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diff --git a/old/61770-0.txt b/old/61770-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 707e244..0000000 --- a/old/61770-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,8809 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Dorymates, by Kirk Munroe - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org/license - - -Title: Dorymates - A Tale of the Fishing Banks - -Author: Kirk Munroe - -Release Date: April 7, 2020 [EBook #61770] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK DORYMATES *** - - - - -Produced by KD Weeks and The Online Distributed Proofreading -Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from -images generously made available by The Internet Archive) - - - - - - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - Transcriber’s Note: - -This version of the text cannot represent certain typographical effects. -Italics are delimited with the ‘_’ character as _italic_. - -Footnotes have been moved to follow the paragraphs in which they are -referenced. - -Minor errors, attributable to the printer, have been corrected. Please -see the transcriber’s note at the end of this text for details regarding -the handling of any textual issues encountered during its preparation. - -[Illustration: - - THE LITTLE FELLOW SMILED IN THE WEATHER-BEATEN FACE. - [_See page 15._ -] - - DORYMATES - - A TALE OF THE FISHING BANKS - - BY KIRK MUNROE - - AUTHOR OF - “WAKULLA” “FLAMINGO FEATHER” “DERRICK STERLING” ETC. - - - - - =Illustrated= - - - - - NEW YORK AND LONDON - HARPER & BROTHERS PUBLISHERS - 1903 - - - - - - - - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - Copyright, 1889, by HARPER & BROTHERS. - - - - - CONTENTS. - - ------- - - CHAPTER PAGE - I. A WAIF OF THE SEA 11 - II. ON BOARD THE “CURLEW” 25 - III. THE HAULING OF THE SEINE 37 - IV. A SUDDEN DISASTER 51 - V. SAVED BY ELECTRICITY 64 - VI. THE GALE ON GEORGE’S 78 - VII. A STRUGGLE FOR A LIFE 92 - VIII. A FALSE FRIEND, AND AN OPEN ENEMY 105 - IX. KIDNAPPED.--THE PROMISE 119 - X. TRAWLS AND WHALES 132 - XI. SURROUNDED BY ARCTIC ICE 145 - XII. AN ICE CAVE AND ITS PRISONERS 159 - XIII. LOST IN THE FOG 172 - XIV. THE SECRET OF THE GOLDEN BALL 186 - XV. A WONDERFUL MEETING 200 - XVI. NAVIGATING THE BRIG 213 - XVII. OVERBOARD AND INBOARD 227 - XVIII. NEWS FROM HOME 240 - XIX. THE DEVIL-FISH OF FLEMISH CAP 253 - XX. ON THE COAST OF ICELAND 266 - XXI. TEMPTED FROM DUTY 279 - XXII. THE STEAM-YACHT “SAGA” 292 - XXIII. PONIES AND GEYSERS 306 - XXIV. A DORYMATE’S HOME 319 - XXV. STARTLING DISCOVERIES 332 - XXVI. PROUD OF BEING A YANKEE 345 - - - - - ILLUSTRATIONS. - - - THE LITTLE FELLOW SMILED IN THE WEATHER-BEATEN _Frontispiece._ - FACE - - “I CAME TO YOU FROM THE SEA,” HE SAID, PATTING HER _Faces page_ 28 - THIN CHEEKS - - “SEEMS TO ME I WOULDN’T FEEL SO BAD ABOUT IT IF I ” ” 44 - WAS YOU” - - “THAT GENTLEMAN THERE REFUSES TO RETURN A GOLD ” ” 52 - BALL AND CHAIN THAT I HANDED HIM FOR - EXAMINATION” - - IN ANOTHER MOMENT IT FLASHES FULL IN THE WHITE ” ” 68 - FACES OF BREEZE M^cCLOUD AND HIS COMPANIONS - - “YOU’RE CRAZY, LAD! YOU CAN’T LIVE A MINUTE IN ” ” 90 - SUCH A SEA” - - THERE WAS A LONG, FIRM HAND-CLASP BETWEEN THEM ” ” 98 - - “QUICK, NOW! LET’S GET HIM ABOARD THIS SCHOONER” ” ” 116 - - A LARGE WHALE ROSE TO THE SURFACE TO BLOW ” ” 140 - - IN A MINUTE MORE THEY HAD SNATCHED THE BUOY FROM ” ” 150 - THE ICE-RAFT - - AND THE TWO ATHLETIC YOUNG FELLOWS DREW THE ALMOST ” ” 166 - HELPLESS FORM OF THEIR SHIPMATE SLOWLY BUT - STEADILY TO WHERE THEY STOOD - - “BLOW, SONNY, BLOW!” CRIED ONE OF THE MEN ” ” 174 - - NOT A HUMAN BEING WAS TO BE SEEN ON BOARD OF HER, ” ” 198# - NOR DID THEIR HAIL RECEIVE ANY ANSWER - - “ME AN’ DE CAP’N, WE’S BEEN HABIN’ A MONS’ROUS ” ” 204 - HARD TIME” - - “BLESS MY SOUL, IF IT ISN’T BREEZE M^cCLOUD!” ” ” 238 - - NIMBUS, RAISING HIM CLEAR OF THE DECK, HELD HIM AT ” ” 242 - ARM’S-LENGTH ABOVE HIS HEAD - - MATEO, WITH A HOWL OF DISMAY, HAD DARTED FORWARD ” ” 260 - AND VANISHED IN THE FORECASTLE; WHILE NIMBUS, - WITH A YELL OF AFFRIGHT, HAD ROLLED AFT - - THE FIRST VIEW OF ICELAND ” ” 266 - - THE YACHT CAME DIRECTLY TOWARDS THEM ” ” 288 - - BREEZE’S WELCOME TO THE ”SAGA” ” ” 292 - - “YOU OUGHT TO HAVE WORN A DIVING SUIT, NIMBUS,” - SAID BREEZE ” ” 310 - - THOSE ON BOARD THE GREAT STEAMER GAZED WITH ” ” 326 - ADMIRATION AT THE DAINTY YACHT - - BREEZE STARED IN AMAZEMENT AT WOLFE’S MOTHER ” ” 332 - - BREEZE’S WELCOME HOME ” ” 350 - - _Do you carry a dory, captain? - Do you carry a dory on your deck? - Manned by two bold fishermen, - To save a life or board a wreck._ - - _Landsmen cry, “Man the life-boat!” captain, - “Man the life-boat off our coast!” - But, captain, man the dory, - The fisherman’s glory, - The Banker’s pride and boast._ - BY THE B. H. M. - - DORYMATES: - - A STORY OF THE FISHING BANKS. - - - - - CHAPTER I. - A WAIF OF THE SEA. - - -The fog had lifted, and a few stars were to be seen twinkling feebly; -but the wind was very light, and what there was of it was dead ahead. -There was a heavy swell rolling in from the eastward, but no sea -running. The Gloucester fishing schooner _Sea Robin_ was homeward bound -from the Newfoundland Banks, and as she slowly climbed each glassy -incline of black water, and then slid down into the windless hollow -beyond, she seemed to be making no progress whatever on her course. - -Although the _Sea Robin_ had been out for more than four months, and had -seen vessel after vessel of the fleet leave the Banks before she did and -sail for home with full fares, not half the salt in her pens was used -up, and she was returning with the smallest catch of the season. In -spite of the fact that provisions were running low on board the -schooner, her captain, Almon McCloud, would not have given up and left -the Banks yet, had not a recent gale swept away his dories, and caused -the loss of his new four-hundred-fathom cable. - -Under these circumstances the crew of the schooner were very -low-spirited, and there was none of the larking and fun among them that -is usually to be noticed in a homeward-bound Banker. The men wondered as -to the “Jonah” who had caused all their ill-luck. Finally they whispered -among themselves that it must be the skipper. They now remembered that -he had been unfortunate in more than one undertaking during the past -year or two, and all were agreed that it would be wise not to sail with -him again. This decision had been unanimously reached a few days before -the one on which this story opens; and when, shortly before daybreak, -there came a loud pounding on the cabin hatch, and a request that the -captain should come on deck, one of the watch below turned restlessly in -his bunk, and growled out, - -“I expect we are in for another bit of the skipper’s tough luck.” - -Reaching the deck, Captain McCloud found the two men on watch gazing -earnestly at a dull red glow that lighted the distant horizon behind -them. - -“Looks like there was suthin afire back there, skipper,” said the man at -the wheel. - -The captain waited until the schooner rose on top of a swell, and then, -after a long look at the light, gave the order to put her about and run -for it. - -There was some grumbling among the crew at this, for they were tired and -sick of the trip. They wanted to get home and have it over with, and -this running back over the course they had just come seemed to promise a -long and vexatious delay. However, lucky or unlucky, their skipper had -proved himself to be the captain of his vessel in every sense of the -word more times than one, and they dared not question his action loudly -enough for him to hear them. - -For nearly an hour longer the light glowed steadily, then it expanded -into a sudden wonderful brightness, and the next instant had disappeared -entirely. - -Three hours later, just as the sun was rising in all its sea-born glory, -the _Sea Robin_ sailed slowly through a mass of charred timbers and -other floating remains of what evidently had been a large vessel. There -were no boats to be seen, nor was anything discovered by which her name -or character could be identified. For some time the schooner cruised -back and forth through the wreckage in a fruitless search for survivors -of the catastrophe. As they were about to give it up, and Captain -McCloud had begun to issue the order to head her away again on her -course towards home, he all at once held up his hand to command silence, -and listened. - -It was certainly the cry of an infant that came clear and loud across -the water. The crew looked at each other in amazement, not unmixed with -fear. There was no boat to be seen, no sign of life; and yet there it -came again, louder and more distinct than before; the vigorous cry of a -healthy baby who has just waked up and is hungry. The wind had died out -entirely, the water was oily in its unruffled smoothness, and only the -long swell remained. - -Once more the cry was heard, and now it seemed so close at hand that -several of the men trembled and turned pale. There was still nothing to -be seen, save on the crest of the swell above them an apparently empty -cask maintaining an upright position in the water, and showing a third -of its length above it. - -“That’s the life-boat!” shouted Captain McCloud. “There’s where the -music comes from, men. Oh for the use of a dory for just five minutes!” - -Having no boat, they could only watch the cask as it came slowly nearer -and nearer, and several of the men prepared to jump overboard and swim -for it in case it should drift past them. At last, when it was about -thirty feet away, the skipper, making a skilful cast, settled the bight -of a light line over the strange craft. Then he carefully drew it -towards the schooner, over the low rail of which a couple of the crew -were hanging, waiting with out-stretched arms to grasp it. - -A minute later the cask stood on the schooner’s deck, and Captain -McCloud was lifting tenderly from it a sturdy, well-grown baby boy, -apparently about two years old. The little fellow smiled in the -weather-beaten face, and stretched out his arms eagerly as the rough -fisherman bent down towards him. At the same instant there came a -fluttering of sails overhead, with a rattling of blocks, and one of the -crew sang out as he sprang to the wheel, “Here’s a breeze! and it’s fair -for home!” - -“The baby’s brought it!” shouted another. “Hurrah for the baby!” - -The shout was eagerly taken up by the crew; three hearty cheers were -given for the baby, and three more for the breeze he had brought with -him. Then, springing to sheets and halyards with more enthusiasm than -they had shown before on the whole cruise, the active fellows quickly -had the _Sea Robin_ under a cloud of light canvas, and humming merrily -along towards Gloucester. - -They now found time to look at their baby, who, held in the skipper’s -arms while he gave the necessary orders for working the schooner, -contentedly sucked his thumb and gazed calmly about with the air of -being perfectly at home. He was a beautiful child, with great blue eyes -and yellow hair that curled in tiny ringlets all over his head. He was -plainly dressed; but all that he wore was made of the finest material. -Altogether he was so dainty a little specimen of humanity that he seemed -like a pink and white rose-bud amid the rough men who surrounded him. He -gazed at them for a minute or two with a smile, as though he would say -that he was most happy to make their acquaintance, and was not in the -least embarrassed by their stares. Then he turned to the skipper, and -began to cry in exactly the tone with which he had announced his -presence in the floating cask. - -“Hello!” exclaimed the skipper, who, though married, had no children of -his own, and had never held a baby before in his life, “what’s up now? -Here, ‘doctor,’ you’ve had some experience in this line, I believe; cast -your weather eye over this way and tell us the meaning of the squall.” - -The cook, or “doctor,” as he is almost always called on board the -fishing schooners, and, in fact, on most vessels, was a short, thick-set -Portuguese, almost as dark as an Indian, but the very picture of -good-nature. He now stepped up behind the skipper so as to have a good -view of the baby, whose face, which rested on the skipper’s shoulder, -was turned away from the crew, who stood looking at him in a helplessly -bewildered way. - -At the “doctor’s” sudden appearance the baby stopped crying, began again -to suck his thumb, and, with great, wide-open eyes, stared solemnly at -the grinning figure to whom it was thus introduced. - -“Him hongry, skip,” announced the “doctor.” “Me fix him, pret quicka, -bimeby, right off. Got one lit tin cow lef. You fetcha him down.” - -The “doctor,” who was named Mateo, declared afterwards that the moment -he looked into the baby’s face the little one had winked at him, as much -as to say, “You know what I want, old chap, now go ahead and get it.” - -By his “lit tin cow” he meant a can of condensed milk, and, as the only -man on board who knew how to feed a baby, he had suddenly become the -most important person among all the crew. Obeying his order, the -skipper, with the new arrival in his arms, followed him down into the -fore hold. The rest of the crew also attempted to crowd down into the -narrow space to witness the novel sight of a baby at breakfast, but old -Mateo quickly ordered them on deck, saying that the little stranger was -big enough to occupy all the room there was to spare. - -Then he bustled around in a hurry. He got out and opened the one -remaining can of milk, and mixed a small portion of its contents with -some warm water in a cup. The baby watched his every movement in -silence, but with such a wise look that both the men felt he knew -exactly what was going on. Now came the anxious moment--would he take -the milk? Had he learned how to drink? The anxiety was quickly ended. He -had learned to drink, and quickly emptied the proffered cup of every -drop of its contents with an eagerness that showed how hungry he was. A -ship biscuit, broken into small bits and soaked until soft in another -cup of the warm milk, proved equally acceptable. When the members of the -crew heard that the baby not only took kindly to the tin cow’s milk, but -had eaten hard-tack, they were highly delighted. They declared that he -was a natural born sailor, and would make a fisherman yet. - -After his breakfast the baby was laid in the skipper’s own bunk in the -cabin, where, warmly covered, and rocked by the motion of the schooner, -he quickly fell asleep. - -On deck the men conversed in low tones for fear of disturbing him. Their -sole topic was the child’s miraculous preservation and rescue, first -from the burning vessel and then from the sea. The cask in which he had -floated to them was carefully examined and pronounced to be of foreign -make. It had evidently been prepared hastily to serve the novel purpose -of a life-boat, but the preparation had been made with skill. In the -bottom was a quantity of scrap-iron, that had served as ballast and -caused it to float on end instead of on its side. On top of this were, -tightly wedged, two large empty tin cans, square, and having screw tops; -while above these was a pillow, in which the baby, wrapped in a thick -woollen shawl, had been laid. There was nothing else. Here was the baby, -and here the cask in which he had been saved; there, far behind them, -was the charred wreckage, and on the sky the night before had shone the -red glow from the burning vessel. Where she was from, and where bound, -whether or not others besides this helpless babe had been spared her -awful fate, what was her name and what her nationality, were among the -countless mysteries of the ocean that might never be cleared up. - -There was little satisfaction to be gained by the discussion of these -things; but the baby was a reality, and a novelty such as none of them -had ever before seen on board a fishing schooner. Of him they talked -incessantly during the three days’ homeward run. What they should call -him perplexed them sadly for a time. The names suggested and rejected -would have added several pages to a city directory. Finally this most -important question was decided by the skipper, who said, “He brought a -fair breeze with him that’s held by us ever since, and is giving us one -of the quickest runs home ever made from the Banks. He’s as bright and -cheery and refreshing as a breeze himself, and I propose that we call -him ‘Breeze.’ It’s a name that might belong to almost any nationality, -and yet give offence to none. As to a second name, for want of a better, -and if he don’t discover the one he’s rightly entitled to, why, I’ll -give him mine. What’s more, I’ll adopt him if his own folks don’t turn -up; that is, if my old woman is agreeable, and I ain’t much afraid but -what she will be.” - -So the little waif of the sea became, and was known from that day forth -as, Breeze McCloud--a name that was destined to become connected with as -many exciting adventures and hair-breadth escapes as any ever signed to -the shipping papers of a Gloucester fishing schooner. - -The breeze that hurried the _Sea Robin_ along was none too fair nor too -strong; for the supply of milk furnished by the “doctor’s” tin cow was -completely exhausted before they reached home. If they had not got in -just as they did, the baby would have suffered from hunger, and the -whole crew would have suffered with him. As it was, they passed -Thatcher’s Island while he was drinking the last of the milk. Before he -was again hungry, with everything set and drawing, and decorated with -every flag and bit of bunting that could be found on board, the saucy -_Sea Robin_ had rounded Eastern Point and was sailing merrily up -Gloucester harbor. - -A crowd of people had assembled on the wharf to witness her arrival, and -learn the cause of her decorations. As she neared it one of them called -out, - -“What is it, skipper? You’ve got your flags up as if you thought you was -High-line[A] of the fleet; but the old _Robin_ don’t look to be very -deep. What have you got?” - ------ - -Footnote A: - - High-line. The man who catches the most fish on a trip, or the vessel - that brings in the heaviest fare of the season. - ------ - -“We do claim to be High-line,” shouted back the skipper. “And here’s -what we’ve got to prove it.” With this he held the baby high above his -head so that all might see it, and added, “If any Grand Banker has -brought in a better fare than that this season, I want to see it; that’s -all.” - -So Breeze McCloud entered Gloucester harbor, and never had any stranger -been received with greater enthusiasm. The news of his arrival spread -like wildfire, and it seemed as though half the population of the city -had crowded down to the wharf to see him before Captain McCloud could -get ready to leave the schooner. Then, with the baby in his arms, he -stepped into the long seine-boat that, pulled by half a dozen lusty -fellows, was waiting to take him across the harbor to the foot of the -hill upon which his modest cottage was perched. - -After many days of anxiety--for the _Sea Robin_ was long overdue--the -captain’s wife, who had watched his schooner sail up the harbor with -flags flying, now awaited him in a fever of impatience. She had waited -at home because she could not bear to meet him before strangers, so she -had heard nothing of what he was bringing her. When at last she saw him -coming up the hill, accompanied by an ever-increasing throng of men, -women, and children, she was greatly perplexed to know what to make of -the sight, and hurried down to the little front gate, where she waited -for an explanation. - -“Why! whose child can the man have picked up?” she said to herself, as -her husband drew near enough for her to see what it was he held in his -arms. - -“The old _Robin’s_ High-line this season, Dolly,” cried Captain McCloud -as he reached the gate, “and I’ve brought you my share of the catch.” - -“You don’t mean that baby, Almon!” exclaimed the bewildered woman. - -“Yes, I do mean this very blessed baby! He’s a waif of the sea, without -father, mother, or home, that anybody knows of; and if you say the word, -we’ll give him all three.” With this he held the baby towards her. - -She hesitated a moment, but the baby did not. With a happy little crow -he at once stretched out his arms to her, and said, “Mamma!” - -It was enough. All the mother-love within her responded to this cry, and -the next moment the little one was hugged tightly to her bosom. - -Turning to those who had accompanied him, Captain McCloud said, “That -settles it, neighbors! I hadn’t much doubt of it before; now I know I am -acting rightly; and here, before you all, I solemnly adopt this baby -boy, Breeze McCloud, as my son, and promise, with God’s help, to be a -father to him in deed as well as in name.” - -On board the _Sea Robin_ none of the rough nurses, not even the -baby-wise Mateo, had dared undress the little one so strangely given -into their charge, for fear they would not be able to dress him again. -Thus, when he was delivered to Mrs. McCloud, it was evident that, next -to food, his greatest needs were a bath and some clean clothes. These -last his adopted mother borrowed from a neighbor who had children of all -ages and sizes. - -When the baby was undressed it was discovered that a slender gold chain -was clasped about his neck. Attached to it was a golden ball covered -with a tracery of unique and elaborate engraving. It was apparently -hollow; but nobody was able to open it, nor could they discover any -joint on its surface, so skilful was the workmanship that had created -it. Finally, declaring that it was merely an ornament and not meant to -be opened, Mrs. McCloud put it carefully away in a sandal-wood box, -among her own little hoard of treasures. - -In that box the golden ball lay for years, almost unnoticed, but ever -guarding jealously the secret that some day should exert such a -wonderful influence over the fortunes of the baby from whose neck it had -been taken. - - - - - CHAPTER II. - ON BOARD THE “CURLEW.” - - -Fifteen years seems a long time, and yet when they are happy years how -quickly they pass! They had been happy to Breeze McCloud; happy and busy -years. No boy in Gloucester had a pleasanter home or more loving parents -than he, though he was but an adopted son. He rarely thought of this, -though, for Captain McCloud had, from the very first, been a true -father, and the captain’s wife a loving mother to him. No other children -had come to them since they had taken him into their hearts and home, -and he was their pride and delight. He had grown to be a tall, handsome -fellow, interested in his studies, and a bright scholar, but always -impatient for the time to come when he should go out into the world and -win from it his own livelihood. - -Whenever Captain McCloud was at home the boy was his constant companion, -and from him Breeze eagerly learned the rudiments of a sailor’s art. He -delighted in being called his father’s “dorymate,” and was very proud of -being able to swim, and to row and sail his own dory, before he was -twelve years old. - -Being so much in his father’s company, and listening to the -conversations between him and other men, gave Breeze many ideas beyond -the comprehension of most boys of his age. He sometimes wore a grave and -thoughtful air, and often said wise things that sounded oddly enough in -one so young. - -The boy’s curly head was a familiar sight on board most of the fishing -schooners that were constantly coming into or going out of the port. -Here he was perfectly happy while listening to some tale of adventure on -the Banks or more distant fishing grounds, perhaps told by its hero on -the breezy deck or in the snug cabin of the very craft on which it had -all happened. - -At last the time had come for him to set forth in quest of similar -adventures, and to do his share towards maintaining the home that had -been such a safe and pleasant one to him. There was sorrow in it now, -and there might soon be want. The _Sea Robin_ had been gone six months, -and no word had been received from her since the day she sailed out -beyond Eastern Point, and vanished in the red glory of the rising sun. - -Only in the hearts of his wife and adopted son did the faintest hope -remain that the _Robin’s_ captain was still alive. To all others he was -as dead, and a new breadwinner was needed in his place. - -“I must go now, mother,” said Breeze. “I’m large and strong for my age, -and if they’ll take me I am sure I can do a man’s work and earn a man’s -wages.” - -“Oh, Breeze, my dear boy! my comfort! Is there not something else you -can do? A clerkship would pay just as well, and there would be none of -the horrible danger.” - -“Don’t, mother! don’t urge it! It makes me heart-sick to think of a -desk, or of being shut up all day in a store. I should never be good for -anything, you know I wouldn’t, mother dear, trying to do work that I had -no heart in.” - -“But, Breeze--” - -“But, mother! Please don’t think any more about a clerkship. Give me -your consent and your blessing, and let me follow father’s calling and -gain a living from the sea, as he has done. I came to you from the sea, -you know,” he continued, with a winning smile, and patting her thin -cheeks. “It was kind to me then, and it always will be, I am sure.” - -After many talks of this kind Breeze carried his point. Then, one -evening in March, there was no prouder boy in town than he, when he was -able to announce to his mother that he had shipped for a mackerelling -trip to the southward, on the schooner _Curlew_. - -The vessel was already taking in her ice and stores, and would haul out -into the stream the next morning, ready to start. Breeze was to go over -to town the first thing after breakfast, and buy the oil-skin suit, -rubber boots, and woollen cap that, besides the canvas bag of heavy -clothing he would take from home, would form his outfit. These he would -send aboard the schooner. Then he would come home again and say good-by -if there was time--but perhaps there would not be, and so they had -better make the most of this evening. - -They did make the most of it, and until after ten o’clock, Breeze and -his mother sat hand in hand, and talked, she sadly and tearfully, he -bravely and hopefully. - -The next morning, just before he left, his mother called him into her -room, saying, “I have one more thing to give you, Breeze. It is -something that should be the most precious thing in the world to you, -and I want you to wear it always.” With this she took from the -sandalwood box, that had kept it safely all these years, the slender -chain and golden ball that had hung around his baby neck when she first -held him in her arms. - -Breeze was inclined to laugh at the idea of wearing a gold chain and a -locket around his neck; but his mother was so in earnest in her desire -that he should, that he promised to do as she wished. - -[Illustration: “I CAME TO YOU FROM THE SEA,” HE SAID, PATTING HER THIN -CHEEKS.] - -“It was, doubtless, your own mother first placed it there, and I have a -strong feeling that it will, somehow or other, have much to do with your -future safety and happiness,” she said. “See, I have made a little -pocket in the breast of each of your flannel shirts to hold it,” she -added, as she clasped the chain about his neck and kissed him. - -“Own mother, or not own mother, no boy ever had a better, or sweeter, or -dearer, or more loving mother than you have been to me,” cried Breeze, -throwing his arms about her neck, “and I would not exchange you for any -other in the world, not even if she was a queen.” - -Now that the time to go had really come, the boy found it a very hard -thing to part from his home. After he had kissed his mother good-by, and -started down the hill, with his canvas bag on his shoulder, he dared not -look back, though he knew she was standing in front of the little -cottage watching him. - -He had barely time in town to make his few purchases before the _Curlew_ -should sail; for wind and tide were both favorable, and her skipper was -impatient to take advantage of them and get started. His hurry was owing -to the fact that several other schooners were getting ready for trips to -the same waters. He was anxious to be the first on the ground, and, if -possible, carry the first fresh mackerel of the season into New York. - -Although everybody has seen and eaten mackerel either fresh or salted, -and though they are caught in immense numbers off the Atlantic coast of -the United States every year, there is but little really known about -them. Where they come from and where they go to are still unsolved -mysteries. Every spring, between the middle of March and the middle of -April, they appear in great shoals in the waters just north of Cape -Hatteras. At this time they are very thin, and hardly fit for food; but -on the coast feeding-grounds they rapidly improve, until in the early -summer, when they have worked their way northward to New England waters, -they are in prime condition. They generally run as far north as the Gulf -of St. Lawrence, from which, in the fall, they suddenly disappear, to be -seen no more until the following spring. - -All through the summer, but especially at the very first of the season, -those that are caught near a port are packed in ice and carried in to -the market fresh. The greater part of the year’s catch is, however, -salted in barrels on board the schooners, and afterwards repacked on -shore, in kits or boxes, marked according to the size and quality of the -fish they contain, Nos. 1, 2, 3, or 4, and sent all over the world. - -The cruise on which Breeze McCloud was about to start was to be made in -search of the very first mackerel of the season, and the _Curlew’s_ -destination was therefore the waters off the Delaware coast, or between -there and Cape Hatteras. - -By ten o’clock everything was in readiness for the start. The skipper -had come on board, and all hands were hard at work, making sail or -breaking out and getting up the heavy anchor. Then it was “up jib and -away.” As the lively craft slipped swiftly down the harbor, Breeze found -time for one long last look at his home. At the cottage door he could -just make out a waving handkerchief, that told him he was being watched -and remembered. - -Once outside, all hands were kept busy for a couple of hours, setting -light sails, coiling lines, stowing odds and ends, and making everything -snug. The course they were heading would carry them just clear of Cape -Cod; and before a spanking breeze, under a press of canvas, the _Curlew_ -tore along as though sailing an ocean race that she was bound to win. -Almost any fishing vessel but a mackereller going out at this stormy -season would have left both top-masts and her jib-boom at home, being -content with the safest of working sails. To the early mackerel catcher, -however, every minute gained may mean many extra dollars in pocket; so -his craft sails in racing trim, and carries her canvas to the extreme of -recklessness. - -Like all fishing schooners, the _Curlew_ had a forecastle, in which -several of the crew slept, and in which were also the cook-stove and -mess-table. Back of it was the pantry and store-room, in which were ten -fresh-water tanks. Still farther aft was the hold, divided into pens by -partitions of rough boards. These were now filled with cakes of ice, but -later would be used for fish. Abaft the hold was the cabin, in which the -skipper and five of the crew found sleeping accommodations. It was -neatly finished in ash, and running along three sides of it was a broad -transom that served as a seat or lounging-place. The only furniture was -a small coal-stove, securely fastened in the middle of the floor. On the -walls hung a clock, a barometer, and a thermometer. A few charts were -stowed overhead in a rack, and, flung around in the bunks or on the -transom, were a number of paper-covered novels. - -The business of fishing is conducted upon the system of shares. That is, -half the value of the catch, after outfitting expenses have been -deducted, goes to the owners of the vessel, and half to the crew. -Although the skipper and cook are not required to take part in the -actual business of fishing, each of them receives a full share. The -skipper gets, in addition, four per cent. of the value of the catch, and -the cook has regular wages. - -The living on board a fishing schooner is generally superior to that on -almost any other craft. It consists of fresh meat, whenever it can be -obtained, fresh fish, vegetables, dried fruit, soft bread, cakes and -pies, eggs, condensed milk, and always tea and coffee, hot, strong, and -in abundance. - -The _Curlew_ was manned by a picked crew of twelve men, including the -skipper and cook. They were young, strong, and active, and, except -Breeze, all were skilful fishermen. He had been considered very -fortunate in obtaining a berth at a time of year when there are so many -good men anxious to ship. That he had done so was largely owing to the -friendship existing between the skipper, Captain Ezra Coffin, and his -adopted father. - -When he had consented to ship the boy for this trip, the skipper said, - -“It’s a hard life, Breeze, and one full of chances. Every man aboard may -have a hundred dollars to his credit before the week is out, and then -again we may cruise for a month and not make enough to pay for our ice. -You are only a boy, but you will have to do a man’s work, and hard work -at that. There are perils of all kinds waiting on every minute of the -night and day, and they’ll come when you least expect them. I’d rather a -boy of mine would saw wood for a living on land than to try and make it -by fishing. Besides all this, as you are a green hand, I can only offer -you half a share for this trip. Still, if you are bound to come, I’m -glad to have you, both for your own sake and for that of my old -dorymate, Almon McCloud. So bring along your dunnage, lad, and may -good-luck come with you!” - -Breeze had answered, “I know it won’t be all plain sailing, sir, and -that I’ve got a lot to learn before I can be called an A 1 hand. Still, -hard and dangerous as you say the business is, I’d rather try and make a -living at it than at anything else I know of, and I am much obliged to -you for giving me a chance.” - -Soon after leaving port, the skipper called all hands aft to draw for -bunks and to “thumb the hat.” The bunks had numbers chalked on them, and -now the skipper held in his hand as many small sticks as there were men -in the crew. Each stick had notches cut in it corresponding to the -numbers of the bunks, and one by one the crew stepped up and drew them -from the skipper’s hand. Thus the sleeping quarters were distributed -with perfect fairness, and there was no chance for grumbling. Breeze was -lucky enough to draw one of the wide bunks in the cabin, and at once -hastened to stow his possessions in it. - -When all the berths had been thus distributed, the crew again gathered -aft, and each man placed a thumb on the rim of an old straw hat that had -been laid on top of the cabin. The skipper turned his back to them, one -of the men named a number, and, without looking to see whose it was, the -skipper touched one of the thumbs. Then he counted around until the -number mentioned was reached. The man at whose thumb he stopped was to -stand first watch and trick at the wheel, the next man on his right the -second, and so on. There would be two men on watch in bad weather, but -one is generally considered sufficient when it is fine. - -With the parting injunction to “mind, now, and remember who you are to -call,” the skipper went below. As eight bells, or twelve o’clock, was -struck, the man who had first watch took the wheel, gave a glance at the -compass, another at the sails, and the regular routine of duty was -begun. - -Now dinner was announced, and after the skipper was seated, the half of -the crew that reached the mess-table and secured seats were entitled to -eat at “first table” during the trip. The others had to be content to -eat at “second table.” Breeze was not posted as to this, and -consequently was among those who got left when the rush took place. -Afterwards, this seemingly trifling circumstance proved to be of the -most vital importance to him, as we shall see. - -The cruise thus fairly begun was continued without incident until the -_Curlew_ reached the fishing grounds off the Virginia capes. Then, under -easy sail, she stood off and on, with a man constantly at the mast-head, -scanning the surface of the water in the hope of seeing mackerel. The -great seine-boat was got overboard, and with the seine in it, was towed -behind the schooner, ready for instant use. - -At length, after four tedious days of this work, the impatient crew were -brought tumbling on deck in a hurry one fine morning by the welcome cry -of “There they school; half a mile away, off the weather bow!” - - - - - CHAPTER III. - THE HAULING OF THE SEINE. - - -In less than five minutes after the first cry announcing the appearance -of the eagerly expected fish, the great thirty-foot, double-ended -seine-boat, rowed by eight men, had left the schooner and started in the -direction of the school. In its stern, with his hand on the long -steering oar, stood the seine-master, directing the course of the boat -and keeping a sharp lookout ahead. Pulling after them as fast as he -could was Breeze McCloud, in the single dory that the _Curlew_ carried. -The schooner, left in charge of the skipper and cook, was thrown up into -the wind, and was held as nearly stationary as possible until it could -be seen where she would be wanted. - -“Come, stretch yourselves, lads! stretch yourselves! Let’s see who’ll -break the first oar! Those other fellows are just humping themselves. -It’s Yankee against Yankee this time, and you’ve got a tough lot to -beat,” shouted the seine-master. - -He would, of course, have been very sorry to have an oar broken, but he -had such confidence that the men could do no more than bend the tough -ash blades, no matter how hard they tugged, that he was perfectly -willing they should try. By the “other fellows” he meant the crew of -another fishing schooner, which daylight of that morning had disclosed -not far from them, and which had evidently discovered mackerel about the -same time they had. They, too, were out in their seine-boat, and -doubtless looked forward with as great confidence as did the men from -the _Curlew_ to taking the first fare of the season into New York. - -“Easy, lads, easy now!” ordered the seine-master, in a tone of -suppressed excitement; “here’s our school.” Now he tossed overboard a -small keg, or buoy, to which was attached one end of the upper, or cork -line of the great net. Near this Breeze was to wait in his dory. Then, -bending to their oars, the boat’s crew began to pull, with lusty -strokes, in a great circle around the school of fish that was rippling -the water close beside them. Swimming in a dense body close to the -surface, often throwing themselves clear of the water, with their steely -blue sides flashing in the morning light, the mackerel were darting -madly hither and thither. At one instant the whole school, moved by some -mysterious impulse, would make a simultaneous dash in one direction, and -the next it would as suddenly rush back again. In the cool dim depths -beneath them, dog-fish, sharks, and other hungry sea pirates were -breakfasting off the newly arrived strangers, and devouring them by the -score. In the air above them circled and swooped great fishing hawks, -anxious to make a meal off of fresh mackerel. Now to these enemies was -added man, the most cruel and greatly to be dreaded of all. No wonder -the poor fish were frightened and undecided as to the direction of their -flight from so many imminent dangers. - -Meantime the great net, a quarter of a mile long, had been skilfully -drawn completely around them. Breeze, in his dory, obeying previously -given instructions, carried the buoy that had first been thrown -overboard to the seine-boat, in which the other end of the cork-line was -still held and made fast. The circle was now perfect, and the fish were -surrounded by a wall of fine but stout twine. Their only chance of -escape lay at the bottom of the net, and in another minute this opening -would also be closed against them. - -While the upper edge of the seine was floated by means of numerous large -corks attached to the rope that ran along its entire length, its lower -edge was sunk and held straight down by an equal number of leaden rings. -Through these ran a second stout line, known as the “purse rope,” an end -of which remained in the boat. By pulling on this all the leaden rings -could be drawn close together, and as the net was now in the form of a -circle, its lower edge would form a purse in which there would be no -opening for escape. - -Hauling on this rope and “pursing” the seine is the hardest part of the -entire job, and takes the united efforts of the seine-boat’s crew. It is -also a most exciting operation, for if it is successfully accomplished -the fish are caught and an ample reward for all the previous toil is -almost certain. If, on the other hand, the fish take alarm at the last -moment and dart downward through the still open bottom of the net, all -the hard work goes for nothing and must be done over again, perhaps many -times before a successful haul is made. - -Such was the case in this instance. Success was almost within reach of -the _Curlew’s_ crew, when suddenly the entire school of fish, upon which -they were building such high hopes, dropped out of sight like so many -leaden plummets, and were gone. They had evidently decided that there -were more chances for life among the sharks and dog-fish than within the -power of their human enemies, and had wisely seized their last chance of -escape from them. - -It was a bitter disappointment, and it was made the keener by the sight -of certain movements on board the rival schooner that indicated a -successful pursing of their seine and a heavy catch of fish. Slowly, and -with much grumbling over their hard luck, the _Curlew’s_ men gathered in -their net and empty seine. They piled it up carefully, rings forward and -corks aft, in the after-part of their boat, ready for the next time. -Then they listlessly pulled towards their schooner, which was lying near -by, and on board which breakfast awaited them. - -The _Curlew_ sailed close to the other schooner in order to learn her -luck, and witness the lively scene about her. The stranger’s seine had -enclosed an enormous school of fish, which was estimated at nearly, if -not quite, five hundred barrels. One end of it had been got on board the -schooner, and the dipping out of the fish was about to begin. They were -greatly frightened, and rushed from side to side with such violence that -many of them were crushed to death. All at once they sank, and their -weight was so great as to draw one gunwale of the heavy seine-boat under -the water, although eight men were perched on the opposite side to -counterbalance it. - -When a crew find a greater quantity of fish on their hands than they can -take care of, as was the case now, it is customary, if there is another -vessel within hail, to give her the surplus rather than to throw it -away. Having often done this himself, Captain Coffin did not hesitate, -as the two schooners drew close together, to hail the other skipper and -ask if he had any fish to give away. - -“No, I haven’t,” was the surly answer. “If you want fish go and catch -’em.” - -“All right,” answered Captain Coffin, somewhat provoked, but still -good-naturedly; “we’re the lads can just do that, and we’ll beat you -into New York yet.” - -“Looks like it now, doesn’t it?” shouted the other, scornfully. “If you -do, though, it won’t be because I helped you. I’d rather lose every fish -I’ve got alongside here than to give you one of them.” - -These words were hardly out of his mouth when the captured fish darted -violently towards the bottom of the net, and the seine-boat was nearly -capsized, as has been related. Its crew hurriedly scrambled to the upper -side. Suddenly the boat righted, so quickly that the whole eight men -were flung overboard, and found themselves floundering in the cold -water. - -The situation was startling as well as comical, though the explanation -of what had happened was very simple. The frightened fish, in their -downward rush, had torn a great hole in the net, which was an old one, -and through it they had instantly darted to depths of safety. The seine, -being thus relieved of its burden, no longer pulled the boat down, and -it at once yielded to the weight of the men on its upper gunwale. - -Under ordinary circumstances this mishap would have excited the sympathy -of those on board the _Curlew_. Now, on account of the uncivil reply of -the rival skipper to their captain, they were inclined to rejoice at -what had happened, and they roared with laughter at the rueful faces of -the dripping men as they scrambled back into their boat. - -To Breeze the whole affair presented itself in such a comical aspect -that he laughed louder and longer than any of the others, though in a -perfectly good-humored way, and without a trace of an unkind feeling -towards those who had been so unfortunate. His mirth was, however, -deemed peculiarly irritating by one of the rival crew, a young man with -an ugly face that bore unmistakable traces of dissipation. He shook his -fist at Breeze and called out, - -“Never you mind, young feller, I’ll not forget you! And maybe I’ll find -a chance to make you laugh out of the other side of your mouth some -day.” - -This speech sobered Breeze at once, though at first he looked around in -a bewildered way, thinking it could not possibly be meant for him. When -he realized that it was he shouted back, - -“Seems to me I wouldn’t feel so bad about it if I was you. I wasn’t -laughing at you, anyway. I was laughing to think how surprised those -mackerel must have been when you went diving down after them, trying to -catch ’em in your hands.” - -This raised another shout of laughter from the Curlew men, but the young -man towards whom it was directed only shook his fist again at Breeze, -and turned away without a word, going below to find some dry clothes. - -Breeze saw that he had unwittingly made for himself an enemy in this -stranger, and for a time the knowledge caused him real distress. He was -a warm-hearted boy, preferring friendships to enmities, and would at any -time sacrifice his own pleasure or comfort to win the former and -overcome the latter. At the same time, he was not sorry that he had -asserted his own independence and answered back as he had. The incident -soon passed from his mind, however, in the rush of more stirring events, -and it was some time before he was again reminded of it. - -Captain Coffin was much puzzled to account for the surliness of the -rival skipper until the _Curlew_ passed astern of the other schooner, so -that her name, _Roxy B._, and her hailing port could be read. Then it -flashed across him that this was the Rockhaven craft that was thought to -be so fast, but which he had beaten in a fair race on a run into Boston -the summer before. - -[Illustration: “SEEMS TO ME I WOULDN’T FEEL SO BAD ABOUT IT IF I WAS -YOU.”] - -To bear ill-will for such a cause certainly showed a small and mean -mind, and Captain Coffin said he was very glad the other had refused to -let him have any fish, for he should hate to be under obligations to -such a man. - -The _Curlew_ had not gone more than a mile from the _Roxy B._ when the -fish of which she was in search began to rise to the surface on all -sides of her. The seine-boat was quickly sent out, while Breeze, in his -dory, followed it as before. This time a school was successfully -surrounded, and the net was pursed without a mishap. A flag hoisted on -an oar in the boat was the signal to the schooner that they had made a -large haul and needed her assistance. She was soon brought alongside of -the pursed seine with its burden of glittering fish, and from it a -long-handled scoop-net, worked with a tackle, was dipping them, a -half-barrelful at a time, and transferring them to her deck. - -The catch was about one hundred and fifty barrels of mackerel that were -of a prime quality as to size, but so thin that they would have been -unfit to split and salt. The afternoon was drawing to a close before -they were all got on board and the seine was properly stowed in its -boat; but there was no rest for the tired crew yet a while. Sail was -made on the schooner, and she was headed for Sandy Hook, nearly three -hundred miles away. Then all hands, except the cook and the man at the -wheel, turned to and began “gibbing” and packing the fish. - -Mackerel are so delicate that they die almost as soon as they touch a -deck, and will quickly spoil if not cared for at once. So there was no -time to lose, and the whole catch must be “gibbed,” or cleaned, and -packed in ice before sleep could be thought of. - -In “gibbing” a mackerel the gills are plucked out, and with them come -the entrails. This operation was performed with marvellous rapidity by -the skilled workers of the crew, the refuse matter was tossed into -square wooden boxes known as “gib-tubs,” and the cleaned fish were -thrown into bushel baskets. - -Down in the hold the blocks of ice were removed from a pen, and reduced -to small bits by heavy sharp-pointed “slicers.” A layer of this broken -ice was shovelled over the bottom of the empty pen, and above it was -spread a basket of fish. Then came another layer of ice, then more fish, -and so on until the pen was full, when another was emptied and filled in -the same manner. It was long after midnight before the crew of the -_Curlew_ knocked off work, with the last of their fish safely packed -away; but, tired as they were, they were also highly elated by their -success, and by the prospect of being the first mackereller of the -season into New York. - -The next day, spent in running up the coast with a brisk westerly -breeze, was one of the happiest that can come to the in-shore fisherman. -Everybody was in the best of humor, from the knowledge that they had, -stowed beneath their hatches, a fair-sized catch of the very earliest -mackerel of the season. They knew these would bring an extra price, and -pay each of them at least twice as much as they would make under more -ordinary circumstances. There was little to do except stand watch and -clean ship; so that most of the day was devoted to the spinning of yarns -in the forecastle, and the singing of songs to a banjo accompaniment in -the cabin. The cook made them a great dish of Joe-floggers (peculiar -pancakes stuffed with plums) for breakfast, and a gorgeous plum-duff for -dinner. Upon the whole, Breeze enjoyed the day so thoroughly that he -wondered how anybody could complain of the hardships of a fisherman’s -life, or think it anything but fascinating. - -They passed the double Highland lights, and rounding Sandy Hook, stood -up New York Bay some time during the following night; the next morning, -by daylight, they were snugly moored in the Fulton Market slip, among -scores of other fishing vessels, none of which had on board a single -mackerel. Theirs was the first catch of the season, and before -breakfast-time it had been sold in bulk for three thousand dollars. Of -this, after expenses were deducted, each full share amounted to -ninety-two dollars, while the half share credited to Breeze was -forty-six dollars. This seemed to him a large sum of money to have been -earned in a week, only one day and night of which had been devoted to -real hard work. He at once wrote to his mother telling her the good -news, and as he did so he felt that he had become, if not an important -member of society, at least a very wealthy one. - -In the afternoon he took a short walk through the lower part of the -great city, but became so bewildered by the noise, bustle, and crowds of -people that he dared not go very far for fear of getting lost. On one of -the downtown streets that he did visit he was attracted by the sight of -a jeweller’s window. This reminded him of what his mother had said, that -if anybody could open the golden ball that hung from the chain around -his neck it would be a city jeweller. - -Entering the store, he stepped up to an elderly gentleman who stood -behind a desk, and unclasping the chain, handed it and the ball to him, -saying, “I don’t know whether this ball will open or not; can you tell -me, sir?” - -The jeweller examined the trinket carefully, and seemed particularly -interested in the unique tracery with which it was ornamented. For -several minutes he did not speak; then he asked, abruptly, “Where did -you get this?” - -Breeze told him in a few words all that he knew of its history as well -as his own. - -“H’m,” said the jeweller. “You wait here a moment, while I show this to -my partner.” - -He was gone so long that Breeze began to grow uneasy, and had just about -made up his mind to go in search of him, when he returned. He was -accompanied by a low-browed, swarthy individual, who, when Breeze was -pointed out, stepped up to him and said, - -“This trinket, that you have brought in, is quite a novelty in our line, -and I should like to buy it of you. It is a puzzle-charm of East Indian -make. Unless one knows the secret of its construction, it cannot -possibly be opened except by an accident that might not happen in ten -thousand times of trying. I learned my trade in Calcutta, and am -probably the only man in New York City to-day who can open this little -ball. You see that I can do it.” - -Here he showed Breeze the ball open, but did not let him see its -contents. Then turning his back for an instant, he again displayed it -closed as before. - -“What will you take for it?” he asked. - -“It’s not for sale,” answered Breeze, “but I am willing to pay for -learning the trick of how to open it, for I am curious to know what it -contains.” - -“That information is not for sale either, nor will I tell you what the -ball contains,” said the jeweller. “Moreover, if you will not sell it to -me, or show me some proof that you are its rightful owner, I shall keep -it until I can place it in the hands of the police, for it is my belief -that you have stolen it.” - - - - - CHAPTER IV. - A SUDDEN DISASTER. - - -The jeweller’s accusation was so unexpected and startling to Breeze that -he flushed hotly, and for a moment found no words to answer