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Charley Laurel: A Story of Adventure by Sea and Land

by William Henry Giles Kingston · English · Gutenberg #21458 · 354,945 chars · public domain (US)

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Title: Charley Laurel: A Story of Adventure by Sea and Land

Author: William Henry Giles Kingston

Illustrator: Savile Lumley


        
Release date: May 15, 2007 [eBook #21458]

Language: English

Other information and formats: www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/21458

Credits: Produced by Nick Hodson of London, England


*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CHARLEY LAUREL: A STORY OF ADVENTURE BY SEA AND LAND ***




Produced by Nick Hodson of London, England




Charley Laurel, A Story of Adventure by Sea and Land, by W H G Kingston.

________________________________________________________________________

Here Kingston gives us a story of a young boy who had been handed to a
British seaman, Dick, at a place in the West Indies which had just been
attacked by the British.  The boy's nurse, a coloured woman, had
received a fatal wound.  The boy is brought up by Dick on board ship,
but there are all sorts of misadventures, such as being cast away on a
raft, being picked up by what turns out to be a pirate ship, escaping
and then being rescued by a privateer.

It is at this point that the story gets a bit serious.  Dick and Charley
find themselves on an island in the South Pacific, having been captured
by savage tribes, and being kept apart.  Charley plays a trick on his
captors, which enables him to travel to where Dick is, and bring him
back.  They escape from the island, and are picked up by a British ship.

Charley is taken back to England, where the shipowner's family take a
liking to him, and he is sent to a boarding school, where he does very
well.  He is then sent back to sea by the kindly shipowner, in one of
his vessels.  I will not tell you more than this, but there is a rather
surprising end.

________________________________________________________________________

CHARLEY LAUREL, A STORY OF ADVENTURE BY SEA AND LAND, BY W H G KINGSTON.



CHAPTER ONE.

VALUABLE BOOTY.

A good many years ago, before, indeed, I can remember, His Majesty's
Ship _Laurel_, a corvette of eighteen guns and a hundred and thirty men,
commanded by Captain Blunt, formed one of the West India squadron.

She, with another corvette, and a brig in company, came one fine morning
off a beautiful island, then in possession of the French, although, as
Dick Driver, from whom I got the particulars, said, properly belonged to
England, at least, it once had.  Of course, therefore, it was their
business to get it back again.  Dick could not recollect its name, nor
the exact date of the occurrences I am describing, for, being no
scholar, he was a very bad hand at recollecting dates; and as he could
not write his own name, of course it was not to be expected that he
would keep a journal, or remember very accurately all the places he had
visited.

The _Laurel_ and her consorts, having hoisted French colours, stood
along the coast, which the captain and officers of the former ship
narrowly examined with their glasses.

At length the shades of evening drew on, and they came off a small town,
situated on the shore of a bay, the entrance of which was guarded by a
fort.  The _Laurel_ stood on, as if about to enter the bay, but the
land-wind coming off the shore, she and the other two vessels stood away
till they had got such a distance from the harbour that there was no
chance of their being seen by the sharpest eyes, with the best of
night-glasses, looking out for them.

The ships having hove-to, the commanders of the other vessels came on
board the _Laurel_, when Captain Blunt announced his intention of
attacking the town, hoping to hold possession of it till another
squadron, which had been destined for the purpose, had captured a more
important place on the other side of the island.  The captain's plan was
to send in the different boats of the squadron with a strong party of
marines and blue-jackets, in three divisions, a couple of hours before
daylight, as it was hoped at that time, the garrison of the fort being
less on the alert than at an earlier hour, the boats might enter the bay
unperceived.

The first and largest division was instructed to take possession of the
town; the second was to attack the fort; and the third to cut out any
vessels found in the harbour, in case the other two should be compelled
to retreat, so that, at all events, there might be something to show for
the night's work.

The boats' crews, and all who were fortunate enough, as they considered
it, to be selected for the expedition, were soon busily employed in
sharpening cutlasses, fitting fresh flints to their pistols, and making
other preparations for the possible bloody work in which they were to be
engaged.  Dick Driver, who belonged to the cutter's crew, was among the
most active.  Dick was a short, strongly built, powerful fellow, with a
broad, honest countenance, bright blue eyes, and fair bushy beard and
whiskers,--a truer-hearted, braver seaman than Dick Driver never
stepped.

"If this here cutlass of mine does its duty, we'll thrash the Mounseers,
and gain the King his own again," exclaimed Dick, as he applied his
weapon to the grindstone, feeling that he was a host in himself; and so
he was, provided no treacherous bullet found its way through his sturdy
frame, when, alas, Dick's strength and courage would have availed him
nothing.

The boats at length collected round the _Laurel_; the oars were muffled;
the officers were ordered to maintain a strict silence.  It was hoped
that by getting in the rear of the fort it might be taken with a rush,
while the larger party entered the town, and took by surprise any troops
who might be stationed within it.

The night was very dark, for clouds were in the sky, and the water was
smooth.

The first lieutenant of the _Laurel_, who commanded the expedition,
leading in the gig, away the boats pulled, keeping close together, and
looking as they glided along like some huge serpent creeping on his
prey.  The entrance to the bay was gained without the boats being
discovered.  They dashed on more rapidly than before.  In a few minutes
they would be hard at work, the seamen slashing away with their
cutlasses, and the marines firing, and pronging with their muskets and
bayonets at their fellow-creatures.

Strange that men should like such work.  Dick confessed he did, though
he could not exactly say why.

The officers did their duty admirably; the marines were landed, and the
blue-jackets were springing on shore before a shot was fired from the
town.

Dick, who belonged to the first division, pushed on in that direction
with his party, while the other two attended to their destined duty.
The gates of the fort, however, being closed, the intended rush could
not be accomplished; and it was evident from the rapid firing that some
hot work was going on there.  Instead also of at once entering the town,
the first party found their progress impeded by a somewhat numerous body
of troops, who, quartered near at hand, turned out in time to defend it.
The Frenchmen fought well, Dick acknowledged, though some had neither
boots nor coats on, and many were destitute of other garments.  They
were, however, driven back inch by inch, till some turned tail and fled;
the rest soon afterwards doing the same, followed by the victors, who
fired indiscriminately at every one they saw in front of them.  On such
an occasion many of the unfortunate inhabitants were too likely to
suffer, and many who had no arms in their hands, or had thrown them down
and cried out for quarter, were shot before the officers could halt
their men.

Meeting with two streets forking in different directions, some in the
darkness had followed one and some the other.  Flames were seen also
bursting in the rear from houses set on fire either intentionally or by
accident; while shouts and shrieks and cries arose in all directions.
Altogether, the little town, which a few minutes before had been
slumbering peacefully, was now the scene of havoc, terror, and
confusion.

As Dick, cutlass in hand, was making his way along the dark street, a
piteous cry reached his ears, and looking down, he saw lying wounded on
the ground a black woman, holding up to him a little white child.

"Oh, save him! save him! or he will be killed!" she exclaimed.

"Of course I will," answered Dick, tucking the child under his left arm;
"and I'll help you into a house, where you may be safe."

He was about to perform the humane act he proposed, when there was a
cry, "The French are coming on in force--fall back, men! fall back!"

Dick had only time to draw the poor woman on one side, when he was
compelled, with his companions, rapidly to re-trace his steps.  Not
knowing where to deposit the child in safety, he kept it under his arm;
and though on most occasions he would have been in the rank nearest the
foe, he now, according to orders, retreated as fast as he could.  Many
of the other men had bundles of things they had picked up, but they were
certainly not little children.

The boats were reached at last, though not until a good many of the
gallant jollies and several of the blue-jackets had been shot down by a
large body of French troops, who had come in from the farther side of
the town.  They were again, however, driven back far enough to allow the
marines and sailors to embark.

Dick, unhurt, had reached the barge, still carrying his burden, for he
had not the heart to throw it down, and could not find any safe place to
put it in.

The fort had not been taken, but five merchantmen were captured and
towed out of the harbour, in spite of the hot fire through which they
had to pass.

Captain Blunt was very angry on finding that the men had brought away
plunder from the town; and they were ordered to deliver it up, that it
might be sent back to the inhabitants, whom, as he said, he had no
intention of injuring.

Dick Driver, who among others had been seen to come aboard with a
bundle, was ordered aft.

"Please, sir," said Dick, as he presented himself, holding a fine child
in his arms of about four years old, "it ain't any booty, but a lawful
gift.  I was axed to take care of it, and I promised I would, and so I
have."

"I do believe it's a little girl," exclaimed the captain, examining the
delicate features and somewhat feminine appearance of the child, which
had long fair locks hanging down over its shoulders.

"Lord bless you, no, sir!  If it had been a she I shouldn't have known
what to do with her--but it's as fine a youngster as I ever set eyes
upon, barring his curls: and we will soon dock them, seeing they will be
in his way, and not suited for the smart little tarpaulin I am going to
make for him."

"What, my man, you don't expect to keep the child?" exclaimed the
captain.  "We must send him on shore with the rest of the property
brought away."

"But, sir, he was given to me to look after by his dying mother,"
exclaimed Dick, forgetting for the moment that the child was white, and
that the woman who had given it to him was as black as his shoe.  "He is
not like the rest of the booty, and if I may make so bold, I would like
to keep him, and bring him up as one of the ship's company.  We are all
agreed that we will take precious good care of him, and he will be a
greater favourite among us than either Quacho, or Jocko, or the old goat
that went overboard in the last gale, or the pig as was killed when we
were short of fresh provisions.  Do, sir, let us keep him?  We wouldn't
part with the little chap for all the prize-money we have made this
cruise."

Dick, in his anxiety to keep the child, had become desperate, and spoke
with greater freedom than he would otherwise have ventured to do when
addressing his captain.  "If he were to be sent ashore there's no one
might own him," he continued; "then what would become of the poor little
chap? he might be taken to the workhouse, or just brought up nohow."

The captain, however, was not to be moved by all Dick's arguments.

"You did very rightly, my man, in saving the child's life, and you
deserve a reward," he observed; "but we cannot turn the ship into a
nursery, and he must run his chance of finding his friends.  However, as
you seem to have made a good nurse, you may take charge of him till we
can send him away."

"Thank you, sir," said Dick, as he touched his hat, glad of even this
short respite, and hoping that something might turn up to induce the
captain to allow the child to remain on board.  "We will take good care
of him--that we will; and if he has to go back to his friends, we will
see that he is in proper trim, so that they won't be nohow ashamed of
him."

Dick, having thus delivered himself, swung his body round and hurried
forward with light step, holding his young charge in his arms.

The _Laurel_ and the other ships, with their prizes, were at this time
standing away from the land.  The seamen grumbled not a little at having
to give up their booty: they could not understand why the merchantmen
should have been cut out, and they not allowed to keep what they had
picked up on shore.

An officer, who spoke French, now came from one of the prizes with some
important information which he had obtained from a prisoner.  It was to
the effect that three heavy French frigates were hourly expected off the
coast.  Captain Blunt accordingly ordered a bright look-out to be kept
for any strange sail.  In a short time three were descried standing
along shore.  There could be no doubt that they were the enemy's
frigates; and as the two corvettes and brig could not hope to cope with
them, all sail was made to escape.  The enemy soon afterwards were seen
crowding all sail in chase: the prizes were ordered by signal to
separate and to make the best of their way to Jamaica, while the
_Laurel_ and her consorts stood to the eastward, under all the canvas
they could spread.  Before nightfall they had run their powerful foes
out of sight.

The next day a heavy gale sprang up, which increased to a hurricane.  A
signal of distress was made by the unfortunate ten-gun brig, while the
other sloop was evidently in a bad plight.

During the night, the _Laurel_ having to run before the gale, lost sight
of both of them.  The gale continuing longer than usual, ere it ceased
she found herself in a the wide waters of the Atlantic, with all her
boats washed away or stove in, her three top-masts gone, and besides
other damages, a leak sprung, which kept the pumps going for the best
part of each watch.



CHAPTER TWO.

THE LIFE-RAFT.

The _Laurel_ had for some days been becalmed, and though every one on
board, from the captain to the smallest powder-monkey, had been
whistling for a breeze to carry her back to look after her prizes and
consorts, no breeze came.

Dick had been the busiest of the busy.  He now appeared, with no small
pride in his countenance, leading by the hand a little boy dressed in a
seaman's jacket and trowsers, his shirt-collar turned down, and a little
tarpaulin hat stuck on the top of his curly head.  He went boldly aft,
till he reached the captain, who, with several officers, was standing on
the quarterdeck.

"Touch your hat, Charley," said Dick.  Charley obeyed promptly with a
true sailor's manner, showing that his guardian had, according to his
own ideas, commenced his education, and had at all events taught him to
be obedient.

"Please, sir, this here little chap is Charley Laurel, as I brought
aboard t'other night," began Dick.  "Some wanted to call him one name,
some another.  We called him Charley, sir, after Mr Slings, the
boatswain, who offered to stand godfather; and 'cause, as I may say, he
belongs to all of us, we have given him the name of Laurel, after the
old barky, if that's agreeable to you, sir."

"I have no objection to any name you may give him," answered the
captain; "but I warn you that we shall have before many weeks to restore
him to his friends, when we shall find out his proper one, and I have no
doubt they will be glad to reward you for the care you have taken of
him."

"I want no reward, sir, except perhaps a glass of grog to drink their
healths, and small thanks we will give them if they take him from us.
It will be hard to lose him as well as our other booty, especially when
he takes to us so kindly.  To my mind, he will be much better off with
us than among them niggers, who will just spoil him with sugar-cane and
letting him have his own way.  Besides, sir, the black woman gave him to
me, and unless you says so, we will not hand him over to them."

Dick slapped his leg as he spoke, as a clencher to his assertion, and in
his eagerness was going to use a strong expression, when, recollecting
that he was on the quarterdeck, and to whom he was speaking, he stopped
short.

"Well, my man," said the captain, good-naturedly, not offended with
Dick's freedom, "make the most of the little fellow while you have him,
and we will see what to do with him by-and-by."

There is an old saying which should never be forgotten, that "Man
proposes, but God disposes."

It was the hurricane season.  Captain Blunt had been doing his best to
get the damages the ship had received repaired.  He was pacing the deck,
and every now and then casting an anxious eye round the horizon, knowing
well that the gallant little _Laurel_ was ill able to withstand either a
gale or an enemy, by either of which she might be assailed, although,
like a true sailor, he was ready to meet the one or the other with
undaunted courage.

The ocean was like a sheet of glass, and the hot sun struck down on the
deck with tremendous force.  Those who could, sat in the shade, those
who could not, as Dick observed, "had to grin and bear it, though it was
not much odds where a man got to, it was hot everywhere."

Now and then a covey of flying-fish might be seen skimming over the
ocean, but they came out of the water to avoid the jaws of their
persevering foes, the dolphins or bonitos, not because they liked it, or
wished to exhibit their brilliant wings, but the wiser leviathans of the
deep kept in the cooler regions below the surface.  Gradually a thin
mist filled the atmosphere; it seemed to come from nowhere, but there it
was, though the heat was in no way diminished by it, but rather
increased.  Still the pumps had to be kept going, and the crew had to
stand at them, whether in sunshine or shade, stripped to the waist, the
perspiration running down from every pore.  No one grumbled, though
"spell ho!" was oftener than usual cried, and numerous visits were paid
to the water-cask by those who generally disdained the pure liquid
unless mixed with rum.

The captain's countenance wore an unwonted grave expression; the
officers, too, looked serious, and their eyes were constantly turned
round, now in one direction, now in the other.  Presently the captain
shouted with startling energy--

"All hands shorten sail! clew up! haul down!  Be smart, my lads!"

The courses were quickly brailed up and furled, the fore-staysail alone
being set.  A dark cloud was seen away to the south-west, gathering as
it approached a vast assemblage of black masses which appeared to come
out of space, advancing rapidly till they formed one dense column.

The men were scarcely off the yards when a sheet of white foam came
hissing over the hitherto calm surface of the ocean, followed by a
deafening roar as wave after wave arose, each higher than its
predecessor, and then the hurricane in all its irresistible might struck
the sorely-battered ship.  Over she heeled before it, the fore-staysail
with a loud report flew out of the bolt-ropes ere it had done its duty
of paying off the ship's head.  Again and again the savage blast struck
her side, pressing her still farther down, while the ever-increasing
seas broke in foaming masses over her.  The captain gave the order to
cut away the mizzen-mast, and set another staysail.  For a moment there
was a lull, the ship rose, and her head feeling the wind, away she flew
before the howling gale.  The carpenter sounded the well.  He had an
alarming report to make to the captain--the water was gaining faster
than ever on the ship.  Dick heard it.

"To my mind the old barky will be going down," he said to himself.  "I
must look after Master Charley, for if she does, it won't do to have the
little chap going to Davy Jones' locker.  It is all very well for those
as are bred to it, but, bless his young heart!  I must do what I can to
keep him afloat."

Dick was a man of action rather than words.  He immediately filled his
capacious pockets with all the provisions he could lay hands on.  In the
launch on deck he found a basket which had been brought on board with
vegetables.  There were a number of broken spars and other fragments of
wood, the remains of the boats which had been carried away.  He began to
lash them firmly together in a mode which a seaman only could have
accomplished; and in the centre of the raft he had thus formed he
secured the basket, which had a lid to it.  One of the officers saw him,
and told him to knock off.

"Ay, ay!" he answered; but it was not a moment, he conceived, to stand
on ceremony, and immediately again went on with his work.  The boatswain
also set his eyes on him.

"What are you about there, Dick?" he asked.  "Off with you to the pumps;
it will be your spell directly."

"I am building a raft for your godson, Mr Slings," answered Dick.  "You
would not wish the pretty little chap to be drowned if there's a chance
of saving him, and please Heaven, I will try and do it, though I am as
ready as any on myself to stick to the old barky to the last."

"Don't you be talking of the ship going down," exclaimed the boatswain,
gruffly; "you will be making the rest chicken-hearted."

"You know as well as I do, Mr Slings, that go down she will, before
many hours are over, unless old `Harry Cane' takes himself off pretty
smartly."

Dick could not resist the sailor's common joke even at that moment.

"I cannot say you nay, Dick," answered the boatswain; "but all this
comes of having babies aboard; we must try and keep the ship above
water, anyhow."

The raft being completed, Dick got hold of a small beaker of water,
which he secured to it; he also formed a paddle, and laid alongside of
it a spar of considerable length.  Having finished his work, he slipped
below, and brought up little Charley, with a bundle of bedding and a
blanket.  The child greatly objected to go to bed in the basket, and
still more so to be lashed in, as Dick was doing.  Dick knew that nobody
would interfere with the child, but still he placed him as much out of
sight as possible, just abaft the fore-mast.

"You be good boy, Charley, and don't cry out," he said, trying to soothe
him.  "There is a biscuit--chaw it, lad.  I have to take a spell at the
pumps, and will be back directly."

As soon as Dick could leave his work at the pumps, he hurried back to
the child, and threw himself down to rest by his side.

The ship flew on before the gale.  Every one, knowing that their lives
depended on their exertions, laboured away with desperation: some were
sent below to bale with buckets, which were passed up to others
stationed on deck, but all their efforts, it appeared too likely, would
be of no avail.  Still the water gained on them.  The only hope was that
the hurricane might cease, and that a sail might be got under the ship's
bottom.  Preparations were made for doing this as soon as it was
practicable, but the wind blew harder and harder.  The main-mast had
before been badly sprung, and during one of the fearful lurches the
ill-fated ship made, down it came, crushing the launch, on which
depended the only hope of saving the lives of some of them.  Dick rushed
forward, fearing his little charge had suffered, but Charley still lay
unhurt in his basket on the raft.  Suddenly there came a lull, and the
hurricane ceased almost as rapidly as it had commenced: the sea,
however, still tumbled and tossed about fiercely on either side, the
ship lying helpless in the midst of the foaming waves.  The crew
laboured as gallantly as before, though their stout arms were giving
way, and many knew too well that all hope was nearly gone.  Some with
the sharpest eyes were sent to the mast-head, to look out for any ship
which might have approached before the calm came on; but as they cast
their anxious eyes around the horizon, not a sail was to be seen rising
out of the dark tumbling waters.

Dick had gone again to the pumps.  "Spell ho!" he cried, for he had
worked till he could work no longer.  He had just thrown himself down by
the side of the raft when a fearful cry arose.

"The ship is sinking! the ship is sinking!"

Dick seated himself on the raft, with a spar in his hand which he had
prepared.  Lower and lower the gallant ship sank.  Many of the crew were
at the pumps; some were still below, some running to the forecastle,
others aft.  Dick kept his post.  The water rushed in at the ports--the
raft floated--a surge carried it overboard, Dick urging it by a shove
which sent it far away from the ship's side.

