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diff --git a/old/54294-0.txt b/old/54294-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 193728e..0000000 --- a/old/54294-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,7770 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Charlie Codman's Cruise, by Horatio Alger - -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: Charlie Codman's Cruise - A Story for Boys - -Author: Horatio Alger - -Release Date: March 7, 2017 [EBook #54294] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CHARLIE CODMAN'S CRUISE *** - - - - -Produced by Nahum Maso i Carcases and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was -produced from images generously made available by The -Internet Archive) - - - - - - - Transcriber's Notes: - - Obvious punctuation errors and misprints have been corrected. - - Blank pages present in the printed original have been deleted in - the e-text version. - - Text in Italics is indicated between _underscores_ - - Text in small capitals has been replaced by regular uppercase text. - - * * * * * - - - - - CHARLIE CODMAN'S CRUISE - - A Story for Boys - - - BY HORATIO ALGER, JR. - - AUTHOR OF "FRANK'S CAMPAIGN," "ERIE TRAIN BOY," - "ADRIFT IN NEW YORK," ETC., ETC. - - - NEW YORK - HURST & COMPANY - PUBLISHERS - - - - - PREFACE. - - -In deference to the expressed wishes of some of his young friends, -the author has essayed a story of the sea, and now presents "Charlie -Codman's Cruise," as the third volume of the Campaign Series. It will -be found more adventurous than its predecessors, and the trials which -Charlie is called upon to encounter are of a severer character than -befell Frank Frost or Paul Prescott. But it will be found that they -were met with the same manly spirit, and a like determination to be -faithful to duty at all hazards. - -Though not wholly a stranger to the sea, the author is quite aware of -the blunders to which a landsman is exposed in treating of matters and -a mode of life which, at the best, he must comprehend but imperfectly, -and has endeavored to avoid, as far as possible, professional -technicalities, as not essential to the interest of the story. - -With these few words he submits the present volume to his young -readers, hoping for it a welcome even more generous than has been -accorded to "Frank's Campaign" and "Paul Prescott's Charge." - - - - - CHARLIE CODMAN'S CRUISE. - - - - - I. - - CHARLIE AND THE MISER. - - -Charlie Codman turned out of Washington into Bedford Street just as the -clock in the Old South steeple struck two. He was about fourteen, a -handsome, well-made boy, with a bright eye and a manly expression. But -he was poor. That was evident enough from his clothes, which, though -neat and free from dust, were patched in several places. He had a small -roll of daily papers under his arm, the remains of his stock in trade, -which he had been unable wholly to dispose of. - -Some of my readers may know that the Latin School and English High -School are kept in the same building. At two o'clock both are -dismissed. Charlie had scarcely passed the school-house when a crowd -of boys issued from the school-yard, and he heard his name called from -behind. Looking back he recognized a boy somewhat smaller than himself, -with whom he had formed an acquaintance some time before. - -"Where are you bound, Charlie?" asked Edwin Banks. - -"I'm going home now." - -"What luck have you had this morning?" - -"Not much. I've got four papers left over, and that will take away -about all my profits." - -"What a pity you are poor, Charlie. I wish you could come to school -with us." - -"So do I, Eddie. I'd give a good deal to get an education, but I feel -that I ought to help mother." - -"Why won't you come some time, and see us, Charlie? Clare and myself -would be very glad to see you at any time." - -"I should like to go," said Charlie, "but I don't look fit." - -"Oh, never mind about your clothes. I like you just as well as if you -were dressed in style." - -"Perhaps I'll come some time," said Charlie. "I'd invite you to come -and see me, but we live in a poor place." - -"Just as if I should care for that. I will come whenever I get an -invitation." - -"Then come next Saturday afternoon. I will be waiting for you as you -come out of school." - -Charlie little thought where he would be when Saturday came. - -Shortly after the boys separated, and Charlie's attention was arrested -by the sight of an old man with a shambling gait, who was bending -over and anxiously searching for something on the sidewalk. Charlie -recognized him at once as "old Manson, the miser," for this was the -name by which he generally went. - -Old Peter Manson was not more than fifty-five, but he looked from -fifteen to twenty years older. If his body had been properly cared -for, it would have been different; but, one by one, its functions had -been blunted and destroyed, and it had become old and out of repair. -Peter's face was ploughed with wrinkles. His cheeks were thin, and the -skin was yellow and hung in folds. His beard appeared to have received -little or no attention for a week, at least, and was now stiff and -bristling. - -The miser's dress was not very well fitted to his form. It was in -the fashion of twenty years before. Grayish pantaloons, patched in -divers places with dark cloth by an unskilful hand; a vest from which -the buttons had long since departed, and which was looped together -by pieces of string, but not closely enough to conceal a dirty and -tattered shirt beneath; a coat in the last stages of shabbiness; while -over all hung a faded blue cloak, which Peter wore in all weathers. In -the sultriest days of August he might have been seen trudging along in -this old mantle, which did him the good service of hiding a multitude -of holes and patches, while in January he went no warmer clad. There -were some who wondered how he could stand the bitter cold of winter -with no more adequate covering; but if Peter's body was as tough as -his conscience, there was no fear of his suffering. - -Charlie paused a moment to see what it was that the old man was hunting -for. - -"Have you lost anything?" he asked. - -"Yes," said Peter, in quavering accents. "See if you can't find it, -that's a good boy. Your eyes are better than mine." - -"What is it?" - -"It is some money, and I--I'm so poor, I can't afford to lose it." - -"How much was it?" - -"It wasn't much, but I'm so poor I need it." - -Charlie espied a cent, lying partially concealed by mud, just beside -the curb-stone. He picked it up. - -"This isn't what you lost, is it?" - -"Yes," said Peter, seizing it eagerly. "You're a good boy to find it. A -good boy!" - -"Well," thought Charlie, wondering, as the old man hobbled off with his -recovered treasure, "I'd rather be poor than care so much for money as -that. People say old Peter's worth his thousands. I wonder whether it -is so." - -Charlie little dreamed how much old Peter was likely to influence his -destiny, and how, at his instigation, before a week had passed over his -head, he would find himself in a very disagreeable situation. - -We must follow Peter. - -With his eyes fixed on the ground he shuffled along, making more rapid -progress than could have been expected. Occasionally he would stoop -down and pick up any little stray object which arrested his attention, -even to a crooked pin, which he thrust into his cloak, muttering as he -did so, "Save my buying any. I haven't had to buy any pins for more'n -ten years, and I don't mean to buy any more while I live. Ha! ha! -Folks are _so_ extravagant! They buy things they don't need, or that -they might pick up, if they'd only take the trouble to keep their eyes -open. 'Tisn't so with old Peter. He's too cunning for that. There goes -a young fellow dressed up in the fashion. What he's got on must have -cost nigh on to a hundred dollars. What dreadful extravagance! Ha! -ha! It hasn't cost old Peter twenty dollars for the last ten years. If -he had spent money as some do, he might have been in the poor-house by -this time. Ugh! ugh! it costs a dreadful sum to live. If we could only -come into the world with natural clothes, like cats, what a deal better -it would be. But it costs the most for food. Oh dear! what a dreadful -appetite I've got, and I _must_ eat. All the money spent for victuals -seem thrown away. I've a good mind, sometimes, to go to the poor-house, -where it wouldn't cost me anything. What a blessing it would be to eat, -if you could only get food for nothing!" - -It is very clear that Peter would have been far better off, as far as -the comforts of life are concerned, in the city almshouse; but there -were some little obstacles in the way of his entering. For instance, -it would scarcely have been allowed a public pensioner to go round -quarterly to collect his rents,--a thing which Peter would hardly have -relinquished. - -Reflections upon the cost of living brought to Peter's recollection -that he had nothing at home for supper. He accordingly stepped into a -baker's shop close at hand. - -"Have you got any bread cheap?" he inquired of the baker. - -"We intend to sell at moderate prices." - -"What do you ask for those loaves?" said the old man, looking wistfully -at some fresh loaves piled upon the counter, which had been but a short -time out of the oven. - -"Five cents apiece," said the baker. "I'll warrant you will find them -good. They are made of the best of flour." - -"Isn't five cents rather dear?" queried Peter, his natural appetite -struggling with his avarice. - -"Dear!" retorted the baker, opening his eyes in astonishment; "why, my -good sir, at what price do you expect to buy bread?" - -"I've no doubt they're very good," said Peter, hastily; "but have you -any stale loaves? I guess they'll be better for me." - -"Yes," said the baker, "I believe I have, but they're not as good as -the fresh bread." - -"How do you sell your stale loaves?" inquired Peter, fumbling in his -pocket for some change. - -"I sell them for about half price--three cents apiece." - -"You may give me one, then; I guess it'll be better for me." - -Even Peter was a little ashamed to acknowledge that it was the price -alone which influenced his choice. - -The baker observed that, notwithstanding his decision, he continued to -look wistfully towards the fresh bread. Never having seen old Peter -before, he was unacquainted with his character, and judging from his -dilapidated appearance that he might be prevented, by actual poverty, -from buying the fresh bread, exclaimed with a sudden impulse: "You seem -to be poor. If you only want one loaf, I will for this once give you a -fresh loaf for three cents--the same price I ask for the stale bread." - -"Will you?" - -Old Peter's eyes sparkled with eagerness as he said this. - -"Poor man!" thought the baker with mistaken compassion; "he must -indeed be needy, to be so pleased." - -"Yes," he continued, "you shall have a loaf this once for three cents. -Shall I put it in a paper for you?" - -Peter nodded. - -Meanwhile he was busy fumbling in his pockets for the coins requisite -to purchase the loaf. He drew out three battered cents, and deposited -them with reluctant hand on the counter. He gazed at them wistfully -while the baker carelessly swept them with his hand into the till -behind the counter; and then with a sigh of resignation, at parting -with the coins, seized the loaf and shambled out into the street. - -He put the bundle under his arm, and hastened up the street, his mouth -watering in anticipation of the feast which awaited him. Do not laugh, -reader,--little as you may regard a fresh loaf of bread, it was indeed -a treat to Peter, who was accustomed, from motives of economy, to -regale himself upon stale bread. - -The baker was congratulating himself upon having done a charitable -action, when Peter came back in haste, pale with affright. - -"I--I--," he stammered, "must have dropped some money. You haven't -picked up any, have you?" - -"Not I!" said the baker, carelessly. "If you dropped it here you will -find it somewhere on the floor. Stay, I will assist you." - -Peter seemed rather disconcerted than otherwise by this offer of -assistance, but could not reasonably interpose any objection. - -After a very brief search Peter and the baker simultaneously discovered -the missing coin. The former pounced upon it, but not before the latter -had recognized it as a gold piece. - -"Ho, ho!" thought he, in surprise, "my charity is not so well bestowed -as I thought. Do you have many such coins?" he asked, meaningly. - -"I?" said Peter, hastily, "Oh no! I am very poor. This is all I have, -and I expect it will be gone soon,--it costs so much to live!" - -"It'll never cost you much," thought the baker, watching the shabby -figure of the miser as he receded from the shop. - - - - - II. - - A MISER'S HOUSEHOLD. - - -Peter Manson owned a small house in an obscure street. It was a -weather-beaten tenement of wood, containing some six or eight rooms, -all of which, with one exception, were given over to dirt, cobwebs, -gloom, and desolation. Peter might readily have let the rooms which -he did not require for his own use, but so profound was his distrust -of human nature, that not even the prospect of receiving rent for -the empty rooms could overcome his apprehension of being robbed by -neighbors under the same roof. For Peter trusted not his money to banks -or railroads, but wanted to have it directly under his own eye or -within his reach. As for investing his gold in the luxuries of life, -or even in what were generally considered its absolute necessaries, we -have already seen that Peter was no such fool as that. A gold eagle -was worth ten times more to him than its equivalent in food or clothing. - -With more than his usual alacrity, old Peter Manson, bearing under his -cloak the fresh loaf which he had just procured from the baker on such -advantageous terms, hastened to his not very inviting home. - -Drawing from his pocket a large and rusty door-key, he applied it to -the door. It turned in the lock with a creaking sound, and the door -yielding to Peter's push he entered. - -The room which he appropriated to his own use was in the second story. -It was a large room, of some eighteen feet square, and, as it is -hardly necessary to say, was not set off by expensive furniture. The -articles which came under this denomination were briefly these,--a -cherry table which was minus one leg, whose place had been supplied by -a broom handle fitted in its place; three hard wooden chairs of unknown -antiquity; an old wash-stand; a rusty stove which Peter had picked up -cheap at an auction, after finding that a stove burned out less fuel -than a fireplace; a few articles of crockery of different patterns, -some cracked and broken; a few tin dishes, such as Peter found -essential in his cooking; and a low truckle bedstead with a scanty -supply of bedclothes. - -Into this desolate home Peter entered. - -There was an ember or two left in the stove, which the old man -contrived, by hard blowing, to kindle into life. On these he placed a -few sticks, part of which he had picked up in the street early in the -morning, and soon there was a little show of fire, over which the miser -spread his hands greedily as if to monopolize what little heat might -proceed therefrom. He looked wistfully at the pile of wood remaining, -but prudence withheld him from putting on any more. - -"Everything costs money," he muttered to himself. "Three times a day -I have to eat, and that costs a sight. Why couldn't we get along with -eating once a day? That would save two thirds. Then there's fire. That -costs money, too. Why isn't it always summer? Then we shouldn't need -any except to cook by. It seems a sin to throw away good, bright, -precious gold on what is going to be burnt up and float away in smoke. -One might almost as well throw it into the river at once. Ugh! only to -think of what it would cost if I couldn't pick up some sticks in the -street. There was a little girl picking up some this morning when I was -out. If it hadn't been for her, I should have got more. What business -had she to come there, I should like to know?" - -"Ugh, ugh!" - -The blaze was dying out, and Peter was obliged, against his will, to -put on a fresh supply of fuel. - -By this time the miser's appetite began to assert itself, and rising -from his crouching position over the fire he walked to the table on -which he had deposited his loaf of bread. With an old jack-knife he -carefully cut the loaf into two equal parts. One of these he put back -into the closet. From the same place he also brought out a sausage, and -placing it over the fire contrived to cook it after a fashion. Taking -it off he placed it on a plate, and seated himself on a chair by the -table. - -It was long since the old man, accustomed to stale bread,--because -he found it cheaper,--had tasted anything so delicious. No alderman -ever smacked his lips over the most exquisite turtle soup with greater -relish than Peter Manson over his banquet. - -"It is very good," he muttered, with a sigh of satisfaction. "I don't -fare so well every day. If it hadn't been for that unlucky piece of -gold, perhaps the baker would have let me had another loaf at the same -price." - -He soon despatched the half loaf which he allotted to his evening meal. - -"I think I could eat the other half," he said, with unsatisfied hunger; -"but I must save that for breakfast. It is hurtful to eat too much. -Besides, here is my sausage." - -The sausage was rather burned than cooked, but Peter was neither nice -nor fastidious. He did not eat the whole of the sausage, however, but -reserved one half of this, too, for breakfast, though it proved so -acceptable to his palate that he came near yielding to the temptation -of eating the whole. But prudence, or rather avarice, prevailed, and -shaking his head with renewed determination, he carried it to the -closet and placed it on the shelf. - -Between seven and eight o'clock Peter prepared to go to bed, partly -because this would enable him to dispense with a fire, the cost -of which he considered so ruinous. He had but just commenced his -preparations for bed when a loud knock was heard at the street door. - -At the first sound of the knocking Peter Manson started in affright. -Such a thing had not occurred in his experience for years. - -"It's some drunken fellow," thought Peter. "He's mistaken the house. -I'll blow out the candle, and then he'll think there's nobody here." - -He listened again, in hopes to hear the receding steps of the visitor, -but in vain. After a brief interval there came another knock, louder -and more imperative than the first. - -Peter began to feel a little uneasy. - -"Why don't he go?" he muttered, peevishly. "He can't have anything to -do with me. Nobody ever comes here. He's mistaken the house." - -His reflections were here interrupted by a volley of knocks, each -apparently louder than the last. - -"Oh dear, what shall I do?" exclaimed the miser with a ludicrous mixture -of terror and perplexity. "It's some desperate ruffian, I know it is. I -wish the police would come. I shall be robbed and murdered." - -Peter went to the window and put his head out, hoping to discover -something of his troublesome visitor. The noise of opening the window -attracted his attention. - -"Hilloa!" he shouted. "I thought I'd make you hear some time or other. -I began to think you were as deaf as a post, or else had kicked the -bucket." - -"Who's there?" asked Peter, in a quavering voice. - -"Who's there! Come down and see, and don't leave a fellow to hammer -away all night at your old rat-trap. Come down, and open the door." - -"This ain't the house," said Peter. "You've made a mistake. Nobody ever -comes here." - -"No more I should think they would, if you always keep 'em waiting as -long as you have me. Come along down, and let me in." - -"But I tell you," persisted Peter, who didn't at all like the visitor's -manners, "that you've made a mistake. This ain't the house." - -"Ain't what house, I'd like to know?" - -"It ain't the house you think it is," said the old man, a little -puzzled by this question. - -"And what house do I think it is? Tell me that, you old----" - -Probably the sentence would have been finished in a manner -uncomplimentary to Peter, but perhaps, from motives of policy, the -stranger suppressed what he had intended to say. - -"I don't know," returned Peter, at a loss for a reply, "but there's a -mistake somewhere. Nobody comes to see me." - -"I shouldn't think they would," muttered the outsider, "but every rule -has its exceptions, and somebody's come to see you now." - -"You've mistaken the person." - -"No, I haven't. Little chance of making a mistake. You're old Peter -Manson." - -"He _has_ come to see me," thought Peter, uneasily; "but it cannot be -for any good end. I won't let him in; no, I won't let him in." - -"Well what are you going to do about it?" asked his would-be visitor, -impatiently. - -"It's too late to see you to-night." - -"Fiddlestick!" retorted the other. "It isn't eight yet." - -"I'm just going to bed," added Peter, becoming momentarily more uneasy -at the man's obstinacy. - -"Going to bed at half past seven! Come, now, that's all a joke. You -don't take me for a fool!" - -"But I am," urged Peter, "I always do. I'm very poor, and can't afford -to keep a fire and light going all the evening." - -"You poor! Well, may be you are. But that ain't neither here nor there. -I have got some important business to see you about, and you must let -me in." - -"Come to-morrow." - -"It's no use; I must see you to-night. So just come down and let me in, -or it'll be the worse for you." - -"What a dreadful ruffian!" groaned Peter; "I wish the watch would come -along, but it never does when it's wanted. Go away, good man," he said, -in a wheedling tone. "Go away, and come again to-morrow." - -"I tell you I won't go away. I must see you to-night." - -Convinced that the man was not to be denied, Peter, groaning with fear, -went down, and reluctantly drawing the bolt, admitted the visitor. - - - - - III. - - THE UNWELCOME VISITOR. - - -Opening the door with trembling hand Peter Manson saw before him a -stout man of forty-five, with a complexion bronzed by exposure to the -elements. - -Short and thick-set, with a half-defiant expression, as if, to use a -common phrase, he "feared neither man nor devil," a glance at him -served hardly to reassure the apprehensive old man. - -The stranger was attired in a suit of coarse clothing, and appeared to -possess little education or refinement. He might be a sailor,--there -was an indefinable something about him,--a certain air of the sea, that -justified the suspicion that he had passed some part of his life, at -least, in the realms of Father Neptune. - -Peter Manson, holding in his hand the fragment of candle which -flickered wildly from the sudden gust of wind which rushed in at the -door just opened, stood in silent apprehension, gazing uneasily at his -unwelcome visitor. - -"Well, shipmate," said the latter, impatiently, "how long are you going -to stand staring at me? It makes me feel bashful, not to speak of its -not being over and above civil." - -"What do you want?" inquired Peter, his alarm a little increased by -this speech, making, at the same time, a motion as if to close the -door. - -"First and foremost, I should like to be invited in somewhere, where -it isn't quite so public as at the street door. My business is of a -private nature." - -"I don't know you," said the miser, uneasily. - -"Well, what's the odds if I know you?" was the careless reply. "Come, -push ahead. Where do you live? Up stairs, or down stairs? I want to -have a little private talk with you somewhere." - -The speaker was about to cross the threshold when Peter stepped in -front, as if to intercept him, and said, hurriedly, "Don't come in -to-night; to-morrow will do just as well." - -"By your leave," said the visitor, coolly, pushing his way in, in spite -of the old man's feeble opposition. "I have already told you that I -wanted to see you to-night. Didn't you hear me?" - -"Thieves!" the old man half ejaculated, but was checked by the other -somewhat sternly. - -"No, old man, I am not a thief; but if you don't have done with your -stupid charges, I may be tempted to verify your good opinion by trying -my hand at a little robbery. Now lead the way to your den, wherever it -is, if you know what is best for yourself." - -The outer door was already closed, and Peter felt that he was at the -intruder's mercy. Nevertheless, there was something in this last -speech, rough and imperative as it was, that gave him a little feeling -of security, so far as he had been led to suspect any designs on his -property on the part of his companion. - -Without venturing upon any further remonstrance, which, it was clear, -would prove altogether useless, he shuffled up stairs, in obedience to -the stranger's command, yet not without casting back over his shoulder -a look of apprehension, as if he feared an attack from behind. - -His visitor, perceiving this, smiled, as if amused at old Peter's -evident alarm. - -Arrived at the head of the stairs, Peter opened the door into the -apartment appropriated to his own use. - -The stranger followed him in, and after a leisurely glance about the -room, seated himself with some caution in a chair, which did not look -very secure. - -Peter placed the flickering candle upon the mantel-piece, and seated -himself. - -It was long, very long, since a visitor had wakened the echoes of the -old house; very long since any human being, save Peter himself, had -been seated in that room. The old man could not help feeling it to be a -strange thing, so unaccustomed was he to the sight of any other human -face there. - -"It seems to me," said his visitor, dryly, taking in at a glance all -the appointments of the room, "that you don't care much about the -luxuries of life." - -"I," said Peter, "I'm obliged to live very plain,--very plain, -indeed,--because I am so poor." - -"Poor or not," said the visitor, "you must afford to have a better fire -while I am here. I don't approve of freezing." - -He rose without ceremony, and taking half a dozen sticks from the -hearth, deposited them in the stove, which now contained only some -burning embers. - -"Stay," said Peter, hastily. "Don't put so much on; it's wasteful, and -I sha'n't have any left for to-morrow." - -"I'll risk that," said the other, carelessly. "At any rate, it's better -to be comfortable one day than to shiver through two." - -The flame caught the wood, which soon blazed up, diffusing an unusually -cheerful glow over the apartment. Peter, in spite of the dismay with -which he had at first contemplated the sudden movement on the part -of his visitor, and the awful consumption of wood which he knew must -ensue, nevertheless appeared to enjoy the increased heat. He drew his -chair nearer the stove, and an expression of satisfaction was visible -in his face as he spread out both hands to catch a little warmth. - -"There, Peter," said the stranger, "I knew you'd like it after it was -fairly done. Isn't it worth while to have a good warm fire?" - -"If it didn't cost so much," groaned Peter, the one thought intruding. - -"Hush, Peter; if what people say be true, and as I am inclined to -believe, there's no one better able to afford a good fire than you." - -"No one better able!" repeated Peter, at once taking alarm, and lifting -up both hands in earnest deprecation, "when I can hardly get enough -together to keep from absolute starvation. Oh, it's a strange world, -it's a strange world!" - -"Well, Peter, some strange people do live in it, to be sure. But people -do say, Peter, that you have a power of money hidden away in this old -house somewhere." - -Peter started to his feet in affright, then feeling that his movement -might lead to suspicion, sank back into his seat, saying, uneasily, "I -only wish it were true. People say such strange things. But it's only -idle talk, idle talk. They know better." - -"You'd be very grateful, I have no doubt, to anybody that would show -you where all these treasures are that people talk about, wouldn't you, -hey?" - -"Ye--Yes," answered Peter Manson, who did not know quite how to -understand his companion, whose tone seemed to have a hidden meaning -which made him uneasy. - -"And will you give me leave to search the house, if I will promise to -give you half the gold I find?" - -"But you wouldn't find any," answered the miser, hastily. - -"Then there would be no harm done. Suppose now I should remove the -flooring, just here for instance, don't you think I might possibly find -something underneath that would repay me for my search?" - -Unconsciously the speaker had hit upon one of Peter's places of -deposit. Directly under where he was seated there was a box of gold -coins. Accordingly this remark, which seemed to indicate to Peter some -knowledge of his hiding-place, filled him with fearful apprehensions. - -"No, no," said he, vehemently; "go away, there isn't any there. If that -is all you have got to say, go away and leave me to my rest. I ought to -be in bed; it is getting late." - -"I _have_ something more to say, Peter Manson," returned his companion. -"If I had not, I should not have sought you to-night. What I have to -say is of great importance to you as you will find. Will you hear it?" - -"Go on," muttered Peter, his attention arrested, in spite of his fears, -by the stranger's peculiar tone. - -"First, then, let me tell you a story. It may be real, it may be only -fancy. I won't say anything about that. By the way, Peter, were you -ever in the West Indies?" - -This question produced a singular effect upon Peter, considering -its apparently unimportant character. He started, turned as pale as -his ghastly complexion permitted, fixed an anxious glance upon the -stranger, who looked as if nothing particular had happened, and said -hastily, "No, I was never there. What made you ask?" - -"Nothing particular," said the other, carelessly; "if you were never -there, no matter. Only it is there that what I am going to tell you -happened. But to my story. - -"Some twenty years ago there lived in the city of Havana an American -gentleman, no matter about his name, who had established himself in -business in the city. He had married before he went there, and had a -daughter about sixteen years of age. Well, his business flourished. -Good luck seemed to attend him in all his ventures, and he seemed -likely to accumulate enough to retire upon before many years." - -Peter started, and as the story progressed seemed to be internally -agitated. A keen glance satisfied his visitor of this; without -appearing to notice it, however, he went on,-- - -"But things don't always turn out as well as we expect. Just when -things looked brightest there came a sudden blow, for which the -merchant was unprepared. On going to his counting-room one morning, he -discovered that his book-keeper had disappeared, and what was worse, -had carried off with him the sum of twenty thousand dollars--a large -sum, was it not?" - -"What is all this to me?" demanded Peter, with sudden fierceness. - -"I will tell you by and by," said the stranger, coolly. - -"I will take the liberty to put a little more wood into the stove, and -then go on with my story." - -"I--I'll put some in," said Peter. - -He took a small stick about half as large round as his wrist, and -opening the stove-door, put it in. - -"That'll do to begin with," said the stranger, following it, to Peter's -dismay, with half a dozen larger ones. "Now we'll be comfortable." - - - - - IV. - - A STARTLING QUESTION. - - -While Peter's uneasiness became every moment more marked, his visitor -continued,-- - -"This sad defalcation was the more unfortunate because, on that very -day notes to a heavy amount became due. Of course the merchant was -unable to pay them. Do you know what was the result?" - -"How should I know?" asked Peter, testily, avoiding the gaze of the -stranger, and fixing his eyes uneasily upon the fire. - -"Of course you couldn't know, I was foolish to think such a thing." - -"Then what made you think it?" said Peter, in a petulant tone. "I don't -care to hear your story. What has it got to do with me?" - -"Don't be in too much of a hurry, and perhaps you will learn quite as -soon as you care to. The same result followed, which always does follow -when a business man cannot meet his engagements. He failed." - -Peter stirred uneasily, but said nothing. - -"His character for integrity was such that there were many who would -have lent him a helping hand, and carried him safely through his -troubles; but he was overwhelmed by the blow, and sank under it. -Refusing all offers of assistance, he took to his bed, and some six -months after died." - -"And what became of his daughter?" asked Peter, showing a little -curiosity for the first time. - -"Ha! you seem to be getting interested," exclaimed the other, fixing -his keen eyes upon Peter, who seemed confused. "His daughter was -beautiful and had already won the heart of a young American, who had -little money but a handsome figure and good business habits." - -"Did she marry this young Codman?" - -"Who told you his name was Codman?" asked Peter's visitor, watching him -keenly. - -"I--I thought you did," stammered the miser, disconcerted. - -"You are mistaken. I have mentioned no name." - -"Then I--I must have misunderstood you." - -"I dare say," said the other, ironically. "However, we won't dispute -that point. Well, this young Codman,--for singularly enough you hit -upon the right name, not knowing anything of the circumstances of -course,--this young Codman married Isabel." - -"Isabel!" repeated the old man. "Her name was----" - -Here he paused in sudden confusion, feeling that he was betraying -himself by his incautious correction. - -"Yes, Peter," said the other with a shrewd smile, "you are right. Her -name was not Isabel, but Eleanor. I acknowledge that I was wrong; but -it seems to me that, for one who is entirely a stranger to the events I -have been describing, you show a wonderful shrewdness in detecting my -mistakes." - -Peter maintained a confused silence, and wriggled about uneasily, as if -the stranger's fixed and watchful gaze disturbed him. - -"Humph! well they say that some people have the gift of second sight, -and others can see through millstones, and various other wonderful -things." - -"What has all this to do with me?" asked Peter, crossly, for he felt it -necessary to make some demonstration. "It's getting late, and I want to -go to bed. Go away, and--and come again to-morrow, if you want to." - -"A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush, Peter, which means that I -am sure of you now, and perhaps you wouldn't let me in if I should call -to-morrow. If you are sleepy I have no objection to your going to bed. -I can talk to you as well as if you were sitting up. I will stay here -and keep the fire going." - -Peter looked at the small pile of wood with a groan, and muttered -something about "its being awful extravagant to keep such a fire." - -"I believe," said the stranger, "I have not yet told you the name of -the defaulted clerk." - -Peter said nothing. - -"It was Thornton, but his first name was Peter, the same as yours. -Singular, isn't it, Peter?" - -"I suppose there are a good many Peters in the world," muttered the old -man. - -"Very likely; though I hope most of them are better than this Peter -Thornton. He got off without being taken, with the twenty thousand -dollars in his possession. He was fond of money, and many thought this -explained the defalcation. However, there were not wanting others who -assigned a different motive. It was said that he had been smitten by -the youthful charms of his employer's daughter Eleanor, who did not -favor his suit." - -Peter shifted uneasily in his chair. - -"No one could blame her. In fact it was perfectly preposterous for him -to think of mating with her. Did you speak?" - -"No!" snarled Peter. - -"I thought you said something. I repeat, that she had plenty of reasons -for rejecting him. She was just sixteen, and beautiful as she was -young, and had no lack of admirers ready to devote themselves to her. -As for Peter Thornton, ha! ha! he never could have been very handsome, -from all I have heard of him. In the first place, he was forty or more." - -"Thirty-eight," muttered Peter, below his breath. - -"And his features were irregular, besides being marked with the -small-pox, which he had had in early life. He had a long, hooked nose -like a bird's beak, an enormous mouth, little sharp gray eyes like a -ferret's, and his hair was already mingled with gray. On the whole, he -hadn't much beauty to boast of. Did you say anything?" - -"No!" snarled Peter, sourly. He was sitting with his elbows on his -knees, and his face resting on his hands. - -"Beg pardon, I thought you spoke. To add to Peter's charms of person, -his disposition was not the sweetest that ever was. He had a harsh -and crabbed manner, which would have led to his discharge