Picked up at Sea; or, The Gold Miners of Minturne Creek, by John ConroyHutcheson. 

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This is good book, well written, and interesting throughout. It startsoff at sea, aboard the Susan Jane, when a piece of floating wreckage isseen. A body is found on it, that of a boy of fifteen or so, badlyinjured, and struck dumb, and apparently unaware of what is going on. Yet when Seth, one of the men on board, is in danger, the boy springs tohis aid. When they get to America it is time for the vessel to have afull refit, so some of the crew and the only passenger, Mr Rawlings, together with the boy, now known as Sailor Bill, go off to work a minethat Rawlings has bought. 

Eventually, after all sorts of adventures and misadventures, the boyrecovers his senses, and recognises a man and a dog in the camp as oldfamily friends. The dog, of course, had previously mystified the campby apparently recognising the boy, but this had been put down to a doggysympathy with those not so well mentally endowed. 

The mine is successful, and all go home as wealthy as they could wish. 

Here we are working from the first edition, while some later editionshad only the above story. There are actually three further stories, allwith a nautical flavour, but totalling only half the length of the firststory. They are also interesting, and it is sad that they got left outfrom those later editions. You will enjoy them, either to read orin the spoken form. ________________________________________________________________________

PICKED UP AT SEA; OR, THE MINERS OF MINTURNE CREEK, BY JOHN CONROYHUTCHESON. 

STORY ONE, CHAPTER ONE. 

THE GOLD-MINERS OF MINTURNE CREEK. 

THE "SUSAN JANE. "

"Sail-ho on the weather-bow!"

"What do you make it?"

"Looks like a ship's mast, with the yard attached, and a man a-holdingon to it and hailing us for help--leastways, that's what it seems tome!"

"Jerusalem! On the weather-bow, you say? Can we forereach him on thistack?"

"I reckon we can jist about do it, boss, if you put the helm up a bitkinder nearer the wind, " drawled out the lookout from his post ofobservation in the main-top, where he had stopped a moment on catchingsight of the object floating in the water ahead of the vessel, as hewas coming down from aloft after restowing the bunt of themain-topgallantsail that had blown loose from its lashings. 

The _Susan Jane_ of and for Boston, Massachusetts, with a cargo fromLondon, had been caught at the outset of her passage across the Atlanticby what her American skipper termed "a pretty considerable gale ofwind;" and she now lay tossing about amid the broken waves of theboisterous Bay of Biscay, on the morning after the tempest, the fullforce of which she had fortunately escaped, trying to make some headwayunder her jib, close-reefed topsails, and storm staysails, with a bit ofher mainsail set to steady her, half brailed up--although the task wasdifficult, with a nasty chopping cross-sea and an adverse wind. 

The vessel had recently passed a lot of wreckage, that betokened theywere not far from the spot where some ship, less lucky than themselves, had been overwhelmed by the treacherous waters of the ill-fated bay; andthe news that a waif was now in sight, supporting a stray survivor, affected all hearts on board, and roused their sympathies at once. 

The captain of the New England barque had already adjusted thetelescope, that he carried in true sailor fashion tucked under his leftarm, to his "weather-eye, " and was looking eagerly in the directionpointed out by the seaman, before he received the answer from aloft tohis second hail. But he could not as yet see what the lookout haddiscovered, from the fact of the waves being still high and his place ofoutlook from the deck lower than the other's. 

"Are you certain, Tom, you see some one?" he called out again, after amoment's pause, during which he narrowly scanned the uneven surface ofthe sea. 

"Yes, sure, " was the confident reply. "As sartain as there's snakes inVirginny!"

"Still in the same direction?"

"Ay, ay; a point or two to windward. "

"Ha! I see him at last!" exclaimed the skipper, clambering up from thedeck, and supporting himself by holding on to the mizzen-rigging as hestood on the taffrail and peered forward along the ship's side, to wherehe could now notice the floating object ahead, almost in the wind's-eye. 

"Luff, you beggar, luff!" he added, to the steersman, who, with bothhands on the wheel, was exerting all his strength to keep the vessel'shead up. 

"She can't do it, sir, " replied the sailor, hoarsely. "It's all I canmanage to prevent her falling off now. "

"She must do it!" was the captain's answer. "Watch, ahoy! Brace roundthose topsail-yards a bit more! Cheerily, men, with a will!"

"Yo-ho-heave-oh-e! Yo-ho-heave!" rang out the chorussed cry of the crewpulling together at the braces, until the topsails lay like boardsalmost fore and aft the ship. And yet her head could not be induced toveer a fraction towards the desired point, but rather fell off ifanything. 

"Guess we shall have to put more sail on her, " said Seth Allport, mateof the _Susan Jane_, singing out from amidship, where he was on duty. "Guess so, Cap'en, if you want to fetch him. "

"It's risky work, Seth, " rejoined the skipper, "for she's now got asmuch on her as she can carry. But I s'pose it must be done if we're topick up that poor fellow. Here, boys, " he cried out suddenly to thecrew, "we must shake a reef out of the mainsail. Look smart, will ye!"

The effect of this sail was soon apparent. No sooner had the folds ofcanvas expanded to the wind than the _Susan Jane_ heeled over with alurch as if she were going to capsize, bringing her bow so much roundthat her jib shivered, causing several ominous creaks and cracks aloftfrom the quivering topmasts. 

"She'll do it now, sir, " said the mate, who had come aft, and withanother of the crew lent a hand to assist the steersman, who found thewheel too much for him now unaided, with the additional sail there wason the ship. 

"Steady! How's the poor chap bearing now?" asked the skipper, hailingthe lookout once more, as he lost sight of the wreckage by the vessel'schange of position and the lifting of the bow so much out of the waterforward as she rose on the sea. 

"Right ahead. Just a trifle to leeward, boss. "

"How far off?"

"A couple of cables' lengths, I guess, Cap'en. Better send a handforrud in the chains to sling him a rope, or we'll pass him by in aminnit. "

"Right you are, " was the reply of the good-hearted skipper, as he rushedalong to the forecastle himself with a coil over his arm, that he mightfling it to the man in the water as soon as he floated within reach. 

It was a task that had to be deftly performed, for the ship was forgingthrough the sea, and plunging her bowsprit under water as she rose andfell in her progress, one minute describing a half-circle through theair with her forefoot as she yawed to the heavy rolling waves, the nextdiving deep down into the billows and tossing up tons of water over herforecastle, where the skipper stood, watching his opportunity, as thebroken spars, on which he could now plainly see that the figure of a manwas lashed, swept nearer and nearer on the crest of a wave that borethem triumphantly on high above the storm-wrack and foam. 

While the wreckage was yet out of reach he could notice, too, that thefigure was perfectly motionless and still. 

What the topman had taken to be an outstretched hand, waving ahandkerchief or some fluttering object, was only the ragged end of apiece of the sail that was still attached to the yard and a part of thetopmast of some vessel, which had been torn away by the violence of thegale and cast adrift, with the unfortunate seaman who was clinging toit. 

"Poor chap!" thought the American captain aloud, "I'm afraid there's notmuch life left in him now; but if there is any, I reckon we'll savehim. " And, as he uttered the words, he dexterously threw one end of thecoil of rope, which he had already formed into a running bowline knot, over the spars as they were swept past the side of the _Susan Jane_, while he fastened the other end fast in-board, slackening out the linegradually, so as not to bring it up too tight all at once and so jerkthe man off the frail raft. 

"Easy there, "--he called out to the men aft. "Let her head off a bitnow, and brail up that mainsail again. Easy! Belay!"

"Thank God, we've got him!" ejaculated. Mr Rawlings, the solitarypassenger on board the _Susan Jane_. 

By this time, the waif from the wreck was towing safely alongside the_Susan Jane_, in the comparatively smooth water of the ship's lee; andin a few seconds the rough seamen who went to their captain's assistancehad detached the seemingly lifeless form of the survivor from the sparsto which he had been securely lashed, and lifted him, with thegentleness and tender care almost of women, on board the vessel that hadcome so opportunely in his way. 

"Slacken off those lee braces a bit, and haul in these to theweather-side!" said the captain, as soon as he had got back to hisproper place on the poop again. "I think the wind is coming round moreaft, and we can lay her on her course. Keep her steady. So!"--headded, to the man at the wheel. "But easy her off now and then, if shelabours. "

And then he went below to the cabin, down to which the rescued sailorhad been carried, and where the mate, Mr Rawlings, and the negrosteward, were trying to bring him back to life by rolling him inblankets before the stove. 

STORY ONE, CHAPTER TWO. 

RESCUED. 

"Waal, how's the man getting on now?" asked the skipper as he enteredthe cuddy. 

"Man?" said Mr Rawlings, looking up on the captain's entrance. "Itisn't a man at all. Only a lad of sixteen summers at best. "

"Poor chap!" said the other sympathisingly. "Man or boy, I guess he'shad a pretty rough time of it out thaar!"

"Just so, " answered the passenger. "And it's a wonder he's stillalive. "

"Is he? I was afraid he was gone!" said the captain. 

"No, sah. Um berry much alibe, sah, yes sah, " said the steward, who, having seen many half-drowned persons before, had known how to treat thepresent patient properly. "See, sah, him chest rise and fall now, sah. When jus' lilly time back um couldn't hear him heart beat!"

It was as the man said, and a tinge of colour appeared also to stealinto the thin, blanched face of the lad, or boy, who seemed even youngerthan the mate had said, and who looked very delicate and ill--more so, indeed, than his long exposure to the violence of the waves and theterrible peril in which he had been, quite warranted. 

"He'll come round now, I think, " said the skipper, expressing more hishopes than his actual belief; for the boy had not yet opened his eyes, and his breath only came in convulsive sighs, that shook his extendedframe "fore and aft, " as a seaman would say. 

"Yes, sir, he'll do. But it was a narrow squeak for such a slimyoungster. "

"So it must have been, Seth, " replied the skipper to the mate, who hadlast spoken. "But his time hadn't come yet, as it had for many a bravefellow bigger and stronger than him! Look, Seth!--he's opening his eyesnow! I'm blest if they aren't like a girl's!"

The boy, whose lids had been previously closed, the long lashes restingon his cheek, had raised them; and the large blue orbs, fixed in a sortof wondering stare on the face of the American captain, bore out hisremark in some sense, as they appeared feminine in character, althoughwanting in expression and intelligence more strangely. 

"Seems dazed to me, Cap'en Blowser, " observed the mate. 

"So he does. But no wonder, Seth, " replied the skipper. "Get him adrop of brandy, steward. That may bring him to himself more than he isat present. "

The steward fetched the brandy quickly in a glass, and putting it to theboy's lips, as he raised his head from the locker on which he had beenlaid, made him drink a few drops, causing the faint colour to returnmore strongly to his face. But that was all, however, for he stillgazed alternately at the captain and mate, and the steward who had justministered to him, with the same fixed, expressionless gaze. 

"He has seen death, Cap'en Blowser, " said the mate, solemnly. "I'venoticed that same look on a chap's face before, when he was dug out of amine, where he had been banked up with others through its falling in, and never expected to see God's daylight again! He'd jest that sameidentical expression in his eyes, though they warn't as big nor ashandsome as this poor lad's--jest as if he was a lookin' through you atsomethin' beyant!"

"It kinder skearts me, " said the captain, turning away from the boy witha slight shiver. "Let's come on deck, Seth. I guess he'll do now, witha bit of grub, and a good sleep before the stove. Mind you look afterhim well, steward; and you can turn him into my cot, if you like, andgive him a clean rig out. "

"Yes, sah, I hear, " replied the steward, who had been trying to get somemore of the spirit down the boy's throat. 

But he started up before the others left the cabin. 

"Him wounded, Cap'en Blowser, " said the man in an alarmed voice. "Crikey! I nebber see such a cut!"

"Where?" exclaimed the skipper and mate almost simultaneously, turninground from the door of the cuddy and coming back to the side of thelocker, on which the boy still lay stretched. 

"Here, " said the steward, lifting, as he spoke, the long clusteringcurls of hair from the forehead of the rescued lad, and laying bare agreat gash that extended right across the frontal bone, and which theymust have seen before but for the encrustation of salt, from the waveswashing over him, which had matted the bright brown locks together overthe cut and likewise stopped the bleeding. 

"Jerusalem! It is a sheer, and no mistake!" ejaculated the skipper. 

"You bet, " chimed in the mate; "but for the wash of the water a stoppingit, he would have bled to death! Have you got a needle and threadhandy, Jasper?"

"Sartain, Massa Allport, " answered the steward. 

"Then bring it here sharp, and a piece of sponge, or rag, and some hotwater, if you can get it. "

"Sure I can, Massa Allport. De cook must hab him coppers full, sah. Not got Cap'en's breakfass, you know, sah, yet. "

"I forgot all about breakfast!" laughed the skipper, "I was so taken upwith running across this young shaver here. But what are you going todo, Seth, eh? I didn't know as you had graduated in medicine, Ireckon. "

"Why, Cap'en Blowser, I served all through the war after Gettysburgh assich. "

"Waal, one never knows even one's best friends, really!" said thecaptain musingly. "And to think of your being a doctor all this time, and me not to be aware of it, when I've often blamed myself for going tosea without a surgeon aboard. "

"That's just what made me so comfortable under the loss of one!"chuckled the mate. 

"Ah! you were 'cute, you were, " replied the skipper. "Kept it all toyourself, like the monkeys who won't speak for fear they might be madeto work! But here's the steward with your medical fixin's; so, look tothe poor boy's cut, Seth, and see if you can't mend it, while I go upand see what they are doing with the ship, which we've left to herselfall this while. "

Washing away, with gentle dabs of the saturated rag that the steward hadbrought in the bowl of warm water, the salt and clotted blood thatcovered over the wound, the mate soon laid it bare, and then proceededwith skilful fingers to sew it up, in a fashion which showed he was nonovice in the art. 

"Golly, Massa Allport! I didn't know you was so clebbah!" said thesteward admiringly. 

"You don't know everything, you see, Jasper, " said the othergood-humouredly. "There, I think that will do now, with a strip or twoof plaster which I have here, " producing some diachylon from apocket-book. "How do you feel now?" he added, addressing himself to theboy, who had kept his eyes fixed on his face in the same meaninglessstare as when he had first opened them. "Better?"

But he got no reply. 

The boy did not even move his lips, much less utter a sound, although hewas now well warmed, and there was life in his rigid limbs and colour inhis face, while his faint breathing was regular, and his pulse even. 

"He looks very strange, " Mr Rawlings said. "Concussion of the brain, Ishould say. "

The sailor-surgeon was puzzled. 

"I guess he's dumb, and deaf too, " he said to the passenger who had beenacting as his medical assistant, and watching the mate's operations withmuch interest. "But no, " he added presently; "a boy with such eyes andsuch a face could never be so afflicted! I've seen scores ofdeaf-mutes, and you could never mistake their countenances. I know whatit is, he has received such a shock to the system that it has paralysedhis nerves--that's it!"

"It's either that or concussion, " the passenger argued. 

And the steward, who did not know what to say, and would indeed now haveendorsed any opinion that the mate had propounded after what he had seenof his practical skill, gave a confirmatory nod, expressive of hisentire approval of the other's dictum. 

"Yes, Jasper, " replied the other, "it's only a temporary shock to thesystem, and rest and attention will work it off in a short time. "

It was a peculiarity with Mr Seth Allport, the first mate of the _SusanJane_, that when he spoke on medical topics and subjects, which formedthe only real education he had received, his mode of speech was refinedand almost polished; whereas, his usual language when engaged inseafaring matters--his present vocation--was vernacular in the extreme, smacking more of Vermont than it did of Harvard and college training. 

"I'm certain my diagnosis is correct, " he said again to Mr Rawlings--after seeing the lad clothed in a flannel shirt and thick pair oftrousers of the skipper's, into whose cot he was then carefully placed, and wrapped up, the little fellow closing his eyes at once and sinkinginto a sound sleep--"and when he wakes up he'll be all right, and beable to tell us all about himself. "

"I hope you may be right, " Mr Rawlings said, doubtfully. "Sleep may domuch for him; at any rate, I will remain in the cabin to watch him for awhile. "

So saying, he took his seat by the boy, while the mate proceeded to goon deck and rejoin the skipper, and the steward went to work to preparebreakfast. 

The wind had now got well abeam of the _Susan Jane_ and lessenedconsiderably, although still blowing steady from the southwards andeastwards; and the sea being also somewhat calmer, the good ship wasable to spread more sail, shaking the reefs out of her topsails andmainsail, while her courses were dropped, and the flying-jib andforesail set to drive her on her way across the Atlantic. 

"I guess picking up that boy brought us luck, Seth!" said the skipper, rubbing his hands gleefully as the mate came to his side and joined inthe quick quarter-deck he was taking, varied by an occasional look aloftto see that everything was drawing fair. "I think we might set thetopgallants now, eh?"

"You're not a slow one at piling on the canvas, I reckon!" answered theother with a laugh. "No sooner out of one gale than you want to getinto another. Look at those clouds there ahead, Cap'en, " pointing to adark streak that crossed the horizon low down right in front of thevessel. "I guess we aren't out of it yet!"

"Waal, if we've got to have another blow, " replied the skipper, "we'dbetter make some use of the wind we have, specially as it looks likechopping round. What is she going now?" he asked of the quartermasteror boatswain, one individual performing both functions in the Yankeecraft. 

"Close on nine knots, Cap'en, " answered the man, who had just hove thelog over the stern, and now stood, minute-glass in hand, calculating theresult. 

"Nine knots with this breeze? That will never do. Away aloft there, and shake out the topgallant sails! Now, men, stir yourselves in properman-o'-war's fashion; and let us see it done in ship-shape style!That's your sort, men. Johnson shall shell out some grog presently tosplice the main brace. "--He continued aloud, as the hands came down theratlins again without losing time, after lowering the sails, --"Now, hoist away at the halliards. Cheerily, men! cheerily ho! The Bostongirls have got hold of our tow-rope; up with the sticks with a will!"

The _Susan Jane_ plunged through the waves with redoubled speed, leaningover until the water foamed over her gunwale and was knee-deep in herscuppers, an occasional billow topping over her foc's'le, and pouringdown into the waist in a cataract of gleaming green sea and sparklingspray, all glittering with prismatic colours, like a jumble of brokenrainbows. 

"What does she make now, Johnson?" asked the skipper again of thequartermaster. 

"Eleven knots, I reckon, sir, good. "

"Ah, that's more like it! The poor dear thing! she was crippled withouther wings, that she was! She'll do twelve-knots yet, eh, Seth?"

"I don't doubt that, sir, " replied the mate, who was much more cautiousthan his captain; "but it ain't quite safe with those gentlemen theregathering together ahead, like a mass meeting in Faneuil Hall. "

"Oh, never mind the clouds, " rejoined the delighted skipper, whosethoughts were filled with the fond belief that the _Susan Jane_ wouldmake the most rapid run across the herring-pond ever known for asailing-ship. "Guess we'll beat the _Scotia_, if we go on like this. "

"Yes, if we don't carry away anything!" interposed the mate cautiously. 

"Oh, nonsense, Seth! We've got a smart crew, and can take in sail whenit's wanted! How's your patient getting on?" continued the skipper, turning to Mr Rawlings, who had come up, the boy being in a profoundsleep. 

"Well, I hope, " he answered; "he is resting very tranquilly. "

"That means, I suppose, that he's all right, and having a good caulk inmy cot. "

"Exactly so, Cap'en; and when he wakes by and by, I hope he'll behimself again. "

"That's good news! Did he tell you who he was before he dropped tosleep?"

"No, " answered Mr Rawlings, "he did not speak. "

"Not speak!" said the captain. "Why didn't he?"

"He couldn't, " replied the other. "Whether from the cut on hisforehead, or what, I can't tell; but he has had such a shock that hisnerves seem paralysed. You noticed his eyes, didn't you?"

"Yes, " said the captain, "but I thought that was from fright or a sortof startled awe, which would soon go off. I'm sorry I didn't have alook at those spars before we cast them off; we might have learned thename of the ship to which he belonged. Don't you think, Seth, though, that he will recover his speech and be able to tell us something?"

"Certainly, Cap'en, as Mr Rawlings says, I believe he'll wake up allright. "

"Well, then, we'd better go below for breakfast now--here's the stewardcoming to call us. Davitt can take charge of the deck, "--hailing thesecond mate as he spoke, and telling him to "keep his weather-eye open, and call him immediately should any change occur, but not to reduce sailon any account. "

"I wouldn't have given him that order, if I were you, Cap'en, " said themate, as they went down the companion together. 

"Oh, Davitt isn't a fool, " replied the skipper lightly; and the twoentered the cuddy together, where they were welcomed by a hospitablyspread table that spoke well for the cook's culinary skill. 

"Josh is a splendid chap for fixing up things, " said the skipperheartily, as he popped a portion of a capital stew into his capaciousmouth with much gusto. "I'd back him against one of those Frenchwhat-do-you-call-'ems any day!" alluding, possibly, to the chef of thehotel in Bordeaux at which he had been staying on the _Susan Jane's_previous voyage. 

"So would I, " echoed the mate, who was performing equally well with hisknife and fork; but, what he would have further observed must remainunrecorded, for at that moment a tremendous crash was heard on deck, anda heavy sea pooped the ship, flooding the cabin, and washing the two, with the debris of the breakfast table, away to leeward, where theystruggled in vain to recover their footing, until the ship rightedagain--the steward coming to their assistance and being likewise throwndown on the floor, to add to the confusion. Then Seth Allport darted upthe companion. 

The contretemps was so sudden that the skipper was quite startled; butwhat startled him more was the sight of the boy who had been saved, andwho was supposed to be sound asleep, standing at the open door of hiscabin, with his light brown hair almost erect, and his blue eyesstarting out of his head with a look of unspeakable terror, and theblood streaming down his face, and dropping with a sort of hissing soundinto the water that surged about the cuddy floor and over his feet, fromthe terrible cut across his forehead. 

"Mercy upon us, Rawlings, look there!" exclaimed Captain Blowser, tryingto regain his feet, and almost forgetting what might be going on on deckat the sight before him. "Is he gone mad, or what?"

STORY ONE, CHAPTER THREE. 

TAKEN ABACK. 

"What is the matter?" exclaimed the passenger, clutching hold of thesteward's leg under the idea that it was the cuddy table, and contrivingto get into a sitting position on the cabin floor, as the _Susan Jane_lurched to and fro, swishing the water backwards and forwards, alongwith the plates and dishes and broken crockery, amongst them, mixed upwith bits of meat and vegetables and bread in the most inharmonious sortof medley, --"What's the matter, Cap'en?"

"Struck by a squall, " said the skipper, getting on his feet at last, andholding on tightly to a brass rail outside the door of one of theberths, that he might not get floored again. "But, look at yourpatient, the boy! Is he mad, or what?"

"Golly!" ejaculated the steward, also finding his legs again, MrRawlings having released them as soon as he sat up. "Me tink him goin'hab fit!"

The captain's professional instincts roused him even more rapidly thandid a loaf of soppy bread which at that moment was dashed in his face bythe counter swish of the water against the side of the cabin, and hesprang up ready for action as cool and collected as possible, considering the circumstances. 

Before Mr Rawlings or the skipper--who both rushed forward at once towhere the boy was standing--could reach him, however, or the negrosteward, who was directly in his way, but was too dumfoundered toprevent him, he made one leap over the table and rushed out of thecabin, with the same set look of terror, or some unearthly expressionwhich they could not absolutely define, on his face, the blood streamingdown from under the bandage across his forehead, making his appearanceghastly and uncanny, as the Scotch say, in the extreme. He resembled, more a galvanised corpse than anything else!

The skipper and passenger followed him instanter, Jasper, who hadrecovered from his first astonishment at the apparition, being not farfrom their heels; but when the two gained the deck, the confusion thatwas reigning there, and the perilous position of the ship, made themforget for the while the object that had called them forth. 

Captain Blowser's passion for "carrying on, " in the face of thetreacherous weather the _Susan Jane_ had already experienced in the Bayof Biscay, with the prospect of more to come, as the mate had pointedout from the warning look of clouds along the horizon in front, hadbrought its own punishment; for the ship had been taken aback throughthe wind's shifting round, before the second mate Davitt, who had obeyedthe skipper's injunctions to the letter, had time to take in sail, evenif he had endeavoured to do so without calling him first, as he had beenenjoined on his leaving the deck. 

The results of this recklessness were most unfortunate for the _SusanJane_, as the fore-topmast had soon snapped off sharp at the cap like acarrot, bringing with it, of course, the fore-topgallant mast as well, and the main-topgallant mast, with their respective yards and otherspars, and the jib-boom as well. The ship was consequently broached to, and tons of water were poured on to her from the mountainous waves thatseemed to assail her on all sides at once, which, but for the fact ofthe hatches being closely battened down, would have soon filled her holdand caused her to founder. 

Fortunately, there were no men aloft at the time the wind chopped sosuddenly, or they must have been swept overboard with the wreck of thetop-hamper, that was now grinding against the vessel's side to leewardright under her quarter, and bumping with such force against her timbersas to threaten to stove them in. Altogether, with the whistling of thestorm, that had risen up again as if imbued with fresh life, and theroaring of the sea, and the horrible creaking and crashing of the brokenspars alongside, combined with the shouts of the men, who seemed lostfor the moment how to act, and running here and there, purposelessly, without a guiding voice or hand to direct their efforts, --the scene wasa regular pandemonium of disorder!

If he had been reckless, however, Captain Blowser was a thorough seaman, and knew how to command, and enforce his directions when the necessityarose, as certainly was the case here. 

Snatching a speaking-trumpet from the lanyard by which it was attachedto the mizzen mast, he issued an order which called at once thescattered wits of the crew together, and set them about repairing thedamages that had arisen, and preventing the further perils that staredthem in the face; while the second mate at the same moment sprang to thewheel, which was revolving as it liked, now to starboard now to port asthe waves met the rudder below, the poor helmsman who had previouslycontrolled its action lying senseless on the deck, whither he had beenthrown by the sudden concussion when the ship was taken aback. 

"Down with the helm hard!" shouted the skipper, through thespeaking-trumpet, his voice penetrating every part of the ship, fore andaft, above the roar of the elements and the noise on deck. "Clew up thecourses, " was the next command; followed by an order to brace round theyards. And the _Susan Jane_ eased a bit, running before the wind withthe aid of her main-topmast and topgallant sail, mizzen-staysail andforesail, besides the remnants of her mainsail, that was split intofluttering rags. All the rest of her canvas so recently set beingcarried away, and floating alongside in a tangled wreck of spars andsails and ropes and rigging, matted together in an inextricable mass, Captain Blowser now gave orders to have cut away, without further delay, as the men could be spared for the duty. 

The first mate, one of the most active of men, had, the instant hereached the deck, set to work to relieve the ship, but as he was castingloose the lee braces from the cleats the lurch of the sail caught him, and at the same moment the main-topgallant mast with all its belongingscoming down with a run, he was stunned for a second by some portion ofthe falling gear, and before he could recover his balance or take holdof anything to save himself by, was carried overboard with the wreck. 

At nearly the same precise instant the boy darted out of the cabin aft, just ahead of the skipper and Mr Rawlings, as if impelled by someunfathomable instinct, and bounding right to the spot where Seth wasbeing swept away to destruction, clutched hold of the seaman's collarwith one hand, and one end of the topsail-halliards with the other asthey hung over the side, and there he remained, swaying to and fro, partly in the water and partly out, holding on with the strength of hissingle arm in a manner that no one would have thought a man, much less aboy, could do--and neither man nor boy, except one bred to the sea!

Seth saw it all, though no one else noticed the action, even amidst theconflicting emotions which passed rapidly through his mind at the momentof his infinite peril, just as a man falling from a cliff and expectingdeath every instant has the exact appearance of each foot of his rapiddescent photographed on his brain. He saw the distended startled blueeyes of the boy, the light brown hair standing almost erect, the whitebandage round his forehead, the blood on his face; but he could not tellnor think where he came from, and supposed, as he said afterwards, thathe was an angel come to save him--and he would regard him as such allhis life long!

"I'm darned if he warn't, " he repeated, when the captain laughed whenSeth mentioned his sensations at the time and detailed his thoughts, "fur he came just in the nick of time to grip holt o' me; and if hehadn't ben thaar I guess it 'ud a ben all sockdolagar with Seth, I does!He must have got what ye call a call, that he must! Guess you'd athought him a angel, if you'd been in this child's shoes!"

And so the crew all agreed when they heard from the steward Jasper hisaccount of how the boy had started out of the captain's cot, where hehad him in a sound sleep, and came out of the cabin straight to helpSeth--the negro's version of the story losing nothing, it need hardly bementioned, through his telling it with much pantomimic action, and hisfrequent affirmation, "Golly, massa, I tell you for true!"

Mr Rawlings considered that the boy had been awakened by the crash ofthe water pooping the ship and the bleeding bursting out again from hiswound, both of which recalled some fleeting thoughts, probably, of theshipwreck in which he had temporarily lost his reason. But the menwould not hear of this at all, ascribing Seth's rescue to somesupernatural foresight on the part of poor "Sailor Bill, " as the boy wasunanimously dubbed, and looked on thenceforth with the same respectful, pitying care with which the Indians regard any imbecile person, byeverybody on board, from the cook Josh--another negro like Jasper, ofwhom he was intensely jealous, calling him, on the principle of "the potand the kettle, " a "nigerant puss-proud black fellow"--up to thecaptain, who, to tell the truth, shared some of the superstitious regardof the men for their protege!

For the poor boy had, without doubt, lost his senses. He neither spoke, nor laughed, nor cried, nor was any perceptible emotion of pleasure orpain displayed by him under any circumstances. 

He did not once arouse from the lethargy that seemed to press down uponhis brain again after he had so fortunately and so wonderfully come tothe assistance of Seth Allport. 

One thing, however, was noticeable in him afterwards, and that was, thatfrom that moment he appeared to attach himself to the seaman, just as adog attaches himself to some master whom he elects for himself, and wasnever easy out of Seth's sight, following him everywhere about the ship, except at night, when he slept in the cabin. 

Seth Allport, talking it over with the skipper and Mr Rawlings, gave ascientific explanation from his medical lore. He said that SailorBill's mental affliction was due to some psychological effect, whichwould wear away in time, and probably completely disappear if the boyhad to undergo a shock precisely similar to that which had caused it. But, as neither he nor any one else knew what that shock was, of coursethey could not expedite Sailor Bill's cure, nor do anything, save makehim the dumb pet of the ship. 

In the meantime the damages of the _Susan Jane_ were made good, and in aday or two there were few signs of the mishap which had befallen her. 

STORY ONE, CHAPTER FOUR. 

DERELICT. 

The weather was now fair, and the wind favourable, and they were in highspirits, for they hoped soon to recover the time lost by the accident. 

The captain walked up and down the deck with the first mate, rubbing hishands as he watched the full sails, and the water gleaming past hersides. 

"We shall do, Seth, we shall do, " he said, "and make a quick voyage ofit after all. "

"Mustn't carry on too much, though, Cap'en!" said the mate with aknowing twinkle of his eye, which the skipper could read plainly enough. 

"Stow that, Seth, " said he chuckling. "I s'pose you'll never let mehear the last of that buster I went t'other day. Don't you be skeart, old man; you won't catch this coon napping twice. The breeze issplendid, though, Seth, ain't it? Guess we'll make a good run of itafter all!"

"So think I, Cap'en, " replied the mate with corresponding heartiness. "It will last, too, " he added, after another glance round the horizon;"and I reckon we'll not get any more nasty weather; the gale has aboutblowed itself out!"

"Right you are, " said Captain Blowser, slapping him on the back in hisjovial way when he felt especially good-tempered; "an' we'll have anextra glass of old Bourbon come dinner-time on the strength of it, oldboss! How the beauty does walk, to be sure! I wouldn't swap a timberof her for the best Philadelphia-built clipper out of the Delaware!"

"Nor I, " acquiesced the mate, whose opinion the skipper valued so highlythat this encomium of his as to the transcendent merits of the _SusanJane_, which was really a splendid craft in her way, and a capital seaboat, completed the sum of his happiness; and he had just called out toJasper, the steward, to bring up an Angostura cocktail to cement theirfeelings of friendship and get up an appetite for dinner, which wouldnot be ready for another hour, when the voice of Tom Cannon was heardhailing the deck from the foretop. 

"Darn that chap, he's allers hailing!" exclaimed the skipper. "What thedickens does he want now?"

"He don't call out for nothin', " said the mate. "He's too cute a seamanfor that! When Tom Cannon hails, you may depend on it, Cap'en, it'stime to look out for squalls!"

"Blow your squalls!" said the captain good-humouredly. "You don't wantme to take in sail surely with this wind, you old Mother Carey'schicken? But let's listen to what Tom says. He's a smart man, Ireckon, sure enough--the smartest sailor we've got in the ship; and Iwas only jokin' when I said that about his hailing!"

Tom Cannon's favourite place of resort when the ship was at sea, andthere was nothing for him to do, especially when he was in the watch offduty, was the foretop, whither he would climb up, blow high or blow low, and ensconce himself, sometimes for hours, until his services wererequired on deck, or else the rattling of pannikins and mess-kits warnedhim that something was "going on in the grub line below, " when he woulddescend the rattlins, swiftly or leisurely as the case might be, andtake his turn at either grub or duty "like a man!"

On this day the captain had not long taken the sun, and "made it eightbells"--twelve o'clock--so the men had all had their dinner, and Tomgone up to his accustomed post of observation or reflection, for hecouldn't read, and never slept when he was in the top, although he couldhave done so comfortably enough if he had wanted to. 

He was standing erect, looking out ahead, for he was a careful seaman, as both the captain and mate could vouch for, and possessed the keenesteyesight of any man in the ship--a natural gift for which he was verythankful in his way, and of which it must be said he was also veryproud. 

"Sail-ho!" he shouted, catching sight of something not long after he hadtaken up his position in the foretop and began to look out mechanicallyin front of the ship's course, as was his natural wont. 

"Not another ocean waif, like the boy, eh?" asked the skipper in achaffing sort of way, while he waited for the seaman to give somefurther information, as to what he had seen, as he thought would be thecase presently without his putting the question to him. 

"Nary a one, " was Tom's answer, as he looked down on the face of SailorBill, which was upturned to his without a vestige of animation in it, although the boy's attention had been attracted by the sound of hisvoice; "couldn't find another like you, I guess. "

"What sort o' sail?" hailed the captain again, as he did not hear theresponse to his question, the seaman having spoken in a low tone as tohimself. 

"A water-logged hull of some vessel or other, I reckon, boss!"

This time Tom's answer was heard plainly enough below. 

"Where away?" rejoined the skipper aloud, adding under his voice to themate, "Guess I woke him!"

"Right ahead--about three miles off, more or less. "

"See anybody on board?"

"Nary a soul! The hull's low down in the water and the decks awash. "

"Well, we'll soon come up to her at our rate of going, " shouted out thecaptain in the same pitch of voice, which might have been heard a mileaway at the least; for, although there was a strong breeze the wind didnot make much noise, and the Atlantic waves were only frisking about inplay without any great commotion. "Mind you pilot us right: it wouldspoil the _Susan Jane's_ figure-head, I reckon, to run aboard awater-logged hull!"

"Ay, ay, " responded the seaman from aloft, "I'll steer you safe enough, sir. Keep her steady as she is, full and bye!"

"Steady!" repeated the skipper to the helmsman; whose "Steady it is!"showed his prompt attention to the command. 

"Luff a bit!" said Tom after a few minutes, when the _Susan Jane_ hadalmost traversed the distance which he had previously said lay betweenher and the submerged vessel, and was close on to her--at least, musthave been so. 

"Luff!" repeated the skipper; and--"Luff it is!" echoed the man at thewheel mechanically as he put the helm up; and a moment afterwards theship glided by the derelict hull, her speed lessening as she came up tothe wind and her canvas quivering, like a bird suspending its flight inthe air with wings outstretched!

There is no more melancholy sight to be met with on the ocean than adeserted ship. Everybody knows how dismal an empty house with closed-upshutters looks on land, especially when the shutters are inside ones, asis usually the case with town dwellings, and the panes have been riddledwith stones, while the walls are bedaubed with mud from the missiles ofmischievous persons, mostly, it is to be feared, of the class juvenis, and the garden in front overgrown with grass and weeds, luxuriating inthe rankest of vegetation, and completing the picture of desolation anddecay. 

Well, a derelict vessel, such as is to be frequently met with at sea, presents a ten times more miserable appearance, if that be possible, than an empty and deserted house. Instead of being a picture ofdesolation, it is desolation itself!

The battered hull, scarred with the wounds caused by the pitiless waves, its timbers gaping open here and there, and the rent copper-sheathingshowing, as it rolls sluggishly on the waste of waters--where it hasbeen left to linger out the last days of a decrepit existence, withmasts and sails and bulwarks and everything washed away, presenting sucha contrast to what it was in its pride, when it swam the waters "like athing of life"--is painful in the extreme to contemplate. 

This was what those on board the _Susan Jane_ noticed now, as she passedby the floating remnants of what had once been a gallant ship, as theycould tell from her size and length. But Captain Blowser saw somethingmore with his glass--for the _Susan Jane_ could not approach very nearto the water-logged hull that was almost level with the surface of thesea, for fear of colliding through the "scud" of the waves--somethingthat made him take in the clipper's lighter sails, despite his anxietyto take advantage of every breath of the wind and make a rapid passageto Boston, and lay the ship to; while he had a boat lowered, and went toinspect the derelict hulk more closely. 

Mr Rawlings, the passenger, accompanied the skipper, so did also SethAllport; and naturally, as Seth went, Sailor Bill followed hisprotector, or adopted master, dog-fashion as usual, taking his seat inthe boat as a matter of course!

On boarding the abandoned vessel a horrible sight presented itself. Three corpses were stretched on the afterpart of the deck near thewheelhouse--which had been wrenched away, along with the binnacle andbulwarks, and the cabin skylight, while the hull was full of water andkept afloat only by the buoyant nature of the cargo, although they couldnot discover what that was, as it was completely submerged. But thosethree corpses told a tale of some deadly struggle, as there was a knifestill tightly clutched in the dead hand of the one, an empty revolver inthat of another, while the third had a rope tied round his throat as ifhe had been strangled by the other two. 

The bodies of all, which exhibited signs of emaciation throughstarvation, being almost skeletons, showed also numerous wounds, whiletheir clothing was rent into tatters from cuts and slashes apart fromthe wash of the water, which had, of course, swept away most of theblood that had probably flowed from the wounds, although there was alarge dark blotch on the deck close to the after hatch, testifying thatsome gory pool had been there. 

"I guess there's been some of the devil's work here!" said the skippergravely. 

"You bet, " chimed in Seth Allport, whose keen eye was looking out forsome evidence of the nationality of the ship. "She ain't a foreigner, and Britishers don't murder one another like this. S'pose there was amuss on board, or something like a mutiny, eh, Cap?" he added presently. 

"Yes, " answered Captain Blowser, who was also looking keenly about withthe same motive as Seth; and he was quicker too than the shrewd seamanin this instance, for he noticed forward, under the legs of one of thecorpses, a loose piece of wood, on which he pounced. 

Pulling it out as quick as thought, he turned it over, and the secret ofthe derelict hull was disclosed; for there, printed in letters of gold, showing that the piece of wood was probably part of the stern of one ofthe vessel's boats, as its shape also suggested, was the name"_Dragon_--. " Something was apparently wanting, for the wood was brokenoff just at the end where the name was painted. 

"_Dragon_?" said Seth. "I remember a ship called the _Dragon King_, that used to sail regularly to the East Indies. I saw her last time Iwas in Liverpool!"

"Waal, " said the skipper, "we can only report what we've seen when weget home; for we can't get down below to examine her papers or anything, and must leave the old hulk to float till she sinks. I wish I had apound of dynamite on board, and I'd blow her up, I guess; as, tossingabout at sea like that, some vessel might run agin her in the night andgit stove in. Let's leave her, Hiram; we can do no good stopping anylonger. "

"Let us first give those chaps there the benefit of a sailor's grave, "said the mate, pointing to the corpses; and although the men, from somesuperstitious feeling common enough among seamen, did not like to touchthem, the skipper and mate had no such scruples, and heaved the remainsof those who might have been murderers or the victims of some atrociouscrime overboard, with as much solemnity as they could. After which theyall returned to the _Susan Jane_, which pursued her way to her homeport. 

STORY ONE, CHAPTER FIVE. 

A MINING PROJECT. 

After passing the derelict ship, the _Susan Jane_ met with nothing moreof an eventful character in her voyage; and after making a very fair runacross the Atlantic, thereby gladdening the heart of Captain Blowser, sighted Nantucket lights, rounding Cape Cod the next day, and droppedher anchor, finally, in Boston harbour, opposite the mouth of the RiverCharles; about which Longfellow has written some pretty lines, beginning--

 "River! That in silence windest Through the meadows bright and free, Till at length thy rest thou findest In the bosom of the sea!"

Before the American coast was reached, however, an arrangement was cometo. 

When taking his grog one evening with Seth Allport and Mr Rawlings, thesecond mate having the watch, the Captain was expressing his regret atthe approaching loss of several of those who had sailed with him formany voyages, for he knew that they would ship in other vessels whenthey found that the _Susan Jane_ was to be laid up for a thoroughoverhaul. 

"Well, Cap, " Seth Allport said, "I shall not be sorry myself for a spellon shore. Since I had them three years over among the mines inCaliforny I get restless at sea after a spell, and long for a turn amongthe mountains. "

"Were you at work on the surface all the time, or did you work in any ofthe deep mines?" asked Mr Rawlings. 

"I worked for a few months on the Yuba, " Seth said, "but then I went tosinking. I worked with some mates first, and then I bossed a mine downGrass Valley. It was held in shares. I only had a few, but I was spryand handy, you see, and I worked up till I got to be boss, or what youwould call manager. The lode paid well for a while; then it fell off, and I got to longing for the sea again; so I just chucked it up, andmade tracks from `Frisco. '"

"If you would like another spell at mining, Seth, I can put you in theway of it, " said Mr Rawlings. "I am on my way out to Dakota, toprospect a mine there. I will tell you how it has come about. I had acousin, a wild young fellow, who left home in the early days of theCalifornian gold fever, and was not heard of for many years. Eighteenmonths ago he returned. His father and mother were long since dead, andhaving not a friend in the world he hunted me up, for we had been greatchums in our boyhood. He was a broken man, and I did not think he hadlong to live. I took him in, and he lingered on for fifteen months, andthen died. He told me all his history during the twenty years he hadbeen mining, and a strange, wild story it was--at one time almoststarving, at another wealthy enough to have come home and lived incomfort. The most important part, and that which is of most interest atpresent, is that in a valley in the heart of Dakota he had discoveredwhat he believed to be a most valuable gold mine. Among the hills hehad found some lumps of very valuable ore. He had traced down theoutcrop of the lode, which on the surface looked poor enough, to a pointnear the river. Here another lode intersected it, and believing this tobe the richest point, he began with four comrades to sink a shaft. Fora long time the lode was poor, but at a depth of eighty feet they cameupon ore of immense richness. Three days after they had made thediscovery a band of Indians fell upon them. Ned's four comrades werekilled, but he managed to escape. The Indians burnt the hut anddestroyed the surface-workings, and then left. Alone and penniless, Nedcould do nothing. He made his way back to the settlement, and thenworked on the railway. He was afraid to tell any one his secret, andwas in no hurry, as he had no fear of any chance miners discovering thespot, which he said looked by no means a promising one. Then he fellill, and a yearning for England seized him, and so he came to me. Before he died he told me the story, and gave me the fullest directionsfor finding the spot where, he said, a great fortune awaited me. I wasby profession a civil engineer and knew a little of mining, so Idetermined to undertake the adventure. I was preparing to start, havingmade arrangements for a prolonged absence, when in London I met my oldfriend Captain Blowser, and mentioning to him that I was about to take apassage in a Cunarder for America, he said that he was sailing forBoston in a few days, and would be glad of my company. I accepted hisinvitation, and here I am. I have sufficient capital to open the mineand carry on operations for a year. I should be glad of an energeticman whom I could trust, and who understands the country and mining. Imight travel far before I found one who would so thoroughly suit myviews as yourself, Seth; so if you will throw in your lot with me, asworking manager of the affair, we shall have no difficulty whatever incoming to terms. "

"I'm your man, " Seth said, holding out his hand. "Yes, sir, I reckonthat this venture is just the thing that will suit me. I'm all there, you bet. "

And so the agreement was made, and before arriving at the end of thevoyage Seth had selected four of the best and most trustworthy men onboard to join the party. It was arranged that each, in addition to hispay, should receive a small share in the undertaking, should it turn outa success; and, with the prospect of an adventure that might render themindependent for life, they gladly "signed articles, " as they calledputting down their names to an agreement which the mate had drawn out, binding those who expressed their willingness to embark in theenterprise to be true to Mr Rawlings to the last, and obey hisdirections; he on his part promised that the treasure, should theysucceed in finding it, would be divided share and share alike amongsttheir number. And thus the list was filled. 

The band consisted so far of Tom Cannon and Black Harry, two of theforemast hands; Jasper the black steward, and Josh the cook, anotherdarkey, as has been already mentioned; besides Seth and Sailor Bill, whom Seth stoutly declared his intention, with Mr Rawlings' consent, oftaking with him, declining the skipper's proposal of giving him up tothe British Consul when they arrived at Boston, so that he might be senthome to England as a lunatic sailor at the government expense. 

"Nary a bit, " said Seth; "whar I goes, thaar goes he, poor chap! UnderProvidence, he saved my life; and under Providence I'll never desarthim, Cap, till he chooses to cast off the hawser hisself!"

Mr Rawlings encouraged the seaman in his resolution; for he took greatinterest in the lad, and looked forward to noting any change in hismental condition, whom he firmly believed would some day be suddenlyrestored to his senses by some similar mode to that by which he had beendeprived of the proper use of his faculties. 

STORY ONE, CHAPTER SIX. 

MINTURNE CREEK. 

When the _Susan Jane's_ anchor was dropped, and the longshore men cameon board to unload cargo, the little party of Mr Rawlings' followerswent on shore, drew their pay, and took their discharge; and then, aftera few days' stay, took rail for Chicago, where Mr Rawlings was to jointhem, to make the final preparations for their start to the Far West. 

They reached Chicago before the "Boss, " as they called Mr Rawlings, asthat gentleman had several business arrangements to make in New York. 

At Chicago, Seth met an old western friend of his, Noah Webster, who hadjust returned from a mining expedition in Arizona. 

After much talk of their Californian days, Seth told him that he wasgoing as lieutenant to an English gentleman who was getting up a miningexpedition to Dakota. 

"I want eight or ten good miners, afraid neither of work nor Indians. "

"What pay?" Noah asked laconically. 

"Two dollars a day each, and all grub; double to you, Noah, if you willget a good gang together and come with us. "

"It's a bargain, " said Noah. "I could put my hand on twenty good mento-morrow; half of 'em were out with me. I will pick you ten of thebest. And they ought to be that, for it will be no child's play; theInjins of Dakota are snakes upon miners. "

Seth had received full authority from Mr Rawlings to engage a strongparty, and the "Boss" was greatly pleased upon his arrival to find thata band of stalwart and experienced miners had already been collected. 

Previous to quitting Chicago, Mr Rawlings, acting under the advice ofSeth and Noah Webster, purchased a complete outfit of mining tools, andstores of all kinds: picks, drills, pumps, buckets, windlasses, ropes--and, indeed, everything that would be required in carrying out theirundertaking properly. 

They did not overburden themselves, however, with provisions, or anysuch things as they would be likely to get cheap in the back settlementsat the end of the point where they would have to leave the railway--notfar off the town of Bismark, on the Missouri, the extremest station ofthe northern branch of the Union Pacific line. 