The _Laurel_ gave one plunge forward--her stern rose in the air--and
down she glided beneath the tumultuous waters.  One fearful shriek arose
of strong men in their agony.  Some few attempted to reach the raft, but
they were drawn down in the vortex caused by the sinking ship.  Dick
vigorously plied his paddle, and though tumbled and tossed fearfully
about, he got far enough off to escape the danger of being drawn down
with the rest.  Had he not had Charley to look after, he would have
shared the fate of his shipmates, he thought; and so he would, I am
sure.  Though he was himself frequently under water, and often almost
washed off the little raft, the child, protected in the basket, remained
nearly dry.  As Dick gazed back towards where the stout ship had lately
floated, he could see a few struggling forms with arms outstretched, and
hear their last cries for help ere they sank for aye, till that awful
day when the sea shall give up its dead; and in a few minutes he and
little Charley were the only living beings of all the gallant fellows
who had formed the crew of the ill-fated _Laurel_.



CHAPTER THREE.

DICK'S PRAYER.

Night had come and passed away since the gallant _Laurel_ had sunk.  The
sea had much gone down, and Dick, no longer compelled to hold on for his
life, was able to open the basket and give Charley, who was crying out
for his breakfast, some food.

"Where de ship?" inquired Charley, in his imperfect English and little
innocent fashion.  "Where we got to?  Why not give me hot tea?  Why give
me wet biscuit?"

"Don't ask questions, Charley," answered Dick.  "If I have a fancy for
taking a cruise on this here raft, you should be content--you know I
have charge of you; and if I didn't think it the best thing to be done,
I wouldn't have brought you here."

"All right," said Charley.  "More biscuit, please.  Now I sing song to
you, Dick," and the little chap struck up the stave of a ditty which
Dick had taught him, evidently feeling in no way alarmed at the fearful
position in which he was placed.

"I think, Charley, you should say your prayers," said Dick, who had
taught the boy those he had himself learned in his childhood.  "Ask God
to take care of you, Charley; for I am sure if He does not no one else
will, either here or anywhere else.  He hears your prayers as well as
big people's, so don't be afraid of asking Him for what you want; and
just now I have a notion we want Him to send a ship this way to pick us
up."

Charley turned round, and kneeling up in his basket, lifted his small
hands towards the blue sky, and asked the kind Father he believed dwelt
there to take care of him and Dick, and send a ship to pick them up.

Dick gazed affectionately at the child as he prayed.

"That's done me good," he said to himself.  "I am sure He who lives up
there will do what that innocent little cherub asks.  What He would say
if a rough wild chap like me was to pray, is a different matter; and yet
I mind that mother used to tell me He will hear any one who is sorry for
what they have done amiss, and trust to His Son who died for sinners.
But it's a hard matter to mind all the bad things a man like me has
done, and I hope He ain't so over particular with respect to poor
sailors."

Dick at length, mustering courage, knelt by the side of the child, the
calm sea allowing him to do so without the danger of falling off.  His
prayer might not have been, as he expressed it, very ship-shape; the
chief expression in it was, "Lord be merciful to me a sinner, and take
care of little Charley here and me, if such a one as I am is worth
looking after."

At length Dick resumed his seat by the side of his charge.  The sun came
down with intense heat, but he managed, by turning the raft round with
his paddle, and lifting the lid of the basket, to shelter Charley from
its burning rays.  The child sat up and looked about him, prattling away
frequently in a lingo Dick could not understand: sometimes also he spoke
a little English, which he seemed to have known before he came on board
the _Laurel_, but since then he had picked up a good many words.  Dick
now tried to amuse him and himself by teaching him more, and as the
child learned rapidly whatever he heard, he already could sing--

  "Cease, rude Boreas, blustering railer,
  List ye landsmen all to me."

and--

  "One night it blew a hurricane,
  The sea was mountains rolling,
  When Barney Buntline turned his quid,
  And cried to Billy Bowlin--"

right through without a mistake.

"Oh, look dere, dere! what dat rum fis?" he suddenly exclaimed, pointing
to a short distance from the raft.

Dick looked, and saw what a sailor dreads more than any human foe--the
black triangular fin of a huge shark which was noiselessly gliding by,
just beneath the surface, and turning its wicked eye towards Charley and
himself.  A blow from the monster's tail or nose might easily upset the
raft, when they to a certainty would become its prey.  Dick grasped his
pole to do battle, should the creature come nearer, and he at once began
beating the water on every side and shouting at the top of his voice.
The shark, an arrant coward by nature, kept at a distance, but his dark
fin could still be seen as he circled round and round the raft, waiting,
Dick feared, for an opportunity to rush in and make an attack.

"He shall pay for it with one of his eyes, if he does," said Dick to
himself.

"What for make all that noise?" asked Charley.

"Why do you sing out `youngster' sometimes?" inquired Dick.  "Because
you have a fancy for it, I've a notion, and so I have a fancy just now
to shout away.  I mus'n't frighten the little chap," he muttered to
himself.  "It won't do to tell him what Jack Shark is looking after."

Thus Dick sat on till he thought by the position of the sun that it must
be noon, when he gave Charley his dinner and cup of water--he himself
eating but sparingly, for fear of diminishing his scanty store and
depriving the child of food.

"I can hold out much longer than he can," he said to himself, "and I
must not let him get into bad case."

Every now and then Dick stood up and gazed around the horizon, anxiously
looking out for the signs of a breeze which might bring up some ship.
The sun was again sinking beneath the ocean, which continued glass-like
as before.  At length night crept over the world of waters, and the
brilliant stars shone down from the dark sky, each one reflected clearly
in the mirror-like deep.

"What all those pretty things up dere?" asked Charley, waking suddenly
from his first sleep; "get me some to play wid, Dick."

"Just what I can't do, boy," answered Dick.  "All those are stars far
away in the sky, and I have heard say they are worlds; but how they stop
up is more than I can tell, except God keeps them there."

"God do many things we can't," said Charley.  "But if I ask Him, would
He give me some to play wid?"

"No, Charley, He gives us what we want and what is good for us, but He
chooses to keep those stars where they are, for He knows that if He sent
one of them down they would only do us harm.  Now, Charley, don't be
asking more questions; just lie down and go to sleep again," and Dick
shut down the lid of the basket.

Charley's questions, however, had set his mind at work, and as he gazed
up in the sky he thought more than he had ever done before of those
wondrous lights which he had always seen there, and yet had troubled
himself so little about.  And then he was led to think of the God who
made them and governs their courses, and many things he had heard in his
boyhood came back to his mind.

"Mother used to say He is a kind and loving God, and go I am sure He
will take care of this little chap, and me, too, for his sake."

Dick at length felt very sleepy.  He had been afraid to shut his eyes,
for fear of the shark, but he could no longer prevent the drowsiness
creeping over him: he lashed himself therefore to the raft, to escape
the risk of falling off it, and placing his head on the basket, closed
his weary eyelids.

The bright beams of the great red sun rising above the horizon as they
fell on his eyes awoke him, and on looking round he caught sight of the
fin of the shark gliding by a few feet off.  The monster's eye was
turned up towards him with a wicked leer, and he believed that in
another instant the savage creature would have made a grab at the raft.
His pole was brought into requisition, and the rapid blows he gave with
it on the water soon made the monster keep at a respectful distance.  He
would not shout out, for fear of waking Charley.

The boy slept on for a couple of hours longer, and when he at length
awoke, seemed none the worse for what he had gone through.  Dick had cut
up some little bits of meat and biscuit, that he might not have to wait
for breakfast after he awoke.  He had on the previous day carefully
dried his clothes and bedding, and given him such food as he required--
the child, indeed, could not have had a better nurse.

Dick calculated that the store of provisions he had stowed away in the
basket and his own pockets would last a week, and he hoped before the
termination of that time to be picked up.  He, in reality, in
consequence of anxiety, suffered more than the child: had he been alone,
he probably would not have felt so much.

The day passed away as before.  Occasionally sea-birds flew overhead,
and huge fish were seen swimming by, or breaking the calm surface as
they poked up their noses or leaped into the air.

"Oh, Dick, Dick, what dat?" suddenly exclaimed Charley.  As he spoke, a
dozen flying-fish, their wings glittering in the bright sun, leaped on
to the raft, some tumbling into the child's basket.

Dick quickly secured them, for though unwilling to feed the little boy
with raw fish, they would, he knew, afford him an ample meal or two.
Charley, however, begged to have some to play with, and was much
surprised to find their beautiful wings quickly become dry, and that in
a few seconds they were dead.

Dick enjoyed a better supper than he had had since the hurricane began,
and he always afterwards declared that those fish had kept his body and
soul, when he would otherwise have been starved--although those he
reserved for a meal on the following day required a keen appetite to
munch up.

Day after day Dick and his charge floated on the calm ocean.  He was
becoming weaker than he had ever before been in his life, and yet he
would take but a few drops of water from the beaker, and would not eat a
particle of the food more than was necessary to keep the life in him, so
fearful was he of not having enough for Charley.  Yet Dick had not been
distinguished among his shipmates for any especial good qualities,
except that he was looked upon as a good-natured, kind-hearted, jovial
fellow, and brave as the bravest; yet so were many of the _Laurel's_
gallant crew, now sleeping their last sleep beneath the ocean.

The faithful fellow now often found himself dropping off to sleep when
he wished to be awake--and afraid that on one of these occasions Charley
might get out of his basket and tumble overboard, to make such an
accident impossible, he tied him down by the legs in such a way as to
allow the child to sit up when inclined, and look about him.

Poor Dick, who was getting very weak, was lying down asleep with his
head on the edge of the basket, when he heard Charley's voice sing out--

"See, see--what dat?"

Dick opened his eyes, and casting them in the direction the child
pointed, caught sight of a large vessel under all sail running down
before the wind, which she brought up with her.

"A ship, Charley, a ship!" cried Dick.  "And we must do what we can to
make her see us, or she may be passing by, and we shall be no better off
than we are now."

He instantly took off his shirt, which he fastened by its sleeves to the
pole.  Holding it aloft as the ship drew near, with all his strength he
waved it to and fro, shouting out in his anxiety, and not aware how low
and hollow his voice sounded.  Charley shouted too, with his childish
treble, though their united voices could not have reached by a long way
as far as the ship was from them.  It seemed to Dick that she would pass
at some distance: his heart sank.  Presently his eye brightened.

"She has altered her course; she is standing this way," he cried out.
"Charley, we shall be picked up!"

"Then I thank God--He hear my prayer.  I ask ship come--ship do come,"
said Charley.

"You are right, boy--you are right!" cried Dick.  "And I was forgetting
all about that prayer of yours."

The tall ship glided rapidly over the ocean, the surface of which was
now rippled with miniature wavelets as the freshening breeze swept
across it.

"To my eye, she is a foreign ship of war," observed Dick.  "But a friend
in need is a friend indeed, and we may be thankful to be taken on board
by her or any other craft.  Even if a `Mounseer' had offered to pick us
up, I would not have refused."

The ship approaching was hove-to, a boat being lowered from her, which,
with rapid strokes, pulled towards the raft.



CHAPTER FOUR.

THE PIRATE SHIP.

Dick and the little boy were lifted off the raft, with the basket and
cask, and placed in the stern of the boat.  The crew were swarthy
fellows with red caps, and Dick at once saw that the uniform worn by the
officers in command was neither English nor French.  They appeared to be
talking gibberish, but such indeed were all foreign languages to him.
He asked Charley if it was the French lingo.

"Not know what they say," answered Charley.

"I suppose, however, that they will give us something to eat and drink,"
observed Dick.  "And so, whoever they may be, we shall be better off
than on the raft."

On getting alongside, Dick was hoisted on board, and one of the men
carried Charley up in his arms.

Numerous questions were at once put to Dick, every one seeming anxious
to know how he and the boy came to be on the raft.  He replied by
pointing to his lips, and showing by other signs that he was hungry and
thirsty.  When it was discovered that he was either too weak to speak,
or that he did not understand their language, he was carried below and
placed in a hammock, while the officers took charge of little Charley,
who was soon at home among them.  A rough-looking fellow brought Dick a
mess of some sort in basin, and a horn cup filled with stiff grog.  A
sailor seldom refuses a glass of grog, and although water was what he
then wanted, he drank the spirit off, and ate some of the food.  The
effect of the grog was to send him into a sound sleep, from which he did
not awake till the next day.  He felt by that time pretty strong, and,
turning out, went on deck.  He found that he was on board a flush-decked
ship-rigged vessel, heavily armed, with a numerous crew of dark-skinned
savage-looking fellows, most of them wearing long knives or daggers in
their belts.  He thought that perhaps they might be Spaniards or
Portuguese, then the idea occurred to him that they were Algerines or
Salee rovers, of whom he had heard.  However, seeing some of them with
leaden crucifixes round their necks, he came to the conclusion that they
were Spaniards.  Not one of them could speak a word of English, and Dick
was ignorant of every language except his own.

The ship lying becalmed, the crew seemed to take it very easily, some
sitting down between the guns, amusing themselves with cards or dice,
while others were asleep on the deck.  Going aft, and looking down the
skylight, which was open, Dick saw that the officers were employed much
as their men, only they were gambling with large gold pieces as stakes.

"These may be honest gentlemen, or may be not," he thought to himself.
"However, if they are kind to Charley, I don't mind what they are, and I
suppose for his sake they won't make me walk the plank.  I wonder where
the little chap can be," and he looked down the companion-hatch, though
he did not venture to descend.

The officer of the watch seemed to understand what he wanted, and going
to the head of the companion-ladder, shouted out, "Pedro!" and some
other words, and presently a black man appeared with Charley in his
arms, and handed him over to Dick.

"Much obliged to you, friend," said Dick; "he is a fine little chap,
isn't he?"

The black grinned and seemed to understand him, and patted the child on
the head.

"Well, Charley, my boy, have they treated you well?" asked Dick, as he
took up the child and kissed him affectionately.

Charley said that the gentlemen had been kind, and had given him all
sorts of things to eat, and some strong stuff to drink, which made him
sleep most of the time.

Dick carried Charley to the only shady spot he could find unoccupied,
and sat down with him on his knees.  Charley prattled away merrily, but
he soon stopped and complained of a headache, and of the strong stuff
the officers had given him to drink.  This made Dick suspect that they
had been amusing themselves by trying to make the child tipsy.

"It was a shame in them," exclaimed Dick, indignantly.  "You must stay
by me, Charley.  I can't trust you out of my sight."

Dick after this kept Charley by his side, and at night made him sleep in
his hammock.

Several days passed by, and the ship lay without movement on the smooth
ocean.  A breeze at length springing up, the crew were all life and
activity, with a look-out at each mast-head.  Towards noon a sail was
espied, and all sail was made in chase.  She was a brig under English
colours.  On the stranger being come up with, a gun was fired across her
bows; and as she did not heave-to, a shot was sent crashing into her
hull.  She then hauled down her colours.  The boats were manned and
shoved off to her.  They quickly returned, laden almost to the water's
edge.  The ship stood on again nearer to her, when the boats towed her
alongside.  Her cargo, consisting of bales of merchandise, was
transferred to the ship.

"I thought so," said Dick, when he saw the proceedings.  "She is no
better than she should be, and if it had not been for this little chap,
I would rather have remained on the raft than have come aboard her.  I
wonder what they will do with the crew."

That matter was soon, to Dick's horror, settled.  One after the other he
saw the poor fellows compelled to walk to the end of a long plank, when
the inner end was lifted up and they were sent overboard.  The brig was
set on fire, and the pirate, letting down the sheets, proceeded on her
course.

Some days after this, when Dick came on deck, he saw at a short distance
a small island with a few cocoa-nut trees growing on it.  Several of the
officers who were on deck were consulting together, every now and then
casting a look at him and Charley.  At last one of them called him up
and made him understand that they were well-disposed towards him, and
that as they understood he had been the means of saving the life of the
little child, they wished to treat him kindly--that otherwise he would
have shared the fate of the brig's crew, if they had not left him on the
raft to perish.  To show their regard, they intended to land him on the
island, where he would find water and sufficient food to support life;
though, if he wished it, they would take care of the child, to follow
their noble profession.

"Thank you for nothing," answered Dick.  "I would sooner heave the
little chap overboard, to be munched up by a shark, than leave him with
you; and as to quitting the ship without him, I will not do it; but if
it please you to put him and me on shore, I'll go willingly enough, and
trust to One better able to take care of us than you are."

Though the pirates did not understand what Dick said, they comprehended
that he was perfectly willing to be left on the island.  A boat was
accordingly lowered, and numerous articles which the pirates had taken
out of the brig, and were likely to prove useful to him, were put into
her.  Charley ran up and shook hands with the officers, but hastened
back immediately to Dick, for he was afraid of being left behind.  Poor
little fellow, he felt grateful to them for their kindness, having no
notion of the villains they were.

Dick, taking him in one arm, descended the ship's side into the boat,
which pulled away towards the land.  Numerous shoals and rocks
surrounded the island, among which the boat threaded her way, and at
length landed him and the boy, with the articles they had brought, on
the sandy beach of a sheltered bay.

Dick had no inclination to shake hands with the crew who had so lately
murdered his countrymen, and probably very many people besides, nor did
he feel at his ease till he saw the boat again pulling out towards the
ship.  As soon as she had gone, Dick, who had held Charley in his arms,
placed him on a rock, and examined the articles which had been sent with
him.

"I am much obliged to the villains, at all events," he said; "but can
only wish them a better calling and a happier end than most of them are
likely to meet with.  To be sure, they can afford to be generous, seeing
that they stole the things and had more than they could use.  Here are
some carpenter's tools, a saw and axe, a hammer and nails, and a piece
of canvas that will do for a tent; a bale of cloth, and calico, and
needles, and thread; here are fish-hooks and lines, and shoes; three
casks of flour and rice, and some pots, and pans, and knives; and a
decent-looking fowling-piece and powder and shot.  Well, if I hadn't
seen what I did see, I should have taken them to be kind-hearted decent
chaps, who, for some reason or other, didn't wish to keep me among them,
and so had put me ashore, and wished to do their best to make me
comfortable.  Ah, I have a notion how it is--the skipper, or one or
other of them has got a little chap like this at home, and they have
done it for his sake; and savage as their hearts may be, they didn't
quite like keeping him on board their wicked-doing craft.  Yes, that's
it; so if I have saved Charley's life, he has saved mine, though he
doesn't know it, bless him!"

Dick having finished his soliloquy, cut a pole from a tree growing near,
and quickly rigged up a tent, beneath which he placed Charley out of the
heat of the sun.  He then collected wood, of which there was an
abundance on the beach, and soon had a fire burning, and next proceeded
to cook some of the provisions for Charley and himself.  Not far off was
a spring of water, which would afford him an abundant supply of that
necessary of life.

"We sha'n't be so badly off, Charley, after all," he said; "only I hope
these fellows won't come back again, in case they may take it into their
heads to carry you away."

"I will not leave you, Dick," answered the boy, taking his hand and
beginning to cry at the thought.

"You sha'n't, Charley, you sha'n't," said Dick.  "We will move away to
another part of the island, where they cannot find us; may be there is
water elsewhere, that's what we shall want most.  There are plenty of
cocoa-nuts, and I dare say other vegetables, and with the gun I shall be
able to shoot birds, and with the hooks catch as many fish as we shall
want.  We are better off than on the raft, anyhow."

Dick having made up a bed with the cloth for Charley to sleep on, cut
some grass for himself, and then prepared to pass the night.

"You say your prayers, Charley," said Dick; "and mind you thank God for
bringing us ashore in safety."

Dick had a feeling that the little innocent boy could offer up his
prayers more effectually than he himself could; but yet Dick did his
best to pray in his own fashion, though he could seldom say more than,
"I am a desperately wicked fellow; God be merciful to me, and, if He
thinks fit, take care of me and make me better."

He, however, taught Charley a much longer prayer than this, suitable, as
he considered, to his condition.

The rough sailor and the child having finished their devotions, lay down
on their beds, and, fearless of evil, fell asleep.

Next day after breakfast Dick, leading Charley by one hand and taking
his gun in the other, set out to explore the island.  On reaching the
top of the nearest height, which was of no great elevation, being a mass
of barren rock thrown up by some convulsion of nature, he looked around
him.  The island was of small size, a couple of miles perhaps in length
and about a quarter as broad, with deep indentations, bays, or small
gulfs.  The larger portion was barren, but here and there were spots
overgrown with the richest vegetation of the tropics.  The shores were
rocky, but in no part high, while around in every direction were seen
extensive reefs, some rising above the water, others only to be
distinguished by the line of foam which danced above them.

