A JOLLY FELLOWSHIP. 

FRANK R. STOCKTON'S WRITINGS

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 [Illustration: "BANG! BANG! BANG!--SEVEN TIMES. "

 [Page 105. ]]

A JOLLY FELLOWSHIP

BY

FRANK R. STOCKTON

AUTHOR OF "RUDDER GRANGE, " ETC. 

_ILLUSTRATED_

 NEW-YORK CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS 1901

 Copyright, 1880, by CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS. 

 TROW'S PRINTING AND BOOKBINDING COMPANY, NEW YORK. 

_This story is told by Will Gordon, a young fellow about sixteen yearsold, who saw for himself everything worth seeing in the course of theevents he relates, and so knows much more about them than any one whowould have to depend upon hearsay. Will is a good-looking boy, withbrown hair and gray eyes, rather large for his age, and very fond ofbeing a leader among his young companions. Whether or not he is good atthat sort of thing, you can judge from the story he tells. _

CONTENTS. 

 _Chapter. _ _Page. _

 I. WE MAKE A START 1

 II. GOING BACK WITH THE PILOT 16

 III. RECTUS OPENS HIS EYES 29

 IV. TO THE RESCUE 43

 V. STORMING SAN MARCO 56

 VI. THE GIRL ON THE BEACH 69

 VII. MR. CHIPPERTON 88

 VIII. THE STEAM-BOAT IN THE FOREST 100

 IX. THE THREE GRAY BEANS 116

 X. THE QUEEN ON THE DOOR-STEP 128

 XI. REGAL PROJECTS 140

 XII. RECTUS LOSES RANK 154

 XIII. THE CORONATION 166

 XIV. A HOT CHASE 178

 XV. A STRANGE THING HAPPENS TO ME 191

 XVI. MR. CHIPPERTON KEEPS PERFECTLY COOL 204

 XVII. WHAT BOY HAS DONE, BOY MAY DO 217

 XVIII. I WAKE UP MR. CHIPPERTON 229

 XIX. THE LIFE-RAFT 241

 XX. THE RUSSIAN BARK 252

 XXI. THE TRIP OF THE TUG 263

 XXII. LOOKING AHEAD 274

 XXIII. UNCLE CHIPPERTON'S DINNER 285

 XXIV. THE STORY ENDS 296

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 

 _Page. _ "BANG! BANG! BANG!--SEVEN TIMES. " (_Frontispiece. _)

 "SHE SEIZED ME BY BOTH HANDS" 10

 THE VESSEL IS OFF 17

 SCOTT AND THE CAPTAIN 19

 RECTUS AND THE LEMONS 27

 "'HOLD YOUR TONGUE!' ROARED MR. RANDALL" 32

 "RECTUS SHOWED ME THE MAP" 35

 "HOW?" 46

 "ANOTHER BEAN" 64

 "THE GENTLEMAN WAVED HIS HAT TO US" 80

 "WHY, HOW DO YOU DO?" 88

 "VOY-EZZ VOWS CETT HOMMY ETT SES DUCKS FEMMYS SEELAH?" 110

 "WE SAW HER SLOWLY RISING BENEATH US" 119

 "'ALL RIGHT, ' SAID GOLIAH, WITH A SMILE" 157

 A SMALL DIVE 170

 "I WOULDN'T LIKE IT MYSELF" 197

 "WE STRUCK OUT TOGETHER FOR THE BOAT" 224

 "'KEEP PERFECTLY COOL, ' SAID MR. CHIPPERTON" 239

 "RECTUS HELPED ME TO FASTEN THE LIFE-PRESERVER" 243

 "YOU'RE A REGULAR YOUNG TRUMP" 277

A JOLLY FELLOWSHIP. 

CHAPTER I. 

WE MAKE A START. 

I was sitting on the deck of a Savannah steam-ship, which was lying at adock in the East River, New York. I was waiting for young Rectus, andhad already waited some time; which surprised me, because Rectus was, asa general thing, a very prompt fellow, who seldom kept people waiting. But it was probably impossible for him to regulate his own movementsthis time, for his father and mother were coming with him, to see himoff. 

I had no one there to see me off, but I did not care for that. I wassixteen years old, and felt quite like a man; whereas Rectus was onlyfourteen, and couldn't possibly feel like a man--unless his looks verymuch belied his feelings. My father and mother and sister lived in asmall town some thirty miles from New York, and that was a very goodreason for their not coming to the city just to see me sail away in asteam-ship. They took a good leave of me, though, before I left home. 

I shall never forget how I first became acquainted with Rectus. About acouple of years before, he was a new boy in the academy at Willisville. One Saturday, a lot of us went down to the river to swim. Our favoriteplace was near an old wharf, which ran out into deep water, and a fellowcould take a good dive there, when the tide was high. There were some ofthe smaller boys along that day, but they didn't dive any, and if theyeven swam, it was in shallow water near the shore, by the side of thewharf. But I think most of them spent their time wading about. 

I was a good swimmer, and could dive very well. I was learning to swimunder water, but had not done very much in that line at the time I speakof. We were nearly ready to come out, when I took a dive from a post onthe end of the wharf, and then turned, under water, to swim in shore. Iintended to try to keep under until I got into water shallow enough forme to touch bottom, and walk ashore. After half a dozen strokes, I feltfor the bottom and my feet touched it. Then I raised my head, but Ididn't raise it out of the water. It struck something hard. 

In an instant I knew what had happened. There was a big mud-scow lyingby the side of the wharf, and I had got under that! It was a great flatthing, ever so long and very wide. I knew I must get from under it asquickly as I could. Indeed, I could hardly hold my breath now. I wadedalong with my head bent down, but I didn't reach the side of it. Then Iturned the other way, but my hands, which I held up, still touchednothing but the hard, slimy bottom of the scow. I must have been wadingup and down the length of the thing. I was bewildered. I couldn't thinkwhich way to turn. I could only think of one thing. I would be drownedin less than a minute. Scott would be head of the class. My mother, andlittle Helen--but I can't tell what my thoughts were then. They weredreadful. But just as I was thinking of Helen and mother, I saw throughthe water some white things, not far from me. I knew by their looks thatthey were a boy's legs. 

I staggered toward them, and in a moment my hands went out of water, just at the side of the scow. I stood up, and my head with half my bodycame up into the air. 

What a breath I drew! But I felt so weak and shaky that I had to takehold of the side of the scow, and stand there for a while before I wadedashore. The boy who was standing by me was Rectus. He did not have thatname then, and I didn't know him. 

"It must be pretty hard to stay under water so long, " he said. 

"Hard!" I answered, as soon as I could get my breath; "I should thinkso. Why, I came near being drowned!"

"Is that so?" said he; "I didn't know that. I saw you go down, and havebeen watching for you to come up. But I didn't expect you to come fromunder the scow. "

How glad I was that he had been standing there watching for me to comeup! If he had not been there, or if his legs had been green or thecolor of water, I believe I should have drowned. 

I always liked the boy after that, though, of course, there was noparticular reason for it. He was a boarder. His parents lived in NewYork. Samuel Colbert was his real name, and the title of Rectus heobtained at school by being so good. He scarcely ever did anythingwrong, which was rather surprising to the rest of us, because he was notsickly or anything of that kind. After a while, we got into the way ofcalling him Rectus, and as he didn't seem to mind it, the name stuck tohim. The boys generally liked him, and he got on quite well in theschool, --in every way except in his studies. He was not a smart boy, anddid not pretend to be. 

I went right through the academy, from the lowest to the highest class, and when I left, the professor, as we called our principal, said that Iwas ready to go to college, and urged me very much to do so. But I wasnot in any hurry, and my parents agreed with me that, after four yearsof school-life, I had better wait a while before beginning a new course. All this disturbed the professor very much, but he insisted on mykeeping up my studies, so as not to get rusty, and he came up to ourhouse very often, for the purpose of seeing what I was doing in thestudy line, and how I was doing it. 

I thought over things a good deal for myself, and a few months after Ileft the academy I made up my mind to travel a little. I talked about itat home, and it was generally thought to be a good idea, although mysister was in favor of it only in case I took her with me. Otherwise sheopposed it. But there were a great many reasons why I could not takeher. She was only eleven. 

I had some money of my own, which I thought I would rather spend intravel than in any other way, and, as it was not a large sum, and as myfather could not afford to add anything to it, my journey could not bevery extensive. Indeed, I only contemplated going to Florida and perhapsa few other Southern States, and then--if it could be done--a visit tosome of the West India islands, and, as it was winter-time, that wouldbe a very good trip. My father did not seem to be afraid to trust me togo alone. He and the professor talked it over, and they thought that Iwould take good enough care of myself. The professor would have muchpreferred to see me go to college, but, as I was not to do that, hethought travelling much better for me than staying at home, although Imade no promise about taking my books along. But it was pretty wellsettled that I was to go to college in the fall, and this consoled him alittle. 

The person who first suggested this travelling plan was our oldphysician, Dr. Mathews. I don't know exactly what he said about it, butI knew he thought I had been studying too hard, and needed to "let up"for a while. And I'm sure, too, that he was quite positive that I wouldhave no let up as long as I staid in the same town with the professor. 

Nearly a year before this time, Rectus had left the academy. He hadnever reached the higher classes, --in fact, he didn't seem to get onwell at all. He studied well enough, but he didn't take hold of thingsproperly, and I believe he really did not care to go through the school. But he was such a quiet fellow that we could not make much out of him. His father was very rich, and we all thought that Rectus was taken awayto be brought up as a partner in the firm. But we really knew nothingabout it: for, as I found out afterward, Rectus spent all his time, after he left school, in studying music. 

Soon after my trip was all agreed upon and settled, father had to go toNew York, and there he saw Mr. Colbert, and of course told him of myplans. That afternoon, old Colbert came to my father's hotel, andproposed to him that I should take his son with me. He had always heard, he said, that I was a sensible fellow, and fit to be trusted, and hewould be very glad to have his boy travel with me. And he furthermoresaid that if I had the care of Samuel--for of course he didn't call hisson Rectus--he would pay me a salary. He had evidently read about youngEnglish fellows travelling on the continent with their tutors, and Isuppose he wanted me to be his son's tutor, or something like it. 

When father told me what Mr. Colbert had proposed, I agreed instantly. Iliked Rectus, and the salary would help immensely. I wrote to New Yorkthat very night, accepting the proposition. 

When my friends in the town, and those at the school, heard that Rectusand I were going off together, they thought it an uncommonly good joke, and they crowded up to our house to see me about it. 

"Two such good young men as you and Rectus travelling together ought tohave a beneficial influence upon whole communities, " said Harry Alden;and Scott remarked that if there should be a bad storm at sea, he wouldadvise us two to throw everybody else overboard to the whales, for theother people would be sure to be the wicked ones. I am happy to say thatI got a twist on Scott's ear that made him howl, and then mother came inand invited them all to come and take supper with me, the Tuesday beforeI started. We invited Rectus to come up from the city, but he did notmake his appearance. However, we got on first-rate without him, and hada splendid time. There was never a woman who knew just how to make boyshave a good time, like my mother. 

I had been a long while on the steamer waiting for Rectus. She was tosail at three o'clock, and it was then after two. The day was clear andfine, but so much sitting and standing about had made me cold, so that Iwas very glad to see a carriage drive up with Rectus and his father andmother. I went down to them. I was anxious to see Rectus, for it hadbeen nearly a year since we had met. He seemed about the same as he usedto be, and had certainly not grown much. He just shook hands with me andsaid, "How d' ye do, Gordon?" Mr. And Mrs. Colbert seemed ever so muchmore pleased to see me, and when we went on the upper deck, the oldgentleman took me into the captain's room, the door of which stood open. The captain was not there, but I don't believe Mr. Colbert would havecared if he had been. All he seemed to want was to find a place where wecould get away from the people on deck. When he had partly closed thedoor, he said:

"Have you got your ticket?"

"Oh, yes!" I answered; "I bought that ten days ago. I wrote for it. "

"That's right, " said he, "and here is Sammy's ticket. I was glad to seethat you had spoken about the other berth in your state-room beingreserved for Sammy. "

I thought he needn't have asked me if I had my ticket when he knew thatI had bought it. But perhaps he thought I had lost it by this time. Hewas a very particular little man. 

"Where do you keep your money?" he asked me, and I told him that thegreater part of it--all but some pocket-money--was stowed away in aninside pocket of my vest. 

"Very good, " said he; "that's better than a pocket-book or belt: but youmust pin it in. Now, here is Sammy's money--for his travelling expensesand his other necessities; I have calculated that that will be enoughfor a four months' trip, and you wont want to stay longer than that. Butif this runs out, you can write to me. If you were going to Europe, now, I'd get you a letter of credit, but for your sort of travelling, you'dbetter have the money with you. I did think of giving you a draft onSavannah, but you'd have to draw the money there--and you might as wellhave it here. You're big enough to know how to take care of it. " Andwith this he handed me a lot of banknotes. 

"And now, what about your salary? Would you like to have it now, or waituntil you come back?"

This question made my heart jump, for I had thought a great deal abouthow I was to draw that salary. So, quick enough, I said that I'd like tohave it now. 

"I expected so, " said he, "and here's the amount for four months. Ibrought a receipt. You can sign it with a lead-pencil. That will do. Nowput all this money in your inside pockets. Some in your vest, and somein your under-coat. Don't bundle it up too much, and be sure and pin itin. Pin it from the inside, right through the money, if you can. Putyour clothes under your pillow at night. Good-bye! I expect they'll besounding the gong directly, for us to get ashore. "

And so he hurried out. I followed him, very much surprised. He hadspoken only of money, and had said nothing about his son, --what hewished me to do for him, what plans of travel or instruction he haddecided upon, or anything, indeed, about the duties for which I was tobe paid. I had expected that he would come down early to the steamer andhave a long talk about these matters. There was no time to ask him anyquestions now, for he was with his wife, trying to get her to hurryashore. He was dreadfully afraid that they would stay on board too long, and be carried to sea. 

Mrs. Colbert, however, did not leave me in any doubt as to what shewanted me to do. She rushed up to me, and seized me by both hands. 

"Now you will take the greatest and the best care of my boy, wont you?You'll cherish him as the apple of your eye? You'll keep him out ofevery kind of danger? Now _do_ take good care of him, --especially instorms. "

[Illustration: "SHE SEIZED ME BY BOTH HANDS. "]

I tried to assure Rectus's mother--she was a wide, good-humoredlady--that I would do as much of all this as I could, and what I saidseemed to satisfy her, for she wiped her eyes in a very comfortable sortof a way. 

Mr. Colbert got his wife ashore as soon as he could, and Rectus and Istood on the upper deck and watched them get into the carriage and driveaway. Rectus did not look as happy as I thought a fellow ought to look, when starting out on such a jolly trip as we expected this to be. 

I proposed that we should go and look at our state-room, which wasnumber twenty-two, and so we went below. The state-room hadn't muchstate about it. It was very small, with two shelves for us to sleep on. I let Rectus choose his shelf, and he took the lower one. This suited mevery well, for I'd much rather climb over a boy than have one climb overme. 

There wasn't anything else in the room to divide, and we were just aboutto come out and call the thing settled, when I heard a shout at thedoor. I turned around, and there stood Harry Alden, and Scott, and TomMyers and his brother George!

I tell you, I was glad to see them. In spite of all my reasoning that itmade no difference about anybody coming to see me off, it did make agood deal of difference. It was a lonely sort of business starting offin that way--especially after seeing Rectus's father and mother comedown to the boat with him. 

"We didn't think of this until this morning, " cried Scott. "And then wevoted it was too mean to let you go off without anybody to see yousafely on board----"

"Oh, yes!" said I. 

"And so our class appointed a committee, " Scott went on, "to come downand attend to you, and we're the committee. It ought to have beenfellows that had gone through the school, but there were none of themthere. "

"Irish!" said Harry. 

"So we came, " said Scott. "We raised all the spare cash there was in theclass, and there was only enough to send four of us. We drew lots. If ithadn't been you, I don't believe the professor would have let us off. Any way, we missed the noon train, and were afraid, all the way here, that we'd be too late. Do you two fellows have to sleep in those'cubby-holes'?"

"Certainly, " said I; "they're big enough. "

"Don't believe it, " said Harry Alden; "they're too short. "

"That's so, " said Scott, who was rather tall for his age. "Let's try'em. "

This was agreed to on the spot, and all four of the boys took off theirboots and got into the berths, while Rectus and I sat down on the littlebench at the side of the room and laughed at them. Tom Myers and hisbrother George both climbed into the top berth at once, and as theyfound it was a pretty tight squeeze, they both tried to get out at once, and down they came on Scott, who was just turning out of the lowerberth, --which was too long for him, in spite of all his talk, --and thenthere was a much bigger tussle, all around, than any six boys could makewith comfort in a little room like that. 

I hustled Tom Myers and his brother George out into the dining-room, andthe other fellows followed. 

"Is this where you eat?" asked Scott, looking up and down at the longtables, with the swinging shelves above them. 

"No, this isn't where they eat, " said Harry; "this is where they come tolook at victuals, and get sick at the sight of them. "

"Sick!" said I; "not much of it. "

But the committee laughed, and didn't seem to agree with me. 

"You'll be sick ten minutes after the boat starts, " said Scott. 

"We wont get into sea-sick water until we're out of the lower bay, " Isaid. "And this isn't a boat--it's a ship. You fellows know lots!"

Tom Myers and his brother George were trying to find out why thetumblers and glasses were all stuck into holes in the shelves over thetables, when Harry Alden sung out:

"What's that swishing?"

"That what?" said I. 

"There it goes again!" Harry cried. "Splashing!"

"It's the wheels!" exclaimed Rectus. 

"That's so!" cried Scott. "The old thing's off! Rush up! Here! Thehind-stairs! Quick!"

And upstairs to the deck we all went, one on top of another. The wheelswere going around, and the steamer was off!

Already she was quite a distance from the wharf. I suppose the tidecarried her out, as soon as the lines were cast off, for I'm sure thewheels had not been in motion half a minute before we heard them. Butall that made no difference. We were off. 

I never saw four such blank faces as the committee wore, when they sawthe wide space of water between them and the wharf. 

"Stop her!" cried Scott to me, as if I could do anything, and then hemade a dive toward a party of men on the deck. 

"They're passengers!" I cried. "We must find the captain. "

"No, no!" said Harry. "Go for the steersman. Tell him to steer back! Wemustn't be carried off!"

Tom Myers and his brother George had already started for thepilot-house, when Rectus shouted to them that he'd run down to theengineer and tell him to stop the engine. So they stopped, and Rectuswas just going below when Scott called to him to hold up. 

"You needn't be scared!" he said. (He had been just as much scared asanybody. ) "That man over there says it will be all right. We can go backwith the pilot. People often do that. It will be all the more fun. Don'tbother the engineer. There's nothing I'd like better than a trip backwith a pilot!"

"That's so, " said Harry; "I never thought of the pilot. "

"But are you sure he'll take you back?" asked Rectus, while Tom Myersand his brother George looked very pale and anxious. 

"Take us? Of course he will, " said Scott. "That's one of the things apilot's for, --to take back passengers, --I mean people who are onlygoing part way. Do you suppose the captain will want to take us all theway to Savannah for nothing?"

Rectus didn't suppose that, and neither did any of the rest of us, but Ithought we ought to look up the captain and tell him. 

"But, you see, " said Scott, "it's just possible he _might_ put back. "

"Well, don't you want to go back?" I asked. 

"Yes, of course, but I would like a sail back in a pilot-boat, " saidScott, and Harry Alden agreed with him. Tom Myers and his brother Georgewanted to go back right away. 

We talked the matter over a good deal. I didn't wish to appear as if Iwanted to get rid of the fellows who had been kind enough to come allthe way from Willisville to see me off, but I couldn't help thinkingthat it didn't look exactly fair and straightforward not to say thatthese boys were not passengers until the pilot was ready to go back. Idetermined to go and see about the matter, but I would wait a littlewhile. 

It was cool on deck, especially now that the vessel was moving along, but we all buttoned up our coats and walked up and down. The sun shonebrightly, and the scene was so busy and lively with the tug-boatspuffing about, and the vessels at anchor, and the ferry-boats, and awhole bay-full of sights curious to us country boys, that we all enjoyedourselves very much--except Tom Myers and his brother George. Theydidn't look happy. 

CHAPTER II. 

GOING BACK WITH THE PILOT. 

We were pretty near the Narrows when I thought it was about time to letthe captain, or one of the officers, know that there were some people onboard who didn't intend to take the whole trip. I had read in thenewspapers that committees and friends who went part way withdistinguished people generally left them in the lower bay. 

But I was saved the trouble of looking for an officer, for one of them, the purser, came along, collecting tickets. I didn't give him a chanceto ask Scott or any of the other fellows for something that they didn'thave, but went right up to him and told him how the matter stood. 

"I must see the captain about this, " he said, and off he went. 

"He didn't look very friendly, " said Scott, and I had to admit that hedidn't. 

In a few moments the captain came walking rapidly up to us. He was atall man, dressed in blue, with side-whiskers, and an oil-cloth cap. The purser came up behind him. 

"What's all this?" said the captain. "Are you not passengers, you boys?"He did not look very friendly, either, as he asked this question. 

[Illustration: THE VESSEL IS OFF. ]

"Two of us are, " I said, "but four of us were carried offaccidentally. "

"Accident? Fiddlesticks!" exclaimed the captain. "Didn't you know thevessel was starting? Hadn't you time to get off? Didn't you hear thegong? Everybody else heard it. Are you all deaf?"

This was a good deal to answer at once, so I just said that I didn'tremember hearing any gong. Tom Myers and his brother George, however, spoke up, and said that they had heard a gong, they thought, but did notknow what it was for. 

"Why didn't you ask, then?" said the captain, who was getting worse inhis humor. I had a good mind to tell him that it would take up a gooddeal of the crew's time if Tom Myers and his brother George asked abouteverything they didn't understand on board this ship, but I thought Ihad better not. I have no doubt the gong sounded when we were having ourrow in the state-room, and were not likely to pay attention to it evenif we did hear it. 

"And why, in the name of common sense, " the captain went on, "didn't youcome and report, the instant you found the vessel had started? Did youthink we were fast to the pier all this time?"

Then Scott thought he might as well come out square with the truth; andhe told how they made up their minds, after they found that the steamerhad really started, with them on board, not to make any fuss about it, nor give anybody any trouble to stop the ship, or to put back, but justto stay quietly on board, and go back with the pilot. They thought thatwould be most convenient, all around. 

"Go back with the pilot!" the captain cried. "Why, you young idiot, there _is_ no pilot! Coastwise steamers don't carry pilots. I am my ownpilot. There is no pilot going back!"

You ought to have seen Scott's face!

[Illustration: SCOTT AND THE CAPTAIN. ]

Nobody said anything. We all just stood and looked at the captain. Tearsbegan to come into the eyes of Tom Myers and his brother George. 

"What are they to do?" asked the purser of the captain. "Buy tickets forSavannah?"

"We can't do that, " said Scott, quickly. "We haven't any money. "

"I don't know what they're to do, " replied the captain. "I'd like tochuck 'em overboard. " And with this agreeable little speech he walkedaway. 

The purser now took the two tickets for Rectus and myself, and saying:"We'll see what's to be done with the rest of you fellows, " he walkedaway, too. 

Then we all looked at one another. We were a pretty pale lot, and Ibelieve that Rectus and I, who were all right, felt almost as badly asthe four other boys, who were all wrong. 

"We _can't_ go to Savannah!" said Harry Alden. "What right have they totake us to Savannah?"

"Well, then, you'd better get out and go home, " said Scott. "I don't somuch mind their taking us to Savannah, for they can't make us pay if wehaven't any money. But how are we going to get back? That's thequestion. And what'll the professor think? He'll write home that we'verun away. And what'll we do in Savannah without any money?"

"You'd better have thought of some of these things before you got usinto waiting to go back with the pilot, " said Harry. 

As for Tom Myers and his brother George, they just sat down and puttheir arms on the railing, and clapped their faces down on their arms. They cried all over their coat-sleeves, but kept as quiet as they couldabout it. Whenever these two boys had to cry before any of the rest ofthe school-fellows, they had learned to keep very quiet about it. 

While the rest of us were talking away, and Scott and Harry findingfault with each other, the captain came back. He looked in a littlebetter humor. 

"The only thing that can be done with you boys, " he said, "is to put youon some tug or small craft that's going back to New York. If we meetone, I'll lie to and let you off. But it will put me to a great deal oftrouble, and we may meet with nothing that will take you aboard. Youhave acted very badly. If you had come right to me, or to any of theofficers, the moment you found we had started, I could have easily putyou on shore. There are lots of small boats about the piers that wouldhave come out after you, or I might even have put back. But I can donothing now but look out for some craft bound for New York that willtake you aboard. If we don't meet one, you'll have to go on toSavannah. "

This made us feel a little better. We were now in the lower bay, andthere would certainly be some sort of a vessel that would stop for theboys. We all went to the forward deck and looked out. It was pretty coldthere, and we soon began to shiver in the wind, but still we stuck itout. 

There were a good many vessels, but most of them were big ones. We couldhardly have the impudence to ask a great three-masted ship, under fullsail, to stop and give us a lift to New York. At any rate, we hadnothing to do with the asking. The captain would attend to that. Butevery time we came near a vessel going the other way, we looked about tosee if we could see anything of an officer with a trumpet, standing allready to sing out, "Sail ho!"

But, after a while, we felt so cold that we couldn't stand it anylonger, and we went below. We might have gone and stood by thesmoke-stack and warmed ourselves, but we didn't know enough about shipsto think of this. 

We hadn't been standing around the stove in the dining-room more thanten minutes, before the purser came hurrying toward us. 

"Come, now, " he said, "tumble forward! The captain's hailed apilot-boat. "

"Hurrah!" said Scott; "we're going back in a pilot-boat, after all!" andwe all ran after the purser to the lower forward deck. Our engines hadstopped, and not far from us was a rough-looking little schooner with abig "17" painted in black on her mainsail. She was "putting about, " thepurser said, and her sails were flapping in the wind. 

There was a great change in the countenances of Tom Myers and hisbrother George. They looked like a couple of new boys. 

"Isn't this capital?" said Scott. "Everything's turned out all right. "

But all of a sudden he changed his tune. 

"Look here!" said he to me, pulling me on one side; "wont that pilotwant to be paid something? He wont stop his vessel and take us back fornothing, will he?"

I couldn't say anything about this, but I asked the purser, who stillstood by us. 

"I don't suppose he'll make any regular charge, " said he; "but he'llexpect you to give him something, --whatever you please. "

"But we haven't anything, " said Scott to me. "We have our return ticketsto Willisville, and that's about all. "

"Perhaps we can't go back, after all, " said Harry, glumly, while TomMyers and his brother George began to drop their lower jaws again. 

I did not believe that the pilot-boat people would ask to see the boys'money before they took them on board; but I couldn't help feeling thatit would be pretty hard for them to go ashore at the city and givenothing for their passages but promises, and so I called Rectus on oneside, and proposed to lend the fellows some money. He agreed, and Iunpinned a banknote and gave it to Scott. He was mightily tickled to getit, and vowed he'd send it back to me in the first letter he wrote (andhe did it, too). 

The pilot-schooner did not come very near us, but she lowered a boatwith two men in it, and they rowed up to the steamer. Some of oursailors let down a pair of stairs, and one of the men in the boat cameup to see what was wanted. The purser was telling him, when the captain, who was standing on the upper deck, by the pilot-house, sung out:

"Hurry up there, now, and don't keep this vessel here any longer. Get'em out as quick as you can, Mr. Brown. "

The boys didn't stop to have this kind invitation repeated, and Scottscuffled down the stairs into the boat as fast as he could, followedclosely by Harry Alden. Tom Myers and his brother George stopped longenough to bid each of us good-bye, and shake hands with us, and thenthey went down the stairs. They had to climb over the railing to theplatform in front of the wheel-house to get to the stairs, and as thesteamer rolled a little, and the stairs shook, they went down veryslowly, backward, and when they got to the bottom were afraid to stepinto the boat, which looked pretty unsteady as it wobbled about underthem. 

"Come, there! Be lively!" shouted the captain. 

Just then, Rectus made a step forward. He had been looking veryanxiously at the boys as they got into the boat, but he hadn't saidanything. 

"Where are you going?" said I; for, as quick as a flash, the thoughtcame into my mind that Rectus's heart had failed him, and that he wouldlike to back out. 

"I think I'll go back with the boys, " he said, making another steptoward the top of the stairs, down which the man from the pilot-boat washurrying. 

"Just you try it!" said I, and I put out my arm in front of him. 

He didn't try it, and I'm glad he didn't, for I should have been sorryenough to have had the boys go back and say that when they last sawRectus and I we were having a big fight on the deck of the steamer. 

The vessel now started off, and Rectus and I went to the upper deck andstood and watched the little boat, as it slowly approached theschooner. We were rapidly leaving them, but we saw the boys climb onboard, and one of them--it must have been Scott--waved his handkerchiefto us. I waved mine in return, but Rectus kept his in his pocket. Idon't think he felt in a wavy mood. 

While we were standing looking at the distant pilot-boat, I began toconsider a few matters; and the principal thing was this: How wereRectus and I to stand toward each other? Should we travel like a coupleof school-friends, or should I make him understand that he was under mycharge and control, and must behave himself accordingly? I had no ideawhat he thought of the matter, and by the way he addressed me when wemet, I supposed that it was possible that he looked upon me very much ashe used to when we went to school together. If he had said Mr. Gordon, it would have been more appropriate, I thought, and would haveencouraged me, too, in taking position as his supervisor. As far as myown feelings were concerned, I think I would have preferred to travelabout on a level with Rectus, and to have a good time with him, as twoold school-fellows might easily have, even if one did happen to be twoyears older than the other. But that would not be earning my salary. After a good deal of thought, I came to the conclusion that I would letthings go on as they would, for a while, giving Rectus a good deal ofrope; but the moment he began to show signs of insubordination, I wouldmarch right on him, and quell him with an iron hand. After that, allwould be plain sailing, and we could have as much fun as we pleased, for Rectus would know exactly how far he could go. 

There were but few passengers on deck, for it was quite cold, and it nowbegan to grow dark, and we went below. Pretty soon the dinner-bell rang, and I was glad to hear it, for I had the appetite of a horse. There wasa first-rate dinner, ever so many different kinds of dishes, all up anddown the table, which had ridges running lengthwise, under thetable-cloth, to keep the plates from sliding off, if a storm should comeup. Before we were done with dinner the shelves above the table began toswing a good deal, --or rather the vessel rolled and the shelves kepttheir places, --so I knew we must be pretty well out to sea, but I hadnot expected it would be so rough, for the day had been fine and clear. When we left the table, it was about as much as we could do to keep ourfeet, and in less than a quarter of an hour I began to feel dreadfully. I stuck it out as long as I could, and then I went to bed. The old shiprolled, and she pitched, and she heaved, and she butted, right and left, against the waves, and made herself just as uncomfortable for humanbeings as she could, but, for all that, I went to sleep after a while. 

I don't know how long I slept, but when I woke up, there was Rectus, sitting on a little bench by the state-room wall, with his feet bracedagainst the berth. He was hard at work sucking a lemon. I turned overand looked down at him. He didn't look a bit sick. I hated to see himeating lemons. 

"Don't you feel badly, Rectus?" said I. 

"Oh no!" said he; "I'm all right. You ought to suck a lemon. Have one?"

I declined his offer. The idea of eating or drinking anything wasintensely disagreeable to me. I wished that Rectus would put down thatlemon. He did throw it away after a while, but he immediately began tocut another one. 

[Illustration: RECTUS AND THE LEMONS. ]

"Rectus, " said I, "you'll make yourself sick. You'd better go to bed. "

"It's just the thing to stop me from being sick, " said he, and at thatminute the vessel gave her stern a great toss over sideways, which sentRectus off his seat, head foremost into the wash-stand. I was glad tosee it. I would have been glad of almost anything that stopped thatlemon business. 

But it didn't stop it; and he only picked himself up, and sat downagain, his lemon at his mouth. 

"Rectus!" I cried, leaning out of my berth. "Put down that lemon and goto bed!"

He put down the lemon without a word, and went to bed. I turned overwith a sense of relief. Rectus was subordinate!

CHAPTER III. 

RECTUS OPENS HIS EYES. 

I was all right the next day, and we staid on deck most of the time, standing around the smoke-stack when our noses got a little blue withthe cold. There were not many other people on deck. I was expectingyoung Rectus to have his turn at sea-sickness, but he disappointed me. He spent a good deal of his time calculating our position on a littlefolding-map he had. He inquired how fast we were going, and then heworked the whole thing out, from Sandy Hook to Savannah, marking on themap the hours at which he ought to be at such and such a place. He triedhis best to get his map of the course all right, and made a good manyalterations, so that we were off Cape Charles several times in thecourse of the day. Rectus had never been very good at calculations, andI was glad to see that he was beginning to take an interest in suchthings. 

The next morning, just after day-break, we were awakened by a good dealof tramping about on deck, over our heads, and we turned out, sharp, tosee what the matter was. Rectus wanted me to wait, after we weredressed, until he could get out his map and calculate where we were, butI couldn't stop for such nonsense, for I knew that his kind ofnavigation didn't amount to much, and so we scrambled up on deck. Theship was pitching and tossing worse than she had done yet. We had beenpractising the "sea-leg" business the day before, and managed to walkalong pretty well; but this morning our sea-legs didn't work at all, andwe couldn't take a step without hanging on to something. When we got ondeck, we found that the first officer, or mate, --his name wasRandall, --with three or four sailors, was throwing the lead to see howdeep the water was. We hung on to a couple of stays and watched them. Itwas a rousing big lead, a foot long, and the line ran out over a pulleyat the stern. A sailor took the lead a good way forward before he threwit, so as to give it a chance to get to the bottom before the steamerpassed over it and began to tow it. When they pulled it in, we weresurprised to see that it took three men to do it. Then Mr. Randallscooped out a piece of tallow that was in a hollow in the bottom of thelead, and took it to show to the captain, whose room was on deck. I knewthis was one way they had of finding out where they were, for theyexamined the sand or mud on the tallow, and so knew what sort of abottom they were going over; and all the different kinds of bottom weremarked out on their charts. 

As Mr. Randall passed us, Rectus sung out to him, and asked him where wewere now. 

"Off Hatteras, " said he, quite shortly. 

I didn't think Rectus should have bothered Mr. Randall with questionswhen he was so busy; but after he went into the captain's room, the mendid not seem to have much to do, and I asked one of them how deep itwas. 

"About seventeen fathoms, " said he. 

"Can we see Cape Hatteras?" I said, trying to get a good look landwardas the vessel rolled over that way. 

"No, " said the man. "We could see the light just before day-break, butthe weather's gettin' thick now, and we're keepin' out. "

It was pretty thick to the west, that was true. All that I could see inthe distance was a very mixed-up picture of wave-tops and mist. I knewthat Cape Hatteras was one of the most dangerous points on the coast, and that sailors were always glad when they had safely rounded it, andso I began to take a good deal of interest in what was going on. Therewas a pretty strong wind from the south-east, and we had no sail set atall. Every now and then the steamer would get herself up on top of a bigwave, and then drop down, sideways, as if she were sliding off the topof a house. The mate and the captain soon came out on deck together, andthe captain went forward to the pilot-house, while Mr. Randall came overto his men, and they got ready to throw the lead again. It didn't seemto me that the line ran out as far as it did the last time, and I thinkI heard Mr. Randall say, "Fourteen. " At any rate, a man was sent forwardto the pilot-house, and directly we heard the rudder-chains creaking, and the big iron arms of the rudder, which were on deck, moved overtoward the landward side of the vessel, and I knew by that that thecaptain was putting her head out to sea. Mr. Randall took out the tallowfrom the lead and laid it in an empty bucket that was lashed to thedeck. He seemed to be more anxious now about the depth of water thanabout the kind of bottom we were passing over. The lead was just aboutto be thrown again, when Rectus, who had taken the tallow out of thebucket, which stood near us, and had examined it pretty closely, startedoff to speak to Mr. Randall, with the tallow in his hand. 

[Illustration: "'HOLD YOUR TONGUE!' ROARED MR. RANDALL. "]

"Look here!" said Rectus, holding on to the railing. "I'll tell you whatwould be a sight better than tallow for your leads. Just you get somefine, white Castile-soap, and----"

"Confound you!" roared Mr. Randall, turning savagely on him. "Hold yourtongue! For three cents I'd tie you to this line and drag the bottomwith you!"

Rectus made no answer. He didn't offer him the three cents, but cameaway promptly, and put the piece of tallow back in the bucket. He didn'tget any comfort from me. 

"Haven't you got any better sense, " I said to him, "than to go, withyour nonsense, to the first officer at such a time as this? I never sawsuch a boy!"

"But the soap _is_ better than the tallow, " said Rectus. "It's finer andwhiter, and would take up the sand better. "

"No, it wouldn't, " I growled at him; "the water would wash it out inhalf a minute. You needn't be trying to tell anybody on this ship whatthey ought to do. "

"But supposing----" said he. 

"No, " I exclaimed, in a way that made him jump, "there's no supposingabout it. If you know their business better than they do, why, just letit stand that way. It wont hurt you. "

I was pretty mad, I must say, for I didn't want to see a fellow likeRectus trying to run the ship. But you couldn't stay mad with Rectuslong. He didn't mean any wrong, and he gave no words back, and so, asyou might expect, we were all right again by breakfast-time. 

The next morning we were surprised to feel how warm it was on deck. Wedidn't need our overcoats. The sea was ever so much smoother, too. Therewere two or three ladies on deck, who could walk pretty well. 

About noon, I was standing on the upper deck, when I saw Rectus comingtoward me, looking very pale. He was generally a dark sort of a boy, andit made a good deal of difference in him to look pale. I was sure he wasgoing to be sick, at last, --although it was rather queer for him toknock under when the voyage was pretty nearly over, --and I began tolaugh, when he said to me, in a nervous sort of way:

"I tell you what it is, I believe that we've gone past the mouth of theSavannah River. According to my calculations, " said he, pointing to aspot on his map, which he held in his hand, "we must be down about here, off the Georgia coast. "

I have said that I began to laugh, and now I kept on. I just sat downand roared, so that the people looked at me. 

"You needn't laugh, " said Rectus. "I believe it's so. "

"All right, my boy, " said I; "but we wont tell the captain. Just let'swait and have the fun of seeing him turn around and go back. "

Rectus didn't say anything to this, but walked off with his map. 

[Illustration: "RECTUS SHOWED ME THE MAP. "]

Now, that boy was no fool. I believe that he was beginning to feel likedoing something, and, as he had never done anything before, he didn'tknow how. 

About twelve o'clock we reached the mouth of the Savannah (withoutturning back), and sailed twenty miles up the river to the city. 

We were the first two persons off that vessel, and we took a hack to thehotel that the purser had recommended to us, and had the satisfaction ofreaching it about ten minutes ahead of the people who came in theomnibus; although I don't know that that was of much use to us, as theclerk gave us top rooms, any way. 

We went pretty nearly all over Savannah that afternoon and the next day. It's a beautiful city. There is a little public square at nearly everycorner, and one of the wide streets has a double row of big treesrunning right down the middle of it, with grass under them, and, whatseemed stranger yet, the trees were all in leaf, little children wereplaying on the grass, and the weather was warm and splendid. The gardensin front of the houses were full of roses and all sorts of flowers inblossom, and Rectus wanted to buy a straw hat and get his linen trousersout of his trunk. 

"No, sir, " said I; "I'm not going around with a fellow wearing a strawhat and linen breeches in January. You don't see anybody else wearingthem. "

"No, " said he; "but it's warm enough. "

"You may think so, " I answered; "but I guess they know their ownbusiness best. This is their coldest season, and if they wore straw hatsand linen clothes now, what would they put on when the scorching hotweather comes?"

Rectus didn't know, and that matter was dropped. There is a pretty parkat the back of the town, and we walked about it, and sat under thetrees, and looked at the flowers, and the fountain playing, and enjoyedit ever so much. If it had been summer, and we had been at home, weshouldn't have cared so much for these things; but sitting under trees, and lounging about over the green grass, while our folks at home were upto their eyes, or thereabouts, in snow and ice, delighted both of us, especially Rectus. I never heard him talk so much. 

We reached Savannah on Tuesday, and were to leave in the steamer for St. Augustine Thursday afternoon. Thursday morning we went out to thecemetery of Bonaventure, one of the loveliest places in the whole world, where there are long avenues of live-oaks that stretch from one side ofthe road to the other, like great covered arbors, and from every limb ofevery tree hang great streamers of gray moss, four and five feet long. It was just wonderful to look at. The whole place seemed dripping withwaving fringe. Rectus said it looked to him as if this was a graveyardfor old men, and that every old fellow had had to hang his beard on atree before he went down into his grave. 

This was a curious idea for Rectus to have, and the colored man who wasdriving us--we went out in style, in a barouche, but I wouldn't do thatkind of thing again without making a bargain beforehand--turned aroundto look at him as if he thought he was a little crazy. Rectus wascertainly in high spirits. There was a sort of change coming over him. His eyes had a sparkle in them that I never saw before. No one couldsay that he didn't take interest in things now. I think the warm weatherhad something to do with it. 

"I tell you what it is, Gordon, " said he, --he still called me Gordon, and I didn't insist on "Mr. , " because I thought that, on the whole, perhaps it wouldn't do, --"I'm waking up. I feel as if I had been asleepall my life, and was just beginning to open my eyes. "

A graveyard seemed a queer place to start out fresh in this way, but itwasn't long before I found that, if Rectus hadn't really wakened up, hecould kick pretty hard in his sleep. 