And so, one fine morning, they started, full of hope, for some wonderfulaccounts were in circulation before they set out from Chicago, as to theenormous finds of the Excelsior mine and other kindred speculations inor near Dakota. 

Passing over their railroad journey, during which nothing of interestoccurred worthy of notice, and their temporary stay in the last frontiertown--to lay in a stock of provisions, and hire teams and waggons forthe transport of their mining plant and general belongings; besidesengaging a half-breed Indian to guide them to their destination, acopper-coloured gentleman who had lived for years in New Mexico, andspoke a broken Spanish patter which he called "Ingliz, " and wasafterwards a faithful member of the expeditionary party--we will come tothe period when, after a month's march across the wilds of north-westernDakota, they had arrived at the place which "Moose, " the Indianhalf-breed, declared with a multitude of "carramboes!" was the spotwhich had been indicated on the map which Mr Rawlings had received fromhis cousin. 

"Waal, boys, this is bully!" exclaimed Seth, as soon as the party hadcome to a halt, gazing round him with the air of a landlord takingpossession of his property. 

The scene was a beautiful one, and well merited the seaman'sexclamation. 

They were in the centre of a vast semicircular valley, surrounded on allsides but one by a chain of mountains, over which one especial peaktowered far above the rest, lifting up a crest that was crowned witheternal snow and formed a landmark for miles away. 

Into this valley, which appeared to be the general watershed of thedistrict, ran several small streams, that united in the middle of it inone deep gulch, which overflowed in winter with a foaming torrent--although there was now little or no water, and the grass and shrubsaround seemed parched and withered for want of moisture. The"location, " however, was a pleasant one, possessing all the properrequisites for a stationary camp such as they contemplated; for, withinhand-reach they could have wood, water, and forage for their baggageanimals. The teams they had hired were at once unloaded and startedback to the settlement, but there remained with them twelve pack-mules, which Mr Rawlings had purchased in order to have means of sending downfor provisions whenever required. 

Gold mining, it may be mentioned, is almost if not quite as precariousas that of silver. The former metal is found over a very extensivetract of country in California west of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, while silver is found in Nevada, Utah, and in fact over a vast expanseof country stretching almost down to the south of Mexico. Silver seldomis found in a lode extending with any great regularity. The lode, indeed, may be traced for long distances, but whereas one mine may befabulously rich, those lying on the lode on either side of it may notfind enough gold to pay expenses. It lies, in fact, in great "pockets, "as English miners would call them, or in "bonanzas, " as they are termedin Nevada. So long as these pockets last a mine will pay enormously;when they are cleared out it becomes worthless, as English shareholdersin these mines have often found to their cost. In "Mineral Hill" andthe "Emma" hundreds of thousand pounds' worth of ore were taken out in afew months, and then the mines were not worth working. 

East of the Rocky Mountains, in Colorado and Dakota, gold is found aswell as silver. It is found in quartz veins, and wherever there isquartz, some, although often an almost infinitesimally small amount ofgold, is found; while in other places patches of quartz are struckcontaining immensely rich deposits of the precious metal. 

No search was made for the exact spot indicated on the map, so long asthe teamsters who had brought up the mining' stores remained. Thesebelieved that it was a mere exploring party, and although they wonderedat the quantity of mining materials brought up, they had put this downto the folly of the "Britisher" who had organised the party!

When the mining party alone remained, a diligent search was at oncebegun for the shaft which had been sunk. This they knew was near theriver. 

Three days were spent and no signs of the shaft were discovered, whenSeth came across a short stump of charred wood at the edge of the riverbed. 

He led Mr Rawlings and Noah Webster to the spot, and they agreed thatthis was probably the site upon which the dwelling-house had stood. 

"The river, you see, has changed its course a bit, " Noah said. "Thesestreams come down in big floods in winter, and carry all before them, often changing their beds. If it came across the mouth of the shaft itwould fill it up with boulders and gravel in five minutes. Waal, whatwe've got to look for is a filled-up hole hereabouts. Mostly, the rocklies just under the surface gravel, so if we get crowbars and thrustdown we shall find it sure enough. "

A few hours' search, now that the clue was obtained, led to thediscovery of the lost shaft. The lode was now traced extending eitherway, and as it was at once agreed that it would not do to commenceanother so near the river, a place was fixed upon a hundred yards backfrom the old shaft, and the whole of the stores and tools were removedto this spot. 

Then the whole force set to to get up a large hut of galvanised iron, which they had brought, with its framework, from Chicago. 

Timber is sometimes scarce in these regions, and it would not have doneto have relied upon it. The hut contained a large general room whereall would take their meals together, a store-room, a bed-room for themen, and a smaller one for Mr Rawlings, Seth, Noah, and Sailor Bill. Asmall "lean-to" as a kitchen was erected against the hut, and layers ofcoarse turf, eighteen inches thick, were built up against the outer wallall round for additional protection, as the winter would be bitterlycold, and a great thickness of material would be required to resist itsinclemency. 

There was an equal partition of labour. The black cook took possessionof his kitchen, Jasper was to act as general attendant, and Seth assumedthe position of manager of the works, with Noah Webster under him asdeputy, while the men were divided into three gangs, each of which wouldwork eight hours a day at the work of sinking the shaft. 

STORY ONE, CHAPTER SEVEN. 

FIGHTING THE ELEMENTS. 

The miners at Minturne Creek had a hard time of it, and their life wasmonotonous enough after they had settled down to work in earnest. 

Winter came--the stern hard winter that can only be experienced to thefull in the northern regions of the Far West, backed up seemingly by allthe powers of nature--to try and cramp the energies of the party, andarrest their labours; but, neither the severity of the weather, nor thelanguor which the excessive frigidity of the atmosphere produced--although it sent them to sleep of a night after their day's toil, without the necessity of an opiate--were sufficient to deter them fromtheir purpose. 

Winter passed by, and still they worked on steadily, notwithstandingthat as yet they had met with no substantial success to encourage them, hoping, however, that they had surmounted the gravest part of theirundertaking. Spring arrived, and their hopes of an easy season of itwere demolished in an instant; for the snow melted on the hills, and theice melted in the valley, and the iron bands of the river were broken, causing a foaming torrent to dash through the gulch--a torrent thatswelled each hour with the fresh accretions of water from the higherrocks, and, spreading wide in the valley, threatened to annihilate thewhole party, as well as the results of their handiwork during the pastmonths of bitter toil. 

The very elements warred against them; but, under the noble example oftheir indomitable leader, whom nothing appeared to dishearten, theybraved the elements, and were not discouraged. 

The torrent grew into a flood, tossing huge rocks about as if they werecorks, and swelled and foamed around the dam they laboriously raisedwhen the floods began, to protect the shaft; but they fought the newlycreated flood with its own weapons, hurling buttresses at it to supporttheir artificial embankment, in return for its rocks, and pointing thevery weapons of the enemy against itself. 

They had not to contend with water alone. 

The winds, let loose apparently by the thawing of the huge glaciers bywhich they were confined in the cavernous recesses of the mountainpeaks, stormed down into the valley, there meeting other andantagonistic currents of air coming up the canon--and met and fought, relentless giants that they were, on the neutral ground of the miners'camp, tearing off the iron sheets of their house, and sending themflying away on the wings of the storm to goodness knows where. Still, the hardy adventurers would not be beaten; but fought the wind, as theyhad fought the water. 

Spreading buffalo skins over their unroofed cabin to keep out the wet, they piled on them rocks and timber that they had kept in reserve forservice in the mine, weighing their ends down with some of the ponderousrocks with which the flood had assailed them--so making a temporaryprovision against the weather until they should be able to build theirlog shanty afresh. 

By these means the winds were conquered, stopping their onslaughtpresently and making a truce, which in time was lengthened into atreaty. But it was a mighty battle while it lasted; a fight of theTitans with the gods; man opposed to nature; the material to theimmaterial--self-reliant, well-husbanded, carefully-applied strengthmatched against purposeless force. 

Man does not generally win in such contests, but did in this instance. The powers of the water and air were powerless against a systematicresistance, and were compelled to succumb. The miners suffered, certainly--who comes out of a fray scathless? But they were victorious;and being such, could at last laugh at their losses. Beyond, also, theconsciousness of having fought a successful fight, they were encouragedby the certainty that they had met and encountered with success theextremity of peril to which they would be subjected; and thatthenceforth Nature could only be a passive enemy to them, with noterrors now to daunt them with, albeit she struggled against them stillin the bowels of the earth, that refused as yet to give up those hiddenriches which they were confident were there. Refuse? Ay, but only fora time; they would, in the end, conquer that refusal, as they had metand overcome nature's more active opposition!

Their house was in ruins; their provisions mostly spoilt by the elementsthey had battled--fire had only been wanting to complete the sum oftheir calamities; whilst the staging around their mine-shaft was brokendown and tons of water upon tons poured down the embouchure. 

They reviewed their position, and grasped its salient points, not asingle faint heart among them:--hope, trust, energy, made them think andact as one man. 

There was the iron hut and shanty to rebuild, the mine-shaft and itssupports to repair, the dam to mend and remake in its weaker places, themine to pump out. 

Thus they thought; and, what is more, they acted upon the thought. Somemen think, and others work. They did both; and, through their strenuousefforts, ere the early buds of spring had given a palpable green tingeto the shrubs and trees that clothed the slopes of the hills and dottedthe valley of Minturne Creek here and there, or the snow had quitevanished from the topmost mountain peaks, and the river that ran throughthe gulch subsided down into its proper proportions, all traces of thestorm ravages had been cleared away, and the snug little camp of theBoston exploring party looked itself again, "as neat and trim as a newpin, I reckon!" as Seth Allport said. 

The miners themselves allowed, however, that the victory might not havebeen theirs had they not had the assistance of a visitor--and that amost unexpected one, as the spring was not sufficiently advanced to havecleared away all the snow from the back track to the settlements andmade the roads passable, so as to allow the diggers to return to theirclaims on the hills. 

Strangers are rare birds amongst the squatters out West, and aregenerally regarded with much suspicion by travellers on the prairies andin the mountain fastnesses. 

The rougher part of the restoration of the camp belongings having beenaccomplished and not so many hands being now required for the furtherrepairs needed, while the day was especially fine and suggestive of"sport, " the hunters were out on the hills, under the leadership of MrRawlings, who had proved himself by this time one of the best shots incamp. 

There were other reasons for the hunters' activity besides the fact ofthe day being fine and signs of sport apparent. 

"The hull crowd, from the Boss down to Sailor Bill, who wouldn't say nayif he could kinder express himself, " as the ex-mate observed before thesetting out of the expedition--"were dog-tired of pork and fixin's, "--and their stomachs craved after game, or fresh meat of any sort. 

Besides their having lived through the whole of the winter on salt pork, it had not been improved in quality by its contact with the flood-waterthat had submerged their cabin at one time; but, whether damaged or not, it must be acknowledged that even to the most easy-going and contentedpalate, a never-varying diet of fried pork and damper cakes--thatresembled somewhat the unleavened bread of the Israelites in theirpassage through the wilderness--will prove somewhat wearying andmonotonous in the long run! Thus, their anxiety for some change intheir food can only be realised by those who have been compelled to liveon salt provisions for any length of time. 

Signs of sport, as has been already mentioned, were apparent enough; fortraces of deer had been discovered by the Indian half-breed in the earlymorning, leading from the bank of the river as it entered the canonbelow the camp from the hills; and thus, therefore, it was with all theeagerness of semi-starving; men that the best shots of the party werepicked out at once, and despatched to follow up the trail of the game;the others who remained behind going on with the rebuilding with all thegreater ardour through the prospect of an unwontedly good dinner beforethem--that is, should the hunters prove successful. 

Along with Mr Rawlings was Noah Webster, who was a better hunter almostthan he was a miner; Moose, the half-breed Indian, and Josh the cook--Jasper stopping behind by the express orders of Seth, although he wasmadly jealous at his brother-darkey being preferred before him. 

Upwards and onwards, through the scrub and brushwood and buddingbranches of trees, struggling over the trunks of fallen monarchs of theforest, that had been rooted up by the wind or struck down by lightning, and lay across their path, over rough volcanic rocks, and throughravines that trickled down tiny streams to swell the river below, theymade their way slowly and tediously towards the probable lair of thedeer, as the traces of their antlered prey grew fresher and moredistinct every step, the slot being sometimes plainly visible in themoist soil, although for all they could otherwise see and hear theymight be as far off from the wished-for prize as ever. 

Presently, as they were emerging from a thicker growth of brushwood thanthey had yet passed through, they noticed, to their joy, right in frontof them, feeding on a small grassy plateau under the lee of a juttingcliff, a head of what the Indian half-breed immediately declared to be aspecies of ibex, or mountain-sheep, that are commonly met with amid thepeaks of the Rocky Mountains and its chains, far from the haunts ofcivilisation and men. It was only owing, indeed, to the fact that thehill diggers were away in the settlements, and from the scarcity offorage in their more secluded retreats, that they had approached so nearto the miners' camp. 

Caution was now the order of the day; and, Mr Rawlings still leading, with the Indian next him, and then the others one after the other infile, Josh proudly bringing up the rear, they stepped forwards with theutmost care, keeping the wind in their faces so that they should not bebetrayed by the scent of their clothing reaching the timid animals, todo which, they had to execute a considerable detour, and take advantageof every chance of cover. 

By degrees, they gradually got within a fair range of about eightyyards--for, although long-distance shooting may be very nice as a testof shooting at the Wimbledon targets, it is quite a different matterwhen your dinner depends on the success of your shot; for, with thatconsideration in view, even the surest of marksmen likes to get withineasy reach of his game. 

Mr Rawlings and Noah Webster, the two best shots of the party, levelledtheir rifles together--after a brief nod from the Indian half-breedwhich seemed to say "Now's your time"--and fired simultaneously, aimingat two of the wild sheep. 

At the very moment they did so, the report of a third shot was heard, that seemed like the echo of their own double discharge, pinging throughthe keen rarefied air; and when the smoke had cleared off, and thereverberations of the sound had died away, rolling in fainter andfainter waves amongst the mountain hollows in the distance, three of thesheep were observed to be stretched lifeless on the plateau where theyhad been so recently feeding in peace, while the remainder of the flockwere bounding away from peak to peak, seeking refuge in their nativefortresses in the crags above. 

Mr Rawlings did not notice anything unusual at first, as he had notheard the third rifle-shot; but Noah Webster and the half-breed, whowere much better accustomed to woodcraft--having had their sensessharpened by dangers which seamen never have to encounter--were alive atonce to the perception of something being wrong. 

"Injuns, I reckon!" muttered Noah Webster under his breath, to which thehalf-breed growled a characteristic "Ugh, " and the two sank down closeramid the grass, dragging down Mr Rawlings with them, Noah stopping hisexpostulations by clapping his hand across his mouth, and looking at himwarningly, while he motioned to the rest behind them to follow theirexample. 

All huddled together in the grass and tangled brushwood, hardlybreathing for fear their presence might be discovered by some possiblefoe, they looked out carefully, awaiting the development of thesituation. 

It was only a minute or two at most, but it appeared hours to one ortwo, especially to poor Josh, who, in his fright of being scalped by apossible Indian, would have cheerfully given up all his chances of goldin the mine and everything, to have swapped places with the enviousJasper and been safe in camp. 

The listeners, however, did not have to wait so very long. 

In a little while they heard the sound of twigs being broken near them, as if some one were making his way through the copse. Soon they coulddistinguish, in addition, the heavy tramp of footsteps--they sounded asheavy as those of elephants to them, with their ears to the ground--trampling down the thick undergrowth and rotten twigs in the thicketbefore them; and they could also hear a sort of muttering sound, likethat caused by somebody speaking to himself in soliloquy. 

The situation, if an exciting one, was not of any long duration, forwhile they were listening the denouement came. 

A nondescript-clad figure came out of the brushwood into the openclearing, walking towards the spot where the mountain-sheep laystretched on the sward, which was partly covered with the snow thatremained unmelted under the lee of the cliff; and a voice, without doubtappertaining to the figure, exclaimed in unmistakable English accents--

"Well, I'm hanged if I ever heard of such a thing before in my life! Iknow I am a tidy shot, but if I were to mention this at home they wouldsay I was telling a confounded lie! To think of killing three of thosequeer creatures at one shot! By Jove, who'd believe it?"

The listeners burst into a simultaneous roar of laughter. 

"It's only a Britisher!" said Noah Webster; and they all rose from theircovert and sallied out into the open, to the intense astonishment of thenew-comer, whose surprise was evidently mixed with a proportionateamount of alarm, for he clutched his gun more tightly at the sight ofthem, and stood apparently on the defensive. 

STORY ONE, CHAPTER EIGHT. 

AN UNEXPECTED COINCIDENCE. 

"We are friends, " Mr Rawlings said, "some of us your countrymen, if, asI judge by your accent, you are an Englishman. We are working a mine inthis neighbourhood. My name is Rawlings, and I am the proprietor of themine. "

"My name is Wilton--Ernest Wilton, " the stranger said, taking the handthat Mr Rawlings held out. "I am glad indeed to meet with a party ofmy countrymen. Some little time since I started from Oregon with aprospecting party that was organised to hunt up various openings for theemployment of capital in mining, and other speculative enterprises. With this party I crossed the Rocky Mountains, and went about from placeto place, until about three days ago, when, while shooting amongst thesehills of yours, either I lost them or they lost me, and here I have beenwandering about ever since by myself, and would probably have come togrief if I had not met you. By profession I am a mining engineer, butthe mine I had come from England to work turned out badly, and Iaccepted another engagement, thinking to do a little sporting andexploring on my own account before returning to England--nice sport I'vefound it, too!"

Mr Rawlings gave the stranger an earnest invitation to spend a day ortwo with them down at the creek. 

The visitor readily accepted; and the game being lifted and slung onpoles, the party started for the camp, Mr Rawlings strolling on withhis new acquaintance, and the others following, talking earnestlytogether. 

Arrived at the house, Mr Rawlings laughingly apologised for its stateof dilapidation, but assured the visitor that it was far morecomfortable than it looked. 

Seth came to the doorway, and the other miners gathered round, toinspect both the welcome supply of fresh food and the stranger. 

"This is Seth Allport, my lieutenant and manager, " Mr Rawlings said. "Seth, this is Mr Wilton, an English mining engineer. "

"Jerusalem!" exclaimed Seth. "Now, who would have thought that?"

"You seem surprised at my being an engineer, " said Ernest Wilton, laughing at Seth's exclamation: for even the hungry miners, who had beenpreviously clustered in groups around Josh and Jasper, surveying thecooking arrangements of the two darkeys with longing eyes, appeared toforget the claims of their appetites for the moment on the announcementof what evidently was a welcome piece of news, as they incontinentlyabandoned the grateful sight of the frizzling mutton, that was alsosending forth the most savoury odours, and joined the leaders of theparty who were interviewing the young Englishman. "I shouldn't havethought one of my profession by any means a strange visitor. "

"It isn't the surprise, mister, " replied Seth cordially. "No, thatain't it, quite, I reckon. It's the coincidence, as it were, at thisparticular time, mister. That's what's the matter! Jehosophat! it isqueer, streenger!"

"I'm sure I ought to feel greatly honoured at such an imposingreception, " said Ernest, still rather perplexed at the ovation, whichseemed unaccountable to him. "It is not such a very uncommon thing foran engineer to be travelling through these regions, is it now?especially when you consider that it has been mainly through theexertions of men of my craft, and the railways that they have planned, following in their wake, that the country has been opened up at all. Ishould have thought engineers almost as common nowadays out west asblackberries in old England. "

"You are right there, " said Mr Rawlins's, hastening to explain thecircumstances that had caused his arrival to be looked upon as such apiece of good fortune, quite apart from the friendly feelings with whichthey regarded him as a forlorn stranger whom they were glad to welcometo their camp. "But, you see, your coming, as Seth Allport has justremarked, has been almost coincident with a loss, or rather want, whichwe just begin to feel in our mining operations here. Your arrival hashappened just in the nick of time, when we are nearly at a standstillthrough the want of a competent superintending engineer, like yourself, experienced in mines and mining work. Hands we have in plenty--willingand able hands, too, " added Mr Rawlings, with an approving glance roundat the assembled miners, who acknowledged the compliment with a heartycheer for himself and Seth Allport;--"but we want a head to suggest howour efforts can be best directed, and our gear utilised, towardscarrying out the object we all have in view. I and Seth have done ourbest; but, what with the overflow of water in the mine, and thenecessity we think there is now for running out side cuttings from themain shaft, so as to strike the lode properly, we were fairly at ourwits' end. "

"I see, " said Ernest Wilton musingly, "I see. "

"An' if yer like to join us in that air capacity, " interposed Seth, thinking that the other was merely keeping back his decision until heheard what terms might be offered him, and that a practical suggestionabout money matters would settle the matter, "why, mister, we sha'n'tgrumble about the dollars, you bet! As yer knows, the Kernel kinderinvited yer jest now, when we had no sort o' reckonin' as to who andwhat yer were. Tharr'll be no worry about yer share ov the plunder, neow--no, sir. "

"Oh, pray don't mention that, " exclaimed Ernest Wilton, pained at theinterpretation put upon his reticence in accepting the offer of theposition made him. "Nothing was further from my thoughts. I am toowell acquainted with the open-handedness of the mining fraternity in theGolden State and elsewhere to dream of haggling about terms as to thepayment of my poor services. "

"What, then?" said Seth. "We don't want to bind you down to any fixedsort o' 'greement, if yu'd rather not. "

"I was only considering, " replied Ernest, vexed at his own hesitancy, "whether I could fairly give up the party with whom I started fromOregon, as I was under a species of engagement, as it were, althoughthere was no absolutely signed and sealed undertaking. It wouldn't beright, I think, to leave them altogether without notice. "

"Nary mind the half-hearted lot, " said Noah Webster, at this junctureputting his spoke in the wheel. "Didn't they leave yer out alone in themountains? I wouldn't give a red cent for sich pardners, I guess, boss. Raal mean skunks I calls 'em, and no mistake, sirree!"

"But I promised to stay with these fellows till we got over to thesettlements on this side, " said Ernest Wilton, smiling at Noah'scharacteristic vehemence against those half-hearted companions of hiswho had held back while he had gone forward by himself, "and I like tokeep my word when I can, you know--at all events I ought to send and letthem know where I am. "

"We sha'n't quarrel about that, " said Mr Rawlings kindly, to put theother at his ease, for some of the rough miners did not appear to likethe Englishman's hanging back from jumping at their leader's offer. --"Aman who is so anxious to keep his word, even with people who left him inthe lurch, will be all the more likely to act straightforwardly towardsus. Don't, however, let that fret you, for you will be able tocommunicate as easily with your friends, and more so, by stopping herewith us, as by going on to the nearest frontier township. As soon asthe snow has melted, and the roads become passable again, there will beplentiful supply of half-breeds, like Moose there, and other gentry withnothing particular to do, come hanging round us, who will gladly carryany message or letter for you across the hills--for a leetleconsideration, of course!" added Mr Rawlings, with his bluff, heartylaugh. 

"Ay, that there'll be, " said Seth Allport. "Don't you trouble aboutthat, mister; but jine with us a free heart, and run our injine for us, and we'll be downright glad, I guess!"

"That we will, sure!" chorussed the miners in a body, with a shout. Andso, pressed with a rough but hearty cordiality, Ernest Wilton consentedto be a member of the mining party in the same frank spirit, and was nowsaluted as one of the Minturne Creek adventurers in a series of ringingcheers that made the hill-sides echo again, and the cavernous canonsound the refrain afar. 

Jasper and Josh, now quite reconciled after some "little bit ofunpleasantness" between them, that had resulted in operations tendingtowards a lowering of the wool crop, as far as each was personallyconcerned, were unfeignedly glad the rather prolonged conference wasover. They had been gazing at the group gathered around the youngEnglishman with a sort of puzzled wonder, and listening to what scrapsof conversation they chanced to overhear, without being able to make outwhat the matter was about, with feelings of mingled expectancy andimpatience at the length of the debate. But, now it was all settled, asthey could see from the dispersal of the group, their joy was great, especially that of Master Jasper, who felt his dignity hurt, as a formersteward and present butler in ordinary, on account of the neglect paidto his intimation that the viands were ready and "dinner served!"

"Hooray!" shouted out Josh, throwing up his battered straw-hat into theair, and capering round the improvised caboose, in response to theminers' ringing cheers on Ernest's consent to join the party and act asengineer of the mine. "Me berry glad Massa Britisher now am one of us, for sure! Golly, we nebbah hab to put up with dat nasty salt pork nomore now, yup, yup! Massa Britisher um berry good shot, su-ah! Umshoot tree sheep at one go. Golly, Jasper, you no laugh. I tell youfor true!"--And the negro cook grinned himself, to the full extent ofhis wide mouth and glistening ivory teeth, while administering thisrebuke to his darkey brother. 

"Shoo! go way wid yer nonsenz, and don't bodder me, " responded thehungry and aggrieved Jasper, who did not appreciate the joke, the youngEnglishman's humorous mistake as to the result of his rifle-shot nothaving yet been promulgated for the benefit of those in camp. "Am noneob you gentlemens comin' to dinnah, hey?"--he called out moreloudly, --"Massa Rawlins me tellee hab tings ready in brace o' shakes;and now tings fix up tarnation smart, nobody come. Um berryaggerabating--can't oberstand it, no how!"

"None o' your sass, " said Seth gruffly, although the lurking smile onhis face took off from the effect of his words, "none o' your sass, Jasper, or I'll keelhaul you, and make you fancy yourself aboard shiponce more!"

"Me not sassy, Massa Seth. I'se hab too much respect for myself, sah, for dat! I only tells you as de meat's done and gettin' cool, dat'sall, while yous be all jabberin' way jus like passul monkeys. Noimperance in dat, massa, as I sees!"

"Stow that, you ugly cuss, " said Seth good-humouredly, for he was usedsomewhat to Master Jasper's "cheek" by this time. "You're jest about asbad as a Philadelphy lawyer, when you've got your jaw tackle aboard!Now, boys, " he added, hailing the miners, who were nothing loth to obeythe signal, "the darkey says the vittles are ready, and you as wants tofeed had better fall to!"

STORY ONE, CHAPTER NINE. 

CONCERNING SAILOR BILL. 

During this little interlude, Ernest Wilton had been closely engaged inwatching the actions of the poor boy, "Sailor Bill. "

His face had attracted him from the first moment he caught sight of him;but when he had more leisure to observe him, after the palaver with MrRawlings and the miners was over, and he noticed certain peculiaritiesabout the object of his attention which had previously escaped hisnotice, his interest became greatly heightened. 

Sailor Bill had altered very much in appearance since the day he hadbeen picked up in the Bay of Biscay and taken on board the _Susan Jane_, a thin, delicate-looking boy with a pale face and a wasted frame. Thekeen healthy air and out-of-doors life out west had worked wonders withhim, and he was now rosy and stalwart, his body having filled out andhis cheeks grown much fatter, while he was even considerably taller thanhe had been some six months previously. 

His bright golden-brown hair was, of course, the same, and so were thelong dark lashes to the blue eyes that had so especially appealed toCaptain Blowser's fancy when he had spoken about the boy's resemblanceto a girl, for they yet bore the same peculiar far-away look as if theybelonged to a person walking in his sleep, without intelligence ornotice in them whatever. 

As on board ship, Sailor Bill stuck to Seth Allport as his shadow, moving where he moved, stopping where he stopped, with the faithfulattachment of a dog, albeit wanting in that expression of sagacity, which even the dullest specimen of the canine race exhibits on alloccasions. Seth Allport seemed to be the mainspring of the boy'saction, and after a time it became almost painful to watch the two, although the sailor had now grown accustomed to being followed about inso eccentric a fashion--as had, indeed, the rest of the party, who werenot so distinctly singled out by the poor boy's regard; but it was allnew and strange to Ernest Wilton as he watched and wondered. 

"What is the matter with the boy?" asked he presently of Mr Rawlings, who, from the fixed observation of his companion, had been expecting thequestion. "Poor fellow, he doesn't seem all right in his mind--and ahealthy, nice-looking boy, too!"

"Yes, " said Mr Rawlings, tapping his forehead expressively, andspeaking feelingly as he looked affectionately at Sailor Bill, whom allhad learnt to like as they would have done a pet dog;--"something wrongthere, although I hope in time he will get over it in the same way as hecame by it, if God so wills it!"

"I suppose he's got some story attached to him, eh?" said Ernest Wilton. 

"No doubt, " answered Mr Rawlings; "but nobody but himself knows it!"

"How strangely you pique my curiosity! Besides, his face seems quitefamiliar to me, somehow or other. Yes, it's really quite familiar, " herepeated. 

"Does it?" said Mr Rawlings eagerly, hoping that the young engineermight be able to tell something. 

"Yes, " replied the other, "and I cannot tell how or where I have seensomebody like him before. But I will recollect presently, I have nodoubt, after a little more reflection. "

"We picked up the poor chap at sea, half-drowned, and bleeding from avery terrible cut across the forehead; and such a slender thin shavingof a boy that you would not have known him to be the same as he is now!"

"Indeed!" said Ernest Wilton with greater interest even than he haddisplayed before; and thereupon Mr Rawlings told the whole story ofSailor Bill's rescue, and how he afterwards saved the life of SethAllport, to whom he had thenceforward attached himself; and how theworthy sailor had refused to part with him, and brought him out west. 

The young engineer had been carefully noting all the points of thenarrative while the other was speaking; and seemed to revolve the wholecircumstances of Sailor Bill's history in his mind with a view tosolving the mystery. 

"I shouldn't be surprised, " said he, when Mr Rawlings had completed hisyarn, "if he belonged to that deserted ship which you subsequently cameacross; and that in the mutiny, or whatever else occurred on board, hegot wounded and thrown into the sea. "

"That is possible, " said Mr Rawlings, "but not quite probable, considering the time that elapsed after our saving him to meeting withthe water-logged vessel, and the distance we traversed in the interval. Besides, the boy was lashed to the spar that supported him in the water, and he couldn't have done that, with the wound he had received, byhimself; so that gets rid of the theory of his being half-murdered andpitched overboard. Altogether, the story is one of those secrets of thesea that will never be unravelled, unless he comes to his senses at sometime or other and tells us all about it!"

"And you don't know his name, or anything?"

"No, only just what I have told you. "

"Had he no marks on his clothing, or anything in his pockets, that mightserve for identification, should any one claim him by and by?" saidErnest Wilton, pursuing his interrogatories like a cross-examiningbarrister fussy over his first case. 

"He had nothing on but his shirt and trousers, I tell you, " said MrRawlings, laughing at what he called the badgering of the other, just asif he were in a witness-box, he said, "and boys don't carry many lettersor documents about them, especially in their trousers' pockets; at allevents, they didn't do so when I was a boy. Stay--" he added, bethinking himself suddenly of one item of the story he had apparentlyforgotten till then, --"I certainly passed over something. "

"What?" said Ernest, still looking at Sailor Bill steadfastly, as iftrying in vain to summon up the recollection of his features from thehazy depths of his memory; for the face of the boy seemed more and morefamiliar to him the longer he looked. 

"Well, " replied Mr Rawlings, with a little hesitation, "I don't supposeyou want to know about the boy merely to satisfy an idle curiosity atseeing the poor, bereaved, young creature to be out of his mind?"

"Certainly not, " said Ernest Wilton. "What you have already told me, besides his own innocent, guileless look, has interested me strangely inhim; and, in addition to that, I'm sure I know something about him orsomebody extremely like him, which I cannot at present recall to myrecollection. "

"I believe you honestly, " replied Mr Rawlings, stretching forth hishand in token of good faith, which the other cordially grasped; "and, that being the case, I can tell you something more, which only SethAllport and myself know about, and which we have kept to ourselves as amatter of confidence on the poor boy's behalf. Of course, CaptainBlowser of the _Susan Jane_ knows about it, too, as he was entitled toby rights, from having picked the little chap up; but he's at sea, andit doesn't matter whether he divulges it or not, as it wouldn't be ofmuch consequence to the boy; here on land, however, where anybody mighttrack him out from interested or other motives, it is a very differentmatter; so I must ask you on your word of honour to keep thecircumstance to yourself. "

"Most decidedly, " said Ernest Wilton heartily; "I pledge you my word Iwill--until, at all events, you think it best, should things so happen, that it ought to be divulged. "

"All right, " responded Mr Rawlings, trusting implicitly in the other'sdiscretion. "Now, I'll tell you. When I said that the boy had only hisshirt and trousers on in the way of garments, and that there was nothingin his pockets to disclose his identity, I related you only the simpletruth, for there was nothing to trace him by; and I remember thatCaptain Blowser, of the _Susan Jane_, regretted afterwards that the sparto which we found him lashed had been cut adrift, without any one havingexamined it carefully to see whether there might not have been the nameof the ship painted on the yard, or a portion of the canvas, orsomething else in the top along with the boy--for there was the topmastand yard, and all the gear of the whole mast complete, as if it had beencarried away in a moment. But you recollect what I told you, of theboy's dashing out of the cabin as if he had been taken with a suddenfrenzy, and going to rescue Seth Allport when he was swept over the sideby the broken topsail-halliards in that squall?"

"Yes, quite well, " answered Ernest Wilton. 

"Well, after that he fainted away almost dead again for some time; andwhen I was bending over him trying to rouse him, I noticed a thin silkenstring round his neck, which I hadn't noticed previously, nor had Jasperthe steward, although his shirt had been opened there, and his bosombared in our efforts to resuscitate him, when he first took him downinto the cabin. "

"A fine silken string?" repeated the other, as Mr Rawlings paused for amoment in his recital; "a fine silken string round his neck?"

"Yes; and on drawing out the end of it I found a small parchment parcel, carefully sealed up with red sealing-wax, and an official kind of stampover it which had been before concealed in an inside pocket cunninglysecreted in the waist-part of the boy's flannel shirt. "

"And this parcel contained?" said the young engineer with breathlessattention. 

"Ah! that's what I just don't know, " said Mr Rawlings with provokingcoolness. 

STORY ONE, CHAPTER TEN. 

A CONUNDRUM. 

Ernest Wilton felt almost inclined to be vexed at first, thinking thatthe speaker had deliberately led him on with the intention, finally, of"selling" him, or perpetrating an April fool trick at his expense, itjust being about that time of year. But after one steadfast glance atMr Rawlings' unmoved face, which bore an expression of honest sinceritythat could not be doubted, he laughed off his annoyance, for he couldperceive that his companion was perfectly guiltless of any attempt at ajoke, and had said what he did in serious confidence. 

"Did you not open the packet?" said he, when he had stifled hislaughter, which increased all the more from Mr Rawlings'unconsciousness of having done or said anything to provoke it. 

"No, I didn't do it at the time, thinking it might be some littlekeepsake or love-token which the boy would not have liked any pryingeyes to look into if he were in the full possession of his faculties;and afterwards, when I wanted to, thinking that it might disclose hisidentity, Seth wouldn't allow it. "

"Hullo!" said that worthy, coming up at the moment, with Sailor Bill inclose attendance behind him as usual, "what are you two chaps aconspiring about? I guess, " he continued, with the broad smile thatseemed to illumine the whole of his rugged countenance and give it sucha pleasant, cheery look, "you're up to some mischief about me, hey? Ikalkerlate I heard my name kinder mentioned. "

"We were talking about the boy, Seth, " said Mr Rawlings, smiling too. 

"Speakin' 'bout my b'y, wer' yer?" said he, turning half round as hespoke, to pat Sailor Bill's head kindly. "Poor feller! yer might ha'sunthin' a sight worse ter talk about, I reckon! He's a chap as can'tdo harm to none whatsomdever, if he can't do 'em no good, as he once didto me, I guess. "

"You can't forget that, Seth?" said Mr Rawlings. 

"No, nor won't as long as this chile draws breath nether, " answered theex-mate of the _Susan Jane_, feelingly, with a look of almost parentalfondness at the boy. 

"Mr Wilton here was wondering, Seth, " continued Mr Rawlings, "why youwould not let me open that package round poor Sailor Bill's neck, to seewhether it would give us any clue to who he is. "

The smile faded instantly from Seth Allport's face, which reassumed itsnormal grim, firm look, just as if some one had dealt him what he wouldhave called a "back-hander. "

"Mr Wilton may wonder, and you too, Mr Rawlings, but I jest won'tthat, siree, not if I know it. Nary a soul shall look upon it, I guess, till that thar b'y opens it hisself. I said that months agone, Rawlings, as you knows well, and I say it now agin. "

"I wish I could recollect whom he resembles, really, " said ErnestWilton, to give a turn to the conversation, which had got into such anunpleasant hitch. "There is nothing so worrying as to try and puzzleover a face which you seem to remember and which you cannot place. "

"Yes, " said Mr Rawlings; "like a name sometimes seems to hover right onthe tip of your tongue, and yet you can't get it out, try what you may. I suppose you left England only lately?"

"I?" replied the young engineer. "Why, it's nearly four years since Ileft Liverpool for America--quite. "

"Perhaps you keep up communication, however, with the tight littleisland, eh?" said Mr Rawlings. "I daresay some one was sorry to loseyou. "

"Not they, " said Ernest Wilton carelessly. "`I care for nobody, no, notI, and nobody cares for me, '" he hummed in a rich baritone voice, although there was a tone of sadness in it that belied the tenor of thewords. "I assure you, " he added presently, in one of those suddenbursts of confidence in which some of us are apt to indulge sometimeswhen we get a sympathetic listener, "that I haven't written home orheard from thence for more than three years, and they will have thoughtme dead by this time! I've no doubt there is a large parcel of lettersand papers awaiting me now in New York, where I told them to address mewhen I came to America; for I've not been back there either since theday I landed, when I started straight across the continent forCalifornia, with a gentleman who had an interest in some mines there, with whom I came over in the same steamer from Liverpool; and I havenever been eastwards again, or turned my face thither till I camethrough Oregon as far as this place, which is still considerable to thewest, I think, eh?"

And he laughed lightly, as if he did not care to talk much of home orits associations. 

"I don't think it's quite right, though, " suggested Mr Rawlings in hisgrave, kind way, "altogether to abandon one's relatives and friends inthat fashion. "

"No?" said the young man inquiringly; and then added more frankly, impressed by the manner of the other, "Well, perhaps it isn't quite theright thing to do; but I have been a rover almost all my life, and awanderer from home. Besides, my parents are both dead, and there'snobody now who particularly cares about me or my welfare in oldEngland. "

"_Not_ anybody?" persisted Mr Rawlings, who thought it strange thatsuch a nice, handsome fellow as the young engineer appeared should bewithout some tie in the world to hold him to his country. 

"I certainly have an uncle and aunt and some cousins, " said ErnestWilton, acknowledging his relatives as if he were confessing somepeccadillo; "and my aunt used to be fond of me as a boy, I rememberwell. "

"Then I should write to her, " said Mr Rawlings. "When you get as oldas I am, you won't like to feel yourself alone amongst strangers, andwithout some one to connect you with the past of your childhood. "

"I will write to my aunt, then, as you have reminded me of myshortcomings, " said Ernest Wilton, laughing. "I promise you that at anyrate. "

"That's a good fellow. I'm sure you won't regret it afterwards, " saidMr Rawlings, who was then proceeding to ask the young engineersomething about his journey from California to Dakota when Seth, who hadlistened patiently to their conversation so far, now interrupted them. 

"Come, mister, " said he, addressing Ernest Wilton, "I suggest--"

"Do call me by my right name, please, " interposed the good-humouredyoung fellow, speaking in such a sort of pleading way that Seth couldnot take offence. 

"Waal, thin, ef yer are so partick'ler, " replied that worthy, with avery bad pretence of being angry, "kim along, Wilton, thaar now! and seeto this mine of ourn that you've now got to look arter. How does yerlike that style anyhow?"

"Decidedly better, " responded the young engineer, with his frank, light-hearted laugh, in which Mr Rawlings joined. 

And the four then proceeded in the direction of the shaft, Seth leadingthe way, with Sailor Bill, as usual behind him. 

STORY ONE, CHAPTER ELEVEN. 

A ROUNDABOUT ROUTE. 

"It must have been a rough journey for you, all the way from Oregon inalmost the depth of winter, " said Mr Rawlings, as he and Ernest Wiltonfollowed after Seth Allport, seizing the opportunity of proceeding withthe conversation which the ex-mate had interrupted. 

Mr Rawlings had taken a strong fancy to the young Englishman from thefirst, and the more he saw of his frank, open nature, the more he likedhim. 

The feeling, too, was evidently mutual, the younger man being attractedby the bluff, hearty, honest outspokenness of the other, who could notconceal his unaffected delight at once more coming across one from theold country, with whom he could converse on a different footing than hecould with the rough miners who composed the majority of his campparty--men who, with the exception of Seth Allport, were totallyuneducated and uncultivated. Of course, Mr Rawlings was used to these, and got along with them well enough; but, that was no reason why heshould not enjoy a chat with a person more of his own class and statusin life, was it?

Rather the reverse, one would think; for, to Mr Rawlings, theconversation of Ernest Wilton, after the usual style of talk to which hehad now been habituated for months, came as grateful as water to athirsty land--or, to use a parallel which those who had been accustomedto living on board ship will readily appreciate, as pleasant to thetaste as fresh bread, or "soft tack, " when one has been eating nothingbut hard sea biscuits for some time previously. 

To Ernest Wilton, also, it was a matter of gratification to be able tospeak freely with a fellow-countrymen, after his recent companionshipwith half-breeds and Indians; and he was nothing loth to accept theother's overtures towards a friendly chat, to pave the way for futureintimacy, such as he saw would probably result between them, should theyremain long together, a possibility which recent events clearlyprognosticated and which he cordially welcomed. 

"Yes, it was a rough journey, with a vengeance, " he replied, in answerto the implied question in Mr Rawlings' remark, "such a journey as Icertainly never anticipated; and my only wonder is, how I accomplishedit. But then, you know, over here in the New World--and it is new tome, every inch of it, the more I see of it--they don't measure distancesthe same as people do in Europe. Why, a degree of latitude or longitudeis less thought of than a furlong by those at home; and, in some of thebackwood settlements, neighbours are as far-away from each other as thecapital cities of the continent are separated. "

"That is true, " said Mr Rawlings. "The space appears so illimitablethat one's ideas as to measurement expand in a similar way, and theagriculturists calculate by the square mile instead of the acre in alltheir estimates of the land. But, about your journey? I'm curious toknow what route you took to come from Oregon here. "

"You may well ask, " replied the young engineer, breaking into a heartylaugh, which was so catching, that Mr Rawlings followed suit, and evenSeth thought it incumbent on him to look back over his shoulder andgrin, "for it was, I believe, the most roundabout trip ever planned. But, in order to understand it properly, you must learn what sort of aparty accompanied me. While in California, I got mixed up with allsorts of persons, engaged in companies started to carry out everythingunder the sun, and even under the earth: scientific men with hobbies, capitalists with money to spend, and speculators with nothing, whowished to enrich themselves from the pockets of the unwary; and, whileat a dinner one day in Sacramento, where a lot of directors andshareholders of the Alba Eldorado were enlarging on the good fortuneattending mining schemes in general, and their own especial venture inparticular, a proposal was made that, as such fabulous reports had beencirculated of the Bonanza mine in Montana, some of the surplus capitalof the company should be expended in looking after another lode in thesame vicinity. The proposal was eagerly accepted, and as I happened tobe present I was asked to join the expedition. "

"But that was in California, " suggested Mr Rawlings, smiling, "and youneedn't have gone through all Oregon to get to Montana, surely--eh?"

"Certainly not, " said Ernest Wilton; "and that's exactly what I wish toexplain. It was all those scientific men with their hobbies that led ussuch a dance! You see, it was a party of rich people, whose time was attheir own disposal, and they could do pretty nearly as they liked. Atthe very first start, it was arranged that our first point ofdestination should be the Warm Springs in the centre of Oregon; and soto the Warm Springs we went. I believe the principal capitalist of theparty thought they might be utilised for the purposes of a UniversalBath Company, Limited, to `ablutionise'--that was his word, I assureyou--the whole world. "

"Nonsense, you are joking!" said Mr Rawlings, thinking the other wastrying to chaff him. 

"Not a bit of it--`that's a fact, ' as our American friend there wouldsay, " replied the young Englishman, nodding in the direction of SethAllport to show that he had already noticed his pronunciation and modeof speech. 

"All right, " said Mr Rawlings. "I can credit your financier coiningthe new word ablutionise; but I can't exactly stomach the `UniversalBath Company' quite! I am an old soldier, however; so proceed, and Ipromise not to be very much surprised at any of your traveller's tales!"

"Really, I am not exaggerating at all, " said Ernest Wilton. "Thatignorant purse-proud fellow wished to start a company for almosteverything we came across in our route. I need not add that he wasn'tan American. "

"No, it's only Englishmen that make themselves such fools over here, "replied Mr Rawlings, heaving a sigh, as if he thought himself one ofthe number for having anything to do with the Minturne Creek venture. "If they have any bad points at home, they get them more developed bythe passage across the ocean. What is the old Latin adage we used tolearn at school--eh?"

"`Coelum non animum mutant qui trans mare currunt, '" quoted the youngengineer. "`Those who travel abroad may change their scene of action, but can't alter their own minds. '"

"Yes, that's it, " replied Mr Rawlings. "But go on with your journey. "

"Well, " continued the other, "when we had done the Warm Springs, one ofthe scientific gentlemen, who wanted to make soap cheap, I presume, suggested that the exploring party should proceed to the celebratedAlkali Desert in Idaho, which I daresay you've heard of?"

"I have, " answered Mr Rawlings. "It's to the south of the Snake River, just below Boise City and the Salmon River Mountains. My poor cousinNed was there a year or two prospecting, he told me. "

"Indeed!" said the young engineer. "Then I've no doubt you liked theplace as little as I did. And as for those Snake Indians, they're theworst lot I ever came across yet. "

"They are so, " said Mr Rawlings. "Born thieves, every one--at least, Ihave got Ned's word for it. "

"I was grateful to them for one thing, however, " said Ernest Wilton, laughing again at the recollection. "They so disgusted our greatEnglish company-starting capitalist that he would come no further withus; and we were well rid of his bumptious airs and vulgarity for therest of the journey. "

"I suppose you then came in a bee-line through Wyoming?" said MrRawlings. 

"Oh dear, no, " answered the engineer. "We were doomed to execute aseries of right-angled triangles all through our erratic course. Fromthe Alkali Desert--or rather, Three Forks Camp, which was ourhalting-place--we made for the Rocky Mountains, so as to reach theYellowstone River on this side. And that was where we had such aterrible time of it. "

"I expect so, " said Mr Rawlings; "the Rocky Mountains are no joke inwinter time, for they are not easy by any means even in summer. "

"We lost a lot of animals and nearly all our baggage, " continued ErnestWilton; "so when we got to Virginia City, on the Yellowstone, themajority of our party stopped there. I would have stopped too, I mustconfess, but a very energetic scientific gentleman suggested our pushingon, to explore some oil wells that were reported to be situated to thesouth of the Big Horn range. "

"I know that place well, " said Mr Rawlings eagerly. "The petroleumsprings are by Poison Spring Creek, as the Indians call it. "

"Do they?" said Ernest Wilton. "We couldn't see any creek at all; andeven the scientific gentleman got tired out, and went back to VirginiaCity to join the others, and recruit, before investigating the miningdistricts of Montana. I was so sick of the lot, however, that Idetermined to push on to Bismark, and strike the line of the NorthernPacific, waiting till the spring came before I undertook any furtherexploring work. "

"And that's how you came to us?" said Mr Rawlings. 