if he had -not had one saving trait. I will say, to his credit, that he was a -capital book-keeper. Of his honesty his employer thought he was well -assured, and probably if nothing had occurred of a character to wound -Peter's pride, he might have continued faithful to his trust. One day, -however, Peter took an opportunity, when he had been calling at the -house of his employer on business connected with the counting-room, -to declare his love to the young lady, whom he found alone in the -drawing-room. You can imagine how much she was amused--why don't you -laugh, Peter? You look as glum as if it were _you_ that had met with -this disappointment. The young lady told him plainly, as soon as she -got over her astonishment, that she could give him no encouragement -whatever. Perhaps there might have been in her tone something of the -aversion which it was natural for her to feel at such a proposition -from one so much beneath her. If they had married, it would have been -a second case of Beauty and the Beast. Beg pardon, Peter, I believe you -said something." - -"No!" snarled Peter, fiercely. "Have you got nearly through? Your story -is nothing to me--nothing, I say. I want to go to bed. You have kept me -up too late already." - -"I can't help that, Peter. It took me too long to get in for me to -resign readily the pleasure of your society. I say, Peter, what a jolly -good fellow you are,--quite a lively companion,--only it strikes me you -might be a little more civil to your company. It isn't exactly polite -to keep telling one how anxious you are for him to go. - -"As I was saying, when you interrupted me, Eleanor told Peter very -decidedly that she could not for an instant entertain his suit. He -endeavored to change her determination, being an ardent, impulsive -lover, and probably in her impatience she said something which -irritated her lover, who went off in a rage. After a while, however, -he was foolish enough to open the subject again. Of course she was -extremely annoyed at his persistence, and seeing no other way of -escaping the persecution, she felt it necessary to acquaint her father -with what had transpired. The merchant was naturally indignant at his -book-keeper's presumption, and calling him aside one morning threatened -to discharge him from his employment unless he should forthwith desist. -This was, of course, a great blow to Peter's pride. He had the good -sense to say nothing, however, but none the less determined within -himself to be revenged upon those who had scorned his advances, as -soon as an opportunity offered. I don't know as I blame him. Perhaps I -should have done the same under similar circumstances." - -There was a trace of agitation upon the pale and wrinkled countenance -of the miser. - -"This it was," continued the stranger, "taken in connection with -Peter's natural cupidity that led to the defalcation I have mentioned. -So far as the merchant was concerned his revenge was completely -successful, for he was the means of his ruin and premature death. And -now, Peter," he added, suddenly changing his tone, "can you tell me -what induced you to change your name from Thornton to Manson?" - -"Me!" exclaimed the miser, starting to his feet in consternation, and -glaring wildly at the speaker. - - - - - V. - - THE COMPACT. - - -"Yes," said the stranger, composedly; "I repeat the question, why did -you change your name to Manson?" - -"What--do--you--mean?" the old man faltered slowly. - -"I mean just what I say, and I see you understand me well enough." - -"You can't prove it," said Peter, with an uneasy glance at his -imperturbable companion. - -"Can't I? Perhaps not. I should say the mysterious knowledge you seem -to possess of the main incidents in my story would prove something." - -"That isn't evidence in a court of law," said Peter, regaining a degree -of confidence. - -"Perhaps not; but I say, Peter, don't you recognize me?" - -The old man scanned his features eagerly, and a sudden look of -remembrance satisfied the latter that he was not forgotten. - -"I see you do remember me," he said; "I thought you hadn't forgotten -John Randall. At any rate he hasn't forgotten you, though twenty years -have passed, and I was then but a young man. I used to see you too -often about the streets of Havana not to remember that hooked nose, -those gray eyes, and (excuse my plainness of speech) that large mouth. -Yes, Peter, your features are impressed upon my memory too indelibly to -be effaced." - -Peter Manson remembered his companion as one who had had the reputation -of being a "wild" young man. He had been placed at school by his father -without any profitable result. On his father's death he squandered, -in dissipation, the property which came to him, and had since devoted -himself to the sea. - -"Having settled this little matter of your identity," continued -Randall, "I am ready to finish my story. I told you that Eleanor -married the young man whose name you remembered so well. He was poor, -dependent upon his salary as a clerk, and thanks to you his wife had -nothing to hope from her father. They were obliged to live in a very -humble way. At length, thinking he could do better here, he removed to -Boston, where his early life had been spent." - -"To Boston!" muttered Peter. - -"The removal took place some six years since. They had three children -when they first came here, but two died, leaving only the second, a -boy, named Charlie. I should think he might be fourteen years of age. -And now, would you like to know if the husband is still living?" - -"Is he?" asked Peter, looking up. - -"No. He died about a year since, of a fever." - -"And--and Eleanor? What of her?" - -"For six months past she has been a tenant of yours." - -"A tenant of mine!" exclaimed the miser. - -"It is even so. She occupies a second-story room in the tenement-house -in----Street." - -"And I have met her face to face?" - -"I dare say you have. Your tenants are pretty sure to have that -pleasure once a month. But doesn't it seem strange that Eleanor Gray, -the beautiful daughter of your Havana employer, should after these -twenty years turn up in Boston the tenant of her father's book-keeper?" - -"Ha! ha!" chuckled the miser, hoarsely, "she isn't so much better off -than if she had married old Peter." - -"As to being better off," said Randall, "I presume she is better off, -though she can't call a hundred dollars her own, than if she were -installed mistress of your establishment. Faugh! Poorly as she is -obliged to live, it is luxury, compared with your establishment." - -He glanced about him with a look of disgust. - -"If you don't like it," said Peter, querulously, "there is no use of -your staying. It is past my bedtime." - -"I shall leave you in a few minutes, Peter, but I want to give you -something to think of first. Don't you see that your property is in -danger of slipping from your hands?" - -"My property in danger!" exclaimed Peter, wildly; "what do you mean; -where is the danger?" Then, his voice sinking to its usual whine,--"not -that I have any of any consequence, I am poor--very poor." - -"Only from what I see I could easily believe it, but I happen to know -better." - -"Indeed, I am----" - -"No more twaddle about poverty," said Randall, decidedly, "it won't go -down. I am not so easily deceived as you may imagine. I know perfectly -well that you are worth at the very least, thirty thousand dollars." - -"Thirty thousand dollars!" exclaimed the miser, raising both hands in -astonishment. - -"Yes, Peter, and I don't know but I may say forty thousand. Why, it -can't be otherwise, with your habits. Twenty years ago you made off -with twenty thousand, which has been accumulating ever since. Your -personal expenses haven't made very large inroads upon your income, -judging from your scarecrow appearance. So much the worse for you. You -might have got some good from it. Now it must go to others." - -"To others!" exclaimed Peter, turning pale. - -"Certainly. You don't think the law gives you whatever you've a mind -to steal, do you? Of course there is no doubt that to your tenants, -Eleanor and Charlie Codman, belongs this property which you wrongfully -hold." - -"They sha'n't have it. They never shall have it," said Peter Manson, -hastily. - -"Well, perhaps the law may have something to say about that." - -"My gold!" groaned the miser. "If I lose that I lose everything. It -will be my death. Good Mr. Randall, have pity upon me. I am sure you -won't say anything that----" - -"Will bring you to state's prison," said Randall, coolly. - -"They--Eleanor and her son--need never know it." - -"Unless I tell them." - -"But you won't." - -"That depends upon circumstances. How much will you give me to keep -the thing secret?" - -"What will I give you?" - -"Precisely. That is what I have been so long in coming at. You see, -Peter, that the secret is worth something. Either I reveal it to the -parties interested, in which case I wouldn't give that," snapping his -fingers, "for your chance of retaining the property, or I keep silence -_if you make it worth my while_." - -"Pity me," said the miser, abjectly, sinking on his knees before -Randall; "pity me and spare my gold." - -"Pity you!" said Randall, contemptuously. "Why didn't you pity your -employer? You must make up your mind to pay me my price." - -"I am very poor," whined Peter, in his customary phrase, "and I can't -pay much." - -"Oh yes, Peter," said the other, sarcastically, "I am well aware that -you are poor,--wretchedly poor,--and I won't be too hard upon you." - -"Thank you--thank you," said Peter, catching at this promise; "I will -give you something--a little----" - -"How much?" asked Randall, with some curiosity. - -"Ten dollars!" said the miser, with the air of a man who named a large -sum. - -"Ten dollars!" returned Randall, with a laugh of derision. "Ten dollars -to secure the peaceable possession of thirty thousand! Old man, you -must be mad, or you must think that I am." - -"I--I did not mean to offend," said the old man, humbly. "If I double -the sum will it satisfy you? I--I will try to raise it, though it will -be hard--very hard." - -"This is mere trifling, Peter Manson," said his visitor, decidedly. -"Twenty dollars! Why I wouldn't have come across the street to get it. -No, you will have to elevate your ideas considerably." - -"How much do you demand?" said the miser, groaning internally, and -fixing his eyes anxiously upon Randall. - -"You must not make a fuss when I name the amount." - -"Name it," said Peter, in a choking voice. - -"One thousand dollars will purchase my silence, and not a dollar less." - -Peter sprang from his seat in consternation. - -"One thousand dollars! Surely you are not in earnest." - -"But I am, though. This is not a subject I care to jest upon." - -"One thousand dollars! It will take all I have and leave me a beggar." - -"If it should, Peter," said his visitor, composedly, "I will procure -you admission to the poor-house, where, if I am not much mistaken you -will be better off than in this tumble-down old shanty." - -"Has the man no mercy?" groaned Peter, wringing his hands. - -"None at all." - -"Then," exclaimed the miser, in a sudden fit of desperation, "I won't -pay you a cent--not a single cent." - -"That is your final determination, is it?" - -"Ye--yes," muttered Peter, but less firmly. - -"Very well. I will tell you the result. I shall at once go to Eleanor, -and inform her of the good fortune which awaits her. No fear but she -will pay me a thousand dollars for the intelligence." - -"She has no money." - -"I will furnish her with money for the lawyers--she can repay me out of -your hoards." - -Peter groaned. - -"Ay, groan away, Peter. You'll have cause enough to groan, by and by. -There is one thing you don't seem to consider, that the law will do -something more than take away your property. I will come to see you in -jail." - -He rose to leave the room, but Peter called him back hastily. "We may -come to terms yet," he said. - -"Then you accede to my terms." - -"I will give you five hundred." - -"Good-night, Peter. I wish you happy dreams." - -"St-stay!" exclaimed Peter, terrified. "I will give eight hundred." - -"I am in something of a hurry," said Randall. "I believe I will call -on Eleanor. I don't think we can make any arrangement." - -"Hold! perhaps I will do as you say." - -"Ah! now you are beginning to be reasonable," said Randall, resuming -his seat. - -"What security can you give me for your silence?" - -"I'll tell you what I will do, Peter. You remember I told you Eleanor -had a son, a boy of fourteen." - -"Yes." - -"His mother is quite devoted to him. Indeed, he contributes to her -support by selling papers, and by various little jobs. Now, as long as -Eleanor lives here you are in danger." - -"Yes." - -"And if a blow is levelled at her it must be through her boy." - -"I see." - -"Then I'll tell you of a scheme I have arranged. You must first -know that I am mate of a vessel now in port, which is bound for San -Francisco. We are to sail in a few days." - -"Well?" - -"We happen to be in want of a boy to fill up our regular number. -Suppose I kidnap Eleanor's boy. Don't you see, that as he is her -chief support, she will soon be in difficulties? and this, with her -uncertainty about her boy's fate, may rid you of your greatest peril, -and the only one of the two who could identify you." - -"Excellent, excellent!" chuckled Peter, rubbing his hands; "she shall -yet be sorry that she rejected old Peter." - -"Am I to understand that you accede to my proposal, then?" - -Not without many groans Peter agreed to deliver the sum mentioned -between them, on condition that the boy was secured. - -It was striking ten when Randall left the house. His face beamed with -exultation. - -"I have done a good night's work," he said. "By working on the fears of -the old curmudgeon I have made sure of a thousand dollars. He will be -lucky if this is the last money I get out of him. He little thinks that -I, too, have a revenge to wreak. He is not the only one that has been -scornfully rejected by Eleanor Codman. Now to bed, and to-morrow shall -see my work commenced." - - - - - VI. - - CHARLIE AT HOME. - - -The tenement-house owned by Peter Manson was a three-story wooden -building, very much in need of paint. It was scarcely likely to be -pointed out by any one as one of the architectural ornaments of the -city. Years before it had fallen into Peter's hands at a small price, -and he had every year since realized from it in the way of rent a sum -equal to one half the purchase-money. No one who has lived in a city -can help knowing how much more proportionally the poor are compelled -to pay for their scanty and insufficient accommodations than the rich, -or those in moderate circumstances. No class of property is made to -pay a larger percentage than the wretched tenement-houses which seem -adapted to furnish as little accommodation as possible to those who are -compelled to occupy them. - -The tenement-house in which Charlie and his mother lived was no better -than the average. It was the home of a large number of persons of -various occupations. Seamstresses, mechanics, washer-women, and many -others found a home under this one roof. - -Mrs. Codman occupied a room on the third floor. As we enter the -room it is easy to see what a charm can be thrown around even the -humblest place by the presence of refinement and good taste. All the -appointments of the room, indeed, were of the cheapest description. -Probably the furniture did not exceed in cost that of the room -opposite. Yet there was a considerable difference in the appearance -of Mrs. Codman's room and that of Sally Price, who, if she had ever -possessed an organ of neatness, had lost it years ago. - -The old-fashioned windows were washed as clean as water could make -them, so as to admit all the sunshine which could find its way over -the tall roof on the opposite side of the street. They were hung with -plain chintz curtains, separated in the middle and looped on either -side. The floor was quite clean as far as it could be seen. In the -centre was spread a floor-cloth some eight feet square, which relieved -its bareness. There was a small round table near the window, and a -small square work-table of no very costly material, in another part of -the room. On this was placed a rose-bush in a flower-pot. It had been -given to Charlie by an old gentleman who had taken a fancy to him. In -another quarter was a home-made lounge, the work of Charlie's hands. It -had originally been a wooden box, given him by a shopkeeper near by. -This box had been covered with calico stuffed with cotton, so that it -made quite a comfortable seat. It was used besides as a wood-box, its -legitimate province, but when the cover was closed it was nevertheless -a very respectable article of furniture. There were besides a few plain -wooden chairs, and a small rocking-chair for Mrs. Codman. Opening out -of the main room was a small bedroom, occupied by the mother, while -Charlie had a bed made up for him at night in the common sitting-room. - -A few books--a very few--were piled upon the little table. They were -chiefly schoolbooks,--an arithmetic, a geography, and an atlas, over -which Charlie would generally spend a portion of every evening, and -occasionally a boy's book, lent him by his friend Edwin Bangs, who, -together with his brothers, had quite a large juvenile library. - -Mrs. Codman is sitting by the window industriously engaged in -needle-work, and intent on accomplishing a certain amount before -nightfall. She was past thirty-five, yet, in spite of the trials which -have left their impress on her brow, she would readily be taken for -five years younger. She has drawn her chair to the window to make the -most of the rapidly fading daylight. As with swift fingers she plies -the glistening needle, and the sun touches her cheek with a beaming -glow, we can see that not only has she been beautiful, but is still so. - -A hasty step is heard on the stairs, there is a stamping at the door, -and in rushes a bright, handsome boy, with rosy cheeks and dark hair. - -The mother's face lights up with a bright smile as she turns to her -son, the only one she has left to love. - -"You're a little later than usual, Charlie, are you not?" - -"A little, mother. You see I didn't get a job till late, and then two -came together." - -"What were they?" - -"A gentleman wanted me to take his carpet-bag from the Maine depot, and -I had to carry it away up to Rutland Street." - -"Did he go with you?" - -"No; he had to go to his counting-room in State Street." - -"Was he willing to trust you? Some boys might have made off with the -carpet-bag, and he would have never seen it again." - -"He thought of that, but he said--and I think he's a real -gentleman--that he knew I was honest by my appearance, and he was -willing to trust me." - -"Quite complimentary, Charlie. How much did he pay you for your -trouble?" - -"Half a dollar." - -"Then you have done a good deal better than I have. I have been -working all day, and shall not realize more than twenty-five cents for -my labor." - -"I wish you didn't have to work at all, mother." - -"Thank you, Charlie; but I dare say I am happier for having something -to do. I wish I could get better pay for my work. But you haven't told -me what the other errand was. You said you had two." - -"Yes," said Charlie, "I had just got back from Rutland Street, and had -bought two or three evening papers which I was going to try to sell, -when a man came up to me, and after looking at me for a minute or -two, asked me if I would take a little walk with him. He said he was -a stranger in Boston, and didn't know his way about much. He asked me -if I had lived here long, and what my name was. He told me he would -pay me if I would go around with him, and point out some of the public -buildings. He told me he would pay me at the rate of twenty-five cents -an hour for my time. I told him I had one or two papers to dispose of." - -"'Never mind about them,' said he, 'I will take them off your hands.' - -"'But they are alike,' said I. - -"'Never mind,' he answered; so he paid me the full price for two -Journals and two Transcripts, and off we went." - -"What sort of a person was he?" - -"He was a stout man, over forty, and looked to me like a sailor. I -shouldn't wonder if he was an officer of some ship." - -"Did you like his looks?" - -"Why," said Charlie, hesitatingly, "not exactly; not so much as I did -of the other gentleman. There was something about his eye which I -didn't like. Still he acted up to his agreement, and paid me all he -promised." - -"How long were you together?" - -"About an hour and a half. We walked round the Common and the Public -Garden, went into the State House and the Public Library. However, he -didn't seem to care much about them. He seemed to take more interest -in me, somehow, and asked me a good many questions; whether I had any -parents living, and how long I had lived in the city. When I told him -you were born in Havana, he said he used to live there himself." - -"Indeed!" said Mrs. Codman. - -"He also told me that he might like to have me go round with him -again, and told me to call to-morrow at the Quincy House, where he is -stopping. But, mother, isn't it most time for supper? Here, just let me -set the table, if you are busy." - -"Very well, Charlie; I shall be glad to have you do so, as I am in a -hurry to finish my sewing." - -In the evening Charlie read to his mother while she sewed. Neither of -them suspected that it was the last evening they would spend together -for several months. - - - - - VII. - - CAPTAIN BRACE. - - -Lying at one of the wharves was a ship of moderate size, evidently -fast getting ready for sea. The cargo had all been stowed away, and, -notwithstanding the confusion, it was easy even for a landsman to see -that the ship was about ready for departure. - -The ship was the Bouncing Betsey, commanded by Captain Nathaniel Brace. -As to the peculiar name of the vessel, I can give no information -whether or not there was a real Bouncing Betsey after whom it was -named. The probability however is, that it was a purely ideal name, the -sound and alliterative character of which had commended it to the one -upon whom rested the selection of a name. - -A few words now about Captain Brace, with whom we shall become better -acquainted by and by. - -He was a short, stout, broad-shouldered man. He was no fresh-water -captain, but from the age of thirteen had been tossing about on the -ocean. It is my privilege to know many sea captains who do honor to -their calling, high-toned, gentlemanly, and intelligent men; not -learned in books, but possessing a wide range of general information. -I am sorry to say that Captain Brace was not a man of this class. He -had little education beyond what was required by his profession, and -was utterly lacking in refinement and courtesy. He was not an amiable -man, but rough, stormy, exacting, and dictatorial. The crew under his -command he looked upon as so many machines, whose duty it was to obey -him with scrupulous exactness, whatever might be the nature of his -requisitions. When he got into one of his fits of passion, he would -stamp and rave, kicking and striking this way and that with the most -reckless disregard of human lives and human feelings. In fact, he was -one of those pests of the merchant service, an unfeeling tyrant, who -did all in his power to degrade the profession which he had adopted, -and add to the hardships which lie in the path of the sailor. - -The employers of Captain Brace were far from being aware of the -extent to which he carried the severity of his discipline; brutality, -indeed, would be the more appropriate word. They supposed him to be -a strict commander, who liked to preserve a proper subordination in -those under his command, and this they were disposed to commend rather -than to complain of, more especially as the captain was master of his -profession, and had usually made quick and profitable voyages. This, as -may be supposed, was enough to cover a great many defects in the eyes -of those whose pecuniary interest he subserved, even if the captain had -not been shrewd enough to conceal his more disagreeable traits when on -shore, under an affectation of bluff frankness. - -There was a time when there were many captains in the service no better -than the one we have just sketched, but both in the naval and merchant -service there has undoubtedly been a great improvement within a few -years. - -Without dwelling further on the personal characteristics of Captain -Brace, with whom we shall have abundant opportunity to become -acquainted, since we purpose going to sea with him on his approaching -voyage, we introduce him pacing the deck of his vessel with a short -black pipe in his mouth, on the very morning he intends to sail. - -"Where is Mr. Randall? has he come on board?" he inquired, turning to -the second mate. - -"No, sir; I have not seen him this morning," was the reply. - -"When he comes on board tell him I wish to see him immediately." - -"Very well, sir." - -The captain went to his cabin, and about five minutes later the -individual after whom he inquired came aboard. We recognize in him an -old acquaintance; no other than the nocturnal visitor who excited such -fearful apprehensions in the mind of old Peter Manson the miser. - -"Where is Captain Brace, Mr. Bigelow?" he inquired of the second mate. - -"In the cabin, Mr. Randall. He wishes to see you." - -"And I wish to see him, so we can suit each other's convenience. How -long since did he ask for me?" - -"Only two or three minutes. He has just gone below." - -"Then he hasn't had long to wait." - -With these words he hastened to the cabin, where he found the captain -waiting for him. - -The subject on which the captain wished to see his first mate was -purely of a professional and technical character, and will not be -likely to interest the reader, and so will be passed over. - -When this preliminary matter was disposed of, Randall, with a little -hesitation, remarked: "I have a little favor to ask of you, Captain -Brace." - -"Very well, sir; let me know what it is, and if I can conveniently -grant it I will." - -"The boy who had engaged to go with us has backed out, having heard -some ridiculous stories about your severity and----" - -The captain's brow grew dark with anger as he said: - -"The young rascal! I should like to overhaul him! I'd show him what it -is to see service!" - -There is very little doubt that the captain would have kept his word. - -Randall took care not to inform his superior officer that he had -privately communicated to the mother of the boy intelligence of his -severity, not from any motives of humanity, but simply because his -going would have interfered with his own plans in respect to Charlie. - -"We shall not have much time to hunt up a boy if we sail at three -o'clock," said the captain. "I don't see but we must go without one." - -"I think I can supply you with one, Captain Brace." - -"Ha! who is it?" - -"It's a nephew of mine, and the favor I spoke of was that you should -take him in place of the boy we have missed of." - -"Humph!" said the captain, "there is one objection I have to taking -relations of the officers. You are expected to be tender of them, and -not order them about as roughly as the rest." - -"There won't be any trouble of that sort in this case, Captain Brace, -you may be very sure," said the mate. "Although the boy is my nephew I -don't feel any very extraordinary affection for him." - -"I should think not," said the captain, with a grim smile, "from your -efforts to get him a place on board this ship. You're not any more -gentle with boys than I am." - -"The fact is, Captain Brace," said Randall, with a smile which evinced -a thorough understanding of the captain's meaning; "the fact is, the -boy is unruly, and they can't do much for him at home, and I thought it -might be well for him to try a voyage or two, _for the benefit of his -health_!" - -The mate smiled, and as it was such a joke as the captain could -appreciate, he smiled too. - -"Very well, Mr. Randall; if such are your views I have no objection to -his coming on board." - -"I had fears," continued the mate, "that his unruly temper would -interfere with his usefulness at home. I felt pretty sure we could soon -cure him of that." - -"_Kill or cure_, that is my motto," said the captain. - -"Sometimes both," thought Randall, remembering one boy in a previous -voyage who had languished and died under the cruel treatment he -experienced on board. - -"Does the boy know he is to go with us?" inquired the captain. - -"Bless you, no; not he! He'd make a fuss if he did." - -"How do you intend to get him on board, then?" - -"I shall invite him to come and see the vessel, and when he is down -below I can take care that he stays there till we are fairly at sea." - -"A good plan. What is the youngster's name, Mr. Randall?" - -"Jack Randall; named after me." - -"Humph! hope he'll do credit to the name," said the captain, grimly. "I -leave in your hands all the steps necessary to securing him. Remember, -if you please, that we shall sail at three." - -"I will be on board before that time, sir, and bring my nephew with me." - -"Very well, sir." - -Of course the reader has conjectured that the Jack Randall, the mate's -nephew, spoken of above, is no other than our young hero, Charlie -Codman. - -Poor boy! little does he dream of the plot that is being formed against -him. - - - - - VIII. - - THE BLUE CHEST. - - -On leaving the Bouncing Betsey, Mr. John Randall, the estimable mate of -that vessel, bent his steps towards a shop devoted to sailors' clothing -ready-made, with a large variety of other articles such as seamen are -accustomed to require. - -It was a shop of very good dimensions, but low studded and rather dark, -the windows, which were few, being in part covered up by articles hung -in front of them. - -The proprietor of this establishment was Moses Mellen, a little Jew, -with a countenance clearly indicating his Israelitish descent. His -small black eyes sparkled with the greed of gain, and he had a long, -hooked nose like the beak of a bird, which would not have been -considered too small an appendage for a face of twice the size. He had -one qualification for a successful trader--he seldom or never forgot a -face which he had once seen. - -Rubbing his hands with a great show of cordiality, and with his face -wreathed in smiles, the instant he espied Randall he hastened to meet -him. - -"Delighted to see you, Mr. Randall," he exclaimed; "perhaps I ought to -say Captain Randall." - -"Not yet." - -"Ah well, that will come soon. I hope you have had a prosperous voyage." - -"Tolerably so, Mr. Mellen." - -"Have you just arrived in the city, or have you been here for some -time?" - -"Three weeks only, and now I am off again. We sailors don't have a -chance to stop long on dry land, Mr. Mellen." - -"Not if they are such capital sailors as my friend, Mr. Randall. But -where are you bound this time?" - -"Probably to Valparaiso." - -"Anywhere else?" - -"Perhaps so. We may go to the Indies or Sandwich Islands before we -return." - -"A long voyage,--you will need to be fitted out before you -start,--don't you want something in my line? I sha'n't want much profit -out of an old friend like you." - -This, by the way, was what Moses said to pretty much all his customers. - -"I shall want a few things. I will pick them out now." - -"This way, then." - -Randall followed the proprietor to the back of the store, where he -selected a variety of articles, which he ordered sent on board the -Bouncing Betsey immediately. - -"Now," said the mate, after his own purchases were completed, "I shall -require a small outfit for a boy who is going out with us." - -"If you had brought him with you we could have furnished him at short -order." - -"There was one little difficulty in the way of my doing that." - -"Eh?" - -"He doesn't know he is going." - -"Ah ha!" said the Jewish dealer, putting one scraggy finger to the side -of his nose with a knowing look; "that's it, is it?" - -"I see you comprehend. Now tell me what shall we do about fitting him?" - -"If I could only see him----" - -"You could judge by your eye what would be likely to fit him. Is that -what you would say?" - -"Precisely." - -"And how long would you require to look at him?" - -"Two minutes would answer." - -"Very well; I will call with the boy in the course of an hour or two. -By the way, I shall want a small chest to put the articles in. You keep -them, of course?" - -"A great variety." - -"I dare say you will suit me. A very plain one will answer. Have your -bill made out for the other articles, and I will discharge it." - -With a profusion of bows and thanks, the trader dismissed his customer. - -The mate now betook himself to the hotel where he had engaged Charlie -to meet him at eleven o'clock. Charlie, who was always punctual to his -appointments, had already arrived, and was looking over a newspaper in -the reading-room. - -"So you are on hand, my boy," said Randall, in a friendly manner. - -"Yes, sir." - -"I am glad to find you punctual. Are you ready to set out?" - -"Yes, sir, quite ready." - -Rather to keep up the boy's delusion as to his designs, Randall -suffered Charlie to guide him to one or two places of public interest, -with which he was already more familiar than his guide, and then -suddenly proposed that they should go down to the wharves. - -"You must know, my lad," said he, "that I am a sailor." - -"I thought so, sir." - -"What made you think so?" - -"I don't know, sir; but I can generally tell a sailor." - -"Perhaps I haven't got my sea-legs off. However, as I was saying, I am -an officer on board a ship lying at the wharf, and I have just thought -of a bundle I want brought from the ship. If you will go with me and -fetch it, I will pay you at the same rate I promised you for going -about with me." - -Of course Charlie had no objections. In fact, although he had been on -board ships at the wharf, he had never been in company with an officer, -and he thought it possible his companion might be willing to explain to -him the use of some parts which he did not yet understand. Accordingly -he gave a ready assent to the mate's proposition, and together they -took their way to Long Wharf, at which the ship was lying. - -The shop kept by the Jew was, as a matter of convenience and policy, -located near the wharves. It was not a general clothing-store, but -specially designed to supply seamen with outfits. - -"I have a little errand here," said Randall, pausing before the shop of -Moses Mellen. - -"I can stop outside," said Charlie. - -"You had better come in. You will see where we sailors get our -clothing." - -Not suspecting any sinister design in this invitation, Charlie -accepted it without more ado, and followed Randall in. He looked about -him with some curiosity, not observing that he too was an object of -attention to the Jewish dealer, whose quick eye detected their entrance. - -He went forward to meet Randall. - -"You see the boy, do you?" asked the mate, in a low voice. - -"Is that the one?" - -"Yes. Do you think you will be able to fit him?" - -"No doubt about it, though he is a little smaller than the boys we -usually fit out." - -"Never mind if the clothes are a little large. He'll be sure to grow to -them, and a precise fit isn't quite so important on the quarter-deck as -it might be on Washington Street. We are not fashionable on board the -Betsey, Mr. Mellen." - -The dealer laughed, showing some yellowish tusks, which were evidently -not supplied by the dentist. - -"Have you made out my bill?" - -"Here it is." - -"While I am looking over it, will you pick out such clothes as the boy -will need?" - -Darting a hasty glance at Charlie, to make sure of his size, the dealer -hurried to the rear of the shop, and commenced selecting articles which -he laid away in a small blue chest. - -The task was soon completed, and again he came out to the front part of -the store. - -"All ready!" he said, in a low voice to Randall. - -"You have been quick. Here is the amount of your bill. As to the chest, -you may send it on board the Bouncing Betsey without any unnecessary -delay." - -"It shall be done, Mr. Randall. Have you no further commands for us?" - -"I believe not, to-day." - -"You will remember our shop when you are round again?" - -"I won't forget you." - -"You needn't accompany me to the door, nor allude to my voyage," said -Randall, in a low voice, to the dealer. "Remember, I have _him_ with -me." - -Moses winked in a manner which by no means improved the expression of -his not very agreeable features. - -"Now, my lad," said Randall, "we'll go on board the vessel. Have you -ever been on board a ship?" - -"Yes, sir, a good many times by myself, but I never had any one to tell -me the different parts." - -"I'll promise, then," said the mate, in a tone whose significance was -lost upon our hero at the time, though he afterwards recalled it, "that -you shall know more about a vessel before you