it. Then he -demanded, indignantly, - -“How dare you say such a thing? Give me back my property instantly, or I -shall be the one to call in the police!” - -“Certainly, my young friend, certainly, when you produce the proof that -it is yours,” replied the man, dropping the trinket into a drawer, of -which he turned the lock. - -There was no element of decision lacking in Breeze’s character; he was -quick to act in emergencies, and without another word he stepped to the -door. A small boy was passing. - -“Sonny,” said Breeze, “run quick and bring a policeman. If he is here -within five minutes I will give you five cents.” - -The boy, keenly alive to a situation that promised so much excitement as -this, started off on a run. Breeze remained standing where he could -survey the whole interior of the store, and could especially keep an eye -on the drawer in which lay his property. - -The men inside watched him closely. They had seen him despatch the boy -on some errand, but had not overheard what he said, and did not know -what it was. Now the one who had opened the ball approached him and -said, - -“Why don’t you go for your proofs? You had better hurry, as we shall -close up soon, and then we could not look at them until to-morrow.” - -“I have sent for them,” answered Breeze, simply. - -“Oh,” said the man, somewhat disconcerted. “Well, of course, if they -come in time, and are satisfactory, you shall have your charm back, and -an apology into the bargain.” - -“Here comes one of them now,” replied Breeze, as he handed a five-cent -piece to a breathless small boy, who came running up just in front of a -big policeman. - -[Illustration: "THAT GENTLEMAN THERE REFUSES TO RETURN A GOLD BALL AND -CHAIN THAT I HANDED HIM FOR EXAMINATION."] - -To this officer Breeze said, “That gentleman there,” pointing to the -dark-skinned jeweller, “refuses to return a gold ball and chain that I -handed him for examination. He says he thinks I stole them, and he has -locked them up in a drawer. I think I can bring one of the best-known -men in New York to vouch for my honesty; but it may be some time before -I can find him. Now, I want to know if you will take this trinket, as -the gentleman calls it, and keep it for me until I return?” - -“Why not just as well leave it where it is?” interrupted the jeweller, -eagerly. “It will be perfectly safe here, as this officer knows.” - -“No,” said Breeze, “that will not do. You must give it to the officer at -once, or else I shall go to the police-station, and enter a complaint -against you for stealing.” - -The partners whispered together for a minute. Evidently the bold stand -taken by the lad, and his prompt action, had made a decided impression -upon them. - -Before they could reach a decision as to what they should do, the -officer spoke up and said, - -“The young man is right. If there is any stolen property in the -question, the proper place for it is in the station-house. So, if you -will just hand over this article, whatever it is, I will take it there.” - -There was no appeal from this decision. The locket was reluctantly given -up to the officer, who took both it and Breeze to the station-house near -by. Here the sergeant in charge listened attentively to all that he had -to say, as well as to the story Breeze had to tell. - -“Go with him,” he said, finally, to the officer, “down to the schooner, -and see what sort of a character his captain gives him. Then bring him -back here.” - -With this he placed the golden ball and chain in a drawer of his own -desk, and again turned to his writing. - -Breeze and the officer found Captain Coffin talking to the gentleman to -whom he had sold his cargo of fish that morning. He happened to be not -only a prominent business man, but an active local politician, and was -the very person whom Breeze had in his mind when he had offered to bring -a well-known citizen to establish his character. - -Begging their pardon for the interruption, Breeze told his story to -Captain Coffin, and the politician also listened to it. - -When the story was finished, the latter, turning to the captain, said, -“Can you vouch for this lad’s honesty, skipper?” - -“Certainly I can, as I would for my own,” was the answer. “I have known -him from his babyhood, and, moreover, I have often heard this golden -ball spoken of by his adopted father, though I have never seen it.” - -“Then,” said the other, “supposing we step up to the police-station, and -have it returned to him. It is one of the most curious cases I ever -heard of, and I am interested to see that the boy comes out of it all -right.” - -Within ten minutes the sergeant had been satisfied that Breeze was the -rightful owner of the locket, had returned it to him, and he had again -clasped its chain about his neck. He was very happy in thus regaining -possession of it, and very thankful to those who had so promptly -assisted him. When Captain Coffin proposed that they should now go to -the jeweller’s shop and get him to again open the ball, Breeze begged -him not to think of such a thing. “I don’t want that man ever to get it -into his possession,” he said, “and I don’t believe he’d open it for us -anyway, now.” - -“I guess the boy is about right,” remarked the politician, thoughtfully. -“That fellow has evidently some strong reason for wishing to obtain the -trinket, and if he got hold of it again he might change it for another -that looked just like it, and we never be the wiser.” - -This was just what Breeze had thought of when he had refused to leave -the jeweller’s shop and go in search of proofs of his ownership of the -locket, and he was greatly pleased at this evidence that he had acted -wisely. - -That night the _Curlew_ sailed out of New York Bay, and was once more -headed to the southward in search of the early mackerel. The following -day was clear and bright, but very cold for that season of the year. -There were only a few clouds to be seen; but the sky was coppery in -color, and the wind, which was still off-shore, was fitful and baffling. -At supper-time, about an hour before sunset, the man at the wheel, who -happened to be one of those who ate at the first table, said, - -“Here, McCloud, you belong to second mess; take the wheel while I eat -supper, will you?” - -“Certainly I will,” answered Breeze, cheerfully. “What’s the course?” - -“South by west, half west, an open sea, a favoring wind, and no odds -asked or given,” was the laughing response, as the man hurried forward. - -Captain Coffin was impatient to get back among the mackerel, and so the -schooner was running under all the sail she could carry, including a -jib-topsail and a huge main-staysail. - -Somewhat to his surprise, Breeze now found himself the sole occupant of -the deck. The skipper and half the crew were eating their supper in the -forecastle, while the others were in the cabin, sleeping, reading, and -keeping warm. On account of the cold, they had drawn the slide over the -companion-way. - -It was the first time the young sailor had been left in sole charge of -the vessel, and he realized the responsibility of his position. Still, -owing to his father’s teachings and careful training, he felt quite -competent to manage her, so long as no especial danger threatened. He -also comforted himself with the thought that there was not the slightest -chance of anything happening in the short time before he should be -relieved. - -While thus thinking, and at the same time keeping a sharp watch of the -sails, the compass, and the dog-vane that, fluttering from the -mainmast-head, denoted the direction of the wind, he was startled by a -curious humming sound in the air above him. It was a weird, uncanny -sound, unlike anything he had ever before heard, and it filled him with -a strange fear. He was just about to call the men in the cabin, when -suddenly there came a roar and a shriek above his head. Then the little -circular tornado, directly in whose track the unfortunate _Curlew_ -happened to be, struck her such a terrible blow that she was powerless -to resist it. In an instant she was knocked down and thrown on her beam -ends. The white sails, that had soared aloft so gracefully, and offered -so tempting a mark for the spinning whirlwind, now lay flat in the -water, heavily soaking and holding the schooner down. - -Breeze had spun the wheel with all his might, and thrown the helm hard -down, in the hope of bringing her up into the wind; but the blow had -been too sudden and too heavy. The rudder no longer controlled her, and -she lay as helpless as though waterlogged, held down by that terrible -dragging weight of top-hamper. - -As she went over, one man had struggled up from the forecastle and been -instantly buried in the sea beneath the heavy canvas of the foresail. -Breeze knew that the reason no more came was that a torrent of water was -rushing with resistless force through the narrow opening. Beneath him he -could hear the smothered cries and struggles of the prisoners in the -cabin. In a few minutes more the vessel would sink, and all within her -would be miserably drowned. Their only hope was in him. What could he -do? What could he do? - -Standing on the weather side of the wheel when the schooner was struck, -he had saved himself from going overboard by clinging to it. Now he -scrambled to the upper side of the house, and holding on to the -weather-rail, began to hack desperately at the lanyards of the main -rigging with his sheath-knife. If only the masts would break off and -relieve the vessel of that awful weight of soaked canvas, she might -right herself. - -One after another the lanyards snap like strained harpstrings. There! -the rigging has gone and the mast cracks. Now for the fore rigging! How -he reached it the boy never knew; in fact he afterwards had very little -recollection of what he did amid the terrible excitement of those two -minutes; but he did reach and cut it. - -Then there came a rending of wood as the tough masts broke off. Then -slowly, very slowly, the vessel righted herself, and once more rode on -an even keel, though half full of water, and as sad a looking wreck as -ever floated. - -As she righted, the after companion-way was burst open by the mighty -effort of those beneath the slide, and they rushed out gasping for -breath and with glaring eyes. They had been very nearly suffocated by -steam and gas generated by the water pouring down the funnel on the -glowing coals in the cabin stove. - -From the forecastle also emerged, one by one, the half-drowned figures -of those who had been imprisoned in it. But for the prompt action of the -brave boy on deck, they would never have left its flooded recesses. One -of their number was missing, and he was the man whose place at the wheel -Breeze had taken, and who had forced his way out as the vessel capsized, -only to be drowned beneath the canvas of the foresail. He would be -sincerely mourned later, but there was no time to think of him now. The -others were still in too imminent peril of losing their own lives. - -As the stricken craft rolled like a log in the sea-way, she pounded -heavily against the masts and spars, which, still attached to her by the -lee rigging and head-stays, floated close alongside. The danger that her -planking might thus be crushed in was so great that, in spite of his own -wretched condition, Captain Coffin saw it the moment he gained the deck. -Calling upon the others to follow his example, he drew his knife and -began to cut away the tangle of cordage that bound the vessel to this -new enemy. - -When it was finally cleared, the seine-boat, which was still dragging -astern, was pulled up, and half the crew went in it to tow the mass of -spars and canvas clear of the schooner, and save such of the sails as -they could. The rest began to labor at the pumps, and to rig a jury-mast -on which they might spread such sail as would carry her into port. The -main-mast had snapped off so close to the deck as to leave nothing to -which they might fasten a jury-spar; but of the foremast a stump some -six feet high remained, and with this they hoped to accomplish their -purpose. - -While the skipper, Breeze, and two others were thus engaged, those at -the pumps suddenly called out that the water was gaining on them, and -that the vessel was about to founder. - -It was only too true; the stanch little schooner had evidently made her -last voyage, and would never again sail into Gloucester harbor. In fact, -the water was gaining so rapidly that it was within a foot or two of her -deck, and there was no time to lose in leaving her. Those in the -seine-boat were fortunately within easy hail, and dropping their work, -they quickly had it alongside. - -There was no need of seeking an explanation of the rapid inflow of -water. It was only too plain that gaping seams had been opened by the -great strain of her masts and sails while the schooner lay on her beam -ends. It was more than probable, also, that butts had been started here -and there by the jagged ends of the heavy spars as they lay in the water -pounding and grinding against her sides. - -Nothing could be saved. There was barely time for all hands to tumble -into the seine-boat and pull it to a safe distance from the fast-sinking -vessel. Then they lay on their oars and watched her. She seemed like -some live thing, aware of the fate about to overtake her, and struggling -pitifully against it. The swash of the water in her cabin sounded like -sobs, and the faces of the men who watched her, usually so bright and -merry, were as sad as though they watched at the bedside of a dying -friend. - -The sun was setting red and angry in a mass of black clouds that came -rolling up out of the west as she took the final plunge, and diving bows -first, disappeared forever, leaving her crew silent, motionless, and -awe-stricken at the catastrophe that had thus overtaken them. - -The skipper was the first to break the silence, and in a tone of forced -cheerfulness he said, “Well, boys, the old _Curlew_ has gone where all -good crafts go, sooner or later, and we must be thankful she hasn’t -taken us along with her. I honestly believe we should all have shared -her fate, and that of poor Rod Mason, if it had not been for this brave -lad and the quick wit that taught him to do exactly the right thing at -the right moment. I have not the slightest doubt that we owe our lives -to Breeze McCloud, and right here I want to thank him, and to pay my -respects to the memory of the brave man who brought him up to act as a -true sailor should in such an emergency.” - -These were grateful words to poor Breeze, who was feeling the loss of -his shipmate, and of the schooner, more keenly than any of his -companions, and fearing that perhaps they would blame him for what had -happened. He had given Captain Coffin a hurried account of the disaster, -and of how he had cut away the masts; but the skipper had found no time -then to say what he thought of the course the boy had pursued. - -Now, one by one, the men reached forward to shake hands with him, and -had it not been for the thought of the drowned man, he would, in spite -of their miserable situation, have felt as light-hearted as though -already in port. - -There were neither water nor provisions in the boat, they had no mast, -sail, nor compass. Most of them were wet through, and already chilled to -the bone by the cold wind, which was rising, and promised to freshen -into a gale before midnight. Breeze was the only one who was dry and had -his oil-skins on, and but for his hunger he would have been -comparatively comfortable. - -They stopped near the floating wreckage of spars and sails long enough -to obtain the schooner’s main-topsail, and the foregaff which they hoped -to rig up as a mast in the boat. They also cut away a small lot of the -lighter cordage. Then they headed their craft to the westward, and -started to pull for the distant land. The skipper said they were not -more than fifty miles from the coast, and if the sea did not get too -rough, they ought to make it by noon of the next day. - -They were divided into two watches, and while half of them rowed, the -rest huddled together as close as possible in the bottom of the boat for -warmth. - -It was nearly midnight, the wind was blowing a gale dead against them, -and they seemed to be making no progress whatever. Breeze, unable to -sleep, was sitting up gazing out into the blackness behind them. -Suddenly, as the boat rose on the crest of a great wave, he sprang to -his feet and cried, “A light! I see a light!” - - - - - CHAPTER V. - SAVED BY ELECTRICITY. - - -The joyful cry of a light at once put new life and hope into the hearts -of the hungry, drenched, and shivering occupants of the seine-boat. -Those who had huddled together under the wet canvas of the top-sail in -the vain effort to keep warm, as well as those who were pulling -hopelessly and wearily at the oars, gazed eagerly in the direction -indicated by Breeze. Yes, there it was, faint and yellow in the -distance, apparently that of some vessel approaching them from the -southward. They could see it as their boat rose on the crests of the -great billows, though it was lost again when they sank into the black -hollows between them. - -Soon they were able to distinguish a second yellow light, lower than the -other, and by the position of these they knew that the approaching -vessel was a steamer, and a large one at that. Then her red and green -side-lights came into view. They watched anxiously to see which of these -would disappear first, in order to determine on which side of them she -was going to pass. If the red light should be lost to view, then they -would know she was passing to windward of them. In that case there would -not be the slightest chance of any cries they could utter reaching her, -and she would go on her way unconscious of their presence. If the green -light should disappear, it would be a sign that she was about to pass to -leeward. In that case there was a possibility that their shouts, borne -down the gale, might attract the attention of the watch on her deck. -Still, she might not stop even then, and it was an almost unheard-of -thing for a boat to be picked up at sea in the darkness of midnight, -amid the noise and tumult of a gale. They fully understood their -position, but, slight as their chance was, they watched for it -hopefully. - -All at once, as they were lifted from a deep, watery hollow, and looked -for the lights, they gave utterance to exclamations of dismay. They -could still see the green light and the two yellow lights, but the red -one was no longer visible. - -“’Tain’t no use. She’s going to windward of us;” muttered one of the -men, at once giving up all hope, and again lying down in the bottom of -the boat. “Luck’s against us, and we might as well reckon on help from -the old _Curlew_ as from that craft.” - -Most of the others evidently thought as he did, and they turned their -eyes resolutely away from the lights, as though determined to be no -longer tantalized by them. But Breeze could not give up so easily, and -he still watched the lights whenever a lifting wave afforded him an -opportunity of seeing them. - -What! Can it be? Or are his eyes deceiving him? No. It certainly is the -red light again, now much more distinct than before. The steamer has -altered her course and is heading directly for them. The men are filled -with new life at the boy’s exultant cry announcing his discovery. They -spring up and gaze incredulously. It is true, and both lights are now to -be plainly seen, not more than half a mile away and bearing directly -towards them. Now they fear that she may run them down, and begin to -pull to windward, so as to give her a clear berth. At last she is close -upon them, and the green light disappears, while the red shows clear and -steady. - -“Now for a shout, men! All together as I give the word. One! two! -three!” commands the skipper. - -It is a wild, desperate cry that startles the lookout on the forward -deck of the steamer from the half reverie into which he has fallen. - -Again it comes to his ears, and again, borne on the wings of the gale -across the angry waters; and now it is heard by the steamer’s captain, -who has not left the pilot-house that night. - -A gong clangs down among the engines, and a hoarse order is shouted to -the engineer through the speaking-tube. The great screw under the -steamer’s stern stops for a moment, and then churns the water violently -as its motion is reversed and it revolves rapidly backward. - -“See if you can pick them up with the electric,” is the captain’s order -to the second officer, who has just appeared on deck. At the same -instant a dazzling flash of white light darts forth from the steamer’s -bow, and cuts a gleaming path-way between two solid walls of blackness -above the raging waters. - -The second officer seizes the handles at the back of the great lamp, and -the broad band of light is slowly swept round to the direction from -which the cries have come. In another moment it flashes full in the -white faces of Breeze McCloud and his companions, sitting in their -seine-boat not more than a hundred yards away. The wonderful eye of the -search-light has discovered them, and they cover theirs with their -hands, or turn away from the unbearable radiance. - -“Pull under our lee,” shouts the captain of the steamer through a -speaking-trumpet, “and we’ll try and get you aboard.” - -It was a difficult task, for the ship rolled so deeply that it would -have been unsafe to open her side-ports, and they must be taken aboard -over the rail. As the seine-boat lay alongside, it was at one moment on -a level with the steamer’s deck, and the next so far below it that her -wet side rose like a black wall high above them. Nothing could be done -until she was turned, so as to lie head to the wind. Then, one by one, -the wrecked men caught the ropes flung to them, fastened them under -their arms, and were hauled up to the steamer’s deck, where they were -received and pulled on board by the stout arms eagerly out-stretched to -aid them. Some of them were buried beneath the huge waves that sprang -after them as though furious at being thus robbed of their expected prey -and still determined to clutch it. Others were bruised by being swung -violently against the iron side of the steamer. At last all of them were -safely rescued, and, with the seine-boat towing by a long line astern, -the great steamer was again headed on her course. - -Was there ever anything so delicious as the hot coffee at once served to -them, or so welcome as the plentiful meal that awaited them in the -steamer’s mess-room, after they had got into the dry clothes furnished -by her crew? Breeze did not think there was. And when, soon afterwards, -he found himself in a comfortable bunk, under warm blankets, and -dropping to sleep, he felt that he was one of the most fortunate and -marvellously cared for boys in the world. - -[Illustration: IN ANOTHER MOMENT IT FLASHES FULL IN THE WHITE FACES OF -BREEZE McCLOUD AND HIS COMPANIONS.] - -The steamer that thus furnished the weary fishermen with shelter, -safety, and all the comforts of a sailor’s life was one of a line plying -between Boston and a southern city, from which she was now bound. Her -captain was one of those noble sailors who are never so happy as when -rescuing other toilers of the sea from its perils. He told Captain -Coffin that, without any definite reason, he had felt impelled to alter -his ship’s course half a point to the eastward shortly before their -cries had been heard. It was this change of direction that had brought -the red light once more into view. - -Before morning the gale had so increased in fury that it was not -probable their light craft could have lived through it had they not been -picked up when they were. As it was, the seine-boat, while towing behind -the steamer, was struck soon after daylight by a great sea that capsized -it. The next crushed it like an egg-shell, and the broken wreck was cut -adrift. - -Twenty-four hours later they entered Boston harbor, and the crew of the -lost _Curlew_, after expressing their heart-felt thanks to the captain, -passengers, and crew of the steamer, who had done everything in their -power to make them comfortable, left her. They made their way at once to -the market slip devoted to the use of fishing vessels, where they were -sure of finding friends and fellow-townsmen. - -While walking slowly along the wharf, and looking wistfully over the -many fishing vessels crowded into the basin, in search of a familiar -face, Breeze was slapped on the shoulder, and a well-known voice -exclaimed, - -“Vy, Breeza, ma boy! how you vas? Vere you come from, eh?” - -Turning, he saw the smiling face of old Mateo, the Portuguese cook who, -on board the _Sea Robin_, had fed him with milk from the “lit tin cow” -when he was a baby. The old cook had always retained a warm affection -for the boy whom he had thus cared for in his helplessness, and had -never returned to Gloucester without visiting him and bringing him some -present. Now to see him seemed to Breeze almost like a glimpse of home. - -Mateo, who, in spite of his years, was still hale and hearty, and one of -the best cooks to be found in the fishing fleet, would listen to nothing -where they stood. He insisted upon dragging Breeze aboard a new and -handsome schooner named the _Albatross_, in which he had shipped for a -cruise to the George’s. She had left Gloucester the day before, and run -up to Boston, where her skipper had some business to attend to. Now she -was to sail again within an hour. - -Pulling his young friend down into the forecastle, and seating him -before the mess-table, Mateo exclaimed, “Vell, Breeza, you hongry, eh?” - -To him eating was the most important business of life, and until Breeze -had assured him that he had just finished one breakfast, and had no room -for another mouthful, he would listen to nothing else. His mind being -set at rest on this point, Mateo asked, - -“Vell, you not hongry, ma boy, ver is ze _C’loo_?” - -“Gone to the bottom,” answered Breeze, “and poor Rod Mason has gone with -her.” - -“Vat you say? ze _C’loo_ loss, and Rod Mason drowned? Oh, ze holy feesh! -an his bruzzer Bill here, on ze _’Batross_!” - -It was indeed so; the only brother of the drowned man had shipped in the -_Albatross_ the day before. When he heard the sad news brought by -Breeze, he declared he must return at once to Gloucester, and make -arrangements for the future of his brother’s family. He would not even -wait for the skipper’s return, but, collecting his dunnage, hurried away -to catch the first train for home. - -The rest of the crew, most of whom knew him, were intensely interested -in what Breeze had to tell them of the loss of the _Curlew_ and the -rescue of her crew. They were still plying him with questions when the -skipper of the _Albatross_ returned. He, like Mateo, had been one of the -_Sea Robin’s_ crew upon the memorable occasion when Breeze had come to -her, and now he gave the lad a hearty welcome. When he learned of -William Mason’s desertion he was somewhat annoyed, but in a moment his -face cleared and he said, - -“Why won’t you come with us in his place, Breeze? You shall go as an A1 -hand, have a full share of the catch, and we are not likely to be out -more than a couple of weeks anyhow. She’s a good vessel, and you are -always such a lucky chap that you’ll be more than welcome aboard of -her.” - -“Yes, Breeza, come ’long,” urged the cook. “Ole Mateo feeda you till you -git fat like dog-feesh. Joe-flog, sea-pie, hatch, plenty good t’ings.” - -Breeze laughed at the earnestness of the old man and the inducements he -held out, but said, “If I only could go home and see mother for a little -while first, I’d go in a minute. I’d have to get a new outfit too; the -only thing I saved from the _Curlew_ is this oil suit.” - -“We’ll wait an hour for you to write to your mother and tell her just -how things stand. That’ll give you time to get an outfit in, too. I -guess you’d better come along,” urged the skipper. - -“Outfeet!” cried Mateo, eagerly. “Vat you want? Peajack, boota, gole -vatch an’ chain, eberyting vat you vill hab me getta him.” - -So it was finally settled, and an hour later, having written a loving -letter home, and been provided, through the old cook’s generosity, with -an outfit of clothes quite as good as the one he had lost, Breeze found -himself sailing out of Boston harbor in the good schooner _Albatross_, -bound for the George’s Bank. Certainly, nothing had been further from -his mind than this, when he had entered the same harbor a few hours -before; but he was rapidly learning that nothing is so likely to happen -in this life as those things we least expect. - -St. George’s Bank, which furnishes the finest cod and halibut found on -the American coast, lies about ninety-five miles due east from Highland -light on Cape Cod. Its waters are fished all through the year by a large -fleet of vessels from New England ports, but its supply continues -apparently undiminished. It lies in a dangerous part of the ocean, for -it is swept by the current of the Gulf Stream, is subject to fearful -storms and dense fogs, and is crossed by all the transatlantic lines of -steamers. - -Although it is so near at hand, and though fishing was one of the -earliest industries followed by the New England settlers, it was not -until about 1836 that trips to George’s became a regular feature of the -business. The bank was known to exist, and fish were known to be plenty -on it, long before, but the fishermen were afraid of it. This fear was -owing to the belief among them that the current, always sweeping across -it, was strong enough to drag under and sink any vessel that should -anchor within its influence. - -The first three fishing vessels that visited the dreaded bank kept close -together, and their crews fished as they drifted about. Finally, one of -the skippers, who was regarded as a perfect dare-devil for proposing -such a thing, said he was going to anchor and take his chances. Several -of his crew were so frightened that they begged to be put aboard the -other vessels, whose skippers were not so venturesome. They were allowed -to go, and volunteers were called for from the other crews to aid this -bold skipper in his desperate venture. When enough brave fellows had -gone on board to be able to get the anchor up quickly in case of -trouble, it was let go, the cable spun out, was checked, the anchor -held, and the schooner rode to it as easily and quietly as though in -Gloucester harbor. - -Now occurred the most amusing part of this bold experiment. The swift -current quickly bore the other two vessels away from the anchored craft, -but those on board the latter imagined that they were moving and leaving -their friends behind. They began to heave desperately on their cable, -got their anchor up, and started back in pursuit of their companions. -When they were once more united, all hands were fully satisfied with -their exploit; and though they had taken but a few quintals[B] of fish -they sailed back to Gloucester filled with pride because one of their -number had dared drop an anchor on George’s. - ------ - -Footnote B: - - A hundred pounds weight. - ------ - -In those days, and until 1846, fishing vessels did not carry ice in -which to pack their catch and bring it fresh into market. In place of -this, many of them were made into what are known as “smacks” by having -tight compartments built in their hold amidships, and filled with -sea-water from auger-holes bored through the vessel’s bottom. - -The greatest depth of water on George’s is 212 fathoms,[C] or 1272 feet, -nearly a quarter of a mile. The average depth for fishing is sixty -fathoms, though halibut are often taken in water two hundred fathoms -deep. It is, of course, tiresome work to drag these great fish to the -surface from such great depths, and they are never sought for there if -they can be found in shoaler water. - ------ - -Footnote C: - - A fathom is six feet. - ------ - -It is no rare thing to find a hundred fishing vessels at anchor at one -time on George’s during any month of the year, and it was to join this -fleet that the _Albatross_ was now making her way swiftly around the -point of Cape Cod. She was fitted out as a hand-liner--that is, her crew -would fish with hand-lines over her sides--and she had a quantity of -frozen herring stowed with the ice in her hold to be used as bait. - -They reached the bank and caught sight of the anchored fleet early the -following morning after leaving Boston. As they slipped along past one -after another of the vessels already at work, they could see their crews -hauling in their lines and tossing fish over the rail as fast as their -arms could move. It seemed curious to Breeze that this busy work should -always stop as soon as the _Albatross_ drifted near any of the others. -He asked why it was, and was told that they were afraid the new-comers -would notice their good luck and anchor near them, which they did not -wish to have them do. - -As the _Albatross_ moved slowly across the bank, soundings were taken, -and the skipper kept a baited hook down. At last, in fifty fathoms of -water he got a strong bite, and at once ordered the anchor to be -dropped, Then the sails were snugly furled and the riding-sail set. This -is a small triangular bit of canvas bent to the main-mast, and is used -to hold the vessel’s head to the wind. - -Now baskets of bait were got up, lines were overhauled, and soon every -man on board had one or two over the side. They were allowed to run out -until their leaden sinkers touched, when they were drawn up so that the -hooks, that hung a fathom below them, were raised a few feet above the -bottom. - -There was an intense eagerness to bring up the first fish, and each man -kept an eye on his neighbor’s line as well as on his own, to see if he -were to be the lucky man. At last a shout announced a bite, and all -turned to see Breeze McCloud tug away at something so tremendously heavy -that it seemed to him he must be lifting a large piece of the bottom of -the ocean. - - - - - CHAPTER VI. - THE GALE ON GEORGE’S. - - -“Look out, Breeze! Let him run a bit!” shouted the skipper. “Don’t try -to snub him yet, or he’ll snap your line like a thread.” - -Whish-hiss-s-s goes the stout line as the fish at the other end takes a -downward plunge. Now he runs upward, and the slack is hastily gathered -in. “There, he is off again! My, what a rush! There is evidently some -serious work on hand here,” said the skipper, as he went to the young -fisherman’s assistance. It took fifteen minutes of steady, patient, and -skilful work to tire the powerful fish. During this time general -attention was directed to the struggle, and the men almost neglected -their own lines in their curiosity to see what sort of a creature Breeze -had hooked. - -Finally the exhausted fish gave up the fight and allowed itself to be -drawn to the surface. Now was seen the great white head of a halibut, -that looked to Breeze, who had never before caught a fish of this kind, -large enough to be a whale. Two men with gaffs[D] in their hands sprang -to his assistance, but the fish was so huge that not until two more had -also got gaffs into him was he lifted from the water and got on deck. -Here he was despatched by a few smart taps on the head from the “halibut -killer,” which is a short wooden club kept ready for this especial -purpose. - ------ - -Footnote D: - - Gaffs are iron hooks securely fastened to strong wooden handles four - or five feet long. - ------ - -Breeze was wild with delight over his capture, while the whole crew were -more or less excited, as well they might be, for no such fish had been -taken from George’s by any one else that season. It weighed three -hundred and twenty-six pounds, and though larger halibut than this have -been caught, they are few and far between. One of the men said that he -was worth at least twenty dollars, and all admitted that he would create -a sensation when they took him into port. - -“Put your mark on him, Breeze,” said the skipper, “so that you will be -able to pick him out when we get home. He might get lost, you know, -among the really big ones that the rest of us are going to catch.” - -The boy laughed, but felt very proud of his first fish, as with his -sharp sheath-knife he cut a rude B like this, B, in the thick skin on -its head, and inscribed the same mark near its tail. - -Old Mateo was as delighted at the success of his protégé as the boy -himself, and in honor of the event brought him a cup of hot coffee and -an extra nice Joe-flogger spread with butter and sugar. - -“Me tell ’em so ven you lit babee, an’ eat ze harda tack. Me tell ’em -you catch ze feesh bimeby plentee, plentee! Now zey find out, eh?” he -exclaimed, in a tone of self-satisfied pride. It was as much as to say -that if they would only bring all the babies to him, he could tell -whether they would make successful fishermen or not. The men laughed at -him, and made many jokes concerning his wisdom; but he only laughed back -good-naturedly, and shook his head at them as he again disappeared in -the depths of his own domain. - -For the rest of the day the fishing went on so merrily, and halibut and -cod were piled up on deck so rapidly, that nobody found time to stop for -dinner; but snatched hurried mouthfuls of food as they tended their -lines. It was lively and exciting work; but when it was time to knock -off, and begin to clear and pack the day’s catch, Breeze, for one, found -himself aching in every joint, while his hands were raw and water-soaked -from handling the hard, wet lines. - -He would have gladly turned in at once, but the fish must be cleaned -first, and after that it was his turn to stand a two hours’ watch on -deck. Thus it was late in the evening before the exhausted lad tumbled -into his bunk, where he dreamed of monstrous fish with twenty-dollar -gold-pieces in their mouths, that turned into Joe-floggers as he reached -for them. - -The fishing was good for three days longer, and all hands were -light-hearted and happy over their success. Songs and jokes were heard -on all sides, and the yarns told at night in the cabin were all of big -fares and quick trips to the Banks. It had been a stormy winter, and -March had come in like an angry, roaring lion; but now it seemed to be -anxious to prove the truth of the old saying, and to be about to go out -like the meekest of lambs. Three days more of such luck as they had had -would pull up their anchor and see them homeward bound. But March is a -fickle month. - -The fourth day broke cloudy and threatening. The sky was gray and the -air was filled with a penetrating chill. The schooner rode uneasily, -straining and surging at her cable in the heavy swell that rolled in -from the eastward. The previous day had been what old sailors would call -“a weather-breeder,” with the wind light and puffy from the south-west. -The mercury in the barometer had stood about 30.7, which indicated a -change, and something to be expected from off the sea. - -As the day wore on there was a feeling of snow in the atmosphere, and -the barometer fell steadily. The fish continued to bite eagerly, and -every man did his best to swell the sum total of his catch while he had -the chance. The luck of the _Albatross_ had been noticed, and several -other vessels were anchored near her, both ahead and astern. - -By noon angry spurts of snow were driving in the faces of her crew, the -wind was moaning drearily through the rigging, and an occasional dash of -spray wet the deck. About this time all hands were ordered to “knock -off” fishing, dress the morning’s catch, stow all light articles below, -and “snug ship.” Twenty more fathoms of cable were paid out. The -foresail was loosed and three reefs were tied in it, so that it might be -ready for instant use in case the vessel broke adrift. Then it was again -furled, and securely tied. - -The storm came on rapidly after that, until at four o’clock, when supper -was served, the schooner was pitching furiously, and bringing up with -vicious jerks on its straining cable. It was already quite dark, and the -snow drove in horizontal lines, tingling against a bare face like cuts -from a whip-lash. The wind howled through the taut rigging, and the -spray, torn from the crests of the racing seas, was blown in blinding -sheets above the slippery decks. - -Breeze had never experienced anything like this. To him it was already a -frightful gale, and, as he almost pitched down the forward -companion-ladder in answer to the supper call, he was surprised to find -how calmly the men were taking it. In spite of the tumult on deck, the -creaking and groaning of the vessel’s timbers, and her mad pitching, -several of them were seated at the mess-table eating as unconcernedly as -though nothing unusual were happening. Another lay in his bunk, smoking -and exchanging jokes with those who were eating. - -After the storm-swept deck, the forecastle seemed warm, light, and -cheerful. As Breeze sat down to the table, from which, in spite of the -storm-racks, the dishes were every now and then flung to the floor, he -wondered that he had never before noticed what a cosey and comfortable -place it was. - -“Vel, Breeza!” shouted old Mateo, whose entire energies were devoted to -keeping the coffee-pot from sliding off the stove. “How you lak him? -Pret good, eh?” - -“I lak him very much better down here than I do on deck,” answered the -boy between his mouthfuls of hot coffee and biscuit. “But, I say, Mateo, -don’t you call this a pretty stiff sort of a gale?” - -“No,” replied the old cook, scornfully; “zis only one-a lit Georgy -shake-up. For ze gale you mus’ go to ze Gran’ Bank. Ah, zat ze place!” - -With this the others chimed in, and began to tell of their experiences -in real gales, to which this one was but a March zephyr. - -For all this, a little later, when the crew were gathered in the cabin, -where, around the little red-hot stove, wet clothing and boots were -sending up clouds of steam, the skipper, after looking out of the -companion-way, said, - -“Boys, we are in for a regular ‘rip-snorter.’ I never saw a nastier -night. You’d better get a nap if you can now, for after midnight there -won’t be any chance for sleep aboard this craft. I want the watch on -deck to keep the sharpest kind of a lookout, and to call me the moment a -light is seen in any direction.” - -The great danger of the night lay either in getting adrift, through the -parting of their cable or the dragging of their anchor, and rushing into -collision with some anchored vessel, or in being run down. In either -case the result would probably be the almost instant death of all on -board. - -Following the skipper’s advice, Breeze crept into his bunk for a nap, -but for a long time found it impossible to sleep. The violence of the -pitching and the roar of the gale seemed to increase with each moment, -and it was only by the strongest effort of will that he could restrain -himself from springing up and rushing on deck. At last he did sleep, but -was only aware of it when a dash of icy water in his face awakened him. -Forgetting where he was, he sprang up, and struck his head violently -against the low ceiling above him. - -A great sea of solid water had broken over the schooner’s bows, and -swept aft in such a volume that it must have flooded the cabin had not -the skipper, who stood in the companion-way, pulled the slide. As it -was, about a bucketful had made its way in, and a portion of it had -fallen on Breeze. - -Scrambling from the bunk, he found his companions clad in their -oil-skins and prepared to hurry on deck at the first notice that their -presence was needed. Several of them were picking themselves up from the -floor, to which they had been flung by the shock of the big wave, and -one was lamenting a broken pipe. They were much more sober now than at -supper-time, and their conversation, which was entirely of wreck and -disaster, was not calculated to fill the boy with cheerful thoughts. -Glancing at the clock, he saw that it was past midnight, and the -skipper’s warning that there would be no sleep for them after that hour -flashed into his mind. - -Following the example of the others, he pulled on his oil-skins, and sat -down to wait, he knew not what for. A few minutes later the summons -came. It was an unintelligible cry from the watch on deck, but its -meaning was clear to the practised ears of those below, and as the -skipper sprang up the steps, the others followed. - -When Breeze reached the deck and felt the full force of the blast, it -seemed to drive the breath from his body. The wind was shrieking through -the strained rigging like a hundred steam-whistles. The snow had turned -into fine particles of ice that pricked like needles. The billows hissed -and seethed as, with streaming manes of glistening white, they galloped -past the quivering vessel. Now she was poised on the crest of a gigantic -wave, and the next instant buried in a yawning depth, beneath a smother -of broken waters that leaped high up on her masts. - -By the rays of the riding-light, that still burned steadily just abaft -the foremast, Breeze could make out the several members of the crew -clinging to whatever seemed to promise the greatest safety, the -fife-rail, halyards, or rigging. Away forward, beside the groaning -windlass, was a figure which he knew to be that of the skipper, -crouching, axe in hand, ready to cut the cable. - -All this had been taken in at one glance, the next revealed the cause of -the outcry from the watch on deck. A light dead ahead was bearing -swiftly down upon them. It was that of a fishing schooner torn from her -anchorage, and being hurled by the storm giant, like a bolt of -destruction, through the helpless fleet. - -During the fearful suspense of the next minute the boy did not breathe, -and his very heart seemed to cease its beating. Twice the gleaming axe -in the skipper’s hand was raised to strike. Each time he thought of the -vessels anchored astern of the _Albatross_, upon which she must drive in -turn if cut adrift, and the blow was withheld. - -Now the threatening light rose high above them, and then it swooped down -and rushed past so close that they could almost have sprung aboard the -drifting schooner. They caught a momentary glimpse of white faces, heard -one wild cry, and felt the dragging of the broken cable as it was drawn -across their own. Then all was again swallowed up in the furious -blackness astern, and for them that danger was past. - -The night was bitterly cold, but the first sensation of which Breeze was -aware, when it was all over, was that of the profuse perspiration in -which he was bathed. - -There being no longer any need of their presence on deck, the members of -the crew, after a fresh watch was set, again sought the shelter of the -cabin. Here Breeze was advised to try and get some more sleep, as it -would be his turn to go on watch at four o’clock. He lay down, but felt -as though he should never sleep again; for he could not close his eyes -without seeing, once more, the drifting phantom of destruction that had -just swept past them. He started fearfully at each lurch of the reeling -vessel, and fancied that he heard cries in the shriek of the blast -overhead. Although he dreaded to go on deck, it seemed as though he -should prefer it to remaining in the cabin, and it was a relief when he -was called to go on watch. - -The lad’s watchmate was much older than he, a weather-beaten sailor who -had witnessed a hundred such gales, and felt that so long as the cable -held, there was not much to fear. He helped Breeze up on the foregaff, -where he would escape the worst of the great seas that continually broke -over the schooner’s bows, sweeping her from stem to stern, and bade him -keep a sharp lookout from there. - -At last, faint and uncertain, the prayed-for, long-deferred, and -anxiously awaited light of day began to creep over the wild scene, and -the white foam-crests stretched away farther and farther. The snow -ceased to fall, and there was some promise of a cessation of the gale. -One of the first things they distinguished in the early light was the -huge dim form of a square-rigged vessel that, under bare poles, drove -past them, less than a quarter of a mile away, and vanished almost as -soon as she was seen. Nothing was said, for only a shout close to the -ear could be heard amid the tumult; but Breeze shuddered to think how -powerless their little schooner would have been to resist that driving -mass had they chanced to lie in its course. - -They next saw a schooner plunging at her anchor, a short distance ahead -of them, and noted how she had dragged during the night, for they had -seen her the day before, but then much farther away. Her anchors had -only caught just in time to save both her and them, and again Breeze -realized the narrowness of their escape from the night’s perils. - -As the daylight revealed her sad plight, they turned their attention to -their own craft. The seas no longer broke over her so furiously as they -had, but crushed bulwarks, and the deck swept clear of boat, gurry-kids, -and everything not absolutely built into it told of their awful force. - -All at once Breeze, from his slight elevation, noted a commotion on the -deck of the schooner ahead of them. The men on watch seemed to be -heaving lines at something in the water. It was evidently drifting past -them, and their lines plainly failed to reach it. They were motioning, -as though to attract his attention towards it, and the thought flashed -into his mind that perhaps they had discovered a survivor of some wreck -floating in the angry waters, and had tried unsuccessfully to save him. -He told his companion of what he had seen, and they both watched eagerly -in the hope that if it was indeed a man he might drift within their -reach. They procured a couple of long light lines, made one end fast, -and coiled them carefully, in readiness to be flung at a moment’s -notice. - -“I see him!” cried Breeze at length. “There, see! off our port bow; but -he is going to drift clear of us.” - -It was the figure of a man, clad in oil-skins, the yellow gleam of which -had caught the boy’s eye as they showed for a moment on the crest of a -wave. - -As he came near they saw that he was apparently clinging to the bottom -of an overturned dory. At the same time it was evident that he was going -to drift far beyond their reach, and they doubted if their lines even -could be made to reach him. They shouted again and again, but he gave no -sign of hearing them. - -Breeze began to tear off his oil-skins, then his jacket and boots, and -to knot the end of a line about his waist. - -“What are you going to do?” shouted his companion. “Not try and swim to -him?” - -[Illustration: “YOU’RE CRAZY, LAD! YOU CAN’T LIVE A MINUTE IN SUCH A -SEA.”] - -“Yes, I am,” shouted Breeze, in reply. “It would be a pity if the best -swimmer in Gloucester should let a man drown before his eyes for want of -trying to save him.” - -“But you’re crazy, lad! You can’t live a minute in such a sea!” and the -man took hold of the boy’s arm to restrain him from the rash attempt. - -With a single violent wrench Breeze freed himself from the other’s -grasp, and just as some of the crew, who had been attracted by the -shouts on deck, came up from the cabin, he plunged headlong into the -raging waters. - - - - - CHAPTER VII. - A STRUGGLE FOR A LIFE. - - - - -For half a minute Breeze was lost to the view of those who from the deck -of the schooner watched anxiously to see him emerge from his brave -plunge. They gave a shout as he reappeared. He had only time to draw in -a single breath of air before he was again buried beneath a huge curling -wave that, before it broke, towered many feet above his head. His -comrades were just about to haul him back by means of the line they were -paying out, and the other end of which was knotted about his waist, when -his head was once more seen above the surface. - -This time they were astonished to note what a distance he had gained, -for being many feet under water had not prevented his swimming sturdily -towards the object of his efforts. Now how gallantly he dashed forward! -with what splendid overhand strokes he took advantage of the few moments -of surface-swimming granted him before he was again swallowed up! He had -won many a swimming-match in both smooth and storm-tossed waters about -Gloucester. He had taken many a header through green walls of inrushing -breakers, but never before had he swam as now; never before had he -struggled for the prize of a human life. - -When for the third time he emerged from the suffocating waters, he saw -the yellow-clad form, to gain which he had fought so bravely, within a -few feet of him. With one more desperate effort, for the line about his -waist was now dragging him back almost irresistibly, he reached it, and -grasped the stern becket of the overturned dory. - -Out-stretched upon its flat bottom, with both arms and legs twined about -the life-line,[E] lay the senseless form of a young man, apparently but -little older than the brave swimmer who now tried to rouse him. It was -impossible to do so, and Breeze feared that he was dead. Without casting -loose the line from about his body, he gathered a bight in it, and made -this fast to the becket of the dory. Then he waved his hand as a signal -to those on board the schooner to pull in. - ------ - -Footnote E: - - A fishing dory has a wooden plug in its bottom near the after end that - can be drawn so as to allow water to run out. To the lower end of - this, extending forward along the boat’s bottom to an iron ring, is - often fastened a life-line for use in case of a capsize. - ------ - -The strain upon the light line was terrible, and in any other hands but -those of expert fishermen it would have parted a dozen times before its -precious burden was drawn as close as was safe under the stern of the -schooner. Then a second line was thrown to Breeze, who, nearly exhausted -as he was, still found strength to secure it about the body of the -senseless lad beside him. He could not, however, undo the clutch of the -rigid fingers from the life-line, and for a moment began to despair, -even within reach of rescue, of saving him for whom he had risked so -much. But help was at hand, and it came as he least expected it. - -From the schooner’s deck old Mateo had watched the brave struggles of -his boy, as he called him, in an agony of apprehension. Now, with senses -quickened by affection, he