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diff --git a/24124.txt b/24124.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..262d1d3 --- /dev/null +++ b/24124.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11569 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Down the Rhine, by Oliver Optic + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Down the Rhine + Young America in Germany + +Author: Oliver Optic + +Release Date: January 2, 2008 [EBook #24124] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK DOWN THE RHINE *** + + + + +Produced by David Edwards and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was +produced from scans of public domain material produced by +Microsoft for their Live Search Books site.) + + + + + + +Transcriber's Note: This sentence, although probably an error, was left +as printed: + + I believe you are a little deaf in one eye, Raymond, or else you + can't hear in the other. + + + +[Illustration: THE TRAVELLING JOURNEYMEN.--Page 217.] + +[Illustration: + +Young America Abroad + +Down the Rhine + +By Oliver Optic. + +Boston +Lee & Shepard.] + + + + + +DOWN THE RHINE; + +OR, + +YOUNG AMERICA IN GERMANY. + + +A Story of Travel and Adventure. + + + +BY + +OLIVER OPTIC. + + + +BOSTON: +LEE AND SHEPARD. +1870. + +Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1869, by +WILLIAM T. ADAMS, +In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the + District of Massachusetts. + +ELECTROTYPED AT THE +_Boston Stereotype Foundry_, +No. 19 Spring Lane. + + + + TO MY YOUNG FRIEND + _RALPH OAKLEY_, + This Volume +IS AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED. + + + + +YOUNG AMERICA ABROAD. + +BY OLIVER OPTIC. + +A Library of Travel and Adventure in Foreign Lands. First and Second +Series; six volumes in each Series. 16mo. Illustrated. + + +_First Series._ + + I. _OUTWARD BOUND_; OR, YOUNG AMERICA AFLOAT. + + II. _SHAMROCK AND THISTLE_; OR, YOUNG AMERICA IN IRELAND AND SCOTLAND. + +III. _RED CROSS_; OR, YOUNG AMERICA IN ENGLAND AND WALES. + + IV. _DIKES AND DITCHES_; OR, YOUNG AMERICA IN HOLLAND AND BELGIUM. + + V. _PALACE AND COTTAGE_; OR, YOUNG AMERICA IN FRANCE AND SWITZERLAND. + + VI. _DOWN THE RHINE_; OR, YOUNG AMERICA IN GERMANY. + + +_Second Series._ + + I. _UP THE BALTIC_; OR, YOUNG AMERICA IN DENMARK AND SWEDEN. + + II. _NORTHERN LANDS_; OR, YOUNG AMERICA IN PRUSSIA AND RUSSIA. + +III. _VINE AND OLIVE_; OR, YOUNG AMERICA IN SPAIN AND PORTUGAL. + + IV. _SUNNY SHORES_; OR, YOUNG AMERICA IN ITALY AND AUSTRIA. + + V. _CROSS AND CRESCENT_; OR, YOUNG AMERICA IN GREECE AND TURKEY. + + VI. _ISLES OF THE SEA_; OR, YOUNG AMERICA HOMEWARD BOUND. + + + + +PREFACE. + + +DOWN THE RHINE, the sixth and last volume of the first series of "YOUNG +AMERICA ABROAD," is the conclusion of the history of the Academy Squadron +on its first voyage to Europe, with the excursion of the students and +their friends into Germany, and down its most beautiful river. As in the +preceding volumes of the series, brief geographical descriptions of the +country visited are given, with a sketch of its history, and of whatever +may be peculiar or interesting in its manners and customs. The travellers +enter Germany by the way of Strasburg, and visit Freiburg, Schaffhausen, +Constance, Friedrichshafen, Ulm, Stuttgart, Carlsruhe, Darmstadt, +Baden-Baden, Heidelberg, Frankfurt, Mayence, Bingen, Bonn, Coblenz, +Cologne, Dusseldorf, and Aix-la-Chapelle; but only the most interesting +features of these places are noticed. + +The story part of the volume relates mostly to a trip of the squadron +from Havre to Brest, and the cruise of the Josephine up the Mediterranean, +in which the writer has endeavored to show that even injustice is not to +be redressed by resorting to evil deeds; and he is quite sure that the +sympathies of his readers will always be with the members of the "Order +of the Faithful." + +As the author has before had occasion gratefully to acknowledge, the +success of this series has far exceeded his anticipations; and in bringing +the first series to a close, he again returns his thanks to his friends, +young and old, who have so often and so earnestly encouraged him in his +agreeable labors,--all the more agreeable because they are so generously +appreciated. He intends, during the coming year, to make another trip to +Europe, for the purpose of visiting all the countries mentioned in the +titles of the second series; for he is not inclined to write about any +country until he has seen it. If no unforeseen event intervenes to defeat +his plans, the remaining volumes of YOUNG AMERICA ABROAD will soon follow. + +HARRISON SQUARE, MASS., +October 28, 1869. + + + + +CONTENTS. + + +CHAPTER PAGE + + I. CONFUSION IN THE SHIP. 11 + + II. CLOSE QUARTERS. 27 + + III. A GATHERING STORM. 42 + + IV. THE YOUNG AMERICAN MUTINY. 57 + + V. THE ORDER OF THE FAITHFUL. 73 + + VI. IN THE STEERAGE. 89 + + VII. THE VISIT TO THE HOLD. 106 + + VIII. SHORT OF WATER. 123 + + IX. THE LAST OF THE MUTINEERS. 140 + + X. WHAT THE RUNAWAYS WERE GOING TO DO. 158 + + XI. A SHORT LECTURE ON GERMANY. 174 + + XII. A MYSTERIOUS MOVEMENT. 191 + + XIII. FROM STRASBURG TO CONSTANCE. 207 + + XIV. THE STORM ON LAKE CONSTANCE. 224 + + XV. LADY FEODORA AND SIR WILLIAM. 241 + + XVI. UP THE MEDITERRANEAN. 260 + + XVII. HEIDELBERG AND HOMBURG. 279 + +XVIII. CASTLES, VINEYARDS, AND MOUNTAINS. 296 + + XIX. COBLENZ AND COLOGNE. 309 + + XX. HOMEWARD BOUND. 332 + + + + +DOWN THE RHINE; +OR, +YOUNG AMERICA IN GERMANY. + + + + +CHAPTER I. + +CONFUSION IN THE SHIP. + + +"All hands pipe to muster, ahoy!" screamed the new boatswain of the +Young America, as he walked towards the forecastle of the ship, +occasionally sounding a shrill blast upon his whistle. + +At the same time the corresponding officer in the Josephine performed +a similar service; and in a moment every officer and seaman in both +vessels had taken his station. The squadron lay at anchor off the +harbor of Havre. The students had returned the day before from a +delightful tour through France and Switzerland--all except the +thirty-one who had preferred to take a cruise on their own account in +the Josephine; and these had been performing ship's duty, and making up +back lessons, while the vessel lay at anchor in the port of Brest. +Perhaps it was not strictly true that these malcontents were sick of +the game of running away, but it is strictly true that they were +disgusted with the penalty which had been imposed upon them by the +authorities of the Academy. It is to be regretted that they were not +moved to penitence by their punishment, and that they were ripe for any +new rebellion which promised to be even a partial success. They had +been deprived of seeing Paris,--which is France,--and the beautiful +scenery of Switzerland, by their folly; and they had taste enough to +realize that they had sacrificed the best part of a tour in Europe. + +Those who had participated in the excursion were enthusiastic in their +belief that they had had a good time; and the frequent discussion of +the pleasures of the trip did not tend to diminish the discontent of +the runaways. It was absolutely intolerable to think they had been +compensating for past deficiencies in their studies, while their +shipmates were gazing upon the magnificent palaces of Paris, the +picturesque cottages, and the sublime mountain scenery of Switzerland. +Perhaps their temper was not improved by the reflection that others had +been permitted to enjoy what they were not allowed to see, for envy is +one of the ugliest and most uncomfortable of human passions. Boys, like +men and women, fret because they cannot have what others possess, +either as the gift of partial Fortune, or as the reward of their own +superior skill and perseverance. + +If the runaways had not learned wisdom from their failure, they had +acquired discretion. The leaders in the mad scheme could now see just +why and wherefore they had failed; and they believed--if they were to +have the opportunity to do the deed over again--they could make a +success of it. The machinery of the secret organization was now +disgusting to them, though it had enabled them to make the capture of +the vessel. They were disposed to cast it all aside, and resort to new +methods for future occasions. As a general rule, they were wise enough +to keep still, and only among themselves did they express their chagrin +and disappointment, or suggest that they were not entirely cured of +their tendency to run away. The strict discipline of the squadron could +not be evaded, and they were compelled to perform all their duties. + +It was the beginning of a new term in the school. New officers had +succeeded the old ones, or the position of the latter had been +materially changed. The members of the order of the Knights of the +Golden Fleece found themselves scattered by the new arrangement. Not +less than a dozen of them had been transferred to the consort, while +Tom Perth, the leading spirit of the runaways, had attained to the +dignity of second master of the ship, more by his natural abilities +than by any efforts he had made to win a high place. As yet he had +found no opportunity to arrange a plan for further operations with his +confederates, for Mr. Fluxion, the vice-principal, was in the charge of +the schooner, and his eyes and ears were always open. The return of the +tourists from their excursion restored the routine on board of the +vessels. + +Everything was changed, and at first hardly an officer knew where he +belonged, or what his duty was. Confusion reigned on board the ship and +her consort, while the students were finding and preparing their new +berths. Happily, the changes were all made before dinner time, and +everything settled down into its wonted order and regularity. After the +midday meal was served, all hands were piped to muster, in order that +the officers and seamen might be exercised in their new situations. The +details of sea duty were well understood by all. Those alone who had +been promoted from the steerage to the after cabin were in the dark in +regard to their duty, though in these instances the parties had a +general idea of what was required of them. But it was necessary to have +the crew ready to work together, for the seaman who had hauled on the +weather-brace in tacking was now an officer, and the stations of many +were new and strange to them. + +Shuffles in the ship, and Terrill in the consort, proceeded to execute +all the manoeuvres required in handling the vessel, from getting under +way to coming to anchor again. Nearly all the officers and crew were +zealous to perform their several parts correctly; but there were enough +of the discontented ones, who shirked as much as possible, to create +considerable confusion. The captain of the Young America was not +satisfied with the manner in which the various evolutions were +performed; so he began at the beginning, and went over all the ground +again, to the great disgust of the runaways in his crew, who had been +doing this sort of thing for four weeks, while the others were enjoying +the beauties of the mountain scenery. + +"What's the matter, Captain Shuffles?" asked Commodore Kendall, when +the commander finished the routine a second time, and was still +dissatisfied with the result. + +"It doesn't work well," replied Shuffles, biting his lip. + +"A new broom sweeps clean, they say," laughed the flag officer. +"Perhaps you are more particular than your predecessors were." + +"I think not. The ship would have miss-stayed under such handling as we +have to-day, to say nothing of the clumsy look of it," continued the +new captain. "I shouldn't wish to be out in a gale with a crew as slack +as ours is just now." + +"What's the trouble?" asked the commodore, rather anxiously. "I saw +that things did not work well." + +"There is trouble somewhere, and I think I can see where it is." + +"What is it?" + +"Certain parties in this ship don't like me very well, just now." + +"You mean the runaways," suggested Paul. + +"Of course." + +"They are making a mistake if they are slack in their duty," added the +commodore, rather indignantly. "They wish to go with us on our next +excursion: but I don't think they can win the privilege in this +manner." + +"Wilton and Howe are doing all they can to make things go wrong," said +Captain Shuffles, who was more in sorrow than in anger at the conduct +of these worthies. "If they are doing it to spite me, they are only +spiting themselves. I am going through these manoeuvres until they are +a little more ship-shape, at least." + +The new captain ordered all hands to take their stations for getting +under way, and Commodore Kendall went aft, though he still carefully +observed the conduct of the seamen. The clumsiness, and the intentional +blunders of certain of the crew seemed to indicate that there was a +conspiracy to defeat the purposes of the commander. First, Howe tumbled +down while the hands were walking round the capstan; Spencer stumbled +over him, and a dozen boys were thrown in a pile upon them. Then +Richmond and Merrick dropped their handspikes overboard, through an +open port, when the order was given to restore these articles to their +proper places. + +Little snarled himself up in the gasket on the fore-topsail yard, and +dropped off, as though he had fallen, though he clung to the rope, and +was brought up with a jerk ten or twelve feet below the spar. Some of +his gang, believing he had really fallen, screamed, and the attention +of the whole crew was drawn off from their duty. When the fore-topmast +staysail and jib were to be set, somebody had fouled the down-hauls, so +that they could not be hoisted. There was a kink in the halyards of the +main-top gallant-sail, so that it would not run through the block. +Clewlines, clew-garnets, leachlines, and buntlines were in a snarl. The +zeal of those who were striving to do their duty faithfully seemed to +make the matter worse, and the officers found it difficult to determine +who really made the mischief; for the malcontents pretended to be as +enthusiastic as their shipmates. Strong expressions and hard words were +freely used by the vexed seamen, and certainly such a scene of +confusion had never before been observed on board of the ship, even +when a large proportion of the crew were green hands. + +Captain Shuffles was deeply grieved by the misconduct of the crew; for, +standing on the quarter-deck, he could not distinguish between the +intentional and the unintentional blunders of the crew, and therefore +believed that the disaffection was much more extensive than was really +the case. The zealous efforts of one portion of the crew to rectify the +mistakes of another portion only increased the confusion, and some of +those who were actually doing their best appeared to be the real +authors of the difficulty. The captain was drilling his crew in +simultaneous movements, and it was difficult, if not impossible, to +ascertain exactly the source of the unwonted confusion. + +While the routine of evolutions was thus bunglingly performed, the +principal and the professors, who had been discussing an interesting +question of discipline in the main cabin, came on deck. Perhaps the +fact that Mr. Lowington was not on deck had encouraged the conspirators +in creating the confusion which pervaded the decks and rigging. As he +was the last to ascend the companion-way, he paused on the steps, with +his head on a level with the deck, to note the precision of the drill. +He was not noticed by the conspirators, and, unfortunately for them, +they continued in their career of insubordination. The quick eye of the +principal readily detected the nature of the mischief, though it was as +impossible for him as for the officers immediately to indicate the +authors of the confusion which prevailed throughout the ship. + +"This does not look much like going down the Rhine this week," said Mr. +Lowington to Commodore Kendall, as he stepped upon the quarter-deck. + +"I don't think it does, sir," replied Paul, grieved and indignant at +the miserable exhibition of seamanship which the crew then presented. + +"This is a strange sight on board of this ship," added the principal, +biting his lips with vexation, for, as usual, when the young tars +displayed their seamanship, there were plenty of spectators on shore, +and on board of other vessels in the roadstead. + +"I certainly never saw anything like it since we first began to learn +ship's duty in Brockway harbor." + +"The crew appear to be hazing the new officers," continued Mr. +Lowington, who could not fail to perceive that a large portion of the +apparent blundering was intentional. + +"Of course there isn't a seaman on board who does not know his duty." + +"They are not familiar yet with their new stations, and a little +confusion is unavoidable," said Mr. Lowington, willing to make all +reasonable allowances. + +"But they have already been through the routine two or three times," +suggested Paul. + +"Are the crew dissatisfied with the election?" asked the principal. + +"I have not heard any dissatisfaction expressed; but I suppose some of +them don't like Shuffles, especially those who went off in the +Josephine." + +"There are not twenty of them left in the ship; and it seems as though +the whole crew were engaged in this frolic." + +At this moment a gang of the waist men, who were walking away with the +main-topsail sheets, were suddenly piled up in a pyramid on deck. The +second fellow in the line had fallen down; the next had tripped over +him, and those that followed tumbled into the heap. It is more than +probable that some, whose estimate of the value of good order was not +very high, though they were tolerably good boys in the main, were +tempted by their love of fun to take part in what appeared to them only +a frolic. A scene of violent confusion ensued in this particular part +of the deck. Some, who were near the bottom of the pile, were hurt by +those who fell upon them, and the tempers of others were not improved +by the mishap. Hard words followed, those at the bottom blaming those +at the top, and those at the top growling at those at the bottom. Some +were rubbing their elbows, others their shins, and all appeared to be +anxious to ascertain who had produced the mischief. + +"Pipe to muster, Captain Shuffles," said the principal, stepping up to +the bewildered commander. "We have had about enough of this." + +Shuffles gave the order to the first lieutenant, and it was duly +transmitted to the boatswain, whose shrill pipe soon assembled the +whole ship's company in the waist. + +"We shall catch it now," said Spencer, one of the runaways, to Howe, as +they met near the rail, a little outside of the crowd. + +"No matter; he is only going to preach to us," replied Howe through the +corner of his mouth, while he tried to look as innocent as one of the +chaplain's lambs. + +"We shall not have a chance to go down the Rhine if we do things in +this way." + +"I don't want to go down the Rhine; at least, not till I have been +through Paris and Switzerland." + +"But we want to go ashore with the other fellows, or we shall have no +chance to go anywhere." + +"Shut up! Don't talk about that here. If we don't go, no one will go. +This is bully! We shall get things mixed so that the officers won't +know a lamb from a goat." + +"Bob Shuffles hasn't made much yet as captain," laughed Spencer. + +"We'll get even with him yet," added Howe, still talking through the +corner of his mouth, and looking all the time at the principal, who had +taken his place on the hatch. + +Mr. Lowington, as the rogue had suggested, only intended to "preach." +He had observed the insubordination of the crew, and he regretted it +exceedingly, for he was as careful of the reputation of the ship as of +his own. There was an evident intention on the part of a large portion +of the ship's company to haze the new officers. Such a purpose was +unworthy of the character of young gentlemen, and he hoped that such +conduct as he had just witnessed would be discontinued. In a day or two +he purposed to start for Germany, but he could not leave the ship +unless he was satisfied that every one on board knew his duty; for on +their return they might be compelled, by some unforeseen event, to go +to sea at once, and the crew did not appear to know how to set and furl +a sail. The officers, from the captain to the lowest rank, appeared to +have performed their duty faithfully; and all the trouble was in the +execution of their orders. In conclusion, he announced that the drill +would be resumed in half an hour, and directed the commander to pipe +down. + +"That didn't hurt anybody," said Howe, as he walked forward with +Spencer. "Let us keep it up." + +"We may get caught at it." + +"No need of that. Accidents will happen." + +"Yes; but they don't happen all over the ship at the same time." + +"Well, they may, you know," laughed Howe. "In fact, I don't see how +accidents are to be avoided while we have such a fellow as Shuffles for +captain. If there is any one in the ship that I despise, it is +Shuffles." + +"So say we all of us!" + +"The snivelling, canting, whining puppy! Have you any idea that his +merit-marks made him captain of the ship?" continued Howe. + +"I suppose they did." + +"Tell that to the marines! Wasn't he acknowledged to be the worst +fellow in the ship when we crossed the Atlantic? Wasn't he the +ringleader in all mischief and scrapes?" + +"But he has reformed." + +"Reformed!" sneered Howe. "He has turned hypocrite, if that is what you +mean by reformed. I don't believe in that sort of bosh." + +"He's the pet of the principal and the instructors." + +"Yes; and they have given him marks enough to make him captain, just to +show good fellows, like you and me, what a saint can do. It is all +humbug! Why, he got more marks than Kendall, Gordon, Haven, and the +rest of those cabin nobs, who are fit to enter the senior class in a +college. I am satisfied that his merit-roll was doctored so as to make +it come out as it did." + +"I don't believe Lowington would do any such thing as that," suggested +Spencer, shaking his head. + +"Don't you? Well, I do. What's the use of talking! Didn't Shuffles jump +from the steerage into the captain's state-room?" + +"Any other fellow may do the same thing. Look at Tom Perth, who lost a +heap of marks for running off in the Josephine, as the rest of us did. +He is second master. If it hadn't been for our scrape, very likely he +would have been captain." + +"Don't you believe it." + +"If Lowington had not been fair, and let every fellow go just where his +marks carried him, Perth would not have had a place in the cabin." + +"O, the principal only wanted to break us up by taking our best fellow +away from us. He couldn't drive Tom Perth, and now he's going to lead +him--bait him with sugar and offices." + +"Some of the fellows say Shuffles can't handle the ship without the +help of the principal," said Spencer. + +"Of course he can't!" exclaimed Howe. "Hasn't he proved that already? +If Paul Kendall had been captain, he would have spotted every fellow +that made any trouble. Let us keep it up, Spencer, and we shall soon +prove that Shuffles can't handle the ship. That will be enough to +satisfy me." + +The approach of an officer interrupted the conversation; but Howe +passed from one to another of the malcontents, and instructed them what +to do in the next drill. They were to create all the confusion they +could in the discharge of their duty. They were to misunderstand the +orders, and to blunder in the execution of them, in such a manner as to +conceal their own agency in the mischief, and divide the responsibility +of it among their companions. The runaway crew of the Josephine, +mortified at their failure, were still fretting because they had not +visited Paris and Switzerland. They were ready to listen to evil +counsels, and regarding Howe as their leader since the promotion of +Perth, they promised to follow his instructions to the letter. + +"What are we going to make by it?" demanded Sheffield, who doubted the +policy of the proceeding. + +"We are going to prove, in the first place, that Shuffles can't handle +the ship," replied Howe. + +"Perhaps you may prove it, even if you don't believe what you prove." + +"But I do believe he can't handle the ship." + +"I don't. I hate Shuffles as bad as any fellow, but I believe he is as +good a sailor as any person on board, man or boy." + +"That's all in your eye!" retorted Howe, contemptuously. "He may be +able to get along while we are lying in port, but I should like to see +him work the ship in a gale of wind." + +"He can do it," answered Sheffield, confidently. "But he is a flunky, +and spoiled all our fun in the Josephine. I am willing to throw him +over for being a hypocrite, and selling us out as he did. What else are +we to gain?" + +"We shall help along our chances of going down the Rhine, and," +whispered Howe, "of seeing Paris and Switzerland." + +"I don't see it." + +"Well, I do. If we cave in and pretend to be lambs when we are lions, +we shall have to do duty while the rest of the fellows are having a +good time on shore. If we show that we are still wide awake, Lowington +will take us with him, because he will not dare to leave us on board." + +"He will leave Fluxion with us." + +"Not much! I heard some of the fellows say that Fluxion was going to +Italy to see his mother, or his sister, or somebody that is sick +there." + +"I heard that." + +"If it is true, Lowington will not leave us behind, especially if he +finds we are not as gentle as lambs." + +"Perhaps not; but as the matter stands, we are already condemned to +stay on board during the rest of the season." + +"I know that; but Lowington will let us off." + +"He will be more likely to do so if we behave well." + +"Not he! Don't you believe it." + +"They say Shuffles is teasing him to remit the rest of the penalty." + +"Shuffles!" + +"That's so; and Lowington promised to consider the matter. Tom Perth +told me this; and he heard Shuffles talking to the principal about it." + +"Humph! I don't want to go on those terms," replied Howe, in disgust. +"That's some more of Shuffles's cant! One of his sensations! He +thinks he whipped us out on board of the Josephine, and now he wants to +be magnanimous with his victims. If we go with the crowd, it will be +because Lowington is afraid to leave us behind. We are not a set of +babies, Sheffield, to be whipped and sent to bed when we are naughty. +Neither are we sailors before the mast, to be kicked here and there, at +the pleasure of our masters. What do you suppose the fellows came to +Europe for, if it was not to see the country? Are we to be left on +board just because we went on a little lark? Not much!" + +"That's all very good, but it won't go down," laughed Sheffield. + +"I'm not going to eat humble pie for any one. Do you mean to tell me I +am not as good a fellow as Bob Shuffles?" + +"I didn't say you were not." + +"Am I not his equal?" demanded Howe. + +"I suppose you are, if you behave as well." + +"Behave as well!" sneered the orator. "I behave well enough, and I'm +not going to be put down, nor beg my rights of Bob Shuffles. If I am +left on board, for one, when the fellows go down the Rhine, I intend to +break things." + +"Don't break your own head." + +"Let me alone for that. If our fellows have any spirit at all, they +will not be left behind. In the next drill, things will be mixed, and +no one can tell who makes the mischief. Our fellows are not the only +ones that don't like Shuffles, and you will find that about half the +crew will help snarl things up. Now, keep your weather eye open, +Sheffield. Take my advice, and don't whimper. Our fellows have a little +business in Paris and Switzerland, and we shall attend to it in a week +or two. There goes the pipe. Mind your eye, Sheffield." + +The boatswain's call sounded through the ship, and officers and crew +hastened to their stations. + + + + +CHAPTER II. + +CLOSE QUARTERS. + + +The malcontents in the ship were, apparently, the most zealous seamen +on board. Certainly no one would have suspected them of organizing any +mischief, they looked so innocent and so determined to do their duty +promptly. Howe, Wilton, Little, and others had done their work +thoroughly and secretly. They had arranged at least a dozen different +tricks for making confusion among the crew. To each one of the +discontented a part had been assigned, which he was to perform in such +a way as to conceal his own agency. + +Captain Shuffles was planking the quarter-deck with the commodore. +Everybody could see that he was not entirely at his ease. His position +was a novel one to him, and he was oppressed by its responsibilities, +especially since the crew had behaved so badly at the first drill. He +could not help knowing that a portion of the crew were opposed to him, +and would do anything they could to annoy him. The situation was a +difficult one; for, at the commencement of his term of office, he did +not wish to have any of the seamen punished for neglect or +disobedience, even if he could discover the guilty ones. + +Mr. Lowington was not on deck. He had purposely gone below, for he +wished the new captain to act on his own responsibility, and overcome +the difficulty alone. This was in accordance with his previous course, +when, even in a gale of wind, he permitted the young officers to handle +the ship without any dictation. Though the action adopted by the boys +was not always in accordance with his own judgment, he never interfered +unless an obvious and dangerous blunder was made. His policy had worked +well thus far, and he was disposed to continue it. In the present +instance, he was no better informed than the captain in regard to the +real cause of the difficulty. He believed it was merely the effect of a +fun-loving spirit on the part of the crew; a mere disposition to haze +the new officers a little, and perhaps prove what they were made of. He +hoped the new officers would satisfy them, and, if necessary, send a +dozen or twenty of the mischief-makers to the mainmast for punishment. + +"All hands, up anchor, ahoy!" piped the boatswain, after he had +received the order from the captain, through the proper officers. + +Those whose stations were at the cable and capstan sprang to their +places with unwonted alacrity. + +"Bring to, forward!" added the first lieutenant, giving the order to +attach the messenger. "Ship and swifter the capstan bars!" + +As it was not intended to get the ship actually under way, only a +portion of the work indicated by the orders was really executed. The +form of hooking on the messenger was gone through with, as also were +the various preparations for catting and fishing the anchor. The +capstan bars were inserted in the pigeon-holes. + +"Heave round!" shouted the first lieutenant; and the order was repeated +by the second lieutenant, whose station is on the forecastle. + +Everything appeared to be progressing with proper order and regularity, +and Captain Shuffles hoped the warning words of the principal had +produced an impression upon the minds of the mischief-makers. But +appearances are very deceptive. While the hands were walking around the +capstan, four of the bars suddenly came out of the pigeon-holes at the +same instant, and a dozen of the seamen were thrown, apparently with +great violence, upon the deck. The bars, confined at one end by the +swifter, swung round and cracked the shins of others, and a scene of +confusion ensued, which set at nought all ideas of discipline. + +No one was badly hurt, but every one was excited. Those who were not +concerned in the plot caught the spirit of mischief from the others, +and, with but few exceptions, the crew joined in the sport. The seaman +who originated the trouble had simply neglected to insert the pins +which confine the capstan bars within the pigeon-holes, or had left the +bars with the heads against the pins. As nearly all joined in the +frolic, there were none to inform against others, and it was simply +impossible for Leavitt, the second lieutenant, or Ellis, the first +master,--under whose eye this breach of discipline had occurred,--to +determine who the ringleaders were. + +Shuffles and the commodore were intensely annoyed at this scene, and +immediately went forward. By this time, those who had been thrown upon +the deck, which included nearly all at the capstan, had picked +themselves up. The Knights looked even more innocent than those whom +they had dragged into the scrape, and the high officers from the +quarter-deck were no wiser than the lieutenant and master. In the midst +of the confusion, Howe and Wilton had removed the pins from the bars, +which still remained in the drumhead of the capstan. + +"Mr. Leavitt, how did this happen?" demanded Captain Shuffles. + +"Half the bars dropped out of the capstan all at once, and the hands +were thrown down," replied the lieutenant, who was hardly less annoyed +than the captain. + +"Were the bars pinned in?" + +"I supposed they were, sir." + +Captain Shuffles walked up to the capstan. Not a single pin was +inserted. + +"Let your midshipman see that the bars are properly pinned and +swiftered next time," said the commander, as he walked aft to resume +his place on the quarter-deck. + +"Unship the bars!" said Leavitt; and they were restored to the rack, +leaving everything as it was before the drill began. + +The crew were piped to muster, and the order to weigh anchor repeated. +The capstan bars were shipped, and this time, the midshipman whose +station was on the forecastle satisfied himself that they were securely +pinned, and so reported to the second lieutenant. As the rogues had +made no provision for this state of things, they were thrown upon their +own resources for the means of defeating the operation a second time. +Commodore Kendall had placed himself in position to watch the movement, +and the officers in charge had pinned their eyes wide open, fully +resolved that the authors of the trouble should not escape a second +time. + +Directly abaft the capstan was the fore-hatch, over which lay the path +of those who walked around at the bars. Ordinarily the hatch was closed +when the capstan was used; but, on the present occasion, a plank had +been placed across the aperture, to avoid the necessity of putting on +the hatch, and thus excluding the air from the kitchen, where the cooks +were baking their daily batch of bread. + +"Heave round!" said the first lieutenant. + +"Heave round!" repeated the second lieutenant; and the hands at the +capstan began their circular march. + +By some means not observed by the vigilant officers, the plank over the +fore-hatch slowly travelled along until one end of it barely caught on +the combing of the hatch. Half a dozen seamen had given it a kick with +their heels as they passed over it, and it was soon in condition to +drop into the steerage below. Little stepped upon it, and down it went. +Releasing his hold of the bar, he dropped upon the steps below, and +disappeared. Sheffield followed him, and then Ibbotson. The hands at +the other side of the capstan took care that the party should keep +moving. A few well-disposed boys, when they came to the hatch,--which +was not more than four feet wide,--leaped across it, as any of them +might have done, if they had not been infected with the spirit of +mischief. + +"Avast heaving!" shouted the second lieutenant. + +At this instant one of the lambs was on the combing of the hatch, and +he must either go over or hang by the bar; so he pushed along, and his +movement brought another into a similar position. Seeing how the case +was, the rogues kept the capstan going, in spite of the commands of the +officers, until two thirds of the gang had dropped into the steerage. +It was finally suspended by the efforts of the excited officers, who +took hold of the bars with their own hands, and counteracted the +efforts of the rogues. + +The young rascals in the steerage pretended to be hurt more seriously +than they were, though some of them had struck the steps or the floor +below with force enough to make them feel a little sore. They began to +limp, and to rub their shins and shoulders, their heads and arms, very +vigorously, as though they believed that friction was a sovereign +remedy for aching bones. + +"Why didn't you stop, Hunter, when I ordered you to do so?" demanded +Leavitt, indignantly. + +"I couldn't, sir," replied the lamb, speaking only the simple truth. + +"Yes, you could! I will report you for disobedience." + +"I was right over the hatch, and I had either to go down or jump over: +I couldn't stop there." + +"And you did the same thing, Hyde," added the officer. + +"I couldn't help it, sir," replied he. "When Hunter got over, he +dragged me so far that I couldn't stop." + +"Why didn't you let go, then?" demanded Leavitt, angrily. + +"I was afraid the next bar would hit me in the head." + +Both of these boys were ordinarily models of propriety, and they had +not, for an instant, intended to do anything out of order. The real +culprits were all at the foot of the stairs, rubbing their limbs and +making the most terrible contortions, as though their legs, arms, and +heads were actually broken. The officers had all seen Hunter and Hyde +pushing along the bars after the order had been given to stop. They +seemed to be guilty, and they were required to report at the mainmast +to the first lieutenant, for discipline. The second lieutenant then +went down the fore-hatch, where the appalling spectacle of a crowd of +sufferers was presented to his view. + +"Are you hurt, Little?" he asked, turning to the most prominent victim +of the catastrophe. + +"Yes, sir," groaned Little, twisting his back-bone almost into a hard +knot, and trying to reach the seat of his injury with both hands at the +same time. + +"How happened you to fall through?" inquired Leavitt, more gently than +he had spoken on deck, for the sight of all this misery evidently +affected him. + +"I don't know, sir," answered Little, with one of his most violent +contortions. "I was looking up at the fore-yard arm, and--ugh!--the +first thing I knew, I was--O, dear!--I was down here, with +that--ugh!--with that plank on top of me." + +"Are you much hurt?" + +"I don't know. It aches first rate," cried Little, with a deep, +explosive sigh. + +"Well, go aft, and report to the surgeon." + +"I don't want to go to the surgeon. He mauls me about to death. I shall +be better soon." + +"On deck, all who are able to do so!" added Leavitt. "Bennington, you +will ask Dr. Winstock to attend to those who are hurt, and report to +the first lieutenant." + +But it did not appear that any one was so much injured as to require +the services of the surgeon, for the whole party went on deck at the +order. Little still writhed and twisted. Howe rubbed his knee, and +Spencer nursed his elbow. Commodore Kendall, who had witnessed the +whole affair, did not see how it was possible for them to tumble down +the hatchway without injuring themselves, and he was willing to believe +that the appearance was not deceitful. He had kept his eyes fixed upon +the crew as they walked round the capstan, but he was unable to +determine whether the mishap was the result of accident or intention. + +Again the captain came forward; but after consulting with Paul, he +returned to the quarter-deck without making any comments. The two lambs +had reported to the first lieutenant, and the matter had gone to +Captain Shuffles, who directed the culprits to be sent to the +principal. They went into the steerage, and knocking at the door of the +main cabin, Mr. Lowington came out, and heard their statement. They +were ordered to their mess-rooms to await an investigation. + +The hatchway was closed, and the order to man the capstan was given a +third time. The injured seamen had in a measure recovered the use of +their limbs, and though they still limped and squirmed, they took their +places in the line. Either their will or their ingenuity to do mischief +failed them, the third time, for the form of heaving up the anchor to a +short stay was regularly accomplished. The commodore and all the +officers in the forward part of the ship watched the operation with the +keenest scrutiny, and when it was successfully finished, they hoped the +end of all the mishaps had come. + +"Pawl the capstan! Unship the bars! Stations for loosing sail!" +continued the first lieutenant. "Lay aloft, sail-loosers!" + +The nimble young tars, whose places were aloft, sprang up the rigging. + +"Man the boom-tricing lines!" + +But the boom-tricing lines appeared to be in a snarl, and it was some +time before they were ready for use, being manipulated by some of the +mischief-makers. + +"Trice up!" shouted Goodwin, the executive officer. + +Up went the inner ends of the studding-sail booms. + +"Lay out!" added Goodwin. + +"Lay out!" repeated the midshipmen in the tops; and the seamen ran out +on the foot-ropes to their several stations for loosing sail. + +At the same time, the forecastle hands were loosing the fore-topmast +staysail, jib, and flying jib, and the after-guard, or quarter-deck +hands, were clearing away the spanker. + +"Loose!" said the executive officer; and the hands removed the gaskets, +stoppers, and other ropes, used to confine the sails when furled. + +"Stand by--let fall!" was the next order. + +At this command all the square sails should have dropped from the yards +at the same instant, but as a matter of fact, not half of them did +drop. Sheets, buntlines, bowlines, lifts, reef-pendants, and halyards +were fearfully snarled up. Some of the seamen on the yards were pulling +one way, and some another; some declared the snarl was in one place, +others in another place. The rogues had realized an undoubted success +in the work they had undertaken. Vainly the midshipmen in the tops +tried to bring order out of confusion. Those who were actually laboring +to untangle the ropes only increased the snarl. + +The condition of affairs was duly reported to the captain, who had +become very impatient at the long delay. The masters were then sent +aloft to help the midshipmen unravel the snarl, but they succeeded no +better. It was evident enough to all the officers that this confusion +could not have been created without an intention to do it. An accident +might have happened on the main or the mizzen-mast, but not on every +yard on all three of the masts. + +"What are you about?" asked Perth, who had been sent into the main-top, +as he met Howe. + +"We have come to the conclusion that Bob Shuffles can't handle this +ship," whispered the ringleader of the mischief, with a significant +wink. + +"You are getting us into a scrape." + +"Well, we all are in the same boat." + +"Don't carry it too far," suggested Master Perth. + +"Carry what too far?" demanded Robinson, the midshipman in the top, who +had heard a word or two of the confidential talk--enough to give him an +idea of what was in the wind. + +"Dry up, old fellow," said Perth, with some confusion, as Howe, who had +come down from the yard to cast off a line, sprang back to his place. + +"What did you mean by that remark of yours?" inquired the midshipman. + +"I told Howe not to carry the end of the buntline too far. It was wound +three times around the topsail sheet." + +"Was that what you meant?" asked Robinson, suspiciously. + +"Don't you see that buntline?" replied Perth. "It is fouled in the +sheet, and he was pulling it through farther, so as to snarl it up +still worse." + +"All right," replied the inferior, who, however, was far from being +satisfied with the explanation. + +"All right!" retorted Perth, smartly. "Is that the way you address your +superior officer. One would think I was responsible to you for my words +and actions." + +"I didn't mean that," added Robinson. + +"What did you mean?" + +"I only said all right to your explanation." + +"You did--did you?" said Perth, severely. "Then you called me to an +account, and now you acquit me!" + +"I beg your pardon. Whatever I said, I did not mean anything +disrespectful," pleaded Robinson. + +"Is this the kind of discipline among the officers? If it is, I don't +wonder that the crew get snarled up. I don't like to blow on a fellow, +but I'm tempted to send you to the mainmast." + +"I didn't mean anything." + +Master Perth turned from his abashed inferior, ascended the main +rigging, and with a few sharp orders, compelled the topmen to unsnarl +the ropes. He was afraid the midshipman would report what he had said +to the captain, and he had attempted to intimidate him into silence by +threatening him with a similar fate. + +"On deck!" hailed Perth from the top. "All ready in the main-top, sir," +he added, when the third lieutenant answered his hail from the waist. + +After a delay of half an hour, a like report came down from the fore +and mizzen-tops. The masters returned to their stations on deck, and +everything was in readiness to continue the manoeuvre. Captain Shuffles +was in earnest conversation with Commodore Kendall. A more unsatisfactory +state of things could not exist than that which prevailed on board of +the Young America. The conduct of the crew amounted almost to mutiny. +Those who had maliciously made the mischief, and those who had been +engaged in it from a love of fun, had succeeded in confounding those +who meant to do their duty. It was impossible to tell who were guilty +and who were innocent; for three quarters, at least, of the crew seemed +to be concerned in the confusion. + +"It is clear enough that they are hazing me," said Captain Shuffles, +sadly. "I don't know that I have done anything to set the fellows +against me." + +"Certainly not," replied Paul, warmly. "You have only done your duty. I +have no doubt those fellows who ran away in the Josephine are at the +bottom of it. If I am not very much mistaken, I saw Howe, on the +main-topsail yard, tangling up the buntlines and sheets." + +"I have heard that these fellows intended to get even with me," added +Shuffles, with a smile, as though he had not much fear of them. + +"I should keep the crew at work until they did their duty. I would keep +them at it night and day, till they can get the ship under way without +any confusion," added Paul, earnestly. + +"I intend to do that, but I do not like to be hard upon them." + +"There is no danger of your being too hard." + +"Whether I am hard or not, I'm going to have the work done in +ship-shape style, if we drill till morning. All hands, furl sails," +said he to the first lieutenant. + +The boatswain's call sounded through the ship. The necessary orders +were given in detail, and after considerable confusion, the sails were +all furled, and the ship restored to its original condition. + +"Pipe to muster," continued the captain. + +Under this order all the officers assembled on the quarter-deck. +Captain Shuffles addressed them in the mild tones in which he usually +spoke, as though he was not seriously disturbed by the ill conduct of +the crew. Assigning a lieutenant, a master, and a midshipman to each +mast, he directed them to set each sail separately, without regard to +others. They were to set the topsails first, then the other sails up to +the royals. Other officers were directed to drill the seamen stationed +at the head sails and the spanker. + +During this conference Howe and his associates were congratulating +themselves upon the success of their vicious schemes, and encouraging +each other to persevere if another drill was ordered. They were curious +to know what the captain was doing with the officers on the +quarter-deck; but they concluded that it was only a meeting to "howl" +over the miserable discipline of the ship. But their wonderings were +soon set at rest by the boatswain's call of "All hands, make sail, +ahoy!" + +They sprang to their stations as zealously as though they had no +thought but for the honor of the ship. They soon discovered that a new +order of proceeding had been introduced. The masters and midshipmen +perched themselves in the rigging, where they could see the movements +of every seaman. The adult forward officers--Peaks, the boatswain, +Bitts, the carpenter, and Leech, the sailmaker--also went aloft, and +stationed themselves on the topmast-stays, so that, besides the +lieutenants on deck, the commodore, and the past officers, there were +three pairs of sharp eyes aloft to inspect the operations on each sail. + +Howe and his associates were not a little disconcerted at this array of +inspectors, and still more so when the order was given to loose only +the topsails. Peaks, on the main topmast-stay, caught Howe in the very +act of passing the gasket through the bight of the buntline. The +veteran tar came down upon him with such a torrent of sea slang, that +he did not attempt to repeat the act. The topsails were then set as +smartly and as regularly as ever before. After the inspectors had seen +all the sails set and furled in detail, the topsails, top-gallant +sails, and courses, with the jib and spanker, were set as usual, when +the vessel got under way. + +By the time the routine in detail had been practised two or three +times, the officers began to know where to look for the +mischief-makers. Peaks had exposed the ringleader, and the conspirators +were finally beaten at their own game. But Captain Shuffles was not +satisfied; and when the crew were dismissed from muster, he hastened to +the main cabin to consult with the principal. + +The conspirators, at close quarters, had lost the day, and discipline +was triumphant. + + + + +CHAPTER III. + +A GATHERING STORM. + + +"Mr. Lowington, I should like to go to sea for a day or two," said +Captain Shuffles, when he had obtained the ear of the principal. + +"Go to sea!" exclaimed Mr. Lowington. "Why, I thought you were all in a +hurry to go down the Rhine." + +"I am not at all satisfied with the discipline of the ship," answered +the new captain. "It requires about as many officers as seamen to +execute any manoeuvre, and I think we need more practice in ship's duty +before we make any more tours on shore." + +"How did you succeed in your second drill?" + +"We went through with it after a while; but it was only with two +officers in each top, and the adult forward officers on the stays, that +we could set a single sail." + +"Have you ascertained who is at the root of the mischief?" + +"Howe, for one." + +"The runaways, probably," added Mr. Lowington, thoughtfully. + +"I have no doubt all of them were concerned in it; but at least half +the crew took part in the mischief. We finally went through all the +forms with tolerable precision. Two or three days' service at sea will +enable us to put everything in good working order. The officers also +ought to have a little practice in their new stations." + +"When do you wish to go to sea?" + +"Immediately, sir," replied Shuffles. + +"To-night?" + +"Yes, sir. I think any delay would be injurious to discipline. The crew +have been hazing the officers now for two hours, and have had the best +of it most of the time. If we went to sea without any delay, I think it +would be understood." + +"You are right, Captain Shuffles. Where is Commodore Kendall?" + +"In the after cabin, sir." + +"Send for him, if you please." + +The commander sent one of the waiters to call Paul, who presently +appeared. + +"Captain Shuffles wishes to go to sea to-night," said Mr. Lowington, +with a smile, as the young commodore entered the cabin; "and I think he +takes a correct view of the situation." + +"To-night!" exclaimed Paul, whose thought immediately flashed from the +ship to the Hotel de l'Europe, in Havre, where Mr. and Mrs. Arbuckle +and Grace were domiciled, having come down from Paris by the morning +train, to be in readiness to start with the ship's company for the +Rhine. + +"I know what you are thinking about, Paul," laughed the principal. "You +may go on shore, and invite the Arbuckles to join us; or, as we can +work the ship very well without a commodore, you may stay on shore with +them until our return." + +"Invite them to go with us," suggested Shuffles. "I think the presence +of our friends will have a good effect upon the crew." + +"I should be very glad to have them go with us," replied Paul. + +"It is a little doubtful whether we return to Havre again, for Brest +would be a better place for the vessels to lie during our absence in +Germany," said Mr. Lowington. + +"We cannot sail at once--can we?" asked Paul. + +"We can get off this evening," replied Mr. Lowington. "Let the stewards +of the ship and the consort go on shore, and get a supply of fresh +provisions. The commodore, in the mean time, can wait on the Arbuckles. +I see no difficulty in getting off by sunset." + +"It will be rather short notice for the Arbuckles," suggested Paul. + +"They are ready to go to Germany at an hour's notice, and it will +require no more preparation for this voyage. You can go on shore at +once, Commodore Kendall. Captain Shuffles, you will hoist the signal +for sailing; send a boat to the Josephine, and I will give you a letter +for Mr. Fluxion." + +The arrangement agreed upon, Captain Shuffles went on deck, and +directed the first lieutenant to pipe away the commodore's barge. The +third lieutenant was detailed to serve in this boat. As its crew went +over the side, Captain Shuffles saw that Howe, Spencer, and four others +of the runaways were of its number, under the new station bill. This +fact induced him to send Peaks with the lieutenant in charge, so as to +guard against any mischief. The third cutter was sent to the Josephine, +with the principal's letter. In this boat, Little was the only runaway. +The first cutter soon after left the ship with the steward, to bring +off a load of fresh provisions. + +As the third cutter was obliged to wait for Mr. Fluxion to write an +answer to Mr. Lowington's letter, the crew were allowed to go on board +of the Josephine. The sight of the signal for sailing, which had been +hoisted on board of the Young America, caused no little excitement in +the consort, as, in fact, it did on board of the ship. It looked like a +very sudden movement, for all were anticipating their departure for +Germany by the next or the following day. The principal had told them +they would leave in a few days, and not a word had been said about +going to sea in the interim. + +"What's up?" asked Greenway, one of the runaways, who had been +transferred to the Josephine, as Little came on deck. + +"I don't know--only that we are going to sea," replied Little. "We have +had high times on board of the ship." + +"What have you been doing?" + +"Hazing Shuffles," said Little, in a whisper. + +"And I'll bet that is the reason why we are going to sea, instead of +going to Germany," answered Greenway, with something like disgust in +his looks and in the tones of his voice. + +"No matter; we have proved that Shuffles can't handle the ship. He had +to call on old Peaks to help him before he could get the main-topsail +set." + +"But if you play these games we shall be left on board while the rest +of the fellows go down the Rhine." + +"Not much! Fluxion is going to Marseilles to see his grandmother, or +somebody else, and if we only make mischief enough, Lowington won't +dare to leave us on board." + +Little explained the views of Howe, which he had adopted as his own, to +the effect that the more mischief they made, the better would be their +chances of joining the excursion to Germany. Greenway was foolish +enough to take the same view of the question. If the vice-principal was +obliged to go away, Mr. Lowington would not dare to leave the runaways +with any other person. + +"But we don't want to go to Germany," added Little. + +"Why not?" + +"Simply because we have not been to Paris and Switzerland," replied the +little villain, as he led his companion to the forecastle, where no one +could overhear them. "We are going to have the time we bargained for +when we sailed in the Josephine. If we go with the rest of the fellows, +we intend to take French leave of them as soon as we find an +opportunity to do so. On the whole, I had just as lief stay if Fluxion +is not to have the care of us, for we can slip through the hands of any +other man in the squadron." + +"There is some money in Paris waiting for me," said Greenway. + +"There is some waiting for a lot of our fellows," replied Little. "I +intend to claim mine as soon as the party begin to go down the Rhine." + +"What's the plan? How are the fellows to get off?" asked Greenway. + +"Every one must manage that to suit himself. We had better go in little +parties of three or four." + +"O, no; it's better to keep together," protested Greenway. + +"I don't think so. If we attempt to do anything together again, we +shall be watched. We must look out for our chances." + +"But our fellows are separated now, and we can't do anything alone." + +"Yes, you can. When you see a good opportunity to start for Paris, +start. That's all you have to do." + +"I don't like this way." + +"It's the best way. Don't you see that when we are missed we can all be +caught in a bunch again. If we go in a dozen different squads, they +will to chase us in as many different directions. If we start with the +fellows for Germany, we shall step out as we have the chance to do so. +I don't believe in more than two or three going together." + +"But some of us may not have any money," suggested Greenway. + +"Then they must borrow some of those who have it." + +"Lowington got hold of two or three drafts, or bills, sent to the +fellows." + +"Only two or three," replied Little, lightly. "Those fellows can either +borrow, or go with the lambs." + +The Knights of the Red Cross, afterwards of the Golden Fleece, had +written to their fathers, asking them for remittances to be sent to +Paris, where, after sailing around to Marseilles in the Josephine, and +going the rest of the way by railroad, they were to get their letters. +Most of their parents had complied with the request, but two or three +of them had taken the precaution to inform the principal of the fact, +and the bills had been cashed, the proceeds being placed to the credit +of the students in whose favor they had been drawn. As long as the boys +wrote home, the fathers and mothers seldom communicated with the +principal. Most of the rogues had been informed in their letters from +home that the money wanted had been remitted, and awaited their order +in Paris. The runaways, therefore, would be in funds sufficient for +their stolen excursion as soon as they could reach their destination. +The only thing that disturbed them was the difficulty of obtaining +enough in the beginning to pay their railroad fare to Paris. + +While Little was instructing Greenway in the programme for the future, +the crew of the third cutter were called away, and the conference was +abruptly closed. The purport of the letter which the officer in charge +of the boat bore to the principal, was, that Mr. Fluxion did not desire +to leave the consort for his visit to Marseilles until the close of the +week. Howe was perhaps nearer the truth than he really believed when he +declared that Mr. Lowington would not dare to leave the runaways on +board of either vessel in charge of any other person than the +vice-principal. He had been strongly inclined to grant the petition of +Shuffles in their favor; but when it was almost proved that the party +were the cause of all the confusion which had occurred on board of the +ship during the afternoon, that they were in a mutinous frame of mind, +he was not willing to encourage their insubordination. He was much +disturbed by the difficult problem thus thrust upon him. Dr. Carboy, +the professor of natural philosophy and chemistry, who had spent +several years in Germany, had volunteered to take charge of the +runaways, and he seemed to be the only person who was available for +this duty. He was no sailor, and only a fair disciplinarian, and Mr. +Lowington had not entire confidence in his ability to manage thirty of +the wildest boys in the squadron--discontented under the punishment to +which they were subjected. + +Though everything was orderly on board of the ship, there was a great +deal of suppressed excitement, not to say indignation, for the crew did +not like the idea of keeping watch and reefing topsails, instead of +voyaging down the beautiful Rhine. The movement looked like a +punishment, and many of the crew felt themselves to be entirely +innocent of the blunders and failures made in handling the ship. They +had done their best, and thought it was not fair to punish the innocent +with the guilty. Doubtless it was not fair; but it was a question which +related to the discipline of the crew, as a whole, and not a dozen of +those who had made the mischief could be identified, even by the seamen +who had worked in the rigging with them, much less by the officers. + +The mischief-makers themselves did all they could to foment this spirit +of discontent among those who were ordinarily well disposed. They +assumed the responsibility of declaring that the trip into Germany had +been indefinitely postponed. Probably, with the self-conceit incident +to human nature, they really believed they were no worse than the best +of the crew, and they desired to involve all their shipmates in the +odium of the insubordination which had taken place. + +"No Rhine, except pork rind," said Little, as he met Raymond in the +waist, after the latter had expressed his dissatisfaction at the new +order of things. + +"Do you think so?" asked Raymond, who had read enough of the splendid +scenery of the Rhine to make him very anxious to see it. + +"A fellow that isn't blind can see--can't he?--if he opens his eyes," +demanded Little. "What did the new captain do this afternoon, the very +minute the crew were dismissed from their stations?" + +"I don't know. What did he do?" inquired Raymond, curiously. + +"Didn't he rush down into the main cabin? Didn't he have a long talk +with Lowington? Then, wasn't the signal for sailing hoisted at once? I +tell you this is all Shuffles's doings." + +"Why should Shuffles want to go to sea any more than the rest of us?" +asked Raymond. + +"Why should he? Isn't he the captain of the ship now? Doesn't he want +to try on his new authority, and see how it fits? Don't he want to +punish the crew because they didn't drill well this afternoon? I +believe you are a little deaf in one eye, Raymond, or else you can't +hear in the other. It's all as plain as the figure-head on a French +frigate," continued Little, with enthusiasm enough to convince any +dissatisfied seaman. + +"Perhaps it is as you say." + +"I know it is." + +"The drill was very bad. Every fellow knows that." + +"What if it was? Whose fault was it?" + +"I don't know whose fault it was; but everything went wrong, and I +suppose the new captain is not satisfied with the state of discipline +on board. I should not be, if I were he." + +"Two of your little lambs are cooped up in their state-rooms now for +disobedience of orders." + +"Who are they?" + +"Hunter and Hyde." + +"Two of the best fellows in the ship--never got a black mark in their +lives," said Raymond. + +"O, well! The new captain will put you pious fellows through a course +of sprouts that will open your eyes. Shuffles is a liar and a +hypocrite. He has his reward, while an honest fellow, like me, will +stick to his bunk in the steerage till the end of the cruise." + +"I don't believe Shuffles is a liar, or a hypocrite. You don't like him +because he broke up your cruise in the Josephine." + +"That's not the reason. I am willing to obey the orders of all the +officers, but I don't like to see the crowd punished for nothing," +replied Little, leading the auditor back to the original topic. + +Raymond was not yet a good subject for the mischief-maker to work upon, +though, like a majority of the crew, he was dissatisfied with the +change in the programme. Going to sea meant strict discipline; and +after making up their minds to have a good time on shore, it was not +pleasant to think of hard work and hard study for the next week or two. + +[Illustration: THE ARRIVAL OF THE ARBUCKLES.