leave this one." - -"I thank you," said Charlie, considering the offer a kind one. - -They ascended the ladder and jumped upon the deck of the vessel, which, -though Charlie knew it not, was to be his home for many a weary day. - - - - - IX. - - ON BOARD. - - -At the close of the last chapter we had got our hero fairly on board -the Bouncing Betsey, on what he supposed to be a brief visit, but -which his companion had resolved should be far otherwise. - -Randall did not at first undeceive his youthful attendant. He felt -that it would hardly be polite, as the ship was lying at the wharf -surrounded by other vessels, and the disturbance and vigorous -resistance which Charlie would be apt to make when told what was in -store for him might attract a degree of attention which might prove -fatal to his plans. - -They had scarcely set their feet upon deck, when they encountered -Captain Brace. - -The mate glanced significantly at the boy by his side, and carelessly -put his finger to his lips in token of silence, at the same time -saying, "A lad whom I have promised to initiate into some of the -mysteries of seamanship." - -"He may find the knowledge useful to him some time," said the captain, -with a grim smile. "Do you think you should like going to sea, my lad?" - -"No, sir," returned Charlie, promptly, "I don't think I should." - -"Why not?" - -"I should get tired of seeing the sea all the time." - -"You would get used to it." - -"I never should like it so well as the land. Besides, I should not like -to leave my mother." - -"Well, my lad, if you should ever change your mind," said the captain, -with a wicked glance at Randall, "I hope you'll give me the first offer -of your services." - -"Yes, sir," said our hero, thinking the captain very affable and -polite, though, to be sure, his appearance was hardly as prepossessing -as it might have been. - -"The captain seems to be a very nice man," said he to Randall, after -that officer had left them. - -"Oh, yes," answered Randall, dryly, "a very fine man the captain is. -I'm glad you like him." - -"Have you been to sea a long time?" inquired Charlie. - -"Yes, I have been ever since I was a boy." - -"Do you like it?" - -"Very much. It seems like home to me now. I shouldn't be willing to -live on land for any length of time." - -"Did you begin very young?" - -"I was about sixteen. How old are you?" - -"Almost fourteen. I shall be fourteen next month." - -"You are a very good size for your age." - -"Yes," said Charlie, with boyish pride, drawing himself up to his full -height. Like most boys, he liked to be told he was large of his age. - -"My father was quite a large man," added our young hero. - -"I know it," muttered Randall to himself, as the handsome face and -manly form of the father rose before him. They were imprinted more -vividly upon his memory, because he felt that it was these very -advantages which had enabled his rival to succeed in winning the prize -for which he had vainly contended. - -"Did you speak?" said Charlie, hearing indistinctly the words which his -companion muttered. - -"No," said Randall, shortly. "But I promised to show you something -about the vessel. I suppose you know the names of the masts." - -"Yes, sir." - -"What do they call this?" - -"This is the main-mast," answered Charlie, promptly, "and the others -are called the fore-mast and mizzen-mast." - -"That is right; I suppose the masts seem high to you." - -"Yes, very high," said Charlie, stretching his neck to enable him to -see the top. - -"Then you don't think you should like to go aloft?" said Randall, -playing with him as a cat plays with a mouse. - -"I don't believe I could. It would make me dizzy." - -"You could do better than you think for, if you were obliged to." - -"Perhaps I might," said Charlie, doubtfully. "Do the boys on board ship -have to go up there?" - -"I had to when I was a boy." - -"Wer'n't you afraid?" - -"I suppose I was, but that didn't do any good,--I had to go." - -"Wer'n't you afraid of losing your hold?" - -"Yes, but it isn't often a boy loses his hold going up the first time. -He is so frightened that he clings to the ropes with a pretty tight -grip. But after he gets used to it--and it doesn't seem any worse -than going up stairs--he is apt to grow careless, and then there is -sometimes an accident." - -"Then I suppose they fall on deck and are instantly killed," said -Charlie, shuddering. - -"Not always, for when the ship is in progress it leans a good deal, so -that they are more likely to fall overboard." - -"And get drowned!" - -"Sometimes. They can't always keep up till assistance comes, especially -if they can't swim. Sometimes their fall is broken by the rigging, and -they manage to save themselves by catching hold." - -They visited other parts of the ship, and Randall continued his -explanations. The sailors were all on board, at work in various ways. -They did not appear to notice the mate and his young companion when -they passed, but Charlie, chancing to look behind him, observed one -making a significant gesture to another, which evidently referred to -them. - -Our young hero mentally thought this not very polite, but did not pay -much attention to it. - -About this time a porter arrived from the clothing-store already -referred to, bringing a small blue chest. - -"This is the ship Bouncing Betsey, isn't it?" he inquired. - -"Yes," answered one of the sailors. - -"I was told to bring this chest here, then." - -"Who is it for?" - -"Jack Randall." - -"That's the mate, you lubber. Why don't you put a handle to his name?" - -"No, it's for a boy." - -"We haven't got any such boy aboard as I knows on." - -"There ain't two ships of this name, are there?" - -"Not as I ever heerd tell." - -"Then this must be the ship. Where shall I stow this chest? I've got -tired of bringing it on my back." - -"You'd better go and speak to the mate about it. There he stands. -Mayhap that's the boy the kit belongs to." - -The porter walked forward. - -"Does this belong to you?" he asked, laying down the chest. - -"Yes." - -"Then it wasn't for a boy?" - -"Yes," answered the mate, carelessly. "It is for a nephew of mine who -is going with us this voyage." - -"Is that the young gentleman?" asked the porter, pointing to Charlie. - -"He thinks you're my nephew," said Randall, smiling. "A good joke, -isn't it?" - -"This young gentleman is only looking about the ship a little," he -answered. "He don't think he should fancy going to sea." - -"Beg pardon, I didn't know but he might be the one." - -"Oh, no, certainly not." - -"Shall I leave the chest here?" - -"Yes, anywhere. No, you may carry it below. Here," summoning one of -the sailors, "Show this man where to put this chest." - -"So your nephew is going to sea," said Charlie, with some curiosity. - -"Yes." - -"Does he think he shall like to go?" - -"I don't believe he thinks much about it." - -"How large a boy is he?" - -"I should think he was about as large as you. Yes, come to think of it, -I don't believe there can be any difference between you." - -The joke was a cruel one, as Charlie found to his cost, before long. - -"Is he on board now?" - -"I don't see him," said the mate, looking in the opposite direction -from where Charlie was standing. "But I think he will be on board very -soon. Were you ever dressed in sailor's clothes?" - -"Never," said our hero. - -"I wonder how you would look. You are just about my nephew's size. Have -you any objection to trying on his clothes?" - -Charlie had not. In fact he was rather curious to learn how he should -look in this unusual attire. Accordingly he went below, and was soon -dressed in full sailor rig. It was a very good fit, and very becoming -to our hero, who was a remarkably handsome boy. - -"A good fit, is it not?" asked the mate. - -"Excellent," said Charlie. - -"One would almost think the clothes were meant for you," said Randall, -with a smile, which Charlie did not understand. - - - - - X. - - CHARLIE IN A TIGHT PLACE. - - -Charlie surveyed himself in his new attire with some complacency. -He felt that it was becoming, and it gave him a new feeling of -manliness. In fact it seemed to him, for the time being, as if he were -really a sailor. Charlie, however, though he was very well pleased -with his sailor's rig, did not feel in the least tempted to wear it -professionally. Accordingly, after the survey was over, he began to -divest himself of it. - -"What are you doing?" asked the mate, laying his hand heavily upon the -shoulder of our young hero. - -"Taking off your nephew's clothes," returned Charlie, looking up in -considerable surprise at the tone in which he was addressed. - -"What's that for?" - -"To put on my own." - -"Then you needn't trouble yourself," said Randall, composedly; "those -you have on are your own." - -"What do you mean?" asked Charlie meeting the mate's triumphant look -with an open, manly glance. - -"I mean," said Randall, with a sardonic look, "that the clothes were -bought for the one who now wears them." - -"Bought for me!" exclaimed Charlie, in great bewilderment. - -"Yes. You wondered how they happened to fit you so well. That is easily -explained. They were picked out on purpose for you. The old Jew in the -clothing-store took your measure with his eye while you were standing -there with me. Faith, he's got a pretty sharp eye." - -"But your nephew?" said Charlie, his heart sinking, as he began to -comprehend the plot to which he had fallen a victim; "I thought you -said they belonged to him." - -"Well," said Randall, with a harsh laugh, "you're my nephew." - -"I am not," said Charlie, with something of haughtiness in his tone, as -he surveyed the mate scornfully. - -"He's got his mother's look," muttered the latter. "That's the way -she looked when she sent me about my business. She'd look something -different, I fancy, if she knew I'd got her boy in my power. I've got -the whip-hand of her now, and she'll live yet to repent the day she -rejected Jack Randall." - -These thoughts flashed through his mind in an instant, and did not -prevent his answering at once Charlie's bold denial. - -"There's a little too much pride about you, youngster. It'll need -taming down. You're to be my nephew while you're aboard this ship. -Remember, your name is Jack Randall. Take care that you claim no other." - -"What good will that do?" said Charlie. "I am not going to remain on -board." - -"You're not, eh?" said the mate, significantly. - -"No," said Charlie, boldly. - -"Suppose I say you shall." - -"Then," said Charlie, firmly, "I say you are mistaken." - -Our hero was a boy of spirit, and had no idea of being disposed of -without his own consent. He commenced tugging away at his blue jacket -with the intention of pulling it off. - -"What are you doing?" asked Randall, with a frown, advancing and laying -a heavy hand on the boy's shoulder. "Haven't I told you to keep those -clothes on?" - -"You have no right to interfere with me," said Charlie, stoutly, his -eye flashing with indignation. "Give me back my clothes." - -"You can't have them. If you strip off those you have on you'll have to -go without any." - -Exasperated, Charlie made a spring forward, and attempted to wrest his -clothes from the hands of the mate. - -"Ha, my fine fellow!" exclaimed Randall, as, evading the boy's grasp, -he lifted them beyond his reach. "So you are inclined to be mutinous, -are you? Very well, we have a remedy for all such cases, and a very -simple one it is." - -So saying, he drew a stout cord from his pocket, and advanced towards -our hero with the intention of binding him. - -Charlie sprang for the stairs, and was half way up before the mate -caught him and dragged him back. - -"Well, boy, you're a pretty tough customer--true grit. You're just the -boy to make a sailor of. I must make sure of you." - -So saying, he succeeded, in spite of Charlie's vigorous exertions, in -tying his hands and feet. Not until thus rendered quite helpless did -the brave boy suffer himself to burst into tears. - -"What are you going to do with me?" he asked. - -"I am going to make a sailor of you," answered the mate. - -"But I don't want to go to sea," answered Charlie. - -"So you said once before, but you'll change your mind before long." - -"My mother will not know where I am. She can't get along without me, -for she depends upon me in part for support." - -"I dare say she'll get along somehow," said Randall, coolly. "She won't -miss you much, and she ought to feel glad that your uncle has taken -charge of you." - -"Uncle!" retorted the boy, with flashing eyes. "I wouldn't own you as -uncle for all the money in Boston." - -"You wouldn't!" said Randall, his tone changing, and a dark look -overspreading his face. "Very well, my bold lad, you may have reason to -repent those words. You may find out by and by that it is as well to -be civil to your superior officer. I will do nothing about it now, but -when we are out of port and fairly at sea, look out!" - -Charlie, who was quick-witted, caught a hint from these words, and at -once set up a scream, hoping to draw attention from outside. - -"That's your game, is it?" said the mate. "We'll soon stop that." - -So saying, he drew out the boy's own handkerchief, and gagged him -so that there was no further fear of his being able to make any -disturbance which could be heard on the wharf or on neighboring vessels. - -Feeling now secure, he left Charlie mute and helpless, and ascended to -the deck. - -"What was the noise I heard below, Mr. Randall?" asked the captain, -pausing in his walk, and addressing his first officer. - -"My nephew!" said Randall, with a smile. - -"Ha! he is a little obstreperous, is he?" - -"A trifle so." - -"Doesn't like the society of his uncle sufficiently to want to go to -sea with him, I suppose?" - -"I dare say he would like to change his quarters," said Randall, -composedly. - -"How did you reconcile him to his fate?" - -"A couple of strong cords and a gag did the business. They will keep -him quiet till we get out to sea, and then perhaps we can discover some -other means of bringing him to terms." - -"A slightly different application of the cords, perhaps, Mr. Randall." - -The mate smiled approval of this jest, and as his services were now in -requisition to expedite preparations for departure, he left the captain -and went about his duty. - -Meanwhile the mate's conduct had not been unobserved by the crew. Among -these was an old sailor who rejoiced in the name of Bill Sturdy. It is -needless to say that this was not his real name. No one appeared to -know what his real name was, and he had become so used to this, that he -generally called himself so. The name Sturdy had probably been given -him on account of his sturdy make. He was stout and very powerful. -Probably there were no two men on board the ship who would not have -felt some hesitation in attacking Bill Sturdy. - -It may be added that the name was no less appropriate if we consider -it bestowed on account of his character and disposition. He was -unpolished enough, having beaten about the world all his life, yet he -had been gifted by nature with a fund of sturdy common sense and powers -of observation which made him more thoughtful and intelligent than most -of his class. He had a kind heart, and hated to see oppression. This -was his first voyage on board the Bouncing Betsey; the ship on which he -had last served having been wrecked, and he with a few others having, -with difficulty, saved themselves. Since he had engaged on board the -Betsey, the stories he had heard of the captain's brutality led him -to repent of his determination, and he had resolved within himself to -remain on board but a single voyage. - -He had had his attention drawn to our hero and the mate, and he -observed that the latter came up alone from below. - -"That's a trim, handsome little lad," he said to himself; "I wonder -what the mate is so attentive to him for. There's some deviltry in the -wind, as sure as my name is Bill Sturdy. I hope, for the boy's sake, he -isn't going to ship with us. If he does. I must do what I can for him, -for I mistrust he'll want a friend." - - - - - XI. - - OFF TO SEA. - - -The thoughts of our young hero as he lay helpless, gagged and bound, -were hardly of the most cheerful character. The blow had been so -sudden, that he was quite unprepared for it. Added to this, his -apprehensions were vague and indefinite. There seemed something -mysterious about the manner in which he had been spirited away, and -this thought increased his feeling of discomfort. A danger which can -be measured and comprehended in its full extent may be boldly faced, -however great, but when we are ignorant of its nature and extent that -is not so easy. - -Charlie understood as much as this, that it was the intention of -Randall to carry him off to sea. But why he should have taken such -pains to ensnare him, when there are always plenty of boys glad to -obtain such a situation, he could not conceive. - -Charlie was no coward. He was no stranger to the bold spirit of -adventure by which boys of his age are apt to be animated. Indeed, -under different circumstances, and if the arrangement had been of his -own free choice, it is quite possible that he might have looked forward -with pleasurable anticipations to the life that awaited him. But there -was one thought uppermost in his mind that gave him no little pain -and anxiety, the thought of his mother. He was her all. In the large -and busy city she knew but very few; she had none whom she could call -friends. Her hopes were all centred in him. Still farther, it was in a -great measure owing to his activity and industry that she had been able -to live with a degree of comfort, for though she was always at work, -the avenues of industry open to women are few, and toil at the needle -is so unsatisfactorily compensated that Charlie, though working fewer -hours, was able to contribute considerably more than half of the sum -required for their joint support. - -How would his mother get along during his absence, the length of which -he could not estimate? Would she suffer not only in mind but in bodily -discomfort? Well he remembered how pleasantly the evenings had passed -when they were together. Now there must be a long separation. Would -he ever see his mother again? She would not be able to retain their -present lodging, now that the entire rent would fall to her to pay. -Perhaps when he did he should be unable to obtain any clew to her -whereabouts. This was indeed a terrible thought to poor Charlie, who -chafed like a caged lion in his confinement. He endeavored to unloose -the cords which bound him, but with little prospect of success; for no -one better than a sailor understands the art of tying a knot securely. - -While Charlie was doing his utmost to free himself from the cords that -bound him, having already removed the gag, he was startled by a low -laugh of triumphant malice. - -Looking up, he saw the mate, the author of all his misfortunes, -watching him with great apparent enjoyment. - -"Ah, Jack," he said, "I see you are hard at work. Work away. If you -untie those knots you've got more skilful fingers than the one that -tied them, that's all." - -"Come and release me," said Charlie. "You have no right to keep me -here." - -"You are mistaken," said the mate, coolly. "I have the best of all -rights." - -"And what right is that?" demanded our hero. - -"_The right of power!_" answered Randall. "Might makes right, perhaps -you have heard." - -"How long are you going to keep me here?" asked Charlie, after a pause. - -"Till we get far enough out to sea to make it safe to release you." - -Charlie kept silence. He felt that it would be useless to appeal to the -mercy of the mate, who appeared bent upon carrying him away. He turned -his face resolutely away from Randall, for whom he began to entertain -a stronger feeling of dislike than he had supposed himself capable -of feeling. Hitherto he had only been accustomed to an atmosphere of -affection, and though he had met with some rebuffs in his daily search -for employment, he could always return at night to a home and a mother, -with whom he could forget whatever had been disagreeable during the -day. Now his position was entirely changed. The only one he knew on -board the vessel was one whom he had no reason to believe friendly, but -very much the reverse. - -By this time the noise upon deck, which he could hear plainly, had -become greater and greater. He could hear frequent orders given by the -captain, and also by the mate, who had now returned to his post. - -Soon the vessel, which had been at rest, appeared to be moving. He -could hear the plashing of the water against its sides. He felt that it -was in motion, slow at first, but afterwards more rapid. He conjectured -that the ship was being towed out to sea by a steam-tug. - -He wished that at least he could get to a window, and catch a last -glimpse of the land to which he was about to bid so unexpected a -farewell. But this, tied hand and foot as he was, was impossible, and -he felt that now it would do him no good even if he should succeed -in breaking his bonds. Already they were speeding out to sea as fast -as the tug could convey them. There was no redress or help for him -beyond the limits of the vessel in which his tyrants exercised absolute -control, for he felt well assured that Captain Brace was in league with -the mate, or, at all events, would interpose his authority to support -Randall in his plans. - -So time sped on, the ship continuing all the while in steady motion. - -At length the tug left them and returned to the city, leaving the -vessel to shift for itself. Although Charlie could not see what was -going on, he judged this from the noise and shouts of command given -above, to which he listened with sharpened attention. - -Charlie felt that with the departure of the steam-tug all possibility -of escape had passed. The last link which had bound him to the shore -had been snapped asunder. - -While he was plunged in sorrowful thought he suddenly heard a step -descending the stairs. - -Thinking it was the mate, of whom he felt that he should see in future -much more than he cared, he did not turn his head. - -"Hallo, my lad," was the salutation of the new-comer, in a rough, but -hearty voice, "how came you in this trim?" - -It was not the mate's harsh voice. Quickly turning round, Charlie's -eyes rested on the bronzed but good-humored face of Bill Sturdy, the -stout sailor to whom reference has already been made. Whatever may be -thought of physiognomy as an index of character, it is undeniable that -we are either attracted to or repelled from certain faces. - -Now the first sight of Bill Sturdy's honest and good-humored face -seemed to Charlie like a ray of light in a dark place. He felt that -he was a man to be trusted. - -"Will you be a friend to me?" asked Charlie, with instinctive -confidence. - -"That I will, my lad," exclaimed Bill, with hearty emphasis; "but tell -me who tied you up in this fashion?" - -"His name is Randall, and I believe he is the mate." - -"The lubberly rascal! And what did he do that for?" - -"He entrapped me on board the vessel, and now he is carrying me out to -sea, against my will." - -"How came you in your sailor's rig?" asked Sturdy. - -Charlie explained the trick which had been practised upon him, which -Bill Sturdy denounced in good set terms, though possibly more strong -than refined. - -"He's a rascal; there ain't a doubt of that," said Bill. "I should like -to overhaul him, and teach him better manners. As for you, my lad, I'm -sorry for you. You've shipped for the v'y'ge, and there ain't any help -for it, as I see. But you may depend upon one thing, old Bill Sturdy -will look out for you, and will be your friend." - -"Thank you," said our hero, feeling more cheerful and hopeful. It was -something to have one friend on board. - -"I mistrust there are some rascals aboard," muttered Bill to himself, -as he went up on deck. "They'd better not interfere with me or that -young lad!" and he extended his muscular arm with a sense of power. - - - - - XII. - - LANDLORD AND TENANT. - - -The payment of a thousand dollars to Randall had been a severe blow -to old Peter Manson, and this consideration materially lessened the -satisfaction which he felt in Charlie's removal. - -We re-introduce him to our readers, engaged, as usual, in counting over -his hoards. Preparatory to doing so, he carefully secured the outer -door, and also the door of the apartment which he occupied. - -Then lifting up a plank from the floor, he raised from beneath a large -box containing gold coins. It was very heavy, and it was not without -difficulty that the old man, who was very feeble, succeeded in lifting -it to a level with the floor. - -The box was, perhaps, four fifths full. - -The old man surveyed the deficiency with a groan. - -"It might have been full," he muttered, "if I hadn't been obliged to -pay away such a sight of money to that determined man. One thousand -dollars! two hundred bright, sparkling coins! How many, many weary days -it will take before I can supply their place. It was all but full. It -wanted only ten more coins to make five thousand dollars. Oh gold, gold, -gold! How beautiful you are! To me you are food and drink and clothing -and friends and relations. I care for nothing but you." - -While Peter was indulging in this soliloquy, he was engaged in counting -the coins in the box. - -The result of the count showed one less than he had anticipated. - -The old man turned pale. - -"Some one has robbed me," he muttered. "Or, perchance, I have counted -wrong. I will go over it again." - -This he did with eager haste and a feeling of nervous anxiety, and, to -his no small dismay, the count resulted as before. - -"They have taken my money!" exclaimed Peter, tearing his white hair in -anguish. "They will make me a beggar, and I shall be reduced to want in -my old age. Oh, oh!" - -In the midst of his lamentations he suddenly discovered the missing -coin, which had rolled away, without his observing it, to the opposite -side of the room. - -Chuckling with delight, he picked it up and replaced it in the box. - -His duty satisfactorily performed, the miser put on his cloak, and -prepared for another task. This was, to raise Mrs. Codman's rent, -and so compel her to leave the rooms which she rented of him. This, -however, was unnecessary, since, deprived of Charlie's earnings, his -mother would have found it impossible to pay the rent previously -demanded. - -Peter Manson resolved to call upon his tenant in person. He was not -afraid of recognition. He felt that the changes which twenty years had -wrought in his appearance, would be a sufficient protection. Indeed, -this had already been tested; for Peter had already called several -times on the same errand, without attracting a glance which could be -construed into recognition. - -It was the morning after Charlie had disappeared. He had been absent -twenty-four hours, and his mother had heard nothing of him. She was in -a terrible state of apprehension and anxiety, for few boys were more -regular than he in repairing home as soon as his daily duties were over. - -Mrs. Codman had sat up late into the night, hoping against her fears -that he would return. At length, exhausted by her vigils, she sank upon -the bed, but not to sleep. In the morning she rose, unrefreshed, to -prepare her solitary meal. But it was in vain. Sorrow and anxiety had -taken away her appetite, and she was unable to eat anything. - -Soon afterwards a knock was heard at the door. She hastened to -open it, hoping to hear some tidings of her lost boy. What was her -disappointment to meet the bent form and wrinkled face of Peter Manson, -her landlord. - -The old man gave her a stealthy glance. - -"Why did I not know her before?" he thought. "She is not so very much -changed. But I--ha, ha! she don't know who I am." - -Mrs. Codman went to a drawer in her bureau, and took therefrom six -dollars. - -"This is the amount of your rent, I believe," she said. - -The old man greedily closed his fingers upon the money, and then, after -intimating that it was very small, avowed his determination to raise -the rent to two dollars per week. - -The miser watched with gleeful exultation the look of dismay which came -over the face of his tenant. - -Two dollars a week was not only beyond Mrs. Codman's means, but was, -at that time, an exorbitant rent for the rooms which she occupied. She -would scarcely have been justified in paying it while she had Charlie's -earnings as well as her own to depend on. Yet there seemed now an -imperative necessity for remaining where she was, for a time at least. -It was possible that Charlie would come back, and if she should remove, -where would he find her? Of course, he would come back! The thought -that there was even a possibility of her son being lost to her was so -full of shuddering terror, that Mrs. Codman would not for a moment -indulge it. Life without Charlie would be so full of sadness, that she -could not believe him lost. - -She resolved to make an effort to arouse the old man's compassion. -She did not dream of the spite and hatred which he felt towards her. -There are none whom the wicked hate so heartily as those whom they have -injured. That is something beyond forgiveness. - -Mrs. Codman knew that Peter Manson was avaricious, and to this she -attributed the increase in the rent. She had no suspicion that he had a -particular object in distressing her. - -"Surely, Mr. Manson," she remonstrated, "You do not think these rooms -worth two dollars a week. It is all we are able to do to raise the rent -we now pay." - -"Humph!" muttered Peter, avoiding the eye of his tenant, "they are -worth all I can get for them." - -"Have you raised the rent on the other rooms in this house?" - -"No, but I--I shall soon." - -"Then I tremble for your tenants. Mr. Manson, if you were poor -yourself, perhaps you would have a heart to sympathize with and pity -the poor." - -"If I were poor!" exclaimed the old man, betrayed into his customary -whine; "I am poor; indeed, I am very poor." - -"You!" repeated Mrs. Codman, incredulously. "Why, you must receive a -thousand dollars a year from this building." - -"Yet I--I am poor," persisted Peter. "I am only an agent. I--I do not -own this building; at least--I mean--there are heavy incumbrances on -it; I have to pay away nearly every dollar I receive." - -"Can you let me remain a month longer for the same rent as heretofore?" -asked Mrs. Codman, anxiously. - -"I--I couldn't do it," said Peter, hastily. "Either you must pay two -dollars a week, or move out." - -Mrs. Codman hesitated. - -She went to her bureau, and found that she had between five and six -dollars remaining in her purse. This would enable her, in addition to -what she could earn by sewing, to get along for a month. - -"Very well, sir," said she, "I must stay a month longer, at any rate. I -must for my boy's sake." - -"Have you a son?" asked Peter, desirous of learning from the mother's -lips that the blow had struck home. - -"Yes; you have probably seen him here sometimes." - -"I haven't noticed him." - -"I am feeling very anxious about him. Yesterday morning he went out -on an errand for some one who had engaged him, and he hasn't been -back since. I am afraid something must have happened to him," and the -mother's eyes filled with tears. - -"Perhaps he has fallen off from one of the wharves, and got drowned," -suggested Peter, with a savage delight in the pain he was inflicting. - -"You don't think it possible!" exclaimed Mrs. Codman, starting to -her feet, and looking in the old man's face with a glance of agonized -entreaty, as if he could change by his words the fate of her son. - -"Such things often happen," said Peter, chuckling inwardly at the -success of his remark; "I knew a boy--an Irish boy, about the size of -yours--drowned the other day." - -"About the size of my boy! I thought you had not noticed him." - -"I--I remember having seen him once," stammered Peter. "He is about a -dozen years old, isn't he?" - -"Yes; but you don't--you can't think him drowned." - -"How should I know?" muttered Peter. "Boys are careless, very careless, -you know that; and like as not he might have been playing on the wharf, -and----" - -"No, it can't be," said Mrs. Codman, with a feeling of relief which her -knowledge of Charlie's habits gave her. "Charlie was not careless, and -never went to play on the wharf." - -The old man was disappointed to find that his blow had failed of -its effect, but ingenious in devising new methods of torture, he now -suggested the true cause of Charlie's absence. - -"Perhaps," he said, with his cruel gray eyes fixed upon the mother, -"perhaps he's been carried off in a ship." - -"Carried off in a ship!" faltered Mrs. Codman. - -"Yes," said Peter, delighted by the evident dismay with which this -suggestion was received. - -"But," said Mrs. Codman, not quite comprehending his meaning, "Charlie -never had any inclination to go to sea." - -"Perhaps they didn't consult him about it," suggested Peter. - -"_What do you mean?