Nothing much happened on the trip down to St. Augustine, for wetravelled nearly all the way by night. Early the next morning we werelying off that old half Spanish town, wishing the tide would rise sothat we could go in. There is a bar between two islands that lie infront of the town, and you have to go over that to get into the harbor. We were on the "Tigris, " the Bahama steamer that touched at St. Augustine on her way to Nassau, and she couldn't get over that bar untilhigh tide. We were dreadfully impatient, for we could see the old town, with its trees, all green and bright, and its low, wide houses, and agreat light-house, marked like a barber's pole or a stick ofold-fashioned mint-candy, and, what was best of all, a splendid oldcastle, or fort, built by the Spaniards three hundred years ago! Wedeclared we would go there the moment we set foot on shore. In fact, wesoon had about a dozen plans for seeing the town. 

If we had been the pilots, we would have bumped that old steamer overthe bar, somehow or other, long before the real pilot started her in;but we had to wait. When we did go in, and steamed along in front of theold fort, we could see that it was gray and crumbling, and moss-coveredin places, and it was just like an oil-painting. The whole town, infact, was like an oil-painting to us. 

The moment the stairs were put down, we scuffled ashore, and left thesteamer to go on to the Bahamas whenever she felt like it. We gave ourvalises and trunk-checks to a negro man with a wagon, and told him totake the baggage to a hotel that we could see from the wharf, and thenwe started off for the fort. But on my way along the wharf I made up mymind that, as the fort had been there for three hundred years, it wouldprobably stand a while longer, and that we had better go along with ourbaggage, and see about getting a place to live in, for we were not goingto be in any hurry to leave St. Augustine. 

We didn't go to any hotel at all. I had a letter of introduction to aMr. Cholott, and on our way up from the wharf, I heard some one call outthat name to a gentleman. So I remembered my letter, and went up andgave it to him. He was a first-rate man, and when we told him where wewere going, we had quite a talk, and he said he would advise us to go toa boarding-house. It would be cheaper, and if we were like most boysthat he knew, we'd like it better. He said that board could be had withseveral families that he knew, and that some of the Minorcans tookboarders in the winter. 

Of course, Rectus wanted to know, right away, what a Minorcan was. Ididn't think it was exactly the place to ask questions which probablyhad long answers, but Mr. Cholott didn't seem to be in a hurry, and hejust started off and told us about the Minorcans. A chap calledTurnbull, more than a hundred years ago, brought over to Florida a lotof the natives of the island of Minorca, in the Mediterranean, and begana colony. But he was a mean sort of chap; he didn't care for anythingbut making money out of the Minorcans, and it wasn't long before theyfound it out, for he was really making slaves of them. So they just roseup and rebelled, and left old Turnbull to run his colony by himself. Served him right, too. They started off on their own accounts, and mostof them came to this town, where they settled, and have had a good timeever since. There are a great many of them here now, descendants of theoriginal Minorcans, and they keep pretty much together and keep theirold name, too. They look a good deal like Spaniards, Mr. Cholott said, and many of them are very excellent people. 

Rectus took the greatest interest in these Minorcans, but we didn't takeboard with any of them. We went to the house of a lady who was a friendof Mr. Cholott, and she gave us a splendid room, that looked right outover the harbor. We could see the islands, and the light-house, and thebar with the surf outside, and even get a glimpse of the ocean. We sawthe "Tigris" going out over the bar. The captain wanted to get out onthe same tide he came in on, and he did not lose any time. As soon asshe got fairly out to sea, we hurried down, to go to the fort. Butfirst, Rectus said, we ought to go and buy straw hats. There were lotsof men with straw hats in St. Augustine. This was true, for it was justas warm here as we have it in June, and we started off to look for astraw-hat store. 

We found that we were in one of the queerest towns in the world. Rectussaid it was all back-streets, and it looked something that way. Thestreets were very narrow, and none of them had any pavement but sand andpowdered shell, and very few had any sidewalks. But they didn't seem tobe needed. Many of the houses had balconies on the second story, whichreached toward each other from both sides of the street, and this gavethe town a sociable appearance. There were lots of shops, and most ofthem sold sea-beans. There were other things, like alligators' teeth, and shells, and curiosities, but the great trade of the town seemed tobe in sea-beans. [A] Rectus and I each bought one for our watch-chains. 

I think we tried on every straw hat in town, and we bought a couple in alittle house, where two or three young women were making them. Rectusasked me, in a low voice, if I didn't think one of the young women was aMohican. I hushed him up, for it was none of his business if she was. Ihad a good deal of trouble in making Rectus say "Minorcan. " Whenever wehad met a dark-haired person, he had said to me: "Do you think that is aMohican?" It was a part of his old school disposition to get thingswrong in this way. But he never got angry when I corrected him. Histemper was perfect. 

I bought a common-sized hat, but Rectus bought one that spread out farand wide. It made him look like a Japanese umbrella. We stuffed our felthats into our pockets, and started for the fort. But I looked at mywatch and found it was supper-time. I had suspected it when I came outof the hat-shop. The sea-trip and fine air here had given us tremendousappetites, which our walk had sharpened. 

So we turned back at once and hurried home, agreeing to begin square onthe fort the next day. 

FOOTNOTES:

[A] Sea-beans are seeds of a West Indian tree. They are of differentcolors, very hard, and capable of being handsomely polished. They arecalled "sea-beans" because great numbers of them drift up on the Floridaand adjacent coasts. 

CHAPTER IV. 

TO THE RESCUE. 

The next morning, I was awakened by Rectus coming into the room. 

"Hello!" said I; "where have you been? I didn't hear you get up. "

"I called you once or twice, " said Rectus, "but you were sleeping sosoundly I thought I'd let you alone. I knew you'd lost some sleep bybeing sick on the steamer. "

"That was only the first night, " I exclaimed. "I've made up that longago. But what got you up so early?"

"I went out to take a warm salt-water bath before breakfast, " answeredRectus. "There's an eight-cornered bath-house right out here, almostunder the window, where you can have your sea-water warm if you likeit. "

"Do they pump it from the tropics?" I asked, as I got up and began todress. 

"No; they heat it in the bath-house. I had a first-rate bath, and I sawa Minorcan. "

"You don't say so!" I cried. "What was he like? Had he horns? And howdid you know what he was?"

"I asked him, " said Rectus. 

"Asked him!" I exclaimed. "You don't mean to say that you got up earlyand went around asking people if they were Mohicans!"

"Minorcans, I said. "

"Well, it's bad enough, even if you got the name right. Did you ask theman plump to his face?"

"Yes. But he first asked me what I was. He was an oldish man, and I methim just as I was coming out of the bath-house. He had a basket of clamson his arm, and I asked him where he caught them. That made him laugh, and he said he dug them out of the sand under the wharf. Then he askedme if my name was Cisneros, and when I told him it was not, he said thatI looked like a Spaniard, and he thought that that might be my name. Andso, as he had asked me about myself, I asked him if he was a Minorcan, and he said 'yes. '"

"And what then?" I asked. 

"Nothing, " said Rectus. "He went on with his clams, and I came home. "

"You didn't seem to make much out of him, after all, " said I. "I don'twonder he thought you were a Spaniard, with that hat. I told you you'dmake a show of yourself. But what are you going to do with yourMinorcans, Rectus, when you catch them?"

He laughed, but didn't mention his plans. 

"I didn't know how you got clams, " he said. "I thought you caught themsome way. It would never have entered my head to dig for them. "

"There's lots to learn in this town about fish, and ever so many otherthings besides; and I tell you what it is, Rectus, as soon as we getthrough with the fort, --and I don't know how long that will take us, forI heard on the steamer that it had underground dungeons, --we'll go offon a first-class exploring expedition. "

That suited Rectus exactly. 

After breakfast we started for the fort. It is just outside of the town, and you can walk all the way on the sea-wall, which is about a yard wideon top, --just a little too wide for one fellow, but not quite wideenough for two. 

The United States government holds the fort now, of course, and calls itFort Marion, but the old Spanish name was San Marco, and we disdained tocall it anything else. When we went over the drawbridge, and across themoat, we saw the arms of Spain on a shield over the great gate of thefort. We walked right in, into a wide hall, with dark door-ways on eachside, and then out into a great inclosed space, like a parade-ground, inthe centre of the fort, and here we saw a whole crowd of Indians. Wedidn't expect to find Indians here, and we were very much surprised. They did not wear Indian clothes, but were dressed in United Statesmilitary uniform. They didn't look like anything but Indians, though, for all that. I asked one of them if he belonged here, and he smiledand said "How?" and held out his hand. We both shook it, but could makenothing out of him. A good many of them now came up and said "How?" tous, and shook hands, and we soon found that this meant "How d' ye do?"and was about all they knew of English. 

[Illustration: "HOW?"]

We were lucky enough, before we got through shaking hands with our newfriends, to see Mr. Cholott coming toward us, and he immediately took usin charge, and seemed to be glad to have a job of the kind. There wasnothing about the fort that he didn't know. He told us that the Indianswere prisoners, taken in the far West by United States troops, and thatsome of them were the worst Indians in the whole country. They were safeenough now, though, and were held here as hostages. Some were chiefs, and they were all noted men, --some as murderers, and others in lessimportant ways. They had been here for some years, and a few of themcould speak a little English. 

He then took us all over the fort, --up an inclined plane to the top ofthe ramparts, and into the Indian barracks on one of the wide walls, where we saw a lot of Cheyennes and Kiowas, and Indians from othertribes, sitting around and making bows and arrows, and polishingsea-beans to sell to visitors. At each corner of the fort was a "lookouttower, "--a little box of a place, stuck out from the top of the wall, with loopholes and a long, narrow passage leading to it, with a highwall on each side to protect from bullets and arrows the man who went tolook out. One of the towers had been knocked off, probably by acannon-ball. These towers and slim little passages took our fancygreatly. Then Mr. Cholott took us downstairs to see the dungeons. He gotthe key and gave it to a big old Indian, named Red Horse, who wentahead with a lighted kerosene-lamp. 

We first saw the dungeon where the Indian chief, Osceola, was shut upduring the Seminole war. It was a dreary place. There was another chief, Wild Cat, who was imprisoned with Osceola, and one night Osceola"boosted" him to a high window, where he squeezed through the bars andgot away. If Osceola had had any one to give him a lift, I suppose hewould have been off, too. Rectus and I wondered how the two Indiansmanaged this little question of who should be hoisted. Perhaps theytossed up, or perhaps Wild Cat was the lighter of the two. The worstdungeon, though, was a place that was discovered by accident aboutthirty years ago. There was nothing there when we went in; but, when itwas first found, a chained skeleton was lying on the floor. Through ahole in the wall we crept into another dungeon, worse yet, in which twoiron cages were found hung to the wall, with skeletons in them. Itseemed like being in some other country to stand in this dark littledungeon, and hear these dreadful stories, while a big Indian stoodgrinning by, holding a kerosene-lamp. 

Mr. Cholott told us that one of the cages and the bones could now beseen in Washington. 

After Mr. Cholott went home, we tramped all over the fort again byourselves, and that afternoon we sat on the outer wall that runs alongthe harbor-front of the fort, and watched the sail-boats and thefishermen in their "dug-outs. " There were a couple of sharks swimming upand down in front of the town, and every now and then they would comeup and show themselves. They were the first sharks we had ever seen. 

Rectus was worked up about the Indians. We had been told that, while agreat many of the chiefs and braves imprisoned here were men known tohave committed crimes, still there were others who had done nothingwrong, and had been captured and brought here as prisoners, simplybecause, in this way, the government would have a good hold on theirtribes. 

Rectus thought this was the worst kind of injustice, and I agreed withhim, although I didn't see what we were going to do about it. 

On our way home we met Rectus's Minorcan; he was a queer old fellow. 

"Hello!" said he, when he saw Rectus. "Have you been out catchingclams?"

We stopped and talked a little while about the sharks, and then the oldman asked Rectus why he wanted to know, that morning, whether he was aMinorcan or not. 

"I just wanted to see one, " said Rectus, as if he had been talking ofkangaroos or giraffes. "I've been thinking a good deal about them, andtheir bold escape from slavery, and their----"

"Slavery!" sung out the old man. "We were never slaves! What do you meanby that? Do you take us for niggers?"

He was pretty mad, and I don't wonder, if that was the way he understoodRectus, for he was just as much a white man as either of us. 

"Oh no!" said Rectus. "But I've heard all about you, and that tyrantTurnbull, and the way you cast off his yoke. I mean your fathers, ofcourse. "

"I reckon you've heard a little too much, young man, " said the Minorcan. "Somebody's been stuffin' you. You'd better get a hook and line, and goout to catch clams. "

"Why, you don't understand me!" cried Rectus. "I honor you for it. "

The old man looked at him and then at me, and then he laughed. "Allright, bub, " said he. "If ever you want to hire a boat, I've got one. Myname is Menendez. Just ask for my boat at the club-house wharf. " Andthen he went on. 

"That's all you get for your sympathy with oppressed people, " saidRectus. "They call you bub. "

"Well, that old fellow isn't oppressed, " I said; "and if any of hisancestors were, I don't suppose he cares about remembering it. We oughtto hire his boat some time. "

That evening we took a walk along the sea-wall. It was a beautifulstarlight night, and a great many people were walking about. When we gotdown near the fort, --which looked bigger and grayer than ever by thestarlight, --Rectus said he would like to get inside of it by night, andI agreed that it would be a good thing to do. So we went over thedrawbridge (this place has a drawbridge, and portcullises, andbarbicans, and demi-lunes, and a moat, just as if it were a castle or afort of some old country in Europe), --but the big gate was shut. Wedidn't care to knock, for all was dark, and we came away. Rectusproposed that we should reconnoitre the place, and I agreed, although, in reality, there wasn't anything to reconnoitre. We went down into themoat, which was perfectly dry, and very wide, and walked all around thefort. 

We examined the walls, which were pretty jagged and rough in someplaces, and we both agreed that if we _had_ to do it, we believed wecould climb to the top. 

As we walked home, Rectus proposed that we should try to climb in somenight. 

"What's the good?" I asked. 

"Why, it would be a splendid thing, " said he, "to scale the walls of anold Middle-Age fort, like that. Let's try it, anyway. "

I couldn't help thinking that it would be rather a fine thing to do, butit did seem rather foolish to risk our necks to get over the walls atnight, when we could walk in, whenever we pleased, all day. 

But it was of no use to say anything like that to Rectus. He was full ofthe idea of scaling the walls, and I found that, when the boy did getworked up to anything, he could talk first-rate, and before we went tosleep I got the notion of it, too, and we made up our minds that wewould try it. 

The next day we walked around the walls two or three times, and found aplace where we thought we could get up, if we had a rope fastened to thetop of the wall. When General Oglethorpe bombarded the fort, --at thetime the Spaniards held it, --he made a good many dents in the wall, andthese would help us. I did climb up a few feet, but we saw that it wouldnever do to try to get all the way up without a rope. 

How to fasten the rope on the top of the wall was the next question. Wewent in the fort, and found that if we could get a stout grapnel overthe wall, it would probably catch on the inside of the coping, and giveus a good enough hold. There is a wide walk on top, with a low wall onthe outside, just high enough to shelter cannon, and to enable thegarrison to dodge musketry and arrows. 

We had a good deal of trouble finding a rope, but we bought one, atlast, which was stout enough, --the man asked us if we were going to fishfor sharks, and didn't seem to believe us when we said no, --and we tookit to our room, and made knots in it about a foot apart. The fort wallsare about twenty feet high, and we made the rope plenty long enough, with something to spare. We didn't have much trouble to find a grapnel. We bought a small one, but it was strong enough. We talked the matterover a great deal, and went to the fort several times, makingexaminations, and measuring the height of the wall, from the top, with aspool of cotton. 

It was two or three days before we got everything ready, and in ourtrips to the fort we saw a good deal of the Indians. We often met themin the town, too, for they were frequently allowed to go out and walkabout by themselves. There was no danger, I suppose, of their trying torun away, for they were several thousand miles from their homes, andthey probably would not care to run to any other place with no largerstock of the English language than one word, "How?" Some of them, however, could talk a little English. There was one big fellow--he wasprobably the largest of them all--who was called "Maiden's Heart. " Icouldn't see how his name fitted, for he looked like an out-and-outsavage, and generally wore a grin that seemed wicked enough to frightensettlers out of his part of the country. But he may have had a tenderspot, somewhere, which entitled him to his name, and he was certainlyvery willing to talk to us, to the extent of his ability, which was notvery great. We managed, however, to have some interesting, though ratherchoppy, conversations. 

There was another fellow, a young chief, called Crowded Owl, that weliked better than any of the others, although we couldn't talk to him atall. He was not much older than I was, and so seemed to take to us. Hewould walk all around with us, and point out things. We had bought somesea-beans of him, and it may be that he hoped to sell us some more. Atany rate, he was very friendly. 

We met Mr. Cholott several times, and he told us of some good places togo to, and said he'd take us out fishing before long. But we were in nohurry for any expedition until we had carried out our little plan ofsurprising the fort. I gave the greater part of our money, however, toMr. Cholott to lock up in his safe. I didn't like old Mr. Colbert's planof going about with your capital pinned to your pockets. It might dowhile we were travelling, but I would rather have had it in drafts orsomething else not easily lost. 

We had a good many discussions about our grapnel. We did not knowwhether there was a sentinel on duty in the fort at night or not, butsupposed there was, and, if so, he would be likely to hear the grapnelwhen we threw it up and it hit the stones. We thought we could get overthis difficulty by wrapping the grapnel in cotton wool. This woulddeaden the sound when it struck, but would not prevent the points of thehooks from holding to the inner edge of the wall. Everything now seemedall right, except that we had no object in view after we got over thewall. I always like to have some reason for doing a thing, especiallywhen it's pretty hard to do. I said this to Rectus, and he agreed withme. 

"What I would like to do, " said he, "would be to benefit the innocentIndian prisoners. "

"I don't know what we can do for them, " said I. "We can't let them out, and they'd all go back again if we did. "

"No, we can't do that, " said he; "but we ought to do something. I'vebeen around looking at them all carefully, and I feel sure that thereare at least forty men among those Indians who haven't done a thing towarrant shutting them up. "

"Why, how do you know?" I exclaimed. 

"I judge from their faces, " said Rectus. 

Of course this made me laugh, but he didn't care. 

"I'll tell you what we could do, " said he; "we could enter a protestthat might be heard of, and do some good. We could take a pot of blackpaint and a brush with us, and paint on one of the doors that open intothe inner square, --where everybody could see it, --something like this:'Let the righteous Indian go free. ' That would create talk, andsomething might be done. "

"Who'd do it?" said I. "The captain in command couldn't. He has no powerto let any of them go free. "

"Well, we might address the notice to the President of the UnitedStates--in big black letters. They could not conceal such a thing. "

"Well, now, look here, Rectus, " said I; "this thing is going to cost toomuch money. That rope was expensive, and the grapnel cost a good dealmore than we thought it would; and now you want a big pot of blackpaint. We mustn't spend our money too fast, and if we've got toeconomize, let's begin on black paint. You can write your proclamationon paper, and stick it on the door with tacks. They could send thateasier to the President than they could send a whole door. "

"You may make as much fun as you please, " said Rectus, "but I'm going towrite it out now. "

And so he did, in big letters, on half a sheet of foolscap. 

CHAPTER V. 

STORMING SAN MARCO. 

We started out on our storming expedition on a Tuesday night, about nineo'clock; we had a latch-key, so we could come home when we pleased. Rectus carried the rope, and I had the grapnel, wrapped in its cottonwool. We put newspapers around these things, and made pretty respectablepackages of them. We did not go down the sea-wall, but walked aroundthrough some of the inner streets. It seemed to us like a curiousexpedition. We were not going to do anything wrong, but we had no ideawhat the United States government would think about it. We came down tothe fort on its landward side, but our attack was to be made upon thewaterfront, and so we went around that way, on the side farthest fromthe town. There were several people about yet, and we had to wait. Wedropped our packages into the moat, and walked about on thewater-battery, which is between the harbor and the moat, and is used asa sort of pleasure-ground by the people of the town. It was a prettydark night, although the stars were out, and the last of the promenaderssoon went home; and then, after giving them about ten minutes to getentirely out of sight and hearing, we jumped down into the moat, whichis only five or six feet below the water-battery, and, taking ourpackages, went over to that part of the wall which we had fixed upon forour assault. 

We fastened the rope to the grapnel, and then Rectus stood back while Imade ready for the throw. It was a pretty big throw, almost straight upin the air, but I was strong, and was used to pitching, and all thatsort of thing. I coiled the rope on the ground, took the loose end of itfirmly in my left hand, and then, letting the grapnel hang from my righthand until it nearly touched the ground, I swung it round and round, perpendicularly, and when it had gone round three or four times, I gaveit a tremendous hurl upward. 

It rose beautifully, like a rocket, and fell inside of the ramparts, making only a little thud of a sound. 

"First-rate!" said Rectus, softly; and I felt pretty proud myself. 

I pulled on the rope, and found the grapnel had caught. I hung with mywhole weight on it, but it held splendidly. 

"Now, then, " said I to Rectus, "you can climb up. Go slowly, and be verycareful. There's no hurry. And mind you take a good hold when you get tothe top. "

We had arranged that Rectus was to go first. This did not look verybrave on my part, but I felt that I wanted to be under him, while he wasclimbing, so that I could break his fall if he should slip down. Itwould not be exactly a perpendicular fall, for the wall slanted alittle, but it would be bad enough. However, I had climbed up worseplaces than that, and Rectus was very nimble; so I felt there was nogreat danger. 

Up he went, hand over hand, and putting his toes into nicks every nowand then, thereby helping himself very much. He took it slowly andeasily, and I felt sure he would be all right. As I looked at him, climbing up there in the darkness, while I was standing below, holdingthe rope so that it should not swing, I could not help thinking that Iwas a pretty curious kind of a tutor for a boy. However, I was takingall the care of him that I could, and if he came down he'd probably hurtme worse than he would hurt himself. Besides, I had no reason to supposethat old Mr. Colbert objected to a little fun. Then I began to think ofMrs. Colbert, and while I was thinking of her, and looking up at Rectus, I was amazed to see him going up quite rapidly, while the end of therope slipped through my fingers. Up he went, and when I ran back, Icould see a dark figure on the wall, above him. Somebody was pulling himup. 

In a very few moments he disappeared over the top, rope and all!

Now, I was truly frightened. What might happen to the boy?

I was about to shout, but, on second thoughts, decided to keep quiet;yet I instantly made up my mind that, if I didn't see or hear from himpretty soon, I would run around to the gate and bang up the peopleinside. However, it was not necessary for me to trouble myself, for, ina minute, the rope came down again, and I took hold of it. I pulled onit and found it all firm, and then I went up. I climbed up pretty fast, and two or three times I felt a tug, as if somebody above was trying topull me up. But it was of no use, for I was a great deal stouter andheavier than Rectus, who was a light, slim boy. But as I neared the top, a hand came down and clutched me by the collar, and some one, with apowerful arm and grip, helped me over the top of the wall. There stoodRectus, all right, and the fellow who had helped us up was the bigIndian, "Maiden's Heart. "

I looked at Rectus, and he whispered:

"He says there's a sentinel down there in the square. "

At this, Maiden's Heart bobbed his head two or three times, and, motioning to us to crouch down, he crept quietly over to the inner wallof the ramparts and looked down. 

"What shall we say we came for?" I whispered, quickly. 

"I don't know, " said Rectus. 

"Well, we must think of something, " I said, "or we shall look likefools. "

But before he had time to think, Maiden's Heart crept back. He put hisfinger on his lips, and, beckoning us to follow him, he led the way to acorner of the fort near one of the lookout towers. We followed asquietly as we could, and then we all three slipped into the narrowentrance to the tower, the Indian motioning us to go first. When we twostood inside of the little round tower, old Maiden's Heart plantedhimself before us in the passage, and waited to hear what we had to say. 

But we couldn't think of anything to say. Directly, however, I thought Imust do something, so I whispered to the Indian:

"Does the sentry ever come up here?"

He seemed to catch my meaning. 

"I go watch, " he said. "Come back. Tell you. " And off he stole, makingno more noise than a cat. 

"Bother on him!" said Rectus. "If I'd known he was up here, I wouldnever have come. "

"I reckon not, " said I. "But now that we have come, what are we going todo or say? That fellow evidently thinks we have some big project onhand, and he's ready to help us; we must be careful, or he'll rush downand murder the sentinel. "

"I'm sure I don't know what to say to him, " said Rectus. "We ought tohave thought of this before. I suppose it would be of no use to mentionmy poster to him. "

"No, indeed, " said I; "he'd never understand that. And, besides, there'sa man down there. Let's peep out and see what he's doing. "

So we crept to the entrance of the passage, and saw Maiden's Heart, crouched near the top of the inclined plane which serves as a stairwayfrom the square to the ramparts, and looking over the low wall, evidently watching the sentry. 

"I'll tell you what let's do, " said Rectus. "Let's make a rush for ourrope, and get out of this. "

"No, sir!" said I. "We'd break our necks if we tried to hurry down thatrope. Don't think of anything of that kind. And, besides, we couldn'tboth get down before he'd see us. "

In a few minutes, Maiden's Heart crept quickly back to us, and seemedsurprised that we had left our hiding-place. He motioned us farther backinto the passage, and slipped in himself. 

We did not have time to ask any questions before we heard the sentrycoming up the stairway, which was near our corner. When he reached thetop, he walked away from us over toward the Indian barracks, which wereon the ramparts, at the other end of the fort. As soon as he reached thebarracks, Maiden's Heart took me by the arm and Rectus by the collar, and hurried us to the stairway, and then down as fast as we could go. Hemade no noise himself, but Rectus and I clumped a good deal. We had towear our shoes, for the place was paved with rough concrete andoyster-shells. 

The sentry evidently heard the clumping, for he came running down afterus, and caught up to us almost as soon as we reached the square. 

"Eugh!" said he, for he was an Indian; and he ran in front of us, andheld his musket horizontally before us. Of course we stopped. And then, as there was nothing else that seemed proper to do, we held out ourhands and said "How?" The sentinel took his gun in his left hand, andshook hands with us. Then Maiden's Heart, who probably remembered thathe had omitted this ceremony, also shook hands with us and said "How?"

The two Indians now began to jabber to each other, in a low voice; butwe could not, of course, make out what they said, and I don't think theywere able to imagine what we intended to do. We were standing near theinner door of the great entrance-way, and into this they now marched us. There was a lamp burning on a table. 

Said Rectus: "I guess they're going to put us out of the front door;"but he was mistaken. They walked us into a dark room, on one side of thehall, and Maiden's Heart said to us: "Stay here. Him mad. I come back. Keep still, " and then he went out, probably to discuss with the sentinelthe nature of our conspiracy. It was very dark in this room, and, atfirst, we couldn't see anything at all; but we soon found, from thesmell of the bread, that we were in the kitchen or bakery. We had beenhere before, and had seen the head-cook, a ferocious Indian squaw, whohad been taken in the act of butchering a poor emigrant woman on theplains. She always seemed sullen and savage, and never said a word toanybody. We hoped she wasn't in here now. 

"I didn't know they had Indian sentinels, " said Rectus. "That seems alittle curious to me. I suppose they set the innocent ones to watch theguilty. "

"I don't believe that would work, " said I, "for the innocent chapswould want to get away, just as much as the others. I guess they make'em take turns to stand guard. There has to be a sentinel in a fort, youknow, and I suppose these fellows are learning the business. "

We didn't settle this question, nor the more important one of our reasonfor this visit; for, at this moment, Maiden's Heart came back, carryingthe lamp. He looked at us in a curious way, and then he said:

"What you want?"

I couldn't think of any good answer to this question, but Rectuswhispered to me:

"Got any money with you?"

"Yes, " said I. 

"Let's buy some sea-beans, " said Rectus. 

"All right, " I answered. 

"Sea-beans?" said Maiden's Heart, who had caught the word; "you wantsea-beans?"

"Yes, " said Rectus, "if you have any good ones. "

At this, the Indian conducted us into the hall, put the lamp on thetable, and took three or four sea-beans from his pocket. They were verynice ones, and beautifully polished. 

"Good, " said I; "we'll take these. How much, Maiden's Heart?"

"Fifty cents, " said the Indian. 

"For all?" I asked. 

"No. No. For one. Four bean two dollar. "

We both exclaimed at this, for it was double the regular price of thebeans. 

"All right, " said Maiden's Heart. "Twenty-five cents, daytime. Fiftycents, night. "

We looked at each other, and concluded to pay the price and depart. Igave him two dollars, and asked him to open the gate and let us out. 

[Illustration: "ANOTHER BEAN. "]

He grinned. 

"No. No. We got no key. Captain got key. Come up wall. Go down wall. "

At this, we walked out into the square, and were about to ascend theinclined plane when the sentinel came up and stopped us. Thereupon a lowconversation ensued between him and Maiden's Heart, at the end of whichthe sentry put his hand into his pocket and pulled out three beans, which he held out to us. I did not hesitate, but gave him a dollar and ahalf for them. He took the money and let us pass on, --Maiden's Heart atmy side. 

"You want more bean?" said he. 

"Oh, no!" I answered. "No, indeed, " said Rectus. 

When we reached the place where we had left our apparatus, I swung therope over the wall, and, hooking the grapnel firmly on the inside, prepared to go down, for, as before, I wished to be under Rectus, if heshould slip. But Maiden's Heart put his hand on my shoulder. 

"Hold up!" he said. "I got 'nother bean. Buy this. "

"Don't want it, " said I. 

"Yes. Yes, " said Maiden's Heart, and he coolly unhooked the grapnel fromthe wall. 

I saw that it was of no use to contend with a big fellow like that, asstrong as two common men, and I bought the bean. 

I took the grapnel from Maiden's Heart, who seemed to give it upreluctantly, and as I hooked it on the wall, I felt a hand upon myshoulder. I looked around, and saw the sentinel. He held out to meanother bean. It was too dark to see the quality of it, but I thought itwas very small. However, I bought it. One of these fellows must betreated as well as the other. 

Maiden's Heart and the sentry were now feeling nervously in theirpockets. 

I shook my head vigorously, and saying, "No more! no more!" threw myselfover the wall, and seized the rope, Rectus holding the grapnel in itsplace as I did so. As I let myself down from knot to knot, a thoughtcrossed my mind: "How are we going to get that grapnel after we both aredown?"

It was a frightening thought. If the two Indians should choose, theycould keep the rope and grapnel, and, before morning, the whole posse ofred-skins might be off and away! I did not think about their being sofar from home, and all that. I only thought that they'd be glad to getout, and that they would all come down our rope. 

These reflections, which ran through my mind in no time at all, wereinterrupted by Rectus, who called down from the top of the wall, in avoice that was a little too loud to be prudent:

"Hurry! I think he's found another bean!"

I was on the ground in a few moments, and then Rectus came down. Icalled to him to come slowly and be very careful, but I can't tell howrelieved I was when I saw him fairly over the wall and on his way down. 

When we both stood on the ground, I took hold of the rope and shook it. I am not generally nervous, but I was a little nervous then. I did notshake the grapnel loose. Then I let the rope go slack, for a foot ortwo, and gave it a big sweep to one side. To my great delight, over camethe grapnel, nearly falling on our heads. I think I saw Maiden's Heartmake a grab at it as it came over, but I am not sure. However, he pokedhis head over the wall and said:

"Good-bye! Come again. "

We answered, "Good-bye, " but didn't say anything about coming again. 

As we hurried along homeward, Rectus said:

"If one of those Indians had kept us up there, while the other one raninto the barracks and got a fresh stock of sea-beans, they would havejust bankrupted us. "

"No, they wouldn't, " I said. "For I hadn't much more change with me. Andif I had had it, I wouldn't have given them any more. I'd have called upthe captain first. The thing was getting too expensive. "

"Well, I'm glad I'm out of it, " said Rectus. "And I don't believe muchin any of those Indians being very innocent. I thought Maiden's Heartwas one of the best of them, but he's a regular rascal. He knew wewanted to back out of that affair, and he just fleeced us. "

"I believe he would rather have had our scalps than our money, if he hadhad us out in his country, " I said. 

"That's so, " said Rectus. "A funny kind of a maiden's heart he's got. "

We were both out of conceit with the noble red man. Rectus took hisproclamation out of his pocket as we walked along the sea-wall, and, tearing it into little pieces, threw it into the water. When we reachedthe steam-ship wharf, we walked out to the end of it, to get rid of therope and grapnel. I whirled the grapnel round and round, and let thewhole thing fly far out into the harbor. It was a sheer waste of a goodstrong rope, but we should have had a dreary time getting the knots outof it. 

After we got home I settled up our accounts, and charged half thesea-beans to Rectus, and half to myself. 

CHAPTER VI. 

THE GIRL ON THE BEACH. 

I was not very well satisfied with our trip over the walls of San Marco. In the first place, when the sea-beans, the rope and the grapnel wereall considered, it was a little too costly. In the second place, I wasnot sure that I had been carrying out my contract with Mr. Colbert inexactly the right spirit; for although he had said nothing about myduties, I knew that he expected me to take care of his son, and paid mefor that. And I felt pretty sure that helping a fellow climb up aknotted rope into an old fort by night was not the best way of takingcare of him. The third thing that troubled me in regard to this matterwas the feeling I had that Rectus had led me into it; that he had beenthe leader and not I. Now, I did not intend that anything of that kindshould happen again. I did not come out on this expedition to followRectus around; indeed, it was to be quite the other way. But, to tellthe truth, I had not imagined that he would ever try to make peoplefollow him. He never showed at school that such a thing was in him. So, for these three reasons, I determined that there were to be no morescrapes of that sort, which generally came to nothing, after all. 

For the next two or three days we roved around the old town, and intotwo or three orange-groves, and went out sailing with Mr. Cholott, whoowned a nice little yacht, or sail-boat, as we should call it up north. 

The sailing here is just splendid, and, one morning, we thought we'dhire a boat for ourselves and go out fishing somewhere. So we went downto the yacht-club wharf to see about the boat that belonged to oldMenendez--Rectus's Minorcan. There were lots of sail-boats there as wellas row-boats, but we hunted up the craft we were after, and, by goodluck, found Menendez in her, bailing her out. 

So we engaged her, and he said he'd take us over to the North Beach tofish for bass. That suited us, --any beach and any kind offish, --provided he'd hurry up and get his boat ready. While he wasscooping away, and we were standing on the wharf watching him, alongcame Crowded Owl, the young Indian we had always liked--that is, eversince we had known any of them. He came up, said "How?" and shook hands, and then pulled out some sea-beans. The sight of these things seemed tomake me sick, and as for Rectus, he sung out:

"Do' wan' 'em!" so suddenly that it seemed like one word, and a prettysavage one at that. 

Crowded Owl looked at me, but I shook my head, and said, "No, no, no!"Then he drew himself up and just stood there. He seemed struck dumb; butthat didn't matter, as he couldn't talk to us, anyway. But he didn't goaway. When we walked farther up the wharf, he followed us, and againoffered us some beans. I began to get angry, and said "No!" prettyviolently. At this, he left us, but as we turned at the end of thewharf, we saw him near the club-house, standing and talking withMaiden's Heart. 

"I think it's a shame to let those Indians wander about here in thatway, " said Rectus. "They ought to be kept within bounds. "

I couldn't help laughing at this change of tune, but said that Isupposed only a few of them got leave of absence at a time. 

"Well, " said Rectus, "there are some of them that ought never to comeout. "

"Hello!" said old Menendez, sticking his head up above the edge of thewharf. "We're ready now. Git aboard. "

And so we scrambled down into the sail-boat, and Menendez pushed off, while the two Indians stood and watched us as we slowly moved away. 

When we got fairly out, our sail filled, and we went scudding away on agood wind. Then said old Menendez, as he sat at the tiller:

"What were you hollerin' at them Injuns about?"

"I didn't know that we were hollerin', " said I, "but they were botheringus to buy their sea-beans. "

"That's curious, " he said. "They aint much given to that sort of thing. But there's no tellin' nothin' about an Injun. If I had my way, I'dhang every one of 'em. "

"Rather a blood-thirsty sentiment, " said I. "Perhaps some of them don'tdeserve hanging. "

"Well, I've never seen one o' that kind, " said he, "and I've seen lotsof Injuns. I was in the Seminole war, in this State, and was fightin'Injuns from the beginnin' to the end of it. And I know all about how totreat the rascals. You must hang 'em, or shoot 'em, as soon as you gethold of 'em. "

This aroused all the old sympathy for the oppressed red man that dweltin the heart of young Rectus, and he exclaimed:

"That would be murder! There are always two kinds of every sort ofpeople--all are not bad. It is wrong to condemn a whole division of thehuman race that way. "

"You're right about there bein' two kinds of Injuns, " said the oldfellow. "There's bad ones and there's wuss ones. I know what I've seenfor myself. I'd hang 'em all. "

We debated this matter some time longer, but we could make no impressionon the old Minorcan. For some reason or other, probably on account ofhis sufferings or hardships in the war, he was extremely bitter againstall Indians. "You can't tell me, " he replied to all of our arguments, and I think he completely destroyed all the sympathy which Rectus hadhad for the once down-trodden and deceived Minorcans, by this animositytoward members of another race who were yet in captivity and bondage. Tobe sure, there was a good deal of difference in the two cases, butRectus wasn't in the habit of turning up every question to look at thebottom of it. 

The North Beach is the seaward side of one of the islands that enclosethe harbor, or the Matanzas River, as it is called. We landed on theinland side, and then walked over to the beach, which is very wide andsmooth. Here we set to work to fish. Old Menendez baited our lines, andtold us what to do. It was new sport to us. 

First, we took off our shoes and stockings, and rolled up our trousers, so as to wade out in the shallow water. We each had a long line, one endof which we tied around our waists. Menendez had his tied to abutton-hole of his coat, but he thought he had better make our linesvery safe, as they belonged to him. There was a big hook and a heavylead to the other end of the line, with a piece of fish for bait, and weswung the lead around our heads, and threw it out into the surf as faras we could. I thought I was pretty good on the throw, but I couldn'tbegin to send my line out as far as Menendez threw his. As for Rectus, he didn't pretend to do much in the throwing business. He whirled hisline around in such a curious way that I was very much afraid he wouldhook himself in the ear. But Menendez put his line out for him. Hedidn't want me to do it. 

Then we stood there in the sand, with the water nearly up to our kneesevery time the waves came in, and waited for a bite. There wasn't muchbiting. Menendez said that the tide was too low, but I've noticed thatsomething is always too something, every time any one takes me outfishing, so I didn't mind that. 

Menendez did hook one fellow, I think, for he gave a tremendous jerk athis line, and began to skip inshore as if he were but ten years old; butit was of no use. The fish changed his mind. 

Then we stood and waited a while longer, until, all of a sudden, Rectusmade a skip. But he went the wrong way. Instead of skipping out of thewater, he skipped in. He went in so far that he got his trousersdripping wet. 

"Hello!" I shouted. "What's up?"

He didn't say anything, but began to pull back, and dig his heels intothe sand. Old Menendez and I saw, at the same moment, what was thematter, and we made a rush for him. I was nearest, and got there first. I seized Rectus by the shoulder, and pulled him back a little. 

"Whew-w!" said he; "how this twine cuts!"

Then I took hold of the line in front of him, and there was no mistakingthe fact--he had a big fish on the other end of it. 

"Run out!" cried Menendez, who thought there was no good of threefellows hauling on the line; and out we ran. 

When we had gone up the beach a good way, I looked back and saw arousing big fish flopping about furiously in the shallow water. 

"Go on!" shouted Menendez; and we ran on until we had pulled it high anddry up on the sand. 

Then Menendez fell afoul of it to take out the hook, and we hurried backto see it. It was a whopping big bass, and by the powerful way it threwitself around on the sand, I didn't wonder that Rectus ran into thewater when he got the first jerk. 

Now, this was something like sport, and we all felt encouraged, and wentto work again with a will, only Menendez untied the line from Rectus'swaist and fastened it to his button-hole. 

"It may pull out, " he said; "but, on the whole, it's better to lose afishin'-line than a boy. "

We fished quietly and steadily for some time, but got no more bites, when suddenly I heard some one say, behind me:

"They don't ever pull in!"

I turned around, and it was a girl. She was standing there with agentleman, --her father, I soon found out, --and I don't know how longthey had been watching us. She was about thirteen years old, and cameover with her father in a sail-boat. I remembered seeing them cruisingaround as we were sailing over. 

"They haven't got bites, " said her father; "that's the reason they don'tpull in. "

It was very disagreeable to me, and I know it was even more so toRectus, to stand here and have those strangers watch us fishing. If wehad not been barefooted and bare-legged, we should not have minded it somuch. As for the old Minorcan, I don't suppose he cared at all. I beganto think it was time to stop. 

"As the tide's getting lower and lower, " I said to Menendez, "I supposeour chances are getting less and less. "

"Yes, " said he; "I reckon we'd better shut up shop before long. "

"Oh!" cried out the girl, "just look at that fish! Father! Father! Justlook at it. Did any of you catch it? I didn't see it till this minute. Ithought you hadn't caught any. If I only had a fishing-line now, I wouldlike to catch just one fish. Oh, father! why didn't you bring afishing-line?"

"I didn't think of it, my dear, " said he. "Indeed, I didn't know therewere any fish here. "

Old Menendez turned around and grinned at this, and I thought there wasa good chance to stop fishing; so I offered to let the girl try my linefor a while, if she wanted to. 