"From the look of the place, ships are likely to give this a wide
berth," observed Dick.  "However, we can manage to live here pretty
comfortably, and may be some day or other we shall get off again, but
how, is more than I can tell."

On descending from the hill they reached a cocoa-nut grove.  Dick looked
up at the nuts, now almost ripe, with a well-satisfied eye.

"We will have some of those before long, and the milk will be good food
for you, Charley," he observed.  "Ah, and we shall have some cabbages,
too."  He pointed to some smaller palm-trees, the crown of which yields
the cabbage, so prized in the tropics as one of the most delicious
vegetables.

Sometimes Dick carried Charley on his shoulders, sometimes he let him
run alongside him, and he thus made his progress to the farther end of
the island.  One part appeared very barren, low, and sandy, with wild
rocks rising up on either side.

"After all, this place may be our best hunting-ground," observed Dick,
on discovering that it was the habitation of wild fowl, who came there
to lay their eggs and rear their young.

At length he reached the extreme end of the island.  Near it was a grove
of cocoa-nut and other palms, a beautiful sandy bay, and what Dick was
in search of, a spring of clear water which bubbled out of the rock.

"We shall be better off here, and out of the way of those gentry if they
return to the island, and I don't think they will come so far to look
for us," said Dick.  "We will move up the stores, and after that I will
build a hut; it will be more comfortable than the tent, especially in
the hurricane season, and we can't tell how long we may have to stop."

Dick having discovered that, by keeping partly inland and partly near
the shore, a tolerably easy road existed from one end of the island to
the other, he built a little hand-dray, in which, he conveyed the stores
to the new location.  It occupied several days, but, as he said, time
being their own, he had no need to be in a hurry.  He next put up a hut,
for which the trees growing around and the planking from some
unfortunate vessel dashed to pieces on the reefs afforded abundance of
material, while the palm-leaves served for a thatch.  He could not also
be long content without a boat.  Though not an expert ship-builder, he
managed to knock together a contrivance in which he could venture out
within the reefs in calm weather to fish with Charley.

"We live like princes, my boy," he said, "but I wish somehow I was able
to look after your education; though if we had books I could not make
use of them, seeing I never learned to read."

Charley replied that he was very happy without books, and he supposed
when he grew up to be a big boy he should find the means of learning.

"I don't know when that may be, though," observed Dick.  "We have been
here now some months, and I have never yet caught sight of a sail.
However, though I cannot give you learning, I can teach you religion,
and I will try and recollect all I ever knew.  I can remember the ten
commandments, or most of them, which I learned at school, and they will
do to begin with, and as we go on, may be I shall brush up more."

Dick was as good as his word, and at night frequently lay awake trying
to recollect what he had known as a boy.  The task was often a hard one,
but his desire to benefit his charge induced him to persevere, when
probably he might otherwise have abandoned the attempt.

Month after month passed away, and Dick and Charley continued to live
their Robinson Crusoe style of life without interruption, and in happy
ignorance of all that was going on in the world.



CHAPTER FIVE.

AT DEATH'S DOOR.

"How many years have we been here, Dick?" asked Charley.  "It seems to
me a great many, for I was a very little fellow when you first took
charge of me, and now I am a strong big chap."

"Bring me the bundle of sticks and I will tell you," said Dick; "for I
have not thought of reckoning lately, though I have kept the score as
carefully as at first."  Charley went and brought several sticks tied
together and notched all over.  Dick examined them.

"It's three years to-day, according to my reckoning, since we were put
on shore.  To my mind we ought to thank God, who has taken such care of
us all this time.  I should not mind, however, getting away soon, for
your sake.  It's time you should be having some book-learning.  I don't
want you to grow into a poor ignorant fellow like me."

"You are not ignorant, Dick," said Charley.  "You taught me all I know,
and I have no greater fancy for books than you have."

"But, Charley, I have another reason for wishing to get away," said
Dick.  "You see our clothes are pretty nearly worn out, and I have only
stuff enough to make one more suit for you and one for myself, and you
will grow out of yours pretty fast, as you have done the others.  Then
we may not always find provisions as plentiful as we have generally up
to this time; birds don't come to the island as they did once, and I
fancy that even the fish don't bite as freely along shore as they used
to do.  I have been thinking of building a larger boat, so that we may
go farther off.  That wreck which drove on the reef six months ago has
given us plenty of stuff for timbers and planking, as well as canvas for
sails, and now you are big enough to help me, I shall get on faster than
when I built the small one."

Charley replied that he should be glad to do whatever Dick wished, and
would try to learn carpentering.  Dick accordingly set to work to build
a large boat.  The undertaking was, however, more difficult than he had
expected, and at last he had to abandon his design, and, instead, to try
and enlarge the little punt, or the coracle rather, which he had
constructed some time before.

The two carpenters laboured away every day, when not engaged in shooting
or fishing, or otherwise providing for their support.

Dick had husbanded his ammunition, but even that was coming to an end,
and though eggs were still to be found, he could not hope longer to
shoot many birds, which had become wilder in consequence of hearing the
report of his gun.

Among the treasures sent on shore by the pirates was a small keg of
tobacco.  Dick had used it pretty freely for the first year or two, but
latterly, finding that it must also come to an end, he put himself on an
allowance, and only smoked a pipe occasionally when his day's work was
over, and he took his seat with Charley on the bench under the porch in
front of their hut.  Charley had asked one day why he should not smoke
too.

"A very good thing for grown men like me," answered Dick, "but very bad
for little boys.  When you have been at sea a dozen years or so, you may
try if you like it.  If it was to do you good I would share my last plug
with you--you know that, Charley."

"Yes, indeed I do," was the answer, and Charley never again asked for
tobacco.

They were seated, as I was saying, within the porch one evening, when
Dick, whose eyes were turned towards the boat, drawn up on the beach in
the little bay in front of them, observed--

"I have a fancy for taking a cruise farther out than we have been yet;
we shall get bigger fish, and not lose so many lines and hooks.  I am
afraid we shall soon have nothing else but fish to live upon, and though
they are not bad food, yet, if there was to come a spell of foul
weather, such as we have had now and then, we should not be able to get
even them.  Now what I want is to catch a good quantity, that we may
salt them down for a store, should there be nothing else to be got."

Charley was well pleased with the thoughts of a longer cruise, and early
in the morning, having carried down some cocoa-nuts and boiled roots,
with a few eggs and fish, which they cooked over night, they launched
their curiously-built boat.  She was, as Dick observed, a good one to
run before a breeze, but where it came to sailing with the wind abeam,
she was apt to go as fast to leeward as she did ahead.  He, however, had
made three oars, two of which he pulled himself, while he had taught
Charley to steer with the third.

Though the wind blew off the land, it being light, Dick had no doubt he
should easily be able to pull back again.  Having examined the reefs
from a height in the neighbourhood, and easily making his way among
them, he reached the outer circle.  Here he let down a big stone, to
serve as an anchor, attached to a long rope; but he found the water
deeper than he had expected, though, as the stone touched the bottom, he
hoped that it would hold the boat.

The lines had not been long over the side before Charley hooked a big
fish, larger than he had ever before seen.  Dick helped him to haul it
in, though, as he was so doing, it nearly broke away.  Dick caught two
or three, then Charley got another bite; he was again obliged to cry out
for Dick's assistance.  Dick saw that, from the size of the fish, skill
would be required to capture it, and he continued playing it a
considerable time, before he ventured to haul it up to the boat.  On
getting it on board he found that the hook was twisted, and some more
time was employed in putting on a new one.  Thus eager in and occupied
with the sport, Dick did not observe that the boat was slowly drifting
along the reef, away from the entrance, by which alone he could regain
the shore.  The wind was also increasing, though as the sea was smooth
he did not discover this.  At length, looking up, he observed the
position of the boat, and on going to the bows, found that the cable was
slack and the stone no longer at the end of it.  It had been cut
through.  Quickly hauling in the cable and the fish-lines, and telling
Charley to take the oar to steer, he began pulling hard to regain the
passage through the reefs.  A strong current was, however, against him,
as was the wind, which had shifted slightly, and though he exerted
himself to the utmost, he could make no way.

"I have been so long ashore that I have forgotten my seamanship, and
have done a very lubberly thing," he said, as he tugged away.  All his
efforts were of no avail to urge the heavy tub-like boat against the
forces opposed to her.  She drifted farther and farther away from the
land, and the farther she got the more she felt the influence of the
breeze; while the sea also, though smooth near the land, began to tumble
and toss in a way which made Dick feel more uncomfortable than he had
ever before been in his life.  The wind at the time blew only a moderate
gale, but he could not help acknowledging that the craft he had been so
proud of was very ill able to contend with the heavy sea which was
rapidly getting up.

"There's no help for it, and I don't want the craft to capsize.  I must
run before the breeze, and may be it will shift, and we shall be able to
get back again--but if not! well, I won't think of that," said Dick, to
himself.  "I must keep my own spirits up, for Charley's sake.  It will
be hard, however, for the poor little chap to lose his life after being
saved from the sinking ship and those villainous pirates.  For myself I
don't care; I have well known ever since I came to sea that any day what
happens to so many might happen to me."

The heavy boat, though flat-bottomed, behaved better than might have
been expected.  Dick, who had taken the helm, steered carefully, keeping
right before the seas.  As he had not communicated his fears to Charley,
the boy was delighted with the way in which she flew over the foaming
waters.

"I didn't think you were going to give me such a sail as this, Dick," he
exclaimed.

"No more did I, Charley," answered Dick.  "Maybe we shall not get back
as soon as we wish, but the weather looks fine.  I hope we may, some day
or other."

Dick, however, was disappointed.  The wind continued to freshen, and he
was compelled to stand on, fearing the risk of making another attempt to
regain the shore.

Night came on.  He told Charley to take some food; but he was too much
occupied himself to eat.  He then, making the boy lie down near him,
covered him up with a piece of canvas.

All night long he sat steering his boat and praying that the wind might
not further increase.  As day dawned he cast a hurried glance astern;
the land was not to be seen.  He had no compass, and even should the
wind change, he would have difficulty in regaining so small a spot.  He
had not the heart to awake Charley, fearing that he would be frightened
on finding himself out of sight of land.  At length, however, the boy
got up and gazed about him with an astonished look.

"Why, Dick, what has become of our island?" he exclaimed.  "You never
told me you were going to leave it!"

"I wish I had never done so," said Dick.  Charley saw that his friend
looked anxious.

"I don't know if we are in any danger; but if we are, remember, Dick,
that God took care of us on the raft, and can just as well take care of
us now.  That's what you have taught me; and so I will pray to Him, and
I am sure He will hear me."

"Do, Charley, do," said Dick; "and I'll mind the ship."

All that day the boat ran on.  Charley insisted on bringing Dick some
food, and putting it into his mouth, for he could not venture to leave
the helm for an instant.  Charley himself seemed perfectly happy, for
after getting accustomed to the movements of the boat, the confidence he
had in his friend prevented him from thinking of danger.

At length the wind began to fall, and the sea went down, and in a few
hours a perfect calm came on.  The boat floated without movement.

Dick determined, after he had had a few hours' sleep, to try and pull
back.  He slept longer than he expected, and Charley, who sat watching
by his side, would not awake him.  When at last he did open his eyes, it
was nearly dark.  A thin mist spreading over the ocean and obscuring the
stars, he had no means of ascertaining in what direction to pull.

"I might be working away all night, and find that I had only gone
farther from the island," he observed.  "You and I, Charley, will keep
watch and watch.  You shall take one hour and I three; that will be
about the proper proportion, seeing that I am about three times as old
as you are, and want less sleep."  So the night passed by.

At last the sun rose, his beams dispersed the mist, and Dick, seizing
the oars, began to pull away lustily in the direction he supposed the
island to be.  Suddenly a crack was heard--one of his oars had gone--he
took the steering oar, but that in a few minutes went also.

"It cannot be helped, Charley," he said.  "We must trust to Him who
knows well how to take care of us."

The boat lay motionless.  Hour after hour and day after day passed away.
Dick, as he had before done, gave Charley the largest portion of
provisions and water, he himself taking barely enough to support life.
He felt, too, very sorrowful, thinking of the fate which he feared might
be in store for the poor little boy, on whom he had bestowed all the
love of his big and tender heart.

As long as he had strength he stood up and gazed around, in the hopes of
seeing a sail approaching.  At length he sat down, and felt that he
should not be able to rise any more.  Charley brought him some water.

"Drink it, Dick," he said; "it will do you good; I am not thirsty."

Dick took a few drops; they revived him, and once more he rose to his
feet, holding on by the mast.  As he turned his eye to the northward it
fell on a sail; he gave a shout of joy, though his voice sounded hollow
in his own ears.  "Charley," he said, "she is coming this way; pray to
God she may not change her course."

So eager was he that he forgot his weakness, and continued standing up,
watching the vessel, which came on, bringing up the breeze.  He was now
sure she would pass near where the boat lay.  On and on she came.

"She is an English ship, by the cut of her sails!" he exclaimed.
"Charley, my boy, we are saved.  I don't think I could have held out
many hours longer, and you would not have been far after me."

The stranger approached.  It was evident, from the way she was steering,
that they were seen; still Dick could not help shouting out as loud as
his weak voice would allow.  The stranger hove-to, and a boat was
lowered.

"I hope they are not pirates," said Charley, "like the others."

"I hope not; but if they are we shall soon find out, and we can but ask
them to put us ashore again; for depend on it they will know the
whereabouts of our island."

This was said while the boat was approaching.

"What strange craft is that?" said the officer in command of the boat,
examining Dick's wonderful specimen of naval architecture.

Dick explained that he and the boy had been out fishing, and been blown
off the island, of which they had been the sole occupants for some
years.

"We will hear more about it when we get you on board," said the officer,
a fine-looking young man, in a kind voice, observing Dick's exhausted
condition.

With the assistance of the crew Dick was lifted into the boat, for he
had scarcely strength remaining to move, though Charley scrambled on
board by himself.  Dick heard from one of the crew, as the boat pulled
towards the ship, that she was the _Dolphin_, Captain Podgers, bound
round Cape Horn.

"We've two petticoats aboard--the skipper's wife and daughter, so your
youngster won't want for nurses to look after him," said the man who
told Dick this.  "To my mind, however, he'll be best off with the young
lady, for t'other's a curious one, and it will depend what humour she's
in how she will treat him."

The officer helped Charley up the side, and Dick was hoisted on deck
after him.  When placed on his feet he sank down, unable to stand.

"He is almost starved," said the doctor, who now appeared.  "Take him
below, and I will attend to him.  But the youngster seems in good case."

"Glad you say so, sir," murmured Dick.  "I could not let him want while
there was food to be had, and I hope they'll be kind to him aboard, for
his parents are gentlefolks, and he wasn't brought up to the hard life
he's had to lead of late."  Dick said this that Charley might be treated
with more consideration than might otherwise have been the case.  He was
not disappointed; indeed, though roughly clad, the boy had the look and
air of a young gentleman.

The captain, a stout, burly man, and his wife, Mrs Podgers, a much
stouter woman, already mentioned, now appeared from below, followed by a
slight, fair, delicate-looking girl, who offered a strong contrast to
her parents--if such could possibly be the relationship they bore to
her.

"Let me look at the little fellow," said Mrs Podgers, as she waddled to
the gangway, where Charley was still standing near the third mate.  "He
don't seem as if he had been starved; yet I was told that he and the man
were a whole week in the boat without anything to eat.  But bring him
into the cabin, Mr Falconer; I want to hear all about it."  Mrs
Podgers, as she spoke, gave Charley a kiss, for which he seemed in no
way grateful.  He showed less objection, however, to the same treatment
from the young lady, and willingly followed her into the cabin, keeping
close to her, and at a distance from the stout captain and his wife.
Finding, however, that Mrs Podgers did not again attempt to kiss him,
he became more reconciled to her, and did good justice, while sitting
next to Miss Kitty, to the ample supper placed before him.

Mrs Podgers, and more especially the young lady, listened with great
interest to his account of his adventures, and he apparently made his
way into the good graces of the elder personage.  "Well, Kitty," she
said, "as he is too young to go and live among the men forward, and
seems well-behaved, if you like to look after him, he may remain in the
cabin, and you can teach him to read; which if he's the son of
gentlefolks he ought to know how to do, and it will be an amusement to
you, my dear."  Miss Kitty said she should be very happy to take care of
the boy, and asked him if he wished to remain.

"Yes, with you," he answered, looking up in her face, "but you'll let me
go and see Dick whenever he wants me?"

"Oh, yes, as often as you like," she answered; "and I am glad to find
that you are grateful to one who seems to have devoted himself to you;
for if we are not grateful to our earthly friends, we are still less
likely to be grateful to our heavenly Friend."

"I know whom you mean," said Charley, nodding to her.  "Dick has told me
about Him; He took care of us all the time we were on the island and in
the boat, and Dick has taught me to pray to Him every night and morning,
and I shouldn't be happy if I didn't."

"I am very, very glad to hear of that," observed Miss Kitty, pressing
the boy's hand.  "We shall be friends, Charley."

Honest Dick, who had meantime been placed in a hammock, hearing that
Charley was in good hands, felt satisfied about him, though still he
begged the doctor to let him have a look at the boy as soon as possible,
to assure himself that he was all right.



CHAPTER SIX.

CAPTAIN PODGERS.

The _Dolphin_ under all sail was making rapid progress to the southward.

I have not hitherto mentioned the fact that I was the little Charley I
have been speaking of; indeed, so indistinct is my recollection of the
earlier events I have described, that had it not been for Dick, I could
have known very little about them.  Dick soon recovered, and I was
delighted when, on having made my way forward, I found myself again with
him.  He scanned me all over, as if to ascertain whether any harm had
come to me during our long separation.  I assured him that I was all
right, and was loud in my praise of Miss Kitty, though I was less
complimentary to Mrs Podgers and the captain.

"They are not nice people," I observed; "drink nasty rum, quarrel and
fight, and then kiss and hug; then quarrel and fight again."

My description was a correct one.  Mrs Podgers, indeed, had come to sea
sorely against her husband's will, simply because she would, and had
brought Miss Kitty, who had just come from school, with her--to save the
expense of keeping her at home.  Miss Kitty was evidently very unhappy,
and did not at all like the life she had to lead.  She was as refined in
appearance, manners, and feelings, as Mrs Podgers was coarse in all
three; but the captain, though fat and addicted to rum-drinking in large
quantities, and somewhat sulky in his cups, was not nearly as bad as his
wife.  He was, moreover, greatly tried, both in the cabin by her, and on
deck by his unruly crew: the latter was, indeed, about as rough a set of
fellows as ever collected on board ship.  The first and second mates
were not unfitted, by the ready use they made of their fists, to manage
them, but the third mate, Edward Falconer, who had brought Dick and me
on board, differed from them greatly.  He was refined in his appearance
and manners, and gentle in his behaviour, though there was, at times, a
look in his eye which showed that he was not lacking in spirit and
daring.

The _Dolphin_, besides being bound on a whaling cruise, was a "Letter of
Marque," by which she had the right, without being considered a pirate,
to take and plunder any of the enemy's ships she might fall in with; but
when Mrs Podgers, with Miss Kitty, came on board, the crew, suspecting
that the captain intended to confine himself to the more pacific of the
two occupations, were very indignant, and a mutinous and discontented
spirit arose among them.

The captain never from the first took to me.

"I am bothered enough with women, and don't want a brat in the cabin
into the bargain," he growled out one day when angry with his wife.

"Oh, but the little boy loves me so much," said Mrs Podgers, drawing me
towards her.  "Don't you, Charley?"

"No, I can't say I do," I answered; for Dick had charged me always to
speak the truth.  "But I love Miss Kitty, that I do, for she is sweet
and pretty, and that's what you know you are not;" and I broke away from
her and ran up to the young lady.

"Ungrateful little wretch!" exclaimed Mrs Podgers.  "Then out of the
cabin you shall go, and live with your equals forward."

"Yes, let him go at once," said the captain, "or you will be changing
your mind."

"Not likely, after what he has said to me," exclaimed Mrs Podgers.  "I
would pull his ears, as he deserves, that I would."

Poor Kitty looked very much frightened, and held me close to her.  "Oh,
don't, Mrs Podgers, pray don't; the little boy did not intend to be
naughty, and I will take care of him, and teach him better manners if
you will let me."

"No, Miss, I will do no such thing," answered Mrs Podgers, her anger in
no way diminished.