_" exclaimed the mother, with startling emphasis, -half advancing towards the old man. - -"You--you shouldn't be so violent," said Peter, trembling, and starting -back in alarm. - -"Violent! Deprive a mother of her only child, and she may well show -some vehemence." - -"I--I didn't do it," said Peter, hastily. - -"Certainly not," said Mrs. Codman, wondering at his thinking it -necessary to exculpate himself; "but you were saying something -about--about boys being carried to sea against their will." - -"I didn't mean anything," muttered Peter, regretting that he had put -her on the right track. - -"But you did, otherwise you would not have said it. For heaven's sake, -tell me what you did mean, and all you meant. Don't fear to distress -me. I can bear anything except this utter uncertainty." - -She looked up earnestly in the old man's face. - -Peter was somewhat amused at the idea that he might be afraid to -distress her, but decided, on reflection, to tell her that all he chose -she should be made acquainted with. - -"Sometimes," he explained, "a captain is short of hands, and fills out -his number the best way he can. Now perhaps one of the ships at the -wharves might have wanted a boy, and the captain might have invited -your son on board, and, ha, ha! it almost makes me laugh to think of -it, might carry him off before he thought where he was." - -"Do you laugh at the thought of such a cruel misfortune?" asked Mrs. -Codman, startled from her grief by the old man's chuckle. - -"I--excuse me, I didn't intend to; but I thought he would be so much -surprised when he found out where he was." - -"And does that seem to you a fitting subject for merriment?" demanded -the outraged mother. - -The miser cowed beneath her indignant glance, and muttering something -unintelligible, slunk away. - -"Curse her!" he muttered, in his quavering tones, "why can't I face her -like a man? I never could. That was the way when--when she rejected me. -But I shall have my revenge yet." - -Strange to say, Peter's last suggestion produced an effect quite -different from that which he anticipated and intended. Days passed, and -Charlie did not come; but his mother feeling certain, she hardly knew -why, that he had been inveigled on board some vessel, felt sure he -would some day return. - -"He will write to me as soon as he gets a chance," thought the mother, -"and I shall soon see him again." - - - - - XIII. - - CLOUDS AND SUNSHINE. - - -Small as was the remuneration which Mrs. Codman received for sewing, -she hoped, by great economy, to get along with the money which she -already had on hand. But troubles never come singly, and of this she -was destined to feel the full significance. - -One morning she made up a bundle of completed work, and proceeded with -it to the ready-made clothing store of Messrs. Sharp & Keene, her -employers. It was a trial to one reared as Mrs. Codman had been, to -come into contact with men who did not think it necessary to hide their -native coarseness from one who made shirts for them at twenty cents -apiece. - -On the present occasion she was kept waiting for some time, before her -presence appeared to be noticed. At length, Sharp nodded to her from -the desk. - -"Ahem! Mrs. Wiggins," commenced Sharp. - -"Codman, sir," corrected the one addressed. - -"Well, the name don't signify, I suppose. How many shirts have you got -there?" - -"Half a dozen, sir." - -"Half a dozen at twenty cents apiece make a dollar and twenty cents. -Present this card at the other desk, and you will be paid." - -He scratched on a card "6 shirts--$1.20," and handed to her, at the -same time calling, in a loud voice, "Here, Thomas, pay Mrs. Wigman a -dollar and twenty cents." - -"Codman, sir." - -"It seems to me you are mighty particular about your name." - -"Shall I have more work?" asked Mrs. Codman, with some anxiety. - -"Well, not at present. Business is dull just now. Nothing doing, and -won't be for some time to come." - -"How long before you can probably give me something to do?" inquired -Mrs. Codman, apprehensively. - -"Can't say," was the careless reply. "It may be a month, or six weeks. -You can call round in four or five weeks." - -"What am I to do between now and then?" thought the poor woman, her -heart sinking. - -She must get something to do. She could not live otherwise, more -especially since the rise in the rent, and her resources had been so -largely diminished by the withdrawal of Charlie's services. - -She applied at several other shops which she passed on the way -home, but found, in every case, that they were already overrun with -applications, and in the slack of business would be compelled to -discharge some of those at present employed. - -But the hour is the darkest that's just before day, and when fortune -has done its worst, oftentimes the tide turns, and affairs improve. - -So it proved with Mrs. Codman. - -On reaching home, not a little depressed at the idea of remaining -inactive, when she stood so much in need of the proceeds of her labor, -Mrs. Codman had scarcely removed her bonnet and shawl, when she heard a -knock at her door. - -In answer to her "Come in," the door opened, and the washer-woman, who -roomed just above, entered. - -"How do you do, Mrs. O'Grady?" said Mrs. Codman. - -"I am very well, _Miss_ Codman, and I hope it's the same wid yerself. -Have you heard anything of the swate boy that was lost?" - -"Nothing," was the sad reply. - -"Cheer up, then, _Miss_ Codman. He'll be coming back bimeby, wid his -pockets full of gold, so that you won't have to work any more." - -"I am afraid that I shall not be able to work any more at present," -returned Mrs. Codman. - -"And what for not? Is it sick that ye are?" - -Mrs. Codman related the want of success which she had met with in -procuring work. She also mentioned Peter's visit and the increased -rent. - -"Just like him, the old spalpeen!" broke out Mrs. O'Grady, indignantly. -"He wants to squeeze the last cint out of us poor folks, and it don't -do him any good neither. I'd be ashamed if Mr. O'Grady wint about -dressed as he does. But may be, Miss Codman, I'll get you a chance -that'll take you out of his reach, the mane ould rascal!" - -"You get me a chance! What do you mean?" asked Mrs. Codman, turning -with surprise to her Hibernian friend and defender. - -"I'll tell ye, only jist sit down, for it may take me some time." - -This was Mrs. O'Grady's explanation, which it may be better to abridge, -for the good lady was wont to be somewhat prolix and discursive in her -narratives. - -It seems she had been employed, at sundry times, in the house of a Mr. -Bowman, a wealthy merchant living on Mt. Vernon Street. This gentleman -had lost his wife some months before. The only child arising from -this union was a daughter, about ten years of age. Her father did not -like schools, either public or private, for a child of her years, and -preferred that his daughter, for the present, should be educated at -home. Hitherto she had been left pretty much to herself, and had never -been willing to apply herself to study. - -Mr. Bowman was now looking out for a suitable governess for his -daughter, and it had struck Mrs. O'Grady--who, though ignorant and -uncultivated herself, was sharp-sighted enough to detect the marks of -education and refinement in another--that Mrs. Codman would suit him. - -So Mrs. O'Grady, in her zeal, made bold to intimate to the servants, -through whom it reached Mr. Bowman, that she knew a sweet lady who -would be just the one for a governess for the young lady. - -Now the recommendation of an Irish washer-woman may not be considered -the most valuable in an affair of this kind; but it so happened -that the suggestion reached Mr. Bowman at a time when he was so -oppressed with business cares that he did not know how to spare -the time necessary to seek out a governess. He accordingly summoned -Mrs. O'Grady to a conference, and asked some hasty questions of her, -which she answered by such a eulogistic account of Mrs. Codman, whose -condescending kindness had quite won her heart, that Mr. Bowman desired -her to request Mrs. Codman to call upon him the next day at a stated -hour. - -"So you see, Miss Codman," concluded the warmhearted Irish woman, "that -you're in luck, and all you've got to do is to call upon Mr. Bowman -to-morrow, and you'll get a nice home, and won't have to work any more -at your sewing." - -Mrs. Codman did not at once reply. - -"And won't you go?" asked Mrs. O'Grady, wondering at her silence. - -"I think I will," said Mrs. Codman; "and I feel much obliged to you, my -good friend, for saying a kind word for me, though I do not feel at all -confident that I shall obtain this place." - -"Niver fear for that," said the sanguine washer-woman; "he'll see at -once that you're a rale lady, and it's in luck he'll be to get you." - -Undoubtedly the position of a governess would be more remunerative, -and less laborious, than that of a seamstress, and, under present -circumstances, Mrs. Codman felt that she could not afford to throw the -chance away. She retired that night a little more cheerful and hopeful -than would have been the case had not this door of escape from the evil -of want been shown her. - - - - - XIV. - - BERT. - - -In the breakfast-room of a house on Mt. Vernon Street sat two persons -with whom it is necessary that we should become acquainted. - -The first is a gentleman of perhaps forty-five, rather stout, and -with a pleasant expression of countenance. He has finished his cup of -coffee, and taken up the morning paper, which he scans carefully, more -especially those parts relating to business. - -At the opposite side of the table is a young lady of ten, with mirthful -black eyes, and very red cheeks, which are well set off by her black -hair. Altogether, she is very handsome, a fact of which she is not -altogether unconscious. She is lively, fresh, original, and impulsive, -not under very much restraint, but with an excellent disposition and -kindly feelings, which do not allow her to go very far wrong. Yet it -must be confessed that thus far her education has been sadly neglected, -so that, as far as learning goes, she probably knows less than most -girls two years younger. - -The room, in which the father and daughter were seated, is tastefully -furnished with that regard to comfort which is found in our American -houses. - -The two whom we have thus introduced are Benjamin Bowman, a wealthy -merchant, and his daughter Bertha, though, in that shortening of names -which is apt to take place in a family, hers has been shortened to -Bert, which she appears to prefer to the longer and more strictly -feminine name. - -"Papa," she said, pushing away her plate, "you ain't good company at -all." - -"Thank you for the compliment, Bert," he said. - -"But you're not, though. There you are wearing out your eyes over that -stupid paper, and leaving me to talk to myself or Topsy. Here, Topsy, -isn't it so?" - -At this summons a kitten, black as the ace of spades, and very much -addicted to fun and frolic, jumped into the lap of her young mistress, -and purred a noisy acquiescence. - -"There," said Bert, triumphantly, "Topsy says I am right. I don't know -what I should do without Topsy." - -"She makes a very suitable companion for you, Bert," said Mr. Bowman, -smiling. - -"Why?" asked the cat's mistress, suspiciously. - -"Because you can sympathize so well. Both are equally mischievous, and -it is very difficult to tell which knows the most of books." - -"Now, papa, that is a slander. I will sue you for libel." - -"On your own account, or the kitten's?" asked Mr. Bowman. "I really -don't know which I have done injustice to." - -"Now you are laughing at me, papa. I know you are." - -"Not entirely, Bert. The fact is, you are terribly ignorant for one of -your age." - -"I suppose I am," said Bert, shaking her head in comic despair. - -"You'll grow up with no more knowledge than a Hottentot." - -"Don't they have any schools among the Hottentots?" - -"I suppose not." - -"How delightful that must be! Why can't we move out where they live?" - -"I don't know but we shall have to," said her father, "as, hereabouts, -young ladies are expected to know something about books. But that -reminds me I don't know but I shall succeed in engaging a governess for -you to-day." - -"A governess to-day!" exclaimed Bert, in dismay. - -"Yes. I have made an appointment with a lady to call here at nine -o'clock, and, if I am satisfied with her, I intend to engage her." - -"And if _I_ am satisfied with her," added Bert. - -"Is that essential?" asked her father, smiling. - -"Yes, for you know she will be with me most of the time. If she is like -Julia Campbell's governess, I sha'n't like her." - -"Well, and what fault do you find with Julia Campbell's governess?" -asked Mr. Bowman, with more interest than his tone conveyed; for he -knew that if Bert did not fancy her governess she would be a most -incorrigible little rebel, and would be likely to profit very little by -her instructions. - -"Oh, she's as disagreeable as she can be. In the first place, she's an -old maid,--not that that's so _very_ bad. In fact, I've about made up -my mind to be an old maid myself." - -"Indeed!" said Mr. Bowman, amused. "May I inquire your reasons?" - -"Too numerous to mention." - -"Perhaps one is, that you don't expect to have any chance to change -your name." - -"I have had a chance already," said Bert, in a matter-of-fact tone. - -"Had a chance already!" exclaimed her father, in amazement. - -"Yes," said the young lady of ten, "Charlie Morrill offered himself the -other day, and I refused him." - -"What is the world coming to?" thought Mr. Bowman. "Why did you refuse -him?" - -"Because," said Bert, soberly, "I don't like the way he parts his hair. -But as for Julia's governess, I know she never had an offer. She's as -homely as--as--well, I don't know who. Then she wears glasses, and has -a nose ever so long, and a long face, and she never smiles, and she -makes Julia study terrible hard." - -And Bert drew a long breath. - -"Not a very charming picture, certainly," said Mr. Bowman; "but I'll -promise you that, if the lady who applies for the post of governess -to-day should be anything like this, I won't engage her." - -"That's right, papa. When do you expect her?" - -"Let me see. She was to be here at nine, and now it wants only ten -minutes of that time." - -"And you won't send me out of the room, papa, will you?" - -Mr. Bowman hesitated. - -"You know I am very anxious to see how she looks. If I like her, I will -make a sign to you, and then you can engage her." - -"What sign will you make, Bert?" asked her father, amused, and yet -alive to the necessity of securing his daughter's acquiescence in his -choice. - -"I don't know," said Bert, reflecting; "suppose I wink." - -"And suppose the lady should see you winking at me? What do you suppose -she would think?" - -"Oh, I could tell her afterwards, you know, and she would feel -flattered, knowing it was a sign that I liked her." - -"She might not think it very lady-like in you." - -"What's the use of being lady-like? I don't want to be. There's -Florence Gates; I suppose she's lady-like. I'll show you how she walks." - -Bert imitated the gait of the young lady, swaying herself from side to -side, as she walked with mincing step, tossing her head, and exhibiting -a caricature of the airs and affectations which girls sometimes delight -to display. - -"Why, she wouldn't run for a thousand dollars," exclaimed Bert. "She -would think it beneath her dignity. If _she_ is lady-like, I don't want -to be. But, hark! there goes the bell. She's coming. Now, papa, just -remember, I shall wink if I like her, and if I don't I'll make up a -face." - -Bert transferred herself to an ottoman, and took Topsy into her lap. - -Both she and her father looked towards the door with curiosity. - - - - - XV. - - MRS. CODMAN'S GOOD FORTUNE. - - -Mrs. Codman had been carefully educated at a large expense, and was -versed in all the accomplishments which are considered indispensable in -a young lady's education nowadays. It was with no degree of hesitation -on this point, therefore, that she set out this particular morning to -present herself as an applicant for the post of governess. Having no -influential friends, however, and not being able to present references -from a former employer (this being her first essay in this line), she -feared that her application would be unsuccessful. She could not but -feel a considerable degree of anxiety, for her circumstances had become -desperate, owing to the refusal of her former employers to give her any -more sewing. - -She dressed herself as neatly as her limited wardrobe would admit, and -with hearty good wishes and many glowing predictions of success from -her humble friend, Mrs. O'Grady, she set out. - -Though some years past thirty, Mrs. Codman so far retained the -freshness of youth, that she would hardly have been taken for this age. -As a girl she had been very beautiful, and her womanhood did not belie -her early promise. Her attire, though not expensive, was in good taste -and characterized by a lady-like simplicity. - -Such was the applicant for the post of governess, upon whom the -curious eyes of Bert and her father fell as she was ushered into the -breakfast-room by the servant, who had received orders to do so. She -entered the room with the easy grace of a lady. Mr. Bowman at once -recognized her claim to be considered such by deferentially rising, and -inviting her to be seated. - -"If I mistake not," he said, politely, "you are the lady who has been -recommended to me as possessing excellent qualifications for the office -of governess." - -"Perhaps the recommendation was too strong and decided," said Mrs. -Codman, modestly. "I shall be glad, however, to be considered an -applicant for the position." - -Here Mr. Bowman, who chanced to glance at Bert, detected her executing -a surprising succession of winks, indicating the favorable impression -which had been made upon her by the appearance of Mrs. Codman. - -Already prepossessed in favor of the applicant, this was an additional -inducement to engage her, as her success would depend, to a very great -extent, upon the young lady's good-will. - -"I suppose," he said, "you feel prepared to teach the branches and -accomplishments usually included in the education of a young lady." - -Mrs. Codman bowed. - -"I ain't a young lady," interrupted Bert, at this point, who thought -she was in imminent danger of becoming too learned. - -"We hope you will be some time," said Mr. Bowman. - -In reply, Bert winked once more. - -There was a piano in the room. - -"Will you favor us with a specimen of your playing?" asked Mr. Bowman. - -Mrs. Codman sat down to the piano and played two pieces, one slow in -movement, the other rapid, showing a nice touch and easy execution. - -"Thank you," said Mr. Bowman. "I am inclined to think that I shall be -glad to avail myself of your services. Should you be willing to engage -for three months at first, to see how we are mutually pleased with each -other? The pupil I have to offer you is a little addicted to mischief, -and I don't know how you may like her." - -"I am quite willing to enter into such an arrangement," said Mrs. -Codman; "and in reference to the last point, I am quite sure I shall -like my pupil. I begin to like her already." - -"Do you?" said Bert, with much satisfaction, rising from the ottoman, -and unceremoniously dropping the black kitten, who turned a somerset, -and ran off shaking her head. - -In answer, Mrs. Codman held out her hand with a smile. - -Bert hurried across the room, and placed her own in it confidingly. - -"I am so glad you do," said she. "You won't make me study my eyes out, -will you?" - -"That would, indeed, be a pity," said Mrs. Codman, looking at Bert's -bright eyes, sparkling with fun and mischief. - -Mr. Bowman observed these signs of agreement between Bert and her new -governess with pleasure, and hastened to say, "In regard to business -arrangements we will speak by and by. I think I can promise that they -will be satisfactory to you." - -It may be mentioned here, that Mr. Bowman, who was by no means disposed -to deal parsimoniously with those in his employ, fixed Mrs. Codman's -salary at six hundred dollars a year, which was four times as much as -she had ever been able to gain by her needle. - -"When may we expect you?" he asked. "You have, doubtless, some -preliminary arrangements to make, for which you will please take -whatever time you may require. Meanwhile, accept this sum in advance." - -He drew from his pocket-book a fifty-dollar note, which he handed to -Mrs. Codman. She could not feel any embarrassment in accepting a sum -so tendered, and bowing her thanks, intimated that she would make her -appearance on the following Monday, it being now Thursday. - -The advance payment proved very acceptable to Mrs. Codman, as with it -she was enabled to replenish her wardrobe, a step rendered necessary by -her residence in Mr. Bowman's family. She was busily engaged for the -remainder of the week in supplying its deficiencies. - -No one could be more overjoyed than was the humble washer-woman at -the success of her friend, of which she felt sure from the first, -knowing Mrs. Codman to be a _rale lady_. The latter, feeling that she -owed her present good fortune mainly to the zealous recommendation of -her friendly neighbor, purchased a neat dress, which Mrs. O'Grady was -prevailed upon to accept, on being convinced she would not thereby be -distressing herself, a fact of which she was assured on being told of -Mr. Bowman's liberality. - -Yet there was, as the reader well knows, one thought which contributed -to diminish the joy which Mrs. Codman would otherwise have felt at -being restored, in a measure, to the mode of life to which she had been -accustomed, and relieved from the necessity of unremitting labor in -order to sustain life. This was, the thought of Charlie, her own brave, -handsome boy, who had been the joy and life of her little household, -now gone,--she knew not whither. The uncertainty as to his fate cost -her many a sleepless night. She was sustained, however, by a strong -confidence that he was yet living, and had little doubt that the -suggestion of Peter Manson was correct, that he had been carried off by -the captain of some vessel short of hands. Of course, she did not for -an instant harbor the suspicion that Peter himself had had anything to -do with his disappearance, being quite unaware that any motive existed -powerful enough to tempt the old man to such a crime. - -"I shall hear from him; I shall see him again," she said, with earnest -conviction. "He is under the eye of Providence, wherever he may be, and -no harm shall befall him." - -Still, even with this strong feeling of trust, there was an -uncertainty about the time when her wishes could be realized, which -could not fail to weigh upon the mother's heart. Then there was the -constant longing for his bright and enlivening presence, greater, -because he was her only child, and she was a widow. - -The furniture which Mrs. Codman had in her rooms she was enabled to -dispose of without a very great sacrifice. She reserved a few articles, -endeared to her by association, which she stored in the room of her -friendly neighbor. - -With her, also, she left a sum of money, sufficient to pay for her -month's rent, which would not be due for a fortnight after her removal -to the house of Mr. Bowman. Peter Manson was not a little surprised -and disappointed when, on visiting his tenant,--prepared to witness -her distress and hear entreaties for a reduction of her rent,--to find -her already gone, and to hear that she had obtained an advantageous -situation, though where, he was unable to ascertain, as Mrs. O'Grady, -with whom he was no favorite, was not disposed to be communicative. - -Leaving Mrs. Codman thus comfortably provided for, we must now follow -the fortunes of our young hero, Charlie, whom we left securely bound in -the forecastle of the Bouncing Betsey. - - - - - XVI. - - THE BEGINNING OF CHARLIE'S SEA-LIFE. - - -When the Bouncing Betsey was fairly out to sea, Captain Brace, -anticipating, with the malicious delight which a petty tyrant feels in -the sufferings of those subject to him, the grief and terror of our -young hero, ordered Charlie to be released from his bonds and brought -before him. - -This order the mate chose to execute in person. - -The pressure of the cords, with which he had been bound, had chafed his -limbs, and the constraint of his position had made them ache. - -As the mate busied himself in unbinding him, Charlie inquired, with a -glimmering of hope, "Are you going to let me go?" - -"Where?" asked Randall. - -"On shore." - -"Perhaps you don't know that, by this time, we are at least forty miles -from Boston." - -"Could you send me back?" asked Charlie, his heart sinking within him. - -"I suppose we might turn the ship about, and go back for your -accommodation," said the mate, with a sneer; "but I don't think Capt. -Brace would consent." - -"Is there no way?" implored Charlie. "Couldn't you put me on board some -ship going back?" - -"You can speak to the captain about that. He has sent for you. Come -along, and don't be all day about it." - -Charlie stretched himself with the intent of gaining some relief from -the stricture he had suffered, and prepared to do what he knew there -was no means of evading, he followed Randall to the presence of Capt. -Brace. - -"Well, Jack," said Capt. Brace, showing his teeth in an unpleasant -manner, "how do you like life on shipboard?" - -"My name is not Jack," was our hero's reply. - -"Indeed! Perhaps you will do me the favor to tell me what is it." - -"My name," said our hero, not liking the captain's tone, "is Charlie -Codman." - -"So you pretend to be wiser than your uncle," said Capt. Brace, looking -towards the mate. - -"He is not my uncle," said Charlie, boldly. If he had felt it to be -prudent, he would have added that he had no desire for a relationship -to Randall, but he knew that it would not be wise. - -"Do you dare to contradict my first officer?" demanded the captain, -with a frown. - -"I am only telling the truth," said Charlie, undauntedly. - -"_Silence!_" roared the captain, in a passion. "If he chooses to call -you his nephew, you shall be so; do you hear that? I say, do you hear -that?" he repeated, pounding with his clenched fist upon the table -before him. - -"Yes, sir," said our hero. - -"Take care that you remember it then. Your name, henceforth, is Jack -Randall,--at any rate, as long as you remain aboard this ship." - -"How long am I to remain on board, sir?" Charlie could not help asking. - -"How long?" repeated the captain. "_Forever_, if I choose. And now as -this is the last conversation which I intend to hold with you on this -point, you will bear in mind that you are shipped on board this vessel -as a boy, and that, if you don't do your duty you'll get----" - -We suppress the word with which the captain closed his sentence, not -being willing to soil our pages with it. - -This was rather a hard trial for our young hero, accustomed to a -mother's gentle and affectionate words. Had he been less manly, he -would have burst into tears; but he only turned pale a little, and bit -his lips. - -"Take him on deck, Mr. Randall, and set him to work," said the captain; -"and mind, Jack, that I don't hear any complaints of you." - -Charlie followed the mate to the deck. He had made up his mind that he -must stay in the ship during the voyage, or, at all events until they -reached land somewhere, and resolved that, since it was forced upon -him, he would do his duty as well as he could, and so afford as little -advantage as possible to those who seemed determined to persecute him. - -He was set to work by Randall, who told him, in a sharp tone, to "mind -his eye and keep to work, if he knew what was best for himself." - -The work was not difficult, but Charlie's fingers were unpractised, -and he might very soon have incurred the wrath of the captain and -mate, if Bill Sturdy, the sailor whose friendly advances to our hero -have already been noticed, had not approached him, the mate being -temporarily out of earshot, and given him a little instruction. - -"Well, my lad, what news?" inquired Bill. "Shipped for the voyage, are -you?" - -"That's what the captain and mate say," returned Charlie. - -"They're a pair of precious rascals," said Bill, lowering his voice, -"and it's my opinion they're well matched, so far as villainy goes." - -"What made you ship on board the vessel?" inquired Charlie. - -"Bless your soul, boy, I wouldn't a done it if I'd known who was in -command; leastways, if I had known a little more about him. But I -didn't ask any questions. I had just got in from a v'y'ge to Calcutta, -and happened to see one of my old shipmates, Jim Davis, walking on -the wharf. 'Bill,' says he, 'why won't you ship along of me?' I asked -him where he was bound, and he telled me to Valparaiso, on board the -Bouncing Betsey. Well, I've been most everywhere else, but I had never -been there, and reckoned I should like to see it. Besides, I'd got -tired of going to Calcutta. I've been there, man and boy, six or eight -times. It's too hot to live there some parts of the year. So I just -told him I was in for it if he was, provided there was a vacancy. I -asked him if he knew anything about the officers. He said he didn't, -but he guessed they would pass. So I just stepped into the office and -shipped. There, lad, that's the whole story. I don't mind it much -myself. They don't generally meddle much with me." - -"Have you sailed with bad captains before?" inquired our hero. - -"Yes, my lad, sometimes. One captain I sailed with--I was a young man -then--was Captain Maguire. He was a sort of an Irishman, I surmise, and -mighty fond of drink. He was pleasant enough when he was sober, but -that wasn't often. When he was drunk, he got into a regular fury. He -would tear round the deck like as he was crazy, and so he was after a -fashion, for he didn't seem to know, after he had got out of his fits, -what he had done when he was in 'em. One day, I remember, as I was at -work, he came up to me, and gave me a terrible thwack side of the head, -swearing like a trooper all the time." - -"What did you do?" asked Charlie, looking up with interest into the -weather-beaten face of the old sailor. - -"I'll tell you," said Sturdy; "you see, I'm pretty strong," glancing -at his brawny arms and herculean frame with pardonable complacency; "I -don't often meet a man I can't manage as easily as the mate can manage -you. Now the captain wasn't a large man, by any means, nor very strong, -either. As to the mates,--one of them was sick in his berth, and the -other was in another part of the ship; so I just took the captain up -in my arms, and carried him down to the cabin, kickin' and cursin', as -might be expected, and laid him down there. The officers did not see -what was goin' on, or there'd have been trouble. As for the crew, they -enjoyed it, and wouldn't a man of 'em tell; and as the captain didn't -remember anything about it the next day, I didn't get punished." - -"Did you ever get punished?" asked Charlie. - -"Never since I grew up, and had these to fight my way with," said Bill -Sturdy, showing his fists, which looked as if a blow from either of -them would have felled an ox. "No, my lad, these are what I call my -sledge-hammers, and I'd as lives have them to rely upon as a pair of -pistols." - -At this point in the conversation Bill was called off to some other -part of the vessel, and the mate coming up discovered, somewhat to his -disappointment, that our hero had discharged his task in a manner which -did not admit of censure. - - - - - XVII. - - THE RIVAL CHAMPIONS. - - -It is customary to divide a ship's crew into two watches, whose duty it -is to alternate in keeping a lookout at night. The first night-watch -commences at eight o'clock, and continues till midnight. This watch is -then relieved by the second, who have had an opportunity of sleeping -in the mean time, and who remain on duty till four A. M. They then -give place to the first, who are again on duty till eight in the -morning. Thus it will be seen that a part of the crew have eight hours' -sleep, while the remainder have but four. This inequality, however, is -remedied the next evening, when the hours are changed. - -Charlie was fortunate in one respect. He was placed on the same watch -with Bill Sturdy, who had established himself, in some sort, as the -boy's protector, and did not scruple to avow it. When some of the crew -began to tease and play rough practical jokes upon Charlie,--a mode of -treatment to which boys are frequently subjected on board ship,--Bill -Sturdy interfered, and in a sonorous voice exclaimed,-- - -"Look here, shipmates, don't lay a finger on this boy!" - -"And why not?" inquired a burly sailor, with naturally repulsive -features. - -"Because I say so," retorted Bill Sturdy. - -"Who is he, I should like to know, that we are to keep our distance?" - -"I'll tell you who he is, shipmates," was the answer. "He's a boy that -the mate has entrapped on board without his own consent." - -"Isn't he the mate's nephew?" - -"No more than I am, though the mate chooses to call him so. He's got a -mother living in Boston, and he's her only boy. She doesn't know what -has become of him. Now, shipmates, he seems to be a fine lad, and I'm -going to stand by him for his sake and his mother's." - -Sailors are generous when you reach their hearts, and there was a -murmur of approbation when Bill concluded. - -But there is no rule without an exception, and that exception was the -scowling sailor who has already been mentioned. Few knew much about -him. This was his second voyage on board the Bouncing Betsey. Next to -Bill Sturdy he was the stoutest and most athletic sailor on board the -ship. During the previous voyage he had been the bully of the crew, -taking advantage of his personal strength. Now they were relieved from -his tyranny. In Bill Sturdy he had more than found his match. No one, -comparing the two men, could doubt, that in a contest, the odds would -be decidedly in favor of Bill. Antonio, for this was his name, for he -was a Spaniard by birth, could not help seeing the changed state of -affairs. Now no one likes to be eclipsed, and to see the authority -passing from his hands into those of another. Certainly Antonio did not -behold this transfer with indifference. He could not brook holding the -second place, where the first had been his. But how could he help it? -Very evidently the opinions of the crew favored Bill Sturdy; not only -because they believed him to excel Antonio in physical qualities, which -hold a high value in the eyes of a sailor, but because he had, as yet, -shown no disposition to abuse his power. Antonio was resolved not to -yield without a struggle, and therefore determined to take the first -occasion to pick a quarrel with his rival, as this would give him an -opportunity to measure his strength with him. Antonio did not see, what -was evident to all else, that his rival was undeniably his superior -in prowess. People are generally slow to admit their own inferiority. -That is only natural. He hoped, therefore, that he should be able to -re-establish his supremacy by coming off a conqueror in the contest -which he had determined to do all in his power to bring about. - -Antonio's attention had not been especially called to our hero, until -he heard Bill Sturdy avow his determination to take him under his -protection. Then, in a spirit of perverseness, and because he thought -it would open the way for the trial of strength which he courted, he -resolved to oppose him, and openly espouse the other side. - -Accordingly, when the murmurs of applause, which had been elicited by -his rival's frank and generous appeal to the sympathies of the crew, -had subsided, Antonio looked round on the rough faces which surrounded -him, and growled,-- - -"Well, shipmates, are you going to submit to what this fellow says? He -dares you to touch this snivelling milk-sop of a boy." - -Some of the faces grew dark and threatening at this representation. -Nothing stirs up a sailor's heart to opposition so readily as anything -which resembles a threat. - -Bill Sturdy hastened to reply. - -"He is wrong. I don't threaten any of you. I only ask if it is right to -play tricks, and abuse a boy who has already been treated so scurvily -by the mate. I don't believe there's any one of you that wants to curry -favor with Mr. Randall and the captain. Now there is nothing they will -like better than to see you kicking round this lad." - -Neither the captain nor the mate stood very high in the good graces of -the crew, and the effect produced by this statement showed that it was -adroitly conceived. - -Bill Sturdy took advantage of this to add, "Now, lads, when I say I am -going to stand by this boy, and see that he isn't abused, I know you'll -stand by me." - -This frank and bold speech produced a decided reaction in favor of -Charlie. - -There was another murmur of approbation, which was interrupted by a -stamp upon the deck by Antonio, who, with a ferocious contortion of -countenance, shouted, "If you're all going to follow this man's lead, -and do like dogs whatever he bids you, you'll find there's one here -that dares to be independent." - -Saying this, he advanced suddenly to Charlie, who was at work near by, -and, seizing him by the shoulder, was about to proceed to some act of -violence. - -As soon as Bill Sturdy perceived his design, he sprang forward and gave -him a powerful blow which would have felled him to the deck, had not -Bill slipped a little, as he delivered it. - -Instantly the Spaniard's sallow face was suffused, and, with a torrent -of oaths and a howl of fury, he precipitated himself upon Sturdy. - -But it was easier to catch a weasel asleep, than to take the stout -sailor unprepared. - -With his feet firmly planted upon the deck, and his fists in a proper -position, he received the bully, parrying his blows with wonderful -dexterity, and succeeding in planting others no less effective. - -A ring of sailors gathered around, eager to watch the progress and -termination of the affray. There were not a few among them, who enjoyed -the punishment which they foresaw the Spaniard would receive from his -antagonist. He had so tyrannized over them in the past, that they felt -little sympathy for him now. - -Baffled, blinded, and howling with mingled rage and vexation, the -Spaniard continued the unequal fight. As for Bill Sturdy, he was cool -and collected, apparently neither angry nor excited, but wary and on -the alert. - -At length Antonio, perceiving a marlinespike at a little distance, -sprang towards it. It was a critical moment for Bill Sturdy, for a -marlinespike, in the hands of a furious and determined man, is a -formidable weapon. - -His movement did not escape the notice of Sturdy. - -He had acted principally on the defensive thus far, but he now saw that -something decisive must be done. - -Springing forward, he closed with his assailant, lifted him from the -deck, and, carrying him to the companion-way, hurled him down stairs. - -Then, turning to the crew, he exclaimed, "Shipmates, I call you to -witness that this quarrel was forced upon me. Have I done right or -wrong?" - -"Right!" exclaimed all, in concert. - -At this moment the mate, attracted by the noise, came on deck. - - - - - XVIII. - - ANTONIO'S RESOLVE. - - -"What has been going on?" asked Randall, perceiving, from the position -of the sailors and their looks, that something had happened. What it -was, he surmised, having heard something of the noise of the conflict. - -No one of the sailors spoke, but all looked at each other in hesitating -silence. - -"What was it? Are you all deaf?" demanded the mate, impatiently. - -"A little fight, that is all, Mr. Randall," answered Bill Sturdy, -coolly hitching up his pants. - -"And you were one of the parties?" - -"I believe I was." - -"And who was the other?" - -"Antonio." - -"And where is he now?" - -"He has gone below," said Bill, in a significant tone. - -"What was the fight about?" inquired Randall, who, in ordinary cases, -would not have cared to pursue the subject farther, but had an -undefined idea that it was in some way connected with our hero, for -whom he felt no peculiar affection. - -"The fact is," said Bill Sturdy, "Antonio undertook to abuse that lad -there," pointing to Charlie; "and I ain't one to stand by and see a boy -abused. Besides," he added, with a latent humor which all understood, -though he did not allow it to alter the gravity of his countenance, "I -knew he was your nephew, and that made me the more anxious to defend -him." - -Randall was placed in an awkward predicament. He could not deny that -Charlie was his nephew after his express declaration to that effect, -while at the same time the relationship which he claimed was far from -exciting, in his own mind, any attachment for the boy. Still it closed -his mouth for the time. He only muttered, in