--Page 52.] + +"There comes the commodore's barge," continued Little, as he pointed to +the boat, which was rapidly approaching the ship. "The Arbuckles are on +board, with all their trunks. What do you think of that, Raymond?" + +The mischief-maker looked triumphant. The pile of baggage in the boat +seemed to furnish sufficient testimony to clinch the argument he had +used. + +"That looks like a long cruise, certainly. I suppose they are going +with us," replied Raymond, with a sorrowful and disappointed look. + +"To be sure they are. In my opinion we are going to sail for Belfast, +to convey the Arbuckles home. You won't see any Rhine, except a pork +rind, on this cruise. If the fellows have any spunk at all, they won't +stand this thing." + +"Stand it! What can they do?" asked Raymond, who really believed the +crew to be unfairly treated. + +"Don't you know what they can do? Who works the ship?" + +"We do, of course." + +"Who would work her if we did not?" + +"Well, I suppose she would not be worked at all," replied Raymond, +smiling. + +"Then, if all the fellows respectfully refuse to man the capstan, or to +unloose a sail, till they have their rights, who will get the ship +under way?" + +"We are not going to do anything of that sort," answered Raymond, +rather indignantly. "It would be mutiny." + +"You needn't call it by that name, if you don't wish to. Lowington +promised the fellows a trip down the Rhine. Now, because the new +captain could not handle the ship, we are to be sent off to sea. If the +fellows had any grit at all in their bones, they would show Lowington +that they are not slaves to him, or any other man." + +"I think we won't talk any more about that," said Raymond, as he moved +off, for the bold speech of the mischief-maker alarmed him, and caused +him to realize that he was listening to one of the ringleaders of the +runaways. + +The commodore's barge came up to the gangway. The ladies were assisted +up the steps, and the trunks hoisted on board and stowed away in the +after cabin. The two state-rooms, which had been built for the use of +the commodore and the past officers, were appropriated to their use. + +If Raymond, and such as he, were not willing to listen to the mutinous +counsels of the runaways, he was not the less dissatisfied and +discontented. The arrival of the Arbuckles, with their baggage, +indicated that the trip to the Rhine had been abandoned. Perhaps the +well-disposed students could have submitted to this disappointment, if +it had not been inflicted upon them as a punishment. It seemed to them +that they were to suffer for a whim of Shuffles. The runaways had taken +pains to disseminate this idea among the crew, as they had also +succeeded in involving the whole of them in the mischief which induced +the principal to go to sea that night. + +All over the deck and throughout the steerage, the boys were grumbling +and growling like regular old salts, whose prerogative it is to find +fault. When Howe and Spencer returned in the barge, they readily +perceived the state of feeling on board. Little told them what he had +said and done, and convinced them that the whole crew were ripe for a +strike. The entire ship's company were discussing their grievances, and +even a large portion of the officers were dissatisfied. Very likely the +sudden elevation of Shuffles had created a feeling of jealousy in the +minds of a portion of them. + +The mischief-makers were prompt in taking advantage of this state of +feeling in the crew. They fanned the flame of discontent, and it was +not difficult to convince their shipmates that they were very hardly +used; that the new captain was imposing a heavy burden upon them. Some +of the best disposed of them were in favor of waiting upon the +principal, and representing their view of the case to him; but the more +impetuous ones laughed at this plan. Shuffles was the principal's pet, +and he would support his _protege_ against everybody else on board. The +students talked as boys talk, and acted as boys act. At that moment +Shuffles was the most unpopular fellow on board, for it was understood +that he had proposed and advocated the obnoxious measure. The ship's +company were willing to believe that Mr. Lowington had yielded his +assent to please the new captain, rather than because he deemed it +necessary to go to sea himself. + +By the time the first cutter returned, a large majority of the students +had decided that something should be done. They could not agree upon +the precise step to be taken. Some advocated a protest, others a +respectful refusal to do duty; and a few went in for a square mutiny. +The provisions were transferred from the cutter to the ship, and the +boat was hoisted up before the perplexing question could be settled. + +"After supper, let every fellow go to his mess-room. Don't answer the +boatswain's call to weigh anchor," said Raymond, who had made +considerable progress in rebellion since his conversation with Little. + +"Ay, ay! That's the talk!" responded half a dozen of the group, who had +been anxiously discussing the question. + +"No, no!" added half a dozen others. + +"Why not?" demanded Raymond of the opponents of the plan. + +"Because the Arbuckles are on board, for one reason, and because it +will be mutiny, for the second," said Tremere, who volunteered to be +spokesman for the opposition. "Mr. Arbuckle has taken us through +Switzerland, and paid all the bills, and has invited us to another +excursion on the same terms. Now, when he comes on board with his +family, to take a little sail with us, we refuse to do duty. It looks +like contempt and ingratitude to him." + +"It has nothing to do with him," replied Raymond, warmly. "Here is the +whole matter in a nutshell. Mr. Arbuckle invited us to take a trip into +Germany, and Mr. Lowington promised that we should go. Then, because we +don't drill quite as well as the new captain wishes, he insists upon +going to sea. The cruise down the Rhine is given up, and we are to +carry the Arbuckles to Belfast." + +"Who says we are going to Belfast?" demanded Tremere. + +"All the fellows say so." + +"That doesn't prove that we are going there. I go for obeying orders, +wherever we go." + +"No, no!" replied a dozen of the group. + +"We don't intend to do anything wicked," said Raymond. "When the +boatswain calls, we don't answer--that's all. Then the officers will +want to know what the matter is, and we shall have a chance to explain +our position. When we get fair play, we shall be all right, and return +to duty." + +The group separated, and while the ship's company were waiting for the +supper call, those in favor of the strike used all their influence to +carry their measure, while those who were opposed to it remained +passive. + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + +THE YOUNG AMERICA MUTINY. + + +It was impossible for the advocates of the mutiny to determine what +success had attended their efforts, when the crew were piped to supper. +Howe and Little were delighted to find the work in which they were +interested progressing so finely. Nearly the whole crew were arrayed +against the new captain, and in half an hour the grand explosion would +take place. Not more than twenty of the students were expected to +respond to the boatswain's call to get under way, and it would be +impossible to go to sea. The seamen went below at the supper call, but +most of them were too much excited to eat their usual allowance. + +The officers, who were to take their supper at a later hour, were all +on deck. Paul Kendall was seated by the side of Grace Arbuckle, +enjoying a pleasant chat, while her father and mother were in +conversation with the principal. Captain Shuffles was planking the +deck, apparently engaged in deep thought. Possibly the events of the +afternoon disturbed him, for he had already received a hint that the +ship's company were much dissatisfied at the idea of going to sea. He +could not see why they should be. If the crew did their duty, and +everything worked well, the squadron would proceed immediately to +Brest, and the cruise need not last more than two days. He knew the +programme himself, but he forgot that it was the policy of the +principal to keep the destination of the ship a secret, as a general +rule, until she was out of sight of land. The Arbuckles had brought +their baggage with them, because the party was to proceed to Brest, and +would not return to Havre. + +Popularity is certainly a very insecure possession; for, three weeks +before, Shuffles had been the favorite of the whole ship's company. +Now, he was the most unpopular person on board; partly, it is true, +because he was misunderstood. Both officers and seamen regarded him as +the cause of the present movement. Most of them believed, or at least +feared, that the trip to the Rhine had been abandoned, and that the new +captain was responsible for this change in the programme. They +concluded that he preferred to exercise his new authority, to roaming +on shore, where he was, practically, no more than any other student. It +was true that Shuffles had suggested to the principal the idea of going +to sea, as a measure for perfecting the discipline of the crew. Mr. +Lowington had permitted the captain to fight his own battle with the +crew, and he fully believed that a little sea service was necessary, +after the disorder and insubordination which had prevailed in the ship +during the drill. Some of those who complained the loudest had +permitted their love of fun to get the better of their discretion, and +had joined in the disorder which prevailed during the drill. Many +well-disposed boys had assisted the conspirators against the peace of +the ship by joining in what appeared to them to be but a mere frolic, +while it was, in fact, an organized attempt to make mischief. They had +encouraged the spirit of insubordination, without supposing they were +engaged in anything more than a mere lark, involuntary on their part, +and suggested only by the circumstances of the moment. + +From the captain's stand-point, the confusion had a very grave aspect; +while from that of the seamen, it was a matter of trivial consequence. +The commander was mortified to find the discipline so weak; and he +could have no confidence in himself or his crew until his orders were +promptly obeyed. He was thinking only of the welfare of the ship and +her crew. He had no intention of punishing the students, when he +suggested the plan of going to sea,--only of perfecting the discipline. +It seemed to him just as though three weeks on shore had demoralized +the ship's company. Though he was now aware that the runaways had done +what they could to make trouble, the confusion seemed to be too +extensive to be accounted for by their agency. Two of the best boys on +board had been sent to the mainmast for disobedience; and it was clear +that the runaways had not produced all the trouble. + +The commodore fully sustained him, and believed that it was best for +the ship to go to sea. If the students had forgotten the ropes, or were +so much embarrassed in their new stations, that they could not set a +sail or get up the anchor without making a mess of it, the ship ought +to go to sea. On the return of the excursionists from Germany, it might +be necessary to put to sea without an hour's delay, as the principal +had suggested. Shipwreck and disaster might follow if the crew were not +in working order. It was a plain case to the captain. + +Paul Kendall had explained the situation to the Arbuckles as mildly as +he could. He had told them that the seamen were a little disorderly, +and that it was necessary to have them in perfect discipline before +they went to Germany. Without intending to do so, he had produced the +impression on their minds, that the trip would be given up unless the +boys performed their duty to the entire satisfaction of the principal. +In talking with the officers, they had expressed their fear that the +proposed excursion would not take place. Perhaps the guests were not +far from right; for certainly the students would not be allowed to step +on shore if the discipline of the ship was not satisfactory. Miss Grace +was sadly disturbed at the thought of depriving the students of the +pleasure of seeing the Rhine, its wonders and its beauties. + +"Why, I thought your crew were in perfect discipline, Captain--no, I +mean Commodore--Kendall," said she, as they sat upon the quarter-deck, +discussing the great question of the hour. + +"They are, generally," replied Paul. "But you know we are a little +world by ourselves, and we have our troubles just like other people. It +will be all right, I hope, in a day or two. The students get a little +wild sometimes." + +"Captain Shuffles is such a noble fellow, I should think they would all +wish to do their best. I'm sure I should, if I were a sailor in your +ship." + +"Shuffles is a capital fellow," added Paul, who was certainly more +pleased to praise the commander himself, than to have his fair +companion do so. + +"I shall never forget his noble conduct on that terrible night when the +steamer was burned," said Grace, warmly. + +"Probably none of us will ever forget it. But I am sorry to say that +there is a great deal of dissatisfaction with the new captain, just +now, even among the officers," added Paul. + +"I'm very sorry." + +"But it is not his fault; really it is not," continued Paul, fearing +that he had said too much. + +"I'm sure it is not," protested Grace. "I wonder if I have any +influence with the officers." + +"I think you have: indeed, I know you have with one of them," replied +Paul; but he began to choke before he had uttered the last clause of +the sentence. + +"With one of them?" + +"Yes, with all of them; but perhaps more with one than with others," +stammered Paul, studying the seams in the quarter-decks. + +"Who is he, pray?" asked Grace, rather timidly. + +"With the commodore," answered he, desperately. + +"Thank you, Commodore Kendall. Then we will both use our influence to +have the captain set right with the officers and the crew." + +"Well, it is not exactly the right thing for so dignified a personage +as the commodore to persuade his inferiors that his views are correct. +He issues orders, and others obey them," laughed Paul. "But really I +cannot, in courtesy, meddle with the discipline of the ship." + +"I'm going to meddle with it, if I can do anything to set Captain +Shuffles right," said Grace, who was very confident that it was quite +impossible for her noble preserver to do, or even think, anything +wrong. + +"The officers will do their duty, whatever they think," added Paul. "In +due time they will be satisfied that the captain is right. I fully +agree with him, and think that the ship ought to go to sea." + +"Of course, I expect to find you on the right side, Commodore Kendall," +said Grace. + +"Certainly I'm always on your side," he replied, becoming astonishingly +bold for him. + +"Then we are both on Captain Shuffles's side. Who is the officer +standing near us?" + +It happened to be Master Perth; and Miss Arbuckle called him, intent +upon finding some one who was not on the captain's side. Paul, however, +did not think it was in accordance with the dignity of the commodore of +the squadron to listen to any criticism of the captain's action, and he +reluctantly left the pleasant seat he occupied by the side of the young +lady. If there was any one on board who hated Shuffles, Perth was he. + +"I wanted to get acquainted with you, Mr. Perth; for it seems to me I +have not met you before," she began. + +"Probably not, Miss Arbuckle, for I was not one of the party who went +to Paris and Switzerland with you," replied the second master. + +"Indeed!" exclaimed she, understanding, without further explanation, +why he was not one of the party, and that he was one of the runaways, +though she could not exactly comprehend how he happened to be an +officer if he had been a rebel. + +"I had the honor to command the Josephine during a portion of the time +the ship's company were absent," laughed he, with anything but +penitence for his past offences. + +"I am very sorry you were not with the others." + +"So am I, for one reason--it deprived me of the pleasure of seeing your +pretty face for three or four weeks," said Perth, lightly. + +"Perhaps I shall change my mind if I find your absence saved me from +such annoyance as I feel at the present moment," replied Grace, +blushing, and looking much displeased. + +"I beg your pardon! I meant no offence," stammered Perth. + +Grace smiled again; for she did not believe he would again venture to +indulge in an impudent compliment. + +"I am very sorry to learn from what you say that you were one of the +runaways," she continued. + +"I was one of them--I may say that I was the chief of them," replied +Perth, without a blush. + +"Of course you are very sorry for it, and very glad that Captain +Shuffles brought you back." + +"That's an open question," laughed Perth. "I don't think Shuffles made +much by what he did. I don't believe any fellow makes anything by being +a hypocrite, and selling out his friends." + +"I don't think so, either. But you certainly cannot mean to say that +Captain Shuffles is a hypocrite, or that he ever betrayed his friends?" + +"I suppose I ought not to say anything to you about it, knowing that he +is a strong friend of yours." + +"Whatever you say, Mr. Perth, shall not be repeated. I have been told +that some of the officers are opposed to the new captain; and I do not +see how it can be true, when he is so noble and good." + +"Noble and good!" ejaculated Perth. + +"Certainly. You know what he did for me on the night the steamer was +burned." + +"There isn't a fellow on board that would not have given all he had for +a chance to do the same thing for you," protested Perth. + +"But all the students like him." + +"I don't believe he has twenty friends in the ship." + +"Then they do not know him as I do," replied Grace, indignantly. + +"They know him better than you do. He's smart, and a good officer; but +when you have said that, you have said all that can be said," continued +Perth, bluntly. + +"I am sorry to hear you say so," added Grace, really grieved, even +while she was incredulous. "I am afraid you are prejudiced against him +because he broke up your plan to run away with the Josephine." + +"He didn't break it up. Our fellows disagreed among themselves; that's +the reason why we had to come back," explained Perth, whose pride did +not permit him to acknowledge that he had been beaten by the superior +skill and energy of Shuffles. "Now, all the fellows are on the very +verge of mutiny, because he insists upon taking the ship to sea, +instead of going down the Rhine." + +"I'm sure he is doing no more than his duty," persisted Grace, stoutly. +"It appears that Mr. Lowington thinks he is right, or he would not send +the ship to sea. I am really sorry to hear you speak so unkindly of +your captain, for I must say that I cannot believe a word you say about +him." + +"Thank you," replied Perth, dryly. + +"I think you are sincere in your belief," added she. "Paul Kendall says +that the captain is right." + +"Well, he is commodore, you know, and must believe everything the +principal says," laughed Perth. "It is not quite proper for any of us +to have opinions of our own, but you see some of us have them." + +Perth was certainly good-natured, whatever else he was, and as Grace +said no more, he touched his cap, and passed on. The devoted admirer of +Shuffles's nobleness and goodness was greatly disconcerted by the blunt +statements of the second master, who had declared that the ship's +company were almost in a state of mutiny against the captain. She +continued her inquiries among other officers; but, though some of them +thought it was quite unnecessary to go to sea, they all spoke very +handsomely of Shuffles. It was plain enough that Perth had injured +himself more than the object of his calumny, by what he had said. + +"Are you ready to go to sea, Miss Arbuckle?" asked the captain, as he +came on deck, and touched his cap to her. + +"I am quite ready; indeed, I am afraid I am more ready than many others +on board of this ship," she replied. "I am sorry to hear that some of +the officers and seamen are very much displeased at the idea of going +to sea." + +"So far as the seamen are concerned, it is their own fault, for they +have not done their duty," added the captain. + +"Not the fault of all of them, I hope." + +"Not all, certainly; but if they don't know their stations, they must +learn them. If you are all ready to go, I think we will be off," said +Shuffles, as he glanced at his watch. "You will get the ship under way, +if you please, Mr. Goodwin," he added, addressing the first lieutenant, +who was standing near him. + +"I really hope there will be no trouble, Captain Shuffles," continued +Grace. + +"There can be no trouble. All sailors grumble, you know, Miss Arbuckle, +and our boys imitate their elders in this respect. They will growl for +a while, but just as soon as they work the ship with skill and +promptness, we shall put into Brest, and make our trip down the Rhine. +I think we shall not be at sea beyond a couple of days." + +"I hope not, for the sake of the crew." + +"All hands, weigh anchor, ahoy!" shouted the boatswain, as his sharp +pipe rang through the ship. + +Less than thirty of the seamen answered to the call, and it was +apparent that a very large majority of them had chosen to follow the +evil counsels of the runaways, or the foolish counsels of other +discontented spirits. It was the first time since the ship went into +commission that any considerable number of the crew had failed to +respond to the call. Shuffles was confounded, and the first lieutenant +actually turned pale. It looked like such a mutiny as the Chain League +had planned. + +"Pipe again," said Shuffles, as quietly as he could. + +Again the boatswain sounded the call, and repeated the order, but with +no better success than before. Not another seaman appeared upon deck. + +"What does this mean?" said the commodore to the captain. + +"As near as I can interpret it, the greater part of the crew do not +intend to obey orders," replied Shuffles. + +"It certainly looks so." + +"Mr. Goodwin, will you inquire of those who obeyed the order, whether +their shipmates heard the call?" continued the captain, laboring very +hard to appear cool and collected, as a commander ought to be in every +emergency. + +Paul Kendall's curiosity prompted him to follow the executive officer +to the waist, where the seamen who had obeyed the call were waiting for +orders. He was unwilling to believe the evidence of his senses, though +he knew that there was considerable disaffection on board. + +"Did the rest of the crew hear the boatswain's pipe?" asked Goodwin of +the faithful few. + +"Yes, sir," replied Tremere. + +"Where are they now?" + +"In the mess-rooms." + +"Why don't they obey?" + +"They say they don't want to go to sea: they say they haven't done +anything to deserve punishment, and they object to being punished," +replied the spokesman. + +"What do they mean by being punished?" asked the commodore. + +"Sent to sea. Mr. Lowington promised us a trip down the Rhine; and now +that excursion is given up. The fellows say the ship is bound to +Belfast, to convey the Arbuckles home. They say they are willing to do +their duty, if they can have fair play." + +"What do the seamen intend to do?" asked Paul. + +"Nothing, sir. They say they will give their reasons when called upon." + +"Probably they will, when called upon," said Paul, who had very high +ideas of discipline. + +The executive officer returned, and explained the situation to the +captain. It was impossible to get the ship under way with less than +thirty seamen, and he felt that his powers were exhausted. Fortunately, +Mr. Lowington, who had heard the boatswain's pipe, came on deck at this +critical moment. + +"Didn't I hear the boatswain's pipe?" asked the principal, surprised to +find only a few hands in the waist. + +"Yes, sir; we have called all hands twice, and only about thirty answer +the call." + +"It was a mistake to call more than once," replied Mr. Lowington, who +did not seem to be taken aback by the astounding intelligence. "What's +the matter?" + +The captain explained, reporting the statements made by the faithful +ones in the waist. + +"A mutiny, then--is it?" added the principal, with a smile. "Well, I am +glad it is no worse." + +"The mutineers are willing to explain, when called upon for an +explanation," added Paul, who was indignant at the conduct of the +malcontents. + +"We don't usually call for explanations in such cases on board ship," +said the principal. "It is plain enough that this is only a second +edition of the confusion of this afternoon. The young gentlemen have +been listening to evil advice." + +"What shall be done, sir?" inquired the captain, rather nervously, in +spite of his laborious efforts to keep cool. + +"Mutiny is mutiny," replied the principal; "but in this case, I think +we need not treat it with the severity which prevails in the navy. The +students below say, and probably believe, that the excursion to the +Rhine has been abandoned, and that the ship is bound to Belfast. Though +they are mistaken, we can only tell them so when they return to their +duty. We will go to sea, as we intended." + +"How can we go to sea with a crew of less than thirty?" asked Shuffles. + +"Keep perfectly calm, Captain Shuffles. I am willing to grant that, in +a man-of-war, with men in a state of mutiny, the case would be a very +serious one. I do not so regard it in the present instance, but we will +profit by the lesson it may teach. For an officer to permit a sailor to +see that he is disconcerted is yielding too much. Therefore, young +gentlemen, I wish you all to be perfectly composed, whatever happens. +This affair is rather ludicrous than otherwise, since the mutineers +declare that they are ready to explain when called upon to do so, which +is very kind and condescending on their part," the principal proceeded, +addressing the officers who had gathered around him for the solution of +what seemed to them a very difficult and trying problem. + +But they were not permitted to hear the solution, for the principal +invited the commodore and the captain into the main cabin, to discuss +the matter, desiring, even in the present embarrassing situation, to +have everything done in accordance with his ideas of discipline. He +meant that the captain should be the apparent, if he could not be the +real, manager of the difficult affair. + +"How many hands responded to the boatswain's call?" asked the +principal, when the party were seated. + +"Less than thirty," answered Shuffles. + +"Twenty-eight. I had the curiosity to count them," interposed Paul. + +"Twenty-eight," repeated the principal. "Very well; we can--" + +"I hope you will excuse me, sir," said Shuffles, interrupting him. "If +this state of thing is caused by any dislike to me, sir, I am willing +to resign." + +"So far as I know, you have done your duty, Shuffles; and to permit you +to resign would be to abandon the plan of the Academy Ship, and +acknowledge that discipline is an impracticable thing. You cannot +resign." + +"Many of the fellows dislike me," added the captain. + +"That is not your fault, as I understand the matter. That the runaways, +who, I suspect, are at the root of this mischief, should be prejudiced +against you, was to be expected. If others are also, it is because they +are misinformed. You can afford to wait till time justifies your good +intentions." + +"I am willing to own that I have no desire to resign. I like the place, +but I am willing to sacrifice my own wishes for the peace of the ship." + +"Peace is not to be bought on any such terms. Say nothing more about +resigning. Twenty-eight hands, you say, are ready to obey orders." + +"Yes, sir." + +"On an emergency, the captain and four lieutenants can officer the +ship. Masters, midshipmen, and pursers must do duty as seamen. They +will gladly consent to do so. Let it be voluntary on their part. How +many will that make?" + +"Thirty-eight." + +"Peaks, Bitts, and Leach will make forty-one. The Josephine is fully +manned, and can spare us nine more. That will make fifty. If we lay +aside the school work, we can sail the ship round the world with that +number." + +Shuffles displayed a smile of satisfaction at this solution. + +"But we will procure the services of a tug-boat to tow us to sea, so +that there will be no hard work in getting clear of the harbor," added +the principal. "Send Leavitt in the second cutter to the Josephine for +the extra hands, and let Foster go in the third for one of the +steam-tugs up by the jetties. Above all things, Captain Shuffles, do +not mention your plans to any person." + +"I will not, sir," replied Shuffles, as he hastened on deck to put in +force the solution of the problem. + +"What is to be the result of this, Mr. Lowington?" asked Paul. + +"I don't know--nothing serious, however. The young gentlemen are +waiting very impatiently in their mess-rooms to be called and asked for +the explanation, which I doubt not is a very plausible one. Let them +wait," continued the principal, leading the way to the deck, where he +sat down with the Arbuckles, and was soon busy in conversation with +them, as though nothing had happened. + + + + +CHAPTER V. + +THE ORDER OF THE FAITHFUL. + + +The appearance of Captain Shuffles on deck produced a decided sensation +among the officers, some of whom believed that the mutineers would be +dragged from the mess-rooms by the adult forward officers, and tied up +to the rigging. The decided character of the principal certainly +pointed to the most decided measures. Something terrible was to be +expected, and the young gentlemen were astonished when Mr. Lowington +came on deck, immediately after the captain, seated himself with the +Arbuckles, and began to converse with them as pleasantly as though no +mutiny had ever been dreamed of. + +The captain called the officers around him, and all of them eagerly +obeyed the summons. + +"We are going to sea immediately," said he, with none of the anxiety +which was visible in his face before. "As we are short-handed, I have a +favor to ask. Those below the rank of lieutenant, who are willing to +serve as seamen until the discipline of the ship can be restored, will +signify it by walking over to the starboard side." + +All below the grade indicated, with a single exception, promptly +marched over to the other side of the ship. The four lieutenants +stepped out of the way, so that the single dissenter might stand alone. +It is hardly necessary to say that Perth was the person who was so +largely in the minority among the officers. + +"You decline to serve with the other masters?" said Shuffles. + +"I prefer to be excused. I have had considerable experience as a +seaman, and would like a little more as an officer," replied Perth, +politely. + +"We shall dispense with the services of all the officers except the +lieutenants," added the captain. "There will be nothing for you to do, +but you shall not be compelled to serve as a seaman." + +"Permit me to take his place," interposed Gordon, the senior past +officer. + +"Thank you, Gordon," replied Shuffles. + +"Please enroll me also as a seaman," added Haven, good-naturedly. + +"And me also," laughed Paul. + +"I suggest that the past officers take the places of the second, third, +and fourth lieutenants, who shall do duty as seamen," said Leavitt, the +second officer. + +"By all means," added Foster, the third. + +"With all my heart," followed Prescott, the fourth. + +The captain adopted this suggestion, and Gordon, as second lieutenant, +was sent off to the Josephine in the second cutter, which was pulled by +three masters and the three midshipmen. When it was ready to leave, Mr. +Lowington stepped into the boat, for he desired to satisfy himself that +the crew of the consort were not also demoralized. Haven in the third +cutter, with a volunteer crew, left the ship to procure a tug-steamer. +Peaks, Bitts, Leach, and the head steward had been privately requested +to be on deck, in case any unexpected demonstration was made by the +mutineers. + +In the steerage everything was very quiet. The sensation below was +decidedly superior to that on deck. The rebels were patiently waiting +to be called upon for an explanation of their remarkable conduct. +Probably none of them even noticed that the grating had been put upon +the main hatch by the cautious Peaks, to prevent them from leaving the +steerage. The boatswain's call had sounded twice, and they supposed the +faculty of the Academy were consulting upon the proper measures to be +taken. Most of them believed that they would be invited on deck, where +the principal would "preach" to them, as usual, and thus afford them an +opportunity to state their grievances. Perhaps, with the exception of +the runaways, they were willing to return to their duty after they had +recorded their protest. The principal still purposed to let them wait. + +The third cutter, all of whose volunteer crew wore shoulder-straps, +came up to the gangway of the Josephine, which, like the ship, was all +ready to weigh anchor. + +"You come with a very nobby crew," said Mr. Fluxion, as the principal +stepped upon the deck of the consort. + +"The ship is in a state of mutiny," replied Mr. Lowington, with a smile +upon his face, which softened the astounding declaration. + +"Mutiny!" exclaimed Mr. Fluxion. + +"Precisely so. We called all hands to weigh anchor, and less than +thirty answered to the summons. We learned from them that the rest of +the crew refused to do duty till their grievances were heard. Do you +know of anything of this kind on board of your vessel?" + +"We haven't called all hands yet, for we don't begin to get under way +till the ship mans the capstan. It is possible that we shall have the +same difficulty." + +"Let your captain get under way at once, for the ship will be towed +out. If your crew is all right, I should like to transfer a few seamen +to the ship, for we are rather short-handed," added the principal. + +Mr. Fluxion called Captain Terrill, and the order was given to pipe all +hands. As the boatswain's whistle sounded, the principal and the +vice-principal descended to the cabin. Mr. Lowington had begun to +explain his method of dealing with the difficulty, when a messenger +from the captain reported that twelve seamen refused to answer the +summons. + +"Ascertain who they are, and get under way without disturbing them," +said the principal, after the messenger had retired. + +"That's a novel way to deal with a mutiny," added Mr. Fluxion, who was +always in favor of decisive measures. + +Mr. Lowington stated his views fully, and explained his plan. Though +the vice-principal did not agree with him in regard to his corrective +measures, he consented to adopt them. When they went on deck, the +captain handed Mr. Fluxion a list of the names of the Josephine's +mutineers. They were the twelve runaways who had been transferred to +the consort. Little had succeeded in inducing them to engage in the +plot, but the rest of the crew would not follow their vicious example, +even with the assurance that the mutiny was general on board of the +ship. Under these circumstances, none of the crew of the Josephine +could be spared for service in the Young America, and the boat returned +without them. The principal decided that the ship could be handled with +the available force, which might include a portion of the cooks and +stewards, some of whom were sailors. + +The tug-boat had come alongside when the cutter reached the ship. In +order to give any rebel, who had repented, an opportunity to return to +his duty, the grating was removed from the main hatch, and the +boatswain again called all hands to weigh anchor. Only two of them, +however, answered the call. The capstan was manned by the faithful +thirty, reenforced by the officers and the men on board. A long hawser +had been passed from the bow to the steamer, and as soon as the anchor +was up to the hawse-hole, the signal was given to go ahead. The +Josephine followed as promptly as though every seaman on board +performed his duty, though the sails were not set with the usual +precision. The little squadron went off to the north-west, carrying its +double mutiny with it. + +As soon as the ship began to move, after the anchor was secured, the +officers devoted themselves to the duty of stationing the crew. They +were divided into two watches, and their places for making and taking +in sail, reefing and tacking, were assigned to them. As the officers +who had volunteered to serve before the mast were thorough seamen, the +task was speedily accomplished. There were no "green hands" to be +favored, for every one was competent to hand, reef, and steer. By the +time the squadron was well in the offing, the ship's company was in +condition to make sail. About ten miles outside of the harbor, the +steamer was discharged. + +"All hands, make sail, ahoy!" shouted the boatswain; and every officer +and seaman sprang to his station. + +Lieutenants, masters, midshipmen, and pursers mingled with the seamen, +and the work was done with promptness and precision. Topsails, +top-gallant-sails, and courses were set, and with the wind abeam, the +ship went off to the north-west as comfortably as though no mutiny had +distracted her routine. When everything was made snug for a night at +sea, the roll was called, and the names of the mutineers checked on the +list. + +"Young gentleman," said Mr. Lowington, while the faithful were still +assembled in the waist, "I regret that so many of your companions have +resorted to a silly and stupid expedient to redress real or imaginary +grievances. Mutiny is never respectable, under any circumstances; and I +wish to draw a sharp line between those who do their duty and those who +do not. I desire that none of you hold any communication whatever with +the mutineers. Be dignified and gentlemanly, but avoid them. Give them +no information in regard to what transpires on deck. I _request_ you to +do this. I do not give you any order to that effect. + +"None of the mutineers will be allowed to come on deck, and I shall +have some means of distinguishing the faithful from the unfaithful." + +"Will you allow me to furnish a badge for each of the faithful?" asked +Grace Arbuckle, who stood near the principal, and was deeply interested +in the proceedings. + +"Certainly, Miss Arbuckle; and I am sure the young gentlemen will set +an additional value upon the decoration if it is bestowed by you," +replied Mr. Lowington, as gallantly as though he had been a much +younger man. + +"Thank you, sir," answered Grace, blushing at the compliment. + +"Miss Arbuckle will give a badge to each of you," continued the +principal to the faithful few. + +The crew on deck applauded lustily. + +"It will be a white ribbon on the left breast," said Grace. + +"A white ribbon on the left breast," repeated Mr. Lowington, as Grace +hastened to the cabin to procure the materials for the decoration. "I +learn that those who refused to answer the boatswain's call, expected +to be asked for an explanation of their conduct. I cannot make terms +with mutineers. I should have proceeded in a different manner if I had +not believed there was a misunderstanding. I am willing to explain for +your benefit, but not for those below. Do you understand?" + +"Ay, ay, sir!" shouted the students. + +"With a promise on your part to keep your own counsels, I will explain. +Those of you who will agree not to communicate anything I may say to +the mutineers will signify it by going abaft the mizzen-mast on the +quarter-deck. Those who decline to agree to these terms will remain in +the waist." + +Every officer, including Perth, and every seaman, promptly marched to +the quarter-deck. + +"At the wheel, do you agree to the terms?" said the principal, +addressing the quarter-master and seaman who were steering. + +"Yes, sir," replied both. + +"Mr. Peaks, you will see that no one is at the ladder of the main +hatch," continued the principal, turning to the adult boatswain. + +"Ay, ay, sir," replied Peaks, who soon reported that all the mutineers +were still in the mess-rooms. + +"Now, young gentlemen, I am told it is generally believed in the +steerage that the trip down the Rhine has been abandoned; that the ship +is bound to Belfast to convey our good friends to their home. This is a +mistake, and probably the one which made the mischief in part. I have +no idea of going to Belfast, and no idea of abandoning the excursion +into Germany." + +The boys applauded with a zeal which indicated how satisfactory the +intelligence was to them. + +"Certainly the discipline of the ship needs improving, but I was +satisfied that two or three days' service at sea would restore it to +its former standard. If the squadron remains at Havre during our +absence, both vessels must go into the docks, which involves +considerable expense. I therefore purposed to make a harbor at Brest, +and go from there to the Rhine. For this reason the baggage of our +friends was brought on board. That is really all that need be said. Are +you satisfied?" + +"Ay, ay, sir!" shouted the crowd. + +"But remember that this explanation is made for your benefit, and not +for that of the students in the steerage. They have chosen their own +remedy, and they must abide the issue. You are now dismissed." + +"Not yet, if you please, Mr. Lowington," interposed Grace, who had +stationed herself, with her mother on the port side of the mizzen-mast. +"If the young gentlemen will pass this way, they shall be decorated +with the white ribbon of the Order of the Faithful." + +"The Order of the Faithful!" exclaimed Mr. Lowington, laughing, while +all the students applauded. "You will pass forward on the port side of +the mizzen-mast, and be initiated into the Order of the Faithful." + +"I shall join that order," said Commodore Kendall, as he placed himself +in the single line formed by the boys. + +"Let the flag-officer go first," added some of the students, dragging +Paul to the head of the column. + +"Commodore Kendall, you are received into the Order of the Faithful," +said Grace, as she pinned upon the left breast of his coat the white +ribbon, which was doubled, so that the two ends hung down. + +"Thank you, Miss Arbuckle. I will endeavor to be faithful," replied the +flag-officer, as he touched his cap to the fair initiator. + +Captain Shuffles followed him, and in half an hour the entire party +were duly initiated and decorated. As fast as Mrs. Arbuckle could cut +off and double the ribbons, Grace adjusted them. She explained that she +had purchased a large quantity of narrow white and blue ribbon in Paris +to make trimmings for a dress; and when the principal had spoken of a +distinguishing mark for those who did their duty, it had suggested to +her the white ribbon of the Order of the Faithful. She was delighted to +have her idea so well received. + +"We have had some secret societies on board this ship," laughed Paul +Kendall, after he had received his decoration. "I move you we form +another--the Order of the Faithful." + +"We have already taken the obligation," added Shuffles. + +"And we have been initiated by Miss Arbuckle," said Gordon. + +The suggestion was received with favor, though rather as a pleasantry +than as a serious matter; and, after the faithful had all marched by +the mizzen-mast, the subject was again taken up in the waist. + +"I move you that Commodore Kendall be chosen Grand Commander of the +Order of the Faithful," said Shuffles. + +"I beg you will excuse me. I couldn't walk if I had to carry around +with me such a magnificent title as that," replied Paul, shrugging his +shoulders like a Frenchman. "I suggest that Miss Grace Arbuckle be the +chief of the order, and that no one be admitted unless initiated by +her. As she is the founder of the order, it is fair that she should be +its head." + +"Good!" shouted several of the officers and seamen. + +"What shall her title be?" added Shuffles. + +"Queen," replied Gordon. + +"No; that's too commonplace," answered Haven. + +"What shall it be, then?" + +"Something outlandish, just for the fun of the thing," said Haven, who +was not a very warm advocate of secret societies. + +"The Amazon," suggested one of the seamen. + +"O, no! don't call her an Amazon," protested Paul. "It would be a libel +upon her." + +"The Queen of the Fairies." + +"We are not fairies," objected Haven. + +"She is one, at any rate." + +"Call her the Empress." + +"Simply the President." + +"No; the Directress." + +The question seemed to be a trying one; and one after another suggested +titles which were satisfactory to no one but the proposers. + +"How will the Protectress do?" inquired Shuffles. + +"Rather formidable and commonplace," replied Haven. "Make it the Grand +Protectress, and I am with you." + +"I like Protectress," added Paul Kendall. + +"So do I," said half a dozen others. + +"Grand Protectress is better," persisted Haven, who could not help +making a burlesque of the affair. + +"Grand Protectress!" shouted a dozen others, who believed in +high-sounding titles. + +"Put it to vote," suggested Shuffles. + +"Ay, ay! put it to vote." + +"Those in favor of Grand Protectress say, ay," continued Haven. + +"Ay!" responded a large number. + +"Opposed." + +"No." + +"The ayes have it. Grand Protectress it is." + +"I move you that Commodore Kendall and Captain Shuffles be a committee +to wait upon Miss Arbuckle, and inform her that she has been +unanimously chosen Grand Protectress of the Order of the Faithful. +Those in favor say, ay; those opposed, no. It is a vote." + +The committee went to the quarter-deck, where Grace and her mother were +conversing with Mr. Lowington. Paul, who was by seniority the +spokesman, touched his cap, and looked as dignified as though he had +been the minister plenipotentiary of one of the great powers. + +"Miss Arbuckle, I have the honor--and I should do injustice to my own +feelings if I did not add, the pleasure--to inform you, that you have +been unanimously chosen Grand Protectress of the Order of the +Faithful." + +"The what?" asked Grace. + +The principal, usually very solemn and dignified, laughed heartily. + +"Grand Protectress," replied Paul, gravely. "The order has been duly +established; and, as you have initiated all the members, it is +eminently proper that you should preside over its destinies." + +"Please to assure the members of the order, that I accept the high +position, and that I am very grateful to them for the honor they have +done me," answered Grace, when she could restrain her laughter so as to +speak. + +"I am happy to be the bearer of such a pleasant message," said Paul, as +he bowed and retired. + +"Grand Protectress!" laughed Grace, repeating in measured tones her +magnificent title. + +Paul reported the acceptance of the Grand Protectress; and the society +was further organized by the choice of a secretary, whose only duty was +to keep a record of the names of the members. + +"Now, we want a motto," said Gordon; "something that will express, in +few words, the objects of the society." + +"I don't happen to know what the objects of the society are," replied +Haven; "but I suggest, '_Honi soit qui mal y pense_.'" + +"The Queen of England has a mortgage on that motto," said Paul. +"_Semper paratus_ will be better." + +"What does it mean?" asked a student. + +"Some praties," replied a wag. + +"Let us have a motto in plain English, and one that has not been used +by all the engine companies in the United States," added Haven. + +"_Semper paratus_ is good, I think," persisted Paul. "_Always ready_ to +answer the boatswain's call, and _always ready_ to do our duty." + +"But it is worn out," protested Haven. "I move you we invite the Grand +Protectress to give us a motto." + +The motion was carried, and the same committee appointed to make the +request. Paul led the way to Grace again, who was still highly amused +at the grand honor which had been conferred upon her. + +"The Order of the Faithful instructs me humbly to petition the Grand +Protectress for a motto suitable to the needs, and expressive of the +objects, of the association," said Paul. + +"O, dear me!" exclaimed Grace. "If you ask such things as that of me, I +shall not wish to be Grand Protectress. I think, as your great +philosopher said, it will be paying too dear for the whistle. Must it +be in English, French, Latin, or German?" + +"That must be left to the discretion of your Grand Protectresship," +answered Paul, gravely. + +"Please to help me, father," said she, appealing to Mr. Arbuckle. + +"Whatever the Grand Protectress vouchsafes to give us shall be +cherished by the order," added Paul. + +Mr. Arbuckle wrote a sentence on a slip of paper, and handed it to +Grace. + +"Ah, here is your motto!" exclaimed she, laughing heartily. + +"Please to repeat it," said Captain Shuffles. + +"_Vous ne pouvez pas faire un sifflet de la queue d'un cochon_," added +Grace, reading from the paper, which she handed to Paul, choking with +mirth. + +"Thanks, most excellent Grand Protectress," replied the commodore, who +found it very difficult to maintain his gravity. + +"It is a literal translation of the English proverb, and perhaps the +idea is not expressed in similar phrase in French," said Mr. Arbuckle; +"but I think it will answer very well for a motto." + +Paul smoothed down his face as well as he could, and conveyed the motto +to the assembled order in the waist. + +"I have the honor to inform you that the Grand Protectress has provided +a motto," said he. + +"What is it?" demanded a dozen. + +"It is in French." + +"The motto!" called the impatient Faithfuls. + +_"Vous ne pouvez pas faire un sifflet de la queue d'un cochon."_ + +Only two or three laughed, for only a few were as good French scholars +as Paul and Shuffles. + +"What's the English of it?" asked several at the same time. + +"You must excuse me, for I do not think it is quite proper to translate +the motto," replied Paul. + +Those who understood it enjoyed the joke too much to afford the others +any light on the subject. Haven was delighted with the motto, and moved +that it be accepted. As it had been furnished by the Grand Protectress, +it was unanimously adopted. The weak scholars were very curious to know +the meaning of the mystic words. Most of them could make out a part of +the sentence, but not enough to translate it. The business of the +meeting was completed, and the members separated, all of them feeling +that the mutiny of the Young America was more like a merrymaking than +anything else. To be decorated with the white ribbon of the order by a +beautiful young lady was a privilege which they appreciated, and all of +them were thankful that they had not been led astray by the evil +counsels which had prevailed in the steerage. + +"If you do not like the motto, I can give you another now," said Grace, +when Paul joined the little party on the quarter-deck. + +"The one you gave was unanimously adopted by the order," replied Paul. + +"Was it, really?" asked Grace, laughing more heartily than before. + +"Certainly it was." + +"Did they understand its meaning?" + +"Some of them did." + +"If you like this one better, it is at your service: 'High aims produce +noble deeds.'" + +"While I hope we all believe in the English one, I think the members of +the order prefer the French one." + +"If they are suited, I am," replied Grace, cheerfully. + +The ship was still going along under easy sail, though the weather +promised to be unfavorable before morning. At eight o'clock, the +starboard watch, with the first and third lieutenants in charge, took +the deck, and the port watch went below. They were to be ready for duty +at twelve. Everything on deck was as pleasant as a merry-making. None +of the passengers were seasick. + +Everything was not so lovely in the steerage, and it is necessary to go +back a few hours in order to ascertain what passed among the mutineers. + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + +IN THE STEERAGE. + + +After the students finished their supper, those who had decided to +rebel against the authorities of the ship retired to the mess-rooms, +agreeably to the instructions of the leaders. There were forty-four of +them, including the eighteen runaways who still remained in the ship as +seamen, and who were the real mischief-makers, forming a class by +themselves, hardening their hearts in sheer ugliness against the +discipline of the ship. In their exploit with the Josephine, they had +"bucked" against authority, and had suffered the consequences, which +unfortunately had not produced a favorable impression upon them. They +were disposed to do the same thing again. + +The rest of the mutineers belonged to a different class. They were +generally well-disposed boys, fond of fun and excitement, not exactly +the "lambs" of the flock, but certainly not the black sheep. If some of +them had assisted in creating the confusion during the drill, they had +not done so with any malicious purpose, as the runaways had, but from a +thoughtless love of sport and excitement. They would never have thought +of such an expedient as rebellion if they had not been cunningly worked +upon by the real mischief-makers. They were not strong-minded young +men, who dare to do right under all circumstances. With good impulses +in the main, their principle was not hardened into that solid element +which constitutes a reliable conscience. They were easily led away, and +believing they had a real grievance, they resorted to doubtful means +for its redress. + +Of this class Raymond had been the leading spirit. He would have +resented the appellation of mutineer as an insult. All he expected and +desired to obtain was an explanation; and he was confident that when +two thirds of the crew mildly, and even respectfully, declined to do +duty, the principal, either in person or by deputy, would come below to +ascertain the nature of the difficulty. He had cautioned his party to +be perfectly respectful to the officers, and especially to the +principal and professors. If it was to be a mutiny in any sense of the +word, it was to be a very gentlemanly one. Having reduced the intended +rebellion to this mild form, he had no fear that the rough hand of +Peaks would be laid upon them, or that the party would be driven by +force from the mess-rooms. + +"How do you suppose it will come out?" asked Hyde, one of Raymond's +messmates, in a low tone, as a group of the rebels gathered in their +room. + +"It will come out all right," replied the leader of the mild mutineers, +confidently. + +"I'm not so sure of that," added Hyde, shaking his head. "Mr. Lowington +is a great stickler for discipline; and he is not exactly the man to +come below, and coax us to attend to our duty." + +"I don't expect he will coax us to do it. But there are so many of us +in the scrape that he can hardly do anything else." + +"How many do you suppose there are?" inquired Hyde. + +"I can't tell exactly, but I am satisfied that more than two thirds of +the whole crew will stand out." + +"I don't know about that." + +"I know that every fellow in the ship is mad because the trip to the +Rhine is given up; and I think that at least two thirds of them are mad +enough to do something about it. I should not be surprised if not a +single fellow answered the boatswain's call." + +"I should; for I know half a dozen who have said they should; but they +mean to let the principal know that all the fellows are dissatisfied +with the idea of being cheated out of the run into Germany. I'm not +sure that this wouldn't be the better way." + +"O, it wouldn't amount to a row of pins! What does the principal care +whether the fellows are satisfied or not? We must do something to prove +that we are somebody," persisted Raymond. + +"That's so," added Lindsley, earnestly. "I don't believe in all Howe's +nonsense, but there is a good deal of truth in what he says. We are not +common sailors, but the sons of wealthy men. We were sent to this ship +because we could have a chance to see the world while we were getting +an education; and it isn't just the thing to deprive us of the +privileges we pay for. Of course we don't mean to make any row. If the +principal don't choose to set us right, why, we must go to our duty, +and make the best of it; but for one, I shall write to my father, and +tell him just how the matter stands." + +"That's the idea," responded Raymond. "I shall do the same thing, and I +know my father will send for me immediately. My mother would be glad +enough to have me go home." + +"I'll tell you what it is, fellows," added Lindsley, warmly; "if about +fifty of us will only hang together, we can have our own way. If we +write home that we are dissatisfied, that the principal is rough on us, +and won't let us see the country, we can blow up the Academy Ship +higher than a kite." + +"I think we have seen the country pretty well," suggested Wilde. + +"Yes; but we are not to go into Germany," replied Raymond. "We are to +go to sea, just because the new captain demands it." + +"For my own part, I like the ship first rate, and should hate to have +my father send for me," continued Wilde. "I don't believe there are a +dozen fellows on board who wouldn't think it a hard case if they had to +leave." + +"Not if we are to be treated in this manner. If we are allowed to see +the country, and have a good time, every fellow will be satisfied," +replied Raymond. "But I think it will all come round right if we keep a +stiff upper lip, and stand up for our rights. I like Lindsley's idea +first rate. We can talk that up, and it will help us out, if nothing +else will. We can easily get forty or fifty of the fellows to say they +will ask their fathers to take them away from the ship if they don't +have fair play. Then we can mildly suggest the idea to Mr. Lowington; +and, I tell you, he can see that the loss of fifty of us would make an +end of his big idea." + +"I'm not ready to say I will ask my father to take me out of the ship," +protested Wilde. + +"I am," said Raymond. + +"So am I," added Lindsley. + +"And I," chimed in others. + +"While we are waiting, suppose we circulate the idea." + +At this moment Tremere and Willis, who were the other occupants of the +mess-room, came in, and the proposition was stated to them. + +"No!" exclaimed Tremere, very decidedly. "When the boatswain pipes, I +shall go on deck, and do my duty as long as I have two legs to stand +on, and two hands to work with." + +"So shall I," added Willis. "I don't believe half the stories that have +been told through the ship. In my opinion, if any of the fellows don't +go down the Rhine this year, it will be because they are rebels or +runaways. I shall take my station when the boatswain pipes, if I am the +only fellow on board that does so." + +"If you haven't spunk enough to stand up for your rights, you deserve +to lose them," replied Raymond, disgusted with the answers of those +high-toned students. + +"My rights! Humph! I value them too highly to throw them away by any +such stupid conduct as you suggest," answered Willis. + +Lindsley, thinking that Tremere and Willis did not understand their +plan, volunteered to explain that they did not intend to use any +violent measures; that they meant to be entirely respectful to the +officers and to the faculty. + +"Disobedience is disobedience, whether you are respectful or +disrespectful; whether you say 'no' squarely, or 'excuse me;' only the +former is less cowardly than the latter," said Tremere, in reply. "As I +understand the matter, you are getting up a row, asking fellows to +write to their fathers to take them away from the ship." + +"All hands, up anchor, ahoy!" shouted the boatswain, at the main hatch. + +Raymond returned to the mess-room, while the two incorruptible fellows +hastened to their stations on deck. + +"Now we are in for it!" said Lindsley. + +"Let us stick to our text," added Raymond, fearful that some of the +party would back out as the decisive moment had come. + +"Ay, ay! Stick to the text!" added Hyde. + +"Hold on, and I will see how many fellows answer the call," continued +Raymond, nervously, as he stationed himself at the door of the room, +where he could see the seamen who went up the ladder. + +"Count them," said Lindsley. + +It was an exciting moment to the rebels, for however real they believed +their grievances to be, probably not many of them were satisfied with +the expediency or the justice of the measure they had adopted to +redress them. + +"Only twelve!" exclaimed Raymond, when the last of the faithful had +ascended the ladder. + +"That's bully!" said Hyde, rubbing his hands with satisfaction at the +assumed success of the scheme. + +"Are you sure that you counted right?" inquired Lindsley. + +"I counted ten, and added Tremere and Willis to the number, for they +had gone up before I began. I didn't expect even as many as that would +go." + +But the enthusiastic rebel had made a blunder. A portion of those who +intended to obey orders, having no motive for remaining below, had gone +on deck as soon as they finished their suppers. Sixteen of these, added +to the twelve who went up from the steerage, made the twenty-eight who +first answered the call. + +"Only twelve!" repeated Hyde. + +"If we have nearly the whole crowd, we can do something more than +explain our position," said Lindsley. + +"I'm not in favor of doing anything more than that," added Raymond, +shaking his head. + +"All hands, up anchor, ahoy!" shouted the boatswain, the