"Take him on deck at once, and tell the man who came with him to look
after him.  If he goes overboard that's his own fault, not mine.  I
would have been a mother to him, but I cannot stand ingratitude, and he
has no claim on my sympathy and affections, as you have, Kitty my dear."

Poor Kitty gave no responsive glance to this remark, but turned away her
head, and taking me by the hand led me to the companion stair, whence we
went up on deck.

Mr Falconer, who was officer of the watch, stepped up as she appeared.
She told him with tears in her eyes what had occurred.

"It is what might be expected," he observed; "but let me entreat you not
to be anxious about the little boy.  You shall see him as often as you
wish, and I suspect that he will be as well off with the honest fellow
who had charge of him as he would with those people in the cabin."

I did not understand at the time that there was anything peculiar in his
remarks, or that Miss Kitty seemed to place far more confidence in him
than she did in captain and Mrs Podgers.  I only understood that I was
to go back to Dick, and of that I should have been heartily glad, had
not my satisfaction been mitigated by the idea that I should be thus
separated from Miss Kitty, whose amiability and gentleness had greatly
attracted me.

"Well, Charley, we will look after you," said Dick, when I went forward.
"There's a vacant berth next to mine, and I'll put your bedding in it.
But I am afraid, boy, your manners won't be improved by your new
shipmates."

Dick was right, for while I was rapidly increasing my vocabulary of
English words, I learned to use some of the expressions constantly
issuing from the sailors' mouths, without knowing their meaning, or
having any idea of their vileness.

At length, one day, when seated in the forecastle with Dick, I uttered
several in succession, highly pleased with my own proficiency.  Dick
looked at me hard.

"Charley, do you know those are very bad words you are saying?" he
exclaimed; "I didn't think you knew such."

"Why, Dick, I heard you say them yourself the other day," and I reminded
him of several occasions on which he had uttered some of the words I had
made use of.

"Did I, Charley? are you sure of it?" he asked, evidently considering
whether I had brought a true or false accusation against him.

"Certain sure, Dick," I said.

"Well, now, I am very sorry for that, and mind, Charley, though you hear
other people say what is bad, or see them do what is bad, it is no
reason that you should say or do the same; and for my part, Charley, I
must clap a preventer-brace on my tongue, and bowse it taut, or those
sort of words will, I know, be slipping out.  I mind that my good mother
used to tell me that I must never take God's name in vain, and that's
what I am afraid I have been doing, over and over again.  Remember,
Charley, if I ever hear you, I'll punish you, and I'll try and break the
men of it; it's a shame that they should set such a bad example to a
little chap like you, though I am afraid it will be a hard job to stop
them."

Dick was as good as his word.  From that day forward I never heard him
utter an oath, though several times a round one rose to his lips.  I at
first was not so careful, but the rope's-ending he gave me made me
recollect for the future.  The men cried shame when they saw him beating
me, and were not a little astonished when he told them that it was their
fault, and that of course if they swore the little chap would swear
also.  After this, I really believe that several of them, rough as they
were, restrained themselves when I was within hearing, though the
greater number went on as before.

Both on and after crossing the line the _Dolphin_ was frequently
becalmed for several days at a time, which did not improve the captain's
temper, nor that of the crew either.  The voyage therefore was greatly
prolonged.  I was more with Miss Kitty than I had expected, for the
captain and his wife very frequently, after indulging in potations long
and deep, fell asleep in the cabin.  On such occasions she used to make
her escape on deck.  She never seemed tired of watching the flying-fish
skimming over the ocean, or the dolphins swimming by, or the sea-birds
which passed in rapid flight overhead, or watching the magnificent
frigate-bird as it soared on high, and then shot down into the ocean to
grasp its finny prey.

Sometimes, however, I used to wonder what she could be looking at when
Edward Falconer was by her side gazing with her over the ocean.  To be
sure, there were the stars glittering above, or the moon with her path
of silvery light cast across the vast expanse of water, and she and he
seemed never tired of gazing at it.  Sometimes on such occasions she
held me by her hand, and seemed always to wish to have me near her.  I
at first was not able to understand what she and the young mate were
talking about, but in time, as I learned more English, I perhaps
comprehended more than they supposed.

"I have been a wild, wayward, careless fellow, Kate," I heard Mr
Falconer say one evening as he stood by Miss Kitty's side.  "Instead of
remaining at college, and taking advantage of the opportunities I
possessed of rising in the world, I spent all my means, and then, to the
grief of an excellent father, shipped on board a merchantman as a sailor
before the mast.  My knowledge of mathematics soon enabled me to become
a better navigator than the captain himself, while I rapidly acquired a
knowledge of seamanship, as from having been accustomed all my life to
boating and yachting, I was at once perfectly at home.  I soon became a
mate, but I spent all my pay, and was glad to ship on board the
_Dolphin_, the first vessel I could find which had a vacant berth.  Had
I known the character of the master and the officers with whom it was to
be my lot to associate, I should certainly, as you may suppose, have
avoided her.  I had already found, like the prodigal son, that I had dry
husks alone to eat, and bitterly mourning my folly, had, even before the
ship sailed, contemplated returning home on the first opportunity and
seeking my father's forgiveness, when you came on board and I began to
breathe a new existence."

"You need not tell me more, Edward," said Kitty.  "I cannot bear the
thoughts of having prevented you from doing what you considered right,
and right it was, I am sure.  You must not think of me; oh, let me urge
you to go home, and occupy the position which from your education and
family you should properly enjoy, for surely your father will receive
you thankfully, and forgive your offences.  As for me--humanly
speaking--I am helpless; but I am not without hope--for I know in whom I
trust.  Were I not confident that God watches over and takes care of all
who have faith in that love which induced Him to give us the greatest
gift He could bestow on perishing sinners, I should indeed be
miserable."

Much more was said which I did not hear.  Mr Falconer and Kitty took
several turns on deck together, and I ran about near them.

Their conversation was interrupted by the sudden appearance of Mrs
Podgers' head at the companion-hatch, as in an angry tone she summoned
the young lady below.  The mate walked aft, and I scampered forward to
rejoin Dick.



CHAPTER SEVEN.

THE FIRE.

The _Dolphin_ being greatly in want of water, put into the Falkland
Islands to obtain it, as well as beef, which the captain understood
could be obtained for the trouble of catching the animals on whose backs
it existed.

The shore of the harbour in which we lay was rocky, but beyond it was a
wide expanse of partly level, and partly undulating ground, reaching far
away in the distance.

Dick told me he would take me on shore to see some of the fun, he being
one of the men appointed to shoot the cattle.

Mounted Spaniards, or Indians, with their bolas and lassoes, would have
killed them with perfect ease; but, armed as we were, with only heavy
muskets which did not always go off, the chances were very great against
the desired beef being obtained.  Just as we had shoved off, the
captain, seeing me in the boat, ordered me back.  The men, however,
having already begun to give way, pretended not to hear him, and we were
soon beyond hailing distance of the ship.  In a short time we saw
another boat following us.  After we had landed, who should step out of
her but Miss Kitty and Mr Falconer; he had a gun on his shoulder, but
had not intended coming till he found that she wanted to have a walk on
shore.  Whether or not she had asked leave of Mrs Podgers, I do not
know; she did not always consider that necessary when she had a fancy
for doing anything.

We pushed on some way inland, and though the herbage was high, it was
not thick except in places where there were large tufts of tall
tussock-grass, like waving plumes growing out of the earth, while the
ground itself was tolerably smooth.  We went on till we reached a rocky
knoll rising like an island amidst the sea of waving grass that
surrounded it.  We climbed to the top, that we might discover where the
cattle were to be found in greatest numbers.  As yet, a few only had
been seen, which scampered off before a shot at them could be obtained.
Three or four herds were discovered in the distance.  The mate, with
half the men, agreed to go in one direction and to stalk them down,
while Dick and the rest went in another.  Miss Kitty said she was tired,
and that she would remain on the top of the rock with me till their
return.  The mate begged to leave with her a flask of water and some
biscuits, which he had brought, I suspect, on her account.  Not knowing
what sort of scenery she might meet with, she had brought her
sketch-book, for she was a well-educated girl, and understood music, and
a number of other things besides.  She laughingly observed that a few
strokes would quickly picture the surrounding scenery.  She amused
herself with copying a huge tuft of the tussock-grass which grew near,
and then made me stand and sit, now in one position, now in another,
while she took my portrait.  Then telling me to play about near her, and
to take care not to tumble off the rock, she sat down to meditate.  What
her thoughts were about I cannot say, but she certainly very often
looked in the direction Edward Falconer had gone.

Several shots were heard from time to time.  They grew fainter and
fainter, as if the cattle had headed off away from the harbour.

The day wore on.  The sun was already sinking in the sky.

"I wonder when they will come back?" she said once or twice.  "Can you
see any one, Charley?"

I looked, but could not distinguish any objects amid the expanse of
grass.

A dull booming sound of a ship's gun came from the direction of the
harbour, then another and another.

"That is, I suspect, to recall the boats," said Kitty to me.  "I could
find my way there with you, Charley; but I don't like to leave this
spot, lest those who have gone after the cattle on returning might
wonder what has become of us."

We waited some time longer--the sun set--the shades of evening drew on.
Kitty became very anxious.  It was too late now to attempt alone to get
back to the boats; and it was evident that we should have to spend the
night on the knoll.  As there was plenty of tall grass around, I
proposed that we should build a hut for ourselves, but, as we had no
means of cutting it, we could not carry out my project.  Miss Kitty was,
as before, casting an anxious gaze around, expecting each moment that
some one would appear, when suddenly she exclaimed--

"See, see, Charley!  What is that?"

I looked in the direction she pointed, when I saw a dark line of smoke
rising out of the plain, curling in wreaths as it ascended towards the
sky.  It might have been mistaken for mist, had there not appeared below
it a thin red line with sharp little forks darting upwards.

"The grass is on fire!  Oh, what will become of them?" she exclaimed,
seizing my hand, and gazing, with dread and horror in her countenance,
at the advancing line of flame and smoke.  I did not suppose that we
ourselves were in danger; but on looking round I observed the numerous
tufts of grass which grew on every side among the rocks.

One part of the mound was composed entirely of bare rock.  I pointed it
out to my companion.  Though we should be almost suffocated with smoke,
we might there escape the flames.  We hastened to it, and kneeling down,
she prayed for protection for me, and for herself, and for Edward--I
heard her mention the mate's name--and for the rest.

I was not particularly frightened, because I did not see anything very
terrible; only the red line of fire jumping and leaping playfully, and
the wreaths of smoke, which looked very graceful as they curled round
and round, till at length they formed a dark canopy which spread over
the sky.

"They may have been on the other side of the fire," I heard Kitty say;
"but then he would have thought of me, and, I fear, have attempted to
rush through the flames to my rescue, and Dick will not have forgotten
you, Charley.  We must pray for them, my boy--we must pray for them."

On came the wave of flame; the whole island from one end to the other
seemed on fire.  Our communication with the harbour was well-nigh cut
off.  Though the men in charge of the boats might have seen it
approaching, they could not have come to our assistance.

Happily, Kitty's dress was of a thick material, and so was mine, for the
weather had been for some time cold, and Dick had made me a winter suit.
Kitty saw clearly that the flames would surround the rock, and creep up
its sides; and the open space on which we had taken refuge was fearfully
small.  I fancied that I could hear the roaring and hissing of the
flames, they were already so near, when a shout reached our ears.

"They are coming! they are coming!" cried Kitty; "but oh, I fear the
fire will overtake them before they can gain the rock.  I see them!  I
see them!  It is dreadfully close!"  She gasped for breath.  Then she
rose to her feet, and waved her white handkerchief, hoping that it might
be distinguished through the gloom, for she in vain tried to cry out in
answer to the shout we had heard.  The glare of the approaching fire
fell on her figure.  At that moment a man dashed up the rock--it was
Edward Falconer.  He could only utter, "You are safe, dearest!" and sank
on the ground.  Kitty stooped down and tried to raise him, pouring some
water from the flask into his mouth.  He speedily revived.  Three other
men followed him--the first was Dick; he seized me in his arms, and gave
me a hug and put me down on the rock, and then he and the rest dashed
back towards the flames, and began with their guns to beat and trample
down the surrounding grass.  The mate joined them, but the flames
quickly reached the spot, and in a few minutes we were surrounded by a
sea of fire.  Dick sheltered me in his arms, and Edward Falconer
supported Kitty in the very centre of the rock, turning their backs to
the scorching flames from which they attempted to shield us.  The smoke
curled round our heads, and we had great difficulty in breathing.  I
could not help crying out from the pain of suffocation, which made Dick
almost distracted.  He first lifted me up above his head, that I might
get more air; and when he could support me no longer, he threw a
handkerchief over my face, and held me in his arms as a mother would her
child.

How long we stood thus I do not know; it seemed a very long time.  At
length the fire had burned up all the grass around us, and the smoke
grew less.  Still it was impossible to reach the harbour, and might be
so for many hours to come.

The whole party sat down on the rock, Miss Kitty inviting me to come to
her, while Edward Falconer sat by her side.

"As you like, Miss," said Dick; "but I would not give him up to any one
else."

"I hope the rest got off safe, as they were not far from the shore,"
observed one of the men.  "But I say, Dick, I wonder what has become of
the beasts you and Mr Falconer killed?"

"They must be well roasted, at all events," answered Dick.  "The sun
won't have been long up either before every bone will be picked clean by
the galinasos and other birds."

"It's mighty possible, I'm afraid, that two or three of our fellows have
been caught.  It will be a cruel job if they are, for though a sailor
lays it to his account to get drowned now and then, he doesn't expect to
be frizzled into the bargain," observed Pat O'Riley.

They went on joking for some time, notwithstanding the fearful scene
they had gone through, and although even at that moment some of their
shipmates might be lying scorched to death on the plain below them.  I,
however, was soon asleep, with my head on Kitty's lap, and therefore
cannot say what she and Edward Falconer talked about.  All I know is,
that before I closed my eyes I saw him endeavouring to shield her from
the wind, which blew sharply over the knoll.

At daylight we set out, Edward and Dick insisting on carrying Kitty in a
chair formed with their hands, while Pat O'Riley carried me on his
shoulders.

"Well, Miss Kitty, we had given you up for lost," exclaimed Mrs
Podgers, who met us at the gangway.

It struck me, young as I was, that her address did not show much
maternal affection.

"Had not Mr Falconer and some of the crew come to our rescue, the boy
and I would have been probably burnt to death, but they bravely risked
their lives to save ours," answered Kitty, firmly.

A boat was sent back to look for the remainder of the men; some at
length arrived, but three could not be found, though search was made for
them in every direction.  Some thought that they had run away, others
that they had been destroyed by the flames.  A portion of one ox only
was brought on board, but the captain would not wait to obtain more, and
having filled up the water-casks, the _Dolphin_ again sailed to go round
Cape Horn.

We had got very nearly up to the southern end of America, when we met a
gale blowing directly against us, which sent us back far away to the
eastward and southward.  The wind, however, again coming fair, we ran
before it under all sail to make up for lost time.

Finding Dick's berth empty one evening after it was dark, and not
feeling inclined to sleep, I crept up on deck to be with him, as I had
been accustomed to do in more genial latitudes.  I found him on the
look-out on the forecastle.

"What do you want to see?"  I asked, observing that he was peering into
the darkness ahead.

"Anything that happens to be in our way, Charley," he answered.  "An
island, ship, or an iceberg; it would not be pleasant to run our
jib-boom against either of the three."

"What is that, then?"  I asked, my sharp eyes observing what I took to
be a high white wall rising out of the sea.

"Down with the helm!" shouted Dick at the top of his voice.  "An iceberg
ahead!"

"Brace up the yards!" cried the officer of the watch from aft.

The mast-heads seemed almost to touch the lofty sides of a huge white
mountain as we glided by it.

"In another half-minute we should have been on the berg, if it hadn't
been for you, Charley," said Dick, when we had rounded the mountain, and
were leaving it on our quarter.  "I'll back your sharp eyes, after this,
against all on board."



CHAPTER EIGHT.

JONAS WEBB.

We were a long time regaining our lost ground.  I remember at length
finding the ship gliding over huge glass-like billows, which came
rolling slowly and majestically, as if moved upwards and onwards by some
unseen power, with deep, broad valleys between them, into which the ship
sinking, their sides alone bounded the view from her deck ahead and
astern.  On the right rose however, above them, a high, rocky headland,
which the third mate told Miss Kitty, as she stood on the deck gazing at
the shore, was Cape Horn.

"I could fancy it some giant demigod, the monarch of these watery
realms," she observed.  "He looks serene and good-tempered at present;
but how fearful must be these mighty waves when he is enraged, and
fierce storms blow across them."

"You are indeed right, Miss Kitty," he answered; "and for my part, on
such occasions, I prefer giving his majesty a wide berth and keeping out
of sight of his frown.  Provided the ship is sound, and the rigging well
set up, we have little dread of these vast waves.  A short chopping sea
is far more dangerous.  However, we shall soon be round the `Cape,' and
then I hope for your sake we shall have fine weather and smooth water."

She stood for some time holding on to a stanchion, gazing at the scene
so strange to her eyes.

The captain coming on deck to satisfy himself that all was going on
properly, the mate stepped forward to attend to some duty.  As the
former's rubicund visage disappeared beneath the companion-hatch, Mr
Falconer returned aft.

"I have been thinking, Edward, that I was wrong to give the reins to my
fancy, as I did just now," said Kitty, in her sweet, artless way.  "I
should have remembered that He who made the world governs the wide
ocean--the tides and currents move at His command, and He it is who bids
the waters be at rest, or sends the whirlwind sweeping over them.  I
feel that it is wrong, even in poetry, to assign to beings of the
imagination the power which alone belongs to Him.  Do you understand
me?"

"Yes, though I should not have thought you wrong," answered the young
officer, gazing at her with admiration.  "But I do understand you, and I
am sure that you are right.  God is a jealous God, and cannot of course
admit of any detraction from His authority by the creatures He has
formed.  I see that every form of idolatry, whether the idol be
worshipped or not, must be offensive to Him--whether men assign His
power to others, or attempt to approach Him in prayer through the
mediation of saints or angels, when He has told them to draw near to the
throne of grace according to the one way He has appointed."

It may seem strange that I should have recollected this conversation.
In truth, I did not, and it was not till many years afterwards that I
was told of it.  Indeed, I may confess once for all, that had I not
possessed the advantage of communicating with some of the principal
actors, I should have been unable to describe many of the events which
occurred at that period of my existence.  I remember, however, the
captain, and his amiable consort, Mrs Podgers, and the snappish cruel
way she spoke to sweet Miss Kitty and Edward Falconer.  She appeared,
indeed, to detest him, and took every opportunity of showing her dislike
by all sorts of petty annoyances.  He bore them all with wonderful
equanimity, perhaps for Kitty's sake, perhaps because he despised their
author.  Sometimes, when he came on deck after dining in the cabin, he
would burst into a fit of laughter, as if enjoying a good joke, and
would continue to smile when Kitty appeared with a look of vexation and
pain on her countenance, supposing he must have been annoyed beyond
endurance.

We had just doubled the Cape, when another sail was seen crossing our
course, now rising up against the clear sky, now sinking so low that
only her upper canvas was visible.  We approached each other, when the
stranger made a signal that she would send a boat aboard us.  We also
hove-to, and began gracefully bowing away at each other, as if the ships
were exchanging compliments.  A seaman with his bag stepped on board
when the boat came alongside, and offered to remain, if the captain
would receive him as a volunteer.  The mate who came in the boat, saying
he was an experienced hand, and had been in the Pacific several years,
the captain at once accepted his services.  We gave the mate the last
news from England and several newspapers, and he, in return, offered to
take any letters our people might have ready to send home.  In a short
time we each filled, and stood on our respective courses.

From what the mate had said, our captain was eager to have a talk with
the new-comer, Jonas Webb by name.  The latter said he had gone out many
years before in a South Sea whaler, and when on her homeward voyage he
had exchanged into the ship he had just left, then outward-bound.  Both
ships had been very successful in fishing and making prizes, and he had
saved a great deal of money.  Not content with what he had got, he
wished to make more.  He had been all along the coast, and knew every
port.  Among other pieces of information, he told the captain that two
South Sea whalers, captured by the Spaniards, lay in the Bay of
Conception, and advised that they should be cut out, declaring that it
might easily be done, as the harbour was unguarded by forts.  I don't
think Captain Podgers was fond of fighting, but he was of money, and he
believed that by getting hold of these two ships, he should make more
than by catching a score of whales.