It was certain enough that she wanted to, for she was going to run rightinto the water to get it. But I came out, and as her father said shemight fish if she didn't have to walk into the water, old Menendez tooka spare piece of line from his pocket and tied it on to the end of mine, and he put on some fresh bait and gave it a tremendous send out into thesurf. Then he put the other end around the girl and tied it. I supposehe thought that it didn't matter if a girl should be lost, but he mayhave considered that her father was there to seize her if she got jerkedin. 

She took hold of the line and stood on the edge of the dry sand, readyto pull in the biggest kind of a fish that might come along. I put on myshoes and stockings, and Rectus his; he'd had enough glory for one day. Old Menendez wound up his line, too, but that girl saw nothing of allthis. She just kept her eyes and her whole mind centred on her line. Atfirst, she talked right straight ahead, asking what she should do whenit bit; how big we thought it would be; why we didn't have a cork, andfifty other things, but all without turning her head to the right or theleft. Then said her father:

"My dear, you mustn't talk; you will frighten the fish. When personsfish, they always keep perfectly quiet. You never heard me talking whileI was fishing. I fish a good deal when I am at home, " said he, turningto us, "and I always remain perfectly quiet. "

Menendez laughed a little at this, and said that he didn't believe thefish out there in the surf would mind a little quiet chat; but thegentleman said that he had always found it best to be just as still aspossible. The girl now shut her mouth tight, and held herself moreready, if possible, than ever, and I believe that if she had got a biteshe would have jerked the fish's head off. We all stood around her, andher father watched her as earnestly as if she was about to graduate at anormal school. 

We stood and waited and waited, and she didn't move, and neither did theline. Menendez now said he thought she might as well give it up. Thetide was too low, and it was pretty near dinner-time, and, besides this, there was a shower coming on. 

"Oh, no!" said she; "not just yet. I feel sure I'll get a bite in aminute or two now. Just wait a little longer. "

And so it went on, every few minutes, until we had waited about half anhour, and then Menendez said he must go, but if the gentleman wanted tobuy the line, and stay there until the tide came in again, he'd sell itto him. At this, the girl's father told her that she must stop, and soshe very dolefully let Menendez untie the line. 

"It's too bad!" she said, almost with tears in her eyes. "If they hadonly waited a few minutes longer!" And then she ran up to Rectus and me, and said:

"When are you coming out here again? Do you think you will cometo-morrow, or next day?"

"I don't know, " said I. "We haven't settled our plans for to-morrow. "

"Oh, father! father!" she cried, "perhaps they will come out hereto-morrow, and you must get me a fishing-line, and we will come and fishall day. "

We didn't stay to hear what her father said, but posted off to our boat, for we were all beginning to feel pretty hungry. We took Rectus's fishalong, to give to our landlady. The gentleman and the girl came closeafter us, as if they were afraid to be left alone on the island. Theirboat was hauled up near ours, and we set off at pretty much the sametime. 

We went ahead a little, and Menendez turned around and called out to thegentleman that he'd better follow us, for there were some bad shoals inthis part of the harbor, and the tide was pretty low. 

"All right, my hearty!" called out the gentleman. "This isn't the firsttime I've sailed in this harbor. I guess I know where the shoals are, "and just at that minute he ran his boat hard and fast on one of them. 

He jumped up, and took an oar and pushed and pushed: but it was of nogood--he was stuck fast. By this time we had left him pretty far behind;but we all had been watching, and Rectus asked if we couldn't go backand help him. 

"Well, I s'pose so, " said Menendez; "but it's a shame to keep threedecent people out of their dinner for the sake of a man like that, whohasn't got sense enough to take good advice when it's give to him. "

"We'd better go, " said I, and Menendez, in no good humor, put his boatabout. We found the other boat aground, in the very worst way. The oldMinorcan said that he could see that sand-bar through the water, andthat they might as well have run up on dry land. Better, for thatmatter, because then we could have pushed her off. 

"There aint nuthin' to be done, " he said, after we had worked at thething for a while, "but to jist wait here till the tide turns. It'spretty near dead low now, an' you'll float off in an hour or two. "

This was cold comfort for the gentleman, especially as it was beginningto rain; but he didn't seem a bit cast down. He laughed, and said:

"Well, I suppose it can't be helped: but I am used to being out in allweathers. I can wait, just as well as not. But I don't want my daughterhere to get wet, and she has no umbrella. Would you mind taking her onyour boat? When you get to the town, she can run up to our hotel byherself. She knows the way. "

Of course we had no objection to this, and the girl was helped aboard. Then we sailed off, and the gentleman waved his hat to us. If I had beenin his place, I don't think I should have felt much like waving my hat. 

[Illustration: "THE GENTLEMAN WAVED HIS HAT TO US. "]

Menendez now said that he had an oil-skin coat stowed away forward, andI got it and put it around the girl. She snuggled herself up in it ascomfortably as she could, and began to talk. 

"The way of it was this, " she said. "Father, he said we'd go outsailing, and mother and I went with him, and when we got down to thewharf, there were a lot of boats, but they all had men to them, and sofather, he said he wanted to sail the boat himself, and mother, she saidthat if he did she wouldn't go; but he said pooh! he could do it as wellas anybody, and wasn't going to have any man. So he got a boat without aman, and mother, she didn't want me to go; but I went, and he stuck fastcoming back, because he never will listen to anything anybody tells him, as mother and I found out long ago. And here we are, almost at thewharf! I didn't think we were anywhere near it. "

"Well, you see, sis, sich a steady gale o' talkin', right behind thesail, is bound to hurry the boat along. And now, s'pose you tell us yourname, " said Menendez. 

"My name's Cornelia; but father, he calls me Corny, which mother hatesto hear the very sound of, " said she; "and the rest of it is MaryChipperton. Father, he came down here because he had a weak lung, andI'm sure I don't see what good it's going to do him to sit out there inthe rain. We'll take a man next time. And father and I'll be sure to behere early to-morrow to go out fishing with you. Good-bye!"

And with this, having mounted the steps to the pier, off ran MissCorny. 

"I wouldn't like to be the ole man o' that family, " said Mr. Menendez. 

That night, after we had gone to bed, Rectus began to talk. We generallywent to sleep in pretty short order; but the moon did not shine in ourwindows now until quite late, and so we noticed for the first time thecurious way in which the light-house--which stood almost opposite onAnastasia Island--brightened up the room, every minute or two. It is arevolving light, and when the light got on the landward side it gave usa flash, which produced a very queer effect on the furniture, and onRectus's broad hat, which hung on the wall right opposite the window. Itseemed exactly as if this hat was a sort of portable sun of a very mildpower, which warmed up, every now and then, and lighted the room. 

But Rectus did not talk long about this. 

"I think, " said he, "that we have had about enough of St. Augustine. There are too many Indians and girls here. "

"And sea-beans, too, perhaps, " said I. "But I don't think there's anyreason for going so soon. I'm going to settle those Indians, and you'veonly seen one girl, and perhaps we'll never see her again. "

"Don't you believe that, " said Rectus, very solemnly, and he turnedover, either to ponder on the matter, or to go to sleep. His remarksmade me imagine that perhaps he was one of those fellows who soon gettired of a place and want to be moving on. But that wasn't my way, and Ididn't intend to let him hurry me. I think the Indians worried him agood deal. He was afraid they would keep on troubling us. But, as I hadsaid, I had made up my mind to settle the Indians. As for Corny, I knowhe hated her. I don't believe he spoke a word to her all the time wewere with her. 

The next morning, we talked over the Indian question, and then went downto the fort. We hadn't been there for three or four days, but now we haddecided not to stand nagging by a couple of red-skinned savages, but togo and see the captain and tell him all about it. All except theproclamation--Rectus wouldn't agree to have that brought in at all. Mr. Cholott had introduced us to the captain, and he was a first-ratefellow, and when we told him how we had stormed his old fort, he laughedand said he wondered we didn't break our necks, and that the next timewe did it he'd put us in the guard-house, sure. 

"That would be cheaper for you than buying so many beans, " he said. 

As to the two Indians, he told us he would see to it that they let usalone. He didn't think that Maiden's Heart would ever harm us, for hewas more of a blower than anything else; but he said that Crowded Owlwas really one of the worst-tempered Indians in the fort, and he advisedus to have nothing more to do with him, in any way. 

All of this was very good of the captain, and we were very glad we hadgone to see him. 

"I tell you what it is, " said Rectus, as we were coming away, "I don'tbelieve that any of these Indians are as innocent as they try to makeout. Did you ever see such a rascally set of faces?"

Somehow or other, I seldom felt sorry when Rectus changed his mind. Ithought, indeed, that he ought to change it as much as he could. Andyet, as I have said, he was a thoroughly good fellow. The trouble withhim was that he wasn't used to making up his mind about things, anddidn't make a very good beginning at it. 

The next day, we set out to explore Anastasia Island, right opposite thetown. It is a big island, but we took our lunch and determined to dowhat we could. We hired a boat and rowed over to the mouth of a creek inthe island. We went up this creek quite a long way, and landed at alittle pier, where we made the boat fast. The man who owned the boattold us just how to go. We first made a flying call at the coquinaquarries, where they dig the curious stuff of which the town is built. This is formed of small shells, all conglomerated into one solid massthat becomes as hard as stone after it is exposed to the air. It musthave taken thousands of years for so many little shell-fish to pilethemselves up into a quarrying-ground. We now went over to thelight-house, and climbed to the top of it, where we had a view that madeRectus feel even better than he felt in the cemetery at Savannah. 

When we came down, we started for the beach and stopped a little whileat the old Spanish light-house, which looked more like a cracker-bakerythan anything else, but I suppose it was good enough for all the shipsthe Spaniards had to light up. We would have cared more for the oldlight-house if it had not had an inscription on it that said it had beendestroyed, and rebuilt by some American. After that, we considered itmerely in the light of a chromo. 

We had a good time on the island, and stayed nearly all day. Toward theend of the afternoon, we started back for the creek and our boat. We hada long walk, for we had been exploring the island pretty well, and when, at last, we reached the creek, we saw that our boat was gone!

This was astounding. We could not make out how the thing could havehappened. The boatman, from whom we had hired it, had said that it wouldbe perfectly safe for us to leave the boat at the landing if we tied herup well and hid the oars. I had tied her up very well and we had hiddenthe oars so carefully, under some bushes, that we found them there whenwe went to look for them. 

"Could the old thing have floated off of itself?" said Rectus. 

"That couldn't have happened, " I said. "I tied her hard and fast. "

"But how could any one have taken her away without oars?" asked Rectus. 

"Rectus, " said I, "don't let us have any more riddles. Some one may havecut a pole and poled her away, up or down the creek, or----"

"I'll tell you, " interrupted Rectus. "Crowded Owl!"

I didn't feel much like laughing, but I did laugh a little. 

"Yes, " I said. "He probably swam over with a pair of oars on purpose tosteal our boat. But, whether he did it or not, it's very certain thatsomebody has taken the boat, and there isn't any way, that I see, ofgetting off this place to-night. There'll be nobody going over so latein the afternoon--except, to be sure, those men we saw at the other endof the island with a flat-boat. "

"But that's away over at the upper end of the island, " said Rectus. 

"That's not so very far, " said I. "I wonder if they have gone back yet?If one of us could run over there and ask them to send a boatman fromthe town after us, we might get back by supper-time. "

"Why not both of us?" asked Rectus. 

"One of us should stay here to see if our boat does come back. It musthave been some one from the island who took it, because any one from themainland would have brought his own boat. "

"Very well, " said Rectus. "Let's toss up to see who goes. The winnerstays. "

I pitched up a cent. 

"Heads, " said Rectus. 

"Tails, " said I. 

Tails it was, and Rectus started off like a good fellow. 

I sat down and waited. I waited a long, long time, and then I got up andwalked up and down. In about an hour I began to get anxious. It was morethan time for Rectus to return. The walk to the end of the island andback was not much over a mile--at least, I supposed it was not. Couldanything have happened to the boy? It was not yet sunset, and I couldn'timagine what there was to happen. 

After waiting about half an hour longer, I heard a distant sound ofoars. I ran to the landing and looked down the creek. A boat with a manin it was approaching. When it came nearer, I saw plainly that it wasour boat. When it had almost reached the landing, the man turned around, and I was very much surprised, indeed, to see that he was Mr. Chipperton. 

CHAPTER VII. 

MR. CHIPPERTON. 

I took hold of the boat, and pulled the bow up on the beach. Mr. Chipperton looked around at me. 

"Why, how do you do?" said he. 

[Illustration: "WHY, HOW DO YOU DO?"]

For an instant I could not answer him, I was so angry, and then I said:

"What did you----? How did you come to take our boat away?"

"Your boat!" he exclaimed. "Is this your boat? I didn't know that. Butwhere is my boat? Did you see a sail-boat leave here? It is verystrange--remarkably strange! I don't know what to make of it. "

"I know nothing about a sail-boat, " said I. "If we had seen one leavehere, we should have gone home in her. Why did you take our boat?"

Mr. Chipperton had now landed. 

"I came over here, " he said, "with my wife and daughter. We were in asail-boat, with a man to manage it. My wife would not come otherwise. Wecame to see the light-house, but I do not care for light-houses, --I haveseen a great many of them. I am passionately fond of the water. Seeing asmall boat here which no one was using, I let the man conduct my wifeand Corny--my daughter--up to the light-house, while I took a littlerow. I know the man. He is very trustworthy. He would let no harm cometo them. There was a pair of oars in the sail-boat, and I took them, androwed down the creek, and then went along the river, below the town;and, I assure you, sir, I went a great deal farther than I intended, forthe tide was with me. But it wasn't with me coming back, of course, andI had a very hard time of it. I thought I never should get back. Thisboat of yours, sir, seems to be an uncommonly hard boat to row. "

"Against a strong tide, I suppose it is, " said I; "but I wish you hadn'ttaken it. Here I have been waiting ever so long, and my friend----"

"Oh! I'm sorry, too, " interrupted Mr. Chipperton, who had been lookingabout, as if he expected to see his sail-boat somewhere under the trees. "I can't imagine what could have become of my boat, my wife, and mychild. If I had staid here, they could not have sailed away without myknowing it. It would even have been better to go with them, although, asI said before, I don't care for light-houses. "

"Well, " said I, not quite as civilly as I generally speak to peopleolder than myself, "your boat has gone, that is plain enough. I suppose, when your family came from the light-house, they thought you had gonehome, and so went themselves. "

"That's very likely, " said he, --"very likely indeed. Or, it may be thatCorny wouldn't wait. She is not good at waiting. She persuaded hermother to sail away, no doubt. But now I suppose you will take me homein your boat, and the sooner we get off the better, for it is growinglate. "

"You needn't be in a hurry, " said I, "for I am not going off until myfriend comes back. You gave him a good long walk to the other end of theisland. "

"Indeed!" said Mr. Chipperton. "How was that?"

Then I told him all about it. 

"Do you think that the flat-boat is likely to be there yet?" he asked. 

"It's gone, long ago, " said I; "and I'm afraid Rectus has lost his way, either going there or coming back. "

I said this as much to myself as to my companion, for I had walked backa little to look up the path. I could not see far, for it was growingdark. I was terribly worried about Rectus, and would have gone to lookfor him, but I was afraid that if I left Mr. Chipperton he would go offwith the boat. 

Directly Mr. Chipperton set up a yell. 

"Hi! hi! hi!" he cried. 

I ran down to the pier, and saw a row-boat approaching. 

"Hi!" cried Mr. Chipperton. "Come this way! Come here! Boat ahoy!"

"We're coming!" shouted a man from the boat. "Ye needn't holler for us. "

And in a few more strokes the boat touched land. There were two men init. 

"Did you come for me?" cried Mr. Chipperton. 

"No, " said the man who had spoken. "We came for this other party, but Ireckon you can come along. "

"For me?" said I. "Who sent you?"

"Your pardner, " said the man. "He came over in a flat-boat, and he saidyou was stuck here, for somebody had stole your boat, and so he sent usfor you. "

"And he's over there, is he?" said I. 

"Yes, he's all right, eatin' his supper, I reckon. But isn't this hereyour boat?"

"Yes, it is, " I said, "and I'm going home in it. You can take the otherman. "

And, without saying another word, I picked up my oars, which I hadbrought from the bushes, jumped into my boat, and pushed off. 

"I reckon you're a little riled, aint ye?" said the man; but I made himno answer, and left him to explain to Mr. Chipperton his remark aboutstealing the boat. They set off soon after me, and we had a race downthe creek. I _was_ "a little riled, " and I pulled so hard that the otherboat did not catch up to me until we got out into the river. Then itpassed me, but it didn't get to town much before I did. 

The first person I met on the pier was Rectus. He had had his supper, and had come down to watch for me. I was so angry that I would not speakto him. He kept by my side, though, as I walked up to the house, excusing himself for going off and leaving me. 

"You see, it wasn't any use for me to take that long walk back there tothe creek. I told the men of the fix we were in, and they said they'dsend somebody for us, but they thought I'd better come along with them, as I was there. "

I had a great mind to say something here, but I didn't. 

"It wouldn't have done you any good for me to come back through thewoods in the dark. The boat wouldn't get over to you any faster. Yousee, if there'd been any good at all in it, I would have come back--butthere wasn't. "

All this might have been very true, but I remembered how I had sat andwalked and thought and worried about Rectus, and his explanation did meno good. 

When I reached the house, I found that our landlady, who was one of thevery best women in all Florida, had saved me a splendid supper--hot andsmoking. I was hungry enough, and I enjoyed this meal until there didn'tseem to be a thing left. I felt in a better humor then, and I hunted upRectus, and we talked along as if nothing had happened. It wasn't easyto keep mad with Rectus, because he didn't get mad himself. And, besides, he had a good deal of reason on his side. 

It was a lovely evening, and pretty nearly all the people of the townwere out-of-doors. Rectus and I took a walk around the "Plaza, "--apublic square planted thick with live-oak and pride-of-India trees, andwith a monument in the centre with a Spanish inscription on it, statinghow the king of Spain once gave a very satisfactory charter to the town. Rectus and I agreed, however, that we would rather have a pride-of-Indiatree than a charter, as far as we were concerned. These trees have onthem long bunches of blossoms, which smell deliciously. 

"Now, then, " said I, "I think it's about time for us to be moving along. I'm beginning to feel about that Corny family as you do. "

"Oh, I only objected to the girl, " said Rectus, in an off-hand way. 

"Well, I object to the father, " said I. "I think we've had enough, anyway, of fathers and daughters. I hope the next couple we fall in withwill be a mother and a son. "

"What's the next place on the bill?" asked Rectus. 

"Well, " said I, "we ought to take a trip up the Oclawaha River. That'sone of the things to do. It will take us two or three days, and we canleave our baggage here and come back again. Then, if we want to stay, wecan, and if we don't, we needn't. "

"All right, " said Rectus. "Let's be off to-morrow. "

The next morning, I went to buy the Oclawaha tickets, while Rectus staidhome to pack up our handbags, and, I believe, to sew some buttons on hisclothes. He could sew buttons on so strongly that they would never comeoff again without bringing the piece out with them. 

The ticket-office was in a small store, where you could get any kind ofalligator or sea-bean combination that the mind could dream of. We hadbeen in there before to look at the things. I found I was in luck, forthe storekeeper told me that it was not often that people could getberths on the little Oclawaha steam-boats without engaging them somedays ahead; but he had a couple of state-rooms left, for the boat thatleft Pilatka the next day. I took one room as quick as lightning, and Ihad just paid for the tickets when Mr. Chipperton and Corny walked in. 

"How d' ye do?" said he, as cheerfully as if he had never gone off withanother fellow's boat. "Buying tickets for the Oclawaha?"

I had to say yes, and then he wanted to know when we were going. Iwasn't very quick to answer; but the storekeeper said:

"He's just taken the last room but one in the boat that leaves Pilatkato-morrow morning. "

"And when do you leave here to catch that boat?" said Mr. Chipperton. 

"This afternoon, --and stay all night at Pilatka. "

"Oh, father! father!" cried Corny, who had been standing with her eyesand ears wide open, all this time, "let's go! let's go!"

"I believe I will, " said Mr. Chipperton, --"I believe I will. You say youhave one more room. All right. I'll take it. This will be very pleasant, indeed, " said he, turning to me. "It will be quite a party. It's ever somuch better to go to such places in a party. We've been thinking ofgoing for some time, and I'm so glad I happened in here now. Good-bye. We'll see you this afternoon at the dépôt. "

I didn't say anything about being particularly glad, but just as I leftthe door Corny ran out after me. 

"Do you think it would be any good to take a fishing-line?" she cried. 

"Guess you'd better, " I shouted back, and then I ran home, laughing. 

"Here are the tickets!" I cried out to Rectus, "and we've got to be atthe station by four o'clock this afternoon. There's no backing out now. "

"Who wants to back out?" said Rectus, looking up from his trunk, intowhich he had been diving. 

"Can't say, " I answered. "But I know one person who wont back out. "

"Who's that?"

"Corny, " said I. 

Rectus stood up. 

"Cor----!" he exclaimed. 

"Ny, " said I, "and father and mother. They took the only roomleft, --engaged it while I was there. "

"Can't we sell our tickets?" asked Rectus. 

"Don't know, " said I. "But what's the good? Who's going to be afraid ofa girl, --or a whole family, for that matter? We're in for it now. "

Rectus didn't say anything, but his expression saddened. 

We had studied out this trip the night before, and knew just what we hadto do. We first went from St. Augustine, on the sea-coast, to Tocoi, onthe St. John's River, by a railroad fifteen miles long. Then we took asteam-boat up the St. John's to Pilatka, and the next morning left forthe Oclawaha, which runs into the St. John's about twenty-five milesabove, on the other side of the river. 

We found the Corny family at the station, all right, and Cornyimmediately informed me that she had a fishing-line, but didn't bring apole, because her father said he could cut her one, if it was needed. Hedidn't know whether it was "throw-out" fishing or not, on that river. 

There used to be a wooden railroad here, and the cars were pulled bymules. It was probably more fun to travel that way, but it took longer. Now they have steel rails and everything that a regular grown-uprailroad has. We knew the engineer, for Mr. Cholott had introduced us tohim one day, on the club-house wharf. He was a first-rate fellow, andlet us ride on the engine. I didn't believe, at first, that Rectus woulddo this; but there was only one passenger car, and after the Cornyfamily got into that, he didn't hesitate a minute about the engine. 

We had a splendid ride. We went slashing along through the woods thewhole way, and as neither of us had ever ridden on an engine before, wemade the best of our time. We found out what every crank and handle wasfor, and kept a sharp look-out ahead, through the little windows in thecab. If we had caught an alligator on the cow-catcher, the thing wouldhave been complete. The engineer said there used to be alligators alongby the road, in the swampy places, but he guessed the engine hadfrightened most of them away. 

The trip didn't take forty minutes, so we had scarcely time to learn thewhole art of engine-driving, but we were very glad to have had the ride. 

We found the steam-boat waiting for us at Tocoi, which is such a littleplace that I don't believe either of us noticed it, as we hurriedaboard. The St. John's is a splendid river, as wide as a young lake; butwe did not have much time to see it, as it grew dark pretty soon, andthe supper-bell rang. 

We reached Pilatka pretty early in the evening, and there we had to stayall night. Mr. Chipperton told me, confidentially, that he thought thiswhole arrangement was a scheme to make money out of travellers. The boatwe were in ought to have kept on and taken us up the Oclawaha; "but, "said he, "I suppose that wouldn't suit the hotel-keepers. I expect theydivide the profits with the boats. "

By good luck, I thought, the Corny family and ourselves went todifferent hotels to spend the night. When I congratulated Rectus on thisfact, he only said:

"It don't matter for one night. We'll catch 'em all bad enoughto-morrow. "

And he was right. When we went down to the wharf the next morning, tofind the Oclawaha boat, the first persons we saw were Mr. Chipperton, with his wife and daughter. They were standing, gazing at the steam-boatwhich was to take us on our trip. 

"Isn't this a funny boat?" said Corny, as soon as she saw us. It _was_ avery funny boat. It was not much longer than an ordinary tug, and quitenarrow, but was built up as high as a two-story house, and the wheel wasin the stern. Rectus compared her to a river wheelbarrow. 

Soon after we were on board she started off, and then we had a goodchance to see the St. John's. We had been down to look at the riverbefore, for we got up very early and walked about the town. It is apretty sort of a new place, with wide streets and some handsome houses. The people have orange-groves in their gardens, instead ofpotato-patches, as we have up north. Before we started, we hired arifle. We had been told that there was plenty of game on the river, andthat most gentlemen who took the trip carried guns. Rectus wanted to gettwo rifles, but I thought one was enough. We could take turns, and Iknew I'd feel safer if I had nothing to do but to keep my eye on Rectuswhile he had the gun. 

There were not many passengers on board, and, indeed, there was not roomfor more than twenty-five or thirty. Most of them who could find placessat out on a little upper deck, in front of the main cabin, which was inthe top story. Mrs. Chipperton, however, staid in the saloon, ordining-room, and looked out of the windows. She was a quiet woman, andhad an air as if she had to act as shaft-horse for the team, and waspretty well used to holding back. And I reckon she had a good deal of itto do. 

One party attracted our attention as soon as we went aboard. It was madeup of a lady and two gentlemen-hunters. The lady wasn't a hunter, butshe was dressed in a suitable costume to go about with fellows who hadon hunting-clothes. The men wore long yellow boots that came ever so farup their legs, and they had on all the belts and hunting-fixings thatthe law allows. The lady wore yellow gloves, to match the men's boots. As we were going up the St. John's, the two men strode about, in an easykind of a way, as if they wanted us to understand that this sort ofthing was nothing to them. They were used to it, and could wear thatstyle of boots every day if they wanted to. Rectus called them "theyellow-legged party, " which wasn't a bad name. 

After steaming about twenty-five miles up the St. John's River, we wentin close to the western shore, and then made a sharp turn into a narrowopening between the tall trees, and sailed right into the forest. 

CHAPTER VIII. 

THE STEAM-BOAT IN THE FOREST. 

We were in a narrow river, where the tall trees met overhead, while thelower branches and the smaller trees brushed against the little boat asit steamed along. This was the Oclawaha River, and Rectus and I thoughtit was as good as fairy-land. We stood on the bow of the boat, whichwasn't two feet above the water, and took in everything there was tosee. 

The river wound around in among the great trees, so that we seldom couldsee more than a few hundred yards ahead, and every turn we made showedus some new picture of green trees and hanging moss and glimpses intothe heart of the forest, while everything was reflected in the river, which was as quiet as a looking-glass. 

"Talk of theatres!" said Rectus. 

"No, don't, " said I. 

At this moment we both gave a little jump, for a gun went off justbehind us. We turned around quickly, and saw that the tall yellow-legshad just fired at a big bird. He didn't hit it. 

"Hello!" said Rectus; "we'd better get our gun. The game is beginning toshow itself. " And off he ran for the rifle. 

I didn't know that Rectus had such a bloodthirsty style of mind; butthere were a good many things about him that I didn't know. When he cameback, he loaded the rifle, which was a little breech-loader, and beganeagerly looking about for game. 

Corny had been on the upper deck; but in a minute or two she camerunning out to us. 

"Oh! do you know, " she called out, "that there are alligators in thisriver? Do you think they could crawl up into the boat? We go awfullynear shore sometimes. They sleep on shore. I do hope I'll see one soon. "

"Well, keep a sharp look-out, and perhaps you may, " said I. 

She sat down on a box near the edge of the deck, and peered into thewater and along the shore as if she had been sent there to watch forbreakers ahead. Every now and then she screamed out:

"There's one! There! There! There!"

But it was generally a log, or a reflection, or something else that wasnot an alligator. 

Of course we were very near both shores at all times, for the river isso narrow that a small boy could throw a ball over it; but occasionallythe deeper part of the channel flowed so near one shore that we ranright up close to the trees, and the branches flapped up against thepeople on the little forward deck, making the ladies, especially thelady belonging to the yellow-legged party, crouch and scream as if somewood-demon had stuck a hand into the boat and made a grab for theirbonnets. 

This commotion every now and then, and the almost continual reports fromthe guns on board, and Corny's screams when she thought she saw analligator, made the scene quite lively. 

Rectus and I took a turn every half-hour at the rifle. It was really agreat deal more agreeable to look out at the beautiful pictures thatcame up before us every few minutes; but, as we had the gun, we couldn'thelp keeping up a watch for game, besides. 

"There!" I whispered to Rectus; "see that big bird! On that limb! Take acrack at him!"

It was a water-turkey, and he sat placidly on a limb close to thewater's edge, and about a boat's length ahead of us. 

Rectus took a good aim. He slowly turned as the boat approached thebird, keeping his aim upon him, and then he fired. 

The water-turkey stuck out his long, snake-like neck, and said:

"Quee! Quee! Quee!"

And then he ran along the limb quite gayly. 

"Bang! bang!" went the guns of the yellow-legs, and the turkey actuallystopped and looked back. Then he said:

"Quee! Quee!" again, and ran in among the thick leaves. 

I believe I could have hit him with a stone. 

"It don't seem to be any use, " said Mr. Chipperton, who was standingbehind us, "to fire at the birds along this river. They know just whatto do. I'm almost sure I saw that bird wink. It wouldn't surprise me ifthe fellows that own the rifles are in conspiracy with these birds. Theylet out rifles that wont hit, and the birds know it, and sit there andlaugh at the passengers. Why, I tell you, sir, if the people who travelup and down this river were all regular shooters, there wouldn't be abird left in six months. "

At this moment Corny saw an alligator, --a real one. It was lying on alog, near shore, and just ahead of the boat. She set up such a yell thatit made every one of us jump, and her mother came rushing out of thesaloon to see if she was dead. The alligator, who was a good-sizedfellow, was so scared that he just slid off his log without taking timeto get decently awake, and before any one but Rectus and myself had achance to see him. The ladies were very much annoyed at this, and urgedCorny to scream softly the next time she saw one. Alligators were prettyscarce this trip, for some reason or other. For one thing, the weatherwas not very warm, and they don't care to come out in the open airunless they can give their cold bodies a good warming up. 

Corny now went up on the upper deck, because she thought that she mightsee alligators farther ahead if she got up higher. In five minutes, shehad her hat taken off by a branch of a tree, which swept upon her, asshe was leaning over the rail. She called to the pilot to stop the boatand go back for her hat, but the captain, who was up in the pilot-house, stuck out his head and said he reckoned she'd have to wait until theycame back. The hat would hang there for a day or two. Corny made noanswer to this, but disappeared into the saloon. 

In a little while, she came out on the lower deck, wearing a seal-skinhat. She brought a stool with her, and put it near the bow of the boat, a little in front and on one side of the box on which Rectus and I weresitting. Then she sat quietly down and gazed out ahead. The seal-skincap was rather too warm for the day, perhaps, but she looked very prettyin it. 

Directly she looked around at us. 

"Where do you shoot alligators?" said she. 

"Anywhere, where you may happen to see them, " said I, laughing. "On theland, in the water, or wherever they may be. "

"I mean in what part of their bodies?" said she. 

"Oh! in the eye, " I answered. 

"Either eye?" she asked. 

"Yes; it don't matter which. But how are you going to hit them?"

"I've got a revolver, " said she. 

And she turned around, like the turret of an iron-clad, until the muzzleof a big seven-shooter pointed right at us. 

"My conscience!" I exclaimed; "where did you get that? Don't point itthis way!"

"Oh! it's father's. He let me have it. I am going to shoot the firstalligator I see. You needn't be afraid of my screaming this time, " andshe revolved back to her former position. 

"One good thing, " said Rectus to me, in a low voice; "her pistol isn'tcocked. "

I had noticed this, and I hoped also that it wasn't loaded. 

"Which eye do you shut?" said Corny, turning suddenly upon us. 

"Both!" said Rectus. 

She did not answer, but looked at me, and I told her to shut her lefteye, but to be very particular not to turn around again without loweringher pistol. 

She resumed her former position, and we breathed a little easier, although I thought that it might be well for us to go to some other partof the boat until she had finished her sport. 

I was about to suggest this to Rectus, when suddenly Corny sprang to herfeet, and began blazing away at something ahead. Bang! bang! bang! shewent, seven times. 

"Why, she didn't stop once to cock it!" cried Rectus, and I was amazedto see how she had fired so rapidly. But as soon as I had counted seven, I stepped up to her and took her pistol. She explained to me how itworked. It was one of those pistols in which the same pull of thetrigger jerks up the hammer and lets it down, --the most unsafe thingsthat any one can carry. 

"Too bad!" she exclaimed. "I believe it was only a log! But wont youplease load it up again for me? Here are some cartridges. "

"Corny, " said I, "how would you like to have our rifle? It will bebetter than a pistol for you. "

She agreed, instantly, to this exchange, and I showed her how to holdand manage the gun. I didn't think it was a very good thing for a girlto have, but it was a great deal safer than the pistol for the people onboard. The latter I put in my pocket. 

Corny made one shot, but did no execution. The other gunners on boardhad been firing away, for some time, at two little birds that kept aheadof us, skimming along over the water, just out of reach of the shot thatwas sent scattering after them. 

"I think it's a shame, " said Corny, "to shoot such little birds as that. They can't eat 'em. "

"No, " said I; "and they can't hit 'em, either, which is a great dealbetter. "

But very soon after this, the shorter yellow-legged man did hit a bird. It was a water-turkey, that had been sitting on a tree, just as weturned a corner. The big bird spread out its wings, made a dolefulflutter, and fell into the underbrush by the shore. 

"Wont they stop to get him?" asked Corny, with her eyes open as wide asthey would go. 

One of the hands was standing by, and he laughed. 

"Stop the boat when a man shoots a bird? I reckon not. And there isn'tanybody that would go into all that underbrush and water only for a birdlike that, anyway. "

"Well, I think it's murder!" cried Corny. "I thought they ate 'em. Here!Take your gun. I'm much obliged; but I don't want to kill things justto see them fall down and die. "

I took the gun very willingly, --although I did not think that Cornywould injure any birds with it, --but I asked her what she thought aboutalligators. She certainly had not supposed that they were killed forfood. 

"Alligators are wild beasts, " she said. "Give me my pistol. I am goingto take it back to father. "

And away she went. Rectus and I did not keep up our rifle practice muchlonger. We couldn't hit anything, and the thought that, if we shouldwound or kill a bird, it would be of no earthly good to us or anybodyelse, made us follow Corny's example, and we put away our gun. But theother gunners did not stop. As long as daylight lasted a ceaselessbanging was kept up. 

We were sitting on the forward deck, looking out at the beautiful scenesthrough which we were passing, and occasionally turning back to see thatnone of the gunners posted themselves where they might make ourpositions uncomfortable, when Corny came back to us. 

"Can either of you speak French?" she asked. 

Rectus couldn't; but I told her that I understood the language tolerablywell, and asked her why she wished to know. 

"It's just this, " she said. "You see those two men with yellow boots, and the lady with them? She's one of their wives. "

"How many wives have they got?" interrupted Rectus, speaking to Cornyalmost for the first time. 

"I mean she is the wife of one of them, of course, " she answered, alittle sharply; and then she turned herself somewhat more toward me. "And the whole set try to make out they're French, for they talk itnearly all the time. But they're not French, for I heard them talk agood deal better English than they can talk French; and every time abranch nearly hits her, that lady sings out in regular English. And, besides, I know that their French isn't French French, because I canunderstand a great deal of it, and if it was I couldn't do it. I cantalk French a good deal better than I can understand it, anyway. TheFrench people jumble everything up so that I can't make head or tail ofit. Father says he don't wonder they have had so many revolutions, whenthey can't speak their own language more distinctly. He tried to learnit, but didn't keep it up long, and so I took lessons. For, when we goto France, one of us ought to know how to talk, or we shall be cheateddreadfully. Well, you see, over on the little deck, up there, is thatgentleman with his wife and a young lady, and they're all travellingtogether, and these make-believe French people have been jabbering aboutthem ever so long, thinking that nobody else on board understandsFrench. But I listened to them. I couldn't make out all they said, but Icould tell that they were saying all sorts of things about those otherpeople, and trying to settle which lady the gentleman was married to, and they made a big mistake, too, for they said the small lady was theone. "

"How do you know they were wrong?" I said. 

"Why, I went to the gentleman and asked him. I guess he ought to know. And now, if you'll come up there, I'd just like to show those peoplethat they can't talk out loud about the other passengers and have nobodyknow what they're saying. "

"You want to go there and talk French, so as to show them that youunderstand it?" said I. 

"Yes, " answered Corny, "that's just it. "

"All right; come along, " said I. "They may be glad to find out that youknow what they're talking about. "

And so we all went to the upper deck, Rectus as willing as anybody tosee the fun. 

Corny seated herself on a little stool near the yellow-legged party, themen of which had put down their guns for a time. Rectus and I sat on theforward railing, near her. Directly she cleared her throat, and then, after looking about her on each side, said to me, in very distincttones:

"_Voy-ezz vows cett hommy ett ses ducks femmys seelah?_"[B]

I came near roaring out laughing, but I managed to keep my facestraight, and said: "_Oui. _"

"Well, then, --I mean _Bean donk lah peetit femmy nest pah lah femmy duehommy. Lah oter femmy este sah femmy. _"[C]

[Illustration: "VOY-EZZ VOWS CETT HOMMY ETT SES DUCKS FEMMYS SEELAH?"]

At this, there was no holding in any longer. I burst out laughing, sothat I came near falling off the railing; Rectus laughed because I did;the gentleman with the wife and the young lady laughed madly, and Mr. Chipperton, who came out of the saloon on hearing the uproar, laughedquite cheerfully, and asked what it was all about. But Corny didn'tlaugh. She turned around short to see what effect her speech had had onthe yellow-legged party. It had a good deal of effect. They reddenedand looked at us. Then they drew their chairs closer together, andturned their backs to us. What they thought, we never knew; but Cornydeclared to me afterward that they talked no more French, --at least whenshe was about. 

The gentleman who had been the subject of Corny's French discoursecalled her over to him, and the four had a gay talk together. I heardCorny tell them that she never could pronounce French in the French way. She pronounced it just as it was spelt, and her father said that oughtto be the rule with every language. She had never had a regular teacher;but if people laughed so much at the way she talked, perhaps her fatherought to get her one. 

I liked Corny better the more I knew of her. It was easy to see that shehad taught herself all that she knew. Her mother held her back a gooddeal, no doubt; but her father seemed more like a boy-companion thananything else, and if Corny hadn't been a very smart girl, she wouldhave been a pretty bad kind of a girl by this time. But she wasn'tanything of the sort, although she did do and say everything that cameinto her head to say or do. Rectus did not agree with me about Corny. Hedidn't like her. 

When it grew dark, I thought we should stop somewhere for the night, forit was hard enough for the boat to twist and squeeze herself along theriver in broad daylight. She bumped against big trees that stood on theedge of the stream, and swashed through bushes that stuck out too farfrom the banks; but she was built for bumping and scratching, anddidn't mind it. Sometimes she would turn around a corner and make ashort cut through a whole plantation of lily-pads and spatterdocks, --orthings like them, --and she would scrape over a sunken log as easily as awagon-wheel rolls over a stone. She drew only two feet of water, and wasflat-bottomed. When she made a very short turn, the men had to push herstern around with poles. Indeed, there was a man with a pole at the bowa good deal of the time, and sometimes he had more pushing off to dothan he could manage by himself. 

When Mr. Chipperton saw what tight places we had to squeeze through, headmitted that it was quite proper not to try to bring the bigsteam-boats up here. 

But the boat didn't stop. She kept right on. She had to go a hundred andforty miles up that narrow river, and if she made the whole trip fromPilatka and back in two days, she had no time to lose. So, when it wasdark, a big iron box was set up on top of the pilot-house, and a firewas built in it of pine-knots and bits of fat pine. This blazed finely, and lighted up the river and the trees on each side, and sometimes threwout such a light that we could see quite a distance ahead. Everybodycame out to see the wonderful sight. It was more like fairy-land thanever. When the fire died down a little, the distant scenery seemed tofade away and become indistinct and shadowy, and the great trees stoodup like their own ghosts all around us; and then, when fresh knots werethrown in, the fire would blaze up, and the whole scene would belighted up again, and every tree and bush, and almost every leaf, alongthe water's edge would be tipped with light, while everything wasreflected in the smooth, glittering water. 

Rectus and I could hardly go in to supper, and we got through the mealin short order. We staid out on deck until after eleven o'clock, andCorny staid with us a good part of the time. At last, her father camedown after her, for they were all going to bed. 

"This is a grand sight, " said Mr. Chipperton. "I never saw anything toequal it in any transformation scene at a theatre. Some of our theatrepeople ought to come down here and study it up, so as to get upsomething of the kind for exhibition in the cities. "

Just before we went into bed, our steam-whistle began to sound, and awayoff in the depths of the forest we could hear every now and then anotherwhistle. The captain told us that there was a boat coming down theriver, and that she would soon pass us. The river did not look wideenough for two boats; but when the other whistle sounded as if it werequite near, we ran our boat close into shore among the spatterdocks, ina little cove, and waited there, leaving the channel for the other boat. 

Directly, it came around a curve just ahead of us, and truly it was asplendid sight. The lower part of the boat was all lighted up, and thefire was blazing away grandly in its iron box, high up in the air. 

To see such a glowing, sparkling apparition as this come sailing out ofthe depths of the dark forest, was grand! Rectus said he felt likebursting into poetry; but he didn't. He wasn't much on rhymes. He hadopportunity enough, though, to get up a pretty good-sized poem, for wewere kept awake a long time after we went to bed by the boughs of thetrees on shore scratching and tapping against the outside of ourstate-room. 

When we went out on deck the next morning, the first person we saw wasCorny, holding on to the flag-staff at the bow and looking over the edgeof the deck into the water. 