second time, +at the main hatch. + +"It's all right," said Howe, appearing at the door; "not a fellow +answers it." + +"Only a dozen have gone on deck in all," added Raymond. + +"Is that all?" asked the runaway. + +"That's all; I counted them." + +"Good! We shall make a big thing of it," answered Howe, as he left the +room to look into others, in all of which it is safe to say that the +strong-minded rebels were engaged in stiffening the backs of the weaker +ones, for a large portion of them were in a very novel position. + +"Some one will be down very soon to know what the matter is," said +Hyde, fidgeting about his berth, where he had stretched himself to +await the time. + +"Who shall speak for us?" asked Raymond. + +"You shall," replied Lindsley. + +"Very well; I will do the best I can," answered Raymond, modestly. "I +am to say, very respectfully, that the fellows are dissatisfied with +the idea of going to sea, and giving up the trip to the Rhine." + +"Yes; and we respectfully request that the principal will make good his +promise to take us into Germany," added Hyde. + +"Don't you mean to say anything about the letters to our fathers, +asking them to take us away from the ship?" inquired Lindsley. + +"That looks a little like a threat," objected Raymond. "Besides, we +don't know how many fellows will agree to send such letters." + +"Let us go round and see," suggested Lindsley. + +"We will, if there is time." + +As the record of the preceding chapter testifies, there was an +abundance of time to carry out this or any other preliminary measure. +Raymond and Lindsley proceeded to canvass the rebels in regard to the +letters. The eighteen runaways were ready to assent to anything, but +only about half of the others were willing to give in their allegiance +to what they regarded as a mean scheme. Some even declared they would +back out if anything of this sort was to be attempted. Raymond was +politic enough not to press the measure very hard, and he returned to +his room with the names of only thirty, instead of fifty, which he had +expected to obtain. + +"That's enough to make a show with," said Lindsley. + +"But I don't intend to say anything about the letters to the principal, +if he is willing to do the fair thing by us." + +"What are they about on deck? It is half an hour since the boatswain +piped all hands," said Hyde, jumping out of his berth. + +"I'm sure I don't know," replied Lindsley, uneasily. "I should think +they had found out by this time that something was the matter." + +"I know one thing," said Wilde, with a significant shake of the head, +as though he had made an important discovery. + +"What's that?" demanded the others, in the same breath. + +"They have put the grating on the main hatch, so that we can't go on +deck if we wish to do so," replied Wilde, who had begun to be regarded +as one with a weak back. + +"No matter for that," answered Raymond, with an effort to laugh, though +he was far from being satisfied with the situation as indicated by the +closed hatch. "As we don't want to go on deck, it makes no difference +to us." + +"That's so," added Lindsley. "They have put on the grating to make a +show. They can't do anything while sixty of the crew are below." + +"Are you sure there are sixty?" asked Hyde, doubtfully. + +"Take twelve from the whole crew, and it leaves sixty. But count them +for yourself, if you are not satisfied with my figures." + +"I will;" and he left the mess-room for this purpose. + +He had the curiosity to look up the hatch, and made another +discovery--that the stout boatswain was there, apparently keeping +watch. The faithful had just marched to the quarter-deck, to indicate +that they were willing to "keep their own counsel," as requested by the +principal. Hyde returned to the room to report the fact. It looked like +decided measures to him. + +"I think we are caged," said he. + +"No matter if we are," replied Raymond, with a sneer. "One thing is +plain enough; they can't go to sea without us." + +"No; twelve fellows can't get the anchor up, even with the help of +Peaks," added Lindsley. + +"O, we've got them," persisted Raymond. "We are a majority of all +hands, even if you count the officers on the other side; and I happen +to know they are as much dissatisfied as we are." + +Hyde left the room again, and succeeded in making a count of all the +seamen in the steerage. + +"Humph!" snuffed he, on his return. "You counted the fellows with your +elbows, Raymond. There are only forty-four in the steerage." + +"Forty-four!" sneered Raymond. "Does twelve from seventy-two leave +forty-four?" + +"No; but twenty-eight from seventy-two leaves forty-four," retorted +Hyde. "I'm sure I'm right." + +Raymond was not satisfied, and counted for himself, but with no +different result; and Lindsley suggested that some of the twenty-eight +were on deck when the boatswain's call sounded. + +"Well, what's the odds?" demanded the mortified leader of the moderate +party. "They can't get the ship under way with twenty-eight much better +than with twelve. It takes thirty-two to man the capstan. What are they +doing on deck?" + +"I don't know," replied Hyde. "I was going up the ladder to ascertain, +but Peaks drove me away. I heard them lowering boats, but I could not +make out what they intend to do." + +"O, it's all right. You needn't fret about it," added the leader. + +Probably no one was more disturbed than he. The lowering of the boats +was discussed in full, but nothing could be made of it, though Raymond +insisted that the ship could not go to sea while the boats were away. +Half an hour later they heard the faithful on deck hoisting up the +boats. Hyde stood at the door of the mess-room watching the hatchway, +for any chance revelation of the principal's intentions. The same doubt +and uncertainty, as well as curiosity in regard to the movements on +deck, prevailed in all the other mess-rooms. It had been agreed that +all hands should remain in their rooms; but this agreement was now +violated, and most of the mutineers were gathered at the doors, anxious +to obtain intelligence from the deck. + +Suddenly the grating was removed from the hatch. + +"All hands, up anchor, ahoy!" shouted the boatswain, for the third, +and, as it proved, the last time. + +But no one came below to remonstrate, or ask for the explanation which +a majority of the rebels were now exceedingly anxious to give. The +moment the call sounded, Wilde walked towards the ladder. + +"Where are you going?" demanded Raymond, angrily. + +"I have had enough of this thing," he replied, and, without waiting for +any further parley, went on deck, though the rebels hissed him. + +Another seaman from one of the other mess-rooms followed his example, +though Howe seized him by the collar, and attempted to detain him by +force. Fortunately he was a stout fellow, and shook off his assailant. +A storm of hisses and abuse followed him as he went up the ladder. +Doubtless this treatment of the weak-backed, as they were considered, +deterred others from imitating their example, for the faithful had only +these two added to their number. + +"I'm glad we are rid of them," said Raymond. "Fellows with weak backs +don't do us any good." + +"They add to our number, at any rate," replied Hyde, who, if he could +have escaped the odium of the movement, would have gone on deck +himself. + +"No matter for that; we have forty-two left, and the ship can't go to +sea without our help," added Raymond. + +"I'm not quite sure of that," answered Hyde. + +"No matter if she does go to sea," said Lindsley. + +"But she can't go," persisted Raymond. "All we want is a chance to +state our grievances; and the principal is not going to let us stay +down here a great many days without knowing what the matter is." + +"Hark!" said Hyde, as the boatswain's whistle sounded on deck. + +"Man the capstan!" shouted Goodwin, the first lieutenant. + +"Doesn't that look as though the ship was going to sea?" added the +sceptical Hyde. "I tell you what it is, fellows, we are sold!" + +"Sold? Not a bit of it! We are in the winning boat." + +"Not exactly." + +The rebels listened to the merry pipe of those who walked around the +capstan, and heard the grating of the chain cables as they passed +through the tiers into the lockers in the hold. It was plain enough +that thirty-two hands had been found to man the capstan, for the anchor +was certainly coming up from its miry bed. These sounds produced +something like consternation among the mutineers, for they indicated at +least a partial failure of the scheme in which they had trusted for +redress. + +"Go ahead!" shouted the executive officer through his trumpet. + +"Go ahead?" repeated Raymond, as he went to the sky-light. "Not a sail +has been set." + +"But she is moving," said Hyde. "I see how it is. They have taken a +tug-steamer." + +"They are not going to tow the ship to Belfast," answered Raymond, as +he went to one of the port gangways from which the mess-rooms opened. +"There goes the Josephine, under sail. In my opinion, they are only +dropping down to another anchorage. The principal will not think of +such a thing as going to sea with only thirty seamen. It isn't safe to +do so." + +"When it isn't safe, Peaks will be down here, and you will have to turn +out and do duty," said Hyde. + +At that instant, as if to verify the prophecy of the croaker, the +stalwart boatswain, with the assistance of the carpenter, lifted the +grating off the main hatch. Most of the rebels retreated to their +rooms; but it was a false alarm, for the two adult seamen, instead of +coming below themselves, only lifted up the ladder, and drew it on +deck, restoring the grating when it was done. + +"That looks like something," said Lindsley. + +"I tell you we are sold," added Hyde. "The principal isn't coming down +here to ask us for an explanation. It isn't his style." + +"Don't croak any more, Hyde," protested Raymond, in disgust. + +"I only say we are sold, and you can't deny it." + +"Wait and see." + +They did wait, and after a while they heard the order to shake out the +topsails. Looking up through the main skylight, they saw lieutenants, +masters, and midshipmen, on the yards. They listened to the voices of +Paul Kendall, Gordon, and Haven, issuing orders which were usually +given by the lieutenants. From what they saw and what they heard, they +were enabled to arrive at a tolerably correct solution of the means by +which the ship was at present handled. They understood that the larger +portion of the officers were doing duty as seamen, while the past +officers were serving as volunteers under the captain. + +"We might as well cave in, and go on deck," said Hyde, after the +movements on deck had been thoroughly discussed. + +"Humph! You can't get on deck, to begin with," replied Raymond. "But I +haven't any idea of giving it up so." + +"The plan has failed--that's plain enough," added Hyde. + +"Not yet." + +"I think it has. We are whipped out, and the sooner we make our peace +with Mr. Lowington, the better it will be for us." + +"If you mean to back out, say so, Hyde." + +"I don't want to back out while the rest of the fellows stick." + +"How will it do to send a messenger to the principal, state our +grievances, and have the thing over?" suggested Johnson. + +This idea met with considerable favor, but the principal objection to +the measure was, that the messenger could not get on deck, as the +ladder was removed from the main hatch, and the forward one was closed. +The ship careened, the waves dashed against the bow, and it was evident +that she was going to sea in good earnest. A large portion of the +rebels were now studying up a plan to get out of the scrape, rather +than to establish their rights. The boatswain's whistle sounded on +deck, and all hands were piped to muster. Vainly the mutineers tried to +ascertain what was going on, while Mr. Lowington was making his +explanation to the faithful; but the parties were on the quarter-deck +beyond their sight and hearing. Only the applause which followed +Grace's proposition to decorate the members of the Order of the +Faithful reached their ears. The ceremony itself, which took place in +the waist, indicated that those on deck were having an exceedingly +jolly time, though the nature of the performance was not understood. +Then, when the Grand Protectress was elected, the hilarious mirth of +the Faithful was positively sickening to the rebels. Those on deck +appeared to be making fun of those below, for what else could they be +laughing at, since the refusal of the rebels to do duty must be the +all-absorbing topic on board? The situation was very unsatisfactory to +the mild mutineers, and not very hopeful to the runaways. + +"Let them laugh," said Raymond, whistling up his courage, so that he +could maintain the dignity and firmness of a leader. "If we hold out, +we shall carry our point. I have looked at the tell-tale, and the ship +is headed to the north-west. If the course means anything, it means +Belfast." + +"What's the use of talking?" exclaimed Johnson. "The plan I proposed is +the only one now. I move you we send a messenger to the principal." + +"You can't get on deck," retorted Raymond. + +"We can hail some one on deck, or knock at the door of the main cabin." + +"It looks like backing out," added Lindsley. + +"That is what we shall have to do in the end, and we may as well do it +first as last," said Hyde. + +"Hold on! Here comes Howe," continued Lindsley. "Let us hear what he +has to say." + +"I don't care what he says," muttered Hyde, who, like many other of the +mild rebels, was not willing to join hands with the virulent and +intense ones. + +"I say, fellows, we are not making much on this tack," Howe began, as +he joined the group at the door of the mess-room. "We are going to have +a meeting abaft the foremast, to decide what shall be done next. All +hands are invited." + +Howe moved on to extend the invitation to others. + + + + +CHAPTER VII. + +THE VISIT TO THE HOLD. + + +"I don't attend any meeting with those fellows," said the prudent Hyde, +as the rebels began to gather at the place indicated. + +"There is no harm in hearing what they have to say," replied Lindsley. + +"I don't care what they have to say. I won't have anything to do with +them. In my opinion they are trying to get us all into a scrape." + +"You are in one now, and you may as well be hung for an old sheep as a +lamb." + +"I would rather be hung for a lamb," answered Hyde, turning on his +heel, and walking as far from the foremast as the limits of the +steerage would permit. + +About a dozen others followed his example, for the meeting was +understood to be called by the runaways, who represented the most +virulent type of rebellion. They had already lost all their privileges +for the season, which could be restored only by the grace of the +principal, and they had nothing to sacrifice. It was not prudent to +enter into their counsels, and the mildest rebels, like Hyde and +Johnson, avoided them. + +"We are not making much on this tack," said Howe, when the rebels, who +chose to take part in the meeting, had assembled. + +"That's so!" exclaimed Lindsley. + +"Well, what's to be done? That's the next question." + +"Nothing," added Raymond, who dreaded any extreme measures, and did not +mean that Howe's party should obtain control of the movement. "As I +understand the matter, all is going on right. We have only to hold out, +and everything will end well for us." + +"But we are shut up in the steerage. We are prisoners. The tables are +turned upon us," replied Howe. + +"Not at all. We have carried our point so far. We refused to do duty, +and we haven't done any. I am in favor of fighting it out in this +manner to the end." + +"It is a milk-and-water affair as it is now, and won't amount to +anything." + +"What's the reason it won't?" demanded the champion of the mild party. + +"Suppose the main hatch were opened, and the boatswain should call all +hands--how many of us do you suppose would be left? There are a dozen +of your chickens that would back down so quick it would make your eyes +smart," added the champion of the intense party, pointing to the group +which had collected around Hyde, who appeared to be forming a party of +his own. "And the next time the call was made, a lot more would slump. +Before long we should be so reduced in numbers that the brig would hold +us all, and a few of us would have to stand the punishment for the sins +of the crowd. You led us into the scrape; now you must help us out of +it." + +"Who led you into it?" asked Raymond, indignantly. + +"You and your fellows, of course," retorted the heavy champion. + +"I don't see it." + +"Don't you? Then you are as green as a tame pigeon," continued Howe, +smartly. "Our fellows--of course you know I mean those who ran away in +the Josephine--are under the ban already. Did you suppose we were going +into an affair like this alone? Not much! We went in because you did; +to back up your movement. Now we are in it, you want to back out, and +let your fellows show the white feather." + +"I don't mean to back out," protested Raymond. + +"But those fellows out there do," added the wily rogue. + +"Well, there are thirty of us here, who will stick to the end. What do +you say, fellows?" + +"Of course we will," replied several, very mildly. + +"Will you agree, upon your word and honor, to stick as long as any one +does?" + +"That depends upon circumstances," interposed Lindsley. + +"I suppose it does," sneered Howe. "It isn't fair to leave us to bear +the brunt of the whole." + +"All we ever proposed to do was simply to refuse to do duty till we had +explained our position to the principal," added Raymond. + +"And kiss the rod, whether you get fair play or not," replied Howe. + +"We can't do anything more than that. When the principal understands +that over forty of us are dissatisfied, we have gained our point." + +"Have you indeed!" flouted Howe. "Then I fancy you have already gained +it, for he has found out that you are dissatisfied by this time." + +"Well, what do you want to do?" demanded Raymond. + +"It's no use to mince the matter. We have made a failure of it so far. +The lambs on deck are having a good time, laughing, cheering, and +carrying on--making game of us, no doubt, while we are shut up here as +prisoners," replied Howe, rolling up his sleeves, as though he intended +to do something savage. "We ought to make ourselves felt, which we +haven't done yet, for the rest of the ship's company seem to regard our +movement as a good joke, and to think we are having the worst of it. +Well, I think we are; and we must make ourselves felt." + +"Do you call it making yourselves felt when you are pounded on the head +with belaying pins, as you were in the Josephine?" inquired Lindsley, +dryly. + +"We raised a breeze there, and we are bound to do it here." + +"A breeze that first knocks you down yourself. I would rather have the +wind blow another way," added Raymond. + +"I don't mean to get up a fight, or anything of that sort." + +"Well, what do you mean?" asked Raymond, impatiently. + +"We have plans of our own; but we are not going to disclose them till +we have some assurance that the other fellows will stand by us," +answered the cautious leader of the intense party. "We are going to +make ourselves felt." + +"We are not going to agree to anything without knowing what it is," +said Lindsley. + +"And we are not going to let on to fellows that may go to the +principal, and blow the whole thing. I will say this: If your fellows +will pledge themselves, word and honor, to stand by us to the end, I +will agree that the ship shall return to Havre, or some other port in +France, within twenty-four hours, and that the tables shall be turned +in our favor." + +"How are you going to do it?" asked Lindsley. + +"Leave that to me. I have a plan which cannot fail. Do the fair thing +by us, and we will get you out of the scrape." + +"I will agree to this, and nothing more: I will stand out till we have +a chance to be heard," replied Raymond, who began to have some hope of +the mysterious movements of Howe. "I will do nothing but stand out." + +"We don't ask you to do anything else. We will do the rest, if you back +us up." + +"We don't back you up, for we don't even know what you are going to +do." + +"We will tell you what we are going to do." + +"Hold on! Perhaps we had better not know anything about it," interposed +Raymond. + +"No, you don't!" exclaimed Howe. "We will tell those who will take the +oath." + +"The oath!" ejaculated Lindsley. "Are we joining the Knights of the +Golden Fleece?" + +"No, no! I mean the promise," answered Howe, impatiently. "Word and +honor--that's all I want." + +The runaway portion of the rebels were doubtless already familiar with +the extraordinary means which was to turn the ship back to the ports of +France. The others, who attended the meeting, were largely influenced +by curiosity. They were intensely mortified at the defeat, which they +were unwilling to acknowledge. It would afford them immense +satisfaction to have the tables turned in their favor; but they were +utterly unable to imagine what powerful machinery Howe and his +associates could bring to bear upon the obdurate principal; how they +were to compel him to put the ship about, and return to France. + +The mild party retired to consider whether it would be prudent for them +to enter into a compact of this description with such dangerous +characters as the runaways. They were prejudiced against the measure, +but victory in the undertaking, in which they had engaged, was so +earnestly coveted, that they were tempted to join hands even with Howe, +Little, Wilton, and other desperate fellows. When a person has once +gone astray, the inducements to go farther increase. But Raymond and +his friends were not quite willing to pledge themselves in advance to +measures which they were not allowed to understand; and they finally +agreed to bind themselves to secrecy, in regard to the nature of the +scheme, if Howe would explain it on these terms, and then engage in it +if it were not too wicked. The party returned to the foremast, and +Raymond stated their position. + +"That won't go down," promptly replied Howe, with his bullying, +self-sufficient air. "We are to tell you what our plan is, and let you +adopt it or not, as you please! No, sir!" + +"We pledge ourselves beforehand to keep your secret, whether we join +with you or not." + +"We won't trust you." + +"Very well," added Raymond, decidedly. "Nothing more need be said. +Come, fellows." + +The leader of the mild party turned on his heel, and moved aft, +followed by his adherents. + +"What do you suppose they mean to do?" asked Lindsley, as they halted +under the skylight, near the middle of the steerage. + +"I don't know; but it must be something desperate to compel the +principal to put back," replied Raymond. "It may be to make a few +auger-holes in the bottom of the ship." + +"I wouldn't do anything of that sort," added Lindsley, shaking his +head. + +"No matter what it is; we offered to do the fair thing." + +"Suppose you had agreed to keep still, and they had proposed to bore +holes in the bottom of the ship; would you have kept your promise, and +said nothing about it?" asked Lindsley. + +"I would not have let them do it; and then there would have been +nothing to conceal," answered Raymond. + +"Precisely so! That's a good idea. Why not agree to their proposition, +and then, if they mean to do anything which endangers the ship, we can +easily prevent them from doing it," said Lindsley, who was exceedingly +curious to know what the runaways wished to do. + +Others were affected with the same desire, and their curiosity was +rapidly overcoming their prudence. While they were discussing the +question, Hyde and his party, seeing that Raymond and his associates +had withdrawn from the runaways, came to the spot, and disturbed the +conference with irrelevant questions. If all the mild mutineers could +be induced to cling together, they could easily overrule Howe and his +party. Just then, there was not that unity which alone insures success. +There were actually three parties in the steerage, and it was necessary +to reconcile them, or the rebellion would end in an ignominious +failure. But this was found to be quite impossible, so far as Hyde and +his party were concerned; for if the boatswain's call had sounded at +that moment, they would have returned to their duty, if permitted to do +so. Raymond would not consent to make terms with Howe, without the +concurrence of all the others, including Hyde. + +Howe was quite as much disgusted with the situation as any of the +milder rebels. He had hoped and expected to drag them into any +desperate scheme which might be adopted, and after Raymond and his +party retired, he looked rather blankly at his friends. + +"They are nothing but babies--little spoonies!" said he, +contemptuously. "It isn't safe to do anything with them." + +"Nor without them," suggested Spencer. + +"I don't believe that," added Little. "They are in for it already. They +will be held responsible for anything done below, as well as we. Let's +go on with the job, just as we intended." + +After considerable discussion, the suggestion of the little villain was +adopted, with a modification, however, proposed by himself, by which +the whole party were to be implicated in the mischief. No time was to +be lost, for a portion of the faithful, who appeared still to be having +a good time on deck, would soon come below to turn in. Howe and Little +went to the main scuttle, which opened into the hold, and raised it. + +"What are you going to do?" asked Raymond. + +"We are going to hide in the hold, just for the fun of the thing," +replied Little. "Won't you come down with us?" + +"That's not a bad idea," suggested Lindsley. "When they come down to +look for us, they won't find us. That will make a sensation, at least, +and then we shall not be entirely ignored." + +"Are you going to stay there all night?" inquired Raymond. + +"Yes--why not?" answered Lindsley. "It is not quite so comfortable a +place to sleep as the mess-rooms; but we can stand it for one night." + +Even the mild rebels, Hyde and Johnson, were pleased with the plan, for +it looked like an adventure. The persuasions of Lindsley induced them +to yield whatever scruples they had. It would be a rich thing to have +the principal or the officers come down into the steerage, and find it +empty. There was still a chance to make the principal do something, +even if it were only to call them up for punishment; for anything +seemed better than being entirely ignored. + +Little and Howe, each with a lantern in his hand, which he had taken +from the lamp-room forward, led the way into the hold. All the members +of the three parties followed; the mild rebels regarding the movement +rather as a piece of fun than as anything which added to the guilt they +had already incurred. When the last one had descended the ladder, Howe +put on the scuttle, and the steerage was "like some banquet hall +deserted," for the stewards were either on deck or in the kitchen, +where they spent their leisure hours. + +As soon as the rebels were all in the hold, they separated into three +parties again, as they had been in the steerage. Little, with his +lantern, went forward, where he was soon joined by the rest of the +runaways; Hyde and his companions went aft; and Raymond's party +remained near the main scuttle. The hold was divided into store-rooms, +forward and aft, while the space amidships was devoted to the stowage +of boxes, barrels, water casks, and other articles. The water tanks +were near the heel of the foremast, where Howe and his party had +located themselves. They contained the entire supply of the ship, while +she was going from port to port, or lying in harbor. They had been +fitted up under the direction of Mr. Lowington. The water was drawn +from them by means of a pump in the kitchen, the pipe of which could be +adjusted to either of them with screw connections. + +"We must do the job quick, and get out of this place, or we may be +fastened down here, as we were in the steerage," said Little, in a low +tone, though he need not have troubled himself to use this precaution, +for the dashing of the sea against the side of the vessel made so much +noise, that those who were twenty feet distance could not have heard +him. + +"Are you sure we are not burning our own fingers?" asked Ibbotson. "My +experience in the Josephine, when we were short of water, taught me +what it was to be without it, especially when you have to feed on salt +horse and hard bread." + +"That's so," added Spencer. + +"Can't we save some for ourselves?" inquired Wilton. + +"What's the use? We shall return to Havre as soon as the officers find +that the water tanks are empty," added Little. + +"But why not save some?" persisted Wilton. "There are lots of bottles +on the ballast, and a tunnel on the vinegar barrel. Hurry up, and fill +a bottle for each fellow." + +A dozen of the rebels rushed aft, and procured the bottles, while +Little started the faucets which were used in drawing off the water, +when it was necessary to clean out the tanks, or for use when the pump +above was out of order. This was the precious scheme by which the +intense rebels intended to compel the principal to return to port +immediately. There could be no doubt that it would be an effectual one, +for with no fresh water the ship could not remain a single day at sea +without causing great discomfort, if not actual suffering, to those on +board. This happy expedient had been devised by Little, and it was +diabolical enough to be the invention of his fertile genius. + +The bottles were brought up, and with the aid of the tunnel, a dozen +and a half of them were filled--just enough for the Howe party, for +they did not intend to look out for the comfort of those who would not +fully join them in their plans. The water rushed from the tanks, and +flowed away into the ballast underneath. The faucets were large, and in +a short time the tanks were empty. As the ship rolled each way, almost +the last drop in them was poured out. + +"Now let us get out of here before we are fastened in," said Little, +after he had adjusted the faucets. + +"There will be a sweet row when they find out the tanks are empty," +added Howe, fully believing that the party had now done something to +make themselves felt. + +"It will please me to hear them howl," continued Wilton. + +"Keep your bottles out of sight," said Howe. "Don't let those fellows +see them, or they will smell a mice." + +"Don't you suppose they know what we have been doing?" inquired Monroe. + +"How should they? The swashing of the sea made so much noise they +couldn't hear the water running out," answered Little. + +"Don't let on." + +The party concealed their bottles under their clothing, and moved +towards the ladder by which they had descended. + +"What were you doing with all those bottles?" asked Raymond. + +"What bottles?" demanded Little. + +"We saw you take a lot of bottles from the ballast there," replied +Raymond, whose party had been discussing the probable use to which they +were to be applied, though they reached no satisfactory conclusion. + +"Well, I'll tell you what they were for," answered Little. "We were +going to have some fun, pelting them with stones, just as we used to +play duck on shore, you know; but we concluded not to do so, lest the +stewards in the kitchen should hear the noise, and make a row about +it--that's all." + +"Where are you going now?" inquired Lindsley, who was not quite +satisfied with this lucid explanation--as though fellows engaged in a +mutiny would care to amuse themselves pelting bottles! + +"We have just made up our minds that it is not quite safe to stay down +here any longer." + +"Why not?" + +"Suppose they should fasten us in?" + +"Suppose they should? I thought you intended to stay down here," said +Raymond, who concluded that the runaways were very fickle in their +purposes. + +"We did intend to do so; but we hadn't looked over all the ground. It +has just occurred to us that the thirty lambs, who kiss the rod that +smites them, would not come into the steerage to-night. It will take +about the whole of them to stand watch, and if any of them go below, +they will sleep on the floor of the main and after cabins, where they +cannot be corrupted by such wicked fellows as you and I, Raymond. So, +you see, if we can't get up any sensation by sleeping on the ballast, +what's the use of making yourself uncomfortable for nothing. That's the +idea. Let us go into the steerage, and turn in for the night." + +"I don't believe in backing out," said Raymond, not very well pleased +to hear Little class him with himself. + +"Don't back out, then, my dear fellow. Stay here all night, and have a +good time," added the little villain, as he ascended the ladder, and +opened the scuttle. + +"I'm not going to stay here if the rest don't," interposed Lindsley; +and all the Howe party followed the runaways. + +Hyde's party, seeing that all the others were retreating, came to the +ladder, and asked for an explanation. Howe replied that the runaways +were sick of the game, and had returned to the steerage; and the third +squad followed the example of the other two. The hold was left as empty +of human beings as the tanks were of water. + +By this time the watch on deck had been stationed, and the rest of the +crew were permitted to retire. As there was no danger that the +mutineers would escape from the ship, the grating was removed from the +main hatch; but a portion of the watch, including Peaks and the head +steward, were posted near it, to prevent any seaman not wearing the +white ribbon of the Order of the Faithful from coming on deck. Fifteen +of the thirty who had done their duty came below to turn in. Their +appearance created a sensation among the disaffected. Now they would +ascertain what had been said on deck about their refusal to answer the +call. Now they could hear, second-handed, the sermon which the +principal had preached, and which they had heard the faithful applaud. +Now, they could learn what terrible fate had been marked out for the +rebels. + +When the faithful came into the steerage, the first thing the rebels +noticed was the white ribbons which adorned their breasts. Of course +they wanted to know what it meant; but they felt a little embarrassed +under the circumstances, and did not like to ask direct questions at +first. They wished and expected the faithful to open the subject by +telling them what a mistake they had made in not being "good." But the +lambs did not say a word to them; did not appear to notice them, or to +indicate by their actions that any unusual event was in progress on +board. There was a great deal of silent skirmishing in the steerage. +Raymond, who had always been pretty intimate with Tremere, as they both +berthed in the same mess-room, continually threw himself in the way of +the latter, in order to tempt him to speak of the evening's +occurrences. Tremere was as silent as a marble statue, though he looked +as composed and good-natured as ever; indeed, rather more so than +usual. + +"How's the weather on deck, Tremere?" finally asked Raymond, when no +hint would induce the faithful one to speak first. + +"It looks like a change. I shouldn't wonder if all hands were called to +furl top-gallant sails and reef topsails before eight bells," answered +Tremere. + +"How did you get along working ship?" + +"For further particulars, inquire of the principal," replied he. + +"What do you mean by that?" + +"Speech is silver, silence is golden." + +"Humph!" sneered Raymond, puzzled by the singular replies of his +friend. + +"Yours truly," laughed Tremere. + +"Why don't you speak?" + +"I haven't learned my piece." + +"You have learned a piece of impudence." + + "'He that hath but impudence + To all things has a fair pretence.'" + +"Are you mad, Tremere?" + +"'Though this be madness, yet there's method in it.'" + +"Quit your quotations! What's that on your coat?" + +"A coat-ation." + +"If you are mad with me, Tremere, say so." + +"'I am not mad! no, no, I am not mad!'" shouted the member of the Order +of the Faithful, with appropriate gestures and expression. + +"Come, quit fooling! Can't you talk sense?" + +"I can and will; for + + "'Want of decency is want of sense.' + + "'In college halls, in ancient times, there dwelt + A sage called Discipline.'" + +"But you didn't go to school to the old fellow, Raymond." + +"I believe you have lost your wits! Now, be reasonable, and talk like a +sensible fellow. What is this?" asked Raymond, putting his finger on +the white ribbon. + +"A ribbon." + +"What is it for?" + +"For me." + +"Who gave it to you?" + +"The person who had it next before I did." + +"Humph! How silly you are! Where did you get it?" + +"On deck." + +"But who gave it to you." + +"The donor thereof." + +"Who is the donor thereof." + +"The one who gave it to me." + +"If you won't answer me, say so. Don't try to make a fool of me." + +"I usurp not nature's kindly office." + +"Do you mean to insult me?" + +"No; I mean to turn in, for I may be called before I have had my snooze +out;" and Tremere, yawning as if he were bored and very indifferent, +walked into the mess-room which contained his berth. + +Those who had listened to the conversation were very much amused by it, +and the rest of the Faithful took their cue from Tremere. Not one of +them would answer a question or give a particle of information in +regard to what had transpired on deck. All of them appeared to be +astonishingly good-natured, and no one seemed to be disconcerted by the +rebellion, except the rebels. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + +SHORT OF WATER. + + +"They may play bluff as much as they like; but you had better believe +there will be a sensation in the morning, if not before," said +Howe,--after the fifteen members of the Order of the Faithful had +retired to their rooms,--addressing Raymond, who manifested no little +vexation at the cavalier manner in which he had been treated by his +friend and messmate. + +"What will that be?" asked the milder rebel. + +"Wait, and you will see," replied Howe, mysteriously. "We didn't go +down into the hold for nothing." + +"What did you go down for?" + +"You will find out soon." + +"Well, I want you to understand that I didn't have anything to do with +your plots and schemes," added Raymond, cautiously. + +"You didn't! Who said you didn't? I say, Raymond, you are a good fellow +to kiss the hand that smites you; and I hope you will keep on kissing +it. What did you try to pump Tremere for, after you saw what he was up +to?" + +"I wanted to know what he was up to." + +"Don't you know? It is a game of bluff. Those fellows pretend to be +indifferent to what we are doing." + +"They certainly seem to be very indifferent. Have you any idea what +that white ribbon means?" + +"Have I? Certainly I have. Can't you see through the side of the ship, +when there's a port in it? That ribbon is to distinguish the lambs from +the black sheep, like you and me." + +"Pooh! What's the use of that?" + +"So that the officers can tell them in the dark as well as at noonday. +But Little has given those fellows a name already. He calls them the +White Feathers. We must laugh at them, make game of them, whip them +with their own weapons. Hark!" said Howe, suddenly turning his head +towards the kitchen, near the door of which they stood. + +"What's the matter?" + +"They are trying the pump," replied Howe, as both of them plainly heard +the sucking, "squilching" noise made by the copper pump, from which the +cook was trying to draw water from the tanks below. + +"What of it?" demanded Raymond, who did not see anything remarkable in +the circumstance. + +"Never mind; you will find out soon enough," answered the chief +runaway, as he left his companion thoroughly mystified, and not a +little alarmed; for it was evident that some terrible mischief had been +perpetrated. + +The pump sucked and groaned under the efforts of the cook, who had been +directed to make a pot of coffee for the use of the watch, and was now +trying to obtain water for that purpose. None would come, and it was +plain to him that the pump was out of order. Taking a bucket and a +lantern, he passed into the steerage, and opened the scuttle. The +runaways observed him with intense interest; for the time had come when +they were to "make themselves felt." The cook went down into the hold, +and was absent about a quarter of an hour. He returned with an empty +bucket in his hand, and hastened on deck with the alarming intelligence +that the water tanks were all empty, which he communicated to the head +steward. + +As the tanks had been filled just before the ship left the dock at +Havre, the head steward was not willing to believe the startling +report. He went into the hold himself with the cook. By this time the +runaways thought it prudent to keep out of sight, and all of them +retired to their rooms, and most of them to their berths. The head +steward tried the tanks, and was satisfied with the truth of the +report. When the ship rolled, the faucets on the lee side poured out a +few drops of water. Sounded with a mallet, the tanks gave forth only a +hollow, empty sound. The steward was astonished and mortified at the +discovery, for he was responsible for keeping the ship supplied with +water, as well as with all other necessaries in the culinary +department. He inquired very particularly in regard to the state of the +faucets when the cook had first come below to draw water, and was +assured that they were firmly closed. He lifted up some of the ballast, +and saw that it was wet. He went to the well, where all the leakage of +the ship is collected to be thrown up by the pumps. + +The ship was regularly pumped out twice a day, and this duty had been +performed just before the crew were piped to supper. There should have +been but little water in the well; but there was enough to satisfy the +head steward that the contents of the water tanks had flowed into it. +Dipping one of his fingers into the water, he tasted it, and its +freshness was another convincing proof of the fact. + +"Has any one but the cooks and stewards been in the hold?" he inquired. + +"Not that I know of," replied the cook. "I haven't been out of the +kitchen since supper." + +"Over forty of the students have been in the steerage since the ship +sailed." + +"The stewards told me that the boys were standing out." + +"In my opinion, some of them have been in the hold, and started those +faucets." + +"You don't think they'd do that--do you?" exclaimed the cook. + +"Some of them would sink the ship, if they dared. I think the principal +did not manage this affair just right. He ought to have seized the +young rascals up to the rigging, and kept them there till they were +ready to do duty without grumbling. Now let us see if there is water in +any of the casks." + +"No, sir; the boatswain broke 'em out, and cleaned the casks, while we +were in the dock." + +The head steward took the mallet, and sounded upon the head of each +cask. They were all empty; and it was clear enough that there was not a +drop of fresh water in the hold, except that which was already mingled +with the foul bilge-water under the ballast. The ship was going to sea, +and both clouds and barometer indicated heavy weather. The steward was +troubled, and immediately hastened to the principal with the alarming +intelligence. He found Mr. Lowington in the main cabin, and announced +the discovery he had made. + +"It is a scheme to drive the ship back to port," added the principal, +after he had satisfied himself, by questioning the steward, that the +tanks had really been filled while the ship was in the dock. + +"Well, sir, it seems to me that the plan must be successful," added the +steward, with a grim smile. + +"Doubtless it will be; but we will not return to Havre. We shall be off +Cherbourg in the morning, and we will make a harbor there. But there +must be some water on board." + +"Only what is in the water-jars, sir. Possibly there are ten or fifteen +gallons in all of them." + +There was a large water jar in the steerage, and one in each of the two +cabins, which had been filled just before the ship sailed. The steward +was directed to draw them off, and save the water, to be dealt out as +sparingly as the emergency might require. There were several tons of +ice in the store-room, which had been filled at Havre; and there was no +danger of any suffering for the want of the needed element. The +principal went on deck with the steward, and observed that the wind was +freshening, with a decidedly nasty look to windward. It might not be +possible to go into Cherbourg the next morning with safety; and Mr. +Lowington did not like the idea of being driven into port before the +mutiny had been suppressed. The Josephine was half a mile to windward, +under easy sail; and, in the present state of the sea, it was an easy +matter to communicate with her, as it might not be a few hours later. +He therefore explained the situation to Captain Shuffles,--who was +still on deck with Grace and Paul, too nervous and too anxious to +retire,--and directed him to call all hands. + +The boatswain piped the call. Peaks and the head steward at the main +hatch, in accordance with their instructions, would permit none who did +not wear the white ribbon of the Order of the Faithful to come on deck. +Hyde and his party proposed to return to their duty. They had had +mutiny enough, and their leader, speaking for the whole, asked +permission to be reported to the principal. The steward bore the +message to him, while the twelve penitents waited at the ladder. The +runaways remained in their rooms; but Raymond made an ineffectual +effort to induce them to be firm. + +"Come up!" said Peaks, when the principal appeared at the hatch, and +gave the order. + +"We wish to return to our duty, sir," Hyde began; "we are very sorry +for our disobedience, and are willing to take the consequences." + +"How many of you are there?" asked Mr. Lowington. + +"Twelve in our party, sir." + +"Will you conform, in every respect, to the requirements of the present +occasion?" + +"We will, sir." + +"But they must join the order," interposed Grace, who had accompanied +Paul to the waist. "They are not entitled to the white ribbon, for they +have come in at the eleventh hour." + +Mr. Lowington smiled, and directed the penitents to repair to the +quarter-deck. + +"I am so glad they have yielded!" said Grace. + +"So am I. You can let them take the second degree to-night," laughed +Paul. + +"Yes; and that shall be a blue ribbon. The next ones that come shall +have the yellow ribbon, and be the first degree. That's all the +different colors I have," added Grace, as she hastened to her +state-room to procure the material for the decoration of the penitents, +who were standing before the principal, abaft the mizzen-mast. + +"Are you really sorry for what you have done, or do you back out +because your plan does not work well?" asked the principal of the +delinquents. + +"I am really sorry for it, sir," answered Hyde; and there is not a +doubt that he spoke the simple truth. + +"Have you been into the hold this evening?" + +"Yes, sir," replied Hyde, promptly. + +"For what purpose?" + +"We only went because the others did; but we did not stay there long." + +"Have you meddled with the water tanks?" + +"No, sir." + +"Has any one?" + +"I do not know, sir. Down in the steerage, we were divided into three +parties, because we did not agree very well;" and Hyde explained the +views of each party, and the localities which they had occupied during +their visit to the hold. + +Mr. Lowington readily comprehended the object of the runaways, when +they induced the other two parties to visit the hold. In fact, he saw +the whole truth just as it was; that the Howe party had made the +mischief from the beginning, and that the others were the victims of +their cunning schemes. He believed that his plan was working well, +since it was eliminating the comparatively innocent from the guilty. + +"You may return to your duty, on this condition--that you have no +communication with either the Howe or the Raymond party," added Mr. +Lowington. "You will not inform them in regard to anything which has +transpired, or may transpire, on deck. Do you accept the conditions?" + +"I do, certainly, sir," replied Hyde. + +Others gave the required pledge, astonished to be restored to their +duty on such mild terms. They took their stations with the crew. But +Grace Arbuckle soon appeared with the blue ribbons, and Hyde was +conducted to her by the commodore. + +"I confer upon you the second degree of the Order of the Faithful, and +decorate you with the blue ribbon. When you have proved yourself +faithful to your duty, and worthy of promotion, you will be advanced to +the third degree, the emblem of which is the white ribbon," said Grace, +as she pinned the decoration upon his breast. + +"Thank you," replied Hyde, rather bewildered by the ceremony. + +The rest of the penitents were brought up, and, in like manner, +initiated into the Order of the Faithful. Of course they wanted to know +more about it, and the new organization was explained to them. + +"I'm glad you backed out, Hyde," said Tremere. "When are the rest +coming?" + +"I don't know that they are coming at all. I got enough of it." + +"What do those fellows want to do?" + +"Get their rights." + +"Well, they'll get them when they return to their duty, and not before, +unless it is the right to be punished for their disobedience," added +Tremere. + +"I still think it was not fair to give up the trip to the Rhine, after +the promise that we should go, though it was a great mistake of mine to +refuse to do duty," added Hyde. + +"Who says the trip is given up?" + +"All the fellows;" and Hyde rehearsed the arguments which had been used +to sustain the proposition. + +"As you are now a member of the Order of the Faithful, you may know its +secrets," laughed Tremere. "Mr. Lowington made an explanation to those +who did not take the law into their own hands;" and he proceeded to +give the substance of this statement. + +Hyde was all the more disgusted with the course he and his friends had +adopted, and was fully resolved to do his duty in future, whatever his +personal opinions might be. The mildest of the mutineers were thus +disposed of, and a dozen pair of hands added to the force of the ship. + +While this conversation was in progress, the Young America had been +headed towards the Josephine. Peaks had fired one of the guns on the +forecastle, which was the signal, in the night, for the consort to +heave to. Hyde's party had been restored to their several stations, +while the volunteer officers still filled the places of those who did +not answer the boatswain's call. The Josephine promptly obeyed the +signal, and the ship ran up to her, as near as it was prudent to go, +backed her main-topsail, lying to on her quarter. The first cutter was +manned and lowered, vacancies in her crew being filled with the +stoutest hands available. A dozen breakers, or kegs, used for boat +service, were put on board, and with Peaks to assist in the stowage, +the cutter shoved off, and pulled for the schooner. + +The officer in charge of the boat explained to Mr. Fluxion what had +occurred on board of the ship, and the twelve breakers, with six more +belonging to the consort, were filled and stowed in the boat, which +returned without delay to the Young America. The cutter was hoisted up, +and again the squadron stood on its course. The new supply of water was +immediately secured under lock and key, in one of the store-rooms. The +quantity was still very meagre, being hardly enough for two days' +consumption on full allowance. The watch below was again dismissed. It +included one half of the penitents, who were beset by Raymond's party +with questions and abuse; but they were true to their pledge, and the +rebels were none the wiser. + +The noise of the gun and of the lowering of the cutter had been heard +by the runaways, and the appearance of the eighteen breakers, as they +were passed down into the hold, was the assurance of another failure to +them. + +"We are dished," said Monroe, as the forward officer passed down the +kegs. + +"Perhaps we are, and perhaps we are not," replied Howe. "The end hasn't +come yet." + +"I suppose there is room enough in the run for the contents of all +those breakers," added Little. + +"Hyde and the rest of those babies have returned to their duty," +continued Monroe, who was always the first to despond. + +"No matter for that; we will keep on this tack till something happens," +persisted Howe. "By this time we are pretty sure of being left behind +when the fellows go to Germany; and for my part, as Fluxion is going +away, I think that is the best thing that can happen to us. We shall +find a chance to strike out on our own hook." + +But the arrival of the water breakers carried consternation to the +runaways, whatever they said and did. They were tired of the battle, +though, if any of them had a thought of repentance, they subdued it. +Raymond's party were angry at the defection of Hyde and his associates, +and the future looked dark and hopeless, so far as remedial agencies +were concerned, but their pride still prompted them to hold out. +Wearied with anxiety and hope deferred, they turned in as the night +advanced. + +At eight bells, all hands were called again. The wind was blowing half +a gale, and the starboard watch had taken in the light sails. It was +deemed advisable still further to shorten sail, and a reef was put in +the topsails. The starboard watch then turned in, the port having the +deck till four in the morning. The wind came in heavy gusts from the +south-west, and shortly after midnight it began to veer to the west, +which brought up a dense fog. At four bells in the mid watch, the wind +came square from the west in heavy squalls. The ship went about, and +stood to the southward, the principal intending to go into Cherbourg if +the weather would permit. + +At eight bells, when the morning watch was called, another reef was put +in the topsails. At daylight the fog was too dense to think of making a +port, and the ship tacked again. There was a heavy sea running, but +everything went along very well. Captain Shuffles remained on deck all +night, but no emergency occurred which required the exercise of more +than ordinary skill and energy. The wind was blowing a gale, though not +a very severe one. All the students on board had been in worse weather, +and it produced no excitement whatever. + +At seven bells in the morning, the port watch was called to breakfast, +according to the regular routine of the ship. The meal consisted of +coffee, beefsteak, fried potatoes, and the rolls which had been baked +the preceding afternoon. Peaks and the head steward were in the +steerage, and when some of the runaways appeared, and attempted to seat +themselves at the mess tables, they were forbidden to do so. Only those +decorated with white or blue ribbons were allowed to breakfast. At +eight bells the port watch went on deck, and the starboard, relieved +from duty, came down to their morning meal, when the tables had been +reset. A fresh supply of hot steaks and potatoes was brought from the +kitchen, for the breakfast of each watch was cooked separately, and +they fared precisely as the other watch had. The rebels were still +excluded from the mess tables, and violent was the grumbling thereat. + +When the regular breakfast was finished, the tables were again cleared, +and the mutineers began to think they were to be starved into +subjection; but they were mistaken, in part, at least, for the tables +were again set. This time there were no hot beefsteaks, no fresh rolls, +no fried potatoes, no coffee--nothing but cold corned beef and hard +tack. None of the cooks or stewards said anything, no one made any +remarks of any kind. There was the breakfast--salt junk and hard +tack--regular sailor's fare. The head steward mildly indicated that +breakfast was ready for those who had not already been served. The two +parties of rebels seated themselves, and turned up their noses at the +fare. + +"Steward, bring me a mug of coffee," shouted Howe to the nearest +waiter. + +"It takes water to make coffee," replied the man, solemnly, and as he +had doubtless been instructed to answer. + +"What if it does? Bring me some coffee," repeated Howe, angrily. + +"No coffee for this crowd," interposed the head steward, as solemnly. + +"But I'm going to have my coffee," added Wilton, whose temper was not +the sweetest in the world, as he rose from his stool, and rushed +towards the kitchen door. + +"Avast, my lad!" said Peaks, taking the rebel by the collar with no +gentle force. "It takes water to make coffee." + +Wilton was afraid of the boatswain, for there was a tradition on board +that he had, on one occasion, laid hands upon a refractory boy, and he +was evidently in the steerage for a purpose. He skulked back to his +place at the table. + +"Can't I have some coffee?" demanded Raymond, of the head steward, when +that official came near his seat. + +"You cannot." + +"Why not?" + +"Because it takes water to make coffee." + +"What of that?" + +"Owing to circumstances, the supply of water on board is rather short," +answered the head steward, as solemnly as before. + +"That's nothing to do with me. I didn't start the water tanks." + +"I obey orders, and don't argue with any one; but there's an old saying +that a man is known by the company he keeps, and I suppose a boy is, +too." + +The steward passed on, and refused to answer any more questions. + +"If we can't have coffee, give us some water," said Lindsley. + +"Water is water," replied the steward. + +The rebels were hungry, and they ate, though very sparingly, of the +unpalatable food which was set before them. Like most other boys +belonging to "the first families," they did not relish corned beef at +any time; and that before them, though of excellent quality, was very +salt, having been a long time in the brine. They partook of the beef +and the hard bread simply because there was nothing else with which to +satisfy their hunger. Some of them wanted to "make a row" about the +fare; but Peaks was a very formidable obstacle in the way of any such +demonstration. They ate what they could, rather than what they wanted, +and retreated to their mess-rooms. + +"Well, what do you think now?" said Lindsley, as he threw himself into +his berth. + +Raymond only shook his head and grated his teeth. + +"I think we are sold, and the sooner we back down, the better," added +Lindsley. + +"I won't back down!" snapped Raymond, savagely. + +"How long do you think you can eat salt horse, without any water to +wash it down?" + +"I can stand it till I die!" + +"I don't think it is worth while to stand it quite so long as that." + +"I do! What right has the principal to deny us even a drop of water?" + +"What right have we to stand out, and refuse to do our duty? Howe's +fellows started the water tanks, and--" + +"We didn't do it!" interrupted Raymond, savagely. "I won't stand it." + +Rushing out into the steerage, he went to the water jar, in one corner. +It was empty, though there was a breaker of water on deck for the use +of the Faithful, who were thirsty. He was mad, and ready for desperate +steps. He hastened to the mess-room of Howe, and entered just as that +worthy was taking a draught from the bottle he had filled at the tanks +the evening before. + +"What's that?" demanded he. + +"Water," replied Howe, good-naturedly. + +"Give us a drink--will you? I'm almost choked," asked Raymond, glad to +see that there was still an alternative. + +"No, I thank you," answered Howe, putting the stopper back into the +bottle. "We don't do the heavy jobs, and then provide for those who are +too cowardly to help us." + +"We are in the same boat with you; and it isn't fair to let our fellows +suffer while you have water." + +"You wouldn't go in with us. We have only a bottle apiece," pleaded +Howe. + +Raymond appealed to others in the room, but all of them were of one +mind. The salt beef had created a tremendous thirst among those who had +eaten it, and all who had water made large draughts upon the supply. +The bottles had contained pickles, olives, ketchup, and other similar +articles, so that the water was not very palatable. In the course of +the forenoon, Raymond and his party stealthily attempted to obtain +possession of these bottles, but the runaways were too vigilant for +them; and before dinner the thirsty ones were exceedingly +uncomfortable, to say the least. They tried to conceal their condition +from the Faithful as much as possible, but they were all very nervous +and disquieted. + +At one o'clock, after the regular dinner of roast beef and rice pudding +had been served to the Faithful, the tables were again prepared for the +rebels; but the bill of fare was corned beef and hard bread--not a drop +of water. Peaks and the head steward paced the unsteady floor, as they +had done at breakfast time. Raymond, whose tongue and lips were parched +with thirst, became desperate again, and attempted to force his way +into the kitchen. He was seized by the boatswain, and the more he +struggled, the more he was shaken up. He refused to behave himself, and +Peaks thrust him into the brig. + + + + +CHAPTER IX. + +THE LAST OF THE MUTINEERS. + + +The gale continued to blow ugly and gusty during the day, until eight +bells in the afternoon. The fog hung heavy over the ocean, and the bell +was rung every five minutes, in accordance with the English Admiralty +instructions. The ship had been standing close-hauled to the +north-north-west since noon, when she had tacked, at the warning of the +fog signal, made at some light station on the coast of France, in the +vicinity of Cape de La Hague. For four hours she had been on her +present course, and was therefore approaching the coast of England +again. At the beginning of the first dog-watch, there were some signs +of a change of weather. The fog appeared to be lifting, and the wind +came in less violent gusts. + +In the steerage, among the rebels, the most unalloyed misery prevailed. +The runaways had exhausted their supply of water under the pressure of +thirst caused by the salt provision, though they had not yet begun to +be very uncomfortable. Certainly they had, as yet, no thought of +yielding, but were rather studying up the means of obtaining a new +supply of water. Raymond's party were only waiting for the boatswain's +call to ask permission to join their shipmates on deck; but, most +provokingly, no call came. Their leader had been discharged from the +brig as soon as he ceased to be violent; for the principal did not wish +to punish any one for the