an undertone, that the boy -must fight his own battles, and disappeared from the deck. - -"Fight his own battles!" repeated Sturdy, indignantly. "A pretty sort -of an uncle he is, to match a boy of fourteen against a grown man, and -a strong one at that. However," added Sturdy, complacently, "the lad's -got a friend that is a match for Antonio at any time." - -"That he has," answered a comrade; "but I say, Bill; I couldn't help -laughing to see how you made that old shark shut up his mouth by -telling him it was his nephew you were fighting for. It made him mad, -but he didn't know what to say against it." - -"His nephew! No, Jack, it's well the lad isn't any kith or kin of his. -A drop of his blood would be enough to spile a decent lad." - -"Ay, that it would." - -Presently Antonio came on deck with a sullen air, half of defiance, -half of humiliation, at his recent defeat. He smarted under the -conviction, that henceforth his authority among the crew would be -small. Hitherto he had been the champion and bully of the quarter-deck, -and although the crew had no liking for him, but rather a decided -feeling of an opposite nature, yet strength and prowess always command -a certain rude respect among sailors, and that respect he enjoyed. But -now all was changed. He had been beaten, and that in a fair fight, -where all could see that no underhand means had been employed. Strength -had been matched against strength, and he had come off second best. -That had been a Waterloo day to him, and he knew that he returned to -the deck no longer the same man so far as consideration went. - -Bill Sturdy was a generous antagonist. He had no idea of indulging in -exultation over his vanquished foe, but treated him as if nothing had -happened. - -But Antonio's resentment was deep and implacable. He thirsted for -revenge, and determined to lull to sleep the suspicions of his late -opponent, until some opportunity should present itself for an effectual -and safe revenge. - -Accordingly he suddenly recovered from his sullenness, and made some -half advances towards Sturdy, which the latter met, but not without -reserve. - -"I can't kind o' feel as if the feller was to be trusted," said Bill to -Charlie, one evening, as they were alone together. "There's something -in his eye that I don't like; a sort of deceitful gleam, as if there -was something covered up that he didn't like to show. For my part, I -like to be fair and above board, and show just what I am." - -"I'm sorry you have made an enemy of this man on my account," said -Charlie. - -"Avast, my lad, do you think I was going to stand still and let him -abuse you? Thank heaven, old Bill Sturdy isn't such a lubber as that." - -"But he may do you a mischief yet, Bill." - -"Let him come within the reach of my arm," said Bill, swinging his -brawny right arm as he would a flail, "I guess he wouldn't want to try -it again." - -"But he may take you at advantage." - -"He will have to get up early in the morning, then," said Sturdy, in a -tone of confidence. "No lubberly foreigner is likely to get ahead of -Bill Sturdy, I can tell you that, my lad." - -Both Bill and Charlie supposed that they were alone, and that this -conversation was unheard by any other person, but in this they were -mistaken. - -On the other side of the mast crouched the dark figure of a man, who -seemed to be listening intently to the conversation between the two. He -remained very quiet, fearing, doubtless, that he should be observed. -Evidently what he heard did not affect him pleasantly. His brow -contracted, and a scowl of hatred made his features look even more -dark and forbidding than was their wont, especially when Bill Sturdy -made use of the last expression, his face exhibited a concentrated -malice, which could only have been generated in a heart full of evil -passions. - -He ground his white teeth together and muttered to himself, as he crept -cautiously from his place of concealment, and made his way to his bunk -in the forecastle. "We shall see, we shall see. No man shall insult and -triumph over me without repenting of it. He shall know, some time, what -it is to excite the vengeance of a desperate man. He thinks the lion -has become a lamb. He will find out his mistake." - -Antonio might more appropriately have compared himself to a serpent, -for his character had more of the subtlety of the noxious reptile than -of the boldness and freedom of the monarch of the forest. - -Unconscious of the concealed listener to their discourse, Bill Sturdy -and our young friend continued their conversation. In the hours of -darkness, when night broods upon the ocean, and no sound is to be -heard save the dashing of the waves against the sides of the vessel, -the sailor who is obliged to stand his watch would find the hours pass -wearily if it were not for some method of killing the time. Among these -is the spinning of yarns, for which sailors are so noted. This it was -that occurred to Bill, as he stood with Charlie leaning over the side. - -"I say, my lad, suppose we spin a yarn apiece, and that will make the -time pass quicker." - -"But I am not an old sailor, Bill; I don't know anything about spinning -yarns." - -"Tush, lad, I don't expect a salt-water yarn from you. I want a land -yarn. I am sure, you have read a good many, and can think of one now. -Just lead off, and when you get through, I'll try my hand at it." - -Thus adjured, Charlie said, "Let me think a minute." - -Bill leaned over the rail in silent expectation. - - - - - XIX. - - CHARLIE'S LAND YARN. - - -Charlie deliberated a moment, when he chanced to think of Nicholas -Nickleby, the only one of Dickens's works he had ever read, and which, -as it had interested him exceedingly, had impressed itself upon his -remembrance. - -"Did you ever hear of Nicholas Nickleby, Bill?" he inquired. - -"Yes," was Bill's unexpected response; "when I was at Liverpool three -years ago, she was lying alongside our ship." - -"She!" exclaimed Charlie, in amazement. - -"Yes," answered Sturdy, in a matter-of-fact tone, "she was a very good -craft, and was in the West India trade. I saw considerable of her, -being as how I got acquainted with Tom Seagrove, one of the men on -board." - -"Oh, yes, I see what you mean," said Charlie; "but I don't mean a ship, -I mean a story of the same name." - -"No, I never heard of it. Named after the ship, like enough." - -Charlie thought it more probable that the vessel was named after the -story, but as this was a point of little importance to the present -occasion, he passed it by, and continued, "Well, Bill, it's a very -interesting story, and as I remember that about as well as anything I -ever read, I believe I will tell you part of it." - -"Heave ahead, my lad." - -"You must know that this Nicholas Nickleby was a young man whose father -died when he was about nineteen, leaving him very little money, but a -mother and sister to provide for. He had an old uncle Ralph, who was -very rich, but an old rascal, who didn't trouble himself about his poor -relations." - -"That's the way with a good many rich people," said Bill. "They leave -the smaller craft to shift for themselves." - -"However, on being applied to, he did manage to get the sister a place -in a millinery establishment, and, as for Nicholas, he got him a place -as assistant teacher in a country boarding-school." - -"He was a sort of first mate in the school, wasn't he?" - -"Well, something like that, only he didn't fare half so well as a mate -or any kind of an officer. All the old fellow gave him for his services -was about twenty-five dollars a year and board." - -"What made him ship on board the craft, then?" - -"It was the only chance he had, so he thought he'd take it till he -could find a better." - -"What was the captain's name?" asked Bill, who stuck to his marine -phraseology. - -"His name was Squeers, and a tough old fellow he was. He had some -thirty or forty boarding scholars, whom he treated shamefully. In the -first place, he didn't allow them enough to eat." - -"Why didn't they mutiny, and pitch the lubber overboard?" exclaimed -Bill, indignantly. - -"Because he had starved the spirit out of them. Besides, they were -mostly small, and he had a wife as bad as himself, as well as a -daughter who was----" - -"A chip of the old block." - -"Exactly. Do you want to know how he took away their appetites so that -they wouldn't eat so much? He used to make them swallow a spoonful of -boiling hot molasses, which scalded their throats, and made it hard for -them to swallow." - -"I'd like to have overhauled him," said Sturdy. - -"If you had, I don't believe there'd have been much left of him, for he -was a spindling sort of a man, tall and thin." - -"And how did the young fellow like his place?" - -"Not very much. He found they were going to half-starve him, too. -However, he wouldn't have minded that so much as seeing the poor -children abused. While all this was going on, the school-master's -daughter fell in love with him." - -"Was she pretty?" - -"No," said Charlie. "She was the image of her father, and he wasn't -anything of a beauty. She was thin, with a hatchet face and yellow -hair. However, she continued to make herself think that Nicholas was -in love with her, and one day, when her father and mother were gone -to London to get a new scholar, she posted off to a female friend of -hers, and told her that she had got a beau, and invited her friend and -her beau to come to tea. When tea-time came, there they all were in -the sitting-room, drinking tea, and faring a great deal better than -Nicholas had before, since he had been at the school, when the other -young lady and her beau began to poke fun at Nicholas, all on account -of Matilda Squeers, whom they supposed him to be in love with. He -didn't understand it at all, and told them so. - -"'Why,' said John Brodie,--that was the other girl's beau,--'ain't you -courtin' Tilda, here?' - -"Nicholas protested that he never so much as thought of the thing. -At this, Matilda turned all sorts of colors, for she had confidently -told both of them that he was in love with her, and, besides, she had -no idea that a poor, under-paid teacher would think of refusing her, -the----" - -"Captain's daughter," suggested Bill Sturdy. - -"Exactly so. So you see the tea-party didn't end quite so pleasantly -as it began, and from that moment Nicholas had a bitter enemy in the -daughter of his employer." - -"That's the way with female craft," said Bill. "What happened next?" - -"Mr. and Mrs. Squeers came home, bringing the new boy with them. The -first thing they did was to give a whipping all round, to make up for -the time they'd been away." - -"I wish I'd been there," said Bill, swinging his brawny arms. - -"Among the scholars was one, worse treated than the rest, named Smike. -He had been with them ever since he was a boy of six or eight, and his -friends had deserted him. Mr. Squeers would have cast him off, only he -found his work more than paid for the scanty food he ate, so he kept -him; but he was so beaten and cuffed, and made to drudge so constantly, -that it would have been better for him if he had been turned away. At -last he determined to run away." - -"Good for him!" said Bill. - -"As soon as Mr. Squeers found he was gone, he went after him post -haste, and, as the boy was weak and couldn't travel very fast, he soon -overtook him, and brought him back, bound hand and foot, in the chaise. -He suspected that Nicholas had helped Smike to escape, so he determined -to inflict a cruel punishment upon him in presence of his assistant. -Accordingly, he armed himself with a large whip, and, calling all the -school together, he told Smike to strip, and was just about to lay -the whip on his naked back when Nicholas shouted out 'Stop!' Squeers -glared round, and said in a fierce voice, 'Who said that?' 'I said it,' -said Nicholas; 'I tell you, stop!' Squeers turned white with rage, -and threatened to whip Nicholas, also. He was about to commence the -punishment, when Nicholas sprang from his seat, and, pulling the whip -from his hand, knocked Squeers over, and began to belabor him with his -own whip." - -"Good!" exclaimed Bill, who had become much interested in the -narrative. "I hope he made him scream for mercy." - -"So he did, and Nicholas kept on belaboring him, notwithstanding Mrs. -Squeers and her daughter went at him tooth and nail, and tried to pull -him off. But he was so excited with anger that he felt strong enough to -cope with half a dozen, and never left off till Squeers was black and -blue and aching all over." - -"Hurrah for Nicholas!" shouted Bill Sturdy, in great delight, at the -school-master's discomfiture. "What happened next?" - -"Nicholas packed up his clothes and left the house, but took care to -carry Smike with him, knowing that he would otherwise fare badly." - -"And what became of Nicholas afterwards? Did he reach port?" - -"He met with a variety of adventures, but at length became rich and -happy." - -"That's a pretty good yarn," said Bill Sturdy. "I should have liked to -help him whip the school-master, though." - -"Now, Bill, I am ready to hear your yarn," said Charlie. - - - - - XX. - - BILL STURDY'S STORY. - - -After pausing a moment to collect his ideas, Bill Sturdy commenced his -story. - -"It was, mayhap, twelve years ago, or it might have been thirteen, -since I sailed from New York in the ship Peregrine, bound for Havana. -The Peregrine was quite a sizable ship, and I expected a pleasant -voyage, as the captain was a frank, good-humored looking man. So he was -when he was in his sober senses, but, unfortunately, this wasn't always -the case. However, he used to keep pretty straight when he was at home, -for if he had shown himself out it might have been hard for him to get -employment. If Jack gets drunk it's no serious damage to the ship, but -if the chief officer, to whom all look for commands, allows himself -to drink too much, especially when a storm threatens, it's a pretty -bad matter. You see, my lad, that when a captain is drunk, he does not -generally know it himself, and is apt to think that he is perfectly -able to manage the ship. - -"Well, Captain Harvey, for that was his name, was an excellent seaman -when he was sober. He was a thorough sailor, and knew every rope in the -ship. But, as it happened, it would have been better if we had had a -captain who knew less and kept sober. - -"Captain Harvey kept pretty straight at first, as I was saying, and we -men began to like him. He was a pleasant-spoken man, though he meant to -be obeyed when he gave an order. I liked him all the better, because -the captain I had gone with last was a different kind of man. It wasn't -always a word and a blow with Captain Lafarge, but oftentimes the blow -came first. Well, times seemed changed, and that was what I was saying -to a messmate of mine, who had sailed with me under the other captain, -when Captain Harvey came on deck. That was the third day out; his face -looked unusually red, and his eyes bloodshot. He staggered up to us, -gave me a blow side of the head, as he said, or rather hiccoughed, for -he couldn't speak very plain, 'Wh--what are you--hic--doing there, you -rascal?' - -"Now, my lad, I'm not one to stand a blow very patiently; I'm rather -apt to resent it, and so I should this time, but as I looked up I saw -how matters stood, and that took away my anger. I liked Captain Harvey, -and I knew that when he was right he would never think of giving me -a blow without any cause, so I didn't do anything, but answered, as -respectful as I could,-- - -"'I hope I am doing my duty, Captain Harvey.' - -"'You lie,' he stuttered again. - -"I did not feel called upon to give any answer to this charge. It was -as well that I didn't, for he waited a minute and then left me. - -"Well, this was the first that any of us knew of the captain's habits. -We were all sorry, even those that liked to drink themselves, for this -was the only fault we could detect in our chief officer, and it was a -pretty serious one, as it turned out. I told you, didn't I, that we -were bound for Havana?" - -"Yes," said Charlie. - -"Well, it sometimes happens that there are violent storms in those -latitudes, and the coast is dangerous to approach. Time passed, and -although Captain Harvey would have his blow-out now and then, yet there -had been no particular damage so far, perhaps because we had had pretty -quiet weather. Now, however, we had got into the region of gales, and -we all hoped the captain would keep sober. - -"But that wasn't to be. - -"One morning, I remember, we had a powerful gale. The ship was behaving -pretty well under it. She was a staunch craft when we started, and bade -fair to see a great many years' service. So, on the whole, we didn't -feel uneasy till the captain came on deck. - -"We saw at once that he was drunk, a good deal drunk, and not fit to -take care of the ship. He staggered up to the mate, and asked him how -fast the ship was going. - -"The mate reported, ten knots an hour. - -"'Ten knots an hour!' repeated the captain, contemptuously. 'Is that -all? We must go faster.' - -"'But, Captain Harvey,' said the mate, 'there is a violent gale. Do -you think it prudent to increase our speed?' - -"'Prudent!' thundered the captain, 'do you think I would give the order -if I didn't think so? Not a word more, sir, but call all hands, and -make sail.' - -"Nothing was to be done but to obey. - -"Accordingly the reefs were let out of the topsails, the top gallant -sails set, and even the fore top-mast studding sail. Now, my lad, -although you are not much of a sailor, you can understand that it was -perfect madness to carry so much sail in such a tempest. I knew at once -what would happen, and prepared for the worst. There was a hen-coop -lying on deck, and I resolved, that if the worst should come to the -worst, I would spring for that. - -"The worst did come to the worst. The ship pitched about like a mad -thing, and creaked and groaned as if she were a human being in the -greatest distress, and I can tell you the sailors looked black enough. -We felt that our lives were being risked, and all for the intemperance -of one man. That scene cured me of drinking grog. I haven't drank a -drop since." - -"Did anything happen to the ship?" - -"Yes, my lad, something did happen to the ship. A heavy sea struck her -amidships, and pitched her over upon her side. After we recovered, -we found that she was strained severely and leaking badly. Well, -the end of it was, that we had to abandon her. The rest of the crew -got on board the boats, but there wasn't fairly room, and they were -so overloaded that I thought it would be safer trusting to the old -hen-coop. They tried to get me on board the boats, but I had a kind of -suspicion that the boats wouldn't live. So I stuffed all my pockets -with biscuit, filled a tin measure with water, and trusted myself to -the hen-coop." - -"Did the boats live?" inquired Charlie, with interest. - -"Not a single one. They were never heard from again. No doubt they all -went down in the storm. - -"Well, my lad, it wasn't the pleasantest thing pitching about on a -hen-coop on the wild sea, fifty miles, at least, from land. But my -hope was, that I should be seen by some vessel bound for Havana. In -that case I knew I would be safe. I had provision enough to last me -three days, and I could make my water last as long by being sparing of -it. I had to hold on to the hen-coop pretty tight, or I should have -been washed off by some of the heavy seas. Of course, I got completely -drenched by the salt water, and what was worse, the biscuit got -drenched too, which didn't improve its taste, I can tell you. - -"So I tossed about for twenty-four hours. By this time the gale had -gone down, and the sea was more quiet. It was at this time that, -casting my eyes about to see if I could anywhere catch sight of a sail, -I descried one apparently making towards me." - -"Wer'n't you delighted?" - -"I was at first," said Bill, "but as she came nearer I tried not to -attract her notice." - -"Why?" asked Charlie, in great surprise. - -"Because, my lad, _I recognized in her the Red Rover, one of the most -noted pirates that cruised in those seas_." - - - - - XXI. - - THE PIRATE SHIP. - - -"How did you know she was a pirate?" inquired Charlie. - -"I suspected her in the first place, from her rakish look. All pirate -ships, you know, are made for speed. Besides, this particular ship had -been described to me by a messmate who had once been on board a ship -that was chased by her, though, luckily, before the pirate had a chance -to overhaul her, two other vessels came in sight, and frightened her -away. - -"As soon as I made out the approaching vessel to be the Red Rover, -I repented bitterly the signs by which I had drawn her attention. I -ceased making signals, but it was too late. She had already seen me, -and a boat was filling with men to take me on board. Finding I could -not well help myself, I concluded to make the best of it, and not show -any objection to going with the boat's crew. So when they came near, -and hailed me, asking me who I was, I answered as heartily as I could, -'Bill Sturdy, of the good ship Peregrine, bound for Havana.' - -"'And what's become of your ship?' - -"'Gone to the bottom,' I answered. - -"'How long since?' - -"'About twenty-four hours.' - -"'How did it happen?' - -"In reply, I told all the circumstances, without reserve, for -concealment would have done no good. - -"There was a little consultation on board the boat, and then the -officer in command brought it up alongside my hen-coop, and ordered me -aboard. - -"This I did with as much alacrity as possible, and I tell you, my lad, -it did seem good once more to be in a boat, even though it belonged to -a pirate, after pitching about on a hen-coop for twenty-four hours. - -"Now that I had a chance, I looked at the men that manned the boat. -They were villainous-looking cutthroats--mostly Spaniards, with dark, -lowering faces and forbidding expressions. I couldn't help turning it -over in my mind, what they would be likely to do with me. - -"It didn't take long to reach the pirate vessel. Those on board pressed -forward, as I came up and got on deck. They were all pretty much alike. -The captain was a large, stout, muscular man, though I believe," added -Bill, with some complacency, "that I could have got the better of him -in a regular rough-and-tumble fight. However, this isn't neither here -nor there. He came up to me, and made me answer over again the same -questions which had been asked me before. I answered them in the same -way. After he had got through with his questions, he fixed his sharp, -black eyes on me, and inquired, 'Do you know the name of the ship that -has picked you up?' - -"'I do,' said I, coolly, though I didn't feel as cool as I appeared. - -"'Ha!' he exclaimed, in surprise. 'What is it?' - -"'It is the Red Rover,' said I, making believe to be unconcerned. - -"'And are you acquainted with its character?" said the captain, with -another of his sharp looks. - -"'I believe so,' said I. - -"'Name it.' - -"'I think it is a pirate,' said I, not moving a muscle. - -"'Ha!' he exclaimed, looking at me rather curiously. 'Are you not -afraid to find yourself on board a pirate?' - -"'Why should I be?' I answered. 'But for you, I should have died on the -hen-coop, and I suppose, if you had meant to take away my life, you -wouldn't have taken the trouble to save me, since death was certain.' - -"'A bold fellow!' said the captain, aside, to the mate. He spoke in -the Spanish language, but I had managed to pick up some odd phrases in -that lingo, so I knew what he was driving at. The mate seemed to agree, -and they talked a little more. I didn't understand, but guessed it was -about me. - -"The pirate captain, after a short confab with the mate, turned round, -and spoke to me. 'Well, my man,' said he, 'I don't mind telling you -that you've hit the mark in guessing that this is the Red Rover, and a -pirate. I believe she has made something of a reputation for herself,' -he added, proudly. - -"I bowed. - -"'Now I have a proposal to make to you. We're rather short-handed. We -need two or three brave fellows, and I am inclined to think, from your -bearing, that you will suit us. Now, if you would like it, you shall be -admitted to equal privileges with the rest of the crew, with an equal -share of whatever booty we manage to pick up, and that I may tell you, -is not small. Here, Roderigo, step forward, and tell this man how much -your share was last year.' - -"Roderigo, a villainous-looking fellow, stepped forward, and answered, -'Nearly two thousand dollars in goods and money.' - -"'You see, then, what are the inducements. Will you join us or not?' - -"Now I very well knew what the consequences of my refusal would be, so -I replied, without a moment's hesitation, 'I will.'" - -"What, did you become a pirate?" asked Charlie, horror-struck. - -"Pretty much in the same way that you became a sailor, my lad; because -I couldn't help it." - -"And did you join in robbing vessels, and killing all on board?" - -"Hold on, my lad; you're a little too fast for me. You'll know in due -time. The pirate captain seemed pleased with my promptness, and made -me sign the book. I should have given a wrong name, only I had given -the right one when I was hailed, though, for that matter, Sturdy isn't -my right name. The captain told me, in a very polite sort of way, that -if I should undertake to play them false, or interfere with them in -any way, I should be pitched overboard. As this threat did not seem -to trouble me much, he seemed to be satisfied that it was all right -with me. In the course of a day or two, I got acquainted with the -crew. They were mostly Spaniards, but there was a sprinkling of other -nations,--French, Danes, Germans, and one Englishman." - -"Were there any Yankees?" - -"No, I'm proud to say there wasn't one except myself, and I wasn't -there of my own free will. Piracy doesn't chime in with our Yankee -notions, and it's my belief you'll find precious few full-blooded -Yankees that are engaged in the business." - -"How did you get out of their clutches?" asked Charlie. - -"That's what I'm coming to by and by. For a few days we didn't meet a -vessel, or, at least, one that was alone, and so would do to attack. -I was glad of that, for I was ready enough to do my duty on board the -ship, but I knew that, just as soon as we met a vessel, I should be -expected to do my share of the fighting, and it went against my grain -to engage in any such villainous business as that. However, I thought I -wouldn't borrow trouble, but wait till it came, and then I could decide -what to do. - -"At last I heard the cry I so much dreaded, 'Sail ho!' from one of the -crew, who had been sent aloft to give notice of an approaching vessel. - -"'Where away?' shouted the pirate captain. - -"'To the eastward.' - -"Orders were at once given to change the course of the vessel, and to -make for the stranger. As soon as she saw us she made every effort to -get away, but the Red Rover was too swift for her. When we got within -a short distance, I made out the vessel to be the Sally Ann, which had -left port about the time the Peregrine did. I knew some of those on -board very well, and the captain was an old school-mate of mine. - -"'What would they think,' I couldn't help saying to myself, with a -groan, 'if they knew their old messmate was regularly enrolled among -the crew of the pirate that is overhauling them?'" - - - - - XXII. - - HOW TO ESCAPE FROM A PIRATE. - - -Bill Sturdy paused to take a whiff at his pipe, and then resumed his -story, in which Charlie manifested no slight interest. - -"I was taken all aback," he continued, "when I found it was the Sally -Ann I was expected to join hands with the pirates against. I couldn't -help thinking of the many pleasant hours I had spent on board that -vessel, chatting and spinning yarns with the crew. What to do I didn't -know. - -"The pirates were already clearing for action, and all seemed as busy -as bees. You ought to have seen the eager look there was on their -villainous faces, as they watched the Sally Ann, just, for all the -world, like a crafty spider, lying in wait for a fat fly. - -"Just then the captain came up to where I was standing, and fixed his -sharp glance on me. 'Now, my man,' said he, 'here's a chance for you -to distinguish yourself. That vessel will no doubt prove a rich prize. -Do your duty, like a man, in the coming engagement, and you shall have -a good share of the spoils. If you don't, or if you prove false to us, -you know your fate.' - -"He pointed up to the yard-arm, as much as to say that I should be -strung up, if I refused obedience, and I've no doubt he would have kept -his word. - -"I just answered, 'Aye, aye, sir,' without looking particularly -concerned. - -"'What will you do to the crew when the ship has fallen into your -hands?' I asked. - -"'Send them to Davy Jones's locker,' he said, with no more compunction -than if he were speaking of a litter of kittens. - -"Well, I felt as if I was in a pretty tight place; some like a man I've -heard of somewhere, who was being chased by a buffalo across a large -field. At last he came to a precipice a hundred feet high. Of course, -it would be death for him to jump off, and it would be just as much -death for him to stay where he was. So he just waited till the old -buffalo was close to him, and then he dodged out of the way, and the -buffalo, who was going at full speed, leaped over the precipice, and -was dashed to pieces. Well, I thought whether I couldn't do something -of that kind. I knew that, if I shouldn't fight, the pirates would be -as good as their word, and kill me, and if I did, I should be guilty of -piracy, and be liable to be hung as a pirate, if ever I got caught." - -"That was a pretty hard choice," said Charlie. - -"So it seemed to me," said Bill. "The only thing I thought of that -would do me any good, was to turn upon the pirates some way. If I -could only have jumped into the water, unobserved, and swam to the -other ship, I would have fought to the last, in their defence." - -"Why didn't you do it?" - -"Well, my lad, there were two objections. In the first place, the -pirates would have seen what I was at, and fired at me in the water. In -the second place, the sailors on board the Sally Ann, thinking that I -was a pirate, would have suspected I was up to some mischief, and so, -most likely, they would have blazed away at me, too. So, between the -two fires, I shouldn't have stood a very good chance." - -"I don't know but you are right." - -"No, my lad, it didn't take me very long to decide that there was -nothing to be gained in this way. At that moment, I chanced to go down -below for something, when my eye rested on--what do you think?" - -"What was it?" - -"_It was a keg of powder_," said Bill, shaking the ashes from his pipe. -"Perhaps, my lad, you can guess what thought that put me up to." - -"Was it to blow them all up?" asked Charlie, in excitement. - -"You've hit it, my lad." - -"But that would be dangerous to you." - -"I knew that well enough," said the sailor. "There was precious little -chance of old Bill Sturdy living to tell the story; but, my lad, -I'll tell you what made me overlook that. I must either turn pirate -and always remain so, with a pretty considerable chance of swinging -from the gallows some time, or else be butchered by the pirates for -refusing to join them. So, as there didn't seem to be much but death in -prospect, that consideration didn't weigh much. Then I thought that, if -I did die by the explosion, I should have the satisfaction of knowing -that the rascally pirates would share my fate, and the Red Rover, the -scourge of the seas, would never do any more harm. Besides that, I -should save the Sally Ann, and the lives of the captain and crew, and -that was something glorious to think of." - -The boy's cheek glowed with sympathetic ardor, and he clasped Bill -Sturdy's rough hand, in token of understanding and appreciating his -motive. - -"That seemed the only way open to me," resumed Bill, "and I determined -to adopt it. Of course, there were nine chances out of ten that I -should be blown up with the rest of them, but still there was a -possibility of escape. I couldn't help thinking of that, and the more -I thought, the more I had a kind of feeling that I should escape. I -thought I would go up on deck a minute, before carrying out my design, -and see what was going on. Well, the pirates had about got ready for -action. The decks had been cleared, the cutlasses and pistols and other -murderous weapons had been distributed among the men, and, altogether, -there seemed precious little chance for the poor fellows on board the -Sally Ann, especially, as I knew well enough that they had no cannon, -and only a few pistols, that were not likely to do them much good. -There wasn't much time to lose, as the action was going to commence. -So I slipped down below, and fixed a slow match, so that it would -reach the powder in about a minute. I had just about got it fixed, -when who should I see coming down, but the pirate captain. It seemed -as if all my plans were going to be knocked in the head. No doubt he -suspected that all was not as it should be, and was coming down to see -what was to pay. I felt desperate, and fetched him as powerful a blow -as I was able, on the side of his head, and he fell like an ox, pretty -effectually stunned." - -"What next?" - -"The next thing I did was to hurry upon deck. 'Where's the captain?' -asked the mate. 