not drunk in a hog-sty.”</p> - -<p>“Did God call Uncle Yelf?” asked John.</p> - -<p>“No; he went without being called; killed himself; and it’s dreadful to -think what has become of his soul.”</p> - -<p>It was nearly night when Uncle Isaac dropped his oars into the water. -The boys went directly to digging clams by the bright moonlight; and -as Ben and Sally helped them,—Sally picking them up and washing -them,—it was soon accomplished. While this was going on, Charlie, -with his spear, poked some lobsters from beneath the rocks. Ben was so -much occupied with thoughts about Uncle Yelf’s funeral, that he never -asked a question in respect to the ball, or where they found it, merely -saying, as he saw it in Fred’s hand, “So you got your ball.”</p> - -<p>As tired as dogs, but happy, they lay down. Fred exclaimed, “What is -the matter with this bed? it seems to be going up and down.”</p> - -<p>“It’s the motion of the boat that is in your head,” replied John.</p> - -<p>Charlie was already snoring.</p> - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="divider" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_264" id="Page_264">264</a></span> -</div> - - - -<h2><a name="xviii" id="xviii"></a>CHAPTER XVIII.<br /> -<small>GENEROSITY AND PLUCK.</small></h2> - - -<p><span class="smcap">It</span> was two o’clock in the morning, when Sally, who had the breakfast -all ready, called the boys.</p> - -<p>“The wind is north-west, and there will be no surf round the rocks,” -said Ben, who was up to help them away.</p> - -<p>“You are sure you remember the marks?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, father; I’ve written them all down in my birch-bark book.”</p> - -<p>There was a moderate breeze, the fag end of a north-wester, and the -canoe, which was large, and had excellent oars, sail, and a first-rate -steering paddle, went off before it rolling and going over the water -at a great rate. They soon lost sight of the island, and saw nothing -around them but the waves sparkling in the moonbeams, and the loom of -the land like a dim black shadow on the horizon. The boys began to -feel a kind of awe stealing over them, as the last glimpse of it faded -from their sight, and they found themselves rushing into<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_265" id="Page_265">265</a></span> the unknown -waste, for they were steering straight out to sea, without compass, or -any guide other than to keep before the wind till the daylight should -reveal to them the land astern.</p> - -<p>“Was you ever so far from land before, Charlie?” asked John, after they -had run about an hour and a half.</p> - -<p>“No; except in a vessel, with a crew of men, and a compass.”</p> - -<p>“It’s great—ain’t it? to be going through the water in this wild way, -and not see or hear anything but the waves. Only see how she runs when -she gets on the top of one of these long seas; and how they come up -under the stern, and roll over, and go boo.”</p> - -<p>“If we should get out so far by daylight,” said Fred, “that we couldn’t -see the land, should we ever get back?”</p> - -<p>“We can’t get so far; it was after three before we started; the land is -but little way astern, and we can see it fifteen or twenty miles. We -can take in sail and lie by, if we think we are getting too far.”</p> - -<p>“But the wind might blow so hard that we couldn’t get back.”</p> - -<p>“I don’t think there’s much fun without some<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_266" id="Page_266">266</a></span> risk; every old woman -would go to sea if there was no danger.”</p> - -<p>“I’m a great deal more afraid of the wind dying,” said Charlie; “it -don’t blow near so hard as it did; we may have to row.”</p> - -<p>They ran on about an hour longer, when Fred cried out, “It’s daybreak, -I know; there is a streak in the east.”</p> - -<p>Gradually the light increased. John soon declared that he saw the shade -of the land, and didn’t believe they were far enough.</p> - -<p>“I see Elm Island,” shouted Fred.</p> - -<p>“So do I,” said John; “give us your book, Charlie. Luff her up; I can’t -see Birch Point at all; the island hides it; there it comes out. Luff, -Charlie; I see the lone spruce; luff more yet; there, it’s on the Junk -of Pork; there’s one mark, anyhow. Fred, you keep your eye on the mark, -and tell Charlie how to steer, while I look for the other one. I see -Smutty Nose, but we are not far enough; I knew we wasn’t. I can’t see -Oak Island at all; Smutty covers it all up. O, good wind, don’t die! -don’t die! please don’t die! for the sake of the widow Yelf.”</p> - -<p>In about half an hour John exclaimed, “There it comes out; I see the -tall oaks on the north-eastern<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_267" id="Page_267">267</a></span> end. Hurrah! Keep away a little; here -it is; both marks on; let the sheet fly!” he cried, flinging the -anchor overboard. As it splashed in the water, the wind gave one puff, -and died away to a flat calm, just as the rising sun flung its beams -directly in the boys’ faces.</p> - -<p>“Now, brother mariners,” said John, who was in high feather at this -auspicious beginning of their enterprise, “we’ve got a fishing-ground -of our own, marks of our own, all written down in a birch-bark book, -and can come when we like. What do you say? shall we eat now, or wait -till noon?”</p> - -<p>“I think,” said Charlie, “we had better take a bite before we wet our -lines, for if we get the fish round we shan’t want to stop.”</p> - -<p>As he spoke, he pulled out a pail and jug from beneath the head-board -of the canoe,—one containing coffee, the other bread, meat, and two -apple pies, which Sally had made the evening before, of some apples -Uncle Isaac brought over to them.</p> - -<p><a name="isnt" id="isnt"></a><ins title="Original has Is’nt">“Isn’t</ins> this good?” with half an apple pie in his hand. It was -something he didn’t have every day, and was a rich treat to him.</p> - -<p>“We’re exactly on the marks,” said he, as he threw his line overboard; -“and it’s just the depth<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_268" id="Page_268">268</a></span> of water Uncle Isaac said there would—” He -didn’t finish the sentence, but, instead, began to haul in his line -with all his might, and soon flung a large cod in the bottom of the -canoe.</p> - -<p>“What a handsome fellow!” said Fred; “his fins, eyes, and gills are -red, and also his back.”</p> - -<p>“What a beauty! Good luck for the widow,” said John, as he threw -another beside it.</p> - -<p>By this time Fred had got his line overboard, and soon added another -to those already caught. For hours nothing was heard but the whizzing -of lines and the flapping of fish, as they were drawn from the water. -Fred, who had not been so much accustomed to fishing as the others, -could not help stopping often to admire the great pile of rock cod.</p> - -<p>They are indeed a beautiful fish when first caught, before the red hue -they obtain from the kelp, among which they feed, has faded.</p> - -<p>In addition to their clams, the boys had an abundance of lobsters and -wrinkles; they had also brought some of the smelts caught in the mouth -of the brook the day before. They pounded these up, and threw them into -the water, which, as they sunk down and drifted astern, drew the fish -from all quarters.</p> - -<p>“I wonder what I’ve got,” cried Fred, who was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_269" id="Page_269">269</a></span> tugging at his line, and -making awful faces, it hurt his fingers so.</p> - -<p>“Perhaps it’s a shark,” said John.</p> - -<p>“O, I hope it is! I’ll take out his backbone and make a cane of it.”</p> - -<p>“It may be a halibut,” said Charlie, taking hold of the line to help -him. But John, looking over the side, burst into laughter, as he -exclaimed, “You’ve got the anchor!”</p> - -<p>“I’ve got something; it ain’t an anchor, neither,” said Charlie, and -pulled up an enormous lobster.</p> - -<p>“How much bigger they grow off here in the deep water, than they do -round the shores! I mean to eat him.”</p> - -<p>It was now near noon, and about low tide; the sun shone bright, the -water was glassy, and they could plainly see the bottom, which was a -reef of rocks covered with long kelps; the largest of which now came to -the top of the water, spreading their great red leaves over its surface.</p> - -<p>They had now caught a great many fish, and began to feel somewhat -tired. Their hands, too, were sore and parboiled from the friction of -the line and constant soaking in the water, especially those of John -and Fred, who did not know how to take out the hook without putting -their fingers into the fish’s<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_270" id="Page_270">270</a></span> mouth, and scratching and cutting them -with his teeth and gills. But Charlie, who was better versed in the -business, took out the hook with his killer—a stick made to fit the -hook, and with which he knocked the fish on the head as he pulled -them in. So, while one of them fished, and threw bait to keep the -fish round, the others leaned over the side of the canoe, and amused -themselves by looking down into the clear water, and seeing the fish -swimming about among the kelp, like cattle in the pasture. There were -sculpins, lobsters, perch, cod, pollock, and once in a while a haddock, -all living as socially together as could be. Sometimes a cusk would -stray in among them, and a sea-nettle come drifting along just outside -the kelp, his long feelers streaming a yard behind him.</p> - -<p>“Look at the muscles down there,” said Fred; “I never knew muscles grew -on rocks way out in the sea; I thought they grew in the mud.”</p> - -<p>“These,” replied John, “are rock muscles, a much smaller kind; they are -what the sea-ducks live on; they dive down and tear them off the rocks -with their bills.”</p> - -<p>“What kind of a thing is that? I should like to know; there, he’s close -to that great rock.”</p> - -<p>“I don’t know; Charlie, come here and tell us what this is.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_271" id="Page_271">271</a></span> -“That,” said Charlie, “is a lump-fish; he don’t belong here, on a rock -cod ledge, but I suppose he’s out making calls this pleasant day.”</p> - -<p>“I should think he was a lump,” said John; “he’s square, both ends.”</p> - -<p>“They are first rate to eat,” said Charlie; “let’s try and catch him, -and give him to Uncle Isaac, together with that great lobster.”</p> - -<p>“What is the best bait for him, Charlie?”</p> - -<p>“I don’t know. You and Fred bait him with lobster, and I will bait him -with clams.”</p> - -<p>They baited their hooks, and lowering them gently into the water, -watched the result. The lump, who was nearest to Charlie’s bait, swam -up to it, turned it round, smelt of it, and then moved off in the -direction of the other lines.</p> - -<p>“He don’t like my bait,” said Charlie; “he’s coming to taste of yours.”</p> - -<p>But before the clumsy creature arrived at the spot, two rock cod -darted at both baits, and were caught. They now all three baited with -lobster, and Fred caught him. An ugly-looking, misshapen thing he was, -with a black, dirty skin, like a sculpin, and called, from his lack of -proportions, a lump-fish.</p> - -<p>“How curious some of these fish do!” said John; “they come up to the -bait, and go right away from<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_272" id="Page_272">272</a></span> it, as though they didn’t like it, and -then turn right about and snap it up.”</p> - -<p>“They do just like some folks at the store, when anybody asks them to -take a dram; they say they don’t know as it’s worth while, or as they -have any occasion, but they always take it, for all that.”</p> - -<p>They had now loaded the canoe as deep as they dared; it was low water -and a flat calm; the prospect was, that they would have to row the -heavy-laden boat home; in that case they would need the whole of the -flood tide to do it with.</p> - -<p>“Let’s reel up our lines,” said Charlie; “the tide has turned.”</p> - -<p>“Let’s wait a little while, and eat up the rest of our grub; perhaps -there will be a southerly wind.”</p> - -<p>After reeling up their lines, they amused themselves a while by -dropping pieces of bait into the water, and seeing the fish run after -it, and try to take it away from each other. While they were eating, -they saw a dark streak upon the water, about a mile off.</p> - -<p>“There’s the fair wind coming,” said Charlie; “now we’ll just wait for -it.”</p> - -<p>They pulled up the anchor, and, setting the sail, continued their -repast, while the canoe drifted along with the flood tide. With a fair -wind and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_273" id="Page_273">273</a></span> tide, they now made rapid progress, and Elm Island, with the -house, was soon in full view. They were so wet with hauling in their -lines, and the wind from the sea was so damp and chilly, that they were -obliged to take turns at the oars to keep themselves warm.</p> - -<p>While they were thus engaged, Fred, who was steering, exclaimed, “I see -a smoke in Captain Rhines’s cove.”</p> - -<p>“So do I,” said John, “and a blaze, too; what can that be for?”</p> - -<p>“I expect,” said Charlie, “Uncle Isaac is there, and has got a -fire—won’t that be good?