mutiny, preferring to let it work its own +cure on the diet he had prescribed. + +With the exception of the rebels, every one seemed to be particularly +jolly. The principal had explained his policy to them, and they were +entirely satisfied. All the evolutions of seamanship were performed +with remarkable precision even in the gale, demonstrating that the crew +had not lost their prestige, when the will was right. In the cabin, +even, the rough sea did not dampen the spirits of the passengers, who +had been, in a measure, accustomed to the rude action of the sea by +their voyage in the steamer and in the Josephine. The Grand Protectress +of the Order of the Faithful was full of life and spirits, and watched +with the deepest interest the progress of the rebellion in the +steerage. + +In Raymond's party the suffering from thirst had become intolerable. +Lindsley's back had been broken early in the forenoon, but Raymond +declared that he would never yield--he would die first. + +"What's the use?" demanded Lindsley. "We are whipped out, sold out, +played out, and used up. My tongue is as dry as a piece of +wash-leather." + +"I don't like to give it up," replied Raymond. "It looks mean to back +out." + +"Just look at it a moment. We are suffering for the sins of Howe's +fellows. They let off the water, saving a supply for themselves, and +our fellows are really the only ones who suffer for their deed. We are +sustaining them, even while they won't give us a drop of water to +moisten our lips. For one, I never will get into such a scrape again. +We have been fools, and whenever I see the runaways go one way, I'm +going the other." + +"All hands, on deck, ahoy!" shouted the boatswain at the main hatch. + +"That means me," said Lindsley, rushing to the ladder. "Come along, +Raymond. Howe and his fellows have been stingy and mean enough to be +left alone." + +Most of the crew were on deck when the call was piped. Lindsley led the +way up the ladder, and Raymond followed him. The last argument of his +friend had evidently converted the latter, for, however much he +disliked to yield, it was not so bad as supporting the cause of such +fellows as Howe, who would not even give him a drink of water. And the +idea of enduring positive suffering for the evil deed of the runaways +was not pleasant. They had let the water out of the tanks, but Raymond +and his friends were the only ones who had thus far suffered in +consequence of the act. It was these reflections which absolutely drove +him upon deck, rather than any disposition to undo the wrong he had +done. + +A lift of the fog had revealed the Bill of Portland, a narrow neck of +land projecting outside the channel from the English coast. The wind +was hauling to the northward, and the prospect of fair weather was very +good. The order was given to turn out one of the reefs in the topsails. +The appearance of the Raymond party was noticed by Mr. Lowington, and +even the passengers observed those who wore neither the white nor the +blue ribbon. As soon as the rebels reached the deck, they discovered +the water breaker in the waist. They charged upon it with a fury which +required the interference of an officer; but half a pint was served out +to each of them before they were sent aloft. + +The reefs were turned out, and the ship came about on the other tack. +Nothing had been seen of the Josephine since the fog settled down upon +the squadron the night before; but the principal had no fears in regard +to her safety. Fog-horns, guns, and bells warn the voyager of his +approach to any of the perils of the shore; and the experienced +navigator can interpret these signals so as to avoid all danger. + +"South-west by west, half west," said Paul Kendall, who was the acting +sailing-master on duty, giving out the course to the quarter-master in +charge of the wheel. + +"South-west by west, half west," repeated the latter. + +"Where will that take us?" asked Grace Arbuckle, who watched everything +that was said and done with deep interest. + +"That course will take the ship to a point off Ushant, which is an +island near the coast of France, not far from Brest," replied Paul, who +took especial pleasure in explaining to her the working of the vessel. + +"How far is it from here?" + +"From the Bill of Portland, which is the land you see astern of us, the +distance to Ushant is one hundred and fifty-seven miles." + +"How long will it take us to go there?" + +"That will depend entirely upon the wind," laughed Paul. "We are +logging ten knots just now, which would bring us off Ushant about ten +o'clock to-morrow forenoon. But the wind is going down, and we may not +get there till to-morrow night." + +"Well, I'm in no hurry; and I rather hope it will not blow very hard," +added Grace. + +"That's just my wish. If the water only holds out, I don't care." + +"But there is something more for the Grand Protectress to do," said +Grace. + +"A dozen more who are to take the first degree; but I do not know +whether they will be willing to be initiated." + +"Why not?" + +"Raymond, who is generally a good fellow, has been very ugly. Perhaps +he feels better now he has quenched his thirst." + +"May I speak to him?" + +"Certainly, if you wish to do so." + +Paul conducted the Grand Protectress to the waist, where the head +steward was giving the Raymond party another half pint of water apiece. +They were very thirsty, and, as boys understand the word, they had +doubtless suffered a great deal for the want of water. As they had +returned to their duty, and yielded the point, Mr. Lowington had +directed that they should be frequently supplied, until they were +satisfied. The general opinion was, that they had already been severely +punished, not only by the thirst they had endured, augmented as it was +by their diet of salt beef and hard bread, but in the mortification +they had experienced at the failure of their scheme. The latter +punishment was quite as severe as the former. + +"Miss Arbuckle wishes to speak to you, Raymond," said Paul, addressing +the discomfited leader of the mild party. + +"What for?" demanded he. + +"She will explain for herself." + +"Does she want to preach to me?" + +"I think not. Of course you are not compelled to see her, if you don't +wish to do so," added Paul, who could not see why any one should not +wish to converse with Grace. + +"I will hear what she has to say," said Raymond, with a condescension +which Paul did not like. + +The commodore presented the delinquent to the young lady. Raymond +touched his cap, and bowed politely. + +"I am very glad to see you on deck, Mr. Raymond, for I have wished to +make your acquaintance since last evening," Grace began. + +"Thank you. I was not aware that I had any claims upon your +consideration." + +"I see you wear no ribbon. Shall I furnish you with one?" + +"I don't know what it is for?" said Raymond, glancing at the white +ribbon on the commodore's breast. "What does it mean?" + +"I can't tell you anything about it just yet. I suppose you are very +sorry for what you have done." + +"I feel better since I have had a drink of water," replied Raymond, +good-naturedly; and there was no doubt that he spoke the literal truth. + +"I regret that it was necessary to deprive you of water." + +"It was not my fault. I had nothing to do with emptying the water +tanks," pleaded the culprit. "It was the runaways who did that." + +"Then you were in bad company." + +"I think so myself," answered Raymond, candidly, for he was still under +the influence of the clinching argument which had induced him to come +on deck. + +At this point the conversation was interrupted by the call of the +principal, who summoned the Raymond party into his presence on the +quarter-deck. + +"Are you satisfied?" asked Mr. Lowington, with a pleasant smile on his +face, when the rebels had assembled before him. + +"No, sir," replied Raymond, promptly, and before any other of the party +could give a different answer. + +"Why did you come on deck, then?" + +"We couldn't stand it any longer without water." + +"Is that the reason why you came on deck?" + +"Yes, sir." + +"Then you may return to your former diet till you are satisfied," added +the principal, pleasantly. + +"We don't wish to do that, sir." + +"Didn't I understand you to say that you were not satisfied." + +"I am not, sir," continued Raymond, stoutly. "I don't think it was fair +to--" + +"Stop!" interposed the principal, rather sharply. "I do not purpose to +listen to your grievances. You have undertaken to redress them +yourselves, and I see no reason why you should not persevere till you +are satisfied." + +"We can't live on salt junk and hard bread without any water, sir." + +"Can't you, indeed? You should have thought of that before you joined +hands with those who started the water out of the tanks." + +"We did not even know that they meant to start the water, or, +afterwards, that they had done it, till the cook said so. We are not +responsible for what they did." + +"Perhaps not; yet you were in the hold, in full fellowship with them. +But I do not intend to argue the matter with you." + +"We are ready to return to our duty, sir, whether we are satisfied or +not," added Raymond. + +"O, you are?" + +"Yes, sir." + +"Well, as long as you are willing to do your duty, I suppose it does +not matter whether you are satisfied or not." + +Raymond made no reply, and could not help wondering that he had been so +simple as to believe the principal would ask an explanation of +mutineers. + +"Are you willing to obey all orders?" continued Mr. Lowington. + +"Yes, sir." + +"And the others?" + +"Yes, sir," replied Raymond's followers. + +"Will you refrain from all communication with those in the steerage who +still refuse to do duty?" + +"I will," answered Raymond, who had before made up his mind to do this. + +"Especially you will not inform them of anything which takes place on +deck, or give them the benefit of any explanation you may hear," said +the principal. "Those who assent to these terms will walk over to +windward." + +The party, who could not help wondering at this singular treatment of +what they regarded as a very difficult matter, walked squarely up to +the weather-rail of the ship, and halted there. The remarks of the +principal, and the pledge he exacted, seemed to explain the strange +conduct of the white and the blue ribbon bands in the steerage. No one +had been able to ascertain definitely what those badges meant. + +"Very well. I am satisfied, if you are not," said Mr. Lowington, +mildly. "You deserve punishment, but it shall depend upon your future +conduct whether you receive it or not. You will go forward." + +When the party reached the waist, they were confronted by Grace and +Paul. + +"You have promised to be faithful--have you not?" asked she. + +"Yes; but I'm not satisfied," replied the leader. + +"Then I confer upon you the first degree of the Order of the Faithful," +added Grace. "Its emblem is a yellow ribbon;" and she pinned the +decoration upon Raymond's breast. + +"What does it mean?" he asked. + +She explained its meaning, and then initiated his companions. + +"How happens it that we have yellow ribbon while others have white or +blue ones?" asked Lindsley. + +"Because you have taken only the first degree, being the last ones to +come. If you do well, and are faithful, you shall be raised to the +second, and then to the third degree," replied Grace, with a vivacity +which was not at all impaired by the laughter of the initiates, who, as +others before them had, regarded the order as a pleasant joke. + +"When you have proved yourselves worthy, you will be advanced to the +second degree by the Grand Protectress," added Paul. "The motto of the +concern is, '_Vous ne pouvez pas faire un sifflet de la queue d'un +cochon_;' and I think you have fully proved the truth of the saying. +The meaning of the sentence is one of the secrets of the order. Do you +promise not to reveal it?" + +"I do, for one," laughed Lindsley. "I haven't the least idea myself +what it means." + +"Nor I," added all the others." + +"Then you will all be discreet. The motto contains a very valuable +moral lesson, which bears on your case, and I hope you will take it to +heart," said Paul. + +"I should like to take it to head first," replied Lindsley. + +"I hope you are satisfied now, Mr. Raymond," continued Grace. + +"Not at all. I am willing to do my duty, rather than be starved on salt +junk, and choked to death for the want of water; but I am not +satisfied." + +"Not satisfied!" exclaimed Grace. "Not after you have been initiated +into the noble and magnanimous Circle of the Order of the Faithful!" + +"Not much!" + +"You should say, '_Nicht viel_,' when you want to use that expression," +laughed Grace, who did not like American slang, and had already +partially cured Paul, who had a slight tendency in that direction. + +"Well, _nicht viel_, then. It was not fair, when we had been promised a +trip into Germany, to send us off to sea, just to please Shuffles." + +"Captain Shuffles is a good young man. If you say anything against him, +you shall be expelled from the Order of the Faithful!" + +"Well, I won't say anything against him, then, Miss Arbuckle; but they +say the ship is bound for Belfast." + +"Do you see that land, Mr. Raymond?" she added, pointing to the light +on the headland. + +"I do." + +"What land is it?" + +"I don't know." + +"It is the Bill of Portland. Now, which way is the ship headed?" + +"About south-west," replied Raymond, after looking through the skylight +at the tell-tale in the steerage. + +"South-west by west, half west," she added. + +"Bully for you!" + +"Instead of that, you should say, "_Bulle fuer ihnen_." In other words, +you should utter all your slang in German: it sounds better." + +"I only meant to say that you reeled off the course like a regular old +salt," laughed Raymond. + +"If the ship were bound to Belfast, its course would be nearer west. We +are not going to Belfast. We are going to Brest. Mr. Lowington said the +ship's company needed a little exercise to perfect the discipline, and +to save the trouble and expense of going into the dock at Havre, the +vessels will be left in the harbor of Brest. He never had a thought of +giving up the trip down the Rhine." + +"Is that so?" asked the leader of the mild rebels. + +Paul repeated the explanation to the penitents which the principal had +given the day before. + +"We understood that we were going to sea just to please Shuffles," said +Lindsley. + +"The captain certainly wanted better discipline, and he did propose a +day or two at sea for its improvement," added Paul. + +"I don't care for two or three days at sea, if we are to go to the +Rhine," continued Raymond. "I'm satisfied now." + +The conversation was continued till the starboard watch was piped to +supper. Raymond was fully satisfied now that he had made a fool of +himself, and, what was even worse, that he and his companions had been +the dupes of the runaways. Those who belonged in the starboard watch +were permitted to go to the table, and they did ample justice to the +cold roast beef, butter toast, and tea which covered the mess tables. +Peaks and the head steward paced the steerage, as before, and no one +without a ribbon was allowed to partake. At six o'clock, after the port +watch had been relieved, the second supper was served, and the rest of +the hungry and thirsty delinquents enjoyed the change in their bill of +fare. + +Then the runaways sat down to their supper of salt beef and hard bread, +without tea or water. The food did not suit them, and they turned up +their noses at it. The thirst created by their salt breakfast in the +morning had required large draughts upon their water bottles, and +before dinner they had exhausted the supply. They were very thirsty, +though none of them were actually suffering. The fact that they could +not get any water made them want it all the more. They ate none of the +salt meat, which by this time was loathsome to them. Ship bread was dry +feed, and they could eat very little of it. Doubtless it was a hard +case for them, the sons of rich men; but they had only to obey the +boatswain's pipe, and "eat, drink, and be filled." + +"I can't stand this," said Monroe, when a group of them had gathered in +their mess-room after the unpalatable supper. + +"Can't you? What's the reason you can't?" growled Howe. + +"I'm almost choked." + +"So am I," added several others. + +"Are you going to back out?" demanded the leader. + +"Rather than perish with thirst, I am," answered Herman. + +"What's the use? All the rest of the fellows have deserted us," added +Ibbotson. "Even Raymond is sporting a yellow ribbon, and is as jolly as +a lord now." + +"We can't make anything by it," said Monroe. "I move you we back out, +and get a drink of water. All hands will be called at eight bells, I +think, to put on more sail." + +"No, no! Don't back out," interposed Howe. "We haven't made ourselves +felt yet." + +"That's so," groaned Herman. "No one takes any notice of us. Even +those fellows that went up last won't speak to us, not even to answer a +civil question. The principal evidently regards us with perfect +contempt. I go in for doing something, or backing out. As it is, we are +making a milk-and-water affair of it. We are starved and choked. That's +all we have to show for what we have done." + +"Why don't you preach, and say, 'The way of the transgressor is hard,' +or something of that sort, which is original," snarled Howe. + +"I should judge from your talk that you did not feel very good," added +Herman. + +"I don't; I'm as dry as any of you, but I have no idea of backing out." + +"What are you going to do? What's to be the end of this?" demanded +Ibbotson. "I've got enough of it." + +"That seems to be the general opinion," continued Herman. + +"Where's Little?" demanded Howe, who could not help realizing that the +fortunes of the last of the mutineers were becoming desperate, and that +it was not an easy thing to contend against such enemies as hunger and +thirst. "I shall not give it up so. Let us do something. Let us make +ourselves felt, even if we are hanged for it." + +"What can we do?" inquired Herman, earnestly. "We are caged here like a +lot of donkeys, and I have had enough of it." + +"Will you hold on for a couple of hours longer, fellows?" persisted +Howe. + +"I will hold on till the boatswain calls all hands, and not an instant +longer," replied Herman. "My tongue feels as though it were cracking +with thirst." + +Howe rushed out of the room to find Little, who was the man of +expedients for the runaways. He found him in an adjoining room, and +stated the case to him. The little villain was as uncomfortable and +unhappy as the rest of the mutineers, and, to the surprise of Howe, +counselled yielding rather than suffering any longer. + +"I didn't think that of you, Little," sneered Howe. + +"Didn't you? Well, it's only a question as to who can stand it the +longest on a diet of salt horse without water," replied Little. "I can +hold out as long as any fellow; but we shall not make anything by it. +If we could, I would stick." + +"Let us do something, at least, to make a sensation before we give in. +I don't like the idea of being conquered just in this way." + +"What can we do?" + +"Let us set the ship afire, or bore holes in the bottom," whispered +Howe. + +"Of course, you don't mean anything of that sort," added Little, with a +grim smile. + +"I would rather do it than be whipped out in this manner. I never felt +so cheap and mean in my life," continued Howe, kicking the front of the +berth, and pounding with his fist to indicate the intensity of his +wrath. + +"Nor I either; but what are you going to do about it." + +"Well, you furnish gumption for the crowd, and I came to ask you what +to do. Our fellows' backs are broken, and they will go on deck when the +boatswain's pipe sounds again." + +"I shall go with them," replied Little, quietly. + +"Can't we get into the hold, and find some water?" + +"No; Bitts put a lock on that scuttle this morning, and the forward +officers are watching all the time. You can set the ship afire if you +like. I don't think of anything else you can do to make yourself felt." + +"I'll do it!" exclaimed Howe. + +"No, you won't," added Little, mildly. + +"What's the reason I won't?" + +"You dare not." + +"You see!" said the discomfited leader, bolting out of the room. + +Some men, and some boys, are the most easily overwhelmed by letting +them severely alone. If Howe could have made a sensation, he would have +been better satisfied, even if he had been committed to the brig. He +was vain and proud, and it hurt him more to be ignored than to be +beaten. It was questionable whether he was desperate enough to put his +savage threat into execution; but he collected a pile of books and +papers in his mess-room, and declared his intention to Herman, Monroe, +and others, who were his messmates. No student was allowed to have +matches, and he lacked the torch to fire the incendiary pile. + +"Don't be an idiot, Howe!" said Herman, disgusted with the conduct of +his leader. + +"I'm going to do something," persisted he. + +"You are not going to do that." + +"Yes, I am! As soon as the steward leaves the steerage, I shall borrow +one of the lanterns, and there will be a blaze down here." + +"No, there won't!" + +"What's the reason there won't?" + +"The fellows won't let you do any such thing. A fellow is a fool to +burn his own ship at sea." + +"Of course it won't burn up; but it will bring Lowington down here, and +he will find out we are somebody." + +"Nonsense!" + +"But I mean it." + +"No, you don't! It is all buncombe." + +"You wait and see if it is. If I can only bring Lowington down here, +and see him scared out of his wits, I shall be satisfied. I shall be +willing to go into the brig, then, and stay there for the rest of the +cruise." + +"You are a fool, Howe." + +"I'm desperate." + +"You shall not kindle any fire here. If you say you mean to do it, I +will call Peaks at once." + +"I said it, and I'll do it," said Howe, leaving the room. + +His messmates followed him. The steward had left the steerage, and +Howe, in order to take down the lantern, leaped upon a stool. Herman +kicked it from beneath him, and he fell upon the floor. + +"What do you mean by that?" demanded Howe, with clinched fists. + +"Don't you touch that lantern--that's all!" + +"Yes, I will;" and he tried to mount the stool again. + +Herman, Ibbotson, and Monroe seized him, and dragged him back into the +room. The noise attracted the attention of the rest of the mutineers, +and some others, who were below. + +"Go, and call Peaks, Monroe," said Herman. "I will hold him till you +come back." + +"Don't do that," interposed the desperate leader, becoming suddenly +calm, and apparently reasonable. "You are all cowards. Let me alone. I +might as well yield, with such milk-and-water fellows around me. Don't +say anything to Peaks." + +"You are a bigger fool than I thought you were," added Herman, taking +no pains to conceal his disgust at the conduct of his leader. + +"All hands, on deck, ahoy!" piped the boatswain. + +All hands, Howe included, answered the call. The mutiny was ended. + + + + +CHAPTER X. + +WHAT THE RUNAWAYS WERE GOING TO DO. + + +It was an astonishingly stupid mutiny, not relieved, even a shade, by +the sensational conduct of Howe, the leader, in its last moments, that +terminated twenty-four hours after its commencement, on board of the +Young America. However, it was hardly more stupid than any other wilful +evil-doing. Captain Shuffles, like the potentates of the old world, +wishing to have his accession to power signalized by an act of +clemency, had pleaded earnestly that the runaways might be forgiven, +and permitted to visit Germany with the rest of the ship's company. Mr. +Lowington had endeavored to reconcile the granting of the request with +his views of discipline. It is not necessary to ask with what success +he considered the matter, for the delinquents had now effectually put +it out of his power to grant them any favor. + +The fog had lifted, and from the north-west came up the clearing of the +blue sky, as the sun went down. The wind had moderated, though the sea +still rolled uneasily in the channel. The principal had directed the +head steward to estimate the supply of water on board, and on his +report had decided that the ship should proceed directly to Brest. She +had been under easy sail, but as soon as the course was given to the +captain, he called all hands. For the first time since the departure +from Havre, all hands answered the call. Though it was quite dark, the +presence of the runaways was promptly recognized. The volunteer +officers, who were serving as seamen, were directed to take their +regular stations in working ship. + +The water breaker in the waist was in demand, as soon as the last of +the mutineers came on deck; and without a word in regard to the past, +the steward served them out a pint of water apiece. Their prompt +attention to the water ration caused a smile among the Faithful, and +the officers considerately deferred further orders until their pressing +want was supplied. + +"Shall we admit them to the Order of the Faithful?" said Grace to the +commodore, when it was announced that the bottom had dropped out of the +mutiny. + +"I think not," replied Paul. "They have been the cause of all the +trouble on board, and Mr. Lowington does not wish that anything should +be said to them. They are the ones who emptied the water tanks." + +"Really, I don't think they deserve to be admitted to the Order of the +Faithful--at least, not till they have proved their fidelity to duty." + +"Raymond, and those who came on deck before, are generally very good +fellows; and we all believe now that they were led away by the +runaways," added Paul. "We shall soon see whether all hands intend to +do their duty." + +When the thirsty ones had been supplied with water, the order to set +the courses was given, and the runaways severally took their stations, +and performed their duty without making any confusion. The +top-gallant-sails and royals were then shaken out. The discipline now +seemed to be perfect, and the principal's method of dealing with the +mutiny was fully justified, though he took pains to explain to some of +the professors that he did not consider this treatment practicable in +all cases. The conduct of the rebels, and the facts developed, +indicated that they wished to be noticed; that they believed the ship +could not sail without their permission and assistance. This blunder +was fatal to all their calculations, and they were unable to "make +themselves felt." + +But the runaways were no better satisfied than Raymond had been; and +though they performed their duty in setting sail with entire precision, +they were sour and morose. The sting of an overwhelming defeat thorned +them. They were mortified, humiliated, and crest-fallen. They were +enraged at the conduct of their rebellious companions of the milder +stripe, who had deserted them, and they were reaping the general +consequences of evil-doing. They did their work, but when it was done +they avoided their shipmates, and even avoided each other. Howe had +ruined himself as a leader by his silly conduct, and there was not +likely to be any further concerted action among them. + +Mr. Lowington had faithfully followed out his plan, and had directed +Mr. Fluxion to adopt the same treatment for those who refused to do +duty in the Josephine--to keep them in the steerage, and feed them on +sailors' fare. The result of the treatment in the consort was yet to be +learned, for she had not been seen since the supply of water had been +procured from her. + +At midnight the wind blew fresh from the north-west, and with all sails +set, the ship logged twelve knots. The three lights on the Casquets, at +the western extremity of the Channel Islands were in sight, and the +prospect of seeing Ushant early in the forenoon was good. As all hands +were now on duty, the system of quarter watches was restored, so that +each part could have six hours of uninterrupted sleep. There was +nothing for the watch on deck to do, except to steer, and keep a +lookout; and there was a great deal of discussion about mutiny in +general, and the Young America mutiny in particular. It was generally +conceded even by the rebels, that it "did not pay." + +After the runaways had in some measure recovered from the first blush +of defeat, some of them wanted to know about the ribbons; but the +members of the Order of the Faithful did not consider themselves +authorized to impart the secrets of the organization, and declined to +explain them. Doubtless they enjoyed the mystery, and desired to keep +it up for their own amusement. Howe, when he found a tongue, reproached +his companions in mischief for their cowardice, and boasted of what +great things would have been accomplished if they had supported him to +the end; but his most intimate associates were disgusted with him, and +avoided him as much as possible. + +At seven bells in the morning, a breakfast of coffee, mutton chops, +potatoes, and hot biscuit put most of the runaways in the port watch in +better humor than before, and another did a similar service for those +in the starboard watch half an hour later. They ate and drank all they +could, rather than all they needed, and probably shuddered when they +thought of the consequences of evil-doing, as embodied in salt beef and +hard bread, without a drop of water. + +At one bell in the forenoon watch, the lookout in the foretop shouted, +"Land, ho, on the lee bow." An hour after, the bold rugged shores of +Ushant were plainly in sight, and Dr. Winstock informed Paul and Grace +that they were in the very waters where the English fleet, under +Admiral Sir Edward Hawkes, had won the great naval victory over the +French in 1759. + +"Sail, ho!" shouted the lookout. + +"Where away?" called the officer forward. + +"On the weather bow. It's a topsail schooner, and looks like the +Josephine." + +Glasses were in demand, and the officers soon satisfied themselves that +the sail ahead was the consort. It was evident that, hugging the wind +closely, she had gone farther from the coast than the Young America. +She took a pilot off Ushant, and continued on her course, though Mr. +Lowington was anxious to communicate with her, and learn the result of +the mutiny which had also prevailed on board. Off the island, the ship +was boarded by a pilot, and following the Josephine, passed through the +Goulet de Brest, which is the only entrance to the harbor. This passage +is not more than a mile wide, and is defended on each side by strong +forts. The harbor is a land-locked bay, deep enough for vessels of the +largest class, and with space enough to accommodate, at least, five +hundred of them. Brest is the most important naval station of France, +and its fortress and docks were full of interest to the young tourists. +The city, which contains a population of eighty thousand, is built on +the summit and slopes of a hill, some of the streets upon whose sides +are so steep as to be impassable for vehicles. + +The Josephine had already come to anchor, and the ship followed her +example, taking position as near to her as it was safe to lie. As +usual, when the vessels came into port, there was a great excitement on +board, for new sights and sounds are peculiarly agreeable after the +voyager comes from the monotony of the swelling ocean; and the students +made the most of them. In coming into port, all hands had been on duty; +and after the sails had all been furled, Captain Shuffles declared that +he was perfectly satisfied with the discipline of his crew. The +runaways, who were generally good seamen, whatever else they were, did +not deem it prudent to "pipe to mischief" again, or to attempt to +create any confusion. All eyes were fixed on them if anything went +amiss, and if they were disposed to do wrong, they made a merit of +necessity. But Brest was an old story to them, and brought up +unpleasant memories. They knew the harbor, and were familiar with the +sights, having served on board of the Josephine in this port for three +weeks after the runaway cruise. Indeed, their knowledge of the harbor +brought them into favor with others, who asked them many questions +about the objects to be seen. + +After everything was made snug on board of the ship, the yards squared, +and every rope hauled taut in man-of-war style, the first cutter was +lowered, and the principal visited the Josephine. As he went over the +side, he saw Adler, Phillips, and others of the runaways, who belonged +to the consort, on deck, and he concluded that his plan had worked as +well in her as in the ship. + +"Well, Mr. Fluxion," said he, as he grasped the hand of his able +assistant, "I see the Josephine has not yet been taken away from you." + +"No, sir. We had but a dozen mutineers on board," replied the +vice-principal, "and they are about the sickest dogs you ever saw. I +kept them in the steerage, and fed them on salt beef and hard bread, as +you suggested to me." + +"Did you give them any water?" + +"Not a drop. After I learned that your ruffians had stove the water +tanks, I concluded they were all in the same boat, and that my fellows +were as responsible for the deed as yours. I suppose it was all a +contrived plan before we left Havre." + +"I don't know whether it was or not. I should have treated it in a +different manner if the young rascals had not dragged in a large number +of the students who seldom give us any trouble." + +"The plan worked well, though I did not very strongly approve of it at +first. Last night, the rebels sent for me, and begged, with tears in +their eyes, to be permitted to return to their duty, promising to be +faithful as long as they remained on board. I gave them a pretty severe +lecture, but they declared they had nothing to do with staving the +water tanks in the ship, and did not know anything about it. I'm not +apt to believe what those fellow say." + +"It matters little whether they knew it or not; they certainly agreed +together to refuse to do duty. Well, they have come to their senses +now, and both vessels seem to be in good order. Of course, after what +has happened, it is not proper to take these mischief-makers with us +into Germany," added Mr. Lowington. + +"Certainly not," replied Mr. Fluxion, promptly. + +"Then, as you are going to Italy, what shall be done with them while we +are absent?" asked the principal, anxiously. + +"My sister, who intends to spend the winter in Italy with her husband, +desires to see me on a matter of business connected with her private +property. As she is an invalid, I think she wishes to consult me in +regard to the disposition of her estate, so that her children may enjoy +it after her decease; for, as I have told you before, her husband is +not a reliable man. If it were a matter of any less consequence, I +would not think of leaving." + +"Undoubtedly it is your duty to go, and you must do so. But I do not +like the idea of leaving thirty such students as Howe, Little, and +Phillips in the sole charge of Dr. Carboy. He is a good man; but he has +not quite tact and energy enough for such a responsibility." + +"Suppose I take them with me," suggested Mr. Fluxion, with a smile. + +"That is hardly practicable." + +"I mean in the Josephine," added the vice-principal. + +"It's a long voyage round through the Strait of Gibraltar." + +"I am in no hurry to reach Italy. How long shall you be absent in +Germany?" + +"About three weeks." + +"Say twenty-one days," said Mr. Fluxion, musing. "The Josephine is a +fast vessel. Under the most favorable circumstances, she would make the +run in eight days. A fair passage would be twelve days. If I remain one +day in Genoa, where my sister lives, the cruise would last twenty-five +days." + +"A few days' time, or a week, is of no consequence," added Mr. +Lowington. + +"But suppose you take the ship to Lisbon, on your return, and I will +meet you there, say about the twenty-seventh or eighth of the month." + +"I rather like the plan; but isn't it a little hard on the boys?" + +"Not at all. It's giving them plenty of sea-service; but that is what +they need for their complaint. We shall feed them well on fresh +provisions, and it is a pleasant trip up the Mediterranean at this +season of the year. But I only mention the idea to solve the difficulty +you suggest." + +"I will consider the matter, and give you an answer before night," +added Mr. Lowington, thoughtfully. + +"If the plan is adopted, I should like to have Peaks and Bitts with me, +to act as watch officers with Cleats and Gage." + +"You shall have them," replied Mr. Lowington, as he directed the +officer of the boat to call his crew, who had been permitted to come on +board. + +In the first cutter's crew were three of the runaways, who had taken +the opportunity to communicate with Adler, Phillips, and other of the +runaways in the consort. After each party had related to the other its +experience in rebellion, and commented on its unsatisfactory results, +they touched upon the old topic--how to get to Paris, where remittances +from their friends were waiting for most of them. + +"Old Carboy is to have charge of us while the crowd are gone," said +Sheffield, irreverently. "We can easily come it over him." + +"If we can only get on shore, we are all right," added Phillips. + +"Only we have no money to pay our fare to Paris," interposed Adler. + +"I can raise some," suggested Sheffield. "My father sent me a letter of +credit on a Paris banker; but any banker will let me have some money on +it, if I draw on Paris in his favor." + +"That's the idea!" exclaimed Adler. "I have a letter also." + +"But we are not to go together this time," added Little. + +"Any way, if we are only to go," said Phillips, as the coxswain of the +first cutter called away his crew, and ended the conversation. + +It was renewed as soon as the ship was reached and the boat hauled up. +The runaways had abandoned all thought of joining the excursion to the +Rhine; and "how to get away" was an exciting topic to them. In the +tops, out on the bowsprit, and in other secluded places, small knots of +them gathered to discuss the subject. Promises made to do better were +forgotten, and the bitter experience of the past was wholly ignored. If +they could get away from the ship or the consort,--in whichever one +they were to be confined,--they would make amends for all their +sufferings and all their humiliations. Herman and Little were +especially earnest, though they still avoided their late leader, Howe. +Perth was regarded as lost to them, for he wore a white ribbon on his +breast, and had done his duty as an officer. + +"We will all be pious for a day or two, till Carboy closes his eyes," +said Little. "You, and Ibbotson, and I will look out for ourselves, and +the rest of the fellows must do the same. I have an idea." + +"Have you? What is it?" demanded Herman. + +"We shall all be sent on board the Josephine as soon as the lambs get +ready to start for Germany." + +"Yes, I suppose so," added Herman, eagerly. + +"Then it will be an easy matter. But I don't want to talk about it yet. +Too many cooks spoil the soup," continued Little, with his air of +mysterious assurance. + +"Tell us what it is. We won't mention it." + +"I've got it all arranged; and if the rest of our fellows are smart, +they can take advantage of it. We all know this harbor pretty well," +added the little villain. + +"Why don't you tell us what the idea is?" + +Little rose from his seat in the main-top, and looked over to see that +no inquisitive person was concealed on the cat-harpings. + +"You are not to mention it to any one, you understand, or hint at it. +We three, I repeat, are to look out for ourselves only. Ibbotson is to +find the money to get to Paris, and I furnish the brains." + +"What am I to find?" + +"Find your way to Paris, if you can. You are a good fellow, Herman, and +I will take you in because you are some punkins." + +"But you haven't told us the plan," said Ibbotson, not particularly +pleased with the self-sufficiency of his little companion. + +"I will tell you," whispered Little, throwing an arm around the neck of +each of his friends, and drawing their heads together near his mouth. +"At night, when everything is quiet, one of us will just unbit the +cable, and let it run out. Then another shall sing out that the vessel +is going adrift. That will make a row. Then we will try to do +something. You, Herman, and I, will offer to carry a line to another +vessel--the ship, for instance. Carboy--who don't know any more about a +vessel than a kitten does of the ten commandments--will tell you to do +it. Then we three will jump into a boat, and carry off the line. We can +carry it to the ship, or not, just as we think best; but you may bet +your life we don't return to the Josephine! How does that strike you?" + +"Yes; but where are Cleats and Gage all this time? They know all about +a vessel, if Carboy don't," suggested Herman. + +"Wherever you please," replied Little, confidently. + +"Suppose they happen to be on deck, and are disposed to take the boat +and carry out the line themselves?" + +"So much the better! Thanks to the prudence and good management of the +principal, there are four boats belonging to the Josephine," answered +the little villain, who appeared to have provided for every emergency +which could possibly occur. "The moment the boatswain and carpenter are +clear of the vessel, we will suggest that another line ought to be +carried to some other vessel; and Mr. Carboy will see the necessity of +the measure." + +"Perhaps he won't see it," interposed Ibbotson. + +"Then I'll fall overboard." + +"Fall overboard?" + +"Precisely so," replied Little. + +"I don't see what that has to do with it," said Herman. + +"Don't you? Well, I hope you and Ibbotson would have the courage and +the energy to save me from a watery grave, and all that sort of thing." + +"What! jump in after you?" inquired Herman. + +"No! How heavy your wits are to-day! You need not dampen your trousers. +Just drop the fourth cutter into the water, pick me up, and then we +will find our way to the shore." + +"Some other fellows might take it into their heads to rescue you from a +watery grave, and all that sort of thing," added Herman. + +"If they do, so much the better for them. You and Ibbotson must make +sure that you get into the boat, whoever else does. There will be no +officers to bother, unless Perth happens to be left on board. If he is, +all right. He will know what to do. If the other fellows don't want to +go to Paris with us, or rather on their own hook, they can return to +the vessel, and mildly break it to the professor, that we were all +drowned. There will not be a particle of trouble about the business. +There are twenty other ways of managing the case. As soon as the lambs +are off, and we are put on board of the Josephine, we will arrange +everything." + +"Perhaps we shall remain in the ship," suggested Herman. + +"So much the worse for the ship, for her cable can be unbitted, as well +as the schooner's." + +"That's so." + +"In the dark, with the ship adrift and liable to be thrown on shore, or +to run afoul of another vessel, there will be a big excitement, and we +can do anything we wish. When the rest of the fellows see what is up, +they can take care of themselves," continued Little, who did not +believe in the possibility of a failure. + +"Very well; we will suppose we get on shore all right--what then? We +shall be in Brest, which is a fortified city, with gates through which +none can pass without permission," said Ibbotson. + +"Never mind the gates. We shall leave by railroad for Paris. As soon as +you raise some money to pay for the tickets, I will take care of the +rest." + +"I have no doubt we can raise the money. My father sent me a letter of +credit for five hundred francs. I heard my cousin say he could get +money in any large city on his letter of credit, for the bankers know +each other," added Ibbotson. + +"If he had only sent you a circular letter of credit, you could draw +almost anywhere," said Herman. + +"Well, if we can't raise any money on the letter, I have a gold watch +that cost about a hundred dollars in New York. I can raise two hundred +francs on it, and redeem it when we come back," continued Ibbotson. + +"That's the talk!" exclaimed Little. "I like to see energy in a fellow. +There isn't a ghost of a doubt in my mind but that we shall be in Paris +in two or three days from now." + +This interesting conversation was interrupted by the boatswain's call, +piping all hands to muster. The crew were then drilled for an hour in +all the evolutions of getting under way, and making sail. The runaways +dared not repeat the experiments which had been tried with so much +apparent success at Havre, for they feared the squadron would be sent +to sea again if the drill was not perfect. The various movements were +admirably performed, and entirely to the satisfaction of Captain +Shuffles. The ship's company were then piped to dinner. When they came +on deck, the signal, "All hands, attend lecture," was flying on board +the ship. This was a hopeful sign for those who were impatient to visit +the Rhine, and most of the crew were ready to hear Professor Mapps's +description of Germany. + +While the ship's company were waiting for the arrival of the +Josephine's, a very interesting ceremony was performed in the waist. +The Grand Protectress of the Order of the Faithful raised the members +of the second degree to the third, adorning them with the white ribbon. +They had been faithful in the discharge of all their duties, and Grace +insisted that all the members should now stand on an equal footing. +Those who wore the yellow ribbon were advanced to the second degree; +but Grace promised them that if they listened attentively to the +lecture, they should receive the white ribbon before night. + +With the crew of the Josephine came Mr. Fluxion, who immediately +retired to the main cabin with the principal, where the further details +of the cruise to Genoa were discussed. It was finally agreed that the +vice-principal's plan should be adopted, and that the Josephine should +sail as early the next day as she could be fitted out for the voyage. +The two vessels were to meet at Lisbon, near the end of the month, and +from that port proceed on the homeward voyage. Peaks and Gage were sent +for, and were very willing to be temporarily transferred to the +consort; while Leach was to remain as ship-keeper, in charge of the +Young America, during the absence of the party in Germany. + +While the professor was engaged upon his lecture in the steerage, Mr. +Fluxion returned to the consort with the two forward officers, and, +taking in the head steward, proceeded to the shore. In half an hour a +water boat was alongside the Josephine, filling up the water tanks and +casks. Later in the day several shore boats came off to deliver the +provisions and supplies which the steward had purchased. Before night +the Josephine was ready for the long cruise up the Mediterranean, +though none of the students on board of the ship knew that anything +unusual was in progress. + + + + +CHAPTER XI. + +A SHORT LECTURE ON GERMANY. + + +In answer to the summons of the boatswain, "All hands, attend lecture, +ahoy!" both ships' companies assembled in the steerage of the Young +America. The Arbuckles had seats near the foremast, on which the +professor displayed his maps, diagrams, and other illustrations of his +teachings. These lectures were received with different degrees of favor +by various students. While such as Paul Kendall, Shuffles, Gordon, and +Tremere regarded them as very valuable privileges, others considered +them as intolerable bores. Some were interested in a portion of the +descriptions and historical details, others closed their ears to the +whole, though all listened to anything that could be considered a +story. + +The runaways were among those who regarded the present lecture--since +they did not expect to visit Germany--as an intolerable nuisance. They +were careful to select places where they could listen or not, without +attracting the attention of the professor. Herman and Perth had seated +themselves near one of the gangways before the boatswain sounded the +call. The latter held a very doubtful position on board. Although he +wore the white ribbon of the Order of the Faithful, it was a problem +whether he was in sympathy with the objects of the institution. He had +declined to serve as a seaman in place of the mutineers; but in spite +of his refusal, he took his place at the capstan, and went aloft when +the order was given to shake out the topsails. He did not like the idea +of being alone, and if he did not formally recant in so many words, he +did so by his actions. No fault could be found with him, so far as the +faithful discharge of his duty was concerned; still his position was +not altogether satisfactory. + +Not only the faculty and the officers were in doubt in regard to his +standing, but also his former associates. He had done nothing to +indicate his regret for the past, on the one hand, and nothing to +assure his runaway friends that he was still in sympathy with them. The +principal did not know where to put him, and, consequently, was unable +to decide whether or not he should be relieved from the penalty of his +transgressions in the Josephine, and be permitted to accompany the +party to Germany. + +"Are you going to the Rhine with the rest of the fellows, Perth?" asked +Herman, as they seated themselves at the opening of Gangway B. + +"That's more than I know; but I suppose not, for I am considered too +wicked," replied the master, lightly. + +"I thought you had joined the lambs." + +_"Nicht viel!"_ + +"What do you mean by that?" + +"Not much!" + +"We all thought so. You have hardly spoken a word to one of our fellows +since you went into the cabin," added Herman. + +"Well, I've prayed for you all the same. I declined to take a seaman's +place when you fellows in the steerage slopped over, and wouldn't come +to time." + +"You didn't, though!" + +"I did, though; but I couldn't stand alone, and I sort of backed out, +just as the rest of you did, and went to work at the braces and +buntlines." + +"Then you really are not a lamb?" + +"Not if I know myself! I didn't do anything to get into the cabin; so +it isn't my fault that I'm there. Whether I go to the Rhine or not, I +suppose it is certain enough that the rest of our fellows will not." + +"No; we have spoiled all our chances." + +"There's no doubt of that," laughed Perth. + +"But we are going to Paris," added Herman, in a whisper. "We have the +wires all laid down." + +"Are you, though?" said Perth, deeply interested in the communication. +"I should like to go with you." + +"But we are not going in a bunch; only two or three in a squad. Don't +say anything to any of our fellows about it." + +"I never says nothing to nobody," laughed Perth. "But I want to know +more about it." + +"The arrangements are all made, and I don't think there is any chance +to fail." + +"Good!" + +But the professor commenced his lecture at this point, and the steerage +was hushed, so that it was not prudent even to whisper. The students +were all required, at these lectures, to be prepared with paper and +pencils, so that they could take notes, especially of dates and +statistics. + +"Our party consists of Little, Ibbotson and myself," Herman wrote on +his paper, which he placed so that Perth could read it. + +"Have you any stamps?" Perth wrote. + +"No; but Ibbotson has a letter of credit on which he can raise some." + +"My uncle, in Glasgow, sent me twenty pounds--four five-pound notes--at +the request of my father. I got it at Havre," wrote Perth. "I will join +you in Paris if I go to Germany; if not, I will start with you. Pop. N. +Ger., 28 mill.; S. Ger., 12.5 mill.; total, 40.5 mill.; about equal to +pop. of France." + +The sudden change in the style of the second master's notes is +accounted for by the fact that the principal entered the steerage at +the moment indicated by the break in the conversation between the two +runaways. They were in the rear of all the other students, and were +fully exposed to Mr. Lowington's gaze as he passed out of the main +cabin. Perhaps he did not think it was quite natural for such students +as Perth and Herman to be engaged so industriously in taking notes; or +it may be that his practised eye fully comprehended at a glance the +nature of their occupation. The instant the door opened, Herman slyly +slipped off the sheet on which he had been writing, and thrust it into +his pocket. Perth had written over one of his small pages of note +paper, and begun upon a second. He had, when his companion had read +what he wrote upon it, slipped the first sheet into the atlas, which +served as a desk for him. + +Mr. Lowington walked to the vicinity of Gangway B, and paused there. +Perth turned down the upper part of the sheet, on which he had written +the last part of his message to Herman, so that nothing objectionable +appeared on it, even if the principal took it into his head to look +over his shoulder. Perth was not at all flurried--he was too old a +rogue to commit himself by any weakness; and when he had written down +the statement of the professor, he paused and looked at the speaker, as +though he was wholly and entirely absorbed in the lecture. The entrance +of Mr. Lowington caused many of the students to look behind them, as +boys will do in school, on the smallest pretence. Mr. Mapps insisted +upon the students' attention, and he paused till his hearers had +gratified their curiosity. + +Mr. Lowington did not appear to be quite satisfied with the conduct of +Perth, and, reaching over the shoulder of the second master, he took +the paper from the atlas. Of course this act produced a sensation among +the boys; the most insignificant event creates a sensation in the +school-room. Mr. Mapps lowered the pointer, and intimated by his +actions that he did not intend to proceed till order was restored. +Perth was confounded this time, if he never was before. + +"What kind of a lecture are you delivering, Mr. Mapps?" asked the +principal, with a smile. + +"A lecture on Germany, such as I have usually given on these +occasions." + +"As this young gentleman writes it down, it seems to me rather a +singular lecture. I will read it." + +Perth wanted to drop through into the hold. + +"'I will join you in Paris if I go to Germany; if not, I will start +with you. Population North Germany, twenty-eight millions; South +Germany, twelve and a half millions; total, forty and a half millions; +about equal to population of France.' The latter part seems to be a +little more germane than the first part. 'I will join you in Paris if I +go to Germany,' is rather paradoxical, and I conclude that the young +gentleman has not correctly reported this part of your lecture." + +"I think not, sir," laughed Mr. Mapps. "I do not remember saying +anything about going to Paris." + +"Well, Mr. Perth, I recommend that you take a seat nearer to the +professor, so that you can understand him better; for certainly you +make very bad work of taking notes," added Mr. Lowington, as he pointed +to a seat near the foremast. + +Perth walked forward, and took the place indicated. Mr. Mapps proceeded +with the lecture; but it is doubtful whether the second master +understood him any better than before, he was so completely absorbed by +the consideration of the little difficulty into which he had so +heedlessly plunged himself. After all, the situation was not so bad as +it might be. The principal could make nothing of the sentence he had +read, and as nothing had been found upon Herman, he could trust to his +ingenuity to explain away the meaning of it. So he used his brain in +trying to devise a solution of the sentence which would satisfy the +principal, instead of attending to the lecture, which he feared would +have no practical value to him. + +A large majority of the students were deeply interested in the remarks +of the professor, and as they were to be in Germany in a few days, even +the dry statistics were considerably valued. As it would not be civil +to report the professor's lecture from the middle, where it was +interrupted by the entrance of the principal, it is necessary to return +to the commencement of it. + +"What is the German for Germany?" asked the professor, as he picked up +his pointer. + +"Deutschland." + +"The French?" + +"Allemagne." + +"Germany can hardly be called a nation, though in some respects it is +similar to the United States. It is a confederation of nations, though +the people speak the same language, and are united by many other common +ties of manners and customs, as well as of contiguity of territory. But +it is peculiar in some respects, as, Prussia is a nation, under its own +king and laws; but only a portion of it belongs to Germany. Austria[1] +is an empire, under its own emperor; but only a part of his dominions +are represented in the Germanic Confederation. Its several states are +united for some specific purposes, such as the collection of certain +taxes, and mutual defence. In other respects its empires, kingdoms, +duchies, &c., are independent nations, making their own laws, and +regulating their own affairs." + + [1] Professor Mapps describes Germany as it was before the war of + 1866, and the subsequent reconstruction of North Germany. In + "NORTHERN LANDS, OR YOUNG AMERICA IN PRUSSIA AND RUSSIA," the + present status of Germany will be explained. + +"I don't exactly understand the relations of Austria and Prussia to the +Germanic Confederation," said Paul Kendall. "How can part of them +belong to the confederation without the whole?" + +"Very easily," replied the professor; "though, if you ask me why a +part, and not the whole, of Prussia or Austria should be included in +the Germanic Confederation, I cannot tell you, unless it be to preserve +'ancient landmarks.' The province of Prussia proper was not German; and +that may be a very good reason why it never should be. Germany is a +league of the several sovereignties into which the old German empire +had fallen. The archduchy of Austria was, and Hungary was not, German, +in the reign of the emperors. Holstein-Lauenburg[2] belongs to Denmark, +but belongs, at the same time, to Germany. Of the eight provinces of +Prussia, two are not included in the confederation. Of the twenty-one +states or provinces which constitute the Austrian empire, eleven are +German. + + [2] Annexed to Prussia in 1866. + +"I can see no good reason why, if the Germanic league is of any +service, the provinces of Prussia and Posen should not be admitted, as +well as the other six divisions of the kingdom of Prussia. We take the +fact as we find it. Germany, then, is simply a union of states for +certain purposes. It is not, in any proper sense, a nation. It does not +send representatives to foreign countries, and it can make laws and +regulations only to cover the purposes of the league. + +"In 1863 there were thirty-four states represented in the +confederation. The empire of Austria cast four votes in the general +convention; the kingdoms of Prussia, Bavaria, Saxony, Hanover, and +Wuertemburg, also four each; other states, grand duchies, duchies, +electorates, principalities, landgraviates, and free cities, from one +to three, according to their size and importance. These representatives +meet at Frankfort, which is the capital of Germany. The population of +Northern Germany is about twenty-eight millions; of Southern Germany, +twelve and a half millions; making about forty and a half millions, or +about equal to that of France. + +"Of the early history of Germany there is no authentic record. The +ancient Romans had no knowledge of the people north of the Danube and +east of the Rhine, except as the barbarous tribes who made incursions +into their territory. When Gaul came into the possession of the Romans, +they learned more of the barbarians of the north, who were called +Germani--a word which is probably derived from _ger_, a spear, +indicating their warlike character. Among these tribes were the +Teutons, the Saxons, the Franks, the Goths, the Vandals, the Gauls, +whose names are common in history. Clovis, the ancient sovereign of the +Frankish empire, and his successors, conquered these tribes, and +incorporated their territory in the Empire of the West, which reached +the height of its glory under the reign of Charlemagne. His son Louis +was too weak to rule so vast a realm, and in 843 the empire was divided +into three parts, and given to his three sons. France became the +portion of Charles the Bald; Italy, of Lothaire; and Germany, of Louis. +At this time the German kingdom extended from the Rhine to the Elbe, +and from the German Ocean to the Danube. + +"During the succeeding century, Germany was partitioned into three +smaller divisions, became a part of France again, and the throne was +subverted by the nobles, who elected the kings. Portions of Italy, and +other territory beyond the Elbe, were conquered. I will not weary you +even by mentioning the line of kings who followed. Their dominions were +torn by dissensions, while they struggled to increase their power. In +1273, Count Rudolph of Hapsburg was elected emperor, and, after a +fierce struggle with the unruly barons, succeeded in establishing his +authority, and in obtaining possession of the dukedom of Austria, and +several other provinces. The house of Hapsburg has to the present time +retained the throne of Austria. + +"Jealous of the growing power of the Hapsburgs, the nobles elected +Adolph, Count of Nassau, Emperor of Germany; but Albert, Rudolph's son +and successor, wrested the crown from him. The Hapsburgs had +possessions in Switzerland, when the house obtained its power in +Austria, and they held them as dependencies upon the dukedom. The Swiss +revolted in the reign of Albert, and their long and severe struggle for +independence was commenced at this time. + +"During the reign of Sigismund, one of the successors of Albert, John +Huss, the reformer, was burned at the stake at Constance, whither he +had gone with the safe-conduct of the emperor. His martyrdom caused the +Hussite war, in which several severe battles were fought, including one +at Prague. In 1593, Maximilian I. succeeded to the throne; and in his +reign the Reformation by Luther began. Charles V., the grandson of +Maximilian,--of whom I spoke to you in giving the history of Holland +and Belgium,--united the crowns of Spain, Germany, the Netherlands, and +Naples, and the empire became the leading power of Europe. The +Reformation produced fierce dissensions and savage contests. Charles +was obliged, sorely against his will, to grant privileges to his +Lutheran subjects. But he was disgusted with power, and resigned his +crown. He was succeeded by his brother, Ferdinand I., as Emperor of +Germany, and by his son, Philip II., as King of Spain; to whom, also, +he gave his possessions in the Netherlands. The dissensions in the +empire enabled France on the west and Turkey on the east to wrest +valuable possessions from it. The successors of Charles V. were unable +to breast the storm of progress successfully, and the imperial +authority was completely shattered. The power of the petty rulers of +small states increased and overshadowed that of the central authority. + +"The emperors Ferdinand and Matthias treated the Protestants with so +much severity, committing the most flagrant outrages upon them, that it +brought on the Thirty Years' War. When Matthias died, the insurgents +declared the throne vacant, and chose the Elector Frederick emperor. +The Protestant princes fought for him, while the Catholic powers +sustained Ferdinand II., Archduke of Austria. Peace was established, by +the treaty of Westphalia, in 1648, by which Germany lost a portion of +her territory. After these events, the power of the emperors waned +still more, until their title was little more than a surname of the +rulers of Austria. When Prussia became a great Protestant power, under +Frederick the Great, she was a check upon Austria, and prevented the +latter from reestablishing the ancient power of the German empire. + +"The French revolution practically destroyed the empire. Francis II. of +Austria, overwhelmed by Napoleon, ceded to him the country on the left +bank of the Rhine. When the Rhenish Confederation of Napoleon was +formed, in 1806, Francis resigned the crown of the German empire, which +was thus formally dissolved. Many changes in territorial limits were +made, and the free cities lost their independence. The country was +either actually or virtually subject to Napoleon, who dictated its +policy, and levied heavy contributions upon it. + +"As it was not possible for all these small states to maintain their +separate independence unaided, when the Allied Powers had driven +Napoleon from Europe, and restored the nations to their original +condition, it became necessary to regulate the affairs of Germany. +Prussia objected to an independent empire, whose power might endanger +her safety and progress; and a confederation of the states was formed +in 1815, which exists at the present time."