"Yes. Two of us started to cross the Black Hills from Wyoming, alongwith the Indians who engaged to guide us. According to the map I hadwith me, our route would have been to strike the north fork of theCheyenne River, and follow it up till it emptied itself into theMissouri, when we could have pursued the left bank of the latter duenorth, until it took us right into the town of Bismark, which is, Ibelieve, the terminus of the railway. "

"Bless you! why it runs more than 100 miles farther west already, " saidMr Rawlings; "and if you wish still to communicate with your friends, who, I can perceive from your story, there is every reason for you to bepained at your separation from, why, you'll be able to join them inVirginia City itself, in a short trip by the cars from Bismark. "

"Thanks, " said Ernest Wilton, appreciating the other's sly allusion tothose dear companions of his with whom he had so little in keeping. "AsI will be within easy reach of them in case of need, I shall be all thebetter pleased to remain with you, as then I'll have two strings to mybow! But, to finish my narrative:--the weather was so bad after we leftthe supposed site of the oil wells, that we could make no headway atall; and on our arriving at Fort Phil Kearney, which, to ourmortification, was deserted, my solitary white companion, who hadaccompanied me faithfully so far, turned tail with two of the remainingIndians--of the Crow tribe, of course, rascally fellows, just like thebirds from whom they are named!"

"You like those chaps, " said Mr Rawlings with a smile, "dearly, eh?"

"I do `muchly, ' as Artemus Ward says, " responded Ernest. "I should liketo pay them out! But to make a long story short, with the remaining twoIndian guides--who only came with me after I promised them a smallfortune on my reaching a settlement--I managed to lose my way utterly;and then having lost the guides also, I wandered about hungry and colduntil I met your hunters amongst the mountains, when all my troubleswere ended. "

"Thank goodness they met you!" said Mr Rawlings cordially. "But thoseIndians must have deserted, " he continued musingly. "They are much tooknowing to have lost their way. "

"Yes, I know it, " said Ernest Wilton. "They were afraid of encounteringany of the Sioux, who are near you, I think. "

"Yes, too close to be pleasant, " said Mr Rawlings. "But we have nothad any trouble with them yet. "

"And I hope you won't at all, " responded the other with much heartiness. "Those Crow Indians with me were continually talking about Red Cloudand Spotted Tail. I think those were the names of the chiefs theymentioned. "

"Yes, " replied Mr Rawlings, "both have Indian reservations in Dakota. "

"Is that so? I thought that might be only their yarring when they saidso; but they mentioned those two chiefs in particular, I remember now, and asserted that they intended `digging up the hatchet, ' as they termedit in their euphonious language, as soon as the spring came round!However, I wouldn't place much credence in their statement, I assureyou. Those Crows are such curs that they would say anything rather thanventure `within measurable distance, ' as the phrase goes, of a possibleenemy. " And Ernest Wilton laughed. 

"I have heard some similar rumours myself, " said Mr Rawlings moregravely. "The last scout that came here from the township, just beforethe winter set in regularly, brought word that the Sioux were preparingfor the war-path, or something to that effect; and, as the red menthemselves say, there is never much smoke without fire. I hope togoodness, though, that it is only rumour! An Indian war is a terriblething, my boy. I've seen the effects of one, years since, and neverforgotten it, "--and Mr Rawlings laid his hand on Ernest Wilton'sshoulder, as if to impress his words more strongly. "It wouldn't bepleasant for us here were another to break out now, and we so far fromthe settlements. "

"Isn't there a military station near this of the United States troops?"asked the young engineer. 

"About a hundred miles off, or so, " replied Mr Rawlings. 

"Oh, that's pretty close for the backwoods!" said Ernest Wilton lightly, as he quickened his steps to join Seth Allport, who had hailed out tothe two stragglers to "hurry up, " for the "lazy lubbers" that they were;the ex-mate of the _Susan Jane_ having awaited with some considerableimpatience, for a rather unconscionable length of time, the end of theinterview between the two Englishmen, although he was too good-hearted, and had too much good taste, to interrupt them before he saw that theirchat was finished. 

STORY ONE, CHAPTER TWELVE. 

"LOVE'S LABOUR LOST. "

"Now, mister, " said Seth Allport, when the young engineer closed-up tohis side, "I guess you've seed our location, and you've seedourselves:--now, see the mine afore you. What d'ye think of it, hey?"

The "location" looked as favourable a one for mining purposes as it wascharming to the eye; but appearances are not everything to those whotoil beneath the surface of the earth, and so Ernest Wilton well knew. 

"What strata have you passed through?" asked he of Seth. 

"I s'pose yer mean the sile, don't yer?" said Seth Allport. 

The young engineer nodded an affirmative reply. 

"Black mould--gravel--sand and clay--black sand by itself--and thenquartz reef, " replied Seth, laconically, repeating the words as if hewere saying a lesson he had learnt from a book. 

"And what have you got to now?" continued Ernest Wilton, pursuing hisinquiry. 

"Water, " said Seth Allport in the same laconic way. 

Ernest Wilton's face fell, albeit he had previously felt inclined tosmile at the ex-mate's queer manner and abrupt speech. 

Water! It was the cruellest, most persistent enemy with whom the minerhas to deal. Foul air and gas can be got rid of, but water, proceedingfrom invisible springs, ever welling up, and the more the quantitypumped up the greater the yield from the inexhaustible fountains of theearth, was an opponent that could not be conquered, an enemy of the mostpotent powers for ill indeed--a very vampire that sucked the blood ofenergy. 

Delving down, day after day, with superhuman exertions, through thevarious strata, they had met with no sight as yet of that rich vein ofgold which they confidently hoped to encounter, although there wereoccasional traces of an auriferous deposit here and there to encouragethem on, their hopes and hearts had never failed them until now. Nowonder that Ernest Wilton's arrival was hailed as an omen of good luck;and that he was regarded by all as having arrived "just in the nick oftime" to extricate them from their difficulty!

"How long is it since you met with water?" asked the young engineer, before he descended the shaft in order to inspect the works personallybelow. 

Mr Rawlings answered this time, while Seth Allport and Noah Websterconfirmed his statements by their looks, which were expressive enough!

"That is a question that none of us can reply to satisfactorily. "

Ernest Wilton was surprised. He thought he had made one of the simplestinquiries possible; and he looked his astonishment at the answer givenhim before he said anything more. The idea of a practical man, as heregarded Mr Rawlings, speaking so!

"How is that?" said he, after a pause. "I should think you would haveno trouble in telling me?"--and he looked from Mr Rawlings to SethAllport with some curiosity. 

"Some things that appear simple enough, " said Mr Rawlings somewhatpragmatically, "are more difficult to answer, my clear fellow, than mostpeople would think; and you ought to know that from your engineeringexperience!"

"Certainly, " replied the other; "but here's a mine with men working init from day to day, and digging through each separate stratum in turn, and knowing at the close of each day the result of that day's labour. Surely, one would think that the day on which they struck water theywould not forget it?"

"Granted, my dear fellow, " answered Mr Rawlings, who dearly loved a bitof argument when he could come across a foeman worthy of his steel. "Iaccede in toto to your premises; but your deduction is somewhat a littletoo rapid, for there are other circumstances to be considered which Ihave not yet brought to your notice, and which, I have no doubt, willalter your decision. "

"By Jove!" said Ernest Wilton, with a laugh, "I must treat it as aconundrum, and give it up. I am certain that I cannot solve it. "

"Stop a minute, " said Mr Rawlings, "and you'll soon see how it is. During the winter we had a hard time of it to keep the roof of our houseover our head, let alone preserving the mine in working order! Thesnow, the ice, the stormy gales, that seem to haunt the vicinity of theRocky Mountains and their outlying ranges, each in turn assailed us: andthen, on the melting of the snow at the first breath of approachingspring, the floods, which were the most virulent antagonists with whomwe had to grapple, almost overwhelmed us! There was `water, watereverywhere, ' as Coleridge says in his `Ancient Mariner. ' The wholevalley, almost as far as you can see, was one vast foaming torrent, thatbore down all our puny protections in the shape of ramparts andstockades. It nearly swept away our rough dwelling bodily; it did more, it demolished the dam we had erected across the gulch just there, "--pointing to the spot as he spoke--"and wrecked the heading of the shaft, filling the mine as a matter of course. "

"And up to then, in spite of all your digging, you had met with nowater?" asked Ernest Wilton. "Was that so?"

"Not a drop, which I very much wondered at, considering that we arealmost in the centre of the tributaries of the Cheyenne and Missouri--any number of tiny streams rising amongst these hills, and gainingadditional body as they proceed onward to join the greater rivers fromfresh sources that cross their course at different angles. "

"And after the floods?"

"Why, we set to work like men, I can tell you:--Seth, there, will bearme out. "

"We did so, sirree, " said that worthy, with a most emphatic nod. 

"Yes, " continued Mr Rawlings, "we first renovated the dam, and dug outa channel for the overplus of water on either side of the shaft; andthen we started pumping out the mine. "

"An' it were a job!" said Seth, taking up the thread of the story. "I've been in a vessel as sprung a leak, and where the hands werepumping day and night, with nary a spell off, so as to kip a plankatween us and the bottom of Davy Jones's looker; but, never, in all myborn days, have I seed sich pumpin' as went on in that thaar week!"

"As Seth says, " resumed Mr Rawlings, "we were like mariners pumping atthe hold of a water-logged ship, as if for life. We pumped, and pumped, and pumped; but, in spite of all our efforts, only succeeded in justkeeping the enemy in check, that's all. "

"Can't get the mine dry, eh?"

"No, not for any length of time. What we gain in the day, we lose againat night. In concise terms, I may put it, that by keeping the hoseconstantly at work, which of course interrupts the progress ofexcavation, we barely manage to hold our own, neither gaining nor losingan inch. "

"That's a bad lookout!" said Ernest Wilton, shaking his head. 

It was. It meant ruin to all their hopes and expectations; theinglorious end of the expedition; the sacrifice of all their toil andperseverance throughout those terribly arduous winter months; theirwaste of energy in struggling with the powers of nature. It meant allthat, and more!

Such a state of things would never do to last. 

Difficulties were only made for men to overcome, according to the maximwhich had hitherto guided Mr Rawlings and Seth Allport, and which theyhad preached to the more faint-hearted members of their party; and, Ernest Wilton was a thorough disciple of their creed, for he was not oneto be daunted by obstacles, no matter how grievous and apparentlyinsurmountable they were;--no, not he. 

The young engineer went down the mine to look for himself, and to formhis own opinion as to what was best to be done in the emergency. 

He went down looking grave enough, but he returned with a more hopefulexpression on his face, which at once cheered up the somewhat despondentspirits of those awaiting him above--for he preferred descending alone. 

"Well?" inquired Mr Rawlings, interrogatively. 

"It might be worse, " said the young engineer smiling. 

"That sounds good, " said Seth Allport, his countenance, which hadpreviously been grimmer than ever, beaming over its whole expanse, as ifthe sun was trying to shine through overhanging clouds and fog. Seth'sphiz was as expressive as a barometer any clay. 

"I think I see a way out of the difficulty, " said Ernest Wilton to easetheir anxiety, which he could readily sympathise with after what he hadseen. 

"I am sure you would not say so unless you had some hopes of itssuccess, " said Mr Rawlings, whom the good news seemed to affect morethan all the previous trials had done, for he looked quite pale, andalmost trembled with eagerness as he questioned the bearer of thewelcome tidings. 

"No, " said Ernest Wilton joyously, for he was very glad to be able tocommunicate the intelligence to those who had succoured him in his owndistress, and now appealed to him for assistance. "There's a chance forthe mine yet; and you need not despair of having spent your toil invain. "

"Bully for you!" exclaimed Seth Allport. "Didn't I say now--ask anybodypresent if I didn't anyhow--that you'd brought us good luck?"

"I rejoice to hear you say so, " said Mr Rawlings, a little more calmly, although his whole fortune had been at stake, as it were; for if themine had turned out a failure he would have been ruined, and had tobegin the world over again. "It would have been hard that all ourlabour should have gone for nothing. "

"Well, my dear sir, " said Ernest Wilton cheerfully, "you need notcomplain now. It is not a case with you of `Love's labour lost, ' as inShakespeare's play of that title. "

STORY ONE, CHAPTER THIRTEEN. 

COUNTERMINING. 

"What do you think of doing?" asked Mr Rawlings, drawing a long breathof relief on hearing Ernest Wilton's cheering words. "We have triedalmost everything to stop the flow of water and failed--Seth and I; andalthough you appear so sanguine, I hardly see what can be done, myself. "And he sighed again, as if he were returning to his previous state ofdespondency. 

"Did you ever hear the old Irish saying that `there's more ways ofkilling a pig besides hanging him?'" asked Ernest Wilton, instead ofanswering the other's question at once. 

"Yes, " laughingly replied Mr Rawlings. 

"Then, " said the young engineer, "I am going to carry that precept intopractice regarding your mine. "

"How?"

"You have tried pumping without avail, have you not?" said ErnestWilton. 

"That's a fact, " said Seth Allport, with the full power of his down-eastnasal intonation. "Yer couldn't hit nearer the mark than thaat, Iguess, sirree. "

"And you could never get the water lower than fifty feet off the bottomof the shaft?" pursued the young engineer, stating his case, "couldyou?"

"No, not a foot lower, " said Mr Rawlings. 

"Then what think you of a countermine?"

"I don't quite understand you, " said Mr Rawlings. 

"Don't you?" said Ernest Wilton, smiling, "and yet it is easy enough toanswer, as you told me just now, when I wondered how you did not knowwhen the water came into the shaft. "

"Pray explain, " replied Mr Rawlings. "I didn't keep you in suspense, you know, when you confessed your inability to answer the question. "

"No, " said the other, "and I'll treat you as fairly now. You see, atpresent there is only an intervening wall, of about one hundred yards ingross thickness, dividing the shaft from the channel of the gulchoutside. The upper part of the stratum is mere gravel, for as youfound, in winter the river extends beyond the point where you aresinking. Judging by the eye, I should say that the mouth of the shaftis twenty feet above the level of the water in the river. So far youwould naturally find no water. When you began work the water in theriver must have been ten feet at least lower than it is at present, consequently it was no higher than the solid rock where you began towork down in the quartz. So long as the river was below that level younaturally would meet with no water whatever, however deep you mightsink, but directly it rose so that it was higher than the level of therock, it would penetrate through the gravel like a sieve, and will fillyour shaft as fast as you can pump it out. Gradually the river willsink as the dry season comes on, and in the autumn will be again belowthe level of the rock. You can't wait for that, and must thereforecarry your shaft from the top of the bed rock to the level of the waterin the stream, say twelve-feet in all, but of course we will get thelevels accurately. "

"That sounds right, " Seth nodded approvingly. "What's go ter be done?"

"The job is by no means a difficult one, " Ernest Wilton answered. "Inthe first place, we must widen the shaft by a foot down to the level ofthe rock, that will give six inches all round. Then we must square offand level the top of the rock, which will then be a level shaft sixinches wide all round. While you are doing this we must make a drumready. That is easily made. We must make four circular frameworks, fasten twelve-feet planks, carefully fitted together, and pitchedoutside them so as to make it perfectly water-tight. We ought to have alayer of hydraulic lime or cement laid on the rock for the drum to reston; but if we have not got them, some well-puddled clay will do as well. Then when the drum is in position in the shaft of rock, its upper endwill be higher than the level of the water in the river, and if the rockis compact and free from fissures we shall be perfectly dry however deepwe may sink. How are you off for strong planks? They must be strong toresist the pressure of the water and gravel. "

"I fear that we have no planks of that thickness whatever, " Mr Rawlingssaid. "We only brought enough timber for the scaffolding over the mine, and a little for framework if it wanted lining. You see, we did line itdown to the rock. I think we have one balk of nine-inch timber left. "

"Let us measure it and see how many two-inch planks it will make. "

It was thirty-two feet long. Eight feet was therefore useless forplanks, but would come in for the framework. Twenty-four feet wouldmake eight planks of a little over two inches thick, nine inches wide, and twelve-feet long. 

"This is less than a fifth of what we require, " Ernest Wilton said. "The shaft is eight feet in diameter, so we shall need some thirty-twonine-inch planks. However, there are trees about, not very large andnot very high, but big enough to get one or two nine-inch plankstwelve-feet long from each. The first thing to do is to get a supply ofthem. "

"And you feel quite sure that by lining this portion of the mine with adrum, as you describe, we shall get over our difficulty with the water?"Mr Rawlings said. 

"Quite sure, " Ernest Wilton replied; "providing always that the rock issolid. "

"Then it's as good as done, " Seth said emphatically. "You have put uson the right track, Wilton, and we'll carry it through. I never thoughtabout the river, and kept on wondering why that darned gravel keptletting the water through when it was as dry as bones when we drovethrough it. "

While the preparations were being made and parties scouring the countryfor timber the young engineer bent his mind to the task of inventingsome better mode of getting rid of the water than by manual labour--themine being sadly deficient in a lot of necessary gear, besidessteam-power, as Ernest Wilton had quickly perceived, although he hadrefrained from commenting on the fact. 

"You see, " said Mr Rawlings, in apology, "I undertook too big anenterprise with the little capital I had: and, consequently, have beenunable to work it properly. Indeed, " he continued confidentially, "ifwe don't hit upon a good lead soon I shall have to give up, for my fundsnow will hardly suffice to pay the hands what I promised them; and if wecontinue working, I should have to get more stores and planks, and lotsof things, which I certainly cannot afford unless we strike visiblegold. "

"I have a few hundred dollars of my own--" began Ernest; but MrRawlings stopped him at once. 

"No, no, my dear fellow, " said he impulsively, "your natural kindness ofheart shall not lead you into throwing away your hard-earned money on myventure. I shall sink or swim on my own bottom, as the saying goes, although I thank you sincerely all the same. But about the mine, " hecontinued, veering away from the delicate subject, "I'm sorry we haven'tgot a steam-engine; but that was all Seth's fault. He would believethat a mine could be pumped out as easily as a vessel's bilge. "

"That's me, " said Seth, not a whit annoyed at the imputation. "I hatethem donkey enjines. They mostly chokes the pumps, and I'd liefer anyday have hand gear an' a decent crew to clear ship with. "

"Well, whether you like it better or not, " said Ernest Wilton, with goodhumour and good sense combined, "you haven't one, and we'll have to makethe best of a bad bargain. "

"That's so!" said Seth, with much satisfaction apparently. 

"And that being the case, " continued the young engineer, "we'll teachour enemy to beat itself, or in other words, make water fight water. "

"Jerusalem!" exclaimed Seth admiringly. "How on airth will you get todo that, mister?"

"Look before you, " said Ernest Wilton, pointing to the foaming streamthat was dashing along the valley. "Look at the waste of energy there!Why, with a good undershot wheel that water-power is worth more than ahundred additional hands at the pumps. "

If Seth had looked at the speaker admiringly before, no words couldexpress his pleased astonishment now. He seemed to glow all over withgratification. 

"I'm jiggered!" he ejaculated, gazing at Ernest Wilton from the tip ofhis boots to the top of his head. "You air a screamer, an' no mistake!"

Even Mr Rawlings, generally so sedate of demeanour, in contrast to SethAllport, who usually went into extremes, became enthusiastic. 

"My dear boy, " said he, grasping both of Ernest's hands and shaking themwith much heartiness, "you'll be the making of us all. "

"I shall try to be, " said the young engineer; "for I certainly don'tintend to be content with merely clearing the mine of water. You don'tknow half the value of your property yet; why, that quartz there, "waving his hand towards a heap of the debris that had been extractedfrom the shaft and cast aside as waste, "if passed through a crushingmill would yield a handsome premium. "

"I know, " said Mr Rawlings sadly. "But I couldn't afford themachinery. "

"We'll soon manufacture it, with a little help from the nearest town, where we can get some of the articles we can't make, " said Ernest Wiltonsanguinely; "we've got the power to drive the machinery, and that's themain thing, my dear sir. We'll soon manage the rest. "

"I'm sure I hope so, " replied Mr Rawlings; but he had received such achock from the mine already, on account of its turning out sodifferently to his expectations, that he could not feel sanguine all atonce, like the young engineer who had not experienced those weary monthsof waiting and hope deferred, as he had. 

Not so Seth, however. His tone of mind was very opposite to that of MrRawlings. 

The ex-mate was as confident of their success now as when they hadstarted from Boston, before he or the rest knew the perils and arduoustoil they would have to undergo. All those trials vanished as if bymagic from his memory, as quickly as the winter snow was now meltingaway from the landscape around them, and he thought he could see thegolden future right in front of his mental gaze, all obstacles beingcleared away in a moment by Ernest Wilton's hopeful words. 

"Hooray, Rawlings!" he exclaimed excitedly, twirling his "cheese-cutter"cap round his head, and executing a sort of hop, skip, and jump ofdelight. "The Britisher's the boy for us! I guess we'll strike ilenow, and no flies, you bet, sirree!"

STORY ONE, CHAPTER FOURTEEN. 

A HAPPY HUNTING-GROUND. 

Within a few days after Ernest Wilton had joined the miners of MinturneCreek, the winter seemed to vanish away at once, the "chinook wind"coming with its warm breath from the Pacific through the gaps and passesof the Rocky Mountains far-away to the west, and dissolving the lastremaining evidences of Jack Frost's handiwork. 

The region of the Black Hills, as the young engineer had now theopportunity of observing, as the mountains and valleys shook off theirsnowy mantle and became clothed anew in the fresh green verdure ofspring, is one of the most picturesque in the States, partaking alike ofthe lofty grandeur and rough magnificence of the sierras of the north, and the spreading landscape features to be met with in the middle of thecontinent adjacent to the watersheds of the Missouri and Mississippi, where the open country extends like a panorama on either side for miles. 

The Black Hills proper partly lie in Dakota, occupying the south-westextremity of that state, and partly in Wyoming, and are almost encircledby the Cheyenne river, the principal fork of that stream extending in acurve right round the northern limit of the region, to where it joinsthe lesser tributary, which similarly skirts the southern side of thehills. On the north-east, the two branches then unite in one largeriver, styled by way of contrast "The Big Cheyenne, " which ultimatelyfalls into the vast rolling tide of the Missouri, some hundred milesfurther on due east, at a place called Fort Bennett. 

The branches of the Cheyenne are not the only streams of the region, formany others, some of considerable dimensions and volume, and others meretiny brooklets, wander in every direction through the country. TheBlack Hills are divided from the adjacent prairie by a series of valleyssome two to three miles across; while, away back from the more elevatedpoints, the land rolls off into a series of undulating plains, coveredwith grasses of every hue, and timbered along the banks of the riversthat transect them with the useful cottonwood tree, the ash and thepine, mingled with occasional thickets of willow and the wild cherry, and briars and brushwood of every description. 

The operation of timbering the shaft making satisfactory progress, andErnest Wilton's water-wheel, that was to do such wonders, having been"got well under weigh, " as Seth expressed it, the chief members of theparty determined to have an "outing" into the open land lying beyondtheir own especial valley, in search of game; for the cry for fresh meathad again arisen in the camp and urged them on to fresh exertions tosupply the larder, quite apart from their own inclinations to haveanother day off the dreary work of the mine, which seemed to fall mostupon Mr Rawlings and Seth, as it was at their mutual suggestion thatthey went a "hunting, "--as a shooting expedition is termed in the NewWorld. 

Having so determined, they carried their determination into effect, andstarted. 

"I should think you had plenty of game here?" said Ernest Wilton, whenthey had left Minturne Creek some distance behind them, and entered uponan extensive prairie, that stretched before them, in waves of grass asfar as the eye could reach, to the horizon. 

"I should think so, " said Mr Rawlings. "Why, it swarms with it. "

"What sort?" asked the other. "Any deer?"

"Every variety you can almost mention. Deer, elk, moose--although theseare to be found more to the northwards--antelope, mountain-sheep--as youknow already--grizzly bears--if you relish such customers--and buffaloas soon as the sweet summer grasses crop up here, and the pasturage tothe south loses its flavour for them. "

"That's a pretty good catalogue, " said Ernest, who was a keen sportsman. "Any birds?"

"The most uncommon slap-up flying game, I guess, in creation, " saidSeth, "if yer cares to tackle with sich like; though I prefers runnin'game, I does. "

"Seth is right, " said Mr Rawlings; "you will have a varied choice therelikewise: grouse, partridge, prairie-fowl, wild geese, ducks--these two, however, are more to be met with in the winter months, and will be offto the Arctic regions soon--all sorts, in fact. And as to fishing, thesalmon and trout--the latter of which you'll find in every stream in theneighbourhood--beat those of England. "

"Well, " said Ernest, laughing, "if your report be true, as I see noreason to doubt, you must have discovered those happy hunting-grounds towhich all good Indians go when they die. "

"Don't talk of Injuns, " said Seth with a shiver and a shake. "That'sthe worst part of the hull thing, I reckon. If it warn't for them, theplace would be a kinder paradise--it would so, sirree; but those Injunsspile it all. "

"What he says is true enough, " observed Mr Rawlings. "We are in thevery heart of the Indian country, with Blackfeet, Crows, and Sioux, notto mention lesser fry, within striking distance; and if there should bea rising amongst them, as it is threatened this spring or summer, itwould be a bad thing for the people in the sparse and scatteredsettlements in Dakota. "

"But the United States' army has stations about here, eh?" inquiredErnest. 

"Few and far between, " replied Mr Rawlings. "As I told you some littletime since, the nearest one to us is at least a hundred miles away. Besides that, the detachments quartered here and there are so attenuatedin their numbers that five or six of the so-called companies have to beconcentred together from the different outlying depots in order tomuster any respectable contingent that could take the field against theIndians should they rise in force. "

"An' them Sioux under Spotted Cloud, or whatever else they call theirprecious chief, ain't to be despised, I guess, in a free fight, " saidSeth. 

"Pray don't talk any more about them, " said the young engineer, laughing, as he took off his wideawake and ran his fingers through hiscurly brown hair. "I declare my scalp feels quite ticklish already. "

"Them redskins 'ud tickle it a sight worse if they got holt of it, " saidSeth grimly, cocking his rifle as he spoke. "But I reckon I heerdsomethin' russlin' about thaar to the back of yer, mister, " he addedsuddenly, gazing intently in the direction he had intimated, to the rearof the young engineer, where the prairie-grass had already grown to someheight. 

"What was it?" said Mr Rawlings, likewise preparing his weapon, andtelling Ernest to follow suit. "Did you see it at all?"

And he peered anxiously about to the right and left. 

"Yes, jist for a minnit, " responded the ex-mate. "It wer a longishsorter animale; a catamount or a wolf, maybe. Thaar! Thaar! I seed itagain! Jerusalem! I have it!"

And he fired as he spoke, quick as lightning, as a dark object boundedfrom the cover and made a direct plunge at the young engineer, who wastaken unawares, and came to the ground, as much from the suddenness ofthe shock as from the impulse of the animal's spring. 

"Stay!" shouted Mr Rawlings, as Seth was rushing forwards with hisclubbed rifle to where Ernest Wilton and his assailant appearedstruggling together amidst the grass that almost concealed them fromview. "I'll settle the beast, if you hold back a minute and let me havea clear aim. "

But before he could get a shot, or Seth deal the deadly blow hecontemplated with the butt-end of his rifle, Ernest Wilton uttered anexclamation that stopped them both--an exclamation of surprise andagonised entreaty. 

"Don't fire!" he cried out in a voice which was half laughing, halfcrying. "Don't fire, Mr Rawlings. It is only Wolf. "

"Wolf! who's Wolf?" said Mr Rawlings and Seth together, as ErnestWilton rose to his feet; the ex-mate adding under his breath, with awhistle to express astonishment on his part, in his usual way when soaffected, "Jerusalem! this beats Bunker's Hill, anyhow!"

"The dearest and most faithful dog, companion, friend, that any one everhad, " said Ernest with much emotion, caressing a fine, thoughhalf-starved-looking Scotch deer-hound, that appeared in paroxysms ofdelight at recognising his master, leaping up to his neck with lovingbarks, and licking his face, to express his happiness and affection inthe manner customary to doggydom, almost wild with joy. 

"You never told me about him?" said Mr Rawlings. 

"I couldn't. The subject was too painful a one, " replied the other. "Ibrought him with me from England, and he never quitted my side day, oreven night, I believe, for any appreciable time, until those rascallyCrow Indians stole him from me, and made him into their favourite dogsoup, as I thought, weeks ago. Poor Wolf, old man!" he added, speakingto the faithful creature, and patting his head, "I never thought Ishould see you again. "

"He's a fine crittur!" said Seth, making advances of friendship towardsWolf, which were cordially reciprocated; "an' I wouldn't like to losehim if I owned him, I guess. I s'pose he broke loose and follered yourtrail?"

"I expect so, " said Ernest Wilton; "but how he managed to track methrough all my erratic course amongst these mountains--or hills, as youcall them--puzzles me. See, " he continued, "they must have tied up thepoor fellow, as well as starved him, or he would have probably found mesooner! Here is a piece of hide rope round his neck, which he hasgnawed through in order to get free, "--holding up the tattered fragmentof the old rope, one end of which hung down to Wolf's feet, while theother was tightly knotted about his throat, like a cravat, so as almostto choke him. 

"That must have been the case, " said Mr Rawlings. "But hullo! what isJasper coming after us for?"

"That durned nigger, " exclaimed Seth, "is allers shirking his work. Itold him he warn't to come with us this mornin', and here he is totingarter us with some slick excuse or other. Hullo, you ugly cuss!" headded, hailing the darkey, who was running after the party and had nowgot close up, "what the dickens do yer want here?"

"Me see fine dawg, lubly dawg, Massa Seth, sailin' round de camp; and mefoller um up, Massa Seth. Um berry good dawg for huntin', sah, and medon't want to lose him; dat's all. "

"Oh, " said Seth, "that's all, is it? The dorg is here, right enough, with the gentleman theer, who's his master, " pointing to Ernest Wiltonand Wolf. "And now, you lazy lubber, as you have kinder satisfied yermind, you can jist go back agin to that job I sot you on. "

"Prey let him stop now, " said Ernest, pleased with the interest whichthe negro steward had taken in Wolf's fate, "as he has come so far. Ifwe kill anything, as I hope we shall presently, he'll be of use inhelping to take the meat back to the camp. "

"That's so, " said Seth; and with this tacit consent to his remaining, Jasper joined the party, who now proceeded to look more carefully aftergame than they had previously done, the young engineer's allusions to"meat" having acted as a spur to their movements, besides, no doubt, whetting their appetites. 

It was curious to observe, however, before they separated to hunt up adeer--of which there were but few traces about, when Wolf attachedhimself, like a proper sporting-dog, closely behind Ernest--howinterested the animal seemed to be in Sailor Bill, who accompanied Seth, of course, on their leaving the camp. As soon as the dog had given, ashe thought, ample testimony of his delight at rejoining his own master, he sniffed about the boy as if he also were well-known to him; and hewas nearly equally glad to meet him again, only leaving him when ErnestWilton gave him the signal to "come to heel. "

It was singular; but no one paid much notice to it, excepting that MrRawlings regarded it as another instance of how dumb animals, likesavages, have some sort of especial sympathy with those afflicted beingswho have not the entire possession of their mental faculties, and seemactuated by instinct rather than reason, like themselves. 

"Seems, mister, as if he war kinder acquainted with him?" said Seth. 

"Yes, " replied Ernest Wilton; "but that's impossible, as I've had Wolfever since he was a puppy. My aunt gave him to me, " he continued asideto Mr Rawlings in a confidential key, "and I ought to have been morethoughtful in writing to her, as you hauled me over the coals just nowfor not doing, if only in gratitude for all the comfort that dog hasbeen to me since I left home. I suppose I'm an ungrateful brute--moreso than Wolf, eh, old fellow?"--patting the latter's head again as helooked up into his master's face with his wistful brown eyes, saying asplainly as he could in doggy language how much he would like to be ableto speak, so that he could express his affectionate feelings moreexplicitly. 

"No, " said Mr Rawlings, "not ungrateful, I hope and believe, onlyunthinking, that's all. "

"Ah!" replied the other, "`evil is wrought by want of thought, '" quotingthe old distich. "But, " he added, shaking off the momentary feeling ofsadness produced by reflection, as if he were ashamed of it, "if wedon't look `smart, ' as our friend Seth says, we won't get a shot allday; and then, woe betide the larder!"

STORY ONE, CHAPTER FIFTEEN. 

A CHANCE SHOT. 

"Say, what precious fools we all air!" exclaimed Seth Allport all of asudden, without any reference to anything they had been speaking about, when the hunting party stopped a moment to rest after a long and wearytramp over the seemingly-endless prairie, during which they had notcaught sight of bird or beast worthy of a charge of powder and shot. "What precious fools we all air!" he repeated with the air of a Solon, and shaking his head solemnly with portentous gravity. 

"Please speak for yourself, " said Ernest Wilton jokingly. "Why thiswholesale condemnation of our unfortunate selves? For my part, I shouldhave thought that we were more to be pitied than blamed for our want ofsuccess. "

"Oh, do you?" replied Seth gruffly--albeit he was as good-humoured asusual. "Then that's all you know about it. Don't you kinder think itraal smart neow for us to be a wearin' out shoe-leather when we've aheap o' mules eatin' their heads off and bustin' theirselves in thatshanty o' theirn agin the house for want of work, I reckon?"

"Phew!" whistled Mr Rawlings through his teeth, his face assuming amingled expression of surprise and amusement. "I declare I forgot allabout the animals, I suppose because we have not lately had any occasionfor their services. But they are in good condition, I've no doubt, asthey have had literally nothing to do since they helped to carry ourtraps here in the fall, while they've fared better than us during thewinter, for though forage has been scarce work has been scarcer, whenour rations had sometimes to be limited. Oh, yes, they are certain tobe filled out by this time, and been well looked after by our friendJasper here, " nodding kindly towards the negro steward as he spoke, thatworthy having charge of the pack-mules amongst his other manifold dutiesas general factotum. 

"Iss, Massa Rawlings, " interposed Jasper, glad of the opportunity ofjoining in the conversation, "dey am prime. Dat obstropolus mule, Pres'dent Hayes, gib me one good kick in tummick dis marnin' when I'sefeedin' him. Um jest as sassy as dat niggah Josh, iss, massa, and so isall de oder mules, sah. "

"You'd better let your friend, that thaar mule, hove a shy with hisheels at your woolly pate next time, " said Seth in his customary grimway. "I don't think you'd kinder feel a kick thaar! But, I say, giniral, " he added, turning to Mr Rawlings, "I don't see why wecouldn't go a huntin' on hossback as well as afoot. It would be easiernor walkin', I guess, hey?"

"Certainly it would if we had any horses, which we haven't, " said MrRawlings with a smile; "and mules--which are the only quadrupeds whichwe possess--are not exactly fitted for hunting purposes--at least Iwouldn't like to try them. Besides, Seth, if I remember rightly, you donot shine quite so well on horseback as you do on a ship's quarter-deck, eh, old man? ha, ha, ha!"

And Mr Rawlings's smile expanded into a laugh at the reminiscence ofone of the ex-mate's performances en cavalier soon after they came toMinturne Creek, causing Master Jasper to guffaw in sympathy with aheartiness that Seth did not at all relish, especially after MrRawlings's allusion to a matter which was rather a tender subject withhim. 

"You jest stow that, old ebony face, " he said angrily to the negro, in amanner which proved that his equanimity was considerably disturbed. "You jest stow that, and hold your rampagious cacklin', or I'll soonmake you rattle your ivories to another toon, I reckon, you ugly cuss!"

However, his passion had spent itself by the time he got out thesewords, for he said to Mr Rawlings a moment afterwards, allowing a smileto extend over his grim features to show that he was himself again, theusual easy-going Seth, and that his natural good temper had now quitegot the better of its temporary attack of spleen, --"But I guess you'rejist about right, Rawlings. I arn't quite fit fur to go saddlewise onthem outlandish brutes; I ain't bred up to it like as I am hitched tothe sea! When I spoke of riding, howsomedever, I warn't thinkin' o'myself, though, giniral, mind that; I thought as how you and our noofren' here could kinder ride the deer down better if you wer mounted, that's all, I reckon. "

"Very thoughtful of you, " said Ernest Wilton drily; "but you see, oldman, elk and wapiti--which are the only species of deer we are likely tomeet with here, I think--can be better stalked than run down, as yousuggest. However, the mules may come in handy for you, Mr Seth, to rundown the buffalo, when they arrive from the southern plains here, asthey'll probably do now in a week or two as the spring progresses. Look, Mr Rawlings, " he added, "that buffalo grass, as it is called, there in front of you, is growing rapidly and will soon be breast high, don't you see?"

"That's right enough, " said he. "But your remark reminds me of the oldproverb about `live horse and you'll get oats. ' I wish we could getsomething now to go along with until the buffalo do come northwards. I'm sure I am more sick than ever of that monotonous salt pork, afterthat taste of mountain mutton we had the other day. "

"You bet, " said Seth laconically, with much emphasis. 

And then the party resumed their trudge over the billowy surface of theprairie, directing their quest towards a clump of trees they couldperceive in the distance, at a place where the ground shelved downwardsinto a hollow, the certain sign of the near vicinity of some tributaryof the Missouri coursing its way eastwards, amidst the recesses of whosewooded banks it was possible that traces of game might be found--thatgame which they were already well-nigh weary of seeking. To tell thetruth, however, their want of success was not at all surprising, as theexperience of the hunting party was extremely limited. 

The Indian half-breed and Noah Webster, the two who were the mostpractically versed in the secrets of woodcraft, and thoroughlyacquainted with all the various hunting dodges practised out on theprairie, had been left behind in camp, especially at Seth Allport'srequest, that amiable worthy wishing to distinguish himself by bringinghome a deer "on his own hook, " as he expressed it; although, as regardshis shooting powers, he was far more dangerous to his friends than anyobject he might aim at, being likely rather to hit those behind or oneither side of him than the animal at which he pointed his weapon infront; while, as for his skill in the stealthy approach of his prey inthe fashion adopted by skilled deer-stalkers, it may be mentioned thathe strode through the tall prairie-grass and brushwood as incontinentlyas if he were marching up and down the poop of the _Susan Jane_ in agale of wind, alarming every winged and four-footed creature for milesround!

Touching the others, Mr Rawlings and Ernest Wilton were both goodshots, although not very familiar with "the noble arte of venerie, " ashunting the deer was styled in the days of Shakespeare, who is reported, by the way, to have been an adept in the pursuit: while, of course, Sailor Bill and Jasper were "out of the hunt" in the literal sense ofthe phrase. 

"I tell you what, boys, " said Mr Rawlings when they had reached thetimber they had made for, "we must separate, and each of us try his luckon his own account. I'm sure we're never likely to come across anythingas long as we are all in a body together like this. "

The remark was made just at the right time, for they were in thelikeliest spot to harbour deer they had yet tracked over; and if therewas any occasion for their exercising caution and skill it was now. 

The timber--mostly pine-trees and cottonwood, with low brush growingabout their trunks, forming a copse--was on both sides of a small river, which seemed easily fordable, with bright green grass extending from theadjacent prairie down to the water's edge. 

"Right you air, boss, " said Seth, wading into the streamlet without anymore ado as he spoke; "my motter's allers to go forrud, so I reckon I'lltake tother side of this air stream ahead, an' you ken settle yerselveson this. "

"A very good arrangement, " said Mr Rawlings, not at all displeased atSeth's putting the river between them. 

He and Ernest Wilton might possibly have a chance now of getting near adeer for a shot, which they could not have hoped to do as long as Sethremained along with them. 

"But pray take care of the boy, " he continued, as he saw Sailor Billfollow in Seth's footsteps and wade into the stream, which came upbeyond his knees; "the river may be deeper than you think. "

"Never fear, " sang out the ex-mate lustily in response. "Thaar ain'twater enough to float a cockboat; and I'm lookin' out keerful andfeelin' my way afore I plant a fut, you bet. "

"All right, " answered Mr Rawlings. 

And his feelings were soon afterwards relieved by seeing Seth and hisprotege reach the other side in safety. 

A moment later, and they had ascended the opposite river-bank and werelest to sight, their movements being hidden from view by the clusteringbranches of the young pine-trees and spreading foliage of the brushwoodand rank river grass, although their whereabouts was plainly betrayedfor some time later by the tramp of Seth's heavy footstep and thecrunching noise he made as he trod on the rotten twigs and dead woodthat came across his path, the sound growing fainter and fainter in thedistance, and finally dying away. 

"Now, " said Mr Rawlings to Ernest Wilton, who, with Jasper and the dogWolf, still remained by his side, "we are rid of poor Seth and hisblundering sportsmanship, and have the coast clear for a shot; which waywould you like to go best--up or down this bank of the river?"

"Down, " answered the young engineer promptly. "Seth, `I reckon'--as hewould say himself--will be certain to startle any game on that side longbefore he gets near it; and as the deer will probably take to the waterand cross here on their back track to the hills, I may possibly get ashot at one as they pass. "

"Very good, " said Mr Rawlings; "please yourself. You go that way, andI'll go this, and the sooner we separate and each follow his own course, the better chance of sport we'll have. Only, mind, Wilton, don't youshoot poor Seth and Sailor Bill at one discharge of your rifle, the sameas you did those three mountain-sheep the other day, eh?"

And Mr Rawlings chuckled as he strolled off up stream with the negro. 

"And don't you bring down Jasper under the idea he's a blackbird, "retorted Ernest Wilton before Mr Rawlings had got out of earshot, as hestarted down the river-bank with Wolf following closely at his heels, inthe manner befitting well-trained dogs of high degree like himself. 

Then followed a long silence, only broken, as far as each hunter wasconcerned, by the rustling of leaves and trampling of twigs as hepursued his way through the thick undergrowth, pausing every moment toexamine the ground beneath his feet and the thickets he encountered, insearch of deer tracks to and from the water, and giving an occasionalglimpse at the prairie beyond when the trees opened a bit and theirbranches lifted enough to afford a view of the surrounding country, which only happened now and then, as vegetation was vigorous along bothbanks of the river. 

Mr Rawlings, it may be mentioned before going any further, wasdecidedly unlucky in his quest, not catching sight of a single movingcreature, although the fact must be taken into consideration that thedirection he took was somewhat over the same ground that the whole partyhad already traversed, and that whatever game might have been in thevicinity, must have been pretty well nearly scared away before he triedhis sportsman's cunning alone; Ernest Wilton, however, was moresuccessful. 

Shortly after parting from Mr Rawlings and Jasper, as he was creepingstealthily through the tall prairie-grass that bordered the grove offine trees along the bank of the river, with Wolf following closelybehind him, he noticed suddenly a movement in the undergrowth amidst thetimber, just like the branch of a tree being moved slowly up and down. 

Watching the spot carefully, he subsequently thought he coulddistinguish two little round objects that glared like the eyes of someanimal; so aiming steadily between these latter, after a brief pause hefired. 

His suspicions proved correct; for, almost at the same instant that thereport of his rifle rang out in the clear air, a magnificent wapitistag, with wide branching antlers, leaped from the covert, and boundedacross his line of sight towards the hills on the right; although fromthe halting motion of the animal he could see that his shot had takeneffect. 

"At him, Wolf!" cried he to the dog. But Wolf did not require anycommand or encouragement from his master: he knew well enough what todo. 

Quick as lightning, as soon as the wounded stag had jumped out fromamidst the brushwood the dog leaped after him, and, in a few strides, was at his quarters. The chase was not of very long duration, forErnest's bullet had touched some vital spot; and, within a hundred yardsof where he had been struck, the wapiti dropped on his knees, made afaint attempt to stagger again to his feet, and an equally unsuccessfuleffort to gore Wolf, who wisely kept without his reach; and then, with aconvulsive tremor running over all his vast frame, fell over on hisside, dead!

"Hurrah!" shouted Ernest, so loudly that Mr Rawlings, who was not veryfar off, heard his shout as well as Wolf's deep baying, and was soon onthe spot, where mutual congratulations were exchanged at the noble gamethe young engineer had brought down so unexpectedly. 

"Golly, massa!" exclaimed Jasper, his face expanding into one of hiscustomary huge grins that seemed to be "all ivory and eye-balls, " asSeth used to say--"why, um will serb de camp in meat um whole week!"

"You're not far wrong, " said Mr Rawlings, as he surveyed the heavycarcase of the wapiti, which was as big as an ordinary-sized pony, witha splendid pair of branching antlers; "and you'll have to go back andfetch the small waggon and a team of mules, Jasper, to take it home. It's a very fine animal, Wilton, " he continued, turning to the latter, "and I almost envy you your shot!"

The young engineer made some chaffing answer, ascribing the credit oftaking the game to Wolf, who stood panting guard over his prostrateprey, when the attention of both Mr Rawlings and himself was suddenlydistracted from all thoughts of hunting, and everything pertaining toit, by the faint echo of a rifle-shot in the distance, again followedrapidly by another; and then, immediately afterwards, the sound of SethAllport's voice appealing to them for aid, in ringing accents that roseabove the report of the last shot. 

"Help! Ahoy, there! help!"

STORY ONE, CHAPTER SIXTEEN. 

SAILOR BILL CAPTURED. 

"Good heavens!" exclaimed Mr Rawlings, as he and Ernest Wilton lookedat one another for a second in blank consternation--"I hope nothingserious has happened!" And he was just about to dash into the river andwade across to the other side, in the direction from whence Seth's shoutfor succour came, when the young engineer stopped him. 

"You'd better wait a minute, " said Ernest. "The prairie is a wideplace, and sounds seem to come from one point when in reality theyemanate from an entirely different spot; so, in hurrying thus to Seth'sassistance, you may take the longest way to reach him. Let us return tothe place where he and the boy crossed the stream; and, as soon as wereach the other bank opposite and find their track I'll put Wolf on thescent, and we'll come up with them much more quickly than you could doby crossing here and spending some time perhaps in hunting about in thebrushwood over there before you could find any trace of his footsteps. "

"You're right, " said Mr Rawlings. "Two heads are better than one. But, pray lose no time about it, " he added, as Seth's call was againheard, sounding more loudly than before--

"Help! ahoy, there! Help!"

The path back to where the entire party had halted on the bank of theriver before separating, according to Mr Rawlings' suggestion, was notdifficult to trace. Then, fording the stream at the point where Sethand Sailor Bill had waded across, they searched about for their tracksup and down a short distance until they were likewise found, when theirtask became comparatively easy, as the dog's aid was now of use. 

"Hi, Wolf!" said Ernest Wilton, drawing his hand over the footmarks ofSeth's heavy boots, where they entered the dense mass of brushwood belowthe pine-trees. "Good dog! Fetch 'em out! Hi!"

Wolf was all attention in an instant. 

Looking up into his master's face with a low whine of inquiry as if tolearn what he exactly meant him to do, and then putting down his nosewith a significant sniff, as Ernest Wilton again drew his hand acrossSeth's track, he gave a loud yelp expressive of his intelligentcomprehension of the duty that lay before him; bounding on in advancethrough the thick shrubbery, and going at such a pace that Mr Rawlingsand Jasper had hard work to do to keep up with Ernest, who followedclose behind the dog at a run almost. 

"Steady, boy, steady!" said Ernest Wilton in a low tone, every now andthen, as Wolf would turn back his head to see whether his master wasnear him or no, and then the sagacious animal would give an eager barkin answer, as if to say--

"I'm going on all right, old man. Don't be alarmed, I'm making nomistake about the scent. "

Presently the trail diverged from underneath the timber and brushwood bythe river-bank, and struck off at an angle into the open prairie, as ifSeth had got tired of fighting his way amongst the overhanging branchesand projecting trunks of the pine-trees. 

From this point the footprints gradually led up to a little plateauabove the valley through which the streamlet ran; and, arrived at thetop of this, Wolf gave vent to a louder and more triumphant bark thanpreviously, and halted in his tracks, as if waiting for Ernest to joinhim before proceeding any further. 

The young engineer was by the dog's side in a moment, and one rapidglance round enabled him to see that the prairie extended beyond theplateau in a vast plain as far as the eye could reach, being bounded onthe extreme verge of the horizon by a low range of hills or woodedheights, most probably marking, he thought, the southward course of thegreat Missouri river, although, as he reflected the moment after, theywere much too far to the westward for that. 