After this, both fore and aft, the only talk was about the proposed
undertaking.  Miss Kitty looked very grave, but though she knew the
captain would take very good care to remain safe on board, she guessed
that Edward Falconer would be sent on the expedition; and, though he
made light of it, he had observed that Jonas Webb was wrong with regard
to the place being unfortified.  Captain Podgers had got angry, and
declared that the man, an experienced old sailor, who had just come from
thence, must know more than a young fellow, as he was, could do.  Mrs
Podgers, with a sneer, also remarked that perhaps he would rather not
have any fighting, lest he might get a cut across his face, and spoil
his beauty, or the smell of gunpowder would make him faint.

I am sure that the third mate was as brave as steel, and did not think a
bit about his good looks; but the sting, somehow or other, struck deeper
than most of her venomed darts.

Hoisting American colours, we stood in towards an island off the Bay of
Conception.  Here heaving to, as night closed in, four of the boats were
manned under charge of the three mates and the boatswain.  Jonas Webb
and Dick went in Mr Falconer's boat.

Those who remained on board anxiously watched for their return,
expecting, as the night was light, to see them towing out their prizes.

Some hours passed by, when the rattle of musketry and the boom of great
guns came over the calm waters.

"Why, that fellow Webb mast have deceived me!" exclaimed the captain,
stamping about the deck in a state of agitation.  "Falconer was right.
There will be more glory, as he will call it, than profit in the
expedition.  Bah!  I cannot afford to lose men."

Eager eyes were looking out for the expected ships.  They did not
appear, but at last first one boat and then another was seen emerging
from the gloom.

"Well, gentlemen, what has become of the whalers?" exclaimed the
captain, as the two first mates stepped on deck.

"The Spaniards peppered us too hotly to enable us to tow them out, sir,
and the wind afforded no help," was the answer.  "I am afraid Mr
Falconer's boat, too, has got into a mess--he had taken one of the
whalers, but would not leave his prize, though I suspect several of his
men were killed or wounded."

"Was Mr Falconer himself hit?" asked Mrs Podgers, who had come up to
hear the news.

"I cannot say, ma'am," answered the first mate.  "His boat must have
been terribly mauled, and I am afraid that she must have been sunk, or
that her crew must have been taken prisoners.  I cannot otherwise
account for his not following us."

I had hold of Miss Kitty's hand.  I felt it tremble; she seemed to be
gasping for breath.

"You should have gone back and looked for them," said the captain, who
had judgment enough to know that the third mate was one of the best
officers in the ship.

"Oh! do, do so!" exclaimed Miss Kitty, scarcely aware of what she was
saying.  "It was cowardly and cruel to leave them behind."

"Not far wrong," growled the captain, who, if not brave himself, wished
his subordinates to fight well--as has been the case with other leaders
in higher positions.

The mates were returning to their boats when the shout was raised that
the fourth boat was appearing.  She came on slowly, as if with a
crippled crew.  Kitty leaned against the bulwarks for support.

"Send down slings; we have some wounded men here," said a voice which I
recognised as Dick's.

"Let the others go first," said another voice.  "They are more hurt than
I am."

Miss Kitty sprang to the gangway and looked over.  Three men were
hoisted on board; one especially was terribly injured--it was Jonas
Webb.  The last who appeared was Mr Falconer.

"I am only wounded in the shoulder, though I am faint from loss of
blood," he said, in a feeble voice.  He spoke so that Kitty might hear
him.  "We should have got the prize with more help."

Kitty ran to his side to assist him along the deck, not caring what Mrs
Podgers or anybody else might say to her.  The exertion, however, was
too much for him; and if Dick and another man had not held him up, he
would have fallen, for Kitty's slight frame could scarcely have
supported him.  He was taken to his cabin, and after the doctor had
attended to the other men he allowed him to examine his wound.

I have not before mentioned our doctor.  The men used to say he was only
fit for making bread pills, and they, poor fellows, had better means of
forming an opinion of his skill than I had.  After his visit, Mr
Falconer would not let him dress his wound, though he did manage to get
out the bullet.  It was dressed, however, and Kitty used to say that I
was the doctor.  I know that I went every day into the cabin with her
and Dick, and that we used to put lotions and plaster on his poor
shoulder.  Mrs Podgers declared that it was very indelicate in her to
do so, but Kitty replied that if women were on board ship, it was their
duty to attend to the wounded.

We visited the other men who were hurt, especially poor Jonas Webb; but
Kitty confessed that his injuries were beyond her skill--indeed, it
seemed wonderful that, mangled as he was, he should continue to live on.

The miscarriage of the expedition was owing also to him.  Mr Falconer
had gallantly carried the prize, got the Spaniards under hatches, and
taken her in tow, when, on passing the batteries, Webb's pistol went
off.  This drew the attention of the garrison to the boat, and they
immediately opened a hot fire.  Webb was the first struck, and soon
afterwards several of the other men were hit.  Mr Falconer, who had
remained on deck, on this let himself down into the boat to assist in
pulling, and, in spite of the hot fire, would have continued doing so,
had not the Spaniards broken loose, and, getting hold of some muskets on
board, began firing at the boat.  Mr Falconer, on being himself
wounded, cut the painter, and the boat escaped without further injury.

Dick was very angry with the other officers, and did not mind expressing
his opinion of them.  I never saw him so put out.  He felt much for poor
Webb, and I heard him declare that he was very doubtful about Mr
Falconer's recovery.  If he died, what would become of poor Miss Kitty?



CHAPTER NINE.

A MINISTERING ANGEL.

Mr Falconer did not die.  Kitty asked him to live for her sake, and I
dare say he was glad to do so.  Dick and the doctor were out of hearing
at the time, so that I don't know whether I ought to repeat it.

She often, as she sat by his side, spoke very seriously to him, and used
to read the Bible.  One day she asked whether he truly believed it to be
God's word, and to contain His commands to man.  He said he did with all
his heart, and that he had always done so.

"Then," she asked, "how is it that you have not always lived according
to its rules?"

"First, because I did not read the book," he answered; "and, secondly,
because I liked to follow my own will."

"And preferred darkness to light, because your deeds were evil?  That is
what the Bible says, Edward, and you believe that it is God's word,"
said Kitty, in a firm voice.  "But can you now truly say, `I will arise
and go to my Father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned
against heaven and before thee, and am no more worthy to be called thy
son?'"

She gazed with her bright blue eyes full upon him as she spoke, so
innocent and free from guile.

"Indeed, I truly can," he said.

"Hear these words," she continued, turning rapidly over the leaves of
the Bible she held before her.  "`God so loved the world that he gave
his only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him should not
perish, but have everlasting life.'"

"The faith, the belief, must be living, active, not a dead faith, and
then how glorious the assurance, if we remember what everlasting life
means--a certainty of eternal happiness, which no man can take away, and
which makes the pains, and sufferings, and anxieties of this life as
nothing.  I always think of those promises, Edward, whenever I am in
trouble, and you know I very often am, and I remember that God says, `I
will never leave thee nor forsake thee.'  That, and that alone, has
enabled me to endure the dreadful life I have had to lead on board this
ship, until I knew that you loved me.  But the being possessed of that
knowledge, though it affords me unspeakable happiness, does not, I
confess, make me more free from anxiety than I was before.  Then I knew
that nothing could take away what I possessed, because it was treasured
in my own heart; but now I cannot help feeling anxious on your account--
exposed to numberless dangers as you are, and must be, in the horrid
work such as I understand this ship is to be engaged in.  When that
dreadful woman insisted on my accompanying her, I understood that the
ship was to make an ordinary voyage, visiting interesting lands, trading
with the natives, and catching whales.  Had I known the truth I would
have resisted her authority, and gone out as a governess or into service
as a nursery-maid, or done anything rather than have come on board.  But
left an orphan and penniless, and under her guardianship, so she
asserted, I thought it my duty to obey her.  I do not regret it now,"
she added, quickly; "but I felt that you must have been surprised at
finding me dependent on such a person as Mrs Podgers.  I have never
told you my history--I will do so.  When, about ten years ago, my dear
mother was dying, just as I was six years old, this woman was her nurse,
and pretended to be warmly attached to her.  My father, Lieutenant
Raglan, having married against the wishes of his family, they,
considering that my mother, though highly educated and attractive, was
inferior to him in birth and fortune, cast him off, and refused to hold
any further communication with him.  Just before the time I speak of, he
sailed for the East India station, and my dear mother being left at a
distance from her own friends, who resided in the West Indies, she had
no one of her own station, when her fatal illness attacked her, to whom
she could confide me.  When, therefore, her nurse promised to watch over
me with the tenderest care, and to see that I was educated in a way
suitable to my father's position in society, and to restore me to him as
soon as he returned, she thankfully left me and all the property she
possessed under her charge.  Such is what her nurse, now Mrs Podgers,
has always asserted.  Providentially, my mother had written to a lady,
Mrs Henley, at whose school she herself had been educated, saying, that
it was her express wish that I should be under her charge until I was
sixteen, although I was to spend my holidays with nurse till my father's
return.  I suspect, that at the last, my poor mother had some doubts
about leaving so much in the power of a woman of inferior education; and
I remember seeing her write a paper, which she got the respectable old
landlord of the house and his son to witness, and it was to be sent, on
her death, to my kind friend, Mrs Henley.  That paper, or one very like
it, I afterwards saw my nurse destroy.

"On my mother's death, I was sent to Mrs Henley, my nurse insisting
that I should spend the holidays with her.  For the first year or two
she was very kind, and I had nothing to complain of; but after she
married Captain Podgers, her conduct changed very much, I suspect in
consequence of her having taken to drinking.  I did not find this out at
the time, though I thought her occasionally very odd.  She insisted that
she was my guardian, and showed me my mother's handwriting to prove her
authority; and I felt that it was my duty to obey her, though I lived in
hopes that by my father's return I should be freed from her control.

"Year after year passed by.  Then came the account of the capture and
destruction of his ship and loss of many of her officers, though no
information as to his fate could be obtained.  All I knew, to my grief,
was that he did not return.  Still I have a hope amounting almost to
confidence that he is alive.  The thought that I might possibly meet
with him made me less unwilling than I should otherwise have been to
obey Mrs Podgers' commands to accompany her on the voyage she was about
to make.  Her sole motive, I suspect, in wishing me to go, was to save
the expense of my continuing at school.  Still I wonder sometimes how I
could have ventured on board, suspecting, as I had already done, the
hypocritical character of the woman who had pretended to be so devoted
to my mother and me."

"You have, at all events, proved an inestimable blessing to me," said
the young officer.  "Even when I first saw you, I could not believe that
you were really the daughter of such people as the captain and his
wife."

I do not know that I had before thought much about the matter, but when
I heard now, for the first time, that Miss Kitty was not related to the
captain and his wife, I felt a sort of relief, and could not help
exclaiming, "Oh, I am so glad!"  She smiled as she looked at me, but she
made no reply either to mine or Mr Falconer's remark.  She gave us
both, I have no doubt, credit for sincerity.

Although our visits to the wounded mate occupied a good deal of our
time--I say our visits, for I always accompanied Miss Kitty--we did not
neglect the other wounded men.

We went, indeed, to see poor Jonas Webb several times a day.  Sorely
wounded as he was, he yet could listen to what Miss Kitty said to him,
though he was too weak and suffering to utter more than a few words in
reply.  She one day, finding him worse, asked him solemnly if he was
prepared to meet his God.

"What! do you think I am dying, young lady?" he groaned out, in a
trembling voice.

"The doctor says that he has never known any one wounded as badly as you
are to recover," she said, in a gentle, but firm voice.

"Oh, but I cannot die!" he murmured.  "I have made well-nigh five
hundred pounds, and expected to double it in this cruise, and I cannot
leave all that wealth.  I want to go home, to live at my ease and enjoy
it."

"You cannot take your wealth with you," she answered.

Without saving more, she read from the Bible the account of the rich man
and Lazarus.  She then went on to the visit of the wealthy young lawyer
to Jesus, and paused at the reply of the Lord; she repeated the words,
"How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God.
For it is easier for a camel to go through a needle's eye than for a
rich man to enter into the kingdom of God."

"Now," she continued, "you have been trusting in the wealth which, with
so much toil and danger, you have been collecting, to enjoy a life of
ease and comfort on shore.  Suppose God said to you, `Thou fool, this
night thy soul shall be required of thee!' as He does to many; can you
face Him?"

"But I don't see that I have been a bad man.  I have always borne a good
character, and, except when the blood was up, and I have been fighting
with the enemy, or when I have been on shore, may be for a spree, I have
never done anything for which God could be angry with me."

"God looks upon everything that we do, unless in accordance with His
will, to be sinful.  He does not allow of small sins any more than great
sins; they are hateful in His sight; and He shows us that we are by
nature sinful and deserving of punishment, and that, as we owe Him
everything, if we were to spend all our lives in doing only good, we
should be but performing our duty, and still we should have no right in
ourselves to claim admittance into the pure, and glorious, and happy
heaven He has prepared for those alone who love Him.  He has so
constituted our souls that they must live for ever, and must either be
with Him in the place of happiness, or be cast into that of punishment.
But, my friend, Jesus loves you and all sinners, and though God is so
just that He cannot let sin go unpunished, yet Jesus undertook to be
punished instead of you, and He died on the cross and shed His blood
that you might go free of punishment.  If you will but trust in Him, and
believe that He was so punished, and that, consequently, God no longer
considers you worthy of punishment, but giving you, as it were, the
holiness and righteousness which belong to Christ, will receive you into
that holy heaven where none but the righteous can enter."

The wounded man groaned and answered slowly, "I am afraid that I am a
sinner, though I have been trying to make out that I am not one.  But I
really have had a very hard life of it, and no good example set me, and
shipmates around me cursing and swearing, and doing all that is bad; and
so I hope if I do die, as you say I shall, that God won't keep me out of
heaven."

"Jesus Christ says, `There is only one way by which we can enter; there
is but one door.'  `I am the Way, the Truth, and the Light.'  `He that
believeth on him is not condemned, but he that believeth not is
condemned already, because he hath not believed on the name of the
only-begotten Son of God.'  Jesus also says, `He that heareth my word,
and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not
come into condemnation, but is passed from death unto life;' and again,
`Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.'  Jesus came
not to call the righteous, or those who fancy themselves good enough to
go to heaven, as you have been doing, but sinners, to repentance--those
who know themselves to be sinners.  Think how pure and holy God is, and
how different you are to Him, and yet you must be that holy as He is
holy to enter heaven.  Christ, as I have told you, gives you His
holiness if you trust to Him; and God says, `Though your sins be as
scarlet, they shall be white as snow; though they be red like crimson,
they shall be as wool;' and, `As far as the east is from the west, so
far will I put your sins from me.'  Believe what God says; that is the
first thing you have to do.  Suppose Jesus was to come to you now, and,
desperately wounded as you are, tell you to get up and walk; would you
believe Him, or say that you could not?  He said that to many when He
was on earth, and they took Him at His word, and found that He had
healed them.  There was, among others, a man with a withered hand.  When
He said, `Stretch forth thine hand,' the man did not say, `I cannot,'
but stretched it forth immediately.  Just in the same way, when God
says, `Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved,' do
believe on Him, and trust to Him to fulfil His promise.  God never
deceives any one; all His words are fulfilled."

Day by day the young girl spoke to the dying seaman, and, though
witnessing scenes abhorrent to her feelings, influenced by God's grace,
she overcame her repugnance, and faithfully continued to attend him.
She had the satisfaction of hearing him cry, "Lord, be merciful to me a
sinner!" and confess that he had a full hope of forgiveness, through the
merits of Jesus alone.

Two of the other men, though apparently not so severely injured as Webb,
owing to the ignorance of the surgeon, sank from their wounds.  They
died as they had lived, hardening their hearts against the Saviour's
love.

Had Miss Kitty not been very firm, Mrs Podgers would have prevented her
from attending the mate or the other wounded men.

Mr Falconer, though for some time confined to his cabin, was at length
able to get on deck.

"Glad to see you about again," said the captain, as he appeared, in his
usual gruff but not unkind tone.  "When I brought the ladies aboard, I
didn't think that they'd prove so useful in looking after the sick;
though I doubt if she," and he pointed with his thumb over his shoulder
at his wife, "has troubled you much with her attentions."

Before the mate could speak, Mrs Podgers waddled up to him.  "Well, Mr
Falconer, you've found your way out of your cabin at last," she said, in
her nasty wheezy tone.  "I should have thought that when an officer was
only slightly hurt, as you were, he might have managed to return to his
duty before this."

The mate said nothing, but the remark made Miss Kitty very angry.  I
should have said, that as Mrs Podgers would not allow me on the
quarterdeck, the appearance of the bows in her bonnet above the
companion-hatch was the signal for me to escape among my friends
forward; and that it was from Dick, who was at the helm, I afterwards
heard of the unpleasant remarks made by that most unattractive of
females.



CHAPTER TEN.

WHALING AND FIGHTING.

The _Dolphin_, after her first ill-success at privateering, stood away
from the coast towards a part of the ocean where it was expected that
whales would be found.  Look-outs were at the mast-head.

I was sitting with Dick forward, for as Mrs Podgers was sunning herself
on deck, I was keeping out of her way.  Miss Kitty was reading, and Mr
Falconer was pacing up and down, as officer of the watch, taking care
not to approach her till Mrs Podgers should dive below.  Most of the
crew were knitting and splicing, spinning yarns, or performing other
work, of which there is always plenty to be done on board ship, while
some few of them were lying lazily about, doing nothing.

I have not before mentioned a personage who was dubbed the officer of
marines, Lieutenant Pyke.  His figure was tall and thin, as the
captain's was short and broad, and though their noses were much of the
same colour, being as red as strong potations and hot suns could
possibly make them, Lieutenant Pyke's was enormously long.  He was now
engaged in drilling twelve of the most ruffianly and ill-conditioned of
the crew, whom he called his jollies.  They were of various heights and
dimensions, and though they wore red coats and belts, knee-breeches and
gaiters, and carried muskets, they were, as Dick, who held them in
supreme contempt, declared, "as unlike sodgers as they could well be."
Lieutenant Pyke, however, was proud of them, and boasted that they would
follow him to the cannon's mouth, whenever he led the way.

"Likely enough they will," observed Dick, "because, you see, there's
little chance of the lieutenant ever getting there."

He had for some time been drilling these troops of his, as he also
occasionally designated the fellows, making them march up and down, and
pointing every now and then to an imaginary enemy, whom he ordered them
to charge and annihilate, when there came a shout from aloft, "There she
blows!"  In a moment all the crew jumped to their feet.  Our stout
captain tumbled up from below, crying out, "Where away!" and four boats
being lowered and manned, off they pulled, led by Mr Falconer in the
direction in which the look-out pointed.  We could see, about a quarter
of a mile from the ship, a huge hump projecting three feet out of the
water, while from the fore part of the monster's enormous head arose at
the end of every ten seconds a white jet of foam.

"There again! there again!" shouted the crew.  Away dashed the boats at
full speed.

"His spoutings are nearly out," said Dick.

"He is going down," cried others.

Again a spout rose, and we could see the small, as it is called, of his
back rise preparatory to his descent.

"His tail will be up directly," said Dick, "and they will lose him, I
fear;" but at that moment Mr Falconer's boat dashing on, as he stood up
in the boat with his glistening harpoon raised above his head, away it
flew with unerring force, and was buried in the side of the huge animal.
A loud cheer rose from the men in the boats and those on deck, and the
whale, hitherto so quiet, began to strike the water with his vast tail,
aiming with desperate blows at his advancing enemies.  Now his enormous
bottle-nose-shaped head rose in the air--now we saw his flukes lashing
the water, his body writhing with the agony of the wound the sharp iron
had inflicted.  The water around him was soon beaten into a mass of
foam, while the noise made by his tail was almost deafening.

Kitty stood eagerly watching the scene, and looking somewhat pale, for
it seemed as if the boat could scarcely escape some of those desperate
blows dealt around.

I had felt very anxious about my friend.

"Never fear," said Dick; "he knows what he is about.  See, it's `stern
all.'"

The boat backed out of the way; the monster's tail rose for an instant
and disappeared.

"He has sounded," cried Dick.

Away ran the line.  An oar was held up in the boat.

"That means that the line has run out," said Dick.

The nearest boat dashed up, and a fresh line was bent on.  That soon
came to an end, and another, and yet another was joined to it.

"He has eight hundred fathoms out by this time," shouted Dick, "and if
he does not come up soon, he will be lost.  But no, it's `haul in the
slack;' he is rising; they are coiling away the line in the tubs."