—to dry our wet clothes; and won’t he laugh -when he comes to see all these fish? We couldn’t have carried fifty -weight more; she almost dips her side under every time she rolls. Keep -her off a little, Fred, so that I can see by the point.”</p> - -<p>Fred changed the direction of the canoe, thus enabling them to look -into the cove.</p> - -<p>“Why, he’s got two fires, a big and a little one; and there’s Tige -along with him.”</p> - -<p>“I tell you, boys,” said Fred, “I like to eat; I think half the fun of -these times is, that things taste so good out doors. It feels so good, -too,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_274" id="Page_274">274</a></span> when you are wet, tired, and a little chilly, to stretch out -before a good, roaring fire!”</p> - -<p>“That’s so,” replied John; “and when you make the fire of old logs and -stumps, with great prongs on them, to sit and eat, and see the blaze go -krinkle krankle in and out among the roots, that go all criss-cross, -and every which way.”</p> - -<p>“When we start off so in the night,” said Charlie, “find a -fishing-ground, and get lots of fish, it makes a fellow feel as though -he was somebody.”</p> - -<p>“Kind of mannish,” said John.</p> - -<p>“Yes, that’s what I mean.”</p> - -<p>As they neared the shore, they were equally astonished and delighted -at what they saw. From a great pile of drift slabs, logs, and stumps -that lay in the cove, Uncle Isaac had made two fires,—one to sit by, -and the other to cook by; he had made at the small fire a crotch to -hang the pot on, and placed stones to keep the fire in place under -the kettle. With his broad-axe he had made a long table and seats, -of slabs. His cart stood on the beach, with the oxen chained to the -wheels. In it he had brought tubs to salt the fish in, knives to split, -and salt to salt them; a kettle, pork, potatoes, new cider, apples, -cheese, bowls, spoons and plates, knives and forks, and some eggs to -roast in the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_275" id="Page_275">275</a></span> ashes. He had put the table by the big fire, and on a -bench beside it sat Hannah Murch, with her white apron on, knitting, -and Uncle Isaac smoking his pipe, and striving to keep from laughing.</p> - -<p>“I hope they’ve got the table big enough,” said John; “it’s big enough -for a dozen people. But only see Tige; just you look there, Charlie; -he’s got a chip in his mouth; when he’s awful glad he always gets a -chip, and gives little, short barks. O, I wish he could talk! Look, -Fred! here he comes; only see how fast he swims!”</p> - -<p>In a few moments Tige was alongside, licking John’s hands, which he -reached out to him, when he swam beside them till they came to the -beach.</p> - -<p>“Uncle Isaac,” screamed Charlie, “I guess you’ll say something when you -see what we’ve got. O, the master lot of fish!”</p> - -<p>“I guess I shall,” he replied, standing up on his toes, and looking -over the boys’ heads, right into the canoe. “I shall say you have been -raal smart boys, and done a fust-rate thing. ’Tisn’t every three boys -that have pluck enough to go fifteen miles outside, and load a big -canoe, as you have done. I make no doubt you have enjoyed yourselves.”</p> - -<p>“You’d better believe we have,” said Fred;<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_276" id="Page_276">276</a></span> “fair tide and fair wind -both ways; no rowing, and no slavery of any kind.”</p> - -<p>“I guess,” said Hannah Murch, “you’ll enjoy yourselves better when you -get that chowder, and that something else I am going to make.”</p> - -<p>“What else, Mrs. Murch?”</p> - -<p>“That’s telling.”</p> - -<p>“How I wish father and mother were here!” said Charlie.</p> - -<p>“Here they are,” was the reply; and Ben, Sally, and the widow Hadlock -came out from behind the cart.</p> - -<p>“This is too good,” said Charlie, hugging them both. Indeed, it was as -much of a surprise to Ben and his wife as to the boys. Uncle Isaac, -knowing that they must come to the beach, on their return from the -funeral, to take the boat, had said nothing to them of his intentions.</p> - -<p>Hannah Murch, who was a great friend of Sally, had entered into her -husband’s plans with all her soul, and she was not one of the kind that -did things with a slack hand.</p> - -<p>“I wish my mother was here, too,” said John.</p> - -<p>“Here she is,” was the reply; and Mrs. Rhines and her daughters came -out from some alder bushes at the head of the cove.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_277" id="Page_277">277</a></span> -“What’s in that pot over the fire now?” said Fred, who was a dear lover -of good cheer, and could eat as much as a heron.</p> - -<p>“Never you mind, Fred,” replied Mrs. Murch, “the pot is doing very -well; but get me those fish Isaac has just cleaned, and hand me that -thing full of potatoes. Sally, will you wash and pare the potatoes? -Mrs. Rhines, won’t you be good enough to draw the tea? Girls, put the -dishes on the table; you’ll find them in a tub in the cart; and the -pies are there, too, and the milk and sweetening.”</p> - -<p>While the chowder was preparing, the men, who were workmen at the -business, aided by the boys, split the fish and salted them.</p> - -<p>“Now, John,” said Uncle Isaac, “these fish can stay in the pickle till -you get back from the island; I’ve salted them slack, so they will not -be hard and dry; then you can take them out, put them on the flake, -and dry them. I’ll come and look at them once in the while, and, when -they are cured, you can take your steers and cart and take them to the -widow’s; she is in no hurry for them, as the neighbors have given her -all she needs for the present.”</p> - -<p>“I think, Uncle Isaac, we all caught them, and we all ought to carry -them. If I should go -<a name="alone" id="alone"></a><ins title="Original has alible">alone</ins><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_278" id="Page_278">278</a></span> it would look as though I had done it all. -If she ain’t in any hurry for them, why can’t they stay at our house -till we go to haul her wood? and then we might dig her potatoes, and -put them in the cellar, and she will be all fixed up for winter.”</p> - -<p>“That will be the best way, John.”</p> - -<p>They now washed out the canoe, and the day’s work was done. As the boys -were still some wet, they piled whole slabs on the fire, and lay down -before it, waiting for supper, their wet clothes smoking in the heat. -The great pot was now put in the middle of the table, and Hannah Murch -filled the bowls as fast as they were emptied, which was not seldom.</p> - -<p>“Don’t give Fred any more, Aunt Hannah,” said John; “he’ll kill -himself, and his blood will be on your head.”</p> - -<p>“Shouldn’t think you need say anything,” growled Fred; “that’s the -third bowlful you’ve eaten.”</p> - -<p>“I don’t believe there ever was so good a chowder as this,” said -Charlie; “I never tasted anything so good in all my life.”</p> - -<p>After the chowder came the roasted eggs. Uncle Isaac now brought a -broad, thin flat rock from the -<a name="beach" id="beach"></a><ins title="Original has and at the h,">beach,</ins> which, after Hannah had washed -in boiling<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_279" id="Page_279">279</a></span> water, he placed in the middle of the table. She then went -to the pot which had so excited Fred’s curiosity, and took from it an -apple pudding, which she had made at home, and brought with her, and -put it on the rock; she also brought a jug of sauce.</p> - -<p>“I knew,” she said to Sally, “how well you liked my apple puddings when -you was a girl, and I mean’t you should have one. I’ve done my best; if -it ain’t good I shall be sorry.”</p> - -<p>If the proof of a pudding is in the eating, Mrs. Murch certainly -succeeded, for every morsel was devoured. The cheese, apples, and cider -furnished the dessert, of which the boys freely partook, as cider was -not mentioned in Uncle Isaac’s pledge, or even thought of. Indeed, that -was but the germ in a thoughtful, benevolent mind, of principles that -were to be widely extended in after years. It was found, when all were -satisfied, that a large portion of the eggs, cheese, butter, bread, -pies, and milk, had not been tasted.</p> - -<p>“I’ll just leave these,” said Uncle Isaac, “as I go home, at the widow -Yelf’s; the boys, I reckon, can take care of the apples.”</p> - -<p>It was far into the evening before the party separated. The boys -lingered after the rest were gone, declaring they had eaten so much it -was impossible<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_280" id="Page_280">280</a></span> for them to row over at present. They lay by the fire -listening to the dip of Ben’s oars, and the rumble of Uncle Isaac’s -cart, till both died away in the distance.</p> - -<p>“What say for going in swimming?” asked John.</p> - -<p>“It’s too cold,” replied Fred; “who ever heard of anybody going in -swimming in the night, at this time of year?”</p> - -<p>“I’ll stump you both to go in.”</p> - -<p>“I won’t take a stump from anybody,” said Charlie; “go ahead; I’ll -follow.”</p> - -<p>John got his clothes off first, and, running in half leg deep, -hesitated.</p> - -<p>“Is it warm?” asked Fred.</p> - -<p>“Splendid!” was the reply, as he soused in.</p> - -<p>The others followed.</p> - -<p>“Murder!” screamed Fred, the instant he got his head above water; “I -should think it was splendid;” and, catching up his clothes, ran to -the fire, followed by the others, their teeth chattering in their -heads. Standing before the great fire, they put on their clothes, and -were soon as warm as ever. They now took the apples that were left, -put them in the canoe, and piling a great heap of slabs on the table, -set it on fire, and pulled away by the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_281" id="Page_281">281</a></span> light of it, Charlie steering, -and singing to them an old English song about one Parker, who was hung -at the yard-arm for mutiny at the ——. It must be borne in mind that -slabs were not considered worth anything in those days, and were thrown -out of the mill to go adrift, and the shores were full of them, so that -boys had plenty of material for bonfires. John had prevailed upon his -mother to let Tige go with them, as the widow Hadlock said Sam might -come over and stop nights till John came back.</p> - -<p>“Haven’t we had a good time to-day, Fred?” asked John, after they were -once more in bed on Elm Island.</p> - -<p>“Never had such a good time in my life. I’m real glad Tige bit me, that -I got to going with you and Charlie, and you like me. I used to think -there couldn’t be any good time without I was in some deviltry. Then -to think how good Uncle Isaac and his wife were to come down there and -bring all those good things, just that we boys might have a good time! -Wasn’t that apple pudding and sauce good?”</p> - -<p>Fred slept in the middle, and, in the fulness of his heart, he hugged -first one and then the other of his companions.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_282" id="Page_282">282</a></span> -“It seems,” said John, “that Uncle Isaac knew what we wanted better -than we did ourselves.”</p> - -<p>“What shall we do to-morrow, Charlie?”</p> - -<p>He received no answer; Charlie was fast asleep; and all three of them -were soon buried in those refreshing slumbers that succeed to exercise -and exposure in the open air. It was impossible that Uncle Isaac’s -dealings with the boys should be kept secret, although he mentioned it -to no one; and the only witness was a crow that sat on the top of a -neighboring birch.</p> - -<p>Ben was in the house when Charles came for the auger. “What does he -want it for?” asked he.</p> - -<p>“I don’t know; he told me to get it.”</p> - -<p>Ben returned to the woods, wondering what Uncle Isaac could be going to -do with the auger. But at night, before Charlie went to bed, he told -Ben and his wife all that had been said and done on both sides. Ben -remained silent after he had told the story.</p> - -<p>At length Sally said, “I don’t think, myself, that boys ought to -drink spirit till they are old enough to have discretion, and to make -a proper use of it; but to promise <i>never to drink</i>, I never heard -of such a thing. For my part, I don’t see how anybody that works, -and is exposed, can get along without it; and I’m sure they can’t in -sickness.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_283" id="Page_283">283</a></span> -“Yes,” replied Ben; “and by the time they come to have discretion (as -Uncle Isaac says), they have formed the habit, and half of them die -drunkards. Everybody can see what rum has done for poor Mr. Yelf. How -many times I’ve heard my father and mother tell what good times they -used to have going there visiting; how well they lived; and that the -house was full of everything! and now to think, that the week before he -died he sold his axe for rum.</p> - -<p>“I’ve heard Uncle Isaac, a number of times within a year, talk about -drinking, in what I thought a strange way, and as he never did before. -I don’t believe he has done this without thinking about it a good -while: the promise won’t do the boys any hurt.”