His attention, however, was not much given to the scenery and thepicture which the spreading vast plain presented. A figure in theforeground, some little distance from the higher level on which he wasstanding, was gesticulating frantically towards him, and Seth's voiceassured him of his identity, if he had any lingering doubt on thesubject, by shouting out as soon as he had come into sight across thesky line--

"Hyar, ahoy, man! Hurry up thaar an' help a feller, can't you?"

"Here he is!" shouted out Ernest back to Mr Rawlings and Jasper, whowere a few yards behind him, and, without waiting for them to come up, he hastened down the slightly shelving ground towards where the ex-mateseemed to be in some predicament, as he did not stand up, but washalf-sitting, half-lying on the ground, resting his head on one arm ashe waved the other to the young engineer. 

"Hullo! what's the matter?" asked Ernest, calling out before he reachedhim. 

"Injuns--been wounded, " said Seth, in his usual curt, laconic way. 

"Gracious me!" exclaimed Ernest, quite taken aback by the announcement. "Indians! And where is Sailor Bill?"

"The durned cusses have carried him off!" said Seth with a sob. "I'd afollered and got him back, " added the ex-mate to Mr Rawlings, who nowcame up, with Jasper at his heels--the negro almost turning white withterror at the very name of the Indians being mentioned, and shaking inhis shoes, --"I'd a follered an' got him back, yes sir! But them durnedcusses have sent an arrowhead through my karkuss, and well-nigh brokenmy fut as well!"

STORY ONE, CHAPTER SEVENTEEN. 

ON THE TRAIL. 

"Where are you wounded?" asked Mr Rawlings, bending over Seth, whoseemed to suffer considerable pain, although he endeavoured stoically tosuppress all expression of it. 

"In my side, haar, " replied the other, pointing to where the featheredend of an arrow could be seen protruding from his shirt; "and if yer cutoff the tail of the cussed thing, I reckon you ken pull it slickthrough, as the head's comed out ahint me. But it's only a flesh wound, and ain't up to much, for it didn't touch my ribs. "

"Well, " said Mr Rawlings, "you're a bit of a doctor, Seth, and ought toknow if anybody does. "

"Yes, it's only a scratch, I'm sartain, or I would ha' felt it more. Myfut's the wussest of the two. But, lor' sakes!" added Seth, trying toget on his legs, and quivering with excitement, although the attempt wasfutile, and he had to sink back again into his half-sitting, half-kneeling posture with a groan--"don't you stop here a consultingabout me, Rawlings, when that poor boy's life's in peril. You andWilton had best skate off at once and foller up them redskins as hasSailor Bill. I ken bide waal enuf till you gits back again, old man, along with Jasper, who can do all I wants. "

"We won't neglect the boy, " said Mr Rawlings, struck with Seth'sunselfishness in ignoring his own wounded condition under theconsciousness of his protege's danger, "but we must think of you all thesame first. " And kneeling down by the injured man's side, he proceeded, with Ernest Wilton's assistance, to cut away Seth's shirt, and then theend of the arrow, holding it firmly the while so that it should notwriggle about, and hurt him more than they could help, after which thebarbed head was drawn out of the wound--which was just between the thirdand fourth ribs, and not very serious, as the ex-mate had thought--stanching the blood, and binding up the place with a silk handkerchief, which the young engineer had taken from round his neck for the purpose. 

Mr Rawlings was immensely relieved to find that Seth was not sodangerously hit as he had at first supposed. When he saw the arrowsticking out of his side, he thought it was all up with his poorcomrade; so now that the case appeared more hopeful, he was better ableto consider what course should be adopted for Sailor Bill's rescue. 

After a moment's deliberation, during which Seth gazed at him with alook of piteous entreaty on his face, but did not interrupt him with aword, guessing what was passing through his mind, Mr Rawlings' line ofaction was decided on. 

"Here, Jasper, " said he to the negro steward. 

"Iss, massa. "

"You must run back to the camp as hard as you can, and tell Noah Websterto pick out five or six of the men who can use their rifles well, andcome back here with them and Moose--he wouldn't forget to bring him--topursue the Indians. You must also bring a team of mules with the smallwaggon with you, the same as I told you about just now, although I didnot then think to what a sad use we should put it, to take home Mr Sethin; and look sharp now--why, what's the matter?"

Jasper had started up to go at Mr Rawlings' first words; but when thatgentleman spoke about the Indians while giving his directions, hisalacrity and courage seemed to disappear together in company, as, instead of rushing off, as Mr Rawlings supposed, almost before he couldfinish speaking, there he stood, twirling his battered straw-hat aboutin his fingers, and looking the picture of cowardly irresolution. 

"What, massa?" he tremblingly said, in answer to Mr Rawlings'interrogation, his teeth chattering with fear, and his countenancewearing a most hang-dog expression. "Me go back 'lone cross de prairee, all dat way to camp? Suppose the Injuns scalp pore niggah same as massaSeth! Golly, Massa Rawlins, um can't do it. I'se afeared!"

"You durned skunk!" exclaimed Seth, his indignation heightened probablyby the pain of his wounds. "You jest make tracks at once, as MisterRawlings says, or else I'll--" and he shook his fist expressively tocomplete the sentence. 

"Perhaps I had better go, " said Ernest Wilton at this juncture. "Jasperseems to be so frightened that he might lose his way; and, at allevents, he would probably have forgotten half your instructions when hegot to the creek, and give only a garbled account of what has happened. I think I would make the best messenger, unless you would prefer me toremain with you in case the Indians should return in force before we gethelp. "

"Go by all means, " answered Mr Rawlings. "I needn't tell you to hurry, my boy, you know the necessity of that, on every account! Jasper shallstop here and help defend us in case the savages assail us before youget back;" and Mr Rawlings could not help smiling as he spoke, in spiteof their perilous position, at the comical idea of the cowardly Jasperacting as a protector. 

"Bress us and sabe us, Massa Rawlings!" ejaculated the negro in mortalterror, about which there was no pretence or affectation. "Don't saydat, don't now! mebbe it come out for true! I'se rader go 'th Mass'Willerton, an' bring back the waggin for Mass' Seth, iss, sah. "

"No you won't, " said Mr Rawlings. "You hesitated to go when I toldyou, and now you shall stop here whether you like it or not!"emphasising his words by laying his hand on the darkey's shoulder, insuch an impressive manner that he could not but submit to the command. But long before the question of Jasper's staying behind or going offwith the young engineer was settled, Ernest had started off on the backtrack towards Minturne Creek at a brisk run, and was shortly out ofsight behind the top of the plateau they had just descended from. 

Prior to leaving, however, Ernest considerately ordered Wolf to remainin his place, as he would be of much service in the event of an Indianattack, telling the sagacious animal to lie at Seth's feet, with a "Hi, watch there; old man!" an order which the dog at once obeyed, while hismaster was off and away in an instant. 

"Well, Seth, " said Mr Rawlings, when the young engineer had disappearedfrom their gaze, "you haven't yet told me how this catastrophe occurred?But let me see your foot now, and I can examine it, and see what I cando to that while you are telling me all about it. " And Mr Rawlingsproceeded to cut away a portion of Seth's boot with his clasp knife--thesame as he had had to do to his shirt before extracting the arrow, as itcaused the poor fellow too much pain to pull it off--while the otherwent on with his yarn. 

"Thaar ain't much to tell, " began Seth. "I an' Sailor Bill beat up thebush alongside that ther stream, arter partin' with you, and then, whenwe seed nothin' thaar, made tracks for this yere paraira, as Idiskivered, when I got to the top o' that risin' ground yonder, some elka feedin' down hyar. There was a herd of seven of 'em or more, an' soonas I gets near enuf I lets drive at 'em; and just then, hullabaloo! Iheart a screech like somethin' awful, an' a Injun starts up, just like adeer a walkin' on his hind legs. "

"That's an artful dodge they have of putting on the skin of some animal, and approaching unsuspiciously within shooting range without alarmingtheir game. "

"Waal, this hyar Injun, " continued Seth, without noticing Mr Rawlings'explanatory interruption, "rushed on to me like a mad bull in fly time, and seein' as how he meant bizness; I drawed the trigger again, butmissed him, and he flung his tommyhawk, which cotched my fut, andbrought me to the ground as slick as greased lightnin', you bet!"

"And gave you a bad wound, too, " said Mr Rawlings, who by this time hadmanaged to take off Seth's boot and disclose the extent of the injury, apretty deep cut right across the instep, which would probably lame theex-mate for life, as far as he could judge. 

"Waal, it do hurt some, " said Seth, when Mr Rawlings proceeded tobandage up the foot in the same way as he had done the poor fellow'sside previously. "But I dersay I'll git over it soon, gineral. Ef Iseed Sailor Bill agin I wouldn't care a cent about it, I guess!"

"How was it that they carried him off, and you escaped alive? I can'tthink how they let you off when you were once down and at their mercy?"

"Oh, I made a pretty good fit of it, I reckon, with the butt-end of myrifle, and giv' both them red devils somethin' to remember Seth Allportby!--For there was two on 'em at me, as soon as Sailor Bill rushed inatween me an' the fust Injun. "

"Did the boy really help you?" said Mr Rawlings in some surprise; for, as has been previously related, Sailor Bill had never exhibited anytrace of emotional feeling from the time of his being picked up at sea, save on that memorable occasion immediately afterwards, when, it may beremembered, he rushed out of the cabin when the ship was taken aback. 

"He did so, " answered Seth, "an' the curiosest part of it wer he lookedjest the same frightened like as when he saved me aboard the _SusanJane_, with his har all on end--jes so. "

"It's very extraordinary, " said Mr Rawlings; "and then they carried himoff?"

"Waal, I was making a good fit of it as I told you, an' when Sailor Billrushes to help me a second Injun started up and collars him; and then Iheard that air blessed dawg bark, and I knowed what it wer, an' so didthe Injuns too; for as I shouted out to let yer know whar we wer, theymade tracks with pore Bill, lugging him off atween them over thaar, "said Seth, pointing eastwards, where, however, nothing could now beseen. "And that's all you know about it?" said Mr Rawlings. 

"Jes so, " replied Seth. 

At the same moment the negro Jasper, who had been gazing fixedly in thedirection in which Ernest Wilton had gone for aid, uttered anexclamation of frenzied delight, and began to caper about. 

"Golly, Massa Rawlings, " cried he, "dere dey is! dere dey is!"

The negro was right. As he spoke Mr Rawlings and Seth could see a bodyof men advancing over the crest of the plateau, accompanied by a waggondrawn by a pair of mules. The young engineer had accomplished hismission well. Instead of publishing his news aloud, and therebycreating a commotion amongst the miners who would have all wished torush off _en masse_ to the assistance of Mr Rawlings and Seth Allport, both much liked by all, and the rescue of Sailor Bill, whom the men hadgot also attached to in the same way as the crew of the _Susan Jane_, Ernest drew Noah Webster on one side, and briefly told him what hadoccurred and what Mr Rawlings had ordered to be done. 

Noah was equally prompt and discreet. 

Mustering one of the gangs, who had completed their shift in sinking thenew shaft and had had a rest, he told them to get their rifles quietlyand accompany him to the prairie, when he mentioned casually, in a waythey appeared to understand, the boss and manager had come across some"red game" and wanted their help. 

At the same time the backwoodsman ordered Josh, who was nothing loth tohave the chance of abandoning his caboose duties for a while, to have acouple of mules hitched to the waggon; while he beckoned Moose, thehalf-breed, who apparently suspected something was in the wind, to cometowards him, when the two conferred, while the miners and Josh weregetting ready. 

The whole thing, indeed, was so well managed, that within ten minutes ofErnest Wilton's arrival in camp, the rescuing party had started for thespot where Mr Rawlings and Seth and the terror-stricken Jasper wereawaiting their approach: a band of strong, well-armed, resolute men, consisting, besides the young engineer himself and Noah Webster, ofMoose the half-breed, Black Harry--one of the former crew of the _SusanJane_, a muscular giant who would have been a match for three Indians inhimself--and five of the miners, old "Californian stagers, " used tofrontier life and rough and tumble fighting--in addition to Josh, ofcourse, who drove the mule waggon. 

As soon as the scene of the fray was reached, Seth was lifted carefullyinto the waggon and sent back to Minturne Creek, under the care ofJasper--who took the place of Josh as teamster, that darkey displayingconsiderably more pluck than the former, and evincing as much eagernessto encounter the Indians as Jasper did to avoid them--while the rescuingparty followed on the trail of Sailor Bill's abductors. 

STORY ONE, CHAPTER EIGHTEEN. 

RISING CLOUD. 

"Silenza!" said the half-breed warningly, hearing Black Harry talkingrather loudly and threatening what he would do in case a hair of thepoor boy was injured, --"Silenza! Senors must go soft, or Sioux hearmens speak!"

This happened just as they started, and from that moment not a word wasfurther spoken amongst the party, the men preserving a solemn silenceand marching one after the other in single file, Moose and Noah Websterleading the way, and tracking the course of the Indians likesleuth-hounds, seeing traces of the passage of those of whom they werein pursuit in places where, as in the rocky bottom of a dry ravine theypresently came across, no footprints were perceptible like as they werewhen the trail led through the prairie-grass, in a manner mostunaccountable both to Mr Rawlings and the young engineer. 

On and on, mile after mile, went the gallant little band, at one timetreading downward towards some bottom or valley, at another their routelying upwards along some ascending plateau, until the afternoon grewdusky and night approached, when they had travelled over a considerabledistance of ground from their starting-point. 

The prairie still stretched before them, the fringe of trees on thehorizon which Ernest Wilton had perceived some hours before still faroff, but much nearer than they were then, although, as he saw now, theycertainly could not indicate the banks of the Missouri, as he had thenthought; while between this distant bank of timber, that stood out hereunder the shades of evening more strongly against the sky line, weresundry little timbered islands as it were amidst the vast ocean ofspreading plain on which they were. 

As it got darker, the half-breed, who was unacquainted with Wolf'ssagacity, that equalled his own in following a trail, made themunderstand that they must give up the pursuit until the morning light, or moon, should it not be obscured, enabled the trail to be deciphered;but Wolf's master showing him what to do, and a sort of leash beingattached to the dog so that he should not go too fast on the scent andbe lost sight of in the gathering gloom, the expedition started onagain, after a brief halt, as untiringly as ever. 

"Ugh!" ejaculated Moose, when they had continued their quest through thedarkness with Wolf's aid for about an hour, more or less--"Hist! Lightyonder! Stay here, I go see!" and he disappeared from amongst them, while the others halted on the spot, from whence they could faintlyperceive the glimmer of firelight shining amidst trees in front of them:so they were evidently near one of those little wooded islands they hadobserved in the distance. 

After an absence which seemed unconscionably long to those who remainedbehind, the half-breed returned, and from what he said Mr Rawlingsdivided the band into two portions, one of which he ordered to followMoose, whose object was to take the Indians in the rear, while the mainbody attacked them in front, thus causing them to surrender probably atthe display of their overwhelming numbers, the two parties actingtogether by a concerted signal, without any recourse to their weapons, which would most likely endanger the life of poor Sailor Bill whom theyhad come to save. 

All proceeded satisfactorily up to a certain point. 

The half of the band that accompanied Moose stole forward, skirtinground the trees so as to get the Indians in a line between themselvesand Mr Rawlings' party; and presently the solitary note of themelancholy whip-poor-will was heard from amidst the trees, to warn theothers that Moose and his companions were in position, and they were toclose in nearer to the Indian camp before the half-breed should give thesecond intimation that it was time for the final rush. 

Black Harry's indiscretion, however, at this juncture spoilt Moose'splan of surprising the Indians and effecting their object withoutbloodshed. As they approached nearer the light that glimmered from amidthe trees, they could see that three Indians were seated round it, whileclose adjoining them was poor Sailor Bill lashed tightly to a tree, likea poor lamb that was to be slaughtered in some butcher's shop. 

The sight was too much for the unthinking but gallant seaman, so, despite Mr Rawlings' strict injunctions to the contrary, he levelledhis rifle and fired point-blank into the group of Indians huddled overthe fire. 

The savages started up with a yell of alarm; and, seizing their armshurriedly, one of them darted towards the motionless figure of SailorBill with an uplifted hatchet in his hand. 

At that moment Mr Rawlings, seeing the imminent jeopardy of the boy, fired, and the Indian's arm fell as if broken by the bullet, the hatchetdropping from his hand; in another second, however, the savage picked upthe weapon again and would have brained Sailor Bill, being in the act ofhurling it at him with a malignant aim, when Wolf, who had stolenforward at the first outburst, dashed at the Indian's throat with a lowgrowl of vengeance, and brought him to the ground. 

"Don't kill them!" shouted Mr Rawlings, in a voice that made itselfheard above the melee; and after a brief struggle, the two remainingIndians were secured and firmly bound, although it took all BlackHarry's strength to overcome the one he grappled, who turned out to bethe chief of the party, while the one Wolf had brought down sufferedterribly from the grip of the dog on his throat. 

After all had cooled down from the contest, which had lasted some littletime, Mr Rawlings directed Moose to ask the Indian chief--who, thehalf-breed said, was a leading warrior of the Sioux tribe, rejoicing inthe sounding title of "Rising Cloud, "--why he had attacked an innocentsettler and miner like Seth Allport, and stolen away the boy that waswith him?

The Indian, however, did not seem to require the services of aninterpreter, for he answered Mr Rawlings as if he thoroughlycomprehended the gist of the question Moose was deputed to ask him. 

"Paleface lie!" he said angrily, in broken English, which he masteredmuch better indeed than the half-breed did in his half-Spanish patter. "Rising Cloud was hunting on the lands of his tribe when tall palefacehunter shoot him as if he were a beast of the forest. The red man isn'ta dog to be trodden on, so he gave the paleface a lesson, to remind himRising Cloud could have killed him if he had willed it. "

"But why steal the boy?" asked Mr Rawlings, thinking that perhaps theIndian had some right on his side in assailing Seth after he had firedat him first. 

"Boy jump at Rising Cloud like grizzly bear. Boy grow up fine warrior. Rising Cloud take him to his wigwam to make him big Sioux chiefby-and-by and fight the paleface dogs. "

"That's a very pleasant way of appropriation, " said Ernest Wilton, underhis voice, to Mr Rawlings. "But what's that he says, about fightingthe palefaces?"

"I thought there was peace between the red man and the children of theGreat Father at Washington?" said Mr Rawlings, alluding to the currentlegend in frontier life that all the settlers out west are the progenyof the President of the United States for the time being. 

"No peace long, " said the Sioux chief defiantly, a savage smile lightingup his expressive features. "Hatchet dug up already. War soon--in'nother moon. "

"Well, that's a pleasant prospect to look forward to!" said Ernest, in ahalf-serious, half-comic way, as he usually regarded most things. "Butwhat's to be done with these fellows now? Sailor Bill is none the worsefor his temporary captivity, and I suppose Seth will be all right in afew days, after his wounds get better. I suppose we shall have to letthem go?"

"Yes, " said Mr Rawlings; "but I must consult Noah Webster first. "

After consultation with that worthy, it was determined that the wholeparty should take advantage of the Indians' bivouac and remain theretill the morning, when they would have had a good rest; but the Indiansmust be kept bound, and one taken with them on the back track next dayuntil they had accomplished half their return journey home, when hewould be released, and sent back free to unloose his comrades. This, Noah Webster said, was the only course they could adopt in order toavoid any treachery with the redskins, Noah saying that he would nottrust them farther than he could see them, and laughing at Mr Rawlings'idea of releasing them at once on parole. 

"Why, if yer did so, " said he, "none of us would ever git back toMinturne Creek to tell the tale!"

Accordingly, Noah's plan was adopted. The little band that hadaccomplished Sailor Bill's rescue so satisfactorily, rested after theirlabours till the morning, when, leaving two of the Indians bound totrees in a similar way as they had discovered poor Seth's protege, theystarted back for the camp, taking with them the chief, Rising Cloud, whom they did not release until they reached the spot where the originalrow had occurred, where the chief had his arms unpinioned and was toldhe might go and free his companions. 

The Indian did not take a very affectionate farewell of his escort. AsMr Rawlings and Ernest untied his hands and told him he might go, hepointed first towards the sky, then towards the east from whence theyhad just come, and then in the direction where Minturne Creek lay. 

"Yes, white man master now! Rising Cloud go home to his tribe; butby-and-by he come back again with a thousand warriors at his back, andwipe out the white men, robbers of the red man's land. Yes, by theManitou of the palefaces Rising Cloud swears it!"

And the Indian spat on the ground with a savage gesture as he spoke. 

STORY ONE, CHAPTER NINETEEN. 

GOLD AT LAST--EUREKA!

When Jasper and the mule waggon appeared at Minturne Creek, some timeafter the departure of Noah Webster and the rescue party, the miners whohad been left at work under the charge of Tom Cannon, as Noah's deputy, greeted the arrival with a cheer, as they had been kept in ignorance ofwhat had really happened, and imagined that the waggon had been sentfor, as well as a few additional good shots from their party, in orderto bring in an unexpected supply of game which the hunters had comeacross. 

Jasper's conveyance certainly did carry something in the game line, thenegro having mentioned to Seth about the wapiti deer that Ernest Wiltonhad shot, and being directed by him to stop and cart it home with them, as it lay in their road to the camp; but the main cargo of the waggon, their wounded manager, whom Jasper hailed them to come and help him liftout, was a double surprise to the men, and a grief as well, as may bereadily understood when it is considered how much Seth was liked by thehands under him. 

They vowed vengeance against the Indians; and it required all theexercise of Seth's authority to prevent another party from sallying offto aid the first in the rescue of Sailor Bill. But, after a time, theexcitement calmed down, and they waited with as much patience as theypossessed the return of the others; although nothing that Seth could saywould persuade them to turn in all that weary night, during which timethey were in a state of suspense as to the fate of their comrades; andthey were equally disinclined to resume work in the mine. 

They seemed capable of doing nothing, until they should learn how thematter was settled, one way or other; and--heedless even of the welcomeaddition of fresh meat to their scanty fare, in the fine wapiti thatthey possessed through the precision of the young engineer's rifle, which at another time would have roused equally their enthusiasm andtheir appetites--remained grouped round impromptu log-fires that theyhad lit to hail the absentees when they came back, looking to their armsand ammunition so as to be ready for anything that might happen, andconsidering amongst themselves as to what was best to be done in theevent of the non-arrival of the rescue party within a reasonable limit;Seth fretting and worrying himself the while as much as any, although hetried to preserve a quiet demeanour in order to reassure the rest, andexclaiming against the "paltry wounds, " as he called them--which gavehim much pain in spite of Jasper continually soaking the bandages aroundthem with cold water in pursuance of his directions--that prevented himfrom taking an active part in his protege's recovery, instead of waitingidly there while others went bravely to the fore, as he should havedone. 

Be the night however weary, and watching long, the morning comes atlast:--thus it was now with the miners of Minturne Creek. 

Daylight is a wonderful panacea for those gloomy thoughts and anxietieswhich are nourished and magnified during the dark hours of the night;so, when the sun arose next morning, after the weary watch of Seth andthe others, in the expectation that they might receive every moment thenews of some disaster to their comrades who had been gone so long, instead of their fears being increased by the knowledge that the rescueparty had not yet returned, they felt inclined to take a much moresanguine view of the situation--a view that Seth not only endorsed butwas the prime agent in promulgating, possibly through the pain of hiswounds having considerably lessened and caused him to look on things ina more hopeful way. 

"Tha'are all right b'ys, I reckon, " said he. "No noos is good noos; furef anythin' had kinder happen'd to 'em, we should have heert afore. "

"So thinks I, " said Tom Cannon; "and let's set to work agin, mates, atthe shaft, to let the boss see, when he comes back, that we ha'n't beenidle in his absence; p'raps, too, we'll have something to show him inthe gold line, as I don't think as how we're far off the lode now. "

"That's yer sort, " echoed Seth, from amidst the pile of buffalo rugsalongside one of the fires in the open space before the hut, where hewould persist in staying, to be the first to receive the rescue party ontheir return, and where he said he could nurse his injuries far betterthan going to bed in the anxious frame of mind he was in. "That's yersort, b'ys! Tackle to the job with a will, my hearties; it'll be adurned sight better nor restin' on your oars and doin' nothin', as I'mforced to do, like the battered old hulk I am!"

These cheery words from Tom Cannon and Seth had the desired effect ofrestoring a little more activity to the scene around the creek; and thesmall band of the remaining miners, dividing their attenuated forcesinto two gangs and taking short shifts turn about at intervals, workedwith such praiseworthy diligence, that when Mr Rawlings and the otheradventurers arrived in safety near mid-day, escorting the recoveredSailor Bill scatheless in triumph back to the camp, they had got througha surprising amount of work. The tubbing had been put into position twodays before, and had been found to act admirably; the water had beenpumped out, and the men at work were driving to the left, as ErnestWilton thought that they were at present only on the wall of the lode, which was a very strong one, and that it would be found much richer uponthe other wall. 

As soon as mutual congratulations had been interchanged amongst theleaders, and the joy of the whole party at being once more reunited hadsomewhat subsided, Tom Cannon, and one of the leading miners who hadbeen last down the new shaft, approached the spot where Mr Rawlings, Ernest Wilton, and Noah Webster were grouped, chatting together, withSeth--behind whom Sailor Bill had taken up his usual place, on hisreturn to camp, with his customary apathetic air, the boy not exhibitingthe slightest increase of animation, despite all the excitement andunwonted scenes through which he had recently passed, or any return tothat sudden change of demeanour, almost amounting to a fit of frenzy, which he had again displayed for an instant, as Seth asserted, when heinterposed to save his life from the onslaught of the savage, on theprairie, as he had done when he came forward in a similar way to rescuehim on board the _Susan Jane_ on the ship's being taken aback theprevious year. 

"I guess thaar's sunthin' up now, " said Noah Webster, as the two mencame towards him and the others, noticing a slight assumption of mysteryon the part of Tom Cannon and his companion, a man who was familiarlystyled "Left Bower" amongst the miners, from the fact not only of hissurname being Bower, but on account of the singular dexterity heexhibited in the great American card game of euchre. 

"Guess so, " said Seth, sotto voce. "They've been downright busy sinceyou've been gone, workin' like hosses, that they have! Waal, b'ys, " headded aloud for the benefit of the coming deputation, "what's the rumpusneow? Panned out anythin' tall?"

"See!" said Tom Cannon, opening his closed fist and displaying a littletiny heap of gold dust lying in the palm of his hand. "All that cameout o' one lump o' quartz taken out of the gravel in the heading we'vebegun. We can see it everywhere in the rock, and it was getting richerevery inch we got in. "

"Ay, " put in Left Bower, "heaps, I reckon, boss, " addressing himself toMr Rawlings, who turned as pale at the receipt of the news as if hewere going to faint. "We've struck the lode at last, mister, and runslick inter a bonanza if ever they were one; may I never see Friscoagain, if we haven't!"

"Hooray!" shouted Seth, attempting to rise and wave his hat as he waswont to do in moments of triumph, but quickly quieting down again as thepain of his foot reminded him of having been wounded. "Didn't I sayso--ask any a one in camp if I didn't--that we'd find the gold at last?Hooray!" he repeated aloud at the pitch of his voice, his cheer beingtaken up instantly by the main body of the miners, who were gossiping infront of Josh's caboose, with a heartiness that resounded through thevalley and even made the hills echo again; while Jasper, who had beenunder a sort of cloud ever since his cowardly conduct on the prairie, joined Josh in an exciting pas a deux before the latter's culinarysanctum, and repeating ever and anon his jubilant song, "Golly, massa, um told yer so!"

"And you are not through the vein yet?" asked Ernest Wilton when he wasable to speak calmly, he and Mr Rawlings hurrying towards the head ofthe new workings in company with Noah Webster and the first discoverersof the ore; the rest of the miners following after at a distance; eagerto set to work again at once as soon as their leaders should give ordersto that effect. Seth, seeing himself thus deserted, and not wishing tobe "left out in the cold, " therefore requisitioned the aid of the twodarkeys, and made them carry him in the rear of the procession, whichput a summary stop to their dancing, but delighted them equally as well, for they were thus enabled to learn all that was going on without theannoyance of having their ears perchance boxed for listening withoutpermission: consequently there was a general move all round. 

"No sign of the other wall, " said Tom Cannon as spokesman, "we're nighfour feet in from the bottom of the shaft. The richest is that near theriver. "

"That is just what we expected from the statement of Mr Rawlings'original discoverer. He found it rich in the little shaft he sankthere, and that is at the point where the two lodes run into each other. I expect we shall find it richer every foot we go in that direction. If so, it will be one of the richest finds we know of. "

So saying, Ernest, full of eagerness and expectation, was lowered awayinto the mine by the men. He did not stop very long below the surface;and on his return his face seemed to glow with the goods news hebrought. 

"It's all right, " he gasped out, almost before he got out of the shaft;"you've hit on the richest lode I ever saw in my experience. We oughtto get tons of gold out of that quartz. We have just struck the centreof a pocket, I think, which must extend to the old workings of yourcousin Ned. Mr Rawlings, I congratulate you; your luck has changed atlast, and if all turns out as I expect, you'll be the wealthiest man inDakota!"

"Hooray, b'ys!" shouted out Seth, almost choking poor Josh and Jasper bygripping their necks with his muscular arms in his excitement, thedarkeys supporting him, as if in a chair with their hands claspedbeneath him, on which he sat with his arms resting on their shoulders, although he now shifted his hold unwittingly to their necks. "Hooray!I sed the Britisher were the b'y for us; an' so he air!"

STORY ONE, CHAPTER TWENTY. 

INDIAN ALARMS. 

The men now worked with unflagging vigour. The cross-cut was firstpushed across the vein, which was found to extend thirteen feet beyondthe side of the shaft. It was not unbroken quartz, as here and therethe rock came in, but seemed to consist of four separate veins, whichsometimes joined together, sometimes were separated by partitions ofrock. The richest portion of the vein was two feet from the farthestwall, and here the gold was everywhere thickly scattered through thequartz. Now, they drove right and left along the course of the lode, and found that in both directions the walls were coming closer together. 

"It is only a pocket, " Ernest Wilton said. "You will see that in aboutfive fathoms either way the quartz will finish in to its usual width, and become poor. However, we must not mind that; if it holds for a fewfathoms in depth there will be half a million pounds' worth at least. Twenty tons of quartz like this we see would suffice to make us all richmen, and we know that there is double that at least. "

As the young engineer predicted, the lode fell away to its originalwidth, and soon ceased to carry visible gold. 

Then they began to sink deeper. Twenty feet lower the walls of the lodeagain began to approach each other, and there was now a possibility ofcalculating the amount of quartz in the "pocket. "

"I am of opinion, " Ernest Wilton said, "that there will be fifty tons ofthe richest stuff, and nearly two hundred of what I may call secondclass, but which is still exceedingly rich. But it is time now that weshould carry out our plans. We must get up a small mill with fivestamps, with a wheel to be worked by water from the mountain stream. Itis likely enough that such a set could be got in one of themining-camps, and I must make a short journey to Bismark and perhapsfurther west in search of gear. While I am away, the men will have tocut a leet to bring the water along the side of the hill from thetorrent, and get all the quartz out of the mine. "

All this time, however, even with the confident expectation of untoldwealth being now almost within his grasp, not one of the party hadforgotten the parting threat of Rising Cloud, and his warning that, eremany months were over, the camp at Minturne Creek would be assailed bythe Sioux tribe in full force. 

Indeed, if Mr Rawlings or Seth, or Noah especially, who had had such along experience of the dangers of backwoods life away from thesettlements, and thoroughly appreciated the old adage that "he who isforewarned is forearmed, " were at all inclined to laugh at the Indian'sdeclaration as an empty boast, many circumstances would have constrainedthem to alter their opinion, and make them be prepared for anything thatmight happen. 

In the first place, a stage used to run from Bismark to the Black Hillsat stray intervals, when they first camped at Minturne Creek--althoughit did not come within some miles of their own valley--and continuedrunning until the winter set in; but when the spring developed, and theroads got in working order again, no stage was to be met with; andrumour had it that it had been "frightened off the track by the Injuns. "

In the early months of summer this rumour received additionalconfirmation by the arrival of some scouts from the settlements, withthe news that the Sioux had declared war against the United Statesauthorities, and that all the outlying settlers had been warned towithdraw into the townships, where they could join together and resistany attack made on them. 

And, later still, a special messenger from one of the military stationson the Missouri, where "Uncle Sam's" troops were quartered, brought themword that intelligence had been received that Rising Cloud had publishedhis intention of attacking the Minturne Creek miners especially, andthat his band of warriors had already started on the war-path--althoughthe commander of the detachment at Fort Warren assured them that he wasfollowing up the Indians, and would revenge them should they happen toget "wiped out" before he came up with the redskins!

This, naturally, was no very cheering intelligence; but the miners werenot discouraged, although they took every wise precaution so that theirwary foe should not catch them napping; and so, whether they wereworking in the mine or went hunting--as they did more frequently whenthe buffalo came northwards later on, led from the southern plains, which form their more common habitat throughout the year, by the richblue grass, and other prairie delicacies which these bovine beastsloved, that flourished among the valleys of the Black Hills; or whetherthey were digging in the kitchen garden that Josh and Jasper hadimprovised at the back of the little hut where they all lived--every manwent armed or had his arms handy. In addition to this, sentinels wereposted through the day at the entrance of the Creek, to warn them of theapproach of any suspicious strangers to the camp; while Seth caused asrigid a watch to be kept at night, taking the first and fourth turnshimself, as if he were still a first mate with the responsibilities of aship on his hands and walking the deck of the _Susan Jane_. 

STORY ONE, CHAPTER TWENTY ONE. 

THE WAR-WHOOP. 

Having levelled the line for the watercourse, Ernest Wilton prepared forhis journey. 

The news of the Indian raids made travelling very dangerous, and MrRawlins's urged Ernest to let him go in his stead. But to this Erneststrongly objected, advancing all sorts of reasons but the right oneagainst Mr Rawlings starting for Bismark, stating amongst otherarguments that if the worthy leader of the party went, the miners mightthink he was running away from the Creek for fear of the Indiansattacking them. 

"No, no, my boy!" laughed Mr Rawlings; "you cannot wheedle me by usingsuch an argument as that, Wilton! It is too absurd, for the miners knowme too well for that, and so do you; besides, it is far more perilous toventure out into the open, as you are about to do, than to remain here, where, united together as we are in a phalanx of stout, able-bodied men, in an almost impregnable position, we could resist any formidable attackin force. No, no, my boy; you may tell that to the marines. But doinform me, Wilton, what is your real motive in wishing to go yourself?I consent certainly to your going, as you press the matter; but I shouldlike to know your ulterior object, if only to satisfy my curiosity. "

"Well, " said Ernest, laughing too, "I didn't like to tell you at firstfor fear of wounding your sensibilities. To tell you the truth, I thinkI am more competent to get what I want than you are, as, if I do not seeany of the things I require exactly, I may be able to pick up makeshiftsthat will answer my purpose as well, while you would be trying toprocure impossibilities, perhaps, just because I mentioned them in thelist of my requirements, and would be satisfied with nothing else. "

"Very good, have your way, " said Mr Rawlings, satisfied with the reasonadvanced, and handing the young engineer at the same time a roll ofgreenbacks that represented all his available capital. "But you must beeconomical in your purchases, my boy. This is all the money I can spareyou for your expenses and everything. I think you had better take a fewrich specimens with you, and should your funds run short they may giveyou credit if you tell them you have fifty tons of it ready for themill. "

"All right, " said Ernest cheerfully, pocketing the parcel, and making aninward resolution the while to supply any deficiency in that respectfrom his own funds--which, indeed, was his true motive for undertakingthe commission in person, although he concealed it from Mr Rawlings;for he was aware that the latter had got near the end of his resources, and would have been indignant if he had offered to be his temporarybanker in order to buy all that was now needed for the mine, which hehad made up his mind to be, whether he liked it or not, without hisknowing it; and he chuckled to himself as he told Mr Rawlings that themoney would do amply. 

"I suppose, Wilton, you'll take the waggon and a team of mules with youto bring back the things, eh?" said Mr Rawlings presently, as the youngengineer began making his preparations for starting. 

"Yes, " said Ernest, "and shall have to hire four or five others; but Ineed only have them with me as far as Fort Bennett on the Missouri, where, as I pointed out to you just now, I can get a passage in one ofthe river steamers right up to Bismark, and the same way back with allmy purchases. Why, Mr Rawlings, you must have come here by almost asroundabout a route as I did from Oregon! You told me that you took amonth getting to Minturne Creek with your mining plant and other goods, dragging them, I suppose, the whole distance from the railway depotacross the plains, instead of taking advantage of the waterway as I amgoing to do now. "

"That is very true, " answered the other. "But Moose said it was thebest way, and I allowed him to shape his own course. "

"He'll have to shape mine now!" said Ernest dryly; and the same day heand the half-breed, with the valiant Josh in charge of the waggon and aten-mule team, started for Fort Bennett, a distance of some hundred andforty miles from the camp, which they accomplished within three days, not meeting with any obstruction in the shape of Indians on the road. 

At this station Ernest left Moose with the waggon and mules, while hetook passage for himself and Josh in one of the steam-boats which plyalong the rolling waters of the Missouri to the large town on its banksabove, that may now be called the capital of Dakota. 

At Bismark he was fortunate enough to hear of some machinery which wouldexactly suit him; it had been sent west for a mine, which before itarrived had proved so poor that it was abandoned, and the wheel andstamps were now for sale. He also laid in some stores, besides aquantity of gunpowder, and lead for bullets, which he thought would comein handy for the Indians should they lay siege to Minturne Creek. 

When he knew the weight of the goods, he sent word down the river toMoose at Fort Bennett, and the latter hired five additional waggons andteams, which were all in readiness when he arrived by steamer with themachinery. Everything was soon packed up, and the little party trackedback to the camp, having been but twenty days away altogether. 

"You air smart!" said Seth, who was the first to welcome Ernest on hisarrival, the ex-mate having now quite recovered from his wounds, and"hopping about on his pins, " as he expressed it, "as merrily as ever, "himself again in every particular. "You air smart, mister! I guessyou're the slickest coon I ever seed for makin' tracks--Jerusalem, youair!"

"You would have made haste too, friend Seth, " said Ernest, laughing--there never was such a fellow to laugh as he was--"if you had heard whatI have about those blessed Indians, and our old acquaintance, RisingCloud. "

"What is that?" asked Mr Rawlings anxiously, who had just come up intime to catch the last observation of the young engineer--"what have youheard about Rising Cloud?"

"Only, " said Ernest, and he spoke gravely enough now--"that he isspreading murder and havoc all along the banks of the Missouri, and maybe soon here upon us with the miscreant gang he leads. I heard terribletales of him in the steamer I came down the river in. The captain ofthe little craft told me that the Indians had burnt every outlyingsettlement in Southern Dakota, massacring all the white inhabitants, andwere making their way northwards, so we'd better look out. Why, he saidthey'd even attacked his boat when it was at one of the landings; and ifhe hadn't put on steam he and his vessel would have been settled, withall on board. "

"Ah, " said Mr Rawlings, "that corroborates the warning we got from thecommander of the United States troops at Fort Warren when you were away. We certainly must keep a careful look now, for it would not do torepeat all of my poor Cousin Ned's experiences, and have the result ofour toil snatched from our grasp by those relentless fiends of theprairie when it was just within our reach, as it was in his, poorfellow!"

Mr Rawlings then went on to tell Ernest what they had heard, and givean account of what had transpired during his absence at the settlements;after which the whole party proceeded to examine their defences indetail, the young engineer suggesting that they should entrench the campin a systematic way, and also the machinery which would be erected onthe river's bank. 

There were but two directions from which they could be attacked; for theprecipitous range of the Black Hills, standing behind Minturne Creekwith its semicircular rampart, protected their rear and sides, so thatthey had only their front face to guard, along the course of the stream, following the gulch. 

The same safeguards which they had adopted before were redoubled in theface of the second warning they received by the account Ernest Wiltonbrought back with him of the Indian savages in their neighbourhood, their day and night watch being maintained with the strictestregularity. 

The teams were soon unloaded and started on their return journey, andwith the exception of the men engaged in clearing out the quartz fromthe mine, all hands set to to erect the water-wheel and stamps, whichoperation, as all the pieces of timber were fitted and numbered, was aneasy and rapid one. 

In three weeks afterwards all was ready for a start. Five hundredweightof quartz was then weighed out and carried down to the stamps, the gearwhich connected the machinery with the great wheel which was revolvingin the river was connected, and the stamps began to rise and fall with aheavy regular rhythm. 

The quartz was thrown in beneath the stamps shovelful by shovelful, andin an hour and a half the last fragment was used up. For another halfhour the stamps rose and fell, then the water running through them wasno longer milk-white, and the stamps were stopped. Then the blanketsspread upon the ways by which the mud-charged gold had flowed were takenup and washed, the quicksilver was taken out of the concentrators andpassed through wash-leather bags, in which great rolls of amalgamremained. These were placed in large crucibles to drive off thequicksilver, and then removed from the furnace and the gold placed inthe scale. To this was added the fine gold from the blankets. ErnestWilton added the weights, and around him stood Mr Rawlings and all theminers off duty. 

"Just a hundred ounces, " he said, "five hundred ounces to the ton;speaking roughly, 1800 pounds a ton. "

"Hurrah!" shouted Seth Allport, his ringing voice making itself heardabove the sound of the rushing water and the echoing chorus of the men'scheers; but, an instant after, his exclamation of delight was changed toone of dismay, as a flight of arrows and the ping of rifle bulletswhistled around the party, while the dread war-whoop of their Indianassailants burst forth in all its shrill discordancy. 

"Who--ah--ah--ah--ah--oop!"

STORY ONE, CHAPTER TWENTY TWO. 

A FIGHT FOR LIFE!

In the excitement of starting the stamps, the usual precautions whichhad been previously practised, of posting sentinels and keeping theirarms ready, were for the moment forgotten; but after the first startleof surprise at being so unexpectedly attacked passed over, there was ageneral rush to cover of all the members of the party, behind thebreastwork of earth that the young engineer had caused to be thrown upround the spot facing the river all along its right bank, the mencatching up their rifles and cartridge-pouches--which lay here and thereabout as they had dropped them in their expectancy while waiting theresult of the weighing--as they ran to shelter themselves and preparedto return the fire of their foes. 

All the miners rushed to the breastwork save one, and that was Seth. 

At the instant he turned, like his comrades, to seek the protection ofthe rampart, towards which the others hastened, an arrow struck SailorBill slanting-wise across his forehead, and, tossing up his hands, thepoor boy, who was standing on the timber which led to the wheel, tumbledover into the foaming water below that was seething like a whirlpool. 

Uttering a frenzied ejaculation of anguish and grief, Seth plunged intothe flood, and an instant after dragged forth Sailor Bill's body, heedless of the arrows and bullets of the Indians, the former of whichdarkened the air in their passage around him, while the latter whistledthrough his garments. 

The intrepid fellow seemed to bear a charmed life, for not a shot nor abarbed head of the savages' feathered missiles reached him as he pulledthe poor boy's apparently lifeless body from the water, Seth not beingcontent until he had hauled it up beneath the breastwork; when with ashout of vengeance he seized his rifle and set to work to aid the othersin dealing death on those who had, as he thought, killed his protege. 

It was a terrific fight whilst it lasted. 

Mingled with the war-whoop of the Sioux, which was repeated ever andanon, as if to excite them anew to the carnage, came the fierceexclamations of the miners, and the calm word of command from MrRawlings occasionally, to restrain the men from getting too flurried. --He certainly showed himself worthy of the post of leader then!

"Steady, boys! Don't waste your fire. Aim low; and don't shoot tooquickly!"

"Ping! ping!" flew the bullets through the smoky medium with which theywere surrounded, while an occasional "thud" evinced the fact that one oftheir assailants had fallen:--"ping, ping, ping!" it was a regularfusillade;--and the miners delivered their fire like trained soldiersfrom behind the breastwork that had so providentially been erected intime!

Presently there was a rush of the redskins, and the besieged party couldhear the voice of Rising Cloud encouraging his warriors, and tauntingthose he attacked. 

"Dogs of palefaces!" cried the chief, "your bones shall whiten theprairie, and your blood colour the buffalo grass, for your treatment ofRising Cloud in the morn of the melting of the snow! I said I wouldcome before the scarlet sumach should spring again on the plains; andRising Cloud and his warriors are here!"

Then came the fearful war-whoop again, with that terrible iteration atits end "Who--ah--ah--ah--ah--oop!" like the howl of a laughing hyaena. 

The river alone interposed between the whites and their enemy, and gavethem a spell of breathing time, but in spite of this protection, theodds were heavy against them; for what could even sixteen resolute men, as the party now numbered--for one had been mortally wounded by a chanceshot, and although Josh the negro cook could tight bravely and did, Jasper was not of much use--do in a hand-to-hand struggle with hundredsof red-skinned human devils thirsting for their blood?

The river, however, was a great help, especially now that it had beenconverted into a mill-race, and flooded beyond its usual proportions;for, when the Indians rushed into the water to wade across and assaultthe camp at close quarters, as the shallowness of the stream at thatseason of the year would previously have easily enabled them to havedone, they found, to their astonishment, first that the current, whichthey did not expect to be more than a foot deep, rose above theirwaist-belts, then above their armpits, and finally above their heads, as, pushed onwards by their companions behind, they were submerged inthe flood; while the miners, still sheltered by Ernest Wilton's trenchedrampart above, rained down a pitiless hail of bullets into thehalf-drowned mob, whose very strength now proved their principalweakness. 

"Give it 'em, b'ys: remember poor Sailor Bill!" shouted Seth, his bloodup to fever heat with passion, and the murderous spirit of revengestrong in his heart. "Give 'em goss, an' let nary a one go back to tellthe story!"

"Steady, men, and fire low!" repeated Mr Rawlings. 

And the miners mowed the redskins down by the score with regular volleysfrom their repeating rifles, although twenty fresh Indians seemed tospring up in the place of every one killed. 

The fight was too severe to last long, and soon a diversion came. 

As Rising Cloud, raising his tomahawk on high, and, leading the van ofhis warriors, was bringing them on for a decisive charge, several sharpdischarges, as if from platoon firing, were heard in the rear of theIndians. 

Just then, a bullet from Ernest Wilton's rifle penetrated the chief'sbrain, and he fell dead right across the earth rampart in front of theyoung engineer. The platoon firing in the rear of the savages was againrepeated; the United States troops had evidently arrived to the rescue;and, taken now between two fires, and disheartened by the fall of RisingCloud, the Sioux broke, and fled in a tumultuous mass towards the gorgeby which they had entered the valley of Minturne Creek. 

The struggle over, the miners had time to count casualties, and see whoamongst their number had fallen in the fray. 

Thanks to Ernest Wilton's breastwork, their losses had not been veryheavy. 

Noah Webster was slightly wounded, and Black Harry badly; while the onlyone killed outright was Tom Cannon, the whilom keen-sighted topman ofthe _Susan Jane_, who would never sight wreck or sail more, for SailorBill was only wounded, and not dead, after all. 

Jasper, who had been hiding beneath the embankment beside the boy'ssupposed lifeless body, had perceived signs of returning animation init, to which he immediately called the attention of Seth and also MrRawlings, and the three were bending over the figure in a moment. Justalmost a year before they were bending over Sailor Bill in precisely thesame way in the cabin of the _Susan Jane_. The Indian's arrow hadploughed under the skin of the boy's forehead nearly at the same placethat bore the scar of his former wound when he had been picked up atsea, and could not have inflicted any dangerous injury; it was evidentlythe shock of falling into the foaming torrent from the tunnel, as itrushed into the river, that had rendered Sailor Bill senseless for thetime being. 