[3] + + [3] Dissolved in 1866. + +The professor continued to describe the country, and to define the +powers and duties of the Federal Diet; but as many changes have been +made in the government and in the states, it is not necessary to +transcribe his remarks to these pages. He promised, as occasion might +offer on their travels, to give the students further explanations of +the nature of the territory, governments, and local peculiarities of +the several states they might visit. The boys were satisfied with this +arrangement, and the session was closed. The boatswain immediately +piped all hands to muster on deck. + +"Whom do you purpose to join in Paris, if you go to Germany?" asked Mr. +Lowington, when Perth appeared among the officers. + +"My uncle," replied the second master, promptly. + +"Your uncle from Glasgow, I suppose you mean." + +"Yes, sir. He wrote me that he should be in Paris early this month." + +"How happened you to be writing the sentence on your paper?" + +"I was writing a letter which I intended to copy with ink, as soon as I +had time." + +"Have you the rest of the letter?" + +"No, sir; I tore it up just now." + +"Will you be kind enough to produce your uncle's letter?" said the +principal, quietly. + +"I don't keep my letters, sir; and I destroyed it as soon as I had read +it." + +"I suppose you did," replied Mr. Lowington, significantly. "But if you +don't go to Germany, what then? I think you wrote the words, 'I will +start with you.'" + +"Yes, sir." + +"Start from where?" + +"From here." + +"I don't understand it." + +"I was going to write to uncle Donald, that, if I went to Germany, I +would see him in Paris as we pass through that city. If I did not go, I +wanted him to come here, and take me to Paris with him." + +"And you think this explains what you wrote upon your note paper?" +inquired the principal. + +"As I understand it, sir, it does." + +"Was Herman expected to join your party?" + +"No, sir." + +"I observed that he seemed to be much interested in what you were +writing, and that you took some pains to let him see your paper. Your +explanation is not satisfactory, and I should not dare to take you to +Germany, lest you should miss your uncle on the way. Perhaps he had +better come to Brest himself. When do you expect him?" + +"I don't know when he is coming, sir," replied Perth, rather abashed to +find his explanation had obtained so little consideration. + +"Have you any money, Perth?" asked Mr. Lowington, suddenly. + +"No, sir." + +"Not a few francs, even?" + +"Perhaps I have a few English pence." + +"Haven't you a few English pounds?" + +"No, sir." + +"Just think a little, before you answer." + +"If I had even a pound, I should be likely to remember it, sir." + +"I should say you would; and twenty times as likely to remember it, if +you had twenty pounds," added the principal. + +"O, I haven't anything like that, sir." + +"You have an astonishingly bad memory, Perth. You received a letter +from your uncle in Glasgow, while you were at Havre. Do you remember +that?" + +"Certainly I do, sir," replied Perth, wondering what the principal +could mean by such pointed questions. + +Was it possible that Mr. Lowington had read what he wrote on the first +sheet of note paper? He thrust his hand into his pocket, and the sheet +was there as he had taken it from the atlas. + +"You do remember the letter?" + +"To be sure I do, sir." + +"And don't you remember that there were four five-pound notes in it, +numbering from thirty-three thousand eight hundred forty-five to eight, +inclusive? It is very singular, indeed, that you have forgotten this +little circumstance." + +Perth was confounded by this revelation. He saw that he was caught, and +that it was useless for him to say anything more; so he wisely held his +peace. + +"If your uncle has not changed his mind within three days, he has no +more intention of coming to France than I have of going to Glasgow. I +received a letter from him to-day, since the ship came to anchor, +forwarded from Havre after we left. The writer was confined to the +house with a severe attack of rheumatism. In the quiet of his chamber, +he had an opportunity to consider whether he had done right to send you +twenty pounds, even with the advice of your father, without informing +me of the fact. He thought the sum was a large one for a young man to +have, and he desires me to see that you make a proper use of it. I will +trouble you to hand me the money, which shall be placed to your credit, +and receipted for by the pursers." + +"I haven't the money now, sir," replied Perth, who was fully resolved +to run away at the first convenient opportunity, and wanted the money +to pay his expenses. + +"Where is it?" + +"I sent it to a banker--" + +"Silence! Don't blacken your soul with any more falsehoods, Perth," +interrupted the principal, sternly. + +"You may search me, sir," replied the second master, throwing out his +arms, as though he were ready to submit to the operation. + +"I may, but I do not choose to do so at present. Keep your eye on him, +Peaks," added the principal, as he walked forward to his usual stand on +the hatch. + +"You are foolish, Master Perth," said the old boatswain, shaking his +head; for he had been the only person who had listened to the +interview, and appeared to be present for a purpose. + +Perth put his hands in his pockets. He felt the paper on which he had +written during the lecture. It would be a dangerous document in case he +should be searched; for its contents would expose him, and implicate +others. As slyly and as quickly as he could, he took it out, tore it +into small bits, and threw it out the open port into the water. + +"What's that?" demanded Peaks, seizing him by the collar. + +"You are too late," answered Perth. + +"What was it you tore up?" + +"The five-pound notes." + +"Tell that to the marines!" exclaimed the old sailor. + +"They are gone to Davy Jones's locker now," replied Perth, shaking his +head. + +Peaks instantly reported the matter to the principal, who, however, did +not deem it necessary to take any immediate action. Probably he did not +believe the young wretch had destroyed the bills; or, if he had, it was +his own loss. Perth stood silent and sullen, while Mr. Lowington spoke +to the students, announcing the arrangements for the excursion to the +Rhine. The delinquent was certain, by this time, that he was not to be +one of the party; but he hoped, if he saved his money, that he should +find an opportunity to escape from the squadron soon after his +shipmates started on their journey. + + + + +CHAPTER XII. + +A MYSTERIOUS MOVEMENT. + + +"Young gentlemen," said Mr. Lowington, as he stepped upon the hatch, +after disposing of Perth's case, "we shall commence our tour to the +Rhine to-morrow morning." + +A hearty demonstration of applause greeted this announcement, and +doubtless those who had been faithful from the beginning realized a +certain sense of triumph, because they were justified in their hopes. + +"We shall leave in the first train for Paris, where we will spend the +night, and proceed to Strasburg the next day. From this point we shall +enter Germany, and after visiting several places of interest, such as +Fribourg, Baden, Schaffhausen, Stuttgart, Carlsruhe, Heidelberg, and +Frankfort, we shall take the steamer at Mayence, and go down the Rhine +as far as Cologne. This excursion will enable you to see all of the +river which is worth seeing. You have already seen the Rhine in +Holland, and at Basle. All its picturesque portions are crowded into +the space of less than a hundred miles, which you can witness from the +deck of a steamer in a single day, if such haste were necessary. + +"As we leave at an early hour in the morning, it will be best to make +our arrangements to-night. On our return to Havre, Captain Shuffles +requested me to allow all hands to join in this excursion." + +A few half-suppressed hisses from some of the runaways were promptly +drowned in a sea of applause from the Order of the Faithful. + +"I had the subject under consideration, and it would have afforded me +very great pleasure to grant the request; but the conduct of those in +whose favor it was made has been such, since we left Havre, that I am +unable to grant it. I shall, therefore, be obliged again to leave +thirty-one of your number on board of the Josephine during the absence +of the others." + +The runaways, to the astonishment, if not the horror, of the Faithful, +warmly applauded this announcement. It was equivalent to saying they +did not wish to join the excursion. The principal made no remark, +though the applause was certainly impudent; but doubtless he was fully +reconciled to the little arrangement he had made with Mr. Fluxion. + +"Those who are to go will bring their bags on board of the ship, and +sleep here to-night," continued Mr. Lowington. "Those who are not to go +will take their bags on board the Josephine. If there is any doubt as +to who the thirty-one are, their names will be read." + +No one called for the reading of the names, for there was no one who +needed to be enlightened. The students were dismissed, and the boats +from the consort returned. In a short time, the runaways, who belonged +to the ship's company, appeared upon deck with their luggage. They +seemed to be rather jubilant than otherwise; and though their manner +was very offensive, the principal took no notice of it, as it was not +openly insolent, consisting only of a real or assumed expression of +pleasure at the sentence pronounced against them. All of them expected +to escape from the consort during the administration of Dr. Carboy, and +they regarded a couple of weeks in Paris and Switzerland, free from +restraint, as ample compensation for the deprivation. + +"Let those laugh that win," said Herman, when Horne, one of the +Faithful, ventured to sympathize with him in the misfortune of being +left behind. + +"I don't see what you can win doing duty and learning your lessons on +board of the Josephine," added Horne. + +"Don't you cry, my hearty. You will hear from us by the time you get +halfway down the Rhine; and if we don't have a better time than you do, +it will be because we don't know how." + +"Well, I suppose you do know Howe," answered Horne, with a smile, which +indicated that he enjoyed even a sickly pun. "I should think you had +known him to your sorrow." + +"Howe has played out. I expect Lowington will get boozy on this +excursion." + +"Why so?" + +"Because he's going to take a Horne on the trip." + +"Pretty good! I see you know Howe." + +"We know how to have a good time, and we can do it without any sheep's +wool." + +"Are you going to run away in the Josephine again, Herman?" + +"No; that's played out." + +But the runaway was reminded, by this question, that he had been +talking rather imprudently, and he left his companion for more genial +associates. + +Perth still stood on the quarter-deck, waiting the action of the +principal, who had sent the head steward to overhaul the state-room of +the delinquent. The money could not be found in the cabin, though +several of the officers, who were there, assisted in the search. + +"What have you done with the twenty pounds sent you by your uncle, +Perth?" asked Mr. Lowington, when the steward had reported to him. + +"Thrown it overboard, sir," replied Perth, with a malignant glance at +the boatswain. + +"He threw some bits of paper he had torn up into the water," added +Peaks. "Whether it was the bank bills or not, I don't know, but I don't +think it was." + +"Very well," added Mr. Lowington, who never permitted a delinquent +pupil to see that he was disturbed and annoyed, even if he was so. "You +will bring your bag on deck, and go on board of the Josephine." + +"I'm ready, sir," replied Perth, with brazen assurance. + +"As your conduct is hardly becoming an officer and a gentleman, you +will clothe yourself in a seaman's dress," added the principal, taking +the shoulder-straps from his coat. "When a young man can stand up and +reel off a string of lies without blushing, he is not fit to associate +with those who are competent to be officers of this ship." + +"I earned my rank, sir," said Perth, who had an idea that he should +sleep in the cabin of the Josephine during his intended short stay on +board of her. + +"And forfeited it by your gross misconduct. You will obey the orders +given you," added the principal, as he turned and walked away. + +Peaks did not take his eye off the offender, but attended him to the +cabin, where he was supplied with a seaman's suit. Perth objected to +changing his clothing with a pertinacity which provoked the boatswain. + +"If you say you won't change the clothes, I will report to Mr. +Lowington," said Peaks. + +"Well, I won't." + +"All right, my hearty;" and the old sailor left the state-room. + +But he had not reached the deck before Perth hailed him. + +"I will put them on, Mr. Peaks. I've thought better of it," said he, +throwing off his frock coat, as the boatswain appeared at the door of +the room. + +"All the better for you, my lad. I thought you wanted to spend a week +or two in the brig," replied Peaks. + +"I think it is a hard case, after a fellow has earned his rank, to take +it from him," muttered Perth, as he proceeded to put on the sailor's +suit. + +"An officer should be a gentleman," growled the old sailor. + +But the boatswain had been overreached, after all. The four five-pound +notes had been sewed into the waistband of Perth's trousers; and this +was the particular reason why he objected to losing his rank, if he had +to lose his pants with it. Peaks would not take his eye off him long +enough to allow him to tear out the bills; but when the boatswain went +to report to the principal, the opportunity was obtained, and promptly +used. The money was saved, and he yielded the point. He was conducted +to the deck, and when the boats brought the Josephines, who were to +visit Germany, to the ship, the runaways were sent to their new +quarters, or rather their old ones, for they had spent three weeks in +her before, under the superintendence of Mr. Fluxion. Before supper +time the change was effected. Dr. Carboy, at his own request,--for he +preferred the trip to the Mediterranean to that into Germany,--was +transferred to the consort for the cruise, with Peaks and Bitts. + +The "happy family" were now united on board the ship, and all the +active discordant elements of the squadron were collected in the +consort. With only a very few exceptions, both parties were satisfied +with the arrangement. The runaways perhaps experienced a feeling of +relief that they were no longer in danger of being watched and +overheard by the "lambs." They had only to look out for the adult +officers now, and in the steerage they were by themselves. + +Yet the appearance of Peaks on board of the consort with his bag was +rather ominous. Bitts was not regarded with the same dread. There were +now four adult forward officers in the Josephine; but the old boatswain +was the only one who inspired any special terror. Little's brilliant +scheme to enable his small party to escape seemed to be endangered by +Peak's coming, for he was an exceedingly prompt, decided and vigilant +man. The four old sailors, on an emergency, could handle the Josephine +alone. + +"What do you think now?" said Herman, when everything on board the +consort had settled down into order and quiet. + +"I don't like to see old Peaks on board," replied the little villain. +"He is a tough customer, and may bother us." + +"That's so." + +"But I think we can wax him." + +"I hope so. We have Tom Perth now to help us. We must take him into our +squad, and then we shall just make up a crew for the third or fourth +cutter." + +"I don't like too many." + +"But Perth has the rocks in his pocket now--twenty pounds, or five +hundred francs," suggested Herman. + +"That's an inducement." + +"Certainly it is. We can cut for Paris the moment we get on shore." + +"All right. We will try it on about to-morrow night. But don't say a +word to a single other fellow. We must look out for ourselves this +time, and not attempt to carry all the rest of the fellows on our +backs," added the prudent Little. + +"It looks mean to do so." + +"No, it don't. I have told them all to look out for themselves." + +"But they don't even know how the thing is to be managed." + +"No; and they shall not know it. If they don't know enough to go ashore +when the vessel is adrift, let them stay on board." + +"Well, Perth is the only fellow to whom I mentioned it." + +"That's all right; but don't let him say anything about how the thing +is to be done." + +"He don't know. I only told him we had a plan which could not possibly +fail." + +"It won't, if Peaks don't make trouble. We must let off the gun when he +is not on deck," continued Little. + +"We shall be able to see, after to-night, how things are to be done on +board, and whether any of the men are to keep watch," added Herman. "We +needn't give up if we don't happen to get off to-morrow night, for we +have two or three weeks to do the job in." + +Little, seated out on the bowsprit, rehearsed his plan again, and went +into all the minor details. They were presently joined by Perth, and +the whole affair was explained to him. He approved it, and made a +number of suggestions in regard to the boats. + +"I am bound to go this time," said Perth, earnestly. "I don't stay +another week in the Academy. I have had my shoulder-straps stripped +off, and am pointed at by the lambs as an example of a naughty boy. I +bluffed them all on board the ship, but with me the die is cast. If +your plan don't work, I shall jump overboard, and swim ashore. I have +been degraded and disgraced, and I can't possibly stand it any longer." + +"We are all in the same boat; and if we can't get off any other way, we +will set the vessel afire, and swim ashore by the light of it," added +Little. + +"You are the fellow for me!" exclaimed Perth. "I don't want any milk +and water about this scrape. If we can't make it go in one way, we will +try another." + +Peaks, who was planking the deck, extended his walk to the forecastle, +and the trio discontinued their conversation. They were satisfied that +setting the vessel adrift, some time in the night, would accomplish +their purpose, and they were willing to wait till the next evening. +They had some difficulty in escaping the observation of their +companions who were not in the secret; but they assured them something +would be done just as soon as Mr. Fluxion started for Italy, which it +was understood, would be on the following day. + +Berths were assigned to the temporary crew of the Josephine, and at an +early hour they turned in. None of them were detailed to keep the +anchor watch on deck; but in the night Little crawled out of his berth, +and went up the ladder. All was still on deck, and he could not see +that any one was on watch. Seven bells struck on board a man-of-war at +anchor near the vessel. It was half past eleven. He crept stealthily to +the forecastle, where he found Bitts, who was asleep under the lee of +the capstan. This discovery satisfied him that the forward officers +were to keep the anchor watch. The arrangement was not favorable to the +carrying out of Little's scheme; but if the man on deck would only +sleep, it would not make so much difference. + +Little carefully studied the situation, which suggested to his fertile +invention half a dozen expedients, in case he failed at the proper time +to unbit the cable. Four of them could jump into one of the cutters, +lower the boat from the davit, and might reach the shore before a +single man could call assistance, and get another boat into the water. +One of them could pretend to be sick, and, sending the watchman to the +cabin to procure medicine, escape while he was looking for it. And so +the little schemer went on till he had a quiver full of expedients, any +one of which promised to be successful. Having satisfied himself that +he had not been reckoning too fast, he went below again, and turned in. + +At daylight in the morning all hands were called on board of the Young +America. An early breakfast was taken, and a steamer came alongside to +convey the happy party to the shore. The hands on board the Josephine +were turned out at the same hour, and they had the satisfaction of +seeing the members of the Order of the Faithful depart on their +pleasant tour to the Rhine. Breakfast was served to them at the usual +hour, and when Herman and Little went on deck, after the meal, they saw +a man in a canoe coming alongside. He looked like a pilot, but neither +of the two runaways who saw him suspected that he had a mission on +board. He came on deck, and was duly welcomed by Mr. Fluxion. + +"What does that covey want here?" said Little. + +"I don't know," replied Herman. + +"He has made his canoe fast astern, as though he meant to stay here +some time." + +"O, he's only loafing, and wants to see a Yankee ship and a Yankee +crew," laughed Herman. + +Little did not exactly like the coming of the pilot; not that he had +any suspicion of the actual programme, but he was afraid the vessel +might be moored in some less convenient place for the escape than her +present berth. As the runaways finished their breakfast, they came on +deck, and some of them recognized the pilot as the one who had brought +the Josephine into port the day before. + +"All hands, on deck, ahoy!" shouted Peaks, blowing a pipe more shrill +than had ever before been heard on board of the consort. + +All hands were on deck already; but the call produced a decided +sensation. Something was to be done, and all hands fell to discussing +probabilities with a zeal, which ought to have brought forth correct +conclusions. The general opinion seemed to be, that nothing more than a +sermon was coming off, though the vice-principal was not much given to +preaching. If Mr. Fluxion was going to Italy, it would be necessary for +him formally to transfer his authority to Professor Carboy. On the +whole, therefore, the prospect was rather pleasing than otherwise. +Herman, and some of the others who were deeply concerned in coming +events, advised all the fellows to behave well, and take the preaching +kindly, so that the officers need not "smell a mice." + +"All hands, up anchor, ahoy!" roared old Peaks, piping a blast which +seemed to come from the breath of a north-wester, while the leading +spirits were counselling meekness and submission. + +"What does that mean?" demanded the astonished Perth. + +"O, nothing! Only we are going to have another anchorage," replied +Herman. + +"Lively, my hearties," said the boatswain, as he stepped forward into +the waist. "Don't you hear the pipe?" + +"I hear it; but we haven't been stationed in this vessel," replied +Herman. + +"That's very true, my lad; for once you speak the truth." + +"You are a little fast, Peaks," said the vice-principal, coming up from +the cabin with a paper in his hand. "Here is the bill, and we will +station the crew before we do anything." + +Every one of the runaways was stationed for each of the various +evolutions of getting under way, making and taking in sail, reefing and +tacking. They were all good seamen, and it was not necessary to drill +them in their duties. The boatswain again piped, "All hands, up anchor, +ahoy!" + +The hands took their stations promptly enough, and when the anchor was +hove up to a short stay, the foresail and mainsail were hoisted. + +"Clear away the jib and flying-jib!" shouted Mr. Fluxion, who gave all +the orders himself, though they were repeated by Peaks and Cleats, who +acted as first and second officers. + +"All ready forward, sir," reported Cleats. + +"Man the capstan! Stand by the jib-halyards!" + +"Anchor a-weigh, sir!" said Cleats, who was doing duty on the +forecastle. + +"Hoist the jib!" + +"Up with the jib!" repeated Peaks. + +As the anchor came up to the hawse-hole, the jib filled, and the vessel +began to move. + +"Cat and fish the anchor!" called the vice-principal; and his order was +passed forward. + +"Cat and fish the anchor!" exclaimed Perth. That doesn't look as though +we were going to another anchorage." + +"It's all right; we can't go far," added Herman. + +While those who were stationed on the top-gallant forecastle were +engaged in catting and fishing the anchor, those who had been assigned +to places on the topsail and top-gallant yards were sent aloft. + +"Lay aloft, sail-loosers!" continued Mr. Fluxion, and the top-men and +top-gallant-men ran up the rigging as nimbly as though they had +perfectly comprehended the purpose of the officers. "Lay out and +loose!" + +"All ready!" shouted Bitts, who had gone aloft with the top-men. + +"Let fall!" + +"Let fall," passed from Peaks to Bitts, and from the latter to the +top-men. + +"Man the topsail and top-gallant sheets and halyards. Sheet home, and +hoist away!" + +The topsails and top-gallant sails were speedily set, the braces were +manned, and the yards trimmed. Gage had the helm, the pilot standing +near him to give out the courses. The main gaff-topsail was next set, +and the Josephine was then under full sail. With the wind fair, and +everything drawing, she flew through the Goulet at the rate of ten +knots an hour. Peaks was as busy as a bee, and in person saw that every +rope was properly coiled up or flemished, that the cable was in order +to run out when needed, and in general, that everything was in +ship-shape order. + +As good seamen, the young gentlemen understood that these careful +preparations did not indicate merely a change in the holding-ground of +the vessel. Everything about the Josephine seemed to be shrouded in +profound mystery. Peaks kept all hands at work till the strict order of +a man-of-war prevailed in every part of the deck and rigging. He did +not say anything, or do anything, which afforded the slightest hint in +regard to the destination of the consort. Mr. Fluxion planked the +quarter-deck, and did not manifest the least sign of an intention to go +to Italy. The movement was utterly incomprehensible, and the runaways +began to look very anxious. + +After passing through the Goulet into the open sea, the fore and main +sheets were manned, the yards braced up, and the course changed to the +south-west. Off the Chaussee de Sein, the pilot was discharged, and the +Josephine sped on her way, with a fresh breeze a little forward of the +beam. Still the vice-principal planked the quarter-deck, and no one +said anything to solve the mystery. Peaks had caused everything to be +done which he could find to do, and all hands were "sogering" about the +deck. + +"Mr. Peaks, pipe down the port watch," said Mr. Fluxion, at last, as +though every word cost him a month's salary, he was so chary of them. + +The acting first officer obeyed the order, and the port watch were +dismissed from duty. Like old sailors, they went below, partly from the +force of habit, and partly to discuss the unaccountable movement of the +vessel. Perth and Herman were both in the starboard watch; but Little +and Ibbotson put their heads together as soon as they were in the +steerage. + +"I don't understand it," said Ibbotson, shaking his head. + +"Nor I either; but I think it will come out all right," replied Little, +who was always disposed to put the best face upon doubtful indications. + +"Do you suppose we are homeward bound?" + +"Of course not. Look at the tell-tale. We are running about south-west +by south." + +"Perhaps that's the course on the great circle." + +"Nonsense! We shall fetch up on the coast of South America, if we keep +this course long enough." + +"I don't know about the course, but I have made up my mind that this is +about what it means. I'll bet all the bad marks I shall get for the +next quarter, that we are homeward bound." + +"No such thing." + +"I believe it," persisted Ibbotson. "Lowington did not know what to do +with us, while he is in Germany, and so he has sent us home." + +"South-west by west won't take us home. Fluxion is only giving us an +airing for a day or two, just to see how we behave, and to give us a +little wholesome discipline. If we are good, he will return to port, +and start for Italy. What is Dr. Carboy here for, if we are bound +home?" + +"What is he here for? Because Mr. Stout is not here. I suppose they +have changed places for a few weeks. The ship goes home next month." + +"Don't you cry! In a day or two, if not before night, we shall be back +again in the harbor of Brest. I'm willing to bet all my bad marks +against all yours, that we get ashore in less than forty-eight hours." + +"That's heavy betting, but it won't settle anything. There is Peaks; +suppose we ask him," suggested Ibbotson, as the old boatswain came down +the ladder. + +"You can call up spirits from the vasty deep, but they won't come. You +can ask him, but you might as well put the question to the +anchor-stock." + +"Where are we going, Mr. Peaks?" asked Ibbotson, as gently as though he +were addressing a lady. + +"Going to sea," replied Peaks, gruffly, as he went on his way, deigning +no further answer. + +"No use," said Little. "If we only wait, we shall know in a day or two. +In the mean time we must be as proper as the parson's lambs." + +Still the Josephine sped on her way, and no one was the wiser. + + + + +CHAPTER XIII. + +FROM STRASBURG TO CONSTANCE. + + +The party on board of the Young America were in the highest spirits on +the morning of their departure. All of them had now been decorated with +the white ribbon of the Order of the Faithful. Even Raymond and +Lindsley were entirely satisfied with the good faith and fairness of +the principal--better satisfied than they were with their own conduct. +What had before been regarded as defeat was now triumph, for a failure +to achieve success in doing wrong is actually victory, especially if +followed, as in this instance, by real regret, genuine penitence. + +Grace Arbuckle, perhaps conscious that she had exerted a salutary +influence upon the students through the pleasantry of the Order of the +Faithful, was as happy as the young gentlemen themselves. She appeared +on deck at an early hour, and when the officers and seamen presented +themselves, in their best uniforms, wearing the white ribbon, she was +so delighted she could not help laughing heartily. + +"Commodore Kendall, are you going to wear that ribbon to Paris?" she +asked, as Paul touched his cap to her. + +"Certainly I am. I should as soon think of going without my coat as +without that," replied he. + +"But how absurd!" + +"Absurd? _Vous ne pouvez pas faire un sifflet de la queue d'un cochon_," +added he, very seriously. + +"_C'est vrai_; but what has that to do with the ribbon? Do you mean to +call that a pig's tail?" + +"No; on the contrary, it is the wing of an angel--it was bestowed by +you. I only mean to say it would be quite impossible to go to Germany +without this ribbon. It is our talisman to keep us faithful to duty; +and I am afraid we should get into mischief if we went without it. +Every member will wear his decoration. But, Miss Arbuckle, I think you +ought to wear the white ribbon also." + +"I!" + +"Certainly. You are the Grand Protectress of the order. Do wear it, +Miss Arbuckle, with a rosette, to indicate your superior rank. It would +please all the members very much." + +"I will, if you desire it," replied Grace, more seriously. + +"We all desire it." + +"It shall be done, if you wish it." + +"Thanks." + +Grace tripped lightly down the stairs to the cabin, but presently +returned, wearing the white ribbon, surmounted by a very tasty rosette, +composed of white, blue, and yellow ribbons, to denote the several +degrees of the order. Paul was in raptures, and when the ship's company +saw the decoration she wore, they saluted her with three rousing +cheers, which she gracefully acknowledged. + +"We must perpetuate this order, Shuffles," said Paul, as they stood in +the presence of the Grand Protectress. + +"I think we must," replied the captain. + +"We will organize more systematically when we have time." + +"And have a suitable emblem to distinguish the members." + +"The white ribbon must not be discarded," protested Paul, glancing at +Grace. + +"Certainly not; but we will have a gold anchor, say, from which the +ribbon shall be suspended," added Shuffles. "On the anchor shall be +engraved the single word FAITHFUL." + +"And '_Vous ne pouvez pas faire_,' &c.," laughed Paul. "I think we +must ask the Grand Protectress for a suitable emblem." + +"You have great confidence in me, and I will give the subject faithful +consideration," said Grace. + +"Our motto is an excellent one, I think," continued Paul. "To us it +will always mean that you cannot redress a wrong by resorting to +dishonorable measures." + +The conversation was interrupted by the call to breakfast. Before the +meal was finished, the steamer that was to convey the party on shore +came alongside. By the time she had made fast, and run out her planks, +the boatswain piped, "All hands, on deck with bags, to go ashore." The +stewards conveyed the baggage of the Arbuckles on board, and the ship's +company marched in single file to the deck of the steamer. There were +no turbulent spirits among them, and everything was done in order. In +due time the party reached the railroad station, and seated themselves +in the special cars, which had been provided for their use. + +The Arbuckles, Dr. Winstock, Paul, and Shuffles occupied one +compartment of a carriage, and, as usual, the pleasant and +well-informed surgeon of the ship, who had been a very extensive +traveller, was a living encyclopaedia for the party. The course of the +train was through Brittany, of which Dr. Winstock had much to say. It +is a poor country, not unlike Scotland, though it has no high +mountains. The lower order of the people wear quaint costumes, and have +hardly changed their manners and customs for three hundred years. + +"Do you see that building in the churchyard?" said the doctor, as he +pointed out the window. + +"What is it--the hearse-house?" asked Paul. + +"No; I think they don't use hearses much here. It is a bone-house." + +"A what!" exclaimed Shuffles. + +"A bone-house, or _reliquaire_. The poor people in this part of France +are very ignorant and superstitious. _Requiescat in pace_, so far as +the mortal remains of their dead are concerned, has no meaning to them, +for they do not let them rest quietly in their graves, as we do. After +the bodies of the deceased have gone to decay, the skulls and bones are +removed from the coffins, and placed in the bone-house. The names, or +the initials, of the departed are painted upon the forehead of the +skull." + +"How horrible!" exclaimed Grace. + +"Doubtless it is so to you; but to these people it is an act of +affectionate remembrance," added the doctor; "as sacred and pious as +any tribute we render to our loved and lost ones." + +Dr. Winstock continued to describe the various places through which the +train passed, answering the many questions proposed by his interested +auditors. At noon they arrived at Rennes, where the excursionists +lunched, and some of them, perhaps at the expense of the inner man, +were enterprising enough to see a little of the city, which contains +forty thousand inhabitants, and was the ancient capital of the dukedom +of Brittany. + +"This is Laval," said the doctor, an hour and a half after the train +left Rennes. + +"See there!" exclaimed Grace, pointing to a man clothed in goatskins, +the hair outside. "Is that Robinson Crusoe?" + +"No; that is the fashion for the peasants in this part of Brittany. +They don't depend upon Paris for the _mode_. I suppose you have all +heard of the Vendean war." + +"Yes, sir. The people of La Vendee were royalists, and fought against +the republicans as long as there was anything left of them," replied +Paul. + +"La Vendee lies south of the Loire; but one of their greatest battles +was fought near Laval, in 1793. They conducted themselves with fearful +desperation, and after the republicans had sent word, as the battle +waned, to the Convention at Paris, that La Vendee was no more, the +wounded leader of the insurgents was carried through their ranks, and +they rallied, gaining the day in a decisive victory, by which the +government troops lost twelve thousand men." + +Fifty-six miles farther brought the excursionists to Le Mans, where the +Vendean army was finally destroyed by the forces of General Marceau. +The carnage was terrible, and extended even to the massacre of many of +the wives and children of the royalists. An obelisk to the memory of +the republican general, who was born at Le Mans, informs the reader +that he was a soldier at sixteen, a general at twenty-three, and died +when he was twenty-seven. + +At Chartres, forty-seven miles from Paris, the train stopped half an +hour, and the party had an opportunity to see the cathedral, the most +magnificent in France, and one of the most ancient. It is four hundred +and twenty-five feet long. Henry IV. was crowned in it in 1594, for the +reason that Rheims, where coronations formerly took place, was in +possession of the Leaguers. + +At seven o'clock, the train arrived in Paris, and the party hastened to +the lodgings which had been engaged for them. In the evening they +attended the grand opera, at the invitation of Mr. Arbuckle, and the +next morning proceeded to Strasburg. After a short delay, the party +continued the journey, crossing the Rhine into Germany, and halting at +Offenburg, a small town, where hotel accommodations had been bespoken. +After supper, the excursionists were collected in a large room, and +Professor Mapps took a position in front of them. + +"Young gentlemen, where are we?" he asked. + +"In Germany." + +"Very true, but rather indefinite," added the professor. + +"In Baden," said Paul Kendall, who, as usual, had taken pains to study +up the situation. + +"In the Grand Duchy of Baden." + +"What is a Grand Duchy?" inquired one of the students, who was +doubtless bothered, as others have been, by the varying titles of the +German states. + +"It is a territory having an independent local government. There is no +reason why it should be called a Grand Duchy, unless it is because it +is larger than a simple Duchy, though this rule does not always hold +good, for the Duchy of Brunswick has double the territory and double +the population of the Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. The titles +of the states seem to be entirely arbitrary, and, according to the +fancy of their rulers, they were called kingdoms, principalities, +electorates, palatinates, margraviates, Grand Duchies, or Duchies. The +Grand Duchy of Baden is larger than the Kingdom of Saxony. These +designations have been occasionally changed, as the states increased in +size, or as their rulers desired a grander title. In 1803 Baden was a +margraviate of one fourth its present extent. Napoleon gave the title +of Elector, and afterwards of Grand Duke, to the Margrave Charles +Frederick, as his territory was increased. + +"Baden has about six thousand square miles, or is about equal in size +to Rhode Island and Connecticut united. It has a population of one +million three hundred thousand, which has hardly increased during the +last fifty years, for the reason that so many of its people have +emigrated to the United States. The country is mountainous, and +contains the Schwarzwald. What does that mean?" + +"The Black Forest," replied several. + +"A mountainous region, which has been the paradise of story-tellers. +The highest peak is the Feldberg, forty-six hundred and fifty feet +high. Its principal river is the Rhine, which forms its western and +southern boundary, and has many branches in this country. The Neckar is +the largest, crossing Baden in the north. The river which you observed +in this place is the Kinzig. The Danube, which the Germans call the +Donau, rises in Baden. In the south-east the country borders on Lake +Constance, or, in German, Boden See. The climate is salubrious, but it +is cold in the mountains, where they have snow during the greater part +of the year. + +"Baden is divided into four circles, or provinces, which are again +divided into bailiwicks, or counties, and communes, or towns. Two +thirds of the people are Roman Catholics; the rest are Protestant, with +a sprinkling of Jews, who are found in all parts of Germany. There is a +Catholic university at Freiburg, and a Protestant one at Heidelberg, +which is so celebrated that it has not a few American students. There +are two thousand common schools, and several establishments of higher +grade. + +"The government is an hereditary constitutional monarchy, the Grand +Duke being the sovereign. It has a legislative body, composed of two +chambers, the upper of which consists of the nobility and members +appointed by the Grand Duke, and the lower of sixty-eight deputies, +chosen indirectly by the people. But I do not think it is necessary to +describe, at any great length, these small German states, and I give +you Baden as a specimen of what most of them are." + +The next morning the company took the train for Freiburg, and in a +couple of hours reached their destination, where they immediately +divided themselves into small parties, in order to see the cathedral, +or minster, and other sights, within the allotted time. Those who +travelled in the same compartment of the railway carriage usually came +together on these occasions for the same reason that united them on the +road. Paul Kendall zealously placed himself at the side of Grace, +though she was as impartial as a just judge between him and the captain +of the ship. + +The minster is a Gothic church, and almost the only one in Germany +which is actually finished. It was commenced in the twelfth century, +and one of the princes of Zaehringen, from whom the present Grand Duke +is descended, contributed largely to the vast expense; but it would +probably have been unfinished, like many similar grand structures, if +the people of Freiburg had not taxed themselves to the utmost, and made +great sacrifices to insure its completion. The spire is of beautiful +fret-work, nearly four hundred feet high. The interior is grand, and +something about it gives the beholder a peculiar feeling of +solemnity--perhaps the thought that men have worshipped there for six +hundred years. It contains some choice paintings, which are carefully +cherished as the productions of the old masters. A glance at the +university, the Kaufhaus, the statue of Schwarz, the inventor of +gunpowder, and a walk around the _Schlossberg_, or Castle Hill, which +commands a splendid view of the Black Forest Mountains, exhausted the +place, and at the time appointed the party reassembled at the railroad +station, where Mr. Arbuckle had gathered together half a dozen +diligences, in which the company were to proceed to Schaffhausen, in +Switzerland. He knew how much interest the story-readers feel in the +Black Forest, and as the party had already visited Basle, he proposed +to take his charge across the country, which would enable them to see +some of the finest mountain scenery in Germany, and more of the manners +and customs of the people than could be observed in the large towns on +the railroad. He had already sent forward his courier to make +preparations for the accommodation of his party. + +Two days were to be occupied in reaching the Rhine. The first part of +the journey was over a level plain highly cultivated. The road soon +begins to ascend; and this locality is called _Himmelreich_, or Heaven, +to distinguish it by contrast from the _Hoellenthal_, or Valley of Hell, +a deep and romantic gorge which lies beyond. The students enjoyed the +scenery, and those who were disposed, walked for miles up the long +hills, to the great satisfaction of the driver. The students of the +German language had abundant opportunities to practise their gutturals, +and none but sufferers know what a pleasure it is to have a genuine +native understand their sentences. + +The pedestrians made brief halts at the water-mills, houses, and fields +on the way, and were invariably treated with the utmost kindness and +consideration. "_Bitte, geben sie mir ein Glas Wasser_," was repeated +so many times that all understood it. The fact that they were Americans +insured them a warm welcome, and many an inquiry was made for "_meinem +Sohn_ in Amerika." The "walkists" enjoyed this intercourse with the +people so much that they walked till they were unnecessarily fatigued. + +"_Bitte, geben sie mir Geld_," said a German, stepping up to the +carriage which contained Dr. Winstock, and those who were so careful to +keep near him. + +He was a young man, with a big pipe in his mouth, a big stick in his +hand, and a big knapsack on his back. He was pretty well dressed, and +was in company with three others, who asked for money in like manner of +different persons of the party. The doctor asked him a few questions, +and then gave him two or three kreutzers, which he accepted with many +thanks. + +"Those are very respectable beggars," said Paul, as the man left the +diligence. + +"They are not beggars, but _handwerksburschen_." + +"What are they?" + +"Travelling journeymen. No apprentice can obtain his freedom, and be +competent to set up in business for himself, till he has spent several +years in travelling, and in working at his trade in foreign countries. +This is to increase his knowledge and his skill, and you will see +hundreds of them on the roads all over Germany. They become, under this +system, very skilful workmen, for they learn the various methods of +work in different countries. They often understood two or three +languages besides their own. They keep a kind of diary of their travels +in a book furnished to them by the trade-society to which they belong, +in which also their employers write testimonials of their good conduct. +It is often the case that they cannot obtain work, and are compelled to +ask charity on the roads. It is a hard life to lead, but it produces +skilful mechanics." + +"What was that man's trade?" asked Grace. + +"He is a baker." + +At a solitary inn in Steig the party found a dinner ready for them, +consisting mainly of trout, which were very nice. From this point the +road went up a steep hill, which required an extra horse to each +diligence, though most of the boys walked up. At Neustadt, a town of +fifteen hundred inhabitants, vast numbers of wooden clocks are +manufactured, and the raising of singing birds is a common occupation. +Just before sunset the excursionists arrived at Donaueschingen, where +they were to spend the night. The place contains about three thousand +inhabitants, and is the residence of Prince Fuerstenberg, who was one of +the mediatized sovereigns--his territory having by treaty been assigned +to Baden. + +A walk to his palace was immediately taken by the tourists. It is a +plain modern edifice, with an extensive garden, which the travellers +were permitted to visit. In one corner a circular basin was pointed out +to them by their guide. The water, clear as crystal, bubbled up from a +spring in the bottom, and was conveyed from the basin, by an +underground tunnel, into the Briegach, a stream which flows down from +the mountains. + +"This spring is said to be the source of the Danube," said Dr. +Winstock. "From this point the stream takes the name of Danube, though +that into which it flows comes from miles away." + +"'Large streams from little fountains flow,'" replied Paul. + +"Yes; and from a great many of them," added the surgeon. "The country +in this vicinity is like a sponge, it is so full of springs, which feed +the great river. The Neckar rises a few miles north of us. We are, +therefore, on the summit of the water-shed of Europe; for of two drops +of rain which fall side by side near us, one may find its way into the +Danube, and be carried down to the Black Sea, while the other, by the +Neckar and the Rhine, may reach the North Sea." + +The students wandered about the town till it was too dark to see +anything, and most of them were tired enough to sleep, even under the +feather beds which the Germans insist upon using as a coverlet. In the +morning the journey was renewed in the diligences. The scenery was +still very fine, and from the top of a high hill called the Rande, the +students obtained a splendid view of the mountains of Switzerland, of +the broad expanse of Lake Constance, and the towers of the city. +Descending the long hill, the tourists entered Switzerland, and at five +o'clock were set down at the Schweitzer Hof in Schaffhausen, near the +falls. + +The students had been riding so long that they were glad to be at +liberty again, and hastened into the hotel gardens, which extend down +to the river. It was rather late to visit the falls, and the company +were piped together around a kind of kiosk, in which Professor Mapps +presented himself. + +"Do not be alarmed, young gentlemen," said the instructor, good-naturedly. +"I will not detain you long, but I am reminded that I have not given +you the Rhine in detail. Here on its banks, and in sight of its +grandest cataract, I will say a few words to you about it. The river +rises in two small lakes in the mountains near St. Gothard, seventy-five +hundred feet above the sea. It descends four thousand feet in going +twelve miles. Fifty miles from its source, at Reicherau, it is two +hundred and fifty feet wide, and becomes navigable for river boats. Its +volume of waters is continually increased by the flow from its +branches, till it discharges itself into Lake Constance, which may be +regarded as a widening of the river. + +[Illustration: THE ADVENTURE ON LAKE CONSTANCE.--Page 227.] + +"The lake is forty-four miles long and nine miles wide. Its greatest +depth is nine hundred and sixty-four feet. Its waters are dark-green in +color, and very clear. Twenty-five different kinds of fish are +mentioned as caught in the lake. It is navigated by steamers, eight or +ten of which ply between the various ports, and carry on considerable +commerce. It is thirteen hundred and forty-four feet above the level of +the sea. + +"The Rhine issues from the lake at Constance, and flowing a few miles +westward, again expands into the Unter See, which is thirty feet lower +than the upper lake. It gradually contracts till the stream is about +three hundred feet wide at this point. Steamers formerly ran from +Constance to Schaffhausen; but since the completion of the railroad +they have discontinued their trips. The falls which you see, and will +visit on Monday morning, are seventy feet high. Below the cataract the +river is navigable for boats without obstacles as far as Laufenburg, +where its width is reduced to fifty feet, and its waters rush down a +series of rapids. Here boats ascend and descend by the aid of ropes, +after their cargoes have been discharged. At this place the young Lord +Montague, the last male of his line, was drowned while his boat was +descending the rapids in this manner. On the same day his family +mansion in England was destroyed by fire. From this point to Basle the +fall is only fifty feet. + +"From Basle to Mayence, a distance of two hundred miles, the Rhine +flows in a northerly direction. The current is very swift as far as +Strasburg, to which place it is navigable for vessels of one hundred +tons, though they are "tracked" by horses on the upward passage. The +bed of the river is wide in this part, and contains numerous islands. +At Mayence the course of the river changes to west, and again at Bingen +to the north-west, where the mountains again force it into a narrow +channel; and for fifty miles the stream flows through a beautiful +region, where the hills extend to its very banks, and many of their +summits are crowned with old castles. Below Cologne, the Rhine runs +through a low and flat country. The lower part of the river I have +already described in Holland." + +The professor finished his brief lecture, and the party spent the rest +of the day in wandering about the garden, and in watching the flow of +the mighty river, as it tumbled over the precipice. The next day was +Sunday, and the excursionists attended church at the town three miles +distant. On Monday morning the tourists crossed the bridge, and +hastened to the garden of the Castle of Laufen, where were platforms, +stagings and kiosks, for the convenience of visitors, which afford the +best views of the cataract. One of these balconies projects out over +the fall, and the party gathered on this, and beclouded with mist and +spray, gazed at the wild rush of waters. Two rocks on the precipice +separate the cataract into three divisions. Below is a semi-circular +basin, whose waters are lashed into a heavy sea by the plunging torrent +which falls into it. Boats ply between the foot of the rock on which +the Castle of Laufen stands and a square tower on the opposite shore. +These light craft make heavy weather of it, but with ordinary caution +they are safe enough. + +There was nothing else to see at Schaffhausen, and the excursionists +took the train for Constance. The last portion of the trip was on the +banks of the Unter See, separated from the main body of the lake by a +peninsula. The ride was less than two hours, and the party reached the +"Goldener Adler" in time for dinner. Most of the Swiss hotels serve two +or three dinners, _table d'hote_, every day, the first being at one, +and the last at five o'clock, the prices of which are from three to +five francs. + +"Young gentlemen, in what country is Constance?" asked Professor Mapps, +when the party had assembled to visit the objects of interest in the +town. + +"In Switzerland." + +"No." + +"We certainly crossed the Rhine on an iron bridge, when we came into +the place," replied one of the students. + +"That is very true, but Constance belongs to the Grand Duchy of Baden. +It was formerly a free city, but was annexed to Austria in 1549, and +ceded to Baden in 1805. It once had forty thousand inhabitants, but now +has only eight thousand. It is a very old city, as you may judge from +the buildings you have already seen, many of which are just as they +were four hundred years ago. The town is of great historical interest." + +"What was the Council of Constance, sir?" asked one of the students. + +"I will tell you when we visit the Kaufhaus," replied the professor. + +Attended by several guides, the excursionists walked to the minster, a +Gothic structure founded in the eleventh century, but rebuilt in the +sixteenth. The guides indicated the spot where Huss stood when +sentenced to be burned to death. From this church the party went to the +Kaufhaus. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV. + +THE STORM ON LAKE CONSTANCE. + + +The Kaufhaus is situated near the border of the lake. It was built for +a warehouse in 1388. The party were conducted immediately to a large +room with wooden pillars. + +"This is the Kaufhaus, and this apartment is the one in which the +Council of Constance held its sessions," said Mr. Mapps. + +"What's a Kaufhaus?" asked one of the boys who did not study German. + +"What does _Kaufen_ mean?" + +"To buy." + +"Then it is a _buy_-house. It is a company's hall, like Goldsmiths' +Hall, Fishmongers', and others in London. The Council of Constance +assembled in 1414, and continued its sessions for three years and a +half. It was called to regulate the affairs of the Catholic Church, +especially in regard to the schism caused by some of the popes taking +up their abode in Avignon, France. Gregory XI. went from the residence +of his immediate predecessors to Rome in 1377, where he died the next +year. The Romans wanted a native of their own city to be pope. An +Italian--Urban VI.