was the first to comprehend the difficulty. -Just as Breeze was about to relax his efforts, feeling that he could do -no more, the old cook’s heavy jack-knife, with the end of a fishing-line -attached to the ring in its horn handle, came flying across the dory, -and dropped into the water beyond it. - -Breeze secured it, opened it, and with a last effort cut both ends of -the dory’s life-line, as well as the becket to which he had fastened -himself. Then the knife dropped from his nerveless fingers, and, as the -dory drifted away, two senseless figures were drawn through the wild -waters to the plunging schooner. With a final effort for their -destruction, a huge billow hurled itself bodily upon them, and the lines -had to be slackened for a few moments, or they would have parted. The -limp forms were buried deep beneath the green waters; but again they -were drawn to the surface, and this time they came within reach of the -eagerly out-stretched arms waiting to grasp them. - -The unknown lad was carried into the cabin; while Breeze, claimed by -Mateo, was tenderly taken into the forecastle. There, while two men -stripped and rubbed him, the old cook heated blankets, and prepared hot -stimulants, wailing as he bustled about, “Oh, Breeza! ma boy, ma boy! -You no-a die; you must leeve!” - -It was half an hour before their efforts were rewarded by a faint sigh -and a flush of returning color in the livid cheeks. Then the boy opened -his eyes, and gazed about him wonderingly for an instant. A few minutes -later, wrapped in hot blankets, he fell asleep and was breathing -regularly. - -Almost the same scene was taking place in the cabin, only there it was -so long before the patient showed the least sign of life that some of -those who worked over him were several times ready to give up in -despair. They were only kept at it by the skipper, who exclaimed, - -“Great Scott, men! it will be a shame if we cannot fetch him to, after -that boy has nearly given his life to save him. I, for one, shall work -over him from now till noon before I will give him up.” - -At last he, too, was brought back to the life from which he had so -nearly departed, and by noon, when the sun came out, both patients were -doing finely. Neither of them was allowed to leave his bunk until the -next morning; but they were kept warm, and encouraged to sleep as much -as possible. In their exhausted condition this was easy to do. So with -only one or two awakenings to take the light nourishment that Mateo -prepared for them, by the aid of his never-failing “lit tin cow,” they -slept through the rest of the day and the whole of the night. - -The next morning they awoke, filled with the life and energy that always -wait upon youth and a sound constitution, and almost inclined to believe -their recent adventure to be but a troubled dream. Only a few bruises, -and the marks about their bodies of the ropes by which they had been -drawn aboard the schooner, remained as traces of what they had -undergone. - -The sea had gone down so rapidly the day before that the crew of the -_Albatross_ had been able to resume their fishing by noon, and had had -remarkably good-luck until night. By a mutual agreement, suggested by -the man who had been watchmate with Breeze that morning, they devoted -half an hour to their brave young comrade, and the entire catch of fish, -made during that time, was credited to him in the ship’s books. - -The next morning when Breeze came on deck he saw the skipper talking to -a well-built young stranger, whose naturally ruddy face had not yet -wholly recovered its color. For an instant he wondered who it could be, -and where he had come from. Then it flashed across him that this was the -person whom he had rescued from the sea; and, not knowing exactly what -to do or say, he stood looking at him curiously. - -The young stranger noticing him, said something to the skipper, who -turned quickly and exclaimed, - -“Good-morning, Breeze! Why, you are looking as fresh as a daisy. This is -Mr. Wolfe Brady,” he added, indicating the lad who stood beside him. -“Although you two have already been dorymates, he declares he has never -seen you before, and I am certain you have never been introduced. Mr. -Brady, Mr. McCloud.” - -In assuming this jesting tone the skipper hoped to put the young men at -their ease, and relieve their first meeting of the embarrassment they -might naturally be expected to feel under the circumstances. - -There was a long, firm hand-clasp between the two who had so nearly met -death together; but for a moment neither of them spoke. Then Wolfe Brady -said, - -“They tell me you saved my life, and nearly lost your own in doing it. I -can’t thank you, because I haven’t the gift; but if ever the time comes -when you can use it, I will offer my life to you as freely as you -offered yours for me.” - -“Thank you,” answered Breeze, simply. “I am very glad I succeeded in -reaching you; but how did you happen to be afloat on that dory?” - -[Illustration: THERE WAS A LONG FIRM HAND-CLASP BETWEEN THEM.] - -“I hardly know myself. Yesterday morning I belonged to the trawler -_Ibis_ of Boston. Just before daylight, while half the crew, and I among -them, were on deck, we were run down by a large square-rigger scudding -under bare poles. It was so dark that we did not see her until she was -right on top of us, and then, though we cut the cable, it was too late. -She struck us before those below could get on deck, and crushed the -schooner down as though she were a herring-box. Then I’ve no knowledge -of what happened to the others, or even to myself. I only know that I -was under water such a long time that I wonder I did not stay there. -When I came up something was floating close beside me, and I got hold of -it. The rest is a blank. The next thing I knew, I was lying in a bunk -and somebody was trying to pour something down my throat. Your skipper -was just telling me what a splendid fight you made to get me, and how -near you came to losing the number of your mess, and sending your vessel -home with her flag at half-mast in doing it. I’m awfully grateful, and I -hope some time I may be able to prove it; for I’ve been a pretty bad -lot, and was not ready to go up aloft yet.” - -“No,” said Breeze, soberly, “I don’t suppose many of us are.” Then he -asked, “Are you an American?” The other’s name, and a foreign accent to -his speech, led to the question. - -“Not yet,” answered Wolfe, smiling, "but I hope to be in two years more -when I come of age. At present I am an Irishman. That is, my father is -Irish, my mother is English, and I was born in England, but brought up -in Queenstown, Ireland, where my parents live, and from which I ran away -to sea about a year ago. Before they were married, my father was butler -and my mother lady’s-maid in the household of Sir Wolfe Tresmont. That’s -where I got my first name. My father is now a linen-draper in -Queenstown, where his best customers are Americans. I was sent to school -in England for four years, but I hated it, and from seeing and hearing -so much of Americans, I had a great desire to come to this country. Last -year my father took me from school and set me to work in his shop. I -hated that worse than school, and seeing a chance to run away and ship -on board a bark bound for Boston, I took it and came over here. - -“By the time I got on this side I had had enough of merchant sailing; -and, as I could not find anything else to do, thought I would try -fishing. Since then I have made two trips, one of four months to the -Newfoundland Banks, and one to George’s before this one. Now here I am, -and you know more about me than I have told to another living soul since -leaving home.” - -“Well,” said Breeze, “you know a good deal more about yourself than I do -about myself. I suppose I must have had a real father and mother, but I -never knew them, for I was picked up at sea, floating in a cask, when I -was a baby. I am almost certain I must be an American, though, for I -know I could never love any other country so well. I’m glad you are -going to be one too, as soon as you can. Don’t you think I look more -like an American than anything else?” he inquired, a little anxiously. - -“I don’t know,” replied the other, regarding him attentively. “Yes, on -the whole I think perhaps you do. Still, with light hair and blue eyes, -you know, you might be a Scandinavian, or a Dutchman, or an Englishman, -or a Scotchman, or even an Irishman.” - -They both laughed at this, and Breeze said, - -“You might as well quote ‘Pinafore’ at once and be done with it.” - -So the conversation between the two, which had been rather constrained -at first, became more easy and confidential, until they found themselves -discussing each other’s hopes and plans with the freedom of old friends. - -Every now and then a shadow would sweep over Wolfe’s face, and he would -speak in a lower tone as he thought of the probable fate of his recent -shipmates. Still, as grieving could do neither them nor him the -slightest good, he tried to keep cheerful, by remembering how -marvellously he himself had been spared. He confessed to Breeze that he -had caused his parents much trouble and anxiety, by his manner of life, -both in school and at home, but declared that now he really meant to -turn over a new leaf. - -“I’ll begin by writing to my mother as soon as ever we reach port,” he -said, “for it makes me feel ashamed of myself to remember that I have -not sent home a single line since I left there. I do not suppose they -have the slightest idea what has become of me, or whether I am alive or -dead.” - -To Breeze, his mother was so near and dear, he had thought of her and -written to her so often even during his short absence from home, that -Wolfe’s account of his own neglect was most surprising. Still, he did -not feel at liberty to express his feelings in the matter, and only -said, “I would, if I were you, by all means; she must be feeling awfully -at not hearing.” - -The rest of the schooner’s crew had been hard at work catching fish -since daylight, and during their conversation Breeze and Wolfe had also -been busy with their lines. Several other schooners were still in sight, -though at long distances from them. Most of the fleet had been scattered -far and wide by the gale, which, though short, had been one of the -severest of the season. After it was over many of the fishing vessels -returned to port to refit, while the fate of others was told by the -melancholy signs of wreck and disaster that every now and then floated -past the _Albatross_. Her skipper knew that for a time fresh fish would -command an extra price in the Eastern market, and so was anxious to -carry in as large a fare as possible. For this reason, in spite of the -damaged condition of his vessel, he remained on the bank two days longer -before getting up the anchors that had held her so well, and heading for -home. - -In the mean time tidings of the gale and its destruction of lives and -vessels had reached Gloucester, and had caused the greatest anxiety -there. As one after another of the schooners that had escaped sailed -into the harbor, their crews were eagerly questioned for news of this -one or that one not yet heard from. At last one came in bringing with -her a dory that she had picked up, and on which was stencilled the name -“_Albatross_.” Her skipper reported that on the night of the awful -storm, during a slight lull, he had caught a momentary glimpse of two -lights. They were so close together that the vessels bearing them must -have been in collision. They bore from him just as the _Albatross_ had -when he last saw her. As he looked the lights suddenly disappeared, -either from the shutting in again of the snow, or because they had gone -to the bottom. Soon afterwards his own craft had parted her cables, but -had managed to weather the gale, and on the following day he had picked -up this dory. That was all, but it seemed to seal the fate of the -schooner, whose return had until then been watched for so hopefully and -so anxiously. - -Mrs. McCloud had made Captain Coffin, who was still at home, promise to -bring her the very first tidings, whether good or bad, that should come. -Now with a heavy heart he walked slowly towards the little cottage, in -which sorrow was becoming so familiar a visitor. - -The moment he opened the door, and the anxious loving mother caught -sight of his face, she exclaimed, “He is lost; my boy is lost! I know he -is! I can see it in your face!” - -“You must not give up all hope yet,” said the captain, soothingly, -seeking to comfort her, though he felt that his words would be in vain. -“We do not yet know certainly the fate of the _Albatross_, though we -have every reason to fear the worst.” - - - - - CHAPTER VIII. - A FALSE FRIEND, AND AN OPEN ENEMY. - - -All night long the poor mother seemed to hear Captain Coffin’s last -words, “We have every reason to fear the worst,” repeated over and over; -but, as though to comfort her, they were always followed by the thought, -“Nothing certain is yet known.” She always tried to find a bright side -to her troubles, and by looking steadily at it, to forget that there was -any dark side. This plan worked so well now that by morning she had -determined to still hope for the best, instead of fearing the worst, -until something more definite should be known. This was certainly the -wisest thing to do, for more than half of all our troubles are those we -think may come, but which, after all, never do come; and hoping steadily -for the best goes a long way towards bringing the best to us. - -Though all this had nothing to do with bringing Breeze McCloud home, he -came nevertheless. While his mother was busy, with almost her usual -cheerfulness, preparing breakfast, she heard a joyous shout in the -little front yard, the door was burst open, and the next moment her -boy’s arms were thrown about her neck. - -The _Albatross_ had made a glorious run home, and passed in by Eastern -Point at sunrise that morning. The moment she was made fast to her wharf -Breeze had jumped into a dory and pulled across the harbor, so as to be -the first to tell his mother of his own arrival. He could stay to -breakfast, but must get back to the schooner as quickly as possible -afterwards, and help discharge the fare of fish she had brought in. One -of the boy’s first questions was, - -“Is there any news from father yet, mother?” - -“Not yet,” was the answer; “but I feel certain there will be soon, and -that when it comes it will be good news. How much we shall have to tell -him when he does get home, and how proud he will be of you!” she added, -fondly. - -Her faith in her husband’s return was still as strong as ever, and -Breeze had always shared it. - -While they were at breakfast there came another shout in the front yard, -the door again opened, and before he got fairly inside, Captain Coffin -exclaimed, “It’s all right, Mrs. McCloud! The _Albatross_ is in, and -Breeze is--” - -“Here, and mighty glad to see you, sir!” cried the lad, jumping up from -the table to greet the new-comer. - -“Bless my soul!” exclaimed the astonished skipper, shaking Breeze -heartily by the hand, and gazing at him incredulously, “you have both -out-footed and out-pointed me this time. I didn’t suppose the -_Albatross_ was tied up yet, and thought I had at least half an hour’s -start of you.” - -The captain sat down to breakfast with them, and between mouthfuls -Breeze tried to give them an outline of his recent adventures. They were -all so excited, and Mrs. McCloud had to jump up from the table so often -to replenish the plates, that she only received a confused impression -that her boy had saved somebody’s life and caught the biggest fish that -ever was seen. This, however, satisfied her for the present; the details -she could learn afterwards. - -As soon as breakfast was over, Breeze started back for the schooner, and -Captain Coffin went with him. While they were rowing across the harbor -the latter said, - -“I’ve got a new schooner, Breeze, and a finer craft was never built in -Essex. Her name is the _Fish-hawk_, and she is fitting out for a salt -trip to Grand Bank. Don’t you want to ship on her? I can offer you a -full share now.” - -“I don’t know, sir. It seems as though I ought to stay with mother a few -days at any rate.” - -“So you can; we sha’n’t get off for a week yet, but I thought I would -speak about it now, so that if you decided to go I could hold the place -for you. Besides, you could put your dunnage right aboard, which would -save you the trouble of carrying it home when the _Albatross_ hauls out -for repairs.” - -“All right, sir,” said Breeze; “I should like to go with you better than -with anybody else, and I guess, inside of a week, I can persuade mother -to let me start off again. If you’ve got room for another, I’d like to -speak for a berth for a friend of mine too.” - -“Do you mean the one you went dorymate with on George’s the other day?” -asked the captain, laughing. - -“Yes, sir. His name is Wolfe Brady, and he has been on one trawling trip -to the Banks already, besides two to George’s.” - -“Well, I’ve got about all the men I want, except a cook, and I don’t -suppose he can fill that berth, but I’ll take a look at him, and if we -suit each other perhaps I can make room for him.” - -“If you want a cook,” said Breeze, eagerly, “why not try and get old -Mateo? He is the best cook sailing out of Gloucester, and if the -_Albatross_ is going to be laid up for some time, perhaps he will go -with us.” - -“I see that you were cut out for a regular shipping agent,” laughed the -captain, “but I’ll get Mateo if I can.” - -Everything went well that day. Captain Coffin took a fancy to Wolfe and -offered him a berth on the _Fishhawk_ almost as soon as he saw him. -Wolfe, who was willing to ship for any kind of a trip, was greatly -pleased at the prospect of going with Breeze, and at once accepted the -offer. - -Old Mateo, too, who, now that his boy had become a sailor, seemed to -think it his duty to follow and watch over him, was easily booked as -cook of the new schooner. - -The big halibut caught by Breeze sold for nearly twenty dollars, and the -boy was handed a check for thirty-four dollars as the result of his -eight days’ trip to George’s. Wolfe was also made happy by receiving -twelve dollars as his share of the three days’ fishing after he had been -picked up. - -After getting his check cashed, and repaying what old Mateo had loaned -him, Breeze carried the rest home to his mother. This money, added to -what he had made on the mackerelling trip in the _Curlew_, amounted to -sixty-five dollars. It would be hard to tell whether he or his mother -was the prouder over this satisfactory result of the boys’ first efforts -as a bread-winner. - -During the long, happy talk that they had after supper, their one regret -was that the father was not there to share their joy, but they spoke -hopefully of his coming, and the future looked brighter to them than it -had for many a day. Mrs. McCloud was greatly interested in what Breeze -had to tell her of his adventure with the New York jeweller who had -opened the golden ball. They both examined it minutely, but could -discover no joint amid the delicate tracery of its surface. After it had -been again restored to its place, Mrs. McCloud cautioned the boy to -always guard it carefully, as she felt more than ever certain that some -day it would prove of great value to him. - -About eight o’clock Breeze started up, saying that he must go back to -the schooner after Wolfe Brady. He had invited him to come home to -supper and spend the night, but Wolfe had begged for a little time in -which to purchase some very necessary additions to his scanty wardrobe, -and Breeze had promised to meet him on board the Albatross soon after -eight o’clock. Since then he had told his mother all that he knew of the -young stranger, and so excited her interest in him that she now sent him -an invitation to stay with them as long as he should remain in port. - -Kissing his mother good-by, and promising to be back very soon, Breeze -left the house; and taking her sewing, Mrs. McCloud sat down to await -his return. - -Neither Wolfe Brady nor anybody else was to be seen on the _Albatross_ -when Breeze reached her. Near by lay the _Fish-hawk_, to which he had -transferred his dunnage that afternoon, but she too was deserted. On the -opposite side of the wharf lay a shabby-looking old schooner, named -_Vixen_, on which several men were still at work, evidently getting her -ready for sailing. Breeze asked them if they had seen anybody answering -Wolfe’s description about there recently. - -“Yes,” answered one of them, “I seen a young feller like that hanging -round here ’bout half an hour ago. He came over here and got talking -with Hank Hoffer, one of our men, and they walked off uptown together. I -expect they’ll be back directly.” - -“Did you hear them say where they were going?” - -“No; seems to me, though, I did hear Hank say something ’bout Grimes’s. -Shouldn’t wonder if they’d gone up there to get a drink.” - -Breeze started at the mention of Grimes’s, for he knew it to be one of -the lowest and very worst drinking-dens in the town. Such places are not -permitted by law to exist in Gloucester, but occasionally they escape -the vigilance of the police for a short time, and in them many a sturdy -fisherman is tempted to squander the money he has risked his life to -earn. - -Captain McCloud had seen so much of the pitiful misery and sorrow caused -by drink that he had brought Breeze up to regard it with horror. As soon -as the boy was old enough to realize what he was doing, he had promised -his father that, so long as he lived, he would never touch a drop of any -intoxicating liquor. He had never signed a pledge, nor had his father -asked him to; for although Breeze was slow to make promises, he would as -soon cut off his hand as to break one that he had made, and his father -trusted him implicitly. - -Now, although he was neither a prig nor a goody-goody boy it distressed -Breeze to think of any one whom he called friend visiting Grimes’s. His -one hope was that, being a stranger in town, Wolfe did not know what -sort of a place it was, and that he would leave it and come back as soon -as he discovered its character. - -In this hope he waited for half an hour longer, and then, as Wolfe still -failed to appear, he determined to go in search of him. He knew pretty -nearly where Grimes’s was, and walked in that direction. Very soon he -saw several men come out from a dark passage-way and turn down the -street, talking and laughing loudly. He followed them until satisfied -that Wolfe was not among them, and then returned and waited until -another party came out from the same passage-way. His friend did not -appear this time, and he felt that he must go in and either satisfy -himself that Wolfe was not there, or persuade him to come away if he -was. - -He walked back and forth several times before he could make up his mind -to go in. At last, feeling that he was acting the part of a coward, he -entered the passage, and finding a closed door at its farther end, tried -to open it. The noise that he made was evidently heard inside, for a -slide in one of the upper panels of the door was pushed back a few -inches, and a bright light flashed full in his face. - -“Who are you?” asked a voice through the opening. - -“No matter who I am,” replied Breeze. “I come to look for a friend and I -want to be let in.” - -“Well, you can’t come in until you’ve told me your name, and whether you -are alone or not.” - -“My name is Breeze McCloud, if you must have it, and I am alone,” -answered the boy. - -“That’s all right; I recognize you now,” said the voice, and the next -moment the door was thrown open. - -Just then two figures came through the dimly lighted hall-way that the -open door disclosed, and in the voice of one of them Breeze recognized -that of Wolfe Brady. - -He waited until they got to where he was standing, and then, taking hold -of his friend’s arm, he said, “I’ve been looking for you, Wolfe, and -waiting to take you home with me.” - -“Hello, Breeze!” exclaimed the other, huskily; “glad to see you, old -boy. You’re just in time to go back and have a drink with us.” - -“No, thank you,” replied Breeze; “I never drink anything. I only came -here to find you, and now I want you to go home with me.” - -“Oh, come along in,” said Wolfe’s companion, in a disagreeable tone. -“You ain’t afraid, are you?” - -“No,” said Breeze, “I’m not afraid; but now that I’ve found my friend -there’s no reason why I should go in, and I don’t choose to do so.” - -“Well, you needn’t put on any of your high and mighty airs with me,” -exclaimed the other, threateningly. “This gentleman is as much my friend -as he is yours, and I’m going to prove it by taking him inside again. -Come back in, old pard,” he added, grasping Wolfe’s other arm as he -stood balancing himself unsteadily between the two. - -“No,” said Breeze, decidedly, “he sha’n’t go back;” and with this he -endeavored to pull Wolfe through the still open door-way into the -street. - -Here the door-keeper, who had watched the scene impatiently, interfered, -and saying, “I can’t have any disturbance here, gentlemen; you’ll have -to settle this business outside,” assisted Breeze to such purpose that -the next moment all three were in the street, and the door was closed -behind them. - -This excited Wolfe’s anger so that he began to kick the door, at the -same time screaming to be let in. - -“Oh, come, this won’t do!” exclaimed Wolfe’s companion. “This racket’ll -bring the police down on us in no time. You see now what a fix you’ve -got us into, don’t yer?” he asked, turning to Breeze. - -“I see what a fix you’ve got this poor fellow into by bringing him to -such a place,” replied the latter, indignantly, “and I hope you feel as -ashamed of yourself as you ought to be.” - -“None of your preaching!” cried the other, fiercely, “or you and I’ll -have a bigger score to settle than we’ve got now. Take hold of him, -can’t you? and let’s get away from here before we get nabbed.” - -Together they succeeded in pulling Wolfe from the door, and in directing -his unsteady steps down the street in the direction of the wharf. - -While Breeze was wondering what on earth he should do with his friend in -this wretched condition, Wolfe’s intoxication assumed a new form, and he -began to yell and sing at the top of his voice. - -“Stop that noise, or I’ll take you all in,” shouted a gruff voice behind -them. - -“Shut up, can’t yer?” exclaimed Wolfe’s companion to him, angrily. -“Don’t you hear the police?” - -But Wolfe only yelled the louder, and began to revile the police, and -dare them to come and get him. - -“We must cut for it,” said Hank Hoffer, for this was the name of Wolfe’s -companion. “Grab him tight and run him. We’re pretty near there.” - -Almost carrying Wolfe between them, the others hurried him along at such -a pace as to quite take his breath away and put a stop to any further -outcries. - -As they reached the wharf Hank said, “Quick, now! let’s get him aboard -this schooner. I belong here, and it’ll be all right. We’ll get him -below, and put him in a bunk, where they’ll never notice him. Hurry, -they’re coming!” - -In the excitement of the moment Breeze did not stop to think whether -this was a wise thing to do or not; and, only anxious to shield his -friend from the consequences of his own folly, he blindly obeyed these -instructions. - -Wolfe stumbled on the deck of the schooner and fell, striking his head -against the wheel. When they got him below he seemed stupid, and blood -was flowing from a gash on his forehead. - -[Illustration: “QUICK, NOW! LET’S GET HIM ABOARD THIS SCHOONER.”] - -Pulling forward a bucket of water, and handing Breeze a rag, Hank said, -“You sponge him off, and keep him quiet while I go on deck and see -whether the police have followed us down here or not.” - -Without waiting for an answer, he sprang up the companion-way and pulled -the slide over it. Then he went forward, and began to talk in a low tone -to the skipper of the schooner, who, with several other men, was on -deck. The police had evidently given up the chase some time before, for -none were in sight on the wharf. - -What Hank Hoffer said to the skipper was, “I’ve brought you a couple of -first-class hands, and they’re both drunk down in the cabin; but they’ll -be all right to-morrow. They were making such a racket in the streets -that the police gave us a run for it. I’m afraid they’ll come after us -yet; so, as long as we’re all ready, why don’t you cast off, drop out -into the stream, and make a start.” - -Now, this skipper was not much liked by those who knew him, nor was his -old schooner a popular boat; so he had found it somewhat difficult to -get a crew for the trip she was about to make to the Newfoundland Banks. -He had, however, succeeded in shipping all but two of the necessary -number, and now that these two had come aboard of their own free-will, -he saw no reason why he should not take Hank Hoffer’s advice and make a -start. - -The motion of the schooner was so gentle as she drifted away from the -wharf that Breeze, busily bathing his friend’s head, did not notice it. -When, however, those on deck began to hoist the sails, he recognized the -sound quickly enough, and springing up, tried to push back the -companion-way slide. It was locked. Then he began to pound on it -furiously, and to shout for somebody to come and unfasten it; but no -attention was paid to his outcries. - -“It’s only those drunken fellows in the cabin,” explained Hank Hoffer to -the rest of the crew; “they’ll quiet down directly.” - -So Breeze McCloud and Wolfe Brady sailed away in the old schooner -_Vixen_ for Grand Bank, while in the little cottage on the eastern hill -an anxious woman sat and waited for their coming. - - - - - CHAPTER IX. - KIDNAPPED.--THE PROMISE. - - -Finding that no notice was taken of his shouts to be released from the -cabin, Breeze finally sat down on the transom beside the bunk in which -Wolfe was now sleeping heavily, and tried to puzzle out the meaning of -what had taken place. At first he thought it might be a sort of a -practical joke, and perhaps the _Vixen_ was only being carried out in -the bay to get a good position for an early start in the morning. In -that case he did not doubt but he would be allowed to return to the city -when she came to anchor. As time wore on, and the schooner still -continued to move rapidly through the water, even this hope began to -disappear. At last the motion of the vessel convinced him that she had -passed out of the bay, and was now riding the long, regular swells of -the open sea. - -He now remembered that the _Vixen_ had been fitting for a trip to the -Grand Bank, and realized that she had really begun the long voyage that -might last for months. If he could only have bidden his mother good-by, -and told her where he was going! Now the thought of her distress at his -unexplained absence completely overcame him. Throwing himself at full -length on the hard transom, he buried his face in his hands and sobbed -as though his heart would break. Finally, tired out by his long, hard -day’s work, his recent excitement, and the strength of his emotions, he -fell into a troubled sleep. - -Soon afterwards the companion-way slide was pushed back, and the -skipper, Hank Hoffer, and another man entered the cabin and tumbled into -their bunks, but without waking the prisoners. - -“Sleep sound enough, don’t they?” remarked the skipper. - -“Yes,” answered Hank Hoffer. “Drunken men always do.” - -It was broad daylight when Breeze awoke, cramped and stiff from lying so -long on the bare boards of the transom. As he sat up and looked about -him, his thoughts were in such confusion that he could not for a moment -recall where he was. Seeing Wolfe Brady asleep in the bunk beside him -brought back the events of the preceding evening with a rush, and -starting up, he went on deck. There a single glance showed him that they -were out of sight of land and heading to the eastward. - -A young man whose face looked somewhat familiar to him was at the wheel, -though he could not recollect where he had seen it. - -“Hello!” exclaimed this individual. “Turned out, have yer? Feel any -better than you did last night?” - -Breeze started at the sound of the voice. It was that of Wolfe Brady’s -companion of the night before, of whose face he had not at any time -obtained a good view, but whom he now recognized. “What do you mean,” he -asked, stepping up to the young man, “by playing such a trick on me? How -dared you lock us into that cabin and bring us off in this way?” - -“Ho, ho!” laughed the other, “I dare do almost anything. As for what I -meant by it, I told you a while ago that I’d get even with you for -laughing at me when that mackerel seine broke and pitched us all -overboard. I’ve only kept my word.” - -Now it flashed across Breeze where he had seen the face before. It was -while on his trip in the _Curlew_, and this young man had been one of -the crew of the Rockhaven schooner--the one who had shaken his fist and -threatened him for laughing at their ridiculous mishap. - -“I laid up another grudge agin you yesterday,” continued Hank Hoffer. -“When I went to Captain Coffin and asked for a chance on the -_Fish-hawk_, he said he had just engaged you and your mate, and didn’t -want any more hands. So I had to ship on this old packet. When I found -your mate hanging around alone last evening, I saw a chance to fix him, -and thought I’d get even with you that way. Then you had to come along, -like the greenhorn that you are, and walk right into the trap too. I -tell you what, young feller, you won’t never gain nothing by running -afoul the hawse of Hank Hoffer! So put that in your pipe and smoke it, -and see that you remember it too.” - -It was all plain enough to Breeze now, and he turned away angry and -heart-sick, to think that his own carelessness should have led him into -such a predicament. He thought he could not feel any worse than he did, -but a minute later he found himself confronted by a new trouble, beside -which the other became insignificant. - -As he re-entered the cabin he found the skipper awake, and at once began -to charge him with having kidnapped them, and to threaten that if they -were not set aboard the first homeward-bound vessel they met, he would -have him arrested the moment they again reached Gloucester. - -The skipper listened to all this in amazement, and when Breeze had ended -said, - -“You’d better be careful in your choice of words, my young friend, or -you may get yourself into trouble. I never kidnapped you or anybody else -in my life, and I don’t know what you mean. You came aboard this vessel -of your own free-will just as she was about to start. Your friend on -deck there told me that you wanted to ship with us for the pleasure of -sailing in his company. I took his word for it instead of talking with -you, because you were too drunk to--” - -“I drunk!” interrupted Breeze, excitedly. “I never drank a drop of -liquor in my life, and anybody who says I was drunk last night lies; -that’s all.” - -“Oh, come now,” said the skipper, beginning to get angry in turn, -“that’s too thin. Didn’t you come stumbling aboard last night as no -sober man would have done? Didn’t you raise particular Cain down here in -the cabin for a while, and then fall into such a heavy sleep that -nothing could wake you from it? Don’t your eyes show that you have been -drinking? Wasn’t the smell of whiskey almost strong enough to knock a -man down when I came into the cabin to turn in, and nobody’d been here -but you and your mate? Besides all this, didn’t I see you myself hanging -round Grimes’s not more than half an hour before you came aboard? Don’t -tell me again you wasn’t drunk. There’s nothing I despise so much as a -sneak that tries to crawl out of a scrape by lying about it. Now wake up -that partner of yours and turn him out, or I’ll come down here and do it -for you with a bucket of salt-water.” - -With this the skipper went on deck, leaving Breeze bewildered and -stunned by the charge just made against him, and the amount of apparent -proof brought to sustain it. - -The worst of it all was that if the skipper had seen him in the vicinity -of Grimes’s, others might also have seen him there, and would report the -fact when inquiries began to be made for him. Then, too, if the whole -crew of the _Vixen_ believed as their captain evidently did, that he had -been drunk, would anybody ever believe his simple assertion that he had -not been so, against their statement that he was? What would Captain -Coffin think? What would his mother think? Would not her heart be broken -by this horrid report coming on top of his mysterious and unexplained -disappearance? In his agony of mind the poor boy groaned aloud. At this -sound a voice behind him exclaimed, - -“Hello! What’s the matter, Breeze?” - -Turning quickly, he saw Wolfe Brady awake, but still lying in his bunk -and regarding him with dull eyes. - -“Matter enough,” he answered; “for if ever a fellow was in a worse fix -than I am I should like to know it. You ought not to be the one to ask, -anyhow,” he added, bitterly. - -“Why, what do you mean, old man?” inquired Wolfe, leaning upon his elbow -and gazing about the dirty cabin with a perplexed air. “Where are we, -anyhow? What craft is this? Somehow, it doesn’t seem like the -_Albatross_.” - -“_Albatross!_” exclaimed Breeze. “I should say not. We are on board the -_Vixen_, bound for the Grand Bank, with only our shore clothes for an -outfit, and nobody in Gloucester knows what has become of us.” - -“You don’t mean it!” cried Wolfe, now thoroughly aroused. “How did it -all happen?” - -“Do you mean to tell me,” said Breeze, “that you do not remember -anything of what happened to us last night?” - -“Not a thing. ’Pon my honor. The last I remember is that after waiting a -while for you I fell in with a pleasant fellow on the wharf who wanted -me to stroll uptown with him. He said we would not be gone more than -fifteen minutes. We stopped in at some kind of a place to get a drink. -He treated me, then of course I had to treat him, and after that I don’t -remember anything more. What vile stuff it must have been! Ugh! my mouth -tastes like brass and my head feels as though it were made of red-hot -lead.” - -“Well,” said Breeze, “that drink of yours has got us into about as mean -a scrape as I know of, and if it hasn’t completely ruined my reputation -and broken my mother’s heart, I shall be thankful.” - -“My dear fellow, you don’t mean to tell me it is as bad as all that!” -exclaimed Wolfe, now sitting up, and with a tone of deep concern. “It -doesn’t seem possible. I wish you would explain what you mean.” - -“There isn’t time now,” answered Breeze; “the cook called breakfast ten -minutes ago, and we’ll have to hurry if we want to get any. You’d better -get on deck and douse your head in a bucket of cold water. It will do -you good. After breakfast I’ll tell you the whole story, and then we can -make up our minds what to do.” - -The men who sat at the breakfast-table with Breeze and Wolfe regarded -them curiously, winked slyly to one another, and made a few jokes in low -tones upon their appearance, but nobody spoke to them. - -After the meal was over, as no particular attention was paid to them, -they found a sheltered place forward, away up in the eyes of the -schooner. There Breeze related to Wolfe all that had happened during the -preceding night, bringing his story down to that morning, and not -omitting the remarks the skipper had made to the effect that he had been -intoxicated. - -Before he had finished, Wolfe was worked up into a state of furious -anger. “You miserable low-lived scoundrel!” he muttered through his -clinched teeth, shaking his fist in the direction of Hank Hoffer, whom -he now recognized as the one who had played him such a mean trick the -night before; “I’ll pay you off for this; see if I don’t.” - -“It was a mean trick, and I hope he’ll live to be sorry for it,” said -Breeze; “but don’t you think you were almost as much to blame as he?” - -“I!” exclaimed Wolfe, in surprise; “how do you mean? By being so soft as -to let that fellow get the best of me?” - -“I mean by having anything to do with him when you found out that he -wanted you to drink with him.” - -“Why, man! I thought he only wanted me to take a glass with him in a -friendly way.” - -“And do you think it is right to take that kind of a glass?” - -“Certainly; where’s the harm?” - -“Well, I expect you and I have been differently brought up, then. My -father thinks it is the very worst and most dangerous habit a young man -can get into. As for the harm, seems to me it is plain enough in this -case at any rate. If it hadn’t been for that glass we wouldn’t be in -this fix now, and mother wouldn’t be breaking her heart at home, as I’m -sure she is at this minute, for not knowing what has become of us.” - -“I hadn’t thought of it in that light,” said Wolfe, who had never been -taught as Breeze had, to regard drinking as a sin. - -“I wish I could get you to think of it in that light now,” said Breeze. -“Oh, Wolfe! if you would only promise, this very minute, that you’d -never touch another glass of liquor as long as you live, I believe I -should be glad that all this had happened--will you?” - -Wolfe looked at him for a moment without speaking, then he said, “Would -you rather I’d promise you that than anything else, Breeze?” - -“Yes, I would.” - -“Then I’ll do it. Not long ago you risked your life to save mine, and I -told you that from that time on it was at your service. This is the -first thing you have asked of me since, and I’m not the lad to go back -on my word. So now I promise you, and there’s my hand on it, that so -long as I live I’ll never taste another drop of strong drink unless you -ask me to.” - -“Then you never will,” said Breeze, smiling; “and, Wolfe, if you only -knew how glad I am to have that promise, it would make you very happy to -think you had given it to me.” - -“It makes me happy already to see you smile again, for I begin to see -now how I have brought on all this trouble.” - -“Let’s not call it trouble any longer,” said Breeze, cheerily, “but do -as my mother does, and try to look on the bright side of it. We were -coming to the Banks, anyway, in a week or so, and perhaps this trip will -be luckier than the one on the _Fish-hawk_ would have been, who knows?” - -Just then the skipper came up to where they were sitting, and said, -“Well, boys! how goes it now? Feeling any better than you did?” - -“Yes, very much,” answered Breeze, “but not so well as we should if -you’d only get rid of the idea that I was drunk when we came aboard last -night.” - -“It’s true, skipper,” added Wolfe, earnestly, “I was a little under the -weather, I acknowledge, but Breeze, here, never drinks, and was as sober -as a halibut. I can vouch for that. And I’m never going to get that way -again either. I’ve sworn off.” - -“Oh, well,” answered the skipper, carelessly, “it’s all right now. There -isn’t a drop aboard this craft,[F] so I ain’t afraid but that you’ll -keep straight enough till the end of the trip anyhow.” - ------ - -Footnote F: - - As a rule, the Gloucester fishing skippers pride themselves upon never - allowing any liquor to be carried to sea aboard their vessels. - ------ - -“Now that you have got us off here,” said Wolfe, “what are you going to -do in the way of finding us something to wear, besides these store -clothes?” Here he looked ruefully at the new suit he had bought the day -before, which was already showing signs of hard usage. - -“What!” exclaimed the skipper, “are those all you’ve brought with you?” - -“Of course they are; we have not a rag except what we stand in.” - -“Well, now, that’s bad; but perhaps some of the other fellows can spare -a few old things, and there are a couple of extra oil suits aboard that -you can have and I’ll charge ’em up to you. By-the-way, I suppose you -two will go dorymates?” - -“Of course,” answered Breeze, promptly; “we’ve already been dorymates on -one trip, and we mean to be on every other we ever take together.” - -“You’ll use dory No. 6, then,” said the skipper, “and you’d better get -to work overhauling your trawls right off. You want to have everything -in order before we get to the Banks, ’cause there won’t be any time to -waste then. When we once get to fishing I shall expect every man on -board the old packet to jump quick and make every minute tell, or else -he’ll have to reckon with me for it.” - -“That’s all right, skipper. We’ve made up our minds to do our best so -long as we are here and can’t help ourselves,” said Breeze. “But we -belong to the _Fish-hawk_, you know, and if we should happen to run -across her at any time while we are on the Banks, you must not be -surprised if we turn up missing some fine day.” - -“We’ll see about that when the time comes,” replied the skipper, grimly; -“but mind you, if you leave the vessel before the trip’s finished, -you’ll lose all interest in what has been caught up to that time, and -can’t claim a cent’s worth of it.” - -Both sides having thus arrived at a fair understanding with each other, -the boys proceeded to make themselves as comfortable as possible under -the circumstances. Though they declined to have anything to do with Hank -Hoffer, they soon established friendly relations with the rest of the -crew. They found the _Vixen_ to be a dirty old craft, and very -uncomfortable in many respects. She was, however, an able sailor and a -good sea-boat, and after weathering a pretty stiff gale she reached -Grand Bank, nearly nine hundred miles from Gloucester, during the night -of the sixth day out. - -Although the boys had said nothing more about deserting her, if they had -a good chance they had fully made up their minds to do so. Little did -they imagine, however, under what circumstances this leave-taking was to -be effected, or how they should long to once more set foot on the -well-worn deck of the old _Vixen_. - - - - - CHAPTER X. - TRAWLS AND WHALES. - - -A trawler, such as the _Vixen_ was, is fitted out very differently from -a seiner or a hand-liner, the styles of craft on which Breeze had made -his previous fishing trips. Instead of a large seine-boat, she carries -from four to eight dories, and a crew sufficiently large to allow two -men to each dory, besides the skipper and cook. The trawls are tarred -cotton ropes the size of a lead-pencil, that come in lengths of about -fifty fathoms, or three hundred feet each. To these are attached at -distances of a fathom apart for cod, and a fathom and a half apart for -halibut, short lines of from three to six feet long, to the ends of -which hooks are made fast. About six of these lengths of trawl, or 1800 -feet, are coiled in a tub, and each dory will carry out and set from -four to six tubs of trawl in from twenty to two hundred fathoms of -water. The lines contained in the several tubs are made fast to each -other, and all are set in one straight line, from one to two miles in -length. The trawls are anchored at each end, and buoyed by small kegs, -so that the hooks shall hang just clear of the bottom. - -As the _Vixen_ was on a “salt trip,” the pens in the hold, instead of -being filled with ice, contained several hundred bushels of coarse -rock-salt. She had a crew of fourteen men all told, and on her deck, -fitting into each other like nests of buckets, were six dories, three on -each side. - -The next morning after reaching the Bank a fishing-ground was chosen, -and the anchor was dropped overboard. Then the canvas was furled, the -riding-sail was bent on, top-masts were sent down, and everything was -made as snug as possible, and put in readiness for all sorts of weather. -Baskets of frozen herring were got up from the hold, and cut into bait -sizes with sharp knives on the bait-boards. These are heavy planks laid -on top of the cabin. With this cut-up herring each dory crew baited the -thousand or more hooks of their own trawl, and coiled the lines snugly -away again in the tubs. - -That afternoon the trawls were set, one astern of the schooner, one -ahead, one off each quarter, and one off each bow, these positions -having been drawn for by lot beforehand. Thus the schooner formed the -centre of a circle of trawls, the outer ends of which were nearly two -miles from her. The position falling to Breeze and Wolfe was that -directly ahead of the vessel. After going far enough away to be sure of -being well clear of her, in case she should have swung round by morning, -they began to set their trawl. Breeze continued to row in a straight -line away from the schooner, while Wolfe, after dropping overboard the -light anchor and the buoy-line attached to its floating keg, began to -pay out the trawl with its baited hooks. It required great care and -considerable skill to get them overboard without snarls or knots, so -that each hook would be certain to hang straight down by itself and -clear of all the others. After the job had been done neatly and -properly, the second anchor was dropped, and a buoy, with a flag on it -to mark the outer end of the trawl, was flung overboard. Then their work -was finished for the present; for the line was to be left “set” all -night, and would not be visited until early in the morning. - -As they rowed back to the schooner Breeze said, “Wolfe, I want always to -carry out some fresh water and some hard-tack in the dory after this. -I’ve heard my father say a great many times that if all fishermen would -only do this, half the lives that are now lost on the Banks might be -saved.” - -“You’ll be well laughed at on board for a coward if you do,” replied -Wolfe. - -“I don’t care. I’d rather any time be laughed at than to be lost out -there somewhere in a fog, and perhaps drift round for days without -anything to eat or drink.” - -“All right,” said Wolfe; “I guess I can stand it if you can.” - -That night Breeze hunted up a small keg, which he filled with fresh -water, and a box into which he put a couple of dozen ship biscuit -wrapped in paper and stuffed into a sort of a water-proof bag that he -made out of an old oil-skin jacket. - -When the whole crew was turned out at daylight the next morning, they -found dreary, shivering weather up on the cold deck; but after the hot -coffee and hearty breakfast which the cook had ready for them, they felt -better. All were then soon off in their dories, going in the direction -of the several buoy-flags left at the outer ends of their trawls the -night before. - -As Breeze stowed his fresh water and provisions in the stern of dory No. -6, Hank Hoffer noticed what he was doing, and sung out to know what he -was afraid of, and if he didn’t want to be tied to an apron-string for -fear of getting lost. - -Wolfe’s hot Irish blood rushed to his face at these taunts, and he would -have answered back but for Breeze, who said, - -“Let him alone, Wolfe. It makes him feel a great deal worse not to be -noticed at all. Nothing would please him better than to get us into a -muss, and to have the skipper order us off about our business.” - -“Well, I don’t know but what you are right, Breeze; but what a queer -fellow you are, anyhow. It seems to me you must have been born with a -wise head on your shoulders. Here I am a year older than you, but most -any one hearing us talk would take you for the old boy and me for the -young one.” - -They rowed steadily while they talked, and soon reached the little -canvas flag that marked the buoy at the outer end of their trawl. - -“I wonder what luck we’re going to have?” said Breeze. “What I like best -about fishing is the not knowing what you are going to catch, and the -thinking whenever you have bad-luck you may have better next time.” - -“I expect that is the most interesting part about most things in this -world,” said Wolfe; “but with all my luck I can’t start this anchor. -It’s got foul of something. I expect we’ll have to rig up the -hurdy-gurdy.” - -This was a small iron winch that could be set up in the bows of the -dory, and which is often found necessary in heaving up heavy trawls. -With its aid the refractory anchor was soon got aboard. The buoy had -already been picked up, and at length the trawl began to appear. Now -came the exciting moment. What would it bring? Would every hook have its -fish, or would they be few and far between? They would not even consider -the possibility of its being what fishermen describe as a “water haul,” -or one bringing them nothing but empty hooks. Wolfe stood forward in the -dory pulling in the line, while Breeze stood a few feet behind him, -ready to take off the fish and stow the trawl in its tubs. - -“Here he is!” cried Wolfe at last. “Number one a cod, and a jolly big -fellow at that. My eye! but he must weigh fifty pounds at least. Our -luck’s begun good at any rate. Bear a hand here with the gaff, Breeze. -Quick! There, my hearty! lie still where you are put, and we’ll soon -give you plenty of company.” - -After this came two or three bare hooks, and then a small halibut. Then -half a dozen more codfish, one close after the other, and next only the -skeleton of a fish with its bones picked as clean as though there had -never been a particle of flesh on them. It astonished Breeze greatly, -and he said, - -“Well! I never knew before that a fish’s skeleton would take bait. How -hungry it must have been! It does look rather thin and gaunt, for a -fact,” he added, laughing. - -“He was something a good deal better than a skeleton when he took that -hook,” explained Wolfe, who had hauled trawls before. “The sand-fleas -have made a meal off of him, and there must have been a pretty lot of -them to go through him so quickly and completely.” - -“Sand-fleas?” repeated Breeze, inquiringly. - -“Yes, just such chaps as you may see almost any time hopping on a -beach.” - -A haddock bearing the teeth-marks of the halibut that had tried to -swallow him after he was caught came next. Then followed cod, cod, cod, -so fast that by the time the trawl was half hauled, dory No. 6 was deep -in the water and her crew did not dare to put another fish into her. - -They were in fine spirits over their good-luck, as they buoyed the trawl -and pulled back to the schooner to get rid of their load before -attempting to finish the haul. By this time a stiff northerly breeze was -blowing, and the _Vixen_ had swung with the change of wind, so that she -now lay stern to them. This made their pull much shorter than it -otherwise would have been. Owing to