He was now coming back to himself, for his limbs twitched convulsively, and there was a faint tremor about the eyelids. 

Just then Ernest Wilton came up and stood by the side of Mr Rawlings, while Seth was rubbing the boy's bared chest vigorously with his brawnyhand to hasten the restoration of the circulation; and at that momentSailor Bill opened his eyes--eyes that were expressionless no longer, but with the light of reason in their hidden intelligence--and fixed hisgaze on the young engineer as if he recognised him at once. 

"Ernest!" the boy exclaimed wonderingly, "what brings you here? Why, where am I?"

And he looked from one to the other of the group around him in ahalf-puzzled way, "Jerusalem!" ejaculated Seth, jumping to his feet andturning to the young engineer. "He knows you, mister. Ken you rec'lecthim?"

"By Jove!" said Ernest, "I do believe it's my cousin, Frank Lester, nowI hear his voice. Frank!"

"Yes, Ernest, " answered the boy, heaving a sigh of relief. "Then it isyou after all. I thought I was dreaming. "

And he sank back into a calm sleep as if he were in bed. 

STORY ONE, CHAPTER TWENTY THREE. 

AFTER THE BATTLE. 

"Now didn't I say so, Rawlings?" said Seth triumphantly, turning to thatgentleman. "I leave it to any one if I didn't diagnose the boy'ssymptoms correctly! I said ef he can meet with a similar shock to thatwhich cost him his reason, he'd get it back again. I told you that fromthe first on board the _Susan Jane_. "

"You certainly did, " replied Mr Rawlings. "It's the most curious caseI ever heard or read of! Do you think, Seth, when he wakes up he'll bestill all right here?" tapping his forehead expressively. 

"Sartain as thaar's snakes in Virginny!" said the ex-mate, returning fora moment to his vernacular mode of speech; although, his medicalinstincts asserting themselves again presently, he spoke more formallyand in professional style in continuation of his reply to Mr Rawlings. "He is still in a semi-comatose condition, as that somnolent fit assuresus; but he will sleep it off, and rouse up by and by in the properpossession of his faculties, a glimpse of which we observed just now. "

"I'm right glad to hear it, " said Mr Rawlings. "What a difference thatlook of intelligence in his eyes made in him! I declare I would hardlyhave known him to be the same boy!"

"You're right there, " said Seth. "I've read in some book of the eyesbein' called `the windows of the soul;' an' I believe it's pretty nearthe mark. "

"Golly, massa Rawlings, " put in Jasper at this juncture--the darkey hadbeen dying to speak for a long time--"p'raps him turn out to be gran'fine genelmun, for sure, 'sides bein' massa Willerton's cuzzing, hey?"

"P'raps I'll souse you in the river if you don't make tracks and bringdown somethin' as we can take poor Sailor Bill up to the hut in, " saidSeth, speaking again in his customary way and in a manner that Jasperplainly understood, for he disappeared at once, returning shortly incompany with Josh, the two bearing a mattress between them, on which theboy was placed, still asleep, and carried up to the house, where he wassoftly put down on Mr Rawlings' bed and left, with Seth watching by hisside until he should wake up, as the latter expected, in his propersenses. 

The camp was in a state of tremendous excitement, as may be supposed, for no less than three thrilling episodes of interest had occurred allin one day, any one of which would have been sensational enough initself to have afforded matter for gossip for a month. 

The starting of the stamps--the attack and repulse of the long-dreadedIndian band--the fact of Sailor Bill recovering his lost senses--allhappening at once, all coming together!

It was too much for even the most apathetic of the miners to contemplatecalmly. And when, after the final departure of the American soldiery--whose commander returned, after pursuing the Sioux for some distanceamongst the Black Hills, to report that no further attack need be fearedfrom the band, which was now thoroughly dispersed and incapable ofassailing the camp a second time, that year at least--Minturne Creekresumed its normal quietude, and seemed duller than ever after suchstirring events as had recently been witnessed, the excited gold-diggersgathered together in twos and threes, thinking over and talking aboutwhat had happened. 

Beyond the stirring events that had happened they had also to mourn theloss of two of their number, as gallant comrades as men ever had--for, ere long, Black Harry had followed the smart foretopman to the silentland, succumbing to the dangerous wound he had received towards the endof the struggle from an Indian tomahawk wielded by a powerful arm, whichhad almost cleft the poor fellow's skull in twain; and, after so manymonths of close companionship, the death of the two sailors was keenlyfelt. 

The best way to banish painful thoughts, however, as Mr Rawlings knewfrom sad experience, was to engage in active employment; so he did notallow the men to remain idle, although he gave them ample time for arest after the fight was over. 

Summoning to his aid Noah Webster, who, like some of the others who hadreceived trivial wounds, made light of the bullet hole through his arm, he mustered the hands late in the afternoon of the eventful day, anddelivered a short practical address to them before resuming operations--a speech which, being to the point, had the desired effect of making themen go back to their work with a will. 

"Now, lads, " said he, "we must be up and going. Sitting there talkingwill not bring back the poor fellows that have gone. I mourn ourcomrades just as much as you do, for they worked steadfastly, like thehonest, true-hearted men they were, through the hard time of toil andtrouble we had till recently, and at the last fought and died bravely inthe defence of the camp. But, crying over them won't help them now; allwe can do is to bury them where they so nobly fell, and then turn ourhands to carry on our work to the end that is now so near in view, justas they would have insisted on doing if they had been alive still andwith us!"

There was no more lethargy after Mr Rawlings' exhortation: as Solomonsays, --"A word in season, how good it is!"

The men sprang up with alacrity to set about what he had suggestedrather than ordered; and, as soon as graves had been dug in the sheltertrench of the rampart that Tom Cannon and Black Harry had held socourageously against the Indians, and their bodies interred with allproper solemnity, Mr Rawlings himself reading the burial service overtheir remains, the miners grasped their picks and shovels with one handas they wiped away a tear with the other, and went back to the mine, some of them possibly with the reflection that, all things considered, their slain mates were perhaps after all now better off than themselves!

STORY ONE, CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR. 

SAILOR BILL'S STORY. 

After the sad ceremony which he had just performed, Mr Rawlings did notfeel much inclined for gold-seeking or any worldly affairs, although hewent towards the mine as a matter of duty; and when he reached thestamps he found Ernest Wilton already standing there, but looking paleand perturbed, as if anxious about something. 

"What is the matter?" said Mr Rawlings. "You seem out of sorts, beyondwhat the loss of these poor fellows would have affected you?"

"Yes, I am, " replied the other. "I can't help thinking of that cousinof mine, and why I did not recognise him when I first saw him; but thenhe was quite a little boy at school, and who would have dreamt of yourpicking him up at sea?"

"Strange things do happen sometimes, " said Mr Rawlings. "When was itthat you last saw him in England?"

"Four years ago last Christmas, if I recollect aright. He was then alittle schoolboy not half his present size. How on earth did he manageto get to sea? my aunt had a perfect horror of a sailor's life, andwould never have let him go willingly. But, there, it only serves meright for my selfish neglect! As you told me before, I ought to havekept up my communication with my family, and then I should have knownall about it. I can't help now fancying all sorts of queer things thatmay have occurred. My poor aunt, who used to be so fond of me, may bedead; and my uncle, who was of a roving nature kindred to mine, may--"

"Nonsense!" said Mr Rawlings, good-naturedly, interrupting him. "Ifyou go on like that, you'll imagine you're the man in the moon, orsomething else! Sailor Bill, or rather your cousin Frank, as we mustnow call him, will wake up presently and enlighten us as to how he cameto be in his present position--or rather in the Bay of Biscay, where wepicked him up; for we all know his subsequent history; and then you'lllearn what you are now puzzling your brains about, without any bother. I confess I am curious in the matter too, for I wish to know the secretof that mysterious packet round his neck; but we must both wait withpatience, and dismiss the subject for the present from our minds. Comealong with me now, my boy, " he added, as the body of the miners hastenedup after paying their last tribute of respect at their comrades' graves. "I'm just going to have a look at your sluices, and see whether thestuff is coming out as rich as before. "

This invitation at once caused the young engineer to brighten up, as theidea of action had aroused the miners from dwelling on what hadhappened. 

The yield upon being examined proved fully as rich as before the firstexperiment. 

"You see, Mr Rawlings, " said Ernest, cordially holding out his hand fora friendly grip, "the lead has turned out just as I fancied it would do, and my efforts to open it out proved successful. You are now, as I toldyou would be the case, the richest man in this State, or in Montanaeither, for that matter, with all their talk of Bonanza Kings there. "

"You bet, " chimed in Noah Webster, who felt equally proud and delightedwith the young engineer at the result of their joint operations; but MrRawlings could say little. 

The Indian attack had hitherto prevented his realising this suddenchange of fortune, and now that he was fully conscious of it, all hecould do was to silently shake Ernest Wilton's hand first, and then NoahWebster's; and after that each of those of the miners who pressed nearhim for the purpose, full of sympathy with "the good luck of the boss, "and forgetting already the fate of their lost comrades in the sight ofthe glittering metal before them--their natural good spirits beingperfectly restored a little later on, when Mr Rawlings assured them, onhis recovering his speech, that he fully intended now keeping to thepromise he had given when the venture was first undertaken, and woulddivide half the proceeds of the mine, share and share alike, among themen, in addition to paying them the wages he had engaged to do. 

The ringing hurrahs with which the jubilant miners gave vent to theirgladness on the reiteration of Mr Rawlings' promise, were so loud thatthey reached the ears of Seth, who was watching by the sleeping boy, andthe latter woke up immediately with a frightened air, as if sufferingfrom the keenest terror. 

"It's all right, my b'y, all right, " said Seth soothingly; and at thesame time Wolf, who had entered the house and crept up by the side ofthe bed, leapt up on the boy and licked his face. 

"Where am I, Sam?" he said to Seth, the dog's greeting having apparentlycalmed him down as well as the ex-mate's kindly manner; "are they afterme still, Sam?"

"You are here with us, " saith Seth, puzzled at the boy's addressing himso familiarly; "but my name arn't Sam, leastways, not as I knows on. "

The boy looked in his face, and seemed disappointed. 

"No, you are not Sam, though you are like him. Oh, now I recollectall?" and he hid his face in his hands and burst into a passionate fitof crying, as if his heart would break. 

"There, there, " said Seth, patting him on the back, "it's all right, Itell you, my b'y; an' when Seth says so I guess he means it!"

But the boy would not stop weeping; and Seth, thinking that some harmmight result to his newly-awakened reason if he went on like that, strode to the door and summoned help, with a stentorian hail that rangthrough the valley as loudly as the cheer of the miners had done oneinstant before. 

"Ahoy there, all hands on deck!" he shouted, hardly knowing what he wassaying, adding a moment afterwards, "Wilton, you're wanted! Looksharp. "

"Here I am, " cried Wilton, hurrying up, with Mr Rawlings after him. "What is the matter now, Seth?"

"I can't make him do nothing" said that worthy hopelessly. "He takes meto be some coon or other called Sam, an' then when I speaks he turns onthe water-power and goes on dreadful, that I'm afeard he'll do himselfharm. Can't you quiet him, Wilton; he kinder knowed you jest now?"

"I'll try, " said Ernest; and kneeling by the boy's side, he drew hishands away from his face and gently spoke to him. 

"Frank! look at me: don't you know me?"

"Ye-e-es, " sobbed he, "you--_you_ are Ernest. But how did you comehere? you weren't on board the ship. Oh, father! where are you, and allthe rest?"

And the boy burst out crying again, in an agony of grief which was quitepainful to witness. 

Presently, however, he grew more composed; and, in a broken way, Ernestmanaged to get his story from him--a terrible tale of mutiny, androbbery, and murder on the high seas. 

This was his story, as far as could be gathered from his disconnecteddetails. 

Frank Lester, much against his mother's wishes, had persuaded his fatherto take him with him in the early part of the previous year to thediamond fields in South Africa, whither Mr Lester was going for thepurpose of purchasing some of the best stones he could get for a largefirm who intrusted him with the commission. The object of the journeyhad been safely accomplished, and Mr Lester and Frank reached CapeTown, where they took their return passage to England in a vessel calledthe _Dragon King_. 

Seth nudged Mr Rawlings at this point. 

"Didn't I say that was the name of the desarted ship?" he asked in awhisper. 

And Mr Rawlings nodded his assent. 

The _Dragon King_--to continue Frank's, or Sailor Bill's story--wascommanded by a rough sort of captain, who was continually swearing atthe men and ill-treating them; and, in the middle of the voyage a mutinybroke out on board, started originally by some of the hands who wishedmerely to deprive the captain of his authority, and put the first mate, who was much liked by the men, in his place; but the outbreak was takenadvantage of by a parcel of desperadoes and ne'er-do-weels, who werereturning home empty handed from the diamond diggings, and were glad ofthe opportunity of plundering the ship and passengers--whence themutiny, from being first of an almost peaceful character, degeneratedinto a scene of bloodshed and violence which it made Frank shudder tospeak about. 

His father, fearing what was about to happen, and that, as he was knownas having been up the country and in the possession of jewels of greatvalue, the desperadoes would attempt to rob him first, placed roundFrank's neck, in the original parchment-covered parcel in which he hadreceived them from the bank at the diamond fields, the precious stoneshe had bought, with all his own available capital as well as hisemployers' money, thinking that that would be the last place where thethieves would search for them. 

"And now they are lost, " added the boy with another stifled sob, "andpoor mother will be penniless. "

"Nary a bit, " said Seth; and pulling out the little packet by the silkenstring attached round his neck--which the poor boy had not thought offeeling for even, he was so confident of his loss--he disclosed it tohis gaze. "Is that the consarn, my b'y?" he asked. 

"Oh!" exclaimed Frank in delighted surprise. "It is, with the bank sealstill unbroken, I declare!"

And opening the parchment cover he showed Ernest and the rest somediamonds of the first water, that must have been worth several thousandpounds. 

After his father had given the parcel into his care, Frank went on tosay, events transpired exactly as he had anticipated. Most of thepassengers were robbed, and those that objected to being despoiledtranquilly, murdered. Amongst these were his father, whom the ruffianskilled more out of spite from not finding the valuables they expected onhim. He, Frank, escaped through the kindness of one of the sailors, whotook a fancy to him, and hid him up aloft in the ship's foretop when themen who had possession of the ship would have killed him. 

"This sailor, " said Frank, "was just like that gentleman there, "pointing to Seth. 

"Waal neow, that's curious, " said Seth. "Was his name Sam?"

"It was, " said the boy. 

"This is curious, " said Seth, looking round at the rest; "it is really. I wouldn't be at all surprised as how that's my brother Sam I haven'theerd on for this many a year, or seed, although he's a seafarin' manlike myself, an' I oughter to 'ave run across his jib afore now. Dependon it, Rawlings, that the reason the boy stuck to me so when he hadn'tgot his wits, and came for to rescue me aboard the _Susan Jane_, andarterwards, was on account of my likeness to Sam. "

And as nobody could say him nay, it may be mentioned here that that wasSeth's fervent belief ever after. 

The last recollection that Frank had of the ship and the mutineers wasof an orgie on board the _Dragon King_ in the height of a storm, and ofone of the murderous villains finding out his retreat in the foretop, where the sailor who protected him lashed him to the rigging, so that hecould not tumble on deck if he should fall asleep. He remembered a manwith gleaming eyes and great white teeth swearing at him, and making acut at him with a drawn sword. After that, all was a complete blank tohim till he had just now opened his eyes and recognised Ernest. 

"An' yer don't recollect being picked up at sea an' taken aboard the_Susan Jane_, and brought here, nor nuthin'?" inquired Seth. 

"Nothing whatever, " said Frank, who showed himself to be a remarkablyintelligent boy now that he had recovered his senses. "I don't rememberanything that happened in the interval. "

"Waal, that is curious, " observed Seth. 

That was all the story that Frank Lester could tell of the mutiny onboard the _Dragon King_, and his wonderful preservation. 

All the mutineers, and some of their victims too most probably, mettheir final doom shortly afterwards in the storm that had dismasted theship, leaving it to float derelict over the surface of the ocean; allbut the three whose corpses the visiting party from the _Susan Jane_ hadnoticed on the submerged deck. These must have survived the tempestonly to perish finally from each other's murderous passions, afterhaving lingered on in a state of semi-starvation possibly--althoughFrank said that the desperadoes from the diamond fields, who were theringleaders on board, were originally the most attenuated, starved-looking mortals he had ever seen in his life. 

STORY ONE, CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE. 

HOMEWARD-BOUND. 

The work at the mine went on steadily. The "pocket" was cleared of thequartz it contained, and the whole, amounting to two hundred and fiftytons, passed through the stamp. 

The soldiers, on their return from their victory over the Sioux, hadspread the news of the wonderful find of gold at Minturne Creek, andminers had flocked up in hundreds. When the pocket was emptied, adebate arose whether a heading should be driven along the course of thelode to the spot where Mr Rawlings' cousin had struck gold, and whereit was probable that another pocket existed. It was, however, decidedto accept the offer of a body of wealthy speculators, who offered100, 000 pounds for the set. This was indeed far less than they wouldhave gleaned from it had the second pocket turned out as rich as thefirst, for the gold, when all the quartz was crushed, amounted in valueto 350, 000 pounds. Half of the total amount was divided by MrRawlings, according to his promise, among the miners. Seth receivingthree shares, Noah Webster two, and the men one each. To Ernest Wiltonhe gave one-fourth of his own share of the proceeds. 

Then, starting from the spot where they had toiled so hard, the littleband set out for the haunts of civilisation once more, leaving behind, where they had found a solitary valley, a place dotted with huts andalive with busy men. 

At Bismark the men separated, some to proceed back to their belovedCalifornia, to star it among their fellows with their newly acquiredwealth, others to dissipate it in riotous living in the nearest frontiertowns, while others again, struck with the greed of gold, thought thatthey had not yet got enough, and proceeded rapidly to gamble away whatthey had. 

Mr Rawlings went eastwards towards Boston, intending to take steamerthence to England, which he resolved never to leave again in the pursuitof adventure now that fortune had so generously befriended him; and withhim came Ernest Wilton, taking charge of his recovered cousin; and Seth, who could not bear to lose sight of his former protege. 

Josh and Jasper had been left behind, the two darkeys sinking theirmutual jealousy, and determining to start a coloured hotel on theMissouri, for the benefit of travelling gentlemen of their ownpersuasion; so too had Noah Webster, who said he liked hunting betterthan civilisation, and intended to pass the remainder of his days outwest in the company of Moose, who was as eager after game as he washimself and as fearless of the Indians, should they again trouble them, after their Minturne Creek experiences. 

Wolf, however, was one of the homeward-bound party. He certainly couldnot be abandoned after all his faithful services, and the wonderfulinstinct he had displayed, more than his master had done, in recognisingFrank, whom he had not seen since puppyhood, when Ernest Wilton's aunt, Frank's mother, gave him to the young engineer. 

As luck would have it, on the arrival of Mr Rawlings and his party atBoston whom should they meet accidentally at the railway depot butCaptain Blowser, of the _Susan Jane_, as hearty and jolly as of yore, and delighted to see them! His ship he "guessed" was just going toEurope, and he would be only too glad of their taking passage in her. 

Need it be mentioned that the captain's offer was accepted; and that, long before Frank Lester--the "Sailor Bill" whom Seth loved, and thecrew of the _Susan Jane_ and the gold-miners of Minturne Creek hadregarded with such affection--had arrived in England to gladden hismother's heart by his restoration, as if from the dead, when he had longbeen given up for lost, together with his father's property which hecarried with him, he had learnt every detail, as if he had been in hisright senses at the time, of how he had been "Picked up at Sea?"

STORY TWO, CHAPTER ONE. 

GREEK PIRATES AND TURKISH BRIGANDS. A TALE OF ADVENTURE BY SEA ANDLAND. 

IN BEYROUT HARBOUR. 

"It's a thundering shame our sticking here so long; and I'm sick of thebeastly old place, " said Tom Aldridge in a grumbling tone, as he leantover the bulwarks listlessly, crumbling bits of biscuit into the sea toattract the fish, which would not be attracted, and gazing in an idleway at the roof of the pacha's palace, that glittered under the rays ofthe bright Syrian sun. "I'm sick of the place, Charley!" he repeated, more venomously than before. 

"So am I, Tom, " said Charley Onslow, his fellow-midshipman on board the_Muscadine_, an English barque of some seven or eight hundred tons, thatlay, along with several foreign vessels of different rig, in the bay ofBeyrout--as pretty a harbour as could be picked out in a score ofvoyages, and about the busiest port in the whole of the Levant. 

"So am I, Tom, " said Charley with the utmost heartiness. "I am as tiredof it as I am of the eternal dates and coffee, coffee and dates, onwhich these blessed Arab beggars live, and which everybody makes a pointof offering to one, if a chap goes ashore for a minute; while, on board, we've nothing now to do but to check off the freight as it comesalongside before it's lowered in the hold, and look out at theunchanging picture around us, which is so familiar that I believe Icould paint it with my eyes shut if I were an artist. Talk of thebeauty of Beyrout, indeed! To my taste, it's the most monotonous hole Iwas ever in in my life, and I hate it!"

And yet, in spite of Charley Onslow's peevish criticism, the scenearound him and his companion was charming enough. 

The _Muscadine_ was anchored out in the roads, close to the juttingpromontory on which the lazaretto buildings were lately erected, thatstretched out like an arm into the harbour; and the view from her deckpresented a beautiful panorama of the semi-European, semi-Oriental town, nestling on the very edge of the blue waters of the Mediterranean, andsurrounded by gently-undulating hills, that were terraced withsymmetrical rows of trim olive-trees and vineyards, rising tier upontier, the one above the other; amidst which, occasionally peeped outslily the white cupola of some suburban villa belonging to one of thewealthy merchants of the port, or the minaret of a Moslem mosque, standing out conspicuously against the shrubbery of foliage formed ofdifferent tints of green, from the palest emerald shade to the deepestindigo, that culminated finally in the cedar-crowned heights of themountains of Lebanon in the purple distance. 

It was not a quiet scene either, as might have been imagined from theidle ennui of both the young sailors, whom it seemed to have well-nighbored to death. On the contrary, to an unprejudiced looker-on it wasquite the reverse of being inactive. 

In the foreground the harbour was lively enough, with boats andcaravels, and other Turkish craft of all sizes and shapes, darting hereand there like great white-winged dragon-flies, as they were waftedswiftly one moment by some passing whiff of air, or lying still on thesurface of the sea as the wind fell and they were temporarily becalmed, until another gust came from the hills to rouse them out of theirnoontide sluggishness. 

Amongst them, too, were ships' boats belonging to the different vessels, anchored, like the _Muscadine_, out in the roads, being pulled to andfrom the shore, anon laden with merchandise, anon returning for more;while, of course, the dingy black smoke and steady paddle-beat of theinevitable steamer, that marks the progress of Western civilisation inthe East, made themselves seen and heard, to complete the picture andmake the contrast the more striking. 

"Tom, " said Charley presently, after the two had remained silent forsome time, still standing in the shade of the awning aft, that protectedthem from the burning heat of the sun, which was at its most potentpoint, it being just mid-day. 

"Yes, " said the other grumpily, as if disinclined even for conversation. 

"It has just gone eight bells. "

"Can't I hear as well as you, Charley? What's the use of bothering afellow? Do leave me alone. "

"I only wanted to say, Tom, that the skipper said we might go ashorethis afternoon if we liked, as soon as the second mate came on board;and there he is coming off in the jolly-boat now. "

"I don't care whether Tompkins comes off or not, " replied Tom Aldridgein the same peevish tone as he had spoken at first. "What's the good ofgoing ashore?"

"Oh, lots of good, " said Charley Onslow more cheerily. "Better thanstopping here cooped-up like a fowl and being grilled in the sun. "

"Well, I can't see the difference between getting roasted ashore androasted on board, for my part, " retorted Tom. "It's six of one andhalf-a-dozen of the other. "

"You lazy duffer!" said Charley laughing; "you are incorrigible. But docome along with me, Tom. We haven't landed now for two days, and Ican't stand the _Muscadine_ any longer. "

"I suppose you'll have your way, as you always do, " grumbled the other, turning away at last from his listless contemplation of the prospectwith which he had owned himself so disgusted. "I don't know how it is, Charley, but you seem to manage me and everybody here just as you like;you can come round the skipper even, when you set your mind to it, andthat is what no one else can do!"

"You forget Mr Tompkins. "

"I don't count him at all, " said Tom Aldridge indignantly. "He's asneak, and gets his way by wheedling and shoe-scraping! But you, Charley, go to work in quite a different fashion. Why, I'm hanged ifyou don't cheek a fellow when you want to get something out of him. It's your Irish impudence that does it, my boy, I expect. "

"Sure, an' it's a way we have in the ould counthry, " said Charley, putting on the brogue so easily that it seemed natural to him--whichindeed it was, as he was born not twenty miles from Cork, in theneighbourhood of which is situated the far-famed "Blarney stone, " thatis supposed to endow those who kiss it with the "gift of the gab;" andCharley must have "osculated it, " as a Yankee would say, to somepurpose. 

"Be jabers, thin, ye spalpeen, " laughed Tom--who had got out of hisgrumpy state quickly enough; for his disposition was almost aslight-hearted as that of his friend, and it was only the heat and theconfinement on board ship when in harbour that had previously oppressedhis spirits--"let us look smart, and be off. Here's that fellowTompkins just coming up the side, and I don't want any more of hiscompany than I can help! Tell him we're going by the captain'spermission, Charley. I don't want to say a word to him after that rowthis morning. You are still on speaking terms with him, and I'm not. And while you are settling matters with the old sneak, I'll get thedinghy ready, and fetch up the bottle of brandy I promised that jollyold Turk at the coffee-shop. "

"You'd better water it a bit, Tom, " said Charley, as the other wasdiving down the companion-stairs. "It's awfully strong; and you knowMohammedans are not accustomed to it. "

"Not a drop of it, my boy, " replied he, disappearing for a moment fromview, and his voice receding in the distance. "I promised the oldinfidel that he should have the real stuff, and I'll let him see that agiaour can keep his word. "

In a second or two he came up again, the bottle, however, concealed inthe pocket of his reefer of light blue serge. And hauling in thepainter of the boat, which was floating astern, while Charley was stillconfabulating with the second officer, who had come on board in themeantime, he sat himself down in her, and waited patiently till his chumhad done with the obnoxious Mr Tompkins, who seemed to have a good dealto say, and that of a not very pleasant character. "Bother the chap!"said Charley, when he was at length released, and, shinning down a rope, sat down in the stern-sheets of the dinghy, as Tom Aldridge took up thesculls and shoved off from the ship. "He's got as much to say as Noah'sgreat-grandmother. And the gist of it all, fault-finding, of course. "

"What can you expect from a pig, eh?" said Tom, philosophically, whenthe boat was well clear of the _Muscadine_, setting to work leisurelyand pulling to shore, while Charley reclined at his ease on the cushionswhich he had taken the trouble to fix up for himself, and--did nothing, as usual. 

It was the general sort of "division of labour" amongst them. 

However, they were fast friends, and, as Tom didn't complain, nobodyelse has any right to find fault. 

"A grunt, I suppose, " replied Charley, in answer to Tom's conundrum. "At least, from a Welsh pig, like Tompkins. An Irish one, bedad! wouldhave better manners. "

"Bravo, Charley!" exclaimed Tom, bursting out into a laugh in which hiscompanion as heartily joined. "You stick to your country, at allevents, which is more than can be said for our leek-eating friend. Healways wishes to deny that he belongs to the land of the Cymri and hailsfrom Swansea, as he does. The sneak! I'm sure a decent Welshman wouldbe ashamed to own him. But, don't let us worry ourselves any longerabout Tompkins; it's bad enough to have him with us on board, withoutlugging him ashore, too; hang him!"

"Ay, ay, so say I, " sang out Charley, in the best accord. 

And then, after a few more vigorous strokes from the sculls, propelledby Tom's muscular arms, the bow of the dinghy stranded on the sandyshore, and the two boys landed in the highest glee, without a trace ofthe ill-humour and despondency in which they had been apparently plungednot an hour or so before. 

STORY TWO, CHAPTER TWO. 

THE COFFEE-SHOP IN BEYROUT. 

Pushing past the crowds of busy and idle people, Greeks, Turks, Armenians, Maronites, Arabs, Frenchmen, and a few English, likethemselves, who thronged the narrow streets, which were lined on eitherside with stores built in the American fashion for the disposal ofEuropean goods; narrow Eastern shops, and bazaars and caravanserais, hung with carpets, and displaying grapes and figs, and all sorts offruit in true Oriental style; they made their way towards a Turkishcoffee-house that was situated not far from the waterside, and muchpatronised by those who, like themselves, had to do with ships andseafaring concerns--although, they did not arrive very quickly at theirdestination, for the time for the noonday halt having passed by, theusual caravans from Damascus and the interior were coming in, longtrains of camels, asses, and mules, laden with coffee, raw silk, rhubarb, untanned leather, figs, aromatic gums, and all the variedmerchandise that comes through Arabia and Persia to the ports of theLevant; and, consequently, the main thoroughfares were so blocked withthese commercial pilgrims from the desert, that it was as much as Tomand Charley could do to get along. 

They did it at length, however, by dint of shoving themselvesunceremoniously through the lookers-on who congregated to see thecaravans pass, taking no notice of the many invocations to Allah tocurse them, as "dogs of Christians, " who profaned the sacred presence ofthe followers of Islam by breathing the same air as themselves; finallyreaching the courtyard of Mohammed's khan, after much jostling andstruggling and good-natured expostulation and repartee, enlivened withmany a hearty laugh as some donkey driver came to grief with his load, or when a venerable Arab sheikh on a tall dromedary sputtered with rageat finding the way impassable and his dignity hurt. 

The Turk who kept the khan, or coffee-house, was a middle-aged man, whohad seen a good deal of all sorts of life in knocking about the world, and was so cosmopolitan in his character that he was almostdenationalised. He had a round, good-humoured face, that told asplainly as face could tell that he was no ascetic, or rigid Mussulmanbound to the edicts of the Koran, but one who liked good living as wellas most folk. 

Tom's description of him hit him off exactly; he was decidedly "a jollyold Turk"--nothing more nor less. 

On seeing the boys come in, he at once made places for them beside himon the divan, where he sat on a pile of cushions smoking a longchibouque, with a coffee-cup beside him on a little tray, that alsocontained sweetmeats, from which he took an occasional sip in theintervals, when he removed the stem of his pipe from his lips andemitted a vast volume of tobacco-smoke in one long puff. 

"Aha, my young capitan!" said he to Tom Aldridge, when they had seatedthemselves, cross-legged, as he was, and accepted the chibouques broughtto them immediately by an Arab boy, "you ver long time coming to see me. I tinks I nevare see yous no more!"

He spoke broken English, but with his genial manner and broad smile ofwelcome made himself readily understood. 

"I couldn't come before, " said Tom. "But I didn't forget you all thesame, for I've brought what I promised, the bottle of--"

"Hush-h!" interrupted old Mohammed, with a warning gesture, placing hishand before Tom's mouth. "De med-i-seen for my leg? Ah, yase, Irecollects. I am ver mooch oblige. Tanks. You'll have some cafe?"

"No, thank you, " replied Tom. "I and my friend here are sick of coffee;let us have some sherbet instead, although we don't want anything. Weonly came to have a chat with you and a smoke, that's all. "

"That is all raite, my frens. I don't like mooch coffees myselfs. Demed-i-seen is mooch bettaires, " said Mohammed, patting his stomach andgrinning again, as he winked knowingly at Tom, in a manner that wouldhave shocked a true believer, while he shouted out an order to the Arabboy. "But, de sheerbeet is goot for de leetle boys, O yase. "

"Cunning old rogue, " said Charley, aside to Tom. "He wants all thebrandy for himself, although he wouldn't like his fellow-religionists toknow that he drank it. I suppose if we wished for some, we would haveto ask for a drop of the med-i-seen. "

"Oh, he's not a bad sort, " replied Tom. "He has offered me wine many atime, and he's a generous old chap, I should think. Well, Mohammed, " hecontinued, aloud, "and how's business?"

"Ver bad, ver bad inteet, " said that worthy. "I nevare did no worse inmy loife. I shall have to shoot up de shop soon. "

"That's a good one!" exclaimed Tom. "You can tell that to the marines. I bet you've got a snug little pile of piastres stowed away somewhere. "

"P'raps I haive, " said the old Turk, nodding his head as he smiledcomplacently; "and if you young shentlemens should be vat you call `ardoop, ' I could lend you some moneys. But don't talk so loud, " he addedcautiously, casting a glance at a group of Greek sailors who weregabbling away near them, and scanning Tom and Charley curiously, "Idon't like de look of dose fellows dere, and dey might hear us talk ifdey leesten, and vill remembers. "

"What of that?" asked Charley; "I don't suppose they would understandus. "

"Aha, so you tink, " said Mohammed warily. "But dose Grecs are verknowing and oop to every ting. Dey are bad, ver bad, every one. "

As he spoke two of the Greeks separated themselves from the group, andcame over to where they were sitting, as if sent for the purpose. 

"I understand, " said one, who acted as spokesman, and addressed them inthe most perfect English, "that your captain is in want of hands?"

The question was pertinent enough, as more than half the crew were laidup in the Beyrout hospital, or lazaretto, with a sort of malarial fever, and the _Muscadine_ was only waiting for their recovery, or until enoughhands could be shipped, to enable her to pursue her voyage to her nextport, Smyrna, where she was to complete her cargo, and then sail forEngland. 

The boys of course knew this well enough, but they did not see it wasany business of the Greeks, and after Mohammed's hint as to theircharacter they resented the inquiry as a piece of impudence. 

"How do you know which is our ship?" said Charley, in Irish fashionasking another question, in lieu of answering the one addressed to him;"and if you do, whether she wants hands or not?"

He spoke rather uncivilly, but the man replied to him with studiedpoliteness. 

"I beg your pardon, sir, " said he, "but the _Muscadine_ is the onlyEnglish ship in the harbour, and any one who has travelled like myselfcould easily tell the nationality of yourself and your friend. I amaware, also, that several of your crew are laid up in hospital. "

"And supposing such is the case, " said Tom Aldridge, taking up thecudgels, "what then?"

"Only, sir, " replied the man, even more obsequiously than before, "I andseveral others here, who are in want of a ship, would be glad to signarticles with you. "

"The others you mention are Greeks like yourself, I suppose?" inquiredTom, still brusquely, as if he did not care whether he offended hisinterlocutor or not. 

"Yes, sir, " said the man, "but my countrymen are generally reckoned tomake good sailors, and ship in all sorts of vessels to all parts of theworld. "

"That may be, " answered Tom, who hardly knew what to say, "but it is noconcern of mine. You had better speak to Captain Harding about thematter; we can't engage you. "

"No?" said the man with a half sneer, half smile on his face, and heseemed about to say something nasty; but he altered his mind before heuttered the words, and completed his sentence with another civilinquiry, at which neither Tom nor Charley could take offence. "And, where can I and my friends see the captain, sir?"

"On board, any time before ten in the morning or after sunset in theevening, " said Tom curtly. 

He didn't like the man, but he was at a loss how he could put him off inany other way. 

"Thank you, sir, I'm deeply obliged for your condescension, " said theGreek, who then regained his comrades, and the group presently walkedout of the khan. 

"Bismillah!" ejaculated Mohammed as soon as the Greeks had disappeared. "Can I believe my eyes? That scoundrel has got the impudence ofSheitan, and must be in league with the spirits of Eblis. "

"Who is he? do you know him?" eagerly asked Tom and Charley almost inone breath of the Turk, who exhibited all the appearance of stupefiedastonishment. 

"Mashallah! do I know him?" gasped out Mohammed, his emotion nearlychoking him. "Allah is great and Mohammed is his prophet--do I knowhim?" he repeated, taking a long draw at his chibouque as if to calm hisnerves, while he lay back for a moment motionless amid his cushions. 

"Well, who on earth is he, Mohammed?" demanded Tom abruptly--"that is, unless the a--medicine--has got into your head. "

While the Greek had been talking to Charley in the first instance, itmay be mentioned that Tom had dexterously transferred the bottle ofbrandy to the keeping of the Turk, who had secreted it behind his back, after turning half aside and pouring out a pretty good dose into hiscoffee-cup, all with the most rapid legerdemain as if he were apractical conjuror. 

"Effendi, " said Mohammed with dignity, "you insult me by such a remark. The sight of that man--that Grec, that villainous piratt, quiteoverwhelmed me. "

"Pirate!" said Charley, for Tom was too much abashed by the Turk'srebuke to speak. 

"Yes, piratt, " repeated Mohammed firmly. "That would-be simple Grecsailor, as he represented himself to you, was no one else than DemetriPedrovanto, better known in the Aegean Sea, as `The Corsair of Chios. 'There's a price of ten thousand piastres on his head. Mashallah! Howhe dares show himself in Beyrout, amongst the enemy he has plundered, Iknow not. However, kismet! 'tis his fate, I suppose. "

"Are you sure?" asked Charley, who was inclined to think that Mohammedwas cramming them. 

"Effendi, throw dirt on my beard if I lie. It is Demetri Pedrovanto, sure enough. "

"But I never heard of pirates being about in these waters, with so manyFrench and English cruisers going backwards and forwards in theneighbourhood, " observed Tom. 

"Aha, you Inglese and Frenchmans don't know everyting!" said the Turklaconically, after emitting another volume of smoke, which he had beenapparently accumulating all the time he had been speaking previously. "There are alway piratts in dese seas, and always will be, as long asGrecs are Grecs!"

"Ah, you say that because you are a Turk, " said Charley chaffingly. 

"No, no, no, " replied Mohammed, shaking his head vehemently. "I'm notone great bigot because I have been born under the crescent. I amcosmopolitaine. You ask your consul, or ze Americans, dey will tell youthe same. All dose Grecs are piratts, and dem as isn't piratts arebrigands, tiefs, every one. "

"Well, you've got a very good opinion of them at any rate, " said Tom. "I wonder what the beggar spoke to us for, eh? If he is the man yousay, I don't suppose he would have the cheek to go on board the_Muscadine_. "

"No, I should think not, " agreed Charley; "and if he does, the skipperwill soon overhaul his papers, and then find him out. "

"Aha, ah!" grunted out Mohammed. "De Grec is one ver clevaire rogue, and would sheet Sheitan himself. "

"Who is he?" asked Charley innocently. "I heard you mention himbefore. "

"De Debble!" answered the Turk, so gravely that both the young fellowsburst out into such paroxysms of laughter that Mohammed thought theywere ridiculing him, and they had much difficulty in assuring him to thecontrary. Indeed, it was not until late in the evening, after they haddinner of kebabs and coffee and their host had imbibed several cups ofhis "med-i-seen, " that he grew friendly again; and then, he was socordial that he wept over them at their departure, and assured them thathe loved them as his own children, as his brothers, as his father, nay, even as his great-grandfather, who had borne the standard of the prophetin the annual pilgrimage to Mecca!

When Tom and Charley got on board the _Muscadine_, they saw only thesecond officer, Mr Tompkins, who after telling them that they were verylate, and that the captain had turned in long since, said they might gobelow; which of course, as the ship was in harbour and only an anchorwatch kept, when their services were not required, they were extremelygrateful for, and turned in accordingly, without giving a thought totheir rencontre at the khan. 

The next morning, however, when they came on deck they saw three or fourGreek sailors lounging about the foc's'le, and Mohammed's warningrecurred to there with startling significance. 

"Who are those men?" asked Charley of Mr Tompkins, who was in commandof the vessel for the time being, Captain Harding, the skipper, havinggone ashore, and the chief mate being invalided with those of the crewwho were in the lazaretto. 

"Some new hands the captain shipped last night, " answered he; "and ifyou've any more business ashore, Master Onslow, you'd better look sharpabout it, as we're going to sail as soon as we've obtained pratique, which will be about four bells, I reckon. "

"But, does Cap'en Harding know about them?" asked Tom, sinking hisobjection to having any conversation with the second officer in theurgency of the occasion. 

"You mind your own business, you young dog, " said Tompkins, glad to havethe opportunity of snubbing Tom. "I suppose you would like to commandthis ship, but you sha'n't while I'm on board. "

"You cad!" muttered Tom under his breath, as he walked away forward tolook at the men more closely. "I wish I had you on land for a quiethalf hour, and I'd soon take the starch out of you!"

"None of your jaw, " shouted the second mate as a parting shot. "I hearyou, and if you speak another word I'll have you put in irons formutiny, " swearing also a fearful oath. So Tom had to put up with theother's language and nurse his wrath until the skipper came on board. 

When Charley joined him presently, they took note of the new additionsto the crew, who were altogether eight in number; but to their surprisethey did not see the Greek among them whom Mohammed had indicated asbeing the far-famed corsair; and on their comparing their views theyboth agreed that the worthy Turk must have been "slinging the hatchet"at their expense, or else mistaken about the supposed pirate. 

On Captain Harding coming off, however, they thought it their duty totell him what they heard; but the skipper, who was a bold bluff Englishsailor, laughed the Turk's warning to scorn, and joked the young fellowsfor taking any notice of it. 

"What! Mohammed told you, the keeper of the khan by the Capuchinmonastery. My dear boys, he was only humbugging you. I saw the oldrascal this very morning hauled up before the cadi, for being drunk andkicking up a row. He must be able to spin a fine yarn when he has amind to. There are no pirates nowadays in the Mediterranean; and if wedo come across any, I believe the _Muscadine_ will be able to give agood account of them. Pirates! bless my soul, what a tremendous liarthat old Turk must be! Those Greeks I've shipped are honest sailorsenough; for I've examined their papers, and had them before our consul. Besides, I've told them what sort of discipline I keep on board my ship;and they are not likely to try and come the old soldier over me--not ifJohn Harding knows it!"

"But, captain, " put in Tom. 

The skipper wouldn't hear any more, however. "Now get to your stations, lads, " said he, to show that the private interview was at an end. "MrAldridge, I must make you acting second officer in Mr Tompkins' place, as I've promoted him to poor Wilson's berth until he can join me atSmyrna, as I'm bound to start at once now that I have filled-up thevacancies amongst my crew. Charley Onslow, remain aft with me. Allhands up anchor, and make sail!"

In a short time the men working together with a will, and the new handsspecially distinguishing themselves for their activity in so marked amanner as to call forth the approval of the generally grumbling MrTompkins--although, perhaps, he praised them because Tom and Charley hadsuspected them--the _Muscadine_ had her anchor at the catheads; and, hertopsails having been dropped long before, was sailing gaily out ofBeyrout harbour, under the influence of the land-breeze that sprang uptowards the afternoon, blowing briskly off shore. 

When she had got a good offing, and the mountains of Lebanon began tosink below the horizon in the distance as she bowled along merrily onher north-western course, a long way to the southward of Cyprus, bearingup direct for the Archipelago, a keen observer on board might havenoticed something that looked strange, at all events on the face of it. 

No sooner had the shades of evening begun to fall than a long lowsuspicious-looking vessel crept out from the lee of the land, andfollowed right in the track of the _Muscadine_, as if in chase of theEnglish ship. 

It was a swift-sailing lateen-rigged felucca, one of those crafts thatare common enough in Eastern waters, especially in the Levant. 

She spread a tremendous amount of canvas; and leaping through the seawith the pace of a dolphin, came up with the doomed merchantman handover hand. 

STORY TWO, CHAPTER THREE. 

FRIENDS IN COUNCIL. 

The _Muscadine_ when she left England had a crew of some twenty hands, or with the captain, and first and second mates, and our friends Tom andCharley, twenty-five men altogether--a very fair average, as theproportion of the seamen usually borne in merchant ships is at the rateof about three to every hundred tons of the vessel's burthen. 

Through the illness, however, of the fust officer, Mr Wilson, anamiable man and a thorough sailor, whom everybody liked--quite thereverse of the odious Tompkins, Tom's and Charley's special bete-noir--and a large number of the seamen, whom they were forced to leave behindin hospital at Beyrout, the complement of the ship was much reduced, andher crew now mustered, officers and men, but twenty in number, of whichtotal twelve were Englishmen who had originally belonged to her, andeight the Greeks whom the captain had so suddenly shipped at the lastmoment. 

"It's a good job that Cap'en Harding didn't get any more of thoseblessed Greeks aboard: they're almost equal to us now, man for man, "said Tom to Charley, who on this first night of their being at sea afterso long a detention in port was performing an act of not altogetherdisinterested friendship in sharing the first watch on deck of thenewly-promoted "second mate, " as he would persist in addressing Tom. 

"Yes, sir; I think you are about right, sir, " replied Charley, with amock deference, which made Tom grin in spite of his endeavours topreserve a dignified composure. "Is there anything else, sir, you'dlike me to say, sir?"

"Only, that I'll kick you in the lee scuppers if you call me `sir'again. But, Charley, joking aside, I don't like us having all thoseGreeks here, and we so short-handed too. "

"Don't you see that that is the precise reason why they are here, mostsapient of second officers? if we hadn't been short-handed the cap'enwouldn't have shipped them. "

"Yes, yes, I know that, " replied the other shortly. "You don't seem tofollow me, Charley, really. What I meant to point out was, that thereare only twelve of us belonging to the ship on whom we could rely--indeed only eleven, for that matter, as I don't count on Tompkins; abully like him would be sure to show the white-feather in a scrimmage--while these Greek chaps muster eight strong, all of them pretty biggishmen, too, and all armed with them beastly long knives of theirs, whichI've no doubt they know how to use. "

"Bless you, Tom, Cap'en Harding would be a match for half-a-dozen ofthem with his revolver; and you and I would be able to master the othertwo, without calling for aid on any of the foremast hands, or relying onyour chum Tompkins. How fond you're of him, Tom!"

"Hang Tompkins, and you too, Charley! You can't be serious for amoment!"

"Oh yes I can, Tom; and I will be, now! I tell you what, old chap, yoursudden promotion has disagreed with you, and you are trying tomanufacture a mountain out of a molehill. Those Greeks are not suchfools to attack us unless they gained over the rest of the crew on theirside; and you know that's impossible; for every Englishman forward nowin the foc's'le I'd stake my life on; and so would you, Tom, as they'veshipped with old Harding every voyage he has sailed since he's beencaptain of the craft. You've got a fit of the blue-devils or something, Tom, that makes you so unlike yourself; or else that blessed old Turk'snonsense made a deeper impression on you than it has on me!"

"You're right, Charley, " said Tom Aldridge, giving himself a shake as ifto dispel his strange forebodings. "I don't know what has come over meto-night. Of course, if those beggars should rise, we could whop themeasily enough. To tell you the truth, I shouldn't mind if they did, ifTompkins only got a knock on the head in the fight!"

"Bravo, Tom! that's more like yourself! But isn't your watch nearlyover? It must be six bells by now; the moon is getting up. "

"So it is, Charley I wish you would call that beast for me; it's time hewas on deck. "

"All right!" shouted the other with a laugh, scuttling down, andhammering at the first mate's cabin-door, so loudly that Tom could hearhim plainly above, and also Mr Tompkins' deeply growled oaths inresponse to the summons, after it was repeated once more with all thestrength of the middy's fists beating a tattoo. 

"He'll be here in a minute, " said Charley, as he hurried up thecompanion in advance of the gentleman he had called to relieve Tom'swatch; although Tompkins came pretty close behind him, swearing still, and glaring at the two young fellows in the moonlight as if he could"eat them without salt, " as Charley said. 