--was elected by the cardinals; but, as he was not a +Roman, there was much dissatisfaction. The French cardinals protested +against the election, and created Robert of Geneva pope, under the +title of Clement VII., who established himself at Avignon. Urban had +three successors, the last of whom was Gregory XII. The Avignon pope +was followed by Benedict XIII., who maintained his claim to the papal +chair till his death in 1424. + +"There were two popes: the church was divided, and in doubt as to which +was the rightful successor of St. Peter. Gregory declared, at his +accession, that he would resign if Benedict at Avignon would do the +same. An attempt was made to get rid of both of them, so that they +could agree upon a third. The Council of Pisa deposed both, and elected +Alexander V. Benedict refused to vacate his chair; and Gregory retained +his position because his rival refused to compromise. Instead of +getting rid of one, the church had now three popes who claimed the +chair. Alexander died in 1410; and his successor, John XXIII., called +the Council of Constance. It was not a meeting of bishops merely, but +was attended by cardinals, archbishops, ambassadors of kings, knights, +and delegates from universities. John presided at the first session, +and was invited to resign the pontifical office. He promised to do so +if Gregory and Benedict would do the same; but the next night he fled +secretly to Schaffhausen, and from thence to Freiburg. After much +trouble, negotiations were opened with him, and he resigned his office. +He was afterwards thrown into prison with Huss. Gregory was a good man, +and gave the council no trouble, and for the sake of peace yielded up +his high office. But Benedict was obdurate to the end, claiming to be +pope, even after all his followers had forsaken him. The council +attempted to make terms with him; but when he refused to yield, it +condemned and deposed him, electing Martin V. to the papal chair. + +"The council also gave its attention to the heresy of Wycliffe, whose +doctrines it condemned, commanding that his books should be burned, and +decreeing that his remains should be disinterred and burned. Huss was +condemned to the stake; and his disciple, Jerome of Prague, having +retracted his anti-Catholic doctrines, and then relapsed, shared his +fate a year afterwards." + +In the hall are the chairs occupied, at the sittings of the council, by +the Emperor Sigismund and by the pope; a model of the dungeon in which +Huss was confined, with the real door and other parts which had been +preserved, and the car on which the reformer was drawn to the place of +execution. The house in which he lodged is pointed out in one of the +streets. The field wherein he suffered, with the spot where the stake +stood, is shown to those who are curious enough to visit it. + +The students examined the quaint old buildings in the town with much +interest. In the middle of the afternoon, they embarked in the steamer +for Friedrichshafen. The weather had been warm and oppressive, for the +season, for the last two days; and there were strong indications of a +change. A barometer at the hotel in Constance indicated an unusual +depression. The students dreaded a storm of long continuance, they were +so impatient to see the wonders which were yet in store for them; and +the idea of being shut up in a small hotel, for two or three days, was +not pleasant in the anticipation, whatever it might prove to be in +reality. + +By the time the steamer was half way to her destination, the wind began +to come in fitful gusts, increasing in force, till the captain of the +steamer wore a rather anxious expression on his face. The young salts +laughed at the idea of a fresh-water tempest; and if anybody else was +alarmed, they were not. The steamer began to tumble about; but nothing +serious occurred, though some of the lady passengers were sea sick. +Others, who had never seen a storm at sea, were frightened, and +screamed every time the boat gave a heavy lurch. + +"Do you think there is any danger, Commodore Kendall," asked Grace, +thrilled by the cries of the females. + +"I don't see how there can be. If this boat is good for anything, she +ought to ride out one of these freshwater gales," replied Paul. + +"It is going to be a fearful storm." + +"I should think it would be, from the indications of the barometer." + +"Do you see that boat, Paul?" said Shuffles, pointing to one of the +Swiss small craft, which was laboring heavily in the billows. + +"She is making bad weather of it," added Paul, as he examined the +position of the storm-tossed craft. + +"The boatman don't seem to know what he is about," continued Shuffles, +who had for some time been studying the movements of the boat. "She +lowered her sail a while ago, and she seems to be rolling at the mercy +of the waves." + +The steamer was headed towards her, and the party on board of her soon +discovered that the boatman was trying to put a reef in his sail. +Besides himself, the boat contained a lady. + +"I suppose that is a Swiss boatman," said Shuffles. "If he is, he knows +no more about a boat than a mountaineer who never saw one." + +"That's so," added Paul, anxiously. + +"He has put her before the wind, and is trying to hoist his mainsail." + +A fierce gust struck the canvas, as he began to hoist it, carrying out +the boom, and whirling the boat up into the wind. Certainly the person +on board of her had pluck enough; for he stuck to the halyards, though +he was nearly jerked overboard by the sudden pitching and rolling of +the craft. Recovering the sheet which had run out into the water, he +took his place at the helm. He flattened down the sail, when the flaw +had spent its force, and headed his boat towards Friedrichshafen. The +next gust that struck the sail carried her down so that the water +poured in over her lee rail by the barrel. The lady screamed lustily; +and the tones of her voice indicated that she did not belong to the +Swiss peasantry. + +"Help! Help!" she shrieked; and her voice thrilled the souls of all on +board the steamer. + +"Cannot something be done?" cried Grace. + +"I don't see what can be done," replied Paul. + +"The boatman is a fool!" said Shuffles, impatiently. "Why don't he let +out his sheet, or luff her up?" + +"Can't you do something?" pleaded Grace, earnestly, as she clung to the +railing over the cabin ladder. + +"Help! Help!" shouted the boatman, in good English; and it was plain +that he was not a Swiss. + +Indeed, the lady and gentleman could now be seen plainly enough to +ascertain that they were English or American. Both of them were well +dressed, and both were quite young. + +"We can launch the steamer's boat, if the captain will let us," +suggested Paul. + +The wind threw the boat round at this moment, and the sail shook +violently in the blast. Then it filled again, and drove her directly +into the path of the steamer, which was now close aboard of her. + +"Stop her! Stop her!" shouted several persons, in French and German. + +The captain gave the order to stop the engine; but it was doubtful +whether it was given in season to save the unfortunate couple in the +boat. Paul and Shuffles rushed to the bow of the steamer, and the +latter climbed upon the rail just as the mast of the boat swayed over +against the stem. He seized it, and nimbly slid down into the craft. As +the steamer was running nearly against the wind, her headway was easily +checked by a turn or two of the wheels backward; though the boat bumped +pretty hard against the steamer once or twice. + +Shuffles evidently believed that skilful management alone could save +the sail-boat, and the lives of those who were in her. His mission, as +he understood it, was to supply this needed skill. The steamer had only +a single boat on deck, which was so dried up by the sun, that none of +the salt-water tars believed it would float. She had only a single pair +of oars, and it would be impossible to make any headway against the +gale in it. The captain declared that he could only save the imperilled +voyagers by running alongside their boat, and taking them out of it: he +could do nothing by sending his jolly-boat after them. + +By excellent good fortune, the steamer was checked at the right moment; +though Shuffles supposed the boat would be stove, and he only got into +her for the purpose of assisting the young lady. The captain backed his +vessel so that she left the craft alone again. But the bold commander +of the Young America was not dismayed by the situation. He instantly +let go the halyards, and secured the sail as it came down. He glanced +at the trembling lady, who crouched in the stern to save her head from +the threshing of the boom. Grasping one of the oars, he pulled the boat +around till she lay head to the wind. She was almost water-logged, and +he saw that it was necessary to relieve her of some of this extra +weight before she could be manageable. + +"Won't they save us?" gasped the lady, glancing at the steamer, which +was drifting rapidly away from them. + +"Don't be alarmed, miss," said Shuffles, as he seized a kind of tub +which was filled with fish-lines and other angling gear. + +"What shall I do?" asked the young man, whose pluck had by this time +become quite exhausted in his vain battle with the elements. + +"Can you pull an oar?" demanded Shuffles, rather sharply, of the clumsy +boatman. + +"I can." + +"Take this one, then, and keep her head as it is now." + +The young man took the oar, and pulled as he was directed; and Shuffles +went to work vigorously with the tub, in throwing out the water. He +labored so diligently and effectually, that in a few moments he had +relieved the boat of the great burden of water within her. While he did +so, he gave the young man such directions as enabled him to keep the +craft poised with her head to the fierce gusts that beat upon her. In +this position she rose and fell on the great billows, and shipped very +little water. The steamer had started her wheels again; but while she +did not venture very near the boat, she lay by to render assistance if +the latter were swamped. The lady, finding that the frail craft, under +her present management, behaved very well, sorely as she was tried by +the tempest, was encouraged. + +"Can I do anything?" she asked, in soft notes, though they were still +shaken by her fears. + +"No, miss: if you will only keep perfectly still, I can take care of +her." + +"Here is a basin," said she, holding up the implement. "Shall I throw +the water out of her?" + +"If you please," answered Shuffles, willing to encourage her; for even +the belief that one is doing some good, in an emergency, assists in +quieting one's fears. + +She went to work with a zeal which indicated a strong will, and if she +did not accomplish as much as she wished to do, it was only because the +uneasy tossing of the boat defeated her good intentions. + +"Steady!" said Shuffles, to the young man at the oar. "You heave her +round so that she will take the wind on the other hand. Now pull away +with all your might!" he added, as the boat began to fall off. + +"Are we going to stay here all night?" asked the other, who was nearly +exhausted by the violence of his efforts to keep her head up to the +blast. + +"No, no!" replied Shuffles, impatiently, as he put out the other oar, +and assisted his companion, when the boat was in danger of catching the +wind on her beam. "I will get sail on her in a few moments." + +In the lull of the blast, the young commander overhauled the sail, and +corrected the non-nautical reefing of his companion. + +"Now, mind your eye!" shouted Shuffles, as he grasped the halyards. + +"What shall I do?" + +"Pull away!" + +"I'm losing my wind," gasped the sufferer, who had really struggled +with the oar till his exertions and excitement had nearly disabled him. + +"Pull away for half a minute more," replied Shuffles, as he ran up the +main-sail, which beat and thrashed fearfully in the gale. + +Having secured the halyards, the new skipper sprang to the helm, and +seized the main sheet. Placing the lady on the weather side, he seated +himself on the rail, with the sheet in his right hand, and the tiller +in his left. + +"Now let her go it!" he shouted to the young man. "Jump up to windward, +and keep your weather eye open!" + +The weary oarsman was glad to be relieved from his exhausting task, and +promptly obeyed the order. Shuffles had put two reefs in the sail; but +without the most skilful handling, the boat could not carry even this +short canvas in such a fierce tempest. It was not such a sea as rages +in a storm upon the ocean, but it was altogether too rough for any +ordinary boat. It was not a long, bounding, rolling billow, but a +short, angry wave, that tried the timbers of the Swiss boat. As soon as +the rower ceased his occupation, the head of the craft fell off, the +sail filled, and she careened down to the gunwale. + +"We shall certainly tip over!" gasped the lady, clinging to the rail. + +"Don't be afraid, miss. This boat behaves very handsomely, and is stiff +enough to weather a gale," added Shuffles, confidently, as the little +vessel leaped upon one of the snappy, snarling billows, and then +plunged down into the trough of the sea. + +"I never was terrified in a boat before," said she, shaking with alarm. + +"It is a heavy storm, and not just the weather for a lady to be out in. +Don't be frightened, miss. The boat is doing very well under her double +reefs, and she will weather it, if you only believe in her." + +There came another tremendous gust, which seemed to strike the boat +like a blow from an immense sledgehammer; and she bent down under it +till her rail was buried in the foaming waters. Shuffles "touched her +up" a little, and let out the sheet till the sail shook in the blast. +The boat righted, and for a moment had a partial respite from the +savage pounding of the tempest. The young man, who clung to the weather +rail with a tenacity which indicated that he had not yet recovered his +self-possession, glanced ahead, and then at the steamer, whose course +now diverged from that of the sail-boat, and the two craft were +increasing their distance from each other. + +"We wish to go to Friedrichshafen," said he, apparently troubled by the +discovery he had made. + +"So do I," replied Shuffles, quietly, without taking his eye from the +sail. + +"This will not bring us there," added the ex-skipper. + +"Any port in a storm," said the gallant helmsman. "If I let the boat +fall off enough to lay a course for Friedrichshafen, she will fill in +the twinkling of an eye." + +"I don't see why she should," added the young man, evidently not +satisfied with the action of the new skipper. + +"I think you ought to see it, after you have half filled the boat +yourself on that tack. Don't you understand that it would throw the +boat into the trough of the sea, and make her roll? Look at that +steamer. I am not sure that she will not be obliged to throw her head +up into it, and lay too for a while." + +"Pray do just as you think best, sir," interposed the lady. + +"That is what I intend to do, miss. Really there is only one thing you +can do when it blows like this--keep her head up to it." + +Again it was necessary for Shuffles to use all his skill and strength, +as the heavy gusts were repeated, to prevent the boat from filling. +Easing off the sheet, and crowding her up into the wind, the boat +weathered another shock, and then had another brief respite. The spray +dashed in the fierce blast like hailstones into the face and eyes of +the intrepid captain, and he was nearly blinded by the charge. His +hands were full, holding the tiller and the sheet. Securing the latter +with his knee, he tried to take his handkerchief from his pocket, to +wipe the water from his eyes. But a jerk of the boat compelled him to +grasp the helm suddenly, and the wind carried away the handkerchief +like a feather. + +"My eyes are full of spray," said he, without even glancing at the +flight of the lost article. + +"You have lost your handkerchief," replied the young lady, tenderly. +"Pray take mine." + +"I am obliged to use both hands. May I trouble you to wipe the water +from my eyes? I can hardly see, I am so blinded." + +The young lady promptly complied with the request, and holding on to +the rail with her left hand, she wiped the water from the captain's +eyes. + +"Thank you," said he, greatly relieved by the act. + +"Let me change seats with you, Feodora," interposed the young man. +"Perhaps I may be able to assist in working the boat." + +"Sit still! Don't move!" shouted Shuffles, sternly. + +"I only wish to help you," replied the other. + +"You will help me most by keeping entirely still," answered Shuffles, +as another fierce blast struck the sail, and required the skipper's +whole attention. Again the cutting spray blinded him, though, as any +other skilful boatman can, he was able to comprehend by the feeling the +motion of the boat. + +"Shall I wipe your eyes again?" asked the young lady. + +"If you please." + +Gently, her eyes beaming with interest and sympathy, the lady wiped the +drops of water from his eyes. Though her companion said nothing, he did +not seem to regard the operation with much favor. Very likely he +thought it was quite unnecessary to wipe the skipper's eyes at every +fresh gust. Again he proposed to change places with her; but Shuffles +peremptorily forbade the movement, either because he thought the young +lady could wipe his eyes better than the young man, or because he was +afraid some accident would happen in making the change. + +The storm rather increased than diminished in violence, and for an hour +Shuffles held on his course. The steamer had gone into Friedrichshafen, +though she had been obliged, in some of the fiercest blasts, to throw +her head up into the wind, and hold on till its fierceness subsided a +little. After every gust, the young lady wiped the eyes of her gallant +preserver, for as such she regarded him; and such he doubtless was, for +the boat would have gone to the bottom long before without his skilful +assistance. She soon learned to perform the kindly office without a +word, though the captain did not fail to thank her every time. + +The boat did not make rapid progress; by keeping her close-hauled, +continually easing off the sheet, and touching her up, she made +considerable lee way. At the end of two hours, and when it was +beginning to grow dark, Shuffles found himself nearing the shore on the +north side of the lake. He must either make a harbor or go about on the +other tack. It was impossible to land on the exposed shore, against +which the waves were beating in the madness of their fury. He was at +least ten miles above the port to which he and his passenger wished to +go. Directly ahead of him was a point of land, which projected out into +the lake. Beyond it there was an indentation in the shore, within which +he might possibly find a partial shelter from the fury of the storm. It +was doubtful whether he could weather the point; but he did not wish to +tack, and stand farther out into the lake. The night was coming on, and +all his skill and courage could not insure the safety of the boat in +the darkness and on unknown waters. + +Hauling in the sheet a little, he braced the craft sharp up, and +struggled with the elements to clear the headland. He looked anxiously +into the green waters for any shoals on the lee bow. Fortunately there +was no obstruction in his path, and the boat weathered the headland, +though without the fraction of a point to spare. Easing off the sheet, +he ran the boat into the bay, and in a few moments she was slightly +sheltered by the shore to the eastward. This friendly relief enabled +him to keep her away a little, and run for the head of the bay, where +he perceived an opening, which looked like the mouth of a river. + +No longer cramped by the helm and the sheet, the boat flew on her +course, and Shuffles presently satisfied himself that the opening he +saw was really the mouth of a stream. He realized that the battle had +been fought and won, but he said nothing to his fellow voyagers, who +were silent and anxious. On sped the boat, and as the waves became less +furious, he gave her more sheet, and she darted into the still waters +of the river, which was not more than a hundred feet wide, and with +banks high enough to afford perfect protection to the storm-shaken +craft. As she rushed into the quiet stream, Shuffles let go the sheet, +and the boat gradually lost her headway. Putting the helm down, he ran +her gently upon the shore, and the grating of her keel upon the +gravelly bank was sweet music to the ears of the voyagers. + +"You are all right now," said Shuffles, as he rose from his seat in the +stern sheets. + +Almost for the first time since he boarded the sailboat, he looked into +the face of the young lady. Her clothing was thoroughly drenched by the +spray, and her face was moist as though she were a mermaid just emerged +from the depths of the ocean. But even in her present plight Shuffles +saw that she was a very pretty girl. She was shivering with cold, and +it was necessary to do something for her comfort. + +"We are really safe," replied the lady, with a grateful smile. "We owe +our lives to you, sir." + +"We are exceedingly grateful to you for your service," added the young +man. + +"I am very glad to have had an opportunity to serve you," replied +Shuffles, addressing his words to the young lady. + +"I shall remember you, and be grateful to you as long as I live," +continued the lady, warmly, as she bestowed upon him an earnest look, +which a skilful observer would have interpreted as one of admiration. + +"But where are we?" asked the young man. + +"I don't know, except that we must be ten or a dozen miles to the +eastward of Friedrichshafen," answered Shuffles. + +"What shall we do?" asked his male companion. + +"There are probably houses not far distant. You had better go on shore, +and when you see one, let us know it." + +"Perhaps you would prefer to go," suggested the young man, glancing at +the lady. + +"Having worked hard in the boat, I prefer to rest a little while," +replied Shuffles. + +"Go, Sir William," added the lady, reproachfully. + +Sir William! Captain Shuffles was rather taken aback to find he had +been sending a young baronet to look for a house; but then he regarded +himself as the peer of any baronet, and he did not apologize. + +Sir William leaped over the bow of the boat to the shore, and climbed +up the bank. He cast a glance back at the companions of his voyage, and +then disappeared. + +"I think you must be a sailor, sir," said the young lady, when her +friend had gone. + +"I am, miss. I am; at least I ought to be, since I am the captain of a +ship." + +"A captain--and so young! O, I know what you are!" exclaimed she. "You +belong to the American Academy Ship." + +"I do." + +"But I did not see you at the emperor's ball in Paris." + +"No. I was absent on duty." + +"I had the pleasure of dancing with a captain on that occasion." + +"I was appointed on the first of this month," explained Shuffles. + +"I know your uniform very well; and I am glad to see you. I am sure you +are worthy of your high position." + +"Thank you, miss. You are very kind." + +"I should have been at the bottom of Lake Constance at this moment, if +you had been less gallant and skilful." + +"Perhaps not," replied Shuffles, wondering all the time who the young +lady was. + +The hail of Sir William from the bank above interrupted the +conversation. The boat had grounded a rod from the bank of the stream, +and Shuffles gallantly bore the fair passenger to the shore in his +arms. Assisting her up the bank, the party soon reached a cottage a +short distance from the mouth of the river. The young nobleman +imperiously ordered great fires and refreshments. He spoke German +fluently, and his commands were promptly obeyed. The rain now poured +down in floods, and the party congratulated themselves upon escaping +this added discomfort. + + + + +CHAPTER XV. + +LADY FEODORA AND SIR WILLIAM. + + +Hour after hour the storm-beaten party sat before a blazing fire in the +cottage of the German peasant. Their clothing was dry, and they were +quite comfortable. The only thing that disturbed them was the anxiety +of their friends at Friedrichshafen. Possibly something else disturbed +the young baronet, for the lady, ingenuous enough to talk and act as +she felt, seemed to be delighted with her gallant preserver. After they +entered the house, Shuffles heard Sir William call her Lady Feodora. +She also belonged to the nobility, and he soon learned that she was the +youngest daughter of the Earl of Blankville. Sir William's father was +dead, and though only eighteen, he was a baronet. They were travelling +with their friends. + +Lady Feodora declared that she adored sailors, and Sir William was +afraid she spoke only the truth. They had been affianced by their +parents; but the young lady did not seem to feel a very deep interest +in the baronet; and on the other hand, she did seem to feel a deep +interest in the commander of the Young America. His courage, skill, and +energy had made a deep impression upon her; and the signal service he +had rendered called forth all her gratitude. She was only sixteen, and +perhaps had not judgment enough to see that it was perilous to cast +pleasant glances at a young American tar, and might disturb the +calculations of her prudent parents. + +The wind howled, and the rain poured all night long; but the party were +in comfortable circumstances. They were too thankful to have escaped +the perils of the storm to complain of the rudeness of their quarters. +It was not possible to go to their friends either by water or by land, +till the tempest had abated, and they were disposed to make the best of +their situation. + +"I was not aware that they had such heavy storms on these fresh-water +lakes," said Shuffles, after they had partaken of the simple fare set +before them by their host. + +"Nor I," replied Lady Feodora. "If I had, I should not have gone so far +in an open boat. We went across the lake to Romanshorn, but Sir William +said he knew all about a boat." + +"So I do, under ordinary circumstances," replied the baronet, rather +nettled at the implied censure. + +"It was a very savage storm," added Shuffles. + +"I never saw anything like it, even in the Channel," said Feodora. "But +you seemed to handle the boat just as easily as though the wind came +only in zephyrs." + +She bestowed another glance of admiration upon the modest tar, who +explained that he had always been used to boats from his childhood, and +he felt more at home on the deck of a ship than he did in the parlor of +his father's house. They talked of the perils of the day till midnight. +A bed had been provided for the lady, but the two young gentlemen lay +on the floor before the fire. In the morning the clouds broke away, and +the sun rose bright and clear. The calm that follows the storm +prevailed upon the lake. The party ate their simple breakfast, and Sir +William paid liberally for their accommodations at the cottage. + +The manner of reaching Friedrichshafen was thoroughly discussed. They +could go to Lindau, and take the steamer, or proceed in the sail-boat. +Sir William proposed to take Feodora with him, while Shuffles sailed +the boat back alone. The lady protested. She was not afraid to sail +back in the boat, if the captain would manage it; and this arrangement +was finally agreed upon, though the baronet was not at all pleased with +it. They embarked, and a little breeze came to their aid; but it was +eleven o'clock when they reached their destination. + +"I do not know at what hotel our ship's company is stopping," said +Shuffles, as they landed. + +"My friends are at the Deutschen Haus; and you must come there with +us," replied Lady Feodora. "My father and mother are there, and they +will be delighted to see you." + +"Perhaps our people are there," added Shuffles. + +They walked to the hotel named, and found that the American party was +there. As they approached the house, an elderly lady and gentleman +rushed down from the veranda, and grasped Feodora in their arms at the +same moment. They were her parents, and wept tears of joy over her safe +return. + +"We thought you were lost," said the fond mother. + +"I have sent boats in every direction to look for you," added the +father. "Mr. Lowington, the principal of the Marine Academy, who is +here with his students, assured me you were safe." + +"I am safe, father, thanks to Captain Shuffles," replied Feodora, +turning to the young commander. + +"His Lordship, the Earl of Blankville," interposed Sir William, +introducing the hero of the day. + +The gentleman grasped the hand of Shuffles, and expressed his gratitude +in the warmest terms. + +"We have heard part of the story, and we watched the boat till it +disappeared in the distance," added his lordship. "It was a terrible +hour for us all." + +"Worse than death," sighed the countess, as she pressed her daughter to +her heart again. + +"Mr. Lowington assured us that the young man who had so daringly thrown +himself into the boat would certainly take her to the shore. But we +could only hope, rather than believe." + +"It was a heavy blow," said Shuffles. + +"It was fearful!" exclaimed the earl, with a shudder, as he thought of +the anxiety and terror they had endured. "I owe you an everlasting debt +of gratitude." + +"I only did what the occasion seemed to require of me, and I am as +thankful as any one can be, that I succeeded in getting the boat to the +shore," answered Shuffles. + +"It was remarkably fortunate that you were at hand, for I don't believe +there is another person on the continent of Europe who could have +managed the matter so cleverly." + +"Really, I think your lordship over-estimates my services." + +By this time Mr. Lowington and the young America's party came out to +welcome Shuffles. They astonished him by giving three rousing cheers, +and the captain was again on the top of the wave of popularity. Mr. +Lowington said he was satisfied, at the time of it, that he would take +the boat to the shore, and save both of his passengers, so great was +his confidence in Shuffles. The earl acknowledged that his prediction +had been fully verified. + +"You had a rough time, Shuffles," said the principal. + +"Rather, sir;" and the affair was discussed at length. + +"We have seen the town; but we cannot leave by train for Ulm till two +this afternoon. If there is anything here you wish to see, you must +improve your time," added Mr. Lowington. + +"What is there to be seen?" + +"Nothing but the Chateau of the King of Wuertemberg, and some old +buildings. But Mr. Mapps is about to give a lecture, from which you +shall be excused if you desire it." + +"No, sir; I think I will hear the lecture," replied the captain, as he +followed the principal into the coffee-room, where all the students had +collected. + +Lord Blankville's party had been informed of the lecture, and desired +to attend. Shuffles had hardly seated himself when they entered the +room. Lady Feodora had hastily made her toilet; but she looked like a +queen, and the captain could hardly believe she was the same person. +Those who had attended the emperor's ball in Paris recognized her, and +paid their respects. Ben Duncan declared she was as "stunning" as when +she wore her white ball-dress. Shuffles gave her a seat, and had the +courage to take one by her side, before Sir William could secure the +enviable position. + +"Wuertemberg is a kingdom belonging to the Germanic Confederation," the +professor began. "It has an area of about seventy-eight hundred square +miles, varying but a few miles from that of the State of Massachusetts. +It has a population of one million seven hundred thousand, which during +the last ten years has diminished on account of the large emigration to +the United States. The government is an hereditary monarchy, and, like +so many English stock companies, 'limited.' Freedom of person and +property, liberty of speech, and liberty of conscience, are guaranteed +by the constitution; but liberty of the press, like the monarchy and +the stock companies, is also 'limited.' The legislature is composed of +two houses, the higher one being made up of princes and nobles. The +present king is Charles I., whose wife is the daughter of Czar Nicholas +I. of Russia. The royal family is quite numerous in its various +branches, and is connected by marriage with many of the royal houses of +Europe. The former Duchy of Wuertemberg was made a kingdom in 1806, by +Napoleon, after having been enlarged by the annexation of several +smaller states. Stuttgart, the capital, is also the largest town, +containing a population of fifty thousand. I close this lecture, which +I think has not been a very tedious one, with this remarkable fact: In +1840 there was not to be found an individual in the kingdom, above the +age of ten years, who could not read and write." + +"Is that all?" asked Lady Feodora. + +"That's all this time; but sometimes we have to take it for a couple of +hours," laughed Shuffles. + +"I'm sure I wish he had said more. What do you do now?" + +"We go to Ulm at two this afternoon. After that we go to Stuttgart, +Carlsruhe, Baden, and then down the Rhine." + +"We must go with them, pa," added she, turning to the earl. + +"We shall be ready to go to Ulm this afternoon in the same train," +replied her father. + +"I am delighted!" exclaimed Feodora. "I hope we shall go with you down +the Rhine." + +Sir William, for some reason or other, did not hope so. In fact, he was +rather dumpy and morose. + +"Possibly you will," suggested Shuffles. + +"What a happy life you must lead, captain!" + +"Perhaps you would not think so, if you were at sea with us, when we +have to stand watch in the night and the storm, whether it blows high +or blows low." + +"But you are the captain." + +"I was a seaman. It is nearly an hour till dinner time; and I think I +shall take a run down to the Chateau of the king. Of course you have +been there," said the captain, suggestively. + +"I have, but I should be delighted to go again." + +A carriage was called by the earl. It had seats for only four, and +Feodora's father and mother had decided to go. So had Sir William; but +his lordship hinted that, as the baronet had already visited the +Chateau, he might stay at the hotel and play with her ladyship's poodle +dog. It would require too much space to narrate all that was said and +done on this little excursion; but the two young people were very much +pleased with the Chateau, after and very pleased with each other, +probably more pleased with each other than with the Chateau, though the +latter was a very beautiful place, as it ought to be for the summer +residence of a king. Captain Shuffles handed the noble young lady out +and in the carriage, handed her up various steps, into various grottos; +indeed, he handed her up and down everything that would afford him any +excuse for offering his assistance. Lady Feodora certainly appreciated +his kindness, and rewarded him with many a smile. + +They returned to the hotel; and though the noble party were in the +habit of dining at the aristocratic hour of six, they took places at +the _table d'hote_ with the republicans. The party hastened to the +railroad station after dinner, and at the appointed hour, were on their +way to Ulm. The compartment in which Dr. Winstock, Paul, and the +Arbuckles rode, contained one less than usual, for Captain Shuffles--not +entirely to the satisfaction of Sir William--occupied a place with the +party of the earl. The railway carriages in Germany are generally built +with a first-class compartment at one end, while the rest of the space +is devoted to the second-class passengers. The former is very +luxuriously furnished, the seats having stuffed arms and backs, with a +table between the two rows of seats, while the latter has about the +same arrangement as is found in the ordinary cars in the United States. + +"We have lost our good friend Captain Shuffles," said Grace, with a +pleasant smile. + +"Perhaps our loss is his gain," added Paul. + +"Lady Feodora is very pretty." + +"Very; and interesting, too." + +"I really pity her every time I look at Sir William." + +"Why?" asked Paul, curiously. + +"Because she is doomed by her parents to be his wife; and he is a +selfish, supercilious fellow, if he is a baronet." + +"Her parents seem to be very fond of her, and I am sure they will not +sacrifice her, if she don't like him." + +"There are a great many considerations of policy which influence these +great families," replied Grace. "She seems to like the captain much +better than she likes Sir William." + +"And I know that he likes her." + +"Let us hope for the best," said Grace, gayly, as she glanced out the +window at the fine mountain scenery. + +"How far is it to Ulm, Dr. Winstock?" asked Paul. + +"Fourteen miles," replied the surgeon, with a twinkle of the eye which +seemed to mean something. + +"Fourteen miles!" exclaimed Paul, glancing at his watch. "Why, we ought +to be nearly there by this time, then." + +"The German trains rarely go more than four miles an hour." + +"Why, that's no faster than a smart boy can walk." + +"Rather, I think." + +"You are joking, doctor." + +"I never was more serious in my life. This train is not going more than +four miles an hour." + +"I should say it was going at the rate of twenty." + +"I am afraid you have not read your guide-book since you came into +Germany," laughed the doctor. "Perhaps it has not occurred to you that +a German mile is equal to about four and two thirds English miles." + +"I didn't think of that." + +"It is sixty-four and a half English miles from the point where we +started to Ulm; and the time is over three hours. We shall arrive there +at half past five," continued Dr. Winstock. + +"I thank you for setting me right," replied Paul. "I have been bothered +with the German money." + +"I have a copy of the last issue of Harper's Hand Book for Travellers, +which I obtained in Paris. It is a capital work for the tourist, for it +does not compel him to carry a whole library of guide-books, and is +complete enough for ordinary purposes," said Dr. Winstock, taking the +neat little volume from his bag. "In connection with each country, you +will find the value of its money in United States currency, and the +names and value of the several coins in use. In the Prussian states, +values are reckoned in _thalers_ and _silver groschen_. A _thaler_ is +about seventy-three cents. A _silver groschen_, of which thirty make a +_thaler_, is worth two and two fifths cents." + +"What's a _florin_?" + +"A _florin_ of Baden, Wuertemberg, &c, is forty cents; but a _florin_ in +Austria is forty-nine cents. The former has sixty _kreutzers_, of two +thirds of a cent each, the latter one hundred, of about half a cent +each. In Prussian Germany, twelve _pfennings_ make a _silver groschen_. +Five pfennings, therefore, are about equal to a cent. Of course these +values vary with the rates of exchange, and even in the different +countries where the currency is used." + +It was dark when the train arrived at Ulm, though the tourists obtained +an obscure view of the Danube, on which the city is located. After +supper, Professor Mapps gave a brief account of the place to the +students. It is a fortress and frontier city of Wuertemberg, on the +right bank of the Danube, and has twenty-five thousand inhabitants. It +is largely engaged in linen manufactures, and snails are fattened in +the surrounding region, and sent into Austria and other countries, +where they are highly esteemed as an article of food. For three +centuries the town was an imperial free city, and one of the most +thriving in Germany. It is noted in modern times for the disgraceful +capitulation of General Mack, in 1805, who surrendered thirty thousand +men and sixty guns to the French. + +The party slept at the Kronprinz Hotel, and the next day, after a +glance at the minster,--which is ranked among the six finest Gothic +cathedrals in Germany, and is now a Protestant church,--the +excursionists resumed their journey, arriving at Stuttgart in two hours +and a half. This city is on the Neckar, and is situated in the midst of +a beautiful country, the slopes of whose hills are studded with +vineyards. The party, having no time to spare, immediately devoted +themselves to the business of sight-seeing, hastening first to the +palace of the king, said to contain as many rooms as there are days in +the year, though our arithmeticians did not count them. It is a grand +edifice, with a tremendous gilt crown over the chief entrance, so that +strangers in the city cannot possibly mistake the royal character of +the building. + +Only a few of the numerous apartments were visited, which contained +some fine pictures by German artists, and sculpture by Thorwaldsen. The +palace may be said to be in both town and country; for while the front +opens upon the grand square of the city, the rear faces an extensive +park, which reaches far out into the rural region. The king's stables, +containing the finest Arabian horses in Germany, were visited by a +portion of the party. The public library next claimed attention. Its +catalogue of three hundred thousand volumes includes over three +thousand manuscripts, half of which are very rare and valuable. The +collection of Bibles, amounting to eighty-five hundred in number, and +in sixty different languages, is doubtless the most extensive in the +world. The museums of the fine arts and of natural history used up the +rest of the day. + +The next place to be visited was Carlsruhe, the capital of the Grand +Duchy of Baden. It was only a three hours' ride from Stuttgart, and, as +the trains connected, the principal decided to proceed at six o'clock +in the evening, for he could not otherwise reach his destination till +noon the next day. The earl's party had taken apartments at the Hotel +Marquardt for the night, and Shuffles sent word to them that he was +about to leave. He was invited to the elegant parlor occupied by his +lordship, where he proceeded at once to take leave of Lady Feodora. + +"Probably we shall never meet again," said he. "If we--" + +"Pray, don't say that, Captain Shuffles," interrupted she, with an +expression even more sad than that which the young captain wore. "I +hope we may meet many times yet." + +"We may, but it is not probable that we shall," added Shuffles. "After +remaining a week or ten days longer in Germany, we shall go to Brest, +and from there sail for the United States." + +"But your ship crosses the ocean again next spring, I think I heard the +principal say," interposed the earl. + +"Very true; but I may not come in her--I don't know." + +"I will not believe we are not to meet again. You must come to England +and visit us at Blankville. We shall all be delighted to see you." + +All except Sir William. + +"I hope I shall have the pleasure of meeting you again. If I do not, I +shall remember the hours I have spent with you as the pleasantest of my +life," continued Shuffles. + +"But I am not going to think of such a thing as not seeing you again," +persisted Lady Feodora. "I shudder every time I recall the +circumstances under which we met. But for your daring courage and your +wonderful skill, both Sir William and myself would have been drowned." + +The young baronet looked as though the actual situation was not much +improvement upon the possible one suggested by his affianced, if he was +to be "cut out" in this extraordinary manner. + +"You over-estimate the value of my services; but however you regard +them, I shall always rejoice that I was able to serve you. I must leave +now." + +"But we shall meet again, and very soon, too," said Lady Feodora, as +she extended her hand to the young officer. + +The other members of the party each in turn took him by the hand. The +earl and his lady manifested a warm interest in the young hero, and +seconded the wish of their daughter that they might meet again. + +"I am really sorry you are going," said Sir William; but it is doubtful +whether he was as sincere as his friends. "Couldn't you contrive it +some way so as to drop in upon us at Blankville? It would really be a +very great pleasure--it would, upon my honor." + +"I am afraid it will be impossible," replied Shuffles, as he bowed +himself out of the apartment. + +Perhaps Sir William was the only happy person in that group, for there +was no doubt that he was glad to get rid of the troublesome hero. + +The ship's company took the train at the appointed time, and by ten +o'clock were in their rooms at the Hotel Erbprinz, in the capital of +the Grand Duchy of Baden. As soon as it was light in the morning, the +students were scattered through the streets of the town, which, like +those of Washington, radiate from a common centre, where the king's +palace is located. The meals of the party at the hotels were usually +served separate from those of other guests, and at breakfast Professor +Mapps had an opportunity to say a word about the city. He told them, +what many of them had already ascertained, that it was a very pretty, +but very quiet place. It is of modern growth, being unable to boast of +much more than a century's duration. Charles, the Margrave of Baden, +built a hunting-seat on the spot in 1715, which, on account of the +seclusion of the place, he called "Charles's Rest." In the course of +time, his retreat was invaded by others, and a city grew up around him, +which was called Karlsruhe--the German for the name the Margrave had +given his hunting-seat. + +The Schloss, or palace, did not essentially differ from a dozen other +similar structures the party had seen. In fact, palaces and cathedrals +were getting rather stale with them, and they coveted a new sensation, +which they were likely to realize at their next stopping-place. Before +noon the tourists reached Baden-Baden, and were pleasantly installed at +the Hotel de l'Europe. As the season was somewhat advanced, there was +plenty of room, though the glories of the German watering-place were +not seen at their height. + +The place is called Baden-Baden to distinguish it from Baden in Austria +and Baden in Switzerland. It is beautifully located in a lovely valley +surrounded by the hills of the Black Forest. Although it has but seven +thousand permanent inhabitants, not less than forty thousand visitors +have made their abode within its precincts in a single season. It is +the most fashionable, and at the same time the most attractive, of the +German watering-places. The nobility and gentry, as well as the +blacklegs and swindlers of all the nations of Europe, gather there. The +country around the town is romantic and pleasing, and with good roads +through the forests and up the hills, there is a great variety of +delightful walks and drives. Everything which nature and art could do +to make the place and its surroundings an attractive abode, has been +done. + +On the rocky hills above the town are the old and the new castles of +the Grand Duke of Baden. The former is of Roman origin, and was +occupied by the reigning dukes in the middle ages. The latter is the +summer residence of the present sovereign. At the foot of the rocks on +which the modern structure is located are the hot springs, thirteen in +number, to which the town owes its origin as a health-giving abode. +This part of the place is called "Hell" on account of the heat of the +springs, which does not permit the snow, even in the coldest weather, +to remain upon it. The hottest of these springs has a temperature of +54 deg. Reaumur, equal to 153-1/2 deg. Fahrenheit. Their water is led by pipes +to the "Trinkhalle" and baths in the village, the passage having but +little effect upon its temperature. A kind of temple is built over the +principal spring, which furnishes the hottest and most copious supply +of water. There is sufficient evidence that the Romans used these +fountains for vapor baths, and other medicinal purposes. The water is +perfectly clear, has a saltish taste, and at the spring is not unlike +weak broth, though it has a disagreeable odor. It is beneficial for +dyspepsia, gout, rheumatism, and scrofulous diseases. + +After dinner the tourists commenced their explorations by a visit to +_das neue Trinkhalle_, or the New Pump Room, opposite the hotel. The +spring waters are conveyed to it in pipes, and in the season the place +is crowded with visitors, who drink them in the morning. + +The _Conversationshaus_ is the grand centre of attraction. It is a +magnificent building, surrounded by splendid gardens. In front of it is +a Chinese pagoda, intended as a music stand for the band, which plays +there twice a day. It contains a large assembly-room, where the company +dance at times, a restaurant, a theatre, and other apartments. There +are also rooms for gambling, which is the staple amusement, not only +for the blacklegs and swindlers, who resort to the establishment, but +for the nobility and gentry. The _Conversationshaus_ is rented by the +government to a company, who pay fifty-five thousand dollars a year for +the monopoly of the gaming tables, and pledge themselves to spend one +hundred thousand dollars annually upon the walks and buildings. Of +course players must lose vast sums of money to enable the keepers of +the establishment to pay these large prices. All classes of people +gamble, and about one fourth of those who engage in the seductive play +are ladies--or rather women, though they include not a few of the +nobility. + +Balls, concerts, promenades, and the theatre, as well as the exciting +amusement of the gaming tables, keep the visitors well employed during +the season; and when they weary of the din of gayety, a walk of five +minutes will lead them to the solitudes of the forests and the +mountains. There is a library and reading-room in operation, in the +midst of the scene of the revelry. The students spent the afternoon in +wandering through these brilliant halls; and some of them observed, +with a feeling akin to terror, the operations of rouge-et-noir and +roulette. No one spoke at the tables, and no one but players were +allowed to be seated. If any of the boys, after the exciting sport had +become familiar to them, were tempted to try their hand, they had not +money enough to make it an object, which proved the wisdom of the +principal's policy in managing their finances for them. + +The next forenoon was devoted to a visit to the two castles above the +town. Only the ancient one has any special interest, and this is noted +for the curious dungeons in the rock beneath it. The castellan, or +keeper, conducted the party down a winding staircase, to an ancient +Roman bath, by a passage made in modern times; for originally the only +access to the dungeons was by a perpendicular shaft in the centre of +the castle, which is still in existence. Tradition declares that the +prisoners, blindfolded, and lashed to an armchair, were lowered through +this shaft to the gloomy vaults hewn out of the solid rock. The dark +and mysterious dungeons were closed by a stone slab, revolving on a +pivot, and weighing from half a ton to a ton. One room, larger than the +others, was the rack-chamber, which contained the instrument of +torture; and in the wall several iron rings still remain. + +In a passage-way there is a deep aperture, now boarded over, but +formerly covered by a trap-door. The victim doomed to the rack was led +to the passage, at the end of which was an image of the Virgin, which +he was required to kiss. In approaching it, he stepped upon the trap, +and was precipitated into the depths below upon a wheel armed with +knives, upon which he was torn in pieces. The story is, that this +horrible pit was discovered in searching for a little dog which had +fallen through the planking, when the wheel was found, with its knives +rusty, the fragments of bones and garments still clinging to them. But +people who go to see sights ought not to be disappointed--and some +allowance should be made before accepting all the stories of guides and +keepers of mysterious dungeons. Doubtless these subterranean apartments +were the meeting-places of some secret tribunals, such as the Vehmic +courts, which existed in the middle ages in Westphalia. Scott and Goethe +have made use of these dungeons in their works, and our students +regarded them as a splendid field for the later writers of sensational +fiction. + +The party walked through the upper portion of the castle, and obtained +a fine view of the surrounding country from its openings. The rest of +the day was spent in the gardens, assembly-rooms, and other places of +interest. In the first train, the next morning, the excursionists went +to Heidelberg, fifty-eight miles distant. + + + + +CHAPTER XVI. + +UP THE MEDITERRANEAN. + + +The Josephine still sped on her course, southwest by west; and still +the mystery of her destination remained unsolved. Little was hopeful, +while Ibbotson was despondent. Mr. Fluxion planked the quarter-deck as +industriously as though he were walking on a wager, or had the +dyspepsia, which could only be cured by plenty of exercise. + +"What do you suppose this means?" said Perth, when the port watch had +gone below. + +"I don't know: it's a poser to me," replied Herman, as he seated +himself under the shelter of the top-gallant forecastle. "But I can't +think it is anything more than a short cruise for the sake of the +discipline." + +"It can't be a long cruise, for no provisions and water were taken in," +added Perth. "I think, if we behave first rate, we shall return to +Brest in a day or two." + +"We will be as proper as the lambs themselves." + +"How is it about Fluxion's going to Italy?" asked Perth. + +"I know only what the fellows say. Everybody believes that he has to go +there to see some friend who is sick." + +"Where are we going, Mr. Briskett?" inquired Perth, as the head steward +came forward to take a look ahead. + +"Going to sea," replied he. + +"Where are we bound?" + +"Bound to sea." + +"But how long are we to be out?" persisted Perth. + +"Well, I don't know; but I am fully of the opinion that we shall be out +till we go into port again." + +"Won't you tell us, Mr. Briskett?" interposed Herman. + +"Tell you what?" + +"Where the vessel is going." + +"Going to sea," answered the head steward, good-naturedly; for he +rather enjoyed the perplexity of the crew. + +"Is there any secret about the ship's destination?" + +"You must ask Mr. Fluxion. He is on the quarterdeck, and I dare say he +will be very happy to give you any information he thinks it is proper +for you to have." + +Mr. Briskett, having taken his long look ahead, turned on his heel, and +went aft again. + +"Where are we going, Mr. Bitts?" said Herman, to the carpenter, who had +been within hearing during the dialogue with the head steward. + +"Going to sea." + +"Yes; but where are we bound?" + +"Bound to sea." + +"But how long are we to be out?" + +"Well, I've boxed the compass, taken an observation, worked up an +altitude, swung six and cast out nine,--and I've made up my mind that +we shall be out till we return to port again. I may be wrong, but you +can figure it up for yourself." + +"O, come! Is there any secret about the vessel's destination?" added +Herman. + +"There's Mr. Fluxion, wearing out the planks of the quarter-deck. He's +a good sailor, and a gentleman from his top-lights down to his keelson; +and if you ask him, he'll tell you all he has a mind to." + +"If he's a gentleman, I hope the forward officers will take lessons of +him," added Herman, disgusted with the conduct of the carpenter. + +"I shall, for one; for we have so many unlicked cubs on board now, that +I am afraid my manners have suffered by being among them," laughed +Bitts. "But do you really want to know where we are going, young +gentlemen?" + +"I do, for one," replied Perth, promptly. + +"You won't say a word if I tell you--eh?" added Bitts, very seriously. + +"Not a word." + +"Well, we are bound down to the coast of Africa to get a cargo of +gorillas. Mr. Fluxion is going into the show business." + +"You get out!" exclaimed Perth, vexed to find himself "sold." + +"I don't know but the plan was changed," continued the carpenter. "Some +of them were afraid we might get things mixed on board; and after we +got the cargo in, we couldn't tell the gorillas from the runaways." + +Bitts thought he had said a clever thing; and, chuckling at his own +wit, he turned on his heel, and walked aft to the waist. + +"It's no use to ask them anything," said Herman. + +"I suppose we may as well keep still, and wait till something turns +up," added Perth. + +"I don't see that we can do anything else." + +"Unless we start the water in the tanks," suggested Perth. + +"And have our own supply cut off. I had enough of that sort of thing in +the ship. If we don't behave well, the first thing Fluxion will do will +be to put us on salt horse and hard bread." + +"We won't do anything yet. In my opinion, we shall go into port in a +day or two." + +At eight bells the starboard watch were piped to dinner, being relieved +by the port watch. The wind continued fresh and fair; and the Josephine +flew on her course, logging from ten to twelve knots all day. The +portion of the crew off duty were not required to recite any lessons, +or do anything else. The severe course of study to which Mr. Fluxion +had subjected them, during the absence of the rest of the company in +France and Switzerland, had enabled them to make up all deficient +lessons. The principal had requested Mr. Fluxion not to assign any +studies to his charge, unless it became necessary to do so in order to +keep them out of mischief. The crew were to serve in quarter watches, +from eight at night till eight in the forenoon, though the acting watch +officers were to serve full time. + +Night came on with the breeze freshening, and the top-gallant-sail was +furled. The Josephine then had all she could carry, for Mr. Fluxion was +not a fair-weather sailor, and always crowded on all the vessel would +stagger under. The wind was more to the eastward than when the schooner +left Brest, which still kept it fair. At eight bells in the evening, +the first part of the starboard watch took the deck; and the night wore +away without any exciting incident to break the monotony. Peaks and +Cleats were thorough seamen, and being in authority, they compelled +every seaman to do his duty. + +The sea was rough in the Bay of Biscay, and the Josephine, though she +made good weather of it, was rather wet on deck. But she was making a +splendid voyage so far. On the forenoon of the second day out, Perth +and Herman, having the watch below, had another discussion in regard to +the probable length of the cruise. The vessel was still headed away +from Brest; and even if she put about then, it might take her two or +three days to work back to the port where they had left the ship. The +prospect was decidedly sickening. The Josephine was far out of sight of +land, and still headed south-west by west. The officers were as +taciturn as on the previous day, so far as the destination of the +vessel was concerned, though they were very considerate in every other +respect. There was nothing to do after the decks had been washed down +in the morning. The wind was a little lighter, and, in addition to the +top-gallant-sail, the fore square-sail was set, so that her speed was +at no time less than ten knots, and most of the time it was twelve. + +"What do you make of it now, Little?" said Ibbotson, just before noon +on the second day out. "Do you think we shall get back to Brest in a +day or two?" + +"Of course we shall." + +"Bah! What's the use of talking? We couldn't beat back to Brest now in +three days." + +"Perhaps we shall make some other port in France," suggested Little, +with a sickly smile. + +"What! steering south-west by west? Not much! I tell you we are +homeward bound." + +"Nonsense! Not unless we are going by the way of Cape Horn, Behring's +Straits, and the North-west Passage! Keep cool, Ibbotson; we shall come +out right yet." + +"But we are sold. Lowington has the weather-gage of us, and we are +beaten at our own game." + +"Not yet." + +"Yes, we are. We shall not see the coast of France again this year. +I'll bet you Fluxion's starboard whisker, our cruise for this season is +up." + +"Don't croak." + +They all croaked when the vessel had been out thirty hours, and was +still persistently headed to the south-west. The day wore wearily away, +crowded with doubt, anxiety, and perplexity to the runaways. At three +in the afternoon, when the starboard watch were on deck, Peaks, by +order of Mr. Fluxion, stationed a lookout in the fore-top. Perth and +Herman were the first to do this duty. + +"I suppose our game is all up," said the latter, as they seated +themselves in the top. + +"It don't look very hopeful; but I suppose we are going somewhere," +replied Perth. "When we make a port, I'm off, if I have to swim +ashore." + +"I'm with you; but those five-pound notes will suffer in the water." + +"I will look out for them," answered Perth, grating his teeth with +anger. "I think we are reduced to common sailors, and I can't stand +it." + +"One thing is certain; we can't help ourselves. If Fluxion chooses to +go round the world with us, we can't do anything but submit." + +"I'm not so sure of that. When we find out where he is going, we can +figure up what it is best to do. We are not babies, and thirty-one of +us can do something. But we will keep still till we ascertain where we +are going." + +"Look ahead!" said Herman, pointing a little over the port bow. "Isn't +that land?" + +"It looks like it; but don't say anything yet." + +"What can it be?" asked Herman. + +"It is Cape Ortegal, if it is anything, on the northwest corner of +Spain. We can tell, in a few hours after we come up with the cape, how +they head her." + +They watched the dark, hazy line for half an hour longer, and then +shouted, "Land, ho!" The announcement made a sensation among the +runaways, but it afforded no revelation of the purposes of the +vice-principal. Still the Josephine sped on her way, and in a few hours +was up with Cape Ortegal. She kept on the same course, with the coast +of Spain in sight, till dark. Mr. Fluxion remained on deck; for he +attended to the navigation himself. At twelve o'clock at night, the +first part of the port watch came on deck, and Little and Ibbotson +tried to ascertain where they were. The tell-tale still indicated +southwest by west as the course. A bright light on the shore bore +south-east by south. Mr. Fluxion watched the light and the compass. + +"Keep her south-west by south," said he to the hands at the wheel. + +"South-west by south," repeated one of the seamen. + +"Trim the sails, Mr. Peaks," added the vice-principal. + +"Ay, ay! sir. Man the fore-sheet! Now walk away with it! Avast! Belay!" +said the acting first officer; and the manoeuvre was repeated upon +the mainsail. + +The yards were trimmed for the new course, and there was nothing more +to be done. The seamen not occupied at the helm, or on the lookout, +stowed themselves away in comfortable places. + +"We are going nearly south now," said Ibbotson, as he and Little seated +themselves under the weather rail. + +"South-west by south," added Little, gloomily; for even he had almost +lost hope. + +"I heard Perth say there were over two points and a half variation; and +that makes the course about south by west. Where do you suppose we are +bound?" + +"I can't guess. I suppose we shall fetch up somewhere. When we do, I'm +off as soon as the mud-hook finds bottom. I'm not sure that I shall +wait till we go into port," added Little, desperately. + +"Why, what can you do?" + +"We are not more than ten or fifteen miles from the coast of Spain. If +we could only drop a boat into the water, I would risk getting ashore." + +"You can't do that." + +"Fluxion has turned in now. Cleats and Bitts have the next watch," +continued Little, suggestively. + +"They won't let you off." + +"Bitts goes to sleep; and Cleats may go below for something," said +Little, dropping his voice to a whisper. "We will talk it over +to-morrow with Perth and Herman." + +"But you can't do anything." + +"Perhaps we can," answered the little villain; but there was not much +of his usual elasticity of spirits in his tones. + +Ibbotson had no faith, and did not even care to talk about what seemed +to him such an impracticable scheme. At four bells they were relieved, +and the night wore away without any incident. All the following day the +Josephine kept in about the same position with regard to the shore, +running rapidly to the southward. Mr. Fluxion "made no sign," and the +acting officers were as reticent as ever. + +"Perth, I have an idea," said Little, as they met on deck. + +"So have I," replied the disgusted leader of the runaways. "I have an +idea that we are going round the world. This is our third day out, and +no signs of turning back." + +"I mean that I have a plan." + +"You always have a plan," added Perth, with a sickly grin. + +"If you don't want to hear it, all right; but I mean to get out of this +scrape, if I can." + +"So do I. If we don't do something we shall be the laughing-stock of +the whole ship's company, if we ever join them again, of which I have +some doubts. Lowington has hauled us up to the bull-ring this time, if +he never did before. He has the weather-gage of us." + +"That's so." + +"If you have a plan, let's hear it." + +"O, I won't trouble you with it. You don't think much of my plans." + +"Yes, I do. I regard you as a genius in that line. You gave us the plan +by which we got off in the Josephine." + +"This little thing is for our four fellows only," continued Little, +mollified by the credit awarded to him. + +"All right; propel." + +"We are only ten or fifteen miles from land. This is Portugal off here, +I suppose." + +"Yes; we shall be off Cape Roca to-night, if the wind keeps up, and I +think we go within five or six miles of the shore." + +"So much the better." + +"Well, what's up?" asked Perth, with a yawn which indicated that he had +not much hope of any scheme. + +"Cleats and Bitts will be on the mid watch to-night. I notice that +Cleats goes into the cabin once or twice in our quarter watch, and I +suppose he does in yours." + +"Yes, after his coffee, I suppose. He always comes back eating a +biscuit." + +"Just so; and Bitts goes to sleep." + +"Not often." + +"I've seen him asleep." + +"The officers on duty have to keep on their feet all the time," said +Perth. + +"No matter if they do. Bitts leans against the foremast, and goes to +sleep. He isn't used to being on watch lately." + +"Well, go ahead." + +"When Peaks goes below, we will draw the slide on him, and lock him +into the cabin," added Little. + +"Good! Go on," replied Perth, beginning to be interested. "Bitts is +still on deck." + +"Pass a line around him, and make him fast to the foremast while he is +asleep." + +"It will be apt to wake him." + +"No matter; he is fast." + +"He will make a noise." + +"But the other officers are locked into the cabin." + +"It might work. What then?" + +"Lower the second cutter, and go ashore." + +"They would pick us up as soon as they broke out of the cabin. The +other fellows would work against us if we don't take them with us." + +"Well, make a big thing of it, and take all the fellows and all the +boats," said the accommodating little villain. + +"That would do better; and there isn't a fellow on board who isn't up +to such a move." + +"That's so." + +"It will take some time to work up the idea, though we have the +steerage