</p> - -<p>“That’s very true,” replied Sally; “for last summer, when Mr. Hanson’s -barn was raised, the York and Pettigrew boys, mere children, got hold -of the spirit that was brought for the raising, and were as drunk as -fools; some laughed, but mother said she thought it was an awful sight.”</p> - -<p>“I must needs say,” continued Ben, “when I saw old Mrs. Yelf, who has -suffered so much from liquor, and is so destitute, bring it on to treat -the mourners, and old Jonathan Smullen (who is going<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_284" id="Page_284">284</a></span> as fast as he can -in the same way as Yelf) drink it, it kind of went against my feelings. -I couldn’t help thinking that money had better have gone for food and -clothing.”</p> - -<p>“I suppose she thought she must.”</p> - -<p>“That’s what makes me think the whole thing is wrong—that a poor -creature must spend her last penny to treat her friends.”</p> - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="divider" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_285" id="Page_285">285</a></span> -</div> - - - -<h2><a name="xix" id="xix"></a>CHAPTER XIX.<br /> -<small>FRED’S SAND-BIRD PIE.</small></h2> - - -<p><span class="smcap">The</span> next morning, having despatched their breakfast, they sat down -under a tree, which, being on high ground, afforded a good position -from which to judge of the weather. The question as to how they should -spend the day, came up.</p> - -<p>“It’s going to be a splendid day,” said Fred; “and I, for one, will -tell you what I should like to do. You know I like those scrapes where -there’s something good to eat.”</p> - -<p>“I should think so,” replied Charlie, “according to what I saw you eat -last evening.”</p> - -<p>“Did either of you ever eat any sand-birds?”</p> - -<p>“We never did.”</p> - -<p>“You never tasted anything half so good as a sand-bird pie; I always -calculate to have a real tuckout once a year on sand-birds. Mother -takes the biggest dish in the house and bakes a smashing great pie.”</p> - -<p>“Let’s go,” said John. “Where’s the place?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_286" id="Page_286">286</a></span> -“You know where Sandy Point is?”</p> - -<p>“I hope so.”</p> - -<p>“Well, right close to it, there’s a lot of little ledges; some of them -ain’t bigger at high water than a table; some not so big; just a little -speck in the water.”</p> - -<p>“I know; I’ve been there many a time to shoot brants.”</p> - -<p>“These sand-birds feed on the shore till they are chock brimful, and -the tide comes and drives them off; then they fly on to these ledges; -but they are as afraid of getting wet as a cat; and when the tide comes -up around the rock, they huddle together to keep out of the water, till -they are all in a bunch, and the rock looks blue with them; it’s the -greatest chance for a shot; but,” continued he, after a pause, “perhaps -Mrs. Rhines wouldn’t want the trouble of making it.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, she would,” replied Charlie; “she and father would like it as -well as we. I’ll go and ask her.” He ran to the house, and came back, -saying she would make it, if they would dress the birds.</p> - -<p>“I,” said John, “should like to go to some strange place, where we -never have been. I heard Joe Griffin and Henry telling about a place; -they said it was eight or nine miles to the eastward of Birch<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_287" id="Page_287">287</a></span> Point, -where nobody lives. They said there were great hills of strange-looking -rocks, with a flat between them, and a brook running through it; that -the Indians used to live there; and you could see the stones where they -made their fires, and find arrow-heads, and Indian things that were -buried there; and Uncle Isaac knew where; that somewhere along the side -of the brook there was red paint, as good as ever was, and that Uncle -Isaac had a room painted with it; that there were partridges there, -and way back was a pond, that the brook ran out of, with pickerel in -it. Joe said the way to tell it was, right off the mouth of the cove -there was a great, high rock, that came up out of the water, with three -spruces on the top of it, and a little turf, but the sides were all -bare; and he said there were reefs and breakers all round it; but I’ll -bet, if we could find it, we could see the reefs break, and keep clear -of them.”</p> - -<p>“I say, go!” said Charlie; “I do want the red paint so much! I want to -paint my canoe. I can buy black paint, and there’ll be two colors; and -I want to see the Indian things.”</p> - -<p>“I want to shoot partridges,” said John, “catch pickerel, see the -place, and get some paint to paint my cart, and some things for -mother.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_288" id="Page_288">288</a></span> -“I want to paint a box I’ve got, that I keep my things in,” said Fred. -“I’ll give up the sand-bird pie; let’s go!”</p> - -<p>“It’s flood tide,” said John; “we can do both. Let us go and get the -birds, have our pie, and then go and camp out at the other.”</p> - -<p>They took their guns and a luncheon, and were soon on their way. By -Fred’s direction they landed a little way from the point, from which -three of the rocks were distant but half a gun-shot, being, indeed, -connected with the point at low water, the extremity of which was -fringed with low bushes, through which they crawled in different -directions, when they found that the rocks were as Fred had said—blue -with birds. It was arranged that Fred should caw like a crow in -succession; at the first summons they were to get ready; at the second, -Charlie and John were to fire; but Fred was to fire as they rose.</p> - -<p>At the signal the guns were discharged, and the rock was covered with -dead and wounded; as they rose in a thick cloud, Fred fired, when many -more fell—some on the rock, but most of them in the water. These Tige -instantly began to bring ashore, and lay down at John’s feet.</p> - -<p>“We’ve killed half a bushel!” cried Fred; “didn’t I tell you this was -the place?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_289" id="Page_289">289</a></span> -“We can never eat a quarter part of these,” said John.</p> - -<p>“Never mind; let us carry every one of them to the island; it is cool -weather; they will keep till you and I go home, and then we can get -our mothers to make us another pie, to remember this holiday by; and -Charlie and his folks can have another pie after we are gone.”</p> - -<p>“Now for home and the Indians’ place,” said Charlie.</p> - -<p>They took to their oars, and rowing with a good will, reached the -island some time before noon. The instant the canoe touched the beach -Charlie leaped from it, and, rushing into the house, bawled out, -“Mother, put on the pot! They’re coming with the birds! O, lashings of -them! I’ll make a fire!” and ran for the wood-pile. Charlie crammed the -brush under the pot to heat water to scald the birds, that they might -pick them the faster.</p> - -<p>John and Fred now came in with the lower button of their jackets -buttoned up, and their bosoms, pockets, arms, and hats full of dead -birds. They unloaded on the middle of the hearth, and went back for -more.</p> - -<p>“Boys,” asked Sally, “have you eaten your luncheon?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_290" id="Page_290">290</a></span> -No; they couldn’t stop; forgot it.</p> - -<p>“Then eat it now, and have your dinner on the birds.”</p> - -<p>“Yes,” said Charlie; “and then start off to camp out.”</p> - -<p>The boys ate their luncheon while the water was heating, and then began -to pick and dress the birds; and, when Ben came in, he helped them. -When prepared, they looked like balls of butter, they were so covered -with yellow fat.</p> - -<p>While the pie was baking, John began to show the boys how Tige would -fetch and carry, and give any one his paw to shake, and dive to bring -up things from the bottom.</p> - -<p>“You didn’t know I had a dog—did you?” asked Charlie.</p> - -<p>“Yes,” replied John; “Sailor.”</p> - -<p>“No; one as big as three of him.”</p> - -<p>Charlie had been so much occupied with the boys, that he had forgotten -all about the pig, and had not seen him for almost a week. But the pig -was not at all concerned about the matter, as the woods were full of -acorns and beech-nuts, and he was enjoying himself very much to his own -satisfaction.</p> - -<p>Charlie now went to the edge of the woods, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_291" id="Page_291">291</a></span> called, “Rover! Rover!” -when down came the pig from the woods, and, jumping upon Charlie, put -his fore feet in his lap, and rubbing his nose against him, seemed full -as glad to see him as Tige ever was to see John. Charlie then put some -acorns in his pocket, and the pig took them out with his nose; then he -held up a stick, and told him to jump, and over it he jumped.</p> - -<p>“Now, Rover,” said he, pointing to the beach, “go get a clam.”</p> - -<p>In a moment he ran to the beach, rooted up a clam with his nose, and -brought it to his master. The boys were full of amazement to see a pig -do such things.</p> - -<p>“Will he bring birds ashore?” asked John.</p> - -<p>“No; he won’t go near the water, except a mud puddle; he’s afraid of -the water. A hog can’t swim much more than a hen; but I tell you what -he will do, he’ll haul the baby in a cart.”</p> - -<p>Charlie had made a cart, with arms to it, for the baby, and a harness -of canvas for Rover; so he harnessed up the pig, who drew the baby all -along the green between the house and the water.</p> - -<p>“Tige will do that,” said John.</p> - -<p>They took out the pig, and put in Tige, who walked off as careful as -could be.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_292" id="Page_292">292</a></span> -“Let’s have a strong team,” said Fred; “let’s put them both in, one -before the other.”</p> - -<p>As Tige didn’t seem very fond of the pig, and had shown some -disposition to bite him, it was not thought safe to trust him behind; -so they got some ropes, and traced him up forward. While they were -drawing the baby in great style along the edge of the beach, Ben was -hiding behind a rock on the White Bull, trying to get a shot at some -sea-ducks; at length he fired, killing four of them. Tige looked up -at the report, and seeing the dead birds floating on the water, ran -with all his might down hill into the cove, dragging pig, baby, and -all after him, at a break-neck pace, into the sea. Charlie, leaping -into the water, caught at the child, but, missing it, grasped one -wheel, which upset the cart in an instant, pitching the screaming child -into the water, from which it was instantly rescued by Charlie, who, -however, had to swim for it. Meanwhile Tige, utterly regardless of the -commotion he was causing, or to how great an extent he was injuring -his previous high reputation, swam steadily along, dragging the -half-drowned pig after him, till he got among the birds, when, taking -one in his mouth, he swam to the White Bull; where Ben, who had watched -the whole proceeding, relieved<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_293" id="Page_293">293</a></span> him from the harness, when he swam off -and brought in the remainder. By this time John and Fred had arrived in -the canoe. The pig lay on the beach apparently almost dead.</p> - -<p>“I guess he’ll die,” said Fred. “How bad Charlie will feel!”</p> - -<p>They put him, together with the cart, into the canoe, and took him to -the cove, where they laid him carefully on the grass.</p> - -<p>Charlie, meanwhile, had gone to the house with the baby.</p> - -<p>“Well,” said Sally, as she received the screaming, dripping child, “I’m -sure I don’t know what this child is born for; it’s not six months old, -and has been almost burned to death, and drowned.”</p> - -<p>When Charlie returned, and saw Rover in such a condition, he came very -near bursting into tears; he knelt down by him, wiped the froth away -from his mouth, and rubbed him, calling him good Rover; but piggy gave -no signs of life, except it could be perceived he breathed.</p> - -<p>Ben now came over from the White Bull in his canoe.</p> - -<p>“Father,” cried Charlie, “do come here; Rover is going to die; can’t -you help him?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_294" id="Page_294">294</a></span> -“The first thing,” said Ben, after looking at him, “is to get the water -out of him.”</p> - -<p>“In England, when people are most drowned, they roll them on a barrel; -shall I get one?”</p> - -<p>“I guess I can get it out easier than that,” said Ben; and, taking the -pig by the hind legs, he held him up clear from the ground, when the -water he had taken in ran out of his nose in a stream. When he put him -down the pig gave a grunt.</p> - -<p>“He’s coming to!” cried Charlie; and in a few moments more the pig got -up on his fore legs, but fell back again.</p> - -<p>“He’ll do well enough now; he’s only weak.”</p> - -<p>Charlie took his head in his lap and patted him, when the pig gave -three or four loud grunts, and got up on his feet. Just then Sally -called from the door that dinner was ready.</p> - -<p>“I’m ready to eat it, or do anything else,” said Charlie, “now that -baby is not drowned, and Rover has come to.”