"What are you looking at?" said I, as we went up to her. 

"See there!" she cried. "See that turtle! And those two fishes! Look!look!"

We didn't need to be told twice to look. The water was just as clear ascrystal, and you could see the bottom everywhere, even in the deepestplaces, with the great rocks covered with some glittering greensubstance that looked like emerald slabs, and the fish and turtlesswimming about as if they thought there was no one looking at them. 

I couldn't understand how the water had become so clear; but I was toldthat we had left the river proper and were now in a stream that flowedfrom Silver Spring, which was the end of our voyage into the cypresswoods. The water in the spring and in this stream was almosttransparent, --very different from the regular water of the river. 

About ten o'clock, we reached Silver Spring, which is like a littlelake, with some houses on the bank. We made fast at a wharf, and, as wewere to stop here some hours, everybody got ready to go ashore. 

Corny was the first one ready. Her mother thought she ought not to go, but her father said there was no harm in it. 

"If she does, " said Mrs. Chipperton, "she'll get herself into some sortof a predicament before she comes back. "

I found that in such a case as this Mrs. Chipperton was generallyright. 

FOOTNOTES:

[B] "_Voyez-vous cet homme et ces deux femmes celà?_"--Do you see thatman and those two women there?

[C] "_Bien donc, la petite femme n'est pas la femme du homme. La autrefemme est sa femme. _"--Well, then, the little woman is not the wife ofthe man. The other woman is his wife. [Of course, the French in this, and the preceding, foot-note is Corny's. --THE AUTHOR. ]

CHAPTER IX. 

THE THREE GRAY BEANS. 

Corny went ashore, but she did not stay there three minutes. From theedge of the wharf we could see that Silver Spring was better worthlooking at than anything we should be likely to see on shore. The littlelake seemed deeper than a three-story house, and yet, even from where westood, we could see down to the very bottom. 

There were two boys with row-boats at the wharf. We hired one of theboats right off, and Corny gave me such a look, that I told her to getin. After she was in the boat, she asked her mother, who was standing onthe deck of the steam-boat, if she might go. Mrs. Chipperton said shesupposed so, and away we went. When we had rowed out to the middle ofthe spring, I stopped rowing, and we looked down into the depths. It wasalmost the same as looking into air. Far down at the bottom we could seethe glittering sand and the green rocks, and sometimes a fish, as longas my arm, would slowly rise and fall, and paddle away beneath us. Wedropped nickels and copper cents down to the bottom, and we couldplainly see them lying there. In some parts of the bottom there were"wells, " or holes, about two feet in diameter, which seemed to go downindefinitely. These, we were told, were the places where the water cameup from below into the spring. We could see the weeds and grasses thatgrew on the edges of these wells, although we could not see very fardown into them. 

"If I had only known, " said Rectus, "what sort of a place we were comingto, I should have brought something to lower down into these wells. Itell you what would have been splendid!--a heavy bottle filled withsweet oil and some phosphorus, and a long cord. If we shook up thebottle it would shine, so that, when we lowered it into the wells, wecould see it go down to the very bottom, that is, if the cord should belong enough. "

At this instant, Corny went overboard! Rectus made a grab at her, but itwas too late. He sprang to his feet, and I thought he was going overafter her, but I seized him. 

"Sit down!" said I. "Watch her! She'll come up again. Lean over and beready for her!"

We both leaned over the bow as far as was safe. With one hand I gentlypaddled the boat, this way and that, so as to keep ourselves directlyover Corny. It would have been of no use to jump in. We could see her asplainly as anything. 

She was going down, all in a bunch, when I first saw her, and the nextinstant she touched the bottom. Her feet were under now, and I saw hermake a little spring. She just pushed out her feet. 

Then she began to come right up. We saw her slowly rising beneath us. Her face was turned upward, and her eyes were wide open. It was awonderful sight. I trembled from head to foot. It seemed as if we werefloating in the air, and Corny was coming up to us from the earth. 

Before she quite reached the surface, I caught her, and had her head outof water in an instant. Rectus then took hold, and with a mighty jerk, we pulled her into the boat. 

Corny sat down hard and opened her mouth. 

"There!" she said; "I didn't breathe an inch!"

And then she puffed for about two minutes, while the water ran off herinto the bottom of the boat. I seized the oars to row to shore. 

"How did you fall over?" said Rectus, who still shook as if he had had achill. 

"Don't know, " answered Corny. "I was leaning far over, when my hand musthave slipped, and the first thing I knew I was into it. It's good Ididn't shut my eyes. If you get into water, with your eyes shut, youcan't open them again. " She still puffed a little. "Coming up was thebest. It's the first time I ever saw the bottom of a boat. "

"Weren't you frightened?" I asked. 

"Hadn't time at first. And when I was coming up, I saw you reaching outfor me. "

[Illustration: "WE SAW HER SLOWLY RISING BENEATH US. "]

"Did you think we'd get you?" said Rectus, his face flushing. 

"Yes, " said Corny, "but if you'd missed me that time, I'd never havetrusted you again. "

The gentleman-with-a-wife-and-a-young-lady was in another boat, not veryfar off, but it was nearer the upper end of the little lake, and none ofthe party knew of our accident until we were pulling Corny out of thewater. Then they rowed toward us as fast as they could, but they didnot reach us until we were at the wharf. No one on shore, or on thesteam-boat, seemed to have noticed Corny's dive. Indeed, the whole thingwas done so quietly, and was so soon over, that there was not as much ofa show as the occasion demanded. 

"I never before was in deep water that seemed so little like realwater, " said Corny, just before we reached the wharf. "This was cold, and that was the only thing natural about it. "

"Then this is not the first time you've been in deep water?" I asked. 

"No, " said Corny, "not the very first time;" and she scrambled up on thewharf, where her mother was standing, talking to some ladies. 

"Why, Cornelia!" exclaimed Mrs. Chipperton, as soon as she saw thedripping girl, "have you been in the water again?"

"Yes, ma'am, " said Corny, drawing her shoulders up to her ears, "and Imust be rubbed down and have dry clothes as quick as lightning. "

And with this, she and her mother hurried on board the steam-boat. 

Rectus and I went back on the lake, for we had not gone half over itwhen Corny went into it. We had rowed about for half an hour or so, andwere just coming in, when Corny appeared on the deck of the steam-boat, with a handkerchief tied around her head. 

"Are you going to take a walk on shore?" she called out. 

"Yes!" we shouted. 

"All right, " said she; "if you'll let me, I'll go with you, for mothersays I must take a good run in the sun. I look funny, don't I? but Ihaven't any more hats. "

We gave her a good run, although it was not altogether in the sun. Thecountry hereabout was pretty well wooded, but there were roads cutthrough the woods, and there were some open places, and everywhere, underfoot, the sand was about six inches deep. Rectus took Corny by onehand, and I took her by the other, and we made her trot through thatsand, in sunshine and shade, until she declared she was warm enough tolast for a week. The yellow-legged party and some of the otherpassengers were wandering about, gathering the long gray moss, --fromlimbs where they could reach it, --and cutting great palmetto leaveswhich grew on low bushes all through the woods, and carrying them aboutas fans or parasols; but although Corny wanted to join in this fun, wewould not stop. We just trotted her until she was tired, and then we ranher on board the boat, where her mother was waiting for her. 

"Now, then, " said Mrs. Chipperton, "immediately to bed. "

The two disappeared, and we saw no more of Corny until supper-time. Hermother was certainly good at cure, if she didn't have much of a knack atprevention. 

Just as the boat was about to start off on her return trip, and aftershe had blown her whistle two or three times, Mr. Chipperton appeared, carrying an immense arm-load of gray moss. He puffed and blew as hethrew it down on deck. When his wife came out and told him of Corny'sdisaster, he stopped dusting his clothes, and looked up for an instant. 

"I declare, " said he, "Corny must keep out of the water. It seems to methat I can never leave her but she gets into some scrape. But I'm sureour friends here have proved themselves good fellows, indeed, " and heshook hands with both of us. 

"Now then, my dear, " said he to his wife, "I've enough moss here for theparlor and sitting-room, and the little back-room, upstairs. I didn'tget any for the dining-room, because it might blow about and get intothe food. "

"Do you mean to take that moss all the way home?" asked Mrs. Chipperton, in surprise. "Why, how will you ever carry it?"

"Of course I mean to take it home, " said he. "I gathered this with myown hands from the top of one of the tallest trees on the banks of thisfamous Silver Spring. "

"Mr. Chipperton!" exclaimed his wife. 

"To be sure, the tree was cut down, but that makes no difference in thefact. It is both an ornament and a trophy of travel. If necessary, I'llbuy a trunk for it. What did you do with Corny after they got her out?"

Our journey home was very much like our trip up the river, but therewere a few exceptions. There was not so much firing, for I think theammunition got pretty low; we saw more alligators, and the yellow-leggedparty, which had joined us at Pilatka, went all the way to St. Augustine with us. There was still another difference, and that was inRectus. He was a good deal livelier, --more in the spirit that hadhatched out in him in the cemetery at Savannah. He seemed to be allright with Corny now, and we had a good time together. I was going tosay to him, once, that he had changed his mind about girls, but Ithought I wouldn't. It would be better to let well enough alone, and hewas a ticklish customer. 

The day after we returned to St. Augustine, we were walking on thesea-wall, when we met Corny. She said she had been looking for us. Herfather had gone out fishing with some gentlemen, and her mother wouldnot walk in the sun, and, besides, she had something to say to us. 

So we all walked to the fort and sat down on the wide wall of thewater-battery. Rectus bestrode one of the cannon that stood pointing outto sea, but Corny told him she wanted him to get down and sit by her, sothat she wouldn't have to shout. 

"Now then, " said she, after pausing a little, as if she wanted to besure and get it right, "you two saved my life, and I want to give yousomething to remember me by. "

We both exclaimed against this. 

"You needn't do that, " said I, "for I'm sure that no one who saw youcoming up from the bottom, like the fairy-women float up on wires at thetheatre, could ever forget you. We'll remember you, Corny, without yourgiving us anything. "

"But that wont do, " said she. "The only other time that I was everreally saved was by a ferryman, and father gave him some money, whichwas all right for him, but wouldn't do for you two, you know; andanother time there wasn't really any danger, and I'm sorry the man gotanything; but he did. 

"We brought scarcely anything with us, because we didn't expect to needthings in this way; but this is my own, and I want to give it to youboth. One of you can't use it by himself, and so it will be more like apresent for both of you together, than most things would be. " And shehanded me a box of dominoes. 

"I give it to you because you're the oldest, but, remember, it's forboth of you. "

Of course we took it, and Corny was much pleased. She was a good littlegirl and, somehow or other, she seemed to be older and more sensiblewhen she was with us than when she was bouncing around in the bosom ofher family. 

We had a good deal of talk together, and, after a while, she asked howlong we were going to stay in St. Augustine. 

"Until next Tuesday, " I said, "and then we shall start for Nassau in the'Tigris. '"

"Nassau!" she exclaimed, "where's that?"

"Right down there, " I said, pointing out to sea with a crook of myfinger, to the south. "It's on one of the Bahamas, and they lie off thelower end of Florida, you know. "

"No, " said she; "I don't remember where they are. I always get theBahamas mixed up with the Bermudas, anyway. So does father. We talkedof going to one of those places, when we first thought of travellingfor his lung, but then they thought Florida would be better. What isthere good about Nassau? Is it any better than this place?"

"Well, " said I, "it's in the West Indies, and it's semi-tropical, andthey have cocoa-nuts and pineapples and bananas there; and there arelots of darkeys, and the weather is always just what you want----"

"I guess that's a little stretched, " said Corny, and Rectus agreed withher. 

"And it's a new kind of a place, " I continued; "an English colony, suchas our ancestors lived in before the Revolution, and we ought to seewhat sort of a thing an English colony is, so as to know whetherWashington and the rest of them should have kicked against it. "

"Oh, they were all right!" said Corny, in a tone which settled thatlittle matter. 

"And so, you see, " I went on, "Rectus and I thought we should like to goout of the country for a while, and see how it would feel to live undera queen and a cocoa-nut tree. "

"Good!" cried Corny. "We'll go. "

"Who?" I asked. 

"Father and mother and I, " said Corny, rising. "I'll tell them all aboutit; and I'd better be going back to the hotel, for if the steamer leaveson Tuesday, we'll have lots to do. "

As we were walking homeward on the sea-wall, Rectus looked back andsuddenly exclaimed:

"There! Do you see that Crowded Owl following us? He's been hanginground us all the afternoon. He's up to something. Don't you remember thecaptain told us he was a bad-tempered fellow?"

"What did he do?" asked Corny, looking back at the Indian, who now stoodin the road, a short distance from the wall, regarding us veryearnestly. 

"Well, he never did anything, much, " I said. "He seemed to be angry, once, because we would not buy some of his things, and the captain saidhe'd have him told not to worry us. That may have made him madder yet. "

"He don't look mad, " said Corny. 

"Don't you trust him, " said Rectus. 

"I believe all these Indians are perfectly gentle, now, " said Corny, "and father thinks so, too. He's been over here a good deal, and talkedto some of them. Let's go ask him what he wants. Perhaps he's onlysorry. "

"If he is, we'll never find it out, " I remarked, "for he can only speakone word of English. "

I beckoned to Crowded Owl, and he immediately ran up to the wall, andsaid "How?" in an uncertain tone, as if he was not sure how we shouldtake it. However, Corny offered him her hand, and Rectus and I followedsuit. After this, he put his hand into his pocket, and pulled out threesea-beans. 

"There!" said Rectus. "At it again. Disobeying military orders. "

"But they're pretty ones, " said Corny, taking one of the beans in herhand. 

They were pretty. They were not very large, but were beautifullypolished, and of a delicate gray color, the first we had seen of thekind. 

"These must be a rare kind, " said Rectus. "They are almost always brown. Let's forgive him this once, and buy them. "

"Perhaps he wants to make up with you, " said Corny, "and has broughtthese as a present. "

"I can soon settle that question, " said I, and I took the three beans, and pulled from my pocket three quarter-dollars, which I offered to theIndian. 

Crowded Owl took the money, grinned, gave a bob of his head, and wenthome happy. 

If he had had any wish to "make up" with us, he had shown it by givingus a chance at a choice lot of goods. 

"Now, " said I, reaching out my hand to Corny, "here's one for each ofus. Take your choice. "

"For me?" said Corny. "No, I oughtn't to. Yes, I will, too. I am ever somuch obliged. We have lots of sea-beans, but none like this. I'll have aring fastened to it, and wear it, somehow. "

"That'll do to remember us by, " said I. 

"Yes, " said Rectus, "and whenever you're in danger, just hold up thatbean, and we'll come to you. "

"I'll do it, " said Corny. "But how about you? What can I do?"

"Oh, I don't suppose we shall want you to help us much, " I said. 

"Well, hold up your beans, and we'll see, " said Corny. 

CHAPTER X. 

THE QUEEN ON THE DOOR-STEP. 

We found that Corny had not been mistaken about her influence over herfamily, for the next morning, before we were done breakfast, Mr. Chipperton came around to see us. He was full of Nassau, and had made uphis mind to go with us on Tuesday. He asked us lots of questions, but hereally knew as much about the place as we did, although he had been somuch in the habit of mixing his Bahamas and his Bermudas. 

"My wife is very much pleased at the idea of having you two with us onthe trip over, " said he; "although, to be sure, we may have a verysmooth and comfortable voyage. "

I believe that, since the Silver Spring affair, he regarded Rectus andme as something in the nature of patent girl-catchers, to be hung overthe side of the vessel in bad weather. 

We were sorry to leave St. Augustine, but we had thoroughly done up theold place, and had seen everything, I think, except the Spring of Poncede Leon, on the other side of the St. Sebastian River. We didn't careabout renewing our youth, --indeed, we should have objected very much toanything of the kind, --and so we felt no interest in old Ponce's spring. 

On Tuesday morning, the "Tigris" made her appearance on time, and Mr. Cholott and our good landlady came down to see us off. The yellow-leggedparty also came down, but not to see us off. They, too, were going toNassau. 

Rectus had gone on board, and I was just about to follow him, when ourold Minorcan stepped up to me. 

"Goin' away?" said he. 

"Yes, " said I, "we're off at last. "

"Other feller goin'?"

"Oh, yes, " I answered, "we keep together. "

"Well now, look here, " said he, drawing me a little on one side. "Whatmade him take sich stock in us Minorcans? Why, he thought we used to beslaves; what put that in his head, I'd like to know? Did he reely thinkwe ever was niggers?"

"Oh, no!" I exclaimed. "He had merely heard the early history of theMinorcans in this country, their troubles and all that, and he----"

"But what difference did it make to him?" interrupted the old man. 

I couldn't just then explain the peculiarities of Rectus's dispositionto Mr. Menendez, and so I answered that I supposed it was a sort ofsympathy. 

"I can't see, for the life of me, " said the old man, reflectively, "whatdifference it made to him. "

And he shook hands with me, and bade me good-bye. I don't believe he hasever found anybody who could give him the answer to this puzzle. 

The trip over to Nassau was a very different thing from our voyage downthe coast from New York to Savannah. The sea was comparatively smooth, and, although the vessel rolled a good deal in the great swells, we didnot mind it much. The air was delightful, and after we had gone down theFlorida coast, and had turned to cross the Gulf Stream to our islands, the weather became positively warm, even out here on the sea, and wewere on deck nearly all the time. 

Mr. Chipperton was in high spirits. He enjoyed the deep blue color ofthe sea; he went into ecstasies over the beautiful little nautilusesthat sailed along by the ship; he watched with wild delight theporpoises that followed close by our side, and fairly shouted when a bigfellow would spring into the air, or shoot along just under the surface, as if he had a steam-engine in his tail. But when he saw a school offlying-fish rise up out of the sea, just a little ahead of us, and goskimming along like birds, and then drop again into the water, he was sosurprised and delighted that he scarcely knew how to express hisfeelings. 

Of course, we younger people enjoyed all these things, but I wassurprised to see that Corny was more quiet than usual, and spent a gooddeal of her time in reading, although she would spring up and run to therailing whenever her father announced some wonderful discovery. Mr. Chipperton would have been a splendid man for Columbus to have takenalong with him on his first trip to these islands. He would have kept upthe spirits of the sailors. 

I asked Corny what she was reading, and she showed me her book. It was abig, fat pamphlet about the Bahamas, and she was studying up for herstay there. She was a queer girl. She had not been to school very much, her mother said, for they had been travelling about a good deal of lateyears; but she liked to study up special things, in which she took aninterest. Sometimes she was her own teacher, and sometimes, if theystaid in any one place long enough, she took regular lessons. 

"I teach her as much as I can, " said her mother, "although I would muchrather have her go regularly to school. But her father is so fond of herthat he will not have her away from him, and as Mr. Chipperton's lungrequires him to be moving from place to place, we have to go, too. But Iam determined that she shall go to a school next fall. "

"What is the matter with Mr. Chipperton's lung?" I asked. 

"I wish we knew, " said Mrs. Chipperton, earnestly. "The doctors don'tseem to be able to find out the exact trouble, and besides, it isn'tcertain which lung it is. But the only thing that can be done for it isto travel. "

"He looks very well, " said I. 

"Oh, yes!" said she. "But"--and she looked around to see where hewas--"he doesn't like people to tell him so. "

After a while, Rectus got interested in Corny's book, and the two read agood deal together. I did not interrupt them, for I felt quite sure thatneither of them knew too much. 

The captain and all the officers on the steamer were good, sociable men, and made the passengers feel at home. I had got somewhat acquainted withthem on our trip from Savannah to St. Augustine, and now the captain letme come into his room and showed me the ship's course, marked out on achart, and pointed out just where we were, besides telling me a goodmany things about the islands and these waters. 

I mentioned to Corny and Rectus, when I went aft again, --this was thesecond day out, --that we should see one end of the Great Bahama early inthe afternoon. 

"I'm glad of that, " said Corny; "but I suppose we sha'n't go near enoughfor us to see its calcareous formation. "

"Its what?" I exclaimed. 

"Its cal-car-e-ous formation, " repeated Corny, and she went on with herreading. 

"Oh!" said I, laughing, "I guess the calcareous part is all covered upwith grass and plants, --at least it ought to be in a semi-tropicalcountry. But when we get to Nassau you can dig down and see what it'slike. "

"Semi-tropical!" exclaimed Mr. Chipperton, who just came up; "there issomething about that word that puts me all in a glow, " and he rubbed hishands as if he smelt dinner. 

Each of us wore a gray bean. Rectus and I had ours fastened to ourwatch-guards, and Corny's hung to a string of beads she generally wore. We formed ourselves into a society--Corny suggested it--which we calledthe "Association of the Three Gray Beans, " the object of which was tosave each other from drowning, and to perform similar serviceable acts, if circumstances should call for them. We agreed to be very faithful, and, if Corny had tumbled overboard, I am sure that Rectus and I wouldhave jumped in after her; but I am happy to say that she did nothing ofthe kind on this trip. 

Early the next morning, we reached Nassau, the largest town in theBahamas, on one of the smallest islands, and found it semi-tropicalenough to suit even Mr. Chipperton. 

Before we landed, we could see the white, shining streets andhouses, --just as calcareous as they could be; the black negroes; thepea-green water in the harbor; the tall cocoa-nut trees, and about fivemillion conch-shells, lying at the edges of the docks. The coloredpeople here live pretty much on the conch-fish, and when we heard that, it accounted for the shells. The poorer people on these islands often goby the name of "conchs. "

As we went up through the town we found that the darkeys were nearly asthick as the conch-shells, but they were much more lively. I never sawsuch jolly, dont-care-y people as the colored folks that were scatteredabout everywhere. Some of the young ones, as joyful skippers, could havetired out a shrimp. 

There is one big hotel in the town, and pretty nearly all our passengerswent there. The house is calcareous, and as solid as a rock. Rectus andI liked it very much, because it reminded us of pictures we had seen ofAlgiers, or Portugal, or some country where they have arches instead ofdoors; but Mr. Chipperton wasn't at all satisfied when he found thatthere was not a fireplace in the whole house. 

"This is coming the semi-tropical a little too strong, " he said to me;but he soon found, I think, that gathering around the hearth-stone couldnever become a popular amusement in this warm little town. 

Every day, for a week, Mr. Chipperton hired a one-horse barouche, and heand his wife and daughter rode over the island. Rectus and I walked, andwe saw a good deal more than they did. Corny told us this, the firstwalk she took with us. We went down a long, smooth, white road that ledbetween the queer little cottages of the negroes, where the cocoa-nutand orange trees and the bananas and sappadilloes, and lots of othertrees and bushes stood up around the houses just as proudly as if theywere growing on ten-thousand-dollar lots. Some of these trees had themost calcareous foundations anybody ever saw. They grew almost out ofthe solid rock. This is probably one of the most economical places inthe world for garden mould. You couldn't sweep up more than a bucketfulout of a whole garden, and yet the things grow splendidly. Rectus saidhe supposed the air was earthy. 

Corny enjoyed this walk, because we went right into the houses andtalked to the people, and bought cocoa-nuts off the trees, and ate theinside custard with a spoon, and made the little codgers race forpennies, and tried all the different kinds of fruits. She said she wouldlike to walk out with us always, but her mother said she must not begoing about too much with boys. 

"But there are no girls on the island, " said she; "at least, no whiteones, --as far as I have seen. "

I suppose there were white children around, but they escaped notice inthe vast majority of little nigs. 

The day after this walk, the shorter "yellow-legs" asked me to go outfishing with him. He couldn't find anybody else, I suppose, for hisfriend didn't like fishing. Neither did Rectus; and so we went offtogether in a fishing-smack, with a fisherman to sail the boat andhammer conch for bait. We went outside of Hog Island, --which lies offNassau, very much as Anastasia Island lies off St. Augustine, only itisn't a quarter as big, --and fished in the open sea. We caught a lot ofcurious fish, and the yellow-legs, whose name was Burgan, turned out tobe a very good sort of a fellow. I shouldn't have supposed this of a manwho had made such a guy of himself; but there are a great many differentkinds of outsides to people. 

When we got back to the hotel, along came Rectus and Corny. They hadbeen out walking together, and looked hot. 

"Oh, " cried Corny, as soon as she saw me. "We have something to talk toyou about! Let's go and sit down. I wish there was some kind of anumbrella or straw hat that people could wear under their chins to keepthe glare of these white roads out of their eyes. Let's go up into thesilk-cotton tree. "

I proposed that I should go to my room and clean up a little first, butCorny couldn't wait. As her father had said, she wasn't good at waiting;and so we all went up into the silk-cotton tree. This was an enormoustree, with roots like the partitions between horse-stalls; it stood atthe bottom of the hotel grounds, and had a large platform built up amongthe branches, with a flight of steps leading to it. There were seats uphere, and room enough for a dozen people. 

"Well, " said I, when we were seated, "what have you to tell? Anythingwonderful? If it isn't, you'd better let me tell you about my fish. "

"Fish!" exclaimed Rectus, not very respectfully. 

"Fish, indeed!" said Corny. "_We_ have seen a _queen_!"

"Queen of what?" said I. 

"Queen of Africa, " replied Corny. "At least a part of it, --she would be, I mean, if she had stayed there. We went over that way, out to the veryedge of the town, and there we found a whole colony of real nativeAfricans, --just the kind Livingstone and Stanley discovered, --only theywear clothes like us. "

"Oh, my!" exclaimed Rectus. 

"I don't mean exactly that, " said Corny; "but coats and trousers andfrocks, awfully old and patched. And nearly all the grown-up peoplethere were born in Africa, and rescued by an English man-of-war from aslave-ship that was taking them into slavery, and were brought here andset free. And here they are, and they talk their own language, --onlysome of them know English, for they've been here over thirty years, --andthey all keep together, and have a governor of their own, with aflag-pole before his house, and among them is a real queen, of royalblood!"

"How did you find out that?" I asked. 

"Oh, we heard about the African settlement this morning, at the hotel, and we went down there, right after dinner. We went into two or three ofthe houses and talked to the people, and they all told us the samething, and one woman took us to see the queen. "

"In her palace?" said I. 

"No, " said Corny, "she don't live in a palace. She lives in one of thefunniest little huts you ever saw, with only two rooms. And it's toobad; they all know she's a queen, and yet they don't pay her one bit ofhonor. The African governor knows it, but he lives in his house with hisflag-pole in front of it, and rules her people, while she sits on astone in front of her door and sells red peppers and bits ofsugar-cane. "

"Shameful!" said I; "you don't mean that?"

"Yes, she does, " put in Rectus. "We saw her, and bought some sugar-cane. She didn't think we knew her rank, for she put her things away when thewomen told her, in African, why we came to see her. "

"What did she say to you?" I asked, beginning to be a good dealinterested in this royal colored person. 

"Nothing at all, " said Corny; "she can't talk a word of English. If shecould, she might get along better. I suppose her people want somebodyover them who can talk English. And so they've just left her to sellpeppers, and get along as well as she can. "

"It's a good deal of a come-down, I must say, " said I. "I wonder how shelikes it?"

"Judging from her looks, " said Rectus, "I don't believe she likes it atall. "

"No, indeed!" added Corny. "She looks woe-begone, and I don't see whyshe shouldn't. To be taken captive with her people--may be she wastrying to save them--and then to have them almost cut her acquaintanceafter they all get rescued and settled down!"

"Perhaps, " said I, "as they are all living under Queen Victoria, theydon't want any other queen. "

"That's nothing, " said Corny, quickly. "There's a governor of this wholeisland, and what do they want with another governor? If Queen Victoriaand the governor of this island were Africans, of course they wouldn'twant anybody else. But as it is, they do, don't you see?"

"They don't appear to want another queen, " I said, "for they wont takeone that is right under their noses. "

Corny looked provoked, and Rectus asked me how I knew that. 

"I tell you, " said Corny, "it don't make any difference whether theywant her or not, they haven't any right to make a born queen sit on astone and sell red-peppers. Do you know what Rectus and I have made upour minds to do?"

"What is it?" I asked. 

Corny looked around to see that no one was standing or walking near thetree, and then she leaned toward me and said:

"We are going to seat her on her throne!"

"You?" I exclaimed, and began to laugh. 

"Yes, we are, " said Rectus; "at least, we're going to try to. "

"You needn't laugh, " said Corny. "You're to join. "

"In an insurrection, --a conspiracy, " said I. "I can't go into thatbusiness. "

"You must!" cried Corny and Rectus, almost in a breath. 

"You've made a promise, " said Corny. 

"And are bound to stick to it, " said Rectus, looking at Corny. 

Then, both together, as if they had settled it all beforehand, they heldup their gray sea-beans, and said, in vigorous tones:

"Obey the bean!"

I didn't hesitate a moment. I held up my bean, and we clicked beans allaround. 

I became a conspirator!

CHAPTER XI. 

REGAL PROJECTS. 

The next morning, we all went around to see the queen, and on the way wetried to arrange our affair. I was only sorry that my old school-fellowswere not there, to go into the thing with us. There couldn't have beenbetter fun for our boys, than to get up a revolution and set up adethroned queen. But they were not there, and I determined to act astheir representative as well as I could. 

We three--Corny, Rectus and I--were agreed that the re-enthronement--wecould think of no better word for the business--should be done asquietly and peacefully as possible. It was of no use, we thought, tomake a great fuss about what we were going to do. We would see that thisAfrican ex-sovereigness was placed in a suitable regal station, and thenwe would call upon her countrymen to acknowledge her rank. 

"It isn't really necessary for her to do any governing, " said Rectus. "Queens do very little of that. Look at Queen Victoria! Her PrimeMinister and Parliament run the country. If the African governor here isa good man, the queen can take him for a Prime Minister. Then he canjust go along and do what he always did. If she is acknowledged to bethe queen, that's all she need want. "

"That's so, " said Corny. "And, above all, there must be no blood shed. "

"None of yours, any way, " said I; and Rectus tapped his bean, significantly. 

Rectus had been chosen captain of this revolutionary coalition, becauseCorny, who held the controlling vote, said that she was afraid I had notgone into the undertaking heart and soul, as Rectus had. Otherwise, shewould have voted for me, as the oldest of the party. I did not make anyobjections, and was elected Treasurer. Corny said that the only officeshe had ever held was that of Librarian, in a girls' society, but as wedid not expect to need a Librarian in this undertaking, we made herSecretary and Manager of Restoration, which, we thought, would give herall the work that she could stand under. 

I suggested that there was one sub-officer, or employé, that we shouldbe sure to need, and who should be appointed before we commencedoperations. This was an emissary. Proper communications betweenourselves and the populace would be difficult, unless we obtained theservice of some intelligent and whole-souled darkey. Myfellow-revolutionists agreed with me, and, after a moment of reflection, Corny shouted that she had thought of the very person. 

"It's a girl!" she cried. "And it's Priscilla!"

We all knew Priscilla. It would have been impossible to be at the hotelfor a week and not know her. After breakfast, and after dinner, therewas always a regular market at the entrance of the hotel, under thegreat arched porch, where the boarders sat and made themselvescomfortable after meals. The dealers were negroes of every age, --men, women, boys, and girls, and they brought everything they could scrapeup, that they thought visitors might buy, --fruit, shells, sponges, flowers, straw hats, canes, and more traps than I can remember. Some ofthem had very nice things, and others would have closed out their stockfor seven cents. The liveliest and brightest of all these was a tall, slim, black, elastic, smooth-tongued young girl, named Priscilla. Shenearly always wore shoes, which distinguished her from herfellow-countrywomen. Her eyes sparkled like a fire-cracker of a darknight, and she had a mind as sharp as a fish-hook. The moment Cornymentioned her she was elected emissary. 

We determined, however, to be very cautious in disclosing our plans toher. We would sound her, first, and make a regular engagement with her. 

"It will be a first-rate thing for me, " said Corny, "to have a girl togo about with me, for mother said, yesterday, that it wouldn't do for meto be so much with boys. It looked tomboyish, she said, though shethought you two were very good for boys. "

"Are you going to tell your father and mother about this?" askedRectus. 

"I think I'll tell mother, " said Corny, "because I ought to, and I don'tbelieve she'll object, if I have a girl along with me. But I don't thinkI'll say anything to father just yet. I'm afraid he'd join. "

Rectus and I agreed that it might be better to postpone saying anythingto Mr. Chipperton. 

It was very true that the queen did not live in a palace. Her house wasnearly large enough to hold an old-fashioned four-posted bedstead, suchas they have at my Aunt Sarah's. The little room that was cut off fromthe main apartment was really too small to count. The queen was hard atwork, sitting on her door-stone by the side of her bits of sugar-caneand pepper-pods. There were no customers. She was a good-looking oldbody, about sixty, perhaps, but tall and straight enough for all queenlypurposes. 

She arose and shook hands with us, and then stepped into her door-wayand courtesied. The effect was very fine. 

"This is dreadful!" said Corny. "She ought to give up this pepper-podbusiness right away. If I could only talk to her, I'd make herunderstand. But I must go get somebody for an interpreter. "

And she ran off to one of the neighboring huts. 

"If this thing works, " said Rectus, "we ought to hire a regularinterpreter. "

"It wont do to have too many paid officials, " said I, "but we'll seeabout that. "

Corny soon returned with a pleasant-faced woman, who undertook tosuperintend our conversation with the queen. 

"What's her name--to begin with?" asked Corny, of the woman. 

"Her African name is Poqua-dilla, but here they call her Jane Henderson, when they talk of her. She knows that name, too. We all has to haveEnglish names. "

"Well, we don't want any Jane Henderson, " said Corny. "Poqua-dilla!that's a good name for a queen. But what we first want is to have herstop selling things at the front door. We'll do better for her thanthat. "

"Is you goin' to sen' her to the 'sylum?" asked the woman. 

"The asylum!" exclaimed Corny. "No, indeed! You'll see. She's to livehere, but she's not to sell pepper-pods, or anything else. "

"Well, young missy, " said the woman, "you better buy 'em of her. Ireckon she'll sell out for 'bout fourpence. "

This was a sensible proposition, and, as treasurer, I bought the stock, the queen having signified her willingness to the treaty by a dignifiednod and a courtesy. She was very much given to style, which encouragedus a good deal. 

"Now, then, " said Rectus, who thought it was about time that the captainshould have something to say, "you must tell her that she isn't to layin any more stock. This is to be the end of her mercantile life. "

I don't believe the woman translated all of this speech, but the queengave another nod and courtesy, and I pocketed the peppers to keep astrophies. The other things we kept, to give to the children and makeourselves popular. 

"How much do you think it would cost, " asked Corny of me, "to make thisplace a little more like a palace?"

I made a rough sort of a calculation, and came to the conclusion thatthe room could be made a little more like a palace for about eightdollars. 

"That's cheap enough, " said Rectus to me. "You and I will each give fourdollars. "

"No, indeed!" said Corny. "I'm going to give some. How much is threeinto eight?"

"Two and two-thirds, " said I, "or, in this case, two dollars, sixty-sixcents and some sixes over. "

"All right!" said Corny; "I'll ask father for three dollars. There oughtto be something for extras. I'll tell mother what I want it for, andthat will satisfy him. He can know afterward. I don't think he ought toworry his lung with anything like this. "

"She wont want a throne, " said Rectus, turning the conversation from Mr. Chipperton, "for she has a very good rocking-chair, which could be fixedup. "

"Yes, " said I, "it could be cushioned. She might do it herself. "

At this, the colored woman made a remark to the queen, but what it waswe did not know. 

"Of course she could, " said Corny. "Queens work. Queen Victoria etcheson steel. "

"I don't believe Porker-miller can do that, " said Rectus, "but I guessshe can pad her chair. "

"Do thrones rock?" asked Corny. 

"Some of 'em do, " I said. "There was the throne of France, you know. "

"Well, then, that will be all right, " said Corny; "and how about a crownand sceptre?"

"Oh, we wont want a sceptre, " I said; "that sort of thing's prettyold-fashioned. But we ought to have a crown, so as to make a differencebetween her and the other people. "

"How much are crowns?" asked Corny, in a thoughtful tone. 

"Various prices, " I answered; "but I think we can make one, that will dovery well, for about fifty cents. I'll undertake to make the brass part, if you'll cushion it. "

"Brass!" exclaimed Corny, in astonishment. 

"You don't suppose we can get gold, do you?" I asked, laughing. 

"Well, no, " she said, but not quite satisfied. 

"And there must be a flag and a flag-pole, " said Rectus. "But what sortof a flag are we going to have?"

"The African flag, " said Corny, confidently. 

None of us knew what the African flag was, although Corny suggested thatit was probably black. But I told her that if we raised a black flagbefore the queen's palace, we should bring down the authorities on us, sure. They'd think we had started a retail piratical establishment. 

We now took leave of the queen, and enjoined her neighbor to impress onher mind the necessity of not using her capital to lay in a new stockof goods. Leaving a quarter of a dollar with her, for contingentexpenses during the day, we started for home. 

"I'll tell you what it is, " said I, "we must settle this matter ofrevenue pretty soon. If she don't sell peppers and sugar-cane, she'llhave to be supported in some way, and I'm sure we can't do it. "

"Her subjects ought to attend to that, " said Rectus. 

"But she hasn't got any yet, " I answered. 

"That's a fact, " said Corny. "We must get her a few, to start with. "

"Hire 'em, do you mean?" asked Rectus. 

"No; call upon them in the name of their country and their queen, " shereplied. 

"I think it would be better, at first, " said I, "to call upon them inthe name of about twopence a head. Then, when we get a nice little bodyof adherents to begin with, the other subjects will fall in, of theirown accord, if we manage the thing right. "

"There's where the emissary will come in, " said Rectus. "She can collectadherents. "

"We must engage her this very day, " said Corny. "And now, what about theflag? We haven't settled that yet. "

"I think, " said I, "that we'd better invent a flag. When we get back tothe hotel, we can each draw some designs, and the one we choose caneasily be made up. We can buy the stuff anywhere. "

"I'll sew it, " said Corny. 

"Do you think, " said Rectus, who had been reflecting, "that theauthorities of this place will object to our setting up a queen?"

"Can't tell, " I said. "But I hardly think they will. They don't objectto the black governor, and our queen wont interfere with them in any waythat I can see. She will have nothing to do with anybody but thosenative Africans, who keep to themselves, anyway. "

"If anybody should trouble us, who would it be? Soldiers or thepolicemen? How many soldiers have they here?" asked Corny. 

"There's only one company now in the barracks, " said Rectus. "I was downthere. There are two men-of-war in the harbor, but one of them's aSpanish vessel, and I'm pretty sure she wouldn't bother us. "

"Is that all?" said Corny, in a tone of relief. 

I didn't want to dash her spirits, but I remarked that there were a goodmany policemen in the town. 

"And they're all colored men, " said Corny. "I'd hate to have any of themcoming after us. "

"The governor of the colony is at the head of the army, police and all, isn't he?" said Rectus. 

"Yes, " I answered. 

"And I know where he lives, " put in Corny. "Let's go and see him, sometime, and ask him about it. "

This was thought to be a good idea, and we agreed to consider it at ournext meeting. 

"As to revenue, " said Rectus, just before we reached the hotel, "I don'tbelieve these people have much money to give for the support of aqueen, and so I think they ought to bring in provisions. The whole thingmight be portioned out. She ought to have so many conchs a week, so manysticks of sugar-cane, and so many yams and other stuff. This might befixed so that it wouldn't come hard on anybody. "

Corny said she guessed she'd have to get a little book to put thesethings down, so that we could consider them in order. 

I could not help noticing that there was a good deal of differencebetween Corny and Rectus, although they were much alike, too. Corny hadnever learned much, but she had a good brain in her head, and she couldreason out things pretty well, when she had anything in the way of asolid fact to start with. Rectus was better on things he'd heardreasoned out. He seemed to know a good thing when it came before him, and he remembered it, and often brought it in very well. But he hadn'thad much experience in reasoning on his own account, although he wasgetting more in practice every day. 

Corny was just as much in earnest as she was the first day we saw her, but she seemed to have grown more thoughtful. Perhaps this was onaccount of her having important business on hand. Her thoughtfulness, however, did not prevent her from saying some very funny things. Shespoke first and did her thinking afterward. But she was a good girl, andI often wished my sister knew her. Helen was older, to be sure, but shecould have learned a great deal from Corny. 

That afternoon, we had a meeting up in the silk-cotton tree, andPriscilla, who had sold out her small stock of flowers in the hotel-doormarket, was requested to be present. A variety-show, consisting of abouta dozen young darkeys with their baskets and strings of sponges, accompanied her up the steps; but she was ordered to rout them, and shedid it in short order. When we were alone, Rectus, as captain, began tostate to her what we desired of her; but he was soon interrupted byCorny, who could do a great deal more talking in a given time than hecould, and who always felt that she ought to begin early, in order toget through in good season. 

"Now, Priscilla, " said Corny, "in the first place, you must promisenever to tell what we are going to say to you. "

Priscilla promised in a flash. 

"We want you, then, " continued Corny, "to act as our emissary, orgeneral agent, or errand-girl, if you don't know what the other twothings mean. "

"I'll do dat, missy, " said Priscilla. "Whar you want me to go?"

"Nowhere just now, " said Corny. "We want to engage you by the day, to dowhatever we tell you. "

"Cahn't do dat, missy. Got to sell flowers and roses. Sell 'em for defam'ly, missy. "

"But in the afternoon you can come, " said Corny. "There isn't anyselling done then. We'll pay you. "

"How much?" asked Priscilla. 

This question was referred to me, and I offered sixpence a day. 