'He'll be up directly,' said I. And so he was, but not -in the sense that he understood it. - -"Well, I listened on deck for about half a minute, in a terrible state -of anxiety, you may be sure. Then, feeling that it was not safe for me -to stay any longer, I jumped into the water, and began to swim towards -the Sally Ann. As my head rose above the water, I saw the mate about to -fire at me, and I dove. When my head was fairly out of water again, -such a sound as smote upon my ear! The light had reached the powder, -and there was a terrible explosion. The ship was shattered to pieces. -The pirates were hurled into the air, some with mutilated limbs, and -I rather think that some of them were considerably astonished. The -captain did go up as I promised. He was flung a hundred feet into the -air, and never came down again alive. For my part, I was lucky enough -to reach the Sally Ann, untouched by the falling fragments. When they -found out who I was, and how I had saved them, their gratitude knew -no bounds. The owners made up a purse of two thousand dollars, and -presented it to me." - -"And what did you do with it?" - -"When I got back to Boston, I put it in one of the places you call -Savings Banks, and I expect it's there now." - - - - - XXIII. - - ANTONIO'S PLOT. - - -Such is a specimen of the yarns--sometimes true, sometimes spun out of -whole cloth--with which the sailors amused themselves and beguiled the -tedium of the night-watch. - -The companionship of honest and stout-hearted Bill Sturdy proved a -great source of happiness to Charlie, and enabled him to bear up, as -otherwise he might have found it difficult to do, under the hardships -of his condition, the persecution of the captain and the mate, who had -not forgotten their animosity, and the uncertainty he could not but -feel as to the situation in which his mother was left, with the painful -doubt as to whether she would be able to support herself till he could -return and relieve her necessities. - -"When we get back, my lad," said Bill Sturdy, "I'll put half that money -in the Savings Bank in your name, so that if you and your mother want -it at any time, you can use it." - -"No, Bill," said Charlie, earnestly, "you are very kind, but I couldn't -consent to that." - -"And why not, my lad? What do I want of it? I've got neither chick nor -child, and am not likely to have. I've taken a fancy to you, and the -money'll do you more good than me." - -"You are _very_ kind," said Charlie, gratefully; "but I mustn't take -advantage of your generosity." - -"Nonsense, my lad. I know what it is to be a poor boy, without money or -friends, and nowadays money will bring friends. Mayhap it'll start you -in some business, and when you get rich you can pay me; or if, by and -by, I take a notion to come to anchor on shore, you'll give me a corner -in your house, where I can smoke my pipe and spin my yarns." - -"That I will, Bill," said Charlie, seizing the old sailor's rough hand. -"If I have a roof to cover me, it shall cover you too." - -"Thank you, my lad," said Bill. "I know you would." - -Under Bill Sturdy's rough exterior there was a kind heart which warmed -to our young hero, partly because of his solitary position on board, -partly on account of his manliness and attractive qualities. So they -became fast friends. - -Charlie did not find his duties altogether distasteful. He was a -bright, active boy, not without ambition, and resolved to do himself -credit in his new position, however it may have been forced upon him. -For this reason it was that the captain and the mate, although they -watched him with lynx eyes, hoping that he would afford them some -pretext for showing their rancorous feelings towards him, watched -ineffectually. By his activity, and his frank and manly disposition, -he was fast ingratiating himself with the crew, who were the more -disposed to espouse his cause, because they could not fail to notice -the injustice with which the officers treated him. - -But trouble was brewing for Charlie, and soon the storm broke forth. - -The scuffle between Bill Sturdy and Antonio, of which Charlie was the -occasion, will not have been forgotten. Antonio had before hated Bill -on account of his superiority in strength, which deprived him of his -former champion's life. This feeling was increased by the issue of the -contest which had resulted in his humiliation and defeat, and his anger -was also stirred up against Charlie, who had been the occasion of it. -Yet he did not dare to venture upon abuse, because it was generally -understood that Bill Sturdy had constituted himself Charlie's especial -friend and protector. - -But there were other ways of compassing his end. Antonio was subtile. -He felt that his revenge must be a more secret one, and he desired that -it should involve both Bill Sturdy and his _protégé_. If he could only -involve Charlie in some offence which would draw upon him the active -displeasure of the captain, and subject him to public punishment, -he felt sure that Bill Sturdy would not stand tamely by and see it -inflicted, while any interference would be insubordination, and get his -rival into serious trouble. - -After reflection Antonio decided to implicate Charlie in a charge of -theft. It happened that the captain had a valuable gold ring, set -with diamonds, which, for reasons unnecessary to state, he prized even -beyond its pecuniary value. Captain Brace, however, was not a careful -man. He would sometimes take off his ring, and lay it down on the cabin -table. On one occasion Antonio, while upon deck, observed the captain -pass, and ascertained by a swift glance that the ring was not upon his -finger. He watched his opportunity, and slipping down into the cabin, -found, as he anticipated, the ring upon the table. It was the work of a -moment to snatch and conceal it in his pocket. - -He returned to the work in which he had been engaged, and resumed it, -supposing he had not been observed. - -In this he was mistaken. - -Bill Sturdy had had his eye upon him from the time of his difficulty -with him. He could see Antonio's craftiness in his face, and the -apparent affability and conciliatory manner of the latter afterwards -had by no means deceived him. - -"Look out for squalls," thought he. "He's too fair seeming to be -trusted. I've no doubt he's hatching up something or other. I'll keep a -sharp lookout for him." - -When Antonio made his stealthy visit to the cabin, as above described, -the vigilant eye of Bill Sturdy was upon him and his movements. - -In a moment he reappeared. Bill saw it all out of the corner of his -eye, though he appeared to be looking in just the opposite direction. - -"What's the fellow up to?" he thought. "Some mischief, I reckon. What -business has he in the cabin? I must watch him." - -Of course, Antonio's object will be understood. He meant to place the -ring in Charlie's chest, and when the loss should be discovered by the -captain, he would suggest that a general search should be instituted, -the result of which must involve our young hero. - -Charlie was, of course, quite unconscious of the machinations which -were being formed against him, and even Bill was not yet quite certain -for what purpose Antonio had made his visit to the cabin. - -Antonio felt the necessity of doing quickly what he had in -contemplation. - -Going below, he made his way to the chest belonging to our hero, and, -lifting the cover, for it was unlocked, let the ring drop into one -corner. - -Bill Sturdy saw his second disappearance from the deck. He could not -ascertain precisely what he was doing, without following him,--a -thing which he did not wish to do, since it would arouse Antonio's -suspicions, and place him on his guard. - -Antonio came up with an expression of malicious satisfaction, which -Bill did not fail to notice. - -"I wish," he thought, "I knew exactly what the fellow has been doing." - -Bill was destined to learn ere long. - -The captain went below, and glanced carelessly at the place where he -remembered to have left the ring. To his surprise, it had disappeared. - -"What can have become of it?" he thought. - -He instituted a careful examination, but did not succeed in finding the -lost article. - -He prized it beyond its actual value, which was considerable, and began -to feel alarmed. It occurred to him that he might have been mistaken -about leaving it on the table. It might possibly have been dropped upon -deck. - -Going on deck, he communicated his loss to the crew and requested a -general search. - -"I think, Captain Brace," said Antonio, officiously, "that I can guess -where it is." - -"Where?" - -"I saw that boy have it," pointing to Charlie. - -"It's a lie!" exclaimed Charlie, surprised and indignant. - -"We'll see about that," said the captain, with a sneer. "Do you know -what he did with it, Antonio?" - -"I think he may have hidden it in his chest." - -"Let his chest be brought on deck, and publicly examined. If he is -found guilty, he shall be punished, as sure as my name is Brace." - - - - - XXIV. - - CHARLIE GETS INTO TROUBLE. - - -Charlie, at first taken by surprise when the charge of theft was -brought against him, now looked scornfully indignant. Ignorant of the -ways of the world, and the wickedness of which some men are capable, he -never, for a moment, feared the result of the investigation. As for the -crew, they had already become interested in his favor, and now pitied -him for the unfortunate position in which he found himself placed. None -of them believed him guilty. - -As the captain had directed, his chest was brought on deck. - -Before this was searched, however, he was subjected to a personal -examination, at which nothing was discovered. There was a murmur of -satisfaction. - -"The lad never stole the ring," said a stout seaman, standing next to -the real perpetrator of the crime, Antonio. - -"Don't be too sure of that," said the Spaniard, in a malignant tone. -"His chest hasn't been searched yet." - -"I don't care for that; I can tell by his face. A lad, with such a -figure-head as that, wouldn't do anything mean or dishonorable." - -"You seem to have taken a great fancy to him," sneered Antonio. "You -mustn't trust too much to appearances. He looks to me as if he were -guilty." - -Charlie's cheeks were flushed, but not with shame or confusion. It was -indignation, that he should be suspected of such a disgraceful crime. - -By his side stood Bill Sturdy, who took an opportunity of whispering -into his ear, "Never you mind, my lad, even if the ring is found in -your chest." - -"But it isn't there," said Charlie. - -"It may be," said Bill, who, by this time, suspected the nature of -Antonio's two errands below. - -"How should it be there?" asked Charlie quite in the dark. - -"It might have been put there, my lad." - -"But who could put it there?" persisted our hero, but little -enlightened. - -"Hark you, my lad," said Bill, still farther lowering his tones; -"you've got more than one enemy on board this ship." - -"The mate?" - -"Yes, and the captain too, for that matter." - -"But neither of them would put the ring in my chest." - -"No, probably not." - -"Then who would?" - -"There is another enemy besides these two." - -"Do you mean Antonio?" - -"Yes." - -"But he seemed friendly lately." - -"He isn't to be trusted, my lad. He's borne a grudge against both of us -ever since I got the better of him the other day, and he's made up his -mind to be revenged. I've been watching him when he didn't suspect it, -and know more than he thinks I do." - -"Do you know anything of this affair, Bill?" asked Charlie, looking up -hopefully into the face of his friend. - -"I expect I do." - -"What is it?" questioned our hero, eagerly. - -"I shall save it till it will do some good. But see, they have nearly -finished searching your chest. Perhaps the ring is not there after all." - -As Bill said, the search was nearly completed. Charlie's clothes had -been unceremoniously tumbled out upon deck, which was not calculated -to improve their appearance, and the captain and mate, who had shown -themselves particularly active on the occasion, were peering about in -search of the lost ring. - -It chanced, however, that the ring had got in a fold of one of the -shirts which lay upon deck. Of course, therefore, the search in the -chest proved unavailing. - -"I doubt whether it is here," said the captain, in a tone of -disappointment. - -"Let us look a little longer," said the mate, who could not so easily -resign the chance of getting into trouble the boy whom he hated with a -malevolence such as his nature was capable of. - -Antonio became alarmed at the prospect of all his plans being -frustrated by a failure to find the ring. - -When the mate also gave up the search, he came forward, and, addressing -the captain, said,-- - -"Captain Brace, if you will let me assist in the search, perhaps I can -succeed in finding it." - -"You are the one that saw the boy have it, are you?" queried the -captain. - -"Yes, sir." - -"How long since?" - -"About half an hour." - -"Why did you not mention it at the time?" - -"I thought perhaps he had only picked it up, and would give it back to -you," said the Spaniard, in some confusion. "I didn't want to charge -him with the theft till I felt sure he meant to steal it." - -"And what makes you feel sure he did so intend?" - -"Because when you said the ring was lost, he did not come forward and -restore it." - -"Ay," said Captain Brace, "that is strongly against him. If it is -found that he has concealed it anywhere, he shall repent it, by----" - -It is unnecessary to stain our pages by printing the oath with which he -emphasized this assertion. - -"What reason have you for supposing that he concealed it in his chest?" -asked the mate. - -"Because I saw him go down below," answered Antonio, with unblushing -falsehood. - -"It's a lie," said Charlie, boldly. "I haven't been below this morning." - -"Silence!" thundered the captain, scowling menacingly; "don't add -falsehood to theft." - -"I haven't been guilty of theft," said Charlie boldly. - -"Silence!" again thundered the captain, "or it will be the worse for -you." - -"You had better not say anything more, my lad," whispered Bill Sturdy; -"we shall yet bring you off with flying colors. Don't you fear. Bill -Sturdy is your friend, and he will stand by you." - -Charlie looked grateful. - -When his statement had been so unequivocably denied by our hero, -Antonio suffered himself to look at him for one instant, but in that -brief glance was concentrated so much of spite and venom and malice, -that the boy could not help shuddering, as if the countenance of a -fiend had been unexpectedly revealed to him. - -"I think, Captain Brace," said Randall, "that we may venture to let -Antonio assist us, since he may succeed where we have failed." - -"Very well," said the captain, "I have no objection to offer. On the -contrary, if he succeeds in finding it, I will take care that he shall -be rewarded." - -Antonio was already on his knees before the chest. There was a murmur -of disapprobation among the crew. They were in favor of fair play, -and this undue eagerness to convict our hero of guilt did not commend -itself to their sense of justice and generosity. But Antonio cared -little for the sensation which his conduct might excite among his -fellow-seamen. He cared more for the gratification of his revenge than -for personal popularity. - -A glance satisfied him that the ring was not in the chest. He next -began to examine carefully the clothes which had been taken out and -were lying on deck. - -In lifting and shaking a shirt the ring rolled out. - -"_There is your ring_, Captain Brace," said he, in a tone of -exultation, as he picked it up and extended it to the captain. - - - - - XXV. - - THE REAL CULPRIT IS DISCOVERED. - - -The discovery of the ring made a profound impression upon all present. -The sailors looked at first surprised, and then sorrowful, for they -could not escape the conviction that Charlie had been tempted by the -richness of the prize and had actually stolen it. - -Charlie was overwhelmed with astonishment and indignation, and the -thought that he was considered guilty made him feel very uncomfortable. - -The captain, the mate, and Antonio could hardly conceal the -satisfaction which this discovery afforded them. Each had motives -of his own, the captain being, of course, glad to recover an article -which he valued, but of the three perhaps there was none that felt a -more malicious satisfaction than the one who had devised the plot. He -glanced exultantly at Charlie and Bill Sturdy, who he knew would be -equally affected by his favorite's misfortune. - -Bill Sturdy returned his glance composedly. Antonio was disappointed -to find that he neither looked disturbed nor frightened. Bill waited -calmly the course of events. - -Captain Brace exclaimed in his harsh voice, "It seems we have a thief -on board. We'll soon teach him the way all such rascals will be treated -on board this ship. Boy, take off your jacket." - -"Captain Brace," said Charlie, with glowing cheeks, and in a tone that -might have convinced any one not prejudiced against him, "just hear -what I am going to say. I didn't steal your ring, indeed I didn't. I -would scorn to do such a thing. Ever since I could speak my mother has -taught me how mean a thing it is to take what belongs to another. I -own that appearances are against me." - -Here Randall stepped forward with an evil smile upon his face. - -"Captain Brace, as I am the uncle of this boy, perhaps you will allow -me to tell you how much dependence can be placed upon his word. He is -an artful young rascal. I am sorry to say it, since he is related to -me, but the fact is, he was on the point of being arrested for theft -just before we sailed, when I, to protect him from imprisonment, and -snatch him from the custody of the law, took him to sea with me. I have -said this against my will, because, although I know you, Captain Brace, -would not be imposed upon by his story, I thought there might be others -that would." - -The sailors looked at each other, not knowing what to think, while the -captain exclaimed, sternly, "So this is not the first of your tricks, -my fine fellow. You shall have justice done you on the sea, if not on -the land. Strip, I tell you." - -Charlie was so thunderstruck by Randall's bold falsehood that he -actually had nothing to say. He mechanically began to take off his -jacket. - -At this moment the clarion voice of Bill Sturdy was heard, as, hitching -up his trousers a bit, he left the mast against which he had been -leaning, and advanced into the midst of the assembled sailors. - -"Captain Brace," he said, in a tone firm but respectful, "if you'll -allow me, I'll tell you what I know of this affair." - -"So you know something about it, do you?" - -"I thought so," said Randall, in a low voice, for he had disliked Bill -from the first. - -"I do," was the composed reply, "but I have no reason to be ashamed of -what I do know." - -"I think," said the mate, "we already know all that we require, since -we have discovered the thief." - -He was apprehensive, from Bill's tone, that what he had to say might -put a different face on the matter, and perhaps clear Charlie. - -Captain Brace, however, did not choose to be guided by the implied -advice of his first officer. He had a curiosity to learn what Sturdy -had to communicate. - -"Say on; what do you know of this affair?" - -"Very well, sir. About an hour ago you came up from the cabin and began -to pace the deck." - -The captain assented. - -"As you passed I observed one of the crew take a hasty glance at your -finger. I looked also, and saw that you were not wearing your ring as -usual." - -"Well?" - -"The sailor that I mentioned just now." - -"Who was he?" - -"I would rather not mention his name just at present, unless you insist -upon it." - -The captain did not insist, and Sturdy proceeded. - -"I thought I would just keep my eyes open, and see what followed. -Pretty soon the sailor I spoke of looked about him to see if he was -unnoticed, and crept slyly down below. A little later he came up and -went to work again." - -"Was that all?" - -"It was not," answered Sturdy. "He kept at work about ten minutes -longer, and then stole towards the forecastle with the same secrecy as -before. I should have followed him down, but I thought he would notice -me. My mind misgave me that he was in some mischief. I determined I -would remember what happened, and if anything turned up, I should know -how it came about." - -"And what do you make of all this?" said Randall, sneering. "To my mind -it is a foolish story, and, even if true, amounts to nothing." - -"I'll tell you what I think, and am about sure of, Mr. Randall," said -Bill, without betraying a particle of excitement, but continuing to -speak with the same calm composure as before, "I believe that man in -the first place stole the captain's ring, and then went and put it into -the lad's chest, in order that it might be found there, and the guilt -fixed on him." - -This assertion made a sensation among the crew, and there was a general -feeling that Charlie was innocent. - -"Who is this man of whom you have been speaking?" said the captain. - -"I don't need to name him," said Bill. "I don't need even to look at -him. If you will look around you, Captain Brace, you can tell by his -looks who the man is that has hatched this wicked plot against an -innocent boy." - -Instantly the eyes of all, as if by some common impulse, were fixed -upon the form of Antonio, who, confused, thunderstruck by the minute -detail of his movements, which he had supposed unnoticed by any one, -now stood with his face alternately flushing and paling, looking the -very picture of confession and detected guilt. - -Unable to bear the glances fixed upon him, he exclaimed, in a voice -hoarse with passion, "It is false. I never did it." - -"No one has accused you that I know of," said Bill Sturdy, coolly. -"Leastways, nobody that I know of, excepting yourself, and your face is -enough to do that. However, I don't mind saying that you are the man I -mean. If Captain Brace will take the trouble to remember, you are the -first one that thought of searching for the ring, and told him falsely -that you had seen it in the hands of that lad there. Then again, when -the chest had been searched, and the ring couldn't be found, you came -forward and offered to look for it yourself, and finally you did find -it. That's all I've got to say, only, if you are not the real thief I -am a liar, and so is that face of yours." - -Carried away by his rage, Antonio, forgetting the prudence which his -past experience might have taught him, threw himself suddenly upon Bill -Sturdy, and nearly succeeded in laying him prostrate upon the deck. - - - - - XXVI. - - A STORM BREWING. - - -Antonio's assault was so unexpected that Bill Sturdy, being, of course, -quite unprepared for it, staggered and seemed about to fall. But, as -one who slips upon the ice instinctively makes an effort to preserve -his equilibrium, so Sturdy immediately recovered from the momentary -disadvantage, and seizing Antonio with both hands threw him to the deck -without any great apparent effort. - -Probably if Antonio had gained the advantage, Captain Brace would have -been in no haste to put a stop to the conflict. As it was, his brows -knit with anger as he exclaimed, in a stentorian voice,-- - -"Stop this fighting, you lubbers! Don't you know better the respect -which is due to my presence, you--rascals! I'll let you know that I am -not to be insulted on my own deck." - -"It wasn't a fight of my seeking, Captain Brace," said Bill, coolly. "I -ain't disposed to be quarrelsome, and I guess he won't want to try it -again immediately." - -As he said this he glanced at Antonio, who, sorely bruised by the fall, -was slowly rising from the deck, and slinking away with a crestfallen -and malignant look. Had he not been moved by an uncontrollable impulse -of rage and disappointment, he would scarcely have ventured upon this -open attack, knowing, as had been incontestably proved, that he was no -match for the Herculean strength of Bill Sturdy. - -"Silence!" roared the captain, in answer to Bill's vindication of -himself. "One would think from your manner that you were the captain of -this ship instead of me." - -"If I were the captain," said Bill, bluntly, "I'd have that man," -pointing to Antonio, "put ashore at the first port. I wouldn't harbor -such a rascal aboard the ship." - -"Silence!" again thundered the captain. "Don't you know your place? If -you don't, by all the saints in the calendar, I'll make you know it -before twenty-four hours have passed over your head. Let me tell you -that I don't require any help in commanding this vessel. When I do, I -will call on you. Till then, you may keep your advice to yourself." - -Bill shrugged his shoulders, but thought it prudent, on the whole, to -say nothing. Not that he feared for himself. He had a good deal of -confidence in the strength with which nature had endowed him, but he -feared that any unguarded words of his might incite the captain and -mate to visit new hardships upon his young _protégé_, Charlie. - -"As to the matter of the ring," said the captain, "my mind is not made -up. Mr. Randall, will you attend me?" - -The mate went below with Captain Brace. - -After a moment's silence the captain said, "I don't like that fellow, -Mr. Randall." - -"Do you mean Antonio?" - -"No; this Sturdy, who takes such airs upon himself." - -"Neither do I," answered Randall, promptly. - -"He's a mutinous rebel. I can see it in his eye," pursued the captain. - -"I have no doubt he would be if he had a good opportunity." - -"Perhaps I shall give him one," said the captain, significantly. - -"He's as strong as a bull," said the mate. - -"Yes; the fellow has fists like sledge-hammers, but he may use them -once too often. We will speak of that hereafter. Now what do you think -of this robbery?" - -"I suppose Antonio was the thief," said Randall, reluctantly. - -"You think Sturdy's story is correct?" - -"Yes; Antonio is a deep rascal, though of the two I hate Sturdy most." - -"Did you suppose your nephew to be the thief before the latter told his -story?" - -"I did not." - -"Yet you countenanced the charge." - -"Because I thought a flogging would do the boy no harm." - -"You don't seem to have any great affection for your nephew." - -"I do not." - -"And the reason?" - -"Is simply this. The boy's mother jilted me, or rather refused me -outright when I offered my hand in marriage." - -"Ha, that's where the shoe pinches." - -"You are right." - -"Well, I don't care to interfere with any little private revenge you -may desire to take, as long as it chimes in with my own purposes. The -boy shall be flogged if you wish it." - -"I do." - -"Find some pretext then, as long as the charge of robbery won't serve." - -"Then," said Randall, "you might announce that, although the charge of -theft had not been sustained, he had been guilty of an offence that -called for punishment--insolence to his officers." - -"That is a good idea. And in regard to Antonio----" - -"I have no doubt the rascal stole the ring, and deserves punishment, -but I don't want him flogged, as it would gratify Sturdy too much." - -"My own feeling." - -"You can say that you have been unable to determine who is guilty in -the matter, and shall wait for further evidence." - -"Very well conceived, Mr. Randall. I shall follow your advice, and -thank you for it." - -"I am glad to have been of service to you, Captain Brace." - -"And now, Mr. Randall, if you will go on deck, I will be up presently." - -The mate reappeared on deck with a satisfied air, occasionally looking -with a glance of triumphant spite at Charlie, who was standing beside -his tried and trusty friend, Bill Sturdy. - -"You don't know what's in store for you, my lad," he muttered. "Pity -his mother could not be here to see his fair flesh quivering under the -keen lash. Her heart would feel every stroke. She might repent then, -the scorn with which she repelled the suit of John Randall. How I hate -that boy! He brings up his father before me. So much the better. When -he shrinks beneath the lash, I shall think it is my old rival upon whom -it is falling." - -Bill Sturdy, meanwhile, said in a low voice to Charlie, "I don't like -the looks of the mate this morning. He's hatching mischief of some -kind, if I'm not greatly mistaken." - -"Against us?" - -"That's what I mistrust, my lad; against one or both of us. He hates us -both, and I ain't quite sure which he hates the most." - -"And yet I never did him any injury." - -"Then he's done you some harm, depend upon it. People hate worst those -they have injured most, and he's done you a great wrong in stealing -you from home." - -"What do you suppose made him do that, Bill?" - -"He had some private reason; there ain't a question about that. It -wasn't because we were in want of a boy. We might have picked up plenty -that would have been glad to come." - -"I'm afraid you'll get into trouble with him for taking my part," said -Charlie, with some anxiety. - -"Don't trouble yourself about me," said Sturdy, shrugging his -shoulders. "I ain't in any way frightened by his black looks, and if he -tries to do you any mischief, he'll find you've got one friend." - -Before Charlie had an opportunity to reply, Captain Brace came on deck, -and looked around him with a glance that showed a storm was brewing. - - - - - XXVII. - - THE LASH. - - -"Pipe all hands to see punishment inflicted," ordered Captain Brace. - -Charlie and Bill Sturdy looked at each other, uncertain where the blow -was to fall. - -"It must be Antonio," thought our hero. - -Evidently Antonio was of the same opinion, for over his swarthy face -there stole a pallor which showed his apprehension. - -Such was the understanding of the crew also, as they could think of -no other wrongdoer. Little pity was excited in behalf of the supposed -sufferer. He had so abused his position when champion of the crew, -that he had forfeited the good-will of all; and even if this had not -been the case, his treacherous and mean attempt to bring Charlie into -trouble would have been sufficient to bring him into disfavor. - -The uncertainty as to the victim was dissipated by the captain's next -words. - -"Jack Randall, come here!" - -Charlie came forward. - -"Boy," said Captain Brace, sternly, "you were guilty of insolence to me -this morning. This shall never go unpunished while I am in command of -a vessel. As to the ring, you may or may not have stolen it. It rests -between you and Antonio. As it cannot be proved of either, neither will -be punished on this account." - -Antonio's sallow face lighted up with joy at this unexpected escape, a -joy which was not reflected on the faces of the crew. - -"It is for insolence, therefore, and not on account of theft," pursued -the captain, "that I sentence you, Jack Randall, to a dozen lashes on -the bare back. Off with your jacket!" - -Charlie was a brave boy, but the prospect of this ignominious -punishment caused his check to pale and his voice to tremble, as he -exclaimed, "Captain Brace, if I have been guilty of insolence or want -of proper respect to you, it was not intentional. Do not compel me to -submit to this disgraceful punishment." - -There was a movement of sympathy among the crew, and more than one -heart softened at the sight of Charlie's manly front, though his lips -quivered, and pride alone kept back the tears from his eyes. Bill -Sturdy started, but checked himself, to hear what the captain would say -in response. - -"It is too late," he said, coldly. "You should have thought of all that -before you indulged in insolence." - -"But----" - -"It is too late, I say," roared the captain, irritated. "Strip, you -young rascal, or you shall have some help about it, and that of a rough -kind." - -It seemed as if all chance of escape was over for poor Charlie. But at -that moment Bill Sturdy pressed forward, and, hitching up his trousers, -as he was wont to do preparatory to speaking, said, in a distinct tone -of voice, "Captain Brace." - -"Well?" said the captain. "What have you to say?" - -"I should like to make a proposal to you, sir." - -"A proposal," repeated the captain, mystified. "What am I to understand -by that?" - -"It's just this, Captain Brace. You're the captain of this vessel, and -you've got a right to flog that boy, I suppose, according to the law. - -"Of course I have," said the captain, fiercely. "Do you presume to -question that right?" - -"I don't think proper to question it just now," said Bill; "but, -Captain Brace, just look at that boy. Look at his bright, honest face, -and you can't have the heart to abuse him." - -"Abuse him!" exclaimed the captain, stamping on the deck in his fury; -"say that again, and I'll have you flogged with him." - -"It was something of that kind that I was going to propose," said Bill -Sturdy. - -Captain Brace stared at him in astonishment, a feeling which was shared -by the crew. - -"If you want to be flogged," said the captain, grimly, "we will try to -accommodate you." - -"It is in this way that I mean," exclaimed Bill. "I've taken a liking -to that lad, and I've promised him I'll stand his friend. Now, Captain -Brace, if somebody must be flogged, spare him, and flog me in his -place." - -Surprise was depicted on every face, and the sunburnt and rough-visaged -men about him felt an involuntary thrill of respect and admiration, -as Sturdy manfully came forward and offered his own back to the -punishment, which is properly regarded as an insult to manhood, though -the disgrace attaches not to the one who endures, but to the one who -inflicts it. - -Charlie was the first to speak. His generous heart revolted at the idea -of escaping punishment at the expense of his friend. - -"No, Bill Sturdy," said he, manfully, "I don't want you to suffer in my -place. It'll be hard to bear it," and his lip quivered; "but it would -be weak and cowardly for me to let anybody else suffer in my place." - -Charlie began to take off his jacket. - -There was a murmuring among the crew, testifying to the excitement -which they felt. - -"Put on your jacket, my lad," said Bill. "I'm older and tougher than -you, and I can bear it better." - -And the stout seaman pulled off his shirt, and displayed his brawny -shoulders, and a chest whose breadth and depth betokened a strength -which could not be styled less than Herculean. - -Antonio looked on, his eye blazing with vindictive joy. Whichever was -flogged, his satisfaction would be equal. - -"Hark you!" exclaimed Captain Brace, interfering at this juncture. "I -think that I shall choose to have a voice in this matter. So you wish," -turning to Sturdy, "to relieve this boy of his punishment, do you?" - -"I do," said the old seaman. - -"I don't want him to," interrupted Charlie. "It is mine, and I will -bear it." - -"It seems the parties are not agreed," said the captain, sardonically. - -"Spare him," said Bill Sturdy, his eyes resting affectionately on -Charlie. "He is so young." - -"Perhaps the best way in which I can please you both is to divide the -punishment between you. I had sentenced this lad to receive twelve -lashes. Since you wish to do him a service, you shall receive six, and -he the other six." - -"I do not consent," said Sturdy, comprehending the captain's purpose to -humiliate both. "If his back is to receive a single lash, my offer will -not save him from the disgrace, and that is worse than the pain." - -At this juncture the mate whispered something in the captain's ear. - -The face of the latter lighted up with satisfaction, and his next words -revealed the nature of the mate's suggestion. - -"I consent to the substitution," he said, and then paused. - -Bill Sturdy's face glowed with generous satisfaction, and with heroic -forgetfulness of self, he began to strip for punishment. - -A moment, and his back, broad and ample, was bared and the thick, -corded muscles could be seen. - -"Antonio, come forward," said Captain Brace. - -Antonio advanced amid the general surprise of the crew, and somewhat to -his own, and stood still, awaiting orders. - -"Now," said Captain Brace, his tone showing his malignant satisfaction. -"I appoint you as my deputy to administer twelve lashes to this man; -mind that you don't spare him." - -Antonio did not need this injunction. His eyes were full of fiendish -triumph, as he seized the instrument of torture, and flourished it -above his head. - -As for Bill Sturdy, when he knew that Antonio was to be employed to -inflict punishment upon him, this refinement of torture shook his -resolution for a moment. It was, indeed, the bitterest drop in the cup. -But not for an instant did his resolution falter. He would save Charlie -at all hazards. He quickly recovered himself, and said, in a firm -voice, "I am ready." - -Instantly the lash was whirled aloft, and buried itself in his flesh. - -There was a quiver, and that was all. - -One--two--three--four-- - -In fast succession the blows fall upon his flesh, he meanwhile standing -firmly braced, though his cheek was paler than its wont. - -Charlie's heart sickened, and he closed his eyes to shut out the -fearful spectacle. - -As for Antonio, he seemed to revel in the task which had been assigned -him. His eyes fairly danced with baleful light, and he seemed almost -beside himself. It was this, perhaps, that led him to exceed by one -the strokes which he had been ordered to administer. - -A moment after, and the lash was wrested from him by Bill Sturdy, who -threw him to the deck, with one powerful grasp tore the covering from -his back, and buried the lash which had scarred his own back in the -flesh of his late executioner who with face distorted with fright and -pain roared for mercy. - -"That is to pay for the blow you struck on your own account, you -scoundrel," exclaimed Sturdy. "And now," as the lash descended once -more with prodigious force, and the victim fairly writhed under it, -"you are one in my debt." - - - - - XXVIII. - - TWO CONFERENCES. - - -So strongly were the sympathies of the crew with Sturdy, more -especially since he had shown himself capable of such disinterested and -heroic self-sacrifice, and so decidedly were their feelings enlisted -against Antonio, who acted like a fiend rather than a man in the -execution of the welcome duty assigned him by the captain, that this -sudden turning of the tables, the summary revenge taken by Bill Sturdy -in return for the additional blow Antonio had inflicted, was greeted -with a triumphant shout from the sailors, which seemed to spring from -them spontaneously. - -Captain Brace bit his lip, and Randall's face darkened with rage. They -felt that the humiliation which they had intended for Bill Sturdy had -recoiled upon the head of their own agent. - -The worst of it was they could not prudently resent it. Antonio had -in the eyes of all been guilty of a glaring offence in exceeding his -orders, and had justly brought upon himself the punishment he had -received. However, the justice or injustice of the matter would have -weighed little with Captain Brace if he had not been assured that -it would not be safe for him to go further. The law, at the time of -which I am speaking, gave almost unlimited power to the commander of -a vessel over the lives and liberties of those who were placed under -him, yet most were aware that there was a point at which it was wise to -pause. At the commencement of the scene, there had been audible murmurs -among the crew, the significance of which the captain and mate would -understand. The habit of subordination, and the knowledge that this -was in a certain sense a voluntary act on the part of Bill Sturdy, -had prevented anything more, but if the captain had gone to greater -extremities, the consequences might have been serious. - -Meanwhile Antonio picked himself up, smarting under the terrible wounds -which had been inflicted by the lash wielded with the whole of Bill -Sturdy's enormous strength. Indeed, although he had received but two -stripes, and his enemy thirteen, it may be doubted whether the pain -inflicted by those two were not equal to that of the greater number. - -Antonio had slunk down into the forecastle to bathe his back and obtain -fresh clothes, for his shirt had been rent asunder. Bill Sturdy, on -the other hand, proceeded to attire himself on deck and went about -his work, without showing outwardly the pain which he must have been -suffering. - -Captain Brace took no public notice of the retribution which had -followed the punishment. He didn't dare to act as he