all to ourselves," added Perth, musing. + +The conspirators discussed the scheme at every opportunity during the +day, and imparted it to the rest of the crew. Some of them suggested +objections, but all of them were willing to take part in the +enterprise, for they were so utterly disgusted with the course of Mr. +Fluxion, that anything was preferable to submission. + +"Suppose we get ashore," said Sheffield. "We shall be in Portugal, +perhaps fifty miles from any large place." + +"Cape Roca isn't twenty miles from Lisbon," replied Perth. "We can walk +that distance in a day." + +"What are you going to do in Lisbon? Not one of us can speak a word of +Portuguese." + +"We can do just the same as we should have done in Brest, and raise +money on our letters of credit, and get to Paris. We can take a steamer +back to Brest. The fare will not be more than ten dollars apiece in the +fore cabin." + +"Why not wait till we see where we are going?" suggested Sheffield. + +"It may be too late then," answered Perth. "If Fluxion should suddenly +head the vessel to the westward, that would mean home. The cook says we +have fresh provisions enough for thirty days, which they took in while +we were attending lecture." + +"Does he know where we are bound?" + +"No; or if he does, he won't say anything." + +"I don't believe in landing at any such place as Lisbon, or anywhere in +Portugal; though, of course, I will do what the rest of the fellows +wish." + +Perth and Little were too impatient to postpone the enterprise, though +they acknowledged the difficulty of landing in Portugal. They worked up +the details of the plan, and a part was assigned to each of the +runaways. Phillips was to secure Bitts, with the assistance of half a +dozen others. Perth was to close the companion way, lock it, and also +drive a nail into the slide to make it sure. Greenway was to cover and +secure the sky-lights. Herman was to fasten the door leading from the +cabin to the steerage with a handspike. Ibbotson was to bar the door of +the forecastle, where the cooks and under stewards slept. Others were +to back the head sails, so as to lay to the vessel; and when all these +things had been done, the boats were to be lowered,--the places of all +the party having been assigned to them,--and they were to pull for the +shore. + +The night came on, and the light on Cape Roca was identified by Perth, +at four bells; but a fog set in from seaward, and he decided that it +was not prudent to take to the boats under such circumstances, for the +reason that the boat compasses were in the cabin, and could not be +obtained. At seven bells on Saturday morning the Josephine was off Cape +St. Vincent. + +"Keep her south-east," said Mr. Fluxion to the quarter-master at the +wheel, when the headland bore north-east from the vessel. + +"South-east!" exclaimed Perth, when the order had been repeated. "That +means the Straits of Gibraltar. Fellows, we are bound up the +Mediterranean." + +"What does it mean?" inquired Herman. + +"Fluxion is going to Italy," replied the leader, bitterly. "He is +taking us with him!" + +Perth's conclusion was passed along till every seaman on board +understood it. The mystery was solved at last. There could be no doubt +of the correctness of the solution, and great were the wrath and +indignation of the runaways. It was abominable to compel them, the sons +of gentlemen, to work the vessel as foremast hands, while she was +employed on Mr. Fluxion's private business. It was an insult to them, +an insult to their parents, and an outrage upon humanity in general. It +was not to be endured, and rebellion was a duty. Little's plan was in +higher favor than ever. + +The wind was light, and the vessel, close-hauled, made but five and six +knots during the day. At night she was out of sight of land. All day +Sunday she made but little progress, and lay in a calm for several +hours. Towards night, however, a fresh westerly wind came to her aid, +and on Monday morning the crew saw the mountains of Europe and Africa +vying with each other in sublimity, though they were too sour to +appreciate the grandeur of the scene. The vessel hugged the Spanish +shore, and Perth was on the lookout for an opportunity to spring the +trap; but the sea was so rough and choppy, and the current so swift, +that he was not willing to embark in the boats. It looked altogether +too perilous. Besides, Bitts did not lean against the mast and go to +sleep, and Cleats sent a hand down to bring up his luncheon, and the +vice-principal staid on deck nearly all night. + +"I think Fluxion smells a mice," said Perth, the next day. + +"Why so?" asked Little. + +"Because he stays on deck more than half the night." + +"He is anxious about the navigation, perhaps." + +"It is plain sailing here," added Perth. "I think he has seen our +fellows talking together a great deal." + +That was really the case. The vice-principal understood boys +thoroughly. He had observed the earnest talks among little squads, and +cautioned the acting officers to be very vigilant. It is enough to say +that no opportunity was presented for carrying out the scheme of +Little, and the Josephine came to anchor in the harbor of Genoa, ten +days after she sailed from Brest. If the runaways had been in a proper +frame of mind to enjoy it, there was a great deal to be seen; but they +were too much taken up with their grievances to appreciate strange +sights or beautiful scenery. + +As soon as the schooner came to anchor, three of the four boats were +hauled in, and lowered to the deck, where they were turned over to be +painted. Bitts and Gage rowed the vice-principal ashore, while Peaks +and Cleats, laying aside the dignity of their temporary positions, went +to work scraping and painting the bottoms of the boats, which seemed to +have been removed from the davits solely for the purpose of preventing +any of the crew from escaping. Mr. Fluxion was absent only an hour, and +during his absence Dr. Carboy watched the students every moment of the +time. + +The next morning a shore boat brought off a pale lady, who was +understood to be the vice-principal's sister. They spent the whole +forenoon in the cabin; but in the afternoon they went on shore +together, to draw up and execute certain papers. Perth, in behalf of +the crew, asked permission of Mr. Fluxion, just as he was departing, to +go on shore. + +"Quite impossible, young gentlemen," replied the vice-principal. "They +are painting the boats, which are not in condition to be used. Besides, +there is hardly time, for I hope we shall be able to sail before +night." + +Perth was very angry, and so were all the others, though they hardly +expected the desired permission. Mr. Fluxion went on shore with the +pale lady, and Dr. Carboy, Peaks, and Cleats watched the crew with +Argus eyes. It was of no use for Little to fall overboard, for there +was no boat to send after him. Perth was not quite willing to attempt a +swim to the shore, for a fresh south-west wind kept up an ugly swell in +that part of the port where the Josephine was anchored. Shore boats +were driven from alongside by Peaks. In a word, Mr. Fluxion understood +his crew, and knew what he was about. With a ship's company who had +been desperate enough to capture the vessel on a former occasion, he +was wise enough to keep everything taut. So the runaways could only +grumble and growl, and watch the steamers which were constantly +arriving and departing. + +Before sundown Mr. Fluxion returned alone. He had finished his business +with his sister, and the order was given to get under way, after the +boats had all been restored to the davits. There was no chance to +execute any of the desperate schemes which had been adopted. Discipline +was triumphant, and the Josephine sped on her way to the Straits of +Gibraltar. Four days out, Cape Antonio, on the coast of Spain, was +sighted, and for the next two days the vessel sailed along the coast, +with the lofty mountains of Spain in full view. + +Mr. Fluxion was communicative enough to say that the Josephine would +put into Lisbon, and await the arrival of the Young America. The +intelligence was not pleasant to the runaways. Perth declared that +something must be done at once, or at least before the vessel had +passed Cape de Gata. Alicante and Carthagena were near, and from either +of them steamers frequently departed for Marseilles. They had actually +made the trip in the Josephine which they had contemplated before their +runaway excursion in her, but under different circumstances from those +they desired. If they could get to Marseilles, the rest of the plan +might be realized. + +They had kept everything in readiness for the enterprise which Little +had planned, and for a fortnight had been on the lookout for an +opportunity to strike the blow. After the vessel had come up with Cape +Antonio, Perth told the fellows he should make the attempt that night, +though it would be bright moonlight. The signal for those below to +perform the part assigned to them was three raps on the deck, over the +steerage, with the heel of the leader. But Perth was not in Cleats's +watch; so he and Herman hid themselves under the top-gallant +forecastle, when their watch was relieved. About three bells in the mid +watch, Little informed the leader that Cleats had gone below. + +"Where's Bitts?" whispered Perth. + +"In the waist, planking the deck." + +"Call Phillips, quick!" added the leader, as he came out of his +hiding-place. + +Phillips promptly appeared. He was a great, stout fellow, as ugly as he +was big. He immediately prepared to do his part. Herman was sent below +to see that every seaman in the steerage was awake and ready to act, +and he succeeded in eluding the sleepy vigilance of Bitts. + +Perth gave the signal for those in the steerage, and at the same time +whistled for the information of those on deck. Bitts was not so +obliging as to lean against a mast, or anything else, and the +conspirators were compelled to take him flying. Phillips had prepared, +with a piece of whale line, a kind of lasso, and, stepping up behind +him, threw it over his head, drawing it tight around his neck, before +the astonished carpenter suspected any mischief. The end of the whale +line was then hooked to the clewline of the fore-square-sail, which had +been detached for the purpose. The hands at the clewline walked away +with it, until the rope bore hard on the throat of the carpenter. All +this was done in an instant, for Phillips had carefully adjusted all +the details of his share of the work. Bitts tried to cry out; but when +he did so, Phillips ordered the hands at the buntline to haul taut. + +"Keep still, old fellow, or you shall be hung!" said the ruffian in +charge of the deed. + +Bitts was obliged to keep still, for when he struggled to release his +neck with his hands the rope was tightened. In the mean time, Perth had +secured the slide, and those below had barred the doors. + +"Clear away the boats!" and all but Phillips, who was obliged to watch +Bitts, sprang to their stations for lowering the boats, and in a couple +of minutes all four of them were in the water, with the oars tossed, +ready to pull for the shore. In the cabin there was a tremendous din, +made by Cleats and the other officers, who had been aroused by the +noise. They were trying to batter down the door leading into the +steerage, but as yet with no success. + +"All ready!" shouted Perth. + +Phillips, who was the only one of the crew remaining on board, hastily +belayed the clewline at the fife-rail, hauling it just taut enough to +hold Bitts, without choking him to death. As the ruffian leaped into +the boat, to which he had been assigned, Perth gave the order to shove +off, and the runaways pulled with all their might for the shore. + + + + +CHAPTER XVII. + +HEIDELBERG AND HOMBURG. + + +On the arrival of the excursion party at Heidelberg, they were +conducted, by Mr. Arbuckle's _avant-courrier_, to the Hotel Prinz Karl, +in the marketplace, and near the castle, which is the principal object +of interest in the town. One of the first persons that Shuffles saw, as +he walked up to the hotel, was Lady Feodora, promenading the veranda +with Sir William. She looked a shade paler than when the captain had +met her last; but her color deepened when she discovered her gallant +friend. + +"I am delighted to see you, Captain Shuffles!" exclaimed she, deserting +her titled companion, and rushing towards him, her cheeks suffused with +blushes. + +"This is a very unexpected pleasure," replied the commander, his brown +face flushing, "but none the less welcome because unexpected." + +"How glad I am to see you again!" said she, taking his offered hand, as +they met. + +"Thank you; but not so glad as I am," added he, in a lower tone. + +"I hope you are very well, Captain Shuffles," interposed Sir William, +stiffly. + +"Quite well, I thank you." + +"Lady Feodora has been quite ill," added the baronet, "or we should +have been in Brussels by this time." + +"I have not been very ill; but father thought we had better remain here +a few days. Now I am almost glad I was ill, since it gives me the +pleasure of seeing you again," continued the young lady, with a +childish candor which brought a frown to the brow of the little +baronet. + +"You are very kind, Lady Feodora." + +Sir William thought so too. + +"We have been all over the castle, Captain Shuffles; and I am going to +be your guide," continued she, playfully. + +"I am afraid your health will not permit you to do so much," suggested +Sir William. + +"O, I feel quite strong now." + +The conversation was interrupted by the appearance of Feodora's father +and mother, who extended to Shuffles a cordial and hearty greeting. Mr. +Lowington and the party were warmly welcomed by the earl's family. The +business of sight-seeing required immediate attention, and Shuffles was +taken into a carriage with his English friends; for the daughter +insisted upon redeeming her promise. Sir William evidently did not +enjoy the excursion; but he was apparently unwilling to be left at the +hotel. + +Heidelberg is beautifully located on a narrow strip of land between the +River Neckar and the vast, high rock on which the castle stands. It has +one principal street, nearly three miles long, and contains a +population of about seventeen thousand. It is situated in the midst of +some of the finest scenery in Germany; and all tourists agree in +calling it one of the most delightful residences in Europe. The +students walked through the principal street and along the banks of the +Neckar until dinner time, when Professor Mapps found an opportunity to +say something about the place. + +"Heidelberg was once the capital of the Palatinate established here by +the Emperor Otto of Germany in the tenth century. The Palatines were +sub-rulers, whose duty it was to look after the interests of the +emperor. This palatinate, including the northern portion of Baden and a +part of Bavaria, became the most powerful in the empire, and was +divided into the Upper and Lower Palatinates." + +"What does _palatinate_ mean, sir?" asked a student. + +"It means merely the territory of a sub-ruler, who was called a +_palatine_, from the Latin word _palatium_, a palace. When the throne +of Germany became elective, these palatines chose the emperor, and for +this reason were called electors-palatine, or simply electors. The +castle here was the residence of the elector of this division. The town +has suffered more from the ravages of war than almost any other in +Europe. It has been bombarded five times, burned twice, and captured +and pillaged three times. + +"The university is one of the most noted in the world, as well as one +of the oldest in Germany, having been founded in 1386. It has had at +one time nearly nine hundred students, and generally has seven or eight +hundred. It employs the most celebrated professors in Europe, +especially in the departments of law and medicine. Its library contains +some very rare and valuable works, printed and in manuscript." + +"What about the duels, sir?" inquired Haven. + +"The students here are noted for the duels which take place among them. +Four or five have occurred in a single day, and perhaps they average a +dozen a week. But I wish to say, in the beginning, that duelling and +other vicious practices charged upon the University of Heidelberg are +confined to about one fifth of the whole number of students. They are +not all duellists, nor all inordinate beer-drinkers. Probably they are +no worse than the residents at other universities, though the duels are +certainly exceptional. Four fifths of the students here are devoted to +their studies, improve their time to the utmost, and never engage in, +or even see, a duel. + +"These combats--which they are, rather than duels--take place at the +Hirschgasse, a lonely hotel on the other side of the Neckar. The +fighting and dissipated students form themselves into clubs, called +'chores,' among which a great deal of jealousy and ill feeling +prevails. The fights are to avenge insults, to 'see who is the best +fellow,' or between representatives of different chores, who battle for +the honor of their clubs. The champions fight with blunt swords ground +sharp on the two edges. They slash each other, but do not thrust, so +that the combats seldom result in mortal wounds. + +"In a fight for the honor of the clubs, the parties tie up their necks +and right arms in bandages and cushions. When they fight for the +satisfaction of an injury or insult, they have no protection. The +combat, in all cases, is decided in fifteen minutes; and at the end of +this time, the one who has the fewest cuts is declared to be the best +fellow. If one of the champions is severely injured in less than +fifteen minutes, so that he cannot continue the fight, it is finished +up on another occasion. A surgeon is always in attendance to decide +whether a wounded contestant is able to go on. The police are on the +watch for these fights; but the students station sentinels for some +distance from the arena of contest, and the approach of an officer is +communicated to them in season to enable the combatants to escape. I +need not add, that these duels are brutal and disgraceful. It looks as +though the police winked at them. + +"In some of these clubs, the ability to drink from a dozen to thirty +glasses of beer at a sitting is a necessary qualification for +admission. But these beastly and brutal tendencies belong, I repeat, to +a minority of the students." + +After the lecture, the party started for the castle, Shuffles riding +with the earl's family, and Paul with the Arbuckles, while the rest +walked. Heidelberg Castle has the reputation of being one of the most +imposing and interesting ruins in Europe. The grounds are quite +extensive, and full of curious objects. The students wandered through +the halls and subterranean vaults till they came to the famous _tun_, +which is thirty-six feet long, and twenty-four feet high, having a +capacity of eight hundred hogsheads. It was employed to contain the +wine of the vineyards; but it has not been used during the last hundred +years. A run to the Koenigstuhl, or King's Seat,--a high hill behind the +castle, which commands a magnificent view of the valleys of the Neckar +and the Rhine, and of the mountains in the vicinity,--finished the work +of the week. + +As the next day was Sunday, the party remained at Heidelberg, and +attended church at the English chapel in the forenoon. In the afternoon +they visited the Church of the Holy Ghost, which has a partition +through the entire length of it, dividing it into two equal parts, one +of which is used by the Catholics, and the other by the Protestants. +Services in both take place at the same time. + +On Monday morning the excursionists, including the earl's party, +proceeded to Darmstadt. When Lady Feodora had taken a back seat next to +the window, in a compartment of the railway carriage, she insisted that +Shuffles should have the seat opposite, much to the disgust of Sir +William, who usually occupied that position. In fact, he was angry, and +did not take much pains to conceal his ill-will. It is doubtful whether +Shuffles understood the matter, but the young lady was very strongly +interested in him. She did not like the baronet, and she did like the +young commander. As the latter had rendered her a signal service on +Lake Constance, she felt justified in extending unusual attentions to +him. Sir William was jealous, as well he may have been; for his +lady-love hardly condescended to notice him, while all her smiles were +bestowed upon the gallant young seaman. + +There was nothing especial to be seen in Darmstadt, and after the party +had walked through the principal street, and glanced at the Grand Ducal +Palace, they were ready to continue their journey to Frankfurt, where +they arrived in less than an hour, and repaired to the _Hotel de +Russie_ for dinner. Mr. Drexel, one of the landlords, was especially +devoted to the party, and afforded them every facility for seeing the +city in the shortest possible time. The dinner was capital, and when it +had been disposed of by the hungry students, they were in condition to +hear Professor Mapps. + +"Darmstadt, where we spent an hour this forenoon," said the professor, +"is the capital of Hesse Darmstadt, which consists of two divisions of +territory, separated by a strip of land belonging to Hesse Cassel and +Frankfurt. It has an area of thirty-two hundred square miles,--being +about two thirds of the size of Connecticut--and a population of about +eight hundred and fifty thousand. It is a constitutional monarchy in +its government, the Grand Duke Ludwig III. being the sovereign. The +word _Hesse_, applied to several of the German states, indicates +that they are parts of the original territory which bore that name. One +of its rulers divided his country into four unequal parts, and gave +them to his sons. Two of the descendants of these sons dying without +children, there remained only Hesse Cassel and Hesse Darmstadt. Hesse +Homburg formerly belonged to Darmstadt, but was ceded to another branch +of the reigning family in 1622. It is composed of two parts; the +smaller, containing forty-three square miles, and eleven thousand five +hundred inhabitants, is about ten miles north of Frankfurt; the other +portion, having eighty-five square miles, and fourteen thousand five +hundred inhabitants, is on the other side of the Rhine.[4] + + [4] Hanover, Hesse Cassel, Hesse Homburg, Nassau, the part of + Hesse Darmstadt north of the Maine, Hohenzollern, and Frankfurt + were annexed to Prussia in 1866. + +"Frankfurt-on-the-Maine, so called to distinguish it from +Frankfurt-on-the-Oder, is a free city, and the capital of the Germanic +Confederation. It is a little nationality by itself, having the right +to make its own local laws, levy duties, and other powers belonging to +a state. It is represented in the Federal Diet. This territory includes +nine villages, besides the city proper, with a population of about +seventy-five thousand. It is a very old city, and is mentioned in +history in the time of Charlemagne, who had a palace here. This city is +the original home of the Rothschilds, the great bankers, upon whom even +princes wait--when they are short of money. The family are Jews, who +form a considerable part of the population of Frankfurt. The house in +which several, if not all, the prominent sons were born, is shown in +the Judengasse, or Jews Street. The laws were formerly very severe upon +the Israelites. They were compelled to reside in their own quarter, +where the gates were closed upon them at an early hour. A regulation +forbade the celebration of more than thirteen marriages among the race +in the city within a year. All these stringent laws have been +rescinded. + +"Goethe, the German poet, was born in Frankfurt; and you will see his +house, which contains some relics of him. Luther, the Reformer, also +resided here for a time. The city is noted for the wealth of its +merchants, and there are many magnificent private residences within its +limits." + +The professor finished his lecture, and the party started to see the +sights to which he had alluded. The old cathedral, with its unfinished +tower, was very much like many others they had seen. Within its chapel +all the elected emperors were crowned in front of the high altar. The +Town Hall was the scene of the festivities which followed the election +of an emperor. He was feasted in the banquet hall, where the kings and +princes of his empire waited upon him at table, in token of their +subservience. A whole ox was roasted in the market-place,--into which +the students looked from the windows,--and the emperor ate a slice, +while from a fountain flowing with wine the cup-bearer filled his +flagon. The room is hung with portraits of the emperors, under most of +which are placed the mottoes adopted at their coronation. + +Passing across to the Hirschgraben, the tourists visited the house +where Goethe was born. Over the front door is the coat of arms of the +poet's father, which consists of three lyres, as if to prefigure the +destiny of the genius who first saw the light within its walls. Goethe's +room is a garret, wherein his portrait, his autograph, and his +washstand are exhibited. His statue stands near the theatre, and one of +Schiller in front of the guard-house. From the house of the poet, the +party went to the Staedel Museum, filled with fine pictures, mostly by +Dutch and German artists, which is named for its founder, a liberal +banker, who gave four hundred thousand dollars to the institution, +besides a collection of artistic works. From the museum, the students, +after a walk of over a mile, reached the Jewish quarter, glanced at the +Rothschild House, the synagogue, and other buildings, returning to the +_Hotel de Russie_ at dark. + +On the following morning the party went to Homburg, nine miles distant, +where they spent the rest of the day. The town is another watering-place, +and has increased in popularity till it outrivals Baden-Baden, +Wiesbaden, or any other fashionable resort in Germany. It has its +medicinal springs, which are beneficial in a variety of diseases. The +_Kurhaus_ is the most magnificent in Europe, containing lofty halls, +elegantly frescoed, for dancing, gambling, for restaurants and +reading-rooms. As in Baden-Baden, the gambling monopoly is in the hands +of French speculators, and the lavish expenditure upon the gardens, +buildings, and other appointments is an instructive commentary on the +chances which favor the visitor disposed to try his fortune. + +"Commodore," said Ben Duncan, who was now the second master of the +Josephine, as they met at the _Hotel Quatre Saisons_ in the evening, "I +have lost two hundred florins." + +"What!" exclaimed Paul. + +"Certainly, Mr. Duncan, you have not been gambling," added Grace +Arbuckle, looking as sad as though she had lost a dear friend. + +"I lost two hundred florins out in that dog-house," replied Ben, who +was the wag of the party, and a general favorite. + +"What dog-house?" inquired Paul. + +"Why, the big one--_auf dem Platz_." + +"Do you mean the Kursaal?" asked Paul. + +"Mr. Fetridge calls it a dog-house, in Harper's Hand Book." + +"No." + +"The cur-house--what's the difference?" + +"U in German is pronounced like double o. But you don't mean to say you +have been gambling, Ben?" added Paul. + +"I said I had lost two hundred florins," replied Ben, with a most +lugubrious expression. + +"Impossible!" + +"I was standing near the table, in the grand gambling _hell_,--I +beg pardon, hall,--watching the play, when I saw a Russian czar, king, +grand dook, poly-wog, or something of that sort, win two hundred +florins at one fell swoop. Now, thinks I to myself, if I should put +down two hundred florins, and win, I should make two hundred florins by +the operation. I didn't do it--so I'm two hundred florins out." + +Ben dropped his chin, and looked very sad, while Grace and Paul laughed +heartily, perhaps more at the "face" the wag made, than at the joke he +had perpetrated. + +"I hope your losses will always be of this description, Ben," added +Paul. + +"Probably they will be while each student is allowed only a florin a +day for pocket-money," replied Ben. "There is to be a grand concert in +the dog-house this evening. Of course we shall go!" + +"Certainly." + +"Suppose we walk down now." + +"If you please; but don't call it a dog-house." + +"Well, it is a gambling-hole, and I don't know but it is a libel on the +dog to call it so," answered Ben, as they walked towards the Kursaal. + +Most of the excursionists were headed in that direction. Shuffles was +with the earl's party, though, strangely enough, Sir William was not at +the side of Lady Feodora. They seated themselves in the grand +apartment, and gazed with interest at the brilliant scene before them. + +"Where can Sir William be?" said Lady Blankville. + +"I do not know, mother," replied Feodora, languidly, as though she did +not care where he was. + +"I haven't seen him these two hours." + +"Nor I," added Feodora, in a tone which indicated that she did not wish +to see him for two hours more. + +"I will look for him, if you desire," suggested Shuffles. + +"O, no! Do not trouble yourself," replied Feodora. "Perhaps he is +looking at the play." + +"Pray, do, if you please, Captain Shuffles," interposed the countess. + +Lady Feodora was too dutiful a girl to object, and the commander went +to the gambling-rooms. At the roulette table he found the baronet, +playing with a zeal which indicated that this was not the first time he +had indulged in the baneful game. He was not staking large sums, but he +was losing about three out of four times that he put down his money. + +"I beg your pardon, Sir William, but Lady Blankville is anxious to see +you," whispered Shuffles in his ear. + +"Lady Blankville!" exclaimed the baronet, turning from the table as he +lost his last stake, and walking towards the concert-room. + +"Lady Blankville," repeated the captain. + +"Lady Feodora is not anxious to see me--is she?" said Sir William, +bitterly. + +"She did not say that she was," replied Shuffles. + +"No; she did not!" added the baronet, stopping suddenly, and looking +his companion in the face. "Will you do me the favor to walk in the +garden with me?" + +"While the ladies are waiting for us, it is hardly proper to be absent +from them," replied Shuffles, troubled by the manner of the young +gentleman. + +"Perhaps you are right," mused Sir William. "Will you meet me alone at +the hotel, after the ladies have retired?" + +"For what purpose?" inquired Shuffles, nervously. + +"I have not time to explain now. Will you meet me?" continued the +baronet, earnestly. + +"If possible, I will." + +They joined the party in the concert-room. Sir William was cool, and +inclined to be morose. Shuffles was rather disturbed by his manner, +and could not help wondering for what purpose the baronet wished to +meet him alone. He had not failed to see that Lady Feodora regarded her +travelling companion, whose relations to her he could only infer, with +a feeling bordering upon aversion, and that her demeanor towards him +was in marked contrast with her bearing towards himself. He was afraid +the proposed meeting related to this subject. While the party were +listening to the enchanting music of the band, he tried to ascertain +whether he had said or done anything to give offence to the baronet. It +was not his fault that the lady did not like Sir William, and rebelled +against the relation which appeared to exist in form between them. But +the captain was willing to give the baronet any explanation he might +demand, and hoped that all unpleasant feelings would be removed by the +interview. + +After the tourists had returned to the hotel, and the ladies had gone +to their rooms, Shuffles walked up and down the hall till the baronet +joined him. Taking his arm, Sir William led him to an unfrequented part +of the garden, and there halted. + +"Captain Shuffles, I believe you are a gentleman, and have the +instincts of a gentleman," the young Englishman began. + +"I trust I have," replied Shuffles, not a little agitated, for the +manner of his companion was very earnest and serious. + +"You have placed me under very great obligations to you. I cheerfully +acknowledge them. I am willing to believe that both Lady Feodora and +myself would have been drowned but for your plucky conduct and generous +efforts in our behalf on Lake Constance." + +"I am very glad to have served you, and I assure you I hold you to no +obligations of any kind," replied Shuffles. "I simply did what I +regarded as my duty, which my sea life fitted me to perform." + +"Having acknowledged my obligations, you will permit me to add, that I +think you are making a very unfair and ungenerous use of your position. +After your noble conduct on the lake, I expected something like +magnanimity from you. I am sorry to say I have been disappointed," +continued Sir William, bitterly. + +"Really, I do not understand you," replied the captain, amazed at the +sudden turn in the style of his companion. + +"Is it possible that you do not comprehend my relations with Lady +Feodora?" demanded the baronet. "Let me explain, then, that we have +been affianced from our childhood." + +"Indeed!" + +"You could not help seeing that our relations were of this kind." + +"I did suppose there was something of this description." + +"Then allow me to say again that you have made a very ungenerous use of +your position." + +"In what respect?" + +"You have extended to Lady Feodora many attentions," said the baronet, +becoming more and more excited. + +"Only ordinary courtesies." + +"But such courtesies as belong to me rather than to you. I am devotedly +attached to her." + +"If any of my attentions were not agreeable to the lady, she had only +to decline them." + +"There you presume upon the position which circumstances have given +you." + +"If Lady Feodora is attached to you----" + +"She is not attached to me." + +"Then you make a very ungenerous use of your position," retorted +Shuffles, rather warmly. + +"What do you mean, sir?" demanded Sir William. + +"If your parents and hers made a bargain for her which she repudiates, +I say it is ungenerous in you to use such an advantage as that bargain +gives you." + +"Do you mean to insult me?" + +"Certainly not; only to speak as plainly as you have spoken. If my +presence is disagreeable to the lady, I will avoid her." + +"Your presence is not disagreeable to her," added Sir William, unable +to conceal his vexation. + +"Then you will excuse me if I decline to treat her with the rudeness +you suggest." + +"I find I am mistaken in you, and I regret that you compel me to ignore +the obligations under which you have placed me." + +"I cheerfully absolve you from any obligations which may weigh heavily +upon you. But I assure you, I have no ill-will towards you, and I shall +continue to treat you with courtesy and kindness. In about a week, our +ship's company will return to Brest, and sail for the United States. It +is not probable that I shall ever see Lady Feodora or you again." + +"Will you pledge yourself never to see her again after this week?" +demanded Sir William. + +"I will not--certainly not," replied Shuffles. "I do not purpose to +interfere in any way with your relations to her. If she desires to see +me, and it is possible for me to see her, I shall not deny myself that +pleasure." + +The baronet suddenly turned upon his heel, and walked rapidly towards +the hotel. Shuffles was amazed. He could not conceal from himself the +truth that he was deeply interested in Lady Feodora, though no thought +of anything beyond friendship occurred to either of them. They might or +might not continue in company for another week, and then part, in all +human probability, forever in this world. Still, the situation was +novel enough to be exciting, and he lay awake, thinking of it, for +several hours that night. But in the morning Sir William appeared as +usual, and probably, on reflection, had decided not to do any desperate +deed. + +At seven o'clock the excursionists returned by train to Frankfurt. It +was decided then that, as Wiesbaden, one of the celebrated German +watering-places, was only a repetition of Baden-Baden and Homburg, the +company should proceed direct to Mayence, where they arrived by nine +o'clock. + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII. + +CASTLES, VINEYARDS, AND MOUNTAINS. + + +As the students were crossing the bridge to Mayence, they obtained a +full view of one of the great rafts of timber which float down the +Rhine, and of which Professor Mapps had spoken to them at Dort, in +Holland. However, it was much smaller than those of which they had +heard, and they hoped to see another. The students were not disposed to +"do" Mayence, being too impatient to witness the glories of the Rhine. +But most of them, from a sense of duty rather than from an interest in +the place, visited the principal attractions of the city. + +"Mayence is the French name of the town," said the professor of +geography and history, as the students collected in the railroad +station, previous to the tramp. "The German name is Mainz, which is +pronounced Mynts--y like long i. If you pronounce it in any other way, +a German will not know what you mean. It was an old Roman town. A +fortress was established here to keep back the barbarians. It was +formerly a larger and more important city than at present, having now a +population of only forty thousand. + +"This place has done two grand things for civilization and for Europe. +It was the cradle of the art of printing, and furnished the man who +suppressed the robber knights. As you go down the Rhine, you will see +the ruins of many old castles on the hills by the banks of the river. +The nobles, who occupied them as strongholds, carried on a system of +robbery, levying duties upon all who travelled on its waters or passed +through their territory. Arnold von Walpoden suggested the plan which +led to a confederation of the cities for the driving out of the +knightly highwaymen, and the destruction of their strongholds. They +were feudal lords, and the breaking of their power opened the way for +the progress of civilization. + +"Mayence was the birthplace of Gutemberg, who invented movable types +for printing, and reduced the art to practice. You will see the site of +the house where he was born, and the building which contained his first +printing-office." + +After this brief explanation the party walked to the cathedral, a very +ancient structure, possessing much historical interest. Opposite the +theatre they saw the statue of Gutemberg, and the guide pointed out the +place where his house stood, and the old building in which he and Faust +took their first proofs from types. + +At twelve o'clock the tourists went on board of the steamer Koenigin von +Preussen, and realized that they had actually embarked for the trip +down the Rhine. They had seen the river at Basle, Constance, and +Schaffhausen, had crossed it at Strasburg, and obtained views of it +from different points on their route. The steamer was unworthy of the +noble river, and if the palatial boats of the Hudson could be run upon +its waters, they would lend a new charm to the scenery. The Rhine +steamers are small, compared with the Hudson river boats, and far from +being elegant. They have no saloon on deck, though a couple of small +apartments, abaft the paddle-boxes, are pretentiously called +"pavilions." They are appropriated to first class passengers, and are +seldom used except by travellers who wish to be very exclusive. The +second class passengers occupy the main cabin and the deck abaft the +wheels. Meals are served below, or, for an extra price, upon little +tables on deck. The third class travellers have the forward deck, with +piles of luggage to lounge upon. The relative fares are as the ratios +four, six, and nine. From Mayence to Bingen the time is about two +hours, and the fares are eight, twelve, and eighteen silver groschen. +The steamers stop at all the principal landings, and passengers are +occasionally brought off in small boats from other places. + +The company dined in the cabin before the Koenigin started, so as not to +lose a single view. The dinner was an excellent one, and cheap, the +ordinary price being seventeen silver groschen, or about forty-one +cents. When served to private parties on deck, the price is one thaler, +or seventy-two cents. + +"Are those steamboats?" asked Paul, pointing to a number of boats with +houses on deck, and having immense wheels. + +"No," replied Dr. Winstock. "They are mills for grinding grain." + +"But what turns the wheels?" + +"They are moored as you see them in the river, and the current turns +the wheels, which are very large, so as to gain power." + +"That's a new idea to me," added Paul. + +"I have seen just such in the Alabama River, in our own country," +replied the surgeon. + +"It is certainly a very good way to obtain the power." + +The boat started, and soon made a landing at Biebrich, on the other +side of the river, where passengers from Frankfurt, Homburg, and +Wiesbaden usually take the steamers. As the Koenigin proceeded on her +way, a feeling of general disappointment pervaded the minds of the +party, who had not seen the river before. + +"It does not compare with the Hudson," protested Paul. + +"Wait, Paul!" said the doctor, with a smile. + +"How long shall I wait?" + +"Two hours. You must not be hasty in your judgment." + +"What is this town on the right?" asked Grace. + +"Eltville. Do you see the white building in the midst of the vineyards, +some distance down the river?" said the doctor, pointing to the shore. + +"I see it." + +"That is the chateau of Johannisberg, belonging to Prince Metternich, +formerly a celebrated prime minister of Austria. Those vineyards are +the most noted in the world. The famous Johannisberger wine is made +from these grapes. It sells here for five or six dollars a bottle, +where ordinary kinds can be bought for twenty cents, and even less. The +grapes are very precious, and are kept upon the vines till they are +nearly rotten. Those that fall off are picked up with a kind of fork, +so valuable are they deemed. Of the seventy acres contained in the +vineyard, only a small portion produces the best wine, which is not +found except in the cellars of kings and princes. This is Ruedesheim, +where the boat will make a landing," added Dr. Winstock, as the steamer +stopped her wheels. "A famous wine is also made here. It is said that +Charlemagne, seeing from his castle windows, near Mayence, how early +the snow disappeared from the heights below us, ordered vines from +France to be set out here; and from these vines is produced the noted +Ruedesheimer wine. + +"What place is this?" inquired Paul, at a point where the course of the +river seemed to be obstructed by rocks and hills. + +"Bingen on the Rhine," said the surgeon. "Here the waters of the river +are crowded in a narrow space. Look upon the hills around you, and see +how every foot of ground is economized for the vineyards. Where the +hill-sides are too steep for cultivation, they are formed into +terraces, as you see them." + +The steamer stopped a few moments at Bingen, which contains about +seventy-five hundred inhabitants. + +"On our left, now, are the dominions of the King of Prussia--the +Rhenish provinces. On our right, as before, is the Duchy of Nassau. +What do you think of the Rhine now?" asked Dr. Winstock. + +"It is improving, certainly," laughed Paul. "The scenery is really very +grand and very fine. I will give it up now. It is finer than the +Hudson. But where are the old castles?" + +"There is one of them," answered the doctor, pointing to a ruin which +crowned a hill on the right. "That is the Castle of Ehrenfels. There is +a legend connected with about every one of them. There is the Mouse +Tower." + +The doctor pointed to a stone structure rising from the river a short +distance from the shore. It was certainly a very romantic building, and +in a very romantic situation. + +"What is the story about this tower?" asked Paul. + +"If you take Southey's works when you return to the ship, you will find +in them, 'The Tradition of Bishop Hatto.' He was the Archbishop of +Mayence, and during a famine kept his granaries, well filled with food, +locked, and, by his own profusion and high living, excited his starving +subjects to revolt. The prelate ordered the rebels to be arrested, +confined them in a building, and set it on fire. Not content with this +outrage, he added insult to injury by mocking the wail of the +sufferers, and comparing their cries with the squeaking of mice. In the +night which followed the diabolical deed, a swarm of mice penetrated to +the apartments of the archbishop's palace, attacked him, and tried to +tear the flesh from his bones. Appalled by this poetic justice, the +cruel prelate fled, and, taking to the river, reached this insulated +tower. Suspending his bed in the upper part of the structure, he +struggled to escape from the mice, as merciless as he had himself been. +But the mice followed him, and he could not avoid the doom that was in +store for him. Vainly he resisted. The rats attacked him, and he +suffered a lingering and horrible death. It is but fair to add that +history gives the archbishop a different character. Do you happen to +know the meaning of the German word _mauth_?" + +"A duty, or a toll," replied Grace. + +"The German for mouse is _maus_, and probably it is in this instance +corrupted from _mauth_; for nothing could have made the tower and its +owners more odious than the collection of duties from voyagers on the +river. There is a sad story connected with the Broemserberg Castle, +which we saw above. Broemser of Ruedesheim went to Palestine with the +crusaders, and, while there, distinguished himself by slaying a dragon +which made itself very annoying to the Christian army. He was +immediately after captured by the Saracen forces, and reduced to +slavery. While in this condition, he made a solemn vow, that if he were +ever permitted to return to his castle again, he would give his only +daughter to the church. Improving an opportunity to kill his guard, he +succeeded in reaching his home, where he was met by his daughter, a +lovely young woman, who was betrothed to a young knight. Her father +told her of the vow he had taken. Tearfully she entreated him to change +his purpose; but his pledge to the church could not be set aside. +Broemser threatened her with his curse if she refused to obey. Life had +no charms apart from the young knight, and she determined to die. In +the midst of a violent storm, she threw herself from the castle +battlements into the river, and her corpse was found the next day, by a +fisherman, near the Mouse Tower. The boatmen and peasants say, to this +day, that they sometimes see the pale form of Gisela hovering above the +castle, mingling her wails with the moanings of the storm." + +"That's a very pretty story, and I suppose young ladies in that age +were like those of the present," added Paul. "Perhaps more so, for now +they don't throw themselves from walls into a damp river for such a +cause." + +"There's another castle!" exclaimed Grace, pointing to the left. + +"That is Rheinstein, a castle which has been restored, and is the +summer residence of a Prussian prince. Below the castle, where the road +runs between the rock and the river, tolls were levied upon Jews who +passed that way. And it is even said that the collectors had little +dogs trained to know a Jew from a Christian, and to seize him with +their teeth." + +Castle-crowned heights succeeded each other in rapid succession; and in +this part of the river they are so thick, that our students had to keep +their eyes wide open in order to see them all. Rocky steeps rose from +the verge of the water; and wherever there was any soil, or any earth +could find a resting-place, the spot was made into a vineyard. +Sometimes the vines have to be planted in baskets, while all the steep +hillsides are terraced to the height of a thousand feet above the +river. To reach these plats of ground, the peasants, male and female, +must climb the steeps, and everything used there must be carried up on +the shoulders. The vine-dressers are a very industrious people, and +nothing but the most determined perseverance could induce them to +cultivate these lofty artificial beds. + +The towns on the banks of the Rhine are picturesque, and one never +tires of looking at them. Indeed, half a dozen voyages down the Rhine +no more than enable the tourist to see all its wonders and all its +beauties. + +"Stahlech Castle," said Dr. Winstock, pointing to a ruin on the left. +"It was the palace of the Elector Palatine. Between the castle and the +hill are the remains of St. Werner's Chapel. In the middle ages, it is +said that the Jews at Oberwesel, farther down the river, crucified a +Christian named Werner, and threw the body into the stream. Instead of +descending with the current, it was carried by a supernatural agency up +the river, from which it was taken at Bacharach, the town we are +approaching, interred, and afterwards canonized. The chapel was built +over the grave. Doubtless the story was invented to afford a pretext to +rob and persecute the Hebrews, though in former ages such excuses seem +to have been hardly needed." + +"There is another castle in the river," said Grace, as the boat left +Bacharach. "It is an odd-looking building." + +"That is the _Pfalz_, and the town on the right is Caub. A toll was +paid here by all vessels navigating the river. The Duke of Nassau +inherited the right to levy this tax, and exercised the right to +collect it, until three or four years ago. The _Pfalz_ was his +toll-house. In the middle ages, thirty-two tolls were levied at the +different stations on the river. Schoenberg Castle is on the left. What +does the word mean?" + +"Beautiful hill," replied Grace. + +"It is called so because the occupant had seven beautiful daughters, +who were sad flirts. All the young knights in the vicinity were +bewitched by their beauty, but they were so hard-hearted that they +would accept none of them; and, as the penalty of their obduracy, they +were changed into seven rocks, and planted in the middle of the river, +where you will presently see them." + +Passing Oberwesel and the Seven Sisters, the water was considerably +agitated where the current had formerly produced a whirlpool, in its +course among the rocks, which have now been removed by blasting. There +was also a rapid just above it, and the place was very perilous for the +long rafts, which were sometimes dashed to pieces upon the sunken +rocks. The bank of the river on the right rises abruptly to a great +height, and the precipice is called the Lurlei. It has an echo which +gives back fifteen repetitions of the original sound. It sometimes +makes intelligent replies; and wicked students put to it the question, +"Who is the burgomaster of Oberwesel?" To which it responds, "Esel," +which, in English, means an ass. The burgomaster intends to have it +indicted for slander. + +This echo, which repeats the sounds from below, and the wild character +of the region, have produced a legend that the place is haunted by a +beautiful but wicked water nymph, who lured the voyager, by her +witching voice, to the rocks and the whirlpool, where his boat was +dashed to pieces. + +St. Goar and St. Goarhausen are opposite each other, on little shelves +under the brow of the continuous range of hills which wall in the Rhine +for miles. The railroad extends along the left bank of the river, in +the rear of which is Rheinfels Castle,--the most extensive ruin on the +river,--nearly four hundred feet above the water. The Mouse, on the +other side, is supposed to have some unpleasant relations with the Cat, +farther up the stream. On the right, opposite the small town of Salzig, +are two twin castles, which go by the name of the Brothers. Their +owners, bearing this relation to each other, unfortunately fell in love +with the same beautiful lady, fought for her, and both were killed. + +"This is Boppart, a very old place, occupied by the Romans," said Dr. +Winstock, as the steamer made a landing. "You have noticed that the +shelf of land on each side of the river, grows wider and the hills are +farther from the stream. Between this point and Bingen, the Rhine makes +its passage through the mountains. Some suppose the river, at a remote +period, forced its way through the range, and formed the narrow gorge +which we have passed, and that the country as far back as Basle was a +vast lake, for various sea shells and fossils are found there. +Marksburg Castle, on your right, is very much like the one you saw at +Baden-Baden; and a walk through its deep dungeons hewn out of the rock, +its torture-rooms, and its subterranean galleries, is enough to inspire +a sensation novel." + +"Dear me!" yawned Grace, "I am almost tired of castles." + +"I think Captain Shuffles is also," added Paul. "I notice that he +hardly looks at them. Well, he has something better to look at." + +"What?" + +"Lady Feodora," laughed Paul. + +"The best way to go down the Rhine, if one has the time, is to go from +town to town by railway, and then pass through the region in a steamer, +to put the effects together. I am sorry you are tired of it," said the +surgeon. + +"I enjoy the scenery, but I have had about castles enough for one day." + +"There are not so many below Coblenz. You have now 'done' the most +beautiful portion of the river, and the trip to-morrow will be hardly +more interesting than the same distance on the Hudson." + +The young people devoted some time to conversation with each other; but +the doctor pointed out the Koenigstuhl, where the seven electors used to +sit, and where emperors were elected, and sometimes dethroned. + +"Lahnech Castle has a peculiar interest," he continued, as he called +the attention of the group to a chateau on the right. "It belonged to +the order of Knights Templars, which was founded, in 1118, for the +protection of pilgrims, and the defence of the Holy Sepulchre at +Jerusalem. The institution became renowned, and extended all over the +world. It was very rich and powerful, and therefore disliked by the +clergy, who finally overthrew it. Those residing here were attacked in +their castle, which was captured only after the last of its brave +defenders had been slain. On the other side is Stotzenfels, or Proud +Rock--a title which it deserves. Upon it is the beautiful chateau of +the King of Prussia." + +A short time after, the steamer reached Coblenz, where the +excursionists were to spend the night. + + + + +CHAPTER XIX. + +COBLENZ AND COLOGNE. + + +Apartments had been engaged at the _Riese_, or Giant Hotel, near the +landing. It was too dark to see anything of the town, but the students +wandered about the streets, looking into the beer shops, which they +dared not enter, and observing the evening life of the Germans. To many +of them this occupation was more interesting than visiting old castles, +or even modern palaces, especially after they had become old stories. +Paul, Shuffles, and some others found themselves more pleasantly +entertained at the hotel. + +After breakfast the next morning, the tourists made a business of +seeing the place. The town occupies a tongue of land at the junction of +the Moselle with the Rhine. It is strongly fortified, on the land side, +with works which it required twenty years to build, and there are forts +all around the city, which is intended to be a stronghold for the +defence of Prussia against an invading army from France. + +The Church of St. Castor, at the confluence of the rivers, is a very +ancient structure, in which the grandchildren of Charlemagne met to +make a division of the empire. Napoleon, on his march to invade Russia, +caused a fountain to be erected in front of this church, bearing an +inscription commemorating the event. The French army was overwhelmed, +and a Russian force, pursuing the remnant of it, arrived at Coblenz. +The general saw the obnoxious record, but instead of erasing it, he +added the sarcastic sentence, "Seen and approved by us, the Russian +commandant of the city of Coblenz," which remains to this day. + +The party visited some of the principal edifices in the city, including +the palace, in which the King of Prussia sometimes resides, and then +crossed the Rhine on the bridge of boats to the immense fortress called +Ehrenbreitstein, the meaning of which is "honor's bright stone." It was +a fortress in the middle ages, and was unsuccessfully besieged by the +French in 1688, though it was less fortunate in 1799, when the garrison +was starved into a surrender, and it was blown up. In 1814 the +Prussians commenced the work of restoring it, and since that time they +have been continually strengthening and enlarging it. The series of +military works, of which this fortress is the principal, are capable of +holding one hundred thousand men, but five thousand are sufficient to +garrison them. The magazine will hold provisions enough to supply eight +thousand men ten years. It mounts four hundred pieces of cannon. The +rocks have been hewn out into bomb-proofs and battlements, and art has +done its utmost to strengthen the place. + +The parade is on the top of the rock, beneath which vast cisterns have +been constructed, which will contain a three years' supply of water. In +addition to these, a well, four hundred feet deep, cut in the rock, +communicates with the Rhine, which is to be used only on an emergency, +as the river water is unwholesome. The river seen from the parade is +very beautiful, but the company were obliged to hasten back to Coblenz, +in order to dine in season for the afternoon steamer to Cologne. + +At one o'clock the voyage down the Rhine was renewed, and the students, +after their long ramble in the forenoon, were glad to use the camp +stools on the deck of the steamer. Village after village was passed, +but the scenery was less grand than that seen the day before. There +were fewer castles to be seen on the heights, though Dr. Winstock could +hardly tell the story of one before another required attention. The +railroads which extend along each side of the river, in several +instances, passed under castles, towers, and ruins, whose foundations +have been tunnelled for the purpose. At Andernach, the mountains on +both sides come close to the river again, and the water flows through a +kind of gorge between them. + +"At Brohl, which you see on the left, a peculiar kind of stone is +found, which has the property of hardening under water, and is, +therefore, in great demand for the manufacture of cement," said Dr. +Winstock. "The ancients used it for coffins, because the stone absorbed +the moisture from the bodies. These quarries were worked by the Romans, +who had a road to Cologne on the left bank of the river." + +"There are mountains on the right," said Grace, some time afterwards. + +"Those are the Siebengebirge, as they are called. Though the name +indicates seven mountains, there are thirty summits. They are very +picturesque, but they are only ten or fifteen hundred feet high," +continued the doctor. + +"There is a beautiful island in the middle of the river," added Paul. +"It has an old building on it, and is covered with trees." + +"That is Nonnenwerth, and the building is a convent. Do you see the +castle on the left bank, opposite the island?" + +"I see it." + +"You must read Herr Bernard's Legends of the Rhine. You will find the +book in Cologne, both in German and in English, though the English of +the latter is execrable. You will find in it the story of Rolandseck, +the castle on the left, and Nonnenwerth. Roland was the nephew of +Charlemagne. He was engaged to a daughter of the Lord of Drachenfels, +whose castle you see on the opposite side of the river. He went away to +the wars, and during his absence, a false report came back that he was +killed at Roncesvalles. His betrothed, in despair, entered the convent +on the island, and took the black veil. Roland returned, but could not +reclaim the bride. He built the castle on the left, where he could +overlook her retreat, and lived the lonely life of a hermit. One +evening, while he was gazing down upon the convent, he heard the bell +toll, and saw a procession of nuns escorting a coffin to the chapel. +His page soon brought him the intelligence that his lady was dead. He +ordered his horse to be saddled immediately, and hastened to Spain, +where, in a battle with the Moors, he was killed." + +"Then these are the Drachenfels, on our right," said Grace. + +"They are 'The Castled Crags of Drachenfels,' as Byron sings. From the +top of this precipice, Cologne, twenty miles distant, can be seen." + +"And that large town is Bonn," said Paul. + +"Yes; the electors of Cologne--not the city, but the +electorate--formerly resided here. The vast palace built for them in +1730, which is nearly a quarter of a mile long, is now used by the +University of Bonn, where Prince Albert, Queen Consort, of England, was +a student. The city has about twenty thousand inhabitants, and is a +very beautiful place. When I was here, six years ago, I went out about +a mile and a half to a church, on the top of the Kreuzberg. It formerly +belonged to a convent; and in a chapel behind the high altar are +exhibited what are called the Sacred Stairs, which led up to Pilate's +judgment hall. No one is allowed to ascend them except upon his knees, +and the stains of blood falling from the wounds caused by the Saviour's +crown of thorns are pointed out. Those believe who can and will. There +is a vault under the church, reached by a trap-door in the floor, +which, by some remarkable property, has preserved undecayed the bodies +of twenty-five monks. They lie in open coffins, clothed in cassocks and +cowls. They are dried up, and look like mummies. Some of them were +buried there four hundred years ago." + +"What a horrible sight!" exclaimed the sensitive Grace. + +"I did not see anything very horrible about it," replied the doctor, +with a smile; "but I am a surgeon by profession. In Italy and Sicily +there are many such exhibitions of the dead." + +Below Bonn the banks of the river are level, or gently undulating, +reminding the traveller of the Delaware above Philadelphia. The scenery +is pleasant, but rather tame after the experience of the Drachenfels. +At five o'clock the steamer reached Cologne, and passing under the +great iron bridge, and through the bridge of boats, made her landing at +the quay. The Grand Hotel Royal, in which accommodations had been +engaged for the tourists, is situated on the bank of the river, and +many of the party had rooms which overlooked the noble stream. There is +no pleasanter occupation