The money in this place is English, of course, as it is an Englishcolony; but there are so many visitors from the United States, thatAmerican currency is as much in use, for large sums, as thepounds-shillings-and-pence arrangement. But all sums under a quarter arereckoned in English money, --pennies, half-pennies, four, six andeight-pences, and that sort of thing. One of our quarters passes for ashilling, but a silver dime wont pass in the shops. The darkeys willtake them--or almost anything else--as a gift. I didn't have to get ourmoney changed into gold. I got a draft on a Nassau house, and generallydrew greenbacks. But I saw, pretty plainly, that I couldn't draw verymuch for this new monarchical undertaking, and stay in Nassau as long aswe had planned. 

"A whole afternoon, " exclaimed Priscilla, "for sixpence!"

"Why not?" I asked. "That's more than you generally make all day. "

"Only sixpence!" said Priscilla, looking as if her tender spirit hadbeen wounded. Corny glanced at me with an air that suggested that Iought to make a rise in the price, but I had dealt with these darkeysbefore. 

"That's all, " I said. 

"All right, then, boss, " said Priscilla. "I'll do it. What you want meto do?"

The colored people generally gave the name "boss" to all white men, andI was pleased to see that Priscilla said boss to me much more frequentlythan to Rectus. 

We had a talk with her about her duties, and each of us had a good dealto say. We made her understand--at least we hoped so--that she was to beon hand, every afternoon, to go with Corny, if necessary, whenever wewent out on our trips to the African settlement; and, after giving heran idea of what we intended doing with the queen, --which interested hervery much indeed, and seemed to set her on pins and needles to see theglories of the new reign, --we commissioned her to bring together abouttwenty sensible and intelligent Africans, so that we could talk to them, and engage them as subjects for the re-enthroned queen. 

"What's ole Goliah Brown goin' to say 'bout dat?" said Priscilla. 

"Who's he?" we asked. 

"He's de Afrikin gubner. He rule 'em all. "

"Oh!" said Rectus, "he's all right. We're going to make him primeminister. "

I was not at all sure that he was all right, and proposed that Rectusand I should go to his house in the evening, when he was at home, andtalk to him about it. 

"Yes, and we'll all go and see the head governor to-morrow morning, "said Corny. 

We had our hands completely full of diplomatic business. 

The meeting of the adherents was appointed for the next afternoon. Wedecided to have it on the Queen's Stair-way, which is a long flight ofsteps, cut in the solid limestone, and leading up out of a deep andshadowy ravine, where the people of the town many years ago cut out thecalcareous material for their houses. There has been no stone cut herefor a long time, and the walls of the ravine, which stand up as straightas the wall of a house, are darkened by age and a good deal covered upby vines. At the bottom, on each side of the pathway which runs throughthe ravine to the town, bushes and plants of various semi-tropical kindsgrow thick and close. At the top of the flight of stairs are open fieldsand an old fort. Altogether, this was considered a quiet and suitableplace for a meeting of a band of revolutionists. We could not have metin the silk-cotton tree, for we should have attracted too muchattention, and, besides, the hotel-clerk would have routed us out. 

CHAPTER XII. 

RECTUS LOSES RANK. 

After supper, Rectus and I went to see the African governor, GoliahBrown. He was a good-natured old colored man, who lived in a house atrifle better than most of those inhabited by his fellow-countrymen. Themain room was of a fair size, and there was a centre-table, with somebooks on it. 

When we saw this, we hesitated. Could we ask a man who owned books, andcould probably read, to play second fiddle to a woman who could notspeak the English language, and who for years, perhaps, had devoted theenergies of her soul to the sale of pepper-pods?

However, the office of prime minister was no trifle, and many moredistinguished and more learned men than Goliah Brown have been glad toget it. Besides this, we considered that blood is blood, and, inmonarchical countries, a queen is a queen. This was a colony of amonarchy, and we would push forward the claims of Poqua-dilla the First. We called her "The First, " because, although she may have had a goodmany ancestors of her name in Africa, she certainly started the line inthe Bahamas. 

Goliah proved himself a steady-going talker. He seemed pleased to haveus call on him, and told us the whole story of the capture of himselfand the rest of the Africans. We had heard pretty much all of it before, but, of course, we had to politely listen to it again. 

When he finished, we asked a few questions about the queen, and findingthat Goliah admitted her claims to royal blood, we told him what weproposed to do, and boldly asked him to take the position of primeminister in the African community. 

At first, he did not understand, and we had to go over the thing two orthree times before he saw into it. Then, it was evident that he couldnot see what business this was of ours, and we had to explain ourmotives, which was some trouble, because we had not quite straightenedthem out in our own minds. 

Then he wanted to know which was the head person, a queen or a primeminister. We set forth the strict truth to him in this matter. We toldhim that although a queen in a well-regulated monarchy actually occupiesthe highest place, that the prime minister is the fellow who does thereal governing. He thought this might all be so, but he did not like theidea of having any one, especially Jane Henderson, as he called her, ina position higher than his own. We did not say anything to him, then, about giving the queen her English name, because we supposed that hehad been used to speak of her in that way, to white people, but wedetermined to refer to this when matters should be settled. 

He was so set in his own opinion on this point of position, that we wereafraid we should be obliged to give the thing up. He used very goodarguments, too. He said that he had been elected to his present officeby his fellow Africans; that he had held it a long time; that he didn'tthink the rest of his people wanted him to give it up, and he didn'tthink he wanted to give it up himself. A prime minister might be allvery well, but he didn't know anything about it. He knew what it was tobe governor, and was very well satisfied to leave things as they were. 

This was dampening. Just as the old fellow thought he had settled thematter, a happy thought struck me: we might make the monarchy anindependent arrangement. Perhaps Goliah would have no objection to that, provided we did not interfere with his governorship. If Poqua-dillashould be recognized as a queen, and crowned, and provided with anincome sufficient to keep her out of any retail business, it was aboutall she could expect, at her time of life. She certainly would not careto do any governing. The few subjects that we should enlist would bemore like courtiers than anything else. 

I called Rectus to the door, and suggested this arrangement to him. Hethought it would be better than nothing, and that it would be well tomention it. 

We did this, and Goliah thought a while. 

"Ef I lets her be call' queen, " he said, "an' she jist stay at home an'min' her own business, an' don' run herse'f agin me, no way, how muchyou s'pose she able to gib fur dat?"

[Illustration: "'ALL RIGHT, ' SAID GOLIAH, WITH A SMILE. "]

Rectus and I went again to the front door to consult, and when we cameback, we said we thought she would be able to give a dollar. 

"All right, " said Goliah, with a smile. "She kin jist go ahead, and bequeen. Only don' let her run herse'f ag'in me. "

This suited us, and we paid the dollar, and came away. 

"More cash!" said Rectus, as we walked home. 

"Yes, " said I, "but what troubles me is that queen's income. I don't seenow where it's to come from, for old Goliah wont allow his people to betaxed for her, that's certain. "

Rectus agreed that things looked a little bluish, but he thought wemight pay the income ourselves, until after the coronation, and then wecould see what else could be done. This wasn't much of a plan, but Icouldn't think of anything better. 

The next day, about noon, we all went to see the real governor of thecolony. Rectus and I didn't care much about doing this, but Cornyinsisted on it. She was afraid of the police, --and probably of the armyand navy, although she made light of them, --and so she thought it wouldbe a good thing to see whether or not we should have to combat with allthese forces, if we should carry out our plans. We took Priscilla alongwith us on Corny's account. It would look respectable for her to have anattendant. This being an extra job, Priscilla earned two sixpences thatday. 

The governor lived in a fine house, on the hill back of the town, andalthough we all knew where it was, Priscilla was of great use to ushere, for she took us in at a side gate, where we could walk right up tothe door of the governor's office, without going to the grand entrance, at the front of the house, where the English flag was flying. There wasa red-coated soldier standing just in the door-way, and when we saw him, we put ourselves on our stiffest behavior. We told Priscilla to waitoutside, in the path, and try and behave so that people would thinkthere was a pretty high-toned party inside. We then went up to thered-coat, and asked to see the governor. The soldier looked at us alittle queerly, and went back into the house. 

He staid a good while, but when he came out he told us to follow him, and took us through a hall into a room where two gentlemen were sittingat desks. One of these jumped up and came to meet us. 

"There is the secretary, " said the soldier, in a low voice to me, andthen he left us. 

We now had to ask the secretary if we could see the governor. Heinquired our business, but we didn't seem anxious to tell him. 

"Anything private?" he said, with a smile. 

"Well, sir, " said I, "it's not exactly private, but it's not a very easything to put straight before anybody, and if it don't make anydifference, we'd rather not have to tell it twice. "

He hesitated for a minute, and then he said he'd see, and went intoanother room. 

"Now, look here, " I whispered to Rectus, "if you're captain, you've gotto step up and do the talking. It isn't my place. "

The secretary now returned, and said the governor could give us a fewminutes. I think the probability was that he was curious to know whattwo boys and a girl could want with him. 

The governor's office, into which we now were shown, was a large room, with plenty of book-cases and shelves against the walls, and in themiddle of the floor a big table, which was covered with papers, packagesof manuscript tied up with tape, and every kind of thing necessary tomake matters look as if business was brisk in these islands. Thegovernor himself was a tall, handsome gentleman, not old a bit, as Cornyput it afterward, and dressed all in white linen, which gave him an airof coolness and cleanness that was quite agreeable to us after our walkin the sun. He was sitting at one end of the long table, and he politelymotioned us to seats at one side of him. I expect the secretary arrangedthe chairs before we came in. We made our manners and sat down. 

"Well, " said he, "what can I do for you?"

If Corny hadn't been along, I don't believe he would have seen us atall. There can be nothing attractive to a governor about two boys. Butalmost any one would take an interest in a girl like Corny. Thesecretary was very polite to her. 

Rectus now gave his throat a little clearing, and pushed off. 

"Our business with you, sir, is to see about doing something for a poorqueen, a very good and honest woman----"

"A poor but honest queen!" interrupted the governor, with a smile. 

"Oh, he don't mean a common queen, " said Corny, quickly. "He means ablack queen, --an African, --born royal, but taken prisoner when young, and brought here, and she lives over there in the African settlements, and sells peppers, but is just as much a queen as ever, you know, sir, for selling things on a door-step can't take the royal blood out of aperson. "

"Oh no, indeed!" said the governor, and he looked very much tickled. 

"And this poor woman is old, now, and has no revenue, and has to getalong as well as she can, which is pretty poorly, I know, and nobodyever treats her any better than if she had been born a common person, and we want to give her a chance of having as many of her rights as shecan before she dies. "

"At any rate, " said Rectus, who had been waiting for a chance to make afresh start, "if we can't give her all her royal rights, we want to lether know how it feels to be a queen, and to give her a little show amongher people. "

"You are talking of an old native African woman?" said the governor, looking at Corny. "I have heard of her. It seems to be generally agreedthat she belonged to a royal family in one of the African tribes. Andyou want to restore her to her regal station?"

"We can't do that, of course, " said Corny; "but we do think she's beenshamefully used, and all we want to do is to have her acknowledged byher people. She needn't do any ruling. We'll fix her up so that she'lllook enough like a queen for those dreadfully poor people. "

"Yes, " put in Rectus, who had been getting warm on the subject, "theyare dreadfully poor, but she's the poorest of the lot, and it's a shameto see how she, a regular queen, has to live, while a governor, whowasn't anybody before he got his place, lives in the best house, withtables and books, and everything he wants, for all I know, and a bigflag in front of his door, as if he was somebody great, and----"

"What?" said the governor, pretty quick and sharp, and turning aroundsquare on Rectus. 

"Oh, he don't mean you!" said Corny. "He's talking about the blackgovernor, Goliah Brown. "

"Ah, indeed!" said he, turning away from Rectus as if he didn't like hislooks. "And what does Brown think of all this?"

I thought I'd better say a word or two now, because I didn't know whereRectus would fetch us up next, if we should give him another chance, andso I said to the governor that I knew Goliah Brown would make noobjections to the plan, because we had talked it over with him, and hehad agreed to it. 

"Well, then, what do you want that I should do for you?" said thegovernor to Corny. 

"Oh, nothing sir, " said she, "but just to make it all safe for us. Wedidn't know exactly what the rules were on this island, and so wethought we'd come and see you about it. We don't want the policemen, orthe soldiers or sailors, or anybody, to get after us. "

"There is no rule here against giving a queen her rights, " said thegovernor, who seemed to be in a good humor as long as he talked toCorny, "and no one shall interfere with you, provided you do not commitany disorder, and I'm sure you will not do that. "

"Oh, no!" said Corny; "we just intend to have a little coronation, andto ask the people to remember that she's a queen and not a pepper-podwoman; and if you could just give us a paper commission, and sign it, weshould--at least I should--feel a good deal easier. "

"You shall have it, " said the governor, and he took some paper and apen. 

"It seems a little curious, " said he to Corny, as he dipped his pen inthe ink, "that I should serve a queen, and have a queen under me at thesame time, doesn't it?"

"Kind o' sandwiched, " remarked Rectus, who had a face like frozen brass. 

The governor went on writing, and Corny and I looked at Rectus as if wewould singe his hair. 

"You are all from the States, I suppose, " said the governor. 

I said we were. 

"What are your names?" he asked, looking at Corny first. 

"Cornelia V. Chipperton, " said Corny, and he wrote that down. Then helooked at me. 

"William Taylor Gordon, " said I. When the governor had put that on hispaper, he just gave his head a little wag toward Rectus. He didn't lookat him. 

"My name is Samuel Colbert, " said Rectus. 

Corny turned short on him, with eyes wide open. 

"Samuel!" she said, in a sort of theatre-whisper. 

"Now, then, " said the governor, "this paper will show that you have fullpermission to carry out your little plans, provided that you do nothingthat may create any disorder. If the woman--your queen, I mean--has beenin the habit of earning her own livelihood, don't make a pauper of her. "And he gave us a general look as if the time had come to say good-bye. So we got up and thanked him, and he shook hands with us, Rectus andall, and we came away. 

We found Priscilla sitting cross-legged on the grass outside, pitchingpennies. 

"That thar red-coat he want to sen' me off, " said she, "but I tole himmy missy and bosses was inside, and I boun' to wait fur 'em, or gitturned off. So he le' me stay. "

Corny, for a wonder, did not reprove Priscilla for giving the sentinelthe idea that her employers hired penny-pitchers to follow them around, but she walked on in silence until we were out of the grounds. Then sheturned to Rectus and said:

"I thought your name was Rectus!"

"It isn't, " said he. "It's Samuel. "

This was no sort of an answer to give Corny, and so I explained thatRectus was his school name; that he was younger than most of us, andthat we used to call him Young Rectus; but that I had pretty muchdropped the "young" since we had been travelling together. It didn'tappear to be needed. 

"But why did you call him Rectus, when his name's Samuel?" asked Corny. 

"Well, " said I, laughing, "it seemed to suit him. "

This was all that was said about the matter, for Priscilla came up andsaid she must hurry home, and that she'd like to have her sixpence, andthat changed the subject, for we were out of small money and could onlymake up eleven half-pence among us. But Priscilla agreed to trust usuntil evening for the other "hoppenny. "

Corny didn't say much on the way home, and she looked as if she wasdoing some private thinking. I suppose, among other things, she thoughtthat as I considered it all right to call Rectus Rectus, she might aswell do it herself, for she said:

"Rectus, I don't think you're as good at talking as Will is. I move wehave a new election for captain. "

"All right, " said Rectus; "I'm agreed. "

You couldn't make that boy angry. We held a meeting just as we got tothe hotel, and he and Corny both voted for me. 

CHAPTER XIII. 

THE CORONATION. 

In the afternoon, we had our grand rally at the Queen's Stair-way. Cornycouldn't come, because her mother said she must not be running around somuch. So she staid at home and worked on the new flag for thecoronation. We designed this flag among us. It had a black ground, witha yellow sun just rising out of the middle of it. It didn't cost much, and looked more like a yellow cog-wheel rolling in deep mud thananything else. But we thought it would do very well. 

Rectus and I had barely reached the stairs, by the way of the old fort, when Priscilla made her appearance in the ravine at the head of a crowdof whooping barefooted young rascals, who came skipping along as if theyexpected something to eat. 

"I'd never be a queen, " said Rectus, "if I had to have such a lot ofsubjects as that. "

"Don't think you would, " said I; "but we mustn't let 'em come up thestairs. They must stay at the bottom, so that we can harangue 'em. " Sowe charged down the stairs, and made the adherents bunch themselves onthe level ground. 

Then we harangued them, and they laughed, and hurrahed, and whistled, and jumped, while Priscilla, as an active emissary, ran around amongthem, punching them, and trying to make them keep still and listen. 

But as they all promised to stick to us and the royal queen throughthick and thin, we didn't mind a little disorder. 

The next day but one was to be coronation day, and we impressed it onthe minds of the adherents that they must be sure to be on hand aboutten in the morning, in front of the queen's hut. We concluded not tocall it a palace until after the ceremony. 

When we had said all we had to say, we told the assemblage that it mightgo home; but it didn't seem inclined to do anything of the kind. 

"Look a here, boss, " said one of them, --a stout, saucy fellow, with thebiggest hat and the biggest feet on the island, --"aint you agoin' togive us nothin' for comin' round here?"

"Give you anything!" cried Rectus, blazing up suddenly. "That's a prettyway to talk! It's the subjects that have to give. You'll see prettysoon----"

Just here I stopped him. If he had gone on a few minutes longer, hewould have wound up that kingdom with a snap. 

"We didn't bring you here, " said I, "to give you anything, for it oughtto be enough pay to any decent fellow to see a good old person likeQueen Poqua-dilla get her rights. "

"Who's him?" asked several of the nearest fellows. 

"He means Jane Henderson, " said Priscilla. "You keep quiet. "

"Jane Henderson! Dat's all right. Don' call her no names. Go ahead, boss!" they cried, laughing and shouting. I went ahead. 

"We can't pay you any money; but if you will all promise again to be onhand before ten o'clock day after to-morrow, we'll take you down to theharbor now and give you a small dive. "

A wild promise rang up the sides of the ravine. 

A "small dive" is a ceremony somewhat peculiar to this island. Avisitor--no native white man would ever think of such a thing--stands onthe edge of a pier, or anywhere, where the water is quite deep, andtosses in a bit of money, while the darkey boys--who are sure to be allready when a visitor is standing on a pier--dive for it. It's a lot offun to see them do this, and Rectus and I had already chucked a gooddeal of small change into the harbor, and had seen it come up again, some of it before it got to the bottom. These dives are called "small, "because the darkeys want to put the thing mildly. They couldn't coaxanybody down to the water to give them a big dive. 

"You see, " said I to Rectus, as we started down the ravine toward theriver, with the crowd of adherents marching in front, "we've got to havethese fellows at the coronation. So it wont do to scare 'em off now. "

We went down to a little public square in front of the town, where therewas a splendid diving-place. A good many people were strolling aboutthere, but I don't suppose that a single person who saw those darkeyfellows, with nothing on but their cotton trousers, --who stood in a lineon the edge of the sea-wall, and plunged in, head foremost, like a lotof frogs, when I threw out a couple of "big coppers, "--ever supposedthat these rascals were diving for monarchical purposes. The water wasso clear that we could see them down at the bottom, swimming andpaddling around after the coppers. When a fellow found one he'd stick itin his mouth, and come up as lively as a cricket, and all ready foranother scramble at the bottom. 

Sometimes I threw in a silver "check, " which is no bigger than athree-cent piece; but, although the water was about fifteen feet deep, it was never lost. The fellows seemed just as much at home in the wateras on land, and I suppose they don't know how to get drowned. We triedto toss the money in such a way that each one of them would havesomething, but some of them were not smart enough to get down to thebottom in time; and when we thought we had circulated enough specie, wefelt sure that there were two or three, and perhaps more, who hadn'tbrought up a penny. 

So when they all climbed out, with their brown shoulders glistening, Iasked which one of them had come out without getting anything. Everyman-jack of them stepped forward and said he hadn't got a copper. Wepicked out three little fellows, gave them a few pennies apiece, andcame home. 

[Illustration: A FAMILY DIVE]

The next day we were all hard at work. Corny and her mother went down tothe queen's house, and planned what they could get to fit up the placeso that it would be a little more comfortable. Mrs. Chipperton must haveadded something to our eight dollars, for she and Corny came up into thetown, and bought a lot of things, which made Poqua-dilla's best roomlook like another place. The rocking-chair was fixed up quite royally. Mrs. Chipperton turned out to be a better kind of a woman than Ithought she was at first. 

We hired a man to cut a pole and set it up in the queen's front yard, for the flag; and then Rectus and I started out to get the crown. I hadthought that if we could find some sheet-brass, I could manage to make apretty good crown, but there didn't seem to be anything of the kind inthe place. But, after a good deal of looking, we found a brass saucepan, in a store, which I thought would do very well for the foundation of acrown. We bought this, and took it around to a shop where a man mendedpots and kettles. For a shilling we hired the use of his tools for anhour, and then Rectus and I went to work. We unriveted the handle, andthen I held the bottom edge of the saucepan to the grindstone, whileRectus turned, and we soon ground the bottom off. This left us a deepbrass band, quite big enough for a crown, and as the top edge wasrounded off, it could be turned over on a person's head, so as to sitquite comfortably. With a cold-chisel I cut long points in what would bethe upper part of the crown, and when I had filed these up a little, thecrown looked quite nobby. We finished it by punching a lot of holes inthe front part, making them in the form of stars and circles. Withsomething red behind these, the effect would be prodigious. 

At ten o'clock, sharp, the next morning, we were all at the queen'shouse. Mrs. Chipperton was with us, for she wished very much to see theceremony. I think Mr. Chipperton would have been along, but a gentlemantook him out in his yacht that morning, and I must admit that we allbreathed a little bit freer without him. There was a pretty fair crowdsitting around in the front yard when we reached the house, and beforelong a good many more people came to see what was going on. They wereall negroes; but I don't believe half of them were genuine nativeAfricans. The queen was sitting inside, with a red shawl on, although itwas a pretty warm day, and wearing a new turban. 

We had arranged, on the way, to appoint a lot of court officials, because there was no use of our being stingy in this respect, when itdidn't cost anything to do up the thing right. So we picked out a goodlooking man for Lord High Chancellor, and gave him a piece of red ribbonto tie in his button-hole. He hadn't any button-hole anywhere, except inhis trousers, so he tied it to the string which fastened his shirttogether at the collar. Four old men we appointed to be courtiers, andmade them button up their coats. For a wonder, they all had coats. Wealso made a Lord High Sheriff and a Royal Beadle, and an Usher of theWhite Wand, an officer Mrs. Chipperton had read about, and to whom wegave a whittled stick, with strict instructions not to jab anybody withit. Corny had been reading a German novel, and she wanted us to appointa "Hof-rath, " who is a German court officer of some kind. He was a nicefellow in the novel, and so we picked out the best-looking young darkeywe could find, for the position. 

We each had our posts. Corny was to do the crowning, and I was to makethe speech. Rectus had his place by the flag, which he was to haul up atthe proper moment. Mrs. Chipperton undertook to stand by the oldlady, --that is, the queen, --and give her any support she might happen toneed during the ceremony. 

We intended having the coronation in the house; but we found the crowdtoo large for this, so we brought the rocking-chair out-of-doors, andset it in front of the only window in the palace. The yard was largeenough to accommodate a good many people, and those who could not get inhad plenty of room out in the road. We tried to make Poqua-dilla takeoff her turban, because a crown on a turban seemed to us somethingentirely out of order; but she wouldn't listen to it. We had thepleasant-faced neighbor-woman as an interpreter, and she said that itwasn't any use; the queen would almost as soon appear in public withouther head as without her turban. So we let this pass, for we saw veryplainly that it wouldn't do to try to force too much on Poqua-dilla, forshe looked now as if she thought we had come there to perform someoperation on her, --perhaps to cut off her leg. 

About half-past ten, we led her out, and made her sit down in therocking-chair. Mrs. Chipperton stood on one side of her, holding one ofher hands, while the neighbor-woman stood on the other side, and heldthe other hand. This arrangement, however, did not last long, forPoqua-dilla soon jerked her hands away, thinking, perhaps, that ifanything was done that hurt, it might be better to be free for a jump. 

Corny stood in front, a little at one side, holding the crown, which shehad padded and lined with red flannel. I took my place just before Mrs. Chipperton, facing the crowd. Rectus was at the flag-pole, near thefront of the yard, holding the halyards in his hands, ready to haul. The_Hof-rath_ was by him, to help if anything got tangled, and the fourcourtiers and the other officials had places in the front row of thespectators, while Priscilla stood by Corny, to be on hand should she beneeded. 

When all was ready, and Corny had felt in her pocket to see that the"permission paper" was all right, I began my speech. It was the secondregular speech I had ever made, --the first one was at a schoolcelebration, --and I had studied it out pretty carefully. It wasintended, of course, for the negroes, but I really addressed the most ofit to Mrs. Chipperton, because I knew that she could understand a speechbetter than any one else in the yard. When I had shown the matter up asplainly as I knew how, and had given all the whys and wherefores, I madea little stop for applause. But I didn't get any. They all stood waitingto see what would happen next. As there was nothing more to say, Inodded to Corny to clap on the crown. The moment she felt it on herhead, the queen stood up as straight as a hoe-handle, and looked quicklyfrom side to side. Then I called out in my best voice:

"Africans! Behold your queen!"

At this instant Rectus ran up the black flag with the yellow cog-wheel, and we white people gave a cheer. As soon as they got a cue, the darkeysknew what to do. They burst out into a wild yell, they waved their hats, they laid down on the grass and kicked, they jumped, and danced, andlaughed, and screamed. I was afraid the queen would bolt, so I took aquiet hold of her shawl. But she stood still until the crowd cooled downa little, and then she made a courtesy and sat down. 

"Is that all?" asked the neighbor-woman, after she had waited a fewmoments. 

"Yes, " said I. "You can take her in. "

When the queen had been led within doors, and while the crowd was stillin a state of wild commotion, I took a heavy bag of coppers from mycoat-pocket--where it had been worrying me all through the ceremony--andgave it to Priscilla. 

"Scatter that among the subjects, " said I. 

"Give 'em a big scr_ah_mble in the road?" said she, her eyes cracklingwith delight. 

"Yes, " said I, and out she ran, followed by the whole kingdom. We whitefolk stood inside to watch the fun. Priscilla threw out a handful ofpennies, and the darkeys just piled themselves up in the road on top ofthe money. You could see nothing but madly waving legs. The mass heavedand tossed and moved from one side of the road to the other. The LordHigh Chancellor was at the bottom of the heap, while the _Hof-rath_wiggled his bare feet high in the air. Every fellow who grabbed a pennyhad ten fellows pulling at him. The women and small fry did not getinto this mess, but they dodged around, and made snatches wherever theycould get their hands into the pile of boys and men. 

They all yelled, and shouted and tussled and scrambled, until Priscilla, who was dancing around with her bag, gave another throw into a differentpart of the road. Then every fellow jerked himself loose from the rest, and a fresh rush was made, and a fresh pile of darkeys arose in aminute. 

We stood and laughed until our backs ached, but, as I happened to lookaround at the house, I saw the queen standing on her door-step lookingmournfully at the fun. She was alone, for even her good neighbor hadrushed out to see what she could pick up. I was glad to find that thenew monarch, who still wore her crown, --which no one would have imaginedto have ever been a saucepan, --had sense enough to keep out of such ascrimmage of the populace, and I went back and gave her a shilling. Herface shone, and I could see that she felt that she never could havegrabbed that much. 

When there had been three or four good scrambles, Priscilla ran up theroad, a little way, and threw out all the pennies that were left in thebag. Then she made a rush for them, and, having a good start, she gotthere first, and had both hands full of dust and pennies before any oneelse reached the spot. She was not to be counted out of that game. 

After this last scramble, we came away. The queen had taken her throneindoors, and we went in and shook hands with her, telling her we wouldsoon come and see how she was getting along. I don't suppose sheunderstood us, but it didn't matter. When we had gone some distance, welooked back, and there was still a pile of darkeys rolling and tumblingin the dust. 

CHAPTER XIV. 

A HOT CHASE. 

That afternoon, Rectus and I went over to the African settlement to seehow the kingdom worked. It was rather soon, perhaps, to make a call onthe new queen, but we were out for a walk, and might as well go that wayas any other. 

When we came near the house, we heard a tremendous uproar, and soon sawthat there was a big crowd in the yard. We couldn't imagine what wasgoing on, unless the queen had changed her shilling, and was indulgingin the luxury of giving a scramble. We ran up quickly, but the crowd wasso large that we could not get into the yard, nor see what all thecommotion was about. But we went over to the side of the yard, and--without being noticed by any of the people, who seemed too muchinterested to turn around--we soon found out what the matter was. 

Priscilla had usurped the throne!

The rocking-chair had been brought out and placed again in front of thewindow, and there sat Priscilla, leaning back at her ease, with thecrown on her head, a big fan--made of calf-skin--in her hand, and ageneral air of superiority pervading her whole being. Behind her, withher hand on the back of the chair, stood Poqua-dilla, wearing her newturban, but without the red shawl. She looked as if something hadhappened. 

In front of the chair was the Lord High Chancellor. He had evidentlygone over to the usurper. His red ribbon, very dusty and draggled, stillhung from his shirt-collar. The four courtiers sat together on a bench, near the house, with their coats still buttoned up as high ascircumstances would allow. They seemed sad and disappointed, andprobably had been deprived of their rank. The _Hof-rath_ stood in thefront of the crowd. He did not appear happy; indeed, he seemed a gooddeal ruffled, both in mind and clothes. Perhaps he had defended hisqueen, and had been roughly handled. 

Priscilla was talking, and fanning herself, gracefully and lazily, withher calf-skin fan. I think she had been telling the people what sheintended to do, and what she intended them to do; but, almostimmediately after our arrival, she was interrupted by the _Hof-rath_, who said something that we did not hear, but which put Priscilla into awild passion. 

She sprang to her feet and stood up in the chair, while poor Poqua-dillaheld it firmly by the back so that it should not shake. I supposed fromthis that Priscilla had been standing up before, and that our old friendhad been appointed to the office of chair-back-holder to the usurper. 

Priscilla waved her fan high in air, and then, with her right hand, shetook off the crown, held it up for a minute, and replaced it on herhead. 

"Afrikins, behole yer queen!" said she, at the top of her voice, andleaning back so far that the rightful sovereign had a good deal oftrouble to keep the chair from going over. 

"Dat's me!" she cried. "Look straight at me, an' ye see yer queen. An'how you dar', you misribble Hop-grog, to say I no queen! You 'serve tobe killed. Take hole o' him, some uv you fellers! Grab dat Hop-grog!"

At this, two or three men seized the poor _Hof-rath_, while the crowdcheered and laughed. 

"Take him an' kill him!" shouted Priscilla. "Chop his head off!"

At this, a wild shout of laughter arose, and one of the men who held the_Hof-rath_ declared, as soon as he got his breath, that they couldn't dothat, --they had no hatchet big enough. 

Priscilla stood quiet for a minute. She looked over the crowd, and thenshe looked at the poor _Hof-rath_, who now began to show that he was alittle frightened. 

"You, Hop-grog, " said she, "how much money did you grab in demscrahmbles?"

The _Hof-rath_ put his hand in his pocket and pulled out some pennies. 

"Five big coppers, " said he, sullenly. 

"Gim me dem, " said she, and he brought them to her. 

"Now den, you kin git out, " said she, pocketing the money. Then sheagain raised her crown and replaced it on her head. 

"Afrikins, behole your queen!" she cried. 

This was more than we could stand. To see this usurpation and robberymade our blood boil. We, by ourselves, could do nothing; but we couldget help. We slipped away and ran down the road in the direction of thehotel. We had not gone far before we saw, coming along a cross-road, thetwo yellow-leg men. We turned, hurried up to them, and hastily told themof the condition of things, and asked if they would help us put downthis usurpation. They did not understand the matter, at first, but whenwe made them see how it stood, they were greatly interested, andinstantly offered to join us. 

"We can go down here to the police-station, " said I, "and get somehelp. "

"No, no!" said the tall yellow-leg. "Don't tell those fellows. They'llonly make a row of it, and get somebody into trouble. We're enough tocapture that usurper. Let's go for her. "

And we went. 

When we neared the crowd, the shorter yellow-leg, Mr. Burgan, said thathe would go first; then his friend would come close behind him, whileRectus and I could push up after them. By forming a line we could rushright through the crowd. I thought I ought to go first, but Mr. Burgansaid he was the stoutest, and could better stand the pressure if thecrowd stood firm. 

But the crowd didn't stand firm. The moment we made our rush, and thepeople saw us, they scattered right and left, and we pushed rightthrough, straight to the house. Priscilla saw us before we reached her, and, quick as lightning, she made a dive for the door. We rushed afterher, but she got inside, and, hurling the crown from her head, dashedout of a back-door. We followed hotly, but she was out of the yard, overa wall, and into a side lane, almost before we knew it. 

Then a good chase began. Priscilla had a long start of us, for we hadbungled at the wall, but we were bound to catch her. 

I was a good runner, and Rectus was light and active, although I am notsure that he could keep up the thing very long; but the two yellow-legssurprised me. They took the lead of us, directly, and kept it. Behind uscame a lot of darkeys, not trying to catch Priscilla, but anxious, Isuppose, to see what was going to happen. 

Priscilla still kept well ahead. She had struck out of the lane into aroad which led toward the outskirts of the town. I think we werebeginning to gain on her when, all of a sudden, she sat down. With ashout, we rushed on, but before we reached her she had jerked off bothher shoes, --she didn't wear any stockings, --and she sprang to her feetand was off again. Waving the shoes over her head, she jumped and leapedand bounded like an India-rubber goat. Priscilla, barefooted, couldn'tbe caught by any man on the island: we soon saw that. She flew down theroad, with the white dust flying behind her, until she reached a biglimestone quarry, where the calcareous building-material of the town issawn out in great blocks, and there she made a sharp turn and dasheddown in among the stones. We reached the place just in time to see herrun across the quarry, slip in between two great blocks that werestanding up like statue pedestals on the other side, and disappear. 

We rushed over, we searched and looked, here and there and everywhere, and all the darkeys searched and looked, but we found no Priscilla. Shehad gone away. 

Puffing and blowing like four steam-fire-engines, we sat down on somestones and wiped our faces. 

"I guess we just ran that upstart queen out of her possessions, " saidthe tall yellow-legs, dusting his boots with his handkerchief. He wassatisfied. 

We walked home by the road at the edge of the harbor. The cool air fromthe water was very pleasant to us. When we reached the hotel, we foundMr. And Mrs. Chipperton and Corny sitting outside, in the entrancecourt, waiting for supper-time. A lot of arm-chairs always stood there, so that people might sit and wait for meals, or anything else that theyexpected. When Corny heard the dreadful news of the fall of our kingdom, she was so shocked that she could scarcely speak; and as for Mrs. Chipperton, I thought she was going to cry. Corny wanted to rush rightdown to Poqua-dilla's house and see what could be done, but we were allagainst that. No harm would come to the old woman that night from theloss of her crown, and it was too near supper-time for any attempt atrestoration, just then. 

"Only to think of it!" said Mrs. Chipperton. "After all we did for her!I don't believe she was queen more than an hour. It's the shortest reignI ever heard of. "

"And that Priscilla!" cried Corny. "The girl we trusted to do so much, and----"

"Paid every night, " said I. 

"Yes, " she continued, "and gave a pair of mother's shoes to, for thecoronation! And to think that _she_ should deceive us and do theusurping!"

The shorter yellow-legs, who had been standing by with his friend, nowmade a remark. He evidently remembered Corny, on the Oclawahasteam-boat, although he had never become acquainted with her or herfamily. 

"Did your queen talk French?" he asked, with a smile; "or was not thatthe language of the Court?"

"No, it wasn't, " said Corny, gravely. "African was the language of theCourt. But the queen was too polite to use it before us, because sheknew we did not understand it, and couldn't tell what she might besaying about us. "

"Good!" said the tall yellow-legs. "That's very good indeed. Burgan, youowe her one. "

"One what?" asked Corny. 

"Another answer as good as that, if I can ever think of it, " said Mr. Burgan. 

Corny did not reply. I doubt if she heard him. Her soul still ached forher fallen queen. 

"I tell you what it is, " said Mr. Chipperton, who had kept unaccountablyquiet, so far. "It's a great pity that I did not know about this. Ishould have liked nothing better than to be down there when that usurpergirl was standing on that throne, or rocking-chair, or whatever itwas----"

"Oh, my dear!" said Mrs. Chipperton. "It would never have done for youto have exposed your lung to such a scene of turmoil and confusion. "

"Bother my lung!" cried Mr. Chipperton, who was now growing quiteexcited. "I would never have stood tamely by, and witnessed such vileinjustice----"

"We didn't stand tamely by, " said I. "We ran wildly after the unjustone. "

"I would have stood up before that crowd, " continued Mr. Chipperton, "and I would have told the people what I thought of them. I would haveasked them how, living in a land like this, where the blue sky shines onthem for nothing, where cocoa-nut and the orange stand always ready forthem to stretch forth their hands and take them, where they need but aminimum of clothes, and where the very sea around them freely yields upits fish and its conchs, --or, that is to say, they can get such thingsfor a trifling sum, --I would have asked them, I say, how--when freecitizens of a republic, such as we are, come from our shores of liberty, where kings and queens are despised and any throne that is attempted tobe set up over us is crushed to atoms, --that when we, I say, come overhere, and out of the pure kindness and generosity of our souls raisefrom the dust a poverty-stricken and down-trodden queen, and place her, as nearly as possible, on the throne of her ancestors, and put upon herhead a crown, --a bauble which, in our own land, we trample underfoot----"

At this I shuddered, remembering the sharp points I had filed in ourcrown. 

"And grind into the dust, " continued Mr. Chipperton, --"I would ask them, I say, how they could think of all this, and then deliberately subvert, at the behest of a young and giddy colored hireling, the structure wehad upraised. And what could they have said to that, I would like toknow?" he asked, looking around from one to another of us. 

"Give us a small dive, boss?" suggested Rectus. 

"That's so, " said Mr. Chipperton, his face beaming into a broad smile;"I believe they would have said that very thing. You have hit itexactly. Let's go in to supper. "

The next day, Rectus and I, with Corny and Mrs. Chipperton, walked downto the queen's house, to see how she fared and what could be done forher. 

When we reached Poqua-dilla's hut, we saw her sitting on her door-step. By her side were several joints of sugar-cane, and close to them stoodthe crown, neatly filled with scarlet pepper-pods, which hung veryprettily over the peaked points of brass. She was very still, and herhead rested on her breast. 

"Asleep!" whispered Corny. 

"Yes, " said Mrs. Chipperton, softly, "and don't let's waken her. She'svery well off as she is, and now that her house is a little morecomfortable, it would be well to leave her in peace, to peddle what shepleases on her door-step. Her crown will worry her less where it is thanon her head. "

Corny whispered to her mother, who nodded, and took out her pocket-book. In a moment, Corny, with some change in her hand, went quietly up to theyard and put the money in the queen's lap. Then we went away and lefther, still asleep. 

A day or two after this, the "Tigress" came in, bringing the mail. Wesaw her, from one of the upper porticoes, when she was just on the edgeof the horizon, and we knew her by the way she stood up high in thewater, and rolled her smoke-stack from side to side. She was thegreatest roller that ever floated, I reckon, but a jolly good ship forall that; and we were glad enough to see her. 

There were a lot of letters for us in her mail. I had nine from the boysat home, not to count those from the family. 

We had just about finished reading our letters when Corny came up to usto the silk-cotton tree, where we were sitting, and said, in a dolefultone:

"We've got to go home. "

"Home?" we cried out together. "When?"

"To-morrow, " said Corny, "on the 'Tigress. '"

All our good news and pleasant letters counted for nothing now. 

"How?--why?" said I. "Why do you have to go? Isn't this something new?"

Rectus looked as if he had lost his knife, and I'm sure I had neverthought that I should care so much to hear that a girl--no relation--wasgoing away the next day. 

"Yes, it is something new, " said Corny, who certainly had been crying, although we didn't notice it at first. "It's a horrid old lawsuit. Father just heard of it in a letter. There's one of his houses, in NewYork, that's next to a lot, and the man that owns the lot says father'shouse sticks over four inches on his lot, and he has sued him forthat, --just think of it! four inches only! You couldn't do anything withfour inches of dirt if you had it; and father didn't know it, and heisn't going to move his wall back, now that he does know it, for thepeople in the house would have to cut all their carpets, or fold themunder, which is just as bad, and he says he must go right back to NewYork, and, of course, we've all got to go, too, which is the worst ofit, and mother and I are just awfully put out. "

"What's the good of his going, " asked Rectus. "Can't he get a lawyer toattend to it all?"

"Oh, you couldn't keep him here now, " said Corny. "He's just wild to beoff. The man who sued him is a horrid person, and father says that if hedon't go right back, the next thing he'll hear will be that old Colbertwill be trying to get a foot instead of four inches. "

"Old Colbert!" ejaculated Rectus, "I guess that must be my father. "

If I had been Rectus, I don't think I should have been so quick to guessanything of that kind about my father; but perhaps he had heard thingslike that before. He took it as coolly as he generally took everything. 

Corny was as red as a beet. 

"Your father!" she exclaimed. "I don't believe it. I'll go this veryminute and see. "

Rectus was right. The stingy hankerer after what Corny called fourinches of dirt was his father. Mr. Chipperton came up to us and talkedabout the matter, and it was all as plain as daylight. When he foundthat Mr. Colbert was the father of Rectus, Mr. Chipperton was very muchsurprised, and he called no more names, although I am sure he had beengiving old Colbert a pretty disagreeable sort of a record. But he satdown by Rectus, and talked to him as if the boy were his own fatherinstead of himself, and proved to him, by every law of property inEnglish, Latin, or Sanscrit, that the four inches of ground werelegally, lawfully, and without any manner of doubt, his own, and that itwould have been utterly and absolutely impossible for him to have builthis house one inch outside of his own land. I whispered to Rectus thatthe house might have swelled, but he didn't get a chance to put in thesuggestion. 