Before going below, Tom gave the first mate the ship's course, as wascustomary, "nor'-west and by north, " reporting also that all was rightand nothing in sight, no vessel had passed them during the night; andthen he and Charley turned into their bunks, with the expectation ofhaving a better "caulk" than they had had all the time the _Muscadine_had lain at anchor in Beyrout Roads, for while there, the heat andlassitude produced by their having almost nothing to do had so banishedsleep that they hardly cared when the time came for their "watch below. "Now, however, it was all different; as what with the bustle ofpreparation in storing the last of their cargo, and seeing to thoseendless little matters which had to be put in ship-shape manner beforethe anchor was weighed, and the actual departure itself, their time hadbeen fully occupied nearly from dawn to sundown, and their feet andhands busy enough in running about on deck and aloft, directing the crewunder the captain's orders, and lending assistance where wanted. So itwas with the comfortable assurance of having earned their four hours'rest that they went below that first night at sea. 

"I guess old Tompkins will have to rap pretty loud to make me budge ateight bells, " said Tom with a portentous yawn, as he peeled off hisreefing jacket and turned in "all standing, " as he expressed it, withthe exception of his boots. He was too tired to undress; and besides, he thought, in his lazy way, what was the use of his doing so when hewould have to turn out again and relieve the first mate at four o'clockin the morning, just as he was beginning to enjoy himself. 

"By George, a sailor's life is a dog's life!" he muttered out aloud. 

"What, eh?" sleepily murmured Charley from the other bunk adjacent, thetwo occupying one cabin between them; and, presently, the pair were"wrapped in the arms of Morpheus, " and snoring like troopers in concert, the captain playing a nasal obligato from his state-room in thedistance, whither he had retired a short time before themselves, afterbeing satisfied that the ship was proceeding well on her course andeverything all right. 

And all this time the _Muscadine_ was bowling so favourably along at therate of some eight knots an hour, carrying with her the fair wind withwhich she had started from port, the felucca that had left the Syriancoast shortly after still followed in her track, although hull-down onthe horizon, and her white lateen sails only just dimly discernible to asharp eye that was looking out for her, under the rays of the risingmoon, which now emerged from the waste of water that surrounded the twovessels with its fathomless expanse. But who on board the merchant shipsuspected that they were pursued or looked out for the felucca, deadastern as she was, and only a tiny speck on the ocean?

STORY TWO, CHAPTER FOUR. 

THE STRANGE SAIL. 

Mr Tompkins, the late second and now first officer of the _Muscadine_, besides possessing a nasty, grumbling, fault-finding temper for thebenefit of those under him, and a mean, sly, sneaking sort of way ofingratiating himself with his superiors, was as obstinate as a mule, andone of those men who would have his way, if he could, no matter whatmight be the consequences. When he was able, as was the case with themen he was unfortunate enough to command, he bullied those who mightdiffer from him into acquiescence with his views; with those over him inauthority he adopted another course, that of wheedling and slavish"shoe-scraping, " as Tom Aldridge termed it; but in both instances hegenerally succeeded in carrying his point, and arranging things in themanner he had previously made up his mind to. 

Now, with eight strange hands, and those foreigners, who had lately comeon board, any reasonable person would have naturally divided them fourand four in each watch, thus mixing them up with the eight English ableseamen left of the _Muscadine's_ original crew; but no, Mr Tompkins wasof a different opinion, and what was more, carried round Captain Hardingto his way of thinking, much to Tom and Charley's surprise. It was noton account of the new first mate having any ulterior designs on the shipor cargo--that idea may be dismissed at once, for he neither had thevillainy nor pluck for such a proceeding. His real object was, thatthese new men were all fresh to the vessel and had not yet anyexperience of his persuasive ways; unlike the old hands, who knew MrTompkins so well that they hated him and shirked work when he was to thefore--and by getting them all into his watch matters would be able to goeasy with him, and he would be able to astonish everybody by the way inwhich he got the duty done when he had charge of the ship, instead ofhaving to call on the assistance of the skipper when his orders were notobeyed, as had frequently been the case before. 

He did not tell Captain Harding this, however. His explanation of theproposed plan was, that the men, being all Greeks, would work bettertogether, as they had already shown when making sail; and, as heunderstood Lingua Franca, which all foreign sailors can speak, he couldmanage them better than "such a boy as young Aldridge, " who might getalong well enough with the old hands who knew him, but would bepowerless to exercise any authority over those foreigners, who wanted aman to drill them. 

"Very well, Tompkins, " said Captain Harding, when the first mate hadwell-nigh deluged him with his reasons. "I suppose you know best; andas you've got to see to the working of the ship you can have your ownway, though what you can see to prefer those ill-looking beggars todecent British tars I'm sure I can't understand. I'm glad you're notafraid of them, at any rate?"

"Afraid, sir!" repeated Tompkins scornfully, with any amount ofbraggadocia. "These foreigners only want you to let them see you aremaster, and they're tame enough. It is only from want of firmness thatany trouble ever breaks out when they're on board an English ship. Theyneed a strict hand over them, that's all. "

"All right, Tompkins. Only don't bully them too much, you know!" saidthe captain good-humouredly, for he was sufficiently acquainted with thefirst mate's pleasant way of ordering the men about to be aware that hedid not err on the side of leniency in exercising his authority, as hecomplained that his subordinate officer Tom did. 

And thus it happened that when Tom and Charley went below and joinedCaptain Harding in his slumbers, the deck was left in sole possession ofMr Tompkins and the eight Greek sailors, with the suspicious-lookingfelucca creeping up rapidly astern, and getting nearer and nearer to the_Muscadine_ each hour. 

A stern-chase is proverbially a long one. And so, although thelight-winged craft that was following the ship sailed three feet to hertwo; yet she had such a long start, and the breeze was so fair and deadaft--which was all in favour of a square-rigged vessel and against afore-and-after, that sails best with the wind abeam--that the feluccawas still some five miles off when day broke and the chief mate firstdiscovered her. 

He was not alone in his discovery either, for he noticed that a part ofthe watch were looking over the bulwarks at the approaching vessel, andfrom their gesticulations and rapid speech in their own language hethought something was up. 

Calling one of the Greek sailors, named in the ship's articles"Pollydorry, " as the captain had put him down, whom he thought he couldbetter make understand that version of "Lingua Franca" which hepretended to know, the mate interrogated him as to what he knew of thefelucca, and what was her intention in trying to overhaul them. Theman, however, only shrugged his shoulders, and jabbered something whichhe could make nothing of; and as the group then ceased speakingtogether, or paying any attention to the stranger, Mr Tompkins put downtheir excitable demeanour to their being only foreigners, and theirnatural way of going on, so unlike the stolid British seafaring man, whohardly notices anything except it specially concerns him, and even thenkeeps what he thinks to himself. 

As it was getting near the time, however, for him to be relieved of hiswatch and go off duty--although it still wanted half an hour to fourbells, when it was Tom Aldridge's turn to come on deck again and call upthe other men below--he thought he would give Charley Onslow a hail inthe meantime, to come up and keep him company until then. Not that hewas a bit alarmed at the approach of the felucca, as he said to himself, or that he was anyway at all frightened at being alone on deck with theGreek sailors when so many more of their comrades might be so close athand. But it was always best to be on the safe side, and there wasnothing like a man in authority, as he was, taking due precautionagainst any possible danger, no matter how remote. 

Thus trying to cheat his own conscience, Mr Tompkins sang out forCharley down the companion, awaking him from the soundest sleep he hadhad for weeks with the echoes of his melodious voice. 

"Just like the braying of a jackass afflicted with bronchitis, " asCharley said afterwards ruefully, to his chum. 

Much to the first mate's annoyance, he not only awoke Charley, but Tomalso; both the lads coming on deck together. 

"I didn't call you, Mr Aldridge, " he said angrily. "My watch is notover yet. "

"I'm quite aware of that, " said Tom. "But no fellow could go to sleepafter such a hideous row as you made. And besides"--looking at hiswatch--"I'm due in another twenty minutes, so I thought I had bettercome up with Charley, since I was woke up. Hullo! what is that?" headded, glancing astern at the felucca, which was now almost withinspeaking distance, and coming on as if she were going to sheeralongside. "What the deuce is that piratical-looking craft running usaboard like that for? If I were you, Mr Tompkins, I would signal themto stand off, and call up the captain and the other watch. "

"I will thank you to mind your own business, Mr Aldridge, " replied thechief mate, not at all pleased with the suggestion. "If you are soterribly alarmed at the sight of a common Levantine coaster, you hadbetter go below again. "

And he turned on his heel, leaving Tom burning with indignation athaving his courage questioned and being taunted of being frightened, especially by such a person as Mr Tompkins. 

The felucca was barely a cable's length off now, and in another minuteshe passed underneath the _Muscadine's_ stern so closely that they couldhave chucked a biscuit on board her. 

"Schooner ahoy!" hailed Mr Tompkins. "What's the matter? Do you wantanything?"

But no reply was made directly, although the felucca luffed up a bit, and ran for a second or two almost alongside, the ship's main-yard justtouching her reed-like masts, and a voice uttered a few words rapidly inGreek, which Charley, although he had a smattering of the language, could not quite understand, although the foreign sailors on board theirvessel evidently did, as they replied in the same tongue. And then thedapper little craft's lateen sails filled again as her helm was putdown, and she flow away from the _Muscadine_, sailing on a bowline, andheeling over to the wind so as to display half her keel as she toppedthe waves, just as if the other vessel had been lying still in thewater, although she was going a good eight knots by the log in the samedirection. 

"Did you see that fellow's face on board the felucca who spoke to ourmen, Charley?" asked Tom anxiously. 

"No, " said Charley. "But I heard his voice, and that was enough forme. "

"Oh, you recognised him, then?"

"Yes. I could swear, only from his voice, that he was the same man whospoke to us in Mohammed's coffee-shop at Beyrout. He had a mostpeculiar twang in his speech, which I noticed at the time. "

"It was the same chap, Charley; I saw him distinctly. I wouldn't be atall surprised that Mohammed was right, and that he is a `piratt, ' as hecalled him. But if he is after us, I wonder why he didn't board usthen. That felucca was crammed full of men. "

"Ah, piracy would be rather risky work in these seas, with lots ofmen-of-war about; at all events, in broad daylight, as it is now. Fromthe distance the ship has run, we can't be very far off Cyprus, and thepirate, if pirate he be, knows well enough that an English frigate hasbeen stationed there ever since we occupied the island. I've no doubt, however, Tom, that he is after us, for I heard, as well as I could makeout, from what I know of the language, two phrases, `In a couple ofnights' time, ' and `Look out for the signal, ' while the Greek sailorshere said, `It's all right on board, ' as if they had arrangedeverything. I don't like it at all, Tom. What a murderous lot offellows they are, and what a fool that Tompkins is to insist on havingthem all in one watch!"

"We'll tell the captain what we've heard and seen, " replied Tom. 

But at that moment the first mate, who had gone down into the waist ofthe ship to confer with the Greeks, returned, rubbing his hands and witha scornful smile on his face. 

"A nice thing it would have been if I had gone below and wakened up thecaptain to tell him that a fruit-boat from Rosetta was going to run usdown!" said he ironically, speaking at Tom, although he did not directlyaddress him. 

"Rosetta does not lie astern of us, " said the latter aside, as if toCharley. "And they didn't answer your hail, at all events!"

"Pray, sir, did you understand what they said?" said the mate angrily, speaking this time straight to Tom. "No, " he replied. 

"Well, then, I do, and I will thank you to hold your tongue. The menhave told me all about it. Those fellows in the schooner had lost theirreckoning and didn't quite know where they were, and our men, speakingGreek of course, told them. "

"And I wonder how they knew?" said Tom. The first mate was posed for amoment, but he quickly recovered himself. 

"I suppose any one without being a sailor could tell them that as we'verun more than a hundred miles since we left Beyrout yesterday afternoon, and gone in a nor'-westerly course, we must be a little to the southwardof Cyprus. But, I'll thank you to mind your own business, as I told youbefore, Mr Aldridge. "

"It is my business, " said Tom, "and I'll take care to tell CaptainHarding of it. "

"Tell the cap'en and be--" said Mr Tomkins in a rage. "But I'll saveyou the trouble, I will tell him myself, " he added a moment afterwards, dashing down into the cabin, and leaving Tom to dismiss his watch andtake over the duty without another word. 

"That's pretty behaviour!" said Tom to Charley. "I call that relievinga fellow in proper style. No unnecessary ceremony at all. "

"Well, you brought it on yourself, Tom, " said Charley, with asympathising grin. "You will badger him so. I suppose, now you aresecond officer, you intend paying him back for old snubs, eh?"

"I don't want to notice the beggar at all, " replied the other. "Iwouldn't have spoken to him then if it hadn't been my duty to do so. Heis a pig, though. I daresay he hasn't told the captain anything at all, as he hasn't come up. "

"You let him alone for making his story right, " said Charley. "CaptainHarding hasn't come on deck because there's nothing to call him; forthat mysterious craft is hull-down now and almost out of sight ahead. "

Such was the case; and when the captain did turn out at breakfast timehe had heard the first mate's version of the affair, and as the feluccahad now quite disappeared below the horizon, altogether pooh-poohedTom's account of having recognised Mohammed's "corsair, " even althoughCharley backed him up by his statement of what he had heard say inconversation with the stranger. 

"Avast there, my dear boys!" said he, speaking good-humouredly to them, as he always did. "That rascally old Turk so stuffed you up with hislying yarns, that you've got pirates on the brain. "

Captain Harding, however, did one thing that pleased them, especiallyTom, to whom it gave the greatest satisfaction. 

Despite the first mate's protest, he remodelled the two watches intowhich the crew were divided, putting four of the Greek sailors with anequal number of English Jack tars in each, so that should any "littleunpleasantness, " as he laughingly observed, occur, the foreigners wouldnot have it all their own way. 

Mr Tompkins's chagrin when this was effected was delightful to Tom, although he suffered from it, as the first mate, ascribing to hissuggestion the credit of the new arrangement, vented his spite on himaccordingly, and tried to make his duties as difficult for him as hecould. 

Nothing was seen further all that day, or the next night, of thefelucca, although Tom never went below for a single watch even when histime for relief came--except for meals, of course--remaining on deck andkeeping a sharp lookout towards every point of the compass, not onlyduring his own time of duty but in that of the chief mate as well, despite the latter's broad hints and insulting remarks that his absencewould be more agreeable than his company. So, when the following daylikewise passed without any reappearance of the suspicious stranger, both the lads began to think that their fear of being attacked bypirates was only a chimera, founded, as the captain had said, onMohammed's fabulous narrative; for Charley had been quite as nervous inthe matter as Tom, and had shared his anxious watch with him all throughever since he had recognised the Greek on board the felucca. 

Accordingly, the two, their apprehensions quite allayed, turned intogether again on the third night the _Muscadine_ was at sea, withoutany greater anticipation of something being about to happen, beyond theusual disagreeables of a sailor's life, than they had the first eveningafter they left port--both quitting the deck about just the same time asthen, too, when Tom was relieved by the first mate at six bells. 

"Isn't that a sail out there, Charley, right in the wind's-eye?" saidTom as they turned to descend the companion-stairs, pointing to whatlooked like a white speck, far-away off in the direction he had named. 

"A sail be hanged!" exclaimed Charley. "I never saw such a fellow in mylife. You are like Don Quixote, who fancied every windmill a giant. Ibelieve that blessed felucca haunts you in your sleep!"

"No, really, Charley, I didn't think it was her. I meant another sortof sail. But I was mistaken, for I can see nothing now. "

"That's always the way with you, Tom. It strikes me that all your sailsare sells. "

At which brilliant piece of wit on Charley's part both lads laughed soloudly that Mr Tomkins thought they were making fun at his expense, andit was gall and wormwood to him as he paced the deck on the windwardside; and "the two inseparables, " as Captain Harding dubbed them, thenturned in without any further palaver save a brief "good-night, " beingsoon wafted happily into the land of dreams. 

A tolerably fast vessel for her size, and in fair sailing trim, as shewas only half-loaded--being unable to complete her cargo at Beyrout, whence her going out of her way, as it were, to Smyrna from thence--the_Muscadine_, with the good breeze she had at starting, which hadsubsequently increased into a very favourable wind, strong, but not toostrong to prevent her carrying all plain sail, had made such use of herlegs, as sailors say, that she had by this time run over 500 miles fromher point of departure, and before morning the captain expected theywould sight the southernmost point of Rhodes, and be able to enter thechannel between that island and Scarpanto. 

He had therefore issued strict injunctions about a sharp lookout beingkept forward, stationing one of the English crew in each watch there forthat purpose--as he said he didn't believe in any foreigner's eyesightwhere a ship was concerned--just when he was leaving the deck, which wasshortly before Tom and Charley, giving orders at the same time that heshould be called as soon as anything was perceived; and theseinstructions Tom, as the second officer, passed on, as in duty bound, toMr Tompkins when he relieved him, the first mate receiving them, as henow invariably did any statement from his junior, with a characteristicgrunt!

There is really no other word in the English language to express themeaning of the ejaculative sound he made, which signified, equally, acquiescence, approval, disapproval, or anything. 

It was now midnight. 

The captain, Tom and Charley, and one of the English hands who acted assteward, were down below asleep aft, and three English sailors and fourGreeks were supposed to be in the same somnolent condition in thefoc's'le; and, on deck, were the first mate and four more Englishmen, one of whom was on duty as lookout forward, and another taking his turnat the wheel; while four of the foreigners and the remaining two Britishseamen lounged about the waist, or stood grouped around themainmast-bitts amidships, attentive to the orders of the officer of thewatch, who, being not in the best of tempers, as usual, did not let themlong remain idle for a spell. 

That was the situation when the first mate called out, after glancing athis watch, to "make it eight bells;" and almost at the same moment thelookout man forward sang out lustily, in a voice that rang through theship, "Land ho!"

Whether it was the sound of the ship's bell that gave the signal, evidently preconcerted beforehand, or the cry that land was in sight, only the Greek sailors knew; but, at all events, it roused them in asecond to action, for with a fierce cry the four foreigners who wereamidships rushed on the two Englishmen that shared their watch, drawingtheir knives and stabbing them desperately as they fell upon them. 

"Murder! Help!" sang out the poor Jack tars; but, though caughtunawares, they made a hard fight for their lives, one, anorth-countryman, although stabbed in several places, snatching up acapstan bar and braining the Greek nearest him like a bullock. 

At the same time, the four other Greeks who were down below in theforecastle and supposed to be sleeping, crept up the hatchway forward, slipping on the cover as they got on deck, and went to the assistance oftheir companions, who, being thus reinforced, made short work of the twoEnglishmen, who presently sank senseless on the deck which was welteringwith their gore, and then rushed aft in a body, brandishing their knivesand shouting like demons. 

Mr Tompkins showed himself the coward he was, as Tom had anticipated;for, after hammering on the top of the cabin skylight to rouse thosebelow, with a belaying pin he had grasped hold of at the sight of thestruggle in the waist, he incontinently scuttled up the mizzen shrouds, displaying an agility of which one would have never thought him capable. The steersman followed his example; while the lookout man forward, hearing the yells and groans of his comrades, and seeing what was up, took refuge in the foretop, thus leaving the seven remaining Greeks, oneor two of whom had suffered in the fray, practically masters of theship, which was yawing about like a drunken man, and backing and fillingas she veered this way and that without any guidance or control, nobodybeing at the helm. 

Two of the Greeks placing themselves on either side of the cabin hatchto give a warm reception to the captain and the rest of the Englishmenwhom the noise had fully wakened up, for they were heard stirring below, the remainder distributed themselves in the rigging, and started anexciting hunt after the three who had sought safety aloft. 

The steersman was the first caught, and the sweep of a knife bladeacross the rope end by which he had lowered himself from the extreme tipof the mizzen yard-arm, sent him dropping into the sea with a faintdespairing scream; but, the first mate and lookout man led them a finedance, up the shrouds on one side and down on the other, and shiftingfrom the mizzen to the mainmast, and from that to the foretop again bysliding down the stays, or catching hold of the falls and halliards whenthe pursuit grew too hot--until both parties, the hunters and the huntedalike, paused for a moment to draw breath. 

As they did so, the two Englishmen who were now together in themizzen-top, and the Greeks who were ascending the shrouds on eitherhand--the former looking down on the quarter-deck below them, and thelatter gazing towards the land that had just been sighted--uttered as ifin chorus an exclamation of joy, the echo of which from the othersseemed to bewilder both the Greeks and Englishmen. 

It was a curious coincidence, the opposite causes for the gratulation oneither side coming together as it were, but so it was. 

At the very moment the mutineers had stopped in their murderous chase ofthe first mate and the remaining British sailor, Captain Harding, holding a revolver in each hand, came up through the cabin skylight, asif propelled by some hidden machinery below--Tom, Charley, and thesteward, all armed to the teeth, jumping up after him. 

"Death to the traitorous scoundrels!" exclaimed Captain Harding, levelling the revolver in his right hand at one of the Greeks whoremained by the companion, paralysed by the unexpected appearance ofthose below from a quarter he had never imagined, while he was lookingout for them in a different direction. 

A flash. Bang! and the man fell dead in his tracks; while Tom gave theother Greek sentry a wipe over the head with a cutlass, which also senthim to the deck. 

Just then, however, the felucca, which had been lost sight of sosuddenly, and which no one had seen approaching the ship but thedesperadoes aloft, and even they only at the end of the struggle--seemedto start up out of the deep in some mysterious fashion close to the_Muscadine_, and sheered alongside, with a triumphant cheer from thebrutal-visaged ruffians who lined her deck that made Tom and Charley'sblood run cold!

STORY TWO, CHAPTER FIVE. 

CONQUERED, NOT BEATEN!

The situation had assumed a new phase. 

Inspirited by the proximity of the pirate craft, with their comrades onboard, the Greek sailors in the rigging, abandoning their pursuit of thefirst mate and the lookout man--a brave fellow named Jack Bower--beganto descend the ratlins rapidly, with the view of making an onslaught onthe captain and the others that were in possession of the quarter-deck, Jack, however, following closely after them now without a trace of fear, resolving to aid his fellow-countrymen in making a stand, although hehad given them leg-bail when he stood alone against them, as the firstmate had abandoned him at the wheel the moment the Greeks rushed aft, and even now remained trembling in the mizzen-top, instead of backing upJack, and taking the mutineers in the rear as they scrambled down theshrouds without looking behind them. 

The courage of the latter, however, did not suffice to take them veryfar. 

The foremost man had hardly descended two steps, when "crack!" wentCaptain Harding's revolver; and, reeling backwards, his hands cleavingthe air vainly for a hold, the Greek sailor toppled over into the seawith a splash, and sank like a stone to the bottom, dead as a herring!

Another would have followed suit, for the captain had recocked hispistol, and was in the act of taking aim, when a stern, commanding voiceexclaimed, in accents that rang through the ship--

"Hold!"

Captain Harding, without lowering his weapon, looked hastily forwardfrom whence this unexpected summons appeared to come; and there he saw asight which might well make even a courageous man quail. The feluccahad been run alongside the _Muscadine_ forward, under cover of themainsail, her bow right under the ship's counter, and a crowd of fierce, bearded ruffians were pouring on board as fast as they could clamber upthe side, led by a tall, athletic fellow, dressed rather better thanthemselves, with a crimson sash folded round his waist, who was so muchin advance of his villainous crew that he was close upon the group onthe quarter-deck before they were almost conscious of his presence. Itwas his voice, the voice and face of the man who had accosted Tom andCharley in the Turk Mohammed's coffee-house at Beyrout, and whom they atonce now recognised again, that had arrested the action of the captain--although only for an instant, as, undismayed by the numbers now opposedto him, and conscious that his little band and himself must be defeatedin the long run, and meet their death in the struggle, he shifted hisaim, and pointed his revolver without hesitation at the leader. 

"Hold!" repeated the pirate chief again in warning accents, before thecaptain could fire. "Another shot, and I won't answer for your lives!"

"And who are you, sir, who dares to attack a peaceful merchant vessel onthe high seas in this fashion?" demanded Captain Harding, withoutfaltering, and still keeping his pistol levelled at the head of theother, who faced it with the utmost sangfroid, although he couldperceive that the English sailor's blood was up and his finger tremblingon the trigger. 

"One who dares anything and everything, and never embarks in anyenterprise unless he has weighed the consequences and can carry itthrough to a successful termination!" replied the desperado, with anassumption of stern dignity that was in harmony with his stalwart formand reckless air. "But, come, " he continued, sinking his tone ofbravado, and speaking in the same easy, polite manner which Charley hadspecially noticed when he addressed Tom and himself in the khan--amanner that showed a very considerably greater amount of breeding thancould have been expected from a common seaman, --"you must see that youare powerless to resist us. "

"There are six of us, " interrupted Captain Harding, "and we can at allevents make a fight for it!"

"To what purpose?" retorted the other. "You are six, truly; but two ofyour party are boys, and one a coward who wouldn't be of much help"--glancing as he spoke from Tom and Charley, who stood beside the captainprepared to aid him to their last breath, upward to the mizzen-top, where the craven-faced Tompkins stood, looking down too much frightenedto stir. 

"Well, what then?" said the captain, impatiently. "Be quick with yourpalaver or I'll fire. "

"You'll do so at your peril, " retorted the other. "Captain Harding, youare a brave man, or I wouldn't waste so many words on you or spare yourlife. You are powerless to resist us, as I said before, for you are butsix in number, including your boys and that cur aloft; you have threeother men down in the foc's'le, but they cannot join you. We are fifty. Show yourselves, my lads, " he cried to his followers, who instantlyranged themselves, across the _Muscadine_ four deep, exhibiting theirfull strength, which was even more than he had stated. 

"You see!" said the pirate chief, complacently. "Look, and count them. "

"I see that we're outnumbered by a gang of cut-throats, " said CaptainHarding, bitterly. 

"Gently, my friend, " said the other, suavely. "Some of my menunderstand English like myself, and might not relish your compliments, although, as a man of the world, I can make excuses for you--ah--want oftact; yes, that's the word, is it not?"

"Cease your humbugging, sir, and come to the point, " said the captain, trying to curb his anger, which he could hardly control in the face ofthe pirate's cynical impertinence. Had it not been for the sake of theboys by his side he would have let drive at the scoundrel at once, andrisked his fate. 

"That's just what I am about to do, " said the other coolly, not one whitput out of his even temper apparently. "You confess you areoutnumbered? Good! I, on my part, do not wish for any furtherbloodshed, if I can effect my purpose without it. Besides which, I haveconceived quite an affection for you and those young gentlemen there, whom I first had the pleasure of meeting at Beyrout. Good morning, signors, " he interposed, taking off his Greek cap and bowing politely toTom and Charley. "It is morning, for it's nearly one o'clock now. Ihope I see you well? But to resume, captain. As I said, there's nofurther necessity for our fighting that I can see. You have killedthree of my men, whom I considerately placed on board your ship beforeshe left port so as to get possession of her without any bloodshed atall, although the fates willed otherwise; and we, I believe, six ofyours; so in losses we may, perhaps, have the advantage of you, althoughthat fellow there"--pointing to the Greek sailor Tom had cut down withhis cutlass--"won't be worth much more to me, and that gives you onlytwo more than ourselves in the casualty list. But I won't grumble. I'msatisfied to cry quits, and call a truce to hostilities. "

"And, after that?" said the captain. --"I don't suppose you attacked usfor nothing!"

"Your remark, " said the pirate, smiling, "does credit to your goodsense. I am not in the habit, strange to say, even in these heroicdays, of doing anything for nothing. Am I, Calchas?" he added, turningto a ferocious-looking villain at his right hand. 

The man evidently did not understand him, as he spoke still in Englishfor the benefit of the captain's party; but he grinned in sympathy withthe smile on the pirate chief's face--such a cruel, crafty smile as itwas!

"You have got possession of the ship, " said Captain Harding; "what moredo you want, if you don't wish to murder us like the rest of my poorcrew?"

"My dear sir, you certainly use very strong language; and I can't say Ilike it, " said the pirate, playing carelessly with the handle of a longyataghan that was thrust through his crimson sash. "Murder is a nastyword, which should not really be mentioned in the company of gentlemen!Your men fell in fair fighting. "

"Yes, when they were taken unawares by a pack of traitors, " put in thecaptain hotly. The other's cool assurance was more than he couldstomach. 

"Pray don't interrupt me, " said the pirate. "It is, to say the least ofit, rude. But, now to business. I have possession of your ship, yousay? That is true without doubt; now, my difficulty is, how to utilisethat possession; and here, Captain Harding, I shall have to claim yourassistance--"

"You may claim away till doomsday, " said the captain with grim humour;"but as to my giving it, that's quite a different matter. "

"Allow me to finish my sentence, " continued the other--"claim yourassistance in return for the lives of yourself and the remainder of yourcrew. Else, I shall be extremely sorry, but circumstances will compelmy wishing you all a speedy adieu. "

And the cold-blooded desperado drew his hand across his throat and thenpointed to the water over the ship's side, in a very suggestive way. 

"What do you want me to do?" asked Captain Harding curtly. 

"Nothing very alarming, or calculated to wound your honourablefeelings, " replied the pirate. "I simply want you to remain in commandof your vessel. "

The bluff, honest sailor stared at the other in amazement; he couldn'tmake out "what he was driving at, " as he said to himself. 

"In ostensible command of the ship, that is, " said the pirate, correcting his previous expression. "I, of course, shall be virtuallymaster, but you will navigate her under my orders, and answer--likewiseunder my directions--any curious questions that may be put to us frompassing vessels as to our destination and so on. "

"Why, you want me, John Harding, to sail under false colours, and helpyou to make away with the ship as I've sailed in, man and boy, eversince I smelt salt water, not to speak of betraying my owners and theirinterests. I'll see you--a--a--shot first!"

As he spoke the captain pulled the trigger of his revolver, and wouldhave settled all the pirate's chances of present and future booty if hehad not with a rapid movement of his quickly-drawn yataghan struck upthe muzzle of the weapon, causing the bullet to expend itself in the airharmlessly, although it went uncommonly close to the head of thetrembling Tompkins above, who was waiting for a peaceful arrangement ofthe situation before he descended. 

On the shot being fired, the main body of the pirates rushed forward, and would have annihilated the captain and the two lads, had not theirchief stopped them with some harsh word of command, at which theyimmediately fell back again. 

"I bear no malice, Captain Harding, " said the pirate chief, with amagnanimous air, "and I'll forgive your attempt on my life, especiallyas the bullet missed its mark. I will also, as you have such scruplesof conscience, excuse you from acting still as the captain of thisvessel, and promote your chief officer--I believe the gentleman is upaloft--to that post. I've no doubt he will prove more accommodating, particularly when I place my reasons strongly before him. But I havenot done with you yet, captain. I shall want you presently below withreference to the ship's papers and cargo. So now put down your weapons, and order your men to disarm. I will save your lives, I promise. "

"Boys, we must submit; we're in their power, and they are too strong forus, " said Captain Harding, turning to Tom and Charley. "I don't supposethey'll murder us now in cold blood; we must trust their word for it--the word of a pirate, " he added aloud, with bitter scorn. 

"And you can trust it, " replied the pirate chief proudly. "The word ofDemetri, the Corsair of Chios, is known to be as sacred as his name isfeared in the Aegean Sea. "

"By Jingo!" exclaimed the captain, looking from Tom to Charley, and backagain to the pirate chief. "Demetri, the corsair! Why, that's the veryman that Mohammed told you about at Beyrout, and whom I would notbelieve in. "

And the honest old fellow seemed to reproach himself for not paying moreheed to the boys' story. 

"The same, at your service, " said the corsair, as he had better becalled now. "Now lay down your arms, and I shall treat you as prisonerson parole. "

"And you promise that we shall go free?" said Captain Harding, pleadingfor terms, although he felt that they were vanquished. 

"Yes, when I've done with you. Look sharp! Time is pressing, and Icannot answer for my men much longer, " said Demetri. 

So Captain Harding, Tom, and Charley, and the steward, laid on the deckthe weapons with which they had hastily armed themselves when below assoon as the noise of the outbreak reached them, when they were instantlypicked up by one of the Greeks, who stepped forward for the purpose byhis leader's orders. 

"We are now at your mercy, " said the captain. "I don't mind aboutmyself, but, Corsair, or whatever you are, spare the poor boys and myremaining men. "

"Their lives are safe, I tell you, " said the other impatiently. "Have Inot given my word? But call your other men down, " he added, pointing toJack Bower, who was still half-way up the rigging, and Tompkins in themizzen-top. 

Captain Harding summoned them, and Jack Bower at once obeyed his orders;but the first mate refused to budge, saying, that as he was no longermaster of the ship, he was not compelled to carry out his directions, especially if doing so jeopardised his life. 

"The cowardly rascal!" exclaimed the captain, hardly knowing whether tolaugh or to be angry; but Mr Tompkins was really so paralysed withterror that he had not the faintest idea of what he was saying, "I'llsoon make him obey me, " said the corsair, cocking the captain'srevolver, which he had taken from him, and pointing it at the frightenedoccupant of the top above his head. "If you are not on deck by the timeI count five, you, first officer, or whatever you call yourself, I'llfire, and you'll descend to Davy Jones's locker quicker than it willtake you to come down the rigging! One--two--three--"

"Stop, sir, good gentleman, stop, and I'll come down, " faltered out MrTompkins, roused from his fright more by the corsair's action than hiswords, for a pointed pistol has a wonderfully persuasive way of its own;and, with hesitating feet, he slowly descended the ratlins and placedhimself beside the captain, who looked at him first contemptuously, andthen turned his back, muttering between his teeth--

"If I had had a man in charge of the watch, or even one of these boys, we would never have been put in this position. "

"You are wrong there, " said the corsair, "for we would have attacked youall the same. "

"Never mind, " retorted the captain bravely. "But we would not have beenunprepared, and you would have had a tussle to get on board, instead ofthings being made easy for you. "

"Have your own way in that, " replied the other, shrugging his shoulders, as he gave some unintelligible order to his men, ten of whom slippedforward, placing themselves on either side of the captain and the twolads, and the other Englishmen, with the exception of the chief mate--two Greeks to each of them. "I'm sorry, captain, " continued thecorsair, "but I am compelled to put you and your countrymen to somelittle inconvenience, lest you should be tempted to escape, when itwould be the worse for you. "

And, at another word of command, all the hands of the whole party weresecurely lashed behind their backs. 

"As for you, " said the corsair, speaking more harshly than he had yetdone, as he turned to Tompkins, "if you dare move without my permission, you are a dead man! Stop there, and if any vessel hails you as we passinto the archipelago, mind you answer correctly as if you were stillpursuing your original voyage, for we are going for a time in the samecourse. I shall hear you, so beware!"

And he waved his sharp yataghan before the first mate's eyes in a waywhich he did not at all relish, although he took the hint as it wasintended. 

The corsair now gave the man whom he had sent to the helm after theparley was over, some directions as to the steering of the _Muscadine_, which was then entering the channel between Rhodes and Scarpanto, nearlyabout the very time that poor Captain Harding had expected, althoughunder strangely different circumstances; after which, he motioned thecaptain to precede him down the companion, while he told the others toremain where they were on deck until he returned, enforcing his order byplacing a guard over them. 

"We'll now go below, captain, and overhaul the ship's papers, as Isuggested to you just now, " said the corsair in a politely peremptorytone; and the captain, seeing no help for it, and no object to be gainedby opposing the wish of his captor, obeyed the veiled order, the twodescending to the cabin, where they remained some time, whether inargument or in conference of course those who were on deck could notguess, although both Tom and Charley would have bet their last sixpencethat the corsair did not get much voluntary information out of theirskipper. 

STORY TWO, CHAPTER SIX. 

A SELL FOR THE PIRATE. 

Acting apparently under instructions previously given, the felucca, after transferring a large portion of her men to the merchant ship, proceeded some distance ahead of her, as if not to cause any suspicionsby her propinquity should any vessel pass by them in their passagethrough the channel. But she still remained close enough to besignalled by her commander should her nearer presence be needed. 

When the pirate chief and Captain Harding returned on deck from theirvisit below, Tom and Charley could see, from the fierce looks of the oneand the stolidly stubborn expression of the other, that their privateinterview had not been of the most agreeable nature, and they soonlearned the reason. 

"I have been deceived, duped, despoiled of my just dues, " exclaimed thecorsair frantically, as he gained the deck, speaking in English as iffor the special benefit of the two lads and their unfortunatefellow-countrymen; "and had it not been for my sacred word which I neverbreak once I have given it, overboard you should go, every one, withyour throats cut!"

"But, " said Captain Harding, "we have not deceived you as to the valueof the ship and cargo. If anybody is to be blamed, you must look tothose agents and spies you employ who have misinformed you. "

"Silence!" shouted out the other, foaming with passion. "You are amiserable set of impostors, you English! How could I tell that a bigvessel like this would only be half-loaded with a lot of trumpery stuffthat's not worth the freight; and that her captain had hardly a piastreto bless himself with? And yet you English people boast of yourwonderful wealth. I call it a scandalous imposition, wasting my time inthis way, and the lives of my men, for nothing. "

And he stamped his feet in his rage as he walked to and fro. 

Charley could hardly refrain from laughing at the pirate chief going onin this way about being taken in. As he whispered to Tom, when he hadthe chance, it reminded him of the pickpocket who had stolen a watch, complaining of being hardly used because the article turned out to bepinchbeck!

"If you like to let us go, I will give you a bond for the estimatedvalue of the ship and cargo, " said Captain Harding, wishing to pacifythe man--who now appeared capable of going any lengths in his fury--forhe did not place much credence in his loudly vaunted promise of savingtheir lives. 

His suggestion, however, only seemed to add fuel to the fire. 

"Yes, and a nice fool I should be to present it for payment, and havethe police upon me. Do you take me for an addle-pated idiot? I tellyou what I will do. I will burn your miserable old hulk of a ship, andits rotten cargo; and you and she can roast together!"

"And your pledged word as to our lives?" said the captain. 

"I told you I wouldn't take them, and my word is good, although I sparedyour life simply because I might want your signature. But if the shipcatches fire, and you unfortunately cannot escape from her, of course itwill not be my fault--don't you see?"

And the corsair gave a malignant laugh, that disclosed his realdisposition better than words, and convinced the Englishmen of thefutility of appealing to him for pity. 

It was now broad daylight, and the _Muscadine_ was working up towindward of the cluster of small islands that lie to the northward ofScarpanto, having just weathered the channel that separates it fromRhodes, when the topmasts of a ship could be seen rounding the headlandnearest them. 

"It's one of our cruisers, boys, " whispered Captain Harding, whose keeneyes had distinguished a pendant flying from the main-truck of thenew-comer. --"We are saved! we're saved!"

The pirate captain, however, had ears as quick as the captain's eyeswere keen. 

"Gag that babbler, " he cried to his men--in Greek of course--"and thetwo boys as well, and bundle them down into the cabin. Stay! take thosemen also, and serve them the same, " pointing to the steward and JackBower and the other three seamen. 

All the Englishmen were hurried below without any unnecessary delay, with the exception of Mr Tompkins, whom the corsair next addressed, presenting the captain's cocked revolver as he did so, and pressing thecold steel muzzle of the pistol against his right temple. 

"You coward!" said he with a thrilling hiss on his tongue like aserpent's; "your life trembles in the balance. If that vessel nowapproaching hails us, and you do not answer correctly, as I have alreadywarned you, this bullet goes through your brain. Do you hear?"

"I hear. I--I--I--hear, " faltered out the first mate, while theperspiration stood out in great beads of fright on his forehead. 

The vessel in front came nearer and nearer; and presently she rounded-tounder the _Muscadine's_ stern, the old well-known Union Jack of OldEngland floating up to the masthead the while, and a hearty voicehailing the merchantman through a speaking-trumpet from herquarter-deck, not half a cable's length away, in true nautical fashion--

"Ship ahoy! What ship is that?"

The corsair was standing by the side of Mr Tompkins, close by thetaffrail. Before Captain Harding had been taken below he had removedhis uniform cap and monkey-jacket, and put them on himself, so that hemight pass for one of the ship's officers, and he had likewise directedthe majority of his men to lie down on the deck, lest their numbersmight create suspicion. 

As the stranger vessel approached nearer with the intention of speaking, as he could understand, he lowered the revolver which he had held formore than a minute pressed against the first mate's forehead. But hehad it still in his hand, as the trembling Tompkins was aware, ready foraction, only that its muzzle was now touching his side instead of histemple. 

"Now, answer correctly, " whispered the corsair in the mate's ear, in afierce thrilling whisper that penetrated through every fibre of hisbody, when the hail of the British man-of-war rang out in theair. --"Answer as I told you, or you are a dead man, if fifty Englishfrigates were alongside!"

STORY TWO, CHAPTER SEVEN. 

THE LAST OF THE OLD SHIP. 

It was not an English frigate, as might have been supposed, from theobservation of the pirate chief, but one of those despatch vessels thatwe usually keep in eastern waters in attendance on our Mediterraneanfleet; and being a steamer, of course she could arrest her progress, andremain in proximity to the _Muscadine_ without the necessity oflaying-to like a sailing-ship, or any trouble save slacking speed. 

"Answer, " repeated the corsair sternly, still in the same melodramaticwhisper, enforcing his order with a dig of the revolver barrel inTompkins' side. 

"The _Mus_--" began the mate in faltering accents. But another savagedig of the pistol improved his articulation, and he shouted out, as loudalmost as if he had a speaking-trumpet like the officer who had hailedthem. 

"The _Muscadine_ of Bristol, " he cried with all the power of his lungs, "from Beyrout to Smyrna with assorted cargo. "

"Any news from the Levant?" was the next query from the ship-of-war. "Stop, I'll send a boat aboard. "

This, however, was the last thing which the corsair desired, and heimpressed some whispered instructions rapidly on Mr Tompkins, with theassistance again of the pistol barrel; and that worthy spoke equallyrapidly, to prevent the other vessel from lowering a boat, which theywere on the point of doing, as they could hear the men piped away by theboatswain's call for the purpose. 

"Fever very bad at Beyrout, " sang out the first mate, again, inspired byhis tutor. "Had to leave half crew in hospital! Short-handed! Can youlend us a few men? Who shall we report as having met us?"

This answer at once arrested the intention of the commander of thedespatch vessel, and prevented his sending a boat to them--as thecorsair had surmised it would, from the fear of his bluejackets catchingthe infection, Syrian fevers being as much dreaded in the Mediterraneanas the plague--for the reply shouted back was an apology fornon-communication or help. 

"Sorry for you, but cannot spare any men! You'll have to go intoquarantine at Smyrna. Report _H. M. S. Batrachia_, from the Dardanellesto Malta. "

And then, in obedience to the orders of the officer on the bridge, thedespatch vessel circled round again on her way; and putting on fullsteam was soon lost to sight in a cloud of black smoke far-away toleeward. 

To the captain and two lads below it was the keenest agony to hear thewelcome hail of the English steamer followed by the mate's prevaricatingreply, when they were certain that but one single word as to the realtruth of the case would have summoned their countrymen to their rescue, and ensured the punishment of their lawless captors. 

Of course they knew that Mr Tompkins had acted under intimidation, having been compelled to give the answers he did and prevented fromcalling for assistance; but both Tom and Charley would have died ratherthan have sacrificed the chance of their comrades' escape through anymorbid fear as to their own personal safety. 

They could not speak to each other, being gagged, and having a couple ofassassin--looking scoundrels mounting guard over them in addition, asthey lay where they were thrown down on the floor of the main cabin; buttheir eyes said, as plainly as eyes could speak, the thoughts that wereuppermost in the mind of each--a feeling of disappointment at the hopeof a rescue being so rudely dispelled when it looked so imminent, and asense of disgust at the disgraceful cowardice of the mate. 

It may seem strange that the corsair, who had spared the lives of thecaptain and the remainder of the crew of the _Muscadine_, and appearedreally on such jovial terms with his prisoners up to the moment of hisgoing below with Captain Harding to look at the ship's papers, shouldall at once change his demeanour and come out in his true colours; but, the matter is easy enough of explanation. 

The corsair had been led to think that the merchant ship was freightedwith a valuable cargo of silk and tobacco, the bulk of which he couldhave readily transferred to the felucca, as they were handy of shipment;consequently, when he found out that the vessel was only half-loadedwith wine and fruit, which would require considerable storage room, andbe then almost valueless in the only markets he could command, his rageknew no bounds. Added to this, Captain Harding, acting under a sense ofduty to his owners, had concealed the fact of his possessing aconsiderable sum of money on board in drafts on bankers at Smyrna; whilethe pirate chief, supposing that he did have money, looked to find it inspecie, and was correspondingly disappointed a second time. And thus itwas that he was sorry at having spared the lives of the Englishmen afterthe fray had occurred; although he regretted that he had planned thecapture of the ship at all, and placed himself and his companions inperil for a prize that was uncommonly like the king of Siam's present ofa white elephant to one he meant to ruin; for it was useless to him, andhe could not destroy the vessel or abandon it where she was, in theregular waterway of communication between the cities of the East, forfear of her being discovered, and he and his band of desperadoes pursuedbefore they had ensured their safety by flight. He wished now to getrid of the ship, and secure whatever of her cargo he could carry away--for his men must have some booty to repay their trouble and risk; but hemust seek some out-of-the-way spot first, where he might unload her, andthen, as he told his prisoners, burn her--and them, too, as far as hecared--to destroy all traces of his handiwork and the possibility ofdetection. Had he not thought it worth his while, he would certainlynever have attacked the vessel. 

To tell the truth, the corsair was in a quandary; so, when the smoke ofthe man-of-war steamer had melted into the air, he summoned CaptainHarding and the rest on deck again, and having their gags removed, interrogated them once more. 

"You say, captain, " said he, knitting his brows and looking the skipperstraight in the eyes, to see whether he was telling the truth, "that youhave no money, beyond the few piastres and two or three Englishsovereigns I saw in your desk in the after cabin?"

The honest seaman could not tell a lie even to an enemy and a robber asthis man was--at least, not unblushingly; so, unlike his usual way, hecould not face his questioner, but gazed down on the planking of thedeck as he spoke. 

"No--that is, yes, " replied the captain hesitatingly: it was verydifferent to his round, bluff way of bringing out his sentences with anhonest straightforwardness. 

"You had better be careful, " said the other in a threatening manner. "It is strange that you should be bound to Smyrna for more cargo, andnot have the wherewithal to purchase it with! Have you got any moremoney or not? Reflect, it is the last time I shall ask you thequestion. "

Mr Tompkins stood by unbound, while his fellow-prisoners had theirhands bound behind their backs, and their legs likewise tied. Hethought it a mark of the higher consideration in which he was held, whereas the corsair considered he wasn't worth the trouble of binding, being one who would not have the pluck to help himself or his fellows. Unbound he was, however; and, anxious to ingratiate himself further withthose in power, the mate up and spoke, heedless of Captain Harding'sangry exclamation to hold his tongue, and the boys' cries of "Shame!"

"The captain forgets, " Mr Tompkins said, addressing himself to thecorsair. "He might not have hard cash, but he has a draft, I know, on afirm at Smyrna. "

"Oh-ho!" exclaimed the pirate chief, a gleam of triumphant satisfactionpassing over his face for an instant, and then vanishing as he againconfronted the captain sternly. 

"I thought an Englishman's word was his bond through the world, " he saidin a scornful tone, which made the captain redden as his conscienceaccused him of having told an untruth, or at all events, of having beenguilty of an evasion. 

"It wasn't my money, " he said, as if to extenuate his previous denial. 

"Then you have got a draft, such as this fellow speaks of?" continuedthe corsair, pointing contemptuously with his foot at the mate, with akick. 

"Yes, " said the captain. 

"Where is it?"

"In a note-book in the pocket of that coat of mine you've got on, " saidCaptain Harding, with a gesture at the borrowed monkey-jacket which theother still wore. 

"Oh, thanks! Then it is quite handy, " said the corsair, clapping hishand in the breast-pocket of the appropriated garment, and producing athick Russian leather wallet, which he proceeded to open with nervoushands. 