this they had the satisfaction of -pitching the first fish of that cruise on the schooner’s deck. This -greatly disappointed Hank Hoffer, who came up a minute later in dory No. -5, and who had fully expected to be able to claim the honor of “first -fish.” - -He began to make ugly remarks to the effect that if they had waited to -get a full load they would not have been back so quickly. This time the -skipper cut him short with, “Look to your own load, Hank. If you’d ’a’ -waited to make it as big as the one these lads have brought in, you -wouldn’t have come for half an hour yet.” - -As soon as the fish had been unloaded from dory No. 6, and the two tubs -of trawl already hauled had been lifted out, the boys returned for the -rest of their catch. They had hardly got the buoy aboard, and were just -beginning to haul in the remainder of the trawl, when suddenly the most -surprising thing occurred. - -The dory was at once, and without the slightest warning, lifted bodily -several feet into the air, and both its occupants were flung down, Wolfe -striking and breaking a thwart in his fall. Immediately afterwards the -dory slid on its side, and apparently downhill, into the water. It was -only by scrambling hastily to the upper gunwale that the boys kept it -from capsizing. As it was, it was half full of water before they -succeeded in righting it. - -At the same moment they heard a loud rushing sound like escaping steam, -a column of spray was thrown high in the air, and they caught a glimpse -of a huge black object sinking out of sight but a short distance from -them. As it disappeared, their boat was rocked violently on the waves -that surged over the place where it had been. - -Both the boys were terribly startled, and for a moment greatly -frightened, by this mysterious occurrence. They had instinctively begun -bailing the water from the dory almost as soon as they found that she -still floated right side up. Breeze was the first to recover the breath -which had been nearly driven from his body by the shock of his -overthrow, and now he gasped out, - -“Do you think it was an earthquake, Wolfe?” Before Wolfe could answer, a -large whale, evidently the mate of the one that had given them such a -scare, rose to the surface to blow, a hundred yards to one side of them, -and Breeze exclaimed, “So that’s what it was! Well, I’m mighty glad he -didn’t come along and hoist us on his back while the dory was loaded -down as she was half an hour ago.” - -“So am I,” began Wolfe, “but hello!” he cried, stopping his bailing and -starting up. “Whatever has got into the old _Vixen_? She must have a -steam-engine aboard.” - -[Illustration: A LARGE WHALE ROSE TO THE SURFACE TO BLOW] - -Breeze looked, and, to his astonishment, saw the schooner moving away -from them, and going through the water at a speed of ten or twelve knots -an hour. Her sails were still furled, and apparently her anchor was -still down; but she was certainly moving, and that at a rapid rate. The -white water was foaming under her bows, and a wake, like that of a -steamer, was trailing and eddying behind her. - -“It’s one of those whales, and he’s caught a fluke of her anchor in his -blow-hole or in his jaws. Yes, sir, he’s running away with her!” -exclaimed Breeze, who had heard his father describe a similar occurrence -as having happened to him once on the Banks. - -“That’s what it must be,” said Wolfe. “But it beats anything I ever -heard of. My eye! isn’t she going, though!” - -“Well,” remarked Breeze, as they watched the rapidly vanishing schooner, -“I should say that fishing in these waters was pretty exciting work. I -know it beats mackerelling, or life on George’s. Do you know whether it -is always as lively here as it seems to be this morning, Wolfe?” - -“This goes ahead of anything in my experience,” was the reply. “I only -hope the old man will cut his cable before he loses sight of us, or that -he has had sense enough to take our bearings so that he can pick us up -again. Now that we have got a quiet spell, I suppose we might as well -finish bailing before the next performance begins.” - -After they had rid the boat of all the water she had shipped, they began -once more to haul in on their trawl. They reasoned that if the schooner -came back they would be so much ahead with their work, and if she did -not, they could pitch the fish overboard; while, in the mean time, the -occupation would keep them from worrying over what might happen. - -They had got nearly to the end of their trawl, and the dory was again -deeply laden with fish, when Breeze cried out, joyfully, “Here she comes -back!” - -He was right. The white sails of the schooner could be seen, though at a -great distance from them, and they knew that she had in some way got rid -of her unwelcome tow-boat, and was on her way back. - -Two of the other dories that had been left behind now approached them, -and a man in one of them called out, “I don’t suppose you fellows have -got any fresh water aboard, have you?” - -“Yes, we have plenty of it,” shouted Wolfe. “I declare I had forgotten -it, though, and I’m awfully thirsty myself,” he added to Breeze. - -The latter had no reason to regret his thoughtfulness when he saw how -heartily they all enjoyed the water and a lunch of biscuit that, but for -him, they would have gone without. - -So far had the schooner been towed before the whale had managed to clear -himself from his encumbrance that she was nearly two hours in making her -way back to them. Her skipper had refused to cut the cable, for he was a -part owner in the vessel, and did not want to be put to the expense of a -new one. Thus he showed one of the traits in his character that made him -so unpopular. He was always ready to sacrifice the comfort, and even the -safety, of his men, rather than run the risk of losing money. - -At last the schooner did return to the waiting dories, and their loads -of fish were transferred to her deck, after which the trawls were -rebaited and again set out. Then came a busy time spent in “dressing -down;” that is, cleaning the fish, cutting off their heads, splitting -and salting them, and finally packing them in the hold. After this, the -trawls were again hauled and again set for the night. Owing to the delay -of the morning, the second catch had to be “dressed down” by -lantern-light, so that it was nearly eleven o’clock before the tired -crew were allowed to throw themselves into their bunks for a few hours’ -sleep. - -The air during the day had been growing steadily colder, and before dark -the peculiar chill denoting the presence of ice at no great distance had -been noticed, and had occasioned some anxiety. The season was unusually -backward, and a recent succession of northerly gales had driven the -arctic ice almost to the edge of the Gulf Stream. This had been reported -before the _Vixen_ left Gloucester; but, as her crew had not yet met -with any ice, they hoped it had again gone north, and that they were to -escape it entirely. - -While Hank Hoffer was on watch that night he busied himself for some -time with the contents of dory No. 6, and any one standing close beside -him might have heard him mutter, “There, I hope those sneaks will enjoy -the drink I’ve fixed for them. I’ll teach ’em that we don’t want any -cowards aboard this craft.” - -An hour later, or shortly before daylight, the tired sleepers in cabin -and forecastle were roused from their dreams, and brought shivering out -from their warm bunks by the hoarse voice of the watch on deck shouting -down the companion-ways, “Hear the news below there! Tumble out all -hands! Lolly ice all around us, and a big berg bearing down from dead -ahead!” - - - - - CHAPTER XI. - SURROUNDED BY ARCTIC ICE. - - -There is nothing more dreary or depressing in the whole experience of a -fisherman’s hard life than to be awakened from a sound sleep and turned -out from snug quarters to fight against ice. In either form, as it -drifts down upon his vessel from arctic seas, or as it accumulates in -the form of frozen spray upon her bows, until, to reduce the great -weight that endangers her safety, he must attack it with axes and iron -bars, it is an enemy to be dreaded and cordially hated. So, to the tired -crew of the _Vixen_, the unwelcome announcement made at the close of the -last chapter brought them on deck, grumbling at their hard fate and -shivering in the deadly chill of the air. - -There was no time to spare, for they could plainly distinguish, looming -from out the gloom on their starboard bow, the vast form that threatened -their destruction. They could already feel its icy breath, colder even -than the chill of the night, and note that its motion, aided by -converging currents of air and water, was such that within a few minutes -it must sweep over the very place they were occupying. - -As many as could man the bars sprang to the windlass and began to get up -the anchor. One hurriedly cast off the stops from the furled foresail, -while another loosed the jib. Then the former was hoisted, and at the -same instant the cable was announced as “hove short;” but the anchor -obstinately refused to break out. Once, twice, and again they heaved on -it in vain. - -The steady but silent advance of the monster now close upon them was -awful in its relentlessness, and finally, given added strength by the -terror of its nearness, the straining crew at the windlass made one last -effort that tore the unwilling anchor from its hold just as the skipper -had raised his axe to cut the cable. - -The big jib seemed to run up the stay of its own accord, while powerful -arms held its clew well over to windward. Breeze, who had tugged and -strained with the others at the windlass until he was dripping with -perspiration, sprang aft to the wheel and rolled it hard over. Then -slowly, oh, so slowly! as it seemed to the breathless crew, the schooner -began to pay off, and then to forge ahead. Even then they did not know -but that they were too late. Already the small drift-ice pushed ahead of -the berg was grinding against the vessel’s sides, while the towering -mass was cutting off the wind from her sails and leaving her becalmed to -await its pleasure. - -It revolved slowly as it drifted, and all at once this rotary motion -opened up to them a deep cleft in its formation, through which whirled a -sudden gust of wind. As it struck the out-spread sails the schooner -heeled over before it and bounded forward, as though only then awakened -to the consciousness of her danger. - -She just cleared it, and that was all. For her and her crew, five little -seconds and a cat’s-paw of wind spanned the infinite gulf that separates -safety from destruction, life from death. For a moment they could hardly -realize they had escaped, and as the monster swept sullenly past them, -still revolving like a gigantic millstone seeking to grind to powder all -who dared oppose it, they gazed at it in silence and with bloodless -faces. - -But the reaction came quickly. The men who fish on the Newfoundland -Banks learn to forget their perils almost before they have passed. At -the hoarse command of “Ready about! Stand by the jib-sheets!” the crew -of the Vixen seemed to awaken as from a troubled dream. - -Within fifteen minutes their vessel was again at anchor in nearly the -same place she had occupied before the berg drove them from it. Her -sails were furled, and all who could be accommodated at the little -mess-table were eating, with a relish, the breakfast that the cook had -been steadily preparing amid all the exciting scenes that had just -passed. He knew that, to live and to work, men must eat, and that so -long as the vessel held together and floated, it was his duty to prepare -food for them. - -The berg that had caused all this trouble and anxiety was a solitary -rover that had left its frigid companions in order to pursue its own -erratic course. It was not even accompanied by large floe-cakes, but -only by quantities of the small drift or “lolly” ice. This would not -interfere to any great extent with the handling of the trawls, though it -would render the work particularly cold and disagreeable. - -As the daylight strengthened, however, practised eyes on board the -_Vixen_ detected a pale glimmer on the northern horizon that indicated -the presence of those vast ice-fields that frequently sweep over the -Newfoundland Banks in the spring of the year. They often carry death and -destruction to the fishermen and their vessels, always bring hard, -dangerous work, and threaten a disastrous loss of gear. Therefore, on -the present occasion the skipper hurried the men through their meal, and -despatched them as quickly as possible in the dories to haul their -trawls. They were ordered to cut the lines if necessary, and to return -to the schooner with all speed the moment the close approach of the ice -should be indicated by the signal of the ship’s flag displayed in the -main rigging. - -In the present position of the schooner the trawl belonging to dory No. -6 was at some distance astern of her, and our dorymates had a long pull -before reaching its outer buoy. They worked like beavers in getting the -trawl aboard; and as it was nearly bare of fish, the ice having -seemingly driven them away, they succeeded in hauling the whole of it -before the recall signal was shown. - -Just as he had got in the last anchor, Wolfe, casting a glance in the -direction of the schooner, observed the flag, though there was not now -wind enough to flutter it, and exclaimed, “There it is, Breeze! the -skipper’s giving us the recall, and he is not the man to do it until the -last moment. You may count on the ice being close to her now, as well as -on the fact that we’ve got a stiff pull ahead of us to get back in -time.” - -And it was a stiff pull. The strong young backs straightened out -splendidly with every stroke, the tough oars bent and rattled sharply -against their confining thole-pins, and the white water sped away from -the prow of the old dory, as though she were a racing boat. But they had -been too heavily handicapped; the ice had been allowed too great a -start, and they were still several hundred feet from the schooner when a -shout from her deck caused them to look around. - -What they saw made them heart-sick, and for a moment their case seemed -hopeless. They were already cut off from the vessel by several great -cakes of ice that were grinding and crashing together angrily. Others -were rapidly drifting into, and narrowing, the open space that still -remained, and they could not see any chance of ever being able to pass -this moving, treacherous barrier. All at once the loud cries and eager -gestures of those on board the schooner directed their attention to a -buoy lying on one of the cakes nearest to them. To their great joy they -saw that to it was attached a line that was being paid out over the -stern of the vessel. Somebody had been thoughtful enough to make this -use of the cake as it drifted by. - -Altering their direction slightly, the boys had, in a minute more, -snatched the buoy from its ice raft, and Wolfe was making the line it -had brought them fast to the rope becket in the bow of the dory. At the -same moment a shout was heard from another direction. Looking up they -saw another dory still farther off than they were, and evidently about -to be cut off, not only from the schooner but from them, by the cruel -ice. - -[Illustration: IN A MINUTE MORE THEY HAD SNATCHED THE BUOY FROM THE -ICE-RAFT.] - -As quick as thought, Breeze tossed one of their trawl buoys, with its -line still attached, to the cake of ice that had brought help to them -from the schooner, and which was still within reach. It fell so close to -the edge that he had to pay out the line most carefully to prevent its -being dragged off. In a few minutes he had the satisfaction of seeing -the dory pulled alongside of the floating cake, and one of her crew step -carefully out upon it, and walk towards the buoy. - -His weight bore the ice down so that water began to flow over its edge; -and just as he stooped to pick up the buoy, it floated and eluded his -grasp. He made a clutch and succeeded in seizing it; but at the same -instant his feet slipped from under him, and he plunged headlong into -the cold waters. - -The cry with which the unfortunate man disappeared from view was echoed -from the dory he had just left. In it Hank Hoffer was now as effectually -cut off from the schooner as though he were already miles away, instead -of almost within reach of her. - -For the time being the crew of dory No. 6 paid but little attention to -him. All their energies were directed towards saving the man in the -water, who had now come to the surface, still grasping the buoy. A great -cake bore down upon him, and threatened to crush him, or at least to -force him under. Fortunately the line by which he was held passed over -it, and he was able to draw himself on to its slippery surface. From it -he again went into the water, and thus, slipping, scrambling, jumping, -and swimming, but always clinging to the line, he finally reached the -dory, cut, bruised, and nearly exhausted. - -Then the dorymates began to look after their own safety, for they were -still in great danger of going adrift. A portion of the line that -connected them with the schooner was under the ice, and might at any -moment be cut or parted. There was also the danger that the sides of the -dory might be crushed in or cut through by the heavy jagged cakes, some -of which were fifty feet wide, and from five to ten feet thick. By -jumping out on the larger cakes, and pulling the boat over them, pushing -aside the smaller ones, tugging, straining, and working with all their -might for half an hour, they finally got the line clear and above the -ice. All this time those on the schooner had held it taut. Now it was a -comparatively easy matter to pull the boat, with its brave crew and the -man whom they had rescued, close under the stern of the vessel, and to -hoist her clear of the water by the davits. - -Thankful enough were the dorymates to tread once more the firm deck of -the old _Vixen_, and hearty was the welcome given them by her crew. All -the other dories, except that which held Hank Hoffer, had been got -safely on board, some with all their trawls, and others with only -portions of them. The lost dory, with its solitary occupant, had become -but a dim speck against the white background of ice that now covered the -sea as far as their sight could reach. The boys barely caught a glimpse -of it as it was pointed out to them from the deck of the schooner before -it vanished entirely. They both sprang into the main rigging to get -another sight of it; but, though they climbed to the mast-head, they -could not again discover it. They did, however, see several icebergs -drifting in that direction, and it was with heavy hearts and very sober -faces that they descended to the deck and reported the probable fate -that had overtaken their shipmate. He had proved himself their enemy, -and even among the rougher members of the crew he had made no friends. -Still he was a human being, who for more than a week had formed one of -their little community, and been thrown into close companionship with -them. Now he was called upon to suffer terribly, and alone, a fate that -might have overtaken any one of them, and they pitied him from the -bottom of their hearts. - -With the exception of a few puffy squalls, the morning had been without -moving air enough to lift the ensign that still drooped listlessly from -the main rigging, but about noon a breeze sprang up from the southward. -With the first sign of wind the _Vixen’s_ anchor was hove up, sail was -made, and she began to beat slowly in the direction taken by the missing -dory, through a lead of clear water that had opened through the floe. -There was not much chance that anything would ever again be seen of it -or its unfortunate occupant; but they could not give him up without -making an effort to save him, and so, for several hours, the almost -hopeless search was continued. - -Navigation was extremely difficult, for the spaces of open water were -few and often very narrow. Sometimes they led abruptly into ice so -closely packed that no headway could be made against it, and the -schooner barely held her own, as it ground and scraped along her sides -with a force that threatened to cut through even her stout planking. - -At length Breeze, who had climbed to the mast-head to take a look -through the skipper’s glass, reported that he could see something black -that looked like a man on one of the icebergs they had noticed earlier -in the day, and which they were now approaching. - -After the object had been pointed out to the skipper, and he had looked -at it long and carefully, he also expressed the opinion that it was a -man, and ordered the schooner to be headed in that direction. Her -progress was necessarily very slow, and the afternoon was well advanced -before she reached a broad space of open water, beyond which rose the -iceberg. It was now not more than half a mile from them; but it was -surrounded by an apparently impassable barrier of floe ice. This, though -in motion, was so densely packed along its outer edge that the vessel -could not be forced into it. Again and again was the attempt made, but -it only resulted in failure, and each successive shock threatened her -with irreparable damage. - -At length these efforts were abandoned, and the schooner began to cruise -up and down along the barrier, seeking for some opening through which -she might pass. The black object on the iceberg had remained in sight -long enough for them to be certain that it was a man, but then it had -disappeared. This disappearance greatly puzzled the _Vixen’s_ crew. Some -of them said he must have slipped off the ice into the water, and been -drowned, or else he would certainly have remained in sight to make -signals to them. Others thought perhaps the berg had swung round so as -to hide him from them, and that he was unable to reach any point from -which he could be seen. Among the latter were Breeze and Wolfe, who, as -time wore on, became very impatient at the delay caused by the icy -barrier. - -“If we do not get to him soon,” said Breeze, “he will certainly freeze -to death. Wolfe, don’t you think we could get our dory across the floe -to that iceberg, if we should try?” - -“You don’t mean to say that you’d be willing to try it for the sake of -that fellow, do you?” exclaimed his companion in amazement. “Why, man, -the chances would be ten to one, yes a hundred to one, against your ever -getting back to the schooner again.” - -“That may all be,” replied Breeze, “but if they were a thousand to one -against it I’d rather take the one chance than to go off and leave that -poor fellow to die there without even trying to save him. I believe it -can be done, and I’m going to ask the skipper to let me go.” - -“Well,” said Wolfe, “you are the softest and the pluckiest fellow I ever -met. I don’t believe the skipper will hear of your going, but if he -should you sha’n’t go alone.” - -“I was sure you’d say that!” cried Breeze, “and I’m just as sure that -we’ll succeed if we are only allowed to try my plan.” - -The skipper hesitated some time before giving his consent to the scheme -proposed by Breeze; but at length, finding that no further headway could -be made by the schooner, he yielded reluctantly, and said they might -make the attempt. - -The rest of the crew tried to dissuade the boys from such a foolhardy -undertaking, “especially,” as one of them said, “when the man doesn’t -show up, and is probably gone long before this.” When they found them -determined to go, however, they lent them every assistance in their -power. - -Before starting, both the boys drank a cup of hot coffee and ate a hasty -luncheon. Into dory No. 6 they put a box of provisions, two pairs of -blankets, a coil of rope, and a hatchet. Their water-keg was already -full. The skipper promised to remain within sight of that iceberg until -they returned, or until he knew what had become of them, and as they -started the crew gave them a hearty cheer. - -They found it hard and tedious work to get their dory over the first -barrier of ice, which was about a hundred yards wide. After that was -passed they progressed more rapidly, and discovered so many little lanes -of open water that they reached the berg much more easily than they had -expected to. - -As they rowed alongside of it they discovered a small level place, close -to the water’s edge, upon which a landing could be made. The ends of the -berg rose into points fifty or sixty feet high, but above this point was -a depression that did not rise more than twenty feet above the water. - -When they reached this place Breeze said, “Let me land here, Wolfe, and -climb up to the top, where I can look over, while you stay in the dory.” - -So saying, and taking the hatchet with him, he stepped out on the ice, -and began slowly to make his way up the gentle but slippery incline. As -he reached the top he stood there for a moment looking around, and then -turned as though about to call out to his friend. Suddenly he seemed to -slip, and to Wolfe’s dismay he threw up his arms, uttered a loud cry, -and disappeared. - - - - - CHAPTER XII. - AN ICE CAVE AND ITS PRISONERS. - - -At first Wolfe hoped that Breeze had merely slipped and fallen, and for -a minute waited anxiously for him to reappear. Then it occurred to him -that his companion might have slid into the water, and that possibly he -was even now drowning, or struggling in vain to regain a footing upon -the treacherous surface. Thus thinking, he sprang to his oars, and -pulling furiously, soon carried the dory to the other side of the -iceberg, which was not a very large one. To his dismay he could discover -no trace of his friend even here, and he now began to be seriously -alarmed. He could see the whole side of the ice island as it rose, -glittering and sparkling above him, in the light of the setting sun. It -shone with all the colors of the rainbow, and was coldly, awfully -beautiful to look upon, but nowhere did it offer to his view the -faintest trace of a human presence. - -This side was rugged, and so precipitous that it would be impossible for -any one to gain a foothold upon it from a boat, much less from the -water; all of which Wolfe noticed with a feeling of despair. As he -examined the frigid mass above him more closely he noticed that, near -its top, there seemed to be several platforms or terraces, and he -determined to pull back to the landing-place and climb up and examine -them. Rowing slowly around the other end of the berg, and scanning every -foot of its surface in the vague hope of discovering something, he -finally came again to the place where Breeze had left him. Here, with a -heavy heart, he made his preparations to follow the course his friend -had taken. Hauling the dory partially out of the water, so that there -would be less danger of its being crushed by floating cakes, he jammed -its anchor into a crack of the ice and pulled the anchor rope taut. -Then, taking advantage of the occasional holes Breeze had cut in the ice -with his hatchet, he began to climb towards the summit of the ridge. - -When at last he reached it he dreaded to look around him; for this was -his last hope, and if he should see nothing of his dorymate from here, -he felt that he must indeed give him up for lost. At length he forced -himself to gaze, slowly and carefully, in every direction about him. -There was only the ice, the water, the sunset sky, and, sharply outlined -against it, the _Vixen_, standing off and on beyond the floe, waiting -for them. - -Waiting for _them_, and he must return to her alone. This thought broke -him down completely, and he groaned aloud in his distress. He knew now -how strong a hold his sunny-faced young dorymate had gained upon his -affections, and feeling that he had gone from his life forever, the -whole world seemed as lonely and dreary and cold as the scene around -him. In his misery he called out, “Breeze! oh, Breeze! come back to me.” - -“Well, I’m coming as fast as I can,” answered a muffled voice so close -to him that he started in affright, and came very near rolling down the -incline he had just ascended. He trembled so that he could hardly speak; -but he finally managed to call out, “Is that really you, Breeze? And -where are you?” for, as yet, he could neither see his friend nor locate -the spot from which his voice had come. - -“Of course it’s me,” answered the voice, “and I’m down here in a hole -with poor Hank. I wish you’d fetch the rope and throw one end of it down -to me, for it’s mighty slow work cutting these steps, and I could get up -by it a good deal quicker. We’ll want it for Hank, anyhow, because he’s -hurt and can’t climb.” - -The crest of the ridge on which Wolfe was seated--for he had not dared -stand up as Breeze had done--was quite narrow, and sloped sharply down -the opposite side from that up which he had come. This side was wet and -very slippery, for the afternoon sun had been warm enough to melt the -surface in places. A few feet below him the slope appeared to end with a -short upward incline, beyond which the ice again fell away to the water. - -In compliance with his friend’s request, Wolfe hurried back to the dory -for the rope, with his heart as full of joyful emotions as a few minutes -before it had been of sorrowful ones. He could not yet imagine what had -happened to Breeze, nor in what sort of a place he was, and he hardly -cared; the mere fact that he was alive was sufficient for the present. - -He afterwards learned that the icy slope down the opposite side of the -ridge ended abruptly about two feet above the short upward incline that, -from his point of view, it had appeared to join; while between the two -was a deep, narrow crevice, extending far down towards the heart of the -berg. This crevice had originally been filled with snow, and in the -angle between the two slopes there had collected, while the iceberg was -still a part of some Greenland glacier, a bank of arctic sand. -Attracting the heat of what little sunshine fell upon it, this material -had gradually melted its way deep into the snow. Then water had flowed -into the depression thus made, and moving the sand back and forth, had -slowly enlarged the hole until it had finally become a deep crevice, -with smooth walls of glare ice and a sandy bottom. No trap could have -been better planned, and after waiting perhaps hundreds of years for its -victims, it had caught two in one day. It would also have held on to -them so long as the iceberg continued to float if Breeze had not -happened to hold a hatchet in his hand when he nearly killed poor Hank -Hoffer, and frightened as much as he hurt him by suddenly sliding down -on top of him. He had done this without giving the slightest warning of -his coming, about an hour after Hank had landed at the bottom of the -crevice with a sprained ankle and no hope of ever getting out again. - -After the first shock was over, and a few words of explanation had been -exchanged between the two prisoners, Breeze had set to work to chop a -series of footholds up the sides of the crevice, and to gradually make -his way towards the top. Wolfe had heard the faint clicking sound of the -hatchet, but imagined it to be the beating of small drift-ice against -the base of the berg. When in his despair he called out the name of -Breeze, the latter had nearly reached the top of the crevice, and was -within twenty feet of where his dorymate sat, though still effectually -concealed from his view. - -When Wolfe again returned to the top of the ridge with the rope, Breeze -had worked his way up so that his head could be seen above the edge of -the crevice, and the friends gave each other a joyful greeting. After -receiving the assurance that the other was not hurt, Wolfe said, “Did -you say that Hank Hoffer was down there where you have just come from?” - -“Yes, indeed he is, and pretty badly hurt. He is stiff with the cold -too, and we must get him out as quick as we can.” - -“I don’t see how we are going to do it if he can’t help himself,” said -Wolfe. “Yes, I do too,” he added, after a moment’s thought. “But we must -work fast, for it will soon be dark, and we don’t want to stay here all -night. You just wait two minutes longer.” - -With this he again made his way to the dory, took the anchor from the -crack into which he had jammed it, thrust the blade of an oar down in -its place, and made the dory fast to it. Then he carried the anchor to -the top of the ridge, got the hatchet from Breeze by means of the rope -which he let down to him, chopped a hole to receive a fluke of the -anchor on his own side of the ridge, made the rope fast to it, and again -tossed an end of the line to his companion. - -First testing the strength of the rope and anchor thoroughly, he slid -down to where Breeze was waiting, and the dorymates exchanged as warm a -hand-clasp as though they had been separated for months instead of -minutes. - -All this time poor Hank had been groaning at the bottom of the crevice, -and calling upon them to hurry. The rope was fortunately long enough to -reach him, and Breeze, again descending to where he lay, knotted the end -of it under his arms. While he was doing this Wolfe cut a few footholds -on the face of the slope leading to the top of the ridge. Then Breeze -came up, and the two athletic young fellows drew the almost helpless -form of their shipmate slowly but steadily to where they stood. While -Wolfe supported him there Breeze pulled himself, by the aid of the rope, -to the top of the ridge, where he took in the slack of the line and -fastened it anew to the anchor. Hank being thus secured against sliding -back into the crevice, Wolfe left him, and joining Breeze, they together -drew the sufferer to the top of the ridge. Slowly and carefully they -helped him down the opposite side, and at last had the satisfaction of -placing him safely in the bottom of the dory. - -It was now quite dark, but they could still note the position of the -_Vixen_ by the light of the “flare,” that was kept constantly burning on -board for their guidance. They dreaded leaving their comparatively safe -position and attempting to force their frail craft through the masses of -moving ice that lay between them and the schooner. The thought of -spending the night where they were was, however, still worse, and they -decided to try and reach her. - -As there was enough open water to row in for a while Wolfe took the -oars, and Breeze busied himself with the rescued man. He rolled him in -the blankets they had brought, rubbed his hands and limbs briskly, and -offered him food. Hank declined this, but asked for water, saying that -he was dying of thirst. - -“Why didn’t you get a drink on the iceberg?” asked Breeze, in surprise. -“I’m sure there was plenty of water there; or you might have eaten a bit -of ice.” At the same time he got out their little keg of water and -handed it to the sufferer. - -“I didn’t suppose an iceberg was made of fresh ice,” replied Hank, -eagerly seizing the keg and applying his lips to the bung-hole for a -long drink. The next instant he dropped it, spat out the mouthful of -water he had taken, and sank down in the bottom of the boat with a -groan. - -“What is the matter?” cried Breeze, picking up the keg. As Hank made no -answer, he lifted it to his own lips and tasted of its contents. It was -full of salt water. - -[Illustration: AND THE TWO ATHLETIC YOUNG FELLOWS DREW THE ALMOST -HELPLESS FORM OF THEIR SHIPMATE SLOWLY BUT STEADILY TO WHERE THEY -STOOD.] - -There was no time then for questions or explanations, as the floes on -either side of them began closing together so rapidly that the dory was -in danger of being crushed between them. The boys sprang from the boat, -and managed to drag it out on the ice, just as the drifting masses met -with a shock that ground their edges to powder and nearly threw Breeze -and Wolfe from their feet. - -Then began a struggle similar to that which they had gone through in the -morning, only with the danger increased a hundred-fold by the darkness. -Now they dragged the dory by main strength over some great cake that lay -squarely in their way, then, both in the boat, they used the oars as -poles and pushed it along from piece to piece. Occasionally a submerged -mass would rise beneath the boat, and it was only by the greatest -activity that they prevented it from capsizing. Several times one or the -other of them slipped into the icy water; but they always clung to the -dory, and managed to pull themselves out. - -But for the flare, that continued to blaze brightly from the schooner’s -deck, they would have given over the struggle a dozen times. Hank could -lend them no assistance, but lay, numbed and stupid, in the bottom of -the boat, a dead-weight. - -At last, when after a harder struggle than usual, on account of their -exhaustion, they had again dragged the dory out on the ice, Breeze threw -himself down in it exclaiming, “I’m about done for, Wolfe; and I’m -afraid we’ve got to give it up.” - -“I feel the same way myself,” said Wolfe, “I can’t pull another pound.” - -The frigid breath of the ice-fields, penetrating their soaked garments, -chilled them to the marrow, and they shook as with the ague. A short -time longer of such exposure would have finished the story of these -dorymates, and one more tale of death would have been added to the long -list that saddens the history of the Banks fisheries. But their -situation was not yet utterly hopeless. One brave spirit of that little -group was not yet wholly prepared to yield itself beaten by the terrors -that surrounded them. - -After remaining a few minutes motionless and silent, Breeze shook off -the numbness that was stealing over him, and endeavored to arouse his -companions. Wolfe responded readily to his efforts, but it was a -difficult matter to rouse Hank Hoffer. When at last he seemed able to -understand them, Breeze said, - -“We mustn’t give up yet, fellows. The schooner isn’t so very far off, -and though we can’t drag the dory any farther, perhaps if we give a -shout all together they may hear it on board and do something for us. -The wind is blowing that way.” - -Breeze remembered his experience in the seine-boat, off the capes of -Delaware, and how the combined voices of its crew had saved them on that -occasion. - -The others were willing to try, and as Breeze gave the word they raised -a cry so wild and shrill that they themselves were startled by it. Again -and again they shouted until their voices were spent; but no sound came -to them in reply. Still they sat shivering in the chill wind, and -feeling the awful numbness again creeping over them, but with their eyes -fixed upon the schooner’s light, that seemed so near and yet so -immeasurably far from them. - -All at once Wolfe started up, exclaiming, “There’s another light! see -it, Breeze? A little one, between us and the flare. They’re coming for -us! They’re coming for us!” - -It was a faint wavering light, like that of a lantern, and often, as -they watched, it disappeared, but always to appear again. Now it seemed -to be going away from them, and again finding their voices, they raised -once more the cry for help. - -This time they fancied they heard an answer, and a little later were -sure of it. Half an hour of alternate fear and hope passed, before, -guided by their shouts, the rescuing party of four brave fellows from -the schooner reached them. They had made but slow progress, dragging -their dory over the broken ice, and not knowing but that each step might -plunge them into the water; but never since hearing that first cry for -help had they hesitated for a moment, or thought of turning back. - -The meeting between the rescued and the rescuers was too joyful for -description; but there was no time for words. The new-comers had found -an unbroken floe extending from the schooner, which was made fast to the -outer edge of it; but there was no certainty that it would remain -unbroken from one moment to another, and they could not hasten back too -quickly. - -New strength came to Breeze and Wolfe with renewed hope, and they were -able to aid in dragging the dories back. - -In less than half an hour later they were once more safe on board the -_Vixen_, and the whole crew was striving to see who could do the most -for their comfort, and show them how fully the brave deed they had -accomplished was appreciated. - -They now learned that ever since darkness set in, those who came to -their rescue had held themselves in readiness to set forth the moment -they should find out in what direction to go, and that their very first -cries for help were heard and answered. - -Breeze and Wolfe were readily thawed out by hot drinks and blankets, so -that they soon fell asleep, to awaken in the morning feeling but little -the worse for their hardships. With Hank Hoffer the case was different. -His hands and feet were frost-bitten, and besides having a badly -sprained ankle, he was so prostrated by what he had suffered that he was -confined to his bunk for many days, and never wholly recovered from his -terrible experience. - -He never could tell exactly how he escaped to the iceberg, after his -dory had been crushed between it and the drifting cakes by which he was -surrounded. He was able, however, to describe in vivid and forcible -language his joy at sight of the schooner, his horror at losing his -foothold and falling into the deep crevice while trying to signal her, -and his fright when Breeze came sliding down on top of him. Towards -Breeze and Wolfe his gratitude knew no bounds. He begged them to forgive -him for the cruel tricks he had played upon them, and was never -afterwards tired of sounding their praises. - -In this taste of arctic trials and sufferings the dorymates thought they -had met with adventures as strange as any they were likely to encounter. -But their trip was by no means ended, and the Banks still held startling -experiences in store for them, as they were to discover ere many days -had passed. - - - - - CHAPTER XIII. - LOST IN THE FOG. - - -For several days after that on which Hank Hoffer was rescued the wind -blew steadily from the south, driving the ice-fields far back towards -their northern home, but bringing in their place dense masses of the -almost equally dreaded fog. Fog is the ever-present terror of the Banks, -and hangs over them so constantly as to cause the remark to be -frequently made that in this latitude three hundred and sixty-five days -out of the year are foggy. Of course this is an exaggeration; but it is -true that hardly a day passes that does not disclose a fog-bank rising -above the horizon in one or another direction. - -This stealthy enemy is ever lying in wait for the fisherman, and -generally surprises him when he is least prepared for its coming. It -swoops down and envelops him in its blinding folds when he is out in his -dory, and when it again lifts, as though to mock him, he finds himself -alone on the vast waters, with no vessel in sight. It steals his gear, -and sends his craft drifting aimlessly hither and thither. Above all, it -leads swift-rushing steamers to where the fishing schooners lie, and -causes the great ships to spring upon them and crush them down beneath -iron prows, never to rise again. - -The fog is terrible; but whether it comes or whether it goes, the fish -must be caught, for wives and children must be fed. So the dories go out -from the vessels, and if they never return there are others to take -their places. So accustomed does he become to its presence that the -fisherman hardly gives the fog a thought, until in his turn it swallows -him up, and he disappears forever. - -The _Vixen_ was now beset by a fog, sometimes so dense that it settled -down upon the water like a pall. Again it would lift, so that her crew -were able to set and haul their trawls, with some hope of finding their -vessel when the task was finished. It was dull, dispiriting work, and in -the midst of it an amusing incident, of which Breeze McCloud was the -hero, was hailed with delight by his shipmates. - -One night they were lying at anchor. The fog had lifted to such an -extent that it was not thought necessary to keep the fog-horn constantly -blowing. About midnight Breeze was turned out of his bunk to go on -watch. He had hardly reached the deck, and was still rubbing his eyes, -when suddenly he caught sight of a dim light. It rose from the mist at -about the height of a steamer’s mast-head light, and was apparently -bearing directly down upon them amidships. He made one spring for the -companion-way and another into the cabin, yelling at the top of his -voice, - -“Turn out all hands! Steamer close aboard!” and snatching up the -fog-horn, he again rushed on deck, blowing it furiously as he went, and -followed by the startled crew. - -Breeze did not even glance at the dreaded light again, so intent was he -upon getting all the sound he could from his fog-horn; but all at once -such a roar of laughter burst forth behind him that he dropped the horn -and turned indignantly to learn what it meant. - -“Blow, sonny, blow!” cried one of the men between his shouts of -merriment. “You’ll have to do better than that to make the man in the -moon hear you.” - -Then poor Breeze realized that what he had mistaken for a steamer’s -light was indeed the dim and watery moon struggling to show itself -through the upper edge of a fog-bank. There was nothing for him to say -or do, except to bear as meekly as possible the jokes of his companions -and the bursts of laughter with which they greeted him whenever they met -him the next day. - -[Illustration: “BLOW, SONNY, BLOW!” CRIED ONE OF THE MEN.] - -The trawls were set as usual the following evening, for in spite of the -fog the work of fishing was continued with considerable regularity, and -the next morning dory No. 6 went out with the others in quest of its -fare. It was customary in thick weather, while the dories were absent, -to keep the fog-horn constantly sounding on board the schooner, so that -they might be enabled to find her again. - -On this occasion there was such a heavy sea running that unusual care -was necessary in the management of the dory, and its crew were -frequently obliged to swing her head to it to prevent her from -capsizing. After considerable difficulty they discovered their buoy, and -began to haul the trawl. In spite of the violent pitching of the boat -they were conducting this operation successfully, and had nearly -completed their task when, unnoticed by them, as their backs were turned -to it, a larger wave than usual came rushing towards them. - -It seemed to spring at the deeply laden dory, and lifted it so suddenly -that Wolfe, who was leaning over the gunwale, was pitched head-foremost -into the water. At the same instant Breeze, who had been standing up, -was thrown violently backward against the opposite side of the boat, -which was probably all that saved it from upsetting. As it was, she -shipped a quantity of water, and this, in addition to the load of fish, -sank her far below the limit of safety. - -Her head, which had only been held to the wind by the trawl, now swung -off, and as Wolfe rose to the surface and clutched the stern becket she -had turned completely around, and was beginning to drift. - -Quickly recovering himself, Breeze went to his companion’s assistance, -and was endeavoring to help him into the boat, when Wolfe gave a sharp -cry of pain, exclaiming, - -“I’m caught in the trawl! One of the hooks is in my leg! It’s dragging -me down! Oh, Breeze, help me!” - -For an instant Breeze was horror-stricken; but his quick wit enabled him -to understand the situation at once, and also suggested a remedy for it. -Wolfe now formed the connecting link between the dory and the trawl, -which alone prevented it from drifting off before the wind. The strain -on his arms was so great, and the pain from the hook in his leg was so -intense, that he could not keep his hold on the becket more than a -minute longer. When he should once let go he would instantly be dragged -down beneath the dark waters. - -While these thoughts were flashing through his mind Breeze had picked up -the buoy-line, cut it free from its keg, and passing the end under -Wolfe’s arms and around his body, had made it fast to the after-thwart. -He thus effectually fastened his companion to the dory, and relieved, in -a measure, the strain on his arms. - -He next threw off his oil suit, his heavy outer clothes, and his boots. -Then, standing erect, with his sharp sheath-knife held between his -teeth, he sprang overboard and disappeared, head-foremost, beneath the -water, much as his dorymate had done a few minutes before. In another -moment the trawl-line holding Wolfe was cut, and the terrible strain -upon his leg was instantly relieved. - -If Breeze had not been the splendid swimmer that he was, and brought up -from his earliest boyhood to feel almost as much at home in the water as -on land, he could not possibly have accomplished this feat. Neither -would he have been able to regain the dory, which, taking a send of the -sea, was at some distance from him when he again rose to the surface. He -only reached it after a hard swim, and was breathless with his exertions -by the time he had managed to clamber in over the bow. - -His first act was to lighten it, and cause it to ride more buoyantly, by -tossing overboard a quantity of the fish with which it was laden. Then -he helped Wolfe into the boat; and though the poor fellow’s face was -white with the pain he was suffering, he gave no expression to it, but -at once began to bail out the water that still caused them great -anxiety. - -While he was thus employed Breeze was hard at work with the oars, -pulling in what he supposed was the direction of the schooner, and -keeping a sharp lookout for any waves of unusual size. - -At last, when Wolfe had nearly finished bailing, he paused for a moment -in his task and said, “Breeze, it was splendid! I don’t believe there -was ever a finer thing done on the Banks.” - -“Oh, pooh!” replied the other. “What would be the use of learning how to -dive and swim under water if you couldn’t do it when it was necessary?” - -“Yes, I know; it’s well enough to talk about doing such things within -reach of shore, but out here in the middle of the ocean, with a sea like -that running, makes it a very different matter. I say it was splendid!” - -“Wolfe, if you knew how like a coward it makes me feel now to think of -it, you wouldn’t speak of it again. I thank God that he put it into my -heart, and gave me the strength to do what I did. Above all, I thank him -that you are now with me in this boat, instead of at the bottom of the -sea; but I don’t want to talk about it.” - -“And I say ‘Amen’ to your thankfulness with all my heart,” replied -Wolfe. - -“By-the-way,” said Breeze, anxious to change the subject, “do you hear -anything of the horn?” - -“No, I do not, and I don’t think I have heard it since we were hauling -the trawl,” exclaimed Wolfe, with a startled air, while an anxious -expression swept over his face. “Let’s listen a minute.” - -Breeze stopped rowing, and they listened until he was again obliged to -use the oars to head the dory towards another big sea that he saw -approaching; but they heard no sound, save the moan of the wind and the -rushing of the waters on all sides of them. - -It came upon them both like a shock, the terrible thought that they were -lost on that wild sea, and in a fog so dense that they could not see -fifty feet in any direction. Each saw by the other’s face what he was -thinking, but neither of them had the heart to put the thought into -words. - -“I don’t suppose," said Breeze, at length breaking the silence, “that -there’s any use in rowing so long as we don’t know in which direction -the schooner lies." - -“No,” replied Wolfe, “I don’t suppose there is. We had better make a -drogue and get it overboard, to hold her to the wind and keep her from -drifting as much as possible. Then we’ll fix ourselves as comfortable as -we can, until the fog lifts and we can catch sight of the schooner -again.” - -Neither of them would admit in words that they did not expect the fog to -lift shortly, and that the schooner would still be in sight when this -happened. They both knew, however, that it might enshroud them for days, -and that they had but a slight chance of ever seeing the _Vixen_ again. - -They made a “drogue,” or drag, by fastening an end of the buoy rope to -the bow of the dory, and the other to a couple of their trawl tubs, -which they then dropped overboard with the trawl anchor attached, to -serve as a weight. The tubs filled and sank until their upper edges were -on a level with the surface of the water. In this position they acted as -a floating anchor to the dory, which tailed off from them at once and -rode head on to the wind and sea. - -“Stow the oars snugly,” said Wolfe; “we must not lose them whatever -happens. Then, I suppose we might as well toss the rest of these fish -overboard, though it seems a pity, doesn’t it?” - -“Yes, and I’m afraid we’ll be sorry for it when we get back to the -schooner; but here goes,” and Breeze began to toss the fish overboard -vigorously. - -When this job was finished, and the dory rode the seas much more easily -than she had done, Wolfe said, - -“Now that you’ve made things snug and ship-shape, old man, will you help -me a bit with this beastly hook? It’s hurting me more than a little.” - -“Oh!” cried Breeze in a tone of pitying remorse. “Why didn’t you speak -of it sooner? It was awful to leave it in there all this time.” - -“Had too much else on hand. It couldn’t get away, and I knew we’d find -it right there whenever we got ready to attend to it,” said Wolfe, with -an attempt to relieve the anxiety of his friend by making light of his -own sufferings. - -Each of these two brave young spirits was intent upon presenting a -cheerful front to the other, while hiding its own anxiety and -forebodings, but neither of them was for a moment deceived as to the -nature of their situation. - -As carefully as possible, Breeze first cut away the small portion of -line that still remained attached to the shank of the hook. Then, after -cutting little slits in them and clearing them from it, he drew off -Wolfe’s wet lower garments. The hook was fastened into the calf of the -right leg, and had torn the flesh cruelly. Now, while Breeze could, if -necessary, bear any amount of pain himself, it made him faint to