Rectus had to agree to all Mr. Chipperton said--or, at least, hecouldn't differ with him, --for he didn't know anything on earth aboutthe matter, and I guess he was glad enough when he got through. I'm sureI was. Rectus didn't say anything except that he was very sorry that theChipperton family had to go home, and then he walked off to his room. 

In about half an hour, when I went upstairs, I found Rectus had justfinished a letter to his father. 

"I guess that'll make it all right, " he said, and he handed me theletter to read. It was a strictly business letter. No nonsense about thefolks at home. He said that was the kind of business letter his fatherliked. It ran like this:

 DEAR FATHER: Mr. Chipperton has told me about your suing him. If he really has set his house over on four inches of your lot, I wish you would let it stand there. I don't care much for him, but he has a nice wife and a pleasant girl, and if you go on suing him the whole lot of them will leave here to-morrow, and they're about the only people I know, except Gordon. If you want to, you can take a foot off any one of my three lots, and that ought to make it all right. 

 Your affectionate son, SAMUEL COLBERT. 

"Have you three lots?" I asked, a good deal surprised, for I didn't knowthat Rectus was a property-owner. 

"Yes, " said he; "my grandmother left them to me. "

"Are they right next to your father's lot, which Chipperton cut into?"

"No, they're nowhere near it, " said Rectus. 

I burst out laughing. 

"That letter wont do any good, " I said. 

"You'll see, " said Rectus, and he went off to mail it. 

I don't know what kind of a business man Mr. Chipperton was, but whenRectus told him that he had written a letter to his father which wouldmake the thing all right, he was perfectly satisfied; and the next daywe all went out in a sail-boat to the coral-reef, and had a splendidtime, and the "Tigress" went off without any Chippertons. I think Mr. Chipperton put the whole thing down as the result of his lecture toRectus up in the silk-cotton tree. 

CHAPTER XV. 

A STRANGE THING HAPPENS TO ME. 

For several days after our hot chase after Priscilla, we saw nothing ofthis ex-emissary. Indeed, we began to be afraid that something hadhappened to her. She was such a regular attendant at thehotel-door-market, that people were talking about missing her black faceand her chattering tongue. But she turned up one morning as gay andskippy as ever, and we saw her leaning against the side of one of thedoor-ways of the court in her favorite easy attitude, with her head onone side and one foot crossed over the other, which made her look like abronze figure such as they put under kerosene lamps. In one hand she hadher big straw hat, and in the other a bunch of rose-buds. The moment shesaw Corny she stepped up to her. 

"Wont you buy some rose-buds, missy?" she said. "De puttiest rose-buds Iever brought you yit. "

Corny looked at her with a withering glare, but Priscilla didn't withera bit. She was a poor hand at withering. 

"Please buy 'em, missy. I kep' 'em fur you. I been a-keepin' 'em all demornin'. "

"I don't see how you dare ask me to buy your flowers!" exclaimed Corny. "Go away! I never want to see you again. After all you did----"

"Please, missy, buy jist this one bunch. These is the puttiest red-rosebuds in dis whole town. De red roses nearly all gone. "

"Nearly all gone, " said I. "What do you mean by telling such a fib?"--Iwas going to say "lie, " which was nearer the truth (if that isn't abull); but there were several ladies about, and Priscilla herself was agirl. "You know that there are red roses here all the year. "

"Please, boss, " said Priscilla, rolling her eyes at me like an innocentcalf, "wont you buy dese roses fur missy? They's the puttiest roses Iever brought her yit. "

"I guess you've got a calcareous conscience, haven't you?" said Rectus. 

Priscilla looked at him, for a moment, as if she thought that he mightwant to buy something of that kind, but as she hadn't it to sell, shetried her flowers on him. 

"Please, boss, wont you buy dese roses fur----"

"No, " said Rectus, "I wont. "

And we all turned and walked away. It was no use to blow her up. Shewouldn't have minded it. But she lost three customers. 

I said before that I was the only one in our party who liked fishing, and for that reason I didn't go often, for I don't care about takingtrips of that kind by myself. But one day Mr. Burgan and the otheryellow-legs told me that they were going to fish in Lake Killarney, alovely little lake in the interior of the island, about five miles fromthe town, and that if I liked I might go along. I did like, and I went. 

I should have been better pleased if they had gone there in a carriage;but this wouldn't have suited these two fellows, who had riggedthemselves up in their buck-skin boots, and had all the tramping andfishing rigs that they used in the Adirondacks and other sporting placeswhere they told me they had been. It was a long and a warm walk, andtrying to find a good place for fishing, after we got to the lake, madethe work harder yet. We didn't find any good place, and the few fish wecaught didn't pay for the trouble of going there; but we walked all overa big pineapple plantation and had a splendid view from the highest hillon the whole island. 

It was pretty late in the afternoon when we reached home, and I made upmy mind that the next time I went so far to fish, in a semi-tropicalcountry, I'd go with a party who wore suits that would do for riding. 

Rectus and Corny and Mrs. Chipperton were up in the silk-cotton treewhen I got home, and I went there and sat down. Mrs. Chipperton lent meher fan. 

Corny and Rectus were looking over the "permission paper" which theEnglish governor had given us. 

"I guess this isn't any more use, now, " said Corny, "as we've done allwe can for kings and queens, but Rectus says that if you agree I canhave it for my autograph book. I never had a governor's signature. "

"Certainly, you can have it, " I said. "And he's a different governorfrom the common run. None of your State governors, but a real Britishgovernor, like those old fellows they set over us in our colony-days. "

"Indeed!" said Mrs. Chipperton, smiling. "You must be able to remember along way back. "

"Well, you needn't make fun of this governor, " said Corny, "for he's areal nice man. We met him to-day, riding in the funniest carriage youever saw in your life. It's like a big baby-carriage for twins, onlyit's pulled by a horse, and has a man in livery to drive it. The top'sstraw, and you get in in the middle, and sit both ways. "

"Either way, my dear, " said Mrs. Chipperton. 

"Yes, either way, " continued Corny. "Did you ever see a carriage likethat?"

"I surely never did, " said I. 

"Well, he was in it, and some ladies, and they stopped and asked Rectusand I how we got along with our queen, and when I told them all aboutit, you ought to have heard them laugh, and the governor, he said, thatPoqua-dilla shouldn't suffer after we went away, even if he had to getall his pepper-pods from her. Now, wasn't that good?"

I admitted that it was, but I thought to myself that a good supper and abed would be better, for I was awfully tired and hungry. But I didn'tsay this. 

I slept as sound as a rock that night, and it was pretty broad daylightwhen I woke up. I don't believe that I would have wakened then, but Iwanted to turn over and couldn't, and that is enough to make any fellowwake up. 

When I opened my eyes, I found myself in the worst fix I had ever beenin in my life. I couldn't move my arms or my legs, for my arms were tiedfast to my body, at the elbows and wrists, and my feet and my knees weretied together. I was lying flat on my back, but I could turn my headover to where Rectus' bed stood--it was a small one like mine--and hewasn't there. I sung out:

"Rectus!" and gave a big heave, which made the bed rattle. I was scared. 

In a second, Rectus was standing by me. He had been sitting by thewindow. He was all dressed. 

"Don't shout that way again, " he said, in a low voice, "or I'll have totie this handkerchief over your mouth, " and he showed me a clean linenhandkerchief all folded up, ready. "I wont put it so that it will stopyour breathing, " he said, as coolly as if this sort of thing was nothingunusual. "I'll leave your nose free. "

"Let me up, you little rascal!" I cried. "Did you do this?"

At that he deliberately laid the handkerchief over my mouth and fastenedit around my head. He was careful to leave my nose all right, but I wasso mad that I could scarcely breathe. I knew by the way he acted that hehad tied me, and I had never had such a trick played on me before. Butit was no use to be mad. I couldn't do anything, though I tugged andtwisted my very best. He had had a good chance to tie me up well, for Ihad slept so soundly. I was regularly bandaged. 

He stood by me for a few minutes, watching to see if I needed any morefixing, but when he made up his mind that I was done up securely, hebrought a chair and sat down by the side of the bed and began to talk tome. I never saw anything like the audacity of the boy. 

"You needn't think it was mean to tie you, when you were so tired andsleepy, for I intended to do it this morning, any way, for you alwayssleep sound enough in the mornings to let a fellow tie you up as much ashe pleases. And I suppose you'll say it was mean to tie you, any way, but you know well enough that it's no use for me to argue with you, foryou wouldn't listen. But now you've got to listen, and I wont let you uptill you promise never to call me Rectus again. "

"The little rascal!" I thought to myself. I might have made some noisein spite of the handkerchief, but I thought it better not, for I didn'tknow what else he might pile on my mouth. 

"It isn't my name, and I'm tired of it, " he continued. "I didn't mind itat school, and I didn't mind it when we first started out together, butI've had enough of it now, and I've made up my mind that I'll make youpromise never to call me by that name again. "

I vowed to myself that I would call him Rectus until his hair was gray. I'd write letters to him wherever he lived, and direct them: "RectusColbert. "

[Illustration: "I WOULDN'T LIKE IT MYSELF. "]

"There wasn't any other way to do it, and so I did it this way, " hesaid. "I'm sorry, really, to have to tie you up so, because I wouldn'tlike it myself, and I wouldn't have put that handkerchief over yourmouth if you had agreed to keep quiet, but I don't want anybody comingin here until you've promised. "

"Promise!" I thought; "I'll never promise you that while the world rollsround. "

"I know you can't say anything with that handkerchief over your mouth;but you don't have to speak. Your toes are loose. When you're ready topromise never to call me Rectus again, just wag your big toe, eitherone. "

I stiffened my toes, as if my feet were cast in brass. Rectus moved hischair a little around, so that he could keep an eye on my toes. Then helooked at his watch, and said:

"It's seven o'clock now, and that's an hour from breakfast time. I don'twant to keep you there any longer than I can help. You'd better wag yourtoe now, and be done with it. It's no use to wait. "

"Wag?" I thought to myself. "Never!"

"I know what you're thinking, " he went on. "You think that if you liethere long enough, you'll be all right, for when the chambermaid comesto do up the room, I must let her in, or else I'll have to say you'resick, and then the Chippertons will come up. "

That was exactly what I was thinking. 

"But that wont do you any good, " said he, "I've thought of all that. "

He was a curious boy. How such a thing as this should have come into hismind, I couldn't imagine. He must have read of something of the kind. But to think of his trying it on _me_! I ground my teeth. 

He sat and watched me for some time longer. Once or twice he fixed thehandkerchief over my mouth, for he seemed anxious that I should be ascomfortable as possible. He was awfully kind, to be sure!

"It isn't right that anybody should have such a name sticking to themalways, " he said. "And if I'd thought you'd have stopped it, I wouldn'thave done this. But I knew you. You would just have laughed and kepton. "

The young scoundrel! Why didn't he try me?

"Yesterday, when the governor met us, Corny called me Rectus, and evenhe said that was a curious name, and he didn't remember that I gave itto him, when he wrote that paper for us. "

Oh, ho! That was it, was it? Getting proud and meeting governors! Youngprig!

Now Rectus was quiet a little longer, and then he got up. 

"I didn't think you'd be so stubborn, " he said, "but perhaps you knowyour own business best. I'm not going to keep you there until breakfastis ready, and people want to come in. "

Then he went over to the window, and came back directly with a littleblack paint-pot, with a brush in it. 

"Now, " said he, "if you don't promise, in five minutes, to never call meRectus again, I'm going to paint one-half of your face black. I got thispaint yesterday from the cane-man, on purpose. "

Oil-paint! I could smell it. 

"Now, you may be sure I'm going to do it, " he said. 

Oh, I was sure! When he said he'd do a thing, I knew he'd do it. I hadno doubts about that. He was great on sticking to his word. 

He had put his watch on the table near by, and was stirring up thepaint. 

"You've only three minutes more, " he said. "This stuff wont wash off ina hurry, and you'll have to stay up here by yourself, and wont need anytying. It's got stuff mixed with it to make it dry soon, so that youneedn't lie there very long after I've painted you. You mustn't mind ifI put my finger on your mouth when I take off the handkerchief; I'll becareful not to get any in your eyes or on your lips if you hold yourhead still. One minute more. Will you promise?"

What a dreadful minute! He turned and looked at my feet. I gave one bigtwist in my bandages. All held. I wagged my toe. 

"Good!" said he. "I didn't want to paint you. But I would have done it, sure as shot, if you hadn't promised. Now I'll untie you. I can trustyou to stick to your word, --I mean your wag, " he said, with a grin. 

It took him a long time to undo me. The young wretch had actually pinnedlong strips of muslin around me, and he had certainly made a good job ofit, for they didn't hurt me at all, although they held me tight enough. He said, as he was working at me, that he had torn up two old shirts tomake these bandages, and had sewed some of the strips together theafternoon before. He said he had heard of something like this being doneat a school. A pretty school that must have been!

He unfastened my arms first, --that is, as soon as he had taken thehandkerchief off my mouth, --and the moment he had taken the bandage fromaround my ankles, he put for the door. But I was ready. I sprang out ofbed, made one jump over his bed, around which he had to go, and caughthim just at the door. 

He forgot that he should have left my ankles for me to untie for myself. 

I guess the people in the next rooms must have thought there wassomething of a rumpus in our room when I caught him. 

There was considerable coolness between Colbert and me after that. Infact, we didn't speak. I was not at all anxious to keep this thing up, for I was satisfied, and was perfectly willing to call it square; butfor the first time since I had known him, Colbert was angry. I supposeevery fellow, no matter how good-natured he may be, must have some sortof a limit to what he will stand, and Colbert seemed to have drawn hisline at a good thrashing. 

It wasn't hard for me to keep my promise to him, for I didn't call himanything; but I should have kept it all the same if we had been on theold terms. 

Of course, Corny soon found out that there was something the matterbetween us two, and she set herself to find out what it was. 

"What's the matter with you and Rectus?" she asked me the next day. Iwas standing in the carriage-way before the hotel, and she ran out tome. 

"You mustn't call him Rectus, " said I. "He doesn't like it. "

"Well, then, I wont, " said she. "But what is it all about? Did youquarrel about calling him that? I hate to see you both going about, andnot speaking to each other. "

I had no reason to conceal anything, and so I told her the whole affair, from the very beginning to the end. 

"I don't wonder he's mad, " said she, "if you thrashed him. "

"Well, and oughtn't I to be mad after the way he treated me?" I asked. 

"Yes, " she said. "It makes me sick just to think of being tied up inthat way, --and the black paint, too! But then you are so much biggerthan he is, that it don't seem right for you to thrash him. "

"That's one reason I did it, " said I. "I didn't want to fight him as Ishould have fought a fellow of my own size. I wanted to punish him. Doyou think that when a father wants to whip his son he ought to waituntil he grows up as big as he is?"

"No, " said Corny, very gravely. "Of course not. But Rectus isn't yourson. What shall I call him? Samuel, or Sam? I don't like either of them, and I wont say Mr. Colbert. I think 'Rectus' is a great deal nicer. "

"So do I, " I said; "but that's his affair. To be sure, he isn't my son, but he's under my care, and if he wasn't, it would make no difference. I'd thrash any boy alive who played such a trick on me. "

"Unless he was bigger than you are, " said Corny. 

"Well, then I'd get you to help me. You'd do it; wouldn't you, Corny?"

She laughed. 

"I guess I couldn't help much, and I suppose you're both right to beangry at each other; but I'm awful sorry if things are going on thisway. It didn't seem like the same place yesterday. Nobody did anythingat all. "

"I tell you what it is, Corny, " said I. "You're not angry with either ofus; are you?"

"No, indeed, " said she, and her face warmed up and her eyes shone. 

"That's one comfort, " said I, and I gave her a good hand-shake. 

It must have looked funny to see a boy and a girl shaking hands there infront of the hotel, and a young darkey took advantage of our good-humor, and, stealing out from a shady corner of the court, sold us seven littlered and black liquorice-seed for fourpence, --the worst swindle that hadbeen worked on us yet. 

CHAPTER XVI. 

MR. CHIPPERTON KEEPS PERFECTLY COOL. 

It's of no use to deny the fact that Nassau was a pretty dull place, just about this time. At least Corny and I found it so, and I don'tbelieve young Mr. Colbert was very happy, for he didn't look it. It'snot to be supposed that our quarrel affected the negroes, or the sky, orthe taste of bananas; but the darkeys didn't amuse me, and myrecollection of those days is that they were cloudy, and that I wasn't avery good customer down in the market-house by the harbor, where we usedto go and buy little fig-bananas, which they didn't have at the hotel, but which were mighty good to eat. 

Colbert and I still kept up a frigid reserve toward each other. Hethought, I suppose, that I ought to speak first, because I was theolder, and I thought that he ought to speak first because he was theyounger. 

One evening, I went up into my room, having absolutely nothing else todo, and there I found Colbert, writing. I suppose he was writing aletter, but there was no need of doing this at night, as the mail wouldnot go out for several days, and there would be plenty of time to writein the daytime. He hadn't done anything but lounge about for two orthree days. Perhaps he came up here to write because he had nothing elseto do. 

There was only one table, and I couldn't write if I had wanted to, so Iopened my trunk and began to put some of my things in order. We hadarranged, before we had fallen out, that we should go home on the nextsteamer, and Mr. And Mrs. Chipperton were going too. We had been inNassau nearly a month, and had seen about as much as was to be seen--inan ordinary way. As for me, I couldn't afford to stay any longer, andthat had been the thing that had settled the matter, as far as Colbertand I were concerned. But now he might choose to stay, and come home byhimself. However, there was no way of my knowing what he thought, and Isupposed that I had no real right to make him come with me. At any rate, if I had, I didn't intend to exercise it. 

While I was looking over the things in my trunk, I came across the boxof dominoes that Corny had given us to remember her by. It seemed like along time ago since we had been sitting together on the water-battery atSt. Augustine! In a few minutes I took the box of dominoes in my handand went over to Colbert. As I put them on the table he looked up. 

"What do you say to a game of dominoes?" I said. "This is the box Cornygave us. We haven't used it yet. "

"Very well, " said he, and he pushed away his paper and emptied thedominoes out on the table. Then he picked up some of them, and looked atthem as if they were made in some new kind of a way that he had nevernoticed before; and I picked up some, too, and examined them. Then webegan to play. We did not talk very much, but we played as if it wasnecessary to be very careful to make no mistakes. I won the first game, and I could not help feeling a little sorry, while Colbert looked as ifhe felt rather glad. We played until about our ordinary bed-time, andthen I said:

"Well, Colbert, I guess we might as well stop, " and he said:

"Very well. "

But he didn't get ready to go to bed. He went to the window and lookedout for some time, and then he came back to the table and sat down. Hetook his pen and began to print on the lid of the domino-box, which wasof smooth white wood. He could print names and titles of things veryneatly, a good deal better than I could. 

When he had finished, he got up and began to get ready for bed, leavingthe box on the table. Pretty soon I went over to look at it, for I mustadmit I was rather curious to see what he had put on it. This was theinscription he had printed on the lid:

 "GIVEN TO WILL AND RECTUS BY CORNY. ST. AUGUSTINE, FLORIDA. "

 * * * * *

There was a place left for the date, which I suppose he had forgotten. Imade no remark about this inscription, for I did not know exactly whatremark was needed; but the next morning I called him "Rectus, " just thesame as ever, for I knew he had printed our names on the box to show methat he wanted to let me off my promise. I guess the one time I calledhim Colbert was enough for him. 

When we came down stairs to breakfast, talking to each other like commonpeople, it was better than most shows to see Corny's face. She wasstanding at the front door, not far from the stairs, and it actuallyseemed as if a candle had been lighted inside of her. Her face shone. 

I know I felt first-rate, and I think Rectus must have felt pretty muchthe same, for his tongue rattled away at a rate that wasn't exactlyusual with him. There was no mistaking Corny's feelings. 

After breakfast, when we all got together to talk over the plans of theday, --a thing we hadn't done for what seemed to me about a week, --wefound out--or rather remembered--that there were a lot of things inNassau that we hadn't seen yet, and that we wouldn't miss for anything. We had been wasting time terribly lately, and the weather was now ratherbetter for going about than it had been since we came to the place. 

We agreed to go to Fort Charlotte that morning, and see the subterraneanrooms and passage-ways, and all the underground dreariness of which wehad heard so much. The fort was built about a hundred years ago, andhas no soldiers in it. To go around and look at the old forts in thispart of the world might make a person believe the millennium had come. They seem just about as good as ever they were, but they're all on apeace-footing. Rectus said they were played out, but I'd rather take mychances in Fort Charlotte, during a bombardment, than in some of thenew-style forts that I have seen in the North. It is almost altogetherunderground, in the solid calcareous, and what could any fellow wantbetter than that? The cannon-balls and bombs would have to plow up aboutan acre of pretty solid rock, and plow it deep, too, before they wouldbegin to scratch the roof of the real strongholds of this fort. Atleast, that's the way I looked at it. 

We made up a party and walked over. It's at the western end of the town, and about a mile from the hotel. Mr. And Mrs. Chipperton were with us, and a lady from Chicago, and Mr. Burgan. The other yellow-legs went outriding with his wife, but I think he wanted to go with us. The fort ison the top of a hill, and a colored shoemaker is in command. He sits andcobbles all day, except when visitors come, and then he shows themaround. He lighted a lamp and took us down into the dark, quiet roomsand cells, that were cut out of the solid rock, down deep into the hill, and it was almost like being in a coal-mine, only it was a great dealcleaner and not so deep. But it seemed just as much out of the world. Insome of the rooms there were bats hanging to the ceilings. We didn'tdisturb them. One of the rooms was called the governor's room. Therewasn't any governor there, of course, but it had been made by the jollyold earl who had the place cut out, --and who was governor here at thetime, --as a place where he might retire when he wanted to be private. Itwas the most private apartment I ever saw. This earl was the same oldDunmore we used to study about in our histories. He came over here whenthe Revolution threw him out of business in our country. He had somegood ideas about chiselling rock. 

This part of the fort was so extremely subterranean and solemn that itwasn't long before Mrs. Chipperton had enough of it, and we came up. Itwas fine to get out into the open air, and see the blue sky and thebright, sparkling water of the harbor just below us, and the islandsbeyond, and still beyond them the blue ocean, with everything so brightand cheerful in the sunlight. If I had been governor of this place, Ishould have had my private room on top of the fort, although, of course, that wouldn't do so well in times of bombardment. 

But the general-in-chief did not let us off yet. He said he'd show usthe most wonderful thing in the whole place, and then he took usout-of-doors again, and led us to a little shed or enclosed door-wayjust outside of the main part of the fort, but inside of thefortifications, where he had his bench and tools. He moved away thebench, and then we saw that it stood on a wooden trap-door. He took holdof a ring, and lifted up this door, and there was a round hole about asbig as the hind wheel of a carriage. It was like a well, and was asdark as pitch. When we held the lamp over it, however, we could see thatthere were winding steps leading down into it. These steps were cut outof the rock, as was the hole and the pillar around which the stepswound. It was all one piece. The general took his lamp and went downahead, and we all followed, one by one. Those who were most afraid andwent last had the worst of it, for the lamp wasn't a calcium light byany means, and their end of the line was a good deal in the dark. But weall got to the bottom of the well at last, and there we found a long, narrow passage leading under the very foundation or bottom floor of thewhole place, and then it led outside of the fort under the moat, whichwas dry now, but which used to be full of water, and so, on and on, inblack darkness, to a place in the side of the hill, or somewhere, wherethere had been a lookout. Whether there were any passages opening intothis or not, I don't know, for it was dark in spite of the lamp, and weall had to walk in single file, so there wasn't much chance forexploring sidewise. When we got to the end, we were glad enough to turnaround and come back. It was a good thing to see such a place, but therewas a feeling that if the walls should cave in a little, or a big rockshould fall from the top of the passage, we should all be hermeticallycanned in very close quarters. When we came out, we gave the shoemakercommander some money, and came away. 

"Isn't it nice, " said Corny, "that he isn't a queen, to be taken careof, and we can just pay him and come away, and not have to think of himany more?"

We agreed to that, but I said I thought we ought to go and take one morelook at our old queen before we left. Mrs. Chipperton, who was a reallysensible woman when she had a chance, objected to this, because, shesaid, it would be better to let the old woman alone now. We couldn't doanything for her after we left, and it would be better to let her dependon her own exertions, now that she had got started again on that track. I didn't think that the word exertion was a very good one inPoqua-dilla's case, but I didn't argue the matter. I thought that ifsome of us dropped around there before we left, and gave her a couple ofshillings, it would not interfere much with her mercantile success inthe future. 

I thought this, but Corny spoke it right out--at least, what she saidamounted to pretty much the same thing. 

"Well, " said her mother, "we might go around there once more, especiallyas your father has never seen the queen at all. Mr. Chipperton, wouldyou like to see the African queen?"

Mr. Chipperton did not answer, and his wife turned around quickly. Shehad been walking ahead with the Chicago lady. 

"Why, where is he?" she exclaimed. We all stopped and looked about, butcouldn't see him. He wasn't there. We were part way down the hill, butnot far from the fort, and we stopped and looked back, and then Cornycalled him. I said that I would run back for him, as he had probablystopped to talk with the shoemaker. Rectus and I both ran back, andCorny came with us. The shoemaker had put his bench in its place overthe trap-door, and was again at work. But Mr. Chipperton was not talkingto him. 

"I'll tell you what I believe, "--said Corny, gasping. 

But it was of no use to wait to hear what she believed. I believed itmyself. 

"Hello!" I cried to the shoemaker before I reached him. "Did a gentlemanstay behind here?"

"I didn't see none, " said the man, looking up in surprise, as we chargedon him. 

"Then, " I cried, "he's shut down in that well! Jump up and open thedoor!"

The shoemaker did jump up, and we helped him move the bench, and had thetrap-door open in no time. By this, the rest of the party had come back, and when Mrs. Chipperton saw the well open and no Mr. Chipperton about, she turned as white as a sheet. We could hardly wait for the man tolight his lamp, and as soon as he started down the winding stairs, Rectus and I followed him. I called back to Mrs. Chipperton and theothers that they need not come; we would be back in a minute and letthem know. But it was of no use; they all came. We hurried on after theman with the light, and passed straight ahead through the narrow passageto the very end of it. 

There stood Mr. Chipperton, holding a lighted match, which he had juststruck. He was looking at something on the wall. As we ran in, heturned and smiled, and was just going to say something, when Corny threwherself into his arms, and his wife, squeezing by, took him around hisneck so suddenly that his hat flew off and bumped on the floor, like anempty tin can. He always wore a high silk hat. He made a grab for hishat, and the match burned his fingers. 

"Aouch!" he exclaimed, as he dropped the match. "What's the matter?"

"Oh, my dear!" exclaimed his wife. "How dreadful to leave you here! Shutup alone in this awful place! But to think we have found you!"

"No trouble about that, I should say, " remarked Mr. Chipperton, goingover to the other side of the den after his hat. "You haven't been goneten minutes, and it's a pretty straight road back here. "

"But how did it happen?" "Why did you stay?" "Weren't you frightened?""Did you stay on purpose?" we all asked him at pretty much one and thesame time. 

"I did stay on purpose, " said he; "but I did not expect to stay but aminute, and had no idea you would go and leave me. I stopped to see whatin the name of common sense this place was made for. I tried my best tomake some sort of an observation out of this long, narrow loop-hole, butfound I could see nothing of importance whatever, and so I made up mymind it was money thrown away to cut out such a place as this to solittle purpose. When I had entirely made up my mind, I found, on turningaround, that you had gone, and although I called I received no answer. 

"Then I knew I was alone in this place. But I was perfectly composed. Noagitation, no tremor of the nerves. Absolute self-control. The moment Ifound myself deserted, I knew exactly what to do. I did precisely thesame thing that I would have done had I been left alone in the MammothCave, or the Cave of Fingal, or any place of the kind. 

"I stood perfectly still!

"If you will always remember to do that, " and he looked as well as hecould from one to another of us, "you need never be frightened, nomatter how dark and lonely a cavern you may be left in. Strive toreflect that you will soon be missed, and that your friends willnaturally come back to the place where they saw you last. Stay there!Keep that important duty in your mind. Stay just where you are! If yourun about to try and find your way out, you will be lost. You will loseyourself, and no one can find you. 

"Instances are not uncommon where persons have been left behind in theMammoth Cave of Kentucky, and who were not found by searching partiesfor a day or two, and they were almost invariably discovered in aninsane condition. They rushed wildly about in the dark; got away fromthe ordinary paths of tourists; couldn't be found, and went crazy, --avery natural consequence. Now, nothing of the kind happened to me. Iremained where I was, and here, you see, in less than ten minutes, I amrescued!"

And he looked around with a smile as pleasant as if he had just inventeda new sewing-machine. 

"But were you not frightened, --awe-struck in this dark and horribleplace, alone?" inquired Mrs. Chipperton, holding on to his arm. 

"No, " said he. "It was not very dark just here. That slit let in alittle light. That is all it is good for, though why light should beneeded here, I cannot tell. And then I lighted matches and examined thewall. I might find some trace of some sensible intention on the part ofthe people who quarried this passage. But I could find nothing. What Imight have found, had I moved about, I cannot say. I had a whole box ofmatches in my pocket. But I did not move. "

"Well, " said Mr. Burgan, "I think you'd better move now. I, for one, amconvinced that this place is of no use to me, and I don't like it. "

I think Mr. Burgan was a little out of temper. 

We now started on our way out of the passage, Mrs. Chipperton holdingtight to her husband, for fear, I suppose, that he might be inclined tostop again. 

"I didn't think, " said she, as she clambered up the dark and twistingsteps, "that I should have this thing to do, so soon again. But no onecan ever tell what strange things may happen to them, at any time. "

"When father's along, " added Corny. 

This was all nuts to the shoemaker, for we gave him more money for hissecond trip down the well. I hope this didn't put the idea into his headof shutting people down below, and making their friends come after them, and pay extra. 

"There are some things about Mr. Chipperton that I like, " said Rectus, as we walked home together. 

"Yes, " said I, "some things. "

"I like the cool way in which he takes bad fixes, " continued Rectus, whohad a fancy for doing things that way himself. "Don't you remember thattime he struck on the sand-bank. He just sat there in the rain, waitingfor the tide to rise, and made no fuss at all. And here, he kept just ascool and comfortable, down in that dungeon. He must have educated hismind a good deal to be able to do that. "

"It may be very well to educate the mind to take things coolly, " said I, "but I'd a great deal rather educate my mind not to get me into suchfixes. "

"I suppose that would be better, " said Rectus, after thinking a minute. 

And now we had but little time to see anything more in Nassau. In twodays the "Tigris" would be due, and we were going away in her. So wefound we should have to bounce around in a pretty lively way, if wewanted to be able to go home and say we had seen the place. 

CHAPTER XVII. 

WHAT BOY HAS DONE, BOY MAY DO. 

There was one place that I wished, particularly, to visit before I left, and that was what the people in Nassau called the Coral-reef. There werelots of coral-reefs all about the islands, but this one was easilyvisited, and for this reason, I suppose, was chosen as a representativeof its class. I had been there before, and had seen all the wonders ofthe reef through a water-glass, --which is a wooden box, with a pane ofglass at one end and open at the other. You hold the glass end of thisbox just under the water, and put your face to the open end, and thenyou can see down under the water, exactly as if you were looking throughthe air. And on this coral-reef, where the water was not more thantwelve or fourteen feet deep, there were lots of beautiful things tosee. It was like a submarine garden. There was coral in every form andshape, and of different colors; there were sea-feathers, which stood uplike waving purple trees, most of them a foot or two high, but some agood deal higher; there were sea-fans, purple and yellow, that spreadthemselves up from the curious bits of coral-rock on the bottom, andthere were ever so many other things that grew like bushes and vines, and of all sorts of colors. Among all these you could see the fishesswimming about, as if they were in a great aquarium. Some of thesefishes were very large, with handsome black bands across their backs, but the prettiest were some little fellows, no bigger than sardines, that swam in among the branches of the sea-feathers and fans. They werecolored bright blue, and yellow and red; some of them with two or threecolors apiece. Rectus called them "humming-fishes. " They did remind meof humming-birds, although they didn't hum. 

When I came here before, I was with a party of ladies and gentlemen. Wewent in a large sail-boat, and took several divers with us, to go downand bring up to us the curious things that we would select, as we lookedthrough the water-glass. There wasn't anything peculiar about thesedivers. They wore linen breeches for diving dresses, and were the samekind of fellows as those who dived for pennies at the town. 

Now, what I wanted to do, was to go to the coral-reef and dive down andget something for myself. It would be worth while to take home a sea-fanor something of that kind, and say you brought it up from the bottom ofthe sea yourself. Any one could get things that the divers had broughtup. To be sure, the sea wasn't very deep here, but it had a bottom, allthe same. I was not so good a swimmer as these darkeys, who ducked anddived as if they had been born in the water, but I could swim betterthan most fellows, and was particularly good at diving. So I determined, if I could get a chance, to go down after some of those things on thecoral-reef. 

I couldn't try this, before, because there were too many people along, but Rectus, who thought the idea was splendid, although he didn't intendto dive himself, agreed to hire a sail-boat with me, and go off to thereef, with only the darkey captain. 

We started as early as we could get off, on the morning after we hadbeen at Fort Charlotte. The captain of the yacht--they give themselvesand their sail-boats big titles here--was a tall colored man, namedChris, and he took two big darkey boys with him, although we told him wedidn't want any divers. But I suppose he thought we might change ourminds. I didn't tell him _I_ was going to dive. He might not have beenwilling to go in that case. 

We had a nice sail up the harbor, between the large island upon whichthe town stands, and the smaller ones that separate the harbor from theocean. After sailing about five miles, we turned out to sea between twoislands, and pretty soon were anchored over the reef. 

"Now, then, boss, " said Captain Chris, "don't ye want these here boys todo some divin' for ye?"

"I told you I wouldn't want them, " said I. "I'm going to dive, myself. "

"_You_ dive, boss!" cried all three of the darkeys at once, and the twoboys began to laugh. 

"Ye can't do that, boss, " said the captain. "Ef ye aint used to thishere kind o' divin', ye can't do nothin' at all, under this water. Yebetter let the boys go for ye. "

"No, " said I, "I'm going myself, " and I began to take off my clothes. 

The colored fellows didn't like it much, for it seemed like taking theirbusiness away from them; but they couldn't help it, and so they just satand waited to see how things would turn out. 

"You'd better take a look through the glass, before you dive, " saidRectus, "and choose what you're going to get. "

"I'm not going to be particular, " I replied. "I shall get whatever Ican. "

"The tide's pretty strong, " said the captain. "You've got to calkelatefur that. "

I was obliged for this information, which was generous on his part, considering the circumstances, and I dived from the bow, as far out as Icould jump. Down I went, but I didn't reach the bottom, at all. My legsgrazed against some branches and things, but the tide had me back to theboat in no time, and I came up near the stern, which I seized, and goton board. 

Both the colored boys were grinning, and the captain said:

"Ye can't dive that-a-way, boss. You'll never git to the bottom, at all, that-a-way. You must go right down, ef you go at all. "

I knew that, but I must admit I didn't care much to go all the way downwhen I made the first dive. Just as I jumped, I thought of the hardsharp things at the bottom, and I guess I was a little too careful notto dive into them. 

But now I made a second dive, and I went down beautifully. I made a grabat the first thing my hand touched. It was a purple knob of coral. Butit stuck tight to its mother-rock, and I was ready to go up before itwas ready to come loose, and so I went up without it. 

"'T aint easy to git them things, " said the captain, and the two boyssaid:

"No indeed, boss, ye cahn't git them things dat-a-way. "

I didn't say anything, but in a few minutes I made another dive. Idetermined to look around a little, this time, and seize something thatI could break off or pull up. I found that I couldn't stay under water, like the darkeys could. That required practice, and perhaps more fishylungs. 

Down I went, and I came right down on a small sea-fan, which I grabbedinstantly. That ought to give way easily. But as I seized it, I broughtdown my right foot into the middle of a big round sponge. I started, asif I had had an electric shock. The thing seemed colder and wetter thanthe water; it was slimy and sticky and horrid. I did not see what itwas, and it felt as if some great sucker-fish, with a cold woolly mouth, was trying to swallow my foot. I let go of everything, and came rightup, and drew myself, puffing and blowing, on board the boat. 

How Captain Chris laughed! He had been watching me through thewater-glass, and saw what had scared me. 

"Why, boss!" said he, "sponges don't eat people! That was nice and sof'to tread on. A sight better than cuttin' yer foot on a piece o' coral. "

That was all very well, but I'm sure Captain Chris jumped the first timehe ever put his bare foot into a sponge under water. 

"I s'pose ye're goin' to gib it up now, boss, " said the captain. 

"No, I'm not, " I answered. "I haven't brought up anything yet. I'm goingdown again. "

"You'd better not, " said Rectus. "Three times is all that anybody evertries to do anything. If at first you don't succeed, try, try again. One, two, three. You're not expected to try four times. And, besides, you're tired. "

"I'll be rested in a minute, " said I, "and then I'll try once more. I'mall right. You needn't worry. "

But Rectus did worry. I must have looked frightened when I came up, andI believe he had caught the scare. Boys will do that. The captain triedto keep me from going in again, but I knew it was all nonsense to befrightened. I was going to bring up something from the bottom, if it wasonly a pebble. 

So, after resting a little while, and getting my breath again, down Iwent. I was in for anything now, and the moment I reached the bottom, Iswept my arm around and seized the first thing I touched. It was apretty big thing, for it was a sea-feather over five feet high, --aregular tree. I gave a jerk at it, but it held fast. I wished, mostearnestly, that I had taken hold of something smaller, but I didn't liketo let go. I might get nothing else. I gave another jerk, but it was ofno use. I felt that I couldn't hold my breath much longer, and must goup. I clutched the stem of the thing with both hands; I braced my feetagainst the bottom; I gave a tremendous tug and push, and up I came tothe top, sea-feather and all!

With both my hands full I couldn't do much swimming, and the tidecarried me astern of the boat before I knew it. 

Rectus was the first to shout to me. 

"Drop it, and strike out!" he yelled; but I didn't drop it. I took it inone hand and swam with the other. But the tide was strong, and I didn'tmake any headway. Indeed, I floated further away from the boat. 

Directly, I heard a splash, and in a moment afterward, it seemed, thetwo darkey divers were swimming up to me. 

"Drop dat, " said one of them, "an' we'll take ye in. "

"No, I wont, " I spluttered, still striking out with my legs and one arm. "Take hold of this, and we can all go in together. "

I thought that if one of them would help me with the sea-feather, whichseemed awfully heavy, two of us could certainly swim to the boat withfour legs and two arms between us. 

But neither of them would do it. They wanted me to drop my prize, andthen they'd take hold of me and take me in. We were disputing andpuffing, and floating further and further away, when up came CaptainChris, swimming like a shark. He had jerked off his clothes and jumpedin, when he saw what was going on. He just put one hand under my rightarm, in which I held the sea-feather, and then we struck out togetherfor the boat. It was like getting a tow from a tug-boat. We werealongside in no time. Captain Chris was the strongest and best swimmer Iever saw. 

[Illustration: "WE STRUCK OUT TOGETHER FOR THE BOAT. "]

Rectus was leaning over, ready to help, and he caught me by the arm as Ireached up for the side of the boat. 

"No, " said I, "take this, " and he seized the sea-feather and pulled itin. Then the captain gave me a hoist, and I clambered on board. 

The captain had some towels under the little forward deck, and I gavemyself a good rub down and dressed. Then I went to look at my prize. Nowonder it was heavy. It had a young rock, a foot long, fast to its root. 

"You sp'iled one o' de puttiest things in that garden down there, " saidthe captain. "I allus anchored near that tall feather, and all devis'tors used to talk about it. I didn't think you'd bring it up when Iseed you grab it. But you must 'a' give a powerful heave to come up withall that stone. "

"I don't think you ought to have tried to do that, " said Rectus, wholooked as if he hadn't enjoyed himself. "I didn't know you were soobstinate. "

"Well, " said I, "the truth of the matter is that I am a fool, sometimes, and I might as well admit it. But now let's see what we've got on thisstone. "

There was a lot of curious things on the piece of rock which had come upwith the sea-feather. There were small shells, of different shapes andcolors, with the living creatures inside of them, and there were mosses, and sea-weed, and little sponges, and small sea-plants, tipped with redand yellow, and more things of the kind than I can remember. It was thehandsomest and most interesting piece of coral-rock that I had seen yet. 

As for the big purple sea-feather, it was a whopper, but too big for meto do anything with it. When we got home, Rectus showed it around tothe Chippertons, and some of the people at the hotel, and told them thatI dived down and brought it up, myself, but I couldn't take it away withme, for it was much too long to go in my trunk. So I gave it next day toCaptain Chris, to sell, if he chose, but I believe he took it back andplanted it again in the submarine garden, so that his passengers couldsee how tall a sea-feather could grow, when it tried. I chipped off apiece of the rock, however, to carry home as a memento. I was told thatthe things growing on it--I picked off all the shells--would make theclothes in my trunk smell badly, but I thought I'd risk it. 