Directly afterwards the blunt nose of the animal rose from the sea, and
a spout was projected high into the air.  Mr Falconer's boat was being
hauled rapidly towards it.  A long lance with which he was armed was
quickly buried in the side of the huge creature, going deep down into a
vital part.  The other boats gathered round it, from each a lance was
darted forth, the whale rolling over and over in his agony, and coiling
the rope round him, when suddenly, with open jaws, he darted at one of
the boats, and then attacked another.  Kitty shrieked out with fear, for
it was Mr Falconer's boat which was overtaken, and was seen, shattered
to fragments, flying into the air, while the other was capsized; and now
the whale went so swiftly along the surface, that it seemed he must
after all escape.  Two of the boats were not yet fastened, and, without
stopping to help the men in the water, away they dashed in chase of the
whale.  Impeded by the shattered boat he was dragging after him, and by
several drogues fastened to the lines, he was soon overtaken, when
another harpoon and several more lances were darted into his body.
Still unconquered, away the animal again went, and up rose his tail: he
was attempting to sound, but this his increasing weakness prevented him
from doing.  Then he stopped, and his vast frame began to writhe and
twist about in every possible way, beating the surrounding sea into
foam, and dyeing it with his blood.  The boats backed out of his way.
The captain had sent another boat to the assistance of the men in the
water, when it was seen that the one upset was righted, and that the
people belonging to the shattered boat had been taken on board her.  She
soon joined those which were fast to the whale, and when the monster at
length lay motionless on the water, assisted them in towing it up to the
ship.

Kitty could scarcely conceal her joy when she saw Mr Falconer steering
one of the boats.  I shouted with satisfaction.

The whale was soon alongside, and the operation of cutting off the
blubber, hoisting it on board, and boiling it down in huge caldrons
placed on tripods, commenced.

As night came on, the fires lighted under the pots shed a bright glare
across the deck on the rigging and on the men at work.  I thought them
wild and savage-looking enough before, but they now appeared more like
beings of the lower world than men of flesh and blood.

"I have no fancy for this sort of work," observed Dick, who was a
thorough man-of-war's man.  "The decks won't be fit to tread on for
another week."

However, we had the decks dirtied in the same way many a time for
several weeks after that, being very successful in catching whales.

At last the fighting part of the crew, who were not accustomed to
whaling, began to grumble, and wished to return to the coast, to carry
on the privateering, or, as Dick called it, the pirating work, which
they looked upon as the chief object of the voyage.

Lieutenant Pyke was especially urgent about the matter, and proposed
that a descent should be made on some of the towns, which he and his
brave troops, he asserted, could capture without difficulty.

On reaching the coast, we brought up in a small bay with a town on its
shore.

We had not been long at anchor, when in the evening a boat came off,
manned by natives, with three Spaniards in her.  The captain received
them very politely, and introduced them to his wife and Kitty.  They
seemed highly pleased, and said they had come to trade, taking the
_Dolphin_ to be a smuggler, many English vessels visiting the coast for
the purpose of landing goods free of the high duties imposed on them by
the Spanish Government.  As many pieces of cloth and cotton as could be
found were shown to them as samples.  The captain told them that if they
would return on board with their dollars, the goods should be ready for
them.

Mr Falconer, when he heard of the shameful trick which it was proposed
to play the unfortunate Spaniards, was very indignant, and I believe
would have warned them if he could.  The captain, hearing what he had
said, backed by Lieutenant Pyke and one of the other officers, declared
that he would shoot him through the head if he did any such thing.

During the night, two boats came off with our former visitors and four
others, all bringing a large supply of dollars.  On going down below,
great was their dismay on finding that they were prisoners, and that,
when released, they would have to leave their money behind them and go
without the goods.

In the morning, another boat appeared with two more merchants, who were
treated in the same way.  Altogether, ten thousand dollars were thus
stolen from the Spaniards.

"They are breaking the laws of their country," observed Dick to me, "and
they deserve punishment.  For my part, I don't like this way of doing
things; but if Mr Pyke is as good as his word, and was to land with his
marines and attack the town, it would be more ship-shape and
honourable."

I mention the circumstance to show the abomination of the privateering
system, but people generally did not see it in the same light in those
days.

A suspicious sail appearing in the offing, the Spaniards were allowed to
go on shore, though Lieutenant Pyke declared that if he had his way they
should all have been made to pay a heavy ransom first.  The anchor was
hove up, and we stood out to sea.  We were becalmed during the day,
while still at a distance from the stranger.  As evening approached, a
breeze springing up, she neared us, with a black flag flying from her
peak.  From the cut of her sail and the appearance of her hull, she was
an English vessel, fully as large, if not larger, than the _Dolphin_;
but there could be no doubt of her character--she was a pirate.  The
drum beat to quarters, and preparations were made to give her a warm
reception.  Mrs Podgers and Kitty were sent down into the cockpit,
where they might be out of harm's way.  It was by this time nearly dark,
but still the stranger could be seen gliding towards us through the
thickening gloom.  Dick took me up and carried me to them, in spite of
my entreaties to be allowed to see the fun.

"It will be no fun, Charley, if yonder scoundrels do as they intend, and
try to take the ship," he remarked.  "At all events, there will be some
desperate fighting, and a shot may carry your head off, my boy--so below
you must go, whether you like it or not."

Kitty took my hand and drew me towards her as soon as I appeared,
thankful that I was not to be exposed to danger.

"I should think the little brat might be made useful, sitting on an
ammunition tub," exclaimed Mrs Podgers.  "Why should he be more petted
than the other boys?"

"No, no!" cried Kitty, holding me fast.  "He is younger than they are,
and it would be cruel to let him run the risk of being hurt."

We waited for some time, no one speaking; for Mrs Podgers was too much
frightened, and Kitty too anxious, to do so.  At length there came the
dull sound of a gun fired from the other vessel, followed by louder,
clearer reports of several discharged by the _Dolphin_.  The enemy
replied with a still greater number, and several broadsides were soon
afterwards rapidly exchanged between the combatants.  The firing now
ceased.  We waited almost breathless to hear it begin again.



CHAPTER ELEVEN.

ATTACK ON THE SPANISH HIDALGO.

As no wounded men had been brought below, we trusted that the _Dolphin_
was having the best of it.  At last I begged Kitty to let me go on deck
and ascertain how matters were going on.

"No, no, Charley," she answered.  "They may again begin firing;" but I
saw that she was very anxious herself to learn the state of affairs.

"I will be back again in a minute," I said, and was just escaping from
her, when once more the thundering sound of big guns, with the rattle of
musketry, broke the silence, and she caught me and held me fast.

The firing went on with redoubled vigour, and cries and shouts reached
our ears.  The alarm of Mrs Podgers increased.

"O dear, O dear!" she cried out, wringing her hands.  "If Podgers was to
be hit, what would become of me?"

Once more there was a cessation of the firing.

"Do let me run up, Kitty," I said.  "Some of those we care for may be
wounded, and the rest too busy to bring them below."

I knew my argument would prevail.  "Let him go," said Mrs Podgers.  "I
do so want to know how the captain is."

I broke from her and climbed up the ladder.  I was as active as a
monkey, and quickly reached the deck.  The fighting lanterns which hung
against the bulwarks shed their light across it, and showed me several
human forms stretched out motionless.  The crew, stripped to their
waists, were at the guns, while the officers stood about here and there
among them.  I caught sight of the captain's stout figure, but I looked
in vain for Mr Falconer.  I ran forward in hopes of finding him.  I had
got nearly to the forecastle when the matches were applied to the guns,
and as they were discharged a shower of shot came hissing across the
deck.

I made my way amidst the shower of shot and bullets and falling blocks,
and the horrible din of battle, to the forecastle, where, to my great
joy, I saw Mr Falconer directing the foremost guns.  Dick at the same
moment caught sight of me.

"Charley," he exclaimed, "what business have you here?  Go back, boy,
and tell the ladies we are all right, and will make the pirate sheer off
before long, if we don't take her."

I hurried below with the satisfactory intelligence.  Miss Kitty kissed
me when I told her I had seen Mr Falconer, and I was somewhat afraid
that Mrs Podgers would bestow the same reward upon me when I said that
the captain was unhurt.

"I wish he would make haste and sink the ship which has frightened us so
much," she observed.  "It is a shame that those sort of people should be
allowed to live."

Mrs Podgers did not consider that the Spaniards would probably have
said the same of us.

We heard our ship fire several broadsides in rapid succession; then all
was silent.

Supposing that the fight was over, I persuaded Miss Kitty again to allow
me to run on deck.  Reaching it, I caught sight, a short distance off,
of the tall masts and sails of the enemy's ship.

At that moment loud cheers burst from the throats of our crew.
Gradually the dark sails of our antagonist appeared to be sinking, and
wild shrieks and cries came across the waters towards us.  Lower and
lower the sails sank, and in another minute the spot occupied by the
pirate was vacant--she had disappeared beneath the waves.  No boat was
sent to help the drowning wretches.  Mr Falconer proposed going to
their assistance.

"No, no!" exclaimed the captain; "they would have robbed us or sent us
to the bottom; they don't deserve our pity."

"But they are fellow-creatures, and we should try and save their lives,"
exclaimed the mate.

"You are too tender-hearted, Falconer; you should not have joined a
privateer," was the answer; and the _Dolphin_ glided rapidly away from
the spot where her foe had gone down.

The surgeon was meantime busy with the wounded men, while five who had
been killed were with little ceremony hove overboard.  Mrs Podgers and
Kitty returned to the cabin.  The latter, as before, endeavoured to
alleviate the sufferings of the wounded men, and often visited them,
attended by Mr Falconer and me, notwithstanding the scoldings she daily
got from Mrs Podgers for so doing.

After this, we again stood in for the coast, capturing several Spanish
merchant vessels.

Mr Pyke declared that he wanted to find an enemy more worthy of his and
his troops' prowess than he had hitherto encountered.

"We will give you a chance," said the captain.  "I have discovered from
some of the prisoners that there is a town on the shores of a bay not
far off, which is unprotected by forts.  We may easily make ourselves
masters of the place, and shall probably find in it a good store of
wealth.  But we must be quick about the business, or some troops
stationed at no great distance may be down upon us and interfere with
our proceedings."

"You may depend upon me for doing my part," answered the lieutenant,
drawing himself up.

We made the land early in the day, but hove-to till night, when it was
hoped the inhabitants might be taken by surprise.  The weather was fine,
and the entrance to the harbour broad and safe.  We waited till past
midnight, and then stood in and came to an anchor.  Four boats were
ordered to be got ready; Lieutenant Pyke and his marines went in one of
them, the others were commanded by the sea officers, with a party of
blue-jackets.

I had heard the men talking of what they were going to do, and I thought
that I should very much like to see the fun.  I knew, however, that
neither Dick nor Miss Kitty would approve of my going, and that Mr
Falconer was also unlikely to take me, should I ask him to do so.  The
last boat which left the ship was commanded by the boatswain, a rough
but good-natured man, with whom I had become somewhat of a favourite.  I
watched my opportunity, and slipped in directly after him, and the men,
thinking that he intended I should go, allowed me to stow myself away in
the bow before he saw me, the darkness favouring my design.  The boats
shoved off, and away we pulled, with muffled oars, towards the shore.

We landed just outside the town, among wild rocks.  No lights were
moving about the place, only here and there a few glimmering from the
windows.  Lieutenant Pyke drew up his marines; the other officers
arranged their men in a compact body, I following the rear.

Daylight broke.  When all was ready, the first mate ordered us to
advance, and, stepping lightly over the ground, we made a rush into the
town.  There were no gates to stop us and no sentinels on the watch.  A
sort of town-hall and a church were first entered, and everything they
contained, images, silver candlesticks, crucifixes, incense-pans,
chalices, and several bags of money, with some silver-mounted guns and
pistols, were taken possession of before the inhabitants were awake.  We
then attacked a large house in which lights were still burning, and
where it was supposed the commandant of the place resided.  The door
yielded to the blows of the marines' muskets, and rushing into a
good-sized hall, we saw seated at the end of a long table a thin, tall
hidalgo, and on either side of him a fat priest, with two or three other
personages.  The table was covered with rich plate and numerous flagons
and wine-flasks.  The party gazed at us with open mouths and staring
eyes, but were far too tipsy to utter anything beyond a few expressions
of surprise and dismay.

The commandant, rising, tried to draw his sword, but could not find the
hilt, and tumbled back into his big armchair; while the fat friars,
whose first impulse had been to make their escape, rolled over on the
ground, upsetting the hidalgo's chair in their struggles, when all three
began kicking and striking out, believing each other to be foes.  The
rest of the party at once yielded themselves as prisoners.  Our men,
bursting into loud fits of laughter, let the trio fight on for some
time, till our commander, fearing, should we delay longer, that the
inhabitants would make their escape, or perhaps assemble and attack us,
ordered them to be lifted up and carried off, with their arms bound
behind them.  It was no easy matter to do this, for the friars were so
heavy that it required three stout men to each to set them on their
legs.

While a party was left to guard them, the rest proceeded to break into
the other houses.

The inhabitants, now aroused from their slumbers by the hubbub, put
their heads, with their nightcaps on, out of the windows in all
directions, but quickly withdrew them, uttering loud shrieks and
exclamations of dismay and surprise.  After a little time Dick caught
sight of me.

"Charley," he cried out, "what has brought you here?"

"I wanted to see the fun, Dick.  I hope you are not angry."

"But I am, though, Charley," he answered; "and though, to my mind, it's
dirty work attacking sleeping people, who have never done us any harm,
we may have some fighting yet, and you may get knocked on the head.
Stick by me, however, and I'll look after you, though you don't deserve
it."

I felt ashamed of myself, and took good care to do as Dick told me.

He, with about half the number of our party, now proceeded to one side
of the town, while the other marched to the farther end, three or four
armed men entering any of the large houses which appeared likely to
contain booty worth carrying off.  My party had accompanied the marines
under Lieutenant Pyke, who was shouting out "he only wished he could see
a foe worthy of his steel."  As we went along, we came to a small
square, at the other side of which a band of some twenty persons
appeared, others coming up in the distance.  I am not sure that all had
arms, though they presented a somewhat military aspect.  Our commander
ordered the marines to charge them.

"On, lads, on!" cried the lieutenant, waving his sword, but he did not
move very fast.  The Spaniards, however, seeing the invaders coming, ran
off as fast as their legs would carry them, when the lieutenant doubled
his speed, waving his sword still more vehemently, and shouting out:
"On, brave lads!  Death or victory!"  By the time he got across the
square, no foe was to be seen, and after looking round the corner to
ascertain that they had not reassembled, he marched back his men in
triumph.

In a short time every house had been ransacked, and, with our booty and
prisoners, we returned to the boats and regained the ship, not a shot
having been fired nor a life lost.

The commandant having agreed to pay five thousand dollars as his own
ransom and that of his companions, one of the fat friars was sent on
shore to collect the money, having orders to return by noon.  He shook
his head, and declared that this was impossible.

"It might take four or five days, perhaps a week, to collect such a
sum."

"Very well," said the captain at last.  "By sunset, if the ransom is not
brought on board, we shall have a fine bonfire out there," and he
pointed to the town.

"Arra' now, captain, you may as well cook and eat us at once, for sorrow
a dollar have ye left us, and all the crucifixes, and candlesticks, and
beautiful images, which we might have pledged for the money, stowed away
in your hold!" exclaimed the fat friar, betraying his Hibernian origin,
and that he had understood every word which had been spoken.

"Are you an Irishman, and living among these foreigners, and pretending
to be one of them?" cried the captain.  "If I had known that, I would
have clapped on another thousand dollars to your ransom."

"Sure, captain, dear, it would have been more charitable to have taken
them off," observed the jovial friar.  "However, just be after giving me
four days, and ye shall resave the dollars all bright and beautiful,
though not a quarter of one could all the blessed saints together
collect in the whole of our unfortunate town and the circumjacent
country."

The friar's eye twinkled as he spoke.  At last he proposed paying even a
larger sum, provided that the captain would prolong the time to five
days for its collection.  Captain Podgers, eager to get more money, and
not suspecting treachery, agreed to the proposal, and Fra Patricio,
chuckling in his sleeve, prepared to take his departure.

"Captain, dear," he said, turning round with a comical look as he
reached the gangway, "ye haven't got a bottle of potheen, the raal
cratur, have ye?  It would just be after comforting me in my trouble."

A bottle of Irish whiskey being handed to the friar, he tucked it away
in his sleeve, and his boat pulled off towards the shore.

Mr Falconer, who understood Spanish, shortly after this informed the
captain that he had discovered, from the prisoners' conversation, that
the object of Friar Patrick in asking for more time to collect the
ransom, was that troops might be sent for to protect the town.  The
captain replied that he would hang his prisoners if any such trick was
played.

We remained two days longer, and no news came from the Irish friar.

Our prisoners were well supplied with eatables and drinkables and
tobacco, and appeared perfectly happy, talking freely among themselves,
as they sat at table and smoked their cigarettes.  Mr Falconer, though
unwilling to be an eavesdropper, could not help hearing what they said,
and as he had prudently not let them discover that he knew Spanish, they
did not suspect that he understood what they said.  He was sitting
writing in his own cabin, which opened on the gun-room, when he heard
one of them remark that, in a couple of days, at furthest, the tables
would be turned, and that those who were now their masters would be
prisoners, or hung up at the yard-arms of their frigate.

"Which, pirates as they are, will be their just fate," observed another.
On this, the rest of the party laughed grimly.

"The ladies we cannot hang, though."

"No; they can be sent to a nunnery, or perhaps you, Seignor Commandant,
who are a bachelor, would wish to wed the fat widow."

Some remarks were made about Miss Kitty, which Mr Falconer did not
repeat.

"How soon can the two frigates be here?" inquired another.

"In two days, or three at most," was the answer.  "But we shall be in no
slight danger.  I wish we could escape before then."

"No fear about that," answered one of the former speakers.  "The
Englishmen won't attempt to fight against so overpowering a force, and
will, depend on it, haul down their flag as soon as they see the two
frigates enter the harbour."

This idea seemed to make the whole party very merry.

Mr Falconer, after sitting quiet for some time, went on deck, and
informed the captain of all he had heard.

Captain Podgers was not a little put out by the information he received.
He was very unwilling to lose his dollars, but if he remained in
harbour, he might lose his ship, and his own life into the bargain; for
Mr Falconer did not fail to repeat the threat of the Spaniards, to have
him hung up at the yard-arm as a pirate.  He vowed that he should be
ready to fight one Spanish frigate, but two were more than even the
_Dolphin_ could venture to tackle.

After pacing the deck two or three times, he summoned the officers into
the cabin; and it was finally settled that the other fat friar should be
at once sent on shore, with orders to make his appearance next day at
noon at the landing-place, with all the dollars that had been collected,
and should the amount not be sufficient, he was to warn the inhabitants
that their town would be set on fire.  That the _Dolphin_ might run no
risk of being entrapped, she was at once to put to sea, while the boats
alone were to go in the following day and bring off the ransom.

The Spaniards were very much alarmed when they saw preparations going on
for making sail.

Fortunately, a Spanish merchant among our prisoners spoke a little
English, so that Mr Falconer had not to betray to them his knowledge of
their language.  The fat friar shrugged his shoulders when he heard what
he was to do.  He seemed, however, not a little pleased to get out of
the clutches of the terrible privateersman.  As soon as he had been
landed, the _Dolphin's_ anchor was hove up, and the land breeze still
blowing, we sailed out of the harbour.

We were standing on and off the island during the night.  It was a calm
and beautiful one.  I had gone on deck to be near Dick, which I
frequently did during his watch, when, the moon shining brightly from
behind some light fleecy clouds which floated over the sky, we caught
sight of an object gliding over the glittering waters.  As it
approached, Dick pronounced it to be a raft, with a small square sail
set, and soon afterwards we distinguished two figures on it.  He hailed.
There came, in reply, a faint cry across the water.  Directly
afterwards the sail was lowered.  Mr Falconer, who was officer of the
watch, ordered the ship to be hove-to and a boat lowered, which quickly
towed the raft and its occupants alongside.  The men were hoisted on
deck, for they were too weak to climb up by themselves.  Dick and I, who
had good reason to feel for them, hurried to the gangway.  Dick, without
asking questions, filled a cup of water and brought it to them; they
both drank eagerly.

Mr Falconer while by his orders a couple of hammocks were being got
ready for them, inquired who they were and whence they had come.  One,
who appeared the least exhausted, answered that they had been ten days
at sea, and for the three last they had been without food or water, with
the exception of half a biscuit apiece, and that they were the survivors
of six who had embarked on the raft.