inflict -it in cold blood upon others. So, when Wolfe said, “It looks as if you’d -have to cut the beggar out, old man,” he replied, “I can’t do it, Wolfe! -I haven’t the nerve.” - -“Then I must,” answered his companion; and without a moment’s hesitation -he reached down, and with one powerful wrench tore the hook from his leg -and flung it overboard. “That’s a good job quickly done,” he said, -laughing at the other’s pale face. “Now if I only had something to bind -it up with!” - -For a moment they could think of nothing suitable, for all their -garments were woollen. Then Breeze remembered his silken -neck-handkerchief, and hastily pulled it off. As he did so it caught on -the slender chain that he always wore clasped about his neck according -to the promise he had given his mother, and the golden ball attached to -it was brought into view. - -Wolfe had never before seen it, and as he tightly bandaged his wounded -leg he asked Breeze what it was, and why he wore it. In answer Breeze -told him all that he knew concerning the ball, not forgetting the -encounter with the New York jeweller who had opened it and then closed -it again without allowing him to look at its contents. - -Wolfe was greatly interested in all this, and examined the locket -closely, in the hope of discovering its secret fastening, but without -success. For some time they occupied their minds, and kept themselves -from thinking of their unhappy situation, by speculating as to what it -contained. They wondered who had first clasped the chain around the -boy’s baby neck, and Wolfe declared that Breeze was undoubtedly a lost -prince, who would some day come into his kingdom. He begged him not to -forget his old dorymate when that happy event occurred. - -The word “dorymate” recalled them to their present surroundings, and -looking up, Wolfe said, “Well, there doesn’t seem to be any prospect of -the fog’s lifting yet a while. I wish it would, though, in time to let -us get back to the schooner for dinner, for I’m awfully hungry. Speaking -of dinner, have we got a bite of anything to eat besides the raw fish we -threw overboard?” - -At another time Breeze would have laughed heartily at this Irish bull, -but now he only answered by going to the dory’s little stern locker and -drawing from it his oil-cloth provision-bag. A glance at its contents -assured him that they were all right, and he exclaimed, joyfully, - -“Here are two dozen large biscuit, and they’ve kept dry!” - -“How about water?” - -“I looked after that this morning, and the keg’s full of fresh water.” - -“Then,” said Wolfe, “we’ve every reason to feel very grateful that we’re -so well off; and if we only had a compass we would head for the coast of -Newfoundland, and row to it, too, barring bad weather and accidents, -before our provisions gave out.” - -“Yes,” said Breeze, “we’ve certainly got provisions enough to do it -with, for if each of us eats one biscuit a day, they will last us twelve -days.” - -“Couldn’t we take two a day, and make it six days?” suggested Wolfe. - -“How would you like to eat three a day, one each for breakfast, dinner, -and supper, and call it a four days’ supply?” asked Breeze. - -“Faith! I believe I could eat a dozen of them now, and then wish for the -rest without trying, I’m so hungry. But say, Breeze, how long would they -last us if we took three apiece the first day, two the second, one the -third, and then began and did it all over again?” - -Thus talking, and in slowly eating two of their precious biscuit, they -managed to pass several hours, at the end of which they were gladdened -by a ray of sunlight. The fog was lifting. Starting up, they eagerly -scanned their widening horizon, which now extended for some miles on all -sides of them. To their bitter disappointment, they could see no sign -that any other human beings had ever floated on that dreary waste of -waters. - -Shortly before sunset the fog settled down again, thicker than ever; and -lying down in the bottom of their boat, the dorymates very nearly -abandoned themselves to despair. Finally, huddling as closely together -as possible, for the sake of what warmth they could thus obtain, they -both fell asleep. - -In his sleep Breeze dreamed that he was sailing a boat into Gloucester -harbor, but that instead of looking out for the familiar landmarks, he -was steering her by compass. He dreamed this same thing over and over, -until at last he awoke with it strongly impressed upon his mind. - -It was night, and intensely dark, while the wind moaned mournfully above -the dashing waters. Breeze had no idea of the time, nor how long it -would be before daylight. While he was wondering about this he became -conscious, to his great surprise, that in his hand he held the golden -chain and locket that had been about his neck. His surprise was, -moreover, quickly changed to amazement when he felt that the ball was -open. - - - - - CHAPTER XIV. - THE SECRET OF THE GOLDEN BALL. - - -It seemed to Breeze as though daylight never would come, as he lay there -holding the open locket in his hand and wondering about it. How had it -come open? and what did it contain? He was adrift in a fog, far out at -sea, in a frail open boat. He was wet, cold, and hungry. His situation -was about as uncomfortable as can well be imagined; but all this was -lost sight of and forgotten in the thoughts aroused by that golden ball, -which during his sleep he must have taken from his neck, and which had -so unaccountably been opened. It was the visible evidence of the great -mystery of his life, that he so longed to solve, and in his curiosity he -wished for the daylight only that he might see what it contained. He -hoped Wolfe would wake up, that he might talk of all this with him; but -he would not disturb him, and after a while he, too, fell asleep again. - -When Breeze next awoke it was early morning, and daylight was sifting -faintly through the fog. Wolfe had been aroused some time before by the -pain of his leg. He had just finished attending to the wound as well as -he was able, and was replacing the bandage. - -The moment he noticed that Breeze had opened his eyes, he exclaimed, -“Good-morning, dorymate! We seem to be in luck, as usual.” - -“How?” asked Breeze, wonderingly. - -“How! Why, don’t you notice that the wind has gone down and the sea is -getting smooth? We have had a pretty comfortable night, and I shouldn’t -wonder if the sun drove away this beastly fog before long, and shone out -warm and pleasant. Then we must surely sight something, out of all the -vessels that are cruising on the Banks.” - -“That’s so!” said Breeze, quite cheered by this hopeful view of the -situation. Then, bethinking himself of the wonderful event of the -preceding night, and anxious to add his bit of pleasant intelligence, he -continued, “And best of all, Wolfe, the ball is open.” - -“The what?” asked Wolfe, greatly puzzled for the moment to know what his -companion meant. - -“The ball! The golden ball that I wear around my neck, and that we were -looking at yesterday.” - -“You don’t mean it!” exclaimed the other, now greatly interested. “How -did you get it open? What’s in it? Where is it?” - -“I don’t know how I got it open, and I don’t know what is in it because -it was too dark to see; but here it is.” - -With this Breeze withdrew the locket from the bosom of his flannel -shirt, into which he had instinctively thrust it for safe-keeping when -he found himself dropping off to sleep, and they both bent over it -eagerly. - -One half had swung back from the other on a pivot, by which the two -sections were still held together. After a single glance at it, Wolfe -gave a shout. - -“A compass, by all that’s wonderful!” he cried. “The very thing we’ve -been wanting, above all others! Well, old man, any one who says we are -not in luck now doesn’t know what he’s talking about, that’s all!” - -One side did indeed hold a small but perfect compass, the daintiest that -was ever seen. Its freely moving card was a thin plate of gold upon -which were enamelled the four cardinal points and a coat of arms. The -latter consisted of a blue shield with a diamond, cut in the form of a -star, upon which the card was pivoted, in its centre. On the shield, -above the star, and in the lower corners were three devices, which -Breeze thought might be pyramids, and which Wolfe called volcanoes. -Above the shield was a closed helmet, and beneath it, in letters of -gold, the motto, “Point True.” - -As Wolfe repeated this over to himself, his face wore a puzzled look. -“‘Point True,’” he said aloud; “I have certainly heard that before, and -I wonder where?” Finally he satisfied himself that he must have read it -in some book, and gave the matter no further thought. - -In the other half of the ball was a second golden plate on which was -enamelled the same coat of arms, with the only difference that the -central star in this case was formed of a pearl. A spring, which they -did not discover for some time, slipped this plate aside, and in the -cavity beneath it the boys saw three tiny locks of hair, of which one -had evidently been cut from the head of an infant. On the under side of -the plate was engraved “Merab to Tristram,” and Ruth’s answer to Naomi, -“Whither thou goest, I will go.” - -Breeze could not help feeling somewhat disappointed when he found that -this was all. Although the ball had yielded up its secret, it had in -reality told him nothing. It had merely given a new direction to his -curiosity. Who were Merab and Tristram? To whom had the locks of hair -belonged? The only satisfactory features of its revelation were the coat -of arms and the compass. The former might at some future time be -located, while the latter could be immediately used. - -This thought had also come to Wolfe, who had rejoiced at the very first -sight of the little vibrating card, and who now said, - -“Let’s have breakfast right off, Breeze, and then start for Nova Scotia. -I’ve been thinking the situation over, and though I believe we are -somewhat farther away from Nova Scotia than we are from Newfoundland, -we’ll stand a better chance of falling in with some sort of a vessel by -steering west than if we headed to the north. So what do you say to -laying a course due west, and sticking to it, taking turns at the oars -all day?” - -“I don’t care much which way we go,” answered Breeze; “but I think it -will be much better for us to row than to lie still, because it will at -any rate occupy our time and keep us warm.” - -“All right, then, west it is; and I wish the cook would hurry up -breakfast so that we could make a start. I’m not only awfully hungry, -but I’m in a great hurry to get to Nova Scotia.” - -The cheerfulness and flow of spirits by which this Irish lad managed to -sustain both his own and his dorymate’s courage were wonderful. They -never flagged, and from the first to the last of that memorable voyage -his constant effort was to make the best of everything, and turn every -trifling circumstance to account for the purpose of provoking a smile or -inspiring fresh hope. - -The two biscuit which, washed down with a swallow of water from the -little keg, formed their breakfast, were quickly eaten. Then the drag to -which they had been lying was taken aboard, and seizing a pair of oars, -Wolfe, who had insisted upon keeping first watch, as he called it, began -pulling vigorously in the direction indicated by Breeze. The latter made -himself as comfortable as possible in the stern of the dory, with his -gaze fixed upon the small compass that he held in his hand. - -In addition to his own inclination to look upon the bright side of -things, Breeze was happily influenced by his companion’s cheerful view -of their situation, and now he said, “So long as we have lost the Vixen -and found a compass, what a comfort the fog is!” - -“Is it!” asked Wolfe, in surprise. “Well, I must confess I had not quite -taken that view of it. How do you make it out?” - -“Because it keeps us all the time hoping for something to turn up. It -would be awfully discouraging to be able to see for miles, with nothing -but water to look at. Now we may come upon some vessel at any minute.” - -“That’s so. The skipper was telling the other night of some fellows who -were out four days in a fog without food or water, and who had just -given up in despair, when their dory was nearly capsized by drifting -afoul of the cable of an anchored schooner.” - -“I remember a story my father used to tell,” said Breeze, “about two men -who were lost in a fog on this very Bank. They had been out only about -an hour when the fog lifted, and they saw the flare their mates were -burning for them. They rowed for it as hard as they could pull, but the -schooner was under way, and kept just about the same distance ahead of -them all night. The next day they could still see her, with her flag at -half-mast for them; but they couldn’t get near enough for those on board -to see them. After they lost sight of her they were out two days longer, -both of them bright and clear. During that time they sighted and chased -five more vessels. Then the fog shut down again, and an hour afterwards -they were nearly run down by the schooner that picked them up. Now, if -they’d been in the fog all the time they would have taken things a great -deal more easy, and probably got picked up just as quick.” - -“Yes,” admitted Wolfe, “that all may be very true; but I’m afraid -there’s another side to it. Hark! didn’t you hear a whistle?” he -exclaimed, resting on his oars to listen. - -The next moment it came to them plainly, the hoarse warning whistle of -some great steamer. At first they could not locate the sound; but as -they heard it again, and this time much nearer, they fixed it as coming -from the direction in which they were heading, and knew that it -proceeded from some transatlantic liner, bound eastward. Then they -became filled with a fever of apprehension, of mingled hopes and fears. -What if she should run them down? What if she should pick them up? What -if she should pass without seeing or hearing them? These were the -questions they asked each other over and over again during the few -minutes that elapsed before the vast, formless object rushed by them -still concealed by the fog, but so near that they could hear voices from -her decks. They had not been seen, nor were their frantic shouts heeded, -if they had been heard. - -In deep, dejected silence they sat motionless, listening to the sound of -the whistle until it was lost in the distance. Then Wolfe said, “That’s -the other side to it.” - -“Yes,” replied Breeze, “and it’s a pretty dark side to have to look at -too. If the fog had only lifted, ever so little, even for one minute, we -might be on board that steamer safe and comfortable now, on our way -to--I don’t knew where and I shouldn’t have cared. At any rate, we -wouldn’t be here, lost, starved, and drifting through a fog-bank.” The -boy’s tone was very bitter, and it showed the heaviness of his heart. - -“Take a biscuit, old man,” said Wolfe, sympathetically, “it’ll cheer you -up.” - -For a moment Breeze tried to look angry, at what he considered an -ill-timed levity on the part of his companion; but the expression of the -other’s face changed his mood, and he laughed in spite of his -unhappiness. - -“That’s right!” exclaimed Wolfe. “Laughing’s a sight more becoming to -you than crying, and whenever you ‘Point True’ to yourself, it’s plenty -of the first and little of the last you’ll be indulging in.” - -“But it is hard to bear such a disappointment. Just think how near she -came to us!” - -“Faith! It might have gone harder with us if she’d come nearer. For my -part I’m just thankful she didn’t run us down entirely. Those same -steamers are the terrors of the Banks. I mind well the last trip I was -here in the old _Walpus_. We were lying to an anchor in a fog every bit -as thick as this, and minding our own business, when one of them came -rushing down on us. They paid no attention to our shouting, or to our -horn, and turned neither to port nor starboard; but just came on tooting -their old whistle for all other folks to get out of their way. Well, -sir, we were all in the act of piling over the stern into the dories -when she drove past within a handshake of the end of our jib-boom, and -we could see the scared faces of the people on her deck looking down at -us. She was that close that the patent log towing behind her caught on -our cable and parted its line. We hauled it in the next day when we hove -up our anchor. No, sir! none of your steamers for me! They’re too -careless and overbearing-like, and I say we’ve just had a mighty lucky -escape, and should be thankful for it. Come, now, stand your watch like -a good fellow, and pull for Nova Scotia, or for some decent, easy-going -sailing-vessel that’ll pick us up.” - -So Breeze took a spell at the oars, and thus rowing by turn, and telling -each other yarns of their own experience, or repeating what they had -learned from others to divert their thoughts, they passed the second day -in the dory. - -The fog had not lifted for a single moment since morning, and when -darkness again shut down upon them it still infolded them in its clammy -embrace. Although the night was calm, they tossed their drag overboard -lest a wind should rise while they slept. Then, after eating their -scanty supper of a single biscuit each, they lay down, hugging each -other closely for warmth, and prepared to pass the night in such comfort -as their circumstances would permit. - -Before they dropped asleep Breeze heard Wolfe say, as though talking to -himself, “We must have made something over fifty miles to-day, and at -the same rate we’ll soon reach the Nova Scotia coast now.” - -Breeze smiled at this too evident attempt to cheer him; for he knew, as -well as Wolfe, that they had not made more than twenty or twenty-five -miles at the most, and that the coast towards which they were heading -was still several hundred miles from them. Three more days would finish -their biscuit at the rate they had been eating them, and even now he was -so hungry that he felt they might as well starve at once as to try and -economize them any longer. Their fresh water was already half gone, and -altogether their prospect was a very gloomy one. - -The night passed uneventfully, but before daylight Wolfe was awakened by -an exclamation of dismay from his companion. “What is the trouble?” he -inquired, sitting up stiffly. - -“The ball is closed,” answered Breeze. - -“Closed?” - -“Yes; it must have got pushed together somehow while I was asleep, and I -can’t get it open again.” - -“And a good job, too,” said Wolfe. “Now we’ll have no excuse for rowing -this day, and I’m glad; for my back’s broke thinking of it.” - -“But don’t you want to get to Nova Scotia?” - -“Indeed, I do not! An out-of-the-way place like that? I’d prefer to be -picked up where we are by some craft that’ll take us into New York, or -Boston, or maybe Gloucester itself.” - -An hour later the sun rose, and under its cheerful influence the last -trace of fog disappeared, and a perfect spring morning broke over the -sparkling waters of the Grand Bank. It was just such a morning as would -cause the New England birds to break forth in an ecstasy of song, and -Breeze almost expected to hear them as he sat up in the dory and looked -around. - -His ears were not greeted by the songs of birds, but his eyes were -gladdened by a sight so welcome that his first joyful exclamation was -choked by his emotion. - -Wolfe sprang up in alarm at the sound, only to see his friend pointing -with trembling finger to the southward. There, not more than half a mile -from them, he saw a square-rigged, deeply laden vessel, rising and -falling gracefully on the long swells. - -The next moment Breeze had cut the line that held them to their drag -with a blow from his sheath-knife, and, under the impulse of two pairs -of oars, dory No. 6 was surging over the calm waters as it had never -before been driven in all its storm-tossed career. - -The dorymates spoke no word to each other, nor looked around, until they -paused, breathless and panting, close beside the vessel. Although there -was not a breath of wind, they had feared that somehow she might sail -away and leave them. Now that there was no danger of that, they sat in -their boat and gazed at her curiously. Her bottom was covered with -sea-grass and barnacles, and she was weather-beaten to the last degree, -though her spars were all in place and she still looked stanch and -seaworthy. Not a human being was to be seen on board of her, nor did -their hail receive any answer. - -The strangest feature of the brigantine, for such she was, lay in her -sails and rigging. Instead of showing a cloud of light canvas, as would -naturally be expected in such weather, she was under a double-reefed -main-sail, single-reefed fore-topsail, and fore-staysail only. Her -fore-course was clewed up but not stowed, and the royal was furled; but -the topgallant-sail seemed to have been blown away, judging from the few -streamers of tattered canvas that still hung from the yard. Her running -rigging was either hanging at loose ends, or tangled in the greatest -confusion. To crown all, a ragged American ensign drooped at half-mast, -and union down, from her main-peak. - -[Illustration: NOT A HUMAN BEING WAS TO BE SEEN ON BOARD OF HER, NOR DID -THEIR HAIL RECEIVE ANY ANSWER.] - -The boys pulled entirely around the vessel several times, wondering at -her condition, but still unable by their shouts to attract the attention -of her crew. On her stern they read her name, _Esmeralda_, of Baltimore. - -Finally Breeze spied a rope hanging over her side near the fore-chains, -and proposed that they board her by it. Having tested it and found it -strong enough for their purpose, they went up hand over hand. Breeze was -the first to clamber over the bulwarks and gain her deck. It was -absolutely deserted, and he walked aft while Wolfe was making the dory -fast. - -There was something mysterious and awful about this apparently deserted -brig that caused Breeze to shiver and gaze about him apprehensively. He -walked as far aft as the quarter-deck, and as he gained it a gaunt, -pale-faced man came slowly up the companion-way leading down into the -cabin, and stood looking at him. Breeze, too, stared for a moment, and -then sprang towards the trembling figure. - - - - - CHAPTER XV. - A WONDERFUL MEETING. - - -As Breeze came towards him, the white-faced man in the companion-way, -who was so weak and emaciated that he seemed to have just arisen from a -sick-bed, tried feebly to wave him back. The effort was made in vain; -for the next moment the boy had sprung to where he was standing, thrown -his arms about his neck, and, half laughing, half crying in his -excitement, was exclaiming, - -“Father! oh, father! We knew you weren’t dead. We knew you’d come back -to us--mother and I did!” - -“Gently, lad, gently. I’m not quite steady on my pins yet, and if you -don’t have a care you’ll pitch me down the steps,” answered Captain -McCloud, trying to speak calmly and to quiet the excited boy. But tears -stood in his eyes, and directly his weakness had mastered him. He cried -out, brokenly, - -“God bless you, Breeze! God bless you, my boy! I’d thought never to see -you again, and in my heart I’d bidden you good-by, mother and you. But I -wasn’t reconciled to it. I couldn’t die without seeing you. You’d not -ask it, lad. You’ll not leave me again to the fever, will you?” - -Then, overcome by his emotion, the man who had been so strong, but who -was now so weak and wellnigh helpless, bowed his head and sobbed like a -child. - -This pitiful sight, and the piteous appeal just made to him, almost -unnerved Breeze, but he controlled himself by a strong effort, and led -his father to a seat, at the same time speaking soothing and loving -words to him. - -“No, father,” he said, “of course I’ll not leave you. I’ve come to stay -with you, and take care of you, and carry you into port, where mother is -waiting for us. Only you must hurry and get well, for it would never do -to go back to her sick and looking like this, you know. It would -frighten her to see you so.” - -Just then, walking stiffly on account of his wounded leg, Wolfe came aft -in search of Breeze, and was filled with amazement at what he saw. For -once his ready tongue failed him, and he stood staring at the little -group in silence. He wondered what could have affected them so deeply, -and if they had ever met before, or whether he were not witnessing the -effects of a mild species of insanity, as exhibited by the stranger. - -“At any rate,” he said to himself, “I’ll not interfere with them, for -Breeze seems to have a quieting way with the old gentleman, and maybe -hearing another strange voice might send him off again.” - -All at once his attention was attracted by the sudden appearance of the -most uncouth and altogether peculiar human face he had ever seen. The -head to which it belonged had just been lifted cautiously above the -cabin companion-way, and the great eyes, which seemed to Wolfe to be -wholly white, were rolling wildly at the sight of the strangers. The -face was the color of black ashes, the flat nose expanded into a pair of -enormous nostrils, while the lips were of unusual thickness, even for a -full-blooded negro. This strange face was set off, and in a manner -overshadowed, by a pair of most remarkable ears. Not only were they -large, but they projected almost at right angles from the head, which -gave them the appearance of always being pricked forward with an air of -extreme attention or curiosity. Above and in front of these the head was -covered with a thick growth of kinky hair, which had been for so long -brushed, pulled, or otherwise trained forward that it surrounded the -face like a sort of a furry hood. On account of it some wag in the -far-away country from which this odd-looking individual came had called -him “Nimbus,” and this name had clung to him ever since. He was so short -as to be almost a dwarf, but his body was thick-set, and powerful enough -to belong to a giant. The length of his arms was extraordinary, and so -was the size of his feet, but his legs were so ridiculously short that -he waddled rather than walked. He was as strong as two ordinary strong -men, and at the same time he was tender-hearted, obliging, good-natured, -a fair sailor, and a capital cook. He was a Guinea negro, from the west -coast of Africa, but had passed the greater part of his life in the -galleys of sailing-vessels, and had thus visited most of the principal -ports of the world. He was fond of occasionally returning to his own -country, which he managed to do about once in every two or three years. -Such was the individual who now appeared at the top of the -companion-ladder, and exclaimed, - -"T’ank de good Lord, gemmen, you’s come at las’! Me an’ de cap’n, we’se -been habin’ a mons’rous hard time, an’ we’se mos’ gib up. You mus’ scuse -me, gemmen, fur not bein’ on de deck to receib you proper an’ -ship-shape, but I ain’t had no sleep fur more’n a week, an’ I jus’ -takin’ a nap. You see, fus’ de port watch on deck all night, den de cook -he busy waitin’ on de cap’n all night, den de starbor’ watch he up all -night, den de fus’ ossifer, den de secon’ ossifer, dey don’ get no sleep -all night, an’ I is all ob um. Yes, sah, ole Nim he ebberyt’ing but -cap’n ob de _Esmeral_ now. De res’ all dead an’ go oberboard. De feber -catch um. Sometime one, sometime two, t’ree togedder. De las’ one, he de -fus’ mate, die more’n t’ree day. De cap’n here, he mos’ die, but ole Nim -pull um troo; couldn’ be lef’ alone nohow. Where you’ ship, eh?" - -As he asked this question Nimbus looked around with a perplexed air, in -search of the vessel from which he supposed these strangers must have -come. - -Wolfe was delighted with this odd character, and now glad of a chance to -use his tongue, he told their story as briefly as possible, and ended by -saying that they were awfully hungry. - -Nothing pleased Nimbus more than a chance to cook for strangers; and, -with a broad grin on his hooded face, he waddled away towards the -galley, saying, - -“Dreckly, gemmen! dreckly ole Nim get you mons’rous fine breakfus.” - -In the mean time Captain McCloud had recovered his composure, and now, -to Wolfe’s amazement, Breeze introduced him as his father. At the same -time he said, “Wolfe Brady is my dorymate, father, and next to you and -mother, my dearest friend. We haven’t known each other very long, but -what we’ve been through with has made us pretty well acquainted.” - -[Illustration: “ME AN’ DE CAP’N, WE’S BEEN HABIN’ A MONS’ROUS HARD -TIME.”] - -“Yes, sir,” said Wolfe, “we met only about three weeks ago, but in that -time your adopted son has twice saved my life at the risk of his own, -and we have been in some rather tight places together. I don’t mind -saying, now that it is all over with and we are standing on a good solid -deck once more, that drifting around in that dory, through the fog of -the last two days, was about the meanest fix of them all, and I hadn’t -much hope that we were going to get out of it either. I’d go through -with all its suffering and anxiety again, though, for the sake of being -present at such a wonderful meeting as this. I never heard of anything -like it.” - -“It is truly a wonderful meeting,” replied Captain McCloud, “and there -have got to be a great many explanations made before we shall understand -how it was all brought about. Certainly we have been guided in -marvellous ways. You said your mother was well, Breeze?” - -“Yes, sir, quite well,” answered Breeze, “and looking for you to come in -at any time.” - -“So she hasn’t given me up yet! Bless the little woman! Well, there’s a -chance of getting there now. I didn’t think there was any hope of it -three days ago, when the mate died, and left Nimbus and me alone on the -old brig, and I too weak to lift a rope’s end.” - -“Do you mean to say, father,” exclaimed Breeze, who had not comprehended -the true state of affairs before this, “that you two are the only ones -left aboard?” - -“Yes,” replied the captain, sadly, “we have buried all the rest, and are -the only survivors of a crew of twelve souls.” - -“That’s the reason, then, you’re under such short sail.” - -“Yes, she was got under this canvas in a blow, two weeks ago, while the -mate and two others of the crew were alive, and still able to work. -Since then there has not been force enough on board to do anything with -them. Nimbus is as strong as an ox, and he can manage the head-sails -alone. I believe he got the course clewed up too; but the poor fellow -has had a hard time trying to steer, cook, wait on me, keep a lookout, -set the lights, ring the fog-bell, bury the dead, and in fact do all the -work of twelve men. He fell asleep last night on the cabin floor, -utterly exhausted. This morning I was going to try and shift for myself, -and let him have his sleep out. I was about to look for something to eat -when you came aboard. I’m feeling hungry for the first time in weeks.” - -“Faith, sir!” cried Wolfe, “it must be catching. I’m so hungry myself -that if starving’s any worse it would take a wiser man than I am to -point out the difference. And to think, Breeze, of the elegant biscuit -we left behind in the dory! If we’d only eaten them yesterday, and had -the comfort of them! Never mind, we’ll have them up after a while for a -dessert, like, for of all the sea-biscuit ever I tasted those have the -finest flavor. But here comes breakfast now, praised be the cook!” - -Nimbus was going to carry the breakfast down into the cabin, but Captain -McCloud said they had better eat on deck, on account of the fever that -had been in the cabin. “I tried to warn you, Breeze, against coming too -close to me when I first saw you,” he added, “but you didn’t seem to pay -any attention.” - -“As if I could have, father, when I was so surprised and so happy!” -replied Breeze, reproachfully. - -Never had a meal tasted better, or been more thoroughly enjoyed by the -dorymates than this one, and it seemed as though they could not stop -eating. Even Captain McCloud developed a wonderful appetite for a sick -man. He ate so heartily that Nimbus, who waddled around them, his face -beaming with pleasure, as he brought them this thing or that, began to -grow somewhat anxious and exclaimed, - -“Take care, cap’n; you’ ’tomach’s powerful weak yet, an’ you mus’n’t -s’prise um too much!” - -“Which are you now, Nimbus, doctor or cook?” asked Captain McCloud, -smiling at the faithful fellow’s anxiety. - -“I’se bofe, cap’n. De ship’s doctor and de ship’s cook am de same. -P’r’aps de cook tell you eat, an’ de doctor tell you not eat. You min’ -um bofe, den you all right. You min’ de cook, you eat too much. Berry -bad! You min’ de doctor, you eat too little. Berry bad too! You min’ ole -Nim, you all right. Berry good!” - -Wolfe was immensely amused at all this, and the negro’s comical -appearance, together with his earnest manner, caused the young Irishman -to roar with laughter. He declared that Nimbus had more sense in his -woolly head than half the white folks he knew, and that if he were as -good a doctor as he was a cook, he ought to be a member of the Royal -College of Surgeons. - -“Don’ know nuffin ’bout no surgins, sah,” replied Nimbus, showing the -ivory of his teeth in a broad grin, and highly flattered by this praise; -“but if de young gemman’s ready for anodder cup ob coffee, I’se got um -a-bilin’ in de camboose.”[G] - ------ - -Footnote G: - - Camboose or caboose. Both are used in referring to a ship’s galley, or - place for cooking. Caboose is, however, the more common expression. - ------ - -“Will I have another cup of coffee? Of course I will! It’s the best I -ever tasted. I tell you what, Breeze, there’s nothing like drifting -around a few days without anything to eat to make a fellow appreciate a -meal like this.” - -“We had the sea-biscuit,” said Breeze. - -“Yes, sea-biscuit! But what did they amount to? Dry, tasteless things! -I’d almost as soon eat so many chips,” exclaimed Wolfe, in a scornful -tone, as he finished the last mouthful of a hot buttered roll. - -“Then you are not going to have them up for a sort of a dessert?” - -“Dessert! I should say not. I hope I’ll never have to see one, much less -eat one again. They would always remind me of drifting through a -fog-bank in an open dory.” - -All of which goes to show how very differently a hungry man and a -well-fed man may view the same object. - -The sea still remained unruffled by a breath, and after breakfast -Captain McCloud said, “So long as there’s nothing we can do until we get -some wind, we’ve a chance for a yarn. If you’d like to hear about it -I’ll tell you how I happen to be aboard this brig, and how she got into -the sad condition you see her in now.” - -As both Breeze and Wolfe expressed the strongest desire to hear the -captain’s story, he related it to them as follows: - -“You remember, Breeze, when I left home in the old _Sea Robin_ last -October for the Banks I said that if all went well I’d be back in time -for Christmas?” - -“Yes, sir, I remember.” - -“Well, we made a fair trip, but did not fill up as fast as I had hoped -we would, so that it got to be pretty near Christmas-day before we saw -our way clear to picking up our anchor and heading for Gloucester. -By-the-way, have any of the _Robin’s_ crew ever turned up?” - -“No, sir; not one of them. You were reported as seen on the 15th of -December, but since then not a word has come from you until this day.” - -"Poor fellows! they’re long since gone, then. Well, as I was saying, we -were all ready to start for home the day before Christmas, when there -came on such a gale of wind as I’ve rarely seen in these latitudes. By -night it was a hurricane, and such a sea was running that it seemed as -though each wave must swallow the schooner as it came rushing-down on -her. We were hove-to under a three-reefed foresail, and the riding-sail -with a bag-reef tied in it. About nine o’clock in the evening, I’d been -on deck so long, and was so drenched and chilled, that I stepped into -the forecastle to get a cup of coffee. There was one other man there, -poor Dick Simonds--you remember him, Breeze--and the cook. The rest were -either on deck or in the cabin. - -"I had just braced myself between the foremast and the edge of a bunk, -and was reaching for the coffee, when the vessel seemed to give a great -leap in the air. When she dropped it was on her beam ends, and I could -feel her settling down. The cook got out someway, how I don’t know; but -Dick was met by the water pouring in the companion-way. He pulled the -slide to keep it out, thinking she’d right in a minute if she didn’t -fill first. - -"At the first shock I was so braced that, lying on my back as I was, I -couldn’t move, and when I did get right side up, there we were, Dick and -I, shut up like two rats in a trap, and the schooner was bottom side up. - -"Dick stood it as long as he could, which I suppose was some time the -next day. By then it had got so quiet overhead that we judged the storm -had gone down. At the same time we knew our air must be escaping, for we -could feel the water slowly but surely rising in the forecastle. The -rats were becoming troublesome, too, and swarming over us. Though we -couldn’t see them, we managed to catch and drown quite a number of them. - -"At last Dick said he couldn’t die but once anyhow, and that he was -going to make a try for one more breath of fresh air and one more sight -of God’s blessed daylight. He succeeded in smashing off the -companion-way slide, and a faint light came in through the water, so we -knew it was day. I didn’t remember till afterwards that it was -Christmas-day, and I’m glad I didn’t. - -"Dick’s plan was to dive through the opening with the hope that he’d -clear the rigging and sails underneath it some way or another. I tried -to dissuade him from trying it, and pointed out how slim his chance was; -but he was bound to go. He said it was better to drown at once and have -it over with than to stay in there and meet a slow death along with the -rats. He stripped off his clothes so as to have a better chance of -swimming, wrung my hand, and said, ‘Good-by, skipper. If I get out, -you’ll hear me pounding. If you don’t hear anything you’ll know what’s -happened.’ Then he drew in a long breath, and made a dive for the hole. -He got through it, I know, for I saw the ray of light darken and then -come again; but I didn’t hear a sound from him afterwards, though I -listened for more than an hour. - -“But hello, boys! here comes a puff of wind and there’s more behind it. -If you and Nimbus can manage to get some sail on the old craft we will -make a start for home, and I’ll spin you the rest of my yarn some other -time.” - - - - - CHAPTER XVI. - NAVIGATING THE BRIG. - - -The brigantine, on which our dorymates now found themselves shipped as -able seamen under the command of Captain McCloud, had been almost left -to herself for nearly two weeks, during which time the current of the -Gulf Stream had carried her far to the northward of her course. No -observations had been taken on board in all this time, and the dense -fog, through which the vessel had been drifting for the past four days, -would have effectually prevented this work even had Captain McCloud been -strong enough to perform it. He was therefore not surprised to learn -from the boys that he was now on the Grand Bank, but he determined to -try and take an observation at noon that day, and discover their exact -position. - -The promise of wind that interrupted the captain’s story was fulfilled -by a steady breeze from the southward, which, as their general course -was westerly, was favorable and satisfactory. While the captain took the -wheel, Nimbus and the boys hoisted the jib, got the foresail loosed and -sheeted home, shook the reefs out of the fore-topsail, swayed up the -heavy yard by means of a winch, and set the royal. They got one reef out -of the main-sail without much trouble, but when it came to the second -they found it so difficult to hoist the great folds of heavy canvas and -its weighty spar that the boys became wholly exhausted with their -efforts, and even the enormous strength of Nimbus was exerted to its -utmost. After bracing the yards, trimming the sheets of the head-sails, -and even getting in a bit of the main-sheet, they set to work -overhauling the running rigging, and bringing order out of its confused -tangle. - -At this last work Wolfe, having sailed before the mast on a -square-rigged vessel, was more at home than Breeze, but the latter was -quick to comprehend, and so learned easily; for a ready comprehension is -more than half of learning. While the boys were thus employed Captain -McCloud called Breeze to take the wheel, as it was nearly noon, and time -to take his observation. Fortunately, amid all the trouble and disaster -that had overtaken the brig, her chronometer had not been allowed to run -down, and with the sextant, and other instruments belonging to her late -captain, it was still in a serviceable condition. - -Bringing the sextant on deck, Captain McCloud gazed through it at the -sun, as reflected in a small mirror, until it had reached its greatest -altitude and stood exactly above the meridian, or, in other words, until -it was noon. By looking at the chronometer, which was set to Greenwich -time, the difference between the noon where they then were and Greenwich -noon was found to be three hours and twenty-six minutes, or two hundred -and six minutes. As the earth revolves from west to east at the rate of -one degree--which at the equator is sixty miles--every four minutes, the -whole number of minutes divided by four gave fifty-one and a half, or -51° 30´, as the longitude of the brig west from Greenwich. - -The latitude of the place--its distance north or south from the -equator--was obtained by another observation of the sun, taken with the -sextant, for the purpose of finding the angle between it and the zenith, -or point directly overhead. A glance at the _Nautical Almanac_ under the -date of that day, and a minute’s figuring, gave the required result. The -latitude thus found was 43° 37´, and of course, being north of the -equator, it was north latitude, or 43° 37´ north. - -Having obtained these two figures, Captain McCloud got out a chart of -that portion of the Atlantic, and drawing on it a fine north and south -line through meridian of longitude 51° 30´ west, and a delicate east and -west line to indicate parallel of latitude 43° 37´ north, he made a -small cross at their point of intersection, and showed it to Breeze as -the position of the brig at that moment. It was very near the southern -point of the Grand Bank and almost due east from Gloucester, but over -eight hundred miles from that port. - -“There!” said Captain McCloud when he had finished these operations, in -all of which Breeze had been greatly interested. “If we steer due west, -and hold this wind, we ought to sight Sable Island by day after -to-morrow, and run into port inside of three days more. How would that -suit you, my boy?” - -“It seems as though I couldn’t wait for the time to come, father. Won’t -it be glorious to sail into Gloucester harbor and take everybody by -surprise? But, father, while we are on this cruise I wish you would -teach me something of navigation. I never saw an observation taken -before. They don’t take them on board fishing schooners, do they?” - -“Not often. Most fishing skippers trust to their lead, log, and compass. -They can generally tell by the sort of bottom the lead brings up where -they are. You have often, I dare say, noticed skippers examining the -sand and shells that stick to the tallow in the bottom of the lead.” - -Breeze said he had, but that he should think it would be pretty hard to -remember what the whole bottom of the ocean was made of. - -“We don’t try to,” laughed his father, “we only remember what sort of -material forms a few of the principal banks and reefs. For the rest we -examine the charts, where it is all laid down. Now I am going to show -you an old-fashioned-log, and how to use it. It is the only one I can -find aboard, though many vessels nowadays use patent self-registering -logs.” - -“Of course I have often heard of heaving the log,” said Breeze, casting -an eye aloft at the sails, then glancing at the compass, and giving the -wheel a spoke or two to keep the brig on her true westerly course, “but -I never knew exactly how it was done.” - -Captain McCloud called upon Nimbus to bring him the log and the glass, -and made ready to use them. The log was a triangular piece of thin -board, having its base rounded and weighted with lead. Three short lines -extending from the three corners fastened it to the log-line, much as a -kite is hung. The log-line was about a thousand feet long, and had a -number of red rags, or “knots,” tied to it, at distances of fifty-one -feet apart. Each of these long spaces was divided into ten short spaces, -called “fathoms,” by bits of leather twisted into the line. - -The glass, which was to mark the time of the log’s running, was shaped -like an hour-glass, but was much smaller, and the sand contained in it -occupied only half a minute in running from one end to the other. Now, -half a minute is the one hundred and twentieth part of an hour, and -fifty-one feet is the same portion of a nautical mile, which is 6120 -feet, or 840 feet longer than a geographical or land mile. Thus, when we -say that a vessel sails six knots (or miles) an hour, we mean that six -knots, or three hundred and six feet, of the log-line ran out in half a -minute. The log-line is wound on a reel that turns very easily. - -In the present instance Nimbus dropped the log into the water over the -lee quarter of the brig, and held the reel in his hands. When the first -fifty feet, which is called the “stray-line,” and is sufficient to carry -the log clear of the vessel’s eddy, had run out, and Nimbus saw the -first red rag touch the water, he sang out, “Turn!” Captain McCloud -turned the half-minute glass, so that the sand in it began to drop to -the other end, and answered, “Done!” The instant it stopped running he -cried, “Stop!” and Nimbus held the reel, so that no more line should run -out. - -“Seben knot, five fadom, sah,” he reported to the captain. - -“Very good,” said the captain; “reel in.” Then to Breeze and Wolfe he -said, "That shows that we are running at the rate of seven and a half -knots, or miles, an hour. By heaving the log every hour, and keeping -note of all the courses steered, we shall not only know pretty nearly -the distance run, but can determine our position at the end of each sea, -or nautical, day, which is at noon. This is called ‘dead-reckoning,’ and -is useful as a check on observations, and also when on account of cloudy -weather no observation can be taken. Of course, for such reckoning we -must have some fixed point to start from, or ‘point of departure,’ as it -is called. Ours in the present case is the point, back here a few miles, -that we established by finding its latitude and longitude, and marking -it on the chart. - -“There is one more thing to be thought of in our dead-reckoning, and -that is the leeway. This may be caused by ocean currents, or by a beam -wind, which not only acts upon the sails, so as to force the vessel -ahead, but to a certain extent drives her sidewise. This must be allowed -for, and every captain must use his own judgment to determine what -leeway his vessel is making, and how much her course should be altered -to allow for it. Now I am going to allow a couple of points for leeway, -and instead of keeping her due west, Breeze, you may make it -west-south-west.” - -“Ay, ay, sir!” answered Breeze, promptly; “west-sou’west,” and he -altered the brig’s course slightly in obedience to these instructions. - -“At the same time,” continued the captain, “we shall mark the course on -the chart, as though we were heading due west.” - -All this had been so interesting to the young sailors that, though -already quite hungry again, they were almost sorry to hear Nimbus -announce dinner just at this point. - -After dinner, and after Captain McCloud had rested for an hour in the -cabin, the boys asked him to tell them how he escaped from his awful -position in the forecastle of the capsized _Sea Robin_, and of his -experiences, since that time. - -“Well,” he replied, “of course I will tell you the whole story; but I -hate so to think of that time that I shall make my yarn as brief as -possible.” - -“You left off,” said Breeze, “just where poor Dick Simonds had dived out -of the forecastle, and you didn’t hear anything more of him.” - -"Yes, I remember. Well, as you can imagine, I felt badly enough in that -place, all alone, with the water steadily gaining on me, and not the -faintest hope of escaping. I would have followed Dick Simonds in a -moment, but that I knew there was no chance of getting out that way. To -do so would simply have been to commit suicide, and that has always -seemed to me a pretty mean and cowardly way of escaping trouble. - -"When we were first shut in there we could sit on the edge of the lower -bunks; but before Dick left the water had risen so that we were sitting -in it, and I soon had to stand on the bunks to keep out of it. It must -have been night again, for no ray of light came in through the broken -hatch, when I found the water so deep that I was obliged to climb up on -the foremast, and sit there with my head between two of the bunks on the -upper side. I knew this was the last move I could make, and I fully -expected to die there. I had no way of knowing how long I sat there; but -it seemed like many hours, and doubtless was. - -"All of a sudden, I seemed to hear faint, far-away voices, then some -heavy object struck the hull of the schooner, and directly I heard -footsteps, as though men were walking upon the bottom above me. I nearly -suffocated in my efforts to shout; but somehow I couldn’t utter a sound. -I don’t know whether it was from excitement or weakness, but my voice -had left me. Then I tried to make them hear by pounding with my fists on -the planking overhead; but though I kept it up until my hands were -bleeding and numb, the sound did not reach them. At last I ceased to -hear the footsteps, and imagined that the men, having satisfied their -curiosity, were going to leave, which, as I afterwards found out, was -the case. - -"At that moment I thought of my watch, which was still in my pocket, and -which, as you know, Breeze, had a very heavy silver case. Pounding on -the planking with it, I succeeded in making a sound that attracted their -attention just as they were about to pull away. I never stopped my -pounding for a moment until somebody sung out, ‘Hello in the schooner! -Is anybody inside there?’ - -"I found voice then to answer that I was in there all alone, that the -water had nearly reached me, and to beg them not to go away without -trying to do something for me. - -"‘All right, shipmate,’ came the answer; ‘we won’t leave you as long as -there’s a chance of saving you. You may count on that. We are only going -for some tools to cut a hole with, and will be back in a few minutes. So -keep up a good heart.’ - -"I heard them go away and then return again; and by rapping on the -planking with my watch, I managed to show them a place between two ribs -where there was no inside sheathing. Here they began to cut, after -asking me how thick the planking was. They did not break through in any -one place until they had cut very nearly through all around, for fear of -making holes out of which the air would rush. In that case, you see, the -schooner would quickly sink, taking me with her. - -“At last they sang out for me to keep from under, as they were ready to -break in. Then came three or four quick blows, a section about two feet -square was crushed in, and somehow I got out through the opening. I -think I must have been almost shot out by the confined air that rushed -out with a roar. At any rate, there was barely time for the men to drag -me into their boat and push back a few yards from the wreck when she -sank like a stone. The boat was spun around and around like a straw in -the vortex that it made, and for a moment they were afraid that it was -going to be sucked under. I knew nothing of this until afterwards, for I -became unconscious the moment I got into the fresh air and out of the -foul gases I had been breathing so long. When I recovered I was lying in -a berth in the _Esmeralda’s_ cabin.” - -“The _Esmeralda’s_ cabin!” interrupted Breeze. “Was it this very brig, -father?” - -"Yes; I was lying in the cabin of this very brig, which was bound for -the west coast of Africa, with a cargo of salt fish from the Provinces. -It seemed that, while lying becalmed that morning, they had drifted -close to the wreck of the _Sea Robin_, and the mate, with a couple of -men, had boarded it out of curiosity. They had got into their boat again -to leave, without a suspicion that anybody was in her, when they heard -the noise I made pounding with the old watch. The men said it was only -rats, and wanted to go on; but the mate insisted on finding out what it -really was. - -"All hands, from the captain down, did everything for me; but it was a -long time before I recovered from the horror of those two days shut up -with the rats in that wreck. I was always on the lookout for some vessel -on which I might get a passage to the United States, but we only spoke -two on the whole voyage. One of these was bound for South America and -the other around the Horn, so I stuck by the brig. - -"We made a quick run out, discharged our cargo promptly, and tried to -take in our return cargo of palm-oil quickly, so as to start back before -the sickly season set in. Somehow, though, everything seemed to work -against us. One delay followed another, until we had spent three months -on the coast cruising from the mouth of one pestiferous river to -another, picking up our cargo in small lots here and there. - -"At last the fever broke out among us, and the captain was the first one -to go. Then the cook died, and we got Nimbus in his place. Fortunately -for us, he was visiting his old home at that time, and ever since he -came aboard he has proved one of the best all-round hands I ever had on -a vessel. The mate and crew begged me to act as captain and take the -brig home, which I finally consented to do. I got away from the coast as -quickly as possible, in hopes of saving the rest of them; but having -once got its hold, the fever would not let go, and they dropped off one -after another. I was taken down nearly a month ago, and the first mate -not until two weeks later; but the fever made short work with him, poor -fellow! When I got about again I found that Nimbus and I were the only -ones left, and nothing but his constant care and good nursing pulled me -through. The vessel has been left to drift for I don’t know how long; -but, fortunately, we have had no very severe weather, and with such help -as Nimbus could give her, she has taken care of herself. - -“It’s a sad story, but it’s all past and done with now. After this -wonderful meeting with you, I think the hard luck of the old brig must -have left her, and within a few days more we’ll carry her, safe and -sound, into Gloucester harbor.” - -Captain McCloud and Wolfe Brady stood watch for the first half of that -night, and at midnight they turned in, while Breeze and Nimbus came on -deck. - -Two hours later Nimbus, who was steering, lashed his wheel, and said -they must heave the log, as the wind had freshened considerably. They -got a lantern on deck, and Breeze was to turn and watch the glass, while -Nimbus held the reel. - -The line had run about half out when it was suddenly slacked by the -rising of the brig on a heavy sea. The slack caught on something, and -Breeze leaned far over the taffrail to clear it. As he did so the big -sea that had lifted her seemed to slide out from under the vessel, she -dropped into the hollow with a sharp lurch, and the boy was flung far -from her. Without a sound he disappeared, and the blackness of the night -closed over him as the brig swept on her course. - - - - - CHAPTER XVII. - OVERBOARD AND INBOARD. - - -Nimbus was of a peculiarly nervous temperament, and very apt to do -things in moments of excitement that he regretted exceedingly as soon as -he found time for reflection. So, in the present instance, acting -impulsively, as he saw Breeze flung overboard in the darkness, he did -just the wrong thing, and what, half a minute later, he would have given -anything to undo. He should have tossed overboard a life-preserver or -other object that would float, put the helm hard down, and thrown the -brig up into the wind, thereby checking her headway and putting her into -a position to sail back over the course she had just come. At the same -time he should have called Captain McCloud and Wolfe. Above all, he -should have instantly cut loose dory No. 6, which was towing astern by a -short but stout line, so that Breeze might have a chance of seeing and -reaching it almost as soon as he came to the surface after his plunge. - -Instead of doing any of these things, the impulsive negro, who was still -a young and active man though very fond of calling himself “old,” slid -down into the dory, cut the line by which she was towing, and seized a -pair of oars. He had done all this as silently as Breeze had tumbled -overboard, and without making a single outcry to alarm the two sleepers -left on board the brig. - -The instant he had cut the line and found himself adrift he realized the -folly of his act, and began to shout at the top of his voice, in the -hope that it was not yet too late to arouse Captain McCloud and Wolfe. -At the same time he began to pull wildly after the swiftly moving brig. -He quickly realized that this was of no use, for she was moving three -feet to his one, nor did his shouts bring any response from those on -board. In spite of his excitement, a certain instinct told him that, so -long as he could not catch the brig, the only thing remaining for him to -do was to face about and try to find Breeze. - -His movements had been so quick that he was at no great distance from -where the boy had struck the water, and was now swimming in the -direction of the vanishing brig. He, at least, heard the cries uttered -by Nimbus, and answered them. He had retained his presence of mind -wonderfully, and now realized that somebody was searching for him. So he -swam as easily as possible, but continued to shout at regular intervals; -and in about five minutes he had the satisfaction of seeing the dory -loom out of the darkness close beside him. In another minute he had -caught hold of its gunwale, and been drawn in, dripping and chilled, but -very thankful for this escape from what had seemed a hopeless situation. -His first glance was towards the brig, but he could not see even a -shadow resembling her. She had disappeared in the darkness as utterly as -though she had never existed. - -“They must have put her about and headed her this way by this time,” he -said to Nimbus. “I wonder that we don’t see her.” - -“No, sah; dey don’ put um ’bout. Dey sailin’ away, an’ nebber know -nuffin. Ole fool Nim nebber tell ’em good-by. Come off an’ keep on -sayin’ nuffin at all to nobody.” - -“You don’t mean to say, Nimbus, that you left without giving any alarm! -without waking my father or Wolfe!” - -“Yes, sah,” answered the black man in a most crestfallen tone. “Didn’t -wake nobody. Didn’t t’ink ob nuffin scusin’ how to sabe young cap’n. -Jump quick in boat, cut um ’drif, an’ come. Bimeby catch um, pull um in. -Here he is! Here we is!” - -“Yes, that’s certain enough, ‘here we is,’ and how we’re going to get -out of this scrape it would puzzle a sea lawyer to tell. I suppose you -did the best thing you could think of. If you’d only given an alarm, -though! Now, with the wheel lashed, the brig may sail on for hours, -always getting farther and farther away from us, before either of them -wakes up. Well, we’re not dead yet, and while there’s life there’s hope. -I’m very grateful to you, at any rate, for coming to me so quickly. Now, -perhaps you can do me another good turn by telling me how to keep from -freezing to death in these wet clothes.” - -Yes, indeed, Nimbus could do that, and in a minute more Breeze had -stripped off his soaked garments, slipped into his oil-skin jacket and -trousers, which had fortunately been left in the dory, and was rapidly -getting warm by hard work at the oars. At the same time Nimbus, with -powerful hands, was wringing the wet clothing as dry as though it were -in a centrifugal steam-wringer. Of course the things were still damp and -cold when Breeze again put them on; but, with his oil-skins drawn over -them to keep out the wind, and still keeping up his exercise with the -oars, he was soon in a glow. - -As he rowed he instinctively kept the dory headed on the same course the -brig had taken, by holding her broadside to the wind, which still blew -steadily from the southward. - -At last the day broke, gray and cheerless, but free from fog. Each time -the boat was lifted on a wave its occupants scanned the ever-widening -horizon eagerly, in the hope of sighting some vessel. At last the day -had fully come, and they knew the full extent of their disappointment. -Their frail craft was the only object floating on the whole weary -expanse of tumbling waters. - -For a long time they sat in silence. Neither had any words of comfort to -offer the other. Finally Nimbus said, mournfully, - -“Who you s’pose cookin’ on de brig for de cap’n, now ole Nim done gone?” - -“I don’t know,” answered Breeze, rousing up from his sorrowful -reflections, and making a brave effort to throw off the gloomy thoughts -that were taking possession of him, “but I guess they’ll manage to make -out somehow. I know I could in their place.” - -“Dey habin’ all de grub, an’ no cook in de camboose. We habin’ de cook, -but no grub an’ no camboose,” continued Nimbus, following up the train -of thoughts suggested by his hunger. - -“No grub! Why, yes we have, right on board this very blessed dory,” -cried Breeze, to whose memory the black man’s words recalled the -ship-biscuit, a dozen of which still remained in the little stern -locker. The stock of provisions which he thereupon produced seemed to -restore both strength and hope to Nimbus, and he fairly laughed when he -saw it. - -“Ole Nim all right,” he declared, “so long he teef keep a-grindin’ an’ -a-crunchin’.” - -As they ate one apiece of the precious biscuit Breeze thought of Wolfe’s -praise and disdain of this same food the day before, and wondered if he -should ever again see his light-hearted dorymate. - -In the fresh-water keg so little of the precious fluid remained that -they allowed themselves only a single swallow with which to wash down -the dry biscuit. On this account their simple meal was as prolonged as -though it had been quite a substantial feast. - -After they had finished this very unsatisfactory breakfast, and had -resolutely put away the few biscuit that remained, in spite of their -longing to eat them all, Nimbus said, “Well, young cap’n, wot we do -now?” - -“I’m sure I don’t know,” answered Breeze, “unless we try and row to -land.” - -“Wot lan’? Ware he? How far?” - -“Father said yesterday that Sable Island bore due west 365 miles from -where we were then. We must have come, let me see, seven and a half -knots an hour for fourteen hours would be 105 miles. From 365, that -leaves 260, and we have rowed perhaps ten. It must be about 250 miles -away from us at this minute. Do you think we could possibly row that -distance, Nimbus?” - -“Don’ know. Ole Mim row hard, row long way for grub. But how you fin’ -um? Got no compass. How you steer um due wes’?” - -“That’s so. I didn’t think of that. I don’t suppose the wind will always -blow from the southward. Perhaps it has changed and is blowing from some -other direction even now, and we don’t know the difference. And to think -that I have got a compass here and can’t open it! I suppose I might -manage to force the ball open with my knife, but that might break the -compass.” - -“Wot you say? You got um compass?” exclaimed Nimbus, who had listened -attentively, while his companion thus thought aloud. - -“Yes,” replied Breeze, drawing the golden ball from its pocket and -unclasping the chain. “There’s a compass in this ball, but nobody knows -how to open it.” - -“Let ole Nim see um,” said the other, extending his great black hand for -the trinket. - -He examined it with the closest attention for more than a minute, and -then said, - -“Nim can open um.” - -“You can open it?” exclaimed Breeze, in great astonishment. - -“I t’ink so. Seen plenty all de same like um in de Eas’ Injes.” - -“Well, let me see you do it.” - -After much fumbling in the thick mat of wool that served him for hair, -Nimbus drew from it a pin. With this he began to trace out, carefully -and very slowly, the lines of the quaint pattern engraved on the surface -of the ball. He followed one of them around and around, in and out, for -several minutes, often stopping, going back, and beginning all over -again. He did not speak, and Breeze, eagerly watching his movements, was -also silent. - -At last the movement of the pin was stopped, and on the spot that it -indicated the pressure of a thumb-nail released a spring. The upper half -of the ball swung on its pivot, and once more its interior was displayed -to view. - -“Well, if that don’t beat everything!” exclaimed Breeze. “How on earth -did you ever learn that trick, Nimbus?” - -“Him a labyrim ball,” answered the black man. - -“A what?” - -“A labyrim. Same like you might get los’ in.” - -“Oh, a labyrinth.” - -“Yes, sah, a labyrim, an’ if you fin’ de p’int ob de startin’, an foller -to de end, den you open um.” - -This was indeed the whole secret of the ball, and after it had been -explained to Breeze he too could trace the delicate line from its -beginning, which was plainly to be seen, to its end above the hidden -spring. There was no distinguishing mark to indicate this point, and it -was almost impossible to locate it, even after one had found it many -times, without first tracing out the labyrinth. The accident by which -Breeze had hit upon it and opened the ball while asleep was so unlikely -to occur that, knowing the secret, he now wondered more than ever that -it had happened. Nimbus had learned the secret of similar puzzles upon -one of his many voyages to East Indian ports, and was made proud and -happy by this opportunity of displaying his skill. - -“Now,” he said, with a smile that exhibited two glistening rows of -ivory, “we got a compass, we go fur Saple Islan’. Ole Nim row like -steam-ingin’.” - -And he did row like a steam-driven machine, with long, powerful strokes, -hour after hour, all through the day--never faltering, never stopping, -and never seeming to tire. To Breeze, who watched him with -ever-increasing astonishment, he was a marvel of endurance. Breeze also -rowed with the second pair of oars the greater part of the day; but he -was several times obliged to stop and rest. With such unflagging energy -was the dory urged forward that when night came he did not doubt they -had made fifty miles since morning. He really began to hope that they -might possibly reach Sable Island, though he still admitted that the -chances were largely against their doing so. - -They had decided to eat but two biscuit apiece each day, and thus make -their scanty store last them three days; after which they looked forward -to two days of starving before they could hope to sight the island. Even -when they should have covered the required distance, they knew how -little chance there was of their finding the long, low sand-bank, which -is all that Sable Island is. The probabilities were that currents or -winds might carry them so far either to the north or south that they -would miss it entirely. They anticipated great suffering, and nerved -themselves to bear it; but, happily, they were not to be called upon to -undergo it. - -Night had fallen, and as they could no longer see their compass, and the -sky still remained overcast, they had ceased to row. Breeze, tired out -with his day’s hard work, had fallen into a doze, while Nimbus sat -silently gazing into the darkness. Breeze had slept for about an hour -when he was awakened by a touch, and the voice of the black man saying, -“Young cap’n, dere’s a light!” - -The boy sprang up and gazed eagerly in the direction indicated. For a -while he could see nothing; then he caught a momentary glimpse of it, -the red side-light of some vessel sailing past them far to the -southward. Nimbus had already taken to the oars, and was pulling like a -madman in that direction. Watching the light closely, Breeze soon saw -that it was moving too fast for them either to intercept or overtake it. - -“It’s no use, Nimbus,” he said finally, “you are only wasting your -strength. We can never catch that fellow. Oh for a match, though! If we -could only make some kind of a flare!” - -“Match!” cried Nimbus. “Yes, sah; dreckly, sah!” - -With this he began to fumble again in his thatch of wool, which seemed -almost as well supplied with articles required by shipwrecked sailors as -was the famous bag in “The Swiss Family Robinson;” and in a moment he -drew a brimstone match from it. - -Breeze was too busy cutting the oil-skin biscuit-bag into strips to -notice from what a curious safe the match was produced; and when it was -offered to him he only said, “Light it quick! and I believe we’ll start -a flare after all.” - -In another moment one of the strips of oiled muslin was blazing finely; -and, standing on a thwart, Breeze held it as high as he could reach -above his head. - -Before it had burned out another was lighted, and then another, but -still no answering signal was seen. The boy’s heart had almost failed -him as he lighted the last strip and waved it to and fro. Suddenly a -bright flame darted out of the blackness from the direction in which the -red light had just disappeared, and with a great blinding rush of joy he -knew that their signal had been seen and answered. - -They still continued to row with all their might in that direction, -their hearts filled with the joyful emotions of unexpected hope. -Although they had no breath with which to express it, the thought that -it was the brig on her way back to look for them had entered both their -minds. Breeze saw visions of his father and Wolfe and home, with the -mother who awaited him there; while Nimbus revelled in thoughts of his -beloved camboose, and of all the good things he would cook and eat as -soon as he once more got into it. - -A backward glance soon showed them both the sailing-lights of the -vessel, and told them that her course had been altered so that she was -headed in their direction. Then they began to shout, and at last heard -the welcome answering hail. Finally the ghostly outline of sails and -spars became visible. It was a schooner. - -[Illustration: “BLESS MY SOUL, IF IT ISN’T BREEZE McCLOUD!”] - -They could hardly believe it at first, so convinced had they become that -it must be the brig, but as she drew near they saw that she was indeed a -schooner, and a regular Gloucester Banker at that. - -Five minutes later they stood on her deck, and as the light of a lantern -shone on his face, Breeze was seized by the hand, and a well-known voice -exclaimed, “Bless my soul if it isn’t Breeze McCloud!” - - - - - CHAPTER XVIII. - NEWS FROM HOME. - - -The voice that greeted Breeze so heartily was that of Captain Ezra -Coffin, and the schooner he had just boarded was the _Fish-hawk_. The -boy could hardly believe his senses. Could it be that he had again -fallen in with friends on the high seas? Was this really the schooner he -had left in Gloucester more than a month before? It did not seem -possible, and yet here was Captain Coffin shaking his hand, old Mateo -dancing about and trying for a chance to embrace him, and other familiar -faces, seen dimly by the lantern-light, crowding forward to greet him. - -Mateo, the cook, could not contain his joy, but danced and shouted -extravagantly, “We found ’em! we found ’em! Me tella you fader we finda -you, Breeza. Where zat rasca, Nimba, zat Guinea boy? You bringa him, eh, -Breeza?” - -“Here I,” cried Nimbus, who had stood back unnoticed as the crew crowded -around Breeze. “Who callin’ me rask? Wot he mean? Ware he?” - -At the sound of this voice old Mateo, who had just succeeded in -embracing Breeze, left him, made one bound to where the black man stood, -and seizing him by his wonderful ears, began to shake his head -violently, exclaiming, “You no a raska, eh? you black pickaninny! Ole -Mateo teacha you! He pulla you ear many time! you forgetta him, eh?” - -Nimbus was at first bewildered and thrown off his guard by this sudden -attack, but recovering himself quickly, he seized the little cook with -his powerful hands, and raising him clear of the deck, held him, kicking -and screaming, at arm’s-length above his head, while he executed a -waddling, uncouth sort of a war-dance. As he did so he shouted, or -rather chanted, - -“Ah, you ole Mateo! Now I know um well! You ole Portugee man! You pull -Nimbo’s ears when he pickaninny! You show um de cookin’ ob de duff an’ -de scouse! Now you gwine a-fishin’! You t’ink you catch um one time mo’, -but you is mistooken! He grown to be a whale! He catch you, an’ he eat -you! You ole rask yo’se’f!” - -All this was shouted out in a singsong tone, to which the grotesque -dancing-steps of the black man kept time. The whole affair was so -ludicrous that the members of the crew screamed with laughter, and -rolled on the deck in the excess of their merriment. Even Captain Coffin -and Breeze were compelled to join in the general mirth, and the latter -laughed until the tears rolled down his cheeks. It was a great relief -and pleasure to enjoy a hearty laugh once more after the sadness and -anxiety of the days just past, and it did the boy more good than -anything that could have happened just then. - -The comical actions of Mateo and Nimbus were their peculiar modes of -expressing great joy at again meeting with each other. Years before, -Mateo, while cooking on board a vessel engaged in the African trade, had -picked up Nimbus, then a boy, and taken him as an assistant. They had -sailed together for several years, and had then lost sight of each -other. This curious encounter in mid-ocean was their first meeting since -that time. - -When Nimbus set Mateo down, the old cook shook his fist in the face of -his former pupil. He said nothing to him then, for he had just bethought -himself of a neglected duty, and stepping over to where Breeze and the -captain were standing, he uttered the famous expression that had so -often proved a welcome one to the boy: - -“Vell, Breeza, you hongry, eh?” - -[Illustration: NIMBUS, RAISING HIM CLEAR OF THE DECK, HELD HIM AT -ARM’S-LENGTH ABOVE HIS HEAD.] - -“I should say I was hungry. I guess anybody would be if he’d had only a -couple of dry ship’s biscuit to eat in more than twenty-four hours.” - -“Holy feesh!” exclaimed Mateo, “you got ze ship’s cook an’ nottin’ do -for eat? zat lazy Nimba! heem no good!” - -The two castaways certainly tried their best to lay in a liberal supply -of food for future use that evening, and it was hard to tell which was -the happier, old Mateo in seeing them eat, or they in eating. Of course -Nimbus found fault with each dish, and would not acknowledge that -anything was as good as he could have prepared it, had he been lord of -the galley, and of course Mateo treated his claims to be considered a -cook with scorn. Thus was begun the professional rivalry between these -two curious specimens of sea cooks, that offered infinite amusement to -the crew of the _Fish-hawk_, and made this voyage one long to be -remembered and laughed over. - -When he had reached the stage at which he began to think of ship-biscuit -much as Wolfe had done after their first meal on the brig, Breeze left -the cooks to settle their differences as best they might, and went on -deck for a talk with the skipper. From him he learned that the -_Fish-hawk_ was only four days out from Gloucester, and that when he -last saw Mrs. McCloud she was well, though worrying sadly over the -unexplained disappearance of her boy. - -“How did it all happen, Breeze?” asked the captain. “Wolfe Brady tried -to tell me something about it, but I hadn’t time to hear much.” - -“Wolfe Brady!” exclaimed Breeze. “What do you mean? Where have you seen -Wolfe Brady?” - -"Why, yesterday! Didn’t I tell you? How careless! I thought I told you -first thing after you came aboard that we fell in with the _Esmeralda_ -yesterday; no, I mean to-day, for it isn’t midnight yet, about noon, and -seeing her signal of distress I went aboard of her. - -“I was never more surprised in my life than when I found your father and -Wolfe Brady on the vessel, and all alone. You could have knocked me down -with a rope yarn. They were in terrible low spirits over losing you, and -didn’t know how to account for it. They had not waked until daylight, -and had no idea of how long you had been gone or what had happened. -Their only hope was that so long as the black man and the dory had gone -too, you were both drifting round somewhere in it. They would have put -their brig about and started back to look for you, but they hadn’t the -strength to swing the yards. Altogether they formed a melancholy ship’s -company.” - -“That accounts for Mateo’s asking if I had brought Nimbus with me,” said -Breeze. “I wondered how he knew anything about it. Poor father and poor -Wolfe! Could you do anything to help them, captain?” - -“Oh yes; I put two men aboard to take the brig into Gloucester, and -promised to sail over the course they had just come, and keep the -sharpest kind of a lookout for you. Wolfe Brady wanted to come with us, -but felt that his duty lay with your father. He said, though, he would -never go dorymates with anybody else if you shouldn’t turn up again. -Captain McCloud was very much broken down over losing you under such -circumstances, so soon after your wonderful meeting with each other, and -I was afraid he was going to have a relapse of his fever. For that -reason I made him promise, before I left him, that he would take the -brig at once into port, and not attempt to find you. I, of course, had -no idea that you could be found, and had not the slightest hope of ever -seeing you again. How did you manage to follow the brig’s course so well -without any compass and under a clouded sky?” - -“We had a compass,” replied Breeze, smiling. - -“Did you? They said on board the brig that there was none in the dory, -and that, provided you were in it, you would probably be lying to a drag -about where they left you.” - -Then Breeze told Captain Coffin the whole story of the golden ball, and -the important part it had played in directing their movements. - -When he had finished the captain said, “Well, it has certainly saved you -this time by bringing you to this point; for if I had kept the course I -was steering all night, and you had simply drifted before the wind, we -might have been anywhere from thirty to fifty miles apart by morning. I -don’t see now why you didn’t drift farther to the northward with this -southerly wind.” - -“I guess it was because I made a pretty big allowance for leeway,” -replied Breeze. - -“Oh yes; if you thought of that, I’ve no doubt it was.” - -“By-the-way, captain, how does it happen that you are only just now on -your way to the Banks?” asked Breeze. “I thought you were to start -within a week after the _Vixen_ left Gloucester.” - -“So we did,” replied the skipper, “and got as far as Banquereau. There -we lost our foremast in a gale, and ran back after a new stick. While we -were refitting I heard such bad reports from the Banks that I determined -to try a new ground to me, and make a trip to the Iceland coast after a -load of fletched[H] halibut.” - ------ - -Footnote H: - - Fletch, a corruption of _flench_, or _flense_, meaning to strip off in - layers. A fletched halibut is one from which the meat is cut off in - strips and salted, to be afterwards smoked. - ------ - -“To Iceland!” cried Breeze, in dismay. - -“Yes, lad, to Iceland. Sixteen hundred miles farther away from -Gloucester than we are now. Twenty-four hundred miles to go, and the -same distance to return, is a pretty long fishing trip, isn’t it? But it -will soon be over, and early next autumn we’ll land you safe and sound -in Gloucester again, in plenty of time to get ready for a winter’s trip -to George’s if you want to take one.” - -The idea of going on such a long voyage, and having his return home -deferred for several months, was so startling to Breeze that for a few -moments he remained silent, not knowing what to answer. - -“Why, lad,” said the captain, “what else is there for you to do? You -know I can’t afford to put back to Gloucester again simply to carry you -there. It would cost a thousand dollars to do that. Even if we should -put about now and try to find the brig again, it isn’t at all likely we -could do so. I am short-handed from having let two men go back with her, -and you and your black friend will just give me a full crew again. -Besides, your dunnage is already aboard and waiting for you. I meant to -have sent it up to your house before sailing, but I forgot it. But, I -say, Breeze, you haven’t told me yet how you happened to take French -leave and come off to the Banks the way you did. Your poor mother was -almost distracted when you didn’t come home that night, nor yet the next -day. She sat up all night long waiting for you, and was at my house by -daylight to get me to go and look for you.” - -“Poor mother!” said Breeze, pityingly. “The worst of being carried off -so was the thought of her distress, and now she’ll have a new cause for -trouble when father and Wolfe get home and can’t tell her whether I’m -dead or alive.” - -“You were carried off, then?” - -“Of course we were. You don’t suppose I would have gone off in that way -of my own accord, do you?” - -“No, not exactly; but there were ugly stories around town about your -having been seen at Grimes’s, and been chased by the police for creating -a disturbance on the streets. Of course your mother wouldn’t believe a -word of them, and I didn’t wholly either, for I know how such things get -exaggerated; but I was afraid you might have got into some sort of a -scrape.” - -When Breeze had told Captain Coffin the whole story of that night, the -latter said, cordially, - -“I believe every word you tell me, Breeze, and I think you acted just -right under the circumstances; in fact, I do not see how you could have -done anything else. Still, I think your long absence on this voyage will -prove a good thing for you. It will give Wolfe Brady plenty of time to -deny all the false stories, and will also give people time to believe -him. You know it always takes folks longer to believe good than bad -stories about a person.” - -“Well, sir,” said Breeze, “under the circumstances, and as the only -other thing to do would be to get into dory No. 6, and drift away again, -I believe I’ll ship with you for this Iceland trip.” - -“Yes, I think you had better,” replied the skipper, gravely. - -Breeze was much pleased to find again the outfit of clothing that he had -transferred to the _Fish-hawk_ from the _Albatross_. After weeks of -wearing old garments, picked up here and there among his recent -shipmates on the _Vixen_, it was indeed a comfort to be able to dress -himself once more in a full suit of his own clothes. - -The _Fish-hawk_ was a much larger and more comfortable schooner than any -he had sailed in before; and only the thought that there were sorrow and -anxiety in the little home cottage on his account prevented him from -thoroughly enjoying the prospect of a trip in her to far distant seas. -Even this cause of trouble was partially removed two days later, when -they sighted several fishing schooners, and the skipper offered to run -down to them, and ask the first one that should be homeward bound to -take letters, and also to report Breeze McCloud as safe and well. - -As they drew near, one of these anchored vessels seemed strangely -familiar to Breeze, who, after looking at her through a glass, said, “I -do believe it’s the old _Vixen_.” He was right, and no men could have -been more surprised than were her crew, when, soon afterwards, he and -Captain Coffin rowed to her in dory No. 6. They welcomed Breeze as one -from the dead, and there was not a man on board but shook him heartily -by the hand and gave him a cordial greeting. Of them all, none appeared -so glad to see him as poor Hank Hoffer, who, still suffering greatly -from the effects of his exposure in the ice, had never ceased to mourn -the loss of his brave young rescuers. - -They were intensely interested in the story he had to tell them of his -experiences since drifting away in the fog, and all declared that they -had never before heard of any one person having such peculiar adventures -during a single trip to the Banks. The _Vixen_ was to return to -Gloucester in two or three weeks more, and her skipper promised to -contradict any unpleasant rumors he might hear concerning Breeze, and to -tell the true story of his mysterious departure. He also promised to -deliver, immediately upon his arrival, the letter Breeze had written to -his mother, telling of his safety and where he had gone. - -Before they left the _Vixen_ her skipper told Captain Coffin that his -anchor was caught on an ocean telegraph cable, and asked him whether he -thought he ought to try and haul it up, thus running the risk of -breaking the telegraph, or cut his own cable when he got ready to leave. - -“Buoy your own cable and cut it, by all means,” replied Captain Coffin, -promptly. “The telegraph company will pay you the full value of all that -you lose, as soon as you send in a statement of the case to them. I did -the same thing myself only about a year ago.” - -After getting the suit of shore clothes he had left on the _Vixen_, -Breeze bade his old shipmates good-by, and he and Captain Coffin -returned to the _Fish-hawk_, one of the _Vixen_ men going with them to -carry back dory No. 6. Breeze could not help watching the departure of -the old dory with regret, as he thought of all he had gone through with -in it, and how often it had served him in times of danger. - -As they sailed away from the _Vixen_, the thought of her being fast to a -telegraph cable caused Breeze to ask the skipper how many cables there -were crossing the Atlantic. - -“I believe there are ten in all,” was the answer. “Two of them run to -Newfoundland, and eight cross the fishing banks, and land either on the -Nova Scotia or New England coast.” - -“Is the very first one still working?” asked Breeze. - -“No, the first one, which was laid in 1858, was only able to transmit, -very feebly, one or two messages, and then it became silent, never to -speak again. The first one that was of any real service was laid in -1864, as I well remember, for I saw the _Great Eastern_ while she was -laying it; but I believe that also has been long since abandoned.” - -While they were thus talking they lost sight of the _Vixen_, and were -once more alone on the broad ocean. Then Breeze, for the first time, -fully realized that he was really bound on a long voyage across the -stormy Atlantic to the distant coast of Iceland. - - - - - CHAPTER XIX. - THE DEVIL-FISH OF FLEMISH CAP. - - -Captain Coffin was an unusually well-informed man, and as Breeze was -always on the lookout for stray bits of information, he took advantage -of the opportunity afforded by this long voyage to ask the skipper a -great many questions. One day, soon after leaving the _Vixen_, the lead, -running out to a great depth, showed them to have crossed the Grand -Bank, and to be on the deep waters of the North Atlantic. While they -were talking of this, Breeze asked the captain how he supposed the Banks -had been formed. - -“My theory is,” answered the skipper, “that they were formed, and are -constantly being added to, by icebergs. You see, every spring thousands -of these big fellows come sailing down through Davis Strait for their -summer outing. They bring with them tons and tons of gravel and sand, -collected while they formed part of slow-moving arctic glaciers, or -picked up off the bottom as they drifted along the Greenland and -Labrador coasts. Now, no matter how large an iceberg is above water, it -is more than twice as big below the surface--that is, we see less than -one-third of its whole bulk, while the rest is under water. I saw one -once aground in forty fathoms. Well, by-and-by the part that is under -water begins to feel the influence of the Gulf Stream, and to melt much -more rapidly than that which is above. As the bergs drift about in this -melting condition, they lose, here and there, quantities of the sand -they have brought with them. After a while they have melted away so much -under water that they become top-heavy and capsize with a tremendous -flurry, pitching overboard a great deal more of their cargo. Finally -they melt away entirely, and all the material they have brought down -from the north is swept up by the Gulf Stream, and deposited along its -northern edge on what we call the Banks. To form them has been the slow -but unceasing work of unnumbered centuries.” - -“But why doesn’t this great quantity of sand and gravel pile itself up -until it finally reaches the surface and becomes an island or a lot of -small islands?” - -“Because of the fierce currents that are continually sweeping over the -Banks and scattering the material far and wide. They are caused by the -mighty flow of the St. Lawrence River, by tides and winds, and very -largely by the Gulf Stream; for, with such a volume of warm water -flowing north and east all the time, there must be an equal quantity of -cold water flowing south and west to take its place.” - -“That’s so;” said Breeze, “I might have thought of that.” - -“Many persons,” continued Captain Coffin, “imagine the Banks to be -islands of mud rising to within a few feet of the surface, and even -showing above it in places; and I have been asked if navigation on them -was not very dangerous on account of the shoal water. I actually had a -man ask me once if we often went ashore on the Banks.” - -“Of course, I have always known better than that,” said Breeze; “but I -don’t know how near they do come to the surface.” - -“The shoalest waters of the Grand Bank,” answered the skipper, “are -three fathoms, on the Virgin Rocks, ninety miles to the southward of -Cape Race, and from that the depth increases to two hundred fathoms; -while to the south-east of the Bank soundings of six miles have failed -to reach bottom.” - -“Well, there isn’t much danger of running aground in such waters,” -laughed Breeze, “and I’m very much obliged to you for this information; -but who do you suppose first found out that there were fish on the -Banks?” - -“I don’t know; perhaps it was that old Iceland fellow, Lief Erikson, who -they say first discovered America. I have been told by the French -fishermen who come over here every summer that their countrymen knew of -these grounds as early as 1504, and that less than twenty-five years -from the time that Columbus made his first voyage, a fleet of more than -a hundred French, Spanish, and Portuguese fishing vessels were visiting -them regularly every summer.” - -“I should think with such constant fishing the supply would give out,” -said Breeze. - -“It would seem so, but it doesn’t; and I believe there are just as many -fish on the Banks now as there ever were. Of course, there are more in -some seasons than in others. This, for instance, appears to be an off -year, and that is the reason I am going to see if they haven’t gone to -the other side of the ocean for the summer.” - -Soon after this the _Fish-hawk_ reached the small bank known as Flemish -Cap, about three hundred miles east of Grand Bank, and the most distant -of all the American fishing grounds. This was just twelve hundred miles -from Gloucester, or half-way to Iceland, and Captain Coffin determined -to set a few trawls, and see if they could not pick up some halibut -here. As, under reduced sail, the schooner moved slowly across the Bank, -several of the crew got out hand-lines and dropped them over the side. -Among these was Nimbus, who, never having been on a fishing vessel -before, was delighted to have a chance to try his luck at the new -business, and very anxious to catch a halibut. - -Now, Breeze was possessed of the peculiar power of ventriloquism, or the -ability to so use his voice as to make it seem to come from other places -than that in which he stood. He had only recently discovered this power, -but had practised continually while on board the _Vixen_, and had become -fairly skilful in performing the trick. In the excitement of the past -week he had not thought of it; but now, as he saw Nimbus baiting a hook, -and, under Mateo’s direction, preparing to make his first attempt at -fishing, it flashed into his mind that here was a chance for some fun. -He stationed himself close beside the two cooks, and waited patiently. - -After a while there came a tug at the line, and Nimbus began excitedly -to haul in. As the fish approached the surface old Mateo went in search -of a gaff, with which to get it on deck. Just as its nose showed out of -the water, and the black man was about to give a great shout of joy over -his success, a voice, coming apparently from the halibut’s mouth, cried -out, - -“Let go, Nimbus, you hurt!” - -For a moment the negro stood petrified with amazement, his mouth wide -open as it had been in readiness for his shout of triumph, and his -eyeballs rolling wildly. - -Once more the fish spoke. “Let go, I say!” - -This was too much. With a yell of terror the negro dropped his line, -which went whizzing out over the rail, and sprang backward. As he did so -he encountered old Mateo, just coming to his aid with the gaff. The -force of the collision sent the two cooks rolling on deck together. -Nimbus shouting, “Ow! ow! luff ole Nim alone; he nebber catch um no -mo’!” and Mateo clutching at the black man’s ears, and spluttering out -his wrath in Portuguese. - -He was the first to scramble to his feet, and picking up the gaff, began -to belabor Nimbus over the head with its handle. Just then Breeze, who, -though choking with laughter, had caught the line and pulled the halibut -once more to the surface, called to him for help in getting it aboard. - -As the little man, responding to this summons, reached over the -schooner’s side with the gaff, and prepared to hook it into the great -white fish, he nearly tumbled overboard with the fright of hearing a -voice directly beneath him say, - -“What do you want with me, old Mateo? I ain’t your fish.” - -Mateo bounded from the deck as though he had received an electric shock, -and had not one of the crew who stood near seized the gaff, it would -have dropped into the water as it fell from his hand. - -The crew had by this time discovered the trick that Breeze was playing; -but they were trying to suppress their laughter in order that the two -victims of the joke might not suspect it. - -As the halibut was lifted from the water and laid flapping on deck it -seemed to say, “Well, this is what I call a mean trick! We heard you -fellows were bound for Iceland, and--” There was no need to finish the -remark, for before this point was reached old Mateo, with a howl of -dismay, had darted forward and vanished in the forecastle, while Nimbus, -with a yell of affright, had rolled aft and sought the safety of the -cabin. - -Then how those fishermen did roar with laughter, and stamp on the deck -with their heavy boots, and slap Breeze on the back in token of their -appreciation of his talent and its successful application! From that -time forward he was obliged to exercise it frequently for the benefit of -his shipmates; but it was long before Nimbus thoroughly understood it, -or could be persuaded that the mysterious voices that seemed to come -from all parts of the schooner were not produced by some invisible -being. - -The readiness with which this first halibut had taken the hook -determined Captain Coffin to make at least one set of the trawls at that -point. It was to be a “set under sail.” That is, instead of coming to an -anchor, the schooner, under easy sail, would drop one dory with its -trawl, then another, and so on until all were out, when it would turn -back, pick them up in the same order, and stand off and on near the -buoys until it was time to haul. As each trawl was set at right angles -to the course of the schooner, and there were six of them placed at -intervals of half a mile, very nearly three square miles of bottom were -thus covered. - -The rest of the crew had been paired off, and had chosen their dories -before Breeze and Nimbus came aboard, so these two naturally became -dorymates. This time Nimbus was the green hand, and Breeze his -instructor, in the art of trawl-setting. Everything went smoothly with -them until they had partially hauled their trawl, when such a fearful -thing happened to them that to this day Breeze cannot think of it -without a shudder. - -Nimbus was in the forward part of the dory hauling in the line, while -Breeze stood just behind him, coiling it away. As they were thus -engaged, the trawl seemed to catch in some heavy body, and, in spite of -his strength, Nimbus was obliged to call upon Breeze for aid to move it. - -[Illustration: MATEO, WITH A HOWL OF DISMAY, HAD DARTED FORWARD AND -VANISHED IN THE FORECASTLE; WHILE NIMBUS, WITH A YELL OF AFFRIGHT, HAD -ROLLED AFT.] - -“Mus’ hab um whale on de hook,” he panted, as he tugged at the straining -line. - -Directly the strain was slackened, so suddenly that they nearly tumbled -over backward. The water surrounding the boat became black as ink, and -from it darted something like a huge snake, that twined itself about the -black man’s body. He gave a cry of horror, and tried to tear it loose, -but at his first movement two more of the snake-like arms shot out from -the inky water and also seized upon him. These twined about his legs and -tripped him, so that he fell in the bottom of the boat, very nearly -upsetting it. As it was, it was drawn so far over to one side by the -weight of the creature attacking them that there was imminent danger of -its filling, and leaving them to struggle powerlessly in the water. - -All this had happened so suddenly that Nimbus was flat on his back -before Breeze at all realized what was taking place. A glance over the -side showed him two of the cruelest-looking eyes he had ever seen. They -were quite round, very large, and projected from the base of the long -writhing arms, or tentacles, that had seized upon Nimbus. Snatching up -an oar, and using it as a sort of harpoon, Breeze aimed a furious blow -at one of the protruding eyes. Whether he struck it or not he could not -tell, for before he could recover the oar it was torn from his grasp and -drawn under the water. At the same instant another of the monster’s -tentacles was thrust upward and fastened upon him, pinning his left arm -to his body. - -In the first shock of his terror, Nimbus rolled, screaming and helpless, -among the slippery fish in the bottom of the dory. Suddenly a cry from -Breeze of “Help, Nimbus! Help me! I’m being dragged overboard!” seemed -to restore his courage. He struggled to his knees, seized upon one of -the snake-like things that held him, and, with a mighty wrench, -literally tore it in two. This gave him some freedom of motion, and he -managed to reach over to where Breeze was clinging to a gunwale, and -drew the boy’s sheath-knife from his belt. - -Now the black man became the attacking party, and with the keen-edged -knife began to slash right and left at the clinging tentacles, several -more of which had by this time risen from the water, and were -endeavoring to seize him. He fought so savagely, and with such effect, -that finally the monster, having lost five of his arms, sank sullenly -from their sight beneath the discolored waters. - -For several minutes after their enemy had disappeared they watched -apprehensively for his return, dreading a renewal of the attack. Much of -their trawl had run out during the struggle, and now, making a tub fast -to it, they tossed it overboard, and while Breeze held up an oar as a -signal for the schooner to come to them, Nimbus began to row towards -her. - -“What do you think it was, Nimbus?” Breeze asked, at length. - -“Don’ know. Nebber see’d notting like um in all my sailin’. Mus’ be um -debbil-fish.” - -Although Nimbus had never heard of Victor Hugo, he had applied to his -late enemy the same name given it by the great French writer, the -“devil-fish,” which is so wonderfully described in the “Toilers of the -Sea.” - -“Well, I think it was a sea-serpent,” said Breeze, “and I’m not sure but -what there were half a dozen of them, too.” - -When Captain Coffin heard their story, and saw the portions of the -monster that still remained in the dory, he fully realized the peril -they had been in, and congratulated them upon their escape from the -embrace of a giant cuttle-fish. He measured the largest of the arms that -Nimbus had cut from the creature’s body. It was bloodless, and composed -entirely of gristle, and from its length the skipper concluded the -creature must have measured twenty feet from tip to tip of two of its -arms. - -“But what kind of a beast was it?” asked Breeze. “It had big eyes, and -seemed to be swimming in ink, but I could not see any tail or fins.” - -“No, it did not have any. Its body was simply a round, leathery sack, -about as big as a medium-sized squash. It had a horny beak like a -parrot’s, and could have given you an ugly bite if it had got hold of -you. The ink that it threw out was the sepia of commerce, from which -India-ink is made. The creature was the giant squid, or octopus. He had -eight arms, and but for your knife would undoubtedly have dragged you -both to the bottom of the ocean.” - -“Do they often attack people?” asked Breeze. - -“No; they rarely appear on the surface of the water, and this fellow -would not have done so if one of your trawl-hooks had not caught him. He -belongs to the same family as the little squid we catch in such -quantities on the Banks for cod bait.” - -“I’d hate to have to catch such a fellow as he was for bait,” said -Breeze, with a shudder. - -“He’d make good whale bait,” replied the skipper. “There’s nothing the -sperm-whale likes better. I once saw a piece of the arm of a -cuttle-fish, thirty feet long, taken from a dead whale’s mouth, and we -calculated that the creature to which it had belonged must have measured -one hundred and twenty feet from tip to tip.” - -“I thought a whale’s throat was too small to swallow a thing like that,” -said Breeze. - -“Not the throat of a sperm-whale. That is large enough to swallow ’most -anything. You are thinking of the right whale. He couldn’t swallow a -mackerel, his throat is so small.” - -One afternoon, ten days after this incident, by which time the crew of -the _Fish-hawk_ were heartily tired of the cold, stormy weather of the -North Atlantic, the cry of “Land, ho!” rang through the schooner. The -western sun, breaking through a bank of clouds, shone clear and full -upon a distant snow-covered mountain-top. The ocean had been crossed, -and Iceland was in sight. - - - - - CHAPTER XX. - ON THE COAST OF ICELAND. - - -This first glimpse of the great northern island so fascinated Breeze -that he could not take his eyes off the distant spot of glistening -whiteness. It seemed too wonderful to be true, that he, a poor -fisher-lad, should be about to visit the mysterious land of fire and -snow that the majority of travellers consider to be far beyond their -limit of time and money. He thought over all that he knew or had ever -heard of Iceland, and found that it was very little indeed. He knew that -it was an island, that it contained icy glaciers, smoking volcanoes, -vast deserts of broken lava, and was noted for its geysers, though he -had no clear idea of what a geyser was or even looked like. He had heard -that Mount Hecla was the principal volcano of the island, and he -wondered if the distant white object at which he was gazing might not be -it. This was about all that Breeze could remember concerning this -wonderful country, and I do not believe that many of the readers of this -story know any more about it than he did. Do you? - -[Illustration: THE FIRST VIEW OF ICELAND.] - -After gazing long through his glass at the snow-topped mountain they -were approaching, and carefully studying his chart, Captain Coffin said -it was not Mount Hecla, but must be the Snäfell Jökull, or mountain, -near the end of the long narrow promontory of Snäfells (snow-hills). -This projects from the western coast of the island, and separates the -two great bays, or fiords, of Breda on the north and Faxa on the south. -Although the halibut grounds, for which the _Fish-hawk_ was bound, lie -on the northern side of the island, while Reykjavik (pronounced -Rike-ya-veek), the capital, is situated at the head of Faxa Fiord, in -the south-western corner, Captain Coffin determined to run in there and -have a look at the place before beginning work. Besides having a desire -to see something of the capital city and the people of this -out-of-the-way corner of the world, the schooner’s supply of fresh water -was running short, and he was anxious to replenish it. - -While Breeze is still gazing at the Snäfell Jökull, and Captain Coffin -is altering his schooner’s course a point more to the southward, so as -to fetch the light-house on Cape Reykjaines (smoking cape), let us take -a sort of a general look at the curious island, and see if we can find -out any more about it than these Yankee fishermen knew. - -In the first place, everybody knows, or ought to know, that Iceland, as -well as Greenland, belongs to Denmark, and is ruled by a governor -appointed by the Danish king. Everybody, however, does not know that, -while Iceland is over six hundred miles from the nearest point of -main-land in Europe, it is only one hundred and forty miles from -Greenland, and is now generally regarded as being a part of America. It -is as large as Scotland and Wales taken together, or as the American -States of Maine and New Hampshire. Two of its northern points just touch -the arctic circle, but owing to the influence of the warm ocean-currents -surrounding it, its average winter weather is no more severe than that -of New England, though its summers are short, wet, and chilly. - -The whole island is of volcanic origin, and though it was thrown up from -the sea thousands of years ago, it still smokes and steams in many -places, and displays every evidence of containing some of the principal -vents for the everlasting fires that rage just below the earth’s crust. - -There are now no trees in Iceland, other than stunted willows and -birches, eight or ten feet high; but it is said to have been formerly -covered with fine forests of fir-trees, from which ships were built and -furnished with spars. Such of these forests as were not cut down were -destroyed by the awful volcanic eruptions of the last century, which -covered the whole country with lava, pumice-stone, sulphur, or ashes, -killed nearly ten thousand human beings, and immense numbers of horses, -cattle, and sheep, poisoned vast shoals of fish in the surrounding -ocean, and threatened the total destruction of everything living, both -animal and vegetable, on the unfortunate island. - -Since that time the fortunes of Iceland have gone steadily from bad to -worse. Its climate is slowly but surely growing colder. Its people are -becoming poorer and poorer, and are leaving it for more favored lands in -ever-increasing numbers. Each winter thousands of icebergs and vast -fields of floe-ice drift across from Greenland, and pile themselves up -on its western coast, clasping the island in a deadly embrace, and -threatening its very life with their chill breath. - -Only the coasts of the island are inhabited, while the interior is a -desolate, lifeless, and almost unexplored waste of lava plains, bogs, -volcanic mountains, and ice-filled valleys. The people live in huts -built of wrecked timbers, picked up in the western fiords, or of blocks -of lava roofed with turf. They cultivate forlorn little patches of oats -and watery potatoes, raise flocks of lean, long-legged sheep, herds of -black cattle, and shaggy ponies about the size of those that come from -the Shetland Islands. They gather and export sulphur, Iceland moss, and -the downy breast-feathers with which the eider-duck has lined her nest. -Above all, they fish for cod, halibut, ling, haddock, and herring. But -for the fish with which its surrounding ocean teems, the island would -have long ago been abandoned to its icebergs and volcanoes. To these -northern people fish is what bread and meat are to