for a tired person than that of sitting at one +of these windows, watching the flow of the river, and the variety of +scenes which its surface presents. + +It was a lively scene at the hotel in the evening. A few of the +students took a walk through the narrow streets; but Cologne is not a +pleasant place to walk in the evening. There are no sidewalks, and some +of the streets are not wide enough to allow two vehicles to pass +abreast, though in the more modern parts of the place this defect has +been remedied. The Hotel Royal has broad halls, though there is no such +thing as a public parlor, where the guests may meet together, as in +American hotels. Captain Shuffles and Lady Feodora were promenading, +while Paul and Grace had seated themselves in the coffee-room. + +"I suppose, when we leave Cologne, we shall depart in different +directions," said Shuffles. + +"Papa says we shall go direct to Calais," replied Feodora, looking very +sad, as, indeed, she felt when she thought of the separation. + +"I believe our company are going by Charleroi to Paris, and from there +to Brest. Probably we shall never meet again." + +"O, I hope we shall!" exclaimed Feodora, looking up into his face. + +"It is not very probable." + +"You may come to England within a few years, perhaps a few months." + +"It is possible. If I come out in the ship next spring, we shall sail +up the Baltic, and make our first port at Christiansand, in Norway." + +"I am afraid you don't wish to meet me again." + +"I would cross the ocean for that alone," protested the gallant young +captain. + +"If you wished to meet me, I think you would find a way." + +"Perhaps I ought not to meet you again," added Shuffles. + +"Not meet me again! Pray why not?" + +"Sir William very much prefers that I should not do so." + +"Sir William!" repeated she, with an inquiring glance. + +"I think he does not like my company very well." + +"I do, if he does not." + +Shuffles did not mention to her that he had conversed with the baronet +about the matter, and that the latter had used some rather strong +language to him. He was not disposed to make trouble. + +"I have some idea of your relations with Sir William," added Shuffles, +with considerable embarrassment. + +"I haven't any relations with him, Captain Shuffles," replied she, +fixing her gaze upon the floor, while her face crimsoned with blushes. + +"I have been told that you were engaged." + +"By our parents--yes. By myself--no. I dislike Sir William very much +indeed; and I know my father will never do anything that will make me +unhappy." + +"Pardon me for alluding to the subject," said Shuffles. + +"I am very glad you spoke of it." + +"I should not have done so, if I had not had some doubts about seeing +you again, even were an opportunity presented." + +"Doubts about seeing me?" + +"I mean because Sir William dislikes me," stammered the captain. + +"He ought not to dislike you, after what you have done for him and me." + +"He thinks I am too strong a friend of yours." + +"I don't think you are. Why, you saved my life, and I should be very +ungrateful if I did not value your friendship," replied Feodora, +apparently investigating the texture of the wood of which the floor was +composed. + +"Then you value it because I rendered you a little service on the +lake," added Shuffles. + +"That assured me you were very brave and noble; and I am sure you have +not done anything since which makes me think less of you." + +"You are very kind; and it makes me have the blues to think of parting +with you, perhaps never to see or hear from you again." + +"Won't you write to me, as Miss Arbuckle does to the commodore, and +tell me about your travels, and about your own country, when you +return?" + +"It would be a great satisfaction to me to have the privilege of doing +so," said Shuffles, eagerly. + +"I should prize your letters above all others," she replied. + +"Will your father allow you to receive them from me?" + +"Why should he not?" + +"On account of Sir William." + +"My father is one of the best and kindest men in the world, and he +loves me with all his great soul. He has even told me that I might +dismiss Sir William, when we return to England, if I found it +impossible to like him," answered Feodora, artlessly; and English girls +speak on such subjects with less reserve than American damsels. + +"Here comes Sir William. I shall write to you at the first opportunity +after we separate." + +The baronet had been out to smoke; for young as he was, he had already +formed this habit, which was one of Lady Feodora's strong objections to +him,--he gave forth such an odor of tobacco. He frowned and looked +savage when he saw the young couple together; but they continued their +promenade in the hall, though they changed the subject of the +conversation. + +"Good evening, Sir William," said Ben Duncan, the inveterate joker, who +saw the effect produced by the coming of the baronet, and wished to +relieve the young couple of his company. + +"Good evening, sir," replied the baronet, stiffly; for he was not +disposed to be on very familiar terms with the young republicans. + +"A friend of mine at the Gas-house--" + +"At the what?" demanded Sir William, with a look of contempt. + +"I beg your pardon. I mean the _Gasthaus_. But there were two or three +English nobs there who were so gassy in their style, that I forgot my +Deutsch for the moment. A friend of mine at the Gasthaus, _am +Hollaendischer Hof_, expressed a strong desire to see you." + +"Indeed! What friend of yours could desire to see me?" + +"Well, I call him Elfinstone. If I were more polite than I am, I should +say Lord Elfinstone; but he's just as good a fellow as though he were +not a lord." + +"Is it possible that Lord Elfinstone is in Cologne?" added the baronet. + +"Do you know him?" + +"I have not that honor." + +"I have. I used to sail him in my father's yacht, when he was in New +York," replied Ben; who, however, under any other circumstances, would +not have troubled himself to make the young nobles better acquainted. +"I will introduce you, if you like." + +"Thank you," answered the baronet, with a promptness which indicated +that he appreciated the honor in store for him. "I shall be under great +obligations to you." + +Taking the arm of Ben Duncan, who had suddenly risen in the estimation +of Sir William, because he was on familiar terms with so distinguished +a young gentleman as Lord Elfinstone, they left the hotel, very much to +the satisfaction of Shuffles and Feodora. + +"Perhaps there is another objection to our meeting again, or at least +to permitting a friendship to grow up between us," said Shuffles, +continuing the subject. + +"What can there be?" asked Feodora. + +"You belong to the nobility of England, while I am only the son of a +Republican American." + +"A fig for the nobility!" exclaimed she. "They are just like other +people." + +"I think so myself," replied Shuffles; "but there is some difference of +opinion on that subject." + +Sir William was duly presented to Lord Elfinstone, at the Hollaendischer +Hof, and they did not part till after nine o'clock; so the young couple +had the evening all to themselves. After the ice was broken, they +probably made some progress in establishing a friendship; but as it is +not fair to listen to such conversations, it cannot be reported. The +earl and his lady did not interfere, whatever they thought of the +confidential relations which appeared to be gaining strength between +the captain and their daughter, and they separated only when it was +time to retire. + +After breakfast the next morning, Professor Mapps had something to say +about Cologne, and with the consent of Herr Deitzman, the landlord, it +was said in the coffee-room. + +"As many of you do not study German, you would not know what was meant +by the name of the city if you saw it printed in that language," the +professor began. "It is written Koeln, with the _umlaut_, or diaeresis, +over the vowel, which gives it a sound similar to, but not the same as, +the _e_ in the word _met_. It is the third city of Prussia, Berlin and +Breslau alone being larger, and has a population of one hundred and +twenty thousand. On the opposite bank of the Rhine is Deutz, with which +Cologne is connected by an iron bridge and by a bridge of boats. The +former is a grand structure, and worthy of your attention. + +"Cologne was originally a colony of Rome, from which comes its name. +Portions of walls built by the Romans will be pointed out to you, and +in the Museum are many relics of the same ancient origin. Agrippina, +the mother of Nero, was born here, her father, the Emperor Germanicus, +being a resident of Cologne at the time. Trajan was here when he was +called to the throne. Clovis was declared king of the Franks at +Cologne. In the fourteenth century it was the most flourishing city of +Northern Europe, and one of the principal depots of the Hanseatic +League, of which I spoke to you on a former occasion. It was called the +Rome of the North, and many Italian customs, such as the carnival, are +still retained in Cologne, though in no other city of this part of +Europe. Several causes--the principal of which was the closing of the +Rhine by the Dutch in the sixteenth century--nearly destroyed the +commercial importance of the place; but the river was opened in 1837 +and the city is now growing rapidly. + +"One of the principal objects of interest in Cologne is the great +cathedral, called in German the _Domkirche_. It is one of the largest +churches in the world, and if completed on the original plan, it will +rival St. Peter's at Rome. It is five hundred and eleven feet long by +two hundred and thirty-one feet wide. The choir is one hundred and +sixty-one feet high. It has two towers in process of erection, which +will be five hundred feet high, if they are ever completed. It was +commenced in the year 1248, and the work went on, with occasional +interruptions, till about a hundred years ago, when it was suspended by +war. Frederick William, King of Prussia, on his accession to the +throne, caused the work to be resumed; and it required years of labor +and vast sums of money to make the needed repairs, for the structure +was a ruin even while it was unfinished. An association has been formed +to insure its completion, and the present king, as well as his +predecessor, has contributed large sums of money. + +"As you came down the river, you saw the huge crane on the summit of +one of the towers, used to hoist up stone and other materials. It has +been there for hundreds of years. When it became insecure by years of +decay it was taken down; but a tremendous thunder-storm, which occurred +soon after, was interpreted by the superstitious citizens as a wrathful +protest of the Deity at its removal, indicating that the people did not +intend to complete the work, and it was repaired and restored to its +original position. Not less than twenty years, with the utmost +diligence, will be required to finish the building, and five millions +of dollars is the estimated expense." + +When the professor finished his lecture, the excursionists organized +themselves into little parties to see the sights. As the unruly +elements of the squadron were all in the Josephine, the students were +permitted to go when and where they pleased. The Blankvilles and the +Arbuckles, with Shuffles and Paul, hastened to the cathedral, as it was +but a short distance from the hotel. Sir William was not in attendance, +being engaged with Lord Elfinstone. Dr. Winstock, as usual, did much of +the talking, being entirely familiar with all the localities and +traditions of the city. + +The Domhof, or square in which the cathedral stands, is partly filled +with rude sheds, in which the stone for the building is hewn, and much +of the space around the grand structure is covered with stone. Entering +the church, the party walked to the middle of the choir. Its vast +height, its lofty columns, its arches, chapels, and richly-colored +windows filled them with awe and amazement. It was the most magnificent +sight they had ever beheld, and with one consent they were silent as +they gazed upon the architectural glories of the structure. They were +interrupted very soon, however, by the appearance of an official in the +livery of the church, who presented a salver for contributions for the +completion of the building. The earl and Mr. Arbuckle each gave a +napoleon, and other members of the party gave small sums. The gold won +the heart of the official, and he was very polite. + +Having observed the effect as a whole, the tourists proceeded to +examine the church in detail. Behind the high altar is the shrine of +the Three Kings of Cologne. They are represented as the Magi, who came +from the east with presents for the infant Saviour. Their bodies are +said to have been brought by the Empress Helena, mother of Constantine +the Great, from the Holy Land to Constantinople, and then sent to +Milan; and when this city was captured by the Emperor Frederick, he +presented them to the Archbishop of Cologne, who placed them in the +principal church. They have always been cherished with the greatest +veneration; were enclosed in costly caskets, and adorned with gold and +silver of immense value, though these have been mostly purloined, or +otherwise appropriated. The skulls of the three kings are inscribed +with their names, in rubies: _Gaspar_, _Melchior_, and _Balthazar_. +Those who show the tomb of the Magi say its treasures are still worth a +million of dollars; but people who go to see sights must see them. + +Near the shrine is a slab in the pavement, beneath which is buried the +heart of Marie de Medicis, wife of Henry IV., of France, her body +having been sent to France. In various parts of the church are ancient +and valuable paintings, in several of which the Magi are introduced. +The story of the Three Kings is a cherished tradition in several of the +cities of this part of Europe, and hotels and other public edifices +have been named for them. + +Passing out of the church, the party walked around it, in order to +obtain a complete view of the exterior, whose grandeur can hardly be +overrated, even by the enthusiast in architectural beauty. At a +bookstore in the Domhof the party purchased some views of the +cathedral. + +"I suppose the ladies will want some cologne, if the gentlemen do not," +said Dr. Winstock, with a smile. + +"I want some," added Paul. "My mother will be delighted with a bottle +of cologne from Cologne itself." + +"The reputation of the article is world-wide, and I suppose many +fortunes have been made in the trade. Farina was the original inventor, +and there are not less than twenty-four establishments in this city +which claim to be the rightful owners of the receipt for the pure +article. I see that Murray and Fetridge both award to Jean Marie Farina +the glory of being the right one." + +"The original Jacobs," laughed Paul. + +"Yes. His place is opposite the Juelich's Platz; and after we have been +to the Churches of St. Cunibert and St. Ursula, we will call upon him. +There is a cologne shop," added the surgeon, as he pointed to the +opposite side of the Domhof. "I bought some there once, and I found it +very good." + +There are half a dozen churches in Cologne from six to eight hundred +years old, and our party looked at them with interest. The church of +St. Ursula and the Eleven Thousand Virgins presented to them a very +remarkable display. The saint went from Brittany to Rome with her +virgin band. On their return by way of the Rhine, they were all +massacred at Cologne by the savage Huns. The remains of the saint and +her companions have been gathered together, and enshrined in this +church. The bones are buried under the pavement, displayed in the +walls, or exhibited in glass cases. St. Ursula herself lies in a +coffin, and near her are the skulls of some of her preferred +companions. The chains of St. Peter, and one of the clay vessels which +held the wine of Cana, are also exhibited. + +Before dinner time, the party reached the Juelich's Platz, where the +original cologne shop is located. A blast of the vapor of the fragrant +water was blown in each of their faces by the aid of a machine made for +the purpose, and each one bought a supply of the genuine article. + +In the afternoon the same party visited the house in the Sternengasse, +in which Rubens was born and Marie de Medicis died. There were objects +of interest enough in the city to occupy the attention of the +excursionists till night. + +"Do you find Cologne a very dirty city?" said the doctor, as they were +returning to the hotel. + +"Rather so in the old market-place," replied Mr. Arbuckle. "As a whole, +I don't think it is any dirtier than most of the cities of Europe." + +"That is just my view. I find that all the guidebooks and all the works +of travel insist upon inserting and indorsing Coleridge's lines on the +subject." + +"What are the lines?" asked Paul. + +Dr. Winstock took his guide-book and read,-- + + "Ye nymphs who reign o'er sewers and sinks, + The River Rhine, it is well-known, + Doth wash your city of Cologne; + But tell me, nymphs, what power divine + Shall henceforth wash the River Rhine." + +"I protest that it is a slander, whatever it may have been in former +times." + +The next morning the tourists took the train for Dusseldorf, where they +spent the forenoon in examining the pictures of the School of Art, +which has its headquarters in this place, and in a walk through the +beautiful Hofgarten. From this place a ride of two hours brought the +party to Aix-la-Chapelle, where they dined at the Hotel Grand Monarque. + +"Aix-la-Chapelle was the birth-place of Charlemagne, who also died +here," said Professor Mapps, after dinner. "The German name of the city +is Aachen, which is derived from _Aachs_, meaning a spring. There are +several warm medicinal springs here, which have a considerable reputation +for their curative properties. The city is called Aix-la-Chapelle from +the chapel which Charlemagne built. From him the place derived its +chief importance. He raised it to the rank of the second city in his +empire, made it the capital of all his dominions north of the Alps, and +decreed that the sovereigns of Germany and of the Romans should be +crowned here. Between 814 and 1531, the coronations of thirty-seven +kings and emperors took place here. + +"It has been the scene of many Diets and church councils, and in modern +times several treaties have been signed here." + +The excursionists left the hotel and walked to the cathedral, which is +probably the oldest church in Germany. This is the chapel for which the +city is named, and was intended by Charlemagne as his burial-place. It +was consecrated by Pope Leo III., assisted by three hundred and +sixty-five archbishops and bishops. It was partially destroyed by +barbarians, but was rebuilt by the Emperor Otho III., and much of the +primitive structure still remains. Under the centre of the dome is a +marble slab in the floor on which are the words CAROLO MAGNO, +indicating the spot where the tomb of Charlemagne was located. It was +probably a little chapel above ground. It was opened in 1165, and the +body was found sitting on a throne, clothed in imperial robes, a +sceptre in the hand, and a copy of the Gospels on the knee. The crown +was on the bony brow, and his sword and other articles near him. All +these relics were subsequently used at the coronation of the emperors, +but are now kept at Vienna, except the throne, which is still here. + +The church has an abundance of relics, including the skull and arm-bone +of Charlemagne, though the latter has, unfortunately, turned out to be +a leg-bone! It is said that the rest of the bones of his body were +found here in a chest in a dark closet; but we are not told by what +means they were identified. If some of the apostles, martyrs, and +worthies of the past had had a dozen skulls each, sight-seers might be +more credulous. There are also in this church a lock of the Virgin's +hair, the leathern girdle of Christ with the seal of Constantine upon +it, a nail of the cross, the sponge which was filled with vinegar for +the Saviour, blood and bones of St. Stephen, and bits of Aaron's rod. + +In addition to these precious articles, the cathedral has what are +called the Grand Relics, which are shown only once in seven years, and +then for but two weeks. At the exhibition in 1860, half a million +people resorted to Aix to see them. Charlemagne received them direct +from the Patriarch of Jerusalem, and from Haroun-al-Raschid. They are +enclosed in a shrine of silver-gilt, of the workmanship of the ninth +century. There are four principal articles: The cotton robe, five feet +long, worn by the Virgin at the Nativity; the swaddling clothes, of a +coarse yellow cloth like sacking, in which the infant Saviour was +wrapped; the cloth on which the head of John the Baptist was laid; and +the scarf worn by the Saviour, at the crucifixion, which bears the +stains of blood. Other articles, such as religious emblems, are +doubtless of great antiquity. + +The party visited the Hotel de Ville, on the spot where stood the +palace of the Frankish kings, in which Charlemagne was born. This was +the last sight to be seen in regular course, and the last city in +Germany which the tourists were to visit that season. It had been put +to vote whether the company would remain in Aix over Sunday, or make a +night trip to Paris, and the latter had been almost unanimously +adopted. Captain Shuffles voted against it, because the earl's party +were to remain till Monday; but he gracefully yielded, and the tourists +left at eight o'clock. Lady Feodora was very sad, and so was +Shuffles--Sir William was very glad. His lordship was kind enough to +hope that the acquaintance thus begun would be continued by letter, if +not possible in any other way. + +The excursionists were in Paris at eight o'clock the next morning, and +most of them had slept very well in the cars. They were allowed to +attend such churches as they pleased, and while some heard the fine +singing in St. Roch, others listened to Mass in Notre Dame, while not a +few attended at the American Chapel. + +On Monday forenoon, after breakfast had been disposed of in the Hotel +du Louvre, Mr. Arbuckle requested all the students to assemble in the +grand dining-room. When they were all in the apartment, their kind and +liberal friend rose, and was received with hearty applause. + +"Young gentlemen, I thank you for this kindly greeting," said he. "I +shall never forget the debt of gratitude I owe you, and I hope, when +your squadron goes up the Baltic, you will put into Belfast on your +way. It has afforded me very great pleasure to contribute something to +your instruction and amusement, and I most sincerely regret that we +must part to-day. For myself and my family I thank you for all you have +done for us." + +Mr. Arbuckle paused, and Mr. Lowington, for the ship's company, thanked +him for his liberal hospitality, and assured him that "all hands" would +remember him and his family as long as they lived. + +"I thank you, Mr. Lowington; you are very kind," continued Mr. +Arbuckle. "Allow me to speak a word now for my daughter, the Grand +Protectress of the Order of the Faithful. Some of the young gentlemen +were saying something about perpetuating the association formed on our +voyage from Havre to Brest, and Grace desired me to provide a suitable +emblem for that purpose. I took the liberty, when we reached Paris, +nearly three weeks since, to order a sufficient number of badges for +all the members; and this morning I obtained them. They are very neat, +and I hope they will please you." + +He held up one of the emblems. + +"It is a gold anchor, with a star upon it," continued Mr. Arbuckle. +"The word FAITHFUL is inscribed upon it. Grace will be happy now to +present it to each member of the order." + +The students applauded lustily, and one by one they passed before her, +and she attached the badge, which was made like a breastpin, to the +coats of the members, over the white ribbons. They were admonished +always to wear them, and always to be faithful. The Grand Protectress +was warmly cheered by the boys, when the ceremony was concluded. The +hour of parting had come, for the ship's company was to return to +Brest, while the Arbuckles proceeded to London. There was a general +shaking of hands, and a general exchanging of kind words. Paul and +Grace found the occasion a very trying one. What promises they made to +each other need not be repeated. + +The Arbuckles attended the party to the station, and when the last +words of farewell had been spoken, the train moved off. The excitement +of the excursion was ended, and the ride to Brest was rather dull. The +buoyant spirit of youth, however, soon furnished a new hope, and they +now looked eagerly forward to the meeting of dear friends at home. The +train arrived at Brest in the evening, and the students slept that +night in their berths on board the ship. + +The next morning the Young America sailed for Lisbon. She did not make +so quick a passage as the Josephine had made, and after a three days' +run, dropped anchor in the Tagus; but the consort had not yet arrived. + + + + +CHAPTER XX. + +HOMEWARD BOUND. + + +The moon shone brightly on the deserted deck of the Josephine after the +runaways had departed in the four boats,--deserted by all save Bitts, +who was endeavoring to free himself from the rope by which he had been +secured. Before the conspirators had gone a cable's length, he +succeeded. Reaching the rope over his head, he went up, hand over hand, +till he had slack enough to make a bight for one of his feet. Then, +holding on with one hand, he loosed the rope from his neck with the +other, and descended to the deck. + +Rogues always overreach themselves. Phillips had intended to secure the +arms of his prisoner by winding a line around his body, but, +considering him safe without it, he had neglected to do so. If he had +done this, the runaways might have reached the shore before any one +could come to the aid of the sufferer. He was free in three minutes +after Phillips left him. The boats were pulling for the shore, and +those below were laboring to release themselves from their +imprisonment. He went to the companion way, and tried to open it; but +the nail held it fast. Descending to the steerage, he removed the +handspike with which the cabin door was fastened. + +"What does all this mean?" demanded Mr. Fluxion, as he hastened on +deck. + +"The boys have taken all the boats, and left the vessel," replied +Bitts. + +"Left the vessel!" exclaimed Mr. Fluxion. "Were you asleep on deck?" + +"No, sir. Half a dozen of them hung me by the neck till I was nearly +choked to death," pleaded the carpenter. + +"Where was Cleats?" + +"I stepped below for half a minute, and they clapped the slide on over +me," answered Cleats, very sheepishly. + +"You stepped below! I ordered you not to leave the deck," added the +vice-principal, angrily. "You are responsible for this." + +"I did not think the young rascals would do such a thing as this," +pleaded the culprit. + +"I did; and I told you they would do anything. You have disobeyed my +orders. Take the helm, Gage." + +Mr. Fluxion glanced at the boats, and gave a few hasty orders, by which +the Josephine was headed towards the shore. The cooks and stewards in +the forecastle were released, and the chase commenced. + +"I did not think they were quite so bold as this," said Dr. Carboy. + +"They will do anything. Cleats thinks more of his stomach than of his +duty, or it would not have happened," replied Mr. Fluxion. "I have seen +the boys talking together a great deal on this cruise, and I was sure +something was brewing. I charged all the officers not to leave the deck +for a single instant. Probably the young rascals have been watching for +this opportunity during the whole cruise." + +"It is a very foolish movement on their part," added Dr. Carboy. + +"Yet if they had kept us in the cabin half an hour longer, it might +have succeeded, for the boats would have been out of sight. If they had +tied Bitts's arms behind him, it might have been half an hour before we +could have broken out of the cabin." + +Mr. Fluxion questioned the watch officers very closely in regard to the +conduct of the crew on deck, and he soon understood the whole matter. +He was very severe upon Cleats for leaving the deck, declared that he +could not be trusted, and that he should be discharged. The latter was +very humble, acknowledged his error, and made no attempt to palliate +it. He had always been faithful, so far as was known, and probably had +never been guilty of any graver offence than that of leaving the deck +for a few minutes during his watch. But he had been expressly cautioned +not to do this, and had sent a hand below for his lunch, until the +present time. + +In the boats the runaways were pulling with all their might to get out +of sight of the Josephine before the officers should set themselves at +liberty. Perth urged the oarsmen in the captain's gig to the most +tremendous exertion. But in less than ten minutes, and before they had +made a single mile, they saw the Josephine fill away, and stand towards +them. + +"Did you fasten Bitts?" said Perth, to Phillips, who was in the gig +with him. + +"I did. He couldn't get away, I know," replied Phillips. + +"They are after us, and I'm afraid the game is up," added Perth. "The +Josephine can make two knots to our one in this breeze." + +The leader was very anxious for the result. The plan had really failed +because the officers had released themselves so much sooner than was +expected. But Perth hoped to make it partially successful. Standing up +in the gig, he ordered the other boats to separate, so that the +Josephine could not capture them all at once. He directed the first +cutter to pull to the north-west, while the gig went to the south-west, +and the second and third cutters were to take intermediate points. The +Josephine was headed to the north-west, with the evident intention of +getting between the boats and the shore. The second cutter would +therefore be her first victim; and Perth hoped that, by the time she +had picked up the other three boats, his own would be in shoal water, +where a schooner of her tonnage could not come. + +Little was in command of the first cutter. He obeyed the order of +Perth, though he saw it would be a losing game for his boat. In less +than half an hour the Josephine came up with him. The wind was due +east, which gave the vessel every advantage, and she came about under +the lee of the cutter. + +"Hold water! Back her!" shouted Little, who had prepared his plan of +operations, and intended to pull dead to windward of her, so that she +would have to go in stays before she could come up with the boat again. + +Peaks spoiled his plan by throwing a boat grapnel into the fore-sheets +of the cutter, and hauling her alongside of the Josephine as her sails +shook in the wind. Cleats dropped into the boat, and, leaping aft, +seized Little by the collar. Gage followed him, and ten of the runaways +were captured. Mr. Fluxion ordered them on board the vessel, and the +two men in the boat expedited their movements by some rather rough +usage. + +The vice-principal said nothing to the discomfited crew of the first +cutter, but gave his orders to chase the second cutter. As the +Josephine approached her, Peaks and Gage, with two of the stewards, +were sent off in the first cutter as the vessel lay to. They grappled +the boat, and as no one thought of resisting Peaks, they were readily +captured, and driven upon the deck of the schooner. The third cutter +was taken with no more difficulty. A few moments later, the Josephine +luffed up under the lee of the gig, having towed the first cutter, in +which the four men were seated, to this position. The boat pulled +towards the runaways. Perth was desperate when he saw how easily he was +to be captured. + +"Bat them over the head with your oars, fellows!" shouted he. "Don't +let them take you!" + +The oarsmen attempted to obey this order, and to beat off their +pursuers. A brief struggle ensued, in which Perth and Phillips fought +with desperation; but Peaks succeeded in getting into the gig, and the +strife was ended. With a blow of his fist the stalwart boatswain +justified the traditions of himself, and Perth was knocked senseless in +the bottom of the boat, while Phillips, with a bleeding face, yielded +the day. The runaways in the gig were driven to the deck, as their +companions had been, while Perth was handed up by the grim Peaks, put +in his berth, and attended by Dr. Carboy. + +The long-cherished scheme of Little had ended in disaster, and all +hands had been captured. The runaways looked at each other with a sort +of astonishment when they found themselves on board again. Doubtless +they were satisfied that they had not bettered their condition by what +they had done. They obeyed whatever orders were given them, for the +terrible Peaks had verified all the stories told of him. He had knocked +Perth insensible, and badly damaged Phillips. It was not safe to refuse +to do duty, as some of them, in their chagrin, wished to do. + +As soon as the boats were hoisted up, and the Josephine headed on her +course again, all hands were piped to muster. By this time Perth was +able to appear, for he had only been stunned by the boatswain's fist. A +savage lecture from the vice-principal was expected; but instead of +that, every one of the crew was searched. Perth's twenty pounds was +discovered and confiscated, as well as numerous bills on Paris, letters +of credit, and similar valuable papers. The conspirators had put them +in their pockets to use on shore. Without any further notice of the +affair of the night, the vice-principal stationed the watch, and +dismissed the rest of the crew. + +Mr. Fluxion probably acted on the principle of the celebrated +schoolmaster who charged all the faults of his pupils upon himself. If +Cleats had not left the deck, the conspiracy could not have been even +partially successful, and he charged all the blame upon him. After the +affair he increased his own vigilance, adding Dr. Carboy to one watch, +and the head steward to the other, so that another attempt to escape +must certainly fail. + +"I never believed much in that plan," said Herman, the next day, as he +and Perth met on deck. + +"I did. I won't go back on it now. If we had had half an hour more, we +should have been safe. Phillips didn't do as he agreed with Bitts," +answered the leader. "He ought to have put a line a dozen times around +his body, so that he couldn't move his hands." + +"He said he was afraid of actually choking him to death." + +"Tying his hands would not have choked him." + +"Well, whatever the reason was, the plan failed. We are played out for +this cruise." + +"Yes, and haven't seen Paris, Switzerland, Germany, or the Rhine," +growled Perth. + +"I suppose it is our own fault." + +"Humph!" snuffed the conquered leader. + +"I am satisfied, now, that if we had done our duty, we should have had +a better time." + +"Repent, then," said Perth, as he turned on his heel. + +Possibly there was no other runaway in the crew who confessed as much +as this, but if is doubtful whether there was one who did not realize +the truth of the statement. All of them were satisfied that it was +useless to contend against the discipline of the Academy while it was +administered by such men as the principal and the vice-principal. + +The Josephine had a fair passage, and reached Lisbon on the day after +the Young America had anchored in the river. She was loudly cheered +when she luffed up under the quarter of the ship, but not a sound came +from the disappointed and disheartened runaways in response, and more +fully than the sufferers themselves did the members of the Order of the +Faithful believe that the way of the transgressor is hard. + +Mr. Fluxion immediately went on board of the ship, and reported to the +principal. For an hour they discussed the events of the cruise of the +Josephine up the Mediterranean; but both were satisfied that the +discipline of the squadron had been triumphant. Mr. Lowington was more +indulgent towards Cleats than the vice-principal was disposed to be, +and he was put on probation. + +Before night the original order on board both vessels was restored, and +again the runaways mingled with the faithful ones. Each party had a +story to tell, and the glories of the beautiful Rhine lost nothing in +the description given by the tourists. The narrative of the adventures +of the excursionists was galling to the others, for the latter had +nothing but sea life to speak of, unless it was the harbor of Genoa. It +was painful to be obliged to say that they had been up the +Mediterranean without putting a foot on shore during their absence. +Certainly those who had done their duty could appreciate the pleasures +of their trip, after contrasting it with that of the runaways; and +perhaps they needed this contrast to enable them fully to realize the +satisfaction which follows right doing. + +Fresh provisions and water were taken in by both vessels. Only a few of +the students went on shore, and those on duty; and at noon on the day +after the arrival of the Josephine, the squadron got under way, +homeward bound. The usual routine on board was restored, and the +studies of the school-room were mingled with the duties of the ship. +Only one gale disturbed the serenity of the passage, and both vessels +came to anchor in Brockway harbor, after a voyage of thirty days. The +runaways had behaved tolerably well during the trip, for they had +learned that there was no safety or satisfaction in rebellion and +disobedience. They were not reformed, and perhaps never will be; but +they were controlled, and saved from a vicious life on shore during the +period of the cruise. + +Others had been reformed, and converted from evil-disposed boys into +well-meaning ones. Shuffles and Pelham were not the only ones who had +been turned aside from the error of their ways, though their individual +experience has not been detailed. The moral results of the voyage were +very good. If the discipline of the ship and her consort had not +reformed all the vicious characters, it had restrained their evil +tendencies, and kept them away from the haunts of vice, though its most +pernicious haunt is within the soul of the evil-doer. + +On the other hand, the intellectual results of the cruise were +abundantly satisfactory. The students had made excellent progress in +their studies, and not a few of them were already competent navigators. +There had been hardly a case of sickness on board, and the boys were +all in rugged health. Mr. Lowington, therefore, had every reason to be +satisfied with the success of his great experiment. He intended to make +some changes in the vessels, and return to Europe the following spring, +after spending the winter in various ports of the United States. + +The Academy had a vacation during the Christmas holidays, and all the +students went home. Perth and some others declared they should not +return, but their parents thought otherwise, and with hardly an +exception, they did return, and the institution continued to prosper. + +Shuffles, it need not be said, kept his promise to Lady Feodora, and +hardly a week passed in which a letter did not cross the ocean from him +to her, and from her to him. One of the latter informed him that Lady +Feodora had not seen Sir William for a month; for, with her father's +consent, she had dismissed him. Paul Kendall spent much of his spare +time in writing letters which went to Belfast. No doubt Lady Feodora +will, in due time, become Mrs. Shuffles, and Grace Arbuckle Mrs. +Kendall. It may even be said that promises to this effect have already +passed between the respective parties. Our readers will wish them joy, +and we heartily join in the hope that life will be as happy to them as +duty faithfully done can make it. + + * * * * * + +For the present we take our leave of the Academy Squadron, though we +hope in the future to be the chronicler of more of the travel and +adventure in foreign lands of YOUNG AMERICA ABROAD. + + + + + LEE & SHEPARD'S JUVENILE PUBLICATIONS. + + * * * * * + + By the Author of "Spartacus to the Gladiators." + + ELM ISLAND STORIES. + + _To be completed in six vols. Ill. Per vol., $1.25._ + + * * * * * + +_LION BEN OF ELM ISLAND._ 16mo. Illustrated. $1.25. + +"Elm Island lays off the coast of Eastern Maine, a wild and romantic +region, and the incidents of the story are recorded as happening when +this country was just emerging from its struggle for independence. It +is a capital story of the rough-and-tumble life of the early +settlers."--_Chicago Journal of Commerce_. + + +_CHARLIE BELL, THE WAIF OF ELM ISLAND._ 16mo. Illustrated. $1.25. + +"This volume tells the story of Charlie Bell, who was thrown upon Elm +Island like a waif from the ocean, and adopted by Lion Ben. With Yankee +boys he shares the exciting adventures of a new country and a rude +state of society." + + +_THE ARK OF ELM ISLAND._ 16mo. Illustrated. $1.25. + +This volume of the series is by no means inferior in interest to its +predecessors, dealing principally with adventures at sea, which are +always delightful to boys. + + +_THE BOY FARMERS OF ELM ISLAND._ 16mo. Illustrated. $1.25. + +The fourth volume of the series gives, in graphic and earnest style, +the efforts of three lads to transform Elm Island from a wilderness to +a fruitful and productive land. It is full of life, adventure, and fun. + + +_THE YOUNG SHIPBUILDERS OF ELM ISLAND._ 16mo. Illustrated. $1.25. + +"Mr. Kellogg is winning laurels as a writer for and educator of youth. +Health and vigor are in his writings, and the lad has more of the +first-class man in him after the perusal."--_Providence Press_. + + * * * * * + +Sold by all Booksellers and Newsdealers, and sent by mail, postpaid, +on receipt of price. + + LEE & SHEPARD, Publishers, Boston. + + + + + LEE & SHEPARD'S JUVENILE PUBLICATIONS. + + TALES OF ADVENTURE. + + THE FRONTIER SERIES. + + _Four volumes. 16mo. Ill. Price, per set, $5.00._ + + * * * * * + +_THE CABIN ON THE PRAIRIE._ By REV. CHARLES H. PEARSON. 16mo. +Illustrated. $1.25. + +"_The Cabin on the Prairie_ is an earnest, healthy book, full of the +hardships, trials, and triumphs of life in our new settlements." + + +_PLANTING THE WILDERNESS_; or, The Pioneer Boys. By JAMES D. MCCABE, +JR. 16mo. Illustrated. $1.25. + +"_Planting the Wilderness_ tells of the strange adventures of real +life, which, more than the fancies of the novel writer, are of +absorbing interest." + + +_TWELVE NIGHTS IN THE HUNTERS' CAMP._ By REV. W. BARROWS. 16mo. +Illustrated. $1.25. + +"_Twelve Nights in the Hunters' Camp_ is a pleasant, stirring, sensible +book, full of life and incident, and all aglow with the breezy +freshness of woods and prairies, lakes and rivers." + + +_A THOUSAND MILES' WALK_ across the Pampas and Andes of South America. +By NATHANIEL H. BISHOP. 16mo. Illustrated. $1.50. + +"_A Thousand Miles' Walk across South America_ is a record of the +experiences of a Yankee boy, full of enthusiasm to see and learn by +actual experience the wonders of that almost _terra incognita_." + + +This series of books are of sterling merit, and while they closely +follow real experiences, are full of those thrilling incidents which +charm both youth and age. + + * * * * * + +Sold by all Booksellers and Newsdealers, and sent by mail, postpaid, on +receipt of price. + + LEE & SHEPARD, Publishers, Boston. + + + + + LEE & SHEPARD'S JUVENILE PUBLICATIONS. + + OLIVER OPTIC'S BOOKS. + + YOUNG AMERICA ABROAD. + + A Library of Travel and Adventure in Foreign Lands. 16mo. + Illustrated by Nast, Stevens, Perkins, and others. + + * * * * * + +OUTWARD BOUND; or, Young America Afloat. $1.50. + +"In Outward Bound," "the Ship Young America, sails for Europe, with a +school of eighty-seven boys aboard her, who pursue the studies of a +school, and at the same time work the ship across the Atlantic, being +amenable to regular naval discipline." + + +SHAMROCK AND THISTLE; or, Young America in Ireland and Scotland. $1.50. + +"This volume continues the history of the academy ship and her crew of +boys, with their trips into the interior as well as voyages along the +coast of Ireland and Scotland. The young scholar will get a truer and +fuller conception of these countries by reading this unpretentious +journal of travel, than by weeks of hard study upon the geographies and +histories." + + +RED CROSS; or, Young America in England and Wales. $1.50. + +"The third volume of Oliver Optic's Library of travel and adventure +chronicles the doings of the Young America and her crew in British +ports and waters, and is replete with thrilling adventures and +descriptions of noted places." + + +DIKES AND DITCHES; or, Young America in Holland and Belgium. $1.50 + +"The author takes his readers on voyages up the rivers and canals of +Holland and Belgium, on tramps through the cities, their schools, their +art galleries, and their wonderful buildings, giving at every turn +vivid impressions of what is seen and heard therein and thereabouts." + + +PALACE AND COTTAGE; or, Young America in France and Switzerland. $1.50 + +"This volume relates the history of the American Squadron (_Young +America_ and _Josephine_) in the waters of France, with the +journey of the students to Paris and through a portion of Switzerland. +As an episode, the story of the runaway cruise of the Josephine is +introduced, inculcating the moral that 'the way of the transgressor is +hard.'" + + +DOWN THE RHINE; or, Young America in Germany. $1.50. + +This volume concludes the first series of Young America, and is as +interesting and instructive as the preceding volumes. So great has been +the success of this series, that Oliver Optic is now preparing a +second. "Up the Baltic" will be the first volume, to be followed by +"Northern Lands," "Vine and Olive," "Sunny Shores," "Cross and +Crescent" and "Isles of the Sea." + + +Sold by all book-sellers and news-dealers, and sent by mail on receipt +of price. + + * * * * * + + LEE & SHEPARD, Publishers, Boston. + + + + + LEE & SHEPARD'S JUVENILE PUBLICATIONS. + + OLIVER OPTIC'S BOOKS. + + THE BOAT CLUB SERIES. + +A library for Young People. Each volume illustrated. In sets or separate. + + * * * * * + +THE BOAT CLUB; or, the Bunkers of Rippleton. $1.25. + +"One noticeable feature of this author's books is their purity. Not a +line is to be found in any work of his but what will tend to elevate +and purify the mind of the boy or girl who may peruse it." + + +ALL ABOARD; or, Life on the Lake. $1.25. + +"ALL ABOARD" was written to gratify the reasonable curiosity of the +readers of the "_Boat Club_," to know what occurred at Woodlake +during the second season; and though it is a sequel, it has no direct +connection with its predecessor. The Introduction in the first chapter +contains a brief synopsis of the principal events of the first season; +so that those who have not read the "_Boat Club_" will labor under +no disadvantage on that account. + + +NOW OR NEVER; or, the Adventures of Bobby Bright. $1.25. + +The author has been for many years a successful teacher in one of the +Boston Public Schools, and the knowledge of youthful character thus +obtained has been used to good advantage in his works. + + +TRY AGAIN; or, the Trials and Triumphs of Harry West. $1.25. + +The story of Harry West is a record of youthful experience designed to +illustrate the necessity and the results of perseverance in well doing. +The true success of life is the attainment of a pure and exalted +character; and he who at three-score-and-ten has won nothing but wealth +and a name, has failed to achieve the noblest purpose of his being. +This is the moral of the story contained in this volume. + + +LITTLE BY LITTLE; or, the Cruise of the Flyaway. $1.25. + +Paul Duncan, the hero of this volume, is a nautical young gentleman, +and most of the events of the story occur upon the water, and possess +that exciting and captivating character for which this author's books +are famous. But the author hopes that something more than exciting +incidents will be found upon his pages; that though he has seldom, if +ever, gone out of his way to define the moral quality, or measure the +moral quantity, of the words and deeds of his characters, the story +will not be found wanting in a true Christian spirit. + + +POOR AND PROUD; or, the Fortunes of Katy Redburn. $1.25. + +The history of a smart girl, where fortunes are made to depend upon her +good principles, her politeness, her determined perseverance, and her +overcoming that foolish pride, which is a snare to the feet. In these +respects she is a worthy example for the young. + + +Sold by all booksellers and newsdealers, and sent by mail, post-paid, +on receipt of price. + + * * * * * + + LEE & SHEPARD, Publishers, Boston. + + + + + LEE & SHEPARD'S JUVENILE PUBLICATIONS. + + OLIVER OPTIC'S BOOKS. + + WOODVILLE STORIES. + + _16mo. Handsomely Illustrated. In sets or separate._ + + * * * * * + +RICH AND HUMBLE; or, the Mission of Bertha Grant. $1.25. + +"No author is more welcomed by the young, and no books can be more +safely placed in their hands. His writings, as in this volume of 'Rich +and Humble,' inspire the reader with a lofty purpose. They show the +wrong courses of life only to present, by contrast, the true and right +path, and make it the way which youth will wish to walk in, because of +its being the most pleasant and inviting."--_Mass. Teacher._ + + +IN SCHOOL AND OUT; or, The Conquest of Richard Grant. $1.25. + +"Oliver Optic is as well known and as highly appreciated among the +young people of our land as Charles Dickens is among the older folks. +'In School and Out' is equal to anything he has written. It is a story +that will deeply interest boys particularly, and make them, +better."--_Notices of the Press._ + + +WATCH AND WAIT: or, The Young Fugitives. $1.25. + +The author has used, to the best advantage, the many exciting incidents +that naturally attend the career of a fugitive slave, and the seeds +that he may sow in youthful hearts will perhaps bear a hundred-fold. + + +WORK AND WIN; or, Noddy Newman on a Cruise. $1.25. + +"A nautical story of adventure and endurance, written to delineate the +upward progress of a boy whose moral attributes were of the lowest +order, in consequence of neglected education, but in whom high +religious principles were afterwards developed."--_Notices of the +Press._ + + +HOPE AND HAVE; or, Fanny Grant among the Indians. $1.25. + +"This is a story of Western adventure and of peril among the Indians, +and contains the experience of Fanny Grant, who, from a very naughty +girl, became a very good one, by the influence of a pure and beautiful +example exhibited by an erring child, in the hour of her greatest +wandering from the path of virtue."--_Philadelphia Age._ + + +HASTE AND WASTE; or, The Young Pilot of Lake Champlain. $1.25. + +"This is a story of boyish daring and integrity upon Lake Champlain, +and older heads than those of sixteen may read and profit by it." + + +The stories in the "Woodville" series are hinged together only so far +as the same characters have been retained in each. + +Sold by all booksellers, and sent by mail, post-paid, on receipt of +price. + + * * * * * + + LEE & SHEPARD, Publishers, Boston. + + + + + LEE & SHEPARD'S JUVENILE PUBLICATIONS. + + OLIVER OPTIC'S BOOKS. + + ARMY AND NAVY STORIES. + + * * * * * + +THE SOLDIER BOY; or, Tom Somers in the Army. 16mo. Illustrated. $1.50. + +"This is a story of the rebellion, narrating the adventures of a +patriotic youth, who left the comforts of home to share the dangers of +the field. He is carried through several battles, and for a while +shared the hospitalities of the rebels as a prisoner. The story is true +to history, giving in the form of personal adventure correct accounts +of many stirring scenes of the war."--_Hartford Courant._ + + +THE SAILOR BOY; or, Jack Somers in the Navy. 16mo. Illustrated. $1.50. + +"Jack is the brother of Tom, the Soldier Boy, whose adventures in the +army were so much enjoyed. We have only to repeat that there are few +better stories for boys than these of Mr. Adams'. Always bright and +even sparkling with animation, the story never drags; there are no +stupid tasks or tiresome descriptions; the boys whose characters are +drawn are real boys, impulsive, with superabundant animal life, and the +heroes are manly, generous, healthy creations."--_Hartford Press._ + + +THE YOUNG LIEUTENANT; or, The Adventures of an Army Officer. 16mo. +Illustrated. $1.50. + +"The Young Lieutenant" is a sequel to "The Soldier Boy," and carries +the reader through the stormy scenes of the rebellion, creates Thomas +Somers an officer, and as such he performs much difficult work in the +rebellion. + + +YANKEE MIDDY; or, Adventures of a Naval Officer. 16mo. Illustrated. +$1.50. + +"The incidents of the story are those which have occurred on the ocean, +and on the bays, inlets, and rivers of the South, common in the +experience of all our naval officers who have been actively employed +during the war."--_Notices of the Press._ + + +FIGHTING JOE; or, The Fortunes of a Staff Officer. 16mo. Illustrated. +$1.50. + +"The description of battles and sieges, of picket and skirmishing, of +camp life and marching, are wrought out with thrilling detail, making +the story truly fascinating; while, in connection with this, useful and +practical information respecting men and places is conveyed, and a +proper spirit of morality and patriotism inculcated."--_Notices of +the Press._ + + +BRAVE OLD SALT; or, Life on the Quarter-Deck. 16mo. Illustrated. $1.50. + +A book of adventure, of personal experience, describing a living hero, +and exhibiting the great truth that, by fidelity of conscience, +country, and God, earthly and heavenly blessings are secured. + + +Sold by all booksellers and newsdealers, and sent by mail, post-paid, +on receipt of price. + + * * * * * + + LEE & SHEPARD, Publishers, Boston. + + + + + LEE & SHEPARD'S JUVENILE PUBLICATIONS. + + OLIVER OPTIC'S BOOKS. + + STARRY FLAG SERIES. + + _Each volume handsomely illustrated. In sets or separate._ + + * * * * * + +THE STARRY FLAG; or, the Young Fisherman of Cape Ann. $1.25. + +"The early history of Levi Fairfield, the boy hero of this volume, as +it is graphically traced by Oliver Optic, will be apt to hold +boy-readers spell-bound. His manly virtue, his determined character, +his superiority to mean vice, his industry, and his stirring +adventures, will suggest good lessons for imitation."--_Presbyterian._ + + +BREAKING AWAY; or, the Fortunes of a Student. $1.25. + +"In this volume Oliver Optic opens the school-room door, and shows the +nature, construction, and workings of the school system; its lights and +shadows; its discipline, and the serious consequences that come from +want of discipline."--_Patriot._ + + +SEEK AND FIND; or, the Adventures of a Smart Boy. $1.25. + +Earnest Thornton, the "smart boy" of this story, is a clear headed, +well intentioned, plucky boy, that has a high aim and means right even +where he is wrong, and his adventures will be read with interest. + + +FREAKS OF FORTUNE; or, Half around the World,--a sequel to "The Starry +Flag." $1.25. + +"The adventures of Levi Fairfield, the noble young Captain of the +Starry Flag, excited such an interest among the young folks that the +continuance of his story was called for, with which demand the ever +ready author has complied, with a story equally attractive and +interesting." + + +MAKE OR BREAK; or, the Rich Man's Daughter. $1.25. + +"This is a lively, stirring volume, full of interest and instruction +from one cover to the other. Just the book a smart, wide-awake boy will +enjoy intensely."--_Press._ + + +DOWN THE RIVER; or, Buck Bradford and his Tyrants. $1.25. + +"These stories are not only written in a manner well calculated to +enchain the attention of young readers, but teach at the same time such +important lessons of sobriety, industry and cheerfulness, that we +should like to see them in the hands of every boy in the land."--_Galesburg +Free Press._ + + +Sold by all booksellers and newsdealers, and sent by mail, post-paid, +on receipt of price. + + * * * * * + + LEE & SHEPARD, Publishers, Boston. + + + + + LEE & SHEPARD'S JUVENILE PUBLICATIONS. + + * * * * * + + VACATION STORY BOOKS. + + 6 volumes. Each volume handsomely illustrated. 80 cents. + +WORTH NOT WEALTH. + COUNTRY LIFE. + THE CHARM. + KARL KEIGLER. + WALTER SEYTON. + HOLIDAYS AT CHESTNUT HILL. + + * * * * * + + ROSY DIAMOND STORY BOOKS. + + 6 volumes. Each volume handsomely illustrated. 80 cents. + +THE GREAT ROSY DIAMOND. + DAISY; or, The Fairy Spectacles. + VIOLET: A Fairy Story. + MINNIE; or, The Little Woman. + THE ANGEL CHILDREN. + LITTLE BLOSSOM'S REWARD. + +These volumes are finely and profusely illustrated from designs by +Hoppin and other eminent artists. They are elegantly bound, and neatly +packed in ornamental boxes. As gifts for holidays and birthdays, where +a uniform value and appearance is desired, they are excellent. + + * * * * * + +_Mrs. Madeline Leslie's Books._ + + PLAY AND STUDY SERIES. + + 4 volumes. Each volume illustrated. Price, $1.50. + +PLAY AND STUDY. + THE MOTHERLESS CHILDREN. + HOWARD AND HIS TEACHER. + JACK, THE CHIMNEY-SWEEP. + + * * * * * + + LITTLE AGNES' LIBRARY. + + 4 volumes. Each volume illustrated. Price, $1.50. + +LITTLE AGNES. + TRYING TO BE USEFUL. + I'LL TRY. + ART AND ARTLESSNESS. + +For family reading and Sabbath School libraries there are no better +books written than these by Mrs. Leslie. With attractive and interesting +stories are mingled wholesome truths and moral lessons. Of all these +books large editions have been printed, and they may be found largely +circulated in Sabbath Schools. + + +Sold by all booksellers and newsdealers, and sent by mail, post-paid, +on receipt of price. + + * * * * * + + LEE & SHEPARD, Publishers, Boston. + + + + + LEE & SHEPARD'S JUVENILE PUBLICATIONS. + + SOPHIE MAY'S BOOKS. + + * * * * * + + LITTLE PRUDY STORIES. + +_Six volumes. Illustrated. In Sets or separate. Per volume, 75 cents._ + +LITTLE PRUDY. + LITTLE PRUDY'S Sister Susy. + LITTLE PRUDY'S Captain Horace. + LITTLE PRUDY'S Cousin Grace. + LITTLE PRUDY'S Story Book. + LITTLE PRUDY'S Dotty Dimple. + + * * * * * + + DOTTY DIMPLE STORIES. + +By the author of "Little Prudy Stories." + +_Six volumes. Illustrated. In Sets or separate. Per volume, 75 cents._ + +DOTTY DIMPLE at her Grandmother's. + DOTTY DIMPLE at Home. + DOTTY DIMPLE out West. + DOTTY DIMPLE at Play. + DOTTY DIMPLE at School. + DOTTY DIMPLE'S Flyaway. + +Read the high commendation of the _North American Review_, which +places Sophie May's Books at the + + Head of Juvenile Literature. + +"Genius comes in with 'Little Prudy.' Compared with her, all other +book-children are cold creations of Literature only; she alone is the +real thing. All the quaintness of childhood, its originality, its +tenderness and its teasing,--its infinite, unconscious drollery, the +serious earnestness of its fun, the fun of its seriousness, the natural +religion of its plays, and the delicious oddity of its prayers,--all +these waited for dear Little Prudy to embody them. Sam Weller is not +more piquant; Hans Anderson's nutcrackers and knitting-needles are not +more thoroughly charged with life. There are six little green volumes +in the series, and of course other _dramatis personae_ must figure; but +one eagerly watches for every reappearance of Prudy, as one watches at +the play for Owens or Warren to re-enter upon the stage. Who is our +benefactress in the authorship of these books, the world knows not. +Sophie May must doubtless be a fancy name, by reason of the spelling, +and we have only to be grateful that the author did not inflict on us +the customary alliteration in her pseudonyme. The rare gift of +delineating childhood is hers, and may the line of 'Little Prudy' go +out to the end of the earth.... To those oversaturated with +transatlantic traditions we recommend 'Little Prudy." + + +Sold by all booksellers and newsdealers, and sent by mail, post-paid, +on receipt of price. + + * * * * * + + LEE & SHEPARD, Publishers, Boston. + + + + +The only Original Illustrated Juvenile Magazine published Once a Week. + + OLIVER OPTIC'S MAGAZINE, + + OUR BOYS AND GIRLS, + + EVERY WEEK. EDITED BY OLIVER OPTIC, + +Who writes for no other Juvenile Publication, and who contributes + + Four Serial Stories Every Year, + +The cost of which, in book form, would be $5.00,--double the subscription +price of the Magazine. Every number contains part of a new Story by +Oliver Optic, illustrated by designs from the best artists, headed by +Thomas Nast, the great American Artist. Then follow + + Poems and Stories + +By other well-known authors, who know how to write for Young Folks. + + The Orator, + +A department exclusively in charge of Oliver Optic, gives every other +week a selection for Declamation, marked for delivery according to the +most approved rules of elocution; 26 MARKED DECLAMATIONS EACH YEAR. + + Original Dialogues. + +Some of the best writers find a place under this head every other week, +giving the subscriber 26 ORIGINAL DIALOGUES EVERY YEAR. + + Head Work, + +Containing Geographical Rebuses, Puzzles, Syncopations, Geographical +Questions, Proverbial Anagrams, Enigmas, Charades, and Numerical +Puzzles, contributed by the subscribers, and rendered unusually +attractive by original features NOT TO BE FOUND IN ANY OTHER MAGAZINE. + +In addition to the above-mentioned departments, there are regular +contributions on Natural History, History, the Sciences, Facts and +Figures, from some of the most learned men in the country. + +OLIVER OPTIC'S MAGAZINE contains more reading matter than any other +juvenile publication, and is the CHEAPEST and the BEST periodical of +the kind in the United States. + +Any boy or girl who will write to the publishers shall receive a +specimen copy by mail, free. + +_TERMS, IN ADVANCE_.--Single Subscriptions, One Year, $2.50; One +Volume, Six Months, $1.25; Single copies, 6 cents. Three copies, $6.50; +five copies, $10.00; ten copies (with an extra copy _free_), $20.00. + + * * * * * + + LEE & SHEPARD, Publishers, Boston. + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Down the Rhine, by Oliver Optic + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK DOWN THE RHINE *** + +***** This file should be named 24124.txt or 24124.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/2/4/1/2/24124/ + +Produced by David Edwards and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was +produced from scans of public domain material produced by +Microsoft for their Live Search Books site.) + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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