</p> - -<p>In consequence of all this Tige was somewhat in disgrace.</p> - -<p>“You naughty dog,” said John to him, “do you know what you’ve done? -almost drowned Charlie’s pig and the baby; I shouldn’t have thought -that of you. What do you suppose folks<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_295" id="Page_295">295</a></span> would say, if it should go all -over town what you have done?”</p> - -<p>But so far from manifesting any contrition, Tige, all the time his -master was talking to him, kept wagging his tail, and looking him in -the face.</p> - -<p>“You must not throw a person away for one mistake,” said Ben. “Tige has -been trained from childhood to feel, that to get birds when they are -shot is the great duty of his life.”</p> - -<p>“Well, Fred,” said Sally (when the pie had come upon the table, and he -had despatched the first plateful), “what do you think of my pie?”</p> - -<p>“Tongue cannot tell,” he replied, holding out his plate for more.</p> - -<p>“I think,” said Ben, “it is about the best mess I ever tasted; I mean -to have one every year after this.”</p> - -<p>“Wouldn’t father like this?” asked John: “when he gets home we’ll have -some.”</p> - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="divider" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_296" id="Page_296">296</a></span> -</div> - - - -<h2><a name="xx" id="xx"></a>CHAPTER XX.<br /> -<small>A HAIR-BREADTH ESCAPE.</small></h2> - - -<p><span class="smcap">Dinner</span> at length being over (though later than usual, on account of -the time occupied in baking the pie, and later, still, by reason of -the goodness of it), they prepared to start, taking with them an axe -to build a camp, tinder in a horn, flint, steel, and matches, which -were made by dipping splinters of wood into melted brimstone, and which -would burn when touched to the spark in the tinder. As they were to be -gone but a short time, they carried no materials for cooking, but took -their provisions ready cooked.</p> - -<p>The wind was fair, but light, and they steered for the lone spruce -on Birch Point, and, passing it, kept on to the north-east, having -resolved to run the shore along, keeping a bright lookout for the high -rock with the spruce on its summit, till they judged by the tide it was -midnight, when, if they could not find the place, they would go ashore -and camp, continuing their search in the morning. As<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_297" id="Page_297">297</a></span> night fell the -wind began to rise, and dark clouds occasionally obstructed the moon. -They coasted swiftly along the wild and rugged shore, looking in vain -for the landmark. All at once the sea combed astern of them, with a -tremendous roar, and so near that they were wet with the spray.</p> - -<p>“We’ve run over a breaker,” said John; “if we had been ten feet farther -astern it would have filled and sunk us. How could it be that, when you -and Fred are both on the lookout, you didn’t see it?”</p> - -<p>“I’ll tell you why,” said Charlie; “because it didn’t break after we -were in sight. It is one of those breakers I have heard father tell of, -that break only once in a good while; he said, that while some break -every three minutes, and oftener, others break only once in fifteen -minutes, or half an hour; and you cannot see such breakers in the -night, and might be running right over one when it broke, as we came -near doing just now.”</p> - -<p>“Luff!” cried Fred; and, as they looked under the sail, they saw the -white foam of the surf to the leeward.</p> - -<p>“There’s breakers all around us,” said Charlie; “let’s take to the -oars, and then we can keep clear of them.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_298" id="Page_298">298</a></span> -Our young readers must bear in mind that these canoes could only go -before the wind, or a little quartering, and therefore could not, like -a boat, be luffed sharp into the wind, and beat out clear of danger; -hence the boys preferred to take the sail in, and trust to their oars, -with which they could, if they saw a breaker, pull away from it. At -length they discovered a narrow passage, that seemed to lead in among -the breakers to a high bluff, and rowed into it, having reefs and -breakers on either side of them. They coasted along the bluff till they -discovered beyond it a low point, and between them a cove with a little -narrow beach. In the end of the high bluff was a large cave, into which -the moon shone, partly revealing its extent. Here they determined to -land, and build a brush camp. While they were looking about for a -place to get up the rocky, steep shore, they stumbled upon this cave, -and determined to explore it. It ran about twenty feet into the rock, -which, being formed to a great extent of iron pyrites, had crumbled -beneath the united forces of the frost and waves. John clambered up -the bank, and found some dry brush, with which they made a torch. As -they went in they found the bottom rose, and in the middle was a little -elevation, somewhat higher than the rest.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_299" id="Page_299">299</a></span> The walls were ragged, and -just high enough to permit them to stand upright.</p> - -<p>“What a nice place to camp!” said John; “we couldn’t have a better one.”</p> - -<p>“But won’t the tide come in here? You know it is full of the moon, and -high tides, now,” asked Fred.</p> - -<p>“I don’t believe it does, else there would be chips, drift stuff, and -sea-weed in here; but this is as clean as a house floor.”</p> - -<p>There was plenty of dead wood on the top of the bluff; this they -cut, and tumbled down the bank; then cut some hemlock boughs from -small bushes, that were soft to sleep on, and put them on the little -elevation in the middle. Then they stuck birch-bark torches into the -crannies in the cave, moored the canoe in front of it, and took their -guns, fishing-lines, and powder-horns, and set them up in the back -part of the cave. They now piled up a great heap of wood in the mouth -of the cave, so that the smoke would not enter, kindled the fire, and -lighted the torches, till it was one glare of light, and the old rocks -steamed with the heat. The provisions they had brought were eagerly -devoured, with the exception of the remnants of the sand-bird pie, and -some bread, which were left for another<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_300" id="Page_300">300</a></span> occasion. The perils they had -passed through, and the strange position in which they were placed, -rendered them little inclined to sleep.</p> - -<p>Though boys are little given to sentiment, and the animal nature -predominates, yet the scene was so singularly wild and beautiful, -it was impossible they should not be impressed by it, which they -manifested in their own fashion.</p> - -<p>“Isn’t it great to camp in a cave?” asked Charlie. “How many things -I’ve heard about caves! I wonder if any robbers or pirates ever lived -in this.”</p> - -<p>A little on their left was the high, rocky bank of the cove, with -its narrow strip of white sand, sheltered from the wind by the high -bluff, on which the retiring wavelets gently rolled, silvered by the -moonbeams. In front was a group of reefs, which the boys had threaded, -and on which the surf was rolling feather white.</p> - -<p>“Look there, boys!” said John; “see the moon shining on that surf, when -it rolls up, and then on the black rock when it goes back; isn’t that -handsome? I’ve left my gun and powder-horn in the canoe, and now the -tide has floated her off; would you wade in?”</p> - -<p>“No; I wouldn’t wet my feet; let them be.”</p> - -<p>They now lay down to sleep; but Tige, instead<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_301" id="Page_301">301</a></span> of placing himself at -John’s feet, as usual, went up on the bank to lie down in the woods.</p> - -<p>“What do you suppose makes Tige do that?” asked John.</p> - -<p>“Perhaps he don’t like to sleep in a cave,” said Fred, “and wants to be -out doors, where he can bark at the moon. Our Watch always wants to be -out moonlight nights.”</p> - -<p>“I’ll tell you; he don’t like to lie on brush, nor on the rock; I’ll -make him a bed.”</p> - -<p>John called him back, and threw down his long jacket at his feet, and -made him lie down on it. He still seemed uneasy, and got up again; but -John scolding at him, he lay down and went to sleep. The whole party -were now sound asleep. How long they had slept they knew not, when John -was aroused by the barking of Tige, who, not satisfied with waking him, -took hold of his collar with his teeth, and pulled him half upright. -Stretching out his leg in a fright, he plunged it into the cold water. -At the cry John uttered both the boys awoke, when they found themselves -in utter darkness, and surrounded by water. The tide, unusually high, -had flowed into the cave, put out the fire, the brands of which were -floating around them, and filled the whole cave, except the elevation -upon which they had made their bed.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_302" id="Page_302">302</a></span> -“We shall all be drowned!” cried Fred, bursting into tears.</p> - -<p>“No, we shan’t!” said John; “I can see a little light at the mouth; -but what we do, we must do quickly. Follow me and Tige. Come, Tige.” -And plunging into the water, he followed Tige, who led the way to the -mouth of the cave, where John had seen the streak of light. There was -but just room between the water and the roof for the passage of their -heads; and had it not been for the sagacity of the dog, had they slept -till the water reached their couch and waked them, they must have been -blocked in and perished. Swimming to the beach, they clambered up the -bank, and were safe. But they were in a sorry pickle; the night was -cold, they were soaked with water, and in a strange and uninhabited -place.</p> - -<p>“What shall we do?” said Charlie; “the fireworks are all in the cave; -we shall have to run about till daylight, to keep from freezing.”</p> - -<p>“Your gun and powder-horn are in the canoe,” said John; “I can get fire -with the gun.”</p> - -<p>John swam off to the canoe, and soon brought her ashore. After several -trials they succeeded in getting fire with the gun. Their spirits rose -at once with the crackling of the flames and the grateful warmth.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_303" id="Page_303">303</a></span> -“Who cares!” said John; “we ain’t drowned, have got a fire, and can get -our things when the tide ebbs.”</p> - -<p>The first thing John did, after getting warm, was to caress Tige, as -did the others.</p> - -<p>“We owe our lives to him,” said Charlie.</p> - -<p>“Yes; and I was scolding at him this very afternoon, and was a good -mind to whip him. Good old dog! I’m sorry; and if we had anything to -eat ourselves, I would give you some. Now I know the reason he went off -in the woods, and didn’t want to sleep there; he knew the tide would -come in there.”</p> - -<p>“How could he know that? I saw him,” said Charlie, “when we first came, -smelling all around the walls; perhaps he smelt where the water had -come before.”</p> - -<p>“Perhaps so.”</p> - -<p>“I think,” said Charlie, “a higher power than Tige had something to do -with it; you know how loath your mother was to have you bring him, and -wouldn’t let you the first time. I think it was what my mother used to -call a ‘providence of God.’”</p> - -<p>“That’s just what my mother will say, the moment I tell her about it.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_304" id="Page_304">304</a></span> -The sail of the canoe, spread over a pole supported by crotches, made -them a tent, and they were soon asleep. Tige showed no disposition this -time to leave the tent, but stretching himself at his master’s feet, -snored audibly. The morning sun, shining in their faces, woke up the -tired sleepers, and, going down to the bluff, they saw the high rock -with the three spruces not more than half a mile off. The tide had now -ebbed so much that they went into the cave with the canoe. The guns -were full of water, but the powder in the horns was not injured. A jug -of coffee, that was stopped tight, was as good as ever. The remains of -their pie and bread were soaked in salt water, but the hungry boys ate -a good part of it. They drew the charges from the guns, and heating -some water in the tin pan that had contained their pie, scalded out -the gun-barrels, and dried them at the fire, and they went as well as -before.</p> - -<p>They now set out for the high rock, and doubling it, entered the cove. -It was, indeed, a singular spot. Along the edge of the water were about -two acres of land, entirely bare of trees, and covered with grass. Upon -each side rose two rugged hills, that seemed to have been cleft in two, -so perpendicular—so much alike were their sides of smooth<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_305" id="Page_305">305</a></span> rock—as to -permit the passage of a brook between them. The hills were covered with -an enormous growth of yellow birch, rock maple, and oaks. The birches -thrust their roots into the crevices of the rocks, and hung from the -sides wherever there was the least soil.