us. They eat it from -year’s end to year’s end, and exchange it for all the other scanty -necessities of their lives. They even feed their ponies, cattle, and -sheep on dried fish during severe winters, after their meagre supply of -coarse hay has given out. Fish are everything to Iceland, and it seems -to furnish everything to them; for they swarm by millions in its waters. -After them up into those wild seas go the fishing boats of England, -France, Denmark, Norway, and even far away Massachusetts in New England; -and after them had now come the good schooner _Fish-hawk_ of Gloucester, -bringing Breeze McCloud in her crew. - -In this far northern latitude the midsummer sun is only out of sight, -below the horizon, for about two hours, or from eleven o’clock in the -evening until one o’clock in the morning; and at midnight, or the -darkest hour, the twilight is hardly to be distinguished from the high -noon of a cloudy day. As the time of the _Fish-hawk’s_ reaching Iceland -was about the middle of June, she sailed in unbroken daylight, and -consequently the lamps were not lighted in the only two light-houses of -which the island can boast, one on Cape Reykjaines and the other at the -entrance to Reykjavik harbor. - -About nine o’clock in the evening they passed the Mealsack, which, -rising from the sea about fifteen miles from the Smoking Cape, is one of -the most remarkable rocks of the world. It is nearly round, about one -hundred and fifty feet in diameter, and its black, rugged sides rise -sheer and straight for two hundred feet above the surface of the water. -Its top is snowy white, from the excrement of the innumerable sea-fowl -that circle screaming above it, and find rude resting-places in its -crevices, or on its spray-wet ledges. It is perhaps needless to say that -no human being has ever trod its summit, or even effected a landing upon -it. - -After leaving it, the _Fish-hawk_ skirted the coast of Reykjaines, which -presents as awful a scene of desolation, and of terrific struggles -between fire and water, as can be imagined. The beetling cliffs of black -lava are rent and broken into every conceivable shape. Deep fissures, -into which the waves rush and roar with a mad fury only to be churned -into foam, draw back their stony lips, as though grinning over the fate -of the vessel that shall approach them too closely. Dark caverns echo -the hollow booming of the waters that fill them. Peaks, pinnacles, and -spires rise sharp and forbidding above the chaotic masses piled about -their feet. Everywhere through the milk-white foam of the ceaselessly -dashing breakers jagged rocks show themselves, like the black fangs of -monstrous beasts cruelly eager for their prey. It was a sight to sober -even the merry face of Breeze McCloud; while poor Nimbus, after a single -glance at it, buried himself in the forecastle and refused to come out -so long as they remained in the vicinity of such a “Debbil place,” as he -called it. - -A few hours later, after carefully threading her way through narrow -channels, between numerous rocky islets that rose boldly from the water, -the _Fish-hawk_ dropped her anchor, and furled her sails in the harbor -of Reykjavik. There were two or three square-rigged vessels in the port, -and a number of fishing boats; but though it was still broad daylight, -there were no signs of life aboard them, nor in the forlorn-looking -little town in front of them. A solemn stillness, broken only by the -occasional barking of dogs, brooded over the entire scene, and it was -hard to realize that this was the capital of one of the oldest nations -of the old world. - -Breeze thought they must have made some mistake, and got into the wrong -place, and Captain Coffin would have been inclined to agree with him if -it had not been for the evidence of his chart; but there was no room for -doubt there. Probably no coasts on the globe have been more accurately -or thoroughly surveyed than those of Iceland, and no one who has a -knowledge of how they were made ever disputes the maps issued by the -Danish War Office. - -“It’s all right, Breeze,” said the skipper. “This is the place we’ve -been hunting for, miserable as it appears. We’d better turn in now for a -few hours’ sleep, and perhaps things will look better to us to-morrow.” - -But they did not; for under the lowering skies, and through the -drizzling rain in which they next came on deck, the scene looked, if -possible, more dreary than it had done the night before. About six -o’clock the schooner was boarded by a man wearing an official cap, a -long-skirted coat, and big boots, who was rowed off from the town in a -small boat carrying a green flag. He was very polite, and talked a great -deal of Danish, together with a few words of English, some French, and -another language, which Breeze afterwards discovered to be Latin. - -In spite of all this, he finally succeeded in giving them to understand -that he was the Health Officer of the port, and wished to see the -schooner’s papers. Being shown into the cabin, he carefully inspected -these, though he was evidently unable to make anything from them, except -that the vessel came from the United States. - -In return, he handed the captain a long printed paper, of which nobody -on board could read a word, and gravely selected a single silver coin -from the handful that was offered him in payment of the port charges and -his services. He satisfied himself by looking at them, that the crew -were all in good-health; and learning that the schooner was in need of -water, accepted one more dollar as a water fee, and pointed out a place -on shore where they could take all they wanted. Then politely lifting -his cap, he stepped into his boat, and was pulled back to the town. - -“Well, boys,” said the skipper, when this official had gone, “I suppose -it’s all right now, and we are free of the city, though I’m blamed if I -can make out who that chap was. He may have been the governor himself -for all I know. However, let’s get our water aboard, have a look at the -place, and get away again as soon as we can, for we’ll all have the -blues if we stay here many hours.” - -When Captain Coffin and Breeze went on shore, soon afterwards, they -found the city to consist of about a hundred one-story houses, painted -black, and containing two or three rooms each, half a dozen stores in -two-storied buildings, a comfortable-looking governor’s residence, a -university, a forlorn-looking hotel, a stone church called the -cathedral, and a windmill. These were crowded together, without any -attempt at regularity, on a narrow strip of rocky land between the -harbor and a lagoon. - -Drawn up on the beach, in front of a row of rickety old wooden -warehouses, were scores of fishing boats, and the whole place reeked -with the smell of fish, fresh, dried, and decaying. Everywhere were -nets, oars, and piles of fish. Brawny, hard-featured women trudged along -the ill-paved streets carrying great loads of fish on frames like -stretchers; while the men of the town lounged at the corners, with pipes -in their mouths, and watched them. A drove of ponies fastened in a line, -each to the tail of the one ahead of him, bore immense packs of -merchandise on their backs; and between the houses prowled lean, -villanous-looking dogs in search of something to eat or a chance to -fight. - -Inside of an hour Breeze and the captain had seen all they wanted to see -of the city, and began to retrace their steps towards the landing. Just -before they reached it they heard a great noise of shouting and -laughter, and upon turning a corner they came upon a most comical sight. - -Surrounded by a crowd of men, women, children, ponies, and dogs stood -Nimbus, who was evidently the greatest curiosity these Icelanders had -seen in many a day. He had stopped to examine one of the ridiculous -little Iceland ponies that appear to be more than half mane and tail. -Its owner thought he wanted to buy it, and had tried to tell the -stranger what a splendid, strong animal it was. Somehow Nimbus gathered -an idea of what he was saying, and, to show his utter contempt for such -a specimen of horse-flesh, he had suddenly thrown his great arms about -the little beast and lifted it from the ground, kicking, squealing, and -trying to bite. Other horse-traders had hurried to the spot, dragging -their ponies after them, and a crowd had quickly collected to stare at -the black man who could carry a horse. - -Finally Nimbus seized and lifted from the ground a pony with a man on -his back, at which feat the crowd roared with delight. Suddenly the -struggling pony screamed out, - -“Wow! wow! put me down, or I’ll kick you!” - -Nimbus dropped him like a hot coal, the man on his back tumbled off in -affright, and the crowd scattered from about the marvellous beast as -though he had been a roaring lion. - -“Come, Nimbus, let’s get back to the schooner,” said Captain Coffin, who -had slipped up behind him; and, turning, the black man now for the first -time noticed Breeze, and understood how the pony had been gifted with -the power of speech. - -They hurried away without explaining the wonder to the bewildered -natives, and probably to this day that pony is regarded with awe and -veneration as having once opened his mouth and talked. - -Three days after this, Reykjavik had been left far behind, and the -_Fish-hawk_ was sailing over the stormy waters that wash the desolate -northern shore of the island. This was where Captain Coffin had supposed -the halibut, or “spraka,” as the Icelanders call them, would be found, -but thus far there was no sign of them. In order to search the ground -thoroughly, he decided to drop dories at intervals of about a mile -apart, and give those in them an opportunity to fish with hand-lines, by -which means he hoped some feeding-ground of the halibut might be -discovered. - -Near each dory was left an anchored buoy, bearing a flag with a number -painted on it, and each crew was instructed to fish in a circle about -its buoy, but on no account to lose sight of it. As the schooner sailed -away the skipper carefully noted the bearing of each of these flags, and -the distance between it and the next one, so that there might be no -difficulty in returning to it. - -Breeze and Nimbus were in the first dory thus left, and the flag on -their buoy was marked No. 1. In less than three hours after they had -been dropped, the _Fish-hawk_ returned to pick them up. All the other -dories had been sighted as she came back, and the crews of two of them -were catching fish hand over hand. The buoy bearing flag No. 1 was -easily found, but to the dismay and distress of Captain Coffin and old -Mateo, who were the only ones left aboard the schooner, no trace of the -dory to which it belonged, nor of its occupants, was to be seen. - - - - - CHAPTER XXI. - TEMPTED FROM DUTY. - - -For a whole day the _Fish-hawk_ cruised back and forth and in great -circles in the vicinity of the deserted buoy, with a man constantly at -the mast-head scanning the surface of the sea for some trace of the -missing dory. Then leaving the spot, she ran into the coast, from which -the buoy was about twenty miles distant, and made inquiries at several -of the tiny fishing villages that nestle at the heads of the deep -fiords. It was all in vain. Nothing was seen, nothing had been heard, -and the cause of the dory’s sudden and complete disappearance could not -even be satisfactorily guessed at. The only bit of information gained -from the islanders was, that on the day the dory was lost a steamer had -been seen skirting the coast, on her way to the southward, which was -such an unusual circumstance that it was something to be talked about -and wondered over. - -Finally the crew of the _Fish-hawk_ sailed sorrowfully back to the -halibut grounds, convinced that their well-loved young shipmate and his -black dory mate had been swallowed by the cold waters of that northern -sea, and that they should never again see them in this world. Captain -Coffin and old Mateo were especially distressed over what had happened, -for they had loved the boy as an own son, and could not become -reconciled to the fate which they supposed had overtaken him. It was the -harder to bear because of its uncertainty. If they could only be sure of -what had happened to him, and that he were not still drifting about, -starving or perishing from thirst on that cruel sea, or stranded on some -rocky islet of the inhospitable coast from which there was no escape! - -With all this, the cause of the dory’s disappearance was a very simple -one. Its occupants had merely been led astray, as many another has been -and will be, in the pursuit of riches. They had hardly been left on -their station, and begun fishing, when the negro’s quick eye detected a -small lump of grayish matter floating on the water but a short distance -from them. At the sight he uttered an exclamation of joy, and hastily -hauling in his line, he seized the oars and began to pull towards it. - -“What is the matter?” cried Breeze, who had not noticed the floating -object, and would not have known what it was if he had. “Where are you -going?” - -“Ole Nim catch um dreckly, young cap’n, den you see. Better’n fish! -better’n gole! better’n ebberyting!” - -What could he mean? And when Nimbus stopped rowing, and, stretching out -his arm, lifted the little gray lump, about the size of a man’s fist, -from the water, Breeze was no wiser than before. - -“What is it, Nimbus, and what is it good for?” he asked, in perplexity. - -“Amble grease! Good for sell! Heap money! P’r’aps fin’ more!” answered -the black man, smelling of his prize and patting it with his great -hands, while his eyes roved over the water in search of another like it. - -“Ambergris!” shouted Breeze, who had heard from old fishermen stories of -this precious substance, and of its fabulous value, but had never before -seen it. “You don’t mean, Nimbus, that that dirty-looking stuff is -ambergris!” - -“Yes, sah. Him amble grease sure ’nough,” answered the black man, who -had more than once seen this most valuable of all the products of the -sea on his native African coast. - -“Well, if that’s ambergris, I believe there’s another bit of it over -there,” said Breeze, standing up and looking eagerly in the direction -from which the wind blew. - -He was right; there was another bit, and beyond that they found another, -and still another, until they had gathered up a number of the small -floating lumps that had been strung out over several miles of water. - -“What is ambergris, anyway?” asked Breeze, while Nimbus was rowing -towards one of these pieces. - -“Don’ know,” was the answer. “Sick whale heave um up.” - -“Sick whale!” exclaimed Breeze, in a tone of disgust. “I hope you don’t -expect me to believe such a yarn as that, Nimbus.” - -In spite of the boy’s disbelief, the black man was right; for ambergris -has been found in the intestines of sperm-whales, but only of such as -were very thin and evidently diseased. It has also been thrown up by -such whales in their death-struggles after being harpooned. It is -valuable on account of its delightful odor, and is used in the -manufacture of most of the delicious perfumes for the handkerchief that -chemists devote so much time and ingenuity to preparing and naming. -Nothing has ever been found to take its place, and it brings, according -to the state of the market, from twenty-five to thirty-five dollars an -ounce, or about five hundred dollars per pound. - -Although Breeze and Nimbus had no distinct idea of the value of what -they were finding, they knew enough about it to become intensely excited -as they discovered piece after piece, and the little pile in the bottom -of the boat began to assume very respectable proportions. In their eager -search they forgot everything else, and paid no attention to where they -were going, nor how far they had come. They even failed to notice the -little squall of rain and fog that came whirling past them, bringing -with it a change of wind. That they neglected to observe this was -because, just at that moment, they sighted the great parent mass of gray -stuff from which all the little pieces they had been picking up had -broken off and drifted away. - -If they were excited before, they were wild with excitement now, and -both of them very nearly pitched into the water in their eagerness to -secure their prize and get it into the dory. They estimated its weight -to be nearly, if not quite, a hundred pounds; and its bulk was so great -that they had hard work to squeeze it into the boat. - -When at last this had been safely accomplished, they sat and gazed at it -and at each other. - -“I shouldn’t wonder if it was worth a thousand dollars,” said Breeze, at -length. - -“Mo’ like a millium!” answered Nimbus, whose ideas of the value of their -prize were even more vague than those of his young dorymate. - -“Well,” said Breeze, “let’s head back for the schooner; Captain Coffin -will know pretty near what it is worth. I suppose we’ll have to share -this find with the rest of the crew, though;” and with the shadow of -covetousness creeping over his soul, the boy thought sadly of how much -pleasanter it would be to divide their prospective profits between two -than among fourteen. - -The same thought was evidently weighing upon Nimbus, as he slowly picked -up his oars and made ready to pull--where? Now for the first time since -sighting the first bit of the stuff that had lured them from their post -of duty they began to look for the buoy-flag, which they had been warned -not to lose sight of. - -“There it is!” cried Breeze, pointing to a distant speck on the water. - -They pulled towards it; but, when they had approached close enough to -discover its real nature, they found it to be but a bit of floating -drift-wood, and though they did not know it, they had gone another -half-mile in the wrong direction. - -“Well,” said Breeze, “it can’t be very far off, and so long as we pull -with the wind we must get near enough to it for the schooner to sight -us. The ambergris drifted with the wind, and we were pulling against it, -you know.” - -Yes, Nimbus remembered that, and agreed that they must now go with the -wind in order to retrace their course. But neither of them knew that the -wind had changed. - -So, for more than an hour they pulled, in what they imagined to be the -right direction, and every stroke carried them farther away from the -schooner. - -At length they realized their true position. They were once more adrift -on the open sea in a frail dory, and this time without food or water. -This time, too, they had only themselves to blame; for only their own -carelessness and direct disobedience of orders had brought them into -this miserable plight. There was but little chance of their being picked -up, for vessels were rare in these waters. As for seeking to gain the -horrible, rock-bound coast of the island, the mere thought of what they -had seen of it caused them to dread it almost as much as the open sea. -Still, this seemed to be the only thing left for them to do, and once -more the tiny compass that had already proved such a true friend to -Breeze was brought into service. - -Upon getting the ball open and looking at the card, they were greatly -puzzled to account for its movements, and thought it must be out of -order. One side of it was so drawn down, and the other so lifted up, -that the ball had to be inclined at a sharp angle to get the card to -move at all. Neither of them had ever heard of the dip of the magnetic -needle, nor did they know that they were within about ten degrees of the -magnetic north pole, or the point at which a compass-needle, if allowed -to move freely in every direction, would incline directly downward. -However, where they were it still worked sufficiently well to give them -a course towards the land, of which they could as yet see nothing, and -with heavy hearts they began to row in the direction thus indicated. - -The mass of ambergris in the dory seriously interfered with their -movements, and left room for only one of them to row at a time. At last, -when they had rowed thus for several hours--though in this region of -perpetual daylight they had no means of knowing what time it -was--Breeze, tired, hungry, and discouraged, pulled in his oars, and -exclaimed, - -“I’ve a great mind to heave that stuff overboard, and I wish with all my -heart that we’d never set eyes on it. The idea of its getting us into -such a scrape!” - -In saying this, Breeze was only dropping into the fault, so common to us -all, of trying to lay the blame of his own wrong action upon somebody or -something else; but Nimbus was wiser in this respect than his young -companion. - -“No, no!” he said. “De amble grease all right. He don’ do nuffin. Now we -got um, we keep um. Bimeby be berry glad ob um. Now let ole Nim row.” - -“I don’t care,” replied Breeze, changing places with the negro. “I’d -give the whole of it this minute for a loaf of bread. I don’t believe I -ever was so hungry in my life.” - -“Bimeby we get um bread,” said Nimbus, encouragingly, as he took the -oars, “an’ hab um amble grease too.” - -For an hour or two longer the dory was urged forward by the powerful, -steady strokes of the black man, who seemed never to tire or to grow -impatient at their hard fate. - -At length Breeze exclaimed, “There’s land, Nimbus; I see it!” - -Nimbus, turning, saw it too--a long black line of coast; and beyond it, -rising dimly through the mist-laden atmosphere, the huge forms of the -snow Jökulls. An hour later they were close enough to it to distinguish -the features of the forbidding-looking cliffs, pierced by deep fiords, -and to begin to consider which of these they should enter. - -As they talked the matter over in low tones, awed by the impressiveness -of the scene, and the unbroken stillness that brooded over it, Nimbus -suddenly raised a warning hand, and his great ears seemed to prick -forward with the intentness of listening. He leaned over the side of the -dory until one of his ears was close to the water, and when he again -raised his head he said, “You hear um steamboat?” - -“Hear a what?” exclaimed Breeze, for as yet he had heard nothing. - -“Steamboat! You no hear um steamboat coming?” - -“No, I’m sure I don’t, nor you either. There aren’t any steamboats in -these waters. What you hear must be the surf on the rocks.” - -But Nimbus insisted that he did hear a steamboat, and after a while -Breeze began to think that he too heard it. In a few minutes more there -could be no doubt of it. It was the regular, unmistakable throb of a -screw propeller; and though they could not for some time be certain from -which direction it came, it was surely approaching them, and renewed -hope sprang within their breasts as they listened to it. - -At length they saw a thick column of smoke rising beyond a long -promontory to the north of them, and soon afterwards the low, black hull -and raking masts of a steam-yacht rounded the point and bore swiftly -down upon them. - -[Illustration: THE YACHT CAME DIRECTLY TOWARDS THEM.] - -For fear they would not be noticed, Breeze stood up and waved his hat. -But there was no necessity for this. The yacht came as directly towards -them as though their dory were the object for which it was steering, and -it even began to look as though they were going to be run down. At last, -when they could see the water jetting up like a fountain before her -sharp prow, and could distinguish the features of the seamen, who gazed -curiously at them from over her bows, she sheered a little to one side, -as though about to pass them. - -“Stop! Hold on!” screamed Breeze. “Don’t go off and leave us!” - -“Well, by Jove! that’s odd,” said a young man who stood on the yacht’s -bridge to an older one who occupied it with him, though of course those -in the dory did not hear him; “I thought those fellows were native -fishermen, and here they are hailing us in English.” As he spoke, he -gave a brass handle in front of him a quick pull. - -A gong clanged down in the engine-room, and almost instantly the motion -of the screw was stopped. The momentum of the yacht was so great that -she was shooting past the dory, when two more strokes of the engine-room -gong set the screw to backing furiously. A single stroke stopped it -again, and the yacht lay motionless. - -“What’s up, and what do you fellows want?” demanded the young man, -looking down into the dory from over the canvas side of the bridge. - -“We are lost from an American fishing schooner,” replied Breeze, “and we -are nearly starved, and we beg that you won’t go off and leave us.” - -“Leave you!” exclaimed the warm-hearted young Englishman--for such he -was--“leave you here on this beastly coast! Of course we won’t. Come -right aboard, both of you. Mr. Marlin, be so good as to have the -side-ladder lowered, and get those poor fellows on board.” - -A minute later Breeze McCloud, once more rescued, in an almost -miraculous manner, from a position of great peril, stood on the deck of -the steel steam-yacht Saga, in which her owner was making a summer’s -cruise in those far northern latitudes. - -Breeze had hardly reached the deck, and was about to speak to this -gentleman, who was approaching him, when the gong in the engine-room -clanged, and the vessel began once more to move ahead. - -Just then came a most distressed cry from the side-ladder, on the lower -step of which Nimbus was still standing, holding the painter of the dory -in his hand: - -“Oh, de amble grease! de amble grease!” - -“What does the fellow say?” asked the gentleman, in a perplexed tone, of -Breeze. - -“Oh, sir, won’t you have the yacht stopped again, before she swamps our -dory? It’s full of ambergris,” cried Breeze, who had entirely forgotten -the precious cargo of the boat he had just left. - -“What! ambergris? You don’t say so! Yes, of course. Mr. Marlin, stop her -at once, and get that queer-looking craft, with its cargo, on deck. Why, -young man, if that stuff you’ve got in there is truly ambergris, you are -carrying a small fortune about with you.” - -Acting under the orders of Mr. Marlin, the sailing-master of the yacht, -half a dozen of her active, trimly dressed crew sprang to one of her -quarter-boats, unhooked it from the davits, and took it in on deck. Then -a couple of lines were passed entirely around the dory, which beside the -dainty boats of the yacht looked to be a clumsy, ill-shaped craft, and -it was lifted clear of the water, and swung up to the level of the rail. - -“There,” said the gentleman; “your boat and its contents will be safe -enough for the present. What did you say your name was?” - -“I did not say,” replied Breeze, “but it is McCloud--Breeze McCloud.” - -“And mine,” said the other, “is Seabright.” - -“Thank you,” said Breeze, “and I’m very grateful to you for picking us -up, Mr. Seabright.” - -The boy could not imagine why Lord Seabright stared at him for a moment, -and then burst out laughing, at hearing himself thus addressed, for the -first time in his life, as plain mister. - - - - - CHAPTER XXII. - THE STEAM-YACHT “SAGA.” - - -There was something so gentlemanly in the appearance of Breeze McCloud -that Lord Seabright at once noticed it; and, in spite of the boy’s rough -clothes, and declaration that he was one of the crew of an American -fishing schooner, could not regard nor treat him as an ordinary -fisher-lad. While Nimbus was sent forward, to be cared for in the -forecastle and at the mess-table of the crew, Breeze was shown into the -ward-room, or quarters occupied by the sailing-master, mate, and chief -engineer of the yacht. Here the cabin steward was sent to him, with -orders to make him as comfortable as possible. - -The first thing this individual noticed was that Breeze was soaked to -the skin, and shivering as though in a chill, and he hurried away to -find him some dry clothes. A few minutes later he returned with an old -but complete yachting suit, belonging to Lord Seabright, which, as the -latter was but a few years older than Breeze, and of about the same -build, fitted the boy as though made for him. - -[Illustration: BREEZE’S WELCOME TO THE “SAGA.”] - -While he was changing his clothes in the tiny stateroom which he was -told he might occupy as long as he remained on board the _Saga_, the -steward spread a table with the remains of the cabin dinner, which, as -it was now about half-past eight in the evening, had been just finished -when the dory was picked up. - -As the steward announced that his dinner was ready, and asked him if he -were not hungry, Breeze was reminded of old Mateo, and his cheery “Vell, -Breeze, ma boy, you hongry, eh?” It gave him a homesick feeling, and he -thought how gladly he would, if he could, exchange his present luxurious -surroundings, in the company of strangers, for the forecastle of the -_Fish-hawk_, and its narrow mess-table surrounded by the faces of his -friends. There is nothing more true than that the humblest abode in -which are a person’s own people is a happier place to him than a palace -without them. - -Having eaten nothing since very early that morning, Breeze did not allow -these thoughts to interfere in the slightest with his enjoyment of the -meal set before him. To him it seemed one of the most sumptuous dinners -he had ever sat down to, though the cabin steward apologized for it, -saying that their cook had unfortunately fallen overboard and been -drowned while they were cruising off Jan-Mayen, and since then they had -been obliged to get along as best they could. - -It was wonderful to note how differently this man treated Breeze since -he had appeared in Lord Seabright’s clothes. He had been kind before, -but now he was respectful. All of which goes to show that, while clothes -do not make the man, they have a great deal to do with the estimation in -which he is held by strangers. Consequently it is very important that -everybody, boys as well as men, should always dress as neatly and -becomingly as their circumstances will allow. - -Lord Seabright always commanded his own yacht, in which he took great -pride, and which he was capable of managing in every detail. Whatever -this young man undertook he performed thoroughly, and at present he -found his chief pleasure in yachting, a pursuit in which his great -wealth enabled him to indulge without a thought of the expense attending -it. This was the _Saga’s_ first cruise, and it had been extended as far -northward as the wild land of Jan-Mayen, which is about two hundred -miles nearer the north pole than Iceland. It is also a volcanic bubble -of the earth’s crust, though much smaller and even more desolate than -its neighbor on the south. - -Since leaving these, and reaching the coast of Iceland, the Saga had -penetrated several of the deep northern fiords, and Lord Seabright had -visited a number of the fire Jökulls, boiling sulphur springs, and other -interesting objects and places of that part of the island. Now the yacht -was on her way to Reykjavik, from which an inland expedition was to be -made to the famous geysers. - -After Breeze had finished his dinner the steward informed him that his -lordship would like to have a few words with him in the cabin. - -The cabin, or main saloon, was located as nearly as possible in the -centre of the yacht, though forward of the engines and boilers. As -Breeze was ushered into it, he was for a moment bewildered by its -elegance and its luxurious appointments, which far surpassed anything he -had ever dreamed of. Mirrors, carvings, silken curtains, rich furniture, -velvet carpets, a sideboard glistening with silver, a small upright -piano built into the oak wainscoting, an open fireplace with a -chimney-piece of carved oak above it, a small library of choice books, -and many other beautiful things, of which he did not know the names or -uses, greeted the boy’s astonished gaze. Although it was still daylight -outside, the sky was so overcast that the saloon would have been in -comparative darkness had it not been for the floods of light coming from -four opaque globes set into the ceiling and softening the electric -flames that flashed behind them. - -As the saloon door was thrown open by the cabin steward, and Breeze was -confronted by all this blaze of light and color, he hesitated for a -moment, and felt almost afraid to enter. Then the Yankee independence to -which he had been educated asserted itself, and he stepped inside the -gorgeous apartment. - -Lord Seabright did not at first recognize the handsome, gentlemanly -appearing fellow who, clad in a becoming blue yachting suit, now stood -before him, and for an instant looked inquiringly at him. He had risen -from the easy-chair in which he had been seated, and the moment he -realized who the visitor was, he stepped forward, instinctively held out -his hand to Breeze, and bade him welcome to the _Saga_. Then he -introduced him to the only other occupant of the saloon, a tired-looking -young man, who lay upon a lounge smoking. - -"Without rising, this gentleman greeted Breeze with, “Ah, pleased -awfully! Have a weed?” - -“No, I thank you,” replied Breeze, who could hardly help laughing. “I -have not learned to smoke yet.” - -“Ah, good boy! Advise you not to. Beastly habit. Rough on the -constitution.” - -“Oh, Whyte! Whyte!” laughed his friend. “If you would only practise the -half of what you preach, what a fine fellow you would become!” - -“Yes,” replied the other, “I fancy my theory is very nearly perfect, but -it is really too much of a grind, don’t you know, to put it into -practice. I’d rather let some other chap do that.” - -This was a fair example of Mr. Whyte Whymper’s character. He was -good-natured, easy-going, blessed with most excellent mental and -physical qualities, but was too indolent to improve either the one or -the other. He was not exactly the companion the owner of the _Saga_ -would have chosen for this northern trip, but several other friends had -disappointed him at the last moment, and he was obliged to make the best -of the one who was at liberty, and willing to accompany him. - -“Well, McCloud,” said Lord Seabright, after a few moments’ pleasant chat -that served to make the boy feel quite at home, “sit down and tell us -how you and your black friend happened to get lost, and to be drifting -about on the open sea in that queer-looking craft of yours. It strikes -me that you were in a pretty nasty position, and I’m curious to hear -about it.” - -Although Breeze confined his story to his experiences while on the -_Fish-hawk_, and after leaving her, his hearers were much interested in -what he had to tell them. They seemed to consider it a very plucky thing -for a small schooner, such as he described, to cross the Atlantic for -the purpose of fishing in those stormy northern seas, and they asked him -many questions in regard to the American methods of fishing. - -“What do you expect to do, now that you have lost your schooner?” asked -Lord Seabright, at length. - -“I don’t know, sir,” replied Breeze. “If I knew of any way to find her -again I’d try it; but I can’t seem to think of any.” - -“Neither can I, and I don’t see that there is anything for you to do but -to come with us to Reykjavik and see what offers when you get there. -Perhaps there will be some vessel in port bound for America, on which -you can engage a passage.” - -“Well, sir,” said Breeze, “I suppose that will be the best thing for us -to do, and we’ll be very glad to work our passage if you’ll let us. -Nimbus is a good cook, and as yours got drowned, perhaps you can make -him useful in that way. I am willing to do anything I can. At any rate,” -he added, brightening at the thought, “if you’d take ambergris, we might -pay for our passage in that.” - -Both the gentlemen were highly amused at this suggestion, and as soon as -he could control his voice, Lord Seabright said, - -“My dear fellow, yachts are not allowed to receive payment for carrying -passengers. Even if they were, you must not think so meanly of us as to -fancy that we would consider the aiding of distressed mariners any less -of a pleasure than it is a duty. I shall be only too glad to employ your -black friend, and if he proves a good cook will pay him liberal wages. -As for yourself, it is a pleasure to have your company, and I am -especially glad to have somebody on board who has been at least once -into Reykjavik harbor, and can give us some information as to the -channel and the place itself.” - -“I shall be only too glad to do anything I can to earn my passage, and -will give you all the information I have,” replied Breeze, “but I am -afraid it won’t amount to very much.” - -“Whatever it is, I feel certain it will be worth the having,” said the -other, politely, “and now I move that we all turn in, and prepare by a -good sleep for our grand entrance into the capital to-morrow.” - -After Breeze had gone, Lord Seabright remarked to his friend, “I like -that fellow, Whyte. He seems to be an uncommonly bright and manly sort -of a chap.” - -“Oh yes,” replied the other, indifferently. “He’s not half bad for a -Yankee.” - -After satisfying himself that Nimbus was comfortably provided for, and -that the ambergris, upon which he was now building many hopes and no -longer wished to exchange for a loaf of bread, was safe, the tired boy -sought his bunk, feeling very grateful for the snug quarters in which he -found himself. - -On the following day, Nimbus, to his own intense satisfaction, was -installed in the galley, and given charge of more pots, pans, kettles, -and other kitchen utensils than he had ever dreamed could exist in one -ship. He also found that he had full authority to order about as he -pleased, a young lad who filled the position of scullion in his -department. With the gaining of this knowledge, he assumed such an air -of dignity as made him appear comical enough to all eyes except those of -the unfortunate boy for whose especial benefit it was put on. The -originality of the black man’s appearance was further increased by a -white jacket, a large white apron, and a cook’s white linen cap. When -this cap was perched on the back of his head it seemed to rest upon his -immense ears; while his grotesque thatch of wool projected several -inches in front of it. In spite of the absurdity of his appearance, he -proved to be a capital cook, and managed his department in a manner -thoroughly satisfactory to his new employer. The good-natured fellow’s -sole regret, which he expressed to Breeze many times, was, that “Dat ole -rask Mateo” could not see him in his present exalted station, “at de -head ob a camboose fit fo’ de King ob Africa hissef.” - -During this day, too, the grayish mass in the dory was pronounced to be -ambergris, beyond a doubt, was carefully weighed, and stored in stout -boxes made by the yacht’s carpenter. Its weight was found to be a few -ounces over one hundred and twenty pounds, and Lord Seabright told -Breeze that its value in the London market would not be far from fifty -thousand dollars. - -Quite dazzled by the magnitude of this sum, Breeze for a while thought -of himself as a young man of fortune, and indulged in delightful dreams -of what he would do with the money as soon as it came into his -possession. Suddenly the remembrance of Nimbus came upon him like a -blow. Was not the black man, who had been his faithful dorymate, -entitled to an equal share in it? Of course he was, though it was with -reluctance that Breeze admitted the fact to himself. Still, even such a -division would leave him twenty-five thousand dollars. It would be -enough to purchase several fishing vessels, and make him a person of -considerable prominence in Gloucester. - -The thought of Gloucester brought another with it. On what terms was the -fishing business carried on there? Was it not on the basis of one-half -the catch to the vessel and half to the crew? To be sure it was, and -this ambergris was one of the incidental profits of the _Fish-hawk’s_ -voyage to Iceland. But, then, had not he and Nimbus found it all by -themselves and risked their lives in obtaining and saving it? It would -be easy enough to sell it, keep the money, and say nothing about it. - -So, locked in his tiny state-room, the boy struggled with the right and -the wrong of this question for more than an hour. Finally the right -triumphed, and when he became conscious of the fact, Breeze felt as -light-hearted and happy as though he had been crushed under the whole -weight of fifty thousand dollars in gold, and it had suddenly been -lifted from him. - -When, soon afterwards, he was congratulated by Mr. Whyte Whymper upon -the amount of his fortune, he replied, “Yes, sir, seventeen hundred -dollars is a good deal of money for a boy like me to have at once.” - -“Seventeen hundred dollars!” exclaimed the other. “Why, I thought it was -ten thousand pounds?” - -“So it is, sir, in all; but, according to Gloucester rule, half of it -goes to the schooner, and the other half must be divided among her crew -of twelve others besides Nimbus and myself.” - -When he made this statement of the case to his black dorymate, he was -put to shame by discovering that the honest fellow had never taken any -other view of it. - -At the same time Mr. Whyte Whymper was saying to Lord Seabright, “I have -just discovered that our young Yankee friend is possessed of a degree of -honesty that, to me, would be worth all his other good qualities put -together.” - -About noon the yacht passed the Snäfells and entered the waters of Faxa -Fiord. As she approached Reykjavik, and began to thread her way among -the islands that enclose its harbor, Breeze stood on the bridge with -Lord Seabright and Mr. Marlin. He had already pointed out on the chart -the course taken by the _Fish-hawk_ a few days before, and the same one -was now held by the _Saga_. There was one very narrow channel that -Breeze bore in particular remembrance on account of the huge, isolated -mass of lava that had risen from and partially leaned over one side of -it. Both he and Captain Coffin had wondered if it might not some time -topple over and block the passage. Now he looked for it in vain. Could -he be mistaken in the place? Again he studied the chart intently. No, -the other landmarks were all right, but this one had disappeared. The -_Saga_ was just about to enter the channel. He was not absolutely sure -that he was right, but he felt impelled to call out, “Stop her, sir! -Stop her, please, and back her!” - -“Why, what is the matter, McCloud?” exclaimed Lord Seabright, as he -complied with this request and rang the engine-room bell. - -When Breeze had told them of his fears Mr. Marlin went with a boat’s -crew to sound the channel. Upon his return he reported an ugly rock -rising to within a few feet of the surface, almost in the middle of it, -with deep water on both sides. - -So the _Saga_, which was carefully worked through the narrow place to -one side of the danger, was saved from almost certain wreck only by -Breeze McCloud’s keen observation and retentive memory. They afterwards -learned that the huge mass of rock had fallen into the sea with a -tremendous crash on that very day. - -Although hospitably received and entertained by the governor and other -members of Reykjavik society, the two English gentlemen were almost as -much disappointed in the Icelandic capital as Breeze had been on his -former visit to it. Lord Seabright, however, anticipated great pleasure -from the proposed trip to the geysers, and hurried forward the -preparations for it as rapidly as possible. His friend was by no means -so enthusiastic as he, and finally decided that he would rather remain -in comfortable quarters on board the _Saga_ than to undertake the -tedious journey to the geysers merely for the sake of seeing what he -termed a fountain of boiling water. - -Nothing could alter this decision, and finally, declaring him to be -altogether too lazy to live, Lord Seabright turned to Breeze and said, -“Will you go with me in his place, McCloud? I know the invitation comes -rather late; but if you will overlook that, and accept it, I shall be -most happy to have your company on this trip to the geysers.” - - - - - CHAPTER XXIII. - PONIES AND GEYSERS. - - -As there were no vessels in the harbor of Reykjavik, save one that was -taking in a cargo of ponies for Norway, besides the native fishing -boats, and Breeze saw no chance of returning to America at present, he -gladly accepted Lord Seabright’s invitation to accompany him to the -geysers. - -Nimbus was to go, of course, to cook for the little expedition, and he -looked forward with considerable anxiety to mounting and riding one of -the shaggy little ponies that he had treated with such contempt upon the -occasion of his former visit to the capital. He had never ridden on -horseback in his life; but it was certain he must do so now if he -expected to reach the geysers, for his own short legs would never carry -him that distance, and there was not a wagon, cart, or carriage to be -had in all Iceland. So horseback it must be, or not go at all; and -during the several days of preparation for the trip, Nimbus occasionally -went on shore, and gazed in silence and sadness at the little shaggy -monsters that were being collected by the guide, evidently trying to -determine upon which one of them it would be safest to trust himself. - -The guide was a grave, fresh-faced young Icelander named Haik Gierssen, -who had conducted tourists to the geysers ever since he had been old -enough to do so, and whose father, Gier Zöega, had been a guide before -him. He had undertaken to buy the ponies for the expedition, and in -consequence was the most eagerly sought man in the town. Everybody had -ponies to sell; and though the trip would probably occupy less than a -week, it was necessary to carry tents, provisions, blankets, and extra -clothing, even for that short time, and they must all be carried on -ponyback. Thus, for the party of four, including the guide, twelve -ponies were required, two apiece to be alternately ridden and rested -over the rough roads, and four to carry the camp outfit. It is necessary -to travel thus in Iceland, because there are no hotels on the whole -island but the one at Reykjavik. The country-people are very hospitable, -and will gladly share with a stranger the best they have; but they are -also very poor, and most of their huts are so small and filthy that one -is not apt to accept their kind offers of food and shelter more than -once. - -At last all was in readiness, and the morning set for the departure -arrived. It was dreary, wet, and chilly; but in spite of all that, an -enthusiastic and curious crowd of towns-people had assembled to see them -start. They were principally attracted by the sight of Nimbus, who had -become quite a celebrity among them, and whom they regarded as by far -the most important personage of the party. Breeze had found it hard to -persuade his black dory mate to leave behind the white cap, jacket, and -apron, which were his robes of office. Nimbus had finally yielded, and -in their place now wore a fisherman’s sou’wester, with ear-tabs to it, -tied firmly on his head, a monkey-jacket the sleeves of which were -several inches too short for his long arms, white duck trousers, and a -pair of the carpet slippers, run down at the heel, without which no sea -cook is happy. - -The moment he found himself on the pony’s back, from which his short -legs stuck out almost at right angles, Nimbus leaned down over the -animal’s neck, twined both hands into its shaggy mane, and resigned -himself to his fate. He could not be induced to hold the bridle, and -would not have known what to do with it if he had. All the pack-ponies -and spare animals were fastened, each to the tail of the one in front, -to keep them from straying. As Nimbus was evidently incapable of -steering his, it was made fast to the tail of the last pack-pony, and -thus the unhappy cook brought up the rear of the procession. - -At last, with much cracking of his leathern whip and shoutings of -“Hur-r-r! hur-r-r!” and “Ga, ga!” (go on), the guide succeeded in -getting the long line of ponies started. As Nimbus clung for dear life -to his, the comical workings of his face aroused the spectators to yells -of applause and shouts of laughter. It was more like a circus than -anything they had ever before seen. So amid the cheers of the multitude, -the barking of dogs, the cracking of whips, and the squealing of the -ponies, the party clattered through the rough streets of the fishy, -evil-smelling town into the rougher roads of the black, desolate-looking -country beyond, and were fairly off for the geysers. - -These are about sixty miles inland, and nearly due east from Reykjavik. -They are the largest and most famous objects of their kind in the world, -even surpassing in size and the wildness of their surroundings those of -our own Yellowstone Park, or the valley of the Russian River in -California. - -The road for the first day’s journey led over rugged lava plains, up and -down the foot-hills of the snow-capped Jökulls, and most of the time -through a country so barren as to contain no trace of human occupation. -It often skirted dark lagoons and quaking bogs dotted with queer -head-like tussocks of grass. In one of these poor Nimbus came to grief. - -For greater ease in travelling, the ponies had been unfastened from each -other when they had got some miles out from Reykjavik, and were urged to -proceed at full gallop over the rough roads. This drew forth groans of -anguish from Nimbus, who felt that he would not be able to retain his -seat from one moment to another. He tugged at the pony’s mane, dug his -heels into its ribs, and finally so worked upon its feelings that it -laid back its ears, and turned directly towards one of the black -bottomless bogs, of which there were several in that vicinity. In vain -did the unhappy rider shout “Whoa!” and in vain did the others pursue -the flying beast. It would not stop until it began to feel the soft -ground of the bog under its feet, and then it drew up so suddenly that -its rider was flung far over its head, and landed at full length in the -treacherous mud. - -Dismounting and tossing his bridle to Breeze to hold, the guide, -skipping from tussock to tussock, quickly made his way to where Nimbus -was wallowing, in imminent danger of being suffocated. He got a rope -under the negro’s arms, and the others, catching hold of it, literally -dragged him ashore. Here he sputtered and choked and rolled his eyes, -and dripped mud from every point, and presented such a woe-begone and -ridiculous aspect that even the grave Icelander laughed at the sight. As -for Breeze, his excess of merriment caused the tears to roll down his -cheeks, and he had hardly strength enough to help scrape the worst of -the mud from the comical figure. - -[Illustration: “YOU OUGHT TO HAVE WORN A DIVING SUIT, NIMBUS,” SAID -BREEZE.] - -“You ought to have worn a diving suit, Nimbus,” he exclaimed between his -outbursts of laughter. - -“Oh, g’way now, young cap’n. You oughter be ’shamed makin’ fun er ole -Nim when he in a heap er trouble. I tell you, sah, dis cruisin’ on dry -lan’ ’s dangersome work, an’ ef ebber ole Nim git back to salt-water he -stick to um.” - -As a precaution against further mishaps of this nature, they lashed him -fast to his pony after the manner of a pack, and once more the -procession was got under way. - -That afternoon they passed through a wonderful gorge known as the -Almannajau, with sides of shining black lava rising as sheer and regular -as though it had been hewn out by giants. Beyond it lay the valley of -Thingvalla, showing scattered patches of fresh green grass upon which -sheep were grazing. In it stood a small church, and the house, or rather -cluster of huts, in which dwelt the pastor of Thingvalla and his -numerous family. - -They camped for the night beside the church, though the hospitable -pastor begged them to consider his dwelling as theirs for as long as -they chose to use it, and urged them at least to sleep in his Bädstove, -or guest-chamber. One breath of the foul, suffocating air of the -interior of the house was enough for Lord Seabright, and to the great -relief of his young companion, he courteously declined in very good -Latin the proffered hospitality. - -As fuel was one of the scarcest articles in that vicinity, they accepted -a pot of coffee from the pastor’s wife, and made their dinner from it -and what cold provisions they had brought along. They tried to eat some -of the bowl of skeyer, or cheese curds, which the good man pressed upon -them; but it was so rank that they were unable to swallow a single -mouthful. It was thereupon turned over to Gierssen, who found no -difficulty in eating the whole bowlful. In return for these favors, Lord -Seabright presented the pastor with several tins of meat, with which he -was greatly pleased, and for which he expressed thanks in the choicest -Latin. - -The next morning, after poor Nimbus, stiff, aching in every joint, and -groaning at the hard fate that had dragged him thus far away from the -sea, had been lashed firmly to his pony, an early start was made. For a -few miles the riding was comparatively smooth, and then the road plunged -into the most awful country ever traversed by men and horses. It became -an indistinct trail only marked by occasional piles of stones, and the -savage region through which it led was torn and rent to pieces as though -it had been the battle-ground of demons. It was inconceivably blasted, -scorched, and strewn with chaotic masses of lava. It was traversed in -every direction by deep chasms, between which the trail, often but a few -feet wide, wound its perilous way, and into which a single misstep would -have hurled horse and rider, to be lost beyond recovery. Numerous -rushing torrents were forded, and in one foaming river, the Bruara, a -bottomless fissure cleft in the middle of its channel was crossed on a -bridge of planks that were actually laid below the surface of the water -and were not seen until they were reached. - -The frightful nature of this journey at first drew from poor Nimbus -groans, prayers, and entreaties to be left where he was and not taken -any farther into what he termed “de home ob ole Satan hissef.” Finally -he closed his eyes, and passively allowed himself to be borne onward to -what he believed was certain destruction. - -It was a tedious day’s ride; but after passing the Bruara the country -became somewhat better, and showed occasional little green valleys, in -one of which the travellers rested for an hour and ate their luncheon. -Here and there