"I am the second mate of the _Juno_, armed whaler," continued the
speaker.  "Our crew mutinied, murdered the captain and several of the
other officers; but the third mate and I, with four men who refused to
join them, were turned adrift on this wretched raft, with but a scanty
allowance of water and provisions, which the mutineers gave us,
asserting that it was enough to support us till we could reach the
shore.  Calms and light winds prevailed, and we were almost abandoning
hope, when, this afternoon, we made the land, though I doubt if we
should have survived had we not fallen in with you."

Mr Falconer treated the two mates with great kindness, and did his best
to make them comfortable, not doubting the truth of their story.  They
had farther added, that as soon as they had been sent off from the side
of the ship, the mutineers hoisted the black flag, with three cheers,
announcing that they intended to turn pirates and attack ships of all
nations.

From their account, there remained no doubt that the _Juno_ was the ship
which had lately engaged the _Dolphin_, and met with so awful, though
well-deserved a fate.  They also told us that the _Juno_ had been about
to enter a harbour a short distance off, when two men-of-war were seen,
with their lower masts only standing, that several boats had been sent
out in chase of the ship, but, a breeze springing up, she had escaped.

This confirmed what Mr Falconer had heard from the Spaniards, and made
the captain thankful that he had listened to his advice.

The next day we stood in to the mouth of the harbour, when the boats
were sent on shore, each carrying half a dozen torches.  Our prisoners
were in a great fright on seeing this, saying that the friars would very
probably be unable to collect the money, and earnestly urging that we
would remain two or three days longer at anchor before setting fire to
the town.

"We are not to be so caught, seignors," answered the captain, laughing
grimly.  "If your friends bring the dollars, well and good; if not, we
will make a bonfire which will light the two frigates you expect into
the harbour."

Away the boats pulled, one only being left alongside, in which the
governor and his companions were ordered to seat themselves.  We waited
anxiously for some time, when wreaths of smoke were seen to ascend from
various parts of the town, and the whole place was shortly in a blaze.
The captain considered himself very humane, when he allowed his
prisoners, after having been stripped of nearly every particle of
clothing, to be put on shore on the nearest point.  This he did to
revenge himself for the loss of the expected dollars, which he knew, on
seeing the town set on fire, had not been obtained.

Scarcely had the boats returned and been hoisted up, when two large
ships were seen steering for the entrance of the harbour.  Every stitch
of canvas the _Dolphin_ could carry was set.  The strangers, on seeing
her, made all sail in chase, and, from the way that they overhauled her,
there appeared but little prospect of her escape.



CHAPTER TWELVE.

MR. NEWTON.

The frigates continued to gain on the _Dolphin_.  Captain Podgers was in
a great state of agitation, dreading the punishment which the Spaniards
would justly inflict on us for the injuries we had done them, especially
when they found on board the articles we had carried away from the
church.  "If there was only one of them, I would fight her gladly, and,
big as she is, we would beat her, too," exclaimed the captain, as he
paced the deck, eyeing the enemy through his spy-glass; and, to do him
justice, he was a brave man and not a bad sailor, although he had few
other good qualities.

Miss Kitty looked very pale, not from fear of herself, but she dreaded
the danger to which those on deck would be exposed.

The wind increased and the sea got up: still we carried on, though our
masts and spars bent and cracked.  The sails were wetted--hammocks were
slung, and men with shot got into them--indeed, every device was used to
increase the speed of the ship.  After a time, we appeared to be holding
our own, if not drawing a little ahead of the enemy.

As evening approached, the wind dropped, and we could see the sails of
the frigates hanging against the masts.  Ours soon afterwards collapsed,
and we lay perfectly becalmed.  Some of the men forward expressed their
opinion that the Spaniards would attack as with their boats.

"Little fear of that," said Dick; "they know us too well to wish to come
to close quarters.  We should have a much better chance of taking them,
if we were to try it.  I don't know if the captain will think of doing
that."

Darkness now came down upon us and shut out the enemy from sight.  The
captain might have expected an attack to be made on us by the frigates'
boats, for he ordered a bright look-out to be kept.  Boarding-netting
was triced up; the men wore their cutlasses at their sides and pistols
in their belts, and pikes were placed ready for use.

Miss Kitty had come on deck, and, seeing me at a little distance, called
me to her.

"If there is to be more of that dreadful work, you must come and stay
with me, Charley, as before," she said.  "I cannot let you risk your
young life; you must promise me now."

I did so, though unwillingly.

"When will this fearful fighting end?" she said, sighing.  "Though men
seem to delight in it, I am sure that it is against all Divine laws, and
brings misery and suffering to both parties."

"I hope that we shall escape fighting this time," I observed; "for Dick
says that he is sure the Spaniards will not attack us.  Perhaps before
the morning we shall be able to get away from them."

No one turned in that night, and the crew were kept at their quarters,
to be ready for a sudden attack.

When the sun rose out of the ocean, his beams fell on the tails of our
foes, throwing a ruddy glow on the calm waters, which shone like a plain
of molten gold.  Eager eyes were looking out for a breeze.  Should it
come from the direction of our foes, they would have every chance of
catching us; but if ahead, we should have the advantage of them, and
thus be able to slip out of their way.

Several hours passed by.  We were still the same distance as before from
the enemy.

I was on the forecastle with Dick, when I caught sight of a slight
ripple which played over the surface.  I pointed it out to my companion.

"All right, Charley," he said.  "Those catspaws are a good sign.
There's another and another."

Presently the sails gave a flap.  In a moment every one was in activity:
the yards were braced sharp up, the royals filled, then the
topgallantsails and topsails bulged out, and away we glided.  Looking
astern, we saw that the Spaniards still remained becalmed.  The
captain's ruddy countenance beamed with satisfaction at the hopes of
carrying off his booty in safety.

"We shall give the Dons the `good-bye,'" he shouted out to his wife
below.

Kitty quickly came on deck, and I saw how thankful she felt.

Gradually our enemies' sails sank beneath the horizon, and at length we
had the satisfaction of losing sight of them altogether.  Still the
captain observed, that as they would guess the course we had taken, they
might be after us; and until two days had passed by, he did not feel
altogether secure.

We now steered back to the whaling-ground, where we remained for a
couple of months, half filling the ship with oil.

After this we touched at two of the Society Islands.  At one of them we
saw, as we came to an anchor at some little distance from the beach,
beneath a grove of cocoa-nut trees, a neat white cottage built in the
English style, with two larger edifices near it, and Dick remarked that
one of them looked very like a chapel.  The numerous natives, who came
off in their canoes, bringing fruits, and vegetables, and fish, were
dressed in shirts and trousers, and all behaved in a quiet, orderly way.
Two or three of those who came on board spoke English.

"Why, what has come over you people?  You are very different sort of
fellows to what you were a few years ago, when I was here," observed the
captain.

"We were then heathen savages; we are now Christian men," was the
answer.  "There is our chapel, and there is our school-house; in yonder
cottage lives our good pastor, the missionary, Mr Newton, and he will
be very glad to receive any who like to visit him."

"I have no fancy for those sort of fellows," growled the captain; "they
spoil trade, and prevent our men enjoying their freedom on shore."

Kitty, however, on hearing the account given by the natives, expressed
her wish to go and pay a visit to the missionary, and Mr Falconer
offered to convey her on shore.  The captain could not refuse his
request for a boat, though he granted it with an ill grace.  Dick was
ordered to get one ready.  Kitty desired to take me with her, and we
were soon walking up a neat pathway towards the cottage.

How beautiful and quiet it looked--everything seemed smiling around.

A gentleman, whom we at once guessed was Mr Newton, appeared at the
garden-gate, and cordially invited us into his house.  Before entering,
we were joined by his wife, a sweet-looking young woman.  I thought
that, next to Kitty, she was the most perfect being in the world: for
almost since I could recollect, I had seen no other females, except the
wild natives of the islands we had visited, besides Mrs Podgers.  To
her she certainly was a very great contrast.

On entering, Kitty was placed on a sofa by our hostess, who removed her
bonnet and shawl, and spoke in the sweetest and kindest manner to her.
To my surprise, Kitty suddenly burst out crying.

Mr Newton asked her what was the matter.

"Oh!" she exclaimed, "how peaceful and happy all around appears!  Oh,
how I should like to remain here!"

Kitty then told her how she was situated.  Mrs Newton replied that she
should be very glad to receive her, and that she hoped she would assist
in the work she was engaged in.

"Indeed, I would pray that I might be able to do so," said Kitty.

Mr Falconer looked agitated--a struggle was going on in his heart.

"I have engaged to serve on board yonder ship--my duty forbids me to
quit her," he said, in a husky voice.  "Yet you will be far, far better
off here, and freer from danger, than on board."

"We must not deceive you," said Mr Newton.  "Although the natives
around us are Christians, there are still many savage heathens in the
island, and many more in the neighbouring islands, and we are liable to
be attacked by them.  It is our duty to be here, but we are not
altogether free from danger."

"I should be thankful to leave Miss Kitty in a place of safety," said
Mr Falconer, "but that information alters the advice I might have
given."

"I will continue on board, and share the dangers the ship may have to go
through," exclaimed Kitty, suddenly.  "I am, however, deeply grateful
for the kind offer you, my friends, have made to me; and do not suppose
that it is because I fear to run the risk you speak of, but," and she
looked up at Mr Falconer, "I have another reason, which I must ask you
not to press me to name."

I do not know whether the missionary and his wife suspected what that
reason was, but they did not again urge Miss Kitty to stay with them.

She and I, however, spent the three days the ship remained in the
harbour at the missionary's house, and they were the happiest I could
ever remember.

How rough and profane appeared my shipmates when I returned on board.
Kitty, too, evidently felt the difference between the quiet abode she
had left and the cabin of the _Dolphin_.

The _Dolphin_ had been several months at sea, and during the time five
or six more whales had been caught, when we touched at the Sandwich
Islands, where we took on board ten natives, to assist in navigating
her.  We had also put into the Gallipagos, to refit.  They are the most
dreary group of islands I have ever visited, dark rocks rising up
everywhere round their coasts, with wild black beaches, and huge
tortoises, with legs resembling those of elephants, and serpent-like
heads, and long lizard-like guanas crawling over them.  As no water was
to be procured there, we sailed northward till we came in sight of a
beautiful island, with hills rising here and there into the blue sky,
covered with the richest tropical vegetation.

Directly after, we brought up in a sheltered bay.  A number of large
canoes came off to us, filled with natives, the skins of the older
chiefs almost black, from the elaborate tattoo marks with which they
were covered.  Those of the younger people were, however, of a light
brown hue, the skins of some indeed being quite fair.  The heads of the
chiefs were decorated with crowns made of long feathers; they wore long
loose cloaks of native cloth over their shoulders, and carried in their
hands elaborately carved clubs.

The captain, through one of the Sandwich Islanders who could talk
English, told them that his object in coming to this island was to get a
supply of water, and to cut some spars to make yards for the ship.  They
replied in a friendly way that he was welcome to do as he wished, and
that they would show him the trees likely to suit his purpose.

A number of them were parading the deck, examining everything they saw.
When Kitty appeared, they gazed at her with astonishment, she being the
first white woman they had probably ever seen.  All the people appeared
to be very friendly, and anxious to induce our men to go on shore in
order to trade, but there being plenty of work on board, the captain
would not allow this.  At night the natives took their departure,
promising to return the next day.

The following morning, several canoes came round the ship, and the
captain proposed landing, to select the trees which he wished to have
out down.  Mr Falconer asked Miss Kitty whether she would like to go on
shore.  She answered that she did not like the appearance of the
natives, and that, though they might profess to be very friendly, she
did not trust them, but that she should be very glad to take a sail in
the bay, and to make some sketches of the island from the water, and
especially of some picturesque rocks which we had passed when entering.
The mate gladly undertook to do as she wished, and ordered a boat, with
four of the steadiest men in the ship, who were always ready to obey
him, to be got ready.

As they expected to be away for some hours, he put some water and
provisions into the boat.  The steward, not knowing this, had filled a
basket, which he also lowered down to the crew.  Mr Falconer had
intended that Dick should go, but the first mate had directed him to do
some work, which kept him occupied, and had told me to attend on him.  I
knew that Miss Kitty would gladly have me with her, and felt
disappointed when I saw the boat sail away down the harbour.  The
natives seemed to take little notice of the boat's departure, probably
they thought she had gone for a short distance only, and would soon
return.

The captain, with the carpenter and his mates, and a boat's crew, now
went on shore.  Dick and I were at work on the bowsprit, I sitting by
him, holding the rope-yarn and grease-pot.  As soon as the captain was
gone, the natives began to invite our men on shore, and several of them,
declaring that it was very hard that they should be kept on board,
slipped into the canoes, and allowed the savages to carry them off.
Others followed their example.  The officers shouted to them to return,
but their orders were not attended to.  More canoes now came off, full
of savages, who, as they got alongside, clambered on board, till the
deck was crowded with them, so that the crew who remained at their duty
could scarcely move about.  The first mate, seeing this, ordered the
natives back into their canoes.  I had, while the mate was issuing his
orders, turned my glance aft, when, at that moment, he cried out to
Lieutenant Pyke, who was below, to get his men under arms, and then
signed to the natives crowding the deck to return to their canoes.
Thinking, apparently, to make the savages understand him better, he
incautiously gave a shove to one of the chiefs who was standing near
him.  The savage, uttering a fearful cry, whirled round his heavy club
and struck the poor mate dead on the deck.  It was a signal to his
followers.  In an instant every club was upraised and aimed at the head
of the nearest seaman.

Dick, hearing the savages shout, looked up from his work, and seeing
what was taking place, laid hold of me by the collar and dragged me
along to the jib-boom end, whence we witnessed the dreadful scene
enacted on deck.



CHAPTER THIRTEEN.

IN THE CLUTCHES OF THE CHIEF.

The crew of the _Dolphin_, though numerous and well accustomed to the
use of arms, being thus taken unawares, were almost helpless.  The
sharp-edged war-clubs of the natives came crashing down upon their
heads, as they ran here and there in search of weapons to defend
themselves.  Lieutenant Pyke was struck dead the instant he appeared at
the companion-hatch.  The second mate was treated in the same way, while
the boatswain, with a few men who gathered round him, made a desperate
attempt to defend himself; but he and his party were overpowered by
numbers, and cut down, after they had killed several of the natives.
Some of our men jumped down below, but were followed by the savages.
Whether they were killed, or whether any escaped, we could not tell.  A
few ran up the rigging, where the natives appeared afraid to follow
them.

In a few minutes, besides Dick and me, not a white man whom we could
see, except those aloft, remained alive.  The natives now began dancing
frantically about the deck, whirling their clubs over their heads, and
shouting at the top of their voices for joy of their victory.  They
either did not observe Dick and me, or knowing that we must at length
come in, did not think us worth their notice.  I felt almost overpowered
with horror.  In spite of that, however, I thought of dear Miss Kitty,
dreading that she and Mr Falconer, with those in the boat, would, on
their return, have to share the terrible fate of our other companions;
while I fully expected Dick and I would soon be summoned off to be
killed.

What had become of Mrs Podgers, and those who had been below at the
moment of the attack, we could not tell.

"Oh, Dick, what are we to do?"  I exclaimed, trembling with fear.

"We must trust to God, Charley," he answered.  "He will take care of us,
though how that is to be, is more than I can say.  I can only hope that
the savages, fierce as they are, will not have the heart to kill a
little boy like you; and it can matter little what becomes of an old
fellow, such as I am.  Say your prayers, Charley, though you cannot
kneel down.  That does not matter."

The savages all this time continued dancing on the deck, as if they
would beat it in, shouting at the top of their voices, and flourishing
their war-clubs, looking more like a gang of demons let loose than human
beings.

"It will be bad enough for us, Charley, even though the natives don't
kill and eat us, but my mind is most troubled about poor Miss Kitty.
What will become of her, if they get hold of the boat? and there's no
chance that I can see of her escaping."

"I was thinking of her, too," I said, "and Mr Falconer.  The savages
will murder him and the boat's crew, as they have the rest.  Oh, Dick!
I cannot stand it.  I wish they would kill me at once!"

I felt, as I spoke, like the hapless bird fascinated by the glance of
the serpent, and could scarcely restrain myself from clambering on board
and rushing among the savages.

"Hold fast, Charley," said Dick.  "I wish I had not said what I did--you
have got your best days before you.  If the savages wanted to kill us,
they would have done so before now.  See, they are growing calmer, and
are talking together; they, perhaps, will be satisfied with gaining
possession of the ship, and all the plunder in her, and won't kill those
who make no resistance."

Soon after Dick had said this, a tall chief with a high plume of
feathers on his head, and his almost white skin only slightly tattooed,
advanced to the heel of the bowsprit, and, looking towards Dick and me,
shouted out some words, and beckoned us to come in.

"What shall we do, Dick?"  I asked.  "Will he kill me, do you think?"

"There's no help for it, Charley," answered Dick.  "But don't be afraid;
he shall kill me before he hurts you.  Just get round and keep close
behind me, and I will ask him to take care of you; he does not look as
savage as the rest."

I followed Dick, though I confess my alarm was so great that I could
scarcely hold on.  As we got to the inner end of the bowsprit, I
observed that the chief placed his bloodstained club against the
bulwarks; he then lifted up both his hands, to show that they held no
weapon.  Dick, therefore, advanced more boldly, and getting on deck,
still keeping me behind him, confronted the chief.

"I make bold to ask you to let this little chap go free, Mr Savage,"
said Dick, pointing to me.  "He has never done you no harm, and never
will.  It cannot do you any good if you kill him, and he is so thin, he
would make but a poor meal, if you want to eat him."

Although the chief could not have understood a word that Dick said, he
seemed to comprehend his meaning, and, putting his hand on his head and
mine, he signified that we were his property, and that he would take
care of us.  He even smiled when he looked at me, and seemed to inquire
whether I was Dick's son, so Dick fancied; for he replied, "He is all
the same as my child, and if you hurt him, it will be the worse for
you."  Our friend then called up two other men, who appeared to belong
to him as a sort of bodyguard, and then charged them to take care of us,
while he went aft and spoke to the other chiefs.

Meantime the natives had begun to hoist up the goods from the hold, and
to load their canoes with them, our new friend being apparently engaged
in securing his share of the booty.  Dick and I were thus left on the
forecastle, and could observe what was going on.  We often turned our
eyes towards the mouth of the harbour, dreading to see the boat return.
And yet, what could become of her, with no friendly port near, should
she not come back?

A considerable time having passed, the young chief's canoe came round
under the bows, and he made signs to us to lower ourselves into her.
Just before I did so, I cast my eyes once more seaward, and there I
caught sight of a boat's sail.  Mr Falconer and Kitty were returning,
unsuspicious of the dreadful circumstances which had occurred.  How I
wished that I could go off and warn them.

We had scarcely thought about the captain and the rest of the men on
shore.  If they had escaped, we need not have much apprehension about
ourselves; but if they had been put to death, we, I still dreaded, on
reaching the shore might meet with the same fate.

"What can we do, Dick, to let Miss Kitty and the mate know their
danger?"  I asked.  "If they come up the harbour, there will be no
chance for them."

"We can do nothing, Charley," he answered.  "They are in God's hands, as
we are, and we must trust to Him to take care of us all."

The young chief now made another sign to Dick and me to get into the
canoe, so we lowered ourselves down, and went up to where the chief was
standing.  His canoe, like many others around, was of considerable
length, fully forty feet, though not more than a foot and a half wide,
and of about the same depth.  She was kept from upsetting by outriggers
projecting from the bow, middle, and stern, with a long piece of light
wood secured to the extremity of each.  On the upper part of the stem,
which projected about two feet, was a carved head of some animal; while
the after part also projected six feet or more beyond the actual stern,
something like the shape of a Dutch skate.  The paddles were neatly made
of a hard black wood, highly polished, with slender handles, and the
blades of an oval form.  I afterwards examined the canoe, and found that
it was composed of many pieces of the bread-fruit tree, cut into planks
and sewed together with the fibres of the outside shell of the
cocoa-nut.  The seams were covered inside and out with strips of bamboo
sewed to the edge of each plank, to keep in a stuffing of cocoa-nut
fibre.  The keel consisted of one piece, which ran the whole length, and
was hollowed out in the form of a canoe, being, indeed, the foundation
of the vessel.  Three pieces of thick plank, placed as partitions,
divided the interior into four parts, and served for timbers to keep her
from separating or closing together.  She had also a mat sail, broad at
the top, and narrowing to a point at the foot.