"After all, " said Rectus, that night, "what was the good of it? Thatlittle piece of stone don't amount to anything, and you might have beendrowned. "

"I don't think I could have been drowned, " said I, "for I should havedropped the old thing, and floated, if I had felt myself giving out. Butthe good of it was this: It showed me what a disagreeable sort of placea sea-garden is, when you go down into it to pick things. "

"Which you wont do again, in a hurry, I reckon, " said Rectus. 

"You're right there, my boy, " I answered. 

The next day, the Chippertons and ourselves took a two-horse barouche, and rode to the "caves, " some six or seven miles from the town. We had along walk through the pineapple fields before we came to the biggestcave, and found it wasn't very much of a cave, after all, though therewas a sort of a room, on one side, which looked like a church, withaltar, pillars and arches. There was a little hole, on one side of thisroom, about three feet wide, which led, our negro guide said, to a greatcave, which ran along about a mile, until it reached the sea. There wasno knowing what skeletons, and treasures, and old half-decayed boxes ofcoins, hidden by pirates, and swords with jewels in the handles, andloose jewels, and silver plate, and other things we might have found inthat cave, if we had only had a lantern or some candles to light uswhile we were wandering about in it. But we had no candles or lantern, and so did not become a pirate's heirs. It was Corny who was mostanxious to go in. She had read about Blackbeard, and the other pirateswho used to live on this island, and she felt sure that some of theirtreasures were to be found in that cave. If she had thought of it, shewould have brought a candle. 

The only treasures we got were some long things, like thin ropes, whichhung from the roof to the floor of the cave we were in. This cave wasn'tdark, because nearly all of one side of it was open. These ropes wereroots or young trunks from banyan-trees, growing on the ground above, and which came through the cracks in the rocks, and stretched themselvesdown so as to root in the floor of the cave, and make a lot ofunderground trunks for the tree above. The banyan-tree is the mostenterprising trunk-maker I ever heard of. 

We pulled down a lot of these banyan ropes, some of them more thantwenty feet long, to take away as curiosities. Corny thought it wouldbe splendid to have a jumping-rope made of a banyan root, or rathertrunklet. The banyans here are called wild fig-trees, which they reallyare, wherever they grow. There is a big one, not far from the town, which stands by itself, and has a lot of trunks coming down from thebranches. It would take the conceit out of a hurricane, I think, if ittried to blow down a banyan-tree. 

The next day was Sunday, and our party went to a negro church to hear apreacher who was quite celebrated as a colored orator. He preached agood sensible sermon, although he didn't meddle much with grammar. Thepeople were poorly dressed, and some of the deacons were barefooted, butthey were all very clean and neat, and they appeared to be just asreligious as if they had all ridden in carriages to some Fifth Avenuechurch in New York. 

CHAPTER XVIII. 

I WAKE UP MR. CHIPPERTON. 

About nine o'clock, on Monday morning, the "Tigris" came in. When weboarded her, which we did almost as soon as the stairs had been put downher side, we found that she would make a shorter stay than usual, andwould go out that evening, at high tide. So there was no time to lose. After the letters had been delivered at the hotel, and we had read ours, we sent our trunks on board, and went around to finish up Nassau. Werowed over to Hog Island, opposite the town, to see, once more, the surfroll up against the high, jagged rocks; we ran down among the negrocottages and the negro cabins to get some fruit for the trip; and werushed about to bid good-bye to some of our old friends--Poqua-dillaamong them. Corny went with us, this time. Every darkey knew we weregoing away, and it was amazing to see how many of them came to bid usgood-bye, and ask for some coppers. 

After supper, we went on board the steamer, and about ten o'clock shecast loose, and as she slowly moved away, we heard the old familiarwords:

"Give us a small dive, boss!"

They came from a crowd of darkey boys on the wharf. But, although themoon was shining brightly, we didn't think they could see coppers on thebottom that night. They might have found a shilling or a half-dollar, but we didn't try them. 

There were a couple of English officers on board, from the barracks, andwe thought that they were going to take a trip to the United States; butthe purser told us that they had no idea of doing that themselves, butwere trying to prevent one of the "red-coats, " as the common soldierswere generally called, from leaving the island. He had been missed atthe barracks, and it was supposed that he was stowed away somewhere onthe vessel. The steamer had delayed starting for half an hour, so thatsearch might be made for the deserter, but she couldn't wait any longerif she wanted to get over the bar that night, and so the lieutenants, orsergeants, or whatever they were, had to go along, and come back in thepilot-boat. 

When we got outside we lay to, with the pilot-boat alongside of us, andthe hold of the vessel was ransacked for the deserter. Corny openlydeclared that she hoped they wouldn't find him, and I'm sure I had apretty strong feeling that way myself. But they did find him. He waspulled out from behind some barrels, in a dark place in the hold, andhurried up on deck. We saw him, as he was forced over the side of thevessel and almost dropped into the pilot-boat, which was rising andfalling on the waves by the side of the ship. Then the officersscrambled down the side and jumped into the boat. The line was cast off, the negro oarsmen began to pull away, and the poor red-coat took hisdoleful journey back to Nassau. He must have felt pretty badly about it. I have no doubt that when he hid himself down there in that dark hold, just before the vessel started, he thought he had made a pretty surething of it, and that it would not be long before he would be a freeman, and could go where he pleased and do what he pleased in the wideUnited States. But the case was very different now. I suppose it waswrong, of course, for him to desert, and probably he was a mean sort ofa fellow to do it; but we were all very sorry to see him taken away. Corny thought that he was very likely a good man, who had been imposedupon, and that, therefore, it was right to run away. It was quitenatural for a girl to think that. 

The moment the pilot-boat left us, the "Tigris" started off in goodearnest, and went steaming along on her course. And it was not longbefore we started off, also in good earnest, for our berths. We were atired set. 

The trip back was not so pleasant as our other little voyage, when wewere coming to the Bahamas. The next day was cloudy, and the sea wasrough and choppy. The air was mild enough for us to be on deck, butthere was a high wind which made it uncomfortable. Rectus thought hecould keep on his wide straw hat, but he soon found out his mistake, andhad to get out his Scotch cap, which made him look like a very differentfellow. 

There were not very many passengers on board, as it was scarcely timefor the majority of people to leave Nassau. They generally stay untilApril, I think. Besides our party of five, there were several gentlemenand ladies from the hotel; and as we knew them all tolerably well, wehad a much more sociable time than when we came over. Still, for mypart, I should have preferred fair weather, bright skies, and plenty ofnautiluses and flying-fish. 

The "yellow-legged" party remained at Nassau. I was a little sorry forthis, too, as I liked the men pretty well, now that I knew them better. They certainly were good walkers. 

Toward noon the wind began to blow harder, and the waves ran very high. The "Tigris" rolled from side to side as if she would go over, and someof the ladies were a good deal frightened; but she always came up again, all right, no matter how far over she dipped, and so in time they gotused to it. I proved to Mrs. Chipperton that it would be impossible forthe vessel to upset, as the great weight of ballast, freight, machinery, etc. , in the lower part of her would always bring her deck up again, even if she rolled entirely over on her side, which, sometimes, sheseemed as if she was going to do, but she always changed her mind justas we thought the thing was going to happen. The first mate told me thatthe reason we rolled so was because we had been obliged to take in allsail, and that the mainsail had steadied the vessel very much before thewind got so high. This was all very well, but I didn't care much to knowwhy the thing was. There are some people who think a thing's all right, if they can only tell you the reason for it. 

Before dark, we had to go below, for the captain said he didn't want anyof us to roll overboard, and, besides, the spray from the high wavesmade the deck very wet and unpleasant. None of us liked it below. Therewas no place to sit but in the long saloon, where the dining-tableswere, and after supper we all sat there and read. Mr. Chipperton had alot of novels, and we each took one. But it wasn't much fun. I couldn'tget interested in my story, --at least, not in the beginning of it. Ithink that people who want to use up time when they are travelling oughtto take what Rectus called a "begun" novel along with them. He had goton pretty well in his book while he was in Nassau, and so just took itup now and went right along. 

The lamps swung so far backward and forward above the table that wethought they would certainly spill the oil over us in one of their wildpitches; the settees by the table slid under us as the ship rolled, sothat there was no comfort, and any one who tried to walk from one placeto another had to hang on to whatever he could get hold of, or betumbled up against the tables or the wall. Some folks got sea-sick andwent to bed, but we tried to stick it out as long as we could. 

The storm grew worse and worse. Sometimes a big wave would strike theside of the steamer, just behind us, with a tremendous shock. The ladieswere always sure she had "struck something" when this happened; but whenthey found it was only water that she had struck, they were bettersatisfied. At last, things grew to be so bad that we thought we shouldhave to go to bed and spend the night holding on to the handles at theback of our berths, when, all of a sudden, there was a great change. Therolling stopped, and the vessel seemed to be steaming along almost on aneven keel. She pitched somewhat forward and aft, --that is, her bow andher stern went up and down by turns, --but we didn't mind that, as it wasso very much better than the wild rolling that had been kept up so long. 

"I wonder what this means?" said Mr. Chipperton, actually standing upwithout holding on to anything. "Can they have got into a current ofsmooth water?"

I didn't think this was possible, but I didn't stop to make anyconjectures about it. Rectus and I ran up on the forward deck, to seehow this agreeable change had come about. The moment we got outside, wefound the wind blowing fearfully and the waves dashing as high as ever, but they were not plunging against our sides. We carefully worked ourway along to the pilot-house, and looked in. The captain was inside, andwhen he saw us he opened the door and came out. He was going to his ownroom, just back of the pilot-house, and he told us to come with him. 

He looked tired and wet, and he told us that the storm had grown so badthat he didn't think it would be right to keep on our course any longer. We were going to the north-west, and the storm was coming from thenorth-east, and the waves and the wind dashed fair against the side ofthe vessel, making her roll and careen so that it began to be unsafe. Sohe had put her around with her head to the wind, and now she took thestorm on her bow, where she could stand it a great deal better. He putall this in a good deal of sea-language, but I tell it as I got thesense of it. 

"Did you think she would go over, Captain?" asked Rectus. 

"Oh no!" said he, "but something might have been carried away. "

He was a very pleasant man, and talked a good deal to us. 

"It's all very well to lie to, this way, " he went on, "for the comfortand safety of the passengers and the ship, but I don't like it, forwe're not keeping on to our port, which is what I want to be doing. "

"Are we stopping here?" I asked. 

"Pretty much, " said the captain. "All that the engines are working foris just to keep her head to the wind. "

I felt the greatest respect for the captain. Instead of telling us whythe ship rolled, he just stopped her rolling. I liked that way of doingthings. And I was sure that every one on board that I had talked towould be glad to have the vessel lie to, and make herself comfortableuntil the storm was over. 

We did not stay very long with the captain, for he wanted to take a nap, and when we went out, we stood a little while by the railing, to see thestorm. The wind nearly took our heads off, and the waves dashed right upover the bow of the ship, so that if any one had been out there, Isuppose they would have been soaked in a few minutes, if not knockeddown. But we saw two men at the wheel, in the pilot-house, steadilyholding her head to the wind, and we felt that it was all right. So weran below and reported, and then we all went to bed. 

Although there was not much of the rolling that had been so unpleasantbefore, the vessel pitched and tossed enough to make our berths, especially mine, which was the upper one, rather shaky places to restin; and I did not sleep very soundly. Sometime in the night, I wasawakened by a sound of heavy and rapid footfalls on the deck above myhead. I lay and listened for a moment, and felt glad that the deck wassteady enough for them to walk on. There soon seemed to be a good dealmore running, and as they began to drag things about, I thought that itwould be a good idea to get up and find out what was going on. If it wasanything extraordinary, I wanted to see it. Of course, I woke up Rectus, and we put on our clothes. There was now a good deal of noise on deck. 

"Perhaps we have run into some vessel and sunk her, " said Rectus, opening the door, with his coat over his arm. He was in an awful hurryto see. 

"Hold up here!" I said. "Don't you go on deck in this storm without anovercoat. If there has been a collision, you can't do any good, and youneedn't hurry so. Button up warm. "

We both did that, and then we went up on deck. There was no one aft, just then, but we could see in the moonlight, which was pretty strong, although the sky was cloudy, that there was quite a crowd of menforward. We made our way in that direction as fast as we could, in theface of the wind, and when we reached the deck, just in front of thepilot-house, we looked down to the big hatchway, where the freight andbaggage were lowered down into the hold, and there we saw what was thematter. 

The ship was on fire!

The hatchway was not open, but smoke was coming up thick and fast allaround it. A half-dozen men were around a donkey-engine that stood alittle forward of the hatch, and others were pulling at hose. Thecaptain was rushing here and there, giving orders. I did not hearanything he said. No one said anything to us. Rectus asked one of themen something, as he ran past him, but the man did not stop to answer. 

But there is no need to ask any questions. There was the smoke comingup, thicker and blacker, from the edges of the hatch. 

"Come!" said I, clutching Rectus by the arm. "Let's wake them up. "

"Don't you think they can put it out?" he asked, as we ran back. 

"Can't tell, " I answered. "But we must get ready, --that's what we've gotto do. "

I am sure I did not know how we were to get ready, or what we were todo, but my main idea was that no time was to be lost in doing something. The first thing was to awaken our friends. 

We found the steward in the saloon. There was only one lamp burningthere, and the place looked dismal, but there was light enough to seethat he was very pale. 

"Don't you intend to wake up the people?" I said to him. 

"What's the good?" he said. "They'll put it out. "

"They may, and they mayn't, " I answered, "and it wont hurt thepassengers to be awake. "

With this I hurried to the Chippertons' state-room--they had a doubleroom in the centre of the vessel--and knocked loudly on the door. I sawthe steward going to other doors, knocking at some and opening othersand speaking to the people inside. 

Mr. Chipperton jumped right up and opened the door. When he saw Rectusand me standing there, he must have seen in our faces that something wasthe matter, for he instantly asked:

"What is it? A wreck?"

I told him of the fire, and said that it might not be much, but that wethought we'd better waken him. 

"That's right, " he said; "we'll be with you directly. Keep perfectlycool. Remain just where you are. You'll see us all in five minutes, " andhe shut the door. 

[Illustration: "'KEEP PERFECTLY COOL, ' SAID MR. CHIPPERTON. "]

But I did not intend to stand there. A good many men were alreadyrushing from their rooms and hurrying up the steep stairs that led fromthe rear of the saloon to the deck, and I could hear ladies calling outfrom their rooms as if they were hurrying to get ready to come out. Thestewardess, a tall colored woman, was just going to one of these ladies, who had her head out of the door. I told Rectus to run up on deck, seehow things were going on, and then to come back to the Chippertons'door. Then I ran to our room, jerked the cork life-preservers from underthe pillows, and came out into the saloon with them. This seemed tofrighten several persons, who saw me as I came from our room, and theyrushed back for their life-preservers, generally getting into the wrongroom, I think. I did not want to help to make a fuss and confusion, butI thought it would be a good deal better for us to get thelife-preservers now, than to wait. If we didn't need them, no harm wouldbe done. Some one had turned up several lamps in the saloon, so that wecould see better. But no one stopped to look much. Everybody, ladies andall, --there were not many of these, --hurried on deck. The Chippertonswere the last to make their appearance. Just as their door opened, Rectus ran up to me. 

"It's worse than ever!" he said. 

"Here!" said I, "take this life-preserver. Have you life-preservers inyour room?" I asked, quickly, of Mr. Chipperton. 

"All right, " said he, "we have them on. Keep all together and come ondeck, --and remember to be perfectly cool. "

He went ahead with Mrs. Chipperton, and Rectus and I followed, one oneach side of Corny. Neither she nor her mother had yet spoken to us; butwhile we were going up the stairs, Corny turned to me, as I came upbehind her, and said:

"Is it a real fire?"

"Oh, yes, " I answered; "but they may put it out. "

CHAPTER XIX. 

THE LIFE-RAFT. 

When we came out on deck, we saw in a moment that the fire was thoughtto be a serious affair. Men were actually at work at the boats, whichhung from their davits on each side of the deck, not far from the stern. They were getting them ready to be lowered. I must confess that thisseemed frightful to me. Was there really need of it?

I left our party and ran forward for a moment, to see for myself howmatters were going. People were hard at work. I could hear the pumpsgoing, and there was a great deal of smoke, which was driven back by thewind. When I reached the pilot-house and looked down on the hatchway, Isaw, not only smoke coming up, but every now and then a tongue of flame. The hatch was burning away at the edges. There must be a great fireunder it, I thought. 

Just then the captain came rushing up from below. I caught hold of him. 

"Is there danger?" I said. "What's to be done?"

He stopped for a moment. 

"We must all save ourselves, " he said, hurriedly. "I am going to thepassengers. We can't save the ship. She's all afire below. " And then heran on. 

When I got back to our group, I told them what the captain had said, andwe all instantly moved toward the boat nearest to us. Rectus told me toput on my life-preserver, and he helped me fasten it. I had forgottenthat I had it under my arm. Most of the passengers were at our boat, butthe captain took some of them over to the other side of the deck. 

[Illustration: "RECTUS HELPED ME TO FASTEN THE LIFE-PRESERVER. "]

When our boat was ready, there was a great scramble and rush for it. Most of the ladies were to get into this boat, and some of the officersheld back the men who were crowding forward. Among the others held backwere Rectus and I, and as Corny was between us, she was pushed back, too. I do not know how the boat got to the water, nor when she starteddown. The vessel pitched and tossed; we could not see well, for thesmoke came in thick puffs over us, and I did not know that the boat wasreally afloat until a wave lifted it up by the side of the vessel wherewe stood, and I heard Mr. Chipperton call for Corny. I could see him inthe stern of the boat, which was full of people. 

"Here she is!" I yelled. 

"Here I am, father!" cried Corny, and she ran from us to the railing. 

"Lower her down, " said Mr. Chipperton, from below. He did not seemflurried at all, but I saw that no time was to be lost, for a man wastrying to cut or untie a rope which still held the boat to the steamer. Then she would be off. There was a light line on the deck near me--Ihad caught my foot in it, a minute before. It was strong enough to holdCorny. I got hold of one end of it and tied it around her, under herarms. She had a great shawl, as well as a life-preserver, tied aroundher, and looked dreadfully bundled up. 

She did not say a word, but let Rectus and me do as we chose, and we gother over the railing in no time. I braced myself against the seat thatran around the deck, and lowered. Rectus leaned over and directed, holding on to the line as well. I felt strong enough to hold two of her, with the rope running over the rail. I let her go down pretty fast, forI was afraid the boat would be off; but directly Rectus called to me tostop. 

"The boat isn't under her, " he cried. "They've pushed off. Haul up alittle! A wave nearly took her, just then!"

With that, we hauled her up a little, and almost at the same moment Isaw the boat rising on a wave. By that time, it was an oar's length fromthe ship. 

"They say they can't pull back, " shouted Mr. Chipperton. "Don't let herdown any further. "

"All right!" I roared back at him. "We'll bring her in another boat, "and I began to pull up with all my might. 

Rectus took hold of the rope with me, and we soon had Corny on deck. Sheran to the stern and held out her arms to the boat. 

"Oh, father!" she cried. "Wait for me!"

I saw Mr. Chipperton violently addressing the men in the boat, but theyhad put out their oars and were beginning to pull away. I knew theywould not come back, especially as they knew, of course, that there wereother boats on board. Then Mr. Chipperton stood up again, put his handsto his mouth, and shouted back to us:

"Bring her--right after us. If we get--parted--meet--at Savannah!"

He was certainly one of the coolest men in the world. To think--at sucha time--of appointing a place to meet! And yet it was a good idea. Ibelieve he expected the men in his boat to row directly to the Floridacoast, where they would find quick dispatch to Savannah. 

Poor Corny was disconsolate, and cried bitterly. I think I heard hermother call back to her, but I am not sure about it. There was so muchto see and hear. And yet I had been so busy with what I had had to dothat I had seen comparatively little of what was going on around me. 

One thing, however, I had noticed, and it impressed me deeply even atthe time. There was none of the wailing and screaming and praying that Ihad supposed was always to be seen and heard at such dreadful times asthis. People seemed to know that there were certain things that they hadto do if they wanted to save themselves, and they went right to work anddid them. And the principal thing was to get off that ship without anyloss of time. Of course, it was not pleasant to be in a small boat, pitching about on those great waves, but almost anywhere was a betterplace than a ship on fire. I heard a lady scream once or twice, but Idon't think there was much of that sort of thing. However, there mighthave been more of it than I thought. I was driving away at my ownbusiness. 

The moment I heard the last word from Mr. Chipperton, I rushed to theother side of the deck, dragging Corny along with me. But the boat wasgone from there. 

I could see them pulling away some distance from the ship. It was easyto see things now, for the fire was blazing up in front. I think thevessel had been put around, for she rolled a good deal, and the smokewas not coming back over us. 

I untied the line from Corny, and stood for a moment looking about me. There seemed to be no one aft but us three. We had missed both boats. Mr. Chipperton had helped his wife into the boat, and had expected toturn round and take Corny. No doubt he had told the men to be perfectlycool, and not to hurry. And while we were shouting to him and loweringCorny, the other boat had put off. 

There was a little crowd of men amidships, hard at work at something. Weran there. They were launching the life-raft. The captain was amongthem. 

"Are there no more boats?" I shouted. 

He turned his head. 

"What! A girl left?" he cried. "No. The fire has cut off the otherboats. We must all get on the raft. Stand by with the girl, and I'll seeyou safe. "

The life-raft was a big affair that Rectus and I had often examined. Ithad two long, air-tight cylinders, of iron, I suppose, kept apart by awide framework. On this framework, between the cylinders, canvas wasstretched, and on this the passengers were to sit. Of course it would beimpossible to sink a thing like this. 

In a very short time, the raft was lifted to the side of the vessel andpushed overboard. It was bound to come right side up. And as soon as itwas afloat, the men began to drop down on it. The captain had hold of aline that was fastened to it, and I think one of the mates had anotherline. 

"Get down! Get down!" cried the captain to us. 

I told Rectus to jump first, as the vessel rolled that way, and helanded all right, and stood up as well as he could to catch Corny. Overshe went at the next roll, with a good send from me, and I came rightafter her. I heard the captain shout:

"All hands aboard the raft!" and then, in a minute, he jumped himself. Some of the men pushed her off with a pole. It was almost like floatingright on the surface of the water, but I felt it was perfectly safe. Nothing could make those great cylinders sink. We floated away from theship, and we were all glad enough of it, for the air was getting hot. The whole front part of the vessel was blazing away like a house onfire. I don't remember whether the engines were still working or not, but at any rate we drifted astern, and were soon at quite a littledistance from the steamer. 

It was safe enough, perhaps, on the raft, but it was not in the leastcomfortable. We were all crowded together, crouching on the canvas, andthe water just swashed about us as if we were floating boards. We wentup and down on the waves with a motion that wouldn't have been so badhad we not thought we might be shuffled off, if a big wave turned usover a little too much. But there were lots of things to hold on to, andwe all stuck close together. We three were in the middle. The captaintold us to get there. There is no way of telling how glad I was that thecaptain was with us. I was well satisfied, anyway, to be with the partyon the raft. I might have liked it better in a boat, but I think most ofthe men in the boats were waiters, or stewards, or passengers--fellowswho were in a hurry to get off. The officers and sailors who remainedbehind to do their best for the ship and the passengers were the men onthe raft; and these I felt we could trust. I think there were ten ofthem, besides the captain, making fourteen of us in all. 

There we all sat, while the ship blazed and crackled away, before us. She drifted faster than we did, and so got farther and farther away fromus. The fire lighted up the sea for a good distance, and every time werose on the top of a wave, some of us looked about to see if we couldsee anything of the other boats. But we saw nothing of them. Once Icaught sight of a black spot on a high wave at quite a distance, which Ithought might be a boat, but no one else saw it, and it was gone in aninstant. The captain said it made no real difference to us whether wesaw the other boats or not; they could not help us. All the help we hadto expect was from some passing ship, which might see us, and pick usup. He was very encouraging, though, about this, for he said we wereright in the track of vessels bound North, which all sought the GulfStream; and, besides, a burning ship at night would attract theattention of vessels at a great distance, and some of them would be sureto make for us. 

"We'll see a sail in the morning, " said he; "make up your minds to that. All we've got to do is to stick together on the raft, and we're almostsure to be picked up. "

I think he said things like this to give courage to us three, but Idon't believe we needed it, particularly. Rectus was very quiet, but Ithink that if he could have kept himself dry he would have been prettywell satisfied to float until daylight, for he had full faith in thecaptain, and was sure we should be picked up. I was pretty much of thesame mind, but poor Corny was in a sad way. It was no comfort to her totell her that we should be picked up, unless she could be assured thatthe same ship would pick up her father and mother. But we could saynothing positive about this, of course, although we did all that wecould, in a general way, to make her feel that everything would turn outall right. She sat wrapped up in her shawl, and seldom said a word. Buther eyes were wandering all over the waves, looking for a boat. 

The ship was now quite a long way off, still burning, and lighting upthe tops of the waves and the sky. Just before day-break, her lightsuddenly went out. 

"She's gone down!" said the captain, and then he said no more for a longtime. I felt very sorry for him. Even if he should be saved, he had losthis ship, --had seen it burn up and sink before his eyes. Such a thingmust be pretty hard on a captain. Even I felt as if I had lost a friend. The old "Tigris" seemed so well known to us. 

It was now more dismal than ever. It was darker; and although theburning ship could do us no good, we were sorry to have her leave us. Nobody said much, but we all began to feel pretty badly. Morning cameslowly, and we were wet and cold, and getting stiff. Besides, we wereall very thirsty, and I, for one, was hungry; but there was no goodreason for that, for it was not yet breakfast-time. Fortunately, after awhile, Corny went to sleep. We were very glad of it, though how shemanaged to sleep while the raft was rising and falling and sliding andsloshing from one wave to another, I can't tell. But she didn't havemuch holding on to do. We did that for her. 

At last daylight came, and then we began to look about in good earnest. We saw a top-sail off on the horizon, but it was too far for our raft tobe seen from it, and it might be coming our way or it might not. When wewere down in the trough of the waves we could see nothing, and no onecould have seen us. It was of no use to put up a signal, the captainsaid, until we saw a vessel near enough to see it. 

We waited, and we waited, and waited, until it was well on in themorning, and still we saw no other sail. The one we had seen haddisappeared entirely. 

We all began to feel miserable now. We were weak and cold and wretched. There wasn't a thing to eat or drink on the raft. The fire had given notime to get anything. Some of the men began to grumble. It would havebeen better, they said, to have started off as soon as they found outthe fire, and have had time to put something to eat and drink on theraft. It was all wasted time to try to save the ship. It did no good, after all. The captain said nothing to this. He knew that he had donehis duty in trying to put out the fire, and he just kept his mouth shut, and looked out for a sail. There was one man with us--a red-faced, yellow-haired man--with a curly beard, and little gold rings in hisears. He looked more like a sailor than any other of the men, and Rectusand I always put him down for the sailor who had been longer at sea, andknew more about ships and sailing, than any other of the crew. But thisman was the worst grumbler of the lot, now, and we altered our opinionabout him. 

Corny woke up every now and then, but she soon went to sleep again, whenshe found there was no boat or sail in sight. At least, I thought shewent to sleep, but she might have been thinking and crying. She was socrouched up that we could not see whether she was awake or not. 

CHAPTER XX. 

THE RUSSIAN BARK. 

We soon began to think the captain was mistaken in saying there would belots of ships coming this way. But then, we couldn't see very far. Shipsmay have passed within a few miles of us, without our knowing anythingabout it. It was very different from being high up on a ship's deck, orin her rigging. Sometimes, though, we seemed high enough up, when we goton the top of a wave. 

It was fully noon before we saw another sail. And when we saw this onefor the second or third time (for we only caught a glimpse of it everynow and then), a big man, who had been sitting on the edge of the raft, and hardly ever saying a word, sung out:

"I believe that's a Russian bark. "

And after he had had two or three more sights at her, he said:

"Yes, I know she is. "

"That's so, " said the captain; "and she's bearing down on us. "

Now, how in the world they knew what sort of a ship that was, and whichway it was sailing, I couldn't tell for the life of me. To me it was alittle squarish spot on the lower edge of the sky, and I have alwaysthought that I could see well enough. But these sailors have eyes likespy-glasses. 

Now, then, we were all alive, and began to get ready to put up a signal. Fortunately, the pole was on the raft, --I believe the captain had itfastened on, thinking we might want it, --and now all we had to do was tomake a flag. We three got out our handkerchiefs, which were wet, butwhite enough yet, and the captain took out his. We tied them together bythe corners, and made a long pennant of them. When we tied one end ofthis to the pole, it made quite a show. The wind soon dried it, afterthe pole was hoisted and held up, and then our flag fluttered finely. 

The sun had now come out quite bright and warm, which was a good thingfor us, for it dried us off somewhat, and made us more comfortable. Thewind had also gone down a good deal. If it had not been for these twothings, I don't know how we could have stood it. But the waves werestill very high. 

Every time we saw the ship, she seemed to look bigger and bigger, and weknew that the captain was right, and that she was making for us. But shewas a long time coming. Even after she got so near that we could plainlysee her hull and masts and sails, she did not seem to be sailingdirectly toward us. Indeed, sometimes I thought she didn't notice us. She would go far off one way, and then off the other way. 

"Oh, why don't she come right to us?" cried Corny, beating her hands onher knees. "She isn't as near now as she was half an hour ago. "

This was the first time that Corny had let herself out in this way, butI don't wonder she did it. The captain explained that the ship couldn'tsail right to us, because the wind was not in the proper direction forthat. She had to tack. If she had been a steamer, the case would havebeen different. We all sat and waited, and waved our flag. 

She came nearer and nearer, and it was soon plain enough that she sawus. The captain told us that it was all right now--all we had to do wasto keep up our courage, and we'd soon be on board the bark. But when themen who were holding the pole let it down, he told them to put it upagain. He wanted to make sure they should see us. 

At last, the bark came so near that we could see the people on board, but still she went past us. This was the hardest to bear of all, for sheseemed so near. But when she tacked and came back, she sailed right downto us. We could see her all the time now, whether we were up or down. 

"She'll take us this time, " said the captain. 

I supposed that when the ship came near us she would stop and lower aboat, but there seemed to be no intention of the kind. A group of menstood in her bow, and I saw that one of them held a round life-preserverin his hand, --it was one of the India-rubber kind, filled with air, andto it a line was attached. When the ship was just opposite to us, thisman shouted something which I did not hear, and threw thelife-preserver. It fell close to the raft. I thought, indeed, it wascoming right into the midst of us. The red-faced man with the goldear-rings was nearest to it. He made a grab at it, and missed it. Onwent the ship, and on went the life-preserver, skipping and dancing overthe waves. They let out lots of line, but still the life-preserver wastowed away. 

A regular howl went up from our raft. I thought some of the men wouldjump into the sea and swim after the ship, which was now rapidly leavingus. We heard a shout from the vessel, but what it meant I did not know. On she went, and on, as if she was never coming back. 

"She'll come back, " said the captain. "She'll tack again. "

But it was hard to believe him. I don't know whether he believedhimself. Corny was wildly crying now, and Rectus was as white as asheet. No one seemed to have any hope or self-control except thecaptain. Some of the men looked as if they did not care whether the shipever came back or not. 

"The sea is too high, " said one of them. "She'd swamp a boat, if she'dput it out. "

"Just you wait!" said the captain. 

The bark sailed away so far that I shut my eyes. I could not look afterher any more. Then, as we rose on the top of a wave, I heard a rumble ofwords among the men, and I looked out, and saw she was tacking. Beforelong, she was sailing straight back to us, and the most dreadful momentsof my life were ended. I had really not believed that she would everreturn to us. 

Again she came plowing along before us, the same group on her bow; againthe life-preserver was thrown, and this time the captain seized it. 

In a moment the line was made fast to the raft. But there was no suddentug. The men on the bark knew better than that. They let out some two orthree hundred feet of line and lay to, with their sails fluttering inthe wind. 

Then they began to haul us in. I don't remember much more of whathappened just about this time. It was all a daze of high black hull andtossing waves, and men overhead, and ropes coming down, and seeing Cornyhauled up into the air. After a while, I was hauled up, and Rectus wentbefore me. I was told afterward that some of the stoutest men couldscarcely help themselves, they were so cramped and stiff, and had to behoisted on board like sheep. 

I know that when I put my feet on the deck, my knees were so stiff thatI could not stand. Two women had Corny between them, and were carryingher below. I was so delighted to see that there were women on board. Rectus and I were carried below, too, and three or four rough lookingfellows, who didn't speak a word that we could understand, set to workat us and took off our clothes, and rubbed us with warm stuff, and gaveus some hot tea and gruel, and I don't know what else, and put us intohammocks, and stuffed blankets around us, and made me feel warmer, andhappier, and more grateful and sleepy than I thought it was in me tofeel. I expect Rectus felt the same. In about five minutes, I was fastasleep. 

I don't know how long it was before I woke up. When I opened my eyes, Ijust lay and looked about me. I did not care for times and seasons. Iknew I was all right. I wondered when they would come around again withgruel. I had an idea they lived on gruel in that ship, and I rememberedthat it was very good. After a while, a man did come around, and helooked into my hammock. I think from his cap that he was anofficer, --probably a doctor. When he saw that I was awake, he saidsomething to me. I had seen some Russian words in print, and the lettersall seemed upside down, or lying sideways on the page. And that wasabout the way he spoke. But he went and got me a cup of tea, and somesoup, and some bread, and I understood his food very well. 

After a while, our captain came around to my hammock. He looked a greatdeal better than when I saw him last, and said he had had a good sleep. He told me that Corny was all right, and was sleeping again, and thatthe mate's wife had her in charge. Rectus was in a hammock near me, andI could hear him snore, as if he were perfectly happy. The captain saidthat these Russian people were just as kind as they could be; that themaster of the bark, who could speak English, had put his vessel underhis--our captain's--command, and told him to cruise around wherever hechose in search of the two boats. 

"And did you find them?" I asked. 

"No, " said he. "We have been on the search now for twenty-four hours, and can see nothing of them. But I feel quite sure they have been pickedup. They could row, and they could get further into the course ofvessels than we were. We'll find them when we get ashore. "

The captain was a hopeful man, but I could not feel as cheerfully as hespoke. All that I could say was: "Poor Corny!"

He did not answer me, but went away; and soon, in spite of all my doubtsand fears, I fell asleep. 

The next time I woke up, I got out of my hammock, and found I was prettymuch all right. My clothes had been dried and ironed, I reckon, and werelying on a chest all ready for me. While Rectus and I were dressing, forhe got up at the same time that I did, our captain came to us, andbrought me a little package of greenbacks. 

"The master of the bark gave me these, " said the captain, "and said theywere pinned in your watch-pocket. He has had them dried and pressed outfor you. "

There it was, all the money belonging to Rectus and myself, which, according to old Mr. Colbert's advice, I had carefully pinned in thewatch-pocket of my trousers before leaving Nassau. I asked the captainif we should not pay something for our accommodations on this vessel, but he said we must not mention anything of the kind. The people on theship would not listen to it. Even our watches seemed to have sufferedno damage from the soaking they had had in our wet clothes. 

As soon as we were ready, we went up on deck, and there we saw Corny. She was sitting by herself near the stern, and looked like a differentkind of a girl from what she had been two or three days before. Sheseemed several years older. 

"Do you really think the other boats were picked up?" she said, themoment she saw us. 

Poor thing! She began to cry as soon as she began to speak. Of course, we sat down and talked to her, and said everything we could think of toreassure her. And in about half an hour she began to be much morecheerful, and to look as if the world might have something satisfactoryin it after all. 

Our captain and the master of the bark now came to us. The Russianmaster was a pleasant man, and talked pretty good English. I think hewas glad to see us, but what we said in the way of thanks embarrassedhim a good deal. I suppose he had never done much at rescuing people. 

He and our captain both told us that they felt quite sure that the boatshad either reached the Florida coast or been picked up; for we hadcruised very thoroughly over the course they must have taken. We were alittle north of Cape Canaveral when the "Tigris" took fire. 

About sundown that day, we reached the mouth of the Savannah river andwent on board a tug to go up to the city, while our bark would proceedon her voyage. There were fourteen grateful people who went down theside of that Russian bark to the little tug that we had signalled; andsome of us, I know, were sorry we could not speak Russian, so we couldtell our rescuers more plainly what we thought of them. 

When we reached Savannah, we went directly to the hotel where Rectus andI had stopped on our former visit, and there we found ourselves theobjects of great attention, --I don't mean we three particularly, but thecaptain and all of us. We brought the news of the burning of the"Tigris, " and so we immediately knew that nothing had been heard of thetwo boats. Corny was taken in charge by some of the ladies in the hotel, and Rectus and I told the story of the burning and the raft twenty orthirty times. The news created a great sensation, and was telegraphed toall parts of the country. The United States government sent a revenuecutter from Charleston, and one from St. Augustine, to cruise along thecoast, and endeavor to find some traces of the survivors, if there wereany. 

But two days passed and no news came. We thought Corny would go crazy. 

"I know they're dead, " she said. "If they were alive, anywhere, we'dhear from them. "

But we would not admit that, and tried, in every way, to prove that thepeople in the boats might have landed somewhere where they could notcommunicate with us, or might have been picked up by a vessel which hadcarried them to South America, or Europe, or some other distant place. 

"Well, why don't we go look for them, then, if there's any chance oftheir being on some desert island? It's dreadful to sit here and wait, and wait, and do nothing. "

Now I began to see the good of being rich. Rectus came to me, soon afterCorny had been talking about going to look for her father and mother, and he said:

"Look here, Will, "--he had begun to call me "Will, " of late, probablybecause Corny called me so, --"I think it _is_ too bad that we shouldjust sit here and do nothing. I spoke to Mr. Parker about it, and hesays, we can get a tug-boat, he thinks, and go out and do what lookingwe can. If it eases our minds, he says, there's no objection to it. SoI'm going to telegraph to father to let me hire a tug-boat. "

I thought this was a first-class idea, and we went to see Messrs. Parkerand Darrell, who were merchants in the city, and the owners of the"Tigris. " They had been very kind to us, and told us now that they didnot suppose it would do any real good for us to go out in a tug-boat andsearch along the coast, but that if we thought it would help the poorgirl to bear her trouble they were in favor of the plan. They werereally afraid she would lose her reason if she did not do something. 

Corny was now staying at Mr. Darrell's house. His wife, who was atip-top lady, insisted that she should come there. When we went aroundto talk to Corny about making a search, she said that that was exactlywhat she wanted to do. If we would take her out to look for her fatherand mother, and we couldn't find them after we had looked all we could, she would come back, and ask nothing more. 

Then we determined to go. We hadn't thought of taking Corny along, butMr. Darrell and the others thought it would be best; and Mrs. Darrellsaid her own colored woman, named Celia, should go with her, and takecare of her. I could not do anything but agree to things, but Rectustelegraphed to his father, and got authority to hire a tug; and Mr. Parker attended to the business himself; and the tug was to be readyearly the next morning. We thought this was a long time to wait. But itcouldn't be helped. 

I forgot to say that Rectus and I had telegraphed home to our parents assoon as we reached Savannah, and had answers back, which were very longones for telegrams. We had also written home. But we did not sayanything to Corny about all this. It would have broken her heart if shehad thought about any one writing to his father and mother, and hearingfrom them. 

CHAPTER XXI. 

THE TRIP OF THE TUG. 

The tug-boat was a little thing, and not very clean; but she was strongand sea-worthy, we were told, and therefore we were satisfied. There wasa small deck aft, on which Corny and Rectus and I sat, with Celia, thecolored woman; and there were some dingy little sleeping-places, whichwere given up for our benefit. The captain of the tug was a white man, but all the rest, engineer, fireman and hands--there were five or six inall--were negroes. 

We steamed down the Savannah River in pretty good style, but I was gladwhen we got out of it, for I was tired of that river. Our plan was to godown the coast and try to find tidings of the boats. They might havereached land at points where the revenue cutters would never have heardfrom them. When we got out to sea, the water was quite smooth, althoughthere was a swell that rolled us a great deal. The captain said that ifit had been rough he would not have come out at all. This sounded ratherbadly for us, because he might give up the search, if a little stormcame on. And besides, if he was afraid of high waves in his tug, whatchance could those boats have had?

Toward noon, we got into water that was quite smooth, and we could seeland on the ocean side of us. I couldn't understand this, and went toask the captain about it. He said it was all right, we were going totake the inside passage, which is formed by the islands that lie alongnearly all the coast of Georgia. The strips of sea-water between theseislands and the mainland make a smooth and convenient passage for thesmaller vessels that sail or steam along this coast. Indeed, some quitegood-sized steamers go this way, he said. 

I objected, pretty strongly, to our taking this passage, because, Isaid, we could never hear anything of the boats while we were in here. But he was positive that if they had managed to land on the outside ofany of these islands, we could hear of them better from the inside thanfrom the ocean side. And besides, we could get along a great deal betterinside. He seemed to think more of that than anything else. 

We had a pretty dull time on that tug. There wasn't a great deal oftalking, but there was lots of thinking, and not a very pleasant kind ofthinking either. We stopped quite often and hailed small boats, and thecaptain talked to people whenever he had a chance, but he never heardanything about any boats having run ashore on any of the islands, orhaving come into the inside passage, between any of them. We met a fewsailing vessels, and toward the close of the afternoon we met a bigsteamer, something like northern river steamers. The captain said sheran between the St. John's River and Savannah, and always took theinside passage as far as she could. He said this as if it showed him tobe in the right in taking the same passage, but I couldn't see that itproved anything. We were on a different business. 

About nine o'clock we went to bed, the captain promising to call us ifanything turned up. But I couldn't sleep well--my bunk was too close andhot, and so I pretty soon got up and went up to the pilot-house, where Ifound the captain. He and one of the hands were hard at work putting theboat around. 