"Respect my private papers, " said the captain, as the other fumbledamidst a mass of memoranda and other documents. "There is only onedraft there, and nothing else valuable, I pledge you my word. "

"Honour?" asked the other. 

"On my honour there is not, " replied Captain Harding with dignity. "Inever said that when you asked me about money in the cabin; so, you maybelieve me. "

"I do believe you, captain, " said the pirate chief with a light laugh, which might have been caused by the sight of a banker's draft which heunfolded at the moment, as much as by his words. "I give you the creditof not being able to tell a lie with any spirit, as you tried to do justnow. Here are your papers; this will be enough for me. " And he thenread out the draft, which ran as follows:--

"From Bracegirdle, Pollyblank, and Company, Ship and Insurance Agents, Birchin Lane, London, to Miguel, Mavrocordato, and Thomasson, Freres, Fruit Merchants and General Shippers, Smyrna, 17th March, 1881. Atthree days' sight pay to John Harding, master of the ship _Muscadine_, or order, the sum of one thousand five hundred and seventy-five poundssterling. Value received. 

"1575 pounds, 0 shillings 0 pence. Bracegirdle, Pollyblank and Co. "

"This is a very nice little sum of money, " said the corsaircomplacently, restored to all his previous good humour; "a very nicelittle sum of money!"

"Wait till you get it, " said Captain Harding gruffly, by no meanspleased at the other's satisfaction. 

"Oh, I shall get it easily enough, " replied the corsair airily. "You'veonly to put your signature to it, and the thing's done. "

"When I sign it, " said the captain, pointedly. 

"Ah! my dear captain, there will be no bother about that, when I ask youpolitely, " retorted the pirate chief, with a significant look, which didnot have the slightest effect on the brave sailor--indeed it only madehim smile. 

"We will see, " was all he said in reply, but his determined expressionof face added the rest. 

"I can wait, " answered the other; "so we will not argue the point, forat present I have got more pressing matters to attend to. "

A signal was then made to the felucca, which had kept the ship in sightall the while, although close in to the land, and apparently proceedingon a coasting-voyage, and having nothing to do with the other vessel;and then, the course of the _Muscadine_ was altered and she bore up forthe Cyclades. 

"I have no further dread of meeting any of your floating bull dogs, "said the pirate chief affably, as if in explanation of his motives. "And none of the French cruisers are up here now; they are all too busyin Tunisian waters. So, I may as well shift your cargo, captain, at theback of one of the little islands we are coming to, where we can lie byunseen without any interference. "

During the whole of that day, the ship was steered amongst a parcel ofshoals, which made poor Captain Harding tremble for her safety, albeitshe was taken out of his control; and, towards nightfall, she wasbrought to anchor in sixteen fathoms, under the lea of a rocky cliffthat projected up into a peak on one of the tiny islets by which theywere encircled. Here, the felucca having followed them, the pick of hercargo was removed to the smaller craft--a few bales of silk, sometobacco, and a good portion of wine; the cases of dried fruit being leftuntouched, as taking them to any of the Greek ports with the idea offinding a market for their contents, as the corsair well knew, wouldhave been like carrying coals to Newcastle. 

Then, the Englishmen, who had been well treated all the day in thematter of food and drink--some books even were brought up by the ordersof the leader from the cabin, for them to read, his courtesy andattention were so great--were removed to the felucca, being followed bythe Greek sailors; Captain Harding and the others subsequentlywitnessing the melancholy sight of the ill-fated _Muscadine_ sinking ather anchors, for she had been scuttled in several places after theselected goods had been transferred to the pirate's own vessel, whichremained on the spot till the other disappeared beneath the waves. 

"I should have liked to have burnt her, as I said I would do, " observedthe corsair, as the _Muscadine_ went down bows foremost, "all standing, "with a graceful plunge; "but I was afraid of attracting notice. However, she is safe now at the bottom, at all events; and sunken ships, like dead men, tell no tales!"

Captain Harding made no reply. 

His heart was too full at seeing his ship, which he regarded almost likea living thing, so recklessly destroyed before his eyes; it was the shipwhich he had first gone to sea in as a boy, and which it had been theambition of his life to command. It was too much, and turning his headaway as the tips of her spars sank from view, he wiped away a tear fromhis eye with the back of his horny hand. 

Nothing that the pirates had done hitherto affected him like this. 

STORY TWO, CHAPTER EIGHT. 

AMONGST THE BRIGANDS. 

As soon as the _Muscadine_ had succumbed to her ill fate so tragically, the felucca made sail at once from the place, steering north, as well asCaptain Harding could make out; for neither he nor the boys were allowedto look at the compass, and they none of them spoke to Tompkins sincehis betrayal of the captain's trust, although he could probably havetold them, for he "appeared to be hail fellow well met" with hiscaptors, as Charley said. 

The night passed, and again another day and night, without anythingnoteworthy happening, the swift craft sailing at racehorse speed, andalways in the same direction, to the best of their belief, as if towardssome fixed destination; but the corsair did not enlighten them, and, indeed, did not address them during the interval. 

Towards the evening of the second day on which they were on board her, the felucca drew near land, from which she held off and on until theshades of night covered her movements, when she approached close to theshore, and a boat was lowered over her side. 

The pirate chief then, for the first time since the _Muscadine_disappeared under the waters of the Aegean Sea, addressed CaptainHarding and his companions, who had found the time of their captivityhang wearily on their hands, although they were virtually free to walkabout on board their prison-house, with the exception of speaking to anyof the crew or looking at the compass, both of which were interdicted, with significant threats whenever they tried to evade the prohibition. 

"Now, captain, " said the corsair, with an oily smile, which sat worseupon his countenance than a frown, "I will thank you to sign thisorder, " producing the skipper's bank-draft, and a pen and ink all readyfor the purpose. "Just sign it, and I will put you and your brotherEnglishmen ashore at once. "

"Where are we?" asked the captain. 

"On the coast of Greece, " was the answer, "not far from Salonica, whereI am going with the felucca to dispose of my cargo, " with a naivecandour which made Charley Onslow laugh outright. 

"His cargo, indeed, " he whispered to Tom. "You have often talked of myIrish impudence, but, bedad, that beats Banagher. "

"Be quiet, " replied Tom; "you'll only get us into a row. "

But the leader of the pirates took no heed of the interruption; he wastoo busy about the money order. 

"Come, sign, " he repeated to the captain. 

"And suppose I don't?" said he. 

"Then you and your companions will be imprisoned in the mountains untilyou do, up to a certain period--until I have time to complete mybusiness at Salonica, that is--and if, on my return from thence, youstill continue obdurate, why, then all of you had better say yourprayers--" completing his sentence with an emphatic gesture which couldnot be misunderstood. 

The captain was obstinate. He thought that now they were near awell-known port, and in comparatively civilised regions, the piratechief would not dare to carry out his threat, and after a time, if heonly held out, would be satisfied with the share of booty he had alreadysecured, particularly, as from some remarks which he casually let fallwhen the cargo was being shifted, it had turned out to be more valuablethan he had anticipated. 

Once he had made up his mind, nothing would make the captain budge aninch from the position he had taken up. He could be as obstinate as amule when he liked. 

"I refuse to sign the draft, and you may whistle for the money, " he saiddoggedly. 

"You better had, " urged the other. "I only advise you for your owngood. Those brigand friends of mine in the mountains, who will be yourjailers, are a rough lot, and not to be trifled with. "

"I will see you hanged first!" shouted out the captain, out of allpatience, and he then closed his lips together tightly to show that hedid not intend saying another word. 

"Absit omen, " quoted the corsair; "hanging is a ticklish subject. Polydori, " turning to one of the Greeks, "take charge of theseEnglishmen, with ten others of your best men. Your lives will answerfor theirs until you give them into Mocatto's keeping. You know therendezvous, where to meet him and his band. Captain, and younggentlemen, adieu! May you be of a more practical mind when I see youagain, which will not be long. "

And, with these words, the corsair took leave of the captives, who, after being gagged again, and having their hands all tied behind them--including Tompkins this time, much to the boys' satisfaction--were putinto the boat that lay alongside, and rowed ashore, under a strongguard, with the Greek Polydori at their head. 

It was a change of scene from their cooped-up quarters on board thefelucca; but after they had had a toilsome march, uphill all the way, through mountainous defiles and along the roughest of paths, they wishedthemselves back again in their floating prison. 

Arrived at a cross-turning surrounded by a thicket of stunted shrubs, the leader of the guard that accompanied them cried a halt, uttering ashrill and prolonged whistle, which was presently repeated from thehills above. 

An approaching footstep was then heard, and a challenge, to whichPolydori replied with some password, after which there was a longcolloquy between him and the stranger. 

They were then ordered to resume their march, although they had beenwalking two hours since they had quitted the shore, Polydori and thestranger leading the column, with the prisoners in the centre and theother guards in the front and rear. In this manner they proceeded untilthe unfortunate captives were ready to drop with fatigue, while theirboard ship shoes were worn into shreds by the stones and prickles of thepath they had traversed, and their feet all bleeding and torn. 

"I can't go a step farther!" exclaimed Tom, dropping in his footsteps. "Good-bye all. "

But the guards prodded him with their knives, and made him rise again. So he tottered along, until the column, marching in a sort of militaryorder, and passing numerous sentinels, who challenged the leaders, andstopped them till they gave the countersign, entered suddenly on a largeencampment of men, squatting on the ground amidst a circle of fires. There were no tents nor waggons to bear out the illusion, but otherwisethe scene resembled a bivouac of some expeditionary force. 

The brigands, as the English readily guessed these gentry to be, weresome forty or more in number, and were principally Greeks and Albanians, clad in their picturesque dress--a short sleeveless jacket, coarsegaiters and shoes, a kilt of some rough texture, and a fez; while acrosstheir chests they carried a cartridge belt, and around their waist asash, in which were stuck pistols and knives, not forgetting the longyataghan, that hung to their sides in the same fashion as they hadnoticed with the crew of the pirate felucca. 

Amongst this band of miscreants, who thought less of murder than theydid of killing a fowl, the survivors of the _Muscadine_ suffered aspecies of moral torture for more than a week, being moved from place toplace meanwhile, generally by night, as the brigands' encampment wasshifted to evade the pursuit of the Turkish troops, who were wonderfullyactive in hunting the mountain gentry about--after Mr Suter's andColonel Synge's release!

During this time, they heard nothing of the pirate chief, although theleader of the brigands--a gigantic Albanian named Mocatto--wascontinually engaged in pleasantly putting before Captain Harding what heand his countrymen might expect should the bank-draft remain unsignedafter the corsair's return--of course acting under that worthy'sinstructions; pointing the moral of his remarks by practising the mostunheard-of cruelties on such captives as the brigands brought in day byday, who were unable or unwilling to send to their friends to ransomthem. 

At last, one day, after witnessing the horrible exhibition of a poorTurk having his clothing saturated with paraffine oil, and then set fireto, the captain, urged more by considerations for the safety of Tom andCharley and his men, than for his own, gave in, and told Mocatto that hewould sign the draft. 

"That is good, " said the brigand. "Demetri comes to-night, and you cansign it in the presence of the chief. If you do not, you know theconsequences. "

However, as it turned out, Captain Harding was fortunately able to keephis word to the corsair, when he said "he would see him hanged first"before he should attach his name to the money order. 

That very same afternoon, a whole battalion of Turkish troops, sent outfrom Salonica, surrounded one of the mountains in which the brigands'stronghold was situated; and after desperate fighting, in which many menwere killed on either side, compelled the surrender of Mocatto's band. 

Demetri, the pirate chief, who was on his way, like Shylock, for hisbond or pound of flesh from the captain, got captured amongst otherprisoners, and was subsequently hanged along with them on the mountainside, as a warning to all dishonest folk. 

Tom and Charley, and the captain, escaped scot free, --through a miraclealmost, the brigands being attacked so suddenly that they were unable tomurder their captives, as they invariably do when assailed by thetroops--and so did the sailors along with them; all but Tompkins, who, as if in punishment for his treachery and cowardice, got shot by apassing bullet. 

"It is a long lane that has no turning, " as the proverb runs; and, toparaphrase it, it must be a long story which has no ending: so theremust be an end to this. 

The _Muscadine_ could not be raised again. But Captain Harding gotanother ship, of which Tom Aldridge was appointed second officer, andCharley Onslow third, on probation; and the three, captain andyoungsters, have had a voyage or two already. But they have notforgotten, nor are they likely to forget, their memorable adventures intheir passage from Beyrout, nor Mohammed's old friend, "The Corsair ofChios. "

STORY THREE, CHAPTER ONE. 

DAVID AND JONATHAN; OR, LOST AT SEA. 

CAUGHT IN A SQUALL. 

"Dave!"

"Hullo!"

"What's that big black thing out there, tumbling about in the seaastern; is it a whale?"

"A whale, your grandmother!" sang out Davy Armstrong with a laugh, as hesprang on the taffrail, and holding on to the shrouds with one handwhile he shaded his eyes with the other, peered about anxiously in thewake of the vessel in search of the object to which his attention hadbeen drawn by his companion, a dark-haired lad who stood on the decknear him, and whose thin face and slender figure betrayed the delicateconstitution of one brought up amidst the smoke and din of cities andbusy haunts of men. David, on the contrary, was tall and well-built forhis age, about sixteen, with blue eyes and curly brown hair, and theruddy glow of health on his cheek; and being a middy of some two years'standing on board the _Sea Rover_, and full of fun and "larkishness, " tocoin a term, assumed a slightly protective air towards Johnny Liston, the son of one of the cabin passengers, between whom and himself one ofthose stanch friendships common to boyhood had sprung up during thevoyage to Australia. "A whale, your grandmother, Jonathan!" repeatedDavy Armstrong in a bantering tone, with all--as his companion thoughthe could detect--the conscious superiority of a sucking sailor over araw landsman, in his voice. "Why, you'll be seeing the sea serpent soonif you look smart. Where is this wonderful thing you've discovered, Jonathan, my son? I'm blest if I can see it. "

It need hardly be mentioned that, close friends as they had become in ashort time, Johnny Liston rather resented David's patronage and impliedsuperiority, and he hated his calling him "Jonathan, " or addressing himas "my son, " just as if he were as old as his father, instead of beingjust of an age, as he would indignantly remonstrate, which knowing, David mischievously made a point of so speaking to him on purpose totease him, although in good part all the same. 

"And you call yourself a sailor!" said Johnny Liston mockingly. "Why, there it is, as plain as a pikestaff, on the lift of that wave to theright there! Where are your eyes, stupid?"

"Why don't you say on the port quarter, you lubber?" answered Davidgood-humouredly; "then a fellow would know what you meant! Oh, I see. I think it's a ship's boat floating bottom upwards; but I'll call theskipper's attention to it, and he'll soon tell us what it is. Johnny, my boy, you've got good eyesight, and deserve a leather medal for seeingthat before I did, so I'll let you have the credit of it. "

"Thanks, Dave, " said the other ironically. "I'm glad you can allow foronce in a way that you are not infallible, and that somebody else cansee as well as yourself. "

David meanwhile had crossed over the deck, to where the captain wasconversing with a group of passengers, and having pointed out the objectwhich his friend had discovered, a telescope being brought to bear soonproved it to be what his quick eye had already assured him it was, aboat pitching about bottom upwards, probably washed away from someAustralian liner like themselves. There was no trace, however, to beseen of any one clinging to the keel, and time was too valuable and thewind too fair for the vessel to be put off her course merely to pick upan empty boat, which would most likely not be worth the trouble ofhoisting on board; so they passed on, and it was soon hull-down in thedistance. 

The _Sea Rover_ had made all her southern latitude, descending to thethirty-sixth parallel. She had passed the Island of Tristan d'Acunha, although at some distance off, a few days before; and now as she waswell below the region sacred to the stormy Cape, and had run down thetrades, her course was set due east for Melbourne, from which she wasyet some thousands of miles away. The wind was fair, almost deadastern, although the sea was high; and as the ship was rather light, sherocked and rolled considerably, the waves washing over her decks, andoccasionally running over the poop in an avalanche of water, that sweptright forward and made any one hold on that did not wish to be washedoff their feet. The sea had a most winterly look. It appeared like avast hilly country with winding valleys, all covered with sloshy snowjust melted, the extreme tops of the waves looking like frozen peaks inbetween, with the snow as yet not melted. The air, too, was as cold aswinter, for it blew from the Antarctic ice; and the gusts came more andmore frequent as evening closed in, raising the sea still higher intowering mountains, that rushed after the ship, which was going from tento twelve-knots an hour under all plain sail, as if they would overwhelmher, striking our sides every now and then heavy ponderous blows, thatmade; her stagger from her course and quiver right down to her keelson. One gust of wind came all at once with such startling force that itsplit the main-topsail up like a piece of tissue-paper, and then thecaptain thought it was about time to take in sail. 

"I guess we're going to have a rough spell of it, Jonathan, " said Davy, as he moved away from his companion in obedience to the skipper's order, "All hands shorten sail!" and stationed himself at his post by themizzen-halliards. 

"Will it be serious, Dave?" asked the other, his pale face growing alittle paler with apprehension. 

"Pooh! no, nothing to speak of, only a squall, Jonathan; so don't befrightened, my boy. "

A squall it was with a vengeance. 

As the wind had been, right aft, the captain had kept the _Sea Rover_under her royals and topgallantsails, without even taking in a reef, inorder to make the most of the twelve-knot breeze that was blowing: itwas only at the chief officer's request that a little time before he hadbeen induced to take in the stunsails; and now the wind seemed to expandso suddenly into a gale, that it was as much as the seamen could do toget the canvas off her before she was struck with the squall, that cameup astern at the rate of fifty miles an hour, covering the heavens towindward with great black storm-clouds, and flying wrack like whitesmoke that drifted before it, and seemed to herald the heavier metalthat lay behind that would come into action soon. 

Everything was let fly, and only just in time; for, without theslightest warning, the wind shifted and struck her on the starboardquarter, and the vessel was almost taken aback, with the waves slippingin over the bows and on the starboard and port sides as she rolledheavily, borne down into the trough of the sea by the force of the gale, her timbers groaning, the spars creaking, blocks rattling, and the windshrieking and whistling as it tore through the rigging and flapped thesails heavily against the masts with the noise of thunder, as if itwould wrench them out of the ship bodily. 

It was a scene of the utmost confusion while it lasted, with the menrunning about the deck here and there and pulling and hauling at thehalliards and braces, and the captain yelling out stentorian ordersthrough his speaking-trumpet, which nobody apparently understood orattended to; and Davy Armstrong, who had been up aloft to superintendthe furling of the mizzen, royal, and topgallantsails, and close reefingof the topsail, was just congratulating himself on getting down on deckalongside of Johnny Liston safe once more, when another squall struckthe ship from the opposite quarter, and she heeled over on her sideuntil she buried her topsail-yards in the billows, broadside on, as ifshe were going to "turn the turtle. "

"Oh!" exclaimed Johnny. "She's going over!"

"Not a bit of it, " shouted out Dave in his ear, for the wind howled sothat he could hardly make his voice heard. "She'll right in a minute. But that was a stiff blow!"

"Ay, stiffer than the last. "

A heavy sea just at the same moment struck the rudder, which, throughthe ship's lying over on her side, had been partly raised out of thewater, and whirled round the wheel with such force that the man who wassteering was lifted off his feet, and as he grasped the spokes withdesperation, was dashed down on the deck with an awful impetus, whichknocked him insensible. Dave, followed by Johnny, immediately rushedaft, and took the helmsman's place, although it required all thestrength of the two boys to hold on and save the ship from broaching-to, when her spars would have been swept off like ninepins, and a cleansweep made of her bulwarks, and everything on her decks fore and aft, ifpossible, she did not founder. 

"Well done, my lads!" shouted out the captain. "Keep her to it, " as heordered a couple of men aft to help them. "Keep her to it, my lads, you'll be relieved in a jiffy. Hold on for the life of you, my lads;hold on!"

Their strength, however, was unequal to the struggle. 

Another sea struck the rudder again almost in the same place, and Davidand Jonathan were floored in an instant. 

Round span the wheel with mad velocity, now uncontrolled, jamming poorDavy's leg between the rudder beam and the wheel post, while Johnny laysprawling on the deck, holding on like grim death to a stray end of themizzen-halliard that had been cast loose from the cleats. Another turnof the spokes of the wheel, as the rudder was banged to and fro by thebillows, and Davy's leg was released, although sadly crushed, and he wasflung against the binnacle; and then a gigantic wave pooped the ship, coming in over the stern, and before the captain, or Johnny, or the menwho were hurrying aft as rapidly as the motion of the ship would allowthem, could stretch out a hand to save him, poor Davy was swept over theside to leeward, grasping tightly with the energy of despair, as he wascarried away, a portion of the roof of the wheelhouse, which had beenbroken off by the same wave which washed him overboard, as well as partof the bulwarks. 

"Oh, Dave, Dave!" exclaimed Johnny Liston, holding on to themizzen-halliards still, and scrambling to his feet after the waterflowed over him and the ship righted again, as he saw David torn away bythe remorseless waters, and floating astern on the top of a greatmountainous billow, his hands upheld as if imploring help. 

"Oh, Dave, Dave!" exclaimed Johnny Liston, apparently panic-stricken foran instant, adding, as he turned half round towards the captain, "Why, his leg is broken, and he can't swim!"

And then, without another moment's hesitation, or a single reflection ofthe hopelessness of his task, or that he was endangering his own life aswell, the brave boy, grasping hold of one of the life-buoys that hungclose to the taffrail where he was supporting himself, as he watched thewave bearing Dave away, plunged into the sea to his comrade's rescue. 

"Hold on, Dave, I'm coming!" he shouted out at the pitch of his voice, to encourage the sinking David. 

And the next minute, ere any one could prevent him, he was over theship's side, battling with the powers of the deep. 

STORY THREE, CHAPTER TWO. 

STORY THREE, CHAPTER TWOCHAPTER TWO. 

A VAIN QUEST. 

"Man overboard!"

That cry, which those who have once heard it will never forget, echoedfar and wide through the ship, making itself heard above the dull roarof the sea, the whistling of the wind as it tore through the rigging, the creaking of the timbers, and the trampling of feet up and down thedeck, as the crew bustled to and fro, slackening a sheet here, tightening a brace there, and preparing for emergencies, ready foranything that might happen. 

"Man overboard!"

And, in an instant, every heart palpitated with one thought, every earwas on the qui vive, every eye turned, intently watching the captain ashe gave the necessary orders for bringing the ship up to the wind--as itwas far too squally and risky work for her spars and top-hamper to wearher, before she could pay off on the other tack--and retrace her coursein her own wake to pick up the two boys, who were now out of sight. 

"Stand by the lee braces, and be ready to slacken off on theweather-side! 'Bout ship! Up with the helm! Mainsail haul!" were someof the orders rapidly given and as rapidly attended to. 

With a will, the great main-yard swung round to starboard, the _SeaRover_ paying off handsomely. And, in another moment, under her reefedtopsails and topgallantsails, with her courses dropped, and her yardssharply braced up, she was going back on her track at even greater speedthan she had been previously travelling towards Australia, the windhaving shifted to the southwards and eastwards after the last squall, and being now well on her beam, which was the clipper's best sailingpoint. 

There was a lookout on the fore-topmast crosstrees; but almost every onewas looking out in the direction where some trace of David and Jonathanmight be discovered. And the minutes seemed lengthened into hours asthey anxiously peered into the mass of slatey-brown water in front andaround topped with yeasty foam. But the sky was overcast withstorm-clouds and the darkening of approaching night, and their horizonwas now limited so that they could not see very far in advance of the_Sea Rover's_ bows--not more than a mile at most. 

Every voice was hushed on board the ship now, and only the humming ofthe wind and the swish of the water could be heard as she dived everynow and then over her catheads into the waves, that fell in a cataractof spray on her forecastle and washed into her waist, while she dashedonward, gathering speed with every yard of progress that she made. 

"Lookout, ahoy, there!" shouted out the captain to the man on the forecrosstrees. "Do you see anything of them yet?"

"Not a speck in sight, " was the answer; and still the _Sea Rover_ clovethrough the water on what they guessed to have been their former course, and the sky and the sea grew darker and darker and seemed to mingletogether, gradually diminishing their area of vision. 

"We must have passed the spot by this time, " said the captain presentlyto the chief officer, when the ship had gone some two miles after comingabout. "Send another lookout into the main-top; and you, Dawkins, "addressing one of the hands standing near, "sky up here in themizzen-rigging and see if you can see anything. Look well round toleeward as well as ahead, for we may have overrun them. "

"Ay, ay, " said the man as he scrambled up the shrouds, and quickly madehis way, not merely into mizzen-top, but on the topgallant-yard, wherehe sat astride and scanned the horizon to his right and left, towindward and leeward of the vessel's wake. 

"On deck there!" he hailed in a little time. He had the keenest sightof any man on board. 

"Ay, ay!" answered the captain. "Speak out!"

"There is something to windward, two points on the weather-bow. "

"How far?"

"About half a mile or more, sir; but it may be less. "

"We must get her a couple of points nearer the wind, " said the captainto the chief officer. "Clew up the courses, set the flying-jib, and letus get the mainsail on her, and see what she can do. Come, look smartand brace the yards round. Keep her helm up!" he added to the men atthe wheel, lending them a hand as he spoke. "Hard!"

The _Sea Rover_ leaned over, gunwales under, and made deep bows to thesea, pitching the water over her fore-yard, as, her head being broughtround a couple of points more, she sailed almost in the wind's-eye, taking all that two men could do to steer her, besides the captain. 

"Aloft there!" shouted the captain once more to the lookout men. "How'sher head now? Does she bear towards the object, or is it still towindward?"

"Steady!" was the answer. "She's right for it now. Luff a bit, steady, it's right ahead. "

"What is it? Can you see them?" cried the captain, eagerly peering intothe distance himself. 

"Looks like floating timber, sir. I can't see anybody as yet; it seemsall awash. "

A moment further of breathless suspense, and then those on deck couldsee for themselves what had attracted the lookout man's notice--a blackobject, bobbing up and down amidst the waves, one minute raised aloft ona billowy crest, the next hidden from view in a watery valley thatdescended, as it were, into the depths of the ocean. 

It was now clear to windward on the weather-bow; and, every now andthen, distinctly visible. 

"Put the helm down, slack off the sheet!" cried the captain; and, as the_Sea Rover_ rounded-to, with the floating object under her lee, it couldbe seen that it was the boat which David and Jonathan had perceivedpassing them, bottom upwards, just before they were struck by thesquall. The vessel, therefore, must have gone much further back ontheir track than they had imagined, for the boat must have been three orfour miles astern of the point at which the boys were washed overboard. She would of course have drifted farther than the floating wreckage, being higher out of water, but could not have made up more than a mileof the intervening distance. 

It was a grievous disappointment to all on board, crew and passengersalike. They had made certain that it was the two boys clinging to thewreckage of the bulwarks and wheelhouse that had been carried away alongwith Davy; and the disappointment was all the greater because theirhopes had been so cruelly raised. 

"My boy, my boy!" sobbed Mr Liston, who stood with several of the othercabin passengers grouped around the captain on the quarter-deck watchingin breathless suspense. "My boy, my boy! He is lost, he's lost! Ishall never see him again!" and he wrung his hands in agony. 

Poor, bereaved father! He had only that moment been made aware that hisson was overboard, having been below when the accident happened to Davy, and only attracted on deck by the commotion. Johnny was his only child, his mother having died in giving him birth, and he was the apple of hiseye. He would have jumped into the sea, too, when, he learnt what hadhappened, if he had not been prevented; and his grief was frantic. 

"Cheer up, my dear sir!" said Captain Markham, as he gave orders for theship to back across her course at right angles, and warned the lookoutmen aloft to renewed watchfulness. "We may pick them up yet. You knowDavy Armstrong was holding on to something when he was carried away, andyour gallant son took a life-buoy with him when he went to his rescue, so they can keep afloat till we overhaul them. Why, I was picked upmyself once after I had been in the water for hours and the shipsearching for me all the time, when I had been washed overboard likeDavy. "

The captain's sanguine anticipations, however, even if he reallybelieved in them, were baseless. 

The _Sea Rover_ backed, and wore, and tacked again, sailing, within aradius of a few miles, in every possible direction the wind would lether, without finding any traces of the lost ones, or even coming acrossthe pieces of wreckage, which the sombre tint of the sea and skyprevented their seeing; and then night came on, and they had to abandontheir quest, although they burnt blue lights and cruised about the samespot for hours afterwards, in vain!

"Alas, dear captain, it is hopeless now!" exclaimed Mr Listonmournfully, with the resignation of despair, drawing away his gaze fromthe sea, and his head dropping on his breast in despondency. 

He was standing almost alone on the deck, the majority of the passengershaving gone below--for the wind was cold and boisterous, and the crewhaving retired forward to the forecastle excepting those on duty aft--atall, thin, pale man, whom the calamity seemed to have aged ten years inthat brief space of time, and bowed with care. 

"Only a miracle could have saved them!" he said, as if speaking tohimself; and then, turning to the captain, he added, "I suppose you mustgive them up now, and proceed with your voyage?"

"Yes, it is useless waiting any longer, " said Captain Markham, sinkinghis voice in sympathy with the other. "Poor fellows, I'm afraid they'vetold the number of their mess long since! But if they are drowned, poorDavy was lost while doing his duty as a gallant sailor; and your son, mydear sir, lies in a hero's grave beneath the wave, for he sacrificed hislife in trying to save that of his friend. It is some slightconsolation, Mr Liston, to recollect that; and I don't think therecording angel above will have forgotten to log it down, either!"

And, as the hardy sailor pointed upwards with a reverent air to whereone tiny twinkling star was peeping out from amidst the mass of fleetingshadowy clouds that still obscured the heavens and shrouded the horizonfrom view, he wiped away a tear from his eye with the back of his hairyhand, bidding the quartermaster a moment or two afterwards, in astrangely gruff tone quite unlike his usual mode of speech, to set theship's course once more due east for Australia. 

And the _Sea Rover_ went on her way. 

STORY THREE, CHAPTER THREE. 

A STRUGGLE FOR LIFE. 

Half-drowned by the avalanche of water which had swept him overboard, and just catching one faint glimpse of the hull of the ship through eyesthat were blinded with the spray, as it swept away from him and left himstruggling with the waves, although holding on still to the top of thewheelhouse which he had clutched in desperation as he was carried away, Davy thought he was dreaming when he heard the voice of his friendshouting out, as if in the distance, miles and miles away, "Hold on, Dave, I'm coming!"

"Nonsense, " he reasoned with himself, amidst the pitiless lash of thebillows, and the keenness of the wind that seemed to take the skin offhis face and pierce through his wet clothing as he was one minute souseddown into the water and then raised aloft again on his temporary raftexposed to the full force of the blast. "Nonsense! I'm drowning, Isuppose, and this is one of those pleasant dreams which people say cometo one at the last. "

It was no dream, however. 

After a little while, although it seemed ages to David, the voicesounded nearer. 

"Hold on, Dave, old boy. I'm quite close to you now, and will reach youin a minute!"

"I can't be dreaming, " thought David again, getting a bit over thefeeling of suffocation which had at first oppressed him. "Jonathan'svoice sounds too real for that, and I can see that I am adrift on theocean, and resting on something. Oh, how my leg hurts me! I'll give ahail, and see whether it is Jonathan's voice or not that I hear. Itmust be him!"

"Ahoy, help, ahoy!" he sang out as loudly as he could; but he wasalready weak, his voice came only in a faint whisper to Jonathan, whoimagined he must be sinking and he would be too late. 

"Keep up, Dave, for goodness' sake, " screamed out the latter in agony, making desperate exertions to reach him. "Don't give way! Hold on asecond longer and you'll be safe!"

Although he was such a slight, delicate-looking little fellow, hardlydoing justice in his appearance to his sixteen years, if there was oneaccomplishment in which Johnny Liston was a proficient, it was swimming. Living in the neighbourhood of Kensington Gardens, he had made a habitof going into the Serpentine every morning during the summer months, andsticking at it as long as the weather permitted, although he did not goto the lengths of some intrepid bathers, and have the ice broken for himin winter; and by constant practice, and imitating the best swimmersamongst whom he bathed, he had learned so much that he could competeeven with professionals for speed and endurance, and made the bestamateur time on record for so young a lad. 

His practice now stood him in good stead; and he had, besides, anadditional advantage, for having learned to swim in fresh water, andindeed never having essayed his powers in the sea, the unaccustomedbuoyancy of the waves, which he now experienced for the first time, gavehim a confidence and an ease which seemed surprising to him; he feltthat he did not require the slightest exertion to keep afloat, evenwithout the life-buoy, as he tested by letting go of it for a shorttime, and with it he was certain he could almost rival Captain Webb andswim for hours. 

Of course it was rough work for a novice, paddling in such broken water;but after a few strokes he got used to it, and, by dint of diving underthe swelling bosom of some of the more threatening crests, and floatingover the tops of the others whose ridges were yet perfect, he made hisway pretty rapidly towards the spot where he had espied David floatingoff. 

The wind and the set of the sea were both against him, but the answeringhail of the middy assured him he was proceeding in the right direction, and would be soon by his lost friend's side. 

Another stroke or two, and as Johnny Liston rose on the crest of a hugemountain of water, which took him up almost to the sky, he saw below himthe broken timbers of the bulwarks rolling about in the trough of thesea, and he thought they formed part of the wreckage on which David hadbeen supporting himself, and that he had seen him on them. 

His heart sank within him like lead, for no one was floating on thebroken bulwarks now. Poor Dave must have gone. 

Just at that moment, however, the middy's faint hail rang again clearlyout above the noise of the wind and the sea, to assure him he was stillabove the surface, and restore his drooping energies. 

"Ahoy! Help! Ahoy!"

He did not require to hail again, for, the next moment overtoppinganother billow, his friend Jonathan shot up alongside of him, andgrasped him by the shoulder. 

"Oh, Dave, " he exclaimed. "Thank God I've got you safe. I thought Iwould never have found you. "

David had partly clambered up on the top of the wheelhouse, and laystretched out with his legs in the water. 

He raised his head and turned his face as Jonathan got hold of him. 

His emotion was too great for many words. 

"And you jumped overboard to save me?" was all he said. 

But his look was enough. 

Johnny Liston had been swimming with one arm only thrust through thelife-buoy, as he had been obliged to quit his hold of it each time hedived beneath the crest of a wave. 

He now took it off, holding on to the wheelhouse-top, which sank downinto the water on one side under the double weight of the two lads, elevating the other end in the air. 

"Here, put this on, Dave, " he said. "I brought it for you, and aprecious job I have had to reach you with it. "

"But you, Jonathan--I beg your pardon, old chap, I didn't mean to callyou so. I know you don't like it. "

"Never mind, Dave. If you think of me as Jonathan you may as well callme so. I shan't mind you doing so any longer I rather like it, oldfellow, now, for our friendship will be like that of David and Jonathanthat we read of in the Bible; you know it says that `the soul ofJonathan was knit unto the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as hisown soul. ' That's just how I feel. "

"What a chap you are to think of that now, " said David admiringly, "withboth of us bobbing about in the middle of the ocean, and the ship out ofsight. But I won't have the life-buoy; what will you do without it?"

"Bless you, I can swim like a fish, Dave, and it was more a nuisance tome than a help; but, we can both hold on to it, you know, if it comes tothe worst. How's your leg, Dave? I thought it was broken when you gotit twisted in the wheel that time. "

"Oh, it's all right, " said David, kicking it out vigorously as he spoke. "The bone isn't quite broken, but it's very sore, and I suppose I'dhave to lay up for it if I wasn't here;" and he grinned ruefully. 

"Do you think the ship will pick us up?" said the other presently, losing some of his self-possession now that he had come up with David, and the motive for forgetting self and personal danger was wanting. 

He was naturally timid unless nerved up by necessity. 

"Oh, yes, " said David, whose spirits rose with the occasion, and who inthe presence of his friend forgot all the peril. "Captain Markham won'tdesert us, never fear; but you can't pull up a ship like a horse, youknow, Jonathan, and it will take some time for the _Sea Rover_ to tackabout before she can fetch us. I wish, however, old chap, we had alittle better raft than this to support us; the wheelhouse-top is hardlybig enough for two, even with the buoy, which, though it can keep usafloat, won't raise us out of the water as we want. "

"Why, I passed some wreckage a few yards off before I reached you, " saidhis friend. 

"Did you?" said David. "That must have been the gangway and part of thebulwarks that came away with me. I wish we had the lot here. "

"Do you?" said Jonathan, as we must now call him, "then I'll soon fetchthem, " striking out as he spoke. 

"Take care, " said David; "and pray take the buoy with you. "

But, the sea saved Jonathan the trouble of leaving his friend, for thevery pieces of timber of which he had spoken made their appearance atthat moment, floating down towards them from the summit of a wave, inwhose valley they were; and Jonathan swam beyond them and pushed thembefore him till they were alongside the wheelhouse-top. 

There was plenty of material to form a substantial raft with theaddition of what they already had; and as Jonathan drew up the heavymass alongside, David gave a shout of joy. 

"Why, " he exclaimed, "here is the cleat of the signal halliards comeaway with a piece of the taffrail, and we'll have enough rope to formall the lashings we want. Isn't that lucky?"

The young middy was handy enough in sailors' ways through his two years'experience of the sea; and--Jonathan aiding him under his direction--ina short time the loose timbers were lashed firmly together as aframework, with the roof of the wheelhouse fastened on the top, formingaltogether a substantial platform, on which the two boys foundthemselves elevated a clear foot or more out of the water, and free fromthe cold wash of the waves, which was beginning to turn them blue. 

"There, " exclaimed David, "now we're comfortable, and can wait inpatience till the ship overhauls us; she can't be long now. "

Watching with eager eyes they saw the _Sea Rover_ coming towards them, after a long, long while, as it seemed to them; but ere she had reachedthem, in spite of their shouts and hand-wavings, which they fancied musthave been seen and heard on board, she went round on the other tack, anddisappeared from their view, to their bitter disappointment and grief. 

It was David now who was hopeful still. Jonathan seemed to have lostall that courage which had inspired him to leap into the sea to hisfriend's rescue, and was trembling with fear and hopeless despair. 

The next time the _Sea Rover_ came in sight, she was further off, andappeared to be sailing away from them, although they could see her tackabout in the distance several times, as if searching for them still. 

Then it gradually got darker, and night came on, enveloping them in acurtain of hazy mist that seemed to rest on the water, through whichthey could see far off the blue lights that were burnt on board the shipto show their whereabouts, although they were useless to them, as theycould not reach her. 

Even David began to lose hope now, but he still encouraged hiscompanion. 

"They'll not desert us, old fellow, " he said, with a heartiness which heby no means felt. "The captain will lie-to, and will pick us up in themorning. "

Jonathan was not attending to his words, however. He was shivering andshaking as if he had the ague, and David could hear his teeth chattertogether with the cold, although the wind had gone down somewhat, andthe sea no longer broke over them. 

It was so dark that the two lads could scarcely see each other as theylay on top of the frail structure that separated them from the deep, clasping each other's hands. 

Presently, in the fitful phosphorescent light of the water, some darkobject seemed to float up alongside; and Jonathan gave vent to a screamof horror, that rang through the silence of the night. 

"Oh, what is that?" he exclaimed. 

And if David had not clutched him, he would have plunged headlong fromthe raft into the sea in his fright and agonised terror. 

STORY THREE, CHAPTER FOUR. 

ALONE ON THE OCEAN. 

For hours the two boys remained in a sort of nameless terror, Davidfeeling almost as frightened as Jonathan, although he concealed hisfright in order to reassure his companion, with the terrible object thathad excited their fear bobbing up and down alongside them, andoccasionally coming with a crash against their frail raft, thatthreatened to annihilate it and send them both into the water, when itwould be all over with them. 

The night was pitch dark, for the mist that hung over the surface of thedeep appeared to increase in intensity, and they could not see even thefaint glimmer of a star to cheer them; while all they could hear was thelapping of the waves as they washed by them, and the ripple and swish ofsome billow as it overtopped its crest, and spent its strength in eddiesof circling foam, as David could imagine--for the darkness renderedeverything invisible now, even the platform on which they weresupported, and the unknown companion beside them, which might beanything, and their very hands when held before their faces. 

Some time after midnight, when David and Jonathan had gone through apurgatory of dread, not knowing what might happen to them any moment, the moon rose gradually from the horizon, shining faintly through a veilof clouds that almost obscured its light, and the morbid terror of thetwo boys was at once dispelled on their being able to perceive what itreally was that had occasioned them such alarm. 

"Goodness gracious me, Jonathan!" exclaimed David, with a tone of gladsurprise in his voice, which at once aroused his friend, who was lyingface downwards on the raft, with his head buried in his crossed arms. "Why, what do you think it is that has frightened us so? I'm blest ifit isn't that very identical boat that you saw in the afternoon passingby the _Sea Rover_! Isn't it providential, old chap, that after allthese hours we should come across it again? Thank God for it, Jonathan, " he added more earnestly a moment afterwards; "it may saveboth our lives in case the ship is unable to find us and pick us up!"

Yes, there it was, a long black boat, the cutter of some vessel, thathad been washed away from the bows, as it was twenty feet long and more, floating keel uppermost, alongside the raft, although buried somewhatdeep in the water. 

The night had no longer any terrors for them; and, although they waitedanxiously for the sun to rise to see whether the _Sea Rover_ was stillin sight--for the moon was frequently obscured by clouds, and its lighttoo intermittent and deceptive for them to scan the ocean by--they didnot dream of despairing now, even if their worst suspicions should berealised, and the ship have left them to their fate, as the boat offeredthem a tangible means of rescue, which the raft did not; albeit it hadsaved their lives for the while, and served as a "pis-aller. "

Morning came at last, first tinging the horizon to the eastwards with apale sea-green hue, that deepened into a roseate tinge, and then mergedinto a vivid crimson flush, that spread and spread until the wholeheavens reflected the glory of the orb of day, that rose in all itsmight from its bed in the waters, and moved with rapid strides towardsthe zenith, the crimson colour of the sky gradually fading away, as thebright yellow sunlight took its place, and illuminated the utmost vergeof the apparently limitless sea; but the _Sea Rover_ was nowhere insight, nor was the tiniest speck of a distant sail to be seen on thehorizon!

"Never mind, Jonathan, " said David, cheering up his companion; "youmustn't be disappointed: it is only what I expected, although I didn'ttell you so before! Now that we have the boat, you know, we are nothalf so badly off as we thought ourselves at first. We've no reason todespair!"

And then, sailor-like, he immediately began to overhaul their God-sentgift, to see whether it was all a-tanto and seaworthy, without losingany more time in vain repinings, and scanning the ocean fruitlessly forthe _Sea Rover_; Jonathan sitting up, and beginning to be interested, ashe regained his courage and self-reliance, through his companion's wordsand the warmth of the sun combined, and lost that feeling of hopelessdespair that seemed to overwhelm him and weigh him down since they lostsight of the ship for the last time on the previous night. 

"It must have been adrift a good while, " said David, clambering on tothe keel of the boat, and getting astride on it. "The bottom is quiteslimy. Oh, my poor leg, how it hurts! I forgot all about that squeezeI had between the rudder beam and the wheelhouse, for a moment. Nevermind, " continued the brave boy, hiding his pain from his companion, whowinced in sympathy; "it was only a little wrench I gave it, and it haspassed off now. But pray hold on tight to the stern, Jonathan--you cancatch hold of it by the rudder-hinge--or else I'll be parting company, and going off on a cruise by myself. "

Working himself along with his hands and knees on the slippery surfaceof the boat, he felt the exposed portion all over, and as far underwater as his arm could reach down, when he proceeded to give his opinionlike a consulting surveyor. 

"The timbers are all sound, old chap, " he said, "at least, as well as Ican make out; and not a hole anywhere that I can see. I can't tell forcertain, however, till we right her properly, and get the water out ofher; and I think we'll find our work cut out for us to do that, Jonathan, my boy. "

"I'm sure I don't see how we can manage it, " replied his frienddespairingly. 

"Oh, don't you?" answered David cheerfully, his spirits rising with thesense of action and the feeling of having something to do, and as happyand unconcerned as if he were safe on board the _Sea Rover_. "Oh, don'tyou, Master Jonathan? Then allow me to inform you, as Dick Murphy says, that there are more ways of killing a pig besides hanging him; and thatI see a way to our righting that boat. "

"How?" inquired the other. 

"I'll soon show you, " said David. "But I guess and calculate it willtake a pretty considerable time I reckon, and you'll have to help us, sirree. "

"Of course I will, " said Jonathan, laughing at David's apt imitation ofan American passenger on board their ship, who had unwittingly been thesource of much amusement to the two boys, with his drawling voice, andhabit of speaking through his nose in regular "down eastern" fashion. 

"Well, bear a hand, old cock, " said David jocularly, pleased at seeingJonathan laugh again, and getting off the boat's keel gingerly on totheir raft again. "The first thing we have to do, Jonathan, is to tryand raise the bow of the craft on top of these timbers here--or rather, sink down the end of the wheelhouse roof so that it may get under theboat. We can do it easy enough by both going to the extreme point of itand bearing it down by our united weight; but mind you don't slip off, old boy. Hold on tight. "

It was no easy task, as the motion of the waves hindered them, and theraft was lifting and falling as the surges rolled under them; besideswhich, the boat was heavy, and the suction of the water seemed to keepit down and resist their efforts. 

However, they persevered, and, after innumerable attempts and failures, succeeded at length in getting part of the bow of the cutter on to theend of the raft, which it almost submerged, although it was itselflifted clean out of the sea. 

"So far, so good, " said David, puffing and blowing like a grampus withhis exertions, and Jonathan following suit. "We'd better have a spelloff for a bit; the heaviest part of the work is yet to come. "

"Don't you think, " said Jonathan presently, after a rest, "that it wouldbe a good plan to float her stern round at right angles to the raft?Then the waves would force her on to it, almost without our help. "

"Right you are, " said David. "Two heads are always better than one!"

"You stop where you are, " said Jonathan. "You know your leg is bad; andbesides, I'm more at home in the water than you are, although you're asailor. I'll jump in, and soon turn her stern round, while you hold onto the bow, so that it doesn't slide off and give us all our troubleover again to get it back. "

So saying, he let himself down into the sea, and catching hold of theaftermost end of the boat, which was now much deeper down in the water, owing to the bow being raised, struck vigorously with his free hand, swimming on his side, and soon managed to slew it round so that itpointed athwart-wise to the raft. 

"Now, David, " he said, when this was accomplished, "if you'll come intothe water too, --I'm sorry to trouble you, old man, but I can't do it allby myself--and put your shoulder under the other gunwale of the boat, the same as mine is under this, and hold on to our staging at the sametime, we'll be able by degrees to lift and drag it bodily on to theraft, as the send of the sea, as you call it, will assist us. "

"Why, Jonathan, you ought to be a sailor, " said David admiringly. "It'sthe very thing to be done, and just what I was going to suggest. " Andhe also slid off into the sea, taking particular care of his woundedleg, and went to his companion's assistance, placing himself in theposition he had advised. 

The two boys exerted themselves to the utmost, held on tightly to theraft as they "trod the water, " as swimmers say, with their feet, liftingthe boat an inch or two at a time with each wave that rolled towardsthem, until, little by little, they got one end well upon the raft, which it sank quite a foot in the water, when they clambered out of thesea and got on to it, too. 

"Now, " said David, "comes the tug of war, to get the boat over, rightside uppermost. "

"And then, " rejoined Jonathan, "we'll have to bale her out. How willyou manage that?"

"With our boots, to be sure, " was the prompt answer. 

"Oh yes, " said Jonathan, "I quite forgot those. Let us get her over atonce; it is cold work standing thus in the water; and we may as well becomfortable as not!"

After a long and weary struggle, during the course of which the boyswere in the water, with their weight hanging on to the keel, andendeavouring to turn it over--they succeeded at last, almost when theywere half inclined to give up the task as hopeless. 