The chief told as to sit down, and directed his crew to paddle towards
the shore.  This they did, accompanied by several other canoes, which
were apparently under his command.

We frequently turned our eyes towards the boat, but the wind was scant
and light, and she made but little progress up the harbour.  Probably
Miss Kitty and the mate were in no hurry to return on board.  The men
who had escaped up the rigging were still there; but whether the
captain's wife and those who had fled below had survived the massacre we
could not tell.  The ship was still crowded with savages, who were
busily employed carrying up what they could find below and had strength
to remove.  The oil-casks must, however, have been beyond their power to
lift, though Dick observed that they would be sure to try and get hold
of the iron hoops, and be rather astonished when the oil burst out over
them.

Our captor directed his course towards a small inner bay, on the shores
of which were several huts, where we concluded that he lived.  Though
some of his men cast savage glances at us, and looked as if they would
like to knock out our brains, we were not ill-treated, nor was anything
taken from us.

On landing, we were allowed to remain by ourselves while the crews of
the canoes were busy in unloading them as fast as they could.

There was close at hand, forming one side of the little bay, a high
rock, whence Dick thought that we could get a good sight of the whole
harbour.  We set off, and, unnoticed by the busy natives, made our way
to the top of it.  We were not disappointed in our expectations, and
from it could see both the ship and the boat.  The latter had made but
little way, and, finding the wind against her, had lowered her sail and
taken to the oars.  More canoes were collecting alongside, and we
concluded that the chief and his followers were going to return for a
further supply of booty.  We were allowed to remain on the rocks, the
natives probably knowing that we could not make our escape.

The wind after a time freshened a little, and the boat was drawing
nearer.  As we were looking towards her, a loud report reached our ears,
and, turning our eyes towards the ship, we saw the masts and deck rising
upwards, surrounded by a dense smoke, and a thick mass of the shattered
fragments of numberless articles, mingled with the boom-boats,
companion-hatch, caboose, and human beings mangled and torn.  For a few
seconds they seemed to hang in the air, and then were scattered far and
wide around the ship.  The masts falling into the water, crushed several
of the canoes alongside, and the shrieks and cries of the natives, who
had escaped with life, while they paddled away in dismay, came over the
waters towards us.

Dick and I held our breath, and I saw horror depicted in his
countenance.

"Though the savages deserve what they have got, it may be the worse for
us," he muttered.  "They will now knock us on the head, to a certainty."

I made no reply, but I feared that what Dick said would prove true.

Flames now burst out from the ship, and several guns which were loaded
went off, sending their shot flying among the natives, and creating
still further dismay.

So absorbed were we for some minutes in watching the ship, that we had
almost forgotten the boat.  Again looking towards her, I saw that her
sail was hoisted, and that she was running before the wind towards the
harbour's mouth.

"Mr Falconer guesses what has happened; I am sure of that," said Dick,
"and he would rather trust to carrying Miss Kitty off into the wide
ocean than to the mercy of the savages, though I am afraid they will
have a hard time of it, even if they get clear."

"Oh, Dick!"  I cried out, "see, there are some of the savages after
them, and they may be overtaken."

Such, indeed, was the case.  Several canoes which at the time of the
explosion had been at a distance from the ship, watching, apparently,
the approaching boat, on seeing her standing seaward, began to paddle
after her.  Though they had no sails, they glided rapidly over the
water, and there seemed but little probability that our friends would
effect their escape.



CHAPTER FOURTEEN.

MOTAKEE.

So absorbed were Dick and I in watching the boat with Miss Kitty on
board and the savages pursuing them, that we did not think of ourselves
or the fate which too probably awaited us.  The savages paddled with
might and main, resolved, it seemed, to revenge on our friends the
destruction which had overtaken so many of their people.  They were
gaining rapidly on the boat, though her crew were pulling hard at the
oars.  I felt inclined to cry with agitation as I thought of what Miss
Kitty would have to endure, when the boat's sail filled out, and a
freshening breeze carried her along faster than she had hitherto been
moving.  The wind still further increased.  Away she shot ahead,
distancing her pursuers.  She gained the harbour's mouth, and, steering
out to sea, ran on till her white sail appeared a mere speck in the
horizon; while the savages, disappointed of their prey, paddled back
towards the shore.

Meantime the ill-fated _Dolphin_ continued burning, and was now in
flames fore and aft, the savages having been too much alarmed to make
any attempt to extinguish the fire.  The men who had been aloft had
clung to the mast when it fell, though we could scarcely hope that they
had escaped uninjured.  We saw, however, that several of them were still
hanging on to it, while it floated free of the burning ship.  The
natives, on discovering them, approached the mast, and dragged them into
their canoes.  What they intended to do with them we could not tell, but
we feared that they would murder them, as we supposed they also would
us.

The young chief who had taken possession of us had not reached the ship
when she blew up, and we now saw him and his people landing in the
little bay above which we were seated.  We had made no attempt to
conceal ourselves.  He beckoned to us to come down.

"We must put a bold face on the matter," said Dick, taking my hand.
"Cheer up, Charley.  I don't think he intends to hurt you; and if he
kills me, remember, do your best to escape, and don't turn into a
savage, as they are sure to try and make you, and cover you all over
with tattoo marks."

"Oh, they must not kill you, Dick; they sha'n't kill you!"  I cried out.
"I will let them kill me first."

I felt, indeed, that I would much rather be put to death than see my
kind friend murdered before my eyes.

Dick, leading me by the hand, approached the chief, whose club I
expected every moment to see upraised to strike us dead.  Instead of
doing so, however, looking at me kindly, he took me by the hand and made
a speech to Dick, which we, of course, could not understand, but which,
from its tone, relieved us somewhat from our apprehensions.  I
afterwards discovered that it was to the effect that he had promised to
befriend us; and knowing that the destruction of the ship and the death
of his people was not owing to as, that would not alter his purpose.

"Thank you kindly, sir," said Dick, touching his hat sailor-fashion.
"If you will treat this boy well, it's all I care for.  I speak him
fair, Charley, for your sake," he said to me, "and by the cut of his
jib, I think he will be as good as his word."

The chief, whose name we found was Motakee, or "The good-looking one,"
now addressed his people, who had been casting somewhat threatening
glances at us, and, I suspect, had we been left to their tender mercies,
would very soon have knocked us on the head.  Our new friend having
appointed several of his people to guard us, told us to follow him along
the shore.  After going a short distance, we reached another much larger
beach, on which a number of canoes were drawn up and a large concourse
of people assembled.  We looked about for the captain and our shipmates,
who had at first landed.  On going a little farther, what was our horror
to see the greater number of them lying dead on the shore, with their
heads so battered that we could scarcely recognise them.  We knew the
captain, however, by his figure and dress; we had, therefore, too much
reason to suppose that we were the only survivors of the _Dolphin's_
crew, with the exception of those who had escaped in the boat and the
men who had been saved on the mast.  We saw the latter alive in some of
the canoes still afloat.  Whether the captain had been killed before the
destruction of the ship, we could not at first ascertain, but I believe
he and the rest were murdered after the accident.

The chief held a long consultation, while Dick and I stood at a little
distance watching them, uncertain what was to be our fate.

"Cheer up, Charley," said Dick.  "I would fight for you as long as
there's life in me, if it would be of any use; but I don't think,
savages as they are, that they will have the heart to kill you; and as
for me, as I said before, they may do as they like, though I wish I was
sure they would not eat me afterwards."

"Oh, Dick, Dick!"  I cried out, "don't think of anything so horrid!  I
will ask the young chief not to hurt you, and I will tell him he had
better kill me first."

Just then the consultation came to an end, and Motakee, coming up to us,
made signs that we need not be afraid, and that he would protect us.

I afterwards found, when I came to know their language, that he had told
the other chiefs that on seeing me he had been reminded of a little boy
he had lost, and that he had saved Dick on my account, supposing that he
was my father, or, at all events, my friend.

Six men, one of whom was a Sandwich Islander, named Tui, who had been
saved on the mast, were now brought on shore.  As we watched them, we
fully believed that the savages would put them to death, as they had the
other poor fellows.  Tui, however, stepped forward and addressed the
natives in a language which they appeared to comprehend.  They again
consulted together, the unhappy men standing apart, uncertain whether
they might not at any moment find the clubs of the savages crashing
through their brains.  Trusting to Motakee's protection, I felt inclined
to rush forward and plead for them, but Dick held me back.

"You will do no good, Charley," he said, "and one of those savages may
in a moment give you a tap with his club, and kill you, as an idle boy
does a fly."

The five poor fellows stood collected together, looking pale as death,
but they were as brave as any of the men on board.  Among them I
recognised Tom Clode, the armourer, and Mat Davis, the carpenter's mate.

The discussion seemed to last a very long time.  Tui was listened to
attentively, as he every now and then put in a word.  At length five of
the principal chiefs rose from their mats, and, stepping forward, each
put his hand on one of the men.  At first I thought they were going to
kill them, as they led them away; but Tui, coming up, told us that they
were only going to be taken as slaves.  Another old chief now advanced
and put his hand on Dick's shoulder.

"He going take you for slave," said Tui.

"I have no wish to be idle, but I would rather have chosen a master with
a better-looking mug of his own," observed Dick.  "I hope the old
gentleman lives not far from your friend, Charley; for I can't stand
being separated from you."

I burst into tears as Dick said this, when Motakee, coming up, tried, in
a gentle way, to soothe me.

"He is a good young fellow, that he is," cried Dick; "and as you are
likely to be well off with him, it's little odds what happens to me."

Motakee, finding that my tears continued to flow, endeavoured to
persuade the old chief, Toobo Cava, to allow Dick to continue with him.
This, however, he refused, and replied that he might rather allow me to
accompany Dick.  Tui told us what was said.

"I would like to have you, Charley," said Dick, "but you will be much
better off with Motakee, and, indeed, I doubt if he would let you come,
however much you may wish it."

Dick was right; for after another long palaver, Motakee took me by the
hand, while old Toobo Cava led off Dick.

"Keep up your spirits, Charley, and don't forget the lessons I have
taught you; say your prayers, and be a good boy," cried Dick, looking
back towards me.  "We will manage to see each other, or these talking
fellows are cleverer than I take them to be."

Motakee, accompanied by his people, conducted me back to the bay where
we had landed, and thence to his house, which was situated in a valley
but a short distance from the shore.  It stood on a platform of large
stones, nearly twelve feet above the ground, and was fully thirty feet
in length, though considerably narrower.  The back of the house was
fourteen feet in height, the roof sloping down towards the front, which
was scarcely more than five feet high, but the walls were of a uniform
height all round, thus the farther part of the house between them and
the roof was entirely open.  The front part, into which we first entered
by a very small door, had a floor composed of the rough stones of the
platform, but the inner part, separated from it by a partition, was
covered with fine mats.  At one end was the bed-place, which consisted
of two horizontal poles, about a foot from the ground, with matting
stretched between them.  On this the chief and his family reclined,
resting their heads on one of the poles, which served as a pillow, while
their feet extended towards the other.  Around the walls, which were
also composed of matting, were hung numerous weapons, spears, clubs,
axes, slings, and stilts, on which I found that the people were very
fond of walking.

These stilts are elaborately carved poles, with carved figures towards
the lower end, on the heads of which the feet rest.  The chief took down
a pair, and, to amuse me, mounted on them, and ran over the ground with
great rapidity, now standing on one leg, now on the other, and twirling
round and performing all sorts of extraordinary feats.  He having set
the example, others followed it, till nearly all the men and the boys in
the village turned out on stilts, and began chasing each other over the
rough ground, as much at home as if they were treading it with their
feet, instead of being mounted high above it.

The sports being over, Motakee led me to the farther end of the village,
where there was a sort of temple.  In front of the temple were a number
of little buildings a couple of feet high, on each of which stood a
carved figure, surrounded with shells, and feathers, and whales' teeth.
He and his people sat down before them, and bowed, and uttered certain
words, and then bowed again, leading me to suppose that they were
performing some religious ceremony.

Having finished his prayers, if such all this bowing and muttering words
could be intended for, the chief conducted me back to his house.  Here
he introduced me to his wife, pretty-looking young woman, of a bright
brown colour, clothed in somewhat scanty garments, composed of cloth,
manufactured from the paper-mulberry tree.  She received me very kindly,
and we sat down to a supper consisting of fish, and various roots, and
other vegetables and fruits.

I had till now been under the dreadful impression that the people were
cannibals; but there was nothing in the repast set before me which made
me unwilling to partake of it.  On the contrary, as I was very hungry, I
set to with a will, and the people standing round seemed pleased at
seeing me eat with so good an appetite.

Several days passed by; the chief and his wife seemed to consider that I
had taken the place of their lost child, and treated me as such with
much kindness.  I had, however, neither seen nor heard anything of Dick,
and I gave Motakee to understand that I wished to go out and look for
him, to which he, by signs, replied that it would be dangerous for me to
wander about by myself, as the people of other tribes might kill me, and
that I must remain quietly where I was.

I remembered Dick's plan of keeping time when we were in our solitary
island, and I cut a stick, on which I marked the days of the week.  I
did not forget either his parting advice to me, and every night and
morning I knelt down and said my prayers.  The natives understood what I
was about, and never interrupted me, and treated me with more respect
than even some of the men did on board the _Dolphin_.

At the end of a couple of months I saw that something unusual was taking
place in the village.  The men were polishing up their arms, and the
women were engaged in making baskets and cooking provisions.  This led
me to suppose that an expedition of some sort was about to take place.

Motakee called me to him one day, and told me by signs that he was going
away, and that he would place me under charge of some one who would take
good care of me during his absence.  I told him that I should be very
sorry to be parted from him, and asked him to let me go, hoping that by
some means I might hear of Dick.  He shook his head, and told me that as
danger would have to be encountered, I was too young as yet, but that
when I grew older, he would teach me the use of the native weapons, and
allow me to accompany him to war.  He then led me to another house,
somewhat smaller than his own, in which the principal inmate was an old
woman.  Though Moola--that was her name--was very old and dry and
withered, from the expression of her countenance and the way in which he
treated her, I was led to suppose that she was Motakee's mother.  Such,
indeed, was the case.  She spoke kindly to me, and I had no reason to
fear that I should be ill-treated.

After this Motakee led out his people, all armed with clubs, and
hatchets, and spears; the heads of the principal men being decorated
with plumes of feathers, but, with the exception of cloths round their
waists, entirely destitute of clothing.  From this I knew that they were
about to proceed on some warlike expedition, and, though they felt
confident of success, I could not help remembering that they might be
defeated; and should they be so, what would become of me?  Again I asked
the chief if he could give me any information about Dick?  My heart sank
within me; for, from the reply he made, he led me to suppose that some
accident had happened to my faithful friend.



CHAPTER FIFTEEN.

MOOLA.

Old Moola kept a watchful eye on me, as if she divined my intention of
trying to make my escape to go in search of Dick on the first
opportunity which might occur.

I concluded that if the warriors were away he would be less carefully
looked after than usual, and would try to find me; for I was very sure
that he was as anxious about me as I was about him.

There were a good many other boys in the village, and I used to play
with them, and did my best to excel them in all their sports.  I found,
after some practice, that I could walk on stilts as well as they could.
I induced them to run races, and I very frequently came off the victor.
They had an advantage, from being more lightly clad than I was, that is
to say, while I wore my shirt and trousers, they had no clothing
whatever.

The women, meantime, were employed in their usual domestic occupations,
in making cloth by beating out the bark of the paper-mulberry tree, and
manufacturing mats and baskets.  I afterwards observed that they were
always employed in such occupations, while the men, when at home,
cultivated the fields, and caught fish with nets and fish-hooks, the
latter formed of mother-of-pearl, as also with bone, and wooden
harpoons.  Besides the articles I have mentioned, they make calabashes
from gourds, and kava-cups formed of the cocoa-nut, as also cradles for
their children, hollowed out of a log with great neatness.  They also
use small chests, which are in like manner hollowed out of solid pieces
of wood, with covers to them, and wooden bowls and stands, on which
various objects are hung out of the way of the rats.  Those animals are
great pests, and to preserve their more valuable articles, the natives
suspend them in baskets from the roofs of their houses, by lines passing
through the bottoms of inverted calabashes, so that, should the
creatures reach the polished surface of the calabashes, they slip off on
to the ground, without being able to climb beneath them.

Moola's house was furnished with all the articles I have mentioned,
supplied to her by the people of her tribe, who looked up to her with
great respect.  As I was under her charge, and was moreover regarded in
the light of a chief's son, no one interfered with me, or questioned
what I thought fit to do.  This was a great advantage, and I hoped would
enable me to carry out my plan.  Besides my amusements on shore, I soon
learned to swim and to paddle a canoe, and other boys and I used
frequently to go out in the bay.  It occurred to me that, by gradually
extending our excursions, I might be able to get along the shore to some
distance, and there land and make my way into the interior.  To do this,
however, I found that I should require two or more companions, and they
might not be disposed to assist me.  I became expert in fishing with the
line and hooks and in spearing fish, but I could not manage to dive in
the way the natives did.  Some of them, with a hoop-net in one hand, and
a stick in the other, would dart down into the deep water among the
coral, and with the stick drive the fish hidden among its recesses into
the net.  This operation was not unattended with danger.  Sharks were
constantly prowling about, to snap up a person unprepared for their
attacks; and one day, a young man who, according to custom, wore his
hair loose, was caught by it among the coral, and, unable to extricate
himself, was drowned before his companions could go to his assistance.
When the sea rolled in a heavy surf on the shore, it was common
amusement for boys, and even for girls, to paddle out on little rafts,
mounting to the top of the surf, and if the raft was upset, which
frequently happened, they would dive under the sea, and come up again on
the other side.

Besides these amusements, in which I took a part, I tried to learn some
of the arts practised by the natives.  I never found the time hang
heavily on my hands, still I was continually thinking how I could manage
to find Dick.  After considering the matter, I abandoned the idea of
making the attempt by water, and resolved to try and escape by land.
Fearing that the warriors would return, I determined to put it into
execution without delay.  I had secreted as much food in the pockets of
my jacket as they could hold, and, late in the day, I challenged my
companions to a race on stilts across the country, pointing to a rock
which projected from the hillside at some distance.  They laughed at me
when they saw me dressed in my jacket, declaring that I should have no
chance, and willingly agreed to give me a short start, believing that,
encumbered as I was, they could easily come up with me.  Old Moola, not
suspecting my intentions, came out from her hut, and promised to reward
the victor.  We took our places, and away we started.  I exerted myself
to the utmost to keep ahead of my competitors, and found, as I had
hoped, that I was at first gaining on them rapidly, although they in the
end, I have no doubt, would have overtaken me.  As soon as I felt sure
that I was well out of sight, hidden by a ridge over which I had passed,
I turned off to the right, and ran on along the valley, where the even
ground allowed me to continue at a good speed.  I then, turning into a
wood, jumped off my stilts, and, having concealed them among the hushes,
continued my flight on foot.  I went on and on, avoiding cultivated land
or any huts where I might meet with inhabitants, till the increasing
darkness compelled me to stop.  I had no dread of wild beasts or
venomous snakes, as I knew the island was free from them.  I could
therefore lie down on the dry grass, and recover my strength without
fear; and I hoped that the other boys would make their way to the goal,
and not think of looking for me till the darkness prevented them from
doing so.

I slept soundly, and soon after I awoke the first streaks of dawn
appeared in the sky.  Having taken a little food, and drank some water
from a rivulet which flowed by, I proceeded onwards, intending to lie in
wait near the first village I should come to, in the hopes that one or
other of the captive Englishmen might be there, and might give me
information about Dick, should he himself not appear.

I went on for some way, keeping myself concealed as much as possible
among the trees, till I saw several native huts before me, just on the
borders of a wood.  Making my way through the wood, I discovered a tree
which I could climb.  I managed, not without difficulty, to get up it,
and, when near the top, concealed by the leafy boughs, I could survey
all that went on in the village below me.  The people at length began to
come out of their huts, but I saw only women, or old men and boys,
showing that the fighting part of the population had not returned.  In
vain I watched for Dick, or one of the other white men.  Disappointed at
not seeing them, I descended from my perch, afraid that some of the
people might come into the wood and discover me.  Hurrying on, I had got
to no great distance, when I heard voices from among the trees behind
me, showing that, had I not escaped when I did, I should have been found
out.

I could by this time speak the native language quite well enough to make
myself understood, and I resolved, should I meet any one, to go up and
speak with confidence, as if I had full right to be at liberty.

In a short time I reached another village.  Here I watched as before,
but though several natives were moving about, none of my shipmates were
to be seen, and the dreadful idea occurred to me that they had all been
m

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