lonely huts were passed, and some flocks and herds were -seen, as well as an occasional human being in the distance. Finally they -reached the world-famed valley of the geysers, where, within a space of -half a mile, some forty or fifty springs of all sizes and shapes boiled, -bubbled, and sent up clouds of steam and sulphurous vapors. - -Of them all, the two best worth seeing are the Great Geyser and the -Strokhr, or churn. The latter can be made to go off, but the former only -displays his superb fountains of boiling water when it pleases him to do -so. Often tourists have waited near him for days, and then been -compelled to leave without having seen an eruption. - -A camping-place was selected on a plot of grass but a short distance -from the basin of the Great Geyser, the tents were pitched, and Nimbus, -with his spirits somewhat restored by reaching the journey’s end, began -to cook dinner. He had no need to make a fire, and there was nothing to -make it with if he had wanted one. He simply followed Haik Gierssen’s -directions, and made coffee, tea, and a delicious soup in a boiling -caldron of beautifully clear water that hissed and steamed on a rocky -ledge a few yards back of the tents. Nimbus would not believe it was hot -enough to cook meat, until he had made a test by thrusting a finger into -it. Then the howl of pain with which he snatched back his hand convinced -the others that he was fully satisfied with his experiment. - -While he was preparing dinner the others busied themselves in cutting -sods with which to make the Strokhr “sick,” as Haik Gierssen said. - -Breeze did not understand what he meant; but he was one of those rare -boys who would rather wait a little for information that he was sure -would come to him, than to try and force it by useless questions; so he -held his tongue, and busily cut sods with the others. - -The Strokhr is a funnel-shaped hole in the rock, about six feet across -at the top, in which, some twenty feet below the surface, water boils -and tumbles uneasily. In its depths are heard groans and rumblings, -while occasional jets of hissing steam and upward rushes of water -indicate its great uneasiness and desire to burst from its rocky prison. - -After a huge pile of sods had been cut and stacked on its edge, Haik -Gierssen said there was enough to make him very sick, and pushed them -all into the steaming opening. - -A terrible commotion followed, and peering over the edge, they could see -the sods swirling and dashing about in the angry waters, while the -rumblings and roarings were louder than ever. Suddenly, almost without -warning, a vast column of ink-black water, flecked with foam and dotted -with sods, was belched forth and shot up nearly a hundred feet into the -air. It was a magnificent sight, and looked like a hundred fountains -joined in one, and surrounded by clouds of steam and hissing spray. - -The spectators sprang back, and running for dear life, were barely -beyond reach of the boiling torrents as they fell back, drenching the -ground for fifty feet about the mouth of this terrible churn. Again and -again did the vast column of water shoot upward, as though the Strokhr -had been made deadly sick by the sod pills administered to it and was -determined to get rid of them. It was a fearful yet fascinating -exhibition of the hidden forces of nature, and Lord Seabright said that -if he saw nothing more of the geysers he should feel fully repaid for -all the hardships of the trip by this one display. - -To Breeze it was so marvellous that he could find no words to express -his awe and delight at the wonderful phenomenon. - -The effect of the eruption upon poor Nimbus was such, that after one -glance at it he threw himself, face downward, flat upon the ground, -where he lay kicking and screaming with fright long after it had -subsided. - -The eruptions were continued at intervals through the night, and the -sleep of the tired travellers was sadly broken by the heavings and -groanings of the monster whom they had made so sick. Towards morning, in -the midst of these, a heavy booming sound, apparently far down in the -depths of the earth, was added to the other weird noises of this uncanny -place, and a shout from the guide warned them that something important -was about to happen. As they sprang from their tent there was a -tremendous report, as of a park of artillery, and before them, sparkling -in the red light of the newly risen sun, towered the vast watery mass of -the Great Geyser. It was snowy white, in striking contrast to the -blackness of the Strokhr, and sprang upward in a series of great domes. -For ten minutes they stood fascinated by the superb exhibition, then, -with a few gurgling gasps, the waters sank back into their underground -boilers, and the show was over. - -There was nothing more to wait for. They had been so unusually fortunate -as to see both the Great Geyser and the Strokhr within a few hours, and -so long as they lived the marvellous fountains would remain with them as -vivid mind-pictures. Now, to hasten back to the Saga, and leave this -dreary land of fire and snow, ice, and boiling waters behind them as -soon as possible was the one desire both of Lord Seabright and Breeze. - -The companionship and strange experiences of this trip had drawn the -English lord and the Yankee fisher-lad together with a feeling that, had -their stations in life been more equal, would have been a warm -friendship; and on their way back to Reykjavik the one invited the other -to be his guest for a while longer. - -“Come to England with us, McCloud,” said Lord Seabright. “There you can -sell your ambergris, get the best market price for it, and go home by -steamer whenever you choose. If you stay here you may have to wait in -the beastly place a year before finding a chance to go to America.” - -Of course this kind offer was gratefully accepted by Breeze, who only -asked that he might be set ashore at Queenstown, in Ireland. - - - - - CHAPTER XXIV. - A DORYMATE’S HOME. - - -Upon accepting Lord Seabright’s offer of a passage to England in the -_Saga_, Breeze had instantly thought of Ireland, and of Queenstown, the -home of his beloved dorymate, Wolfe Brady. Amid all the strangeness of -the Old World, it was pleasant to think that there were at least two -people in it who, for the sake of their boy, would be glad to see him. -Then, too, they would have heard from Wolfe by this time, and thus he -would learn the home news for which he so longed. So, just now, -Queenstown seemed the most desirable place in all Europe for him to -visit; and Breeze was made happy by Lord Seabright’s answer, which was, - -“Why, certainly; we can run into Queenstown if you must go there. It -will not be far out of our course to Cowes. But whatever can you want to -go there for?” - -When Breeze explained that the only friends he had on that side of the -Atlantic lived there, he could see that the other was wondering what -sort of people his friends could be to live in Queenstown. - -When, on the fifth day after leaving it, the little cavalcade of tired -men and weary ponies clattered back into Reykjavik, the place really -seemed quite like a town, as compared with the wilderness they had just -traversed, and they wondered they had not noticed before how much there -was going on in it. Poor Nimbus feasted his eyes on the sea, and drew in -long breaths of the salt and fishy air. The moment he was unlashed from -his pony, although he was almost too stiff and lame to walk, he waddled -off towards the landing. - -While Lord Seabright was having a settlement of accounts with Haik -Gierssen, and Breeze was collecting the articles that were to be -returned on board the _Saga_, they both heard strange rumors of a fire -that had taken place in the town the night before. Their informants told -them excitedly about a certain stranger who, at the peril of his own -life, had saved three of the inmates of the burning building, and then -mysteriously disappeared. - -“He was a plucky fellow, whoever he was, and I wish we had been here to -help him,” was Lord Seabright’s comment upon this story. - -When all the business had been settled, and they returned once more to -the _Saga_, the yacht seemed to Breeze delightfully home-like and -comfortable, and he was more than ever glad that his cruise on her was -to be extended. Nimbus was already hard at work in the galley, from -which came a happy clatter of pots and pans, and the tones of his voice -as he told his awe-stricken young assistant marvellous tales of his -thrilling adventures and hairbreadth escapes during the trip to the -geysers. - -“But where is Mr. Whymper?” asked Lord Seabright of Mr. Marlin, who -replied that the gentleman was turned in, recovering from his recent -exertions. - -“Lazy dog!” exclaimed his friend; “I’ll soon stir him up.” And after -giving orders for the yacht to put to sea, he went below. As he entered -the saloon, Mr. Whyte Whymper, who was lying on a lounge, threw down the -semi-monthly Reykjavik paper, which, as it was wholly printed in -Icelandic, he had been trying in vain to read, and exclaimed, - -“Awfully glad you’ve come back, old fellow! Haven’t had a thing to do -since you left except read this stoopid paper. Went ashore once, but got -mixed up in a beastly row, and haven’t been off the ship since. Awfully -glad, ’pon honor. What sort of a trip have you had? and how did our -young Yankee friend enjoy it?” - -“What sort of a row did you get into?” inquired Lord Seabright, without -answering these questions, and gazing suspiciously at the bandages with -which his friend’s head and hands were swathed. “Was it in connection -with a fire?” - -“Well, yes,” admitted the other, hesitatingly, “it was a sort of a fire, -and some children were left in rather an uncomfortable position, because -the beggars outside were too stoopid to know what to do.” - -“And you showed them?” - -“Yes, I put them up to a wrinkle that I thought might be useful to them -at some future time.” - -“Whyte, you are a splendid fellow!” exclaimed Lord Seabright, -enthusiastically. “You saved those children’s lives at the risk of your -own, and then hurried away to avoid being thanked for it. After this I’d -like to hear anybody call you lazy and selfish again!” With this he -stepped forward to grasp his friend’s hand. - -“Keep back! No demonstrations! Hands off!” cried the other, -apprehensively drawing back his bandaged members. “My flippers are still -a little tender.” - -And no wonder; for the poor brave hands were so terribly burned that -they would be scarred and disfigured for life. - -“I tell you, it made me feel more than ever proud of being an -Englishman,” said Lord Seabright, in talking of the affair to Breeze, -“to see the pluck with which that fellow concealed his sufferings, and -made light of them.” - -This incident taught Breeze that appearances are often very deceitful, -and first impressions are apt to be unjust ones; also, that some of the -noblest natures are only developed by extraordinary circumstances. - -After steaming out of the harbor, and rounding Cape Reykjaines, the -_Saga_ skirted the wild southern coast of Iceland, with Mount Hecla in -sight, for nearly a day. Then, turning due south, she was headed for the -Färöe Islands. This rocky group of thirty-five small islands, of which -about twenty are inhabited, belongs to Denmark, and lies half-way -between Iceland and Scotland. It was intended that the Saga should stop -here for a day or two, and remain in the picturesque harbor of -Thorshavn, on Strömöe Island, the largest of the group, while her -passengers explored the surrounding waters and country. Now, on account -of the serious nature of Mr. Whyte Whymper’s injuries, which demanded -skilful medical attention, this plan was abandoned, and the yacht was -urged with all possible speed towards England. - -After the Färöes, the Shetland Islands were passed, then the Orkneys, -and a day later the _Saga_ sailed through the channel known as the -Minch, between the Hebrides and the main-land of Scotland. Then down, -past the western islands, through the north channel between Scotland and -Ireland, across the Irish Sea, close to the Isle of Man, and finally, -five days after leaving Reykjavik, she steamed into the mouth of the -Mersey, and came to an anchor off the Liverpool docks. - -Here it was decided that the injured man must be at once removed to -London, and although he still made light of his wounds, Lord Seabright -insisted upon accompanying him and seeing that he was properly cared -for. He ordered Mr. Marlin to take the yacht to Queenstown, where he -would try and rejoin him within a day or two. - -To Breeze he said, “Of course you will go to Queenstown with the yacht, -McCloud, and if you fail to find your friends, you are to make yourself -as comfortable as you can aboard until I come. Then we shall run around -to Cowes, from which place it will be easy to send your ambergris up to -London and dispose of it.” - -Breeze was very grateful for the great kindness shown him by this young -Englishman, and tried to tell him so, but was checked by “Oh, nonsense, -man! Don’t give it a thought. It’s no more than you would do if you were -in my place, and I in yours, and no more than any true sailor would do -for another whom he found in trouble. I should apologize to you for -running off and leaving you in this way, but that you understand the -necessity of the case as well as I.” - -By this kindness and politeness to one who was apparently so greatly his -inferior in social station, as well as almost a stranger to him, Lord -Seabright proved himself a thorough gentleman by breeding as well as by -birth; for a true gentleman will treat with equal courtesy all persons -worthy of respect with whom he is thrown in contact. - -A few hours after she had entered the Mersey the _Saga_ sailed out -again, and stood down the Irish Sea, with Breeze McCloud as her only -passenger. Had he been a young prince he could not have travelled more -luxuriously. Sitting alone in the beautiful saloon, and surrounded by -all its luxury, it was with a curious sensation that he traced the -wonderful chain of events that had led him from the forecastle of the -old fishing schooner _Vixen_ to this exquisitely appointed yacht. - -The following day the _Saga_ steamed into the magnificent harbor of -Queenstown, ran up past the forts, and dropped anchor near a huge -American steamer, just in from New York, that was sending ashore her -mails and a number of passengers. These, and those who remained on board -the great steamer, gazed with admiration at the dainty yacht, and many -of them cast envious glances at the young man standing on her bridge, -whom they imagined to be her owner. - -Breeze waited until after dinner before leaving the yacht. Then he was -set ashore in the gig, which Mr. Marlin said would be sent for him -whenever he should come down to the landing and blow the shrill little -silver whistle that he loaned him. - -Breeze had no sooner stepped ashore than he was surrounded by a -clamorous throng of men, who wanted him to ride in a jaunting-car, or -take a carriage for the Queen’s hotel, who would show him all the sights -of the city, including the new cathedral, for a shilling, or would serve -him in any way he chose to name. - -Now, for the first time Breeze remembered that he had not a cent of -money in his pockets, and anxious to get rid of his noisy persecutors, -he pushed his way through the crowd as quickly as possible, without -paying any regard to where he was going. He did not wholly escape the -attentions showered upon him, for one old woman succeeded in thrusting a -bit of shamrock into a button-hole of his coat, and evidently expected -to be paid for so doing. Breeze thanked her politely, but did not -succeed in getting rid of her, until he had walked rapidly through -several short, steep, and remarkably dirty streets, when he found -himself in the main business street of the city. - -[Illustration: THOSE ON BOARD THE GREAT STEAMER GAZED WITH ADMIRATION AT -THE DAINTY YACHT.] - -Here he asked a man if he could tell him where Mr. Brady’s store was. - -“Is it Mike Brady the tinman, yer honor ’ll be wantin’ to find? or Pat -that kapes the grane-grocery? or mayhap ’tis Tim the alderman who has no -thrade at all, excipt for the bit of law he do pick up?” - -Breeze said he did not think it was any of these, for the one he wanted -to find sold linen. - -“Thin ’tis Peter the Squire you’ll be manin’; and by the same token, his -is the shop f’ninst ye, across the way.” - -Breeze afterwards learned that, having held some small political office, -Wolfe’s father had been dignified by his fellow-townsmen with the title -of “Squire.” He was very proud of this, and always insisted upon being -addressed by it. - -Now, looking in the direction indicated, the lad saw the sign, “Peter -Brady, Linen Draper,” staring him in the face, and thanking the man, he -hurried across the street. - -An old porter, who was putting up the shutters, told him that the squire -had driven away in a carriage a few minutes before with a stranger, and -had left word that he should not be back that night. - -Where did he live! Why, about two miles from there, away out on the edge -of the city, but a cab would take him there in no time. - -There were no cabs for Breeze that evening, and so he walked, and -inquired his way from one and another. At last, after more than two -hours’ persevering labor, he found himself lifting the knocker of a -small but neat-looking house some distance outside of the town, in which -he had been told that Squire Brady lived. - -The maid who answered the knock said the squire was at home, and -wouldn’t the gentleman step into the parlor. When she asked what name -she should announce, he told her to say that it was a friend of the son -who was in America. - -After she had gone, he could not help overhearing a whispered -consultation that took place in the hall. While he was wondering about -it, a quick footstep approached the room, and the next moment the door -was opened by his old dorymate, Wolfe Brady. - -It would be hard to tell which of the two boys was the more astonished -at this meeting. Perhaps Wolfe had the better reason for amazement, at -seeing the friend from whom he had been parted thousands of miles from -there, under circumstances that led him to fear he was dead. - -“Breeze!” - -“Wolfe!” - -These were the only words the dorymates uttered for a full minute, as -they stood holding each other’s hand, and gazing into each other’s face. - -“How _do_ you happen to be here?” asked Breeze at length. - -“Oh, my coming is simple enough,” answered Wolfe. “I got a thousand -dollars salvage money for helping to carry that brig into port, and -thinking I would like to see father and mother once more, I came. I only -just got in on the steamer from New York. But where in the name of all -that’s wonderful did you come from, and how?” - -“I,” said Breeze, “have just got in from Iceland on the steam-yacht -_Saga_.” Then in a few words he gave his friend the briefest possible -outline of his adventures since their parting. - -“Well!” exclaimed Wolfe, when he had finished, “if it doesn’t beat the -‘Arabian Nights,’ or ‘Robinson Crusoe,’ or anything else I ever heard -of, then I’m a mackerel. And to think that I should stand on that -steamer’s deck and watch you sail into the harbor only three hours -since, and not know it was you any more than Adam! But I must tell -father and mother. They’re nearly crazy already from seeing me, and I -only hope it won’t upset them entirely when I tell them who you are.” - -If it did not quite upset them, it certainly did greatly agitate the -stout, ruddy-cheeked Irishman, and his equally stout but pleasant-faced -wife, whom Wolfe introduced as his father and mother, to meet the person -who had saved their son’s life. - -The latter started when she saw Breeze, and after shaking hands with -him, and thanking him profusely for all that he had done for her boy, -she sat down and gazed at him keenly whenever he was not looking at her. - -Her husband, too, appeared to be greatly interested in the lad’s face, -and although cordial and hospitable in the extreme, he seemed uneasy in -his presence. When he learned that Breeze had come in on the _Saga_, he -remarked to his wife that she was Lord Seabright’s yacht. - -“You know him?” asked Breeze, innocently. - -“To be sure I do,” answered the other. “I’ve known him since the day he -was born. Sir Wolfe was his grandfather on his mother’s side, and it’s -likely our boy has told you how intimately we were connected with Sir -Wolfe’s family.” - -Breeze acknowledged that Wolfe had told him. - -About this time the “squire” disappeared for a few minutes, and when he -returned he was followed by the maid bearing a tray, on which were a -plate of biscuit and some bottles and glasses. - -Filling the glasses with wine from one of the bottles, the master of the -house said, “I want to propose the health of the distinguished visitor -from across the ocean, who honors our humble home with his presence -to-night. I refer to Mr. Breeze McCloud.” - -As Wolfe instinctively stretched out his hand towards one of the -glasses, Breeze said, in a low tone, “Point true, Wolfe.” - -Wolfe’s face flushed, as he quickly withdrew his hand, saying, “Thank -you, Breeze. I own I had almost forgotten.” - -At the same time, both the squire and his wife set down their untasted -glasses, and the latter, turning to Breeze, said, in a trembling voice, -“May I ask you, sir, where you heard them words?” - -“I did not hear them,” answered Breeze, “but I saw them; and if you are -at all interested I can show them to you; for, oh, Wolfe!” he added, -turning to his dorymate, “I have learned the secret of the golden ball.” - -With this he unclasped the slender chain from about his neck, opened the -locket, and handed it to Wolfe’s mother. - -She cast one glance at it, uttered an exclamation of joy, and very -nearly fainted from the excess of her emotion. - - - - - CHAPTER XXV. - STARTLING DISCOVERIES. - - -Breeze stared in amazement at Wolfe’s mother, and wondered what could -possibly have affected her so greatly. Wolfe sprang to her side and -helped her into a chair; while the squire, who had caught the golden -ball as it was about to drop from his wife’s hand, now gazed at it as -intently as though it were some charm that fascinated him. - -“What is it, mother?” inquired Wolfe, anxiously. - -“The Tresmont coat of arms,” she answered, faintly, “and the very locket -my young lady gave to Mr. Tristram just after they were married. Oh, -tell me, sir,” she said, turning to Breeze, “how did it come into your -keeping? and what do you know of them it belonged to?” - -“It has belonged to me,” answered Breeze, “since before I knew anything; -for it was clasped about my neck when I was a baby, and picked up at sea -floating in a cask.” - -[Illustration: BREEZE STARED IN AMAZEMENT AT WOLFE’S MOTHER.] - -“Then,” exclaimed Wolfe’s mother, standing up in her excitement, “you -must be the son of our own Mr. Tristram, and the heir to Tresmont! Don’t -you see the likeness, husband? He is the very image of Mr. Tristram.” - -Yes, the squire saw it, and had noticed it the very moment he set eyes -on the young gentleman. Now it was plainer than ever to him. There were -the same blue eyes, the same closely curling yellow hair, and the same -tall straight figure. There could not be the slightest doubt of it. - -Breeze was so bewildered by this wonderful turn of events, and by the -tumult of conflicting emotions aroused by what he had just heard, that -for a few moments he was speechless, and appeared like one in a dream. -Finally finding his voice, he said to the squire, - -“If you knew my real father and mother, sir, won’t you please tell me -something of them?” - -“Of course I will, sir; but it will make a long story to tell, even the -little I knew of them. So we’d better seat ourselves comfortable-like; -and with my wife here to help me where my memory fails, I think perhaps -I may come at the telling of it understandingly.” - -Thus saying, the worthy man began, and in spite of many interruptions -from his wife and the questions asked by both Breeze and Wolfe, he -finally succeeded in relating the following tale: - -"As you already know, sir, before we were married both my wife and I -lived in the family of Sir Wolfe Tresmont, of Tresmont in Lincolnshire, -England, she as lady’s-maid and I as butler. When I first took service -there Mr. Tristram was a fine young gentleman of about your own age, -although the missis, having been brought up in the family, had known him -from his boyhood. - -"After I had been in the family for five years, one of which we had been -married, Mr. Tristram got through with his college, and was sent off on -his travels around the world. His mother died while he was gone, but his -father heard from him regular. - -"At last there came a long letter, telling as how Mr. Tristram had got -married to an American young lady, who was the daughter of a ship -captain. She went with her father to the East Indies, and somewhere out -there Mr. Tristram met them, and engaged passage to New York on the same -ship. They fell in love with each other on the voyage, and were married -as soon as the ship reached port. Then he wrote to his father what he -had done, and asked if he might bring his wife home. - -"Sir Wolfe was very angry at all this, for he had no love for the -Yankees, begging your pardon, sir, and he could not bear the thought of -his only son marrying one of them. What he wrote to Mr. Tristram I never -knew, but at any rate they did not come home for nearly two years, when -they brought their baby, which must have been you, sir, with them. Mrs. -Tristram, as we called her, was one of the sweetest young ladies as ever -I laid eyes on; but Sir Wolfe would not see her, and they stayed with -Mr. Tristram’s elder sister, who was my Lady Seabright. - -"While they were there, I met the nurse one day wheeling the baby in his -little carriage, and when I stopped to look at him I took notice of this -very identical gold ball hanging around his neck. The nurse said it was -one of them puzzle-balls that Miss Merab--that was your mother, sir--had -got in the East Indies, and had had fixed up as a present for Mr. -Tristram. It was he himself fastened it to a gold chain and hung it -around the baby’s neck. I never saw the inside of it, but my wife there -did many a time, for she was stopping with my Lady Seabright, in place -of her own maid, who was sick all the time Mr. Tristram and his wife -were there. - -"Finally they decided to go back to America, and as the doctor said a -long sea voyage would be the very best thing for Mrs. Tristram’s health, -they took passage on a sailing-ship, of which I mind the name well, it -being such a queer one. It was _Señora_, and from the day she left -Liverpool docks to this never a word has come from her, good or bad. - -"Soon after that I left Sir Wolfe’s service, and he helped me start the -little business that I’ve followed ever since here in Queenstown, with -fairly good success, thanks to the Americans. I never saw him again; but -I heard he was never the same man after the ship his son had sailed in -was given up for lost. He died about six months ago, rest his soul, and -at that time the newspapers all over the world, but particular in -America, had advertisements in them asking for any information of Mr. -Tristram, or his wife, or their son, who would, if he was alive, be heir -to Tresmont. I saw some of the advertisements myself, and heard of -others from my American customers; but I never knew of any answer coming -to them, and I don’t suppose there ever was one. - -“And now, sir, I have no doubt in the world that you are the son of Mr. -Tristram and his sweet young American wife, and the same little baby -that I saw in its carriage. If you are, you are heir to Tresmont, own -cousin to Lord Seabright, and your name is Tristram Coffin Tresmont.” - -“Why,” said Breeze, “was my mother’s name Coffin?” - -“Yes, Merab Coffin; and her father came from a place in America they -call Nantucket, I believe.” - -Wolfe was even more excited than Breeze over the tale they had just -heard; the facts of which, if proved, would make such a difference in -the fortunes of his dorymate. The glittering prospects of the future -seemed to make but little impression upon Breeze; but they instantly -flashed across Wolfe’s mind in all their brilliancy, and he asked his -parents many questions concerning Tresmont. From them the boys learned -that it was situated in the northern part of Lincolnshire, and -overlooked the Humber with its broad fen-lands. They also learned that -much of the family property was invested in the fisheries of Grimsby, -which is the largest fishing port in the world. - -“That alone would go a long way towards proving you the son of the -family, ‘Sir Breeze,’” laughed Wolfe, “for you have taken as naturally -to fishing as a dory to water. I told you that you were a prince in -disguise, and you promised to remember me when you came into your -kingdom. Now I claim the captaincy of your largest smack.” - -“You shall be admiral of the whole fleet!” answered Breeze, with a -smile. “You know, old man, that no matter what might happen, I could -never forget the dorymate with whom I had drifted through the fogs of -the Newfoundland Banks. By-the-way, how did you manage to get the brig -into port after Nimbus and I left you in such a hurry?” - -Wolfe told him of the cruise, of their safe arrival in Gloucester, of -the meeting between Captain McCloud and the loving wife who had never -given him up for lost, of the sadness occasioned by their boy’s absence, -and of how his adopted mother still watched for him with a firm faith -that he would yet return to her, of the salvage money received, and of -so many other things, that more than an hour was occupied in the telling -of them all. - -Then Breeze had to narrate his adventures after tumbling overboard from -the brig, and tell of being picked up by the _Fish-hawk_, of the great -cuttle-fish, of finding the ambergris and losing the schooner, of -Iceland and its wonderful geysers, and, in fact, of all that had -happened to him since the dorymates had last seen each other on the deck -of the _Esmeralda_. “And to think, Wolfe,” he said, “that this meeting -is but the end of the cruise on which we started together so long ago, -against our will, in the old _Vixen!_” - -“It only goes to prove,” said Wolfe, “how very much stranger truth is -than fiction. If all your adventures were written in a book, no one -would ever believe they had ever actually happened. Would they, father?” - -“Well, no, my son,” replied the squire. “I can’t say that they would, -and I don’t know that anybody could be blamed for the doubting of them. -Sir Wolfe used frequent to tell of the remarkable adventures of a -gentleman of the name of Polo; but to my mind, these here of Mr. -Breeze--begging his pardon, I mean Sir Tristram--beats them away out of -sight.” - -Thus talking, they all became hungry; and by the time they had finished -the nice little supper that Wolfe’s mother prepared for them, and were -ready to go to bed, it was long past midnight. - -Breeze had been told one thing that evening that troubled him greatly, -and it was that, in case he had not been found, Lord Seabright, who was -now the executor of Sir Wolfe’s estate, would have inherited it. He -could not bear the thought of thus stepping in and claiming a property -that would otherwise belong to one who had shown him such great -kindness. - -It was this thought that caused him to assent rather reluctantly, when, -after a late breakfast the next morning, Wolfe proposed that they should -go on board the _Saga_, and see if her owner had rejoined her. At any -rate, he said, he would like exceedingly to visit the yacht, and to -renew his acquaintance with Nimbus. - -When they reached the landing-place, the shrill sound of the silver -whistle that Breeze carried soon brought a boat from the yacht to them; -and as they were rowed off Breeze was relieved to learn that Lord -Seabright had not arrived. - -Wolfe was astonished, as well as delighted, with all that was shown him -on board the beautiful craft; but nothing pleased him so much as the -meeting with Nimbus, to whom he had taken a great fancy during their one -day’s acquaintance on board the _Esmeralda_. - -Nimbus was just lifting down a pan of flour from a high shelf as Wolfe -appeared, unannounced, at the galley door. The black man started so -violently at the sudden sight of one whom he supposed to be on the other -side of the ocean that the pan of flour was upset, and he was instantly -covered from head to foot as with a mantle of snow. Quickly recovering -his presence of mind, the good-natured cook exclaimed, - -“Golly! Misto Wolfe Brady. You scare um pore brack man so he turn white! -Where you leab um ole _Esmeral_’ an’ de cap’n?” - -Amid his shouts of laughter at the negro’s comical appearance, Wolfe -helped to brush him off, and at the same time explained his own presence -on board the _Saga_. - -After a lunch, which Nimbus insisted upon getting for them, the young -men returned to the city. As they were walking up the main business -street, a carriage that was driven rapidly towards them suddenly drew -up, and a cheery voice called out, “Hello, McCloud!” - -It was Lord Seabright, who had just arrived, and was on his way to the -yacht. He asked Breeze if his companion were the friend whom he had -expected to meet. When Breeze answered that he was, and that his name -was Wolfe Brady, the other exclaimed, “What! not the son of the Brady -who used to be butler to Sir Wolfe Tresmont? I believe he did come to -Queenstown to open some kind of a shop.” - -Breeze said that was the very person, and, moreover, that they were -stopping in front of his shop at that very moment. Upon this his -lordship said he must step in and speak to the old fellow, whom he -remembered very well. - -Squire Brady was greatly flustered by the sudden appearance in his -humble establishment of this titled visitor; but, reassured by his -cordial greeting, he gathered up his wits, and saying that he had a -communication of the greatest importance to make to him, begged his -lordship to step into his private office for a moment. - -Somewhat puzzled, and wondering what it could be, the young man -good-naturedly consented. After the door had been carefully closed, and -his visitor had refused an offered chair, the worthy shopkeeper and -ex-butler said, mysteriously, - -“My lord, I have every reason to believe that the heir to Tresmont has -appeared.” - -“Yes, so have I.” - -“And that he is a young man.” - -“Yes.” - -“From America.” - -“Yes, I know.” - -“Who was picked up at sea when an infant.” - -“Certainly; I know that. Anything else?” - -“He is the own son of Mr. Tristram and his American wife.” - -“Of course he is.” - -“And he’s got evidence to prove who he is.” - -“I examined his evidence in London yesterday.” - -“But he was not in London.” - -“I saw him there, I tell you.” - -“He spent last night in my house, your lordship.” - -“Who on earth are you talking about, Brady?” - -“The young gentleman who came on your lordship’s yacht, and who calls -himself Breeze McCloud, but who is really your lordship’s own cousin, -Sir Tristram Coffin Tresmont.” - -“Come, come, Brady! you don’t know what you are talking about,” said -Lord Seabright, impatiently. “I left Sir Tristram Coffin Tresmont in -London yesterday, and he is no more Breeze McCloud than I am. Whatever -have you got into your head?” - -“But, your lordship,” persisted the shopkeeper, now considerably -excited, “this young gentleman wears the golden puzzle-ball fast to a -chain around his neck that was give to Mr. Tristram by his wife, which I -saw it with my own eyes on him when he was a blessed infant in his -carriage.” - -“So does the Sir Tristram Coffin Tresmont now in London wear a golden -chain from which hangs a golden puzzle-ball, as you call it, that was -fastened around his baby neck by his father, to whom it was presented by -his wife. Is there anything more?” - -“Well, I am beat!” gasped the astonished shopkeeper, wiping the -perspiration from his forehead. - -“So am I,” said Lord Seabright. “It’s bad enough to have to give up a -fine property that I have for some time considered my own; but to have -two claimants to it appear at once, and each of them producing the same -proof of his identity, is a little too much. Have you any other reason -for thinking this young friend of yours is what he claims to be?” - -For answer the shopkeeper opened the door, and calling Breeze into the -office, asked him to show his lordship the locket he wore about his -neck. - -Breeze produced the ball, opened it, and offered it for Lord Seabright’s -inspection. - -“Exactly the same,” said he, looking at it carefully. - -Then Breeze touched the inside spring, and displayed the three tiny -locks of hair, and the inscription on the under side of the plate. - -“Hello! This is something new,” exclaimed Lord Seabright. “This proof -goes away ahead of the other chap’s. We must look into this matter more -closely.” - - - - - CHAPTER XXVI. - PROUD OF BEING A YANKEE. - - -To explain the curious state of affairs disclosed in the last chapter, -it is necessary to go a long way back in our story, and recall the New -York jeweller who had shown Breeze that his locket could be opened, and -had then tried to obtain it from him. This man had seen the -advertisement asking for any information concerning Mr. Tristram -Tresmont, or his son, and it had made such an impression upon him that -he had studied it carefully. He had even looked up the Tresmont coat of -arms in a book on heraldry, that contained colored plates of such -things. - -When Breeze brought the golden ball to him he was at first interested in -it as a puzzle, and then startled at the sight of its contents. He -hastily compared its coat of arms with the one in his book, and noted -the little compass that it contained. So hurried was his examination, -however, that he did not discover the second spring, and consequently -knew nothing of the locks of hair or the inscription. - -It had flashed across the mind of this bad man that if he could obtain -possession of the ball, he might receive a reward for it, or perhaps use -it in making a claim upon the Tresmont estate; for it had been mentioned -in the advertisement as one of the proofs by which the missing child -might be known. He did not tell Breeze of what he had discovered, for he -hoped to make more out of his information in another way. - -Failing to buy the trinket, he had tried to have it left with him at -least overnight, that he might study it more carefully; but this plan -was spoiled by the lad’s prompt action and the interference of the -police. Then the jeweller procured a second labyrinth ball, and aided by -the book on heraldry, fitted its interior with enamelled plates of thin -gold bearing the Tresmont coat of arms. While doing this he planned a -bold scheme, which he thought might be safely carried out, for obtaining -at least a share of the Tresmont property. - -This was nothing more nor less than the taking of his own boy, who was -about the same age as Breeze, to England, and by means of the false -locket persuading people to believe him to be the son of Mr. Tristram -Tresmont. Having carefully worked out every detail of this wicked plan, -the jeweller finally appeared with his son, whom he had trained to be as -bad as himself, before the Tresmont family lawyer, and claimed to have -discovered the true heir to Sir Wolfe’s property. - -The lawyer listened to all that he had to say, and became almost -convinced that he was telling the truth, but declined to commit himself -to one thing or another until Lord Seabright, who was then in Iceland, -should return. The false locket was even shown to a number of old -Tresmont and Seabright family servants, who declared it to be the very -same that had been clasped by Mr. Tristram about the neck of his infant -son. - -When Lord Seabright returned to London the whole case was submitted to -him; and although he disliked exceedingly the appearance and manner of -the young man who claimed to be his cousin, he could not help admitting -that all the evidence seemed to be in his favor. - -The wicked father had been recalled to America upon urgent business -about a week before Lord Seabright’s return to the city; but his case -seemed to be progressing so favorably that he had not hesitated to leave -it for a short time in the hands of a lawyer whom he had engaged. He -never dreamed that the Yankee fisher-lad would succeed in opening the -ball; or that if he did he would understand the meaning of its contents, -or realize their value. - -Thus the case stood when Squire Brady introduced an entirely new feature -into it by drawing Lord Seabright’s attention to Breeze McCloud and the -locket that had been placed about his neck when he was a baby. - -The young Englishman was as decided in his character and as prompt in -action as Breeze himself. Now he determined to sift this matter to the -very bottom, and to make a personal investigation of all the facts -regarding it that could be discovered. Having rapidly thought out his -plan, he said to Breeze, as they left the linen-draper’s shop together, - -“Look here, McCloud, I like you a thousand times better than I do that -other chap, and should be pleased to acknowledge you as a relative. I -think, too, that your story is a much more likely one than his; but I am -not yet wholly satisfied that you are my cousin Tristram. Now, I have a -plan to propose, which is this: If you will stay quietly here in -Queenstown with the Bradys for a few days, until I can attend to some -business affairs in London, I will come back for you, and take you to -America in the _Saga_. There we will see what we can discover in regard -to your early history. In the mean time Mr. Marlin can sell your -ambergris for you in London. What do you say?” - -What could Breeze say to this generous offer except to thank his kind -friend for it, and to accept it gladly? - -Although expecting the return of the _Saga_ from day to day, and -consequently not writing home, Breeze waited two weeks in Queenstown -before Lord Seabright’s business would permit him to start for America. - -When at last the yacht did arrive, Wolfe Brady, who had been -disconsolate at the idea of again losing his dorymate, was made -supremely happy by the offer of a mate’s position on her. - -At the same time Breeze was astonished to learn that the ambergris he -and Nimbus had picked up had been sold for fifty-six thousand dollars, -which, when divided, according to Gloucester fishing law, among the crew -of the _Fish-hawk_, would give them two thousand dollars apiece. - -Ten days after leaving Queenstown, the _Saga_, having on board Lord -Seabright, the dorymates Breeze McCloud and Wolfe Brady, and their -highly prized friend Nimbus the cook, rounded Eastern Point, and steamed -swiftly up Gloucester harbor. - -It was late in the afternoon, and as Breeze eagerly turned his gaze -towards the little white cottage on the eastern heights--that was the -only home he had ever known--it was radiant with the glory of the -setting sun, and seemed to be smiling a welcome to him. How the boy’s -heart thrilled as he looked upon the familiar sights of the harbor, and -thought of all that had happened to him since he had left it, an -unwilling prisoner on board the _Vixen_. Why, there she lay now, at -anchor in the stream, the same shabby, disreputable-looking old craft. -And there, too, was the _Albatross_. What recollections the sight of her -aroused in the minds of the dorymates! - -The yacht had hardly dropped anchor before Breeze had been set ashore, -and was climbing the hill towards the little cottage. He was alone, for -his friends would not intrude upon his first meeting with those whom he -loved so dearly. - -Captain and Mrs. McCloud had just sat down to supper, when, without -warning, the door was flung open, and their boy, alive, well, and -handsomer than ever, stood before them. - -So long as he lives Breeze will never forget his mother’s cry of “My -boy! my boy! my darling boy!” as she sprang to him, clasped him in her -arms, and sobbed out her great joy upon his neck. - -There were even glad tears on Captain McCloud’s weather-beaten cheeks, -as he held both the lad’s hands in his sturdy grasp and exclaimed, -“Thank God, my son, that you have been brought in safety back to us.” - -[Illustration: BREEZE’S WELCOME HOME.] - -The happy inmates of the cottage got but little sleep that night, and -the next day all Gloucester rang with the joyful news that Breeze -McCloud, who had long since been given up for lost, had come back safe -and sound, and bringing a fortune with him. Above all, it was whispered -that he had come as dorymate of a real, live English lord, who had -picked him up somewhere near the north pole, and brought him home in the -finest steam-yacht that ever was seen. - -Soon after breakfast that morning Lord Seabright and Wolfe Brady -appeared at the McCloud cottage, and were warmly welcomed--the former -for his great kindness to Breeze, the latter for himself. The English -gentleman had asked both Breeze and Wolfe not to say anything at present -regarding his errand to America. After a while he led the conversation -to Breeze, the mystery surrounding his parentage, and his rescue from -the floating cask when a baby. - -Then Captain McCloud showed them the very cask that had proved so truly -a life-boat to the boy. He told them the date of its discovery, and -pointed out on its bottom a partially erased stencil-mark, over which he -said he had often puzzled in vain. It was something like this, -PE--IP--ÑORA, and although Lord Seabright did not say so at the time, he -felt pretty sure that it had originally been “PER SHIP SEÑORA.” - -Next, Mrs. McCloud brought out the baby-clothes Breeze had worn when -first laid in her arms, and on one dainty little garment showed them the -embroidered letters “T. C. T.” - -After a while they all went on board the _Saga_, where her owner had -invited them to luncheon. Here the unbounded joy of Nimbus at again -meeting with the “cap’n,” in whose company he had suffered so much on -board the _Esmeralda_, was touching to witness. - -After luncheon, as they stood on the deck of the yacht, a weather-beaten -fishing schooner, with her flag at half-mast, came sailing slowly up the -harbor. - -“She is bringing sorrow to some poor souls,” said Mrs. McCloud, as she -noted the mournful sign. - -“Why, mother, it’s the _Fish-hawk!_” shouted Breeze, springing up in -great excitement. - -In a short time the vessel had approached so closely that there could be -no doubt of it. She was the very schooner that he had left so long ago -off the coast of Iceland. At length she drew so near that they could -distinguish the features of those on her deck. - -Suddenly one of them shaded his eyes with his hand, and gazed earnestly -at the yacht. Then, with a joyful cry, he sprang to the signal-halyards, -and in a moment the schooner’s colors streamed out full and free from -her mast-head, while a wild cheer broke from her crew. - -“Hurrah for Breeze McCloud! Hurrah for Nimbus!” they shouted over and -over again. - -“The flag was at half-mast for us, mother,” said Breeze, his voice -choking with emotion. At the same moment the deep-mouthed roar of the -yacht’s cannon answered the cheers of the _Fish-hawk’s_ crew. - -They, poor fellows, had had little enough cause for joy, for their whole -weary cruise had been nearly barren of results, and they had come home -poorer than when they left. Their sadness was, however, exchanged for -great rejoicing, and their poverty for riches, when they heard of the -good-fortune of Breeze and Nimbus, and knew that, owing to it, their -schooner was “High-line” of the fleet for that season, and that they -were worth two thousand dollars apiece. - -As soon as his anchor was dropped, Captain Coffin went on board the -yacht to see Breeze, and to hear the wonderful story he had to tell. -Then Breeze went back with him to the _Fish-hawk_, to be the bearer of -his own good news to her crew, who shouted themselves hoarse in greeting -him. Never was there a happier home-coming to any schooner of the -Gloucester fishing fleet. - -Of all those men who had just sailed down from the icy northern seas, -none was so overjoyed at the sight of Breeze as old Mateo. He regarded -the lad as his boy, and had been inconsolable over his loss. Now his -happiness was so great that he could not control himself. He sobbed and -laughed in the same breath, as he exclaimed, “Ah, Breeza, ma boy! ma -boy! You is come back, an’ ole Mateo could sing an’ dance an’ holler, he -vas so hap.” - -It was a day of joyful meetings, and one long to be remembered. The -skipper of the _Vixen_ came to welcome Breeze, and to tell him that a -hundred dollars had been placed to his credit, as his share of that -schooner’s catch on the Grand Bank. Hank Hoffer came; and many another, -who had felt a diffidence about venturing on board the English lord’s -yacht, rowed out to the _Fish-hawk_ to greet him there. Was it not worth -all that he had gone through to be thus welcomed home? Breeze thought it -was, and as much more. - -The next day the _Saga_ sailed away, leaving Breeze behind, and it was a -week before she returned. The first notice the McClouds had of her -coming back was the appearance of Lord Seabright at their cottage late -one evening. - -He greeted Mrs. McCloud and the captain, and then, turning to Breeze -with out-stretched hand, he said, “Cousin Tristram, I am proud to -welcome you as a relative, and as master of Tresmont. How soon will you -go back to England with me?” - -Before Breeze could answer, Lord Seabright turned to the others, and -told them the whole story. He ended it by stating that he had discovered -the rascally jeweller in New York, and compelled him to own up to his -villany and admit the falsity of his claim upon Tresmont. - -“Now,” he said, “I want to take Cousin Tristram home with me, and place -him where he may become fitted to take charge of the great English -estate that will be his as soon as he comes of age.” - -“But I don’t want to become an Englishman!” exclaimed Breeze, now -finding a chance to speak. “I am an American by birth, I have grown up -as an American, and an American I mean to be, just so long as I live. -Oh, sir! if you are truly my cousin, as you say you are, I would a -thousand times rather you would keep whatever English property might be -mine, and leave me here to live with those whom I love and who love me.” - -No entreaties nor inducements in the shape of the brilliant career open -to him in England could alter his determination. He said that while he -should be proud to be an Englishman if he had been born in England, -having been born in Yankee land, he was more proud than anything of -being a Yankee, and that he would not exchange that title for any other -in the world. - -Finally Lord Seabright, who had always been anxious to possess the -Tresmont property, which adjoined his own, said, - -“Well, Cousin Tristram, I do not know but that you are right. A man can -have but one country, and the one he will always love the most is the -one in which he was born and has passed the first twenty years of his -life. Such being my belief, I will make you this offer: I will purchase -Tresmont of you, if you are willing to sell it, when you become of age, -paying you its full money value. Besides this, you will have a handsome -income from the invested property left by your grandfather. The only -conditions that I attach to my offer are that in the mean time you will -complete your education in the best American university, and that you -will spend every summer vacation for the next three years with me in -England.” - -“It’s a bargain, sir,” cried Breeze, “provided I can have money enough -now to pay Wolfe Brady’s expenses through college as well as my own.” - -“My dear fellow,” replied Lord Seabright, “there is money enough already -held in trust for you from Tresmont to pay the expenses of every boy in -this town through college, and you would be welcome to as much more if -you wanted it.” - -Here, with a parting word, we must leave the manly young fellows whose -adventures on the Fishing Banks we have followed so closely. Breeze--or -“Sir Breeze,” as his college friends delight to call him--and Wolfe are -no longer dorymates, but classmates. The former means to study law, and -says that, though he had an English father, his mother was an American, -and as he was born in America, he may some day be President of the -United States. Who knows? - -Wolfe says that although, having been born an Irishman, he can never be -the head of the nation, he would like to be Secretary of the Navy. He -begs that his friend will bear this in mind when he becomes President, -and Breeze gravely says he will. - -Wolfe does not like to study, but Breeze keeps him up to it, while he -keeps Breeze from studying too hard. - -With a portion of the wealth that is soon to become his, Breeze expects -to build a steam-yacht which shall be the equal, in every respect, of -the _Saga_. Her name is to be _Merab_, and her private signal a blue -flag bearing a golden ball, while on her bows, in letters of gold, is to -be engraved the legend, “Point True.” - - THE END. - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - Transcriber’s Note - -Errors deemed most likely to be the printer’s have been corrected, and -are noted here. The references are to the page and line in the original. -The following issues should be noted, along with the resolutions. - - 117.16 and make a start.[”] Added. - - 140.24 ten or twelve knots [an hour] _sic_: - redundant. - - 179.17 [“]We had better make a drogue Removed. - - 204.4 [“]Where you' ship, eh?” Removed. - - 243.24 disappearance of her boy.[”] Removed. - - 282.18 to preparing and naming[.] Added. - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Dorymates, by Kirk Munroe - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK DORYMATES *** - -***** This file should be named 61770-0.txt or 61770-0.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/6/1/7/7/61770/ - -Produced by KD Weeks and The Online Distributed Proofreading -Team at https://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 public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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