</p> - -<p>“What kind of rocks are these?” asked Charlie; “they are red, and look -like rusty iron; the ground is red, too. How hard some of these rocks -are! and some are soft, and crumble in your hand.”</p> - -<p>“Just taste of that,” said Fred, giving Charlie a piece of shelly, -yellowish rock, who, putting it to his mouth, instantly spit it out, -saying that it tasted like copperas. Fred and Charlie began now to -search among the long grass for some traces of the Indian village, but -found only charred wood, and stones which had formed rude fireplaces, -blackened by smoke. Their search naturally led them to the bank of the -brook.</p> - -<p>“I never saw such water as this before,” said Fred, stooping down to -drink; “it is red, but it tastes well enough.”</p> - -<p>Following along its banks they found some arrow-heads, where the soil -had caved away. They were made of a stone resembling flint, sharp at -the point, and on each edge, but the edges were<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_306" id="Page_306">306</a></span> irregular, showing -that they were made by chipping. Some of them were light-colored, -others dark. They had brought a hoe and shovel, and the soil, -being sandy, offered but little resistance. They soon dug out more -arrow-points, and something that looked like the bowl of a pipe, made -of a softer stone.</p> - -<p>“What is that, Fred?”</p> - -<p>“An Indian pipe. I saw my cousin have one, and he said that’s what it -was.”</p> - -<p>“How did they smoke with it; there’s no stem—only a little mite.”</p> - -<p>“He said they stuck a piece of elder in it for a stem.”</p> - -<p>Continuing their search, Fred dug out an iron instrument, entirely red -with rust.</p> - -<p>“I know what that is,” he said, rubbing it over the edge of the hoe, to -get off the rust.</p> - -<p>“What is it?”</p> - -<p>“A tomahawk.”</p> - -<p>“It looks like a hatchet. What is it for?—to cut wood?”</p> - -<p>“To cut wood! To cut folks’ heads off, and split them open. The Indians -killed my grandfather with just such a thing as that; they will throw -’em so that they will whirl over and over till the edge sticks right -into a man’s skull.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_307" id="Page_307">307</a></span> -“How did they kill your grandfather?”</p> - -<p>“He was leading his horse to the brook to drink. The Indians were hid -in the bushes; the horse either saw or smelt them, and wouldn’t go to -the water. My grandfather tried to get him to go at first, but in a -minute he thought it was Indians, and jumped on his back and set him -into a run. The Indians gave chase, and one of them threw a tomahawk, -and struck it into the side of his neck; he kept on the horse just long -enough to reach home, and fell on the door-step; and for all the horse -run, the Indians were at the door almost as soon as he. My uncle fired -and shot one of them, and they went off; but my grandfather died about -sundown.”</p> - -<p>“Did your uncle shoot the one who threw the tomahawk?”</p> - -<p>“I don’t know; I hope so; but they didn’t get his scalp.”</p> - -<p>“What is that?”</p> - -<p>“Why, don’t you know what a scalp is?”</p> - -<p>“No; what is it?”</p> - -<p>“When the Indians killed any white folks, they cut a piece of skin off -the top of their heads, with the hair on, and carried it off.”</p> - -<p>“What made ’em do that?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_308" id="Page_308">308</a></span> -“I don’t know; because they were Indians, I suppose.”</p> - -<p>“Does Uncle Isaac know?”</p> - -<p>“To be sure he does.”</p> - -<p>“Then I’ll ask him.”</p> - -<p>“Fred,” said Charlie, holding the rusty weapon in his hand, “do you -expect this ever killed anybody?”</p> - -<p>“Yes; I expect it has killed many a one; there’s something red on it; -perhaps it’s blood.”</p> - -<p>“May be so.”</p> - -<p>They walked along the bank of the brook, digging here and there, but -finding nothing to reward their search till they came to the edge of -the forest. All around among the scattered pines were the remains of -fireplaces, and large heaps of clam-shells. It was evident that here -(in times long gone by) had been a camping ground, and that the forest -had overgrown it. A large pine, torn up by the tempest, lay across the -brook. Looking into the cavity made by its removal, they saw something -white, and, examining more narrowly, found it was a bone.</p> - -<p>“It’s Indian bones,” cried Fred; and, plying the shovel, he soon -brought to view the skeleton of an Indian. The skull, teeth, hair, -and thigh-bones were but very little decayed. A dark ring, evidently<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_309" id="Page_309">309</a></span> -the remains of some vegetable substance, completely surrounding the -skeleton, was distinctly visible in the yellow sand.</p> - -<p>“That is what he was buried in,” said Fred. They set themselves to -discover what it was.</p> - -<p>“It’s birch bark,” said Charlie.</p> - -<p>“No, it ain’t,” said Fred, who had at length found a portion that was -less decayed than the rest; “it’s elm-rind.”</p> - -<p>“What is that?”</p> - -<p>“Why, the inside bark of an elm; it’s real strong. I get it every year -to string corn with, to keep the crows away.”</p> - -<p>“O, Fred, look! what are these?” and Charlie picked out from among the -bones a double handful of little round things, about the size of a -modern lozenge, with a hole in the centre. They had been strung on a -piece of deer sinew, which was still in some places quite strong, and -had evidently hung about the neck of the skeleton. There were also in -the grave arrow-heads, and under the neck a piece of the skin of some -animal, with the hair still on it. Searching farther, they found a -most singular-shaped stone, with an edge like an axe, and near the top -a groove nearly half an inch in depth all around it; also, a pipe, a -piece of bone pointed at<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_310" id="Page_310">310</a></span> one end, and in the other a hole, and a tooth -pointed, exceedingly hard and white. Charlie appealed in vain to his -companions to tell him what these things were for. Fred’s knowledge was -very limited; he <i>guessed</i> they were what the Indian babies had to play -with.</p> - -<p>“This tooth,” said Charlie, “belonged to some wild animal—perhaps a -wolf; I mean to ask Uncle Isaac. Fred, you know these things belong to -both of us; what shall I give you for your share?”</p> - -<p>“Nothing, Charlie; you are welcome to my part; I don’t care for keeping -such things. I like the fun of finding them, and to look at them once; -after that I don’t care anything about them.”</p> - -<p>John, who was less interested in arrow-heads, had gone among the -birches in quest of partridges, and returned, having killed six. After -they had cooked and eaten two of them, they went in pursuit of the -yellow paint, the great object of the expedition. Following the course -of the brook for some distance, they came to where the soil changed -to a stiff clay, and the brook was obstructed by an old beaver-dam, -causing the water in many places to stand in little pools, in the -bottom of which, and in the shelves of the rock which formed the bed -of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_311" id="Page_311">311</a></span> the brook, was a sediment of yellow mud, devoid of grit, and fine -as flour. It was an ochre formed by the decomposition of iron pyrites, -which had impregnated the clay, and stained the water of the brook.</p> - -<p>“Here it is!” cried John, who was the first to perceive it; “here is -the yellow stuff; only see how it stains my hands.”</p> - -<p>The others gathered round him, and, with curious eyes, examined the -treasure.</p> - -<p>“Won’t we paint things!” cried Charlie. “I’ll paint everything in the -house,—my sink, the baby’s cradle, my canoe, mother’s churn, the -closet under the dressers, and my bedstead.”</p> - -<p>“O, Charlie!” said John; “and your house under the maple.”</p> - -<p>“Yes,” said Fred; “and all the drawers and shelves, too.”</p> - -<p>“I,” said John, “mean to paint my steers’ yoke, my gunning float, sled, -and the boat father made me, if we can get enough; and I’ll paint my -bedroom, then put some into whitewash and paint the walls.”</p> - -<p>“I,” said Fred, “have got a sled, a chest, and a writing-desk to paint; -and I mean to paint the measures in the mill, and a little box for my -sister.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_312" id="Page_312">312</a></span> -They worked with might and main, scooping it out of the hollows in the -bed of the rock, as that was the most free from grit. Putting it into -their dinner-pail, they turned it into the forward part of the canoe.</p> - -<p>“Only see where the sun is!” cried John, looking up; “I declare it’s -most night; we must start this minute, and we shan’t be able to go to -the pond where the pickerel are.”</p> - -<p>The wind had now moderated to a light breeze, and was sufficiently -favorable to have laid their course with a <i>boat</i>, but a <i>canoe</i> will -do nothing on the wind.</p> - -<p>“What makes everybody have canoes?” asked Charlie. “In England -they have boats with keels, masts, and sails, just like sloops and -schooners; they will sail on the wind, and beat to windward as well as -the Perseverance.”</p> - -<p>“I never saw any such thing,” said John; “but I’ve heard father tell of -them.”</p> - -<p>“They have timbers, are planked up, and calked, just, for all the -world, like little vessels; and in some of them the planks are lapped -over each other and nailed.”</p> - -<p>“I shouldn’t think,” said Fred, “anything could be tight without -oakum.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_313" id="Page_313">313</a></span> -“Why not? A barrel and a pail is tight, and there is no oakum in them.”</p> - -<p>“But the staves are jointed, and the hoops squat them together.”</p> - -<p>“So the planks of these boats are jointed, and the nails are clinched, -and draw them as tight as a hoop does a barrel. Some of the boats the -great folks have are painted the most beautiful colors, and gold leaf -on them, and the sails as white as the driven snow.”</p> - -<p>“Gold leaf!” said John; “what, the same that is on our great -looking-glass, that father brought home from sea?”</p> - -<p>“Yes.”</p> - -<p>Thus chatting, they rowed leisurely along, not caring to hurry, since -these were the last hours of their holiday.</p> - -<p>“How did the Indians get fire?” asked Charlie.</p> - -<p>“I don’t know,” said John; “but they did.”</p> - -<p>“Perhaps,” said Fred, “when the lightning struck a tree, and set it on -fire, they kept it, and never let it go out.”</p> - -<p>“I don’t believe but it would go out some time,” said Charlie.</p> - -<p>“I tell you what I should like to do, John; get Uncle Isaac to tell -us how the Indians used to do,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_314" id="Page_314">314</a></span> and go off in the woods and be real -Indians a whole week; perhaps he’d go with us.”</p> - -<p>“I should rather he would tell us, and then go on our own hook; and -we’ll do it, Charlie.”</p> - -<p>They reached the island about eight o’clock in the evening, with all -their treasures, fatigued, but happy, having enjoyed themselves to the -top of their bent, and with enough to think and talk about to last them -half the winter.</p> - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="divider" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_315" id="Page_315">315</a></span> -</div> - - - -<h2><a name="xxi" id="xxi"></a>CHAPTER XXI.<br /> -<small>THE BOYS AND THE WIDOW.</small></h2> - - -<p><span class="smcap">Monday</span> morning Charlie went over with the boys to the main land.</p> - -<p>“I know the first thing I’ll have to do,” said John, as they neared the -shore; “wash these fish and put them on the flakes.”</p> - -<p>“We’ll help you,” said Charlie; “it’s a short job for all three of us; -and you know we’ve promised to help Uncle Isaac dig potatoes one day, -because he shot the arrow into the milk-pail; and to help him cut and -haul some wood to Mrs. Yelf. Then these fish are to be taken to her.”</p> - -<p>“I calculate to do my part of it,” replied John.</p> - -<p>“So do I,” said Fred.</p> - -<p>“I should like to know,” said Charlie, “when he wants us to come, -before I go back. I am going over to see.”</p> - -<p>Charlie had other reasons for wishing to see Uncle Isaac, which he kept -to himself.</p> - -<p>When they were building the ark, Uncle Isaac<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_316" id="Page_316">316</a></span> had taken much pains to -teach him to hew. Charlie knew there was a great deal of small timber -in the barn frame—braces, purlins, and sleepers—that he could hew as -well as anybody; and, now that he had a little money, was very anxious -to have a broad-axe of his own, that he might help hew the barn frame. -Uncle Isaac told him there was a vessel going to Salem with timber, and -he would send by the captain, who was a relative of his, and get one -for him, and then grind it for him, and put in a good white-oak handle, -and bend it just right. The handle of a broad-axe is bent, that the -person who uses it may strike close to the timber without hitting his -knuckles. He could not then tell the precise day when he should want -them, but he would get John to hang a white cloth out of the garret -window, as a signal, to come the next morning, or, if that was stormy, -the first fair day.