Then when the boat was righted, they pushed it off the raft, and Davidkept it in proper position, while Jonathan, taking off one of his boots, baled away until he was tired; David relieving him, and he taking hisplace in keeping the boat steady. It was slow work, but it was done intime; and when it was half emptied of its contents, they both climbedin, and being now able to bale together, they soon had it clear, andfloating bravely like a cork. 

Much to their joy, it did not leak a bit; and after having satisfiedthemselves on that point, they went on to examine their craft in detail. It was a smart ship's cutter, which had evidently, as David hadsurmised, been washed off the bows or davits of some sea-going vesselthrough being carelessly fastened, for it was perfectly uninjured, and, to the delight of the boys, it had its proper oars and a mast and sailslashed fore and aft under the thwarts. There was also a locker in thestern-sheets which was locked, and on David prising it open with hisclasp knife, it was found to contain some fishing-line and hooks. Asmall cask, or breaker, was also locked in the bow of the boat, and thiswas found to contain water, a trifle impregnated by the sea, andslightly brackish, but still quite drinkable. It need hardly bementioned what a great boon this was to them, as they had begun to beafflicted with thirst as the sun's heat grew more powerful towardsmid-day. 

"Oh, David, " exclaimed Jonathan presently, from his seat in the stern ofthe boat, where he had been giving way to his thoughts while his friendwas bustling about in the bows, stepping the mast, and seeing that thesail and tackle answered properly, "God has been very watchful over us!"

"Yes, " replied the other, "we have much to be thankful for, old man, andI am for one, as I've no doubt you are; but still I don't see why weshould remain here, as there is no chance of the _Sea Rover_ coming backfor us now, and there is a good southwesterly breeze blowing just onpurpose for us. "

"Why, in what direction would you steer?"

"Nor'-east, to be sure, and we'll fetch the Cape of Good Hope in time, besides the chance of falling in the track of passing vessels. "

"Have you any idea of where we are, David?"

"Well, the ship yesterday was in latitude 36 degrees and something, andjust nearing the longitude of Greenwich, which is neither east nor west, as you know, so I suppose we're about a thousand miles or so off theCape. "

"Good heavens, David! a thousand miles!"

"It isn't such a tremendous long way, Jonathan. We can run it easily, if the wind lasts from the same quarter, in about eight days; and if wedon't quite fetch the Cape, we'll reach some part of South Africa at allevents--that is, if we don't come across the track of a ship, and getpicked up before then. "

"But even eight days, David. What shall we do for food all that time?"said Jonathan, who was by no means of so hopeful a disposition as hisfriend. 

"Don't you recollect, old fellow, " rejoined David, "what you said justnow, of God watching over us? As He has done so up to now, don't youthink He'll look after us still, and provide some means by which weshall not starve?"

"Yes, " said the other, feeling the rebuke, "you are quite right, David;and I was wrong to doubt His mercy. But, oh, I do feel so hungry!"

"So do I, " replied David. "But we'll have to grin and bear it for awhile, old chap, as we are not near old Slush's caboose, on board the_Sea Rover_, and I don't see any grub anywhere in sight. However, Jonathan, we haven't felt the pangs of real hunger yet, and needn'tbegin to shout out before we're hurt. Let us do something--make sail onthe boat and abandon our old raft, which has served us a good turn--andwe'll wear off the edge of our appetites. "

David's advice was followed. Taking only the life-buoy with them, theycast loose from the raft almost with feelings of regret, for it hadsaved their lives, and it seemed like ingratitude to leave it theretossing alone on the surface of the deep now that they had no furtherservice for it; and, hoisting the cutter's "leg-of-mutton" sail, andsteering with an oar, as the boat's rudder was missing, they ran beforethe wind, David directing their course, as nearly as he could possiblyguess to the north-east, by the sun, which had now passed the meridian. 

"I say, Jonathan, " said David, after a time, when they had quite lostsight of the raft, and must have run some miles, "just rummage in thelocker again, and see if their is anything else we passed over in ourfirst search?"

"No, " said Jonathan, after going down on his knees and looking intoevery corner of the receptacle with his fingers, so that not a crevicewas left unsearched, "nothing but the fishing-lines. "

"Well, let us have them out and see if we can catch anything. "

"But we've got no bait. "

"Oh, we can tie a bit of my red flannel shirt or your white one to thehooks. Fish bite at anything at sea, if they can only see it. Hullo!"added David, "I didn't see that before. "

"What?" exclaimed Jonathan. 

"Why, the name of the vessel to which this boat belonged. There it is, painted there on the gunwale as large as life, the _Eric Strauss_. Isuppose she was a German ship, but I never heard of her. "

The two boys got out the lines presently, attaching small pieces offluttering cloth to the hooks, and heaved them overboard, dragging themin the wake of the boat some distance astern; but they caught nothingthat day, nor did they even see the sign of a fin. A whale travellingby himself, and not accompanied by a "school" as usual, was the onlysolitary denizen of the deep that they perceived. 

It was the same the next day, the boat sailing in a north-east directionas well as David could judge, for the wind remained in the same quarter, from the southward and westward. But he had some difficulty in keepingher on her course at night, owing to the absence of the north star, which is never seen south of the equator, although he could manage tosteer her all right by the sun during the day. 

When the third morning broke, the boys were starving with hunger, andcould have eaten anything. They even tried to gnaw at bits of leathercut out of their boots, but they were so tough and sodden from theirlong immersion in the sea that they could make nothing of them. 

If it had not been for the breaker of water which they foundprovidentially in the boat, they felt that they must have died. 

STORY THREE, CHAPTER FIVE. 

STARVATION AND PLENTY. 

"Look, David, " said Jonathan, when the sun had risen well above thehorizon on that third morning. 

He was sitting down in the bow of the boat, looking out almosthopelessly for the sight of some sail, while David was in thestern-sheets steering. 

"There's a big flock of birds right in front of us. Oh, if we onlycould catch one! I could eat it raw. "

"Well, I don't think we'd wait for the cooking, " said his companionphilosophically, although he put the helm down a bit so that he mightlikewise see the birds that Jonathan had spied. 

"What can they be so far out at sea?" inquired the latter. 

"Molly hawks, to be sure, " said David promptly. "We must be gettinginto the latitude of the Cape. "

"Why, they're as big as geese, " said Jonathan, when the boat got nearerthem. "But some are quite small; are they the young ones?"

"No, " replied David; "those are the cape pigeons, which generally sailin company with the others, and not far off at any rate. When you seethem close, as I've seen them scores of times, and as you'll be able toif we catch one, as I hope we shall, you'll find they are very like alarge pigeon, only that they have webbed feet; and they always seemplump and fat. See, their feathers are white and downy, while theirheads are brown and their wings striped with the same colour, givingthem the appearance, if you look down on them from a ship, of beinglarge white and brown butterflies, with their large wings outspread. Draw in your line a bit, Jonathan, and let the white stuff on the hookflutter about in the air; perhaps one of them will grab at it thinkingit's something good. It's our only chance. "

No angler, not even the celebrated Izaac Walton, ever angled moreindustriously than the two boys did for the next hour, trying to attractone of the birds, which, both molly hawks and cape pigeons, hoveredabout the boat all the time, making swoops every now and then down intothe sea. 

They were too knowing, however, to accept David's fictitious bait, as afish would probably have done. 

One look at it was quite sufficient for them; first one and then anotherwheeling round and coming nearer the surface of the water to inspect theinducement offered them, and flying off again in disgust. 

At last, just as a group of three of the cape pigeons, which were themost inquisitive of the lot, stooped down over the strip of red flannelattached to David's hook, he gave it a jerk and it caught somehow orother in the bird's foot or leg, and he pulled it in, squeaking andfluttering all the time, its companions circling round it in alarm, andcawing in concert over its misfortune. 

"Hurrah!" exclaimed Jonathan, as David hauled in his prize, flappingvigorously, over the gunwale in triumph; and he stretched out his handto take hold of it. 

"Look out, and stand clear a moment, " shouted out his friend. "Thosecape pigeons have a nasty habit of throwing up everything they have intheir stomachs on to you as soon as you catch them. There, you see. Isuppose it's a means of protection given them by nature, the same as thesavoury perfume of the American skunk. "

"He's lucky to have anything to bring up, " said Jonathan drily. "It ismore than we could do, I'm sure. There's plenty of him to eat, however, old fellow, " he added, when the bird had disgorged its last feed, "and Ivote we pluck off his feathers at once and begin business. "

"All right, " said David, giving the bird a rap on the head with thesteering oar, which effectually stayed any further proceedings on itspart. "Pipe all hands to dinner. "

Both the boys said afterwards, when detailing their experiences duringthat voyage in an open boat across the ocean when they were lost at sea, that they never before or since ever enjoyed such a meal in their livesas that cape pigeon, which they plucked, and divided into two equalportions, eating the raw flesh, share and share alike, with the greatestgusto, even licking up afterwards the blood that dropped from it on tothe thwarts. 

The repast gave them new life and spirits, and from that hour the tideof their affairs seemed to flow more favourably, as shortly afterwardsthey caught a molly hawk, which they carefully put away in the boat'slocker along with the water, which David was very particular inallowancing out, giving Jonathan and himself only a small quantity twicea day out of a measure he had made by cutting off the toe part of one ofhis boots. 

Towards the afternoon of the same day the heavens grew dark right ahead, a big black cloud spreading across the horizon like a great curtain, andmounting gradually till it hid the sun from view. 

"We're going to have a squall, Jonathan, " said David. "You must lookout sharp to shift the sheet when I tell you, and unstep the mast, ifnecessary, the very moment I say, mind!"

"Right you are, " answered the other, who had now lost all thatnervousness for which David used to chaff him when on board the _SeaRover_. "You only give the word, old man, and you'll find me allthere. "

The squall, however, passed away without touching them, having ventedits force in some other quarter; but the wind veered round to theeastwards, much to David's disgust, as he had to let the boat's headfall off from the course he wished to steer, and, strange to say, thegreat black cloud they had first seen seemed still to face them and keepright ahead, although their direction had been altered--it looked, really, just as if standing like a sentry to bar their progress. 

"I don't know what it can mean, " said David anxiously. "The wind hasshifted, so why can't it shift too?"

"It doesn't appear so big as it was, " observed Jonathan. "It isgradually narrowing at the bottom as it spreads out on top. And look, David, the end of it, close to the sea, comes down into a point justlike a thread. "

Presently, as the boat ran nearer towards the cloud, which seemed torest stationary over the water, they could see that the sea was churnedup around it in a state of violent commotion, and they could hear apeculiar sucking noise rumbling in the air at the same time. 

"I tell you what it is, " said David; "although I've never seen onebefore, it must be a waterspout, and we'll have to give it a wide berth. Look out, Jonathan, for the sheet; I'm going to put the helm up andbring the boat about on the other tack. "

Almost as soon as the cutter turned off at an angle from the directionof the waterspout, although not absolutely going away from it, as theboys were interested in the sight, David uttered another exclamation. 

"Gracious goodness, Jonathan!" he ejaculated. "Look, if there isn't awhale there! And he is going slap at it, as if he is going to bowl itover. "

It was true enough; but, whether the leviathan of the deep had beencaught in the maelstrom of the waterspout, or had gone towards it fromchoice, they could not tell. There he was, however, at all events, circling round in the eddy of the sea at the foot of the cloud, andsending up columns of spray every now and then with the flukes of histail, as they came down with a bash on the water, like the sound of aNasmyth steam-hammer. 

Almost as soon as the boy spoke, the whale appeared to raise itself upon end, as they could see nearly the whole length of its body; there wasa tremendous concussion; and then, with a report like thunder, thewaterspout burst, falling around the boat in the form of heavy rain. 

"I say, " said Jonathan, when the unexpected shower had ceased, "it's anill wind that blows nobody good. Look, if there are not a number ofdead fish which the waterspout must have sucked up. How thankful weought to be! there is enough to last us ever so long and keep us fromstarvation. "

"You are light, " said David. "Let us kneel down and thank God for Hismercy and care in watching over us!"

And, after they had prayed fervently to Him who had guarded them throughall the perils of the deep, and now showered on them a supply of foodalmost from heaven, they set to work and collected all the fish theycould see floating about on the surface of the sea, David saying thatthey were bonetas and skipjacks, and capital eating, as he stored themin the locker. 

"We'll cut them open and dry them in the sun by and by, " he added. "It's too much overcast to do it now; and it's so rough with the spraydashing over us that they would only get wet instead of dry. "

Soon after the waterspout had burst, the boat's head had been broughtround again as near to the northward as the easterly wind would permit;but, towards evening, as the breeze grew stronger and stronger, and thesea rose in mountainous billows, just the same almost as on the day onwhich they bade good-bye to the _Sea Rover_, they were obliged to lether off a point or two and scud before the gale. 

It was a day of surprises; for, just as night was closing in, Jonathan--who took the station of lookout man in the fore-sheets, while Davidsteered, being more at home with the rudder oar than his friend--observed something white, standing out in relief against the darkbackground of the horizon, which was piled up with a wrack of blue-blackstorm-clouds. 

"I say, David!" he shouted out, "what is this white thing in front--isit another waterspout, or a squall, or what?"

"I'll soon tell you, " said David, standing up in the stern-sheets to geta better view. But he had no sooner looked than he dropped down againin his seat as if he had been shot, and turned as pale as a ghost, as heexclaimed hysterically, half laughing, half crying, "A sail! a sail!"

STORY THREE, CHAPTER SIX. 

IN EXTREMITY. 

"What? a ship really?" said Jonathan, sharing the other's excitement. "Oh, I'm so glad, so glad!"

"Yes, " said David, recovering a bit from his hysterical fit, andspeaking in a more collected manner. "But she's crossing our course, and if she does not see us and take in sail, I'm afraid we won't be ableto catch her up!"

What was a gale to those in the cutter, with a gunwale hardly a footabove the surface of the water, was only just a fair wind to thefull-rigged ship which was sailing on a bowline away from them almosthull-down on the horizon, with all her canvas spread that could draw, totake advantage of the breeze. 

The boat's head was pointed right towards the vessel, whose course wasnearly at right angles to theirs, and David put the helm up to bringthem nearer the wind so that they might intercept her; but the cutterdipped so much in the waves, and shipped such a lot of water, that hehad to let fall off again and run free, much to his mortification, asthe stranger was steadily ploughing her way ahead; and, proceeding inthe direction they did, they would fetch far to leeward of her. 

"Oh, it's cruel, " said Jonathan, "to sail away like that and leave us!"

"We mustn't accuse them wrongfully, " said David, who, of course, wasmore versed in nautical matters. "Ships when far at sea don't keep muchof a look-out, as they would have to do in the channel or near land. And, besides, old fellow, you must recollect that although we can seeher plainly, we to those on board would appear but the tiniest speck inthe distance, if we were seen at all, and would be taken for a wanderingalbatross, or one of those Molly hawks like that we caught this morning. They don't see us, evidently, or they would take in sail. "

Jonathan, however, would not give up hope, but continued to wave hisshirt--which he had taken off for the purpose--in the bow of the boat, until she lessened as she drew away, and finally, disappeared below thehorizon as night came on with hasty footsteps--as it always does insouthern latitudes--shutting out everything from their gaze. 

The two boys were bitterly disappointed. 

Up to the time of their sighting the ship they had been almost contentedwith their lot, for the fear of starvation, which had threatened them, had passed away when their hunger had been appeased by the cape pigeonthat David had captured, and they subsequently secured another bird, besides the half-dozen fish or so that had been brought within theirreach by the waterspout; to add to which the weather had not been hotenough to cause them to make such inroads on their stock of water--whichDavid had judiciously apportioned from the first--as to arouse any dreadof thirst, which is far worse than want of food to shipwrecked mariners. 

It was the fact of the means of escape from their perilous positionhaving been so unexpectedly brought near them, and as suddenly takenaway, that deprived them of their courage and hopefulness for a time, and made them forget the Eye that was watching over them, and the handthat had already so miraculously helped them when they seemed to be atdeath's door! The weather, however, did not allow them to give way todespondency, much as they might have been inclined, for, as night cameon, the darker it grew, the wind and sea increasing so that David had anonerous task to steer the boat in such a manner as to prevent her beingswamped; while Jonathan was as continually busy in baling out the heavyseas that, partly, lurched in over the gunwale, first on the port sideand then to starboard, as the cutter rocked to and fro in her course, tearing madly up and down the hills and valleys formed by the waves, andsometimes leaping clean out of the water from one mountainous ridge toanother. 

And thus, the weary hours passed till morning, without giving them amoment's rest from their anxious labour, the constant fear of beingoverset and swallowed up by the tiger-like billows that raced after thembanishing the feeling of fatigue, and making them forget for the whiletheir disappointment. 

When the sun rose, for the fourth time since they had been left desertedon the deep, the boys were completely worn out. 

David's leg, too, had got worse; whether from the exposure or not theycould not tell, but it had swollen up enormously, and he could hardlymove; so, Jonathan had to take his place at the steering oar, and actunder his directions carefully, as the sea was still very high, and itrequired critical judgment and a quick eye to prevent the boat beingtaken broadside on by any of the swelling waves that followed fast intheir track, raising their towering crests and foaming with impotentfury as far as the eye could reach, astern, and to their right hand andtheir left, while in front the waters sometimes uplifted themselves intoa solid wall, as if to stop their way. With mid-day, came a change ofscene. 

The wind gradually died away, and there fell a dead calm, while the seasubsided in unison; although a sullen swell remained, in evidence of oldNeptune's past anger, and to show that he had a temper of his own whenhe liked to use it--a swell that rocked the boat like a baby's cradle, and flapped the loose sail backwards and forwards across their heads, insuch a disagreeable manner that David suggested their hauling it down;which they did, the boat not rolling half so much without itsperpendicular weight, while it was pleasanter for them. 

"I tell you what, Dave, " suggested Jonathan after a while to his friend, who was stretched out on the stern-sheets, resting his wounded leg on aseat, "I think if you'd let me bandage your thigh with a strip of myshirt, and keep it soaked with water, the evaporation of the sun wouldtake down the swelling and make it feel better?"

"So it would probably, " he assented; "and at the same time, Jonathan, get those fish and the bird out of the locker. I had almost forgottenthem;--I suppose, because I don't feel hungry yet! We will skin themand split them in two: and if we expose them spread out on top of thesail, which you can stretch across the thwarts, our old friend can cookthem while he is acting as my physician. "

Jonathan, who had been tearing a couple of long strips off his shirt, and binding them round David's leg while he was speaking, now soused thebandages with sea water, taking it up in the one uninjured boot which hehad kept for baling purposes, and then propped it up in an easyposition, so that it should be directly exposed to the rays of the sun, which was now almost vertical, and hotter than they had yet felt it. Hethen unstepped the mast, and arranged the sail like an awning over therest of the boat, serving to shelter themselves--with the exception ofDavid's leg, of course--from the heat, which was decidedly morecomfortable, and act as a table for their culinary arrangements. 

On counting them, which they had not done before, they found they hadthirteen bonetas and skipjacks, beside the molly hawk, which theydetermined to eat while it was fresh; and then would have sufficientfood, as the fish would keep perfectly when dried, for quite that numberof days--a lucky number as Jonathan said, as it was "a baker's dozen, "and certainly not an even one. 

"An unlucky one, you mean, " said David. "They say that when thirteenpeople sit down at table together one is sure to die before the year isout. "

"That will only apply to the fish, " said Jonathan laughing, "and they'redead already, and will be eaten soon. And talking of that, Dave, Ithink it's about dinner-time; what say you? My clock here, " patting hisstomach as he spoke, "warns me that it needs winding up. "

"All right, I feel peckish myself, " answered David, who was skinning andcutting open the fish leisurely with his clasp knife, which he could doeasily without removing from his position or shifting his leg, whileJonathan cleaned them and washed them in the sea over the side of theboat preparatory to spreading them out on the top of their awning to dryin the sun. "Just wait till I finish this last beggar, and then I'lltackle Miss Molly Hawk, and we'll begin. Do you know, Jonathan, I don'tthink birds are half so bad eaten raw? I did enjoy that cape pigeonyesterday. "

"So did I, " said the other. "It makes me hungrier to think of it. Lookalive, old boy, or I'll start on one of these fish just to keep my handin. "

"No, you won't, or your teeth either, you cannibal, " said Davidjocularly. "I'm captain, and purser too, and I'm not so extravagant asto serve out two courses for dinner. Chaffing aside, " he added moreseriously, "we'll have to be rigidly economical, Jonathan, for we can'ttell how long it may be before we fall in with a ship or reach land, andwe've already experienced something of what the pangs of starvation arelike, though, thank God, we were not put so severely to the test as somehave been! I wish, old fellow, we were as well off for water as we arefor grub. I don't think there is a pint more in the breaker, now thatwe've had that last drink, and I'm sure we've not been very prodigal ofit, and I've measured it out carefully every day. "

"Perhaps it will rain, " said Jonathan cheerfully--the sight of the mollyhawk, which David had dexterously plucked and cut in two, the same as hehad done the cape pigeon on the previous day, making him feel ravenouslyhungry, and limiting all his considerations to the present, instead ofhis being impressed with their future needs, as was the case with hismore reflective companion, "Perhaps it will rain, David. `Sufficientfor the day is the evil thereof. ' Let us set to work; I'm starving!"

The appetites of the boys being hearty, they finished every scrap of thebird, which, raw as it was, tasted like roast goose to them, although itwas not nearly so large as it had appeared with all its feathers on; andthen both lay down in the boat and had a hearty sleep, the first theyhad had without interruption since they left their bunks for the lasttime on board the _Sea Rover_. 

Poor fellows! they had need of rest, for the calm lasted a week, duringwhich time their water ran out, and for more than two days they had nota single drop, although they reduced their allowance to such aninfinitesimal quantity that their final draught did not amount to morethan a minim. 

They now endured all the agonies of thirst, their diet of dried fishmaking them feel it worse; and it was as much as David could do toprevent Jonathan from drinking the sea water and losing his senses, ashe would have done--like many others who would not control theirinclinations, but insisted on having it, and afterwards went mad anddied. 

Then, in the very height of their sufferings, a storm of rain came onwhich half filled the boat with water, giving them plenty to drink, butspoiling the remainder of their fish, so that they had to throw themoverboard. 

After the rain the wind sprang up again, and the sail was once morehoisted, David trying to keep the boat as nearly in the direction of thecoast of South Africa as he could guess, during the day steering by thesun; but at night she went as the breeze willed, and so it continued fordays, the boys getting weaker and weaker through starvation, althoughthey had saved plenty of water in their cask to assuage the pangs ofthirst, during which time they never saw a bird or a fish to which theycould get near. 

They sighted several ships, but they were too far off to attract theirnotice; and when, finally, a sudden squall in the night blew away theirmast and sail, and left them tossing helplessly on the ocean, starvingand worn out with fatigue, they gave up all hope, and lay down in thebottom of the boat to die--Jonathan being the first to succumb. 

"Good-bye, Dave!" said he, raising himself with a feeble effort. 

"Good-bye, Jonathan!" said the other, grasping his companion's hand, ashe thought, for the last time. 

"I think I am going to die, " continued Jonathan: "my head is spinninground, and I feel faint. I will lie down a bit until the end comes. Good-bye, Dave, once more!"

And he sank down again into a restless sleep, the other following hisexample a moment or two afterwards; first giving one last haggard glancearound the horizon--on which not a single sail appeared in sight--as ifbidding it an eternal farewell. 

STORY THREE, CHAPTER SEVEN. 

RESCUED. 

"Boat ahoy!"

The two boys might have been asleep for hours only, or insensible fordays, they never knew for certain which, and nobody else could informthem; but that shout ringing in their ears awoke them, with a thrill ofagony that it might be merely a dream of their disordered imagination. 

One look, however, satisfied them to the contrary, when they painfullyraised themselves into a sitting posture in the bottom of the boat--which they could hardly do by reason of their weakness--holding on tothe gunwales on either side as they dragged up their attenuated bodies, and directing their sunken eyes, which rolled with incipient delirium, to the point from whence the hail came. 

They could have screamed for joy, but their voices failed them, andtheir emotion found relief in tears and stifling sobs. 

A large ship lay to about a hundred yards off; and a boat, which hadevidently just been lowered from its side, was being pulled rapidlytowards them. 

As soon as the boat came alongside, the men in her, who appeared to beforeigners, looked at the boys with the deepest pity, and spoke to eachother rapidly in some guttural language, which Jonathan had a hazy ideawas German, as if expressing sympathy with their emaciated condition. 

One of them whom they took to be an officer, from the gold band on hiscap and the tone of authority in his voice, stepped into their boat, andappeared to have the intention of lifting them out of it into the other;but all at once he seemed to notice the name of the _Eric Strauss_, andstopped short, with an expression of surprised astonishment on his face. 

"Wunderbar!" he exclaimed, pointing out the name to his companions, whoalso looked eagerly at it; and then, while he remained with the boys inthe cutter, the painter of the latter was attached to the other boat, which towed it alongside the ship; and, after that David and Jonathanremembered no more, as they both fainted as they were being tenderlyhoisted on board. 

Jonathan was the first to come to himself. 

He was in a hammock in the 'tween decks of a ship, which he could feelwas in motion. At the slight movement he made in raising his head andpeering over the side of the hammock, a man with a grave face came tohim, saying something he could not understand. 

"Where's David?" inquired Jonathan, a little bit still puzzled in hishead. 

The man evidently knew that he was asking after his friend, as hepointed to another hammock, suspended a short distance from his own, inwhich David was calmly sleeping; after which he gave him some soup todrink, and Jonathan dropped off to sleep too. 

When he awoke again he felt much better, and motioning to the attendantthat he would like to get out of the hammock, the man assisted him on tohis feet. He was a little shaky at first, feeling sore all over; butafter walking up and down a few steps with the assistance of theattendant's arm, he regained his strength, and proceeded to the side ofDavid's hammock to pay him a visit. 

At the sound of Jonathan's voice, the other--who appeared to have beenwide awake although he had made no movement--at once jumped up, andwithout any assistance got out and stood on the deck by Jonathan's side. 

"Well, old fellow!" said he. 

"Well, Dave!" ejaculated the other; and they clasped each other's handswith a tight grip, as they had never expected to do again on earth. They fully appreciated their rescue, and thanked God for it. 

"And how do you feel, Dave?" inquired Jonathan, after they had had along look at each other. 

"First-rate, " said he. "And you?"

"Oh, I'm all right. But your leg, Dave, is it better?"

"To tell you the truth, " answered he with a hearty laugh, "I forgot allabout it. It's quite well now--look! and that black and blue appearanceit had has disappeared. I don't feel the slightest pain, so it must beall right. "

The attendant, seeing both the lads better and able to move about, herebrought them each a mess of something nice to eat, which they polishedoff in so hearty a manner as to make him smile, and exclaim, "Sehr gut!"with much satisfaction to himself; and he then handed the boys theirclothes, which had been carefully dried and smoothed, and assisted themto dress. 

"I wish, " said David, as he completed his toilet by pulling on a pair ofHessian boots, that the man brought him in place of the solitary onewhich he remembered having on in the boat, "I wish we had been picked upby an English ship, although these chaps have been very kind, of course, and beggars mustn't be choosers. They are Germans, I suppose, eh? Doyou know the lingo, Jonathan?"

"Yes, it's a German ship, _Die Ahnfrau_, " replied his friend, likewisedonning another pair of "loaned" boots, and accepting a cap, which theattendant produced with a bow. "How polite this chap is, Dave! I'msorry I only know one or two words of the language, or I would thankhim, and get out all the information I could about the vessel, and howthey picked us up. "

"Oh we'll find that out somehow, " said David carelessly, "all in goodtime, old fellow. " And the man at that moment tapping him on the arm, and making a motion that he should follow him, he and Jonathan wentafter him up the companion-stairs, from the cabin in which they were, onto the upper deck. 

They were in a large barque, as they could see, under full sail, withroyals, staysails, stunsails, and everything that could draw, set; butthey had not much time given them for observation. 

"Wie heissen Sie?" said a short, stout man in spectacles, speaking in asharp imperative voice. He had a very broad gold band on his cap, andthe boys took him for the captain of the vessel, as indeed he was. Hespecially seemed to address Jonathan, as the attendant who had escortedthem on deck took them up to him, where he was standing by the binnaclewith two or three others. 

"John Liston, " answered that worthy, speaking almost involuntarily, asthe phrase the captain used, asking his name, was one of the few Germanones with which he was acquainted. 

"Ah, ah!" exclaimed the captain, in a very meaning tone, addressing anofficer that stood by his side, and whom David fixed as the first mate. "Sie sprechen Deutsch! Ah, ha!"

"Nein, --no, " said Jonathan, "I do not. I cannot speak German, I assureyou. "

"Very vell, " said the little captain, in pretty good English, althoughwith a strong foreign accent. "We will suppose you cannot! Tell me, how did you come in that boat in which we picked you up?"

Thereupon Jonathan told him of their being lost from the _Sea Rover_, David adding, as Jonathan left out that part of the story, how hisfriend had bravely plunged overboard to his rescue. The German captain, however, much to David's disgust, did not believe him. He wasn'taccustomed to heroism in his sphere evidently!

"Oh, it's all very well, " he said sneeringly, "but will you tell me howit was that you two boys, belonging to the _Sea Rover_, as you say, cameto be in a boat belonging to the _Eric Strauss_, which boat was takenaway from that vessel by some of the crew--amongst whom, we wereinformed at the Cape by the authorities there, were two lads likeyourselves--after a mutiny in which they nearly murdered the master?"

Of course they explained; but the captain only turned a deaf ear to allthey said. He insisted that they were the survivors of the mutineers ofthe _Eric Strauss_, and told them he intended putting them in irons, andtaking them home for trial at Bremerhaven--where _Die Ahnfrau_ was boundfrom Batavia, having only stopped at the Cape of Good Hope for freshprovisions and water, and having there heard of the mutiny on board the_Eric Strauss_, in which vessel the captain of the former was deeplyinterested, being the brother of the master, whom the crew had set upon, as well as partner of the ship. 

All remonstrances on the boys' part were useless; and, after being somiraculously preserved from the perils of the deep, they wound up thehistory of their adventures when "lost at sea, " as David patheticallyremarked, by being "carried off prisoners to Germany by a lot ofcabbage-soup-eating, sourkrout Teutons, who were almost bigger foolsthan they looked!" It was all Jonathan's little knowledge of the Germanlanguage that did it, however. 

Naturally, the mistake of _Die Ahnfrau's_ commander was soon discoveredon the arrival of the ship at Bremerhaven, when the boys were able tocommunicate with their friends and the owners of the _Sea Rover_ inLondon, and they were released immediately. But the insult rankled intheir bosoms for some time after, and did not completely disappear, fromDavid's mind especially, until the _Sea Rover_--which, they heard fromthe owners at the same time that they produced proof of the boys'identity, had already left Melbourne on her return voyage--had got backsafely to the port of London, and Johnny Liston's father and CaptainMarkham had greeted their young heroes as if they had been restored fromthe dead. 

Jonathan received the medal of the Royal Humane Society for his braveryin plunging overboard to David's assistance; and the two boys are stillthe closest and dearest friends in the world, David being third mate, and Jonathan, who took to the sea for the other's sake, fourth officerof the _Sea Rover_, at the present moment, "which, when found, " asCaptain Cuttle says, "why, make a note on!"

STORY FOUR, CHAPTER ONE. 

"BLACK HARRY. "

"The cap'en p'r'aps was in fault in the first instance; but then, youknow, it's no place for a man to argue for the right or wrong of a thingaboard ship. When he signs articles, he's bound to obey orders; and aseverybody must be aware, especially those in the seafaring line, thecaptain is king on board his ship when once at sea--king, primeminister, parliament, judge and jury, and all the rest of it. "

"But, " said I, "he's under orders and under the law, too, as well as anyother man, isn't he?"

"Yes, when he's ashore, " said the mate with the shade over his eye. "_Then_ he's got to answer for anything he might have done wrong on thevoyage, if the crew likes to haul him up afore the magistrates; but atsea his word is law, and he can do as he pleases with no hindrance, savewhat providence and the elements may interpose. "

"And providence _does_ interpose sometimes?" said I. 

"Yes, in the most wonderful and mysterious ways, " said the mate with theshade over his eye, speaking in a solemn and awe-struck manner. "Lookat what happened in our case! But stop, as I don't suppose you've heardthe rights of it, I'll tell you all about it. "

"Do, " said I. 

He was the mate of a vessel which had been picked up at sea, disabledand almost derelict under most peculiar circumstances, with only oneother survivor besides himself on board, and brought into Falmouth bythe passing steamer which had rescued her. He was a most extraordinaryman to look at. Short, with a dreamy face and lanky, whitish-brownhair, and a patch or shade over one eye, which gave him a very peculiarappearance, as the other eye squinted or turned askew, looking, assailors say, all the week for Sunday. 

"Do, " said I. "There's nothing that I should like better!"

Clearing his throat with a faint sort of apologetic cough, and staringapparently round the corner with his sound, or rather unshaded eye, hebegan without any further hesitation. 

"The cap'en p'raps was in the wrong at first, as I said afore, sir. Yousee, some men are born to authority, and some isn't, and Captain Jarviswas one of those that aren't. I don't wish to speak ill of a man, whenhe's dead and gone to his account, and not here to answer for himself;but I must say, if I speak the truth, that it was all through Cap'enJarvis' fault the _Gulnare_ came to grief and all on board murdered eachother; and what weren't murdered were swept off the ship and drowned inthe storm that came on afterwards, when everybody was seeking eachother's blood, and so met their doom in that way--all, that is, barrin'little Peter and me, who only lived through the scrimmage and the galeto tell the story of the others' fate. The cap'en had a bad temper anddidn't know how to keep it under; that was at the bottom of it all; andyet, a nicer man, when the devil hadn't got the upper hand of him, and ahandsomer chap--he was better looking than me, sir, " said the mate in anearnest way, as if his statement was so incredible that he hardlyexpected it to be believed--"yes, a nicer and a handsomer chap you neverclapped eyes on in a day's run than Cap'en Jarvis! He stood a trifletaller than me, and had a jolly bearded face with merry blue eyes; butwith all that and his good-humoured manner when everything was up to thenines and all plain sailing, he had old Nick's temper and could show itwhen he liked! We left Mobile short-handed; and when you leave port tocross the Atlantic short-handed at this time of the year, I guess, mister, you've got your work cut out for you, you have! There was onlythe cap'en; myself, first mate; the second officer, boatswain, and tenhands all told, includin' idlers, to navigate a ship of over eighthundred tons from Mobile to Liverpool in the very worst time of theyear! A bad lookout when you come to consider it fairly as I have; andwhen you have a cap'en as is continually working the men to death anda-swearin' and a-drivin' at them, and they undermanned too, why itstands to reason that harm will come: you're bound to have a muss, youbet, before the voyage is through!

"We'd hardly cleared the Gulf of Florida when the weather got bad, witha foul wind and a heavy sea; and we were driven past Cape Hatterasbefore we could make a bit of easting in our longitude. You never sawsuch a rough time of it as we had. The watch below had no sooner turnedin than they had to be called up again to reef topsails or make sail, for there were too few hands to be of much use without both watchesworked together, and so the men had to do double tides, as it were, withneither time to eat nor sleep comfortably. To add to their hardships, they were constantly in wet clothes, as it poured with rain the wholetime; besides which, the ship was so heavily laden that we werecontinually taking in seas over the bows as she laboured, the waterwashing aft of course, and drenching them who might have escaped therain to the skin, so that not a soul aboard had a dry rag on. You canimagine, sir, how the men stomached this, particularly when there wasthe skipper swearing at 'em all the time, and saying that they were lazylubbers and not worth their salt, when they were trying hard to do theirbest, as I must give them the credit of! I spoke to the cap'en, but itwas of no use--not a bit; you might just as well have expected a capstanbar to hear reason!

"`Mr Marling, ' says he, in the still way he always spoke when he wasreal angry. `Mr Marling, I'm captain of my own ship, and always intendto be so as long as I can draw my breath: I'll thank you to mind yourown business!'

"What could I say after that? Nothing; and so I said nothing more, although I could almost foresee what was coming, step by step!

"This dirty weather had been going on for about a fortnight, orthereabouts; the wind heading us every now and then and veering backagain to the southward and westwards, accompanied by squalls of hail andrain following each other with lightning rapidly; so that no sooner hadone cleared off than another was on to us, and we had to clear upeverything and let the ship drive before the gale as she pleased, for itwas of no use trying to make a fair wind out of a foul one any longer. As well as we could make out our reckoning, with the aid of some lunarobservations Captain Jarvis booked the night before, for we were unableto see the sun long enough for our purpose, we were about some three orfour hundred miles to the west of Bermuda, when, just as the clouds werebreaking up blue-black against the sky, and the barometer told us in itsplain language that it was coming on to blow harder, and that we wouldhave worse weather than we had yet had, all the hands, as if with oneaccord, struck work--with the exception of the man at the wheel, whostuck to his post! There was no mistake about it: the watch on deckrefused point-blank to go aloft when the skipper ordered them, for aboutthe fourth time in the hour, I should think it was, to take in sail;while the watch below, in spite of the boatswain's hammering away at thefore-hatch and the capen's swearing, declared that they wouldn't rouseup, not even if the ship was sinking, and if they were shouted at anymore they would sarve him out. It was a mutiny, there's no denying; aregular crisis, if ever there was one; and just what I expected, seeingas how things were going ever since we left Mobile, not three weeksbefore. "

"Captain Jarvis, " he resumed after a brief pause, "no sooner heard themen refuse to come on deck than he went below. Not to where they werein the fore-hatch--he knew a thing or two better than that--but to hiscabin, and in a minute he comes up again with a revolver in each of hisfists. 

"`Now, ' says he in a firm, hard, but quiet voice, not loud--he alwaysspoke particularly quiet when he was angry, as I've told you; and he wasangry now, if ever a man was! `Now, you skulkers, ' he says, addressingfirst the hands on deck--`Aloft every man-jack of you! I'll shoot thelast man that's up the shrouds!' They were up in the rigging prettysmart, you bet, at that, when he had a revolver levelled dead at theirheads. `See that you stow that main-topsail in a brace of shakes! Andyou lubbers below, wake up there!' he exclaimed over the fore-hatch, firing a shot down below as he spoke. `Wake up there and on deck; or, I'll riddle every mother's son of you before I count ten. You, BlackHarry, I know you've set this pretty little scheme going! Up with you, or by the Lord Harry, your namesake, I'll put a bullet through yourcarcass!'

"With that the watch below, knowing with whom they had to deal, thoughtit best to give in; and up they came, Black Harry at their head, assullen as a lot of schoolboys going up to be flogged, who had justthought they had barred out the master. 

"`It's no use your grumbling, ' says Cap'en Jarvis, with a queer grin onhis face that was more angry-like than a pain, `It's no use yourgrumbling with me! Aloft with you, and make that fore topsail all snug, and set storm staysails, for we've got something rougher coming. I'llsettle with you, Master Harry, by-and-by!'"

"You haven't told me yet about this man, though I've read his name inthe papers. Who was Black Harry?" asked I. 

"Haven't I told you about him yet? No; then, I'll tell you all abouthim now, for he had more to do with the row aboard the _Gulnare_ thananybody else! He was a regular dare-devil of a pocket-a-win, as theyare called at Liverpool--a tall, lean, down-east Yankee from Boston, with jet-black hair, and a swarthy face, which made you think he hadnigger blood in him and got him his name of `Black Harry. ' A powerfulman and a good foremast hand; but an all-fired lazy devil about work, and as sulky as a bear when he didn't get his grub regular. He was nocoward though; and no skulker in danger, as some white-livered chaps arewho ought to be ashamed to ship as sailors, for he'd venture aloftsometimes when no one else would dare, and was the first man at theweather-earing when it was `Reef topsails!' But he had a temper asskittish as the cap'en's, and couldn't stand being swore at. I've heardhim many a time mutter after the captain had been going on at him. Iknow I'd not have liked to have said half to him that Captain Jarvisdid, for Black Harry looked like a man who would never forget norforgive a grudge. 

"Well, by-and-by the hands came down from aloft; and amongst them BlackHarry, who lagged behind the rest, although he had been the first in theforetop going up. 

"`Come here, you lubber!' said the cap'en to him, singing out aloud ashe touched the deck--`you, I mean, Black Harry. I've got a littlematter to settle, I think, with you. Who incited the hands to mutinyjust now? I don't forget, Master Harry--I don't forget!'

"`Neither do I!' grumbled Harry below his voice. 

"`What is that, you mutinous dog?' exclaimed the cap'en, flying into aviolent passion again, although he had somewhat calmed down from hisformer rage--`Answer me to my teeth, you scoundrel? Take that!' and hehit a drive full fair in the centre of the forehead, with the butt-endof his revolver, holding it by the barrel, felling Harry to the decksenseless, like a bullock under the poleaxe!

"Some of the crew murmured `Shame!' But the cap'en kept up hisauthority. `Silence there!' he cried out. `Down with you, watch below, if you want to see your bunks to-night, and take that hulking carcasswith you, or I'll throw it overboard!' And then the men went below, andtook poor Black Harry, with them; the vessel was made snug under herjib, storm staysails, and close-reefed mainsail; and Captain Jarvis, whohadn't been off the deck, except to fetch his revolver that time, oncein the twenty-four hours, returned to his cabin to have a bit of sleep, leaving me on the watch; the second officer and boatswain, who actedalso as third mate, having also turned in for a caulk and gone down intothe steerage. 

"The sun, which we couldn't see, had set long since, before indeed thatlittle misunderstanding had occurred about going aloft; and the moonshone feebly now and then through an occasional opening in the clouds, which had piled up atop of each other so heavy to windward that theywere like a pall in the sky. 

"There was only myself and the steersman aft, the rest of the watch, which were only five in number altogether, being stowed somewhere underthe bulwarks amidships, trying to get an odd wink if the seas that wereshipping in as the ship's bows fell would let them. Not a sound was tobe heard save the whistle and screech of the wind through the cordage, and the creak of a block occasionally aloft; and I was looking out atthe weather, wondering how soon the next squall would tackle us, when myarms were seized by somebody behind me, who held them down close to mysides, and a gag of a reef-knot or some piece of rope shoved into mymouth, so that I couldn't cry out. 

"`Mr Marling!' says a voice, which I recognised at once as BlackHarry's, whispering in my ear, `you need not fear nothing, only keepquiet, and no harm will be done to you; but if you tries to make anoise, why, we'll have to quiet you in a way you won't like!'

"With that, you may be sure, I was as tranquil as a mouse, while theytied me down to a ring-bolt close by the cabin skylight, so that Icouldn't move; but from my position I could see and hear everything thatwent on afterwards, although I couldn't get the gag out of my mouth soas to be able to speak. 

"`Now, men, ' I heard Black Harry then say aloud; `now, we'll pay outthat devil below! I wonder how he'll like his mutinous dogs at closequarters?' and he laughed a horrible bitter laugh. 

"Then I heard them begin to descend the companion ladder into thecaptain's cabin. 

"They didn't go far enough! No sooner had Black Harry placed his footon the first stair, followed by the other mutineers, than there was aflash and a stunning explosion from below. The captain, who had thequick hearing of a hound, must have caught the sound of their tusslingwith me on the deck, for he was ready for them with his double-barrelledgun. I saw him distinctly by the flash through the skylight, standingat the foot of the companion, while Gripper, the second officer, washurrying up behind him through the door leading into the steerage whereour berths were. Yes, I saw the captain. He had fired one shot, andstood waiting with the other barrel ready. 

"`Come on, you dogs!' I heard him exclaim as he discharged the gun. `There's one dose of slugs, and I've got another handy for you!'

"The men from the sound appeared to shrink back for a second, but thenext minute they rushed down in a body; there was a second report of thecaptain's gun, and I received, unbeknown to him, poor fellow--for hedidn't intend it, I know--a slug right in my eye here; and for some timeI was in such agony that I didn't know what occurred below, although Iheard plenty of shots fired, and the sound of hand-to-hand fightingmingled with oaths, and curses, and cries. 

"When I recollected myself again there was Black Harry near mesurrounded by only four others, as well as I could see after wiping theblood off my face with part of my arm, which I was able to do bywriggling at my lashings; the rest must have gone under in thescrimmage. 

"`Now, you villain, ' I heard Black Harry say again in a voice full ofspite and anger, `I've got you! Lash him up there in the lee rigging!'says he to his fellow-murderers; and in a trice I saw the poor cap'en, quite pale and exhausted, fixed like a spread eagle in the mizzenshrouds to leeward. `Now, you villain!' says Black Harry again, cockingone of the captain's revolvers which he had ready in his hand, `you saidyou would riddle us just now if we didn't go aloft after treating uslike dogs ever since we came on board your cursed ship! Well, Jarvis, you dog--Cap'en Jarvis, I beg your pardon!--I intend to riddle you now!'

"The cap'en didn't say a word; he only looked at him; but if looks couldkill, his would then!

"`You dog!' said Black Harry again, after a stop to see if the captainwould speak. `I've got three slugs in my stomach, and you've sworethree times at me to-day like a dog--that makes six in all; I intend tosend six shots through your vile carcass without killing you if I canhelp it. You knocked me down on the deck with the butt-end of yourpistol, and ordered my body to be taken below by the hands, or else yousaid you'd throw it overboard. For that outrage I'll take my lastrevenge, after riddling you like a sieve, by smashing in your skull, andpitching your vile carcass to the sharks--Dog!'

"With that the ruffian fired his first shot with the revolver at hispowerless victim. The captain winced slightly, and I saw the bullet hadcarried off part of one of his ears. 

"`Ha!' said Black Harry, `nervous, are you? Here's another fillip foryou. '

"But at the same moment the storm, which I had seen brewing up towindward, burst over the ship; and a tremendous wave seemed to flattenme down on the deck, the ring-bolt to which I was lashed preventing mefrom slipping away. When the rush of water had subsided, and I was ableto hold up my head once more, my wounded eye smarting worse than ever, Isaw that the mizzen and main masts with part of the foremast had beenwashed clean away with the shrouds, running-gear, and all their hamper, and, of course, the body of the poor captain, Black Harry, and all hiscompanions in crime had been carried off too in the general wreck. 

"How long I remained lashed to the deck of the crippled vessel with thewaves dashing over me, the sport of the sea and the mark of the weather, I know not. The first thing I recollect after what appeared to be aneternity of torture, was that I found myself on board the _Saracen_, ascrew steamer bound from New York to Southampton, which had sighted the_Gulnare_ tossing at the mercy of the wind and waves, and sent a boat tosee whether there was anybody alive on board. I was on board, alivethough senseless for a time, and brought to after much kindlysolicitude; so, too, was little Peter, the cabin-boy, whom the mutineershad tied up in his bunk in the forecastle, and who was also alive, though nearly starved to death. Besides our two selves, there was noother living thing; but the bodies of Gripper, the second officer, Painter, the boatswain, and those of the mutineers who had not beenwashed overboard, were found floating about in the cabin, all with themarks of bullet and shot wounds and other injuries, to show that theyhad come by a violent death after a hard struggle. 

"When my senses were to the fore again, naturally I informed my salvorsof all that had occurred; and as the cargo of the _Gulnare_ was avaluable one, her hull not very much damaged, and the weather calm andfavourable, the captain of the _Saracen_, which had so providentiallycome across her--and a right good fellow he has been to me!--made up hismind to salvage my old ship if he could. "

"And so he towed her in here at Falmouth, and you made your depositionsalong with the cabin-boy, Peter, the only survivors of the catastrophe, about the facts of the case, for the benefit of the underwriters and theclearance of your own character?"

"Just so, mister, " said the man with the shade over his eye, who itstrikes me from certain circumstances was of American nationality; "andthat's the whole story about `Black Harry, ' I guess!"

THE END.