wished, and -therefore chose to pass it unnoticed. But an hour afterwards, as he sat -in conference with the mate, his fury burst the bounds he had imposed -upon it. - -"Curse that fellow!" he exclaimed. "Is he forever destined to thwart my -designs? I felt that I could willingly have flogged him myself till -the last breath left his body." - -"It is a pity Antonio ventured to exceed his orders." - -"Yes, the fool was richly repaid for his act, but I could wish it had -been by a different hand." - -"That extra blow gave Sturdy a pretext for his summary vengeance. -But for that his conduct could have been construed into mutiny and -disrespect to you." - -"And then I might have put him in irons." - -"You might do it now, but for----" - -"But for the crew, you would say. That alone prevents me. The fellow, -unluckily, has secured their sympathy. Would that I could devise some -way for taking vengeance safely upon this rebellious scoundrel." - -The mate leaned his head upon his hand, and gave himself up to -reflection. Something occurred to him, for lifting his head again, he -asked,-- - -"Have you ever been in Rio Janeiro, Captain Brace?" - -"Never but once, and that some nine or ten years since." - -"There are desperadoes in that city, as in others," pursued Randall, -fixing his eyes intently upon the captain. - -"I do not quite catch your meaning, Mr. Randall." - -"Men who are little troubled by conscientious scruples, but are willing -to undertake the most dangerous and illegal enterprises--_for small -consideration_. - -"I begin to understand you now," said the captain. - -"Shall I proceed?" - -"Do so." - -The mate rightly construed this into an intimation that his -proposition, though hinting at crime, would not prove distasteful to -the captain. This, knowing the character of his superior officer, did -not surprise him, and he proceeded. - -"I think you apprehend my meaning, Captain Brace. This man is a thorn -in our sides. He is exerting a bad influence on board the ship. He is -undermining your influence with the crew." - -"That is all true, Mr. Randall. What, then, is your advice in this -state of affairs?" - -"My advice is, that this fellow _should be removed_." - -"To a place better fitted for him," suggested the captain, with a grim -smile. - -"Precisely so." - -"And through the agency of such men as you have spoken of?" - -"That is my proposition." - -"It deserves thinking of. May I ask if you have any acquaintance among -the fraternity, or whether you have ever had any occasion to employ -their services?" - -"I did on one occasion." - -"Do you mind giving the particulars?" - -"To you, no. Some years since I shipped as common sailor on board the -Porcupine, bound from New York to Rio. On the voyage one of the sailors -on several occasions insulted me, and I determined upon revenge. At Rio -I fell in with a desperate character, who for a comparatively small sum -engaged to do my bidding." - -"Well?" - -"There is not much to tell. One night this man was passing through -a narrow street, quite unsuspicious of danger, when he was suddenly -struck from behind by a bludgeon, and--_he never came back to the -ship_." - -"Did no suspicion attach to you?" - -"How should there? Who was to betray me? Not my agent, or in so doing -he would betray himself. This is the first time I have ever spoken of -it, but I am safe with you." - -"Perfectly. You say the consideration was small." - -"Fifty dollars only. I dare say the fellow considered himself well -paid. Besides he took whatever his victim had about him." - -"Thank you for the suggestion, Mr. Randall. I will furnish the money, -if you will undertake the management of the business when we reach Rio." - -"With pleasure," replied the mate, and he probably spoke the truth. - -While this conversation was going on, Charlie in another part of the -vessel was commiserating Bill Sturdy on his injuries. - -"And it was on my account, too," said the boy, regretfully. - -"Better me than you, my lad," said the old sailor stoutly. "Don't -trouble yourself about that. It was my own free will, and if I had been -unwilling all the power of the captain couldn't have made me submit -to it. Besides there was one thing that repaid me for it all. Antonio -got something he'll remember to the latest day of his life, I reckon. -However that ain't what I want to say now. It's just this. I haven't -any particular inducements to stay aboard this vessel, and I've about -made up my mind to give them the slip at the first port we come to, if -you'll go with me." - -"Where do we touch first?" - -"At Rio, I surmise." - -"I'm ready to go with you, Bill, whenever you say the word," said -Charlie, promptly. - -"That's right, my lad." - -And so the agreement was made. - - - - - XXIX. - - DANGER THREATENS BILL STURDY. - - -It is my intention to pass rapidly over the time which intervened -between the events which have been described, and the arrival of the -Bouncing Betsey at Rio Janeiro. Nothing happened of sufficient interest -to call for record. - -As for our hero and Bill Sturdy, their position was, unquestionably, -more agreeable and less disturbed by incidents than before. This was -not owing to any change in the feelings of the captain and mate, but -in consequence of the iniquitous compact into which they had entered. -They felt secure of ultimate vengeance; they could, therefore, afford -to wait. Indeed, they felt that they should be more likely to secure -the end they had in view if, for the present, they should so act as to -lull asleep any suspicions which might be entertained of their agency -in the affair after it was over. - -But Bill Sturdy was not deceived. He determined to keep his -"weather-eye open," as he expressed it, and be on the lookout for -squalls. - -So the time passed. - -It was a bright, tropical day. The thick garments which all had worn on -leaving port were laid aside, and every one was dressed in light and -thin attire. - -"We shall probably reach Rio to-morrow, Mr. Randall," observed the -captain. - -"Yes; if the present wind holds, there can be no doubt of it." - -"And the little plan which we have been contemplating need no longer be -delayed." - -Randall smiled acquiescence. - -The wind held favorable, and the next evening saw them in port. - -The captain and mate went on shore, leaving the vessel in charge of the -second mate. - -We have nothing to do with the motions of the captain, but will follow -Randall, who, never backward in ill-doing, at once set about the -execution of his scheme. - -Having been in the city before, he was well acquainted with -localities, and therefore was able to direct his steps at once to that -quarter where he felt he was most likely to meet the man he was in -quest of. - -He entered a low drinking-saloon, and ordered a glass of liquor, partly -to gratify his taste, partly that while drinking he might have leisure -to look about him. - -It was a low, square room, dark and unsightly, frequented evidently -by the lowest ranks only. At this time there was but one man present -besides Randall. - -This man was tall, low-browed, with shaggy black eyebrows, and a -face on which villainy was stamped in Nature's plainest and most -ineffaceable characters. - -"There's a man," thought the mate, "that will serve my turn, and, to -judge from his looks, will be troubled by no unnecessary scruples on -the subject." - -Meanwhile, the other, lifting his eyes from the glass, had observed -his close scrutiny, and chose to take offence at it. He rose from his -seat, and, advancing towards Randall, observed, in a menacing tone, "It -appears to me, señor, that you are impertinent." - -Randall understood the language in which this was spoken, and coolly -inquired, "How so?" - -"You have been staring at me as if you had some particular object in -it." - -"So I have," returned the mate, in the same tone as before. - -"Explain yourself, señor, and if, as I mistrust, you mean to insult me, -I will make you better acquainted with my good knife," and he tapped -the knife significantly. - -"It is an acquaintance which I do not court," said Randall, shrugging -his shoulders. "But it appears to me that it is not well talking -without something to moisten the throat. I shall be happy to have you -drink with me." - -"I beg your pardon, señor, for my suspicions, which, I see, were wrong. -I see that you are a gentleman. Henceforth I will treat you as such." - -"I thought you would learn to know me better," said Randall, filling -both glasses; "let me drink to our better acquaintance." - -Both sat down very amicably. The glass had made them friends. - -"I should like to ask your advice on a certain point," said Randall. - -"I will give it with pleasure." - -"I have an enemy--a deadly foe--whom I detest. What would you do if you -were in my place?" - -"You say he is your deadly foe?" - -"Yes." - -"I would give him a passport to another world. That is my advice." - -"And you would feel no compunctions?" - -"No more than if I were crushing a spider." - -"I will own, then," said Randall, "that I have thought of this, but it -is difficult for me to act in the matter." - -"Then hire another to do it." - -"Ah, if I could only find some brave man who would undertake the job." - -"Well?" - -"I would engage him to do it for me, if----" - -"Well?" - -"If we could agree upon the terms." - -"You need seek no further for your man, then," said the stranger, -gulping down another glass. - -"How is that?" asked Randall, pretending not to understand him fully. - -"Because, you see before you one who is willing to undertake it." - -"You?" - -"And why not?" - -"Certainly, there is no good reason." - -"Now tell me about it." - -"First, let us settle about the price to be paid." - -"As you please." - -After some little discussion this was finally fixed at sixty dollars. -For this paltry sum, added to the booty which he might find upon the -person of his victim, this miserable man was willing to commit one of -the worst of crimes. - -"Now," continued the mate, "I must give you some directions which will -enable you to identify the person." - -"Is he a sailor?" - -"He is." - -"On board what ship?" - -"The Bouncing Betsey." - -"Lying where?" - -Randall indicated the wharf at which the vessel was moored. - -"Now describe the man." - -"He is rather below the common height, broad-shouldered, -extraordinarily strong; in fact such a Hercules that it will be well -for you to take him by surprise." - -"This will make me equal with him," said the Brazilian, displaying his -knife. - -"That and the darkness." - -"When shall I be likely to meet him?" - -"He will receive permission to come on shore to-morrow night," said -Randall. "You must be hovering about the vessel, and watch the sailors -as they come from the ship. When you see him, you will follow him." - -"Trust me for that." - -"And when all is over, and you furnish me evidence that you have done -the deed, the money shall be yours." - -"I require a portion in advance. How do I know but you will play me -false?" - -"My good friend, I should expect, in that case, to become your victim. -However, your request is reasonable. You shall have one third of the -sum stipulated in advance." - -He placed twenty dollars in the hands of his companion, and, rising, -paid his score. He then betook himself to the ship, and, on the arrival -of Captain Brace, acquainted him with the result of his visit. The -latter expressed great satisfaction. - -Meanwhile Bill Sturdy and Charlie were speaking of the plan they had in -view,--that of escaping from the ship. - -"Suppose," said Charlie, "we cannot obtain permission to go on shore -together." - -"Then I will come to the wharf at midnight, and you can leave your bunk -unobserved and join me." - - - - - XXX. - - THE PASS OF DEATH. - - -"Have I permission to go on shore, Captain Brace?" inquired Bill Sturdy -on the following morning. - -"I shall require your services on board during the day," said the -captain, acting in accordance with the suggestion and arrangements of -the mate. "At nightfall you can go if you like." - -Charlie, learning from Bill Sturdy, the result of his application, did -not prefer a request till evening. His request was unceremoniously -refused. The Captain had no desire that our young hero should be -present at the assault upon Bill, as his presence might prevent the -attack being made, and its success, in consequence of Sturdy's great -strength, depended on its unexpectedness. - -"Never mind," said Bill, in a low voice, "wait till midnight. Meanwhile -I will be seeking out a proper place of concealment. When the Cathedral -clock strikes midnight, rise quietly and take a bundle of clothes, if -you can do it unobserved, and jump upon the wharf. I will be waiting -for you." - -Cheered by this hope, Charlie was content to wait. - -He went below, and opening his chest, put together in a bundle the -clothes which he had on when he went on board the vessel for the first -time. His little preparation having now been made, he sat down and -commenced a letter to his mother which it was his purpose to mail in -the city, to be completed when the result of his attempt to escape -should be known. - -We must now follow the movements of the villain with whom Randall had -conferred. He had no idea of failing to carry out his part of the -contract. Aside from the pecuniary inducement, his savage temper and -utter want of principle, made him rather court such adventures, even -for their own sake. Just before nightfall he stationed himself at a -point on the wharf where he would have an opportunity of observing all -that went on board the vessel. - -With his keen eyes he scrutinized the forms of the sailors with a view -of verifying Randall's description, and so picking out the one who was -destined to be his victim. Circumstances conspired to lead him to a -wrong conclusion upon this point. - -Bill Sturdy was, at that time, below, making preparations to go on -shore. It has already been remarked, that previous to his enrolment -among the crew, Antonio had been, physically the most powerful among -them. Although inferior to Bill Sturdy, yet he possessed a formidable -amount of strength, and on board most vessels might have challenged -comparison with any. But if Antonio was one in a hundred, Sturdy was -one in a thousand. Seldom, very seldom, is there concentrated in the -human frame so much power as he possessed. He would not have been found -unequal to the feats of strength which have made famous the name of -Richard Cœur de Lion, the English king, who won, in so remarkable a -degree, the chivalrous respect and affection of the English people, and -whose feats still live in the pages of the greatest of modern romances. - -Antonio was, in form, not altogether unlike Bill Sturdy. At all events, -the resemblance was so great that the mate's description of Sturdy -might easily be supposed to apply to him. Hence, when the Brazilian -cast a scrutinizing glance over the persons of the crew, he at once -selected Antonio as the one intended. - -"That is the fellow," he muttered. "He looks powerful, but my good -knife will prevent his being dangerous to me, provided I steal upon -him from behind, and give him one sharp, decisive blow." - -Bill Sturdy was not the only one permitted to go on shore that evening. -Several others had similar permission extended to them, leaving behind -only enough to keep the proper watch on board the vessel. - -A company, including Antonio, left the vessel together some five -minutes before Bill Sturdy made his appearance. The Brazilian, fixing -his attention upon him, followed them at a little distance, cautiously -avoiding the appearance of doing so, lest he might attract observation. -He did not expect to carry out his design at present, partly because -it was not yet dark, and partly also because he wished to wait till -Antonio was alone. He was resolved to keep him in view, for hours, if -need be, until a favorable opportunity should present itself for the -commission of the crime he meditated. - -The first place the men visited was a low drinking saloon, situated -on a street considered hardly reputable. It was not long before they -became noisy and drunk. - -One by one they staggered out of the drinking-saloon. Among the last to -go was Antonio. He had probably drank more than any of his comrades, -but he had a strong head, and showed his potations less in his gait -than many of the rest. He walked out with a steady step, somewhat to -the disappointment of the Brazilian, who had been keeping vigilant -guard, and relied upon the effects of the liquor to make him an easier -conquest. - -It was already dark, but the street was too public, and he would be too -liable to interruption and detection to make it prudent to attack at -present. He therefore cautiously followed Antonio, hoping that he would -presently turn into some narrow lane or alley. - -In this hope he was not disappointed. At a little distance there -was a narrow alley leading from the street in which Antonio was now -walking to another of equal size. Antonio stood a little doubtful at -the entrance, but finally entered. If he had only known that there was -one close upon his heels, who was tracking him with the keenness of an -Indian upon the trail of his foeman, he might have hesitated before -entering what, to him, was destined to prove "the pass of death." - -But he did not know this. - -The alley was a long one, little frequented at that hour, and -unlighted. Cautiously behind the doomed sailor walked the hired -assassin. And now Antonio is nearly midway. Between them there is a -distance of fifty feet. Over this interval creeps the murderer with -noiseless feet. Then, snatching the ever-ready knife from his girdle, -he lifts his hand, and the descending knife is buried in the back of -Antonio, entering just below his neck. He sank to the ground with a -convulsive shudder, and a sharp cry of pain. - -The Brazilian stood over him. Antonio looked up into his face, -supposing it might be Bill Sturdy, whose enmity he judged by his own. - -And the thought came to him. - -Half lifting himself from the ground with his last remaining strength, -he ejaculated, feebly, "Were you hired to do this?" - -"I was," said the assassin, briefly. - -Antonio could have but one thought as to the one who had instigated -the murder. He was satisfied it was Bill, and that thought made death -doubly bitter. - -With a curse upon his lips, a bitter malediction upon his rival, he -died. - -Quickly stripping his victim of whatever he had about him worth taking, -his murderer crept away. - - - - - XXXI. - - CHARLIE'S ESCAPE FROM THE SHIP. - - -Randall had made an appointment to meet his agent at midnight at the -place where they originally met. - -Some ten minutes before the hour he entered, and found the Brazilian -seated at a table with a bottle before him. - -"I am here first," said the latter, nonchalantly, as he laid down a -glass which he had drained. - -"So it seems," said Randall. "And now, what success?" he asked, eagerly. - -"The best." - -"You have----" - -"I have earned my reward." - -"Good!" exclaimed the mate, his eyes flashing with revengeful malice. - -"And now," said the assassin, coolly, "I am ready to receive my pay." - -"You shall have it as soon as you prove to me that you have stated the -truth." - -"Do you dare to doubt my word?" said the Brazilian, fiercely. - -"Not at all." - -"Why, then, do you demand this proof? Have I not told you?" - -"Because," said Randall, "you must know, that in this matter I am the -agent of another, and that the money with which I pay you is not mine, -but only what he has intrusted to me." - -"Well?" - -"You will easily understand that, though I may be perfectly satisfied -with your assurance, he is a different person. He has never met with -you, and may very reasonably require some proof that the deed has been -done." - -"Would you know the hair of this man?" asked the Brazilian. - -"I should." - -He drew from his bosom a lock of hair which he had severed from the -head of his victim. - -Randall looked at it eagerly, turned pale, and uttered an exclamation -of mingled surprise and dismay. - -"You have made a great mistake," he said. - -"A mistake?" echoed the other. - -"Yes," said Randall; "you must have killed the wrong man!" - -"What makes you think so?" - -"Because the hair should be sandy. This is black." - -"Beware," said the assassin, suspiciously, "how you attempt to trick me -out of my reward. The knife which has drunk the blood of one can, on -occasion, do the same thing for another." - -"Your suspicions are unjust," said the mate. "In any event, you are -welcome to what you have already received, and we must enter upon a new -contract for the other." - -"Umph!" muttered his companion, but half appeased. - -"And now let us go and see who has been the victim of this unlucky -mistake." - -Together they proceed cautiously to the alley where the sailor yet lay, -cold and rigid, his face wearing the look of dark, sullen hatred and -ferocity which had been habitual to it in life. - -"Good heavens!" exclaimed Randall. "This is Antonio." - -"Is it not the man you intended?" - -"No; it is his deadly foe. But what a fearful look he wears in death. -Was there any struggle?" - -"No; he had no chance." - -"You did not kill him instantly?" - -"He had time to ask a question." - -"What was it?" - -"He asked if I had been hired to murder him." - -"And you answered----" - -"Yes." - -"Did you tell him by whom you were hired?" - -"I had no opportunity. He had just strength to ask the question, and -then died." - -"He supposed it to be another," said Randall. "But it can't be helped, -and we may as well leave this place, or we may incur suspicion. I don't -know that I care much for the mistake. He was an ugly fellow." - -"About the other?" - -"If you will be on the wharf to-morrow morning, I will take care that -the man is on deck. You could not fail to recognize him, but to avoid -all mistake, I will go forward and speak to him." - -"And am I to receive no more than twenty dollars for what I have -already done?" asked the Brazilian, discontentedly. - -"Did you take nothing from the corpse?" - -The assassin had found considerable money, and the thought of this -tended to appease him. - -"You are welcome to that, whatever it is, and for the new enterprise -you shall have as much as I promised in the first place. You see, -therefore, that you will be a gainer by the mistake that has taken -place, while I shall be out of pocket by it." - -"You said you were but an agent." - -"So I am, but this money will come from me." - -Here the two villains parted company, one betaking himself to his -ship, the other returning to the drinking-saloon, where he spent the -remainder of the night in drunken revelry. - -In the meantime the man against whose life Randall had plotted -unsuccessfully was preparing another disappointment for the mate. - -On leaving the ship, not dreaming how important to him had been the ten -minutes by which his comrades had preceded him, Bill Sturdy struck for -the central part of the city by the most direct route. - -Turning a corner, he unexpectedly fell in with a sailor who had been -a messmate on a former voyage. Bill ascertained that his comrade was -about to sail in two days for Liverpool, and from thence to New York. - -"Can your captain take another hand?" asked Sturdy. - -"I have no doubt he would like one, for we are short-handed. We lost a -sailor overboard just before we got into Rio." - -"Do you carry any passengers?" - -"A few." - -"I shall want to secure a berth for one." - -"You don't mean to say, Bill, that you've been spliced?" - -"Not quite so bad as that. The passenger is a boy." - -"A son of yours?" - -"I wish he was," said Bill, earnestly; "but I'll tell you more about -this matter another time. For the present, keep dark. And that reminds -me, can you tell me of any quiet, decent place where the lad and I can -come to anchor?" - -"I know of a widow woman who will give you good rooms." - -Bill took down the address. - -Toward twelve o'clock he returned to the wharf at which the vessel was -lying. While he was standing in the shadow of a large building the -cathedral clock struck twelve. - -A moment after, and a youthful form appeared upon deck, descended the -side swiftly, and stepped on the wharf. - -"Here I am, my lad," said Sturdy, in a low voice, coming out from his -place of concealment. - -"I was afraid you wouldn't be here," whispered Charlie. - -"Trust me for that. And now we must be making sail, or the pirates will -be after us." - -And this is the way Charlie took leave of the Bouncing Betsey. - - - - - XXXII. - - FIRST LESSONS. - - -We will not attempt to depict the rage and vexation of Randall and the -captain when they ascertained that Bill Sturdy had made his escape from -the vessel and taken Charlie with him. For they entertained no doubt -from the previous intimacy of the two that they had deserted the ship -in company. They instituted as strict a search as they were able, and -even offered a reward to any of the crew who should be instrumental in -bringing back either, but particularly the boy. None of the sailors, -however, would have betrayed our hero, even if they had had the -opportunity. Captain Brace was finally obliged to put to sea without -those whom he was so desirous of getting back into his power. He was -compelled at the last to ship two new hands in place of Bill Sturdy and -Antonio. - -As for Bill Sturdy, he embarked on the Liverpool-bound vessel. He was -desirous that Charlie should go as passenger, offering to pay his -fare, that he might be spared the hardships of a boy on board ship. -But to this arrangement our hero strongly objected. He said he had no -intention of being idle, and as to the hardships, he was willing to -encounter them. Bill, therefore, withdrew his objections, and Charlie -became one of the crew. He soon became a favorite, and as the captain -and mate were quite different in character and disposition from those -of the Bouncing Betsey, his voyage proved much more pleasant and -satisfactory. - -We must now take leave of our young hero, well assured that he is in -good hands, and, transferring the scene to Boston, inquire into the -fate of our friends there. - -It will be remembered that Mrs. Codman, after the abduction of her son, -was successful in obtaining the post of governess to a rather playful -and mischievous young lady, the only daughter of a wealthy merchant -named Bowman. - -Mrs. Codman found her pupil as playful as a kitten, and about as -fond of study. To confess the truth, Miss Bert Bowman was deplorably -ignorant for a young lady of her age. Her governess, however, soon -ascertained that it was from no want of natural capacity, but rather -because she had been so much indulged, that nothing had been required -of her beyond what the young lady chose to perform, and that was -exceedingly little. In a private conversation with Mrs. Codman, Mr. -Bowman explained the deficiencies of Bert with their cause, and went on -to say, "Now, my dear madam, I wish to surrender Bert to your charge -entirely. I feel assured that I may rely upon your judgment to adopt -such a course as may be best adapted to reconcile her to study, of -which at present, she has a great dread. I would not counsel too great -strictness at first, though I do not apprehend that from you. Neither -perhaps ought we to try to advance very rapidly at first. Step by step, -will be the most judicious way. In regard to hours, text-books, and -studies generally, you will do as you think best." - -"I thank you, Mr. Bowman," replied Mrs. Codman, "for your dependence -on my judgment, and hope to deserve it. I hope my young pupil, who, I -am convinced is not wanting in intelligence, will do justice to her -natural capacity." - -The next day Mrs. Codman commenced her undertaking, for such it may -appropriately be called. - -"Bertha," said she, pointing to the clock, "it is nine o'clock. Suppose -we commence our studies." - -"Just let me have another race with Topsy," said Bert, who was flying -round the room in pursuit of the black kitten, who was evidently -regarded by her young mistress as a congenial companion. - -"I am afraid I must say no, my dear child," said Mrs. Codman gently; -"there is nothing like punctuality. So if you will just ring the bell, -I will ask Jane to take away Topsy for the present." - -"Can't Topsy come to school with me?" asked Bert, disappointed. - -"I am afraid if she did my other pupil would not make very much -progress." - -Bert unwillingly acquiesced in the dismission of her favorite companion. - -"You won't keep me as long as they do in school, will you, Mrs. -Codman?" asked Bert. "If I had to study four or six hours, I should -certainly go into a fit." - -"I dare say you would," replied her teacher, smiling. "Therefore -I sha'n't keep you so long. In fact, as you are the only scholar, -we sha'n't bind ourselves to so many hours, but rather to so much -learned, so that it will depend a good deal on how well you study." - -"That's good," said Bert. "Only, Mrs. Codman, you mustn't be too hard -upon me. I don't believe I can get very long lessons." - -"I mean to be quite easy at first. I shall not ask much, but that -little I shall be strict in requiring." - -Bert wasn't quite sure how she liked the latter part of this remark. - -"Before setting you any lessons, I must find out how much you know." - -"I guess it won't take me long to tell you all I ever learned." - -"Here is a reading-book. Let me hear you read." - -Bert took the book, and stumbled through a paragraph, invariably -mispronouncing all words of over one syllable. - -"There," said she, taking a long breath; "I'm glad that is over." - -"Now," said Mrs. Codman, taking the book, "let me read it aloud." - -She was an excellent reader, and Bert, though she could not read -herself, recognized the fact. - -"I wish I could read as well as that," said Bert. "How awfully you must -have studied when you were a girl." - -"Not so hard as you think for, perhaps," said her teacher, smiling. -"Success depends more upon a series of small efforts, than any great -one." - -"Do you think I shall ever read well?" asked Bert doubtfully. - -"I am sure you will, if you will give a moderate amount of attention. -Do you know anything of arithmetic?" - -"Do you mean the Multiplication Table?" - -"Yes, that is a part of it." - -"Yes," said Bert, "I know some lines about it. Charlie Morrill taught -me them one day." - -"What are they?" - -Bert repeated these lines, which no doubt are familiar to many of my -readers: - - Multiplication is vexation, - Division is as bad, - The rule of Three doth trouble me, - And Practice makes me mad. - -Mrs. Codman smiled. "Perhaps you will like them better as you grow -better acquainted. Can you tell me how much are four times four?" - -Bert went through a variety of motions in counting her fingers, and -finally announced as the result of her computation, that four times -four made twenty-nine. - -"That is hardly right." - -"I'm awful ignorant, ain't I?" asked Bert. - -"Considerably so, I confess. But we shall be able to remedy that." - -"You won't make me study my eyes out?" - -"That would be a pity. You see mine are not yet gone, and I don't mean -to ask you to study any harder than I did." - -Bert looked at the eyes of her teacher which were quite as bright as -her own, and lost her apprehensions on that score. - -"I'll tell you why I asked," said she, after a pause. "There's a girl -that goes to school--she's only twelve years old--and she has to wear -spectacles, and I heard somebody say it was because she studied so -hard. I shouldn't want to be obliged to wear spectacles." - -Mrs. Codman could not forbear laughing at the idea of her frolicsome -little scholar, with a pair of glasses perched upon her nose, and -promised her that if she found there was any prospect of her being -obliged to wear them, she would advise her at once giving up study. - -"Then I hope," thought Bert, "I shall need them soon." - -"Now," proceeded Mrs. Codman. "I am going to give you short and easy -lessons in reading, spelling, and arithmetic. It won't take you long to -get there, if you only try. When you have recited them, we are to go -out and ride in the carriage." - -"Oh, that will be nice," exclaimed the child. "Tell me what the lesson -is, quick." - -The lessons were got and said sooner than could have been expected, and -so Bert had taken the first step in ascending the hill of learning. - - - - - XXXIII. - - A LETTER FROM CHARLIE. - - -Bert had plenty of capacity. She could get her lessons in an incredibly -short time when there was any inducement. At other times she would sit -for two or three hours with the book before her, but with her attention -straying to other things, and, as a natural consequence, would know no -more at the end of that time than at the beginning. Fortunately Mrs. -Codman had the gift of patience, and though she was gentle, was, at the -same time, firm. - -Of one thing Bert became convinced,--that study was not so terrible -as she had imagined. At the end of three months she had made so great -an improvement, that her father was equally surprised and delighted, -and was disposed to do full justice to Mrs. Codman's merits as a -governess. "Who knows but you will become quite a learned lady in time, -Bert?" he said, playfully. - -"No doubt of it, papa," replied Bert. "By the time I am eighteen, I -expect to wear green glasses and write books." - -"That will, indeed, be a miraculous transformation. And what is to -become of Topsy, then?" - -"Oh, she'll be an old cat then, and won't feel any more like racing -round than I do. She'll just curl up in a chair beside me, and I will -use her fur to wipe my pens on. She is just the right color for that, -you know." - -"Quite a sensible plan. I confess. Indeed, it will be well for you to -have something of that kind to be employed about, as you will probably -have no beaux." - -"No beaux, papa? And why am I to have no beaux, I should like to know?" - -"Because it takes two to make a bargain." - -"Well, perhaps I sha'n't," replied Bert, tossing her head. "Perhaps you -don't know that I have picked out my future husband." - -"Whew! That is getting along faster than I had anticipated. May I be -permitted to know who is to be my son-in-law? I think I can guess, -however." - -"Who?" - -"Mr. Bradley." - -Mr. Bradley was an old bachelor, of about fifty, partially bald and -more than partially homely, who had now and then dined with Mr. Bowman -and had taken more notice of the young lady than she at all desired. - -"Mr. Bradley!" repeated Bert, in a contemptuous manner. "I'd a good -deal rather marry Topsy." - -"Perhaps," suggested her father, "the superior length of the kitten's -whiskers causes you to give her the preference. Am I to understand that -she is your choice?" - -"No, it is a very handsome boy, and his name is Charlie Codman." - -A look of regret stole over Mrs. Codman's face--the expression of a -sorrow caused by her uncertainty with regard to Charlie's fate. - -"A son of yours?" asked Mr. Bowman, in some surprise. - -Mrs. Codman replied in the affirmative. - -"You ought to see his miniature, papa. He is very handsome." - -"And you have lost your heart to him. Perhaps he may not return the -compliment." - -"I hope he will," said the young lady. - -"Perhaps Mrs. Codman will allow me to look at the miniature of my -future son-in-law," said Mr. Bowman, not guessing the mother's sorrow -and its cause. - -While Mrs. Codman was absent from the room, Bert gave her father a -brief account of Charlie's disappearance. - -"You must pardon me, Mrs. Codman," said Mr. Bowman, in a tone of -feeling, when she had returned, "for speaking in the lively tone I did. -I little guessed the anxiety you must feel about your son. Is this the -miniature?" - -"A very attractive face!" he said. "I don't wonder at Bert's taking a -fancy to it." - -"I cannot wonder at your sorrow in losing, even for a time, such a boy -as this face seems to indicate," he added. - -"You think there is a chance of his coming back to me?" asked Mrs. -Codman, anxiously. - -"I am hardly prepared to express an opinion on the scanty information -which Bert has been able to give me. If you are willing to tell me the -story in detail, I will tell you what I think of the chances." - -Mrs. Codman told the story, mentioning, also, the name of Peter Manson, -and the language which he had used. - -"I sometimes see this man," said the merchant, "and know him by -reputation. He is a miser." - -"He pretends to be very poor." - -"All pretence. I do not see what object he could have had in spiriting -your son away." - -Further conversation followed, but, as might be expected, no -satisfactory result was reached. Mrs. Codman, however, felt relieved -and more hopeful in the knowledge that her employer knew of her loss, -and would do what he could to discover Charlie. - -It was only a week later that he came into the school-room with a smile -upon his face. - -"Father, you bring good news; isn't it so?" said Bert. - -"I hope so." - -Mrs. Codman