</p> - -<p>Charlie and Ben had been so fully occupied during the summer, they -had not caught a single fish to dry for winter; so Charlie now busied -himself in fishing, while Ben continued to hew the timber for the barn, -which was to be very large.</p> - -<p>Every time Charlie went out fishing, he comforted himself with the -thought of what a good time he would have when he got his new sail, and -his canoe<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_317" id="Page_317">317</a></span> painted, which he did not intend to do till he hauled her -up for the winter. He met with no squalls this autumn, for when the -weather looked at all unsettled he could work with Ben in the woods, -and fall down the large pines for him to hew, which he dearly loved to -do; and, as it took a long time to hew out a large stick of timber, he -had ample time to cut them down and trim them out. He also, after the -timber was hewn, hauled it on to the spot, except the largest sticks, -which were left to be hauled on the snow.</p> - -<p>A cat never watched more narrowly for a mouse than our Charlie for -the white cloth in Captain Rhines’s garret window; but day after day -passed, and no signal rewarded his anxious watch.</p> - -<p>“Mother,” said he, after more than ten days had elapsed, “perhaps Uncle -Isaac has forgotten his promise, and he and the other boys have dug the -potatoes.”</p> - -<p>“Charlie, what time is it high water to-morrow?”</p> - -<p>“Nine o’clock, mother.”</p> - -<p>“But perhaps the tide will forget to come up.”</p> - -<p>“O, mother! that’s impossible.”</p> - -<p>“Well, when the tide forgets to flow, Uncle Isaac will forget his -promise.”</p> - -<p>The next day, as Charlie was coming home from<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_318" id="Page_318">318</a></span> fishing, about two -o’clock, he thought there was something white in Captain Rhines’s -window. The moment he landed, he scampered to the house to look through -the glass. Sure enough, there was the signal.</p> - -<p>“John meant you should see it,” said Sally, “for he has got his -mother’s great table-cloth that father Rhines bought in Europe.”</p> - -<p>“That means for me to come over in the morning, if it’s fair weather; -if not, the first pleasant day.”</p> - -<p>“You had better go to-night; perhaps it may blow hard to-morrow, and be -a fair day, too.”</p> - -<p>“I will, mother, as soon as I split and salt my fish.”</p> - -<p>“I’ll salt them; you split them, and start right off, and you’ll get -over there to supper. I’ll have a luncheon for you by the time you get -them split.”</p> - -<p>The boys found that Uncle Isaac had his potatoes so nearly dug, that, -with their help, he finished them in a day, thus completing his -harvest. He now had leisure to haul the widow’s wood.</p> - -<p>The next day the boys went over and dug her potatoes, and threshed some -beans and peas, which she had pulled and dried herself. In the mean -time Uncle Isaac, and two more of the neighbors, went<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_319" id="Page_319">319</a></span> and chopped some -wood, and the next day hauled it to her. The tears of gratitude and joy -streamed down the old lady’s cheeks at the kindness of her neighbors. -The only remaining work to be done, was to take the fish, which were -in Captain Rhines’s shed, nicely cured, to Mrs. Yelf. The boys felt -bashful about carrying them, and wanted Uncle Isaac to do it.</p> - -<p>“I should like to catch myself doing it! you caught and cured them, and -run some risk in doing it, and ought to, and shall have, the credit of -it.”</p> - -<p>“We will haul them over, and carry them into the house,” said John, -“and do all the work, but you go to the door and give them to her.”</p> - -<p>“And let her thank me for them? I shan’t do any such thing; you must go -yourselves, like men; it’s nothing to be ashamed of, but something to -be proud of; anybody would think you’d been stealing.”</p> - -<p>Unable to prevail with Uncle Isaac, they put the fish in the cart, and -set out. When in sight of the house they stopped for consultation.</p> - -<p>“You go to the door and knock, Fred,” said John.</p> - -<p>“I’m sure I can’t; I never spoke to her in my life. It’s your place to -go; it’s your cart and oxen.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_320" id="Page_320">320</a></span> -“You go, Charlie, that’s a good fellow.”</p> - -<p>“O, I don’t think I’m the one to go at all, John. I’m a stranger in -these parts, and don’t know her, nor the ways of the people here.”</p> - -<p>John, ordinarily so resolute, and the leader in all enterprises, -blushed like a girl, and seemed quite frightened.</p> - -<p>“What shall I say?” he inquired of his companions, who were by no means -backward in telling him what to say, as long as they had not to say it -themselves.</p> - -<p>“You get out! you make it too long; I can’t say half of that.”</p> - -<p>John went to the door and knocked, while the others hid behind the -cart. The old lady knew John right well; he had been there on many an -errand of mercy, sent by his mother.</p> - -<p>“Fred Williams, Charlie Bell, and me, he stammered out, have brought -you some dry fish; we expect they are first rate, because Uncle Isaac -slack-salted them, and told us how to cure them.”</p> - -<p>Now, Mrs. Yelf was very deaf, and as John, being diffident, spoke low -and quick, she heard nothing distinctly but the name of Uncle Isaac, -and took it for granted that he had given her the fish. After showing -the boys where to put them, she<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_321" id="Page_321">321</a></span> expressed her most unbounded gratitude -to Uncle Isaac, begging the boys to thank him for her; thanked them for -bringing them, and would not let them go till they had eaten a custard -pie and some seed cakes.</p> - -<p>“I should know Mr. Williams’s son, for I can see his father’s looks in -him; but this other youngster quite beats me. Dear me, how young folks -do grow out of old people’s knowledge!”</p> - -<p>“This,” said John, “is Charlie Bell; he’s an English boy, and lives -with our Ben on Elm Island.”</p> - -<p>“I remember now hearing Hannah Murch tell about him; she said he was -a nice, steady boy, and that Ben and Sally set great store by him. He -looks like a good boy.”</p> - -<p>“He’s a real smart boy, too,” said John (giving Fred a punch under the -table); “he catches all the fish they eat, and a good many to sell, and -has made lots of baskets, and sent them to the West Indies by father.”</p> - -<p>“Yes,” broke in Fred (who was by no means slow to take a hint), “and -cut down an awful great pine, and made the canoe that we came over in, -out of it.”</p> - -<p>Under this cross-fire Charlie’s face grew red as a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_322" id="Page_322">322</a></span> fire-coal, and he -was glad to escape from his tormentors by leaving the house.</p> - -<p>When Uncle Isaac found what turn matters had taken, he was thoroughly -vexed, and went directly to explain, and set the affair right. The good -lady was no less troubled to find what a blunder she had made, and -set off for Captain Rhines’s, to thank John in person, and ask him to -apologize for her to the others.</p> - -<p>John and Fred went home, but Uncle Isaac insisted upon Charlie’s -staying with him all night. After supper he produced Charlie’s -broad-axe, with a good white-oak handle, and nicely ground; he also -gave him an excellent whetstone, which he told him came from the Gut of -Canso. Charlie had now a favorable opportunity to consult him about a -matter that had occupied his thoughts from the moment he found himself -in possession of a little money.</p> - -<p>“Uncle Isaac,” said he, “mother hasn’t got any crane; all the way she -hangs her pot over the fire is by a birch withe, with a chain at the -end; and sometimes it burns off above the chain: the other day it -broke, and liked to have scalded the baby to death. I want to get her a -crane,—hooks and trammels all complete,—and put it in the fireplace -before she knows anything of it.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_323" id="Page_323">323</a></span> -“The first thing to be considered is, whether you ought to spend your -money in this way; if you spend all you earn, you will never have -anything.”</p> - -<p>“Don’t think that I don’t know the value of money,—misery has taught -me that; but what would have become of me if mother had not taken me -in? for it was all her doings. When the island is paid for, I shall -begin to look out for myself. Will anybody have to send to Boston to -get one?”</p> - -<p>“Send to Boston! Peter Brock, the blacksmith, can make it.”</p> - -<p>“And what will it all cost—hooks and trammels?”</p> - -<p>Charlie was delighted to find that it came within his means. He said -nothing to Uncle Isaac of the Indian relics, meaning to show them to -him when he came on the island, but told him about the paint.</p> - -<p>“The Indians used to get it there,” said Uncle Isaac, “to paint their -faces red, when they went on the war-path.”</p> - -<p>“It isn’t red—it’s yellow.”</p> - -<p>“But if you heat it, it will become red.”</p> - -<p>“It will?”</p> - -<p>“Yes. Put a little in a skillet, and heat it gradually, so as not to -scorch it, and it will turn red.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_324" id="Page_324">324</a></span> -“How glad I am! now I can have <i>two</i> colors—red and yellow—to paint -my canoe. Don’t tell John—will you? I want to astonish him.”</p> - -<p>“He won’t ask me; he isn’t such an inquiring, thinking, contriving -critter as you are. You can have another color—black.”</p> - -<p>“Yes; if I could send to Salem and buy lampblack.”</p> - -<p>“You can make it right on the island.”</p> - -<p>“Make it?”</p> - -<p>“Yes; it’s nothing but ‘sut.’ Get a whole lot of pitch wood, and burn -it in some tight thing, so as to keep in the smoke; the black will -stick to the sides, and you can scrape it off, as good lampblack as you -can buy, and better than half of it.”</p> - -<p>“We have got plenty of oil,—hake, cod, and seal.”</p> - -<p>“I wouldn’t use <i>that</i>; it is almost impossible to make it dry; you can -get linseed oil at the store.”</p> - -<p>Wonderfully delighted with this discovery, Charlie borrowed a jug, -procured his oil, some cloth to make a sail for his canoe, and went -back determined to create a sensation both at home and abroad. He hid -the oil in his house, and kept all the knowledge he had obtained a -secret in his own breast.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_325" id="Page_325">325</a></span> -How he astonished John and Fred, when he appeared out in his -canoe,—how he was astonished himself by obtaining, in a most -unexpected manner, three more colors, with many more adventures, we -shall inform our readers in the next volume. They will also want to -know how it fared with Captain Rhines and the Ark; and whether Ben was -benefited or ruined by his great speculation; and how Charlie came out -with his baskets, turnips, and chickens.</p> - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="divider" /> -</div> -<div class="books"> -<p class="center p180"><strong>AMERICAN BOYS’ SERIES</strong></p> - -<div class="figleft width150"> -<img src="images/ad1.png" width="150" height="200" alt="American Boy’s Series" /> -</div> - -<p>The books selected for this series are all thoroughly American, by -such favorite American authors of boys’ books as Oliver Optic, Elijah -Kellogg, Prof. James DeMille, and others, now made for the first time -at a largely reduced price, in order to bring them within the reach of -all. Each volume complete in itself.