"Hello!" said he. "I thought you were sound asleep. "

"Hello!" said I. "What are you turning round for?"

It was bright starlight, and I could see that we were making a completecircuit in the smooth water. 

"Well, " said he, "we're going back. "

"Back!" I cried. "What's the meaning of that? We haven't made half asearch. I don't believe we've gone a hundred miles. We want to searchthe whole coast, I tell you, to the lower end of Florida. "

"You can't do it in this boat, " he said; "she's too small. "

"Why didn't you say so when we took her?"

"Well, there wasn't any other, in the first place, and besides, itwouldn't be no good to go no further. It's more 'n four days, now, sincethem boats set out. There's no chance fur anybody on 'em to be livin'. "

"That's not for you to decide, " I said, and I was very angry. "We wantto find our friends, dead or alive, or find some news of them, and wewant to cruise until we know there's no further chance of doing so. "

"Well, " said he, ringing the bell to go ahead, sharp, "I'm not decidin'anything. I had my orders. I was to be gone twenty-four hours; an' it'llbe more 'n that by the time I get back. "

"Who gave you those orders?"

"Parker and Darrell, " said he. 

"Then this is all a swindle, " I cried. "And we've been cheated intotaking this trip for nothing at all!"

"No, it isn't a swindle, " he answered, rather warmly. "They told me allabout it. They knew, an' I knew, that it wasn't no use to go looking fortwo boats that had been lowered in a big storm four days ago, 'way downon the Florida coast. But they could see that this here girl would nevergive in till she'd had a chance of doin' what she thought she was calledon to do, and so they agreed to give it to her. But they told me on noaccount to keep her out more 'n twenty-four hours. That would be longenough to satisfy her, and longer than that wouldn't be right. I tellyou they know what they're about. "

"Well, it wont be enough to satisfy her, " I said, and then I went downto the little deck. I couldn't make the man turn back. I thought the tughad been hired to go wherever we chose to take her, but I had beenmistaken. I felt that we had been deceived; but there was no use insaying anything more on the subject until we reached the city. 

I did not wake Rectus to tell him the news. It would not do any good, and I was afraid Corny might hear us. I wanted her to sleep as long asshe could, and, indeed, I dreaded the moment when she should awake, andfind that all had been given up. 

We steamed along very fast now. There was no stopping anywhere. I sat onthe deck and thought a little, and dozed a little; and by the time itwas morning, I found we were in the Savannah River. I now hated thisriver worse than ever. 

Everything was quiet on the water, and everything, except the engine, was just as quiet on the tug. Rectus and Corny and Celia were stillasleep, and nobody else seemed stirring, though, of course, some of themen were at their posts. I don't think the captain wanted to be aboutwhen Corny came out on deck, and found that we had given up the search. I intended to be with her when she first learned this terrible fact, which I knew would put an end to all hope in her heart; but I was in nohurry for her to wake up. I very much hoped she would sleep until wereached the city, and then we could take her directly to her kindfriends. 

And she did sleep until we reached the city. It was about seven o'clockin the morning, I think, when we began to steam slowly by the wharvesand piers. I now wished the city were twenty miles further on. I knewthat when we stopped I should have to wake up poor Corny. 

The city looked doleful. Although it was not very early in the morning, there were very few people about. Some men could be seen on the decks ofthe vessels at the wharves, and a big steamer for one of the northernports was getting up steam. I could not help thinking how happy thepeople must be who were going away in her. On one of the piers nearwhere we were going to stop--we were coming in now--were a few darkeyboys, sitting on a wharf-log, and dangling their bare feet over thewater. I wondered how they dared laugh, and be so jolly. In a fewminutes Corny must be wakened. On a post, near these boys, a lounger satfishing with a long pole, --actually fishing away as if there were nosorrows and deaths, or shipwrecked or broken-hearted people in theworld. I was particularly angry at this man--and I was so nervous thatall sorts of things made me angry--because he was old enough to knowbetter, and because he looked like such a fool. He had on greentrousers, dirty canvas shoes and no stockings, a striped linen coat, andan old straw hat, which lopped down over his nose. One of the men calledto him to catch the line which he was about to throw on the wharf, buthe paid no attention, and a negro boy came and caught the line. The manactually had a bite, and couldn't take his eyes from the cork. I wishedthe line had hit him and knocked him off the post. 

The tide was high, and the tug was not much below the wharf when wehauled up. Just as we touched the pier, the man, who was a littleastern of us, caught his fish. He jerked it up, and jumped off his post, and, as he looked up in delight at his little fish, which was swingingin the air, I saw he was Mr. Chipperton!

I made one dash for Corny's little cubby-hole. I banged at the door. Ishouted:

"Corny! Here's your father!"

She was out in an instant. She had slept in her clothes. She had nobonnet on. She ran out on deck, and looked about, dazed. The sight ofthe wharves and the ships seemed to stun her. 

"Where?" she cried. 

I took her by the arm and pointed out her father, who still stoodholding the fishing-pole in one hand, while endeavoring to clutch theswinging fish with the other. 

The plank had just been thrown out from the little deck. Corny made onebound. I think she struck the plank in the middle, like an India-rubberball, and then she was on the wharf; and before he could bring his eyesdown to the earth, her arms were around her father's neck, and she waswildly kissing and hugging him. 

Mr. Chipperton was considerably startled, but when he saw who it was whohad him, he threw his arms around Corny, and hugged and kissed her as ifhe had gone mad. 

Rectus was out by this time, and as he and I stood on the tug, we couldnot help laughing, although we were so happy that we could have cried. There stood that ridiculous figure, Mr. Chipperton, in his short greentrousers and his thin striped coat, with his arms around his daughter, and the fishing-pole tightly clasped to her back, while the poor littlefish dangled and bobbed at every fresh hug. 

Everybody on board was looking at them, and one of the little blackboys, who didn't appear to appreciate sentiment, made a dash for thefish, unhooked it, and put like a good fellow. This rather broke thespell that was on us all, and Rectus and I ran on shore. 

We did not ask any questions, we were too glad to see him. After he hadput Corny on one side, and had shaken our hands wildly with his lefthand, for his right still held the pole, and had tried to talk and foundhe couldn't, we called a carriage that had just come up, and hustled himand Corny into it. I took the pole from his hand, and asked him where hewould go to. He called out the name of the hotel where we were staying, and I shut the door, and sent them off. I did not ask a word aboutCorny's mother, for I knew Mr. Chipperton would not be sitting on a postand fishing if his wife was dead. 

I threw the pole and line away, and then Rectus and I walked up to thehotel. We forgot all about Celia, who was left to go home when shechose. 

It was some hours before we saw the Chippertons, and then we were calledinto their room, where there was a talking and a telling things, such asI never heard before. 

It was some time before I could get Mr. And Mrs. Chipperton's storystraight, but this was about the amount of it: They were picked upsooner than we were--just after day-break. When they left the ship, theyrowed as hard as they could, for several hours, and so got a gooddistance from us. It was well they met with a vessel as soon as theydid, for all the women who had been on the steamer were in this boat, and they had a hard time of it. The water dashed over them very often, and Mr. Chipperton thought that some of them could not have held outmuch longer (I wondered what they would have done on our raft). 

The vessel that picked them up was a coasting schooner bound to one ofthe Florida Keys, and she wouldn't put back with them, for she was undersome sort of a contract, and kept right straight on her way. When theygot down there, they chartered a vessel which brought them up toFernandina, where they took the steamer for Savannah. They were on thevery steamer we passed in the inside passage. If we had only known that!

They telegraphed the moment they reached Fernandina, and proposedstopping at St. Augustine, but it was thought they could make bettertime by keeping right on to Fernandina. The telegram reached Savannahafter we had left on the tug. 

Mr. Chipperton said he got his fancy clothes on board the schooner. Hebought them of a man--a passenger, I believe--who had an extra suit. 

"I think, " said Mr. Chipperton, "he was the only man on that mean littlevessel who had two suits of clothes. I don't know whether these were hisweekday or his Sunday clothes. As for my own, they were so wet that Itook them off the moment I got on board the schooner, and I never sawthem again. I don't know what became of them, and, to tell the truth, Ihaven't thought of 'em. I was too glad to get started for Savannah, where I knew we'd meet Corny, if she was alive. You see, I trusted inyou boys. "

Just here, Mrs. Chipperton kissed us both again. This made several timesthat she had done it. We didn't care so much, as there was no one therebut ourselves and the Chippertons. 

"When we got here, and found you had gone to look for us, I wanted toget another tug and go right after you, but my wife was a good dealshaken up, and I did not want to leave her; and Parker and Darrell saidthey had given positive orders to have you brought back this morning, soI waited. I was only too glad to know you were all safe. I got up earlyin the morning, and went down to watch for you. You must have beensurprised to see me fishing, but I had nothing else to do, and so Ihired a pole and line of a boy. It helped very much to pass the timeaway. "

"Yes, " said Rectus, "you didn't notice us at all, you were so muchinterested. "

"Well, you see, " said Mr. Chipperton, "I had a bite just at that minute;and, besides, I really did not look for you on such a little boat. I hadan idea you would come on something more respectable than that. "

"As if we should ever think of respectability at such a time!" said Mrs. Chipperton, with tears in her eyes. 

"As for you boys, " said Mr. Chipperton, getting up and taking us each bythe hand, "I don't know what to say to you. "

I thought, for my part, that they had all said enough already. They hadpraised and thanked us for things we had never thought of. 

"I almost wish you were orphans, " he continued, "so that I might adoptyou. But a boy can't have more than one father. However, I tell you! aboy can have as many uncles as he pleases. I'll be an uncle to each ofyou as long as I live. Ever after this call me Uncle Chipperton. Do youhear that?"

We heard, and said we'd do it. 

Soon after this, lots of people came in, and the whole thing was goneover again and again. I am sorry to say that, at one or two places inthe story, Mrs. Chipperton kissed us both again. 

Before we went down to dinner, I asked Uncle Chipperton how his lung hadstood it, through all this exposure. 

"Oh, bother the lung!" he said. "I tell you; boys, I've lost faith inthat lung, --at least, in there being anything the matter with it. Ishall travel for it no more. "

CHAPTER XXII. 

LOOKING AHEAD. 

"We have made up our minds, " said Uncle Chipperton, that afternoon, "togo home and settle down, and let Corny go to school. I hate to send heraway from us, but it will be for her good. But that wont be until nextfall. We'll keep her until then. And now, I'll tell you what I thinkwe'd all better do. It's too soon to go North yet. No one should go fromthe soft climate of the semi-tropics to the Northern or Middle Statesuntil mild weather has fairly set in there. And that will not happen fora month yet. 

"Now, this is my plan. Let us all take a leisurely trip homeward by theway of Mobile, and New Orleans and the Mississippi River. This will bejust the season, and we shall be just the party. What do you say?"

Everybody, but me, said it would be splendid. I had exactly the sameidea about it, but I didn't say so, for there was no use in it. Icouldn't go on a trip like that. I had been counting up my money thatmorning, and found I would have to shave pretty closely to get home byrail, --and I wanted, very much, to go that way--although it would becheaper to return by sea, --for I had a great desire to go through Northand South Carolina and Virginia, and see Washington. It would haveseemed like a shame to go back by sea, and miss all this. But, as Isaid, I had barely enough money for this trip, and to make it I muststart the next day. And there was no use writing home for money. I knewthere was none there to spare, and I wouldn't have asked for it if therehad been. If there was any travelling money, some of the others ought tohave it. I had had my share. 

It was very different with Rectus and the Chippertons. They could affordto take this trip, and there was no reason why they shouldn't take it. 

When I told them this, Uncle Chipperton flashed up in a minute, and saidthat that was all stuff and nonsense, --the trip shouldn't cost me acent. What was the sense, he said, of thinking of a few dollars whensuch pleasure was in view? He would see that I had no money-troubles, and if that was all, I could go just as well as not. Didn't he owe methousands of dollars?

All this was very kind, but it didn't suit me. I knew that he did notowe me a cent, for if I had done anything for him, I made no charge forit. And even if I had been willing to let him pay my expenses, --which Iwasn't, --my father would never have listened to it. 

So I thanked him, but told him the thing couldn't be worked in thatway, and I said it over and over again, until, at last, he believed it. Then he offered to lend me the money necessary, but this offer I had todecline, too. As I had no way of paying it back, I might as well havetaken it as a gift. There wasn't anything he could offer, after this, except to get me a free pass; and as he had no way of doing that, hegave up the job, and we all went down to supper. That evening, as I wasputting a few things into a small valise which I had bought, --as ourtrunks were lost on the "Tigris, " I had very little trouble in packingup, --I said to Rectus that by the time he started off he could lay in anew stock of clothes. I had made out our accounts, and had his moneyready to hand over to him, but I knew that his father had arranged forhim to draw on a Savannah bank, both for the tug-boat money and formoney for himself. I think that Mr. Colbert would have authorized me todo this drawing, if Rectus had not taken the matter into his own handswhen he telegraphed. But it didn't matter, and there wasn't any tug-boatmoney to pay, any way, for Uncle Chipperton paid that. He said it hadall been done for his daughter, and he put his foot down hard, andwouldn't let Rectus hand over a cent. 

"I wont have any more time than you will have, " replied Rectus, "for I'mgoing to-morrow. "

"I didn't suppose they'd start so soon, " I said "I'm sure there's noneed of any hurry. "

"I'm not going with them, " said Rectus, putting a lonely shirt into atrunk that he had bought. "I'm going home with you. "

I was so surprised at this that I just stared at him. 

"What do you mean?" said I. 

"Mean?" said he. "Why, just what I say. Do you suppose I'd go off withthem, and let you straggle up home by yourself? Not any for me, thankyou. And besides, I thought you were to take charge of me. How would youlook going back and saying you'd turned me over to another party?"

[Illustration: "YOU'RE A REGULAR YOUNG TRUMP. "]

"You thought I was to take charge of you, did you?" I cried. "Well, you're a long time saying so. You never admitted that before. "

"I had better sense than that, " said Rectus, with a grin. "But I don'tmind saying so now, as we're pretty near through with our travels. Butfather told me expressly that I was to consider myself in your charge. "

"You young rascal!" said I. "And he thought that you understood it sowell that there was no need of saying much to me about it. All that hesaid expressly to me was about taking care of your money. But I tell youwhat it is, Rectus, you're a regular young trump to give up that trip, and go along with me. "

And I gave him a good slap on the back. 

He winced at this, and let drive a pillow at me, so hard that it nearlyknocked me over a chair. 

The next morning, after an early breakfast, we went to bid theChippertons good-bye. We intended to walk to the dépôt, and so wanted tostart early. I was now cutting down all extra expenses. 

"Ready so soon!" cried Uncle Chipperton, appearing at the door of hisroom. "Why, we haven't had our breakfast yet. "

"We have to make an early start, if we go by the morning train, " said I, "and we wanted to see you all before we started. "

"Glad to see you at any hour of the night or day, --always very glad tosee you; but I think we had better be getting our breakfast, if thetrain goes so early. "

"Are you going to start to-day?" I asked, in surprise. 

"Certainly, " said he. "Why shouldn't we? I bought a new suit of clothesyesterday, and my wife and Corny look well enough for travellingpurposes. We can start as well as not, and I'd go in my green trousersif I hadn't any others. My dear, " he said, looking into the room, "youand Corny must come right down to breakfast. "

"But perhaps you need not hurry, " I said. "I don't know when the trainfor Mobile starts. "

"Mobile!" he cried. "Who's going to Mobile? Do you suppose that _we_are? Not a bit of it. When I proposed that trip, I didn't propose it forMrs. Chipperton, or Corny, or myself, or you, or Rectus, or Tom, orDick, or Harry. I proposed it for all of us. If all of us cannot go, none of us can. If you must go north this morning, so must we. We'venothing to pack, and that's a comfort. Nine o'clock, did you say? Youmay go on to the dépôt, if you like, and we'll eat our breakfasts, takea carriage, and be there in time. "

They were there in time, and we all went north together. 

We had a jolly trip. We saw Charleston, and Richmond, and Washington, and Baltimore, and Philadelphia; and at last we saw Jersey City, and ourfolks waiting for us in the great dépôt of the Pennsylvania railroad. 

When I saw my father and mother and my sister Helen standing there onthe stone foot-walk, as the cars rolled in, I was amazed. I hadn'texpected them. It was all right enough for Rectus to expect his fatherand mother, for they lived in New York, but I had supposed that I shouldmeet my folks at the station in Willisville. But it was a capital ideain them to come to New York. They said they couldn't wait at home, andbesides, they wanted to see and know the Chippertons, for we all seemedso bound together, now. 

Well, it wasn't hard to know the Chippertons. Before we reached thehotel where my folks were staying, and where we all went to takeluncheon together, any one would have thought that Uncle Chipperton wasreally a born brother to father and old Mr. Colbert. How he did talk!How everybody talked! Except Helen. She just sat and listened and lookedat Corny--a girl who had been shipwrecked, and had been on a little raftin the midst of the stormy billows. My mother and the two other ladiescried a good deal, but it was a sunshiny sort of crying, and wouldn'thave happened so often, I think, if Mrs. Chipperton had not been soready to lead off. 

After luncheon we sat for two or three hours in one of the parlors, andtalked, and talked, and talked. It was a sort of family congress. Everybody told everybody else what he or she was going to do, and tookinformation of the same kind in trade. I was to go to college in thefall, but as that had been pretty much settled long ago, it couldn't beconsidered as news. I looked well enough, my father said, to do all thehard studying that was needed; and the professor was anxiously waitingto put me through a course of training for the happy lot of Freshman. 

"But he's not going to begin his studies as soon as he gets home, " saidmy mother. "We're going to have him to ourselves for a while. " And I didnot doubt that. I hadn't been gone very long, to be sure, but then aship had been burned from under me, and that counted for about a year'sabsence. 

Corny's fate had been settled, too, in a general way, but the discussionthat went on about a good boarding-school for her showed that aparticular settlement might take some time. Uncle Chipperton wanted herto go to some school near his place on the Hudson River, so that hecould drive over and see her every day or two, and Mrs. Colbert said shethought that that wouldn't do, because no girl could study as she oughtto, if her father was coming to see her all the time, and UncleChipperton wanted to know what possible injury she thought he would dohis daughter by going to see her; and Mrs. Colbert said, none at all, ofcourse she didn't mean that, and Mrs. Chipperton said that Corny and herfather ought really to go to the same school, and then we all laughed, and my father put in quickly, and asked about Rectus. It was easy to seethat it would take all summer to get a school for Corny. 

"Well, " said Mr. Colbert, "I've got a place for Sammy. Right in myoffice. He's to be a man of business, you know. He never took much toschooling. I sent him travelling so that he could see the world, and gethimself in trim for dealing with it. And that's what we have to do inour business. Deal with the world. "

I didn't like this, and I don't think Rectus did, either. He walked overto one of the windows, and looked out into the street. 

"I'll tell you what I think, sir, " said I. "Rectus--I mean your sonSamuel, only I shall never call him so--has seen enough of the world tomake him so wide awake that he sees more in schooling than he used to. That's my opinion!"

I knew that Rectus rather envied my going to college, for he had said asmuch on the trip home; and I knew that he had hoped his father would lethim make a fresh start with the professor at our old school. 

"Sammy, " cried out Mrs. Colbert, --"Sammy, my son, do you want to go toschool, and finish up your education, or go into your father's office, and learn to be a merchant?"

Rectus turned around from the window. 

"There's no hurry about the merchant, " he said. "I want to go to schooland college, first. "

"And that's just where you're going, " said his mother, with her facereddening up a little more than common. 

Mr. Colbert grinned a little, but said nothing. I suppose he thought itwould be of no use, and I had an idea, too, that he was very glad tohave Rectus determine on a college career. I know the rest of us were. And we didn't hold back from saying so, either. 

Uncle Chipperton now began to praise Rectus, and he told whatobligations the boy had put him under in Nassau, when he wrote to hisfather, and had that suit about the property stopped, and so relievedhim--Uncle Chipperton--from cutting short his semi-tropical trip, andhurrying home to New York in the middle of winter. 

"But the suit isn't stopped, " said Mr. Colbert. "You don't suppose Iwould pay any attention to a note like the one Sammy sent me, do you? Ijust let the suit go on, of course. It has not been decided yet, but Iexpect to gain it. "

At this, Uncle Chipperton grew very angry indeed. It was astonishing tosee how quickly he blazed up. He had supposed the whole thing settled, and now to find that the terrible injustice--as he considered it--wasstill going on, was too much for him. 

"Do you sit there and tell me that, sir?" he exclaimed, jumping up andskipping over to Mr. Colbert. "Do you call yourself----"

"Father!" cried Corny. "Keep perfectly cool! Remain just where you are!"

Uncle Chipperton stopped as if he had run against a fence. His favoriteadvice went straight home to him. 

"Very good, my child, " said he, turning to Corny. "That's just what I'lldo. "

And he said no more about it. 

Now, everybody began to talk about all sorts of things, so as to seem asif they hadn't noticed this little rumpus, and we agreed that we mustall see each other again the next day. Father said he should remain inthe city for a few days, now that we were all here, and Uncle Chippertondid not intend to go to his country-place until the weather was warmer. We were speaking of several things that would be pleasant to dotogether, when Uncle Chipperton broke in with a proposition:

"I'll tell you what I am going to do. I am going to give a dinner tothis party. I can't invite you to my house, but I shall engage a parlorin a restaurant, where I have given dinners before (we always come toNew York when I want to give dinners--it's so much easier for us to cometo the city than for a lot of people to come out to our place), andthere I shall give you a dinner, to-morrow evening. Nobody need sayanything against this. I've settled it, and I can't be moved. "

As he couldn't be moved, no one tried to move him. 

"I tell you what it is, " said Rectus privately to me. "If UncleChipperton is going to give a dinner, according to his own ideas ofthings in general, it will be a curious kind of a meal. "

It often happened that Rectus was as nearly right as most people. 

CHAPTER XXIII. 

UNCLE CHIPPERTON'S DINNER. 

The next day was a busy one for father and mother and myself. All themorning we were out, laying in a small stock of baggage, to take theplace of what I had lost on the "Tigris. " But I was very sorry, especially on my sister Helen's account, that I had lost so many thingsin my trunk which I could not replace, without going back myself toNassau. I could buy curiosities from those regions that were ever somuch better than any that I had collected; but I could not buy shellsthat I myself had gathered, nor great seed-pods, like bean-pods two feetlong, which I had picked from the trees, nor pieces of rock that Imyself had brought up from a coral-reef. 

But these were all gone, and I pacified Helen by assuring her that Iwould tell her such long stories about these things that she couldalmost see them in her mind's eye. But I think, by the way she smiled, that she had only a second-rate degree of belief in my power ofdescription. She was a smart little thing, and she believed that Cornywas the queen of girls. 

While I am speaking of the "Tigris" and our losses, I will just say thatthe second boat which left the burning steamer was never heard from. 

We reached our hotel about noon, pretty tired, for we had been rushingthings, as it was necessary for father to go home early the next day. Onthe front steps we found Uncle Chipperton, who had been waiting for us. He particularly wanted to see me. He lunched with us, and then he tookme off to the place where he was to have his dinner, at six o'clock thatevening. He wanted to consult with me about the arrangements of thetable; where each person should sit, and all that sort of thing. Icouldn't see the use in this, because it was only a kind of familyparty, and we should all be sure to get seated, if there were chairs andplaces enough. But Uncle Chipperton wanted to plan and arrangeeverything until he was sure it was just right. That was his way. 

After he had settled these important matters, and the head-waiter andthe proprietor had become convinced that I was a person of muchconsequence, who had to be carefully consulted before anything could bedone, we went down stairs, and at the street-door Uncle Chippertonsuddenly stopped me. 

"See here, " said he, "I want to tell you something. I'm not coming tothis dinner. "

"Not--coming!" I exclaimed, in amazement. 

"No, " said he, "I've been thinking it over, and have fully made up mymind about it. You see, this is intended as a friendly reunion, --anoccasion of good feeling and fellowship among people who are boundtogether in a very peculiar manner. "

"Yes, " I interrupted, "and that seems to me, sir, the very reason whyyou should be there. "

"The very reason why I should not be there, " he said. "You see, Icouldn't sit down with that most perverse and obstinate man, Colbert, and feel sure that something or other would not occur which would makean outbreak between us, or, at any rate, bad feeling. In fact, I know Icould not take pleasure in seeing him enjoy food. This may be wrong, butI can't help it. It's in me. And I wont be the means of casting a shadowover the happy company which will meet here to-night. No one but yourfolks need know I'm not coming. The rest will not know why I amdetained, and I shall drop in toward the close of the meal, just beforeyou break up. I want you to ask your father to take the head of thetable. He is just the man for such a place, and he ought to have it, too, for another reason. You ought to know that this dinner is reallygiven to you in your honor. To be sure, Rectus is a goodfellow--splendid--and does everything that he knows how; but my wife andI know that we owe all our present happiness to your exertions and goodsense. "

He went on in this way for some time, and although I tried to stop him, I couldn't do it. 

"Therefore, " he continued, "I want your father to preside, and all ofyou to be happy, without a suspicion of a cloud about you. At any rate, I shall be no cloud. Come around here early, and see that everything isall right. Now I must be off. "

And away he went. 

I did not like this state of affairs at all. I would have much preferredto have no dinner. It was not necessary, any way. If I had had theauthority, I would have stopped the whole thing. But it was UncleChipperton's affair, he paid for it, and I had no right to interferewith it. 

My father liked the matter even less than I did. He said it was astrange and unwarrantable performance on the part of Chipperton, and hedid not understand it. And he certainly did not want to sit at the headof the table in another man's place. I could not say anything to him tomake him feel better about it. I made him feel worse, indeed, when Itold him that Uncle Chipperton did not want his absence explained, oralluded to, any more than could be helped. My father hated to have tokeep a secret of this kind. 

In the afternoon, I went around to the hotel where the Chippertonsalways staid, when they were in New York, to see Corny and her mother. Ifound them rather blue. Uncle Chipperton had not been able to keep hisplan from them, and they thought it was dreadful. I could not helpletting them see that I did not like it, and so we didn't have as livelya time as we ought to have had. 

I supposed that if I went to see Rectus, and told him about the matter, I should make him blue, too. But, as I had no right to tell him, andalso felt a pretty strong desire that some of the folks should comewith good spirits and appetites, I kept away from him. He would havebeen sure to see that something was the matter. 

I was the first person to appear in the dining-room of the restaurantwhere the dinner-table was spread for us. It was a prettily furnishedparlor in the second story of the house, and the table was verytastefully arranged and decorated with flowers. I went early, by myself, so as to be sure that everything was exactly right before the guestsarrived. All seemed perfectly correct; the name of each member of theparty was on a card by a plate. Even little Helen had her plate and hercard. It would be her first appearance at a regular dinner-party. 

The guests were not punctual. At ten minutes past six, even my father, who was the most particular of men in such things, had not made hisappearance. I waited five, ten, fifteen, twenty minutes more, and becameexceedingly nervous. 

The head-waiter came in and asked if my friends understood the time thathad been set. The dinner would be spoiled if it were kept much longer. Isaid that I was sure they knew all about the time set, and that therewas nothing to be done but to wait. It was most unaccountable that theyshould all be late. 

I stood before the fireplace and waited, and thought. I ran down to thedoor, and looked up and down the street. I called a waiter and told himto look into all the rooms in the house. They might have gone into thewrong place. But they were not to be seen anywhere. 

Then I went back to the fireplace, and did some more thinking. There wasno sense in supposing that they had made a mistake. They all knew thisrestaurant, and they all knew the time. In a moment, I said to myself:

"I know how it is. Father has made up his mind that he will not be mixedup in any affair of this kind, where a quarrel keeps the host of theparty from occupying his proper place, especially as he--my father--isexpected to occupy that place himself. So he and mother and Helen havejust quietly staid in their rooms at the hotel. Mrs. Chipperton andCorny wont come without Uncle Chipperton. They might ride right to thedoor, of course, but they are ashamed, and don't want to have to makeexplanations; and it is ridiculous to suppose that they wont have to bemade. As for Rectus and his people, they could not have heard anything, but, --I have it. Old Colbert got his back up, too, and wouldn't come, either for fear a quarrel would be picked, or because he could take nopleasure in seeing Uncle Chipperton enjoying food. And Rectus and hismother wouldn't come without him. "

It turned out, when I heard from all the parties, that I had got thematter exactly right. 

"We shall have to make fresh preparations, sir, if we wait any longer, "said the head-waiter, coming in with an air of great mental disturbance. 

"Don't wait, " said I. "Bring in the dinner. At least, enough for me. Idon't believe any one else will be here. "

The waiter looked bewildered, but he obeyed. I took my seat at the placewhere my card lay, at the middle of one side of the table, and spread mynapkin in my lap. The head-waiter waited on me himself, and one or twoother waiters came in to stand around, and take away dishes, and try tofind something to do. 

It was a capital dinner, and I went carefully through all the courses. Iwas hungry. I had been saving up some extra appetite for this dinner, and my regular appetite was a very good one. 

I had raw oysters, And soup, And fish, with delicious sauce, And roast duck, And croquettes, made of something extraordinarily nice, And beef _à la mode_, And all sorts of vegetables, in their proper places, And ready-made salad, And orange pie, And wine-jelly, And ice-cream, And bananas, oranges and white grapes, And raisins, and almonds and nuts, And a cup of coffee. 

I let some of these things off pretty easy, toward the last; but I didnot swerve from my line of duty. I went through all the courses, quietlyand deliberately. It was a dinner in my honor, and I did all the honor Icould to it. 

I was leaning back in my chair, with a satisfied soul, and nibbling atsome raisins, while I slowly drank my coffee, when the outer dooropened, and Uncle Chipperton entered. 

He looked at me in astonishment. Then he looked at the table, with theclean plates and glasses at every place, but one. Then he took it allin, or at least I supposed he did, for he sat down on a chair near thedoor, and burst out into the wildest fit of laughing. The waiters camerunning into the room to see what was the matter; but for severalminutes Uncle Chipperton could not speak. He laughed until I thoughthe'd crack something. I laughed, too, but not so much. 

"I see it all, " he gasped, at last. "I see it all. I see just how ithappened. "

And when we compared our ideas of the matter, we found that they werejust the same. 

I wanted him to sit down and eat something, but he would not do it. Hesaid he wouldn't spoil such a unique performance for anything. It wasone of the most comical meals he had ever heard of. 

I was glad he enjoyed it so much, for he paid for the whole dinner forten, which had been prepared at his order. 

When we reached the street, Uncle Chipperton put on a graver look. 

"This is all truly very funny, " he said, "but, after all, there issomething about it which makes me feel ashamed of myself. Would youobject to take a ride? It is only about eight o'clock. I want to go upto see old Colbert. "

I agreed to go, and we got into a street-car. The Colberts lived in oneof the up-town streets, and Uncle Chipperton had been at their house, onbusiness. 

"I never went to see them in a friendly way before, " he said. 

It was comforting to hear that this was to be a friendly visit. 

When we reached the house, we found the family of three in the parlor. They had probably had all the dinner they wanted, but they did not lookexactly satisfied with the world or themselves. 

"Look here, Colbert, " said Uncle Chipperton, after shaking hands withMrs. Colbert, "why didn't you go to my dinner?"

"Well, " said Mr. Colbert, looking him straight in the face, "I thoughtI'd better stay where I was. I didn't want to make any trouble, or pickany quarrels. I didn't intend to keep my wife and son away; but theywouldn't go without me. "

"No, indeed, " said Mrs. Colbert. 

"Oh, well!" said Uncle Chipperton, "you needn't feel bad about it. Ididn't go, myself. "

At this, they all opened their eyes as wide as the law allowed. 

"No, " he continued, "I didn't want to make any disturbance, orill-feeling, and so I didn't go, and my wife and daughter didn't want togo without me, and so they didn't go, and I expect Will's father andmother didn't care to be on hand at a time when bad feeling might beshown, and so they didn't go. There was no one there but Will. He ateall of the dinner that was eaten. He went straight through it, from oneend to the other. And there was no ill-feeling, no discord, no cloud ofany kind. All perfectly harmonious, wasn't it, Will?"

"Perfectly, " said I. 

"I just wish I had known about it, " said Rectus, a little sadly. 

"And now, Mr. Colbert, " said Uncle Chipperton, "I don't want this tohappen again. There may be other reunions of this kind, and we may wantto go. And there ought to be such reunions between families whose sonsand daughter have been cast away together, on a life-raft, in the middleof the ocean. "

"That's so, " said Mrs. Colbert, warmly. 

"I thought they were _saved_ on a life-raft, " said old Colbert, dryly. "And I didn't know it was in the middle of the ocean. "

"Well, fix that as you please, " said Uncle Chipperton. "What I want topropose is this: Let us settle our quarrel. Let's split our difference. Will you agree to divide that four inches of ground, and call it square?I'll pay for two inches. "

"Do you mean you'll pay half the damages I've laid?" asked old Colbert. 

"That's what I mean, " said Uncle Chipperton. 

"All right, " said Mr. Colbert; "I'll agree. " And they shook hands on it. 

"Now, then, " said Uncle Chipperton, who seemed unusually lively, "I mustgo see the Gordons, and explain matters to them. Wont you come along, Rectus?" And Rectus came. 

On the way to our hotel, we stopped for Corny and her mother. We mightas well have a party, Uncle Chipperton said. 

We had a gay time at our rooms. My father and mother were greatly amusedat the way the thing had turned out, and very much pleased that Mr. Colbert and Uncle Chipperton had become reconciled to each other. 

"I thought he had a good heart, " said my mother, softly, to me, lookingover to Uncle Chipperton, who was telling my father, for the secondtime, just how I looked, as I sat alone at the long table. 

Little Helen had not gone to bed yet, and she was sorry about the dinnerin the same way that Rectus was. So was Corny, but she was too glad thatthe quarrel between her father and Mr. Colbert was over, to care muchfor the loss of the dinner. She was always very much disturbed byquarrels between friends or friends' fathers. 

CHAPTER XXIV. 

THE STORY ENDS. 

Three letters came to me the next morning. I was rather surprised atthis, because I did not expect to get letters after I found myself athome; or, at least, with my family. The first of these was handed to meby Rectus. It was from his father. This is the letter:

 "MY DEAR BOY:" (This opening seemed a little curious to me, for I did not suppose the old gentleman thought of me in that way. ) "I shall not be able to see you again before you leave for Willisville, so I write this note just to tell you how entirely I am satisfied with the way in which you performed the very difficult business I intrusted to you--that of taking charge of my son in his recent travels. The trip was not a very long one, but I am sure it has been of great service to him; and I also believe that a great deal of the benefit he has received has been due to you. " (I stopped here, and tried to think what I had done for the boy. Besides the thrashing I gave him in Nassau, I could not think of anything. ) "I have been talking a great deal with Sammy, in the last day or two, about his doings while he was away, and although I cannot exactly fix my mind on any particular action, on your part, which proves what I say" (he was in the same predicament here in which I was myself), "yet I feel positively assured that your companionship and influence have been of the greatest service to him. Among other things, he really wants to go to college. I am delighted at this. It was with much sorrow that I gave up the idea of making him a scholar: but, though he was a good boy, I saw that it was useless to keep him at the academy at Willisville, and so made up my mind to take him into my office. But I know you put this college idea into his head, though how, I cannot say, and I am sure that it does not matter. Sammy tells me that you never understood that he was to be entirely in your charge; but since you brought him out so well without knowing this, it does you more credit. I am very grateful to you. If I find a chance to do you a real service, I will do it. 

 "Yours very truly, "SAMUEL COLBERT, SR. "

The second letter was handed to me by Corny, and was from her mother. Ishall not copy that here, for it is much worse than Mr. Colbert's. Itpraised me for doing a lot of things which I never did at all; but Iexcused Mrs. Chipperton for a good deal she said, for she had passedthrough so much anxiety and trouble, and was now going to settle downfor good, with Corny at school, that I didn't wonder she felt happyenough to write a little wildly. But there was one queer resemblancebetween her letter and old Mr. Colbert's. She said two or threetimes--it was an awfully long letter--that there was not any particularthing that she alluded to when she spoke of my actions. That was thefunny part of it. They couldn't put their fingers on anything reallyworth mentioning, after all. 

My third letter had come by mail, and was a little old. My mother gaveit to me, and told me that it had come to the post-office at Willisvilleabout a week before, and that she had brought it down to give it to me, but had totally forgotten it until that morning. It was from St. Augustine, and this is an exact copy of it:

 "My good friend Big Little Man. I love you. My name Maiden's Heart. You much pious. You buy beans. Pay good. Me wants one speckled shirt. Crowded Owl want one speckled shirt, too. You send two speckled shirts. You good Big Little Man. You do that. Good-bye. 

 "MAIDEN'S HEART, Cheyenne Chief. 

 "Written by me, James R. Chalott, this seventh day of March, 187-, at the dictation of the above-mentioned Maiden's Heart. He has requested me to add that he wants the speckles to be red, and as large as you can get them. "

During the morning, most of our party met to bid each other good-bye. Corny, Rectus and I were standing together, having our little winding-uptalk, when Rectus asked Corny if she had kept her gray bean, theinsignia of our society. 

"To be sure I have, " she said, pulling it out from under her cloak. "Ihave it on this little chain which I wear around my neck. I've worn itever since I got it. And I see you each have kept yours on yourwatch-guards. "

"Yes, " I said, "and they're the only things of the kind we saved fromthe burning 'Tigris. ' Going to keep yours?"

"Yes, indeed, " said Corny, warmly. 

"So shall I, " said I. 

"And I, too, " said Rectus. 

And then we shook hands, and parted. 

THE END. 

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In order to give a still wider circulation to Mrs. Dodge's celebratedAmerican classic for young readers, the publishers have reduced theprice of the New Amsterdam edition from $2. 50 to $1. 50, retaining all ofMr. Doggett's illustrations. No handsomer or more appropriate gift bookfor boy or girl can be found than this story of life in Holland, thevitality and popularity of which seem to increase year by year. 

THE STORY OF MANHATTAN

 =By Charles Hemstreet, author of "Nooks and Corners of Old New York. " Illustrated. 12mo, $1. 00 net=

Mr. Hemstreet becomes in this charming young people's work the annalistas well as the antiquary of the city of his affection. He recounts itspicturesque history with a most sympathetic pen. No New York boy or girlcan gain elsewhere so readily and pleasantly the familiarity with thecity they should know most about. 

FIRST ACROSS THE CONTINENT

 =By Noah Brooks. Fully illustrated. $1. 50 net. =

The absorbing story of the famous Lewis and Clark exploration of thevast northwestern territory acquired under the Louisiana purchase ishere compiled with a special view of interesting young readers. Thejourney up the Missouri, over the Rockies, and down the Columbia to thePacific, together with descriptions of the Indian tribes of the regionmakes fascinating material. 

LEM--A NEW ENGLAND BOY

 =His Adventures and Mishaps. By Noah Brooks. Illustrated by H. C. Edwards. $1. 00 net. =

Boy life in a New England village forty or fifty years ago has neverbeen portrayed more faithfully or more vividly than in this wholesometale of Lem Parker and his chums. Full of fun and adventure, the storyhas that atmosphere of reality that makes the strongest appeal to boys. 

THE OUTCASTS

 =By W. A. Fraser, author of "Mooswa. " Illustrated by Arthur Heming. $1. 25 net. =

Another inimitable animal book by the author and artist of "Mooswa. " Itis the story of the strange friendship between a buffalo and a wolf, andthe author's wonderful insight into the workings of the minds of animalsis here used with extraordinary charm. 

THE OUTLAWS OF HORSE-SHOE HOLE

 =A Story of the Montana Vigilants. By Francis Hill. Illustrated by R. F. Zogbaum. $1. 00 net. =

A stirring book for boys and men by a new writer of the fascinating lifeof the western frontier a decade or two ago. The book is full of thetraditional romantic spirit of good old western yarns and yarners. 

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Three New Books by G. A. HENTY

Each Illustrated, 12mo, $1. 25 _net_

AT THE POINT OF THE BAYONET

=A Story of the British Conquest of India=

WITH ROBERTS TO PRETORIA

=A Story of the Boer War=

TO HERAT AND CABUL

=A Story of the First Afghan War=

 "Wherever English is spoken one imagines that Mr. Henty's name is known. Mr. Henty is no doubt the most successful writer for boys, and the one to whose new volumes they look forward every Christmas with most pleasure. "--_Review of Reviews. _

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Three Famous Books for Boys by JAMES BALDWIN

New Editions of these Standard Books, each, 12mo, $1. 50

THE STORY OF THE GOLDEN AGE

=With a series of full-page illustrations by Howard Pyle=

THE STORY OF SIEGFRIED

=With a series of full-page illustrations by Howard Pyle=

THE STORY OF ROLAND

=With a series of full-page illustrations by R. B. Birch=

 In these books Mr. Baldwin presents respectively the legends relating to the Trojan War, the great Siegfried myth of Northern Europe, and the mediæval romance of Roland and Charlemagne, bringing before the reader, with great spirit, with scholarly accuracy and with unfailing taste these heroic figures and the times in which their adventures are supposed to have occurred. 

 * * * * *

CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS, NEW YORK CITY

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Transcriber's Notes:

Obvious punctuation errors repaired. 

The word "won't" is spelled "wont" consistently in the original. Thiswas retained. 

Page 26, word "with" added to text. (done with dinner)

Page 95, "depot" changed to "dépôt" to conform to rest of text. (at thedépôt)

Page 259, "Canavaral" changed to "Canaveral". (Cape Canaveral)