looked up with a glance of eager inquiry. - -"As I took up the morning paper," said the merchant, "my eyes, by -chance, ran down the list of advertised letters. Recognizing the name -of Mrs. Codman among them, I took the liberty of sending to the office -for it. It is post-marked at Rio Janeiro." - -"Oh, give it to me quick!" exclaimed Mrs. Codman, in agitation. - -"Is it from Charlie?" asked Bert. - -"It is, it is!" exclaimed the happy mother, as she recognized the -familiar handwriting; and too impatient to unseal the letter, she tore -it open and devoured the contents. - -It was the letter which Charlie had commenced on shipboard. We will -give the greater part of it. - - "DEAREST MOTHER,-- - -"I hope this letter will reach you in safety, and will relieve you of -some of the anxiety you must have felt about your wandering boy. You -will start with surprise when you see where this is dated. I am three -thousand miles from you, dear mother, but not by my own act. But I -must tell you how I came to leave you. (This portion of the letter is -omitted.) You mustn't think I have suffered all the time on board the -ship, though it is hard work, and, for some reason, the captain and -mate have both been my enemies. I have had one faithful friend, to whom -I am very much indebted. He is a rough sailor, and neither educated nor -refined, but he has a warm heart, and has been very kind to your boy. -Indeed, mother, I don't know how much trouble I should have had, if it -hadn't been for honest Bill Sturdy. Some time I hope you will have the -pleasure of taking him by the hand, and thanking him for all he has -done for me. The greatest act of friendship for which I have to thank -him I will not write here, but I will tell you some time. - -"As we were neither of us treated as well as we ought to be, we have -deserted the vessel, and transferred ourselves to a ship bound to -Liverpool, and thence to New York; so that it may be some months from -now before I see you again. - -"I am so afraid you have suffered since I left you, not only from -solitude and anxiety about me, but have been compelled to labor beyond -your strength. You were so poorly paid for that horrid sewing, and had -to work so hard at it. But when I come back we will live together, as -we once did; and though it will not be a luxurious home, it shall be a -happy one. As you may have moved elsewhere, you must leave word with -those who occupy our old room where you live, so that when I come back, -which will be just as soon as I can, I may come at once to you, and -tell you how much I have missed you. - - "From your affectionate, - - "CHARLIE." - -Knowing that Mr. Bowman felt a friendly interest in Charlie's welfare, -Mrs. Codman, her eyes dim with happy tears, handed him the letter, -which he read attentively. - -"A very good letter," he said, "and very creditable to the writer. When -he returns, if you and he are both willing, I will receive him at once -into my counting-room. His letter is sufficient recommendation." - -How differently the world looks according to the mood in which we view -it. No one could have convinced Mrs. Codman, after the reception of -this letter, that it was not a perfect paradise. The patient sorrow -which her face had worn the day before, gave place to a sweet and happy -expression, which made her look quite charming. - -"Mrs. Codman is really a beautiful woman," thought Mr. Bowman, as -unobserved, he watched her laughing with Bert, glancing over the -newspaper which he was supposed to be reading. - - - - - XXXIV. - - THE RETURN OF THE BETSEY. - - -It was a fine morning when the Bouncing Betsey, after a quick and -prosperous voyage from Valparaiso, entered Boston harbor. There had -been few or no changes on board since the ship left Rio Janeiro on the -passage out. Captain Brace is still in command, and unfortunately has -not at all mended his ways, but has richly merited, as he has obtained, -the general dislike of the crew, not one of whom will sail with him -again unless forced by dire necessity. Second in odium as he is in -command, comes Randall the mate. He cares little how he is regarded -by the men under him. To him the voyage has proved in some respects -a disappointment. He has not recovered from the vexation occasioned -by the escape of Bill Sturdy and Charlie. He has anticipated with -eagerness the return to Boston, where he hopes first to meet with the -deserters, and secondly intends to wrest a further sum from the fears -of Peter Manson. - -Before visiting the miser, however, it is his intention to find out -what he can about Mrs. Codman, and how she has fared. He hopes in his -vindictiveness she has been reduced to the deepest distress, and the -hardest shifts to procure a livelihood. - -He made his way to the tenement-house where Mrs. Codman formerly -lodged. He went up to the door of her former room and knocked, but it -was opened by a stranger, who could give him no information about the -person for whom he inquired. - -Perplexed and quite at a loss to obtain a clew to the knowledge he -desired, he went back to Washington Street, and mingled in the busy -throng that crowded the sidewalks. He walked leisurely along, gazing -listlessly into the shop windows, but intent upon his own thoughts. - -Chancing to let his eyes rest upon a passing carriage, he was startled -by the glimpse of a face which he was sure he knew. It was an elegant -carriage, drawn by two spirited horses, and evidently the equipage -of a person of wealth. A negro coachman in livery sat upon the box, -and wielded the reins with a dexterous hand. There were two persons -inside--one was a child of ten, a lively young girl, across whose face -a hundred changeful expressions flit. She was talking in an animated -strain to a lady with a beautiful and expressive face, who sat beside -her. - -These two persons were Bert and her governess. The latter was looking -better than when she was introduced to the reader. Surrounded by -comforts and luxuries, and above all relieved from her most pressing -anxiety by the letter which she had received from Charlie, her cheeks -had recovered their wonted fullness and bloom, and the rare beauty for -which she had been distinguished in her youth. - -Randall could scarcely believe his eyes. This was the woman whom he had -pictured to himself as struggling amid the deepest poverty to obtain a -scanty subsistence, worn out by harrowing anxiety for the loss of her -only son. What a contrast to his anticipations was the reality! He saw -her tastefully dressed--the picture of health and happiness--with the -same beauty that had dazzled him in times past, surrounded by evidence -of prosperity and luxury. - -"What can it mean?" he thought in bewilderment. "Is it possible that my -eyes are deceived by an accidental resemblance?" - -The carriage had already passed him, but as it was obliged to proceed -slowly on account of a press of carriages, he had no difficulty, by -quickening his pace a little, in overtaking it, and again scanning the -face whose presence there had filled him with so much surprise. - -The first explanation which suggested itself to him as possible was, -that Mrs. Codman had attracted the attention of some wealthy gentleman, -who forgetting the distance which circumstances had established between -them, had laid himself and his fortune at her feet. But even then how -could she appear so lighthearted and happy unless Charlie had returned? -There was another supposition that old Peter Manson had died, and on -his deathbed, repenting his past wickedness and injustice, had repaired -the wrong of which he had been guilty, as far as he could, by leaving -all his possessions to Mrs. Codman. This was to Randall the most -disagreeable supposition of the two, for it would effectually stand in -the way of the designs which he cherished against the same property. - -Determined not to lose sight of Mrs. Codman, he with considerable -difficulty kept pace with the carriage. It chanced that Bert and her -governess were just returning from a drive, otherwise they might have -led Randall a long chase. At present they were not very far from home. - -From the opposite side of the street Randall watched them descend the -steps of the carriage, and enter the house. He paused long enough -afterwards to cross the street, note down the name of Bowman together -with the number, that he might be able to identify it hereafter. He -then examined the house itself with some curiosity. The appearance of -the house indicated clearly enough the wealth of the owner. - -"I wish I knew," muttered the mate, "on what footing Mrs. Codman -resides here. She must either be the wife of the proprietor or his -housekeeper, one or the other." - -At this moment an infirm old woman limped out of the side-gate, with a -basket slung on her arm. - -Pressing forward, he accosted her. - -"You seem heavily laden, my good woman." - -"Yes," said she, "thanks to the good lady who lives in the house." - -"What is her name?" - -"It's Mrs. Codman. Do you know her, sir?" - -"I am not sure. I once knew some one of the name. But there is a -different name on the door--Bowman." - -"Yes, he is the gentleman of the house." - -"And Mrs. Codman?" - -"She is the young lady's governess." - -"How long has she been there?" - -"I don't know, sir." - -"Never mind. It doesn't matter much." - -"I wish I could tell you, sir." - -"It's of no consequence at all, and you needn't mention that any -questions have been asked you. But I am afraid I have been detaining -you. Here is something to pay you for your trouble." - -So saying he slipped half a dollar into her hand and, avoiding her -profuse thanks, walked hastily away. - -"Now, for a visit to the miser," he said to himself. - - - - - XXXV. - - CHARLIE TURNS UP UNEXPECTEDLY. - - -There was but little variety in the monotonous life of Peter Manson. -His life was one struggle for gold, his thoughts were continually upon -gold; gold seemed to be the end and aim of his existence. But what did -he propose to do with it all? He was not an old man yet, but all the -infirmities of age were upon him. - -Peter had not forgotten nor ceased to lament the heavy draft which -had been made upon him by Randall. The thousands which he had left -could not compensate to him for the one he had lost. So, in the hope -of making it up, he strove to live even more economically than before, -if, indeed, that were possible. The additional privations to which he -subjected himself began to tell upon the old man's constitution. He -grew thinner and weaker and more shrivelled than before, and all this -to save a penny or two additional each day. - -As Peter was crawling feebly along towards his gloomy den one -afternoon, clad in the invariable blue cloak, he was startled by -hearing a hoarse voice behind him, calling out, "Peter Manson--Peter, I -say!" - -"Who calls?" asked Peter, in a quavering voice, slowly turning round. - -"Don't you remember me?" asked Randall, for it was he. - -Peter muttered something unintelligible as he cast a terrified glance -at the mate, and quickened his pace. - -"You're not very polite, Peter," said the other, quickly overtaking and -joining the old man. "Is this the way to greet an old friend, whom you -have not seen for nearly a year?" - -Peter looked anxious and alarmed, and glanced askance at his companion. - -By this time they had reached the miser's quarters, and Peter, taking -out a key, opened the door. - -He opened it just sufficiently to admit himself, and was then about to -close it when Randall, unceremoniously pushing him aside, entered also. - -"By your leave, Peter, I will spend a short time with you." - -"I have no fire," said Peter Manson, hastily. - -"I dare say not," said Randall, carelessly, "but you can easily kindle -one." - -"I--I have no fuel." - -"None at all?" - -"Why, a little--a very little," stammered Peter, uneasily. - -"I thought so. Come, lead the way. I won't trouble you to light the -fire. I'll do it myself." - -With something that sounded like a groan, the old man led the way, -and ushered his unwelcome guest into the room described in one of the -earlier chapters. - -Randall used as much wood in kindling a fire as would have lasted Peter -a whole day. - -"You will ruin me," he said, in dismay. - -"Then you'll be ruined in a good cause," said Randall. "But I say, -Peter, don't you remember what we talked about when I visited you last?" - -The old man groaned, thinking of the thousand dollars. - -"Seems to me it has not left a very agreeable impression upon your -mind," remarked his companion. "Don't you want me to tell you of the -boy that I spirited away?" - -"Is he dead?" asked Peter, eagerly. - -"No; curse him, he escaped from me." - -"You--you didn't let him know about the money?" - -"Which you feloniously kept from him? Was that what you mean?" - -"Ye--yes." - -"No, I didn't." - -Peter looked relieved. - -"Where is he now?" - -"Heaven knows! I don't. He deserted from the ship at Rio Janeiro. But -let me ask you, in turn, Peter, what has become of the mother, whom -each of us has so much reason to hate?" - -"I don't know." - -"Then she is no longer a tenant of yours?" - -"She moved in less than a month after you went away." - -"Couldn't pay her rent, ha!" - -"Yes; she paid it as long as she stayed. I have not seen or heard -anything of her since." - -"I have," said the mate, significantly. - -"You!" exclaimed Peter, eagerly. - -"I saw her to-day." - -"How--where?" - -"In a carriage." - -"A carriage!" echoed Peter, in surprise. - -"Yes; looking as bright and handsome as when she rejected you with -scorn." - -The miser frowned. - -"Where did you meet her?" - -"On Washington Street. I was walking there when I chanced to look into -a gay carriage that was driving by, and saw her." - -"Are you sure you are not mistaken?" - -"No. I followed her to her place of residence." - -"Where is it?" - -"No.----Mt. Vernon Street." - -"She must be rich, then." - -"No; she is a governess there, though enjoying, I should think, unusual -privileges, and is, no doubt, happy." - -Peter made no reply, but seemed occupied by other thoughts. - -"And now, Peter, have you any idea what I came for?" - -"To tell me this." - -"I am not fool enough to take all this trouble." - -"Then I don't know." - -"I want money, Peter." - -Peter could not be said to change color, but he grew more ghastly than -before, at this demand. - -"I have nothing to give you," he said. - -"Tell that to the marines. You must give me another thousand dollars." - -"Another thousand dollars!" exclaimed the old man. "Where do you think -I should get it? Did I not impoverish myself in satisfying your last -demand, and have I not been obliged to live on bread and water since?" - -Randall shrugged his shoulders. - -"I dare say you have lived on bread and water, but as to being obliged -to, that is nonsense. I ask you again, to give me a thousand dollars. -You will have thousands left." - -"I shall be a beggar," said the old man, passionately. - -"A beggar!" returned Randall, laughing scornfully. - -"Yes," said Peter, with energy. "You promised, when I gave you -a thousand dollars,"--his voice faltered as he recalled the -sacrifice,--"that you would ask no more. Now, you come back for another -sum as large, and it is not yet a year. You shall not have it!" he -exclaimed, passionately; "not if I had it fifty times over." - -"Bethink you what you are saying, old man," said Randall, menacingly. -"Do you know that I can go to Mrs. Codman and denounce you?" - -"You will not," said Peter, trembling. - -"But I will, unless you comply with my demand. Now what do you say? -Better be reasonable, and consent, before I compel you." - -"Never!" exclaimed the miser, desperately. - -"I will denounce you to the police. Shall I have the money?" - -But Peter was no longer to be moved, even by his fears. His love of -money overcame every other consideration, and again he exclaimed, -"Never!" with all the energy of which he was capable. - -"Is this your final answer?" - -"It is." - -"Then I will help myself," said Randall, coolly, leaving his chair, and -beginning to lift up the trap-door, beneath which was the miser's box -of treasure. - -As soon as Peter fairly comprehended his design, and saw the gold coins -in the grasp of the purloiner, unable to restrain himself, he threw -himself upon the mate with a cry as of a lioness deprived of her young, -and grasped the strong man by the throat with fingers, which, though -naturally weak, despair and rage made strong. At all events, it was -not particularly comfortable, and provoked Randall, who seized the old -man in his strong arms, and, with a muttered curse, hurled him to the -floor, where he lay pale and senseless. - -"Confusion!" muttered Randall, in dismay, for Peter had uttered a -shrill scream as he fell. "I am afraid I shall get into an ugly -scrape." - -He was not altogether wrong. - -The scream had been heard by two, at least, who were passing. The door -was burst open, and in rushed Bill Sturdy and Charlie, our young hero, -who had just returned to Boston, and were passing on their way up from -the wharf at which the vessel was lying. - -"Mr. Randall!" exclaimed Charlie, in surprised recognition. - -Randall strove to escape through the opened door, but Sturdy, seizing -him in his powerful grasp, cried, "Not so fast, my hearty! You've been -up to some mischief, and if I don't see justice done you, may I never -see salt water again!" - - - - - XXXVI. - - HOW CHARLIE COMES INTO HIS FORTUNE. - - -Probably there were no two persons then living whom Randall at that -moment cared less about seeing than Bill Sturdy and our hero. Though -astonished beyond expression to see them there, his position was -too critical to allow him to waste time in giving expression to his -surprise. - -"Let me go, you scoundrel!" he exclaimed, making a desperate effort to -elude Bill's grasp. - -He might as well have striven to tear himself from the grasp of a lion. - -"Not so fast, Mr. Randall," said Bill Sturdy. - -"You mutinous scoundrel!" hissed the mate. - -"You forget," said his captor, coolly, "that we are not now on the -quarter-deck. Here I am your equal, Mr. Randall, and perhaps you may -find me a little ahead." - -"Let me go, if you know what is best for yourself," ejaculated Randall, -almost foaming at the mouth. - -"If you know what is best for yourself," said Bill composedly, "I would -advise you to be quiet." - -"And now," he continued, tightening his grasp a little, "just let me -know what mischief you have been up to?" - -"I am not responsible to you," said Randall haughtily. - -"Responsible or not, you must give an account of yourself." - -"If you will let me go, I will make it worth your while." - -"Do you think I am mean enough to accept a bribe?" exclaimed Sturdy, -with honest indignation. "Let me know what you have been doing." - -"This old man!" said Randall, curbing his pride, "foolishly thought I -meant to rob him, and shrieked for assistance." - -"Is that all?" asked Bill, keenly glancing at the box of gold. "Things -look as if you were going to rob him in reality." - -"I am not in the habit of thieving," said Randall, haughtily. - -At this moment the miser, who had been insensible, began to show signs -of returning consciousness. - -"Go and get some water, Charlie," said Bill. "The old man looks as if -he might come to with a little help." - -There was a pail half full of water standing near by. Charlie sprinkled -Peter's face, and a moment after he gasped and opened his eyes. He cast -a frightened glance from face to face till his eyes rested on Randall, -when he shuddered, and cried feebly, "Take him away, take him away! He -will rob me." - -"Not while I am here to prevent him," returned Bill, in a tone of -assurance. - -"You are friends, then?" said the miser, anxiously. - -"Of course we are. Did this man attempt to rob you?" - -"Take care not to make any false accusations, old man," said Randall, -menacingly. - -"Speak the truth without fear," said Bill Sturdy; "I'll bear you out in -it. He can't do you any harm." - -"He demanded a thousand dollars from me," said the old man, "and when I -would not give it to him he was going to help himself." - -"What do you say to that, Mr. Randall?" asked Sturdy. - -"I say this," said the mate, turning a malignant glance upon the miser, -"that it was a regular bargain--a matter of business. This man owed me -the money--he knows best what for, and refused to pay it." - -"I did not," said Peter, hastily, "he had already been paid in full." - -"Take care, Peter, or I may tell what it was for." - -"I defy you," said the miser in a quavering tone of defiance. "You are -a bad man." - -"Perhaps you don't know who this boy is?" said Randall. - -"Who is he?" asked Peter, doubtfully. - -"He is one who has reason to consider you his enemy," said Randall, -"even more than myself." - -At this unexpected statement Bill Sturdy and Charlie looked at each -other in surprise. - -"Do you know this old man, then, Charlie?" asked Sturdy, at length. - -"Yes," said our hero; "it is Mr. Manson, of whom my mother used to hire -a room." - -"The landlord?" - -"Yes." - -"And what harm has he ever done to you?" - -"I don't know," said Charlie, shaking his head, "unless," and an -anxious look came over his face, "he has distressed her for rent since -I have been gone." - -"Is that so?" demanded the sailor, sternly. - -"No, no!" said Peter Manson, hastily. "She left my tenement a good many -months ago." - -"And where is she now?" asked Charlie, eagerly--for, having just -landed, he knew nothing of his mother's whereabouts. - -"Then you have not seen her?" asked Randall, with the sudden thought -that he might make better terms for himself by selling his knowledge on -the subject. - -"No," said Charlie. "Is she well? Tell me, I entreat you, if you know." - -"I do know," said Randall, composedly, "both where she is and how she -has fared." - -"Tell me quick." - -"That depend upon circumstances. While I am held in custody I have -little inducement to do you a favor." - -"Sturdy will release you, won't you, Sturdy. Only tell me where my -mother is, that I may go to her at once." - -"Why," said Bill, cautiously, "I don't know, exactly. He may be trying -a game, and giving us information won't be worth anything." - -"You can keep me here till you have sent to ascertain if I have told -you the truth." - -"No, no," said Peter Manson, terrified at the prospect, "don't let him -stay here. He would rob me." - -"Rob you," sneered Randall; "it looks well in you whose money has been -dishonestly gained, to charge me with theft." - -"He--you won't mind what he says, gentlemen," said Peter Manson, -trembling. "He only says it to spite me." - -"To spite you! Yes, you old hunks, I will spite you, and that with a -vengeance! Hark you, Sturdy, I have kept this old man's secret long -enough, and though I hate you, and that boy there, I believe I hate him -worse. If I will reveal to this boy a secret which will insure to him -a property of from twenty to thirty thousand dollars, will you agree to -let me go, and give me a thousand dollars?" - -"Can you do it?" demanded Sturdy, in surprise. - -"I can." - -"Well, it ain't for me to say, but if I were Charlie here I would close -with your terms." - -"Don't you believe him," said Peter, terrified. "He is only making a -fool of you. He can't do what he says." - -Charlie was not a little astonished at the turn affairs had taken. - -"I shouldn't wonder," said Bill, "if there might be something in this, -as long as the old man seems so afraid the secret will be let out." - -"You will find that I have told you the truth," said Randall; "tell me -quickly yes or no. If you decline, you will lose more than I shall." - -"Then," said Charlie, "I will accept your terms so far as I am -concerned." - -"And I'll bear witness to it," said Bill, "if you will carry out your -part of the agreement." - -"That I will do to your satisfaction. The first thing to be explained -is, that in carrying this boy to sea I was only acting as the agent of -another." - -"And that other!" - -"Was Peter Manson--the man you see before you." - -"It is false," said the miser, turning ghastly pale. - -"Moreover," said Randall, "I was well paid for the service. I received -a thousand dollars." - -"Oh, oh!" cried the old man, swaying backward and forward--"a thousand -dollars in bright gold, and I so poor." - -"You see he admits it," said Randall. - -"And what did he want Charlie carried away for?" - -"Reason enough for that. He feared the boy might learn that it was his -wealth which he has been hoarding up." - -"Mine!" exclaimed Charlie, in unbounded surprise. - -"Did you never hear your mother speak of a certain Peter Thornton, who -by purloining and making off with twenty thousand dollars caused your -grandfather to fail?" - -"Yes, often." - -"_That man is Peter Thornton!_" said Randall, pointing with his finger -to the miser. - -The latter half rose from his seat, and then, as if he had received a -mortal wound sank to the floor. - -"You require no other confirmation of my words," said the mate. - -"Why my lad, you will be a rich man," said Bill Sturdy, his face -beaming with satisfaction. - -"How glad mother will be!" exclaimed Charlie. "Where is she, Mr. -Randall? I want so much to see her." - -The mate gave Charlie briefly the information he required, and added, -"You will probably need my assistance to establish your claim to the -property of which yonder old man has so long deprived you. I shall hold -myself at your service, trusting to your honor to pay me the thousand -dollars agreed upon." - -"You shall not trust in vain, Mr. Randall," said Charlie, promptly. -"Place me in possession of what is rightfully mine, and you shall have -no reason to complain." - -"Very well, I shall stop at the Tremont House for the present. -There you or your lawyer will find me. I advise you to employ legal -assistance." - -"I will do so, and thank you for the suggestion. As soon as I have seen -my mother I shall proceed to business." - -Randall withdrew, but was quickly followed by Charlie and his friend. - -"Where are you going, my lad?" asked the sailor. - -"You needn't ask, Bill,--to see my best friend, my mother. It is for -her sake that I welcome this fortune. She shall never want any more -while I have money. We will have a nice little home, where you shall be -welcome, Bill, always and all the time." - -Bill pressed the hand of our young hero in his own rough palm, and -there was a suspicious moisture about his eyes, but he said nothing. - - - - - XXXVII. - - REUNITED AT LAST. - - -Mrs. Codman was sitting in a little room opening out from the -breakfast-room, which had been appropriated as a sort of study by Bert -and herself. - -Topsy, the kitten, who had not yet attained the sobriety and demureness -of old cat-hood, was running round after her tail. - -"Oh, dear," sighed Bert, who was puzzling over a lesson in geography, -"I can't study any to-day." - -"Why not?" asked Mrs. Codman. - -"Oh, I feel so restless." - -"That isn't very unusual, is it?" asked her governess, with a smile. - -"I feel more so than usual. Something is going to happen, I know." - -"Something does happen every day, doesn't there?" - -"Well, you know what I mean; something out of the way. I shouldn't -wonder if Charlie got home to-day." - -"Heaven grant he may!" exclaimed his mother, fervently. - -By a strange coincidence--and coincidences do sometimes happen in real -life, though not quite so often, perhaps, as in stories,--Mrs. Codman -had hardly given utterance to her wish when the bell rang. - -Bert jumped from her seat. - -"It is he, I know it is!" she exclaimed. "Do let me go to the door." - -"You are very fanciful to-day, Bert," said Mrs. Codman. But she did not -forbid her going. Bert's earnestness had given birth to a wild hope on -her part, that it might be as she had fancied. - -Before the loitering servant had a chance to reach the door, Bert had -already opened it. - -Bill Sturdy and Charlie stood on the steps, Charlie looking handsome -and manly, with an eager look on his bright face. Sturdy, it must be -owned, looked and felt a little awkward, not being accustomed to call -as a visitor at houses as elegant as Mr. Bowman's. - -"Oh! this is Charlie, isn't it?" exclaimed Bert, with childish delight, -instinctively putting out her hand. - -"What, do you know me?" asked Charlie, pleased with this cordial -reception, but astonished at being recognized. - -"Oh, yes." - -"Is my mother here?" - -"Yes; I will go and call her. But won't you come in?" - -"I would rather you would call her," said Charlie, bashfully. - -Bert danced back into the little study. - -"I was right, Mrs. Codman," said she, triumphantly, "It is Charlie." - -"Has he come?" asked the mother, precipitately, letting fall, as she -rose, the astonished kitten, who had clambered into her lap. "Oh, where -is he?" - -"At the door." - -Mrs. Codman waited for no more, but hastened to the door, and, in a -moment, the mother was face to face with her lost boy. Of the delight -of that meeting, of the numberless questions which each had to ask, -with what fond pride the mother noted the increased manliness of -Charlie, I cannot speak in detail. Both hearts were full to overflowing -with love and gratitude. - -Meanwhile Bert was endeavoring, in her way, to entertain Bill Sturdy, -who, though no man was braver or more self-reliant among his comrades, -felt abashed in the presence of Bert, whom he looked upon as made of -finer clay than himself. And, indeed, the beauty and sprightliness of -the child made her look like a charming picture, and even Charlie's -eyes could not help straying to her, from time to time, while he was -talking with his mother. - -Bill was perched upon an elegant chair, scarcely daring to rest his -whole weight upon it, for fear it might give way under him, swinging -his hat awkwardly in his hand. - -"You are Bill Sturdy, are you not?" said Bert, determined to become -better acquainted. - -"How do you know that is my name?" asked Bill, half fancying she must -have learned it in some supernatural way. - -"Oh, Charlie wrote about you in his letter." - -"Did his mother get a letter from him, then?" - -"Yes; it was from some place with a hard name. I never can remember -those geography names." - -"Was it Rio Janeiro?" - -"Yes; that was it. What an awful time he must have had! Do you like -going to sea?" - -"Yes, miss; I feel more at home on the sea than on the land." - -"You do! Well, that's funny. I know I should be sea-sick, and that must -be horrid." - -"Well, it doesn't feel very pleasant," said Bill, with a smile. - -"Oh, Mr. Sturdy, did you ever see a whale?" - -"Yes, miss, plenty of them." - -"I suppose you never came near being swallowed by one--like Jonah, you -know?" - -"No, miss; I don't think I should like that." - -"What lots of adventures you must have had! You must stay to dinner, -and afterwards you can tell me of some." - -"I don't think I could, thank you, miss, all the same," said Bill, -alarmed at the suggestion. "Not but I'd be glad to spin you a yarn some -time." - -Just then Charlie bethought himself of his companion. - -"Mother," said he, "you must let me introduce to you my good friend, -Bill Sturdy. You don't know how kind he has been to me." - -"I am quite ready to believe it," said Mrs. Codman, holding out her -hand quickly. - -Bill took it shyly in his. - -"I thank you most heartily for all you have done for my dear boy," said -she. - -"Anybody that wasn't a brute would have done as much, ma'am." - -"Then I am afraid there are a great many brutes in the world." - -Charlie stopped to dinner, but Bill could not be prevailed upon to -do so. "You see, my boy," he explained to Charlie, "it don't come -nat'ral; I shouldn't know how to behave. So I'll just go back to my -boardinghouse, and you'll find me there after dinner." - - - - - XXXVIII. - - REACHING PORT. - - -Will the reader imagine a year to have passed? - -During the time several things have happened. - -In the first place, Mr. Bowman has invited Charlie to become a member -of his family. - -In the second place, charmed by the beauty and grace, as well as the -more valuable qualities of Mrs. Codman, with whom he has had a good -chance of becoming acquainted during her residence in his family, he -has invited her to become his wife. Mrs. Codman was taken by surprise, -but found this proposition not altogether unwelcome. She had become -attached to Bert, who added her persuasions to those of her father, and -at length her governess promised to assume to her a nearer relation. - -Through the testimony of Randall, the identity of Peter Manson with -Peter Thornton was fully established, and the law decided that the -miser's wealth must go to Charlie and his mother. It was found to -exceed the estimate which had been made of it, verging close upon forty -thousand dollars. Including interest for twenty years, all this, and -more of right, belonged to those who had so long been defrauded of it. - -Mrs. Codman could not help pitying the miserable and disconsolate old -man, pinched with privation, which had enfeebled him, and made him old -before his time. She continued to allow him the use of the old building -which he had occupied so many years, and allowed him a certain sum -payable on the first of every month, to provide for his wants. - -The sudden loss of the gold which he had been hoarding up so long did -not kill Peter Manson, but it affected his intellect. The habit of -avarice never left him. He saved up nine tenths of his allowance, and -starved himself on the remainder. Attempts were made to remedy this by -bringing him supplies of fuel and provisions, but these he economized -as before. One day, when Charlie looked in to see how he was getting -along, he beheld a sight which made him start back in affright. - -The old man lay stretched out upon the floor cold and dead, with -a few gold pieces firmly clutched in his grasp. He had received a -sudden summons while engaged in counting over the little gold he had -accumulated from his allowance. - -So ended the wasted life of Peter Manson, the miser. - -From him we turn to others who have figured in these pages. - -Randall received the thousand dollars which had been promised as -the reward of his disclosure. It appeared as if prosperity, rather -than retribution, was to attend him. He succeeded in obtaining the -command of a fine ship, with an excellent salary, and sailed with -fair prospects. But his tyrannical habits had not deserted him. His -unjustifiable abuse aroused the deadly anger of one of the crew, a man -of excitable temper, who, before he could be withheld, plunged a knife -into his heart one day, just after punishment, killing him instantly. - -As for Captain Brace, he, too, demands a word. Brief mention will -suffice. In a fit of ungovernable rage he burst a blood-vessel, and he, -too, died instantly, without a moment's preparation, in which to repent -of the many wrongs he had committed. - -From the sad fate of these miserable men we turn gladly to brighter -scenes. - -Mrs. Codman, now Mrs. Bowman, has had no cause to regret her second -choice. Her husband commands her respect and esteem, and makes her very -happy. Charlie is now at an excellent school. After he has completed a -liberal course of instruction, he will enter the counting-room of his -step-father, where, as we cannot doubt, an honorable and useful career -awaits him. - -As for Bill Sturdy,--honest, brave, stout-hearted Bill Sturdy,--he -could not be persuaded to abandon the sea, but now sails as captain of -a vessel belonging to Mr. Bowman. He is unboundedly popular with his -crew, whom he treats as comrades in whose welfare he is interested. -Whenever he is in port, Captain Sturdy dines once with Mr. Bowman. He -feels more at his ease now than when he was only a forecastle hand, but -he will always be modest and unassuming. He is a prime favorite with -Bert, and always brings her home something when he returns from foreign -parts. - -It is not ours to read the future; but I should not be surprised, when -Charlie grows to manhood, if we should find Bert's early choice of him -as her husband prophetic. - -So we bid farewell to Charlie Codman. His trials and struggles have -come early in life, but now his bark has drifted into smoother waters. -The sky above him is cloudless. His character has been strengthened by -his combat with adversity. Let us hope that his manhood may redeem the -promise of his youth, and be graced by all the noblest attributes of -humanity. - - - THE END. - - - - - -End of Project Gutenberg's Charlie Codman's Cruise, by Horatio Alger - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CHARLIE CODMAN'S CRUISE *** - -***** This file should be named 54294-0.txt or 54294-0.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/4/2/9/54294/ - -Produced by Nahum Maso i Carcases and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was -produced from images generously made available by The -Internet Archive) - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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