</p> - -<p class="center"><span class="smcap">Uniform Cloth Binding Illustrated New and Attractive Dies</span><br /> -Price per volume $1.00</p> - -<blockquote> -<p> 1. <span class="smcap">Adrift in the Ice Fields</span> By Capt. Chas. W. Hall</p> - -<p> 2. <span class="smcap">All Aboard</span> or Life on the Lake By Oliver Optic</p> - -<p> 3. <span class="smcap">Ark of Elm Island</span> By Rev. Elijah Kellogg</p> - -<p> 4. <span class="smcap">Arthur Brown the Young Captain</span> By Rev. Elijah Kellogg</p> - -<p> 5. <span class="smcap">Boat Club, The</span>, or the Bunkers of Rippleton By Oliver -Optic</p> - -<p> 6. <span class="smcap">Boy Farmers of Elm Island, The</span> By Rev. Elijah Kellogg</p> - -<p> 7. <span class="smcap">Boys of Grand Pré School</span> By Prof. James DeMille</p> - -<p> 8. <span class="smcap">“B. O. W. C.”, The</span> By Prof. James DeMille</p> - -<p> 9. <span class="smcap">Brought to the Front</span> or the Young Defenders By Rev. -Elijah Kellogg</p> - -<p>10. <span class="smcap">Burying the Hatchet</span> or the Young Brave of the -Delawares By Rev. Elijah Kellogg</p> - -<p>11. <span class="smcap">Cast Away in the Cold</span> By Dr. Isaac I. Hayes</p> - -<p>12. <span class="smcap">Charlie Bell the Waif of Elm Island</span> By Rev. Elijah -Kellogg</p> - -<p>13. <span class="smcap">Child of the Island Glen</span> By Rev. Elijah Kellogg</p> - -<p>14. <span class="smcap">Crossing the Quicksands</span> By Samuel W. Cozzens</p> - -<p>15. <span class="smcap">Cruise of the Casco</span> By Rev. Elijah Kellogg</p> - -<p>16. <span class="smcap">Fire in the Woods</span> By Prof. James DeMille</p> - -<p>17. <span class="smcap">Fisher Boys of Pleasant Cove</span> By Rev. Elijah Kellogg</p> - -<p>18. <span class="smcap">Forest Glen</span> or the Mohawk’s Friendship By Rev. -Elijah Kellogg</p> - -<p>19. <span class="smcap">Good Old Times</span> By Rev. Elijah Kellogg</p> - -<p>20. <span class="smcap"><a name="hardscrabble" id="hardscrabble"></a><ins title="Original has HARDSCRABBLE">Hard-Scrabble</ins> of Elm Island</span> By Rev. -Elijah Kellogg</p> - -<p>21. <span class="smcap">Haste or Waste</span> or the Young Pilot of Lake Champlain -By Oliver Optic</p> - -<p>22. <span class="smcap">Hope and Have</span> By Oliver Optic</p> - -<p>23. <span class="smcap">In School and Out</span> or the Conquest of Richard Grant -By Oliver Optic</p> - -<p>24. <span class="smcap">John Godsoe’s Legacy</span> By Rev. Elijah Kellogg</p> - -<p>25. <span class="smcap">Just His Luck</span> By Oliver Optic</p> - -<p>26. <span class="smcap">Lion Ben of Elm Island</span> By Rev. Elijah Kellogg</p> - -<p>27. <span class="smcap">Little by Little</span> or the Cruise of the Flyaway By -Oliver Optic</p> - -<p>28. <span class="smcap">Live Oak Boys</span> or the Adventures of Richard Constable -Afloat and Ashore By Rev. Elijah Kellogg</p> - -<p>29. <span class="smcap">Lost in the Fog</span> By Prof. James DeMille</p> - -<p>30. <span class="smcap">Mission of Black Rifle</span> or On the Trail By Rev. -Elijah Kellogg</p> - -<p>31. <span class="smcap">Now or Never</span> or the Adventures of Bobby Bright By -Oliver Optic</p> - -<p>32. <span class="smcap">Poor and Proud</span> or the Fortunes -<a name="of" id="of"></a><ins title="Original has or">of</ins> Kate Redburn By -Oliver Optic</p> - -<p>33. <span class="smcap">Rich and Humble</span> or the Mission of Bertha Grant By -Oliver Optic</p> - -<p>34. <span class="smcap">Sophomores of Radcliffe</span> or James Trafton and His -Boston Friends By Rev. Elijah Kellogg</p> - -<p>35. <span class="smcap">Sowed by the Wind</span> or the Poor Boy’s Fortune By Rev. -Elijah Kellogg</p> - -<p>36. <span class="smcap">Spark of Genius</span> or the College Life of James Trafton -By Elijah Kellogg</p> - -<p>37. <span class="smcap">Stout Heart</span> or the Student from Over the Sea By Rev. -Elijah Kellogg</p> - -<p>38. <span class="smcap">Strong Arm and a Mother’s Blessing</span> By Rev. Elijah -Kellogg</p> - -<p>39. <span class="smcap">Treasure of the Sea</span> By Prof. James DeMille</p> - -<p>40. <span class="smcap">Try Again</span> or the Trials and Triumphs of Harry West -By Oliver Optic</p> - -<p>41. <span class="smcap">Turning of the Tide</span> or Radcliffe Rich and his -Patients By Rev. Elijah Kellogg</p> - -<p>42. <span class="smcap">Unseen Hand</span> or James Renfew and His Boy Helpers By -Rev. Elijah Kellogg</p> - -<p>43. <span class="smcap">Watch and Wait</span> or the Young Fugitives By Oliver Optic</p> - -<p>44. <span class="smcap">Whispering Pine</span> or the Graduates of Radcliffe By -Rev. Elijah Kellogg</p> - -<p>45. <span class="smcap">Winning His Spurs</span> or Henry Morton’s First Trial By -Rev. Elijah Kellogg</p> - -<p>46. <span class="smcap">Wolf Run</span> or the Boys of the Wilderness By Rev. -Elijah Kellogg</p> - -<p>47. <span class="smcap">Work and Win</span> or Noddy Newman on a Cruise By Oliver -Optic</p> - -<p>48. <span class="smcap">Young Deliverers of Pleasant Cove</span> By Rev. Elijah -Kellogg</p> - -<p>49. <span class="smcap">Young Shipbuilders of Elm Island</span> By Rev. Elijah -Kellogg</p> - -<p>50. <span class="smcap">Young Trail Hunters</span> By Samuel W. Cozzens</p> -</blockquote> - -<p class="center p120"><strong>LEE and SHEPARD Publishers Boston</strong></p> -</div> - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="divider" /> -</div> -<div class="books"> -<p class="center p180"><i>AMERICAN BOYS’ SERIES</i></p> - -<p class="center p120">ADDED IN 1900</p> - -<p>In 1899 we increased this immensely popular series of choice -copyrighted books by representative American writers for the young to -fifty titles. In 1900 we added the ten following well-known books, -making an important addition to an already strong list:</p> - -<blockquote> -<p>51. <b>Field and Forest</b> or The Fortunes of a Farmer By Oliver -Optic</p> - -<p>52. <b>Outward Bound</b> or Young America Afloat By Oliver Optic</p> - -<p>53. <b>The Soldier Boy</b> or Tom Somers in the Army By Oliver -Optic</p> - -<p>54. <b>The Starry Flag</b> or The Young Fisherman of Cape Ann By -Oliver Optic</p> - -<p>55. <b>Through by Daylight</b> or The Young Engineer of the Lake -Shore Railroad By Oliver Optic</p> - -<p>56. <b>Cruises with Captain Bob around the Kitchen Fire</b> By B. -P. Shillaber (Mrs. Partington)</p> - -<p>57. <b>The Double-Runner Club</b> or The Lively Boys of Rivertown -By B. P. Shillaber (Mrs. Partington)</p> - -<p>58. <b>Ike Partington and His Friends</b> or The Humors of a -Human Boy By B. P. Shillaber (Mrs. Partington)</p> - -<p>59. <b>Locke Amsden the Schoolmaster</b> By Judge D. P. Thompson</p> - -<p>60. <b>The Rangers</b> By Judge D. P. Thompson</p> -</blockquote> - -<p class="center p120">ADDED IN 1901</p> - -<p>This year we still further increase this list, which has become -standard throughout the country, by adding the ever-popular “Green -Mountain Boys” and four volumes of “Oliver Optic,” “All Over the World -Library,” especially timely books in view of the present interest in -Asiatic matters.</p> - -<blockquote> -<p>61. <b>The Green Mountain Boys</b> By Judge D. P. Thompson</p> - -<p>62. <b>A Missing Million</b> or The Adventures of Louis Belgrave -By Oliver Optic</p> - -<p>63. <b>A Millionaire at Sixteen</b> or The Cruise of the -“Guardian Mother” By Oliver Optic</p> - -<p>64. <b>A Young Knight Errant</b> or Cruising in the West Indies -By Oliver Optic</p> - -<p>65. <b>Strange Sights Abroad</b> or Adventures in European Waters -By Oliver Optic</p> -</blockquote> - -<p class="center p140"><strong><span class="smcap">Lee and Shepard</span> Publishers Boston</strong></p> -</div> - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="divider" /> -</div> -<div class="tn"> -<p class="center p120">Transcriber’s Note</p> - -<p class="noi">Punctuation has been standardised.</p> - -<p class="noi">Some words were obscured in the original publication on pages 277 and -278—these have been changed according to the earlier 1868 publication -by the same publisher as follows:</p> - -<ul class="nobullet"> -<li><ul><li>Page 277<br /> - If I should go alone (<a href="#alone">alone</a> obscured)</li></ul></li> - -<li><ul><li>Page 278<br /> - beach, which, after Hannah (<a href="#beach">beach</a> obscured)</li></ul></li> -</ul> - -<p class="noi">Otherwise, spelling has been retained as published except as -follows:</p> - -<ul class="nobullet"> -<li><ul><li>Page 15<br /> - held him as in a vice <i>changed to</i><br /> - held him as in a <a href="#vise">vise</a></li></ul></li> - -<li><ul><li>Page 104<br /> - cutting a man’s head of <i>changed to</i><br /> - cutting a man’s head <a href="#off">off</a></li></ul></li> - -<li><ul><li>Page 147<br /> - if you heave her too <i>changed to</i><br /> - if you heave her <a href="#to">to</a></li></ul></li> - -<li><ul><li>Page 242<br /> - out of your gripe <i>changed to</i><br /> - out of your <a href="#grip">grip</a></li></ul></li> - -<li><ul><li>Page 267<br /> - Is’nt this good? <i>changed to</i><br /> - <a href="#isnt">Isn’t</a> this good?</li></ul></li> - -<li><ul><li>Page 326<br /> - 20. HARDSCRABBLE OF ELM ISLAND <i>changed to</i><br /> - 20. <a href="#hardscrabble">HARD-SCRABBLE</a> OF ELM ISLAND</li></ul></li> - -<li><ul><li>Number 32 in the list of books<br /> - or the Fortunes or <i>changed to</i><br /> - or the Fortunes <a href="#of">of</a></li></ul></li> -</ul> -</div> - - - - - - - -<pre> - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Charle Bell, The Waif of Elm Island, by -Rev. Elijah Kellogg - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CHARLIE BELL, WAIF OF ELM ISLAND *** - -***** This file should be named 51141-h.htm or 51141-h.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/1/1/4/51141/ - -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. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part -of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm -concept and trademark. Project Gutenberg is a registered trademark, -and may not be used if you charge for the eBooks, unless you receive -specific permission. If you do not charge anything for copies of this -eBook, complying with the rules is very easy. You may use this eBook -for nearly any purpose such as creation of derivative works, reports, -performances and research. They may be modified and printed and given -away--you may do practically ANYTHING in the United States with eBooks -not protected by U.S. copyright law. Redistribution is subject to the -trademark license, especially commercial redistribution. - -START: FULL LICENSE - -THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE -PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK - -To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free -distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work -(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project -Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full -Project Gutenberg-tm License available with this file or online at -www.gutenberg.org/license. - -Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works - -1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to -and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property -(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all -the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or -destroy all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your -possession. If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a -Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound -by the terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the -person or entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph -1.E.8. - -1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be -used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who -agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few -things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works -even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See -paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this -agreement and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic works. See paragraph 1.E below. - -1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the -Foundation" or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection -of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual -works in the collection are in the public domain in the United -States. If an individual work is unprotected by copyright law in the -United States and you are located in the United States, we do not -claim a right to prevent you from copying, distributing, performing, -displaying or creating derivative works based on the work as long as -all references to Project Gutenberg are removed. Of course, we hope -that you will support the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting -free access to electronic works by freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm -works in compliance with the terms of this agreement for keeping the -Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with the work. You can easily -comply with the terms of this agreement by keeping this work in the -same format with its attached full Project Gutenberg-tm License when -you share it without charge with others. - -1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern -what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are -in a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, -check the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this -agreement before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, -distributing or creating derivative works based on this work or any -other Project Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no -representations concerning the copyright status of any work in any -country outside the United States. - -1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: - -1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other -immediate access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear -prominently whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work -on which the phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the -phrase "Project Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, -performed, viewed, copied or distributed: - - 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. - -1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is -derived from texts not protected by U.S. copyright law (does not -contain a notice indicating that it is posted with permission of the -copyright holder), the work can be copied and distributed to anyone in -the United States without paying any fees or charges. If you are -redistributing or providing access to a work with the phrase "Project -Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the work, you must comply -either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 or -obtain permission for the use of the work and the Project Gutenberg-tm -trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. - -1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted -with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution -must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any -additional terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms -will be linked to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works -posted with the permission of the copyright holder found at the -beginning of this work. - -1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm -License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this -work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm. - -1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this -electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without -prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with -active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project -Gutenberg-tm License. - -1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, -compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including -any word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access -to or distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format -other than "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official -version posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site -(www.gutenberg.org), you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense -to the user, provide a copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means -of obtaining a copy upon request, of the work in its original "Plain -Vanilla ASCII" or other form. Any alternate format must include the -full Project Gutenberg-tm License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. - -1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, -performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works -unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. - -1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing -access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works -provided that - -* You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from - the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method - you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is owed - to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he has - agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the Project - Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments must be paid - within 60 days following each date on which you prepare (or are - legally required to prepare) your periodic tax returns. Royalty - payments should be clearly marked as such and sent to the Project - Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the address specified in - Section 4, "Information about donations to the Project Gutenberg - Literary Archive Foundation." - -* You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies - you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he - does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm - License. You must require such a user to return or destroy all - copies of the works possessed in a physical medium and discontinue - all use of and all access to other copies of Project Gutenberg-tm - works. - -* You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of - any money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the - electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days of - receipt of the work. - -* You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free - distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works. - -1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic work or group of works on different terms than -are set forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing -from both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and The -Project Gutenberg Trademark LLC, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm -trademark. Contact the Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below. - -1.F. - -1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable -effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread -works not protected by U.S. copyright law in creating the Project -Gutenberg-tm collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may -contain "Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate -or corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other -intellectual property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or -other medium, a computer virus, or computer codes that damage or -cannot be read by your equipment. - -1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right -of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project -Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project -Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all -liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal -fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT -LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE -PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE -TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE -LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR -INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH -DAMAGE. - -1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a -defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can -receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a -written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you -received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium -with your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you -with the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in -lieu of a refund. If you received the work electronically, the person -or entity providing it to you may choose to give you a second -opportunity to receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If -the second copy is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing -without further opportunities to fix the problem. - -1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth -in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS', WITH NO -OTHER WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT -LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. - -1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied -warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of -damages. If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement -violates the law of the state applicable to this agreement, the -agreement shall be interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or -limitation permitted by the applicable state law. The invalidity or -unenforceability of any provision of this agreement shall not void the -remaining provisions. - -1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the -trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone -providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in -accordance with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the -production, promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic works, harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, -including legal fees, that arise directly or indirectly from any of -the following which you do or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this -or any Project Gutenberg-tm work, (b) alteration, modification, or -additions or deletions to any Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any -Defect you cause. - -Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm - -Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of -electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of -computers including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It -exists because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations -from people in all walks of life. - -Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the -assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's -goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will -remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project -Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure -and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future -generations. To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation and how your efforts and donations can help, see -Sections 3 and 4 and the Foundation information page at -www.gutenberg.org - - - -Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation - -The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit -501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the -state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal -Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification -number is 64-6221541. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent permitted by -U.S. federal laws and your state's laws. - -The Foundation's principal office is in Fairbanks, Alaska, with the -mailing address: PO Box 750175, Fairbanks, AK 99775, but its -volunteers and employees are scattered throughout numerous -locations. Its business office is located at 809 North 1500 West, Salt -Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887. Email contact links and up to -date contact information can be found at the Foundation's web site and -official page at www.gutenberg.org/contact - -For additional contact information: - - Dr. Gregory B. Newby - Chief Executive and Director - gbnewby@pglaf.org - -Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg -Literary Archive Foundation - -Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide -spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of -increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be -freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest -array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations -($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt -status with the IRS. - -The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating -charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United -States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a -considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up -with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations -where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To SEND -DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any particular -state visit www.gutenberg.org/donate - -While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we -have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition -against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who -approach us with offers to donate. - -International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make -any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from -outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. - -Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation -methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other -ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. To -donate, please visit: www.gutenberg.org/donate - -Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works. - -Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project -Gutenberg-tm concept of a library of electronic works that could be -freely shared with anyone. For forty years, he produced and -distributed Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of -volunteer support. - -Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed -editions, all of which are confirmed as not protected by copyright in -the U.S. unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not -necessarily keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper -edition. - -Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search -facility: www.gutenberg.org - -This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, -including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to -subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. - - - -</pre> - -</body> -</html> diff --git a/old/51141-h/images/ad1.jpg b/old/51141-h/images/ad1.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 1d47f55..0000000 --- a/old/51141-h/images/ad1.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/51141-h/images/ad1.png b/old/51141-h/images/ad1.png Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index d4a4e77..0000000 --- a/old/51141-h/images/ad1.png +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/51141-h/images/cover.jpg b/old/51141-h/images/cover.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index ed33ff5..0000000 --- a/old/51141-h/images/cover.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/51141-h/images/frontis.jpg b/old/51141-h/images/frontis.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 2fac5fb..0000000 --- a/old/51141-h/images/frontis.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/51141-h/images/p054.jpg b/old/51141-h/images/p054.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 43fe728..0000000 --- a/old/51141-h/images/p054.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/51141-h/images/p248.jpg b/old/51141-h/images/p248.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 9d5ea00..0000000 --- a/old/51141-h/images/p248.jpg +++ /dev/null |
